The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-09-04

Perhaps as good an explanation OF
why England is making no Roadway
In the war and has not yet awakened
to An understanding of what 1t means
to her a. can be given will be found
in Sir A. I. CUTLER COUGHS "Nicky-
Nan. R~eservist" (Appletons). Around
the story of a stubborn fsherman's
struggle against ejectment and his
troubles with a treasure he finds, with
the Of the villagers on hts
queer behavior, all told with vigor
and rough humor. the author has ar
ranged his pictures OF how men of all
conditions received the news that war
was declared M his own opinions
about many phases OF that beginning.
There Is life in his Cornish fisher folk.
though he makes his village gossips
much too malicious. but he shows
up the selQshness and lack Of public
spirit of the business men. the dull In
ability to understand the change in
the ordinary routine OF life on the part
of the lower classes. the total absence
OF m idea 81 working together for a
common object. the slow awakening
OF any sense of patriotism In men who
are ready enough to perform the
duties set before them. He writes out
sermons and speeches in full and
shows his contempt for the readiness
to talk and the inability to act or to
Contrlve. A realistic description of
the psychological state OF a people
which may not rouse itself In time
gives its chief value to d tale which
Is entertaining enough and which
makes known to us some delightful
men. nm and children. y. has
done a service TO his country by
this presentation II truth that may
be unpalatable even II his honest.
outspoken frankness may be mlsun-
derstood.
The blight OF the moving picture
play lies ON what might be a pretty
story. Rags" By Edith Barnard
Delano tAppletonsJ. II is much bet
ter than the usual "novel!zed" play
and is told with dash and d~irectness.
but the successive incidents are OBJ
vlously arranged fvr the camera,
which accounts also for the crudeness
OF the melodramatic portions. particu-
larly at the end. Tho wild child OF
nature awakening to the conscious
ness that she is a woman is, however,
charming; the hero Is manly and the
telegraph operator is too good to be
turned into a mere deus eN machina.
The story will be read with interest
and with regret that 1t was sacrificed
for the films.
A good start is made by Francis
Lynde in THE Real Man" ,Charles
Scribner's Sons) when he Jerks his
hero suddenly out of his comfortable.
respectable life and turns him into a
homeless tramp. The process Of re-
habilitation after he is thrown on his
own is by n means SO In
teresting. The reclamation scheme
In which he becomes engaged and the
intriSues that are directed against il
are too confused for the reade TO fol-
low readily: engineering difficulties
are mixed up with the iniquity Of the
methods Of INSCRIPTIONS capitalists
an unpleasant echo OF the undertaking
magazines. Moreover, in fighting
them the hero's tactics are fully as
dishonest as these OF his opponents
they are those Of promoters who
properly land in jail. 81 that 1t is diff
iicult to sympathize with him. His
struggle with the violence Of the prim-
tive man likewise seems artificial
The author does O keep up the in
terest OF his less ~pretcntious begin
ming.
Tn "Alloy of Gold" (McBride, Mas
and Company Francis William Sulli-
van works out much the same idea
differently and with less literary skill
A rich young man. full OF ideals and
Of kindness toward others. finds on,
suddenly hat his father. whose
memory he worships. had committed
a d~isgraceful act, that his best frienC
has swindled him and that the cir
10 whom he is engaged has deceived
him shamefully. This naturally I'm,
bitters him. but he Is taken in hanC
by another girl. who gradually makes
him look at life sensibly. Moreover
he sets to work. which completes his
cure. The author makes his here
a charming fellow and not priggish
and both girls bright and attractive,
he has succeeded in making his eooC
people pleasantcr than his bad, which
Is no mean feat. There is perhaps toe
much explanation in the story ant
certainly too much baseball, but II Is
entertaining in spite Of its strong
moral tone and reads easily.
A capital mystery story with no crime
attached Is imbedded in Ida clyde
Clarke's Record No. 33" lAppletonsl
If the reader holds out through tn,
sentimental o OF the amiablt
heroine. with her gramophone and hel
uncharitahlc %neighbors in a Ken.
lucky village, he will be startled Will
the liveliness of the proceedings IL
New York when she goes there t,
find the man whose voice she has
heard on the record. She Is suspected
by the record manufacturer of having
a record that is OF great Importance
to him, and the complications tina