Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

S1IELF II.
My ik'ii' Magpie—Many thanks for .your loiter
arid the reviews. 1 was surprised to hear thai
my criticism of "The Tenderfoot" had called
fortli a defence trim the author. ' Perhaps X wap
over-hasty in my judgment of it. and had not
taken into consideration that it was written
about things that happened so long att>. I
am afraid 1 am rather prejudiced against Aus
tralian tioojis. Why X don't know. But I shall
read "Hie Tenderfoot" again, and perliaps I
shall Ire able to look at it front a broader point
of view. I love most Australian poetry—especi
ally A. La. Gordon's. Isn't it peculiar that so
much of Australian noetrjl is melancholy? I
have recently been reading' several stand books.
Among these are "The Mill on the Floss,"
•'The Master Christian." and "The Wrecker."
31ie llwt 1 ijked 'nest of the three, but. of course,
thdf are tot all v different one from the other.
This is the first that I have read of George
Bitot's, and 1 loved it. The end was very
Sad, but It seemed unite right to end it up like
that- Poor little Maggie, hcr's was a very
hard lite, wasn't it? I simply hated Stephen,
i( was so mean of lmn to take the advantage of
Maggie in the wav he did. "The Master Chris- j
< iun" is the first of Marie Oorelli's that I've
read, and I was very interested in it. The chief
character in it is the dear old Cardinal Bonpre—
lie is such a good, holy man that it makes you
wish you knew him. Mario Corelli describes
rvcrvtiiing so vividly, and she. seems to he gifted
with wonderful imagination. "The Wrecker." bv
(I.ouis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbonrne, 16 very
thrilling. There are some lovely descriptions of
flic South Sea islands in it, and a very great
n.jytcry, which carries one on excitedly to the
end. 1 must close now. With all good wishes
1<> Die ltookslii'lfiti's and their leader.
coclv voura. OHKYSAX11IEMUM.
Why is Austral inn poetry melancholy?
Thai sounds like ' a discussion question,
floes it not? Why? I wonder? Is it that
'Australia being rather large and we Aus
tralians very few, the man who thinks
feels rati let* lonely, and of very little im
portance, and distinctly sad in eonse
fpietiee?
1 1 _ Exeter, August 9.
Dear Magpie-Since last I wrote you I have
tend unite a number of books, unions them being
"lAirlowrie," "The Man from Curdie's River,"
"Tin- Red Axe." "Lavender and Old Lace,"
'■The Days of Bruce," "The Pilot at Swan
Creek." "A Gamble with Life," and several
others. Also some of Tennyson's norms and
some of Wliiilier's. Annfe Swan's "Carlowrle"
ftlie his I on my list) is a nice homelv little
story, hut not. very much in it. The 6eeond I
enjoyed "muchly." Have you read it. Magpie?
It is In- Donald McLean, being the story of a
young missionary's short sojourn at "The Forest"
and the trouble that was caused by his trying
to obey St. Paul's injunction to treat the
younger women as sisters. It hears a strong re
semblance to Ralph Connor's books, differing b\(
its Australian setting.. "Lavender and Old
lame" is a dear little Story, isn't it? I quite
fell in love witli Miss Ainslie. Aunt Jane
seemed to inc to he vcr.v much out of place in
such a story. "The Days of Bruce," by Grace
'Annular, is a very warlike story, mainly his
toric. 11 is a tale of the davs of chivalry—
such stories have a fascination for me. "The
Red Axe," by S. It. Crocket, is somewhat simi
lar, minus the chivalry. It is a trying book to
scad. 1 can liavdlv believe t.liat the same per
son who wrote the pie tic Scotch tales—"Beside
the Bonnie Brier Bush." "The Stickit Minister,"
"Lad's Love." Ac., could write such a thrilling
story as this one I have mentioned. The chief
t >oplc in it are Hue?} Gottfried and Helene.
JVIiOP Hugo was a bov he Hied in the tower
Where hie father was executioner for the Duke.
Once when watching the trial of some of tiie
Duke's Prisoners. Hugo saw among tlie number a
man with a child in his arms, and he heard the
cider given to threw the "brat to the dogs."
Ibigi hugged them to giVe the cliild to him,
which they did. and she lived with him in the
tower. The stovv ended as. of course, you
would expect. They married and lived happy
ever after. Don't y'ou tire of bo niueh same
J10S9? I do.
-Ixnc from akxiu.
"No: T lrave;< not met "i'lie Man irom_
Curdie's River." "Beside the Bonnie Brier"
Bush" i.s written by Tun Maclaren. "The
Lilac Sunbounet.'' and the other's you men
tion are certainly different from "Tire Red
'Axe." Crocket has two etyles, find when
he is militant lie is very much so. When
you speak of "so much sameness," do you
mean the "happy ever after" entjanp;? The
rest of the story seems to hafe incident
enough. I don't piiud a. little sameness
when 'it is cheerful.
aiAUFIJfi.
$