LITERARY NOTES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XC, Issue 13236, 16 March 1907, Page 6

LITERARY NOTES.

One ot the most --Inking and ongin.il books uf the Xew Yeui will be ' Hie Life and Letteis of T afcudo He.un m two volumes, bv Elizabeth Bisph in (Constable) The llhistiaUons .\ie uitsiesfiiiß f ihe letteipic-s is hugely composed ol the let teis of this extiaoidinatj man whose life, evtiemelv \auel e\teinalh 1-. fioni the intellertii.il pnnt, an unbioken loni.ime, ind whise obbsen.itions upon the aicaua of Japane e thought and lelmioii will pu> babh intiease mil knowledge of th< se subi'e ts- bv about one half "The 'Light Gne-ts " \ n J>£uy White-Theie is mote of ,i touch of bmleque about the stoiy of how Maicus Halt, the \ulgai. ma-teiful milhoii.uie seeks to avenge h nn-elf on Jus ].wl\ fuends of ne ' smait set," who ndicule and despise him behind his b ck, and onh .ircept his niMt.itions and tolci.ite his fnendship foi the sake of w h.it (hey can get out of them He s half eu"aged to ",i gnl who lo\ es another man but Vbewg goaded bj polity and hei filends to many him foi his monej ; and it is when the shrewdei Baion Altenstein has opened his e\es to the fitt th t the fashionab'e people who fl.ittei him and admit him to then aide .11 e '.l gioup of smait p.p.i'ites' who had m.uked lrm foi then piev' that Afaicus plans 1 un lque je\en"e He tells an el.lbol.lte fiction of how- he has acquned knowledge of wheie theie is a stoie of buned ticf-iue, and inMtes eight ladie, of his acquaintance to .r () with luin to the lsluid -m which it is to be found His object is l<> put them ashme theie.-and .0 tontine it tint tliej .ne left foi .1 tune without food oi sheltei ' to asc.eit.un how this lot of mine bionght up 111 tne 111 dst of the fattest lumim will bfcha\e when «e frighten cm out ot then wits ' Seseu l ad.es and, at hei insistence, the mm 111 W with the girl M.icus hopes to mam, g<> 'be vo\ ige with him: but llieiE »-"a H.iw m the .ui.ingpmenK and In" sheet accident the table- aie turned on ihe angiy iiullioiiane llieie .11 e Mime ln.idd'ii- touches of social satne; the chat acteis- aie diawn with skill and subtleh and the book as all Mi White's nocks „ie is inteiestmgh and ..dmiiahh wntten'Lcidon, Constal/e and Co.; 11111.1. u P W Hutton and Go ) "■Foitunes A Begging - by Tom Ga l rl . —Mi Gallon unfolds tin.- ta'e of foi tune hunting 111 qu-te I.ls best nianiici We .ia\e a jomig g"l appatenth thing 111 .'_ wietthea sha ity 111 the Western ist.ite* of Amenta, attended only by hei biok.n down opium etting f.ithei bhe is the heness just disuneied, to «ti English es tate auu tht* documentaty pioofs of tli.it 1..cl aie auu.it ail His- piopun tue pan t.t to Iheiii Jie ie\.ug His aaugiuti .s pas: nope, and that ue p.ipe.i ale, ineie »oie. \alueless, I lie latuei tells tlieni to a w union. «ha assumes a new peisunahij and !>tts oh lei i.i g ind. 10 .it nounce neiselt as Gia«-c lu.v.i "" W lien Hie -e.d Uiace and iolows upon the same loiue, u j« eisij seen that «t aie un lUe 11.10 hold 01 seme Aeij intciesting situations iJ>oiiutn, Geo J'.elland feons; 'iuu.nu, V W JiuUon mid Co )

"S.r Nigel," by A. Conan Doyle.—lf the nr.initaoie Shtilo-k Holmes, is leallj de id, we could wish foi nothing better ili.m to jenew oui lucndship wit'i the stalnails \ji the While Company, tu which "Sn Nigei ' forms a pi elude. It biiel, the stoiv ol lion young Nigel Lui. mg Mi'u hi-, i-puis and his bride, and of how he hist met the ineompaiable Aylward. Lb.sie 13 nothing novel oi ambitious about the oook; this. Li'-d of w oik ha l - been done often enough befoie, though lately with t>uch spnit and gusto as Su Conan Doyle bungs, to the ta*k. But after the psv etiological miasma of much modern ficLion oi tiie ioit it is ike a bieath I ot furh sea an to hud moie moie m the open, liding side bv &icai with these siinple-tieutel knighu, who battel l.illi otnei s>o dieeilulj, each seeking some one upci whom lie niaj "uo some small deed " Tlie is quaintly leuiiniseent ot the habit ot diunkeii soldieis, who aie said in the expletive vernacular to '"look ioi tiouble " NigeL Lonug was always *' looking lor tiouuie, L and laiely had much diificu ty m iinding it, b'lt his naive joy in his, exploits, has its own boyish ohaini, and Me aie fain to confess that, like Alan Bieok, he n«s a ' bonny fightei. ' Su Conan Doyle desuibes a battle with keen lelish, and no living wnler <_an 2>aint a. moie vivid piciuie' ot the emb'azoned pageantiy of mediaeval' waifare. Theie is a, breezy, open air fieshness about the book, and bn Conan Doyle has u-ed his intimate knowledge of the Smiey hil s to splendid effect Steeped a s he Vin the histoiy of the penod, ,ihe autho.- of "Tlie White Company,' is studiously , aceuiate in detail, but lie is too good a stoiy-teller to be tnesoinely ii.Kiucti\e The ■•toiy breathe* tne< spirit of healthy patriotism, and theie is a sufficient love inteiosf-, as •much as tue Jiuimil boy expects and nomore f.i slioit, ' Sii NigeP is the boy's book of the yeai —(Londoii, Geo. Be 1 and .Sons; Tinlaiu. P W. Hutton and Co.) Princess Hemy of Baltenburg, despite the many claim: 6f chanty upon her time, has 'found 1 leisuie to write a book upon the Me of Wight, of wliu.li she is Govenioi ft is, expected to be leady foi publication in the eaily spung, and is eoiisideml by ,tliose who have had an opportunity of see ing the pioof-sheets to be a veiy" valuable >\\oik on the .-übject Osboine and the -life of the late Queen fonn, of course, chapteis of special interest 1o leadeis. Tlie proiiis on the book will' be devoted to the -benefit of local chanties by its loyal autiioi It lias long been lumouied at San Sebastian tint Pnucesi Hemy is negotiating for the puiclnse of land wheieon to build a villa oi hai<-elf Although nothing official >i known of tins intention, gieat ciedence is given to the lepoit. as the catrying oui of Ihe p'a.i woul'i enable Pi incest Hemy to "ce a gieat deil of Jiei daughter when Queen Victoria Eugenia is slaving at the Miramar I'alace, which is rather small, and contains - little good accom.i odation for v l&itor*

"The Salving of a Deielict." (T3y Msiulice Drake).—This is the sjory that Avon the " Daily Mail" prize of 'a hundred pounds, and it is certainly veiy much su : perior' to ,the average newspaper serial. Tt'» author has imaginafion, ,and his vigorous and picturesque style is in admirable keeping with his theme. " Laurence Averil is living a life of careless ease when his father's failure and suicide bring him fuce to face with ruin. He has no business or profession, and gladly accepts un ■ •tfer made to him by an old frjend of his father's, who tells him, "I've wmk for ye, lad. if ye'll take it. ' Ye can come and learn to keep a fishbuyer's books, and be a, bookkeeper to the end of your life, if ye will. Or I've niair than "th-'t for ye. if ye can stand the roughest, duellist life on ivrth. Will ye go to sen on a Ivuwler for a couple of years, Laurie, and learm (he business from the bol- , torn? Ye'll see, how the worrk's done, and where the boats fro. and how the trawler c-.iptains work their sha'ies of the catch. Lea mi. it all. lad. until ye can worrk a trawler yersel'. and then come back and help me wi' the business."' The hard, rough life afc se-i is piotuied wifli unfiinchhis realism, and the story of how Laurence is himmered by it into a strong, self-reliant manhood, and how he meets and woos the girl who i*-* bravclv unconventional enough to coin* and tell him ' that "-he Toves him, when a misunderstanding has separated them, is skilfully unfolded ~'nd aVive with interest. An ex> centionally stion<> , first i book that augurs will for "Mr Drake's ' future. London, Werner Laurie; Tiniaru. P. W. Button and Co.