New-York tribune., 1922-10-29

| Hugh Walpole, caricafure by Dj
Ho,o in this country lecturing, has
dral," just published by the
cult, are now grown to the proper
tions OF a popular and no less ardent
audience. This must be q great, if be-
lated, comfort to the aging and lonely
HOUSE OF SOULS" prssE HILL or
DREAMS" and "THE SECRET GLORY"
and who has plodded through life as an
underpaid London journalist, writing
an occasional Shilling shocker" for
bread and cheese, and writing out of an
inner necessity those curious and ex
quisite tales in prose that is pre-
| ciously beautiful. He is one Of the
finest survivals of the nincties, but,
added. to the yellow decades preoc-
cupation with the morbid, bizarre and
exotic, he has passion for lucid,
| limpid and cadenced prose and Vic
torian ideal of self-discipline for the
sake Of ones soul.
| Ernest and Madelaine Boyd, Carl Van
| Smith and Seward Collins came to the
house this evening. Carl said he and
| Boyd and Joseph Hergesheimer and
| Thomas Beer were planning grand
| trip to show Chicago to Boyd and Boyd
| to Chicago; but that every time Beer
hears more details of the junket he
runs back to Tonkers in a panic, goes
! to bed and nurses his gall-stones.
T. f., who is by double inclina-.
| tion at once an ascetic antiquarian and
a man of the world, manages always to
bring up learned and serious topics
when the mood of gathering is friv-
olous and to be facetious when every
one is appreciably grave. Tonight he
wanted to talk about the history Of
Latin literature, the possibility Of pub
| fishing Brantome complete in English,
and the work of scholars like Lecky,
Gibbon, Leasing, Pascal and SO forth
who have influenced thought and edu-
cation. Fania curled up in a chair and
After they had gone, finished read
| snv Margaret Alice Mnrray's "THE
WITCH CULT IN WESTERN EU-
ROPE" certainly one of the most curl
GUS and fascinating books published in
recent years. Miss Murray, who is of
the University College, London, treats
Of witches from the point of view OF
believer. "Evidence proves" she
writes, "that underlying the Christian
religion was cult practised by many
classes of the community. chiefly,
however, by the more ignorant or those
| in the less thickiy inhabited parts of
| the country. 1t can be traced back to
pre- Christian times, and appears to
Be the ancient religion of Western
Europe. The god. anthropomoerphic or
theriomorphic, was worshipped in we'll
defined rites; the organization was
highly developed, and the ritual is an
alogous to many other ancient rituals
To this witch cult, Miss Murray be-
lieves, belonged Joan Of Arc, GILES DC
| Rails, all the witches who were tried
and burned, the celebrators Of the
Black Mass and practitioners Of and
experimenters in black magic, occult
ism, etc The followers OF this reh-
gion believed in and worshipped the
devil as the source of life, WISDOM
and happiness. Her book is minutely
documented with strange and interest
irg early French texts, reports of trial
proceedings. contemporary testimony,
names of witches, evidence concerning
the Witches Sabbath and the ritual OF
monumental and fascinating study in
anthropology.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER %
To-day is my birthday, an event
which seems not to interest any one
in the slightest degree, even sentlmeh-
tally. did not get even necktle;
but I celebrated the anniversary by,
Ciceronian meditation upon the fight
of years. Carl Van Doren and Lud-
wig Lewisohn singled out this SEN
tence from "BABBITT" as the es-
sence of irony. "I have never done
single thing in my whole life that
really wanted to do" And to-day
John Messner points out in the paper
that similar regret is eXpressed pH
the hero of Newton Fuessies GoLD
SHOD." That would be tragic. truly, II
it were true; but ! wonder II, under
the circumstances, it could be. ! am
inclined to believe that George +. Bah
bitt really wanted to become a success
full realtor and that he achieved pre-
cisely what concrete ambitions ne mad.
For myself can say that | have real
ICED every concrete ambition ! nave
ever had and that I feel certain that |
shall realize those concrete ambitions
that are in my mind now. ihat is TO
say, that have done everything ever
whole -hearsedly wanted to do from
learning the circus trick OF mld-aiT
scmersault between the flying rings to
living in Chicago and working on, a
Chicago newspaper, from making the
high school football team TO memorlz-
inc the whole of Elizabeth Barrett
Rrowning's translation of PRONE
THEUs BOUND" from learning to
rcller-skate to reading Latin, from
drinking beer with II. L. Mencken to
being the father of son, and so on.
/. is qualification Of vague ambitions
the satisfaction Of intangible and I'M
palpable desires that gets me into an
occasional blue funk; and that, think,
is what the Messrs. Lewis and FuesSle 5l
meant. cannot imagine any one SO
lacking in character or force of will as
never to do a single thing he really !
wanted to do. Ny failures and def |
ciencies are certainly not baked ef- I
forts; have never wanted to be Pres
idant Of the United States or secretary |
Of the Chamber of Commerce or the /
owner Of suburban real estate or the /
author Of a play produced ON Broad |
way or the husband of Peggy Joyce or
drawing-room epigrammatist, or an /
immortal Of the American Academy OF I
Arts and Letters or an intimate of Sir
Auckland Geddes or of the head waiter
at thu Ritz. I never even had the