Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-02

success yet every one of the building sort
making this and trying that, putting these to-
gether to secure a truer completeness, and
SO on. Finally, however, the youth fell captive
to the South, to its glamour and geniality,
probably to its good food and easy ways of
leisure and having all the time there is. How
ever that may be, he finally began to build
a story-and here it is. The tale Of that most
picturesque of American towns, Charleston, old
and new. The landscape bewitched him. That
is way it has. &c. staying around he con-
ceived the story of Malvern Barony and its
family. the Sheldon tribe. Going back some
thing like 200 years, the romance moves forward
toward the present by way Of the Sheldon
generations and their emergence from those
early days into this one. Romance, pure and
simple, yet its foundation is that of history
itself. Its progress, moreover, is according to
the outlook and custom of the South slowly
and reluctantly changing its views and its ways
under the masterful march of modern inno-
walton. 1t is such lack Of sympathy with the
new Entertainments that gives to the story its
flavor of romance and penetrates it throughout
with the sheer beauty of that glamorous coast
that Ravens Charleston. There is nothing of
this loneliness that young Griswold has not
soaked into himself, apparently. And the giving
out of this charm with so sure a touch-with-
holding here, prodigal the. e-rnakes the high
point of this finely idealized picture of the old
city by the sea and of the Southern TRADITION
In which it is stepped. A good deal like poetry
much of this engaging business is. Fine tramp
ing that young fellow did We'd all like to be
of the same stripe. would
THROUGH ORIENTAL GATES BY James
Saxon Childers, author of THE Bookshop
Mystery" etc. New York: d. Appleton Co.
TIRED, maybe, of contriving mystery yarns
Bored, perhaps, by too many prose dialogues
with Mother Goose. For this reason, or that, or
unT1f
sailed out into the West to find the East Wal
kiki, to be surel Stepping down into the
plangent waves of that delectable spot, as If to
greet him, was Piggy Wiggy store trying its
best to look like something between a hula
girl and a low palm tree. And Childers fed
again-a Boshevik romantic this time. BY sail
or wing or fin he made the coast of Japan.
There is where We come into the beautiful
vagabondage which this inspired vagrant has
prepared. All the things we want to see and to
know. None of the weighty stuff of research
and report. The. houses, the food, the playtime,
the theater, the sports, the clothes-and by
the way that coolie coat of yours is not coolie
at all. Along with Childers we overcome our
disgust at being drawn through the streets in
man-pulled carts and grow, as he does to be
friendly and even affectionate toward the par
ticular boy-horse at our command. We see this
gay traveller trying his hand, and the rest of
himself at the ancient and honorable jujutsu
mode Of wrestling, wherein Mr.. Childers was
concerned, chiefly in whether he was going 70
come down whole or in splinters and pieces.
We, with him, learn few things about the
Ge1sha, object OF our open suspicion and secret
palpitating curiosity. An institution, the Geisha
social-economic as compound. In reality O
lovely bit Of pathos and stole acceptance. We
gather the overlap Of later years upon the
ancient ores, taking into account the easy apti-
tude Of the Japanese toward change and i'm
provement. We love the courtesy of the people,
their kindness. their quick understanding and
ready accommodation. And for these pleasures
and benefits we are in debt to this easy and
adaptable guide, winning from the people their
confidence and free disclosure. Looking at this
or that, Mr.. Childers cites Hearn and other
japanese lovers, either in agreement or in
some slight measure of denial or modification
A trickle of history goes along with this adven-
ture-Perry in 1852 and on up to the exclu-
sion act of recent years. How do the Japanese
feel toward US? Well, how must they feel down
under the international attitudes that ex-
pediency sets? It is possible to touch only here
and there upon this partaking of japanese ways
and attitudes and outlook by very sympathetic
and understanding man who is also wizard in
the art Of embodying and vitalizng this Japan
csc adventure to the complete joy of all VINO
wish to go along with him. A beautiful
vagabondage for which we are deep In debt to
James Saxon ChilderS.
THE GREEN JADE HAND. BY Harry Stephen
heeAer, autnor OF thieves NlgnLS, etc.
New York: e. P. Dutton & Co.
A BIG city An old curio dealer. Lost, a
4 \ green jade hand of amazing significance
to the Oriental mind. rich Chinese mer-
chant living in the same city. An ancient
book, so rare that but one other of its kind
is in existence. The book stolen from that mild
sort of mailman the rare-book collector. And
there you are. Right here the stuff for a mys-
terry tale so different from the common run
as to refute the statement that they are all
made from single formula. Not so, as you
will read. To this budget of material there