Evening star., 1914-10-31
BOOK REVIEWS.
OF ToLsTOY.

trated from photographs. New York
The Century Company.
- HESE "reminiscences embody
Count Leo Tolstoy just as he
appeared to the heart and
understanding of his son. For
the sake of presenting the
great Russian as he really was to mis-
wife and children, to his peasantry ana
the big group of relatives always
around him. Count Ilya Tolstoy recon
structs with a lifelike vivtdness the
beautiful home life of Yasnaya Polyana,
a benign and patriarchal institution.
He portrays his father as the friend
and companion of them all, joining IN
the sports of his children, sharing their
reading, directing their more formal
education, and becoming the conf1den-
tial friend of his boys at the time when
boys need man friends. 1t is heart
warming picture. And when Tolstoy'
under the urge of an acute attack ol
lifelong egotism, sets out on pltifully
inadequate and futile errand of regen-
Grating modern life, even then the
writer. in comprehending spirit, eX-
plains what he is able to explain, ana
infoIdS the rest i'll the unaSSaliaple
fact of human inc explica bility. There is
much in this book TO interest the read
ers of Tolstoy apart from his personal
idioSyncraSy. Here is an account OF his
puzzling relations with Turgenyef
Here are given the sources OF his vari-
Gus novels. One interesting story Is
that of the genesis Of Anna karenl-
ma and TolsIoy'S attitude toward TINS
the most human OF his romances. Here
are many ties to bind the student OF
Tolstoy to the man himself. The writ
ing manner OF Count nya is II model
nd lI,.lf Y
that come when the idea and the word
are SO knit that sentences become
things standing sheer and clear before
one. These "reminiscences by the son OF
Tolstoy form an Inaitenable part OF any
study of Tolstcy himself.
DELLA BLANCHFLOWER. By Mrs.
Humphry Ward. author of Lady
Roses Daughter, etc. New York:
Hearsts International Library Com
pany.
BY way of this story of Della Blanch
flower Mrs. Ward presents a picture of
the militant suffrage movement OF
England. Delias romance is built upon
a familiar formula. 1t is that of the
lovely young ward to her fathers $
friend, Il young-old bachelor The guar
dian rails in love with the ward. OBJ
StacleS intervene. Only to be Surmount-
ed. subsequently. marriage snIIts the
roles from guaruIan and ward to those
of husband and wife. And the story
ends. Here the romance departs IN no
particular from this regular order OIL
events. What freshness the story pos
sesses springs from the nature OF the
hindranceS set up against this tuirlI-
Inent. And II is mere tnat the record of
InI!iIancy has its place. Della Blanch-
hover, even before the death OF her
father, had passed under the control OF
Il quiet, Mrs. IanknurSt, mouse oil Il
woman, Gertrude Marvel, a militant
leauer. Under her hypnotic spell DeIla
had pledged both herself ana ner Tor
tune to tine cause" The fathers VIII
strictly enJolneo upon the guardian,
Mark Wilmington, the Illustration OIL
this plan. Mucn of the story Is taken
up with the duel between Wilmington
and Gertrude Marvell, who is, by All
"uds, the most complex and. at the
same time, the most convincing person
appearing here This contest covers
most OF the usual militant mani
iestat1onS-paradeS, harangueS, WIN
dow-preaking, house-burnIng, and the
rest OF lt-IrOm which the man is ever
on the alert to divert the girl. Della
Bianchtower is poor stuff for mIlItancy,
as the nrst pubic encounter SENDS ner
W lipeiInS 10 the Protecting arms OF
the uplQultouS guardian. the suffrage
clement IN TINS narrative ends tneatrI-
caiiy, with Gertrude Marveii perIsnIns
IN the flames of her own kinuIIng, on
ttc burning portIco or beautiful Monk
lawrence, the rare Old country house
- SIR W lllrId Lang, most potent OF
tHc parliamentary torces against the
.,tHrase movement. the romantic part
- the story ends properly with the
marriage OF Della and Wilmington
MhiIe the well known qualities OF Mrs.
wards work are all mere, the story
itself fails to strike fire.
FACES IN THE DAWN; A Christina.
Story. By Hermann Hagedorn, au-
thor Of Poems and Ballads" etc
New York: The Macmillan Com
paDy.
races III the Dawn stands as good
evidence that Hermann Hagedorn is
MOI confined in his literary life to the
making of exceptional poetry, but that
he is able also to write u viriIe and
vivid novel. This romance is a study
OF character in a setting of German
NE Adam Samuels, the pastor OF
"enkendorf, is its chief figure. AS is
the case with all of U.S. inside this
Adam SamueIs are two distinct per-
sons. living untriendiywise side by
side The mutual anita agonism and re-
actions of these two make I'D the
substance of this story. Tne Adam of
outward seeming is the preacher OF
S"'nc~ nat meaningless sermons for the
correction OF the simple folks of Wen
hendort He is also the strict and
bullying overlord of his weak wife
Esperanza, with whom he lives in a
hil.y iiiiu squiilId mouse, since Esper-
anza's regular business of having babies
holds her most effectually from ever
catching up with the exactions of good
housewlfery. The other man, the one
whom Adam would like most to be- is
the secret. worshipful lover of Gudrun
Won Hallern. young daughter of the
manor mouse. This is a fine, whole
some. athletic girl Of modern Ameri-
can pattern, rather than of the Ger
man type. All unsuspicious of the
hidden passion of Herr Pastor" for
herself. Gudrun. through Il genuine and
helpful friendship for poor Esperanza,
necones indirectly the means by which
-Adam Sanuels reduces his tormented
inner life to sanity and order. Incl
dentally. Gudrun achieves d triumph
Tor herself, bringing to fulfillment,
against the very subtle opposition of
her mother, her own romance with
stalwart young Hammerdale from the
United States. This is a good story
Its characters are humanity real, each
consistent in his own person and tenn
perament. They are interesting people,
besides. The situations are definitely
calculated to bring out the qualities of
the characters. The movement is q
steady and centered progress toward
the new and single life of Adam Sam
uels- Poetic insight inspires this ro-