Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-02-16
Reviews of New Books

u.
the substantial basis of this public
call for help. Here from the point of
view of the Armenian himself one is
permitted survey of the long
stretch of Armenian history. Through
the pagan period of military vicis-
situde, through the Christian era cul-
minating in the crusades. through
Turkish domination and oppres-
sion. through the recent service
of the Armenians to the allies in the
world war, and up to the door of the
world court. one passes in this COM
prehensive and well ordered review.
Out of this plain recital of facts
emerges people of splendid courage.
of unaiterable purpose. of national
self-consciousness of caiculable cul-
ture. The simplicity of manner, the
avoidance of overstatement, the
open reliance upon the case itself for
the scope and quality of appeal. these
are the points that carry this story
of Armenia Clearly into the serious
consideration of the arbiters now
concerned with the fate of the small
nations of the world.
THE WINE OF ASTONISHMENT BY
Mary Hastings Bradley. author of
The Splendid Chance" etc. New
York u. Appleton & Co.
This pleasant romance opens with
the college days of its pair of princi-
pals-an uncommonly attractive youth
and u girl whose loneliness of APP
pearance is surpassed only by her
instability of mind. With the girls
beauty of person for lure and her
wobbiy mind for torment, the boy
COMFORTS himself with commendable
patience and fidelity. An ambitious
mother on the side of the girl. COM
plicates the development by the
clever selection of a son-in-law
much more to her liking than the
fine fellow without a penny to his
name could ever hope to be- The
story runs along under this mo-
mentum of conflicting plans up to
the point where the girl, in an in
credible simplicity. gives consent to
marry her mothers choice, since the
marriage is to be only of the near
variety-just matter of friendly
companionship, you know. And then
the war-that saving grace to every
hard put noVelist-come on. After
that there is plain sailing. Every
body that ought to go to war does
so. Those that cannot go die con-
yeniently at home. The released
widow in this case betakes herself
at once to the other side, where, one
hopes, she can hold herself together
long enough to render some sort of
assistance. About this the record is
blank What does come to pass, as
matter of course, is that the hero
robust soldier, by the way-and
the girl come together and take a
straight road for marital happiness
pleasant story of smooth surfaces
and no very great depths.
THE WEB. BY Frederick Arnold
Hummer. author of Lost Para
disc" etc. New York: The Century
Company.
This is the story of young Ameri-
can who puts up an unmistakable ap-
pearance of being a perfectly good
spy for the Germans. Using the adj
vantages of having an English
brother-in-law in the admiralty he, to
all apparent intents and purposes.
makes use of his position to assist
the German cause. In the pursuit of
this business there is much interest
ing and rather well managed to-do
in setting out the devious ways of
the secret service on both sides of
the channel When one has become
thoroughly disgusted with the Ameri-
can. despising him for poltroon and
hating him for a mere mercenary, ii
turns out-but in no very clear way
that he Is after all serving the
English and putting things over on
the Germans about every day in the
~ and lead astray and In this respect
ii is so sueee ssfuI that there is no in
Vention left to the author by which
he may restore the young American in
any substantial way to the good
graees of readers. A limp love story
goes along with this ineptly con-
structed spy story.
STUDIES IN LITERATURE. BY Sir
Arthur Quiller-Couch, NJ. A. New
York: G. p. Putnam's Sons.
BY reason of the fact that Sir
Quiller-Couch Is. first and foremost,
the story teller, the novelist, he is
able to make general and abstract
attraction of the particular and the
concrete, 1t is in this vein and with
this effect that he here makes q sur
from the old ballad days to the recent
years that cover Hardy and Swim
burne. George Meredith and Matthew
Arnold. These are very unteacher-
like studies-natural. spontaneous,
sns ss touched +, many paints
though in the main, to be sure, they
deal with origins. forms, Influences
and effects, and always dwell upon the
relation of literature to the life out of
which it must spring. The Com
merce of Thought" and Patriotism in
English Literature" begin and end.
respectively. the special studies of
poetry and poets that lie between
these two boundary themes.
THE HUMAN SIDE OF ANIMALS. By
Royal Dixon, author of The HUI
man Side of Plants" etc. With two
illustrations in color and thirty
two in black and white. New York:
Frederick A Stokes Company.
Regardless of personal opinion as to
the humaniike qualities of animals,
the reader must appreciate the argu-
ment value of this book, which cites
many incidents. either from the per-
sonal observation of the author or
through unimpeaehabie second hand,
ITO show that the animal is q humble
brother to man. In seeking to get at
the motives which influence an animal
Mr. Dixon thinks to himself what he
would do under the same circum-
stances IL he were that animal, and
by this very reasonable process he mas
come to belteye-and Will make the
majority of his readers believe with
him-that Life is one throughout.
The love that fills a mothers heart
when she sees her first-horn babe
is also felt by the mother bear, only
in a different way. when she sees her
baby cubs playing before her cave
dwelling, and the sorrow that is felt
by the human heart when a beloved
one dies is experienced In only a little
less degree by an African ape when
his mate is shot dead by a Christian
nissionary"-one drop is like the
ocean. and love is love
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