Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-08

I'm 4 ESsER MARCO POLO"
VA ley of Shanganagh," 1.-The
Az n Wind Bloweth," Hang
mans House" Brother
saul" and f1nally-oh. quite finally
Field Of Honor"
A rosary. this. each name q shining
Jewel, roSe-red with romance and adj
| venture, blood-red with war, softly
opalescent with the Irish Landscape
murk of daybreak, gold of dawn. purple
and crimson of nightfall, emerald in bog
and forage field, in the soft greenery
OF leaning trees, in the black verdancy
OF packed forests. And, II you have
Irish eyes, you will see movement with
in these gems-cloud fleeces doubling
themselves in the dark water below,
platoons Of wild geese on the wing, the
Lilly dense with silver-bellied salmon
fastening to their mysterious seasonal
rendezvous. If you are Irish-keen to
scent and sound these bright beads
yield to you the tang of peat smoke.
the salty breath of the sea, the wild
birds call, the thud Of racing hoofs,
the bell OF pursuing hounds, and under
all you may hear the tap-tap-tap of
the leprechaun's hammer as he cobbles
the small folks buckled Shoes" A
rosary of beauty this to be counted
again and again-"Messer Marco Polo"
"OMalley OF Shananagh'-
4
A N Irishman, young and tall and
personable, schooled at Dublin and
Paris and Leipzig, then New York and
the newspaper craftsmanship Uni
Versity and city street and the daily
press were but the brew in which this
man of Antrim ripened into the in
durable Irishman, loving the sod to its
roots, porting the folk lore to its founda-
tons. brothering the people, singing the
songs of Ireland.
And then one morning-just a year
ago last June it was, the 1Sth-this
man, this Doom Byrne, went out from
Coolmain Castle in the early sun of a
smiling day to ride beside the sea.
Suddenly the Brown Hand" settled
upon his own. Not any man can re-
sist the Brown Hand" Now Cool
main Castle stands in the nature of
shrine to the growing company Of
those who love Dom Byrne, spirit Of
Ireland, its revelation, its poet.
n
0EIELD OF HONOR" is a story of
l. love and war. The story of Ma
poleon conquering the continent and
ready to gather England up as yet an
other proof OF his genius. "A big and
covering movement here-battles at
sea and on land. a disquieted England
shutting its military plans from hand
to hand to meet military emergencies
created by the seemingly unconquer-
able Napoleon. Castlereagh and Bona
parte are the great figures in this war
adventure. Pitt, Fox, the failing Ring,
these come and go, but is is Castlereagh
cold and inscrutable, who dominates the
England of the moment. Garrett Dill
Ion, his young kinsman. is the story
hero here. Set off against him is his
wife. Jocelyn, hating England as only
an Irish woman can. You are a loyal
man." said she to her husband, land
am rebel. You will not try to make
me think your way!" God forbid
Each must think as he sees" said Gar
rett. And it is upon this path of deep
divergence that the romance takes its
uneasy course, almost a fatal course.
Throughout this tale Of historic content
and color what pictures come to view
Napoleon at the last in ignominy indie
scribable, and shameful. Great heroes,
dozens of them, behaving as only heroes
can. Nelson, as vivid as life. Oh,
| many, too many to count here. And
how this Dom Byrne knows women
Josephine, Lady Hamilton, the Jocelyn
of the tale itself. Yes, all women, too
l-Emmet's, Fitzgerald's. any hero's death
they were the lovers of young wom-
ems dreams. And the other men. who
faced white and weary road of life
instead of a leap into the cool waters
| Of death, we're only poor louis" AmaZ-
ing perception of the countless women
who through the magic gift of magma
ton discard the "louts" and live with
the heroes.
,~.o.+ rta-,, . c~.oak 1890. . ,root
picture of life. His best" so Dom
Byrne decided. Yet they are all best
beautiful legacy to us-"Messer Marco
Polo" Blind Raftery." "OMalley"-
Field of Honor"
IRELAND; The Rock Whence Was
Hewn. Dom Byrne. Foreword by
T. p. O'Connor. Illustrated. Bos-
ton: Little, Brown a. Co.
{ GKETCHES of Ireland, six of them
~ by Dom Byrne. touching upon
many a point of common interest-the
geography of the place, its area map
ped, its mountains set, its rivers placed
its climate touched upon. A passing
look at ancient history. at Tara, "once
the seat of Irish kings" at other points
of acceptance or dispute that marked
the early days. Then. the people,
know of nothing more dignified than an
Aran Islander-than, indeed, any Irish
peasant. When they are young they
are as supple as a larch. When they
are old they have the kindness and
sanity of gnarled apple tree. Always
your trouble is their trouble, and your
Joy theirs. We are giving people n
"Ireland'S place names have color and
CHAIRMAN assertion that Dom Byrne
backs with chapter in proof thereof
He speaks of the intricacies of the
Gaelic poetry, the difficulties of the
to Ireland" gives a touch of spirited
history. Legend and literature, Byrne's
own beloved theme, become a theme OF
delight with this man. ITO me Ireland
always is the matched cottage on the
mountain side. The thunder of the
hunt as 1t goes for FARMHOUSE River
the grave, soft Irish voices. There is
even a terrible black beauty about the
mountain men. as, mad with solitude
fighting" The views and thoughts
from point to point around Dom
Byrne's island-historic, legendary, per-
sonal-both useful and beautiful end
like this-like Dom Byrne:
Half a hundred moons, a few more
harvests of the mountain ash, and our
time is come to leave for Tir nan Og,
to which our passport Is That we loved
our country. But the thrushes and thu
wrestling, the poems and greyhounds
and Ginning rivers of the Assured Land
can hardly tear us from her who has
given us birth and vision. Herself has
to draw into her arms and put quiet
on U.S." Now am in my sleeping, and
don't waken me-"
\ \ X y
THE BUFFER. BY Alice Hogan Rice,
author of Mrs. Wigs of the Cab
bage Patch" etc. New York: The
Century Co.
A NOVEL whose foundation is the
"A family. The institution itself is
as old as the Garden Of Eden, but only