Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-16

Rnd-tumble of warm public accept
ance or curt public denial That al
Tentative Is simply rhetorical Fur
this story should make a fine getaway. 1t hiss
telling points Fresh in conception. Wide In
circuit. Workmanly in construction. Vivid IN
effects Withal human story.
Damon and Pythias David and Jonathan.
set, broadly the pattern upon which are fash
toned these two big brothers, David and
Charles who carry in pioneer adventurings
out where Omaha and roundabout were yet
the wilderness. Quite a stretch back, you see.
Friendship, deep and inviolable between two
men, is, you've guessed, the theme Of the story.
Love, unbreakable Tests, severe are needed
to make the theme stand up for any length
of time. And So Karin, the woman, is brought
into this Wild West adventure. Oldest and
suEtIeSt of the worlds peace breakers. this
Karin. Stolen at that from another man by
David who magnanimously allows the puny and
beTeft Grosjean to come along for safety"
And Grosjean comes along. Well, that is the
story IN so far its man-and-woman romance
goes. All three of the men love Karin, or think
they do In scarcity of the feminine element
men can believe themselves into many an
otherwise inexplicable state of mind and folly
OF action They do here. The point is that
the line Of love and friendship between David
and Charles is not crossed A tragic story, as
love story Absorbing by way of its intelli-
gent and sympathetic and plausible develop
ment.
Then there is the story of adventure with
empty miles of prairie and mountain and river.
The adventure with snow and cold with secur-
ing dinner from the endless landscape and
its shy wild denizens. The adventure of max
ing sod house, with one room for the horses
as aid to the heating system of the hut a
room for Karin and David and the common
room for Charles and Grosjean, bunked by
night bundles of dried twigs and leaves
Days that go into hunting and trapping And
oh
trapped and waiting, gnawing of their own
feet, meanwhile You would better read that
slowly, you can.
The West spreads here not as if the man
were trying to spread it. AS If, rather he
knew It and loved 1t and were with discrimi-
mating hand and heart, selecting and compos-
ing It's characteristics and saliences for us to
seize upon and enjoy For, you see it is all
gone now, save as a knowing and feeling man
goes over it for a dip below It's present surfaces
Oh by the way, I do hope you will not miss
that grand, and tragic. conflict between two
wolves and giant elk. Find it and read
it. surprising artistry of ringside work, this
A commentary, too, on the actually of life
not merely the life of wolf and elk
I'm delighted with Brothers in the West
No I'm not going to say it, 1 was merely going
to remind you that this is the fifth in the
series OF the Harper prize program. You re-
call The Able Mclaughlin" The Perennial
Bachelor" The Grandmother" The Dark
Journey" And here Brothers in the West.
whose author is doubtless happy over the
triumph OF his first novel. He should be- A
modern novel worth reading the second time
even by few, must be a proud novel
CABALLERoS. BY Ruth Laughkin Barker.
Illustrated By Norma van Sweringen New
York d. Appleton d Co
THE Pilgrim Fathers set the front door to the
New World upon Plymouth Rock And
from that point New England spread far up
and down the Atlantic Coast Gradually it
widened to the Western wilderness and finally
spanned the country. To-day while many other
parts Of the world have contributed racial and
national trend to the sum Of American life IT
Is, nevertheless English character and trait that
stand in common acceptance as the ground
work of our political and social existence The
claim is not an unfair one. Exaggerated maybe
Probably is. The point right here however
Is that beside the invasion from England there
was an earlier one of such spectacular quality
OF aim and appearance and actual achievement
az TO excite wonder that for so long a period It
has remained in comparative obscurity where
the surviving influence of England in America
steadily grew and spread At the bottom of
this problem lies, no doubt, the sharp contrast
of purpose between the invasion OF the English
DOrthward and that OF the Spaniards to the
south The win to political freedom prompted
the one toward migration. Gold-seeking ex-
po1eo oi pure adventure drove SPAN across the
sea. The first found what 1T was seeking and
remained The other missed the golden fleece
and abandoned the quest Not however, until
IN that region Of the South and Southwest
Spain had, by way Of its conquistadores and
caballeros and holy men set up many a nnonu-
ment Of that early period of gold seeking and
religion planting and empire building And
this region has becomes Recommendations
kind of gem-bearing lode. deep vein of
romance and legend, set in the solid substance
OF history itself for poet and tae-teller TO pur-
yey to hosts Of readers just Weakening 10 the
romance, TO the dazzling picture Of that Spain
planted COLONY so long In advance of Plymouth