The New York herald., 1921-04-24

See here Jordan" said a member who had
not been present at the original discussion
whats all this / hear about your discovery
of great Russian author? Larrovitch,
think the name is. l can't place him. and
other fellows in the club who are interested
tell me they find no mention of him in any
of the reference books on Russian litera-
ture"
There are several others in the club
whose knowledge OF Larrovitch easily paral-
lels mine" said Mr. Jordan. II shall see
that you talk with them. Better still April
26 will be the one hundredth anniversary
of Larrovitch's birth. l think something
should be done about it."
Here let the writer of this surprising ad-
denda to the book annals of America. not to
speak of Russia, interpolate a personal
observation by Mr.. Jordan. He says:
In extenuation OF all that is about to be
revealed one thing is to be borne in mind.
When the affair began there was absolutely
no premedtation Absence of premedtation
affords a certain degree Of excuse In law.
Surely It should do so in a club.
THE Larrovitch hoax was directed at no
one particular person nor at any group of
persons. 1t just grew and grew. Having
gone so far as to invent an author IL was
only just to him that I should endow him
with good works. / did so. That Is about
all there is to Ii.
me l listened to those men talking. Nat
uraly I expanded, elaborated and improvised
at length as the interest of the audience de-
manded. But II would have amounted to
little in the end had il not been for the splen-
did cooperation OF Richardson Wright, editor
of Home and Garden. to whom. perhaps
most of the success of the centenary meet
ing and the later published volume is due, as
well as to the other writer's who Joined us
1c.ter 10 81
ated Iarrovitch a veritable paragon Of liter
airy style and lofty thought"
Thus giving due exploitation to Mr. Jor-
dams plea that there was nothing cold
blooded in his narrative and commending
his tenacity for sticking to his highly orig
inal story the reader shall next be intro
duccd to the gifted conspirators. One may
fancy Mr.. Jordan in secret formulating his
plans for a Larrovitch centennial celebration
and. like a modern Nick Bottom calling the
roll OF his supporting cast at midnight in
his own comfortable library. the following
high class plotters answering the roll:
Prof. Franklin II. Giddings, Of Columbia
University: Clinton Scollard, American poet
and educator; McCready Sykes who gave up
the law for literature and daily Journalism:
Richardson Wright editor. author critic
and correspondent who has spent much time
In Russia and Siberia: George s. Hellman
poet and author. editor of the letters of
Irving and Brevoort and of n volume of
verse by Robert Louis Stevenson Thomas
Walsh. critic and poet DR.. Titus Munson
Coan, physician author and once surgeon
In the United States navy
Next thing of Importance Is the fact that
not long after these meetings each member
OF the Authors Club received formal notifica-
tion Of a Larrovitch Centenary Celebration
to he held In the clubrooms
Socially and professionally the Larrovitch
fetc AT the Authors Club was everything that
& fete at the Authors Club ought TO be Be
fore the exercises began the guests made