Evening star., 1927-08-28
IDA GILBERT MYERS.


exactly what he puts into 1t.
] ANYBODY does in any under
4 taking. Blair Niles took with
him down TO Haiti as his really
considerable luggage-tlrSt. Keen III
,erest in dim trails of human HE as
o@a;nst the open and dusty highways.
frbe faint paths lead to the Garner
man. derived from this root or tilal
one. but still close enough 10 the
ground to show the first groWths ol
a later and greatly changed eA-
istence. lie has, besides, a Keen scent
for the trail of the primitive and a
doored resistance to it's alloys of ques'
tinnable progress and aped sophlstlca-
lions His ewes, moreover, are gwen
TO the making Of pictures-groupinss
so comDosed and related as to pro1ect
reality in a beautiful artistry. Some
thing of a poet, and certainly me
dramatist. stand behind the eye pho-
Biography of his compositions. Both
Of these start out with Blair Niles on
this expedition. Even before the ad-
venture is really on its way these TWO
are busy with the man running the
lift in Niles apartment mousse SEA
captain for the moment out OF COM
mand. 1t was the four OF them
Niles the captain, the poet and the
terprise to key SO joyous as TO en-
list to a going along any one VINO
= reads the first page and half OF TINS
oersonal account. You'll not Tor
minute consider staying at home after
such initial reading. Once down IN
Haiti we never waste minute WIN
the white folks there. since the opJect
is TO get close to the black folks-to
find out, if may be, what is 9olnS on
in their minds and from what lai
sources these elementary thoughts
and age-old feelings have come. SO,
we follow our leader about INTO
strange places and in dark hours for
the sake of some relic of an ancient
rite that responds to a human nature
inconceivably older than any CIVIL
zation of which we are aware. Wher-
over the black man is nearest hlmseH
down there, there we go-to games
and playtime, to religious gatherings
of superstitious cast, to the chantlngS
and the singings of the old African
songs. Everything and anything that
can contribute. much or little, to the
single purpose of this adventure, that
of gathering up the black man oil
Haiti in his essence and being, In his
pathetic and picturesque racial loneh-
ness, every such point of illumination
is captured and presented in this
clearly dramatic and sympathetic
story of a mans search for AFRICA 5
Eldest Daughter"
THE CRIME AT DIANA'S POOL.
Bv Victor l.. Whitechurch. author
of "The Bishop Out of Residence.
etc. New York. Duffield & Co.
A MOTHER man murdered AT a
garden party, too. And, when you
come to think of it this particular
form of festivity offers opportunity for
a good many things not set down on
the program So many people that,
with the will to act, almost anything
might happen. There are the county
folks and their retainers-this is an
English fete-villagers and tradespeo-
ple and all in j beautifully democratic
assemblage. In this case there were
musicians brought down from LONDON.
There was a brand-new butler, too.
And for that matter there was an
equally new owner of The Pleas
aunce at Coppleswick, the scene of
the holiday doings. The party set
off i'm a fine guS<D Ths hugesgrounds
we're beautiful. Even the reader has
a JOYOUS sense of actual partaking in
the gayety and good will. Then. when
il was all over, Felix Nayland himself.
the new master at The Pleasaunce,
was found at Diana's Pool-murdered.
From this time forward the reader
has as good a chance as any one to
take a hand in the business of trailing
crime and discovering the criminal.
For, beyond the first chapter which
we have just read. the author and
the reader are in equal straits as 10
which way to turn, since Mr.. Whlte-
church takes the reader into his con-
fidence. submitting this theory, or that
suggestion, in a somewhat spreading
choice OF clue and trail. This Is
good plan, since it makes one feel
that he is not only hunting down
criminal but that he is also con-
structing a mystery story under the
easy partnership Of one who has
written novels before, interesting ones.
too
PA: THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY.
BY Margaret Ashmun, author of
''ropless Towers" etc. New York;
= The Macmillan Co.
6 sHEY?' The old man twisted
II about in his chair. holding
to his ear the curve of red and
swollen hand" so the story opens.
That's Pa.
Hey The old man twisted in
his chair, holding to his ear the curve
of a red and swollen hand" and so
the story ends. That's the head OF
the family.
In between these two poin rads
the story of a family-a VI a
family, some may in a lar" .nclu-
sion declare it to be. In either case
it is a head-on rush at the very body
of the dearest of traditions. The
church and the family have held out
Stanchly against the fiippancies OF
unbelief and contumely; especially has
the family done this. Amy aSpersions
from any source cast against this
institution have caused immediate up
rear of loud denial, of shocked sensi-
bilties. Sometimes a suspicion dawns
that the clamor may be one with con-
cealment as its aim, not one of
righteous denial. Margaret Ashmun's S
story is a terrible one. Instinctively
one shapes his mouth to a vehement
denial. Still, a bare denial means
nothing at all Instead, getting into
some perfectly known family as a
means of refutation is a better plan.
AS for me, ] honestly sit down to
think about some families Il have
known" as the authors say. Better
families. too, in native stock and op
portunity and training than the one
presented IN PA" There. in every
case. / see Pa and Ma ard the chill
dren-unselishly devoted. friendly
gracious in manner and word? Oddly
enough, at such close range one finds
oh, well, you finish this. I'm not go
ing TO. I'm no candidate for public
chastisement for light treatment OF
our most deeply cherished illusion
You look around for yourself. In the
meantime, you will find that with the
material in hand Margaret Ashmur
has turned off a terrible bit of com
plete realism The whole question
turns on the fact that long before the