Evening star., 1923-02-10
The Library Table
BY The Beoklovef

Ono Of my friends has near-rslatives
living in South Africa, whom she has
never been able 70 visit because OF
the expense Of the journey. She has
read many books OF African descrip-
tion and travel, including. OF course,
Roosevelt's books. She also looks
eagerly for novels whose scene is
laid in Africa and greatly enjoyed
Cynthia Stockley's novel. ''The Claw,
and her volume OF short stories. ''Blue
Aloes." Recently have recommend
ed to her two novels, among the best
of the past two or three years. which
Harry Aosan Man Tasy wo Are 5
the Right Thing" and Robert keable's
THE Mother Of All Living"
A large part Of THE Man Who DID
the Right Thing" is concerned with
the life in a missionary station at
Hangodi and later in Happy valley,
private concession in the Lake Man
yara region. both in German East
Africa One Of the most vivid parts
of the story Is the journey of deli
cate English girl, the bride Of q mis-
sionary. from Unguja, on the coast,
to Hangodi. In the interior. Entirely
unprepared for what she is to en-
counter. she undergoes terrible physi-
cal and nervous sufferings from mos
quitoes. feas and other vernin; an at
tack Of malarial fever; the sight OF
twenty or thirty whitening skeletons
in deserted clearing; poisonous
snakes everywhere; an experience with
Voracious "saifu' ants, and, finally. an
encounter with a giant cobra and a
night attack on the camp by q lion.
breaks into the tent where the trem-
bling bride is wishing herself back in
England.
In "The Mother of All Living" a
South African journey is described,
equally thrilling, but more romantic
and less narrowing. A party of six
Europeans, with native servants. goes
on a. two-week trek" from Spring
fontein into Basutoland. The wild
scenery Of the Bushman's pass forms
the setting for a double love story OF
unusual intensity.
y -
That NJ. Coue and his autosuggestion
plan are not simply a passing fad,
but answer real need, is shown by
the demand at the public Libraries for
books in this field. For several
months NJ. Coues SELF Mastery
Through Autosuggestion" has been on
the Bookman's monthly score of books
most popular in the public libraries of
hn ,frty o.rf
cant are the facts that "Outwitting
Our Nerves" by. Jackson and Sails
bury, has been on the Bookman's list
every month since last July, and that
Basil Kings Conquest of Fear has
likewise been similarly popular for a
our keyed-up modern civilization re-
Quires an antidote and people are
seeking one in such books as those
mentioned.
Sometimes the question Of sanity or
insanity is largely one Of point OF
view. To one man the reformer In
politics or the iconoclast in lftera-
ture seems suffering from at least
mild mania; to another man he seems
a seer far in advance Of his age. So
in "Old Crow" Alice Browns recent
novel. the hermit Old Crow, living in
his hut on a New England mountain
side and caring for the sick poor over
in the valley. seems to his relatives
and neighbors to be "dotty.' SINH
larly. his great-nephew. John Raven,
two generations later, is classified by
his practical sister and nephew as a
victim OF shell shock and is kept un~
der their kindly but close surve illance
Ixybo ha afo from pnSfNn fn his
home in the country and later makes
frequent visits to Old Crows hut.
where he in a measure follows his
example of ministration to the un-
fortunate. To the idealist-and Alice
Brown herself is one-both Old Crow
and John Raven seem merely to be
attempting to live the life Of Jesus
Christ. AS Old Crow says:
1.-The man or the woman that makes
MIN shed his blood in pity-that is the
man or woman that will open his eyes
to what we call eternal life"
With the death of Mrs. Alice Mey-
nell at the age Of seventy-two has
passed away one of England's most dis
tinguished essayists of the late nine
teenth and early twentieth century, and
a poet of considerable merit. At the
time of the death Of Alfred Austin, Mrs.
Maynell was widely mentioned as his
possible successor as poet laureate.
Both her poetry and her essays are of
the intellectual. perhaps slightly dog
matte, type. which suggests Matthew
Arnold, and for this reason her appeal
has always been to a somewhat re-
stricted audience. Many. however, who
do not care for her other work know
her as the most sympathetic Of Ruskin's s
biographers.
The publication Of books on Abra-
ham Lincoln goes on unremittingly
One of the latest is entitled "Lincoln's
Last Days" by John w. Starr, jr. 1t
is claimed that the author, in prepa-
ration for the writing of the book
interviewed as many living persons as
possible who were known to have
seen Lincoln on that day or to have
knewn him intimately. One inter
esting comment on Lincoln brought
out during the making of the book is
from Gen. James Harrison Wilson
who says that one of the great secrets
of LincoIn's strength was that he re-
fused to make any important decision
unless physically and mentally at his
best. AS the result of this practice,
lnOuSn ne SOHletIfleS mat
ters beyond the time when his sub
ordinates thought he should have act
ed on them, he safeguarded his action
and accomplished more IN the end.
x Il X X
whether or not with ulterior mo-
tive, delving into genealogy and MAX
ing family trees is a popular pastime.
The pursuit is always more keen If
the tree represents ones own family;
then the creditabie or discreditable
ancestors discovered reflect personal
glory or personal chagrin on the dis
coverer. At any rate, the families