Evening star., 1928-09-11
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
I. C.. N.

4. u. M.
A rich man dies. And. after seemly
pause the heirs-at-law assemble to
gather In the material usufruct OF that
mans life. Houses and lands are here,
stocks, bonds, and loads OF loose change
slippery and dangerous stuff now. all
of 1t. For out of it has passed its
proper use as the measure OF individual
capacity. the earned reward of personal
effort. Now 1t Is about to become the
direct agent Of new distrusts, enmities.
ereeds. Now it is about to become the
insidious cause Of blunted energies, OF
sagging ambitions, OF Stacked muscles,
of souls fat and flabby.
A rich man dies. And from all quar-
ters come flocking, in love and homage,
the countless beneficiaries of that man S
mind and spirit. Time and time again
has his genius stood high and clear IN
the beauty OF music, or painting, or
sculpture in poem or flaming prose. In
some sturdy offering to the knowledge oil
the world to the wcll-being OF all, to the
general joy of common existence. Here
are riches. imperishable and indivisibie
Here is truly the wealth about Wnlcn
the Bible tells us, that "scattereth YET
increaseth." a free bequeathment tc
every man who wills to claim 1t for his
own. Such. broadly, are the two great
classes into which the wealth of the
world separates Such, In the main
are the general effects Of these two
just the other day. Donn Byrne. as
his habit was. went out on that morn
ing to catch a sight of his own particu-
1tok Of Trich OQct with Jne
Establishments of the ear.J risen sun
upon It. Now great thing was in the
making that morning. But Dom Byrne
knew nothing at all of this. Then
In a flash of time this Irish bard stood
face to face. alone with the supreme
adventurer in all lfe-death. Here
came the one unconquerable enemy oil
man-or is it the friend? Whichever
he is invincible And in this moment
of ambush and surprise Donn Byrne
became a casualty in the never-endlne
battle that human existence so surely
is. And a very rich man died with the
passing of Dom Byrne.
X x x x
In the situation there seems nothing
immediate to do. save to sit down tc
the counting of this suddenly rounded
wealth. to a conclusive measuring OF tnt
bulk and substance of the new legacy
And here it is assembled-my in
heritance from the estate OF Donr
Byrne. Your inheritance, too, maybe.
A handful of volumes. No more thar
can stow in my pack and swing across
my shoulder for some day OF outing
when sun and wind and gay shadows
are compact of pure Irishry that set!
them all tripping off In step with tn'
tunes grooming so melodiously within
the pack upon my back. AS l tramp
the roadside l count them over in m,
memory. First. of course. comes "Messel
Marco Polo" for it was by way of this
gallant adventurer that I met Donr
Byrne and gave my heart to him fol
good and all. At least. so I think. fo
that first enchantment Is as shining a!
on the day when 1t cloaked me with
it's radiance. And I recall, too. tha
other time. the day when on the gooc
ship THE Wind Bloweth" l set sal
with Byrne for Spain. there to taste tht
honey mouth of sweet Claire Anne
there to aid and encourage her deliv'
GRANGE from the frozen winds OF {
world that does not temper the rigor!
of climate with any of the aSsuage'
ments of comprehension and sympathy
Oh. we were right. beautifully right. II
murder sweet Claire Anne! Then. with
| conscience so eased. off to the Holy
Land in a crusade against the heatnen
the enemies of our Lord. foes whom We
fought in ferocity Of pure Irish brand
| zealots at war in the cause of right
eousness our own righteousness. / re-
member In JOY the long stay in the Hol,
Land. For there lived Brother Saul.
a fierce. outstanding Christian. with
loads of piety in his heart. and a fins
missionizing punch to both of his two
fists. 1t is hardly secret any longer
Saul YVES. deep in his blood, good dea
of an Irishman.
Then. regularly, there was homin.
back to the green island Happily
there were things and people to b.
! looked after there-like Blind Raftery
and "O'Mallev of Shangansgh" and th,
matter Of The Hangman's House" t.
be cleared up--odds and ends-too. per.
tanning to the soil and the scenery ant
the ways of the common folks. th'
doings. besides. of host of powerful
beings not visible to the eye of th'
average. No end Of work for Donr
Bvrne in Ireland itself. the place bes
beloved by him. the place carried al
over the world In bits of song ant
legend and custom. in snatches of Ses
and coast and sunlight.
X x X
And a strange thing has happened
so 1t seems to me-a thing which Is
part of Dom Byrne's passion for hom-
ing back to his native land. That
strange thing is Destiny Bav'-Little
Brown & Co. Not only is this beautiful
book an embodiment of the beloved is
land itself. but. even closer. 1t Is the
story Of house. the house OF MacFar-
lane. This book is Ireland Of an earlier
day, embodied in the MacFarlane
family projected by it. Is 1t not rather
beautiful thing that Dom Bvrne's
last book is about the place that he SO
loved and that this dear spot Is in
Destiny Bay" interviewer with family
of true Irish distinction? No other book
of this mans could possibly round the
whole as does this particular one. A
corner Of Irish coast. As alive as hu-
manity itself is alive. stands here In
an intimacy of appearance and be-
havior that is surprising and very
lovely. Set here are the ones that are
left of the old MacFarlancs-Uncle VAL
entine. Aunt Jenepher. blind and beau
tlflll. NIOuSIIl oNSi nN oP''AAASA'
Mems Rest across the river. and James
Carabine. valet butler, "the greatest of
ali the old Irish prize-ring men," Here
are gypsies camping roundabout and
then moving on with only the placing
Of interviewer green's to mark their
course. Here are the villagers. lowly
folks, looking upon the great house and
its family with devotion and giving to
II resnectful fealty and service. Splen-
did horses and fine dogs are part OF
this picture of manorial life in Ireland:
The whole is blend of people and
place. of custom and legend, Of thou
sand intimacies that come together In
shining fabric of life as it is lived and
has been lived for centuries in par
ticular corner of the earth. In a
fidelity that is much older In source
than is the life of Dom Byrne himself
there is picturing here Of the most
n,irute details of the Irish life OF a