Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-08

Boston. L. Z. Page ana Company
rVY 1E are going to summer in
in France. AS matter OF
NAx bare fact, we are already on
w our way. Our scrip is packed
with every kind of promise.
all duly counted out. At the utmost. not
more than one lttlest fly clouds the am
Der of our intent We thrifty toll on
our prospects on finger tips-an easy
body. quiet mind. a buoyant heart, no
crowds, no heat. no dust, no hazard BY.
sea or road. In the cool of any O'Clock
morning we may be seen. well started on
our summering. In the park-just across
the street-umbrellaed by magnincent
tree from too open sight or possible
shower, the journey begins. When the
sun rides high it still advances in the
comfort of shaded rooms. the fan a-play-
ing pianissimo. At the first swelling mo-
ment of this delectable plan for stay
at-home trip abroad we said, largely,
Europe, of course Then, as so often
happens when mere mortals chop out
loose and ragged projects, providence took
ND the scheme and snugSed 1t into
working pattern for us. The speciai
providence, in this case, made itself man
ifest by sending up Mrs Mason Spen
hour we said. why. to be sure! 1t was
France all the time,
Mountain and meadow and stream. IN
amazing Observation-Disclosures lovely face OF
the Midi turned backward toward Its own
uncomfortable youths the picture OF
this book The fragrance of old names
stepped in their own essences Hoats up
ward from It's pages-Provence. Rouss1l-
Ion and Languedoc; Avlgnon. Nauciuse
and Pont du Gard: Aries. Mines and
Carcassonne-each "A flower of old Rome,
each a root of southern France The
book comes honestly by its name IT is
a spell wrought by the spirit or poetry,
beneath whose airy webs lies the SUD-
stance of ancient days.
This particular book is unsurpassed Tor
the first stage of our summer journeSlng.
Ii Is at every step under the control or
an ordered mind. Clear little maps, each
a definite and feasible unit of travel.
show one where he IS going Short
sketches of underground history tell him
why he is going there. Every now ana
then things that belong in company are
brought together and placed so that one
may proceed in clear range. Nothing
IS haphazard. Nothing is left to chance,
though many delightful things spring
from immediate inspiration. one Delights
in the companionableness OF TINS DOCK;
..M'sieur- Madame" as the French called
this author and her husband. engage. all
the way in a natural to-and-fro talk.
filled with information. sentiment, VIII
and the other mental furnishings or
cultured sympathetic two. No more pro-
pitious beginning for our summering in
France could be imagined that MIS- Ma
sons altogether delightful transcript OF
experience makes.
THE YOSEMITE. BY John Muir
New York: The Century Company.
II your summer map covers the Yosen-
i,e region, then the friendship of John
Muir is as indispensable is that OF
John Burroughs to the quiet watcher OF
BIRDS and bees, OF Of Henry Thoreau to
the lover Of midforest hermit haunts. Mr..
Muir 10 q prince of guides. whether one
follows him at home. his book in hand,
or literally takes his trail In ana out
among the open and secret wonders OF
the great Yosemite. The poets com
plete vision, the nature-lover's deep feel
ing the scientists exact observation and
deduction. the patriots passion and the
artists power Of portrayal are here, all
in full measure, for the travellers use
10 inspire him. to assure and to direct
him. Long ago Mr.. Muir passed from
the superficial ceremonies of mere &C
quaintance with this region into COM
prehension of Its meanings and moods.
This clear understanding and intimacy
light, and warm, and objectify not only
the innumerable details OF the Yosemite
region. but It's whole gigantic pattern as
we'll.
ZULEIKA DOBsON; or an Oxford Love
story. BY Max Beerbohm. author
of Yet Again: Essays etc. New
York: John Lane Company.
As arrant nonsense as ever tumbled out
of type. 1t begins nowhere and ends in
the same place. Action a-plenty there is,
carried on by set of mechanical toys of
poor construction and feeble origin. In
stif-jointed and pointless movements
these make their representation, chatter
ing meanwhile in painful staccato au-
tomatism. One takes ii for granted that
this matter is either convulsingly funny
or inscrutably clever. Which of these 1t
is designed TO be. he. as the average
reader. has not so much as the ghost OF
d notion Some writer's. after good and
serious service, take their playtime in a
kind of dementia of letters, gamboling
over their pages as lambs and puppies
and long-pent-up children frolic on the
green in a madness of freedom Mr..
Chesterton. a notable case in point, has
these seizures. Mr.. Beerbohm is here in
the grip of one. Honest average folks
frankly admit that they can make moth
ing of these antics. They suffer them,
waiting in hope and IN what patience
.hev can command. for the trnpish pos
session to abdicatc. Or the contrary. I'M
average readers of certain type, those
That slip easily into cults of one sort or
another. believing themselves to be in
touch with powers and essences from
which the great ma ority Is excluded
seize upon a grotesquery like this and
shake out of II meanings and delights in
Vulnerable. And how they scorn the dull
uncomprehending commonalty. Neverthe-
less. these common folks hold their
ground, and in this case boldly declare
Mr.. Beerbohm's book to be worth no
more than four minutes of anybody's
good time.
MEMOIRS OF THE DUO DE LAUZUN.
Translated from the French by T.
Jules Meras. New York: Sturgis
and Walton Company.
During our years of serious reading we
have sh,vered longingly toward a secret
memoir one hitherto unpublished" BY
preference tn s was to be of distinguished
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