BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 936, 1 October 1910, Page 9

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

VERSES OLD AND NEW. AD EXTEEMAS TEXEBEAS. 'tAXji hear the lapping of. the-waves of (loath . •\;V V s ' In Stygian .wells,./'■."/• ■.;• I/ :-i'A ,I see the white-winged moths that bring the breath - . ■s ■ Of Asphodel; ;■" 'Yet if,;oh dread Aidoneiis, one like, me.' : . • May ask a boon, ■ v ';/:>-';/■ : . ii I pray, it may not ho I'ersephone •: .Who meets rue, soon.. .• . • \ - She doth but winter in thy realms,o Dis, . Not nest with, thee. ' •' V . v.: ■r - /Her regal mout.li still haunted by a kiss ■■ "Would weary me. But let there. meet me one, too poor for /A'./\ VV' scorn, '' . .' . /;/■''■"/ [ Dim-eyed and hoar, ■', /."'//'.',//■' • Wan as Demeter when sho sat forlorn V By-Celeus'dopr.. ../• ' : . \ : • .V- i And let Tiresias come, who, shrinking, ■ : knows . • - ' '• . • - A woman's heart, To guide ray feet /vliero Lethe coldest •■.V-'- I '.-.'. V '.-flows, .;' ; is- / /i.v. ■ ./'/A .*v And pitying yew.its.deepest covert grows;. Far oil,' apart; V-;..-,////: ,\ _i A,Vi;*."' ■■ ~/. ft-Annq in '"Mingled Willc/ J AFTEEi THE VISIT. C ■/,' Come again to. the'place Where • your. presence -was as a waft that skims ' f■''-t vji-.i ■, ■ : Down a drouthy way whose ascent' bedims: ■■■■>'■ ' •• . . Tho bloom'on the farer's face. ■! . '.' Come again, with the feet *. : ?Hi&t were .light on* tho lawn as a;;thistle* 1 down ball, ■'/v h'ii'£■■:.■ find those mute' ministrations to one ana, ;M': /•;/ -Y to: alii: Beyond the tongue's'saying sweet. .. .' Vv; • Until their the faint scent l :'Of?the? bordering', flowers;■ Swam-'unheeded' -.v '' ... And-I. mar'ied-.riot'thb charm in-. the , ; of. dayKS; : ;:r?i. v"- '"Pi i^the.cloud-shad6ws;came:and:Wentf - ": •.: i i,; t Tlirough the'.diisk corridors i . . . ' ypur "iwalk : ; was v so soundleEs I' did ; not Mi ' Jour forin' from a phantom's of long ago Said' tofglide'on'the ancient floors/ 1 «.■■: : Till-you drew from tho shade.., . iAnd 1 saw the'-great'/.luminous: living 'eyes ; 'fey' '4 'W' l : '- ' L .fixed: inquirink-wise,: ' .;. iy \ ;. • ' .jEven as thoso of .a soul that .weighed ■: Scarce' ■; :6f : \^|atiLife-wa.s,^^ ; wo were there. j'and :what . 6ad • ' i-.. strange.,laws..." i• V ppectator." .

i, , ' RINK AND, PILE. \y'Ki taps!;'/Whoisifcmarcli- . •' Marching past in the night? /All, liari, 'Svj£;■ l!f .. Draw • your . curtains aside. ;and .see :'*;';, '.Endless ranks, of the. stars o'er-arching & ranks : 6f ; anUrmy ijmarchirig; s -:. :•. Marching-out of the "undress, dark, .' ~' .• y; \ Marching, aivay to Eternity.... .'-. : <: Count as they pass, their hundreds, thou":.v siandk; : w Millions marching away to a doom •. ' Younger -than' London,'' older 'than ' A Drum-taps,. drum-tap's, • .where, arc'..they marching— '^/S^Ec^feehtsitnation^^einpirevVinOTch.ih^S' J\.>vv< t'omlj;Vr'\li- ■ ■■■'■ . pooni.ed .'or 'eV^rftheyA'BJirabgrfepm^iiB 1 . i ' yv vV^ ; ■' ; ;t6yslby e 'tbkehs % i' y ?~ls' "it a •j(jst i for~a"Gbd''tb'"pla'y?.' : 'f'. :;MSWfcose:isvthe : jest'bffthese:millions:marcii- : if': HJ? ; 3- iihg/ 1 ■~U ; 'i to^ljbye-fßkehs;; ifSccretly,trying, lometimes, to pray.;.;. ■ ; 'ages^ r : . A; .'? J . ''-:'Marching out of, the EndlG s s'. coliVmns-' of unlcnoVn men, . ' i".-Endless ranks of the-.stars o'er-'arclung '-$v j!^- army *'marching:^,:; ••^ ; i'. !:V?' :f ; t' : 0 ,\* ' :../• . jMarching. steadily ;iioiy-as theii. : !'•. ! —Alfred Noyes, in •"The , Enchanted ;'. 1 . ' •-Island;;and!Other Poems';"■ "V t

* A SONNET. ■• ' Siirgon .is dead; Semiramis a : cloe! • ..' Y •'. • .V. In-crypts profaned the moon at : i-ild-'£-S^/''; ;/.rfifjfit ipeers '4 S/Sv^.S'-i.TheApwli'.upoii^the^ ; ; t/g/ f j':.:;:-;;:'' r ;ears, ; 'v',; vVr-:-7';/ desert; :;/ -; : - ' /Where;once. tKG /arinics o£ : Assyria".trod,/ ; V ' With/younger sunlight splendid on tho / . .'. ,'spears,,-,/>'; , ' : v-'' '/j/-, -'-/ r/^-vn/^sThe^lfcheiis::cling; the^eloser/,''witli ''the.'/vvV; ;years,' : i ■ And seal, the eyelids of' the weary god, ; f ■;!5 -,- Where high : the ' tombs /of /royal - Egj r pi ; }i■://:;.;V'; o heave, ;'/ ';' ;U/a-'Ar:; '■■■.■ :■: :■ :/u t: : ./' '; /; The -vulture shadows, ■' 'with /arrestedv:;?zz/':',::wings': v' J.v ;;;-■;-/ ;/j,dr'+i,' " i/'i As: Arab, children hear'their mother's cry ;.'j Vi-Jvo;^;^ 1 //. . And 'leavo 'infipbdcery'i-.th^i'.rtc^^^ ' : l' leave ' ! :- 1 : ,'gjjv : ;.-% ; ' 'f-iv.i'jv . : - The Bkull of Pharaoh 'starmg :at -Ztha

• '>.'• ' Stirlirig_ in "Tho Younger < FAMILIAR OPENINGS, ■: A refill V study-; 6f icq^mpbraryvfici'' . vtaon has rßvealcd; to'rao 'tlso fact'that ; / there:' are' -six 'recognised .mi3thbds '.of [:;■ .opeiiing.- i.Tbo: six are"these ]' ' .; The.;; modern i Society ,' '. : : . 2. Tho John Driveller; or 'testament-- ■;;; 3. Tho local colour . opening. . ■ ■ • v. .4. Tile detective. opening.- v' . ;:... :< ; v';V',s. Tho,• peaceful 'country .house'••openJ ' -6. 1 The. spirited,; or Giidzooks, openvGn - • •v/ ■ i.-- 1 h V-' '/--' . 'To makojny.. meaning clcar, I will givo ■a; short inst-anco ;'of. each style.' • ••' The Modern Society Opening. , . •• '"Certainly not," slio'. said;; putting 1 . . up her sunshade with an air of do./•'cision..; ■ "Hotiae,' John. ; ; . And before 1 could say a word,' that ; - . ass John had started his horses, and I .was left on the pavement' alone. Tho .people all • seemed to ho staring jand sniggenng, .so I hailed a .passing: taxi : >.\ and went -to. the club. to. think-it over. sec, Cynt-hia and.. I had been , moro or: less engaged, for ' over. a * year, • '. only ■ sho ,called it: "an'. understanding," •'• and said 1 wasn't to tell anybody un- ; : ' ■ : til I was: making at'least £200 a year .. yat the Bar, Wiich , seoms" rot' when;"a '. 1 felloivjs got £2000 a year anyway. '.However, one can't argue .with Cvnthia,- because she simply smiles,;;and then a'dimple comes, and then you'ro done. [}■ And as for arguing• with Cynthia's ' mother, Lady' Crowborough, I would ;; i'V. as' soon argue. with. the Sphinx or play ; \. u concertina in Bond Street. : . Still, -to snap out "Certainly not" .I'/' leoms. a ..bit, rough, .'.when . all I'd said .'."ji-etc.*i, - : . The .John Driveller, or Testamentary, Opening. I, John Driveller, of St. Mary Pip- *;. lington, in tlie County Of Devon, Yeo- ; being -liow -in my eighty-second year, would fain mako clear, while yet t-hore is. time, thoso strange ;■ events .; v;.:* • ,which'Jbofell.mo.in-the days when George *vas- King. . . 1 hayo littlo skill in tho. use of words, . . ond my haud-s arc moro accustomed to

.ho sword 'than . the poii; but...if:"you vould havo ja plain, story/of; stirring leeds and of: the love of 'a■ lad .for a ass : . And hero my .dpaivwife looks over my ihoulder, and playfully says she must lolp mo when .1 c.om'6 to : speak of these natter's—matters in' which she played ;o.bravo a part. . . . 'Tis hard to reaiso that ; sixty years have passed since irst. wo uioti it seems but 'yesterday, ind yet , to-day . our grandchildren aro swarming liko \\bce&vin.. tlie orchard, strange, strange!. : . ~,But. to our; muttons,• asi.tho French, —a curious' people—say. Well,' .you .must know?..l was 'born . etc/ Tho Local Colour ;:Market v day in Mudford. A'steady downpour.of rain had' given tho High Street : an appearance highly suggestive, of tho-proprioty of tho lianio of>. Mudford. A cold persistent rain, that ran swiftly do.wii,.tho gutters ,of the sloping old street, and in ..thin and tortuous 'trickle's .-through the .cobblestones. A , rain that made .everyone miserable except the landlord of tho Green Pig, .who did : thriving; trade in hot rum. . : the crowd of farmers!'and drovers- in the bar-parlour . sat:-'a' man of v a "different .stamp.'A lectual man in well-fitting clothes of another ;cut ..thanMudford's. Mr. Claude de Crespigny;; the .hew .tenant .of. Mudford Hall ... .j ctc. The Detectivo Opening. My '■ friend Mi-. 'Henry. : Trapper,"the world-famous detective, loaned back in his armchair andpuffed luxuriously at liis'/disreputable clay, pipe. " Outside, tho rain beat on tho window-panes and the wind", howled. 'dismally''in. ■" ihe •' chimneypots. •••'.v- . V i:' -. ; ' -• I .'put another lump of coal .on the fire,' and said cheerfully, "It's r.ot. a fit. night;for..eybn'a dog- to bo out." . • '.'Neverthelessi";. he replied, ."a :dog. is; out,; if ;'I mistake; hot,-is ;on'.his. way here even now. A sad dog, with •.red-hair and a;'smell! bfriwhisky.rVy ! ! v :"irapper,l-V , "^.;''l- ; .vsaid--'.;'.involunteriiy l .' ','tliLs is really too much. Yo.ii aro making fun ot mo 1 • .How on earth.can' you ;know;--.'-;:.y;'',\;;, : ;' ; ;;.'.■.■H'.-'. '•That he comcs from. Putney to tell us about'Vthe'ijmysterious; murder, of a middle-aged! Aiiglo-Indiaii colonel ,at.the remote': village- of: Slushinston? Tut, : .. "irfif - "dcarJ'.-fellciTC i :"-'tlie thing ';.is 'sini-t plieity itself. ... Rut hero comes j\lr. him "tell

The door opened,' and a wet, (lis? heyelled' creature, : lyitH red hair - and a' strong smell of - whisky, entered the : room-etc:- ; (■;<W; ; :; V-

Tho ■ Peaceful Country House: Opening, /-Ther/bld,flagged .To>ver6; .was/'jbatlied;; in . the'-/warms'iuL of a-glorious afternoon in late Sept-em-' ber. \ Nbtliing stirred in the shimmer: :iug heat'save. a' big St. Bernard, who. 'snapped', lazily^.and grunt at a passing fly. '! , Frein.t-he terrace onq byer an-oid-wbrld''garden,.'gay.:'.with .roses and hollyhocks, sunflowers and larkspurs, a riot'of colour and autumnal beauty. To 'tho\left lay'. the their, fruit-trees bowed down .with- a generous ■ harvest. .;:;v T6X'the VHghtY : t-he Kitchen-' gardens flanked by tlie tall sheltering 'waU of the stables. Between tlieni trim sloping .lawns 'stretched;; away. 'in i the'"diskhc3 ; : : tb' t tho' banks of the river, and far beyond rose, tho linb.'of tho; hills.* - ; In a". hammock./ by .'the river's bank, ybuiig-zgirKwith" a jbbok. .Tlio', • < branches-/! of '• thfevl^ch/'touplied-. her ;hair. with a soft; caressVi; ■' The Spirited; or Cadzooks, Opening. > "Marked cards!"• ;; .v. The - cry rang? jhrough/.the.! crowded ■ room, ,'arifi/ was / succeeded: by ;a' / silence' ' Instead there fell the hand vof . Mjv Lord /Rochester—across the input-li-. of scene Chairs .were, overturned, and cards : iand dide/'srodi3ens:uuderfbb^^^^ iable.vthrong.'of to' get a''glimpso'of-'the combatants. • -Rochester,^ coolest man in. the room. With a. careless'- sniile arid an easy grace lie took off! his; p'ale^lti©r.:sStin^. i iC>oftt\ :: speck o'f dustWroml'.tKeiM : which ' hung : over ;.liis ■■ feltV the/ ■femper/bf/his "bjaide,- arid,-;bpiyirig ; cburU; ebusly 'to:; his 'enemy; V'A-voire!/ Monsieur le' Marquis;'V said /lie;; j:-V ) .Now the 'Marquis.'do' Chataiuhcuf du. Pape://was 'notoriously; 'best';' swpi'd thatVliad como out of Franco theso ■ many years.'. ;/.i; '.■>), .■ ■;?;a?/ ;;Y; 'IV /Iwrite neither'iii sorrow rior in anger, 'muclv.leMMni/.sarcasm, a :yile ..haljit'.bf. a&seem v to ! > imei'yery'gbod .bpehingsVt'and; if. J 'could,!. 'liAvouldy write: cheerfully, . ; long ; ,arid ';'stic-; ;cessM:*6tories'. ; inj them;Vfor •■large'; pms: of;mpney/vtbjpub-l lishors 'and t proprietors of papers.". : vf/As' that'' is; beyond me,' I > can only'call:: ; to ,perhapsT-whb.'.'knbwsS—guide the 'Steps' : of. the novice into the way of .. gold;—; «E.W.H., in the "Westminster Gazette."

PEDESTALS AND THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE. •

;-Mr;'Briindor /■Mat'tHews'.' V (says r.the, Nqw York 'is a little ill' at' , of Jolm Itus;kinj:;Thymai:Carlyle,; and; jolin-i ' oiipy farejiiot, claims upon our admiration, ilodestly,. however, Mr. .Matthews', refrains from la'ying- ,: .about;:him ;withVany-'assuniption : of ' authority; .Writing ' Century TMag'dzino'J.; lie;.- shelters'.' himself; behind .."Thef,Devil's;..Advocate":: .'and ;^merely to 'whatythat functionary may ; say fa bout the three ■writers';;-in. .question'/.when 'he settles down-;.t(>'.-. his; inevitable: task, v And ";yet, is it;' really inevitable ?: 'Mr. i Matthews! is right, of course,' in asserting that I'in'.'every ;gerierati#','w6- have to .revise th'GV.verdio'ts, rendered by tho generations. that ivent'. before," and; it-is surely worth while to : ask,"jiow : :and : theiij l ; "whether '-certain:' -writers are in very truth entitled to b'o termed great." But ; if: is :.also .worth. ; while, .when'.you:.enibark upon-am iconoclastic '.campaign,';"-to niake yourself , very' well acquainted not only with : the. idols you propose to, smash but-with the ; actual state of opinion about them. Wo-won-der, if.'Mr. Matthews 'lias quite prepared himself ; on.'either point.. ■ lie is troubled about ltuskin's contributions 1 to' the: theory of; tho ;fine arts."It is perhaps' scarcely too much: to say," ho remarks, "that'thoso wlio'.are most intimately^acquainted -with these subjects', hold ; that, although . Rusldn could talk-beautifully, lie'did not;know what ho .'was talking, about." Is Mr. Matthews quite 1 sure that "those who are :most::intimately ; - acquainted with these-subjects" always know'.what they are talking'about when they speak-, of -Buskin with ■contempt?; Has 'ho in- ' quired as to. whether., tlie.-painter ivhose education lias stopped at the frequcnta-* tion of half a dozen masters of technique is prepared to estimate Ruskin without prejudice, or, indeed, to estimate him at all? The Devil's Advocate, we arc told,' "could read / to the court many a passage from Ruskin's writings which would prove that.be had very bad manners." We do not doubt it. But while we hold no; brief for Ruskin and are, in fact, fully/aware of the crushing charges that .could fairly be. brought against him, submit that the only rational . way.!'to' get at : his essential value is to test, not his manners, but his ideas. Mjr Matthews docs not con- | vev the impression that , he has pati[ently examined and sifted these. ■ Ho

! may-, be quite right iii suspecting that Ruslciiv is not'immortal—wo , are. liot arguing that pciint—but even in a.-brief magazine article the men who is drawing .up a : brief for. tho Dovil's 'Advocate ; to use ought' to put into-it more evideneo than wo can discover in this one.

' It is the sanio with Mr. Matthew's indictment of Carlj-10. It is-all very well to recall that •individual's "unforgivably contemptible": reference to the small traits that ho possessed, liis insolence and so on, but we want sonVothing ; more than that, we want a searching analysis of liis work.' 'Again ive: aro quite unmoved' by Mr... Matthews's observation that tho works of Johnson remain also unread except by special • students.'. Everybody has known, that for a long time—though ,wo may note, by the way, that those' special students find quito enough good stuff in the works aforesaid to place a higher value upon:tlieni than Mr.'Matiliows 'would .attribute to them. : But the. crucial flaw in this promising but, on. the whole, .curiously ineffective es--say, lies in the fact that it assails, the: lvrbng' idols.. ThevDevills'. Advocate is scarcely needed where Ruskui, Carlyle, and Johnson are concerned, 'for the ■very;simple reason there are hero; worshippers kneeling' blindly, .before'the three, tho world at large is 'not by any means in a state of ignorance.as"regards any'one member of the group.; > Criticism has '■..-be'eh: .busy f for years over these cases,, and-lie must be' ■an exceedingly naive reader who goes through his Ruskin . or his Carlyle . making no reservation' or turns .from Boswell; 'to - Johnson's own writings without knowing just what he is going to. miss. Mr, Matthews quotes the saying:of Nisard, '.'We. must.measure the .glory ,of; authorsby . the.. number, .of those who, benefit.by their worksj" and then goes on to say,:"lf iwe l apply this measurement to Johnson, his felory. is. seen to be miserably diminished,, since an "author's works can . benefit: 'only thoselby whom thejrare read. l "'■■;' SVe 'wonder, if anybody- in the world, - save Mr;;. Matthews, has ! ever - thought, or would ; ever think, of■'/applying . this measurement to , the . glory ' of. Samuel • Johnson? Who has ever dreamed of ,confusing./IWsw'ell's . Johnson', with:'the Johnson of the. "Works" ?

MARGINAL CO|WPANIONSHIP" •:• A' writer in tile "Saturday. Review'' contributes:: a'' 'delightful' : articlo ; on -."Marginal .Companionship; He argue» .thaV-some ;eighty..'years ago- readers' of fiction practised' much. more. freely' .than. readers of. "to-day the habit of marginal comment,-with tho result that one.wlib rpicks up .a novol or ' that time oil a ' bookstall';.finds'himself.---'as'- ofton. as' not accompanied as, hff reads ;by' an: invisible cbinpariion J. who T freely id. expresses his opinions, on the matters under discus- ■ Sion.' .: "It;,is'good -to'read,these:-books,■! he:: says, only;. ; for 'the ; sake ;of' tho .marginal companionship. :,To. the; brflihOTy .excitement of : reading .there is,added' the more rare exoiten tof being, ablo .compare■ impressions, with ; earlier. aav. venturers.- on - the saihe- journey I''' The f^i.9!°:',(®o^ :'an adrhiringrcritic). Sis':; top.,brief .for its '.excellence/ and the ' 'sugge'stiyenass of -its'title,' and the writer might"' have >. indicated' that;. failing bbojc/annotatbd by-another, ; bne"whb has ■ way of .reading.;^withVa; pen-' cil in his hand, has years after, as ho rereads' his bopks,' tho invisible companionship of himself. People . havo sometimes' contended fori the> practice: of boak-niarkiiig on -the ground of, its -utilitylt ■' furnishes ■ you!. : with: a ; : meiiiin of your.'mental;; "/progress. Xou find that a passage that you. have'' 1 oiice; marked' as seeming. to you singularly \yise or b'daiitiful er:;:it:'is,lMcausß l "youi;'mirid-.has;wiiJened : br ybur literary;, judgment improved, so. ■|"at ,each: peiics]»mark''is a milesteno you;' .haye^'passed.Tliat .may bo-, guito.'.truei •but. a 'better argument is tho pppbrtiin-' ;pr'actioe.-sives-olrl - improssion s. . ;Sbmbv;of: :thb 'iir.pres■s.ion's :a bbbk. makes can, of course, never be'Toviveu.. -.Those are the "thrills" 's}?^?/•''-i fyjonilW qaii'-'oiioi .shipri^oKof/ftt'he'i^vepbTt'^of, ■Carver /Jheraltsir;-! bf;p^ie;;;;:gnmv;."sati^ lawttkeiied/by: the.^-'la;st;; sfenWri&o'fiyjujdo-t ''She's. never; fburidipeabe' '?™bb : she left'..bis/arms, . and.;;rieVer':.wiir: again; till shojs<as..';he 1 is/. nowV" If i'SucK . pase^afe/,exc^tioii^ ; : ;bld' passions .and ' emotions.- and ;ainbitioris and' ideals which, like . withered :'-roso. petals, lie compressed, whercour pencil.marks'indicate' betweon. 'tli© Vpages.'of' our . old volumes, require to'.be brooded ;a- little and v a- (ghostly, eimu-. lacr'um of 'them '/ reawakenSi'/witliin-/us. • '-'Tile Magus ■ Zoroaster," .' Shelley . tcl'.s •-us;: "met himself walknig .in. the gardenaiid/it- is ourselves /that we i meet jvalking ;ihe tlie'.books. 'read long ago'. : Moreover,- it. is : a-.subtle;:self. ; that we nicet that-'.we C4n .else. It- is/th'o experiences' ■ of\,b ( ur : outer; selves: that .'we record : !h, /PPff'arid-ink 'inVoiiEjdiri'riesi'-./bji'tjiere^o^ • P® 1 ?: 'ctitildv'ex pre s's'J ' ; ehcefcwhiph': havef^their;/' visible nature, the.• fluctuations/'bf'-feel-; .of-thevheart. ..It ,is,a/sc]f .of-'ioi!g-. ago, we ";can''.cpritemplatb''/it|^^^^ ■i#t;yp.e; smile: at; its. i)iexperience!,andjcredi; : slit,y/!-its / deadly timo has. taught • us '. to':, understand as /trifles,:, and Utsv; ab'surd:Vaspiratibhs,y,Vbt': ■W6'i<retainenough of-'fellow-'fcelingifor ; what ; wo once; .werp to ;'* .cbmpa-ssibhate .OTU'sdyeS;';tpr //eyen^/Zbonceiye^ of that ;far : from 'tragic sadness 1 .which j :j ;-■.••■ Givel'-'mjaLthe' sua?that^shoheri/S'i!-' /-\ i.J Give.'./mb. : ;the/eyes,Ygiw^m4 ; ;the^ :• ;. .Givo.,me; the.; lad vthafs>gbneV;'