Literary Notes.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13330, 6 July 1907, Page 1 (Supplement)

Literary Notes.

Mtusrs Watts and. Co. have now issued a second and revised edition of "Tlu Churches and Modern Thought," This work is attracting considerable attention. The, first edition, published lust year, consisted of one thousand copies—the prcseni. edition comprises five thousand copies ; but the publishers expect that another and dill larger edition will be miuired at no distant date. The book, both in its stylo and in its subject-matter, appeals to lh? widest rangei of readers, and,.to render its purchase within the means of a large circle, a popular edition is being issuer concurrently with the new library edition. Tlio publishers believe that a work dealing exhaustively, temperately, and lucidly with the arguments for and against belief, and also stimulating to thought in vital and healthy ways, is a want much felt at this present time, of religious unrest, and that the appearance ( ,f such a book at the psychical'moment could hardly have been more opportune. "Wild Life in Australia," by W. H. Dudley Le Souef, director of the Zoological Gardens, Melbourne.—Messrs Whitcombe and Tombsi send -us a copy of this book. In its 450 pages the author has put on record brief accounts of various excursions made to different parts of Australia, These excursions were made during what were practically holiday trips, and that the standard of pleasure and whole-hearted enjoyment was to him a. high one, is very appar-' ent from the decidedly entertaining way Mr I.e. Souef writes about the fauna and flora and the natives of the great Continent. Leisure is not given to many amid the ttrenuous life of to-day; to make pea* iodical tours from the beautiful forest-clad Gembrook of Victoria to the desert-home of the cyclone, popularly called WillieWilles, in Western Australia, and one is inclined to envy such fortunate travellers as Mr Le Souef. However, he is a man that can read the wonderful book of Nature, and in giving us'-his-impressions, he 'has compiled a volume that must at once 'find great favour with all who are fond of outdoor life.

The Gembrook district is very finely described, .the reader being taken into the forest, and shown the home life of the. tiger snake, the squirrel, the opossum, native bear—animals of which there seems still to ba an abundance. Several of the snake stories are the daily experience of Victorians outside the settled districts, and ;;ro written in that matter of- fact style which makes them as cold-blooded as the reptiles they describe. . From animals he passes on to birds, the laughing-jackass, boobook owl, yellow-brested robin, and lyre-bird coming into review. The latter are very beautiful, and are particularly fond of playing or dancing together. As many as 30 have been seen playing together, " alternately advancing and receding, turning', bowing, whirling, hopping, and running," and even if watched by man, orwo man will not cease their play. The lyre-birds are also admirable mimics, and by the cry of a child, the squeak of a. pig, have often led travellers on futilg- missions. " Tilings 'that crawl" close an interesting chapter and make one wonder of what rise* are earthworms two feet long and as thick as your finger, land crabs, that are so smart in getting away that they are seldom caught, leeches that are always thin and hungry, and bulldog ants that will fight to the bitter end if disturbed. The geological arena is nest entered—the western district of Victoria, the gate to wihch is guarded by the pugnacious magpie and the pied grallinas. These birds when disturbed, will, the author says, fight to a finish, and children frequently; suffer very painfully from their determined attacks. The western district is famed for its ancient volcanoes, its salt lakes, and for its vast quantity of bird life—black duck, bandicoots, stubble quail, buistards, etc. It was,also at one time the ideal home of th,e aboriginals, who, judging by the abundant remains, had been very numerous. Nowadays little but burial mounds and the remains' of ancient battle-grounds are to be seen; and these are cuiously enough disappearing in their turn under the influx of the rabbits, who burrow among the mounds, and the kitchen middens of, the once numerous blackfellow. In the chapter devoted to the 'Western District are highly interesting accounts of a native fight witnessed by the author's father, arid of a corroboree, which take the reader back to 1842.

In chapter 111. the reader is given glimpses of the civilisation of to-day, being taken by rail, river, and steamer to the Malacoota Inlet, and introduced on the way to death's head spiders, musk ducks, dingoes, emus, grey kangaroos, sulphurcrested cockatoos, white goshawks, coachwhip birds (so called from their clear call being:like the cracking of a whip), nightj;uv=,.ball miners, lizards and iguanas, and other'things that creep, run or fly. In describing the type of country to be. met with in Gfipp-land, much attention is given to the.; creepers on the banks of streams, and to the fact that the forest grows down to it he water's edge. ; , • Leaving Victoria, the Riverina District in New South Wales is entered upon, and the wild life met with includes Yankes herons, white egrets, strawneckcd ibis, wedge-tailed eagles, tippet grebo. Bnrk canoes are also well described, and they are shown to' b?, perfectly safe craft on even the flooded Murray. The " grand spectacle" of a dust storm is described with a facile pen, but it is not surprising to learn that anyone who has actually experienced such a storm is l not slow to getout of the region in which it occurs. In the trip to the islands of Bass Straits,' the reader is taken among the nests of the Cape Barren goose, the red-capped dotted], the: pied oyster catcher, to the gamut rookery, the Pacific gull, the cormorant, stormy petrel, and the mutton bird. Returning to Launceston, and taking a trip to Mead Stone, the scenery about. Echo Cv-eek and on St. Paul's River is very finely described ; and then the Hunter group comes in for review. These islands are the home of the albatross and falcons, and among interesting remains found'there wore cooking utensils used by Guano traders about half a century ago;

The. closing chapters of., this interesting hook of holiday travel are devoted to Queensland and part of Western Australia, covering nearly 200 pages, and apparer.tlv the chief preserve of "Wild Ufa in Australia." The banks- of the FKzroy Riven- teem with life—pigmy geese, lotus birds, jabiroos, living foxes, scrub turkeys, whistling eagles, just to mention in few. Then there are details of the struggle, for life between kingfishers and lace lizards, cockatoos hanging on to the tail of an iguana, which was robbing the nest of its young ; and black-duck nesting in trees and carrying its young to water by beak. The. bird, animal, and insect life in Queensland is in fact a constant .succession of tragedies, and it was due to the fury with which they fought, regardless of the. approach of man, that the author was able to .secure by net and with hand, many of the. beautiful specimens that naw live in comfort atS the Gardens at Melbourne. A.> a preface to wandering among the trees, Mr Le Souef gives a very fine description of a crocodile hunt, and many useful hints to anyone who wishes to go in for this branch of big game shooting. The trees of Queensland show most extraordinary growth, their roots being "tied in knots" that defy unravelling. Above the exposed roots, however, the trunks rise to a great height, and the description of natives climbing by means of the " back hand" shows that branches are very much aloft. The short article on Western -Australia, between Perth and Albany, is devoted to a description of flowers and palms, and the habits of the natives of Whim Creek, who are practically in a state of Nature. A notice of 'the book could not bo complete, without special reference to the illustrations. They are many, excellent reproductions of photographs taken by Mr Le Souef, and to the youth of Australasia, tell a vivid istory in themselves. The numerous subjects are <f snapped" in most interesting attitudes or aspects, and convey vastly more than the matter-of-fact though interesting letterpress' pourtrays. This book is one that should give great pleasure to young people; and colonists could spend a .profitable hour with it, in recalling old memories.

AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINES. •'The Lone Hand"—(Sydney : the "Bulletin" Company; Timaru:. T. W. Wug;staff)—for July is embellished with a striking, if not over-elegant coverpiece, while inside the frontispiece is an excellent redchalk portrait of Mr J. 0. Watson, the Federal Labour leader, whose personal probity is the theme of a highly appreciative article. The remiscences of Mr J. S. Archibald; founder of the are continued, this month's instalment recounting some j)l the early vicissitudes of this remarkable- figure in Australian journalism, of which, by the way, Frank Morton writ?:; in a satirical vein which, it must be, admitted, is not undeserved. The pages devoted "to the public good" pillory a Victorian manufacturer whose businetsa has recently been investigated by what corresponds to our Arbitration Court; the architect who takos' commissions from builder:, for allowing them to scamp their work; and a headache-rjowder. There is a liberal supply of fiction and. vense by the best known Australian authors. The principle feature in the current issue of the " Review of Reviews " for Australia is'\ the character sketch of Lord Cromer, the great Englishmen who has just given up his work in Egypt An article on the preparations for the Hague Conference, which is now in session, will interest every- . body who takes notice of the international movements of tho time, while those t who have been through Foster Fraser's latest book will find a companion to his lurid pictures in the description of Starving Russia. The summary of the leading articles in the periodical literature of the day remains the chief feature and value of this .handy "Review." It is said that Mai.lv Twain is one of the most difficult men in America to interview. He shuns the newspaper-man and refuses to receive him. But on being told that al representative of an Australian magazine to .see. him, he relented. Be-ides, the said representative could play billiards! So there followed a chat and a game of ICO up, which Mark won by 93. Mr Chas. Nutall, an Australian artist now in New York, was the man, and "Life" was tho magazine. Its June number is before us, and besides the talk with Mark Twain, .there are several. other very popular articles. A little-known patch in the centre of Australia is described by Captain Barclay, an explorer of experience, who promises to tell more about Central Australia in future issues. " Mr' Dooley " writes * very humorously on Flying Machines. He says he will wait till a flying machine has laid an egg before he will feel the problem is solved. Good advice is given by Dr. Rutherford Waddell on How to Choose ai Novel, with a discussion on the vicious novel. Those interested in the " New ■ Knowledge" on the constitution of matter, will find an article on this subject, which sums up the steps which/ led to our present ideas of " electrons," discussing "X "' Rays; Radium, and so on. Fiction is 'represented by a good short story, and Dr. Fitchi'tt's splendid historical novel, now rumiing a.« a. serial.