Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-13
1922.

pocket handkerchief spread Of SOIL And it is
all Of an unimaginable stir. Those writer's OBJ
Viously IN love with their subject have man
aged to transfer the spirit Of their zest and
pluck and confidence over into the story, along
with the substantial body Of real information
Of which It Is compact Sounds bit strenuous
doesn't it!-for an engagement Of Summer
reading. It isn't. It IL the seashore instead
and cool winds and lusty minds. It Is, more
over. solid chunk of information ON a gen.
orally interesting subject. Sponsored by the
Governor of the State, the dignified and hand
some book Is sure to make q wide way into
the acceptance Of readers from other quarters
Of our wide commonwealth.
THE PATRIOTS PROGRESS: Being the Vicis-
STUDIES Of Pie. John Bullock. Related by
Henry Williamson and drawn by William
Kermode. New York: T. p Dutton E Co.
I'm the 10 years since the World War a new
kind Of war story has been created. Com
manders and generals are in eclipse. for the
time being, at any rate. The hullabaloo of
made-up enthusiasm has died completely out
In the stead Of all this a few men-here and
there one-come climbing out Of the ground, so
to speak, each with something to say. Each
with some hating, horror-weighted thing to
say about what he and his fellow fighters saw
and felt down in the hell where they had been
for something like four years-where a single
hour was go seconds too long in any decent
world Well, here they are. These new writer's
on the subject Of the war. Naturally, their
stories are much alike The chief difference
among them lies I'm the separate capacity Of
each author to feel deep down to his soul that
mOnStrouS thing which he 10 meeting and
coupled with this power, that other one Of
transmitting emotions to words poignant and
communicable. Taken together, these gifted
recorders Of war as they knew it are creating
new literature Of international combat. And
ft b good for it Is true. No, not pleasant read
ing Not Summer day easement Read Il,
nevertheless. Feel it. Go along with it, That
10 your part, and mine-you in the hammock.
I sprawled at ease.
You know Henry Williamson. For you have
read his beautiful stories Of the quiet country
side, Of cattle cropping in the pastures. of wild
things darting through the forest paths, Of
sunrise and falling rain. You know the deep
sense of beauty that this man has, Of quiet
beauty. You remember ~''Tarka. the Otter" and
''The Old Stag" You have many q time fol-
lowed IN deep delight this mans way with
words. the feeling precision that set word and
action together. word and picture, word and
poem. For, In essence. Henry Williamson Il o
poet. Not only in essence either, but In
medium as well Think Of this man. this
author OF Lone Swallows and It's kind O. q
private in the great war. That is what he was
And, coming out from 1t he has written about
It under the mildly Honic title Of Patriots
Progress" An epic lies In the title-youth ex-
allied over the grandeur and glory Of his native
land, fired to his highest of body and soul
against unrighteous assaults upon it. Q crusader
for the Lord God of his great and sacred coun-
try. That Is Henry Williamson. Gone to war
now for the safety Of the world. And this is
the story of that blazing sacrifice. John Bull
lock IS trench man, a dugout denizen along
with his company. And this il the story Of
John and his fellow crusaders. An amazing
story. For, you see, it is built upon SENSITIVE
ity Of feeling whose subtlety and delicacy we
know. For we know Henry Williamson. But
there Is nothing delicate here except the sense
to appreciate that It is lacking, replaced by q
brutality inconceivable So the medium of ex-
preston Is to be regeared to the new situation
Therefore, the record plods and stumbles and
falls. Therefore, the record crystaIlizes bodily
suffering, cold and wet hunger and thirst, and
all the inconceivable rest, passing these over to
the alert feelings OF the reader who is follow
ing these words that Henry Williamson has
packed full, each Of them, with It's true con-
tent Some Of these words actually burst over
the readers head, with the ''Woo-r, w0o-r,
WoO-r, plop, woo-r, plop" Of gas shells. FOR
Christ's sake get move on in 'front.'" and on
and on without end. In this amazing i'm
mediacy Of effect Henry Williamson gets yeo-
lures are heavy in every line with war-pro-
fame, ribald. blasphemous. War, you see-the
instrument of great peoples for the polite set
Element of their differences about boundaries,
and concessions and the other whatnot Of civ
ilised intercourse. High artist, this man viii
hanson. Artists both of them. And o greatly
horrible picture Of the private soldier in war
time who. like John Bullock here, comes home,
but piece of a man-and then, what?
HER PRIvATEs WE. BY Private 1922. New
York: G.. p Putnams Sons
6LEARLY, another great war story from the
- standpoint of the fighting man. In detail
these records of the private soldier cannot vary
greatly. Just the same round of bitter exac-
TONS lust the same lack Of any sort of COM