Evening Star Newspaper, August 23, 1925, Page 74

) THE SUNDAY STAR, VIr. Jack Hollins Asainst Fate BY ARNOLD BENNETT. Never Had His Will Been Thwarted and His Daughter Was Very Docile. JACK HOLLINS sat read- ing the paper at the drawing n window of his home in Carlos Place, within a stone’s throw of Grosvenor Square. s a london afternoon, mild, zuorous, and full of subtle color— also of baffling promises. But Mr. k Hollins was only aware that the was the twenf locality the finest residentinl ity in the West End of London. © was a stout man of sixty, neck, short white hair, red face, dressed His tigure wa. R To- and in a a style 15 he seemed to be protruding out inging over the front of it had a ary and dour ex- as though saying to the r that the newspaper might halt a million people, but not him. had had . with a reputation for hearty ty ical ruthlessness and a will-pow rode down all cbstacles. Her- t fell ill of pneumonia and said to doctor, “I've got a director’s meet- = at Birmingham tomorrow, and I'm ng to it 1 forbid you to go out,” 1 the doctor. “I'm going to that eting Herbert. “Very well, sald the doctor. s you please, 0 out you'll die.” Herbert and he did die. to recount this to his brother's a widower like wives had both failed eal of living with ack Holl it a Jack was very rich At first he had made ittle mon by hard work: then he 1 made a great deal stment in & compan p restaurants But he had a very serious and vexa- »us defect. Though he could make oney he knew not how to spend. He rivately re nized the defect, admit- ng that he was a bungler in expend ure. He had bought the house {in los Place by a whim. It was very eap. that business was adual ught that \racter 1sel llion °n before that pounds. a owned 1 he place could be turned to a private hotel or a block of ces, at much profit. Having bought e had to furnish it. The cost of lings generally startled him, but he ould pretend not to be hen the furnishing firm - ished two floors he stopped them, not ecause the expense frightened him, it because he could not see the sense hing floors which he could ever use He had a d!m idea that Carlos Place demanded a butler, and he engaged owever, he did not know butlers he did not get his fine specimen. He finest cigars obtainable, ked them, but improperly bought fir wines posstble e could not tell a burgundy from claret. He bought magnificent car, but the all the somewh nkenstein's bought a same The chauf th tw my might might low ws He | en waiting_for argued thus: “It's pay the chauffeur. T want to go for a ride and I n W shouldn't the fel lly at the car. Then ad an account of w ic which Mr. Shelton Shelton had nd endowed and presented to um. He knew that Mr. Shel- ton Shelton the owner of the newspaper and a very rich man, A all a insignificant car, driv by a voung man of military and aristocratic deportment, drove ip. An elegantly dressed young pman jumped out; the arist t chatted an instant with her, saluted her, and drove off again. “Who's vour man, my lass?” Mr. Hollins grufly greeted the girl when entered the drawing room. Capt. Coggleshall,” said she, in a anquil, low voice, with no trace of If-consciou What 1 “In the Fi “Who ig he anyway? “He's the eldest son of S Coggleshall, Baronet, ninth Baronet, I helleve, or perhaps it's only elghth.” Then Samuels, the butler, con- veniently brought in tea, of which Minnio partook, but not her father * ok ok % M HOLLINS opened 1c window, and, with earnest eye art student mated the g architecture, and sky, and sought : ' therein. She to st 1 She 1 Capt : guards.” st Lif Mau; NIE the the esti- und- nents for spond Im beauty noon. There of the passer in the with She was tal - a figure whose ne would dispute ountenan which d ca made gi cellences n pe women nen w t o AIr. the wor d Jack De aione. six with a nuisa ugh he h: llins had had then of looking out let Having complete Mrs H He probl n dead faced after <olved the problem A gir went fu it be ve as pre was of t he allowa pocket-money, consider ted 1 Similar! e her anc v well her Appeat paid all the sition. to certain hes z, Mr. Holl ns was the er, paying 11 orders. city told him nething to keep out He saw no harm in her » she was per of mischief learn mitte either, from attic ade fr and now and then ask to te back room on the ground floor, and without her father. There was er entertalning. With she would go to in- nd plays, and semi Secure in the was no_fool, Mr. be—on the clear, hard i that she him ) church together about tnight; and perhaps onc would take her with him on He reidom questioned her. Ie never kissed her. One night the about Capt. C 3 Capt and see you, father.” “Ohr" “Can he come tomorrow?" “He can come when he's a mind to. 3ut whether I shall be in's another matter.” Mr. Hollins looked up Sir Maurice Coggleshall, Bart., In Whitaker's Al- manack. Yes, Sir Maurice duly ex- isted. same friends frequent conc c or club dar conversation Minnie said nts to come * ok % % APT. COGGLESHALL came in the insignificant car the next af- ternoon and was introduced by Min- nie, who at once departed. “So this Is the captaln in the 1st & the region, and he | waiting at | living | ce must | Life Guards and the eldest son of a ninth baronet!” said Mr. Hollins to himself, sardonically. If Mr. Hollins | had not been very rich he might have ! been nervous, but he was very rich— both {n money and In his daughter. | Capt. Coggleshall corresponded quite satisfactorily with Mr. Hollins' notion of what a captaln in the Ist Life first of May and |Guards and the eldest son of & ninth |said he. { baronet ousht to be. | some, muscular, slim, He was hand- well tatlored, with 2 | had an admirable natural demeanor |vear when I kick the bucket. and was fre | _Only his volce was rather quieter . ich |than Mr. Hollins would have expected. | give her £ { though the easy-chatr was cape- | After a few changes Capt Coggleshall | likes with announced that he wished to marry | Minnie. He gave his age, which was 21, and his record, and his expecta tions. He admitted that for the pres- {ent he had nothing but his captain’s pay and what Sir Maurice allowed 1 brother, Herbert Hol- | him, which was not much, because |the 1st Life Guards Sir Maurice was poor. { "I should like to know, a& soon as it | 1s convenient to you to tell me,” said | Capt. Coggleshall, “whether in princi {Ple vou have any “objection 7o the | marriage,” without adding anything {about feeling himself to be quite un- | worthy of the peerless girl | “I don't say that I have, and I don’t say that I haven't,” Mr. Hollins answered, with brutal indifference. “But have you got enough to keep my daughter decently? Or haven’t you i Znough to keep us from starving, ins. But my father and T | ing that you would make a settlement.” | " Ye were, were ve? wel { mentioned your father, perhaps the old gentleman had better come and |ses me.” e would not refer to the 1s you've 1 fluky in- | captain’s parent as “Sir Maurice.” No, | himself and Sir Maurice. | he would not! “My father lives in Northumber- diminished suavity. | __“And what if he does Hollins. “This busines | journey to London, * asked Mr. is worth a isn't it? Or is wonderful. Two days r Maurice Coggleshall made a 1 call upon Mr. Jack Hollins Maurice conceived that he | performing a really very aston |act of condescension. But, being | gentleman, or the ruins of one, kept this conceptifon absolutely | himself and to his son Marmion. | * ok ok K “ IR MAURICE was a very different {2 man from his son. ‘At the wheel | of a taxi he could easily have passed for an old London cabby who had taken to mechanical transport late in {life. He was stout and thick-necked illl\s Mr. Jack Hollins. He had white 1 hair nd luxuriant white eyebrows. He wore a black-and-white check sult, white spats, and a_white tie. He {moved quickly. His voice was | enormous. “How d've_do, Sir Maurice,’ | Mr. Holiins, but do not imagine that | he added: “Very good of you to come {all this way to see me.” For he did not However, he recognized fn Sir Maurice a fellow creature, and did for him what he had not dreamt of doing for his son—he ordered drinks and | clgars. Sir Maurice puffed and blew and gulped and smacked, and talked loudly about railway trains, crop prospects, the prospects of revolution and the folly of the nation. Then he sald By the way, Mr. Hollins, T suppose we can settle our little affair in two | words. My son wants to marry your | daughter. 1 agree. 1 had the | pleasure of meeting your daughter | vesterday at Claridge And I can repeat: I agree. I agree. If you self. I'm not one for beating about the bush, and I can_give you my answer in two words: I agree.” “That’s a great whisky, Mr. Hollins, if you'l allow me to say so. What set- tlement do you intend to make on Miss Minnie? I don’t want to press for de- tafls. It's a matter for our lawvers.” Mr. Hollins replied in a voice as loud as Sir Maurice’s own: “I'm not much for settlements.” | “But surely, my good str—" “As T s 1'm not one for beating about the bush, and if you'd like it | straight, I shall make no settlement.” | At this moment these two stout, | thick-necked, red-faced old men grew stouter and thicker-necked and more d-faced, and it appeared to be a nice | question which of them would explode | |first. But simultaneously they both | reflected and saved themselves by as- | tounding efforts of self-control. | " 2Mr. Jack Hollins spoke again: “I'm not asking your son to marry daughter. It's him and you as are isking_me to let my daughter marry him. I'm not golng to buy your son. |1t's the duty of a man to keep his wife, and if he can't do it he'd better not marry. If your son s marrying land,” said Capt. Coggleshall, with un- | Goesn't the old gentleman think so?” | said | “Well, Sir Maurice, I'm like your-| | happy. i clent the an-| Minnie | in due e had defeated i Northumbrian family. would be Lady Coggleshall course, and he would hear servants | refer to her as “her ladyship.” His mood softened as the mood of Napo- |leon would soften in intimacy after | vast triumph | “You needn’t worry, Sir Maurice,” “My will's ‘made and has | been this long time. Minine's the sole |legatee, and she’ll come into £50,000 a | And 1| {come to an understanding, that I shall | 000 a year to do what she I'm a reasonable man——-" | “You are. You are, indeed, Mr. Hol- | |lins. Very generous of you.’~ t | " “But I can't be forced, and I can’t| | be bullied i | " Thus the marriage of Minnie Hollins and Marmion Coggleshall, captain of | and heir to an an- | came to pe Mr. | behaved characte First he said to his daugh- | cient baronetey, |Jack Hollins | istically. ter: | “Look here, my lass, none o’ this | fashionable wedding nonsense, or you | | won’t have your father at your we: . father!” answered Minnie, soft- y. “You needn’t trouble about that | We'll have the marriage at the regis- | |try office, and I'll be married in my | going-away dress.” | The plan was altered by her father, | {little by little. The old n couldn’t | get the idea of orange blossoms out of his head, nor the vision of his daugh- {ter in a white dress and veil. He had | insisted at first that the wedding par- |ty should consist. of the two persons | {chiefly concerned and two witnesses, | And to this he adhered strictly, because he wa: afrald that in the midst of a con- course he might make himself ridicu-| lous. In all other respects, however, the wedding was fashionable. After the register was signed Minnie | | kissed her father, thus thoughtfully | saving him the agony of making the | first move to kiss her. The touch of | | her lips on his raspy cheek affected | | concertingly. She was very | { mysterious to him in that moment— | not like his famillar daughter, but like |a woman strange, exquisite’ and in- comprehensible. He presented to the pair a small house in select Hill street, together with two thousand pounds for fur- nishing, and he pald In advance the ( first half-yearly Installment of the | promised five thousand & year. In short, he behaved with an old-fash- loned grandiosity, and his satisfaction | in doing =0 was much enhanced by | his conviction that the Coggleshalls were as poor as church mice and that if he chose he could eat up the Cog- gleshalls and Coggleshall Haigh (their | place), and all that was theirs, without having indigestion. The prospect of living alone in Carlos place did not in the least affright him. | | TILL, he went away for four| months, reaching Para and then doing a further thousand miles or so up the Amazon. i On the morning after his arrival he | had the idea of stroliing round to Hill street, to see how his daughter had | been getting along. The color of the | front door of the Coggleshall house |annoved him very much. It was a| ! briliiant uncompromising vermilion. | Not the color itself, but the fantastic public_silliness of the thing vexed | him. He noticed moreover that the blinds and curtains of the house were challenge to the conventions of | British domesticity. A parlor mai dressed like no other parlor nauld‘ | within his memory, opened to him. The maid let him into a room which like the front door, aroused his angry contempt. The door of it was black, and the doorcase pale blue. The walls were not_papered but palely distem- pered. The scanty furniture was painted in strange tints, and there was not a bit of mahogany or oak anywhere. The fireplace was draped in slaty silk. The lower half of the | walls was covered with paintings and drawings and printe whose subjects were in his opinfon either incompre- hensible or idiotic or indecent, and most of which had the air of having been daubed by humorous children. He could better have withstood these tasteless jokes had they been respect- | | THE | ARISTOCRAT | my daughter for my money, he can't | either. If he isn't, let him prove That's how I look at it. If there’s hole in my argument, happen you'll tell me. Sir Maurice “I'll think It over,” said he, and irritated. No,” said Mr. Hollins. {cide at once, before you room. If you don't, I finished his whisky. dashed “You'll de leave this shall. hat daughter’s my daughter, and there |isn’t going to be any hesitatiof “You know, Mr. Holllns, you've suc- ceeded in putting me in a very awk- | ward position. I don’t want to disap- | point Marmion, and vet I have a duty a—er—serious duty—I appreciate your straightforward methods. I'm all in |tavor of straightforwardness. Saves |trouble in the end. Of course! Of | course. “Then you won't take my daughter as she {a?" “No, Mr. Hollins, I don't say that. I must beg you not to put words into | my mouth.’ T don't say that.” “Then you'll take her as she 52" “I see mno alternative, Mr. Hollins, {but to accept your conditions. May [ help myself?” ~ Sir Maurice poured out. more whisk Hollins Mr. Jack became grimly | My | |ably and stoutly framed in English | gold; but very few of them were framed at all. Disorder was every- where. Minnie came into the room, not hurrying, but moving rather more quickly than usual. There was a look on her face such as he had never seen there; she was Marmion's wife. All | her physique had altered, and for the | better. In fact, she would have been 12 magnificent spectacle but for the huge ugly apron that she was wcur-I ing, which apron covered her from | | mece to ankle. | “Well, father,” she greeted him | tranquilly, as if she had talked with | him last on the previous evening, | “how are you?" She shook hands, did not kiss. “We were both up in the studfo painting. Quaggy will be down in a minute.” | Hollins was furfou: | lins’ inability to lunch. “Quaggy?”’ demanded Mr. Jack Hol- lin “It's what T call Marmion now." Then the husband appeared, in a brown velveteen coat and a necktie that might have been -ripped off & cushion cover. He had decidedly put on Aveight, but did not seem to be in very good condition. The perfection of his social manner, however, was unimpaired. Ignoring Mr. Jack Hol- lns' irritated taciturnity, he talked at ease of the Amazon and the Booth from self-consciousness. {don’t mind telling you now, as we've | line of steamers and of similar mat- ters suitable to the comprehension of a fatherdnlaw. And as he talked, Minnie with shining eyes, happy and absent-minded, stroked his velveteen shoulders at Intervals in adoration. Oh! He was decldedly at peace with his_ world, was Marmion You must see the rest of the house, father,” said Minnfe. “Well, If you want to know,” said Mr. Jack Hollins, after the agitating tour of inspection (the double drawing room had been turned into two tudios), “well, if you want to know, I don’t like it, and that's flat.” “No," observed Marmion, with & be- nignant placidity, “we feared it might hurt your finer susceptibilities.” k%o ACKANAPES! The fellow was laughing at his father-inlaw! Mr. but he controlled himself. He declined to stay to lunch, partly because of his general resent- ment, and partly because he detested the dining table, which was ridiculously narrow and painted In & most offensive oranga tint. Marmion very courteously regretted Mr. Hol He passed his elegant hand acroes his forehead, and Minnle, exclaiming that Quaggy suf- fered too much from neuralgia, started on the disquieting subect of his health. Mr. Hollins had a lancinating qualm; “If he dies before the old baronet, my daughter will never be her lad. ship.” Then Minnie referred, apparently quite incidentally, to the fact that Quaggy had decided to resign his com- mission in the lst Life Guards, so that he might have more leisure for painting. This was precisely the straw _that broke the back of Mr. Jack Holllns' temper. The veins on his neck became manifest. And as her father began to lay about him Minnie was reminded of the terrible humiliations her mother had suffered in the past. She blushed for her father, but she left the situation for her husband to handle. Mr. Hollins both ramped and raved. He would have his way. His sondnlaw was |largely dependent upon him, and his son-in-law should not resign his commission. He didn't mind his son-in-law playing at art, but he would absolutely not permit him to be a professional painter. No! Let him understand that once for all' Mr. Jack Hollins' daughter was not going to be the wife of a professional painter. If Marmion resigned his com- mission he would then no doubt re- linquish physical exercise entirely, and in all probability would die and the title would lapse. A pretty thing! “Anyhow,” Mr. Hollins finished, “you let me hear from you tomorrow morning that you've changed your mind, or else— “Yes?" sald Marmion “Or else not another penny of my money will come into this house. I've | got my daughter's interests to think | of. Mr. way out, and nobody accompanied him to the vermilion front door. His state of mind can only be de- scribed as one of exasperated fury. The reasons for the fury were lost in the fury itself. Mr. Jack Hollins had ceased to be rational. The next morning no letter came: either from Marmion or Minnie. Mr. Hollns had feared that there would be no letter, and yet he was amazed at the de- flance. These two persons, who had absolutely no weapons, were never- theless defying him. And Mr. Hollins had an_original and brilliant idea. He called up Mr. Shelton Shelton, philanthropic giver of clinics. Mr. Shelton Shelton, being a very important person indeed, was not.easy to get at, even on the tele- phone. ~But Mr. Hollins, perhaps by the ruthlessness in his voice, got at him, explaining that he desired an Hollins made the worst of his | WANIHLNG U, | [¥] | THESE TWO STOUT, THICK-NECKED. RED-FACED OLD MEN GREW STOUTE ' APPEARED TO BE A |interview about a philanthropic | scheme of magnitude and obtained an | appoiatment for the next day * THE next day, there being no sign | of any sort from the house with the vermilton door, Mr. the appolntment Hollins kept | He had to walt for | nearly a quarter of an hour in t antechambers of Mr. Shelton Shelton, which annoyed him considerably. Mr. Shelton Shelton recefved Mr. Jack Hollins, somewhat nonchalantly, in a magnificently furnished private office. {He was a short, thin man, with a | | shiny, red compiexion, an oily, | stnuating voice, a short, pointed whi beard, a frock coat, and the habit of Joining his hands at the tips of his fingers. Mr. Jack Hollins thought he resembled a revivalist preacher or | moneylender'a tout much more than a renowned philanthropist; but he ad- | mitted at the first glance that Mr Shelton Shelton must be an excdeed- ingly clever and wary man. He was the ‘least bit afrald lest the philan- {throplst might -in some unimagined |way get the better of him. lense do accept my- apologies for keeping you waiting, m dear Mr. Hollins,” began Mr. Bhelton Shelton, his hand folding like a snake round the hand of Mr. Hollins. “I hope I needn't tell you that circumstances | were too much for me. They often are, also! Do sit down. 1 am de- | lighted to meet a director of the Mid- | lands Cooked Food Co, which has done | #0 much to cater honestly for our | |impoverished middle classes.” And | s0_on. Mr. Hollins soon perceived that Mr. Shelton Sheiton had learned a good deal about him. And after Mr. Hol- | lins had mumbled something Mr. Shel- | ton Shelton went on again: “I feel sure you'll understand if I| ask you at this interview to state your case as briefly as possible. day has been deranged. I have appointment with the Countess Alcar in a quarter of an hour, {another with the First Secretary of |the American Embassy in an hour | from now.’ | 1] “I can state my case in § | not 15, Mr. Shelton Shelton,” said Mr. | | Jack Hollins firmly. “I'm like your- | | self, a rich man.” ~Mr. Shelton Shel- ton nodded approvingly. “I've got| nothing to do with my money. No| family, except one daughter who's | minutes, | ma | which you have in mind to { was not t ried and settled. | I've no vices, and féw pleasures, and so I don't spend my money. 1 want to do-some- thing with it, something us particularly don’t want to leav hind me" “Before we go a Mr. Shelton Shelton me with any further “can you furni of the your proposed scheme? The cholce of the scheme would obviously be fluenced by the sum at dispe lion, to Hollir on Shelton glanced firs id then at his watch t let me think it o aid he r. The the clock “You Hollins," think it ov siderable—and may 1 sa 1 admire vour simplicit public spirit? will and write you a rang a_be Mr. Hollins found himsel tiously in the si and the nove idea presented itself to him that he e only strong and ru the face of earth how deepls vour over I in expedi- less man on RAL S in the ev e her father Good after What do you wan T just looked re getting on armion resigned ie called ock she you how E his com E “Yes.” Minnie sat down, taking off her gloves, and Mr. Hollins jumped up He guazed at his daughter, rabid and puzzled. The blow had fallen. He was definitely and uncompromisingly de fied. There must be something, must be a good deal, of himseif in that young woman who he realized had : ways baffled him even when he humillated and tortured her and forced her to obey him. In her own way she must be as ruthless as he v A But he would lLe ruth less. He would be ruthless as before. He simply could not bear k ing defied. The trouble was not now that Marmion had resigned his com- mission—it was that Marmion and Minnie had defied hi “You wait!” he s with terrible contained bitterness, and hastened to his bedroom, drawing a bunch of keys id m NICE QUESTION WHICH OF THEM WOULD EXPLODE FIRST. mploy on | R AND THICKER-NECKED AND MORE RED-FACED. AND TT wn e had s ng the as there was no imme ran out on to the lan muels! Samuels! I I think ha When she returned to him M lins' forehead had gone whit hands were blue. I | scious, fo knelt t s he went. His s He returned { from his pocket Minnie { was in the bedroon his will “You ! see that™ he said. ‘“That | meant fifty thousand a year to you.| { It will mean nothing in 4 minute, be cause 1 am going to burn it. I'm go ing to give aw of what I have while I'm alive, and what's left'll gol to charity by a new will Just then Samuels came in with ! {tetter tha rived by the 6 o' ing the Mr. Jack Hollins snatched it, dropping | the “will The letter was, as he surmised, from | Mr. Shelton Shelton. He was intend ing to show it to Minnie as a further proof of his i But it was as My dear our very interesting and agreeable in terview how pro foundly desire to give half a lion pou d my phil is a mark of as even 1 have sel and encourages me 1o in my > to employ er is ta apople s 5 doytor 1 impudence | of the great phil {him. Not for another mion e. Mr. Hol wred Minnie There was I boa house before. He held her stricken with 24 munificent the same arrange transter | other secur; Mr. Hollins Shelton Sh i for the vours, I the nec Bell very cordiall; HE tried stamped bis the letter into into the fire The sight of tng — h claimed in protest “Father!" She had old 1 his neck terrific pressure seams: his breathing w his eyes rolled. The continued violen: | efforts to relleve his emotion by artic ulation racked his obese frame, pro iucing such exhaustign that he fell at | last into the easy-chalr and his head |t sank to one side against the flap. could not crunc! threw spe feet P is rage that was appall so Minnie ex- | bed. realizing vast and of her solemnized her. on Ma the poc and ineff Ke it respo ch. veins of ver seen anyth an's f: violentl d to puff up overch, ith | even in those sim] at we are EI LAN FONG, who is to China what John Barrymore and Rudolph Valentino com- bined are to the United | Btates, must confine his his-| trionic ability and the display of his| charms to his native country. This | is the conclusion of Harry J. Mondorf, European representative of the Kelth circult of vaudeville houses, whose duty it is to, out over the whole world in search of new attractions for | the American two-a-day. Mr. Mon- dort_recently returned to this coun-| try from an extended tour of Europe | and Asta. | The considerations which caused | Mel Lan Fong to be listed as impos- | sfble for American exploftation are pecullar. He is. Mr. Mondorf believes the greatest actor of the Orfent. strangely enough, he has won fame through his portrayal of female | roles. His followers declare him to be such a master of the art of make. up that when he is ready to appear | before the footlights he is more beau- | tiful then his wife, who s considered | a charmer of the first rank. How- ever, certain female impersonators have attained a conslderable vogue in | this country and Mel Lan Fong would | not necessarily be barred because of | this peculiarity of his talent Mr. Mondorf explains the situation thus: “Mel Lan Fong cannot be brought to America because he speaks | | only Chinese and acts only in Chinese | pla: People here wouldn’t be able to understand him. He would be a | financial loss. | “In China, however, he is unequaled as a box office attraction. I had heard s0 much about him that T was deter- | mined to have a talk with him. My |friends told me it was impossible. Only on the rarest occasions does he re- celve a visitor. As I fnsisted, I w: | told to write him a letter requesting fan audience. That was too slow a method. I telephoned to him instead, getting a Chinese interpreter to do the talking. “Much_to the amazement of my friends, Mel Lan Fong asked me to take tea with him the following after- noon. Through the Peking newspa- pers he had learned that I was in the city. I believe he would have been as | disappolnted as myself if we had failed to meet. | "“The mext afterncon I went to his |home. It was a beautiful place. He had gathered there a precious collec tion of art objects valued by connois- | seurs at a million dollars. { “As soon as I arrived I was sent | from one secretary to another, and finally was shown to a room where | Mel Lan Fong himself was waiting. He arose and came forward to greet me. As he did so I observed his features. They were as delicate as those of & woman. His jet-black hair was cut in the Western manner, but he wore the ordinary Chinese cos- tume, the outer robe being of a fine blue silk. “For two hours we talked together, touching especially on the Chinese | drama and his own career. Our con- versation was carried on through an interpreter, a bright Chinese lad, who was very grateful for the chance to see the great actor. “Mel Lan Fong, 1 learned, came from actor ancestors and started his | | man, Great Matinee Idol of the Chinese. Supreme in East, reer when but an Actors in China, it seems, were tradi- tionally regarded as though this feeling has chang what since the passing of the Ch y. But Mei Lan Fong 0 remarkable that at th 20 he attracted the attention of renowned Chinese scholar. This amenting the widespread pol cal corruption in ( w in the young actor a p istrument for spreadin of r form. He persuaded Mei Lan Fong to abandon his cl sal Chinese plays and to start anew with a historical drama written olar hi elf. From that the actor’s rise to fame was rapid. “Asg our talk ended and I rose to g¢ Mei Lan Fong asked if 1 would like to sée him act Naturally, I eagerly seized the opportuntty. He arranged to have me come to @ private per- stag by time on MEI LAN FONG, AS THE CELESTIAL FLAPPER. , | ister's home. Cannot Come Here he at a which evening { formance following there—cabi di treated him with marked resy “He usually receives about $3.0 for private performances, I learnc later. And for public ones the seat are invariably =old out two weeks in advance, with prices as high as New York theaters, 1 times higher vad at it gayly 300 persons were they were all' dressed in Oriental costumes. There exception—a oung CI Western evening dress. who can 10 me as 1 entered and, speaking v &00d English, escorted me to a seat where 1 was pl ed betw Chinese gentlen both ¢ spoke English Mei La g gav mance. It was the fin had seen in China, and been to about 30 plays. the performance I w to Mel Lan Fong's dressiffg room. We {bowed to each other in/the formal | Chinese manner and then 1 told him | how excellent 1 thought h the minister's dec there and beauti; was one About awarded r at National been rebu splendid | Na <t acting I had the Japanese Thes n Tokio, which hd t following the earthqualk, » the Americans a Europeans Mv- ing in China he is known not only for the wonderrul delicacy of his acting but also for his exquisite gense ot color and his taste in mounting hi It might be thought that since 1 plays only female roles he would seeni effieminate even when off the stag But this is not so. Indeed, he usua dresses in Western clothes. and show s traces of effemin: v when the demands of acti I.an Fong is a bigge: than the Presider nts come and go but M Lan Fon the Chniese people, wi eclipsed. It is unfortunate Oriental drama is our own that it seems tastic to the O nt | from M his wa Presi gotte man i it of Chine and ave fc adored never 1 that the different from unreal and far ‘\I;)nke}:; at \>Vork. N Pattant, a southern province of Siam, and in Kel: of th nfederated Malay monkey« are trained by the es to pl cocoanuts and ed ed pods fo their masters, according to Dr. Bourke of the Indian e, who ha made an interestir rvation of new comme: trained d« mestic animals The romantie notion—derived from literature of the Swiss Family Robir son type—that monkeys naturall climb cocoanut palms and throw dow the nuts out of mischief or from de sire to oblige is_ pure fiction. T monkeys must be caught young ar refully trained to their jobs by aching them to a long pole on t top of which is fastened a bunch o | fruit. The animals quickly learn t run up to the fruit and throw it dow {for their owm food. Having { mastered the central idea, as It wer they can then be perfected in the profession in the palm- trees. Only the larger monkeys are s | cesstul with the cocoanuts. It re quires considerable effort and fre | quently the use of teeth as well as | hands to detach the nuts. But the { smaller monkeys can readily manage | the pods which grow in small clusters on the ends of the branches of the taw tree, and which provide tho natives with an important food Item The seeds resemble a broad bean and are eaten as a vegetable, hoth r: and cooked. It is sald that a we, trained monkey can pick as many pods in a day as a man, thus en- abling his fortunate owner to earn a full day's wages with & minimum amount of effort one of |