Evening star., 1923-10-23
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
DON JUAN. Ludwig Lewisohn. Boni
and LIYeriRht.

DON JUAN. Ludwig Lewisohn. Boni
and Llveright.
"She did right, perfectly right"
With this pronunciamento Hildegarde
registered a Solomonic finality Of
Judgment. I'D have done the same
thing and so would any other woman
worth talking about" And all the
women agreed in a babel that, though
quite unintel1igible, was clearly a
tumuit of assent. 'If I'd been in her
place. Such a man as that!-
here, contempt calculated to blight
and crumple. "Oh, you men make me
sickp BY now Hildegarde was
trampling fury, while Peter ner
spouse, was a crawling worm. And
Peter was willing to let 1t go at that.
Not Hildegarde. All this TODD
BIB b-br-rump mphur-urgh! - was Hide
garde merely warming up her works
for thoroughgoing tryout OF her
powers of vituperation against the
hapless male. But here the other
women took a little sidestep. This
was much too personal and Peter was
a good sort He had done nothing
that is, not so far as any one knew. It
seemed a little raw to maui good old
Peter who was all right-that is. he
that is not so far as any one knew. II
was supposed TO be. And Hildegarde
deed. she looked at the moment like
nothing else in the world so much as
that historic creature of the spider
tribe that settles her conjugal diff
mate. thus doing away with him for
good and all. Absolutely rapacious
Hildegarde looked. SO they tried to
lead the talk back to the particular
pair that had started the clatter. Not
an earthly bit of use to. try that,
Hadn't this Elsie been that mans
wife for years%' Indubitably. And
Hildegarde would like 10 know, more
over. if Elsie was not perfectly good
woman. much too good for that scamp
talnly-perhaps to the latter. Fool
ish Peter, 10 inject even the sembance
Of special pleading here for the lost
and damned man In this case. He
hadn't a chance in the world to stem
the tide of condemnation. and was
only insuring himself for future
trouble. Now, the poltroon wanted
70 be free-wanted a divorce-had
had the indecency to say to his wife
'nd-worse yet--had even asked her
20 help him In securing his freedom"
shame! Shame"
And Peter, not greatly interested in
the first place. rather worn down by
the whole rumpus. in fact. and. II must
he owned. a bit dulled by the din. said
this witless thing. said it innocently
and ruminatingly, much as If he were
talking to himself:-"But. you see.
the man had ceased. to love his wife"
Thunder and lightning! Earthquake
and fire. Hurricane, typhoon, whirl
wind, cyclone! All the devourine
blights - moth, rust, mildew, boil
weevili
When Peter came out from under
the wreckage. luckily more stunned
than actually disabled, he suggested
that the whole matter be moved back
into the sphere where II rightfully be-
longed. He reminded them that they
had set out to discuss Ludwig Lew
isohn's new novel, "Don Juan" But
that even before laying down the
facts upon which any proper consid
Grafton Of the book might be given,
they had completely deserted Mr.,
Lewisohn. running clean away from
him back into the particular field of
their own prepossessions and preju
dfces. From this point of biased and
foregone conclusions they had turned
about to make faces at Mr.. Lewsohn
and to revile him for not having done
away with so feckless a hero in his
very borning. Not a fair deal to the
author Peter snid. Besides it made
an altogether discreditable showing
if they asked him-for their power of
broad and impersonal thinking. This
IeSt was pure bluff. for Peter was un-
easy. He knew perfectly we'll that he
had said an unforgivable thing. His
immediate purpose was to get their
minds away from that. so he stung
them at the vulnerable point of their
lust poss;b BILE intellectual inferiority.
It is to be feared that Peter was
more concerned for himself here than
for the fate of don Juan"
n II n
However, he made quite a to-do of
strengthening himself up--leaderlike
to take charge of the story. Now.
ladies, just lay your precious selves
nside. so to speak. and tell me what
this story is about" Every good"
'It is, as you relate, the story of un
happy welded life never mind"
And Peter hurried along here. for he
saw the black clouds of accusation
about to gather. Unhappy welded
life; indeed. so unhappy as to sug-
gest that a separation could not be
worse, and it might-just might, you
know-be better" Now. merely as a
test for the story, do any of you know.
outside this book. of marriages that
are clearly and destructivelv un-
happy" Yes we do but That's
enough" cut in Peter. "Now"-most
ncilatingly-"would II not have been
each had gone his separate way here?'
"No, No, sfr!" "He wanted to get
married again. He was in love with
a girl" His wife was right in re-
fusing him freedom for such scandal
Gus behavior" 1T was only fair for
him to feel the obloquy of his lawless
conduct" "a man ought to love his
wife" Oh, Lord. Peter had been
hoping. but without hope, really. to
escape that oughtness of marital af-
but Peter knew 1t was OF no earthly
use. "Yes, the wife was unhappy,
desperately unhappy. But the hus-
band was unhappy. too" HE ought
to have been. He deserved It," Never
mind. he was truly unhappy. 1t made
him more desperate to know that the
young girl was in danger--not in any
vital danger from him. but deeply
jcopardized by the tongue of rumor
that was beginning. to scatter suspi-
did finally go out of his life. because
both agreed that the price she was
paying was much too heavy" Now
quite apart from your own feelings
out In the open and from your own
championship for the wife on the in
side here, what do you make of this
love episode between Hegla, the girl
and Lucien, the man in this case?"
You agree that 1t was an innocent
and true love, a very beautiful thing
or would have been had 1t not been
black with the sin of longing for
a
"All interesting people. true to life
honest at heart. just victims Of
whatT' And there you are" said
Peter. That's the case" mo hope