Evening star., 1938-10-16

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him along, or because it is so well
written that it is q work Of literary
art, Cloudy Trophy must be q dis
appointment.
To dispose of the last matter first
Either his translator does him an in
justice or Leon Daudet does not in
herit the literary skill Of his illustrious
grandfather, Victor Hugo, who is the
subject of this book. Nor does he in
herit the passion for the exact word
which he ascribes to his grandfather.
While his sentence structures may be
technically correct, they are OF the
clumsy, sausagelink style so often
affected by pretentious amateurs.
Victor Hugo lived in the most
exciting period Of French history. He
was an impassioned orator and real
worker for democracy and civic liberty.
Like countless other men Of his time,
and OF the present. he had both a wife
and mistress. Unlike other men. he
had a mistress noted for her beauty
and intelligence and her faithfulness
to him. Here is material for heroic
story. Here Is a man who was some
body in a romantic era, man who
did things of importance in several
fields. What do we learn about him
in Cloudy Trophy? Mereley that he
was libertine and a fool, that his
wife and his best friend betrayed him
and that he was laughing stock. His
amours and his affairs may make
interesting reading to shop girls and
pool hall habitues. but these are not
likely to be exposed to volume OF this
sort.
Cloudy Trophy" does not add an
iota to the knowledge Of either the
man or the artist. There Is no
Interpretation Of the poetry Of Victor
Hugo or any intimation of the forces
which made the man what he was.
We are given bald and often dis
gusting facts about his mode of life,
but are given no clue to the motives
or feelings which actuated him. We
are told that his 50-year liaison with
Juliette Drouet Is one of the greatest
romances of history, but the reader
has hard work to convince himself that
this is true The incidents described
as having transpired during this time
would point to another conclusion.
r. r. T.
ZACA VENTURE. BY William Beebe
New York; Harcourt, Brace g. Co..
William Beebe, venerated natur-
alist and decidedly readable chron-
icler, adds another volume to his i'm
pressive string of wild life studies Of
sea and land. This time he takes
a yacht trip down the West Coast of
Mexico to the Bay of California and
ont 4 short distance in the Pacific
to Clarion Island. Inhabitants of
the deep and shallow occupy his chief
concern although note is taken also
of any natural phenomena happen
ing to catch his eye.
"zaca Venture" is similar to the
other Beebe ventures with which most
dyed-in-wool nature admirers are
acquainted Always the indefatig-
able investigator of the mystries OF
the physical world, Mr.. Beebe brings
back from semi-tropical waters q
great quantity of valuable scientific
data and as well. the Jealous spirit
Of his experience. This particular
cruise was the Templeton Crocker
expedition Of the New York Geological
Society Of 1885.
The Zaca log is memorable to Mr..
Beebe in more than one way. He
sets himself precedent, finally hav-
ing succumbed to the lure Of big game
fishing: reflects that it Is quite q
thrill although he found more delight
in 200-odd crustaceans harbored on
the back of his 9-foot trophy, a marlin.
Incidents Of routine nature include
his discovery of an unusual hermit