interest in view of coming papers by him on our own race problem: "Southern Memories: Sidelights on the Race Problem" and "The Last Taboo," in which, as he says, he "mentions the unmentionable." Myths are all right if you know they're myths, thinks Caroline E. MacGill, and she discusses some of the most potent of the American ones, about which all too little has heretofore been written. These are among the defenses which the Scyllies, referred to above, use. Miss MacGill also contributed an interesting note in the spirited discussion which raged around I eigh Myth Morton's first story, "Mrs. MacGill Denton Gets Off," which was published in the May SCRIBNER'S. Miss Morton now brings us another story, "Three Moments," from her Cambridge environment. Although she is a native New Englander, she says she has found it a good atmosphere to get away fromfrequently and a good one to get back to, and she thinks it is not really her element. She Stirred Coming back to Boston, our attention is directed to another woman who did not sink back into the course of New England gentility and respectability and self-effacement decreed for New England women. And Isabella Gardner added much to the interest of life in Boston during her lifetime, and did it an inestimable service by leaving to the public her collection of art. Fenway Court was opened for the first time to the public on February 8. Elizabeth Ward Perkins presents an intimate sketch of this remarkable woman and her masterpiece. Sarah Redington's "Our Asolo" and the pictures which accompany it start the wanderlust in us. We have heard William Lyon Phelps talk about it, and once again we regret having neglected. this spot when it was not the shrine of Duse, and spoiled by tourists. We wonder if it can rival the charm which Perugia holds for us. Sarah Redington makes us suspect that we shall have to divide our enthusiasm. John Erskine's scholarly mien may hide from some the fact that he has a keen and fresh appreciation of beauty. To see him presiding over a meeting of the Poetry he was the author of technically correct verse of classic mould, A Scholar remote from life and feeling. and To all such and to those who already knew of Mr. Erskine's power we point out "Mediterranean" in this number. Grist for The takers-for-granted dismiss machines and those who operate the machines as so much grist in the mill of life. It has to be, in order to keep things as they are. But the transition period from the time when man was a craftsman to the time when he released a lever so many times an hour so many hours a day was not accomplished without serious results. The work which Charles S. Myers is doing and which he describes in "Humanizing Industry" is a great one. The attempt to restore interest in Humanity: the work and pleasanter con- the Mill ditions for labor is one of the most important in forwarding co-operation between capital and labor. The essentially human side of the relationship between the two has been neglected until quite recently and the progress has been almost tragically slow. Doctor Myers is one of the most important psychologists in Great Britain, formerly director of the Psychological Laboratory at Cambridge University and consulting psychologist of the British armies in France. Bernice Lesbia Kenyon wrote "Songs of Unrest," and so, we believe, would agree with us in our major premise concerning restlessness. Her poem in this number would seem to bear us out. And as ultimate proof, she chucked a nine to five job in New York to wander for a year about Europe. We have heard rumors of her journeyings hither and yon. The latest is that she has settled down under the shadow of Notre Dame de Paris to write a novel. CONTEMPORARY FICTION Contemporary fiction, and especially the short story, is an interesting study. During the months since the beginning of 1924, SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE has presented the work of twenty-five fiction writers. This does not take into account "The White Monkey," by John Galsworthy, which ran serially from April until December and, since its appearance in book form, has been breaking records as a best-seller. The interesting part about these people is that practically all of them are writers who are just beginning to accumulate a literary reputation. They belong to the future. Among them may be noted Henry Meade Williams, son of Jesse Lynch Williams; Louise Saunders, McCready Huston, whose first story appeared in SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE in 1923; Sidney Howard, Edward C. Venable, who has been staging a literary renaissance within himself; Edward L. Strater, Clarke Knowlton, and many others. A LIST OF NEW WRITERS Specializing in new writers and belonging to no literary clique or school, SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE is a particularly interesting place to study the progress of the short story. Stories of character, in which the main interest is psychological; stories which depend upon situation for their point; stories in which humor is the chief feature -all these are to be found in the list below, which contains the names of twenty-five authors and their distinctive stories which have appeared in this magazine, beginning with the January, 1924, number. Blodgett, Ruth Robinson.-"The Curve of Adventure" (September, 1924). Brooks, George S.-"Pete Retires" (December, 1924). Boyd, Thomas.- -"Rintintin" (April, 1924), "Unadorned" (May, 1924), “Sound Adjutant's Call" (July, 1924), "The Kentucky Boy" (January, 1925), "A Little Gall" (February, 1925), "Responsibility" (this number). Carstairs, Elizabeth Nail.-"The Rich Man's Son" (November, 1924). Clark, Valma.-"Service" (October, 1924). Crawford, Charlotte Holmes.-"The Point of Recoil" (October, 1924). Crichton, Kyle S.-"For Sale: Med Show" (February, 1925). Desmond, Shaw.-"Trick o' The Loop" (August, 1924), "Pad and the Mom" (September, 1924). Dreher, Carl.-"Retrieval" (February, 1924). Glenn, Isa Urquhart.-"The Coffee Cooler" (November, 1924). Gould, Frances L.-"Marcus Maddern: Misanthrope" (March, 1924). Marvin, George.-"Harbin Night's Entertainment" (April, 1924). Morton, Leigh. "Mrs. Denton Gets Off” (May, 1924), "Three Moments" (this number). Saunders, Louise. "Sentinels" (August, 1924). Strater, Edward L.-"At Mrs. Hopkins' Elbow" (March, 1924). Torgerson, Edwin Dial.-"Letters of a Bourgeois Father to His Bolshevik Son" (January, 1925). of Silent Prayer" (December, 1924). Venable, Edward C.-"Bachelors of Arts" (March, 1924), "Mr. Manton at Sea" (June, 1924). Welles, Harriet.-"Progress" (June, 1924). White, Frederick.-"He Could Catch Trout" (October, 1924). Williams, Henry Meade.-"Tides" (July, 1924). TRUE AMERICANA To the American programme which we published last month, we add from this number: "American Mythology," by Caroline E. MacGill. "The Epic Note," by Struthers Burt. "Strong Men of the Wild West," by John Hays Hammond. "The Battling South," by Gerald W. Johnson. Doctor Guérard's article in this number is interesting in connection with the study of race and immigration questions. In later numbers Doctor Guérard will have two very pertinent discussions of our own race problem. SOCIAL CONDITIONS Any group studying sociology and labor conditions will welcome "Humanizing Industry," by Charles S. Myers, in this number. It is a very interesting account of what agencies in Great Britain are doing to restore interest in work and co-operation between capital and labor. A NEW CLUB PUBLICATION The Club Corner has received a copy of the first number of The American Women's Club Magazine, published by the American Women's Club in London. Mrs. Curtis Brown is president of the club and editor-in-chief of the magazine, with Mrs. Hal O'Flaherty as assistant editor. The club has had an interesting history, part of which is retailed in the magazine. Started in 1899 as the Society of American Women in London, it assumed its present name in 1916. The magazine is interesting in appearance and make-up and, we should say, one of the outHoward, Sidney.-"Such Women as Ellen standing publications by a women's club at Steele" (January, 1925). home or abroad. 6 KEEP OUT OF THE APRIL SHOWERS WITH THESE The radio mind, skill in parking a car, and the "moral blizzard" of Prohibition are some of the features which H. A. L. Fisher discovered when he came to America recently after an interval of fifteen years. "America After Fifteen Years," in the April SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE, gives the reaction of an Englishman, Member of Parliament and of Lloyd George's Cabinet, who is noted for his forthrightness and original way of expressing himself. *** Edith Wharton in the same number describes "Telling a Short Story," showing that her skill in analysis is not confined to the characters in her own stories. She knows how short stories are written. We are not all writers of stories, but those of us who merely read them will be glad to go behind the scenes with this master and see the wheels go 'round. *** Greenwich Village was astounded recently by a revival of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" which had the characteristics of Greek tragedy. Only recently a musical comedy, "Topsy and Eva," built on Mrs. Stowe's classic, opened on Broadway. But most of us will remember "Uncle Tom's Cabin" as we saw it done by a travelling company, perhaps under a tent. Has there been a town or hamlet in these United States which has escaped it? In the vernacular these were known as "Tom Shows," and J. Frank Davis has contributed to SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE a paper by that title, an interesting presentation of a unique American institution. * Can we climb over those barriers erected for us by our ancestors? Edward G. Spaulding, professor of psychology at Princeton, discusses the question in "Walls of the Past." *** N. P. Babcock contributes "From Park Row to Early Colorado," the story of his sudden transition from the staff of a metropolitan daily to the editorship of a country weekly, and his experiences there. *** George Ellery Hale barks up the family tree of the telescope and finds that King Tut-Ankh-Amen was mixed up in it. We remember telescopes after an eclipse such as we had in January. And this tells how the thing started. *** Other features: "Travelling with Creusa," by Arnold Whitridge, and "Sir William Osler and the Thirteen Pensioners of Ewelme," by Caroline Ticknor. *** Roger Burlingame, Isa Urquhart Glenn, and Edwin C. Dickenson contribute stories of unusual interest. *** And as the April showers bring May flowers, so the April SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE promises further flowering of interesting people in May. In writing to advertisers please mention SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE Poem THE ORIENTAL ANCESTRY OF THE TELESCOPE George Ellery Hale BACHELORS ON HORSEBACK-A Story. THE TIRED WOMAN. 392 Roger Burlingame 405 Helen Choate 416 THE FINANCIAL SITUATION-The United States Begins to Redistribute Its Gold-A New Turn BEHIND THE SCENES WITH SCRIBNER'S AUTHORS WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT IT THE FIFTH AVENUE SECTION PUBLISHED MONTHLY. 449 FRONT ADVERTISING SECTION PRICE 35 CENTS A NUMBER; $4.00 A YEAR CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS NEW YORK CHARLES SCRIBNER President ARTHUR H SCRIBNER Treasurer CHARLES SCRIBNER JR Secretary 597-599 FIFTH AVE NEW YORK 7 BEAK STREET, LONDON, W. I. Copyrighted In 1925 in United States, Canada, and Great Britain by Charles Scribner's Sons. Printed in New York. All rights reserved. AR Scribners Next Months A Glimpse of the Actors at this Performance and WE glanced furtively up and down the street before entering. We closed the door quietly and tiptoed cautiously along the hall to our library. Once inside there and we were safe! Sniffing the air gratefully, with a smile and a tune on our lips we began to unwrap the mysterious package we carried under our arm. But, horror of horrors, just as we were about to spread it with a triumphant gesture upon the table and go to the hiding-place of the vicious instruments in which we use the stuff, a curtain moved. A figure emerged, clad all in black; his gloves even were black, a tall black hat sat upon his long narrow head, black coat-tails swished about his ankles as he approached us with a glide that seemed to have a sibilance about it. His lips were set in a leering smile. "Ah, ha, young man, I have you this time. My agents have not smelled the filthy tobacco on your breath in vain. Open that package!" We tried to shout defiance but couldn't. In the strenuous effort to open our mouth we woke up wildly to find it A Moral all a horrible dream occasioned by the activities of the AntiNicotine League, which by a campaign of "moral suasion" intends to stamp out tobacco in this country. It seems silly, this agitation. But to many people the Eighteenth Amendment seemed silly. It was one of those moral blizzards that H. A. L. Fisher speaks of in "America After Fifteen Years," the leading article in this number. For our part, we don't want any more blizzards. We're all for a summer of glorious tolerance. We have enough pipes to last us for many years, but we don't relish the idea of buying alfalfa from a bootlegger at exorbitant prices, and he assuring us that it has just been smuggled in from Turkey or that it is pre-prohibition Virginia stuff, the while we smile sceptically and buy it just the same. Mr. Fisher, by the way, is a peculiarly English phenomenon: an educator and a politician. Of course you will contradict us with Woodrow A British Wilson and Marion Leroy Bur- Phenometon and Nicholas Murray But- non ler. But Wilson abandoned teaching when he entered politics; Burton and Butler have not held political office. Mr. Fisher was Minister of Education in Lloyd George's cabinet and is at present warden of New College, Oxford. And, in American terms, he corresponds to member of Congress for the New England colleges. We promised a glimpse at the play-bill of SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE for next month, and we shall begin keeping our promise by the important announcement that two of our star performers in this issue will also appear in the next: Edward G. Spaulding and Edith Wharton. Both belong to that group of intelligent people who ally themselves with no school, who examine all things critically. In the Christmas number Mrs. Wharton discussed the writing of fiction in general. This month she takes up the short story, and in the two following numbers she will discuss the construction of the novel. Wharton's first article, the New York HerIn a long editorial comment on Mrs. ald-Tribune said: Mrs. Wharton admits that the creative imagination can make a little go a long way. "One good heartbreak will furnish the poet with many songs," she ber of novels." It is a good saying. Better yet is the remarks, "and the novelist with a considerable numone that follows: "But they must have hearts to break." That, from a thoroughgoing artist, from a past mistress of technique, cuts deep... Mrs. Wharton states courageously and luminously the crux of the so-called "moral" issue. She knows, as every authentic artist has always known, that you do not inject morality into art as though it nizes the high philosophy which presides over the were an elixir poured out of a bottle. But she recogquestion of the fit and proper subject. |