Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-08
BOOK REVIEWS.

bum MvItN.
GLAMOURIE: 4 Romance Of Paris. By
William Samuel Johnson. New
york: Harper and Brothers Publish
erS.
DHE real matter here begins with
the seventh chapter, the first
six, as the author says, be
ing by way of prologue.
What TO the author is thus
but general foreword, to the reader turns
out to be specific key to subsequent pro-
ceedinxs, one called into use over ana
over to unlock the cryptic things beyond
This prologue is a medley OF thoushts
and feelings. assumed to set the writer
straight upon his mission, and dong
equal service for the reader on his way
Here are backcastings for reasons ana
tmnulses under this amazing reveiatioh'
n;ctures of things and places for set
ting. Of matter and spirit, sketches OF
neonle body and soul, with vague anu
unattached forecastinSs OF deveiopnieh'
and event. Then, in the middle, oesihs
the story of Sir Michael Burke, the lrlsh-
Enslish-Parisian, a complete empouSnns
of the glamour-gift The hels"bo"
his bioerapher, my dear master. Anu
civ Michael does behave himseit hiuc,.
in his neighbors' way or thlnkihs,
out Of this madness comes ss'Gu po s,,ci
~ vision. such super-seeing of me- suC'i
6naTtv OF philosophy, that one In redu
inc knows this to be the madness haIneu
divine. The spell Of this wayWaru, aninS
Hes in it's poetic ecstasy; Slr Mi. ,,aht
mav he a mailman, but he has caueht
n"s .cs,nce Of the divine chance, the
.uh,;mating force of Thought. the ere
alive power Of love at WorKn,nsse ,5 s
exait man to superman TO hit WIZ fan9
into ever-worlds. Throughout TINS Ia
fasv there rises the beautiful over,orea Fan
~ paris. sentient but spiritualized, MT
I'd above the real Paris like Wonue,
IN, mirage, the work OF SIT michael
own glamourte.
THE SILENCES OF THE MOON. b1
Henry Law Webb. New York: Johh
Lane Company.
Taken up at any time, opened DIT any
mage. this little volume offers the iarse
hospitality of doors swinging out"a'u
upon life, with reflections upon H. ana III
terpretations, all set in mt and sihslhs
,Ihraz. Under the ample indulgence OF
this noetic title the author wanders VIDE;
led by the amazing beauty a i.a
meaning Of the face OF mature 80.
and friendly record of the com
Tvs and roings Of birds, fancies and facts
about flower and tree, the humanity VI
nature and the making of man are soIile
of the clear highways ana trahns Sy
ways along which we go with this KINDLY nor.
philosopher, who sturdily adjures us no!
10 be idle spectators of discipline ana
toll; but into the bout with the rest "heIe
defeat itself Is glory" Literature sucn as
this is best fitted to the leisure f min, i'm
utes for the pursuit Of a single tnousnt'
for the tasting and retasting Of a single
phrase.
NEJCHBORS UNKNOWN. BY Charles
G. D. Roberts, author Of kings IN
Exile" etc. Illustrated by Paui
Bransom. New York: The Macmii-
Ian Company. Washington: Bren-
tano's.
Mr.. Roberts is first and foremost
story teller. One settles to the reading
of his tales sure that what happens next
and next and so on, in each Of these will
round to an exciting and dramatic close
He is moreover, we'll nigh manner of
that literary element. hard to define, but
quick to feel, that sympathy OF action,
time place and mood, which for want OF
q name writers call atmosphere. This
volume Of a dozen or more stories comes
to the full level of this authors BEST.
he brings these fascinating adventures
of caribou and bear, of the gray lynx
in his hunting. and OF the mother broods
Of the north, tortured with the feroc1ty OF
spring hungers. The strain CT wild ma
ture is under these. the animal-humanity,
10 to speak, Is In them, and the grim
poetry Of these frozen spaces sparkles
upon their surface. One starts to say
Roof of the World is the best of them,
but this best" moves forward step by
step with each succeeding one. TIL at
the end of the volume one admits lamely
sets out to read them over again: A
fascinating book for young folks and old
ones, too.
las Lore Sharp. author of THE Lay
of the Land" etc. Boston: HouSh-
ton Miffiin Company.
Along with dandelion and horseradish,
these essays, whatever their subjects and
seasons. are clearly meant for spring
uses. Fresh, succulent. tangey, satisfy
ing in their full vernal flavor, they are
made to clear the system of winter sloth
and to set the springs of new courage
and new effort Allowing. Mind. this ef-
feet is all out of the manner. The sub
ject here counts least, the habit most.
The point is, that the author sees with
q freshness that counts for newness.
making records of his seeing and think
ing with vigorous frankness. His use
OF homely wayside things to enlarge and
stress his themes makes the reader envy
an astuteness that he himself dared not
step out of his rutted path to gather.
The scarcity of Skunks, Turtle Eggs
for Agassiz." THE Clam Farm do not
read like fruitful and energizing sub
tects-but they are, as upon the reading
one gladly admits. The Nature Writer
is an enlivening essay upon a subject so
outworn that one hesitates to undertake
It, Better not hesitate. for it is worth
much more than the while that goes into
its reading. A knowing appreciation of
John Burroughs is. among the dozens
OF these scattered about. the worthiest of
them all in the fullest sense, the one,
II is assumed, to which Mr.. Burroughs
would himself most gladly subscribe. 1t
10 hard TO imagine better tonic for
these early spring days than this little
bundle of essays.
ZOE THE DANCER. BY Ida Wild New
York: John Lane Company.
How this little convent-reared waif
danced herself on to the vaudeville stage
and of again. into matrimony and out
again within q single twenty-four hours.
back to the stage egain, into everybody
heart and never out again-all this is
here set down in a wholly delightful