LIBER'S NOTE BOOK.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2681, 29 January 1916, Page 9

LIBER'S NOTE BOOK.

Various Verse. "The Spell'of Alpin," by John Christie, formerly well known in Wellington journalistic circles, is a lengthy and thoughtful poem, ; somewhat mystical and religious in tone, and containing lines which, despite a somewhat awkward metrical form, possess no 6mall grace of expression. I have only space for .one quotation, fairly illustrative 1 of the'author's l general style:— But well I remember how I slept. And well I remember the lady kept A mystic' vigil neaT my head, As though I.were holy, being deadDead in my flesh, but with soul aiire, Withi deathless yearning, and heart's- desire, . That seemed to bear me higher and •higher; While the faery plaid with its magic foldWarded away neat and cold. And made me feel that day or night; Winter and summer, depth or height, Life or'death, or any power , Could never again i-destroy. the -flower:'' Of youth in fclie.sbui'or love in ihe heart, Nor ever again their glory depart' In the way of mortal time or tide, . But abide .for; ever as Gods abide.'

.'"The Battle ,of the World,"., by George Weddell. (London, Elliot Stock), is 1 a sleiider little, sheaf .of verse, mainly patriotic in'subject arid tone, inspired by the Great War. I select for quota/tion the eloquently worded verses- headed "If Right be Might" :—

four forth your treasure, England! : What to you Vour . wealth and strength, while in the balance lies ' The law of liberty and sacrifice, Made saeied by the blood of Christ. Eenew Tour noblest faith that what, is good and true Shall still prevail, against-the Powers of Hate, ' -. v , Who o'er, the wld for self woiild dominate— Mako slaves of all men for the Super-Few. Greatest on earth are those who "serve the most; Not those who grasp, but . wisely reckless fling Heart, spirit, body into the glorious fight, Then England, marshal up your mighty host! . For victory waits on those who, fighting sing _ "No longer might is right, but Eight is * might. /.

There is ample variety, Loth of subject and style, in Mr. liobert J. Bakewell's "A Coaster's Freight: Verse by an .Old Salt" (New> Plymouth; .Thomas Avery). Much of Mr. Bakewell's verse is inspired by. a fine and vigorous spirit of Imperialism. This being so, it is curious that the author'should have' thought fit to print i the. lines, headed . "Tjie Betrayal," written in 1909, in which the Defence Act is unsparingly denounced. .Tha- anti-militarist, especially'. of the S.D.P. brand, who may read such lines'as "the following— Oh, ye to whom we trusted liberties— The sacred heirlooms' of past centuries,' The i-ight and freedom' that'our fathers won : > . With blood! Oh! What is this that ye have done? Sold as German princeling's did of yore, Their Hessian 6erfs to :wage another's

war, . And forged the weapon tyrants ever wield,That never hath for Freedom proved a Shield! \ will, I- am afraid, be disagreeably astonished, in another poem, to find the author pouring out his scorn and abuse; of tho "Social Democrats": Here's Dominion for the ruling. And a people sleek and fat; Workers ripe for our befooling, Sober wealth to gird them at.

Not a folly but'we'll.feed it, Not a malady, but still We'll find some sottish brain to breed it. Cure more vexing than the ill. Filially, the "Social Democrats" are informed that: Insignificance shall fold yon From retribution perilous, Tho' Liberty with loathing hold you Down tho ages—infamous. ■' ■ As might bo expected, Mr. Bakewell's powers of versical denunciation have a line scope in tho war. Some of the poems are in lighter vein, others, such as "Tho Commonwealth Inauguration," commemorate historic events. It is a pity tbat the author lias not thought fit to' date his pocma. The opening verses, _ "Armageddon," are fiercely denunciatory, not only of Russia: Despot, do'st think with driven Cossack hordes, To straiten Freedom's realm with servile swords! • but Germany: • Kaiser, with vain imaginings/art so bold As wrest the trident from the Sea-queen's •hold? and France: France, thou poor mimic of fair Freedom's stare, _ ; Deein'st now the time is ripe to glut thy hateP rnd must havo been written some years ago. Yet to present-day readers the maj; not unnaturally suggest the;

Great 'War now in progress. Mr. Bakewell's muse is apt to run a little wild at times, but lie has certainly tlie command of a very rich vocabulary, and bis lines bavo often an agreeably vigorous swing. Nelson's History of the War. The 'eighth volume of that excellent work, Nolsou's "History of tho War" (T. Nelson and Sons; per Whitcombe and Tombs), brings Mr. John Buchan's admirably planned and carefully written record of the great war up to the beginning of August last. As in tJie preceding volumes, the narrative is free from any striving after theatrical effort; it is plain and clear straightforward .survey and summary of the operations in the various theatres of the war, amply documented by quotations from official dispatches anil records, and rendered doubly useful to the student by its generous supply of maps andl dia-, grams. A special feature in this vol- | nme is the a ttention paid to the war in the air, and to what Mr Buchan calls

"the setting of Britain's honse in order." The African campaigns receive attention, and a, lengthy and very detailed account is given of the battles on the Warsaw salient. As in previous volumes, several important official documents are reproduced in the ap-. pendices. It is impossible to 6peak too highly of this most serviceable and interesting work. (New Zealand! price, Is. 6d.)