Evening star., 1921-02-13

in the storm of suspicion attending
| the death OF Borrowdale. At this
point the story becomes important
For. from this point on it is study
Of two people of superior quality
There is no doubt about their low
ing each other. They admit it. 1t is
their fine behavior under this handi-
cap of forbidden affection that lifts
the story out of the common avenue
Of mere self-pleasure and fronts it
upon the few great loves that stand
out at rare points in the develop
ment Of the human toward a greater
selfesSnesS. Mr.. Dawson has a beau
tiful writing medium. He is serious,
in seeing. close to all life. sensitive.
intellectual. and possesses. as we'll.
fine artistry in the choice and neighbo.-
ing of words.
LADY LILITH. BY Stephen McKenna.
author of Midas and Son" etc.
New York: George H. Doran Com
pany.
1t appears from the advertisement
that Lady Lilith" is not book at all.
1t is merely Part One" with two other
parts to follow-all combining under
the single head, The Sensationalists."
This fact explains the quality Of Lady
Lilith.' This is the quality of thinness.
with an effect of unfinish The story
is not thin. certainly. in, directions
where Mr.. Mckenna has already
demonstrated such an admirable skill
in polite English settings. in clever
personalities. in shrewd and substantial
appraisals. in competent portrayalS. it
is the heroine herself. Lady Barbara
Neave-the Lady Lilith of the story
who thins the matter out to system
of self-repeating behaviors. Such girls
as Lady Barbara exist. There is no
be made to carry the brunt of the
whole to-do. No girl barely out of her
! teens can possibly sustain the role of
Siren or Circe or Helen or Lilith or
| another of the mythic destroyers of
the souls of men. Even a grown wom-
stage OF existence she was--say, Cleo
patra-is sroteSque. possibly amusing
for moment but deadly boresome be-
yond that. But when girl.-just a
sirl-gets into this kind of BRAIN
storm, it is solitude for her-brcad
ing, If need be. We are not without
hope here-hope that the two remain
ing parts Of The Sensationa lists" will
give both Lady Barbara Neave and
stephen Mckenena a chance, each-the
one to justify himself in our affections.
and the other to have become chasten-
ed to really clever sensationalist.
BULLDOG DRUMMOND. BY Cyril
McNeile. author of "The Human
AA' SeS. &NCW TtOTR6
Doran Company
present that early device of intense
speeding up with it's absurdly nom
sensical effect. But this is not a
comedy film. Instead, it is novel
which with perfectly straight face
offers all the ingredients of COM
plete tragedy on every second page.
And. what is more. il gets away
/ with it One, reading. goes along
with Drummond. squeezing out of
one tight place by no more than a
hairs breadth, only to drop into an
convinces him that this is the last
OF Drummond, and he whips up his
own mind to see if he can possibly
help the fellow out. To be sure.
this is all illusion-but it's good il
lusion-good enough to excite the
reader. from about the third page to
the last one. to a complete partaking
of these packed and pressed down ad-
ventures. Drummond. you see-Capt.
Drummond-finds life a~pretty sapped
and stale matter after his somewhat
SO. as matter of course. he is look
ing around for worthwhile things to
do. An impossible but altogether
captivating band Of red revolu-
tionaries comes to his hand-and
thereafter Drummond has not a mo-
this is no makesh1ft hero. thrown to-
gether from the odds and ends of
writer's ungoverned imagination.
Nothing of the sort You'll not be
able to resist Drummond. with his
humor. and his cool blood. and his
astonishing versatility and resource
Not a scrap of truth or believability
in the whole thing-but it is better
than drab truth. For it actually en-
lists one IN its absurdities, to the
deliberate reputation of mere con-
sistency and the other anxieties of
the novelist OF scientific Photographic
method.