LITERARY.

Auckland Star, Issue 123, 24 May 1919, Page 18

LITERARY.

'•kittle Houses, , "by George Woden (Methuen). deals with the ordinary work- '■ ing lives of men and women in a provincial English factory town in the days of as strongly in these little houses as in more pretentious dwellings. There are ! the same loves and hates, hopes and I fears, together with a vain striving after J things not attainable against the deadweight of adverse circumstance. The author, who is a new writer, ilepiete this with the realism of experience, which excites sympathy and interest in lives I that, in their hopeless obscurity, are i almost tragic. Captain C. S. Goldingham. in "The Altruists" (George Allen and Unwin), gives a graphic picture of life in Morocco, where the hero of his story, j after being dismissed from the Navy for lan offence of which he was innocent, i engaged in a gun-running venture. The j theft from a warship of a British secret I service cypher by a German agent waa j the young officer's undoing, with its I sequel of a broken engagement and a disturbed English county family. The altruistic search of a British officer for his rival, the missing lover, in order that j the object of his affection may have I happiness; a sensational attempt on the iknight errante life in the dark alley of !a Moroccan town: a desperate fight with :a hostile tribe, and other occurrences of ,an equally stirring character, are among the incidents. From such perils by land j and sea, the reunion of the severed lovers ! and the sound of wedding bells seems quite a tame ending. A valuable "Reduced Survey Map ot New Zealand," coloured k> show height of land, has been issued by John Bartholomew and Co.. Duncan Street. Edinburgh. On a sheet measuring ISO x 22 inches this map. drawn to the scale of I!. - ! miles to an inch, affords a clear view of the orography as well as the topography of the Dominion of New Zealand. It lias •been reduced from the 'latest ofiiria] survey maps, and is thoroughly up to date in every respect. All the latest railway ! extensions as well as the principal roads and county boundaries have been included, l/seful inset maps of the chief ports are also given. "In the Heart of a Fool," by William Allen White (Maemillan Co., New York), I tells the story of the early pioneers in a j town on the American prairies, established after the Civil War. The men who went out into the wilderness comprised dreamers as well as men with a keen eye to the main chance. As the discovery of oil and coal brought population and manufacturing industries, the struggle between capital and labour inevitably I followed, and the most dramatic incidents of the story are connected witli this conflict. The "political boss and the working of a corrupt judicial system are exposed. Thomas Van Dora, "a lawyer, who as a judge 'becomes a catspaw of the financial magnates of the town, is a man of ability, but practically without moral sense. His flagrant immoralities create scandal, but he boldly defies public opinion, although a certain retributive I justice follows in the form of alienation from his wife and daughter, and the loss of the social recognition which his vanity craves. There are many interesting characters, conspicuous among them being Grant Adams, a Labour leader, whose devotion to the cause of his feilowmen brings his life to a tragic end. JAPAN. THE PLAYGROUND OF THE EAST. By the Rev. WALTER WESTON, M.A., F.R.G.S. John Murray. 18/ net. The author of this book knows Japan and its people so well that he can confidently claim to be an authority upon whose advice and guidance the "tourist may safely rely. He is a member of the Alpine Club, who, in search of new regions to explore, chose Japan as his special sphere of operations. In this pursuit he came into intimate relations with the people, learned their language, lived their life, and obtained a thorough : insight into their ways and modes thought. Mr. Weston "observes that the influence of the mountains of Japan is observable in the development of the clan system, and "the hard conditions of living in those wild inhospitable regions engendered habits of frugality, endurance, and self-reliance among an island race immune from hostile invasion, and stamped the Japanese as one of the most ardent, proud, and self-satisfied patriots the world has ever known." As an enthusiastic mountaineer, Mr. Weston invests climbing with the attributes of a moral force, and believes that the development of this pastime among the educated classes of Japan will exercise a salutary influence. He says: "One of the greatest national perils of Japan to-day lies in her growing widespread materialism. In this respect she seems to afford a striking parallel to Germany, whose aims and methods in many spheres of activity she so greatly ac'mries. The ancient faiths the younger educated men have almost entirely discarded, without as yet seriously seeking other high and sacred sanctions for conduct. The moral outlook of this section of young Japan is becoming one of which many of the leading thinKers of the nation openly speak as depressing and disquieting to an alarming degree." One phase of mountaineering enthusiasm developed among Japanese, which Mr. Weston does not admire, takes the j form of speed competitions. A newsj paper offered a prize of £30 for the ; ascent of Fuji from the rest hut -\t I Tarobo to the lip of the crater, representing a vertical rise of 0000 ft. It was covered by the winner, a student, in 2 hours 38 minutes. The legends associated with the mountains, narrated by the author, form an interesting contribution to Japanese literature, and throw Hght on the his- | lory of the country. The height of Fuji , above the Pacific shore, from which it J sweeps upwards in one mighty uni broken curve, is about 12,100 ft." The I steepest inclination of the upper .-lopes is j about :)."> dep. on the western side. It lis not difficult to limb, but no mountain in Japan is mure beautiful, nnd jit has influenced the art and poetry of i Japan to a remarkable degree, acting as lan inspiration for painters which never loses its power. The climbing season, which lasts from the middle of July to the middle of September, is ushered in by a formal ceremony, conducted by the , "God-guardian" in charge of the "prin- ■ Cipal shrine A distressing fact con- . nected with some of the active voli canoes is the frequent occurrence of ■ suicide*, many young students having i, ended their lives by jumping into the ! boiling cauldrons. 5 itr. Wefton describes the experience* - of himself and- his wife i n climbing moune tains in many parts of Japan, ami his - narratives contain many references to r the common experiences of travellers c and the modes of life prevalent in the c country. Several excellent maps and many photographs illustrate the book