Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-12-22

S-1 .HucSieioHS' tne tlmlQltleS, the
buoyant but groundless hopefuiness,
the eternal going-to-d do but never,
aolng, that make up the life of that
loVable and even heroic father, Mar
snail Pitt. And with equal power
ooes she present also, the degree to
when an Of this futile to-do en-
Surprising work-that one reads in a
plunge of self-accusation, since we
are all more or less futilitarians. The
acksround of this exceptional action
Is the Friendship Village" in es-
sence, that the writer has already
created In SO complete an atmosphere
village makes the best sort of set.
tlng Tor the two Pitts by virtue OF
It's kindly spirit. 1t serves, also, to
PROVIDE an essential of Jeffrey's ex-
istence-a mother. This mother is,
however only a biological Necessity.
nu 80 S9on MISS Gale gets her out of the
way leaving the father as the sole
progenitor of the boy--which in es-
sehce he Is. And upon this basis the
great story is developed.
EVERYMAN's LAND. BY c. N. and
"a. M. Williamson. authors of "a
Soldier of the Legion" etc. New
YORK: Doubleday, Page e. Co.
The land designated here as EVERY
mans is the devastated war zone of
Belgium and France where the blood of
az an Tree nations has gone into the soil.
me purpose of this book is to re-
vf"uallze some of the historic places
Oh thls land with the personalities and
tn events mat made them famous be-
io i' Ihe present war stamped them
Wlth lasting renown. The writers use
me medium of romance for this pur-
pose Oh IeN1V1ng the past and incor-
poratihg 1t with the present. An am
pitlous romance, this, too. Perhaps
n nnUrI amnitio4s than it is plausible and
secure ITS point of terminating these old
towns Of France of Flanders and Lor-
Taine-Chateau Thierry, Meaux, Nancy,
Epernay, Metz and a score of others
Win 'ne historic warriors and kings who
IS no pretense Of historic handling here.
tnstead, tld-bits of the gossip of his
>tory-those warm personal bits that
one wants, but never gets out of the
mhis ss books themselves1futter like
the ro anuu. the ifes many PIECES to which
involved INV, In it: 1t is interesting, all Of it,
ana very informing besides. And the
novel reader will like the story, too, for
IL Is swift changing and surprising
invention.
OCI OF THE SILENCES. BY Mary
-. Waller, author of The Wood
carver of Lympus," etc. Boston:
Little, Brown & Co.
Miss Waller loves the face of ma
ture and possesses a deep feeling for
It's moods and ways. She has in hand,
likewise, a store Of Indian knowledge.
hna,~ besides. she is keenly alive to
those simple folks who, for want of
more definite name, are called philos-
ophers. This complex personal pos
session of the author becomes the
groundwork of the romance in hand.
n wild Canadian stretch of country
makes the background here. A tribe Of
Cree Indians stand roundabout. Will
nam Plunkett, saddle-maker and rus
tic philosopher, belongs here too. And
IN the midst is set down the hero of
this romance, boy. The story moves
forward with the development of this
boys character under this particular
web or influence. At certain time
the story takes on turn, for the boy
goes out into the world, where, there
after, love and war are the motive
FORCES of this narrative. The attrac-
ton of the story lies, however, in the
primitive setting of it's earlier part
and, to an equal degree, to the life
likeness of the human element with
which it deals. AS an idyl Of the woods
the story, in its first part, is of an eX-
quisite charm.
AFTER DEATH; A Personal Narra-
tive. Amanuensis, w. T. Stead.
New York: George H. Doran Com
pany.
Several years before his death Will
liam T. Stead published a series of
letters from Julia" friend who had
died. Mr.. Stead was the automatic
writer through whom these letters
came. His daughter now republishes
these letters, to which she has added
about dozen that have not before
been published. In addition, the vol
ume contains an essay written by Mr..
Stead, in which lie states the circum-
stances under which these letters
were produced, and gives evidence of
their authenticity. And that is the sole
point-that matter of authenticity. That
settled in the mind of the reader, as it is
obviously clear to the belief Of Mr.. Stead
and scores of other sincere and repu-
table investigators, then the letters
read much as do those from one friend
to another on this plane of conscious
existence. The book sums to an as
sertion of continued personality after
death, to the existence Of activities, to
joys that are based on a purer love,
less alleged love, than we know here;
a consciousness of what is going on
here, and an effort to suggest and adj
wise about matters of spiritual con-
Germ in this life. Whether Julia"
wrote these letters or whether Mr..