Evening star., 1937-12-26

"reminiscences New Volume Include Views This Nation
Well as Experiences in French Capital and World War
Observed During Service.

Plot Is recommended.
AMERICAN MEMORY. Assembled
and edited by Henry Boston. New
York: Farrar Il Rineha-t.
WE WERE NEW ENGLAND. Edited
by Barrows Mussey. New York:
Stackpole Sons.
HERE are two compilations Of
Americana which bear decided
resemblances to each other. The first,
to be sure. attempts to cover the
whole development Of our country,
in time as well as geography. The
second treats only Of New England
and does not come nearer to the
present than the Civil War. But there
is q great sameness in the method
followed. In consists in gathering TO-
gether writings Of men and women Of
q period and place, and letting these
narratives tell their own story. We
have thus assembled old letters, ex-
cerpts from obscure journals, selec.
tions from political speeches, pas
sages out Of published books, court
records and so on. The effect which
this assembling Is designed to produce
is that of the country and time speak
ing for itself. In general, 1t can be
said that both works are pretty sue
cessful.
American Memory" begins in
Colonial days and continues up to the
time of Theodore Roosevelt. The
larger part Of the book, however, Is
given over to the early times. There
are selections Of writings in this Sec
ton designed to show what life was
in the different cultural regions OF
the country--as the plea Of q con-
demned witch at Salem, an account
of an Indian feast in the Carolinas,
records Of hunts by the Governor OF
Virginia and his gentlemen, an ac-
count by Daniel Boone of his journey
to the Ohio, reports OF farming in the
wilderness, and stories Of the buying
and selling Of slaves.
The section devoted to the Revolu-
ton gives the words Of such great
and eminent men as Thomas Jefferson
and Alexander Hamilton; it also in
cludes letters on political questions
from farmers and manufacturers. And
SO it goes, down to the times of John
D. Rockefeller and Jocob Riis and
Henry Adams The selections seem
well taken for their purpose, and
there is much to be commended In
the making Of such book.
The second volume has for its SUBJ
title. Yankee Life by Those Who
Lived It." The writer's whose works
have been levied on to make the COL
lection are too numerous to list. but
some Of the more famous are p. T.
Barnum, Lyman Beecher, Timothy
Dwight. Jonathan Edwards, Edward
Everett Hale, Lucy Larcom, Cotton
Mather, Thomas Morton Of Merry
mount fame, Josiah Quincy and
Thomas Low Nichols.
The selections are divided to cast
light on various aspects of life as the
Yankees saw and knew it-as life In
childhood and during school and COL
lege days. life in politics. in commerce
and manufacturing, in religion and
in the various wars from the days OF
constant Indian menace to the War Of
1912.
They include writings Of local
humorists, stories of whaling days,
excerpts from the biography OF a
thief, sermons, political arguments,
tralevers' tales and much else. There
is q real flavor in the volume, and it
Is eminently worth having.
There Is no real basis for compar-
ing the two works, but of the pair the
reviewer, if she had to choose one,
would take I'VE Were New England"
Concentration on small territory
helps in such compilation. The i'm
mense ground to be covered in q work
devoted to the entire United States
cannot but spread the effect trifle
thin. However, both books are meri-
torious. It would be better to get the
pair.
THE DEPTHS AND THE HEIGHTS
BY Jules Romans. Translated
from the French by Gerard Hop
kins. New York: Alfred A
Knopf.
THIS is the sixth of that series
Of interrelated novels by julie,
Romans which is known as men
of Good Will" It has been on Ameri-
can book stands now some weeks. II
deals with French life in the years
1911 and 1912, giving in sum the
essence Of the political. moral and
literary ferment of the era which
came to its end in the World War.
The novel is divided into two
books, the first Of which Is called
ITO the Gutter" and the second "Tc
the Stars" ITO the Gutter" deals
with the psychology Of degeneration
Its chief figure is Georges Allory, Z
novelist of mediocre distinction, who
is disappointed In his ambition tc
gain election to the Academy. In
his despair he seeks distraction In
vice and the book follows his ad-
ventures into a horrifying world Of
PROGRESSES, publishers of vile books
panderers to perversion and similar
gentry. It is done with a grim
vividness which can leave the reade,
with no optimistic doubt as to 1t.
authenticity.
The second book takes up the cast
Of DR.. Viaur, psychiatrist who !!
conducting pioneer studies into thu
workings of the human mind. Here
in the world Of science. the reader
is shown the antithesis Of the first
book-it is the world Of sacrifice
heroism, imagination and visions ol
the betterment Of mankind. Thi.
Is written with exaltation and en-.
thusiasm. =.
Both parts Of the novel include
brief pictures Of characters WHOSE
lives have no connection with those
Of the central figures. These minor
men and women are chosen from Z
wide variety Of levels in the social
-