SEPTEMBER 15, 1934
successive pose of his sitter; he has a much
mands and farther purpose of the Service
whose name they bore.
But Charles had not the moral challenge
of a great tradition to support him—^the
challenge of a long line of good men gone
before, whose work and name he must not
let down. Charles was a free lance—an
employee, largely, of private Indian capi-
tal. And before this book opens he has
already found that in no direction evident
to him can he fulfil his contract and hon-
estly try to "deliver the goods" without
arousing the opposition, even the enmity,
of the party of the second part. Real work
is not wanted of him, so much as collusion
in setting up a false fagade to cover pur-
poses wholly unrelated to the task that he,
in his inexperience, had believed himself
engaged to perform. Outraged in every
moral sense, disgusted, his nerves all on
edge, he has reached, as the book begins,
the mood to discard courtesy, to rip off
restraint, and, whether dealing with the
Hindu in person or with the diary page, to
call each spade a spade indeed, and in
capital letters. Yet he produces nothing
that is not representative of Hindu trait,
practice, or fact.
It should be carefully remembered, in
reading this book, that it deals mainly
with the Hindu, rarely with the Muslim.
It occasionally implies, however, the bit-
terness of situations often arising from
Britain's fixed policy of the impartial hand
—the policy that Government must show
no special friendships, must avoid the re-
motest appearance of "Dividing to Rule,"
of which, nevertheless, it is forever ac-
cused. The staunch Muslim ally, there-
fore, must rarely or never be encouraged
with reward, lest the hostile Hindu politico
take offense thereby and race antagonism
be aroused. America in the Philippines
once pursued a similar course. It wounds,
disheartens, and loses friends, but never
does it win over a single foe.
It should also be remembered in read-
ing the book that while the writers' obser-
vations of the Hindu covered a considera-
ble field, their observations of British offi-
cials were limited to one small local group.
As such, those observations, though prob-
ably truthful portraits, are portraits of
individuals, rather than of a class. The
average British field administrator of the
Government of India, especially in the
upper ranks, has measured higher than
the types here portrayed. And if his
relation to the Indian were not main-
tained on a plane of dignity, self-mastery,
and determination to serve, strongly in
contrast with the plane on which Charles
stood, the existence of the British field ad-
ministrator would not have been the bul-
EDWARD CHARLES
wark that it is to the peace and welfare
of the country. The two Hindu types with
which Charles had mainly to deal—the
excitable, lightly-balanced, mentally and
physically frail student-in-search-of-de-
gree, and the full-fledged professional
politician—are probably the most difficult
of all Indian types for any foreigner to
handle. Yet, even there, in the British
Civil Servant, long practice has evolved
a code of patience, precluding wrath as
both unintelligent and beneath his posi-
tion; just as long devotion to the effort to
serve has evolved a human understanding
that men who have given less liberally of
themselves can rarely possess.
THE SATURDAY REVIEW OF LITERATURE 107
The Mystery Man too active brush. Also, he has introduced A Year in the Arctic
too much hearsay, too many conflicting ESKIMO YEAR. By George Miksch Sut-
of the Arms Business and unauthoritative bits of evidence r e - ton. New York: The Macmillan Co.
ZAHAB.OFF: HIGH PRIEST OF WAR. garding the early phases of Zaharoff's ca- 1934. $3.
By Guiles Davenport. Boston: Lothrop, reer. The result is confusion.
Reviewed by MARIE AHNIGHITO PEARY
Lee & Shepard CoTupany. 1934. $3. The scholar will not get much satisfac-
T
tion from the fruits of the author's r e - HIS is a splendid book. Perhaps it
Reviewed by FRANK C. HANIGHEN
search. Mr. Davenport has waved aside, seems particularly so to me because
IR BASIL ZAHAROFF has no slo- rather summarily, the accepted version of it agrees with all my pet theories
S gan. But if this mysterious and reti-
cent figiure had ever chosen one, it
would doubtless have been that of Albert
Ballin: "The world is my field." For the
Zaharoff's Greek nationality. The best
monograph on Zaharoff is Roger Menne-
vee's "Sir Basil Zaharoff: L'Homme Mys-
terieux de I'Europe," Paris, 1928. Therein
about the Arctic and expresses them much
better than I could hope to do myself.
Even to those, however, who have no spe-
cial interest in the Far North, Mr. Sutton's
most famous arms salesman of all times, M. Mennevee introduced testimony backed 1 volume will offer much that is interest-
was an example par excellence of the in- by a transcript of a birth certificate which : ing and refreshing. For some years, the
ternational character of his profession. He seemed to prove that Zaharoff was born of literature of adventure has seemed to di-
did, indeed, regardless of patriotic and na- Greek parents in Asia Minor. Mr. Daven- i vide itself automatically into two schools,
tional considerations, sell to all the world. port has apparently not taken into account one the so-called "debunking" school
His initial exploit in his craft was em- this documentation. Zaharoff must remain, which minimizes every difficulty and
blematic of his career. As the newly ap- at least provisionally for a mystified world, pooh-poohs every danger, and the other
pointed salesman of the firm of Nordenfelt a Greek. j which makes of each trivial mishap and
he sold one submarine to his native (or And as a Greek, Mr. Davenport treats accident a thrilling battle with death. It is
adopted) country, Greece, and used this him in the chapter on Zaharoff in the a delight to come upon a work like "Es-
purchase as sales talk to market two more Greco-Turkish war of 1920-22. Most writ- I kimo Year" with its sincere, straightfor-
to Greece's enemy, Turkey. He thus en- ers interpret this ill-starred venture of the i ward, and quietly humorous style.
Its very straightforwardness may, to be
i sure, at a superficial reading lead to mis-
conception. For its manner of writing is
so familiar and informal as to create an
impression of superficiality. But the au-
thor knows what he is about, and half the
charm of his book lies in the vivacity of
his expressions and the vivid, sensitive
descriptions such as this one of the "shee-
nah" or edge of the floe ice.
The "sheenah" has a frigid beauty all
its own. Here there is the same thin bril-
liance of sun and pallor of sky that are
the winter tundra's; here the same jade
and azure that are the moon-steeped,
shadow-struck whiteness of snow. But
here rose-colored spires and pillars and
minarets of ice move slowly in and out
with the tides. Here purple mist-clouds
haunt the shifting channels. Here wa-
ter, forty fathoms deep, glistens black
as fluid obsidian at your feet.
After reading such clear-cut imagery
as the above, one realizes that the author
is an artist, even before no
numerous illustrations are t'
same clever person.
Keystone
THE OPENING OF THE SENATE MUNITIONS INVESTIGATION, SEPT. 4 A distinguished Arctic ;
The Senate committee hears evidence from officers of the Electric Boat Company, shown me that after having care \,
at the right of the table: vice presidents Sutphen and Spear, president Carse. the important books of exploration in the
acted two of the roles which characterize arms salesman as his only excursion from north, he could think of nothing which
the modem international arms salesman. his strictly international role. Belated distinguished one from another, except
He sold to two belligerent countries, ready patriotism, they say, brought him defeat, the accounts of the various ways in which
to fly at each other's throats, and he made when the Greeks whom he financially each expedition had celebrated Christ-
the sales, without respect for national or backed retreated before the Turks. This mas! Even measured by so unimportant
personal considerations. view ignores Zaharoff's connections with a standard. Dr. Sutton's book stands the
His later career was but an extension of the great English oil interests who had a test. Certainly nowhere have I read such
this sale. Under his management, the Eng- stake in Turkey's repulse. This offers a a heart-warming account of Christmas in
lish firm of Vickers sold the Boers ma- much more plausible version of the whole the Arctic. There is no touch of melan-
chine guns which mowed down British adventure. choly, no yearning over "loved ones at
soldiers in their war to capture South Af- Mr. Davenport insists that Zaharoff was home," no orgy of self-pity. There is a
rica. He placed in the hands of the Turks the first man to bring to the profession of glow, a merriment, and an unselfish de-
guns and mines which killed British sol- arms-selling its truly international char- light in the naive pleasure of the natives.
diers and sank British ships in the Darda- acter. But, in point of fact, Krupp forged Dr. Sutton's avowed purpose in spend-
nelles. His name appeared like a trade- the way, the unpatriotic path, some fifteen ing a year among the Eskimos of Shugliak
mark of the bloody traffic on directorates years before. Krupp, of course, was not in Hudson's Bay was to make a study of
and share-holding lists of English, French, as striking a figure as Zaharoff. He was the bird life of the region and to become
German, and Austrian companies. Of him the technician and industrialist who sim- as thoroughly familiar as possible with
—even more than any other man—it might ply followed his principles through to the lives and customs of the people. To at-
well be said that, no matter which country their logical conclusion. tain the latter object, he threw himself
lost in a World War, Zaharoff was sure Zaharoff, on the other hand, was the heart and soul into all their occupations
to win. virtuoso of the craft, exemplifying its most and tried to do exactly as they did. Some
During the darkest days of the World sinister and occult aspects—a figure still of his experiments verge on the heroic,
War, when allied statesmen in Paris were very shadowy, so far as the evidence goes. though he does not enlarge upon that
discussing the possibility of a negotiated Until some writer, more adroit and pains- nhase. His account of his recapturing and
peace, Lord Bertie, the British Ambassa- taking than Mr. Davenport addresses him- bringing home the runaway dog team
dor to France, indicates that the peace- self to the task of studying his career, Za- should be read to be enjoyed. It takes
makers consulted this man who, above all haroff will remain, for scholar and average more than a rudimentary sense of humor
others, had a vested interest in continuing reader alike, the "mystery man" of the and a thin veneer of sportsmanship to ap-
the war. His response was typical, as arms business. preciate a joke which is so entirely and
quoted by Lord Bertie, "Zaharoff is all for painfully on oneself.
continuing the war 'jusqu'au bout.' " Frank C. Hanighen was co-author, with Altogether, this is a book which every
This, in its general outlines, is the char- H. C. Engelhrecht, of "Merchants of lover of the Arctic should read and which
acter which Mr. Guiles Davenport, with Death," a study of the armament industry should be in every Arctic library with
much zeal and varying degrees of literary published last spring. A new book by him any pretence to importance. One cannot
on the international traffic in Oil is an- read "Eskimo Year" without wishing
skill, has essayed to describe. He has nounced for early publication.
worked at his task with only partial suc- keenly to know for oneself these lovable,
cess. childlike people of the frozen North, and
He states truthfully and adequately the "I mean seriously," says G. K. Chester- that was undoubtedly one of Dr. Sutton's
problem which the life of Zaharoff raises. ton, writing in John o'London's Weekly, objects in writing as he has done. One is
He appreciates all its implications and "that the first things that counted with also seized with a desire to know a man
paints the dread lesson of the interna- Bernard Shaw were negative and an- of such sympathy and understanding as
tional, the anti-national sale of arms. As archic things; where for most men the first the author, and this was probably furthest
a personal figure, Sir Basil emerges, in things at least are positive. We may lose i from Dr. Sutton's thoughts.
certain chapters, with unusual vividness. those positive beliefs or affections, espe-
Mr. Davenport has undoubtedly sil- cially for a time, but we have had them;
Marie Ahnighito Peary, who has a he-
houetted Zaharoff more clearly than did and I do not believe that George Bernard 1 reditary interest in the Arctic and the
Richard Lewinsohn in his book, "Sir Basil Shaw ever had them. And the proof of it is i unique distinction for a white toomaw of
Zaharoff, The Mystery Man of Europe." that, being one of the most genial and gen- having been bom there, has had recent ex-
But with an excess of rhetorical zeal, erous men in the world, he still cannot [i perience of the frozen North in a visit made
to Greenland a year or two ago to unveil a
the author has tried to paint over each understand them." 1 monument to the memory of her father.
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7ke SaturdayReview
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C H R I S T O P H E R MORLEY J Editors
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Copyright, 1934, Saturday Review C o . . Inc.
T h e drive for clean motion
Will Books pictures h a s apparently
Be Next? met w i t h complete capitu-
lation. This h a s p r o m p t e d some observers
to predict that t h e n e x t censorship effort
will be m a d e in t h e direction of books, and
to issue a call to a r m s for a free press and
a free literature. W e a r e w a r n e d t h a t u n -
less w e a r e p r e p a r e d for t h e fight w e shall
be t a k e n unawares. It is u n d o u b t e d l y a
safe prediction that t h e reformers, once
their blood is u p , will look for n e w fields
to conquer. However, this is all h a p p e n -
ing at a time w h e n recent efforts t o censor
books h a v e suffered spectacular failures.
"Ulysses" h a s been vindicated twice w i t h -
in a year; "God's Little Acre" w a s cleared
a y e a r ago.
There a r e certain important differences
between books a n d motion pictures, even
from t h e censor's point of.view. These con-
sist not only in t h e movies' more graphic
quality, or in t h e fact t h a t t h e y a r e freely
patronized b y children. I t m u s t be r e m e m -
bered t h a t t h e t h r e a t of censorship against
t h e films carried m o r e t h a n a t h r e a t of
boycott. H o w a literary boycott could b e
carried o u t defies t h e imagination. I t is
also true, a s Mr. Westbrook Pegler r e -
cently wrote, that t h e press is a n older i n -
stitution t h a n either radio or motion p i c -
tures; that it is accustomed to fighting for
its freedom, even t o t h e point of occasion-
ally defending itself against a windmill.
And finally, t h e literate movie-goer is
perhaps not unwilling t o dispense w i t h t h e
pictures which t h e p u r i t y d r i v e is e l i m i -
nating—in fact, h e can d o w i t h o u t t h e m
so easily that h e is n o t even r e a d y to get
excited about t h e principle of t h e thing.
JJ T h e nomination of U p t o n Sin-
^. " I . clair for G o v e r n o r of Cali-
fornia h a s already evoked
enough comment to m a k e further r e m a r k s
seem superfluous. B u t it is appropriate for
this journal to note t h a t Mr. Sinclair h a s
been a figure in t h e world of books and
ideas longer t h a n i n t h a t of politics; that
his pamphlet, "I, G o v e r n o r of California,"
which is reported t o have circulated t o t h e
extent of 250,000 copies, u n d o u b t e d l y con-
t r i b u t e d t o t h e success of h i s campaign.
Whatever m a y b e t h e ultimate significance
or practicality of Mr. Sinclair's program,
t h e r e is certainly a n immediate signifi-
cance in his nomination, w h i c h e m p h a t i -
cally exemplifies t h e potentialities of an
author's career.
The c u r r e n t political scene h a s recruited
m a n y of its protagonists from academic
life, and of these m a n y h a v e been authors
of books; b u t p e r h a p s n o n e of t h e m p r o -
vides so striking a n example as Mr. Sin-
clair of t h e transition from literature, so to
speak, t o life. A n d in t h e past t h e transition
has usually gone t h e other w a y round. T h e
retired statesman or diplomatist, writing
a book of memoirs or opinions, is a familiar
figure. Mr. Sinclair's w a y is more unusual,
and infinitely m o r e dramatic.
Retired statesmen with m e m -
.»j oirs to w r i t e a r e n o t t h e only
ones w h o come t o t h e world of
books from outside. T h e opportunity to
become a n a u t h o r is open t o a n y one w h o
has m a d e a n a m e in another field. Such
opportunities a r e m o r e likely to e x p a n d
T H E SATURDAY REVIEW O F LITERATURE
t h a n to contract; m o d e r n n e w s - g a t h e r i n g
processes m a k e it easier to become famous
t h a n it used t o b e ; a n d popular interest
focusses m o r e a n d more on personalities.
T h e big n a m e s h a v e no doubt i n m a n y
cases sold well; so h a v e t h e a u t h o r s of
established literary reputation. B u t t h e
books which have captured t h e public i m -
agination f a r beyond t h e usual best seller,
those which h a v e sold far m o r e t h a n t h e
n u m b e r of copies t h e normal reading p u b -
lic absorbs, h a v e in a surprisingly large
n i u n b e r of instances come from a u t h o r s
previously u n k n o w n , or comparatively
u n k n o w n . Certainly very few of t h e r e a d -
ers of " A n t h o n y Adverse" ever h e a r d of
H e r v e y Allen's poetry or biography; very
few of t h e r e a d e r s of "The Good E a r t h "
h a d read Mrs. Buck's earlier novel. T w o
other instances that come immediately to
mind a r e those of Thornton Wilder a n d
Erich Maria R e m a r q u e . It would b e diffi-
cult to determine, a n d probably easy to
overestimate, t h e significance of this. I n
a n y case, t h e r e is undoubtedly m o r e t h a n
a coincidence involved. It would b e i n -
teresting to h e a r t h e explanations or s u g -
gestions of a librarian, a bookseller, a n d a
student of P a r e t o .
Letters to the Editor:
Mr. Tennyson
S I R : — I n y o u r issue of August 25 y o u
quoted a n excerpt from a n article b y E v e -
lyn L. Thomas, writing in John o'London's
Weekly about Alfred, L o r d Teimyson. I
was attracted b y t h e article because m y
grandmother, whose maiden n a m e w a s
H a n n a h Charlotte Stanley a n d w h o died
last y e a r a t t h e age of ninety-four, w a s in
h e r 'teens a sympathetic companion of Mr.
Tennyson o n m a n y of h i s long a n d silent
walks t h r o u g h t h e p i n e groves a n d over
t h e downs s u r r o u n d i n g Feirringford, a n
old mansion owned b y t h e poet a n d lying
in t h e p a r i s h of F r e s h w a t e r o n t h e Isle of
Wight. Farringford of t h e primrose isle is
described i n t h e following lines:
Deep-meadow'd, happy, fair with orchard-
lawns
And howery hollows crown'd with sum-
mer sea.
Accordingly, I w a s b r o u g h t u p o n t h e
poetry of Tennyson, a t a n early age r e a d -
ing " I n M e m o r i a m " a n d reverencing h i s
poems of doubt as I would t h e passages of
t h e Bible, a n d knowing h i m n o t a s t h e
pompous Victorian invulnerable depicted
by some w r i t e r s b u t as t h e "tall, r o u g h -
haired, r o u g h - b e a r d e d m a n with a w o n -
derfully breezj^ personality" seen b y E v e -
lyn Thomas. My g r a n d m o t h e r frequently
recounted to m e incidents of strolls
t h r o u g h h i s garden of which h e w a s justly
p r o u d a n d climbs u p t h e steep chalk cliff
overlooking F r e s h w a t e r Bay.
Mr. Tennyson w a s a n inveterate walker
and w o u l d stride for mUes across t h e
downs, h i s huge, u n t i d y tie a n d baggy coat
flapping in t h e breeze, deep in u n c o m m u -
nicative a n d often grumpily morose
thought, except w h e n h e stopped to
b a r k o u t passages of poetry, particularly
" M a u d " which, composed a t this time, h a d
d r a w n adverse criticism from some critics.
H e w a s generous to t h e point of rugged
enthusiasm i n h i s commendation of con-
temporaries, a n d equally generous in h i s
condemnation, w h e r e h e t h o u g h t either
w a s deserved. H a n n a h Stanley w a s a fre-
q u e n t companion on these w a l k s from
which older friends w e r e excluded b e -
cause of t h e poet's desire for contempla-
tion, u n i n t e r r u p t e d b y conversation.
It w a s d u r i n g h i s residence a t F a r r i n g -
ford w i t h h i s wife a n d t w o sons, Hallam
and Lionel, t h a t Tennyson commenced h i s
immortal "Idylls." His seclusion, however,
w a s b r o k e n from about 1855 u n t i l his r e -
THeSatunlg^Rei^iew recommends
This List of C u r r e n t Books:
H E A R K E N TO T H E EVIDENCE. By H. RUSSELL W A K E -
FIELD. Douhleday, Doran. A good m y s t e r y story w i t h
a psychological slant.
B L A C K MONASTERY. By ALADAR KUNCZ.
Brace. Reminiscences of a H u n g a r i a n interned in
F r a n c e during t h e war.
DOUBLE CROSTICS. Edited b y ELIZABETH S . KINGSLEY.
Simon & Schuster. Puzzles of t h e same sort that Mrs.
Kingley furnishes t h e Saturday
which has been printed before.
This Less Recent Book;
ROME H A U L . B y WALTER D . EDMONDS. Little, Brown. A
story with t h e E r i e Canal for protagonist.
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"DIDN'T I MEET Y O U A T T H E P U B L I C LIBRARY?''
Some Recollections of Tennyson;
Modern Literature in the Colleges
moval t o S u r r e y i n 1866 b y constant a n d
unbidden visitors, peering a t his windows.
Nevertheless, some of t h e most notable
m e n of t h e century—Garibaldi, Kingsley,
Darwin, Herschel, Dean Stanley, etc.—
w e r e welcomed a t Farringford w i t h h e a r t y
hospitality.
T h e poet is s o vivid t o m e t h r o u g h t h e
great admiration H a n n a h Stanley held for
h i m d u r i n g t h e most impressionable p e -
riod of h e r life, designating h i m a s t h e
great "poet of plebeian tastes," despite h i s
title of L a u r e a t e , w h o delighted i n t h e
simple enjoyments of simple things, w h o
k e p t a r a c k of favorite pipes, a n d above
all w a s h u m a n , t h a t I felt y o u might b e
interested i n this slight, t h o u g h second-
hand, recollection, coming from this side
of t h e ocean. DoROTHy M. BEAVER.
Derby, Coim.
Professors and Modern Writers
S I R : — " T h e y [ t h e English imiversities]
remain as dead t o t h e great interests of
contemporary literature a n d science, a s
they d o t o t h e great m o v e m e n t s of t h e
day." So w r o t e Robert Boyle fifty y e a r s
ago in Englische Studien (VII, 6 7 ) .
W h e t h e r or not conditions deserving such
criticism prevailed in England in 1884, w e
m a y congratulate ourselves that t h e y d o
n o t exist to any great extent in t h e b e t t e r
American universities today. More a n d
m o r e o u r institutions of higher learning
a r e adjusting themselves t o t h e c o n t e m -
p o r a r y world. More a n d m o r e a r e t h e y
m a k i n g honest efforts to fit their students
for life as it actually exists n o t only i n t h e
present c e n t u r y b u t i n t h e n e w d a y n o w
dawning. T h e p r o m i n e n t p a r t being
played b y professors a n d assistant profes-
sors in t h e Roosevelt Administration is
proof that not all college teachers a r e old
fogies. T h e shift of emphasis i n t h e college
c u r r i c u l u m t o t h e social sciences indicates
that colleges a r e going t o p r o v i d e t h e s o -
cial, economic, a n d governmental leaders
of tomorrow.
B u t sometimes I w o n d e r w h e t h e r t e a c h -
ers of literature a r e keeping abreast of
their colleagues in other d e p a r t m e n t s . T h e
following incident will explain w h a t I
h a v e in mind.
A nationally k n o w n scholar, a professor
of English in one of o u r largest state u n i -
versities, confessed t h e other d a y t h a t h e
had n e v e r h e a r d of Sara Teasdale. Notic-
ing h e r p i c t u r e over t h e desk of a younger
colleague, h e asked:
Harcourt,
Review, n o n e of
SEPTEMBER 15, 1934
"Who is s h e ? "
"Sara Teasdale."
"A cousin of yours, o r some relative?"
"No; n o relation w h a t e v e r . "
" T h e n w h y do you h a v e h e r picture over
your desk?"
"I enjoy h e r poems."
"Oh, she w r i t e s poetry, does she? Sara
Teasdale! I h a d n e v e r h e a r d of h e r . "
This same professor voted t w o y e a r s ago
against p e r m i t t i n g a colleague to teach on
S a t u r d a y afternoons in a n extension
center.
"One," said he, "should spend h i s leisure
time increasing h i s professional k n o w l -
edge."
T h e surprising thing is t h a t this profes-
sor h a s for m o r e t h a n a q u a r t e r of a c e n -
t u r y been primarily interested i n A m e r i -
can literature—^but h e h a d n e v e r h e a r d of
Sara Teasdale!
Specialists sometimes h a v e t h e mistaken
notion t h a t they cannot b e expected t o
k n o w anything outside their n a r r o w fields.
But can any teacher of literature afford t o
neglect t h e p r e s e n t day? If h e is a real
lover of literature, will h e allow himself
to r e m a i n long i n complete ignorance of
contemporary writers? F o r t h e specialist
in a n earlier period w h o cannot devote
m u c h t i m e to t h e contemporary scene, t h e
Saturday Review is indispensable.
I'm s u r e t h a t some k i n d r e a d e r of this
periodical woidd gladly p r e s e n t , a year's
subscription t o t h e professor r ^ ^ r r e d to
above, b u t , alas, I cannot m ^ ^ t i o n h i s
n a m e o r m i n e . I would n o t for t h e world
e m b a r r a s s a fine old gentleman for w h o m
I h a v e g e n u i n e affection, or hunTiliate t h e
great university whicH employs u s both.
Besides, I d o n ' t w a n t to lose m y j o b in
times like these! x.
T h e litst W o o d E n g r a v e r '.^
SIR: —1 a m investigating t h e life a n d
career of A l e x a n d e r Anderson, t h e ' B r s t
wood engrayer i n America, a n d •wpiild
welcome h e a r i n g from anyone p o s s e s ^ g
lettefs, original wood blocks; books illus-
trated b y him, o r other isteresting m a t e -
rial b y or a b o u t him.
HELEN M . KNUBEL.
201 Hamilton Avel, '
New Rochelle, N . Y.
Saint Louis History
S I R : — I a m p r e p a r i n g t o w r i t e a biog-
r a p h y of P i e r r e LaClede, t h e founder of
Saint Louis, a n d of t h e Chouteaus, for
m a n y years t h e most prominent family of
the town. I a m also m a k i n g a n extended
study of t h e contrasts (social) between
t h e Creoles a n d t h e Americans a s they
met a t Saint Louis in t h e first third of t h e
nineteenth century. I will b e v e r y g r a t e -
ful for a n opportunity to examine m a n u -
script material which concerns either s u b -
ject. J o u r n a l s , reminiscences, diaries of,
or letters from travellers who visited Saint
Louis a n y t i m e before 1840, a n d letters
from American settlers at or n e a r Saint
Louis w r i t t e n to family or friends in t h e
older states often contain interesting a n d
valuable material. A n y manuscripts i n -
t r u s t e d to m e I will h a n d l e with t h e u t -
most care and will r e t u r n promptly.
J O H N FRANCIS M C D E R M O T I .
Washington Univeysity.
Saint Louis, Mo.