LITERARY NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2388, 29 October 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

LITERARY NOTES.

[from our own COKHK.S ton dent.] Paris, August 13. La Tonisie Franoaise, by L. de Campon (Bayle). Travelling has the reputation of making people young, or at least of preventing them from petting old, and books on voyages are the most entertaining reading in the season for outings, for those—the vast majority, compelled to remain at home. Even a lotus eater or an opium smoker cannot have more delicious reveries than the home reader on a sultry day, and under the shade of boughs of trees more or less melancholy, cutting into a sprightly volume of travels, following indolently, in thought, the globe-trotters, [and dreaming of distant horizons. Books of travel for modern taste must not be as grave as theology, as head-achy as metaphysics, or as dry as statistical returns. They should bo sprightly, with good humour, and sparkling with incident. The author must not set out with furrowed brow, or don the spectacles of the savant or professor, to prove they belong to the school which never laughs and rarely smiles. Nachtigal had no taste for the humorous; Long preferred to be massacred rather than consent to repeat the litany addressed to a local fetish ; Livingstone was an exception, as he was a colporteur of the Bible. At present a young man when he feels the spirit move him to travel into some of the few unexplored corners of the world, sets out without fuss, without dramatic farewells, with the simplicity of the Arabs—fold tbe tent and silently steal away. His chief baggage, escort and introductions comprise an inexhaustible provision of good humour, and to be “contented wi’ little, but cantie with more.” When Dr. Bayol was sent to negotiate with the Peulhs, the advantages they would derive from a French ’ protectorate,” he appointed a nigger, chef de cuisine because there was nothing to cook, he called his travelling inn, erected at noon and demolished at midnight, the " Black Head” after the cook ; the dishes served, were baptized with the most voluptuous and water in the mouth provoking names, although they often contained nothing, for locusts and wild honey, formed the chronic piece dc resistance, and every day a bill of fare was written out. One dined in memory ; a plan that realized the problem of living at't bon mnrche, and there was nothing to give to waiters. When the doctors was in presence of hostile nigger voitelcts, he won them over by extolling calicots, beads, antedeluvian muskets, penny whistles, etc., by adopting the jargon and manners of an unattacked bagman. Gaiety, not austerity, is the mood in which to make the tour of the world. M. H, Pol-Lias, when so journeying with the Atohes, strayed on the hunting grounds of a neighbouring tribe ; surprised and surrounded. he took off his hoots, and commenced battling his feet in a spring. He explained, that meant in his country, a compliment to the place you visited, by first wipening your feet before entering. M. de Campou assures us. Tunisia is full of original sensations still. One of the most curious was that of Si Ahmed, recently deceased, and who connived at the entry of the French troops into Kairouan, he was mussulman and prophet,the Imans urged the faithful to resist the invaders, the crowd desired to consult the holy man Si Ahmed, who had retired hermit-like, to a Mosque ; he wrote on some wood, covered it with dust to impart age, as eob-webs are manufactured for bottles ; the writing set forth, it was the wish of the prophet to submit, as the punishment for Tunisian sins. The holy man was later brought before the French commanders whom he astonished still more by the purity with which he spoke French, due to his being a native of Rouen.

A Travers le Passd, by Comte de Keratry (O)lenclroff), treats also on actual Tunisia, and especially the important haven of Bizerte, destined to be another Toulon, though by treaty with Italy, England, Ac., Prance is bound not to make it a stronghold. Pew people now-a-days attach any importance to treaties. Bizerte is an Arabian sort of Venice. It is full of the relics of the lot of the days of the Salee Rovers, as Bizerte was the central market for the sale of all that the Moorish pirates captured. LTdiot, by Dostoievsky, and Le Joueur by the same author (Plon' t attest the thirst of the French for more romances than their own writers can produce. And this demand for more vivid sensations and more poignant emotions is on the increase since three years. It is not going too far to assert that they are only the Russians who come up to the fashionable standard of producing “ new shivers.’' And the two Russian writers who enjoy the monopoly in this respect are Dostoievsky and Tolstoi; these two masters crush out more humble and burning lights, and who have real merits, as Goutcharow, Pisemsky, Ac. The translations into French—no easy matter—have been admirably executed. The Idiot is considered to be its author’s best work. Prince Muichkiuc has been, since his earliest years, a prey to epileptic fits, which have profoundly told on his temperament. In course of time he is cured, less the singular naivete, that his nature has no consciousness of evil. In mixing with society, that innocent and upright soul encounters strange adventures with his fellow men, all who not the less admire his purity Weak and tender as a child, it is that weakness which is his safe guard in perverse society. That clcte creature is at moments sublime. The women are attracted to him by some kind of mystical affinity ; it is thus he eorcerizes a young lady whom a merchant, Rogofine, so passionately loves, that in despair he kills her. The volume upsets the usual habitudes of novel readers ; “all in your Europe says the author is only fantastical, and we are only fantasy. There are flashes of genius which stir and amuse. There is one phthisical character that a council of physicians decide, has only fifteen days to live, and the moribund studies what great crime he can commit to become famous, after the manner say of Herostratus? Instead he devotes his last energy to suicide. The book bristles with extraordinary ideas, a century in advance of our age ; you throw away the book as vexatiously insupporatable, but you will take it up again. In the Joueur, Dostoievsky is more simply human, more in tone with the general reader. Play is the leading passion developed ; a gambler wins piles of gold, but has not the slightest love for money; he elopes with a lady, and gives her a free hand in Paris to humour her every extravagaqoe to study how me-n arc ruined, V Espagne telle Welle est, by M, Almirall. (Savine.) This Spanish author invites us to make with him the tour of his country. He shows us that the age of legends is still the age of realities. Only imagine that while European states are aiming at bankruptcy by maintaining myriads of soldiers and battalions of police, in Spain there are bandits who perform their ordinary Fra Diavolo calling with impunity. Theresa a chief, Melgards, who is the classical type of the highwayman; pitiless towards the rich, generous for the poor, priding himself to be occasionally chivalrous, and pillaging travellers with courtesy, when ho condescends not to take their life. The author believes, that the government has l)ad recqurso to that services pending elections in the province of Malaga, and that Malgarcs pays to influential persons at Madrid, a regular per centage on his cut-parsings, An official commission on its way to Andalusia, had to arrange with the daughter of Morales for a safe joursoy. Another notorious bandit retired from business, is at present a high functionary at Madrid. Italy and Russia should study these chapters to stamp out their social evil. L’Allemague Actuellc, By anonymous}. (Plqii). This l|ook is being very extensively read, and has 1 been written either by a German Socialist or a Russian. It contain? many hard and undeniable truths. The author admits that Germany

is at once vary poweifnl ami very embarrassed with difficulties. The panic observation applies to the oilier realms. Socialism is more at home in Germany than elsewhere, hut in the struggle of the Have-nots against the Haves, the former if resolute can hold their own. There is no reason to reject anything good in Socialism because it exists in questionable company. Sound plans for the amelioration of relations between capital and labor ought ever to bo welcomed. Germany has, in addition to an idealistic head, an exigennt stomach. She has the philosophy of appetite. Respecting the Socialists, they have the discipline of the regular soldiery; they cry, like the Parisian Communists, “Vive petroleum!” which lights as well as conflagrates. It seems from such cosmopolitan anarchists neither pardon nor pity is to bo expected. It will pillage, burn, kill, drive its ploughshare over creation. The staff of the socialists is contiguous to that of Comte de Moltko, that “ thinker of battles,” who holds war to be the source of all virtues, and universal peace an evil dream. Two things are impossible for the German empire—to smash up its unity and to govern it by a Prussian regime. Lo Prince de Madagascar, by Karl Gutzkow (Savine). What is most particular in the volume, and qualities rather rare for a German, is the union of raciness and good humour, less the sunshine satire of Heine. The other, recently deceased, has a history of his own. He professed liberal ideas. To cure him of this malady it seems he was thrust into a lunatic asylum. He experienced other misadventures, and after graduating in prisons and tasting the bitterness of exile, he met with a tragic - death. The Prince in question is a young . savage, heir-apparent, and was kid- ■ napped by a captain and brought to Prance. Civilisation is brought to bear on him, in a sense, that he is permitted to lead a man upon town life in Prance. He becomes fatigued with this existence, and yielding to the advice of an old follower, resolves to return to Madagascar and claim his crown. On debarking he is very badly received. Ho has forgotten his ancestors, and another dynasty has taken his place. Instead of his subjects crowning him king they sell him into slavery. This is better than the Turkish plan of incarceration in the tower of Silence. Ultimately lie escapes with a native girl of the period, and he arrives in Europe resolved never again to play at pretender. L’Oceanie Moderne, by C. de Varigny (Revue des Deux Mondes). This is an interesting string of personal observations, on the islands of A pi, Tania, and Banks. It appears that a bride is purchased in exchange for a pig, or an armful of ignaraes. On arriving at her new home, she is immediately thrashed by the bridegroom to demonstrate he is the master. But then as Mrs Malaprop says, for a lasting liking, it is best to commence with a little aversion. The bride's household work comprises, cutting the husbands tobacco, filling his pipe, preparing the meals, digging the soil, and fishing. This leaves the male biped little to do. Should a trading vessel hug the shore first thing the wife does is to swim to it and escape. It is, however, dangerous to take her on board ; as out of revenge—which is sweet, especially to woman, she carries away the husband's pipe, tobacco and match box ; these are carried in her chignon, along with her own trinkets, and some provisions for the voyage; she has no pockets, because she wears no clothing. The husband on learning his wife has decamped, becomes very wrathful, not on account of her loss, but her disappearing with the smoking materials. Had she been verv pretty, her young years would have been a series of abductions by the strongest Romeos. Helen of Troy renown never caused such fights. The welcome extended to strangers is to insist that they divest themselves of their clothing, to not suffer from the heat, to do in a word as the Romans do. In the interior of Api, the inhabitants have a weakness still for “long pig,” or white man, and his cooking value is equal to eight tnrkics, or other live stock. In the case of the Sandwich and Tahiti islands, the civilisation of the natives was not difficult; in two years they were Europeanized; that boats the .lapanese. However, by adapting European clot him.-, the conditions of climate wcie c.hanged, and the natives aided by lire water were improved—out of the world. Within two years the population was reduced by 50,000, and between 1770 and ISSJ by 505,000 deaths over births. The writer states that in Oceania four types of colonisation are in competition—French, American, German, ami English. He naturally prefers the system of his own country—liberty, equality, and fraternity—to buckshot and whisky, and advocates what France practices, the concession of home rule to her colonies. He does not add, however, the condition that they will never forget they are subject to France. If the natives of Tahiti, Tonkin, or Tunisia endeavoured to play at independence, France would “astonish” them in the way peculiar to all big powers. Australians and the Marquis of Salisbury perhaps do not know that France “ has conquered pacifically the New Hebrides ; was invited and desired by the primitive inhabitants, whose rights she respects, whose feebleness she will protect, and whose autonomy she will uphold.” It is the old, old story. Nouvelles Grecques, by D. Bickelas (Didat). The Marquis de Saint-Hilaire has put this simple story in a very nice French toilette. Professor Plateas one day has been saved from drowning by a local judge while bathing. Of course one good turn deserves another. The judge unbosoms himself to the professor ; he loves a pretty girl, hut she is the younger of two sisters, Tho elder is very plain, and till she he git off papa will not consent to Rachel’s marriage. The professor offers to sacrifice himself, proposes for and receives the hand of Leah, who turns out to be a charming creature, thus all accounts are settled. The story is the old “ Plain Sister ” done up in modern Greek.