THIS Christmas the readers of the International will receive invaluable literary prizes as gifts. For the December number will contain a collection of articles, stories and poems of such high quality that the editor could justly use the celebrated adjective of Tody Hamilton in describing them. But he will not do that. He will leave that to the readers to do. All that the editor has to say about the contents of the December issue is this:
A story of African magic by Charles Beadle is really better than any of Kipling’s African tales. That’s going some, but it is true.
A Hans Heinz Ewers yarn — one of his most fantastic and fascinating works. They are discovering Ewers in England now. A play of his recently published in the International is now running in Chicago. You will never forget him after reading the masterpiece in the December number under his name.
“Heart of Holy Russia” is the title of the only article published in America which actually reveals the Russian character as it really is. A masterly analysis of the mystic of the Western world. For the first time the strange dreamer of Europe — the man who revolutionized modern political thought — is depicted as he is, with all the wonderful background of Russia palpitating in the picture.
What shall we say of the fourth Simon Iff story? The tremendous interest aroused by these stories prove how fortunate we were in procuring them. Simon Iff is not a mere mechanical detective solving uninteresting problems. He is the scientific peer, penetrating the mind and heart of human beings with an unerring grasp of what is going on in these vital organs. The complicated actions of men and women — in crime and in ordinary life — are comprehended by this great genius with such startling clarity and pity that the dullest is held spellbound by the achievements. The December Iff tale reaches an intensity of action and interest impossible to exaggerate. Read, and though you may run, you will remain enchanted. There are of course a great many other fine contributions, too numerous to mention here. Suffice to say we stake our literary reputation upon the belief that you will like them. Remember the December issue and make it wholly the magazine for you and yours.