LITERATURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3278, 10 January 1917, Page 53

LITERATURE.

BOOK NOTICES. "From Mods to Loos." By Major Herbert A- Stewart, D.5.0.,' Army Service Corps. London and Edinburgh s W. Blackwood and Sons. (Illustrated ; second edition; 3s 6d, 2s 6d.) This book, compiled from the diary of a supply officer, gives an admirable picture of one side of life at the front—the side which is chiefiy concerned with the important business of keeping the fighting man "fit" for his job—feeding, clothing, and generally caring for that body which the soldier baa neither time nor opportunity to look after for himself. It is a work of the greatest importance, involving an amount of insight, initiative, care, and strain of which the ordinary person has no idea. Not only must the supplies be brought up from the base, but they must be distributed to the several units, and this service involves a.-, much danger to life and limb as the more active work of the trenches, without the possibility of giving even a return' shot. The hours are long and arduous —often 22 out of the 24.—because! most of the work must be done at night and along cross-country roads, which, although easily traceable from a map by clay, are terribly confusing in the dark, as the following little incident shows :

In the blackness of a rainy night one of the supply train companies got lost. As soon as tho officer commanding realised the situation, he left his company halted in the road and went forward to reconnoitre. After proceeding alone for some distance, he was suddenly challenged by a voice speaking German. There was no need to reply. Instantly wheeling his horse, he lay on its neck and galloped for life, pursued by a spatter of bullets. He reached his company in safety, and at once marched back until he arrived at a spot which he recognised. Here he made a fresh cast, and ultimately reached his desti-

nation at 2 a.m. Major Steward was among the first troops landed in France, and accompanied the army in the famous retreat from Mors. He powerfully describes the sufferings and heroism displayed during that memorable event, and he' can find no Avords strong enough to express his admiration for the indomitable pluck, perseverance, endurance, and cheerfulness of " the finest troops in the world," opposed to four, and often six, times their number of highly-trained and efficient soldiers, with all the prestige of victory at their back. It is a narrative unparalleled in history, and the Major's manly and simple story is extremely moving. He witnessed the great triumph of the Marne, the struggle at the Aisne, and was then sent with his supplies to Flanders to support the troops moved thither to oppose the German attack on Calais. Here we have a most interesting account of the systematic and thorough manner in which the troops and their impedimenta were moved from one place to the other —an account which will open the eyes of many persons to the difficulties attending the administration ox these great affairs. We have had much angry criticism and sarcasm hurled at "red tape" since the war began; it is good sometimes to hear a little on the other side. Then follows a thrilling account of the first and second struggles at Neuve Chapelle and Ypies, and the horrors of Hooge and Loos. The whole bode is an excellent piece of work. It is written with much earnestness and moderation. It is the work of a man who knows, not only how to fight, but how to judge the results of a fight. The author does justice, not only to his own side, but to a brave enemy ; but he has no hesitation in endorsing the stories ol German atrocity, and stresses the fact that this war is a* fight for the existence of the British race and for all that man holds, worthy and desirable in life:— Prussia must and shall be beaten. The ultimate result of the war is certain. It is the period of time that must elapse before that result is achieved that is uncertain. . . . Only by order, discipline, and organisation in public life, and by coinage and selfsacrifice in the home life, can we emerge victorious. The liberties of (he subject must be set aside while the liberty of humanity is at stake. . . . When the day of retribution dawns let no weak thoughts deter us from exacting payment to the uttermost farthing. . . . In this crisis God has been very good to us Britons. Out of the slough of unreadiness, from the mire of internal discord, He has raised us to the threshold of being a. nation in arms, an Empire in unity of purpose.

"Walter Greenway: Spy and Other Sometime Criminal.' By Robert Holmes. London and Edinburgh: W. Blackwood and Sons. (Cloth, 2s 6d net.) Mr Robert Holmes is a Police Court missionary and probation officer, and what he does nofc knew about criminals and criminal life generally is not worth knowing ; it is therefore most cheering to read his evidence of what war has done for some of the worst and apparently most degraded criminals, many of them classed as habitual, whom in the ordinary course of things lie would not have ven-

tured to scud into either service, but who have offered themselves and been accepted at the present crisis, and in the ensuing' baptism of tire have more than justified the trust reposed in them. In the story of the one-and-lwenty " black sheep " related the reader beholds a remarkable record of the recuperative powers which are hidden in many so-called hopeless cases. In all but one case—the man whose story is here told—were over

23 years of age before they came under the" influence of Mr Holmes. "What splendid fellows they would have been had they gone the right way earlier " is his own comment, and no greater plea s needed to urge the great importance of " saving the children." No one who reads these stories and recognises the terrible handicap of early slum life but will acknowledge that this is one of tho most remarkable and encouraging books which the war has yet produced.

" Sons of Iscariot." By Lindsay Russell. London, etc. : Ward, Lock, and Co. (Cloth, 35.) Miss Russell's new story tells of tho suffering and terrible fate brought on a young colonial girl, Dierdrie Hayland. The title is of special application to two scoundrels who, for the sake of a money payment, sold Dierdrie into the hands of her enemies by stealing from her her lover's letters, and she is thus for the second time betrayed by one who pretends devoted affection —" betrayed as Judas betrayed for the sake of a few nieces of silver," —and left deserted, homeless, penniless, to her fate. " Rainbow's End." By Rex Beach. London: Hodder and Stoughton. (Cloth; illustrated; 3s 6d.) In his new novel Mr Rex Beach takes his readers to the tropic island of Cuba, and introduces them to some of the horrors and heroisms of the recent insurrection there, during the Cuban struggle for liberty as against their Spanish persecutors. " The interest chiefly centres around the twins, Esteban and Rosa Varona, and an Irish-American, Johnnie O'Reilly. The Varona twins, of Spanish-Cuban parentage, are early orphaned by one of those furious bursts of passion to which tropical temperaments are liable; but before the father is killed he has securely concealed his wealth and the title deeds of his estate in a strange hiding-place, the secret of which perishes with him. This treasure is the " pot of Gold at the Rainbow's end," prefigured by the title. The search for it is one of the chief interests of the tale. It is fraught with the greatest danger. It causes the death of many persons and the persistent persecution of heirs, who, failing it, are reduced to the direst poverty. A powerful love interest is supplied by O'Reilly's passionate devotion to Rosa, his hunt for her when she is hidden in the mountains and lost in the terrible concentration camp, where he finds her disguised as a hunch-back and dying of hunger. The tale is full of excitement and adventure. The local colour shows first the beauties of the exquisite tropical island, and later on the nameless horrors of its internecine war: it ends with the triumph of love over disease and apparent death, and it is written in the author's well-known intense and picturesque manner.

" Jim and Wallv." By Mary Grant Bruce. London, etc. : Ward. Lock, and Go. (Cloth; illustrated; 2s 6d.) Once again the refreshing and lovable Norah of Billabong is to the fore in the holiday season. This time she and her father'go to London just in time to meet the two boys, Jim and Wally (brother and boy friend) on their arrival from the front, where they have been gassed and kept for a time 'in hospital. While they are convalescing and in need of a complete change, Mr Linton takes them all over to Ireland. There they have a delightful time, fishing for trout, exploring the coast, making the acquaintance of a wealthy, but crippled, man of title, who delights in their kindly ways and simple, honest admiration, for his beautiful, distressful country. Ultimately all these adventures end 'in the discovery of a submarine base containing large stores ot petrol, and the destruction of the boat and capture of her crew. This is just the book for boys' or girls* holiday reading—full of life and action.

'■ The World's Wonder Stories for Boys and Girls." By Adam Gowans Whyte. With manv illustrations and 32 plates. London: Watts and Co. (6s net.) This is no ordinary Nature-study book. Most of such treat of animal or plant life. or both, hut this finely-produced volume n:av be described as an allusive epitome of universal knowledge. Written in a pleasantly chattv manner from first page to last, 'the author's aim has obviously been to give—in condensed form—a clear and' faithful description of almost every department of human knowledge. The evolution of animals and plants: the story of the rocks, of the stars and planets, of the sun. of man and his upward struggle, of the development of religion and ethics—of everything, in short, that interests human 'beings, young or old. Ail are dealt with in such a way that the youngster of either se\- who could fail to find delight and profit in these pages must he dull indeed. The numerous illustrations and plates are of striking excellence. I'he cover design merits a word for itself. It is a fine bit of work from the brush of a famous artist. Mr H. S. Take. R.A. As n gift for a boy or girl well on, say, ;:i the three " R's " stage of educational ne yelopment, this book would prove very suitable.