Evening star., 1936-06-20
DISCUSSION is DISCUSSED
Subject, Particularly Pertinent Now Treated Amusngy by
Charles BeardBiography of Queen and Victorian Wife.
Other Recent Works Reviewed.

might very we'll serve as q model for
the type Of cultivated pioneer matron.
The author. to be sure, clearly ideal
i1es her somewhat beyond reasonable
plausihility. Her comments on Mrs.
Sherman's letters do little to interpret
them to the reader and are sometimes
dangerously near being fulsome. But,
in spite Of their irritating effect, they
fail to obscure the essential picture
The work. If not important from the
point of view Of biographical writing,
Is still one which will contribute con-
siderable to the average readers know
ledge of its period.
GREEN MOUNTAINS TO SIERRAS.
Zephine Humphrey. New York:
E. P. Dutton & Co.
A MONG the latest authors to tour
long-Suffering America in a funny
old car and later surprise themselves
into stitches by discovering that the
notes they have innocently kept will
make q book is Mrs. Zephine Hum
phrey. zephhie set out with her
husband, Christopher, (ChriSsie?) In
a Chevy" (can you beat the play
fulneSS Of that nicknameO and from
Vermont to California they pursued
their CHEEKY way. They found out
the most extraordinary things. The
Pennsylvania coal regions, for example,
are hard hit by the depression. The
Great Smokes are beautiful scenery
they found that out all for themselves.
The Painted Desert Is very colorful.
Imagine! And at Taos-well, they dis
covered Taos, too, they stood in line
and discovered 1t. zephine wrote 1t
all down herself, in a good domestic
literary style. Christopher was paint
ing pictures. CThere may perhaps be
some hope for Christopher; he didn t
like the Painted Desert)
They wintered in California and
then they came back again. 1t makes
25S pages.
so LONG TO LEARN. BY Doreen
Wallace. New York: The Mac
milan Co.
THIS is a long. digntfied novel of
complete unimportance. It tells
the story Of a woman who. in the set
ting Of an English farm, came to the
conclusion that personal desires are
not Of paramount Importance. It took
her q long time TO learn. as the title
remarks. There are some nice de-
scriptionS Of farm scenery.
DR. DAFOE'S GUIDEBOOK FOR
MOTHERS. BY Allen Roy Dafoe,
o. B. E.. M. D. New York: Julian
MesSner, Inc.
HERE Is q brand-new, up-to-the-
minute handbook for modern
mothers of modern babies, by one of
the most-talked-of doctors Of the day.
1t is not book about the "quinS.
True, DR.. Dafoe says in his foreword
that "he would like to feel that chill
dren and their mothers are learning
valuable lessons from the story" and
in many instances he refers to them
TO prove a case in point.
But, essentially, the book is intended
to serve as a practical guide for a
mother IN caring for her baby both
before and after it appears in this
world, without encroaching in the
least upon the prerogatives of the
family physician. In fact the entire
atmosphere of the book is one which
directs the layman's attention to the
splendid results which may be OBJ
tanned by bringing babies through the
first stages Of their existence according
to strictly medieval, hygienic stand.
ards.
In the first chapter the expectant
mother is urged to put herself in the
hands of competent doctor, in order
that her child may have all the ad-
vantages of proper prenatal atten-
ton and diet. Untrue beliefs and
superstitious "bugaboos" about mark
ing" children before they are born, ex-
erciSing and so forth are discussed in
language that Is simplicity itself
The physical care Of the baby after
it is born is described in detail; mod
ern feeding methods and behavior"
training also occupy a large section
of the book. One chapter, which
should certainly interest Washington
mothers whose children have to re-
main in the city during the Summer,
is devoted entirely to the care Of the
baby during the hot months, and in
cludes many helpful hints for making
the heat Of the nursery more bearable.
Many other problems which con-
front the parents of small children are
dealt with patiently and clearly. 1t
would seem that DR.. Dafoe's book will
fill long felt need for a practical,
modern volume on the everyday care
Of our littlest citizens. B. C.