i8 
LAND & WATER 
November i, 1917 
Books of the Week 
The Lost Naval Papers. By Bernard Copplestone. John 
Murray. 3s. net. 
Songs of the Submarine. By " Klaxon." 2S. net. 
Ballads of the Flying Corps. By G. R Samways. McBnde, 
Nast and Co. 2S. 6d. net. 
A Bolt from the East. 6y G. F. Turner. Methuen. 5s net. 
Under the Hermes. By Richard Dehan. Heuiemann. 
6s. net. 
' The Red Planet. By W. J. Locke. John Lane. 6s. 
Revolver Shooting in War. A Practical Handbook. By 
Captain Charles D. Tracy, the King's Own (Royal 
Lancaster) Regt. Sifton Praed and Co. is. 6d. net. 
MR. BERNARD COPPLESTONE, author of The 
Lost l\'aval Papers, can tell a good story, and 
also on occasion can be delightfully impudent in 
dealing with politicians, whose identity he veils 
thinly. In this volume he recounts the experiences of one 
Inspector Dawson, of the British secret service, in connec- 
tion with the well-being of the Grand Fleet during the 
first two years of the ,war. There is a spice of actuality 
about the stories which renders them attractive, and 
there is, too, enough character sketching about Dawson 
which renders him a figure to remember. He is both 
imaginative and unimaginative, a mere policeman and a 
genius — such a mass of contradictions, in fact, as enables 
one to see him as a mere man, and not as the ordinary de- 
tective of fiction. There is about the book a heaJthy tang of 
salt water, although all of Dawson's adventures take place on 
land or in the docks where battleships do resort. 
* if * * * 
Some among the many readers of Mr. William J. Locke's 
work may vote his latest book. The Red Planet (John Lane, 6s.) 
a trifle slow in comparison with earlier works ; Mr. Locke has 
in this instance, written not only a story, but also a study of 
the war as it affects the provincial community in England 
—very much in the same wav as Wells wrote of Mr. Britling 
and his little community. Thns those who read for the Sake 
of thestorv may find that it drags a bit, for there are reflections 
on the way in which Britain has responded to the calls of the 
war, reflections put, aptly enough, into the mouth of an officer 
who was wounded in the South African campaign past the 
possibility of further service. For the rest, the story itself 
is of a man who was a coward, and who, knowing his own 
cowardice, set to work to achieve his own redemption — as 
far as his past history left that possible. It also tells of a 
gallant English gentleman or two, and a woman or two who 
are worth knowing, and, with the artistry that is peculiar to 
him, the author takes good care that his readers shall know 
the characters very thoroughly by the time the last page is 
reached. The oft-quoted long arm of coincidence is strained 
a bit in order to achieve the ending familiar to Mr. Locke's 
readers, and one could wish he had made his main character, 
thedisabled major, rather lessof acripplc. Nevertheless, The 
Red Planet is a novel that will give pleasure to many, and is 
a good picture of provincial England as affected by the war. 
m If * * * 
Mr. G. R. Samways, who sings of the Flymg Corps, has 
already made himself somewhat of a place with aeroplane 
verse, in which he displays the spirit of the youthful pilot. 
For instance, this from The Sergeant 
Who, when the dawn of peace comes round 
Will ne'er by anxious friends be found, 
Because he's flayed alive, or drowned ? 
The Sergeant ! 
will win the sympathy of all " quirks " who know that 
sergeant so very well. Not that the author is always in 
caustic mood, for he can also write good stuff of the Kip- 
lingesque type on occasion. " Klaxon," although corlcerned 
most with ditties that sailormen will .'^mile over, since they 
are written by one who has lived what he writes about, also 
produces verse of fine quality— his " Overdue," is work of 
unusual merit, and the invocation " To the Scottish Regi- 
ments," again is more than mere verse. We hope to hear 
more of " Klaxon," who has originality of method as well as 
of theme, and has the power to express what his fellows of 
the submarine can only think. 
* * * * iii 
It is, in a way, a disappointment to open a book by Richard 
Delian and find that it consists of short stories, but in Under 
the Hermes (Heinemann, 6s. net), this author has produced 
a collection of tales which will not disappoint the reader. 
The subjects range from study in the British Museum to life 
among the Eskimos of Greenland, and include a couple of 
sketches of the French Revolution in which the author shows 
the skill of the resd short story writer, more especially in. the 
sketch of Voltaire at the deathbed of Emilie du Chatelet, 
an..', after, on his way to the court of the King of Prussia. 
In these eighteen stories are humour and tragedy, mystery 
and fine descriptive power, and in each one of them is a 
touch of the artistry that made The Dop Doctor a famous 
book. More especially will " The Jest," and " How Yamko 
married fourteen wives," appeal to lovers of folk-lore. 
* * * « « 
In A Bolt from the East, by G. F. Turner (Methuen, 5s. 
net) , there is an attempt to answer the question as to whether 
life is worth living, and at the end one is forced to the conclusion 
that the hackneyed answer to the conundrum is still applicable. 
The hero is an Indian prince, who brings in theosophic 
theories and the doctrine of reincarnation, attempting to solve 
the great problems of life off-hand and to claim, not equality 
with, but definite knowledge of God, or the Prime Cause, or 
whatever name may be used. How the prince's pride is 
brought low, and he is made to see himself as a man and no more 
is told with great skill and not a little wit, and the theories 
which the author wishes to enunciate are set rotmd a plot 
which holds the attention of the reader from first page to last 
— the moral is kept subservient to the novel all the time. 
Dealing boldly and yet reverentially with spiritual matters, 
the author has written an exceptionally good novel. 
* * * « « 
The author of this excellent Httle book. Captain Tracy, is 
a recognised authority on his subject. An expert shot himself, 
he has done invaluable work in training some thousands oi 
officers in the use of the revolver, under service conditions. 
He is, we believe, the pioneer in this branch of instruction, 
having started the first army school in the subject, and 
revolutionised its teacliing. In the present volume he sup- 
plies, in an easily intelligible and compact form, a resume of 
the lectures he has given to officers of the British Army and 
the Overseas Forces. The ideal at which he aims in his 
teaching is well-expressed in his story of an American cow- 
boy who, being asked by a bystander the secret of his wonder- 
ful speed and accuracy in shooting, replied contemptuously, 
" Guess yer a clurk, ain't yer ? Wal, yoii cjon't have to aim 
with your pen every time you write a letter, do you ? " In 
other words. Captain Tracy's methods aim at making the 
pvipils shoot accurately by a habit that becomes second in- 
stinct, so that the officer will shoot at an object as easily and 
with as little error as one points one's linger at it. The book is full 
of sound hints and is distinguished by the insight of a bom 
teacher into the personal element in training. We commend 
it as the best introduction to the use of the revolver. 
THE 
NINETEENTH CENTURY 
AND AFTER 
NOVEMBBK. 
How to Break Austria. By the Very ReT. Oaoon WILLIAM BARRY, D.D. 
The Peril of Underground Germanism. By W. MOltlllS COLLES. 
The De-Nationalisation of the Church of England. 
By the lUulil. Hev. liio UOltD BISHOP OF CARLISLE. 
What a Premature Peace would mean: some Facts for "Pacifists." 
By J. ELLIS BARKER. 
A Plea for the Little People. By WILUAJI HAIIULTT DAWSON. 
Silver in the New Era. By MOUKTON J'KEWES. 
Religion under Repair: a Reply to Professor Lindsay. By A. P. .SlNNETT. 
The Story of the Declaration of Paris. By Sir FIIAKCIS PIGGOTT (late 
Cllicf Justu'o of Hong Koiii;} 
The True Freedom of the Sea. By Sir JOITN M,\CD0NTaL. K.C.B. 
" Pcioe without Annexations or Indemnities": a Letter from Pctrograd in 
June. By JOHN POLLOCK. 
The Fight against Venereal Infection: a Reply to Sir Bryaii Donkin. 
By Sir FJIANCIS CHAMl'NKYS. 'Bart., M.D. 
The Education of a Nation, Bv Sir HENKY BLAKi;. G.C.M.O. 
Becrbohm Tree and the Shakespearean Theatre. Uv 11. .M. WALUKOOK. 
The Ah- War and tlw Bishops' Religion : a Rejoinder to Canon Welch. 
Uy HAi;OI,l) F. WYATT. 
Where the imperial Conference has left us, By VV. BASIL WOItSFOLD. 
President Wilson's Greatest Achievement. By ROBEHT MACBRAY. 
Lopdon: Spottiswoode, Ballantyne &. Co., Ltd., 1, Xew-street Square. 
SCENES IN 
France and Flanders. 
The most vivid impression of the battle 
area is to be obtained from the series 
of Engraving's in Colour by Captain 
Handley-Read — just published by the 
Leicester Galleries. 
Write for Partiodars to the 
PUBLISHER : 
LAND & WATER, 5 Chancery I^ane, W.C2. 
