Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-14
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY the B0oklover

i was faithful servant and follower OF
Charles XII of Sweden in all his cam
raigns, when he had "ploughed the fur
row between Poland and Russia" For
his services to the crown the general
had received the estate of Hedeby, in
the Parish of Bro, and great signet
ring, set with red carnelian, engraved
with the Kings signature. The general
had his portrait painted with the glove
removed from his left hand, so that the
ring was displayed on his forehnger
1.-THE same reason that caused Bengt
| Lowenskold to display his ring in his
| portrait made him wish to have it
| buried in his grave with him. And
| here, too, there was no question of van
| ity. He had no wish certainly to boast
| of wearing a great Kings jewel on his
| finger when he appeared in the presence
| of Our Lord of the Archangels, but he
| hoped that when he entered the hall
! where Charles XII would be sitting, sur
| rounded by his trusty swordsmen, the
| ring might win him recognition, so
that he would spend eternity close to
the man whom he had served and
honoured of his life" This ring of the
general influenced the fortunes of the
Lowenskolds for several generations,
as the story is told by Selma Lagerlof
| in her trilogy The Ring of the Lowen-
| skolds,' the three parts Of which are
THE Generals Ring" Charlotte
Lowenskold' and Anna Svard"
The ring which had been the treas
ure of Gen. LoWenskold and a symbol
Of service and honor, became q curse
to his descendants. If 1t had been
: allowed to remain on the finger of the
! dead general ell would have been well
and his family would have continued to
, live as masters Of Hedeby in peace and
prosperity. But the ring was stolen
from the coffin few months after the
generals death. when the generals
| coffin was placed in the walled vault
which he had had prepared for him
self in Bro churchyard the ring was
safe on the forefinger of his left hand
Many of those present regretted that
so great a treasure should go with thu
dead man tn his grave, for the general
ring was almost as well known as TIL
| general himself, and as famous. +
People were universally agreed that +
was generous Of his sons not to oppoeo
his wish, but to bury his treasure with
him." The greed which his sons did not
possess proved too strong. however, for
others in the parish. The stealing of
the ring is told dramatically, as is also
the story Of the swift retribution which
followed. The ring disappeared for
many years and the ghost of the gen.
eral walked at Hedaby searching for
1t, demanding it's return. The ring
was found, was stolen again, caused
the execution of three innocent men,
was found again, was hidden. and was
finally restored to the coffin of the
general. But the deaths of the inno-
cent men had to be expiated and the
daughter Of the woman who had thrown
the ring back into the vault established
claim upon the Lowenskolds. So the
family fortunes became badly tangled.
X X X X
'"The Ring of the Lowenskolds" is not
as completely romantic as are the open
ing chapters. There is much realism in
the later story The two characters
who dominate the story are Charlotte
Lowenskold and Karl Arthur Ekenstedt,
remote descendants of the general.
Charlotte is a spirited, managing, hui
morous. kindly girl and Karl Arthur
Is religious fanatic. Charlotte devotes
herself for time to the task of saving
Karl Arthur from himself, but when
she finds that she is not succeeding, but
is only winning eXecrations for herself,
she is too sane to persevere. She sensibly
attends to her own happiness and does
not allow herself to be unduly disturbed
by the growing eccentricities of Karl
Arthur. though she always retains to-
ward him the role of guardian angel.
The influence of the ring upon Char
lotte and Karl Arthur is remote and
makes itself felt only through the evil
control eXerted over Karl Arthur by
Thea Sundler. the organists wife, and
daughter of that Malvina Spaak who
long before had pushed an old cap, in
which was sewn the ring, into the gen.
erals vault.
One entry in THE Diaries Of John
Bright" recently edited by r. A. j.
Walling, is tribute to Lincoln, whom
Bright had always admired but never
seen. After the assassination he wrote:
In him I have observed a singular
resolution honestly to do his duty,
great courage, shown in the fact that
in his speeches and writings no word of
passion or of panic, or of ill-will has
ever escaped him; great gentleness of
temper and noblenesS of soul proved by
the absence of irritation and menace
under circumstances of the most des-
perate provocation, and a pity and
mercifulness to his enemies which
seemed drawn as from the very fount of
Christian charity and love. His sim
plicity for time did much to hide his
greatness, but all good men everywhere
will mourn for him, and history will
place him high among the best and
noblest of men," This prophecy of
John Bright has already been fulfilled,
and the recent TRADE of Edgar Lee
Masters is not likely to alter the verdict
OF sane and scholarly historians.
Fifteenth in the series Of volumes
called 1.-THE Modern World" edited by
the Right Hon. H. A. L. Fisher. is the
volume Australia" by w. K. Hancock,
fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and
professor Of modern history in the Uni
versity Of Adelaide. The history of
modern or civilized Australia extends
back only about $50 years. Before that
time Australia was a wild bush, much
of which still remains, inhabited by
primitive Savages. So to trace the
history Of Australia is not long process.
Prof. Hancock has done it with sufi-
Gent thoroughness and with much
interest. Present-day Australia is de-
scr1bed as an independent nation, de-
veloping its own economic and social
lie, In many ways not unlike the United
States. A good f1ctional complement to
TINS book of fact by Prof. Hancock are
the novels OF Henry Handel Richardson,
The Fortunes of Richard Mahony,"
The Way Home" and Ultima Thule"
X X X X
"If as Is usually the case in large
parties in private homes" says Charles
Browne in his amusing but very in
formative Gun Club Cook Book" mo
tables are set up for the buffet lunch,
the guests help themselves and, after
consuming the first round in sun
parlor, music room or the stairs, de-
post the used plates anywhere that
fancy or opportunity dictates-under