Evening star., 1934-12-12
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
Margaret Cermond.

Margaret Cermond.
CAPE FAREWELL. BY Harry Mar
tinSson. Translated from the
Swedish by Naomi Walford. New
York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.
1.-THE important thing about Mr..
Martinsson,' says an eminent British
literary critic Of this notable book OF
travel, "is not that he is a ships fire.
man who has written a book, but that
he is a writer who has written book"
That is the highest tribute that can
be paid to any author, yet even such
| genuine praise from an authority falls
short of a truly expressive apprecia-
ton of the beauty of words and
phrases as they flow from the pen of
| this gifted writer into descriptive
narrative of his adventures and ex-
periences during nine years Of a no.
madic existence in all parts Of the
! world.
1t is one Of the peculiarities Of the
human race that genius seldom tar
ries at the doors Of wealth or acquired
| culture, but passes on to less preten-
tious neighborhoods and selects for the
bestowal OF its richest gifts those to
whom the struggle for survival Is para
mount. The freehold Of . ship Is not
q likely place for the conception OF
inspirational thoughts, yet it was In
the CRIME and heat OF one OF these
dungeons that Harry Martinsson be-
gan scribbling poetry on old paper
1 or
years of age when he went to sea as a
StOker. For nine years he sailed the
seas and roamed the continents of the
earth, sometimes being for long periods
without employment.
The places he visited. the things he
saw. the people OF various lands, the
! adventures and experiences which he
| gathered during his life as a nomad,
are the things pictured so viyidly that
they pulsate with life, with beauty and
with romance. The author possesses
a vitilazing power OF expression that
is strange to writer's of this genera
ton. 1t is confounding in its strength,
and by its utter simplicity the source
OF its urgent compulsion is mystifying
Many men and women of high cul-
/ sAA 60 4AdfC IuIl lCo LllCA
backs upon the world which knows
them and become vagabonds. but there
have been few vagabonds with an in
nate gift for writing that has placed
them Immediately in the forefront of
literary celebrities. With the all-seeing
eye OF sailor, the soul of a poet and
that strange power Of giving life and
beauty to mere words, Mr. Martinsson
has become one Of these latter, and his
work will survive the march of time.
Cape Farewell" is the product of a
master craftsman. A writer has in
deed written book!
|
SALT OF THE SEA. Red Saunders
BY "Sinbad." Philadelphia: J. B
Lippincott Co.
There has been for many years
much speculation as to the positive
identification of Red" Saunders
whose activities as a freelance trader
in the Indian Ocean and the South
Sea Islands were a source of never
ending annoyance to the underoffi-
cialdom Of Great Britain, and whose
chronicle has never been accurately
recorded. This present story may
never be accepted as an authentic
semi TYPOGRAPHY Of the genial, red
headed outcast, but whether or not
Kenneth Beauclerc Saunders and
Red" Saunders were one and the
same man. the author Of this thrill
ing account OF the adventures of one
OF England'S men Of mystery knew
Red" Saunders as intimately as any
man ever knew him. and the events
recorded in this volume were cleaned
by him from men whose knowledge of
the man was accurate and from places
where the exile was held in respect
and esteem.
Saunders was an educated, cul-
tured and promising young man when
an unfortunate affair in a billiard
room ended in situation which
caused him to ship out of England
and become a free lance trader, a
| soldier of fortune, who sailed the
British flag to the farthest outposts of
civilization. His exploits were often
attended by great danger and he
was beset by troubles. but whatever
he did and however near he came to
transgreSsing the laws, the magni-
tude Of his operations was sufficient
justification for any irregularity in
the manner Of their commission
Personal profit did not interest him
and III all circumstances he was al
ways the gentleman.
The adventurous career Of Red
Saunders. as set down in this new
volume. is tale which gives a pale
ness Of character by comparison to
the highly organized and equipped ex-
petitions OF the present day. Sinbad's
newest contribution should receive a
warm welcome when found among the
artistieally wrapped packages piled
under the Christmas tree.
YONDER SAILS THE MAYFLOWER
/ BY Honore Morrow. New York
William Morrow & Co.
This latest addition to the scanty
material about the Mayfiower and its
courageous group of passengers bound
for the New World was inspired by
the remarks of an old sailor on the
River Dart. over there in that
meadow and on that hill the Pilgrim
Fathers prayed before they went to
America. The old people say they
left Dartmouth. here, in a fearful
storm" Mrs. Morrow tramped through
the meadow and up the hill, and
while rejecting upon the enormity of
the adventure which revolutionized
the modern world and the dauntless
spirit that prompted its undertaking
questions crowded upon each other,
| begging to be answered.
With the determination to gather
into q single volume all that is
known of the people who sailed
on the Mayfower and of those who
surrendered when the Speedwell
proved unseaworthy, the author plan
ned a work that would give every de-
tail of the lives Of these men and