The Washington herald., 1918-07-21

capt. balrnsfatnef mas mad long
| practical experience in the fighting
line. He has been in the service from
the beginning of the war, and for a
large part of that time has been ac-
! lively engaged at the front. The early
breaks In his service in the field ard
| trenches were caused by the neces-
sity Of retiring to hospital for the
healing Of wounds.
Bairnsfather 10 evidently q man OF
such elasticity OF Temperance II that
no amount OF fatigue. or hardship, or
peril, or pain can quench the bupoling
Of his spirits. With a charming vi
tality. an exhuberant sense OF humor.
he possesses. fortunately for himself,
for his comrades. and for the world.
the Imagination OF q creative artist.
He is gifted also with q dramatic
sense and technical skill thai give
to his sketches OF camp lite. of hap
peninss In the trenches, and Of the
relations of the men with one an
otlsr. q very real vitality.
BaIrr.1ather's characters livs. rid
they have come to constitute l most
Nalunb be addition to the lives "a She
artist's comrades.
The young Scotman began his
drawings merely for the amuse-
ment of his comrades in the shacks
| or in the trenches. The first
sketches were made on rough
boards of a more-or-less ruined hut.
or on the rocks which were dis
lodged in the digging of the
trenches. These sketches were la
ter transcribed for the amusement
OF the home folks to whom the art
ist was writing and were passed
from hand to hand in the home
circles. One of his pictures BARNS
father sent to the editor of the BY
stander." who realized that here
was value not only as q work of art.
but as a means of inspiration for
loyal service and for the cheerful
endurance of hardship. These DR. Nv
ings have now become a chctring
influence with English-speaking
people throughout the world. tor
all groups of the English race now
have their boys and their hearts en-
gagged in this great struggle. T6e
sketches have also been rep-oduc-
ed in connection with the French
text and with. italian text. Our
allies are surely entitled to secure
their share of the fun and encour-
agement.
doubt whether any previous var
has produced an artist whose work
possesses precisely the BairnsfatheI
quality. The artist has placed the
civilized world in his debt.
Bairnsfather does not deny the
brutality of the German. but he
does not concern himself with it to
any great extent. His task is main
ly to show that even on the battle
line, life has its humor and trouble
has its offsets. He is doing his
part in keeping the spirit of the
fighting men safe and in good tone
for their task.
GEORGE HAVENS PUTNAM.
Fragments from France. by Capt
Bruce Bairnsfather. Part 5. has just
Sons, New York.
4 Boy of Bruges.
Emile Cammaerts, famous Belgian
poet and dramatist. and his wife. 1ita
Cammaerts. are the joint authors Of
"A Boy of Bruges,' just published
by E. p. Dutton & Co., a new volume
in their Little Playmates Series,
which attempts to picture and inter-
pret for American young people the
lives and nationsl backgrounds of the
boys and girls OF other countries. A
Belgian boy in his early teens is the
central figure of this story, which
gives the reader pictures of life in
Bruges and Antwerp and Brussels
and on a farm among the hills of the
Ardennes. so that both the Fleming
and the Walloon have their share in
1t. The two boy friends, one a Flem-
ing and the other a Walloon, one a
city and the other a country boy. are
both swept into the war, whose early
stages are depicted in the story. In
these latter chapters the authors do
, not bring out the horrors of war but
dwell instead on the courage and pa
| triotism of the people and their in
slant response to the need of the
country. There are some stories about
King and Queen and the affection of
the people for them. while the pic
! lures of home and school and country
life are full of the little picturesque
touches which can be given only by
| those who know Intimately the life
| they are portraying. Florence Con-
verse. the general editor of the series.
contributes a preface In the form Of
letter to the young readers which
shows a rare ability in condensation
anu III way IL StlS
forth in half a dozen pages the his
| tory of Belgium, her contributions to
the world and to civilization, capped
by her sacrifices in the war. The book
is charmingly illustrated by Albert
Delstanche. with a frontispiece in
color, and black and white line draw
ings which show typical and inter-
esting scenes in the Belgium that was.
Little Schoolmaster's' Series. price
/ s1.25.
''karma," a drama of re-.urarna-
tion, by Algernon Blackwood and
Violet Pearn. which E. p. Duston &:
Co., are publishing this week, is
Lotable for the skill with wnicn it
makes gra ?h'c and conv,ncine the
| fFtle. mysterious and ON .yyh:,t
wai:f IDEA which is its theme. 1t is
III three acts. prologue and al,
cE'lLtre, each scene being in itself
brilliant bit of drama. The central
idea is that woman through three
incarnations and on into the fourth
by her great but selfish love has In
jured the mission of her husband. Tho
prologue takes place in modern Eng
land where the wife. because of her
dread of life in Egypt, where her
| husband is British agent, inte.feres
with his career and he gives it u,
for her sake. Then she sees, IN tnree
acts which take Mace hefore fer the