Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-11-07

oSopherS are comparatively neglig-
ible- However. one does not mind this
since the author has put up sue
.cession of star performances by this
specimen of biological evolution, the
modern Happier. This devastating crea-
ture, walks into these bright and
clever tales. and then walks triumph
antiy out again. Whimsical bits of
one moment with an elaborate gees-
ture of realism. and in the next with
true and beautiful touch of imag-
inatfon. Artful inventions of excep-
tional workmanship.
THE STRANGENESS OF NOEL CAR
TON. BY William Game New
York: G. p. Putnam'S Sons
One becomes deeply absorbed in the
hero of this tale, Noel Carton. who de-
cides to become a man of letters a
novelist. First. like all good novelists.
he hits upon plot Then it occurs
to him that Journal faithfully kept.
might prove a useful reservoir of fact
and suggestion from which to draw for
the development of his novel Grad
ually he gets lost in his literary crea-
ton. becoming to all intents and pur-
poses the hero of that tale, Nigel Car
ter. The journal and the novel become
as inextricably tangled as do the au-
thor and his hero. And the reader, too.
finds himself unable to keep the two
separate and distinct. He finds him.
self also in the strange current of
imaginary things, things that are
diverting this man of letters from the
plain and sane walks of life. A Curl
ously vigorous and ingenious treatment
of d highly original plot.
ALSO RAN. By Mrs. Bailiie Rey-
nolds. author of The Loney
Stronghold" etc. New York:
George H. Doran Company.
An ambitious tale of involved plot
and many of the favors of an earlier
period of romantic fiction. The story
opens in a French hospital, where
three of it's important Characters
convalescent and two nurses-are in
troduced. From this point it shifts
to England, to become complicated
by the mystery of q haunted house,
an old family fading away under the
effects of curse, the violent death
Of one Of it's sons. the various agen-
cieS set in motion to discover the
murderer. Within this complex situ-
alton a love story takes it's rise and
follows a highly dramatic develop
ment by virtue of its connection with
the house that is in the hands of a
mysterious vendetta. With a good
degree of skill the author holds the
mystery in hand, deepening it step
by step, aid leading it to the sur
prising conclusion with which the
story opens out. finally, into the
smooth and tranquil ending of the
orthodox romance. The title of this
tale is misleading-that is. it is too
trivial for the involved and dramatic
action which it covers.
A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ITAL-
IAN PEOPLE, FROM THE BAR
BARIAN INVASION TO THE AT
TAiNMENT OF UNITY. By Janet
Penrose Trevelyan. With twenty
four illustrations and six maps.
New York: G. P. Putnams Sons.
The giant figures that rise above It.
aly'S passing centuries-men and wom-
en-. good and bad, but never Indifferent
are V1sloned with a realism that puts
yelled with a frankness that leaves no
shred of escape for rulers who would
have preferred that their faults die with
them. while all that is worthy receives
generous credit, entirely uninfiuenced by
history's national, theologic or political
Who's Who" 1t is this unbiased
treatment that makes the authors work
a source of authority, just as her de-
scriptive ability invests the volume with
captivating charm.
The student whose knowledge. gained
by study and travel. has been tucked
away in the back attic of his brain
to make room for current interests will
find refreshing renewal in each of the
nearly six hundred pages. while others
less addicted to informative literature
will be entertained and doubtless as
tonished at the splendid high lights and
somber shadows of an old-worid nation
that seems to be SO little known to
that multitudinous being, the general
reader.
Added to the compelling interest of
the text are maps. both colored and
in black and white. together with many
inf inn.
Goes from the galleries and palaces of
Rome, Florence and other art centers
each the work of a master whose fame
belongs to the world.