Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-10-08

Roland. the empsror's son, plays a dual
role, of swordmAker and Of royal heir.
He manages his difYicu,t situations with
consummate skill and wins every stake
for which he plays in a manner to make
him one Of the most interesting OF ro-
mantle heroes. Mr.. Barr displays intimate
acquaintance with the lore Of the Rhine
In the course Of this pleasant bit Of
fiction.
THE HUSBANDS STORY; . Novel. BY
David Graham Phillips. New York:
D. Appleton & Co.
MIR. Phillips prefaces his narrative with
a brief note under the caption Why
which Ia in the form Of an explanation Of
the enterprise. The only answer that the
reader on finishing will give to this in
quiry is that Mr.. Phillips wished to write
another story-perfectly good reason In
itself without reference to- the manner
Of accomplishment. But there is a broad
er point Of view, that Of what Is called
society, and it is to be doubted whether
the response will be complimentary to the
work. This is a story OF two distinctly
unattractive, unwholesome, undesirable
who seeks to excuse his methods in
amassing an immense fortune on the
Adamic plea. 1t is true that the woman
In his case, his wife. tempted him to vio-
late every principle supposedly governing
upright citizens today. Consumed with An
ambition to rise and shine in the social
world, she scorned her humble relatives,
put them out Of view, utilized friends with
selfish disregard for their feelings and
finally threw over her own husband. who
richly deserved and actually welcomed
that fact. Sordid from beginning to end.
this Is the story Of a miserable human
mistake, valuable only il 1t may teach by
its aggregation OF disclosures the hol-
lowness and insincerity OF many Of those
who lead I'm the social and commercial
world today. 1t is written with all OF
Mr.. Phillips brilliancy Of style and un-
questionable skill in narration.
THE ROSE IN THE RING. BY George
Barr McCutcheon. author Of "Bev-
erly of Graustark," etc. illustrated
by A. ]. Keller. New York: Dodd,
Mead & Co.
A singular departure from the stories
with which Mr.. McCutcheon's name has
been identified is this tale OF CIRCUS life
few decades ago. It is a!skrictly
American story. with the scenes laid in
Virginia and New York, and it pulses
with visor and CLOVIS with color from the
outset. 1t is divided into two parts, the
first dealing with the adventures OF a
young fugitive from justice seeking ref
uge in q circus tent from his pursuers Of
the law, where he is engaged as an UNI
derstudy to the clown in order to conceal
his identity. His innocence established.
he returns to q position Of wealth. years
pass and he meets again his friends Of
the circus, chief Of whom, Of course, is q
girl, ''the rose in the rims" The latter
part Of the work is less convincing and
really less interesting than tho former.
and Mr.. McCutcheon has not shown his
usual dramatic skill in his flnal scene.
which IL abrupt and somewhat anti-cli-
mactic. But he has peopied his chapters
with some entertaining and widely diver
sified characters, old Joey Grinaldi, the
clown: Dick Cronk, the pickpocket; Col.
Grand, the unmitigated villain; Tom
Braddock, erstwfiie Snowman and victim
of drink and cards. With the same power
that he displayed in 'Graustark' and
the other tales Of European ROMANCE with
which his name is most closely identified,
Mr.. McCutcheon holds his readers inter
est unswervingly.