The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-03-28

HE BlRM1NGHA AL ment the position of inobtrusive re- tirement which is characteristic of good translating and supplementing the publishers preface with a note of his own.
 'sThe collection of thoughts on the spiritual problems of life offered in these volumes contains much material that was obviously not intended by the author for publication in its present
 form. The general arrangement. the sub-headings and all unsigned para graphs and essays are Tolstoy's own.
 Many extracts appear to be credited to philosophers and sages of various tongues and periods but in rendering these into the Russian language Tol- ! stoy followed the original somewhat vaguely interpreting the idea rather l than translating word for word, so ! that in retranslating the wording fre- {, quently does not accurately coincide with the original. and the names fol- l lowing these extracts may be taken
 to indicate their source merely rather | than their literal authorship in every 1 Instance.
 l Here and there the reader will find | erudites in expression and even in ! phrasing. These may be intentional for Tolstoy loved to use rough-hewn ! speech in conveying plain ideas. just as he was plain in personal attire anf
 mode of life; or the erudities may be 1 due to the fragmentary nature of some
 of the material, the editors having in- cluded many memoranda and jottings
 the author had no opportunity to go
 over and revise.
 'Fhe translator feels content to have ] resisted the temptation of retouching 1 with a profane brush these slight inn fperfections. that canot mar the gran 1 deur of a temple to him who views it as a whole.'
 l From Count Tolstoy himself comes the 'foreword" to 'The Pathway Of Life" in which he says:
 '"The sayings in these volumes are
 of varied authorship. having been
 gathered from Brahmaieal Confucian
 and Buddhist sources, from the Gos-
 rels and the Epistles,. and from the
 works of numerous thinkers. both an
 cient and modern. The greater part of these sayings have suffered some alteration in form either as translated or as re-stated by me, and it Is there fore hardly convenient to print them
 over the signatures of their original
 authors The best of these unsigned
 sayings have their soures-in the minds
 of the foremost sages of the world and are not my authorship"
 ''The Pathway of Life" is a wonder full contribution to thinking humanity
 dealing as it does with subjects which appeal to the intellect the heart and i the soul.
 "REYNARD THE FOX, OR THE
 GHOST HEATH RUN"
 By John Masefield. The Macmillan Company. publishers. New York City. 'Reynard the Fox. or the Ghost
 Heath Run" is triumph for John
 Masefield. the widely known poet, per sonally and for "the new poetry" With keen eye and swift sympathy
 developed in treating simpler facts and personal moods, he represents here the pulsing activity of whole society at play. It is a fox hunt with the joy of it running over on hounds and horses and an understanding fox and field { as wide as society Tho old chivalry is here in the person of the Master, with Huntsmen, Parson, Squire, Soldier, Cityman. Churl and divine. radiant youth besides-each to his full capacity glad to be there and glad to be alive It is a masterpieces brilliant and thrilling picture of English country folk, and of the favorite sport of the
 English countryside--fox hunting. The distinguished character of this remark ably beautiful and powerful work is in US intense cOHCeHtTdljOll III ueSCTlptlof | of the participants of the hunt itself One of Mir. Masefield's critics has said
 1 Never not even in Chaucer, was there anything like the color and gaietS and picturesqueness of MT. Masefield's 1 description it is one of the gayesi
 scenes ever painted. Even the olc
 sporting prints seem tame in compari 1 son"
 ] Another said
 1 "A tale of splendid adventure. The I imaginative genius and practical art
 of Masefield accomplish it easily
 the poet shows afresh his keen under
 standing of people, good and bad, his 1 fine responsiveness to grace anc 1 beauty"
 THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS" Published for the Friends of the Double day-Page Company Garden City, N. Y In charming little volume entitled The Country Life Press" published for the friends of the Doubleday-Page Com
 pany. Garden City, N. Y, this splen-
 did organization which stands for all that is best and highest in the publication of
 books. always sending out to its immense clientele, beautifully arranged and ac- curately printed books, style, design and contents peerless and supreme, from every angle. send out the following, by way of introduction:
 This little book Is entirely unconven- tional in manner and arrangement. Ii does not pretend to completeness nor to being built upon well developed plan.
 Its only excuse for existence is thai it reflects some phases of publishing which have concerned the occupants of Country Life Press in the problem of working out a task still far from being fully performed, but yet reporting cer- tain progress.
 What is lacking in modesty may be to a degree cornpensated for by enthusiasm