BOOKS AND BOOKMEN

Evening Star, Issue 22514, 5 December 1936, Page 23

BOOKS AND BOOKMEN

A LITERARY CORNER

VERSES <• I lay ME DOWN AND SLUMBER" I lay me down and slumber ; And every morn revive. [Whose is the night-long breathing That keeps me man alive? When I was off to dreamland ‘ And left my limbs forgot, Who stayed at home to mind them. And breathed when-1 did not? I waste my time in talking, V No heed at all takes he, My kind and foolish comrade ; i That breathes all night for me. _A.-E. Housman’s ‘More Poms.’ ■\ ■ » THE STINGING NETTLE The stinging nettle only ; Will still be found to stand: , The numberless, the lonely, ■ The thronger of the land, .The leaf that hurts the hand. It thrives, come sun, come showers, Blow east, blow.west, it springs. It peoples towns, and towers V'- Above the courts of Kings. And touch, it and it stings. —A.' E. Honsman’s ‘ More Poems.’ «TARRY DELIGHT, SO SELDOM MET " Tarty delight, so seldom met, So sure, to perish, tarry still; Forbear to cease or languish yet, Though soon you must and will. By Sestos town, in Hero’s tower. Oh Hero’s heart Leander lies; Tfie signal torch has burned its hour And sputters as it dies. Beneath him, in the nighted firth, ’ Between two continents complain The seas he swam .from earth to earth And he must swim again. —A E. Hpusman’s ‘ More Poems.’ ; is : ; ' —— — ' ' * ' ”5, A. E. HOUSMAN vl—. , There has just been .published ‘ More Poems,’ a final, selection from the verse left in manuscript by A. E. Housm*n. chosen’, with the poet’s permission, by his brother, Mr Laurence Housman. ‘ The Times,’ in an article welcoming, the small volume, writes: “Housman has his ardent admirers who value his poetry principally for a quality commoner in Latin than in English poetry : the refinement, as we say- of gold .and of. spirit—which achieves the • utmost purity in the smallest bulk, and leaves beauty so perfected that ,to change a word or even a syllable is to rum the whole. Besides these, Housman has a much larger number of readers who continually attracted; and puzzled, by the contrast between the front that he presented to the world—the austere and ■ ruthlessly ‘ scientific scholar—and the acute emotions, the trembling susceptibility ,to enjoyment, the passionate regret, and the fundamental bitterness first revealed in A Shropshire Lad ’ and , confirmed in l>nst Poems.’ ” . , ... ‘ The Times,’ ina leading article remarks: “Comparison between Housman and Hardy is inevitable and by rather trite; but there is a distinction to be drawn. Hardy s so-called • pessimism ’ involves more sentiment than Housman's. He pities these ■simple, suffering, deluded men and women. Housman’s pessimism is rather an intellectual resolution. He knows, he can prove, that life is not good. He says so sometimes through the 'persons of rural youths, not because he is more sorry for them than for anyone else, but because their snnplietty helps him to speak .his mind with 1 the simplest classic precision. He was,;one of those of whom Bridges wrote in ‘ The Testament of Beauty - ■ earnest thinkers, who for love of truth refuse to blink dishonestly the tribulation of man, I hut deem it final truth, and see no cure thereof, npr -solace save what brave_ distrac- ’ ‘ tion of thought may bring in further keen pursuit of knowledge. These, in a slipshod world, are men not undeserving of honour. And even the cheeriest shirker of that ‘ full look at the Worst,’ exacted by any ‘ way to tM Better ’ there may be, must admit that in Housman’s poetry (whatever the truth of his life) the classic and the romantic were • mingled to fine issue.” A plaque bearing the inscription, “ In this bouse was born Rupert Brooke, A. 8., 1887,” has been placed over the front door of the poet’s birthplace at No. 5 Hillmorton road, Rugby. Sir James Barrie as a cricketer is described by Madame de Navarro (Mary Anderson), in her book, ‘A Few More Memories,’ as “ not a shining light. . . .1 never saw him make a single run. -His specialty seemed to. be (poultry.” She refers to his book. ‘ The Allahakbarre Book of Broadway Cricket,’ which had surely the smallest circulation of any. Barrie hook. It ran to only one edition of 22 copies, being privately, printed for the members of two cricket teams,' one of which was captained by Sir James Barrio and the - other by Mary Anderson. The book consists of a whimsical forecast of an impending match between the two teams at Broadway, Worcestershire; and that of Sir James should have scored in literature and ant, if not, on the scoring board, for his players numbered among them such names as Owen Seaman, Augustine Birrell, Bernard Partridge, A. E. W. Mason, aid £. T. Reid.

NEW BOOKS A HEW ZEALAND NATURALIST MR GUTHRIE-SMITH’S LATEST BOOK. To all lovers of wild things, the name of Mr H. Guthrie-Smith is familiar. Fate made him a sheep farmer, inclination a naturalist. He has written several, books ■ that have commanded wide attention and admiration, and now we have what he declares will be his last work. - It is entitled ‘Sorrows and Joys of a New Zealand Naturalist.’ Time, flies along, and it is hard to realise that it is 25 years since Mr Guthrie-Smith wrote ‘ Birds of the Water, Wood, and Waste,’ a work that bought him much praise and little criticism. In the intervening years the author has supplemented his extensive knowledge by patient study and observation, gained at the expense of much discomfort' and even hardship. lii his new, book the author sums up certain conclusions at which he Has arrived after many years of close study of Nature in New Zealand. “ During the last century and a-half,” he says, “successive tides of biological change have swept New Zealand, each of them bringing its special peril to the ancient inhabitants of land and water.” These are no arm-chair speculations, but, continues the author, “ will be considered from the point of view of one who has lived his life in the back country, and a considerable part of whose time has been spent on unpeopled coasts, islands difficult of access, and barren river-beds. Under canvas, in shepherds’ huts, in grimy gold-washers’ shanties, in the oily wig-wains of mut-ton-birders, the writer nas enjoyed opportunities at first hand and on the spot for consideration of the problems presented. There is a note or sadness in the book on account of precious things that have been destroyed as the result of the march of settlement. On the whole, however, we have been luckier than might have been expected considering the circumstances. The destruction of the bush and the wellmeant but unfortunate importations by Governments and acclimatisation societies have been disastrous to much of our wild life, but luckily definite preservation measures are having a good effect, and few of our unique birds are extinct. Mr Guthrie-Smith has the scientific mind, enthusiasm for his subject, an, encyclopedic knowledge of bird life* inexhaustible patience, and the>gift of expressing himself with marked literary facility. He records the results of many expeditions to remote parts of the mainland and to the outlying islands. To say that tips book is an important contribution to a subject of the deepest interest is trite, but it is nevertheless true. Sorrows and Joys of a New Zealand Naturalist ’ is” beautifully illustrated with nearly a hundred plates. The publishers of this fine bookare Messrs A. H. and A. W. Reed, Dunedin and Wellington. A LOST MAORI TRIBE Another interesting addition to the ‘ Raupo ’ series of New Zealand booklets published by Messrs A. H. and A. W Reed, is 1 The Last of the Ngati Mamoe,’ by H. Fildes. Although small the booklet is attractively presented, with- several interesting reproductions of sketches and photographs. The account begins with the observations of the Ngati Mamoe made by Captain Cook on his various visits to New Zealand at a time when the tribe was on the decline, and .concludes with statements made by a Government ranger towards the close of last century. Once owners of the whole of the South Island, Cook met them in Dusky Sound, and then saw only a few families. Students of Maori history are continually intrigued by the possibility of some part of the tribe being still in existence in the remoter parts of Fiordland, and the author deals very thoroughly with i notes made of the Maoris seen in that district. The belief that “ a wild and untamable race of savages ” (presumed to be Ngati Mamoe) were living in Fiordland was prevalent during the latter part of last century, and the Otago Provincial Government even went as far in 1868 as to issue a manifesto cautioning golddiggers and others of these savages. Although much of the material has been published before, this is the first time that a complete record has been presented. and the only fault ope could find with the publication is that it is much too short. • OLD HEART GOES ON A JOURNEY 1 ‘ Old Heart Goes on a Journey ’ is a delightfully told story by Hans Fallada, author of the well-known ‘ Little Man; What Now?’ the translation from the German having been made by Eric Sutton. There is a charm and naturalness about his characters that make an instant appeal. A retired schoolmaster, immersed in an erudite commentary on the Scriptures, receives one day an odd emissary with an urgent message from a god-daughter whose very existence he has forgotten. Rosemarie, the daughter of an old friend, is in dire trouble and appeals for help to her god-father. To the horror of his solicitous housekeeper the old professor insists on leaving his familiar and comfortable study in Bert in for the wilds of Macklenburg. His adventures are such as could be produced only by the fertile, imaginative faculty of such a writer as Fallada. The professor finds the girt in the clutches of a villainous guardian and his wife, who are plotting to possess themselves of her heritage and her dead father’s farm. The old man is mixed up in a plot by the children of the locality to rescue Rosemarie from her bondage, he is arrested for not paying for a meal at an inn, and is suspected of abduction and "nearly mobbed. But in the end ftbe absent-mindedness that had got him into, all this trouble gets him out of it; for ho has forgotten for years to spend his substantial pension, which bad been growing in the bank. It solves the problem for him and for Rosemarie. Messrs Putnam and Company Limited, London, are the publishers of this delightful story.

CLEVERLY WRITTEN ROMANCE ‘Property Wife/ by Margaret Ferguson (Hutchinson), may be confidently recommended to all who enjoy an attractively written and lively romance. Miss Ferguson has the gift of investing her characters with life, she has a bright style, and she writes convincingly. Her latest story tells of Gilbert Carfax, a screen idol, who, to escape the attentions of Tania Ripon, a ravishing society beauty, enters into a business arrangement to marry his secretary, Priscilla Roxburgh. A conventional enough theme, but developed along rather different lines, and complicated a little by the fact that Michael Drake, an English actor, is in love with Priscilla. Much of the story is laid in Hollywood, and the author reveals sympathy and understanding with the difficulties and trials besetting the path of a famous film star. Gilbert Carfax and Priscilla Roxburgh are both vivid and well-drawn characters, and Michael Drake, the “ faithful friend,” is a human study and not the priggish type drawn by some writers. The reader is kept in suspense to the last page, but there is an eminently satisfactory ending. Our copy of this bright and cleverly written novel comes from Messrs Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd. 1 SUNDOWN CAFE• With a setting somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. ‘ Sundown Cafe,’ the latest novel from the pen of Kenneth Perkins, tells of the fearsj superstitions, and adventures of the inhabitants of a lonely cafe. A sailor is killed, and Herzog, the innkeeper, lays him to rest in a tomb once built for a Mexican general. Then there enters upon the scene a Creole beauty, a “bouncer,” who decides to replace Herzog as owner of the inn, and finally Glamours, who came looking for the body of his brother. It is the old plot of the black sheep of the family running away to sea, being killed in a cafe brawl, and a tradition that all mariners in his family must be buried at sea. The author relies mainly on his excellent powers of description and command of English to present an entertaining story. The characters are very well depicted, and some delightful comedy incidents provide relief from the more dramatic portions of the novel. The .publishers of ‘ Sundown Cafe ’ are Messrs Wright and Brown, and our copy comes from Messrs Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd./ -‘l, 1 FOUR HEDGES• 1 Four Hedges: A Gardener’s Chronicle,’ by Clare Leighton (Gollancz), is a delightful book and will appeal naturally to, gardeners, but it is so charmingly written that it should fascinate all Nature lovers. It carries the reader over a year—from the English April to March. A new garden is formed by an enthusiastic married couple on the Chiltern Hills. Exposed to every wind that blows, its soil is chalk; its flower beds a pale grey. Four years before the writing of the book it was rough meadow land, housing only larks and field mice. The gardeners’ enthusiasm and patience in the face of the inevitable set-backs they experience told in the end, and a garden almost equal to their desires and imaginings' appeared. From the early spring till late autumn the reader_ is taken step by step along the procession of flowers. Success and failure are recorded. The writer graphically describes the troubles encountered by frost and wind, by drought and excessive moisture, ns well as by the ravages of pests that so greatly hamper a gardener’s activities. The authoress loves birds as well ns flowers, and the feathered inhabitants and visitors to the garden are vividly pictured. The value of the book, which is a valuable contribution to the literature of the garden, is enhanced by a series of fine woodcuts. • HEBRIDEAN HOLIDAY • ‘ Hebridean Holiday,’ by Owen Hamilton (Williams and Norgate), was written after a tour among the mountains, lochs, and islands of the West of Scotland. This is a fascinating country of which very little is known. The names Inverary, Oban, Mull, and Skye have been made familiar through song and story, but the average reader is ignorant of life and conditions in these western places in Scotland; The author quotes the words of Fiona Macleod: “ The brain of the Gael hears a music that is sadder than any music there is, and has for its cloudy sky a gloom that shall not go, for the end is neat, and upon the westernmost shores of these remote isles the voice of Celtic sorrow may be heard crying ‘ Cha till, cha till, cha till mi tuille ’ (I will return, I will return, I will return no more).” The author realises the mystery and romance of the Hebridean hills and lochs, and records his impressions with the skill of a competent literary craftsman. He describes the crofters in their pride and independence and mystic imaginings and remarks: “The deeper one penetrates Nature the finer seem the people, both men and women. For in solitude features grow somehow spiritualised.” Those who appreciate the mystic qualities of the Celt and respond to the grey beauty of mist-enshrouded islands will like this book. It is finely written. A FAMILY STORY ‘ Many Mansions,’ by Joan • Devon (Herbert Jenkins),-is an interesting family story in a modern setting. It is a tale of a young married couple. They have two children on whom their hopes are centred. The parents do not believe in Solomon’s rule, but •rather in free development and selfexpression. Then the mother dies prematurely, and the father finds himself unequal to the task of controlling the young people. The theme is well developed, and the complications that arise are of a kind that are familiar in these days when latitude replaces reasoned discipline.

•SPIDER SPINNING' With a background of rocks and sea, storms and sunshine, 1 Spider Spinning,’ the latest story by Princess Paul Troubetzky, is an absorbing story of the lives of hardy fisher folk. On one of the remote Scilly Isles there are still a few of the original inhabitants left. Inbreeding and solitude have made them a peculiar type, and when pretty Ann Penrith came to live there she had to face not only the brutality of her husband, but tne enmity of the islanders. She comes under the evil influence of old Marty Perro, the last “ witch ” on the' island, and is persuaded to flee from her unhappy life. The scheming old woman murders the husband, has the blame fixed on someone else, and persuades the young wife to end her life in the sea. The motive of the murderess is to have revenge on the husband, who had repelled her advances, and to secure possession of the property. But fortunately her villainy is unmasked at the eleventh hour, the man accused of the crime is cleared and the young woman is rescued just in_ time. The unusual characters of this novel are very well drawn. The publishers are Messrs Robert Hale and Co., London. PROFESSOR WALTER MURDOCH Professor , Murdoch is an Australian whose reputation as an essayist goes far beyond the borders of the Commonwealth. In addition to a deep understanding of men and the things that engross them and wide historical knowledge, the author has outstanding literary gifts and a keen sense of humour. His latest book is entitled ‘ Lucid Intervals,’ and the essays that it contains are as entertaining as those which appeared in his other books. * The Pink Man’s Burden ’ is an example .of the author’s power of gentle satire. It is an answer to Vociferous Persons of varying colour. ' “ There will be no vituperation,” he says. “ We of the pink company will never roar with rage. The gentle remonstrance is more in our line. We are a mild folk. We are used .to being called by various insulting names. We are Laodiceans. We have the bourgeois mentality, we are flatly sentimentalists and anaemic worms. We are told twice a day that there is no room on earth for such as we; ‘ that nothing worth the doing was ever done by lukewarm persons like us.” The pint man, says Professor Murdoch, believes in peaceable methods, in the gradual education of public opinion as the only lasting way of reform, all other remedies being in the long run worse than the disease. Nothing will make the pink man believe in violence as a cure for the world’s ills. He stands between the extremists who are so vociferous to-day; all he claims is to be as pink as he chooses. This book of stimulating essays is published by Angus and Robertson, Sydney. FOR YOUNG PEOPLE Mary Grant Bruce is so well-known and greatly appreciated as a writer of books for young people that it is sufficient to say that a new story by her is on sale to create an instant demand. Her tales are specially adapted for Christmas gifts. We have received from the publishing house of Ward, Lock, and Co, her latest work, ‘ Circus Ring.’ Her readers again take the road with Peterson’s travelling show, sharing the ups and downs of circus life and the courage and laughter of the people of the sawdust ring. This story of comradeship and adventure .will greatly appeal to the child lucky enough to .possess a copy. ‘ Stout Fellows,’ for the very young, is by Dorothy Wall, who writes as entertainingly as she illustrates, which is saying a great deal. This is the story of Chum, Angelina, Wallaby, Dm-Pig, and Flip. Dorothy Wall is not only an entertaining writer and an artist of rare ability, but she has the power of humanising her animals in a most entertaining way. 4 Stout Fellows ’ is published by Angus and Robertson, Sydney. 1 The Favourite Picture * Book ’ (Ward, Lock, and Co.) contains'24 colour plates and numerous other illustrations of negro boys puppies, and kittens who get into all kinds of scrapes, rabbits and mice, emus, giraffes, and other queer creatures. A noble Father Christmas appears, and many other features appropriate to the festive season, , A beautifully illustrated 4 Picture Book of Trains ’ comes from the publishers (Messrs Ward, Lock, and Co.). It has 16 colour plates and tells in simple language, and printed in big type, the working arrangements of trains. A most suitable present for Father Christmas to bring to the little ones, JEFFERY FARNOL 4 Pageant of Victory ’ is Jeffery Fai*nol’s latest book. It is ambitious in its scope, and it can definitely be said that it is one of his best. The scene is laid im the United States, and the opening chapter shows the beginning of the War of Independence. Antony Falconbridge was one of Washington s officers and a personal friend. 1* rom this point the novel deals with major events in the country’s history right down to the present day, and an Antony Falconbridge takes a leading part in the various developments—political, social, and industrial. Mr Farnol uses a wide canvas very convincingly. He pictures the conditions in the pioneer stage, the slow but methodical penetration of the white man to the Indian fastnesses, the courage and fortitude of the men and women who blazed the trail. Then the author takes his reader to the time of the Civil War, with little nen .pictures ot Lincoln and Grant. When the appalling mess is cleared up the growth qt the country’s industrial resources is described. ” Antony Falconbridge the Third as a young man took part in the Civil War. Afterwards he became a leading industrialist and financier. Living to a great age, the last noteworthy incident in his career was to grapple with a rival organisation that was endeavouring by underhand methods to ruin his great business. This novel gives a graphic account ot certain phases of American history. It contains elements, of tragedy and comedy, pathos and humour, courage and fortitude, selfishness and self-ab-negation. Mr Farnol must bate studied assiduously the history of the American people, and he has made himself intimately acquainted with the life and work of the people to-day. Sampson Low are the publishers of 4 Pageant of Victory.’ Our copy is from Whitcombe and Tombs.

Francis Brett Young lias returned to England after a 5,000-mile journey by motor van through South Africa, where he has been gathering material for a novel with a setting in that country. He carried with him on the journey the proofs of his new novel ‘ Far forest,’ which he corrected en route.