New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-04-30
P24Lo By
bOORS Hcyvood Broun

Health books, we And, have a ten
dency to use questions as titles. Often
they are difficult to answer. We were
never able, for instance, to think up
anything adequate for the one called
Why Be Fat? which came in last
week. The latest in the list, however,
Is less perplexing. John B. Huber's
volume Is called Why Die So Young?
(Harpers.) To which it is easy enough
to say "Well, we don't insist on it,"
Anyhow. We hope the good doctor isn't
talking to US.
Irony may be carried to unusual
lengths, but one hardly expects to find
it in dedications. DR.. Huber's dedica-
ton for Why Die So Young? is ITO
My Wife's Mother, Young at Four
score, With Warm Affection"
What with the various new Jobs
which are being created, some enter
prising university should found a
School Of Censorship. 1t might, most
tittingly, be summer school, and the
college yell without question will be
"Carnal yell! yell carnal!"
Here in America many Of US have
fallen into the careless habit of talk
ing as if the short story which turns
on a surprise in the last line is ex-
clusively tho trick of o. Henry. AS
matter of fact, there are many older
examples of this technique. Indeed.
one Englishman Of O. Henry's gener-
alton has not only used the trick end
ing almost rs consistently az o. Henry,
but, to our mind. employed it more
skIllfully. OF course, Leonard Merrick
is the man We have in mind. Chair
on the Boulevard has just been brought
out by f. P. Dutton in a new edition,
and it contains some of the most in
genious of Merrick's whiplash endings.
Notable among stories Of this sort is
the opening one, "The Tragedy of
Comic Song" which seems to us one of
the best Of this type which we know.
For good measure there is also the last,
called "The Infidelity of Monsieur Nou-
lens" but this is built on plan some
what more familiar to short story read
ers, and we are not willing to guaran-
tee the surprise, as we are only too
ready to do in the case of "Tho Trae-
edy Of Comic Song"
To the credit of Merrfck it should be
added that several of the best of the
short stories in the volume do not de-
pend on the trick alone. That is only
a fillip to tale which is often amusing
before the surprise cuts it off at the
end. Merrick has a pleasant touch in
light dialogue, and he creates atmos-
phere In brief space with little effort.
TO be sure, the Paris of the poet and
the musician and the friendly rrisette
and all the rest of it is not particularly
true or even convincing. But it Is
pleasant, and the bohemian tradition ia
sufficiently we'll established to pass
tho Invisible censor" in tho mind Of
the reader without much trouble. I'm
derneath his humor Merrick carries
case after case of heavy sentiment,
none Of it less than 100 per cent proof.
All his poets and painters have the
jolliest sort Of time in starving. One
almost aches with disappointment at
such rare times as good fortune assails
them and the realizationis forced home
that ali their happy days are ended.
Perhaps 1t is little captious to OBJ
ject too much to the rather conven-
ttonal tmosphere Of Partisan bohemia
which Merrick has adopted for his
stories. For all We know, that may be
part Of the joke. And It is generally
merry Joke which he tells. He wastes
no time. Background 10 done in one