NEW BOOKS

Evening Star, Issue 21784, 28 July 1934, Page 19

NEW BOOKS

WHALING PAST AND PRESENT ‘ Whalemen Adventurers ’ is destined to be the authority oil whaling in Australian ami New Zealand waters, which include the floss Sea, just as Keblo Chatterton’s ‘ Whalers aud Whaling ’ is u recognised book on world whaling. Professor W. J. Dakin, of.the chair of zoology at Sydney University, has prepared for general reading a mass of information. ‘Whalemen Adventurers’ is wonderfully interesting, untecliuicnl, and comprehensive, surveying the industry from the earliest to the present day. To the whalers must be given the credit for pioneering the settlement of Australia and New Zealand, particularly to tho English firm of Samuel Enderby and Sons, whose Emilia was the first vessel to round Gape Horn and whale in the Pacific. Dr Dakin has ransacked libraries for manuscripts, and ho throws light on the early history of New Zealand, recording that the William and Ann (Captain Ebor Bunker) was the first whaler to visit the colony, and letters between the Weller brothers, who had a station at Otago Heads. Whaling declined, and tho Provincial Council of Otago’s offer of a bonus of £SOO in i 73 to the first whaler , to. fill up hero was of no avail. In more recent years the Norwegians have indulged in pelagic whaling in tho Ross Sea. over which this dominion has jurisdiction. The Larsen Company, Dr Dakin recalls, paid licenses and royalty to New Zealand, but the Kosmos steamed into Wellington in 1930 with a record catch valued at £500,000 without paying licenses. “ ’ am told that tho old Larsen Company asked for its money back—tho money it had unnecessarily paid for years—hut this may he a yarn,” writes Dr Dakin. International movement, tho sincere attempt of the Norwegian Government to stem the tide of whale destruction and the - League of Nations’ effort has had its effect, and whaling companies are now expected to enter its agreements. The depression was an economic suppression of the industry, the year following a record kill, and since then no .Norwegian ships have sailed to the Ross Sea from New Zealand. C. A. Larsen was the greatest of all Antarctic whalers, as he revived the industry towards the end df last century. The world salutes his memory, but one cannot but be impressed by Dr Dakin’s book that the British Empire, the Home stock of which included whalers, has lost a fortune by not venturing into the industry in prolific waters over which its holds territorial rights. Dr Dakin lias made a practical as ivell as academic study of whaling, and he has produced an extremely valuable work. The history is coloured with many high incidents and illuminated by reliable information on every phase whaling, both bay and pelagic. Its relation to New Zealand merits it a place on the bookshelves of all collectors. Finally, ■the- publication is a- credit to Messrs' Angus and Robertson.

LASSETER’S GOLD REEF Errol Cootc was the first aviator to he associated with the expedition to find Lnssetter’s reef in Central Australia, and, being a journalist by occupation. he is particularly fitted to relate the stirring and Herculean struggles of the party. , The title of his story, published by the Peterman Press, is ‘ Devil’s Airport.’ Mr Coote was present at the Trades Hall in Sydney when Lasseter walked in and caught the ear with his declarations that he could lead -a party to the desert, where many years ago a mate and ho had located a fabulously rich reef, hut they had found their watches and their observations an hour out when they returned to civilisation. .Money was raised and the expedition set out, only to be overtaken by disaster. Mr Coote candidly admits that he soon had cause to lose faith in Lasseter’ 9 word, but at the end he realised that the old miner had not made one false statement. At one stage Lasseter advised tlie party to return a long distance and take another course into the desert, and it seems now that if the expedition had followed his advice the reef might have been discovered. As it was, Lasseter went alone into the dpsfert. His camels ran away, and Lasseter lived until his death among an aboriginal tribe. The motor and aerial transport of the expedition , broke down, aiid Coote was himself rescued fropi a crash at the devil’s airport in an exhausted condition. Those who have read ‘ Lasseter’s Last Ride.’ which should be read before ‘ Devil’s Airport,’ will remember that Flying-officer Eaton rescued Hamre and Pendigh, the two aviators who were at death’s dopr, an incident only given passing mention by Mr Coote. His book is the aerial supplement to Idriess’s story. He has had adventures well worth telling about. The book is exceptionally profusely illustrated, the onlv omission being a map. which would be invaluable to readers making their first acquaintance with that fascinating but relentless country in which Lasseter’S reef is still undiscovered.

THE WHITE PYTHOH Here is a real thriller hy Mark Charming. It is not a murder mystery. We are taken to Tibet, that cold and forbidding land of mystery and intrigue. The unexpected death of the Dalai Lama and the circumstances surrounding it bring to the British authorities knowledge of dangerous international machinations, in which a notorious Russian agent is taking a part. Colin Gray, .a' young British officer, is sent by his chief on his first secret service mission to unravel the tangled skein, and to checkmate the evil designs of the foreign interloper. As can be imagined, the task allotted to Gray is one calling for a stout heart and nerves of steel. Most men can show bravery when confronted with ah enemy, but it requires immense courage to venture into a country like Tibet, where black magic and sorcery are practised and many dreadful deeds are done in secret. Mr dimming in soine of the incidents recorded tests the reader’s credulity, hut he produces an .excellent story, and -his word pictures of the weird country of whmh ho writes show ru intimate knowledge of that part of the East, and are most convincing. The publishers of ‘ The White Python ’ are Hutchinson and Co. Our copy is from Whitcombe and Tombs.

DICKENS’S 1 LIFE OF CHRIST ’ It bad been knowft that'one small book by Charles Dickens remained unpublished. Ho had not written it for publication. A firm believer in the divinity of Christ, Dickens frequently told his children the Gospel story, and one day, twenty-one years before his death, ho wrote it for them. One is amazed at the industry of the man, who immersed in the toil of strenuous days yet found time for a labour of love such as this. The manuscript is entirely handwritten, and is told iii simple language for those who had not reached mature years. Marie Dickens, his granddaughter, in a foreword says: “ Quite apart from its Divine subject, the manuscript is peculiarly personal to the novelist,' and it is not so much a revelation ot his mind ns a tribute to his heart and humanity, and also his deep devotion to our Lord.” After Dickens’s death the manuscript of ‘ The Life of Our Lord ’ remained in the possession of his sister-in-law, Miss Georgina Hogarth. When she died in 1917 it came into the possession of the novelist’s youngest son, Sir Henry Fielding Dickens. Ho was averse from publishing the work during his own lifetime, but intimated that he saw no objection to publication after bis death, provided that the majority of his family were in favour of this being done. So this year it has been given to the world. All Dickens lovers will make haste to obtain a copy of ‘ The Life of Our Lord.’ More than that, this simple, rhoving story, as told by a master, is likely tp .appeal to all those who desire that the precepts and examples of the Founder of Christianity shall, sink into the minds of their children. The book is beautifully printed and illustrated. In addition to a fine photograph of the novelist, famous pictures by Holman Hunt, Jalabert, Raphael, Ford Madox Brown, Leonardo da Vinci, Mdnkacsy, and Kcbren are reproduced. Written in the circumstances described, it might have been thought that the Dickens family would have been wiser not to have the book published. Happily any such fear is dissipated on perusal of ‘ The Life of Our Lord.’ Tho publishers aro Associated Newspapers, London. Our copy comes from Whitcombe and Tombs. ‘ GONE RUSTIC ’ In ‘Gone Rustic,’ Mr Cecil Roberts has written a delightful book. .Like Mrs Marion Gran, he became a gardener by chance. A remark by an old gentlewoman, of English birth, long exiled ill California, induced him on his return to his. native land, to search i’of a cottage in the country. At lust he found and acquired one, a picturesque Elizabethan timbered place, set in a quarter of ah acre, not very far from London. Mr Roberts’s story of how he set about making Pilgrim Cottage—for such was its name—comfortable, ahd how gradually he revelled ifa the joys of gardening is brightly and humorously told. But his interest is not confined to house and garden. He takes in The countryside with its rural dwellers. Fascinating bits of history are also enshrined in tho pages of the bookmemories ot Roman roads, of Chaucer (the tomb of his brother’s, son is in a village close by), a lid of j King Clihrles I. The chimney where Dick Turpin Hid is described, and many quaint old-world cottages. The beauties of the countryside and its feathered inhabitants are revealed with a graphic pen, and among many bits of useful knowledge imparted is o recipe for parsnip wine.' Many people know.Mr Roberts as a novelist. Few have realised that he is a poet, This book proves that he has considerable abilities as a maker of verses. His ‘ Prayer for An Old Gai'dener ’ has a particular appeal* and is likely to be found m the anthologies qf the future. ’ Gone Rustic ’ is indeed a pleasant change from the spate ofmystery stories and futile sex novels with which the book world is invaded to-day., ;

*MOROSCO' Mr Roland Pertweo is a writer of interesting romances. If lie rises to no very high flights of prose or imagination, ho is a literary craftsman skilled enough to fasten the attention of his readers. Mr Anthony Hope made a great hit with his Ruritarian romances, and many novelists have followed the trail that lie blazed. The handsome and muscular public school Englishman who meets in the Riviera the hapless heiress to some mid-European principality or kingdom,. and by his bravery wins for her the place to which she is entitled, forms the basis for litany a popular romance. In ‘Morosco’. Mr Pertweo revives the spirit of chivalry and medievalism. It is a tale of hazard, adventure, and romance, for love plays a prominent part in tile book. It is a novel for the young in years equally with those who are still yhnrig in heart and cah appreciate a tale of high endeavour. . The publishr ers of ‘ Morosco ’ are Ivor Nicholson and Watson Limited;

SOCIETY DRAMA Readers who like sugared melodrama will be pleased with ‘ Strange Rendezvous,’ by Hilda Danvers Dearden. Lady Barabel, in London society, takes to gambling as an antidote to boredom, and is caught in a trap of her own making. To save her own good name and that of her husband, and td stop a public scandal, she keeps a rendezvous, at the Cosmos Hotel made by the villain of the piece, Frederick Berners. Other ,N oop)e also keep that strange rendezvous in suite 99. and as a murder occurs there things begin to liappen. and Lady Barabel finds herself in a worse hole than before. But everything comes right in the end, arid Lady Barabel and her husband find that they are still in love with each other. , Messrs Graysori Ltd. (London) are the publishers, and our copy is from Messrs Whitcome and Tomb?.