LIBER'S NOTE BOOK.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1782, 21 June 1913, Page 9

LIBER'S NOTE BOOK.

Concerning "D& Profundis." t Apropos to Oscar Wilde, about whom, an tigly spectral figure best left, in his personality at least, unresurrected, we are hearing so much just now, I notice that a contemporary alludes to the famous "Ballad of Reading Gaol" as that "poignant outpouring in a prison cell." As a matter of fact, Wilde wrote "The Ballad of Heading Gaol" some time after, his release from tho hideous place where iWith slouch and swing aruond the ring • .We trod tho Fools' Parade! •As for the manuscript 'of Jundis," of which that dreadful- person, Lord Alfred Douglas, claims tho sole possession, what Willie's truly loyal friend and literary executor, Robert Ross, has to say, in his prefaco'to" the Methuen, the only correct edition of the work. may. be of interest this week. After stating that the title, "Do Profundis" is his, Boss's own, and not Wilde's at all, he continues:—

Certain people (amongst others a. well-known Frenoh writer) have paid me the compliment of suggesting that the text was an entire forgery by my-'.' . self, or a cento of Wilde's letters to myself. Were I capable either of tho requisite art, or the requisite friend, I should' have made a name in litera- ' ture ere this. I need say. here only that "De Profundis" is a manuscript ;of eighty olose-written 'pages, on twenty folio .sheets; that it is cast in . the form of a letter to a friend, not myself; that it was written at inter- . fals during, the last six months of the . author's imprisonment, on blue stampprison foolscap papeT. Reference to . it and directions in regard to it occur in tho letters addressed to myself, and . printed in this volume. Wilde handed ! me the document on tho day of his ■ release; ho was not allowed to send .it • to me from-prison. • With the excep- ■ tion 'of Major Nelson, then Governor ,'of Beading Gaol, myself, and a confidential typewriter, no one has read the whole of it. Contrary to a general impression, it contains nothing scan- -' dalous'. There is no definite scheme or plan in the work; as he proceeded, the writer's intention too obviously . and constantly changed; it is desultory; a large portion of it is taken up .with business and private matters of 110 interest whatever. Tho imanusoript ■ has, however, been seen and.authenticated by yourself ■ (Dr. Max Mey.erfield, to whom Mr. Ross dedicated the volu trie),-Mr. Methuen,- and Mr. Hamilton Fyffe, when .editor of. the "Daily Mirror," where a leaf of it was facsimiled. • Wherein- the complete manuscript in the. British Museum, the manuscript which lord Alfred Douglas asserts'is.-his'pro-perty,- differs from the published "De Profundis," I am, of course, unable to say, but. in view of what I have, reproiluced' from Mr, Ross's introduction,' I would hazard the suggestion that he, Mr. Ross, omitted "the business and private matters,"'and that Mr. RansomeVwhom Lord Alfred sued' for libel, has, somehow managed to "nose out" some references to th© indignant peer" how figuring in the Bankruptcy Court., jj'Artagnan in Verse. Who that has read "The ThTee Musketeers"—and who has not?—but will remember the gallant' Gascon, D'Aitagnan, Dumas' most popular hero, tho principal fijpre in'what I 'shall .always consider, ■with the one exception of "Tho Cloister and the Hearth," the finest historical Iromahce that tho world has yet known? SVell, our old friend of the gailant heart, the romance-laden soul—ana the ready rapier!—has now turned up in verse, for in a collection of poems; "The Gallant Way," by Mr. Frank Taylor '(Murray, !!s. 6d:)» there are some stirring stanzas entitled "At Maes£richt." It was .at Maestricht, so readers of "Tho Viscount of Bragelonne" (the last of the D'Artagnan' trilogy), that Dumas' famous heTo met his end, just as he had received the baton of a Marshal of France. Mr.-Tay-lor's verses run:—

I/ifeguards of England, Musketeers of France, •D'Artagnan, Monmouth, Churchill, 6ide by side, ■' ' • Oh, the brave fellowship, the foul mischance ! ! : Tread softly "here, for here D'Artagnan died. if you have thrilled' beneath a woman's touch. Jf youi have told the truth, if you havo lied, '• Jf you have loved too many or too muchTread softly here, for here. D'Artagnan died. • Jf you have freely squandered,' feasted, • quaffed,': ' Marched, starved, and fought with comrades true and tried, • If you have looked death in ,the eyes, and laughed—' Tread softly here, for' here D'Artagnan ■died. pjovers of love, and lovers of good wine, . Great fighters all, great ladies in your pride, ' &11 dreamers of delicious dreams and fine 1 - ' ; Tread softly here, for here D'Artagnan died. pome Wagner Literature, The centenary of Richard .Wagner's birth, -which occurred last month, was to be celebrated by o considerable outpour-1 ing of new critical and biographical literature having for its subject the famous German cOmposar and his work. Bents announced a new story of 'Wagner, BS Man and Artist," by Ernest Newman. Beljs were to publish a biography by John Runciman, the musical,critic of the "Saturday Review"; whilst a third work, to be published by Everett and Co., was to be entitled "The Master Works of Richard Wagner; a Study of their Plot?, Sources, Legendary Sources, and Musical Characteristics." The author is Mr. G. D. Cribble. Wagner's letters, published a year or two ago, display the famous Master of •what) in "Libers" young days, used to be called "The Music of tho Future," iu a .very unpleasant light, especially with regard to his relations with the fair s6x. jWhat I believe the devoted Wagnerian regards as the most authoritative and exhaustive work "The Master" is that by Mr. Chamberlain, an Englishman, long resident in Germany, lluneke, the clever American musical and art critic, has a fine fctudy of . Wagner iu one of his volumes of collected essays. Waterloo Once More. ' "Everyman," Messrs. Dent's weekly periodical, is improving, although I notice the editor seems to allot an unduly largo amount of space to the discussion of topics better dealt with in a daily journal. As against this, there are many excellent articles on literary subjects.'. A specially good feature is a weekly article on some literary masterpiece. To a .recent issue,'clever Hilairo Belloc has. contributed ono of his inimitable. battlesketches, in this instance Waterloo. Even "had tho Anglo-Dutch . line been broken before the Prusians came up," says Mr. Belloc, he thinks Napoleon would havo reached Brussels, ind tho Prussians • would have retired upon Cologne. But, adds Mr. Belloc:— The forces converging upon France ' were far too considerable to. have permitted Napoleon any enduring suc--cess. Ho would, I think, quite certainly have been beaten in somo final manner within a very few months of • 1 the occupation of Brussels; nor do I think that he could possibly have re- '. covered during the short intervening space of time tho prestige 1 which the retreat from Russia, tho destruction of tho Grand Army, and the catastrophe of Leipzig had ruined for ever.

Some Magazines. Mr. Walter West is best known to art lovers as a figure and 'genre painter, but "} the April' "Studio" (London, "The studio Office), the well-known English critic, Alexander Finberg, introduces us "> •i" West's landscapo painting. The article is profusely illustrated. Henri irantz discusses the work of the great French caricaturist, Daumier, the predecessor of Gavarni, and one of the strongest figure draughtsmen i'rance has ever produced. An article of special interest to New Zealand art lovers is that by William Moore on _ "The Public Art Galleries of Australia." Mr. Moore gives <i most interesting account of the splendid art treasures already to be found, young as is Australia, as a in the public galleries of Melbourne, Sydney, and other great centres.. Evidently, from what he has to say on this subject, there is much difference of opinion in Australia as to the best means of selecting pictures for public galleries. The article is liberally illustrated, and is both'informative and critical. Mr. P. N. Boxer contributes some fascinating pencil sketches of Old Eye, that most picturesque of tiio "dead" ports of the British south coast, and those who remember tho clever, if somewhat bizarre work of Miss Annie French, as shown at the Baillie Exhibition last year, will be interested "n tho reproductions, in-"Studio Talk from Glasgow," of two recent and most delightful drawings by this artiste "Studio Talk" is essentially cosmopolitan this month, for the pages devoted to this most useful and interesting department includes contributions fronl not only London and Glasgow, but Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Copenhagen; and Philadelphia. The supplemental plates include reproductions of paintings and drawings by J. Walter West, Averil M. Burleigh, E. Anning Bell; and Hede Von Trapp. Somo of these are in colour. "The Studio" is always a delightful periodical for an art lover to run through, but the number betoro me Is specially interesting. , I am glad to see that local booksellers are stocking this fino magazine, hitherto only procurable by order.

In the June "Windsor" (Ward,- Lock, and -Co., -per S. and W. Mackay) the place of honour is accorded to the fifth of a series of beautifully illustrated articles, by Austin, Chester, dealing with the pictures in the Chantroy Bequest Collection. Another excellent feature is a pictorial and literary souvenir of this year's Shakespearean Festival at Stratford-on-Avon. Fiction, by Halliwell S'utcliffe,, Justin Miles Forman, the late Robert Barr, Edwin- Fugli, and others, an excellent article on "Ostrich Farming." and a most amusing collection of schoolboy "Howlers," contribute, with other features, to make up an unusually strong number of this deservedly popular monthly.

• A wonderful sixpennyworth of entertaining reading is Cassell's Magazine'of I'ic--1 tion, the Slay-June number of which reached mo per Messrs. S. and W. Mackay. The publishers claim that Cassell's is now the largest magazine in the world at the price. The current issue contains a- complete long novel b.r Charles Roberts and a bewildering wealth, of short complete stories by popular authors. l"Tho Girls' Realm, is an ideal-- monthly; fo'r.'fintelligcnt ;j;irlS. •In the' current issue of 1 tliis magazine Miss Dorothea Moore commences a now serial story, and apart from its fiction, all essentially anil laudably wholesome, there is a wealth of articles on household, dress, and cookery matters, outside the purely literary and topical contributions. The illustrations are excellent and the only fault I have to ' find with this admirable publication is that certain pages of literary matter are "backed" by advertisements. Stray Leaves. [ Two corrections—Oppenheim's new novel is entitled "The Temptation of Tavernalce," not "Tantallion," as stated last week." Also I thank a correspondent for reminding mo that Hall Caine wrote Ilie Christian," and that "Tho Master Christian" was written, not by the lord of Greeba Castle, but by Miss Mario Corelli. * \ Mr. G. M. Trevelyan's new "Life of John Uright was to be pnblished early this month by Constables. It should-'be tho biography of the season, and will havo a large sale in the Old Country. To many Englishmen, Liberals of the old school, fright isl still a greater name than even that of Gladstone. Talking about political biographies I see that the third volume of the monumental Life of Disraeli, tho first two volumes of which woro written by the late Mr. Moneypenney, is not likely to bo pub-lished-until well on into, the next English .winter The work is now in the hands of Mr. L. C. Amery. I found Mr. Moneypenny's volumes of quite an absorbing interest, for tho ■biographer, while.not forgetting the great part played by "Dizzy" in the political woi\d, took, immenso pains, and witli striking success, to show, 11s "Dizzy" the man. It is to be hoped,that Mr. Amery who is, I believe, much more of a politician than, was Mr. Moneypenney, will follow his predecessor's example, and giv* us the real "Dizzy"—"warts and all." Mr. A. C. Benson's literary activity Is something quite astonishing.. Only a week or two ago I was chatting about a volume of charming essavs, "Along the Road," by this author, and now I notice that Murray has published yet another volume of essays from Mr. Benson's prolific pen. The title is "Joyous Gard." The book recommends "n studied quietness and a cheerful serenity of life"—a most excellent gospel, but somewhat difficult to practise in these hurry-scurrying Such is tho verdict of an English reviewer, / Katharine Tynan, whose latest story, "Mrs. Pratt, of Paradise Farm," I hope t:> renew' in these columns next week, lias completed a volume qf reminiscences, in which it is said the subject of Home Rule bulks largely. Miss Tynan must: certainly be accounted a. most industrious writer, for sincio 18S5 she is credited with having produced no fewer than sixty works of various kinds, mostly fiction.

"The Times" describes John Masefield's new long narrative poem, curiously entitled "Bauber," as "an attempt to combine the excellences of 'The Ancient Mariner' with those of Mr. Conrad's 'Typhoon.'" The poem, liko the nnwfamous "Widow in Bye Street," first appeared in "The English Review."

First editions of Masefield'B earlier poems and prose skotche3 are, I notice, coming into demand, and prices are going up. Precisely why the first edition of a poem of comparatively recent publication should 1)3 of any creater value than a later edition, I really don't.know. There is no accounting for certain bibliop'hilic crazes. .Whero a first edition contains passages not included in a lato edition, or ,a different set of illustrations, ono can understand tho desire to possess an author's work as Re first desired it to be presented. But when the last edition is in print, binding, andactuul literary contents exactly .similar to the first'edition, why should- tho former go up to a high price?

A correspondent, "Biblon," wants to know about what time tho lon.<; or "f"-lik« "a" disappeared from 'British books. About the beginning of tho last'century, I should say, but I havo 110 suthoritativo information ' oii tho subject. ' Can any reader oblige*

"How to Listen to an Orchestra," by Anne W. Patterson, Mus. Doe. (Hutchinis',, the latest book to appeal to music-lovers:'. Some of us havo often longed for a book entitled "How to Kill nn Orchestra." Not, of course, in Weilinston, I hasten to. fidd,

SOME RECENT FICTION. . THE WEAKER VESSEL. Mr. E. F. Benson's latest novel, "Tho U eakcr Vessel" (London, Win. Ileinenianii; per George Kobertson and Co.) is finite the best piece of work wo have had from his pen for some time past. It is a happy combination of the novel psychological, and the novel which is purely a love story. Also, it is a singularly clever study in contrasts, for the heroine, the daughter of a country parson, marries a rising young playwright and is forthwith transported into a Bohemian environment in London. Not only does. Eleanor Ramsden marry a playwright, but she herself goes 011 the stage anfl makes a decided hit as the heroine of Ibsen's "Rat Wife." Here, indeed, is a c'hango from tho peaceful, sober-sided atmosphere of the country vicarage. Eleanor's husband, Harry Whittaker, is a successful playwright, "but tho trouble is that he is the son of n drunken father, and so curiously constituted is his brain that ho is capable only of his best work v,hen fortified by all-too-numerous nips of whisky. The literary man who "writes on whisky," is by no means so uncommon in England, where people are apt to turn up their noses in virtuous contempt for the absinthe-evoked Muse of the wicked Frenchman—as is- too often imagined. And Harry Whittaker is certainly a very awful ixample of his class. For a few months his wife is ignorant of tho sad truth. When the shock of discovery comes she behaves very nobly. Her love for the "weaker vessel" becomes quite maternal, her sacrifices almost heroic; for to drunkenness the tippling author adds, alas, infidelity. Here again, comes a fine study in contrasts, for Marian . Anstruther, the Juno-like actress, is a selfish, purely sensual animal, as unlike physically, mentally, and morally, the long-suffering wife, as could well be imagined. Exactly how Harry Whittaker is redeemed from his specia'l curse, and how the good woman triumphs over her rival I must not tell you. I want my readers -to find out for themselves how Mr. Benson manages to give his "weaker vessel" some reasonable semblance of permanent strength. Feminine readers mofy consider that Eleanor forgives and forgets too .easily, but hers is a beautiful character, one in which there is a true spirituality, hardly to have been expected to ripen in the Bohemian surroundings of Whittaker's London fiat and the coulisses of the theatre. Mr. Benson's pictures of the country vicarage are, of |'course, coming as they do from an author who has enjoyed such special advantages for studying the clerical life, brightly drawn, and, for the most part, convincing. Eleanor's father is a distinctly lovable old gentleman, but in her .stepmother, Mr. Benson has surely pushed satire to the verge of Mrs. James Eamsden is quite a. I'rollopian figure, plus a severity of touch which, in the creator of the immortal Mrs. Proudie, would have been absent. Although "The Weaker Vessel" is, in its way, a study of intemperance, it is by no means a fictional tract against "the drink"; indeed, I amnot so sure that Mr. Benson, as author, "does not to somo extent sympathise witli poor Harry when the playwright, temporarily "swearing off," finds that his ideas will not flow 1 and passes five or six hours in his study contemplating a sheet of foolscap on which tho oi'ly words are: "Scene 11. Enter.Stella." But whether Mr. Benson means it or not, his story does possess a powerful moral, a moral all the stronger in that it is not emphasised with any puritanical violence. While there are such wives as Eleanor Whittaker in the world, thero is always hope for the Harry Whittakers. "The Weaker Vessel" can bo recommended as® well-written, sympathetic, study of a woman's self-sacrificing love. It is full of bright little character sketches, and the easy flow of tho story as a whole renders its persual exceptionally pleasurable. 'By all means give Mr. Benson's book first place in tho next order list you send to your bookseller.' , . STRICTLY SENTIMENTAL.

; Karl Gjetlerup is a, Scandinavian novelist? r whßso'first book,*, or at least-the " first of 'whicli there has been an: English translation, was that weird and fascinating study of early Buddhism, published by Heineinann's last.year,.under the title of "The Pilgrim Kamanita." A second ,v< jnFi 10 a "^' lor has now appeared, entitled "Minna" (Ileinemann; per George Robertson and Co.). It is tho story of a young Dane who goes to Dresden to studv, and, during a summer vacation, spent in tho picturesque Saxon Switzerland, meets and becomes desperately, enamoured of a young governess, Minna Jagemann. She returns his love, but confesses to a previous" attachment to an artist, also a Dane, named Stephenson. Stephenson had gono to Paris, but just as Frenger is hoping to marry his Minna, tho artist returns. The girl is torn by conflicting emotions. She loves, or thinks she loves, Frenger, but Stephenson exercises so powerful an influence over her that finally she consents to throw over the younger man, who then goes to London and engages in business. Returning to Dresden somo five years later, ho meets the Stephonsons, and, all his old infatuation returning, is frankly miserable. Stephenson neglects and ill-treats his wife, who dies-in a mental retreat, the faithful Frenger erecting a "broken column of the choicest SaXonian serpentine." Thero the story ends, tho author's prefatory note recording the love-lorn Frenger's death in London a few years later. As may bo seen, the story is decidedly depressing in subject, and the excessive saccharine sentiment of certain passages will hardly, I fancy, please English readers. But' tho author's analysis of the struggle in poor Minna's heart between tho rival claims of the two lovers is decidedly clever, and the early scenes in the Saxon Switzerland contain pasages of quite idyllic beauty. I am- afraid, however, that the verdict of most readers will be "sickly sentimental" 0 SHORTER NOTICES. ' Recent additions to Methuen's Colonial Library (Mcthuen and Co., per Whitcombe and. Tombs) are: "An Affair of State," by J.. C. Snaith; "The Fool in Christ," by Gerhardt Hauptmannj and "Studies in Love and Terror," by Mrs. Belloc Lowndes. Mr. Snaith has scored (successes in so' many utterly diverso genres of fiction that ono never knows whither his versatility will lead him. 111 "Broke of Covenden" lie was psychological, in "Mistress Dorothy Marvin" Mr. Stanley "Weyman's influence was prominent; in "Araminta" there was'a Thackerayan touch; and in "The Principal Girl" there was more than a suspicion of Locke. "All Affair of State" is a political novel, tremendously up-to-date; so much so indeed that the author's : note disclaims any intention of tho story to be a roman a clef. The hero is a prominent politician, of what one might call Independent Liberal—or Radical—views. lie has a young and pretty and well-born wifo, who, however, quite misunderstands his attitude towards the party. Also there is an Egeria—a quite proper Egeria —a lady who is the wifo of a nobleman who holds Mr. James Draper's political platform a thing accursed. Cabinet crises, electioneering in London.and the provinces, and political wire-pulling generally, are punctuated with episodes in which the interest is purely personal. The narrative is brisk, the dialogue bright, and occasionally epigrammatic, and the . conclusion—bar tho quite impossible suicide of Draper's noble antagonist—both convincing and satisfactory to political and sentimental readers alike. "An Affair of State" is a very clever piece of work, .but it has not tho strength of "Broko of Covenden." When Mr. Snaith finally settles down from his almost exasperating versatility, ho should give -us a really great novel. "An Affair of Stato" is clever enough and readable enough as a story, but it is permeated by on air of artificiality, and does not ring true.

Gerhardt Ilauptniann's "The Fool in Christ" (trnnslated by Thomas Seizor) has enjoyed, I believe, a considerable popularity in its German original. . Personally, I do not like modernisations of

the story of Christ, and although Ilauptmann's story is free from all suspicion of irreverence, and tho picture of tho "worldly fool." but honest and sincere emulator of Christ-like virtues, possesses many attractive features, it is, after all, the portrait of a semi-hysterical, and. I am afraid, in real life, quite impossible figure. Tho setting of the story, especially in the earlier chapters, is picturesque, anil there is much that is distinctly lovable in Hie eharacter of Peter Quint, tho poor carpenter's son. But the religious frenzy of,the "Valley Brethren" must always bo of doubtful practical value so far as tho great world outside tho narrow, pwircjuaent oi a tmintir.nl tact it con-.

cerned, and tho general atmosphere of the story is ono of unrelieved gloom. Everything, even tho shortest, slightest story, signed Morie ISelloc Lowndes, is well worth reading, and each of the, fire separate and complete stories collectively entitled "Studies in Love and in Terror" contains tho essence of what, in other hands, might well have been expanded into a novel of the regulation length. The strongest and best of tho stories deals with the tragedy which befalls the wealthy, well-born Mayor of a French seaport town, whoso wife pays a. visit to her lover, the captain of a submarine, anil thereby meets her death. How Jacques do* Wissarf. saves his own and his wife's honour my readers should see for themselves. Guv de Maupassant himself never wrote <i better "conte" than Mrs. 'Lowndes' "Price of Admiralty.' And tho four other stories are nearly, if not- quite, as dramatically effective. The best book of short stories for some time.

Patience Parry, the heroine of Mrs. Godfrey's novel "The Humbug" (Hurst and Blaekett; per .Whitcombe and Tombs), is an old maid of forty, whose looks, howeyer, belie what, in the average novel, is regarded as quite venerable age. Goodness of heart, plus, perhaps, a belated awakening of romance, induces her to undertake a deception which is astonishingly fruitful of curious consequence. The story drags not a little in its narrative, but tho conclusion will be duly satisfactory to the sentimentally-inclined reader.

George Edgar's new story "Swift Kick of the -York Road" (Mills jand Boon; per Whitcombe) is just the sort of novel one would expect from tho author of that capital romance of "The Fancy," "Tho Blue Bird's Eye." It is Harrison Ainsworth and Bulwer Lytton uprto-date, that is to say, Victorian romance sans Victorian longueurs. Period, the close of the seventeenth century; opening sce.ie, a Covent Garden gambling hell; central figure, a gallant young eentleman, one Nicholas Nevinson, who eventually takes to the road, and is forthwith engaged in a long series of adventures, tho outcomo of which are tho winning of a pretty girl's hand, a royal pardon for his Claude Duval-Dick Turpin exploits, and a bright and quite highly respectable future. Mr. Edgar tells his story well, and it is a story worth the telling. The historical colour i§ neatly worked in, and although the. character sketches of "Old Rowley" and Shaftesbury are on conventional lines, they have some specially happy and effective touches. "Swift Neck of the York Road" is decidedly readable.

Another new Mills and Boon book (also per Whitcombe and Tombs) is Mary L. Pendered's "Plivllida Flouts lie." A pretty title for a slight, but pretty, story. Despite, however, the famous A'njy Bock incident, I am loth to accept'the possibility »of one young lady, . disguised as a man, successfully making love to another young lady, unless, of course, as ia the Book episode, most of the parties mainly concerned are devoid of all ordinary sense and knowledge .of the world. But Miss (or Mrs. ?) Pendered lias woven, outside the particular point, a very ingenious plot, and she tells the story of tho pretty Phyllida and her "lovo passages" in so pleasant and entertaining a stylo that criticism, as to probabilities, is somewhat disarmed.

Mr. Marchmont, in his "Under the Black Eaglo" (Ward, Lock, and Co.; per S. and W. Mackav), has written an excellent novel of sensation, on the now somewhat venerable motif of the young Englishman who falls in lovo with a lovely Russian (Almn, not the everlasting Soma in this casu) and forthwith becomes involved in a. long series of desperate adventures with the Terrorists and the police. Mr. Marchmont, however, has worked out his plot on highly original lines, and although tho novel is primarily one of incident, some of tho character sketches, notably those of the ■herine's father, who outwits tho Nihilists by a '"pst astute device, and of the Terrorist' leaders are drawn with great care. Tho scene is laid in Moscow, and the notorious "Black "Wednesday"' massacro is introduced very effectively. Ih its own class, "Under the Black Eagle" is an admirable piece of work.