Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-27

is William Barton speak
| ing, as he has a right to do, at the END
of a long trail by way Of which he Is
enabled to offer the world true ac-
count of the descent OF Abraham LIN
! coin. Stirred to activity by the uncer-
| tainty in which the lineage OF Lincoln
was growing more confused and worse
| confounded, DR.. Barton set out to clear
up the story Untirtng. indefatlgaDle,
enthusiastic was the retraveling OF the
roads over which this Lincoln student
| had already gone for the making OF his
ham Lincoln. THE quest has carried
| me three times across the ocean and
has sent me to innumerable court
houses in Virginia. Kentucky, Indiana,
| Illinois. I have made full use OF the
assistance of professional genealogSts.
| Gentle reader. the author makes
humble apology for the. necessity OF
ride, but trusts that the sense of adven-
ture and the love of truth will have
made it easier than might otherwise
have been. We have traversed the
whole length Of the wilderness road and
have stopped at many a crossroad TO
inquire the way. We have ridden from
| cabin to cabin, from court house 70
court house-but no one following our
| trail will be misled by our track or dis
cover any important fork Of the road
where we have taken the wrong turn
| ing" So, positive, buoyant and with a
most communicable guSto. does William
Barton lay down the lines along which
Abraham Lincoln came into the world.
The book invites first by its fine ar
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS in its facts and
| findings. compact and orderly. Each
line-Lincoln here. Hanks there-stands
clear in an exhaustively documented Sc
curity. All authorities are cited. all
sources Of information thrown open for
| test and verification. The book will
| stand, If there is anything at all in EVIL
dence. not only as the latest word on Its
subject, as a mastery arrangement OF
evidence besides. Most Of all to the
general reader, however, will 1t stand
| for the dauntless adventurer out quest
| ing the truth of vital matter. for the
ardent explorer. for the outstanding ad-
vocate, for the gusto of pursuit that
drives this man wherever truth beckons
| him. The most of US have read books
| on Abraham Lincoln by this writer.
| This caps them all, rounds them to
unity and effect. It is. moreover, the
most unquenchably enthusiastic of them
all-the ripeSt in its mind and heart. in
the zest of It's undertaking. Invaluable
in its content as a part of American
history and biography.
| ANOTHER DAY. BY Jeffrey Farnol,
author of "The Broad Highway" etc.
Boston: Little, Brown & Co.
6 TEFFERY FARNoL" and "The
- Broad Highway" are interchange
able terms-the one invariably con-
noting the other. Yet the novel that
made ME- Farnol famous. and greatly
| beloved as well, was published 10 years
ago. Within the interim almost book
year counts to the credit Of this
romancer. All Of the Farnol stripe
all Of direct descent from that first one,
yet not any one of them comes quite up
to the full measure of the mother OF
| them all. Or is this only in part true2
May not some of the fresh call Of that
| first book have become an expected
quality Of the others, dimming a bit
| the effect of originality, of a new hand
| at the story writing business? However,
| the essential Jeffrey Farnol is here,
| handling Another Day" in full fecog-
milton of the fact that he has a strange
set of youngsters to pilot through the
INSCRIPTIONS of love and matrimony, a
Self-reliant group not particularly de-
| pendent upon the earlier technic of
| pursuit and capture. To get the matter
on its way the author makes use Of an
American youth who, thinking he has
killed q man, betakes himself to Eng
land. There upon the Sussex Downs
the young man, very gradually, even
reluctantly, is redeemed to the truth
| about himself. A very innocent truth
it is, to be sure, though it takes full
novel of the pure Farnol flavor to con-
vince Keith Dallas Chisholm that he is
not murderer. Some villainy-not
much. but enough-goes along to in
crease the difficulties Of the situation.
However, villainy Is not Jeffrey Farnol'S
strong point, so he makes as little use
of it as possible. Instead. he invites to
his service the beauty of the Sussex
country, the loneliness of a girl, the
engaging heart of q child, with host
of other kindly folks, besides, to re-
Do I imagine it, or is it true, that
Jeffrey Farnol has lost shade Of his
cunning with the heart of the female?
Or is he forcing himself to be literal.
rather than romantic, In his disclosures
about the lovely ladies? They are real,
,, all right. And maybe. just maybe. he
puts too much on the Small Per-
crooked affairs Of hearts gone wrong,
and the world at SKIES and Sevens.
Maybe he does not. It is for you to
determine. Bright. sunny. full Of the
good humor of plain people, full OF the
beauty Of the country roundabout
Another Day" may not be "The Broad
Highway" but it is abundantly worth
the while of readers who like their
humanity straight. occasionally, not
forever crooked and bias, twisted and
warped.
Thinking the matter over It seems
to me that this publishing house must
have chuckled with joy many q time
over the fact that 18 years ago 1t de-
cided to take on THE Broad Highway"
when several other houSes-leSs courag-
eous, or less competent in literary judg-
mentS and less keen to the beat Of the
public pulse-turned 1t down. And
here this house is with II Jeffery Farnol
novels to recommend 1t to the favor OF
innumerable readers. Pretty fine!
CIRCLING AFRICA. BY Isabel Ander-
son, Lift. D., author Of "Circling
South America" etc. Boston: Mar
shall Jones Co.
ONE who goes up and down the earth
" by way Of the book route becomes
gradually as exacting in certain par
ticulars as does the actual traveller him.
SELF For this one there must be maps
and guides, definite programs of pro-
cedure-starting from some place, get
ting there, rounding that place to Its
compact and portable essence OF TACT
anu LIpEtSStOu UC1OTe SLaA IALS 4OA oOAAiC
other quarter. Such definite, practical.
communicable mode of travel compares,
in q way, to the business efficiency OF
the good housekeeper, Of the good ex-
ecutive in business as well. Not so long
ago read "Circling South America" q
travel book which, by virtue of its gen.
eral good management. moved straight
into the full equivalent of actual expe-
rience on the readers part. "Circling
Africa" is just such another book Of
travel. It would be, naturally, since the
same author wrote them both