Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-11-21

NrTEM ii II '
FL" m me'en 'f Hs''s1 G IS
tia. She record. for those who are
unable to communicate with her IN
any other manner. the limitations ana
possibilities OF the isolation into whlch
she is supposedly banished. That she is
a woman whose thinking processes are
made up of most unusual combina-
tion of exactuess and poetic lnsisht the
most indifferent reader must acknowl-
edge. and thereby is psychology as well
a. literature the gamer.
From the literary standpoint one fact
stands out with humiliating certainty:
Helen keller's Use OF English shows how
detective ia the training OF the average
man and woman. With the treasures
of the visible universe to INSPIRE the
treasures of the literature of the ages 10
act as models the treasures of human
association to serve as material. suSSes-
ton. encouragement. there are very lew
writer's today who can command SO per
feet a medium this blind girl $ nav
less English. And certainly the mass
of careless. slovenly. slanSy patolS tnat
familiarity has made unremarkable to the
reader of current books. Is even more
hopeless than it had previously been To
the discerning GROWERS, in the light OF
her achievement.
The art with which she has been able 10
record the most delicate degrees OF tonch
perception. the insight with which she mas
trauSla ted the intelligence conveyed Dy
her three senses into languages famllar
To those accustomed to think in terms OF
sight and hearing. the exquisite nlcety OF
her choice of words. are calculated 10
cause delight 10 readers who are not OFTEN
so delighted If the explanation be wholly
what il doubtless is i'm part, that. having
been nurtured only on the most perlect
intellectual fare. she has been spared the
fate of the average man who Is fed upon
moor English until the original usages of
words have become obSCured, then lhe
publication of this modest little DOCK
ought to mark the beginning OF educa-
1innaI reforms For the average man OF
woman is entirely unable to express MIN
self or herself with clearneSS-and GER
tanly not with any of the SfaceS !hat
may make of language a keeher delSht
than music can produce
If II is in the light of pSycholoslcdl
data that her testimony IS to be conslo-
cred it may we'll make the most con
1irmed materialist doubt the truth or ms
own conclusions For apparently IN hei
case a personality exists of so great VI
taIitv as TO be independent of the aid
hitherto considered necessary-or sense
perceptiOnS. And. as in the case OF heI
choice of language, that personality Is OF
~ rarer finer kind than the one usually
developed under normal conditions FROM
the standpoint of both form ana thOugnt
these essays of Miss l\ellers are an argu-
ment in favor of the exclusion OF many
things that have come to be conSlnered
necessary in the lives of men and women
OF today.
The opening article, THE Seeing Hand
is charming example OF deilcate 1eellhs
and of fastidious choice OF words IN the
exclamation of ideas almost Impossible or
fuJl exclamation For she has undertaken
to show in what manner the sense OF
touch has been able to convey 10 her
ideas of material objects and or Sounu
wonderfully little different from those OF
the seeing and hearing reader Inc
Hands of Others is an Interesting DIT OF
character analysis: The Larger Sane
tons a remarkable discussion of the eS-
istence of spirit apart from matter, ana
the closing poem-which the author ner-
self did not know-waS poem until her
friends told her so-the expression OF an
individuality at once artistic and exalted.
UNTRODDEN ENGLISH WAYS. BY
Henry c. Shelley. author of Liter
airy By-Paths in Old England" etc.
With four full-page plates In color,
and illustrations from drawings ty
II c. Colby and from photographs
nv the author. Boston: Little, Brown
& CO.
Mr. Shelley has a wide knowledge and
deep appreciation of many hooks ana
corners of his native land which nave
escaped the attention of the general pub
lie because off the beaten tracks In
this book he has made them known to
those who are not SO fortunate; he has
vividly described their beauty or quaint
ness and has retold the stories asso-
ciated with them. Mr.. Shelley's knowl-
edge is not of the usual guide book
variety. There are bits of narrative
that throw light on famous personages;
the author has known how To present
the human interest connected with local.
vi thing
appeals. The book is charmingly Illus
trated and will doubtless appeal strongly
both to the artist and the lover of his
kind.
Mr. Shelley uncovers a corner of the
famous Abbey at Westminster practical
~ unknown to the thousands who visit
that historic building from year to year
In a remote little chamber of the abbey
is preserved a collection of wax effgies
of unique interest, figures of monarchs
and other notable personages that re-
call customs of long past age. By
special permission MIR. Shelley was able
10 secure a striking set of photographs
of these curious objects. Another chapter
is devoted to wonderful grotto and pic
turesque dogs cemetery at Oatlands park.
ii lovely domain in Surrey which is rich
in royal and literary associations.
Other unhackneyed themes are repre-
sented by the chapters on Dick Turpin,
the nororious highwayman; the Water
Worship celebrations of Derbyshire. and
t.tS or w dTkWOTtH.
THE RED CITY. A Novel Of the Second
Administration OF President Wash
inston. BY :. Weir Mitchell ND.
LID. With illustrations by Arthur
/. Keller. New York: The Century
Company.
This is another of DR.. Weir MitcheiIs
careful and finished productions. II is
story of Philadelphia and introduces many
of the characters of the earlier novel,
Hugh Wynne." 1t is the romance of
Huguenot emgrant whose father has been
wantonly killed at Avignon by the revo-
lutionistS. and who comes with his wild
owed mother to Philadelphia. There he
falls in love with a young Quakeress,
goes into the employ of Hugh Wynne.
comes in contact with jefferson, Hamilton
and other public men; also with mys
FERROUS German and with Aunt Gaynor.
who figured SO largely In Hugh Wynnc."
In The Red city there is remarkable
account OF the great plague in Philadel
phia. and the hero becomes mixed up I'm
cabinet intrigues at a time when the
warning English and French factions were
embarrassing the President. The novel
conveys the impression of complete reality
that is so characteristic of the author s
historical romances The hero is a gall
liant youth and the heroine unusually
Wnning. The picture of President Wash
IL ri N a