THE SEPARATIST. BETWEEN THE LIGHTS. TROOPERS. THE CRUISER. (No. 3 of the Wayback Series.) Sydney: Angus and Robertson.

Otago Witness, Issue 2722, 16 May 1906, Page 78

THE SEPARATIST.

BETWEEN THE LIGHTS.

TROOPERS.

THE CRUISER.

(No. 3 of the Wayback Series.)

Sydney : Angus and Robertson.

London : Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons.

Will Lawsox ("Qxjilp N."). Wellington, N.Z. : Ferguson and Hicks. A more delightful little book of verses ihan this selection of Will Lawsons it would ba hard to find. Just a Tittle booklet of little over a hundred " pages, grey-covered, red-lettered, but containing an amount of work that in literary merit, variety, and subtle appeal is very satisfying. Take just a stanza from those four entitkd

I saw the mounted troopers pass Without a sound. They made no sound Save that of horse-hoofs on the grass And sodden ground; Of jingling bit-bars tossed to ring In quick surprise. Oh, God, their eyes, As they rode tracking out this thing — Thia man, whose capture wealth would bring (I heard the river sob and sing A dirge to sullen skies.) Each man there sat his horse right woS Without a sound. They made no sound ; And each man's eyes blazed fires of hell A3 they roved, round; Such eager eyes smd hard-set lips, Closed stubbornly. They seemed to me Like blood-hounds when, the hand that grips Their straining leashes slacks aaid slins. When one mad hound his mates outstrips And they are racing . . . free. Or for .eoinethinsr vevy different some lines from rest-inspired musings of the toiler who is temporarily "knocked out" : Ordered ashore for a soell, "Here on the grass I lie, Where the great trees ripple and swell As the surging winds sweep by. .There are roses everywhere. By hawthorn* hedges girt. And therp's never a tent or care, Or anything els« to hurt. So I lie- 'mid the flowers a. dreamer Stretched full length on the sod, Sick of the sight of a steamer And the swing of a piston rod. Nor h it land songs only — the sea has its echo in these cages, a sweet, faint; echo of her myriad sonars, a whisper of her tremendous diapason. The songs may be but slight, for who may tell of the myeteries of the Eternal Sea. the Ultimate Sea — the di moled &mile of the Sea? But they show, these verses, love and a red drop of the racing blood of sympathy. '"Ocean's Own" is an example in. point, and "The White Patrol" another. As a word picture — the inspiration for such a painting as a man might well be content and proud to paint — let us indicate those few short verses entitled

She came at break of day, Her hull against the dawn r Slowly up the sleeping bay Before the nets were drawn. But little we c*rec[ for^that, The cruiser claimed our eyes, Her funnels and spars lay flat, And the aL was full of cries. • •••■« Into the port slie wen?— W« turned and watched her go, "With ai'mour shattered and bent And engines toiling slow. Yet proud she looked! and grinr As though she had fought her fight Out there on the morning's rim, Back there in the awful night. With which quotation, we feel some indication of the real charm of thig little b*ok of Tfirsejs has been givejk

The title, colourless and dull, save to the historical student or enthusiast, scarcely does this book the justice of provoking curiosity or favourable predisposition. "Separatist," it will be remembered, was the name given to the Puritan seceders of the time of Charles the (First, and the miserable political intrigues of the King, the eorely-tried patience of the nation, breaking at last into the calamitous civil war, and finding its crowning tragedy in the execution of the King, are the historical events which form the backbone of the story. The individual interests are complicated, owing to the intimate part which the principal characters take in the national crises whose details are closely unwoven with the story of personal hopes, joys, and ambitions. The chief personages are Phillip Venn (a gallant young Puritan), Servingunder Pym, and Stella Mertoun, only daughter of an ancient family, to whose traditions of loyalty she dedicates a-li the force of an exceptionally brilliant courage, natural wit and resource, and splendid beauty. As Lady-in-waiting at the Court, Stella Mertoun is in close- contact with the King, and is so strongly influenced by his personal charm that sha becomes involved in plots and intrigues of whose real nature she is ignorant — obedience and loyalty to her King's commands being her all-sufficing rule of life. Nevertheless, she loves with all the paision. ajid all the gatienjg of ber woman's

heart that sfern and notable traitor and separatist — otherwise Puritan. — Phillip Venn, and it is the- story of this muchtried noble love which creates the charm of the book. Of "atmosphere," that elusive compelling charm of realism spiritualised, there is none, but of actual merit and future promise there- is very much, and "A N-ew Writer" should be a signature to disarm too stringent criticism.

By Henuy Fletcher.

Sydney: Sunday Tmes Newspaper Co. The "Wayback Series" needs no introduction to a number of our readers-, having already found favour among those - who enjoy humour of the phoneticallyspelled description. It is many years since "Josh Billings" rendered its form of facetiousness -familiar in its- American, form, and ever since then a steady little stream of such literature trickles upon "the book market. It is a humour which, to be truly effective, requires to be what may be almost designated as '"local"—at anyrate cast in familial phrase and set in familiar surroundings. In this respect Australian scenes of life and phases of experience come nearest to us, and the Wayback family, their friends and neighbours, their happenings and' viscissitudes have their counterpart in many a memory —perhaps. For example, do we know anything of such a couple as Red Harry and his wife, as they thus express themselves: " 'You lazy, good fer nothin'! Der ye* think I'm goin' ter work meself ter skin an' bone, while yous loaf about an' does nothin' but eat the tucker I- earns, an* smokes all day?" " . , " 'Didn't I marries yer?' - . " 'Yes, an' the worst day's work I , ever.' did. - Here, get out cV my sight,' and ' Mrs Harry took, up an axe-handle ' and . flourished it in the first, position, of the - broad sword; exercise. . .'Yous just clear out, an' don't let -me ;see yer face agen . till you get a job o* work; I'm full' up o' you—l am.'" Such an unlovely picture that if we do know the counterpart of this affectionate couple, we shall still less desire to remember them. But there are other pen and ink sketches, and, indeed such a. variety of them as may best be realised by the quotation of a few titles: "The Fortune-teller," "The Boat Race," "A Commercial Success." "The Singing Competition," "Red Harry," "M.D.," etc., A few word^ of quotation from "A Barjo Election" will be sufficient to show those unacquainted with Mr Fletcher's style of art, what elevating charm and! crispness - inspires, every line. " 'Lections is not wot they was. Tse see ther time when they'd bring me in. a fiver or ■ tenner, an' all ther beer I could chew. It's all them Socialist dorgs wot's- done it, they's a fair mean lot o' hounds as yer can't even tap for a quid. Wot's 'lections for, I want 3 ter know, if it ain't ter give a few blokes as wants it a decent rise?"

Now what more can any reasonable reader of humour in the rough want than this most laborious realism.

PAESIFAL. .

"A romantic mystery drama*' is the subtitle chosen by Mr Taylor, and since " these are not the days iiu which romance, in whatever guise, appeals to the pnblicj. it may be as well to justify such r hazardous experiment by a few words of explanation. These are beat 'taken from tbe brief preface written by Mr J. C. Williamson, of Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney. The marvellous furore created by tho production >f Wagner's opera- "Parsifal" at the New York Opera House in, ISO 3 was an event in the musical and dramatic world which aroused world-wide attention. It led, naturally enough, to the production of several dramas founded upon the opera-, none of them, however, displaying any originality or achieving any very conspicuous success. "I thought," says Mr Williamson, "that in capable hands a play could be written worthy of the grandeur of the subject and its magnificent surloundings. It also struck me that there were great opportunities for Miss Brunein the character of Kindry, if it could be carefully brought forward and given prominence worthy of that clever artiste." With this feeling Mr Williamson placed his project in the hands which seemed most capable from a literary and artistic point . of doing justice to the theme of ••Parsiful," at the same time placing Tiisown long, practical experience of the stage at the advisory disposal of Mr 7 Taylor. Another few lines of quotation.: will be of special interest to the public generally, containing, as they do, , a promise and a prospect of delight to lovers • of high-class drama. Mr Williamson, speaks again :. "As the grand spectacular effects require long and careful preparation, and the^business arrangements of my firm bad been, completed for a considerable time ahead, I found that it would be impossible for me to give immediate stage production to Mr Taylor's play ; but I deemed it would be an injustice to him and also to the public to keep it entirely in the background for too long a time. Arrangements wtre therefore made for its publication in book form prior to its presentation on the staee."

"Parsifal" may, therefore, well be read and familiarised by the public as a preparation for its more complete dramatic appreciation later on. Of the literary merits of the play and the. form in which it is cast we propose to epeak at length on a future occasion.

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(Continued.)