Evening star., 1913-11-29

the Union to commemorate her century
of birthdays. A classic feature of this
| celebration of 1899 was the three-act
drama which gives its title to the present
volume and which is the first OF a series
of plays which the author has dedicated,
with affectonate memories to the con-
vent alumnae. A foreword explains that
"Hermine'' came into being to celebrate
the second centenary of Blessed Margaret
Mary, the seraphic nun Of the Visitation.
and that Hearts of Gold-True and
Tried was composed at the request of
certain young convent seniors who wished
to honor Washington's birthday with a
dramatic performance. An ecclesiastical
reception with Cardinal Gibbons and the
apostolic delegates as honor guests, was
the motive for ''The Church's Triumph,
and 1.-The Angels Feast "commemorated
the golden jubilee of sanity VISITATION
nun and was performed within the pre-
cincts of the cloister." THE Star OF Beth
lehem," as the title indicates. was writ
ten for the feast Of the epiphany, ana
'The Angels Meeting made portion OF
the program or the nrsl MaIyIaio my ny
proclaimed by Cardinal Gibbons The
final play, "A Georgetown Reunion and
What Came of It. formed part or an
entertainment in honor Of the present
apostolic delegate, and. while equaLiy m
teresting, differs from the previous dramas
in that 1t is written In prose instead OF
the stately measures of blank verse. Each
play is lofty in conception ana All eA
press the pure ideals inculcated py the
clustered teachers Of the venerable con-
vent the author herself being nun.
AMERICA AS SAW TT, or America
Revisited. BY Mrs: AlecoFweeuae, es,,
Woman's Life With many illus
trations. New York: The Macmillan
Company.
To see ourselves as others see us IS
an accommodation almost daily Offer
ed by visiting foreigners who go home
and put us in books. And then sell us
copies The author, in her 'cubist i'm
preston picture of q great country.
admits in advance that she loves Amer
lea, cher women. her oysters. her grape
fruit, her rivers. her roses, her ex-
press elevators and her quaint ways,
her eager life, her kindness to the
stranger within her gates, and-dare l
say it-her serene satisfaction with all
and everything American"-and not
one foreword about her men! This
neglect is atoned for in a chapter,
Where Are the Men," in which. with
cartoons and the ways of the Amer1-
can brother at her finger tips, she ex-
plains that he is forever OH somewhere
ginning. and when criticisms bob up
now and then, one must grant to the
author the right of her conV1ctlons'
since she has travelled over the coun-
try several times and gained ner y,ew Ts
points of American life from the look
out heights provided by Americans OF
influence and wealth.
Just to glimpse the nearly 800 PAGES
is to learn that money counts far oeyond
brains i'm America-that American hustle
is a myth 1t is merely false haste.
america is q vast advertising machlne-
One wonders If there is any square inch
Of America that will not some day be
crowded by a Billboard Also, We lead
| rsrta
house there are no doors between rooms.
Privacy there is none. All Irritation is
done in public" "Among the lower classes
one is continually noting the good clothes
and the bad Manners "One is often
struck in these days by the fact that
poverty and refinement are twin sisters,
while money and vugarity run in double
I harness" In a chapter on "Clubland and
Chatter" there is a deal of truthful
pungency concerning the amateur lee
turer from whom the most of US have
suffered, and her idea of todays freak
dances are that they are vulgar. sug-
geStive and not even artistic to look
upon This strikes her being a pity,
as 1.-The men and women of America
dance extremely we'll"
There isn't a line Of cruel criticism in
the whole book-though it beeins and
ends with the assertion that "hyper-sen-
sitiveness is an American SIM which
looks like rubbing it in-and not the
| first word to imply the all round supe-
riority of the authors own John Bull.
MARKETS FOR THE PEOPLE; the
Consumers Part. By J. w. Sullivan