SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1029. Cm > (Continued from Page 22.) rural England of 1820, containing love, gypsies, a tinker, fights with | ruffians, duels, etc. The average | redder will enjoy it, but I must con- fess that my own pleasure in this | book was marred to a certain extent | by its close resemblance to such oi | his earlier works as "The Brom | Highway' and "The Amateur Gentle- ! man." Peregrine Vereker, a rich or- | phan, coddled dy an aunt until the | age of 19, is goaded by remarks of one of the other members : ve the tv a | his uncles Into seeking his manhood | ~~~ town; behind him we have the row. party in relating the story. #long the highway. He meets with various highwaymen, thugs, drunk- ards and adventures, and soon be- comes a close friend of a gypey girl, whom Be calls Diana. This is the be- ginning of a story which Mr. Far- nol carries to a conclusion in his best style. '"Huntingtower" by John Buchan (Hodder and Stoughton). Like all of Mr. Buchan's adventure i stories, this novel holds the reader | apellfbound right till the last line. The central character is Dickson Me- Cunn, a retired Glasgow grocer, who | sets out on a walking tour In Beot- land In esearch of experiences at least, and adventure If possible. He falls in with a soctalistic young man, Heri- tage, and the two of them hecome in- térest in the old castle of Hunting- tower owing to the mysterious aec- tions of the caretakers of that sup- posedly uncccupjed building. Their talk with Dou#il, the precocious and | strong-minded leader of the Gor-| bals Die-Hards, a top of alum boy | scouts who are camping near the place, does nothing to dispel thelr | suspicions of the castle. They join | forces, and discover that Saska, a | young Russian noblewoman is held! prisoner in the castle by Bolsheviks. | who are trying to force her to sur- render some of the Russian Crown | | | | | | | | | | E SEASON'S BOOKS IN REVIEW Jewels which she possesses. The main |Sir Peter Chalfont, V.C., speaks tu is, forythe most part, an idyll of the |action of the stoiy now begins. The her and is straightway captivated. arrival of more Bolsheviks by sea and Saskia's fiance by land precipit- ate the thrilling climax. Dougal, Dickson McCunn, and Mrs. Morran, at whose home MeCunn and Heritage | visit during the early part of the |story, are characters which any ngvel- } ist might be proud to have created. "The Rustle of Silk" Hamilton (Allen). The Rt. Hon. by Cosmo Arthur Fallaray, ARCHIE P. McKISHNIE Author of "Openway." An, the man to whom all England looks for her salvation, falls in love with | Lola Breezy, great grand-daughter of | the famous French courtesan Mme, de Breze, and lady's mafd to the er- otic Lady Feo Fallaray. Lolo has an active brain and also a remarkable fascination. for men. Simpkins, the valet, falls in love with her. Sha stands in front of 'the Savoy untit ns CH He Is Canada's ARLES MAIR me = = il il Oldest Living Poet. | By Charlotte Gordon. = | At the great age of 84, Charles Mair, Calgary, Alberta, is Canada's oldest living poet. The rough pag- eant of the years, which has gone "0 the making of a new. nation out of the undeveloped west, passes before us as we Msten to his experiences or read his musical verse, Mr. Mair's first volume, "Dream- land," containing thirty-five poems, was published in 1868, the year fo!- lewing Confederation. These poems marked the initial effort én dealing with Canadian natural phenomena in the manner of Keats. While the edi- tion was passing through the bind- er's hands in Ottawa, the greater part was burned. Only a limited number of coples were issued. A | second edition was not forthcomirg until they were republished in 1901. The son of the late James Mair, of Lanark, Mr. Mair'was born in 1838, and educnted at Perth - Grammar school and Queen's College, King- ston. His love of nature may be traced to his early environment, as his father was one of the pioneers in the square timber trade on the ¢ibu- tardes of the Ottawa river, He took up the study of medicine at Queen's College but a new interest called in the summer of 1563, when he was asked to prepare a precisa of valuable records in the parliamen- tary Mbrary pertaining to the Hud- son's Bay Company's territories and tenure, His next adventure took him to the Northwest with a construction ring times, but ho 'found that the work of years had been burned by kbel or some of his followers, Discouraged by his loss, he enter- ed the fur 'rade at Portage la Prairie and Prince Albert. Active minds, however, cannot remain at rest and Mr. Mair began to use his pen again by writing articles for the "Atlantic Monthly." Forseeing the trouble which cul- minated in the second Rebellion, he removed his famdly to Windsor, On- fario, in 1882, and settled down to wait till the troublesbme times were over. lle agaln turned to literature. and began his best-known work, his drama "Tecumseh." While he was engaged on this, the Rebellion broke cut, and he at once offered his ser- vices in the Governor-General's body- guard, as quarter-master and served throughout the campaign, On his return east, he completed his drama, which wae published in 1886. In this work, which made for Mr. Mair an enduring place in Canadtan letters, there is the reflection 'of a great period in our early history, and the author depiots dramatically the time and scenes in which the great Indian Chief so nobly played a part. It is of special interest to know that Mr. Mair received warm praise for his work from Charles Sangster, the father of Canaan poetry, Mr. Mair next transferred his in- terest to the Okanagan Valley, settl- ing at Kelowna of which he was one of the founders, He eredted the second building in the town. He later party to open up communication from the Lake of the Woods to the Red River. Shortly. after reaching Fort Garry, Mr, Madr acted as corre- spondent for the 'Montreal Gazette and wrote a series of articles for that journal, entitled "Canada in the Far West," He will live in the history 'of Canadian, journalism as the first writer to Inform eastern papers of je potentaliiles of the prairie coun- He had just been married to Miss Flisa M Y, & niece of Sir John Schulty, later Liewt.-Governor of EZZE5 gi joined the Immigration Service in Winndpeg and continued iu that work at Lethbridge, Coutts, on the bound- ary, and at Fort Steele, B.C. During these busy Years, true to Iterary traditions, he never let his pen lay idle for long. 'The Last Bison," & virfle poem of the great West, was written in 1890. In 1901, his collected poems appeared, 1008, a prose work, '* MacKenzie Basin," crealed -wide- spread imberest in giving an account of the Great Peace River Treaty of 1899 with the Indians of the North, who ceded a territory 800 miles long by 400 mies in breadth. Mr. Mair Was secretary to the seript commis- sioner and wrote extensivoly of the vast wheat region of the north. His favorable comments have since been confirmed by the extensive immigra- tion into that country. When 82 years old THE | | | == ------====l| {He is merely a means th) get her into! 1society and to introduce her Ao Fall- |aray. Then Fallaray is hers*and is | willing to give up his place in poli- | ities. This fs a well-written novel of postwar conditions, |. "The Cathedrar" by {pole (McClelland & Stewart) , | In the foreground of this story we | {have Archdeacon Brandon ruler of |the Cathedral and the | | itself, back of the town lies the Glebe- | | shire county; |of men and affairs, all moving with | |set purposes. Throughout the novel the Cathedral is presented as a llv- {ing or qnism and an indestructibie| force. | -- "The Evil Shepherd" by E. Phil- | lips Oppenheim (McClelland & Stew- art) . Sir Tintothy Brast is the figure of | dominant mystery in Mr, Oppen- | heim's novel. He fulfills all the char- l acteristic Oppenheim requirements {and not until almost the final page | | Is the reader able to determine | | whether he is a good man, or a mou: ! | ster in many varieties of iniquity. | | "Lilian" by Arnold Bennett (Mc. | | Clelland and Stewart). i Cther novelists present the mar- | riage problem. Arnold Bennett thinks | he has solved it. Since between hus- ~~ | band and wife there are. no moral | standards, he argues, there can be no {such thing as an ethical code, no | lofty abstract principles of right and | wrong ."Marriage occurs when a man | |and a woman take the law into their | {own hands, not only 4he human law, but the divine. "The Black Gang" by "Sapper" | (Cyril McNeile) (Hodder & Stough- | ton.) | This i a "Bull-Dog" Drummond jnovel---a hair-raising, blpodcurdling | adventure story in which the amiable | and amusing Mr. Drummond and his | sang, composed of young Jnen-about- | town like himself, are pitted against | | the agents of Bolshevism led by | Drummond's old enemy Carl Peter- eon. Most of the action takes place in London. The thrilling escapades of Drummond will stir the pulse ot anyone and the reader is given quitw an education in the Shisfaining Eng- lish slang of the present day. "The Red House Mystery" by A. A: Milne (E. P. Dutton & Co.) Mr. Milne, the English author of this story, is acquiring a consider- able reputation ag a humorous, as- tute, and {nteresting writer. This, his first venture in the field of the de- tective story, has been a great suc- cess. In the five months after its ap- pearance it ran through ten editions. It Mr. Milne is an amateur {n the writing of detective novels, his hero, Anothy Gillingham, is also making his first attempt to solve a mystery, { He arrives at the manor house just las the fatal shot is fired and, being out of a job at the time, decides to Investigate. His friend Bill Beverly, who is staying at the Red House at the time, plays Watson to him. The interest is well sustained and the JEFFERY FARNOTL, thor of 'Peregriné's Progress." dialogu®, Is frequentiy humorous. The two ds have to do every- thing from discovering a gecret pass- age to diving in a pond at midnight. "An Ordeal of Honor," by An- thony Pryde. (Goodchild.) This story of a man accused of a crime which he has no part, of mis. fortune heroically borne, and of 3 love which endures in Spite of dount and even degradation, 'fsx a book which {s unfailingly dramatic. "Sea Wrack," by Vere Hutchin- son. (Century Co,) Vere is a sister of the famous A. 8. M. Hutchinson. The setting of this story is the north coast of Eng- land. One day, a baby boy lashed to | | i | SH WHIG. DAILY BRITI | MISTA a @ of how Charles was himself mis- ut of a somewhat There" is a story Christopher Jenkins taken for a pirate, b | different type to the leading tharac- type used ter in his novel, "The Timber Pir- ate." : The incident occurred some years ago, when Jenkins and a party of h Wal | companions who had been on an ex- | would swing his boat on a new leg, Hug 2 "| pedition into the bush were returfi- by which manoeuvre ing across a®northern arm of Lake Superior in a motor boat. "We were cathedral |® pretty tough-looking outfit," said | for possibly of the back of Glebeshire, | ith Mving and sleeping tn the open. |ekipper behind. {England; beyond England the world | he 8rime of camp-fires, liberal appli- | that by these tactics, he | England; bey » r cations of black-fly repellent and a week's growth of beard, Jenkins was C. TC. JENKINS Author of "The Timber Pirate." ------ perhaps the hardest-looking customer in the crowd. of the boat when he sighted what ap- Peared to be a big pleasure yacht fol- lowing steadily in our wake. As it drew nearer we saw the crew swing out its boats ready for lowering, while the skipper, coming up to the bow, signaled ug to stop. "At thai VE ning near the international' boundary was at its -height, and on several occasions rum-runners wearing badges and passing themselves off as provincial police boarded private pleasure boats and in a high-handed manner 'searched' them for liquor, which hey 'confiscated' to add to their own s\ocks. From the peculiar actions "of the boat behind us Jenkins cou- ed we were being pursued by a rum-runner and a drunken one at that. So when the skipper mega- phoned to him to stop, he shouted back a message to the other to be off to warmer regions, swung the boat out to sea toward Pie Island, which lay about five miles to our starboard, and signalled for 'full steam anéad.' "The pursuing boat had been gain- ing perceptibly on a straight eourse, hut owing to sher size and draft, she dinary woman interested in ordinary things, such as Nusbands and babies, neighbors and tea-parties, servants and frocks. It is told in the fire- light, told with laughter and tears, and will appeal to all who care for clean and simple things. O. Douglas is the pen-name of a sister of John Buchan. "The Triumph of the Scarlot Pimpernel," by Baroness Orezy. (Hodder & Stoughton.) : Sir Percy Blakeney, Scarlet Pimpernel, again goes through some thrilling escapes in robbing the guillotine of its prey. the intrepid "Captain Blood," by Rafael Saba- tn. (McClelland & Stewart.) ' The redoubtable Peter buccaneer par excellence, is captain of the great ship Arabella, terror of the Spaniards, and is undisputed master of the waters of the Spanish Main. Many a blase novel-reader will feel a thrill he has not exper'- enced since boyhood dreams of bue- caneers and pirate ships, Spanish gold and pieces of eight, Blooi, "The Man Who Knew Too Much," by G. K. Chesterton. (McClelland & Stewart.) An amateur defective who rivals Sherlock Holmes--who unravels crimes among the upper classes, bat only to be hushed up; he never brings a single criminal to Justics, although he captures every one he goes after, . -- "Tales of Chinatown," Rohmer. (Gundy.) Further adventures of detective Paul Harley of "Fu Manchu" fame in London's sinister Chinatown, Limehouse." "The Desire of His Life," by Eth- el M. Dell, (McClelland & Stewart.' The author pits against each other as rivals for a girl's love, a controll- ed and sophisticated older mam and a determined, Impetuous boy. by Sax "The Judge," by Rebecca West. HOW CHARLES JENKIN | KEN FOR A GAME-PIRATE | ela "What | He was at the wheel | CHRISTMAS BOOK SUPPLEMENT WAS : | i! could not make the turn as quickly | {as our crafi, which' was a disreput- | able-looking ex-tug of the smaNer | for tramp work on the | | uppgr lakes. So each time the big yacht crawled up within hailing dis- | tance, Jenkins, who is considerable | of an expert at smail.boat naviga'lon, he' made the other lose all he had gained on the straight course, This was kept up three-quarters of an | hour, Jenkins thoroughly enjoying- apparent exasperation of the Finally, declding could lose | | | {his pursuer any time he cared to, | | Jenkins, out of curicaity to know | | what the other really wanted, aliow- | ed the big boat to get within three | Lundred yards of him. | "The skipper, his face red with | nger, came up to the bow of the boa' | and bellowed through a megaphone | 'If you don't lay to we'll give you | something what wilt stop you." Two | of the crew brought forward what | looked Mtke a small cannon, and the: | for the first time we noted the name | 'Thiera' on the other's bow. It was | the Canadian government cutter, then doing duty on the North Shore. "Jenkins stopped the engine. 'Pu!| | {up alongside, you game-pira'e,' or- | dered the Thiera's master, 'You and | your gang are under arrest.' "Just whan things looked mighty uncomfortable, though none of us | could imagine what we had dene to | | merit arrest, there stepped '0 the rail |besiide the skipper, George MacDon- lald, Deputy Game Warden for On- Itarfo, a personal friend of Jenkins * 'Say, MaeDonald,' shouted the {latter, 'what the deuce does all this | nonsense mean?' "The Deputy Game Warden took a {keener look at the pirate and un- kempt writing man at the wheel of | the captured motor boat, then fairly | doubled up with laughter. He whisp- |ered something to the skipper and [the boarding officers were called back | from the ladder which they had low- ared, { 'It's all right, Charley,' he called |down to "Jenkins between outbursts of merriment. We mistook you for @ game pirate who's been snaring mocse along the North Shore and hauling them over alive for sale to | 200s in the United States. Your boat answered descriptions we had been | given of his! " 'And you'll excuse me," offered the now somewhat mollified skipper of the 'Thiera,' 'if I say that just now you look pretty much the part of a pirate yourself.' * 'Better come aboard and make sure,' invited Jenkins. * 'No thanks,' declined the skip- per. 'Give me a clearance out of here, and we'll call it a day." 5 i Gift Suggestions in New Books 'Note the Specially Attractive Feature of Each i DISTINCTIVE CANADIAN PUBLICATIONS God's Green Country », eras. a. caarmax Here is a story about people you know, and just as fresh as newly- i| picked daisies, depicting ey conditions in Canada. It introduces one of our agricultural colleges, the work of provincial governments along agricultural lines, and also shows the Woman's Institute's place in the 'rural field. With it all is a Junitg and healthy love story which carries the interest all through. $2.00. The Man in the Twilight »; reweLr furrvn Canadian pulpwood, with a fight for moral and business supremacy, fo the basis for this new Canadian story, the strongest Cullum acne It carries an abundance of excite- ment and adventure, passion and romance. $2.00. The Real Robert Burns ™ }*58 Not verse, this, but a character and life' study which places Burns before us in a light very different to that in which most of us under- stand him. A revelation to most Burns' lovers. os od . Peregrine's Progress A FARNOL Back to the "Broad Highway" type of novel Farnol goes in this new one, with the same style and some of the same characters. Of course everyone will like it. $2.00. Viola Gwyn By GEORGE 3 BARR Me¢CUTCHEON Everybody likes Mec- Cutcheon, and here is a new story quite as fascinating and enthralling as "Graustark." $2.00. Pippin By ARCHIBALD MARSHALL Marshall at his best --a delightful, Eng- lish country-life story. Clean, sweet and cultured. $2.00, 4 Charles Rex Br BEL M. DELL There is a new moral quality in this new Dell book which raises it just a shade above the others. You know how your lady friends liked them. $2.00, Mr. Lloyd Geor 8¢ Er. RAYMOND A frank, striking treatment of the great states- man by the author of "Uncensored Celebri- ties." $4.00. My Life and Some Letters By MRS. PATRICK CAMPBELL An intimate discus managers, playrights and men of letters Profuwely illustrated. $5.00. The Outline of Science Edited by PROFESSOR J. ARTHUR THOMPSON The comprehensive story, in language a child can understand; profusely illustrated in black and white and colored plates, of the development of the main scientific ideas from the earlier theories to the standpoints of to-day. One of the finest gifts for a family, school or Py. Four volumes; $5.00 per volume. Ovington's Bank By STANLEY y J. WEYMAN If you remember "Under the Red Robe" and other stirring romances, 'you will want this new one of Weyman(s. Your friend will welcomes .t gladly. $2.00, sion of actors, actresses, of a brilliant generation. Get These From Your Bookseller The Ryerson Press PUBLISHERS TORONTO ' "The Crystal Globe, Glossop. (Oldham's Pre. This exciting story | mysticism and torture ' the attempt of the powe: of the Yellow Leaf by Reginald ss, London), of Chinese rful society to recover Its deals with |! EE -- a ORE EP Le Premier Books of the Year THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF WALTER HINES PACE most prized possession, the Crystal Globe. Two mandarins of the socio- ty are delegated to trace the foreign devil who has taken fit. The trail leads to Dane Court, England. "Bill the Bachelor," by Dents Mackall. (Thomas Allen.) Bill is a young English gentleman who, unlike the majority of tranu- Atlantic heroes. is engaged 'in trade." He is also, for much of the time, almost engaged to the charm- ing Honorable Leslie. He 48 im- mensely likeable himself, always do- ing the most surprising and yet ah- surdly natural things, and the wholo story fairly ripples with humor. The "Manchester Guardian" calls th's story "The most enjoyable popular novel published since the war." Me. Mackail already has two charming novels to his credit, 'What Next?" and "Romance to the Rescue." Ovington's Bank--by Stanley J. Weyman, (Ryerson Press.) 1 It is pleasant to see the name ¥ Weyman back in the lists again. In| this novel this master of historical! romance gives us a splendid tale of | adventure in which he sketches most | vividly the 'struggle of progress against tradition of county and com- merce in the life of the early nine- teenth century. Adventure, love and commerce are blended in admirable style. : The Three Lovers--by Prank Swinnerton. (Ryerson Press.) In this story one of the greatest English stylists of the day tells the story of a girl's'adjustment to a lite | with which she Is entirely unfamiliar and of her struggle for the love of | three men who are attracted to her and to whom she feels herself at- . AMERICAN FICTION By BURTON J], HENDRICK "I have never read anything that can compare with them. They are destined to become classics." Col. Edward M. House. "Two Volumes in Set Price..........$10.00 net CERTAIN PEOPLE OF IMPORTANCE By Kathleen Norris "Kathleen Norris is the only writer since Dickens to successfully take up an obscufe family of plain people and carry them down through five gener- ations." Price .......... $2.00 net FOURSQUARE By Grace 8. Richmond Her great story, "Red Pepper Burns," lifted her name into the ranks of most popular and finished story-tellers. Foursquare is modelled on the same powerful pattern. Price ........ $1.75 net CANADIAN FAIRY TALES By Cyrus Macmillan Illustrations in color The tales in this collection were gathered in ous parts of Canada--by river and lake and ocean sailors and fishermen still wateh the stars; in forest clearings where lumbermen yet retain some remnant of the old vanished voyageur life, and where Indians still barter for their furs; in remote country places where women spin while they speak with reverence of their fathers' days. Price ......... $3.50 net EMILE COUE The Practice of AUTO SUGGESTION Explained, Simplided and Interprted b Zinines Broo, ap (4 / With the idance of this book you can easi a h ast of the method with which Dy Teas has electrified the Price ..........$1.00 net world. AT ALL BOOK STORES S. B. GUNDY, TORONTO \ Zip City." In its reproductions of | thet Miss Willa Cather has pro- Babbitt, by Sinclar Lewis (Geo Mcleod), 3 re This is the outstanding story ¢his season in the United States. . 1s exciting even more discussion than (McClelland & Stiwart.) "Every mother Is a judge who sentences the children for the sins ¢f th father." This theory, propound- ed by Marion Yaveriand to her som, Richard, {8 the keynote of Rebecca i g American slang as used in offices, | duced a really great novel in "One cafes, conventions, and smoking cars [of Ours." It Is a story of Nebraska it makes very amusing reading. On | farm Hfe, depicting the epiritual the whole, however, this. novel is struggles of a young Hemilét of the open to serious criticlem for its fail- | prairies Hig home and college lide, ure to recognize the existence of the | his love affair and unhappy married & spar is thrown by the sea into the {arms of a big farmer, Swinsco. The story is mainly that of the boy and | his foster brother, of their growth, | loves, schemes, and fights, with the gigantic sea ever just beyund the hu. | i i § i : i 2 '§ | § 5 f s fi,82¢ fifgdl; 88 i fi i man figures and playing its part tol the drama. "Ann and Her Mother" by 0. Douglas. (Hodder and Stoughton. ' West's novel, a tale full of human experience and r'.h with the genlus ard vivid personality of the author. The setting of the book is vivia, in Edinburgh and on the shores of better side of American Mfe, One of Ours, by Wilts Cather (Msemfilan) Competent crities in the United life are depicted with remarkable power. The latter part of the bool describes his adventures as a soMier fn the American army. 'I wish to recommend this volume as one of the i {Continued on Page 34.) £ A story of a woman's life--an ors | the Thames. States are of the unanimous opinion So? { aR