LEWIS AND CLARK: A STUDY IN FANTASY

Lewis and Clark were explorers who had a lot to do with the development of the western part of this country. Lewis Carroll has had an equally profound effect on imaginative fairy tale writing through his "Alice in Wonderland." To this latter Lewis has come a new Clark to make up what may become a second, a literary "Lewis and Clark," whose fairy tale explorations may be linked together just as naturally as the two early American pioneers. This new Clark is Harry Clark, a research associate in physics at Harvard. Last week Harry Clark's first children's story, "The Story of A Whale" was published.

The "Lewis and Clark" parallel is not the most important aspect of this bit of writing. The salient feature is rather that Mr. Clark, who spends his days experimenting in Jefferson Laboratory--stronghold of realism--can so banish his work from mind in his leisure as to write fairy tales. Many eminent scientists here have become so ensnared in their research problems that any whimsical relaxation is out of the question. Mr. Clark, however, has successfully bridged the gap between physics and fantasy. In providing a pleasant story for children, he has also shown embattled physicists a method of useful relaxation; and to a literary world largely dominated by ultra-realistic writers, he has shown anew the almost-forgotten beauty and attractiveness of a story for the young.