READER'S COLUMN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 247, 8 March 1913, Page 10

READER'S COLUMN.

(By ,T;t mi's Wortley). XOTKS. With (lie death of Louis Becke there him passed from our ken the. writer who had made the world of the Pacific Islander his own. His sketches of the trader, the heacheomher, the (iovernment official, the island beauty, and ail the other diameters of social life in tin' Paeiftc are graphic in the extreme, and one never tired of them. "By Reef and I'alm" was the volume of short stories with which he made his name. This was published in 1890, when Mr. Becke was 42 years of age. From that ime he was largely engaged in studying the ethnology and etymology of the islands, from lime to time publishing various volnmes, the more notable of which were "A First Fleet Family," "Pacific Tales," "Vorke, the Adventurer," and ''(.'hinkie's Flat."

The Sheffield Daily Telegraph for January 1 says: The Doncaster Free Library Committee lia.s done an extraordinary act. Fielding's great novel, "Tom Jones," has been struck oil' the lending list in account of its alleged immoral nature! .Such a thing is almost unbelievable, but the list hangs up in the library, and an ink mark has been drawn across the title. Henceforth users of the library will not have the privilege of reading this work unless they go elsewhere. It is stated that a member of the committee, unfamiliar with Fielding as a writer, happened to get the book out, and later returned to the co»mittee with a series of extracts. He was indignant that such a book should he allowed in the library. It was useless to inform him that it was. so to speak, "as old as the hills," and was regarded as a classic. The member could not be appeased, and insisted that the book would corrupt the morals of the readers. A resolution was proposed that thebook be expunged from the library. This was seconded, and, strange to say, carried. "Tom Jones" has, therefore, been hauled down from the shelves. It is, not stated whether Shakespeare and Byron are to suffer a similar indignity, but it is feared that such will be their fate should the indignant committeeman ever come across any of their works.

"Through .Savage Europe," by Harry de AVindt, although published in 1907, is a most interesting book at the moment. It gives a first-hand and most graphic account of the Balkan States. From it we learn of the terrible earnestness of the people to rid themselves of the Turkish yoke. Those who have read the book will not be surprised at th« recent turn of events in the Near East.

The National Organisation of Boy Scouts of America have just inaugurated a most useful department. Mr. Matthews, who has made a most exhaustive study of boys' literature, has been appointed to the charge of an expert committee, who will give free advice to parents and guardians on what boys should read. If parents will send to the organisation particulars of the lad's age, temperament, etc., courses of reading will be recommended that will be at once attractive and helpful in his moral development. By wise and tactful methods a large amount of good sh«uld result if the. labors of this committee are taken advantage of.

By the last mail T received from Messrs Hodder and Stoughton a number of new novels, published at the Christmas season. Of these, two ("A Dream of Blue Roses" and "Tryfield") are reviewed to-day. The others will be noticed in the next "Reader's Column.". SOME RECENT FICTIOX. "A Dream of Blue Roses," by Mrs. Hubert Barclay, author of "Trevor Lordship." etc. (London: Hodder and Stoughton). Tn the nooks and crannies of the Homeland there still live, in this twentieth century of ours, a remnant of the race which Jane Austen so faithfully portrayed just one hundred years agokindly and courtly old gentlemen, and gracious and winsome old ladies. Those of us who know the life of the counties have seen in the llesh the maiden aunts, living the quiet sheltered life at the aristocratic end of the little Yorkshire village, where the visit of the vicar is a social event, and a stranger's appearance at the wicket gate something momentous. And although Mrs. Barclay introduces new elements, and the post chaise does not appear, there is the distinct atmosphere of "Sense and Sensibility" abmit ''A Dream of Blue Roses." Barbara Claudia Vincent had, as an infant, been placed as a ward with a lovable old couple in a little French village near Rouen. The notary who conducted the negotiations had made it clear that the girl was of honorable English parentage, and had handed over to Pere Joseph documents to that effect, but with strict injunctions that no effort should he made to communicate with these connections except under dire necessity or upon the stoppage of the allowance agreed upon. At the time the story opens Barbara is a grown woman, and Pere Joseph has long since been gathered to his fathers. Petite Merc is dependent very much, in the feebleness of old age, upon her loving foster-child. Barbara. But the allowance which has arrived with unfailing punctuality for years, as suddenly stops, and Barbara considers it a duty owing to the old lady and to herself that she seek out the English lawyers and the fortune which the documents she has refer to. Her first disappointment comes in finding that the firm of lawyers have undergone a change, and no trace is found of her affairs in their records. This throws her entirely upon her own resources, and the one English family to whom she has an introduction. Just as Barbara has decided that something desperate must he done, as she has stayed long enough as the guest of the Arkwrights. an opening presents itself, as "lady help" to the Misses Leigh. Between the Arkwrights home and the maiden ladies' little cottage at tiddler's (ireen the story now moves. We must leave to the reader to find out for himself all about the coming of "Monsiuer le Xepheu" and its consequences to Barbara. Other typical characters of provincial England are portrayed in John Strong, the farmer and Mrs. Septimus Waghorn. the "nouveau rich." The story is a good one. and especially does it make a strong appeal to those who, like myself, have been familiar with the world in which its characters move. Barbara's final decision as to which is the bigger thing in life—love or money will be adjudged the right one by folk who stand in the unibassed position of a reader.

Tryfield." hv 0. and M. Hayling. (London. Xew York and Toronto: Hodder and Stoughton).

To read tbis lionk jiTiclii nno wants to lie able to £n buck- over llio years to that, time of just t>n t orinjr one's teens Mow full ~f trn;redv tinworld was then. TCvorythinjr went black if one yot. detention marks on j bot summer's afternoon wlien the rest of (lie boys were off battiiijr. It is into ibis world of boyish tragedy wbere bubbler trends upon (lie beels of tears Unit "Trvfielil" takes us. It is tben

Unit problems really are real problems. "Trylield" is by the elder son of Mrs. Wainwright,' who upon her second marriage lakes 'for her husband Sir James .Maine, an eminent doetor, with one moii by a previous marriage. The story reveals ifi us the very excellent personalities of Sir James and his stepson. Of course Al, as the owner of Trylield, and the natural protector of his mother, resents the arrival of Sir .Tames in the character of a stepfather. His (Al's) stables were not to accommodate the doctor's horses, nor was the old house to be, at his disposal in every detail. Sir James has hard work to make good in the eyes of his stepson, and it is the business of this well-told story to let us know how he 'did it. "Tryfield" gives us real life from an angle we are not sufficiently careful to look at it from. It would not be so hard for the young folks if we were sympathetic with their point of view. The book is a capital study of the child mind, and holds one's interest throughout.

'"•'Paul Rundel," by Will N. Harben, author of "Pole Baker," etc. (New York and London: Harper Brothers; 1912).

This is an absorbing tale of ''Out West," and deals with phases of the lynch law which it is well for those who live away from districts where such lawlessness obtains, to know. From the vital interest which it excites it is apparent that the book is written with first-hand knowledge of the life it describes. Paul Rundel is a "poor white," bom in a squalid mountain home. Thrown upon the world and his own resources, he comes to make himself useful to and a hardworker for the "boss" of the district. By dint of real "hard graft" he advances to a post of responsibility, in which, uncomfortably for iiim, he comes into conflict with the shifty ways of his master, Jim Hoag. As well as being the political boss, Hoag is secretly the captain of the lynching gang. As such, he ultimately crosses the path of those self-respecting citizens who, beaded by Paul, are determined to support law and order. The primitive passions of man —love and hate—loom large in this strongly-told tale. Like the majority of this class of American fiction, its healthy tone must decree that good eventually triumphs—poor Hoag's end is ignominious, and better men, among whom are Taul Rundel, reign in Ids stead. ('From the B.K. Bookshop).