Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-01
.7heGase of
Short

And old Nen-Tsang set about vengeance for
the deadly wrong that had been done to his
high mightiness and long lineage through the
wanton amour of one whom he had SO highly
honored.
And So Nen-Tsang looking about for some
thing subtly sure in its ways of destruction,
trained the little girl Della-Wu, from baby
hood to the professional life of the courtesan.
Interesting, this. Tie possibility of training
a child, any child, to the ways of sin while
the child remains impregnabIe to evil. In
teresting, too that by virtue of an innocence
which every child, in essence, possesses, Della
WI remains Spotless. Enjoying to the full, the
arts that were taught her. the beautiful
things that were showered upon her. the ways
Of charm into which she was guided, Della-Wu
became a ravishment of beauty, and citadel
Of innocence that left suitors helpless and
futile Tragedy, true. For in the end, one
more brutal than all sought by force to break
through the barriers of Della-Wu. Frightened,
unknowing, revolted, the child became the VIC
tim of a thwarted male who. enraged hurled
her to death in the great river flowing by the
palace grounds of old Nen-Tsang.
READINGS IN BIOGRAPHY. Selected and
Edited by Clara L. Myers, professor Of
English, Western Reserve University.
A BOOK of selections designed to give in
n handy and comprehensive form extracts
from Lives" of famous men, The book
Is calculated, besides, to throw light on the
question, now SO much to the fore, as to the
nature of biography, its relation to history on
one hand, to the novel en- another.
Here one comes upon widely diverse charac-
tiers, upon widely separated periods of time
Plutarch is here with his immortal portrayals
Cellini and Pepys are here in their self
revelatory roles. Boswell brings his Johnson
and Lockhart his Scott. Jane Adams and
Hamlin Garland come into the present. Viz
OF N iS in 0f her cost Wit
ing selves" At the last is James TruSlow
Adams bringing biography to its finest Ameri-
can Towering.
The book is as intelligently projected as it
is carried out in a spirit of helpful scholar
ship Admirable for students And quite as
worthwhile for readers of serious bent toward
an increase of information upon important
matters.
BEFORE THEY WE'RE MEN. BY Charles
Wertenbaker. New York: Horace LiVeright
BOWED down with books and books. There
- fore, rather dUler than usual, in my mind
So drawing Before They Were Men" from
the monstrous pile, I thought, and said, "Oh,
I'm sick of prehistoric things, crawling and
slithering about on their way toward being
human"
Then opened the book Then woke up
For let me tell you here is a fine story Of
boys school boys. And if you think that matter
has been overdone, that Owen johnson gath
cred all the acornS from that particular tree
and ran away with them-why then here Is
a chance to revise your opinions and q time
to give credit to Charles Wertenbaker for q
boy story that stays, strictly, within the lines
of a truly royal domain. Boydom. Two
youngsters bear the brunt of the doings,
Sleepy" and Shadow" One was wizard
at foot ball. The other could speak pieces IN
a way to turn Daniel Webster and Charles
Sumner plain grumpy with envy. Four years
Of the good live stuff are given here for
boys to read in envy. and for the elders to
look back upon through the glamour Of 81
used to do that
A Kentucky lad to start with Charles Wer-
tenbaker. Then to Virginia for university
training. Newspaper work next Then a fling
into the life of adventure over in Ireland
Newspaper again, a reporter on The Washing
ton Star. Here he did story writing moving
in this line over to The Saturday Evening
Post. Now, Before They Were Men" a book
that brought ''ne enough money to buy Ford
and go to Spain" MY next book will hope
enable me to buy another Ford and go back
g. ~,