NEW BOOKS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 562, 17 July 1909, Page 9

NEW BOOKS.

By RoberV - M'Nab. i "Whit- ..■;•'■■ combe arid. Tombs. Ltd, 12s. 6a. present :work:i3t;a new. , ;edition of >'Murihikii and tho Southern : Islands," enlarged by , the- addition of a great quantity .of .valuable-matter,. arid by somo plates of exceptional interest and value. .It is a'boofe that nobody in' New Zealand save Mr. M Nab could, have written, and we .con all .congratulate ourselves on tho fact that he was pos.sessod of• tho private.resources to enable him .'to : mal?e his 'own , ;long voyages of' discovery, and,research, the enthusiasm to carry ms :Work "through, and the, patience and p.ersc--yerance'- necessary' to get into shape "the results of his toil and wanderings. • His mjtention, when his book was first published, was to .bring his historical' work down to 1840—he-had mad 0,1829 his stpppmg-p ace— but-he has not been able ■to f obtain. allr the necessary material. . Warned; by the fire at l.thd •Parliament Buildings, of tho misfortune that i may overtake dilatory printing, he has decided to recast the former volume, giving us. all. that he. has got. Amongst thp new matter are ■ chapters on: Tasman's visit,. Cook's, visits to the South Island, and-the explorations of D'TJrville and Bellingshausen.' Mr.'.M'Nab has. very wisely chosen , , to givo only the smallest possible, space to such subjects in his domain as'are on record, in easily-accessible .books.' He "has aimed at making'his work : ''a first story. , ': It is impossible ,to exaggerate the " extraordinary ■ care that, has gone to•'.tho.'making of this volume, or .the extreme seriousness .'_with which t'he .author has taken his.task. His'.attitude may be judged from a couple of sentences in the new prefaced "Even with the extension mentioned,,.the flax trade cannot' be-dealt with'.to .the satissfaction- of .-the author." tProbably "it-never will, until .the whole is 'included in . the, reference.'! 'And he explains why. ■: If. is'..: or course 'impossible,;to -.review, a- volume-:, of■' without long .quotationsj,. for ,whicn'-.we>.-hayo-nbt ; Hhe space. ■: 'We. -'may •note, Vhowever; ; ;.-that:.: .Welfihgton , '. Harbour Vi«i'.firsii*en{^rpd''and.'Bury,eyedvin,lß26.'.vby > -. Captain Herd;:.who -.called. ;the..place-Wangl it •will ibbi .remembered -'by'; ;tho'se<who ■•havevread his'v."S6cond : .>ypyagb',! Vi actually /•• discovered 'the" • November. ; . 2,': 1773: ■; Inv the Resoliiitibn; ; : he:;sailed,'i irito/'-the, bay.i.with-; the ■intehtioriv:6f-.;.«nterih'g /ith'e'y.harbour, i-Jbnt-. by »HeS#eref6j'.e ,iarichbi;e.d;;.<)ut*ide: the.. ;■ black :bu I ster , ;tcamo; i uprlaha.;;heVdrqvo.'ak)ng:-tho: 'Stra'itito '.Ship'; ;;attempted to "enter' the ■harbour:'in 'seeking an'anchorage,'; but: the'wind,forced him, to direct;l.iis:.course.to Palliser-.Bay. _ ; . _".• '■ -'■•.. ■■ Mr; M'Nab , has supplied-:a valuable table of chapter 'references,. and:'there is. a fairly •good index, although, it is-badly arranged and' is not a little:eccentric.. oThuSj. .one >of the ;sub-references 'under; ,'Tort -Nicholson is ."see. 'Wellington;'Harbbur.'.»' ■ You ■ turn up ■•■■'.'Wellington Harbour," and are told, nothing -::but- ; "see 'Port-. Nicholson. -'The. book -is admirably printed, ,but one could have--wished, in. the binding, , for. alittlo ■more : flexibility: < The;, teo, thoughlgopd, : is so light and: thjck'vthat the 500; pages'i'mako Ca: terribly.-corpulent. .volume. -■ One. of ;the treasures of the, work is _a reproduction.of.-Visschor's chart of .Tasman a voyage/ Visscher'.was Tasman's pilot-major, ahd-iihe- plate. is 'from, a-photograph which Mr.- M'Nab ,was .lucky, enough ■ obtain from ■ Amsterdam.. -/Mr. : .M'Nab holds out hopes:of ■an'.extension'of:his : labours, vand ; wAope that lie ; will not allow■■• politics to, ■ prevenUiis'design. even if ho gives;us nothing more, heMan" be assured of .-.a- lugn • repute for: .Wsepiusiasm Vand^ ! _patience ..iniesbuing; a Vgreatfchapto -fiUpn* wo.uld, lave, swaUbwed' it-up" but for his labours.

; :^vß:^V-iucklaM, : v Brett; • Prating '.and '"■■. !■ .'.' E.ubUshing/Coinpany. (Whitcombe'.,- .and : ;; v 6d.V ; ::;::. •.■• V'. ;:,\. ■. . ,- ■:.;Mt' "Jolliers', the Unitarian, minister; at; 'Auckland, 'and: this; booklet comprises a ser-.i ■ies--bf,five':sornibn?,>n;."Tlie Bible of Mture,'K "Theffistory of .the Earth," •.. The (jrigm-of>Living Creatures,"_ "The-Eyolution of"Livino-Creatures', , ', and■ "Man's Place, in Mature. ,7 " Needless say, they do not leave, much of: the old Genesis. .The .following- conclusions ; of. ; ; Mr. Jellie; suggest, his-, general View-point,:—"Creation.is, not, an act ttnat, : took place 6000 -or, 6000.'miltions;,of years ago, and then leased.:; , Creation.is- a process still Eoinfc on."- : .>' Science forbids ; us to tniuK-.oi a-being, outside of creation, working oh things from-witlibut, ; bid to tHihk'.of-Him as-the Spint,;the Life,, the ; Soul, as.,itwere,of the luiiyerse, evenas aman's life , inheres, irihis body." .. "We learn; -.the mind of Go*-from;-: the "laws of the uni-versei-Vwhich.science'.unfolds."; • ' Under .this conception of for~:miracles.^ : : ; The-style-of tie addresses. is;popular;'ahoV.clear,. ■}.;■■ ;; /,.: ■ :;;';;' : v ; - -1 : .

"Jeanne of the.Marstts," by E. Phillips' Opponheim. London: TVard, Lock andCo Ltd. (S. and W. Mackay). 2s. 6d. and 3s. 6l ' ■

l 'jlr' vbqoks are always-inter-esting.' : and 'if ■!. in -this;" story •' he has: .a less. elaborate- plot than Usual, and: in; the/charactefif wfchV-lewer-■ strokes,;: nevertheless he' has tossed off a novel'that pan hardly-be laid .down till it is finished., it is the- very lightest;. workmanship., one's nerves 'areneyer. : "really;-:rufflod',by:tlie threatened tragedy, but the author has tho art or rush-, ing the- action Along. through tho:.: shortest possible chapters and with frequent:changes of :sceneV"so that ;the cud'"of every••incident is the 'starting.'point;of some, fresh interest, The Princess; of Sthirm is a lady of;bold btot shady character who keeps a precarious tootangin society, on account of her guardianship of a■•; reputed. heiress—"Jeanne' of'; . the Marshes." Her companion, Major Forrest, .isa coward :at■ heart/ who : lives by the profits of;society's card tables, till, in consequence of certain-indefinite suspicions,, gentlemen in London refuse to play-with him. Jeanne is a : pretty, girl 'of such unusual; naivete thatjit is hardly-adequately: explained by .the fact that she has just come out of aconvent/ lo recruit their, fortune's.Forrest and the •cess got them ! selves".and Jeanne.invited.to the country "home of Cecil.de la Borne, a fashionable and foolish , young man' whom they persuade, again somewhat incredibly, to ■ assist them in the project of-fleecing another visitor,' the; rich Lord .Ronald, Englcton, at cards. '•■ A passing' admiration .for : . Jeanne, is. the only /reason suggested for; inducing Cecil de" : Iα; Borne to' take .part 'in their.; scheme. But Engletpn , is less a fool .than the others think -ho -discovers Forrest and the Princess cheating,- and threatens; to denounce; Forrest all over London. Immediately thereafter Engleton mysteriously disappears, bein" shut up, it transpires, in an underground vault by the two : male confederates, ;wno are about to murder; him for tho safety of their\ reputations, when rescue comes' from an unexpected source. 'Relief is afforded from tho excitement of .these happenings by the story of Jeanne's love-making—for in her artless-, iiess -she does most of it—to- the strong,. simple 1 fisherman, who turns out to be the elder-brother of Cecil de. la denAuemont of-the story is rather disappointing, in that" tho three bad characters— the Princess is- ! as bad as. any—escape;,,. tar too lightly,, but Mr. .Opnenheim; paving' sustained the; interest of his tale thus,far, is evidently iiv an easy humour for the final baEes. Ho even leaves' Jeanne promised^to two suitors; ■ but •:the reader .knows .. -that somehow she will got nd.of'tho undeserving 0ne..",;;., : - ■'■■ ';•;■ : . ' ..,■■■•■.■'■■ '"'.:;■. ■•■■■•'■

"When a Woman Woos." By CSiarles Marriott. Bell's Indian and Colonial Library. 2s. 6d. (Whitcombo and Tombs.)

Mr Marriott writes good English; and in "When a Woman Woos" ho has. ? iven us a 'wcll-coristruot«d. story in which skilful artistry is combined : ; with a subtly-developed psy■choloincal: interest. Audrey Tregartban, tho woman who woos; is a da.ly govenipss ir. a North Devon watering placeiv VMien:;she meets Fielding, tie retired physician who

has coine down to Low Alston to find ponce enough to write a book, , it is on both sides a case of love at first sight, though neither is quito sure of it. The'obstacles which prevent the course of trao love running smooth ■are really the sensitive arid insistent, though. uncdnvciitiou.nl and rathersophisticatcd, consciences of these two.-, Their trials and struggles, which to less introspective people; would bo impossible, are narrated with a sorupuloiis fidelity to life. . Coarser matures also come' into the story, and havo just, enough prominence to servo as foils and to alternately thwart and promote the development of the main theme. And yet "men a Woman Woos" is scarcely pleasant reading. Tho seamy undcr-sido of Audrey's, home-lite is coldly, mercilessly revealed; and the ending, though it may bo . called nappy, is shadowed by possimism. With the knowledge of human nature which; Mr. Marriott has shown on every page, ho sureiy cannot stfpposo that Mrs. Tregarth.Ws habit of drinking whisky on tho sly could really have been tho thing that brought Audrey and Fielding together, and then kept them at ; arm s length and finally united them. 'Yet that is how the sequence of events is-interproted in the closing paragraph, Readers not .materialists or fatalists will think the story too true (in--the sense in which .all good faction is truo) to mean anything like that. "Sweot Isabel 'of Narragoon; ,, _By Lionel Greening's/Colonial Library, .. 6d. and 3s. 6d. (Whitcombe and tombs).. ~ ■ i The, reader is.' so convinced that, the author's name is a pseudonym that, it is natural to go further, and suspect Lionol Laggard of being a woman,: but the. desenp,tion of the heroine goes far to dispel that idea, and a paragraph on page 167 is conclusive.- There is a house-party, at a station/ and the'visitors give a concert, during ths first part of which sweet Isabel suffers some, mortification. "Duringv the ■ interval, (for refreshments) Isabel sought the privacy of. her own room, and there she wept but, after bathing her face, running her comb through her hair,' and arranging: the scarf she wore as,neatly as she could about her netfk, sho returned to the concert hall. <At that point the reader .puts down the.book and'says to all the world, "this.-is^ man. The'story is an interesting one,, but in tetyle,. and with occasional omissions of facts that are necessary to .explain the' plot, while the characters, are not sufficiently differentiated,'. Also,, as has been suggested the writer does ~not ; know anything aboutAhe subtleties of a woman's-nature, so sweet Isabel .remains ' .as.,- e; sketch,-rather than as a finished portrait. ; "The Thi-ee Brothers; ,, ;By Eden Phillpotts. Hiitchinson's iCbtonial Library. 2s. bd. '"■'■ (JVhiteombe and Tombs.). -■ _.. people' ,wili. regard ''The;' Three i Brothers" by Edo'n /Phillpotts as being one of,the best books he has yet given'them. -It -is , a simple country, story, of DevonsUire farming folk, the scenes being ad about.Dartmoor, and.the skill and' insight^with which everycliaracter., is drawn, so that they think, 'and feeland live before the reader as complete human beings, aie .very. fine. As tne title indicates, the story is chiefly .concerned with thecharactors r and- fortunes of three brothers—Vivian;- Baskemlle, ...the prosperous, obstinate, and /harrow; Nathan, good-natured, loved, and to by all: -the-village : people; and Humphrey, 'crusty, ■unhappy, disliked by all, yetmthe end the redeenTerof the family name and honour-.. The-brothers are by no: means young when, the 'story opens,- the grata* part of the r lives., having been already lived,, but the.r actions :in the; past;and the character* -they have evolved' prepare the way. for the .story that : follows. A leaven of Socialism is introduced into the book by Jack Hoad,;. a farm labourer, who is ready .' to argue with the clergyman .and anybody else, about .everythinf under the-sun, and who is continua ly Salising his as yet conservative and ,uuenlightened fellows. Very many chafacters are-brought into the book, and there is 'plenty of incident as well as humour, and tragedy. element, is not lacking, for two of the brothers have grown-up fami#4 whoso Affairs ;do not run smooth U by any means.' ' The Dartmoor, ire .very, fine,'-and as ,a'.character study the book is.well : reading. A :; ■.;';:■;,'. '. .;,,

, ; By. L. ,T. ■ "lleade. ■lionddh:: Ward,: Lock Co. 'r : &TeJ--'aiKl?Bs^ea.- < - (S.;and W; Mackay;). ' This isitSst; effort' of UrL.Meffi rover-' worked: imagination -is after , .the , style o^ her wnll-knownArimeful maga-^ne.stones, where beautiful women, and brave ingenious move ab6ut:.like puppets, forking out more, or plots. .The story of the necklace bestowed upon the noble Neapolitan house of Parmonabya king, carrying, with it all the luck of/the family, .and passing out df their hands through the malice of an :, old Duke who hates, his heir, and therefore wishes to destroy his luck, might serve for a short-magazine tale, but as; the plot tor a whole novel it requires a ; great deal ot paclr i dins, : and Mrs. Moade lias not. given ,it _the careiiil work that would make. it convincing, of the incidents' necessary to make it ttalling.'. The story concerns .a young English girl who is descended from the younger branch-of the Parmona family, : who. finds herself, on her twenty-first birthday, possessed of a magnificent diamond • ruby necklace, ! -.with ; a letter written long .before by her'dead mother," instructing her never to let the necklace pass out of. her possession, 1 and; above , all, never to let head of-their nobleJamily regain it. There is no earthly reason why the heirloom should 'he withheld from JheDuke, who is willing to pay its full value,- and the reader's , sympathies are all:'theHime with the people who try: to force the English ; girl to give their treasure up. a: very weak and futile.: conspiracy, the : girl is kidnapped,, but released on the- intervention of the leader of the Camorrista, who traps the, villain at the critical .moment by means of. a .preparation, of pitch plaster laid Across a'floor,where must pass, and then the story e.ndsivith a gentle little"tired sigh.'.;; • ' ' '-,