Evening star., 1933-02-05
1Y SARAH Q. BOWERMAN
Hilairv Belloc Considers the Career ofNa-
Poleom-7He Romance of Wine, and the
Nezvest Work OF fhe Fiction W11ters

Pramnian Wine and Tokay. and the Wines If
Ancient Rome" is full of literary illusions and
much classical informal ton. For example:
"Odysseus at any rate had no truck with cock
tails" and, 1T Is probe BILE that most of the
Roman wines, even the best would have been
spoiled for our palates by the taste Of pitch"
FLIGHT INTO AMERICAS PAST: INCA
PEAKS AND MAYA JUNGLES. BY Marie
Beale. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.
LYING has become an accepted mode OF
travel, but is not yet so common that it
has been adopted by tourist companies for
cruises So this book by Mrs. Beale, which, by
the way, has a most beckonng title, is an ac-
count of not at all conventional journey.
She travelled over South and Central America
by the newly established airline and saw the
country chiefly from above, eliminating the dis
comfort Of earth travel She recognized all
that she was escaping in the way Of dirt, trop-
ical diseases insects and primitive, back-break-
ing conveyances. for she says: "Only now that
there is an air service, is it possible for my
kind to have a glimpse of lands hitherto dis
tant many weeks journey and that, in some
cases, under most trying circumstances, which
only the real scientist, explorer or engineer
will endure"
The journey included nonstop flight over
the Argentine pampa, crossing the Andes at
her small cairn "Salty'), drop into Bolivia,
another into Peru; then a second start from
Panama to Guatemala and Yucatan, where
the jungles, peopled with ruined temples, were
beautiful from above. but where the descents
were horrible" Mrs. Beales narrative Is not
confined to impressions from the air. 1t in
terweaves historical background and modern
life with her own experiences in delightful
manner entirely lacking in dry detail. The
ia Illustrations some in color are well CO.
ordnated with the text The front page 1lll;-
tration is reproduction of a water color OF
an ancient embroidered textile from Paracas
of about 500 AID. Some are from her own
photographs The one of the lost citadel OF
Machu Picchu, Peru, discovered In 1870
"girdIed by the rushing Urubamba" and built
on an impregnable peak at the frontier Of the
Incas push into the tropic selva" gives an idea
of the grandeur of the Andean scene. IWo
maps inside the covers enable us to follow MIS-
Beale's travels accurately we read Both
as a book of travel and popular archeology
Mrs Beale's book is among the best.
SONGS OF THE VOLSUNGS. Adapted by Dor
othy G. Hosford from "Sigurd the Volsung,"
by William Morris Illustrated by Frank
Dobias. New York: The Macmillan Co.
PROBABLY the best of all children's litera-
I ture is to be found in the old folk tales
and heroic legends of the nations, but to ap-
peal to the modern child they must be retold,
not once, but perhaps at least once for each
generation. An unusually good retelling OF
the Morse saga is this by Dorothy Hosford. 1t
is adapted to children of 10 or IL years and
meets less competition for their interest than
some Of the other epic material, because the
Scandinavian sagas have been less frequently
treated than the Homeric, Arthurian, Robin
Hood, and Nibelungenlied stories. Sons Of the
Volsungs is based the first two books OF
William Morris translation of the 'Volsunga
Saga" 1t tells the story of Sigurd, son of Sig
mund, King of the Volsungs, and his famous
horse Greyfell, and his sword, 'the Wrath OF
Sigurd" It closes with the awakening Of Bryn-
hild by Sigurd upon Hindfell when he placed
his ring on her finger and their hearts were
full and glad" Admirably suited to the subject
and difficult of achievement is the rhythmic
prose in which the book is written.
THE PROVINCIAL LADY IN LONDON. By
E. M Delafield. New York: Harper g. Bros.
| IAvING learned to like and be amused by
] ! the provincial lady in her country home,
to wonder whether her substantial and ade
quately- providing but rather grumpy husband
will be very disagreeable when he learns of
the pending arrival Of his wifes school friend
for a week end, to hope her children will not
both catch influenza at the same time, we are
delighted to meet the lady again. Even more
are we pleased to learn that she has had a sue
cessful book published and is able thereby to
take fiat in London, enjoy few literary and
club associations, and do some travelling. Her
pleasure in these tangible benefits is in no way
lessened by the facts that she cannot allow her
children to read her book and that one of the
letters she receives asks her whether she is
aware that the doors of every decent house
will henceforth be shut to her That Robert
does not like the fiat and that continental
breakfasts are not success with him do not
appreciably mar her enjoyment. She is used
to Robert.
Like the earlier book DIARY of Provincial