Evening star., 1925-11-07
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By The Booklorer.

tie CndTdCterS ana a meiOQFdfn ma cQudl
TO one of Maurice Leblanc's combine
to make Hugh Walpole's latest novel,
Portrait Of a Man With Red Hair
an unusual piece of fiction. The ma.
niacal habits OF the elder Crispin, the
man with red hair, though very dis
concerting to the other personases in
The book, are 100 improbable to disturb
the sleep of any but the most nervous
reader. The literary features of the
book are the awakening character or
Charles Percy Harkness, American
dilettante, and the descriptions OF the
coast of Cornwall, in sunshine and fog
Harkness is 4 product Of Baker,
Oreg.. but he has long since found
Baker and his two sisters. whose home
is there, mot enough" 'He could not
live there" For years he has Travelled
about, chiefly in Europe, living easily
on his adequate, but not vulSarly
large income. Books, a modest collec.
tion OF etchings, his diary always &C.
company him. When he arrives at a
hotel he sets up his penates and is at
home. He had few things with him
that he always carried when he trsV.
eled--a red leather writing case, lit.
tie japanese fisherman in coiored
ivory. two figures In red amber. photo
graphs OF his sisters in a silver frame.
Then there were his prints. He
TOOK out four-the Lepere st. Gilles,'
StranR's 'Etcher.' the Rembrant Flight
Into Egypt and the Whistler 'Drury
Lane. Harkness has always shun.
ned the unpleasant in life. physical or
mental pain; he has succeeded in es-
Gaping most responsibilities: he has
never known any keen happiness, to
be sure, but he has been comfortab BILE
enough and has his mild enjoyments.
To this rather tirnid and colorless ma n
come. through a trip into Cornwall,
experiences more thrilling than any he
has ever read about experiences
which change his whole character. Or
at least reveal him 10 himself as diff
terent from anything he has dreamed.
He discovers that he can love, that he
Is not selfish that he IS neither tirnid
nor coward. "He had been shy OF
man and was shy no longer: he had
been in love, was in love now. but had
sure ndered it; he had been afraid OF
physicai pain and was afraid no long
er: he had looked his enemy in .he
eyes and borne no I'll will"
~
oipoic . IEellSS OF tne tOrnlSn
coast might be any one of number
OF Cornish villages. where the down
runs 'in green wave to the blue
line OF the sky" and the sea below
dashes in and out OF the deep coves
at the foot OF the cliffs. In mellow
afternoon sunlight, when the sea
breeze is mingled with the scent Of
roses, the down and the cliffs are all
beauty and the narrow paths that
drop sharply over the cliff edge seem
To- lead TO friendly exploration. BY
moonlight and starlight the strong
tang OF the sea. the freshness OF the
open sky and the spring OF the turf
! al speak Of freedom. But when the
fos begins TO come in. at first lin
little wisps like tattered lawn" then
thick and dense like walls Of wad.
ding on every side" the cliffs and the
seq below become terrible and men.
acing. Harkness. climbing up a cliff
path on starlight night. full of fine,
brave, eXulting thoughts" suddenly
realizes that the path has gone
There was no path, no rock, no hill
! slde, no cove. no sea, no sterS-noth-
ing. He was landing on air. The
fog in one second had crept upon
MN. The description of the perilous
cropping OF Harkness up the cliff. with
the mournful Iiddon bell out in the
bay tolling in his ears, and OF the
later wanderirgB of himself and his
two compa Mons for miles. lost In the
fos' is the finest part of the book.
According TO q recent news dis
patch. the school children of Texas
are not to learn from text books that
evolution exists. DR.. Edwin c. Conk
I'm, professor OF biology in Princeton
University. in an article on Science
and the Faith OF the Modern" in the
November Scribner's Magazine, saws
mat II the teaching of evolution in
Unsupported institutions IS to be
prescribed. then consistency REQUIRES
the eliminat ton Of the teaching of all
subjects which furnish evidences OF
the truth OF evolution morphol.
osy. physiology. geology, paleontologv.
senetics, comparative medicine. com.
parative psychology. and sociology.
indeed. there are few subjects that
are now taught by comparative and
senetic methods that should not be
banned. Fundamentalism IL log
ical, would demand the abolition of
the teaching OF all science and scien.
tific methods, for science in General
and not merely the thory of evolution
is responsible for the loss OF faith in
the old traditions. 1t IS folly to at.
tempt TO promote education and
science, and at the same time 10 for.
bid the teaching of the principal
methods and results OF science. The
only sensible method would be to a Dol.
ish altogether the teaching OF science
and scientific methods and to return
to ecclesiasticism. The only DOS.
sible remedy for the present deplor.
able condition is not less. but more
and better science and education.
She fundamentalists. rather
than the scientists. ere helping TO
make this an irreligious age"
Since Dumas created dArtagnan
and Daudet created Tartarin, they
have had various initators. lea n
Aicard. who died recently. wrote
"Maurin de Maures." the hero Of
which was certainly near relative OF
Tartarin. Pierre Mile. in THE Mon.
arch. has produced a fascinating liar,
the equal of either d'Artagnan or Tar
tarin. Justus Is the monarch Of Espe-
lunque. because he Is the only man in
the village OF 500 inhabitants who
thinks and lives as he pleases. He
refuses to work, except on rare and
necessary occasions, because most
work seems to him futile. He suns
himself in the bright gay country of
Provence, drinks the brandy or wine
provided by his neighbors. and spins
yarns to admirins audiences Daudet
has said that the man OF the south OF
France does not lie; he simply enter
tains himself and others with Illusions.
SO Justus, according to hts own ac.
count, can drink more wine, shoot
more game, catch more fish. make
more money Gf he chooses, have more
mistresses than any one else in his
world. OF course. with his gifts OF
laadarshin and ir,nrhuinnri tho