Books Of The Day.

Books of the Day .

The Pith and Marrow of the Closing and Coming Century and related position of Freemasonry and Jesuitry . —The T . P . Company , 144 Madison Avenue , New York ( English Agency , 3 Vernon Place , London , W . C . ) . THIS is a somewhat extraordinary pamphlet , but it is evidently written for the delectation of the people of the United States in general , and our American Brethren in particular , rather than for English consumption . The

author writes under the nom de plume of " Barneses , " but the work is apparently issued by some philanthropic Society , since it is stated that the proceeds are to be devoted to " Brotherhood Humanitarian work " —whatever chat may be . Commencing with an introduction of common place platitudes , expressed with somewhat too much prolixity , iu which references are made to the Dreyfus case , the Spanish-American war , the Panama Canal , and other general topics in vogue last year , the writer proceeds with an impeachment of Jesuitry as the cause of all the evil that exists among nations , in the shape

of inhumanity , tyranny , craft and injustice . It is no news to Freemasons that Eoman Catholicism , and the Jesuits especially , are opposed to our Order ; but we are not prepared to go the length to which the writer would lead us . Our Order is founded upon the purest principles of piety and virtue , and we believe that it will rise superior to this or any other Society arrayed against it . The cure for bigotry is education ; and as Freemasonry is spread over the four quarters of the world , and is annually increasing its members by leaps and bounds , we have no fear that its " old , persistent and relentless Jesuitical enemy " will ever prevail against it .

Who ' s Who 1900 . An Annual Biographical Dictionary . Fifty-second year of issue ( 3 s 6 d net ) . —A . and 0 . Black . MANY things have been put forward from time to time as " the eighth wonder of the world . " For our part , we consider the modern biographical dictionary has a strong claim to the distinction . The evolution of such compilations has been rapid , and their sale great . The reason is not far to seek . Some folk are too worldly-minded to read a Bible , some too pious to

read a novel , some too shallow to care for criticism , some too prosaic to care for poetry . But the biographical dictionary is a bait suited to every fish . It satisfies our curiosity , and curiosity , like the poor , is always with us . Nobody is ashamed to be seen poring over " Who ' s Who . " Miss Lydia Languish would have revelled iu its revelations . Many a man who knows to his cost how hard it is to climb " the steep where Fame ' s proud temple shines afar " has looked into "Who ' s Who" with just half a hope that his name may

figure in its pages . Perhaps the most remarkable feature in regard to this publication is its cheapness . The amount of labour necessary to the accurate compiling of such a work may truly be described as enormous ; yet this volume can be bought for the price of a cheap novel . We looked into many of the biographies , and were gratified to find how correct they appear in those matters of detail in which it is so easy to err . One error , and only one , caught

our eye : Mr . Clement Shorter is named as editor of the " English Illustrated Magazine , " he resigned that post just a year back . The present editor is Mr . Bruce S . Ingram . The system adopted throughout the work in the case of men of letters could hardly be bettered , and the list of their publications in chronological order is of great use to all engaged in criticism . For this reason we are particularly glad to welcome the fifty-second volume of " Who ' s Who . " With this at our elbow we are indeed thoroughly furnished unto every good work .

A Short History of the Expansion of the British Empire , 1500-1870 . By William Harrison Woodward ( 4 s ) . —Cambridge University Press . . THIS volume is published at a very opportune moment . It should prove a marketable ware , lor the expansion of our Empire is just fhe one topic upon which everybody is willing to converse . We believe , however , that we do no injustice to the multitude when we say that very few persons have any very

extensive knowledge of the history of that expansion in the past . It is sixty years since an eminent critic , writing in the " Edinbuigh Review , " expressed his wonder that the actions of many of our great enterpiisers in the East excited so little interest among ourselves . He questioned whether one Englishman in ten could name the victor at the battle of Buxar , and regretted the apathy of readers in regaid to the wonderful rise o £ our Indian Empire . Whether we are now better informed upon these tonics wo will not attemnt to

say ; but such volumes as that before us leave little excuse for cur ignorance , be it great or little . The early hislory of our Em \ ire ' * growth is largely bound up with . the history of our adventures by sea , and to those who desire to read afresh the history of our " expansion " we recommend a careful study of Southey's " Lives of the British Admirals , " and of this volume from the Cambridge University Press . We need hardly say that it is carefully written , and is a work which bears on almost every page evidences of a scholarly precision

and taste . We are furnished with a table of dates , from the daj s of Columbus , Cabot , and Vasco da Gama , at the close of the fifteenth century , to the granting of the three great African charters , and the establishment of responsible Government in Western Australia and Natal recently . The movements of Drake and of Raleigh appear to us particularly well summarised ; but the treatment of African exploitation is hardly so

satisfactory . There are some excellent maps , which we hope will be well used ; for in i he study of such a subject a thorough use of maps is most essential . We suggest that it would he very useful if publishers would print educational works of this description on soft , rough paper , similar to that now much used for reprints of standard literature . As it is , we cannot lay this volume upon the table without it closing " of its own sweet will . "

A Secret of the North Sea . By Algernon Gissing ( 6 s ) . —Chatto and Windus .

MB . ALGEBNON GISSING should prepare for rough weather ahead ; for we are told that the way of transgressors is hard . He has transgressed many of the pseudo proprieties of prose fiction , and we think it probable that , in circles which we could indicate , this story of Northumbrian life , love and hatred will be received somewhat scornfully . Mr . Gissing sedulously shuns the much frequented pathways of gushing sentimentality ; he refrains from

indulging his readers with parlour small talk or kitchen scandal . He has borne in mind Cowper's dictum that God made the country , and man made the town , and has given us a strong story of north country life beside the sea . His materials are more slender than the materials frequently used by novelists to far less purpose , but they are eminently suited to his particular gifts and

limitations , and afford ample room and verge enough for the play of passion . By the skilful delineation of some half-dozen characters of quite uncommon stamp he has put upon his stage such a powerful company that we are deeply interested in the very complex play of circumstance which happens to ; them

Books Of The Day.

all , from that Saturday afternoon at Cuddy ' s Cove , when Margaret Straughan sent the letter to the Link House , on to that Christmas Eve when two or three matters are adjusted , matters of moment which frequently transpire at the close of novels . Mr . Gissing ' s characters stand out very vividly before us as we finish reading this Secret of the North Sea . There is none of that shadowy , indistinct presentation which is perhaps more common in our own literature than in the literature of France . In Dumas , in Emile Souvestre .

in Balzac , iu Pierre Loti , everything and everybody is very real ; but we are not sure that they are more real than in the novels of Mr . Gissing . There is Matthew Beadnell , the " Stunner , " a man of sterling character and moral worth , with just the least resemblance to John Brodie ; there is Crumstone , who devotes the whole of his life energies to his sole ambition of compassing the ruin of the " stunner , " and whose character we can best describe by saying that it is about on a par with the character of the Tiger Beetle—a comparison

which Mr . Gissing , who is , we believe , a naturalist , will readily comprehend . There is " Perry , " so thoroughly boyish in his early days , so healthy a man in the sequel ; there is the " Kittiwako , " rescued from the waves by " Perry " as a child , and rescuing him from the perils of bachelorhood at the last , but the right moment . There is Lylliard , and there are others ; but of those we cannot stay to talk . To us , the paramount charm of this book lies in the author ' s great reverence and love for Nature in her every phase , for the moan

of the wind and the sobbing of the sea , the way of the sea-fowl on the shore , the cry of the whaups across the water , the voice of the lark and peewit on the links . Furthur , this volume is one of those from which you may select several episodes which read admirably as short stories , quite apart from their associations with the context . In proof of this we may remark that our contention holds good at the very commencement of the book ; for the return of " Perry " is a story in itself .

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Just published , Crown 8 vo ., Cloth , 5 s . MILITARY LODGES . The Apron and the Sword , or Freemasonry under Arms ; being an account of Lodges in Eegiments and Ships of War , and of famous soldiers and 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 Freke 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 .

Book Received.

BOOK RECEIVED .

Forty-one years in India , from Subaltern to Commander-in-Chief . By FieW-Marshal Lord Roberts ot Ivanuahar , V . G ., TUS ., G . O . B .., Gr . C . S . I ., G . C . I . B . New edition in ono volume , with fifty-four illustrations . — Macmillan and Co ., Limited . South Africa of To-day . By Captain Francis Younghiisband , C . I . E ., Indian Staff Corps . With illustrations ( 6 s ) . —Macmillan and Co ., Limited .

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SPIERS«PONDs STORES ( No Tickets Required ) QUEEN VICTORIA STREET , E . C ., Opposite St . Paul ' s Station ( L . C . & D . Rly . ) . PRICE BOOK ( 1 , 000 pages ) , illustrated , free on application . F RE E DELIVERY IN SUBURBS b 3 / our ovOn Vans . Liberal terms for Country Orders . FOR FULL DETAILS SEE PRICE BOOK .