Evening star., 1938-10-30
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, DO

| ATFO1Nl THOMAS RUSSELL,
ESQUIRE. BY Leslie Hotson. New
York: oxford University Press.
This Is highly interesting, II some-
what involved, piece Of research into
the identity of certain Of ShakeS,eare's
friends. The author, . well known
student Of Shakespearean biography,
has undertaken to I'LL some Of that
vacancy which takes in the greater
part Of the poets life by following
the history Of Thomas Russell, whom
Shakespeare appointed to be everseer
Of his will. DR.. Hotson points out
that the place Of overseer was an i'm.
portant one In Elizabethan testaments.
and was given generally to the closest
OF friends. Proceeding from this as
sumption, he has sought out a great
mass of facts concerning Russell. He
would have us consider the likelihood
that Shakespeare. being Russell's
friend. was concerned In the events
disclosed by his investigation.
The clue is a slender one, certainly.
1t rests Of probability, where the poets
actual participation is concerned. But
the probability IS reasonable. Russell
and Shakespeare were neighbors. Only
six years separated them in age. Rus
sell was keen student Of poetry. And
a multitude Of records shows the names
OF the two families and their collaterals
connected in many friendly matters
the giving Of bond for loans, the wit.
Messing Of documents and 50 forth.
II We decide to accept the clue We
are led into turbulent world. assured
ly The young men who surrounded
Russell were. many Of them, implicated
in the Gunpowder Plot. His family
bore bitter feuds in his county, some
of which f1ared into open fighting. And
even Of commoner occurrence than the
brawls were the law suits; going to
court, apparently. was favorite Eliz-
abethan occupation. The names Of
Leicester, Of Digges the astronomer
and of his son. of the Berkleys, from
whom was descended Gov. Berkeley of
Virginia: Of Southampton, Of Penn
broke, of Endyminion Porter. of John
Harington-the identity OF Willough-
by of the "Avisa" and the ramifcations
VA SAAS %AyASy 4dullly-dll IlltSE AIQ
still other matter are ingeniuosly inter-
woven here to show us group of men
and women who probably were the
poets friends, and with whom he may
have passed some Of his mysterious
days.
1t is immensely entertaining reading.
And, for such facts as are brought
forth. there is good substantiation.
That ShakeSpeare's connection with
these facts rests on deduction is we'll
in keeping with the mystery which sur
rounds him. 1t no way detracts from
the interest OF DR.. Hotson's work.
ALL THE YEAR ROUND. BY Page
Cooper. New York: Stackpole Sons.
This is an ingenious and useful sort
OF day book. 1t runs around the year
with the calendar, and gives recon-
mendations of what to do with each "a
hours-provided that the reader Is a
woman with home in the country,
leisure. a taste for housekeeping and
an accompanying taste for gardening.
1t does not, you understand, offer a
recipe day, or anything quite like
that. But it offers q running counsel
on what to do to keep home pleasant
around the year without losing your
own pleasure in existence while you
do it.
1t tells. for example. what flowers to
plant, when and how to plant them.
It tells how to take sudden tuck in
the food budget. to allow for other
extravagances. It offers recipes for
special dishes, fancy and plain. It
gives hints $50 gentle Is its spirit)
about times for window washing, shop
ping, cleaning, and how to bear life
on the maids day OF. 1t is done in
fashion which makes it good reading,
even for those not Immediately seek
ing its counsel.
The reviewer does not 20 in heavily
for recipes for living, as those familiar
with this page will remember. How
ever, this book seemed to her entirely
pleasant and civilized. She makes an
exception for it.
TAKE 1T EASY. BY Damon Runyan.
New York: Frederick A. Stokes Co.
This is one more collection of the
ingenious Mr.. Runyan's not always
ingenious stories. The reviewer has
already given her opinion of this sports
writer gone literary. 1t is not necessary
for her to do so at length again. She
will simply confine herself to the
observation that Mr.. Runyan is q de-
lightful romantic in his use of words,
and a shameless taker-over Of we'll
worn plots on which to hang those
words. "Runyanese," as it seems to be
called, is fine lyric reading. Just for
sound, just for movement. Just for
style, it i-well, better than some-
what? To ask 1t, then, to say some
thing would be ingratitude.
Than this there is nothing more to
say, except that. being condiment
and not q food, Mr. Runyan is best
when taken In small quantities. A
whole volume Of him becomes-shall
the reviewer cruelty say it?-just the
tiniest bit monotonous.
AT MIDNIGHT ON THE 31sT OF
MARCH. BY Josephine Case Young.
Boston: Houghton-Mifnin Co.
This is long narrative poem which
takes for its theme the plight of
modern American village should that
village suddenly be thrown back on It's
own resources and cut utterly from any
outside world. To make such q case,
the poet supposes that the outside
world in her poem simply ceases to
exist. There is the village, she says,
at IL o'clock on the 31st of March, con-
nected by q highway with the city.
equipped with telephones, electricity,
machinery and dependent upon out
side supplies. At midnight al this
world beyond its borders disappears.
The lights 60 OF. When the people
rise next morning they md that there