Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-17

Scribners Sons. Washington: God
ward K Lothrop.
- UTE as one expects and even
demands in this case. Mr..
James story of small boy.
this being himself, is an amaz-
ing tracery Of self recollection
.leljcateI IL interviewer with the larger
uattern of life Immediately surrounding
him in these early years. IL one. read
ing here. he absorbed in the study OF
child psychology ne will count the vol
une body Of expert evidence. The i'm
presSions so carefully set down are au-
thentic and cIean-cut, wide I'm number
and variety and, what is much TO the
point. they reach back TO an age so early
as to be given up commonly to mere in
S.inctIve hunGers, and sleepings. and
stretchings Mr.. James in writing this
book had. of course, no notion OF con-
tributing TO child psychology Never
theless. the sincere and purposeful stu
dent of children will find this volume
worth any number of arid and sched-
uled investigations on the subject Less
special readers, those Interested Chiefly
in the fact that this Is book by Mr.
James about himself and his early friends.
find themselves launched at once into the
rnid-channel of this authors peculiar me-
dunn of communication. The Renaissance
is. in its facts. curious foreShadowlng
Of Mr.. James later years years of prac-
teal expatriation and leisurely reflective
wanderings shout Europe. A mere baby
ne was taken to Paris. thus beginning
early the process of transportation that
now seems wholly complete The whole
record is set in a golden glow or memory
and filled with the essence that emanates
so invariably from whatever Mr.. James
lmDreSSIyelV imnOr-
tant. important as a unique section OF
biography. as very expert psychology,
and. matter of course, important as
pure literature.
THE STORY OF Wy BOYHOOD AND
YOUTH. BY John Muir. author. of
My First Summer in the Sierra.
etc. Illustrated from the authors
own sketches. Boston: Houghton
Miffiin Company.
John Muir's story of his own boy
hood is a. fine and sturdy thing. De-
spite the years crowded in between the
facts and their recital, this is a new
and fresh adventure of boyhood, one
calculated 10 fire tremendously such
boys as are so lucky as to come upon
the reading of it, To the grown-up
friends and readers of John Muir this
is a particularly plain record of the
hoy as father TO the man. Taken in
connection with Mr.. Muir's later career
1T completes the pedigree, so to say. of
a single span of life wherein different
periods of development stand for gen.
erations. the boy passing on to the
man In an unbrolen and consistent
ascent Apart from this broad service
in filling out the facts and meanings
Of a significant life. the story. just in
and of itself is peculiarly captivat-
ing one. A little boy. only twelve
years old. leaving his mother in Scot
land TO come 10 America with a mere
- ~ -
certain and poignant appeal The long
voyage. six weeks or more, in a sail
ing vessel. the journey across country
TO Wisconsin. the long lean years that
followed in helping to rescue a farm
from the wild land round about. the
schooling of the open. the reaches for
formal education and it's achievement
ny none too easy ways-these blend
into a robust and plain-dealing story
Of Immediate vividness and amazingly
inspiriting flavor.
VIRGINIA. BY Ellen Glasgow. author
If THE Wheel of Life" etc. New
York: Doubleday. Page & Co. Wash
ington: Woodward & Lothrop.
One has not TO turn the corner of his
own street to find the situation of which
this novel is a particular case in point.
4 most everyday theme. man and
wife, both this side of middle life, sur
The man. fellow of good intent, is a
youthful. buoyant. aspiring creature with
rowing eye and far-faring mind The
wife is a mere string of faded loneliness.
secure in the tradition that marriage
SHELLS constancy. Maid all-work nurse.
mother. wife, mistress, are the parts OF
her strenuous role The other woman
with but a single part to play. brings the
story TO IRIS disastrous close. In the be-
ginning this is story of ecstatic young
love In its middle course il is still
love. but love set off very supt1y in its
opposite aspects of woman love and man
love. The close is merely the logic OF
this fundamental difference between the
two. If a novel he great when il chooses
a broadly applicative theme. when every
page is transcript Of the feelings apd
their natures and surroundings, when its
cour,e is as inevitable as the seasons in
their cycles-why. then, this is a great
novel. The common words of praise APP
piled to a merely interesting and we'll
built story fall short in passing opinions
ship applied here 10 a theme of vital i'm
port and appeal
LORE OF PROSERPINE. BY Maurice
Hewlett. author of The Queens
QUAR-" etc.. New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons. Washington: Bren-
tanos
Mr.. Hewlett hopes that no one will ask
him whether or not the things in this
book be true. For he himself does not
know the answer AT any rate, that is
that IL Mr.. Hewlett were quite clear of
the dread of being laughed at, he would
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