Evening star., 1927-11-06
IDA GILBERT MYERS.


THE BELLAMY TRIAL. BY Fran.
ces Noyes Hart, author OF MY
A. E. F." etc. New York: Douo'e-
day. Page & Co.
TIME man hunt is with man MN,
self an instinct, early piaceu
and deep-seated. Once In hano'
i however, the hunted one pe
comes thereafter mere thenle
for the pointing of guilt or lnnoCenoe
bv wav of reason. logic, a nnely re-
lated and indubitable sequence %
facts. Plain that the second stage oa
tha matter offers none of the nne
ousto of nursuit, none of the rusty
nlav of hatred disguised as puohc III
terest that belongs to the nrst. IN
stead if holds but the dull ana IaDori.
,us business of weighing shreds OIL
3I,bious evidence in the scales OF mn
neccable and elusive truth. A monot-
9nous and unrewarding occupation at
hest No wonder, then, that writers
~ mystery novels choose the generaiiy
axciting course of hunting down CRIME
nv wav of incredibly inspired detec-
tiyes. their Job ended when tney ieave
the quarry at the door of justice; tne
learned bewilderments or the iesai
profession upon the criminal.
There is now and then Writer Wno
heqins where the famous man hunter
Ieaves off one who deliberately wishes
mon himself the hard task of creating
good and generally acceptable hctlon
3,,t of the trial of criminal. arthur
Train. well known New York lawyer,
has more than once done this to tne
satisfaction Of a host Of readers. He
has given abundant proof that such
4 theme is compact with human STUN
not only competent to fulfill the de-
mands of q good novel but competent
as well to throw a flare or llght upon
the hidden places of common human
urge and compulsion.
Here is another writer who. by way
If 1.-THE Bellamy Trial.. makes good
the claim that court proceedings III
respect to alleged crime are OF a ma
ture to project a drama of intense IN
terest. one, too, that brings 10 lnli1c'
date focus human nature in It's uni.
versal reaction to certain KING ..J,,,t "
influence in it's surroundings. Ihe
Rellamv trial" is a week-long story:
II ia a day-by day record of the trlai
If a pair. man and woman, accused
of murder. AS record it is businessllke
and unassailable. AS completed story
II stands a swift and engrossing sum
IF events which bear upon vital inter
ests that are everybody's concern. oui
are sure to cover this book at q single
reading. since there Is no place 10 STOP
withont the fear of losing something:
Absorbing from first to last. you Will
agree. There will be no dispute on
that score. Standing off from the story
YOU face the fact that the dull rou
tine Of a court trial, that the techhlcai
procedure of the courts. that the rec
ognized methods Of warfare on TINS
side of the case and on that-these
ara all here. But-and this is the out
standing thing-these are all so inter.
woven with the immediate personal
concerns of the accused that they be
come alive and are no longer monoto
nous and wearying. They are vital
parts of the character and personality
and impending fate of this man and
woman. The whole becomes human
as a means Of vindication or condem'
nation. It is a good story. There
may be, there will be, controversy
over the ultimate issue. the one beyond
the verdict itself. There will be no
dispute whatever over the courage OF
plain work, the industry in fortify1ng
all points along the way OF this trial
as a preliminary to the construction
Of the story itself. The workman here
dlQ a HHe JoD DeLOTc thc al liSt .ooh q
hand in creating q novel that is hu-
man and luminous and tender on a
theme not generally considered fruit
full along such lines.
X X 4 4
THE LURE OF THE GREAT
SMOKES. By Robert Lindsay
Mason. illustrated. Boston: Hough.
ton Miff1in Co.
DOBERT Mason has gathered into
~ this volume years of intimacy
with the mountain ranges that stand
in between Tennessee and North
Carolina These are the Great Smok
les, many parts of which are as ma
tive and unmolested as they were
when emigrant Europeans became
marooned within their forests and