Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-11-07
BOOK REVIEWS.
THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF JOHN
HAY. BY William Roscoe Thayer.
Boston: Houghton- Miff1in Company.

Boston: Houghton-M ifiiin Company
~ HIS book is of the measure OF
an event. whether one consid-
ers it as a chapter in the his
III tory of distinguished men OF
the United States. or looks
upon it as a contribution to American
literature, or holds 1t in the near light
of a warm and intimate personal study.
It is. besides, timely book, not too re-
mote from the interests that center and
sustain it. and yet so far removed as
to set these interests in the light of a
fair perspective. The general reader
has in his possession, to be sure, an
outline of the life of Mr.. Hay. This
outline covers the conspicuous sub
stantfaI points of his public service as
Secretary of State and diplomat, as au-
thor. and with glimpses of his secre-
taryship with Lincoln But for the rich
details of these different kinds of serv-
ice, for a near view of his life in its
successive stages, and for any appre-
citation of the personality of the man
himself this study makes a full and
adequate means of approach. Much the
larger part of it is Mr.. Hays own story.
told by way of his letters to one and
another of his friends in public and pri-
vate life: warm, live letters. revealing
the strength and wealth of this wise
and kindly man. One has the assur-
ance. as he reads, that these letters will
always be just as warm. just as alive
as they are today. Together, they
form an important chapter in the his
tory of our public affairs. as they make
also very appealing and picturesque
study of the man himself. One expects,
in the beginning. to read about a
H. D,Nt
when he puts the book down he feels
himself enriched by something more
satisfying than even a study of. the
highest craftsmanship can give. The
work of this biographer gets its best
praise. one thinks. in the fact that
when he does his part in this personal
history it savors more than little of
the spirit and manner of Mr.. Hays own
writing.
MY CHILDHOOD. BY Maxim Gorky,
author of Tales of Two Countries"
etc New York: The Century Com
pany.
Until he was something over sixteen,
Maxim Gorky lived with his grand
father. Then one day the old man said:
Now, Lexei, you must not hang
around my neck. There Is no room for
you here. You will have to go out into
the world" Gorky adds, tersely: And
SO I went out into the world" Out in
the world Gorky became jack-at-all-
traGes-painter of ikons. peddler. land
surveyor. gardener, cook. apprentice to
a baker, a tramp and rebel against So
ciety. Then. through the friendliness of
the writer. Korolenko, Gorky studied
books and turned his mind toward be-
coming a writer. 1t is through the per-
spective of these manifold experiences
and this training in the art of author
h hot .1yrrf l. l.
the portrayal of those first sixteen
years. Intimate in approach as only the
Russian appears able to be, and end
lessly patient in setting down the full
Gorky succeeds in leading his reader
into the very heart of the peasant life
that his family represents. showing
him. too, by the way. much that is
Slavic peasant. This transcriptive and
powerful story of the big Russian
household brings out in most vivid
fashion the fact that these are all chill
the grandchildren themselves. Gorky
makes a notable figure of his grand
mother, whom he loved greatly. She is
the heroine of this true story, a pious
and devout woman, taking SNUFF and
drinking vodka in the betweenwhiles
of prayer and work. Nothing but a
child, who prays: 20, Lord. Thou know
est that all of us wish to do better,
Deen
set up In the town-it will do him harm
to be on the river. / don't know what
will come of it all. There's father, now.
Jaakov is his favorite. Can't 1t be right
to love one child more than the others?
He is an obstinate old man: do Thou,
o Lord, teach him!'-and SO on through
the various shortcomings of one and
another of the big household brood. The
whole is remarkable human evil
dence. 1t is equally distinguished as
the best of this writer's artistry.
THE GLORIOUS RASCAL. BY Justin
Huntly Mccarthy, author OF IF
Were King" etc. New York: John
Lane Company.
For the purposes of this new ro-
nance Justin Mccarthy re-creates me-
dieval Paris and turns 1t over as
playground for the youth of Fran
co.'s Villon. the glorious rascal who
eniivens these pages with SO lavish
variety of prank and escapade. At first
the story moves forward staidIy
enough in pictures of that meager
quarter OF old Paris wherein the little
Francois and his mother are set down
to the nakeshifts of bare existence.
AS soon. however. as the precocious
and astute Francois discovers his IA
Tiers brother in the good canon of St
Benoit. and as speedily enlists the SYM
pathy and support of this powerful
nance swiftly opens out into the field
of adventure. Here little Francois VII
Ion is in his element. He is at least a
near onlooker at the gorgeous pageant
of chivalry. The rhymipg youngster be-
comes page to noble lord, whose love
sonnets he writes. hying away with
them on rin1ble feet to the lovely lady
who inspired them. A useful lad-Cu-
pid and Mercury in one: Then his stu
dent days begin; and here finely pic
turesque sketch of the great Univer-
sity Of Paris in its influence and power
develops along with the student life of
Nillon. Here, too, begins the down.
ward course of the young poet. In the
company Of the famous. and infamous.
Guy Tabarie and Rene de Montigny
Francois Fillon makes a breakneck de-
scent into the depths of the Paris I'M
derworld And there the story leaves
him. Most admira BILE in its pictures Of
medieval Paris, in its atmosphere of
that remote day and IN the consistent
Hfelikeness of Villon is this latest ro-
nance by Justin Mccarthy. Francois
Villon is persistent personality. He
refuses TO be dead. Time and again
has he reappeared at the hands OF ro-
mantle and poetic writer's, this gal
lows bird" as Stevenson says Of him,
who was the one great writer of his
age and country, the one who initiated
modern literature for France" But