BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2938, 25 November 1916, Page 13

BOOKS OF THE DAY

V German Woman. Some extraordinary facts and figures to German women, their educa- . Ttioii, up-bringing, home life, amuseiments, and tho position they occupy generally in connection with the , life tof the community are set forth in a book "The German Woman and Her jH'aster," by Honi*y Do Halsallo and ;C. Sheridan Jones (T. Werner Laurie). /Tho book records an entirely new and fJnost sensational ' view of German womanhood, the authors ascribing the | degeneracy of the race to the low position allotted to the sex in the Fatherland, ' and showing that this has relacted upon German.-women themselves pn a quite remarkablo degree. To r some readers it may appear that the [authors have attomptod to prove too jinuch, and to have assumed that tho jinimorality for which, before tho war, vßerlin had become, world notorious was 'Widespread throughout the Empire injstead of being a local result of a luxurious decadence, specially productive of evil in a great city. It certainly seems .unfair to quote so literally as is done 'in this book from such a work as Martearefc Bolime's •' 'Tagebuch oinei Veriiorneiien" ("!Fhe Diary of a Lost One"), (and to infer that the wretched, lieroino Jof _ that much-discussed novel is rquite a common type of i; Gftrmah •Womanhood. At tho same time, there 'can bo little doubt that the old-fashioned jtype of German woman, in fiction, if not jin. actual life, a model of all the virtues, is less common than she used' to: be.. : Proof is to the extraordinary .laxness 'of - morals in Germany, of an ever increasing tendency to adopt sin' extravagant and vicious course of living, is '.only too abundant in, the German newsJpapers. But the German woman, whatever she may be, is very largely what ner German lord and master has made iher, and a crushing indictment of the arrogance, and downright 'brutality with which the Germans so ' (often treat their womenfolk is brought - forward in this book. ' Perhaps the f®9Bt dir^ctly : and usefully informative Chapters are those entitled respectively ."The Lot of -the" German • Workwoman," and "Tile Drudge and Beast of Burden." Few of those, who, before jfche -wai-j were-wont to' expatiate'upon Jtho wonderful. cheapness of certain 1 - jfierman-mado goods were aware of the jterrible social conditions under which Nihey were produced, more especially the Starvation wages, intolerably long hours and unhealthy environment, which ■ .Iwere the lot of the women workers in ■particular. _ The final chapter, "Ger- , .man Education," should also prove use- ■- ful in dispelling many erroneous ideas jwhich were at one time so industriously (circulated in England—and here in jNew, Zealand—as to the alleged superiority of German educational ihethods. That those methods, in connection with ttho general tone of ■ German life,'once tho late 'teens are' reached, 1 have played / too small part ,in /creating that atmos.phere of selfishness, vainglorious arrorid downright brutality which the world new Connotes with the much-' "kultur" is, set forth very Mainly in tile pages of. a .book which,'though containing passages which hre r in\. very doubtful tiste, constitutes. a (very, powerful indictment of the modefn' Huns. (N.Z. price, 3s. 6d.) fWith the French in Ffance arid Salonika i The late Richard Harding Davis, the iffell-kuowii American novelist and war .(correspondent, completed in January last the letters from France, Greece, Serbia, and- England, which .he had commenced in. September, 1915, and jjbic' l have now been republished under ■the title "With' the French in France and Salonika" (Duckworth and Co.; per iWhitcombe and Tombs). Had he lived to revise his final proofs, Mr. Davis might probably have modified certain • tof the opinions expressed in the book lon the question ,of Greece's connection ..■with the war, and more particularly tho .part played by M. Veiiizeio's. - Mr. Davis eeems to me to be as unduly. favourable in his estimate of King Constanfrjne as he is unfair to M. Vqnizelos. icor instance, after defending Constah- ' ,tino for refusing'to go .to .the aid of. jtho Allies .at the Dardanelles, Mr. .{Davis says: "In refusing to sacrifice •Jhe'Jivis. of his subjects,' the military .judgment of C-dnsfaiitiiie lias been vindicated. He wh s willing to attack Tur- ; -key through liavalla %and Thrace, be;causo bv that toute-bo presented an : armed- front to Bulgaria; • But, as he' ■pointed out, if he sent his army to the Dardanelles, he left Ivavalla at the inercy of his enemy. In his mistrust of Bulgaria, he lias certainly been justified." Such a passage as this reads . very fpuriously nowadays in .view,of. the evidence that has been made public of the fact that so far from "mistrusting Buljgana, Constantine has all along been ' .'•acting just as much in,.secret agreement with Sofia as with Berlin, amfthat be not only allowed the Bulgarians to ■seize Kavalla, but actually . disrated Sand disgraced those Greek officers wlio (ttished to oppose tho Bulgar invasion Vrf Jlacedonia. We will do Mr. Davis jthc justice to admit'that later on in Wis book he himself appears to ■ havo ■ieen doubtful as to the trustworthiness ■ the King and tho Court military riparty, for lie says, referring to the "likely to arrivo" at Salonika •>an the spring (last April): "What that ' situation niay be, whether the Bujgar-Gennans ivill attack or ~.the . Allies advance, jhipon Sofia, and as an inevitable se•auenco draw after them tho Greek army . :«f 200,000 veterans, only the spring can jtell.' Exactly what Mr. Davis nieanl Vby the words "draw after them" it is |How impossible to say, but- most people, .who now know whit Constantino and the Germans intended those 200,UU0 .veterans to do, will incline to the opinion that had Mr. Davis written ; '"upon" instead of "after" it would jhave been hitting tho right nail on tho head. Certainly General Sarrail had [little doubt as to which side the veterans would be on; hence tho long delay iin moving out of Salonika. Apart from the author's evident bias fsgainst Venizolos, and. his ' curious apologies for King Constiintine, his took makes capital reading. His accouni, of the Verdun struggle is excellent, depicting as it does tho splendid and' subtle strategy of the French and the hopelessness of the Gerriiau onslaughts. The pen sketches of the mud trenches of Artois, tho fighting on tho famous "zig-zag" front jof the Champagne, and the steady persistence, of both sides in tho, A'osges Bector. are full of new -and happy touches. Also, the narrativo. is occasionally relieved by a very pleasant and ellectivo humour, which is in agreeable contrast. to tho necessary grimness of f so niany of the author's descriptions of actual fighting. All' through tho ■book one is impressed by the sympathy Sof the late Mr. Davis with the Allies and their cause. As representing the ! .viewy of the bettor class Americans, the concluding passage of tho preface is .worthy of notice:— ... In the meantime, that France and her illlies succeed shonld be tho hope and prayer of every American. The fight jthey are waging is for the things the iCmJ, .(inbyphenated American is' -6up-

posed to hold most high and most dear. Incidentally, they are fighting his fight, for their success will later 6ave him, unprepared as lie is to defend himself, from a' humiliating and terrible thrashing. And every word and act of his now that helps the Allies is a blow against frightfulness, against despotism, and in behalf of a broader civilization, a nobler freedom, and a much more pleasant world in which to live. Tho boolj contains a large number of interesting illustrations. (N.Z. price, 3s. 6d.) Picturesque Now Zealand. ,'lt was a happy thought of Messrs. Whitcombo and Tombs to republish, in collected form, the delightfully written articles and essays of Miss B. E. Baughan on the scenic beauties and natural wonders of tho Dominion which have from time to time been fesued as booklets bv Iho firm in question or have appeared in various English and Now. Zealand newspapers. The articles in question are now collected in a handy-sized and tastefully produced volume under the title of "Studies in Now_ Zealand Scenery.'' Three of the studies havo been enlarged since their first appearance in print, and another, "The Summit Road," has been taken very largely _ from work done for the booklet tearing that title which the author wrdto for the Christchnrch Summit Road Association,. Miss Baugban's graceful literary work Is well known to New Zealand readers. Amongst all the manv writers who hare discoursed upon tile picturesque scenery of the Domin-. ion ; . its natural wonders, tho beauties of its mountain and. lake regions. Miss Baughan easily ranks first. Not only does she set forth very distinctly the topographical features o/ the regions described,-; but her word pictures of the exquisite beauties of the forest, fiord, mountain and lake scenery of which wo afe'alLso justly proud are drawn with a . specialty fascinating literary grace which raises them far above the level the' a verage tourist, handbook or ?uide. It would be difficult to find in English literature, old or new, a more fascinating description of scenic beauties than the essav .entitled "The Finest Walk in the World," which, on its anoearance, in'its original form, in the London "Spectator," attracted such widespread attention and was the subject- of so much well deserved eulogy bv English critics. In another studv, that 1 entitled "Snow Kings of the Southern Alps," Miss Baughan has ijiven us a series of eloquently worded pen -pictures of the combined grandeur find beauty of the irc-Tt mountain region of the South Island/Miss Baughan is an artist in words, from whose pen there flows, apparently . with consummate ease, sentences' which grip and hold ,the reader in ■*. _ fascination not to' h" resisted and which long remain in, the memory. No other hflfik of which we know can compare with this collected edition of Miss Bnugh.m's essays as a guide to the scenic splendours and marvels which, Neiv Zealand litis to offer to the visitor from other lands, and a more desirable gift to a friend or relative abroad than a cony _nf-this-beautiful bnok'conld not well hv> imagined. The illustrations, of which .there are a- large hfiniber, are singnlarIv successful feprodhctions of well selected photographic viefrs, and trreatly enli'Snce the valrie and interest of the text. Author, and publisher alike "are to -be complimented iipon the apnearan'ce of this charming volume. Price, 4s. 6d.