CURRENT LITERATURE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 13967, 28 September 1918, Page 3 (Supplement)

CURRENT LITERATURE.

NOTES ON NEW BOOKS. BY CWTIO. Notwithstanding the long continuance j of war, thero is no doubt that war-books have still the most powerful hold on the j "üblic. There is a noticeable increase in I tho production of memoirs. The great tragedy of war has perhaps been the loss of so many bright, talented young men, those who, in the natural course of events, would have been leaders of British thought in a more normal half century. i But being no respecter of persons, the j front has absorbed them and t'-ie Er'piio ; is deprived of useful, clevor, -ind even i brilliant men. SOME WAR STUDIES. . Centurion's collection o£ war stories is ' entitled " Gentlemen at Arms'' (Heine- j mann, London.). Consisting of episodes . in the life at the front, of journeys' by j airship and submarine, and of many fitch matters relating to the intimate side of •'. warfare, it is essentially a work of niter- I est. All its tales hold thrill of adventure, i of an army on the march, or of personal j bravery, disappointment, or heroism. If any are to be singled, they are perhaps the first pathetic sketch of the boy and cruy son, who, from a successful and happy college career, became a lieutenant, displaying unrsual ability in leadership, in the care of his men, etc. Tho tragic note comes, of course, with the brave lad'i death, while carrying a wounded corporal into safety— very usual tale in to-day's history—but none the less pathetic and beautiful for its multiplication.

Another, touching on the supernatural, is that entitled "No Man's Land," in which an officer, billeted in a certain house, is awakened by stealthy movements I'-oceeding from a cupboard in his room but csv see nothing. Lighting his candle, he discovert, the print of a mutilated hand, makes an impression of it upon blackened paper, and Is amazed in the morning to note the almost complete disappearance of the mark. Later he discovers that the owner of the house has been killed, his hand having been mutilated in just tha manner of the hand-print. The paraphernalia and the technique of battle are excellently portrayed in such stories ag "The Tide of Battle."

A memoir of a composite character Inasmuch as it is the work of the soldier's mother, of the Bishop of Southwark, of Dr. A. G. Benson, and others, is that on "Archibald Don" (Murray, London.). The record is that of a young man who died in the Salonika campaign before hit twenty-sixth birthday. That he was very popular is undoubted after a study off the many laudatory letters published, and that his talentß were many and good is evidenced in the study of hiß pre-war career. An earnest and successful study of geology was ended by the conclusion that to turn the knowledge to practical account was to work abroad for some enterprising firm— career which made no appeal to the young student. The.ei'rom ho turned his attention to a medical training and was at work in this field when war broke out. In company with other Cambridge friends, Archibald Don took part in a movement to ridicule the Post-Im» pressionist phase of Art, and finished by, to a certain extent, sympathising with this school. From the memoir one judges the subject of It to h;ive been a versatile youth, endowed with the gift of happiness and able to pass the same on to others.

.HEW ZEALAND VERSE. "Haoriana," by Evan Westewood Whitcomb and Tomb 3, Auckland.).—-In this ?oera is included much of Maori history, 'he main object ai the writer has been "to place in poetio setting an account of Maori customs, traditions, mythology, and history." Claiming to bo "the outcome' of wide and intimate knowledge of Maori life, gained principally through his ao- * quaintance with many intelligent Maoris/ 1 the poem introduces the other element of . the pakeha's coming. In the pursuit of same, Evan lands on the shores of the Bay of Plenty, becomes separated from his companions, is lost and finds himself embroiled in the feud raging between two powerful Maori tribes.' A strong love element is introduced; Rahene being the devoted admirer of the white n.an, fiphts by his side and is mortally wounded. The method employed is that familiar to leaders of Scott's historical verse; the author rhymes with facility, following the conventions of an older land's literature to introduce a perfectly new story. LIGHT FICTION. Elizabeth Kirby writes a charming story (m simple, semi-cynical lines, entitled,, " Little Miss Whiffet" — (Duckworth, London}.—Not so much laughing at, as laughing with, the modern girl, full of grievance against the domestic atmosphere and determined to go to the city and have a career, she very tenderly pities the'..little woman, buffetted by wordnngs and yet escaping their tarnish, and ends by marrying ner to a desirable man and so placing her back in the home life in which she fits best. Her story is truthful and natural. The instinctive revolt against conditions as set down by parents, tho ambition and faith in self which persuades the girl that her writing can move the world, the instinctive repugnance and shrinking from immorality oven while looking for that glorified Bohemia, beloved of so many, imaginations, her girlish trust in kindness, her woe and utter desolation under disappoint«ientr-all are artistically depicted, and the frank vein of laughter pervading the pages invites one to laugh also, which is a healthy note in any book.( "There Was a King ie Egypt"-by Norma Lorimer (Stanley Paul, London).— This is not the authoress' first book on Egypt, and her knowledge of the country is, in this case, strengthened by the descriptions openly borrowed from certain famous archaeologists. She skilfully works a modern romance round and about ths intervening personality of a dead and gone King of Egypt, whose kingship was one of the greatest and most humane of ancient times. The group of moderns includes two men, Freddy Lampton and Michael Amorv, and Margaret Lampton and Mrs. Mervili. Amory stands between the two women, loving the one and desired by ths other. The fatter makes it very difficult for tie man to escape, for she is reckless, as well as engaging. The dead and gone King Akhnaton hovers as an unsubstantial presence, not very convincingly perhaps, about Amory, but good defeats evil in time. There is much said cf the fine excavation work done in Egypt, an! (rood detail given. The scene eventually shifts to England and war, and ends witl a wedding. "Adventures of Blndle"—by Herbeni Jenkins (Jenkins, London).— author is building up a series of " Bindle" novels, which appear to have won steady popularity. The central figure is always the Cockney, whose humour and, It must be added, whose occasional vulgarity Is the feature of the present novel. As, however, Bindle's pranks are tempered with kindliness, he deserves his admirra, who will doubtless find many » laugh in his latest adventures.