Evening star., 1926-06-19
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the BOokLOVer.

stalls in Devonshire towns on the edge
OF Exmoor two novels usually stand
side by side. One is, of course, Lorna
Dcone," for nearly every one who
visits the Doone Valley needs to re-
fresh his memory OF the stirring story
Of the terrible Doones and the beauti-
full kidna ped Lorna. The other, by an
author. who was very popular in the
mid.Victorian period. is less we'll
known than BlackmOres romance of
the times of the Stuarts. Yet "kater-
felto," by G. j. Whyte.MelvilIe, is
equally full of the atmosphere OF Ex-
moor, and reading OF 1t undoubt edly
adds to ones pleasure in going about
the moorland places. "ksterfelto" is
romance of later historical age
than Lorna Doone." the reign Of
George III. The action starts in Lon
don with a. braWl In a tavern In Co
vent Garden in which a man was
killed, but II shifts quickly to ExmOor
and there continues for most of the
course of the narrative. Katerfelto
is charlatan. whose silent, shuttered
house in Deadman's Alley, London, is
tne scene or many strange events and
encounters. Here John Garnet the
hero land a hero OF the real. old fash
ioned kind staggers on the night
when he has killed with a sword
thrust a Mr.. Gale at the Covent Gar
den tavern. This unfortunate occur
renee, for the duel in which he killed
his opponent had been forced on Gar
net, starts a chain of dangerous ad-
ventures for the hero, during which
his life on more than one occasion
hangs by the proverbial thread. AS
the romance Is an orthodox one, he
comes through everything safely and
q Isi inG M hnn F,,l
last chapter. His experiences at the
house in Deadman's Alley. where Ka.
terfelto brings him back to life only
to establish a lien on his future, and
where he meets the wild gypsy girl
Walf, form from the prelude to his
adventures on and around the. Ex.
moor.
These adventures of John Garnet
begin when he holds up the coach Of
Lord BellingeT on Marlborough
Downs. For an honest man, Garnet
is forced into a good number of dis
honest situations. He goes into hid
ing at Porlock Bay. an arm of the
Severn Sea. or Bristol Channel. 1t
was on his return over the moor from
Porlock market that John Ridd' s
father was slain by the Doones. Here
John Garnet passes many days. hid
ing among these western wilds till
the indignation of the government
had blown over. the hue and cry be-
come somewhat dulled" He is
| obliged to exercise his good gray
horse, which he has named "Kater-
felto," after the charlatan, on the
sands a midnight. because the hand
some gray coat and long name are
t,< ren L
| man of his habits could not remain
courage from impunity. he would
leave his humble lodgings betimes TO
| wander about the neighborhood.
drinking in its beauty, making him
self familiar with every winding
| coombe, darkling forest and stretch
ing moof-land for half score of miles
around. Here he meets Nelly
Carew. Here he fingers too long and
almost falls into the hands of his
enemies. who are plotting his death
almost but not quite. The climax of
interest of this really thrilling ro.
| nance is description Of stag hunt
on Exmoor. where today the Devon
and Somerset stag hounds hunt the
| red deer as they have for over 800
years. The hunt in "katerfelto"
starts near Porlock and the stag is
brought to bay at Watersmeet, above
Lynmouth, nearly 20 miles from
the starting point. Facing his death
in the deep wild glades and rocky
Glens of beautiful Watersmeet. the
stag seems undaunted still and nnde-
feated. as when fresh from his leafy
| lair, bold and triumphant he spurned
the red mountain heather on the moor
! by Cloutsham Ball" Following the
CT q &c he
hunting of John Garnet on his gray
katerfeltO by Abner Gale on his
black Cassock. over the rolling
moors, through hogs, down into deep
coombes. across rushing streams and
| up steep banks. all in a binding snow
storm. Parsor Gale pursues John Gar
net. to avenge his brothers death:
but the quarry escapes. through the
help of his brave horse Katerfelto
and the wild gypsy girl waif.
X
W. B. Maxwell, in his essays published
under the title Life shows him.
self TO be a keener and more sympa-
thetic interpreter of women than the
late w. L. George. who long advertised
himself as a leading expoSitor Of the
feminine, Mr.. Maxwell disclaims any
unusual knowledge of women. in fact
he doubts the possibility of any
mans possessing 1t. He says: 1t may
be that men are not intended to under.
stand women. Perhaps, after all, there
is not such a. great deal to know
about them. and some OF that may
not be worth knowing. Obviously
they do not fully understand them
selves" A husband of the kind Mr.
Maxwell prescribed would he salts
factory to the most exacting woman
Compared with men. women are self
reliant, selfcontained; and there are
few things we can do for them that
are of any real use to them. Perhaps
the only certain thing Is being kind
to them. On the rare occas ssion
when they seem to ask for help, one
should abandon any other task OIL
thought and spring to help them. Ii
Is unkind to suppose that any labor
of your own can be more important
Yes. / said that man cannot do
very much for a woman; but there
are scarcely limits to what a woman
can do for a. man. She will go or
believing in him when all others have
lost faith in him, and by her belief
will save him from the immense
She can keep him alive when the
whole world thinks him dead"
y X \
ACossack general has written long
historical novel, of over 500 pages
covering the period Of the reign OF
Nicholas II of Russia, the Great
War and the Russian Revolution
From Double Eagle to Red Flag" by
Gen. p. n. kra ssnoff, was published
in Russia about five years ago and
has been since translated into German
and English. Though Gen. Krassnoff
Is hardly to be considered a great
literary artist. his picture OF this
tragic period. so crowded with events
Is both interesting and valuable. A
young officer in the Imperial Guards
is the central figure. His devotion to
the Emperor and the old regime. his