Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-03
IDA GILBERT MYERS.


IN THE HEART OF SPAIN. BY
Thomas Ewing Moore. late secre'
tary in the American Diplomatic
! Service. New York: The Universal
knowledge Foundation.
Bv virtue of the historic content Of
its names-Cordova, Seville, Granada
and by way of it's natural beauty as
well, Andalusia clearly constitutes
the heart of Span,' to which travel
ers, PAINTERS, poets and prose writer's
have paid enthusiastic homage from
old Roman days up to the present
hour It is Andalusia that beckoned
Thomas Ewing Moore to joyous va
cation adventure, one that produced,
finally, an the Heart of Spain Ana
this. in turn, offers readers devoted
10 travel by way of the book route. an
ideal opportunity for an out-farIrg OF
exceptional quality. Just why "eX-
ceptonal'? Exceptional for two
prime reasons, both of which are
sourced in the nature Of the writer
himself as distinct from that whlch
we call attainments. Attachments are
common enough. A travel tempeFa'
ment is more rare. Here is, first,
zest of adventure that is also COM
rnunicabIe zest. And. next, there is
n
things. The gusto of enjoyment,
since it Is of the kind that can be
passed on, fires the reader with the
travellers own spirit The ferreting
curiosity is so directed and pointed as
to round the amazing history CT Anda-
Iusia to a summary of the essentials
of the growth of Spain itself. The
first of these, the joy OF the road, is
a spontaneous delight In everything
the wide fields of tillage; the silver
green grOwths of the slopes; the White
caps Of the mountains: the great river
with a wonderful bridge; the people
along the way, grave and courteous
people. The travellers curiosity, once
inside q great city, drives him hack
and away, even to Bible times and be-
fore, for an accounting of the motley
of races and periods that have CEN
tered here to produce, by the great
est assimilative process in all history,
the new Spain and the modern Span
lard. The history of this country, ser
down in a thousand examples or sue
Cessive civilizations, in which that or
the Moorish is most interestlng-thls
captures the Imagination or the au-
thor. And to this theme he brings MS
combined powers of learning ana eN'
perience and feeling and portrayal IN
a contamination that is dramatic in
projection and unforgettable in quail
3tv. Yet this is a very simple book.
That is, it is simple if a whole hearted
enjoyment Of his own experiences and
a ulainIv unpretentious attitude be-
fore the subject make the measure or
the undertaking. IL real substance
and a fresh outlook upon the past
make the count-even then the story
is simple, in it's straightforward, un-
involved use Of the facts OF history.
The book itself, as such, is OF admir-
able makeup, with an abundance OF
fine pictures to support parts of the
text.
CHILDREN OF DIVORCE. BY Owen
Johnson, author of Blue Blood, :"
etc. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.
It was Solomon, wasn't it, who,
upon a certain occasion proposed TO
aeuarate a, child into equal parts In
order to satisfy a couple of women,
each Of whom claimed the child as her
own? Justice appears to have fallen
off since Solomon, for, whereas THIS
wise man merely proposed the nnnat-
ural act, judges, nowadays, frequent
1y put the matter through. six
months with the father, ak months
with the mother" familiar embellish-
ment of divorce court DEGREES, Is the
form which this modern act or dis
memberment takes. And a more
brutal, more unhuman, more selfish
expedient cannot be conceived. It is
one. indeed, under which the child in
question counts not at all, except as
q, contrivance OF diabolical design
upon which to exercise the hatreds
and iealousies and cruelties of the dis
united parents. And this is but one
Of the many untoward conditions OF
suffering that make the children Of
divorce the most pitiahle, the most bit
terly d, rauded, the most irremedi-
ably in ed class Of innocents that
the rou i world holds. THE Children
of Divorce" sets the bad matter out in
full array and without exaggeration.
Indeed. the restraint of the story is
remarkable in view Of its urgent con-
tent. For the purposes of this exhibit
the author has rounded up group OF
children, boys and girls, belonging to
the parents who today are so jealous
ly engaged in playing tag with matri-
mony, where rapid SUGGESTIONS Of
You're it " indicate the easy ons and
offs of the marriage bond.
It Is a society story, for rich and
smart people nowadays appear to be
ardent advocates Of the game that
takes in Paris as a most convenient
Way.station between the on and off OF
a marital ENHANCEMENT. And here.
J In the foreground, are the children OF
/ these adroit shutters. They are just
/ like all children, sensitive to their
Z Ia 4nI lnx,
them, as the most Of these children
are, or, as in one case here, lifted To
q state Of defiance of hurt pride, OF
hatred for the institution of divorce.
! IT is around this one that the prime
interest centers, around her savage
resistance TO the evil thing in which
she is caught. Her ultimate reward
is submission to a hateful bond OF her
own making, one that she herself al
most breaks-maybe would have done
so but for the manlineSs Of another
OF the children Of divorce who, at the
last moment, proves himself a man
in spite of all the influences against
such q development. The story runs
brilliantly and 'convincingly through
the sorry theme upon which it is set
THE QUEST FOR WINTER SUN
SHINE. BY E. Phillips Oppenheim
Illustrated. Boston: Little, Brown
e. Co.
Like the expert wine faster and tea
slipper, each in his own line sensitive
80 the faintest variation in favor OF
aroma or bouquet. Mr.. Oppenhein
here for the time being lays aside
1he spinning of popular modern fables
and steps out, a connoisseur in sun
shine. All around the Mediterranean