New-York tribune., 1922-12-10

a L. one Of the living characters who
reveals himself "and guesses the Almighty
has the heartaehe" But should there be
smile on the face Of a scientist who seems
at times to be anthropologizing on his
mothers grave-Mother England's! For the
science OF social Psychology IS young yet
and needs serious attention. | much prefer
the religion OF the NJ. p. for Fiction. the
village: "The more you change II, the more
It's the came thing: that hits OF Old
England to n T." And when the cobbler
says, "In the old Earl's time my old master
made all the gear for the Towers-good,
honest stuff that never wore out; now they
want Yankee goods" | recall that Haroids
have stood with heartaehe on English shores
before now, facing a machine organized for
conquest, and yet tho Anglo-Saxon head
remained bloodied but unbowed and just
lightning TO wonder what's all the shoot'n'
for. One suspects poet Of having bent
On car toward Darwin. Pasteur, Rothsehiid
and Ford, high priests Of the nineteenth cen
tury God, who smies not.
Such thoughts arose in me al first and
prompted a ribald-Old England, there she
lies-somewhat PROSTATE on my desk. But
they aren't so. There is villagcr who
gays: "Liye as though you would die to-
night. and farm as though you might fern
forever" There is a classic swelling and
abiding in the heart in those two self
contained lines. When the Romantic Is
passing and the Classic reapproaehing, there
arc death rattles and birth pains.
However. look FIRST on this: the title page
-"Old England; A God's-Eye View Of Vii
age,D By Bernard Gilbert; and then on lhis,
in the foreword: Fiction is essentially
type; its people are 10 be found in every-vil-
laee avoided the use Of actual per-
EoaA and IL any fancy themselves
represented can only say that TO-
600 others will be in the same position"
(Hai It was an Englishman who never
smiled again, after ALL The preface goes
on Il was taught that there was an omnis-
cent Being 10 whom everything was pres
ent at each instant, and il was this state OF
complete comprehension with which wished
to endow the reader. Such a state supPoses
q knowledge Of each character and each rela-
tionship and a simultaneous view Of every
one Of a vast eomplexity Of Intervening
strandS7
In the words Of Billy Sunday. guess it's
up TO the reader TO get right with God. Be
fore he hits the trail 10 the great Synthesis
he'll be glad to find the volume such COM
Portable weight in the hands. He'll want 10
thumb the pages we'll following this ehhrae-
ter and that. For Dir. Gilbert is not Ro-
mantle Kindergarten who would say: ooh,
children, see this red. throbbing emotion;
what color is it. ehildrenl" His people are
az they come. in classic direetness, and as
stripped down 70 their bare tropisms as are
those people jamming into a crowded sub
way ear-door or crowding around the free
refreshment table at public though social
gathering
There's no repression in this village.
The natives obey Immediately their impulses
Of Preservation and Reproduction" (Here,
is always, quotes inelose the authors own
rhythmic brands snatehed from his smol-
derings.) And he's dealing with villagers
who have such marked faces that only eteh-
ing would do them" And his Wears wife
points out how Il Is not TO be done; in
spiredly she says: "And now I'll do III:
Especially now I've seen how to write poetry
without bothering about rhyme or meter,
Just cutting what you have to say into con-
senient chunks. could add artistic touches
about the lovely yellow Of the mustard plant
And our gorgeous sunsets. And introduce re-
heetions on moral purity" Even the village
blacksmith Of Fiction hates Longfellow;
"The next man that mentions under q
spreading chestnut tree Is going TO get a
red-hot horseshoe agen his nose"