The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 24, 1902, Page 12

THE SUNDAY CALL | CONDUCTED BY B. G. LATHROP. i — * —p = AST season everybody read “Grau- stark.” It was a success right from Although it was Mr. utcheon's first ts of nice things hap- been in print before Canada dition of their h and Span- and were busy por- rs of the stalwart r Princess of G nce of the delicio the Kkin Me( au- E ap- 0, tired of the pro- as common in 1 to seek menta truly ro- “utcheon has even ov for popular n his favor re has not met McCutcheon picks his new novel of “Cas- Quentin, and rt to waste a little time m New York d and Lady them in their = meets the Ital- e in the story nd he is struck by e he was liv- uth American repub- zes in Prince Ugo Ra- n Parvesi, an Itai- appeared in leading company, and who had the murder of one of upe, but had man- but not his repu- meets Dorothy Garrison him long to make up will save her from a n he knows to be a and he has but tion on this d over ears e L Then it is that begins in earnest. finds that he has more In the first place, it over the affec- American girl with another man, fact that the ob- an of birth cle offers it- Prince soon realizes recognized him as the th South American young American has bride to be. 1 is not a man to sit back and is schemes thwarted, so he begins ith a full corps of assistants, g a detective of no small shockingly small amount of He leaves no stone unturned ng about the Amer- attempts at assassi- mation to the more subtle plan of having Quentin involved in & duel with a profes- in love z of the on his side, has also a band of s of 5o mean worth. He has told f the South American affair to Saxondale and they stand nd soul. His chum, Dickey avs no small part and performs coup when he shoots the fessional duelist, when, rriage of Ravorelli's plans ed on the wrong man. in's et and an ex- art in fianlly outwitting ce's detective, but nmot until the little ex-thief has had some close calls for his own scalp. part of the whole book ique 1s whe: s have gone so badly with the Queniin forces that the bride is on her way to the church to be married and 25 a last resort Quentin and his friends abduct he d carry ber to Saxondale’s castie of C: This is a s at would put even Dumas on le to bring about a successful denouement, but Mr. McCut- cheon shows himsclf equal to the task. The bare relation of the plot savors stron; posterous of the fairy tale in its very pre- ss, but the author writes with urance and parts such a uthfulness in his care of de- f t at as we read we are held to the pitch of excitement and even feel ction that the happenings are ble. Whether Mr. Quentin s in his uphill fight for the of his choice is not for the re- but for the reader to learn The story is quite improb- woman wiewer to tell for himself. able, but the reading of it is most de- lightful We give below the opening chapter, which tells of the way Philip Quentin happened to acquire the vaiuable services of James Turkington, burglar and man of the underworld. Those who are not ac- ainted with Mr. McCutcheon’s direct tyle of narrative and his resources In the way of unique situations will here find a fair sample of "his ingenuity. *“Castle Craneycrow” will undoubtedly be one ot the most popular books of the season. It is published by Herbert S. Stone & Co. Chicago. Price $150: It was characterigtic of Mr. Philip Quentin that he first lectured his servant on the superiority of mind over matter and then took him cheerfully by the throat and threw him into a far corner of the room. As the servant was not more than half the size of his master his opposition was merely vocal, but it was nevertheless unmistakable. His early career had increased his vocabulary, and his language was more picturesque than pretty. Yet of his loyalty and faithfulness there could be no doubt. During the seven years of his service he had been obliged to forget that he possessed such a name as Turkington or even James. He had been Turk from the beginning, and Turk he remained—and, in spite of occasional outbreaks, h 4 proved his devotion to’the young gentleman whose goods and chattels ne guarded with more assiduity than he did his or—what m own soul t more to him—his personal comfort. His employment came about in sn unusual way. Mr. Quentin had an apartment in a smart building uptown. One night he was awakened by a mnoise in his room. In the darkness he saw a man fumbling among his things, and in ah instant he had seized his revolver from the stand at his bed- sidg and covered the intruder. Then he calm- Iy demanded: ‘‘Now, what are you doing < m looking’ for a boardin’ house,” replied the other. sullenly. ““You're just a plain thief—that's all.”” “Well, it won't do me no good to say I'm a sleepwalker, will it?—er a missionary, er a dream? But, on @ dead, sport, I'm hungry, an’ 1 wuz tryin’ to git enough to buy a meal an’ a bed. On d' dead, I wuz" “And a suit of clothes, and an overcoat, and 2 house and lot, I suppose, and please don't call me ‘sport’ again. Sit down—not en the : on that chair over there. I'm going to you. Maybe youw've got something I need.”” Mr. Quentin turned on the light and proceeded to disarm the man, piling his miser- able effects on & chair. “‘Take off that mask. Lord! put it on again; you look much better. So, you're hungry, are you?" “As a bear.” Quentin tried to explain his subsequent ac- tions; perhaps he had had a stupid evening. He merely yawned and addreseed the burglar with all possible respect. ‘Do you imagine T'll permit any guest of mine to go away hun- gry? If yowll wait till T dress we'll stroll over to a restaurant in the next street and get some supper. “Police station, you mean. “Now, don’t be unkind, Mr. Burglar. I mean supper for two. I'm hungry myself, but not a bit sleepy. Will you wait?’ “Ob, I'm in no particular hurry. Quentin dressed calmly. The burglar began whistling softly. “Are you ready?’ asked Philip, putting on his overcoat and hat. “I haven't got me overcoat on yet,” replied the burglar, suggestively. Quentin saw he was dressed in the chilliest of rags. He opened a closet door and threw him a long coat. “"Ah, here is your coat. I must have taken it from the club by mistake. Pardon me.” “T'anks; 1 never expected to git it back,” coolly _replied the burglar, donning the best coat that had ever touched his person. ‘You didn't see anything of my gloves and hat in there, did you?" A hat and a pair of gloves were produced, not perfect in fit, but quite respectable. Soberly they walked out into the street and off into the 2-0'clock stiliness. The mystified burglar was losing his equanimity. He couid not understand the captor's motive nor could he much looger curb his curiosity. In his mind he was fully satisfied that he was walking etraight to the portals of the nearest station. In all his career as a housebreaker he had never before been caught, and now to be cap- tured in such a way and treated in such a way was far beyond comprehension. Ten minutes p o g before he was looking at a stalwart figure with a leveled revolyer, confidently expecting to drop with the bullet in his body from an agitated weapon. Indeed, he encountered con- ditions so strange that he felt a doubt of their reality. He had, for some peculiar and amazing reason, no desire to escape. There was something In the oddness of the proceeding that made him wish to see it to an end. Be- sides he was quite sure the strapping young fellow would shoot if he attempted to bolt. ““This is a fairly good eszting house,’ ob- served the would-be victim as they came to an ““all-nighter."” y entered and deliberately removed their coats, the thief watching his host with shifty, even twinkling eyes. ‘‘What #hall it be, Mr. Robber? You are hungry and you may order the entire bill, from soup to the date line, if you like. Pitch in."” “Say, boss, what's your game?’ demanded the crook, suddenly, His sharp, @inched face, with its week’s growth of beard, wore a new expression—that of admiration. “I ain't such a rube that I don't like a good t'ing even w'en it ain’t comin’ my way. You'se a dandy, dat’s right, an’ 1 t'ink we'd do well In de busi- ness togedder. Put me nex' to yer game.’” © *“Game? The blll of fare tells you all about that. Here's quall, squab, duck—see? That's the only game I'm interested in. Go on and order. ‘elp me Gawd if vou ain't a peach.’” For balf an hour Mr. Burglar ate raven- ously, Quentin watching him through half- closed, amused eyes. He had had a dull, mo- notonous week, and this was the novelty that lifted life out of the torpidity into which it had tallen. The host at this queer feast was at that time little more than 25 years of age, a vear out of Yale, and just back from a second tour of South America. He was an orphan, coming into a big fortune with his majority, and he had satiated an old desire to travel in lands not visited by all the world. Now he was back in New York to look after the investments ODE, WNMY COPYRIGHT 1902 BI ¥ Fh~ his guardian had made, and he founa'them so ridiculously satisfactory that they cast a shadow of ‘dullness across his mind, always hungry for activity. “Have you a place to sleep?’ he asked, at length. “I live in Jersey City, but I suppose I can find a cheap lodgin' house down by & river. Trouble is, I ain't got &' price.”” “Then come back home with me. You may eleep in Jackson's room. Jackson was my man 1ill yesterday, when I dismissed him for steal- ing my cigars and drinking my drinks. I won't have anybody about me Who steals. Come along.” Then they walked swiftly back to Quentin's flat. The owner of the apartment directed his puzzled guest to a small room off his own and Jtold him to go to bed. “By the way, what's your name?” he asked, before he closed the door. “Turkington—James Turkington, sir,”” an- swered the now respectful robber.' And he wanted to say more, but the other interrupted. ““Well, Turk, when you get up in the morn- ing, polish those shoes of mine over there. We'll talk it over after I've had my breakfast. Good-nlight.” And that is how Turk, most faithful and loyal of servants, began his apparently endless employment with Mr. Phillp Quentin, dabbler in stocks, bonds and hearts. Whatever his ugly past may have been, whatever his future may have promised, he was honest to a painful degree in these days with Quentin. Quick- witted, fiery, willful and as ugly as a little| demon, Turk knew no law, no Integrity except that which benefited his employer. Beyond a doubt, if Quentin had instructed him to butcher a score of men, Turk would have pro- ceeded to do so and without argument. But Quentin fnstructed him to be honest, law- abiding and cautious, It would be perfectly safe to guess his age between 40 and 60, but it would not be wise to measure his strength by I A ,EEEF I oA < the size of his body. ‘was lke a plece of steel. The Night Side of London. ‘The {llustrations on this pageshow some of the types of character familiar to Lon- doners in thelr city after dark. They will serve to give an idea of the numerous pen sketches and wash drawings that add 80 much in the way of illuminating the text in a volume just published by the J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia. This book is called “The Night Side of London” and is from the pen of Robert Machray, while Tom Browne, R. L, R. B. A., has furnished the drawings. Some thirty years ago a book was pub- lished under the same title and its popu- larity was so great that it ran through several editions ere the demand for it could be satisfied. Since then the char- acter of London has changed so materi- ally after dark, owing to the influence of public opinion and the efforts of the po- lice, that new matter on the subject is naturally quite different in every way from the sketches as then published. At that time the town presented certain as- pects that have since passed away. Still, even at this time, there is plenty of ma- terial offering an entertaining field for the pen of a clever author and especially when that pen is supplemented by the virile sketches of such a talented artist as is Mr. Browne. In this case the draw- ings are of special value as an aid to the reality of the reader’s mental pictures of the subjects discussed; for the artist and author saw the life together and it is almost as if the text and the drawings were both the work of one person, so per- tzcxtly is the {llustrating in touch with the The little ex-burglar Tnelr work has not been to bring out the hideous side of night life in London, but rather to present the familiar, though bizarre—the side that is most character- istic as seen by ‘the great publie. Mr. Machray writes with a versatile pen and gives us the atmosphere of his scenes with a flavor of convincing truth that is irresistible. He pictures the strect scenes, the Piccadilly Circus, “In Soci- the music halls, the masked ball, tne shilling hop—all of them with a vigor and clearness that makes them realities ever when they come to us through the medium of cold type. Considerable space is devoted to the club life of the great city and the different phases of merry- making enjoyed by these revelers after dark. The book is most profusely illus- trated and the capital drawings deserve full praise for the realism they impart tn the text. The price of the volume is $2 50. Literary Notes. Barrie In his new story, White Bird,” in Scribner’s, introduces two curious minor characters, a club walter and a nursegirl. This tale displays what Barrie himself calls the narrator's “whimsical ideas. . “The Little William Watson, the English poet, is the subject of a eritical article by Profes- sor George E. Woodbury, the Ameriean poet, which is to appear in the September number of The Century, which will also contain an admirable example of Mr. Watson's work in “‘A Bhllad of Semmer- water,” which embodies an old legend, and which will be illustrated and dec- orated by Henry McCarter. at men who Indulge in the sanguin- ary fad of collecting.human heads should have a “home life” which is anything but repulsive seems Incredible. ‘And yet Dr. W. H. Furness, third, who Ilived for a while among the men of Borneo, in his forthcoming volume, “Home Life of the Borneo Head Hunters,” will dis- close a home life attractive and unsophis- ticated, which, while dominated by super- stitious fears stirred by the ever-present mysteries of the jungle, bears also many traces of that folk-lore which seems to girdle the earth. His book will be illus- trated by almost a hundred heliotypes of microscopic excellence reproduced from photographs. By an ingenious device, in- volving duplication of the photographs, he bas reproduced the tattooing of men and women with a vividness which it is be- lieved has never before been aftained— something which will be of no small ser- vice to those who wish to study these intricate and conventional designs. The edition is Hmited to 500 coples. It will be one of the handsomest of J. B. Lip- pincott’s autumn publications. ) The features of Outing for August in- clude the following: “Surf Bathing,™ Duffield Osborne; ““At' the Races,” Ar- thur Ruhl; “Tippecanoceing,” W. S. Dun- bar; *“The Partridzes’ Roll Call,” Wil- liam 'J. Long; “Theodore Roosevelt on His Hunter,” photograph; *“Suspicious Characters of the Woods,” William 8. Rice; “The Caribou of British Columbia and Alaska,” Dr. J. A. Allen; “The Mys- tery of the Salmon,” Barton W. Ever- mann; “The Great Horned Salmon of the Penobscot,” J. O. Whittemore; “Ras Haskins’ Dog,”” James H. Tuckerman; “A Matter of Mascalonge,” Edwyn Sandy: ‘‘“Mountaineering as a Profession,” Fran- cis Gribble; “Of the Real Sea,” Norman Duncan; “How to Save a Drowning Man,” Alexander Meffert; “The Trilogy of the Talking Apple Tree,” Aloysius Coll; “The Small Boat and Its Sailing”; “Pig Sticking in Morocco,” Marion ‘Wright; “The Beginner and His Autow mobile,” Leon Vandervort; “The Sports- man’s View Point,” Caspar Whitney; “Notable Performances and Records’; “The Game Field," Edwyn Sandys; “Striped Bass in Summer—Adirondack Fishing,” Willam C. Harris; “Photo- graphy for the Sportsman,” A. Rad- clyffe Dugmore. Dr. David Starr Jordan has In press for publication by Elder & Shepard, San Francisco, “The Philosophy of Despair,” en essay embodying the reply of science to pessimism, taking for his text certain quatrains of Omar Khayyam. The fol- lowing selection from his iIntroductory lines will best indicate the point of view: “In the presence of the infinite problem of life, the voice of science is dumb, for science is the co-ordinate and corrected expression of human experience and hu- man experience must stop with the limi- tations of human life. * * * It is my purpose here to indicate some part of the answer of science to the philosophy of despair, Direct reply science has none. We cannot argue against a singer or a poet. The poet sings of what he feels, but science speaks only of what we know. ‘We feel infinity but we cannot know it, for to the highest human wisdom the ultimate truths of the universe are no nearer than to the child. Sclence knows no ultimate truths. These are beyond the reach of man and all that man knows , must be stated in terms of his experience. But as to human experience and conduct sclence has a word to say. Therefore science can speak of the causes and re- sults of pessimism. It can touch the prac- tical side of the riddle of life by asking certain questions, the answers to which He within the province of human experi- ence.” The publishers will issue the work ‘n a richly printed little volume, using a .arge-sized Caslon type and a paper of a quality to insure the full blackness of im- pression. Many excellent features mark the Theater for August. Conspicuous among the literary contributions is a scholarly and interesting article by Henry Tyrrell on Gabriele aAnnunzio's new play, “Francesca da Rimini,"” the writer giving his own version of passages from the tragedy, no English translation of which has yet appeared. An article by H. P. Mawson, entitled “The Truth About Go- ing on the Stage,” sets forth some plain, unvarnished facts and is likely to be eagerly read by aspirants to histrionic honors, perhaps with profit to themselves The usual “Chats With Players” is de- voted this month to Mary Shaw, an actress too seldom seen on the stage and justly entitled to her reputation as one of our most distinguished players. It will be news to most people that Costa Rica, whose total population hardly exceeds 250,000, boasts of a national theater which cost over a million dollars. Pictures of this and other magnificent playhouses in the tropics appear in an interesting article entitled “The Million Dollar Theaters nt Central America.” Where do our actors spend their vacations? In an article en- titled, “An Actor's Summer Colony,” the writer describes the pleasures of Sconset, on the shore of Nantucket Island, where an exclusive set .of player-folk occupy weather-beaten fisher cabins and form their plans for the ensuing season. The pictures—more varied and elaborate even than usual—include, in addition to the cover, representing Lulu Glaser as Dolly Varden in ten colors, scenes from the new problem play, “Hearts Aflame,™ the Chicago sucess; “The Wizard of Oz, “The Doll's House,” “Lady Godiva,” etc., and fine new pictures of Eleanora Duse as Frangesca and portraits of Mary Shaw, Belle Harper, Adelaide Prince, Sarah Truax, Henrletta Crosman, Nanette Comstock, Frank Burbeck and many others. Books Received. CASTLE CRANEYCROW—By George Barr McCutcheon. 'Herbert S. Stone & Co., Chi- cago. $150. THE ADVENTURES OF MARCO POLO— Edited by Edward Atherton. D. Appleton & Co., New York. €5 cents. HAROLD'S DISCUSSIONS—By John W. Troeger, A. M., B. S., and Edna Beatrice Troeger. D. Appleton & Co., New York. 60 cents. AND OTHER AD- Funk & JESUS THE JEW, DRESSES—By Harris Weinstock. ‘Wagnalls Company, New York. $1. KINGS OF THE QUEENSBERRY REALM _By W. W. Naughton. The Continental Pub- lishing Company, Chicago, A CABINET SECRET—By Guy Boothby. J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadeiphia. In pa- per, 50 cents. GENTLEMAN GARNET—By Harry B. Vo- gel. J. B. Lippincott Comvany, Philadelphia, In paper, 50 cents. GUIDES OPERA Annesley—The Standard Opera- Glass ($1.50), for...$1.20 net Singleton—A Guide to the Opera (SE), OFi ioaes .$1.20 net Upton—The Standard Operas ($1.50), for.. $1.20 net Guerber—Stories of Famous Operas ($1.50), for $1.20 net and a Comp'ele Sclection ¢f Works on f Musie. Elder & Shepard, 238 Post Streci, San Francisco® o