Evening star., 1921-12-18
Reviews of New Books

liam Blake Leading all the rest is
"A Magnificent Farce" an outline re-
view of the trial of Warren Hastings
| from the standpoint of the present. a
| present that serves to modify the his
| tory Of Hastings, to throw his acts
into the greater illumination of pres
| ent standards of action. A remark
able story this, and amazingly put.
Macauley himself did not do it better
more soundingly, perhaps. but not
more clearly: more wisely. and-no,
not more eloQuently. The whole book
is delight, both in it's thought and
in its manner.
MORE ABOUT UNKNOWN LONDON.
By Walter George Bell, F. r. A. S..
author of Unknown London" etc.
illustrated. New York: John Lane
Company.
Another book on London designed
the regular round of London sights
into the unfamiliar field of odd cor
nerS and hidden hooks of historic in
terest. One goes with the author,
first. to Guildhall to hear the story
Of the great carved giants, Cog and
| the west wall of the great hall itself.
Symbolic figures that upon occasion
| step down to take part in cere-
monials. they remind that there have
been giants along the days of Eng
lands greatness. At Guildhall. too,
English naval battle-the one sent
by King Edward Ill in 1870 an
| nouncing victory at sea to his son.
Duke of Cornwall. "a garden Of
memories" a peaceful spot to look
upon. recalls the very place where
stood the scaffold on Tower Hill
where many a famous. and infamous,
iEnglishman paid his debt. Within
! the tower one reads the letter of
Anne Boleyn to Henry VIII, a famous
letter Of great beauty and simplicity.
She it was of whom her jailor said.
'and to my knowledge thys lady hasse
meche joy and plesur in her dethe."
A happier chapter is that on the
street cries OF old London. and pic
lures of the homes of Oliver Cold
teresting book at every point to one
who feels the clamor Of London his
tory through the panorama of its
modern splendor.
SOLD SOUTH. BY William Almon
Wolff. New York: G. P. Putnam's
Sons,
! Pure adventure this. wherein Scott
/ Preston. a young American, takes
charge of a revolution in an obscure
! South American republic and runs it
| through to successful issue. The
enormous business interests OF old
John Preston had failed to catch the
for instance, the flying field of France
| during the war. He was irrespon-
sible and untrustworthy So John
, Preston shipped him south as secre-
| tary of legation in this remote post.
4 Great mines were being opened up
| there-John Preston's mines. by the
+. way. The exploitation of a country s
!
| issue, with the fors and aeainsts set
/ off against each other. From eco
nomics it passed into politics. with a
| lobby, paid by John Preston. and the
mercurial southern temperament run
! ming high. In the absence of his chief.
young Preston took hand. not on the
side of old John Preston and the
money interests. Just as he did in
| the air service, Scott Preston woke
| up. proving himself to be, not only
very wide awake, but to be. also, a
formidable opponent of the interests
story is full of excitement of the
! Latin American brand. Moreover. il
| gives. as well, most gratifying ac-
count of Scott Preston's leap into
efficient and brilliant manhood. Yes
| there is love story, good one. But
it is the revolution itself with this
! youth leading 1t that makes for good
! adventure.
NIGHTFALL. By Anthony Pryde, au-
! thor of Jenny Essenden." etc.
New York: Dodd. Mead & Co.
A real "Wuthering Heights" gloom
touches this story at points along it's
course. settling, finally. into gen.
eral effect that Is expressed f1ttingly
| in the title of the book itself. Set
| in an English village and country
side, the action proceeds out of the
| war as this event touched the three
| men who figure conspiculously here.
for great gallantry. Now as it turns
out this is an unmerited honor, but
the boy is under bond not to divulge
the truth. The shadow of this en-
velops him in a mystery that his
| friends feel, but for which there is
three, land proprietor at home and
an officer in the army. came back
hopelessly crippled. Hatred and re-
sentiment possess him and show
| themselves in daily acts of malignant
| cruelty. The third man. an English
wears son to his false position of
heroism. An obnoxious fellow all
around, hard and malicious. That is
/, the impression that Mr.. Pryde makes
him give out at first. Then, at the
last, he turns out to be the successful
l
tardily generous and benevolent
being. One finds himself a bit dazed
by this swift about-face of the au-
| thor. though he does concede that.
with this exception. the writer has
made a fairly Interesting story out
of pretty unpromising material.
TROUBLE-THE-HO BY Kate
| Jordan. author of THE Next Cor
ner", etc. Boston: Little, Brown
| & Co.
! One can imagine the dismay Of a
! conventional father and mother at
having hatched out Susy Gilvarry, or
'.Trouble-the- House." as she came to
be called, feelingly. by driven fam
| lily. Resolute. curious and imagina-
/ tive, with a flare of achievement to
her account, Susy Gilvarry turns life
into high-geared drama Of perpetual
suspense. Sunday school, day schooi
and home are the field Of turmoil Gre
ated by "Trouble-the-H House" For a
book length one goes along In full