Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-29

| OF the gypsy represented here, come
out from Spain, Russia, Hungary,
Rumania, England and America The
single qualification giving them place
upon the patteran is that of being able
to follow the gypsy in fidelity to fact
and to be able at the same time to tell
Il story of point and effect AS to the
truth of these tales we may here and
there have to take the word of the
censor. AS to their effect there is no
doubt whatever about them. A truly
dramatic and striking group of tales
steps out here which sums also to a
BODY OF fact that to many of us is
| both new and deeply interesting
IheSe stories are preceded by a
sketch, historic in part. analytical and
reflective in other part. given by the
editor. Joseph Ellne.'. Sincere praise
and appreciation are due here for the
! purpose of this book and for the
illuminating quality Of the art in
which it is projected. AS for the in.
| terest 1t is bound to arouse. that will
ne both deep and widespread, for. the
gypsy upon his infrequent appearances
Is uhtalllngly point OF acute curiosity
ana spur to strange half buried
longlnSs for the out-world.
* x 4
THE PRIDE OF THE TOWN. BY
Dorothy Walworth Carman. au
thor of Faith of Our Fathers. :"
New York: Harper 4 Bros.
Perhaps. in spite of all the school
men say about it, the essential differ
ence between comedy and tragedy is
that in the one we keep right on smil-
ing. whereas in the other we CRY and
howl increasingly. A case in point is
/ this story. Here is a clear comed, of
| married life sourced in a reality that
| holds the elements of plain tragedy.
| Saving ones soul from beasts of prev
| Is surely tragic hour in ones per
| sonal experience. And such selfrescue
| constitutes the climax of this matter
| However. def outlining. careful fill.
! Ing, selected points of emphasis, these
| tuln the bright face of laughter upon
| a situation made for lamentation.
Here is the story of newly-wed
| par. elate and assured in the pros
| pect of Il life of united achievement.
/ she as poet, he as musician. Almost
at once the town gets hold of them
for service as useful citizens, as pub
lfc-sphited upholderS of it's innumer.
able projects for civic perfection.
Much of the story goes into the half
humorous, wholly sad. business of
capturing and devouring this pair.
Very realistic stuff. this. After long
SUFFERING and much public reproba-
ton, these two determine to save their
own souls at any cost to themselves.
This they do. The story ends in a
happy picture of work, a home chill
dren and an outside success in their
chosen fields of poetry and music.
Certainly these two are, or were, the
pride of the town" Just when were
! they this, really and truly? When
I they were giving the whole of them
selves away to projects of every shape
and hue and purpose. or when, on the
other hand, they deserted into their
own domain of work and achievement?
You tell.
\ KING BY NIGHT. BY Edgar Wal
lace. author of THE Four Just
Men, etc. New York: Doubleday,
Page & Co.
The romance of crime opens gen
orally to it's author either of two
modes of treatment. That most com
monty used stresses the crime itself
applying to it clue after clue whose
pursuit is calculated to hold the reader
in keen suspense a book length, when
gertrude takes the place of dubiety.
The other method fronts the crime
upon the nature of the criminal. Sc
Letting for its purpose Il DR.. Jekyll-
and-Mr Hyde character. a being
pretty evenly compacted OF God and
the Devil. Each in it's mood of con-
troll turns out. on the one hand a man
of noble impulses and behaviors. on
the other a fiend of ingenious cruelty.
The second point of departure is the
much severer test of the authors in
vention. This is, nevertheless, the
one chosen by Edgar Wallace for the
purposes of a deeply involved tale of
crime that gives the reader no pause
between the waves of excited pursuit
that follow fast uDon one another in
this storm of evil deeds. One Selhy
Lowe is the Superman of detection
here. Every writer of the mystery
tale has a detective of his own. And
this one, to a certain degree, proves
the ability of the author himself. For
upon him depends the outcome. and
upon him depends the testing Of many
Il false clue and the falling away of
many an inferior Sleuth. Selby Lowe
is q winner. His personality Is as
captivating as his methods are sound.
The whole is a sinister matter, reach
ing down into the subhuman for one
of its lines of mystitication. A sort OF
shivery story, gruesome and absorb
detective story takes hold. no matter
how much the intellectuals may deny
for it any rightful claim. Since this
is true, and Ii is true, as RECORDS or
sale show, the writer's of this sort or
tale will see to it that every day III
every way detective stories will grow
better and better. "A King by Night
is good start along this road OF bet
terment.
ELIZABETH'S TOWER. BY Margaret
Weymouth Jackson. Indianapolis:
The Bobbs-Merrill Company.
This adventure expands enough to
permit its heroine to grow from a
little girl to q big one. The most or
it, however. Is engaged with Eliza
beth. the little girl living out on the
plains Of Dakota. Therefore. this is,
in the main. a story calculated to
interest readers equal in years to
Elizabeth herself-young readers. And
that is Just what 1t is bound TO do.
Apart from the run of events in the
life Of Elizabeth. the story has quail
ties too often missed in books about
youth and for youth. First. 1t Is
quite free from the overdone simplicity
that commonly spoils books Of this
kind 1t Is free from the elaborate
condescension of grown-up people
toward childhood. 1t Is free also
from a suggestion of the sugar-coated
sermon and the parade of virtues that
do not exist except in the imagination
Of thwarted and arid beings. Instead.
here Is straight and sincere ac-
count of the rather bare life of a
little girl. with only relatives for par
ents, one who works good deal and
plays a little. walking every day two
miles across the plains to school. Win.
ter and Summer. 1t. is not, however.