Evening star., 1935-05-12

both seemed dying, the villagers, men
and women, who thronged the house
of Aurelio, were moved by curiosity
and love of sensation rather than by
sympathy or sorrow. At the moment
of hasty baptism, Aurelio, just arrived,
gave the name of Maravilla to the
limp girl child in the priests arms. 1t
was the name of the dancer with
whom he had spent most OF his time
while in Granada for a bull-fght on
the day of his daughters birth.
Neither Carmela nor the child died,
probably because such complete pre-
parations had been made for them to
do so. But after few years Car
mela dropped the name Of Maravilla
and gave her daughter the name OF
Maria. Strange. passionate happen
ings came to the Lopez family after
the birth of the child. Latin super
stition attributed them TO the evil in
fluence of the one-eyed moon. Car
mela's nature became more violent and
suspicious, Maria made troubles for
herself worse than she knew, Aurelio
kept to himself the secret Of the result
of the night he had spent in Granada
Just before Maria's birth. In the end
all these dark influences brought
tragedy Marguerite Steen writes Of
Spain and its peasants and villagers
as if she were herself a Spaniard and
is even more detailed in her descrip-
tions of places and people than are
most Spanish novelists.
CHANGING ASIA. BY Egon Erwin
Kisch. English version by Rita
Rel. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
THE modern age has not left un-
touched the land Of Genghis Khan
and Tamerlane. and If Mr.. Kisch is
not a Marco Polo he is at least a
brilliant twentieth century reporter.
He was famous as journalist in pre-
war Austria, specialist in crime,
revolutionary in command OF troops
involved in the seizure of Vienna after
the war. and is now persona non grata
with all Hitlerites. He has Travelled
all over Asia and the part about which
he writes especially in this book he
sketches in a heavily drawn. picture
map. Kazakstan, Kirghizistan, Uzbe-
kistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan,
all in the Soviet Union, lands of the
primitive Mongolians, he found un-
dergoing rapid changes, chiefly indus
trially, but also socially. These
changes he illustrates by many anec-
dotes and sketches of individuals
adapting themselves to their altering
environment. In Tashkent he found
a 14-year -old girl seeking a divorce
from an elderly husband who had
paid her mother Is sheep, because she
wanted to 60 to school and learn to
read and write. In Khojent he visited
hospital where physical therapy
was applied to disease, without the
aid Of medicines. There electric show
ers. X-rays, quartz lamps, sweat boxes
and other diathermic apparatuses
marked the conquest of science over
superstition. If not over all disease
In the province Of Aral tigers have
been replaced by cotton collectives.
The theme OF change runs through
the whole book, but does not exclude
much description of places and people
interesting merely per Sc.
THE BLACK CONSUL. BY Anatolii
Vingradov. Translated by Emile
Burns. New York: The Viking
Press.
I EAVING the more immediate sub
ject of his own countrys revolu-
ton, the Soviet author, vingradov,
has gone back into history for his
story and writes of Haiti and the
French revolution. In the opening
scene, in Paris, wrapped in snow in
the Winter of 1889. Toussaint lOuver-
ture appears with Negro delegation
to beg from the revolutionary gov
ernment freedom for Haiti. Marat.
friend of the people," Is the other
protagonist in this scene. As the plot,