Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-14

much of mystery about him;
not so young-but unforget-
table Then we came upon his writings.
One or two of his books passed straight
from his own hands into ours-inIo
mine, More of his books to be reao;
most certainly after that meeting with
the first one. Then more and more OF
the stories coming to settle the opinion,
and then the conviction that mere was
a great satirical writer-as bitter as
Swift, driven as hard as Swift was
driven by some vitriolic essence OF the
soul itself Then Bierce went away:
And after q while stories came back OF
strange a6venturings on the part OF
this driven man, Of a tragic tate over
taking him to the south Of us.
Here Is adolphe de Castro with the
full story Of Ambrose Bierce, that out
standing writer of California when the
State was as rich in literary talent as
1t was in gold dust and nuggets. De
Castro was the disciple OF Bierce. He
loved the man; took him for his pen
pattern. He still loves him. 1t was by
virtue of this devotion that he set out
to tell his story, to solve the mystery
of his death, or Of whatever had be-
fallen him. This Is the story. 1t Is
the saga of California when poets and
romancers and adventures and men OF
every degree wrote the current history
of the Golden State in a blazonry OF
clear genius itself. And high among
these stood Ambrose Bierce. In COM
plete fairness this writer defines the
full nature Of Bierce as he in his true
intimacy with the man saw It, the
savage nature under sense OF injustice,
the complete honesty Of attitude and
behavior, the vanity that every man
possesses In the measure OF his gifts,
the warm friendships, the bitter hatreds
these are all here attached to the real
genius Of the mans work. Then
Adolphe de Castro follows the trail into
Mexico for the opening up Of the mys-
terry. No, Rierce is not in some corner
of Mexico hiding away in resentment
toward his own land. Ambrose Bierce
is dead. And there follows the story
from the lips of Villa himself as to the
last days of Ambrose Bierce. the last
hour Of the "viejo borracho," as villa
calls him.
An absorbing story that is told in
open frankness and at the same time
Is given In the spirit Of great devotion
and love. Those who know the high
genius of Bierce will read it in deep
concern. Those who love him will read
it In. sorrow. Those who hate him
their feelings in reading it are secret
belonging only to those who do hate.
Fine spirit OF investigation Is seen
here. The flair Of adventure possesses
the writer. The sense of drama leads
him. The power to picture directs him
in this story of the unhappy man to
whom he is paying the high tribute OF
appreciation for his genius, his honesty
his experimentation that strange
human complex, Ambrose Bierce, peer
among great American writer's.
ON MY WAY: Being the Book Of Art
Young in Text and Picture. Horace
- Liveright.
A BOOK dignifed and distinguished
"A in appearance to come upon, quite
stately in its black and white garb with
a golden breastplate whose device hints
delicately at the later confession OF Art
Young that so years Of the Way" are
already behind him. Young clearly,
both the book and the man. A most
impressive book as such. Once inside
it. the same effect holds. Here at every
step the Art Young sketches turn mere
| words into life in scene, incident, per-
sons things, in the usual whatnot OF
every days common doings. For this
| Is a daily account. Strictly speaking,
however, it is not the diary that it pur-
ports to be. No matter. 1t is just as
good better even. A true diary has a
tenQenCy 10 oAuIIk III ePoS' W ~
sleep in a pursuit of the dry task.
Nothing like that in these recollections
that have taken on the convenient and
! friendly guise of the chronicle.
What an ambling way it is that one
| follows here No set course with def
mite end in view, no charted way carry
| ing a special mission. Just amblln
along instead. just roanin' about-pick-
ing up a sunset here or maybe dog
there. st walked to the village today
and noted q gentle rise of my spirits
as I watched the butterflies careen
through the field of goldenrod"
thing like this in mood marks the buSi-
ness of getting along here. I'm the
evening q big cloud shaped like camel
came up beyond the orchard hilf-and
there 1t Is. the camel Looping across the
/ page as If this were the desert Of its
usual caravaning. In the afternoon
| decided to get sweet corn for dinner
One OF the richest moments of my boy
hood was walking through a field OF
| corn. my arm outstretched to cleave
aside the long, rustling leaves. The
cornfields and the pumpkins are here
| this day'-and these he sets In evi-
Dental sketch upon the page. natural
| as life to all who recall the golden
pumpkins and the standing corn.
So the record runs-not all so bucolic
| in tone, however. Here are fresh mem
cries, fresh in sketch and story, Of men
and women, Of art and artists, OF
writer's and other works in other fields
Here are countrywide views filling this
leisurely and rich Way in q spirit OF
happy remembering for Art Young, and
! in q manner Of clear Joy for all who
may be lucky enough to follow along
| In the ample leisure and In the friendly
spirit Of this artist whom everybody
knows.
THEODORE ROOSEvELT'S DIARIES
OF BOYHOOD AND YOUTH. n
Illustrated from photographs and with
| facsimiles of the authors drawings
and letters. New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons.
TEN years old. setting out for traye
l. in Europe with his parents. Pretty
young; pretty grown-up In his under
taking. Sounds much like the young
rounded his formal schooling by a
tour Of the Continent" Yet, despite
o certain implication Of maturity in.
duced solely by the circumstance Of
travel, this is the daily account Of
regular boy Of 10, a shade precociouS
but all boy Notwithstanding. For NOR,
than 400 pages the diary gives accounts
OF travel IN Europe. Then comes Lne
chapter Nov My Journal in the United
States" Something like relief snug
Cling in that opening word Now" Tit
record ends with notes, made much
later, on the Spanish-American Wa
and on hunting trips Of 1901 and 1905.
It Is with the earlier part of thu
diary that the general interest is likel!
to reach It's high point. 50 wen knowr
Is Theodore Roosevelt, the public man
so outstanding is he in Temperament
and personal characteristics that II
taking up this boy record one is fTnme.
diately on the trail Of the man himself