Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-05
By the BookLorer.

Congressional activities. legislative
and social, do not seem to interest the
American novelist, as the correspond
ing parliamentary activities interest
the British novelist We have no such
congressional novels as the parlia-
mentary series of Anthony Trollope-
"Phineas Finn" ''Phineas Dedux" and
THE Prime Minister" Later than
Trollope, Mrs. Humphrey Ward wrote
many novels In which members OF
Parliament are prominent characters,
the best of which are "Marcella" and
its equal, "Sir George Tressady."
Many of the foremost British novel
lists writing today are sufficiently IA
miliar with parliamentary life and
sufficiently interested in it so that
they give accurate and entertaining
portrayals of 1t In their novels. III. g.
Wells, John Galsworthy, Arnold Ben
nett are examples. If we wish to
see Congress in fiction. we must go
to such writer's as Harvey Ferguson,
Countess GisZyka. or perhaps Samuel
Hopkins Adams. Why does not one of
our first-rate novelists, say Joseph
Hergesheimer, write a contemporary
congressional novel? Hergesheimer
could do it well. One of his best
novels, "Balisand," is a political novel
of the Jeffersonian period.
X " y
In Arnold BENEFITS novel Lord
Raingo," though one man is the center
of the story, and he Is but the head
Of one Of the wartime mushroom
ministries" there are excellent por-
trayals of a war prime minister and
various members Of his cabinet.
There are breakfasts and conferences
at number 10 Downing street: there
Is great speech on a man-power bill
In the House Of Commons. Andrew
Clyth, prime minister, is "the off
spring of the Scotch father and the
Irish mother" and has a "lanKy.
scraggy, slim figure" with big ears,
cruel teeth that displayed themselves
formidably when he laughed or
smiled" and darling yellowish eyes.
so he is not Lloyd George, but some
of his policies suggest that real war
statesman. We also meet in this
novel Tom Hogarth, minister of NUM-
lions; Hasper Clews, chancellor OF the
exchequer; 81 Jenkin, Labor M. p.
and minister without portfolio: and
Lord Oekleford, lord president Of the
council. Lord Raingo Is little out
side the inner circle. He is made
minister of records and elevated to the
peerage, to avoid the necessity of his
contesting an election, merely because
Andrew Clyth wants some one he can
depend upon in his coalition ministry
and Sam Raingo and Andy Clyth
have been boys together, in Eccles.
Manchester.
Belonging to the history of the past
rather than that Of the present, My
Early Life" by William II, ex-Em-
peror of Germany, recalls the days
when Germany was still a great world
power. In his retreat at Doom the
former Kaiser seems to have accepted
his fate OF exile more calmly and
than did that other
leader of lost cause, Napoleon, at
st. Helena. Physical exercise, read
ing and writing make up his daily life
really a very pleasant sort of life,
given luxury and attractive surround
ings. In this memoir William III
writes affectionateiy of his parents,
the Emperor Frederick III and En-
press Victoria, who ruled for only a
brief three months, and his grand
old Emperor William I and
Empress Augusta, all of whom seem
to have exercised considerable In
f1uence over his youth. He was also
very fond of his maternal grand
mother. Queen Victoria, whom he often
visited at Windsor and Balmoral. He |
expresses admiration and gratitude
for DIR. Hinzpeter, the pedagogue who |
had charge of his instruction. from |
childhood days to the university. The
supposed enemies of the former, Kai |
ser, Bismarck and his son Herbert,
are not denounced as perhaps might
have been expected, but the difference
In policy between Bismarck and VIII
liam III which led to dropping the
pilot" are explained. 4
~ n u * X
Anticipation, realization and recol,
lection of the visit of Queen Marie of
Rumania to the United States have all
to the numerousness of
the books recently published on
and Its Queen. Marie OF
Rumania: the Intimate Story of the
Queen" by Mabel Potter
Daggett, is an admiring, ELUSIVE |
story by one who spent some days as
the guest of Queen Marie in Rumania,
motored with her. walked in her gar
dens with her, visited with her alone, |
was admitted to the pages of the |
secret diary. Mrs. Daggett tells Of q |
girlhood love affair of Queen Marie |
with her cousin, now George v of |
England, which was broken off by |
Marie's mother because King George |
was then only a second son and Ma |
RE was destined for queenship. The |
story Of Marie's courtship and mar |
rage to Ferdinand. then Crown Prince |
of Rumariia, Is also told with some |
detail. My . WHnderings in the |
by Dudley Heathcote, de- |
votes considerable attention to Ru- |
mania, its capital, Bucharest, often |
called Petit Paris" and fits popular |
queen. The author was received by |
Queen Marie in the castle of Bran and |
talked with her regarding Rumanian |
Internal policies. The social life and |
customs of Bucharest interest Mr.. /
Heathcote and he thinks that many of |
the vices OF Paris have been adopted |
and exaggerated while Partisan vir. |
tues have been left "by the wayside."
X Il X X
A valuable reference book on negro |
history. sociology and economics Is |
THE Negro in American Life" by |
Jerome Dowd. Mr.. Dowd Is profess |
sor of sociology in the University of |
has worked with the inter !
racial commission of Oklahoma. and |
has spent many years in studying the |
negro. both personally and as a prob. |
em. TI!s book is full of data and ex-
pert testimony on the anthropology,
biology, psychology and sociology of |
The negro. Where there are disputed |
1uestions-and this is usually the |
gives evidence and testimony |
On both sides. For example, he |
quotes eminent authorities to support |
the view that the black race is inferior |
10 the white, and others equally emf
nent who hold that, with equal op-
the black race can rise
as high as the white. He is similarly |
twosided in his discussion of the
questions of amalgamation, coloniza.
ton, segregation and civil equality.
~ \. Lez ArA1 k~Ao