LITERATURE.

Otago Witness, Issue 3333, 30 January 1918, Page 53

LITERATURE.

"The Safety-curtain and Other Stories." By Ethel M. Dell. London : T. Fisher U'mvin (Ltd.). (Cloth; 6s net.) * In these five short stories Miss Dell keeps up the interest to the last page. They are good specimens of what short stories should be. " The Safety-curtain," the first of the series, gives us the story of how a woman can make the life of the man she loves happy, and how the respect and love of a good man acts as the safetycurtain between ' his woman and harm. Major Merryon, of the Indian army, is a silent, morose man, With great possibilities for work, hint on account of the fact that he is not the least inclined to put a value on himself, is continually being left in the cold. He sees an unknown dancer, and rescues her from a fire that breaks out in the building. He marries her, and she makes him an ideal wife. On the surface she is a flirt of the first water, but underneath lies the eternal motherhood. Her husband stands between her and the men who misunderstand her, and finally she nurses him' back to life when the draad fever of the Indian plains has him in its clutches. They are like the rest of the characters of this delightful book—sweet and wholesome, made for each other, and one feels that it is only right when they find themselves in each other. The experiment is an experiment in marriage, or, rather, in engagement, and certainly shows that all women need that little, kind, gentle handling which only true love produces to make them blossom into the perfect wives and mothers that they were intended to be. Doris Feilding certainly tests her man fully, and one feels that, in spite of his severe method of handling his fiancee, he at least saves her from the fate which she nearly makes her own. We are pleased when they have that understandin jt so common in books and so rare in real life, that makes two hearts one, and leaves the reader with the idea that he would like Miss Dell to handle many of those stupid marital misunderstandings of real life. We.are certain that the reader will enjoy the self-denial and strength of the hero, Conyews, in "Those That Wait, ' and all will agree that Jeff Ironside, the * stubborn farmer, deserves the love of his sweet, high-born lady, and they will sympathise with his delightful old nurse; now his general factotum, " Granny Gnmshaw," in her desire to nurse Master Jeff's child. "Merely Players." By Lucy Dale and' G. M. Faulding. London: T. Fisher Unwin (Ltd.). (Cloth; 6s net.) " Merely Players " is a fascinating study of the minds, ideals, and lives of several very pleasant people, all of them one seems to wish to . know. Madeleine Leonnard and Dennis Ainslie are two bright, attrac- \ -tive people made to be ' fast friends, though, as Mrs Ainslie remarks, "she is a sweet girl to make love to. She is not the sort for your wife." These two play at love get married, have' a child, who 'dies, and then, like so many people in real life, they drift apart on their, different ways. Their position is well expressed when Dennis is made to' think that. " The inner ring," moreover, which Madeleine was inhabiting- struck Dennis again this evening as being chiefly made up of people with whom he did not .desire any closer acquaintance. Madeleine fills up her time and energies with theatrical work, while Dennis, being' considered a suitable man by his old chief to be lent to the Admiralty, labours in the office from 9 in the morning till 8 or even 10 at night. His wife takes in three Belgian refugees, - so completing poor Dennis's collapse. He goes to Australia for a change in search of health, and while there Madeleine perceives that he no longer wants her. She does.the desperate thing, and breaks off the marriage by running away with the man she should have chosen in the first place. Six months after the' divorce they marry. Dennis gets the girl who has been breaking her heart for him, and all ends up satisfactorily. The whole book is full of very interesting scenes. One of these shows Dennis that Judith Ward, the woman he so much admires, is in love with him; but even this does not prevent his marriage, or, rather, his experiment in playing at love.

" The Old Homestead." By Steele Rudd. Sydney: N.S.W. Bookstall Co.(Paper; Is; illustrated.) Steele Rudd, in this his latest, makes father break out in a fresh place. Ho sella the old place, and "the family." are evicted. Their exciting experiences in their new homestead, Iron-bark, -will make the ■weary reader smile. It is a book full of Mr Rudd's best humour, and, being cheap and in decent print, will have a great sale. The adventures of Tom, Aunt Sue, '" and Dora will while away many a weary moment. The illustrations are by Lionel Lindsay, and what more can one want? We feel that quite a number of volumes of this little book will find their way into the trenches, and will helv our boys to keep up their spirits during the times that they are waiting for Fritz. "The Secret House." B v Edgar Wallace. London, Melbourne, etc. : Ward, Lock, and Co. (Cloth; 55.) This is a clever detective story, full of mystery and dark plots. The Secret House is a wonderful place, full of electric contrivances of all kinds, protected by an electric curtain of apparently harmless beads. Rooms and even floors are worked on the elevator system, travelling from first to fourth story whilst the detective turns round. To tlio outer world iti appears like a very superior lunatic asylum, but it Is in reality the headquarters of a most elaborate system of blackmailing. Of course, it is situated in a very lonely place, and the workings of a long unused mine add to its mystifications. The head of the blackmail gang Is the editor of a little waspish paper, the Gossip Corner, which encouraged ser-

rants to send little stories to the editor concerning the wrong-doings of their masters, mistresses, and their friends. These stories, ostensibly for publication, were ahvavs well paad' for, but never appeared in print. They formed the basis of an elaborate system by which the blackmailer was able to bleed many wealthy and indiscreet persons. A detective named T B. Smith takes this case in hand, and shows all that skill which is so often denied to Scotland Yard officials. With amazing daring he pays more than one visit to the Secret House, penetrates its mysteries-, and very nearly loses his life in one of its secret chambers. His assistants arrive in the nick of time to cut off the power and save their chief from electrocution.