NEW BOOKS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 621, 25 September 1909, Page 11

NEW BOOKS.

"The-' Unlit .'Lamp." -; By ;; Gissing. ' . Bell's Indian •. and-. Colonial .LUflfaiy-'. 2s '• 'l.'.Cd. . (Wnitconibc and ■.■Tombs, Ltd.) -v. This'is a story of English pillage.life;iivth<! early years of the, last century,;. .Paul; Creed, the squire's son, goes off to. tho. wars', .in-hopes' 'of'putting : a' bullet into' Napoleon, ;comesback a- low 'years -later happily ■ married and full ■■of. hopes '.and'idcals .which:, immediately; bring liiii" into' sharp conflict with; his father. Tho parish'!of.Bucklesbury, which'lies■ among,uplaiuis that will, be by 'anybody.'who happens to know Gloucestershire, is. re led' by' tho narrow-minded, and tyrannical Snuiro Creed: ,Thq old .and avil system 'of perish apprenticeship is in full force. Poachliu: is repressed with ternblo severity, and tho law seems to bo always on,.tho sido of the rich. Paul' transforms tho life. of tho villagp by simply treating human beings as such, but that to ono in his position"' nicails becoming a sort of earthly providence. Tho slow .revolution in Bucklcsbury is associated with some tragic currences a gobditleal of emotional storm and stic'ss 1 and'two, really charming'and natural lovci'stories. ■ 'Jlr. Gissing .-has drawn his characters'':well.'; The rustics, especially, aro admirable"- studies. Altogothcr it : ,is a wcll-con-stlilcted■ and woll-wriuen. talc, .ami though it dees uot'.irresistibly. luro tho reader, on from chapter to chapter, it. keeps him; interested [ frpm.'lirst to. last. .■;■■' .;-.-■

"The-.Coming or Aurora.'./.By f Mrs. .Philip "Champion do Crespigny. Bell a Indian and '■•Colonial Library. 2s. lid. (Whitcombo and ■/■'■ : 'Tombs,'litdi)-'" " -~ -.;•■■'.' •;...'.■■ ..-'-•; It'is to an'alpinb'monastery, just within tho borders of Jb'raucc, 'that' Aurora comes.in tho first chapter. Sho.has been stooped .by,asnow ; : storm Mien -motoring from Italy to Paris, and „hV spends several., days at., tho': monaster*. Gerard Mortcniar,,a handsouip young fcuglishman- 'having been, concerned in a .shooting accident, lias, suddenly resolved to. tarn' -monk,' and consequently is in tho, monastery probationer when Aurora alights there. It is impossiblo for him not to bo interested in this ven- lively and independent-young woman, nm r tho .feeling thus tar. is reciprocal.. Aided and abetted-by an old monk, -who • Is \v I so enough to bcs that Gerard« vocation.la not

fo.- tho cloister, Aurora persuades t him to leave, but takes herself out of his sight altogether. About two years later they meet by chance in Wales. Gerard, embittered by what seems her cold treatment of him, has resolved t) be cruel to her, but soon finds himself rescuing her from the. undesired attentions of n ruthcr absurd artist person. Strungo to soy, she docs not recognise Gerard, though it is not likely that a moustache, a year or two of travel, and tho change from monk's gown' to ordinary clothes • would combine to make an cfi'cctunl disguise, especially as it nppears that shu has by no means forgotten tho one-time ncvicc. Nevertheless,, it is not. until they ficpnrately revisit tho now. deserted monastery that the novelist finds it dramatically effective to let them consciously begin again whero they left off-when Aurora motored away from the cloisters after her first flighty sojourn there. It is a readable, but not a memorable, story, and to thoso who do Hot demand a great deal from books it may be recommended.

"Thoroughbred." By;' Frauds Dodsworth.. London: Stanley Paul, Is. (Whitcombo and ,j-.Tombs, Ltd.);. •', ' ■ ;'•' ':. .- ; " Thoroughbred." is a, 6porting novel puro and simple, aud tho tale is ono. that would delight - all lovers 'of horses 'and ■ ofi hunting; It is full, of outdoor life,, ana vivid ■stirring- sketches nro given 'of spino' of.', the; hunts that tako placo in 'Shropshiro.ovhero tho. scene ■of . the ■ story is. laid. The/inevitable "lovo interest" is there, but the hero is "Bucephalus," .'the thoroughbred hunter. Tho book is tho story of his lifo ironr: tho day of his. birth to tho day when ho runs his final raco triumphantly against death, and tho.writer displays a keen sympathy and "knowledge-of horses'and'their ways:. Most of the/characters of the hook: aro somewhat faintly .outlined, savo Williams, .tho/groom, who'i'appears ' now and again, and. is always unique.-" . i . '. ;

"Marchester Eoyal." 13y,,.'.T. S. Fletcher. v -London: George 801 l and."Co., 2s 6d. ' (Whitcombo and Tombs,- Ltd.) "Jsv S. has a fairly, largo number of books to his'credit but in, this last ono "Marchester Royal" ho has entered into an already well-.icovored field—that of tales deal ? . ing-with crime and the detection of crime. Naturally/ thero is plenty of mystery, sen--sation and incident to bo found in tho book," •and', tho reader's interest and curiosity aro sustained-to-tho' end. Tho story' opens with tho death of Lord Marbhestor, who was found-early-ono! morning in his'library with a gunshot wound in the. back of his head. Tho. cleverest detectivo in all Scotland Yard is sent for and everything is naturally .shrouded, without delay, in tho deepset mystery and 'gloom. According to recipe,, suspicion is fastened upon soveral pcopl.o in tho book—Lord Marchester's own brother for one, being accused of tho murder. In tho'end, all is satisfactorily solved,- but- soraohow ono is .hot .dcoplyi impressed with tho. cleverness of doteenves in^-gonoral.,' : ~,

" Gay* Lawless." "By Helen; Mathers. -Lon-, don* Stanley/Paul, Is. (Whitcombe and; :•': ;Tombs, Ltd.)' : -'," ~. ' "Gay Lawless is an nnnsual book ill that it is really almost a complete • exposition. of the sport'of " trotting." '. Hitherto wo.havo had any,amount of books dealing with'racing, hunting,'polo,'etc., but trotting, had been left severely alone. Helen Jfathors—strange that it.should be'a woman who!writes of it—has ovidently niado a study of, tho.sport in all its ins-and outs,', and reluctantly sho comes to tho'conclusion that it can never hold a high place in tho esteem of .true sportsmen, unless a' complete .revolution is'mado both .in■'tho. class of horses used and in tho methods in which trotting 'races aro conducted. •. Sho.' comoares tho '.- position tho sport holds, in, America and on the Continent, especially, Vi--. onna, .to that which it, holds .in England. In tho ; former,- it is tho sport.of tho wealthy classes, of presidents oven, and holds a high' .placo of honour; in England it is looked down .upon,and.consequently .suffers.-.in;;cyory way,., and Vis -turned .into' a purolyj.nibney-inakin'gi transaction. Tho book is one that most sportsmen would bo interested in, for it is very brightly written, ■ tho plot well worked . out, and tho characters-vigorous and- lifelike.- -GayLawless, ■'. the : girl who. becomes infatuated' for a time with trotting, owning her own-trotters and oven driving ono herself at a raco.whcn her driver fails her, is a very attractive: girl— jvery impulsive, .very,,uncqnventional/,and al;, ways scandalising her. scientific . brother. Perhaps tho most interesting character in tho book is Kensslaer, tho keen sport/:noted scholar and gifted, sculptor.' . A -vivid littlo 'sketch;.of the,.lii.stor,fc v yandorbiU*bach .drivo. frqm.'Lon--doh:'lto-,'Brighton is given. •"■'•'-■- ;->--■:

" AV-'-Villaift temptress." SyVProd., Wishaw. ,: ■ 'London: ■' George, Bell, and 'Co., 2s:: 6d. .. (Whitcombo and .Tombs, Ltd.)., '-.-.!■ i A'-story! ofßussian life and types; of character. •-;. As ...a study of. -tho 1 two .individuals principally- concerned in the' story, th'o book is well'conceived and carried out. In Nikifor Traxinc,; the simple religious spirit-of the Russian, is particularly strong and not oven tho loss of,, the. girl bo loves, .who refuses to marry, him if he.becomes a priest, moves, him from his determination-to decomo one.. Emotional, weak,' and -easily, moved, in ; other respects, ho is • • adamant wlior'e -' that -is concerned, in' spite of all.'tho devices;:,that aro, used to temnt him from his self-appointed path. Slmra", wlio gives tho namo to the book, is not an attractive, character,; though very,charming- at,, but' she; is ..apparently quite'irresistible-to. thoso who como into contact with her. Thero is plenty ofsensation and'incident. The.reader is given a glimpse into tho methods of. the -Russian. Reform party, and lato rfollows tho fortunes of Nikifor, who is transported to Siberia, for a,'murder that, lie-claims to have committed, l-'rohi there ho'is-sent to fight' in the-Rus'so-. Japaneso War,, then at its height. On his way'home again; ho meets with cholera and 'stays ..to--fight-it. After:, so many ■ stirring ovcrits it is only fair that: he should bo allowed to drift into quiet waters, which after a-few. more trials, ho is allowed to do; -

Curiously enough, in this, year of centenaries' (the "Westminster Gazette" reminds us), the anniversaryoo r the birth of Kinglakc, tho historian of the Crimea.-has. gono almost unnoticed. He was born the day, befdre Tennyson. Tiino is- dealing somewhat hardly with his fame as historian, although, wo shall probably, never have any history of tlio Crimean campaign "at 'nil- approaching his woik.in' fullness and accuracy/", Kinglakc Uad'.Miot the [ merit of rim partiality.! Only u few months., ago the publication of the "Panmuro Papers"' revealed now. points,in "which, his .desire,,to 's'iielcl the fame of Lord Raglan l '.had led 'him46.wrong others.. Perhaps ho wiil.livo eventually n-ather as the author of "Eotheh" than- of'the history 'to which-ho gave, thirty years of. his-'lifiv