BOOK NOTICES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13859, 23 March 1907, Page 2

BOOK NOTICES.

"Emerald Hours in New Zealand." By Alys Lowtl). Dunedin, Clinstchnrch, etc.: Whitcombo and Tombs. (Linen boards; 6s net.) This is a lively, sketchy -account of the travels from Auckland to the Bluff, including ,tho descent ■of the Wang'anui River and the overland trip to Milford Sound., of a young Knglish lady, who was prepared to'admire all things Antipodean, and,'having a happy optimistic spirit, of her own,-was always Tea'dy to make the best of anv small grievance* that , might arise on tlio journey. There are absolutely no statistics of. any. kind. Tlio only place where such are even referred to is -speaking •of " the caretaker of Waimangu,'.' who, while leading his, party over "shifting sands, up stpep; paths, along cindery ways, .under the blazing siin, in a tori nous perambulation of about two miles and a-half thai seemed like 12 inches," entertained litem, by. "an unceasing How'of information, as if wo had been a, class and lie a professor of seismology." He understood " the whole theory of eruptions, knew exactly what caused earthquakes, and was' perfectly at liome .in tho evolution.'of geysers; he explained tho colouring of rainbows, was eloquent on the formation, of strata, ami described convincingly the process that converts common men into .Government, guides." Miss Lowth knows just how much to say, which is in itself a true journalistic art: unlike-the guide,in question, she. never wearies her airdience, but says -just sufficient to stimulate their curiosity. If she has any faults to find she is clever enough to piit them into someone else's mouth, : having supplied herself with a stalking-horse for that purpose in her 'companion, friend, and presumably chaperon?— Greendays. Mrs Itreendayfc is a delicate, neurotic little lady, for whoso benefit, the journey to New Zealand is supposed. to he taken. She grumbles at. every .ipconvenience and discomfort, . demands the best, of everv-

thing for herself and-.party, -anti forms an admirable contrast to tho antobiographist. The party includes Captain. Grcendays. R.N., whose chief eharacteristics are devotion to his wife's whims and a passion for fishing ;. and Colonel Deane, " the Mail of Comfort.," who is introduced oil tho first pane as a "grey-lfai.red ; hero, not so old as . ho looks," acts throughout the part suggested by his name, and on. tile Inst page invitca the heroins to return to New Zealand " next year witli me." It will thus he seen that Miss Lowth has not neglectcd "tlio human, interest" in her travels, and this, combined with her talentfor avoiding drv details, makes the letterpress very readable. But, after all, it is not the literary but the artistic matter which is the main' charm'of'" Emerald Hours." At least, half the volume—every alternate two pages—is occupied by exceedingly fine photos of the country, including a likeness of Captain Cook and a copy of the now. famous picturc by Messrs C. F. Goldie and L. J. Steel of "The people of Turi's canoe, after a voyage of great hardship, catching sightof the shores of New Zealand," Most of these photos were supplied by the Tourist Department, which, indeed* seems to have -done .everything in its'power--to facilitate Miss Lowth's undertaking; but'some of the very finest arc from l the studio of Mr Morris, Dunedin, and' a few of- the smaller ones are the work of Miss Lowth herself. They describe almost every phase of our beautiful scenery,\ from -tie weird wonders of Rotonia and its neighbourhood to the gracious charm of the marvellous bush landscapes, backed by snowy mountains, of the Southern Alps, everywhere distinguished by the green luxuriuncc of this "greenest" of countries,-which word is truly, as our-'latest visitor savs, " the special superlative of New Zealand," io properly' describo which ".a new set of adjectives expressive of. verdancy would

have to be coined." Hence the happily inspired name "Emerald Honrs." In her dedication Miss Lowth pavs a graceful compliment to our New Zealand poet, Mr ■David Ross, who wrote "Maoviland" especially for her, and has most "generously" allowed her "to cull from otlier of his verses the lines heading the chapters." The meanings .of various Maori names have been supplied by Mr 'l'regear, an acknowledged authority on the point. Much praise must be given to Messrs Whitcombo and Tombs for the admirable get-up of the whole. Paper, type, printing, and binding are' alike excellent; the photos are beautifully reproduced, soft and clear as original' work: tlio letterpress is- attractively presented and easy to read. The cover—suggesting it. chain of emeralds 'lightly caughttogether—combines beauty and utility in an unusual degree. We understand thata copy of this work—with others locally produced by the same -siitenirisiug firm— has been sent to his Majesty King Edward "TO, and we doubt not -thai he will graciously accept and take pleasure in perusing this graceful tribute describing the most- distant of his'dominions, the "Emerald" Isle"of (lie Southern Seas.

"The Dragon Painter."- By Mary M'Neill Fenollosa. Boston: Litt'.fjj Brown, and Co. Dunedin: E. J. Stark. (Glotb, Zo 6(1.) Delicate, dainty, with colouring almost, as' evanescent as the' tints of a summer dawn, this intimate story of the inner life of Japan takes' the reader's heart- and imagination by storm. So .little, is said, so'much implied, that—as in the writings of the late lamented Lefcadio Hearne— the silence becomes eloquent- with- a clmvm beyond that of words.' To read it with profit, however, some knowledge is required and a great deal of sympathy. It is a revelation, but only to those.who possess the key; to. others it- will he no nioro than a pretty, fanciful story, for it is not so much a tale "of" Japan as a little bit of the country itself, a. glimpse of the intimate soul of the people, which we have been repeatedly informed is never revealed to foreigners. , Pcrnaps the authoress's name points to a descent which gives hereditary knowledge 011 three subjects. 1 Of her previous tale, "The Breath of the Gods," the American press declared it to be. "a novel that has the real Japan in it as lias no other novel ever written in the English tongue.".. And- "The Dragon Painter'' is lin no way behind its predecessor. Ume-ko is a wonderful creation—dainty, exquisite, floworlike, and fascinating, with' great- depth of passion and an extraordinary power of sustained self-sacrifice. To leave an adored and adoring husband for his good is not an altogether unprecedented feat, but- to keep it «p, hovering on the of the mystery, until, through anguish ol mind and body, the cure is completed, is- a different- .and far greater trial of the love which " en-duret-h all tilings." ■ Tatsu, the "Dragon Painter" himself, is a- creature of- the woods and mountains, a wild, tempestuous, irresponsible genius—a Greek god, who knows 110 law but- his own fancy; an untamed ' and apparently untamable creature, whom Ume's father, himself a painter, without- 11 son, ucsircs to adopt and civilise. It- is the taming and training of this wild nature that forms the

"motif" of the story, and as we have already hinted, Umc is the instrument. How it is done we leave our readers to discover for themselves—to say more would be to rub the down from the peach. The book is full of art- as it- is known and practised in the "Land of the Kising Sun," and we read "of the exquisite pigments that the Japanese love of beauty lias drawn from water, earth, and air— delicate infusions of sea-moss, roots and leaves, saucers of warm-earth giouiul to a paste, precious vessels of powdered malachite. porphrv, and lapis lazuli." liut the Dragon Painter scoffs at such material devices. "He had painted on flakes of inner bark, still quivering-" with the life from which he had torn them. Visions limned 011 rock or sand had been the more precious for their impennancnee." And it is long before he will touch the rolls of silk prepared for his use, his wild nntnro revolting from so obvious a snare. Who reads this book will understand something of Japanese filial piety, of their rdevotion to the memory of their dead, of the true inwardness of that "ancestor cult " combined with the Buddhist theorv of the impenoauence of matter, "which lies at the base of their religion, and which the Western mind finds .yi. illusive and so difficult to grasp. Ho, is also introduced to the domestic life-'of-tire Japanese women.- the details of everyday existence—in the kitchen, the fepwingroom, the garden; the preparation of

food ; the decoration of the domestic altar, where the flame of the Imy lamp is never suffered to go out; the restrained movements, the outer calm, the inner passion, the quaint turns of thought and pbrase; the iron self-control, which gives no hint of the fire raging within these feminine automata. All these things and a thousand others are hinted rather than told; and it is quite passible that many will read the "Dragon Painter"' and never find them at alf, while those witTi clearer vision will return, to' its pages again and again, with ever-increasing delight. For beneath all tlio passion lies a deeper depth, a glimpse of the Love whirili is at the root of all and which counts all tilings as nought if it can'but truly servo tiio one beloved— So that we bo together, Even the liell of the Blood Lalio, Even tho 'Mountain of Swords, Mean nothing to us at all. . "The Countcrstroke." .By Ambrose Pratt. London: Ward, Lock, and Co. Dunedln: Whitcombo and Tombs. (3s 6d and 2s 6d.).. -i '

This is a highly sensational, modern novel, dealing - with Nihilists and their foes—plots and ' counterplots, schemes of wholesale destruction, and " Counterstrokes " of equal cunning, though not of equal ferocity. The of the story holds one until the end, and is ever kept, up and renewed by a series of thrilling incidents, most of which take place on the uncharted island of Attala, in the Greek Archipelago, the headquarters. of the Nihilist chief, and a fearsome place, compounded of a judicious selection of all .previously described brigand fortresses ;iind a few details of Mr Pratt's own, as, for instance, "the gyved and fettered" .printers, telegraphists, and engineers, who are thero. kept, in chains riveted to tlio floor, in an inaccessible cavern,, surrounded by a plant that would not havo disgraced the'""workroom" of a London journal." Mi" Pratt" has a wonderful imagination, which seems practically inexhaustible, as fresh wonders and complications crowd each page. The whole book is a sensational, spectacular drama, but the characterisation is weak, the omniscient Porigord, the fiendishly-cruel Gracci, and the beautiful decoy Viyella are types that have been already extensively employed, while the English hero aiul heroine sceni hardly up to the work which they so blithely undertake. Taken as a whole, however, "Tlve Counterstroko" is distinctly readable and amusing, am" above, tho level of the ordinary sensational shocker.

Mr Heinemann sends two of t-nc little volumes of his "Favourite Classics" series—" Selected Essays of Joseph Addison" and "The rooms of Emily Bronte," tho latter without the portrait which usually appears as a frontispiece. The publisher, in referring to the omission' in a note, savs: "As there is no authentic portrait of Emily Bronte, and not wishing to use a doubtful one, the publisher has thought it best to omit the frontispiece from this volume."