NEW BOOKS AND PERIODICALS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9094, 30 June 1888, Page 1 (Supplement)

NEW BOOKS AND PERIODICALS.

Aureretanga; Groans of tub Maoris. Edited by G. W. Rusden. London : William Ridgway, 169, Piccadilly.—Mr. Rusden made a decided failure of his history of New Zealand. Ib was a failure in every respect, for, besides its other faults, it is difficult to ascertain from it the date when any event occurred. When it was known that Mr. Rusdcn was about to write a history of New Zealand, not a few had expectations that ho would do the work well. He had been removed from the strife of mere party politics. He had had good opportunities of making himself acquainted with all the official documents of the early times. He had a liking for the country, and was familiar with every event that had occurred in it. Bub, when the book came out, ib was found to be little else than a big inflammatory pamphlet, into which the author had packed every yarn that anybody could tell him against the colonists. The attack on Mr. Bryce, which was so conclusively proved to be utterly untrue, was a specimen. The book was entirely discredited, and we believe is now withdrawn from sale. Bub Mr. Rusden is again in the field with a cheaply-got-up volume of 578 pages, entitled "Aureretanga ; Groans of the Maoris." Mr. Rusden does not know Maori, bub he has looked up Williams' dictionary, and he finds that " aurere" is to groan, and thereupon he is set up with a title at all events. The whole book is a mere recital of charges against the Government and the settlers of New Zealand. He commences by attacking the whalers who frequented the coasts of New Zealand about 18i4 for murders alleged to have been committed by them, and he ends by a vicious onslaught on Mr. Gladstone, who happened to cross. the quadrangle at Downing-street when Tawliiao and the other Maori chiefs were returning from their interview with Lord Derby. Mr. Rusden was present, and he seems to have expected that Mr. Gladstone should have rushed up and embraced the Maori monarch. Here is Mr. Rusden's description of the scene :—

_ I saw a furtive glance; I saw an expression more of aversion than of pity; of indignation at being shown to walk crookedly rather than of a desire to walk straightforwardly; and, finally, I saw the leader of the House of Commons stride away as if he had been injured by having an opportunity of using his great gift of words in alleviating the sorrows tor which lie had made himself in some degree responsible when he "indulged a hope"thfit Governor Gore Browne would be able to set aside the decision of Governor Fitzroy at Tarauaki, and take those steps which led so disastrously to the unjust war of 1 S(>o. i made no remark, but 1 heard epithets, not loud, hut deep, as the Premier flitted from the scene.

This is a specimen of Mr. Rimlen's spirit and manner. He imagines that Mr. Gladstone's glance is "furtive;" tlut his expression is "more of aversion than of pity;" and so 011. For anything he knew, Mr. Gladstone may have felt much sympathy with Tawhiao, but wo should suppose that he felt that some consideration must also be had for the colonists. Everything is raked up by Mr. Rusden against the unfortunate white people. The whole Waitara question is reopened and reargued. If at any time it has been recorded that the soldiers or volunteers during the Waikato War " desecrated a burial-ground," Mr. Rusden embodies it in his book. He has to deal somewhat tenderly with Mr. Bryce and the atl'airs on the West Coast, but he manages to show that he was wrong in only one or two small particulars, while the Europeans under the command of Mr. Biyce were undoubtedly guilty of cowardice and cruelty. He remarks :— "Of the action itself 1' desire to say nothing here; personal atl'airs are beneath the dignity of history." The truth is that, where two races are in contact, any man who picks out all the acts of inhumanity and wrong on one side can easily make out a case. War is a very bad business, and if the writer who makes history selects his cruelties and inhumanities from one side only, he can easily show that his clients have been most disgracefully treated. We conclude by repeating .our regret that Mr. I'usden did not turn his interest in New Zealand and in the native race to better account than he has done. The copy of " Aureretanga" which we have perused was sent to us by Mr. Wildinan, bookseller, to whom a consignment was made, and from whom copies may be procured.

Albert, the Prince Consort; a biography for the people. By Godfrey Holden Pike, author of " Victoria, Queen and Empress," etc. (Hodder and Stoughton).—This is intended to be a chcap, readable, and popular biography of Prince Albert, to enable a large section of the people to " understand and appreciate his virtues, and to cain a many-sided view of his life and character." Of course, as the preface says, no biography will ever supersede the elaborate and standard work of Sir Theodore Martin; but a smaller book with the abovementioned objects cannot fail to lie of value. The author acknowledges his great indebtedness to Sir Theodore Martin for many extracts which the latter permitted him to use in the following terms :—" You have my full permission to use the extracts you have made, especially as I think your little volume will be very serviceable towards the appreciation of my hero." The book is copiously illustrated with pictures of scenes and incidents in the life of the Prince, and it is just the thing for those who want a short and readable account of one of the most conspicuous men of his day and generation. The price, by the way— 2s (id—is astonishingly low, when we consider the number of illustrations, the good paper, ink, type, and printing, and the excellent/ ornamental cloth binding. A Little Silver Tkumi-kt, by ,7. L. Meade, with illustrations (Hodder and Stoughton), is a pleasant little story about some poor London children, suitable for a present or for circulation in Sunday-school libraries. There is a decided religious tone about the book, the story is well and simply told, and at the end virtue, in the shape of a good little boy, is, as it ought to be, triumphant, and vice punished.

The Book-worm (Elliot Stock, London) is the first number of a sixpenny monthly magazine of old-time literature, with which " Book-lore" is incorporated. It is nicely printed in " old style"typo on antique paper, rough, thick, ragged edged, and large margined. In a fly-leaf which accompanies the magazine its scope and objects are set, fort h, and justification for its existence is found in the widespread desire for knowledge concerning books of the past. " This interest in the books of the past and their authors, which manifests itself alike in England, the United States, and the colonics, is steadily increasing, and shows every sign of permanence. In the pages of the Book-worm will be found abundance of lore for all those who are interested in the books of by-gone days." The number is prefaced by an amusing introductory poem by Andrew Lang, which, after enumerating all kinds of books, from " Tylor on Totems" and "Gurney on Spooks" to " She," with Holly's and Leo's adventures in Kor, concludes by declaring that

There's capital tomes that arc tilled with fly-hooks. Ami I've frequently found thoin the best' kind of books. The articles are all interesting, and treat of the most various subjects. Few peoplein the colonies have the leisure, means, and taste necessary to indulge in this expensive hobby, but Aucklanders are unusually well off in this respect, for our bibliophiles can go and gloat over the ancient treasures in Sir George Grey's princely gift to the Free Library. To these book-wormshcl/uones librarian antiquorum alienorum—and to the happy mortals who can pore over priceless old manuscripts in their own possession this magazine is a necessity of life.

Bunyan. By J. A. Froude. "English Men of Letters." Edited by John Morley. London : Macmillan and Co.—This is a small, but very pood book. The selection of Mr. J. A. Fronde to write the life of Bunyan for the " English Men of Letters" series was a happy one. More closely than perhaps any other writer, Mr. Froude represents the best aspect of the spirit of the age, with a strong grasp of what Carlyle called "the eternal verities." Macau lay's estimate of Bunyan was solely that of a literary man who delighted in the perfect manner in which the tinker of Elstow could write an allegory ; who saw before him a wonder of literary composition ; who saw how skilfully the author could express the most subtle thoughts of the human mind in the simplest and homeliest of English ; who rejoiced in Bunyau's wondrous and

exalted imagination, picturing hi;s trials and struggles in tne Valley of the Shadow of Death, and the delights of the Land of Beulah and the Delectable Mountain.--.. But Mr. Fronde shows lis clearly the man and the times in which he lived, doing ample justice both to him and to those who felt it their duty under the law to send him to Bedford Gaol. His estimate of the place of the Puritans in English history is complete. Perhaps tjie best chapters in the book are those- on Bunyan's early life, his conviction of .sin, and finding of grace. We quote a passage from one of the early chapters to show the depth of insight possessed by Mr. Fronde, and which may also stand as a, specimen of the style in which the volume is written : — i'he " Pilgrim's Progress" is the history of the struggle of human nature to overcome temptation and shake off the bondage of sin, under the convictions which prevailed among serious men in England in the seventeenth century. The allegory is the life of its author oast in imaginative form, livery step in Christian's journey had been first trodden by Bunyaii himself; every pang of fear and shame, every spasm of despair, every breath of hope and consolation, which is there described, is but a reflexion as on a mirror from personal experience. It lias spoken to the hearts of all generations of Englishmen because it came from the heart; because it is the true record of the genuine emotions of a hnman soul; and to such a record the emotions of other men will respond, as one stringed instrument vibrates responsively to another. The poet's power lies in creating sympathy; but lie cannot, however richly gifted, stir feelings which he has not himself known in all their intensity. Ut riilentibiis annlent it,a Hentilms f-dflent

Uumani vultux. Si vi.s me ileru cloiumluiu est Prinwm ipsi tibi.

The religious history of man is , essentially the same in all ages. It takes its rise in tile duality of his nature. He is an animal, and as an animal he desires bodily pleasure and shrinks from bodily pain. As a being callable of morality, lie is conscious that for him there exists a right and wrong. Something, whatever that something may be, binds him to choose one and avoid the other. This is his religion, his religatio, his obligation, in the sense in which the Romans, from whom we take it, used the word ; and obligation implies some superior power to which man owes obedience. The conflict between his two dispositions agitates his heart and perplexes his intellect. To do what the superior power requires of him, lie must thwart his inclinations. He dreads punishment, if he neglects to do it. He invents methods by which he can indulge his appetites, and finds a substitute by which he can propitiate his invisible ruler or rulers. He offers sacrifices ; he institutes ceremonies and observances. This is the religion of the body, the religion of fear. It is what we call superstition. In his nobler moods lie feels t hat this is but to evade the difficulty. He perceives that the sacrifice required is the sacrifice of himself. It is not the penalty for sin which lie must fear, but the sin itself. He must conquer his own lower nature. He must detach his heart from his pleasures, and lie must love good for its own sake, and because it is his only real good ; and this is spiritual religion or piety. Between these two forms of worship of the unseen, the human race lias swayed to and fro from the lirst moment in which they learnt to discern between good and evil. Superstition attracts, because it is indulgent to immorality by providing means by which God can be pacified. But it carries its antidote along with it, for it keeps alive the sense of God's existence ; and, when it lias produced its natural effects, when the believer rests in his observances. and lives practically as if there was no God at all, the conscience again awakes. Sacrifices and ceremonies become detested as idolatry, and religion becomes conviction of sin, a fiery determination to fight with the whole soul against appetite, vanity, selfseeking, and every mean propensity which the most sensitive alarm can detect. The battle, unhappily, is attended with many vicissitudes. Tho victory, though practically it may be won, is never holly won. The struggle brings with it everv variety of emotion, alternations of humility and confidence, despondency and hope. The essence of it is always the same—the effort of the higher nature to overcome the lower. The form of it varies from period to period, according to the conditions of the time, the temperament of different people, the conception of the character of the -Supreme Power, which the state of knowledge enables men to form. It will be found even when the puzzled intellect can see no light in Heaven at all, in the stern and silent fulfilment. of moral duty. It will appear as enthusiasm ; it will appear as asceticism ; it will appear wherever there is courage to sacrifice personal enjoyment for a cause believed to be holy. We must all live. We must all, as we suppose, in one shape or other, give account for our actions; and accounts of the conflict arc most individually interesting when it is an open wrestle with the enemy; as we find in the penances and austerities of the Catholic saints, or when the difficulties of belief are confessed and detailed, as in David's Psalms, or in the Epistles of St. Paul.

CiiAMr.Kius' Journal. — Amidst all the vagaries of magazine literature, Chambers' Journal still continues constant in its main features to the model first set up when ib was the ' precursor of all the modern cheap magazines. Its contents are still interesting, instructive, healthful, and pure, the merely sensational element, while not being neglected, being kepi", within due bounds. The first article in the May number is entitled " The Hermit Land," and is a description of Corea, about which wo have heard something of late. " This Mortal Coil," a tale by Grant Allen, is continued, four chapters being given in this month's issue. The remainder of the number is composed of the usual interesting stories and articles on topics of the day. Tub English Illustrated Magazine.— The first article in the April number of this magazine is devoted to an account of the coming of the Spanish Armada. The article is appropriate in point of time, because this is the tercentenary of the great event of the repulse of this "formidable attempt to crush the national life of England. It was on July the 19th, 1088, that the Lord High Admiral was informed by Captain Thomas Flemmiug, commander of the Golden Hind pinnace, which had been left in the Channel for discovery, that the Spanish fleet had been seen near the Lizard. The old story that the admiral and the captains were engaged at a game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe when the news was brought, and that when the cry was to put to sea at once, Drake laughingly objected, saying, "There is time to finish the game and beat the Spaniards afterwards," is examined, and found to be an authentic incident. The article is illustrated by plates taken from a series of prints which were engraved from old tapestry hangings which were in the House of Lords, but which were destroyed by lire. One curious thing in connection with the Armada may be noted, and that was, that, although that was an age when religion influenced men's minds more than at present, the Catholics were as enthusiastic as the Protestants in their determination to repel the Armada, although one object of the invasion was to establish the Catholic faith. The Roman Catholics showed that they were Englishmen first and Catholics afterwards. "Coaching Pays and Coaching Ways " deals this month with the Dover Road, travelling on which many historical figures are descried. In the illustrations, Hugh Thomson shows us the horses, stablemen, coachdrivers, &c., while Herbert Railston gives drawings of the inns and ancestral halls. The article on "Glimpses of Old English Homes" is devoted this month to Arundel Castle, belonging to His Grace the Duke of Norfolk. We have several pictures of the interior and exterior of this ancient castle, and copies of portraits contained in its gallery, The London Album of Ladies' Fashions, a Journal for. Ladies' Tailors.—This journal, in a prefactory notice, says : — " Although from time to time we have brought out illustrations of silk and velvet dresses in accordance with the fashion, yet our principal aim has been, and will continue to be, to illustrate all the varieties of style which can be imported into tailor-made clot garments. This journal is published by practical tailors, who have had many years'experience in the trade." The volume is well got up. It is printed by the Grosvcnor Art Printing Co., 52, Old Bailey, London, and published by 11. Outerbock and Sous, 16, New Burlington-street, Regent-street, W. London.