BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 227, 19 June 1920, Page 11

BOOKS OF THE DAY

■ :Romance : ;\'of. .the "Battle-Line 1 :in. '■■;:.. . ■v: ! .Fran i Cß.M;.'» i ...'-.>ff.';;.-'ii - K ■;•.-:'•'••■•';'•''; '■; iilr'; -J. ,E..C....80d1ey^-to .wibm...weibsfe ~: what is fariandaway-the kost r enlight--. ■r': ehing . and-: acbUrafe; s'lirvey'; of-;-modern •'-; France 1 :'ahd'.Frenoh institutions y,et pubj , iished.-'has'had the:very, happyj.idep, of ;- ; ,>reviving.-the'past of many of thb',.rnoSt' '■'.:'• famous;cities v diid battlefields';-.on ithe ,; Western front; quoting memorable events- ::" in: their -history,-and recallingf theto, .'".■■ •; ihantio',dss6ciftition9: of places -to:, which . French' and 'British sqldiefs'.'n&te 'W*. .' '.■■ addedia new' tradition and rglory.'. This. ''.■-'■ he.'has done-.in- a volume entitled. "The' •■': : Romance; of the Bat.tleiine in Franoe" : ; . (Constable : and', 'Go*;. per • ; Australasian , Publishing- Co; 'and Whitcombe .'..and ''.. Tombs)., %: ; says Mr.. Bodley in;, his. . Introdnbtion, .-.»••,:••'.;• :•'■':•''.['■? ; : o'--" '■■ one of the minor'hardships of the war/, that few'of the aurVlVbfS of the armies .:- .of. Britain, .without, wiiose ■■'• ■. eous aid s victory inight ;rtJH' tie: far. away, will ever bob again: the plains: and.hillr' :. sides-where sleep .thousands of'their comrades from Australia.'New Zealand,-Oan-.. Ada, arid the Cape, or the old i French :townß they-., passed: • through, 1 which, the Huh failed,to de»troy... ' Whatever,'the European - origin of these- ■ heroes from the"overaeafl, it ij'hbped'that this little' book -may ; fall"'into the hands.' of some of them'to remind, them.that ' places to .'which ."they, have added a new T-. tradition of '■■- in olden, times-.historio. scenes-in :.which'i ■•.•". their.forefather's'moved.:..'.';''.'.'' ! ".*.■■! -

, "Mr. Bodtey reminds is .'that .'although there are many regions in France richer in romantic traditions; suchas Touraine, ...,- Burgundy, and Provence, yet ..the • nbrth- . "eastern corner..of-Franoe las."more his- ' rtorical associations on<its.soil.than.the ; whole of-'Great 'Britain.''. Anjaccount iof : : all the^pas.t'battles .'waged-on'the'6cene9. ' where' English and, French have fedently • ..met' the.Germans, .arid of 'their, causes, i! 'would, he says,, "emteac© r &e wfiola'iis- ■'.;; t'ory of our oiyilisation;''-' "The.-.aritho* proceeds: to Teview in detail tho mosC historic ■■ scenes connected::' with'' the VFrendh .-battls- . 'fields,' from-the.-Marne to the:Lys,- from Amiens and Arraa'down to^Eeims^'with •'."' excnr'sioris -further-'afield: jfo''the- r south ''.and- oas't—tq 'the'Vosges' and : to':Alsace. . •-. He draws freely upon, his rich stSre of ;..'histoncal.kiiowl«dge,.'and' i&ti,, on'occa-' , ' sibnsV'be agreeably' aneddot4,,'-'as .where; "writing of: Compiegne,'he recalls the - story, Md, alike Memoirs of Saint , Simon .and the. Journal of, Dangeail, of .'; : a'practical,-]'oke, ; played by .that.-:incot-irigible farceur, the^ay;and;g^laat-lan- . ; - I. 2'un;'on'ahvußsuspecting-'icolonel• of-'dra-- ■ "'"goons,, thO'Courit ','de":Te&se,:.'which- r was not without indirect•"innuendo on iFrench history. It was plose to pompiegne that '.:' the German; delegates; "brou'ght'like pris- ;:- -oners 'to; accept -the' conditions: of the .'; ■: armistice"'-from- MarshalSFpch- and- Atf-. '"imiral Roslyn...-Wemyss,'';Bigiied"th?'docu-,'ment which;'gave':Tjeace-to''Franc's. : arid her Allies.\-The event took■ placo :in; a .- railway'saloon,'"a Bight;"".adds'the a'u--;.'.'•-Qipr,' "'"which : must"'have;.;amazed r the. ".' ghbsta," of f\L6uis 'SIV. 'ind ; Nipoleon" (as to' whose connection' 'with Coinpiegne ■--■.. .Mr. Bodley.. gives: soma ,-interesting de- •' - tails) -"if: in ;their familiar haunts 'they ■'■ were celebrating'the "defeat of Germany." :...;. -In" the.. second-, part 'of : ii'ia ".b'opki 5 "Mr. ":... Bodley, 4eals .iivitlt ""the '.results ; :,"bf;,,tlie • ;-,- - ,ilate war-as':,affecting .bur' national-;:life ■-• and Imperial,^•interests.''-'--,Amongst;"the -r "few'.'consolation*, derived -'from: the war •: : 'fe,''--he;;cpntends; , :"that:it-;':h'as: : 'cons'oli-'' ■ dated'ariew the British''Emp"ire";nndef the . Crown, at the terrible price of the.yoiuri- ;• ;,,tary, sacrifice of "thbueah'ds...of 'ybuiigvlives ■;.; .'■ of our. feHbw-citizensibeyohd :the Sesis.":' * - The book "closes with dn: elope jit.- tH-V;';:-Duto .'to^■ : the;excellerit■ ; -.'ofeated • by. otir. ;rece.jit" ! ;visitor;' -"'.tlie.i prince 'of •-.,. Wales, 'when' he .was sbanng.-'rwitli the , .deyoted'youth.'pf the' Empire..'the haTd- ,, ships, of; the war." ■. In this. connection' the _ author recalls the • fact 'that ; the ancient French chronicler, Froissaj-t, ,'. , has told, how, on" a battlefield: iiOar th 6 '.; .Sbmme.v.that stream":,of ; .tritgib. .memory, '■ ; well, "known, to..' dtiV /ybtfig.' Pij^iao^'.thdr ,' King of Erigland'thus addressed "the thitd ■' • -Prince- of "Wales,,. .the-..,-fambus ■;,. Black; ■Prince:—"My..brave sori.-ybil •■ yourself worthy .of. ; ,'TVorthyof "Empire. iridee'd," writes ."Mr. ;'Bo'dley>. -. % th.at. illustrious young .'soldier,.whose.; solace"on: thb batße'-gfound -was- to asso-. ciate-with-our.::-brave', : J)re.thren-. : from:. the'' j.-• • overseas, :und whose imperial -instinct in-i j •-. spires him' to cultivate-, in their distant ;- homes the friendship of;tiibße l in':6u'f;fa^:" '"dominions .vhb'.'serit.Weirfions^o'.fight'V." .and-dje,for the'Enip.ire.",;:, , Mr.-Bodfcy'e. "interesting book will,' it-isr.tb'be. toped," • find many : Teaders."in :t.his.country;."'• ;■ rVWild-Life"in 'bana'dai"/";-?' " ■■ :. . ""Wild Life' in Cflriada;?-; by- Capiaifi' y. Angus■' Buchanan,'. M;C... (Jbhii .'Murray { . • per'Whitcombe'and'Tombs), ,-is a-weil-. ■.•)" written, interesting -record of an'eipedi-; ■ ; :'-tion tor'an almbst unknown region of; " British North Amerkai .far., bey'orid tho-' '■ white'- :man-s."'fr'ontiers.,"pf' Saskatchewan.' 1 ■•'; The author, with"" one'companion, set out' '.-.' in' May, 1914,-. to'.'-;explore' ,'th'e .Northerh : Saskatchewan country, reaching, Lake Du .'•■'..'■ Brbohet -in -August,-,, the- farthest-pdijit • north of. his journeyings .being situated in about 60deg. He proposed,to winter 'at Lake Brobhet, "but the wat"broke oiit,;. '■ and he returned, to, takfe' -his' part -in' 'the !i ", gr?at struggle,'.3olriing.-theißritißh--foif.es" '.' in East-Africa, ah :,experienco wliibhi:''ire» suited in his excellent book (reyiewed inthess columns a few months ago), /'Threej .Years of War in East Africa" '-'Captain ■/Buchanan: is a •: keen- -naturalist,'', anil 1 ■ gives ■ interesting '.descriptions' 'of ,v the"' .wild 'beauties, 'the;'rich, animal life, and the picturesque,,-natural',features . ..pi the Far Canadian/North.,:--A- long "list ,',- of, animals ■ and..'birds. collected 'during,:: •..his journey is/givehdn-.ari-appondix, 1 and bears testimony to the atthor's patience, industry,-and"skill as,a hunter .. and naturalist. A specially-ihteresting , chapter is, that devoted to the 'famous Canadian sled/dogs,'wolf "dogs, huskies, , or malamoots,. to .give some' of their local, names. .' They -are astonishingly , cunning, and arrant, incurable'' thieves. '"■ Occasiorially- "outcast, "dogs" '.' ar'e 'inofc. • with, living 'shores' of Me bv '' ■-~, river like totally "wild-animals," One , thing- in the •way of- food the.6led dog will-never touch,-arid Uujtis amouse. "The author tells how he has seen'dead : mice lying outside cabins'for days un- ' 'touched, although the "dogs were' ppsit -tively,ravenous.for food,. .They 'appear .••'•Ito be a melancholy variety'of canine, :; having a'wolf-like, dismal/ long-drawn-out ..dirge'- or h0w1..-- -Pariticularly ■:■ pn! ■■ stormy nights do theso'strange animals "' show' restlessness' and''''their -. desire' to ~, voice .their .wplfrlike, ; hoivl to the'.-whole ' world, Without ( these strange-but."use= . ~-.:ful. animals,. the.Jiuriter ,and .traveller •■; in the gloomy; forests .and'over -.wastes of the grim' Far North would ' '■ be-helpless, and,' despite his.'many faults, -/.a. good husky is" as "mnp'h .valu'qd'; in "Northern Canada'as is thochoiceltsteed ■ •■shy,' the Arab. .-Captain "Buahanari has: - J 1 much to say about the Indians, that is-. , • of-,interest— indeed, tho book: teems with' • ■i quaintj.nd.out of the way; lore, >. both -', ■' zoological' and ethnological; " The. illus- \ trations are nurii'erous.'and most .inter-'' "'eating, more partioularly'.'those depjoting'" the animal life of the ro'giori.",' : -",:■ ■ ' .;'.,' Karl-Marx. .''..'. ",/.'" ..■;'.."'.''•'■"' ' '.;,. ■ '•• ' Ach'ille Loria, the author" of "Karl _ Marx: A Sketch" (Allen and TJnwin), is . ~,a well-known'ltalian publicist, a prpfes : ' sor of political economy at Turin, "and already well known by his strorigly-anti-capitalist works. "The Analysis of, Capitalist. Property" 'and ."Tfcie •• Economio Foundations of, Sooioty", Ho here gives''' us a brief but eloquently-written: tribute to KarJ Marx, whom-he regards at once as "sage and martyr." Professor Lbria's. essay fs prefaced by'a somewhat pompous .. introduction by Eden and Cedar Paul, *■ "tho translators, who.'stylirig themselves, . ; "declassed bourgeois;" clainV.-thiij '"qliitS"'; .hpart : from-leadership'uhder'such condi•"•'tibns r as : obtain ip Ru's9ia, : '''thore is-'work .• '''for Socialist" iritelledtuals, •th<e' i .tvorlt' of.!'" providing independent "working-class "edu- '- "cation, the-work Of assietiiig ib tho spread - - of the ferment generated by the writings, - : -Bf other revolutionary ' Not n. <

few people, however, may consider that the formerit" of .revolutionary thought is already quite widely and mischievously ! enough'at .work. , ■ • ■An;.A.Vtrfiliaii';rjl'urse'at the': Front;,'• \ ...tinder tho .title ''Letters of an Austrat' (Sydney: Angus and :■ W Whitcotabe and; Tombs), f f^?,' Aa neiD6nnelV:oftho Third AusLi traljan. Central Hospital,-gives.an interestmg account of her widely varied ex- '■ .periences as an army ..nurse in A'gypt, at Lemnos, and on the,.' Allie- -front : in' ' iraneeV. There are also descriptions of ; visits to various parts of England and .• Scotland.-. jUi'ss .Don'nell writes clearly i'- and well. She gives'an interesting ac- , 'count of the duty routine of war nursing, and her book contains many simply but eloquently-worded,-tributes to the gallantry : of the, Australian: and New Zea- !, .land, soldiers, and ako of their British •'• comrades-in-arms, and': to-the jtotienco ', and .courage' with which tho wounded i bore their .(burden of suite-ring. ..•...■■>... ;, Belgian Art in Exile. ■; ■ One of. the' most interesting and per- ... manehtly valuable of. the many artistic. [ publications, produced/during the war 1 for 'the- 'purpose : of assisting . .various' ;,. .funds . raised , for tho benefit of those , who directly suffered by the, great Euro- -, -pean'oataelysm,'.Was a handsome volume . entitled "Belgian; Aft in - Exile," which. '■' "was established in London for the benefit '. of Belgian war charities. . The' volume , had'an extensive sale,', and .'then,, for some \considerable ..time, went out print,_ma.ny'Would-be,purchasers in New Zealand being nnable to procure copies. 'Further, stocks have-now arrived in the Dominion, a bopy of the'new issue reaching us through .Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs. .The. volume, which is a hand-' some folio, constitutes.a representative gallery of modern Belgian aftv -It in-' circlesa-large number ■of facsimile>'reproduotibns, many in,colour,-otthers in black and, white, of the work of "such wellknown Belgian painters as Emile Clans, .Albert Baertsoen. Ed. J..Claes, Ferdinand ■' Khnopff, Franz.Courtens, Victor'Gileoul, van RySselberge/Bassenfosse,' Marcette. and others, who9swork isalmbstas well kno.wn in. : .liqndon and Paris as inßrussels; •"'Srtme'of the productions.are bx-; ceptidnally beautiful,'notably Baertsoen's "Night on-a, 'Canal at .Ghent,":-Franz Heme's 'Moonrise," and a Louvaln Cathedralv scene. by Delaunois: The French impressionists have evidently influenced Belgian.art,.'.but.few of the Pictures «rr. in the' direction of the- ultra- bizarre, and of Cubism and similar Jatterday . artistic heresies—and is here-very hapnily 'no sign. '■•The hew. issue of this most interesting .art- book- Will no doubt find manyipurcnasers. : - ' l