Evening star., 1923-12-29
The Library Table
ny THE nOoKLovER.

It ID as = study of Paris war psy-
chology that Edith wharton's novel,
"A Son at the Front" will perhaps
have permanent literary value,
though It ID q very finished piece Of
art viewed merely as the story Of
one Of the many boys who fought for
France. and the father. mother and
stepfather whose hopes and ankle
ties all centered about their son at
the front Most Of. the chief char
acters Of this war. novel are Ameri-
1914. or coming there for various
reasons during the war. The indi.
vidual and group reactions of these
people and their French friends. first
July. 1914, and then to the various
phases OF the war are depicted In a
manner which proves Mrs. Wharton
to be as much q psychologist as an
artist.
When the war cloud first bIackens
the sky toward the German frontier,
Campton, the artist, his divorced wife
and her husband and their circle of
friends are divided into three classes:
First, those who have war funk; Sec
ond, those who quote Norman Angel
and believe that another war is eco
nomically impossible. and third, the
fatalists. chiefly Frenchmen, who
know that the war will come and that
it has always been inevitable. Camp
ton has for days been vainly trying
to make living portrait of a vain
finds that he has succeeded. The war
funk did it for me-" he says. She's
frightened to death about Ladislas
Isador cher lover), who Is mobiliza-
BILE" Campton himself fs one of the
inoredulous about war. To his anxious
nonsense! War? Can you imagine any
thing more absurd? Can you now?"
Paul Dastrey, shrewd and patriotic
Frenchman and old friend Of Camp
ton. thinks differently. my poor
poor Campton," he says, "there'll be
war in three days"
Then, swiftly. mobilization is order
ed and every one realizes that in
spite Of all the reasons against 1t,
there Is war. The reactions all
change. Paul Dastrey curses his luck
that he is too old for the front, but in
spite of his lameness rushes of to
join an ambulance staff; Fortin-
Lescluze. the famous physician. leaves
within twenty-four hours for a hos
pital at Lyon; all the young French
men are mobilized, theirs not to rea-
son why: Harvey Mayhem, delegate
from Utica. N. Y, to the peace con-
ference at The Hague. who has gone
learns a few things about the Ger
man army that change him from a
garrulous pacif1st to an equally gar
rulous raconteur of atrocities: and
meanwhile Campton and his former
ing nothing undone to keep their son
George (born in France) from being
sent to the front. 1t is through the
various pulls" of Mr.. Anderson Brant,
head of the Paris branch of an Aneri-
can banking house, that George is
finally provided with a safe staff ap-
pofntment
The war is several months old. All
types of war charities are organized.
Earnest men and women work day
and night providing for refugees and
the destitute families of soldiers. So
ciety women clothe themselves as
Red Cross nurses and turn their
homes into hospitals. Every one is
| ashamed to think or speak of anything
but war For a while Campton hides in
the seclusion of his studio because he
still resents the intrusion of the war
on his private hopes and plans. Then
he, too, is drawn into the whirlpool
of excited, ceaseless war activities.
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Then when the war has lasted a
couple of years comes the next phase.
The steady ones, like the Americans
Boylston and Adele Anthony, work
on as tirelessly as ever. The more
! selfish and unstable become weary in
| well-doing and abandon their unac-
customed work in order to "recreate"
themselves and forget the war"
Campton goes back to his painting.
Meanwhile, Quarrels and recrimina-
tions are splitting the committees for
growing rich from the credulity Of
distracted mothers with sons at the
front, and all the time pull" is
working its miracles everywhere. The
most thoroughly consistent person.
world is Mr. Anderson Brant. who,
kindly and usually tactful, never loses
his faith in the power Of pull" and
money. When the first American
regiments arrive in Paris the cheers
people welcoming q savior. cit was
as though the voice of Paris had
sprung up in fountains out Of her
stones.
The initial number of the American
Mercury. dated January, 1924, has just
been published. This monthly review
is edited by III. l. Mencken and George
Jean Nathan. They deny that they
are radicals, but proclaim that they
ARE committed to nothing save this:
| To keep to common sense as fast as
| they can; to belabor sham as agree
ably as possible. to give q civilized
entertainment. The reader they have
| in their eye is the normal, /,
| educated, we'll disposed. unfrenzied,
enlightened citizen OF the middle mi
nority." The most striking features
of the number are a group of four
poems by Theodore Dresser Ca new
| line for him). y sheaf of letters by
| the late James @. Huneker. and 'The
H. Z. Barnes. The February number
! will contain q play by Eugene O'Neill
and a short story by Sherwood Ander-
| son.
! Gerhart Hauptmann, one OF Ger
manys most famed pre-war writers,
has just produced a story which
might have been, like Rabelais' Gar
gantau" and "Pantagruel," inspired
by the Renaissance. 1.-THE Hereto of
! Soana" is a defense OF surrender to
nature as against self-restraint and
freedom Of thought as against au-
| thority. A young priest of italian
Switzerland falls in love with an illft-
| crate, but Of course beautiful, peasant
| girl and for her abandons his voca-
ton. He then proceeds to change all
| his beliefs to suit his course Of action,
and for obedience to the church sub
| stitutes a worship OF the occult forces
Of nature. At the end he develops a
philosophy OF egoism which il close
| to megalomaniA-
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