Monthly Reviewed by Mr. Bellows

It is a somewhat stirring and encouraging experience to see a demonstration of the fact that there is nothing so contagious as enthusiasm. In the last three or four years, and springing from the enthusiasm and energy of one man, there has developed at Harvard an extraordinary and wide-spread interest in the drama, an interest of real value, since it has led to accomplishment. Of this interest the current Monthly is primarily an expression. It contains three essays on matters connected with contemporary drama: a criticism of Mr. W. V. Moody's "The Faith Healer," a condemnation of Mr. Hagedorn's "The Witch," and "A Study of the Influences of the Cinematograph on the Stage." The first, by Mr. G. L. Harding, tries to explain rather too many things at once, with the result that no single point is very forcibly made; but the essay is clearly written and is worth reading--which is more than can be said for most criticisms of this remarkable play. Mr. McGowan's summing-up of "The Witch" is, whether sound or not, a first-rate piece of work, for it points out clearly the faults of the play without making the reader any less interested in seeing it for himself. Dr. Kallen's essay on the cinematograph is a valuable reminder that the moving-picture show whatever we may think of it, has come to be an important part of the national drama. His statement of the value of melodrama, based largely on a theory that "there is no truth in the superstition that it is good for the public to think" is unfortunate; and his explanation of the appeal made by the moving-picture drama seems to be based rather on theoretical grounds than on an extensive observation of the pictures themselves. These three essays together make the number a distinct tribute to Professor Baker and his work here, and a tribute of which he may on the whole be distinctly proud.

The leading article, by Mr. Norman Hapgood, is of especial value in that it points out that a man may be of service to the community whatever his business or profession. Such a statement, from a man who has been notably successful in serving the public, is of great value to all those who are wondering how they can combine their own work with that of the community in which they are to live. The two stories are short and not remarkable; the comedy is rather puerile, and the study in resurrection unconvincing. Of the verse, Mr. Seeger's translation from the Inferno is in many ways a remarkable production; the language is simple and dignified, and the verse is smooth, the dangers attending the use of rhymed couplets being for the most part skillfully avoided. Mr. Hunt's lyric is vigorous and sincere, but not much can be said for Mr. Mariett's alliterative jingle on the weather. Mr. Seeger's second piece of verse deals with Arcadie and May, and is much like other spring poems on the same theme. If the entire number equalled in quality the three essays, the leader, and the translation from Dante, it would be memorable in the Monthly's history; as it is, the only serious blemish is the weakness of the fiction.