The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-29

breakfast as it were, q "best-seller' is
bound, sometimes or other to say or
write many foolish, certainly many, tire
some things. Mr.. Oppenheim recognizes,
doubtless, the fact that we all live these
days in rushing age an age of machin-
cry; he doesn't propose to be and never
is left at the post idle. He has written
great many novels; some interesting,
some quite thrilling, some that this scribe
will, guarantee to bore at 40 yards. Pro-
ducing books night and day, Mr.. Open
helm Is bound to have some "culls' in his
manufactured product
Every now and then Mr.. Oppenheim
seems to get hold of his second-wind or
something or other and publishes there
with a novel that will not be among the
classics, but will give you great deal OF
pleasure in the reading. Such an one IS
THE Ilulstrious Prince" This novel,
now running serially In the Cosmopolitan
Magazine just issued in book form, will
thoroughly interest anyone looking for
light, pleasing, up-to-date, quick-move-
ment never-mind- Responsibilities story.
The plot of 1.-THE Ilustrous Prince"
deals with the fact that Hamilton Fynes,
travelling to London in special train and
"Dickey' Vanderpole, secretary to the
American ambassador there, are murder
ed within a period of "a hours and with
out apparent motive. Scotland Yard can
find no clue and it's inspector, Mr..
Jacks, is baffled In all his questionings
by Miss Penelope Marsh, an American
girl who had known Fynes and by Mr..
Coulson, a fellow passenger from New
York. with him. Miss Morse, however,
following the murder of Fynes, had init
mated to ''Dickey" Vanderpole that the
former had been dispatch-bearer for the
United States government. The same
evening while carrying a letter. from Mr..
Coulson to the American ambassador,
"Dickey" himself is murdered most mys-
teriously. This complexities the case for
Inspector Jacks, and among those who
should be in-the-know-it leads to sur
misses as to who could be interested in
the lost dispatches Coulson had given
"Dickey' Vanderpole duplicate copies OF
the dispatches stolen from the murdered
Fynes.
Suspicion soon fastens upon Japanese
prince who is in London as a special rep
resentative of his government and the
American ambassador commissions Miss
Penelope Marsh to find out whether the
prince has the papers or is in any way
mixed up with the two mysterious muir
society. is already well known to Miss
Marsh, but he calmly outwits her at every
attempt to gain an admission from him,
OH eny subject, except her charming self.
Finally, however. she finds tangible evil
dence that leads her to tell the ambassa-
dor that she believes the prince or some
body connected with his household COM
mitted both murders. Meanwhile, the
British government, having had a brick
thrown at 1t from Washington, becomes
interested in the unraveling of the mys-
terry. Inspector Jacks works assiduously
but to little apparent purpose. Society
forgets the excitement and whrls on and
Miss Marsh becomes engaged to marry
Sir Charles Somerville.
Through it all the illustrious prince is
imperturbable, kindly, courteous, consid-
crate, interested In the murders with
no more than the Orientafs ordinary in
tcrest in death. All the while the web
OF evidence is getting very tangled, with
more than few strands leading directly
to the prince. Mr.. Coulson, really bear
err of dispatches himself has returned
from Paris and has long, serious talks
with the high cabinet officials of Great
Britain.
The prince is about to return japan.
Society signs and urges him to stay. but
duty calls. Inspector Jacks follows the
closer on his clews.
That, all that above, is sufficient, more
than sufficient, to give you an idea of
the vehicle that Mr.. oppenheim has used
this time in writing what this reviewer
thinks is the best Of his novels; that Is,
the best written in the past few years.
Tho Industrious Prince Is most inter-
esting. 1t is a book you Will care to
finish If you begin it. And 1t is book
worth beginning, too.
no
milan Coz Z
IT was born in the working class. Early
/ discovered enthusiasm, ambition and
ideals: and to satisfy these became the
problem of my child-life. My environ
ment was crude and rough and raw.
had no outlook but an uplook rather. My
place in society was at the bottom. Here
life offered nothing but sordidness and
both of the flesh and the
shirt. for here flesh and spirit were alike
starved and tormented. Above me tow
cred the colossal edifice of society, and
to my mind the only way out was up |
Into this edifice I early resolved to |
climb
1t is with this attractive frankness
that Mr. London opens his discussion OF
what Life Means to Me"-in his latest
volume OF essays. entitled Revolution.
There are Is papers in all In this DOCK
and they represent some of the ques-
tons of modern society which have
seemed to Mr.. London in his varied ca
reer to be vital. The first paper is Rev
olution." and is a plea for socialism, |
beginning in this striking manner: Il
letter the other DAY. 1t was
from man in Arizona. 1t began Dear
Comrade' 1t ended Yours for the Revo- |
luton / replied to the letter and my |
letter began, Dear Comrade.' 1t ended |
Yours for the Revolution In the United |
States there are 100000 men. of men and
women nearly 100000, who begin their
letters Dear Comrade and end them
Yours for the Revolution and so on,
until Mr.. London, writing in 1900, ADDS
I'D 900 men and women IN the world
doing the yours for the Revolution
rah, rah, rah, boom-de-ay, dear COM
rade" act, and who were going lmmeoi-
ately to call the Capitalist Glass, dod-
CAST them! to account. II you are one
Of those awful capitalists or parasites
we read about these days, Mr.. London
will frighten you when he tells you
what he and Dear Comrades 100000
strong are going to do to you, all right
II
But REVOLUTION the book, does not
contain alone, ideas Of a socialistic ma
ure. There is section on Alaskan gold
liggers, one on criticism of the animal
,sychology Of John Burroughs and Theo-
lore Roosevelt and one about Gorky and
xipling.
That Mr.. London's personality is in
eresting is fact that goes without say
ng and that as writer he interests
thoroughly in whatever he produces is
equally true. His new volume Is no ex- |
.eption to Mr.. London's rule; you don't |
rave to agree with him to enjoy him.