Evening star., 1914-11-08

props of his maturer years to the serv-
ice of the motherland, is Spartan
parent if ever there was one. Born in
Canada and trained in the United
States, England has been his home for
the past thirty-odd years, he and his
elder brother. both OF whom were mem
bers Of the staff of a Detroit newspa-
per. having come to London originally
to found the English edition of that
American newspaper which was carried
on successfully for SO many years. 1t
WAS only a comparatively short time
before Robert Barr's death, by the way.
that his younger brother began writ
ing under his own name. Previous to
that time, feeling that his kinsman had
a better right to the family name,
James Barr published all his work un-
Abbot" which speedily became well
known on both sides of the Atlantic.
OF recent years "the gods" to use
his own designation. have deaI. rather
hardly with Barr. While bidding him
goodbye at the gate three years ago
his wife, brilliant woman who had
rare ambitions for her talented chill
dren. suddenly dropped dead. Less than
year later Barr contracted spinal
rheumatism, which has sadly bent his
figure, and in February last he was
attacked by iritis, which has resulted
in the loss of the entire sight of his
left eye. This forced him to relin-
quish an important branch of his lit
which he carried on in an English
magazine. But he is still pegging away
almost as industriously as ever. and
turns out, all things considered, an
the form of short stories for which he
has a genuine gift.
James Barr shared to the full his
wife's keen ambitions for their children
From the first he encouraged them in
whatever artistic bent they developed.
What is more, he saw to 1t that they
should be surrounded by rare exam
pies of art. which is the reason that,
not exactly a plutocrat. he has de-
his as a rare collection of old Japanese
bronzes worth from ten to fifteen
thousand dollars that the South Ken
sington Museum. which has not its
like. has been trying for years to buy,
as well as certain valuable and beau
tiful old furniture and precious works
Of art. with the result that. together
eldest son. Allan Barr. which have
been exhibited in the Paris Salon, the
Royal Academy and elsewhere, they
are to be viewed today by the visitor
by the way. is of true transatlantic
heartiness.
The roll call of the Barr boys is as
follows: Allan, the artist. who is twen-
years number twenty-one. and Jimmie.
the bugler. who, in spite of the fact
that he Is only sixteen and not yet in
long trousers. Is at present a full
Aedged musician in his majesty's forces,
while the girls are Eva, Mariel and
Madge. named in the order of their
ages. OF all these the first named, on
the ground Of actual achievement, must
be described as the most distinguished.
though there is no saying that one Of
his brothers or sisters may not yet
surpass his already enviable and per-
haps unique record.
Allan Barr, who. by the time you
read these lines, may be fighting for his
country in France. is. In fact, perhaps
the most promising young painter and
etcher in England. and. in spite of his
youth, already has been paid the high
compliment Of having been chosen to
execute quite an important artistic
work in the United States. where he
soon showed his mettle. Certainly he
is the youngest exhibitor on record
here. having had a painting, a life-size
portrait Of his father In evening dress.
in the Royal Academy before he was
twenty-one, and likewise having been
represented by paintings and etchings
both at the Salon and at the exhibi-
tions Of the International Society of
Sculptors. Painters ana Gravers. an
even higher honor. He began painting