Evening star., 1924-03-08
The Library Table
BY THE BOOkLOVER

man who was first Attorney General
and later Secretary of State during
Grover Cleveland's second administra-
ton, but also gives an Illuminating
history Of some of the momentous cpl
sodes of that period, particularly of
the great Chicago railroad strike Of
1894 and of the Venezuelan boundary
crisis of 1895, when war with Great
Britain seemed to threaten. In view
of the present serenity of American
relations with England and the gen
eral acceptance of the Monroe doc
trine, the chapters on the Venezuelan
affair are of special interest. The
author shows not only that the Vigor-
Gus methods followed by Cleveland
and Olney were largely responsible
for the vitalizing Of the Monroe doc
trine and of it's recognition by Great
Britain. but also that their undiplo-
matte diplomacy in that affair had
by the United States of international
responsibility and international duty.
!: 4 r. i
Ever since the Cleveland message
in the Venezuelan matter conveyed
in effect an ultimatum to Great
Britain, men have debated whether
the threatening phrases were written
by President Cleveland or by Secre-
tary Olney. 1t was known tnat
Olney prepared the original draft
According to Mr.. James, the truth
seems to be that the President re-
wrote what the Secretary had draft
ed, but in doing so he retained about
one-tenth of Olney's language, but
that part contained all of the beIig-
erent phrases. Olney's earlier dis
patch to Lord Salisbury, preceding
the message, he later 0n 1922 ad-
mitted to have been "bumptious."
But it was deliberately so. His "ex-
cuse," he says, was that in English
eyes the United States was then SO
completely a negligible quantity that
1T was believed only words the
equivalent of blows would be really
effective"
A recent story. in which place domi-
mates plot almost as powerfully as in
the words of Hardy. Phi1lpotts and
Sheila Kaye-Smith, is Storm Jane
sons The Pitiful Wife" The nearly
tragic life-story Of pitiful Jael Trude
and her sensitive, egotistic husband
Richmond is developed against
gloomy background of Yorkshire
moors, over which sweep the wild
winds and SHOWS of long winters, and
on which the summer sun shines too
the ruined old house of Trudesthrop.
which Jael's monstrous father, John
Trude. has deliberately allowed to
sink into filth and decay. There. in
q huge hall surrounded by maRnifi-
cent oaken frieze carved in high re-
lief. the bulky. brutal. blasphemous
Trudn. attended by crazy old woma n
servant, slowly drinks himself to
death. In a distant wing. shut off
from the main hall by passage and
heavy. bolted door, live Jael and her
husband and boy, her lame brother
Jude and the old nurse who has
brought up Jael and Jude. There is
a nightmare quality about the atmos-
phere, as there is about the behavior
of all the personages of the story:
But at the end comes tightening OF
the gloom. through the awakening OF
a feeling of responsibility in Rich-
mond, which promises regeneration
of TrudeSthrop and all OF lts IN
habitants. Even sodden old John
Trude shows signs of improvement.
CARLYLE said that the healthy know
not of their health but only the
sick 1t is to be hoped that increas-
ing invalidism on the part of society
is not responsible for the widespread
interest in the care of health that Is
noticeable in recent years. Rather it
may be the ounce of prevention
One of the valuable agencies which is
working for public health is the Ma
tional Health Council. This organl-
zation, in order to provide rellaple
information on health questions, has
series of twenty books, all written
by leading authorities. Seven books
of the series. to be known as the Ma
tional Health Series, have already
appeared They are: Man and tn tn.
P. H.; personal Hygiene: the Rules
for Right Living by A. J. McLaugh-
lin. NJ. D.: Food for Health's Sake:
What to Eat" by l.. H. Gillett: The
Baby's Health" by r. A. Bolt NJ pi; 81
Howell. NJ. D.: Cancer: Nature. Di-
agnosis and Cure" by F. c. Wood,
NJ. D.; Taking Care of Your Heart.
by T S. Hart. M. D., and The Young
Chiid's Health by H. l.. II. shaw
NJ. D.
Onward. Christian Soldiers, the
battle hymn Of Christianity, is sung
all over the world by all denomina-
tions of Christians. It's author, the
Rev. Sabine Baring-Gould, died in
January, at almost ninety years of
age He had been called one of the
last of the "squarsons'-a word
coined from squire and parson-be-
cause he was both a clergyman OF
the Church Of England and country
squire with an ancestral estate-Lew-
Trenchard He was also a writer OF
merit and great productivity, one OF
the last of the Victorians, and pro-
duced 14O books of various kinds, IN
Guiding novels, poetry, criticism and
works of antiquarian research. He Is
best known by his HYMNS. OF when,
"Now the Day Is over" is probably
the most famous. The story of the
writing of "Onward, Christian Sol
diers" is interesting. 1t was a hymn
of Barring -Gould's youth, written
village, as a marching song for a
band of school children. The bishop
of the diocese, a low churchman, OBJ
jected to the carrying or the cross IN
the procession, so Baring-Gould said:
Very yell boys sgs 1saYe Ma che ehange HFess the e
hymn to read with the cross of Jesus
left behind the door The bishop was
so outraged that he dismissed Bar
ine-Gould. but Mr. Gladstone immedi-
ately presented him with much bet
ter living in Essex. The Rev. Sabine
Baring-Gould married a millhand,
whom he had educated. At her death,
after fifty years of married life, he
inscribed on the granite cross over
her grave, Half my soul Demidium
animae meae).
= y +
Prof, Arthur Hobson Quinn of the
University Of Pennsylvania, in his
..History Of the American Drama From
the Beginning of the Civil War;" has
done a laborious piece OF spade work
and at the same time has produced an
;,+orastinp and readable book The