Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-23
Reviews of New Books

DIPL OMATIC DAYS. By Edith
O'Shaughnessy, author of "A Diplo-
mats Wife in Mexico" Illustrated.
New York: Harper & Bros.
- one is going to Mexico by way OF
print he cannot do better than to
go along with Mrs. oShaughnessy.
for her letters back to America
are. so to speak. clear Transparent
eies through which one gets the i'm
pression of frst-hand experiences In
that interesting. historic land Indeed,
one suspects that the charm of these
letters lies quite as much in the per-
eonaiity of the writer as in the essen
tial qualities of the country itself. They
demonstrate. all over again, that any
thing, in itself. cannot have great value
Jts1s what is put into 1t that counts
The first thing that one begins to feel
about these letters is the writer's fine
power of enjoyment-a communicable
power here. which the reader promptly
accepts for himself Coupled with this
good sift-indeed, a part of it's
freedom. from critical comment OF the
adverse kind There is a wideawake
intellectually here. too; a keen sense
toward the picturesque quality OF Mex
leo. a feeling for its history. and some
thing like a rapture for its landscape
and the glamour of It's atmosphere. IL
is an unpretentious record. MIS-
p O'Shaughnessy aims only 10 give the
experiences that her position permits
her to present in the easy informatty
of the friendly letter. But the expe-
riences spread to gathering In or
many touches OF Mexican politics. to
slight sslinpses Of the condition of the
country In its economic poverty and in
its thriftless social situation. There
are enchanting expeditions in search of
the relics OF an old civilization, and
studies of the pure Spanish influences
upon the country, and delightful jaunts
Just for air and sun and the glimpse Of
the mountain. tops. 1t Is charming
book. one to take up again and again
to read at any point-sure of a breath
of interest from this writer's own zest
over the many-sided appeals of Mexico
both from its past and its present.
THE NEW CARTHAGE. BY Georges
Eekhoud. Translated by Lloyd r.
Morris. New York: Duffield & Co.
The New Carthage" makes double
appeal to American readers. AS a
story 1t presents the life of An werp in
the days before the great war. making
the city itself the central character. so
to speak The New Carthage" Is.
moreover, one of the most disttn-
Ruished exam. .,fes OF the Belgian liter
AIRY renascence. renascence in which
the names of Eekhoud, Maeterlinck and
verhaeren stand pre-eminent- Eekhoud
himself defines the purpose of this nov
ell in these words: ITO paint Antwerp,
its life. its harbor. its river. its sailors.
its lockers. its luxurfant women, its
rosy and chubby children, whom Ru-
bens. In other days, had thought suffi-
GENTLY plastic and appetizing to popu-
paint this human mob in it's own ways,
its costume and surroundings. with the
most cherishing care for its special
customs and morals-to interpret the
very soul of the city of Rubens." Such
Is the program that Eekhoud set him.
SELF here. In fidelity to this purpose he
achieves a luxuriant, vital. robust
story, rich in form and color-a story
whose method Is that of the art of Ru-
bens himself transferred to the mate
rials of literature. In effect, the novel
exalts the beauty of labor and glories
IN the power of the mob. 1t is q story
of social consciousness. through which
runs line of revolt against the capi-
talistic organization of modern society
In a secondary sense the book is of au-
p Photographic value, since the character
that is used. subordinately. to the great
character of Antwerp itself presents in
essential outline the facts of Eekhou6's
own life The first Of this authors
novels 10 b. Turned i~to I'm c4ish. this
nae toms S&@-l st- S.lS y interest isls