BOOKS AND BOOKMEN.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVI, Issue 14167, 15 September 1906, Page 11

BOOKS AND BOOKMEN.

Swinburne, in his book on "William Blake, speaks emphatically on the subject ot mysticism. “ Let no reader now OV ever forget that while others will admit nothing beyond the body, the inyetio will admit nothing outside the rvoul.” Though probably Dr Inge, judging from his new work on Mystaoism, would, .cusssnt this uicturi, his -work certainly does not show him in agreement with Swinburne when the latter says: “ One tiling is too certain; if we insist: on having hard ground Under foot all th© way we shall not get for. The land lying before us, bright with-fiery blossom and fruit,, musical with blowing blanches and falling waters, is not to be seen or travelled in save by help of such light as lies upon dissolving dreams and dividing clouds. By moonris© to the sound of wind at Bunset, oho may tread upon the limit of this land and gather as with muffled apprehension some soft, remote sense or the singing of its birds and flowering of its fields.” To Dr Inge mysticism is the habit of perceiving revealed truth'in immediate feeling; it is, as he eays, .“the love of God.” But this surely is not incompatible, with much that we ordinarily associate with the opposite of mysticism, a word by which Swinburne seems to mean the opening of sense behind sense, the _ multiplication and deepening of meanings behind meaning, by the help of the symbols which lie behind symbols—“ by help of ■iioh light as lies upon, dissolving dreams gnd dividing clouds.

The amounts paid by the American publishing house of Harper for some of the works of fiction by the foremost .English writers cf the last century are stated in the “Westminster Gazette.” For “The. Newoomes,” “Henry Esmond,” and The Virginians,” £l5O, £IOO and £4BO respectively were paid. Charles Dickens received, a larger amount for his work from America than perhaps any other English author. Messrs Haruer paid £IOOO for “ A Tale of Two Cities,” £1250 for “ Great Expectations,” £IOOO for “ Our Mutual Friend,” and £250 for “Little Dorlit.”. The Harpers paid £2O as an honorarium for “'Adam Bede” when published anonymously; for “ Middle-' march. ” £I2OO was paid, and £I7OO for “Daniel Derdnda.” During-the interval 1848-60, when Macaulay’s “ History ” was appearing, £650 was paid by Messrs Harper for the American market; and thirty years ago £IOOO was paid for the use of advance sheets of Sir George Trevelyan’s “Life and Letters” of bis uncle. ,

The “ Daily Mail ” has heen making a collection, of obiter diota from Miss , Marie CoTelli’s new book, “ The Treasure of Heaven.” Among them are these:— Restaurants.—These gilded and refined eating-houses were now beginning to shoot forth their bundles of welldressed, well-fed folk into the many and various conveyances waiting to receive them; A Matron.-—Attired in an over-frill-ed and over-flounced costume of pale grey, which delicate Quakerish colour rather painfully.intensified the mottled purplish-red. of her face. A ..Woman.of Fashion..—With black eyes and a viperish mouth, who commanded a certain exclusive “ set ” by virtue .of being the wife of a dissolute earl, whose house was used as a common gambling resort. A Girl.—l don’t believe In love. . . lov© isn't happiness. . . It would be perfectly idiotic to refuse such a rich man, even if he were Methuselah, himself. A Lord.—The dissipated, effeminatelooking young; man. . . a modern degenerate of the worst type. . . abandoned rascal. . A Clergyman.—He looked more like a petty officer of dragoons than a minister of the Christian religion—oho of those exictingj* small military martinets accustomed to brow-beating every subordinate without reason or justice. A Solicitor.—Nobody minds what becomes of your soul or your body—the only question of importance to anyone. Is what is to be done with, your money. Newspapers.;—The donkey-journalism of . the period, which bray down everything that is not like itself, mere froth and scum. Concerning the book itself the critics differ. The “Tribune” says;—“The story ends happily, as a novel should in which there Is so much good oldfashioned sentiment and nice womanly emotion, and the moral of which is clear and convincing as in the children’s story-books of our great grandmothers. Miss Marie Corelli, like Maria Edgeworth with her little ones, metes out praise and blame, reward’ and punishment, with the decision of a fairy godmother. Her villains are very villainous, her heroes very heroic. But there is room in tire heart of the. people for a ; novel which in spit© of artistic defects is. wholesome in its appeal to the emotions.” The “ Daily Chronicle,” referring to the' portrait, says: “ Miss Marie Corelli need not fear that these who really appreciate her will misunderstand the attitude which she has taken up in this regard.

But they- will be grateful to her for giving them, in addition to another entrancing work, a portrait which, in the circumstances, becomes a personal offering and a pledge of sympathy.” In the opinion of the “Morning Post,” “ Whether or not the people encountered by David Hclmsley on the road and in th© hamlets of Somersetshire and Devonshire are or are not ‘ true to life,’ they fill some scenes which are as pleasing as any that th© author has yet presented.” The “Standard” says':— “Miss Corelli gives us a brisk, indeed, a passionate, tale of loneliness in search of love, of misery seeking solace, of the quest of a multi-millionaire for friendship that is disinterested and affection that has no purchase price. It is distinctly good to find a preacher with so great a congregation lifting up her voice against th© selfishness of th© time and urging upon us all the, divinity of charity, faith, and loving kindness. Perhaps, were Miss Corelli more judicial and restrained, were her work more studied in art and discrimination—it would lack those sterling virtues of sincerity and conviction.”

In a conversation with M. Gaston Menier, related in th© Paris “Matin,” the Kaiser is reported to have spoken as follows:—-“ I have often wondered at the strang© irresponsibility that reigns supremo in journalism. Before exercising any other profession a man must fulfil certain clearly-defined and rigorous conditions. Either special study, knowledge, or diploma is not needed by th© journalist. A very young man may be on th© staff of the most respectable and responsible newspaper in the world, and may write an article calculated to produce a considerable impresion on th© public. Every day the journals contain appeals, information, comments and appreciations, Written by .-men whose good faith I do not deny, but whose special knowledge I have the right to contest. And they are the guides of public opinion, the men who exercise the greatest influence oh their fellow-creatures.” Referring to the tension last year between Prance and Germany, the Emperor said: — “My intentions were misunderstood and my views.distorted. The Press was the cause of this. It is, often responsible for many evils.”