The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 13

THTHyCHSTERGrjABDIAy, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1926. NEW NOVELS WIRELESS RUSSELL SQUARE WITHOUT ITS RAII Other Eyes than Oubs. By. Ronald -A. ujiux.

iionaon: mewiuen and Co 246.. 7s. 6d. net. Father Knox seems destined to become one of the world's lenriincr lee-Dullers.

and hem approaching the subject of Spiritualism Household BARGAIN final opportunity for making Household replenishments for the Spring at considerably normal prices. nom a disconcerting angle. The story begins; with a pedantical scholar to be sure that an antagonist had -Vv -yt. "JO UCtUl iltJ UlCUj till 11 Krt mirniio li.m i'nfn -fU j. world with interrogation.

The attempt is not successful, but the seeker be- comf intrptttrl in rni Ui ibOCU, A mend suggests most amazing possibilities Mn an' anna.rai.im Via l-mo i I uv IJLIO constructed which, if not precisely "-aiV (Tuu -ViiU UJJiL A tO, JXC1UQ And so the great Mrs. Haltwhistle, who disapproves of the is interested altbougb iu uxiora it, is not tnougnt good manners to understand other peopled silhiRP.fR n.nrl urifh LI wuiCID) LUC Srnnn Wo l.n1,.J JCbUUUGU upon tremendous discussions and specula: CL.M 1. lanuus. ouuii we presently De able to hear old sounds and speeches rumbling about the world 1 The veritable "Et tu, Brute or the right version of Up Guards and at 'em 1 Or by raising or lowfirinir friA nits7i ortall -ma Household has been inaudible to the ordinary ear 1 BARGAINS ii db possioie in Droadcasting to put Big Ben out of action bUt at the same time to hear something higher inan tne squeaK ot bats Wonderful things happen at the house party where thft nftw a.rmnrnT.im ia -iaot-A i JO Ju. i IlUCb appear that the limitations of ordinary uuu.nu uiive ueDarrea us irom spiritual sin Trio iirtvalncn -V UUI.

cxiiu even that thought may be convr-yed irom Deings on a amei-ent plane from ours and take form in our consciousness flR Wnrrls Wp out rro. infn fminl. U.t. Come TO-DAY and on SATURDAY and see what you can save on your home purchases for Spring. wu ptv.

bliullf UUU the ques'tion is whether it is desirable. young spirits ot "over there think cn jin'l liavp minrTa1 T1mfowi.1 Research Society, but grave seniors nave gooa reasons tor not cheapening inemseiyes Dy contact with this leaving us severely alone. Some true "words are spoken, if no in jest, with an ironical intention, ai.d Russell Square, London, as it would look it the railings were removed. The suggestion Topham Forrest in a lecture given yesterday to the Institute of Public Administration. A i another column.

his comedy by giving some iorce and There are still hosts of money-saving bargains on offer a wide variety of opportunities in every household requisite except heavy it justifies everything." Mosca Mettcr-nich, surely, in the setting of a small Italian State, though Stendhal denied this and the fascinating Duchess of Sanseverina are characters of uncommon force. The canvas is vast and perhaps too full, but there are no flabby and few irrelevant figures in it. Instead of writing an introduction Mr. Scott Moncrieff has given Balzac's detailed and masterly appreciation of the book in the "Revue Parisienne," one of the most generous tributes ever paid by a great artist to his confrere. A.

M. icu.auii mi ins spiritualist protagonists, xet there are some staggerers for tr.e Spiritualists in the attitude of the other world. Of course the, reader, at some stage, begins to see tha the whole thing is a "rag on the wart of the inventor, and there is an ingenious conclusion when the spirits propse to deniaterialise one of the house party; it rapidly "melts away. The book is not hkcly to be popular with Spiritualists. Perhaps the most striking suggestion Is that the spiritual worjd, as manifested to us, lacks moral interest.

A. N. M. A FIRST "NOVEL? Lodgers ii. London." By Adelaide Eden Phillpotts.

London: Thornton Bufc-terworth. Pp. 303. 7s. 6d.

net. If this is a first novel, as it seems to be, it is both an achievement and a promise. Miss Phillpotts starts her literary career with the endowment of a well-known name, and she asserts her independence of illustrious paternal footprints by setting the story in the stony wilderness of Bloomsbury. A lo.dging-house kept by Mrs. Nodde'n has.

tenants so widely assorted and individual that only the tremendous courage of" a young novelist would -have-' dared to bring them together. There is a dancer, a Jesuit a greedy and eccentric copier of pictures in the National Gallery, a retired, confectioner who goes mad when he hrst sees the Elgin Marbles, a temperamental child, and others. Not even Noah, in the first confused days of tht Ark. 11 couiu nave ieit more harassed bv the THEATRES. Critical Position.

(From our Vienna Correspondent.) The serious economic crisis here was bound to affect the theatrical life of Vie ma. Most of the theatres are experiencing great financial difficulties, and the complaintg about the high municipal taxation are growing constantly louder. The theatrical managers have now given notice to sn unusually large number of actors and actresses, contending that they are unable to carry the burden of the present large staffs. Notice was given to thirty-three actors, some of them very well known, at the Burg-Theater, the late Court Theatre and the leading dramatic institution in Vienna. The actors consider that the action of the manager, Herr Herterich, in doing this without first consulting those concerned is deeply injurious to their self-respect.

They realise that a cut in salaries: is imperative in face of the theatre's serious deficit, and have voluntarily offeree to accept an all-round 4 per cent reduction, demanding in return the withdrawal of the notices given to their colleagues. As Director Herterich refuses to accept this solution it is feared that a strike may break out in the Burg-Theater. Efforts are, however, continuing to be made to secure a peaceful settlement. diversity of his passengers than Mrs. Nodden did as she made out' bills and carried trays upstairs.

Even the servant is a dwarf named Flora, and the landlady's resident sister a cu'riouslv unpleasant combination of spite and religious zeal. With all these people collected under one brave roof a eood story is almost inevitable. Miss Phillpotts handles her freaks ruthlessly and with expedition. The Jesuit falls in love with the dancer, and then renounces her and does penance. She marries the niccolo-nlaver in the theatre orchestra.

The confectioner out of his insanity makes a statue of a hermaphrodite, which is "sold to an MISCELLANY Too Much Truth. Was it altogether a good deed whit J. A. Gotcb performed in Manchcst Wednesday in stressing the legendary i of Dorothy Vernon's elopement Haddon HallJ "Fudge," Mr. Golel contemptuously, as though that were Of course, if some purpose is to be apart from the dispassionate pursi truth, whiuh is a greatly overesti game, uo one could complain.

If bl the gaff on the Dorothy legend acquire the Wythenshawe Estate, then the gaff; but is it worth doing for. it sake We need a Society for the Bet of Harmless Falsehoods. Where shi stop if the pundits of pure unvan veracity have their way? What is life to the Sairey Gamp in all of us if so is always coming along and asking fo Harris's birth certificate 1 It will be look-out for the blue-eyed innocent cheer and cheer the fainting Tinker 1 performances of Peter Pan," 1 thereby to establish fairies, on earthi ii sinister folk whisper that there ai sich persons." Bather than endure people, let us found our S.R.H.P. We even go farther than that. A Society i Creation of Harmless Falsehoods has ta be said for it.

Climbing Down. The gentle art of climbing down ii often been made as difficult for a 0 ment by its own members as in th of the Civil S.rvicc Sports Fund. The certain recognised means of climbing in the ordinary way. The most- us that of putting up a trusty suppoi the Government in the House of Cor to make an appeal to the Treasury iu which case the appeal can be mad a show of dignity and even gene Sometimes the thing has gone further, as in the famous case bands in Hyde Park on Sundays, threatened to bring down Palme: Government as a sacrifice to the wr the Sabbata: ians. Iu that ease sot genious person suggested the bringi of the Archbishop of Canterbury to a ladder down which the Premier climb, and it was in response to an from the" Primate that Pam descej and saved his face.

But sometim case is hopeless, and then someone' has to suffer, as when Ayrton hat down a theory of Cabinet responsibilil Gladstone had to rise at his sid explain that his right honourable was quite wrong. Whitewashing Bluebeard. Most of the arch-scoundrels of histor before now found apologists ready documentary evidence, more or less sible, to show that they were by no eo black as they were painted. Blm is the latest traditional monster to pri this benevolent amnesty. Probabl identity of the wife-murdering tyr; Perrault's tale with Gilles de Ketz, of Laval, h'as been none too clearly lished, but the Iatter's memory has events been tainted for generations Bluebeard's crimes.

Now M. Emile a Breton archaeologist who has givei and patient investigation to the assures us that not only was Gilles the husband of one wife only, but th survived him and had several husbam further ohows that the much-li Marquis never sacrificed childre number has been put at 200 in pun of his black art, and that in fact he mrich-wronged individual. BI Barbe-Bleue is the picturesque 1 description of M. Gabory's achieveme Against the Topper. There must be some high intrinsic qi not generally recognised, in the top-hi despite' condemnation and ridicule it i again reported to be coming into More than half a century ago Mark the editor of Punch," summed case against it in terms that must given the knock-out blow to any other of headgear: "It is hot in summer, it warm in winter, it does not shade us the sun nor -shelter us from the rain; tragic circumstances.

He answers to the call, and we leave him in a comfortable mediocrity, which seems as much the hall-mark of the South Seas as of what we call the civilised world. It is a simple tale simply told, and, as we have said, its merit chiefly lies in the fact that shatters one more unnecessary illusion. U. The Housemaid. By Naomi Royde-Smith.

London Constable and Co. Pp. 335. 7s. 6d.

net. Miss Eoyde-Smith's new novel, in spite of its commendable artistry, is not well planned, for it deals with two separate groups of characters whose stories have not the remotest blending save in the moral that the illicit relationships of the rich may quite deservedly attain the happy conclusions which poverty denies to the amours of the poor. The first part of the book is concerned with the meeting of an agnostic ironmonger and a Unitarian daughter of a coffin-maker, who sings in her chapel choir. It portrays very deliberately, and a little heavily, the dull world so vividly lighted in the books of Mark Rutherford. Sixty pages are devoted to the introduction of this pair and their marriage, but having in the next thirty pages flashed through twenty years they are suspended for 150 pages while the reader is thrust inexplicably into the domestic problems of Michel Sherlock, an authority on Aztec culture, who, although sympathetically presented, is a tiresome, odious figure.

Towards the end we again meet the little ironmonger, involved in a romance that is finely and tenderly treated. Had Miss Boyde-Smith clung to that original inspiration of her story this might have been a memorable book, but as it is it has no coherence it is like a pair of trousers one leg of which is a plus four and the other a dungaree with a patch of plaid on the seat. A remarkable achievement is the figure of Eileen Tansley though scarcely uttering a word, she is a pathetic and beautiful creation. A. E.

C. Rivers to Cross. By Roland Pertwee. London Cassell and Co. Pp.

311. 7s. 6d. net. Mr.

Pertwee's stories have sometimes found their way into anthologies, but he does not always take his art with a pedantic seriousness. His latest novel is brisk adventure with love-making, but perhaps he would have done better to give the lady a larger part in the adventure. She appears to be quite competent to take her share, but she is usually reserved for what may be called emotional relief. There is a conflict of wills between two men, but the one who desires to become the son-in-law of the other is at some disadvantage. Also there is sand-bagging, dungeon confinement, miraculous escape, and general thwarting of villains.

The hero certainly has luck; that he should discover in the cellar both the incriminating letters and the length of film sufficient to show up the villain seems unlikely. In this type of fiction it is well still, it seems," to make your chief villain a German. The denouement is serio-comic, for when the villain is unmasked and begins to shoot, the Colonial Secretary hurls the inkpot at him and spoils the hero's suit. The details of the struggle seem improbable in cold blood, but perhaps they are impressionistic. It is the impression or the sensation that matteis; thought -is not permitted.

There have been worse railway novels, but though Mr. Bertwee is a writer" of some ability he must, on the evidence of this story, be placed in the school of Mr. William Le Queux. A. N.

M. The 'Charterhouse of Parma. By Stendhal. Translated by C. K.

Scott Moncrieff London Chatto and Windus. Two vols. 7s. 6d. net per 5r volume.

Le Chartreuse de Parme," one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century, certain chapters of which inspired Tolstoy's. War and Peace," is none too well known among us. Nearly ninety years after its first appearance it has been closely and accurately rendered into English by the accomplished translator of Marcel Proust. The incidents mostly place soon, after Waterloo, in the whirl of the intrigue and reaction inevitable alter; every, great war. We see -ab'so lute 'power at near quarteK so convenient a thing, as Mosca says, "ince Note these examples of the Bargains 30 Tapestry Carpets (3 by 21 yds.) 35- J50 Chair Bedsteads 326 each 80 Soiled Linen Baskets' 136 each 10,000 Odd Plates from 3d.

700 Check Damask Tablecloths 26 each 200 Vacscrubs 1- each 200 Bathroom Sets, 10 pieces including glass keif and towel rail 70 Set 1,500 sq. yds. Floorcloth 1 (sq. yd.) 15 70 Oak Bedsteads-with Bedding 526 60 Oak Adjustable Chairs 296 300 Fruit Sets (7 pieces) -1- 1,500 Linen, Roller Towelling (yd.) 8d. 150 Coloured Quilts (each) 86 400 Glass Trays (each) 33 500 Aluminium Colanders (each) 16 LEWIS'S hold this household event only once every six months, offering a complete range of every household article at price advantages made possible only by gigantic cash purchases.

ft ft NEXT WEEK! QPRING'S NEW 3 FABRICS in riot new colours and designs. rNewr weaves hew shades' in I woollens, silks, artificial silks, cottons and novelty weaves in a window, and departmental display i LONDON LECTURES. That little known but hard-working society the Joint Parliamentary Advisory Council, which came into existence just before the war and only emerged into the light of day after the war was over, has arranged a series of three exceptionally interesting lectures in aid of its funds. The money is put to good use in doing research into industrial and other questions which are likely to be the subject of legislation for the information of members of Parliament. On Tuesday, March 2, Miss Sybil Thorn-dike will give a reading from "The King and the Book" at the Governor's House, the Roi al Hospital, Chelsea.

She has selected "Pompilia," and it will be interesting to hear her interpretation. Mr. Birrell will preside at the lecture by Mr. A. B.

Walkley on Jane Austen at 40, Upper Grosvenor Street, on March 10. Major Hills, M.P., the president of the Joint Parliamentary Advisory Council, will take the chair at the meeting at 27, Grosvenor Square, on March 17.. when the Hon. Mrs. Alfred Lyttelton, who has made a careful study of psychical phenomena, will lecture on "Mind Pictures" and their relation to psychical experience.

Tickets for the lectures can be obtained from Miss Harley Bacon, 7, Hobart Place, London, S.W. 1. American for a thousand pounds. Then an operation cures him and he returns to sugar Cupids and groups symbolising maternity. The wastrel artist and the child find happiness together in the country, and the landlady's sister goes to heaven.

At the end of the book the lodging-house is empty and the whole zoo scattered. Anyone can see that this is a novel well worth reading. Its interest is undeniable. The carping spirit can doubtless find a good deal of fault in it. It is too episodic and disconnected, and the characters are quite defiantly inconsistent.

To say that the theme is improbable is perhaps to put too fine a point upon it. M. A. L. A Trader's Tale.

By S. W. Powell. -London: Constable and Co. Pp.

319. 7s. 6d. net. The South Seas are usually in fiction treated in one of-two set ways either they are regarded as an earthly paradise "beyond good and evil," or as a sink, of iniquity, certainly beyond good, whither all the rogues- of the world eventually gravitate Something was necessary to redress the balance, and Mr.

Powel! has very, happily provided it. Certainly some of the glamour, be it -luminous or lurid, has been worn off in the process, but possibly' the disillusionment is not a disadvantage. At any rate, for good or bad' we have here a picture of the islands as very pleasant ordinary rplaces. There is a reasonable amount of healthy depreciation, and not so -much- hypocrisy about 'the white man's burden. There.

is also no attempt at moralising: native come BOOKS RECEIVED. out in" a more tends xo reveal tne. question m' its proper proportions the beachcomber no longer appears as a romantic figure with -an-unhappy past; he-is reduced merely to an- ordinary, typo of -waster with' an unhappy future. This story is about ayoung-man who bids fair: to become such a figure. Debenham is one of those futile 'but fascinating We have received the following books, From Methnen and CAREERS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.

Br Sir Herbert Morcia. 61 net. FROM DOLOMITES TO STELVIO. By Helena L. Wlrs.

nitrated. 7s. 6d. net. ASTRONOMY TO-TIAY.

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10a. 6d. net. OTHER EYES THAN OURS. Br Roald A- Knox.

7s. 6d. net. THE CROOKED LIP. Br Herbert Adwm.

7i. 6d. ret. THE DEVIL'S HENCHMEN. By John Oldrer.

6d. net. From John Mumy: THE LETTERS OF QUEEN VICTORIA. Second Scries. A Selection from Her Meity Correspondence nd Journal between the Years 1862 and 137S.

Edited by George- Earle Bnckle. 2' rols. 2. 12s. 6d.

nee From the National Fanners' Union: THE YEAR-BOOK OF THE NATIONAL FARMERS', UNION FOR 1926. Is. From Leonard Parsons: A HOME AND CHILDREN. By Madeline Lin ford. 7s.

6d. nt. SELECTED ESSAYS. By Karl Marx. Translated by H.

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P. Putnam's Bona: BROKEN SILENCES. Poems. By Elisabeth W. FrothiOEbam.

7s. 6d. net. From Seeley. Serriee.

and THINGS SEEN IN PARIS. By CUre Holland. ELI nitrated- 3s. 6d- net. From the Student Christian MoT em en WOMEN OF BENGAL.

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Fisher Uowin: EASTER IN PALESTINE, 1921-1922. By Dame Millicent Fawcett. Illustrated. 9s. net THE CHARM OF INDIAN ART.

By W. E. G. Solomon. 10o.

6d. net. THE SEA OF SLEEP. By Alfred Gordon Bennett. 7s.

6d- net BLACK PEARLS. By B. W. -Alexander. 3a.

6d- set. VKWDTS CABINET LIBRARY. Trooper Peter HaTia ot Mashaniiland. By Olire SchreineT. Dowalaad Echoes.

By Victor L. Wniteehurca. "3s- 6d, set each. ugly and it is expensive; you 'cannot in a railway carriage; it is always in way in a drawing-room; if you sit on persons, wno -nave managed, to rub along without? any serious trouble, and -imagine that a benevolent world will-seeito it that; they continue to do so'in-the future. -It 'is; a strange? fact in human which holds good tin 'the -Paumotus as it does in such is almost invariably Justified.

Kind friends help him from one another as fast as he throws them up; each of course, a shade lower than the. one But in this case the inevitable- prpt, iss" to the beach stopped by' Debenham' s. suddenly being called upon to exert bis manhood under crush it, yet it will not save your skul fall from a horse; it will not go i lEWE'S portmanteau; it is too hard to roll soft to stand it rusts in-sea ai it spots with the if it is, good yi sure to Jiave it taken by mistake- at a MARKET STREET and if it ia bad yea, are set down. MANCHESTER.