BOOK NOTICES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2902, 27 October 1909, Page 81

BOOK NOTICES.

" Spies of the Kaiser," by Wm Le Queux. London : Huret and Blackett. Dunedin :J. Braithvraite and Co. (3s 6d i and 2s 6d.) | This work is announced as "an amazing revelation of our present peril in a book of the deepest interest to every j English man and woman." The full title is " Spies of the Kaiser Plotting the Downfall of England." The frontispiece is a page from a Berlin journal announcing the Conquest of England. The place of a preface is taken by a fchort paper, entitled "If England Knew," containing some truly startling statement?, of which we quote a few: — ''No sane person can d-sny that England is in grave danger of j invasion by Germany at a date Tjot far | distant. . . I have r.o desire to create alarm. I ami an Englishman, and, I k-cj>s, a patriot What I have written in the form of fiction is based upon serious facts within my own personal knovv- , ledge. . That German spies are a-c-j tively at work in Great Britain is well i known to the authorities. The number | of agents of the German Secret Police al this moment working in our midst on behalf of the' lntelligence Department fn ! Berlin are believed to be over 5000. To I each agent — known as a fixed post — is 1 allotted tlie task of discovering some i secret, or of noting % in a certain district I every d^tpil w<hich may be of advantage Ito the invader when he lands. This fixed { agen* is in turn controlled by a travelling I a^em, who visits him regularly, allots the ■ work, collects his reports, and makes the ■monthly payments, the usual sbipeod vary- ( ing from £10 to" £50 per month. . . Every sis months an " inspection " is held, and monetary rewards made to those , whose success has been most notewortlry. . . . It Ls often said that the Germans j do not require to pursue any system of j espionage ir England when they can purj chase our Ordnance maps at a shiMing each. But do these Ordnance maps show the number of horses an-d oaits in a disi trict, the stores of food and forage, the | best way in which t« destroy bridge?, the j Hr,.2s of telegraph and telephone? Facts j such as these- and many others are being i d-~.ily conveyed by spies in their carefully - j prepared reports, as well as the secrets i of -every detail of our armament, our ! defence-, and our newes* inventions, i During the last 12 month", aided by a ! well-known detective officer. I have made ; peisorinl inquiry into the pie-enee and j work of these spies=." Anj the result is , ,n vohnn.2 of soms of the mo?t thrilling i detective stories we have ever read. The I hero and his friend. Ray Raymond, arA , the later's fiance?, Vcra Tallanc©, form ' t'senvieir-es into a committee of three, with | the -avowed intention, of spying on the tpie-5, circumventing tbolr schemes, and generally '■ fruytr«it.ina their knavish tricks." The object being good, the questionable methods employed are overlooked or condoned, and tba reader is even | asked to believe that "the daughter of J Sir Charles Vallance. the Adoiiral-superm-icnd-emt of Portsmouth dockyard," would be allowed to visit her lover and his chum at ail hours ir their rooms ; also disguise herself ar.-d ;>ct as spy and decoy in the ardour of her patriotism, and. I otherwise personally c^sisi than in their i self-impcsed. task. The s-tories difiar but little, exeej>t in theii object, frcm ordinory detective yarns. The risks taken and j perils rur aro very gie.it. The first story tells how the plats of Rj.-vth, the 'new naval bjsn on the- Firth of Forth," were stolen and recoveied, aftd illustrated by "a portion of a map of tlia spot, discovered in the possession of a spy." The second story. "The Secret of the Silent Submarine," thows us Vera at work, and givers us the plan, drawn by a German spy, of a new English *=üb-m-arine, with notes as to its structure, working, etc. ;, it relates the clever manner in which the spy was discovered at work in a locked shed of the Portsmouth Dockyard and deprived of his not<~. "The* Backdoor of England "' £ives us .some hairbreadth experiences "on the East Coast, " the most vulnerable spot in England." and undoubtedly "rhe "first objective of the Kaiser's army on that great occasion." called, in G-erma-ny, " The Day," when foreign troops will' first set foot on this shore." AY the 14 stories are written in the same strain, with the same avowed object. All are curiously suggestive, but p?i-hans No. 5. "The Secret of the New British Aeroplane." and No. 11. "Ou Wireless Secrets." are tha most thrilling, berause of the specia 1 in- ! tercet and general mystery attaching to J j their subjects. It i.s* difficul' to doubt | that Mr Le Queux Is in e&.ii-est in his j accusation of our Teutonic neighbour. j and that there is really some underhand work going on unknown to, or condoned by. tlio persons in authority, whom he j repeatedly accuses of " suppressing facts. ! "lest" the people should have a scare." , Surely it would be better to "have a j scare several tim-es tha.n to be taken | unprepared once, for it cannot be denied I that " The Territorial idea is a delusion. Seaside camps for a fortnight a year are picnics. 1 not soldiering. The art of navigation, the science of engineering, or the trade of carpentering cannot be learned in 14 days annually — neither can the art of war. The day has passed when one Englishman was worth 10 foreigners. Modern science in warfare has altered all that. We-ra every a-bl-bodid man in tlte Kingdom t< join a rifle club we should be nc nearer the problem of beating the invaders, if once they la«dte>d, than if the epectatms ir, all tne footbali matches held in Britain mobilised against a ; foreign foe." Mr Le Queux '« final ■ words are not the 'east thrilling part of hi« book — "What will happen? When 1 will Germany strike? Who know*?" 1

"Hnmours of the Country,' from "Farm and Home."' London : John Murray. Cloth 2s 6d. It is not often that one is able to endorse the opinion of friends anc 1 clients [ urging publication on an unwilling author or publisher, but in the case of "Humours of the Country " we can heartily add our I testimony to that of "the many readers" who considered these jokes and wittreisms well worthy of preservation. Really funny and humorous books are ali too l few. Now, as ever, the Britisher, whereever he may be, is apt to "take his plasure sadly." and he should be truly grateful to any one who introduces him to a little more of the joy of life. We believe that there are few things more conducive to health and good digestion than a hearty laugh, and among the recipes for attaining a gool old age this one generally fine's a place. Of course all the storks in the present volume are not %vildly hilarious ;. in some, the joke is far to seek. - Some, again, are old friends whose familiar countenances have looked at us from the funny page of , many a newspaper or magazine. But on the whole, the stories are good, and when not new, well chosen ; ?»nd he mnst be a sombre person indeed who can wad v page without "smiling broadly." The yarns are arranged under different h<?ar?m?s. such ai=, " Farming and Farmers. " 1 " Sh«*«p and Goats." "Racing," "Poli1 tics," " Tramps, Beggars. Trespassers, and Poaching," " Love and Matrimony," "Rats a.r.d Mice^" In all, 35 different themes, with variations on those themes. The book is neatly got up, well and clearly printed, contains over a thousand good anecdotes, and, in the words of the compilers : '" A more interesting or diverting volume for residents in tRe country, or for tho?e %vbo are e-cqua-int'-d j with country ways, could not well be imagined. Ite perusal will create voa'"s iof laughter by counties firesides after • the day's work is done."