New Britain herald., 1924-12-29
AT YOUR LIBRARY

Haven't you observed how in the chin darkness Of ones early morn ing continuing with reluctant furnace one thinks with certain futile wistfunesS Of palm trees, sunny seus and adventure in dis tant and well heated climes. To be sure wo should probably be acntely bored hy such a lotus caters' existence and reflect irritably that in New Britain they don't grow mosquitoes in December
 So perhaps after all one gets more fundamental satisfaction out Of adycnturing by proxy and seeing strange lands through the pages of guide book Not Of course the mere Bacdckcr variety which re- QuircS either experience or an eX- traordnary amount ot imagination ! 10 be appreciated but ono with a. 1 flavor, Something like those pcrcn- , nially delightful creations of F. V. 1 Lucas which recently appeared in . iI' " lNi lllt " htlAl'lfl III ' Nllltt anu Wanderer in Florence, They really { hold an extraordinary amount of information hvcued with upexpoct- cd flashes of humor and amusing bits Of gossip about celebrities of past ages. Formuns Grccian Italy and A Mediterranean cruise by Jenkins have much rhe same at tractvoncss.
 Then for those who wish their wandcnngs more highly spiced ! with the unusual and pcrious there Is an account by one of the first traders 10 penetrate to the savage tribes in ihe interior of Africa. This book by l., N. Mor entitled After Livingstone records many curious encounters with native Cus- toms. At one time the author was the unwilling spectator Of an or i deal by poison to test the inno- cence of those accused of crime, l Considering tho vruIont nature of 1 the stuff they were forced to drink. IL is not surprising that tho average | of delinquency appeared shocking ] ly high,
 Camera Trails in Africa by John son tells of his experiences h photographlng wild beasts of the jungle, an occupation in which the tedious and the prccarious mingle about equally. Even the usually peaceful pursuit of farming has it's thrills in Africa as one will dis cover from Flemming's Call Of the l Weld.
 1 Two Gentlemen Of China by Lady ] Hosic is about as different as pos siblc but quite as effective in re- moving us from the scenes of daily labor. This describes the home life of two Chinese patrician families with enough background of recent and less recent political events to mako their experiences ineligible. One gets the rather unusual sense Of being admitted into the house. hold with the privileges and re- serves Of friendship rather than be- ing coldly analytical of an alien race.
 For glimpSos Of the colorful and ! varied life of South America one finds very excellent reading in Col umbia, Land of Miracles by Blair and 2,oQ0 Miles Through Chile by May. A little moro substantial but very readable volume is India. Biri's-cyc View by the Earl Of Ron i aldshay.
 | Perhaps nothing is more thor oughly acceptable 10 the true lover of adventure than nice hair raising pirate stories. This taste appeared , carly in the American reading pub lie as is shown by tho aprearance in l8&7 of tho Pirates Own Book, This cdoe out recently in now edtion and though Of a curiousiy archaic flavor is full of genuine thrills anI bloodih,rsty deeds on tho high scas, The l'ss worthy brethren of the buccaneers are made infamous jn SmuEglers aud Smuggling by A. Hyatt NcrrlN. As .It dh3-lDI NtE N--' N tLi F. I' ''' N.A'' munica'No folk than pirates but . he has glcanrd a >rry fair number Of pages from their history.
 Next to pirates, discovcrors rank I high in interest. 7ne Book of Dis coycry by Syngo contains q great number of simple arl stirring nar- ratiycs oC those who lraved tE" un- known from the tjmn of Ptolrmy to present days. HmI.l trcasur" is 1 the theme Of James Bailie's de scrir,ion Of Century of Excavation | in the Land or the Tharaohs. The first F,gyptologjs's crunche1 indIt- . eornntIy over tho rmains Of num- ! mics after gaining entrance by a . haltering ram, h'jnc interested only in documents and treasure Of more |. obvious value. Tn contrast 0 this ho describes tho infinite pains pnd