Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-02
THE LIBRARY TABLE
By the Bookiover

1 lie odUyUII 1dfiilly VI bdUyOn
Devon, has queer streak. a mad streak,
which appears in some Babylon. in every
generation. 1t is the reason why Babylon
marriages are never happy. why the
| Babylon men are so often MASTERS, why
the Babylon women have secret troubles,
why the Babylon Picture Gallery shows
rows of framed masks, why Babylon
ghosts walk. The story of five genera
tions of Babyons is told by Clemence
Darj, in her four slim volumes, each a
| separate story, but together making a
! complete romance, THE Babyons." The
| four parts are called Third Person
Singular" Midsummer Men" Creep
| ing Jenny and Lady Babylon" In
period they are respectively Georgian,
late Georgian, early Victorian and Ed
| wardian. Sir James Babylon, when a
mere boy. Inarries Menella Trail. COM
panion to his cousin Hariot Babylon, to
whom he has been betrothed. Their
| twin children, born after the tragic
death of their father, are Ludovic and
Isabella Ludovic's son. born after Ludo-
vic's sudden death on Midsummer eve,
is Henry: Isabella's daughter is the
gypsy Teresa. Henry's son, Charles,
marries Teresa's daughter, Mary Ann.
so that in their son Nicholas double
Babylon strain and gypsy strain meet.
Nicholas marries Antonina Drury,
brings tragedy into her life, and dies
| childlesS, so that with him the Babyons
end.
"Third Person Singular" Is the trag-
cry of Jamie and Menella--a tragedy of
the vengeance of the deserted Hariot,
who cannot forgive even when dead.
Jamie pays the penalty of his break to
| freedom and Menella lives to be "old
| Lady Babylon" at IS, to grieve over the
quarrels of her twins, and to see an
| other Babylon tragedy Midsummer
| Men is the tragedy Of Ludovic and
Isabella. Ludovic Is like his mother.
not true Babylon; Isabella Is a dark
Babylon, very like the mad Hariot. She
bitterly resents her mothers plot to
| keep her unmarried and almost equal
| ly her brothers to marry her to an old
man. Driven by her own craving for
| life and love, she rushes out on Mid
summer eve from Babylon Court to the
shooting hut in the woods and there,
| unwittingly, involves all her family in
| catastrophe. She herself lives to be
very old and, after a life Of wandering.
comes back to "lie beneath Babylon
| heather" Creeping Jenny" is the story
and her gypsy consort, and natural
daughter and heiress of the wealthy
farmer, Robert Thistledallow. No vio-
| lence comes into her life, but there Is
| childhood bitterness, establishment
early in her marriage, and compensating
companionship with her son only year
before death. Her son Nicholas should
never have married, because he is en-
shaved by mother complex" LADY
Babylon is his tragedy and that Of his
loving young wife, whom he married
| I. ar1xy {t1A NIB 10 nf
| throwing off the baleful influence of all
the dead Babyons. Their portraits in the
| gallery haunt his dreams and cause the
wild panic in Antonina which results in
| the loss of her child. Another violent
] death occurs at Babylon Court and an
other ghost joins the ghosts of Hariot
and Jamie.
| X n X X
What has been going on in the homes,
| the shops. the markets, the streets, has
been given little attention by historians.
The legislative assemblies and the bat
| tlefieldS have furnished most historical
material, with able aid from private
council chambers. 1t is only in modern
times that social history has assumed
Importance. Such book as The Rise
of American Civilization" by Charles
| and Mary Beard, is product OF the
modern historical point of view. A
popular book devoted entirely to the
history of the home in Great Britain
has recently been pubiished-"Hom
! ners in Britain. 200 Bead. 1926"
by John Gloag and C. Thompson
Walker. The first home which appears
in this history is the home of the
Briton before the Roman conquest,
about 200 BIC, when there was Gel
tic settlement near the present site of
| Winchester. These early Celts, who
practiced Druid rites, lived in mound
| like huts of stone and timber, with a
| refuge chamber excavated below. The
next home described is one of the
Roman period, near what is now Lon
don. built in the Roman style by a
Romanized Briton. Gradually. through
| the ages. the homes OF Britain become
more and more "civilized"-that is, more
like what We know as homes today.
| The difficulty of adjustment between
| two generations, even when parent and
| Child are concerned and both are Strug-
| Cling for the adjustment is realized and
artistically suggested by Warwick Deep
| ing in a restrained scene in his recent
novel, "Old Pybus." Probyn Pybus and
his son Lance have wandered far apart
because of difference in temperaments
and complete lack of sympathy. Probyn
has not been able to understand why
Lance cannot see the obvious advantage
to himself and his parents of his be-
coming partner in the we'll established
business of his father. That business
of any kind does not interest Lance
seems negligible: it will interest him in
| course of time if he takes his place at a
desk in the Office and attends to CORE
| spondence, markets and orders. Lance
has not been able to understand why
| his father, who insisted on going his
own way when he was young, will not
accord to him the same privilege.
Probyn has grudgingly yielded Lance a
period in which to try out his desire to
be writer. Gradually the two have
been drawing nearer to each other
mentally. Probyn has become tired of
| the heavy father role and little tired
| of business as WE'LL Lance, through his
observation of life has begun family to
comprehend the parents point OF view.
! He spends a week end at his fathers
country home and the two meet after a
| long interval. "Probyn closed the WIN
dow and Lance stood on the hearth rug,
staring at the fire. He had become
suddenly aware of his father and OF his
fathers room and of his father as
! man who felt and could be hurt-a very
! human creature. 'Pater-'
Yes, old chap I want to say some
thing. I think I have learned good
deal-lately' Probyn stood stiffly by
his desk. Never too old. Same with
me, Lance i've been bit OF a prlg
to you-sometimes. I'm sorry Probyn
was having trouble with his eyeglasses.
He cleared his throat and then APP
peared to remember that he was still
wearing his overcoat That's all right.
Suppose may have been something OF
| a city father. Think I'll take this thing
off, I'll put 1t in the hall for YOU
| mo don't Won trouble That's all right,