Evening star., 1925-12-05
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the BOOklOUer.

II, too, love the country" said Les
lie stephen. but | love 1t best in
books" Charles =. Brooks quotes this,
with a measure of approval. in his
own delightful book about the English
countryside, "A Thread OF English
Road" But Mr.. Brooks evidently
loves the country Itself. as well rs the
country in literature, for he Travelled
by bicycle over much of Southwestern
England. walking the long hills, lying
for "A bit of rest on the downs and nod.
ding off To sleep. waking 10 pedal on
for more miles to some small, pictur-
esque village in search of bread and
cheese and ale or a nights lodging. His
narrative OF his travels is continually
enlivened with humor, without which
tales of the most interesting places
are likely to he so Gull d to discourage
any one from planning visit. Com
menting on English breakfasts. he
says: We drank tepid tea and ate the
pallid toast of yesterday. Against the
chance that some genial warmth
might linger, this toast was set up,
piece by piece. between the Stats of a
metal cooler. | know not the origin Of
the phrase that we are aS warm as
toast. but surely it comes not from
English stock" Also, John and went
/" breakfast without waiting. II WAS
the usual bacon. some day | shall
seek pig upon the hoof and thank
HIM for his inCessant hospitality. He
describes his visit to the shrine Of GU
bert White at Selborne. with irony oil
rected against himself, because he has
always been privately bored by the ia
nous Natural History" He says of
| II: II suppose that nearly every one
has read Whites Natural History Of
Selhorne, or has intended To read il.
a. those good a.
which the devil makes his cobble.
stones. and is undeniably book with
out which no centlemans library is
complete. His feeling about Gilbert
Whites great study. kept as in his
time, is: Gilbert White. alive. would
have tossed up the window and let The
wind blow in
In his first chapter Mr Brooks acts
rs the prologue to his play and tells
what he purposes writing about in
succeeding chapters. He disclaims
'highbrow" intentions and forswears
guide books and histories, though later
I he occa sionally lapSes and INDUCES in
a few guide-buVk details. He does not
conceal the fact that he, like other
travellers. was frequently tired, and
when tired was sometimes cross. nor
+ that hunger often made him hasten
by some historic abbey or tempting
byroad. Here and there | shall jot
down a page Of weary hills Al whose
brea HESS top some 40 winks Of sleep
are the brief profit Of a vast eXpendi-
ture. And now and then | shall md
a para graph to tell Of hunger that is
stuffed with becs and mutton. Of thirst
duenched from pewter cups. of peace
ful inns and the long twilight after
dinner" His dec pest interests are.
however
those of every appreciative traveller
With background of culture-beauty
and ass citation. These are the things
/ that | shall string on my thread of
road-Castle and tankard. platter and
i Church-hut the brightest beads will
he our common remembrance Of great
events-far-off battles on the purple
hills of fancy. books that are yellow
at the edge but vivid in our lives
kings and poets who once riourisned in
the countryside and went on their
silent journey" So he takes us with
him to the ancient Parliament Hall of
! Winchester. where is the supposed
round table Of King Arthur and his
! knights: To the spot in the New Forest
where the cruel William Rufus was
shot in the back by the arrow Of one
/ Of his own retainers: TO Bath, where
. the heroes and heroines Of SmOllett
Fanny Burney and Jane Austen went
! To drink the waters and 10 find matri-
monial partners. and over heather
covered EXmoor. through the scenes
( rf Lorna Doune." to LINTON on the
top of the cliffs overlooking Bristol
Channel and Lynmouth at the bottom
Of the cliffs. where the rushing Lynn
/ tunlbles into the channel The
Thread of English Road" begins and
ends with London. as all reads do in
4 England.
Villa Gather has spent some VaCa.
I tionS among the prehistoric cliff
/ dwellings OF Arizona. and she has
drawn upon her knowledge and I'M
+ pressions gained there for one of the
! most intellectually thrilling parts Of
I her latest novel. The Professor Is
/ House" Tom Outla nd, the domina mt
! spirit of the novel. though he has Ions
/ been dead. once, while a cattle herder
| discovered some of these cliff dwell
| ings. and sold all that he had to
| finance their exploration. What he
found there in the honeycomb of the
cliffs. after he had scaled up the one
| possible entrance. makes narrative
! of intense interest. One of his help
crS. the camp cook. q poor old dere-
! lict, comes face to face with ratter
as he draws himself by his ha ands up
. to the top of the ledge.
+
Sir Gilbert Parkers romance of La
Sale. upon which he has been at
| work for a long time. Is now publish
ed under the title The Power and the
| Glory" The La Sale of the roma nee
is essentially the La Sale of romantic
| history as it has been revealed in
| letters and journals. AS story of
| adventure these old Jesuit papers
4, 4.
meeting of La Sale and his patron
| Count F'rontenaC. at Quebec. Is the
( beginning of the narrative and its
/ end is the death in the Texan wilder
ness of the brave explorer, murdered
| by diSaffected members of his party
The climax Of La Salle's career, the
discovery and claiming for France of
the mouth of the Mississippi River.
is made one of the most dramatic
| scenes of the romance. Early in
April they came upon three broad
channels. La Sale took one, Tonty
another, and D'Autray a third. AS
they drifted down between the low
marshy shores, the brackish water
changed to brine. Then at last came
the broad bosom of the Gulf, and La
Sale saw for the first time the waters
and the source of sorrow and i'm
mortality"
X X II n
The struggle for the possession of
the territory now Oregon in the
eighteen-thirties is made the ground
work for Il historical novel by
| Honore Willsie Morrow in her I'VE
Must March," The great fur COM
panies coveted for exploitation the
wild. rich country west of the Rockies.
The Hudson Bay Co.. largest and