Evening star., 1917-04-15

individual, organic effect sought. In
this anthology one misses, as q mat
ter of course, many OF the old poetic
themes. These are supplanted by the
present. There are here faint ap-
proa ches and far suggestions OF the
great pioneer of free verse"-Whit
man. But these are yet long way
off from this great spirit Much OF this
verse is nobly beautiful, even to the
plain reader. To this same reader
much OF it also is disconcerting, puz-
zling, with some of it utterly incon,-
prehensible. Among the most familiar
of the poets represented here are
frid Wilson Gibson, Alice Meynell.
Edgar Lee Masters. Amy Lowell. Her
mann Hagedorn and Nachel Lindsay.
THE ROAD TO CAsTALY: And Later
Poems. By Alice Brown, author OF
Children Of Earth" etc. New York
The Macmillan Company.
The insight, the emotional fervor and
the gift of words that one finds in
The Prisoner and Children OF
Earth the novel and play written by
Alice Brown. come out in this volume
in the full flow OF pure poetic expires
sion. All of the poems of this writer
are included here-the early Road 20
Castaly' and the slightly smaller but
Serious-not exclusively serious in
theme. but in tone and effect-are all OF
these widely diverse songs. One reads
them with the twilight feeling pervad
ing him more and more. a twilight
through which the sheer music of these
verses comes in little undertones that
are not sad-except with a kind Of joy
Gus sadness One feels their spacious
ness. too. and their dignity and their
straight beauty. In the awakening to-
ward poetry, in a larger appreciation OF
II. one thinks that this book of verss
Will take part to accent that awakening
to enlarge that appreciation.
THE EARLY HISTORY OF CUBA.
i49l-I5s6. Written from orieinal
sources by I. A. Wright. New York:
The Macmillan Company.
The century of Cuba's history that
begins with Columbus and ends with
Drake means little more to the casual
reader than a vague impression of dis
coyery by the one, and raiding of It's
Spanish settlements by the other. The
author, with genius for research,
has gone TO the archive of the Indies.
at Seville. Spain. and CLEANED from its
documents-letterS and reports of CO
lonial governors. royal officials &c
clesiastics and citizens-svery existent
detail of the first era of the Spanish
main which Columbus believed to have
been the Eastern Indies of Marco
Polo's dreams.
With the forceful simplicity OF as
sured knowledge. enlivened by genuine
narrative charm, the writer describes
Spanish possession, the Influence of
the French and the menace of the
English" by which its raiding admiral
the necessity of fortified
colonies since Spain could not rely on
her sea strength to protect them. This
led to the fertilization of Cuba and
gslleys to patrol her coast-by which.
the writer says. in closing: Its great
enemy was. therefore, the islands
greatest benefactor. for no friend of
the colony had succeeded before him
in accomplishing on it's behalf as much
AS did Sir Francis Drake"
BOOKS RECEIVED.
THE POWER OF MENTAL DEMAND,
And Other Essays. By Herbert Ed
ward Law, F. c. s. Second edition.
San Francisco: Paul Elder & Co.
DFanattc Rever1es. By
Wilfrid Wilson Gibson. author Of
Daily Bread" etc New York: The
Macmillan Company.
THE FRUIT OF Toll, And Othex One-
Act Plays. By Lillian p. Wilson.
Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Com
pany.
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