Evening star., 1926-02-09
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
I. G. NJ.
OVER THE HILLS OF RUTHENIA.
Henry Raerlein. Rani &. LiYerirht


Henry Baerlein. Boni & Liveright.
To the most of US this fact would log.
ically set up positive barrier against
going there. Henry Baerlein Is, how.
ever, of another sort.
The Paris peace arrangements, you
recall, wiped out the Hungarian prov
fnce of Ruthenia. dividing its people,
the Ruthenes, between the Czecho-
slovak Republic and the Rumanian
Kingdom. But the everlasting hills
OF Ruthenia were left and down from
them came drifting rumors of what
under the new order these, the least
and most illiterate Of the Slav people.
were doing In the way Of coming out
from under the ancient bondage of
Magyar and Jew. The story ran that
nearly every house was a newspaper
office and every other house q school,
80 great was the zeal to revive the ma
tive speech and to get 1t out into act.
I've circulation. To be sure, both ed.
itors and teachers. so the gossips said.
knew almost nothing of the long for
hidden Ruthene tongue. But the spirit
was working robustly out through the
many obliterating years. All this to
Mr. Baerlein was important and inter-
esting. He reasoned. no doubt, that
since 1t Is the most exciting Of things
to see man rebuild himself to q finer
pattern, how much more inspiring
would 1t be to see whole people. how
ever small, cooperate to the same
laudable end.
u II + X
And SO this traveller went to where
Ruthenia used to be, to where the hills
of RutheniA still are. And as he
walked the old ways he sympathized
with the land and wondered If when
she hears the wind that murmurs in
her million oaks or feels those great
horned oxen ploughing up her ruddy
SOIL she may not remember with un-
easiness that on the ordinary map Of
Europe there Is no Ruthenia." At
once, you see here a traveller whose
understandings and kinships are not
confined to the human alone. These
spread out instead to take In the SOIL
the trees. the animals. the full spirit
OF the land In their natural feelings Of
strangeness under a new order 1t is
such ready response coupled with
fancy and playfulness and q deep JOY
In every simple and natural thing that
makes OF this book q full and COM
municable adventure to the reader.
You should at once be told positively
that which, from this glimpse of the
traveller himself. you have without
doubt already OWNED. After going
along with him you will have nothing
statistical to pack away for future
use. In your budget there will be very
little or such fact as can be measured
described. analyZed and then classi
ned into neat pens of ready access and
reassuring accuracy. Mr.. Baerlein is
not that kind OF truth getter. Indeed
he goes along planless, apparently
much as you and 1 would. He stops
when the rude means of transporta.
ton do. either because they have ar
rived or have broken down. 1t is all
the same to him. a definite arrival
seems to be no more desirable than an
accidental pause. For In either case
there is companionship-th driver of
the conveyance. or a strolling peddler
with tray OF wares hung around his
neck. or a group Of peasants deeply
engaged In controversy over what. the
weather will be tomorrow or some
equally unsolvable trifle. And these
are just what this traveller came out
to see. For these are the Ruthenes,
and this Is what used to be Ruthenia
y X
And there was katarina. Have
you prepared a nice bed. katarina ?"
said the host. "All is ready" answered
Katarina. And opening the door she
showed me room where, from the
noises. at least five were sleeping.
Very full" said I. Let us go on"
But you must look at them," said
who was in the best of
humor. There on sofa and bed and
floor were the nights dodgers. Re-
this queer traveller that he'd
be very lonely by himself, Katarina
reluctantly led him away. Yes, but
1t is as cold as possible and how nice
and warm 1t was In there. The win.
dow is well bolted. though 1t is not
nailed down. as they do it in Galicia."
And then we came to where 1 was
to sleep. 1t was a theater-that fS to
say, large and oblong room, which
ended in stage. It was bitingly
cold. Good Katarina even went
so far as to propose that. If my feet
were cold IN bed, she would be willing
to come In and chafe them. Thereupon
she left me. but not long after came
back to inquire If. happily, my feet
were warm. She was astonished that
l had not gone to bed; and she ad.
vised me strongly to undress. AS l
undressed myself the faithful kata.
rina did not this time leave the room,
nor did she gaze through half.closed
lashes, like furtive sun; no, she was
like the sun throned in a cloudless
sky, which gazed with the downright
ness OF a Buddha or of small child.
When I had climbed gingerly into bed
this admirable woman took my feet
and started rubbing them. There was
no chair for her to sit upon and so
she settled down upon the bed itself.
If she had been reduced to, say, a
tenth of her own size she would have
much resembled one of those kind
Baroque angels who support the feet
of the stone kings and steadfast
bishops lying on their sepulchers. And
she endeavored zealously to rub away
the stoniness Of mine"
And everybody Is talking about the
new day that has come to the Ru.
themes. Nicholai. the peddler; and the
and all the customers
In spick-and-span new restaurant
and the peasantry, all are talking to-
gether on topics that can never draw
to a conclusion. And the traveller
listens, sometimes prompting to for
gotten lines or reviving a theme that
Is dying out for lack of sustenance.
Yes. there Is a good deal that re-
mains to be done"-the schoolmaster
talking. THE Ruthenes live In such
dirt. good many Of them, and that is
the first thing we ought to see to-"
And then the story drifts off to Amer
lean help to this region-all Of it en-
thusiastic and generous, some Of It
clearly absurd.
X X X X
When the traveller and Nicholai de.
cided to go UP into the forest region,
there was CONSERVATION in the little
village below. And low-voiced stories
grew Of unfriendly animals that would
bar their way. But we also learned,
for several people most mysteriously
drew US aside and told US about it,
that the dark recesses Of the forest
region were the haunts of an extreme
ly active and malicious sprite-a sort
Of goblin. However, the good people
had not uselessly made us aware Of