BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2534, 7 August 1915, Page 9

BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

BOOKS OF THE DAY. MR. WELLS IN FANTASTIC MOOD. \ Mr. H. G'. Wells, always as original . as he is versatile in the display of his undoubted literary talents, must surely ' bo .credited with having,' in the title of his 1 latest book, achieved a record in eccentricity. Tho title is lengthy, but ■' > merely as - a literary curiosity it deserves.tbe full which it is . here accorded. It runs: > "Boon, the Mind-of the Race, The Wild Asses of the Devil, and -The Last Trump,", being . a First Selection from the Literary Remains, of George Boon, Appropriate to the Times; prepared for publication •by Reginald Bliss, author of 1 'The Cousins of Charlotte Bronte," "A Child's History of tho Crystal Palace," "Firelight Rambles," "Edible Fungi," "Whales in Captivity," and other .works: With An Ambiguous Introduction by H. G. Wells" (London, iUwWin). Extraordinary' seems ' almost too meagre an adjective to apply to such . a- title; but yet more extraordinary are the contents of the book itself. * <It is difficult to describe the book as a. wholeindeed, I call imagine the average librarian being sadly bewildered as to what class of literature suoh a ■production should be properly catalogued ' urfde'r.' Thefa is in it a big dose of fiction, but, then, there is a yet} bigger doSe of. literary parody.' There is in certain chapters satire almost Swiftian jn its savagery; and yet again there is. some characteristic Wellsian humour of a sly and almost gentle kind. In his introduction Mr. Wells jocularly discredits ."any attempt to entangle one ' in the responsibility for tho book, and hopes that the "reader—by which I mean the reviewer—will be able to .see the reasonableness and the' necessity of ' distinguishing between mo and Mr. Reginald Bliss." But, nevertheless, when, at tho close of his quite correctlytermed "ambiguous introduction,"' he • says that "Bliss can write all sorts of things that Wells 'could not do," he merely strengthens my • suspicion that Mr. Boon and Mr. Bliss are as mythical persons as .wa-s .the late lamented "Mrs. "Arris," and that they.-merely servo in this curious, but vastly. amusing, ■ book i as convenient .media for the expression of some of Mr. Wells's strong personal views on. modem .politics, society, art, and literature. | ■ I Mr. Boon is supposed to have been | ■ an English novelist, now deceased, whose hovels, of that sentimental and piffly character dear to the heart, of a large section of the fiction-devouring public, had achieved an immense popularity. , All the: time, however, Boon had a supreme contempt, both for his fiction .arid his public. His own pri.vate opinions on contemporary fiction: and politics, and matters in general' lie kept to himself,, jotting them down in fragmental; diaries, on odds and ends «f paper.-and bo forth. Through these papers it ' ' was the duty of his literary, executor,.- the amiable Mr. Bliss, .'to plough), and, to exercise the art .of wise-selection. The results are now:presented in this book. First! ' we are given the first chapter of Boon' 6 great but unpublished sociological work « . -"The Mind of the'v'Race." , Next come Borne delightful-parodieS'of-Mr. W. H. Mallook's-"New "Republic," half forgot- 1 / ten, I fear, by this time/ and of Henry James,- ,whbseX<3e"sperately < in-, volved style of narration is hit off in a'-i most comically effective manner. L " The Royal Society of Literature comes in for some disrespectful chaff; and several of Mr. "\Vells's literary contemporaries are often somewhat roughly; treated. On Page 204, for instance, Bernard Shaw is called "au intellectual jackdaw." How, I wonder, will the devoted .(and as "Liber" has always thought) not a little .deluded, admirers of the great "Ssliaw"- like the following <age:^"Take any of the 6taff of that intellectual jackdaw, Bernard Shaw, find you will find the Schopenhauer Method in full development: ' caugbt-upideas, glib, -t irrational transitions, wild assertions about tlie- -'Life Force,' about the effects - of , alcohol, about "fear-poisoned" meat, about medical science, about economic- processes, about Russia, about the Irish temperament, and the-English about the thoughts and mental processes of- ' everybody and every sort of mind, i fitutt too incoherent and. Tccklsssly positive ever to be ..systematically answered. And yet at least' half i of tlie 'English-speaking iritelligen- - ■2ia regards Shaw as a.part-of-the " thought progress - 'of the" wbrld. ■ Schopenhauer was a. pioneer- in the ; • game of impudent assortion, very, properly. disregarded by his.!" own ' generation; Shaw's dementia sampies this age. You see m'y case? '• ' : In any rationally-trained, clearheaded period Shaw' would have ■been looked into, dissected, and disposed of long ago. ..." As to "The Wild Asses of the Devil" iand exactly what part they play in this extraordinary medley, and when and where the "Last Trump" ,is sounded and the effect it produces in certain , people, I may not be tempted to en,- ; lighten the curiosity 'of my readers. Mr. Bliss—or Mr. H. G. Wells—has ■ certainly produced a singularly arresting and discussiouTprovoking. book. It may sadly* pusszle not a few readers, but should equally delight many others. . The book contains some very droll out- : line sketches, . from whose pencil it is ji'ot stated. Mr. G. Bernard Shaw is depicted as ho is supposed te -have i; appeared (according to Mr. Bliss's vera- ; cious narrative), .emerging on to the ; platform at Basle from a "sleeper," ! and. wearing, if you please, "a saffron ; dressing-gown decorated in green and purple scrolls by one of the bolder artists associated with Mr. Roger Fry" (the Post-Impressioniets). An intense- ' ly modern book is "Boon" —and the rest of it-—and decidedly a book to bo ( read. -' i i SOME V/AR BOOKS. American Opinion on the War. { interesting survey of American public sentiment upon tho - great war, its causes and international issues, is provided in a volume entitled "Sixty American Opinions on the War" (Lon- ' don. T. Fisher Unwin). Amongst tho public men whoso opinions aro quoted are Joseph B. Choate (formerly Ambas- ' sador to England); Theodore Roosevelt ; and William Howard Taft (ex-Presi-dents); Richard Harding Davis, Wil- , liam Dean Howells, and Henry James, ■ air three well-known American literary ; men: Professor David'Starr Jordan, of tho Ca-lifornian University;. Professor ■ Morton Pi-ince, the eminent authority on psychology ; Professor James BranMatthews ; Mr. George Haven Put- / /iam, and r Lny; ott ft Americans ■ of, light and Tlfat tho vast majority of ! '. decent aiid well-cducatcd ; 'Amorioans support, almost unresei'ved--1 ly, the causc of tho-AllioSj is mado clear by a perusal of tho opinions quoted in this hook. In not a few of-the extracts one perceives a note of regret lost a policy of selfish commercialism should prevent tho United States from ivs. efrinf- ivif.Vll +,}IA flir.

(Bx Liber.) 'Give a man a pipe he can molte, Give a man a book he can read; 'And his home is bright with a calm delight Though the room be poor, indeed.

I—James THoixsoMf-i >

tates of international honour. For instance, Professor Georgo M'Lcan Har-per,-of Princetown; writing to the Now York "Times"' says fc—' We have far more cause for intervention on behalf of tho,.AJlies than ■ wo had for the war of 1812, or tho Mexican War, or the Spanish War; But apart'from intervention, there is much that wo can do to shorten this agony. We can be patient when, friction' Occurs between our Government and that of Great Britain over maritime difficulties. We can as individuals abstain from trading directly or indirectly with Germany. It is absurd to suppose that anybody who is not a coldblooded egoist can really bo neutral. Official neutrality may bo maintained, but the; sold is free,, and surely; the soul of America is not so Teoreant to' the ancient principles of liberty and justice as to ... withhold at least moral support from those who, in tho_ British Isles and, . in France, are giving up all they . possess to defend that right." Noble words, nobler sentiments; sentiments in strongest contrast to the pusillanimous shuffling of the American Government. But then Professor Harper is not- a politician, and does not fear that "German vote" which appears to have suoh a paralysing effect upon tho Capitol—and the .White . House! (Prico Is. 3d.) ■ • • A Chastened Bernhardl. A new and chastened Bernhardi appears in a little volume entitled "Tha New.ißemhavdi: His Latest Views on War". (C. Arthur Pearson,' Ltd.). ■ It consists mainly of certain articles, writtell by General von Bernhardi, whilst he has been engaged on active service, and contributed by him to the -"New York American,'-' together with the crushing replies which the article elicited in an official statement issued by tho French Government, and from the - London "Times." The Bernhardi articles, taken as a whole, are written in a very different tone from that which secured for the author's earlier works, especially his "Germany and. the Next War," such widespread notoriety. They reflect, it is true, a bitter, almost malignant, hatred of England, but the whining; apologetic style'in which he attempts to explain away the Chauvinistic truculence of his earlier work exhibits him in a very, pitiful plight. As. to his [.new predictions of wonderful German I successes, now that he has been on active service, he has probably recognised that the Franco of 1913 is not the France of 1870. From being cocksure he has now become cautious. As "The Times" critic: says "The General, of course, professes confidence in the victory of Germany, but how different is his tone from-that common on German lips a few months ago Then we used to hear of dates fixed by _ 'All-Highest Command' for the occupation of Paris, to say nothing of'Ypres and Calais. Now,, the fight lias 'assumed a. stationary character,' and- 'it is impossible to foresee how and by what means the final decision will be brought about.?" (Price, Is. 3d.). J> , ■' '*>#. H LIBER'S NOTE-BOOK , £ GOSSIP ON SOME RECENT REPRINTS. New Books and Old. Although the spring publishing season has come and gone in the Old Country, the lists, of new books—and reprints of old ones —which appear week by:week in,tlie "Times Literary Supplement" and similar. periodicals dear to the bookman's heart; still continue :to be, under all the circumstances', surprisingly lengthy. There is, .noKdoubt, a noticeable falling off in; tlie. number of works of a more costly character. But many of 'the announcements are very interesting. The war, books, especially of the ' scrappy and trashy kind at one time so prominent in the booksliops, are now not so numerous, but on the other, hand, 'the supply of new fiction keeps up amazingly. Perhaps it is that the public rush to novels, to find a temporary nepenthe, some relief, for a few hours though it may be, from the worries and; anxieties of the day, Hilaire Belloc's Versatility. Especially noticeable is the number of good, for the most part cheap, reprints of books which, in more "expensive form', have .attained a certain popularity. , For instance, Methuens publish a now (2s. 6d.) edition of. Hilaire Belloc!s■ mercilessly.clever.satire on;mod-, em commercialism, "Emmanuel. Burden,'/ and-if you only know -your .Belloo. as, a writer on war, it' .is ' worth,,your wliile to sample his quality as a satirist. Eor< ninepence you can-get . that capital pblitical satire.of his "Mn Clutterbuck's Election,". Vin which,. as:in his oddly-' named story, "Mr. Pongo and the Bull," -you will find some curious ""inside track" pictures of the party game as it is, or was, played in the British House of Commons. Would you like to savour Mr. Belloc's quality as a sentimental traveller —more in the' Stevensonian than the Sterne genre, though with' a flavour of .both— spend fifteen.pence on.his: "Path to Rome" (Nelson's Library), tho record of a pedestrian tour from France across the Alps and down through Lombardy to the Eternal.City. It is,- so many people think, quite as good as "The Travels With a Donkey," of' "R.L.S," himself. Then, again, read in Nelson's Two Shilling Library (2s. 6d. out here), Belloc's delightfully humorous account —"Four Men" is the title—of a pedestrian wandering in Sussex. ' Both these books, this I can vouch for, are a sure and certain in-; surance against enriui. Or yet, again, make a trial trip amongst tho half dozon or- so books of Belloc's Essays, published by Methuens in handy-sized and beautifully-printed volumes, _ en-; titled "On Everything," "On Nothing,". "On Something," and—^this, in "Liber's"opinion, is the best of them all—"Hills and the Sea." Rupert Brooke and His' Poetry. . ; | Amongst now editions of poems which, seem' to bo specially worthy, of notice are Wilfred Wilson ■ Gibson's .forceful . pictures- of the British workers; and their dull, drab lives, entitled "Fires" (this will cost you 4s. 6d.), or, in so different a vein, the soberly graceful and beautiful' "Poems" of Rupert Brooke, the young and most promising of English poets 'of to-day, whoso death, at LeinI nos, was recently announced. Brooke's poems are published by Sedgwick and Jackson at 3. Gd. Tho volume is very slim, less than a hundred pages in fact, but Brooke's verse should live, and just now a special interest- must- attach to it owing to the author's death at tho front. Of the many to the young poet-soldier's memory which have appeared in tho Home papers one of tho most interesting.is that.which appeared in "Tho Field" from the pen of Mr. S.-P. B.' Mais, who writes: "He was almost too good to bo true. Handsome in appearaiico, successful, almost uncannily so, in whatever enterprise ho undertook, whether it was a game at school (lie was in tho XI qnd XV at Rugby),-a classical 'tripos,,- op an. attempt at self-expression in poetry or -l-vrnsp. lin. is 'tho' kind of. ceniiis .nrnnnd-

whose memory will be wreathed a vast store of legend in the future. In that niche of tlie temple of famo reserved for those whom'the gods lovo, in that Elysium where the souls of poets dead and gone foregather, Rupert will not bo the least welcome among the Marlowes, Shelbys, Keatses, and Chattertons, young Englishmen all, of splendid hearts. . . . There has not been,_ so another great poet has said, so grievous a loss to poetry sineo the death of Shelley." One of the favourite selections from Rupert Brooke's work aro seme lilies in "Tho Hill": ' Breathless we flung us on tlie windy hill, Laughed in tho sun and kissed the ■ lovely grass. You said: "Through glory and esctacy we pass, , Wind, sun, and earth, remain; the biros .sing still, „ I i ■When wo are old, are old. , And when we die, All's over that is ours, and life burns on Through other ' lovers, other lips, - said I; . "Heart of my heart, our heaven is now, is won!" , . . "We are Earth's best, that learnt her lesson here. . • Life is our cry. We have kept the faith!" we said, "We shall go down with unreluctant .tread, _ Rose-crowned into the darkness. > > • Proud wo were, And laughod, that had such brave, true things to say—. And then you. suddenly cried and turned _ away. Some of his writings seemed prophetic of an early end. A famous sonnet of his on clouds contains the lines: — They say that the dead die not, but remain . Near to the rich heirs of their grief '' and mirth. I think they ride the calm mid heaven as these In wise, majestic melancholy train, And watch the moon, and the still-raging • seas, • And men coming and going on ( • tho earth. And when war came he was not tho man to blink, at w hat ho was about to givo up; as. he had more to renounce, being blest at his birth by an over-gen-erous fairy-godmother, so ho more acutely felt the sacrifice. than some of his more obtuse generation:— These laid the world away; poured out the red ■ Sweet wine of youth; gave up tha..years to'be' Gf work and joy, and that unhoped serene That men call age; and those' who would have l>een Their sons, they gave—their immortality. The World's Classics. ■ • -In that excellent series, the "World's Classics" (Milford, Is. 3d; each), a new volume, which greatly appeals to me,, is that entitled "Dreamthorp," a collection' of singularly ■ thoughtful' and charming essays by a Scotsman,' Alexander Smith, who also wrote a "very pleasant book, "A Summer in Skye." "Dreamthorp" is essentially a bookman's book. Smith's essays may not, of course, be compared with those of the '"Gentle Elia," but in their own more modern way, they afford most 'restful and. delightful reading. ' Another exceptionally "goodwalue" item in the:."World Classics" is a collection of "Six Plays by Contemporaries of Shakespeare," edited by C. B. Wheeler. We cannot all afford the space, evon could we spare the cash, for a long-set, say, of Dodsley's "Old Plays," on the expensive Bullen reprints of Marlowe and jMarston, Dekker,- and otheri dramatists of' Shakespeare's day. But fifteonpence, even in these days of en-" forced economy, is not an excessive price to pay to be taken back to Shakespeare's time, and be how Eis contemporaries and rivals treated those tragic subjects, so greatly esteemed by patroiis'of the Elizabethan playhouses. John Calsworthy's Novate. There is such a .long list;of reprints of novels that! scarcely like, to allude to any:iiv particular.'. But. as a''devotedadmirer of John Galsworthy, one of the! few living English novelists w'ho really' count, I must rejoice at the. chance which, a shilling edition (Heinemann) of this writer's fine story, "The Man of Property," affords to, readers who have not as yet made acquaintance with this writer's work. • I know that many novel. readers dislike .irony, hut Galsworthy, so it seems to me, always tempers his ironic spirit by a fine human ■sympathy. ' He is never cynical, as so many _ purely ironical writers eud by becoming. "Read all Galsworthy" is safe advice to a young book-lover who wants'to get at-the best: in ■latter-day ■English. He is-uneven, it is: true, but at his best, as in "The, Man of Property," and "A Country House,"-lie is easily first amongst contemporary English novelists. His essays and short stories and sketches are also worthy of attention. Some of them, "The Villa Rubein," "A Motley,"., and "A Commentary," you can buy in Duckworth's Readers' Library (35.). This is an excellent series of well-printed, wellbound books, of a good library size, books which make quite a dignified appearance on your shelves, whereas, I' must confess, many of the popular reprints look skimpy, being so small. Better, I think, a'few books, good books, jivell printed and decently bound, than a host of cheap trivialities. Mr, Galsworthy is never trivial. The "Readers' Library." : Messrs. Duckworth never send me review copies of the additions to their "Readers' Library," so you see I am quite disinterested in my praise of this series. 'Biit.-I have .myself bought so many volumes of this series, and prize them so greatly, that I cannot: help giving them a free advertisement: Besides the Galsworthy books, tlie scries contains four volumes of the late Leslie Stephen's "Studies of a Biographer,"- as good almost as the same-author's famous "Hours in a Library." In this same "Readers' Library," too, you will find W. H. Hudson's beautiful study of life in a tropical forest- 7 "Green Mansions" is the title —and several of Cunningham Graham's curious but fascinating travel sketches of Argentina and Morocco. Also, and these are quite recent additions, the series contains several collections of short stories by Maxim Gorki, Tcliekoff, and Garshin. Russian fiction is greatly in ; domand nowadays witli Eiiglish readers. At one time only a few of Tolstoi's and Turgeniov's novels were known to the average English reader. But nowadays the field is widening. Of Mr. Heinemann's excellent translations of Dostoievsky's novels I have already written in this column. In Fisher TJmvin's list and m Dent's "Everyman Library" you will find.quito a number of notablo works by Russian novelists. - Cheap French Books. The study of -French is',: I; believe, : m'--; creasingly popular with/New Zealanders,' which may account for the fact'''that' .French novels and other French.books. are now .to bo seon in tho best book' shops, whereas, not, so long ago, if you: wanted a French book you had to order it. Nelson's cheap reprints of good: standard lYonch ivorks sell. well. Nelson's are now inchiding the' best- of Alexandre Dumas in their..-admirable "Collection Francaisc." You can get the immortal masterpiece, "Les Trois Mousquetaires" in this series, also its sequel,. "Vingt Ans Apres," and now tho final work in the "Musketeer" trilogy, "Lo Vicbmte do Brageloiuie," is being added —in .five volumes. Many people find tho "Vicomte do Bragelonne" too' long drawn out, but there is somo fine reading in this chroniclo of the deeds of D'Artagnan and his gallant comrades in their old age,- and it must be remembered 'that in Stevenson's opinion this was Dumas' best story. Another notablo addition to this series is Einile' Soiivestro's" delightful ' little book, "Un Philosophe. Sous Les Toits," as good in its'own-particular Way as Da Maistt-s's. .famous! - "Voyage AiiWr flo'Mu Chambrs.U Tiia only fault ! findi

with tlieso French editions of Nelson's (wonderfully cheap at fifteenpence) is their cream-coloured cloth bincliug. The volumes so soon get soiled. "Thoso Twain" will, I understand, bo tlio titlo of the third and concluding volume of Mr. Arnold Bennett's famous "Clayhanger" trilogy, which is shortly to bo published. How tho rather timid Edwin Clayhanger got on with the masterful Hilda after he married that curiously..elusive personagois a problem the solution of which a host • ren ders are anxiously await- • i 10 sanl0 J I h°P 9 Mr. Bennett will m futuro drop the trilogy schema, with, however, one exception. I do very much want to hear some more of the life history of that delightful Five Towns celeYr 'n "Denry" Machin, to whom wri „ lii'st introduced us in Ibo Card," continuing the story of his ambitions, enterprises, and adventures m "The Regent," I should never bo surprised if Mr. Bennett mad© Denry appear in'the role of a politiCI T^ n ' yi vo • owns election, with "Denry Macliin as a candidate, should provido somo rnro fun. Meanwhile,however, I am greatly thankful to hear of tho approaching end of the' "Clayhanger" trilogy. Wo have waited so long for tho tliird volumo that somo of us had actually begun to fear it would novcr bo forthcoming.. HReviews of several new novels, aro held over.] ]S[EW BOOKS. NEW BOOKS. EXA ni 1 r Il ? 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A TREATISE ON HAND LETTERING, for engineers, architects, surveyors,' ■ and students.,of mechanical drawing,' ■ by W. J.-.Linehanii 95.,, postage : Bd. EVERY OFFICER'S NOTEBOOK. Movej- - ments and words of command in infantry drill, , in condensed form, Is. ' 3d., nostage id. MELBA T S GIFT BOOK, ss. Postage, sd. STUDIO YEAR BOOK, DECORATIVE ' ART, 1915, Gs. ■ Postage, Gd. i NEW SUPPLY HARMSWORTH ATLAS AND GAZETTEER. Price, 455. Posttage,' Is. lOd. FRECKLES, by G. Stratton Porter, Is. Gd:, post free. WHERE THE GERMAN ARMY HAS PASSED, including the British, German, and French Official Reports on tlio German Atrocities, with 58 Special Photographs. Is. 3d., postage 3d. LATEST NOVELS, ■ • . 3s. Gd., postage'sd. . THE TITAN, by Theodore Dreiser.(6s.) LOVE AND THE FREEMASON,, Guy Thome." ' ' ' ": FLAME OF FROST, Alice Jones. ALLWARD, E.'S. Stevens. ' THE TEMPLE OF DAWN, J. A.' R. Wylie. ' . THE MAN WHO STAYED- ; AT HOME, Beamish Tinker. . New Novel by Norma Lorimer. (author of "A Wife out of Egypt")', ON DESERT ALTARS. A sensational Eastern' Story. ™ , THE WIFE WHO FOUND OUT, by Gertie Wentwor'th James. A MAN FROM THE PAST, by Stanley Portal Hyatt. WHITCOMBE AND TOMBS, Lambton Quay, Wellington. igPECIAL BIBLE VALUES. LARGE CLEAR. AND HEAVY BLACK TYPE.- Wo recommend the Clarendon Press, Minion, 16mo. type, at the following prices.:—No.' 1691: Central references, full- morocco bound, with yapp edges, cloth lined inside; 8 by. G1 inches, 1J inches thick, 7s. •' (with special thumb index, Bs. fid.) SAME BIBLE, on India Paper, only:2-inch thick, 9s. • REVISED BIBLE, same large print, cloth ■Is., leather 6s. • • „ •FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS. The Oxford Workers^. Bible, containing 350 pages of helps, maps, concordance, . etc.; Ruby, 24mp. type; size; 6i by.n inches; lj inches thick, ss. (with special index, Gs. Gd.. Same, on India Paper, only 1 inch thick, 9s. (with index, .109. Gd.). •.'* .. Postage Gd. extra. From S. AND W. 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THE THEATRE. ■ 0 £Br Stlyios.] The World's a theatre; the Earth a stage.—Hoy wood. An Attraction. Claude Dampier, laughter-maker, supported by the Red Dandios, will appear at the Concert Chamber this evening. Verbum sap. "The Man Who stayed at Home." ;m' 10 |°" ow ' n g is a correct cast of ' ihe Man Who Stayed at Home," to bo staged by J. C. Williamson's dramatic Company at the Grand Opera House on Wednesday night nest, August 11-Mr. Frank Harvey as Christopher Brent, Austin Milroy as Carl faanderson Arthur Cornell as John Ireston, J.P.j Kenneth Brampton as Percival Penmuifc, Leslie- Victor as I.ritZj • C/harlos Jlorso as Corporal Atvins, Emma lemple as Mrs. Sanderson,. Dorothy _ Cumming as Molly Preston, iempe Pigott as Miss Myrtle, Florence Weeson as Fraulein Schroeder, M. Jiiowno as Daphne Kidliiigton, and rn f?p ot . as Miriam Leigh. Ill© following is the correct tour of from August 11 to 20; Palmerston North, August- 21; 1< eliding, August 23: Wauea"fl £" s^ st 24 and - 5 J Eltliam, August 26; Hawera, August 27; Stratford, August 28; New Plymouth, August 30; Auckland, September 1 to 10; Gisborne, September 13 and 14; Napier, Septem--16 an 4 Hastings, September io; Dannovirke,- September 20: Masterton, September 21; Christclmrcli, September 23 to October 2; Timaru, October 4; Oamaru, October 5: Dunedin, October 6 to 11; Invercargill, October 12 and 13. Away from Pantomime; Later in the yea,r J. C. Williamson, Ltd., will present in Melbourne a long series of revivals of popular musical plays which have stood the test of time. A strong company is being formed, and the season will bo conducted on lines similar to those of . the Quinlan Opera Company—short', runs and quick changes. : An interesting feature of the productions will bo the first appearance the company of two popular artists who have only hithorto been seen in pantomime in Australia—Minnie Love, all< l Barry Lupino. _Miss Love appeared in South Africa in musical comedy under tho J. C. Williamson management prior to coming to Australia.' Mr. Lupino made;a name for himself in London in this phase of stage work as well as in pantomime and revues, He couldn't stand for Blondes, i' ■ Hugh 1). M'lntosh, the ' vaudeville entrepreneur and world's sports refereed in the big fight' for the championship of the world between Tommy Burns and Jack Johnson; but "he didn't want to do it." Ho,wanted Snowy Baker to undertake the responsibility, and got Burns to agree to him, but the ebony man could not hear a - word when "Snowy" was mentioned. ■ Finally, Huglr M'lntosh got Jack into a corner, and demanded to know the black man's, objection to . "Siiowy." • Jack said: "Well, Hugh, he's a blonde, and I can't stand for blondes 1" 1 "Good" and "Popular." Says Geo. Cohan in the "Green Book":—"The success of certain plays and tlio failure of others throws a light on the . question of whether a popular play is a'good play. I have always contended that it is, and I shall continue so doing. Ido not 'say that certain persons who represent, themselves as being more or less capable critics do not Know a good play, but .1 do say that persons from one stratum of society cannot hopo, to fix on the merits of a play for all strata, of society. That is what a play is for— for everybody. 1 hold that : a play thit has a longer and more successful run is a better play, as. ail all-round pro r duction, than one that pleases a certain part of the public and therefore lias onl.y a short run. The final and vital criticism lies in a play's general popularity." Of course' Mr. -Cohan is as wrong as he can be—as far from the truth as the poles. If he were right, then such songs as "Tarara-boom-de-Ay," "Wait till the Clouds 1101 l By," "Get Out and Get IJudor," and."Tipperary" aro great songs, an.d George Meredith, th.e least of all fiction writers. A popVilar success does not. mean that a play or • a song or a book .is intrinsically, go.od.'' There may bo some element which, tickles, tlio popular palate or appeals to its morbidity. Shakespeare surely is the greatest playwright of all time (though a Sydney scribe stated that Cohan's comedy "The Seven Keys to Baldpato," founded on Earl . Biggar's book,-was' cs great as anything Wilr liam Shakespeare had written, and how often does J." C; Williamson, Ltd.. revive a Shakespearean ' play? Geo. Cohan is a : very alert writer of comedies and farces;'a clever comcdian and dancer, and the great fiag-wagger of the American stage, but when he attemps to claim, that the most popular is necessarily the best, ho tells us that thick beer, is better than sparkling Burgundy, and that "Chin-Chin" is a finer work- than Wagner's-"Tristan and Isolde." . '. ! ' "Like the Curate's Egg." The Sydney "Sun," in its notice of ."The Marriage! Market," head-lined the musical play as being "Like the Curate's Egg," but in the letterpress unaccountably forgot to point the allusion. .'Most : people, however, know the story,of tlio timid 'curate so accustomed to being grateful for small mercies from the vicar that when at one meal the cry was raised, "Why,' Mr. Smiff has been given a ..bad egg,", the curate hastened to say with agonised self-abasement: "It's really all right; the egg is quite good—ill parts." Musical-comedy audiences are truly often like the curate, taking with thanks whatever is offered them.—Sydney "Green Boom."-' New Tivoli Stars. The' Ventura brings another batch of American stars to; Australia this month for the Tivoli circuit. One of the -foremost is Mary Elizabeth, a wellknown monologue comcdienne, who is one of the biggest successes on the American vaudeville stage., A novel •turn, is in store for patrons of the Tivoli vaudeville in Tamea Kajiyama, who performs extraordinary and unnatural feats that have baffled the world. Grouch and Welch aro another pair of popular artists. They present a talking and singing act- Jack Birchlev. arrives with a reputation as a comedy contortionist. The other newcomers aro Walter . Weems, who is billed as "Not an Act —Just an Event"; Decricoky,. a character comedian; and Billy Kinkaid, -specialty artist.—Sydney "Green Room." < Notes,: _ * . The death is reported from England of Mr.' Barclay Gammon, the clever song-at-the-piano artist, who visited NewZealand with Maskelyne and Devant's show somo ten years ago. He was a ponular London performer.' _ Mr. Hc-nry Bracy, the original Marco in "Tlio Gondoliers" in Australia and New Zealand, and an old servant of tlio Williamson firm, is reported to bo seriously ill in Sydney. Mr. Bracy was tho original Prince Hilarion in "Princess Ida" at the Savoy Theatre, London. LATEST PATRIOTIC SONGS. "THE SOLDIER." . "OUR FLAG NEVER SHALL G'o : DOWN." "WE SHALL. GET. THERE. IN .TIME." :"GOQB OLD NEW ZEALAND."': • i|Y". FAIUWEATHEE, UJVMHSTf: STOP.TS. PETT.TITVft

MUSIC. TBv Tbeblb Cr.sf.l The Royal Choral Society. Evoryono will regret to bear that Mr Herbert Bloy has been forced to relinquish the > conductorship of tlio Royal Choral Socioty owing to ill-liealth. Mr. Bloy had his 'foot on the ladder of success, and would, had ho been given a fair ohanco physically, have.mado an honoured niche lor himself in the musical community of NewZealand. But the work of conducting is largely-physical, and if a man exercises all his powers •to infuse his orchestra and chorus with the true spirit of the music, lie makes exhausting dc.-nands upon his ' system. Tlio society had to look round for a new conductor, and I am delighted' to learn, that Mr. Bernard Page, our talented City Organist, has accepted the post. Why lie was not given the opportunity long agonvould take a long time to tell, and would servo no useful purpose in the telling. Suffice it that Mr. Page is a highly-gifted pianist and organist, with a,-fine training, the highest ideals, boundless ambition, and youth to serve him, and ho should go far whenever his caravan may finally rest-. .Mr. Pago is said to be doing good work r,s conductor of the Wfclling-' ton Operatic Society, which has "Les Cloches de Corneville" in rehearsal, and has also got the Wellington Orchestral Society, and St. Joseph's Choir urder his caio. What is Tempo Rutyato? The idiotic notion that in tempo rubatoi the right hand may use a certain freedom, while the left hand must-keep strict time is hard' to eradicate 'from the minds of most pianists. "A nico sort of music would result from such playing!" exclaims the eminent Philadelphia pianist, Constiptin. von Sternberg, in the. April ''Etude." It would be 'something like the singing of a f?° iji voca^ accompanied by a poor blockhead who hammers away in'strict time without yielding ,to .tlio - singer, who ill sheer despair must renounco all artistic expression." ' "If vacillations of movement were inadmissible. in. tho works, say, of Beethoven, then ah'orchestra playing ono of his symphonies would need no conductor; a largo metronome would, then, do just as well as far as the tempo, is. concerned." All real artists constantly use the subtle changes of pace which are, for want °f a- better word, - called tempo rubato. Somo of them do so unconsciously. Mr. Sternberg'tells an amusing anecdote of his teacher, Moscheles. Ho. proposed to play a Beethoven adagio with all the expression it required, and still keep strict then ho sat down at the "piano and played a most beautiful rubato, for ho was a consummato artist. And when ho 'had finished ho commented upon how strictly he .had kept : time." Sternberg does not go too far when he sunis up with the maxim that "no musician capable of sensing the musical fooling of a melody ever played it in strict timo." . ■ The Jenny Lind Mystery, In .his recently-published book, Some Famous Singers of the Nineteenth Century," Francis Rogers says: .To mako a. just estimate of Jenny Lmd's work is difficult. Though tho most described of all tlio great prima donnas, her exalted reputation is the hardest to explain. In voice and in dramatic talent she was certainly inferior to her contemporaries, Sontag and Grisi; slio was supremo only, as a concert performer. Cool, expert criticism was never applied to her by the general public. Her early successes ,in Sweden and Germany mean little, because of the low standards of singing in' thoso countries. England and America never heard her-till their critical faculties had been numbed by the blast of advance advertising that in both cases preceded her coining. The Parisian public, the most knowing and sophisticated of all, never heard her sing a note. She was only thirty-five when she ceased to sing regularly and resolved herself into a glorious tradition above the reach of adverse criticism; after that her iufrequent appearances took . place only before tho English, the most unquestioningly loyal of all publics. And yet the praise she won from such miisicans as -Meyerbeer, Berlioz/ Robert and Clara Schumaun, and Mendelssohn warns us that it is not safe, to apply, to, her the word "over-rated." Mendelssohn wrote the soprano part in "Elijah" for her, and said: "In my whole life I have not seen an artistic nature so noble, so genuine, so true; natural gifts, study, and depth of feeling I have never seen united in the same degree." This is certainly high praise from a high source. Our own-.Theodore Thomas, too, always maintained that of all the great singers, that sang in America during his long lifetime, and he heard them all, Sontag and Lind were certainly tho greatest. Sontag' won ber victories' by • obvious means—a lovely voice and person, combined .with.a highly developed, exquisite art. Jenny Lind, on the contrary, gained hers by. means so little obvious'- that we, who never heard her, cannot quite account for the tremendous • impression she madoon her own generation. The careers of tho other great prima domias can be explained and classified; Jenny Lmd's puzzles the imagination and assigns to the "Swedish Nightingalg" a unique place in tho Goldon Book of Singers. " Chocolate Soldiering. The idea of "The Chocolate Soldier" at Melbourne Her Majesty's appealing to the public as a recruiting play never occurred to the J. C. Williamson, Ltd., management. Yet this is'how it apparently appealed to an ardent patriot, who wrote to the Melbourne offico of the firm, thanking them for staging the play at this juncture. ' ;"I am exceedingly glad to see 'The Chocolate Soldier' going 'on at this time," lie wrote. "It will wake our people up to the fact that thoso who stay behind and merely excuse their consciences' by practising with a rifle, are indeed chocolate' soldiers,. not brave Australians. I have never seen the play," ho ingenuously confessed, "but I have no doubt from tho title that it will do fine recruiting work, even from its name alone." The idea.of the opera appealing to. the public as a recruiting play will certainly 'appeal to. thoso who have seen it as a piece of unconscious humour 1 Is Schonberg, asks tho "Harvard Musical Review,", "a real composer or a decomposer, or just a poser?" When his "Five Little Picccs" for orchestra were played in Boston the critics-' violently took sides. The "Globe" spoke of "nerve-racking caterwaulings," and the "Transcript" went into ecstasies about "whirling, warring, wailing wraiths." From Riga, Russia, comes the news of the death of Karl Friedrich Glasenapp, the famous biographer, of Richard Wagner. Ho was sixty-seven years old, and had been occupying a post at tho Riga Polytcchnikum as Professor of German and Literature. The Glasenapp Wagner biography, published ill 1876, remains, tho most oxtensivo work on the life of tho great composer. ■ ■ This is a question Paul Bums,- who plays Potash in "Potash : and Perlmutter" at Melbourno Theatre Royal, wants answered. Other comedians have asked the same question without success:—"Why is it that ah audience will one night laugh at'a joke; the next night pass it by, in silence, or at something they liavb.previously ignored? I havo puzzled over .this since my. .arrival, eo that I havi nearly brought'on