Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-02

selves could be-more so. Henry Williamson
has that rare brand of imagination that sets
him in the heart of the countryside-itS trees
in their own private and particular meanings,
the fields murmuring together of the growths
that they are going to produce, the rivulet
whispering of where it is going so fast, SO end
leSsy, the patterns of sunlight on the trees,
the melancholy of twilight and homing birds
And having felt these, and innumerable other
secrets roundabout, Henry Williamson hands
these over to readers in words that, knit to-
gether, become true pictures of poetic beauty.
This is a man whose feelings and impressions
possess a beautiful means of transmission in
the art of the writer. So, here we have the
boy, roaming all out-of-doorS, making up tales
of wonder, almost Of miracle, which he hardly
dares to tell to the dour father at home. Yet,
once in a while there is fash between the
two, just CLEAN of oneness, by way of which
the paternity of the little fellow stands clear in
the older one. Beautiful and subtle work that
grows upon the reader to his own great en-
richment
THE VILLA JANE. BY Janet LANG New
York: The Century Co.
A STRANGE place, that Villa Jane Weird
happenings within it, and frightened
neighbors around it. Not surprising either for
to it fair ladies came one after another. The
goings of these were mysteries as to the when,
husband, then bigamist, then mad, then muir
derous-or so 1t looked That was the moment
when Miss Anothera Montmorency, terrified
over the mysterious disappearance of her dear
est friend, after particularly snowy wedding
in which a most fascinating man stood as the
party of the second part-then it was that
Miss Anothera constituted herself the super
Sleuth in most mysterious problem of disap-
pearance and possible crime You can see what
clever writer would do in situation of this
kind This is a clever writer. And she does
all that the most exactng can expect her to
do with the matter in hand. II am the detec-
tive in charge" Miss Montmorency would say
and at it again. corking story fine wit
behind it. The comic sense in full play under
the most serious of demeanors But-the GRIM
inal escapes, leaving letter for Anothera
Montmorency, detective Let's look over her
shoulder for a word or two of it: "Lady-you
were splendid throughout. If any one
could have caught me you would have done it.
And in sense you have done it. Take
the advice of one who has been frequently mar
ried and do be careful about your next hance.
Your last was pudding-faced fool and utterly
unworthy of you. Take also the adj
vice of one, who for years has lived upon it,
and have nothing more to do with crime either
as a criminal or as detective. You
are too rare and sweet for them. You
have made me- whom you rightly hate, wish
that had never seen the Villa Jane You may
hear of me again under other names--but you
will never see me again. Yours deVotedly-
The Man You Missed This Morning"
LOOT OF THE FLYING DRAGON. BY Ken
meth Payson Kempton. Illustrations by
Wilfred Jones. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.
BOSTON. Away back in 1718. Pirates in
those days. even in rigid and righteous Bos-
ton. A particularly pesky one in this case be-
cause he, Nicholas Hornigold, posed staid
merchant while he did his dirty work of sea
robber by way of paid scalawags
'Prenticed to old Nicholas was Barnaby Vane,
who curious as all boys are came one day
upon some pretty damaging stores in the cellar
of the good merchant So of the boy was
bundled in a pirate ship, labeled, ominouSly,
bale of Goods not to be returned" That is
the beginning of sea tale so stirring and busy
as to carry any reader along in about every
sort of sea rascality that could be imagined, and
that a matter of fact, did not have to be
imagined a hundred years ago, more less.
In every day of great evil there is st. George
or other shining knight to pursue and finally
to overcome one or another of the various
dragons of sin. So here is Capt. Benoit, with
whom young Barnaby Vane falls into many
adventure of pursuit of the raScals, of out
whiting them through a whole story length.
We share in sea fights, stolen wealth. secret
caves discovered to be packed with plumber, and
SO on and SO on. 1t is not often that story
of piracy carries with it high idealist bound
to bring the wicked low. But that is Just one
of the points that sets this adventure a notch
above the majority of these. A lusty matter
quite exceptionally well set out for the pleasure
OF readers, young and not so young.