Evening star., 1933-10-22


maturely that it is already seeing
retrospectively and writing remnis-
Gently and autobio2raphically. Storm
JameSon's resent autobiography,
mo Time Like the Present. shows psychol-
Ogy completely shaped by the War years Of her
youth the youth that starting out happily
and sanely and shattered by the destruc-
ton of all its habitual ways and beliefs and the
cutting off of SO many of its contemporaries.
Is 1t surprising that Storm Jameson and Vera
Britain are both paciflSts? Storm Jameson is
a much more bitter one than Vera Britain
Vera Brittain's book is more concrete, less
emotional story. but not less convincing and
significant because it has some humor in the
shidst of its tragedy and ends with the finding
of peace.
Vera Brittains Testament" is the account
pof her grlhood, her War experiences and their
effect upon her, her life after the War as
Journalist, teacher, lecturer, internatonalist
member of the Labor party. Daughter of
mddle-class business family in Stafordshire,
she decided as girl to get away from small
town life and be writer. Her younger brother
Edward was equally ambitious to be musician
They planned to leave home together for OK
ford She had won an exhibition at Somer-
vlle Her brothers two friends, Roland and
Victor. were also going But it was the Sum-
mer of 1914. Vera Britain was the only one
of the four who reached Oxford She stayed
three terms and then left to become v. A. D.
nurse She and Roland, a poet became en-
gagged; he died of wounds Victor became blind
from wounds and she gave up nursing intend
ing to marry him and care for him. but soon
after she reached England and found him in
hospital something clicked" in his head one
night; he grew delirious and found the release
of death
She returned to nursing on the Continent
Her brother Edward was killed in Italy. OF
all her youthful world she alone seemed to re-
hat hore
ing the cataclysm which convulsed her world
ana lett her more courageous and wise than
before were her ability to see humor in the in
tervals OF tragedy and her love for the beauty
which she found even in war-torn Europe
Her stay in Malta, where she was nurse was
heallng experience. She writes of it: The
memory OF my sunlit months in the Mediter.
ranean during the Wars worst period of miser-
able stagnation still causes a strange nostalgia
to descend upon my spirit Malta remains in
my recolectlon as an interval of Heaven a
short year Of glamorous beauty and delight, in
winch, for the time being, came to life again
after Rolands death" Surely this book of
what the World War meant to one young
Woman Is as important war document as any
OF the blue, orange and white books setting
forth the responsibility for the War; according
to different Foreign Offices. 1t shows what the
war cid, whoever caused it. 1t is an honest
picture and will live long
1T WAS THE NIGHTINGALE. By Ford
MADDOX Ford. Philadelphia: ]. B. Lippin-
colt Co.
4 T Mr.. Fords home in Toulon. where this
autobiography was written, the nightingale
awakens him before dawn, so he has appropri-
ately chosen the plant of Juliet for his title.
His delightful book of "reminiscences Return
to Yesterday" part of an autobiography:
this is the remainder. Beginning life as Ford
|Madox Huef1er, son of the musical editor of
the London Times Mr.. Ford later changed his
name He was born Londoner, but is now
equally at home in England, France and the
united States He has known nearly all the
men and women in literary pursuits in all three
countries during the period of his adult life
and tells good anecdotes about them besides
giving his impressions of their peculiarities Mr.
Ford's humor plays lightly or ironically over
everything and everybody himself included.
Only when his friendship and collaboration with
Joseph Conrad are in question does he become
ultra-serlous, even at times irritable.
lover of luxury and the amenities, Mr..
\ Ford has been able to endure hard times
phllosophicay and with amusement When he
found that 'aS far as London was concerned
here was nothing to do but to get out or 90
nder," he went to live in hut in West Sussex
2d grew potatoes, which he named after liter
airy friends. The boy, "of no particular gifts"
VIII "oiheo lor LliH dICer morning lnSpec-
t1on of the plants. would report: "Mr. 'Enry
james have picked up proper in the night, but
Mr Conrad do peek and pine and is yalloWin'.
Mr. Galsworthys beetles ave spread all over
Miss Austin Mr. Ford has been happier since
a Hollywood contract brought him return
of prosperity and he has beensabe to divide
his time between the Mediterranean and New
York, whose divergent points he appreciates
to the full OF his Mediterranean villa on a
he
tween the top and bottom Of my garden, 50 that
if have to water the cabbages I have to
descend those GO feet up again
% get the wrench to turu the boSe-attachmeut