Evening star. [volume], December 22, 1935, Page F-4, Image 56

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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TRAVEL AND BIOGRAPHY DOMINATE THE BOOK LIST
-—-— A-- A ..
MR. MIZNER’S FABULOUS STORY
Edward Dean Sullivan Tells the Tale of a Man Whose Gift of
Laughter Infected All Who Knew Him—Two Young Men
Look at Mexico Through Different Eyes.
By Mary-Carter Roberts.
MEXICAN ODYSSEY. By Heath
Bowman and Stirling Dickinson.
Foreword by Jose Mojica. Illus
trated with 70 block prints. New
York: Willett Clark & Co.
TWO young men and a Ford,
adventure bound. The formula
is not quite as new as it was
before it got so old. Indeed, it
would sometimes seem that the de
scending mantles of Robert Louis
Stevenson and his Modestine have
covered as many hopeful youths as
have those of the dead O. Henry and
the living Hemingway, which, cer
tainly, is a good many. But off the
present pair go. to strange desert and
mountain, with spirits attuned to ex
quisite keeness for any and all shades
of local color—and. of course, to write
a book about it afterward. They are
60 bubbling, so receptive, so whimsical
—these young men. Their Ford is 60
cranky and obstreperous: they call
her Daisy. It all combines to make
such a delightful compostion. What
is a reviewer to do? Why, write a good
notice, naturally.
So one may begin by saying that
Jose Mojica, famous Mexican opera
singer, says in his foreword that Mr.
Bowman and Mr. Dickinson have
written the best book on his country
that he has yet read. And. he adds, he
has read a lot of them. So have re
viewers—but Mr. Mojica ought to
know. If he says that “Mexican Odys
sey” is the best picture yet to be put
out of Mexican life as seen through
foreign eyes, it will not be this re
viewer who will disagree with him.
So that point is hereby settled.
One may next state that the pub
lishers of Mr. Bowman's and Mr.
Dickinson's work declare that the
young men never dreamed of doing a
book when they set out. One was a
painter, the other a writer, and as
they went along they just casually
made notes and sketches. And when
they got back to Chicago they looked
these things over and found—could
you believe it?—that they had spon
taneously produced a book, without
having the faintest suspicion that
such a thing was in progress. That is
how “Mexican Odyssey” came to be
written and. of course, it is very in
teresting.
Well, it is a good travel book. It
has lots of humor and episodes. The
pictures are nice, in the blunt style
which seems to be necessary in works
on Mexico, so that you could give it
for a Christmas present, or even be
glad to get it yourself, for that matter.
You could do worse than read it. In
fact, you probably will even like it.
And, oh—one almost forgot. In its
back pages it has an appendix of
tourist information. Now do go out
and buy a copy.
THE FABULOUS WILSON MIZNER.
By Edward Dean Sullivan. New
York: The Henkle Co.
J^AFAEL SABATINI, in the course
of his prolific career as a romance
writer, composed one line which de
serves to be remembered. It was the
first in a book which by now must
be almost forgotten—"Scaramouche.”
Wrote Mr. Sabatini there, at the top
cf his opening chapter, as one who is
about to plunge and flings his gaunt
let in the face of fate: “He was born
with a gift of laughter and a sense
that the world was mad.”
What else he wrote, one cannot say.
Only one has never been able quite
to lose the memory of the pungent
sense and rhythm of that opening
sentence, “* * • born with a gift of
laughter and a sense that the world
was mad.”
And now, in most unlikely literary
company—in, in fact, a book about
a man who has been described as a
"Broadway playboy”—one comes on a
character whose life would seem to
have been an exemplification of all
that Sabatini’s line comprised. That
character is the hero of Edward Dean
Sullivan’s new book, “The Fabulous
Wilson Mizner.”
Fabulous indeed! One does not
know, on finishing the impossibly
fascinating tale, whether one owes a
debt to the late Mizner for having
lived with such gorgeous and accom
plished scorn, or whether the price of
one’s joy in his biography is due a
hero-worshiping author. Be that as
it may. on the merits of Mr. Sullivan's
book alone, this Mizner was clearly of
the stuff of which stories have ever
been made. He was fabulous. No
better title for this biography could
possibly have been chosen.
Away with blurbs about a "Broad
way playboy." He may have been that,
whatever it is. But he was vastly more
than a New Yorker of any description.
He comes near indeed being what may
wistfully be called “the vanishing
American,” as Mr. Sullivan sets him
down. In his salty wit, his adventure
accepting spirit and above all in the
gorgeous balance and fitness of his
sense of comedy he seems to have
epitomized qualities which once we
liked to characterize as national. Be
side this, what he actually was and did
is of very little importance in his
story.
xu vc auie, ne aiu piemy lor a ilie
of 50 years. One gathers, from the
printed words that he was at various
times a miner, a playwright, a pro
moter of a middleweight champion, a
gambler, a suave dealer in fake paint
ings and a writer of short stories—and
always successful.
But these things are not significant.
What Mr. Sullivan brings out with a
skill that ought to be studied by all
writers of lives, is that his hero’s es
sence had nothing to do with occupa
tions. That essence would seem to have
been simply a. devastatingly plentiful
ability to live.
This Mizner—his life was a history
of emergencies met with humor and
polished off with an epigram. In the
course of it he went from Guatemala
to Alaska and from California to Eu
rope. He was a habitue of Jack’s and
Joel’s, he knew his Hollywood, his
plays were put on in London, he
prospected gold and he saw revolu
tions. Other men have done as much,
no doubt. But few of them have done
it with so enormous a capacity for
detached enjoyment. Few people in
deed in the whole world have the cour
age to be superior—many less than
have the ability. Mizner was one of
those few exceptions. Mr Sulivan tells
us he stood 6 feet 3 inches, and his
spirit seems to have been in proportion.
The book is a gorgeous uproarious
tale, ending with its hero’s death in
1933. Mr. Sullivan writes that when,
early in his career, Mizner’s friend,
Stanley Ketchel, t^e prizefighter, was
Elisabeth Finley Thomas,
whose book of cosmopolitan
memoirs, “Ladies, Lovers and
Other People,” recently ap
peared on the stands.
BOOKS RECEIVED.
Non-Fiction.
GOLD IN YOUR BACKYARD. By
David Gross. Garden City: Dou
bleday Doran & Co.
HENRY FORD VS. TRUMAN H.
NEWBERRY. By Spencer Ervin.
New York: Richard R. Smith.
THE MEDICAL VOODOO. By Anne
Riley Hale. New York: Gotham
House.
OUR PRESIDENTS. By James Mor
gan. New Revised Edition. New
York: The MacMillan Co.
BANKRUPTCY IN UNITED STATES i
HISTORY. By Charles Warren.
Cambridge: Harvard University
Press.
MEXICAN JOURNEY. An Intimate
Guide to Mexico. By Edith Mackie
and Sheldon Dick. New York:
Dodge Publishing Co.
MEDITATIONS ON THE CROSS. By
Kagawd. New York: Willett Clark
& Co.
BALANCE OR CHAOS. By ScoviUe j
Hamlin. New York: Richard R. !
Smith.
LEGISLATVE PROBLEMS. By Robert j
Luce. New York: Houghton Mifflin !
Co.
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF Lira.
By George Edwin Rines. Boston!
Meador Publishing Co.
A NEW PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE. By
William Wemmer. Boston: Meador
Publishing Co.
ARYANS IN THE EAST. By Jan M.
Kasim. Boston: Meador Publishing
Co.
BETTER BRIDGE. By Samuel Fry.
New York: The Leisure League.
Fiction.
THE CARDINAL’S DAUGHTER. An
Italian Historical Romance. Trans
lated by Nina Renna. Boston:
Meador Publishing Co.
shot to death and the news was
cabled him in London, he wired back:
“That darling kid can’t be dead. Start
counting over him and he’ll get up.”
Again, when his friend and dramatic
collaborator, Paul Armstrong, died
and he was obliged to listen to a
eulogy about him, he whispered to
a neighbor at the gathering: “If Paul
were up and about he'd say that j
speech was his.” And when he came 1
to die himself, aged 57, he turned to
his physician and remarked simply:
"Well, doc, I guess this is the Main
Event.”
Whether this book be a real portrait
or the work of a too devoted admirer,
it is unique among current biography.
With all that, one feels that it will j
sink into forgetfulness fairly soon;
one cannot say exactly why. In the
meantime it deserves reading by every
one whose imagination was caught
when he saw, some 10 years ago, that
first fine singing line of “Scara
mouche”: “He was bom with a gift
of laughter and a sense that the j
world was mad.”
THE DOUBLE AGENT. Essays In
Craft and Elucidation. By R. P.
Blackmur. New York: Arrow
Editions.
ALTHOUGH one may wonder at
times over Mr. Blackmur’s choice
of subjects in this series of critical
essays, one must rejoice over his
book. Seldom in recent years has one
encountered criticism of a technical
nature that is also so sound esthe
tically. For, curious as it may seem,
there has been a gap between the
two aspects of the critic's art as it
is practiced in this country.
We have critics aplenty who can
tell us whether a work be good or
not, but without the technical knowl
edge of their profession which en
ables them to pursue a creation to
its conceptual roots and uncover
wherein its merits lie. And we have
critics by grace of a book of rules
who can analyze, but who have been
so many dry-as-dusts. Mr. Blackmur
combines knowledge of both branches
of his art with an excellent style of
his own. His book, therefore, is not
one for light reading, but to a mind
that loves examining the scene-set
ting of literature he is a genuine de
light
One can even read him with pleas
ure when he takes 29 pages to arrive
at the conclusion that E. E. Cum
mings writes baby talk.
His book contains 12 essays, one
on criticism and the rest on modem
writers. Pound, Wallace Stevens,
Lawrence, Hart Crane, Marianne
Moore, T. S. Eliot, Samuel Butler,
James, Granville Hicks and Malcolm
Cowley are the authors whom he
examines, in addition to the afore
named Cummings. In the final study
in the book, called “A Critic's Job
of Work,” he defines the various criti
cal approaches possible and dissects
with surgical calm the cases of a
number of his colleagues.
The book is reminiscent of Cole
ridge. Like that giant exponent of
the critical art, Mr. Blackmur pene
trates to the skeletons of his subjects,
but without losing at any time, no
matter how closely reasoned his point,
his sense of the living quality of the
written work. Even in his scrutiny
of Cummings he treats the celebrated
maundering* committed by that pen
dr agger as havii^ life. They are, he
seems to say, expressions of the spirit.
He does not handle them as dead
puppets, but rather as deformed or
imbecile children. With precision he
demonstrates just what it is that has
so warped them from the semblance
of literature. Nor is his intense se
riousness without its formal proper
humor—wherein he is again like Cole
ridge.
It is, as has been said, a work to
be cherised, although it will interest
only a limited public.
THE SEVEN SINS. By Audrey
Wurdemann. New York: Harper i
& Bros.
'J'HIS is a book of narrative poems
centering about a common theme
—the demonstration of the seven great
sins in the lives of seven brothers, one
sin to a brother. The author. Miss
Audrey Wurdemann, was winner last
year of the Pulitzer Poetry Prize.
The present book can be commend
ed with some reservations. Its theme
is unremarkable and its carrying out
seems uninspired. The blank verse
passages—and these predominate—
are not of particular merit. When,
however, Miss Wurdemann changes
her form to lyric, she writes with
beauty, and adapts her thought to her
lines with admirable finish. The ex
cellent level of these passages would
Ii.n.n.—. .. ■■■ ' • • ■ - ■.
From “The Good Master,” by Kate Seredy, illustrated by the
author. The Viking Press.
alone be sufficient grounds for recom
mending the volume.
A KIPLING PAGEANT. By Rudyard
Kipling. With a foreword by the
author. New York: The Literary
Guild.
'T'HIS volume seems to have been
A prepared in honor of Kipling's
70th birthday, which occurred last
week. As it is a collection of already
published work, and as Kipling is
Kipling, whether the heathen rage or
not, few words beyond a listing of the
titles included would seem to be
needed. This listing, however, is im
possible. All of "The Light That
Failed,” dozens of stories, about 40
poems, as well as "An Interview With
Mark Twain," are included in the
"Pageant.” Suffice it to say that
whether you prefer the Jungle Book,
the Just So Stories, the Devon Downs
or the Northwest Frontier—you can,
find something in this volume to suit
your taste. As for the rest of it—one
knows perfectly what the moderns
say. The trouble is that few of them—
oh. tragically few—can write more
than a tenth as well.
A VISIT TO AMERICA. By A. G.
Macdonell. New York: The Mac
millan Co.
V-JR. A. G. MACDONELL. who seems
to be i Scotsman with the heart
of a startled fawn, has visited us and
found us a large and amusing country.
Then, like all literary men from his
isles, he has written a book about us.
It is better than a good many of its
kind.
Mr. Macdonell Is the author of
“England, Their England,” which won
the James Tait Black prize in 1933 for
being the best English novel of its year.
His present work hardly emerges from
the notebook stage, so sketchy is it,
but it often contrives to be genuinely
entertaining, even in this fragile form.
Perhaps, indeed, it is because this
British Islander has not attempted any
"Madonna and Child," by an unknown artist.
Woodcut from “Mexican Odyssey,” by Heath Bowman and Stirling Dickinson. Willet Clark & Co.
f---;
j ambitious interpreting that he Is so
tolerable. He has simply written what
he saw, and his accounts of our many
absurdities are recognizably done and
even intelligent.
On the whole, one feels sorry that
' we so alarmed the gentle Scot. He
seemed in a perpetual state of fleeing
! all during his visit. Another time and
1 he may observe us a little more closely.
But. one knows. In that case he could
not possibly do so entertaining a book.
^ A MAN IN ARMS. An Anonymous
Story. New York: Julian Mess
ner, Inc.
'T'HIS Is a story of the World War,
A told by the man who experienced
the events recorded. It is not a par
ticularly important addition to the
literature of the conflict, except as
it deals with the psychological urge
to fight, rather than the tragedies of
battle. It is, in short, an account
of the gayer attitudes which war pro
duces—excitement, comradeship, ro
mance. and so on. The author feels
that these attitudes are a normal
part of men, but that for men to
have to seek opportunity to express
them in war is far from normal. He
devotes some consideration to what
substitute for war may be devised,
but for the most part his book deals
] simply with soldierlike adventures.
point of the year had been reached J
and life was then to be renewed.
Yuletide, in medieval English, was ;
spelled yol. This was derived from an i
' ancient Anglo-Saxon word, geol. Ety-1
mologists find in yol a word allied to
jol, an Icelandic term meaning a Mid
winter feast. In Christmas the em- |
phasis is upon the religious aspect
of the anniversary. Yuletide empha- j
sizes the secular observance.
Jesus, the Greek form of Jehoshua
| (Joshua) is translated in a number
of ways, among them being the phrase
| "Jehova is salvation." Jesus was a
given name commonly used in Pales
tine in the days of Herod the King.
•
/"'’HRIST is from Christus, the j
Anointed One. It may be noted
in passing that the term Christians j
was first applied to the disciples at j
Antioch on the Orontes about A.D. 43. j
Among themselves the disciples were
known as brethren.
TOACHIM Is the name which tra
** dition gives to the father of Mary,
the Madonna. The Hebrew word from
which Joachim is derived means pre- |
pares.
Anna is also a Hebrew derivative, i
This is the name borne by the mother S
of Mary. The meaning is grace or
gracious.
Gabriel (man of God) was the
angel who was the messenger of God
all the eligible suitors. This quaint
word takes on a special significance
when the story of the all-night vigil
before the altar is told. Each man
deemed worthy of being affianced to
this "maiden of the Temple” was
required to lay upon the altar a rod.
To be the possessor of the rod that |
blossomed was to be revealed as the
suitor chosen to be espoused to Mary. |
At the conclusion of the vigil it was j
found that the owner of the blossom
ing rod was the elderly kinsman of j
Mary, Joseph of the town of Nazareth.
Nazareth is first mentioned in the
Bible in St. Matthew, ii.23. The name
means verdant. The village now oc
cupying the site of this home of
Jesus is en-Nazi-rah. The sacred spot >
upon which it is thought the home
of Joachim and Anna stood is today
marked by a beautiful church.
Galilee, the province in which j
ttazareth was situated, takes its name
from a word meaning circuit.
Bethlehem was originally called
Ephrath or Ephratah (fruitful). Two
Hebrew words, beth (house) and
lekhem (food) are the source from
which is derived the place-name.
Bethlehem. The present-day spelling
is Bite-Lahm.
Common nouns, as well as proper,
have their significant place in the
story of the miracle wrought in Beth
lehem.
Khan is derived from a Persian
word which is carried over into Eng
lish in the word inn for caravansary. I
The khan in which Joseph and Mary
sought shelter in Bethlehem is thought
to have been built against a hillside, j
Tradition says that the inn was built j
upon property owned by David and :
that a khan had been upon this site
for more than a thousand years. Man
gers in use in David’s day were still
in place along the w£Q>
T>EADERS familiar with "Ben-Hur”
will recall the vivid description
of the inn at Bethlehem. In a few
paragraphs Gen. Wallace re-creates
the setting of the first Christmas. He
tells of the quadrangular building, one
story high. The outer wall of this
typical caravansary was unbroken by
a window. At the eastern side there
was a gateway, the only entrance to
the inn. Close at hand was a safe
shelter for the animals of travelers |
who tarried there. Nearby was a
grotto which the author describes as
being probably 40 feet long, 9 or 10
feet high and 12 to 15 feet aide. Here
the innkeeper permitted Joseph and
Mary to rest "because there was no
room for them in the inn.”
Manger is mentioned by St. Luke
only in connection with the birth of
our Lord. The word is used in ref
erence to a crib or trough for feeding
animals. It was customary to build
the manger of small stones and mor
tar, in the shape of a box. Along
the sides of the cave or grotto the
mangers were placed sufficiently low
for sheep.
Shepherds in Palestine led a life of
hardship. Wild beasts, the extremes
of temperature, the depredations of
robbers, the meager quantity of food
available were among the factors
which tended to make their task dif
ficult. A shepherd carried a scrip,
a sling and a staff. He also carried
a sheepskin mantle, a small amount
of food and a light tent, if he was
far from home.
The morning duty of the shepherd
was to lead his flock to pasture. He
watched the sheep, guarding them and
himself against attacks by such ani
mals as bears, panthers, wolves, lions.
He was obligated to hunt for a lost
sheep until he found it. At nightfall
the shepherd returned his flock to the
fold. Upon arrival he checked each
sheep. His duty was to watch <ga
The Star That Led a Little Boy to Bethlehem Babe
- *---* -
.... . i in ...I.I...... Ill III Mill I ._1.1 «_ _. •
Its Brightness Kept Him
Awake and It Sang to
Him of King.
By Raimundo de Ovies.
IEN little James’ father
came home one morning
for the loaves and cheese
and bunches of dried
onions, James asked his mother why
he could not go back with his father
to the hills and help him mind the
sheep.
“But, James, the nights are so cool
this time of the year, and I’m afraid
that a boy as hungry as you are is
not going to be satisfied with cheese
and dried onions and stale bread.
Think how hard that bread will be
after a few days!”
But his father laughed and said:
“Let him come with me, Esther. It
will do him good, toughen him, and
he has a warm sheepskin coat and
strong teeth. So. don’t worry about
cool nights and hard bread. He'll get
along.”
So James went with his father.
The hills of Judea were beautiful
green and brown and gold. And there
was so little rain at the season that
one could lie right on the ground
comfortably—wrapped In one’s great
coat, of course. Jame6 loved the
nights. He should have been asleep,
but who would want to sleep under
such a roof! The stars were like lamps
set in a ceiling of black velvet, and
one of them was wonderful. It was
larger and brighter than any of the
others. Only the sun and moon were
bigger and brighter.
"What is that star?” James asked
his father.
“I don’t know,” his father replied.
“Nobody seems to know. We asked
the rabbis, but they don’t know
either. Rabbi Abim says that the
high priest in Jerusalem probably
knows, but Jerusalem is a long way
off and we haven’t heard yet. It’s a
new star certain, and I think i
it means something.” He shook his
head solemnly, and then put his arm
about James’ shoulder and stared at
the star with him.
'T'HEY were so still and quiet that the
other shepherds went over and
joined them, and they all stood mo
tionless, looking up at the star.
"Oh, it makes me want to sing,
father!" James said. “I wish I could
sing like David and praise Jehovah for
the wonders of the firmament!”
Then^auddenly, a great light spread
about the star and expanded. For a
minute or two the shepherds and little
James gazed in awe, and then went
down on their faces, their foreheads
on the grass; for the bright space was
filled with white and shining men. all
with great wings at their backs, all of
them singing strongly and sweetly:
"Glory to God in the highest, and, on
earth, peace to men of good will!”
Then everything was dark again, and
the little group crouched on the
ground, terrified.
But one shining angel remained. His
^ beautiful and kind and his
Angels’ Song Heard in Hills
Found Deaf Ears in
City.
voice was like a mountain stream
: pouring over rocks. He said to the
1 shepherds: "Fear not! For unto you
is born this day in the city of David
a Savior, which is Christ the King.”
And he disappeared.
Then even James was not afraid.
And every one began to talk at once.
"Wasn’t it wonderful?”
“Did you see their wings?”
“Did you ever hear such music?”
“I was frightened to death.” And
all that kind of talk.
James’ father said: “Let us go to
Bethlehem, for that is the city of
David. Let us go to Bethlehem now—
and see this thing which has hap
pened.”
CO ALL of them took up their staves
° and marched down the hill and
across the valley and up another hill
to Bethlehem. And when they got
there the town was crowded with peo
ple and the inns were full to over
flowing. But nobody had heard the
angels 'and nobody knew anything
about a Savior’s being born.
James’ father said to them, "But
haven’t you seen the star?”
“Oh, that,” they replied. “It’s only a
star!" And they moved on about their
business.
But the shepherds still watched the
star and saw that it stood directly
over a stable at the edge of the town.
They went into the stable and found
"Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying
in a manger.” The Babe wore no
crown. He was Just a lovely, lovable
little baby boy as far as anybody could
see with the eyes, but James and the
shepherds saw with their hearts. They
knewr Him and went on their knees be
fore Him.
And the mother of the Babe, who
was Mary, called her boy Jesus.
And that was the first Christmas. .
> SCorjrtshv MoOlur* MmpafW anrtUMta*
CHRISTMAS’ OWN VOCABULARY
Symbolism of Words Which Have Particularly Seasonal Use
Is Interesting Part of Yuletide Story—First Celebra
tions of Festival Were Notably Variable.
By Alice Hutchins Drake.
WITH the approach of the
holy season of Advent we
find returning to our daily
speech certain words which
have a seasonal connotation. Rich
in beauty and in the power of sug
gestion, they give life and color to
our Christmas vocabulajy. Why they
have the meaning they now possess,
the associations that cluster around
them, the symbolism found hidden
within them—these are a part of the
Yuletide story.
Christmas is derived from Cristes
masse, the mass of Christ. When
the observance of Christmas first oc
curred is not known. (In the days
of our Lord it was cusotmary to ob
serve the anniversary of the death,
rather than the birth, of an indi
vidual.) The first authentic ref
ereence to the celebration of this fes
tival was made in the reign of the
Emperor Commodus (A.D. 180-192).
Some of the branches of the early
church celebrated Christmas in Janu
ary, some in May, others concurrently
with Epiphany. It is generally thought
that Decerrtber 25 ultimately became
the day set aside by the Christian
church because this was the date of
the Roman Festival of the Winter
Solstice, a season already associated
with the thought that the turning
on the occasion of the Annunciation.
As a figure in art, Gabriel usually
carries a lily and a scroll bearing the
words, “Ave Maria, gracia plena”
(Hail Mary, full of grace).
Michael, tradition says, was as
signed to guard the Holy Family on
its earthly journey to indemnify him
for having been selected to drive Adam
and Eve from the Garden of Eden.
The name Michael means like unto
God. «
Mary is said to be susceptible of at !
least 17 varying interpretations. One !
which is frequently used is bitter. !
A second, which is appropriate, as I
well as beautiful, is the exalted one.
Elizabeth Is the name of the elderly
cousin to whose home Mary journeyed
immediately following the Annuncia
tion. Tradition says that Elizabeth
(worshiper of God, or consecrated to
God) and her husband, Zacharias
(remembered by Jehovah), lived at
Ain Karipi. This town is approxi
mately 5 miles from Jerusalem and
about 70 miles from the home of
Joseph the carpenter.
Josephis translated may he add.
The name of the espoused husband
of Mary of the ifouse of David brings
into, the Christmas story many beau
tiful legends. When Mary was ap
proximately 14, so legend says, the j
high priest summoned to the Temple
entrance to the fold thorughout the
night.
It was to such a cwnpany of men,
on guard to protect their flocks, that
the first Christmas carol was sung.
The Shepherds’ Field, the site of this
event, is today visited by hundreds of
pilgrims.
Carol is from the Latin word, car
ola, the diminutive of chorus, a chorus
or dance. The derived meaning is ft —
song of joy.
Magi is the plural of magus, a seer
or sorcerer. In the Bible the Magi
are called "the wise men.”
Why do we think that there were
but three? Because of the three gifts
which they brought to the infant
Christ.
JT WAS the venerable Bede, author
of "The Ecclesiastical History of
England,” who gave to the Magi the
names by which they are the most
commonly known:
Caspar,•"the white one."
Melchior, “king of light."
Balthasar, "lord of treasure.”
In ancient Christian art, Caspar is
represented as an elderly man with
long, white beard. Melchior is a man
in middle life. Balthasar is generally
interpreted as a black man. a King
of Ethiopia. In his distant kingdom,
ceremonies centuries old are today
performed in observance of Christmas.
In view of events now occurring in
Ethiopia, it is noteworthy that the all
night vigil which ushers in the season
of the Nativity, the religious proces
sion of monks, nuns, deacons and
priests; the chants and the feasts
trace their origin to Christian prac
tices introduced into Ethiopia follow
ing the conversion of the Eunuch who
carried Christianity to this far-away
land. This kingdom, associated in
legend with one of the Magi, is the
oldest Christian nation in existence.
The symbolism found in the gifts
offered by the Magi is interesting.
Melchior brought gold, signifying roy
alty; Caspar, frankincense, divinity;
Baithasar, myrrh, fn prophecy of the
persecution even unto death.
Of all the narratives of the birth
of our Lord, it is probably correct to
say that there is none so beautiful as
that recorded by Saint Luke. Here is
the name of a man whose station in
life may be indicated by it.
Luke may be derived from Lucanus,
Lucius. Lucilius or Lucianus. This
may have been a slave's name. In
the days of Saint Luke physicians
were frequently numbered among
slaves. Saint Paul speaks of Luke as
"the beloved physician.” Of him we
know little, but this little reveals his
power as a writer. Saint Luke has
been railed "the greatest historian of ;
the world.” There is a simplicity
about his story of the birth of Jesus
that is majestic.
Larols
(Continued From Third Page.)
-r
is "Adeste Fideles.’* It is dated sev
enteenth century, but there seems to
be a division ot opinion as to its origin.
Some even think it was written as
early as the thirteenth century and
was one of the Latin poems of St.
Bonaventura. Bishop of Albano. He
was a learned man and a Franciscan
friar. Tne carol is of Roman Cath
olic origin and is part of the proces
sional at the Christmas mass. It is
thought that it was composed in
France, as it was used in the Catholic
Churches there in the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries. In 1797 it was
sung at the Chapel of the Portuguese
Embassy in London and hence re
served the name "Portuguese Hymn ”
It was first used in an Anglican
Church in 1841. when Frederick Oake
ley translated it into English for his
congregation at Margaret Street
Chapel, London.
^"*AROLS during the 15th. 16th and
17th centuries are both secular
and sacred. Caroling found its way
into the Christian Church from pagan
rituals. The Christmas festival came
at the time of the gay Latin and
Teutonic feasts of the Winter soltice.
This, as so many other customs
which had like origin, survived re
gardless of what the early reformers i
tried to do.
In England we have a number of
the olu carols which are an inher
itance of that period. Two of the
best known are the "Wassailing” song
and the "Boar's Head Song.” These
were both part of the great feasts
of tha. era.
Wassail in old English is ‘‘waes
ha'l,” meaning, "be whole, be well.*
primarily an ancient form of "toast
ing.” Then later being applied to th«
Christmas feasting and more par
ticularly to a bowl of wine or spiced
ale, which was part of the medieval
Christmas.
became a splendid pretext for asking
alms. In England this custom still ..
is strong and is called “waiting.” How
ever. done for the pleasure brought
to others, it Is one of our worthwhile ~
Christmas practices. Those going
about are called “chanters” and they
keep alive the old carols which give
us such pleasure.
Every nation has added treasures
to the Christian Christmas carols.
The French noels, Denmark had her
Brosson. who is their "Poet of Christ
mas”; Norway’s palmist, Landstad;
England's “sweet bard of Methodism.”
Charles Wesley, who wrote “Hark, the
Herald Angles Sing” in 1739, one
year after his conversion. This was
fortunately wedded to the lovely
music adapted from a cantata, “Gott
1st Licht” (God Is Light), written
by Felix Mendelsohn-Bartholdy in
1840. Also Issac Watts, the “Father of«.
English Hymnody," giving us “Joy
to the World, the Lord Is Come!”
in 1719, which found a joyous lilting
melody from Handel’s immortal i
“Messiah.” This tune being known as
Antioch and was arranged by Lowel
Mason in 1830.
To this list let us add that sublime
gem “O Little Town of Bethlehem”
as only one of many hymns written
by our own beloved American min
uter, BUhop Phillips Brooks.
There are many caroU from many
lands. All are beautiful in their par
ticular way. v
There U one, however, we all love
or at least are familiar with, and
without It Christmas just wouldn't
be complete. It is the beloved German
oaroL "Stills Nadu, Heilige NafhL”