New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1922-09-03

IHn booksnop In town Where few
/ people wsnted to buy books, and went
| bankrupt. And there was
/ But "reminiscences grow sentimental
Met Tom Mason, the humorist. to-
| day, who told me lot about Harry
1 Leon Wilson, Charles Dana Gibson,
Howard Pyle, Irwin S. Cobb and other
/ old associates. -, Ran into New
ton Fuessle at lunch and promised to
send him the enthusiastic reviews the
English newspapers had accorded his
novel; Gold Shod." Sent Bob
Benckley clippings of the reviews of
the English edition of "0f All Things. =
about which the English reviewers are
OF different minds, but mostly favor
able To dinner tonight with
| William Roberts, of "The Literary Di-
gest," and his wife, who founded and
| edited "The Touchstone" magazine.
1 Mrs. Roberts told me of the time when
| she first met Mary MacLane, then at
Isthe height of her fame and notorety.
She was magnificent egotist," said
Mrs. Roberts, with the aggressive as
surance of a homely woman. She de-
pended upon her mental alertness and
savage wit to dominate in group and
neglected her costume, indeed, rather
made point of neglecting her toilette
She had every thing going her way
came into the room (Note--I've forgot
ten the name-B. R), who was at that
time one of the most beautiful crea-
lures you ever laid your eyes on, en-
quisitely gowned, and moreover she
was brilliant, clever and earned her own
living. Poor Mary had often maintained
intelligence was impossible in beautiful
women and that women who took
pride in their dress had nothing but
their looks to take pride in. Instantly
all eyes were on -------- and the charm
of her personality electrified the
whole room. Poor Mary's face dropped.
She became haggard, lifeless, i'll at ease
in moment. | turned to her and said,
Never mind her, Miss MacLane; let's
you and | look at each other until we
regain our self-assurance.'
The tragic cruelty Of notoriety was
never more clearly demonstrated. than
in the case of Mary MacLane She was
an extraordinarily gifted girl. Her
| achievement was infinitely greater than
that of Marie Bashkirtseff, for the
French girl was surrounded by cultural
influences, whereas Mary MacLane
sprang up alone in the mining camp
of Butte, Mont, then the very outpost
of civilization. She had natural gift
for crisp and concise expression, a
keen, undisciplined intelligence and
the emotional sensibility of a true art
list. She was hoisted suddenly into the
limelight as the butt of paragraphers,
a sensational heroine of the Sunday
supplements and showered with money
to posture as freak for the public.
She had not the strength to stand it..
When last heard of her she was being
bounded by creditors in Chicago, a
debtridden, broken and pathetic figure.
:. We were Joined at table by
Margey Pirelli, prima donna at the
| National Winter Garden burlesque, a
pretty and delightful girl, who related
to us in beautiful fashion how as a
child she used to go to the East Side
burlesque shows and hold her breath
| in wide-eyed fascination at what
seemed TO her then fairyland of en-
chanted beauty, and how she had gone
| to manager after manager and had been
I turned away as too young and how she
had been so Inundated (because she
thought she was grown up) that she
| had cried for two days, when one man
ager told her to come back when she
"got out of her diapers and how she
| finally got q chance in the chorus.
Read John Gould Fletcher's
"Preludes and symphonies tonight.
AUGUST 26
Charley Macarthur, Seward Collins,
my wife and | went motoring and
swimming this afternoon and about
midnight we called on John Dos Passos,
| but he wasn't at home. Charley, VINO
served in the 149th Field Artillery and
who wrote one of the best of the war
! books in "a Bug's-Eye View of the
! War;" was at one time going to help
me edit collection of the songs the
American soldiers sang overseas. "The
idea that they sang such twaddle as
| the 'front.'" said Charley, sis absurd.
/ They sang them in the Y. M. C. A.,
recreation huts and when women We're
around; but the songs they sang on
the march and Immediately back of the
lines were marvellous parodies of
hymns and rousing, full-blooded bal
| lads filled almost entirely with words
classed as obscene. They would sing
these songs when they were so fatigued
they marched like rundown automa-
tons. Singing helped them to keep up.
l remember one night before the bat
tie of Champagne seeing line of in
fantry going Into position after thirty
! six hours on the march on rations and
without sleep. These poor devils were
so worn out they couldn't say word,
! Ask them, What outfit, buddy?' and
! bHSy WOulOH y even loOh up. oul Cney
didn't miss line of a song that would
ma',c Y. M. c. A. secretary's hair
curl"
Z AUGUST %
4 Lunched with Mr.. Lieber, Of
Lieber & Lewis, a new pub
fishing firm which has published
Calvary" by Octave Mirbeau, and
''Mr Antiphilos, Satyr," by Remy de
Gourmont, in translation and is soon
to bring out belated translation of
j. X. Huysmans'ss "a Rebours" Why
this last named book is just getting in
to English is a mystery to me. 1t has
been extolled for years by Havelock
Ellis, Arthur Symons, George Moore,
Remy de Gourmont. Oscar Wilde,
James Huneker and dozens of other
critics. 1t influenced Wilde to write
"The Picture of Dorian Grey; it ex-
erted profound influence upon George
Moore, noticeable in "The Confessions
of Young Man; it epitomized the
whole symbolist and decadent move
ment in France; it was for long time
the Bible of art and literary critics;
it was written by the man who was
the first idol of Gourmont and of
! Huneker, both of whom initiated Hugs
mans Huneker's Painted Wells" is
only more modern combination Of
"a Rebours" and 'La-bas" :.
Lieber & Lewis are also bringing out
a volume of caricatures by Alfred
Frueh, an original and talented artist.