Evening star., 1938-08-03
NEW BOOKS AT
RANDOM
By MARGARET GERMOND.

GOOSE FEATHERS. BY George Digby.
New York: E. p. Dutton & Co.
When George Digby was seventeen
years ago he left his home in England and
went to Ceylon to become tea planter.
1t was the beginning OF life of ad-
venture in many lands. In writing OF
his experiences during the years OF
wandering he disclaims any intention
Of making this first book an autobiog-
raphy and 1t is well that he has not at
tempted to do so for in its present form
the volume is a genuinely enjoyable
series of stories in which the first person
is an author who has the happy gift of
keeping his leitmotif we'll in the fore
ground. Another attribute Of the book
is that it has not been over-done in an
effort to include the whole of Mr.. Digby's
varied travels He has chosen to confine
these tales to those in which he be-
lieved readers would be most interested.
The result is that they give rise to the
hope that others will follow.
A tea plantation in the hills of Ceylon
would likely seem a paradise to any
young man just out of school and am
bilious to become success in the world.
Certainly 1t was veritable eden for
young Digby, who was placed in charge
of the western division and given the
luxuries so easily obtainable in countries
which know not the rigors of life where
both land and climate are hard. He was
contented and drawing near to COM
plete happiness when customs and pref
udiceS intervened and changed the pat
tern of his life. He was perhaps, as he
believes, born to wander, yet it is i'm
rnccihln RI ha of hic ilullic
romance without clinging to the thought
that his wanderings might have been
less informal if his one true love affair
had not been thwarted.
X
Ceylon for George Digby without
Louise was impossible, so he left the tea
plantation and managed somehow to
land an assignment to New Guinea for
an Australian newspaper to uncover re-
ported atrocities against the Germans
in the inundated territories. While en-
gagged in this occupation the newspaper
folded up. leaving him stranded. Fail
ure of gold mining expedition had left
Terry O'Hara stranded also, SO the two
went off together on an illegal errand.
1t is against the law to kill birds of para
disc in New Guinea, but these two sailed
a jungle river. killed hundreds of birds
and brought them back to buyer. The
story of this excursion and its outcome
is a combination of thrilling adventure
and pure comedy.
The most important tale in this COL
lection is the account of Mr. Digby's
experiences and observations in Japan.
His wanderings had taken him to the
Sunrise Kingdom a few years after the
close of the Great War. and in this re-
view of his conversations with Viscount
Uchida it seems apparent that Japan's
plans for her militaristic campaigns of
the past few years were in the making
more than twenty years ago. Mr.. Digby
had many conferences with the viScount
and was urged to speak frankly. Being
young, and fearless, and much travelled
and also keen observer. he opened his
heart to Uchida and gave freely of his
opinions concerning the reasons for the
unfriendly attitude of other nations to-
ward Japan. Being a newspaper cor
respondent, he undertook to explain the
value of publicity to a nation, and among
other things he suggested that the out
side world would like to feel that the
Emperor really existed and that he had
some acquaintance with the affairs of
the day. He went so far as to say that
the people of other lands would like to
know what he eats, whether he likes
good music, what he reads, who his
friends are, whether he has a pet dog
or if by chance he has corns on his feet.
The American sense of humor readily
responds to the word picture of this
interview and the mighty indignation
which it aroused in the breast Of the
japanese statesman. 1t also appreciates
the ludicrous performance of planting
spy in Digby's living quarters and shortly
thereafter making it quite plain that
it would be we'll for the journalist to
leave the country without delay.
The story of little Olga, victim of bol-
shevik savagery. is as delicate and as
finely tuned as the spirit of the child
whose twisted body was nearing the end
of its earthly passage. Mr.. Digby made
the acquaintance of the child in sana-
torium and they became fast friends.
The story tells of their daily excursions
to small island where jonquils bloomed
in profusion. Like many youngsters
whose bodies have been broken, little
Olga knew that she would die and when.
Telling the story of a daily companion
ship of this sort without slipping over
the sob line is an accomplishment worth
noting. And Mr. Digby manages it with
an ease and grace that wins admiration.
X
A characteristic of the entire volume
is that while it relates many excit-
ing adventures, introduces innumerable
strange people and recounts events
sometimes stirring and sometimes lu-
dicrous, the whole tone suggests the easy
gait and unhurried existence of true
vagabond.
Mr.. Digby's travels have taken him to
New Zealand. North Africa, Canada and
the United States as we'll as the coun-
tries mentioned in his book. He is now
living in California.