THE BOOKMAN

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 106, 31 October 1914, Page 11

THE BOOKMAN

ABOUT PIONEERS. i "Early Rangitikei." By J. G. Wilson. Wellington : Whitcombe and Tombs. As president at the annual conferences of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, Mr. Wilson has made himself well luwyn to the people of New Zealand. He is ah experienced farmer, of keen observation .'md abundance of energy. His history of the Rangitikei has a vigorous style which is fharacteristic of a man who has fought his way to the front in the land battle. " Many," he remarks in his preface, " have supplied records of their work elsewhere, but although Rangitikei is ono of the oldest settlements, no record is in existence of the early settlers who made it. It is to record something of their personality, work, and life that I have gathered a few facts about them, and, although very meagre and unfatisfy- | lug, I detennintjti to publish them, so tho.b tJieir pari should not be forgotten. They lived the truly simple Hie, with little money and indifferent markets, no means of transit except by btillock-dra^ or boat: no roads, sa\e Maori tracks or along riverbeds. Living in Maori-built whares, yet they had stout hearts, and no doiibl they dreamt dreams of the future of the country in the hands of their descendants.'' Mr. Wilson tells of many thrilling adventures of settlers — many stirriiig days in the old tim&s of trouble. Many well-known ilgures, pakeha and Maori, oross^ the stage in thcj.fc drama of Rangitikei. ' The progress of the district, through many difficulties, is dearly s»t out. The book should have a hearty welcome among people of that locality, and also among those Ne^v iiealenders generally who have ah. interest in the struggles of the pioneers, through storm and stress. " The Prince of GfaUstark." By G«orge Barr M'Cutcheon. New York : Dodd, Mead, and Co. The teaching of European geography has been so much extended in these later days that it is hard to believe in Graastark: nevertheless, as Mr. M'Cufccheon clearly proves, there is such a place as far as his writirtgis ate concerned, and it is within a train journey of Vienna and within diplomatic distance of St. Petersburg — ot, as the author does not call it, Petrograd. Gfaustark has already been familiarised to readers of this popular author, but the delightful story of the gay and independent Prince's search for a proper bride is novel in every respect. For one reader who likes philosophy in his fiction there are twenty who prefer elegant dialogue and lively change of scene* These ate liere in plenty, and one lives with the Prince and his troubled entourage one minute, and in the cutjous atmosphere of' the American millionaire (of the ''jumped-up" variety) the next. There is in the story -as pretty a courtship as the most romantic young people could desire. And to keep the best for the last, the reader will find, ten> lines from the end of the Volume, one of the most complete surprises he has ever had in any booL The whole story is thoroughly enjoyable; and when it is done and the reader has had the shock, there is first an irresistible desire to take Mr M'Cutcheon out and kick him for a literary swindler. But it is followed immediately by a much stronger desire to take Mr. M'Cutcheon out and ask j ftim what he will have. A timely book on Samoa has been published by Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs. The writer, Mr. James Cowan, is well known by his books and articles on Maori life and history and the scenery of New Zealand. The descriptive work, which is well done, covers a wide range. As the honour of the* seizure of Samoa is chiefly credited to New Zealand, the people here are naturally interested in the new addition to the British Empire, at Germany's cost. The widespread desire for information about the islands and the natives, from various viewpoints, ia brightly met by Mr. Cowan, and the letterpress is fittingly helped by a good array of pictures. With the print and illustrations on art paper, the_ book has an attractive appearance, •which should appeal to tho public.