LIBER'S NOTE BOOK.

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 33, 2 November 1918, Page 11

LIBER'S NOTE BOOK.

The Kaiser—By His Dentist! Oh dear! Will there never come an end to the ever-growing crowd of books on the Kaiser? The latest, the very latest addition lo a class of literature which surely has teen overdone, is entitled "The KRiser I Knew, - " by Arthur N. Davis, tho'dehtist (iin American) who. looked after the "'All Mightiest's" "tussies" ' during the > fourteen years from Ml to 1!)J8. It is said thai: (lie "Knight in. Shining Armour," the "Wielder of the Sword of \Votan,'.'- the "V'ice-ltegent of God on Earth," the "Inheritor of the Sacred Heritage of the Hohenzollerns," the "Admiral of the Atlantic," etc., etc., etc., was in the habit,of freely discussing • villi his denti§t,- : the' , :varying topics of the hour; especially during the war years, and also freely, "expressed his opinions of King George, President. Wilson, the late Tsar of Russia, Mr. Lloyd George, and other leaders among the belligerent nations." And so Mr. Davis, being no longer able to moke money out. of the Kaiser's teeth, is to make, it out of the Kaiser's small: talk. When I read all this I am irresistibly reminded of tho late Eugene Field's essay on the Napoleonic craze (in his "Love Affairs of a Bibliophile"). Alluding to the deluge of books having Napoleon as-their su)> ject, Mr.-'Field writes:

T think the supply, will, like the demand, never be exhausted. Tlio women of the- Court have supplied* us with their memoirs; so have the diplomats of that period; so luive the wives of liis gertentfs; so ' have the Tom-Dick-and-Harry spectators of those kaleidoscopic scenes; so have .'.his' keepers in exile; so has hifl liarbei'k The chambermaide will be heard frem , in good time, and the hostlers, and the scullions. Already■ there are.rumours that we aro soon to, he regaled with Memoirs of the Emperor Jfapoleon by the lady who knew the Tailor who Onco Sewed, n, .Button on the Emperor's Ooat, edited by her loving grandson, the Due de Bunco. i ■•..-.■

. The difference, of course, ia.that whereas Napoleon, with all his faults, was'a peculiarly fascinating personality, the Kaiser—well, the' Kaiser is the Kaiser! And I for oiiejiave read all I'ever..want to read'about him, save .the one. piece of news which would be welcome, -namely,that he lias been, sent into exile—nay, to Devil's Island, or some such fittingly miwholesome and dreary'• place—there 'to* repent, if repentance be possible to such a warped 'ami wizened soul, of. his iiinutnorable crimes against humanity..'

. Ste'vensoniana. . . . V A hitherto -unknown ((o the general reading puulic) Stevenson .item' cropped up in ii' lfed Cross suie hekl in Louuon in September. This is a play entitled "The lUiiguig Judge," primed at .Edinburgh in 188.7 for private circulation, '.t'lie copy sold was the property a' William Archer, upon whose shelves it had ii-e----mainecl ail these years undiscovered. Stevenson made a warm friend of' Archer, who wrote, in., the long-defunct magazine "Time," an enthusiastic appreciation .of ..the novelist's ivoi'lc at a timo when Stevenson was living at Jiouirneinouth and his name was far from being widely known.-- A privately-printed edition of the play, was circulated in J'Jl.t by Thomas J.: Wise, the famous English bibliophile, but the -.- play'' is 5 not' included in the ' ln'test- and. isteiisibly '."plat'o". edition,-:,, the ... . SViinst.oii,' of Stevenson's work. ..There is- also .a short novel, "Maggie Arnott,''- dealing .with life in the-undeivwurld of Edinburgh, \ which.Stevenson, in his e.ivly, Edinburg'k.divys, loved to <xplore. This play haseo fai , never, seen lhe glory of print.-'; Then, again, .there .ire numberless letters which have oome to light from time to, time and are not included in (lie four volumes of "Stevenson's Letters," edited 'by Jlr. (now Sir) -Sidney Colvin. Evidently there'is material enonj:li for ■1 couple of supplementary volumes, to the Swahston edition. Whether Sir' Sidney .Colvin, who acts as Stevenaon'slileirary executor, ivill ever give his consent to printing this ne".v "Ste'vensoniana" remains to be seen. Meanwhile, as'Avas the case with tho Hendiiall and 'K nolle letters of Charles Dickens, the play and the'story will no doubt be printed in a pirated edition by some enterprising American. '" • " '' . ■ ■ ■

Stray Leaves. ■'■;'■ An ; autobiography which should prove .■specially, well, worth miding, is that of .tlio. naturalist. W. H.''Hudson, whidi is vo be published during tho eominjf. (aiir tumii) English publishing' Reason. This is the Mr. Hudson who. wrofe those two delightful books, on life in Paraguay, "Tho Purple I/and" and "Green Mansions," both of which, together with a clever but curious "romance of the future," "A Crystal Age," for which I do not care fo much, aro to !be found in that excellent . sericsj "' Duckworth's Readers' Library, in which Cimninghame Graham's fine stories and sketches have also appeared. For some years past , Mr. Hudson has' lived in Khglaiid and has" written 'several books on bird life and other natural history subjects.

• Putnam Woale, to Vhoni we owe several books dealing with Pur Eastern problems, has written an entirely new ptutly in Chinese history, "The Fight for the Eopublic of China," ami Mr. AVealo contends that except in the thirteenth and seventeenth- centuries China has been to all intents and purposes always a republic. '■ Norman Angell* in- hie forthcoming book; "The Political Conditions of, Allied Success," will make, it is understood, a plea:for "democratic internationalism." That always informative and interesting writer on ■ finance. Mr. Hartley ■■Withers, has brought out yet another book on the subject ho has mado his own.: . Tho title is "The Business of Finance." Discussing probable post-war problems, Mr. Withers evidently fears too, much State interference with coin-:, moree and finance, and contends that individual freedom and individual: initiative are the real bases of energy, 'progress, and morality. ; ■ . 'Anything that SirWillianv Ttobertson Ivicoll writes.oti bound to be suggestively interesting.' Hoddor and ■; Stoughton announce a new. book by Sir-William' entitled ".Reunion in Eternity;" The author first discusses tho treatment of the subject, by Dante, Luther,' Tennyson, and 'Browning, afterwards furnishing a series of selections l'rplu a.wide field, and concluding with letters by various writers of the day, including Professor Peako, who disoussea reunion as conceived in the Old Testament; Dr. T. B. Page, who deals with tho classical treatment of the (subject; Conan Barry, who presents tho point .of view of the Church of Home,• 'and.Mr.-.Arthur Waite, who writes on reunion and mysticism. This should prove a deeply interesting work. Her. Majesty the 'Queen has been graciously pleased to accept n copy of Mr, S. 11. Leeder'a "Modem Sons of ilib Pharaohs," one of the most , handsomely produced, as it is certainly one of the most important books on Egyptian life of to-day.