Evening star., 1923-08-21
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
PEAKS OF SHALA. Rose Wilder
Lane. Harper & Bros.

Lane. Harper & Bros.
If Rose Wilder Lanes great grand
mother had in her own day felt, run
ming along the soles of her feet, that
certain tiny tattoo so faint yet so un-
nistakable withal. she would never
have dreamed even that the gods OF
the open road and the far trail were
tapping out their wireless call to her
to come on out into freedom and ad-
venture. Instead, this dutiful woman
would, no doubt, have met the dis
quieting summons by walking to and
fro, day long, the straight path set
by the sweep of her spinning wheel,
or by treading the road toward win
ter blankets and wearing gear by way
of the. old kitchen loom. And ever
since that day-long before 1T, too
the great mass of women have mis-
read the releasing call. This fact
stands clear as day. by no more than
a casual look around upon the huge
number of squirrel cages, infinite In
variety and pattern, set thick every
where roundabout, each in a futile whirl
under the frenZied energy of its fe-
male occupant to get away out into
some open of joyous freedom. The
barricade of many piled-up years Of
women off from adventuring with the
gods of life. And 1t has come to pass,
therefore, that their eyes are holden,
their ears sealed, their lips dumb, both
to overture from the lords OF adventure
and in power of response on their
own part. But, once in a long blue
moon, there appears one who, in
some woman way, has reached the
barricade, one who, by hook or by
crook. has held herself open to the
\ TY1a n IHr nf n n
places, to the beguiling beauty of ro-
nance,
And this is the point at which We
come upon Rose Wilder Lane-a
rain soaked woman from start to
finish. a sodden mop of clothes and
hair and shoes that make squeegee
Noises Noises ,p under the foot ,sed action aa that
ever. If you happen to be looking for
somebody who is having the time
OF her life. you would better stop
right here. for. despite what looks
like a torment of bodily discomfort.
Rose Wilder Lane. is in a triumph
of complete joyousness. Where and
how? Oh. in a remote corner OF
Albania. climbing it's mountains ana
and the places. Alone? No. Two
other young women, sober and, use
full young women we suspect, go
along. And there is Perolli, native
with outside education. coming back
on some mysterious errand that ne
keeps close under his hat. There is
/; ReXh. the young Mohammedan, VINO
refused to he shaken out OF the ad-
venture. Then, OF course. there are
guides and mules, the necessary I'M
pedimenta Of even the most unpre-
tentious of mountain caravans. THOSE
mules skirting impossible 1edges
overlooking unima ginable depths,
provide the reader with many thrllls.
as in fine impartiality they offer 70
their human burdens-one moment
a footing in this world; the next
moment some spot in the world of
eternity And the travellers too, no
doubt, thrilled nightly at TINS ire
quent closeup of the truth tnat IN
And what are they all doing. here?
What is the real purpose of this ex-
pedition among the Albanian noun
tains? About this we are NOT al
cali. vaguely, something about es.
tablishtng schools, or school-the
mission of the two sober young
women Bear in mind there is not
suggestion even that the errand was
either an obscure or an unimportant
one. The truth of the matter is thar
whatever, business the 9iiahr eihnrs 11ans n,as
was frankly out for adventure, her
business that of taking .joyously-
whatever goods the gods 1alght pro
vide. And we in deliberate choice
so along with her -. =.
Iynder the spur OF Mrs. Askse' 8 own
Ia stV delight we, too,: cliiffbs and, slip
and crawl along the mountain trans,
we too ride the strong natives across
the mountain streams; we, 100, SOAK
in rain and shiver in cold. TIL at
some sudden turn there spreads a
nanorama so incredibly beautiful
that the body forgets to acne as the
spirit lifts it to a zone OF radiant
say, land 10 you long life" as some
grave and gracious mountaineer
greets us. Long life to you: go on
the smooth trail And at night. In
| the company of our uneonqueraipie sin
stone hut. plastered like the nest OF
| a bird against the face of some for
| bidding cliff. There, in the MIDST OF
the tribal family-men,' women. cfli4-
dren, goats and chickens-we lie on
| the floor warming. steaming, dry
| ing, gnawed with hunger that must
wait the deliberate ritual OF enter
! tanning strangers, ceremonlals OF
hospitality that have not changed
since days reaching back oeyono lne
time when Rome was and Greece.
"a small kid was brought for our IN
snection: we were to eat 1t for din
ner. 1t looked at US mildly, content
ed in the arm that held 1t comfort
abIy. it's fur was soft as sealskln.
! 0ne of the children rose and smil-
| ingly kissed it's delicate muzzle, win
| a gesture Of charming affection. Then
| they took it out and killed It, brlng-
| ing back its skin, which they huns
On a neg After a time the mother
goat came over and nuzzled that skin
| thouehtfully Then they brought US
| a Iamh all woolly white with youth
| and we praised that; and they TOOK
| il out and killed it. It's skin hung
beside that of the kid. And after
| that they showed US a fat hen, and
| - also was so used to the compan-
| jonship of humans that 1t uttered no
faintest squawk when the woman
Who held it nonchalantly wrung It's
/ neck. just beyond the circle OF ife-
light" :.
Then. next day perhaps. off again
! unon a new trail toward another
noint Of mountain life, to fresh con-
i facts with these mountain people.
And always the rain Is pusS S,s,,s SsSe
! when, for a moment. the sun, push.
/ ing the clouds away. pours neat
mpon the travellers that sets them
| a-steaming in their own brew. Az every
| tarrying place there is the same poun-
! tifui hospitality, unchanged from its
ancient ceremonial. There Is always
the same quiet courtesy. always the
| same grave talk as Perolli passes the
/ questions back and forth between
| the travellers and the natives. They
toll of their tribal laws and customs,
of the place of the women among
| them, Of the care of the children.
Thev talk Of the blood feud as an
i instrument of justice. and protection.
| They are politely skeptical on the
theme of private property and frankly
| nmzzied over the intricacies and in
direction of a government other than
the tribal They believe In beings
! ,rio have emhQlmpd