Evening star., 1923-08-26
IN THE ORGAN LOFTS OF PARIS.
BY Frederic B.. Stiven. Boston:
The Stratford Company

on the ground. a most unus-
ual mode of getting ac-
quainted with a city. But, men have
to follow the lead of their own minds
and these two travellers from America
are organ minded men. musicians by
bent and training and profession. So,
for them there Is no way more nat
ural than to fly from one cathedral
loft to another-Notre Dame. St. Sui
pice, st. Gervais, La Madeleine, and
another. and another-unmindful of
the thousand and one allurements
of the ground floor of the historic
city. To be exact. the flying turns
out to be climbing, with labor and
spent breath. from one narrow and
tortuous flight of stone steps to an
other. In off-hand way we are in
vited to go along. Not specially in
terested in organs as mere mechan-
isms of splendid sounds, we are not
overkeen. But we do go, at first a
shade half-heartedly. In no time at
all. however. the half heart becomes
whole one for this Is a decidedly
worthwhile adventure. 1t covers
scenes and plants impressions not OBJ
tainable from any other point of
view. The glorious architecture en-
bodying old, old visions and dreams
strikes one anew from this unsur-
passed point of advantage. The long
downward perspective resets the
ceremonials far below in a deeper
takes on poetry and glamor as the
source of this amazing panorama
around and below us. The two Amer
leans are. to be sure, interested in a
lot or technical things about the or
gans themselves, but one leaves them
to these intricacies, listening only
when they give us in so enthusia st ic
sympathy and in full a knowl-
edge the full effects of the sights and
sounds and meaning Of these hours
lnffE
Delightful in itself this book, and an
admirable supplement as we'll To
studies of the more general aspects
or the great city lying so far below
these brooding lofts.
A LOVER AT FORTY. BY Gerald
Cumberland. author OF THE Poi
Soner, etc New York: George H.
Doran Company.
This Is an allegory. An allegory is
pesky thing, giving one no peace
tlll ne has dug out it's momentous
undercurrent of meaning. This done,
one is free to settle down to a
aias,a ances ta5oyment so dnwn % Of mere appear
ana back. and still back. till we
reach that dim Paleozoic day when
separating out from the one body
male and female stood apart and dis
Tor the perpetuity of her kind. an
avid and ruthless cosmic urge The
male on that day of separation be-
came clearly negligible save as
means TO end. save as mere tools in
the Kit of the supreme female pro-
senitor. Then millions of years
ensued. piling up prodigious clutter
or utilities that. together. make civ
lilzatlon; And much of this clutter
was made up of sophistries and fall
lacies pertaining to the relation Of
the sexes. And under il all the eter-
nal fact OF human perpetuity-of all
rpetuity-remained unchanged
And. right here. we come upon Mr.
man and women. Love moves this
story, the woman in the lead. Dis
aster follows, the woman inviting it,
commanding il. even-that is, it
the lover at forty" covered the per
sonal social ruin with a magnanimous
gesture of protection. Attractive
people. clever talk, smooth sophistica-
and personality-all these round out
the modern romance. But, after all
1t is merely the ancient fact, dressed
IN the latest mode-just the old story
OF the insatable female. biologically
fact that is as sound as nut
Man Is the victim here. He has always
been the Victim-naturally. since his cap
ture. by hook or by crook was the
categoricai imperative of the origi
nal situation. But-my stars,-how
this does sound. Better just read off
the top of this story as it is writ.
Then. having done this. the only
thing left is to turn around in
abuse of an author who writes such
Impossible stuff. Talk? Plenty of
II: for we are all busy in denying
an ancient heritage which frightens
and bewilders us and which fits so
Ill into the artificial life that we
have made out of our own fears and
misgivings. The quality of the work
here commands attention, but that
will serve only TO egg on the con-
troversy.
LIFE AND TINES OF ALvAH
CROCkER. By William Bond
Wheelwright. Boston: Privately
printed.
This is the life story CT q success
full New England business man OF
something like hundred years ago
IL is also picture of industrial Mas
sachusetts at that time. And, over
and above this double line OF narra-
ton and portrayal. ii stands as an
other one out OF the many examples
making up the proof that in America
cary poverty is no barrier to ulti-
nate success: that character and in
dustry, working together, open wide
doors OF opportunity and achieve
ment. A mill worker at eight years
OF age, Alvah Crocker became the
founder Of great paper manufac-
tory. the builder of the FitChburg
railroad and of it's extension through
the Hoosac tunnel In common with
all New England. Mr.. Crocker in
herited a genius for plain hard work
and a bent toward politics, govern
ment. The first met its reward in
material success and an honorable
place among his fellowmen. The
second. by way of seat in the House
of Representatives. gave opportunity
for sound and patriotic service to the
country as whole. A fine story.
A stirring example. More men of
this stamp should find places in liter
ature for the firing of youth. A hand
some book of artistic and painstaking
make that is fittingly and touchingly
dedicated to the great-grandson Of
Alvah Parker, another of the same
name, "inheriting the patriotism and
finest traits of his ancestry, he laid
down his life for his country and her
allies in the world war
ON THE MARGIN. BY Aldous Hux-
lev. author of Mortal Coils" etc.
New York: George II. Doran Com
pany.
On sits down here with sober.
straightforward. intelligent, informed
man to hear him touch upon many
themes as these. largely by chance 1t
would seem, come into his nina,
moving out again to make room Tor
else of equal interest. 1t
is not easy to realize that this is the
man who wrote "Crome Yellow" that
gay and biting and brilliant novel OF
erratic substance and wayward at
tack. Scholarly touches upon Ben
Jonson and Chaucer. the spirit back
OF the work of each. the legacy of
each showing here and there in this
modern writer and that one-one
comes upon these here. There are
other browsings among books that
find record here, and discussion of
more than one topic of common in
terest to writer's and readers of the
more discriminating sort. A gentle
man of scholarship and literary in
berItapce sits over across talking