Historic Slaughter

WOMAN ON HORSEBACK--William E. Barrett--Stokes ($3).

The population of Paraguay in 1862, when Francisco Solano Lopez became dictator, was more than a million. When he was killed eight years later, after six years of war with Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, the male population added up to about 29,000. On the strength of this record Lopez has usually been considered a strong candidate for first place in the ranks of the world's worst rulers. Last week William Barrett made a valiant attempt to restore Lopez' tarnished laurels with a romantic, fictionized biography that paid a great deal of attention to the tremendous odds against which Lopez was foolish enough to fight.

Aside from his calamitous reduction of Paraguay's man power. Dictator Lopez' great claim to distinction was his love for Eliza Alicia Lynch. Eliza was a needle--witted Irish girl of uncertain background who became his mistress in Paris, bore him four sons, and was charged by his enemies with having egged him on to his worst atrocities. Although Author Barrett works hard to make her a glamorous figure, he seems to be fighting against odds almost as great as those that destroyed Lopez. To her credit he emphasizes that she was devoted to the dictator, followed him to battle, and buried him at last. But when they consider what Lopez was up to when she was so close to him, readers may reflect that her devotion does not do her unmixed honor. Aside from the purple passages describing their romance, Woman on Horseback is most interesting in its account of Lopez' battles. Again & again his rapidly dwindling armies defeated superior forces, the Pyrrhic victories continuing until Paraguay virtually had no men between the ages of 14 and 60. The only stumbling block to peace negotiations was Lopez' refusal to abdicate. To Author Barrett the simple fact that so many Paraguayans perished is proof of their devotion to Lopez. But when readers note that one out of every six men in the Paraguayan army was given the task of shooting waverers, Lopez' victories are likely to seem as unheroic as his love affair and his defeats.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.