The sun., 1916-12-31

h counsel against him. He gives
an amusingly contemptuous account
Of wilfrid Blunt and his attempt to
get mixed up In the Irish troubles.
II ls all interesting, for though his
point Of view Is one hat few Irish
men in America will agree with, he Is
o~utspoken In his opinions. At the
end are the tributes Of his friends
after his death and Lord O'Brien's
paper on woman suffrage.
Two Literary Tramps.
There should be. and there shall he
here. no attempt to compare these
two books. which yet insist on being
~collocated: A Thousand Mile Walk to-
tho Gab (Houyhton Miflln) by JonN
MrR with WILLIAM FREDERIC BABE
editing the scientists notebook, and
4 Handy Guide for Be0Odrs Mac
millans). NAcHEI. LiNDsAy's record OF a
poets exploration. afoot. OF ont II the
way places. Muir went from Indiana
across Kentucky. Tennessee. Georgia
and Florida. and then TO Cuba and
California Lindsay tramped through
Florida. Georgia. North Carolina.
ASAsASc0OOs 1AClSuChys LSuuSylN8uI1,
and New Jersey. Muir went to study
nature. and was frequently diverted
into observation Of human nature;
Lindsay reverses the proportions.
Muir walked in 1867, Lindsay just long
enough ago to gfve time for the max.
ing Of his book.
Muir had "botanized" IN the North,
about the Great Lakes and in Ontario.
and had long looked forward to a
Southern trip. He spoke of an i'm
ward compulsion." an exalted wan
derlust: I'm some persons the impulse,
being slight. is easily obeyed tsatis-
fed1 or overcome. But in others IL
Is constant and cumulative.
For many a year I have been i'm
PEELED toward the Lords tropic gar
dens Of the South. Many influences
have tended to blunt or bury this con-
slant longing. but II has outlived and
overpowered them ALL" The story OF
pedestrians own journal. which he
never put into finished. literary form
and which is not therefore the less
satisfactory reading.
1t Is not necessary to have command
OF the botanical glossary to follow
Muir through plantland Of the South:
his Kentucky oaks, Southern pines.
Spanish moss and palmettos, with
many Of the lesser grasses. vines and
bushes. mark for us clearly the pro-
gression through overlapping zones of
our country's varied vegetation. With
out descriptive effort but with vivid
enect he places before us the chang
Ing character Of the countryside-he
lodged the towns-and sets before the
n eye Of the armchair tourist the
hills and swamps. the rivers and
plains Of the regions he traversed. II
is enough to say that in all this he is
just good John Muir.
The other part Of the books sub
stance will be to many readers the
most distinctive and enjoyable Of lis
He tells Of the unsettled
condition Of the Southern backlands
In those hard days; the suspicion OF
householders invited to be hosts for a
night. the danger Of ho.dups on the
roads. infested by lone marauders or
guerrilla bands, the anxieties Of a trav-
elier alone and carrying little baggage.
And u good John Muir fairly passed
the line into hobodom. when, nearing
the sea. he had to wait In a small town
a week or so for the arrival of funds
from his brother back North. His
capital dwindled to a dollar, a quar- |
ter-to nothing at all. He ate
crackers. n slept In a cemetery.
When at last the money order came. hs
had some difficulty In identifying HIM
self to the satisfaction Of the post
ONCE clerk, who could not deny that
tho cash was intended for John |
Muir. botanist. but entertained an OBJ |
stinate suspicion OF the method by
which the tramp who presented the |
order might have come into possession |
of the letter from tho drawer OF II
which he exhibited in support OF his
claim on the money.
Mr.. Lindsay sets of his chapters
with bits OF his own verse. He paid
his way by reading his poems. After
q night In a poverty stricken home |
he says: This is what l came out
tho wilderness to see. This mar
had nothing. and gave me half OF u.
and We both had abundance" For the
spirit Of such hospitality nothing but
the hearts thanks could pay: for the
material form which II Of necessity |
took In food and sleeping accommoda- |
tons. return In rhymes would not tax
too heavily even the OF a
Klrke White.
II IL really too bad that Mr.. Lindsay. !
who has ideas. should dress them Iik.
"Civilization is whittier than the
and full NJ clear water. one
n nfnrC 4 ttth IN I T. |