Evening star., 1927-05-07
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By The Booklorer


sets fiction trilogy of life in that
period. The first two volumes were
THE Bridal Wreath" and "The Mis-
tress of Husaby" When Ulf Haldors-
son, steward of Kristin Lavaransdatter
and foster-father to her sons, is
forced by the brothers of Jardtrud
Herbransdatter to marry her, the form
of wedding prescribed by custom in
the Dale is followed, notwithstanding
the circumstances. kristln and her
husband, Erlend, insist upon this and
announce that they will hold this
wedding in every wise as though he
were our brother" So friends and
kinsmen from all the parishes about
are hidden, the two priests from
Olav's church are there and the old
priest, Sira Erik, blesses the house
and bed, and the feasting and ale
drinking last until late at night, when
the women escort the bride to the loft
above the hearth-room. Ulf deeds to
his bride the customary morning
gift" and extra gift" On visit to
Kvam to settle a question of some dis
puted land, Erlend Eikulausson and
Simon Andresson are involved in a
braWl with the other contestants and
Simon kills Holmgeir Preseason. For
this he is obliged to apply to the war
den of his parish for ''grace-deed,"
permitting him to remain at home un-
molested until his case is brought to
judgment, for If he is pronounced
guilty his offense is punishable with
outlawry. Kristin Lavransdatter Is
the victim of foul SANDER, brought
upon her by the desertion of her self.
ish, willful husband. who goes off to
live alone on his ramshackle farm at
Haugen in Dovre. Her child is born
and sickens and dies, yet Erlend does
not return to her. The evil story goes
from mouth to mouth that the child's
father is Ulf, kristins trusted stew
ard. The charge is brought before
Bishop Halvard when he comes north
on visitation through the dale. Then,
according to custom, Kristin must
''clear herself of the sIander by oath
with compurgators, that is, five WON.
en- of high repute must take oath, not
to the facts of the case, but to their
knowledge of the honor and standing
Of the accused and their belief that
she is telling the truth.
X y X
When little Andres, the child of
Simon Darre and nephew of Kristin
Lavransdatter, is desperately i'll and
all kristin's remedies do no good,
although she Is the most skilled
leech-woman Of the Dale, she goes by
night to the churchyard and with a
dagger cuts a turf from grave,
thrusts into the earth as payment her
grandmother's betrothal ring, gold
heired for three generations, carries
the turf in a linen cloth to the sick
child and lays it across his breast. and
with the dawn burns the turf The
child recovers, but Kristin always car
ries guilty conscience because Of
this magic, this traffic with the devil.
The black plague Is brought to Nida.
ros on a vessel which comes into its
harbor. Hundreds of the population
die and, anic-stricken, some Of the
ignorant who still live turn to a su-
perStttious rite in the effort to escape
a horrible fate. There is an old be-
lief that the death.goddess Hell could
be pacified by the offering at the
graveyard gate of person without
blemish. So there is a plan to offer
up the boy Tore, the bastard son of
an outcast woman. The few nuns of
the convent of Rein who remain alive
after the ravages of the plague hear
OF this evil design and go at night
to the wood where the murder is to
take place. Led by their old abbess,
the Lady Ragnhild. they face the saw
age, frantic men and compel them
to set the boy Tore free, just as they
are about to fill up the open grave in |
which they have placed him alive.
Kristin Lavransdatter. now one of
the nuns, speaks for the feeble old
abbess: go home and thank God
deed 'twere hard to atone
'Twere better we should perish one
and all than to hurt one Of His little
ones. The worst had been, both
for us and for you, had we sat quiet
at home while you went about to
make you a dwelling place in hottest
hell"
In view of the present-day interest
In adult education in general and in
lecture courses as a means toward that
end. an article entitled after Ly.
ceums and Chautauquas, What?" by
r.. G. Lindeman. in the May Bookman,
deserves an attentive reading. The
author states that not only are ly.
ceums and chautauquas Enthusiastically
on the wane, but that the lecture
habit itself is gradually breaking down
in many sections of the country, since
lecture audiences grow smaller each
movies are capturing former lecture
audiences. Nevertheless, Mr.. Linde-
man points out that we are reading
more books than ever before: that |
newspaper and periodical calculations |
have doubled since the war; that
university and college extension |
courses are enrolling more than 200 |
900 persons; that 10000 or more |
workers are attending trade union or |
labor colleges; that a million are at
tending evening, part time and con- |
tinuation schools, and that discussion |
clubs are multiplying. In other words, |
the passive listening to lectures is |
being supplanted by forms of educa- |
ton in which the learner takes an |
alert and active part. According to |
a recent estimate more than 5000 900 |
adults are engaged in some form of |
continuing education. In order to /
make this adult education best worth |
while. the author makes a plea for
better books and periodicals and for
further development of organized |
discussion. That the lecture is still |
a vital force Is to be the theme of an /
article announced for the June Book
man, to be entitled rs the Chautauqua |
Worth While?" by Albert Edward |
Wiggam.
The May Bookman also has an ar
resting article on 1.-The Fight Against
Evolution, by Prof Woodbridge Riley
of Vassar College. The author shows
the alarming extent to which the en-.
croachments on the freedom of teach.
ing and learning in unsupported
schools, colleges and State universities
have already spread throughout the
Nation. He states that campaigns to
prevent the teaching of evolution have
been started in nearly 20 States, that
by law or by official action the teach.
ing of evolution is forbidden in ap-
two-thirds of the rural
districts of the Nation and that one of
the avowed purposes of the campaign
Is a. Federal anti-evolution amendment