LITERARY.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 46, 23 February 1901, Page 2 (Supplement)

LITERARY.

The South African war and its lessons still dominate the reviews. In the "National" for January we find "A Plea for Efficiency," by Arnold White; "The Surrenders in South Africa," by II W Wilson: "The Technical Tramin'" of Officers," by T. Miller Maguire, LL.D.. all of which may be placed in the category of \var»articles. H. W. Wilson's analysis of British losses by surrender, our London correspondent quoted from at some length tt few days ago. More interesting, to our mind, fs Arnold White's pica, for a constant state of efficiency. "Safety," summarises the writer towards the close of the article, "against, the consequences of national inefficiency, pending educational and social evolution necessary for the higher organisation of the country, includes: 1. Placing our war fleets on a war footing. " \djusting ou r Imperial defences to our Imperial policy. 3. The vigorous prosecution of an understanding with the United States of America, not because we want her help, but because her existence hangs on ours." Other interesting articles of the number are "Is Life Assurance a Good Investment?" by F. Harcourt Kit chin! "James Anthony Fronde," by Leslie Stephen; and "'The Spiritual Deficit of the Church Crisis," by ltev. J. G. Adderlev.

Messrs Upton and Co. have published a small book entitled "Notes on Koinola." George Eliot's masterpiece is one of the books in connection with the University course this year, and these "notes," compiled by Rev. P. S. Kmallfield, of Sb John's College, will be found an aid to the intelligent perusal of the novel. The book is prefaced by a capital account, by K. IT. Strong, M.A., of George Eiiot. and her work, with particular reference to the writing of "Komola."

The "Otago Witness" has celebrated the attainment of its jubilee by the issue of a number tracing the development of the paper from the time when, on February 8, JSSI, it appeared as a four-page publication, price 6d, The history of the paper is really the history of the Otago settlement, and it affords interesting reading. Looking over the portraits of those who have been associated with the "Witness" one comes across such wellknown faces as rliose of ltev. Dr. Thos. Burns, Sir Julius Vogel, Messrs B. L. Farjeon, G. M. Kced, and Mrs L. A. Baker (Alien). To-day, under the editorship of Mr William. Fenwick, who has conducted the paper for over twenty years, the "Witness" is one of the best and most interesting of New Zealand weeklies. Its jubilee issue gives a fascinating glimpse of the advance of New Zealand journalism during half a century. The best of the articles imthe January "Windsor" are .Sir 11. M. Stanley's "Fields for Future Explorers," Frederick Dolman's "Leaders in the Australian Commonwealth," Eugen Wolf's "Count Zeppelin's' Air Ship," and an account by George A. Wade of some lesser known men who have been decorated for conspicuous bravery, under the title '•Famous but Unknown." The fiction is conspicuously above the average. Flora Annie Steel, Barry Pain, Francis dribble. Geo. A. Wade, and Ethel Turner contribute short stories, while Mayne Lindsay's new serial "The WhiVligigJl develops in this the second instalment into a story of exceptional promise. We get perhaps just a Jittle too much moralising in Geo. Knight's "A Son of Austerity," recently added to Ward, Lock's colonial library, but this perhaps adds rather than detracts from the book's cleverness. For it is unquestionably a clever novel. Paul Gotch, the man who suddenly falls madly in love with a girl who has just buried her only relative, and who uses her destitution as a lever to make her marry him, is a strange character. Whether he succeeds in eventually commanding the girl's love it were perhaps unfair to tell, but as this is the kernel of the plot of the story, it is sa.fe for anyone to assume that success does not come easily or at once. The book were worth reading if, it were only on account of the beautiful character of the parson's blind daughter Elsie, who falls in love with a Scotch dwarf, and imagines him a fairy prince. Elsie Stuart is one of the most pathetic and yet fascinating characters in recent fiction. The book reaches us through Messrs Wildman aud Lyell.

A book conveying a very good idea indeed of Chinese life is "The Attache at Peking." by A. B. Freemnn-Mitford. CIS., which Mo:-srs .Macmillan and Co. have added to their colonial library. It gives in, Mter form a record of a number of years' residence and extended travel iv China. Both the land and the people are. an almost -unknown quantity to Europeans, and at this time anything1 that serves to throw light on the subject is welcome. This. Mr Frceman-Mit-ford's letters achieve. .The book is fresh, readable, and instructive, and gives a conception of Chinese life and character which goes far to explain much that lias seemed in recent events to be anomalous, while on the other hand it intensifies the mystery enveloping other incidents. A copy of "The Attache at Peking" has been forwarded us through Messrs Upton and Co.

"The Love that Lasts," one of Florence Warden's latest, would make a. by no means bad play. It is an excellent love story, with a not too complicated plot, and certainly would stand condensation. The heroine strains imagination just a trine much in her immaculate attitude towards the blackguardly husband whom she has the very good fortune not to be in love with; while Angus is also the pattern liero of the novel, rather than the most admirable male of real life. However, the book is an excellent one, of the type in which, though love is the great motif, quantities of passion of varying degrees of evilness are freely sprinkled about. Ward, Lock have forwarded us a copy through Messrs Wildman and LveJl.

Louis Becke's "Arreeil'os"—of recent and favourable memory in "Cham-bers'"-—llilS been lidded to Mr T. Fisher Unwin's colonial library under 1 lit' title of Kdward Harry. South Sea Pearler." Edward is an exceedingly nice type of man, and Ihe way he walks rings round Hie wicked .Rawlings and his satellites makes the heart glad. A greater villain than the same Rawlings could hardly have been allowed to rove the Southern Seas unhung. TLpis a pleasure to find lilk nefuriouKchcmes so beautifully upset by Harry. The average reader will like the book, and if towards its close. ho or she believes that the ending will not be satisfactory, let us give a cnuticci to wait till the last page before passing judgment.

Dr. M. ,T. Farrelly, in "The Settlement After the Wai" in Southl Africa," has written a capable and thoughtful book. The writer was for some years resident in various parts of South Africa, and besides his legal traininghad, in his study of the subject, the advantage of being called in as adviser to the Republic. The causes of the war, and the position of the various countries prior to its outbreak, are exhaustively dealt with. Dr. Farrelly attributes the bellicose spirit of the Transvaal rather to the young- Afrikanders than the Hollanders. To the latter is generally attributed a deliberate scheme in conjunction with Kl'Uger to throw off the restraints of the suzerain power. This observer minimises the Hollanders' power, especially that of the arch conspirator Leyds, somewhat overmuchl we imagine. Leyds may have been detested throughout by a large section of the Boers, but this is no reason for underestimating the power lie wielded in moulding the destinies of the oligarchy. With Dr. Farrelly we are all of one mind iii our desire that the [Iritisli Government shall make a settlement of a nature absolutely precluding a recurrence of the trouble of the past year. We cannot but hope, however, that the writer's scheme for a settlement will not find favour with1 the Administration. The, centralisation of government under a tight rein might be achieved under a military system, but it would prove infinitely irksome to all nationalities of European settlers, and in time work its own ruin. In any arrangements for die administration of our new territory, the susceptibilities of the people— prejudices if you will—must be considered even if. anomalies marring the constitutional symmetry, and therefore an abomination to the legal turn of mind, are the result. Dr. Farrelly, however we may differ from him, is infinitely interesting and decidedly worth reading. "The Settlement After the War in South Africa" is published by Macmillan and Co., and a copy reaches us through' Messrs Upton and Co.

Misunderstandings of familiar words, especially of religious formula rs (says the Liverpool "Post") are universal in nurseries. How common such confusions are even among adults of limited education is, perhaps, less realised. So says a clerical correspondent, who sends the following instances coming under his own notice:—"With nil my worldly goods T, thee, and Ihou," is the popular rendering1 of "I thee endow." "My awful wife," supplies an instance of a dropped "1." as disastrous as any dropped "h." One villager's version and mental vision of the angel Gabriel's salutation, "Blessed are thou amongst women," was found to be "Blessed are thou, a monk- .swimming" Other parishioners have been particularly devout to "Blessed John the) BlnoiffimitV •and to "Holy Michael' the Dark Angel."

The German Emperor has a weakness for playing practical jokes, and the following amusing incident, which has the merit of being strictly true, is circulating in Parliamentary quarters in Berlin. When the Emperor William informed Herr Yon Bulow fit TTbmbefg that he was now Imperial Chancellor, Herr Yon Bulow naturally expressed his delight, and perhaps he really was delighted. But all at once he seemed to be considering about something, and the Emperor, perceiving this, said, "What is the matter now, Bulow?" The latter answered that he had just chanced to think of his wife. She had nothing against the Chancellorship, but a great deal against the Chancellor's Palace, for, whilst her presenfhome was a regular little jewel-box, the great cleaningdown in the Chancellor's Palace would not be completed before this time 12 months. " Give my greetings to the Countess," His Majesty replied jocularly, " and tell her I would contribute TTiy part towards the cleaning-down." Herr Yon Bulow may perhaps have hoped that the Emperor would see that the Palace was thoroughly renovated. If so, he was mistaken. A few days later a very bulky parcel was left at the Cpuntess yon Billow's by the Emperor's orders. It contained a hundredweight of soap, the promised contribution towards the great clean-ing-down.