Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-07

Have you kept your childhood library;
Most men make the mistake of per.
uniting the books which they collected
as boy to get away from them in the
progress of the years.
The once proud collection is allowed
to disappear, book by book, until II
middle manhood there Is little left of it
Just a book, here and there, reminds
the booklover Of those precious volume;
of his youth
Here is the worn copy of Swift.
"Gulliver's Travels" and three volume.
of James Fenimore Cooper, Wing anc
Wing" THE Two Admirals" and The
Pioneers"
Not much, out of the many books
which studiouS boy collected for him.
self. How did the others get away from
himp
ten by the indefatigable q. A. Henty.
Is: Who got them?
Not even the favorite Lion of the
North or With Give in India" or
THE Cat of Bubastes." All! what a
story-teller was Henty! An EngliShman
with a love of adventure himself, he
wrote for the adventure-love in every
boys heart.
How many Washington boys have
read With Give in India? And how
many, in passing, know that there was
displayed in a movie theater recently
as thrilling an adventure story as ever
Henty wrote?
We speak of with Byrd at the South
Pole," that splendid film which de-
served far longer run than the mere
week which it enjoyed. Here is a great
adventure story in film form, wonder
fully well executed, unique, picturesque,
stirring.
We would advise every parent of a
boy to make sure that this film comes
back to Washington, in order that they
may participate in great story. 1t is
Treasure Island" all over again, only
1t has the merit of being real
Among the lost books of our child
hood library was an old battered copy
of the official "Materia Medica," which
we discovered in the attic of a house.
For many months 1t was precious mine
OF information. At that period we could
have given the chemical names, COM
mon names, and principal uses of the
hundred and one materials used in
medicine. The finding of the book made
1t especially dear. Somehow boys like
to flnd things. Finders are keepers"
always.
Another precious volume, discovered
In the same way and probably left by
some one who had hankering for the
medical profession, was doctor book"
OF the type once so popular, and still
widely sold in country districts. Over
the stretch of years we still remember
the stress which this book put upon
the use of camphor. There was cold"
remedy which consisted of a certain
number of drops of spirits of camphor
in water.
The medical practices of the Japa-
nese were detailed at length. There is
one statement we recall, which had to
do with colds. It was to the effect that
If one bathed his feet every night in
cold water he would never catch cold"
Another lost book was Through
Swamp and Glade" we'll told story of
the Seminoles, written by Eirke Mon
roe, whose death occurred last week.
Another OF his books, and even more IA
nous, is THE Flamingo Feather"
One who looks at the books of his
childhood may be forgiven for believing
that many of them were of better
workmanship than much that is being
produced today After all, that is only
saying that childish impressions are
mighty.
Yet undoubtedly life, as a whole, was
taken more seriously in the gay 9Os."
Even the sophisticates were not SO So
ph1st1cated, as 1t were. On the other
hand, he who looks back at his books
must remember that, In the average
case, he has by no means kept up with