Evening star., 1939-03-19

Madame Cure g0re the WOrld one OF its
rarest elements, radium - and t,Oo daughters
The older daughter, Irene, is q scientist. the
youngest ener to receive the Nobel brtze for
science. The younger daughter, Eoe, is equally
remarkable. Her biography Of her mother be-
came worh best seller, but she has kept her
o,Vn personality tn the shadows.
Ere Curie is soon 10 arrioe tn America for
brief risit, and we asked the famous author
Louis BromfeN to do an intimate pen portrait
Of this most distinguished and most fascinating
young Wo,nau. Here tt is.
p AM sitting in the middle of Ohio and out
side the snow is falling, and for two days
II while the snow has fallen have been sit
ting here at desk by the window scratching
my head with the end of my pen, trying to
write an article about Eve Curie. l have been
a writer - novelist, short story writer and
newspaperman - for twenty-five years and
by now should be able to command my own
pen: but couldn't. l never had a tougher
assignment.
Itwasr't because didn't know my subject;
at exactly this time last year was skiing with
her down five miles of snow and rocks eight
thousand feet up in the Swiss Engadine. A lit
tie earlier she was one of group OF friends
who gave me birthday party in the Stefan
Hotel in St. Moritz. 1t was wonderful party
and the last of the guests went home through
the falling snow at five in the morning 1t was
skittle party, which in American means
bowling party, and all night competition
went on among teams made up from among
the guests. 1t must have been good party be-
cause the next day four mink coats and nine
pairs of paloshes we're found. left behind in
the hotel.
Eve Curie was captain of one of the mixed
teams and made ladies' high score She played
with a much heavier ball than any of the
other women, and she used it with the skill of
an expert. She bowled with grace - which,
as any bowler knows, is not easy. Bowling is
not what might be called graceful sport.
have a flashlight photograph of her in action.
1t might be called Diana in the Bowling Alley.
When think of her, she is somehow asso-
ciated with softly falling snow, not because
she is cold. The ooldness of ice has nothing
to do with her. 1t is something that has to do
with the freshness and beauty and soft glitter
ing quality of snow. And so again she is like
Diana. l have been scratching my head as
to how to describe her, not because there is so
little to describe, but because there is so
much In way, she is everything, and to
describe that is quite a job for anyone.
She is coming to America and at this very
minute III make bet that never will awoman
arouse more interest or more difference OF
opinion as to what she is.
One person will say, "She is the best dressed
woman in the world. She has smarter clothes
and wears them with better air than any
woman l have ever seen."
Another person will disagree, saying, Il
didn't especially notice her clothes but had
long talk with her on the intricaCies of
higher mathematics. A woman with brain
like that can't waste time thinking about any
thing so frivolous as Clothes
A third will say, Eve Curie is superb
musician. She is top pianist and knows
music from the bottom up. Don't tell me that
such woman knows anything about higher
mathematics or thinks about Clothes
And someone else will say, Eve Curie is
top athlete What could she know about
music or mathematics or clothes?"
Another will say, II sat next to her at
dinner. She is worldly, brilliant, witty