BOOKS OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3993, 23 September 1930, Page 68

BOOKS OF THE DAY.

VARIED THEMES. ‘•'Essays and Addresses: Historical, Economic, Social.” By Hon. Sir Henry Braddon, K.8.E., M.L.C. (Cloth; 55.) Australia: Angus and Robertson, Ltd., Sydney.

“ I do not delude myself,” Says the author in his preface, “ with the idea that these essays and addresses have very great value; yet for young men on the*threshold of life they may have some. My sympathies always are with the youngster for whom life is an unexplored ocean, and if these papers can rouse and stimulate his interest I shall be well repaid. Considerable work went into the preparation of the addresses, and the contents may afford a useful hint or two to young men embarking upon their life voyages.” These pages cannot help but be useful not only to the young, but they will prove to be informative to elders. In all there are 11 subjects —“ The Olympic Games,” “The French ‘Assignat’ Issues. 1790-1797,” “The Guilds,” “The Australian Wool Industry,” “ World Peace.” “ Shakespeare Celebration,” “ Anzac Day Commemoration,” “ Romance in the City,” “ Agents, Bankers, and MoneyMakers,” “ Citizenship,” and “ Determination and Success.” There is scope here for the display of learning, research, imagination, and there is opportunity for the author to give evidence of tolerance and breadth of view which he undoubtedly possesses. The addresses were delivered to widely different audiences. Some were given to the Rotary Club of Sydney, “ The Guilds ” constitutes “ the Joseph Fisher Lecture in Commerce” for 1925 at the Adelaide University, and that on “ Agents, Bankers, and Moneymakers ” was delivered before the Sydney Communists. Which latter of itself proves the author to be a man of courage. He has many attributes which quite plainly fit him for his task. In all his themes there is evidence of careful-pre-paration and serious thought. It is plainly not his habit to gloss over inconvenient facts. Rather does he meet them and from his point of view clarifies issues which in less capable hands would become involved and tedious. Some of the addresses, such as that on “ The Australian Wool Industry,” are most informative. He presents many interesting facts regarding the pastoral industry. For instance, the average weight of wool per head of sheep has increased as follows: 1861, 3.281 b; 1871, 4.571 b; 1881, 4.471 b; 1891, 5.741 b; 1901, 7.21 b. He spoke m 1928, and clearly had some misgivings, which later events have proved to be well grounded:

It is not easy to speak optimistically of the pastoral future. Of late years costs have been piling up steadily, without a commensurate increase in returns. These heavier costs cannot be passed on, because the grazier is dependent upon prices which the world markets are willing to pay. If this increase in avoidable expenses continues—as seemlikely. —there may come a time when the margin of profit, already small, may become so reduced as materially to discourage the industry; and that might prove a very serious matter for Australia. What. has really happened in this country is that the standard of living of one class —the city industrialists—has been raised, with the consequent lowering of the standard of living of the primary producer. Mr Braddon’s book is worthy of the attentiton of the more serious-minded section of the community. LIFE OF A SCHOLAR. “My Recollections: 1848-1914.” By Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorf; Translated by G. C. Richards. With three portraits. (Cloth; 16s net.) London: Chatto and Windus.

Apart from the fact that they are written with an ease and an accuracv of detail which betray the scholar, Wila mowitz-Moellendorf’s recollections are anything but the uninteresting facts which one has somehow grown to expect from the pens of classicists. So charm ingly do they flow, so delightfully do they deal with events in childhood, boyhood, manhood, and age that they hold the attention on every page and provide a feast of reading. The 66-odd years they cover are vigorous and alive, and, moreover, communicate to the reader both their vigour and life. Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorf, one of the foremost Hellenists in the course of classical scholarship, proves in his autobiography that to him life has always been an adventure. Whether we see him as a child in Prussian Posen, or passing through his school days at Pforte and his university days at Bono and Berlin, or serving in the Franco-Prussian War, or spending a wander-yeaT in Greece and Italy, or acting as professor at Greifswaldr Gottingen, and Berlin. ■ we note his appreciation of everything, i surroundings, acquaintances, and circumstances alike. His style is dry and

active, his judgments terse and frank. One can imagine the pleasure of sitting under him in one of his classes.

The English translation, in regard to which praise is due to Mr G. C. Richards, includes a bibliography of WilamowitzMoellendorf’s works, a greatly extended index, and three portraits. Studying these three, especially the last, and the one taken after the bronze bust by Bezner, one is able to realise that the recollections one has been reading are no mere extraneous growth, but the Very fibre of the man whose nobility of character is revealed so frankly in his face.

AN ISLAND MYSTERY. “ Murder at High Tide.” By Charles G. Booth. (Cloth; 6s net.) London: Hodder and Stoughton, Ltd.

Novel readers have to-day a wider range of mystery stories than at any previous period. Some are slight, some bear the mark of professional advice and amateur - construction, and some carry the impress of master craftsmanship. “Murder at High Tide ” falls in the latter category. In construction, plot, and solution it is first class. It is written by one who knows his business. Consequently it can be highly recommended. The setting of the story and all the exciting events associated with it are on San Lucas Island. Don is virtually king, because of complete ownership. Outside he has considerable interests, and is a man of means. He has no friends, and is hated by all men and women who know him. Having just acquired a magnificent collection of antiques he has summoned an antiquarian to value it and advise as to its ultimate disposition. In their first conversation he suggests the formation of “ The Parados Memorial Museum.” A few hours later he is found murdered in his library. Everybody on the island is naturally suspect, and as everybody hated Don Parados the detectives can find motive in every person’s history. Prominent among those who happen to be staying at San Lucas on the fatal night is Anatole Flique, principal agent of la Surete, the Criminal Investigation Department of France. He is the life of the book —vivacious, human,- clever, and generally lovable. Being in American territory, the American detectives take charge of the case, but M. Flique is the outstanding genius in unravelling the tangled mysteries. Within a few hours the only man with a real clue to the murder of Don Parados is also found shot in the library. So the mystery has deepened. M. Flique’s mission is in connection with the escape of two criminals from one of the French penal settlements, and he expects them to make an appearance’ at the island of San Lucas. They may therefore be associated with the death of Don Parados. There are other suspects, however, among them Catherine Brent, a descendant of one of the owners of the very fine collection which Don Parados has secured. To her, in common with many other women, Parados has made himself objectionable. Her object in visiting the island was to secure a famous portrait painting of her grandmother. Having failed to persuade Parados to part with it on decent terms, she takes the desperate step of attempting to steal it. She is caught in the act, and as this episode occurred a very short time prior to the finding of the body of Parados she is strongly suspect. Then there is Annersley, whom Parados is in process of robbing. Mrs Parados openly declares her detestation of her husband, and it is shown that he purposed giving her a present valued at 35 cents to mark the occasion of her birthday and the twenty-first anniversary of her marriage. That was the husband’s playful way of inflicting humiliation on his wife. When his body is discovered the 35 cents ticket is in his hand There are many similar clues, each one of which seems in itself to establish guilt. But there is M. Flique, always cool and clever. By a word lie destroys the theories of the American detectives in charge of the case, and examinations are continued. It is a tortuous process, and at times it appears that the murderer will never be found. But M Flique declares that at the proper time he will show everything to be plain. And as this includes the past of M Parados and some others the interest of the reader is maintained at high pitch. There are some very sensational developments in the latter part of the book, and in the midst of a thrilling series of episodes M. Flique keeps his word. “ Murder at High Tide ”is a full-blooded mystery novel, and the death rate is not absurdly high. It places no impossible strain on credulity, and is sure to appeal to even the most blase of thrill lovers.

A SUCCESSFUL AUTHOR. “WAAC Demobilised: Her Private Affairs, 1918-1930.” By the author of WAAC—the Woman’s Story of the War. (Cloth; 65.) London: T. Werner Laurie, Ltd.

The author’s previous book excited much comment and was roundly abused or cordially praised according to the point of view. In an introductory note to the present volume she scores a neat point by quoting in parallel columns from some of the reviews of her first book. Where the subject and its treatment is highly controversial sharp differ-

ences of opinion are inevitable. Opinion is largely a question of taste, and in some circles “ WAAC ” was violently assailed on the planes of literary quality and authenticity. Critics will differ on material points in the present book. There will be those who take strong exception to one or two episodes while others, with perhaps a wider knowledge and a broader charity, will accept them as a faithful representation of life. It will be remembered that the author of “ WAAC ” inherited a large fortune from her war lover, Captain Rupert , Heartbroken by the loss of a faithful companion, she is at last compelled to take the morrow into account. After mature consideration she decides to travel. Her book concerns experiences, amatory and otherwise, on her journeyings in various countries. As she was possessed of good looks and plenty of money it requires no imagination to realise that-such a girl travelling alone, with the courage to tell her story, would have something worth telling. And so it proves. On her first voyage by liner to Rio de Janeiro she meets a stranger wlio is fleeing from justice or from injustice, which, she does not know, because he refuses to reveal either his identity or the nature of his supposed offence. On the same boat are three detectives, two men and a woman, and their business is to apprehend him as he steps off the steamer. He leaves the steamer unobserved, though the detectives are posted at the gangway. She learns later that his supposed offence is blackmail, but events subsequently prove that he is innocent. To her, even with the shadow of crime hanging over his head, he was a much safer companion and certainly more interesting than the two detectives.

Her next experience concerns a visit to the home of one of the richest women in Buenos Aires, one of the most dangerous, too, for the author was given a drink which rendered her unconscious for several hours. But Senora Eusebio was so influential that prosecution was unthinkable, and on the advice of the hotel manager the author left immediately forNew Orleans. The city was in high carnival, and she saw some strange sights and met stranger people. Salt Lake City, Denver, and San Francisco follow. At the latter place she meets Kenyon Anstruther, and her association with him is one of the author’s very private affairs. For details the book is the best guide. So it is for all the rest of the narrative. There is so much to interest the reader—racy accounts of experiences by the way, some of which are quite uncommon. Here and there love enters, followed by tragedy, for strange as it may seem, the men this versatile woman loved best met death, for the most part in tragic form. Altogether this is a very human document, clearly a book for grown-ups. In many respects it is unusual. It carries the ring of truth even though it may not always be just the sort of truth one would like to read. The impressions of countries and peoples are highly informative, but it is the personal experiences which give the book its grip. The author is a woman of personality, and her conduct was not ordinary. She has courage and originality, and she has at least produced a second book which will attract much attention and secure many readers. Those who take exception to her mode of life will perhaps be somewhat mollified when they reach the point where she has settled down, though such will doubtless remember those portions of the book which have offended their susceptibilities.

CONVENTIONAL INDIA. “ 1957.” By Hamish Blair. (Cloth; 65.) London and Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, Ltd. Hamish Blair in this account of what may take place in India 100 years after 1857, the date of the Indian Mutiny, reveals himself as a righteous, well-mean-ing, but undoubtedly bigoted, Englishman, to whom all Indians who would oppose Britain’s rule are ruffians, all Britishers who would help them, traitors, and all people, British and Indian alike, who would slight against India for the right of the King-Emperor, heroes and supermen. In 1957, he thinks, unless Britain acts with decision in her treatment of that ancient Empire which came into her hands through blood and tears, its members may rebel and refuse any longer to tolerate the invaders on their shores. There may be trouble. There may even be war. He therefore writes a story in connection with such a situation, and shows, by the way in which his characters move, how such should be handled.

The story, written in an old-fashioned style and peopled with an old-fashioned type of character, suggests nothing of tolerance or understanding or of having tried to see the problem from India’s point of view. The action is somewhat leisurely, and at times becomes tedious. The fact, however, that it has been imagined in all good faith and earnestness makes up somewhat for what it lacks in breadth of vision.

THE ART OF VAN DER VELDEN. “Art 'in New Zealand: A Quarterly Magazine.” (Paper boards; 6s post free.) Wellington: Harry H. Tombs, Ltd.

This number, as the editor’s preface states, marks the second anniversary of the publication of Art in New Zealand and the beginning of the third volume. The first year was one of settling down; the second, one of positive success; consequently it is on the’crest of a wave

that the magazine swings into its third year. There is no doubt that it has already become a definite influence in the development of the arts in the Dominion, and will, if its former standard is maintained, continue to be so. In regard to this matter, its promoters give every promise of still further improvement, suggesting an incorporation of additional features from time to time, and a general enhancement of the magazine's cultural merits. •

The volume to hand deals with the work of Petre Van der Velden, the Dutch artist who came to New Zealand in 1890, lived in Christchurch for 20 years, and eventually died in Auckland in 1913. Kir L. H. Booth’s article describing Van der Velden is particularly interesting, seeing that it is written by one who, for 12 months, was a personal student under the late painter’s tuition. With a sympathetic touch it describes the life and aims of Van der Velden, and deals with the 16 reproductions of his pictures which appear in the issue. Comparing its remarks with the pictures themselves, one realises afresh Mr Booth’s appreciation of his old master’s art.

The literary matter in the present issue includes a good deal of verse, noticeable among which is a poem by “ Marsyas,” the author of the recent volume, “ Eggs and Olives.” K. M Ballantyne contributes “ Notes on Maori Art,” a comprehensive and extremely interesting article supplemented with carefully explained illustrations; Marjory Nicholls writes on “ Repertory Drama in New Zealand”; L." H. Coventry sends a Letter Prom London”; John Dene in “A New Zealand Invasion” gives a resume of the literary successes of certain New Zealanders abroad; and Sylvia Thompson presents a short storv, “ The Brown Bridge.”