Evening star., 1936-08-12
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
BY MARGARET GERMOND.
GREEN GATES. By r. c. Sheriff.. New
York: Frederick A. Stokes Co.

GREEN GATES By R. C. Sheriff.. New
York: Frederick A. Stokes Co.
Green Gates" is the answer that one
man-more fortunate than thousands
of his fellow victims-found to the trag-
edy OF retirement. Mr.. Baldwin belongs
to that solid type of English citizenry
which economists and politicians are
wont to designate as the backbone OF
the Nation. He is a practical man, whose
common sense has never allowed him to
ignore the knowledge that the only
wealth to which man of medium in
come can aspire is his home. Mr.. Bald
win loves GraSmere. the modest home
in BrondeSbury Park in which he and
his bride had begun their long and
happy partnership, though if asked why
he loves the place it is easy to picture
him as completely confused and con-
founded by the question and after
bit Of meditation rather lamely answer
ing: why. because it is my home"
Mr.. Baldwin is not quite 60. He is
strong and healthy. He is as vigorous
and as efficient in the Office of large
insurance corporation as he was at 80,
and to these qualifications has been
added the invaluable elements of boarded
knowledge and mature judgment which
are the fruits of seasoned experience.
But Mr.. Baldwin has reached the retire.
ment age, and the insurance company
no longer wants his services. There is
the last day at the Office, ending with
the customary gathering of associates
and the presentation of the inevitable
clock. Fame awaits the person whose
genius will some day solve the mystery
OF giving clock to man for whom
time has ceased to be compelling
factor)
retirement is going to be fine for
| Mr.. Baldwin. There are loads of things
| he has always wanted to do, and now
| Will be the time for their accomplish
ment. Then, the prospect of spending
| his days al home with Edith offers genu-
| inc pleasure. He has seen other men
| dry rot after retirement, but he is con-
| Vlnced that for himself his real life is
| Just beginning. He is going to become
| famous historian. He spends his morn
| lngS in the garden, his afternoons read
| ing and exploring, and his evenings max
| ing notes for his book and his lectures
on his discoveries in historic research.
But what of Edith in this new ar
|
does not know that every housekeeping
woman has a routine as eXacting and as
| important as that of a business house
! He does not know that by occupying the
| only comfortable chair in the only COM
| fortable room in the house in cold
weather he is depriving Edith of
her one genuine pleasure of the day.
For several weeks she endeavors to re-
adjust her own life to meet the plans of
| her husband, but the strain of the new
| situation soon begins to tell on both of
| them, with totally unexpected results.
The BaldWinS begin to quarrell
In the weeks following the first out
! bursts of temper Mr.. Baldwin learns a
| lot He learns that his persistent refusal
| TO make friends with his neighborS has
| deprived him of the variety of compan-
ionships which every human needs. He
| learns that his garden, which he has
| always believed needed only his tender
care to make it thrive luxuriously, is
| planted in earth so starved and poor
| that no amount of labor will enable it
| to produce. He learns that all of his
| historic discoveries have been found by
others whose names have long been
| engraved in the tablets of fame He
| learns that, no matter how firmly
man believes in himself and in his abil-
lty to keep his grip on the world, retire.
ment is stigma.
Tragic indeed is this period in the life
| OF every man and every woman whose
| years have profited nothing save a roof
| and plttance of savings on which to
| exist until death brings merciful relief.
Months OF tragedy engulf Tom and
Edith until, in desperation, she begS
him to go with her for an afternoon on
one of their favorite walks before they
were married. The result of their tramp
through the country is revival of faith
| and promise of happiness.
For Tom and Edith salvation came
through Green Gates" The same op-
| portunlty may not present itself to many
OF those who are Shelved long before
| their usefulness in the business world
| is ended, but for every man and woman
who faces the tragedy of retirement this
very human and sympathetic story af-
lords ray of hope.
X X
UNCOMMON KNOWLEDGE. BY George
w. Simpson. Indianapolis: The
Bobbs-Merrill Co.
DID you know that the phrase, "a
little bird told me-" probably originated
in the book of Ecclesiastes, or that in
the northern region of the Pacific Ocean
there is species of fish that when dried
is converted into candle or lamp simply
by drawing wick through it? Or per-
haps you would like to know when peo-
pie began to eat eggs, how the small bow
inside of mems hats originated where
the Pontine Marshes are located, how
wall Street got its name, why the lord
chancellor OF England sits on woolsack,
Whether the message that Christopher
columbus put in barrel and threw into
the sea was ever found, and why the
puzzardS OF Charleston are famous.
This is the fourth book of knowledge
produced by Mr.. Simpson, who is a
newspaper man of outstanding service
and ability and president of the National
Press Club. There are few questions
winch newspaper man is not asked,
ana IN the course of long and worthy
career Mr.. Simpson has accumulated
an unbelievable mass of miscellaneous
knowledge concerning every conceivable
phase OF nature, economics, history and
civilization in general. In this new VOL
ume, which was released only a few
days ago, is to be found the answers to
about 1000 questions on almost as many
subjects