The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-25


 | household word.
 1 The sksange tales unfolded by tho distinguished American harytone move on through the dfab experiences Of l I boyhood devoid of music to the eN- citing Accomplishments of man high among the highest inihis chosen pro | ftssion.
 Nir. Bispham's "reminiscences are | feplete with anecdotes involving aanv famous artists of the operatc and theatrical world. These men and I women are shown as they are behind ;he scenes and in their daily life-de- lhghtful, intimate little glimpses of famous personalities.
 "T.EGEND"
 | By Clemence Dane. The Macmillan
 Company, publishers New York City. Here is the posth9mous life story | Of one of the most fascinating of fic- 1 ton heroines--a woman of genius, big of heart and mind, impulsve. prodigal 1 of herself and her great gifts. It Is an astonishlnglv real picture of a. character and a career and yet the 1 woman herself never appears in the 1 flesh to the readers view. One seea her through the eyes of others, chiefly l through the eyes of one who was pro- foundly jealous of her. With singular l vividneqs Madala Grey's true charac-  of the woman who tries to create a false legend of her genius.
 Miss Danes new novel strikes out in a sharp divergence of style and method from her previous work Her two former novels, "Regiment Of l Women" and First the Blade" placed ef definitely In that large class on I British uovelists iwho can write end- Ilessly about next to nothing with the T greatest and most admirable skill and cleyerness Her slightest and most diaphanous sort and her theme in each Of these novels was of the plot the Interest thread. But in each case she succeeded in writing a hundred thou sand or more words of description. f arrative. character analysis and char l aeter development that occasionally 1 Intensified into dramatic situation CT l incident And all of 1t was written with such skill and distinction and | artistry that the two novels Won for Ter many admirers in the United states. Tn England she was said to have been successful from the first. The new story is much shorter, hardly more than a long novelette,, and it gains much In strength, ara rnatic quality and impressiveness by the compression It is told more sim ply. with the effect of concealing the. very remarkable art with which it Is ! ''f It's basic simplicity The action covers 1 g single evening in the home of al woman writer in London upon one or her literary nights" when few lions of the tanner sort are gathered around l Ter fire. The subject of discussion is the career and character of woman novelist who has been one of the lrabitues of the Nights" and the inti- mate friend of the hostess. She has just died, and the hostess announces Ter intention of writing the "Life" of i, the dead woman. The story of the evening is written in the first person hy the young secretary and relative of the hostess. and .s tells in the sim rlest, most direct styis just what she lsaw and heard She makes herself ! a clear pane of glass through which the reader sees and hears these clever sophisticated, selfish, ruthless men and women destroying the womanly good repute of the dead friend and +author. building up by inference and , innuendo and suggestion and evil minded interpretation myth, a legend about her which besmirches Ter reputation as a woman and under } rates her gifts as an author--a legend l which it is evident the hostess intends to perpetuate in her biography. But islongside this conception of the dead woman which her false friends develop l. 20 arttuIly the authof cleNeriy Hlahe7 real and vital for the reader the true picture of ver. which also evolves out cf their talk and is evident to eyes less evl-seeing than theirs.
 -AA
 FAT THE SIGN OF THE RED SWAN IBy Ambrose Elwell illustrated by
 Reginald F. Boiles; Small. Maynard
 & Company publishers. Boston.
 At the Sign of ,the Red Swan by Ambrose Elwe1I, IS told in "the first person" and is a recital of events which have actually taken place in the life of the author-
 ..ro begin at the beginning as the story books say, Ambrose Elwell an Inounces that he was born on Christ mas day in the morning" on York's Island, near the Isle au Haut. off the coast of Maine, in the year 184S.
 As a boy he used Co fish, he says for Holsters, herring and other things and his father owned a sloop. which,h used in the same calling. The whole narrative is given with 2 simplicity even naivete which in some cases ac- ltually seems to increase the dramatic value of the adventures which marked itha authors life. His account of his
 beiag lost in dory from his shiI in a fog on the banks of Newfound land, without any flowery language is all the more thrilling for this very 4 lanother sailor, for several days. with out food or water. and they know the, lare drifting out to the broad Atlantic lWithout hope, unless they shall be ac lcidentslly picked up by some passing tyessel Their own ship has gone en- tirely. As a matter of fact. they are rescued by passenger vessel on its way to Liverpool and only just in time to save their lives All this is told ir tmatter-of fact even manner. whicl gives but Slight token of the dreadful straits the men were in. But the<pic
 ture of their distress is drawn SC truthfully and so entirely without ef
 fort to make it appear tragic that the horror of 1t stands out stark ans forceful., as it never would do witi more words than are employed. Thii l is the charm of the book through The author is content to let his nara.
 tive speak for itself Even when, aftel lgetting to Liverpool. and shipping or
 a vessel for voyage to Hongkong
 he swims ashore at certain port O.
 an English colony somewhere in tn,
 south seas. and later finds himsel charged with murder he never quick
 ems the pace of his storytelling. ",
 learn that at this colony--which is no exactly located because 1t might caus
 annoyance to people liying<-there
 a vile tavern known as the Red Swan der of an old man, Jew. who ha Here Elwell is charged with the mur
 money in his belt. For some reasol