LIBER'S NOTE-BOOK

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2522, 24 July 1915, Page 9

LIBER'S NOTE-BOOK

Special -reviews- next'week will deal with Mr.' Stephen Graham's notable book, "Russia and the World," ■ recently published by Cassell's, and Mr. H. G. Wells's oddly, entitled book, "Boon, the Mind of the Race, the Wild Asses of the Devil, and the Last Trump." R-eviews of several novels are also held 1 over.

As my readers are aware, several "gift books" have been published with the effect of increasing the Patriotic and Belgian Funds. "Princess Mary's Gift Book," "King Albert's Book, and others might be mentioned; and, only last ..week I referred to. a forthcoming Australian production of. this kind, entitled "The Melba Book." I am glad to hear that New Zealand , will shortly produce a similar book, to be entitled "The Countess of Liverpool's Gift Book," the proceeds from the. sale of which will be devoted to , the "Sick and Wounded SoldieTs of the Dominion." Her Excellency has been graciously pleased to interest herself personally in the -matter, and will contribute, a short preface in addition to allowing the book to be dedicated to her. The services of a large number of representative New. Zealand artists and authors are now being enlisted by the publishers, 'Messrs. Whitcomhe and Tombs, of Christchurch and-Wellington, and ,the book will, it is . confidently expected, be one of considerable artistic and literary interest and value.

Recently received Home papers, re-: cord the death, at the age of seventy, lof Mrs: L. B. Walford, for many years a frequent contributor to the pages of "Blackwood's Magazine," and author of a long series of novels', of which perhaps "Mr. • Smith" and "The Baby's Grandmother" were the most popular. Mrs. Walford was the daughter of John Colquhoim, author of "The Moor and the Loch," and her viyacious "Recollections of a 'Scottish 'Novelist," published three or four years ago, give a good idea of her early life in the Highlands and.of Edinburgh society, of that

'Mr. W. J. Locke is a .novelist who has a big army of readers in the Dominion, although his last two books did not sell so well, so the booksellers tell me, as did some of his earlier 6tories, notably "Septimus," "The .Morals of Marcus :ordeyne," and the immenselypopular "Beloved . Vagabond." " Mr. Locke's latest novel is called "Jaffery." It has appeared in the United' States, but- as yet no English edition is on sale. | The story is very well reviewed in the American papers.

An English edition of Winston Ohurchill's new story, "A Far' Country," will shortly be' published by Messrs. Macmillan;andtCo;, who will issue tho.novel ill their Colonial Library.; --It is a long story, in which, as in, "The. Inside of the Cup," the author is .very severe upon certain ■ objectionable tendencies in American public and private life. The Story ends, however, upon a note of optimism,,and is very highly spoken of by tho American reviewers. ;

' Home-' papers record the: death at Lemnos. of Mr. Rupert Brooke, one of tho most promising of latter-day minor poets. ; Brooke was the son,of a house master' at Rugby, 'and .was. ; born 'in ,1887. He went to Cambridge, and was eleotcd a Fellow of King's in 1913, after writing a critical appreciation of John Webster. In; 1913 he m.'ade a round-the-world trip,, visiting, by tho way, Stevenson's grave at Samoa, and spending, I believe, though I am not sure, a few days in Auckland. Returning to England, lie lived at. the littlo village of Grantchester, near Cambridge. His only volumo of poems was published in 1911, bjit since then lie contributed several poems to "New Numbers," a poetical quarterly published privately. He served with tlie Antwerp Expedition, and in February sailed for tho .Dardanelles, dying, late in April,. in a, French hospital ship at the island'of Lemnos. His beautiful sonnet, "England." has, I.believe, been quoted in these columns. I reproduce it, however, .to-day,; in view of the special and pathetic interest attaching to the lines by reason of their author's death. •• > : -

If I should die, think only this of me, That there's somo corner of a foreign field That is for ever England. There shall be In that rich earth' a' richer dust concealcd; A dußt whom England bore, shaped, made .aware, .... Gave once, her flowers to lovo, her ways to roam, A body of England's, breathing English air,. . .Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.'

And think, this heart, all evil shed away, A pulse in the eternal mind, no loss Gives Eomowhere back tho thoughts by England given; Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day; And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness ' In hearts at peace, uudtr an English heaven.

Of other young men who died as he himself was ready to die for his country, lie wrote in another poem:—

Theso laid the world away; poured out the red, Swoet wine of youth;- gar© up tho years to be Of work and joy, and that unhoped sereno That mon call ago, and those who would •liavo been, . Their sons, thoy gave—their immortality.

It turns out, after all, that the notorious "Hymn of Hate," over which our dear friends, the Huns, have waxed so absurdly enthusiastic, is merely an adaptation, or plagiarism, of somo verses written in 18.41 by Gcorgo Hervcg, a stubborn German revolutionary. The verses were specially addressed to Prussia, from which couutry their author hadbecn expelled. In its original form, the poem commenced: "We all have one common-foe —Prussia." Lissauer, in his "Hymn of Hate," substitutes England for the Prussia of Herveg's earlier lucubration. As a correspondent of tho London "Morning Post" points out, "Prussia has once more shown her resource

and acquisitiveness in . hurling against her enemies a denunciation .originally directed at herself." The Kaiser, however; whoso .own plagiarisms in the realms of art, music, and literature, were notorious even before the war, should fofgive Ernest Lissauer, for what •the ruler has done so openly the subject was, lie may think,- justified in doing, especially the now-famous "Hymn" is supposed to'have worked up so many thousands of Huns into the proper and Imperially commended spirit of Anglophobic ferocity.