TERARY NOTES ON THE WAR.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2480, 5 June 1915, Page 9

TERARY NOTES ON THE WAR.

THE WAY OF THE RED CROSS. "It gives me the greatest pleasure to take this opportunity to thank every individual nurse, one and all, who is nursing our brave wounded soldiers- and sailors. . . .1 and the whole nation owe them our undying and unfailing debt of gratitude." The above sentences are taken from a letter written • by the Queen Dowager Alexandra, and reproduced, in facsimilo, as a preface to & volume, entitled "The Way of the Cress," which" is published for "The Times" by Messrs. fiodder and Stoughton (Wellington: Whit-combe and Tombs). The profits from the sale of this work will be given to "Tho Times" Fund for the sick and wounded. The authors and compilers of the work, ' Messrs. E. Charles Vivian and J. E. Hodder Williams, are to be congratulated upon the success with which they have achieved their task of presenting "a complete record of Bed Cross work, bo that the reader might see it thorOTgMy aud as a whole." Itwas, of ■ oowse, impossible to include within the covers of a single volume, all the noble deeds of heroism daily wrought under the symbol, which to friend and foe /is sacred (outside the Germany army), '[ to suffering and self-sacrifice, but they have given a most useful and interesting general survey of the work, together .with a few typical instances—of which the authors have 1 had direct personal knowledge of how thp "famous organisa- , tion of pity and healing is served in in'dividual,cases."'- Every detail of Red Cross work at the -front, at the_ base hospitals abroad, and at Home, is explained, and in such a way as to make even technicalities understood by the ordinary reader, The volume also contains records of individual experiences of doctors, nurses, 1 and soldiers and sailors, all of which make most interest ing, if a times, very pathetic ■ reading. The testimony . here afforded as to the noble spirit of ready sacrifice which animates the Red Cross doctors, nurses) and staff generally, and as to the unvarying patience, heartfelt gratitude, and amazing cheerfulness .of the wounded men, should evoke feelings of deepest pride in the heart of every Englishman, whether of the Motherland or the Oversea Dominions, who may Tead this excellent book. The' price, only three shillings, is exceedingly moderate, and it is to be hoped the sale of the volume in New ■Zealand will be very large.

THE HEALING OF NATIONS. "The Healing of Nations" and the "Hidden Sources of Their Strife," (George Allen and TJnwin) is a collection of essays by Edward Carpenter, the well-known author of "Towards Pemocracy," "Civilisation: Its Cause and Cure," and "Love's Coming of Age." Mr. Carpenter is an ardent anti-militarist, ana the ever underlying object of his ossays is to preach tho future fraternity of the nations of the world. Air. Carpenter means well, sn'd writes wellj out at the present juncture it is difficult to see what practical good can. como of writing in a way which suggests a tendency to apologise for an enemy which n as broken, every rule of decent and honourable warfare. When he would have us believe, as apparently he would, do, in the chapter headed "The Case for Germany," that "it seems rather probable that the Kaiser threw his weight on tho side of peace, Mr. Carpenter is not only adavnemg an absurdity, but an absurdity which is almost an insult to the common sense of air who have carefully perused the full documentary evidence in the case, evidence as open to Mr. Carpenter as to anyone else. Mr. Carpenter is so desperately •' anxious to preach the gospel of peace at any price that we find him writing of "England's long-standing policy of commercial greed, leading to political grab in every part of the world." But he omits to admit, as he ought to admit, that if Great Britain has opened up the vacant spaces of the earth to successful colonisation and commercial undertakings, she has ever left the door open to other nations to profit, indirectly, but none the less, substantially,.' by her enterprise. It is • quite ainusing to observe Mr. Carpenter's tenderness to As thus: — Perhaps it is that the Teutonic mind is so vigorous that it overrides you without being conscious of doing so, or that it is so convinced of its own Tightness; or perhaps it is that the scientific type of mind, depending always on formulae and statistics, necessarily loses a certain finer quality. Anyhow, the fact remains that sociable, kind- . ly, gemutblich, and so forth, as the Germans are, there is a lack of delicate touch and perception about . them, of gentle manners, and a certain insensitiveness to the opinion of those with whom they have to deal."

"A certain insensitiveness," forsooth! As Polonius would have said, "insensitiveness" is '"good," especially when one recalls the fiendish barbarities com-

mited by the officers and soldiers of this "sooiable, kindly" nation upon tho unhappy Belgians, as to whoso "opinion" on tho subject of Gorma.n invasion the Teutons displayed their "insensitiveness" in so brutal a form. There is no need to say much more about ti book which, however well meant, is, to my mind, about as foolish aald mischievous a production as it could well be. What we want to do just now iff not to worry ourselves as to .whether chivalry be alive or dead, or. whether or not, after tho war, nobis feelings shall triumph over base motives, in nations as well as in individuals. What we want to do is to smite ,the foe hip and thigh, smite him so h&rd that he will be incapable of displaying "insensitiveness"—in any actively mischievous way—for a good halfcentury to come. "When the war 13 over it will be time enough Eo preach an empty and futile, so-called humanitarianism. MORE THOUGHTS ON THE WAR. Under the title of "More Thoughts on the War," Messrs. Metliuen and Co. have published a further selection of the articles, by Mr. A. Clutton-Brock ; which have apeapred from time to time on the first page of the "Times Literary Supplement." What was said in these columns as to the singular literarybeauty, the eloquence, _ sanity, _ and scund logio -which were displayed in the first series of these articles, need not now to be repeated. Mr. Glutton-Brock's essays are easily first in their qxiality of thoughtfulness and eloquence amongst all the many essays written on the moral aspects of the war. l?rom the article entitled "England" I make a brief extract: — For all of us now this little land is full of meaning, and we seem to each other to be all of one family in our ancient home that is neither prison nor palace. We are men lighting, or ready to fight, for 110 idol that sanctifies even her own crimes, but for the English of tho future, who will do better, we hope, than we have done, and make this home of ours fairer than we hava made it; and besides that, we fight for certain things that seem good to us, as kindliness, freedom, and god faith. Tbey are modest virtue's, not fit for a towering idol, but men cannot be happy without them. Tbey are not always our virtues, but ■we wish that they were, and we listen to no professors who toll us that they are vioes. We have been at ease in our home for so long that we did not know how much wo loved it until it was threatened; and now. Y;e are surprised by our own passion and by the speaking beauty of our countryside and tho grey churches in it, and the villages that , seem to trust so quietly in our defence of them. And we are surprised, too, by the new glory of our arms, rivalling the old. Men have walked our streets who can fight like their ' forefathers of Agincourt and Waterloo. We still make history, and it is not imposed upon _us by these masters of tho new science and the old barbarism. The world and tho laws of the world have not utterly changed while we slept in our

island. Idols aro idols still, whatever jargon bo usod in the worship of tliem; and when an idol fulls there is emptiness in earth and hoavon for its worshippers. But ive, like our forefathers, nro not idolaters ; and wo love England the mora because we love her this sido of idolatry. The littlo volume costs but fiftoonpeilce, but an an exposition of noblo thought, as ovidonce of the fino sanity of true British patriotism, it is worth ten timos that prico. PAMPHLETS. "The Voice of the Empire" (Jarrold and Sons) is the title of a useful littlo collection of the various messages which, upon the outbreak of tho war, passed between Hi 3 Majesty tho King or tlie Imperial Govornmeat and the Governors. Prime Ministers, and leading officials of the various self-govern-ing States' or dependencies of tho Empire. In time to como, this littlo book should bo of considerable taluo as affording a permanent record of the splendid loyalty and patriotism wbch was voiced throughout the Empirow:ien once it became known that the nation was involved in war. (Price 6d.) Limitations of space prevent- much more thiß week than a brief acknowledgment of a pamphlot, entitled "Militarism versus Feminism: An Inquiry and a Policy, Demonstrating that Militarism involves the Subjection of Women" (George Allen and Unwin). The author, who preserves her anonymity, writes very well from her own point of view. But that there is another point of view is shown by tho fact (recently mentioned in the cablegrams) that Mrs. Pankhurst herself is now eloquently advocating the most energetic conduot of the war by the Allies. (Price 6d.) Recent additions to that interesting series, "Papers for War Time" (Oxford University Press, per Humphrey Milford), are "Bemhardism in England," by A. Clutton-Brock, and "The Visions of Youth," by the Bishop of Winchester. (Price 2d.)