BOOK NOTICES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11452, 17 June 1899, Page 6

BOOK NOTICES.

'A Prince fiom the Gjeit Never Never" B} Maiy F A 'lench London Huist and Blackett*'

"A Pnnce fioin the Gie it N^oi Xevei,' although not in epoch making book, is enteitumng leading withil, md is ceit.un to find i consideiable cncle of lepdeis The plot of the ston is,good and Miss Tench succeeds in holding the interest of hei ieadn thioughout rlhe " Gieat "SSTe\ei Xe%ei, is the leidai piobablj knows, is the -wist unexplored region of Cenlial Au<I tidlu—thit gieo-t tluisU land tint his claimed so m in> Motims .imongst the ad •venturous cxploreis who h.ue attempted to wiesfc fiom a lelenlless natuie s t}ie seciets she has guarded so The Pnnce from the Great Ne\ei Ne\ei Vietoi Caning ton, whom Molly Despa,ul had pre\iously met at larian Vale, the estate of Mi Dacre an Australian sqmttei Uncon "Ciouslv the" pin M 1 fahen in lme with each othei, and Victor was on the point of piopoMiig to hei , but the thought-, that .peihaps he might nevei letuin from the e^ploung expedition that was to set out oi the monow lestinined him Wheij Mi Daci', who oigam<=ed a lehef expedition, brought back Vietoi Oarnngton fiom the Ne\er Never land wheie ill lv« compuuons s,ne tv-o had left their bones, and he and Molh weie thiown togethei again m hei own lush home at Knock ni Mulh what I more natuial than that thej shou'd become-1 etigaged' But tbe couise of Uue 10-se in then case did not lun «moothh, and both | then lives weie nearly spoiled b^ the machinations of a designing sister, -«ho ! Wcinted Vietoi Carnngton lira self, and came within an ace of getting him This pait of the plot is the weakest chapter m the stoij, and the ea<!e with which a clever mm like Victor Canington was duped by designing Flossie Despaid, and the leadt I ness Twth which he fell mto the hap laidj for him seems a^tufle unieal and ovei I di aw n How e\ ci, all is w ell that ends tv ell, I and in the end the tine loveis die -\\ed There K.anotkei almost .eqaajly, mteiestuig love story in the book, but" we' must not anticipate, prefeiung to let the. .readeis ,make the acquaintance for themselves of 'the couple, who loved-and lost and found each other again sifter'the .'shadow of acre had dimmed the glamour of youth.

"The Drones Must Die." By Max Nordau. I London: William Heinemann. . This is a novel of the ponderous type, in which uninteresting conversations take ! up the bulk of the volume. ' The title ' might lead, one to expect a socialistic volume, dealing with those problems of the day which ore obUnding themselves upon the attention of so many pbut'the kind of social economy discussed by Max Nordau is that in which by fortuitous circumstances or intrigue a number of humble individuals become' rich. To the reader Svho" has patience to read through the- 416 -pages of i the book, there is plotting and orimc enough j to excite the interest. Naturally, the peo- I pie who ;ire made to stand'before the foot- ' j lights in the drama of life the 'author has I | evolved from his Inner consciousness are ! I drawn from a number bf different nationalities and the theatre of a series of impro-' bable scenes is Paris, where manners are at a premium and morals" at a discount The principal actors are a Oman "schoolmaster .and a few counliymen, who leave the father- j land, where they made an acquaintance with I hard work and poverty, ancl come to Paris, I to lindergo a maivellous transition - from 1 | poverty to opulence, either by a stroke of ; i good luck or by means o'i intrigue. People i • ivl^o were known in their own country as, i | schoolmasters and governesses become trans- ; formed into " barons and countesses,,"" after | the manner of people in the "Arabian ; [ Nights." There is a' distinctly French j I flavour about the book, and the inane con- | j versations are likely to pall on English ! j readers. At times, though, the author de- j picts scenes in which _ both "passion and pathos have the fullest'play, and to those whose tuste aie not.too fastidious "The! Drones Must Die" Will1 prove acceptable I reading. If here ancl there the strict line j of propnety is crossed,' the 'reader must j j bear in mind that Parisian, and Continental ! I codes are not quite so strait-iaced'as Anglo- j ! Saxon. - !

"Social Problems." By Samuel, Vaile

Mr Vaile, who claims to be the original inventor of phe system of administering railways by stages or zones, has'published a. pamphlet in which details of thai, sjslem are fully set out and illustrated by* diagrams. The present pamphlet is the" sixth of the kind ; and in his introduction the author says he owes an explanation", but no apology, for devoting so much space to the question of railway administration. " I do so," he says, "because the more I think over it the more I am convinced (f two supreme importance of the right . management of the road." In asking his leaders to give special attention to the paragraphs on Russian railways and to the scheme* of narrow-gauge railways, Mr Vaile says: — "Although my more than 16 years of continuous wok has so far brought no real relief to this, country, it is pleasant to lemember that it has conferred vast benefit? cm millions of people in far-away Europe— people who have never even heard my name." Those who desire to thoroughly acquaint themselves with 'Mr Voile's system cannot do better than seuuie a cowy of the pamphlet, in which h, is'fnily' explained. Mr Vaile, evidently-is not a believer in the single tax, which he characterises at'l'ie head of ?. chapter dealing with it as " rllie Single-lAx Scheme of Robbery." Upton and Co., Auckland, are the publishers of the pamphlet. , ~

4 Victorian- Year Book', 1895-8.:-.' s: Prom the Government •Statist:we have received-a copy of' the'first;:sectibri of the Victorian Year Book for the gears' 1895-8 inclusive. Part I of: the' section deals with the constitution and Government- of Victoria, and Part II with the .population. Ihe introduction gives a concise: outline: of tlie geographical' position arid area" of the colony, together with the principal events entering into the history of Vict6ria arTT§* r." 1 chronol°gi9al- order.' The details ol the Constitution are arranged in a liandv form for reference, and it is easy at a glance to understand the leading principles •of government. The constitution and' proceedings of the Federal Council are also dealt with at some considerable length, and the historical sequence of' the federal -movement, as far. as Victoria has participated therein, kept, weir in view. In Part -II dealing with population.; a large number of tables give useful details, and the chief factors whicn lead to the fluctuation in the population are referred' to. The Victorian Xear Book, when completed; wilt be a valuable publication, to Victorians in particular and at the same time to many in the other colonies. . :