Evening star., 1924-05-06
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
REMEMBERED YESTERDAYS. Rob
ert Underwood Johnson. Little

ert Underwood JonnSon. LeeA'
Brown & Co.
Solomon and I get along together
pretty well We are not, at any
rate, in the habitual state OF frenzieo
retort on the one hand or screaming
silence on the other. over the daily
dozens of pifiing things that 50 agi-
tate average, couples There is,
however, one point upon which Solo
mon and I are, I fear, hopelesSly at
outs. This is about the way to read
a book. Solomon asserts that there
is only one way to read a book one
place, the statement is nonsense.
There are more ways than one, all
good, for doing anything under the
sun. In the second place, solomon is
dogmatic and offensive in his fiat
footed manner of declaration; he
thinks, I'm sure. that he is living
up to his name. A silly and conceit-
ed notion, miles away from the
truth. For the old Solomon was Of
mind so broad and flexible that
aplenty for anything IN the world
that he himself desired to do. How
ever, this one-the one at hand
goes ON to say that book must be
road in the order Of it's setting down,
page by page, chapter by chapter.
period. Now I contend that there are
many books that should be read from
back to front Much of history
should be read that way, for the sake
of immediate appeal, for direct at
tack. for a sound nucleus of inter
probation. Again, there are books
that rise to their communicable best
through selecting from them here
and there such topics as are nearest
to the readers own interests and de-
sfres. Remembered Yesterdays be-
longs, obviously. to this class. So I
say to Solomon: 81 see that at the
beginning of his book Mr.. Johnson
has quite q family tree set out Here
is your chance. You climb up into
that tree and stay there as long as
you want to. AS for me, I'm going
on I'm sure that this well known
and mother. Everybody has. I'm
sure, too, that his grandfathers and
| great-grandfathers, ever 50 far back
were most admirable. I'm not much
interested In that though If I have
time III come back for them. I'm
that ne has an up-and-coming son
whom we all know" And. TO shnt
on comment, I fall into communion
with the table of contents for the
sake or gathering out of its rich
looking ~yesterdays' those that make
| special call to me.
y y *
Questing down the list for NV own
Immediate point of approach. can
| but see that these "yesterdays" are
or wide and varied appeal Room
here for many tastes and interests To
make their contacts. Naturally. there
if a good deal about writing and
writers-novelists, poets. Journalists
eoltors. Much, too, about other" fields
OF art-the drama, music, painting
Plctufes of travel fill some of these
remembered days. Others are round
ed out with experiences drawn from
| the professional and social life of the
olpiomat and the diplomats wife. A
|. great many persons come and go in
| and out from these old days. Indeed,
| a surface glance declares il to be a
book of personalities, interesting and
slsnlhcant personalities, giving each
| TO his calling and place an added sig
| nificance and luster. A more leisured
view, however, proves 1t to be- as
wei. survey Of events by way of
which a host of interesting folks
make themselves manifest. Here ia
| a speaking picture of Manhattan as
II was something like fifty years ago
"a composite, woven of its physical
and material aspects through which
is inserwoyen the pattern of it's in
tellectual and esthetic life. Here, too,
dating from the civil war, these yes
terdays' project certain outstanding
features of national Importance
wherein authors and artists lend a
hand TO save some points of great
natural beauty from lawless and
brutal determination. A rich book,
| from which to choose ones starting
point.
Mine? I choose first Mr.. Johnson's
''The Incompatible Duse." A near
goes back to a yesterday of 1892
| when Signora Duse with an italian
| company played to a scant house in
New York, only its upper gallery
| crowded with enthusiastic and ap-
plauding compatriots or the great
| artist "At the first moment we rec
ognized dramatic talent of the first
order and from that evening we be-
came devoted admirers of her beauti-
full art" Then, Mr.. johnson sums the
art OF Duse as one inspired by a
| deep intelligence that goes to the
depth of the philosophy of her char
acters." and animated by a delicate
| subtlety and sincerity of method,
both of which unite to proclaim her
the '1ncomparable-" This is the mo-
ment to read the authors considered
| and grateful appreciation of Signora
Duse-
Playing vagrant among distin-
guished mans memoirs? Something IKE
that A delightful episode this one,
think When just youth, Robert John
son was possessed, as SO much Of
American youth is. or was, with a pas
| sionate devotion to the splendor of
Emerson, Lowell Whittier, Holmes and
the rest of that New England group. He
and q friend made up their minds to
deliver in person to the sage of Concord
something Of the tumult of alteration
for him that was disturbing their days
| and nights. So they walked UP and
down in front Of his woodpile, reciting
some Of his most inspiring odes-and
then they went sorrowfully away, not
having been able to muster the requisite
amount of courage to walk up to the
Sherman did the same thing-except
that he pressed on, was invited in,
| heard the great man talk Then he sum-
moned courage to ask Emerson to write
his name in the little Emerson book
that he was carrying. The great man
complied easily, and then astounded the
boy by asking him to write his name in
turn 1t was only when Sherman was
well ON his way home that he recalled
not having written his whole name
was he in the face of greatness / won
der what some young Sherman, or
johnson, would do today In a like situa-
ton
X r = X
A most endearing story, this one: Over
in London, now. Nineteen-eleven, the
year of King Georges coronation. The
last of the ceremonies was a review of
the British feet b. the royal family
Walking between two. lines Of dig
nitaries, officials and crowding onlook-
ers King George and Queen Mary moved