A LITERARY CORNER

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 9871, 17 January 1918, Page 8

A LITERARY CORNER

(R.A.L.) “STOPFORD BROOKE. LIFE AND LETTERS. L. P. Jacks. (John Alurray, London.) Tho Principal of Alanchester College, Oxford, has done bis work well, with the result that the character and lifework of one of tho most remarkable men of tho Victorian era have been presented in concrete form to a world that will always bo tho better for the knowledge. This he has done by letting tho writings, utterances, and diaries of the man tell the man’s story, with the aid of a, few judicious, sympathetic comments which do little more than illuminate tho outline and polish tho rough-hewn surface’. Stopford Brooke was the poet-prophet of his time, a writer of great power and social force, with a strong poetic temperament. For his generation he interpreted Nature without losing sight of tho divinity of its origin in a manner far ahead of the point where the new school, with H. Q, Wells in the ran, is beginning to flounder in the right direction. How he rose to bo the Queen’s Chaplain in the midst of a vast galaxy of all the talents of the time, and how, out of unshaken loyalty to tho Broad Church ideas of his youth, ho gave up that position and wont strongly into Diseont—these things or<i woll told hero. So also is tho influence on Brooke’a life of Rioberteon, the groat Broad Churchman of tho Traotariaa period. So also is tho life-long friendship between Brooke and Viscount Bryce. So also is Brooke’s outlook upon, tho great war, before he died at the ripe'ago of eighty-four. Also, is the reader made to realise the marvellous eloquence of, ono of the greatest pulpit orators of hia day—the man who, preaching sermons on Biblical subjects of either Testament, would make his treatment, like \ Tintorett’s remarkable picture of tho Last Supper, _ keeping a firm hand on the essential nature of the historical fact, and concentrating his lighten the central figure. • . transmuting a bare , narrative by the reresoUrcoa of imagination into a vision of eternal things. We quote what is said of his ideas on the war-. Th 0 Great War did not surprise him. A sense of Impending catastrophe had been’with ham for years. Industrial civilisation .as “it exists to-day-he regarded as based on covet’ - ousness and doomed to destruction ■ by the very process Which had creat- ■ off it. Again and again ho hod prodieted that tho immense accumulations of wealth in Europe and Anterior would sooner or later-give rise to plunder and rapine on ■an enormous scale—what else indeed could be tho result so long as the toofof. oovetoosness was uncut P That Germany would play tho part of chief plunderer ho hod - not anticipated, , though as the years went on under the regime of wilitam XI. he greatly modified tho hopes which he had entertained of Prussia in : 1670. His . opinion was that the industrial system would go to pieces, under. the shook of • civil war, and he expected that the beginning would be made in America. Whan the European war broke out he said: to. me—“ The end is coming otherwise than I thought. • But it is- coming, ail the same. Covetousness will have to be rooted out of , the earth,” Six years’.before the outbreak of war ho wrote thus. October 28, 1908. "I read Welle' 'War ia the Air‘—a terrible but quite possible outlook. I’ve always said that in a decent, . civilised society, science should be bridled towards the good of that. society; _ Every invention that ahoiild minister to the pleasure, comfort, harmony of nations, to their bringing together, ■to increase of the arte and wisdom, of life should be rewarded by all' the civilised peoples; 'but every invention of the means of destruction, or of injury. joS things that minister to the selfishness And greed of men should be, by genera! consent, destroyed, its revival prohibited on .pain of death, and its inventor slain. But, if any king or nation, using airships, for example, wore, to initiate the atrocious crime of attacking an- , other, for the sake of extending its power, there is no secret of - science which I should not use against such an enemy. There are gases, e.g., which could easily be used against a foe, and wnich. mould blot out a i million of men in half an hour. But war, such as it . is now, is not only a crime, it is the ■ worst . of follies. And it ought to be impossible. If it is not soon rendered so, tho whole fabric of civilisation will £>e expunged, and Europe 'fill go back to savage conditions. It witU need no God’s interference to put op end to our vile society. . It will destroy itself. And tile destruction will be the work, of modern science.’ Tho final summary of the life experience of this celebrated man is good enough to be presented complete:—* He had lived long enough to see the rise and fall of many gospels, social idealisms, and bold attempts to mend the world. He had seen, great ideas, n ..f( great reforms, wrecked by fact:-

ous oppositions, or hold in suspense by criticism so long that many had grown weary to hear o£ them and lost faith in their efficacy. For two generations he had watched many an old evil holding its ground and new ones gathering head, and this in spite of the fact that both old and new wore under constant denunciation and attack from every man and woman who had a sane sense of the value of human life. If discussion could destroy them, if societies and committees and books and propaganda and political agitation could root them out, then surely, he thought, their end should have come long ago. Mightier fortes than these were needed. And he believed they would come from within. The civilisation which is based on wealth would burst from the fermentation of its own rottenness. Wealth would destroy wealth, and the process would begin when civilisation, aided by science, had grown sufficiently wealthy to supply itself with, the vast armaments needed for the work of self-destruction. The present form of society would go up in dame and smoke. After that a better age would dawn. “INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGY.’’ Muscio (Whitcombo and Tombs, M ®l- - for Angus and Robertson, Sydney.) These axe lectures delivered at the Sydney University under the auspices ot t*hw Workers’ Educational Aseocdalion in 1916 and in 1917, under the auspices of the University I'ixteiisicei Board. Since delivery a good deal of fresh material has been added, and will bo found to greatly enhance theinterest. Their object is to demonstrate the vast possibilities of applying psychology to industry, whicu, in the opinion of the author, are greater than those of applying science to industry. Xt is, he contends, but adding the new science to the old ones in the category of sciences applied to Industry. The chief results being increased output and higher wages, it is easy to imagine a rather bitter conflict raging round the idea of “psychological application.” That conflict, it Is the author’s purpose to discuss impartially. Without space to ' follow him, we oan recommend his treatment as interesting and likely, like all honest, reverent work, to be useful. “A ROUMANIAN MART.” Lady Kennaird. (Heinemann, London.) A shrewd, chatty, deeply interesting account of . a weird time passed in the crisis of the fate of the hapless country ' which now stands, through the paralysis of Russia, between the devil 1 and the deep sea. ■ "MAOKAY' OF THE GREAT ; LAKE.” Cw E. Phdwick. Humphrey Mitford. (Oxford .University Press) London.) Two biographies of Alexander Macbay, who did so much and Buffered so much to establish Christianity m Uganda, in' the - terrible shadow of the court in which Mifcesa was the first king, have been published by Holder and Stoughton. This one has been written to inspire boys of the Scout olass. It-has brevity with dramatic force, and accurate historical information. It opens with the famous interview' between Stanley, and King Mtesa in the midst of his brilliant court, surrounded with, all 1 the signs of power. Stanley has subsequent interviews with the : king, to'whom he imparts fas ho has told in his ■ greatest book) the elements of'Christianityand draws from him a request Tor ' a missionary teacher. He writes the message in a letter to ’ his paper, the ' “Daily Telegraph,”' which the Belgian traveller, Lieutenant de Bellefonds, carries with' him on the journey' ho’ has undertaken to' Khartoum and Gordon. The Bari intercept the caravan, and the officer is slain. Gordon’s men, coming suddenly on the scene, find the'body, and, searching it, discover Stanley’s dispatch, which, they , send ,on through their posts. Finally the, letter roaches its destination. The result is the arrival of Alexander Macfcay in, Uganda, and the book is the story of what followed. Most readable, instructive, and inspiring. “THE BATTLE OF THE SOMME” John Buchan. (T- Nelson and Sons, Paternoster Row, London, E.C.) ' From Arras southward the Western battlofront leaves the coalpits and sour fields of. the Axtois and enters the pleasant region of Picardy. The ... great crook of the" upper Sommo ana the tributary vale of the Ancre in- • tersest a rolling tableland, dotted with little towns and furrowed, by a hundred, shallow chalk .streams. Nowhsrs does the land rise higher 1 than 600 feet, but a trivial swell—such is the nature of the landscape—may carry the eye for thirty miles. There are few detached 1 forms, for it is a country of peasant cultivators who cluster in villages. Not a hedge break* the long roil of cornlands, and till the higher ground is reached the lines of tall poplars flanking tho great Roman highroads are the chief landmarks. At the lift of country between Somme and ■Ancre copses patch the slopes, and sometimes a church spire is seen above the trees from some woodland hamlet. . Tho Somme winds m a broad valley between chalk bluffs, faithfully dogged by a canal—a Curious river which strains, like tho Oxus, “through matted rushy isles," and is sometimes a lake and sometimes an expanse of swamu. The Ancre is . such a. stream as may be found in Wiltshire, with good tront in its pools. On a hot midsummer day tho elopes are ablaze with yellow mustard, red poppies and blue cornflowers: and to one coming from the lush flats of Flanders, or the “-black country” of the Pas do Calais, or the dreary levels of Champagne, or • the strange melancholy Verdun hills, this lam wears a habitable and cheerful air, ns if remote from the oppression of war. This is style of the best, clear, flowing vivid in presentment. It represents the main difference between John Budhan’s war work and the work of the men* who have written of the Somme battles, wherein such vast honours have been won by the new armies of Britain against tie very, best troops and commanders of tie long-prepared, well-matured German military machine which dominates the world no more. Another difference is that the work of.the others is, for tEe most part, of dally correspondence, whereas Air Buchan’s is just over the borderland of history. It is, therefore, considering the advantages the well-known author enjoys, necessarily more accurate. It is not the last word by any means. Before we get that time and study of, documents now unpublished and inaccessible must pass. But it is the best word among other best words that the war has by this time given us by the pens of Doyle, Belloc, and otiherfl.

“GHOSTS." (An Adaptation.) Draycott, Doll. (Jarrold’s, London.) )fr Dell has adapted from Ibsen's, famous play, making a charming story of literary grace, keen observation, and striking power. The dialogue of Mr Archer’s first translation of the play has been drawn on. by arrangement, so That there can he none of the favourite jibo about plagiarism. SOME NOVELS. “Much Ado About Peter." Author of “Daddy Longlegs." (Hodder and Stoughton. London.) Fresh, original, witty, like all the books—happily a growing scries—from this pen. “Under the Hermes.” R. Delian. (W. Heinomann, 21, Bedford street, London. W.C.) A number of short stories with an element of the supernatural cleverly used for inspiring interest and throwing vivid light on various historic periods. "The Red Planet." (W. J. Locke. (John Lane. The Bodley Head, London.) We have the easy stylo of "Stella Maris,” “Aristide Pujol," and other Locke masterpieces. In it the author takes a bold plunge into the mysterious, handling his mystery with considerable constructive power, unravelling it naturallv without any adventitious aid from the supermen of the detective world. The mystery is very pathetic and very real, and some fine people play their parts finely—especially a pair of old soldiers., reminiscent in. ways of our old friends Uncle Toby and Corporal Trim ; not of our army in Flanders, but having, as disabled victims of our war in Africa, a very keen interest in our army in Flanders. A most beautiful, admirably constructed, pathetic storv relieved with quaint humour, and upholding the highest conception of Duty in every line. “Jack of Virgil’s." Lilian Pyke. (Wal'd, Lock and Co.. 212. Little Lonsdale street. Melbourne.)

. A good story of school life, on tho best tradition of tho ‘.‘good sport” school -which has done so much for manliness and truth in’ the world. Boys will revel in it, and their seniors will enjoy the strain of humour that passes by the iuniors unheeded. “Sailor Town.” (The Rev. G. H. Mitchell. (Jarrold’s, , London.)

This is not n, novel, though placed in this list. It h a of short sketches of the British sailor who has comp to tho front in the war under both" white and red ensign, particularly of 'tho latter. They are sketches of his nome among the docks and the wharves and the “stairs,” of his ships, and his boats and his ideals, too deep for easy drawings, for they aro deep as the ■majestic sea he silently worships, as the author say R so well. And incidentally there are sketches of sailors of other nations. All are studied .with humour, with piety, unaffected and hopeful, and

with a fine graphic power of describing dangerous work. "Masks and Faces.” Charles Bead®. (Jarrold's, T/oncion.) A welcome reproduction of the story ■of Peg Wellington, which gave Beado much fame because it can ne'er aio. Such a book as this, which S^ es so much all round on a market ol books,; many of which give so little, is a do-; fence of literature, though it may had for those others. "Thomas." U. B. Crc.sswell. (Nmbotj and Co.) . , . The story of a hypoohondmo,very humorously and dolightiuuy bat it gets wearisome iii spite of all. the cleverness, and one is not, Sony fhv reach "Finis.” 1 "Just Outside.” ' Stacey AmnonMuvl (Methuen' and Co., 36,. street, London, W.C.) .4 The author’s first novel, "Olga 3JaT-( del,” made'’a very favourable impres-i sion with its well-handled plot of a great woman with a mystifying P er * sonality, and the confident firmness otj its style. This .story has the style, but the hero is a very poor personali- 1 ty, ambitious, without anything _ to carry ambition. The pleasure derived.; by the reader is from some of thei other characters, very promisingly.) drawn.