LIBER'S NOTE- BOOK .

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2582, 2 October 1915, Page 9

LIBER'S NOTE- BOOK .

Held Over. Several reviews of-new novels are held over-until-next week. .. A Sailor Author. , ; Many thousands of people who. have travelled with, that popular;coastal, skipper, . "Manning of the Maori,',' are not aware perhaps that the captain has' literary gifts well above the average. A few years ago he published a useful and interesting littla volume entitled "Below and Above the > Waterline;" in which the daily working of a big-pas-senger steamship was explained in de-j tail. Tho agreeably light and flowing style in which the book was written prompted not a few of" its critics, including "Liber," to suggest that- the captain should try ihis hand at.fiction. I am therefore glad to hear that a volume of short stories from Captain Manning's pen will shortly be published by "Whitcombe and Tombs, of _ Cbristchurch. Its title, "Interned/' is taken from the name "of the opening story— a war-time yarn. The book is due to appear in about three weeks from now. If everyone : who has travelled yrith tiie genial skipper of the Maori oiHy buys a copy:of liis.book.he should get a. good cheque from his publisher. .

The Late Maarten Maartcns. Early in August • English'■ papers reported tie death ' of ' Sir. Maarten Jlaarteris, whose real namo'was Van der Poorten-Schwarz, a Dutch novelist, ■ whose stories (written in English) had at one time a certain popularity. ■ Tho best of them were perhaps "The Sin of Joost Avelingh" and "God's Fool." Ho was a frequent visitor to England, where, ho had many friends.

Facetious Mr. Wells. H. G. Wells is very funny in his last novel, "Bealbv," which-is almost, if not quite-, as good as "Kipps" and "Mr. Polly." Here, for instance, is a nasty knock at tho ultra respectable, but rather smug'"Spectator": ! He whistled for the'boy with the papers. " 'Pink 'Un,' " ho said, almost breathlessly. ". . . What's . all these others? - 'Athenaeum,' ' 'Sporting aid Dramatic' ? Bight oh I ' And—eh! What ? Do • I look the sort that buys a 'Spectator' ? You ' don't know? Do I wear goloshes? My dear, boy, wliero's 3'our savoir faire?" , And, again, apropos to a Mr. Geedge, "a. man of the super-aquiline type, with a nose like a rudder" :—

Ha held, his face as it it was a. hatchet in a procession, and walked ■with the dignity of a man of honour. ' You could see at once ho was a man. of honour. Inflexibly, invincibly, he was a man of honour. You felt that anywhen—in a- fire, ,in an earthquake, in a railway accident, when. , other people woutd.be running about and doing things—he would bavo remained—a man of honour. It -was his pride, rather than his vanity, to b9 mistaken, for Sir. . Edward' Grey." . "Auywlien is good," as Polonius would have said. By all. means do not fail to read "Bealby." It is the wildest, most riotous of farce, but it is farco by a master of the farcical —when ho pleases so to be. .

Ths Poet and the Critic. - Guy Thome is not, as a rule, a humorist, but in his recently published novel, curiously entitled "Lovo and the Freemason" (which reminds me of Mr. Randall's 'Tjovo and the Ironmonger"), ho gets off the following: — I dislike poetry—my nephew's . especially. It always seems as iF it ought to be sent to the wash! I ■ told him so one day. I said: "My dear Chris, there are two ways o'f disliking poetry, one just disliking ifc, and tho other, reading yours I" For some odd reason, Chris was delighted, though I hadn't meant to bo complimentary in any way. Ho said I was brilliant, and' gave' m6 < an expensive bracelet, w£i;h I didn't

The Now Oxford English Dictionary. The deatli of Sir James A. Et. Murray, tho editor of . the famous "New" or "Oxford" English Dictionary, will not seriously retard tlio completion of- this great work. Nine voluhies havo been published, the tenth and final volume, containing tho letters "T" to "Z," alono remaining incomplete. Its publication will, it is announced, not bo long delayed. Sir James succeeded as editor Herbert Coleridge and Dr. Furnivall. Ho had been engaged on tho ivork for twenty-seven years, and had moro than 1500 assistants, ivh'ose duty it was to read books, and thirty assistant editors, who, .sorted out tho" rough material.

Studies in the Minimum Wage. The second of tho publications of tho ltatan Tata Foundation (in connection with the University of London) reaches us from George Bell and Sons, per Whit-combe and Tombs, Ltd. Tho Foundation was instituted in order to promote the study and further tho knowledge of methods of preventing and relieving poverty. . For the furtherance of this purpose the Foundation, the honorary director of which is Professor W. L. Hobhouse, M.A., conducts inquiries into wages and thd cost of living, methods of preventing and diminishing unemployment, measures affecting the health and well-being; of workers, public, and private agencies for tho relief of destitution, and -kindred matters. The volume now published is the second of a series of "Studies in the Minimum Wage," and deals' specially with "Minimum Kates ill the Tailoring Trade." Under the Trade Boards Act of 1909 the British tailoring industry, numbering some 140,000 workers, now has a minimum rate of wages fixed by Trado Board. -Mr. R. H. now describes the organisation' and procedure of the Trade Board, and discusses the advance in wages, caused by it, and its effect upon trade-unionism, employment, and tho organisation of the industry. The administrative difficulties which arise in tho enforcement of the minimum rates, especially in the caso nf home workers, are also discussed, and suggestions are made as to ways in which they can bo 'mitigated. The work is of an exhaustive cnaraoter, and although New Zealand conditions in the clothing industry differ not a little from those which- exist in tho Old Country, the facts and figures set; forth. by Mr. Tawney should bs of value to local students of - the labour problem, if only for the purpose of comparison. (New Zealand price, 45.).

A New Lincoln Book. _ In common with a' goodly number of New Zealanders, "Liber" confesses to a liking for the stories of an American novelist, - Joseph C. Lincoln, whp writes of tho Cape Cod folk. I have specially pleasant memories, for ' instance, of "The Postmaster," "Cap'n Warren's 'Ward," "Cy. Whittaker?s Place," arid "-Tlio Rise of Roscoe Paine;" Whenever a new Lincoln book makes its appearance I am quite uneasy until I can get hold of a copy; and this writer has rarely pleased me more than in his very latest story, "Thankful's Inheritance,", on which; failing the arrival of an expected review copy, I couldn't help -spending three and sixpence' - the' , other'; day. Again wo are among'the Cape Cod folk, tho principal characters.-being; a widow, Thankful Barnes, who, having inherited a home in the country, sets up as a board-inghouse-keeper." Foiy a, while she' pros.pers.exceedingly, -but thero comes' a time when, "thunder'mighty," as the Down-Easters say, some one discovers th© house'-. is "ha'nted." .Then tho widow's troublefe begin, and very humorous some; of them are. But while Thankful and . her faithful ' Emily:

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New Work by John Masefield, THE FAITHFUL; 45., postage H. i ILLUSTRATIONS IN ADVOOACY, by Richard Harris, - K.C. New edition, 7s. 6d., postage sd. THE LETTERS OF AN ENGLISHMAN, by Chas.. Whibley, 2 vols.. -Bs., postage 7d. -■TIIE WORLD OF H. G.' WELLS, by VIW. Brooks. ss. 6d., postage dd. A GUIDE-TO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, by H. C. O'Neill. , A book,which answers the problems which daily' arise out of speech and .writing. dCO doublecolumn pages. 65., postage 7d. THE BOOK OF FRANCE. . This volume represents - much;, that is most brilliant in tho world of letters on both sides of the Channel. It -is t collection- of articles appropriate to tho troublesome period through which we are passing. Written and' illustrated by some of themost eminent French writers and artists of our day,- and translated by some of the inost distinguished English writers.-Each article in the original French is followed by the translation into English, Gs., postage sd; x LATEST FICTION. \ 3s; 6d., postage sd; QUEEN ANNE IS DEAD—A ijew novel from the capable pen of Patricia Wentwortli, author of that successful book "A Marriage under the, Terror." "The atmosphere and surroundings of the time are very .effectively reproduced; the whole tale attracts the reader from first to last, and is quite sure to win for the author a very greatly increased vogue and .reputation ."—"Bookseller." JAFFERY, by Wiltiam J. Locke, author of "The Beloved Vagabond." "JafIfery" inspires ono with tho joy of life and of living. "J.iifery" is all smiles. THE GREAT TAB DOPE, by Ole-Luk-Oie, or "Eye Witness," tho noted war dispatch writer. THE SEALED VALLEY, by Hulbert Footner. ' FELONS, .bv Sir .Gcorgo Makgill, author of "Blacklaw." PAUL QUENTIN, bv Fred. M. White. THE REGENTS GIFT, by May Wynne. ..... . ' - THE LOVE OF NAVARRE, by' Margaret Peterson. Cloth 2s. Gd., paper Is. 3d. » WHITCOMBE AND TOMBS, LTD., LAMBTON QUAY. THE MASTER WORKS OF IRISH ' LITERATURE.

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couldn't keep tho boarders, they managed to keep a Capo Cod cap'n—ono of the real crustcd Lmcolnian cap'ns—and a smart and handsome young lawyer— and for life. As an antidote to warcreated depression, if any of my readers are temporarily pfflicted in that way, I strongly recommend a dose of Lincoln.

The Book of France. Copies of "The Book of France," the joint production of French and English authors and artists (the profits going to the French Parliamentary Fund for the Relief of tho Invaded Departments), aro now on sale in Now Zoaland. Judging by reviews in the Home papers, it is an intensely interesting publication, not the least curious and attractive feature being the translations, by well-known English authors, of tho original French articles, each translation immediately following tho original. Thus, for example, Thomas Hardy acts as sponsor to the English reading public for a fine article by Anatole Franco, who,- by the way, must nowadays be regretting certain of his anti-militarist deliverances of the pre-war days. Amongst'tho French authors whose contributions appear in. the book are Maurice Barres, Pierre Loti, Remy de Gourmont, Marcelle Tinayro, Eugene Brieux, the Comtesse do Noailles, and others well known to English readers. Amongst the English translators are Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, H. G. Wells, Edmund Gosse, and Sir Sidney Colvin. The artists whoso work is reproduced are all leading men, and their contributions include many fine drawings and etchings. Apart from the good object to which tho profits will be devoted, "Tho Book of France" should have a large sale, ?s a literary and artistic curiosity of permanent value. The English price is five shillings.