Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-20

had claimed human victim as the penalty
OF his disobedience. And you remember the
coming by of Perseus, valorous and beautiful
Youth who rescued the maiden-and then, of
course loved her. This incident and others OF
blood kin to it-either true happenings or
made-up ones-gave rise to the greatest story
in the world. the love story. A chameleon OF
a.Story that changing in hue and glow minute
by minute stays forever young, forever the best
story of all. Out of this particular form OF
recording there have emerged at long intervals
epics of great lovers. Not many of these but
undying and dizzying in their hold upon the
human heart. Petrarch and Laure, HelolSe
and Abelard, to name the most familiar and
the best beloved. Now We are minded again
of this ancient Andromeda and Perseus. And
this in turn brings us to the Andromeoa In
Wimpole street Brings us to the love story OF
Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning.
In sadder plight even than her prototype,
this Andromeda was bound between two rocks,
tight-wedged against her. One of these was
nothing other than the bed OF an invalid the
other was the hard will of a sef-engroSsed
father Not very good soil to sprout so delicate
a seed as love. Yet the miracle came to pass
And young SA,owning, poet, fell IN love Win
Elizabeth BaIrett's poetry before he ever saw
the lady loving her, sight unseen" through
the genius of her verse. And here is the story,
the love story begun by letters and, in so lar
as this book is concerned, carried out chleny
through the same medium. And deeply con-
vincng romance it is, though OF pattern SO
strange, so WeIlnlgn ulpeLeNdplS' AAiC lh"AS
loves health, youth, beauty, vigor OF blood,
prompt residences. In a word, the male loves
himself and, looking into mirror OF SUCH
airlish charm, he thrown back to MIN MS
own self, his own power as miracle worker,
creating such responsive beauty by his own
strength. Therefore the wonder grows over
the unmiStakable passion of Robert Browning
for this sick girl even though she was great
artist But here it Is, in all of these letters.
Here also is her resistance to the onset OF
romance in face of the common sense that
warns her. But, for once In q million times,
common sense failed and the very pinnacle OF
no sense at all bound Robert and Elizabeth
Browning to an indiSSouble union. Inclden-
tally, it joined them to the little group OF great
lovers. who at long intervals, have TRANSPORTED
romantic intercourse, have beautifed literature
with word-colors of rose and gold, with a silver
verdancy of sheen. There is uplift in this read
ing. Yet it is merely a literal account OF the
reluctant yielding of a girl-or sick girl In
bond to q selfish, obdurate and cruel tather-
to the mastery Of love.
One author and extraordinarily Skeptic
in this case besides-rather begs the whole
question of great love by concluding that
robert Browning was the greatest husband
In the world" Much too big a matter to open
up here, since it requires deep analysis OF
husbandly greatness, deeper probe into the
question of -and-woman love, a rearing
of much public discussion of marriage and
host of other intellectual and emotional review
Let IL go tnaI fSODeTI
greatest husband in the world" But read
this book for its complete survey of the ro-
nance, for its fair appraisal Of the Andromeda
in the case for the sturdy sincerity of Brown
ina for the true idyl that steps out from this
in-seeng and artful portrayal of most vital
episode or dream in the life Of every man and
woman.
BY THE WATERS OF MANHATTAN. Charles
Reznikoff. Introduction by Louis Inter
AwInn nl1nt Don
book
A GRAY story. The grayness deepens
4 here and fades a bit there, but the
general hue does not change. Despite the
pervasive gloom, it is posseSSive story. Every
sentence is a bit of truth about life. Each
chapter is a budget of fact on the resources OF
the human to Withstand the insenSate cruelty
of nature, or destiny, or whatever the driving
power of existence is. 1t is the story OF
family of Russian Jews, trying to hve-to eat
and sleep and wear clotheS-in the native land
Then the migration to this country and what
befalls here. Bare, bald, no gesture toward
sOftening the case nor, for that matter, toward
making it harder, here is-really no story
Rather it is rigid workmanship like carving
where even slight slip or mistake can be
tolerated. Father and mother and children
step out here, Jewish family deep-grounded
I'M its own ritual of life, alien TO the softer soil
OF America frightened at its ATTITUDES, bewi-
dered by it's easy shiftings, trying with might
and main to hold on to itself within this ready
urgency toward every sort of giving way to
inviting circumstance. You will not fnd
story of simpler statement nor one of greater
obvious sincerity. Just a Jewish household,
rooted in its own tradition, striving patiently.
pathetically, for only a small share OF that
which mounts in seeming abundance all around
It. story of the poor everywhere The dif-
ferences hardly count-and yet they do count
here. What happens? Nothing, except to
keep on. It seems to me to be very fine art
to transfer life TO words of such telling effect