A LITERARY CORNER.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8609, 20 December 1913, Page 10

A LITERARY CORNER.

lEdxtejj bi M.L.R.] AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL SONG JIR ARTHUR 11. ADAMS'S PRIZE VERSES. As is now fairly well known, Mr Arthur H. Adams, formerly of "Wellington (Air Adams v/as for time as-sociate-editor of tlio “New Zealand Times”), and now of Sydney, has won a prizo of £IOO offered lor tho tost verses for an Australian national song. By permission of the Musical Association of Now South Wales wo reproduce the words;— Vast tlio heritage wo hold, League on endless league unrolled, Splashed with sun ami wattle-gold, God’s demesne, Australia ! Great- our opportunity, Greater must our courage bo: l‘"or our race wo hold in fee God's demesne, Australia. Sons of those who won the sea, Of• Imperial blood are wo; Ours the country of tlio J’reo God's demesne, Australia I Freedom for our onward stride! Wide our continent, and wide Are tlio faiths and hopes that guide God’s demesne, Australia. Thought begirt with guardian seas. Not iu careless, slothful case Shall wc shield thy liberties, ’ God’s demesne, Australia! Loyal .scions of our race, Ready* chance and change to face, Wo shall die, hut ne’er disgrace 1 God’s demesne, Australia. / Tho adjudicators were Professor M. W. MacCallum (Sydney University), Professor T. G. Thicker (Melbourne University), and Mr W. Arundel Orchard, "Mum. line., who acted ns tho musical export on this committee. In all there were 722 sets of verses sent in. These came from all parts of the •Commonwealth, each under a uom do plumo, with the author’s name and address in a sealed envelope accompanying. The Musical Association of Now South Wales is now offering a further prize of-£IOO for the approved rnnsi;al sotting, of the-versos. .British subjects who havo resided in the Commonwealth for a period of twelve months aro alone eligible to compete. Tho 'Competition closes on February 20th, 1014. Tho adjudicators aro Messrs IV. Arundel Orchard, Bins. Bac (representing Now South Whiles), Fritz B, 11 art ( Victoria), E. " Harold Davies," " "Mum Doc, (South Australia), George Sampson, F.R.C.O. (Queensland), Alexander J. Lecke, F.R.C.0., A.R.C.M. ( West Australia), and George F. Hopkins (Tasmania). It has boon arranged, with tho approval of tho author, that competitors may if they so desire substitute in tho poem__tho_ word “domain” for “demesne.” A BANNED BOOK Another book by a prominent novelist has fallen under the bun of tho Libraries’ Association, viz., Air W. 13., Maxwell’s “The Devil’s Garden.” It will not be exhibited at any.of the., principal libraries,- - hut subscribers who apply for it may secure it. This is a strange sort of censorship, and it is not surprising that the author and publishers display resentment. In defence, tho libraries urge that their action is for thd protection of the boy ar girl, reader who might be contaminated by a book not unsuitable for those of older years. Tho retort is that safeguarding of this kind is properly tho business of parents "and guardians. Nevertheless, it appears evident that Mr Maxwell, in handling a legitimate theme, lias not displayed much restraint or discretion." " ■■■ ■ —- Tho following is an tfatlitro"of*+hisstory, “Tho Devil’s Garden,” ns summarised by tlio ‘iAcademy' I: . —“Since Barradino, tho squire, had soiled William Dale’s wife in'her youth. Dale" killed The man, and the'Sh&'et 'of "that' doed is well kept until near on the and of the book. It was also well kept by Dale, who rose to prosperity as a Hampshire farmer and- dealer, and took into hia home one Norab, an • orphan child., When No rah had grown up, and Dale had reached middle-age, tilui prosperous, outwardly virtuous fanner found himself tempted, to commit a Similar sin to" that of Barradino. Beyond tfyatj point the reader must’ find the sqluiipiijjo, tlio problem in tlio book itself*, ior...the. .atory is too good to bo given away in a review. Yet thoro is, throughout all-the book (continues the -reviewer), a note oU sensuality and ficahiintoa that jins. It may bo that William Dale wan built as pictured here, but the author has enlarged "unnecessarily on certain points; the lesson could have boon driven homo without such naked presentment of sexual impulses, ono would think —this more especially with regard to the earlier chapters. It is a powerful story, well told, and ending on tho right note; hut parts of it are lamentably lacking in reticence. VOCATION OF WOMEN Speaking from unusually wide ex. porienco of her own sox, Mrs Archibald Colquhonn, in a volume entitled “Tho Vocation of Woman,” published by Messrs Macmillan, seta herself to solve tho problem of what tho true interests of woman are, and how she caa best pursue* them. In tho course of her discussion she deals, frankly and "unconventionally, with many vexed questions, such as love, marriage divorce, political rights, and emigration; and Hie keynote of her conclu.

sions is found in the gospel of work. Without useful, fruitful work, intolli■genth- jK-rforrr.p-d, woman cannot, ir her judgment, find happiness. It it ■of special interest at the present tim< to note that -Mrs Colquhouu hold; that woman must develop along hoi own lines, and work with a differentiation of function from that of man. The book is one that unquestionably breaks fresh ground, and for this reason ij, should prove suggestive even to these, who disagree with of its author’s conclusions. SOME NEW NOVELS “The Wisdom of tho Fool,” by “Coronet,” is a story with a happy ending, dealing with the lives of two men. One (thought to he a fool) wins tho woman ho wants, through his belief in, the ultimate triumph of good over evil. Tlio other loses tho woman ho loves by his all-jjcrvading sus--picion of everything mid everybody. Society scenes and satire appear throughout, with plenty of comedy and many liighly-dramatic situations. (.John Long, Ltd., pel" Whitcombo and Tombs). Miss A. M. Judd, the author of “Lot’s Wife” (John Long, Ltd.), is a descondant of Sir Andrew Judd. Lord Mayor of London in Idol, and founder of tho famous Judd School at Tonbridge in Edward Vl.’s roign. * In 14131 tlio Judds were among tho leading gentry of tho County of Kent, and it was on part of their estate that the Tonbridge School was built. Sir Andrew died iu 1568 and was buried in tlio church of St. Helen, Bishopsgate. He was three times married. Ills first wife had ’four sous and a daughter. By his Third wife he had ono daughter-, Aiico Judd, who married “Customer” Thomas Smythc, and from her the family of the late Viscount Strangford is descended. In her story, Mills Judd gives tho account of a young wife married to a man much her senior, whilst still cherishing romantic ideas about tho lover who had left her without a word. Henry Bruce's work. “The Eurasian” (John Long, Ltd.), is a poignant study of the unhappy sub-race which has resulted from our two centuries’ possession of India. Tho prologue shows tho rescue, by missionaries, , of two Eurasian waifs, claiming to ho the children of a higlily-placed civilian. Tho girl, acknowledged by him, is brought to England. It is her unacknowledged brother, calling himself Robert Lowell, who is the Eurasian ol this novel. He becomes "an Anarchist; lie marries a kindly Devonshire nursemaid, but drags hep down instead ol being helped up by her; ho takes to tho strange ganja or hemp habit, so little . known in Europe, which incites to murderous madness; finally, ho meets Sir Robert Lowell, whom ho claims as father, and who has just been appointed Governor of Bombay. “Love’s Apprenticeship,” by Mabel Sprout (Methuen), is a book that should please and interest readers of simple love stories. Its heroins is an Australian girl who comes to England to live with an ancient aunt, and then goes to seek her fortune in Germany with a Bohemian brother and a friend who studies singing. She has various adventures with various men, and at last falls deeply in love witji the old•ost, tlio most mysterious and the most fascinating of thorn all, “The Man from Egypt.” Sho is perhaps more high-spirited’ than most heroines, hut the other characters- in the- book are purely conventional. Miss Arabella Kenealy, whose last .book, “The Irresistible Mrs Ferrers,” went into five editions, is a novelist of considerable merit, and her new novel, “The Painted Lady” (Stanley Paul and Co.), is as fresh ns any •book sho has written. It is the story"of an Earl’s daughter, who leaves tho smart second-rate, Californian set in which sho has been brought up, and tries to tako up her own position in her father’s house. A mystery underlies an amusing love atory. TO BE A NEGRO ■ A poem, inspired by _ a poignant •senscr of wrong, appears in the “Cen■tury Magazine” from tho pen of James D Corrothers, a coloured -man." It is entitled “ At the Closed Gate of Justice ” : To ho a Negro in a day like this Demands forgiveness. Bruised with blow on blow; Betrayed, like Him whose woe-dimmed eyes gave bliss, ’ •Still must one succour those who brought one low. To bo a Negro in a day like this. To be a Negro in a day like this Demands rare patience;—patience ." that can wait In utter darkness. ’Tis the path to * miss; > And knock, unheeded, at an iron gate. To be a Negro in a day like this. To be a Negro in a day like this Demands strange loyalty. "We serve a flag Which is to us white freedom’s emphasis. To bo a Negro in a day like this— Alas! Lord God, what evil have we done? Still shines the gate, all gold and amethyst, But I pass by, tho glorious goal unwon, “Merely <v Negro”—in a day like this!

LAWS UP TO DATE As long ago as 1911 the British colony of Wei-hai-wei passed an Ordinance to preserve tho natural beauties of its landscape. By Ordinance No. 1, passed in that year, tho Commissioners may prohibit any advertisement which would disfigure the natural beauty of a landscape in Woi-hai-wci. Citizens of Sydney and Hobart may, perhaps, look forward to seeing their cities, within their lifetime, brought into line with np-to-dato centres, such ns Wei-hai-wei. Mauritius, in 1911, passed a law against white phosphorus matches, which it copied from a Gibraltar law of the year before; it also passed a law to prevent plant diseases, which it copied from tho law of Cyprus. Hongkong.passed a law making it compulsory to affix to all receptacles in which condensed milk or separated or skimmed milk is sold, a label bearing in largo letters, in _ English and Chinese, tho words, “ This is skimmed milk. Children under one year of age should not bo fed on it.” Southern Nigeria passed a “pure produce” law, Sierra Leone a law against mosquitoes, Somaliland a sort of Local Government Act (which, however, is not recommended for use elsewhere); whilst laws controlling cinematograph shows were passed in 1911 in tho Ba-

hamas, British Guiana. Grenada, St. Vincent. Wci-hai-wci, ami .Manitoba. These, and many more important matters —from the Public - Parks Act of Ontario to the Proportional Representation Law of Sweden, and the drastic Sterilisation Act for undesirablrs in lowa—are ail compared in the- “Journal of the Society of Comparative Legislation,” new scries, No. XXVIII., ju*st published by John Murray, Albemarlo street. London. LITERARY GOSSIP An amusing and useful book, which was published ten years ago and has since been forgotten, is to reappear with tho inipnnt of Stanley Paul and Co. This is “The Flowing Bowl: a Dissertation of Banquets,” by Edward Spencer. The book gives many recollections of adventures in connection Willi feasts in town and country, interspersed with recipes new and ancient. Mr A. J. Anderson is known as the author of two biographies of Fra Filippo Lippi and Sandro Botticelli, which told the romances of these artists’ lives somewhat in fiction form. Now ho has written “His Magnificence,” a real historical romance in which a big part is played by Lorenzo do’ Medici. The historical spirit is strong in Mr Anderson, and ho has striven to draw a strong picture of tho love, plotting and fighting of Renaissance times. Stanley Paul and Co. are tho publishers. , A somewhat similar volume is announced by Messrs Greening and Co. Under the title* “When Satan Ruled.” Mr C. Ranger Gull, the author of this, has laid his scene in Italy fifty years after tho time of Lorenzo do’ Medici, and introduces Michael Angelo and Benvenuto Cellini in his pages. It is a brilliant story and a fine picture of stirring times. Tho November “Windsor Magazine” offers its readers a very entertaining new story, complete in the one number, by S. Macnaughtan, the witty author of “Tho Fortune of Christina Macnab,” “A Lame Dog’s Diary,” ana other greatly successful books. Edgar Wallace contributes a now story about the irrepressible Carfew, which will be generally voted one of the most entertaining things of tho kind lately published, and there is also a story of schoolboy life which no ono should miss. • The principal serial attraction,, Gertrude Page’s fascinating novel of Rhodesian life, entitled “Tho Pathway,”. reaches a stage of absorbing interest, and, in lighter vein, the series by Albert Kinross chronicling the adventures in England of tho charming American girl. Virginia Bright, is continued with another genial episode.