Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-19

! ~ high adventures to hunt their
| " heroes out from some misty
| 1 past. Pure romance is the
! prime essence of the present
| period. Many a man of the day is
/ daring so amazingly, achieving so mar
velously, as to make his record straight
and unembellished, sound like ancient
myth and legend A case in point Is
the story of Richard E. Byrd. No need
to go back 700 years and more to find
I Richard, Occur de Lion. For here he Is,
, intrepid and uncomfortable. His life
reads like pure fiction, rather over
worked fiction at that Yet 1t is every
word the truth.
Here Charles Murphy. newspaper
man, tells the story of Comdr.. Byrd,
with the true dramatic grip Of the flnc
news man. leaving out nothing OF Inn
! portance, leaving out everything that
! fails to contribute to the matter in
hand. Richard Byrd is man, a real
man. Yet, fortune has bedecked him SO
that he looks like hero OF romance,
almost stage hero. Birth, ancestry,
! early life family tradition. family in
| fiuence. personal beatty and a fine up
! standing presence-sll these have been,
| must have been. at times. things to be
set aside, shade hastily and impatient
+ ly. 1t seems absurd for a real working
I man to have been so dressed up by fate
/ dS fIICTdTQ oyEu Has Utcu L1OhCNNl, tiaAfo
! fades in the readers mind as he follows
| along here in the trail of this great
modern adventurer. In spite OF these
! gifts Of fortune Byrd delivers the goods
from the North Pole, then from the
South Pole and from innumerable points
in between. The story as 1t Is read
| here is, in the main, simply corrobora-
| tive record. Yet 1t is, withal, gorgeous
| romance. From 1t there comes also the
| quality of the man himself, of the gen.
tleman always giving credit where 1t Is
due. Here is the generous man, curl
ouSly free from the vanitieS that so
| commonly accompany success. Here is
| the wisely cautious Matchmaking long
and laborious preparations for the great
project before him. You might expect
hero of this seeming stamp dash out
and away, trusting to some favoring god
who will not permit q harm to come to
| the beloved son. Not Richard Byrd
| He is wise He realizes his job, knows
| its magnitude and its hazards To re-
duce these hazards is his preliminary
task, Intelligence and character are
the prime possessions of Richard Byrd
these bent upon one OF the great under
| takihgs OF the astounding day in which
I We al live. A beautiful story. Every
! boy in the country ought to read 1t, and
( every girl Another word of appreci-
| alton Is due Charles Murphy for treat
ing this particular subject with just the
restraint that he practiced upon 1t.
X Il 4 +
THE PATHWAY. BY Henry william
son, author of "Tarka. the Otter"
etc. New York: E. p. Dutton Il Co.
A POET In feeling and expression, a
"a TRUE lover of nature at heart, It is
no wonder that Henry Williamson's
stories of this animal and that one
otter and stag and lonely bird-should
be outstanding in their beauty and COM
prehension and subtle significance. The
landscape, too, Is live thing to this
man. The arrangement of hill and val
ley, of shore and moor, of sunlight and
shade-all these combine in spirit and
mood to minister to the heart and soul
| of man himself. Therefore, when this
| author writes story 1t becomes, in es-
sence, the story of the human in his
deep contacts with the soil that has
created and nurtured him. So, here,
there Is the romance of the English
countryside, of an old manor house on
the coast Of Devon, as this spot and
| this house have entered into the life
| blood of the family living within it and
! upon 1t. A homely story that goes deep
into the feelings and daily round of
existence in that particular corner of
| England. There Is a hero to this tale
/ TIE only KIM Ol nero IIldL COulQ Uy ally
chance find a place in this setting.
man, simple as Francis Of Assist, simple
as the hope of modern religion is sim
pie, takes his unobtrisive course through
| this romance, part OF the countryside
itself in his single and uncomplicated
reception of existence, in his beautiful
use Of 1t for the happiness of all who
come his way.
No tale, this, for the light reader
4 hYty1tiySey hrfof AiynreiNY1 ,nvt Nv
element comes his way. But for one
who loves beauty of thought, poetry Of
| expression, for one who senses the unity
OF all Elephant and animal and man
this is a. rare adventure of encouraging
and uplifting effect.
X 4 4 X
THE ART OF LIFE. From the Works
Of Havelock Ellis. Selected and
| Arranged by Mrs. s. Herbert. Bos-
! ton Houghton Mfflin Co.
| TT Is the serenity of Havelock Ellis in
the face of truth that commends
him to every reader who Is himself
hunting for the truth about the imme-
diate saliencies OF life-love, religion,
art, morality. Here is, clearly, phi
losopher searching for the real essence
OF human existence, a man not salts
! fed with the common bundle Of ac-
ceptances about the great issues of
mans intercourse with man. Mrs. Her.
| bert has selected for the use of driven
people who cannot read extensively. or
! think they cannot, some of the most
| directly applicable opinions of Mr.. Ell
lis upon these universally absorbing
themes. OF morality-let us listen
in: 1t would be amazing. If 1t were
morality as it is played out on the
| scene Of modern life. In reality moth
| ing is simpler than the moral process
of life. Whatever men see the ma
! jority of their fellows doing. that they
call morality; whatever they see done
by the minority outside that compact
majority. that they call immortality.
The mechanism Is beautifully
right and yet all want to stick
A mischievous hand into it. If they be-
long to the campact majority they can
never refrain from vituperating the
small advance guard in front OF them
or the larger rear guard behind them.
, And. II they belong to either minority,
their sneers and contempt for the ma
jority are equally persistent.
Nothing can destroy morality. Nor can
exist and will as they have since Adam
and Eve Scuttled over through the
Jungle of the Garden Of Eden"
by science we Stake the thirst for
knowledge: by religion we attain the
bliss Of contemplation" I'VE
must remember that religion and
church. though often confused. are far
from being interchangeable terms.
Religion is natural impulse, church
Is social institution. The confusion
Is unfortunate"
X \ X
BACK TRAILERs FROM THE MID
DIE BORDER. BY Hamlin Gar
land author OF "A Son of the Middle