Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-25

By the Bookloper.

phones, movies, the radio and bath
| rooms. 1t was possible to read new
book in leisurely, browsing way. be-
cause a dozen other were not being
| published on the same day. Music
| could be enjoyed in the home, because
there were not so many symphonies
| and operas to attend. The theater Of
| fered fewer plays and theater-goers
were able to see a favorite play sew
, eral times and SAVIOR 1t critically.
Samuel Pepys records in his ia
nous diary that he saw the
Tempest" at least six times with
in six months. Yet the problem
| of earning living existed then as
now. An account of the domestic and
| social life Of a musical English family
of the eighteenth century Is given by
Clementina Black in her book THE
Linleys of Bath" with an introduction
by George Saintsbury. The beauty of
different members of this large fam.
lily has been immortalized by Reynolds,
Gainsborough and Lawrence.
+ *
Thomas Linley, a singing master,
and his wife, Mary johnson, produced
a family of twelve beautiful, gifted
children. Clementina Black tells the
story of their lives. Thomas Linley,
not being well-to-do. felt the necessity
Of making his numerous children self.
| supporting as early as possible, so he
trained them as musicians and en-
abled them to use their musical tai
ents to earn q living. Elizabeth Ann
Linley, subject. with her brother
Thomas, of one of Gainsborough' g
most appealing portraits, became the
| wife Of Richard Brinsley Sheridan.
She was a popular singer before her
| maria rd yrQc oO,.rfa6 Is,
or dishonorably, by many men of
fashion. Emma. Lady Hamilton, mis-
| tresS OF Lord Nelson, was at one time
a servant in the Linley family and
fell In love with Samuel Linley. When
he died of a fever at sea she was in
| consolable-for a time. Thomas Lin.
ley. the younger. produced oratorios
and cantatas, which were lauded as
equal to HandePs. He was drowned
while boating when he was only
%. Indeed, the Linleys seemed to
be marked for early death. and their
old mother outlved them all. Out of
the IL children only the two eldest
daughters have left descendants.
X x X X
sThe process of cutting UP old Eng.
lish country estates for villa sites goes
on in fiction as in fact. Archibald
Marshall began lamentingly to record
the decay of the landed proprietors
in The Old Order Changeth," the
last of his Clinton series. In 1.-THE
AllbrightS" he continues the story,
but more cheerfully. The Allbrights
own land-meadows, forests, hills, val.
/ leys. They see the signs Of the times
and adapt themselves accordingly.
They go In, elegantly, for real estate
development. They cut off pieces of
land here and there, put up handsome
| villas, and sell or rent them to good
advantage. Their daughter marries
the young architect in charge of the
villa building; their son studies archi
lecture and learns to put up more
villas. So, instead Of grumbling about
takes and becoming daily more and
more land poor, the Allbrights. though
reducing their land and their landed
importance. are becoming more and
more prosperous alphabetically.
| X X
A little more logic would sometimes
save one from much bitterness. This
Is what impresses a reader of "Ur
From Methodisnn," by Herbert Asbury
a great-great-nephew of Bishor
Francis Asbury, the principal founder
Of the Methodist Church in America
Herbert Asbury was brought up as a
Methodist In a small Missouri town
where Methodistical narrowness and
taboos made life a nightmare of op
pressive gloom. Prayer and church
going were almost the only allowable
amusements, and even laughter was
considered a sin. What was prac
tically espionage existed on the part
OF the more rigid religious practition
ers toward their less strict neighbors
I vic
Asbury reacted, perhaps not unnat
urally. against all formal religion. He
says II find myself full of contempt
for the church, and disgust for the
| forms Of religion. Never
since the night of my conversion have
! ! gone into a church to Worship" His
denunciation of all churches is most
bitter Yet it seems as though what
he experienced and rebelled against in
his youth were small-townish rather
than specifically Methodism. Of
course, as Methodism was the prevail.
ing religion Of the town, it was mex.
tricably bound UP with the spirit OF
the town. Narrowness and intolera nee
are manifested under many forms
with or without the assistance of
churches.
Edgar Wallace turns Off detective
stories with as great apparent ease as
q natural orator makes after dinner
speeches. There Is considerable sim
llarity among his different plots, but
he never lacks startling situations and
rapid. swiftly changing action. 1.-THE
Strange Countess shows all his usual
qualities. The countess is an i'm
poster and very INSCRIPTIONS. There
are also a villain in the form of q
doctor, and. Of course, charming
heroine and a clever detective. The
imprisonment Of the heroine in q
desolate cottage in the country, where
she encounters a shocking surprise
leads to the denouement.
+ y .
| THE Nobel Prize Winners in
Literature" by Annie Russell Marble,
discusses In 16 chapters the biog-
raphies and literary achievements Of
the recipients of the Nobel priz,l
In literature. The influence Of the
writers upon the literature of their
own countries and upon world liter
allure. is also analysed. A chrome.
logical list Of Nobel prize winners
In literature with photographers of
their works is appended. The first
chapter gives the history of Alfred
Nobel and the provisions of his win
which founded the various Nobel
| oriZes.
4 X n 4
Carolyn Wells keeps the publishers
busy with her detective and mystery
stories. Only a few months ago THE
Bronze Hand" appeared, and now
| comes THE Vanity Case" tale of
murder staged in Long Island town.
1t reads like a sensational newspape
story and is so like many sordid real
life crime accounts that it has a
familiar air. One reviewer writes of
it: why such books should be
written, and why, having been
| written thew should be published is a