Henderson daily dispatch., 1946-05-11
DAVID THE KING by Glsdv,
Schmitt. 631 pages. New Yort
Dial Press. $3.50.

StTI1tItl OSl pages. new York
Dial Press. $3.50.
/ From the house of David, son o,
Jesse of Bethlehem, came the an.
>est tors of the Messiah through
whom David's lie ruled forever
1t is the liie-story of this versatile
king. David. lutist and much quoted
'pSalmist, that Gladys Schmitt relates
in her book. DAVID THE KING.
Following rather closely the ac-
count Of DaVid's life as related in
the Old Testament Miss Schmit,
makes two glaring deviations from
the familiar story. She does not al
low David to slay Goliath or the
legendary 200 Philistnes. She ex-
plains that David was attributed
the feat of the Staying of the gian,
through the song he composed of
the deed. which was the act of one
OF Saul's warriors. The other event
Wut down in history. she relates,
because of Sauls decree that David
must slay 200 Philistines before he
| (DaVld) could have Sauls daughter.
Mi>al. as wife. According to this ac-
count. David slew only two and
Saul accepted this in lieu of the 200.
This line of reasoning makes of
| David mere man instead OF the
glorious king, chosen by God
DaVid'S rise from keeper of
the sheep on the plains of Bethle-
hem to become king of Judah is
recounted at length in an exhll-
rating manner. The life story of this
king reveals his ambitions "a certain
cruelneSS and selfishness and poetic
ability as a psalmist. David's pas
sionate and troubled thoughts. re-
Vealed in detail. indicate a keen an
alysis of the person by the capable
Miss Schmitt.
Ii is generally recognized that the
Old Testament IS a history of the
Hebrews and few of the kings are
| models of behavior for they o1en in
| Cured the wrath Of the Lord as did
| David in his longing for Bathshebe
| wife of Urlah. Punishment was met
ed out by the Just Lord and David
was beloved in the sight of the Lord
and the people. There is plethora
of biblical CharaCterS-Saul, Abner
Samuel. Absolom. Solomon, Joab,
Adonljah and many other lesser per-
sons who contribute authenticity to
the account.
DAVID THE KING can be classed
as Biblical novel, deserving repute
Miss Schmitt displays superior story
telling ability for she creates a re-
markable account of this beloved
king. David. Biblical language and
Asiatic setting lend credulty and
fascination to the story. Few Biblical
| r. a,.1rtprS have hnar c,,rh do
ference as she gives David. 1t is a
highly recommended work. but read
ers should keep constantly in mind
the fact that it is novel.-Juanita
StainbaCk.
Notes Cn Books.
THE MASTERS AND THE
| SLAVES by Gilberto Freyre, the
first English translation of one of the
major works of twentieth-century
scholarship. is announced for fall
publication by Alfred A. Knopf II
S already considered a classic in the
field Of social anthropology and has
already appeared in Portuguese,
French and Spanish.
Early in l947 Rinehart & Company
Will publish an important book by
James J, Rorimer on the finding and
returning Of art objects stolen by
the Germans.
| Canova, a famous Italian sculptor,
made the statute of George Wash
ington adjoining the capitol at Ra-
leigh, n c., and this same person
modelled the reputed statue, "Venus',
using as his model, Pauline Bona
parte, Napoleon's sister. This Pauline
is the central figure of Edgar Maass'S
novel, IMPERIAL VENUS, which
was published on April 20 by Bobbs-
Merrill Company.
They have come for hat to hold
a husband. (This is more difficult,
but posible.) They have come for
a hat to catch a husband. Crhis is
easy)." So states Lilly Dache in her
book, TALKING THROUGH MY
HAT, recently published by Coward
Mccain.
Duell, Sloan and Pearce have an
nounced that they will publish
book entitled "Nibbles and Me- by
Elizabeth Taylor, l3-year-old MGM
star of "National Velvet. Publica-
ton is on May Is and on that same
date the same publishers will issue
Here's OHara'. selected stories and
novels by John O'Hara. Here's o.
Hara'' will be reviewed next week
in this column.
On May 18th Putnam's will publish
1T is DARK UNDERGROUND by
Loo Pin Fei. 1t is the first complete
story of the eChinese Underground
which has yet been published. The
army is formed by young men and
women of teuN age who gave an in
valuable contribution to the liberia
ton of China.