New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-12-08
Persia, Old and New
I eoends of the Genii, and
Twentieth Century Scenes

rrrs or TIE PERSIAN GENII BY France,
J,-tirs OIrntt illustrated DO color ~ WHY
Tossny $40. %. Il. 2-j. Tic Hough;on
PERSIAN MINIATURES. ,Gy H.. O Dwlsh,.
iiiu.frsied by Wifred T. Jones. $40, ~. Nm
u.s. Doubleday Pase Co.
We should hate to contemplate the
possibility Of ever outgrowing a pas
sionate fondness for Persian lore,
whether it be the sheer extravaganza of
afrits and geni and marids and what
not Of the Arabian Nights and sim
liar tales or the supreme and I'M
matched glories Of the "Shah Nameh,'
at once history and Imagination. For
that reason we refuse to regard these
Tales Of the Persian Genii" as book
solely or, indeed, chiefly for wonder
loving boys and girls" unless by boys
and girls We are to understand people
a. old as we are or hope ever to live to
be. Il is delightful collection, of gen.
uine Oriental classics, published in
beautiful style. The color illustrations
by Willy Pogany are a joy to the eye,
and generally to the judgment. But
Why didn't the gifted artist read the
text which he was to illustrate before
he made his pictures? Says the text;
Immediately all present bowed
themselves to the ground, while she
took her place on one Of the thrones.
She then lifted her veil, and disclosed
to Abudah's astonished gaze face OF
perfect beauty.
Now, the picture illustrating that
scene is very beautiful, BUT: Not ono
Of them is bowling even a little bit;
she isn't seated on throne, and, any
way, there isn't any throne; she isn't
lifting her veil, because she hasn't any
veil: and where is Abudah, anyhow?
There is nobody in all the picture who
has an astonished gaze, or who is so
much as CHANGING at that "face Of pei
feet beauty Still, II is pretty pct
ure!
Mr.. Dwight knows his Persia we'll.
j Yankee as he IS, he has imbibed the
spirit Of the Orient until he has made
IL his own. We must wonder if there
is or was anything in all that land
that he did not sec, or that seeing he
did not understand, or that under
standing he did not appreciate. We
know not whether most 20 admire the
interest of his narrative, the graphic
vivacity of his description, the spon-
taneity of his humor, the scope and
depth OF his knowledge, or the unfail-
ing brilliancy and charm of his style.
Men, art or nature, all alike appeal
TO him, and Of all alike he writes as
few others have written or could write
about that land:
Being somewhat subject to mirages
myself, it may have been my imagi-
nation that added purity to the
air, deepened the blue Of the feck-
less sky, warmed the long broken
slope in front of Us with r secret
gold. But this land was certainly
much nearer heaven 4lan the one
we had left, and considerably fur
Their sOuth-about q far as Gibraltar
or Cape Hatteras. IL Is not every
day that one sees for the first time
the sun of the Fire Worshippers
rise over the rim of the Persian des-
ert. However. as | took in this
altogether objective phenomenon /
could make out that it was related
to the brusque sunset of the even
ing before. The sky frightened,
pa plated; the edge Of the desert
sudJ nly flashed into incandCvcence;
the incandescence boiled and grew
tumid till a bubble of into'ersb,c
gold surped clear Of the plain; no
moods, no glamours, nx1e of that
self-conscious ILLUMINATION Of nat
ure which attends the breaking or
the fading Of the light in more tenn
peramental climates.
As the elder Dwight during many
years wrote for The Tribune letters
from Constantinople that were un-
equalled in the world for lucidity and
charm in their exposition of current
affairs, so the younger Dwight has
written Of Persia volume that may
cheerfully challenge comparison with
: any other that has appeared upon that
Fascinating theme.