WITH PAPER-KNIFE AND PEN.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1196, 1 February 1895, Page 11

WITH PAPER-KNIFE AND PEN.

“Over the Teacups,” by Dr Oliver Wendell Holmes. (London: Sampson, Low, Marsston and Co.; through Messrs Whitcombe and Tombs, Wellington.) 2s 6d.

How that the genial “Autocrat” is dead and gone, his last published volume is of more than ordinary interest. In “Over the Teacups” Dr Holmes lenews those chatty, gossippy and ever-delightful series of essays which he commenced many, oh, so many years ago in “ The Autocrat of theBreakfast Table.” The new essays make h rare feast for the cultured reader-. There is a strong dash of Montaigne in them, a soupqon, too, of the gentle “ Eliacombined with many dryly humqtrous touches of that quiet yet grim? New. England wit which readers of Holmes know so well. From topic to topic the author flits as easily as a bee from flower to flower, extracting from whatever subject he deals with a rich store of homely, shrewd lessons in every-day life. He is never captious, never cynical, but evei genial and sensible. Whether it he that he discourses on books old and new, upon the privileges and disabilities of old age, on doctors and lawyers and the humours of their professions; whether he compares the age of steam, of the electric light, of telephones and phonographs, with that of mail coaches and old-fashioned watchmen—for he knew both—he is always found by his reader to be interesting, and most interesting, perhaps, when he gives rein to his fancy, and grows most delightfully discursive, in the style so familiar to those who have enjoyed his many previous and similar books. To criticise the contents of such a volume in detail is too long and too arduous a task for the present writer to undertake. He would merely draw the attention of readers one and all to the fact that this charming collection of-thoughts by a cultured Christian gentleman now appears in so handy and attractive a form, and that its price is merely half-a-Crbwn. Those who possess Dr Holmes 1 other works should not fail to add “Over the Teacups” to their collections.; It is a book ini which “many sweets compacted lie,” and it is one in which, taken up in whatever odd moments of leisure, there will always be found a genial, healthy philosophy, a cheeriness and optimism which come like a refreshing drink after the morbid pessimism and second-rate cynicism which are so common amongst our modern authors. ■

“ The Manxman,” by Hall Caine. (London: William Heinnemann. Heinnemann’s Colonial Library.) 3s 6d.

Mr Hall Caine's latest—and, as the •English critics are pretty well unanimous in agreeing, for once, his" best and most powerful novel —was certainly the novel of 1894, and marks a new era of triumph in the already successful career of its author. The plot of the story, its principal scenes, its characters, and, above all, the moral of the story, have been widely discussed, not only in the purely literary reviews, whose business it is to discuss such things, bat in the columns of the leading London dailies, which, as a rule, are not given to devoting leading articles to any fiction, save that which is alleged to proceed from the mouth or pen of a political opponent. The book has been so much discussed, so much has been heard, even out here, of its merits and defects, that a cheap edition, such as that now presented us by Mr Heinnemann in his well-printed and tastefully-bound Colonial Library, will no doubt enjoy a very large sale. The story deals with life in the Isle of Man—familiar ground to those who enjoyed Mr Hall Caine’s “Deemster”— and it is, par excellence, a story of human passions. There is but little padding in the book, but of brilliant depicturing of men and women, and of their joys and woes, their moral strength and their moral frailties, in the searching analyses of human nature—in some cases, nature in its simplest and quaintest mould —there is a plentitude, and yet not one jot too much for the reader of this really brilliant example’of modern fiction at its best. The plot of the story and its main incidents were set forth in this paper at some length shortly after the first appearance of the book at Home, and all we need do to-day is to note the advent of such a 1 cheap and altogether admirable edition, and to heartily commend the story to those of our readers who may not have read or heard of it. We notice by the last issue to hand of an English literary periodical, which with each number gives a list of the

books mainly in vogue, that “The Manx-i man ” heads the list of “ new- books enquired for” in nearly every town in which the paper in question possesses correspondents. It is undoubtedly the novel of its year, and Mr Heinnemann deserves the thanks of colonial readers for having added it so soon to his Colonial Library. At Home the cheapest edition is still, we observe, 6s; and yet here in Wellington we can buy “ The Manxman ” for 3s 6d!

“The Curse of Clement Waynefleete,” by Bertram Mitford. (London and Melbourne : Ward, Lock and Bowden, Ltd. ; through Messrs H. and J. Baillie, Wellington.) ss.

Mr Bertram Mitford is no novice in novel - writing. An autho" of stirring stories of adventure, he has of late made such strides as promise to put him eventually in the front rank as far as this particular class of fiction is concerned. As in “ The King’s Assegai ” and the " Gun Runners,” to mention two previous novels of his with which we are acquainted, Mr Mitford in the volume before us introduces his readers ohce more to South African life and adventures. True, the opening and concluding scenes of “The Curse of Clement Waynefleete ” take place upon English ground, but the major portion of the story deals with the war of the white against the black races in South Africa, the daring deeds of British soldiers and Zulu warriors, and with the perils* which have attached to the life of British settlers in the vast territories which own Mr Cecil Rhodes for their “ Uncrowned King.” The story is ultra - sensational, and we would fain not have had. quite such a plentiful banquet of horrors placed before us. The fat young gentleman in Pickwick whose self-alleged ability to “ make your flesh creep ” is hardly to be compared with Mr Mitford when the latter works out the awful and, even for somewhat overcoloured pictures of the Waynefleete curse and its workings. But once the reader is in the midst of the Zulu chapters, all thoughts of previous improbabilities fade away, for here the- author is en pays de conrtaissdnce , and his local colour —very vivid it is, some of it—is evidently the result of personal experiences and actual local observations. In the course of the novel we are introduced, to the famous Cetowayo, and in describing the Zulus generally Mr Mitford is fully as picturesque and interesting as was ever Mr Rider Haggard, an i, indeed, is that gentleman’s superior in one respect—an important one to the average novel reader—ip that he rarely makes his characters, black or-white, indulge in any second-rate philosophy. The story is well worth reading, and once commenced will he perused to the close with intense interest. The attractiveness of the book is materially enhanced by several well-drawn and most effective illustrations by Mr Stanley L. Wood, and the get-up of the volume, with its handsome cover of Irish linen and its bravery of gilt lettering, makes it a handsome addition to the library shelves.

“Le Monde Moderns ; Revue Mensuelle Illustree.” No. 1. (Paris: A. Quantin, Rue St. Benoit.) English readers to whom the Century, Harper's Magazine, the Strand and the English Illustrated are all so. familiar will be astonished to hear that up to the present France the home of modern artistic printing— should not have possessed an illustrated monthly magazine on the lines so familiar to those who know the periodicals we have mentioned above. The omission has now been repaired, and from Monsieur A. Quantin, a Parisian publisher whose reputation for beautifully-printed editions of French classics -is deservedly great, we now receive the first number of Le Monde Moderne. It is an excellentlyprinted magazine, of the same format as Harper’s, containing 180 pages, many of which contain pictures which, although they do not as yet rival those of the American magazines, display a cachet which is distinctively French; and which admirably illustrate the text of the many excellent articles. A short complete story, “Petite Cora’’—decidedly reminiscent of of Pierre Loti, by the way—is contributed by M. Jules Claretie, and there are a number of articles on political, social, literary and artistic subjects, which are mostly by well-known writers, and are one and ail very readable. Especially noticeable are a short study of Sarah Bernhardt and her art, and another, “ Pourquoi avons-nous une Marine?” in which an officer of the French navy offers some very interesting criticism upon the present state of France’s strength on the sea. At the end of the number are articles on sport, on fashions and on cookery, together with some wellillustrated notes on recent inventions and scientific discoveries. We may add that the motto of Le Monde Moderne is " For I family reading,” and that none of its contents, literary or artistic; are disfigured by that coarseness of tone which is so lamentably noticeable in so many French publications. Those who can read French will find in Le Monde Moderne an excellent means of keeping fresh their knowledge of a beautiful language, and to the student of the Gallic tongue the magazine offers a very agreeable and useful change from the dry-as-dust classics, such as the “Telemaque” and “Contes Choisis,” which made our own French studies such a weariness of youth. The price of the magazine in Paris is 18 francs (15s) a year, and the local booksellers will no doubt be glad to procure copies at the usual advance on the Home price. C.W. BOOKS RECEIVED. “The Dead Gallant,” “Honey* in Aloes,” and “In Strange Company” (Ward, Lock and Bowden, Ltd.); “ The Story of a Modern Woman” (William Heinnemann) ; “ The Story of Francis Cludde ” (Cassells and Co.); “ New Zealand Geographical Reader ” and “My Lady Rotha ” (Longmans and Co.). The above will be noticed in future issues of the Majs,