Evening star., 1919-04-27

THE DEAD COMMAND. BY $icent,
B1asco 1banez. author Of "Th
Four Horsemen Of the Apocalypse,
etc. Translated by Frances Doug
las. New York: Dun1eld & Co.
.YAIME FEBRER. a noble but i'm.
poverished Spaniard, is the cen
4 trail figure in this Ibanez novel
To retrieve his fallen fortunes
by marriage Is the purpose, the deci-
sion. that opens the line of action
upon which the story rests But the
lady is "chueta," Jewess-one OF
the despised and hated race Upon
this foundation Ibanez sets up a pro-
found study of the psychology OF
race pride. of the power of family
individual against the accumuIa ted
essence of ancestry. Ibanez is a
great painter. That he is great
story teller is not so clear. For a
big story this movement needs a
deeper midstream. more and clearer
tributaries of allied action. a greater
volume of eliminating effect But
as painter Of portraits that reveal
individual character and race influ-
'ence he is surprising. He is master.
too. of the out-of-doors. His can
vases sparkle with sunlight and
shine with the blue brilliance of the
sea. Taking the lovely Mediterra-
mean island of Minorca as background
for this tale. he spreads across 1t a NOV
ing picture Of Its proud historic life. of
the masterful family of which Jaime
Febrer is here the feeble representa-
H.
infidel. of the gallant sea Earrings and of
the inalienable hold of a proud race
upon its children from generation to
generation. The survival of feudal
customs. of ancient social practices.
of rigid caste consciousness. crowds
these pages In innumeraole rich
pictures. Reading here. one does not
move with an irresistible line Of
events Rather does he walk, en-
tranced. through q gallery, won
drously rich in its colors and glooms,
among paintings that evoke the con-
centrate spirit of race in its poten-
.cies to inhabit and circumvent it's de-
scendants. The story, as such, leaves
Jaime Febrer at last cleared. as he
thinks, from this banning domination.
One wonders.
THE BOOK OF HIGH ROMANCE. By
Michael Williams. New York: The
Macmillan Company.
This is the autobiography Of Michael
Williams. And who is Michael Will
liams" And why. in the name Of
world of long-suffering readers,
should Michael Williams perpetrate
an autobiography? Wait a minute
wait a minute. This is rare kind of
self-writing. 1t is Michael Williams
story Of how he went a-hunting for
his soul and of how, after following
innumerabie false trails. he found it.
Now. since everybody has a soul and
almost no one has found his. it may Be
that the guest of Williams will turn
10 a general good account. 1t should
II the chronic1er is honest. And he Is
all of that. without excuse. or ex-
tenuation. or self-pity, he sets down
here the things that he did and those
that he desired to do. noting. mean
while. the long gaps between desire
and fulfillment. He is as literal, too,
as he is honest. The story is as clear
q piece of realism as an account book.
And there In no reach after fine writ
ing. But the impressive writing is
here. on every page. 1t is a remark
able fitting Of simple theme to plain
vehicle. In many parts Of this SOUL
quest the story Is that of the open
road. Michael. al heart. Is a good
deal of vagrant. He would, natu-
rally, look for his own soul under q
wayside bush or by the running wa
tered through this pilgrims progress.
Many Of them are about California
aboAt its artists and writer's. about its
romantic history and the beautiful
face of the country. 1t is in Calffor
MIA. too. that Michael hnds that which
he sseks-hnds It in the religion of
the Catholic Church. A racial haven.
maybe. for this Irish Michael.
That he hnds it. however-and not
where he nnd. its the supreme
fact. One. reading. agrees that this
is the high romance of life, that of
out to hnd ones self and,
II may be. to save ones self.
BAYONETS. A Record Of the
Last Push. BY Coningsby Dawson.
author Of Out to Win," etc New
York: John Lane Company.
Again by way of the informal home
letters chosen by him as the medium
Of his war writings. Coningsby Daw-
son here presents Living Bayonets."
"our spirits are living bayonets. The
ideals which we carry in our hearts
are more deadly to the enemy than
any man-made weapon" And it is
FOR the Interpretation OF these ideals.
for the Identification Of this dominant
spirit, that Dawson sketches in here
scsne upon scene. incident upon Incl
dent. out of the active arena of war.
The general purpose of the book is to
show something Of the now courage,
of the revived hope. of the fresh
frenzy of determination that took
hold OF the French and English SOL
diers at the coming Of America into
the war. In hundred graphic
sketches he portrays the comradeship
OF poilu and Tommy and Yank in one
after another Of the he11s set by Teu-
tonic frixhtfuiness. Between these
zlinpses ot the neither world Lieut.
Dawson inserts many reflection on
the purpose OF it all. many a tribute
10 the greatness of the men. many a
personal note of Thanksgiving that he
is, privileged to have share in this
struggle for righteousness. Lieut..
Dawson may be writing from a trench,
or shell hole. or q shattered build
Ing. or a devastated field, in the
breathing spaces of battle or the
longer respite Of quiet. but. wherever
he NAV be. his spirit is always in
some high place commanding wide
horizons. giving, big and inspiring
visions. The war is a crusade The