Evening star., 1928-04-22

proves 10 De n movable IcaSt. passing
on to each new story the added tri-
umphs Of this mans growing power and
charm. Queer case. this Dom Byrne
Born In New York, - so the record runs.
Nevertheless. an inalienable son of the
sod he remains Irish TO the depths Of
him, a poet in every breath Of him. ne
goes roaming the world. an Irish min
streI planting hands breadth of his
native land at the four corners OF the
earth. Crusade" Ia perhaps the biggest
Of the Dom Byrne adventures. Yet IT
Is no more beautiful than any and all
of them are.
A SON OF MOTHER INDIA AN
SWERS. BY Dhan Gopal Mukerii,
author Of caste and Outcast," etc.
New York: E. p. Dutton ~ Co.
A VERY small book, yet 1t does stand
"a as answer to the big volume
Mother India" It's keynote Is re-
straint. It's message Is for tried and
seasoned Judgment. Its spirit Is that
OF friendlineSs for the whole world.
One remembers vividly the shock OF
Mother India" Drawing away from
It's immediate influence. however. one
comedies that any country might be ex-
posed calamitously by an exclusive de-
votion to its sins and ignorances. Per-
hans It is true. that old saying that
charity begins at home The charity
OF house cleaning. of righting our own
wrongdoing Of clearing up our own DARK
corners. Certain 1t Is that these Two
books-that big one and this little one
should. in common fair dealing De
taken together. A word about this au-
thor. He Is a native of India. He
he
his way through college here. StIn
young and highly intelligent. his mis-
sion appears to be that Of bringing
about an understanding between his
own country and the West by way OF
writings about India that describe the
condition of the people, their beliefs.
their outlook, their age-Old experiment
in living. The undercurrent OF his mes
sage Is that We are all human beings
not so different. except as the condl-
tions of life have in each race set ceT-
tain patterns of belief and behavior.
And that is certainly the truth OF the
matter In respect to the differences that
exist between man and man, between
race and race.
MY LIFE. BY Isadora- Duncan. New
York: Boni &; Liveright.
TRUTH lies at the bottom of well
Il so deep as never practically, to
reach the surface in its perfect purity.
The whole world claims to be in searcn
of reality, yet when any semblance OF
the naked truth appears. certainly
when this bears upon the human, then
the world turns and runs away in
panic and dismay Men set down their
confessions" women prettify pages OF
print with their lives And these
sum. In the main. to still deeper con-
eeaIments Of the truth. There are ex-
ceptions. a few. There are notable
cases Of genuine salf-reyelation. but
not many. These lie mainly in the
remote past. Here Is one belonging TO
the present. Isadora Duncan's story
uf her life is the story of genius StriV-
ing By way of the human body 10 ex-
press beauty. the beauty Of classic
sculpture, of great symphonies of the
rhythmic sweep of nature in wind and
wave and swaying trees. Beauty and
freedom are the guiding forces in this
womans life, constituting the philoSo-
ply Of her personal existence, phil
osophy that cut straight across many
a convention and wounded many g
morality. Poverty, disappointment, de-
feat we're nothing to Isadora Duncan.
Rather were they enemies to be met
and overcome. A story Of gallant
courage. Just the story Of q dancer.
Yet something Of the epic tirlges this
record of devotion to the demands of
the clear art which was her. goal. A
singularly simple recital projected in
something of the Innocence Of a child.
As matter of fact 1t Is the record Of q
life possessed by q single aim. Many
viii condemn both the woman and the
story. though all will eoncede to IL the
! element of beauty Condemnation.
/ however. is among the easiest Of human
activities. 1t has been going on a
| long time now with at least one notable
/ survival OF the harshnsSS OF human
| judgments, The point is that IL you
are really interested in something very
like the pure truth about a single liv-
ing, struggling human-why. here it is
*%&&
CROOKED. BY Maximilian Foster.
author OF Il Want to Be q Lady. 81
etc. Philadelphia; J. 3. Lippincott
Co.
A NOVEL Of reportorial brand. With
Z pad and pencil in hand an author
may walk the common streets picking
his material from every city square. so
abundant is H. Then. possessed Of q
sense Of characterization action, SuS-
| pense, climaX--the story Is ready for
the publisher. The workmanly touch
Is very clear in this case. 50 the matter
becomes novel of competency and in
sereSt Just a woman--millions OF her
who demands much more than the
Nf nKN 49, Nas4a{
Dresses, hats. cars, nights out and all
the rest Of the uneasy and hectic to-do.
Naturally when the chance comes the
man turns crooked. And at this mo-
ment you are saying that hs should
have remained honest. which proves
that YOU know nothing at all of the
essence Of the situation. Do you know
how man hates to step down before
the creature who has assumed him to
be the lord OF creationa Evidently you
do not. Do YOU realize the a4-hour
run. every day the year round. that
every couple have 70 make together. with
It's chances for demand, complaint.
nagging, tears, the whole whatnot Of
domestic compulsion? Many a man
goes under by way OF this common
road Of matrimony. This one does. The
story. you see, has foundation as real
as the sidewalk. Mr., Foster merely
reports Il fairly. competently and In
the true spirit and method OF realism
itself.
AaN
THE WAY THINGS ARE. By E NJ
Delareld. author of "Jlll," etc. New
York, Harper a. Brothers.
"'THE WAY THINGS ARE" Is q doc
ument AS dependable In both
scope and detail as II 1t had been drawn
bodily from ofiieial archives So, II you
chance TO be keen on the contents OF
the archive, why. here you are. You
should know at the outset that there
are no questionable features OF Strue~
ture here. nor any other nav either In
Mrs. Delatields power of keen and
close observation or In her praetlssd