Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-06-02


illness which sent him to Constanti-
nople at the moment of the greatest
success OF the White Army, when Boil
shevik power seemed on the wane.
The last two sections Of the book
MISUNDERSTANDING his life in the
regular army in India, tell Of his COM
plete establishment, ending in his
departure from India. when, as the
train drew out for Bombay, he repeat
ed to himself. to the accompaniment
of the groaning wheels, Never no
more; never no more" Mr. Smiths
story of India is as realistic as any,
thing Of Kipling. but lacks Kipling's
enthusiasm. His outlook Is more like
E. M. Forsters. The events which he
relates are not striking, but his atti-
tude toward them and his easy de-
scription make the book combination
Of very personal biography and refiec-
tive essay.
CABINS IN THE LAUREL. BY
Muriel Farley Sheppard. With
Illustrations by Bayard Wootten.
Chapel Hill: The University OF
North Carolina Press.
THE Toe River country in the
North Carolina mountains, like
many other sections of the Southern
mountains. has held in its seclusion
generations of pioneer Americans and
their descendants. almost unchanged
throughout the years. Muriel Shep-
rl ,r-;fa ~ ,t,,iy 70
toned in these mountains. has made
friends with their people. visited them
in their cabins in remote valleys and
rocky clearings listened to the men
tell yarns and sing ballads and talked
with the women about their cooking
and weaving and the love affairs of
their daughters. This is the region
which makes snuff stock pay dividends
and which never lacks corn whiskey.
Those who live there speak of them
selves as mountain people or hill
folks: 'mountaineer' is hateful
Turin word in Toe Valley ears"
Mrs. Sheppard describes many Of her
mountain friends and Mr.. Wootten
furnishes photographs of them and
their homes Doc Hoppas of Brushy
Greek, with his banjo and his songs, is
one of the most interesting. For
Preacher Queen, God Is personal
friend. who sees that he has enough
money for his rent.
Uncle Milt Pendley has made many
tables, but didn't feel fur TO make
chairs" and Art'ur Woody has been
making chairs for forty years Work
in the mountains is not the driving
thing 1t is in cities. There is always
time for hunting and fishing, going
to the depot" if it Is not too far, to
see the rare trains. or to the town on
Saturday afternoon. or to church, or
church dinner or supper. And If a
mountain man feels like taking the
day of, he will probably pick up a
chair. tilt 1t against the sunny side
Of the house and start enjoying the
day" End-paper maps show clearly
the whole Toe River Valley region,
with its mountains and towns. The
University Of North Carolina Press is
doing a useful piece of historical work
in publishing such a book as this,
valuable as a record and interesting
to read.
MY OLD WORLD. BY Ernest Dimnet.
New York: Simon & Schuster.
THE gentle. not very profound phi
losophy of Able Dimnet has earlier
found expression in What We Live
By and The Art of Thinking" He
here writes his autobiography. which
/ lie aVtYoY1oly Il,
how Catholic background and tradi-
ton have combined with the French
educational system, with all the other
intangible ingredients thrown in, to
produce just such a religious intel
lectual as the Able Dimnet. But the
Able does not exclusively and con-
sciously devote himself to explaining
how he came to be. His descriptions of
his environment and his family have
both beauty and humor. He was born
at Trelon. not as he has sometimes
read in American newspapers. in
wheat-growing Flanders" but in the
department Of Nord.' where hardly
| any wheat grows. He loved his grand
mother and devised methods to make
her appear younger: his aunts he &C.
cepted pleasantly, but with no un-
usual enthusiasm. Of his family as
whole he says that they we're re
l1gious. conservative, amusing and
amused, united and self contained &"
He was taught some English by an
uncle and developed an early love for
poetry. He went to school at Cambria.
which he found "first-rate, and there
he became curious about philosophy
and began to do independent thinking.
College at Douai followed He then
returned to Cambria to study theology.
All the time he was reading and writ
ing English, which has now become
to him almost a second native Ian
guage. Teaching and writing have
been his life work and travels within
narrow range have enriched his
outlook. Every Autumn he comes to
New York. where he is greeted bv a
crowd Of friendly reporters, for the
Able has some following in this
country. His personality is a warm
and friendly one; his outlook is CO.'S
mopolitan. His autobiography is the
record Of a good and intellectual life.
THE SEARCH. BY c. P. Snow. In
dianapolis: The Bobbs- Merrill Co.
The search for some suspected truth
in the scientific laboratory Is as
absorbing and exciting a pursuit as
creating a world record in aviation.
The research scientist who Is on the
trail of discovery has little attention
for anything else. DR.. Snow, young
English scientist. fellow of Christ's
College, Cambridge. knows this from
experience. In THE Search" he has
written the story of Arthur Miles. re-
search worker in crystallography, who
found to his CONSERVATION that he had
fallen in love with Audrey Tenant,
just when he had no time for anything
but his laboratory. In the struggle
which followed between the crystal
with the oxygen atom IL a. u. and
the lady with the red hair and the
slight cast in one eye the scientist
suffered an agonizins conflict. In the
end the personal things won: only by
that time there was Ruth instead of
Audrey. If Arthur Miles had been
able to fall in love with q woman
c,{a,,tief u,I,n ,,o,,1a hova v,o~-klx.S