Evening star., 1928-11-04
IDA GILBERT MYERS.

IDA GILBERT MYERS.
WITH MALICE TOWARD NONE. BY
Honore Willsie Morrow, author of
Forever Free" etc. New York
William Morrow g. Co.
OREvER FREE" and with
- Malice Toward None" COM
bine to give substance and
fulfillment to a set and sus-
tanned purpose on the part
of the author.
Abraham Lincoln-alive, Immediately
influential shaping force In the ideals
and service of all Americans as, gen.
Grafton by generation, they advance
,1pon an individual obligation toward
the Republic which Abraham Lincoln
held together in an unbroken unity,
and to which he added the righteous
ness of freedom for an enslaved people
such the task set herself by Mrs.
Morrow by way Of these Lincoln
novels.
commemorative objects, fabricated
in marble or paint or anniversary cere-
n1onials. have their value to be sure,
as reminders of high service and its
due in a common public recognition.
R,1t for a great man to remain alive
and potent to the mind and the heart
of a people, something more is required.
1t is Yieedful that for everyday inf1u-
ence he step down from the aloofneSS
and chill of the pedestal; that he min
ole on the ground level with those who
are going to and from in the business
of daily living. This is exactly the ef-
feet that Mrs Morrow has achieved in
her stories of Lincoln. None the less
great. none the less to be revered, but
all the more to be understood ana
loved and accepted as a friend to be
emulated with Malice Toward None"
pursues its way in Washington, at the
White House and thereabout, during
the last two years of the Civil War.
Matters of moment, menacing matters
at this particular point, converge upon
the President and his advisers. And
by the simple directness OF this story,
we see the historic procession OF great
men moving around Lincoln with ad-
vice, with deep concern and, unhapplly,
sometimes with secret enmity and 1eal-
ousy. Such the background and the
broad field of the action. Within this,
in a sympathy and understanding that
are quite beautiful, the author makes
deft weaving of household incident
and circumstance that serve, all In all,
to re-embody Lincoln in those quail
ties of kindness, patience, comprehen-
sion and those homely behaviors Tor
which he is revered and loved. AS the
historian Mrs. Morrow has been scru-
pulous In her devotion to truth and
fact. But above and beyond mere his
tory, she has been even more Jealous
In giving over to readers great char
acter. a man who moves through this
story as warmly alive as do the peo-
pie going about the streets today. And
that is the big purpose of the novel. An
interesting story, to be sure, rising out
Of one of the great moments of Amer
ican history-but by way of this story
comes that greater thing. the warm and
living personality of Abraham Lincoln,
to inspire and energize anew and Alright
those who come after him. A clear
contribution, this direct and simple
and stirring American drama, to, the
sort of immortality that gifted and sin
cere writer's are helping to set up; the
sort that has definite effect on the life
that is now being lived.
THE STORY OF THE GYPsIEs. BY
Konrad Bercovici, author of Alex
ender." Illustrated by Charlotte
Lederer. New York: Cosmopolitan
Book Corporation.
A N interesting item about the gypsies
n leads off here in Bercovici's first
pronouncement An Illuminating item
it seems to me, accounting definitely
for the peculiar charm that these peo-
pie exercise over even the staiGeSt of us.
It appears that two of our most vital
words do not exist In their speech.
Duty" is one of these, possession" the
other. Now, we are bred from baby
hood and before to bend to duty and
a. aa,,1xv e. Tn ft1ncn
two ways they are free people. And,
SAYS the author, "there is more Joy and
more happiness, there is more poetry
and deep emotion in gypsy camp of
three ragged tents than in the largest
city of our civilized world" You don't
have to agree, but it's worth thinking
about. Free from the thousand "don'ts"
and must rots" that hound the rest OF
us from the cradle to the grave, free
from the stodgy business of owning
things and the dreary business of hoard
ing then--why, these gypsies are the
royal partakerS Of life itself. At least,
that Is the impression one gathers here
and clearly it has its points. This is
history, authentic history, having to
do with the accepted origin OF these
people, with their dispersion toward the
West, their invasion Of Germany,
France. Italy and Spain, their overflow
into the British Isles and across the
seas. But, after all. 1t Is the stories
that mark every page here which de-
liver the gypsy over to the reader bodily
and spiritually. Listen to one of them.
A big gypsy fellow had been i'm Tin
jalD for 80 days Upon his release
there was great JOY in the camp--a
merrymaking of boisterious welcome;
But the man was sad. Nothing seemed
able to lift the gloom. Finally he con-
fessed that his grief was not for his
own confinement but for the jailer--
the jailer was Sin" for life. And that
just about broke the big gypsys heart.
Lovely, don't you think? AL of us have
had sorrows, I'm sure, over the terrible
life of the jailer and the hangmarl[,
unspeakable existence. Well, the book
is full of pictures, moving pictures, OF
these people at one or another point o!
gay freedom and unconcern. And, mind