BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 103, 25 January 1919, Page 11

BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

(Bi\ Lieep..)

The Easi African Campaign. "Sketches, of;' , the' ! East Afsjcari. Canipaigu," by Captain Hobert V. Dolbey, E.A.M.C. (Murray's Imperial Library, per 'Whitcombe and. Tombs) is an interesting addition to tlie literature of tliq war as it affected East and Central Africa. Captain Dolbey, whoso earlier book, -VA- Regimental Surgeon in War and Prison," was reviewed in these columns a. couple of years ago; now provides an exceptionally interesting and' enlightening account, of the long and arduous and often very dangerous work performed by the British forces in Africa. He pays a high tribute to the, ■ strategical, ability . of General Smuts, and enlarges upon, the dctestablo methods of warfare followed by the Germans and upon tlieir disregard alike of all international law and the dictates of common humanity. Tlte narrative is interspersed by many capital anecdotes and records of personal advontures.:,'.-. ..

Lettow, the German generalissimo in Africa, .Captain .Dolbey. regards' as a .very able: .'commander.; Chary "of ing praise-for work well'done-, Letto\v was, says-.the author, inexorable to failure.- ~•\ '■.

. The tale'is. told 'that Lettow. was furious when -Fischer, tho ma.ior in command at Mosohi, was bluffed out„of his imprpir-. nablo position .there by- Yandervciiter evacuated the northern lines, and-retired on Kahe, thus saving us. the expend of taking a natural fortress that would nave "taxed all'our- energies. White with rnge, he sent for; Fischer, and handed him ono. of his own revolvers. "Let'me . hear some intbrcating.- news about',you'in a. day or two." And Fischer took the pistol a'.'.tl walked a.way to consider his .death* warrant. .He looked, at- that grim message for two days before ho could-summon up hiR. coiiTase: then...he ..shot ( .bimself. well below the heart, in a s?ot which lift' thought; was' fairly ~ safo. But . poor Fischer's knowledge of ■■ anatomy- .was as unsound-as 1 his-'strategy,., for the bullet, perforated his stomach,-.and-it'took him three days to die.

Captain Dolbey attributes much of the difficulty experienced by the British in driving back, aud defeating the enemy to tho tribe. These natives long " resisted German domination, wera finally subdued. Hardy .and: willing, splendid, fighters, they theh , became tho most. valuable native - allies the Germans' possessed. Curiously enough,' immigrants of this tribe', enlisted in British East Africa, did not hesitate to. fight against their own blood-brothers ivhp followed l the. German standard. For drilling and parade the native mind, says the author,; shows great keenness and aptitude. Little squads: of men aro drilled voluntarily by their 'own n.c.o.'s ill their spare time, and often, after an 'Official drill over, tliey drill one another again. Reading Captain Dolbey's accounts -ot> tho faithful - and galdaht' service "rendered to bo,th - sides during the war bv these African natives, one- realises the full import of tlie danger which' a;German-raised, Ger-man-armed native African army—one of tho. most cherished. dreamsY. and ambitions 1 of Berlin—would have meant to. British and French rule in Africa.

As befits a medical officer, Captain Dolbey- has- a- -good -deal to say - about tho many baffling and dangerous diseases' peculiar to East and Central Africa. Blackwater/ fever is the spccial terror and horror of African tropical campaigning. Noneed,. says the author, !o go to the sick report for details:-'" ~ i;/ ■

. All. who ran could.read'lt in-the/blanch-ed lips, the pallor ' of their faocs,- tho 'jaundiced eye, the hurried ' brenthius." Thereupon" came three' days strußple with Azroel's yale sliapo before tlio. blackwater gave, place to tlio natural colour again,.- or until tho secreting mechanism gave. up the contest altogether and ' the Destroying' Angel settled firmly on his prey;:. At ilrs.t. if there were no vomiting, it was easy to ply the hourly drinks of tea. , and-, water and • medicine.; But once tho-deadly and exhausting vomitino- had begun, 011 c could 110 longer feed tlio victim by the-mouth. Then came the keener struggle for life/for . fluid .was essential and bad to be given by other . ways-and : means; Into the-soft folds or tho skin of the armpits, breast, .- and flanks.wo ran in.salt solution by. (h.e pint v The veins of ..tho- arm wo brought into service, that we might pour-in this vitalising fluid. -Day and night the fight goes •011' for. three days, until .it is. won or lost. Here again, as in tick fever, we use the preparation 606, for "which wo are indebted to the great Ehrlicli. Champagne .is " a,-great standby. So well recognised iB the latter remedy that all old hands at African travel tafco with. them a case of "bubbly water" for such occasions as these. Blessed morphia, too, brings ease of vomiting, and is a priceless boon.

Ono chapter :of Captain . Dolbey's book, that headed "Sherry mid Bittors," may, I am afraid, shock prohibitionists. The author says:

A common Inquiry put. to doctors is, ''What do you think of the alcohol question -in a tropical campaign?" -. Do■ we not think that,it is a good tiling that our army is, by : force of circumstances, a teetotal one? Much as ;wo regret to depart from an' attitude, which is, 011 the whole, hostile to.alcohol. I must say that Jt is our conviction, that in the rtropics a - certain amount, of diffusible stimulant i- very beneficial and quite free from harni. And the cheapest and most" reliable stimulant of that nature is, of coiirse, whisky. This whole campaign lias been almost entirely a teetotal one for reasons of trnmroort ami inability to get drink. Not for any other reason, I assure you. But. .where the absence of. alcohol has been ho doubt." responsible for a. wonderful degreV'of excellent behaviour among our troons, I vet know that the few who were able to get a drink at'night wero all tho'better'-for it.'

. Beer and wine are both strictly l.iboo from a.ll African medical/.point, of view, being' "livery and headachy." The author, however, warmly commends vflrmtith as pleasant and wholesome stimulant, of special value .in malaria cases. Speaking generally on tho liquor question. Major Dolbey declares that-—

all medical' men of long tropical experience will agree that some stimulant, is needed b.v lilbnd humanity living out of Ilia -geographical' environment and debilitated by tho adverse iulluence of his lack of pigment, the vertical sun and a tropical heat. It is more thaii probable that a proviso will have to he added to any world-wide, scheme of prohibition.- The cocktail, the universal sherry and bitters, and the "sundowner" will liavo to be retained. To cxnect a man, po exhausted that the very idea of food is distasteful, to digest his dinner, is t.o ask too much of one's digestive apparatus. - And this wo must all admit, tlint. if a man in the. tropics docs not cat then certainly he may not live. -v..

Major Dolbey pays unstinted trihuto to the energy, enterprise, sind genius for commerco displayed by the Germans at Dar-es-Salaam au:l throughout German East .Africa generally. But lie tells the same old dreary story, amply documented and convincingly true, of tlie cruelty and treanliory o£ the ITnn, of the curious beastliness of the Gerninii officers,'and of the arrogance and utter contempt for all other people's convenience, comfort, and happiness which'is displayed by the Germans in Africa. The book, which is most readnblo throughout,, contains soma excellent illustrations, some of them from photographs taken from captured Germans. (I'rico os.) Masonry as a World-Religion. To members of tho Masonic order in this country "Tho J3uihlcrs, a Story and Study of ■■ Masonry" (Allen Unwin) should prove a book of peculiar and considerable interest. It is of American origin, the author being Dr. J. Fort Newton, of the Grand Lodge of lowa, now tho pastor of tho . City. Temple, Loudon. Dr. Newton's book, -which has had a very_ cxtensivo sale in tho United" States, is liot only to ho re-

'Give a man a pipe ht can smoke, Give a man a book he can read; And his home it bright with a calm delight Though the room be poor indeed. • —James Thomsou

garded as a - , standard history of ■Masonry, but is possessed of no small interest, especially in its later chapters, for non-Mason's, it being claimed by tlio author that he has outlined what he calls a world-roligion, "the universal faith that underlies all creeds and overarches all sects." In his preface to the English edition, Dr. Newton writes

Surely, in a world torn by strife and divided by so many feuds of race, religion, and nationality, we have a right to rcjoice' in .a fellowship at once free, gentle, and refining, which spans all distances of space and all dillereuccs of speech, and brings men together by a common impulse and inspiration in mutual respect and brotherly regard. Truly, it needs no philosopher to discern that such.a fraternity, tho very existence of which is a fact elo' fluent ■ beyond words, is an influence for good no one can measure in the present, ftud a prophecy for the future the meaning of which no one can rcckon; and doubly so because, by its very genius, Freemasonry is international, and therefore ought, to bo responsive to the ideal of world-fellowship which • will surely emerge from the tragedy of .world war.

Dr. Newton -deals- in-successive- sections with tho principles of-. Freemasonry, the symbolical character of the'"working tools," with the history of the various fellowcrafts, tho Grand Lodge of England, etc., and provides generally a concise and well-written account oftho origin, growth, and teaching of the .Masonic order. Many of the footnotes display..evidences of considerable research in the history of mysticism, symbolisrii, and religious, sects and principles. .Dr. Newton must be credited with having produced an addition to tho already cxtensivo literature of Freemasonry which is far bettor written than most such books liave been, and is destined, in all probability, to remain for many years the standard authority on tho subject. (N.Z. prico 95.) The Story Book of Scienco, A delightful book for j'oung people, and ono in which adults, too, who ara interested in natural history and ,tlio wonders of scienco will find no small

charm, is "The Story Book of Science," by Jean Henri Fabre (New York, tho Century Company, per Angus and Robertson and'AVhiteombe and Tombs). Tho'gifted but modest" and retiring Freiveh priest "to whom, in his quiet study in the south of. France, the world owes such a long succession of works on entomology and natural history generally, here gives us a book of popular scienco told in story-form. Whether ho bo unveiling the mysteries of animal, insect, and plant life, or explaining the wonders of meteorology, whether ho bo writing of such curiosities of insect life as the spiral snail, tho spider's web, or the processionary caterpillar—l wonder, by tho way, whether the great French naturalist ever saw a specimen of our'own New Zealand curiosity, the vegetable caterpillar—whether ho bo , explaining tho working of the thermometer, or making clear the wonderful evolution of ■fruit ' from blossom —whatever subject he' touches ho always invests with, an interest which is closely akin to deepest fascination. Ho is at his best', I shall always consider, in his studies of insect life—the chapters on the bee aro specially charming—but all his writings liavo a simplo clarity and charm which mako them very pleasant reading. If tho imaginary children of these stories ever existed l in real life, and'had . a real Mother Ambrosine to watch oyer them, and a living Uncle Paul to divert thoin. with his entertaining Nature studies, they wero' indeed lucky youngsters. The hook contains a number of suitable illustrations of plants, insects, etc. A better gift book for intelligent young folk coultl not well bo found.. (Price, 95.)