He was a person most unkempt,
And answered to the name of Cust.
He had a frenzied mass of hair,
A little redder than red rust,
And trousers so exceeding short
It looked as if by mounting high
They meant unceasingly to try
To change to knickers on the sly.
He was a person whom a Bat
Could view without the least distrust.
He caught me at the fifth attempt--
Imagine my profound disgust!
For if the ball had gone to hand
I had not felt the least unrest;
But, as it happened (Fate knows best!)
It struck him smartly on the chest.
I cannot tell you how he squirmed
And capered on the greensward there,
Until at last he took the ball
(Or so it seemed) from out his hair,
And meekly rubbed the coming bruise.
Thus was I humbled in the dust
Because of Albert Edward Cust.
Imagine my profound disgust!
Here's to the freckles and fielding and fun,
Here's to the joy that we ponder;
Here's to the Game that will glow in the sun
When the babes of our babies are--Yonder!
* * * * *
~Rivers' Popular Novels~
Crown 8vo., 6_s_.
* * * * *
~The House of Merrilees~. ARCHIBALD MARSHALL. _[Now Ready_.
~The Unequal Yoke~. Mrs. H.H. PENROSE. _[Now Ready_.
~The Discipline of Christine~. Mrs. BARRÉ GOLDIE. _[Now Ready_.
~Peter Binney, Undergraduate~. ARCHIBALD MARSHALL. _[Now Ready_.
~Peace on Earth~. REGINALD TURNER. _[Now Ready_.
~The Countermine~. ARTHUR WENLOCK. _[Now Ready_.
~The Friendships of Veronica~. THOMAS COBB. [May 17.
~Hugh Revel, A Public School Story~. LIONEL PORTMAN. [July 25.]
~Notes on Books.~
In issuing a list of new and forthcoming publications, Mr. Alston
Rivers cannot but express his gratification at the spirit of fair play
which has enabled him to realise such a striking series of successes.
The primary business of a publisher is to discriminate, both as to
intrinsic literary merit, and with regard to what will hit the public
taste, a classical illustration of the difficulty in gauging the
latter being the rejection of "John Inglesant" by the late James Payn,
then "reader" for an eminent firm. While fully recognising the
remarkable gifts of the author Mr. Payn's hesitancy as to the book's
attractions got the better of his judgment; and with "_The House of
Merrilees_" it is now an open secret that very much the same point of
view was taken in more than one instance. Mr. Marshall's "_Peter
Binney, Undergraduate_," had been and is still decidedly popular, but
his new book was more ambitious, possessing such a plot as to require
peculiarly delicate handling. Had it been handled in a way that
combined a really high literary standard with more stirring qualities?
The question requires no answer now, for the triumph which the
publisher at once foretold on reading the manuscript has been more
than attained, and "_The House of Merrilees_" is indisputably the
novel of the season. It has at the same time demonstrated to the
publishing trade that a sensational story does not labour under any
disadvantage by the abduction of literary style.
* * * * *
In a wholly different vein are "_The Discipline of Christine_" and
"_The Unequal Yoke_," by Mrs. Barré Goldie and Mrs. H.H. Penrose
respectively. In the former the ways and moods of childhood are
depicted in original and inimitable fashion, which makes it safe to
predict that the author will go far beyond her first effort as a
novelist. In "_The Unequal Yoke_" Mrs. Penrose has taken for her theme
the love story of a clergyman whose benefice is an Irish coast town,
and in whose flock prominence is attained by narrow zeal rather than
by amiability. He is really a good man, and is lucky enough, or the
reverse, to win the hand of a delightful young lady whose charms,
however, do not command the unanimous approval of the parishioners.
The possession of high musical attainments makes her temperament all
the more interesting, and accounts for the presence in so remote a
district of her German friend whose acute sense of the ridiculous
leads to such untoward results. It is hard to say whether the author's
talents are best evinced by her true pathos or by the delicate touches
of humour which pervade the book. Another commendable feature of the
novel is an alert skill in construction which stamps it as a
thoroughly artistic production.
~_Ready May 2_.~
~The Soul of London.~ FORD MADOX HUEFFER. Author of "The Life of
Madox Brown," "The Face of the Night," &c. Imperial 16mo, 5_s._ nett.
* * * * *
~_Ready May 9_.~
~More Cricket Songs.~ NORMAN GALE. Imperial 16mo, 2_s._ nett.
* * * * *
~_New Edition. Now Ready_.~
~Spring Blossoms and Summer Fruit.~ JOHN BYLES. Cloth, Crown 8vo,
1_s._ 6_d._ nett.
These "Sunday Morning Talks to Children" are full of charm and
suggestive thought.
"We can hardly praise too highly the beauty and exquisite simplicity
of these talks."--_Literary World_.
London: ALSTON RIVERS, 13, Arundel Street.
Mr. Reginald Turner has already achieved such distinction as an author
of superior fiction (witness the success of his "_Comedy of Progress_"
and "_Cynthia's Damages_,") that a cordial reception was assured for
his latest book "_Peace on Earth_." It is a pathetic story that he has
to tell; of the sorrows of the outcast amid poverty, and the rage
against law and government provoked thereby; of the less obvious, but
equally poignant, griefs which smoulder beneath the surface of
"comfortable circumstances." The plot is, in short, one that in the
hands of any other than a thorough man of the world, would fail
hopelessly, which makes Mr. Turner's complete and undoubted success
all the more meritorious.
"_The Countermine_" is the work of Mr. Arthur Wenlock, whose "_As Down
of Thistle_" showed considerable promise, though perhaps his subtle
vein of sardonic philosophy escaped due recognition. As its name
denotes, the interest in the new novel is largely military; in every
line the soldier, with his nice sense of honour, his virility, and his
direct methods, stands revealed. "_The Countermine_" is certainly a
most thrilling tale, and should raise the author to the front rank of
writers on "Service" topics. Of Mr. Thomas Cobb, whose reputation is
already firmly established, it is only necessary to say that in "_The
Friendships of Veronica_" his fertile and resourceful pen is at its
best if, indeed, his literary reputation has not been substantially
advanced.
~The Alston Rivers' Shilling Library~.
* * * * *
~Creatures that once were Men~. MAXIM GORKY. With Introductory by
G.K. CHESTERTON.
~Lovers in London~. A.A. MILNE.
"'A Coming Humorist.' ... In Mr. Milne it may not be extravagant to
descry a writer with a future before him."--_Evening Standard and St.
James's Gazette_.
~Change for a Halfpenny~. C.L.G. and E.V.L.
The hustling methods of modernity possess undoubted possibilities for
humorous treatment, and no one has appreciated the fact more keenly
than the authors of "Wisdom While you Wait." In this their latest work
the prospectus of the Napolio Syndicate forms a bowstring whence fly
shafts of satire that hit the mark every time.
~The Loot of Cities~. ARNOLD BENNETT.
~Publican and Serf~.
A striking study of nomadic life among the peasant classes, translated
from the Russian by J.K.M. SHIRAZI.
It is one thing to be a famous writer; it is another to be widely
read. Maxim Gorky is at present included in both categories, though as
regards the second condition he had scarcely qualified prior to the
publication of "_Creatures that once were Men_." It was a bold
venture, for all the former successes in shilling form were either
sensationally melodramatic or frankly farcical. Encouraged by the huge
demand for Maxim Gorky's book, Mr. Alston Rivers is publishing in the
same form (1/- nett, paper, and 1/6 cloth) "_Publican and Serf_," by
Skitaletz, a Russian Author, who, while by no means behind Gorky in
point of realism, possesses in the opinion of some critics a still
greater measure of literary ability. Other items of Mr. Alston Rivers'
Shilling Library, which has prospered as only the result of the most
careful selection could prosper, are "_Lovers in London_," by A.A.
Milne, brightest and most promising of the younger humorists, and
"_The Loot of Cities_," by Mr. Arnold Bennett, the mere name of whom
is a sufficient guarantee of entertainment. As for general literature,
"_The Soul of London_," by Ford Madox Hueffer, may be justly described
as worthy of a place in every library. The author in his introduction,
remarks that he has tried to make the book anything rather than
encyclopædic, topographical, or archæological, and beyond that
somewhat negative phrase it is difficult to give any more complete
designation to the work. For the treatment of the subject is
altogether original, this attraction being intensified by the
particularly graceful style in which a remarkable gift of observation
finds expression.
~The Novel of the Season~
* * * * *
~THE HOUSE OF MERRILEES~.
6/-
By ARCHIBALD MARSHALL,
_Author of "Peter Binney, Undergraduate_"
* * * * *
"The ~best mystery novel~ since Sir A. Conan Doyle's 'Sign of
Four.'"--_Daily Graphic_.
"Can recommend cordially and with confidence to those who like a ~really
good story~, well constructed and excellently told."--_Punch_.
"A really satisfactory tale of mystery is always ~sure of its
welcome~, and 'The House of Merrilees' ought to secure wide
popularity."--_Daily Mail_.
"~Great ingenuity~ is shown in the way in which clue is crossed by
counter-clue."--_The Daily Telegraph_.
"It is a pleasure to praise a book of this kind, and rare to find one
in which ~a narrative of absorbing interest~ is combined with so
many literary graces."--_The Bookman_.
"A very ~engrossing story~."--_Graphic_.
"The ~best story~ of its kind we have read for years."--_Guardian_.