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LAND & WATER 
February 8, 1917 
"Vir>ft-:-.i:.'iic.^aaa£S'i;4 ^.» 
Books to Read 
By Lucian Oldershaw 
Al'lRST novel, that sliows any ability at all, lias 
a twofold interest for the critic. It has the 
intrinsic interest of what it achieves, and it has 
.the extrinsic interest of what it promises. One 
reads it with a note of interros,'ation. Has the author 
shot his bolt ? Has he described the one ad\enturc of 
which his imagination is capable ? Is he, in short, a mere 
recorder or a trufe creator ? For the most part such 
questions must remain but imperfectly answered till the 
second or even the third no\el, but o'ne is not for that 
reason debarred from taking an interest in the new 
personality and tiie new point of view with which a new 
novelist piques his curiosity. These remarks, of course, 
are not a propos dc bottes. ' They are due to my ha\-ini,' 
just read an e.\tremely able and iinaf,nnativc first no^■el by 
Miss Clcmence Dane, called Regiment of Women (Heine- 
mann, 5s. net) — a most appropriate title scein;,' that tlic 
chief dramatis pcrsoiuc are teachers at a ,i,'irls' school, 
and that it is round the school and its affairs that the 
story mostly centres. 
***** 
School-mistresses and schoo'-girls ! They do not sound 
^•ery promising material out of whicii to build a no\eI 
that makes us think seriously about its author's future 
and yet, in Clare Hartill, the capable and confident 
, teacher, Miss Dane has credited a character one can only 
compare toXady Macbeth. " wading through blood and 
murder " to a head-mistress's chair. The study is a 
somewhat morbid one, but it is none the less alive, and 
the figures that surround the central one. of Clare are as 
full of \-igour and reality as they are of variety and 
contrast. Miss Dane writes well too. Her dialogue is 
easy and natural, and her incidents \ i\id. Some ex- 
perience may ha\c j)roduced the odious central figure of 
this book, and a white heat of moral indignation lia\e 
quickened the author's power of vision, but this alone 
' does not seem likely to account for a piece of work that 
is written with such an easy sense of mastery. I rather 
fancy that we shall hear more of this author. 
* * * * * 
It is with a somewhat pleasant sense of relaxation that 
I turn from Miss Da;ne's novel to Mr. William Le Oiicux's 
, T/ic Breath of Snspieto)i {John Long, 6s.), and Miss V. M. 
Mills Young's TJic Bigamist (John Lane, 6s.) For oiie 
thing there is tlK> relief of passing from the unknown 
. to the known. With both of these latter authors one 
• kno\\s at least where one is. Their goods are all in the 
shoi>windows and the price is clearly marked. So I 
settle myself down to enjoy from Mr. Le Oueux's pen an 
ingenious talc in whicli I hope to be surprised by incidents, 
but never by character. He docs not disappoint me in 
The Breath of SKSpieiou. I have read more thrilling tales, 
. but there is a good surprise in it and all ends happily. 
From Miss Mills Young I expect a thrilling talc of passion 
with a background of the \cldt and some demand on the 
: emotions, but none on the intellect. I get something of 
that in The Bigamist, but frankly I was rather bored. 
There seemed no particular reason why the book should 
ha\e been written, except to attract an interest which 
it cannot hold in a particularly sordid career of crime. 
* * * jK * 
Malcolm and Noel Ross, pere el ftls. know how to 
" tell the tale." I say this in no disparaging sense, for 
Jlr. Malcolm Ross would not ha\-e been appointed corre- 
spondent with the New Zealand forces, and Mr. Noel 
Ross would not, after being wounded \\ith the New 
Zealand forces, ha\e joined the staff of the Times, unless 
they were competent journalists. ]^Iqreover, they have 
no need to make bricks witliout straw ; there arc no essays 
on " broomsticks," in Light and Shade in War (Arnold, 
5s. net.) Here arc things experimental and emotions felt 
bv men who saw the fighting in the Peninsula, and its 
wonderful c\-acuation, and were last summer with the 
armies on the Somme. Wonderful as are some of the 
narrati\c-s of facts (they include, for exampii-, the most 
\\\iA account that has been written of the landing 
on Gallipoli), I rather feel that the emotional studies. 
which show more originality, arc the more attractive, 
and among these I place first London Ghosts, and that 
charming Highland reverie, The Home of my Fathers, 
***** 
A ver}' interesting record of good work well done is 
contained in Friends of France (Smith, Elder and Co., 
7s. 6d. niet.). This is an account of the Field Service of 
the American Ambulance written by some of its members, 
of whom the best known, to English readers is probably 
Henry Sydnor Harrison, the author of V.V.'s Eyes 
and other novels. The book will appeal in \arious 
degrees ..f 6 three classes of readers. It will api)cal first 
and foremost to the members of the x'arious Corps of the 
Ser\ice Sanitaire .Americaine themselves, for it will form 
for them a permanent and valuable record of their own 
experience. In the second place to their friends at home 
it should pro\e, especially at the present juncture, a 
source of inspiration and encouragement. Finally, all 
who like to study the war from various angles, will 
welcome this episodic study of the fighting in the \\'est 
and especially the continual tributes contained in it to 
the unassuming gallantry of the French soldier. 
* * :;: 'i- !;! 
A completely different American point of \iew is set 
forth in \\"\\\ Le\-ington Comfort's new novel, Red Fleece 
(Hcinemann, 5s. net). Here we ha\-e the point of view 
of the pacifist who looks upon all war waged for \\'hatever 
reason its contrary to the higher instincts of humanity 
which he alone shares v\ith_a few kindred spirits, a demo- 
cTat with a complete distrust of democracy. I do not 
know whether ;\lr. Comfort has actually witnessed the 
scenes on the Eastern J-'ront whicli he' describes, but he 
has power and \ision, and his book is a spirited per- 
formance on behalf of the, peculiar views which he 
exidently holds with complete sincerity. It is jjrobably 
too late in the day to reason with him about these \-iews, 
but 1 suggest for the consideration of those who may be 
attracted by his persuasive exposition of them that there 
are occasions in the continual struggle of right against 
wrong when the appeal must be made not to Peace, but 
to the Sword. Kindness may prevent a dog from going 
mad, but when once mad it cannot be cured by kindness. 
Now that all eves are seaward this little book of .Mr. 
lulward y.ohh'>.' Outposts of the Fleet (Hcinemann, is. 
net), comes \-ery apropos. Mr. Noble has long been a 
redoubtable champion of the yierchant Service, and 
these " Stories of the Merchant Service in War and 
Peace," ring with the triumph of one whose cause has 
been successful. The .despised, or perhaps simply neg- 
lected, captain of the 'trading vessel has now come into 
his own, with a commission in the Na\-al Reserve and a 
good chance of medals and rewards, and if he is half as 
good a fellow and runs half as many risks as Mr. Noble 
depicts, full well does he dcscr\c"his status and his 
opportunities. Mr. Noble tells his yarns with vigour and 
spirit, and I recommend anyone who has to travel to 
slip this little book into his pocket next time he ..sets forth 
that liis way may be beguiled with tales of the " silly 
sailormen " on whom we so greatly rely and whom we 
wish so well. 
FLYING. 
The success of this new paper, pubUshctl 
weekly at Id. by Land t^ Water, has 
been instantaneous. 
All reader^; of Land & Water should 
ask their newsagent to send them a copy 
of FLYISG ever\- \\'ednesday as there 
is diflkulty in meeting the demand unless 
orders arc eivon beforehand 
