BOOKS OP THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 84, 3 January 1920, Page 11

BOOKS OP THE DAY

"Maeterlinck's Dogs," Maeterlinck, the famous Belgian playwright, poet, essayist, and philosopher, is as devoted a. lover of dogs as Theophilo Gautier was of cats. The 'stories oi his many faithful canine friends aro now set forth in a volume, entitled ".Maeterlinck's Dogs" fMethuen and Co.), by Madamo Georgette Loblanc-Maeter-linck, the book being translated t'lorn the French by Mr. Alexander Teixera do Mattos, to whom English readers owe translations of so many of the Belgian writer's works, A large portion of the book is devoted to the bulldog Golaud, who was the friend and constant companion of Maeterlinck and hia wife for nearly fifteen years. In the long gnllery of dog-portraits here given, Goland litures as the Super Dog. He certainly stems to have been an animal of far more than ordinary .inWligcueo, It is doubtful, however,' whether Madamo Maeterlinck has not let her vivid imagination run just a little wild in her studies of (ioiand's psychology; The "convereations"; .which she. describes with so much wit and charm imply a closer approach of the dog mkt! to that of the human being than even tho late Jack London tried to'make his readers accept in ce-' scribing some of his dog friemls. But even if Madame Maeterlinck mokes Goland soliloquise too much like a human being and strains our powers of belief not a little, there :s no denying the charm of her book, the whimsical humour of these sharply but sympathstic-ally-drawn canine portraits. Dog-lovers who read this book—and let me say that it deserves a place on every bookshelf which houses, say, Dr. Brown's famous ..a b , a S d , His Alfred Ollivant's Chyd Bob and Mr.: Fitzgerald's -'Jock of the Bush Veldt," to say nothing of atonehenge's" famous handbook oil dogs-will rejoice greatly in "Louis the Debonnaire, "Raymond the Clown," Gaston the Highwayman," "Adhemar the Misunderstood," and "AchiUe tho Impulsive," all of whom figure -prominently in Madame Maeterlinck's dog portrait gallery, There is a clover admixture of pathos' and humour in the "fkh entitled "Goland's Views on tho War. Here are a few sample extracts:— *

v, A J. has been. to the village square banging two sticks. on a drum. Another man came and pasted big-pieces of paper on the walls; and a third rang the church lifi , ~r . a lon ? . tl , me -. Then tho w hole of iife was completely changed from top to S" 1 ' • • Tlle ? od ia altered bejond recognition. .tfo no longer goes shooting, no longer soe3 flahing, takes me '"J more walks, and does no more workl He devotes himself to • strange occupations. To-day lie spent his time fetching all the bottles from the cellar and putting some away in the attic, others under the floors, in the roof, in - h V, tcll, .""j! in < tte hot-water pipes. • I followed him without understanding what he was doing. From time to time he would Bay: 'If they do come, have my wine.' His mother did things equally ridiculous. She dug holes in the garden, in which she planted papers and books, wc-eping as she did. so, to water them, I suppose r Tho book contains a large number of outline' drawings of dogs mentioned iu the text. Some of the sketches savour more. I should say, of caricature than of actual_ canine reality.. Madame Maeterlinck is not. a feminine Harrison Weir not even Cecil Alden, but the sketches are none the less very amusing A very original. clever, and entertaining bookSoldier Scots, i i, " I L;' lll J h : i «' ons ha(! foiffht SO well as the 9th Division, I should have had no more troons to carry on the attack with." lliis was the ex-Kaiser's tribute, as expressed to a wounded and captured British officer. at le Cateau, in March, ISUB, and it sneaks volumes for the splendid trallantrv of the Scots soldiers to whom it referred. In Lieutenant-Colonel W. D. Croft's book, "Threo Tears With the !)th (Scottish) Division" (John Murray; ner Whitfcombe and Tombs), we get a richlv detailed story, told with all that simple directness, and effective, vigour which we generally find in ft soldierauthors narrative, of the famous exploits of the men of the Scottish Division. Plucrsfcroet,"* the. Soramo, Arras, Passnhendaele, Longueval. Ivemniel, Meteren. lnres. to tlie Scheldt, are but a few of thn n tunes which must ever be honourablv connected with the history of the part played by the "Ninths" in' the Great War. Colonel Croft has had an advantage in writing his hook in davs when the censorship was withdrawn. -He speaks out pretty plainly upon more than one form of blundering, as when the Homo authorities neglected rifle instruction for education in bomb-throwing. S.ivs the author:— ■ *. Chucking a bomb lilio a blighted anarchist at an enemy inßtoad of shooting him with the most accurate weapon in all the world. But tho men. dear things would not see it for a. very long time! and it took months and months of shook ing, with some. practical battle experience to ton up with, before the? would admit that the bonib was not in the Bamo clasß as a killer with the rifle. Wo were greatly handicapped, too. by the people at home, who forced their antediluvian, views on all drafts, so that the wrctc.he<i man had to be told on getting out to Franco that, he had been t-aueht tho wrong kind of fighting. The story 1 which Colonel Croft tells so well is studded with descriptions • of splendid self-sacrifice, of dogged determination and of I hat stubborn, strenuous valour generally for which the Scots soldiers became so famous in the war More than once, I notice, the , author jays tribute to tho fine qualities of tho fighting men from th& southern seas. As thus: "The Australians attacked on our right, and wo were always perfectly happy with that sort of crowd on our flank." Colonel Croft is very severe on the practice, which sprung up under certain generals, of launching attacks at dawn. Ho says: At that, time our vitality is at its lowest, and yet wo asked men to undergo the most, appalling hardship and 'danger at this time, and, furthermore, to do it on /in empty stomach. It is sheer criminal follv to attack at dawn unless this is unavoluablo. And then, of course, there is tho enemy to be considered-ho was often left out m calculations. At dawn he is alert and ready for an attack, with his linger literally on the trigger; the gunners also wcro standing to if there v;aa n,ny chanco of an attack. All through his book Colonel Croft emphasises tho value of moral force. Superior as was tho enemy in the possession of so many weird and wonderful mechanical devices and weapons, he never succeeded in wearing down the moral of his British adversary, even when, on occasion, the latter could not. fail to recognise that his efforts wcro doomed to temporary failure. Colonel Croft's book, which, is in every way a verv notable contribution' to the literature of tne Great War, contains several excellent maps. It should find a place in every collection of war hooks worthy of preservation as a permanent record of the great struggle of 1911-1918. Tommy Through French Spectacles, If the Entente Cordialo of pre-war flavs. the formal alliance of the present, is to remain a, 6ure and safe bond of friendlv union between France and England. such ar, eminently satisfactory stale of affairs will havo been very largely duo to the excellent impression made upon tlie. French people by tho British Drivate soldier. Mr. Thomas Atkins scon made himself quite (it homo in .France. His politeness to the womenfolk, his kindness to the children, have permanently endeared him to the French nation. A finer tribute to Tommy's good qualities than that eratallied in Maurice Dekobra's clever nwl most amusing l/ook, "Sojne Tommies" (Stanlev. Paul and Co.), could not well have been paid even by one of Tommy's fellow-countrymen. M. Dokobra, who, apparently, 6erved as an intoi-proter with, one of tho British divisions, has a facile and lively pen, and his sketches of

Tommy—Tommy as a "fust-class fightin' tnun." Tommy in tho trenches, Tommy at buso rest-camps, Tommy who on occasion could, act as mother's help, and who was as fond of skylarking with the French kiddies as he ,was of flirting with the village maidens of I'icardy and Flanders, Tommy in a score and nioro diverse and interesting roles—mako uncommonlv good rending; indeed, for humour and pleasant entertainment M' De.kobra's book must rank very high in war literature. Th<v author can put a whole world of expression into a few lines..and his snapshots of Tommy are delightfully vivid lind picturesque. The special characteristics of the various cbif.ses of Tommies, the Cockney Tommy, Tommy from the ngrx'iiltural shires, 'i'ommv from the Biatk Country and the Yorkshire factories. Tommy from Scot, laud—the. French never reased to v.-onder at and admire the. "kilbw"—even Tommy from India. Australia, and New Zealand —aro all very cleverly differentiated. The author was specially shuck by tbn fact that the overseas Tommies included representatives frouv faraway Campbell Island. ' Just to (live you an idea of their patriot,lam (aaid one of their offlcersl I will mention a'curious fact. Bo you know Campbell Island? "Alas! Jiot the least in tho world." "fhr.t iloos not surprise me. This littlo islund in the Pacific Ocean is situated more than four hundred sea miles from flew Zealand. Its circumference is only forty kilometres. It is coloniccd by a. family of seven brothers. But,'"could-you believe it, these seven brave colonists who, in their territorial paradise, might liaTo ignored for ever that Europe was at war, enlisted to come" and fleht for France.

Whether M. Dokobra be describing how Tommy went "over the top" or how he courted—and often married—a daughter of the-soil, ho'.v Tommy diverted himself at the village estaminet, grappling with the terrors of the French tongu? as gallantly as he faced the bombs of the hated Boches, how Tommy joined in the choruses at the roughly improvised camp music-halls, how Tommy chortled with joy when "leave" ' was granted and "Blighty" promised to become sr-methiiig more than ft pleasant dream—ha is always as gay and sprightly a.s only a clever chrnniqueurof thePnrisian Press r- ; ' n. b?. He does not ignore the sterner, grimmer, tragic side of war. but for the most part the incidents described belong to the domain of light comedy. An excellent feature of the book is its wealth of illustrations. slight but cleverlv limned, prntraits of British soldiers, officers and privates. If the author has been hip own artist he must he -an uncommonly clevvr fellow, for more viscous and amusing black and white work T hove rarely come across. I am quite aware that of the ordinary war hook the reading public has had by'this time n positive surfeit. But mv readers may take "Libers word for it* that Maurice Dfkobrn's book is very much out of the ordinary and well worth "buying for keeps." "The New Traffic; Aircraft." Aviation played ft very prominent and important role in the war. To-day tho world is becoming increasingly aware, almost, every wpplc Hint ny, of the marvellous possibilities t.ho of craft for peaceful purposes, for the carrying of passengers, goods, and moils, and'for mere pleasure. In 'Hie Traffic: \ircraft" (Hurst and Blaclmt, ner Whitrombe and Tombs) Mr. W. H. Berry, editor of "The Car and Aviation, and authoc >of more than one important work on -'military nn'l naval elation. sHns aircraft of nil technicality and shows us that quite ordinary pcoplfl can lie . taught to pilot aeroplanes- with case and safety. deals with" the--various "problems of -engines, ilights, landings, with tho rules of tho air, with costs, repairs, and maintenance, and, in fact, tells us everything that a man wants to know who expects to employ aircraft commercially or who hopes to ily. Mv. Berry considers it probable that there will be, in most countries, State control of aerial traffic. He .foresees tho day wlieu _ big national aerodromes corresponding, in the aerial traffics' of tho future, .to great raihny stations, such as Birmingham and Crewe, will be ' State-owned , and operated, each user paying according to the service and help given. As to the practical_ and economical um: of aviation as a i andmaid to internal and international commerce, tho author is most sanguine of good Tesult. It has been estimated that a ;uCO ii.p. machine, capable of carrying a load equivalent to 25-30 people, can be built and fully equipped for JIO.MJOOn a detailed statement it ia estimated that with a full load on a short trip, say, of 300 miles, the total «nst per flying mile would ho 2s. 6d.. and that tho figure could be reduced by about 20 per cent, on long trans-Continental (lights. (This estimate is quoted, not authoritatively, but aB showing -what those who n'SVfi made a special study of flying costs of the immediate futuro hope will prove to. bo tho caEc. It .niUEt be admitted that if anything like these figures are to stand good, tho prospect of facing commercial flying are particularly promising. Mr. Berry's book, which bristles with facts and figures relative to aviation for non-military pui poses, may bo comnfanded as a very useful manual on a subject: which is bound to make rapid progress and will interest all who are studying now methods of commercial efficiency and development. (Price os.). LIBER'S NOTE BOOK "Maori Lovo Legends." In a prefatory note to a volume of verse; "Maori Love Legends," by Maricda Batten (H; 11. Tombs, Ltd., Wellington), tho Hon. -Dr. l'omiiro gives some -interestin? information as to tho four legends which. Mrs. Balten horo presents in a very charming poetic form. The first legend. that of Hinemoo. and Tutanokai, is fairlv well known to Now Zealanders, more'' particularly to those who have visited Kotorua and spent a few pleasant hours on' the-picturesque Island of Mokoia. where tho pool known as Hinernoa's Bath is shown with pride by the Native iruides. The other threo legends, however, aro less known, and Dr. Pomaro's notes thereon are very welcome. The love-storv of Pitta and Haumia has for its scenario tho district of Tarnnaki, and deals with the escape of a beautiful Maori maiden from Hsikuni's Pa, 150 miles north of Ilawern, through tho bush, until she saw" the snow-crowned cone'of E'.-mont. or. as it was then railed, Tarnnaki.' by which she guided heV way to her homo Tho third of the legends, that of Puhihuia and I'onga, has Auckland for its background. Tho Mnungnwhau of the story is now Mount Eden and Awhitu. Ponga's home, was on tho shores of Manukau Harbour. Takarangi, the ferocious warrior, who figures in the fourth of Mrs. Batten's poems, "Raumnbora ind Takanmgi," lived near New | Plymouth—indeed, so Dr. Poninre tells ih. ■ his home was situated on the very clace where now stands the New Plymouth railway station, whilst T.a«m«. horn's I'a was some miles distant, .Minx the coast, near the township now kniavn as Oakuni, Tho words used by 'Uikarangh "My arm is one that no dog dares to bite." became a proverb still used eninunst the Maoris, esneriallv by his descendants, tho To Puni family. Dr. Pomaro warmly eulogises Mrs. Batten's book, "not only for its historical value, but for the. graceful charm of the poems, wherein th 6 legends of my people are presented with such sympathetic insight and beauty." Tho author agveenbly diversifies her work bv employing different metres. Sho employs a ftaMv four-line stanza in the purely narrative part of the poems, but in pieces makes skilful use of a simpler, lyiicnl form. As thus, in tho love lnmont of Haiimii!:--Vhen ntarr, are dead and cold their eyes, O Ivovo, lost liOve of mine. 'When night-time in tho dawning lies, When no light, burns in eunect" pkieF, TThen sun and nieon together rire, Then, then, shnll I forget, thee. When all the rivm backward How, O Love, lost Love of mine.

When every wind forgets to blow, AVhcn, on the mountain top, the snow Melts not in burning: summer's glow, Then. then, ehall I forzel thee. When smoke doth stay within the fire, 0 Love, lost Lovo of mine. When high and low tides both conspire, No'or to advance and ne'er retire, When cold is lifo and dead desiro, Then, then, shall I forget thee. Mrs. Batten's poems will interest and be treasured by all New Zenlanders who delight in studying Maori folk lore and legend. Tho book, a small quarto in format, is very well produced, the binding being exceedingly tasteful. Stray Leaves, "Audacity always Buceeeds. So many people livo by convention that they aro always out-manoeuvred by the few who depart from Uio rules."—"Tho Adventures of Antoino," by Collinson Owen. Mr. Fisher Unwin has, I see, published new editions (Is. (id.) of two famous books on Irish life—"Carleton's Stories of Irish Life" and "The Collegian.!," by Gerald Oriflin. Carleton's book has a preface by Darrell Figgis, and another clover young Irish writer, J'ndraic Coluui, does tho same service for Griffin's novel. Amongst various religious works announced by Messrs. Longmans in a \o'um,j entitled "Catholic Soldiers," by sixty chaplains, and others, edited by I tiie Tfev. Charles Plater, K.J., and containing materials for an e.Jiswer to the question, "Has the religion of Catholio soldiers in tho British Empire stood the test of war?" Tho ex-New Zealander, H. Marriott Waison, has an article in the September issue of "The Book Monthly" on "Tho English Short Story." Mr. Watson says, inter alia: "Tho Americans, it must bo admitted, produco a much better average conte than wo do. I fancy our bigger writers neglect this form, because Iboy aro more interested in tho novel. Perhaps it is because the pecuniary rewards are not very great." Whatever be the reason, the fact, remains that, the short story in most, of t.ho English magazines is dreadful rubbish, being either crude melodrama, or a compound of sickly sentiment and snobbishness which Thackeray should bo alive to denounce in adequate terms. Jack London li2\ it. is understood, left completed manuscripts cf more than one long story. On/>, entitled "Human Drift," is a semi-autobiographical account of a wanderer's life. Another Is a tale, entitled "Smoke and Shorty," the names, by the way, of the two central figures in London's story of the Yukon, "Smoke Bellew." His London publishers, Mills and Boon, also promise a volume of storios of Hawaiian life from the same pen, and a full length biography by the novelist's widow. Dickens's story, "Bleak House," is to be produced as a. kinwna play, I see that in "Tho Times" Literary Supplement the representatives cf a 'film company ask for information i.s to whero the or.ginal B!c;ik House was situated. At Broadstairs, on the Kentish coast, there is, or was, a house which' Dickera rented on one cf his many sojourn-* at t.ho Kentish watering place, and which some writers on Dickons have asserted to bo the original of Bleak House. It is called Fort House. In his book on Dickens,., tho • lata Frederic Kitton says that the Broadstairs house by no means tallies with the account given in the sixth chapter of the. novel. St. Albans, north of London,' boasts a so-called "Bleak House." which is claimed to have been the original of Mr. Jarndyce's home, but Mr. Kitton says ilio "exact identity" of the house described in.the story "must rest a matter for conjecture," Tlie bnnal ground through which poor Jo used to wander wa.i at the back of Drury.Lins Theatre. "Liber" often walked past it when a young .man in London, but it was cleared away some years ago. Mr. Tulk : nghorn's hwiso in Lincoln's Inn Fields (the original' was for ninry years thi! residence of John Forster, Dickens's life-long friend and biographer! has also disappeared ns the result of one of the London County Council's improvement schemes. The kinema people will, how-

ever, .1)? able t.o reproduce Staple Inn, Thavies Jim, and Lincoln Inn, and miniv oilier i.or.ilnn .scenes in the novel. Hobert liic.li ens's new slory, ".Mrs. Harden," is !i> have o KpivitunlV.ic motif, tlie hcroino lpr-oivi i?pr spifil. which Imve a drnnK'lic effect ujion her life, from n ■ sou v:ho has boen killed at the front.