The Washington times., 1922-04-23

aSC " SosIs
the words Of the rising star. You
might" he says call me the tragic
comedian" And the interviewer
says, Again I saw that this actor
is set apart from the run Of his
brethren by an almost uncanry
gift for introspection. He has
ruthlessly analyzed himself. He
knows, as he put 1t. what God
meant him to be- Was there a
hint of poor Cyrano?" And Mer-
tons last words, giving the inter
view it's triumphant touch, are tn"
words he had always said in his
day.dreams. II want you to tell
your readers that this little woman
is more than my wife-she is my
best pal; and. I may also add. my
severest critic"
Well, as we insinuated above. the
moving picture business provides
a wonderful opportunity for the
exercise of Mr. Wilson's keen but
good-natured humor, and he has
made excellent use of 1t. His criti-
cisms are aptly calculated for his
purposes; on occasion he out.
burlesques the widest scenarios
that ever emanated from the brain
OF a Hollywood Shakespeare. AS
for Merton, he is a far more subtle
creation than either of his prede.
cessors, Bunker Bean or Ruggles
Need more be said?
"KINGs OF THE MISSOURI"
by Hugh Pendexter Boobs-
Merriln. is the romance of the win
ming Of an empire-of the explorA-
ton Of the Great West that later,
with the development of steam
boat travel on the Missouri, was
responsible for a quarter Of a
million square miles of the Oregon
territory being settled by Ameri-
cans.
Mr.. Pendexter has made a good
Job Of It, in the form of a stir.
ring tale of strenuous adventure,
with some good historical back
ground.
He has made skillful use Of some
real characters among his guides
and trappers, and his history is
ION straight"-at least enough for
the uses of fiction. There is no
lack Of excitement: duels, murders,
ambushes, pitched battles are thick.
ly strewn over the whole narra-
tive. The first man killed doesn't
stay dead, but comes alive again
Unexpectedly and has to be MUIR
dered all over again. But he was
bad enough to justify that. Mr..
Pendexter gives full measure; his
style Is respectable and his plot
holds ones attention. A good story
OF its kind.
"THE MAN IN RATCATcH-
ER," Is a volume of quite
excellent short stories by Cyril Nc
nellie. better known as "Sapper."
author Of Bull Dog Drummond."
To any who saw that very thrilling
melodrama the present volume is
exactly what they might expect
from its author.
Many Of the stories contain very
real thrills and others are touched
with rather ordinary pathos.
They are essentially stories of more
or less normal people. and they
embody the ideals of the man in
the street, which fact, in a way,
constitutes their appeal and their
lack OF greatness.
Sapper is an Englishman, and
these stories belong to the Merri.
man type Of late Victorian tales
dealing with strong, silent men,
full Of quixotism and chivalry,
though their slang and idiosyncra-
sizes, Of course, bring them up to
date.
They do not pretend to great
psychological analysis. nor are
they profound studies Of character.
but they have good plots that are
completely worked out and make
good reading.
A RTHUR o. FRIEL, author of
a "King-ofKearsarge," at pres.
ent is making his way up the ORR.
noco river, through the interior of
Venezuela and into British Guiana.
with the hope of getting in touch
with the last OF the Old Carib In.
dians, who are now almost ex.
tinct. The trip is a long, hard one
by jungle rivers, and especially so
for one man, for he Is going alone
except for native paddlers. The
trip will probably take more than
six months