Evening star., 1937-05-15
By Mary.Carter Roberts.

Idllu dllu dUl ASAh keeAx,oSAA. A>S W
York: w. w. Norton Co.
THIs is two-volune work, made
up Of selections from the let
ters and Journals of Bertrand
Il Russell's parents. The ma
terlal has been chosen for the pur-
pose of showing the path by which
Lord and Lady Ambehey arrived at
their position as champions Of liberal
Ism. 1t begins with papers written in
early childhood and ends with letters
dated only shortly before death. The
period covered Is, of course, one in
which liberalism was conspicuous
Issue, not only in politics, but in relig-
ion and in the Intellectual world. AS
Lord and Lady Ambeley were inde-
satigably active in Their efforts toward
furthering any cause which seemed to
them to include the gem Of emancipa-
ton, their papers contain an excellent
panorama Of the issues which animat-
ed their day-freedm Of women,
anti-SlaveGy, Temperance. peace,
trade unionism, social reform as en-
bodied in various bills and as outlined
by various leaders, vsrious forms of
dissenting religion, SCIENTIFIC advances
and yet others. In the freedom which
their own wealth and established posi-
ton in a conservative society gave
them, these two peoph were able to
look on the world as patient suffer-
ing from multitude of diseases, and
they turned all the powers of their
minds to diagnosing tie ills and med
1tating cures.
This, substantially, what the book
shows. Its material Is divided into
chapters, at first according to periods
OF development-as youth, schooldays,
courtship-and later according to the
years. AS both Lord and Lady Amber
ley died young, in thel early 30s, the
actual time covered by this record is
not long. But there is a detailed
omprehensiveness in t and it must
stand as one Of the excellent pictures
OF nineteenth century intellectualiSm.
More than this the work contains a
null and living picture If relationships
in the two families. Most of the let
ters are to or from relatives and in
their accumulating lines, the reader
will see appearing tie life of the
English noble family ofthe period-its
movements from city to country. its
excitements over elections, its con-
Germ for good" marriages, property,
success, the placing d younger sons
and all the rest of it. Lady Amberley
1t should be said, was If the Stanleys,
a family not less prominent than her
husbands, and simila in interests.
Against this crow9d background
the two young people sloW themselves,
by their own written vords, unf1inch-
tngly conscientious in their efforts to
better the world. but somewhat heavily
laden by the weight the responsible
tty. They present social paradox
that is by no means neV in human his
tory. They were. by virue of their own
economic and social privileges, able to
oevote themselves selflssly to righting
the wrongs out of witch, in part at
least, their own favoed position de-
rived. Clear minded as they were,
they must have preceied the basic in
consistency of their god works. 1t is
pON1oIo, dO ally ldISs LlloC lllCy NClC
never so happy as Hen they found
time to escape briefly rom society and
politics, and read tgether in their
country home the moe congenial sub
jects Of philosophy and religion.
A host OF contemporary eminences
fills the books pages-to name a few,
Carlyle, Browning, Iurne-Jones, Sir
o{Nh ri Ry,r O,.ir ~ Vol
Gladstone, Lord Grey Emerson, Low
ell, Longfellow, and, of course, Lord
Amberly's father, Lod John Russell,
who was briefly prime minister. OF
some of these there are clear word
pictures; the most amusing perhaps is
that given by Lady Anberley, when
child, Of Thomas Caryle
HE talked a great deal in the eve
ming" she wrote n her journal,
"abused Mills book q Liberty g. said
we did not want librty & it was all
nonsense, he talkd too of the
vretched state of Sotch land from
which he had just .orne, & said the
Scotch would be qite right to rise
up and drive all tie Irish into the
sea & he talked abut running peo-
pie through with a red hot poker and
then laughed very much at the idea.
He held forth till l all of us listening
to him. The next morning at break
fast we asked him what it meant to
perfect the theory Of defective verbs,
phrase he uses very often in his
French Revolution he explained it to
us & said it was ofas little Importance
to fight about the constitution as to
settle the theory defective verbs i. IL.
g. At luncheon he said he thought
all novels stupid L he did not know
any good ones witten by women, he
abused every onein turn which was
tnentioned-& he said it was such a
pity that every ole wrote now it was
no longer a distinction, he thought
women had bettr not meddle with
those things bu be quiet darning
stockings, very different idea from
Mrs. Mills in he Enfranchisement of
Women; he tailed of her g. said she
was a silly woman, at least not so
clever, but tht Mill admired her
because she WIS kind to him. He
thinks that falling is the great fault
Of the age & that people had far bet
ter not talk.
g.. . Talking of the Rifle Corps he
approved of tlor a wonder g. said it
was an excellet thing to bring every
one under discipline & much better
to send the1nh cat-o'-nine tails g. a
drill sergeant ;han Maurice's Lectures
and Ruskin's drawing, it would do
them more god. We did not agree
II enjoyed his visit here very much
& I always Ike to listen to him one
always learn something"
The visit t1ich the couple made to
America in B67 is to some extent
condensation of their entire range of
preoccupatiols-they wanted to know
what was wong in our country and
what we wet doing to make it right.
They traveld fairly widely and were
brilliantly atertained, but this was
Haa{x f,a,n {y,or uyI,o