Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-17

engroSsing In the native facts and i'm
plications that 60 along with the main
issue, there Is nevertheless, the effect
Of forced situations when Mr.. Train Is
making his connections between the
home interest and that of Africa and
the Foreign Legion. He will declare this
to be nonsense, and so will others, with
Africa only. across a negligible pond,
whose crossing by even the most home
spun of American citizens is no more
than q familiar outing. And he will be
right and so will the others be. Or
they would be right II Arthur Train had
not so thoroughly stewed in another
element and atmosphere as to make
these literary innovations Of his appear
like - well, like the old-time Sunday
suit. To be sure, the man has to have
a change. He cannot forever hang to
the TUFTS. OF course not. And this Is
a good story, finely built and under
standing in its measures and moods
or will be when we get used to the new
attitude. Read it. You'll like 1t. 1t is
a good story. I apologize for fidelity to
the older ones, fidelity that Is rather
niggardly toward the newer ventures.
STRANGE CORNERS OF THE
WORLD. BY j. E. Wetherell, author
of Fields of Fame" etc. Illustrated
New York: Thomas Nelson & Sons.
7 mike the usual book Of travel, this
~ one let's you begin where you
please, stop when you are ready, start
on again from new point. For 1t sets
down no regular line to make use OF,
since 1t is, in effect, not travel at all
Rather it is the culling from many
journeys-places that are OF the beaten
-. al t@Ak IN.
ducements, spots Of isolation and re-
treat. The first step, with me here, was
to look down the table Of contents to
see how many of these regions I could
locate. Not many. You try 1t. 1.-THE
Little People Of the Big Forest" "The
Land without o Woman" Interesting
and surprising, Where Black Rules
White" "A Sea without a Fish"
told you. However, there are other
topics to which you will hold the clue
But, whether you do or not, you will
find In the book as q whole many new
| things to consider, many new customs
| to ponder, many strange places to admit
to your acquaintance. More than this
you will come upon these interesting
and pleaSurable strange corners
through the authors mood Of persona
interest and enjoyment, through hi;
clear way with words way that slip!
into rhythms and poetry many q time
No wonder, for II one has verse inside
him anywhere, such corners as many
Interesting, new and clearly worth ones
while.
CALIFORNIAN COPY. BY George F
| Weeks. Washington. D. c.; Wash.
ington College Press.
1T hardly seems as If any half century
allotted to man for his use coulC
be SO packed with happenings as wert
the so active years in the life Of George
F. Weeks. Mr.. Weeks tells his owr
story. Here is adventure, and nothing
but, yet hard work is, in the main, thu
core Of it throughout the long half
century run. Hard work not exciting
oh, but it Is. as you will find out here
through chapters that never fail, no
once, to picture man arduously busl
with that most exciting Of all jobs
earning living. Newspaper man fol
most of the time, Mr.. Weeks. Editor
and owner Of a paper in the West fol
part OF the time. Yet this occupation
is changed. here and there. now ant
then, under urgencies that the printing
press could not meet. Sometimes thu
boy and man we're at work on many
sorts OF jobs, but he was, nevertheless
by and large Of the newspaper frater.
nifty. The things that happen to him
II IN this reading you are tempted to
ward incredulity, remember that thu
times Of his greatest activity were hart
| times, comfortleSS times, rather wilC
and lawless times. This was the pio.
neer period of the Far West. Blu
throughout--and this is interesting
George Weeks had perfect confidence IL
an ultimate good destiny for himself.
hundred cases and more In this recorC
prove to him that II In any one Of then
he had done other than he did do
calamity would have befallen him
Persistently he follows q kindly anc
beneficent Providence-though he call!
1t Fate" Another outstanding quality
of this book and its author IS q courag:
that cannot fail, am sure, to make
the reader stiffen his own back against
ar Of the buffetings Of a needless OF
| unfeeling world or against his owr
weakness itself. A youthful vigor, q
hopeful outlook claim this writer, who
| goes back through an adventurous past
| partly in his own behalf, in larger part
| for the sake Of the rest of US.
ARMY WITH BANNERS. BY Ruth
Comfort Mitchell, author of call o.
the House" etc. New York: ID. APP
pleton & Co.
AN unusual theme. Broadly lookec
- upon, the story covers the ardors
and spiritual enthusiasms Of those re-
vivals In religion that used to be more
frequent and familiar than they are to-
day. In essence. however, this Is a mar
| rative OF the revival modernized to meet
| the efficiency Of current business meth
DDS and projected besides in either q
conscious or an unconscious hypocrisy
OF all emotions, religion Is the one that
may induce self-deception. So, hypoc-
rtsy Is an accusation to hold OF from
pretty generally, when passing judg-
ment upon the sincerity of ones re-
ligion. However--this Is the story of an
evangelist, young and beautiful wom-
an who possesses great power over con-
gregattons Of people. Success, certainly
material profit follows her. as does 9
seeming success In the saving of souls
A slip Of girl who may not be con-
DDS. Let us hope. With her Is q
Misunderstanding, hard, insincere, OBJ
noxious. With her also is little daugh-
ter. And 1t is upon the daughter that
the story has to depend for anything
like o paSsable outcome. / don't know
how 1t came to pass, but the little girl
grows rather wholesomely and sturdily
through the maze of conscious and un-
conscious irreligion with which the whole
is compound. You do not insist on the
pleasant story? OF course not. You
couldn't. not with two eyes and two
ears to use. with two feet to walk about
upon. Still, you say, reasonably think,
that completely sordid narrative Is as
unreal as one that lifts itself into q re-
gion Of perfect sinlessness. The pro-