Evening star., 1935-01-26
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH C. BOWERMAN.
VALLEY FORGE. A Play in Three
Acts. BY Maxwell Anderson. Wash

ington, D. c.: Anderson House.
It Is probable that this play by the
author Of Mary Of Scotland" and
Elizabeth the Queen" and the CO.
author with Laurence stallings OF
what Price Glory?" will be enjoyed by
readers, whatever its fate on the stage
1t is one Of those plays, like many OF
Shaw's, whose lines can hardly be
appreciated by once hearing. The
dark hour In the American Revolution
when, except for the courage Of
Washington, the courage Of the rebel
lious Colonists would probably have
evaporated and Great Britain and her
trained mercenaries would have made
a different American history, is here
dramatized with great effectiveness
The chief characters, from list Of
over 80, are George Washington
Marquis de Lafayette, Maj. Andre, Sir
William Howe and Mary Philipse
Howe'S emissary, who becomes the
ally of Washington The play opens
in a bunkhouse at Valley Forge in
January, 1778, where the misery Of
the Colonial troops is shown to be
complete, and closes with meeting
between Washington and Howe in q
barn, when Mary Philipse reveals the
news that the French alliance has
been signed by Franklin and, with this
renewal Of hope, Washington rallies
his discouraged men and refuses to
come to an agreement with Howe.
NATIONAL MUSIC. BY Ralph
Vaughan Williams, D. Mus. New
York: oxford University Press.
The inspiration Of most great music
is national and folk-songs have been
the basis Of the work of many famous
composers. The folk-song must, how
ever, become the common property Of
the people, an integral part of their
domestic and social life, before 1t can
be made into a real national music.
The material in this book was first
used as a series Of lectures at Bryn
Mawr College, delivered on the Mary
Flexner lecture fund. Some Of the
subjects treated are Should Music
Be National?" Some Tentative Ideas
on the Origins of Music" THE Folk
Song" 1.-THE History of Nationalism
in Music" and The Influence of Folk
Song on the Music of the Church"
THE HOUSE OF THE TITANS AND
OTHER POEMS. BY A. E. New
York: The Macmillan Co.
George Russell, writing as A. E., Is
one of the best of Ireland's poets OF
the present day. In this volume OF
lyrics, the title poem makes use Of an
ancient Celtic myth, full Of symbolism
which is adapted to modern times
In the hall of the Titans, the Sky
born king, Nuada." sits motionless
with "the sceptre of his waning rule
unused: at the end he opens his eyes
upon the brazen gloom
To know the labor before him, and
to hear
The Titans raving madly in the hall. "
Another striking poem is a dream in
which the Dark Lady of Shakespeare
sonnets explains their mystery. which
has been disputed ever since Shake
speare's time. Some Of the most deli
cate verse in the volume is TO be found
in the brief poems, such as Lost
Talisman," Comfort" "A Mountain
Tarn" and "Undertones."
ROGERS GROUPS. Thought and
Wrought by John Rogers. BY Mr.
and Mrs. Chetwood Smith. Bos-
ton: Charles E. Goodspeed & Co.
Rogers groups Of brown sculpture
were as common on center tables and
side tables in the Cos, 70s and S0s as
radio cabinets are today. John Rogers
popularized sculpture as Currier and
Ives popularized lithographic art. He
departed from classical forms OF
sculpture and represented humorous
and sentimental episodes from life
His first group, THE Checker Play
ers." made in 1859, brought him tc
public notice and from that time until
he ceased to work in 1898 the sales
of his groups were enormous. His
Civil War groups, the best of which
was "The Council of War" Lincoln
Grant and Stanton), gave him q
Nationwide reputation. He was en-
tirely self-taught and worked In clay
from which plaster casts were made
for commerce. Altogether he modelled
80 pieces, casts Of which sold at price:
from SIS to SIS each. Among The
most popular groups were Coming u
the Parson," THE Favored Scholar,
Fetching the Doctor" three of RIP
Van Wrinkle" and a number Of Unior
volunteers, pickets, refugees and camp
groups. Naturally the area OF popu-
larity of Rogers groups was limited tc
the North. An illustration of every
one of the Rogers groups Is given II
this book by Mr. and Mrs. Smith
some of them taken from the bronze
master models In Rogers studio al
New Canaan, Conn, which remains az
he left it. Mr.. and Mrs. Smith, col
lectors of American furniture and fur
nishings, and friends of the family OF
John Rogers, have done a piece Of
work which is contribution tc
American social history and an
tiuuarianiSm. 1t is also a readable
narrative, including a short sketch OF
Rogers life, quotations from his let
tiers and diary, and descriptions of the
groups.
\ X
STORM CLOUDS OVER ASIA. Our
Growing Pacific Problem. BY Rob-
ert S. Pickens. New York: Funk
& Wagnalls Co.
Every American who visits China
and Japan comes back with pro-
nounced opinions about both countries
and their peoples. Mr.. Pickens, who
has spent some years in the Orient as
a press correspondent, accompanied
the Southern army through its cam
paign and should, therefore, know
something about the whole Oriental
question, tells us what the Orientals
think of us as a nation. It isn't ex-
actly flattering. The general opinions
held by the people of one country
about those of another are usually
based on seif-interest, that is, on eco
nomic considerations. Because of eco
nomic conditions, chief of which is the
struggle of Japan to change herself
from an agricultural to an industrial
nation, the Pacific is trouble zone
today. Mr.. Pickens' book Is one Of the
best among the many recent books on
the subject, in its orderly arrangement
and succinct statement Of facts gained