Evening star., 1923-11-03
The Library Table
By THE BoOKLovER

OFTEN when wearied to the point Of
disgust with the egotism, materialism
and psychopathic decadence OF many
present-day writers, the Booklover
hunts up some old-fashioned book
| belonging to time before Freud dis
| covered complexes and the world war
made nearly every one cynical. Such
pook he has recently found and read
In ihe Gurneys of Earlham," by
Augustus Hare. The author says in
his preface: "The Gurneys of Earlham
| were Quaker family, who--through
their personal qualities and their self
devotion--played a more conspicuous
part than any other set of brothers
and sisters in the religious and phi
! ianthropic life Of England during the
frst half Of the nineteenth century,
X r. 4 X
The delightful old country place Of
| Earlham, In Norfolk, not far from
Norwich Cathedral. was rented for
over hundred years from 1886 by
| the Gurney family. the leading Qualr-
ers OF England. The book of Augustus
Hare Is chiefly concerned with John
| Gurney, born in 1919: his wife, Cath
| crime Bell. and their twelve children,
all but ono OF whom lived to adult
years. The early death Of Catherine
| Bell Gurney left this large family
| to the care Of the eldest daughter,
| Catherine, who through a long un-
| married lie devoted herself to her
| brothers and sisters, most of whom
1 she outltved.
X * X \
| All the Quincy family had busy
lives, occupied with personal educa-
| tion. the rearing of large families
and devotion to religion and good
works; but several OF them became
| especially famous in their own time
Joseph John Quincy was a much loved
Quaker preacher, and. with his sis
[ ter, Mrs. Elizabeth Gurney Fry, made
! many tours Of the continent. visit
ing and helping Quaker colonies
/ Samuel Gurney was a partner in the
| firm OF Richardson, Overead Quincy
4 Co, which for forty years was
the greatest discountlng house in ths
world, and one which during the panic
! OF 1926 lent money to SO many other
houses that II became known as "the
| Bankers Bank" Samuel Gurney used
| his wealth for the benefit of his many
| relatives, and for all good causes
Richmond, VINO painted many Gurney
portraits, used to say that Samuel
Gurneys face was an extraordinary
i mixture Of shrewdness and beneyo.
| lence. The most famous member o.
| the Gurney family was Elizabeth Fry
who. in addition to bringing up q
| Quaker preacher of tireless activity
| and one of the earliest prison reform
ers. Her name Will always be re-
| membered for the improvements she
! brought about In the treatment OF
| the woman prisoners a. Newgate.
* 4 = r
| Some Of the Gurney brothers and
sisters became members of the
| Church CT England: others remained
| Quakers; but for all the religious life
was the deepest and most real part OF
existence. Their religion was for
| the most part wholesome and free
| from undue introspection and rigidity
though II was always a great grief to
Mrs. Fry, that her husband enjoyed
| and fndulged in secular music. One
! of the most striking facts in the story
of these Gurneys is that for none ol
them had death any terrors. AS the
| years passed and death entered thei
| ldiitiiles, often tahlrS tnree or 1oul
| loved children In one epidemic, and g.:
| the brothers and sisters themselves
one by one. left their pleasant earthly
/ life. there never was. any bitter
lamentins I,eTan on the, the part part Of those re.
| dying one. The words of Rachae
Gurney just before her death. "Got
makes me happy and will take me to
His own kingdom" are typical Of the
! Quincy attitude toward death.
Buried treasure. in life or fiction
arouses in almost every one the spirit
of adventure. G. A. Birmingham
! (Canon Haunay) has written another
of his delightfully."- thrilling and a.
the same time humorous stories ot
buried treasure Found Money
The money in question has beer
! buried at Knockcroghery, or Hang.
mans Hill, in County Roscommon
Ireland-not on a tropical island
only some original characters. but
also the Irish Free State army ant
the army of the Irish republic.
= !: X x
There are perhaps many people il
the world who would be glad to bt
officially dead--that is, obliterated a.
far as their families and their othel
social relations are concerned-ir
order to regain their personal free
dom. After every war there are
stories Of men who remain missing
from choice, though they continue tc
lead flesh and blood eXistences fal
from the homes they left. Such {
situation as this is treated in The
whimsical novel, "The Late Mattis
Pascal" by the italian novelist ant
dramatist, Luigi Pirandello. Mattis
Pascal has shrewish wife and
quarrelsome. meddling mother-in law
50 that life for him is anything bu
! a peaceful affair. While on a shor
holiday he has two astounding piece:
of good luck. First, he wins-anc
keeps-a pile of money at Mont,
Carlo, and, second, he reads in {
newspaper that the body of a drowned
man has been recovered from mil
stream near his home and has beer
is officia1ly dead and buried in th'
little cemetery of his town. HI
realizes that he is free. He has hi:
beard and hair altered by the barber
buys new clothes, takes a new name
and begins a new life. And here the
story really begins, for Malta Pasca
does not find it so easy as he though
to break entirely with his past and tC
be entirely free.
! x X * x
! Though the twentieth century will
probably never rival the nineteenth
as O poetic age, its first quarter has
by no means been lacking in the pro
ductfon of real poetry, and at pres
ent the poetic output in England ant
the United States is not meager
Some recently published volumes o.
poetry are the following: Poems.
by wilfred Scawen Blunt: Poems,
by Alice Meynell; Poems" by Georg'
| ,r& aSyfo h,