BOOK NOTES

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 40, 15 January 1938, Page 14

BOOK NOTES

“OUT ON THE ROAD.” Of travel books there is no end — the fascination of intimacy with faroff things and the urge to share the experience are compelling—so it is pleasurable indeed to discover a writer who has told a' worthwhile story of his ramifications in unusual places with verve and a flair for descriptiveness that holds the imagination. Ralph Byers has made a capital job of “Out Cm the Road,” a generous volume of over 300 pages, just released by Messrs A. H. and A. W. Reed, providing a thoroughly authoritative, wholly fascinating, and strikingly informative record of his wanderings as a New Zealand student along the intriguing route Home embracing Colombo, Port Said, Cairo, and Palestine, then throughout the English and Scottish countryside, and finally through much of Europe. Allowances are neither begged nor appropriate, because the author is a New Zealander; it is the vivid record of associations with men and places enhanced by an alert faculty for observation and a rare skill in weaving word pictures that succeed admirably in conveying the atmosphere of the countryside. There is sheer charm in the countless vignettes of English country. life—many a deft phrase in recalling historical associations—and the very human touches of Palestinian and European life are the work of an accomplished penman. Those to whom H. V. Morton has opened avenues of pleasure will find in the unostentatious and sincere work of Mr Byers an experience not dissimilar. There is substance in his book, generously leavened by an appreciation o* the lighter side of living—his trek through Europe, and Britain with companions in a decrepit car affords frequent happy touches—and when the last page is reached one feels it has been a worthwhile journey and one deserving of repetition. The book is excellently set up and bound, and a choice selection of photographs provides a setting in keeping with its literary quality.— Our copy is from the publishers.

QUEEN OF SCOTLAND. An unusual portrait of the ill-fated Mary Queen of Scots, hanging in the ancestral home of the Grahams of Garthrose, affords Miss D. K. Broster a subject for a new historical romance. Sir Patrick Graham, discussing the portrait with a friend, recalls the circumstances which connected one of his kinsmen with the Queen in her childhood. Ninian Graham served in the Scottish Archer Guard of King Henry the Second of France. On a certain June afternoon in 1548 he is discovered gazing out of a window at Garthrose House; he is on leave after seven years’ service abroad. His leave is terminated abruptly by the order of Lord Livingstone, who advises him that he has been chosen ,as a member of the young Queen’s personal bodyguard on her journey to the court of France, where she is to be received, educated, and eventually betrothed to the Dauphin. Tne galleys encounter stormy seas, and after a perilous and, for Ninian Graham, eventful journey, the French coast is reached. The incident which singled out Graham for special notice was nothing less than the saving of the young Queen from a savage attack launched by Robert Stuart’s wolf-hound. In recognition of his quick decision and bravery he was made Master of the Horse to the five-year-old Mary, and gained a valuable ally in the powerful House of Guise. Certain wounds sustained in the melee were bound up by Magdalen Lindsay, for whom Graham instantly conceived a deep and lasting passion; she eventually became his wife. ... Against a vivid background the child Queen stands out, and even in those early days gives a clear indication of the strong and charming personality which was in later years to be her distinction and her downfall. The court intrigues are infinite in variety and intensity. Like Fate, Diane de Poitiers looms over Queen Catherine, and, indeed, the whole Court. In the foreground moves Ninian Graham, and his weak and dastardly half-brother. A sinister plot, hatched by the latter, brings the tale to a dramatic climax and forces two of the young Queens most faithful servants to return to Scotland. ...... , This story, though slight in substance, is interesting and competently handled. Mary Queen of _ Scots is one of history’s most romantic figures; such a story, woven around her early childhood, should appeal to a wide circle of readers. HAPPY FAMILY. The intimate, everyday life of an American family in the latter halt ot last century is related by Clarence Day in his newly-published volume entitled “Life With Mother. The book has no particular plan, but when the last page is turned the reader will find that he has a remarkably vivid picture of mother, father, and the four red-headed boys. . Mother was only eight years old in April, 1861, when the Civil War started. The man who was to be her future husband was eight years older, and joined a regiment. By the time the war was over Clare Day had made up his mind to marry Vinnie Stockwell, but, since she was still at a select Academy for Young Ladies, she was obliged to wait. We are given amusing glimpses of the honeymoon trip to Europe, when Vinnie succumbed to the restlessness of the Atlantic and the primitive conditions under which people were in those days forced to travel. And, even as a bridegroom, Clare was unable to suppress his vigorous enthusiasm for life. In this initial portrait of mother and father, the author has managed to convey a very clear outline of the figures, their characteristics are logically developed in the later scenes. We follow them from one home to another in New York, and accompany them on their long summer holidays. The boys, in true Victorian fashion, recite lengthy and solemn poems to fussy female visitors in the New York drawing room, and live a healthy and abandoned life during their vacations. Some of their adventures are very amusing; all of them 1 have the true flavour of wholesome, exuberant childhood.

This is a book which can, since it has no actual plot, and certainly no strenuous “purpose,” be taken up and enjoyed at odd moments. The style is simple, almost naive; a style which conceals technique and runs with deceptive ease. The author’s keen sense of humour is largely accountable for the book’s appeal. (“Life With Mother,” by Clarence Day.)