LITERATURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3274, 13 December 1916, Page 55

LITERATURE.

BOOK NOTICES. " Because It Was Written." By Princess Catherine Radziwill (Catherine KolbDanvin). London, Melbourne, etc. i Cassell and Co. (Cloth, 5s 6d.) This is a war novel from the Russian side, giving an admirable picture of the manner in which the Russians of all ranks entered' the war, showing the enthusiasm of their patriotism and their steadfast determination to fight and die for " Holy Russia." It shows, also, how in Russia, as elsewhere, this supreme crisis has produced " men and women great in love, noble in sacrifice, beautiful in steadfastness, resisting temptation, serving even with the sword the Prince of Peace.'' From her own personal observation in the Russian lines during the early part of the war the clever author brings to her readers a series of vivid sketches of that terrible catastrophe engineered by Hindenburg, when two Russian army "corps were inveigled into the swamps surrounding the Mazurian lakes by roads specially prepared for the purpose, after which the water was released, the road's melted away, and men, horses, guns, and ammunition were plunged into a sea of black, sticky mud, where they struggled hopelessly, dying by inches for three days, when the Prussians turned their heavy guns upon them and ended the long torture. Such was the battle of Tannenberg, that " great victory " for which Hindenberg was acclaimed the greatest general of the day—" a fight where the only shots fired were directed against troops who were already sinking into a grave of mud." With, intense realism and restrained passion the story is told. It is not a romance. The names of hero and heroine may be changed. That matters nothing. They are personages chosen here and there as examples of what the war is doing in every country engaged in it—" testing, trying, purifying the souls of men and women; burning away the dross and leaving only the pure gold tried seven times in the fire of affliction.'' It is a story of true love—for love is eternal and outlasts pain; of suffering and self-sacrifice; of the evolution of a type of men and women whose mission it must surely be to regenerate the earth. ." Men have lived for the most part as pagans, ignoring the writing on the wall. Something was needed to rouse them from their selfishness. And it had to be something colossal, for the selfishness was colossal. So, as I read the signs, the war came. Everyone is affected, everyone has become personally aware of the effect of evil. History repeats itself; and the fall of Babylon, the invasion of Attila, the fall of Rome, were the forerunners of this bigger, supreme calamity. Evil has to be overthrown, and then the human race will not only breathe again, but attain greater heights than our feet have ever trod. Already I see signs that redemption is at hand; for God has chosen that man, having free will, should redeem himself."

"Half-hours at Helles." By A. P. Her bert. Oxford: B. H. Blackwell, (Paper, Is net.)

Mr Herbert is -well known as a writer of that very rare commodity, good humorous verse. In " Half-hours 'at Helles" he gives us his personal experiences in the Dardanelles done into verse, which echoes the heroic cheerfulness of the _ men themselves, and he disarms our criticism on this point by declaring:

Think not that if in these lays The singer seeks for smiles That he forgets the unsmiling clays Beyond the JEgean isles; Think not he now pretends That Helles hours were sweet, Think not he wrongs the buried friends We left at Achi's feet.

But surely such proviso is not needed. We all know what "keep smiling " means, and shall never misunderstand such splendid lays as "Twitting the Turk," "Rum, ' "A Song of the Spade " (with apologies to the shade of Thomas Hood), etc. " The School for Saints " is specially delightful, showing, as it does, What kindness, what self-E<icrifice, was present In that most painful of Peninsulte, If several of the eggs were tried, Or somie drab services required, It was a joy to see how nice and pleasant A Cambridge man could be. Yet the same man, returned from war, soon begins to grumble at " Cook's fair fish cakes," and other delicacies " quite in the ancient form " Therefore with joy I'd hie me back to-morrow To Turks and centipedes and all the pain, I do not deem, as some have done, That, on the whole, it's "rather fun,"

Tho life is vile. But this would ease my

sorrow— I should be good again

Most of the verses have already appeared in Punch, and need no recommendation from us.

" Ironmouth." By Coralie Stanton and Heath Hosken. London: Stanley Paul and Co. (3s 6d, 2s 6d.)

This is a clever and very powerful story. The scene is chiefly laid in the English manufacturing district of Ironrnouth—hence the title; but it is largely concerned with a mysterious murder, in which all the principal characters are more or less involved, and which was, of course, not committed by any of them. A Chinese Secret Society engaged in " smuggling arms, ammunition, and explosives into the Erovince of Yen San, on the China-Russian order," plays an important part in the tale; as also does "the Seilar Treatment," an American " cure " for inebriates, with which the unfortunate heroine tampers, seeking to "do good by stealth," and actually doir.g an incalculable amount of mischief, and laying herself open to the gravest suspicions of having murdered the person whom she desired to benefit. There la some rather good detective work in this novel, and the plot, though extremely complicated, is very carefully designed

and worked out. The characters are well individualised and contrasted, and the collaboration of the two authors is abundantly justified by result.

"When Greek Meets Greek." By Paul Trent. London i Ward, Lock, and

"Co. (Cloth, illustrated, 3s 6d). This is the narrative of a business fight between two rival steel trusts —fought by an English woman and an American man. Both are noted for their hard-headed business methods. Clever as the woman is, she allows personal feeling and antagonism to sway her calmer judgment, and so gives her opponent an advantageover her, which he, on his side, is too chivalrous to take. This is not quite " playing, the game" as it is usually played between man and man, and very markedly emphasises the difficulties likely to beset women in those businesses in which they come into personal relations with the opposite sex.

"Digest of Selected English and New Zealand Criminal and Licensing Cases." By Constable Skinner, Napier. (7s 6d.) With commendable industry and eminent success Constable Skinner, clerk of the court at Napier, has brought out a " digest of selected English and New Zealand cases bearing on the criminal and licensing laws," published by the authority of the Hon. the Minister in Charge of the Police Department and the Commissioner of Police, with an appropriate and encouraging foreword from the Solicitor-general. The proofs for the work were examined by the Crown Law Office. The references to the cases cited 4n the digest are abundant, the Police Gazette reference being given in every instance. All the decisions cited are good working cases, and the note of each contains a precise and correct statement of the facts. The work is not only of assistance to police officers, but also to legal practitioners and all interested in such cases.