LAND AN ]^ \V A T E R 
November ij, 1915. 
BOOKS THAT EXCEL. 
THE BLINDED SOLDIERS' GIFT BOOK. 
The book that excels all others this week is the Blinded 
Soldiers' and Sailors' Gift Book, edited by Mr. George (lood- 
child iind published by Messrs. farrold and Co.. whidi will 
be on sale (or three shillings from to-morrow onwards in 
every book-shop and on every book-stall. All i)rofits accruint; 
from the sale will be set aside and handed over to Mr. C. 
Arthur Pearson for the benefit of the bru\e fellows at St. 
Dunstan's, so every purchaser may feel he or slie has directly 
contributed towards the welfare of tho.se who ha\e sacrificed 
so much in defence of our national ideals. 
But no one need think because of this that the three 
shillings obtains no literary value in return. The reverse is 
ver^- much the case. They will get their moneys worth 
and more, for a better illustrated volume of short stories has 
not been compiled for a long time. The list of writers include 
Mr. Galsworthy ; Mr. G. K. Chesterton, who has a typical and 
delightful article on " Shakespeare and the Germans," which 
ends with this characteristic phrase : " Every great artist 
in his heart scorns art as compared with the greatness of 
God and man " ; Mr. Anthony Hope, Mr. \. C. Benson, and 
Mr. H. G. Wells, whose story " The Land Ironclads," written 
eight or nine years ago, is a curious example how forecasts 
of modern war have both succeeded and failed. Mr. Wells 
foresaw trench warfare, but did not \isualise the mobility of 
great guns. 
Both Mr. Edmund Gosse and Mr. Austin Dobson contri- 
bute poems, which have for their burden the sadness and 
courage of blindness. But in this connection the best thing 
in the book is an article by Mr. Charles Marriott, describing 
with great charm the splentiid work that is being done at St. 
Dunstan's under the supervision of Mr. Pearson, to whose 
p^-rsonal courage and energy Mr. T. P. O'Connor pays a fine 
tribute. The frontispiece is the work of Mr. Hugh Thomson ; 
Sir Luke Fildes. Mr. Lewis Baumer, Mr. Frank Brangwyn, and 
Mr. Heath Robinson are among the artists. 
" Pointed Roofs." By Dorothy M. Richardson. (Duckworth and 
Co.) 6s. 
This novel forms the first put of a s.?ries of which the 
collective title, apparently, is Pilgrimage, and it may be 
remarked at the outset that this business of running six 
shilling novels as parts of a serial is badly overdone. The 
present book is a dHaibd analysis o' a girl's hf;. Miriam 
Henderson leaves her very suburban home and exceedingly 
slangy sisters in order to take the post of governess at a school 
in Hanover. At the receptive age of seventeen and a half 
she finds plenty of scope for enthusiasm in her new life, and 
the wonders of German music and literature are revelations 
to her. In other branches of knowledge she finds herself 
grateful to the teachers of her own English school days ; on 
the whole, she settles down happily in her new life, and many 
of her reflections are worth following. 
She notes the attitude of the German masters in the 
school to their pupils — a condescension, as to inferiors. They 
throw crumbs of knowledge de haul en bas, as though it were 
not worth while to bestow any zest on her sex. " She came 
to the conclusion that the whole attitude of the Englishman 
and of Monsieur ■ towards her se.x was different from 
that of these Germans." It is easy to see with Miriam's eyes 
the future of the average German girl. All in the school 
were completing their sets of house linen ; all could cook ; 
each expected to marry and become a dutiful hausfrau. 
" They were placid and serene." In the end she ceased to 
wonder that the German masters dealt out their wares to 
these girls so superciliously. 
The first part of the series ends with this phase of Miriam's 
life, and, despite a certain jerkiness of style and looseness of 
construction, it forms an interesting first part of a fairly 
promising novel. In spite of Mr. J. D. Beresford's prefatory 
eulogy, it is no more than that. 
" With the Russian Army." By R. R. McCormick. (Macmillan 
and Co.) 6s. net. 
Tlie chief value of this work lies in the absolutely unbiassed 
\-iew of the writer, who is neither pro-Cierman nor pro-Allies, 
but always and distinctly pro-American. He was privileged 
to see the Russian front in the days before the retreat from 
Warsaw, and he pays full tribute to the efficiency of the 
Russian armies and the magnificent work that they have done, 
while in addition to this he details, with strictly impartial 
pen, such atrocities on the part of the Germans as ought to 
make the world shudder. Not that his book lays stress on 
atrocities, but here and there, in the course of his writing, he 
mentions an incident that proves the ultra-barbarian methods 
with \\hich the Germans are waging war — and this, from the 
pen of such a pronounced neutral, is ol va ue to he Ailiec 
cause. Eminently s:ine anrl reasonable the book is well 
worth reading-and we trust that it will be widely read in 
\merica where it will go far to counteract the eftects of 
German propaganda -in other words, the lies of our enemies. 
" My Own Past." By Maud M. C. Ffoalkis. (Cassell and Co.) 
10s. 6d. net. 
.\mong writers in a general way, confession is the order 
of the day, but there are few volumes of confessions as frank 
as this, iii which is told the way in which Lady Cardigan's 
memoirs, those of the Crown Princess of Saxony, and two 
others were compiled. In addition to being frank, the book 
is a very witty one ; it is the story of a woman who, whatever 
may be" claimed against her, has "had the courage to face life 
and fight her own fight. It is a book tliat publishers on the 
whole will not like, for it gi\-e3 away too much ; it is a book 
that the readers of biography and autobiography ought not 
to miss, for it bears the stamp of utter sincerity and does not 
fail in its interest from first page to last. 
" Spindrift." By Geoffrey Callcnder. (Cimbrid<e Univirsity Press.) 
3s. Net. 
This collection of extracts from English prose is designed 
to show the influence of the sea on English literature, and the 
editor's selections, ranging from Wyclitfe and Chaucer and 
Malo.-y to Dickens, Thackeray, and Froude, include all the 
great "authors of the intervening periods. It may be that too 
much space is given to .Marryat and to Smollett, for these are 
exceptionally influenced by "the sea and its doings, but the 
volume as a whole is thoroughly representative of the best in 
English literature from the earliest period to the early and 
middle nineteenth century. It is a book to read for the 
interest of its extracts, and as an anthology of sea-prose it is 
a book to keep. 
" Psmith, Journalist." Bv P. G. WoJehouse. {\. and C. Black.) 
i',. 6d. 
Psmith in NevV York, nonchalant in the midst of adven- 
ture, and with all his affectationi intact, is as mirth-j)rovoking 
as in the city, which is saying a good deal. The book is madj 
up of rolUcking fun and sensational adventure which never 
degenerates into melodrama ; it will form a good companion 
for a railway journey or an evening by the fire, and the many 
who already know Psmith will be grateful for this reappear- 
ance, while those who do not yet know him would be well 
advised to get the bojk at once and be thoroughly amused 
and interested. 
" The Child of the Sea." Retold by S. R. Litt1e.vool (Simpkin 
Marshall and Co.) 5s. Net. 
This iv-telling of the story of Amadis of (iaul forms a 
deligiitful gift book for children of either sex. Miss Honor 
Appleton's charming pictures in colour are of the kind that 
will appeal to all children, and the text, lacking the heaviness 
of Southey's translation, is condensed to such length that the 
chapters are interesting, and the story is well told. We com 
mend this as a very acceptable Christmas gift book, so well 
produced that it is a pleasure to handle and read. 
Three very useful little handbooks for young officers 
have recently been issued by Messrs. Forster, Groom and 
Co., of 15, Charing Cross. First among them is Rapid Training 
for Young Officers (is.), which embodies a number of lectures 
on such subjects as discipline, map reading, outposts, 
musketry, etc., and supplies information on the essential 
points of military training in concise fashion. How to Become 
a Useful and Effi'-.ient Officer (6d.), contains a number of tips 
that will enable an officer to understand and handle his men 
in the way that gets most out of them, and a Guide to Courts 
Martial Duty (is. 6d.), gives the procedure for an officer 
detailed for this disagreeable but necessary duty. These 
three manuals are written by practical men in 'practical 
fashion, and will help to smooth the path of the juiii'jr officer. 
Hints and Tif>s for Members of tiie O.T.C., published at 
6d. by Messrs. Forster, Groom and Co., is intended as a manual 
of reference for members of the Officers' Tiaining Corps, and 
to save them the trouble of searching through the official 
drill books in connection with routine^natters in signalling, 
musketry, camp discipline, and the like. Must;ctrv Inslruc 
Hon. jmblished by the same firm at a shilling, supplements the 
official text book by translating official "instructions int.. 
common-sense English, and will be found very useful by officers 
and N.C.O.'s engaged in training their men in the use of the 
rifle and in miniature range sliootin". 
Printed by J. <J. H.vii.\io.M) & Co., Limited, 52-56, Fket Luiie, London, K.C. 
