Evening star., 1937-06-12

guns Of Texas rangers. The young man
explains that he never robbed no.
body that couldn't stand to lose it."
So We have again the Robin Hood
motif cropping up In fiction and It
IS simply the reviewers misfortune
that she never could wax enthusiastic
over cold -blooded murders at . dis
tance Of leks than i've centuries.
Mr.. Anderson's thesis seems to be
that the humankind generally is too
corrupt for any group within it to be
outlawed for Its sins This, heaven
knows, u true enough. That prison
guards are sometimes brutal, that the
police is sometimes corrupt, that bank
ers sometimes make money unlaw-
fully and that innocent men sone-
times suffer from the law are facts
which no one would dispute. But that
honor, good faith and good morals
could exist 50 sturdily and 80 ex-
clusively In the bosoms Of those dedi-
Gated to careers OF robbery seems
somehow open to judicious doubt II
Mr.. Anderson had shown US Just one
good man who was not . robber We
might be more inclined to accept his
picture Of the golden-hearted safe
crackers. But, as it is, one feels that
he draws his line Of black and white
too arbitrarily. All virtue. to his
mind, apparently, Is to be found
among the outcasts. Society is the
monster. hunting them ruthlessly
down
II you can adjust your mind 10
that viewpoint, however, you will hnd
certain merits in this novel It has
= plain kind of beauty. Melodramatic
as its thesis Is, the writing Is without
sentimentality and. in the CONVERSE
tions between the characters, conver-
sations which reflect varying degrees
Of enmity toward society, from the
complete antagonism OF the gunner
to the highly qualified acceptance OF
the crooked lawyer, there is q dra-
matte realism. If Mr.. Anderson had
forborne to make his yeggmen so
excessively pure-hearted, II he had
shown them to be even approximately
as frail as his policemen and bankers,
he might have given IS q book in
the vein OF Creatures That Once Were
Men" q revelation of social depths
that has lasting application. But he
has not done that. He has spoiled
. good book with . story book theme.
Still, he writes sufficiently well for
one to look for his future work with
interest.
UNCLE RENES MEMOIRS. Edited
by M. De Rhues. Boston: Bruce
Humphries. Inc.
A MODERN Casanova who went
pleasantly through life, dallying
here and there on the journey from
the age Of 20 to 40, reveals his love
life to his heirs in his memoirs which
are incorporated in his will and which
have been edited by NJ De Rhues into
. volume entitled Uncle Rene's Me-
moirs"
M. De Rhues, whose name bears
all the earmarks of nom de plume,
has written for the intelligentaa. He
is revealed through his characteriza-
ton OF Rene Renoir, as 4 man who
has Travelled considerably, who Is
acquainted with music and musical
history, who knows his botany land
anatomy. who has the background
to write authoritAtively and excellent
ly Of the mental processes OF a cul-
tured gentleman who seldom strayed
but when he did stray used discrim-
nation and taste.
Rene never married. His own daily
life seemed to fill all Of his needs, and
he had no particular urge to seek the
companionship Of women. It just
seemed to happen on the few occa-
sions which he sets down with great
frankneSs in his memoirs that he and
the lady met for q brief moment like
ships passing at sea, or two stars in
conjunction meeting for q moment
and then going quickly and completely
out OF each others lives.
Rene had the soul Of q poet: he
treasured up these few sudden epi-
sodes in which he appeared rs often
the quarry as the hunter and when
finally, just past middle age, he retired
to tropical island to complete the
span OF his life, he studied the trees,
and somewhere among the varied types
he found one which personified each
one Of the women who found q place
In his memoirs.
Uncle Rene's Memoirs make sophis-
ticated reading. The book must be
frowned upon because Of the lack OF
moral restraint on the part OF Rene
and the frank discussion Of each AZ
fair, but nevertheless Rene must i'm
press the reader At least as 4 person
of discrimination. tactful and consid-
erate.-H. P. B.
THE STORY OF THE SECRET
SERVICE. BY Richard Wilmer
Rowan. New York: Doubleday.
DorAn Il Co.
CECRET SERVICE. starting in the
dim past OF biblical times and
parading through 80 centuries, in
cluding the World War. Is spread out
for general consumption In an ap-
petizing survey by one Of the most
authoritative writer's In that line.
Richard Rowan. treating an extern
sive subject thoroughly, establishes =
true impression OF the ubiquity and
real necessity OF secret service In one
or another OF It's numerous phases
And happily, in doing 10, he shies
clear OF that bone e-dry quality which Is
almost inevitable In historical record
ing. The innumerable sabots, espions
and their near kin which inhabit this
book are made to appear - tangible
people who once went about their
clandAsttns ways on . close parallel
With operAtees Of today. The whole