New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-07-16
Roolo By
DOOPS Heywood Broun

The novels of Leonard Merrick go
long way in reconcilng US to the con-
stltutional establishment of the single
standard of morals proposed by Will
liam Jennings Bryan. Merrick's world
is a hard one for women. His men
starve Economically in pretty poverty
Their dingy haunts are of the gayest.
Bad luck only adds to their merriment.
So it is, too, with the Kikis and Mi
gnons, but Merrick's good women are of
much more fragile stuff. Although in
variably English, they grow pale and
woebegone just as easily in London as
in Paris. The author never gives them
any fun at all. A harsh word makes
them tremble, but they fear kindness
even more. When they are not starv-
ing they are futtering confoundedly
because somebody has spoken to them.
With half of "When Love Flies Out
O. the Window" behind us, we are en-
tirely out of patience with Meenie Wes-
ton. There is no denying, of course,
that Meenie had hard time. Well
paid singing teachers told her that she
possessed great voice, but when her
father died she found that the best
she could do was an engagement in the
chorus, and not always that.
After months without work she
signed contract to sing in what she
supposed was a Partisan concert hall,
but it turned out to be a dingy cabaret.
Worse than that, Miss Weston found
that between songs she was supposed
to sit at table and let chance patrons
buy her food and drink. 1t was not
much of a job and Miss Weston re-
fused to mingle with the audience.
Then one night the villainous pro-
prietor locked her out of her dressing.
room and she was forced to venture
down among the customers.
Up to this point our sympathies were
generally with the heroine, except at
the point, back in London, where the
author recorded, "Miss Joyce proposed
that they should drink luck to the
undertaking and have "a glass of port
wine The girl (our heroine) had been
in the chorus too long to be startled
by the suggestion"-
1t seemed to us that there was moth.
ing particularly horrifying in the sug-
gestion, even if it had been made to
a young lady who had never been on
the stage. Despite this clew to Miss
Weston's character, we were disap-
pointed and surprised at her conduct in
the Paris cabaret. She sat first with
her one friend in the establishment,
who was kindly but hardened cabaret
singer She did her best for Meenie,
but she did not understand her. "That
any girl could tremble at the idea of
talking to strangers across a table and
imbibing beer at their expense was be-
yond her comprehension"
Our sympathy lay with the cabaret
veteran rather than with Meenie. Of
course, we did not expect Miss Weston
to enjoy her predicament, but when
man asked her, care you going to sing
AS Once in May tonight" we could
not quite see why MIR. Merrick found
it necessary to report the fact that:
"She started, and the man told him
self that he had really stumbled on a
singular study.
EYES, she faltered."
To US it seemed simple question
simply put. After all, it was fortunate
that the young man did not begin with
"Will you have drink" Brutal and
insulting language. of that sort would
certainly have sent Meenie straight
into Mysteries. Even when the young
man dropped in the next night there
seemed to be nothing in his converse
ton to alarm our heroine excessively,