Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-09-24

says, IN eHect, tnat poetry Is We'll OIL It's
way toward pitiful decadence, a point
of ready acceptance. 1t is already, save
for q few inconclusive exceptions, but
the sickly Towering Of settled anemia,
the effect of long unremitting period
of initiative inbreeding, whereby physical
vigorJ has failed, ideals have dimmed.
originals lost their influence and clean
ways faded to forgotten trails. To lift
the entangled muse to the open road with
spaces clear to the unmuffled music OF
her flying feet is the high intent of this
study The means of this rehabilitation
is the scientific treatment of poetry. To
organize it, as other bodies of fact have
been organized, is the authors objective.
The method is the usual one of examl-
nation, analysis. experiment, for the dis
covery of inherencies and the laws by
which poetry is controlled. With a stand
ard so established, and the instruments
of critical Judgment in hand, the clutter
of verse will settle away into Its own
place, leaving poetry itself, clear. Defined
exalted. In swift and brilliant phrase
the author tells what poetry Is, ana what
1t is not He spreads out the dynamics
of speech, and applies 1t to the phil
osophy of English verse. Upon occasion
he turns off words of his own making
potentry, tropetry, literatry and so on
as names for his own notions concerning
the nature and possibilities OF language.
The writer's intense individualism, MS
compelling and persistent personality
drives him into the inner sanctuary, pan
oplied with the weapons of his own
fashioning, there to challenge Its hign
priest, and to compete boldly with en-
shrined authority. He takes a hand at
poetry, of the paraphrastic sort, as the
parison, with Milton, Macauley and the
rest, just to prove that any one pos
sessing the proper tools can achieve that
which has hitherto been ascribed to the
workings of a divine afhatus ana nne
frenzy. He proves it, too. The s1uoy
is a monument of research in many
lines and of scientific co-ordinating pow
err 1t is also q brilliant example OF
ingenious method and daring treatment
Above all, il is marvel of literary IN
6ividualism, with vandal, buccaneer, cru
sader, rolled into the personality OF
modern scientist, complete In the mastery
of both remote and immediate resources
THE PILGRIMS. An Epical Interpreta-
tion. BY Isaac c. Keller. New
York: Fleming II. ReVell Company.
Speaking of poetry. here is what Its au-
thor styles an eptcal Interpretation OF the
Pilgrims. On it's face, 1t is an account OF
the historic migration of these people In
effect, it is defense of Calvin and MS
creed In essence it is. 1.-The unitary, in
Invisible march Of truth from Scrooby to
New Observation-Disclosures that may mean.
Right at this point one is suddenly
brought up standing before the awful es,
thetic handicap lying In that woro
.SeFooby," and made respectful toward
flee II as a plague. Dedication and pro-
logue herald the six books OF this epic.
Blank verse is its chief medium, though
here and there lyrics appear. parity lot
Variety says the poet. and partly pc
cause the feelings found their expression
at times more readily in this way" SO.
"A pagan song perchance. may here re-
Heve the long-taut strain, and the au.
thor sings something about 'Persephone.
Once in long forecasting range, he
chants an ode to John Brown of Osa-
watomie!
.'Bravcst in wars alsrums,
Reckless of aught that (har-ums)
The authors encyclopedia range comes
out in the topics Of any of these books
say, Book III: The Pilgrims Olympus
The Jupiter Of Europe" William Of
Orange" 1.-THE Magma Charta,' 'Calvin's
Creed" THE Death and Burial OF Ar
minus and so on and SO on. In pref
atory confidence the author ingenuousiy
asks. But is this poetry?' Naively he,
himself, answers, 81 answer the skeptic-
it reaches my heart, and gives me truth, "
with more to the same enect, all af1rma-
tive and conclusive. Mr.. Keller, the au-
thor, might be interested to ask Mr.
Maxim cbout II.
DOWN HOME WITH JENNIE ALLEN.
BY Grace Donworth. author of THE
Letters of Jennie Allen to Her Friend
Miss Musgrove." Illustrations by
Frederic r. G. Gruger. Boston:
Small. Maynard & Co.
There is not bit of use in trying to
talk about this book in the lingo OF the
reviewer or the near-reviewer. Every
body knows, to set out, that 1t Is the Sc
auel to the delightful Letters of Jennie
Allen" Now. Jennie down home" is try
ing under difficulties. to keep diary. y
paragraph or so submitted here. without
comment, is Jennie's own excuse for be-
ing, and the readers excuse for the pur-
suit Of her: Sometimes there's only time
for few lines, and other days I'm so
rushed with work that l can't get at it
at all. But ! write when / can. and 1t
averidges up lovely PAMELA Newcome
said: Why. that's no way to do. To sue
cede in anything you've got to be siste-
matte. The same careful methods that
had ought TO be applyed to the humblest
home ever was PAMELA ! says, you
can't deal jest the same as you do with
fggers when you're adealing with things
In nome. NOW II You COuiO take, say.
bread-dough, and needles and thread and
broonS and mops and spelling lessons
and clam-man and woodboxes and rock
a-bys and Now-I-lay-me's-when all them
can be multiplied by dishcloth or a fiat
iron, and give something diffenit and
satisfactory for a result-then. and not
till then. can bookkeeping and housekeep-
ing be carried on in the same basais' Pa
melia, supposing when you was In the
ack of adding up a nice. long. straight
COLLEEN of figgers { that you'd added
should without minnetS warning
straighten itself out into / or hump It.
self over into ? or into a q. or have
strong simptims of changing to a 3 or an
at the slightest provercation. And then
supposing this want all. Surprising one
of the figgers, one OF the littlest-say the
I or the 2-should disappear altogether
Then. Pamela. and only then
would YOU realize how feable methot
could be-. PAMELA put her hand to hel
head. Is it as bad as that she asked
AS bad as that. Pamela l says. Bad
Why. it's splendid. Supposeing you loved
every identicle one of them figgers. Sc
much 80 that when they rampaged yot
wanted to rampage with them. And sup
poseing one of them figgers Dame TO yot
on cold. frostey morning pinched blue
and after il had sold you your quart o.
CLAIMS kind of wanted to hang arount
your nice, warm KITCHEN a spell. and tel
you about it's little crippled boy that hat
went to the hospittle in Bangor for al
down to your diary. Wouldn't you lister
to 1t, PAMELA. and tell il you hoped tn,
little feller'd come out all right, and To-
him not to worry, and to have cup O
nice hot coffee. and postpone the diar,
for a more favorable oceashen? Wouldn'