The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 47, July 1943 - April, 1944 Page: 76

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

in their more proper sequence, and uncovering much new ma-
terial. He has distinguished, wherever possible, between ac-
tual happenings and merely traditional events; and he has por-
trayed both the outward life and the inner character of his
salty protagonist of the impressive beard and the formidable
double-barreled shotgun that was seldom loaded. Consequently,
Roy Bean, ruffian, justice of the peace, and showman extraor-
dinary, emerges from the book as neither sage nor clown, but
possessing to an interesting degree the characteristics of both.
With Roy Bean: Law West of the Pecos, the author continues
along the vein begun last in his Billy King's Tombstone;
but Roy Bean is a more seasoned and a much stronger work.
Pictures of persons and settings add convincingness to the
narrative.
ROBERT AVRETT
College of Mines
St. David's Through the Years. Compiled by the Writers' Pro-
gram of the Work Projects Administration in the State
of Texas. Austin, Texas (Betty Gilmer Chapter of St.
David's Guild, St. David's Episcopal Church), 1942. Pp. 94.
Illustrated. $1.50.
Much good work has been done under the aegis of the Writ-
ers' Program of the Work Projects Administration. The book
here being reviewed is a most interesting history of an Episco-
pal parish, the parish of St. David's in Austin, Texas, and is an
example of the type of work that must be done about many sub-
jects if the people of Texas are ever to get the full picture of
their state's history. In that history this short story will
constitute only a paragraph, but it is a paragraph which, if
not written, will be noticed by its absence.
The city of Austin allowed the centennial of its founding to
pass almost unnoticed in 1939. St. David's parish has produced
a book about its activities through a century of time and can
be justly proud of its accomplishments. To be sure, St. David's
parish was not organized until 1859, when the parish of the
Church of the Epiphany and the parish of Christ Church united.
Actually, the first Episcopal service was held in "the Hall of
Congress of the Republic of Texas-on an autumn day in 1840"
by Rev. Caleb S. Ives. Early in 1847 the parish of Christ
Church was organized by Rev. Charles Gillette, but on Janu-

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