The New York herald., 1921-04-24
Authors Club Gains Fame by Recognizing Larrovitch

through the open window. He raised him
self with difficulty, leaned on arm, and
listened. Assassination of Alexander IL were
the unbelievable words that he heard Alex
ander. the great reformer, the liberator Of
the serfs, had been killed. Falling back
upon his pillow he murmured, oh, my poor.
blinded countrymen; oh. the folly of 1t and
the shame! You have put out the light of
Russia's liberty'-then silence. The great
heart of Larrovitch stilled forever"
The tribute of McCready Sykes, who
pointed out Larrovitchs place in Litera-
ture," was scintillating piece of mock criti-
cism. For instance:
"1n 1870, after his return from Paris Lar
rovitch published what Is usually, and |
think rightly, regarded as his magnum opus.
BARN! BARN Master! Master!'--a work
so vast so tersely compact. so expressive
that 1t Is one of the most elusive. most
difficult of analysis. The strange character
of Dmitri Trepoff. the old chemist with his
troup of whistling marmots is used the
symbolic leitmoHf. In an old retort from
his laboratory Dmitri has imprisoned the
principle of life, and the weird. bizarre
figure moves through the story. transform
ing the country group of children with
wave of his curious bottle. stealing to the
throne room of the Emperor and leaving
the bewildered courtiers with blanched faces
and quaking knees the effect of his presence
is intellectually diffusve.' to use George
Elot's phrase"
button to the symposium was Some Trans
lations from Larrovitch." consisting of half
a dozen short extracts from novels in which
the Russian author stood forth preeminently
stylist. philosopher and realist The
distinguishing feature of George Sidney
Hellman's paper entitled Three Incidental
Poems of Larrovitch" was Siberian
Marching Song"
Battle songs at such time as this. when
the whole world discusses disarmament are
quite likely to be passed over unnoticed yet
here Is one should like to commend to the
attention of some serious composer as con-
tanning such ingredients as would infiame the
emotions of creative harmony. The author
of THE Two Grenadiers" inspired Schumann.
For all that the Russian warrior nowadays
has been stripped of glamour and shredded
of his barbarically picturesque defiance of
death in a religious devotion to sovereign
and country, Larrovitchs siberian March
ing Song" with its military cadences and
sonorous passages of blood and iron, is of the
calibre to stir the talents of any musician
whose gifts for composition are tinctured
strongly with sense of the dramatic-Vic-
tor Herbert. for instance.
II is feeble praise to say that the Five
Larrovitch Letters read by Thomas Walsh
are worthy OF being made into a brochure
for general circulation, so charming
they In fancy and so flawiess In simple
diction.
The volume containing the papers read at
the Authors Club Larrovitch celebration has
been supplemented by a chapter on "A Lar
rovtch Foundation" by James Howard Bridge
and photographed Notes" compiled by
Arthur Cotton. who gives a complete list OF
the Russians novels In the order of publica-
ton, with an English translation OF their
titles and synopses of the stories There is
also a persuasive table OF reference books
by Gustave Simonson for students OF Rus
sian literature who desire to acquaint them
selves further with the works OF 'Larro-
Witch"
But one fault may he urged with this list
Of most attractive titles. n II that not one
Of the hooks Is 60 be obtained In any library
In the world.