BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2866, 2 September 1916, Page 6

BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

{■By Liber.)

Give a/man a- pipe lie can smoke, Give a man a book he can redd; And his home, is bright xvit-h a calm delights ~ : : Th6uglC:theroom'be:pporindeed—James Thomson.

"books of the day

A FRENCH MOTHER IN WAR TIME. ; • The nobly patient, and patriotic part • played by tho women of France m tho /.- .war has justly excited tlio,. admiration of the civilised -world. It is good, .'-/.therefore, to have, such a book as -'A /■;J?rerich/Mother in War; Time," being the journal of Madame Kdouard Drumont (Edward : Arnold)', ' from '■ which readers can gain ,some idea of what tho women of France have had tindei%o -'during..the past two years, /;and learn...of ,/thp:'sacrifices, thpy, h?TC, V made foritheir/ c'ountry aud 'of' the.,im'-: /Cpelling . spiritual which have. J largely' to their! nobly; displayed .patriotism.'. The author is ; /-/the' wife of :'k well-known Parisian 'jour-; /•'fnalistj the,editor of the. ''Libre Parole," to which journal she herself is ■' a regular contributor. 'Possessed of . grent literary ability, Madamo Dru-/"m'oht-/irivests. her',, pictures' of France /:.in!yWar,-;times : of- the. ; suffering • and ' heroisiri of the people, soldiers, and If; civilians alike, with much- literary ffgrace, and the result is a book of ex- ■ ceptional interest. The author rarely even,/approaches.;/ the hysterical,.. but < //iinderiying. her' narrative ; .one! can de;£jtec6>'a- deep-seated desire that Heaven Vimayvav.engc. the foul wrongs , done by sonio of tho Huns "to . lho ; French ; women. And at this who can wonder who reads, such a story, as the following— 'vV.-'A ißed Cross nurse who had .looked ■after a wounded prisoner, an officej 1 , was l/ttarmly thanked' by hihi' teevoral" times'. //Hia thanks.were charmingly expressed in ;//cxoellent. Fi;ench. went so far •'as to promise to send;her. a,little souvenir r-.wheh he -wenf, Sack to his counby.' -,- Soon / 'afterwards; .when he had .recovered, - lie .-.did go back, and the '/"'thought; no more about it, until ione day y she' received a; parcel from tho German, officer'* '.'/Itathef /'surprised' at'"s6"'-.jiiuch . politeness she eagerly undid tlio parcel, JaDd. nearly fainted with horror' on,.dis-y/co\-ering, wrapped' : up .in 'tissriopaper,- : two baby's hands cut oft', at. the. wrists; tiuch monstrous behaviour seeins-incoh-/'.ceivablo. on tho : part of- a man ;of u cor- ; tarn class, and Hherefore better educated - than the mass , of common soldiers. A story like this c-ots : '6ne -. thinking-o£ , the- ■ 'm<rthea - who must have been 1 present when •her child was mutilated; . . .. .Who will ; ever ; -know 1 the .sufferings endured- /by, women in these'hours of ■ terror /'anil/death,vbroucht upon .tlieni by tho (Jerinar. war? They, too, have trodden' the' way to Calvary. - .; /- / Madamo' Drumont's son Paul (by her first, husband) had /been, before tho r war, an enthusiastic .amateur aviator. Joining a flying corps on the outbreak /cif . hostilities, he took part in.many importa'nt. aerial engagements. The letters to. his mother describing his work ~iji;,thitf.directioii-L a re'a- yery interesting feature of tho book. v /jNo.-njpte beautiful,. although terribly . patlietic;'./testimony to that nnquencli- . ablo spirit of/'self-sacrifice and .heroic devotion which characterises.... French womanhood of; to-day - lias surely yet : beeii'-published than : the. following letter from a sister tp her brother which is; quoted by Madame Drumont: ; lly dear brother,—l have heard that Charles ;'aiid Lucien ; wereykilleil on Au- . gust.) : 2B'.' ; Eugene is also dangerously . wounded-; as for Louis and Jean, they are . dead al£o. Eone has disappeared. / ' . Jlother is weeping, but she says you ■ must be: strong and go and, avenge them. .Li/hope your superiors.will allow.you to :.'dq-/'this.-; ' Jeai got ittie legion, of ; Hon. , nenr. . Do likewise. ■'i-'. They 'have taken; them all- froni us— i out/of eleven ->yho were eight are dead. - My dear brother,, do'your duty— /that/is/all we ask'-of you.; God gave ypti: yoiiv 'life; and Ho' lias the^ righti to * : take it; back again,- 'mother 'says. We' send -you. our best' love,, and although, we should like to see you first . . . - . f;JThe' Prussians are here; .Is.ndon's son is','dead; they have plundered everything. Vliavoj'ust come back from Gerbevilliers, . which (hey have '/completely .• destroyed. / The, 'cowards! ' Go, my dear brother, .: andyuiake the offering/of your life.' . We. ■\ hope- to; see you againj' for .«• sort- of pre- . fiientiriieut tells usi'to'yhone. : ; you our/ dearest love./:, Fare, i.weljya'nd au revoir,' if/God .wills^it.i; ■'''?://-'• ■ Your.' -. - - ' / ' • ■ Sisters. ■ ' '. !It .is;, for our sakes and for Franco. ; Thinlc'. of .your brothers and of your grandfather ;iu '70.. ■ vVHow--simple, and vet how grand!'' connncuts Madamo Drumont, and surely/sho .savs, but the bare truth when sho^adds:.."When the people feeMiko ■ ■,/tnis/iiSe' country cannot perish.". V /Jplmc. Drumont, I; notico, pays more than one. compliment ,to the . British .troops.. • She say»:'. . -?;; lle ;Germans';'crimes'/outsti'ip tho iihag/ihation, ;but they; lire marked; down for /:defe'at,'; and. they . know it: themselves. Tho English Allianeo surprised t them aiid threw;them/out in-their calculations. is heliiing us,'/',We must acknows/ledge- the' spirit ,ofr her .Army—its cooljness and endurance. / It is true their ■ cammissariat is excellent. Their food is good and. nourishing, which, jielps i./them to-~come up-.iuto - action, feeling * strong and ./hearty. Wo. hear thai at . first they would not dig ; trenchM, as ;thcy said they were soldiers, not masons. this liiole-liko warfaro is .ie'nbugh to" surprise anyone, but now tho ./'English; soldiers, are digging trenches just asipurs are. Anyhow, as a soldier was /saying tlie other day, they are charming /companions; ;.not. .very, effusive,. hut always to'be relied / t E\en in France there has been a certain minority of shirkers, and the aii- . tlior occasionally makes some bittei'lT.worded; remarks' .is to political iiifi,uenco having gained for certain i'a/vourfetl ■persons well-paid positions of security, .Whilst froni the front' the cry was/Dor more men. It is only, fair, howovor, to.remember that M/ Drumont is' a .{strong Imperialist, and remembering, as wo,-do, the part played by him in .the Dreyfus persecution, we. have a •suspicion, that political prejudice and bias sometimes colour the (li/itribcs 'against tho Government which arc quoted by his wife.. ... /, ■ Mmc. Drmnont lfas written'a most . interesting book, specially, well'worthy of being read by those whoso hearts are so rightly filled with admiration for the people and their/splendid, quiet heroism. .. .. ' /. ' " ' j; : ' . ■■ " -/ '.- LIBER'S NOTE BOOK A coiTosiwudeiit ("L.J./')'asksme for my opinion o'l Jack Loudon's work, and for a list of his best novels. As . to the first, it is given for what it is worth—for after all tastb in fiction is purely; an-individual mstter. I fully i-:recognise, the .wealth . of.. imagination, /the/power, to conceivo; and depict au ' intensely dramatic situation, which Mr. London so frequently/displays in his / stories, but his anxiety to.be ;-"virile"—the expressipn is his ownsometimes, leads him j into what I, at .".least, am pleased to consider goes per. ■ ilously near mere iijelodrama. ///1 As to what are t-hg' best of,hi.s a novcls, V.'l ivill .follQwjSJjJ. .T^igß'Gexfimpte: and ■ Bit "presume to dictate." Personally, y;l must own a preUerence for London's ySog etories iiiid 'hig. talcs of the South Soas. Quito a number -of the London

novels are • published : in tifteenpenny | editions. Any good ; bookseller would supply a' list. His latest novel, "Tlio Little Lady of the Big House," I have not road.' It has been woll reviewed in' English and American papers. Professor Sylvan us Thompson,'' - who died on June 12, was a distinguished authority .on physics.. Electricity was his chief subject. His "Dynamo-Elec-tric Machinery" has long been a standard work, awl his 'Elementary Lessons in Electricity and 'Magnetism" is also a work of great repute. Thompson was an ardent antiquary, and must, too, have been' somewhat , of a bibliophile, '.for il;rfotice.'Ke"woe a//past-president of the famous library club "Ye Sette of Qdd .Volumcp." His.,"Life, of Lord "Kelvin" was the model-of what a bio-, 'grapliy ought to' be. ' Another death' reported in recent English paocrs is that of the Rev. John Llewelyn Davies. Dayies was a fine classical scholar; He collaborated with D. J. Vaughaii in. a translation of ' Plato's "Bepublic.", Davies, who was/ 90 when he died, was associated witl) (ho once-famous F. D. Maurice in the., foundation of the , London Working. Men's College in 1854, and taught thetfo 'with Charles Kingsley ana '"Tom Brown" Hughes as his colleagues. Hils tybrk in theology was also important, but that is outside my province. Lady (father difficult to please): '"I like this one, but—l see it is printed in Germany." Salesman: "Well, if you like ; it, madam,. I,'wouldn't take too much notice of that statement. It is probably only another German lie."—;" Punch." One result of the war, : so far as literature is " concerned, is . that the. works- of Sienkieivicz, the ' author of"Quo Vadis," are now allowed to be 'circulated in Russia. . This is attributable l to' the new 'views the Tsar, takes about Poland. , ' On' the other hand," D'Aimunzio's novels are now strictly tabooed in Germany. The official 'excuse is their,, al<. leged immoral tendency, but this is merely' Hull hypocrisy, for German novels,, tho...last; few years,, have been almost openly pornographic. The real explanation is that D'Annunzio's'lvai speeches and writings have, been a tremendous .'factor; in stimulating Italian patriotism. D'Annuhzio, 'months ago advocated a. distinct declaration of war against Germany.-, This has now arrived, and the Italian poet-novelist will now bo-abused more ihan ( ever by the Huns:' : 1 ' ■ Mrs.' Wharton, who is certainly in the very front rank of American novelists—her "Elthan Frome,". "Valley of Decision, 1 ' and "House of-Mirth" are notable examples of her .art—has.. r&-. •ceutly been awarded the .Legion. of l-lonour for her Red Crose services in France. Her book oil the war, "Fighting France," has been translated into French, and has had a great vogue. SOME RECENT FICTION ■ "A Centlewoman of France." /■ Rene Boylesve, tho author of "A Gentlewoman of France" (Stanley Paul and Co.), is a well-established favourite with English readers!, His latest story deals with the life of a young wife who is terribly disillusioned by her experience of Parisian boiirgeois society. Her husband, an architect, a smug, commonplace creature,' is quite out of sympathy with his wife's refined and- cultured temperament, ibut the heroine, though sorely tempted to bo unfaithful, remains to the /end the devoted and affectionate spouse. • As a picture of Parisian life before tho war, with the increasing tendency of the , haute bourgeoisie to imitate the eccentricities and extravagances/of the "fast", set, the story is decid'edly interesting. Boylesve's 'ultra-delicate literary style _ is cleverly reproduced in the which is exceptionallywell done. . , "Riches and Honour." "Richc3 And Honour," by W. H-. Adams (Milk and Boon; per Whitcombe and Tombs), is a story of the. West Coast of Africa, the leading scenes :befo]i laid at .Accra, and tho small trailing port of Kitta further south., Tip principal characters are a British ?Bvil.; Commissioner.' and hia wife, an/ officer in a Hau&sa regiment-, and a-Diiteh' storekeeper.. t)wing to the sonUwhat reckless policy of the Govornor, the Commissioner and hia wife, tile latter a iiowly-married, plucky little, wjman, an ideal helpmate for a British/official iii a "tight place," are for ay'/tiine in a somewhat; perilous situation, their difficulties being added ■ to '• by ■ the sad plight of their kindly old Meiid, the Dutch storekeeper', who ■falls'out with the natives, and the tornpor&i/y breakdown of; '.the military office/-.' Native rebellions, fetish worship, anuwther superstitions are described at IcTjipr'th, but in, an agreeably informalite way. As was: only fitting, the al/ary ends with the Commissionei earning high official honours,'.and the ttiiich troubled captain of Haussas giving .convincing testimony as/ to his iTiluck and' spirit of self-sacrifice. A ■ v/ell-told story, tfhich will give New "Jealand readers an excellent idea of I life in/West Africa. "Possession." Thero could bo nobody in the. world who really counts,-with. Val, hut hei childhood's churn, Blaize; and foi Blaize there was but one girl, and, later on, but one .woman worth troubling-about.- Needless to say hoi name was Val. Of Val, the deserted little (laughter of that handsome scapegoat, Hugh Sartoii, and Elaize, a'clover young Bohemian of mixed Russian and French parentage, and of tho extraordinary experiences and adventures of the pair of lovers, you nia.V read in Olive Wadsley's vivaciouslywritten and very, charming story, "Possession" (CasSnll and Co., per S. and W. Mackay). Poor A r al is occasionally rcckloss, and sometimes very foolish; and as for Blaize, lie is oiio of those delightfully irresponsible people who sometimes are kindly treated by Fate ( and at others fare very' badly. There are other men and women in. tho story; but tho chief actors in the clever lit tie comedy-drama are generally, iii the limelight and always; are. they very fascinating figures. "Just Davitl." Those"; who like fiction of : a. highly; indeed, quit-© saccharinely, sentimental kind will rejoice exceedingly in Eleanor fl. Porter's now story, "Just David" (Constables; per T. C. Lothian). David is a juvenile musical genius, educated "up in the woods," far from a cruol and deceptive world, by n musicianfather ivho, when his wife died, had (led from society and dropped quite out of sight. The father dies, and Daj vid, hoy. fourteen,, with. an. :'educational '' equipment 'beyond his years, but in worldly wisdom as innocent as a child of six, is suddenly dropped into the middle of a Yankee farmor's household. How tho "tramp

boy" unwittingly saves his protectors from ruin, how he reconciles two longparted lovers, and how lie is discovered by a friend of his father and taken away to New York, eventually to becomo world-famous as » violinist, is told by the a]ithor of the populat "Polyanna" with no small vivacity and charm. Aji artificial, quito unconvincing, but liono tho less, if . read in tlio right spirit, ''very' delightful; ntorj. Soma Short' storias. Space limits forbid much moro than a mere acknowledgment of two recent additions to Methucn's Shilling Library (Now Zealand price. Is. 3d.). "My Husband and I," by J/iCo Tolstoy) and "TKoro Was a Crooked Man," by the popular; author who adopts the noni'dc-plumo of IJolf Wyllarde. The Tolstoyrvolume 1 contains what is cour sidercd by many critics to be .the.Russian novelist's: masterpiece—among'hie short /stories —"The Death : of : '-Ivaii Ilitcli.r' Dolf Wyllardo's story is ii pathetic and convincing study of- a man,/condemned by physical disability; to sfee disappointment in life. *1. mus/; acknowledge a shilling: paperbacked ■■ edition .(Mills and'.Boon, per Whjijbcombe and Tombs) of "/Romance," by; Acton Davies, a sensational 'sfcorj\ w'itfy -New York' as scenario, founded uporn the. .play .. of the same name, by. Edward'Sheldon. ■ ■--''-. I "Jitny and the Boys." . Motoring'is riruch to the 'fore.' in) "Jitny and the Boys," by Bennett. Coplestono (G. Bell and Sons;, per; Wliitcombe and Tombs). "Jitny" is a. small motor-car, in which some -very; jblly, very human boys, as the author; of "Tom Sawyer" would • have called.' ithem, make a long tour of some' of the; /most picturesque and historically • ■ in-' 'tereeting parts of the Old:; ..Country.'J The capture, by the impulsive Peter, ; the eldest of the lads, of a real 'live; German spy is one of many striking' experiences enjoyed.by the lads. "Dad ' may bo at times just a trifle overinformative—and' discursive—but -he, too, is a genial companion for-such an imaginary journey as the one-described. The story ends with the eldest/youth's .joining the Navy, and enjoyablo book.;'; ■-.- "Sidelights." . -. Mr.' Horace. W. ,C. Jv'ewte, - the author of '/Sidelights!' (Mills .and Boon, per Whitcombe" and-iTombs), has several well-written.! novels,. including, the somewhat notorious "Sparrows,",- to his credit-. 1 . JElis, fiitest, book is' a. collection: of short stories of varying merit,/but all' very'.readable.' " - Mr. Newto:.-; exhibits';-histoid. inclination' to dwell' iipriu ./.the/ sordid and unwholc--6ome : in'' lifo,' but i there" iis;iio-.denying his. ability, to..invest ai'/'dramatic' epi-. sode with-'an air of •.convincing realism. /In ; some'of the' stories, there 'is 'a' vein of pleasant comedy.'- In other's a note, of.-,genuine .tragedy' is., struck. •All tlio,' stories' are eminently/ readable.