The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-09-15
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zio, prince of Monte Nevosa has re-
 tired from the world. Alone in his magnificent villa he is practicing a life of the strietest monasticism. His frenzied genius is finding an outlet in a sort of me diaeval mysticism. In the corridors, rooms and gardens of his small palace there are in numerable shrines, before each of which DAnnunzio keeps an eternal lamp burning. When the sun goes down the poet performs rite to which he attaches the deepest sig nificanee, the burning of laurel leaves on an altar hewn from the rock of Carso. When the incense arises it is D'Annunzio's tribute to the heroic dead who perished on the Carso plateau during the war, but also to the soul of Italy, which is imperishable and immortal. Fro mtime to time he devotes some hours to the writing of chapters for new book. In DAnnunzio's soul there has always been a, battle between mystic religionism and exotic intoxicating art. There are whispers that D'Annunzio is subject to remorse since the death of Eleanora Duse. No one knows. For he has not spoken a word to anyone flor the past three months. He burns all letters and refuses visitors. A writer recently re- ferred to him as fickle Pickle and eccentric perhaps, but also child of the Italian soul, endowed with sublime ideals, superb art and a towering literary genius.
 Second Don Quixote
 When Nicolai Lenin saw the failure of his idealism he first ordered the economic retreat in the hope of salvaging civilization in Russia. When his measures did not begin to rehabilitate conditions, his health broke down under the terrible disappointment" says Herr August Knocke, director of the German banking house of Behrens, who was a recent observer in the land of soviets There is lit tle doubt indeed that Lenin and also Trot- | IL AI.- I. l~.I speeded up far beyond the capacity of the Russian masses to keep peace. The sOealled economic retreat was the result. No sooner had Lenin died than the extremists, scorning his advice, went back to communism, with deplorable results. But from Lenin himself it can be said ,as Cervantes wrote of Don Quixote de la Mancha, 'he saw his madness before the end and died in his senses"
 Ancestors And Descendants
 So great has the number of descendants of Mayflower passengers become that the Mayflower society has decided on a wedding out process in which all who cannot establish incontestibly that their ancestors were among the favored few will lose their membership privileges. Pride of ancestry is a laudable attribute, but it must remain within the bounds of reason. There is often a tendency, for it to develop into a modified form of an cestOr worship. After all greatness of ances- tors reflects very little on ones own charac- ter It's matter Of birth over which you had no control. It's different with descend ants. Happy is the man who has a justifia- ble pride in his children.
 Hickory Stick Taboo
 It's not thought crime for child to eat its lunch during the lessons in the new Ger man fellowship schools. There is only one long compulsory recess, otherwise the master may go on teaching without interruption if the children show they like it and are able to assimilate what the master says. But the children can also take a stand against the teachings. This does not mean that there is no discipline in the schools. The object in view is to get the children to act right for the sake of right and not because of restric- tions, ordinances and regulations. American investigators found high standard of cour- tesy toward teachers and visitors in the new schools. German pedagogy, always striving for the best and most progressive ideals for the best and most progressive ideals, is seek ing to unfold the children rather than edu- cate them and stuff them with a lot of knowledge that has no bearing on unfold ment. A German schoolmaster said that they are attempting to reach the ideal of Goethe, who advocates this kind of education in "Wilhelm Meister"