Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-02

OUT Ill clear Eclicl IuC SuO~
stance of human existence in pretty
much all that counts about it-upon
this plane at any rate. The zest of this
performance is electric in effect Its
simplicity an amaZement. Its richness
Of tone and color embraces realities that
lie far beyond the waiter and the bar
maid and the street walker. Even so,
the local savorS of the time and place
are complete and true-and disturbing.
Patrick Hamilton has notably fresh
to the business Of writing. His
portraits are of his own hand. His
speech is of his own tongue. There are
no borrowings, no beggings here. Stirred
by this unusual manner, excited by 1t,
some of the readers call this a deeply
humorous matter. 1t is deep matter,
no doubt about that, but it is of such
tragic content and import that to read
it is a blend of sorrow at the bottom
and of delighted surprise over the origi-
nality and vigor Of the upper layers Of
this sad comedy Of youth hunting down
its visions and dreams. Poor Bob! Yet
with all three here is a sheer perfec-
ton of artistry in the delivery of a bar
all of the human tribe may
see spots and patches of itself. Great
work, done in the laughter Of perfect
truth and similitude.
\ 4 X \
CERIO: That Capri Air. Fore
word by Francis Brett Young. New
York: Harper & Bros.
REEN to Capri? To be sure-but no
matter That ancient grotto of the
gods has been so rhapSodiZed by poet
and painter on the one hand. SO shop
ped over by touring souvenir hounds
on the other that, Capri to be seized
IN any measure of adequacy must be
taken as "a state of mind" But, just
here comes a group of waywiSe travel
ers through the domain of letters and
are as well as in the fields of solid earth
who claim to deliver to us the only
authentic, reliable, sufficing Capri that
there is. To make good their promise
they introduce "the man of Capri"
Edwin Cerio, who. so 1t appears, let his
soul out to pasture in Capri. There the
beauties of the spot together with its
soldier gifts of soil and plant and
scented blossoms, and these touched
with the essence of legend and myth
and song-all became the tranScendent
thing. THAT Capri Air" This distila-
ton through the being of Edwin Cerio,
man of Capri" becomes here a series
of translations from Cerio himself by
one and another person-each indubita-
bly, alive and responsible for his acts.
Doubt has been thrown against these.
1t is a work of pure imagination-a
fantasy, a play time for a troupe of
wandering paganS. All right. The dis
pute serves to rouse curiosity at any
rate, an effort greatly to be desired in
the purveying Of goods of any sort.
That is something else. AS for this, it
is delicious-just that-a thing to taste,
to move upon the tongue for the SUBJ
TEST of its flavors. II we become dis
trustful of so much Of undilute pleasure
we may read here: Every word of this
remarkable book is true. Each one of
these fantastic figures that makes his
gesture on Cerio's canvas has existed
in the flesh or (wavering a bit) If not
in the flesh at least in the spirit. Never
mind. In either case, or in both. here
is something to delight in for its sheer
uninhibited artistry. Get into 1t with
out any dub.eties and doubts.
BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION. BY
A. A. Milne, author of Not That It
Matters" etc. New York: E. p.
Dutton g. Co.
a A. MILNE Is in command of leisure
~ at least that is the effect of
him-kindliness, understanding. whim-
steal way with him. fine touch with
the innumerable little things that, after
all, serve to deliver any subject alive
and on top of the ground. 1t is with
these marks of himself that he here
talks about writers and artists, about
the drama and stagecraft, love and
marriage, group of silver birches, I"
about almost anything, or almost Moth
ing at all. But 1t doesn't matter. Milne
lie Milne hOunVAr hio ar hnuyaVfor lifkla
his theme may be. There is one law to
guide him in his estimate Of the work
of writers-no matter what the theme,
no matter what the purpose in present.
ing 1t or the method of doing this, an
author inevitably and unvarylngly de-
livers himself. What he is and what he
thinks, what the shape of his mind,
what his attitude toward life-it is this
that gets first place upon the printed
page. So, too, don't you thinkP This
is the Milne foundation upon which he
builds often and well in the understand
ing and appreciation of readers. In this
book, so packed with the authors good
sense and genial manner, there is one
essay-are these "essays?"-that pleases
me most of all. "Childrens Books" 1t
seems so simple and so obvious that, Of
all writing, this branch should never be
written down" to an assumed lower
level for children. He Is right-simple
words. This is his single concession.
Let the story Iun big and free, right
from the mind of the great artists.
Don't dilute ID to its ruination for these
most divin ng and understanding of the
human tribe. At this point he gives an
example OF the common way Of writ
ing Tor children" 1t sounds like gross
and farcical exaggeration, but 1t is not
I've ssen 1t done by teachers, scores of
them, working themselves down to the
chlloren. A grotesque performance
were 1t not much worse than that
However, the children themselves take
care OF tn s, for they are surprising
critics whose cool aloofnesS sets the
stamp on such proceedings I've gone
on on my own here, but 1t is Mines
own" too-and I'm proud Of my COM
pany. We mustn't believe him at one
point though-that he is through writ
ing about Christopher Robin and his
MURDER YET TO COME. BY Isabel
Briggs Myers. New York: Frederick
A. Stokes Co.
4" A CORKING mystery yarn" Much
better than the average Of these !"
So the readers say. A $500 prize
awarded 10 1t appears TO give good sup
port to the judgment of such readers.
II you chance to be of the sapper tribe
you Will fall to digging in at once for the
"how-cum?" of this effect.
In terms of the householder this
writer is "bountiful provider" of ma
terial. Listen-Wicked old Malachi
Trent in gloomy Cairnstone House. An
other servant of the devil, shrewder.
deadlier. A girl, prosecuted to the edge
of insanity. A ruby stolen from the
Temple of Kali. Ram Singh in pursuit
OF 1t, bitter toward such Sacrilege, Poi
soned arrows. A female servant of the
witch-woman type. What do you think
CT that as bare material! Don't see any
trouble Tor this writer. For, stepping
fine MANAGEMENT cta.aAnl.i.... 49, -