The Washington times., 1922-07-02
OLD BOOKS THAT
HAVE ETERNAL
YOUTH
Tarkington's Romance OF a
Masquerading Prince and a
Naughty Lady Popular Now
as When First Published.

Lists or the DOCKS tha'
were the hot centers Of tea.tablc
discussion ten. twenty or thirty
years ago look as remote to us now.
as quaint and detached as the
tombstones in Revolutionary
graveyard. Their names sound
vaguely familiar, but most Of them
were as evanescent as the poets la
mented SHOWS Of yesteryear. Yet
now and again one comes upon a
book that has outlived its season,
one which holds as vivid an inter.
est for us as It did for its first read.
ers, because It has the imperish.
able vitality Of real art. Such
story is Booth Tarkinston's Mon
sieur Beaucaire."
Someone has compared to the art
Of watteau this well-nigh flawless
little pastel.Iike>sketch of the mas
ouerades of a small. fair gentle.
man." a radiant, exquisite eight.
eenth century prince. a Fresch
duke Of the blood.royal. who fled
to England to preserve his right to
romance, at first a "gamblist' bar
ber. then as the audacious Due de
Chateaurien. when he fell under
the lure Of gold and snow and the
blue sky Of a lady's eyes" Mon.
sieur Beaucaire" moves through a
tale whose only and complete ex-
cuse for being. says Mr.. Holiday.
"is the blitheness of it's mood. the
symmetry Of It's form. the rides
cent color Of its words. the swift
ness Of its action and the tingIing
vitality of It's form, that from star
to finish is a thing Of dainty wit
and well nigh perfect beauty"
When "Monsieur Beaucaire" was
published in McClure's Magazine.
twenty-five years ago, II came at
the height OF the romantic move.
ment and was joyously received.
The romantic movement died.
Books that had sold in hundreds OF
thousands were wrapped in obliv.
ion. but blithe Monsieur Beau
caire" weathered the reaction to
the gloomiest Of realism and Is still
vividly alive today.
Mr.. Harrington was twenty eight
years old when he wrote the story
of the barber and the beauty OF
Bath. That was twenty-five years
ago. He had written for John q
Dreams" precious" little maga
zine for the sophisticated taste. a
comedy, entitled The Kisses OF
Marjorie" and illustrated 1t with
a set OF pen drawings. As they
lay on his desk one OF the group
caught his fancy. A romance be-
gan TO take shape about the pen.
ciled figures Of the Major and En-
sign Gay. a tale Of another coun-
try and another day. which grew
into the story OF Monsieur Beau
SahS. Eot tWo yCoib
script lay In q desk drawer before
he ventured to send II to a publish.
er. At that time Mr.. Harrington
was writing plays for Richard
Mansfield and making q collection
Of notes Of rejection from the actor.
There was a goodly number of
publishers rejection slips also in
the desk drawer. Finally. in 1900,
the manuscript of Monsieur
Beaucaire" found it's way to Nc.
Clure's Magazine, was later pub
lished in book form and achieved
an instantaneous success.
Mr.. Harrington has travelled far
in the last twenty years. As satir.
list. humorist and poignant realist
he has become one OF America s
most distinguished authors. As a
dramatist he has produced many
successful plays. Twice he has
been awarded the Pulitzer Prize
for the most distinguished novel OF
the year. the most coveted honor
that an American novelist can win.
The years have ripened and deep
ened his art, but Monsieur Beau.
caire" remains as perfect in its
exquisite miniature form as any
work that has left his pen.
BOOKS to be published this
month by the Macmillan Com.
pany are Warwick Deeping' 9
new novel. The House of Adven.
ture;" DIR. Grenfells Labrador, "
in a new edition. with new ma.
terial; Causes and Cures for
Social Unrest" by Ross L. Fin.
ney; Reconstruction in France, a"
by William Macdonald: THE
Catholic Spirit in Modern English
Literature" by George N. Shus.
ter.
sfTHE CONQUEST" by Eva
Emory Dye Doubleday, Page
a Coz, Is the story OF William
Clark, the red.headed Virginian
born in the stormy days before
the Revolution. who with his