Evening star., 1927-11-05
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the BookI0rer

brother. Branweli. has been pur-
chased by Sir James Roberts. a former
worker in the Haworth mills. and pre-
Sented Ia the Bronte Society as mu-
scum. The rectory is at the top of
the hlackened town of HawOrth. which
struggles up steep hill from the
valley where lie the factories. sending
forth heavy. black smoke. On one
side it overlooks the churchyard. dark
and damp and packed with tomb
stones. and on the other the open
mOorS where the three Bronte sisters
walked alone or together. finding their
only outlet from the gloomy life of the
home. The reCtory stands in it's own
garden, surrounded by wall and a
hedge, in one side of which was for
merly Il gate, through which the
bodies of Emily and Charlotte were
carried to the churchyard.
y 4
The present Bronte Museum occu.
pies two rooms on the second floor of
The Yorkshire Penny Bank. on one
side of the narrow, crooked, hilly
street running through the center of
the town. Several thousand people
visit it every year, most of them Amer
leans. A caretaker renders desultOry
service. The BooklOver had difficulty Y
two years ago. after a long journey to
visit the museum, in finding this per
Sonage. and could secure his attend.
ance to unlock the museum only after
he had finished his tea The little
museum contains many interesting
objects. such as Charlotte's wedding
journey bonnet and gown, the collar
of Emily's dog, locks of hair of the
sisters, walking sticks of Rev. Patrick
Bronte. letters, manuscripts of stories
and plays. and paintings by the sis.
ters and BranWell. When the new
museum in the rectory is opened it is
10 receive the Bronte books and manu-.
scripts left to the Brontc Society by
IL. III. Eonncil of Philadelphia.
In finishing the reading of H. A. T..
Fishers James Bryce" an altogether
delightful experience, the feelings of
the reader are not so much amaze.
ment at his intellect and learning and
his multifarious achievements, but
rather satisfaction at knowing throush h
his biography man apparently so
completely fortunate and happy. Al
most everything good which life has
to give came TO him. He was born
with an iron constitution, since he
-.
He was endowed with a strong and
serviceable brain, and spent his long
life learning and teaching. lie was
happy in his wife. who, in addition to
being an intellectual and spiritual
companion and his comrade on his
travels, often read to him and acted
as his secretary. He was happy in
the degree of his material fortune,
neither too large nor too small, so
that he was immune from business
anxieties. He was happy in his par
ents. his whole family, and in a host
OF devoted friends scattered all over
the world, and free from personal sor-
rows. lie achieved distinction as an
oxford professor. as a member both
Of the House of Commons and the
House of Lords, and as Amba ssador
to the United States He ranks high
as a writer. especially in the fields of
travel and political science, in which
his Holy Roman Empire" and "The
American Commonwealth" stand as
classics. He travelled so widely that
few corners of the world esca ped him,
and everywhere studied. not simply
art, architecture and archaeology, but
peoples. governments and institutions,
geology and botany. Born in Ireland
of Scottish parents and living most of
his life in England, he Travelled so
widely that he was justified in claim
ing to be IA citizen of the world. -
Happy in life, he was happy in his
death. A few days before his death,
at SO years of age, he walked s
miles over hilly country. On the last
day he was busy writing an article on
a phase of Homeric studies. Late in
fha pVnninu nj hfc nj NJ
country place, he went out as usual to
look at the stars, and a few, hours
after died quietly in sleep. OF him
his b:ographer says: For the vani-
ties and luxuries of the world he cared
nothing. A pipe, a book. walk. or,
better still. stiff climb, plunge into
any water. salt or fresh. which might
be available-these were his chief
pleasures: these and the unending pur.
suit of knowledge"
~ * X
II. NJ Tomlinson, author of the
novel, Gallons Reach" and the travel
essays. Tide Marks" "The Sea and
the Jungle" and Gifts of Fortune" ;"
was a clerk in a London shipping
office. where he acquired thorough
Of the business of shipping.
without knowing the sea itself or the
foreign lands to- which the ships of
the company sailed. Being a roman
ticist, he became dissatisfied with
mere shipping office details and al
lowed his imagina ton to wander with
the ships that entered and left the port
of London. Then imagination failed
to satisfy him, and he left the office
and himself went to sea. He visited
India. the Malay Peninsula and South
America, and discovered. like Conrad
under similar circumstances, that he
could write Though Gallons Reach"
can hardly be compared with 'Ty.
phoon." "Almayer's Folly" THE Mig
ger of the Narcissus" or 1.-The Res
cue" ii is more than usually dra-
matte romance of the sea and exotic
lands. The title is taken from the
rame Of portion Of the Thames
water front near the Limehouse
quarter.
Unknown rivers and iungles were
seen probably for the first time by DIR.
William Montgomery McGovern on a
recent expedition to the country of the
upper Amazon. He has described some
of his findings in Jungle Paths and
Inca Ruins" Like the expeditions of
Governs explora tions We're for scien-
tific purposes. He brought back rec
ords and cases of specimens, though
some valuable ones were lost when a
canoe overturned. But adventure was
combined with science and gives the
book a quality OF romance. Vicious
little savages who might have been
blood brothers of the Malays in Conan
Boyle's "Sign of the Four" shot poi.
soned darts through blowpipes. Drugged
medicine men prophesied
events. Anacondas of almost
fabulous length and thickness slowly
dragged themselves along dark river
banks or over the trunks of fallen
trees. Indian tribes initiated the trav-
eler into their mysteries. To visit
Inca ruins DIR. McGovern crossed the
Andes on muleback. and was a wit
ness OF the opening up of buried
city containing many valuable Inca
remains