Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-04-07
WARS DEVASTATION
POWERFULLY DEPICTED
BY RUSSIAN WRITER
Doroshevitch Gives Faithful Ac-
- count of Poland's and South
Russia's Plight in "The
Way of the Cross"

\ In the midst of all the tinsel and glamour
bf the literature which has emanatc1 from
Europe since the war began, painting In
brilliant reds and greens the 'light-heart-
edness" of the civilians during their hours
of sorrow, '"The Way of the Cross" &c. r.
Putnam's Sons, New Yorl:), stands out I'm
n different tone, challenging with its gray
the roseate hues of other tales. V. Doro-
shevitch, noted Russian journalist, Is
the man who has dared to describe the
plight of a war-stricken people. How he
succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the
Russian censor is n mystery.
''The Way of tho Cross" presents n ter
rbly poignant picture of the Russian AMI
Polish fugitives fleeing from the German
Invaders IN the autumn of last year. There
are no charges Of atrocities by the Teuton
hordes, no "crime against humanity Ia
alleged in fact, the Germans never enter
Rto the narrative. But the misery, the
grief, the Isolation, the desolation Of tho
peasants. artisans and tradesmen driven
from everywhere to anywhere by the eNl-
genoies of n war which Is not theirs, Ia
described with the horrible realism so
characteristic of the Russian writer.
The author, writing In short, menacing
sentences, does not stop at the mere tale
Of the long river of brolSen-down humans
lty, whose banks are lined with white.
fresh-hewn crosses. He assails the lack of
interest of official Russia.
I'VE are by no means n cruel people,"
he writes.
but dreadfully cruel things happen in
our country.
eve can make penal servitude into he'll,
and life into penal servtude."
The author calls this picture of the
fleeing peasants "the retreat of the great
agricultural army" And with what, and
how. shall we pay for it?" he asks.
n. H.. NVaW,
dous power of this book, which through
out is of one tone-dull-and of one color
\ &-gray. Stephen Graham has written an
& Introductory note which Is poor as lit
erature and worse as an introduction. to
The Way of the Cross
Miss +. Tennyson Jesse, author Of
1.-THE Milky Way" novel, and THE
Black Mask" which has lately been on
the stage in New York, has published
&c. II. Doran Company, these new short
stories of southern England and southern
France under one title.
She has combined style full OF ro-
mantle description and touched by somc-
thing sinister, with a naturalisttc ten
dency to emphasize the fundamental In
stlncts of men and women. Miss Jesse
has, to n remarkable degree, the power
of making over into n part Of our very
us to experience. Her pictures and
sounds and feelings do not merely appeal
to the imagination, but strike us with
1e force and lnevitabilty of actual per-
cepts.
In "The Great Maze" macmillan Co.,
New York;, a poem in five parts, by Mr..
Herman Hagedorn the author has treated
q very old subject in a very new way. He
has worked out the theme of Clytemnestra
ard Agamemnon in the romantic style.
Modern realism and description, rich in
sound and sight pictures, have made the
ancient Greeks over into rather modern
people, with the result that perhaps lit
tie of their dignity is gone. This Is no
doubt owing to their nearness to us, as
we'll as to the compeXity of their feelings.
Mr.. Hagedorn has remarkable descriptive
powers and tells the story in n way which
holds ones interest.
In the same volume is published The
Heart Of Youth" n short play written for
Sthe boys of tho Hill School. 1t is n SYM
bollcal piece, simple and boyish in tone
and quite adaptable to outdoor staging.
We have had war books aplenty, but
most of these have dealt with the land
forces. In "A Tall Ship on Other Naval
Occasions" the author "Bartimeus," has
sent out into the world an entertaining
collection of short tales about the British
navy under the stress of wartime condl-
lions The stories in this volume (G. z.
Putnam's Sons New York;, tell the life
of the officers mess and of the stoke hole:
they reveal the CRIME as we'll as chron-
icle the glory. "Bartimeus' seems to
know his British navy with n thorough
ness that leads one to suspect that he is
a naval officer concealing his identity un-
der a pen name. The stories have that
sure authoritative touch that makes It
almost certain that the writer knows his
subject from the keel up.