Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1933-01-08


Head the northernmost point of Ireland. There
are ID brief essays Of travel and observation
all enlivened by humor and refreshing because
of the keen enjoyment that is part of being
25. The Items interspersed assist the pleasant
informality of the style as IF you pass man
working in the field, you should say God bless
the work. When you enter a cottage, the
proper salutation is God bless all here" MT
O'Connor is instructor in history in George
town University.
TWILIGHT OF ROYALTY. BY Alexander
Grand Duke of Russia. New York: Ray
Long & Richard Smith, Inc.
IN these days of democracy triumphant, it is
| a novelty TO find some one who frankly
thinks none too well OF it. Naturally. the Grand
Duke Alexander is not lover of democracy,
since he has been victim Of too much OF it. He
says: 1.-The more see of democracy, the less am
inclined to believe that its contribution to human
progress contains anything startlingly new or
makes the return of absolutism impossible
There is very little indeed in the practice of Gle
modern republican rulers which could be con-
sidered an improvement on the system created
by the Cars, the Kaisers and the Caesars oil
the Holy Roman Empire" The Grand Dukes
former book "Once a Grand Duke" was his
autobiography; this one gives his views on
present-day royalty and its chances Of sur
viving the next quarter century. He asks:
Are royalty people?" and thinks the opinion
has too much prevailed that "a sovereign has
no right to be human or honest" Anecdotes
of the former Kaiser, the former Gar, former
King Alfonso-so many former" OF
King George of England are from personal ex-
perience. King Alfonso occupies the largest
part of the volume. The Grand Duke believes
that love is responsible for many of the cas-
ualtes among royalty-love of wives more than
love of mistresses. Marie Antoinette lied her
husband to the scaffold"; the downfall of the
last Gar was brought about by the fact that
he was a devoted, ideal husband.
The last of the four parts of the book, THE
Art of Riding the Storm" discusses the meth
DDS employed by the remaining European SOW
ereigns to keep their thrones. One group, in
which are Queen Wilhelmina of Holland and
King Albert of Belgium practices enlightened
paternalism Another group, including Alex
ander I of Yugoslavia, Boris III of Bulgaria
and Carol II of Rumania, is actuated by the
motive Of unfolding Balkan absolutism. King
George of England and Victor Emmanuel HI
of Italy are respectively, the great British
enigma and the outstanding paradox of the
Fascist state THE Twilight of Royalty is
written in an easy conversational style, with
a fluent and varied vocabulary.
MISSING MEN. BY Capt John H. Ayers and
Carol Bird. Foreword by Alfred E. Smith
New York: G. p Putnams Sons.
THE title, Missing Men" is arresting the
! book is collection of real detective stories
which many will find more spectacular than
most of the manufactured tales of the same
type. They are drawn from the records of the
Missing Persons Bureau of the New York Police
Department, of which Capt Ayers has been in
command for Is years. Carol Bird, his assist
ant in this book, is experienced journalist
Not all of the missing men" are men; some
are women Not all are missing; some are
suicides or fake suicides some are insane;
some are victims of extortion or murder; some
are juvenile delinquents. 1t is an assemblage
of sordid. tragic. cases, lghtened, however by
the intelligent, sympathetic handling of Capt,
Ayers. who is psychologist and human1-
tartan well as a detective
MARY LINCOLN: WIFE AND WIDOW BY
Carl Sandburg New York: Harcourt, Brace
& Co.
\h/HILE writing his Abraham Lincoln: The
w Prairie Years" Carl Sandburg carried
on eager research into documents, interviewed
everyone he thought could tell him anything
about Lincoln, and visited the places in Ken
lucky and Illinois connected with Lincoln and
Mary Todd Lincoln. 1t is fair to imagine that
from the surplus material thus collected has
grown this biography-rather an Interpretation
than narrative of bare fact-of Mary Lincoln.
The spirit of the Interpretation is entirely mod
ern not that of Mrs. Lincoln's own time The
prologue gives a pathetic picture of her in
1882, the year in which she died, in the same
house where, nearly 40 years before, she had
been married to Abraham Lincoln. Much OF
the time in those last DAYS dressed in the
deepest mourning, she sat alone lin room OF
shadows where single candle burned Her
doctor attempted to persuade her to go out into
the Springtime, where the fresh air, the daily
warmer sun, and the singing birds would be
certain to soot1e her tense nerves bit for her