Books Of The Day.

Books of the Day .

Books , Music , & c . intended for review , should be addressed to the Editor of the Freemason ' s Chronicle , at Fleet Works , New Harriet . Bearers of the Burden . Being stories of Land and Sea . By Major W . P . Drury . Second Edition . —Lawrence and Bullen , Limited . THIS is the age of short stories . Hundreds of them are contributed to our magazines every year . Some are good , many are exceedingly bad—fit only for the fire . This diversity in the merit of such writings is very apparent

in the volume before us . No story in the " Bearers of the Burden " is either ill conceived or ill written ; but several are very far behind the best . We are willing , like the author of " Don Juan " to " Leave every man to his opinion " but , at the same time , we do not hesitate to express our own . We believe that " Parted Brassrags " is the worst , and " The Man at the Window " the best of these stories ; indeed , the latter is one of the most powerful fictions we have read for some time . In none of the other stories are the author ' s many

gifts displayed to equal advantage . We are not insensible to the merits of " Lachrymae Christi , " or " The Cocoa Valve , " but they hardly reveal such strength of invention or such literary skill as " The Man at the Window . " Nor must we pass over " Pringle ' s Progress , " a carefully finished fiction of the " tall " order , exquisitely humourous in conception , and here and there bordering upon mere farce . Perhaps Major Drury ' s chief merit lies in the fact that his minor characters are not more accessories introduced upon the

stage to fill the background . With few exceptions they contribute materially to the development of the action . In style and tone these stories have much in common with the stories of Mr . Morley Roberts . Like that entertaining worthy the " Ship's Doctor , " Major Drury ' s heroes are fond of describing persons and things in language more forcible than polite ; nor is the author more fastidious when speaking in his own person . Malta is " that

fevercursed dust-heap of Britannia ' s "; one worthy yarn spinner speaks of " sanguinary , lop-eared lepers " ; and another stigmatises Scotchmen as " barelegged , batbarious . hagpiping bleeders . " This , however , is a characteristic which will attract rather than repel the multitudes of readers . We notice that these stories were originally contributed to " The Tadpole of an Archangel , " " United Service Magazine , " and other publications . We think the author was fully justified in making them into a volume .

The Plots of some of the most famous Old English Plays , with index of the principal characters . By Henry Grey , F . B .. B . S ., F . Z . S ., F . I . Inst ., & c . Second thousand ( 2 s 6 d ) . —Swan Sonnenschein and Co ., Limited . THE student of English Literature will find this volume very serviceable . The writer has here done for Marlowe , Dekker , Massinger , Sheridan , and others , what Charles and Mary Lamb did for Shakespeare ; but more briefly . Our fine old English Drama is , we fear , but little read by the present

generation . We are better acquainted with Zourofi , Irene Adler , Count Foseo , or Fraulein Valerie , than with Dame Kitely , Sir Francis Wronghead , Bob Acres , or Widow Green , and for this reason we hold that any work which tends to kindle a fresh interest in such plays as these which Mr . Henry Grey has so dexterously epitomised should elicit our thanks . A great deal of careful attention is necessary to follow the plot of a play intelligently , especially when that plot is involved and intricate , and the characters many . If any of our readers are unacquainted with Goldsmith ' s incomparable

comedy " She stoops to conquer , " or with Sheridan ' s masterly " School for Scandal , " we advise them to buy a copy of this book , wherein they will find inter alia , these two plays so well summarised that no better introduction to the beauties of the plays themselves can bo desired . We are not surprised to learn how warmly our fellow critics have welcomed this work , for it is exceedingly well done . A good precis is almost always a task of much difficulty ; au adequate epitome of a play is one of the most difficult to which the litterateur can put his hand . We congratulate Mr . Henry Grey on having so successfully dealt with his task .

The Armies of the World . By Charles S . Jerram . —Lawrence andBullen , Limited . MB . JEBBAM has executed a troublesome task in a masterly manner . We say ' troublesome " advisedly ; for the collection and due arrangement of all the data necessary to render such a work of any value is no light undertaking . Many readers will doubt whether a volume dealing exclusively with the armies of the world can be of any interest to the mob of gentlemen who read with

ease . But Mr . Jerram has treated his subject in such a manner as to invest it with much interest ; he understands that art which Dr . Johnson once defined as the art of writing trifles with dignity . We beg pardon of all military friends , who will , however , acknowledge that many things contained in this volume may justly be termed " trifles . " By the method of procedure here adopted we are enabled to see at a glance not only the military strength of each country , but the proportion which that armed strength bears to the

entire population . To take only one example—a minor one . It appears that the population of Bulgaria is about 3 , 300 , 000 ; the war strength is estimated roughly at 270 , 000 . The revenue of Bulgaria is given as £ 3 , 382 , 000 , of which £ 934 , 000 is allotted fur the maintenance of the army . These figures enable the reader to see at a glance that in Bulgaria one man in twelve is a soldier ; and that a quarter of the revenue is spent on the army . When we point out that all the military powers are dealt with by Mr . Jerram in the same way it will be seen that the situation can be grasped at once . There is one great

question not touched upon ; the question as to whither the present struggle for military ascendancy will tend . Mr . Jerram , whose duty it was to collect facts , and not to moralise upon them , has , we presume , purposely refrained from the discussion of this topic . But it is likely to become a burning question of the hour . Europe is already a vast camp ; what will she be like fifty years hence should the militarism increase as the days drift by ? Meantime , we have a growing army ; and those who wish to learn some very useful information concerning it should purchase this well printed volume that Messrs . Lawrence andBullen have issued at such a convenient moment .

The Oneida Community . A record of an attempt to carry out the principles of Christian unselfishness and scientific race-improvement . By Allan Estlake ( 2 s 6 d net ) . —George Redway . THE formation of ideal communities is of frequent occurrence in this world of passing fashions . We have all read of Plato and his Republic , of

More and bis Utopia , of Bacon and his New Atlantis , of Harrington and his Oceana , of Coleridge and the scheme for Pantisocrasy , of Hawthorne and the Blithedale Bomance—et hoc genus omne . Most of these schemes for the immediate regeneration of mankind have had something sweet and commendable in their nature ; a few such ideal commonwealths have sprung up from time to time like flowers , and like flowers have withered and died . Johu H .

Books Of The Day.

Noyes and the band of moral reformers who gathered round him and formed the Oneida Community were unquestionably imbued with an earnest desire to further the well-being of each other and , ultimately , of the world at large . But Mr . Allan Estlake—himself a member of the community whose principles and practices he has recorded in this volume—has told us much which would have made Quintilian stare and gasp . Were we to come upon an English gentlewoman unawaresleisurely turning the pages of " The Oneida

, Community , " we should not be greatly surprised to see the book laid hastily aside with an air of confusion . Chapter IX , which is entitled Investigation of Spiritualism in the Oneida Community is , if we may use a familiar figure of speech , a nut which we have found it very difficult to crack . Certainly the kernel eludes our search . After premising ( very necessarily t ) that supernatural phenomena have no existence , the writer proceeds to discuss certain aspects of " seasons of mental illumination , " of " bias which will diluta the

spirit ' s communication , " and other matters assuredly appertaining to supernaturalism run riot . If there is psychology in this book it is psychology of a very pseudo-scientific kind . Kant we know , and Herbert Spencer , and Hume , and his able exponent Huxley ; but as for these experiments of the darkened room we know not whence they are . We fully appreciate the earnest spirit of pbilanthrophy evinced in this book and wish it were more

frequently to be met in the great highways of life ; but fear the crudeness of many ideas here set down will militate strongly against the success of Mr . Estlake ' s undertaking . A volume which , while purporting to record the history of an important movement in social and religious life , discourses upon Polyandry , Perfectionists , Sexual Problems , Spiritualism , and much else , is hardly calculated to convince readers of the practical good of this American scheme of " Christian unselfishness and scientific race-improvement . "

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" THE GRAND SANHEDRIM " A Paper for reading- at Royal Arch Chapters , & c . BY OBLTON COOPEB , M . E . Z . 483 , H . 1928 , Price thirteen pence , post free from BHO . ALFRED H . COOPER , PUBLISHER , 19 COLEMAN STREET , LONDON , B . C .. or from " Freemason ' s Chronicle Office , " New Barnet .

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Just published , Crown 8 vo ., Cloth , 5 s . MILITABY LODGES . The Apron and the Sword , or Freemasonry under Arms ; being an account of Lodges in Regiments and Ships of War , and of famous soldiers arid sailors ( of all countries ) , who have belonged to the Society , together with biographies of distinguished Military and Naval Brethren , and anecdotes showing the influence of Masonry in warfare . By Robert Ereke Gould ( late 31 st Foot , barrister-at-law ) Past Senior Grand Deacon of England , P . M . Nos . 92 and 2076 London , 153 Gibraltar , 570 Shanghai , and 743 1 st Batt . East Surrey Regiment , & c . Author of " The History of Freemasonry , " and other Works . Gale and Polden , Ltd ., 2 Amen Corner , London ; and Aldershot .

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SPIERS * POND s STORES ( No Tickets Required ) QUEEN VICTORIA STREET , E . G ., Opposite Blackfriars Station ( District Riy . ) AND St . Paul ' s Station ( L . C . & D . Riy . ) . PRICE BOOK O / OOO pa ^ es ) , illustrated , free on application . FREE DELIVERY IN SUBURBS bJ / our ov & n Vans . Liberal terms for Country Orders . FOR FULL DETAILS SEE PRICE BOOK .