Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-08
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the B0OkIouer

Struction, has done much to reduce in
FAINT mortality. In Colonial days, before
The formation of a National Govern
ment when life. death and health were
personal matters, It seems, as We read
the records. that children were born
but to die. The diary Of Samuel Scwall
distinguished citizen Of Massachusetts,
! Who became In l7l8 chief justice OF
The Superior Court, Is sad reading from
| this point Of view. Sewall was the
father Of Is children, but only few
| lived To grow TO adult years and fewer
AtIl outlivcd him, for he managed in
those dl1icult times to live to be 70. In
his diary he recorded IL. births, and,
often within several days or months,
the deaths OF his children. The entries
are concisc. December 10, 1855. MIR.
| willard baptizeth my Son lately born,
! whom / named Henry. Dec. %.
And so about Sunrise, or little after, he
! fell asleep, l hope IN Jesus, and that Il
Mansion was ready for him III the
Fathers House" Feb 6, 1857. Be
tween and PM. Mr. Willard bap
tizcth my Son, whom / named Stephen.
July 26. About Nine aclock my
dear Son Stephen Sewall expires, just
after the Judges coming to Town, died
in his GrandmotherS Bed-Chambcr IN
Nurse Hills Arms. Had two Teeth GU.
no Commissions August "a, 1890. l
publish my little Daughters name to
be Judith, held her up for Mr.. Willard
to baptizc her. Sept. 20. My little
Judith languishes and means, ready to
die. Sept 81. Between Z and 8
in the evening the child died, and l
hope sleeps in Jesus Aug. T. 1893.
My Wife Is brought to Bed OF Daugh-
! ter. Sept. l3. Between II ana l
at night following that day, Little Jane
expires, much as Henry aid, Ill neigh
bour Smiths lap, Nurse Hill and l be-
ing by" Samuel SewallS son John
| lived II months and his son Hull and
his daughter Sarah about two years
each.
Others than children died quickly
| when attacked by disease. Doctors nad
J few resources and were often not even
| called in. Witchcraft was frequently
! suspected as the cause OF illness ana
prayer was the means OF overcoming IL.
| Some entries in the diary show that
drugs were sometimes used, but "eoultS
were not usually such as to establish
the efficacy OF specific drugs for speclilc
| diseases His left side was chiefly
| struck with kind of Palsy: His speech
came to him something between ana
| 7. Had a blistering plaster to his
neck, Drops of lavender ms mouth
and his neck chafd with Oyl OF Am
Der" My Daughter being threatened
! with the headache, I sent Chapman to
Cambridge to DR.. Oliver for PlalS-
| ter. Laid on Plaster; Daughter
grows better" When Samuel Se"alls
mother fell ill, certainly everything
! possible was done for her. Il went to
! Capt. Daviss and fetched some Trecle
Water and Syrup of Saffron Dame
Ellis made Cake of Herbs to try to
strengthen Mothers Stomach. In the
morn Roger Judd is sent to Cambridge
for DR.. Oliver, mother chusing to
speak with him and no other. When
he comes he advises to PLASTER for
the Stomach, which is applied: and
Potion made of Bear to be taken In
Syrup of Saffron and Treacle water
of which took once or twice. About
8 or 8 l call'd Mr.. Willard at her de-
sire, who prayS with her. A little
before Sunset She expired, to our very
surprising Grief and Sorrow" The
disease of Small PockS" seems to have
been common and to have been left
for nature to fight with the result OF
frequent deaths and also many recoy-
cries quarantine of the patient was,
of course, unknown. When the Small
Pocks" visited the Sewall family the
diarist recorded its progress from MEM
Der to member. Found my Family all
we'll, save Sans sore in the neck, and
hnU
the Small POckS Has the Small
pocks very favorably keeps her Bed
but three or four days; about so or
60 in her face: pretty many on her
Wrists. . Begins to keep below with
her Brother and Sister Betty" OF
course. the brother and sister show
signs of the disease a week or 10 days
later: Betty and Joseph are taken.
Betty very delirious. Joseph hath
very bad night, as also the night
before. He grows better and the
Small Pocks doe apparently dye away
in his face" From this epidemic there
were, it appears, no deaths in the
Sewall family.
Dorothy M Richardson has added
another to her long series of novels
about Miriam Henderson, "Oberland,"
which takes Miriam to Switzerland.
The general name of the series is Pill
grimage" and the volumes previously
published are called Pointed Roofs"
"BackWater," "Honeycomb," THE Tun-
nell and Interim" One might jump
to the hasty conclusion that Miss Rich
ardson's series has some kinship with
the Elsie Books" by Martha +. Finley.
which were the JOY of children, parents
and Sunday school teachers of genera
ton ago, but Miriam Henderson is no
simple Elsie, remaining a child until
northumberland Miriam is modern.
sophisticated. interpretive to such a
degree that her thoughts fill volumes
and she finds it hard to summon will
to act at all. Nevertheless we become
very much interested in her and her
SLOW mental development: that is where
Dorothy Richardson's art comes in
"Oberland" Is complete novel I'm itself
and does not depend for lucidity upon
the previous books of the series. though
Miriam Is still the central character
The plot is, OF course, slight. Miriam
goes TO Switzerland from Paris, makes
a snort stay. and returns to Paris. But
the stay in Switzerland is of tremendous
significance in Miriam's mental biog-
iaphy Whether she is in her room
alone or out In the crisp cold air of the
OberIand, vigorously trying all the
WHi'0i SpoiIs, she Is seeking TO escape
from something within herself.
X x Il
The Torches Flare" by Stark Young.
lo!loWS the career of one Lena Dand- |
ridge, who wins success in play of
no great merit on the New York STAGE
Ihe story itself Is not striking but the !
characters OF Lena, Prof Boardman and
arthur Lane are created with realism
ana some artistry. The setting changes |
from view YORK OF the theater and the |
intellectuals TO Clearwater Calico IL,
mississippi, where Prof. Boardman and
Arthur go to teach and Lena goes at
the same time to live with her father
Prof: Boardman is easily imagined To |
be Stark Young himself, giving his
views on life and people. 's -'''