Books Of The Day.

Books of the Day .

Books , Music , & c . Intended for review , s . iouid be addressed to the Editor of the Freemason ' s Chronicle , at Fleet Works , New Barnet . —; o : —

Sir Stamford Raffles . England in the Far East ( Builders of Greater Britain series ) . By Hugh Edward Egerton , M . A . ( 5 s ) . —T . Fisher Cnwin . MR . FISHER UNVVIN planned a very opportune publication when

he arranged for the preparation of this series . ' The subject of Greater rsntam , like tne poor , is ever with us , and it is rignt that we should honestly enquire how it came about that we entered into so vast a heritage . That enquiry is thoroughly met and answered by the writers who are preparing these biographical studies pf the men who built up for us pur Greater Britain . Sir Stamford Raffles

is a great name m our history , but it is not easy to understand , without careful study , how he came to wield so powerful an influence wherever he went , or to achieve for us the first real settlement of our empire in the far east . He was no man of action like Drake or Wellington ; he was no scholar like Sir Phillip Sidney or Warren Hastings ; he was no aggresive diplomatist Hke Chatham or Disraeli .

Yet the result of his liie ' s work will compare favourably even with that of the men we have mentioned . Mr . Egerton has shown how he did his duty as an extra clerk in the India House at a salary of a guinea a week ; how his health was affected by his strenuous perseverence ; how , when only twenty-five years of age , he was appointed assistant Secretary , at a salary of , £ 1 , 500 a year , to the

new Presidency of the Island of Penang ; how he became Lieutenant-Governor of Java , how splendid a reception he received on his return to England ; and how , largely owing to his efficient instrumentality , that splendid emporium , Singapore , was founded and developed , thereby laying the foundation of our present commercial empire in the Far East . 'Tis a romance indeed—the more

interesting to some because true . Mr . Egerton has displayed admirable spirit in the discharge of his labours ; he evidently felt that such important topics as the life of Sir Stamford Raffles and the founding of Singapore were worthy of his best efforts . If the remaining volumes of this series are equal to those already published

we shall be fortunate . Children might look into this book with profit ; for what child could fail to be interested in the story of the man to whom we owe our Zoological Gardens ? Possibly , however , they will be satisfied with a glance at the beginning ; for an excellent likeness in there given , from the bust of Sir Stamford Raffles by Chantrey .

Maf eking " . A Diary of the Siege . By Major F . D . Baillie . With numerous illustrations ( 6 s ) . —Archibald Constable and Co ., Ltd . MAJOR BAILLIE has given us a model diary . He has set down briefly , with characteristic and military conciseness , the gist of things that happened day by day , and with the assistance or some useful sketches we are able to form a clear conception of many

events . Unfortunately , the value of this book is discounted by the fact that so much has already been published concerning the evermemorable siege of Mafeking ; but town and country seem able to assimilate a great quantity of such details without surfeit , and no doubt a whole army of readers will appreciate this diary none the less because its matter is not wholly new . Many features of the

siege are well brought out , —the ever-pressing need of a lynx-eyed vigilence , the many devices of the enemy , and the counter-tactics of the defenders , the hundred and one incidents of war which together made up the by no means trivial round of uncommon tasks . No doubt the full history of the siege of Mafeking is yet

unwritten ; if narrated in undue haste it would inevitably cause the narrator to repent at leisure . In the meantime Major Baillie has supplied our most pressing needs , and we heartily thank writer and publisher for an opportune and excellent work . We must all buy it for the boys .

Watal and the Boers . The Birth of a Colony . By T . Rowell . —J . M . Dent and Co . WE have not yet heard the last of the Boer—we shall not do so for some time . He is the foremost person in the literature of the day . In fact , we are rather tired of bestowing so much attention on his misdeeds ; for there are many volumes on the Boer and

the struggle in South Africa which cover very much the same ground . Mr . Rowell , we are pleased to say , has gone rather more lully into what some readers will consider " ancient history" than many of his contemporaries . His book is in truth a brief history of Natal and of the Cape . Mr . Rowell has several qualifications necessary to the historian ; his style is condensed but perspicuous ;

his grasp of his subject is comprehensive , and he writes without undue bias—which cannot be said of certain writers on South African affairs . The story of the Great Trek is ably told , as is the " massacre of emigrants ; " but , on the whole , we think the best chapter is that on the " Evolution of the Boer . " Readers will learn

from this book that life in South Africa has hitherto been a fitful fever indeed , and its story as told by Mr . Rowell will show them how important it is that a thoroughly satisfactory settlement should now be arranged . Three Little Maids . B y Ethel Turner . Illustrated , ( 3 s 6 d ) .

—Ward , Lock and Co ., Limited . ETHEL TURNER is always welcome . We could name a family who regard a number of the " Windsor Magazine " . to which she does not contribute as below the mark . In the volume before us

we have a narrative pf doings among juveniles who are in their way as , interesting as those seven little Australians who solicited our suffrages some time ago . Why these young folk are thus interesting it is not easy to say . We do the writer no injustice when we say that "Three little Maids" is not exactly a work of

Books Of The Day.

art , nor is it a study embodying any very profound reflections upon human life . It is rather '' most excellent trifling . " It is fiction a la mode Sainte Beuve , for it is more a causerie than anything else . The child , as Wordsworth puts it , is father to the man , and it is very evident that these little maids were mothers to the charming young ladies that were to be . Phyl , Dolly , and

Weenie may , we hope , be found in many a home in old England , and we are the losers when such persons find it necessary to go to Australia . Thoroughly natural , these girls put their souls into pastime and task alike ; nor must Miss Dolly be too severely censured for finding the writing of fiction more congenial to her tastes than " getting up " Cicero , Euclid , and Pope . The chapter "finance and fashion" will awaken in many readers memories of

far off days and youthful struggles with the " res angusta domi . " According to Mr . Andrew Lang reviewers read nothing , for they find no time to do so ; but we entertain a shrewd suspicion that many busy bookmen will bestow something more than a cursory glance at this volume . " Three little maids , " with its full gilt edges and bright , attractive cover , will be a welcome gift in many homes this Christmas .

Monica Grey . By Lady Hely-Hutchinson ( 2 s 6 d net ) . —John Murray . ' THIS book has displeased some of the critics . The writerevidently a lady of great ability—has chosen a theme which many consider unfit for the purposes of prose fiction . We side with Lady Hutchinson . We think that each and every phase of life may be

portrayed profitably by a writer of suitable ability . It is strange how many folk who take exception to such a book as the one before us will read with avidity the works of Thomas Hardy , or Zola , or Ouida . The moral that . underlies " Monica Grey" is , we think , obvious enough . The satirist has told us how nearly great wits are allied to madness ; in this story , some passages of which are

singularly beautiful both in conception and workmanship , we are shown how narrowly sin may be avoided even by a lady whose mental graces are as evident as her personal charms . An old saying reminds us that temptation 'is not sin ; and we cannot side with those critics who have objected to Monica Grey because she

had to wage so long a fight to avoid a fall . Surely one who welcomes death in preference to defeat in such a struggle deserves praise rather than blame . Treat every man according to his deserts , says Hamlet , and who shall escape whipping ? We should like Lady Hutchinson to give us a novel on the lines of the gospel according to Mrs . Humphrey Ward . We believe it would score a success .

The Harmswqrth Magazine for the present month has an article on " Secret Societies , " by W . J . Wintle , in which special attention is given to Knight Templary , a number of illustrations adding to the value of the text . The number is a good one in other respects . '

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