Evening star., 1922-06-25
Reviews of New Books

140OO MILES THROUGH THE AYR.
BY Sir Ross Smith, F. r. q. s. IL
lustrated from photographs. New
York: The Macmillan Company
ONDON, Rome, Cairo. Bagdad
(the old home town Of Haroun-
IL al-Raschid and Sinbad the
Sailor, and all the other Ara
bian Nights notables), Delhi. Calcutta,
Rangoon. Singapore. Batavia, Port OAR
win, Sydney. Adelaide, Melbourne
IA, 900 miles. zigzagging southeast from
London to Rome, then almost straight
east. then southeast again to Australia
Easy to follow this long line of sounding
names on the map. names that work
magic in the mind. And this is magic
journey-the one set down in this book.
A plain story-that is. it is plain story
in so far as simple and modest state
ment can make 1t such. The most re.
strained prose, however, cannot hoid
this flying trip anywhere near the
ground of everyday things. Straight
records OF weather-wind and cloud ana
storm. or fair skies and sun-turn
into heavenly pageant or internal tur-
far beneath, become visions and dreams
quite apart from the clear intent OF
this author to tell the truth. and moth
ing but the truth. The atrship Is nVe
thing, the engines-singing their loua
song of eXultation. 'Alfs well, All
well.' become brothers and friends.
One likes that touch amazngly-that
companionship between the man ana
the machine. The whole thing Is ad-
venture and romance and poetry
despite the fact that the authors prime
! motive is to give an account OF the nrst
successful aerial voyage from LONDON
to Australia. The book will lie around
for day or so. waiting your considera-
ton. You are in no hurry. Tor you sus-
pect volume of the technicai me
chanics of flying and the uninsp'ring
vagaries of meteorology. Then, one
night, with a might as we'll know-now-
! as-any time feeling. you take up tnS ,
book And you never put 1t down I'LL
the last word is said.
An OUTLINE OF WELLS; The Super
man i'm the street. By Sidney Dark
editor of John O'London's Weekly
New York: G. p. Putnam's Sons.
The critic, Haywood Broun, intro
duces Wells to the American pubic In
this volume. He assures the reader
that this superman has fundamen :
tai geniality and common humanity
He informs the reader. also. that
Wells lis not all artist Then ne
takes this back, in part. citing ex-
amples of powerful artistry IN some
, of the Wells novels. Finally, he pays
hearty tribute to Wells for his virtues
and sins alike, since in whatever ne
does Wells is passionate partisan
a go-getter man, a seer, doer. SID
nev Dark then comes along, not only
with Mr.. Wells. but with a crowd oi
other men, all for the purpose o.
I ~
these up beside his topic-Wells-ir
turn-Shaw. Chesterton. Anatole
| France, Conrad. Bennett. and the rest
Turning pages. one finds. ms intei
lectuaI honesty is unqualified, ne
has written about life, ne mas Gre
possesses no nonsense about art Tor
arts sake" "to Wells, evil suffering
and sin are the consequences OF STU
pidity and want Of judgment; IG
think rightly is to act r1ghtly, ano
so on. and so on, in an interesting
and keenly Intelligent effort to set
this "superman in the street rlghtiy
before his amazed and often hostiie
! fellowmen. Taking up his DOCKS. one
by one. Mr.. Dark draws from men
the man of vision, the passionate pii-
grim. possessed of a we.l-defned phll-
osophy, a world man-yes. not always
right. perhaps, scientincaliy,-p,
better than that since WITHIN ms sisl
ion he compasses a new heaven an6
new earth wherein the people-all
the people-have both rights ana
man size obligations. A deeply III
terestinr study whose background Is
as rich as it's immediate deouctiohs
are informing and convincing.
THE ROAD TO THE WORLD. BY
webb Waldron. New York: The
Century Company
wha, is one to think of an author
who. after AIS pages OF novei, ieases a;
snn Square and slowly rousing to the
noItceman's Better move on Anu
That is one to think OF puoiisher
who dares to take chance mere
They are both all right, as you VIII
most certainly decide after follow
ms in~ this stan Hilgert from his little
hnyhood, away up in the top Of Michi-
gan, to this moment on the park
bench. One rarely stops to think
he dare not stop to thlnk-oi what
stupendous thing it Is for human
being to be set down IN tne wos,u a,
t,neness. its fears. its Joys. all strange
and often terrible to the child-se.
cret,y terrible. There Is youth ano
the eyentful period of being In love
with love There is the time "hen
one Is expected to take q mana
things ana make THEM So. -.
the times in which this author sets
stan Hilgert down as the son OF :
highly intelligent but unsuccessful
ga1her. The family moves about, en-
iarainr the field of the boys ad-
venturing along the road to tne
world. He Is sensitive, timid Many
are the things that serve to toftuie to.,e
him. His father calls him "a little
coward" Something ought to o.
done with fathers like that. He J:
a coward. We all are. in the race ol
our own particular black beasts. Ihe
how. in love with himself and love
beiieyes himself devoured with pas
sion for Karen-a mistake to oe un'
covered late and as Just one tnlns
more on an already heaped-up pIats
Of fatefulness. The great point anou'
tha whole story is that 1t Is SO un-
ainchinely true. and with the truth
the author succeeds in combining TN
erect of adventure. What he does
;s TO make one intimately acqualnteo
with Stan Hilgert. Having done tnis
he leaves the boy and the reaoer =.
have it out between them, sure ina :
he has established bond that II. !,
bound to hold. Very admiraoie "o
and a very worthwhile novel
MRS. FARRELL. By William Dean
Howells. author Of ''The Vacation
of the Kelwyns," etc New YORK;
Harper &: Bros.
In an introduction to this romance
the daughter Of Mr.. Howells gives an
outline sketch of the time and cir.
cumstance under which Mrs. Farrell
was written. The story goes PACK
something like forty years. when va
cationing in. New ENGLAND meant De.
some farmhouse: In one OF these
houses Mr.. Howells gathers the group