NEW BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17645, 23 December 1922, Page 11

NEW BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS.

A FRIENDLY ROUND. Books on golf range from the large volume in which a "Vardon or Taylor discusses every kind of stroke and every detail of the game in the serious spirit of a master to tlie merry book of a Wodehouse. In the space between these two extremes there is room i for plenty of good writing, and one of the best of the writers in ihe fairway, as it were, is Mr Bernard Darwin. Mr Darwin has collected into a volume which he calls "A Friendly Round" twenty-four of the delightful articles which he has contributed to the London "Times." He is not only a very fine golfer, tut a very good' writer indeed, and he discusses very wittily the human side of the game. The last thing he had in mind was instruction, but there is as much wisdom as wit in his pleasant little papers, and if one cannot profit from his wisdom one can , enjoy his light and airy touch- Mr ' E. V. Lucas on cricket is good, but Mr Lucas is a looker-on. If Mr Lucas were a player of the first rank, he would write as entertainingly of his game as Mr Darwin writes of golf. I Than this no higher praise can be given | to "A Friendly Kound," which every golfer should buy. (London:. Mills and Boon.) - SOME MORE LTICAS. The number of books standing to the account of Mr E. V. Lucas must by now have given him the title of the most voluminous of current writers. The strange and delightful thing about him is that he is as good as ever — gentle, whimsical, and witty." Three new books from his pen come all together. "Giving and deceiving" is another collection those essays which discriminating people never miss, and although he falls a little below his level now and then, he makes ut> for it by going now and then one better than his best. "You Know What People Are," is a collection of lighter, shorter sketches from "Punch," illustrated by George Morrow. It is rounded off with an article by Mr A. P- Herbert. It is unnecessary to say a word in praise of Lucas and Morrow —a combination ,as perfect as' Gilbert and Sullivan. "Genevra's Money" is a novel, with a simple but powerful'motif—the search by Genevra's husband for the nephews and nieces worthy to receive his dead wife's money. We meet plenty of pleasant and interesting people as the story moves from England to Europe and back again! (London: Methuen and Co- Through Whitcombe and Tombs, Ltd.),

„ BOOKS FOB YOUNG PEOPLE. One of the most attractive series of books for young people^—and people not so young—is the Royal Road Library. The series is post-quarto, and the volumes are beautifully illustrated, in line and colour. Miss. Netta Syrett, ,in "Rachel and the Seven Wonders" makes a series of fascinating fairy stories out of the bare facts of the seven wonders of the world. Rachel is a little girl who goes to the British Museum, and there magically finds herself learning at first hand concerning these marvels. The illustrations by Joyce-Mercer are strikingly good. "The Pageant of the Flowers," by W. H. Koebel, is'a fairy story in which the flowers are tlie-char-acters, receiving instruction from tlieir ruling spirit. In this book the pictures are obviously important, and they are'charming. The "Flame Flower" is the story of a little.Princess. "Rebecca; not a Moral Tiale" belongs to another series. It is a funny book of" rhymes, by C. H. D. Giglioli, with amusing line drawings. (London: Thornton, Butterworth, Ltd.)-

SHEEP FARMING. '' Sheep Farming in New Zealand "is the title of a useful book written by Mr W. Perry, the well-known Eomnev. ,Marsh breeder of Masterton, incidental articles being contributed by other experts, $ The* Subjects of choosing a sheep farm, equipping it,, breeding, management of a flock and of sheep on hill country, feeding, preparation of .wool £or sale, and diseases of > slieep and mortality, and injuries connected with dipping are dealt with instructively and concisely, and these sections should be invaluable to anyone taking up pastoral pursuits. The various breeds used in New Zealand farm practice are described by Mr ?erry, the most interesting section being that relating to the Corriedale. The Canterbury has had to face a good deal of-, criticism which the past year or two has fairly well succeeded in --breaking down, and Mr Perry,-as an' ardent Romney breeder,, could scarcely be expected to be the first to acclaim its virtues. ■ He frankly admits the use-, fulness of such a breed, but stresses 'the continued lack of uniformity amongst the various'breeders. "He emphasises tl}e necessity of establishing a standard, as "no two Corriedale flocks are -alike." The book 'is. well filled

with good sound information, and is well worthy a place in any shop farmer's library. (Christchurch: \vLitcombe and Tombs.). NOVELS. Mr Edgar Jepson always has some fresh and good idea when he begins a new novel. "The Smuggled Masterpiece" begins with an improbability the guardianship of two well-bred young people, Nink and Airnee, by a rascally ~ew who has taken tlie name 01 li' c Macgregor Gordon, liio masterpiece is a picture stolen and smuggled from Italy, and IS ink and Annee intercept it. The intrigues which follow « ll ' e highly exeitmg, and (victory rests with tlie young people, who have the satisfaction or seemg "the Grogon" and his rascally' associates disappear_ in haste. Tnere is as much fun as excitement in the book, and one particularly fascinating ruffian. (London: Herbert Jenjsms, Ltd.) Unusual also is the plan of "The Truth about Vignolle6," by Albert Kinross. Yignolies is a born vagabond, and "tlie truth ' about linn is a i<i;es qf well-handled episodes. One episoae fs a love-affair in the West indies which came to nothing—an uncommonly succes«3luiy study eft a woman With a temperament. The best episodes, ionever, are those which are set in Asia Minor, Egypt, and Macedonia —especially his affair with the Moslem widow, which does not end tragically. Vignolles is an exceedingly fe'iov/, and one rejoices when, tired of his roaming, he settles down in his country home with a charming wits ii'd step-children. A most attractive blend of comedy and romance. (Lbnion. Duckworth and Co.) It is pleasant to come upon a novel at once so wholesomely simple anil so well told as "Lass o' Laughter," by Winifred Carter. Lass, when we see her first, hj the "slavey" in a poor lodging-house in Glasgow, kept by a hard-faced, hard-hearted harridan, Mrs Nicholson, with whom she was left when her mother died, some nine years earlier! Lass is 011 the point of being turned out of the house, because site resents the conduct of one of the boarders, when she is informed that she is , the heiress to the fortune of the late Earl of Maxwell, whose daughter, Lass's mother, had run away from home and married an actor. Lass is thereupon transferred from the dingy surroundings in which she had lived a life of drudgery to the luxury of Maxwell Towers, where her cousins, including Ronald, the new earl, live. There is nothing very new in such an idea; but Miss Carter works it out very well. Lass's struggles to overcome her pronounced low Glasgow accent, and to acquire the ways of a lady are amusing enough, but they make leSs impression on'the reader than the constant evidence she gives of ha.ving a heart of gold, and a profoundly sympathetic and kindly nature. _ Ronald has lost a fortune by the discovery, of Lass, but there are ways of overcoming thiit difficulty, and Miss Carter adopts the most obvious, though at the .eleventh hour , what seems like a fatal complication is introduced by the delated revelation by Mrs Nicholson that Lass is only the stepdaughter of the late Earl's daughter, and therefore not a Maxwell at all- The result of this discovery we must leave readers of the book to find out. The humour, pathos, and human nature of the story make •it well worth • reading.. (London: Thornton, Butterworth.). In "A Child of the Forest," Mr Safroni-Middleton takes us again to the South Sea Islands, which he lias made the scene of several of his pre\ious books. The sub-title, "The Eomande of the Last of the Marquesans," has little to do with.' the plot, such as it is, which concerns mainly the love makings of Adrienne Ralli, the girl-wife of a white scttlyr ,wiai. _-' a craze' for astronomy which leads Kni to neglect, his wife. I'lie other chief characters are Uroc and Le Mao, Adrienne's waiting-maid and companion, a' native girl of royal descent, who aids and abets her mistress in her adventures; a Rajah, of surpassing attractiveness engaged in tfye itn-Rajah-lik© ' occupation of peddling silks and.trinkets round the islands, and an amazing beach-comber-adventurer with the incredible name of Samuel Bilbao, besides an old ex-King of the Marquesans and several white riff-raff- The doings of all these people are not extremely exciting; the feature of the story that makes the strongest appeal is the atmosphere of mingled' mystery and romance with which the author has invested it. (London: John Long).