Evening star., 1932-03-20

mouth, bring water 10 tne eyes, tlngie the
nCstrils And clever, quite revealing and dis
turbngy clever.
This young woman suggests feminine
modern Swift Modishy gowned and shod-
vet belted With the tradition of the school
teacher One wonders how she happened. AL
ready the author Of half dozen novels, each
indubitably her own in both body and spirit,
Mathilde Eiker. author of ronic tales and
teacher to boot is exciting young woman
to read and to think about. The Senator 5
Lady" is likely to stand as the best OF the six.
Fine in structure, as. indeed all Of her novels
arc, this is a bit more tempered in its
findings though none the less professionally
expert in its operations-in its incisions and
disclosures.
FATHERS OF THEIR PEOPLE BY H. w.
Freeman, author of Joseph and His Breth-
rem" New York: Henry Holt d Co.
THE family is certainly suppanting the in
| divioual as material for many leading
novelist As if a single fgure-hero or hero
ine-too soon runs short of those influences
and Implications of those resources that
group of the same blood and up-bringing alone
can provide in dramatic and plausible effects.
A case in point Father of Their People" :"
as was also its predecessor Joseph and His
Brethren" The soil itself is primarily the alb
sorption of this author. What 1t, in some par
ticular locality has yielded Of human stun
and natural products, working in partnership
and understanding this the preoccupation OF
Mr. Freeman. The South of England and the
yeoman farmer of Suffolk set this finely sub
stantial novel on it's way. family, sons and
daughters. tilling the soil and running the
house Not so much else That is, there are
no high moments OF tragedy or other tension.
This is not tale of adventure, save the clear
adventure of being alive and working for ones
keep.
However, the story is redolent with sort
of natural poetry, wide fields open in pictures
painted by sun and storm. Smell Of earth
under the plow, of hay at harvest time. Rough
workmen whose rude humor is sound and tonic,
never maudlin. never deliberately nasty. The
friendships. the love-making and such other
companionship as grows naturally out Of this
English farmland. The people themselves are
worth wooing. as they are also OF an unfor-
gettable quality. The horse-lover, the sheep
herder and the rest each with wife or sweet
heart. And the grandfather of all, really the
father" of this region by virtue, as many sus-
pected. of a very literal and wide and un-
regulated fathering of many of the little felix's
OF his young and lusty days However in a
somewhat patriarchal sense is he considered
in this story. a true friend and father to all
in the Suffolk shire of England. novel for
the feeling reader, for the discriminating one.
One to meet the need of those who right now
in particular crying for help to get away
from the deluge of poor stuff, called popular
novel" and best seller" Superior. worth while,
lasting. Father of Their People"
York: The Century Co.
4 Ar. AND MRS. PEATTIE, novelists, both.
iVi not so long ago lived in Washington. just
outside the city itself. Mr.. Peattie, plant spe-
cialist in the Department of Agriculture, sends
in TO The Star little sketches and reports show
ing the progress Of plant life within his own
yard and in the wood lot nearby. Welcome al
ways and to many, these reports, since they
are very warmly different from usual fact find
ing performances. Now the Peatties went
away, plant collecting, 1t is assumed across the
world in China and elsewhere. But, about a
year ago word came by way of novel, Pans
Parish written by Louise Redfield Peattie, a
very beautiful evocation of paganism accord
ing to Pan himself, inspired by the beauty of
the mountainous corner of Provence, where 1t
appears, the Peatties have settled for the time
at least
And now here comes the second novelist In
this family of two Mr.. D. c. Peattie quite
enviable case of family rivalry in novel writing
this The Port of Call concerns itself with
interludc of love, in the otherwise absorbed
life of a scientist. Off in China in an OFF,
cially authorized gathering of rare plants.
Reith, by chance, served a young Latin ad-
venturer in his dying. And when the story
opens the ship returning Reith homeward was
entering the port of Marseille where the young
man left it to go up into the hills to carry to
the father and sister of Paolo Orcagna the
story of his death. And the daughter was
young and tall and beautiful as the boy Paolo
had been. So. for the hour or the day, or the
week, nature took its inevitable course and love
grew between the two The story is that epi-
sode, developed in beauty and passion-and In
brevity. Young love. and quick love, knows
no surface barriers. 1t is the deep variance Of
blood that sooner or not quite so soon sets up
the obstacle unsurmountable. swift and
passionate romance whose charm is clearly en-
hanced by the beauty of the spot Of earth In
which it SO suddenly buds and blooms and
fades In effect natural easement In the