The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-06-17

things. To tell the detailed story of the huge prank would require a page, but even an outline will serve to bring laughter and unalloyed joy to the countless throngs who subscribe to Mark Twain's famous dictum that "the Lord loveth a cheerful Iiar.'
 It is evening in the Authors Club which as you may or may not know is quartered in Carnegie Hall. The time early in the year 1918. Half a dozen churns are seated in the smoking room after dinner. In the group is gentleman of high intellectual attainment. one who has achieved things in his profes- sion, adro:t controversialist and a man who ever speaks with authority.
 As this man wittfly discourses on this topic and that there is another man sitting slightly apart from the group. though of it. If he partalles in the discussion it is as a commuter that is to say, he makes but in termittent trips into the conversation, al- ways returning to his easy chair on the outskirts of the gathering. His friends chide him for aIoofnesS. They call on him to 'sit in the game and wireless to him an inference that they would have him un- sheathe a apier with him of the uncanny book knowledge.
 With cIever semblance of being bored he accepts the challenge. Craftily he steers conversation into a channel of his own dredging and suddenly he fires question:
 Well, in that event, since you hold to such doctrine, what do you think of Larrovitch?"
 ''I never heard of him.
 'What! Never heard of Larrovitch." The tormentor gasps in amazement. Gentle men, surely you are Joking me"
 The challenged one remains defiant. Since you know so much tell us, please. who is this Larrovitch? What did he ever do?"
 After all. I am not surprised that you should be unfamiliar with the writings of this mental giant. In point of fact, his works are not widely known in this country. But since you ask the question I'll say that Feodor Vladimir LarrovitCh is really the father Of Russian literature Tolstoi Gorky. even Turgeniev, are mere echoes"
 What did he ever write. this Larrovitch ?''
 "Oh. CT, books. mean novels essays-and in his youth he wrote some virile verse stuff that showed the glowing fire of patriotism which so inspired him in all that he did,
 How is it you know so much about the writings of this unheard of Russian?" pur- sues the sceptic.
 My first acquaintance with his books dates back to 1909-no. it was two years be- fore, my first trip to St. Petersburg. as it was then called. I found French transIa- ton in a bookshop. and reading it became so interested I made point of looking up his other writings. They were not easy to obtain. Many of his books were burned when he was sent tc Siberia Still, did find two volumes done into English when I got to London.
 Tn Paris later I found a volume of his essays in French. and in Berlin I was so fortunate as to exhume in the municipal library two of Larrovitch's suppressed politi- cal treatises in original Russian and one of his longer novels translated into German
 The Larrovitch controversy became topic of spirited discussion in the Authors Club. About the time that the controversy was d its height MT Jordan dropped into the club one night a few weeks after the smoking room episode.