Evening star., 1925-03-27
THE PUBLIC
LIBRARY
Armchair Travels.

Half the charm of a new country 1s
lost II one only nibbles at It's customs"
represents the attitude of many travel
ers who prefer, therefore. to live quietly
with the people of strange lands rather
than to get their impressions from rail-
road trains and hotel lobbies. The travel
books this week are written largely by
persons who shared this opinion aad fol-
lowed their own inclinations instead of
guide books. William Henry Hudson,
author of "Afoot in England" (G45-
1859 was by his own confession not a
modern, efficient, energetic hiker, but a
poor walker. Accompanied by a COM
| panion slower than the proverbiai snail
or tortoise" whom he frequently left
half mile or SO behind while he fol-
lowed enticing paths or stopped to con-
verse with the birds and creatures of
the woods, he found something of in
terest at every turn in his walks and
cycling trips in rural England.
TO your true rambler one Of the
hrst and most important essentials is
to live, SO far as is possible in the
| course of brief visit, the life Of it's
! inhabitants. writes Harold Simpson
| In his "Rambles in Norway" (G51-
Slobr). Accordingly he made the best
! of the IA different cheeses, smoked
| fish, fresh fish and cold meats which
| he found on the Norwegian breakfast
| table, Travelled lightly in case he
| should find himself stranded at some
| inaccessible place without any Wis
! fble means of leaving il except his
! own two legs, mingled with the Nor
! wegian peasants and everywhere
! found much that delighted him
! His Journeys took him to fjords
! glacier capped mountains, waterfalls
! and rugged peaks.
| Another type Of travel book is
! written with the idea OF presenting
| thorough study of the country
visited, both its present and past
| history. Such a book is Egypt Old
and New" (G7I-M364e) by Percy r
| Martin, which has been called a
mine of facts on every phase OF
| modern and ancient Egyptian life
| Among the attractive features of this
book are 45 excellent reproductions OF
| photographs in color and the many
half-tone illustrations.
These sketches may serve TO per
suade the leisured traveller that he
has not exhausted Athens and At
tica when he has seen the Acropolis
and the museums" writes Mrs r
G., Bosanquet in the preface to Days
4 IN Attica" tGr2A -B652). A thorough
master of her subject and a close OBJ
server Of both the people of today
| and the relics Of ancient times. her
book is excellent for the student as
4 well as the general reader.
! Returning to her native City OF
| constantinople after an absence OF
20 years, Mrs. Demetra Vaka Brown
had hard time reconciling the pres
ent with the past she had known. The
| old system was broken to bits-gone
| never to return; and ], who have
! been accused of being its troubadour
| mad come back to the new system
with electricity instead of candle
| light and the mysterious figures OF
! Stamh houl replaced by unveiled
daughters of the true. faith; to
| women who sat behind desks took
/ down dictation on the typewriter
from men they called infidels and
| sold goods behind the counters" I'm
veiled Ladies OF Stamboul'' (G5sC-
| Bsl6) sets forth her Impressions OF
! the new regime. Turkeys attitude
/ toward other countries and the pres
! ence of foreigners and the way our
| attempts at uplift are taken by the
! Turks are presented in the frank
/ statements of individuals to Mrs
| Brown. Charmingly written, largely
| conversational in style, the book is
| entertaining from cover to cover
| In North Africa and the Desert
tG7s= Ws53p) Mr.. Woodbury. describes
/
desert and the lands along the Medi-
teFrauean.s An equally enthusiastic
| and feeling writer iss Robert Chau-
iTvelot, who. in Mysterious India
| CGss-C3ssml, sketches various as
! poets of the India Of the past--its
| mysterious customs and rites, its
| temples and dead cities, its rajahs,
fBrahmans and fakirs. Names are
often misleading, so ii may be bes,
Ito state at the outset that Persian
! Miniatures" by III. e. Dwight (G635-
! D964p), is a collection Of sketches IL
I Illustrating Sn their random way but
| one small corner OF Persia and de-
signed not at all to catch the eye OF
the serious minded to quote the au-
| thor Lightly and whmsically he deals
/ with the social life in Hamadan, home
| apparatus, Persian rugs, high local
and imported dignitaries, merry
| honey stores of everyday life OF
| foreigners in Persia, and incidents
| of adventure and misadventure.'