The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-09-10

as they have in America He means the
United States. When was he mere? Mr.
Barring has spent week ends with Sarah
Bernhardt, has been entertained time out
of mind by Georg Brandes, Anatole France
Jules Lemaitre. in short by the creates
writers. living and dead, of the twentieth
| century. and is consequently well up OF
some things and just naturally down OF
others. 1t is the way with us all; oul
affections are our prejudices. After seeina
so much that is perfect Mr.. Barring i.
tempted into believing that what he ha:
not seen is defective and worthy of com.
parison only with the crudely primitive.
The last third Of his book covers the
period 1s05-1914 and shows Barring the
Journals. the war correspondent, the au-
thor of articles for the Encyclopedia Bri-
tannica, the restless traveller 1t contains
his unforgettable experiences in Mukden
Berlin, Nish. Belgrade. Pekin. CONSTANT
nople, Petrosrad or wherever else his bust
ness, as guided by his fancy, took him. II
Is here that he becomes the artist pure and
undefiled; il is here that he is creative
rather than critical He describes a fight
between the Russians and japanese or a
Balkan battle. written at the extreme front
with the crisp incisiveness of a veteran
stylist novice at this though he was His
pen pictures of the dead and dying. the
bursting Of shells and the whizzing OF
bullets are inimitable. But be he here or
be he there. the artist-writer crops out
He reads Dostoievski, discusses Gogol with
ia
mentov. sees a Serbian studying Faust"
in a trench. breaks a lance for Dickens
with a Bulgarian sergeant and wonders
whether war is heroism or barbarism.
He tells stories of infinite charm about
the kindness. refinement and sincerity of
the terrible Turk which would be set down
as naked. Shiny lies had he not told them
He relates experiences with the Greek
which seem most un-Homeric and not at
III Platonian; they seem, indeed, incredible
Give, he says. a Greek beggar a shirt and
he will forthwith sell it and come back the
next day with a more distressing tale than
ever. Give Turk beggar shirt and he
will say. May Allah bless you.", and keep
the shirt. 1t is not the conventional OBJ
idle and Intellectual unless buttressed by
data assembled on the spot Neither the
reports of the missionaries nor the fables
Of Pierre Lott can be used as argument.
In discussing the various types OF diplo-
mats Mr.. Barring asserts that he is the
most gifted and agreeable Minister who
seems the least ministerial who has the
least of tho amhaSSa dor;aI of. 7, 4; -
80 with Mr. Baring's style: he has none. or
he keeps It in his hand luggage. The spin
ster of grammar would vince al his con
structions, but they read smoothly. He
takes an irascible (but evidently uncon-
scious) delight in placing a proposition at
the end of sentence: "A company which
| was one Of" He misplaces his adverbs:
Il only studied one year at Heidelberg .
Speaking of the London Times he saws:
The Times. for whom | was working
He never descends to precious writing
he rarely employs a style that is not fas-
cinating. difficult though ii is al times Ia
give precise explanation of the fascina-
ton. Here is a random specimen: Il spen,
over month by myself at Sosnofka. writ.
ing book and outline of Russian litera.
azure, and bathing every afternoon in tn,
river. where the sweetbriar grew on tn,
banks by the willows and the kingfishei
used every now and then 10 dart across tn,
oily looking water" That is good 1t mus
have been in some such pleasant surround
ings that The Puppet Show Of Memory
| itself was written.