BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3042, 31 March 1917, Page 17

BOOKS OF THE DAY

A Now "Banjo" Book. A new A. B. Paterson ("The Banjo") is always weloome. The popular Australian rhymester has been; on ■ active , servico'. in Egypt for the' past eighteen months, but a collection has been made of his scattered versos - published' in -various journals sinoe volume, "Rio Grande," and is now issued, in a handy pooket'edition, under' the'title- of "Saltbush 8i11,.. J.P., and ■ Othor Verses" (Sydney, Angus and:Robertson, Ltd.). In his new ,bqok, Major; Paterson displays all his old versical facility, his gift of picturesque'present-, ment of many interesting features of Australian life, especially 'tho •upcountry life. One specially good point about the "Banjo's" verso is its unfailing cheerfulness. Unlike so 'many of the ''Bulletin bards," ho is no pessimist. His drovers, his shopherds, roustabouts, and ; ; bushmen:. generally are never oreatures of a morbid imagination, and in a clever poem, . An Answer to ! V r arious Bards," he champions the rough but hearty pleasures of bush life, and pokes fun at those who have accused him of "over-writing" the bushmen.'-.; In -"The .Man', from. Snowy River"; arid : :"Rio: Grande and, Other Verses,"-'ho has ; "sung tho song' of ' the proving: days."; 1 . He , now chants the/ praises of,;the sturdy:; follows who ;aro making of Australia -We ;va'st.'-. plain;; of. ;'whoat. From <iW'opening fpdei.'l : "Tn'd Song of the Wheat,'?! take the j.folloping verses: ■j- ' '■; -.;; '; :: '.',, j; ; J;'-.'|: ':'.' ;■ We have sung I the song :bf the i droving

" .-.. days, ..,■ '; >'' ; :. : :i '- . ■'■ '-.'■ -\- Of the 'march' of; the gravelling;, sheep; By silent .'stages'■'and.ibiielj'.ways '; . Thin, white battalions creep.;;.:)• ■■.}:■' But the maniyrhoiuojv land woula 'thrive I- i •!'"■;.■. ;■ * ';.;';: ;■•'.'.

Must his spurs ,'to!'a;;ploughshare!;beat, Is ever there a man in-the world, alive .To sing the. song of i;tlie Wheat. / Furrow by furrow, and fold by fold, The soil is turned-on the plain;. : Better than silver i and bitter, than gold Is.the surfaoe-mine.of the grain; ~ Better than cattle and'better than sheep In the fight with drought and.'heat, . For a streak of stubbornness,, wide and ■deep '.- •-' '■:■:':''"• ':''■■■ Lies hid in a grain of Wheat. IWhen the stock is swept by: the hand •of fate - ■ .-■',■ ,■....' .--■'; ;. ■ Deep down: in his bed oFclay, , The brave brown will lie and wait . .-: . '- For the resurrection day; . ~ ■ Lie hid while the: whole world thinks , Mm'dead;

But the Spring-rain, soft and imet. Will over the steaming, paddocks spread ■' ■'' The first green flush of, tho Wheat. ! Green and amber and gold it grows ; When the sun sinks lato in the: West; 'Anf the hreezs swept oyer the rippling rows .' ; . '•';'. '■ !• Where the quail and the skylark nest, Mountain or river, or shining • star, j. There's never a sight can beat—■ Away to the sky—line stretching faT— • , : : The sea of the ripening Wheat. : . ■ When the burning harvest aun sinks low, And the shadows stretch on the plain, The roaring strippers come and go Like ships on a Bea of grain; " ' , Till the lurching, groaning wagons bear Their tale of the load complete, - Of the world a great work -ho has done -. KflTshare ' ' . yWhq has-gathered a orop of Wheat. ' There is a touch of the old-time ■ riotous "Banjo" humour in more than one of the new verses,, notably in tho delightfully funuy title .poem, "Saltbush Bill, J.P.," and in "When Dacey Rode : the Mule." Dacey is a buckjumper queller of more than local fame, and there is a-great time at the circus when Dacey turns up to ride'the clown's mule. Tho clown makes a jest of, Dacey by placing a little paper i crown on his head.V Then followed chaos: : ' ' Then Dacoy, in a, furous rage, . For vengeance on the show. Ascended to tho monkeys' cage And let the monkeys go: ...',' ' The blue-toiled apc-V and chimpanzee, . Hei turned abroad to roam; ~ Good faith! :It was a'sight to see The people stop for home. \ • For big baboons with canine snout ■ Are' spiteful, : as a rule— , : The people didn't sit it out ~' When Dacey rodo the mule. .. . 'And from the beasts that made escape, The bushnien all declare ■''.-.'. Were born somo creaturo3 partly ape And partly native-bear. : They're rather few and far between', . . The race is nearly spent, But some of them may. still be seen .''■'ln Sydney Parliament. ..- : . ; . And when thoso legißlators fight,: :' And dring, and act the.fobp.r •■' • , Just blame it on that torrid night When Dacey rode the mule: MajorfPatersorfs book should' enjoy as great a popularity -as that achieved by his earliest productions. . This is just tho sort of book to send to the boys at the' front,: (Price) 4s;) An Enchanted Carden. / , In "An Enohanted Garden and Other Verses" (London, "British -Aut*.tralasian" Office), Mrs. A.,;M. Bowyer Rosman, whoso promising .novel, "The Tower Wall," was reviewed in these columns- a few weeks ago, displays poetical:talent of no mean order. The . flowers in the Enchanted Garden of her imagination are" many coloured and shaped,, but all aro of graceful, some f of quite exceptional beauty. Appearing.; originally in various British and Australian journals, many of high standing, Mrs. Rosman'B verses, in their collected form, now appeal to a much larger audience. In the opening and title poem, as in many others scattered through the volume, Mrs. ■ Rosman shows a sympathetic grasp of the charms of Nature., In other poems there is a strong patriotic flavour. ' In "The Drums," "Christmas in Camp," "The Australian in England," and '.'Kitehener," there is tho inovitablo echo of tho war-. I select for quotation the solemn, stately sonnet^. "The :' Sea's Toll." They sleep serenely by tho northern -shore, -"•- " " Rocked in the arms of all tho tides that go Upon their' ceaseless, ques.tings to and fro, Sighing a dirge for heroes. Evermore Dawn shall salute them with 6pears of gold, ' i Sunset shall scatter roses where they lie. And youDg Night steal, star-crowned across the sky. To wrap them in her mantle, fold on fold. ■ And we whose vigils wore tho hours to •day,! - - Whose hungry eyes were keen for sail -': ' or mail, • y Know that the bitterness of death is past, ■■■ No footstep comes the old remembered way. . ' ■ They sleep serenely! Oars to weep and wake, Yet'wonld -n-e-give them still for England's sake. " ■ Other verses might' be" praised, such as the delicately beautiful "Bush Magic," "The Curlew," so finely sug- •". gestivo of the great Australian spaces; and the quaintly protty, Austin Dob-son-like poem, "The Mandarin.]' A ■ special note of commendation is also due to the four or , five "Slumber Poems." Stevenson or Eugene Field could soarcely have bettered "The Dust-

man." As for'"The Sleep. Song," ife 'tender and exquisite charm impels me to quotation:— Outside tempest, storm, and gloom; Here the glow of the fire-lit room; Tender prattle and lullaby, As the babies to hio. To-and fro tho.dreanvehipsgo, . With drowsy poppies laden; :. ,- , To and fro, to and fro, .<..-. .. ' 'Tor. Httie lad and maiden. . Wailing wind and sobbing rain,; . Call and ory at the windowTpane; Here is a haven Bnug and warm—.'' The fold of mother's sheltering arm'.! To and fro the dream-ships go,.' •' ■ The.angel slumber bringing;, '" '...- [ .: Her soft hand lies on tiredj.eyes .; :,That'close to mother's singing;, [ .; Bedly the firelight flames and falls,. Weaving shadows upon the walls; ' '■'. Nearer, nearer, the slow waves creep, ' And'mingle with hei- song : of sleep. ; To and fro the ■ dfeani-ships go, With drowsy poppies laden; , ■ To and'fro—sing low-finglow, : • For .'little lad 'and maiden; • 1 Mrs. Rosman's book deserves to be widely known. It is one whioh. will be treasured by all who delight in simple and graceful verse. (Price, 3s. 6d.) "Children."of. the Empire." ; - The writing of Messrs. C. Gasquoino Hartley's and Arthur D. Lewis's little book, ';'Children of the Empire" '(T.Werner- Laurie), was, so tho authors, tell us. in their profaco, suggested by a speech 'made in the House of Lords by Lord Sydenham, who said that no nobler monument could be raised to the gallant men who have fallen in the war than hf teaching the youth of, all olaeses certain ■ moral lessons, which can be taught only in connection with the history and ideals of their own nations.. This teaching the authors now: provide in^''a' K very pleasant form? by a. series'of chapters dealing briefly witKthe'' growth of English liberties and institutions, explaining to youthful; readers thV machinery of Home and Imperial government, and, last but not least, -giving a summary of the main points in-the history of the great oversea Dominions and the Indian.Empire, together with interesting facts as to their various productions. _ The hook closes with some useful information as to the causes of the war, the heroes of the great struggle, '.and the individual duty to the Empire asa whole of all its oitizens, old and young. Some well-chosen illustrations, mainly of scenes in. the oversea Dominions, add to' the interest of the book. ' It is a pity, however, that the fine view of a Zealand lake,, correctly'designated in the index, should bear the inscription, "A Now Zealand Geyser." (N.Z. price, Is. 6d.)