BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1025, 14 January 1911, Page 9

BOOKS AND AUTHORS.

." VERSES OLD AND NEW. V- THE THREE CHERRT TREES. , There wero throe cherry trees once Grew in. a garden nil shady, _ i And tliero for delight I v , • Of so gladsome a sight .1 ... • Walked a most beautiful lady;- j <. \Dreamed a roost beautiful lady. . V ..." j ; ' Birds in its branches did - slngi, , j,| • Blackbird and throstle and. linnet: j ■ ,: \ ' But slio walking thero' ' "Was by far the most fair; j Lovelier than all else within 1 .it,'. - Blackbird and throstle iiunet. But" blo\foras to berries jdo 'A|l hanging on arid t And. ono long summeijs day .1 Charmed .that, lady atf ( iy, fj,,-' • vows sweet and merry and" tender, -'Aj lover with voico, low and •tender. . . Moss and. lichen x those green •branches .j deck, ... ,"V?eeds nod in its paths greqn and shady; Yet a light footstep stems .' Still to haunt there, in dreams— • T}ie ghost-of that beautiful,lady,. happy and beautiful lady. . '—Walter de la. Mare, in the "Saturday Beview." . " . J CHRIST AND THE WINDS. Bethlehem to Calvary, By night, and day; by land aud sea', \ •His closest followers wero we. ' -iWe shared with John the place of rest; We. soothedi Him on His mother's breast ; .With' Magdalen ..His,.feet we pressed.- , Wo saw His twilight agony; lb us Ho breathed His latest sighs ,*\With us .Ho. sjjught• again the.-sky., now 'of all to whom His' tone, - 1 face and gestures, once were known,OTe, wanderers, remain alone. . .;i •• ' ' —Father. Tabb. ■ THE dID MAID'S SONG. ' : Mock not .:.fhe old maid tho' tho. bells ' never rung ' ' When my troth vows were said and my ,-i : marriage song sung. *They are ; not unwedded, these: hopes -and i these, fears, Is\nr the lonely old "maid is the widow of J years/ ' , Lips never-'' lisped'. me' a mother's-sweet •' name,'' ? ■ Tor silent'and sad are, the-babes that I ' claim; : ' Three saintid sisters—Thought, .Memory, and Tears— > v ' '! ■ These' ara her. orphans—poor- widow, . of ~ years:<' ' . • She whom a hero has loved will live on; Like a proud hero's bride, tho' her hero is gone. His form from her arms the far death- • plain -jjiay! sever, • , Biit, alive in his. glory, she clasps him for • ever. So, 'tho' the world in its scorn pass her i, by, '.. . There's a pride of. the past. in the old maiden s eye; . And. grjud she can smile thro' her d'eso- ' .late tears, Tube's lonely, widow of years.'' - 1 - • ; —Sydney Dobelh' ; , • ' YESTERDAY. Now all .my thoughts were crisped and s..thinned'. To elfin threads,' to-gleaming browns. 'Like tawny grasses Jean" with .'wind They drew your heart across the downs. -Your will of all the winds that blew*' They drew across.tho world to mo ( . To thread: my thoughts of you Along the dowriVabove ■ tiio sea, ; .' Beneath a pool beyond, the. dune— So green it was and amber-walled A.'face .would glimmer like a moon '. Been whitely through an emerald— ; Arid there my mermaid fancy lay ' And drcamijd the light and you were 11 one, . . ; An£-flickered in her seaweed's' sway " : A broken, largesse of the sun. Above world as evening' fell . I made my heart into a sky. • -And through a' twilight like a shell I saw the shining seagulls fly. ' I .found beneath the se'a.and land . And lost again, '.umvrit, unheard, AjsOng that fluttered in my hand, £nd vanished like a silver .bird. j >. —Nora . May French. :. I, THE PRINCESS'S BALLADE. Haver- a: horn sounds in Sherwood to- ' night, . • Friar Tuck's drinking Olympian ale, Little John's wandered away from our . sight, ■Robin Hood's.bow hangs unused on' its, nail. £ven the moon has grown weary and . 1 pale . 1 Bick for .the glint of Maid Marian's hair, j Yet, there is one joy in mountain and ,• dale, Fairies abound all the time, everywhere! Baints have attacked them with sacred- ■ i est might. They could not shatter their gossamer ■ ■ mail.: , " Steam-driven engines can never affright. ■Fairies who dance in , their spark- ' sprinkled trail. Still for a warning tho sad Banshees " wail. Still are tho Leprechauns ready to bear purses of gold to their captors for bail.' Fairies abound all - the time, eve'ry- [' where! ' . j . Ob'eron, King of the realms of delight, May your'domain over us never fail. Mab, as a rninbow-hued butterfly bright', Yours is the glory that age cannot stale. When we are planted down under tho shale, • . _, Fairy-folk, drop a few daffodils there, Comfort our souls in tho stygian vale; Fairies abound all the time, every- ' where! ' ■ L'ENVOI -White Flower Princess, though sophisters- rail . Let ..us be glad in the faith that we .. _ ■ shnre; Jfone shall'the Good; People safely ■ assail, Fairies ' abound all the time, every- . , where! ' , . tJoyce Kilmer, in tho "Independent." i "TOBY, M.P."

"Punch" has its army of affectionate friends in every country, and .his New Zealand supporters will be glad to have an account of the dinner given to "Toby M.P." (Sir Henry Lucy) by the Authors' Club last month. The. gathering, which was presided over by the Rev. A. C. Dcano, produced some delightful speeches. Wo quote from the "Morning Post's" report:— • \

The chairman, in proposing the health of the guest of the evening, remarked upon tho striking prescience shown by the committee, which, some months in advance, had chosen as the date for entertaining Sir Ilenry Lucy the very day when Parliament was to bo dissolved— the day when, so to speak, "Finis" was written ■ to another volume of Sir Henry's chronicle,, when, too, their guest could enjoy bis dinner without any misgiving that humorous things might bo occurring at Westminster while,he was not there to record them. (Laughter.) Or possibly the Cabinet, while discussing the precise date of'the dissolution, had learnt that on November 28 Toby would be absent from the Press Gallery, owing to his engagement with the Authors' Club, and had felt

that, in these circumstances, it was not worth , whilo for IV.rliaraent to sit.. Tho "Essence of i-'ai'li.iineiit" waa a very old-established feature of "Punch"; it , had boon initiated by Shirley Brooks, i. continued under Tom Taylor's editor*- " ship',' whilo for nearly 30 years—since .April, 1881 —it had been undei' tho ciiargo of their guest. (Hear, hear.) This was surely a huo rccord of service, and it was astonishing to tliinU how mugh gemiirio humour ho had,extracted from unpromising material through ; ..those 30 years, how seldom ho had of'fended oven the most sensitive politicians, iiow thoroughly his work had dc- .. .lighted, week hy week, men of every (Hear, hear.) Once, for a short 'tinio, Toby had deserted his seat in ■' Parliament to edit tho "Daily News"— in its unregenerate days. But, like another, guest present that ovening (Mr. x-ehniaiiii) and-like Charles Dickons'; Sir Henry had found a liltlo of that experionco went a; long way. He might feel - suro that- Toby had. no moro enthusiastic admirers than the members of that club, 'for authors wore, in their spare moments, zealous politicians. Indeed, if_for a single week the affairs of tho nation could be managed from tho club r'emoking-room instead of from Downing Street, tlfo result would be— surprising.- (Laughter.) Toby's political views wero a matter of conjecture. . Was ho in favour of votes for Judy? (Laughter.) .It might bo : assorted with some confidence that ho would not- welcome Homo Rule, if Homo Pule involved "the transference of the Irish party, that rich source of humorous copy, from' Westminster to "Dublin.. But Toby had not to issno any election address; lid was assured of an unopposed return;- ■ While other members were rushing' about their constituencies promising tho millennium (on certain conditions), imitating tho .boisterous geniality of a ' Lansdowne or the cold and classical eloquence of: a Lloyd-George—(laughter) '—endeavouring anxiously to distinguish between a proleptic Christmas, bos and 4 Corrupt Practice—(laughter)—Toby could repose happily in his kennel. Ho Would emerge again, as they all rejoiced . to. kuow,,when the next session began. (Hear, hear.) 1 If, as pessimists declar--od,' Parliament wjs going to tho dogs, they could find consolation in tho fact that one. dog at least—Toby, to wit — was-going-to Parliament, still to givo us his impressions—ono would not say ''post-impressions"—of its debates. But . Henry's work did not merely amuse tho world; it. had serious value. Genial dog as ho was; Toby possessed teeth, and a nip from them often had. moro effect upon a bounder or a. boro than any solemn admonition in a; leading article.. (Hear, hear.) Despite certain lapses, Englishmen as a body had been successful in keening nolitica'l controversy on-a higher level .than-obtained m other countries. For all his humour loby, had shown himself jealous for this tradition; he had been most .definitely on tho. side of decency and dignity in. public life,- aq'd - not . least on this account did ho deserve, and receive the /gratitude of .all good citizens. Doubtless the secretary of tho'Authors' Club would bo able to enter on his minutes describing that evening—"Business done; the health of Sir Henry Lucy, drunk with tho utmost enthusiasm.'' (Hear, liqar.) Sir Henry Lucy, who was cordiallv received, said: Tho suggestion of ' 'Punch' in Parliament" is analogous with, the classical caso of snakes in Iceland.. (Laughter.) They are not taking any. (Laughter.) "Punch" is-.not rebpghised in parliament.-' (Laughter.) ■I have, of course, -heard'-and read of loby, 31.P., and a nebulous legislator known as the llcmber'for iSark.' But though a pretty constant attendant on tho sittings of Parliament, »I never saw cither in the flesh.\ (Laughter.) Their, names do not appear in tlio division list, and if they pair they "must do it cxclu--sively with each otlier^ir'FraTlTrWcP' wood used to tell an amusing story of the Member for SarU. Visiting tho island just after a general election, ho found displayed, on the bailiff's office .wall a panoramic, view of'.the now Houso pr.' Commbns.,. "I am so 'glad' you have looked m," said- the bailiir, leading his visitor up to tho picture, "1 want you to noint out to me the Member ' for Sarli." Clear-sighted,' quick-witted, gifted with'.capacity far above the average, Frank Lockwood was obliged to admit, failure. For myself, speaking with •this'frankness of Mrs. Betsy Prig, I ] don't believe there are any such persons. (Laughter.) Toby, M;P,, and the Member tor bark arre a species of, Messrs. Harris. . (Laughter.) Thus, unrepresented on the ! f™ .'th 1 a House, the chronicler of lunch s - Parliamentary record .is not recognised -by tho authorities 'in tho 1 ress Gallery. To his friend and coleague, Mr. E.'T. Peed,- who embellishes tho letterpress with living pictures, a ticket is doled forth civiii" him admission to the.Gallery on two days a week. Admission is qualified by the uncertainty off-getting, in. On a mg night, such-as happened when Parliament reassembled a fortnight, ago, it is' necessary-for ticket-holders not having reserved boxes in the Press Gallerv to be outside tho door something like an hour in advanco of the time of opening), juat as if tlioy were pittites bent on getting admission to a theatre on the opening night of a new play by a popular author. Their -case is indeed worse, sinco they may not engage a boy messenger to keep their place, nor floes i the Sergeant-at-Arms, representing a .Jiospitablo. manager, send round cups of tea; (Laughter.) This grudging, inadequate, inconvenient arrangement made tor the .artist is tho full -measure of the physical dimensions of "'Punch' in parliament." Mr. Punch's chronicler ? f . dobnto would not, as such, bo permuted to pass the' policeman at the 100, of the stairway leading.to tho Press Uallery. -As through the .session thero appears in "Punch" what purports to o a.lecord of tho week's proceedings, it is presumable that ho gets in by some other way. This ostracism of Lunch ' is more striking by. contrast with allotment of the prised privilege m some other directions. " A short timo dinner tiio secretarv of Lloyd s. Conversation about- tiie Press Gallery opened by him with complimentary reference to what lie described'as the world-wide enlightenment" diffused by Mr. Punch's Parliamentary reportho mentioned that as editor of "Lloyd's" List, ' he had a sessional ticket admitting him, not like my friend Mr Heedtwice a week to the Press Gallerv, but every night the Hcuso , was sitting t nnt a daily student of Lloyd's List." I vaguely.know of it-as a sheet reporting.ships that pass m the night, and. others less fortunate which, sailing from port to port on a certain remote date, havo not sine been-.heard of. Of,, the length of its Parliamentary report, of tho piquancy of its descriptive summarv, of the value of its Lobby gossip,' I know nothing (Laughter.) It is, however, reasonabTe to supposo that in order ■to secure for its representative a prized privilege refused to Mr. Punch's young man,"these must, each and all, bo far abovo tho average. 1

It was in the service of the old "Pall Mall Gazette," under the' editorship o£ Frederick Greenwood—(hear,_ heartthat I first Cillery! tho Press Gallery of the House of Commons. In thogo 'faroff times—it was tho year 1870—tho Gallery was in all respects a different place from the institution as it now exists. It was an "exceedingly close corporation, only the London morning papers being represented by regular staffs. .The consequence was there were boxes sufficient for all duly qualified applicants. ■ Indeed, two wero appropriated to each paper, 0110 for the reporting staff, the. other for the summary writer. iTlie benches at tho back, now nightly fought for through the session by descriptive summary writers. Tvondon letter purveyors, the occasional leaderwriter, and E. T. lleed, wero then an empty space oil which Steel, sole janitor of the Gallery, slept, not always noiselessly. (Laughter.) Tho aggregate number of reporters did not cxceed three

; scorc. Even for that mtuibor. the s accommodation for their comfort out- • s;do the UaJlery was luuierously inade- ; fjiiato. Tlioy were "strangers'' whose , presence was winked at in spite of tho . retention among the Standing Orders of ! an .edict, prohibiting publications of re- > ports ol debates under heavy pains and ) penalties. If they wore wise they would ; tako such goods as tho Sergeant-at-Arms provided, and, forestalling the I custom of lirer babbit, yet unborn, t 4 "lay low and say nuilin.'' In tins twentieth century thero aro provided for the convenience of tho moro than two hundred gentlemen who have acccss to the Press Gallery,, suites of spacious rooms m which notes may be written out, in some with the comfortable assistance of tho homely pipo or the lordly cigar; 'thero aro dining-rooms, smoking-roohis, tea-rooms, and an excellent library or rcterence. Less than forty years ago, , meals, such as they were, wero 'served , in a little yestibulo at tho top of the stairs t leading to tho Press Gallery. Hero in later years sat tho old door- • keeper \Y right, who, in intervals of . wakefulness, talked with tho telegraph messenger boys in conversational style moro nearly akm to that of Dr. Johnson than anything a nineteenth century, generation was privileged to enjoy. Wright, a character in whom Charles Dickens would have delighted, was a- brand plucked -from the burning by Lord Charles Russell when Sorgcant-at-Aruis. Ho was in early life brought up to the boat-building business somewhere on tho banks of tho Thames. The tradition in the gallery was that tho Sergeant-at-Arms, a goaly man, strolling- at ease by .the river's marge, heard him praying or ■ singing a hymn (i forget which jhe was capablo or both), entered into conversation, and was so impressed with his intelligencc and simplicity of manner that ho appointed him guardian of tho outer approach to the Press Gallery. In courso of timo Wright, perceiving ail opening for business, furtively brought down in a red pocket-handkerchief (not, it, was faintly hoped, earlier dovoted to its appointed purpose) a chunk of boiled beet. (Laughter./ This, engagingly displayed with platos and knives and forks on: his table, attracted hungry gentlemen of the press accustomed to go outsido in search of siippcr.. Encouraged by growing custom. Wright supplemented tho boiled beef with the knuckle-cud., of a ham. . (Laugliter.) ™ ,h° stopped. It was over cold boiled beef and cold boiled ham.'AVhon tho sy.narite .got tired of beef and ham he had ham and beef. (Laughter.) I supposo it was due to handling knives and' saws, and things in tiio boat-build-nlfJ) business that Wright developed a skill for cutting slices of ham aud beef thinner than over before wero laid on the plate. (Laughter.) That was a pardonablo mannerism. What tllo-fas-tidious found objectionablo was that, whilst engaged upon tho delicate operation, ho brought his noso into undesirable close contiguity with tho joint he carved: Whilst —not owing to unfriendliness or discourtesy of tiio authorities of to-day, but in delerenco to fusty rules drartod by tho iledes and Persians — "Punch" is tabooed imtho Press Gallery of the Plouse of Commons, ,on the floor he has a host of friends. (Hear, hoar.) Dealing week by week . with practical allairs it is recognised that Jie novor displays party rancour, either by pen or pencil. One remembers witii pride and pleasure John Tenniol's long service on the staff.. (Hear, hear.) For fifty years it was his mission-to.'shoo.t lolly as it flies, to strike at fraud andcorruption, to touch with delicate though iirnv hand the political problems of tho hour. This- complex,' difficult task ho accomplished' with - unfailing fancy and delightful humour that never degenerated into carelessness nor wero. i ''I™ 11 ? i' l " dignity. Tho traditions of "Punch" in' Parliament inherited by ■ Tenniel havo been handed over !to his successor, and as long as "Punch" lives "in Parliament" or olsewhero they will, I trust and believe, animate aud • control his ■ -actions. (Cheers.) -

Sir. R. C. Lclmiann referred to Sir Henry Lucy's extraordinary aptitude in finding in the most discouraging circumstances and under .the most unlikely exteriors material for. huniorous comment. Jokes which passed absolutely 'unnoticed in the . House of Commons because-the Speaker, and-the members wero entirely unconscious of them wero seized upon by the eager ear of. "Toby, M.P.," and transferred by . his eager, paw—if. ho might bo permitted the description—to tho pages of "Punch." .. There were two instances which lie could recall. Tliero was bofore tho House; of Commons a Pill for promoting the' interests of tho Irish labourer. It was received with considerable satisfaction in all quarters, and an Ulster member thus delivered himself witli regard to the matter: "Mr. Speaker, if tho Bill passes I say.'.tho poor Irish labourer of the future will receive that benefit from which ho "for too many years in the past lias "been kept out." (Laughter.) On another occasion Sir William Anson, whom no one would suspect of an inclination to the lighter sido of Parliamentary oratory, was replying to something tho Minister for Education had said. Sir William began with theso words: "Mr. •Speaker, wo have listened with considerable satisfaction to certain things that have been said by the right lion, .gentleman, but I am bound to add that :we have listened with great disappointment to certain things which we expected to hear, but which wero not said." (Laughter.) On neither of theso occasions, added Mr. ■ Lohmann, was there a ripplo of laughter "or smile in the House, but "Toby, M.P.," in that position of vantage, which, as ho had said, lie occupied so precariously, noted tho jests and transferred them to tho pages of "Punch." Our ideas of humour. varied from.timo to time.' Ho was reading recently , a curious-'example of what was considered humour in tho days of ancient Greece. A certain sage, whom ho would call, Chrysippus, observed that an ass-was eating iigs which had been left by. a hoy on tho pavement. When tho boy returned Chryssipus said to him "(So and fetch, some drink for tho ass," and began to laugh soi heartily at his jest that ho almost immediately expired. If, said Mr. Leh r mann, Sir Henry attempted to .relate such jokes in tho pages of "Punch" he was afraid he would, indeed, find his position very precarious. (Laughter.)

3lr. E. T. Heed said ho believed that in. China they: had a playful, humorous, but unpleasant habit of selecting a public man and of hanging him up in' a wicker cage like somo elderly, introspective linnet or canary, at the street corner for public 'inspection. Then everyone who had nothing particular to do—the humble unemployed and . tho idle rich—(huighter)—lounged round and watchcd with ill-concealed relish his efforts to maintain a dignilied and unconcerned appearhnce ill' novel circumstances, until lie eventually died of hunger and fatigue. His i'riend and colleague, Sir Henry Lucy, dangled before them as tho linnet or canary of that evening. >But it was a very high honour, and when lie was restored to earth again lie would forget the horrors of the situation, and return to normal obscurity with an added laurel to bis luxuriant crest. (Hear, hear.) Members of Parliament wero prone to rate themselves, as tliey taxed others, somewhat too highly. (Laughter.) He understood that oufe of (570 members at the lowest compulation GGD'wcre firmly convinced that so dazzling wero their virtues, f.o pre-eminent their qualifications that nothing on earth lint a shameless conspiracy in high places prevented their attaining iiistantly to Cabinet rank and the highert offices of the State, lint they looked into tho pages of "i'uncll" to see themselves reduced to tho lowest common denomination— (laughter) —by the lowest common denominator. (Laughter.) He (Jlr. Heed) and Sir Henry oscillated between tho centre of gravity of tho Empiro at Westminster and its centre of buoyancy in Douvcrie Street. ' (Laughter.)