LIBER'S NOTE BOOK

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3000, 10 February 1917, Page 13

LIBER'S NOTE BOOK

The Lata Dr. M'Nab. This is not the proper piaco. wherein ta make referenco io the distinguished political career of the lato Dr. M'Nab. But. tho much-to-be-lamented death of this amiable , gentleman and , worthy 'citizen cannot be allowed-to pass, without comment in this column. Dr. M'Nab's work in connection • with New Zealand history can scarcely be overestimated. He himself was apt' to un-ider-rate the valuo of his .wqrk. It is tnid he did not possess a graceful literary style. He made 110 pretence to its posseßßion. But wliat he did accomplish in "Murihiku," "Tho Old Whaling Days," and in "From Tasman to Marsden," was to gather together, with infinite patience, and at considerable personal expense, a mass of historical material, some of which will be of - the highest possible ralueto future historians. Time, trouble, and expense were never considered for one moment when a fact had to be ascertained, a date verified, the accuracy of an existing record to be established. Fow people have any idea of the long and tedious tvork which went to the making of tho three great contributions to the historv nf Early New Zealand with which Dr. M'Nab's name will be aver most honourably associated. , He.speut weeks, months, in the Mitciiell Library in Sydney delving into old official records, searching through _ old newspapers. Ho went on a special trip to the Now England States, to the ports whence came so many of the whaling vessels in the early days, in order that be might inspect old logs ,-ind records. Similarly bo spent some months in Ban& searching tig French Admiralty

records, and copying therefrom the interesting aud hitherto untranslated accounts of French visits to Now Zealand, which bo embodied in tho second volume of tho New Zealand Historical records. How gratefully ho accepted even tho filightestuvssistauc'o 'in his work "Liber" could himself testify, and anyono working' in tho same or similar field of literary industry could always rely upon j his sympathy and help. His connection with the New Zealand Historical Records, two volumes of which havo appeared under his editorship, is less known than it deserves to be. Ho was a model editor, punctiliously insistent upon absojuto accuracy, and unfailingly patient in hunting up information which would enablo lum to verify a reference, or add somo enlightening note on a seomingly obscure or doubtful passage. It is sincerely to bo hoped that the good work done by tho late Dr. M'Nab in connection with the Historical Records may not'be allowed to fall through, but may bo continued by somo compe- ' tent person —Mr. T. L. Buick, for example. Dr. M'Nab was at one time an ardent collector of rare books and pamphlets on tho history of New Zealand. The bulk of his collection ho generously presented to tho Dunedin Free Library; and: many volumes were given away to friends who were inter T estod in his pet subject. Nor did he I forget other bookmen's hobbies. -When in Paris ho picked Tip the first French edition of "The,.Pickwick Papers,'.' arid sent it out to mo with a kindly note, humorously expressing regret that "Liber" should waste time in collecting Dickensiana, when the Early History of Wellington remained unstudied and unwritten. A quiet, unassuming gentleman, modest to a fault, a more kindly natural man than the. lato Dr. M'Nab never lived, and it is only those who knew him intimately who could fully appreciate his many good qualities.' He was not a man who wore his heart on his sleeve, but nevertheless it was a very true and warm heart.

:Emile Verhaeren. Home papers received by the last two mails contain interesting articles on the late Emile Verhaeren, the famous Belgian poet. Some of Verliaereti's'best work was translated by Professor Jethro Bithell, and may lie found in an excellent little volume, "Belgian Poetry," published by Mr. Walter Scott in tho well-known "Canterbury Poets' " series. ' (N.Z. price, 25.). Verhaeren's. verse varies greatly both'in subject and style. His pictures of London (in "Les Villes Tentaculaires") havo been compared to James Thomson's "City of. Dreadful Night." In his'poems dealing with. Belgian peasant life, he is occasionally a little too sensual —in \ihe old Flemish Rubensesque vein—to be palatable to English readers. But his lyrics are often of exquisite verbal beauty. Before the war he was a great favourite with the Germans, and had many German friends. But tho wrongs and woes of his sorely-afflioted country oreated in him a spirit of deadliest hatred .for the Huns, and in his war ■verse, notably in one famous poem addressed to the Kaier, this spirit is reflected, with an intensely dramatic force. .Dickens and.\the Court of Chancery; .. A. letter, interest ...to pickensians," and especially to readers of "Bleak House,", appears in the "Times" Literary Supplement for December 7. The writer is Mr: E. T. Jaaues, whose, little, book, "Dickens and the Court of Chancery," threw so much interesting liglit upon', tho leeal side of- Dickens's famous story. Mr. Jaques .now points.' out .that Itlie "Gridley" case, alluded, to by Dickens, in the prefaoe to his novel, as -being "in no way altered 1 from .one of .actual occurrence," is clearly identifiable with the case of Cook v. 'Fynney, 1814, C 59. Mr. Jaquos's letter.is.most.interesting, hut I.can only spare space for its final paragraph, which reads as follows: — For the benefit of Staffordshire Dickonsians, lot me add that tho bill of complaint describes the farm as" The Lano End, Leek, but I warn_ them that they will go astray if. they cohjuro up a phantom Gridley, roaming from room to room, wringing his hands and anathematising- tho Great Seal. He was no party to tho 6uit.' The Chancery martyr of "Bleak ' Houso" did not survive his mother; ho had been in liis grave for nine years before th'o Court began- to mako hisdife a burden to him.' Mr. Jaques notes, inter. alia,' that the Gridley litigation was- brought to Dickens's notice by a pamphlet, "Tho Court of Chancery; its Inherent' Defects;" issued-in 1849 by one". William Challinor. , This pamphlet, I -need scarcely say, is eagerly sought' after by colleotors of DickensiiUni.' "Liber" has, alas, sought for a copy in vain these many years. . The Christmas "Windsor." The December and speciarChristmaa number of "The Windsor"- (Ward; Lock and Co.,- per AVhitcombo and Tombs) is a. wonderfully good shilling's worth. In addition to the usual pictures iu tho text, there are no fower than sixteen full-page plates printed in colour, dealing for the most part with, war incidents, and including a fiuo coloured portrait of 'Lieut. AV. L. Eobinson, V.C., who brought down the first Zeppelin destroyed in England. Amongst other welcome features is an article by Haydon Church on "The Anzac Artist of Gallipoli," Sapper Moore Jones, and his fino drawings of tho peninsula, whioh have recently been on exhibitipn in. AVellington. Tho literary contributors include Maurice Howlett, Sir H. Eiger Haggard, H. do A r .' Stacpoole, Arnold Benuott, Eden Philpotls, Edgar Wallace, Harold Bindloss, C. G. D. Roberts, and Mrs. Flora Annio Steele. Tho Christmas "Windsor" is always welcome, butthe latest issue is an exceptionally rich mine of literary and artistic attractions., | Stray Leaves. A. correspondont (R.M.G., HamilI top, AVaikato) tells mo sho has read j with great iuterest somo remarks of Mr. E. V. Lucas (in his last published volume of essays, "Clouds and Silver," upon tho Irish stories of tlioso two well-known writers, E. Somcrvillo and Martin Boss, one of whom died last year. My correspondent asks for a complete list of these delightfully humorous stories. 1 am not aware whether tho list 1. append is actually complete or not, but it may prove useful:— "Somo Irish Yesterdays," "Some Experiences of an Irish E.M.," "Further Experiences of an Irish E.M.," "All on the Irish Shore," "An Irish Cousin," "Tho Eeal Charlotte," and "The Silver Fox." All the above are published by Longmans and Co. (at 3s. 6d. not), apd can bo obtained, or procured through, any-bookseller advertising in Tim Dominion. Sineo tho death of "Martin Ross," another volume, "In Mr. Knox's Country," has been written by E. Somerville, and is also published by Longmans. 1 thank my correspondent for the kindly remarks concerning "Rooks and Authors" and the utility of tho column to country readnrs with .which, hor emery, js accompanied.

Harper's, I sea, havo published » "Boy's Lite of Mark Twain." There was_ much in tho great American humorist's career wluoh boys could well admiro, and not a lifctlo, also, thai; they might emulate with profit;. Samuel Clemens had a, toughish row to hoe in his earlier life, as all who have read tho partially autobiographical books "Tom Sawyer," "Huck Finn," and "Lifo on tbo Mississippi" know full well. Clemens was pluck 3nd honesty personified. When comparatively an old man he was faoed by the failure of a publishing firm in which ho was a sleeping partner, with a financial disaster very similar to that which overtook Scott. Like Scott (of whoso splendid self-sacrifice his son-in-law, Lock hart, has told us in what ft one of tho great biographies of tho world), Clemens assumed sole responsibility for a burden from which he could have easily found a perfectly legal escape, and toiled on year after year to pay off other people's debts. Ho was a very 'fine fellow, was Mark Twain, and it is good that boys should know how fine a fellow ho was. Two new volumes of Nelson's Library (N.Z. price; Is. 9d), whioh should specially appeal to those, who tnjoy Scottish stories, aro '.'Memories, Grave and Gay," and "Leaves from an Inspector's Log Book," by the late Dr. John Kerr. Some of Dr. Kerr's stories are as good as those in Dean Ramsay's famous book "Scottish Traits and lleminiscences," and as those in the less kuown, but equally readable books by j.tbo late James Inglis, of Sydney, "Oor Ain Folk"- and "Tho Humour of the Scot." As a rulp trade catalogues, especially publishers' catalogues, are not remarkable for any special excellence of typographical production, but the latest issue of "The General Catalogue of the Oxford University' Press," a copy of which I have just received from Mr. Humphrey Milford, the London representative of this famous press, is a very handsome volume. Tho publications of tho Oxford Press have always been famous for the beauty of the type employed, and tho pages of this catalogue aro a positive joy to all who appreciate tasteful printing. When I say that the catalogue runs into 479 pages of India paper, and that the index alone occupies some eighty odd 1 pages, it will be seen what an immense number of works are published by the Oxford University Press.