The Saint Paul globe., 1898-07-03
Laura f.. Richards.

The Broom Of the War Cod Is a
book difficult to define. 1t is not his
tory; it. is not fiction. 1t is not ro-
nance, nor. in the ordinary acceptance
Of the words. is it novel, though so
1t is designated On the title page. 1t
has not a semblance of a heroine nor
the likeness of plot. 1t has hero of
staunch enough fiber. if the fact that
his name appears FROM the first page
to the last makes Graham a hero in
book in which every man who appears
1or even a moment is as carefully
VisualiZed as if he were the only char
acter worthy OF consideration. Perhaps
THE Broom of the War Cod would be
best described as the journal of war
correspondent who is a dramatist III
the strongest sense of a much abused
word. 1t may be removed far enough
from the mere facts Of history, pure
fiction doubtless great deal of it is;
but most impressively real is every
line of 1T. The characters are legion,
bur as we have said, every one Of
them living. every one of them dis
tlnctly individual. They are not by any
means all of them nice, all of them
designed for heroes by Providence, but
in spite OF the sordid brutal reality Of
war as Henry Noel Brailsford- draws
1T, each has his moment of heroism,
and therefore, while war is brutal and
war s4sordid, war is also beautiful
All the Hotsam and jetsam of hu-
manity, the ragged edges of society
The war god." is the composite hero
Of Mr.. Brailsford's story. The man
whose name is most often in his pages
is Graham, young scholar, teacher
at st. Andrews. Scotland. In love with
ancient Greece, he joins the cause of
modern Greece and becomes part of
the Philhellenic legion, but from al
most the first the hurlor Of the situa-
ton appealed to him so that he wrote:
"Tne only expiation of folly is to be
resolute therein"
The fortunes Of the Philhellenes we
follow with Graham, and they are but
bitter fortunes at best. Disgust with
the Greek troops. dissatisfaction
with the Greek leaders, discomfort with
arms and rations-such is the legion's
spirit save when under fire; then
bravery takes the place of discomfort,
discipline of disorder, self-sacrifce Of
sordid selfshness. There is plenty Of
courage in the war, and yet war is not
redeemed by it. Yet human nature is
redeemed, and that by the presence Of
the one popular Greek commander,
Varatasi, one of the two men who ap-
pear in MI. .Brailsford's story under their
own names. Capt. Varatasi is a brave
man and an able commander, but it is
not he but the relation of his men to
hin, from the lowest to the noblest
that is the saving grace of the whole
awful picture. and we realize that more
uplifting than heroism is hero worship
1t is the best thing war has to teach
comparison of THE Broom of the
War God" with '"The Red Badge of
Courage" is perhaps inevitable, but
surely unfortunate, The books are ut
terly unlike in anything but the
grewsomeness Of the subject and the
Illuminating power Of the treatment
Both books are eminently satisfactory,
but they have the quality of some
paintings. forceful in their individual
color. but killing each other by close
comparison. 1.-THE Broom of the War
Cod is a book it is well to read, and
to read now.
'The Broom of the War Cod" by Henry
Noel Brailsford. s1.50. D. Appleton & Co..
New York. For sale by the st. Paul Book
and Stationery Company.