Evening star., 1937-10-23
Bp Mnrr.Carfer Roberts.

THE JOURNAL OF EUGENE DELA
CROIx. Translated from the Frencl
bv Walter Pach. New York: Covic
rriede.
-HE translation of this journs
into English is undoubtedly ar
event of interest to all those wht
Il follow the not too voluminou'
literature of authentic art history. ii
is the diary kept by Delacroix through
the years OF his greatest productivity
beginning in 1922, just after he had
hung his first important picture,
Dante and vergil," and continuing
although with some lapses, TO 1863. In
addition TO this record, which was
originally written in series OF note
books. the volume contains supple
rnent made up of more or less random
observations which Delacroix iotted
down on slips of paper. The work
gives substantial narrative OF the
artists personal attitude toward his
work over the period. Fifty-four full
page illustrations. in color and duo
tone. accompany this text, as we'll as
the innumerable sketches with which
Delacroix covered his notebook pages
as he wrote.
The journal. however. is almost
wholly subjective and is not to be
read by those who are looking for a
commentary on the personages and
manners OF the day. Objective obser-
vstions are. of course, found in the
pages. but are casual and seldom elab-
Grated For the greater part, the
artist communed with himself on the
problems OF his craft. He was a
friend OF Chopin, George Sand, Baude-
laire. Thiers. Dumas and other men
and women famous in French history,
but his references to them seldom go
into ANALYSIS or critical study. On the
other hand, he fills pages with specula-
ton on the methods used by his great
lative positions of the various arts in
human understanding, and writes
voluminously Of his own reactions to
work undertaken and of scenes and
figures which have commended them
selves to him as likely material. His
casual love affairs are jotted into this
record of artistic absorption almost
parenthetically and with comments
which are illuminating chiefly by their
extreme brevity 1t is a record indeed,
above all things, OF man constantly
at work
The actual years covered by the
notebooks are 1922, 1923 and 1924:
10 IN
elusive. In 1882 Delacroix was at
tsched to Count de Mornay's mission to
Morocco and there came under the
Oriental influence which the present
translator holds an important factor
in his later work. The journal fortu-
nstely contains the record of that
journey.
The volume would seem to belong
distinctly to the literature of the his
tory Of 18th century art, rather than to
the personal memoir classification.
II Is a beautiful piece of work from the
mere book-making point OF view. and
for those within whose range of in
pleasure.
eALUTE TO YESTERDAY. BY Gene
Fowler New York: Random House
ITO this novel, the first by Mr..
Fowler in six years, the reviewer is
constrained to attribute two fine rare
qualities which are currently very
badly misspplied, weekly and even
daily. by bored or indifferent members
of her craft They are robustness" and
'eusto.." Such has become the lack
statistical level of criticism in Ameri-
ca, such has become the pressure
under which harassed reviewers strive
to keep UP with the ridiculous food
Of printed objects known as books,
that fine discrimination is a luxury
almost beyond achieving. and even
these two unmistakable attributes have
been pulled out of the special pigeon
hole which rightly belongs to them and
desperately tossed into the necessitous
Books which contain great deal OF
profanity commonly get the accolade
OF robustness; those which deal
heavily in country matters are con-
veniently labeled as written with
''gusto." And, as books OF both de-
scriptions have by no means been
few in number among us. the conse-
ouence is that works called robust or
tmbued with auctorial gusto have been
among the most commonly advertised.
Notwithsta nding, the present re-
viewer has grimly withheld her own
bestowsl OF such merits and now be-
hold, Is vindicsted For here is book OF
genuine robustness Here is book
which has been written with genuine
eusto. The reviewer places 1t along
side Steps Going Down. which last
year won the American award in the
sll-nstions novel contest she ranks II
with Caleb Catlums America; and
puts it. although it is lower in rank
in the same category as H. L. Davis
gorgeous Honey In The Horn" This
ia a fine book AS said, it has robust
ness and it has gusto.
1t has. indeed, the cheerful, irrever.
ert. mad manner Of sanity which The
aforesaid qualities in combination
should imply. 1t is an extravaganza;
Il IL almost a fantasy. Yet it brings
life infinitely nearer to its reader thar
do . thousand grievously exact photo.
graphic records of what human being,
DO. For II illumines life with the ligh
OF satire; It points the uneven balance
OF the scales Of justice by showing
how far justice itself is beyond human
concept, it grinds the tragedy OF liv.
ing into the mind by the device o
showing how absurd the human figur,
Is in any posture. be it the most tragi,
conceivable. 1t is comedy of human
limitations. in other words. done witt
happy callousness which spares n,
character and blames none To tn
men and women in it absolution nigh
be- given in the universally applicabl
words of Able Coignard, who SAID
"They sin without malice"
II is the story of events in a moderl