BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 27, 26 October 1918, Page 11

BOOKS OF THE DAY

"The Memoirs of Saint-Simon."

That monumental work, an English translation, in an abridged form, of (he famous historical- work, "The Memoirs of. the Duke, de Saint-Simon," by the late Mr. Francis Arkwright, formerly a i member of the Legislative Council' of New Zealand, has now been completed by the issue by the publishers, Messrs. Stanley, Paul, and Co., of the two concluding volumes. Mr. Arkwright's translation is now complete in six .stout octavo volumes, which will, I trust, find a place of honour in every public library and on many private' book-shelves, especially those of readers who find pleasure •in the study of history. . The work is, of course, an abridgment of the original, which, in the Haehettc edition, runs into twenty volumes. Montaigne's famous.dictum that, "tout abrege est.im sot abrege" (every abridgment is a stupid abridgment) notwithstanding, even (hose who know the famous "Memoirs" in their-original I'rench must admit that Saint-Simon is an author whose work in its entirety is, to use a colloquialism, "rather a large order." Saint-Simon was for forty years or more a leading figure at the Court of lc Grand Monarque, Louis XIV, imd of the Itcgency which followed, and his character sketches of royal personages, great statesmen, prelates, military commanders, of the gramlos dames 'of the period, and of the court circle generally of Paris and Versailles, are 'admittedly inimitable, in their'.unsparing candour and unfailing liveliness'. Not even' Horace Walpole could draw a more effective portrait of a celebrity than could SaintSimon. Unfortunately, however, SaintSimon interpolated in his narrative long and tedious disquisitions on the rights and privileges of his order. He never forgot that, he was not only "due." but "pair do France," and his lengthy descriptions of his never-ending disputes with "Ihoso who dared to challenge or usurp or even threaten the standing and privileges of his order, make, in the original, so it must be confessed, hut dull and dreary reading. In Mr. Arkwright's version, these tedious longueurs disappear. The translator has eliminated the unessential, and his "judicious blue pencilling, added to his fine gifts of literary expression, has given us ah historical work of the highest importance and value. The "Memoirs," now available to English readers in so compact and admirable a form, deserve a place on the bookshelves alongside I'epys's "Diary" and AYalpole's "Letters" as <m acknowledged historical classic. The final . volumes , are just as rich in effective." character of celebrities, in pictures of tho court, and social life generally of Paris, as wero their four'',predecessors. Tho JRoi Solcil, that curious personified' combination of shrewdness and stupidity, courtesy and conceit, selfishness and generosity, tho builder Of Versailles, the haughty monarch who .deemed himself the master of Europe, but who was only, after all, the tool ..'of .''tlie •'■Jesuits.-and the puppet ot clever "Widow •' 'Scarron," '■ afterwards .Madamp de M'aintonon}'is.'t!ie subject of the longest and most effective portrait sketch. Tho Duke of Orleans, the vicious Kegent who was to succeed the King; the. beautiful but reckless Duchess do Berry, .the saintly Fenelon, _Archbishop of Cambrai, the Duke de Noailles, courtier and statesman; tho Due de Maine, and the other royal "batardes" against whose meddling in affairs of State tho long-headed and. truly patriotic author of the Memoirs never wearied- of..wai'ring;--the great generals of the period; the foreign ambassadors—all these, together with a crowd of court functionaries and social celebrities, pass to and fro through the lively and occasionally scandalous chapters of. the Memoirs. The earlier volumes '• of the work were hailed by tho leading English and American reviews as constituting a quite remarkable achievement in the 'difficult act of translation and abridgment, and the concluding volumes fully maintain the - high standard previously attained. It is a pity, that Mr.. Arkwriglit did not live to witness tho coinr plete publication of a work with which" his name will always be most honourably connected. The 'concluding, volumes,' the binding of which is commendably strong and eomelv, contain, like their predecessors',, several interesting historical portraits and other illustrations. (N.Z. price, 15s. per volume.)

"Winged Warfare." _ That Major Bishop, of the Eoyul Plying Corps, the author of "Winged Warfare: . Hunting the Hun in the Air' (Hodder and Stoughtou) is a competent authority on the art of military aviation is proved by the presence after his name on the title page of the magic letters V.C.; D.5.0., iM.C. His chapters teem with records :of audacious - effort and brilliant' achievement; of deeds of (hiring and gallantry almost inconceivable to those who have not been, at the front, and watched with intense fascination tho danger-laden feats of those "eyes of the Ariny"-thc airmen. Par more thrilling than the most sensational hction is this record pf actual happenings. Sometimes the narrative fills flic reader's heart with pride'illimitable that men of our race should, have performed such acts of gallantry and horoism. should have rendered such ennspicuousiy uscful service to the sacred cause for which tho Allied armies .are fighting. At others'the interest is poignantly pathetic, for tho airman, carries his life in his hand and his daily work is full of deadly peril.

The youthfulness'.. of so maiiy -of the British airmen is a constant source of surprise to visitors to the front. The. author was only- twenty.: when he left Canada to go to France (with a. mounted corps), but there'arc dozens of airmen who Jive still younger. The British Fjvmg Corps is. says Major Bishop, filled with boys of eighteen, but whose "spirit of dnriris is beyond compare; lads of a courage so self-effacing as to be a> continual inspiration to their older brothers in tho service. Of one gallant vouth, who was but eighteen and had bec'n but a brief three weeks in France when his end came, Major Bishop tells the following tale:—

In the early part'of the iiaht this'boy had been hit by an exploitive bullet, which entering him from behind, had pierced the. stomach and exploded there. His machine had been pretty badly shot, about the engine damaged, and therefore a great resulting loss in . efficiency. Mortally wounded as he was, however, he fought lor ten or fifteen iniiiutcß with his od"oiicnts, and then succeeded in escaping. Dazed from pain and lokh of blood, ho flew Vaguely in a westerly direction, He lied no idea where he was, but when Iho anti-aircrafl. guns censed to lire, he glided down and landed in a field, bteniiing out of liis machine' he attempted to walk, but had moved scarcely forty steps when ho fell in a fuint. Hi; was hurried io <i hospital, and given of care, but, next morning he died, leaving behind a brave record for his brief career in tho Hying service.

A. yet more sensational slory is that, of. one of tho author's comrades, who crossed the frontier one day to attack sumo German observation balloons. Major Bishop writes:—.

His experience was rather a hitler one, Imt ho roußiit. death uihlpi' .such a heavy handicap and with such bravery that his story is worthy of relation as one of tho traditions of the lioyal Flying .Service. It was his first ultaek on the balloons, ;md ho crossed the lines with me. Wo separated when about half a mile over. When he dived after his balloons two Man machines col. on his tail. and with their lirst burst of lire inannecd to hit both of his logs, brenkintr one. A second after, wards u shot went through his petrol tank, anil the iiillaninioble liiiuid poured over his helpless li'ks, Duf, wounded as he wis. ho fought, back at the Germans, and inniuiitcd to u'i'l Imult over our lines. Tho I wo Hermans, realieinft he wos badly hit, kepi, after him. nnd with another burst of lii'« shot awny nfl his controls, nnd til the same lime set. lire to the machine. It dived In tile enrlli a. flaming- torch, and crashed. Some brnvo Tommies who ivero ueai' msliedj frantically jnU> tho

hurninpr wreckage, and nulled the unfortunate piloi out. lie was taken to a, hospital, where -we found him badly burned, one leir and one arm broKcn, and several bullet wounds in'the body. For two weeks ho improved steadily, and we all had high hopes of his recovery. Then the doctors found it necessary ti, amputate his broken Ice. and two days later the poor lad died. He hud been in France but a few weeks. "I came half-way round the -world from Australia to fight the Euua," ho told one of our men in hospital. "1 served through the eainiiai((n at Gallinoli as a Tommy'; and at last T. (jot where I had longed to be-in tho Flying Corps. It seems hard to have to end like this, and so soon!" These are but sample stories from the dozens and scores of. thrilling narratives contained in Major Bishop's volume, narratives not all of them, happily, of disaster and tlenih, but many of them setting forth in simple hut dramatic style the most gailnnt achievements crowned with success'. Tt is only when reading such a fascinating record as is this of Major Bishop's that the average newspaper reader can grasp _ tho. inner meaning of those brief official communiques which so curtly chronicle the bravo' doings of the British aviators. The author's allusions to his own achievements aro couched in n. strain of noticeable modesty and reserve. \Ylien presented to King George ho confesses to a. nervousness which had never beset him at tho front. If is Majesty, in congratulating him on his honours, said it was the first time lie had been "able to give all three to any one person." A week later the author sailed for Canada on well-deserved leave. lie says nothing as to his reception amongst his countrymen and kinsfolk, but that it must havn been intensely enthusiastic, I have no doubt.