Evening star., 1928-03-11
REVIEWS OF WINTER BOOKS
Volume Which Pictures the Victorian Age-Parson Weem%
and the Cherry Tree Incid ent-The Newest Fiction
Another Story About Children

you know. "Oh, you mustn't" "Oh,
you shouldn't" Here is the sweeping
inhibition that every one Is trying TO
impose upon every other one. 1t acts
within the individual within societies,
and groups, within the Nation itself
1t is the tremendous urge and agency
Of religion, of the church. You must
not. You should not You shall not
smoke, you shall not drink. you shall
not be able 10 free yourself from a
clearly hideous bondage--you shall do
nothing at all. except what l permit
you to do. And who Is this omnipotent
I? Why, 1t is just about every picayune
individual on earth. trying. in the name
OF righteousness and morality, to i'm
pose his opinions or the lack Of them,
his prejudices, his handed-doTn no.
tiOns, upon every one within his range.
For the purposes of this story Mr.. Steele
makes use Of defective child upon
whose cure and upbuilding the mother
eXpends herself and reshapes the i'm
mediate world Of her family and friends.
The mother becomes a fanatic. a crazy
woman. in defense of her child. Tnno-
cent things, lest these rouse this boy
to himself. become evil. Her home is
in effect disrupted, happiness has gone
from 1t, the remaining members of the
family are sacrificed to this mania Of
the mother told you it was a terri
BILE story. 1t is If it we're just a story
and nothing else it would matter not
at all. But, set In tense drama here Is
something that in one form or another
Is going on everywhere. Here the trag-
edy Is defined and objectified in human
suffering. needless suffering. On the
outside the tragedy exists. millions OF IT,,
fNy1t ~ &c AZ
cause It Is hidden. save from the suffer-
ers. What are you going to do about it?
Just nothing at all--since YOU the great
individual you. are always right. And
I'm always right. too. So. We are 60
ing to do nothing about it. not even
after so stark tragedy as this one
which ought 10 get US moving. It will
not. though. You mustn't do th!sl
You shouldn't do that. It's wrorg!"
Why is it wrong?" "Why-just be-
cause"
THE SHINING HOURS. BY Mary
Meek Atkeson. Illustrated by
Eloiss Burns New York: The Gen.
tury Co.
ONE cannot always say where a book
of this sort will find its best stop
ping place. viii children delight in it?
1t Is clearly a story about children
about Nancy and Paul. Will educators
find in it 50 identical unity with the
workings Of childrens minds that they
will adopt 1t as guide and teacher
in this direction? cannot answer these
questions. had thought, though. that
boys and girls are not so much taken
with stories about themselves as they
are with tales Of adventure among their
elders. To be grown-up is the heav-
enly prospect for boys and girls. And
to tell the truth, I'd hate to see
group Of teachers trying 10 squeeze
sterile. academic formula of psychology
from this story to cap the defenseless
heads of innocent children that never
did thing 10 them None of these
things do ! know. Let me tell you the
one thing that I do know. This story
took me by the hand and led me
through a long, long lane whose bor-
ders / hardly remember. whose course
! only half realized Then, all in a
moment. had arrived There I was
In a beautifully remembered place
There were chickens and pigs and
calves and lambs there. There was
the scent Of hay and the big wagon
loaded with hay. There was an in
eaable misunderstanding like 1t these
days. Now the clouds never do csper
across the sky like fieeces of white
sheep. Now the shadows never do
dance-6ut right here, in this new
place to which I have been led. they
are dancing. and so am /. Among the
hundreds Of things that Nancy is doing
here right before my eyes I have done,
! am doing them now. can't help IL.
recall an experience tust exactly like
that one which Nancy had with the
young calf. Hadn't any mother. not
any more. Couldn't be made to drink
Just butted and stopped and got no
milk At all--till Nancy. till I. slipped
finger into its mouth and there Il
sucked away for dear life-ate Its I'LL.
or drank 1t, and never knew the dif-
ference, I call this q charm Of book.
And II you are q bit like Nancy. and
me. II you like 10 so roaming back
ward into sunny land. you too will
call IL just that kind OF captivat:nS
story