Evening star., 1937-11-03
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
BY MARGARET GERMOND.


hear its weird chime are marked by fate
for experiences that have no parallel in
the normal adventures of life. How far
and wide the superstition may prevail I
do not happen to know, but in what
ever cline the odd behavior of an hon.
orable timepiece is regarded as bearing
message of significance, the suggestion
of a thirteenth hour is indicative OF
the unusual Thirteen O'clock" as the
title of a book Immediately arrests at
tention, and when it is noted that the
author is none other than Stephen Vim
cent Benet. there is assurance of de-
lightful entertainment in the field of
tall tales.
Thirteen such tales are brought to-
gether in one volume, thirteen stories
that are as tall as church steeple and
as odd as the eerie thirteenth chime
of the town clock. Some of them are
quite familiar, such as THE Devil and
Daniel Webster" in which the hard
bitten fighter for the preservation of the
Union conquers judge and jury after
an all-night session in a New England
farmhouse. Then there is another tale
in which the same Daniel Webster is
pursued by the sea serpent Samantha
until he finds a means of making use of
her affection to settle an affair of state
and of attracting her attention to a
home of tranquility in the South Seas.
Quite as fantastic is the tale of "The
King of the Cats" which introduces to
an American audience an orchestra
conductor of world renown whose pc
culiarity is that he has a long, black
tail with which he wields the baton.
THE Sobbin' Women" is the sort of
comedy that suggests marvellous oppor-
tunity for the motion picture screen,
provided it were possible to keep it in
the same high quality of fine humor
that its author has laid down. Another
purely farcical tale is "A Story by Angela
Poe" in which popular author and
her retired actor husband pour into the
ears of young publishing agent an
extraordinary confession.
by the Waters of Babylon" dips into
the prophetic and relates the dream
story of an ambitious young priest, while
"The Treasure of Vasco Gomez" goes to
the other extreme and uncovers the
bloody musings of pirate marooned on
treasure island Glamour" is a tale
to read and then read again to make
cdi c tAidb ~ Wdo uliUClStOOO tlic lllS
time. This also is true of THE Curfew
Tolls" Three more stories, Everybody
Was Very Nice" "A Death in the Coun-
try" and Blossom and Fruit" COM
plete the volume, and all of them bear
witness to the authors well-known gift
for poetic and artistic treatment of hum
drum as we'll as bizarre themes. The
stories indeed cover several worlds with
dpftnpcc ond
around the dial while de clock strike
thuteen."
THROUGH REMEMBERED WIN
DOWS. BY Pepita Crounse. author
of Fold of Dreams" Ontario, Cali
fornia: Silhouette Press.
Here is volume of poems of Old
Mexico. illustrated with photographs
from the artistic work of Hirst Milhollen
and taking its title from this reminiscent
verse:
Through we'll remembered easements,
now locked fast.
Drift treasured whispers OF the long
ago.
When time once walked with light, in
that dear past.
And storm and sunshine blended JOY
and woe.
Oh, lovely southern land of light and
There in the vesper silence of the
dusk
The bells still ring the hour, and the
Still holds a perfume permanent as
musk
Through sthose remembered windows
once life held
The mirrored mornings where the
day-star met
The dawn, poem that the paled sky
spelled
In syllables the heart cannot forget.
The poems are classified in five groups,
the above having been quoted from those
described as "Mirrored Mornings" The
second group, headed Sounds Life's Gay
Note" presents the colorful and more
carefree character as indicated in these
lines to dancing girl:
Slowly-slowly-
Carmita dances with soft wistful grace,
With languid arms. and mystery of
Cadence of movement gliding into night,
Slowly-slowly-
Then, with no warning, comes a crash.
With deafening notes, rustic of bright
silks
That droop and flash,
Like glittering fire! Swift tapping
tapping
Eye-baff1ing like the dart of swiftest
swallows
Into springs leafy hollows;
Or like the flash of sunrise, flaming high
Into days sky;
Dark eyes afire with sparkling glance!
So does Carmita dance.
From the blend of Song and Pain"
group is this picture OF gatherer Of
faggots:
He was called Pablo. Ragged was his
hair,
And hunched his back, twisted and slow
his gait.
Gathering faggots he would whistle
AS any bird, thinking of Margarita.
Did she love him? Did she not?
Did she mind his wry and crumpled
back?
He was not handsome like his neighbor,
Gonzalo.
Could love atone for his grim lack?
At night he dreamed, while ruddy
faggots smouldered,