LITERARY CHAT

New Zealand Illustrated Magazine, Volume VIII, Issue 2, 1 May 1903, Page 142

LITERARY CHAT

Bt "THE SAGE.'

" By the .Ramparts of Jezreel ' is the title of a new book by Arnold Davenport, published in Longman's Colonial Library, and forwarded for review by Messrs. Upton & Co. The author who goes to the Bible for his characters is an ambitious one, lie is bound to make either an assured success of his work, or a deplorable failure, there is no middle course. The writer took up "By the Raniparts of Jezreel " with the wish that the author had looked elsewhere for his subject, but he laid it down thankful that he had not, for Mr. Davenport's work is undoubte Ily a marked success. He has evidently studied his Bible well, :md has dealt with the history from the glorious up-raising of the prophet Elijah, to the long-prophesied disreputable downfall of Jezebel at the Ramparts of Jezreel, in what cannot but be regarded as a masterly manner. His style is charming, and his depictions of the various characters are powerful and faithful conceptions, not the distorted imbeciles that glare out of the pages of writers who, equally ambitious but less able, go to the same exalted source for the subject matter of their romances. Elisha and Jehu are of course the joint heroes, Idalia is a delightful heroine, and Jezebel, the dread Lady of Enchantments, is painted in such vivid blood-red

colours that she acts the arch villain admirably, putting the others completely in the background. The scene wherein the beautiful Idalia, Jehu's newly betrothed, enters during the exercise of her mistress' marvellous powers of facination on her lover, will serve as an example of the writer's style. " ' Lovest thou power, Jehu, son of Nimshi ? ' uhe said with vibrant voice. ' I tell thee, if thou givest thy hand to save Israel and to further my will, there are no heights to which the captain of mercenaries may not climb. . . . I tell thee that it is the wings of love that shall raise thee and bid thee soar to all flights of glory and rapture. In truth, Jehu, I offer thee a kingdom. . . if thou wilt but lay thy sword at my feet ; and yet more besides all this, for, behold, son of Nimshi, I offer tlieemyself.' The perfumed hair bent lower, and the scented cloud fell more thickly on him, as he lay there dazed and enchanted out of all power ' to resist by the misty sapphire eyes that gleamed amid it, and seemed to drag his soul out of him. Now his head was pillowed on her soft breast and her supple limbs were clinging to his as her lingering kisses burnt on his unresponsive lips, when suddenly she sprang up and faced round with a

little cry, for there in the doorway stood the figure of a maiden, whose gleaming white robe, untouched by any colour save that of the violet band that bound it around her slender shoulders, contrasted vividly with her sun-kissed hair drawn into a simple knot by a single golden comb. She stood as if deprived of motion '"'

It will be no harm making another extract from the last few pages, as the plot is, or ought to be, well known. Jehu is driving in his usual furious manner in his chariot, with the head of Jehoram swinging on it, to the rescue of Idalia, whom he believes he sees at a window of the ramparts, for Jezebel has, while Idalia is in a swoon, succeeded, by her enchantments, in " stealing from her defenceless soul the very imprint of her beauty/ for the purpose of misleading him. "Of a sudden his glance fell on the grim head, which danced to the, chariot's rhythm, and, lo ! the dead eyes of Jehoram seemed to part their glued lids, and the wide mouth to frame a hideous grin ; and when with the horror of this dread omen on him, Jehu looked upward again, it was as though a veil had fallen from the face between the lattices, and it was no more Idalia' s. The face was the ideal loveliness of eternity modelled in light and shade, as though it were death masking behind life most beautiful. The cruel mouth seeming compound of blood and kisses, was cut like a red wound, in the whiteness of the sensual flesh ; from beneath a mesh of silver tresses, full of witching undulations yet ringleted on the smooth brow like a maiden's, shone eyes of liquid sapphire, in whose nightmare depths floated shadows of passionate love and murderous hate ; implacable eyes of ever-changing hue, where waves of torture, disillusion, dreams, madness, came and went like ripples on a fathomless lake. Tt was the face of endless suffering, past and future, the face of eternal sin, of quenchless desire,— the face of Jezebel."

There is an undeniable fascination

in reading of characters with whom one has been familiar from childhood, providing the author has dealt with them in a manner. which does not utterly clash with one's preconceived conceptions. This fascination is assured in the work under review, for as one puts it down, one cannot help wishing that the author would deal in like manner with other portions of Bible history., and thus ensure their being read from motives of pleasure instead of duty, as is too often the case with the original — when it is read at all.

"The English as a Colonising Nation " has been forwarded for review by the author, James Hight,. M.A., Lecturer on Political Economy and Constitutional History, Canterbury University College. \n preparing this addition to the present Public School Historical Readers, the author has aimed at producing a work on the origin and development of our Colonial Empire, which should assist teachers materially in preparing candidates in history for the public examinations of Australasia. While with this object in view he has naturally given prominence to the colonisation of Australia and New Zealand, the whole subject has been dealt with in a most comprehensive, clear and concise manner. Mr. Hight' s literary style leaves nothing to be desired, and the book will be read with great interest by those whose student days are long past, but who desire to refresh their memories on this most absorbing subject to all true Britishers. Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs are the publishers, and the production is a distinct credit to their printing office. The frontispiece is a map of the world, on which one can see at a glance the many considerable sized red spots scattered over its surface, which our " thin red line " has under able guidance won for the Empire. The illustrations are numerous, including our Empire builders, of greater

or less note, maps and historic scenes. Although some may be found who take different views to Mr. Hight in a few of the minor details, the book is undoubtedly a valuable addition to our historical educational works, and the author is to be sincerely congratulated on the authenticity and correctness of the result of his labours. By special permission from Mr. Rudyard Kipling and his publishers, Mr. Hight has introduced, in portions to suit his subject matter, the well-known poem, " A Song of the English,*' and certainly nothing more applicable could have been chosen than -those ringing lines.

. The Registrar of the New Zealand Literary and Historical Association has already received the first contribution for the Premier's Prize Competition for the best story on Gold Mining in New Zealand. As the competition does not close unxil the first of June, there is ample time for anyone desiring to compete, to do so still. Circulars containing conditions can be had on application by letter to the Registrar of the Association. This Association's Competitions have been very popular indeed hitherto. Eighty-six competitors fought for the first Story Competition instituted by it ; but the fact that the subject is one with which only a limited number of writers are conversant, will naturally reduce the list of competitors this time. But on the other hand, the fascination which surrounds the rush to a new gold field, and the knowledge of all that it means to a young country, should make the best possible material for the storywriter. We may well look forward with pleasure to the appearance of the Prize Story in these columns.

I have often thought that " The Don'ts in Literature " would make

an excellent title for a handbook for the use of aspiring young Colonial writers. The first " Don't " would undoubtedly be " Don't write at all," and in by no means a few cases the book would be worth infinitely more than the published price to the aspirant who only read that one sentence and acted up to it. But 1 sadly fear that " Don't ' would be as little regarded as Punch's historical one on the even more momentous matrimonial question. What the last " Don't '* would be, the Lord only knows, for when you come to think seriously of it, there would be such an infinite number of them that one would despair of ever coming to it. Still the idea is a good one. The book would supply a want which has been felt,, every editor in the colony can vouch for that. One of the " Don't* " might well be " Don't imagine for a moment that you can write anything worth reading till you are sure you have not forgotten a single thing that you have learnt about, grammar, composition, and punctuation." Don't write to an editor in this strain, for instance : "'I have not put in the stops, I understand that there is a man kept in the office to attend to that." Thw was actually done on one occasion, but the perpetrator's name is strictly not for publication. Amongst the " Don'ts " for those of riper years and attainments might be " Don't imagine the comps in a printing office are as clever and well read as you are, and that they take a pride in seeing at a glance what you mean by some word, invariably more illegibly scrawled than the rest, which does not occur in their ordinary reading." I have contented myself with a very few brief examples " writ sarcastic ; " but many more will occur to anyone who is on friendly enough terms with an editor to spend sufficient time in his sanctum to hear his groans.