Evening star., 1935-04-28
By Sarah BOwerman

beIlSOu SyHlpdIIletIC du-
mirer, not a caustic critic.
Himself Victorian who has
- lived into the postwar age
and managed to adapt himself to it,
he appreciates all the excellent quail
ties of the Victorian era, which it has
for some time been the fashion to
ridicule. In "As We Were" he wrote
both appreciatively and humorously
of that PERIOD in "AS We Are" he
wrote understandingly, humorously,
but rather sadly, of the present time.
He has had access to previously un-
released documents in the royal ar
chives and so is able to add some new
material to his narrative and esti-
mate of Queen Victoria. To him she
is equally the Queen and the woman,
and not. with a sneer, "the old lady
of Windsor" Mr.. Benson's Queen
Victoria" and Lytton Strachey's
"Queen Victoria" are in spirit and
emphasis almost direct opposites.
Perhaps both are needed to make the
complete picture.
Queen Victoria was not always an
old woman. Mr.. Benson makes us
remember that. At her accession to
the throne, in 1887, on the death of
her uncle, William w, she was a high
spirited girl, reSentful of the domina-
ton of her mother, the Duchess of
Kent: much under the influence of
her Uncle Leopold, King of the Bel
gians, and his German confidential
agent, Stockmar. Before her acces-
sion she had fallen in love at their
first meeting with Prince Albert of
Sake -Coburg, whom Leopold had
selected as her husband, though the
prince seems to have been rather bored
by his English visit and impressed by
Victoria only to the extent of finding
her "amiable" AS woman, Victoria
was a devoted, almost infatuated. wife
and fond mother, though she ac-
cepted without question the strict
discipline the Prince ConSort imposed
on their children. She never recov-
cred from the grief caused by the
Prince Consort's death and was less
queen because of it, so that her min
listers, especially Gladstone, often
made themselves unpopular by goad-
3ng her to her duties. Her long strug-
gle with Edward. Prince of Wales, was
GndG <{uCCIlt VA
her powers and unwilling to delegate
them to the son who was to succeed
her, but was perhaps even more that
of the woman, grieved and indignant
that her eldest son had departed so
far from the teachings and example
Of his father, her idolized husband.
AS Queen, Victoria was far more
able than many of her critics admit.
She was never dominated by her min
listers. Disraeli acquired the greatest
influence over her, but even he was
obliged to use his utmost shrewdness
In dealing with her. and recorded that
he found flattery useful. She had deep
comprehension of both domestic and
foreign affairs. and formed her own
opinions, which she held to tena-
ciously, often unreasonably, for she
was by no means free from prejudices.
During the life of the Prince Consort
his influence over her was almost un-
limited. and after his death she at
tempted to look upon public problems
as he would have done. Her sympa-
thies were almost always with the
Conservative party and became more
completely so as she grew older and
after Disraeli had made her Empress
It may be said that she had the femi-
pine failings of prejudice and the emo
sional, personal outlook but SO many
masculine rulers have had these same
failings that perhaps they may be
called human, rather than feminine.
Mr.. Benson, whose style is uniformly
felicitous and distinguished has writ
ten not only an admirable Life of
Queen Victoria" but also a verbal
pageant of the whole period.
HARVEST. BY Selma Lagerlof.
Translated by Florence and Ma
both Hedin. New York: Double
day, Doran & Co.
IN HARVEST" another chapter is
added to the already rich auto
biographical material which Miss
Lagerlof, foremost Swedish novelist,
1ished in "Marbacka" and Memories
of My Childhood" The Nobel Prize
was awarded her in recognition of the
whole body of her literary work, but
her best fiction is the trilogy, The
Ring of the Lowenskolds, though the
first story to make her known outside
Sweden was probably THE Story of
Costa Berling" Harvest" is, as the
title suggests, cleaning from Miss
Lagerlofs literary fragments, consist
ing of recollections, legends of her
own Varmland, few biblical legends,
travel sketches, literary essays and
four addresses delivered on. special
occasions.
The first and longest group, "Swed-
ish Legends and Recollections," is by
far the most interesting. In one brief
sketch is related the visit of old Jan
Asker, the clarinet player, to Mar
backa after the fathers death, when
Miss Lagerlof and her mother and
sister had come to realize that they
could not afford to keep the family
home, but had not had courage to
speak to each other about it. Old Jan,
who had played at Marbacka for all
the Christmas and birthday celebra-
tions, came to thank them for "all
the bright and beautiful things which
he and others had enjoyed at our
house" tacitly showing that he knew
they must give UP their home. This
broke their silence and they were
thankful to hear their doom in this
way Another sketch tells how Miss
Lagerlot, school teacher at Lands
krona when Marbacka was sold, took
heaven to witness that from that mo-
lnent would have no other aim and
desire than to regain the property of
my forefathers," and how after many
years she accomplished this desire.
The relatives and neighbors in Warm
land, an iron district which is the
setting of many of Miss Lagerlof's
novels. are the subjects Of some of
the other sketches, all written with
such simplicity and in such conf
dental tone that she might be talk
ing to us as to familiar friends.
NATIONAL VELVET. BY Enid Bag
mold. Drawings by Laurian Jones.