Books and Bookmen

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXIX, Issue 21, 23 November 1907, Page 29

Books and Bookmen

VIDA, OR THE IRON LORD OF KIRKTOWN. MacmilUn and Co, Ltd,, St. Martin’s-street, London.) An exceedingly readable story, the dialogue of which is humorously bright, the characters natural, the local colour well marked, and the moral sound. Vida Bower (the heroine), who is introduced to the reader under the name of “Vida Bryan,” is the daughter of Jaeob Romer, the wealthy iron lord of Kirktown, in which place the principal scenes of this book are laid. Jacob Romer, earl yin his married life, had practically deserted his wife and child, and, at the time this story opens, was about to crown his treachery by inducing his wife, under pretence of benefitting her feeble health, to take a cruise on board one of his ships, The Good Intent, with a view to scuttling the ship, and ridding himself at the same time of what he had long looked upon as an incubus. This diabolical scheme had -suggested itself to him on hearing from his brother, Dr. Thomas Romer, that Vida, now grown to young womanhood, had been loudly proclaiming her mother’s wrongs, with a view to getting them righted. Jacob Romer had found a ready tool to his hand in the person of James Kahn, a Serb, and his condential secretary, who was badly wanted in Servia, and on the scent of whose track certain members of a Servian secret society were gettingly exceedingly ■warm. Kahn accompanies The Good Intent in the capacity of super-cargo, and is much liked by poor feeble-minded Mrs Romer for his assiduous attention to her comfort. Vida, however, distrusts both her father’s motive and James Kahn, a distrust that was very soon justified, as a few days afterwards, encountering a storm, Vida and her mother were battened down under hatches, and The Good Intent left to her fate, with the two helpless women on board. But fate had not decreed that Romer’s scheme should succeed in its entirety, and Vida, having found her way out of her prison by forcing the hatches, which were old and rotten, with a belaying pin, discovers, on getting a light, that her mother has succumbed to shock, and, losing consciousness, knows no more until she finds herself in a small boat manned by two men, Billy Bryan, keeper of the lighthouse built on the rocky coast on which Vida was picked up, and Dick Finnan, Billy’s mate. Vida is adopted by the two, and, the lighthouse accommodation proving inadequate, Finnan applies for employment in the mines of which Jacob Romer is owner, and is given one of the lodges of that magnate’s estate for residence. And thus it came to pass that Vida found herself at her own father’s gates, unknown, however, both to him and her adopted parents. Kahn, however, soon discovers her identity, and persecutes her with unwelcome attentions, as Vida by this time has grown into a very attractive young woman, with all her mother’s good looks and her father’s imperious manners and will. Kalin’s attentions become so distasteful to Vida, that she reveals her identity to Romer, which, however, docs not esnse that gentleman to abandon Mis pretensions one jot, as he is acute enough to see that remorse has begun to work in Jaeob Romer, and, in fancy, Kahn sees himself the husband of Vida and co-heir to the Romer million’s. But two other aspirants very much, more te Vida’s taste appear, and Kahh proceeds, in the Servian fashion, to get rid of his rivals. But by this time, after in turn bringing about a miny cx'plosion, shooting one of his rivals, and doing his best to ruin the career of tin- other, Kahn absconds with the deeds and securities that constitute the title deeds to the Romer millions, the iron lord having sold his interest in the mines, and when, as he thinks, he is safely away with his ill-gotten wealth, is run down by one of the members of the secret society, whom he has lieen entertaining unawares, and assassinated in the Servian fashion. And the doulde love story, that is such a pleasant interlude to this grim though perfectly

naturally told story, ends as all love stories should end, in wedded happiness. More romantically exciting stories Mr. Crockett may have written, but not one more calculated to excite the warm human interest of his readers, who will say good-bye with regret to Phil Calmont and Vida, Vic Morris and Janet Irongray, little Miss Nunsby, and last, but not least, Billy Bryan and Dick Finnan. Religion, as is quite proper in any Scottish story, is represented in the persons of Benjamin Irongray, of the New Kirk, and John Fowder, of the Auld Lichts. Our copy of this essentially Scottish story has been received from the publishers, Messrs. Macmillan and Co. THE LEATHER MASK: Ambrose Pratt. (London: Ward, Lock and Co., Ltd.) Readers of Mr. Pratt’s previous book, “ Jan Digby,” wil be grievously disappointed in “The Leather Mask," which, though it may be cited as containing a marvellous example of character delineation, is gruesome and revolting, in the extreme, and fitter for representation on the ultra-sensational melodramatic stage than for presentation to the general reading public, who, through the cheap reproductions of the works of eminent authors, are being educated up to a high standard in literature, a standard Mr. Pratt has failed to reach in this unnatural story of his. The villain of the book, “ John Deen,” is more Mephistophelean than Mephistopheles, since Mephistopheles is "always an artist. Mr. Pratt’s villain is not. Nor can Mr. Pratt be said to have delineated the upper ranks of English Society, from the inside of it. Socialism is touched upon, and a remedy is suggested. Mr. Pratt’s remedy is not new. It has been tried and found wanting. Mr. Pratt proposes the giving of a higher rate of pay more equivalent to the value of labour to the captitalist. But he proposes that instead of the increase being given to labour it shall be funded and doled out in time of necessity, from whatever cause. Now, the principal cause of disaffection between capital and labour is that from the eaptalists* point of view labour is already receiving its full value, no matter how disproportionate his (the capitalists’) profits are to the capital disbursed for labour. And the capitalist has nd more right to keep any increased rate of pay that can be proved to be labour's due than he has to abstract from the wage already paid, or to dictate to labour the way it shall be spent, than labour has a right to dictate how the capitalist shall dissipate his wealth. Give labour a stake in house or land, or commerce, and he will burn to conserve and increase it, though before he had that stake he may have been proved both thriftless and careless. Vested right has made England, and Englishmen what she, and they, are today, but not the exercise of a power opposed in principle to- justice. Sick and burial clubs, and old age pension? ore no remedy for socialism. Pay the labourer a ilving wage, and let him provide for himself against the inevitable rainy day. The man who can find a remedy for what is known as socialism will be the greatest saviour of man since Christ. THE FOLK AFIELD: Eden Phillpotts. (Methuen’s Colonial Library.) Eden Phillpotts away from his beloved Dartmoor is almost inconceivable. But in his new book of short stories, “ The Folk Afield,” he has shown no less comprehensive grip of the main characteristics of the folk afield that dwell on the csaboards of the Mediterranean, from Castillon, in the Maritime Alps, to the Canaries, by way of Algiers. In the opening story the reader is shown the evolution of a character hitherto unimpressionable to any but Ikisc influences, by fear induced by witnessing a convulsion of nature. In “Hyacinthe and Honorine ” love of art is shown to be stronger than love of woman, and paternity

stronger than either. “ The King’s Chamber ” shows a striking example of how the leaven of Western morality is working in the Eastern mind. “ T)ie Grasse Widow ” is a convincing instance of how little importance worthiness of object plays in the love of woman for man. “Jane and John” is an amusing illustration of the old saying. “ Two’s company; three’s trumpery.'’ “The Old Shrine ” demonstrates the jealousy and treachery that is characteristic of the rebuffed Italian lover. The love of intrigue and the fatalism of the Moslem in depicted in “ Nuzat,” while “ In ilia Cup of the Caldera ” may be round material for a story of a modern Enoch Arden. The concluding story of the book, “Pete and Pete” will prove to the reader that the heroic sentiment in the dark man is capable of quite as high a development as that of his white brother. J'he transcendent description of Nature, in which Eden Pbillpotts so excels, has never been more bountifully illustrated than in “ The Folk Affeld," and the reader will lay down the book with regret for its paucity. We have received our copy through Messrs. Wildman and Arey. THE STOLEN VOYAGE: Ethel Turner. (London: Ward, Lock and Co., Ltd.) There is probably no writer, south of the line, so popular with young people as Ethel Turner, and “The Stolen Voyage” is sure not to prove any exception to the already long list of successes achieved, by this ever-charming writer. 1 tis often difficult to choose books for the young that shall be healthy, amusing, and instructive at the same time. But Ethel Turner has the happy knack of combining all these desirable qualities to perfection, and no one can ever make a mistake in choosing as a gift for young people, anything that has emanated from her pen. Her kiddies (to use nursery parlance) are natural, wholesome, brimming over with spontaneous gaiety, love of adventure, and the resourcefulness that is characteristic of Australian youth. Tlie book is attractively bound and admirably illustrated, and contains eleven short stories, each so good that it would lie difficult to determine which is best. “The Eastern Experiment” is an amusing satire on Japanese furnishing, there being a Brummagen art of Japan, as well as an English. The last story of the book, “The Light of a Star.” is very pathetic reading. An old man, having won ten pounds in a sweep, determines to realize the dream of his life, which is to see a really good circus. To do this he knows that he must journey to one of the great cities of the Commonwealth. He takes the school-mistress of the locality (Yellow Flat) into his confidence, and is by her disillusioned, she showing him that youth, and not old age, is the time to enjoy the circus. How completely the school-mistress succeeds (and she couldn’t have been Ralph Connor’s type of school-mistress) may be read in the following extract from the book. “He went slowly and stumblingly down the hill to his humpy, a derelict of fifty again. For he had seen his star fall suddenly across the heavens, and had learned the scientific fact that even if he followed and picked it up, he would find nothing but a cold grey stone.” Our copy has been received through Messrs. Wildman and Arev. DELTA.