BOOKSTAND AUTHORS.

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 85, 4 January 1919, Page 3

BOOKSTAND AUTHORS.

, ■ ■ : (Bx LIBEH.) ; : ... :

, Give a man a pipe ht can smoke, ■ Give- avian a bonk hi can read; And his home is bright with a calm delight Though the room be poor indeed,. . TfIOMSOM.

.BOOKS OP THE DAY ... ■■

'"The Art of J, J, Hilder." I Far and invay. the most beautifully- ' prouucea "ait book" whicli has Ijeeu puulished for some tiiuu jinst is the huiidsonie volume entitled, "Tho A.rt of J. J. Hilder" (Angus aad Eolicrteon, bydjiey; per Whiteoiube and Tombs). • It 19 to say that neither in typography, colourprinting, or in ~[;onerul oonielineae of ■.'Milling has Ijetter work come from any British or American publishing house dUiuig tho war jiaviod than this Australian produced volume. The coutcntß, hotK artistio nnd literary, ivero woll worthy of Buch a tasteful setting. The chief attraction is, of course, the lonir scrips of boautiful roprod'Hctionß, lnuiiy in colour, others in blnek and white, of the dDli?l"'tfiil work ■ of the late Jease Jewhurst Hikler, who I died, nt the early a?e of thirty-five, in 1918. Hilder'6 art is- tlio . subject of a'pprpcktivo essiys-by Julian Ashtai, the well-known Sydnej- artist, and Hilder's.. first instructor, Bertrnni.Steveii'?, and Mr. Harry Julius, Mr. Sydney TJro ■ Smith contributing some ■ interesting personal memories. .■•'"... ' . • A Qunnskmler by birth, Hilder joined the staff of. the Bank of New. South Wales in 5893. In 1904, l>Edn(r then stationed tit Besa, he first Bhowed ,fiign9 of lieinp affected by tho dread-<li.t"a3e consumption, to which he eventually fell a ' vktini. Kβ iviifl trai).efcrr«ii : to a Svilnoy fluburbnn branch , of'+lie-)T»nk. at AVaverlor, ».nd there met Fred-Ifist,. the -w<>ll- - black and white artist, who, seeing: tho younj?> felloes tiAviFed "him to slion theni. to' Julian Ashton. Ho did so, Ashton at onoa recopiisiiiir tho lwginner's fino sense of colour. .Hildor "jdin«fl. Ashton's classos, and b*otimo acquainted with other artists: From Wyalonjj, whence he had been transferred from Sydney in tho hope that the: dry mountain 'air , .-would benefit ;his health,'he- sent.a.number.of small watorcolours to ■ihe Societyof Artist-.i' Exhibition in 1907. They, created quite! a. .sensation, all beiiijf .sokl." Arthur Stweton, the famous Australian painter, then'returned'from London, emphatically proclaimed Hilder.a genius. After various bank changes he' went to a. Uoine for consumiitive.?. in ( .the Blue "Mountains,. , where the fresh air. life .was'found very beneficial. He hnd nuolhei-finccess at the Artists'l Exhibition in 1008, his pic turea.all. selling .n-t .good pricps. Soon nfferwards ,he, met Miss liendmore, the kdy who the next year, was to becoriiD. his wife. ' Itivas a. case'.of lovo at -first i-sijrht. Hikler told the lndv. a wc~ bnt.ioner .uurso/at-You'j<f;,N.S.W., wiierc HiUler wiis stationed, that r. doctor hnd only given,him two years Iβ,live, whereupon Mis 3 lleadmora.'""said ' 'she would '_ rather be his ' wife for two years ' than live ' for two ])"nrJ-"-:l years . with anyone eke; which, doctors were frequently wrons, ncil care lie might live many vears." So tho pair wore married in IMB, and' the 'young artist left the. bnnlc and , settled nt Epping, on the highlands north *t. "Piirrnmnttn. From this onward, to tho time of his death, Hilder exhibited regukrly in Sydnej-'nnd' Melbourne, his work'qver becoming nioi'e'."beautiful-and • "lining wider • nnd. deenev appreciation from Aiistralinu, nrWovors." His last nicture was painted in ll'nrch. 1910. and the end;: which both husband and wife had lbn" .wcdgn'sivl was inevitable, on Anril 10. ■ Such are tlie main fuels, of Hilder's life. , ' ■ ' '■■ As to his. work it ina'y at once.briefly,' and quite correctly,: "be"-described-as'poetry in paint. Water-colour wasthe medium in whicli he;excel le<l, and;he ' confined himeelf (0 this branch 'of art, although , he esnerimente'd with ptcliinq. nnd one very .fine oilpnintii'ir from his brush'is here reproduced. Wβ ■ water-colours arc of an . exquisite delicacy.- He "ravely , produced <i lai-(?e draw- , ingr-most ! bf. his. pictures are about 11 v 12 ..or thnrcahoiits—jKut in this Ripnll compass He achieved the' most delightful colour pliVcts. ■■■ He was purely'a landfcanist, his fignrpe. wlipre'in.trqdnced, being quite subsidiary to the liM-'Ti intere 1 - , ;. Hip (" , lou''..?< , h'"7if'.. In some of these drawinss here so well j-lio-n■■•'<! «n eth"-M' -Vi>"tv "■hich is most. fiKriintintr. Mr. Bertram Stevena writes of.liis later work':— / When one .looks , at •'thene.later dnw•intra, with their exnuisitely delicate colour harmonics, and filled with .the romance of placo, one ?eta.«. BUiSfteetlon -of the neace that ban fallen. there lilio a bleasinij from heaven: They are landBCftpea in which, puro beauty secnie.- 1o reign undisturbed by the turmoil ond ariKUieh of the lives ■ of mortal;;. -. Those (lul'-et were "created in pnin. Shelley snitl. of artists in: another mo-;, dium: " v Thc.v linrhvin snfferini? what they teach in Bong"; eo with, Hilder. The beauty which men flnrt in hi 3 work'-.was' boueht with,blood i.nd .tears. , > . Of tho s pictures reproduced in ,the present volume . the" IJoi'a Creek lan'dr scapes, with, their distinct; suggestion of Co'rot, .will probably be- voted the ■most., i beautiful..: Hilder's water is 'always ; most 'delightfully liquid. AVheir at 1 Brisbano lie painted two. or three pichires of island schooners at anchor in. Moreton B.iy. The sugsestion of buoy- • ancy is"most realistic. \ln his: bush subj"cts ho was f.implv superb. He did not see' the Australian.bush in jte serious, austere, : nlmost irloomy- nspects, as does that e(jiin]-., lv brilliant ■ South ■ -Ausi-.ralian' artist Han? Heysen, immeasurably the finest. ■ painter oi , forest' scenery that Australia has yet produced.' To• Hilder the bush , was ■■' invested . with- a mysterious, , - lie-, witching, ■ truly raihaiitic charm wliiftn; , .he rendered in a delicate'colour-key.a'nd. , with positively fairy-like grneo of hand- ■ ling. In his interesting personal notes on Hilder, Mr. Harry Julius .tells us that-«nt first the young' Queonslander's work was notable for its rich tones and brilliant colour. Later on liis ; technique { ■chnnßed. -He favoui-.sd brilliance. of' , colour much less, and some of. his-pic-tures were almost monotones. .Hilder s_ . work is now very, difliculti to secure, Australian collectors Riving high prices for , his drawings on the. rare occasions they : came upon the market. 'Pictures which, . in tho artist's .lifetime, ho was glad to sell for from fivo to ten guineas are now , cagor'.y sought' after at forty hnd fifty guineas. .New Zealand visitors to Syd- , ney who nre interested in art may be , reminded that there are several excellent examples of Hilder's.work in the New South Wales National Gallery, Thirty of the artist's pictures are reproduced, in colour in tho volume'/before me, as well as a number of black-and-white sketches, photographs'of the artist at various apes, otc. It-is safe to say that this beautiful memorial to Hilder's dolieate and charming art - will be greatly sought nfter in years to come, and the wise collector will do woll to secure' a. copy of the book without delay. The Hilder Memorial Book, a much less comprehensive work published a year or two ago, ia now worth nearly ten times' its published : price. The present volume is' iesued at two guineas. . ■ The' Selected Poems of Henry Lawson. , To' all who loyo good literature nnd good art'and havo the modest eiitn of twelve shillings find sixpence to ■ Sparc— nnd if they "have not, let. tlie-m bfg or borrow (I had nlraost written steal) that amount—l would counsel nn immediate visit. to tho nearest bookshop . nnd the purchase of one of the: most . interesting and beautifully produced books it has been my good fortune to come across this, ninny a lonp; day. ■ This is "The"Selected Pooivis oil Henry Lnwr 1 son," .with preface by David MMCeo I V/right, a portrait in colour by John 1 Longstnff, nnd full-page, illustrations;by Percy Leasoh (jSydnev, Angus and liobjrtson;' Wellinirtnn, Whitconibe and Tombs an« S. «nd\V. MncknvK Hero in my good eld friend. Henry Lawson. in full dress. -Here is his*' best work, the work by which lie hopes his name will live, selected by himself, nnd presented with nil (lie attractions which beautiful printin? r.nd tiiftcful "get up generally can aft'ord. 'From iio British or \inencan press, in rfcent times,; lias a volume-of such nil TC-t.nd nrtislic emftemnnship been issued nt eo moderate n nnVe. TJie portrait of the poet, ' a- speaking likeness, is reproduced, in colour, from the picture,

■ » . ■ ■ '■■'.. painted by John Longstaff, whioh hangs in tJie JJationnl Gallery at' Sydney. .Mr. Percy Reason's . .illustrative dniivrngs are in admirable keeping , with •the' text.-,. The rugged.; sincerity or Lawaon'rS.' poemfl is here' most admirably reflected.. Specially to bo-praised aro the two figure studies, "Tho'Drover's and the '.swngeman'humping his "bluey," as described in those (mo versos entitled "Out Back." Mr. Leaapn also contributes some cloverly'drawn iuitial letters, and his design for the'end-papers, n drawing of u bu»h homiistead, n an eicellent bit of Australian landscape work.' The vigorously drawn design for the elip' cover ■ with arhicli the: book is provided is also worth}' of notice. ■ Aβ.to the poems here so attractively presented, they include all tho old favourites, together. with many new poems, •hitherto unpublished in book-form. Air. David M'Keo .Wright contributes a lengthy and exhaustive study of Laweon s work. Ho eoys:— ' ' • Of liawßon'e place in litomture, it i< diiHoult to Bpoak. SomethinK of-wliiit Burns did for Scotland, eomethinr of what Kmline did for India, he lina done for Australia; but he is riot iu tho least like either Burns or KtplinE. Judccd an 'verio, hie work has nearly alwayi n, certain onidity; judged by tho hieher standard of ■ pontry, it is oiten ireatoal when the crudity is most apparent. In the comme changes and chancce it Iβ daring , to predict immortality for ally writer.. The world ia bcins rcma,do in flre and pain; in thnt romakine ovory standard of achievement may bo altored utterly from thosa to which ire ho-v© been accuetomqd; but if permanency is to bo -lwked for anywhere, it i» in vital, rod-blooded worj: euoh ao liawson'e—work which comes, eo. straight from his heart that it must alwaya find a, heart to re3jond to it. All Auotralia ia there, painted with a bij; brueh in the oolour» in which Hβ people oee it. ■ . So much and much more does Mr. M'Keo' Wright say of Lawson's work. To me,' tue"crudity" -whioh-'hta critic -noteiT lias .-never''been - -very"'apparent. .' What-I look for.and- find in jjiipeon's work is a homeliness .of thought., and expression, ■sincerity,-a'blazing-earnestness for the cause of the "common people," an in•teneity of contempt for nieannoes, an eloquent appreciation of humbly-placed mon and women who Jove thoir neighbours as themselves, and' who scorn the paltry, tawdry, worldly gear of life as 'an. ut-terly-negligible* thing—nil this and much more do I; find in the vigorous, virile, and yot, at times, inexpressibly tender verse of Henry Lawson. I 'read yet again that triumph of irno pathos, "J?a<st Ca'riri , ,"'or that delightful, domestic idyll, "Andy's Gonb a-Droving"; I sniile over- the .'humour—plus so! much homely but nil too true pailosonhy—of. the inimitable "When Your Pants Begin to Go'. , ' I rejoico once inoro in tho lively lilt; and graceful, genuine,- sentiment of "The Drover's Sweetheart" or "Tho Shakedown on the . Floor' , '; all the old Lavreon charm is with, me again; and with it comes pleasant friendly memories of tho author ■ himself, ■ when, so many years ago now. I made his acquaintance in n certain Now Zealand office. To the older generation who remember reading Lawnon'e verse as it origin'nlly ajipwod in t "The Bulletin" and other periodicals, this beautiful volume will surely bo very welcome. To a younger" generation, to whom Lawson's vpree may l>?. lcs familiar, it should nrove equally attractive- Tho edition." I lmvy siit in conclusion, is a. limited os:i\ and. if the puMir'.can appreciate a good, (hinir when tl'cy foo it. should soon lie exhusteil. . (Price 12s. fid.). .. ■ . ''■"-■ "Tho Froodoin of. the Sens!" Amongst tho many. (I'liMtions to bo dealt .with by the, Teacs, Conference, the. freedom of the seas, about,'which wo have heard, so much of" late., is ono _of tho gravest' importance. to tho / British/ Empire. The'appearance, therefore, of a book which denls with the subject iofc only from the legal and political, but also tho popular point of view, ti most opportune. In ".'"The -Freedom of the Seas: The Historr of a Gorman Trap" (London: John Murray, per Whilc'ombo nH Tombs)', Mr. 'Michael Cabal:", bnr-rister-at-law, of Balliol Collene, Oxford, and'the. Inner Temple.,-provides a comprehensive wirvey and detailed oxposi- ■ tion of the whole question,'.'exposing ih<r duplicity of Germany, in endeavouring to cripple ' Great Britain's . most powerful weapon in warfn're .whilst retainiiiir for herself, full right of an unlimited offensive, "s'pehViiur very plainly on tha way in which British .statesmen bundled over (he Declaration of I.indon under, as the author maintains, "the insidious, guidance of Germnnv"; pointing out the dangers; which the future may. hayo in Btoro -for, Uβ unless our navnl interests aro,wisely and jealously secu'.fed end safeguarded, ,ahd giving a ; most useful ineicht into the• obetacles to sncceiw. with which, as the result of the Declaration, the .British., Navy had:.had to contend, moro particularly in the first two'.yoara of the war.. Mr. Cahabe disclaims any partyprejudice or 'purpose.-brit .ho N mnkes it very clear' that % their 'acceptance ■of I ihe" Declnration, the Liberal -Ministers, Mr. Asquith and Sir Edward Grey, "gave awiiy" . to an • oxtont. which for some time proved a fpr.ipus'honilicap. to the British-..'.cause ,' "the ntreiitfth.. of the Naval: arm." Imm-.mße quantities of warlike material and food, the;' "conditional : contraband" ."of the London DeI claration,..w£TO 'forwarded to the enemy thrjough .neutral., countries, ..being only stopped, 'after the. Declhrntion had become obsolete, by special direct arrangements'■with the neutrals lhernselv.es. No move' convincing proof■• of the complete innocimee' of Groat Britain of any in-;.tention-tft!wage, war could l>e found than in.Sir Edward Grey's action with regard to the Conference at whicli the Declaration was agreed to. It is clear he only 'thought of 'England as a tra(ling>ntion arid never .(is -po-'sibly-: a "fighting nation. Mr. Gababo'fl reference, in luh. title, to 1 a ""German-trap" doee not ncccßsarily imply any, improper conduct on the part 'of British flt<ite»nien.,. .But, as, he says, ".a-trap iii none thn less a trap even if ono falls into it with. one's eyes open." I By.- this time British statesmen■ must surely be convinced that to agree to anything which would shackle the activi.tiee of the Navy'. in. timo of war would I lie niont disastrous to tho Empire, Mr. (.'ab'abe's book;'is amply documented and ie a niOßt useful 'guide to projier understanding- (if ii son'iewhat ' complicated but immensely important question. (Price 6s. 6d.). War Poems by Sir Henry Nowbolt. ■ A now book-of poenis from the pen which Rave us) /'Drake's Drum" is sure of a. hearty wolconio. Jn a. slender little ■volume, entitled "St. George's Day fljjd Other Poems" (John Murray;, per Whitcombe and Tombs) Sir Henry Nowbolt, Tffioisc' <:cst work his always -been his sea songs, is again most successful iu the verses which deal with the splendid.part played by the British Navy. Tho.ro is a Htirring poem 'entitled "The King's Highway,"- and, in .lighter, vein, "A' Chanty' of the- Kindcn" ha-5 a reusing rollicking suing which admirably suits the'subject. But a,'l customary latitude in verse of this-kind being allowed, Sir Henry chould not nay of tho Sydney's crew ("South Sea blues" he calls them) that- ... Their hearts wore hot, niyl as they shot They sang ltlie kangarooß"Now you come alpnir with me, sire, You come- alomcNJHi inc. You've had'your fun,.you ruddy old hun, And it's timo. you wsru heme frou sea." Some years ago a "boiing linugarno"-' was proudly, and profitably, exhibited by a travelling tiliowmnni but a Kinging kmigiirun- Sir ITiMiry is, I (hinlc, the iirst to 'ntrivl'ice \n our tmlicp. The title poem, "St. 'George's Day" tT"pres, lillo), is based upon ono of,tlio many gallant feats of. arms by British yoldiorii by which the mime of the nii<"""tit Flemish city will ever be , remembered: To fill -the call, to bear tile lirunt; ■With Iwyonet and with epado, Four hundred to n four-mile front, Unbacked and undismayed— . : TV hut men ars t-hesp of., whut ■ ra.cc ( ' From what old ohirc or town That mn with mich irood will-to face Ucath on a Flemish down?.

Lei he!, they bind a broken line A3 men die, so die they. . linnd of tho free! their life wan thine. It Jβ St. George's Day. Yet nay whoEO ordour bids them stand At bay by yonder bank. Where a, hoy's voice and a boy'e hand Oloso us the quivering rank. Who under thc«e all-shntt«riuir uliies Plays out hie captain's nasi \ With the Inst darkness in hia eyes And "Domum" in his heart? Lot be, let bo I in yonder line All names aro burned away. Land of his love! tho fnme be thine, It. Ie St. Gcome'e Day. In a long poem, "The Sorvice," S. W. . Henry draws a. clever analogy between tho "secret of the seaman's ordered life," namely, self-relinnce, respect for discipline, and individual anil collective comradeship, nml the qualities which are needed in n nation which would bo great and remain great. The concluding -piece is a masque. "Tho Fourth of Augijst," in which n fine stately narralivo is interspereed by several tuneful graceful lyrics. (Price 4s. 6d.) , LIBER'S NOTEBOOK. ; Stray Leaves. I Mm. Humphrey Ward, in her book, "A • Writer's Ueminiscences," expresses the opinion that uioet of Mr. 11. G. AVclls's books will bo quite forgotten in a genera- . tion. Sho «ays: "The only thing that, ciui keep joxirnnlism nlive is chnrm."But Mr. Wells has not a particle of charm." I am gliid to eeo that A[rs. AVard conniders "Kipps" (f'Liber's" own favourite • amongst nil tho Wells books) as "almost ' a maetwpiece." "Mr. Polly" and the earlier and, to my mind, excellent "Love 1 and Mr. Lewisham". (largoly autobio--1 graphical, so the story goes) are ulso ' .among uvy' favouritoe. But .AVolls's [ strongest story will always, bo, for me, ; "Tono Bungny." As a picture of tho 1 sordid .commercialism , and blatant maI terialism of the 'eighties and 'nineties, of ' the last contury, 'Tono Bungay" should : surely live, if only ae a picture of pastI manners and customs. - f [ y Those of my readers who remember 1 with pleasure that quito remarkable. 1 book' of travels in tho Amazon. region, ; "The Sea and the Jungle," by Mr. H. ' M. Tomlinson, should note the appegrI iince of a new book of travel sketches by the samo writer. "Old Junk" is the I title. , : ... ; Anthony Hope's story, "Captain ». Dieppe," which, eo I notice with some amusement, is being sold as 11 new novel, . is, in reality, quite nn old friend. As 1 a mattor of fact the story appeared fully 1 twonty years ago in the .innuner number '. of the "Illustrated London News." It i is somewhat curious that the romance— , it is in Mr. Hawkins's earlier "Prisoner ! of Zonda" vein—should have hnd to wait • twenty years to find- its wny into book • form. ' /,'■■■' 1 According to nn' English literary gos-' 1 flippor, JN T nt Gould, ho of the famous , rnciriß yarns'.and of the cigantic circu- .■ lation—does. not his publisher, Mr. John 1 Xonif, proudly announce that over two , million copies of Mr. ■ Nnt Gould'ji • "fasoirnitin'tf novels" have been euld?—is ; easily first favourite with ...the . British ; soldier. The lady manager of tho great . Camps Library at Westminster vouches '. for this; and the Americnn "Sammy," , neglooting his n-ativo "hest-sellers," is . Retting as -keen on the fnmous Nat ns . the English "Tommy." It was not al- , ways thus, for Mr , . long tells a ynrn of a certnin Private Atkins saying to a 1 Sammy: "Hey, 'ave yer : ?ot" a Nnt ! Gould by yer?" ."Wo don't smoke 'em in America," replies the Sammy; "but I tin lot you havo a Entiimi. "Aw, go ! on," retorts thp Tommy. "Nat Goiild , ain't a cigarette—'e's the greatest living author!" : ■ Colonel Kepingtou, whoso opinions on the vwir first as military expert to "Tile Times"'and nfterirards /to other journals' bulked so largely in tho cablegrams last yoar, has written a book or reniinincenes, entitled "Vestigia," which Constables arc publishing. 1 • ■ Mrs. Humphrey Ward's new story,' en- - titled "Wnr and 'Elizabeth," is published by Collins mid Co., tho firm whicli -published her earlier war novel. "Missing." The same firm publish Sfrs. Ward's antobiogruphy, "A AVriter's Recollections," . which appeared serially- in tho "Cornhill Mngnzino." ■ • - Frank Swinnerton, tlie clever you novelist who wrote .that .veritable little gem, "Nocturne,"one of the few really good novels of 1918, has a iiew story, "Shops nnd Houses," out with Methiien's. Gilbert IVankaii is . following up his successful' "novel in verse," "Ono of Tjs," a sort of modern "Don .Trinn," in a quite marvellous imitation of- the Byronic metre, by a eecond work of fiction in verse, "One of Them." During the war Mr. Frankau-has produced some very fino war verse, notably "The Guns." Mr. Frankhu's brief visit.to Wellington, just before the wnr, is amusingly described in his novel, "The-Woman on'the Hon- ■ zon," a cleverly written but soniewhat ■ !n»wh6lesonie story. ■ gome'of these days Mr. Jrankau, whose mother, Mrs. Julia Frankau, the author of "Baccarat", nnd "Pigs in Clever,".died (last year, should' irive us a- really fine novel of modern life. ,■ :■ . : v