Evening star., 1926-10-14
Tne, Familiar With Best of Literature and Art Keen Studentof
alone on his throne. sidled UP to
him and Hyo fal1xod-hOOkG

alone on his throne. 1 sidled up TO
him, and we talked-books.
He is a well read man. Reports to
this effect are not press" He has
read omniverously, with leaning to-
ward heavy stuff. Readers, speaking
generally, are mainly interested either
in narrative, in facts or in ideas. Tun-
ney belongs to the third class
When we spoke Of Huge's lies Mis-
erables," one of his enthusiasms, he
glowed not over the story, but over
the allegory in it-man caught in a
wheel. "The Way of All Flesh" ap-
pealed to him not for its story, but
for it's original philosophy.
II did read a good deal of Dumas
when 1 was a young boy" he said,
almost apologetically, as though he
had been confessing to dime novels.
In the face of all this, he did not try
to explain his liking for Jeffrey Far
mol; we just let it go as inconsistency.
Magazines and magazine fiction he
ignores; there are too many books
to read yet" he said. On the history
Of a half a dozen eras, including the
Roman Empire. he seems to have
read everything standard. He has
even his specialty-the history of re-
ligions. Indeed, he began his serious
reading after that.
Down in Greenwich Village when
l was boy. The doctor in our row
Of houses had a big library. He used
to lend me books, and I acquired the
habit of going in evenings to hear
him and his circle debate. The talk
turned usually on religion. The doc
tor had been brought up a strict
Methodist, but he'd drifted into ag-
nosticism.
His Faith in First Cause.
There was a chemist, too-a very
brilliant man. He believed he was
on his way to the secret of transmit
ing elements. He was a committed
atheist, The third man was a good,
devout believer. They'd argue half
the night, and I'd sit there never
putting in a word, just listening. 1t
struck me as curious that the chemist,
who knew so much about the wonder
of the elements couldn't see that
there must be first cause.
But I felt 1t was important to
understand what this was all about
the basis of things-see! / read every
book the doctor had on the history of
religions-and every book / could get
out Of the public library. But
stopped that, finally. 1 made up my
mind that there were certain myster-
les, not intended for us to KNOWN
this life at least. 1 believe that. And
I believe in miracles"
Modern miracles?"
ooh, yes; here and today. For eX-
ample, there's the case Of a man with
a running sore. He prayed at the
shrine of st. Anne de Beaupre. and it
dried up at once. 1 have that from
x11,x 90 r
examined the case before and after,
and he isn't a liar. More things are
wrought by prayer than this world
dreams of. That Tennyson doesn't
get credit in his day for the poet he
was-not the highest poetry, perhaps,
but very clean and musical. =.
It's like that disposition in the sophis-
ticated younger set to laugh at
Shakespeare"
Wants to Learn French Well.
1t was history after that. Tunney
appears to be one of the few moderns
who has read Gibbons Decline and
Fall of the Roman Empire" clear
through. He didn't like it; in his
mood of a renewed faith, it struck
him as grossly unfair to Christianity.
But it was a jumping-off place.
InrOugn the pOnderOuS tones OF his
tory we rambled to the French au-
thors of the eighteenth century, stop
ping for an argument on Rousseau.
Tunney maintained that it had been
better for the world if Jean Jacques
had never lived and written. I con-
tended that, inasmuch as he helped
bring on the French Revolution, he
served his age. Tunney couldn't see
that-his mental vision was focused
on the excesses of the guillotine and
the Feast of Reason"
If you read French. you'll forgive
him for his STYLE" 1 said.
II don't read French, WELL" he
said, "but when my championship
is gone, that's the thing I intend to
do--go to France for a year and per-
feet myself in the language so that
I may enjoy the literature"
We rambled to art. He spent most
of his Paris leaves in the Louvre, and
calls Leolardo da Vinci his favorite
painter. MuSic--aS a young clerk he
used to stand in line from 4 O'Clock
Saturday afternoons in order to get a
50cent seat in the front row of the
gallery. His ineffaceable memory of
those days>is Caruso in "Pagliacci."
He has even taken a wirl at SYM
phony. We veered to cotemporary