BOOK NOTICES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16506, 5 October 1915, Page 6

BOOK NOTICES.

"The Fires of Hate." By Roy Bridges. London: Hodder and Stoughton. (Cloth, 3s 6rl). In the opening years of the last century John Kedby, a young man of good birtu and fortune, wa3 accused of murder, and condemned to death on circumstantial evidence. His sentence was commuted to one of 20 years penal sisrvico. The chief witness against him was lus mistress, Margaret, Ellerton, a beautiful and favourite actress. The real murderer, a former lover of Ellerton's, was known to her, but she purjured bersclf in order to be revenged on Redby for becoming engaged to Edith Malverne, a gentle and virtuous in hi 3 own rank of iif e. Having thus engaged the attention of the reader in the late of hi 3 hero, Mr Bridges takes Redby out in a sailing ship, full of convicts, to Botany Bay, thence to Norfolk Island, and back to Tasmania ' This part of the story is less painful than Marcus Clarke's "For the Term of His Natural Life," and gruesome details are hinted at rather than spoken; but the pictures of the convict settlement, are at once powerful in themselves and highly suggestive. In Redby's oase the misery is mitigated, for as soon as possible Edith Malverne follows him to Sydney, gets him, assigned to her as servant, and marries him. Thenceforth they live in some degree of comfort, and the woman's strong, yet gentle nature, serves as a bulwark and a tower of defence, to the weaker moral nature of her husband. Eventually Margaret Ellerton falls under tho lash of the law as "a receiver of stolen goods." She,, too. is transported and sent to Tasmania. Meanwhile the real murderer, who has allowed another man to suffer for his crime, has also drifted to the colonies, but in an-official position, and the three meet once again and for the last time, ■ in a powerfully written scene in Redby's own house on tho slope of the Tasmanian hills, where the long-standing account is paid in full. "The Courts of Love." By Faren Le Breton. London: John Long and Co. (3s 6d, 2s 6d). : . , This is a passionate lovo story. The scene is laid chiefly in Rii6&.a. The heroine, Mary Trefusk, is a young and beautiful English girl, who goes to Russia at the invitation of her uncle and sole relative. The uncle Is arrested for organising a political plot, ard at once commits suicide. Mary- is arrested on suspicion and lodged in gaol. She is exposed to insults and great cruelty, and the picture drawn of Russian prison .life and discipline is revolting, and, we hope, exaggerated. The lieutenant of the prison persecutes her with his foul attentions, and the Governor,. Colonel Storri, takes pity on her on certain conditions. After a time the Governor falls passiotiately in love with his' fair prisoner, obtains her release, and would gladly, marry her, but that he has a. wife alive in an asylum. He resigns his post, however, and takes her everywhere with him, passes her off ua his ward, and covers her with costly dresses, jewels, and furs. At first Mary returns his passion, but after a time she begins to fear his fierce nature, his furious, unreasoning jealousy, and selfish exactions'. They wander about from place to place on the Continent of Europe. Mary makes few friends, her peculiar position rendering her naturally shy of other women; while most of. the men fall in love with her; so that her protector has to fight more than" one duel on her behalf. • Then Storri goes to Asia tiger-hunting, and Mary pays a visit to Guernsey, where she sees for the first time what a quiet English home is like. _ A clean-hearted, clean Jiving young Englishman falls in love with'her, and she with him. From this time on !hor life is very tragic. The story is well- told and very sensation-il, but not altogether agreeable or probable.

"The Guarded Trust." By Mona Dunlop. 'London: Ward, Lock, and Co. (Cloth, coloured frontispiece; 3s 6d.) This is a good- mystery story centreing round the persons of twin orphan girls of. high family, who suddenly make their appearance in. an English village under the chaparonage of a French maid-companion. The .movements; of these three, with those of their only visitor, furnish the good people of G'astlemrag with great food for, gossip and wonder, which attains its climax when tlio girls are found locked into a burning room, and are rescued by the maid and the local policeman. One twin is found to be already dead from a wound on the head, and the other, long unconscious from burns and fright, suffera for some time from loss of memory. These events point to crime as well as mystery, and the. tracing of this crime home to_ its prepetrators leads to some shrewd detective work, in which the omnipresent motor bears an important part. It appeal's that the two girls are the children of a member of the old French Royal family, who devoted all his time and wealth to uie endeavour to restore hie family to its old greatness. Having no son, he bequeathed this duty to his daughters, entrusting to them the hiding place of certain important documents, and commanding them to g lard the trust until a certain date. The dead man's impecunious younger brother plays the part.of "wicked uncle" to the,orphan girls, and is at the bottom of all the mystery and persecution to which they are.subjected. The story is evidently the work .of a young author, and has several technical weaknesses, but the plot is good and fairly • original.

"Greater Than Gold." By L. T. Meade. L-onHon: Ward, Lock, and Ob. (Cloth, frontispiece; 3s 6d.) Peter' Bellairs, when summoned .to tho death-bed of his life-long friend, Paul Danvers, receives from him the solemn charge of his only child, Sheila, a baby of two years. JDanvers was a South African magnate of immense wealth, and the ample . provision which he made for his child and her guardian enable Bellairs to marry a young widow, of whom he has long been enamoured. The arrangement would have been ideal but-for the fact that Mrs Bellairs has a son, one of those cpngenitally idle and vicious natures, quite unfit fco conduct the .ordinary affairs of life, always (jetting into trouble himself, and plunging his relatives and friends into serious difficulties. His mother is foolishly weak, and does not recognise the true facts of the case, and she gets into scrape after scrape in her efforts to extricate the youth from his criminal folly. Peter Bellairs is a man of the strictest, probity, who insists that his adopted daughter shall have all thoso advantages to which her money entitles her, including her entrance into the highest society, under tho wing of an accommodating duchess. There is much' friction between husband and wife owing to the bad conduct of Ralph, ■ and a final separation seems inevitable, especially when Ralph, having discovered that Sheila is an heiress, tries to run away with her. The story is amusing and wholesome.

"A Man From the Past." By Stanley Portal Hyatt. London: T. Werner Laurie. (3s 6d, 2s 6d.) It is an old saying that "murder will out,", and although.not literally fulfilled in this Story, this is its fundamental idea. A horrible murder, committed 20 years before, never discovered and never atoned' for, brings up "the man from the past," and gives "him power to torment and injure the children of the original criminals. This power Herbert Jakes uses to the uttermost with unscrupulous vindictive hate, and a clear appreciation of where and how to strike with the utmost effect on others and the utmost safety to himself. Hyatt's pictures of, middle-is jss. industrial life in the manufacturing districts of tho Midland* carry with them a. considerable amount of reality and force, and tho effects of deadlyfear on a weak but amiable character give a good lesson in the psychology of crime,. showing how it is that tho innocfent so often suffer for the guilty, not willingly, but from a dread necessity arising from physical and moral cowardice.

"The Ink-slingor." By "Rita." London: I Stanley.Paul and Co. (3s 6d, 2s 6d.) Most people are curious, concerning the inns. - Lite of authors. To satisfy to some extent this laudable curiosity, "Rita" gives to her readers a .peep into the arcana of auith.orship!, and ,in the typical case of Wrotho Fermoy shows an unpractical man of gonius who has allowed himself to ha exploited by a dishonourable, grasping publisher, the latter having taken advantage of his necessities to drive a hard bargain with him, and also to endeavour to hold him to the fulfilment of an iniquitous bargain. The merit of the story lies less in its fiction setting than in its apparent fidelity to the subject in hand. " Rita " is well qualified to speak on this subject, and is abundantly justified in the statement: "Literature has degenerated into a trade, honeycombed with all the self-sustaining advantages of trade; the author of a book is of Icrs importance th:',n the publisher.of one, b:oauso the publisher has the business faculty (or ought to have it), .and knows how to dispose of his goods at the best price und in the best market. The author docs not." Here lies the true tragedy.

in the Eastern Archipelago, of which; her father had been elected Rajah, like Rajah Brooke, of Sarawak, audi, also like JSrooke, acknowledged as an independent prince by the British Government. This young princess, Beatrice Anstruther by name, is spirited away from Sarnak by her .guardian, pretended friend, and ."monstrous enemy," Dr Ogilvy. She is rescued from many dangers by a modern British knighterrant, who has money, motors, and' air-' ships at his command, together with a couple of devoted friends who are' able to work these appliances to the best advantage, with an intelligence far surpassing that of the ordinary mechanician. The story- ia amusing, full of thrilling incidents and breathless escapes, altogether wildly improbable, not to say impossible; yet, owing.'to the skill of the author, it holds the reader's attention all the time.

The Imperial Malefactor." By Winifred Graham. London: T. Werner Laurie. (3s 6d, 2s 6d.) If it be conceded that it is justifiable for a novelist to take well-known living characters and mix them up with a number of imaginary persons, 6f high or low rank, putting into their mouths such speeches as would under ordinary circumstances bo libellous., then stories like "The Imperial Malefactor" may be allowed to pass without protest. Miss Graham, however, defeats the object which she herself may be presumed to have had in view. The crimes of the royal murderer are great,' but Miss Graham only makes them ridiculous.

In Exchange for Love." By Charles Garvico. London: Hodder and Stougliton. ..- (Cloth; 65.) Mr Charles Garvice is surely a person to bo reckoned with; and yet it is impossible to take him seriously. His charming puppets, galvanised into a brief semblance of humanity;.are so'obvkmsly marionettes that one can but smile at their antics. The . blundering, kind- s hearted Oxonian, penniless but charming, and the fair, loving, character-' '■ less heroine whose misunderstandings are so ' artificial that it is difficult to believe there arc thousands of readers prepared to accept them as pictures of real life.' Of the sterner issues of life—its stress and struggle, its acute sufferings of mind and body, its hard ' trials and slow victories, its manv failures' and hardly-won triumphs—Mr, Garvice -does'.' not attempt to treat. ■ His characters are the' short-lived ephemera of a summer day. Apparently his readers loye to Have it so.

"Tho Health of the Child: A Manual foi Mothers- and Nurses."' By' 0. Hildesheim, M.D. London: Methuen anc ' Co. (Cloth; Is net.) ' . '. : The two main objects of this book are to supply those who Have tho care of children with, a simple account of, the principles on which they should act in cases of illness, and to serve as a book of reference for the ' treatment of minor complaifits. These are treated of under several heads. \ As: tho future of a nation depends on its children, and the future of the children is largely a matter of health, all that helps to place this on a sound base should be welcomed by all true lovers of the race.

" Daddy-Long-Legs.",' By Joan Webster. , London: Hodder and Stoughton. (Cloth, v . cheap edition, Ib.) - ; ' This is. a delightful book, full ■of 'smiley ' The conception and the execution are alike, good. The 6tory is told in the form of let-'-. .' ters written by a little orphan girl to her. self-appointed- guardian and protector,' whom" " as' she had seen him only in a. grotesquely elongated shadow—hence the' title—she in-: vesta with all sort's,of middle-aged qualities; ■while he is , m reality quite young enough^:'■•'' to fall in love with his charming ward.v.

We have, received from Mr' John Murray "Freckles," by Gene Stratton-Porter; and, " Quinney's,'' by Horace A. Vachell, both published in his admirable issue, of shilling reprints.

In the Appeal Court on Thursday; their Honors the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout),'.; Mr Justice Cooper, and Mr "Justice Chap; man heard argument on two questions arieing under .the will of the late-Edward William Knowles, of Napier. The case was an originating summons heard. • at; the :' Supreme Court, Napier, and removed ta the Court of Appeal. 'Mr C. P..-.Skerrett, K.C., ■ with him Mr S. A. Atkinson, appeared "on behalf of -the' executors (Mr John: 'fVigor Brown and the Rev. James Nobie Dodds); Sir F. D. Bell, K.C., • with him.Mr R S. M.'Lean, : appeared for the widow" (Mrs. )' Diana Eden Knowles), and for Mrs Amelia. ' Charlotte Macfarlane -. (a married daughter); -. while the Attorney-general wae represented by Mr Salmond, K.C., the Solicitor-general.'."• Deceased bequeathed the residue of the :■ re- .; sid uary estate to such'charitable, benevolent,, religious, and educational . objects, as the . trustees should select. The .question was •.• raised as to whethfer the bequest was, valid, the amount involved being between £50,000' and £60,000; and v if it is declared.void, the ; question then arises, who 1 is to get thomoney? . • ''■,'. ■. ■.< .

Mr.H."A. Glass, of Chrisfchurch, whb.myvented an apparatus for lowering boats from vessels in times, of disaster, has brought 'for-' ward another invention (says' the Lyttelton Times.) It is a combined wooden, boat and raft, and may be launched in either'capacitywhen it is necessary to leave a; vessel at sea. The sides are hollow cylinders. Each ' side is independent .of the rest of the structure, and lies -flat on the surface of the" water. People who . are thrown.' 1 into' the.. writer consequently can get on board the rait with much ease, and without any'danger, of causing- a capsize. ' If it is desired to launch the structure, as a boat, the sides, the bow, and the stern are drawn up by .a. simple contrivance; and are linked .together by iron rods, and a complete craft is rapidly .. constructed. There are, lookers for pro-, visions, oars and sails are kept.in'the bottom! and.the boat may be navigated. ■:.'. A most remarkable accident befel a Wellington resident recently whilst motor cycling along the Johnsonville-Ohariu road. The machine was travelling at a moderatb pace up-hill, when it skidded a few feet,, 'Eut, without a fall being registered, {Jio rider's boot caught' in a projection from, the bank and twisted it right round. For the moment the rider was hardly aware'that he had been; hurt, but, feeling a numbness stealing over the limb, he jumped off ''his machine on the. injured leg, and, at once collapsed. On examination it was found that the leg had been broken about 4in■'.'.. above the ankle,' the ankle itself being dis- : '"" located, and one of the small bones of the ankle broken, „-''■'•'■

—To appreciate General Botha's accomplishment (writes Edgar' Wallace in the Birmingham Post),.it should be-known.that when lie went ijito tho field he was-a sick man. I had a. letter -from a personal friend of his, written, the week he left to take command of the army • operating in i German West. Africa. Apportion of it read: "Botha's doctor has absolutely forbidden him .to go into this campaign:" The self-sacrifice and devotion he lias shown in the cause of the British Empire amply justify the confidence which has been reposed in him by the Government, and .are -. a tribute also the judgment of Lord Kitchener, who, after the peace at Vereeniging,,said, "I look upon-Botha as one of the greatest assets the Empire has." —It should not be forgotten that such kind of thrift as is encouraged by the Post 'Office Savings Bank in' England is duo. to', the enterprise of a woman. More than a century ago Mrs Priscilla Wakefield started a children's savings bank at Tottenham, and when she later on extended its benefits to adults, she found many imitators of, her.' own sex all over the country. But Parliament frowned on the suggestion of a national savings bank, and it took years of private enterprise—notably the. Scottish' savings banks started by the. Rev.. Henry Duncan —to persuade Government to • make thrift a national. concern. — Captain Compton Mackenzie, • who was selected to succeed Mr Ashmcad Bartlett as .correspondent in the Dardanelles, is the gifted young author of "Sinister Street." He is best known as a novelist; but he has also written poetry, Tterary criticism, and plays. He is the son .of the famous i comedian Edward Compton, and was edu- - ciited at the great London school, St. Paul's, and afterwards 'at Oxford. In the intervals of novel-writing, Captain ; Mao- ' kenzie has acted in Hall Caino dramas. " Sinister Street "> brought him fame and fortune; but- he would prefer to write on' his hobby, gardening. — A memorial tablet to Andrew Lang has recently been, unveiled'in Selkirk public library. It. includes_ a bronze medallion;portrait of Lang, inlaid with Italian marble. Two figures at the bottom corners, represent "Meditation" and "Literature." Be-• low ■is this inscription :—" Andrew . Lang. ; born at Selkirk. 31st March, 1844. Died at '" Banchory, 20th July. 1912. Old friends and " f ' lovers of his writings have placed Hhis- '- memorial here in the library which" lie ' ODoned on 25th.May, 1889."' ':;':.- 'K.