Emporiemperor

WATLING'S -- Horace Annesley Vachell--Stokes ($2.00). Mr. Vachell says he owes the idea of this book to a friend, one "Dum-Dum." In making his suggestion, "DumDum" may well have said: "Believe it or not, you, with your swift Sat.-Eve.-Post style, your clean humor, your knack with characters, could write a good tale about the department-store business. Draw a composite hero--a Marshall Wannamacy. Have him crash his way up from running errands for a scrimping haberdasher to running the business of his own sterling Emporium. Make Wannamacy--or William Watling-- quaint as well as Rotarian, eccentric as well as honest. A terse, explosive talker. When he is old, give him a struggle to keep his winnings, a nervous breakdown in the crisis. That gets sympathy. It will be more easily visualized if you locate the Emporium in London. Your love theme will be Watling's daughter, who should have been his son, and the amiable loafer of whom she makes a keen business man."

Mr. Vachell agreed, tried, succeeded.