L The Book Table Edited by EDMUND PEARSON Four New Novels derivations, the novel stands on its own Reviews by EARLE F. WALBRIDGE EAVING the purlieus of Greenwich Village and Gramercy Park, and the variety halls of Times Square, Mr. Van Vechten's Comédie Humaine of Manhattan now reaches out to include the region north of Lenox Avenue and 135th Street, where dwell all sorts and conditions and all shades and colors of Negroes. "Nigger Heaven!"1 Byron moaned. "Nigger Heaven! That's what Harlem is. We sit in our places in the gallery of this New York theater and watch the white world sitting down below in the good seats in the orchestra. Occasionally they turn their faces up towards us, their hard, cruel faces, to laugh or sneer, but they never beckon." When "Nigger Heaven" was in the writing there was a rumor that it was to extend to two volumes. It seems a pity that Mr. Van Vechten did not stick to his original intention, for he has material and to spare. It frequently spills over into the tragedy of an educated Negro, which constitutes the plot of the novel. Not that there is any lack of highly spiced entertainment between its appropriately high-brown covers, especially near the end of the book, where scenes in Negro cabarets alternate with the protracted orgy of a colored Tannhäuser in side the Venusberg. A glossary is a desirable adjunct to all the Van Vechten fiction. This time he has provided one; usually adequate, but sometimes unfairly defining one word in terms of another, and vice versa. One might surmise, without being told by the publishers, that years of painstaking effort went into this first novel by Miss Roberts. The sharp authenticity of her detail and of the conversation and bearing of her Kentucky mountain people show that she has lived close to her models. The "stream of consciousness" method, sometimes pushed to lengths of monotonous repetition, and the occasional introduction of a nauseous phrase or blunt monosyllable are evidences that she has studied the approved literary gods of the day. Hot afternoons have been in Montana, a "Nation" prize poet once assured us. On such an afternoon in New Mexico it was that Ruth Bruck, an oversexed and slightly shop-worn young woman, set herself seriously to the task of capturing a husband.' Hampered by a Philistine family, the unwelcome recrudescence of her own soiled reputation, and the shyness of the "nice boy" who was the obsuccessful in the end. Mr. Fergusson's ject of her pursuit, she was nevertheless methods are fresh in more senses than one. Tingle from his audacities though his sure control of the situation as it you may, it is impossible not to admire. flickers from Ruth's present to past and back, until it culminates in the gorgeous irony of the dénouement. "Rasmine sat close to the stove at a tiny square table with a tallow dip on it, This idyllic picture seemed so typical Except for these not too important in the other characters to make up for 1 Nigger Heaven. By Carl Van Vechten. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. $2.50. 2 The Time of Man: A Novel. By Elizabeth Madox Roberts. New York. $2.50. The Viking Press, Hot Saturday. By Harvey Fergusson. Take a South this autumn Grow young again in HAWAII Even if it's a few years past due-no matter! Shake off the clutches of the workaday world! Come where these islands of Hawaii sun themselves in the blue Pacific by day and the Southern Cross shines in a perfumed night. Where warm silken waves call insistently. Where you, growing staid in business, will live the dreams that should never have been put away. Less than a week direct from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle or Vancouver, and you're here. Four or five weeks gives you a comfortable round trip, with time for golf, tennis, inter-island cruising, hiking, swimming and outrigger canoeing at Waikiki to your heart's contentdays of resting! Inexpensive $400 to $500 covers all steamer fares, hotels, sightseeing, the Volcano trip to Hawaii National Park. Accommodations ample, comfortable. Another vast hotel at Waikiki; another great liner building. Book through your own local railway, steamship or travel agent. Write today for illustrated booklet describing Hawaii in colors. Hawaii HAWAII TOURIST BUREAU 223 MCCANN BLDG., SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. OR 352 FORT ST., HONOLULU, HAWAII, U. S. A. In writing to the above advertiser please mention The Outlook Leaving New York Feb. 3, 1927 Under the Holland-America Line's own management The "ROTTERDAM" 24,170 tons reg., Has a world-wide reputation 70 Days of Delightful Diversion ITINERARY includes Madeira, Cadiz, Seville, Gibraltar, Algiers, Naples (first call), Tunis, Athens, Constantinople, Haifa, Jerusalem, the Holy Land, Alexandria, Cairo and Egypt, Cattaro, Ragusa, Venice, Naples (second call), Monaco, Southampton, Boulogne, Rotterdam. Carefully planned Shore Excursions. Stopover in Europe. Number of guests limited. American Express Co. Agents For choice selection of accommodations make RESERVATIONS NOW. Illustrated Folder "O" on request to HOLLAND-AMERICA LINE 21-24 State St., New York Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Phila- Luxury Cruises to the WEST INDIES Jan. 29(15 days), Feb. 17 (27 days) Mar. 19 (15 days) by the Luxurious S.S. VEENDAM "HOLLAND-AMERICA LINE in cooperation with the FRANK TOURIST CO. Unusually attractive and comfortable accommodations are offered in First, Second and improved Third Class on the splendid steamers RESOLUTE, RELIANCE, HAMBURG (new), DEUTSCHLAND and ALBERT BALLIN. Also in the One-class cabin and im proved Third Class on the steamers CLEVELAND, THURINGIA, and WEST PHALIA-all modern oil-burning liners -world famous cuisine and service. Around the World 138 day Cruise-25 Countries S.S. RESOLUTE 35-39 Broadway, New York Branches in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco or local steamship and tourist agents the cut-and-dried development of Martha and Mary, who remain true throughout to their Biblical prototypes. Other Fiction LISTEN, MOON! By Leonard Cline. The Viking Press. $2. a "However motley-minded a man may act, if he finds treasure he is forgiven, even commended." This may also be applied to books. "Listen, Moon!" is motleyminded book. The treasure it uncovers is slight, but, as the parrot said, "What there is, is good." Dr. Higbie Chaffinch, Latin professor at Johns Hopkins University and recently widowed, is a lovable character. In his loneliness and eagerness for a gayer contact with life, he is a nucleus around which gather an amusing company: Ruth Pudley, hoyden daughter of the local minister; Hiltonshurley Moggs, founder of the "Society for the Purveying of Useless Things to Worthy People;" Amy Potter, itinerant housekeeper; and John Kendrick, a young newspaper reporter. This queer crew foregather at the home of Higbie Chaffinch. They have a hand-to-hand fight with the Ku Klux Klan and kidnap the main Kleagle, the Rev. Mr. Cyril Pudley. Abetted by John Kendrick, for purposes of his own, the Chaffinch crowd hire a schooner and a trunk of pirate costumes, hoist the Jolly Roger, and go pirating down the Chesapeake Bay. The rest is a pure adventure in humor. What happened on that voyage must have caused the moon to stop and look as well as listen. THE BIG HOUSE. By Mildred Wasson. Houghton Miffin Company, Boston. $2. The old Big House is a bone of contention between the younger members of the Price family after their grandfather's death, and naturally the girl to whom it is left has family trouble as well as love complexities. The novel has moderate interest and is altogether free from absurdities or offensiveness, but it will never set novel readers' hearts to beating fast with excitement. CYNTHIA CODENTRY. By Ernest Pascal. Brentano's, New York. $2. The unlovely heroine of this novel seems to have believed that the world was created and run for her especial benefit, and that she might therefore do as she pleased in it. She was surprised to find that the going was not always smooth, but, being gifted with much-needed callousness and with a rare lightness of mind, she emerged time after time from the worst possible scenes, to ride along again on the surface of life like a drop of oil on troubled waters. She is a crude and dreadful person, for whom the reader has scant sympathy. And it is a relief to state quite honestly that, in spite of the blurb on the jacket, Cynthia Codentry cannot in any sense be called "the modern American girl." She appears to be pure fiction, and rather spiteful fiction at that. Hers is a pathological case, and a perusal of the case record will show up by contrast the consoling normalcy of almost any real young woman of the present day. AGAINST THE GRAIN. (À Rebours). By Karl Joris Huysmans. Groves & Michaux, Paris. "Against the Grain" (A Rebours) is no less curious to-day than it was when Oscar Wilde said, "It was the strangest book he had ever read." It is an experiment in decadence, an adventure in exoticism, by a with subtle imagination and wide knowledge of the decadent writers, Latin The book and monastic, of the early ages. is excellently translated (by a translator who modestly withholds his name), with a preface by the author written twenty years after the book. It is an elaborate example man of the jeweled style of the French school of Symbolists. A novel without a plot, it is a psychological study of Des Esseintes, a young Parisian. Bored with contemporary society, and worn from excesses, he seeks in seclusion to interest himself in an artificial world of the senses. The bizarre house he decorates, with a living turtle for a pet, the shell of which is inlaid with jewels in an Oriental flower design; the monstrous flowers; the insinuating perfumes with which he surrounds himself; and the violet-colored "Pearls of the Pyrenees" bonbons he nibbles to invoke memories of past loves, are descriptive models for many books of today. Mr. Van Vechten's clever "Peter Whiffle" owes a tremendous debt to this book. TWENTY-FIVE. Biography By Beverley Nichols. The George H. Doran Company, New York. $2.50. At the age of twenty-five Beverley Nichols seems to have much to look back on, and his glances are impudent and delightful. He is a person full of zest and humor, on whom very little of life seems to be lost. He has evidently disarmed completely his famous acquaintances and friends. Many of them were with him in their off moments: Chesterton, the Queen of Greece, Noel Coward, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, Winston Churchill, Elinor Glyn, Yeats, Michael Arlen-to name only a few. Perhaps Mr. Nichols is rather rash to record these moments; but he does it amusingly and in a way that could scarcely give offense. What one of the author's own "elders and betters" has called "the engaging flaws of youth" may be found all through the volume. There is too much smartness in it, but there is also warmth and sincerity. The best thing in the book is perhaps the account of the hanging of Edith Thompson, London murderess, who was put to death for a passionate crime in 1923. MELODIES AND MEMORIES. By Dame Nellie Melba. The George H. Doran Company, New York. $5. Something of the sureness of attack that marks every great singer's art marks also the pleasing autobiography of Madame Melba. Hers is a simple story of hard work and gradually increasing success, leading to triumphs which were never miracles of chance, but the result of rare ability, flowering in due time and under the dictates of a strong personality. The author gives a fascinating account of her childhood in Australia, and of her early studies in Paris under a great teacher -at a time when her finances were so low that she could have but one dress to wear. She then tells of the beginnings of her career, of her travels, and at length of her great successes. Her tales of encounters with musicians and managers, and of the warm friendships which she formed all over the world, make very pleasant reading and reveal the author as a person of great soundness-not at all like the public's popular conception of a gay opera starbut warm and likable and real. Travel By A WAYFARER IN UNFAMILIAR JAPAN. Walter Weston. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. $3. It seems incredible in this day of swift and easy communication that there are human beings who have never heard of a race different from their own, of the Christian religion, or of the Great War. A large part of "A Wayfarer in Unfamiliar Japan" is about such people, living far from the Mr. familiar paths of the guide-book. Weston was the first European to visit many of the places described in his book. Among the most interesting are five little villages near Kiushiu, known collectively In writing to the above advertisers please mention The Outlook September 8, 1926 as Goka-no-shō. There were, at the time, no roads leading to the outside world; the inhabitants had preserved their ancient customs, and never intermarried elsewhere. It was only through a curious accident that the existence of the little hamlets was ever suspected. He Having lived in Japan for many years, as British chaplain in Yokohama, Mr. Weston's comments on Japan are from two angles of explorer and of scholar. finds the Japanese peasantry the most diliBattling gent and friendly in the world. against nature in the form of floods, typhoons, fires, and earthquakes, from which Japan has suffered more terribly than any people on the face of the globe, has modeled a fine national solidity of character. The author gives a graphic account of the appalling earthquake in 1923, and pays a tribute to the United States for the assistance sent so promptly and in such good measure. There is an interesting chapter about Ontake San and the pilgrims who yearly climb this "august peak." Another chapter tells of that ancient sport and weird spectacle, cormorant fishing. Fishermen hold the cormorant in leash by a tough cord of spruce fiber, attached to a belt of hemp encircling its body. Around the base of its gullet is a metal ring which is loose enough to permit swallowing the smaller fish; the larger fish it must disgorge, a business arrangement not nearly master and approaching 50-50 between man. A well-trained bird will catch for his owner as many as 150 fish in an hour. The public bath is a familiar scene in Japan. Mineral hot springs in the mountains and the many bath-houses scattered in the cities form important parts of the social life of "the cleanest nation on earth." Here they will sit soaking in hot water for hours. It is the poor man's club. "Out of deference to foreign prejudice, it is now more usual for the sexes to bathe apart." No book about Japan could be complete without mention of the rice fields and "the Honorable little Gentleman," the silkworm. On these two industries hang most of the prosperity of Japan. Politics SURVIVAL OF THE DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLE Mr. Belmont's book is a campaign docu- EUGENICS AND POLITICS. Essays by Ferdi- HISTORY OF ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL PHI- A résumé of philosophical thought from POWER. IMAGINATION, MIND'S DOMINANT HUMAN EXPERIENCE: OF ITS For STUDY Radio By Graham McNamee A volume of reminiscences chiefly by one Mr. McNamee tells the story of his four A stimulating, instructive, and reasonable book; and, though profound and genuinely philosophic, yet written lightly, as proposed. Dr. Schiller is by no means convinced that society will substitute eugenic for its present outrageously dysgenic prac Being absolutely sure THE HIGH QUALITY OF Baker's Breakfast Cocoa is Not an Accident It is the result of a judicious selec tion and blending of cocoa beans, of which there are more than thirty grades; of most careful roasting, a very delicate operation; and its further preparation by the best mechanical processes (no chemicals) which preserve the delicious natural flavor and aroma and attractive color of the beans. Walter Baker & Co. Ltd. Established 1780 DORCHESTER, MASS. Booklet of Choice Recipes sent free Little "Ads" That Reach Far The Outlook Classified columns are care- Its "Wants" Will Fill Yours FROM THE 1 ORIGINAL From the Folio Edition, London, 1613 rare $2 The above collection of four for $5, postpaid. Twenty-five cents extra for C. O. D. shipment. Send for list of other equally interesting mounted leaves. The Foliophiles, Inc., 32 West 58th St., New York Outlook 60 UST as a ship needs the closest attention under the waterline, so do the teeth under the gum-line. If the gums shrink from the tooth-base, serious dangers result. The teeth are weakened. They are loos ened. They are exposed to tooth-base decay. The gums themselves tender up. They form sacs which become the doorways of organic disease for the whole system. They disfigure the mouth in proportion as they recede. Forhan's prevents this gum-decay called Pyorrhea, which attacks four out of five people over forty. Use Forhan's every tooth-brush time to pre serve gum health and tooth wholesomeness. Tender gum spots are corrected. The gumtissues are hardened and vigored to support sound, unloosened teeth. Forhan's is used as a dentifrice, though no dentifrice possesses its peculiar gum tissue action. If gum shrinkage has already set in, start using Forhan's and consult a dentist immediately for special treatment. In 35c and 60c tubes at all druggists in the United States. Formula of A Country RIVERDALE School for Boys Well-Balanced Program. One of the Best College Board DAY SCHOOL Backward Children Individually Instructed (6th year) INA SILVERNAIL, 165 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn. Nevins 7269. SUMMER CAMP FOR GIRLS CAMP SEAPER for Girls, ELKINS, N. H. Land and water sports. Dancing, music, and dramatics featured. Fresh vegetables and Guernsey milk. Address Miss Searing's School, 39 Maple Ave., Morristown, N. J., or 2 West 16th St., New York City. the mechanism of a large broadcasting station, descriptions of the Alabama-24-forUnderwood Democratic Convention; the World's Series; the Harvard-Yale game; Schumann-Heink's stage fright; and Benny Leonard's self-assurance. The whole is told in an unaffected manner that is pleasant to read. The broadcasting of the Philharmonic has been compared by musical people to the drawings of Daumier-true enough to the original to excite wonder, and exaggerRadio is an ated enough to be funny. infant industry-a particularly noisy infant, if you will, but one that cannot be disregarded. Think for a moment of the changes in political and journalistic affairs in the past four years, and rejoice that the World's Most Popular Radio Announcer has produced a readable book. Sociology THE CONQUEST OF NEW ENGLAND BY THE IMMIGRANT. By Daniel Chauncey Brewer. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York. $2. This book carries alarm because of the hard, cold truth reflected in its vital statistics. They prove beyond a doubt that the indomitable Yankee stock which sought liberty of body and mind in the wilderness it conquered has paved the way for the destruction of its sons. Insatiable greed, political inertia, and the importation of more and more, and yet again more, foreign labor for its mills and factories has resulted in the children of immigrants being the rising Americans who populate New England, swarm in the public schools, and control the vote. The indigenous stock is in the minority and fast dying out. Mr. Brewer traces this state of things to a desire for new fields of activity on the part of the New Englanders, to the rush westward, and the industrial development which resulted in an influx of the foreigners to fill up the mills. In his final chapter he throws one ray of light on the page: "The Yankee's vote is inconsequential, but his leadership because of inherited wealth, exceptional ability and tradition, is unquestioned. If his sons and daughters wake to the responsibility .. they will be given enviable opportunities to serve the public because of the and their generation naïve regard which the new citizens have for the people they are supplanting." Children's Books MR. POSSUM VISITS THE ZOO. By Frances J. Farnsworth. The Abingdon Press, Cincinnati. 75c. Here are a dozen nature studies in simple story language for little children, in which Brer Possum and Ma Possum visit 'round at the Zoo and Auntie tells what they saw. There is only one picture; it is so clever that one wishes there were more. TOTO AND THE GIFT. By Katharine Adams. The Macmillan Company, New York. $2. A story for girls from twelve years old up. Toto is a little French girl who after the war lives in Rheims and later comes to America. Her patriotism and resource help her to help others and bring interesting things into her life. WHAT HAPPENED IN THE ARK. By Kenneth We all know about the elephant and the kangaroo being in the Ark, but do you know that the Wumpetty Dump and the Scub were there too, or what happened when the elephant drank up the bath water? Oh, yes; there was trouble among the animals, and they haven't really been good friends since. This story, fitly dedicated to the very old tortoise in the Zoo, will make every one but ultra-reverential Fundamentalists laugh. The drawings are capitally done. In writing to the above advertisers please mention The Outlook September 8, 1926 I Free for All Marvin Gets in Deep HAVE read with interest Mr. Marvin's "Notre Cher Vieux Québec." I would like, however, to point out one error which Mr. Marvin has made in this article. He says that "vessels of more than 16,000 tons, or greater than 16 feet draught, cannot safely proceed up-stream from Quebec the 170 additional miles of shallower channel to Montreal." I note Mr. Marvin is quite wrong here. that the river level yesterday (at a time of year when naturally the river is at its lowest) was 29 feet. The port warden's regulations of Montreal demand a clearance of 2 feet 6 inches for all vessels, which means that Saturday a ship drawing 26 feet 6 inches could have gone up or down the channel quite safely. Vessels of this class are constantly operating in and out of the port. So far as tonnage is concerned, while the big Canadian Pacific liners do dock at Quebec, I am inclined to think (although about this I am not certain) that it may be as much a matter of speed as draught which has caused the Canadian Pacific Railway to halt its bigger liners at Quebec instead of bringing them to Montreal. As you no doubt are aware, the most serious objection to the deep waterways scheme, from Montreal to the head of lake navigation, is the fact that large and expensive ocean vessels would have to be operated through the canals at so low a speed that the overhead would more than eat up the profits earned. Mr. Marvin's mistake, while not a tremendously serious one, is none the less important, and The Outlook's reputation and standard of accuracy are so high that I thought I would draw it to your attention. E. J. ARCHIBALD. Montreal, Canada, M1 Hail, Columbia! AY I supplement the high' praise Mr. Lawrence Abbott gave the scenery along the Columbia River in his recent article? Quite evidently Mr. Abbott felt that some New York readers might accuse him of being unduly impressed with Columbia River scenery as against the Hudson or some spot nearer home. But let us summon another and a very impressive witness-Mr. John Fiske, the late historian and philosopher. Fiske had seen both Europe and America, but when he first saw the Columbia River and the very scenes Mr. Abbott describes he wrote to his wife, "Compared with this scenery the Rhine and the Hudson are nowhere." That is strong language, especially for Eastward Moves the Chestnut thinks that the farthermost chestnut tree You will be interested to know that there is a chestnut tree standing within five miles of my home here. It is the only one that I have ever seen in Maine. It stands by the roadside against a forest of secondgrowth hardwood. It is near the division line between the towns of Holden and Dedham and is approximately one hundred miles east of Norway, Maine. It has three trunks, apparently having When I discovgrown up from a stump. ered this tree five or six years ago, it was apparently in a perfectly thrifty condition; but two or three years ago one section died, Assuming that the blight is the cause of My old friend the late John E. Bennoch, of Orono, Maine, many years ago successfully grafted the chestnut on our native beech. I do not know whether any of his trees are still living. Since the advent of the blight I have often wondered whether it would be possible to develop a blightresistant chestnut by this method. Should you happen to be motoring from I may say that I am more familiar with M Why the U. S. Went Dry R. REMSEN CRAWFORD'S story, "Three We have two large parties, known popu- The STOPS TROLLEY SICKNESS -faintness, stomach disturbances 75c. &$1.50 at Drug Stores or direct Seventy delightful days of adventure over balmy seas, through the subtropics, Cuba, the Panama Canal and its wonders, Peru and Chile. Across the mighty Andes, over the highways of the Spaniards, visiting the stately Latin cities of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. Then, a leisurely CruiseTour to the West Indies, the romantic gems of the warm Caribbean, calling at Trinidad, Barbados and Porto Rico. Cruise-Tour leaves New York, Jan. 27th. Comfort and luxury throughout, with expert American Express management, $1950. Experience the excitement of planning ahead. Send now for illustrated "Deck Plan, No. 5" containing itineraries, etc. section boss. The railroad executive posts The Pratt Teachers Agency the order and abolishes head-on collisions Then there are the women of the coun- 70 Fifth Avenue, New York Recommends teachers to colleges, public and private schools. EXPERT SERVICE Scientific Facts About Diet CONDENSED book on diet entitled A "Eating for Health and Efficiency" has been published for free distribution by the Health Extension Bureau of Battle Creek, Mich. Contains set of health rules, many of which may be easily followed right at home or while traveling. You will find in this book a wealth of information about food elements and their relation to physical welfare. This book is for those who wish to keep physically fit and maintain normal weight. Not intended as a guide for chronic invalids as all such cases require the care of a competent physician. Name and address on card will bring it without cost or obligation. HEALTH EXTENSION BUREAU SUITE YB 298 In writing to the above advertisers please mention The Outlook GOOD HEALTH BLDG. BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN |