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you'1re Iooking for! becaus. asortm.nts have been reinforéced cont6ma-, Mas shopping season. CaidilJ/ tatlonery G.Them Books lli. Clurktmas GMft Stationery UrnsusiChristmas Carde and Gift Wrappings 1724 Orrington Avenue. Orraga Kotel Ehdg. Evanston tMr. Sinioiids has a good story to. tell-one that becomes thrilling as it siears its climax, the ,invention of the electric light. It is less the story of Franîcis Jei, the "boy with Edison," t'hall it is of Thomas Alva Edison, hirniseif, and, less of Edison than it is of his ivork with the stubborni elec- tric lamp. But, it, is a. story of achieve- nment and of inventive genius that will reacli home to every boy rearedj ini the. American tradition' of the glorification of success in. the. face] of nbstacles. Fran cis Jehi appears as the New York -office boy whci attained his .dream-a job in the Menlo Park lab- oratory in Wvhich Edison had already, started work on the developmenit ofý an- electric light.. He arrived, there in the fal of 1878, and at once plunged into- the, Edison experiments as the youîxgest and least of the force of assistants the inveitor was buildingÉ up. The story tells of bis part'in tie experiments-how h-e pounded lampblack in a inortar, turned the crank of a vacuum machine, ran er- rands, finally wvas present during the monumental, days when Edison at last developed a, successful filament for his- lanipligbted it with this strange new electrie -power-an1d kept, it aliglît! It is particularl y bappyý that 'he de- voted bis closing chapters to Ford's' -rebuilding of the Menlo Park scene at Dearborni, and to the historic re- acting.'of the lighiting of the first lanip there in 1929; with both Edison and Francis Jehl present. Hupdreds of American boys 'reading the book will be inspired to visit the Dear- born nmuseuin. PORTRAIT 0F AN AMERICAN. By Robert P.. Tristrani Coffin. New York. The Macmîillan & Co. Until recently thie romaàntic figures of the Ametrican scen .e -have been chiefly me i and, women -of the pio- neer period, ýor of the beyday of the whaling andi clipper ship era., The Civil War years. are beginning to be peopled in fiction and biography witb characters of legendary stature, but Margaret A',er (Mrs. Cecil) Barnes of Chl1ucago has recently, had lier se~cond. novel. printed, "W'es't- ward Passagle." the scene of which is laid ,nosil 'v on shipboard. Mrs. Barnès has mnzazY friends o4 the. north shore. She rccentlv gave a taik at the W'înnetka iVoiiaii,' club on the subject of "Behind the~ Typeritr,"which wcas. it part, aintobyiographical. She has also -ap'. peared in amuateutr /roduclions in 117imnetka and nearbY suhurbs. FIRST PERSON SINGULAR, SIX SHORT STORIES. By W Somer- *se.t Maugham. 'New York: Douz *bleday, Dorai & Co. As novelist, as playwright, as te-lier- of tales, Mr. Maugham is always pro-_ fessionally competent, and fron time to tume he is a great deal better tban that. From time to tine lhe. ceases to be nierely slick, hard, and brilliant; he forgets biniseif ini his, material, bis characters corne alîve,. he .ilium- mnates the. mid -and touches tbe heart.- There are two superb stories in the. presetf volum-oýne. -a faster- piece of comedy, the other a tragedy of character and 'circunistance that 15 .uncompromisingly seen and vet g i I a c g * s s I a d ah so truc of on e had andl u ac*kgrouudtnat tnere is littie to become a great concert i neeci of the changeçi names by which Hie fled to M'unicW on five poun he calis bis characters or of the fam- week, and the resulting tragedy ily phiotographs wbicb somebow are deeper sounding of those ,Strà so much less-vivid to the realder than compelling mid-sea currents of the printed words. than you might easily suppose. other gallant French bound-out girl, the isbed Sargent family whose couirage 'wins ianist. *ouit over alniost insurmountable dif- nds a ficulties, Aunt U-epsa with her weav- ïis. a ing, ber songs and ber herbs and ange, flowers-these are somne of the char, -race acters we gro* to love as the story- progresses. The author of- the Pulitzer prize' winner, -Years of Grace," has createdj in ber second novel -a storv inia Iigliter vein. In fact, with the coin- pletion-o-h"Westward passage,* M rs. Barnies' versa lity. is. almost estal>- ihe.-One -wonders what her next wilL be like, and if she will continue- writing books each different f rom th e other, où-, if not, which. type of flo\ el she will definitely chose to follôw. Mrs. Darnes,ýwillalways, wrvite well, and whiatever she does lier book. wiliý be "best sellers.' "Westward> Passage" has io'r ils heroine Olivia (Mrs. Harrx) iiciîi- dorf, and its. hero, Olivia 's forinir husband, Nicholas Allen., Oliia, re- turning froni Europe -with lier 18- year old daughter., "Little Oii, discovers that Nick is on the saine ship. 'During the sven -days' vage. home they renew acquaintanceshIpý Nick, Who' is the 'true and, àrdciit lover, sweeps Olivia 'off her feet. lin the manner no doubt that lie !uid don e wlien she had married lm iiat 19. He pleads with ber to retuiru to bum and Oliviaagainst lier betier judgmenlt . I. .- . but tiien' the co-ýi. clusion of the tale wihl have. be klf for, the reader. The entire story takes place w*ithin about. ten days. Mrs. Barnes's characters are skill- fully drawn and with flot a> little penetration. Both. Ni.ck and, Oliv;i-. are absolutelv true to if e. Littie Olivia, however, is probably an CNý- aggerated exaniple of modern youth. but is fascinating neverthieless. SIc and the others are ail vital and stand out clearly an~d colorfufllv. Even if "Westýward Passage" is not another Pulitzer prize, wintier it \vill have a more popular pal)èil, tlan "Years of Grace." CHILDREN 0F'THE .HOlUSE- TOPS. By Yonel B. Mirza. New York: Doubleday, Doran &Co.x, Inc. "Children of the Housetops" is 'anl apt titie for a tale set in a Persian village, tbough of course Shirin and her brothers spend the actual lulls of' .1