Evening star., 1923-08-26
Reviews of New Books

killing and dying in a sequence that
has made Ireland known the world
over. The full spirit of the country
stands embodied here in the lives
and purposes Of all it's people--the
peasant folks. the small farmers, the
priests. political advocates, idealiSts
and vagrants. come together here in
a vividness that Mr.. Padraic Colum
has wrought out of his own Irish
blood. out of his own Irish ideals and
ambitions. A lovely romance, this,
and an amazing picture as well of
manifesting itself through the long
dream Of political independence for
Ireland.
THE LUNATIC At LARGE AGAIN.
By j. Storer Clouston. author of
THE Lunatic at Large" New
York: Z. =. Dutton & Co.
1t may have been just the inter-
rupted and occasional freedom of Mr..
Mandel- -Essington that. in the strenu-
GUS business of putting himself at
large" gave to the mind of that
gentleman it's swift dexterity. its
bright ingenuity, its exciting variety.
its striking audacity Reflecting upon
this, one wonders If the rest of the
crazy world would not be much more
efficient and infinitely more interest
ing for enforced periods OF confine-
ment and solitude. However, the bus
mess in hand is to follow this dex-
trous lunatic slithering like an eel
through mere knotholes Of escape and.
once free. changing like chameleon
to melt himself past detection into
the dull coiors of the sane world
around him. a point for Mr.. Mandel-
Essington is that when he put him
self lat large" IL was chiefly for the
sanity could not achieve. Once in the
open. this laughing lunatic took
charge with an easy competency that,
in this particular case, turned the
troubles of pair of lovers into JOY,
that defeated the designs of villainy.
that brought a happy-ever-after eli
max, that IN no end OF ways made
crooked places straight. Amusing
from beginning to end, in a clever
versatility Of invention through
which a little thread of serious human
stuff saves the whimsical to-do from
the effect OF sheer nonsense.
RAMsHACKLE HOUSE. BY Hubert
Footner, author of The Deaves
Affair" etc. New York: George H.
Doran Company.
Lucky the writer of murder
mystery tales who. in this period of
clear overproduction, finds himself
possessed OF even single line of
fresh approach or subsequent devel-
opment. Fortunate MIR. Footncr has.
two points which. if not exactly
virgin new. are nevertheless of an
attractive and pleasing personality.
The murder itself is of not unusual
Pattern. The mystery is of the reeu-
lation mold with circumstance and
ultimate suspicion pointing in one
single direction. The disappearance
Of certain young man from the
city of the crime sets the matter
afoot. The appearance of lone
canoeist in Il cove alongside the
"ramshackle" old southern house
its final chapter A revived interest
in the Chesapeak bay country. a new
savoring of the famous eastern
sho'," is turned TO good account here
in the setting of "Ramshackle House"
Association and feeling appear to
roundingup of romantic spot of
many historic memories. Exception
ally Interesting at this point is the
story Of the young traveller who is
finally bounded as criminal in this
legion where the Clan-hunt was once
on it's own ground This is IA point
where the author scores. Another
one rises out of the fact that the
daughter of the old house proves,
finally. TO be the real detective who.
following the threads of evidence.
succeeds at dramatic last moment
in discovering the man who did COM
nit the murder. In love with the
suspect? oh. yes.--fnally that. but
not at first. Not probable at all that
d woman could with such patience.
and determination. and skill. and si-
lcnce. bring about this triumph? :?
The author here might turn the
skeptics upon the recent press re-
ports of the way in which an as
sistant~sttorney general-a woman
did dig up and spread out big boot
lpyRinS rOnSniracy that for mont N (
had baffied all the forces of detection
Nothing implausible in MIR. Footner's
use of a girl to ferret out crime.
This fact. with the bay-country set
ting. lifts the story quite into the
open OF an active general interest.