BOOKS OFD THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2348, 2 January 1915, Page 4

BOOKS OFD THE DAY.

i • •' /By Lißeb.) i "A Woman in china. Mrs; .Mary_Gauat,.the talented Australian novelist and. traveller,'is 1 to be congratulated upon. having in her latest work,-- I <A Woman'-; in-China'' (J. Werner Laurie), produced one of- the freshest,, raciest, and most generally entertaining books of travel that has been published for some time past. Mrs. Gaunt is/connected by marriage with Dr. Morrison, the famous '.'Times" correspondent at fPeking, and through his influence, no doubt, was able to undertake expeditions .into' the interior of China which for others might have been very ddiigero'uis, indeed; impossible. Those who kiio\v Mrs. Gaunt's book, "Alone in West Africa," will find in her new book the, same proofs of the courage, resourcefulness, and ready wit which in China, as .in Africa, proved .such valuable assets.' • Mrs. Gaunt scorns the beaten tracks of the globetrotter" and' ordinary tourist, and in this record of her wanderings in China brings over to boar upon the sights she. sees and the people she meets'the most observant-, of eyes, the result being a wealth of curious aild out-of-the-way information rarely to ! be met with in Works ot travel. Sho spent tome time in Peking, whore she. witnessed the elaborate ceremonies attaching to the funeral of an Empress;'but it is when she gets away well into tho interior, and shows us how tho lofig-suffering, heroically patient, peasants live, that I find her narrative most interesting.' V She pays ah eloquelit teslipony to the work done Tjy the" missionaries, specially eulogising the efforts of the Mission to the Blind, established by the late Mr. Hill iuurray. Callous as the Chinese are reputed, and, so it would seem, ■rightly reputed to be, with Tegard to human suffering, tho: blind beggars of China excite tho pity of their' countrymen as well as the jEurop'ean visitor. Says Mrs. Gaunt:— j ' ' '

, "On the l roadside, again and again in a country place,- where many people are passing, I liattp seen a half-naked man, who lookM : as if he had never since his birWj • even'looked : at water, clad, or rather half-clad, ; in filthy _. rags, with, raw, red\sores where his eyes , should have been, j He was so hor- ' ■■••rible, so ghastly a; specimen of hu- ■'■-.. inanity, that, lip sdemed almost he-,- ' yond <pity. ,' 'Andjyot a blind per-'/•son'-always,-.receives ; . a ; certain ■ amount of. respect and consideration from the Chinese, even from the i poorest • Chinese.'' Never in his hearmgf would the roughest rick- ; shaw coolie call him Hsia Tze, that is "Blind man;!') ■ That would be .discourteous. Though ho is only ■;■ a:"beggar, "forlbfn, hungry, un- '': tempt;'he' is still'addressed by all ;-■ passers-by as 'Hsien Sheng,' 'Before Born,' a title; of respect that is '.- given to teachers, and " men of superior; rank and age." _ Naturally, Mrs! Gaunt has a good Seal to say about the Chinese woman, her dress,- her upbringing, her life as a girl,: wife, and .'a mother. ••■■ Of. the abominable foot-binding custom which, makes the Chine-so girl suffer martyrdom in the name of. fashion,' she gives a lengthy and interesting description..' "Poor women!" says-tho, author. "They, have a saying in.:.China- that a woman .eats bitterness." ■-.-

: ; _ As: I through: the villages on the morning and evening, I '; .'cquld>;hear the''crying of the chil-,-dren..;..,'.. .'•• The little girls cried .because the bandages on their feet were being drawn more tightly. Always, it is a gnawing pain, and ..the. only relief, the little -girl can.. "■get is by pressing, the calf of her W leg.tigttly against' the edge of the:. K'angi' The' pressure' stops tho flow of blood and numbs the feet as long as it is kept up, but it : f cannot be kept up long,' and with 'the rush of Wood comes the in- . •/crease of; pain—a pain: :thit the "tightening of .the, bandagesV deepens. >~ . "Try," said one doc- , tor, "walking with your toes crush- '.' ed,under your sole, the arch .oi your foot pressed up (till the whole ~foot is barely four inches long, ana.' -you can only walk on' your heel, and see if you do not suffer-f-suffer \ . in-, all partsfof :your body." ■. V'Th'ey '■■ say," he-went on, "that while there are many peaceful, kindly, old men , among the Chinese, every woman is. .a'shrew. And I can well believe it. What else could you expect? Oh, women have a mighty thin time in China. T'don't believe there is place in the world whore they have ■a. worse." ■' '- . '■ .'

; .,Tho custom,.Mrs. Gaunt says, is dying out among the more enlightened :inthe towns, but in the country it is'in full swing. There 'i§, a curious belief that- the woman with- small or bound feet "cares more for the caresses of her lord t'hah she With natural feet." A man does not choose his wife in China. His mother does that for; him, but although ho may not even see her before marriage, he can ask questions about, her, and the question he generally asks is not,"Has she a pretty face?" but, ."Has she small feet?" Even if he did not think about it, the women of his family would consider, it for him. As to what the Chinese can.become when inspired by fanaticism and hatred of the foreigner, Mrs. Gaunt tells some ugly stories:. Even in the fortified British Legation quarter at Peking there is always present, she says, the "Great Fear." That: same "Great Fear" is multiplied [a hundredfold in the isolated mission houses, and vice-consu-lates in the far; interior.

'A notable feature of the hook is its illustrations. These number over two hundred, and .represent not .only the famous buildings, ancient and modern;' of the country, its „•.and so forth, but every conoeivablei feature of the -evcry-day life of the people: • A copy of Mrs. Gaunt's book should find a place in every public library. Unfortunately its, price is not'stated on the copy received for Toview; v

"THE MEN OF TO-MORROW." .-In "The Men of To-morrow" (Thomas' C. Lothian, Melbourne), Miss Edith C. Onians, an Australian lady who, for sixteen years, has been zealously employed in Child Rescue Work, more particularly grappling with the boy problem as it presents itself in the, life of Melbourne's newsboys, sets forth the results of two years' special. study and inquiry, in England, America, and the Continent, into the latest and best methods of reaching and rescuing homeless or neglected children, and guiding them into the, path which leads them to an industrious, moral, liappy, and usefuHife. In America the' author visited and personally studied the institutions which have sprung up, largely through the untiring endeavours, of social reformers, such as Judges Pinckney, of Chicago, Lindsoy, of Denver, and Mr. Newton Baker, the Mayor of Cleveland. The information she gleaned as to the working of various associations, settlements, and boys' clubs in Chicago, Boston, and elsewhere' in tho TJniitd States, is most interesting,, and similar investigations in London, -Manchester, and Liverpool, were equally productive of useful hints. Reformatory treatment, ,such as that in vogue at the famous Borstal Institutions for lads, is dealt with in detail. Everybody who is interested in the prob|em of how best to .deal with homeless, neglected, or criminal children, should procure a copy of Miss Onians's valuably sug-> gestive hook. Even in a 'country so happily conditioned as Niw Zealand, tho problem' is already presenting itself in our larger centres of population, and to members of Parliament,! ministers of

educational- and. rescue work amongst city boys and girls, this book should bo ■most practically useful". The illustrations, from photographs, include views at various boys' colonies, and farms, otc. (Price, 3s. 6d.) • -

"MARTIAL LAW." The term "martial law!' is one which is frequently heard at the present time, but considerable' ignorance exists in the publio mind as to its real' meaning. The appearance of a little book, "Martial Law Within the Realm 'of England'.' (London: John Long; price Is. 3d.), is therefor© opportune. The author, Mr. James M.Lowry, barrister-at-law, gives an historical outline of martial law. Martial law, he tells us, originally meant the law as administered; by the Court of Chivalry or Courts Martial held before the Lord High Constable and Earl Marshal of England, described by Cope as the "Fountain of Marshal Law."Tn modern days martial law came prominentry to the front on the indicfcjnent of Colonel Nelson and! Lieutenant Brand for the murder of George W. Gordon during the Jamaica Rebellion of 1865, a trial which had as its sequel, two years later, the.indictment of Governor Eyre for hw official acts during'the Rebellion. Definitions of martial law have varied .very considerably. In the report of. the Ceylon; Committee,, 1851, : the Judge Advocate, General Sir David Dundas, said: "Martial law is unwritten law, which' arises upon a paramount necessity -09 be judged by the Executive. It applies to all persons whether civil or Military." According to Mr. Dicey, in his "Law of the Constitution," "martial law in the usual senso of the term, meaning the suppression of ordinary law and the temporary government of a country, or part of by military tribunals, is unknown to the British Constitution."; The' Duke of Wellington's definition of martial law was characteristically brief arid pithy. "Martial law," said the great Duke, "is neither more nor less than the will or the- General who commands the army: in fact, martial law is no law at all. Tie. author closes his short but interesting treatise by quoting the new powers for dealing with espionage which were given by the Defence" of the Realm Act, which was passed by the Home Secretary through the House of Commons and received the <&oyal Assent on August 8 last. The present position is, he says, "that espionage has been .made by statute a military offence triable by court-martial. If tried under tho Defence of the Realm Act,, the maximum punishment is penal servitude for life; but if dealt with outside that Act as a war crime, the punishment of death can be inflicted."-

FOR THE. CHILD REN. Ward, Lock and Co.'s "Wonder Book" (Ward, Lock and Co.; per Whitcombe' and Tombs), is now a well established annual, a copy of'which is always to be' welcomed in .New' Zealand homes.' This excellent publication is this year as full of good thing's as ever. Primarily, a picture annual, 1 ) it : contains twelve full : page coloured plates and hundreds of other pictures in monochrome. The stories and sketches cover every phase of youthful interest, and are contributed by. writers of acknowledged reputation as purveyors of literature specially adapted to Juvenile understandings and tastes. Christmas has corns and goile, but it is still a far cry to the end of the holidays." A copy of "The Wonder Book" is an admirable insurance against that juvenile ennui ,and restlessness Which is so often provoked by'a wet day or a long evening when there is /'no brie to play with." In such cases' the "Wonder. Book" can be played a trump qard.".,-"'.':' :, ', ,

Under the title of "Our Soldiers and Sailors" (Ward, Lock and Ck>.; per' Vhitcombe. and Tombs); appears a bulky ome of close on. 600 pages, tiro conants of which;are .articles and stories md pictures describing the everyday life. if the Empire's defenders in war, and >eace. The yolume.is irt fact'a perfect :yclopaedia,".for. "youthful study and onortainmont, of military and naval life ind affairs, and at a time like the prelent, when in every household conversaaon is so largely devoted to warlike subjects,'' its pages should!,. be . eagerly scanned.. Are the.lndian, troops menlione'd, in' the'oablegrams, .the ohildren )an turn to thio capital .book and find therein a,complete history in. brief, of the original and development of our army in India; with pictures of the irarious types of European and native soldiers,.scenes from Indian military history,: and so on. The armies of the Continent, as well of Groat Britain, are each' described in detail, and' in the naval section will be found pictures of tho latest types of battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and submarines. There are also pleasantly informative chapters on. tho British merchant marine. A special feature of the book is its generous wealtti of illustration. Twenty-two well executed coloured plates, together with no fewer than Bis -hundred monochrome illustrations, i many full pages, other in ,the text, m'ako the book a military and naval album of permanent value as a pictorial record of the two services. At six shillings, this is an astonishingly.' cheap production. • ' Yet. another edition of Lewis Carroll's perennially popular "Alice in Wonderland" comes' from Messrs. George' Bell' and Sons (per Whitcombe and Tombs). A Bpecial featuro of the edition, which is ■ beautifully printed and tastefully bound, is a series of |col« oured pictures by: Alice B. Woodward, who has achieved no small fame as an illustrator. 'of children's hocks. lam ;old fashioned enough to prefer the original black and white' drawings by the late Sir John Tenniel, with which readers of "Alice" in the" early edition are so familiar. • But Miss ; Woodward's illustrations'have better, grace and humour, ; and coloured pictures seem for the #me ebing to have ousted the old black and 'white work' from popularity—with children, if not with the oldsters. Those \vho . yet ■■ • the _ pleasure . of making acquaintance with the quaintly charming story could not do better than let Alice make her bow to them in this prettily-prqduced edition, which forms, by: the. : way, one ..'of the well-known "Queen's Treasure" series, in which' so many old favourites have been.issued by .Messrs. Bell and Sons. New Zealand price. 35.,

'■'■■ "THE ISLAND OF LOVE AND DEATH," For two castaways, of diffeient sexes, to fill in love:with each other is no riew motif in fiction', but in "The Island of Love and' Death" (London: Eveleigh Nash); Mr. W. ! E. Bailey invests ia hackneyed theme with- decidedly original and fascinating variations. Tho hero, David Druse; isan\orphau, whose father, a drunken derelict,, living, in the native quarter-of Singapore, murders his wife, and by his brutality to his son •makes tho lad a sufferer'. from a ter.rible deformity. There is in the young man a strain which makes for crude passion, and for violent hate and love alike. Cast away on a tropical island in company .with an Englishman and his young wife, tho half-educated, untamed David learns what : love is, and on tho woman's side pity and kindness lead to jealousy arid to tragedy. As to the manner of Elrpyd's death, and what share tho outcast had in it, it would bo unfair to say, but it leads up to one of the most poignantly .pathetic and dramatic situations I have happened across in recent fiction.' Tho special charm of tho story lies'iutho beauty of its sotting. There is quite a Conrad quality—without, let mo, hasten to add, tho slightest suspicion of plagiarism, oven of style—in tho island scones. A novel verv much out of the ordinary is "The Island of Love and Death."

"THE WOLVES AND THE LAMB." In "The Wolves and the Lamb" (Ward, Lock and Co.; per-Whitcombe •and Tombs), Mr. J. S. Fletcher do- )$% «L>o.un£ ,Ejjg]jshßi9fl gi ,.hor.n

in tho West Indies,' arid inheriting a huge fortune, comes to England and falls into the greedy hands of an unscrupulous, stockbroker, who, with the assistance of an eqnally rascally lady cousin, robs the young fellow right and left, being only prevented! from completely ruining him by a clever young lady, the daughter of the' gentleman, now dead, to whom the.ingenuous, and, to tell the truth, rather Stupid, young heir, had had a; letter of introduction. Assisting in the. rescue_ of the lamb from that rapacious pair of human wolves, John Carsdale and the handsome adventuress, Mrs. Walsingham, is a famous explorer, Who iB one of the best drawn characters in. a very readable book.

MISCELLANEOUS. "Britain's Duty of To-day," by Edward Lyttelton, D.D., Headmaster of Eton (Patriotic Publishing Coy., price 4d.), .is a little booklet, the object of which is the explanation "to the Man in the .Street, in a compact and authoritative manner, of the larger issues which have brought about, and are involved- in the heroic combat of the nations." The author, no doubt, means-well, but it can hardly be' said that ho -has added anything of real importance what has been'told the public, both.in the Mother Country and the Oversea Dominions, by every well-conducted, wellwritten newspaper.

"How the War Came About, explained to the Young People of all Eng-lish-speaking countries," is the title of another fourpenny pamphlet issued by the Patriotic Publishing Company. The author is Dr. J. Holland Rose, author of the "Life of Napoleon," and a series of works on Pibt and the French Revolution. Dr. Rose writes simply and clearly, and for young people no better exposition' of the causes of and real issues at stake in the war could''be desired than his pamphlet. Dr. Rose reminds his young readers thai very rarely do we put'our whole strength into- a Continental war; but whenever'we have done so, wo have ultimately prevailed. It was so in the time of William IH of Marlborough, of Nelson, and .Wellington. It will be so again, and we may be sure that after viotory, our, Government will endeavour to bring about a just and satisfactory peace, a peaco founded on the desires of the peoples themselves. After the next great settlement Dr. Rose says it may well be that Europe will attain the happy condition of which Edmund Burke wrote: "The States of Europe lay happy under the shade or a great and free monarchy, which, know _how to be great without endaugering -its own peace at home, or the internal or external peace of any of its neighbours." '■■•■'!'

"Papers for War Time," is -tho genoral title 4 flf a series of pamphlets published by' the Oxford University Press (London H. Milford), and" embodying "an attempt to reach, by common, thoughtj discussion, and prayor, a truer understanding sot the mission of Christianity, and of the mission of the Church to the individual to society and tho world." The writer of "the explanatory note," by which the series is prefaced, declares that "the present bitter struggle between nations which for centuries have home the Christian name indicates some deep-seated failure to understand the principles of Christ and to apply them to human affairs." Papers Nos. 1 and 4 are entitled, respectively, ."Christianity and War," and "Brothers, All, the War, and the Race Question," the authors being William Temple, M.A., and Edwyn' Bevan.-M.A. (Price 2d. each.). '-: