Evening star., 1921-09-25

by which his brand-new house may be
attractively and appropriately set.
here 1t is. If one desires to create a
nest Of greenery behind his house.
where at present hands breadth of
cement is adorned by an ash can and
a garbage pail. here Is more than one
way of securing this. And, in between
these two extremes of garden project
there is wide range of suggestion
and instruction. A list of seasonal
ly. The book Is informal in manner, a
readable book. as well as one that is
designed as a text book on the sub
ject In hand.
THE LIGHT OF A BABY's SMILE,
And Other Rhymes. BY William
Upton Talbot. Washington: Ter
minal Press Company.
This is book of homegrown
verses, Just literally that. The author
himself proudly admits that he Is a
ID y d-i n-the-wool Wcshingtonian'
and many of the poems are purely To-
cal in source and inspiration. There
is sonnet to Washington. and one to
Jefferson and one to the city itself
To shed memorial radiance o'er the world.
The lovely vistas of Washington
streets are caIght here in more than
cne poetic picture. Piney Branch. like
Tennyson's Brook" sings It's own
song. Mount Pleasant becomes anoth-
re Sweet Auburn" There is group
of childrens poems. Among them. this
rhyme about little girl and her
incest dog-we call him Jack"
These are glad verses-h: ppily not
many sad ones-and considerable
number that have, upon one occasion
and another. found place in the Wash
ington papers. One enjoys the friend
ly spirit of these poems. and their
is. after ali. very beautiful world.
The verse is what verse likes to be.
one is sure. 1t keeps step with an
inner tune. it falls into the rhymes
toward which most verse sets out, 1t
makes charming little pictures and
ners Of the heart.
CHE HEART OF 4 WOMAN; And
Other Poems. BY Georgia Douglas
Johnson. Introduction by William
Stsn nley Braithwaite. Boston: The
Cornhill Company.
This poet has journeyed far enough
along the way to realize that dreams
do not come true. that there is no pot
of gold at the end of the rainbow.
And this is the common tune she sings
as she rests. midway. looking around
and backward. upon the wide nelds OF
general disiIlusionment. Each little
song is REIMBURSEMENT, the giving
up Of some fragment Of the buoyancy
and courage with which one sets out
on the great adventure of being alive
There is no struggle here. no resist
ance to the inevitable-just an open
ing of the hand to let go of the shin
ing beads of promise that life de- ngles
before the young. There are fifty OF
these little songs. each fine bit OF
craftsmanship-all piping plaintive
tunes of life's utilities and unfulfill-
mentS.
THE MARY CATHERINE STORIES
By Frank Carlos Griffith.
This handful of sketches revives an
old acquaintance--that between Mary
Catherine. grown up. and Mary cath
crime at three and four and five. Back
across a bridge. sixty years long. the
woman goes to meet the little girl who
stands as real and vivid as II no years
at all stood in between. The playtime
of all children the world over, with
this one small girl curiously distinct
in the midst of it. is rehearsed in these
episodes. The dozen sketches came
out first as stories told to group OF
children. Then they found place in &
magazine published in the summer
season up in Maine. Now they make
up this little book that has been is.
sued as memorial to Mary Catherine
whose comprehension of her owl
childhood has made her so endeared &
friend to other children.