LIBER'S NOTE-BOOK.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume I, Issue 73, 2 May 1914, Page 3

LIBER'S NOTE-BOOK.

A recent addition to "The Life and Light" (George Bell and Sons) is a daintily-bound little re-print of "Legends and Lyrics," by Adelaide Anne-Procter. The author was a daughter of Bryan 'Waller Procter, who, wrote under the pseudonym of Barry Cornwall, and was a member ,of the Dickens-Forster circle in the 'fifties and 'sixties of the last century. Miss Procter became a contributor, under the "nom de plume of Mary Berwick, to '' Household" Words,'' and later on

contributed verse to "All the Year Round." Her collected poem's were published in 1866, with an introduction by Dickens, who greatly esteemed Miss Procter's work. Some of her shorter lyrics were, I believe, set to music by various Victorian composers. Much of her verse is highly sentimental; indeed it reminds one of the effusions of that estimable person, Ella Wheeler Wilcox, but at times a stronger, firmer note is struck. This pretty little re-print should interest many readerf to whom Miss Procter's work is as yet unknown.

"The Maxims of Noah," "derived from his experience with women both before and after the Flood, as given in counsel to his son Japhet,'' is the title of a little book.by the American humorist, Gelett Burgess (Stokes and Co.; per Whitcombe and Tombs). It is a companion volume to "The Maxims of Methuselah." Mr Burgess waxes highly satirical over the wiles and guile of women, and at times is genuinely humorous. But his fun should be taken in small doses. The illustrations, by Louis D. Faucher, are appropriately grotesque. . '

The central figure in Sax Rohmer 's '' Sins of Severac Bablon" (Cassell and Co.; per S. and W. Mackay) is a handsome and mysterious young adventurer, who, it is hinted, is a descendant of the great Suleiman, and wears his sacred seaL Suddenly appearing in London, he strikes terror into the hearts of the leading Hebrew financial magnates, forcing them, by various ingenious devices, to contribute huge sums to several importajnt charitable and patriotic objects. Associated, by accident, with Severac's campaign against the millionaires,' is a journalist, who paper," the "Daily Gleaner," thus secures a succession of "scoops." The affrighted plutocrats enlist the assistance of Scotland Yard and Parisian detectives, plus a specially gifted "Pinkerton's man,'' but all their efforts are easily outwitted by the blackmailer,**whose object is to rid the Jewish race of the stigma of selfishness. The story is ultra-sensational, and would, I should imagine, make a highly-attractive cinema drama. Although almost grotesquely improbable in many of its incidents, it is decidedly readable.

"Blacklaw," by Sir George Makgill (Methuen and Co.), is unduly spun out in the telling, and would have been a much more effective story had some ruthless editorial blue-pencilling pruned down its redundancy. An eccentric, though well-meaning, peer, Lord Blacklaw, deserts his position and fortune, and, with his family, goes out to New Zealand to. lead "the patriarchal life,'' a strain of something like fanaticism leading him to ; ignore the injury he is doing to the future of his children. Entangled with that future is that of the relative,,

John Westray, who, on his side,' deliberately sacrifices happiness, and, in the end, even life itself, in order that his son may succeed. The New Zealand scenes are clearly the result of' first-hand study, but the storyUias also a Scottish and a London background; an oasily identifiable art colony in Cornwall also serves for a tinie as scenario. '

There are many venerable cliches in JSilas latest novel, "Uncle Peter's Will" (Ward, Lock and Co., per S. and W. Mackay), but Mr Hocking is a practised. story-teller, and can make even the most ancient puppets dance entertainingly. Under the terms of his uncle's will, Jerry (christened Gervase) Quex has to marry within a year or forfeit a very valuable estate. The girl he loves, and to whom he'proposes, misunderstands him, and wounded pride prevents, for some months, the reconciliation which, of course, is finally effected. Interwoven with Jerry's own love story is that of two other people, and although, as I have said, the. leading motif lacks novelty, the story makes pleasant reading, save where it is marred by certain phases of religious feeling, which Mr Hocking is clearly unable to understand, and is, it is to be feared, only too desirous misrepresenting.

,v Dr. C. Murray Leyick, 8.N., Zoologist of the Scott Expedition, and who lived for a year close to a big penguin camp in the Antarctic, has written a study of ''Antarctic Penguins," which Heinemann is publishing. A, special feature of the volume will be its wealth of illustration. ,

Henry Lawson has won fame outside Australia. , An Australian writer, Von Adele Fuchs, has just published, in Vienna, a monograph pf a hundred pr.gc3, on , Lawson and his work.

Now that Mexico and affairs Mexican are an everyday topic of conversation, it is worth noting that a shilling edition of Mrs Alec Tweedio's lively work, "Mexico as I Saw It," has been issued by' Nelsons. A -V new volume in Nelson's excellent French serica. (1/- -, net) is "Bijou," by the clever, if occasionally rather naughty, "Gyp."

One can extract, at times, most-curious and amusing' •' information from books of professedly quite a serious - s [ character.' Thus, in Dr Pollard's "Reign of Henry the Seventh, from Contemporary .Sources," there are given - some items of expenditure from the King's Privy Purse, - wliich. throw curidus side-lights upon the Court'doings* - instance, for a barometer, called a pronosticacon, ,* 6/8 is set down; for "taking Crown jewels' out of . ,'] pawn," £350; for a "lyon," £2 13/6; for a leopard, £l3 6/8; for a mountebank eating coals, 6/8; foT a wrestling priest, 6/8; to "a Spaniard that played the fool," £2; to "a young damoysell that daun'eerh" (the Maud Allan, no doubt, of the Tudor period), £3O!

A "Life of Walter Bagehot," the famous writer on,economics, and, incidentally, a singularly acute literary critic, has been written by Mrs Russell Barrington.

It is curious we have had to wait so long'for "a '' Life of Ouida'' (the late Louise de la Eemee), for this clever, if extravagant, writer, so popular with a'certain class of readers in the second half of the last century, had a very interesting career. For the first timfe a full account of Ouida's life is given in a "Memoir" written * by' Elizabeth Lee. The author of "Under Two Flags"' , was born at Bury St. Edmunds, and it was Harrison. Ainsworth who was instrumental in getting her earliest stories published.

"Have you a copy of Ami el's' ,' Journal'?" enquired a gentleman in a bookseller's shop, and the young', lady assistants.replied coldly: "We don't keep periodicals." ■ i ■ ' '■■•■''.

A new and highly attractive feature in "The Times'' Literary Supplement, now obtainable at a penny, separately from the daily journal, is a series of signed articles on literary subjects. The first to appear was a delightfully witty article, "Books Within Books," by •lax Beerbohm. This was- followed by a mo3t penetrating and critically enlightening contribution by Henry James, entitled "The Younger feneration," ir. which the veteran American novelist and essayist examines the work of such men as Arnold Bennett, H. Gr. Wells, Gilbert Caiman, Compton M'Kenzie, Joseph Conrad, and Hugh Walpole.' The wise bookman , will promptly order the T.L.S. in its new and cheaper form. It is an astonishingly good pennyworth.

We have to acknowledge from those well-known-publishers, W. and R. Chambers, Ltd., copies of thei£—«& familiar family magazine " Chambers's Journal,'' and two dictionaries: air etymological dictionary and the more pretentious Twentieth Century edition. The journal is, M of old, full of variety and information, and the current issues contain articles by colonial writers on -special subjects. The cheaper dictionary (an enlarged edition) is a marvel at the price, and the Twentieth Century is a lexicon fit for the best. It is copiously illustrated.