THE BOOKMAN

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 151, 27 June 1914, Page 15

THE BOOKMAN

SELECTION OF LATE NOVELS A PASTORAL IDYLL. f A Midsummer Rose." By Katharine Tynan, author of " A Favourite of Fortune," etc. London : G. Bell and Sons, Ltd. Few modern writers have published more w.orks of fiction than Katharine Tynan, whose novelo are welcomed by »n ever-widening circle of readers. Her charming sketches of Irish life, character, and scenery are familiar to all, and she seems equally at home, with an equally keen eye for the picturesque, on the other side of St. George's Channel. It is* in the southern counties of England, mainly in Surrey and Worcestershite, that the scene of her latest novel is laid. The book deals with the tures ©f one Ralph Bretherton, who, still unmarried at the age of thirty-six, meets, after a long series of years, a lady who was once the object of his youthful i affections. She has returned^ from India, ' a widow, suffering from an illness which proves fatal* and on her death-bed she confides to Bretherton the guardianship of her nineteen-year-old daughter, Avis, lie accepts the charge in all good faith, 1/Ut certain busybodies question the nature of their relations, thus inducing Irim to offer her marriage, though his affections are heavily mortgaged elsewhere. It turns out that the girl has another and more youthful lover ,_ so that matters are arranged to the satisfaction of all parties. Not a very striking plot, perhaps, but there is enough of incident to give interest to the story, and the book is written in the author's usual engaging style. A MAG ¥ All PLOT. ■"The Heir to the Throne." By Arthur W. Marehmont, author of "When I was Czar," "The Queen's Advocate," etc. Ward, Lock, and Co. Ltd. London and Molboiirne. Novelists of the romantic order havo lately drawn much ,of their material from the south-enst of Europe, whole the instability of political affairs favours the invention, of a plot in which a throne, or the Premiership, or maybe the hand of the Princess, is, the object sought by a leading character, villain or hero. The book under notice is a .story of this sort, though the action passes in England. It is thoroughly up to date, too, opening with an ami flight and continuing with a motor-car trip. The present-ddy novelist has little use for the horse which carried knights of old to victory or to the pleasures of the chase. The hero of Mr. Marchmont's book is Sir lan Calmadale, who tells the story. In tracing a mysterious lady with whom he has fallen in love on sight, he finds that there is _an intention to proclaim Hungary an independent kingdom, and to place a native noble on the throne, on by Calmadale during the lattcr's student when the aged Emperor shall pass away. Prince Osca, a Hungarian of royal descent, is supposed to be the rightful claimant to the crown, and the "heir to the throne" is his son, Prince Olaf, who is believed to have been killed in a duel by Calmadale during the lattor's student days in Buda. Olaf, _ however, is really alive, having been spirited away by the conspiring party because he is altogether unworthy to wear the Iron Crown (when they get it). _ Prince Osca is an equally incapable chief, so that the hopes, of the party are centred upon his daughter, Evala, who it is hopeu will ally hersolf to a party leader who can be trusted with the destinies of a nation.. Calma<lale's mysterious lady ~is Evala, who regards him as the murderer of her brother, and when, after many hazardous adventures, he finds and produces the missing prince, he learns that his suit is still hopeless, as she is imbued with the desire of^de-' voting herself to her country. In 'the end, of course, love wins. as. it always does, The book is full of stirring incidents, hairbreadth escapes, plot and coun-ter-plot ', foreigners both unscrupulous and high-minded, with some honourable English men and women to impart a wholesome atmosphere, and the attention of the reader is irresistibly compelled from start to finish. A SENSATIONAL CRIME. "The Crimson Mascot." By ChaTles E. Pearce, author of "The Amazing Duchess," "A Star of the East," etc. London : Stanley Paid and Co. For pure, unadulterated melodrama, of the most pronounced type, lovers of the sensational could baldly find anything more to their liking than "The Crimson Mascot." It has all the elements which went to make the transpontine drama in the days of old, before ao&.ee palaces and afternoon teas had watered down . the popular taste, and picture palaces had disturbed the wearers of the sock and buskin. There is the bloodthirsty murder in the first chapter, the villain stalking triumphant till nearly the end of the book, tho mysterious crimson pearl* from the, Ea6t r which — like the Kohinoor— is supposed to bring ill-fortune upon its pos6eesor.^he lovely heroine and the stern father anxious to force her into an uncongenial marriage, and the brother of the murdered man intent upon unravel' iiilg the mystery of the crime and punishing the perpetrators. When it tb ttdded that the brothel's are twins, with a sort of infk*-snablo affinitjß similai to that of the Corsicah Brothers, it will be at once seen that Mr. Pearce's book has a dramatic plot of the first water. In accordance with the beet traditions of this sort of novel, Nemesis overtakes the bad man of the story — how, it would scarcely be fair to the author to divulge. 'FORTY-NINE IN CALIFORNIA. " Gold," by .Stewart Edward White. London : Hodder and Stoughton. Mr. Stewart Edward White's most ardent admirers— and round the world they must number their tens of thousands—will be reluctantly compelled to admit that his latest book, " Gold," is not quite up to the standard of some of his earlier works, such as "The Silent Places" or '/The Blazed Trail." But even Mr. White's prolific brain and facile pen cannot be expected to pioduce an unbroken succession of novels such as those instanced. The pity of it is that the tendency of some of the best-known writers appears to be to write against tune, while the full flush of their fame is upon them "Gold" is rather an historical record in the guise of a novel than pure fiction. It is really a nanative of the stirring times in California in '49, when men fron/all -climes flocked to the Pacific Slope. Whether the tale will linger in the memory 'as do some of the writings of the same author may be open to question. Told in the first person, •'Gold" explains how the "hero" and his companions make their perilous way amid the malaria] swamps of Panama to the western coast. Thenne they proceed by a small vessel to San Francisco, which was by no means the San Francisco of these days. Those were wild times, when the only law that commanded any respect at all was the law of the quickshooter in the hip pocket Indeed, one of the most interesting _ passages in the volume is the description of the town and its polyglot inhabitants, nearly all of whom had the same destination— the ecsno of tbo gold rush— in view, iin

route the prospectors meet with many adventures, but the diggings are reached at last, and the word-picture of the life of the "forty-niners" is one which cannot but fascinate, the reader. In the natural course of events the party with whom the "hero" is associated, strike gold, and with feverish haste endeavour to mako their "piles" in the quickest possible time. A fight with Indians, who in those days were still untamed follows, and on their way back to Italian Bar, a newly-established camp or township, the gold-seekers have further exciting experiences. At Italian Bar they remain for some time, and while there the "Vigilantes" round up five of the desperadoes of the district, who have committed cowardly murders, and lynch them after some semblance of a trial. At .last the adventurers, still sound in wind and limb, arrive back iv San Francisco, which was then an ungodly place, where "the hosts of sin are very strong and the faithful are very few." _ Enough lias been outlined of the theme to show that ample material is provided for a story full of incident, and Mr. White has made the most of his opportunity in this direction. Although he has had no personal knowledge of the life he describes, he has dipped into many standard works for his information, and, as a compendium of the whole, his narrative leaves nothing to be desired. The volumeis really a book of adventure, such as delights the boy reader. STORIES OF INDIA. "Thakur 'Pertab Singh," and other tales/ By Sir Charles Crosthwaite, K. C.S.I. Edinburgh : William Blackwood and Sons. Sir Charles Crosthwaite knows his India well, and in this latest volume of short stories he presents some phases of life little known to those who have no first-hand knowledge of the, country. He depicts the native life in all its 'vividness and infinite variety, and incidentally throws a great deal of light on some of the problems which Great Britain is called Upon to solve in keeping a guiding hand upon the destinies of this Vast portion of her Empire. The tifcle-iale deals with an Indian famine. It opens with the afternoon sun beating relentlessly upon the parched earth, and "there on the road, where it finds a clear course marked^ out and given up to it, the wind whirls up the finely- . powdered earth into a dust-devil, and urges it along the track at racing speed. 'To hell with you, it says, to hell.' And then famine threatens, and the exodus of the villagers begins. Their grim journey to a "better country," where there are means of sustenance, is recorded in all its stark horror, and it is a welcome relief to the reader when the author permits the remaining stragglers to enter the villages which have not been cursed by the withering heat, and where they are hospitably received by the inhabitants. Other equally powerful stories are included in the series, one of them being entitled "Ai Kali" (by the late Captain J, G. Crosthwaite), which shows how the natives droop and/ die through the ravages of the dreaded plague, and the remorselessness with which it sweeps through the land, leaving a trail of stricken humanity behind it. 1 All the stories are tersely and tensely told, and are so_ realistic that they cannot fail to indelibly impress the mind of the reader. LITERARY NOTES Professor Flinders Petrie is the author of an exhaustive work on "Amulets," which Constables are to publish. It is founded on the Egyptian collection in University College, London. In a recent interview Madame Daudet, wife of the late Alphonse Daudet, told lipw her husband's subject matter for his books was so often taken from the little incidents happening to his children, his nephews, Ids nieces; how he developed these "themes" into the delightful short stories that are so familiar to all. Again, when importuned by his children for a "wonderful story" to be told them, how he poured into their imaginative ear those tales that later found their way into manuscript. Madame Daudet said when her husßand outlined a story and had selected the place where his characters "were to play their parts," the whole family dragged from their home to live in the "atmosphere" that was to surround these fantasies of the braiir. She also declared that all of his descriptions of the places that found their counterpart in print were rigorously exact and faithfully portrayed. A new novel by Mr. Eden Phillpotts. "Faith Tresilion," a story of Cornwall in the early nineteenth century, is announced. Mr. J. M. Kennedy, foreign sub-editor of the London Daily Telegraph, and a close student of international politic^ has written a work on the United States, her_ home and foreign politics, and her position in relation to Europe and to South America, which will be published by Stanley Paul and Co. under the title "Imperial America." Mr. Kennedy deals especially with the Monroe Doctrine, tho Mexican difficulty, and the new situations created by the Panama Canal, and gives 'an explanation of the United States party system. "Christianity and Economic Science" form tho subject of a _ book by Archdeacon Cunningham, which John Murray is publishing. The following " gems " of dramatic criticism are American : A Denver critic, unknown to fame, wrote: "Mr. Protius ; played ' Hamlet ' at the Tabor Grand last night, and played it hard till 12 o'clock. ' An Atalanta newspaper contributes this : " A travelling company j 'played 'Hamlet' at the Opera House last night. The scenery was fine, and the orchestra rendered some appropriate airs." The critic of Bedford, Inch, says in the leading daily : " The Pderless Repertory Company played ' Richard lII.' at the Opera House last night, and they killed Richard in the second act, so that they could catch an early train out of town. They caught the train just in time." Mr. Sydnor Harrison, the American author of that very good and very successful novel, " Queed," has written a new story entitled " Captivating Mary Carstairs," which is to be published shortly. The " boom " which Air. Joseph Conrad has had with his new novel, "Chance," has naturally attracted attention to his earlier books. His first two stories, " Almayer's Folly " and "An Outcast of the Islands," were published by Mr. Fisher Unwin in 1896 and 1898. Now Mr. Unwin is to issue cheap editions of them in his Adelphi Library, which already contains 'Mr. Conrad's ',' Tales of Unrest." Mr. Norman Gale has gathered into a volume the verse from his pen which h<? estimates jiiout highly- It is just published by the Macmilians and it should win * the reading of all good poetry lo^ere. Mr. Hale, it may be mentioned, has recently been writing a novel. The London Times, which lately reduced its price from threepence to a penny per copy, has published figures showing the average daily circulation f>f tho paper for the last fifty years, together with tho daily sales since the inauguration of tho now experiment.

From these figures it appears that the lowest period of the journal's fortunes was 1903, when, the daily circulation was between 35,000 and 36,000, and the highest (prior to the reduction) 186G, when it exceeded 70,000. From Ist to 7th May tho average daily circulation was over 170,000 — more than three times as much as it was a year ago. The greatest difficulty has been met with in obtaining paper of the hard white quality it has always been printed on. Six paper-mills have been hard pushed to keep up the supply, and this number is to be added to. Wo learn that Mr. J. T. Delane, who was so long associated with the leading journal ac editor, constantly urged the unwisdom of shrouding the actual sale of newspapers in secrecy. The open policy ha 6 been adopted, many years after his, death, and the actual net aales of the paper are now being announced. When the autumn comes Mr. Methuen will publish a new volume of poems by Mr. Alfred Noyes, whose literary fame has largely been won in Blackwood's Magazine. Messrs, Stanley Paul and Co. announce as an addition to their Empire Library series a novel by Mr. Arthur Hamilton Gibbs with the title xhe Hour of Conflict." Mr. A. H. Gibbs, a brother of Mr. Philip Gibbs, is said to possess the same powers of writing interesting novels as distinguish the author' of "ihe Street of Adventure." In a recently published volume of essays, the late Richard Middleton. better known in verse, thus writes on "Why Women Fail in Art":— "lt must be remembered that the standard of feminine education is steadily rising, and more women , are becoming self-supporting every year. Now, the whole tendency of modern education is to arouse in the individual that curious form of discontent known as ambition, without providing him, or her, with any efficient means of satisfying it In man this hopeful, helpless state of mind is almost normal, but for woman it has the Satal attraction of novelty Now, as it were in a dream, she sees the world that man has conquered opening to her feet, and, the dream being new, she does Jiot realise that the boundaries of that world aro no wider than the boundaries of tho kingdom that she has ruled hitherto; and she longs to change the substance for the Shadow. Revolting against 'tho divine purpose of her motherhood, she covets the unreal splendour of the purposeless lives of men. One of the last letters which " Nelson wrote 'to Lady Hamilton fetched £210 at the sale of the Hodgkin collection at Sotheby's. Under the heading " 'Victory,' off Portland, September 16th, 1805,_ at noon, wind west, foul," the letter included the following passage : — "We are standing near Weymouth, tho place of all others I should wish to avoid .... but should I be forced, 1 ''shall act as y, man and your Nelson, neither courting or ashamed to hold up my head before the greatest monarch in the world. I have, thank God, nothing to be ashamed of." (Weymouth was a favourite seaside residence of' George IV.). Viscount Bryce whites an introduction to a volume, "Travels and Politics in' Armenia," by Mr. Noel Buxton, M.P., and the Rev. Harold Buxton. The book forms a graphic account of recent travels in Russia and Turkish Armenia, and the political reflections are enhanced by experiences gained from many previous journeys in the Turkish Empire. These have especial value at a moment when that country is the subject of diplomatic action by all the Great Powers. Mr. Reginald R. Buckley has written a cL-ania which Williams and Norgate will publish with the title "Arthur of Britain " It was planned ten years ago, but has only now been completed. It is to be the Glastonbury Festival drama of next year, and so will on that account attract additional interest. Mr. Buckley has gone to the original sources of the Arthurian legend for his material. But | the characters are symbolic of living forces that move Britain for good and ill to-day. It is always said that' no one enjoys a joke more than G. K. Chesterton, and even when the joke tells against himself I ho never fails to be heard laughing above jtthe whole company. It is related that a certain man told of an act of politeness which he had witnessed. He had seen a man give up his seat in a tram-car to a lady. "That's nothing," said one ot the company. " What about old Chesterton here? I saw him get up and give his seat to three ladies." The company roared, but louder than the others was heard the jovial laughter of Ches- , terton. It is in more respects than one i that Chesterton lays claim to "greati ness." j ' 1 A really enterprising health or holiday ( town should commission a popular nove- ■ list to write a story about it as the best and most lasting form of advertisement i to' bring in visitors (remarks a London . writer). Thackeray's novels revived the i glories of Brighton as certainly as i "David Copperfield" and "Bleak House" . did much for Yarmouth and Broadstairs. Tourists followed " Lorna Doone " to Exmoor and Ilfracpmbe, and Combe Martin in the same district rose into notoriety as the scene of Miss Corelli's j " Mighty Atom." One of, Pierre Loti's books established Hycres as a social resort, while in the last few years Mr. H. G. Wells's romances have done for Sandgate and the Folkestone coast what Clarke Rnssell and Clement Scott's "Garden of Sleep" did, respectively for Deal and Cromer. The trouble about the pensions in Tennyson's day was how to get them (remarks a London writer). For Peel i knew little about literature and the drama, and cared less. When Tennyson's claim for a JP2CO pension came up, for instance, there was a rival in the field — Sheridan Knowles. Peel professed complete ignorance of both claimants. "What?" gasped Monckton Milncs. "Have you never seen the name of Sheridan Knowles on a playbill?" "No," replied Peel. "And have you never read a poem of Tennyson's?" Again the answer was in the negative, so Milnes sent him "Locksley Hall" and "Ulysses to stadj Peel, then, may have read them, but Tennyson got his pension. And Knowles's turn camelater. But ■ what an ideal magistrate Peel would have made, with that gift of ignorance of the everyday things that matter . Did Francis Bacon write Spenser's works as well as those of Shakespeare? T& sounds, rather a large indictment, but it is made in a book by Mr. E. G. Harman which Constables announce. The work is a critical examination of the writings of Edmund Spenser. As a lesult of his studies Mr. Harman concludes that the/real author of them was* Bacon, who Wrote under various "impersonations." Speaking recently at the Lyceum Club, Mr. Silas Hocking said he had written a novel which he could not get published. It was a- campaign novel on a subject that he thought should be ventilated, but publishers did not agree with him. Hearing this statement, Mr. Stanley Paul asked if he might see the story. Now ho is to publish it, and you may know it at the libraries by, the title, "Sword and Cross. "-