NEW BOOKS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 425, 6 February 1909, Page 9

NEW BOOKS.

> "A Scout's Story, , ' by Owen .Vaughan.Duck--5 ; worth's Colonial Library.'' ; . Whitcombe ' ..:•;■: \and:.Tofflbs'..; , .;2s;.-,6d.Vand'3s,'-6tl;iV.'. ; :.,!';-: : Othello's .was a' tamo life'lieside itheSadj .ventures'' of- the ; boy -scout in '< this' story, f which, in: some respects, out-Haggards Rider ( Haggard.." '.-There.'.'is '■'■''■ the ■ Haggard t lure; • to,-. .: adventurer-golden -thrones -of , countless mummied kings in the, hidden'city j of an ancient race. \ The city is not in Africa, 5 but;"in.the,'-Andes[Mouhtains, and'tho guar- ; dians of ancient wealth and glory are giants 5 •'eightifeet high; who sacrifice' with ghastlyf, rites, annually on midsummer day, a maiden 3 to the. sun/:; Whon Dilys. Harvard, of the 5 blue. eyes and yellow. hair; is carried off .■ by -]Jthese: ruffians' to;,their mountain fastness,

her lover and; the boy narrator havo more than gold to keep them on the trail. -; Their achievements in eluding cyclone and glaciers, and rescuing the captive from innumerable fierco giants on the ovo of the intended sacrifice, are not merely heroic, they are superhuman, but that is' willingly forgiven in -the- excitement of the" story. The rifles and automatic revolvers of these two people do execution-that would be creditable to an army battery, and pistol butts, lassos, and bolasos /add considerably to. the carnage. Ihero is a battle royal towards the end, when\ a small army of settlers storm '. the, golden city. They do not get all the gold they expect, for a reason which tho reader will discover, but they bring- back Dilys, whom one would like to come to know better in tho sequel which, appears to be hinted. The stupendous adventures of this story will please-all who .like excitement, and the horlsnot overdone , . , '••--' ■"'■' '■■.• :/,--:■.: "•^ n ,, ; , llnnld r t al • Soul,"- by^'- W. H.' ; -Mail<ick'" : - Bell s.lndian. and Colonial Library. Whit' /:' combe and Tombs. '2s. -6d. arid'3s; 6d.■•■'' :! ! This-latest/of Mr.' Mallock's books, will probably not be such a favourite with his admirers as some of his earlier works, ■ such as "The. New Republic." ; It has; the : author-'s-familiar faults and,graces, his /correct.and :pleasant ; style,- .unnaturally, clever dialogue, overloading of- theological and scientific discourse , and '.prolixity ;in description.- " An: Immortal Soul" is a ■ study; of' an - abnormal psychological base. -/The reader, is reminded of Stevenson's "Dr.^/Jekyll-and Mr. Hyde,!!and the inevitable/comparison is: to the ad- : vantage:of-Mr. Mallock's arid-to the disadyantagorof his art; :,This, same uncomfortable phenoriienon of : dual! personality-has'-been.'treated' 1 far.- more artistically by Mrs.', Margaret L. .Woods, in "The'lriyader," , . subject'"is , :.to -sbriie'i minds', , and -interestiugias/Mr.- Miillock's'.bbbk! mayi be>to alieiiists,-.'theologians,; "and :r riieta-". physicians, he has•■ not, made, good-; the'claim of his. preface-that it -is a': suitable. subjeot ,fora novel./-. His. book 'exhales, the ;sick air of,-'a:'mental hospital. • One-is nbt so glad to -have; read it as to have .finished/ reading it. Some;.people!/should , avoid ■;: it - altogether; Neurotic ior -hysterical .-.'■■ women .would be frightenedi and might'be seriously injured by it. '/There-are, 'of cbui-se, good, books which are: riot 'for all, readers,. but this;'/- of Mr. Mallbck'si'fails, artistically,;.and, considered as a of instruction, /it. merely conveys .information which is riot, new, and dumps! it .where, people, ire most likely to break, their shins 'against-it. ; : In; the mental impact be--. :.tweeri' the teachings' of, ; the Rev. Theophilus, Barton and tho phenomena' of dual person-' . ality : as-exhibited Win ■ the,.sbmetime_s ■ docile and/.:sometimes rebellious -Miss Vivian,; the author, finds .abundant, scope'-; for,,':- the kind of! discussion!.-in -- whicb Jhe most- delights. /.The", outcome/ seems /to bo ithatthe titlo ,6f-:thb! ; b/6pk/is.,a^'sarcasm:.'-:; Andryet'one-riiight ac-:knowledge-.all/the'observed facts of •'ilie'class! in. , . question, ;■ 'aud.. still believe', .in . the im-.' /riibrtality of the soul.VvThus the object of the' .book:, is-j.quite/•/enough ' /to condemn it : in, -the/eyes''; of/- many people, while many: others-will:; hold that that object; is not at; tairied./It.should be'mentioned that her'ey.as-always,-'-Mr. Mallbck-.writes/.as dno/native.tbthe: tone and manners of. "good society,", and this, with- the.aid.of,'a certain ; dashing '"and '-sparkling.Lady- Coriway, does a little to freshen;:the sickly atmosphere. ',■'. -..■■: . . //■ '..','Paddy-the-Next-Best-Thiiig.." ..." By Gert-! .'-:; rude'. P,age. Bell's Colonial' Library.' Whit- ',:: combe and Tombs, Ltd.. 2s. 6d..and 35'.6d. ; :/"Paddy :is / ;a : delightful young person, and 'this artless/story of her yputh>,is' told in: an ;uncomriion. way,, working out to!/an.unusual .end.';,. It is the story -of how-a;.gu , ljs;.-l6yalty,! -to .her .sister, ,;.her own 5 .commonsense,/ .protect'her ; :-against':thb fascinations of a.man quite; unworthy of her, ; and : it as .a cause, for"! .regret/to'.; the "reader- !wKen ; fate\ takes,' the matter'.but:,: of Paddy's .hands/ arid, puts -an end.to the" undecided: conflict. / -If half. the. ■ fiction ,in. the/.oirculatirig -libraries/ were.-: as /brightly written/and as - wholesome as/this story- of :Paddy's -ferids and 'affections■the (average; reader, , would■!not be bored, ah'd;tho 'young person would have a very much better time than/she does at present. '.. .'['-. ~ ■:- / ■A'Whither :Thoti: /;J.;/ ; J!.,sißeilft v.rHodderand.Stoughtoii, London.r.'2s.;6d.y $$s.i 6d.V!;■; ~; ^Jj ;'!' z^.■';;:■/ \:'■■'■ -. ■'.': i^The. hand"thatdescribed.' "Wee .-Macgregbr,'- 1 - his j small ■interests',-..Vand: narrbWr circleji';has ! .'not been so: successful: with, /the', adventures', of Ruth Lennox, the lady ..who at-tho:age dfi twenty-eight finds herself-in.'possession of .a huge/fortune, and whpjcontrives to ridher-fj self of nearly all /of' thb! next'ttyb years.;-:, The story shows how/she does it arid'/ why,\/and.. at the end: tho. reader feels-that ipoetic; justice, haajnot .been done,/'but! Mr.' 3ell is-quitei pleased, because be has brought his heroine.back;to the.walks,in.life, where : lie'believes -happiness: is: to be found.".' i The: story.is'-n'ot' , a;probable.one, , '"arid- the, villain of theibqok!. is'■; the , best : thing -in' it./ Among a collection/ of' ; sk*otchily < drawn- , characters/, there: is'the:.carefully/•drawn, one/of Mrs.; Lyon, who .is- melodramatically .interesting, even if /she; is not very convincirig,. and .is,rather out/of place.in'/sucha quiet.story;-:- >, '€it:P -^' T-'/NOTES;,:;-!' '■:{) : £[ :-,,;There is: a- : flavour •of Irish! bullishness• in: the statement , which has been often repeated that the hew feature of-modern literature.is, the crowd!of; cheap: reprints. .;But, like most statements so: flavoured, it/contains a great deal, of that truth which ■ appeals Mirectly to tne plain, popular: inind;! : The assertion has been made in former' years,; but we are .nowassured on. the authority .of booksellers than: the reprinting- which has specially- charac-. terised;l9o3 is that, of books—it'ought to be. unnecessary-'.'..to say that these ' are ■'mainly! riovels-4-which are the work of men not only! alive but in every sense flourishing.: Thenew, development of the "cheap reprint" move- , ment may, -if one .;• so chooses, be/ considered fundamentally; ■ democratic.! . It, ■•' meaiis, -that for a few coppers one : may'obtain a :popular' .work-by/a'-popular/author !which ;; in : the : mdmory- of/frequenters/of! bookshops used to cost 31s: od; -and--was issued in■',three,'vblumos..-: .The'chances' seem\to : be that : cheap reprinting of the kind'.'which is. now.most notable will tend, if not to the/!-decadence of libraries of the old kind, certainly to their being confined to the housing and circulation of :works which'.are. in almost every sense ■heavy. <. 'So : far! as the cheap! reprinting; of modern and authors is concerned this" country is .-probably following the 'Continent, and particularly! France, where literature has been' "demoralised" for a"■'.long, time./-There,is no!evidence that!thei other class, of. cheap Preprints which .becanie. the! vogue some .'years ago—the reproductions for a, trifling sum, that is to say, .of such"popular'Jand.. classical. : authors . as ! Scott : arid: '.Dickensj' -. Thackeray, and George ./Ellibt-ris falling off./,/On the , contrary,-, a "library."; of! i-th'e. dead authors! is becoming an inexpensive pprtiorivof.the,furniture of most" houses. ev<eh of the,modest, and- unassuming' gow.Herald."..'/. '.■.-:; -;.'.. ; •';■... I. ■','"■ ,'-'■/-/ '■"■..-'. :':'. A letter from Ruskin is givfen.in'."Gha'mbers's ;"-Journal" , by." Mr. , A;' S. ■ Walker./ "'For a Scotsman,, next ..to his Bible,' he wrote,.,'there; is , but; one book—his native, land; but one.language—his native tonguo, the: sweetest, richest, subtlest, most/musical of all the'.living dialects, of Europe. Study your/Burns,.Scott, and,Carlyle—Scott in his Scottish., novels only, and of -ithcso only the cheerful.'ones, with' the "Heart of Midlo-, thian," but not the 'Brido of Lammermoor,". nor "Legendof Moritrose ; "nor "Pirate." Here js a 'right, list:. "Wavarley," "Guy Manner- , ing," "Antiquary,! , / "Robßoy," "Old-Mortal-ity;" "Monastery,"."Abbbti""Red Gauntlet," "Heart of Midlotliian." Get any of them you ban in tho old, large-print editionwhen you have a chance, and study every sentence in them. They -are- modols -of; ; every.virtue . in their! order of .literature, and : exhaustive .codes of Christian wisdom and ethics. I have written this note "with care;: I should be gln'd if,you sent a copy of it to any paper read generally by the .students of tho 'University! of Edinburgh.' " "! ; . /-.'.' /■"■'