BOOK NOTICES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12248, 11 January 1902, Page 3

BOOK NOTICES.

"(fclloway Gossip." By Dr de Bruce Trotter, Dumfries: Robert G. Mann. (Cloth, demy Bvo., with illustrations; 10s.)

As its name would imply, this volume Is intended to perpetuate the memory of the niiinners, customs, and peculiarities of the "aboriginal l'icts" of the Galloway Stewiirtry. The date is put bad; 80 years to'the first quarter of the last century, and many of the stories herein embalmed rise almost to (lie dignity of folk-lore, most of them arc worth preserving, and all of them speak of the conscientious and loving work of the collector whose heart is in his task. Dr Trotter's photo forms (be frontispiece, and in his fine head, with its scanty crown of snow-white hair and fine cranial development, the reader beholds the physiognomy of the ardent student of men and manners. The volume is preceded by a humorous introduction from Hie pen of'Mr 8. R. Crockett, in winch the novelist assures us that "Mr Trotter's volumes are much more than collections of merry countryside tales, conceived with a 'certain nmnfulness of mood; for in them may he found the very spirit and flavour of old Galloway, and of the days when a spade was not called an agricultural implement. The taste of the sea is on my lips as I wad. The. wind comes blusterously across the narrow seas. It brings the water to the eyes, the sting of brine and seaweed to the nostrils, scents of moorland and gall hushes wet with driving rain, the bite of peat reek in some upland cothouse, the honest farmyard and stackyard flavours which, once known and relished, remain with every man worth sixpence to 'his dying day." This is praise indeed, and well deserved! Unfortunately, we cannot criticise. Dr Trotter's vernacular or give a calling vote on the respective merits of "to" and " tae, -, and other delicate points of pronunciation and orthography. Nor to us is the " true unalloyed speech of Galloway like 'pitata scones wi crab jcely t' them. , '" At the same time, we can and do appreciate the power and the pathos of Dr Trotter's collection, thfi beauty of r.uch stories as that of "'Helpin' the Helpless," the humour of the various derivations of the name o." Douglas, whether it be spelled Duglas, Dooglas, Duggless, with reasons for the same. Jkcellent fooling is to be found in other papers on the derivations of the various Mac Au's, Mac C, Mac Bride's, Mac Gil's, and the " Macs o' Gien names" : while the chosen examples of English grammar appear to justify the contempt heaped, upon it as only a shade less like "gibberish" than the ever-to-be-remembered "OlescaEerisii Language." A moat in Galloway seems to be a dilferent tiling from the ditch which goes bv the name name in England. In.Galloway it is described as "a miickle conical tummock, maistly \vi' n flat tap! the tap nboot sixty fit across," and of considerable height, always surrounded by aditch "whiles wi' water in't, and whiles no.' . And the name—not applied to the ditch, but to the mound—the author traces to the Gaelic "Mod," ■* comt of justice, Ecv'cral of clic niuata having been used iii comparatively modern timed for that purpose. But the muunas themselves are prehistoric, and supposed to ne the burying places of groat chiefs and priests, hence tacred aw] hence chosen m courts of juslice. In one di least ot these moats was found "a, staiw coflin wi' the banes o' an hwsonut big man in't"; nnd around thsra linger many quaint stories, as ilint of the tfJiikc, or dragon, irorm of Dairy, which, Kiifing made italf ,„ jewer to the neighbourhood, va..< dl.iin by one Michael Fleming, rfho, srenre in armour and provided with .-capons, induced (he monster to willow him, and then attacked his host from within, first killing him, and then culting his Way out The moral of this and similar yarns the learned doctor does not attempt to point mil; be is content wit'i fiiviup us the " fae's." It is news to hear Ihstt St. John the Baptist resided at Dairy, built a church there, and (aught the natives liutr to build houses, iind instructed them in other useful arts. The legend does not toil itt iffhat. period of his life this occt/rred, ,irob:ib!y when he abode in the deBerl;..Ua.llovray could nut have been"much' belter at that period. Legend and story, fact and fiction, "Galloway Gossip" is excellent, and should be welcomed with delight) by all Lowland Scots. The illustrations are worthy of the text. Hume are good modern photos, hut the majority are of considerable antiquity and inimitable quaintness. ''Marr'd in Making." By Baroness von Hutlen. London: A. Constable. (Indinn and Colonial Library; 3s 6d and 2s 6d.) The title of this book, no less than the motto from Omar Kay-yam's "Rubaiyat," proclaim*it a story of heredity: "The"parents have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge," or, in the pitiful words of the heroine'sdying mother, "If she has his qualities ami my weakness, how cun she be good?" The result is a rare psychological study of a character that grows and develops in absolute accordance with its primal instincts—a child who lie.*, from her babyhood, hut who "lies veil. It is not her fault. Her father was a !iii>. It ib in her blood. Only she is very c.lovcv, and lies well. George'was not quite clever enough to be a good liar." So the "qualities" of the father develop one by one, and at the fateful moment the "weakness of the mother betrays itself; ihc iindisciplined mind struggling between two possibilities is not strong enough to renounce either. "The Duchess of lWcabianca could not give up the self-respect that she called her pride, and Elisabeth Gurney could not give up her love." Rarely havo we read a sadder story. The theme is well worked out. The stern, unbending old grandmother—who is an Agnostic froiii necessity, since she cannot believe in the God «f the. second commandment, and has not learned to postulate a divine love at least as deep as her own—is a fine study, and holds our sympathies throughout; so, toi,, is her old friend. Peter Wayne, whose faithful, patient service anil long suffering affection vin from her at last the declaration "I have struggled and am conquered, I believe." Elisabeth herself reminds us of

" Sentimental Tommy." She, too, poses, looks at herself from the outside, and is " all things to all uien," though from a very different motive from that practised by the Apostle. "'I am not real in anv one point,' told herself. 'I would catblubber in a week if 1 were with Esquimmix.' Then, with a little self-congratula-licj shive., sh'e felt that her nature gave }ier Mm advantage over others less adapt*blc." Su it is throughout. She is never nnnjile, irever true. Clever, and apparently frank, she adapts herself to all characters. ill l clnsa , *. C.imclcon-like, she takes her colour from her surroundings: at Orange'iTocid she tells "niger stories" v.-jth the b?"t. Willi believers, she reads the Bible. YV'iih .-.;:?i(istics, she scoffs. In Rome she— » married woman—does as the Romans do, and takes io herself a lover. She. " unlike most people, is made of positive good and positive evil. A study in black and white." Again. slia loves to dissect her own aetic.ns RMil motives; not to purify the one and ennoble the other, but merely from curiosity, ::iii«.- " she regarded her own faults and weaknesses with tranquil eyes, being morally another Eve—naked, and nnt ashamed. And so to the end. to that cutting of the Gordian Knot, which comes so naturally to those who have neither the physical strength to do nor the moral coinage to endure. For such characters " Marr'd in Making" we can only feel an infinite pity. "Something made me, and as I am. I alw.-.cs could distinguish between right and wrong. It Wits not that I did not know; it was only that I did not care. I have simply no mural hold on things." And so she goes oul into the darkness. The story is well told. It- is powerful in its realism. It takes hold of the reader's very sou!. But it is not wholesome. It shows the open Bore, hut suggests no remedy. It is clever, painful, pagan in its outlook and teaching.

"The Follies of Captain Daly." By P. Norreys Comiell. London: Grant Rjchards. Duncdin: AYhilcombe and Tombs. (Colonial Library : 3s 6d and 2s 6d.) All admirers of Charles Lever—and they are legion—will be pleased to welcome a successor in Mr Jvorreys Connell, in whose "Captain Daly" we again encounter the mad, hair-brained adventurer, the wit and drollery of the immortal Charles O'Malley. Daly, who was made 2 captain at 17. and remains a captain for 16 years, is a delightfully comical Irishman, who loves fighting for the sake of the fun and excitement, and without a single arriere pensee concerning

the why and the wherefore. In Flanders' he rescues a lady in dislruss, and captures five French Hussars single-handed. In this Peninsula he plays Lansquenet "with all Europe in the pool,' , "kisses Jacintlm" for a big wager, though, in truth, that charming dninsc! was worth jiieicing the enemv's lines on her own account. ' He defends Sin Ballisto, snatching triuin])!i from the very jaws of defeat. On another occasion he joins in the tragic drama of the "SurgeonEmpernr," and corrects "Mnjor Appleby's error of judgment." He even succeeds in capturing a privateer, though " he fails as a horse marine." And in the end he falls in love with the daughter of his first !ove and conquers tin: affections of the little minx with the same speed and completeness that distinguished bis military feats. He is altogether a delightful creation, and the fun of his ''Follies" is fast and furious, and withal as harmless and innocuous as honest drollery shmild be. I " The World's History: a Survey of Man's lietwd." Ivdited liy Dr 11. F. Helmolt, with an introductory essay by the Right Hon. James Bryc'e, D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S. Volume I: Pre-History-Americn and the Pacific Ocean'; with p'ates i'.nd maps. London: William Hciiicinann. (Cloth, 15s net; halfmorocco, 21s net.) I As Professor Biyce rightly remarks in his introduction to this valuable and important work, the time seems lo have arrived for the production of a universal history, upon a new plan and in accordance with the enlarged conception of what such ; a history ought to be in the light of the ] fuller knowledge which the last century has ' seen. He especially notes three changes of the utmost consequence for the writing of history which have marked the nineteenth century—viz.: (1) The enormous widening in our knowledge of the times hitherto called pie-historic; (2) a notable improve-1 ment in the critical method of handling historical documents; (3) the influence on history of the progress of the'sciences of Nature, both by providing new data and by affecting the mental "attitude of all reflective men. Especially is this note- ; worthy as regards recent geographical ex- j ploration. which has made known nearly ' every p.,rt of the surface of the globe, anil ■ also the increase in our knowledge of tlio more remote and backward peoples, And ' lastly, owing to improvement in transport ', imd the means of speedy communication, ! "For the first time the human race, always. essentially one, bus begun to feel itself one, and civilised man has in every part of it ! become a contemporaneous observer of what passes in another part." In a publisher's note prefacing this first volume Mr Heinemaim states that in view of (lie fuels we , have above rehearsed he had in coutempla-1■ lion the publication of a. new presentation I of the world's history,' when he was fore- \ stalled by the appearance of Dr Helmolt's work. The volume now under review is the first part, therefore, of an adaptation of the German treatise, revised and brought n\> to date for English readeis. Some idea of the value of this history, as a recital of the origin, development, and progress of the human race, may be gathered from Mr Bryco's remark that " the able and learned editor and the eminently competent staff of contributors who have joined him are penetrated by the scientific spirit of the age, which has enriched the historian with , a profusion of new nio.terials and has trained him to a higher skill in the critical > use of them." The extent to which modern research and modern discovery have been laid under Contribution in the compilation ' of this work, and how glndly it will be | welcomed by every student of evolution, ! . can be only hinted at bv the mention of • ■ the chapter headings. Following on Mr' I Bryce's introductory essay—in itself a : valuable contribution to present-day litera-, ' hire—are preliminary chapters oil " The ' : Idea—Universal History," by Dr Hans F. j' Helmolt; " First Principle of a, History of j the Development of Mankind," by Pro-)' fessor J. Kohler; and " Man as a Life ! Phenomenon on the Earth," by Professors! Freidrich Ratzel. The history proper com-! mencos with a chapter on " Pre-historic j ■ Times," by Professor Johannes Ranke, ' which deals exhaustively, on the lines of ' what is'tCnnd " the natural-science method ' of.research." with the discovery of Drift-: ] man, his distinction from Man of the later Stone Age, the investigation of the palcco- ' lithie and neolithic strata, of culture of; 1 Europe and of the wbole earth, and the: ! scientific reconstruction of the earliest forms J oi civilisation based on these premises. ( The following chapter on "America," from ] the pen of Professor Konrad Haebler, is of ! f special interest in view of the prominence I ( which that country is now assuming with ■ ■' the world's affairs. Its exceeding enmpre-!' hensiveness is revealed in the foct that it; ] commences with the consideration of the ' ' problem of how the first men .came to 1 America and concludes with the story of ! the Spanish-American war. To those who : ] desire to make comparisons between the!) federation of the American and of the Aus- i ] tralian States, the section devoted to " The.' i United States of America in the Nineteenth ' > Century" should prove very helpful. Hut i' perhaps the final chapter of this volume, i ' on " The Historical Importance of the ' ' Pacific Ocean," by Count Edward Wilcraki \ revised by Professor diaries Weale, will j be the most eagerly sought for by Xew ; Zealand students. Dealing with the open- : i mg up of Australia, the author remarks: ; i " The population of Australia has made ! 1 this youngest of continents a second antipo- ' dean of ' Old England '—a daughter-land ,' which furthers the policy of ' Rule Britan- J nin' on the Pacific Ocean with no le«s pride than her great prototype at Home." ! New Zealand has cause for complaint in , that the uninformed reader might almost ( assume from the historian's remarks that ( our colony bad been included in the Aus- i t tralian Commonwealth, which it is stated ' "for the present has no higher aim than l to foster with increased energy the' ) British 'Imperial idea.'" Another section j in the same chapter, of engrossing interest { to all advocates of a " White Australia," is j { that devoted to the consideration of the! i destiny of the Polynesian ra<:cs and the ' i problems confronting the immigrant popu- : I lation. As a companion to every encyclo- ! ' pwdia this history, which is well furnished ' £ with illustrative plates and maps, should 1 command a wide circulation as a standard text-book. «