Books and Their Writers

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17014, 12 April 1923, Page 4

Books and Their Writers

Note* by "

“The Reviewer"

THE ATOM BREAKERS. The proper study of mankind may be man, but there are other studies to which scientists find it pleasant to d« vote most of their attention even if each individual cannot hope unless lie s exceptionally able or exceptionally j lucky to do more than try to enuil&te the snail in the matter of progress. One thing, however, scientists are doing every day and that is upsetting the preconceived ideas of the rest ot the race as to the constitution of matter. In September 1919 Herr Alfred. Stock, Doctor of Philosophy and Professor in the University of Berlin delivered a series of lectures on the “ astonishing advances in our knowledge of the fine structure of matter which have lav u made during the last few years. . oy the work ot the physicist.” These lee tures are now translated and appear under the title “ The Structure of Atoms;” the German title is “ Ultrastrukturechemic ” Herr Stock was asked to give to the chemists at the Leverkusen works an account of the most recent advances in chemistry, an 1 recognising ihe difficulties caused to the chemist by “ the thorns of theoretical physics and mathematics,” be at tempted “in this short guide to put aside these thorns and bring into tho foreground the point of view of experi ment. The essential principles of this branch of knowledge and its historical i development, are here simply but fully I described. For those readers who wish j to go more deeply into the subject, a list of suitable books is given at the end of the volume.” Professor Stock is emphatio on the dangers of “ the facility vrith which atomic and molecular structures can be worked out on paper, a task which, until much more experimental work has been done, is entirely unprofitable.” The problem of separating the substances of which an element is made up is one upon which many of the ablest men are now working. The possibilities are immense for, to take one sphere, natural science is apparently on the way to success in the discovery of adequate substitutes for the rapidly decreasing fuel supplies. In the search the van is held by the physicists like Herr Stock whose experiments are reducing to concrete form the speculative work of the theorists who are so often shown to have argued on insufficient or incorreot prenises. The translation is masterly and is the work of Mr S. Sugden, Chemistry Lectures in the University of London. There are good index and many diagrams. J/ondon: Methuen and Co., Ltd. THE GIRL WHO TOOK . . . “An uncongenial mother is, for her son, an intermittent trial, but for a conscientious man there is little escape from his wife.” Charles Auburv finds his mother as difficult a mother a« his father had found her a wife and “ not having exercised the same ohoioc* in the matter of her permanent nearness, he felt the more free to achieve distance whenever possible.” It is wli»n he announces his engagement to Mehta Founde that he realises how unplea sant his mother is able to become : her unpleasantness is only tempered by the laot that she is dependent upon him. Melita, though she wins the race for the eligible Charles, and though she 11 a remarkably charming and able woman, has not quite succeeded in hying down a certain story of the past and Mrs Witherdex, her rival, does nob fail to make use of any weapon available. Charles manages to give Melita the idea that he is marrying Ker because he pities her in her somewhat anomalous position and it takes him the major portion of the book to tin cl out whether she really loves him or is merely marrying him as a more or less convenient way of escaping; especially as her hostess has caught them kissing Melita and Charles are respectively the heroine and the hero of Miss for Mrs) Margaret Rivers Larminie’s exceptionally interesting studv “ Echo.” Charles knows a portion of Melita’s past history but bis ignorance as to the remainder c auses him considerable heartache and loads him into grievous error in his treatment of his wife. Melita has a friend, Richard Marriner. a married man. whose position as regards her is mysterious; he is a particularly inter osting character. The authoress shows powers of observation and ability in the portrayal of character and tempera inent and a compelling frankness much above the average. Very few who read ‘‘Echo” will not be ready to test the next hook bearing the name of Margaret Rivers Larminie on the title page. London : Chatto and Windus. STEAD’S REVIEW FEBRUARY 17th. The very old question “ Is Democracy a Failure?” is discussed; the Editor’s conclusion is that “ the base anil worthless imitation ot it that usurps the name has failed lamentably;” lie asks Where is the aristocracy of brains today? ” The real* object of French ambitions is set out “ The invasion of the Rhineland was the last step in a long meditated and carefully thought out plan to revive the French Empire of Charles the Great and Napoleon tho First.” There seem to lie many people unwilling to accept the plain view that France has good reason to believe that Germany i» as usual “ playing possum.” A description of the Model Prison Settlement at French Island. Victoria, an appeal for “enlightened selpinterest ” in our “economic Dark Ages.” something about the cost if the Australian Nary, a sketch of Herr Wilhelm Cuno. German Chancellor, an instalment of the serial ‘‘Salvage” and the usual information departmo •:n are provided. LITERARY NOTES. Mr F. A. Mackenzie’s study of Communism in practice. “ Russia before Dawn.” will he published by Messrs T. Fisher Unwin. Mr Mackenzie has lived in Russia since tho autumn of 1921. and has been a personal witness of most that he describes. He has t« avellcd from Eastern Siberia to the Black Sea. He describes in detail the - ampaigri of the Communists against the Churches. He gu-es the real story • f the new Red Army. His chapter on the opportunities for foreign capital will come as a shock to those who ro -urd Russia as the new El Dorado. r J'ho hook is both a record of personal ad entaire and the most exact account of Bolshevism in practice that has as yet • ippeared. Hie biography of “ A Perthshire Naturalist: Charles Macintosh of In-

ver,” by Henry Coates. F.S.A.. Scot., which is announced for publication by Messrs Fisher Unwin is the life story of a very remarkable Highland character—rural post-runner, naturalist, and musician. But it is much more than a mere biography. It is at onc€ an art book, a book of popular natural history, and a book of Highland folklore and folk-music. The narrative itself is full of dramatic incidents, some of which touch on little known phases ot Scottish history. Not the least attractive chapters arc those devoted to Charles Macintosh as a musical composer and violinist. In this the author has had the able assistance of Mr Herbert Wiseman, M.A. of Edinburgh, on? of the leading musioal critics of the day. who is a foremost authority on Scottish folk music. The work, which ia beautifully illustrated, contains an Introduction bv .1. Arthur Thomson. M.A.. LL.D., aml Patrick Gedd ;. F.R.S.E. Mr William M’Fee is the biggest discovery in the literature of the sea since Mr Conrad left the chart house for the study. But unlike Mr Conrad, he has not yet come ashore for good. He still goes to sea—‘' to keep in contact with reality,” as he puts it. Born at sea, in the three-master which his fatlieV designed, built, owned and commanded, he had a spell of engineering in and around London, mado an attempt to settle in Chelsea as a writer, but heard the sea calling too loudly, and went afloat a,s third engiueer of a tramp steamer. And at sea he has been almost ever since, including war service in the Mediterranean. The latter gave him material for “ Com stand ” (Martin Seeker), the new novel which ha* followed liis successful "• Captain Maodoine’s Daughter.” It deals with the adventures, in love and war, in Salonika and the eastern Mediterranean. Patriotism comes into conflict with love and ambition, and there is a good story of the warring motives. But beyond the good story are the vivid pictures of life in Salonika, and at sea in war time.

The Dickens Fellowship has a very interesting project on foot. This is the acquisition, as its own home, and as a completely organised museum and library, No. 48, Doughty Street, Mecklenburgh Square—to which house Dickens removed after his marriage, from Furnival’ s Inn. He had then written only eleven numbers of “ The Pickwick Papers ” and be bad hardly settled down when the issue of the twelfth, the a.nnniversnry, number was celebrated by a Saturday night dinner given to him by Chapman, and Hall. Then cleach entered the npw home, and with a crushed spirit tie wrote the epitaph of his wife’s youngest sister, Mary Hogarth, who had been living under bis roof. “ Young, beautiful and good, Gotj numbered her among his angel* at the early age of seventeen.” For two months he was -powerless to recover the spirits in which •" Pickwick ” could be written. This house, in which “ Pickwick ” wa* completed, and “ Oliver Twist,” “ Nicholas Nickleby,” and “ Barnaby Rudge ” were written, has been saved from demolition at the eleventh hour, and its freehold reserved for the Dickens Fellowship. A sum of about £'lo,ooo is lequired to complete the purchase and endow it with a sufficient sum to pay the salary of a caretaker.

“ Among domestic servants who might; have been able to write entertaining reminiscences,” •says the *" Manchester Guardian,” “should be included * Red Lion Mary,’ who looked after Burnes-Jones and William Morris when they shared a studio in Red Lion Square, London. According to the observation of visitors, Mary occasionally found her gentlemen difficult to please —-especially Morris, who was heard one morning to come out on the landing and roar downstairs: Mary, those six ogga were bad; I’ve eaten them, but don’t let it occur again.’ No matter what the season Morris insisted in lunching daily off roast beef and plum pudding, and he liked his puddings large. . Mr Ford Madox Huefi'er witnessed a scene one day when the delicacy was not up to the standard size. ‘Do you call that a. pudding. Mary?’ shouted Morris, and hurled it at her with an oath. Despite such outbursts on his part, however. Red Lion Mary was one of Morris’s most loyal admirers to the end of her days.” “ Matthew Arnold’s poetry, or the best of it, lives, and is likely to live n-s long as beauty is loved and our language endures,” says, the “ Morning Post.” “We may trace in his poetry a conflict which long divided his mind between romantic and classical, a. conflict which in felicitous moments became a marriage or fused union of the tine qualities of both movements. What we have chiefly to thank the gods for in Arnold are a dozen or so of perfect poems, mostly elegia • in feeling and movement, some admirable prose criti cism of literature, and a certain reverence for beauty in form and style which temains as the main inspiration of all his writings.” The American Literary Review says of Jacinto Benavente, the winner o! tho Nobel prize; Small of stature, frailly built, and of a highly nervous constitution, Benavente has some of the feline traits; indolent, playful, and quick in the thrust of his claws. Jlireputation a* a gossip in literary circles is formidable. In the nocturnal life of the Madrid cafes and greenrooms. where he spent his youth, and which he wisely deserted as the years went on, he sharpened hi* wits and learned the swiftness and brilliance of a dialogue in which there is much of Shaw’s subtlety and of Barrie’s sparkle. Other writers who have won the Nobel arise are Anatole France 1921; Knut Hamsun. 1921); Maurice Maeterlinck, 1911 : Rudyard Kipling 1907 ; Henrv Sienkiewicz. 1900 ; one! Rabindra.noth Tagore. 1913. The six best American novels <>•' 1922, chosen by Mr Hugh Walpole, an “ Babbit,” by Sinclair Lewis : “ Cyth erea.” by Joseph Hergesheimer: “On* of Ours,” bv Willa C’ather; “Pete* Whiffle,” bv Carl van Vechtan ; ‘‘Ole Crow.” bv Alice Brown; and “The Boy Grew Older,” by Hey wood Brown. The most important English novels oi last year as chosen by Mr K. Chester ton. are “The Mystery of Geneva.” bv Rose Macau la v ; ‘Pippin.” bv Archiahld Marshall : “ Kni Lung’s Golden Hours,” hr Ernest Bramah : “The Mercy of Allah.” bv Hilaire Belloc; and “The Cathedral.” hHugh Walpole.