Evening star., 1934-07-11
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
MGrggsf Cermond.

There is a streak of wickednes IN
the nature of every human being that.
on the rare occasions when concrete
results prove the merit Of one tudg-
ment against another, iustif1ably de-
rives q gleeful satisfaction in a
fragrant manifestation Of that age-old.
heartily despised form Of revenge
commonly called gloating. It is, of
course, an unseemly manner Of be-
havior and most unkind to make a
display of ones pleasure over the cha
grin of q good companion. but such
a mild order of punishment is a for
givable sin in the right circumstances.
and the JOY of infiicting it is especially
gratifying when the victim happens TO
be an individual who is deeply i'm
pressed with his own intellectual su-
periority.
A luncheon engagement on day
when the temperature is lowering
around the hundred mark is not a
happy prospect, even with so high and
mighty parsonage. Forgetting that
the sacrifice Of personal wishes in
variably yields an unexpected reward.
I braved the tortures Of a modern
sweatbox on wheels for a few blocks.
enjoyed my lunch and the society of
my companion-and reaped more than
a fun measure of the unholy variety
of mirth mentioned above.
AS I began the long trek through
the alley saw that he was deeply
engroSSed in a magazine. The pages
we're tipped shut and he looked up
Just at the proper moment for the
usual friendly and enthusiastic hand
clasp. But instead Of the expected
formal greeting I was saluted with a
volley of eloquence concerning some
thing or other which was a classic.
Being utterly fascinated by the color
full flow of English, l had unfortu-
nately not understood the nature of
the subject which had ELECTED such
sincere expressions Of commendation.
1T is a classic piece of literature"
he answered to my question, "a love
story which is comparable with the
exact proportions, the rich color, the
warm life Of q perfect jewel! You
must read it,"
He handed over the magazine,
copy of the current issue of Legion
dHonneur," opened upon a story
bearing the familiar title of april
Noon" I looked at my companion,
Immediately closed the book and from
memory quoted part of the opening
paragraph:
"Old Olympic the children called
her. old Olympic, throw us
sou-throw us something And from
the window above the street a sou.
sweet, trifle usually fell among the
group whose little faces gazed upward.
A scrambling then, little black jump
ers mingling in an inky mass. Throw
US another but the window was closed
and Old Olympic was gazing across
the cobblestoned street through
opaque walls as If the ragged row of
houses we're of isinglass. She smiled"
Surprise, unbelief, disappointment
registered upon his face the rapid
sequence of his emotional reactions.
You know it?"
Yes. And I think 1t is one of the
few classic love stories produced in
recent months"
You've read it alp"
Several times. 1t is the story of
the once young and beautiful Olympic,
of the lover from whom she was mys-
teriously separated at the moment Of
their elopement, which had been ar
ranged for April noon; of faithful
Brigette, of the sixty-nine clocks in
the many-mirrored SALON.
"The author is an artist, poet and
a story-teller whose triad Of talents
harmonize into q delicately beautiful
whole"
A splendid tribute, that. And COM
ing from a man of eminent reputation
and respect in literary circles, it was
especially gratifying. The imp of
wickedess had been losing its power
of temptation and would have been
entirely repressed had the gentleman
not added to his comment the wish
that the publication organization of
which he is a staff member had been
lucky enough to have been the first
to receive the manuscript. could no
longer refrain from telling him that
the story had been returned by his
house a few months ago, accompanied
by the usual form of regrets, with
thanks for the privilege of examin-
ing it.
When he started for his plane after
a warm hand-shake of departure he
was still sputtering.
April Noon" is the work of Mr..
Winant Johnston, a young Washing
ton author whose earlier volume, Eye
lids Of the Morn" received wide
spread praise as an unusual and
artistic literary achievement.
MINUTE WONDERS OF THE
WORLD. BY Alfred Skrenda and
Isabel Juergens. New York: Gros-
set & Dunlap.
When the authors of this valuable
book Of knowledge were engaged in
the research work required for its
preparation they were impressed and
encouraged by the fact that since
the flood of volumes produced back
in the '70s and '80s to meet a -four
ishing demand for world wonder
books" there had been no publication
of a compact. illustrated, ready-ref-
erence character devoted exclusively
10 the maFVeS wrought Dy nature anu
the wonders conceived by human
brains and constructed by human
hands and modern machines.
One hundred and forty-four topics
are included in the work, covering
every continent and many of the ex-
traordinary island formations of the
world, and ranging in interest from
such modern scientific achievements
as Boulder Dam and the Adler Plan
etarium to the Pyramids of Egypt and
the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. In
addition to the we'll known marvels
of the ages, the book contains such
interesting subjects as the tides of
the Bay of Fundy, the ancient totem
poles fashioned by the Pacific Coast
aborigines, the mysterious stone i'm
ages of Easter Island, the Pitch Lake
Of Trinidad and the majestic ruins
Of an unknown civilization at Angkor,
Siam.
The volume is handsomely bound
and attractively arranged in full-page
illustrative style. with ACCOMMODATING