AMONG IHE BOOKS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2849, 21 October 1908, Page 88

AMONG IHE BOOKS.

"The Hate Flame." By Percy Barhov. London: Messrs Hodder and Stough'ton. Dunedin: Messrs R. J. Stark and Co. *' The Hate Flame "is a romance ol modern Ireland, and much above the average novel in merit. The plot is easily £ et- out. Two students in Germany —one English, the other Irish— fight a duel Acft became they quarrelled, bmfc " merely because they ,WCT9 nreenibeils of the fighting igroups. The Irish student is killed. The father of the dead youth, on his own deathbed, induo&s Kathleen, his niece, to take oath tha.t she would aven^ the death of his son. The English student, Jack Bullen, subsequently meets Kathleen, and they Ibecome loveTs,. the girl never having dearnt the name of the student ,who killed her cousin. The incddenlts leading up to the discovery of thechasm which separates them are dramatically told. But Mr Barrojo. wrote his novel with a purpose — the denunciation of the rule oi the prietC in Ir-siland, and" incidsniliaJly of t&s people led, by 'them. His contention Is that the Irieh have a traditional hatred of the English, and thsfc their evil passions have been encouraged by centuries of. wrong.. thought, fanned by seatimenii and priestcraft. He alleges tihat the priests play upon,. the weakness of the people, whom -Hiey do.no* wieh to become too pro&peroas Jest they might lose their hold upon them. The "Hate Flaane" is thus kept alive, and is met» with in unexpected quarters, and in. the* etory told in this book it is made to play an important part. Jack BuJkn, being a man of action, rather than of words, is engaged to manage important electrical works which are <to be established in Ireland. To ibenefit the unfortunate poor of the. district in -which Kathleen had lived he selects that place as the site for the works. Cottages are built for the workers, their comfort studied in many ways, libraries founded, technical schools established, and the workers are paid gocd wa t ges. Bult he has made an enemy of Farther O'Darrell in denouncing the superstitions iof .the people and their trust in the priest-, and the idtfter eltirs u>p feeling against him. The •nven efcrike, and set fire to ithe factory. Jack Bullen, in his blunt, plain-spoken manner, in addressing the crowd, Spoke of replacing the .men. with > others impoiitcd. . Bs is replied to in fiery language by an agitator, Who plays upon the crowd, and works them up imto..attacking Bullen personally. Kathleen, who, despite her vow, bad made up her mind not tp give up her loveT, appeals to Father O'Darrell to use bis influence (to save him. frcm the nob. The price* -vy-ill only oonEen'l on one oan-ditdon : that Keithleen will write.. to Bullen informing him that she has gone away and. that -she cannot keep her proanoeia to marry him. . Kathleen signs the document to save her lover, and; armed vrith. thus and the knowledge in his possession of the secret that Bus&en, >waa the student who kilted • Kathleen's cossin in a duel, Father O'Darrell conquers Jack Bullen. Though powerfully written, and with a centain amount of justification, Mr Barren's attempt <to prove the existence of a htalte fian*> is far from convincing, and his WKtidtonenit of the Irish- prieathcod ; a even leas so. The imanedcaite event which, led to the »ut(break in which- tho factory -was' fired was the refusal to allow the priest to see a wtxman in the hospital suffering from, fever. She died unexpectedly and without receiving tfee benefit of the clergy, and it was her ihue'band \rho t in fiery language, worked "upon the crowd. WJuii \CaithloKcs anywhere this refusal^ to allow of the administering ©f the last ritee. o-f the 'Church might easily lead to & x riot, and no good Protestant would permit Buch a sta/te of affairs for one "moment. ■JBt iis Ulcle short of ridiculous to say that the Iriah lhave a traditional hatred of the 'English. They liave, Tnd not wdfthout reason, a traditional luatred of English misgoreriimenfc, and tho memories of the outrages perpetrated from Cromwell downwards are &till kept green. Equally in the Highlands of Scotland is tlhe memory c 4 ths maEjOicre of Glencoe tsememlbered, but no one contends that because <d this the 'HighWders traditionally hgjfe the. English. As to priestcraft, it is quite "true' ' tlia>t the .paTish" priest in Ireland wiekfe.av tremendous influence, but we tave only the ipse dirft of Mr' Barron that that influence is used in the manner stated iix tin "Hate Flame," while there is much proof to the contrary. Bigotry, uncharitablenees, and narrow-mindedn-ess are not confined to Ireland or Roman Catholics, and Mi Barron even in these "modern days could parallel in fair England instances where the clergy are qm-te as Ute tolerant as the prieste in Ireland. " Drnsi'lJa's Point of View: a Story of Love " By Madame Axbanksi. Lontlon- George BelJ and Sons. Dunedin: Messrs Whiteombt ana Tombs. When the novelist fiankly announces a love /story, and in the title indicates that the .heroine has views x£ her own, she im'ay be sakl to take her readers into her confidence rig-tot away. Hsr candour may .limit h-er readers, for there are some Mho profess tli-ey do noi caTe foT love stories, but on the other hand stos appeals very strongly to Jie-r own ccx, for if they are not belied a love fetory possesses irre&kjtible attractions for them. Drusilla is the daughter of parents with a .history, of .which ehe has no knowledge when introduced to the reader. She 'believes herself Ito Ibe the younger sister of Bertha Heronworth, who in her own right is wort ii two Bullions. Dru&illa becomes engaged to Lord Carlingford. Her supposed aunt, Mrs Lingfield, an interfering, fussy woman, learning tl>e secfieii of Drusilla'is (birth, discloses it in order to lower the pride of #he girl she dislikes. Druellia, who !bad .frequently heard George ftpanrith denounced before she was aware toe was her fadlver, takes the maitier very much to heart and breaks off her engagement. Beth Heronworth, while motoring

on. a bad day, caught cold, pneumonia supervened, -and she dies without making the iprovieion ehe intend-ed for DraaUa. 'Mrs Lingfield, as nest of kin, secures 'Bertfca'e fortune, and DrusUla finds herself in an anomalous position. But she l*as a warm friend in Mrs Xdngfield's etep■daughter. It was at "this juncture tnttt DrasiUa's point of view — i.e., Tiei cense of duty — seemed likely »tc wreck her life. Mans Heromrorth, having acquired >a valuable library, engaged Brian. Eeston to arrange at. By a singular coincidence Keston proves to ibe the so- of .the man who had been reduced from comparative affluence to jxwerty by entrusting a considerable sum to Drusilla's father. Both were unaware 'of iftos faot, and a certain /friendshijp sprang up between thean. DrufiiHaTs point of view wlien she is enlightened is fhafc, as an aot of reparation, ■she ought 4o wed Brian Keston should be ask her. How the complicafcions which have thins arisen are 6iyoothed out, and bow Drusil&a'e point of view is voict, must be karret by reading.^the book itself. Tfae story is so ih-i-aragtingly told that the* reader's critical faaaMies are lulled^ to sleep, a<nd be is content to< enjoy the Bevel watiurat "troubling mnch ibowt the unreasonableness of some of. the oharac-