Evening star., 1926-05-01
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the BOOkLOUer.

"Hangman'S House" suggests a uouI
story, perhaps of 1885, Lord Jeffreys
and the Bloody Assizes, but 1t is
nothing Of the sort. 1t is, on the con-
trary, one of Dom Byrne's POLITICALLY
written love romances. The irish
countryside for a setting, with an
ancestral estate; dashing irish gal
liant. racing man, hunter and gentle
man farmer for hero; lovely
heiress, with golden eyes and heart
shaped face, for a heroine; what more
is needed to make good romance!
The Hangman's House is the nome
of James O'Brien, former lord chlef
Justice and father of the charming
heroine, Conaught O'Brien. He Is
known to the Irish peasantry as
Jimmy the Hangman, because OF his
none too lenient methods while in
office. Neddy Joe, ancient lodge
keeper, reproved for calling LORD
O'Brien of Glenmalure by this popular
name. replies: "He may be Lord
O'Brien of Glenmalure to you, Master
Dermot, but to me and mine and the
country at large he's Jimmy the Hang
man, for there was never a lord chlef
justice of Ireland had stretched
more necks in his day than the same
| James O'Brien,. and stretched the
neckS of fine Fenian fellows, my own
son among them. So I'll call him
| Jimmy the Hangman, as is my right,
Master Dermot." In his "Foreword
to Foreigners" Dom Byrne expresses
! his great love flor his native Ireland.
Il am certain that no race has for
| it's home the intense love we Irish
| have for Ireland. 1t is more than love
| 1t Is passion. We make no secret
of 1t, and people gibe at us, saying
with a sneer that does not speak wei,
of their manners, Why don't you GO
| back to lreland?' Which is not
| fnerlted, for every one must know the
| intricate prison this life is, and how
| this friendship, that grave, and even
the unutterable vulgarity of money
| matters tie US to an alien land. So
That to many a million of us, and a
millions sons and daughters, ireland
must be land of dreams"
| X X X
Mingled with the affairs Of great
pIth and moment" which are the chief
concern of The Intimate Papers of
Col. House" are many Saint t-Simonian
anecdotes and bits of gossip. Capt. II
Bill Mcdonald, Col. Houses Texas
Ranger friend sent for by the colonel
TO protect Wilson during the election
campaign of 1912, was told not to SAY
a word to anybody. He obeyed al
most literally and the only time he
was heard to speak to q reporter was
when one asked him who Col. House
was. capt Bill replied that he was
a stranger in New York and did not
know. When Col. House made his
| post-election visit of policy to Bryan
in Florida. he found Bryan very mod
crate about giving advice, except ir
a case which touched his religious
preJudices. He objected to the offer
of the Chinese mission to DIR. Charles
w. Eliot, because of his being a Uni
| tartan. When told that DIR. Eliot
would probably refuse because he
feared his wife would not approve
Bryan replied that he hoped she
would not. On another occasion wheT
Col. House visited the Bryans he wa.
told that breakfast would be at the
usual hour of 7:30. but was greatly
relieved when Mrs. Bryan knocked al
his door a few minutes after he haC
gone to his room and changed the
hour to $50, saying that Mr.. Bryar
would take his horseback exercise be
fore breakfast. A picture is given Of
Mr.. Daniel Willard of the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad drawing diagrams
on the tablecloth, while discussing rail
road rates with Col. House at lunch
con. Another picture is of Walter
Page laughing with Col. House oveI
some OF his social blunders during the
early days of his ambassadorship
worst Of which was leaving a princess
of the royal family without being dis
missed. Col. House refused an invi
tation in 1913 to meet Count Won Bern
storff at lunch down town in New
York on the ground that he never
| went down town: the invitation wa!
renewed for a lunch up town and h
accepted. In June, 1914, he breakfast
ed with Lloyd George and his daugh
ter, choosing from fried sole, sausage
ham, eggs, fruit, coffee and tea on {
side table. He comments: George att
a very hearty breakfast" After th'
Ioutbreak of war, when he attempted
to bring about a meeting between Si
Cecil Spring Rice and Count Won Bern
storff, the former doubted the useful
ness of any such diplomatic move ant
expressed his opinion of several of hi
fellow Ambassadors.
Bernstorff he considered thorough!
unreliable, and said he had a bat
reputation even in Germany. Jus
serand had an extremely bad Cas'
of nerves at present, and the Russian
Ambassador was reactiOnary of th'
worst type and was little less thai
mad" Some of the most interesting
personal touches are concerned will
President Wilson. THE Presiden
was dressed in very becoming sacl
suit of gray, with a light gray sill
tie. 1t was rather an informal-looll
ing costume, but very attractive,
records Col. House on March s, 1913
a few days after the first inaugura
ton. The hustle at the House New
York apartment when the Presiden
was expected there is interestingly de
scribed. ''Telegrams, telephone calls
secret service men, newspaper report
erS, notes, etc, etc. However, tn
confusion will cease the moment th
President arrives. for 1 do not permi
the telephone to ring and we ar
undisturbed by letters. notes, tele
grams or visitors. When he is ono
here everything appears as peaceful
as if there were no such things a.
noise and confusion in the world.
There is a picture of the PreS1den
thinking out his memorial speech fo
the sailors who had died in the CAP
ture of Vera Cruz, while he was Ell
route from the Battery to the Brook
lyn Navy Yard. That Col. House
always to be depended on for larg
demands, sometimes shirked tn
smaller ones is shown by an entry il
his diary for November s, 1914: 9TH
President desired me to go to churcl
with him, but compromised by hav
ing Loulie go." The forms of addres
used at different periods by the Pres
ident in his letters to Col. Hous
seem to tell a story. The two mel
met in November, 1911, and until tn
following Spring Wilson's letters be
gan Dear Mr.. House" After tn
nomination the address was "Dea
Friend" and this continued for ~
years. In times Of emotional stres
it became my Dear, Dear Friend,
and from the Arabic crisis in tn
Summer of 1915 untfl after the re
| olontinr, In Novenher 1915 il WA