THE BOOKMAN

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 7, 9 January 1915, Page 11

THE BOOKMAN

"Memories of Mary Carrington." By H.V.L. Wellington i Whitcombe and Tombs, Ltd. Hero is a book which comes as a pleasant surprise to a reviewer. There is nothing in the title, nothing in the initials of the writer, to warn him that he is concerned with anything better than a task. He opens the book in an expectation of boredom, and is soon compelled to read with diligence and delight. Jle had feared the erode thought of an ill-furnished mind, yearning for publicity, and finds that Wellington has a writer of exceptional quality — a cultured, gentle meditator on the world and its ways. The book, in three parts — Sunshine, Shadow, Darknesspurports to give the messages of the late "Mary Carrington." Here the author makes a mistake, for the preface would incline an average reader to imagine that Wellington harboured lately a lovable woman of that name. That is not a rare ruse of writers, but usually the attempt at deception— if it is a serious attempt — is more easily detected than in this case. One critic in a contemporary has already fallen into the pitfall, and no doubt otherg will have a similar mishap. Howeve^ those who are misled will not cherish a grudge against I "H.V.L.," but will look for another book. The writer has a graceful style, which runs naturally, and the wellarranged words come from one whose eyes and heart are close to the beauty of nature. "The Admirable Carfew." By Edgar Wallace. Ward, Lock, and Co. The author gives pleasantly a series of important phases in the life of an irrepressible young man, Carfew, whose ready wit and daring and downright "front" carry him through anything and everything. Carfew volunteers for any kind of forlorn hope in business, and usually wins, handsomely. The sketches of this tornado of energy are done brightly ; even a languid reader will be hurried, along gladly. He would be asad man who would not be obliged to laugh heartily at some of Carfew'a "turns." " The Wolves and the Lamb." By J. S. Fletcher. WaTd, Lock, and Co. The title well explains the plot. It is an attempt by a smart, sleek business man, with a clever handsome woman — aconfidential secretary — as accomplicej toplunder a gullible young man, who has unexpectedly inherited a fortune. The» scheming is cleverly designed, and the odds are strongly' in. favour of the swindlers, but the victim has two or three friends, including a 6hrewd, pretty gir{, who suspect he as in the hands of -expert manipulators. Thus the tricksters, after enjoying a period, of profit, are foiled on the eve of a big move — and the guilelessyoung man is saved for the good girl. This bald outline barely does justice to the story, which is rich in incidents, well described. The characters are neatly drawn, and they move in » satisfactory manner. It is a distinctly lively narrative, ' " The White Lie." By William Le Queuz. Ward, Lock and Co.>. (London, Melbourne, and Toronto). Mr. Le Qneux can usually be trusted to furnish a lively plot. "The- White Lie" has sufficient "suspense interest" for even a cormorant of sensations — but it is not unhealthy excitement. The main figures are customary man and giri, but the figures are exceptional. The man is a villain of horrible dimensions, whose real character was, not revealed to the girl till after marriage. Then she escapes — and finds a worthy lover, whom she accepts as a husband in the "Belief that her former partner is dead. The rogue has" a miraculous resurrection — • and there is a complication. It is the " white lie" which makes- peace, but the lying is not done in a. manner to pervert the moral code of weak or unstable minds. "Our Soldiers and Sailors, in War and Peace." Ward, Lock, and Co., London and Melbourne. This is a capital book for children who want to know all about the Army and Navy. They cannot learn all about the services from its pages, but they can learn far more than most grown-up people know. The book is made up on the model of "The Wonder Book" series of the same origin, and is very liberally illustrated. The pictures, on the whole, are not the strongest feature, but there are some excellent coloured plates. "War in the Pacific," by Ambrose Pratt (published by Critchley Parker, Australia), sets the_ conflict with the Germans in the Pacific in a lurid light. As a -sea tale it is -excellent, and its conception Of a hidden naval base among a tangle of islands in the little known Pacific maze is quite ingenious. But now that the German squadron has been sunk, some of the passages seem too highly coloured. The book has its beastly side (an assortment of horrors). "The Year Book of Wireless Telegraphy and Telephony," issued by the Marconi Press Agency, London, is in its second year of issue, and fills admirably a gap in technical literature that 'was created as soon as wireless telegraphy became of commercial importance. The Year Book is nob a piece of light reading for the man in the street, but for one engaged in any business connected with wireless it is invaluable. There are many articles on progress and experiment; but chiefly, and inevitably, the volume has already become a sort of directory of wireles3 stations and a vademecum for the operator. A very valuable section gives the wireless laws and regulations that are in force in all the countries which have adopted a definite code. In two comprehensive tables, various technical details, including the transmitting charges and hours of service, are given for over > 700 land stations and about 4000 shin stations. A chapter of considerable interest to the S student, as well as of' vain© to maritime workers, deals in a detailed way with the system of international time and weather signals. The book, which is bulky, is very well arranged. "How Australia Took New Guinea" is the title of a volume published by Messrs. Angus and Robertson to commemorate the feat of the expedition. It is an excellent illustrated record, by F. S. Burnell. The pictures, printed on art paper, vividly bring the principal features and incidents of the enterprise before the reader. The book concludes with the names of the 6fficers and meH who wrested the territory from the Germans.