Evening star., 1934-12-02
BY SARAH BOWERMAN


and sinister as the Krupps and
Schneiders." Mr.. Hanighen Is to the
journalism of 1884 what S. S. Nc
Clure and Lincoln Steffens were to
that Of 80 years ago.
THE SECOND WORLD WAR. BY
Johannes Steel. New York:
Covici- -Friede.
THE prophecies Of Johannes Steel
= which have come true, Hitler's
bloody purge" Of last June. the as
sassination of Dollfuss of last July
Che predicted these in more general
terms), and the industrial and finan-
cial dictatorship Of Hjalmar Schacht
In Germany. cause apprehension over
his prediction in this book-that
within nine months Europe will be
plunged into q second war within q
quarter century, one which will in
volve the world and from which
civilization, as we know it, will never
emerge. Mr. Steele's reasons, stated
with the support of information. are
alarming.
A VILLAGE IN A VALLEY. BY Bev-
erley Nichols. Garden City: Dou-
bleday. Do-an & Co.
MR. NICHOLS village Of Always
is in Huntingdonshire, whose
eastern boundary is not far from Cam
bridge. The town of Huntingdon, in
the center of the county. was the
hirfh NJ NIiuar ryan hIlf he
ruthless enemy of the Stuarts is no
part of this quiet village tale. If there
is any main character, 1t is Miss Haz-
lit, who lost all her money in the
Montevideo tin fraud and was fur
nished by the kindly neighbors Of ALI
ways with a shop where she dispensed
chocolates, head and stomach pills,
hairpins, matches, cold cream and
other necessities of life and ran cir
culating library. But there are also
the overpowering Mrs. NJ, the i'm
mensely rich and immensely social
Lady Osprey, the willowy Undine Will
kins, who sings the "Benedicite" es
thetically in church; the cool-headed
and fact-loving professor, the manag-
ing Miss Bott, who is determined to
protect ALWAYS from the intruder;
Mrs Ms nephew Leo, who discovers
the lost Always stained glass windows,
hidden from the Roundheads by the
Cavaliers, and a number of other
neighbors whom we have already met
T in Down the Garden Path" and "A
Thatched Roof" The village, the gar
den ard the thatched cottage all be-
long to Mr. Nichols himself in Hunt
! ingdonshire and we are sure he must
be a delightful neighbor AS writer
he has all Mrs. Gaskells simple
Crawford" realism and a more con-
tinuous play Of humor.
A HANDFUL OF DUST. BY Evelyn
Waugh. New York: Farrar d
Rinehart.
HIGH and low, conservative aristo-
Ia crat and Bohemian, are compo-
nents Of Mr.. Waughs Handful Of
Dust" His hard, bright cynicism
plays equally about them all. Their
story could be made into profound
tragedy, but with his handling it be-
comes ironical farce. Fear accom-
panies all his characters, even in their
most extravagant actions. The lines
from Eliot's Waste Land on the title
page give the clue:
@. will show you something
different from either
Your shadow at morning striding
behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising
to meet you;
will show you fear in a handful
Of dust"
The story shows a so-called civilized
! man pursued and trapped by savages,
first the savages of modern London,
Brazilian jungle Anthony Last is
the squire of Hetton Abbey. a house of
1864 Gothic in an extensive park.
which unfortunately fails to furnish
him the seclusion appropriate to the
pastoral scene. The villain Beaver
arrives, for a vague reason. and Tony's
wife. Lady Brenda, for an even more
vague reason falls in love with him.
SO begin the troubles Of the squire of
Hetton, which reach their sinister
climax in his captivity in Brazil, where
he is compelled to read Dickens aloud
day after day to his captor. His heir
succeeds at Hetton.
THE PROUD SERVANT. The Story
of Montrose BY Margaret Irwin
New York: Harcourt, Brace 6z Co.
THE tragedy of the Stuarts has in
terested Margaret Irwin before, in
her successful novel, Royal Plush"
She follows the same detailed method
of historical romance in this story Of
James Graham, first Marquis of Mon
trose, who succeeded in capturing
Scotland for Charles I, only to lose in
the final contest. After the execution
Of Charles I. Montrose landed in the
north of Scotland to raise the country
again, this time for the son of Charles,
but he was betrayed when he gave
himself up to supposed friend, after
days of wandering in the hills. and
was sold to his enemies who sentenced
him to be hanged, drawn and quar-
tered. The characters of this novel
are as alive as Henrietta Maria,
Minette. Princess of England. Charles
II and Louis XIV in Royal Flush"
X \
THE GOLDEN SPIKE. BY Floyd Dell.
New York: Farrar & Rinehart.
THE money in the family Of Marion,
Harvey Claymore's wife. is the
golden spike which separates them.
One wonders why they were ever at
tracted to each other or would WON
der if such incompatible attractions
were not common. Harvey. radical
university professor, tenacious of his
academic and personal freedom to let
his political and economic thought lead
him where it will, practicing petty and
ridiculous economies for fear that some
of the Ripley money may be smuggled
into his menage, is not seriously in
convenienced when Marion leaves him
| and goes to her relatives in Herault,
whence she telephones him to ask for
civilized" divorce. Marion also de-
mands the child, because she does not
| want little John brought up to hate
"grandpa's money" and does want
him to grow up liking the world he
lives in" Marion already has her