JOOKS AND PUBLICATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12242, 11 April 1903, Page 5 (Supplement)

JOOKS AND PUBLICATION.

James Chambers : His Autobiography and Lett by Richard Lovett. Religious Tract Society, 56, Paternoster Row, London. —The martyrdom of Dr. Chalmers at the Fly River, New Guinea, is too fresh a tragedy- to call for further notice, but the noble life and magnificent work of the great missionary will "greatly interest all thoughtful people and secure for this authorised and well-illus-trated book a wide circulation. Born of Argylloliae peasant stock, James Chalmers proved the health of body and brain, and strength of soul, that lies in- that inheritance, not merely by his career at college, but by the caurage and earnestness with which ho carried the Gospel among the most savage people of the Pacific. His death at. the age of 60 years, while still hale and strong, cost the London Missionary Society one of its ablest pioneers and organisers, but enriched Christianity by the freely-given blood which is the most fruitful seed of the Church. This autobiography shows us the personal life, doings, and character of the missionary, in a most attractive and readable form, being largely composed of his own notes. It is a book "which will soon be found on the shelf of every household interested in the propagation of the Gospel among the heathen. Penal Servitude : By W.B.N. William Heinemann, London.—We have already given copious extracts from this book,; which is openly written by Lord Williami Neville, whose "conviction in London created* such a sensation, in 1898. A more interesting insight into prison, life has rarely been af- • forded the public, the narrative being strangely judicious and evidently void of any, personal bias. A Woman's Checkmate : By J. E. Mud-'* dock. John Long, 13, Norris-street, Hay-: market, London.The plot of this novel is upon the stock lines of the villian who loves the dutiful daughter, who loves the noble youth. The villain has the usual concealed wife, who appears at the opportune moment and enables true love to triumph. The Assassins: By Nevill M. Meakiu..,! William Heineaiann, "London.—This ambitious and not unskilfully worked out romance attempts to depict the conditions upon whicbr the Eastern sect of the Assassins strove for political power against Saladin and the Crusaders. Moore has given us, in "The Veiled Prophet," part of his Lalla Rookh, »■ version of this, remarkable organisation,.; which by preying upon the credulity of fanatics won an extraordinary power. The novel before us describes a sensuous . " Paradise" into which chosen fanatics were conveyed at . the behest of the Grand Master of the Assassins' Order. They thought themselves dead, and when, awakening from dragged sleep, they imagined they had lost Paradise, they were ready to undertake any deed in order to regain it. Hassan, an Arab, is thus deluded, and falls devotedly in love with Saida,; one of the Paradise damsels, ignoring for her sake all other attractions. Firuz, another devotee, only longs for the vicious pleasures . he had experienced. Hassan is ordered to assassinate Saladin and Firuz, afterwards to assassinate Richard of England., but bin native honour and the pure love of Saidai check Hassan, in the nick of time, and he becomes the generous Saladin's trusted guard. Saida finally escapes from the toils by strategy, and is married to Hassan by order of Saladin, but on the bridal night they are slain together by Firuz, who is himself afterwards assassinated. There is enough bloodshed in the book to ' write a history with, but the times were bloody, and the effect is to give a vivid picture of the triangular struggle for the possession of Jerusalem and for the.' dominion of the East. The Story op Eden : By Dolf Wyllaide. William Heinemann, London.This clever, but unpleasant story, has a remarkable flavour of femininity; were a woman's name appended to it none would question thci authorship. We have been, told, by an indignant English critic, of the veiled allusions and. dubious jests which pass freely, among the men and women of fashionable " society." In the Cape Colony town of Wynberg, and < in the circle affected by army officers before the war broke out, the same habit prevailed if this book is to be relied upon. A major in the " Duke's " takes advantage of a somewhat neurotic girl, fresh from England; she afterwards marries and loves a man from Up Country, and is haunted with the dread that her escapade may be brought to light. Around this plot is assembled a galaxy of . lightly drawn but picturesque characters, • whose flirtations, gossip, and scandals are relieved by the whole hearteclly of occasional individuals. It is a pity that such a clever book should, leave a bad taste in the mouth. ; The Way of Gain: By Archibald Dunn. George Routledge and Sons, Limited, Ludgate Hill, London.—Cain -is an ex-bush-ranger from Australia, who reappears in London, and is 'supposed to have been murdered in the house of a gentleman who,unknown to the world, was a reluctant associate in ancient crime. The gentleman: is suspected by his daughter's sweetheart,; . and the daughter- suspects her sweetheart,; and the sweetheart's friend suspects everybody. A smart detective fastens the crime upon the dead man's heir and. brother— 1 who is the very image of him, and "is kilted while seeking to escape—but the family knows, and the reader is informed, that 1 the murdered man was really the innocents brother, and the cause a desire to get heavy bets - called off Cain's horse, which went- lame on the eve of a great race. ' The Windsor Magazine for March -open* with a stirring story, " On the Flank of the Army," by Winston Churchill, in -which the Beers capture a lieutenant of Scouts, who is helped to escape by a Dutchman in gratitude! for his son's life having been spared. Mr.. Ernest Williams contributes another article on " The Waste of Public Money," this one dealing with stationery and printing it is asserted that three-quarters of a million pounds sterling are lost annually to the British taxpayer by mismanagement in this direction. Mr. Crockett's serial, " Strong Mac," continues its course, and there is the usual feast of romance and descriptive articles, profusely/illustrated.