Evening star., 1925-03-29

| and then, just as the incorrigibly agree
able person of our acquaintance drives
US, sometimes. to the rude retaliation
| of a bored indifference, to the acceptance
! of poorer. but lvelier stuff. Better for
| the occasional nibble than for the sat
! isfying all-around dinner.
MIRACLE. BY Clarence Burlington
| Kelland author of THE Steadfast
! Heart" etc. New York: Harper &
Bros.
| Ste Anne de Beaupre giving sight
! to the blind is the theme of this
novel. The setting is old Quebec,
'ather. an atmosphere sustained
through finely intuitive handling of
| the physical facts of the city itself.
| The story, that which leads to the
working of the miracle, is the story
of Donovan Steele's rebellion against
misfortune. First, betrayed in love.
Steele becomes an outlaw against
himself, foe to mankind, a rebel
against order a skeptic-an alto
gether hopeless and even dangerous
creature. A violent man reactinS
against what seems to him to be un-
forgivable treachery. And Mr.. Kelland
gives an exceptionally good account
OF that sort of man here, man
whom we have seen thousands of
times, out loose in life itself. At the
right moment the author introduces
''-'-' "a~-"nn"'t'u" Influence without
which no man in the depths can
y. .u, a. And tuiS-a woman again
begins to turn the beaten and blind
cd fellow toward the help that was
known to come from the shrine of
Ste. Anne. a love story, story of
the power of religion. this will be
read by many people, either for one
or the other of these stories. Its
greatest interest and acceptance will
come from those who are already
turned in mind and heart toward the
efficacy of the spirit working in the
human concerns of this immediate life.
CLYDE FITCH AND HIS LETTERS.
BY Montrose ]. Moses and Virginia
Gerson. Illustrated Boston: Little,
Brown & Co.
A record of g. plays of his own MAX
ing, all counted. beSpeaks for Clyde
Fitch an exclusive absorption In the
theatcr. 1t turns out, nevertheless, that
he wrote several novels and made some
lesser literary ventures apart from the
stage. These. by compa rson, however,
remain inconsiderable. and II is, there
fore, with dramatic creation and pro-
duction that Clyde Fitch is so notably
identified. This being the case it is natu-
ra to assume that this is a book calcu-
lated to appeal to the profession-to the
actors and play writers and managers
and producers who either shared work
with Fitch or stood against him. A book
of "reminiscences, then. in which the
whole craft has direct or derived in
terest. And it les that sort of book in
dubtably. One can imagine stage folks
OF every degree going over il in a true
enjoyment. But it has other appeal
since these letters project "A man Of all
around charm, a vigorous, active tenn
peranIental man of many moods and
ceaseloss activity. A man of dreams and
visions, of rare friends ard the capac-
lty for friendship. SO. despite its direct
call to the profession. here is a book
that every one who loves a fine nature
embodied in artistic deeds will read
with delight and in something like
mood Of homage
THE RED MASS. Bv Valentine vii
liams. author of The Man With
the Club Foot" etc BOSTON.
Houehton, Mif1n Co.
me background of this adventure
IS Paris at that particular point in the
revolution that approaches and,
reaches the downfall of Robespierre.
Across this background the activities
of young English spy are threaded
ana crlSs-crossed in a network of. in
creasing hazard that entangles him.
hnally. i'm actual apprehension and
sentence Of death Were it not for
the quality of this background the
adventure itself would sayor too
strongly of the sensational What
would otherwise stand as an absurd
and unbelievable extravaganza, be-
comes in this monstrouS setting CON
slStent and acceptable. A strenuous
and active to-do, which achieves a
decided excellence in the historic at
mosphere that it creates, and in a
handful of revolutionary characters
that II projects NividIy and in har-
mony with the authentic accounts of
the hideous body of the sans-culotte.