Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-23

LuTS Is large mere hIlO Icdl alt UCtuVA'
full. AS if it were the spirit of the place
broodlng above it, tangible and impress
: Sive The other stamp of this tale Of
, the West, the second one that gives il
individuality, is that it presents WILDLY
deep and lasting friendship between
two men. A friendship that separation
and misunderstanding could not i'm
pair. It is the search of Ben Ide for
Nevada that moves the adventure from
point to point of its course. There is
love issue between this outcaSt shoot
ing man and IdeS sister, but that is OF
the usual pattern, nothing to compare
with the affection of these men for
each other. Just the usual love of man
and maid. Old stuff with few surprises
left to it. The pioneer life, the great
country, he men and the grandest horse
you ever met-theSe are the true ele-
ments of another Zane Grey tale Of the
West.
VANITY UNDER THE SUN. BY Dale
Collins, author of The Sentimental
lists" ETC. Boston: Little. Brown g.
Co.
IRON Japan down to Saigon, across
to Hcngkong then to an obscure
island of the Pacific lying to the south
and east of the ASiatic mainland-such
is the course taken by Dale Collins new
novel. 1t would take some such course
and should for its author is first and
| foremost a traveller whose prime delight
| is to soak up into his growing stock of
memories more and more of the far
places Of the earth You may be pleas
antly sure, then, that background and
setting provide large part of the SUBJ
stance of the matter in hand. They
do. Supporting the pattern of human
experience set down here as the story
itself is an opulent groundwork made
up of the face of this Oriental region,
of the native element in its appearance,
occupation, custom; of the overlap of
| increasing foreign contactS-all in
blend of great beauty. The story opens
with the catastrophe of the Yokohama
earthquake. Here the chief person in
this story was >caught--an American
business man from Detroit, U. S. A.
Before more attention to this unfortu-
nate man, let me urge you to read about
that earthquake as Dale Collins has
set it down. Your own fears and hor-
rorS rise out of that reading. The out
standing fact, insofar as the American
is concerned, is that he escaped from
the disaster fairly whole in body. Mem
DRY, however, gone completely. This
misfortune opens a way for the story
itself From this come the subsequent
ceedingS-marriage with the girl
down to the south, association with the
odd characters, misf1ts in any formal
plan of life, that we're gathered there.
All the time through a most interest
ing maze of circumstances one knows
himself to be moving toward the day
when this American man remembers
again. AS rich in human stuff as 1t Is
in the colors and circumstances Of its
setting, the matter moves strongly and
picturesquely toward that moment of
awakening. It comeS-and the story
ends. The man is as shocked and re-
gretful as men always are, caught up
in their errancies. but the story ends,
of course. right there. A strong and
competent invention of sound founda-
ton and fine structure about it. The
title? Read your Bible for the truth
Of it.
DIANA AT THE BATH, BY Elizabeth
Hall Yates. Philadelphia The Penn
Publishing Co.
NOTHING classic about this tale
save the title, whose slant Is clearly
in the direction of ancient Greece or
Rome. On the contrary, this is an
affair so modern. so current even, that
it might have slipped into the open
this very morning. Nothing but an
old woman taking out new lease on
life. That statement is fiippant and
clearly unfair. Diana is not an old
woman. True, she has married
daughter, which is no evidence at all.
The main point Is that Diana Is, for
the first time in years, free. Yes,
Charles died, died out of his nagging
habits and burden of small proprieties
to be imposed hourly upon Diana. Nat
urally the woman blossomed through
such freedom. Mary, the daughter,
had married a Frenchman, so in no
time at all Diana set out for Paris, only
to find in this girl second edition
of her husband and the prospect Of
renewed supervision. Diana fed to the
baths, in a charming corner of France.
1t is upon such foundation that this
bright comedy is built. Pretty, SYM
pathetic, lovable, sensible, Diana proved
to be better than all the doctors for the
ailing men of that institution. One of
them-well, it is he who helps the gay
matter along toward climax wherein
are whispered words that sound much
like" 'py ever after" Bright story,
sustained throughout by the spirit of
gayety and more than commonly good
entertainment.
X
THE SIX PROUD WALKERS. BY
Francis Bleeding, author Of "The
Seven Sleepers," etc. Boston: Little,
Brown & Co.
INTERNATIONAL intrigue POUNDS
Il foil If
ing and promoting it are the half dozen
high-steppers who give name to the
adventure. Rome, with its labyrinth
of catacombs, contributes manfully to
the justification of the action as a
whole. Two young men, on the other
side, that Is on the side of opening up
the secret doings of the walkers" seem
woefully inadequate to cope with so
much of villainy. But, as is the case
| with all mystery stories, these two are
quite Supermen when 1t comes to cour-
age and intuition and the following of
trails so faint as to be quite imper-
that crowd into this book are truly le-
| gion-capture. imprisonment, druggings.
beatings, murder, then all over again,
| save of course only murder. They do
| that but once in each case. Well, after
hullabaloo of excitement that keeps
one on the edge of his chair out Of sheer
fright and an orgy Of pursuit under
the inspired leadership of these two
| young men, every single one of the
proud walkers" is either caught and
brought to justice. or kills himself in
! face of that unacceptable immediacy.
Good work, l call that Yes, a love
story goes along just for few minutes
! Of easement here and there when the
other excitement gets too thick Pretty
good, Mr.. Beeding-but you've done
| haitian nd