Evening star., 1936-04-01
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
FREEDOM, FAREWELL! BY Phyllis
Bentley. New York: The Macml-
Ian Co
BY Margaret Cermond.


Ian Co.
Adopting the same style of fictionized
biography that became popular a few
years ago through the skilled craftsman
ship Of Gertrude Atherton, this new
novel by the author of Inheritance"
turns back the pages of history to the
century preceding the birth of Christ
and revives the stirring drama of the
Roman Republic under the dictatorship
of Julius Caesar.
Miss Bentley introduces young Caius
Julius Caesar as he is making his way
over the tortuous trails of the Apennines
with price on his head. He has come
into disfavor with Sulla for refusing to
divorce his wife, and that pompous die
tator has condemned him to death.
Hours of tramping through a steady
downpour of rain have made the fastidi-
| GUS young aristocrat thoroughly uncom-
Portable. and with the coming of night
| the philosophic mood in which he began
| his flight is considerably weakened. He
| is surrounded by band Of soldiers with
orders to kill him and Is promptly de-
serted by his peasant guide. He bribes
| the soldiers, starts them quarreling
among themselves and escapes Later
| joins a group of wayfarers and learns
that it is the escort of Servilia, beautiful
| wife of Brutus, who is on her way to
| her country home. She invites Caesar
| to take refuge there and he accepts.
| Thus is the beginning of the romance
| between these two.
Meanwhile Rome is seething in politics,
| young Pompey is winning military fame
| and demanding triumphs, CraSsus is
| playing a hard and fast game of wits,
BrutuS Is becoming deeply involved In
| the political turmoil and the hatred for
| Sulla is becoming more intense. 1t be-
comes necessary for Caesar to flee from
Servilia's home and he goes to Asia.
| where he acquits himself with distinction
and then comes back to Italy. Caesars
adventurous career led him to many
places, and as the story of his life pro-
crosses the scenes shift as momentous
| events in the history of Roman civiliza-
| ton march toward the climax which
| brought an end to the once powerful
| republic.
There is fine touch in this work of
bringing to life in colorful. realistic mar
| rative a vivid picture of an era that
| died 1000 years ago and of recapturing
| the spirit of those feveriSh days that
saw the rise and fall of the men and
women whose contribution to the re-
| shaping of democracy has not yet
| reached the limit of its influence upon
| the political development of mankind.
| A much larger world is now witnessing
| the phenomenal rise to favor of dictator
! ships in Europe With this intimate
| knowledge of current history as living
| examples of one-man government, Free
| dom, FAREWELL" assumes a significance
| that gives it Importance in the ranks of
| this years literature.
CHAFF AND WHEAT. BY Lewis z. Sis
son. New York: Published by the
author.
Another booklet Of poems has just
been produced by young man whose
verses have previously been noted in
this column and again the variety of
subjects and the accuracy of analysis
give indication of the complete natural
ness of Mr.. Sisson's poetic talent. For
| those of us who are not so fortunate
as to be able to desert the snow belt"
| that bound almost the entire Eastern
seaboard this Winter such verses as
these make particular appeal:
The Voice of Winter.
| Tonight the snow is whispering again
At both my doors, at every window
pane.
And this soft voice speaks of the long
ago,
OF loved ones who used to hear the
snow.
| Gently the tented roofs are coated white
| And through the silent fields, all dark
with night,
| Bright and clear in winding, silver sheen,
Summers little, hidden paths are seen.
| In the very center of the tawny fields.
A tall and cassocked cedar never yields,
| But solemn stands, forever facing east,
A hoary-headed, penitential priest.
FOOTBALLS irreverent on the road are
stilled;
| All, all is silent, as if it were so willed;
| Out one by one, each little. ruddy light;
| The snow will whisper thru the quiet
night.
The gaunt, gray trees,
The tawny fields
Are lulled to quietness
Under heavy slate-gray sky,
While all the peaceful countryside
Awaits in breathleSs hush
The roaring silence of the SHOWS
First falling flake.
*>x&
Then, away from the beauty and
| grandeur of Nature to the vagaries of
| the human race, there are several such
| delightful observations as these:
Magnitude.
J. Abner Grubb liked things that he
could touch
Or point to with puffy pride of own
ership,
Lands to tramp beneath his heavy tread,
Mansions crammed with big and costly
things.
Price and size were boasts to posterity,
Symbols of superiority.
Abner, beyond dispute and peradventure,
Knew this!
Isn't it perverse that all that Abner was
Is now on the top shelf Of his widows
hat closet
In q tiny, tarnished silver-plated box?
Compatibility.
On transubstantiation
Kathleen's convictions are secure,
While of predestination
| Angus is assured:
Yet never cruel word or look
Tarnishes the circle of their devotion.
II
I,a<~ 90 L. hxv~ ID L. DO