VIEWS AND REVIEWS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1948, 3 January 1914, Page 9

VIEWS AND REVIEWS.

"fluid Reekie.-", I am glad to see that a, cheaper edition has been published, by Messrs. Sedgwick and Jackson, ot what is probably tho best book ever written on inodern Edinburgh. This is "Edinburgh Revisited," by James' Bone, with illustrations by that clevor etcher and pen draughtsman, Hanslip Fletcher. In "another placo" it was my pleasurable duty, a couple of years ago, to draw tho attention of my readers to tho first editionof Mr. Bone's book, then published in a quarto form at a guinea. Save .for the fact that the illustrations are now reduced in sizo, tho new edition, tho price of which is five shillings net, is tho samo' as tho first and moro oostly issue, and this admirable work should now reach many readers who found tho first edition beyond their means: Many writers havo described the picturesque charm of Old Edinburgh, but Mr. Bone has taken his own line, and invested a well-worn subject with quite conspicuously fresh interest. Whilst not ignoring, the purely modern features of the city, and eulogising the grave- dignity of its . architecture, xhs sedate- beauty 'of- its'Mr. Bone is - specially, successful in interesting his ; 'reru!ors. intlieold/'lauds,'' those ancient) lofty houses, once the residences' of/tho/noWlity aiid. gentry of thei.city, 'but',now, for the most part, occuoied - as.- tenements by hordes of people, most of whom aro desperately poor. In many of these old houses are ancient, -stone and,'wood 'carvings of great beauty. In some the curious plas--for coilings" and wooden 'mantelpieces date Lack- as far as tbo years of-tho early Stuarts, and l . yet aro still in good repair. Says Mr. Bono in his chapter, entitled "Interiors with figures" :— , '

A tall, bony, middle-aged woman, with light greyish hair, and a lean, eager face, who seemed trained and' stripped for her'fight with .poverty, and unlikely'to have a thought togiro between ■ the rounds to the things in the arena, where she was fighting; became' beautiful in her ■ animation and in tho gestures of -.her;lean ar,ms,-as she "tried tO' tell mo about the glories 'of;lier old house in Ca miner's; Close.' 'Talk;' ■ about chimney-pieces,"' silo' cried,"' * "it was thfe-ninest. sweotest :thing •over ye saw, lovely bunolies r o" grapes, a' carved and floo'ors a' growin' abbot. Oh my,, it was a' bon ny place':Jx)rbt> ■ in, Arid .';the. • ceiling was - —raised . floo'ers —a\staiidiii' ■}06%' ( .-i^'lt .iwits. sao high yod;"hid ; »'■ chair wi' a : ,-cloth';, on, • 'clean it.ao time —Lord ElphinstihCi'\'.: : No6;' it's awa., end there'll'ueverl bo. anith'er ; liko it>' -Y® shotildr, lia® seen it at , Jiicht wjien- the room, was; red up an' tho fire shinin' on the floo'er3 •' and grapes I I used to buy beeswax for tho' mantel, and aye spout a euid.two hours on it-on; Saturday claein' it up. It was: bonnv —bonny to be in a hoose like'that. It was that, ■

g | | Not even Stevenson himself was moro alive' to the charm of the Old Town than-is-Mri Bone, (no of whose most?: interestiiig' \ohfi",pters, entitled. "Ghosts,"'' /coritsTihs-;ltiuny. quaint; and weird Tories descriptive'of tie eeriness of the grim old closes and wynds, and the shadowy- figures from a romantic past, u'ith'whicli they can so easily bs tenanted by'ari imaginative reader, well versed in Scottish and particularly Edinburgh history. - Here is how Mr. Bone-conjures up memories of bygone figures possessocl bv 0110 now. quiet,, ialf-deserted little square:— ' "What a company-they.would be! How much of the .wit,. learning, and ' bravery 'of . that • old Edinburgh •which was an• intellectual centre of Europe, would pass' through tjiafc. •little, square ? Tliere would be:- the. tallblue-coated figu'i^,plcSi^ : Haltth" : ' Abercrombie, who squaro: with a;pet a'pe,'iwhich'woro ..a. cocked .hat. 'and-.wis .pnce .ideriti-; ■fied by an old lady as or.o of "thao awfu' French prisoners." . The stout old Admiral Duncan, .who kept in No/" 5 the great ensign and sword of the Dutch admiral ho took at Camperdown; Harry Erskine, .with his Hashing eyo and wide, sensitive mouth, the fearless advocate and friend of every poor man in Scotland; Lord President Blair, tho greatest lawyer the country ever had ("Ma man, God Almighty spared nae paiivs when He made your brains"); Jamieson, the Snots lexicographer; the Duchess of Gordon, and many another notable figure, and' many a lord and lady with an historic name. '. . . ,

The Modern AShcnians. Mr. Bone eulogises the fine enthusiasm of the Edinburgh citizens for their educational institutions, dwells upon tho importance of tho city as a legal, centre, and'has much to say concerning the excellent tasto displayed. .in its modern architecture. About r "Auld Reekie's" climate he clearly cannot force himself .'.to be enthusiastic, , and certain loral are pleasantly satirised'. '"Tlre'^author,-..for instance, is humorously insistent upon the fact'that . tho".Eclin.b]!rgh. People • are '-indeed "the- most-responsible of God's creatures." / In every department of the cit-y's- ■ life you find the same system of deferred judgment,, and striving for exactitudo in statement; it was an Edinburgh grocer who advertised in l:is window, »;er.3 ,'as msir. as I'osstßLz, Is.. In a train or a tramrar you rarely hear an opinion expressed. A visitor interestc-d in dialectics told me that the assistants .in Edinburgh shops had a choice of words that he never heard in shops elsewhere. "I'll (or we'll) endeavour to," was, he thought, their most-characteristic formula.

Another noticeable .point, that I would tracb more clearly to tho aegis oF, tho law, is tho local cus- , torn of supporting a statement with a reason. Witness tho girl behind a Princes Street counter'who said: "Itwas freezing to-day—at least it was freezing in Mornincside, for I rosido there, and saw frost on. tho window." v Or tho man on tho top of the'Port'obello car, who cried to . n lad whoso h'nt had been blown off, but who was-slow'to go after It-. "A(f ye get man, off, awl after it: yo'll only lose a poiiny for your ride an' n hat costs sixpence."-'-Yot-another instance", of,'"'the masterly summing up' of jr situation is -the story of tho newsboy ; ivlto saw an oxtromely tall man emerge from ahotel at the .west end of Princes Street and fnil flat on tho pavement. "That's it, mister," ho cried; "fa' again and yo'ro at tho Resistor," J ■ A Booh for All soots. But, I nnist sternly resist, tho temptation to make further extracts from Mr. Bono's delightful Imjii!;. Mr. Ifanslip Fletcher's illustrations, which Inoludo a lariw number of clever con

drawings in tho text, aro most interesting. They really illustrate Mr. Bono's text, and include drawings of tho old houses, the squares, buildings of historic interest, famous churches and bridges, as well as views of tho castle, of Heriot's Hospital, and tlio modern thoroughfares. Tho frontispiece, representing Lady Stair's close, . is tho reproduction of an original etching. At .fivo shillings (English price) Jlr. Bono's book is excellent value. By an exiled Scot such a volume would bo specially treasured. Somo Australian . Verse. When in Wellington a few months ago, Mr. Stanley llnwin, a son of Mr. 'J'. Fisher Umvin, the well-known London publisher, told "Liber" that what struck, him most in connection with the literary movement in Australia and New Zealand, was the surprisingly large output of quite excellent verse for which the Commonwealth and the Dominion are.yearly responsible. Of a verity, there is no lack of poets and would-be poets in these English-speak-ing: communities undbr the Southern Cros, and from the fact that the works of tho more popular writers of verso not infrequently ; go into more than one edition, it may be fa'irly assumed that public -.appreciation of their efforts is liberal,., and i.that > -.as.4^-corpJniy >; ----yife public-taste'"for-'verso is, by no. means meagre. Scrnrach:a'stntroductionTo"'a brief comment upon a now book of verso, "By Suns and Stars," by Julian Mitchell,.which, has just been- published by -Messrs. Whitcombo and Tombs's Melbourne house..' Several of the pieces in Mr. Mitchell's volume appeared originally.: iiu tho. "West' Australian" ' and in .the Sydney "Bulletin." Mr. Mitchell's muse .has various moods. At times sho prompts the author to eloquently-word-ed outbursts of a patriotic spirit, at others she inspires tho poetic presentment of the beauties and wonders of Nature; anon, tho strain is philosophical, and. yet again there is a suggestion of genial humour. Unlike so many of his fellow-Australian bards, .Mr. Mitchell is. rarely/ in pessimistic mood. For him Nature'and lifo are brighter, than they - havo seemed to Ba'rcroft Boake, to .Henry Lawson, and to so many other poets of tho so-called "Bulletin" school. . . -Ho : has a good com■mandof rhythm, and an 'opulent voc-ab-ularly, in which, howoyor, good Saxon English is predominant to , the latidablo exclusion of. Latinishis, and. ihe Verbal contortions of dealers in the prec.ious. Tho Song of the Sav^. : .* ' !'/: ; As a 'has' a. story to toll, and tells.-i"t J clearlyln soino. of the •shorlcr:S'i)i^C!^;^E^roV-is/a' pleasant lyrical' quality an equally-, pleasing and' ; 'suitable dignity. ■ As an example of Mr. Mitchell's treatmentof a characteristically. colonial theme, I quote somo verses from his vigoroiislywritteii "Song of tho' Sa&'" ' Where forests sleep through tho mnnthless years, Aud time'is lied to days, ... I come with a set of shatted spears To stir thc ancieut ways. ■ - The grcv gums groan as my cutter rings ■ ■ By sister trees' and friends'; The cinctured..trunk _ fit . my summons swings, i?y jj;-—; And my lofty plumage bend 9.

Through bitten channels the white enp . runs ... ■ dh .-floods-of sympathy, • ' ~ • Bnfr tearful cries 16 tliu kindly; etins - - Aro fruitless litany. My dragon tooth, by tlif- will of man Must ivheel aiid ri[i and teai-, So there .be space and an open plan . .: .For .shining -iiiould and share.

The'pillared doilies of tho iarrah kings And. States'where jarrah.-reigns, Are Jiis avail than' thn mushroota Tings That fairies weave for chains, •. AYhen my toothed bent tq the wood, : And strength is borne to dustYet this my song is.tho song of good, And things that'claim me just.

l am (he lord of the untouched wild.

' Of newly-awakened lands, TVbere there, fbr"si'rength: as.a new-born child, ' The human stock expands. Yet I mi L sld : for! a' people's weal In . just restraint Qnd. lav.",' . And so to tho tune of governed steel I sing ths song of' the saw.

Mr. Mitchell's poetr}' is'cnshriiied in a tastefully-produced volume, which is well worthy a placo on the bookshelves of lovers of good verse.

Malcolm Ross's Now Book. The many friends of Mr. Malcolm Eoss will bo glad to hear that ho has made satisfactory arrangements for tho publication, at an early date, of a comprehensive and well-illustrated book on mountaineering in New Zealand. The manuscript is now in tho hands of tho printers and tho publishers, Messrs. Munn and Co., who hope to have the book for publication early in the English spring. -A-special-feature of tho .book will be its wealth of illustration. Mr. Ross is weir known as an expert | photographer, and those who have had the pleasure of'seeing the lantern views ho has shown' at' the Savage" Club-'kor-cros arid in connection with..his;.lectures' generally on Alpine Climbing 'in Nejv Zealand-,, can . bear, testimony'. to the beauty, of the many' pietufes.' lie', has taken of lluapelju, Egmoiit,. andiir-the-Southern AJpsv; r Boss's hook tSlwqP'rippsiess;: a."pennant• cnt-valno Bn^ e alongside' &.'?)&.same, kind' by Harper," and others.- ' . ; .' Somo Masazinos, ... To be .noted in tho Xoiember-number of ''The English Ileview," ''Art in America"," by iMeister Crowley, an! article which hit hard, at more than one much cherished American belief. "C'ormac, Son of Ogmund," a new poem by Maurice Hewlett; a-Kiplingcsquo Malayan Etory by Herman Scheffhauer; ''In. Our Alley," a clover sketch of Cockney street children's songs and games, a vigorous defence of the Militant Suffragists by Israel Zangwill, arid-a-, posthumous sketch, "Tho District Visitor," by liichard Middleton. 'There is somo good fun in the editor's contribution, "Editorial Amenities."

Tho eternal Irish question hulks largely in t/fo November number of tho "British Review" (Williams end Norgnto), Stephen Gwynn, M.P., discussing '"i'ho Position of Protestants tinder Homo Rule," and "An Outsider" being responsible for an article entitled "Ulsteria." Both contributions represent tho Nationalist side of tho question. A third article, "Orange Glory," reflects a humorous side of this niuch-dcbatcd problem. Edward-Storer discusses the work of two popular dramatists;' John Galsworthy and H, Granville Barker; and amongst other foaturos i 3 a wellwritten articlo on tho Leeds Musical Festival. The large type used by both "Tho British Preview" and "Tho English Review" is a joy to tho eye.

The'format of that popular Australian monthly, "Tho Lone Hand," has boon changed, tho old and ordinary magazine size being exchanged for. a folio size. I cannot, say that I like tho (.■halite, tho magazine as it now bearing tco ':low an outward resemblance to "The New Idea" or a fashion

journal."'But'Mr. Bertram Slovens, the now editor, must be credited with having greatly improved tho literary features, albeit I find*' Mop's" record of his earlier career wearisomely egolistical, and undue prominence is given to a long article on Australia by a Teutonic person, named Heinrich Hcmnier, whoso portrait', that of a sniggering, highly self-satisfied young man, might weil havo been omitted. Mr. llemmcr, 1 notie, refers incidentally to the fact thai ho has recently been in "mouldly New Zealand"! Tho letterpress is interleaved with advertisements, an abomination all too common nowadays in illustrated papers and magazines.'-.Also, lew of ; the. articles run contiuuaisl.v to a close.' ..For. instance,- Louis Stone's story/"Betty Wayside," begun on page 00, is coiitinucd on page 91. and is then postponed to pago 131,' whence it wobbles along to tho close of the month's instalment on page 13(3—a column to a page, tho remaining columns being dovotod to advertisements. This sort of thing may please, the advertisers, but it is exasperating to the average reader. Will. Lawson's Psems. The many Wellington friends of Mr. Will. Lawcon, who is now a member of -the literarv staft' of tho Sydney "Evening News, 1 ' will be glad to hear that Messrs. Angus and Robertson, of Sydney, aro to publish a collection of Mr. Lawson's verses shortly'in their "Snowy River" series, under tho title "The Three Kings aid Other .Verses." Reviews of ".'Scott's Last Expedition," "Rodin on Art," and' other important book's will appear next Saturday.