New-York tribune., 1922-11-12
MONDAY, OCTOBER so

l~wis's @Babbitt." whieh have
iust reached me, arc full OF
praisa for the novel. aonly
7. American could have written IT,
- srhs Westminster Gazette aoniy
s s American with something FOR which
i. difieuis 10 And any other word
.s., sssius.' "The London Chronicle,
49,, s.Babbitt,' In short, whether
- = admire him or not, is 6 veritable
s.,s.p being, and Mr. Sinclair Lewis
{. ence more given as a novel with
8. ssutF Of life in Il. relieved by gem
La Aanior and unsroils by cynicism." !"
Like enconia eniiven the other
.s..,xs. American literature,
4, ,hs arst time. IL seems, Ia being
...s.sa With seriousness and respect
4 ruglish critics. The recent reviews
i shs aevels Of Joseph Kergeaheimer,
rava DELL, Newton Fuessie, Scott
yR..etsld, Stephen Benes, Harry Leon
wllssp and others ara peppered with
s. a65saiTes Of praise. Some
.r rsssnaps survive, however, among
,s,r BE. B. Osborn. Of "The London
fYreas At the conclusion Of a long
aSp.isude about American poetry.
rssrsin be speaks Of Masters as the
sasAsr Of "Spern River" (probably che
ssy be pronounces it) snd Of Alfred
EwmbeYg as the transatlantic
rE.yalsnt OF Aldons HUXLEY" Mr..
osborn writes Of Edwin Arlington Rob
ssoa: "a considerable parsonage, no
,subs. and will see IL his passport
ito immortality can be visSd next
ssk." Imagine what would happen to
ssocky American reviewer II he should
Asut, cay, w. d. Yeats, or John Mase.
Nil =. Lunched to-day with mrs.
assits Henry Mcwland, Miss Peggy
gsoe and Jimmy Dasenforfh. Miss
8sod wac In q rush to get back 60 re-
sssrsals; Mrs. Rowland was preeccu-
lied with the details OF new gyndi-
ate scheme, and Jimmy and could be
sushing but solicitous. Miss Wood
uia she always suffers from stage
fright on opening nights, because New
Yark first nighters are go cruelty crit
shs October issue of the BROOM"
s.se and ] read it tonight. 1t con-
.sas among other interesting things,
Ii. first installment OF the English
.saslstion OF the hitherto imprinted
;sgneat Of Dostoevsky's "POS-
sgsSED,n called "SIrayrOpin,s Com
s,nion." This interesting item was
discovered in the archives OF the
ssYiet government last February in a
ass filed with notebooks letters,
issumsn.s and fragments from the pen
II Dostoevsky. The Confession"
sre In vital way TO clarity the plot
X sppssessed," and 1t is difflcult to
asIsstufe why 1t was omitted. On
taA point, the translators say, Nine.
Icstosvsky 10 silent. That it was
zihhsd because OF the censorship
yaad BE- the obvious solution were It
4 p4 .h. Dostoevsky's other novels con-
hin psssages equally frank. Mere
iesayihy describes this confession
~ sssarassing the bounds Of the pos
1 fss mss concentrated expression o?
berlms; but that is rhetorical.
4 s.sHess confession was Dostoev-
II sgj sshod Of exposing the depths
sb ssich Strayrogin had fallen in
j anr 3 express his belief "that each
Hsasality and mans life on earth
sssally will not desert, nor can de-
sE tie kingdom of the Grace OF the
, $ts SO long as 1t preserves itself
4 s4n; that sin is not ontoiogicai by
!sgf. -. Broom Is also run
sg the first English translation Of
The Lay of Maldoror," by Comte de
lss.reamont, that mad man of genius
4 whom Remy de Gourmont once
wcte: "Alienists would have classified
be author among those suffering from
/ persecution maniar-in which he sees
srly himself and God, anu God
! Arayss him. But we might also In
euife whether Lautreamont Is not q
gprsme ironist, one forced by q
precious acorn Of mankind to play the
mailman, whose very incoherence is
viser and more beautiful than the
i7srase person"
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 81
lanehed to-day with Franklin Spier
.nd DR.. Abraham Goldenweiser, author
about primitive beliefs, nature myths
habits and customs Of the ancients.
Dr.. Gnldenweiser told rne that Wester-
nsrck had thoroughly revised and
a.ought up to date bis monumental
History OF Morals" and that It again
asss TIA place in the forefront of
Gihropological studies. DR.. Golden
Ssssr 10 giving series of lectures on
wnisive art at the Social Center. "a
aslass many art critics have made in
snass about primitive art, particu-
Afl7 as carvings Of tho Polynesian
..aFssap he said, sis in assuming that
saess artists worked By inspiration and
s2fsssed Themselves without regard to
saise No are Is more highly. conven-
sapaailEed than the art Of the eavages,
ssessuss their art is connected with re-
sn0us ritual and their idols had def
alle CHARACTERISTICS which had to be
wlpesuated.' Madelaine Boyd,
si sao was lunching with MFs. Edwin
so'eszmsn, called rae over Co ask me not
assume that the new edition Of her
sasosna's book on "The Irish Literary
es,s.asisaanceD u. was only reprint Of an
- Tosk But knew that 1t was not,
sasi.l ~ Ernest had told me that, besides
sssa..hg over much of the material, he
-. 'rsindea new essays on Joyce, For
H rs Rsid, Daniel Cookery and others.
i. .1s :, ooek NOW looks imposing; but it
~ 4 sas only interesting and authorita-
ny s,s seeonnt of that fine, rich flower
~ Of Irish genius.
Iii wood Broun came up TO mo In che
W. WY and said, 81 am glad to see that
ssS ss ~ 20 water is going to be honest" !"
g.. shswered. ''yes, we all start out
mi mi ssssy, sssy, and, added Harriette Under
sss. @ men Ne get to going to the AL
ssassa. sssaa. Van der Water began his
IL kssaaslaeas sa this morning by announc-
I rs ~ saas ne didnt know where the Al