Evening Star Newspaper, March 21, 1926, Page 56

"4 l‘ THE SUNDAY NOTES OF ART AND ARTISTS The Exhibition of Paintings by Charles Bittinger—Modern Italian Art at the National Gallery. BY LEILA MECHLIN. HE exhibition .of paintings by Charles Bittinger, associate * member of the National Acad- emy of Design, which opened a week ago in the Arts Club end was briefly mentioned in these columns last Sunday, is attracting well deserved attention. Contrary to present day custom, these paintings pmphasize subjective vather than technical interest. The art of the painter is subordinated, deliberately subordinated, to the theme presented. 1t should be remembered, however, that much skill is required to accom- plish this end. To paint in such a way that process can be forgotten is in itself an achlevement. A number of these pletures by Mr. Rittinger ure interiors of well known halls or rooms. For instance, the Llue room at the White House, the stalrease in the Library of Congress, both of which are well known to \Washingtonians and make strong local as well as national appeal; the library of the sumptuous University Ch New York with lts elaborately dec- orated alcoves and rich coloring: and last, but not least, the Church of Paul Revere, a beautiful colonial structure. All of these are essentially portraits W places; ves, even more than that, of things, for every detail s exqui- sitely rendered with that painstaking accuracy and care so few are willing 1o give today. Seme may say ‘“pho- tographic,” but no photograph could =0 render color and atmosphere; no photograph could so comprehend the whole and set forth each part in such porfect relationship The writer's favorite—and after all, no matter how much care one may take to exerclse impartial judgment, the personal element is bound to enter in—is the interior of the Church of Paul Revere. with its lightflooded window, its shadowy pews, its sense peace and repose. Mr. Bittinger has so painted the interior of this old chureh that one can readily in imagi- nation realize the spirit of the pre- Revolutionary time and of the simple worship ¢h made so large a part of the of our hardy American ancest This is, indeed, a beautiful and a notable painting. Not infrequently Mr. Bittinger has peopled his paintings with figures in vited from the past and thus most vividly \lls the perfods which they esent. For eyample, “On Le; » is a picture of the painter home in Duxbur ed durin: 1 touct ix “Th 1t's administration ume of the time—draped skirt and e bustle, ell remembered by e whose memory goes back half ® century, but so impossibl be- lief today. In "On Leave in ° ladies appear In hoops and be-ruffled s<kirts, and approaching along the snow covered road is a | high-topped vehicle, buggy Tlustratively these g interestifig, but art entitled “On Leave in makes per. appeal. In the first sautiful old house, stand- | re to the winds of is portraved, and sec sitlon of trees. road end n unusually happy sort. indeed, Is this old house in fts surroundings that one al- most resents the intrusion of the peo: ple, the people who no longer seem to belong, who in reality never did be- | tong. More perfectly in harmony with the surroundings is the charming young woman in flowing silken gown with | Jong train gr fully disposed, seated | before a dressing table in the picture entitled, “Vanity.” Obviously she is painted here as a piece of stilllife. but beautifully painted, the chief and most lovely factor in a colorful, in- teresting composition. Occasionally Mr. Bittinger lay¥ aslde the role of historian and becomes a landscape painter, and when he does his style changes. No longer Aoes he concern himself with minutiae, hut paints broadly and with a fuli brush. In this exhibition he shows two large landscape canvases—New England hillsides in Autumn. to a | areat extent covered with a rich man- | te of red leafed blueberry bushes, raminding one of the purple heather- lad hills of land, but different and our own. He shows also several landscapes, pictures of the jouth, not far distant from Sunset on a Brook™ and other subjects. He also presents a second view of his beautiful Duxbury home, charming in itself, needing no ornament. Mr. Bittinger was born in Wash- fngton and is a nephew of Miss Annle Wilson, for many years director of art in the public schools of this city, beloved by thousands of former pu- pils who have profited by her instruc- and happily come in personal con- t with her. He is a pupil of the Art Students’ League in New York, cole des Beaux Arts in He ‘studied under Deleclushe and Colarossi. Because of his achieve- ment in art he has been made a life member of the National Arts €lub, New York. His painting of the “Bib- liotheque du Dauphin” is owned by the City Art Museum of St. Louls, and his painting of the “Boston Athen- aeum” is owned by the Metropolitan Museum, New York, while his “En- trance to the Salle des Glaces™ has been acquired by the Allegheny Col- lege, Meadville, Pa. His diploma painting of the National Arts Club is entitled, “The Boudoir.” During the lite are both | the one | ondly | common interest Arts Club Show. uable experiments and discoveries in combinations of color along the lines of invisibility. Kk ok N the lower room at the Arts Club re to be seen a serles of paintings by Edith Hoyt of this city, a member of the club. These are sketches made out of doors c ng a great varlety and far-off places, all of which give indication of artistic perception, a_sensitiveness to beauty in nature. They are colorful and In some instances rendered with con- siderable subtlety as well as nice feel- ing. QY It Tuesday evening at the Arts Club Wilfred Conrow, the wall-known portrait painter, gave an intensely interesting and memorable illustrated talk on “The Antioch Chal- ice,” that marvelous silver cup which was hidden for over 1400 vears and discovered only 156 or 16 years ago In a subterranean chamber where the an- clent city of Antloch stood, & cup which. judging from the workmanship and design dates back to the first century and which historians and archeologists declare may, in fact, be the long sought Holy Grail. This cup, privately owned, is being held by its present owner as a sacred trust pending a decision as to its per- manent placement as a world posses- sion witnessing to the truth of the xospels. Mr. Conrow, after telling of discovery, described it minutely e with the enthusiasm of an t of the marvelous workmanship, the sculptural portrayal of the flgures of Christ and the apostles carved minutely on the outer bowl. The lan- tern slides which he showed were made from the finest photographs se- cured after many trials and failures. For nine years this chalice has been the subject of research on the part of the most distinguished archeologists, and the result of this study has been to confirm the belief in its origin and to add to its intrinsic interest. It is upposed to be the work of a Greek raftsman, and as an example of craftsmanship it stands among the great works of antiquity. One could not help but be impressed not only by the enthusiasm of the speaker, but by the thoroughness of the research which has been made to establish facts. A sumptuous volume describing minutely and illustrating richly this chalice has been published, one copy of which has been deposited at the Library of Congress. It is a publica- tion which sells at $700, therefore is not one which many individuals can afford to own. The purpose was to permanently preserve the record of the piece and to extend the knowledge of fts existence. In introducing Mr. Conrow. G. A. Lyon, past president of the Arts Club, told how he had first learned of the chalice through his friends, the Kin- neys, the well known strators and ete Mrs. Kinney being engaged In mak 1 etching of the cup; then of having seen it and. through a in this great work of craftsmanship and rgligious relic, raving come in touch with Mr. Con row. a_non-resident member the Arts Club, whom ke had not known. Mr. Lyon noi only acted as host last Tuesday evening but also as lantern operator. A large and ap- preciative audience listened for over two hours with rapt attention to Mr. Conrow’s unusual illustrated talk. * & % % 3 the National Gallery of Art, New National Museum. will be opened on the afternoon of Thursday, March 25, with a private view the exhibition of modern Italian art which was or- ganized by the Italian ministry of public struction and sent to this country under the patronage of the King of Italy, through the instrumen- tality of the Italy-America Socfety. The purpose of this exhibition is to demonstrate to America the fact that the art of Italy is by no means an art of the past, that there are artists in Italy‘today who are not only carrying on tradition but creating new tradi- tions, and that art has a large place in the development of the new Italy. Arduino Colasanti, director of the department of fine arts, who personal- ¢ selected the exhibits comprised in this collection, tells us, says AMr. La- mont, president of the Italy-America Society, in introductory note on the exhibition, that “united Italy is second to no great nation in number of artists and in sincerity of artistic expression, the influence of which has been widely felt bevond the narrow borders of the country itself.” The collection was first shown at the Grand Central Galleries, New York, since when it has been exhibited in Boston, whence' it comes here. The leading New York critics found it vastly interesting, not merely because of the quality of the work set forth, but on account of its representative and individualistic character. When this exhibition was about to open in Boston the art critic of the Transcript referred to it as follows: “A most in- teresting and sweeping group of paint- seulptures and crafts has been assembled. Zngly in contrast is the furious futur section to the suave American works to which we are accustomed. The extremists be- long to a period ended 15 vears ago, but prophetic according to some of the later Fascist movement. Among the Italian artists, one is told by the Contessa Robilant of the Italy-America Society, are the men of humble birth, peasants living close to the soil and sensitive to undercurrents. Futurism was only a phase in the development * % ok X war Mr. Bittinger devoted himself to the work of camouflage, making val- s “QN LEAVE IN 63 A PAINTING BY CHARLES of what is now looked upon as another previously | continues, ‘“from Mancini to Modl- gliani, each of whom has a half-dozen or so of paintings; but the exhibtion is comprehensive, serving at the same time to bring to light the younger artists of today: for instance, Donghi and Cadarin. The former, only 27 years of age, who lives in Iome, has two finely considered works of comy spicuous merit. The latter, who was the director of d'Annunzio’s villa, has 10 works of neo-classic style.” The most generously represented in this exhibition is Mancini, whom some term the “Sargent of Italy.” No less than 12 of his paintings are herein included. The Brooklyn Museum has generously lent Boldinl's portrait of Whistler, and Mrs. Lydig his portrait of herself, The painter whose work will create undoubtedly the greatest amount of interest and controversy is Antonio Donghi, a modernist, whose works, however, hark back to tradition and are forceful examples of the art of simrlification, of direct painting. There are included in this exhibi- tion 15 paintings Spadini, who died in Rome only last year, it is said in the full flower of his art. In the Ven- ice blennial of 1924 he won ‘‘spec- tacular and sensational success.” This exhibition comprises, however, not only paintings but sculpture and examples of decorative and graphic art. From the glimpse which the writer had of the exhibition on its arrival in New York the impression lingers that the sculptural sectlon is of particular interest. It is understood that the opening view will be made an international \ffair, with the Italian Ambassador, ihe Secretary of State and members of the Italy-America Society in at- tendance. The exhibition will be urranged by and in charge of Dr. Lauro de Bosis, who has made a spe- clal study of Italian art and will deliver two or more lectures on the subject in the auditorium of the National Museum while the exhibition is in progress. * * THE Jury for the w o orcoran Gallery's Tenth Biennial Exhibition of Con. temporary American Art will meet in this city the early part of this week. This jur, mund C. Tar- bell, “chairman; John (. Johansen, Jonas Lie, Leopold Seyffert and Rob- ert Spencer, with the director of the gallery us an ex officio member of the hanging committee. It is for this jury to award the Willlam A. Clark lr!rluwram] lrhe Corcoran medals. The ormer are four n numbe re- R r and aggre The exhibition will open on the evening of April 3 with a private view. From April 4 to May 16 it will be free to the public. %% DURL\'G his recent brief stay in Washington Philip A. de Laszlo has painted not only the portraits of the President and Mrs. Coolidge, \-‘lm\\n tortnight ago in the Corcoran Gallery of Art. but portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Larz Anderson, Secretary Mellon and of his daughter, Miss Aiisa Aellon. The last three were painted in the Larz Andeison residence in an im- provised studio on the upper floor which has an excellent north light. The portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Larz Anderson Is a large, mposing canvas, a double portrait, Yepresenting the subjects seated on a sofa of dark wood with plum-colored covering and incon- 4picuous design. Mrs. Anderson is at Mr. Anderson’s right and a trifle nearer the observer. She is represent- ed wearing an evening gown of black velvet with a black Jace scarf over her shoulders, an attire which is not only very becoming, but will likely not €0 out of style. Mr. Anderson is seen in conventional evening the red scarf or sash of the Belgian order of distinction awarded him in recognition of his services during the war diagonally across his breast, re- lieving the blackness and lending an agreeable note of color. Mrs. Ander- son's head is turned slightly to the right with an upward tiit, giving an air of animation and alertness. Mr. Anderson looks directly toward the ob- server. Yet the two figures are in complete unity—an extremely difficult effect to achieve in a double portrait. Furthermore, there is entire absence of the suggestion of posing: to the contrary, an unconventional air of renaissance. It is a long cry,” he naturalness pervades the canvas. The background in this instance is an undecorated wall, light and sunny in tone, which throws the figures in relief and gives the impression of a spacious. airy apartment. To the ex- treme right are the long. graceful folds of a curtain, dark in tone, lend- ing decorative effect, and over the ex- treme end of the sofa at Mr. Ander- son's left lles a dark evening cloak. To say that this portrait recalls the great works of the masters of the British school may lead to misunder- standing, for it is by no means imita- tive or reminiscent, but it is impossi- ble to see it without recalling certain splendid double portraits painted by Raeburn and his cotemporaries. There is in it a sumptuousness combined with simplicity. The likenesses are excellent and, more still, each is a significant characterization. Here is a picture which may well be valued as a personal record, but which is at the same time impressively beautiful, es- sentially worthy and memorable as a work of art. Certainly the distin- gulshed painter has never achieved a more satisfactory result. The portrait of the Secretary of the Treasury was ordered by the New York Chamber of Commerce and will go there for permanent placement. It is & three-quarter length and shows the Secretary standing almost as though arrested in passing. His left }l‘fl‘l (GER, NOW ON VIEW AT THE ARTS CIA!‘F ] ' STAR. WASHI 21 AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY B \ “ANTONELLA.” LPTURE IN THE L BY ARTURO DAZZI EXHIBITED WITH THE NATIONAL GALLERY. “BRETON GIRL.” BY WALDO OPPI, INCLUDED IN THE ITALIAN EXHIBITION AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY. hand is in his trousers pocket, his right hand, partly closed, appears at bent elbow length and serves as a significant element in the composition. The head, seen almost in profile turns slightly toward the observer, and is painted with amazing virility and di rectness. The suavity of brushwork the Larz Anderson portrait h n way here to a crisper and bolder style: in the former the paint- er's hrush can be imagined as gliding gently, even lovingly. over the beautl- ful surfaces, rendering textures, mod- eling fine, soft flesh: but here the brush has been used almost as a chisel and the painter has become sculpturesque, each stroke has been made to tell and not one more been used than was necessary. The result is a powerful presentation of an outstanding man of affairs. A man among men, one of great dignity, force, mentality, financier and art lov a striking personalit who holds himself with u jcence and reserve. All this can be read in the portrait so simply painted that the painter is forgotten in the result. Yet those who know will marvel at the skill—the power both of perception and execution. The portrait of Miss Mellon again is different. Tt is a picture of vouth painted with freshness and in the style of the day—light in coloring, high in key, not a profound but a pleasing presentation. Even appar- ently to this great portrait painter youth is baffling and the best he can do 18 to record It sheer loveliness. For once maturity scores. Philip A. de Laszlo has an inter- national reputation. He has painted the great and the beautiful of many nations: vears of study and practise have gone into his work: he is gifted bevond many—marvelously gifted. But even he does not always succeed. Tle is a rapid worker, he is in great de- mand, many more orders come to him than he can accept. There are those who are satisfied with externals. With such skill and opportunity taking the guise at times of temptation it must be very difficult if not almost impos- gible to escape superficiality. Some- times Mr. de Laszlo does not. But he 18 a true and sincere artist. He loves his work. He reverences art and at his best, as in these portraits, he produces works of art which place BOOKS RECEIVED THE Indian I TWILIGHT; Tribes. By CHILDREN OF Folk Tales of mma-Lindsay r. author of The Wild Heart New York: Cosmopolitan Book Corporation. INTELLECTUAL VAGABONDAGE; An Apology for the Intelligentsia. By Floyd Dell. New York: George H. Doran Co. WHAT THE QUEEN SAID; and Further Facetious Fragments. By Stoddard King. New York: George H. Doran Co. SPORT OF THE GODS. A novel. By Grove Wilson, author of “Man of Strife.” New York: Frank Mau- rice, Inc. THE QUESTION MARK. By M. Jae- ger. New York: The Macmillan Co. CURING THE CRIMINAL; a Treatise on the Philosophy and Practices of Modern Correctional Methods. By Jesse O. Stutsman. general super- intendent of Rockview Peniten- Bellefonte, Pa.. etc. New cmillan Co. THE GANG a Study of the Pre-Adolescent Boy and His Recre- atlonal Needs. By Paul Hanly Furfey, Ph. D. New York: The Macmillan Co. ASHES OF DESIR By Pamela Wynne, author of nn's an Idiot.” 'w York: The Macauley Co. IMMIGRATION PROBLEM; a American Immigration Conditions and Needs. By Jere- miah W. Jenks, Ph. D., LL. D., and W. Jett Lauck, secretary of former National War Labor Board. Sixth edition, revised and enlarged by Rufus D. Smith, M. A. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Co. EDUCATION IN SOVIET RUSSIA. By Scott Nearing. New York: International Publisher THESE SAYINGS OF MINE; an In- terpretation of the Teachings of Jesus. By Lloyd C. Douglas, author of “The Minister's Every- day Life. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. him, one may venture the belief, not merely among the great painters of today, but of all time. Will Help Air Lines. As was generally anticipated the Swedish government proposes again to subsidize the Junkerplane service of aerotransport between Malmo and Amsterdam and between Malmo and Berlin. The minister of communications is not inclined to support the proposed Gothenburg Malmo-Berlin and Oslo- Gothenburg-Copenhagen services. The ambitious scheme for a direct line be- tween Gothenburg and London, stop- ping at BEsbjerg and Nordurney, has also failed to gain official support. The official subsidies for civil air traffic this year will be the same as last— 500,000 crowns (about $125,000)—but the loan fund will be raised from 0.300;.000 crowns to 600,000 (about §160,- THE AMERICAN YEAR BOOK; a Record of Events and Progress, Year 1925. Albert Bushnell Hart, LL. D., editor; William M., Schuy- ler, associate editor. Edited with the co-operation of a supervisory board representing national learn- New York: The INDIGESTION: What It Is and How to Prevent It. By Arthur L. Hol- land, M. D.. Cornell University Medical College. New York: D. Appleton & Co. GRANDMA'S BOOK OF RHYMES. By Laura Coates Reed. Illus- trated by Alfred Houghton Clark. Kansas City: Published by the author. Ireland’s Commission for Relief of the Poor recently found that one woman receiving aid owned an auto- mobile and three melodeons. \An electric refrigerator, uses chlormethyl, is being Switserland. ; ‘which made in 1926—PART 2. REVIEWS OF SPRING BOOKS Especially Good Novels by Benson, Birmingham, Marsh and MacClure—the Letters of Sir Walter Raleigh. ' Robert Grant’s New Story. IDA GILBERT MYERS. THE LETTERS OF SIR WALTER RALEIGH: 1879--1922. Edited by Lady Raleigh. Preface by David .Nicho! Smith, Oxford University. Illustrated. New York: The Mac- millan Company. HESE two volumes of letters will be of great interest to many American students at Oxford who, only a few yvears ago, had literature in that university under Sir Walter Raleigh. The spirited and inspiring personality of the man will, to these students, expand under this reading to cover also the traveler, the professor of Eng- Ilish literature at the Mohammedan College of Aligarh in India, the keenly allve wayfarer from Kashmir to Cey- lon, the loiterer in Italy searching for health, the informing and engaging | letter writer from all of these points, | from all of these various occupations | and preoccupations. Intimate letters, these, to members of his own family—his mother and sisters and wife—and to intimate friends. Such intimacy and freedom | of intercourse set the key of this cor- respondence. There is not a stilted line in it. There is never a ponderous attitude suggested, nor a pretentious sentence set down. There is plenty of enthusiasm, however. Indeed, frank enthusiasm on all manner of themes marks the great bulk of these letters. Flere is a man who, clearly, ig in love with life—with the people | and places where his lot is from time to time cast, with the conditions of the varfous countries of his pursuit— | their conditions of culture and their | general condition of progress as well. A man greatly in love with his own land and its rich literature in which he has steeped his individual life and from which he has gained his own par- ticular outlook upon all culture. A robust man of strong convictions, which he glves out now and then in a vigor as remote from the teachers of our own acquaintance as life s unlike coma. And this zest of life, this gusto of approach, this fearlessness of word—these together. quite apart from the learning and world sophistication of the man, are what make these let ters the best of contacts for the gen- erally conventional and circumscribed tribe of teachers. Hardly anything concefvable could be better for these than Sir Walter Raleigh's robust hold upon life in all of its omsms-l‘mg aspects. 1 * % k¥ COLIN II. By E. F. Benson, author of “David Blaize,” etc. New York George H. Doran Co. € LIN II" is the modern version of devll possession. In olden times, to be in partnership with Satan carried with it the unmistakable sign of this compact—some mark of fea- ture, some wickedness of deed, some evil threat in every association. But times have moved along since then. Nowadays a man may be the devil's own self and yet look and act exactly like his fellow men. So it was with Colin II, whose ancestor, the first Colin, had passed on to him a clear partnership with the prince of dark- ness. Such 1s the motive of Mr. Benson's latest novel. With this motive the author develops a character which, under an exceptionally pleasing ex- terior, is & clear instrument of de- struction vitafized and directed by its own human ingenuity. There's not a thread of melodrama here. although the theme itself clearly invites such an effect. Instead, along the daily run of English country life Colin TT finds innumerable ways of serving his master. Handsome. guy, agreeable of manner, kindly of attitude, he, never- theless, in a thousand laughing deeds repudiates friendship, love, filial feel- when he was a young man absorbed in love and marriage. Carefully he goes over this period of experimer: In living—two strangers trying to live together in harmony and mutual hap- piness. Then there are children bring- ing their own problems of up-bringing and care. And these grow to their own days of flowering into love and matrimony. The memories end with the advent of a grandchild and a sllver-wedding surprise party in honor of the couple whose life together is spread out here in “The Married Man.” The case of every family man I8 stated here In the kirdly tolerance and genlal humor with which William Dean Howells projected his romances of American domestic life. The book is, in effect, of the Howells brand of realism applied to a group similar at many points to those with which the older novelist set a new pattern of American fiction. A novel for the | reader of keen and quiet appreciations of the subtler phases of life, of the less obvious, the less blatant ups and downs of the matrimonial experiment. * % ok SHELTER. By Charles Fielding Marsh, author of “After Harvest.” New York: D. Appleton and Com- puny. A MUCH softer story than “Tess"— not so stark in its tragedy, not so exacting at every step of its bitter course, as the famous Hardy romance. Yet. “‘Shelter” suggests “Tess” in its porirayal of circumstance as the ar- biter of life, in its stress upon acci- dent as the fashioner of human exist- ence. The heart of the matter is not altogether unknown. Many a man has.all unbeknown to himself, fathered another man's child. An English country girl—a good girl, too—is the center of this romance. Like most girls with two lovers, Phoebe was will- ing to marry either of them. Since Bob the eallor, bolder than Ezra the farmer, asked first he was the hus. hand-to-be of Phoebe. Then in a quar- rel with another man, Bob, by acel- dent Kkilled this man and was sent to prison. But it was hnperative that Phoebe have a hushand. It was here that the unsuspecting® Ezra provided the “Shelter” for Phoele, and here that this very admirably developed tragedy unfolds. A good husband, a good wife and & darling boy whom they both loved devotedl Then, so carefully, so in- telligently and so artfully, Mr. Marst selects this circumstance, that in dent, a shade of color, a trait of di position, a stranger's recollection of a ceftain day down by the wood—ele- ments these in the inevitable march of events that, sooner or later, brings every hidden thing into the open. Each of no account by itself, all to- gether a damning and irrefutable proof. Much of this absorbing story has to do with Phoebe's “Shelter” in which she lived her happy home life with Ezra and the boy. At the last the =zhelter fails and she, with her secret, stands stark before the man. | Let's leave it there. Every man will have his own solution of the matter. The women will have theirs too, not %0 different from that of the ien. ‘What did Ezra do? You teli. * k¥ % THE GOLDEN SNAIL: A Fant London. By Victor MacClure. dianapolis: The Bobbs Merrill Com pany. PL'BLH‘I‘I"Y is the great magician of this supreme buvingand-selling ane. To serve the purposes of the gods of advertisement the keenest of wit is nowadays engaged, the best in art is mobilized, the most ingenius de vices are summoned, striking attitudes | prevall, compelling gestures arrest the passer-by at every point. Overtopping ing and plain duty. An artful man in the ways of unkindness, a subtle man in the thrusts of hatred. All the time, however, the modern man of standing and influence. It is hard to see just how Mr. Ben- son created this effect, where he with- held, where he let go, to turn out this character so at war with itself. Yet a character in whom one has a shred of ultimate faith, as his remarkable wife also had. Then Dennis, the son, came. And here you will hardly be able to hold yourself for the indigna- tion that the man arouses in you over his brutality—a smooth and laughing brutality—toward Dennis. And the boy, such a trump, too, ador- ing this bedeviled man. Not a pleas- ant story. One reads it sitting on the edge of his chair, ready to pounce upon the fellow himself. And so en- grossed does one become, 80 personally enlisted in the struggle that, when the change does come, as it does finally, one hates the dramatic sus- pension of the end of the matte: Great story, nevertheless, despite on sense of unsatisfaction at the close of it. * kK % BINDON PARVA. By George A. Birmingham, author of “Found Money,” etc. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Co. YOU‘VE thought about it yourself many a time. You've wondered if the walls and floors and rooms of old houses have not taken on the feelings of those living in them gen- eration after generation. If these have not absorbed many a drama set there; if these have not recorded the Jjoys and sorrows, the hopes and fears and faflures and triumphs of many an individual life spent in this old house y or that one. It is unbelievable that these walls of wood or even of stone could remain impervious to the urgencies of the spirit of man. Sometimes it comes to one, sitting quiet in the dusk, very open to even the faintest of influences, that these absorbed fragments of human life may emerge again from the sur- rounding walls; that they may emerge and meet and coalesce and float be- fore our eyes, faint re-embodiments of men and women who used to be even as we are now. Romancers and poets and philosophers have time and again played with this idea as fact or fancy or supposition. An endless fascination in it; a very humanizing influence in it, too. Such is the motive of this group of short stories. Their author declares them to be pure invention, made of ‘whole cloth. Neither legend nor folk lore. Whether f{llusion or delusion, they are a clear fascination. Two anclent churches down in Dorsetshire are responsible for these inventions; they and the fanciful theory already mentioned. Here are walls soaked in the penitential griefs of many centu. ries. Confession of strange wicked- nesses had gone into these church walls, and of sore penance imposed, f ultimate forgiveness, of renewed flfs. From such a source these tales move out into the open. Beautiful stories, all simplicity and charm, almost purely convincing—that is, by virtue of the manner of their tellin coupled with the reader's instinc toward their spiritual and dramatic veracity. Each of the dozen is the best of all. * ok ok x THE MARRIED MAN. By Robert Grant, author of “The Bishop's Granddaughter,” etc. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons. ¢ AN easy chair is drawn close to the fire glow. Deep within it aits a man of reminiscent mood, traveling back into his ewn youth. From this point he moves forward to the time all stands the radio—the very apotheo. sis of the urt of publicity, )gl\'ll,nz in- stantaneous and universal news of the superexcellence of this shoe polish, of that tooth paste, of this, that and the other in the present pandemonium of ‘wares to be bought and sold. It is upon this common and striking fact of the moment that “The Golden Snafl” is projected. A bright and de- licious bit of foolery over the zeal of pecunious young artist-poet, by the way—trying to retrieve the fallen fortunes of a Soho restauranteur to ‘whom he is himself hopelessly in debt. It is he who starts the campaign to boost the Golden Snail. It is he who carrfes it forward in a whirlwind of fantastic activity. Not long after, thariks to the magic of publicity, all London fs crowding about the doors of the Golden Snail. The young cru- sader keeps his head while he pushes the fortunes of his forbearing credi- tor and, incidentally, gets his own art into the limelight of profitable atten- tion. A delightful fellow, this Perci- val Pemblebury artist, who gravely and with many an off-hand bit of droll- ery tries out the virtues of a thorough plan of picturesque advertising. A joy and a refreshment for some other- ‘wise bored half hour. * ok ox EVERY WIFE: An Amusement. By GRANT ICHARDS, sauthor of “Caviare.” etc. New York: Ed- ward J. Clode, Inc. 'HIS title stands as a charge whose full content is revealed by the ad- venture itself. Gathered and summed, the matter declares that in every wife there is a strain of truancy carefully concealed under blankets of custom and wifely tradition. Here is a chance for the confident spouse to test the fact lying under this inclusive implication. All he has to do is to provide the wherewithal of a vocation for his demure helpmeet, a vacation to be spent away from him in some unrecorded spot and without communication between them for the time of separation. This is the story of two husbands who took this chance, sending off a couple of young and comely matrons for a change from the dead certainty of their daily lives. clothes, Monte Carlo and a fling with the gods of chance—these are the sur- prising points of place and activity that mark the gay adventure. Not in the bargain that the two husbands, too. should set off on a vacation of their own, but this they did. What more likely, too, tl chosing Monte Carlo—the safest gamble on earth, EXHIB e In- | The flouse Be Paris and new | singe beyond question the 1wo wiwi ‘were harmlessly tatting on some quiet hotel porch. You will enjov the out- come, the meeting of the fcur at Monte Carlo, as yov will also enjoy the zestful approaches to this end of the vacation, and to a gay and plaus ible proot of the truth of the original assertion concerning every wife. * k% & ERNESTINE SOPHIE. Cleugh, author of “Matilda, Gov erness of the English.” New York The Macmillan Company. URE romance, whose Jjob is to make a queen out of a little girl who, to all intents and purposes, is of English blood and training. From the piacid life of an Inglish rectory Ernestine Sophie, when only 14 years old, is taken to the small European kingdom of Nicomedia, of which she has been discovered to be the legiti- mate crown princess. In Nicomedia Ernestine Sophie, a rather lonesome little girl, sets up a great friendship for her foreign grandfather, king of the tiny state. From this polnt of mutual love and friendship there emerges an interesting to-do between the pair. The little girl becomes a real refreshment to the tired old man. And the king stands as her only joy in this strange place of tremendous ceremonies and constant guarrels. That is, the king is her only joy save the puppy that she brought from home. After plots uncountable, ail bent upon a change in the ruling house of Nicomedia, Ernestine Sophie becomes the queen throne. Almost an pen in the locality and situation chosen by the author of this adven ture. The most of these things do happen, and rather more plausibly than one had reason to expect from the purely fanciful foundation of the romantic affair. Good storyteller, this writef, who carries on interestingly through the most unbelievable of sit uations. By Sophia THE PUBLIC LIBRARY Recent accessions at the Public Li brary and lists of recommended read ing will appear in this column each Sunday. Art and Crafts. Bailey. H. T., and Pool. Ethel. Sym bolism for Artists. Ref. WBU-B M. L. 2 . Lace in the Mak- Bobbins and Needle. Cotterell, 1. H. Old Pewter. WY-C82, Crane, Ross. Book of Home Furnish ing and Decoration 2 Fosca, Francois. tenoir. \v % Fraprie, F. R._American Photography Exposure Tables and Handbook. WR-F§66a. Fuchs, Emil. { . and Chisel | Gleadowe, R. ston. Ref. | Goldstein, H. | Every Day Lit | Hatton, R. G. Principles o | tion. Ws.H288p Heard. Gerald. Nui atomy of Cloth: Hicks. A. M. } Nattonul Types of With Pencil, Brush 3 Albert Ruthe: frsnie WV-H33n, day Are nual, 1926, WS Jn(‘f\l{?h’ Michel. The Study of Color. Klingsor, T. C339K .. pseud. Cozanne. W1n Historic Costume. WY Longstreth. Fdward. The Art Guide to Philadelphia. W834P-Ls: | Lucas, Alfred. Antiques. WBY-L6. Lucas. E. V. Chardin and VigeeLe brun. 1924, W10.C374lu. . V. Michael Angeio. | - : L566h | 1924 8l V. Rembrandt. 1924. W10 Lo, ucas, E. V. A Wanderer Among Ple- Lotirts: Wi Lasw. * umsden. E.'S. The Art s rt of Etching. utz, E. G. Practical Graph ures. WALLSTIpg. e FIE Matthews, E. C. Commereial Art and saSartooning. W-M434. Mauclair, Camille. Claude 3 W10-M743m.E. o e Athletic and Recreative Arts. Abraham. G ing. V The American Annual Golf Guide and Year Book, 1925. Ref. VKG-6Ama Beard, D. C. VD - B383d. rooks, E. A Handbook Outdoors. VD-6B794h. SN Camp, S. G. The Angler's Handbook VF-C153a. Clare, a. Musical Appre the Studio Club. Datiey B Tra e: . _J. Traplines and s . VE D}{l.‘}:. ® g ‘oster. R. F. Modern Bridge Taot! VOWB-F813m. @ x5 Giddings. T. P., and others. Three part Music. VZV.G363t. Hinsdell, Oliver. Making the Littl Theater Pay. VU-H590. pon, E. R., and Becker, Beatrice. Ritual and Dramatized Folkways. VUP-J317. Jorgenson. E. I.. Comp. Great Songs of the Church. VYRH-J76g. Kennedy., C. W. College Athletics. [3f Ref. IJ.hsl;;.rsl Steps In Climh. - Re Do Tt Yourself. A o clation and 1924, VWX- VAT-K38. Ears to Hear. ON EXHIBITION Etchings and Aquatints by John Taylor Arms Gordon Dunthorne 1205 Connecticut Avenue ITION of Chinese Art Important Examples of Old Chi ese Bronzes, Potteries, Porcels Jades and other semi-precious carvings THE MAYFLOWER (RECEPTION ROOM) 17tk St. Entrance From Monday, March 22d, to Saturday, March 27th, ‘ Inclusive, 9 AM. to 9 PM. TON-YING & COMPANY 665 Fifth Avenue, New York 'aris London P Shanghal