PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 24, 29 January 1938, Page 26

PUBLIC LIBRARIES

BOOKS OF THE WfeEK The Chief Librarian of the Welling ton EJub'lic Libraries has' chosen "Fathe: Coldstream," by Julian Duguid, as thi book of the week, and has furnishec the following review:— 'The history of the Jesuits in differen parts of the world has been an in teresting one. At times they have hek immense power, as in Spain about th< time of the Inquisition, On other occa sions they have been driven forcibly from countries in which they had hek great influence, as in the same countrj at other periods. The severe discipline which the rules of the order. Impose! on its members, and the consequen' attitude of mind of a Jesuit towards those with whom he comes in contact form part of the theme of this verj unusual book which Mr. Duguid ha: presented as a successor to his pre vious work on South America. It is i book which it is very difficult tc classify. It is first and foremost his tory, and apparently history to which has gone a good deal of painstaking anc well-informed research. Secondly, ii is a story of the novel variety,, dealing almost in the manner of the moderr psychological school with emotions anc influences of which the chief is the religious influence of Jesuit teaching on the natives. Finally, it is an adventure story almost of the thriller class Regarded historically, the book is a history of the Jesuits in Paraguaj twenty years after the battle of- Culloden. The scene of the book propei opens in a society governed by the strict rule of the Jesuits, who justified their tutelage of. the natives in theii missions by, among other arguments the plea that this guardianship at any rate protected the natives from less healthy influences. The enthusiastic dogged, and even bitter missionary spirit of the Jesuits is one of the brighi strokes of portraiture which form the background of the book. Regarded as a psychological novel, "Father Coldstream" shows the effeci of this set of circumstances on various types of person. There "is a half-caste girl, Ana, into whose mind the Jesuits have instilled the. Christian'teaching oi rewards and punishments. Her actions are governed no longer entirely by natural desires: she admits the existence of external sanctions. This result is not achieved without a good deal of education, and a good deal of unhappiness, and illustrates the responsibility whjch a missionary assumes when he substitutes a new set of values for an old set in the mind: of an untutored savage. It is work which must be done carefully and delicately if the psychological repercussions are not to be unfortunate, arid to the uncultivated mind the- distinction between religion and superstition is such a slight one that it is not difficult for a worthy, result to be attained, through ideas which are not so worthy. Other characters epitomise other influences, and the book can, to some extent, be considered a psychological novel in that all the various forces at work are represented by means of the inter-relation, of the few principal characters. '..; ■ -~ '<With regard to'the book's qualities as an adventure story, it is impossible ;o do other -than/hark back to the days when Kingsley produced his great gift to the youth of Britain, "Westward Ho!" The-same atmosphere, the same picture of religious fervour, although presented from a slightly different angle, makes Mr.' Duguid's book ~an interesting story of a period on which we have .too little literature. There is, as may be imagined, plenty of action, arid the three-fold aim of the book is admirably fulfilled. ; RECENT LIBRARY ADDITIONS. Other titles selected from recent accession lists are as follows:—General: "Soviet Understanding," by R. Terrell; "As Others. Hear Us," by E. M. Delafield; "Crisis in China," by J. M. Bertram. Fiction: "Scandal's Child,",by R. Starr; "The' Pieces of a Fan," by V. Sheean; "The Crooked Furrow," by J. J. Farnol.