Evening star., 1934-07-28

nave gone Win aim rs helpers, Iney
are at Camp Eighteen through the
Winter and early Spring and the ex-
perience they acquire is. we should
say. more than equal to any technical
course. They nnd. too. what Raoul,
the French Canadian wanderer. has
long since learned, that the forest. it
Is always full Of mystery" The three
books are abundantly supplied with
action. so that interest Ia not allowed
to lag, and the boy companions, In
dian Pete and Raoul are well individ-
ualtzed. Much information about the
woods. camping and wild life Is i'm
parted through the course Of the
stories. and the tone is very whole
some though not "preachy." because
OF the enterprise, alert interest, and
ideal Of achievement OF the three
boys.
ALEXANDER: THE TALE OF A
MONKEY. BY Marion and Edith
Brown. Illustrated by Kurt
Wiese. Indianapolis: The Bobbs-
Merrill Co.
Alexander was the tiniest Of mon
keys when he was found in the
Filipino jungle back of Subig Town
after his mother had been killed bv
hunter. He was only inches tall
and had an extra inches of tail
The father of Manuelo, the yard -boy
at the captains low, thatched white
house. found Alexander and told
Manuelo TO take him to the capttin.
who would perhaps give him a peso:
Tor the captain was something of a
monkey collector and already had 10
in the stone room under his balcony.
The captain gave Manuelo 2 pesos.
but then recollected q dificulty. His
pretty wife had said no more mon
keys. and. although very clustering
and important with other people, the
captain was quite different with his
wife. So he took Alexander to her
on her balcony rather tfmidly, but
she melted before the baby monkey S
bright pink face, solemn hazel-green
eyes. puckery mouth full OF snowy
teeth, and gay. pointed topknot OF
black hair, and Immediately found
a shoe box and some cotton to make
him q bed. Because he conquered
the captains wife so easily, he was
called Alexander. Alexander and all
the other monkeys in this book we're
real monkeys and belonged to the
husband OF Marion Brown, who is the
captain of the story.
From the beginning II Ia easy TO
see that the story OF Alexa nder is
going 10 be good one. His adven-
lures in the Olonsapo banana grove.
where the captain lived, and all over
the green island in the Pacific, in
sight Of the foothills OF the Zambales
Mountains, were. as he grew older,
numerous and original First he
learned to take milk from q tin COW.
that is q can, fed him with q medicine
dr0pper. Then he took q nap In the
shOe-box bed, and by that time he
was member OF the family. He was
busy little monkey and explored the
whole house, beginning with the cap
tain's ehiffonier, the captains wffes
desk and the bath room. He did not
always leave things In order when he
was through. He was introduced TO
all the IL grown-up monkeys in the
lower floor stone room. but did not
like them and preferred living on the
upper floor with his foster mother. in
whose rose silk kimono he loved to
nestle. But he made friends with all
the captains soldier visitors and soon
became known to every one on the
island. OF course, the servants in the
house spoiled him-JuAn, the butler:
Rosiia, the housemaid; Estabelle. the
laundreSs, and All Sing, the Chinese
cook. Jealousy tortured the heart of
Alexander when two new pets were
added to the household, Plum Blossom,
a tiny. fluffy white dog, and Henrietta,
the most beautiful of pure white pigs.
They shared An Sings tidbits. which
had formerly gone entirely to Alex
ander. But Alexander took rides on
Henrietta's back and pulled her tail
or the blue ribbons which were tied
through holes in the tips Of her ears.
Before long Alexander was q baby no
longer. but q grown monkey, and then
he was put under the care of Mary, a
motherly monkey. and sent to live in
the stone monkey room. After that
the captain and his wife could hnd
their pens and pencils. scissors and
buttons. shaving brush and tooth
paste. handkerchiefs and socks. When
the captain received orders 10 return
to the United States Alexander was
left behind on the green island. but
the captains wife told all the stories
about Alexander to her two little
nieces, and their mother helped her TO
write this book, which win delight all
children. II is q Junior Literary Guild
selection.
Press dispatches OF July IL and u
reported the capture by Chinese ban
dts OF DR.. Sven Hedin. Swedish ex-
plorer whose books, Across the Cobb
Desert" "Jehol, City OF Ernperors. I"
Riddles Of the Cobb Desert" and the
recently published Conquest OF IT,
bet" tell story Of dangerous explora-
ton in Central Asia which has greatly
increased geographical and ethnolog-
ical knowledge This is DR.. Hedin's
second experience with bandits. His
publishers (Dutton) report a letter
from his sister. Alma Hedin, In which
she says: He has met with his life's
greatest and most thrilling adven-
lures. We have had news from him
only the other day about how he and
his companions had come just where
the civil war in Sinkiang, the west
ernmost province OF China. was ut its
height. The rebels tried TO get hold
Of the expeditions cars. one 0f them
a gift from Edsel Ford When my
brother did not agree, he and three
Of his men were roughly treated and
threatened with death. II b per-
fectly marvellous that theys were al
lowed % live. At another occasion