like Bernadette Soubirous,nCatherine Laboure, and thenchildren at Fatima.nAfter Marie has turned hernback on such a response, shenconsoles herself that “the truthsnaltered to fit the legend of thosenwho had survived.” Despite hernalteration of the truth to fit hern”survival,” deliverance from thendanger of conversion, and escapenfrom sanctity, the wholenstieagchof ColdHeaven, testifiesnthat truths do not alter to fit thenvictor’s wishes, although the socallednvictor may wish to alternthem. The unaltered truthnsuggests instead that the engagementnseemingly ended betweennOf Strife aad SpeechesnPhilip B. Â¥iaahat6t,)t.:ANewnBirtti of Freedom: Lincoln atnGettysburg; Little, Brown; Boston.nOn November 19, 1863, afternEdward Everett had completed annow-forgotten oration of almostntwo hours at the dedication of annational cemetery on one of thenCivil War’s bloodiest battlefields,nAbraham Lincoln rose to delivern”a few remarks.” His speech ofn271 words lasted about twonminutes, and Lincoln was certainnthat it was a “failure,” sure tonfulfill its own prediction: “thenworld will little note, nor longnremember what we say here.”nHowever, as a simple butneloquent aflirmation of unifyingnAmerican ideals, the GettysburgnAddress has been long rememberednby the citizens of a nationn28inChronicles of Culturengrace and evil is always about tonrecommence; the apparentnpeace is only the silence beforenthe batde is joined; the ostensiblentruce is in reality merely thenpostponement of conflict. If thisnbook leaves the reader with onenassurance, it is that spiritualnwarfare can erupt in the mostnunexpected circumstancesnunder the most unforeseennconditions. What Cold Heavenncannot tell the reader, however,nis how he will react if it does—nwhether he will be an Alphonsende Ratisbonne or a Marie Davenport.nThat is a choice that notneven the supernatural influencesnofaCoW//e«tien will dictate. Dnreunited through the vision andnintegrity of its author. By providingna definitive study of thatnaddress, complete with numerousnphotographs and the completentext of all extant versions ofnthe address, Philip Kunhardt, Jr.nhas performed an invaluablensei^ice.n•Nonetheless, as a thoughtfulnreader compares Lincoln’s immortalnspeech and the cause fornwhich it was the fitting summationnwith the proclamationsnissuing from contemporary pxjliticalnmovements, the contrast isntroubling. Whereas for Lincolnnthe proposition that “all men arencreated equal” meant simply thenend of slavery and the naturalnequality of men, wWte and black,nbefore the law, modern demagoguesnpreach a radical andninconsistent egalitarianismnwhich uses the law as a coerciventool for creating quotafied unequalsnbefore the law. Lincolnnendangered his political careernby declaring that no nation couldnendure as a “house divided” andnthen led America through antorturous, fratricidal conflict tonreunite the states on a commonnfoundation of freedom andnequality. But modem politicosnadvance their own narrow in­nterests by championing chaoticn”pluralism” which acknowledgesnno value center. Indeed,none of the bitter ironies thatnmakes a reading of the GettysburgnAddress unsettling is then&ct that few areas of the countrynoutside of the defeated ConfederatenStates now respond to, orneven understand, his appeal,nexpressed in near-biblical style,nfor a “nation under God.” Becausenthe notion of unity undernanyone, even God, is noxious tonmany self-assertive Americans,nwe are probably an even morenhopelessly divided people nownthan we were in 1861. Even asnFederal machinery imposes evernmore quantified regulationsnupon states, businesses, andnschools, the shared ethical,npolitical, and religious heritagenwhich defines a living communitynfinds fewer and fewer manifestations.nWith malice towardsnmillions and charity towards anfew other partisans, Americansnnow glare at each other out of thentrenches dug on opposite sidesnof abortion, nuclear arms, busing,nhomosexuality, immigration,necology, and a dozen othernexplosive questions. On some ofnthese issues, as on slavery, thenroom for compromise is narrownand the no-man’s-land is wide.nFierce contests seem inevitablenfor some time to come. Let usnhope that these batdes producenno cemeteries but instead opportunitiesnfor new Lincolns tonannounce yet another “newnbirth of freedom” in a morenfirmly united land. (BC). DnnnInitiate AbroadnHenry James: A Little Tour innFrance; Farrar, Straus & Giroux; NewnYork.nMark Twain was so disgustednby the superficial and sentimentalnnonsense in most Americanntravel books that he said henwanted to eat “a tourist fornbreakfist.” But instead of devouringnAmerican tourists he delightfullyncaricatured their bunglingnstupidity, their romantic misconceptions,nand their boorishnprovincialism in InnocentsnAbroad This is all quite amusingnuntil one realizes how slightnTwain’s caricature often is andnhow much serious damagenAmerica’s unofficial ambassadorsncontinue to inflict uponnour international image throughntheir arrogant insensitivity asnthey circle the globe collectingnsouvenirs for themselves andndispensing insults to foreigners.nHenry James was an Americanntourist of a superior sort. As isnevident in this centennial reprintnof his .(4 Little Tour in France, hencaught nuances as he travelednrather than accumulating knickknacks.nBest known for his subtienfictional explorations of Paris,nJames wrote A Little Tour tonrecord his observant explorationsnof the French provinces, anregion James regarded as “discovered,nor at least revealed, bynBalzac.” Though this book is notnso substantive nor as carefiiUyncrafted as his novels, James’s deftnattentiveness to detail marks himnas a worthy follower of the greatnFrench realist. Seventeen yearsnafter publishing the first editionnof this work, James deprecatinglyndescribed it as merely “thenperception of surface” whichnevaded “very complex underlyingnmatters.” But for someone asnsteeped in French language andnculture as James, the “surfece” isnfar thicker than it is for most.nIndeed, when the first chaptern