Evening star., 1924-03-02

ton, author of "Nocturne." etc.
New York: George II. Doran Com
pany.
"HE youth Of Felix has hoth-
ing to do with years. Ra-
ther Is 1t a state of mind.
Rather turn sof tempera-
mont that meets the circumstances
81 niggling and pesky world in an
unfailingly buoyant rebound. No. not
lightweight, not Felix. Not a he
Pollyanna. Not the possessor, either.
OF some calm and ordered philosophy
OF life. Just an average fellow. In
stead, with q happy disposition. and
in his pocket dream or two that he
jingles softly when things go wrong.
and pats gently, with Never mind.
It'll be all right. Let's get along"
Average and genial and gifted
enough to lift him out OF the ruck,
but not enough to lift him to any
aloof Parma ssian height, Felix Is
genuinely companionable, just as.
once in a while. some ono outside of
h book is deeply and personally in
teresting. On the whole, the formula
used here il worn trtfie thin-the
child: the boy; the young man; the
husband, and SO on for one more step
in the career of Felix; However, Ter l this
q special case, whose treatment
makes it q significant thing to read
about the ups and downs of an aver
age fellow, who makes the best OF
such tools as he has at hand for
keeping life patched up against the
worst of the rain and the wind and
the snow. One hates to obtrude the
point of workmanship here. since
there is no mark of handicraft about
al oh< ff ho NJ ar
about the line of events in their frus-
tration of fulhllment. Wondering.
however. as is quite natural, about
the sources of such unity of effect.
of action, such a living personality as
Felix projects, one is led straight to
the fact that these things are due to
q quality of Workmanship that lives
up, arduously and exactingly, to
particularly clear conception Of per
sonality and its influential surround
ings.
the Westward March of Empire.
Selected and edited by Joseph
Lewis French. Foreword by Ham
lin Garland. Illustrations by Rem
ington Schuyler. Boston: Little.
Brown G. Co.
a desirable book. whose highly
creditable purpose is to set within
convenient compass and easy reach
an epic movement of which no
American can afford to be i'll igno-
rance. This movement, whose high
points are presented here, is that or
winnig a continent beyond its orig
anal limits of narrow strip on the
Atlantic seaboard. A splendid ad-
venture of broken parts, whose he
roes contributed from period to Pc
riod toward the grand total Of a re-
public stretching from coast to coast
Here are records of personal expert
rience - exploration, discovery, set
tlement, Improvement "a panorama
of changing characters and methods
and achievements, all bent to the pi-
oneer's task of making this country
possible. History, the most of this.
either from the pen of the profess
Eional historian or that of the ex-
romance of reality. set to drama by
masters of this art Some of it is
poetry-just an outbreaking OF song
u-der the inspiration Of the great
should have ready to hand for fire.
quent refreshment upon truly great
and deeply personal theme. Francis
Parkman, Bret Harte, Mark Twain,
Hamlin Garland, Gen. Custer, Theo-
dore Roosevelt, Lewis and Clark and
many another of experience and
achievement have contributed to this
admirable and useful book.
NEGRO POETS AND THEIR POEMS.
BY Robert T. Kerlin, author of
THE Voice of the Negro" Illus
trated. Washington: Associated
Publishers.
A revealing book from two points
Of view. An anthology in which sixty
American negro poets are represented
by poems that range from what Mr..
Kerlin calls "tolerable verse" on
through. and up, to verse that Is un-
mistakable as poetry Of high order.
The collection from one of these two
points is meant to exemplify the pos
sibilities in the American negro OF
creative work of this kind. and to in
spire him to new and continued effort in
its production. The other point of view
is that intended for the white man to
take, point from which to gather
new interpretations of the American
colored man. The work is classified,
giving first the untaught folk songs
of the people and from that passing
to the earlier art forms of the negro
poetry. The field of the present Is
representatives studied briefly for the
sources of their clear inspiration and
the chosen form of their poetic work.
The new verse receives attention and
verse and verse of miscellaneous
character, all combining to show the
scope of the poetic faculty among the
negro poets. Disregarding for the
time being any question of race, and
taking up the matter of poetry alone,
one can reach but a single conclusion
here-that the anthology includes
true poetry, that it is whole true
and futtering flight to swift and
triumphant soaring in the blue of
true Inspiration. A book for up
standing pride, without a note OF
apology anywhere about 1t.
THE MIDDLE PASSAGE. BY Daniel
Chase. New York: The Macmillan
Company.
A touch of the grimness of ETHAN
Frome" about this romance-that
peculiarly hard grimness made Of
Puritanism and the stony soil of New
England. 1t is story of the New
of the land beside it. both filled with
old favors such as the present day
seems unable to evoke. The romance
itself belongs to Leda Prentiss and
her lover. Eben Pinneo. shipmaster.
end a rival. the rich shipowner. Jar
dine BY an act of pure perfidy Jar
dine wins the girl and thereafter the
contest Is a matter of conscience and
integrity between the innocent two
as m ssst Of 9nsnE hs fS act agans
them. There is in the action much
of the sea besides. sailings and a
wreck both of portentous conse-
quence. Clean-cut. straight In move
inent, interesting in detail, convincing
In Its personalities, the story Is, IN ltS
austere and grizzly way, an excep-
tionally strong invention.
THE WATER-BEARER. BY ]. Allan
Dunn, author of "Rimrock Trail" !"
etc. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co
Certainly UP to date In theme. Gu g
the story deals with the problem of
water supply for a western commu-
nifty. Certainly backed by knowledge.
since 1t Is young engineer who
himself not only solves the problem