LAND AND WATER. 
xjeceiiiuui J.U, J-yi-o- 
BOOKS THAT EXCEL. 
'< Letters frjm a Field Hospitil." By Mjbsl Dearmer, with a 
Msmair of th: author, by Slephsn Gwyaa. (Micmillan aad 
Co.) 2s. 6J. net. 
This little book is in truth a touching memoir of the hfe 
of the late Mrs. Dearmer, for her letters fioiti a Fieid'Hospital 
are only supplementary of the biography, and their claim 
lies mainly in the stronger light which they throw on' a 
noble character. They also impart an actuality to the memoir 
which will win for it many readers outside the large circle of 
Jlrs. Dearmer 's friends and admuers. 
When the war began, like so many others of her country- 
women Mrs. Dearmer failed to grasp its full significance. It 
was only by slow and painful degrees that the full immensity 
of the struggle was borne in upon her. Until within a few 
hours of leaving for Serbia she was interesting herself in the 
numerous and normal activities that absorbed her life. 
But once the decision was made, tiie sacrifice was complete ; 
there was no looking backwards, and though a painful affection 
of the knee might have furnished an honest re.ison for with- 
drawing from tlie voluntary task, the idea was never for a 
moment entertained. 
Her iettcrs are written with a simple directness which 
reconstructs the life most vividly. Although typlms raged 
and bombs were dropped by the enemy, it was prickly, heat 
and petty squabbles that caused the most annoyance. ' This 
little extract speaks volumes : " Some men came over from 
Vrnachka Banya — R.A.M.C. We had a tea-party for them. 
In course of conversation the most precious of the lot said : 
' You know there is never a tea-party in Serbia that does not 
begin with lice and end with latrines.'" Pages of writing 
would fail to convey more strikingly what nurses had to 
endure in Serbia before the last invasion began. 
Just one word more. This little book is a fittmg monu- 
ment to a beautiful and strenuous life. The reader lays it 
by grateful for having been brought into the presence of a 
woman who found the highest e.vpression of her character in a 
constant succession of activities, which had for their purpose 
her own development, and the greater happiness and bright- 
ness of the lives of her fellow-creatures. 
" The Dardanelles — Colour Sketches in Gallipol!." By Norman 
Wilkinson. (Longmans, Green and Co.) 12s. 6d. net. 
While photographic records of the various theatres of 
war are plentiful enough, sketches that are at once reliable 
and instructive with regard to positions and their difficulties 
are to seek, save for this book. The camera has its limitations, 
more especially with regard to relative heights and distances ; 
the sketch of the Anzac position, for instancs, as given by 
Mr. Wilkinson, shows what the camera could never have 
made clear, the character of the coast line and the stupendous 
problem with which our troops were faced. This applies to 
many of the sketches, whicli, apart from their artistic interest, 
form a valuable pictorial record of the conditions under which 
extremely difficult operations were carried out. 
The text of the book, too, throws new light on the opera- 
tions ; it is more than suggested that the operations of spies 
in the islands occupied in the Mediterranean proved of great 
assistance to the Turks when the landings took place. While 
most of what Mr. Wilkinson has to record has already appeared 
in official reports and supplementary chronicles, this method 
of presentment, combining verbal statement with pictorial 
representation, assists laymen in getting a clear idea of the 
difficulties that the Austrahans, the French, and the British 
troops overcame. One of these sketches is worth a dozen 
photographs as an illustration of a tactical problem, and the 
book is to be commended as a valuable addition to the more 
important records of the war. 
" The Crimes of England." By G. K. Chesterton. (Cecil Palmer 
and Hayward.) Is. net. 
In this series of essays, " G.K." is a little more in earnest 
and a little less paradoxical than usual ; he is also 
considerably more forceful than usual, and his book forms 
a bitter but salutary tonic, its moral being : " If we had 
served our (iod as well as we have served Germany's rulers, 
this war would not have been." 
It is, on the face of it, rather a far-fetched conclusion, but 
" G.K." points out that from the time of Maria Theresa up to 
the splendid isolation that, thanks in part to Carlyle, left 
France to herself in 1870, British policy has consistently 
f urthered the aims of Germany. The brigandage of Frederick, 
Carlyle's hero, was not only "condoned but assisted by Ivng- 
land, and the crowning of the first Gcriiian Emperor was only 
made possible by British i)assivity and acquiescence. Whcii 
ail alluwancc has been made lor the power of Chestcrtoniau 
reasoning, apart from the facts, there still remams truth in the 
statements on which the reasoning is based. Like all its 
author's work, this book is a brilliant piece of writing ; unhke 
much- that ho has done, it is logically unassailable; it is, 
' above all, a book tiiut ought to be read. 
" The Kaiser's Garland." By Edmund J. Sullivan. (Heinemann.) 
6s. net. 
If Mr. Sullivan ventured in Germany at the present 
time he would almost certainly be hanged, for in this book 
he has compiled a most grim and scathing indictment of the 
German nation. . 
The series of forty odd cartoons is devoted largely to 
Belgian outrages and the swinish character of the Germanic 
invaders, but there is no monotony. At a first glance, each 
cartoon is a caricature "gone mad, but each invites careful 
study— and repays it. There is genius in these enormities, 
fascination in their very ugliness, and the book merits far 
more detailed study than a mere printed indictment. 
" The Red Niagara " and " Lost in the Wood," call for 
sp3cial mention, as does " The Return of the Conqu r r," 
but where all are so brutally truthful, so horribly good, it is 
difficult to particularise. The book is a work of genius. 
" The Hosts of the Air." By Joseph A. Altsheler. (Appleton 
and Co.) 3s. 6d. net. 
" This isn't much like the war we've read about : it's 
just murder in the dark," says one of the characters in this 
story, apropos of trench fighting at night, and the realistic 
way in which the fighting is described is as convincing as the 
phrase is apt. 
The book is a story of the war, and the " hosts of the air " 
include wireless telegraphy, telephony, and all the other 
agencies that have been pressed into the service of war. 
There is a capture and a rescue by air ; there is incident 
enough for two novels, and plenty of love interest for one. 
It is a book that boys will read from beginning to end without 
a pause, and the crisp, incisive way in which it is WTitten 
enhances its unquestionable interest. 
" Bildad the Quilldriver." By William Caine. (John Lane.) 6s. 
This Bildad, descendant of a long series of Bildads, all 
leather dressers in the city of Zog, province of Maraudistan, 
disliked the family profession so much that he became a 
writer instead, ancl this volume is the record of his doings in 
Royal courts, among brigands, and in other places in an im- 
possible parody of the world of the Arabian Nights. 
Some wisdom and much humour distingished the book, 
and many, of the quaintly epigrammatic sentences will provoke 
smiles. London, for instance, is " that tremendous necropolis 
of the Arts and metropolis of the Crafts," and certain cynically 
wise couplets and verses scattered through the book are 
distinctly _ witty. It is all foohng, of course, but it is clever 
fooling, and Bildai will certainly maintain liis author's reputa- 
tion, if he does not enhance it. 
Through the story runs a clever satire on modern life, 
rather reminiscent of GuUiver among the giants and Yahoos, 
and, since genuinely humorous books are scarce nowadays, 
it is not unlikely that some of Bildad's quips will become 
currency — as they well deserve. 
" The Pool of Gold." By Gertrude M. Foxe. (George Allen and 
Unwin.) 6s. 
In spite of some minor faults, such as a rather amateurish 
way of writing— especially in definitely descriptive passages, 
this is eminently a book to read. Its story concerns Vera 
a girl born of a Russian father and an English mother, anci 
possessed of a wonderful voice. 
Zaleski, recognising her voice as exceptional, failed in 
persuading Vera's mother to let her have it trained- -the 
mother had objections against her daughter appearing in 
public as a singer. In the end Zaleski married Vera in order 
to train her voice, and. just when tlie task of training was 
completed and she was about to make her first appearance 
the inevitable other man appeared. 
The rest of the book must be read, for the character of 
Zaleski cannot be expressed in any notice of the book The 
author has treated an old and rather unsafe subject delicately 
and well, and at the same time has shown uncanny knowledge 
of the artistic temperament, for both Vera and Zaleski arc 
convincing figures, vividly drawn. Certain minor characters 
provide lehef for tlic story ; Mrs. Creech, \era's aunt, pn.- 
\okcs many a smUc, and the long suffering and rather unattrac- 
(CoKtiiiucd on fane U.) 
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