Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-01-24
BY THE BOOKI.OvER

with the publication of The In
visible Woman" Herbert Quick COM
pletes his trilogy of novels Of from
tier life in Iowa and of her later his
tory and politics "Vandemark's
Folly" had to do with the westward
migration, the settling. of the prairie
aud the history of the township In
which the hero lived. The story is
carried on in The Hawkeye," which
pictures the rural scenes of post-pio-
neer days, as well as the corrupt
county politics OF the period running
from 1867 to 1878. In THE Invisible
Woman" the scene is shifted to the
town and the stage Is further widened
so as to embrace State politics. par
ticularly the sinister influence of the
railroads and their attorneys on leg
islation and especially on the courts
during the Dos. The story leadE
up to and turns on the Gowdy VS..
Gowdy case, the court scenes of which
are tense with dramatic Incidents.
The climax is the spurned offer to
Oliver Silverthorn of a nomination
as Judge OF the State Supreme Court
conditioned on his promise of favor
able decision In the Gowdy case. and
his successful nomination against the
opposition of the political machine
dominated by the railroads. In pass
ing one wonders how Judson e.
Weiliver, now of the White House
staff, but once editor of the Des
Moines Leader, likes to appear as edi-
tor of that paper in this novel
*
Humor in plenty there is, particu-
larly In the story of the rise and fall
of the company for marketing county
rights" for the sale of the patent
self opening gate invented by Uncle
Surajsh Fewkes. Although each Of
the novels in this trilogy Is complete
in itself, all are tied together by the
same characters and interre1ated
plots. Together they make a moving
picture of thu growth of a trans
| Mississippi common wealth from pio-
neer life until yesterday. Whether
considered as authentic history or as
absorbing romance, the novels in this
series well repay reading. In spite
| OF certain faults and limitations, this
trilogy seems the best historical rep
| resentation of the Middle West in fic-
| ton thus far written.
X X
Arthur Weigall, one of the fore
| most OF present-day psychologists,
has made full use not only of all
modern discoveries OF Egyptian civil
iization but also of the work OF clas-
4 "TltlnR
| The Life and Times of Cleopatra
! Queen Of Egypt" The result is a
| thrilling book In which the charac-
ters of julius Caesar Octavian, Mark
4 antony and Cleopatra herself are as
| much alive as though their time was
| yesterday instead of before the birth
| OF Christ. In his swiftly moving
narrative Of the author uses footnotes
| very sparingly He abandons the
| traditional method of most previous
| biographers of Cleopatra, who have
| either made her out to be q thor
| oughiy bad woman or an irrespon-
siole sinner. but. instead, pictures
her as moderately good woman in
| a difficult situation. Good and evil"
says the author in his preface, are
| relative qualities, defined very large
| ly by public opinion, and II must al
| ways be remembered that certain
| things which are considered to be
| correct today may have the deuncI-
| alton OF yesterday and tomorrow
| We, as we read of the deeds of the
Queen of Egypt, must dofs our mod :
ern conception OF right and wrong,
| and, as we pace the courts OF the
Ptolemies and breathe the atmosphere
OF the first century before Christ we
must not commit the anachronism Of
crtticfztng our surroundings from
| the standard OF 90 centuries before
Christ. 1t Is. OF course, apparent that
to a large extent we must be In
fiuenced by the thought Of today, but
the true student of history will make
4 the effort to cast from him the
| shackles OF his cotemporaneous opin-
ions, and TO parade the bygone ages
in the boundless freedom Of a citi-
zen OF all time and dweller in
every land
| * xx
Advertising for q wife Is almost
as old as newspapers themselves and.
Hike many Innovations In Journalism.
i started first In the United States.
Lillian Eichier in her history of ETH
| quette, The Customs OF Mankind"
| reproduces the very first matrimonial
the Boston Evening Post on February
20, 1859:
ITO the Ladies': Any young Lady
between the Age of Eighteen and
Twenty-three, of a Middling Stature;
| brown Hair, regular Features and a
| Lively Brisk Eye; of Good Morals
and not Tinctured with anything that
may Sully SO Distinguishable a Form
| possessed Of three or four hundred
pounds entirely her own Disposal, and
| where there Will be no necessity of
Going Through the tiresome Talk OF
| Addressing Parents or Guardians for
their Consent: Such a one by leaving
Line directed for A. w. at the
British Coffee House in King Street
appointing where an Interview may
be had will meet Person who fiat
tiers himself he shall not be thought
DisaEreeable by any Lady answering
the above description. n. B. Profound
Secrecy will be observed. No Trifiine
Anauars will he re1afded
4 X
A woman of SO who has apparently
lived her full SO years worth Is Rheta
Childe Dorr, who has just published
her autobiography, "A Woman OF
Fifty" AS feminist and a writer
Mrs. Dorr had made for herself a suf.
iciently active life before the World
War. She was an associate of Mrs
Emmeline Pankhurst and one Of Miss
Alice Pauls devoted band; in other
words, she belonged to the militant
group which claimed the large share
of the credit in the winning of the
suffrage for women in both Great
Britain and the United States. OF hel
pre.war writings probably the most
important is the volume What Eight
Million Women Want" With the wal
came European experiences, for she
was a war correspondent and roamet
over France, CzechosIovakia. Russis
and Finland, wherever there was q
story to be found. Her books. I'm.
side the Russian Revolution" 1.-THE
Soldiers Mother IN France" anc
"Czechoslovakia," resulted from hei
war and postwar travels. In Russis
she went to the front with the WON
| ems Battalion of Death and knew
most of the men and women who were
making Russian history so rapidly
I To-, nv ut hn
Luton Of 1919 until. the ,bpIsheviki es
ahlished their autocracY. which ShS