NEWS AND NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14853, 2 December 1911, Page 4 (Supplement)

NEWS AND NOTES.

Amon'»; commendable publications is Mrs. Molesworth's "Fairies Afield" (Macmillan, London). The illustrations aro by Gertrude Domain Hammond, and the result is to increase the charm of a book which has given pleasure to many thousands of young people. '~,...

"The Rush Roys' Book," by Donald Macdonald (Endkott, Cumming-street. Moonee Vale, Melbourne), is a valuable and interesting compilation of notes, hints, suggestions, and information dealing with the Australian bush, and specially intended to enliven and instruct boys. The author is the well-known writer and war correspondent, whose knowledge of bush life and camping-out is encyclopaedic.

Professor Flinders Petrie lias recently exhibited some remarkable colour portraits which he discovered in an Egyptian cemetry at Faynni. The face- of each mummified body was covered .with a portrait painted on a thin piece of cedar wood. The basic material of the paint was beswax, which must have been melted to receive the pigment and then melted, again immediately before use. The colours themselves are 'mineral, ochre, and hematite, the blanks are charcoal, and the pinks and purples are madder. Professor Petrie says thai these are probably the earliest paintings known, and that many of these portraits are of such individuality and strength as to challenge comparison with the technique and imagination of modern artists.

"The Drunkard" is the plain-spoken title of Mr. Guy Thome's new book, which will shortly be published by Messrs. Greening and Co. Mi. Thome has been investigating the drink problem for years, and has gathered his data from consultations with the most eminent temperance reformers. It is asserted that the plot of the novel discovers "an extraordinary development of the. inebriate temperament, and is written as a statement of fact for men and women of the world."

People in America are asking why novelists who cause their heroes and heroines to marry and live happily ever after should be unable themselves to maintain unbroken households. The query is the result of the number of recent, announcements of domestic strife in literary circles. Mr. George Randolph Chester, the. creator of '■GetrichquickV Wallingfonl, a very popular character in light fiction, was divorced by Mrs. Chester, who received £320 a year in alimony for herself, and £580 for the maintenance and education of Mr. Chester's two sons until they are 25. A few weeks ago it was announced that Mrs. Booth Tarkington, herself a writer, though less famous than her husband, had instituted proceedings for divorce; and a few weeks previously Mr. Upton Sinclair anouhced his intention to secure a divorce. Several other American authors have .been concerned in similar cases. The list could be, largely extended, and it is causing a discussion as to whether novelists expend so much care and attention in developing the domestic traits of their characters that they have no energy left to safeguard their own happiness.

Messrs. Mucinillan awl Co. announce the publication of Mrs. Julia Frankau'fi longexpected "Story of ' Emma Lady Hamilton." Mrs. . Frankau has given years of work to tho preparation of this elaborate monograph, and it is claimed that all connoisseurs will acknowledge it to be •"one. of the most beautiful books ever issued from the press." Moreover, as only 250 copies have been printed, and as an undertaking is given that the work* will never be reprinted, it : ought to prove a rising investment to the. bibliophile. There are 30 reproductions in colour and eight in monochrome of famous paintings and engravings by and after the most illustrious artists of their time. There are also 37 illustrations in photogravure of personal and topographical interest, and a more i complete catalogue of portraits, caricatures, engravings, and sketches than has ever before been attempted. To crown all, Mrs. Frankau endeavours to present a new reading of the character and career of the beautiful enchantress, whose life has already been discussed from so many points of view, alike of sympathy and censure.

From the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge. Northumberland Avenue. London, W.. we have received a number of books eminently suitable for Christmas gifts for boys and girls of all acres. The boys arc well catered for with '"Redwood Ranch." by Bessie Marchant : "Richard of Lympne," by Violet T. Kirke ; "Within a* Year," by Frederic Harrison : j ''The .\fvsterv of the Albatross." by W. Chas. Metcalfe; and "The Burleighs," by H. Ebrington. For the girls, the following provide good reading : "The Two P*s»'*'by C. H. Stevenson : "In a Royal Nursery by Gertrude Hollis ; "Another Pair *of Shoes," by Austin Clare; "The Gypsy Princess," by Dorothy Payne-Gallwoy ; "Nancy and Her Cousins," bv L. E. Teddeman : "At All Costs." by Gladys H. Ward ; "Victories of the Saints," by Rev. J. M. Neale. D.P. ; and "The Cave of Hanuman," by Mrs. Robert-Hampden. .