ADDITIONS TO LIBRARY

Taranaki Daily News, 5 January 1935, Page 12 (Supplement)

ADDITIONS TO LIBRARY

MASEFIELD SEA STORY THRILLS OF "DOUBLE-CROSS” SPY. more bartimeus navy yarns.

The chief librarian of the New Plymouth Public Library reports the following books in popular demand. General Literature. “Red Saunders,” by “Sinbad.” “The Life of Lord Carson, Volume 2,” by lan Colvin. “European Journey,” by Philip Gibbs. “A Village in a Valley,” by Beverly Nichols. “The Submarine Peril, by Mil Jellicoe. . "Goodbye Russia,” by Captain Evan Cameron.

Fiction. "A Pin to see the Peepshow,” by A. ’Jermyson Jesse. "Claudius the God,” by Robert Graves. “The Proud Servant,” by Margaret Irwin. ~ _. u “Grand Harbour,” by Bradda Field. .“In Company with Crispin,” by Humphrey Pakington. "The Guests Arrive,” by Cecil Roberts.

“The Taking of the Gry,” by’ John Masefield. (William Heinemann Ltd.)

This is a riproaring story of modern piracy in a Central American Republic formerly portion of the “Eastern Spanish Main.” “Santa Barbara and Santa Ana” were two republicans that naa gained their freedom from Spain. There were factions in both States who thought a combination of the two republics would be wise and would certainly afford certain politicans better opportunities for increasing personal wealth. , . ~ On the other hand there were patriots in Santa Ana willing to risk civil war and the hostility of the larger republic of Santa : Barbara in order to preserve their country’s autonomy. They had to accept the. risks, for - hostilities broke out, and the capture of the steamer Gry was a matter of much importance. Its capture ■ was made possible by the use of a tortuous passage out of the harbour of Santa Barbara discovered by Drake himself, and those who -know Mr. Masefield’s gift of description will be assured that this act of modem piracy is told with vividness that is the, greater for the crispness of the narrator’s style. To- fill in the “horrible hours of waiting for something to begin, that Would be grim enough in the being, and yet was grimmer in the waiting. ter , the ' conspirators went to a picture theatre. Afterwards, at their lodgings they “helped Senora Grau to prepare a meal. . . Presently she opened one of the windows and let a fresh draught of air from the sea-breeze that was now dying. . . Apart from the noise of the clicking curtain-rings and the roll of the surf there was almost no noise in that quiet alley: perhaps the clop of a horse going by, or the bell of a religious house. . . We all shook hands; Senora Grau poured out for each of us a little golden liqueur she called the “Kiss of Peace.” We drank to each other and wished our adventure good luck. . • Then we went down the stairs and out of doors. ■ The door closed behind us; shutting us out from safety among outlaws and defiers of the peace. Could staging for the threshold of great adventure be better? And the subsequent happenings are juste as dramatically lived and told. One feels Drake would have approved of the use made of his channel, and that he would Have told' of a capture as tersely and as proudly as Mr. Masefield has told' of British seamanship two dozen years ago. • • ' J'A-Make-and-Mend,’’ by /‘Bartimeus. (Rich and Cowan.)

There are no stories of fights or strategy in- this fresh and very welcome volume of-navy stories by “Bartimeus.” Most of them are of post-war times, and all of them show that intimate acquaintance with the real sailorman ashore and afloat that has gained such wide - appreciation of the stories of his shipmates told by one of themselves. The story of Alfred Blossom A.B. and his last voyage before being pensioned is the first arid one of the best in the volume. Mr. Blossom’s plucky effort to wipe out a debt, the reason he incurred it, and the philosophy of life good and ill fortune forces upon him create Sympathy for the old sinner. For at least he took all what foolishness cost him without a whimper. ' The story of the effect of a warship’s call at a ' tropical settlement and the entertainment given the little community living there is a' happy study in psychology, not only of the settlers suffering from the ill-temper and jealousies bred by isolation and overdone propinquity, but of the men oh. the ship who are to be their hosts. The gloomy cook, proud of his pastry, the cynical steward, the officers a little annoyed at the extra work entailed but • determined not to let down their Captain, of all these Bartimeus writes from the viewpoint of one who has “been there” and with the sympathy only knowledge can give. The author is just as happy when he tells the story of a fishing trip made by two officers in a Newfoundland river. The narrator is the marine who was servant to one officer, and the manner in which the story is told gives it life. “Ringer”, the marine, would have been drowned but for rescue by his officer. The reader has some sympathy with Mrs. Ringer, however, who “would like to have a few words with that Spex of yours” for risking her husband’s life on a fishing jaunt. To Ringer, it. was but part of his job. “We waded down to the other officer—we couldn’t get no wetter—and resumed the voyage, as you might say. And that’s , about all that happened.” The influence of their sweethearts upon the men of the Navy, be they c6ok or captain is discussed with much skill in this volume. There is ' tribute paid also to the value of the experienced Petty Officer to the fledgling officer; some sidelights on the methods of keeping discipline strict but preserving the humanities while doing so; and the book ends, as this author makes one feel any good sea story should, in a home, coming after years of foreign service.

“K 14-O.M. 66. Adventures of a Double Spy,” by Colonel V. R. Kaledin. (Hurst & Blackett.) Nerve and skill of a different variety to that of the British seaman was required for the work described by Colonel Kaledin. To serve as a spy at the same time the suspicious authorities at St. Petersburg and at Berlin during the war years needed courage and quick wits. In the cases detailed in this volume the author shows close acquaintance with many hitherto unexplained happenings in Russia during those stressful years. He throws light on some very sordid phases of that unhappy country’s history. Its Sovereign dominated by a libertine priest, its Government riddled with spies and those seeking to drag personal profit out of the nation’s peril, her armies badly led and with equipment even worse, it seems no wonder there was a Russian revolution after three years of war. Every “case” reported in this volume was full of danger for the double spy. Human life was very cheap and that of a detected spy was lowest in value.

It was a case of matching experience and wits against those of others, and the reader is shown frequently how narrow the margin was between success or failure, or in other words between life and death for the spy. The stories are thrilling enough, but they leave an unpleasant feeling that more illusions about the patriotism of those who make war have been shattered.