The Books We Read.

Observer, Volume XI, Issue 645, 9 May 1891, Page 12

The Books We Read.

A number of recant publications have accumulated on the editor's table, and in th 9 press of current topics have been allowed to escape notice, though we have managed at intervals to make ourselves acquainted with their contents. We now propose to overtake arrears, and shall first of all notice

KO MEEI, BY MISS JESSIE WESTON,

(London : Published by Eden, Eemington and Co ) This is a story of New Zealand life, by a lady who formerly resided in Auckland, and who made her first literary venture in the columns of this journal. This, coupled with the fact that the scene of the tale is chiefly laid in Auckland, ought to make 'Ko Meri ' specially interesting to our readers Those who take up this volume in the hope of finding anything bloodcurdling or sensational will be sadly disappointed. It is not a romance, or wildly-improbable yarn, but rather a correct picture of life in Auckland — love, music, religion, and social intercourse being the chief themes. There is in it, however, ample to interest the reader, apart from the plot, which is of the slenderest description. The characters and incidents are all reproductions from the life, and Aucklanders may find keen mental enjoyment in the exercise of identifying the characters. For example, it is easy for old residents to recognise in the half-caste heroine, Mary Balmain, the daughter of a military officer whose name had the same prefix. Similarly, Mr Everard, the evangelical clergyman of the Church of England, is not hard to identify; but there will be more difficulty experienced in 'placing' correctly Mr and Mrs Morgan of Parnell, Dr. Brooke and family, the Daytons, and Mr McLeod, the eccentric old Scot from Mount Eden. Not so hard, perhaps, will the ladies find it to identify Mr Callagan Frye, a bachelor who sings divinely and thinks he can dance, while he also has an amiable delusion that he resembles the Duke of Wellington. Miss Weston is rather cruel in this portraiture, for Cailagan Frye cannot fail to suggest Milligan Hogg — and of course she doesn't mean him, for his ' conk ' has no resemblance whatever to that of the conkering dook. •Ko Meri ' in addition to being very entertaining to New Zealand people will be useful to friends in the old country who wish to obtain a correct idea of life in Auckland. Miss Weston's pictures of domestic and social life, language and manners are quite perfect. In the love passages, the influence of the society journal is admitted, and a great sensation is caused in the Dayton family circle by a personal paragraph that appears in the Observer, hinting at an engagement between Lenore and the young parson. The chapter dealing with the Observer episode is a thoroughly characteristic one, and could not apply to any place except Auckland. Miss Weston is not always happy in her descriptions of scenery, and she seems deficient in thp organ of locality. Thus, describing an evening scene at Parnell, she tells how ' the sun sank to the cone of Eangitoto '—a direction in which no mortal Parnellite ever saw the sun sinking. But, despite a few blemishes, the tale is well written, in a fascinating style that draws the reader on through the whole thirtyfour chapters. The motif of the book is to illustrate the old adage that ' blood will tell,' but readers will generally lay down the book with a look of sadness, and a wish that Mary Balmain's fate had been less hard. If we can detect a minor purpose in the book, it is in the direction of decrying dogmatic religion, especially Trinitarianism, and favouring robust Freethought coupled with active philanthropy, or practical religion. These teachings, however, are merely incidental and are not allowed to weight the work in any way We are glad to learn that 'Ko Meri ' is being much sought after in Auckland, and we trust its success may be such as will encourage Miss Weston to fresh efforts.