Evening star., 1934-11-21
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
Margaret Cevmond.

Margaret CevmoDd.
GONE RUSTIC. BY Cecil Roberts.
New York: D. Appleton & Co.
A cup Of tea, an old-fasllionod gar
den and Q punctured tire were the
original factors leading to the events
recorded by Cecil Roberts in this en-
chanting story Of adventure in quest
of an ideal home in his native land.
Many Of the extraordinary achieve
ments OF mankind have owed their
fulfillment to the inspirational infiu-
ence Of O well-brewed cup Of tea, and,
according to the poets and the his
torians, old-fashioned gardens have
produced almost as many varieties OF
romance as Of flowers. A punctured
tire. however, is not conducive to the
contemplation of matters associated
with the higher spiritual realm. but 1t
frequently leads to adventure, and IN
this particular instance 1t resulted IN
the realization Of a>suddenly conceived
ambition to go native"
Florida In December is an unusual
place and time to be fired with the
desire to possess an Elizabethan cot
tage in England. But. then, 1t does not
often fall to the lot Of the individuals
who make up that vast army Of sun
shine seekers which moves southwark
in Winter to be introduced to o bit OF
old England amid the orange groves,
the flame vine and the Spanish moss
of Florida. Mr.. Roberts had for q
week been enjoying to the utmost OF
Measure and contentment all OF the
! exotic beauty that semi-tropical Amer
lea has to offer. when his host sug-
eested that they drive to the home OF
an English family some thirty miles
distant for tea.
Meeting ones fellow countrymen
IN the odd corners Of the world Is
not an unusual experience, tnougn
II is nearly always q delightful one.
But Mr.. Roberts was not prepared
| to find so large slice OF MS natlVe
country as well as a family OF his na-
tive people transplanted and un-
changed in the lake region OF FLORIDA.
THE mouse and its furnishings were
of a bygone age, and Its occupants
had for forty years been proudly an-
staining from participation IN the
march of American customs and prog
ress and persistently maintaining
the life and the atmosphere OF
English provincialism. The superb
old lady who served them tea IN
yited Mr.. Roberts to see her gar
den. Delighted to meet q man from
her own country, she talked OF Eng
land and Of the gardens she had loved
| in her youth. She did not know
that Mr.. Roberts was q wanderer over
the face Of the globe, and that II
| had been his ambition to live IN
most of the large cities OF the world
rather than in rural England. Sne
asked him about his garden. He hao
no garden, nor had ne an aoequaOe
explanation for this elegant ana eioeI.
ly lady as to why he had not. II
was at that moment that the ampl-
ton 70 own an Elizabethan cottage
in England was born.
It became the fashion in this country
a few wears ago to go colonial" In all
of the original thirteen States there
has been feverish activity in the real
estate business to meet the demand
for old houses. Old romances have
been revived with the restoration and
reconditioning Of homes that once
we're famous-though many OF them
have had nothing but their age to
recommend them. Cities, villages,
rural districts and deep country have
been secured by agents seeking
abandoned and sometimes merely the
ruins of houses of colonial age. Mr..
Roberts quest was Of similar nature,
climaxing with speedy satisfaction
in the triumphant victory OF Q
punctured tire over . horde OF
real estate agents. The former LED
to the discovery in less than an hour
Of the ideal for which the latter had
been searching for month";.
Pilgrim Cottage was In sorry state
of disintegration when the authoz
found it, but it possessed all Of the
possibilities for perfection which hi
Imagination and his ambition had pic
tured. With the purchase Of thu
house q new world of romance, mys-
terry and adventure presented itseli
for exploration and conquest Ever
those who have never crossed the
threshold of an ancient Homestead
will respond to the exciting thrill o.
solving the intricacies Of restoring
fallen and sagging beams to theil
proper anchorage, to the search fol
information about the holes and cup
boards and recesses that were de.
signed for specific uses when the hous'
was built, and to the excursions intt
history and folklore to uncover secret.
long ago buried under time and
neglect.
Remembering the sheer poeti,
beauty of such familiar volumes .
Spears Against U.s." Scissors" PA
, mela's Spring Song" Sails Of Sunset
and other equally compelling storie
by Cecil Roberts, q new pleasure await
the followers of his literary produc
ences in q wave Of emotional enthusi
asm that induced him to turn hi
. back upon globe-trotting and lectur'
platforms and become o rustic in tn
land Of his birth.
1t brings to mind the experience o
the seeker after truth as related b.
H. P. Stoddard in the following lines
| he SedTCIeQ IOE 1Iutk1 III BlluC0 heA
But sham re-echoed wall on wall:
A hollow mockery.
, He searched for Truth In wintry caves
, And stumbled o'er the moulderinl
graves
OF martyrs, gone before.
{ He searched for Truth in city street,
But there the deathless, rhythmic bea
: OF progress stayed his step.
Returning from 0 distant shore.
He sat within his humble door:
/. Truth nestled at his feet"
Has Sail Passed Forever!
From the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Are there to be no more sailing YES
sells save yachts? The full-rigge'