Evening star., 1920-03-21

& Co.
A story as modern as next weeks
divorce calendar. The groundwork of
this up-to-the- minute invention is
supplied by a charming actress with
three husbands already to her ac-
count, and a fourth man waiting i'm
patiently to be booked in this rich
matrimonial register. The real busi-
ness of the story is to bring about.
finally, a remarriage between husband
No. 1. and this overspoused heroine:
Some task, you see. For not only must
there be a doing away with the fresh
aspirant, but there must be also a
decent covering of the trails of Nos
9 and 3. And men are inclined to be
finicky about many things. So, this
her hands. However. she is young and
confident. Therefore she goes about
the thing with no obvious mark OF
misgiving and. as matter of fact,
she does turn out very creditable
piece of work. Cannily. she puts her
main effort on the heroine herself.
knowing that it will take super
charms, indeed, to pass this lady OF
easy lapses through the rectitudes OF
custom into anything like a cordial
reception. An ingenious bit of VII
Iainy of oriental strain deepens the
hues of this already colorful tale
And a very youthful love story, be-
Sides plays second to this rather
hectic first. The whole is clever in
handling that lifts a really farcicai
foundation to the level of good
comedy that is by no means alien to
certain actual aspects of current So
cial life.
THE SPLENDID OUTCAST' BY
George Gibbs. author of THE Sc
cret Witness" etc. Illustrated by
George Gibbs. New York: D. APP
pleton & Co.
Paris is the setting of Mr.. Gibbs new
novel. The war is its immediate back
ground. Twin brothers, American SOL
diers, as alike in looks as two peas in
a pod, provide a good share of the
action and about all of the very con-
siderable mystery that the adventure
contains. The eminently worthwhile
qualities of the one and the utterly no
account nature of the other open the
way for puzzling line of action, based
on mistaken identity, that almost puts
to blush the amazing adventures OF the
famous Arsene Lupin. Mr.. Gibbs is
quite at home in setting up complicated
situations, and never more at home than
in this particular tale. Adroit and not
too obvious in his methods of olsen
tanglement, he provides the reader with
exciting entertainment through the
lightning changes of this thoroughly
good story of a wartime romance in
the fascinating city of Paris.
THE VARIORUM SHAKESPEARE;
King John. Edited by Horace How
ard Furness, jr., A. B.. Lift. D.
Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Com
pany.
This well known authority on
Shakespeare here offers to students
of this inexhaustible subject vari-
Drum edition of the play of King John
The basis of the study is the folio edition
nf MI Crrh To of
the drama itself are the findings OF
celebrated investigators. commenta-
tors and critics who have subjected
the folio text to recognized tests of
both internal and external evidence
as to the original source of this COM
position, it's true date and such other
matters as engage the powers of
special Shakespeare students. The
volume contains. also, the chronicle
or play from which king John" is
said to have been drawn. The ap-
pendix gives, besides, extended criti-
cisms of the play by Campbell, Simp-
son, Won Friesen. Swinburne and
others, together with its various in
terpretations by well known actors.
ARGUMENTS AND SPEECHES OF
WILLIAM MAXWELL EyARTS.
Edited by his son, Sherman Evarts.
New York: The Macmillan Com
pany.
brought lOSetneT mere IN tnree
volumes are the more celebrated ad-
dresses and arguments of William NJ.
Evarts To the general reader the
material offered here is history. pro-
ducing in peculiarly vital manner
problem after problem arising out of
the period following the civil war.
TO the lawyer and the law student
the books offer unsurpassed examples
of lucid and logical argument. sup
ported by preparation whose
breadth of scope and depth of pene-
tration set new standards of profess
sional equipment. AS language it
self the arguments stand as a model,
clear, luminous. versatile, and at nc
time descending to the arid levels
along which. as a rule, mere argument
wends it's wearisome way. The whole
voluminous as it is, will prove to be
a treasure house of fact and proce-
dure relating to an important period
in the development of this country.