Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-10
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY he Bookloger.

ktltIing6 never the Twain Suati
meet" applies to more human rela-
lions than those of Oriental and Oc-
cidental. Difference OF race Is not
and tolerance. In Sinclair Lewis
new novel. "Mantrap,' Ralph Pres
colt, e. Wesson Woodbury. and Joe
Easter and his wife, Alverna, are all
good Americans, but are separated by
barriers almost az insurmountable as
those between the Hindu and the
Englishman. Even Woodbury. and
Prescott, both i1odern New Workers,
jar each others sensibilities at every
turn. NWoodbury, the sales manager
of the fabulously powerful Twinkle
toe Stocking Co.." Is a round, thick,
self.satisfied man." He gave the inn
preston Of a particularly large and
juicy drumstick from the fricasseed
chicken at Sunday dinner. and his
loud. sudden laughter had all the
horror of gears jammed by an I'm.
skilled driver. !" Prescott, q lawyer
and a bachelor, grave, precise, SEN
sitiye and nervous, prefers men who
are less blatant than Woodbury.. Yet
the two plan trip into the wilds OF
northern Canada together. though
both should have known that the
forced companionship, entirely away
from civilization and its comforts.
would be a long torture. Woodbury.
is not very discriminating and vel
comes Ralph to take the place OF q
friend who has failed him at the last
moment. Ralph is broken down neEv-
ously.. and sees the long trails, the
Fsilvery lakes, the brilliant stars and
the vast silences as a possible saliva.
ton. So he suppresses the thought
that Woodbury. is boor-a horrible
sort OF chap to have with you in the
strained intimacies of wilderness
Journey. Before they have left
Whitewater, on the Flambeau River,
the end Of rail and civilization. Wood
bury has made himself most obnox-
ious by making fun Of the nice little
down pillow which Ralph has brought
along to alleviate the discomforts Of
a bed on the hard ground. Every
body will die laughing at, you up here
II you're going to be such q molly
coddle. Roll up your coat and sleep
on 1t, like real man." So hostilities
begin. Before they have reached their
proposed destination at Mantrap
Landing, Woodbury. despises Prescott
as q tenderfoot, Stacker, garru.
lous hfghbrow and a general burden.
He does not conceal his feelings.
And your inconceivable butter-fin-
gered clumsiness! Things any real
American boy of 10 could do. When
you said you weren't used to hiking
didn't suppose Won were para.
lytic" Ralph, on his side, has come
to feel a cold. deadly hatred for the
appearance of Woodbury's proudly
athletic shoulders" the sound of his
booming voice. his vulgar pleasant
ries, his conceited business, his Cheap
sneers and his eternal nagging. And
his grievances smolder the worse
because he does not express them as
freely as Woodbury. does his; but his
minR ticks away in time with the
motor OF mis- canoe. Blatant fool.
Empty-headed buzz.sawi Hogi Lord
II he were acknowledgment, solid, or
even stupid and kind--I'd stick by
him through everything, no matter
how rough. I haven't complained
once, have /? But I'm through" Sin.
clair Lewis does not tell us whether,
after the Canadian adventure is over
and Woodbury. and Prescott have
both returned - separately to New
York, they ever renew social rela.
tons, but 1t is safe guess that they
do not.
There are other incompatibilities in
"Mantrap." The pretty, slangy. fir.
tatious manicure girl from Mime.
apolis, Alverna, will never make q
contented and satisfactory wife for
the rough Canadian trader and tran.
per. Joe Easter. Joe knows it, after
year of marriage. Alverna knows
II, and Is desperately determined to
get away from Mantrap Landing.
Ralph knows 1t. after he has been q
few days at Joe casters cabin, and
tries to help matters. but succeeds
only in making the muddle worse. For
a brief moment he even thinks he
might fit Alverna into his New York
life. but the shrewd little ALLEY cat :,
who is proud of having manicure6
Jack Barrymore, disposes of his illu
sions very quickly. Then Ralph
always more or less of a visionary
really believes that in Joe Easter hi
has found a friend for lifetime and
plans for Joe's transplanting to New
York, but Joe. wisest of them all
knows better and thwarts the piaY
at the last moment. When the sad
. ness of all the good.bys is over, and
each goes q solitary way to the life
that. IL not altogether desirable. ha.
at least the advantage or accustomed
ness, we know that each of the
three Is secretly relieved to be fres
from the others. The manicure parlol
lof Minneapolis. the trading post d
Mantrap Landing. the bachelor apart
/, ment and law Office of New YorI
City, are environments SO differen,
that their human products must al
ways remain as far apart as person.
l'of different races.
II "a 10 !. ~ 1861
| One of the oldest inhabitants" 81
New York has written a book on the
city as It was in the sixties and sew
entities Mabel Osgood Wright's my
New York. !" The author Is the
daughter OF DR.. Osgood, who was fol
some years rector of the Unitarian
Church of the Messiah, on Broadway
| with "a rectory near. WASHINGTON
Square. Al day school for young girls
!, which Mrs. Wright attended on Fifth
avenue, predecessor Of the numerous
New York Finishing schools and
college preparatory schools Of later
dates, is interestingly described. A
chapter headed THE Day New York
| Stopped tells of the assassination OF
Lincoln. The Osgood family were
unusually shocked by the tragedy be.
cause Edwin Booth was their init
mate personal friend, and Wilkes
Booth himself had probably once
been to the rectory Distinctive OLD
| social customs which still fingered in
New York during the authors child
hood are woven into the account
Some of the people Of note who visit
ed the Osgood home We're George
!, William Curtis, William Cutler
Il - ...sss