Evening star., 1926-03-13
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the BOokLouer.

writer's and its readers in all ages.
Some story tellers are inevitable ro
mancers, like Dumas, Scott ana
Stevenson. Others are occasional, ex'
perirnental romancers. who try ro-
nance as one of many possible literary
forms. OF the former are RAfael
Sabatini, father of innumerable ro'
mances. and George A. Birmingham,
who is really Canon Hannay, author
of Spanish Gold" OF the latter class
is Stephen Vincent Benet, who has re-
Gently attempted romance in Spanish
Bayonet."
The most recent romance OF q. A.
birmingham. "The Lady of the AID
bev," is of the prisoner Of Zenda"
type. It centers about the restoration
of the legitimate heir to the throne
Of Karnonia, a. small Balkan kingdom.
Probably the choice of scene is que 10
the fact that Canon Hannay has or
late been a professor at Budapest. The
legitimate King of this fictitious king
dom is a boy, son of the former King
and the daughter of q Chicago million
aire, The former King Of Karnonia
had not known his own mind during
the World War, or at least had tried
alliances with both sides In the com
bat, with the result that at the peace
conference he found himself without a
throne. He solved his problem by
diving, but his widow was not the
daughter Of old 81 Hook of chicago
for nothing. She applied her heredl
tary ability to the recovery OF the
throne Of Karnonia for her son. The
efforts Of this ambitious mother and
their results make farce of political
and social intrigue. Among the per
sonages interested in assisting SophY
to nut her son on the throne Is the
Abbess Irene, who gives the title t0
the romance.
Stephen Vincent Benet's romance
"Spanish Bayonet," belongs to the pc.
riod of the American Revolution and
is located In New York and Florida
Andrew Beard, going to Florida for his
health. in the days when real estate
had not vet developed there. stays on
the indigo plantation OF his father
friend. DR.. Csentian. Andrew soon pe
gins to suspect evil mystery benino
the obvious life of the plantation
whose owner IS exploiting laborefS
from Greece, italy and Minorca. Sen
sation after sensation develops. !nclud
ing black magic. sadism, a blooo-ieuu
a secret staircase. a JUDAS nole,
shootings and stabbings and tnrlii
ing escape Finally Andrew. WIFE
health presumably improved by all MS
experiences, returns to New YORK
after the battles of Concord and Lex
ington. to take his part in the Revolu
tionary War.
The life OF Lincoln up to the time
when he left Springfield. Ill, to be
come President of the United states
is told with both scholarship and po
etfc emotional visor by Carl Sandbure
in his biography Abraham Lincoln
the Prairie Years" Perhaps one rea
son for the very sympathetic treat
ment. full Of historical imagination, Il
that Lincoln's section of the Unlte'
States is also Carl Sandburg's. In TIM
biography. planned for many years
the poet is interested in Lincoln th'
country lawyer. the prairie politician
the maker of stories, the stalking ant
elusive Lincoln" who would have beei
worth writing about had he neVe
been President. Amy Lowell turne'
hiocrapher lust before her death ant
now Carl Sandburg has proved MN
self especially able in the field OF o'
osraphy. VIII other American poet
follow their example?
\ =
DR.. Vernon Kellogg, secretary O
the National Research Council, has II
the March Worlds Work a strikln;
article entitled Some Things Sclenc'
Doesn't Know" a thorough goint
evo,,tionist and the author of perhap
the best popular book on evolution
Or. Kellogg reaffirms that there is ac
cumulating proof of evolution, includ
ing more proof of the evolution o
man, but he admits that the old ex
plantations of evolution do not explain
| II. so that biologists face two ma jo
biological mysteries, the origin of lif
and the controlling causes of evolu
ton. Other present mysteries of hu
man biology include the conscious
ness of human beings, their altruisti
emotions and actions going beyond al
biological advantage, their imagina
ton and. above all, their spirit o.
soul" other striking passages in tht
most interesting article include tn
following: Science has not enlighten
ed me TO any satisfactory degree
about my consciousness or my con
science: nor, and perhaps this Is TIL
question I put to II most often ant
most insistently and most want an
swered whether I have an immorta
soul or not. What does science
have to say to us about immortality
The answer is. in effect nothing Blu
whether this ends the hunlan-or fol
that matter the plant or animal in
dividuality--science does not know
. Science may be truth and 81
may religion. Science and religion
coexist. Both are realities in human
life. They should not be looked on a,
antagontstic or as displacing each
other. They should be looked on al
complementary. A full human life in
cludes both. depends on both. The
cause of things may. he called God
the manner of things science. Science
has never explained ultimate causes
Primal being and ultimate be
coming are beyond the purview OF
science. They are truly somethine
that science doesn't know, and very
much doubt will ever know"
r X +
The real aristocracy of the United
States is to be found west of NORTH
Platte, Nebr.. according to Mrs. Kath
arine Fullerton Gerould of Princeton
She proves her thesis, at least al
Westerners will believe that she does
In her book. "The Aristocratic West.
She is at great pains to emphasize the
fact that she does not include thu
Middle West In her aristocratic sec
ton: on the contrary, she consider.
the Middle West the home Of the com
| monplace, of self-righteous "up
lift campaigns. and of governmental
| fallacles. Among the Far Westerner,
Mrs. Gerould finds dignity, self.re
spect. respect for the rights of others
courage, honesty, chivalry. She doe
admit. however. that the Far West
erner Is usually something of A. bras
CART. but, then, he has g. country wortl
Dragging about. Southern Californi;
is excluded from the trans Rock,
Mountain arfstocracy. Los Angeles
she scorns as no Western city at all
but.a heterogeneous mixture Of ali ele
| ments to be found In the Unite,