Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-28
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

mendous thing. denying the implication
that rests in the title of these tales.
for there are, there can be, no rulers,
even OF the surf of the sea These
realistic stories recall grlzZled life-
saver of the Atlantic coast, his whole
| life spent in trying to come at the
meaning and moods of the sea. In the
| faint hope that he, at least. might have
learned his way 10 confidence In II, we
asked, Are you afraid OF tue ocean,:
| There was no delay at all in the out
springing, grim. 4 be-" of his answer:
| Fine. true stories these of heroes and
| heroic deeds.
THE PURCHASE PRICE; or. The
Cause Of Compromise. BY Emerson
Hough. author of THE Mississippi
Bubble etc. Illustrations by Nj.
Leone Breaker and Edmund Fred
erick. indianapolis: The BoDps-
| Merrill Company.
| Did not the Ohio and MISSISSIPPI
rivers run as waymarks through the
geography of this story, 1t would De
| easy to accept some brigandiy corner
of Europe, or Asia even, as Its stage
Were/it not by name and date assigned
to American politics and hlstory-With
| fights between free sellers and bond, IN
the state of Missouri and roundabout
| it would pass readily as purely
Il
Adventures of the heroic type, many,
diverse and daring, in the days "hen
heroism and lawlessness were one, cap
every page and crown every chapter.
A countess of French name ana the
earlier French woman's habit of pot
tering around in politics. reVolutlon-
list. a tTebrand of freedom anu, "
course, indescribably beautiful, is the
outset, this avowedly dangerous lady
appears. a prisoner, held In thraIl py
a young officer commissioned 10 con-
duet her to safe distance from WASH
ington. where she IS TO De SCI opm ara
much as is an abandoned cat. On board
the boat however, the officer ungallant-
w puts her up as the stake in. a game
of poker. and, losing. passes her over
to the winner. Missouri ieglsiator.
Thereafter the beautiful countess
moves, openly or secretly. consciously
or unconsciously. the center and Impulse
of combats. intrigues ana mysteries
past counting. The story hoiuS plenty
of excitement and is not without good'
even high points. or dramatic Interest
The historic atmosphere IS attenuate'
unbreathable. The structural eHect IS
that parts of several stories are mere
forced into uncongenial and resistant
companionship. A touch of personal IN
terest lies in the dedication: Io non.
Albert ]. Beveridge, a Progressive In
the Cause of Actual Freedom
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. BY
C.ston I.eroux author of 1.-The Mys-
terry Of the Yellow Room. etc. IL
Illustrated by Andre Castaigne. new
York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company.
NJ Ieroux's method of telling this tale
of mystery is almost as fantastic as the
storv itself He chooses an involute proc
ess for setting forth the various impress
sions created upon the minds of the par
ticipants in this weird tragedy of the
Paris opera house, seeking at all times
to create the impression In MS reauer )
mind of verisimilitude and historical &C
curacy. AS a matter of fact, it Is unnec-
essary to do this. The tale imposes no
demand upon the credulity, for II war.
rants none. and it. seems waste OF
strength and space for the author to IN
sist from time to time upon the plausl-
bility and authenticity of his narrative.
The story deals with the extraordinary
doings of creature known as the opera
ghost that infested the opera house OF
Paris generation ago. The ghost was
freakiSh fun maker, a terrible enemy,
shrewd bargainer. He exacted from the
management of the opera an immense
sum annually as tribute, besides the per-
petual privilege of occupancy or a GER
tain box. Upon change OF manage
ment troubles began. and NJ. Lerouxs
story deals chiefly with the terrible ex-
perience of a young nobleman deeply In
love with one of the leading singers OF the
opera whose misfortune ii was to have
won the questionable affections of the
opera ghost. NJ. Leroux assures his
reader at the outset that the ghost was
a creature of flesh and blood, and his
explanations at the conclusion OF his
vivid and interesting tale are sufficiently
satisfactory. He has presented story
that will command attention. while Andre
Castaigne has contributed a series OF ap-
propriately grewsOme and attractiveiy
colored illustrations which are printed In