Evening star., 1915-08-08

~ poses of this exposition, lii
N orally went behind the
scenes of battle. In the
trenches he talked freely
with the hentin. men OF both armies
Good fellows. all. who realty had no
quarrel with one another. In the COM
pany of experts he walked over open
fields listening to explanations of po-
sj:ion. attack. defense. outcome ana the
So, ,cial purpose underly;n ing this or that
OF military mameuNer. Tie saw what
the big guns could DO. often too close.
would think. for anything like a
pleasure BILE demonstration. He visited
camps where soldiers and prisons of
Wa fTaternzed most astonishingly. He
clir,oed to high towers from which ac-
tual battle was being directed in a
busincs slike array of telescope. te.e
graph and telephone. He talked with
generals and admirals, with an empe-
ror. with statesmen and scholars. For
the most part. Mr.. Beveridse reports
these conversations literally. giving
the re?der, thereby. q very real and
vivid S"nsc of the various personalities
back Of this tremendous ovement.
leading him now and then up to the
very source of this mOnstrOus action.
The method frees the writer from any
charge of bias in presenting the sub
the dramatic appeal of the scenes
brought forward in illustration of one
and another of the aspects of war. 1t
Is out of their own words that Mr..
body OF hopes and beliefs and eSalta-
tions that animate both the Germans
and the allies in this great war. Each
side is curiously but honestly convinced
of the righteousness of his own cause.
The study represents q Single-minded
effort to get at the thought behind the
war. Soldiers. officers. rulers and
practical thinkers of every grade of
life have contributed to it. The result
is book of striking immediate appeal.
rs it is also undeniably one of more
than temporary historic value.
CONTEMPORARY PORTRAITS. By
Frank Harris, author of 1.-The Wells
Of Isis" etc. New York: Mitchell
kennerley.
"I put these portraits forth as works
OF art Here I say to my readers
"are some of the most noteworthy of
my contemporaries as they appeared to
me" This preparatory note is given as
word of warning to those expecting a
letter-perfect copy of the noteworthies
of Mr.. Harris consideration. But the
warning is unnecessary For the read
er is not concerned with any quarrel
which art may be having with truth.
Rather is he absorbed with the series
Of delightful meetings that Mr.. Harris
has brought about between himself and
these men to whom he is enormously in
fous curiosity. curiosity which he
claims is wholly justifiable and even
worthy. despite views to the contrary.
1t is immensely gratifying to know
how ones writer friends look. what
manners they have. what their intimate
friends think of them and how they
open out to these intimate friends. what
estimate they put upon themselves and
q
side accounting. Mr.. Harris is a good
critic and a good friend. His friendli-
ness. however. does not go off into in
say that often whom he loveth, he
chasteneth. Bet that as it may, We
have here portraits. believable portraits.
Oscar Wilde (whose life Mr.. Harris is
now writing).. George Meredith and
Robert Browning, Swinburne. Guy de
Msupassant. Paul verlaine and Maurice
France. and others. Reading. ones con-
slant thought is. How fortunate to
have known just these" But the sense
of good fortune gradually passes to the
reader himself that he has come under
the art of this portrait painter who
gives us in such fine proportions the in
ner spirit and the outer seeming of
these men of peculiar and distinct ap-
peal
ACCIDENTALs. By Helen Mackay. au-
York: Duffield & Co.
About hundred Of these accident
ais come together here, hit or miss. in
this volume. These are little things.
gathered up here and there mostly out
of France. though many of them belong
TO the larger domain of life All of
them are simple. None of them is joy
Gus. But they are perfect in concep-
tion. in insight, in form, with the dull
glow of semi-precious stones about
them. A street corner in Paris, a win
dow garden. room in a little house.
night and the sea bells. the weather.
any of the least of things here opens
out into gray glimpses of life from
which there are no CLEANS Of gayety or
hope. But these are quite wonderful
sketches, after all. and. somehow, they
chime in with most things. as they are
and perturbed. over this crystal clear
reading and this mastery of manner
and this power to extract the sum of
life out of it's most trifling manifesto
tions.
WHEN BLOOD IS THEIR ARGUMENT
BY Ford MADDOX Hueffer. author of
THE Good Soldier" etc. New York:
George H. Doran Company.
Mr.. Huefrer's study is an analysis of
Prussian culture. Rather is it an in
dictment of Prussian culture and Of
the economic position Of Germany at
the present time. The book falls into
three parts. The first of these dis
cusses the civil and financial history
of Germany for the hundred years lying
between 1880 and 1880 In the second
part Mr.. Hueffer analyses the charac-
ters of certain men who have been con-
spicuously influential in shaping Ger
man thought and in outlining the Ger
man ideal. The two figures that tower
in this discussion are those of Bismarck
and Nietzsche. The third part reaches
the argument in which this writer aims
to show that the pressure of the Prus-
sian state has, consciously and of set
purpose. influenced the character of the
whole German people. Here the writer
outlines the creed of miltarism and
defines the ways in which German
education, from it's lowest to it's high
est grade and in it's every possible
application, has been shaped to achieve
the ideal of might as the summit Of
national achievement According to
Mr.. Hueffer the whole German psychol-
ogy has been transformed under the en-
ergy and scope of this national doc
trine. The book is a clever and caustic
Indictment. 1t is we'll worth the time
of the reader OF student, for it's author
is a scholar and penetrating observer
of life. He is also an energetic and
in Germany. Mr.. Hueffer is entitled to a
hearing of his impressions of the Ger
man people under their modern subor-