New-York tribune., 1910-09-10

crowded with the names OF locdi ceis''
ties whose claim to wider fame IS not
made APPARENT. Smetana we know, ana
Dyerak: beyond that. in painting, 'scuIp-
ture and architecture. Bohemia has pro-
duced no man of International stanolhs-
The only contemporary Bohemian man
of letters who counts among us is Count
Ljitzow, to whom the author IS greatiS
indebted for much of his material es-
peciaIIy in his picture of John Hus as
a national hero as well as one or the
fcrerunners Of the Reformation
This first general survey of its subject
il English is so serviceable that 1t Is.
not likely to be superseded soon. The
illustrations are numerous and We'll
chosen.
The prospective visitor to the Black
Forest. who intends TO do il as II
should be done Ieisurely and largely on
foot. cannot afford to neglect Mr
Hughes's Book of the Black Forest
il is not. perhaps. of the handiest size
for travelling companion. but It's bulk
consists entirely of sound information,
which notwithstanding the author 5
modest disclaimer neglects but little OF
what is most worth seeing IN one of the
loveliest regions of Germany. Further
more. it is net didactic; it leads the tour
ist from spot to spot, but leaves him To
use his own eyes and follow his own in
cIinations. 1t is sort Of guide book
raisonne, with Strassburg as its point Of
81 L; .x-o
Mr. Hughes is deeply interested i'll
folklore and medieval tradition. No
ruin. no castle 10 chapel in the Black
Forest but has its tradition, and he tells
them all. generally with a touch of
humor His first surprise came at Often
burg, al the very beginning Of his jour
ney for there. on the market place, he, an
EngIishmsn. feasted his eyes on d statue
of Drake erected not TO the EliZabetllan
naval hero. but to the benefaCtor who
first introduced potatoes into Europe
The cathedral Of Freiburg is treated
with all the respectful admiration which
one of the finest and yet least known Of
Gothic structures in Continental Europe
deserves Air. Hughes looks around him
here. as elsewhere. with eyes that are
wide open to what is picturesque and
! quaint but how is it that so thorough an
! explorer who found the kandelhof and
I the HoeIlenthal, missed tn" Kopf, one Of
the cityS traditional institutions, and
makes no mention of the HirschSprunE
and its legend. commemorIted by a stat
uesque bronze buck? Near Freiburg, by
/ the way. he says:
! was reminded of one Of the numerous
! little German societies which carry on IN
nstentatious work in the forest There j.
/ "A dimrnutive wooden shed erected on d
! post under one of the trees, and one won
ders what it can he until one sees the
! name of the association which placed II
there-the Birds Projection Society. 10
/ appreciate he SocietyS work at its true
value one must he in the Black Forest
during the winter Then il really does. by
/ shrinking food. save great number OF
! birds from dying of starvation But in the
! summer when birds can CoDceivably shift
/ fer themselves. the Society's little wooden
shelters look-shall we say-a little babylsh.
/ 1t is just possible that the shelters are
/ intended for the birds protection in win
! ter IT is So much simpler to leave them
standing through the summer than to
take them down in spring and put them
up again in the autumn.
''F'roehlich Pfalz. Gott erha1t's." MI.
Hugbes's conjecture that the Black For
est folk owe their humor, their intense
} JOY Of living, to Austrian and French in
( fluerces is somewhat far-fetChed. It is
their own native temperament that
/ makes them the cheerful optinists they
are: if anything. the French would have
! taught them TO weep.
At the proper moment our author sng-
gests SchefeI's ''Ekkehard" as capital
| collateral reading. In short, he knows
his subject thoroughly, he has made tbs
most Of it in his own peregrinations and
he gives the best of this in his book
His itinerary can hardly be improved
on and may be easily extended at will
Last but not least, he will prove a de
lightfully reminiscent friend in these
pa ges after one has returned home and
looks back upon i most enjoya BILE tour.