I

Paris.

T is, unfortunately, a well-known fact that overmuch enthusiasm in regard to almost anything will, nine times out of ten, bring about an unfavorable reaction towards the object of those ardent admirations.

Sometimes, however, an individual (or group) will present us with something so beautiful, so perfect, and withal so stimulating that ordinary criticism or description can in no way convey the really tremendous impression made upon one, with the result that superlatives by the wholesale are resorted to-often with disastrous results.

In such a category must be included Antonia Mercé, commonly known as "La Argentina." Now this brilliant and beautiful interpreter of Spanish national dances is far from being unknown, having been dancing for several years, not only here in Paris, but in the principal cities of Europe, South America, and even in the United States. But it has remained for her to make the greatest success of her career here in Paris this season, and it's pretty certain that from now on her standing will be on quite another plane from that of heretofore.

Coming from a family of dancers, La Argentina was initiated at an early age into the mysteries of the complicated opera-ballets of the type common before the one and only Isadora Duncan toppled the stiff, ugly, and meaningless old-style ballet off its painfully pointed toes and made it the

were

free, spontaneous, and beautiful thing it has become today. Of course the so-called Spanish folk-dances never altogether the slave of the conventional ballet, even when having to more or less conform to the traditions and technique of the old school, but in most cases they were pretty well tamed before being served up to the opera-going public. Also a great many charming ladies with dark eyes and a wiggle rolled themselves into a Spanish shawl, rattled a pair of long-suffering

By EUGENE BONNER

castanets, and let it go at that, hoping optimistically to be taken for the genuine article-which they weren't.

A few months ago the Opéra-Comique, deciding to put on the de Falla opera "L'Amour Sorcier," engaged Argentina for the rôle of the dancer- -a most important part. The success of the production was great, but the sensation of the piece was made by the lithe Spaniard in the "Danse Rituelle du Feu," the dance supposed to drive away the evil spirits. The music of this dar.ce is well known New York concert-goers through the splendid interpretations of Messrs. Toscanini and Arbos with the Philharmonic and New York Symphony Orchestras last season.

Her phenomenal success at the OpéraComique encouraged Mme. Argentina to do what her friends and admirers had long been urging her to try that is, a program of modern Spanish ballets.

Since the time of Calderon ballets have been given in Spain; entertainments consisting of a series of choreographic divertissements based on national folkdances and linked together in a more or less dramatic form-pretty much the form of ballet now familiar to us since the advent of the all-conquering Russians.

The program given by Mme. Argentina and her colleagues was divided into four parts: "El Fandango de Candil," a ballet-pantomime in one act by C. Rivas Cherif, with music by Gustavo Duran; "Sonatina," a one-act ballet by Ernesto Halffter, who wrote both the scenario and music; "Au Cœur de Séville" and a "Suite de Danses," the last two being a dazzling succession of traditional Spanish dances-boleros, fandangos, jotas, and tangos.

In "El Fandango de Candil" we find ourselves in Madrid in 1805. The scene is a popular cabaret where people of all classes come to dance or watch the dancing-"peuple et aristocratie en go

guette," as the program has it. One of the dancers, called Nina Bonita (Argentina), is the sensation of the moment, and Tout-Madrid of the period comes to applaud her. Manolo, her own particular gallant, in an effort to make her jealous, pays particular attention to a great lady whose face is hidden by her mantilla. In a jealous fury, Nina tears the mantilla from the face of the mysterious one, who, rising to her feet, blazing with fury and diamonds, is recognized to be none other than the Queen of Spain. In the sudden consternation which results the lights are put out (most appropriately) by a blind man. In the darkness and confusion which follows, the Queen and her attendant escape, the old blind man is arrested and dragged off to jail (what business had a blind man at a ballet, anyway?), and Nina, to calm down her lover, dances a "Bolero" to his (and our) en(Please turn to continuation,

page 598)

The Longfellow Nobody Knows

(Continued from page 579)

narratives: Nokomis and Pau-Puk-Keewis; Evangeline, whom he may not like, but who is nevertheless as clear and distinct as any character in nineteenthcentury poetry; Miles Standish, testy, courageous, lovable; Priscilla, whose love story, says Mr. Gorman, is only a "treacly affair" without dignity, a comment which is exactly wrong; King Olaf and his warriors; Baron Castine in the "Tales;" Else in "The Golden Legend,"

see how quickly it gets under way, how soon we are informed of the characters of Standish and John Alden, their appearance, their personalities, their relations with one another-all in thirty or forty lines.

Moreover, Longfellow can create a world of his own. Once more I beg the reader to turn to "Evangeline," which he has not opened for years to the passages in which the village of GrandPré is described. We know few real We know what the women wear and what the men smoke. We see the good priest coming down the

villages as well.

without sufficient thought, improbable, but who is a living, breathing girl. His young men, it is true, we must mainly give up. And we will find in him no crafty bishop ordering his tomb in St. Praxed's, and no troubled Merlin foreseeing the end of all things. But then, we must remember, Longfellow is writing narrative verse, not dramatic lyrics or tortuous confessionals, and it is the business of the narrative poet to present character swiftly and graphically, and to set it in motion.

Then, as a small specimen of Longfellow's skill in this particular let us consider this passage from "Evangeline:" Bent like a laboring oar, that toils in the surf of the ocean, Bent, but not broken, by age was the

form of the notary public; Shocks of yellow hair, like the silken floss of the maize, hung Over his shoulders; his forehead was high; and glasses with horn bows

Sat astride on his nose, with a look of wisdom supernal.

Father of twenty children was he, and more than a hundred Children's children rode on his knee, and heard his great watch tick.

Justice has never been done Longfellow as a humorist. His humor is too subtle for the commentators he has had. There is one scene in "The Golden Legend" wherein the disguised Lucifer leads astray some friars, a scene mellow with understanding, with humorous appreciation for the foibles of mankind, which Chaucer would not disown, and as for "The Courtship of Miles Standish," the opening sections are a complete

The house of Benedict Bellefontaine is as familiar as our own. It is evening, and labor for the day is over. The shepherd returns with his dog, a patient and important animal, walking from side to side. We snuff the smell of wagons— Laden with briny hay, that filled the air with its odor.

We hear the horses neigh, and the sound of the milk falling into the pails. The milkmaids go in. The stillness in

We enter the house. Evangeline spins for us, and her father sings carols: While the monotonous drone of the

wheel, like the drone of a bagpipe, Followed the old man's songs and

united the fragments together. Presently the hob-nailed shoes of the blacksmith are heard, the notary comes in, the betrothal papers are signed, we all drink ale together, and the old men play checkers. How completely we accept the situation! How clear this is, how convincing! I do not believe our realistic novelists can surpass it. And yet there is in this scene the indefinable charm of poetry-the charm of the Dutch masters. And we are wakened only by the voice of Mr. Van Wyck Brooks telling us that Longfellow's nature is only "a pale-blue melting nature," and that this superb artist was never more than seventeen!

Let us be just. This poet is not a great poet, but he is an excellent one, a master of English verse, of graphic de

not deceived in admiring him. Let us, before we find fault with him, read him without prejudice and discover the Longfellow nobody knows. Let us hope that a competent anthologist will arise to sift out his better work, and, fearless of omitting the worn poetry that ever body detests, put together in a book those better and greater pieces in which Longfellow was truly himself. It is not necessary to apologize for Longfellow; is only necessary to discover him.

The Next Great American Industry

(Continued from page 580)

less expenditures, for spending useles is discouraged and waste of funds prevented.

WHAT

HATEVER theoretical dangers may lurk in this system of large-u farming, none has so far shown itself in practice on the Chapman Ranch. That is no danger of feudalism. Here we find opportunities for advancement and pro ress on the part of the operator. The owner, of course, is naturally intereste in the success of the individual. To prove the popularity of the system, number of applicants for farms that a vacant each year is so great that it is very difficult to choose.

Each farmer is given such independence as he desires, providing, of course, that he produces in the right way. He is allowed to sell when he pleases. He is allowed to market where he pleases. though all try to market together.

T

HE Chapman Farm is still in its i fancy, but it is no longer an expe ment. In fact, no one who is intimately acquainted with its history and its plan of operation regards it as such.

re

see it. There is wit in this poet, more than we think. Turn to that poem, and

humor and strength. Bryant and Hawthorne, Lowell and Emerson, were

sound, socially safe, and scientifically

efficient.

I

"Hot News"

T isn't so often that a picture comes along which defies critical analysis -that is, which ought to be terrible and is actually good; but such a picture is "Hot News" with Bebe Daniels, Neil Hamilton, and others.

at To begin with, William Fox spilled Paramount's wind by producing "The News Parade," which deals with the same subject, some weeks before "Hot News" was flashed to the waiting electorate. This in itself would seem to have taken considerable edge from the interest likely to be engendered by the Daniels release. Then again, Miss Daniels has reached a stage of her career where it is just the least bit taxing to accept her as a sweet girl graduate, filled with the exuberance of the early twenties. There are other reasons why the picture should be a washout, and they are to be found liberally dispersed throughout the film itself.

They are all as unimportant as-well, as this review has been thus far and will probably continue to be. For "Hot News" is an unfailingly successful attention-grasper from start to fade-out. It So surmounts not only the drawbacks enumerated above-it presents Neil Hamilton in a typical William Haines Pain-inthe-Neck rôle and makes you like him. The plot of the piece, which was fashioned by Dale Van Every, is concerned with the rivalry between two newsreel concerns, the Sun and the Mercury. Sun News employs Scoop Morgan, ace of the newsreel cameramen, who is a non-believer in the woman-in-business theory. When he learns that the boss's daughter is due any minute from Wellesley, bent on having him teach her his trade, he resigns in a pet and joins forces with the rival organization.

So Miss Clancy, the heroine, has to learn the business without him, which she does in unbelievably fast time. They have never met, but their mutual intention is to "scoop" each other on all possible occasions. In this endeavor Miss Clancy is uniformly successful, she being the star of the picture. Following, however, their first accidental meeting, a sneaking admiration begins to develop between them, and there you have your love interest. This isn't allowed to interfere with business rivalry in the least and, up to the closing scenes, each is working for the other's professional

The Movies

By A. M. SHERWOOD, Jr.

downfall with no thought of sportsmanship, let alone any tenderer consideration.

There are good scenes, good fun, good titles, and a world of ginger in this pic ture, and our guess is that, if you don't choose to be too coldly analytical, you'll enjoy it immensely.

"Forbidden Hours"

F the typical European monarch is, in private life, as thorough-paced a cad as is Ramón Novarro in this picture, it is small wonder that the King business hasn't been so good lately.

(see

Mr. Novarro, as young King Michael IV of Bokelavia, or Humptulia (we've lost our program), conceives a yen for the visiting niece of his Prime Minister. Her name is Mademoiselle statement above regarding loss of program). She is, as played by Renée Adorée, a frightfully cold proposition; she repulses the young King to the point of socking him one in the eye, being fully cagy enough to know that Nothing Good Can Come of It.

The amorous ruler is in no sense daunted by her unwillingness to cooperate. He chases her into rooms, furnishes torrid negligées for her use, and otherwise makes plain his nefarious objective. When a rival appears, he disposes of him by the simple expedient of ordering him to get out.

So it goes-Miss Adorée poignantly

virtuous, Señor Novarro poignantly possessive; the thing is, if you get us, poignant a nice word to write and a nasty one to say.

Of course, for all his rough stuff, the King is just a lonely, warm-hearted boy; and, after Mademoiselle really gets to know him a bit better, she consents to

be his on his own terms. But he elects to abdicate and marry her, a plan which is foiled by his loyal subjects, who demand his continuance in office and the lady as their queen. So virtue triumphs. And another punk picture gets by, through really superior acting.

TH

For Fistic Followers Only

HERE has recently been exhibited around the Manhattan salient a fight film which records, in a most interesting manner, the famous knockouts of history. The outstanding round of about seven important fights since the advent of motion pictures is here reproduced. The title is "Old Time Fights," and it is something which every ringsider should see. The immortal first round of the Dempsey-Firpo bout, which is

called by Joe Humphries the greatest within his long memory of the ring, is among them, and there are many other well-selected fragments which vary in interest proportionately as you remember the fights themselves and the postmortems they called forth.

The Joe Gans-Kid Herman encounter is also shown, and gives present-day fans the chance of seeing the phenomenal Ethiopian displaying all the form. which made him perhaps the greatest fighter of all time.

The impresario of these records of fistiana is said to be Jack Britton. We wish him the material reward to which his intelligence in selection entitles him.

Out and Injured

WHAT of the theatre musicians? Al

most overnight these unobtrusive public servants find themselves confronted by a problem which, in simple terms, may be stated as follows: Where do we go from here?

The talking pictures and the "soundeffects" are here to stay, and what exhibitor will keep up a high-priced orchestra, unless he is one of the relatively few who present a stage show? All that the musicians in an average movie theatre will have to do is play an overture-and they're through.

Will this undeniably small contribution be sufficient? We think not. The theatre-owner will, without doubt, be able to hire a canned overture-and, without doubt, that's exactly what he will do. It's the cotton-gin and the sewing-machine all over again.

A

TYPE of fire-extinguisher which

we haven't seen until recently is the Shur-Stop, which the makers call the Automatic Fireman. It is a bulb of glass containing a liquid. This is held on the wall or ceiling in a bracket which automatically releases it when the temperature reaches 130°; the bulb falls and smashes; the liquid vaporizes and puts out the fire. Another way to use it is simply as a hand grenade to be thrown at the flames. Another type made by the same company particularly for usein automobiles is more like the usual fireextinguisher, except that it is hermetically sealed, so that there can be no evaporation of the contents, and vibration and corrosion do not affect it. To use it you push in a plunger and direct the liquid at the flames. The makers guarantee to replace free of charge every extinguisher of this type used to fight fire.

bies.

WE lowing our lead—expressed himself quite enthusiastically on the subject of hob. We say "following our lead," though, as a matter of fact, he probably wasn't, as we don't believe he reads our page, except when some one points out to him in it one of those slight inaccura

E see by the Publisher's Column last week that the editor has-fol

cies which will from time to time creep into the most carefully and conscien

LOREN STOUT

read it. However, his remarks embolden us to suggest that the making of ship models is a splendid hobby for those who are accurate and handy with tools, and that Boucher, at 415 Madison Avenue, New York, can supply all sorts of materials, accessories, and parts for every kind of craft, from a rowboat to a fullrigged ship. A friend of ours made a model of the Santa Maria in his spare time a few winters ago. She is about

fifteen inches long, built from the plans

which we believe the Spanish Government used in making a Santa Maria for the World's Fair; the hull is built up of separate pieces, and every part of the rigging is made to scale and works— even the tiller on the tiny lifeboat which she carries on deck. Of course, it took a long time to do, but this friend had no great skill, only patience and ingenuity, and he created a beautiful model which it would cost several hundred dollars to reproduce.

A face and hands is being introduced into public washrooms, and we believe into some private houses. It is a ma

SUBSTITUTE for towels for drying

chine called Sani-Dri. It is made of

white porcelain enamel and stands on a

A

NEW process of treating oak, called Cellizing, has made it possible to lay floors of this wood in plastic cement without nailing, in various designs using squares, diagonal squares, or half-center squares, at a considerable reduction in cost. The process renders the wood impervious to moisture, and flooring treated will not shrink or expand. Moreover, the squares are not built up, separately on the job, but each square is manufactured as a unit, of three or more strips, joined by a steel spline. The narrow strip flooring is also available in the Cellized product, as well as Colonial plank floors with solid wide boards. The elimination of laminating and ve neering in these latter makes them mu less expensive. All of these floors w remain tight and level, they are insect proof, and are much easier and quicket to lay. Also the plastic cement in which they are laid makes them easy to the feet and acts as a sound deadener.

told OLONIAL hooked rugs have we appearing in you this?-are now

Co regular carpet lengths and can be made

up into rugs of any size. They should be useful to those who wish to have floor

of course, it becomes aware that he has

and efficiently dried.

It is said to cut

look rather messy.