LAND A i\ D ,\V A I h K. 
UctoDer Ld3, 1915. 
BOOKS THAT EXCEL. 
Th: Woiks of Aphrs Belio. FdKcd by M. Summers. (W. Heioemzna 
and A. H. Bullea.) Six Volumes. £3 3s. net. 
It ii itraiige to uote in passing that tiiis is the first com- 
pletn edition of the works of Aplira Belin that has b&eu 
published, ospecially when one reflects on the controversy 
and inter?."-t that tlie work of this pioneer woman writer liai 
arouse<l f.^r r.ver two ceuturies. Macaulay, stern critic as he 
was, placed her on a level with Defoe; Miss Kavanagh, 
imhiied with the true inid-Viotorian spirit, found he.- 
" tainted to th? very core," and even Dr. Doran said that 
" no one equalled this woman in downright nastiness savo 
Eaven-croft and Wvcherley. . . . With Dryden she vied 
in indecency and was not overcome," but a respect for trutli 
forces from him the confession that she was never dull. 
Pojie's couplet ccncerning her work, too well known to need 
quotation her?, consorts ill with son-e of his own work, 
urtahly his translations from Ovid. 
Such a publication a^ this, however, is above mere criti- 
cism, either of the past or of the present, for it is a serious 
ccntributiou to literature, and many of the works which it 
embodies form a definite and witty commentary on the history 
of the Restoration period. Licentious the work certainly is, 
but no mere so than that of many of the lady's contemporaries 
— Pop? might have found n:any na.nies beside that of Astrea 
r/it'i which to complete his couplet. The ardent morali=!t 
n.ight object — and does frequently object— that the language 
cf Shakespeare i.- Iccse and indecent, but the broader-minded 
critic sees that the language is consistent with the period in 
which the work was done, and it is the spirit of the work 
that counts. And. when cue corr.es to the spirit and lesson cf 
these playr. that held the town v/hen Charles the Merry ruled, 
they compare not unfavourably with many present-day 
comedies that run beyond the hundredth night'withcut a pro- 
test from the prudish section of tiie public. The twentieth 
century has learned lo wrap up the grossnesses that the 
ssventeenth century jjresented baldly. Spades as such have 
gone cut cf fashion since Mrs. Behn lived and wrote. 
She is the first Englishwoman, cf whom definite record 
lias come to tis, who lived by her pen, arid it stands greatly 
to her credit that she made a success of a sequel, a thincr in 
wliich most writers fail. Iler wit, sufficient to keep °her 
memory alive through more than two centuries, is of a quality 
that any woman writer of to-day might envy, and this in her 
novels as well as in her plays. Many of the" stabs of her con- 
temporary critics were inspired by political animosities, and 
mnch of the venom that has be?n"spent on her in later times 
is due to the prudery and surface morality that would have 
damned Swinburne, that has crippled Havelock Ellis's work, 
and that would clamour for an expurgat«d edition of the 
Bible itself. 
The issue of such a work as this, in such a time, is a 
cour.igeou3 act, and one on which the publishers, as well 
as the very able editor, are to be congratulated. Students 
of the later Stuart pericd, either of its history or its 
literature, will welcome these vclumes, issued in such a way 
as to remove all suspicion of ether than purely literary 
interest, and ranking among the chief literary productions 
net only of the year but of the present decade. 
•• The Victorians." By Netta Syretf. (T. Fislier Unwin.) 6s. 
Rose Coltingham, tl-e heroine of Miss Syrett's book, 
starts l.,g by de.spnii.g her bctter.s~her grandmother, her 
{Juat out.) 
6/- 
NIGHTS IN TOWN 
15y TliO.MA.S V.inKE. Iv.ny 8vo. 7S. 6d. net 
"A very »-vi„k.rtul -.iij woiij l.cok.-— /A,,/y H-a !,. 
THROUGH STAINED GLASS 
15y fiKOllGK A. Cir.V.MH|.;KI.AJN-, Au.l.or of 'Tloa.e" 
.\.-ry dcv.r. very intcrostmir. and c^lr.mdy w.-U-vvrittea.' -5u,J<,/ Tim>, 
COLLINS & CO. B 
. liy Capt. .JACK EM.IOTT. '" 
" It g.^M >vitl, .-i.iito 1 „K-iTy 5Wil,ff."--r;,,.«. 
FATE THE MARPLOT 6/- 
i rcnael s a[.,i.tiuii ti.rou-!K.ul.-'-f„(( 3/„;( Ca-tltt 
™f..^T^i^?,^,7"^ CUMBERLANDS 
OBLOMOV «, 
governess, and her friends. Certainly tlie restricted " Vio- 
toriau " life she is comi)elled to lead fosters the feeliiif, bub 
she continues this contempt for her fellow-mortals throu"hou6 
her school career, which is the principal theme of the book. 
The dominating personality of the headmistress is thinly 
veiled — she will be recognised by many. 
Rose, it need hardly be said, is not among her adm.irers, 
and, indeed, she stands aloof from all but the most advanced 
theorists of the lime. \\'o gather that this is the first of yet 
another serial issue of novels, and that in future volumes 
Rose is intended to be an exponent of the budding woman's 
movement. If her literary talents are to be develojjed alou" 
such self-seeking lines as she advocates and embodies, she will 
not be a successful exponent of the growth of the movement. 
" An I'ntamed Territory." By Elsie R. Masson. (.^lacmiljan and Co.) 
6s. 
A breezy, spirited account of the northern territory of 
Australia is embodied in these pages, and one's chief causa 
of complaint on laying the book aside is that there is not 
more of it. The black fellows, the dwindling Chinese element, 
and the scattered white population are all made real and 
alive, and the illustrations scattered through the book do 
illustrate the text, being well-composed and well-chosen 
photographs. There are in the text descriptions of the early 
settlements and ward -pictures of modern life in Port 
Darwin and up-country, while in the account of the first 
motor-car trip that was ever m.ade through the bush of tha 
northern territory there is a spice of real adventure. 
Although it cannot be counted as a weighty contribu- 
tion to the literature on Australasia, the book is well written, 
very interesting, and noteworthy for a m.ass of useful infor- 
mation regarding the life of the tiny colony that has sprung 
up round the northern end of the overland telegraph. 
" Beltane the Smith." By JeBery Farnol. (Sampson Low and Co.) 
There are those who think that Mr. Jeffery Farnol ha» 
surpassed Hewlett in his exposition of the possibilities of 
rom.antic literature, and there is much in Btlfane to 
strengthen the opinion, albeit some readers will perchance 
weary, forsooth, of much mediieval dialogue between Beltano 
and the rest. 
It is, however, a book from which the proverbial dull 
page is missing, a ringing story of gallant deeds in armour, 
of knights that ride abroad in true Tennysonian fashion, 
and with the desired happy ending to cap the thrills. It 
smacks of /''ore-ft Lovers style a little, and it is eminently 
a book to read and enjoy, one that will make for its author 
new readers and new friends. 
" ^'3^*1 ,'" Town." By Thomas Burke. (George Allen and UnwIn.) 
/s. 6d. net. ' 
Many books have been written en London since Besant 
set himself to the task; few writers have given us clearer, 
stronger pictures of London nights than Mr. Burke gives iti 
this volume. Here are all sorts of nights : a Russian night 
in Stepney, a '• basher's " night in Hoxton, an art night in 
Chelsea, a Chinese night down Limehou.=e wav, a worker's 
night in the Isb of Dog?, and even a miserable ni^ht and a 
happy night. ° 
One is tempted to quote from the book. Its pictures of 
London by mght are vivid and clear cut, its wit is genuine, 
and Its hum<n;r is really funny, while here and there a little 
touch of fear or tragedy or grief stands out sharply The 
book ,s patch worked as is life itself, and thus its sketches are 
very real. Mr. Burke knows his London and loves it with the 
love of the true Cockney. Ho knows, too. how to transmit his 
knowledge to others. Avoiding the prcciousness and super- 
ciliousness characteristic of so many who have tried to write 
London, he sets down forcefully and well the tilings he knows 
and has seen. Ihe result is more than interesting. It is 
literature. ■ ° 
rr;ntea by ,k^ Vicioeia House I'eikiiko Co., Ltd."," 
A sixpenny pamphlet entitled Con.cripfion, Nationat 
Sernce published by the Newspaper Publicity Co., of 61. 
1 leet Street, contains a handy and concise summary of the 
problem of conscription in this country, and outlines and 
compares Continental systems. We commend the pamphlet 
to the attention of those interested in the question, eitbci 
from the voluntary or conscriptiouisfc standpoint, for the 
arguments which It contrins are presented in clear, unbiassed 
fashion, vath a view to national rather than party issues 
Tudor Sueet, Wliitefriara, London, E.c;, 
