THE BOOKMAN

Evening Post, Volume CIII, Issue 47, 25 February 1922, Page 15

THE BOOKMAN

"Facing the Inevitable." By G.H.S. Melbourne-: The O. J. de Garis Publishing House. This is a singularly pathetic testamentary statement made by- one under sentence of death. The writer, whose initials are given as G.H.S., was an occasional 'contributor to the Brisbane Daily Mail, and the prefatory remarks to this little work are made by Mr. Farmer WRyte, editor of that journal, who was at one time a member of the editorial staff of the- New Zealand Herald. G.H.S. always impressed Mr. Whyte as a man out of the ordinary run of men] remarkably well informed, a captivating talker,, a profound thinker, and, above all, a very modest man. As the business world counts success, G.H.S. had1 not been successful, at any rate, he had riot made money; but he had lived in a large world with, plenty of elbow roam for his mind. Then cams tho sentence of death, as Mt. W-hyte describes it: —

"Leaning heavily upon his stick, his face pale and drawn, and a feed: look in his eyes, he entered: my office, and sat down. 'Peirhaps I shall not see you again,' he said, 'the doctors have just told me I am dying of cancer. They have given me six months to live. It may be less.' ... He spoke with a. quiet air of i-esigtiation. Then he promised to vyirite something—his last work and testament. What he wrote is the article giving the title to this little book. He was but 44." Mr. O. J. do Garis, the publisher, writes : "To my mind', the book is worthy of universal acceptance and study." The reader will subscribe to this. "Face-to-face with eternity," writes G.H.S., "I can truthfully say that death once held more genuine terrors for me than it does at the present moment." He disclaims writing for effect : the subject and circumstances are too real. "Facing death," he writes, "I do not fear it now. I' will riot go so far as William Oullen Bryant, and holdi it easy for mortal man to approach the grave with, complacency, like one 'who wraps about him the soft drapery of his couch, and lies, down "to pleasant dreams.' I do not feel quits like that about it, for the simple reason, that I would much VatheT live then die. But of personal consternation. I experience no trace, and I am satisfied that a man can find himself faced with, the prospect of a speedy and premature dissolution, and yet retain the essential elements of peace and happiness."

So, in graceful English, G.H.S. proceeds to relate the experiences of ( a maa who knows his end is near, among men whose last thought is all of that. As he looks over the verandah rail, and sees ■the trees putting forth their young and tender shoots, he asks himself : "Where shall I be when they burst in their blaze of green, and gold, and crimson?" But ever present is th© thought that all theee thingr are passing. The ceitain thing is death; and yet "I cherish the hope (he writes) that d«alh doee not end all. . Why should I not?" And' then the man's life is reviewed. "The evil I hay done I sincerely repent; andi I would repent it even were I not fated so soon to depart this life." . Regret is expressed for wasted opportunities, and the hope is ventured that "I die at peacei with, all mankind?—or nearly all. One deadly injury was lately inflicted on me, with, gloating malevolence, despite my state of health; and that I am human enough. to feel I can never forgive this side of eternity. But let it pass." Ftoto recording this' bitter memory enduring to the la^t flicker of his life, G.H.S. passes to wish all mankind well, and' that the "grand, old flag" may evermore float ov«t a people happy, prosperous, and united, and closes with the following lines, written of a depaxtedi friend :— From every eye shall be removed The silent tear for those beloved; Not lost^-the morn shall vet arise,

When ooe'd the gates of Paradise To all shall be, as now to him Whom angels sweet and seraphim, Have welcomed to that radiant throng Which live 3 and moves in fadeless song, Whose matchless lays and symphonies Reverberate, through all the ekiea, Where mighty, myriad clusters shine, - And nought obscures the All-Divine.

"Facing the Inevitable" is, in all truth, a remarkable human document, recalling Waif Whitman's line "Henceforth I whimper no more."

" The Key-Note.'' By .Clara Louise Burnham, and "In Pawn,!' by Ellis Parker Butler. New York: Houghton. Mifflin Co. (Ferguson and Osborn, Wellington.)

This is a delightfully refreshing story of the buoyancy and happiness of love —with service. An island " lopping right out of the Atlantic, with plenty of New England rocks in the fields, and drifts of daisies and wild roses for decoration, and huge rocky teeth around the shore that grind the waves into spray and spit ( it up flying towards the sky" is the author's setting for the love story of Philip Harrison for Diana Wilbur. There is the quaintest comradeship too between a lady visitor to the island and a boy whose will-power has been subdued by a scheming uncle, " The Key-note '' of the environment which, she encourages for the boy's good is a love that has all the beauty, patience, and sacrifice of parenthood. Most young readers will probably enjoy this story. "In Pawn" is another bright little human story by the author of "Pigs is Pigs." It is one of those books one is so often advised with emphasis " You must read this story." The scene is laid in a Mississippi small town, and deals with small town types, carefully selected and admirably posed in the picture. There are easy but humorous views on the solubility of the marriage bond, and much is made out of some irrational lying, which is also made amusing. "In Pawn " is an excellent example of American novels of its kind.