W Tell Me a Story' Original tales remembered from childhood to tell to children Conducted by HARRIET EAGER DAVIS HEN the melodrama of the 'eighties flourished at the Adelphi Theater, a small boy lived on what he declares to have been the quietest and most respectable street in London, flanked by the British Museum and Mudie's Library. Nothing ever happened on Museum Street. The afternoon bell of the muffin man was an event; the "walnut man," with his mournful cry, was watched till he disappeared around the corner. For behind at least one of those solemn house-fronts lived three brothers, with all a child's natural appetite for excitement. On one never-to-be-forgotten Sunday afternoon, the youngest suddenly broke his bounds. Dressed in a gay and comical suit made by a kindly elder sister in imitation of the Drury Lane clown, his favorite hero, little George dashed out into the quiet, raced furiously around the block, and fell breathless but triumphant into his own front door, to Heaven knows what scandalized audience behind the solemn rows of windows. Even at six George Arliss had a sense of the theatrical! It had developed still earlier, for it is the hushed, dramatic moment just before the dog burst into the dining-room that he best remembers in this true story of "The Newfoundland Dog," told by his mother when he was no more than four. In unkempt locks and Shakespearean robe of Shylock, Mr. Arliss had just made his exit off-stage. Clapping resounded from the unseen audience beyond; whispering in the semi-darkness, not to disturb the remaining players, the gracious English gentleman led the interviewer to his dressing-room. "And now," he inquired, leaning for 1 The stories in this department are the favorite tales of various families which have been handed down to each succeeding younger generation. The Outlook will be glad to receive and to pay for any such stories which our readers remember from their own childhood and which are found available. They should be told as simply as possible in the language one would use in talking to a child. Illustrated by Jay Van Everen ward in that intent, gentle manner so familiar to his audiences, "what is it you want?" Asked for the first story he remembered told him in childhood, he thought deeply for a moment, his eyes far away on quiet Museum Street. "The first story," he mused. "It was one my mother told me why, I haven't thought of it for years, but your question brings it all back. I heard it only once, but it made a great impression. You see, it was a story about" The Newfoundland Dog As remembered by George Arliss BA lived in the good old county style, with an estate, trusted servants, stables and dog-kennels, family silver and open hospitality, a gentleman and his wife took a journey, leaving their country home in charge of the servants and a great Newfoundland dog, the master's pet. They had been away only a short time when a letter came to the housekeeper, signed by the master and saying that Captain So-and-So would arrive shortly, with some of his friends, who were to be treated as honored guests, the whole house opened to them, the finest of dinners served, and especially all the family silver laid out in their honor. Even more anxious than if Master and Mistress were at home that all should run smoothly, the devoted household set about their preparations. Guesthold set about their preparations. Guestrooms were aired, a marvelous meal planned, choicest old wines brought up from the cellar, and priceless silver heirlooms polished and set out on sideboard and table. At the expected time the Captain and his friends arrived, with little luggage, saying they could stay only for dinner, and must be off again that evening. The Newfoundland dog sniffed a bit uneasily at the strangers, but every one was too busy to pay him any attention. Dinner was announced in the great dining-room, and the guests sat down to a table glit tering with costly silver. As the wine and delicious food disappeared, the company began to grow hilarious. Something-was it their tooloud conversation, their not exactly cor rect manners, for English servants have a sixth sense for real ladies and gentlemen?-aroused the butler's suspicions On a trip to the kitchen, he told the others, and found that they too hac been feeling uneasy. As dinner went on the servants grew more and more convinced that here were no Captain and friends of the master's, but a clever burglar with his assistants. The housekeeper's letter had been a counterfeit; the special order about the silver only a scheme to get it within easy plundering reach. Something must be done quickly--but what? To be sure, the burglars were few and the servants many, but perhap: the thieves were armed. If only they could be taken off their guard, capture would be certain with no bloodshed. Then some one thought of the New foundland dog. He was a giant animal gentle with friends, but fierce with ene mies, obedient, and very, very clever. So, armed with sticks, ropes, and all the weapons they could collect, the ser vants gathered quietly outside the door of the great dining-room. Inside, talk and laughter grew louder, as the bur glars imagined that their plot was succeeding perfectly. Holding the dog tightly by the collar, for, more suspicious than ever, he was straining to dash through the door, the servants whispered into his alert ears: "Sh-h! There are burglars in there. Now, don't barksh-h! don't make a sound, but when we tell you, rush in and jump at their throats. Sh-h! Not yet-sh-h! No, not yet-sh-h! Now!" And through the door the great dog bounded, leaping silently at the men's throats and knocking them to the floor before they knew what had happened. : Behind him rushed the servants with weapons and ropes, quickly the burglars were bound, and easily held prisoners until help arrived to carry them off to jail. When Master and Mistress reached home, they found the servants bursting with their exciting story, the family silto a ver safe, and the great Newfoundland dog more of a pet than ever. began ras it th not exac !servat Our Own Theatre List (See page 383) "Coquette," Maxine Elliott.-Comedy, tragedy; les and "Escape," Booth.-Galsworthy's melodrama; an the Cap but a Own morality the only one; Alfred Lunt; better than ever. "Trial of Mary Dugan," National.-Mystery, murder, melodrama; circumstantial evidence turned inside out before your eye, convincingly acted; you won't move. "The Royal Family," Selwyn.-Comedy; home hubbub of a family of famous theatrical stars; fairly well acted; so funny that it sometimes isn't real enough to be as good as it should be. "Porgy," Republic.-Folk-play; Negro life along Charleston water-front; real Negroes; a gorgeous thing, if simply for its pastel colors and primitive music. "The Shannons of Broadway," Martin Beck.Comedy, melodrama; vaudeville actors running a small-town hotel; James and Lucile Gleason; good hard-boiled sentiment and some music. "The Queen's Husband," Playhouse.-Modern light comedy; royalty in a mythical kingdom; Roland Young: Sherwood's most subtle humor. "Marco Millions," Guild Theatre.-Satirical comedy; O'Neill's beautiful spectacle of Marco Polo's trip to Venice and China; the immature West meeting the wisdom of the East. "Strange Interlude," John Golden.-A psychologi cal novel put upon the stage; a new kind of drama; Tony Powers and Lynne Fontanne in O'Neill's finest. "Rain or Shine," George M. Cohan.-Joe Cook in the show you mustn't miss. Best Musical Shows "Funny Face," Alvin.-The Astaires, Gershwin music; best on Broadway. "Show Boat," Ziegfeld.-Better than Ziegfeld's good ones. "Manhattan Mary," Apollo.-Ed Wynn. more? Well, not much. What "A Connecticut Yankee," Vanderbilt.-Good lyrics and music; not much Mark Twain. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."-Pleasantly silly, but not terribly important, which the book was. "A Girl in Every Port."-In this issue. "The Jazz Singer."When the Vitaphone and Al Jolson get going, it's a great picture. "The Last Jannings, the screen's best, in a vehicle worthy of his Command."-Emil powers. "Love Me and the World Is Mine."-Not recom mended. "Rose Marie."-It was a nice operetta, but it's a punk picture. "Sadie Thompson."-Gloria Swanson and Lionel Barrymore. Don't expect to see "Rain." "Simba."-The latest Martin Johnson film. "The Student Prince."-Lubitsch, and at his best, it. too. always. See "Sunrise."-The year's most deserved success. "That's My Daddy."-We like Reginald Denny "Wings."-This fine war film is having a record run. March 7, 1928 Follow That Urge to See the The old, the new, the fantastic, the beautiful. You find adventure, Go to those countries that intrigue you most. Spend whatever time You touch at Yokohama, Kobe, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Manila. Thus you see Japan, a miracle of loveliness and modern progressive- Here is the opportunity for a new vacation adventure at but small Or continue Round the World to other lands of keenest interest. In You sail on a magnificent President Liner, aristocrat of ships. Broad of beam An American Mail Liner sails every two weeks from Seattle for Yokohama, A Dollar Liner sails every week from Los Angeles and San Francisco for the For complete information communicate with any ticket or tourist agent or American Mail Line WHEN MARCH COMES Roaring in Like a Lion It May Not Go Out Like a Lamb There are always days and weeks of cold, bleak, wintry weather, when cold winds howl, when you wait longingly for soft spring breezes, warm sunshine, for the sight of spring flowers peeping out, bringing gladness to your heart. WHY WAIT FOR IT when SOUTH AFRICA, the land of mellow sunshine, romance, mystery, and wonder, beckons you? While March winds are blowing winter out with snow, rain, and freezing blasts, you can reyel in the sunshine of this wonderland of warmth and beauty of glorious flowers and luxuriant fruits. If comfort, gaiety, and sport lure you-if majestic scenery thrills you and age-old mysteries awe you-come to SOUTH AFRICA. You will find many things you have never seen and can only find in this ancient land famous for its legendary history. Great Diamond Mines The Mighty Drakensberg Mountains and Glorious Cape Peninsula Surf bathing on unrivaled sea beaches. Sea angling from rock bound coasts for the finest sporting fish of the world. Trout fishing in Golden Rivers angler's paradise. Golf on sporty courses towering mountains. the midst nearby Year-round outdoor tennis on fast, true, ant-heap courts. You travel on comfortable railroads or along fine motor roads with modern hotels to rest in. Write for detailed information and free booklet," Outlook in S. A.," or send 12c (to cover postage) for fully illustrated travel literature. GOVERNMENT TRAVEL BUREAU OF SOUTH AFRICA Bowling Green Office Building 11 Broadway, New York City South Africa THE Speaking of Books A New Literary Department Edited by FRANCES LAMONT ROBBINS HE books in greatest demand are usually those most discussed. The following list is compiled from the lists of the ten best-selling volumes sent us by wire by eight book-shops each week. These particular book-shops were chosen because we think that they reflect the tastes of the more representative readers. These shops are as follows: New York-Brentano's. Denver-Kendrick Bellamy Co. Little, "Red Rust," by Cornelia James Cannon. Brown & Co. This is a tragedy, confused by an over-complicated plot. The book takes its title from a wheat blight, and the theme is that of man's struggle with nature. Matts, a determined and saintly young farmer, helped by his neighbor, Lena, and her family, is persuaded by Lena to marry her when her brutal husband dies. She struggles with him through many competent but lukewarm pages to raise the rust-resistant wheat, and she also fights and conquers his love for her daughter. Matts succeeds with the wheat. In a nicely ironic piece of writing, a visitor to the Minnesota farm offers him "ten dollars for those two heads." But Lena fails. Her epileptic son kills Matts with a shotgun. you like that kind of a story, you will enjoy it. "Wintersmoon," by Hugh Walpole. Doubleday, Doran & Co. Reviewed in this issue. Non-Fiction If "Disraeli," by André Maurois, translated by "Count Luckner, the Sea Devil," by Lowell 4. "My Life," by Isadora Dunean. Boni & Liveright. This autobiography of a "natura: savage" is the touching and often inspiring story of a great-souled romantic, which makes magnificent reading for those who have th sympathy, experience, and breadth of vision to understand this great personality. Reviewed by Lewis Galantière, January 18. "We," by Charles A. Lindbergh. G. P. Putnam's Sons. The young hero's story of his life is a direct, simple, and often moving account It deserves a permanent place among boys' books and with the "inspirational" reading for which librarians are always looking. Re viewed August 17. The American Drama By ROSAMOND GILDER "A History of the American Drama from the Civil War to the Present Day," by Arthur Hobson Quinn. Harper & Brothers. Dr. Quinn's two noble volumes on "The History of the American Drama from the Civil War to the Present Day" are so impressive as works of scholarship, so valuable as mines of information, and so entertaining as reading matter that it would be invidious to greet them with anything less than warm enthusiasm and gratitude. Dr. Quinn has attacked chaos and from it marshaled an impressive order. Under his masterly baton types and tendencies flower from what seemed merely dullness. The drama of realism, the drama of romance, the drama of Eugene O'Neill, each takes its appointed place in the serried ranks of American plays and playwrights, and each in turn is given a careful and considered appraisal. Beginning at the point where his previous study-"The History of the American Drama from the Beginning to the Civil War"--broke off, Dr. Quinn takes up historically the work and influence of such leading figures in American play-writing as Augustin Daly, Bronson Howard, Howells, Harrigan, Hoyt, and the rest, study ing each from a historical and critical standpoint. He underscores particularly the influence of certain writers on the main currents of modern play-writing. the efforts of Herne, Thomas, Gillette. and Fitch to bring a realistic treatment of actual life into the theatre; the development of character types fostered by Harrigan and Hoyt and influenced by Bret Harte and Mark Twain; the constant stream of pure romance and melodrama which reached a gorgeous apothe osis in the work of Belasco and Long Dr. Quinn, in addition to biographical and bibliographical details on all impor tant writers, gives a synopsis of every play with any claim of survival value M Straight to the land of gold led the Overland Trail of '49 -the Overland Route today follows that direct pathway The most dramatic movement of peoples in American history took place in 1849-50, year of the spectacular gold rush to California. The bulk of heroic migration entered California by the Overland Trail, crossing the Sierra Nevada range near Lake Tahoe and Donner Lake. When the western link of America's first railroad to the Pacific Coast was completed in 1869-Central Pacific Railroad, forerunner of Southern Pacific-it followed this direct route. Southern Pacific's "San Francisco Overland Limited" today bears you smoothly over that Overland Trail of history-over the Rockies, by rail across the Great Salt Lake, through the West's wide spaces, over the Sierra, past American River Canyon, and down across Central California,-63 hours, Chicago to San Francisco. Only Southern Pacific offers four great routes for transcontinental travel All four Southern Pacific routes for transcontinental travel follow the best natural pathways as pioneered by frontiersman and covered wagon. The other three routes are: SUNSET ROUTE, New Orleans to San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, crossing Louisiana, Texas, and the great Southwest with its colorful Apache Trail Highway. Enters California by its sunniest approach. This is the route of "Sunset Limited," famed round the world. GOLDEN STATE ROUTE, the direct line from Chicago to Southern California via Kansas City, following the Longhorn Trail of song and story to El Paso, where it effects juncture with SUNSET ROUTE straight for Los Angeles (or San Diego via Carriso Gorge). No train excels the "Golden State Limited." None is faster, Chicago to Southern California. SHASTA ROUTE, from the Pacific Northwest into California via Portland and Crater Lake, for travelers to the Coast by northern railroads. This route, of outstanding scenic interest, follows the pioneer Oregon-California stage coach line. It offers the "Cascade," notable new train. Go one route, return another, and see the whole Coast. Stop over anywhere. Southern Pacific Write your name and address in margin, tear off and mail to E. W. Clapp, Traffic Manager, Dept. L-2, Rm. 1022, 310 S. Michigan, Blvd., Chicago, for folder, "How Best to See the Pacific Coast." March 7, 1928 produced between 1860 and 1927! The mind reels at the thought of the patient, nay, heroic labor that has gone into the reading and digesting of the mass of deadly writing-it can hardly be called literature-which constitutes the background of the selected material Dr. Quinn presents. Many of the plays discussed in the first volume have never been printed, most of them are difficult to secure, so that Dr. Quinn's synopses, necessary to the pointing of his text, also form a convenient body of data for this period in dramatic literature. Dr. Quinn gives with becoming dignity and seriousness outlines of plots which often strike the reader as humorous, being, like the clothes of the same period, only slightly out of mode, and not yet sufficiently remote to have become glamourous. Wherever space permits and the importance of the play under discussion warrants, Dr. Quinn supplements his plot analysis by extracts from the text and remembered details of acting and production. In the second volume Dr. Quinn boldly embarks on a discussion of the drama of the twentieth century-from William Vaughn Moody to "Broadway," 1927 model, a period crowded with such variety of achievement and such confusion of values that it might well discourage a less assured and experienced traveler. Again in this discussion of contemporary playwrights the biographical and statistical material presented is as permanently valuable as it is immedi ately entertaining, and cannot fail to be of intense interest to every intelligent play-goer today. In his sympathetic chapter on "Eugene O'Neill, Poet and Mystic," his aim is to clarify as far as possible the "O'Neill myth" and to present clearly the various types of drama through which O'Neill has sought to present his ideas. A hitherto unpublished letter from O'Neill to Dr. Quinn, included in this chapter, is particularly interesting in view of the current productions of one who, in Dr. Quinn's words, has become "the concrete expression of the greatest principal in art, that of freedom-freedom," as Dr. Quinn characteristically amends, "to choose one's subject anywhere, to treat it in any manner, providing always that the characters are great figures and that the treatment is sincere." There is, at any rate, no doubt as to the sincerity as well as the earnestness of Dr. Quinn's approach to his subject. He is convinced of the ultimate value and importance of the American playwright's contribution to the drama as a whole. and he does not hesitate to defend it in the presence of the great names of Eu |