A LITERARY CORNER

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8361, 22 February 1913, Page 10

A LITERARY CORNER

Edited by ‘’Liber.”

USER'S NOTE-BOOK te view of tho interest which has attached. this week, to the unveiling of Memorial at Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte Sound, it may not bo out of plaoa to remind my readers that some three or four years ago tho Tourist Department issued a capital little booklet, ''The Marlborough and Nelson Districts," in-which will be found not only many excellent illustrations of the Sounds, but au , excellent map thereof.-, Tho . booklet gives a detailed description of tlio many notable points of interest in tho Sounds,' including, of course, tho historic Shipi Goto, and includes some very' curious, and interesting information concerning the much discussed “Pelorus Jack." The author of tho pamphlet was Mr James Cowan. Copies of this booklet ought to txwregnlarly and permanently on sale at eyoyy decent book shop in town, but the other day, when I was hunting for a. copy, no one seemed to know anyting about it, I am. pleased to hear that despite the' fact that Amundson's book on "Tho South 1’ole" is a somewhat costly work —it is in, two volumes at two guineas—a fair number of copies hay© been, disposed of, in Wellington. When reviewing the book, last week I omitted to mention that I, had received my copy through Messrs, W-hitcombo and Tombs. .For some time past our New Zealand poets have been eilcnt, or,, at least, if they have published anything, no copy ha* ,como my way. This week, however, I .Jmuat accord some brief mention to two*, versical -productions of the Dominion. The first, a collection of verses entitled "A Well, Pound Ship," is from the pen of Captain John Tombloson, of Gisborne, whose prerioua poetic efforts* "Sothasberg and Other Verses," wa«| noticed in these columns a year or sol ago. ■ Captain Tombleson’s range of sub-} jeots is very wide, and some at least ox bis unpretentious, but pleasing versified memories of hia wanderings were, perhaps, worth permanent preservation. In, other cases the effusions of one who styles himself “a simple bard who rhymes the. experience of tho day” nro so purely topical and local in their interest as scarcely to justify their ropublicafcton in book 1 form. Tho title piece, “A Well Pound Ship," is technical enough to recall--longo intervallo —-Kipling’s ■'Macandrew a Hymn.” Some of tho patriotic verso is ns admirable in its sentiment as it i* weak in its literary technique. The com tain-poet's booklet ha a been very neatly printed at tho Gisborne "Herald ’ office, A slim, a very slim booklet of verse— i there are but eight pages in all—comesl from Timaru. Tho title is simply “Poems." The author. A. E.. Ferguson,! evidently a lady, displays in this Blender) sheaf of .verso a keen appreciation of the mysteries and beauties of nature. Her ethical standpoint i« highly religious, and, tho poems reflect simple tastes andj most laudable views and . aspirations. When she lias had further practice re tho art of writing, the author may probably develop a bettor style-: At present her vorsical efforts, though not unpleaeinc, betray a want of grip and; a certain Hack of depth. As, however, the - verses were written "for private cirmtetion, too high a standard was hardly to be expected. Sir OKver -Lodge * a singularly tile writer, and not infrequently bin ,-iews on various subjects, especially none, ecientific -subjects, have evoked some very, outspoken adverse criticism. Hot tire "big l gun" of Birmingham s. University is quite capable or holding his Own with) most of hia opponents, fro is one of the most eminent and courageous of modern thinkers, and bis wmtingß have at teast one special and commendablo merit in that, as a rule, they arc tree from all maaemie pedantry. Hia latest bootj '■.Modem Problems" (Methuen and Co-1; ,whitoombo and Tombs), is a collect cion of essays and articles on a wide range of topics and questions ot the day, 1 "Some of them," eays the author, have been written under stress of strong reefing," and certainly no one who reaoa them, will deny Sir Oliver credit for the earnestness and vigour with which he has set lorth hia views- Amongst other bum jeots discussed are Free \V dl and Deter' minism.; the Philosophy of Mr Bailout and Henri Bergson; Man’s Place in Nature: The Position of Woman; Universal .Arbitration:; Social Kef ottos; iSaanoea; PobUo Service and Private Expenditure'; Competition and Co-opera-tion,?-Buskin and Huxley; Tennyson and Science and Charity Organisation, An article of special interest to lovers of good literature and on© in. ■winch tho aigiuy debatable question of literary censoisfaipi is discussed, is entitled The Responsibility of Authors.” Six Oliver is clearly no friend of the compulsorily namby-pamby in modem literature. Soma of these fine days the author of "Prom My Hunting-Day Book (Header and Stoughton: per S, and W. Mactayj will, if he lives, bo Emperor of Germany, for the anther is none other than the German Grown Prince. The Kaisers,! eon is a keen sportsman, and in. this 1 ■handsomely produced volume gives a modest though interesting record of some of hie sporting experiences in Ceylon and India, in tho ■ Tyrol, tho Alps and on the moots and in the deer forests or Scotland. Ho claims “no literary merit; for these plain, unadorned, little' sketches, which are, he says, “just taken from tho hunting diary of a man whiWoves open-air sport, and to whom Nature, grand and beautiful, is an inexhaustible source of delight and joy. The Crown Prince has sometimes been credited with, 'being no lover of England and tho English, but if his references to Bntains, and especially to British sportsmen,' in'this “Hunting Day Book" of Ida are sincere, his Anglophobia, if it exist at all, most be purely political. The illustrations, some from photographs by the Crown Princess, are beautifully reproduced in photograyuTo. , , , “Edith Wharton is fax and away America’s leading novelist, that is, for those who prefer studies of character to sensational incident, and the clever author of "The House of Mirth" has a goodly host of admirers in England and Australasia.. In tho January "Scribner" (Constable and Co.) Mrs Wharton commences a now story, "Tho Custom of the Cpuntry," which - promisee exceedingly vj£ll. Another good feature is an interesting article, "Tho French in Panama," by Joseph Bucklin Bishop, secretary of the isthmian Canal Commission. Mr Bishop’s article, which is liberally illustrated, gives an exhaustive account of tho ill-fated Do Lessops enterprise. The “Early Memoirs” of, tho late Henry Cabot Lodge aro continued; Mr Price Collier adds to his interesting series ''Germany and tho Gormans from an American point of view," and there is some good short fiction and poetry.