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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 31, 1922)
TOE STTTfSAT SSSONIAX, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 31, 1922 3, By PictardV Baiter (connects the Bosphorus with the J for what he does, while It is a worh Persian gulf, has been the theater I an's fortune, or perhaps misfor of more and greater changes in tune, to be judged for what .she is. Indiscretions of Lady hosan, by Lady Susan Townley. D. Appleton & Co., New York city. Whether r not Lady Susan Town ley has written her autobiography as a justification for her and her husband and a denial of the accusa tion placed against her as an excuse for limiting her husband's promo tions in the British diplomatic serv ice matters little. Their Joint justi fication has been quite adequate, and the only thing that would indi cate such a purpose Is the title of the book. "Indiscretions" Is rather a misleading word, inasmuch as the indiscreet element is decidedly lim ited. The usual oompliments to a com mendable autobiography can be paid In this case. It is entertaining, in teresting, informative and sprightly. It belongs to that class of books which are good both because of their content and the manner In which they are written. In the last quarter of a century Lady Townley has accompanied her husband to posts on three conti nents. She has graced with her pres ence nearly every recognized and civilized court in Kurope, as well as Washington and Buenos Aires, Pe l;in, Constantinople, Teheran, Chili, Palestine and Japan, and during her career as the wife of a diplomat has met every person of importance worth meeting. A biography to be worth reading must contain these close-up views of the great, must have a close focus on Important events and must offer a freshness of treatment. The books of the year include an ex traordinary amount of biography and autobiography; too much, some critics are bold enough to say, and while the majority are worth-while, there is a growing feeling that this branch of writing is being overdone. In v'ew of this feeling it is well to stats that this book is distinctly dif ferent, written from a different view. A woman's position as the wife of a diplomat or statesman is far different from the position of her husband. Her observation pow ers are attuned to different things, and her reactions from her observa tions are also different American readers will naturally be most interested In what Lady Town ley has to say concerning America IS these readers have imbibed the var'ous criticisms of America which other and more famous English writers have laid down, a mild de gree of disappointment will result. Lady Townley mentions at some length the characteristic American desire to hurry, and tells how abom inable our sleeping cars are. She is Indirectly distressed about, the poor American husbands who hang onto their wives as they would cling to the tail of a social comet while be ing swept through the milky way of society. She says his haven is the counting house and the club and in these two places he should stay as mucn as his wire will let him. But she Is one Britisher who lauds the American press, and In that respect ehe Is unusual. She describes with aome levity the confusion of Amer ican hostesses in deciding whether ne was to be treated as the daugh ter of an earl or the wife of an am bassador, and while most of the chapter is devoted to the woman's tide of American life, she yet takes opportunity to comment on. politics as she and her husband saw and felt mem. - i-iui oniy oecause Of Its fresh viewpoint, but also because of the many different scenes and settings in wn'cn tne xowniey s were placed, each well described and commented upon, is the book worth reading. i K 4 I I 1 1 i ' Photo by Appleton. Lady Susan Townley, whose au tobiography, Indiscretions of Lady Susan," im not very indiscreet. and at the same time inspiring to read of men and women over 60 years of age, all of them fathers and mothers, tramping to the school house along dark roads and there siruggling, often with palsied fin gers, to master the craft of writing. More pathetic still are the facsim iles of their first simple letters, written In a cramped script, strange combination of the staggering hand writing of children and the curli cue script of the aged. If only a few had been so taught In but one moonlight school, and en tirely as an experiment, Mrs. Stew art's book would have been Inter esting. It is surprising that the work, first taken up in Kentucky mountain communities, has made its Influence felt throughout the whole country and has inspired concerted action on the part of state officials in several states. There is but one shadow to over spread the effect of the book, and It is so abstract that it casts no gloom. A close study of some-of the photo- Erapnic reproductions reveals rather discouraging phrenological symp toms. Those who believe that the ex terior of a head has something to do with the interior will not fall to perceive that many of the subjects or tne scnoois may te Illiterates be cause of other than environmental reasons. This fact, however, should r.ot react to the detriment of the book or to the cause for which it was written. Every student of edu cation should know something of moonlight schools, and this volume presents their history. humanity's development than any other portion of the earth's surface. It has witnessed civilization after civilization and each era has left its marks and its monuments. The Rev. M. Zahm writes not as a traveler, but aa a student, and he j writes for those who have a sin cere aesire to Know sometnmg ox the country he covers. This does not mean that he has failed to endow his book with charm, for it is a most charming bit of travel description, but it contains a combination of the scholar and the traveler, which adds read there; it was not thief, liber tine,- villain. He read only some thing which crushed him to earth more lgnominiously than could any terms of abuse; he read the word which to him was the most dreadful lnowle(J charm the Child Training, by Amjelo PatR. D. Aj-1 pleton & Co., New Xork city. Until the last decade. It might readily be said, child psychology was mostly a matter of study and scarcely ever of application. What little use It was put to was, to all practicable purposes, negligent. In view of the new light which has been thrown upon the problem of raising children, it must seem that before this illumination occurred children were the most Ill-treated creatures in the world, and the won der is that even a small percentage lived up to the expectations of fond mothers and became presidents of the United States or large banks and railroads. ' A glance through the sound and splendidly brief chapters of Mr. Patri's book makes the wonder grow. It is not often that the con tent will give cause for dispute by any fair-minded persons, and this I Is because of the author's method In exrjlainin&r Roma nf th, jtnmmnn io takes and in offering wise counsel!1' is Just abo"t as gay and rollick in matters which do not ordinarily receive Timothy Tnbby's Journal, by Timothy j uuuj. xiiti oeorgu a. juoran company, i.cin lutjt ciLy. If this book Is supposed to be a satire on the kind of Junk which English writers deal out in the way of American impressions, what they saw and what they thought, and what they thought they saw, while in America; If it is aimed at such writers, then at least its purpose is commendable, and also it might be said that it is Just as asinine and absurd as the Britishers' books of American impressions generally are. But If it is supposed to be funny, both the effort and the result are the saddest things that have been placed upon the. book shelves of the dying year. Ostensibly the book is supposed to be funny; at least it was written to provoke laughter, -but inasmuch as it Is really the Journal of Timothy Tubby, the eminent British novelist, while in America, and contains such utter absurdities in the way of im pressions and accounts of American customs; inasmuch as it is as absurd in the comedy line as the usual Brit ish writer's impressions are in seri ous literature it may have been made purposely absurd. Eu( America has not been aroused to such a pitch of indignation by the lack of under standing on the part of British writers to appreciate with any depth a whole book pointing out in the flattest kind of humor the errors of those writers. To get anywhere such a book must be worth reading for itself alone, and not because it is written with a detached purpose. "Timothy Tubby's Journal" is perhaps the worst satire of the year; at least the worst that has crossed this desk. The blurb calls it a gay and rollicking satire. iuderment upon him old man.1 Then Casanova slinKs ore to nis beloved Venice, which he had been allowed to re-enter after his long exile because of his consent to be come a police spy that he might bet ter wreak his revenge in .tne oitter- ness of his empty years. Casanova ends his days as he deserves, un faithful to ideal and principal to the very grave. Schnitzler has written a great book: a powerful novel almost worthy of a place on the shelf of memoirs which inspired it- it is dramatic, correctly interpretive of the heated Italian temperament he has had to deal with, descriptive of 18th century life and intensely Inter esting. If it is disgusting, it is so because it is written on a disgusting subject, and tells the story it is sup posed to tell. The translation is rather free, but the book loses noth ing thereby. . Love Conquers All, by Robert C. Bench ley. Henry Holt Co., New Tork city. Mr. Benchley might have contrib uted a treat service to mankind if he could only make all his readers take him seriously, or u ne couiu reach the people he writes about. If he reaches only a small percentage Of them and If he reforms or con verts a small percentage of that percentage, he will have done a great deal. But he writes to a class that would be hard to reform those who watch and do not play. One of his chapters contains a full set of Instructions for the chronic watcher of bridge games. This is very complete. It provides first of all some suggestions as to the conversation between the play ers and he or they who intend to watch preliminary to the game. It takes up the correct expressions as the spectator stalks around the table looking at each hand, and tells how to cough down a player's neck, adding a few hints about the proper tunes to whistle between the teeth or to drum on the back of a player's chair with the fingers. Another vafuable code revealed Is the best procedure to use while sit ting on the back fence encouraging your neighbor while he prepares and plants his garden. One suggestion Is to help him count the rocks and stones as he picks them up. An other is to discuss the likelihood of a crop failure on. account of poor soil. Mr. Benohley also tells how to watch a baseball game, and he ap proaches very close to real humor when he offers instructions on watching a game of chess. Not all of his chapters are dedi cated to the great game of watch ing. He offers father some advice on carrying on while the family is away and permits himself to expose his own ideas on how a bullfight could be conducted in Madison Square garden. Railroad commit tees and the tariff problem are two of his targets shot at in a more seri ous mood as regards humor. Speaking of humor, Mr. Bench ley's book is intended to be such. His themes and his ideas should meet with almost universal an- prbval, but some of his humor is almost flat and some of it is slap stick. Mr. Benchley obviously has been reading O. Henry, and any stu dent of both authors is apt to get some Idea of why the O. Henry in fluence, alleged to be so heavy on contemporary American literature, Bhould be regretted. O. Henry, say the critics or most of them is all right, but his influence is to be feared. All told. "Love Concmero Air's is intended to be amusing and is mod erately so. It should be neither uni versally condemned nor acclaimed. reader will only absorb it, Small wonder it is that the Dan ube possesses such a degree of fame. The river and all the gems of his tory which crowd its banks are made alive by the author's mastery of English and his intimate ac quaintance with its' banks. Rev. Zahm does not confine himself to what he saw on this specific ex cursion, taken as it was on various river boats, but he adds to his vision all his learning. As in all other chapters he tells briefly and engagingly the whole historical sig nificance from the time of Alexander to the present. The Euxine and the Bosphorus follow the Danube, the Tigris, the Hellespont, Bagdad, a motor trip through the Garden of Eden, Babylon, the paths of the Crusaders; all are dealt with as though the author had lived in each place and loved it all his life. For the reader -addicted to travel stories, history or current comment, too much praise cannot be meted out for the book, A travel book must combine these elements to be ap preciated. It means nothing to see a catnedral or a temple if the mean ing Of Its beauty la not understood, and a river regardless of the scenic splendor of Its banks remains very much a river unless something of Its beauty is known. In this case a panorama of the whole life of a place is offered and when the book is completed and its remarkable scope is realized, the real wonder is that one volume contains it and one man wrote it any extensive degree of thought. There is very little psy chology apparent in his writing ex cept to those who recognize it. He presents his topic in each chapter in the simplest form and never fails to make his point perfectly obvious. Custom has made the use of fear in disciplining children very com mon. It is on the surface quite ef fective, but Mr. Patri wisely points out just how fear ruins digestion and plants in their minds childish superstitions which are not out grown for years and often influ ence the mature person. He also has something to say about dispelling natural childish fears, as In regard to bears. The best way to overcome a child's be lief that a bear will not catch him on his way to bed Is to buy him a toy bear. The place of sympathy in a child's heart, the good resulting from breeding confidence into chil dren, the causes for reluctance in going to bed, the effect of proper and improper awakening on the dis position, table manners abstractly acquired, breathing, pets and cruelty; these are some of the topics discussed. The articles, one on each subject. liave appeared daily in a New Tork newspaper for several years, and their incorporation Into book form with new grouping as to age and en vironment is an idea entirely com mendable. The author is an author ity of national repute on children, and his instructions are worth heed ing. Childsen will be a great deal better off, especially the younger ones, if books of such merit as this are followed in rearing them. ing as Mr. Tubby, who has the mind and imagination of a baby elephant and behaves very much like one in public. The book reminds you of a stupid party, where every drink of prohi bition liquor is taken with the hope that it will prove the turniner noint rand provide sufficient stimulant to turn gloom into gaiety; where every drink Is a bitter disappointment, both during and after. Turn the pages. of this vapid journal, one by one, and each is turned with the hope that the author will soon, after so much preparation and warming up, Degm to scintillate. Each page, unto the last, is a disappointment. Once every so often Timothy almost breaks through, but not quite. It is Impossible to quote because the points are too long-drawn out. Moonlight Schools, by Cora Wilson Stew art. E. P. Dutton & Co., Now York city. Two different kinds of wonder mil result from reading this book. providing the reader is the ordinary layman. One Is that such illiteracy can exist as is described, and the other is that it can be and is being overcome by the so-called moonlight schools. The book is a history of the movement to overcome adult il literacy by the institution of night schools lor tnat purpose, its author, Cora Wilson Stewart, was the author of the first bill ever presented, and has been the leader of the move ment. The interest it Inspires is such that It can be forgiven its qualities of morbidness and sentimentality The very subject is morbid and de pressing, yet if ever a subject was iustified in being iranKiy eenti mental, the work for adult illiterates la that one. It is peculiarly pathetic Cusanova a Homecoming, by Arthur fcchniizler. Translated by Eden and Cedar Paul. Thomas Seltzer, New York city. A novel to be successful in Its purpose must grapple with some vital phase of life; rather a flat epigram. This final chapter In Casa nova's life, an appendix to his fam ous memoirs, is a novel In form and in novelistic fashion rounds out the memoirs which did not complete his life. Neither the publisher or the author vouches for the authenticity of the story, and doubtless it is pure fiction, but as such it Is a master piece, and for those who enjoy naughty books it will prove quite, quite satisiactory. it is not as naughty as the memoirs, nor as dis gusting, although It contains both qualities. "Casanova's Homecoming" is dls: gusting only because it deals with a disgusting phase of life, voluptu ous old age; a phase which Byron aptly describes in a single line, "Rank with that leprosy of lust. But besides being disgusting it is pathetic. It presents the gallant Casanova at the age of S3 years, when every former charm, save his mentality had left him. it is sad to see this victor of a thousand con quests of feminine hearts, fail in his tactics during one last campaign and win only by stealth and bribery of Marco Una s lover. And when his infamy is discovered, "Cassanova knew how she saw him, A yellow, evil face, deeply lined, with thin lips and staring eyes a face three times worse than that of yesterday because of the excesses of the night, the ghastly dream of the morning and the terrible awak ening. - And what he read in Marco Una's countenance was not what he would a thousand times rather have A backwoodsman can continue to , eat with his knife or wear mittens in the midst of attained dictatorship, and get by with it to some extent, providing he is delivering the goodg in his work. A woman, on whose shoulders must fall the responsibil ity of maintaining the social repu tation of the family, a factor which is bound to react to the man, is judged by a far strioter set of stand ards, even in democratic America. Consequently this anonymous ac count of the trials of a girl born inj a homestead cabin, who never saw a table napkin until she was 14 years old, and was the wife af a diplomat at 21 years, is interesting and strikes a sympathetic cord even in spite of sme close approaches to ab surdity and what may, unreason ably, be termed an un-American at titude. In the first place, to make her load the heavier, the woman married a man of family, thor oughly informed on social custom and usage, and was thus placed at greater disadvantage and denied the comfort of working side by side with her husband. The story is mostly the account of her blunders during the early years of her married life; hoi she accom panied her snobbish mother-in-law to the carriage, how she blundered at table, how the servants reproved her by looks, how she attempted to shake hands with Queen Victoria when presented at court and in numerable other mistakes of tri fling or serious nature. Fortunately she shows no shame over her birth. or her lack of breeding and is never disloyal to her antecedents. Her only emotion Is the humiliation which she brought upon herself and her husband. Chiefly the trouble with the book is that It is not applicable to very many women, and a comparatively small proportion are ever faced by the critical situations which this woman had to meet. PROOFS OF GOD'S EXISTENCE DECLARED VISIBLY SET FORTH IN NATURE'S WORKS Pastor of East Side Church Cites Facts to Show That Self-existent First Cause Is Necessarily Author of Universe, Despite Efforts of Philosophers to Uphold Materialism. The Firebrand of the Indies, by E. K. oDiji-ojiuifl. oociety ior promoting Christian Knowledge. (MacMillan), New York City. Considering that the purpose of the book is to promote Christian knowledge and that the specific pur pose is to provide information in sugar-coated form of the life of Francis Xavier, a certain vagueness and a tendency to sketch will be noticeable to those who are at all familiar with the life of Francis Xavier. As a matter of fact, the story is too obviously propaganda and there has been sacrificed a great deal or material that would have added intensely to the interest in order to make it so. There is, nevertheless, a good bit of beauty in the early part of the story which concerns the struggles at the University of Paris of Loyola, Xavier and Don Pedro, describing tne stern, austere lives they led, and the sufferings they underwent in their religious fervor. The de scription, too, of this early Latin quarter, only then in, the 15th cen tury becoming famous for its stu dent life, Is good; quite in contrast with descriptions of life and places which fill pages later in the book. Seemingly, it would have been well to have made this so-called ro mance more of a romance, or more of an adventure book. Francis Xavier found both romance and ad venture a-plenty in his work in Africa, Asia, the Indies and the ori ent, but the author has allowed 'the religious side of his writing to al most completely enshroud other qualities. There might easily have been a more suitable combination which would have served the real purpose of the book to better extent. "A WISE FOOL." The first sermon written by Rev. W. S. Crockett, pastor of the East Side Christian church, when he was a sopho more in college. Psalms 14:1. ( SOME would have us believe that the praying humanity of all' history and tradition has been deluded; that he who has furnished the great motives for benevolence, and has made men fear to do evil, is a child of a fanciful superstition. and they have strained every mental nerve to overthrow the throne of the universe. While their professed philosophy would deny an infinity, their very finite limitations should be remem clp'les or tne cosmological argument which is based upon the simple tracing of "effects back to their causes" to the . greatest of- all events, the mind. It is objected that the affirmation of mind does not meet with universal assent? True, yet there are other extremists who would have us believe that matter is immaterial; but as Johnson has said, "All conclusions of reason enforce the ''immateriality of mind, and all notices of sense and Investigations of science concur to prove the un consciousness of matter." The mind, though having, the disadvantage of a natural training to make its con clusions and judgments with refer ence to the laws and phenomena of sensible objects, if by this early training is not so prejudiced as to bered: they are held by a law, not be wholly unqualified to make judg understood, to a world which doesments concerning itself, can con- Lady, Little, an anonymous Brown & Co., Phantom, by Gerhart Haupttnann. (Trans lated rrom tne oerman by Bayard Quincy Morgan.) B. W. Huebsch, Inc., aew xorK City. . While the literati will praise a very unique book, the greater por tion of.us ordinary readers will tilt Dack our rockers and ask what it is all about. The smaller portion will give up without asking. Just as tne uermans were the first peoole to conceive the idea of everlasting love and to place love on the ideal basis which makes it a pillar of civilization, wnne the idea of tem porary affection and romance came from the romance people, so do the Germans lead in literary expressions of ecstatlo and frenzied adoration. uernart Hauptmann's new novel. Phantom," is both uniaue and a. masterpiece so far as literature is concerned. In its emotional quali ties it corresponds peculiarly to those writings of Balzac on Sweden- borgian subjects, and contains a fervor quite similar to Lamartine's Kapnael " although not so chaste. But it Is not so comprehensible or quite so worthy of appreciation as either of these books. Nevertheless It is a thoroughly fine piece of work. Lrernart Hauptmann has aug mented his powers as a novelist by some understanding of the psychi atrist. He tells in the first nersnn the story of Lorenze Lubota. a young lawyer's clerk, crippled, ugly and insignificant physically, and "a man oruinarny doomed to remain obscure all his days. Lubota sees from his window a golden-haired child, the daughter of a wealthy tradesman, and this girl he makes his ideal of beauty and of love. His passion for her, repressed and never revealed, causes him to become de ranged. He sacrifices his whole code of morals, his family obliga tions, .uiverytning he does is right in his eyes so long as it is done for the love he bears the golden-haired girl. He drifts Into evil ways. He swindles a rich aunt and becomes the companion of a notorious crook. A faint resemblance to his ideal .causes him to become en meshed in an affair with a creature of the demi-monde. His connection with a murder finally earns him a long prison term and in solitary con finement he is able to right his mind and cleanse his soul. "Phantom" is typically an Euro pean story. We Americans never soar to such heights of idealism and emotion. It is sharply and at the same time sympathetically written. It is an expression of derangement similar to DeQuincy's "Confessions of an Opium Eater." As a study the book bears reading. The Log-Cabin autobiography. Boston, Mass. American history offers several notable examples of the rise from a log-cabin birthplace to prominence in state affairs or phenomenal business success. These are the achievements of men and they ex emplify the real American spirit The trick seems to be turned by a combination of good brain and good energy, wisely applied. But the step from the backwoods to the front rank of social, political or commercial prominence is a vastly different thing for a woman. A man is known or becomes known 1492, by Mary Johnson. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, Mass. Several volumes published during the present season have indicated a revival of the historical novel. While none of them has been placed on the lists of best sellers, one or two have achieved wide circulation and have proved a general taste on the part of the public for that kind of reading. Mary Johnson's romance, woven around the voyage of Colum bus, should and probably will make these tendencies even more pro nounced. Many another sea-faring tale has been acclaimed and praised for the romance it provided, yet school his tory and the circumstances which confronted Columbus seemed dry, historical facts, not given to much coloring. As a matter of fact, the whole story of the discovery of America and the struggles of Chris topher Columbus, both before and during the voyage, is pure, unadul terated romance, and it is good to learn that such an, able novelist as Mary Johnson has taken up the tasks and done justice to It. "Fourteen Hundred and Ninety two" is another story written in the first person, the narrator being Jayme de Marchena. This man had a Jewish grandmother, with whom he spent several years of his early youth. Later he studied and made his own philosophy of religion, a philosophy somewhat broader than the Catholicism which prevailed in Spain during the 15th century. Con sequently he lived in danger of be coming a victim of the inquisition, and to conceal himself, changed his name to Juan Lepe and sought friends who took part in the seige of Granada. Romance is not slighted in any phase of the story. At Granada Juan Lepe is actually in the pres ence of Ferdinand and Isabel. His pursuers are close at every turn and the royal consent to Columbus to embark on the voyage in search of the eastern coast of the Indies comes as a veritable Godsend. He is in. eluded in the crew and becomes the trusted friend of the great dis coverer. He takes part in all the adventures which befell the voy agers in America, and the whole story of the trip is told in a way to grip the imagination and exalt the bare facts. The book is historically correct, and besides the entertainment it supplies, provides a i wealth of in formation which is apt to escape the Casual reader of history. It ranks with many fine stories of sea adventure and will take Its place with them In literature. THE LITERARY PBRISCOPtr A' From Berlin to Bagdad and Babylon, by the Rev. J. A. Zahm, C. S. C, LL. D. D. Appleton A Co., New York city. Perhaps the route signified by the names of the three cities in the title is suggestive of more historic lore and inspiration for legend than any other -stretch of country on the face of the earth. The recent up heaval will he only another in a long list of turmoils which have taken place in ages past. The his tory made in the last eight years makes the title alluring and at first glance impossible, but the trip as made by the author is one which anyone might make, although few could endow it with his appreciation. To the student, who is conversant with the long and eventful past of the pear east, the storied belt, which By Jeannette Kennedy, Assistant in the Circulation Department, Public Library. N unusual book on fireworks is A. St, H. Brock's "Pyrotech nics," a subject on which the author must be well informed, as he states that he belongs to the eighth generation of a pyroteohni cal family. A posthumous work of the late Lord Bryce's is soon to appear. It consists of notes and Impressions written down during the years of his travels about the world, and is called "Memories of Travel." . A new novel of school life at Eton, "Playing Fields," by Eric Parker, has just been published. It has frequently been compared to "Tom Brown's Schooldays" and usually is preferred to the latter. There was at least one nice little return in the way of adventure for Warren H. Miller, who took a 28,000- mile Journey to distant lands like Sumatra, Ceylon, Burma and the islands of the Malay archipelago, seeking the unusual. The incident related was of an occasion when a leopard slipped its paw under the tent of Mr. Miller's companion, and snatched his dog put from under the bed. , The fire-brick business in Chi cago suffered the loss of one who was "doing well" in it when Rex Beach turned to story-writing, so his publishers state. - Few who read the instructive and entertaining books of world travel and descriptions of the various con tinents by Frank G. Carpenter, know that they are Indebted for them to the fact that he was "given up to die" some 35 years ago. If his end was so near, Mr. Carpenter thought, he might as well get the benefit of $2000 he had in the bank and take a trip to Europe and any where else he could go before either his funds or vitality were gone. It is reported that the trip proved so interesting he forgot to die. In stead, his fame and fortune were made in his justly celebrated travel letters from all over the world. Mr. Carpenter enjoys writing so much that it is said he once remarked: "I wouldn't walk across the street to view the Garden of Eden, if I weren't going to write about it If a fellow's obliged to write about what he sees, he's naturally bound to observe twice as much." The interesting fact is stated that Mr. Carpenter's record of publications appearing in leading metropolitan (newspapers for 1500. consecutive Sundays is witnout .parallel in tne American press. - In "The Revolt of the Oyster," by Don Marquis, Spot, a philosophical not give up its secrets below the deepest gorges; and, although one sense has liberty to pass beyond, even this is limited by man's owi, weakness; moreover, ' even the greatest minds among men, using a lens to aid their feeble sense .to see a strange system of stars, which, perhaps, comes by chance within the range of their vision, must write it down, to hold for them a place in memory. j Task Is Difficult. As we remember the great and oftimes Impossible task of him-who would establish a negative concern ing human events, we are con strained to ask with what eye does he see and with what mind does he comprehend all possible forms , of substance, who Is competent to assure us that there is no overrul ing being? A peculiar form of the ological argument, formerly in vogue, declared that when there is one indication of divinity upon the earth, the entire universe must be unanimous, to prove it delusive man cannot search the universe; hence, atheism can never be estab lished While perhaps this argument has its hidden fallacies, it is servicable In that it suggests that atheism can never become a certain nega tion. It can never rise above the level of tha basest skepticism. Skepticism Brings vespair. Tet, what shall we say of extreme skepticism? Though its conclusions be terrific for the very awfulness of the despair which it brings, still does truth compel the concession that it is armed with the elements of the probable, at least of the pos sible, with which to hold lor itseit a place by the side of the theoret ical? The maturest conclusions of human thought answer "no," and, out from the recesses of the most common soul there comes an in tuition, armed and inspired, to drive back from rational speculation into absurdity this intruder which would rudely annihilate man's only im mortal hope, his sublimest aspira tion. For what could be more ab surd than negative contemplation on grounds already covered by the certainty of Intuition? And no as sertion is more worthy of the cate gory of the Intuitional than that a cause is responsible for the condi tion of all things, the result of changes and of moves. Nature's Wonders Told. And that most of the phenomena f human observation are events is rroven by every scientific appara tus, from tho telescope which sweeps the arc of the heavens to the microscope which introduces to us the smallest amoeba, thousands of which may inhabit a drop of water. ' And even In their small compass of observation, they behold a chain of events "confederate and linked together" that leads them on to deity. Not novices, but most skill ful scientists have passed through nature's vaTe, and have busied them selves with the pointing out of the evidences of design; and at least some of the events which have been indicated cannot be explained by the mere "taking advantage of con ditions." And when evidences of design are clearly proven, the re sulting theological argument is very potent This is the course usually taken to arrive at a conclusion of an Intelligent personal cause. Mind Basis of Argument. However, it would seem that this end may be attained more certain ly, with premises less open to at tack, by an application of the prin- wlll clear the atmosphere." It is called "Our Medicine Men." The first book to come from Hun gary in many years, it is said, is "The Old House," by Cecils Tormay, a novel which has already been translated into five languages. The story of the seals used by the five American delegates present at the signing of the Versailles treaty is told by Ray Stannard Baker in his late volume called "Woodrow Wilson and World Settlement." At dog appearing in one of the tales, gives the canine viewpoint He says "what a dog wants is a boy anywhere from about 9 to 16 years old. A boy under 9 hasn't enough sense, as a rule, to be any company for an intelligent dog. It is two years since Joseph Con rad's "Rescue" was published, and his admirers will be glad to look forward to a novel, now in press, which deals with a "magnificent old retired pirate of the Mediter ranean coast," in the Napoleonio era. The book is entitled "The Rover," and is the 14th novel from Mr. Conrad's pen. That "creepy" feeling, which Mr. Eden Phllpotts' story, "The Grey ttoom, aroused with such skill, might fulfill a return engagement through the stimulation of his late mystery novel, "The Red Remaynes.' Tnese lines suggest the character of the story: "There's nothing more nateiut to me than a murder with out the body," says Inspector Da marell, who has to do some un raveling. "Our Southern' Highlanders Horace Kephart's book dealing with tne southern mountaineers, has been revised and Is now appearing with new pictures and other material added. A department of Boni i Live- right, publishers, is called the Amer ican Viewpoint society. It has planned a series of works on social and political topics closely related to our national life. "We and Our Government," the first volume of the series, has just appeared in print. . This survey of our institu- tions and political organizations Is by two professors of government and economics at New Tork uni versity, Jeremiah Whipple Jenks and Rufus Daniel Smith. The lllus trations are by Hanson, Booth, and are a feature of the work. Topics to be treated in succeeding volumes, by different authors, are, the his tory of the United States and our international relations, our natural resources and commerce, our popu lation and the elements composing it, health and sanitation, social re lations, progress, literature and edu cation. Brentano's, so long a familiar book house name in New Tork and Washington, has recently started a London branch, closely affiliated with the other stores, but still a separate corporation. r " An eminent bacteriologist Paul TT DeKriuf. who has been in close contact with the medical profession j faded and battered, are priceless in hi allied scientific work, has nossessions, more precious than written what has been termed "ai iewels. ithunder-and-lightning book, thatl In choosing a book, as in choos- . sciously distinguish itself from mat ter over which it is sovereign. More over, it may claim for itself a dis tinct reality by the distinguishing characteristics of its attributes. Mind Is Self-Active. .. Mind Is self-active, matter has no power in itself to move. This self active silbstance recognizes itself by consciousness. Would It not be ab surd to suppose that consciousnes is inherent in matter in any form? And it could not be produced by any change in the structure or activity of matter, for whatever may be the form or condition of matter, clearly, it is only matter still. If materialism be true, then, clear ly, there are some new avenues of investigation opened up to science. H should search for the peculiar properties ot the vegetation of Ohio and Virginia, which -made Grant and Lee such plucky, determined men of genius,- that beneath their footsteps the north and south trembled. It should seek to discover the valuable varieties of barley and wheat that grew along the bank of Avon. which enabled Shakespeare to ascend to the fountain head of human char acter to paint in the truest colors the feelings and motives he saw there. We speak reverently, it should tell us what filled the soul of the Christ until it seemed like some mighty ocean of sympathy, that bordered on every shore of hu man suffering. Memory Despair ot Materialism. However, before it does all this it might tell us what property of matter could recall and recognize past snsatlons and thoughts. Oh memory is the despair of material- Ism! By the acknowledged posses sion of this attribute alone, the mind may positively maintain for itself the dignity of a distinct being. Now, the separate position of mind in matter fulfills all the de mands of a d'eflnition of an effect and, as we remember that a cause, to be a cause at all, must be suffi cient, we are led to exclaim: How great in efficiency must be that cause, which we call our God, as to all the entities of the mind, intelli gence, "feeling, determination, per sonality! What wonder that some have imagined that he must be greater than these? This conclusion embodies that which is said to be the terror of atheism, a moral cause, the author of moral consciousness. He has ere ated-within me the ability to say, "I ought' Must I not. answer to him if I do that I ought not? Self-Sufflcient Cause Needed. Now, a moment's further reflec tion is sufficient to convince that there remains but one alterna tive from an eternally, self-suffi cient intelligent nrst cause an eternal regress of sufficient causes which a liberal thinker recently af firmed to be possible. It would seem that such a propo sition not only involves an absurd ity, but also does violence to man's mental nature. It implies a uni verse of receding causes, and as signs to blind chance the stupen dous task of bringing them together in order and symmetry. That a ra tional mind could regard this order as anything short of an effect seems incredible. And then, who has been able to contemplate such an infinite series of sustaining, finite causes? a chain which is long enough to be suspended at last upon its own links! The apparent impossibility of such an infinite series immediatelyl bewilders us. On the other hand, the mind is so constituted that it rests as naturally in a self-sufficient, intelligent, first cause, as a wearied, dove turns to the dove-cote, making atheism, that cold, barren disbelief, unnatural to man. Inherent in human nature, there s a feeling that there is at least a place for a very ready conception of God, in whom man has always trusted, having faith in help from such a source. This idea, while sometimes vague, and very general. both universal and historical. From the degraded denizens of darkest Africa," man's conception ot God has risen higher and higher, until it has been developed upon the very summit of civilization itself. Historical? Mans conception of God has been the mold of all his tory. It has furnished inspiration for the most heroic of human enter prise, the most sublime of human achievement, the most moral of hu man conduct Tou may turn to an tiquity, and ask Rome, who influ enced her people to conquer the rest of Italy and the world, and for gen erations to terrify insurrection by hurling vast armies across the earth, and she will answer Mars God. Greek Beliefs Cited. Tou may ask the undent r.ruli what conception helped to crown their- race with the most versatile minds of all times Pericles, Socra tes, Aristotle, Phidias, Demosthenes, Sophocles oh! where would we stop ii we were to enumerate all the jewels of this crown and greatly inspirea tnese minds to think out problems to enlighten future aees and to bequeath them models in lit erature and art? And in the voice of modern scholarship, she will an swer, Apollo God. There stands as the central fig ure of history one whose influence is predominant In modern civiliza tion. The people of his birth, the most despised of all nations, cruel- nea mm ror pretentious blasohemv. but today ho is worshiped in every nation under the sun; and the earth is dotted with institutions of learn ing and -of charity, dedicated to his memory. ' World Corruption Avoided. The moral corruption and politi cal rottenness of the age in which he lived makes it offensive In his-4 tory, yet his own character was so untainted that men everywhere re gard it as an ideal, and it is not without evidence that those who worship him claim that the ten dency of his influence in history has been to lure men on to a purer society, and to more humane civil and international laws. Coming to a ''race whose history and traditions held in memory a Paradise-kst;i and standing in the midst of hardship, misery and de spair, he taught men through him to aspire to a paradise regained. He was a Jew of 19 centuries ago, Jesus Christ God. During the last score of years there has been an unusual tendency on the part of those most qualified to turn over the pages of history. While many historians have been so skeptical as to attempt to point out flaws in every religious sys-; tern, yet when they have seen evi dences that for thousands of years tribes which have been against tribes and nations which have been against nations, like so many clashing meteors in lawless heav ens have been . gradually molding earth, good will toward men, have said, sufely human history has had a "lawgiver and a guide." They liave well agreed that he who has said in his heart "There is no God" has teen the, fool of all ages. Conceit Declared Vain. Ana now great is nis xoousnness : He is a prince, an autocrat, who sits enthroned upon the pedestals of his own conceit. In vain do the resplendent effects of nature meet his gaze. To no effect do the astronomers and geologists assure him that all nature's form is change from a previous conditlor Fruitless are any efforts to enter the spiritual realm, to coin new parallel argument. He is not abashed that the well nigh universal opinion of men agrees with the sentiments of the great philosopher who thought it less credulous to believe all the fables of the legend and of the Al coran than to doubt that this uni versal frame has a mind. The dark loneliness of an atheis tic world, unbroken by one ray of hope, does not move him. This fool persistently mutters in his heart: "There is no God." Ing a dictionary, follow the advice i of the advertiser and get the best, though not the 'best seller.' Life is short, but of books there are many. No one has time to read all, only to read the best Of poor books, as a good many modern novels, we can never read too little, but of good books never too much. "The three famous rules of Emer son never read any book that is not a year old; never read any but famed books (classics); never read any- books but those you like are for the present-day student rather M' ILWAUKEB, Wis., Dec. 30. The part that banks can play in bringing to the attention of their customers the desirability, pleasure i- . . w i anu y l uiu iu o 6,uv- . the time of .the marriage of the too rigid. This advice today must I good books, is shown in an article president and the present Mrs. Wil- be broadened and brightened. I by j. h. Puelicher, president of the Bank Co-operation Sought in Book Campaign. Ways to Encourage Reading Are Shown in Article. son, a group of admirers in Cali fornia sent a nugget ot goid out of which, the wedding ring was to be made. It was found that enotigh gold was left over for another ring and' Mrs. Wilson suggested that it be used as a signet ring for the president The question arose as to what inscription should be used and the president, who is an expert sten ographer, wrote out his name. Wood row Wilson, in stenographic char acters which were engraved on the ring and subsequently used at the signature of the Versailles treaty. Mr, Lansing and Mr. White had seal rings with the coat of arms of their families. Colonel House's seal was unusually large and oblong, and bore his name written on it in Per sian, by a Persian friend. General Bliss had neither a ring bearing a coat of arms, nor any special in scription, so used his West Point class ring in signing the treaty. Good Fiction Indorsed by College Professor. Famous Rule of Emerson Held Too Strict for Modern Day. - OREGON AGRICULTURAL COL LEGE, Corvallis, Ddc. so.-(Spe-cial.) "People will be no better than the"bdoks they read." This is a quotation from Bishop Potter, noted American divine. It is nearly an axiom, believes Frederick Berch- tcld, professor of English language and literature. "A family with perhaps only a patent . medicine almanac and a dream book for a library is prepar ine its members for a sad old age," savs Professor Berchtold. "There is no treasure In life quite so valuable as an abiding love for good books, for they are safe guides in youth and a solace in old age. "A Homer and a Horace, a Mollere and a Shakespeare, a Scott and i CooDer. a Montaigne and an Emer son, all oi tnese, tnougn oiu ana 'A child's reading is the most Important part of his education," says Professor Berchtold, "and it is what he reads for himself with pleasure rather than what he is made to study as a task, which will give him the bent to his future life. It is a mistaken idea to try to con fine the young wholly to the study of science, the continued examina tion of facts and the consequent curbing of the imagination. "There are still very good people who would discourage reading of fiction, forgetting the fact that fic tion meets an inborn taste in man. Reading fiction Is not an evil to be curbed or discouraged it is a crav ing in the heart of a man to be edu cated, purified and guided." Keen Competition Looked For. John E. Edgerton in Industrial Digest.) "In my opinion,' we are entering upon the keenest competition era 4n all history. The economic advan tage which America now has is offset by certain other advantages possessed by our chief competitor nations. Under the discriminating tutelage of mankind's most efficient schoolmaster, misfortune, our Euro pean neighbors have learned lessons in suffering, endurance, patience, work, thrift and economy which equip them in an essential manner for a race to the goal of commercial and Industrial supremacy. "To maintain the lead which we now have in that race, we must not only increas our individual efforts, but must resolve to hold our place by a return to the same spirit of thrift, Industry and determination by which our forefathers gave us this magnificent land in which to live." American Bankers' association ap pearing in the bulletin of the Amer ican Library association. "A list of books on national and international affairs could be placed in the pass book of the business man," said Mr. Puelicher. "A list ot books concerning modern accoun tancy, business law and practice, could be given out with the ac countant's pass book, while a list on composition and letter writing might be handed the stenographer. At the savings window, lists of books on literature could be dis tributed and lists of miscellaneous books might be enclosed with the monthly statement. ' "The intelligence test during the (.war showed mucn illiteracy, it aroused many to serious thought. It made many feel that they had not properly supported the public school systems. It showed that the ills of America were largely economic. "The fact that the banker and teacher had often co-operated, the teacher in speaking before bankers' conventions, the banker in serving on school boards brought forth the idea maybe the , banker could further aid the teacher. "The committee on public educa tion of the American Bankers' asso ciation had ten lectures prepared to be delivered before seventh and eighth grade pupils, high school pupils and college and university students, believing that it was but natural for the banker to be pressed into service where knowledge of elementary economics was con cerned. "Now, if the bank can'go further and help the libraries to encourage the reading of good books, it will be but extending Its service toward overcoming our economic ills. Truth Above All Things. Louisville Courier-Journal. "Is it really cool at the resort you are boosting?" "I must be truthful." "Say on." "We have no skating in August." Books onthis n efO. procured GUVS