BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 217, 7 June 1919, Page 11

BOOKS OF THE DAY

A Russian Soldier on Russia and tha ' War, . . "• General 'Basil' Gourko, the author of •"■Memories and Impressions of War and 'Revolution' in''Russia" '(London, John Murray, per ■ Wlvitconibe and- Tombs), iB, I believe, a son of the famous General" Gourko, who so distinguished himself in the R'usso-Turkish warof 1878 and alter, wards commanded Russia's armies in the .campaigns against - tlie Khanates of Tnr-' kestan. During, the Great War of 1911Jt)18, the author was widely recognised as iOne'.of'the most capaolo.and successful of Russia's commanders. . When war 'bioke out ho'was given'the command of a cavalry division, and in 1916 became Chief of. tho'"Russian Imperial Staff; 'After the 'Revolution, whon so:'many generals known" to favour the' Romanoff rynasty' were 'deprived 'of- their commands, Gourko was for a time a notable exception, ' being appointed by f' the Kerensky' Government Commander-in-Chief of thb Western armies. It' was not'long, howeveiy before the."civilian control of tho campaign becanio intolerable, and eventually, in June, 1917,' having refused to agree to the system under which the soldiers' committees.practical--ly'robbed the. commanders of control, lie resigned, being, .later pn, arrested by tho Petrograd Government aiid imprisoned in tho;.fortress .of St. .Peter, and St. Paul;- . In September,',lol7,. he...wfe but was' sent into exile. He proceeded to . London,. where he has. .employed his ..leisure, in .writing, what, 'from-a purely .military. poiiiC'-of. view, is-far and- away' .'the most connected, and detailed account' of Russia's share in the war that we have' yet ■had...".- :The-story of: the -Tan-' : ncnbcrg-disaster is told lit some length, Tho disaster • was not, so' ; Gourko sayv -the result of any treachery ill the .Russian cauip,. But Ihe result'of faulty com•inunications' between' the two, conunnn-' dors', Reiinenka'mpf- and Sariisoriov. The ' end: of the" latter, tin. honest -and able . commander, whoi-however; "unfortunately lost touch with his. . flanks,;' 'was" tragic. '■ Tho flanks; werp ; .. 'forced back by •■the Germans; '.who,.; .lindenHindenburg. -fiad'. a' specially:; intimato : kn'ljwledgo of-the " ground, ' and , the. two Russian A'rniy corps in the centre .were* cut off. and surrounded. Samso'np'and I five of liis'oflicei's. ti'ied to.esc9.po through'j'the.forest..-'; jVfter .a : ivhile tliey' had to : discard their lioraes arid :%allt'..";The' general, who suffered from a .weak heart. ,could not- stand the strain., . He' fell be-: ■hind..'and was;.last seen . sitting on a': 'hillock,", after-' haviiig- peremptorily order-.' ed his'c'oifipanions to press on and' save, tbemselyes. . Later .-.on. ;the, body' of an unkiiown soldier "wiis found', and,a, gyld .lnedajlion being first taken from "the. corpse..' 'This medallioncame into 'Ctoui'KoV possession, aiid -was- identified 'as. that of - the ■ missing - general's. -wife v There can be'little doubt."'says', .the,-, auV ■thor. that. Samsonov died -of a brokon heart, and was buried ill the lonely for-.' est, 'although-'for. some time a rumour went through • tho Anny. that ho had been,captured by the-Germans disguised, as, a. common soldieri. Gourko admits RennenkumgfVgrnye mistakes ' in ■ the Eastern -but says hewas. Sdolised by. lijs men. His power of-self-control seems to have disappeared when lie encountered disaster, and Gourko evidently considers him more worthy of pity. than, of blame. ■■ '•. The' iviinle .story of .the "war",', .of rather, of Russia's slia'r'e''therein, ."ian .be'traced "in Gourko's book up to the" Re'yolutibn. When .' lie- was. appointed-Chief of Stall! he came into close, touch.with Petrograd and the political position. It is interr esting.to have the views oh the Revolution of. a. man . .-who clearly , distrusts democracy. Although*," after tho JTsar.'?. 'abdication;'Gourko became 'Hie'servant of the Revolutionary Government,.he'lyas ■honest, flioujli imprudent enough; tq. write to the Tsar,, expressing tlie opinion, that "after-, painful experiences ' of'- internal .troubles" awl after' -'a form of. govbrntnent'for which ' Itiissiii, .neither historically nor. socially was ready, 1 ' had ; been. tested, the country would again "turn to its lawful Emperor and Anointed of G0d.",... The main error of • the Revolutionary Or Provisional Government was, Gourko'i'says, "Ihat it did not change its place of residence and go where it would-not have been under the 1 pressure of the soldiers' and workmen's mobs.". Regarded as a contribution to military history, the book is one of quite outstanding interest and value, but in its survey of the. political situationafter.the Revolution is, .it must be remembered, the work of. an ardent Imperialist, -and., represents tlie views' of a military chief rather than those of a A portrait of tho. author, from, a painting by Mrs, Leslie • Cotton, servers as - a frontispiece', aiid there aro some excellent maps and an adequate index..

Agriculture for New Zealand Readers. .11l the past'the New Zealand farmer, .wheii seeking reliable information on stock breeding or the cultivation of crops, on dairying and kindred industries connected witlr the land, has been chiefly dependent upon English and' American text books, however valuable they might be ns' sources of knowledge, were necessarily lacking in consideration of and allowanco for many purely Antipodean conditions. In providing, a 9 Messrs/ Whitcombe and Tombs are now doing, a' series of text' books specially written by-experts having a knowledge of local conditions, and experienced in coping with the spe-cial-difficulties which confront the' 'Now Zealand farmer, the firm is doing the latter a very real and useful service. The latest of the firm's 'publications of this kind is' : entitled "Agriculture for Now. Zealand Bonders," the. authors being Mr, 11. P. Connell, ]\[.A.,' agricultural iivstruc-"toiT.Auckland-Education Board! and Mr. I. W.' Hndfield',/ formerly of tlio Hawkesbury Agricultural College, New South Wales, and more recently agricultural instructor at tho s'eddon Memorial Technical College, New Zealand. Primarily intended for the use of students in (he liigh schools and technical colleges of tlio Dominion, this handsomely produced work,, with ils wealth of useful- illustrations and diagrams, will, it is to be hoped, find ,ils way into .every form household and prove of'great practical ~ value to youjig formers who are 'properly ambitious of employing' the most scientific and efficient methods in carrying.on the in. (luytry in which' they aro engaged. ' A sfjecial feature of the work is the core with which information given in the yarious. chapters has been chocked by experts jn tho employ of the Department of Agii culture and by others interested' in agri- . r cultur'al education. Many of the-illustra-tions, all of which have been choson for .their. practical vulti.e, have been supplied . by 11)0 Department of Agriculture, (lie [New South Wales Department, of Agriculture having also assisted in this way. Tho authors commence by explaining the .uses and special values of various seeds, tho general structure and composition of plants being next outlined. Several chapters are devoted to the formation end chemical and physical properties of soils, following u.pon which come sections in which commercial fertilisers, the select ion and valuation of various manures nn<l the use of limo nre dealt with. Tho tilUi"e, drainage, and cropping of tho land aro then discussed in detail. Cereals, the conservation of fodder, insect pest.-, and fun'goid diseases, pruning and crop care and management in goneral aro the subjects of the concluding chapters. 13.v. tho' use of special type tho inoro essential 'points'! hi, tho instruction given are emphasised, nnd liberal use is made of diagrams. At tho end" of each chaptor is a series of fimsstions by which teachers can check th" work of students. Not the. least excellent feature of the work is its full and carefully-compiled index.',' .!

After the War. ' .' In .a serins of fiva short but-thoughtful' and' ivoll-wriltbii . essay's yn'titlwl.'"After tin? War." (Joliu Murray: per Whitcombo

and Tombs), Lord Esher, G.C.D., G.G.V.0., discusses the powers and responsibilities and duties of the Crown, tho Cabinet,'Parliament,-and tho Church, and dwells upon the special work thrown upon- each of these offices and. departments ot" the British Umpire by the conelusion of the Great War. It is of vital importance tli.it 1 all ' British subjects shoilldVinderstiind tho function of these "political machiues," as Lord Esher calls them. " The'author has enjoyed special opportunities for dealing with these "political machines," the working of which must, in the opinion of' so many people, undergo considerable 'modification and, reform as a result of tl\e after-war conditions. Lord Usher's examination of- tho. powers and responsibilities of Parliament is specially interesting. .He seems to think that Parliament, as an institution, has suffered a serious loss-of prestige during tho war.

No-underpinning ot the parliamentary fabric appears, to. bo', possible, Tho evil has progressed too far. Tho . superst-rua-tiiro" requires to be lightened and new additions ertcted upon- solid foundations, as miich; in harmony with an ancient, building as circumstances will admit. The separation of legislative from exeoutive functions; the delegation of legislative powers by the nation to provincial assemblies; a federal parliamentary body for flnancial control; a. judicial cheek upon' imperfect administration; -a, "referendum" to. the nation on certain reserved matters of national Importance; an executive chosen. by direct election every four or five years;'-an annualdeliberative Imperial Conference—these are the projects which : aro under discussion both in rooj 'of tho British', armies in .the field and in tho workshops of ./.the; north.; This fact cannot bo ignored. - ■■■:.-

Tiio essay Oh "The ;• Crown" contains several'.striking passages:-^

'An' English - monarch's freedom from party ' ties, his hereditary- isolation, his domestic seclusion, are'guarantees, in the eyes of tho people,-that ho .will perform impartially the duties assigned-to him by the law of the land. That, tho King cau d.o no wrong, is not only, a convenient constitutional maxim, it is thjj. honest opinion of the mass of- tho people.. They, would ns soon believe the Archbishop of Canterbury capable of cheating at cardß.'

' Lord-Eslier's book lia's'a prefatory address" to". Mr. liobert-Smillie,- the wellknown British-Labour-leader.*- The author- 6a.vs"lie does' not share-Mr. Smil--lie-s "faith in- democracy- as a-form of government," but,'--ho ( adds, "We ngroß in love of our country and fidelity to the .man of-our. race"*. -For their sake,' ho asks iMr.. Smillie to use his influence to ."bid. your ..friends and. associates. pause at;.the threshold of these undetermined , issues-,. ;.and to niako; .sure-- .before sweeping, away ; any institution deeply.- rooted "in" historic soil that it is-im truth an ob-' stncW'-, i/prd-JOsher's: excellent little book:. riiay-.be-.read-with equal profit by New ,'Zenlhhders -lis -by the- author's fei-,'low-cbuhtrymeii'.'. ■•'* If is'- moderate and courteous in tone, and essentially what .Montaigne would have called a book of ; good faith/. .'(New Zealand : price, 3s. l!d.)

. LIBER'S NOTE BOOK "LuxemburgT'; •; A —kindly •correspondent, "B.J.G„" sends me- tlie following interesting note: "Dear 'Liber,'—As -a- Luxenibiirger, allow me'to tlmnk "you most: sincerely for the very, interesting suminary of our national history which you giivo lis in yesterday's Dominion, in reviewing lliss' Putnam's.'book.. .May I;: however, draw yoii'r -attention- :to . a .-mistake,. slight in itsclfi b.ut.iio-.us important.?;. You state: •■'Since- JSGTvLuxeniburg •'had : had a reigning family of German origin, etc.', wliereatj this <iid..not happen until 1891. Up' till that :tiuio the King -of - Holland, was Grand Bake of Luxemburg, j When Queen Willieliiiina ascended the Dutch throne, owing, to the ; Salie law being still in 'force7ift Luxemburg,' the. throne of Luxemburg fell.' to.-the .Nassau branch of;-the'Oi'ange ; family. And . from that 'day the.Luxemburgers.changed the line 'We want to remain what we. are,' into 'Wo do not. want to -become Prussians'— n lino which l -.reniejnber.singing most lustily, as. a hoy full, 'ninny a time, '"A change; made.in the Constitution of Luxemburg in 1SW8; by it the Salic law was abolished, and so the late Grand;, Duchess, succeeded her German father, to the ..greatdisappointment of several petty German prince, s who claimed the succession. The.Grand Duchess was boni arid bred in Luxemburg, and though 'her father "wis a German and her mother a Portuguese, wo' always looked upon her as-a 'Luxemburgeoise.' We'did not believe, before the war, that she had German tendencies', and even now, in tlie absence of definite news from .home',' I am not convinced she played— or attempted to play—into the bands of the Germans. -Tlie Lnxeniburgers are the most anti-Prussian of all the border people. from the North Seii-to Switzerland, and I'feel certain that:'nowhore was the downfall of Bismarck's dream hailed with ■'Greater joy than in'tlio old 'town on the liiil.' " " ' ■ " .

JFor my correspondent's information I .may stutc'.that Miis Putnam's book can be .o.bluiiied through any of llie booksellers', advertising on this page.] Dlcken'sy "Doinboy"—And Others.' ■ Sir Harry Johnston,, the famous African explorer, who has written so many important geographical and ethnological works, is, 1 see, making what is, for him, a very curious "and novel literary.departure. , Under ' tlie . titlo of "Tho Gay Domjieys". li'o has. written a novel in .which'"an":atteini>t is;made to bring up to date tho fortune of, tliei .Dickens characters." It is -surely rather a rash experiment upon which Sir Harry Johnston'is venturing, but'it is not tho first time that a se.riuol Or' supplement to "Dombey aiid Son"' has heed written. I possess amongst my'.'modest collection of Dickensania ii slim' littlo volume entitled "Doinbey and Daughter: A Moral Fiction," which 16 an open and shameless plagiarism of. .Dickens's ..famous novel.', The author, who was impudent enough to put his name on the title page, » - as one Kenton Nicholson "Lord Chief Baron of the celebrated Judgo and Jury Society, held at the Gnrrick's .Head Hotel, Bow Street, Covent Garden." The "Judge and Jury", was a sort of "Free and Easy,"* at. which mock trials wero held, presided over, so 1 read in Edmund Yates's Reminiscences" (an uivaluablo book on London Bohemianism in the early and. mid-Victorian days), by one Kenton Nicholson, a clever, versatile, wholly unprincipled follow, who had been connected v.itli the lirrf and the stage, and' had 'owned and edited an atrociously blackguard weekly ' iournnl called "The' Town." " Yates"'tells ns"that tlie mock trials over which - Nicholson-presided wero carried Out'by persons dressed as,"and often giving imitations of, leading:barristers, "the witnesses: being actors of moro or less Versatility-and mimetic ability... . . The entertainment' was- undoubtedly, clever, "iitt full of: grossness and indecency."' Another plagiarism, or . burlesque, of "Donibey and Son" was entitled "Dombey and Son Finished/' and appeared in Albert Smith's comic weekly, "i'lio Man in tho Moon.' 1 Imitations and "completions" of Dickens's novels are very numerous! I,possess, for example, a copy of "Master 'Timothy's Bookcase," an imitation of "Master Humphrey's Clock," written by. tho notorious G. \V. M. Reynolds, tho author of the very scandalous '"Mysteries of London," ana founder of tKo well-known weekly paper, "Reynolds's Journal." Then there is "Nickolas Nickelberry Married," and "Pickwick Abroad," and as for the unfinished "Mystery of Edwin Drood," tlicro must bo half-a-dozen so-cailcd "completions," ono of which, "John Jasper's Secret," I have long sought for in vain, and .would willingly givo thirty shillings for. There is even a so-called "completion" of "Edwin Drood," by "Dickens's Spirit Hand." This latter, needless to say,-is a. Yankee, concoction. 'But I have wandered,' I fear, far away from. Sir-.Har.ry .Johnston's forthcoming book/which I'sliall.certainly await with some curiosity." " '

Some New Walpole Letters, Those who know ami enjoy—it is one of the best "dipping" books, or series of Meg ever, published—Horace Walpole-'s 'Letters" will, bo interested to know thnh Dr, Paget Toynboo, the treat authority on Wnlpole, has discovered iind editeu, for the Oxford University Press, a number of new letters, marked by Walpole himself as "very particular and worth preserving." The letters nre to Iw published very shortly in library edition uniform with tho Correspondence of Walpole, Gray, West, and Asliton, which appeared just before the war. Macaulay, it is true, sneered at Walpole's fads and frivolities, but, after all, the "llormic of Strawberry IIill" was a verj\ shrewd observer of tin men—and the womenand manners of his times, and in .his own way a true lialriot. I,know of no book which gives the reader such a series of amusing ami valuable pictures of life in tho early and middle Georgian days as can bo found in Walpole's "Letlcrs;"-Tho best edition is that edited /y- Dr. Toynbie, but it runs into seventeen volumes and is very expensive. Next .conies the bee, but it runs into seventeen volume's which can bo picked, up very cheaply sometimes in the catalogues of the.Knglish second-hand liookseilers. A handy little "selection," and a very good selection it is, is published in George Newnes's Pocket Library, at, 1 think-, 35. Gd. or 4s. Gd.- in a leather binding.- Anyone who buys, and reads this excellent little edition -will, 1 fancy, . follow. Oliver Twist's example, and-aslc for "more." and so, when his purse allows, may add the /big Cunningham - edition to bis shelves. Such, nt least, has been "Liber's" experience.,'

SOME RECENT FICTION "The Rough' Road." Mr, James Marmaduko Treyw, otherwise known lis • "Doggie" Trevor, the hero of 'Mr. W. J. Locke's latest novel, "The Hough Itoiui" (John ..Lane, pel' Wiiitcombe and Tombs), is, when the.war breaks out, a wealthy young man who has been "coddled" from his childhood, has never been to a public school, and who finds his main interest in life in the collecting of china dogs and the writing of an jrudite monograph on'wallpapers. it is not-poor --DoggieV'-fault that lie is an 'effeminate,--.but it comes very hard upon him-when, after receiving a white feather from - "the. girls 'of , . Durdlebufy,'' he decides to. "do his bit,", and joins the Army as a.probationary subaltern. Alas, after a period of sore personal trial, ho is asked to resign, being a . hopeless • incompetent. Poor I "Doggie" is heart-broken. ilie writes to. his fiancee breaking: olf the engagement, hides himself ill .an obscure and most uncomfortable Blqomsbury boitrdinghouse, and is contemplating suicide: when; smb. denly, he meets his old : tutor,. Phiiie.as. ' M'Phail, M.A., oneev a .".candidate " l'orUoly'. orders, but' How a full in the 10th Wessex Bides;'- M'Phail-is one of those'delightful eceent'riefi—wherei the novelist digs thoin all up I don't know —wo liavo met so often 'in 'Sir'.'-Locke's' books. - A bibulous philosopher, he is a strange mixture of good and evil.- To "Doggie" ho comes as a good angel, indicating -enlistment as tjro one and. only wa'y,to. rehabilitate himself in the good .opinion of.his'sweetheart.Peggy; of tho Dean, . of. everybody, in.-fact,".:'in, that quiet, 'peaceful old cathedral city where tho name' of .Trevor is respected! So "Doggie" joins up : again—this time ..as it ■ Tonijiiy—ami eventually,finds himself at;. ■tiio front. Now .commences the'trans--formation of tliocll'oniinnte, the aesthete, the elegant, indolent ' luxury-loving triller. into a man. In the said trans-, formation Private M'Phail plays a prominent pnrt, tugether. with one Mo Shandish, late of Whitechapel lioiul, and an ex-champion - pugilist. and present sergeant, . who is to. "Doggie" what the "Chicken" was to Mr. Toots, and. a good deal more. • -Jt in a wonderfully clinnged "Doggie" who fails in 'love with a delightful' French' girl, and performs mostvalorous deeds in the resciio of lief lost family papers and' money. When the changed "Doggie," a wounded hero, finally gets back to Diirdlobttry lie finds that h'is Peggy has fallen in love with a cousin,; this, of course, to. his .great relief, awl; ends with an AngloGallic wedding in the Q'eftf <liiit(ntee~ Jt. is a capital story, fiill of that pleasantly ij'onio humour inseparable .from a Locke book.' ••NovUugiish 'novelist, knows.- the: French- people better thaii'.Mr,. Locke, and the French characters in his latest story are as good aa those in "The Won-" derful Vear." ,M'Phail, as I have said, is a distinctly, original and entertaining figure, and Chipmunk, an ex-sailor, now a soldier-servant to "Doggie's" cousin, reminds, me very agreeably of the exburglar valet in the never-to-be-forgotten "Septimus." The latest Locke has been a long time in reaching New Zealand, and wiso people will secure a copy before supplies are exhausted.