Evening star., 1924-01-12
The Library Table
ny THE BooKLovER


The British aristocracy is in a bad
way both financially and genealogi-
cally, II one may Judge from the
gloomy pictures of many British
novelists. The Jukes and Kallikak
families. standard examples of de-
generacy In the United States. have
their parallels in England among the
descendants Of William the Conquer
or's mobiles. according to such writer's
as Michael Sadlier and z. M. Della
field. In Privilege" Michael Sadlier
painted a sorry picture of an old fam
lily fallen into physical and moral
decay through bad heredity often
compounded. More recently E. M.
Delafield, in "a Reversion to Type"
has produced study OF hereditary
degeneracy manifested as a congeni-
tai inability to recognize and tell the
truth. The sevenyear- old Cecil
AvioIet, with his wild tales OF ex-
ploits in Ceyion in which he was
always the hero, is tragic figure,
not so much because Of the unchildish
way In which he persists that he is
telling the truth when mother. grand
mother and governess attempt to
make him confess; often and often
mother, who yet has an intuition of
the truth about her boy, that Ces
couldn't really help himself Aren't
some people born colour blind, so
that they can't distinguish between
colours?" More and more tragic the
goes away to school and then to the
university. When at fifteen he en-
counters religious experiences under
the influence of a much admired
clerical tutor, IL seems possible that
his salvation is about to be worked
satisfactions of confession and soon
disgusts his tutor by his obvious in
ventfons of sins he has never COM
mitted.
The climax of honor for the boy
himself and for his honest. now clear
sighted, mother comes when at Cam
bridge he steals silver cups and
other trophies which he has -variously
inscribed. as for example: ITO Cecil
Aviolet, Esq, in most grateful recog-
milton Of his daring achievements
splendid leadership and indomitable
courage and devotion to duty, this
cup is presented in grateful admira-
ton by the members of the School
Cadet Corps" A recognition of per-
sonal inferiority and longing for ap-
probation of others have always been
the motives behind his untruthful-
ness. When the whole wretched busi-
ness of the trophies is decovered,
Cecil denies 1t with dignity. II can
explain 1t all" Cecil asseverated, wide
eyes fixed upon his mother. The
whole thing was a put-up Job. sort
of joke. / never thought of it's end
ing like this, and frightening you,
mother. It's shame" DR. Lucian.
his mothers best friend, interrupts:
stop that, Cecil. it's no good. Re-
member that you owned up when you
were arrested" Poor Rose Aviolet
for her sons heredity deficiency. She
says to DR.. Lucian: "Of course, /
wasn't educated, and I was much too
young when / married Jim to know
about eugenics and heredity and
things. but that doesn't make me
let's have always been all right
you'd expect them to be. of course
but Lord only knows what the Smith
blood may have done for my poor
Ces. You see, there wasn't any ira
dition behind US, was there?" DIR.
Lucian replies angrily: Have they
really made you believe that it's the
strain of your blood in Cecirs veins
that's made him as he Is? My dear,
don't you understand? It's the Avio-
let blood, not yours. that's RESPONSE
BILE. They're decadent-rotten-l
at Ford tthe boys uncle). It's the
way with these old, old families. They
intermarry, always with other old,
old families. reproducing the same
type again and again. Not
from you, my dear. You must never
think that any more. You're alive,
alive again, and it's what you've
given to your boy that's going to
pull him through"
yet it is certainly strange to OBJ
serve" says Hayelock Ellis in his
latest book, THE Dance of Life"
how many people seem to feel vain
Of their own ungratifed optimism
when the place where optimism most
fiourishes is the lunatic asylum; - .
when the gods, to ruin a man, first
make him mad, they do It, almost in
yariabIy. by making him an opti-
mist"
Old Jean PeyroI, retired member
of the brotherhood of the coast. as
he appears in Joseph Conrad's recent
novel The Rover" is one OF the
most subtly drawn of Conrad's many
subtle characters. After bringing his
last prize into the harbor of Toulon
and turning it over to the govern
ment of the republic, he retires, with
a waistcoat thickly padded with gold
coins-prize money which he has not
turned over to the government-to
lonely peninsula jutting into the
Mediterranean, to pass the remainder
of his days. He chooses the location
because 1t is near his birthplace and
because, almost shut of from the
mainland by salt lagoon, It is in
accessible and little likely to be visi-
ted by any one from the outside
world. Here he takes up his abode
at an ancient, rambling farmhouse.
and soon in his retirement, when he
considers his adventurous life prac-
tically over, his greatest adventure
of all begins. His little world at Es-
oampobar farm Is composed OF a
strangely assorted group. There is
Citizen Scevola, a frenzied sans-cul-
otte who has taken an active part in
the terror and regrets that those
bloody days are past. About the
house and farm aImlessly roams Ar
moves only in a world of bad dreams
and memories of the scenes Of horror
she has lived through. The mos. sane
member of the family, and the one
who keeps everything running. is old
Catherine, brown, sharp proffled, keen
eyed, inscrutabIe, whose tragedy.
never forgotten, is an early hopeless
love for a priest Joining this queer
family at times for mysterious visits
is a young lieutenant In the navy of
the republic, taciturn, guarded and
apparently unfriendly. Peyrol, "sil
yer headed and ruddy," with a life
full Of all sorts Of human associations
behind him, brings a wholesome,