LITERATURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3315, 26 September 1917, Page 53

LITERATURE.

BOOK NOTICES. "The Dancing Hours." By Harold Ohleon, London; John Lane, "The Bodley Head." (Cloth j 45.) This ia a fine novel, with a distinct literary flavour. From first to last tho construction and design of the story show skill and craftsmanship. There is no slipshod writing, careless repetition, or tautology. Every word has its full value, evejry sentence fits into its right place. A new plot is, in these days, a thing impossible j but there is considerable originality in Mr Ohlson's treatment of the girl heroine, who fights her own battle with life and wins through, not less by a stroke of good luck than by the exercise of her own inherent qualities of mind and heart. Jane Eastwood is a beautiful, fascinating girl with flaming-red hair, an ivory' complexion, an exquisite, low voice, and the manners of a princess; but she is the daughter of an East End pawnbroker. The old pawnbroker dies in a drunken fit, leaving the shop to Jane; and, in addition, a box of letters, found in a secret drawer of an old bureau. On these letters much of the story hangs. They are love-letters, and implicate a certain Lady Alicia Titherington. Jane's first instinct is to burn the letters, and she never reads more than, a bit of one. Her second thought is more practical The letters are "a legacy of power," and she knows it. She sees in them her one chance to escape from the sordid surroundings so hateful to her, and to adventure into a wider life for which she longs greatly. 'She goes to see Lady Alicia, and throws herself upon her compassion, stating her case and giving up the letters. Alicia, not to be outdone in generosity, consents to receive Jane as a guest at her country house, thus 'leaving the issue in the girl's own hands. Jane proves equal to the occasion. She wins*—by her own fine qualities—the esteem and regard of her protectress, and the admiration of her circle. The fair adventuress is now fully launched, and seems wonderfully at ease in her new surroundings. The pawnshop and all belonging to it would now have been forgotten but for a certain Mr Brown, the landlord of the hotel where 1 Ephraim Eastwood drank himself to death, and Brown has made up his mind to marry Jane in spite of her refusal. Brown is not a blackmailer in the sense of demanding money; but he is determined to marry Jane, and is prepared to go any lengths to prevent her marrying anyone else. His persecutions follow her throughout the story, and at one time she is almost bullied into consenting to marry him in order to spare Lady Alicia's feelings. In addition to the objectionable Brown, Jane has three suitors—Cunningham, a rising politician, hard, selfish, ambitious, and unscrupulous, who is carried away by his passion for Jane, which, on her refusal, turns to bitter enmity; . Edward Doyle, the youthful heir to_ a wealthy baronet of a noble family; and Martin Tidmarsh. Tidmarsh is the gem of the book. Immense pains are taken in the delineation of his character and conduct : -j

You were apt to pass him over, not only as ugly, which he was, but as uninteresting, which he wasn't. His long, solemn face might deceive you into deciding that he was dull; it was only when he smiled that you had a hint of the laughing spirit that lurked within him. He seemed to keep a little bubbling spring of cheerfulness in his heart that never ran dry. He was not a brilliant or fascinating companion—very far from it; but he could always be relied upon to be a companion. A man who loved the open air ; no severity of wind or weather could ruffle his even temper; nor could an empty stomach or aching limbs render him peevish or irritable. . . Games interested him very little; but he was a good shot, and there were few professional boxers but would have found him an opponent worthy of respect. . . . Dissipation was an art hi -which he had no skill. He could not enjoy it. . • . . But he was not a stern moralist, and did not affirm man unworthy becaiise his tastes differed from his own. . . . He was not a man who loved to dine; he only wanted to eat. . . . He needed a spur. Ambition slept in him, and it rested with Fate if it would ever wake.

And Fate in a man's life means generally a woman. With such friends and in the delightful country house in summer " the Dancing Hours " carried Jane along as a smiling sea carries a cockle-shell boat till a storm suddenly breaks from a clear skv and a bolt descends from the blue. To choose the best of many suitors is a serious task for any young woman, and Jane hesitates long, but in the end chooses the one with whom shß always feels " safe," who asks no awkward questions, but comes to her immediate help in times of trouble, and really does love her better than himse'f. This book Is full of clever observation of men and manners, and abounds in smart and witty criticism of the faults and follies of the day. It breathes a sincere love of -Nature and a genial, optimistic philosophy of the " live and let live" order. " War Phases According to Maria." By Mw John "Lane. London : John Lane, "The Bodley Head." (Cloth; 45.) Once again the inimitable Maria makes her bow to the public, and once again she will be received with delight. Are you dull? Read Maria on submarines, and learn the new uses to which those supposedly deadly machines may be turned bv the careful housekeeper. Are you troubled by the price of food, especially butter? Bead the chapter on "Margerine and Society," and learn from Mrs Dell Binkie and Maria how to disguise the one and deceive the other. Maria han opinions on every subject; but they are

not of a very steadfast nature—they are chameleon-like ? taking their colour from their surroundings. Especially is this the case with politics. Thus between 11.30 and 12.30, when her husband takes .his daily bath-chair exercise and Maria talks with Juke 3, the chair man, her opinions are strongly Socialistic, for Jukes is a confirmed Socialist. It is his one longing "to have it out with Asquith. He yearns to do Asquith's job for him if only for a day, just to show him how to do it. He even goes so far as to offer to do Kitchener's, and backs himself to get together a regiment of fighting bath-chair men that shall even stagger the 'Keeser.' Tho Government's too polite by 'alf—too much on the slap-me-cheek line and I'll turn you t'other." Later in the day, when Mr Bings, the grocer, classes Maria among " the celebrated," she takes a rosy view of the Government and of all persons in authority, and is prepared to support them at any cost. In short, Maria is delightful, and Mrs John Lane is witty and wise, humorous and sarcastic by turns. Maria is as serene, self-satisfied, and suburbanly sophisticated as ever. Those who have met her before will be charmed to meet her again, while those to whom she has hitherto been a stranger will owe to her creator a debt of gratitude for an introduction admirably calculated to ease the tension of life, and relieve its grey monotony with the laughter of genuine appreciation. Maria as a climber, a shopper, a' critic of men and manners, is equally fine, and her opinions on the "New Equality," "Cardboard Friendship," and similar themes will be largely quoted :—" Just fancy how sweetly friends would get on if they only saw each other's cards. It's talking that makes them quarrel. Isn't it annoying to have the wrong people call and insist on seeing you? The right people never do. . . . They're disappointed to find one in, and it's only when they get up to go that they begin to look happy. Now, if they'd only left cards we'd all have been spared much. . . . What would friendship be without visiting cards? That's a riddle which would stagger the Sphinx," adds Mrs Lane. Of the dainty, original illustrations by Mr A. H. Fish it is impossible to speak too highly. They add the finishing touch to a fine piece of work, and are as excellent in their way as the letterpress which they are designed to illustrate. The picture of Maria in velvet and ermine scornfully passing the shabby Duchess on the stairs, unaware that " shabbiness is the height of the present fashion," is a frontispiece which promises good things to come—a promise which is amply fulfilled.