Evening star., 1924-10-10
FLO W E r S
For the Living
Gertrude Atherton
CHARLES HANSON TOWNE.

.oynamic-that is Gertrude Ather-
ton. To know her is to catch, and
sometimes capture, some of her radi-
ance. some of her energy.
She refuses to be- classified. She
won't be catalogued. She finishes a
history of California one day, and
begins a novel the next, the scenes of
which may be laid in Munich-or
London-or Washington. She never
knows herself what she Is apt to do.
If she gets an idea that consumes her,
she probably breaks all her engage
ments, takes passage on steamer.
she sails away to be in the right
atmosphere.
She used to be "at home in New
York. way up near Columbia Univer-
sity Crowds flocked to her hospitable
door, despite the distrance she was
from the center of things. All sorts
OF people came; for Gertrude Ather-
ton is interested in everybody and
everything. Her life is a rush. and
how she finds time to do her extern
slve reading is one Of the mysteries.
She knows the work of every living
author-knows it well, too. One
can't fool her. She is a splendid
critic as well as a fine creative artist.
She never lives in the past. She is
essentially of the moment, tremen-
dously alert to every new invention.
every new ism" and movement. For
months she studied deeply the sub
ject which formed the basis of her
best seller. "Black oven" before she
began the actual writing of the story.
She can absorb. digest, assimiiate.
faster than any one I've ever known.
1t is part of her to be able to look
once, and see everything.
The torrential power in her gets
into her books. one feels the vivid
pulsing personality behind them.
There must be something chemical
in creative artists which keeps them
eternally young. Mrs. Atherton
looks exactly as she did when j first
met her twenty years ago, when
Richard lie Gallienne took me to
call upon her. l had read The Con-
Queror" and admired it trene ndously,
for IL seemed TO me she had caught
the very soul Of the period Of Ameri-
can history of which she wrote. That
novel is still used all over the
country as a text book is an indica-
tion of the perfection with which she
did a difficult job.
Mrs. Atherton was sailing for
Europe the next morning, but even
in the midst of her feminine packing
she had time for two visitors ike
ourselves and told story after story
in her inimitable way.
She has plenty Of time for others.
She is always going out of her way
to say something or write some
thing pleasant about some one who
is forging ahead on the difficult road
of authorship or in any of the arts.
She is a brilliant after dinner
speaker. yet she never knows until
she gets upon her feet what she is
going to say. Her mind travels like
lightning. 1 have heard audiences
applaud her to the echo after some
witty remark, some scintillatlnS
epigram. She has no patience with
laggards. and during the World War
] think she was the most consistent
and burning patriot | knew. She
wrote articlSe and letters constantly,
forgetting her own work in what she
felt was the far greater responsibility
of those happily vanished days. Even
her enemies respected her opinion,
and again she revealed that fearless
spirit which has made her the power
she is in anything she undertakes to
carry through.
1t is q joy to hand a nosegay to a
woman who is so thrillingly alive.
A million bouquets would not be too
many TO shower upon her miracu-
lousy young head.
Copyright, 1924 by the Bell Syndicate. Ine.)