Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-07


NE wishes for the fresh and
morning word. hiding reluctant
somewhere, to express his pleas
ure in this perfect Whistler
book Addressed to those upon
whose shoulders the black mantle OF
Whistler may fan" the volume will, in
hcrently and happily. draw TO the eager
hands Of thousands beyond this selected
circle. to the hands of those possessed OF
no muse at all, save that of supreme JOY
i'm beautiful things Half hundred pic
Minister'S -build into substan-
iial part of this volume. These make up
a musical color scale of arrangement,
sharmony." symphony, 'and ''nocturne,"
revealing in themselves Whistler's con-
ception Of the office and significance of
art. Going along with these reproduc-
tons. in a refreshingly simple and stimu-
lating way, is a comment on the meaning
of art as this is embodied in Whistler
himself. that personal and intellectual re-
dictionary i'm life. The artist Will study
this book, whether he will or not. and
love it-unless he hates it. The mere per-
son, moving modestly about within the
range of the good things of life, will
love It. az will he to whom. art aside,
the full-panoplied personality Is a SUI
preme force To the student. IT Is text
book of substance; to the general reader,
1t is a Whistler compendium. Locally.
IL Is a matter of moment, for whistler
once lived in Washington. The year just
gone there was destroyed, down town, a
house whose distinction was, whistler
used to live there" and did he not here,
years ago. make lucky failure OF gov
eminent service? And today, in most
int street.
Whistler nocturne, for all to see. With
this book in hand, and in the face of local
recollections, we feel the stir of personal,
civic pride, and say of Whistler as Brown
ing said of Shelley:
And did You once see Shelley plain
And did he stop and speak to you
And did you speak to him again:
How strange Ii seems, and new.
II crossed a moor with a name of its own,
And certain use i'll the world. no doubt,
Yet n hands breadth Of IL shines alone
Mid the blank miles round about;
For there / picked up on the heather.
And there put inside my breast:
A molted feather-an eagle feather.
Well, I forget the rest.
FRANCE UNDER THE REPUBLIC. BY
Jean Charlemagne BRAGG, Lift. D.,
professor of romance languages In
Vassar College. New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons. Washington:
Brentano'S.
Setting out to estimate the achievements
Of France under republcanism, MI.
Brace uses the second empire. the imme-
date predecessor of republican France.
as the gauge of recent progress, casting
back at every turning point to sketch the
nature and effect of changes in the ma
tional scheme. The volume passes from
a general introductory view to the closer
study Of important phases OF the national
life. The first part gathers up the whole
country in the light of political and IN
1uStrial reconstruction. The second part
examines education in its wider scope
and altered aims: social reforms. civic
values, religious agitation with something
II contrast between Catholic and Prot
cstant France. 1t also sketches the
r'.cnchman himself active agent in
The new progressive life. The author calls
this an inventory of the constructive work
accomplished by France in this its latest
POLITICAL experiment. and that Is just
What 1t is-a book of useful and interest
f-g facts Drawn from official sources,
Used plainly with no aim toward the
picturesque or the philosOphic, summing
10 an all around study of the substantial
progress of France under republican i'm
pu Sc.
NORRIS kETCHUM JESUP: A Charac-
ter Sketch. BY William Adams
Brown. New York: Charles Serb
;.
Books akin to the one in hand may.
with advantage, multiply unsparingly to
take a place among the assets of public
education. In this day and age. indus
trial and increasingly SO. history and
biography serve their immediate and SUBJ
stantial uses by setting down for the
contagion of example the triumphant
story of work. In the present astonish-
record N there
the surface the obvious account of high
and unremitting usefulness in the educa-
ton, civics, religion and philanthropy of
the city of New York. There is. beside
this. the inferential story, even more
broadly applicable than the other one, of
devotion to the ideal of citizenship. of
energy conserved to the uses of this, of
splendid concentration. of unerring
choice where much must be refused. The
author. in admiring friendship, not only
gathers up these qualities, but he so re-
lates and objectifies them. he SO wildly
projects them into the stream of current
civic life. that the sketch overreaches the
mark of mere appreciation and passes
actively on into the open field of example
and inspiration.
N UNFAMILIAR ENGLAND; . Record
OF Seyen-thOusand-mi Tour by
Motor Of the lnfrequented NOOks
and Corners, and the ShrfneS Of
Especial Interest In England; With
Excursions Into Scotland aud Ire
land. By Thomas u. Murphy. au-
thor of British Highways and BY
ways From IA Motor Car" Inustrat-
cd. Boston: l.. &. Page L. Co.
England is one OF the most Travelled
countries In the world. 1t would seem as
though there were no real hooks and cor
ners there. Fer so many tens of thou
sands of tourists feet have tramped the
paths that he who thinks TO find new
places-that *. new in the tourist sense
will seek i'm vain. Yet the tide OF travel
sets so strongly along certain lines that
there remain certain places and sections
which are virtually fresh and with a
motor car. such was used by Mr.. Mur-
phv these may be reached easily and IN
circumstances to enhance their attract
iveness. Mr.. Murphy tour covered prac-
tically all England. as evidenced by the
map which forms an Interesting appendlx
TO this volume. 1t also touched Scotland
and Ireland. though not so extensively.
Ills purpose was to find the more PIC
turesslue places ofFa certain degree OF
historical and personal interest and yet
avoid the hard -trodden paths of conVen-
iionaI visitation The result Is book
which has a delightful quality of per
sonal interest for the reader, describing
in considerable detail the adventures on
the road encounters with the people ana
those fresh personal impressions which
Gifrerentiate the travel book from the
guide book. A feature OF exceptional i'm
por;anc. i'm this volume is the series or
duogravureS and color plates compris-
ing tire illustrations. The latter are ex-
ceptionaliy beautiful, being reproductions
from the brushes of eminent British art
lists some OF them painted especially for
this work. These give In Unfamiliar
England q rare value as a DOCK OF