LITERATURE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18720, 25 November 1922, Page 16

LITERATURE.

A BOOK FOR THE TIMES, t OLD TESTAMENT CRITICISM. “God is tho Old Testament” described as “Studies in Gradual Perception,” by tho late Robert Alexander Aytoun, M.A., is essentially a book for the times representing a brilliant attempt so to interpret the Old Testament as to reconcile it with modern ideas without taking away from its value and authority. Mr H. G. Wood, who contributes a Memoir of tho author, says; The use of the Old Testament in religious training is still a problem both to teachers and parents. There is a tendency in some quarters to ignore tho Old Testament or to use it only as a foil to the Now. This is unfortunate as the positive contribution of the Hebrew Scriptures to the maintenance of personal religion is far greater than such neglect or depreciation would suggest. In dealing with this problem we need a combination of critical honesty and fearlessness with a sense of continued indebtedness to tho record of God’s progressive revelation. Such.' a union of criticism and devotion may be found in the present volume. It is the work of one who was himself a' thoughtful, experienced, and inspiring teacher. Robert Alexander Aytoun was bom in Fraserberg, Aberdeenshire, of an old and distinguished) Scottish family, and among his famous forbears was William Edmonstoun Aytoun, author of “Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers.” Robert Aytoim’s boyhood was spent south of the border. He went to school at Tonbridge, matriculated in London, and won scholarships which enabled him to go to the universities, both at Aberdeen and at Cambridge. He went up to Emmanuel College in 1899, and coming under the influence of Professor Gwatkin, he interested himself in tho study of church history and took the Theological Tripos in 1902. Having graduated he entered Westminster College, the Theological College of the Presbyterian Church of England, when Dr Oswald Dykes was its principal. While at Cambridge Robert Aytoun contemplated work as a foreign missionary and volunteered for service in China under the Presbyterian Board of Missions. This his health would not permit and ho went as assistant to Dr John Watson (ban Maclaren). In 1908 he accepted a position as lecturer and resident tutor at Woodbrooke, the house and grounds of which had been placed at tho disposal of the Quakers by tho late George Cadbury for an experiment in, religious education. Established in 1905 under the leadership of Dr J. Rendel Harris, Woodbrooke was by this time finding its main lines of study and to Robert Aytoim was assigned the teaching of the, Old Testament. Mr Wood writes of him: It is true that the Quaker atmosphere of Woodbrooke never induced him to abandon his clerical collar and did not destroy his faith in the regular paid ministry. But he had a keen appreciation of tho Quaker tradition, nevertheless, and was always concerned for the maintenance and development of Quakerism at and through Woodbrooke. He joined gladly and helpfully in worship after tho manner of Friends, and steadily furthered the aim of Woodbroke to strengthen the society. Somewhat similarly he followed with a lively interest the work of Westhill for the reform of the Sunday School. In at least one course of lectures each term ho considered especially the needs of Sunday School teachers and he entered readily into Mr Archibald’s plans for directing the attention of ministers to Sunday School problems. The war interfered with Aytoun’s work at Woodbrooke and he became Presbyterian Chaplain to the First Southern General Hospital, but for_ health reasons was compelled to relinquish the chaplaincy. The war over. Aytoun assisted Mr Edward Cadbury in the work of re-organising a number of Quaker training institutions into what are now known as the Selly Oak Colleges, but he succumbed to a heart attack—brought on by attendance at a Student Union Conference in April, 1920. “God in the Old Testament” is a valuable addition to the “Christian Revolution Series issued by the Swarthmore Press under Quaker auspices. The progressiveness of the Quaker movement to-day in all philanthropic and social reform work and in the cause of international peace and the ending of war is equalled by the prog re as i ven c-ss of its thought in that realm of theology. It is significant that Robert Aytoun, Presbyterian in upbringing and training, should evince such.strong sympathies with Quaker modernism. His books show that ho occupies a moderate position, but was at the same time fully alive do the practical difficulties of the Old Testament. Generally speaking, he adopted the position held by most conservative modern scholars, as;' for instance, that of Hastings’s Bible Dictionary. The purpose of those studies is clearly stated: To present some of tho more important features in the Old Testament view of God in such a way ns to exhibit, in their historic setting and development, the principal stages in this progressive revelation, and gradual perception of the Most Higft which culminated in that perfect revelation of God in Him who alone was able to say “Ho that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.” The study starts with the statement that tho conceptions of God found in the Old .testament are far from being on the same level. It thus becomes essential to view the crude ideas of Jahreh as a tribal, a territorial, a ruthless, and often a vindictive God, in proper perspective, otherwise the view is bound to be distorted. The primitive conceptions of God displayed in the earlier portions of the Hebrew scriptures gradually gave way to higher pre-prophetio conceptions, the advance being a remoulding of “the ancient stories and traditions to make them a suitable vehicle for passing on the truer revelation of God’s nature and character that had come to themselves.” Thus the advance from polytheism to Monolatry gradually led to a belief in the personality of God, and this in its turn brought an apprehension of tho Divine spirituality. From monolatry to monotheism was a necessary step to the realisation that God is Spirit, and marked the trend from the visible symbol to the Unseen presence. Mr Aytoun writes— There are few things in which the greater prophets showed themselves more truly the fore-runners of Jesus and the pioneers of His work and teaching than in this great assault of theirs upon the material as opposed to the spiritual element in worship, and tho outward as opposed to the inward. They in very truth prepared tho way for Christianity, tne most spiritual of all religions, and for Him whoso teachings as to worship might be summed up in His pregnant saying, “God is spirit, and they that worship' Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” The other diapers' deal with the Universality of God, tho Righteousness of God, the Justice of God, and the Love of God is gradually unfolded by the Hebrew prophets to the people. Tho conclusion is well and wisely worded. Indeed, the entire book will be found most helpful to all who arc struggling with the difficult theological problems of the time. Mr Aytoun writes: We note that most of the revelation ofGod v/hich came to these men of the Old Testament came apparently along the line of experience. How far direct, as opposed to indirect, revelation and illumination was granted to tho Old Testament Prophets and Seekers after God, it is impossible to say for certain. The question is really of secondary importance. Whether the knowledge of the truth of God came by intention or deduction or both in most cases tho validity of it was confirmed by actual experience of life and sometimes also by mystical fellowship with God. It may be asked. What was the purpose of this previous, partial revelation. , . God gave to men the revelation of Himself as they were able to bear it. and in so far as they responded to it. The more they received and used, tho more was given to them, until in time tho fullest revelation of God vouchsafed to men camo in the person of Jesus Christ. When Jesus actually came there was at least a little group of men and women, the heirs of the true prophetic tradition, who were ready for Him, though they had still much to learn and much to ■unlearn.

ALL SORTS OF SUBJECTS.* A MEDLEY OF BOOKS, By Constant Reaped. I.—PROFESSOR WALL’S POEMS. Professor Wall is a prolific poet, and from tho differing moods in which ho indulges, his muse, and tho wide range of subjects on which he embarks, it may Ire judged that verse-writing is with him a recreation and a safety valve rather than a. serious occupation. Irritated by something he has read in the newspapers he launches out on “Tho Complaint of the Bolshevists,” or, turning to domestic affairs, ho addresses some reproachful lines “To a Land Agent.” At another time, and in infuriated mood:, tho poet expostulates with “The Canterbury Climate,” idealises “The Flying Man,” and “The Aeroplane,” or seeks solace in “Christchurch Lighted Up” or in “Sunset in the Rose Garden.” There is humour, too, in Professor Wall’s verse, as in “My Lost London” and “Parents in Council.” not forgetting tho characteristic “Explosion.” Nor does tho poet despise parody, as in “A Song of Brer Rabbit of Central Otago,” with the opening line, “Whore tho sheep fed, there feed I.” Evidently influenced by the realism of the moderns, Professor Wall even allows himself in such an unpoetio lino as “Hast thou not here thy bellyful of sun?” Withal, amid much versatility, Professor Wall occasionally sounds an exalted note and touches the fringe of Parnassas. Perhaps tho best example of serious work in this little book—which for tho most part represents verses originally contributed to periodical literature—is the sonnet ‘ ‘ln Memoriam : Robert Falcon Scott” : Happy tho soldier who in glory’s blaze Palls in tho crowning hour of some great fight, Pull-flushed with victory and sunsetlight. And thinks he hears the chanting voices raise The "Kunc-Dimittrs” and tho hymns of praise Ho dies, an eagle shattered in hie flight, And wrecked upon tho crest of some lono height. While wo creep on through unheroic days. Fold up the flags, the flags wo should have flown; Richly honour the noble dead With wreaths, And writ© his name henceforth in the long toll Of sailors, hard in deed and strong in soul, Who touched tho peak of glory in their deaths, Won in the polar waters of ice and stono. lI—EXPERIENCES OF A LADY CLIMBER. Miss Freda du Fn.ur’s “Conquest of Mount Cook” has now a companion volume in tho “Mountain Madness” of Miss Helen Hamilton, a book which will be read with avidity by the ever-intv casing faimily of New Zealand mountain climbers. In locality and atmosphere, , however, Miss Hamilton’s experiences have more in common with Mrs Aubrey Le Blond’s “True Tales of Mountain Adventure,” since the exploits of both these ladies were centred in the Alps, and are reminiscent of Edward Whymper’s “Scrambles Amongst the Alps” and A. F. Mummery’s “My Climbs in tho Alps and Caucasus.” When Miss Hamilton, bitten with mountain madness, following her first attempt, “read every climbing book” she could lay hands on, it may bo taken for granted that she included Whymper, Mummery, and Mrs Le Blond. And after an experience of the “real thing” nothing more nor less than an ascent of the Aiguille du Ohardonnet, Miss Hamilton returned to England “with only one peak to my credit” and “during the winter I read my climbing books over and over again until I almost knew them by heart.” Miss Hamilton gives vivid accounts of ascents of the Brevent and the Charmoz, of tho ascent of the Tour Noire—this necessitating resort to the blankest of blank verse —the ascent of tho Aiguille du Midi (12,608 feet), and the asciSnt of the Aiguille du Grepon (11.424 feet), these leading up to the Dent du Reguin, the Aiguille Vorto. tho crossing of the Aiguille d’Argontierc, and finally to tho conquest of Mont Blanc itself. Miss Hamilton shows a rare enthusiasm, and she wields a facile pen. The difficulties with guides and the eccentricities of companion climbers are here set down with rare zest, and yet without that uncharitableness which mars the descriptions of certain mountaineers who shall be nameless. And while she recounts many perilous climbs and tells of undoubted hardships endured, there is no trace of egotism in her writing, no objectionable boasting but a spirit of chastened humility throughout. The chastening was bom of a sense of disappointment, since time and again the weather, that foe of all mountain climbers, robbed the conqueror of her reward. It is extraordinary that the fascination of mountaineering should continue in the face of experiences such as the following, which bofel Miss Hamilton when nearing the summit of Mont Blanc : Once the top of the Aiguille has been reached the ascent resolves itself into a steady snow-grind, very monotonous and slow, for on account of altitude and rarity of air, hurrying is forbidden. One is almost overwhelmed by the vastness of the mountain, by one’s necessarily slow progress, and the seeming impossibility of ever getting to the top of so stupendous a mass of whiteness,' blocking the very heavens themselves. Endless snow-fields, varying in degrees of steepness, stretch in every direction, and as the summit is neared all other peaks are dwarfed and look little more than insignificant sand-dunes. To set one’s teeth stubbornly and to make one’s mind a blank seem to bo the best means of overcoming tho conviction that one is doing something more than commonly foolish, uninteresting, and tedious. . . We hurried to tho top as fast as we were able, for it was intensely cold, and to add to our misery a biting wind blew tiny spiculao of snow against our faces, stinging them like whipcord. The Jensen Observatory, built right on the summit, was almost buried under the snow, the top of the roof and the railing alone showing. Tho view made no impression on me. I was too cold to be interested, and tried to find vicarious warmth bv dwelling, mentally, on the delights of fires and hot tea. The cold drove us very quickly from tho summit This vivacious chronicle is illustrated by a number of fine photographs, showing the author in mountaineering garb and in what appear exceedingly perilous positions. “Mountain Madness’ is likely to attract two classes of interested readers, those who have made up their nainds' never to climb and those who are determined to be mountaineers. A perusal of the book will bring pleasure and profit to either class. lII.—HAWKER OF MORWENSTOW. Readers who revelled in the “Life and Letters of R. . S. Hawker” will welcome the additional revelations of the heart mid mind of tho famous Vicar of _ Morwenstow contained in a little book entitled “Stones Broken from tho Rocks,” which Mr E. R. Appleton has selected and arranged from the manuscript note-books' of Robert Stephen Hawker. Mr C. E. Bylcs, author of the “Life and Letters,” contributes a preface to tho selections, in the course of which lie says: Robert Stephen Hawker, parson, poet, and Vicar of Morwenstow from 1834 to 1875 is reckoned among tho worthies of tho West Country. In his day he was known far and wide as a man of strong and congenial character; his name has become a legend in tho land, and he is the hero or the father of a hundred local anecdotes. Men still recall his imposing presence and peculiar dress, his eccentricities. ready wit, abundant humour and big-hearted generosity. Tho countryside remembers him as a terror to wreckers and smugglers in tho old days, a friend of shipwrecked sailors, the poor and the oppressed, a great lover of animals and birds, a firm believer in ghosts and witchcraft. a champion of tho Church, and a doughty antagonist of Dissenters. In the world of letters also ho has generally been regarded as a writer with his own special literary province, as is only natural, seeing that the titles of his two chief books —“Cornish Ballads” and “Footprints of Former Men in Par (lornwall!”—both indicate locality. Her?, in verso and prose respectively, ho has enshrined thr legends and the colour of the western shore; and hence we think

of Win always as Hawker of Morwenstow. Tho man is inseparable from tho place. Just as William Barnes is associated with Dorset, or A. E. Housman with Shropshire, 'so Hawker is pre-eminently tho poet of Cornwall, the author of the Trelawny ballad, whicli Scott, Macaulay, and Dickens took for a genuine antique. Hawker’s published work represented a small part of his literary activities. He was essentially a, mystic and his thoughts wore directed in the main towards spiritual speculation. Indulging in this he left a great mass of manuscripts containing tho fruits of fifty years’ study and meditation. Those thoughts “came to him as he roamed the paths and rocks by the western sea, or meditated in his church and 1 day by day he wrote them down dreaming that they might sometime be given to the world.” Ho cherished the hope, indeed, that one day they naught be printed as “Fragments of a Broken Mind.” The title of the present selection is taken from an entry in one of Hawker’s notebooks of 1846, “Sermons, Stones Broken from tho Rocks. C.F. A good title for these M.S.S.” The notes as now published make a valuable addition to mystical literature; they are divided into four sections —(1) Godhead and the Incarnation, (2) The Spirit World in Its Messengers. (3) The Universe and Nature; (4) The Bible and tho Church. In, connection with the last section it may be remembered) that a great sensation was caused when Hawker, who long had affinities with Rome, was received into the Roman Catholic Church on his deathbed at Plymouth on August 15, 1875. Tho promise is made that the present volume find favour a further selection from Hawker’s thought books will be published and possibly a small volume of his extant sermons. V.-A GUIDE TO READING. The world of books to-day is an everextending wilderness in which it is easy for a guileless reader to completely lose his way. Thus when Mr Reginald R. Buckley comes forward and in a manual of some 150 to 160 pages undertakes to instruct the midtitude on “How and What to Read,” his plan being to suggest the formation of a Homo Library, his practical advice is sure to be welcome. 'He points out that to keep pace with the present output of books, without taking, count of the literature of the past, it would bo necessary to read 33 books a day for every day of the year, Sundays included. Thus a lifetime spent in reading, even if attention was concentrated on works of real value and importance, would fail to cover the entire field of literature. Hence, some system of selection is essential. Mr Buckley gives a number of valuable hints,along this line. He discusses in detail reference books, books of history, geography, travel, religion and philosophy, social study, English classics, and current European literature, concluding with chapters on “The Art of Literature” and “The Loom of Life.” To each section valuable lists of. books . are appended giving not only titles but authors and publishers. Mr Buokley advises the building up of a library that accords with the possessor’s needs and that is a reflection of an ever-widening view of life. He ends with a sago remark: ‘‘The books into which the owner never looks a second time are few and probably are those that have been acquired hastily or without forethought.” LIGHT READING A PARCEL FROM' JOHN LONG. With the warmer weather and lengthening days the impulse for serious study (rives place to a desire for light reading which the holiday fever serves to strengthen. At such a time a parcel of books bearing the imprint of John Long is ever welcome, since tho authors and authoresses whoso works are published by that firm combine the skill of the storyteller with a lightness of touch which appeals to the general reader. “The Passing Storm.” by Violet Tweedale, is concerned with the romance of Roseanne, an American girl who has come to England to live with her relatives at a country vicarage. Roseanne’s beauty attracts two suitors, Quentin Gerard and Beauchamps Chapncys (the vicar’s son(, and while openly encouraging the one Roseanne is secretly in love with the other. This intriguing nearly leads to tragedy, which, however, is interspersed with a meed of comedy. Miss Tweedale is a practised hand, and “The Passing Storm” will be enjoyed by all who like a modern love story which moves briskly and reflects a certain amount of sentiment. A really humorous novel is a decided boon, and Air John L. Garter, who scored a distinct, success with “Putting Alary Off,” has added to his reputation with “Como Day, Go Day.” Tryno Maxwell, sailing in his favourite boat, “Old Lady,” sighted a damsel in distress, who, while swimming, was caught in a current and carried out to sea. He effected a gallant rescue, and, covering the shivering damsel —Joan Caserly by name —with his coat, ho hied him to the land only to be met by one Challoner, in a mdtor launch, who aspires to Joan’s hand and relieves Maxwell of his beautiful responsibility. Up to this point Alaxwell had been a prodigal son 1 with little thought of earning a living or making his way in tho world, but love at first sight for Joan causes him to apply to his uncle Richard Emery for a chance to make his fortune. This brings him into conflict with Challoner, who is a financier of standing. This situation provides Air Carter with material for an entertaining plot with plenty of diverting incidents, and the characters ■ are amusingly drawn. “Come Day Go Day” is the sort of story to provide a hearty laugh. “Hounds, Women, and Wine.” by Mina Holt, suggests an Irish setting for a sporting story, and tho suggestion is well founded. Aliss Holt, knows whereof she writes, being not only Irish bora, but descended from a long line of Irish ancestors distinguished in literature, science, and art. She is a great horsewoman and a hunting enthusiast, her childhood having been spent, amid the wild romantic scenery of County Alayo and County Kerry, apd she is able to give tho correct background to her story. “Hounds, Women, and Wine.” is a society novel in a sporting setting;with a compelling love interest, and- a strong strain of humour. The huntmg’Jccries are particularly well done, and the - novel is oho which will appeal to all sportsmen. “The Owl and the Aloon,” by Marion Osmond, is one of the first five novels accepted for publication in connection with tho John Long £SOO prize competition. The scene of tho story is a rubber plantation in the East, and the plot is exceedingly melodramatic amid the most weird surroundings. There is an abundance of clairvoyance, suuerstition, and trickery in which Malays, Chinese, and coolies play a prominent part. Tho chief actors in the drama are English settlers, and of course love and passion, jealousy and hatred have sway by turns. As a first attempt at novel writing “The Owl and the Aloon’-’ is creditable, and with experience Miss Osmond should do better things. The picture on the cover of “Mid Tropic Isles,” representing a shipwrecked man in pyjamas carrying to shore a beautiful, swooning girl in a nightdress should be sufficient to ensure a public for the novel. Messrs J. Halford Ross and Sidney Barnard play a variant on the familiar theme of a shipwreck when a charming English girl and manly young Englishman find them solves the solo survivors on an uncharted isle in the Central Pacific. Such a situation presents unbounded possibilities, and it. is only fair to the, authors to say that they have avoided certain l phases of life which occasionally disfigure stories of this sort. The treatment is thoroughly conventornd, and the young man’s restraint and the girl’s sense of decorum under the unusual circumstances are richly rewarded.

RUSSIAN REALISM.* TWO STORIES BY LEONID ANDREYEV, Bt Constant Readeb. “Andreyev is considered to-day,*’ says George Persky in his review of Contemporary Russian novelists, “as one of the most brilliant representative-s of the new constellation of Russian writers, in which he takes a place immediately next to Tche koff, whom he resembles in the melancholy tone of his work. In him. as in Tchekoff, the number of people who suffer from life, either crushed or mutilated by it, far exceed the number of happy ones; moreover, the best of his stories are short and sketchy like those of Tchekoff. Andreyev is then, so to speak, his spiritual son. But ho is a sickly son, who carries the melancholy element to its farthest limit. The grey tones of Tchekoff have, in Andreyev, become black; his rather sad humour has bean transferred into tragic irony; his subtle impressionability into morbid' sensibility. The two writers have had the same visions of the anomalies and the horrors of existence; but where Tchekoff has only a disenchanted smile, Andreyev has stopped dismayed; the sensation of horror and suffering which springs from his stories has become an obsession with him; it does not penetrate merely the souls of his heroes, but, as in Poe, it penetrates even the descriptions of Nature.” When to this melancholy is added the fact that “ most of Andreyev’s characters, like those of Dostoyevsky, are abnormal, madmen and neurasthenics, in whom are distinguishable marked traces of degeneration and )>sychio perversion,” it is explainable why some of his most characteristic stories such as “The Gulf” and “In The Fog” have never been issued in English translation. Even present-day realism shrinks from the utter horror of such stories. Nevertheless, Andreyev’s writings may profitably bo studied as an aid to a comprehension of tho Russian character and as affecting a clue to the brutalities of the Bolshevist regime. The publication in translation of “ His Excellency the Governor” and “And It Came to Pass That The King Was Dead ” give opportunity for the study -of a couple of stories which have a hearing upon the revolutionary doings of recent years. Indeed, “And It Came To Pass ” was one of the last stories which came from Andreyev’s pen prior to his’'death, in 1919. In “ His Excellency The Governor,” originally written and published in 1905,. the picture is drawn of a. man who during the whole life had been a. loyal and strict servant of the Czar. During an uprising he mercilessly beat the rebels, blindly doing what he deemed to be tire duty. Ever since his conscience has been tormented by the remembrance of his bloody deeds. He knew, too, that by the decision of a revolutionary tribunal his life is forfeit, but the victim of a terrible mental agony, he makes no , effort to escape, and ultimately he is assassinated. Tho story is a drama of conscience, set forth with admirable surenesa of conscience, and the author succeeds in representing with impressive intensity the mysterious fatality which demands the death of the guilty one. In “ And It Game To Pass That The King Was Dead ” Andreyev forecasts with great insight the actual trend of events in Russia. Ho has told a powerful story of a revolution and of the trial and beheading of a king in a manner which vies in vividness with certain scenes in Charles Dickens's “Barnaby Rudge” and “ A Tale of Two Cities.” At a time when rumours of revolution in Europe are in the air, a story such as this makes profitable, if painful, reading. 1 THE KAISER’S DEFENCE.t SOME REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPHS. A glance at the 16 illustrations which accompany the “Comparative History, 18781914,” compiled by the ex-Emperor of Germany in the endeavour to defend himself from the charge of having plunged Europe into a hideous war,- is to be convinced that these photographs represent a state of things which can never happen again. The frontispiece of the book shows “The Two Emperors on Board the Staddart.” Here are two monarehs, in full regalia, the Kaiser and the Czar, who before the wax exerted a tremendous power over thousands of their fellow creatures, striding - tho quarter-deck of a luxurious yacht. To-day the one is in ignoble exile, and the other has been foully murdered. Such a photograph can never happen again. It is the same with other of the photographs which represent the two Emperors amid varying scenes and in different company, sometimes with King Edward VII, and sometimes with the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Connaught. Queen Alexandra, and other Royalties at Reval or at Cowes or at Cherbourg with President Fallieres. Most striking of all is the photograph of the meeting of the throe Emperors (William I, Francis Joseph 1, and Alexander III) at Skierniovice. Tho preface of the German publishers states: This “Comparative History” was compiled by his .Majesty the Emperor William II m 1919 and completed from original documents subsequently available to him. Originally intended for the Emperor's private use, it was printed in 1920 in manuscript and communicated to a few intimate friends. The Dutch paper Het Volk, which obtained possession of a copy in some unknown way, published those historical tables in the spring of 1921. Thus, against the author’s wishes, they got into the press. Yielding to suggestions from many quarters tho Emperor has decided to make the tables public. The idea which inspired the Emperor in compiling these tables was to furnish a comprehensive summary of absolute historic facts, which would enable the reader to form his own judgment on the political development of the world situation since the Berlin Congress of 1878 and on the history of the period preceding the Great War. Even a cursory glance at the record serves to reveal the great difficulty of arriving at a safe conclusion concerning tho real cause or causes of the Great War, but as a semi-official statement from the German side the book has an interest and a value. It makes one more addition to the enormous number of volumes which deal with tile various aspects of the Great War. SOME ABSURDITIES WELSH AND AMERICAN. The Welsh idiom is perhaps not. so well known as Irish, but it is equally distinctive and in the short stories of Caradoo Evans, Included in the three series entitled respectively “My People.” “Canel Zion.” and “My Neighbours,” the habits and tho language of the natives cf Carmarthenshire are correctly represented. These stories take the form of satire, in the main satirising the religions pretensions of the people and exposing their coarseness of language and vulgarity of expression. In “Mind Yon or Lewys’ Lad and His Friend Shadrach” (London; Methuen and Co. Dunedin; Whitcombe and Tombs) Mr Rowland Johns utilises tho Welsh idiom in a humorous fashion, winch, however, verges upon absurdity. Tho adventures of these young Welshmen in Liverpool and London are amusingly described. Lewys acting the fool in carrying out tho shrewd schemes of Shadrach. but both are rogues and living on their wits. Occasionally the scene shifts to their native village of Wales, but everywhere Lewys and Shadneh have an eye to the main chance, and manage to extricate themselves from the awkward fixes in which their adventures lead them. The humour is broad to the limits of fare", and it is helped undoubtedly by the freshness and flexibility of the Welsh idiom. If a Welshman be frank in his speech he is at least picturesque in expression. That is more than can be said for the modern American. If “ Turkov Bowman.” by Homer Cray (New York: Harper Bros) bo accepted. ns typical of the American humour of to-day it must be written down as exceedingly poor stuff. The adventures of Turkey Bowman and his friends Hook Howdcn and Slim Belcher in no sense correspond to their names, but are exceeding commonplace; arid, when it is not ordinary, tho hook is absurd. It is a long wav from the humour of Mark Twain and Bret Hart, or even Artemns Ward, to the humour of Turkov Bowman, and Mr Homer Gray cannot- be congratulated on the quality of bis work.

• "iris Excellency the. Governor” and "And It Came to Pass that the King was Dead,” by Leonid Andreyev. Translated from the Bnssian by Maurice Magnus. London: C. W. Daniel. Dunedin: Whitcombe and Tombs. (Each 3s GJ net.) f" Comparative History. 1878-1914." By the Ex-Emperor of Germany. Translated by P. Appleby Holt, 0.8. E. With 18 Illustrations. London end Melbourne: Hutchinson and Co. Dunedin: Whitcombe and Tombs. (8s 6d net.)

OTAGO CENTRAL RUNS AND POLITICS. TO THE EDITOB. Sir, —I would like to ask, through your columns, the various candidates for Parliament, as a matter of practical politics, whether they would ho prepared to support tho sale on ordinary freehold terms of the whole of the Otago runs, provided areas held by one purchaser be limited and provision made against aggregation. It seems to me that whatever system of tenure will make these lands most productive will be beat not only for those working them, but for the community as a whole. At present tho only direct benefit which the Government receives is the annual rents. These, although small, in amount, are quite sufficient considering the value of the land and what it at present produces. The great object in suggesting this change to freehold tenure, so strongly advocated by Mr W. D. Hunt some time ago, is that only under freehold will the best use be made of the land. This will never be attained so long as the tenant knows that at the end of a short lease his improvement# wliioh go toward greater productivity will either pass to another or he will require to pay a higher rent for his labour in improving Government property. The money received for the land when sold] should give more in interest than the miserable rents now received, and in addition all expense in administration would bo saved and the Government would receive ordinary land tax and the counties would receive their rates on the land. It . is, however, not so much from these that we as a community must look for its share, but in the increased productivity of the laud. Dr Cockayne has lately shown what can be done with thess bare mountain lands with now grasses which he has tried wtih success. It is, however, only on a freehold basis that success in regrassing can bo attained. Although Dunedin lacks tho fine back country which some of the other centres have, why not make the best use of what we have? Let ua as. a city, take up and carry through this great reform and Central Otago will, I have no doubt, in a few years double its returns from these at, present almost barren lands. Soon would we have many prosperous settlers and Dunedin would receive the benefit as the life stream of commerce flowed through it.—l am, etc., Freehold. TEACHERS ANdTcHOOL COMMITTEES. TO THE EDTTOE Sib, —I have had forwarded to mo a cutting from your issue of the 16th inst., containing a report of some remarks made by Mr Lawrence at a recent meeting of the Otago Education Board. Mr Lawrence seems to have devoted himself mainly to casting an indefinite kind of aspersion on the teachers of the dominion. He seemed to indicate that in his opinion teachers _ made opportunities in their schools for belittling the work of school committees. If he, has knowledge bf any instance of euch a thing he would be perfectly justified in exposing and condemning it; but instead of that he took refuge in a vague and misleading—not to say insulting—generality. If he had known as much as a member of an Education Board ought to know of the working of the schools he would have been able to say that in tho vast majority of cases there is a spirit of oordial co-operation between the teachers and committees—he could have pointed to cases innumerable where they work heartily and successfully tegether for the benefit of the schools, and he could have enlarged upon the steady growth of local interest in school work as the result of this spirit of mutual appreciation between teacher and community. He could have illustrated his subject by quoting numberless instances of the collection of large sums, hundreds of pounds, for school purposes as the fruit of this good feeling; he might oven have given the Institute credit for the fact that it has for yearn urged that many of the matters of detail that are now administered with delay and expense by education boards could he better, more quickly, and at loss expense, attended to by tho local committees. Mr Lawrence preferred to ignore all that, and, by casting on teachers a malignant insinuation, to do what little he could to hinder co-operation and to fester distrust and ill-will. Mr Lawrence had something to say, not very clearly indicated, in the report, in criticism of some circular, not named, that tho Educational Institute has issued. It may be supposed that he was referring to the series of leaflets now being distributed. If eo, it may interest him to know that the institute has been complimented by, the Minister of Education upon them, and that they, have been publicly commended by the Director of Education. . It would be interesting to know to what parts of them Mr Lawrence objected. One other matter referred to by Mr Lawrence was that of teachers’ salaries. May I say, Sir, that that subject is not now under discussion No mention was mad© of it in the leaflets that Mr Lawrence was criticising, nor has any been made by responsible teachers for many months. To drag it into the subject under discussion has all the appearance of a deliberate attempt to discredit the teachers, and thereby hamper the work they are trying to do in the cause of education. If this view is an injustice to Mr Lawrence, he has only his own ineptitude to blame for it.—l am, etc., H. A. Paekinson, Secretary N.Z.E.I. Wellington, November 22.