The Observer from London, Greater London, England • 9

THE OBSERVER, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 1930. 9 mnQHID longmans successes oiHriTiirj WILLIAM WATSON. THIRTY YEARS OF REFORM." A CANCELLED LORD MAYOR'S SHOW. SIR ERNEST BENN'S A NEGLECTED POET. BEAUTY AND A NEW BOOK BY CHERRY KEARTON THE ISLAND OF PENGUINS THE STRANGE EVENTS OF 1830.

ACCOUNT RENDERED (1900-30)." 'THE DUKE" A5D THE CITY. With 90 Illustration 10s. 6d. net Moved by the serious state of the times and the economic plight of the country. Sir timammmtamamnmm THE LONGER DAYG By tke Author of ms8 TIVERTON GOES OCT," MORNING POST It a very cltvtrly dem a booh of amsidtrabl charm, and hai the pUaumx deliberation of more leisurely times in its grace and style LORDS "RED LATTICE By CATHERINE DODD The chronicles of an ancient house Lancashire and the family oho lived in it for five hundred years, told in the author's mast delicate manner.

It is a story in the ttylt of Miss DodtTs THE FARTHING SPINSTER and THREE SILENCES SPLEEN (3rd Imp.) By OLIVE MOORE H. M. TOMLINSON A piece of excellent work- It is created as spontaneous and free as a healthy natural growth Some of the comments in the book's long swift play of thought have that deranging candour ahick might be innocence and might be diabolic in its cunning not easy to say tofa'cA. WELL DON El" (By Ronald amp be 1 1 Maefie.) Song; no bauble; Slight not the songsmith, England, my mother, Maker of men." A man is known by the company he keeps, and the neglect of William Watson during Ihe last three decades is a damning indictment of literary and intellectual England of the twentieth century. A poet who has given new and lasting lustre to Ene- 0 E.

F. 1 BENSON AS WE 0 WERE 18. net THIRD PRINTING 4 4 i 4 4 BWiiMtrviiiKiaBiiKiininiiBiiaiiiBnBiiiiiiniiMiiKiiMimHiBiniiiaiiiKiniMiiniH land is to-day a blot on England's escutcheon; a poet who should be the pride of living Englishmen is to-day their condemnation. It cannot be denied that the declension in the popularity of William Watson Indicates a declension in aesthetic standards and intellectual values. Wisely did Dante, who, too, had to climb steep stairs, and eat bitter bread," remark that 'Tis man's ancient whim that still his like seems good to him." To-day-Parnassus is over-run with trippers who take more interest in gramophones and banjos than in high art.

To-day the successful poet, surrounded by his trumpeters, brazenly declaims his verses through a speaking trumpet. How much Watson's unpopularity has been due to ignorance, how much to envy, how much to resentment against him for his criticism of cheap verse, it would be CM. ENGLAND UNDER TREVELYAN blVnHEIM 'iins week-end is the hundredth anniver--ary of a unique incident In the history of the Lord Mayor's Show the cancellation, of the event for fear of civil disturbance. Sunday. November 7, 183(1.

was spent in anxious consultations between Ministers and the members of the City Entertainments Committee as to the intentions of d-5perate and abandoned characters on the following Tuesday, and the sequel was one from which nobody ot any satisfaction, except, perliars. the gossip and doyfe'erel writers. was the month vhen the Ministry which two years later passed the Reform Bill came into power, and the tri-colour of discontent was often to be seen on the streets. The Corporation had invited not only The King and Queen, but the whole fioyal Family and yreat peisonages of the rr-alm to dinner at the tluiidhall on the Jill, but, as the event approached. Sir John Key, the Lord Mayor-elect, grew increasingly iinxejus as to Die possibilities of dis-uirbance among a crowd of people lining Hie route to the City at night tune.

It was not so much hostility 10 the King that lit- feared, as an attack on the Duke of Wellington, ho. at the opening of Parliament in (he preceding week, had expressed hts unswerving opposition Heform. On tin? morning, alarmed by the latrt rumutir to reach his ears, he dispatched to the Duke an urgent letter saying ti i at, while all of any respectability were vyinfr wilh each other to show itieir loyally to the King. 1 learn that it is the intention of some desperate characters to take the opportunity of making an attack on your Grace on your approach to Die hall." He added his opinion thai the civil force alone might not be sufficient, and tin- Duke should come strongly gu aided ROVAI, VISIT CANCELLED. Three tunes that Sunday the Entertainments Committee consulted Sir Robert Peel, the Home Secretary.

They hoped the Government would nut Irnrms rilnnfr rhe In. a 21 a. net Ernest Benn, the author of The Confessions of a Capitalist," explores in an Important new book to be published next week under the title Account Rendered 1.1900-1930!." Die vast ramifications of modern social reform polities, which have crippled the individual by official tutelage and hampered trade by interminable and wearisome restrictions." What 1 have attempted to do." he said yesterday in an interview with a representative or The Obsehveb, is to estimate the moral and material cost of the new ideas expressed in the political activities of Great Britain during the last thirty years. One frequently hears that there is nothing to choose between the political parlies that one is as bad as another, that one costs as much as another and there is a great deal of truth in that suggestion. If yuu couid summarise the public opinion of all shades it would be seen that it is founded upon a vague suspicion that something which is variously described as a system, capitalism, private enterprise, lalssez (aire, has failed to give us what we want, and that therefore some sort of legislation is necessary lo put things right.

Having got so far, public opinion begins to divide Some people favour pensions, others tariffs, and others again great development schemes, but all of them unite on the common ground that political action of one kind or another is necessary, or advisable, or beneficial. POLITICAL INTERFERENCE." Now, I believe there is a fundamental fallacy in this way of thinking, which I suggest has developed in the last thirty-years. The truth as I see it is that freedom and economy never fail to lift us higher and higher, and that the shortcomings of which we complain the absence of houses, the shortage of employment, the difficulties with coal, and so on have been brought about by political interference. This interference works In two ways First of all it takes from the pockets of the people the money which. If left therej.

would multiply and fructify; and then it operates to slop activities in all directions by rules and regulations, which also prevent the natural growth, such as characterised the nineteenth century. Account Rendered is not an attack on the Socialists, for they to me are the logical outcome of that section of both the older partiee which believes in social reTorm by Act of Parliament. We are suffering to-day not from what the Socialists have done that account has still to be rendered but from all the activities of all the well-meaning politi FOURTH PRINTING RECOMMENDED BY THE BOOK SOCIETY VAGABOND By ELSIE PAIN DAILY NEWS Who can govern hot Byromc youth This story is fuller fare and has been more intensely imagined than most novels of its kind Th NATURAL MOTHER By DOMINIQUE DUNOIS (FEMJNA PJUZB NOVEL AND THE BOOK GUILD ETHEL MANNIN I recommend it to everybody oho likes a story about real things. It it profoundly moving and convincing. The courageous figure of Georgette, wilh her simplicity and her toarm, deep, animal love, stands out vsith a kind of grandeur.

It is a very fine and beautiful story TRUMPET in the DUCT By GENE FOWLER The study of a brilliant and complex personality from earliest conscious remembrance to middle age. The author has given a full-sized and tremendously interesting portrait of a man. Brilliant, credible and altoays fascinating imiinmiiBsf J. L. and Barbara THE AGE OF THE HAMMOND CHARTISTS I832-I854 difficult to say, but the fact remains that he has lived in obscurity for thirty years, while dozens of poetasters have postured in the limelight of self-advertisement and Press fame.

i But even to-day there still live critics and lovers of poetry uncorrupted by 1 modern decadence, and without exception they must agree with me that "Watson has written great and Immortal poems. From whatever standpoint, by whatever criterion Watson's work is Judged, it is great. It has dignity, lucidity, intellectual force, imagination, and beauty. Watson has the sonority and sublimity of a Milton, and the exquisite finish of a Virgil or a Gray. He has the intellectual vigour of a Pope or Dryden his epigrams are brilliant, and his poems on Burns, Wordsworth, and Shelley ere not onlj great poetry, but valuable literary criticism.

He has the jewelled line and carven phrase of Tennyson such lines as these might be by that great master: She asked for all things and dominion such As never man had known. The gods first gave, then lightly, touch by touch, O'erthrew her seven-hilled throne. Imperial Power, that hungerest for the globe, Restrain thy conquering feet, Leflt the same Fates that spun thy purple robe Should weave thy winding sheet. A lucid thinker, with wide horizons, he does not, like some modern versifiers, mistake incoherency for wisdom, or muddi-ness for depth. His depth is the luminous depth of clear water on a sunny day, and when he ventures into dark places his 12a.

8d. nat of at 0 m. Sir Robert gave A STUDY OF DISCONTENT aiiiiiiiiiiMikViiBiwiav ALEXANDER WILSON THE DEATH of Dr. WHITELAW ALTAI HIMALAYA By NICHOLAS ROERICH Nicholas Rotrieh, world-renowned Russian artist-philosopher, who Has been recognised for thirty-five years as one of the greatest figures in Continental art and culture, writes a travel diary of his journeys through the mystical lands of India Tibet, Chinese Turkestan and Siberia. The book is beautifully produced and is illustrated from the exquisite paintings of the author 7a.

6d. net iru-iii a message uiey nan not bargained for, viz thai In' had oil vised heir Majesties not to go at all. Next day Sir John Key went one further and caused the. following notice to be pisted Notice is herebv given that the Right Honourable the Lord Mayor will not have any public procession to-morrow, and that there will be no entertainment given at Die Guildhall The effect ds electrical. Consols dropped three poiu's within an hour and a half, the were thronged with people ta'king in bated breath as to what mischief was afoot.

It was whispered that, while the Lord Mayor's procession was to have been undisturbed, in the. evening the philters had intended to barricade Temp Bar. to close the approaches to the bridges, to eul the gas pipes, and then, under cover of darkness, to loot the City. But the Common Councilmen were agreed that Sir John had yielded to panic, and that it was a reflection on the Citv to suggest that it oould not keep the peace. At 2 30 pm.

they assembled in the council room, while a big crowd wailed outside, and demanded to hold a snenal meeting A NEW THRILLER I thought is as vivid as a lightning flash on cal iciui uieia 01 me tast mirty years. THE ROAD TO BANKRUPTCY. Account tendered endeavours lo summarise what has happened since we first absorbed the notion as a nation that we could make wealth by votes; and the Bill, as I make it up, shows that we are on the very verge of bankruptcy. The National Debt, which we fondly imagine to be 7,000.000.000. as made up by any accountant who will prepare a true statement of our liabilities, ie nearer 25,000,000.000.

Having made what I can of my case from the story of thirty yeare, I endeavour to support it by a section devoted to the decline and fall of Rome, and offer quotations from authorities, ranging from Juvenal to Gibbon, which give some strik DIIIDIlin LONGMANS SUCCESSES DHIDIIID RACHEL SWETE MACNAMARA Author of Cross Roads," Cock Angel" etc. DRAGON TREE Miss Macnsmara has broken entirely new ground. Plot and setting are alike novel snd unusual. The vivid drama is enacted amid the wild loveliness of Teneriffe, and the striking figure of Parados, who dominates it, is a real creation. snd large Ixnp.

7, Ready). ing similarities Detween our condition and that of the Romans, in the early 6Utges of their decline." TITCHPIELD ABBEY. FIRST THREE IMPRESSIONS SOLD OUT FOURTH IMPRESSION NOW READY FIFTH IMPRESSION PRINTING OF FAITH BALDWIN'S widely discussed novel THE OFFICE WIFE "This fine novel Is of vital Interest to all An entertaining and charming story, thoughtfully written." Jims mxiix's wkkki.v. NANCY MORISON'S Entertaining second novel INTERESTING FINDS DURING REPAIR. NO TRAVELLER RETURNS MNE EN9LAND Author of" Skyline" etc.

A scirrina romance written in tfali author! powerful tyle, which uojfoJda itself beneath the brilliant iky of South Africa." TS VENUS LTD. H. M. E. CLAMP Author of The Sexless Trinity," etc.

MR. SCRIBBLES OLIVER 8ANOY8 Author of" Bad Lady Sally of All end happily will enjoy thl ttory which ia told in pjinff style." Edinburth B. Nrwt. 3rd Isrce Imp. TrA SHE AND I PAMELA FRANKAU Author of "Marriage of Harlequin" Three" etc Ad extnordinary book a itrangely arresting tory." Dly.

Sketch. An nnuiual lore ftory." Slur, 3rd Large imp. TS a black sky. His vocanuiary is remarkably large; he knows many noble words and finds the blossoming lonely word with surprising facility, and one could pick out hundreds of perfect lines destined to sparkle for ever on the stretched forefinger of all time. His craftsmanship is perfect.

Even as one cannot find a badly fitting word in his poems, so one cannot find imperfections in metre or rhythm. In one of his admirable talks on poetry, Mr. 1. C. Squire urges that verse should flow smoothly and naturally if spoken in speech rhythm.

That seems to me an essential of poetic art, and I wotfld point out that in that respect Watson's work is perfect, and probably equalled only by one living poet, and by Gray. If we turn to another side of poetry and appraise Watson by his metaphors and similes quite a good test of imaginative vigour we find that no poet in the English language has metaphors and similes more glowing, illuminating, and original. It has been said and there may be so hi" truth In it that he lacks colour, and temperament, and passion. His work is the work rather of a sculptor than of a color-ist; but he at least works in marble with the exquisite precision of a Praxiteles, and in gold and bronze and Wory with the sublimity and ethos of a Pheidias. Nor Is he always lacking in colour and temperament and passion.

There are plenty of lava and scoriae on his pages, and hi6 Purple East is as purple as a thunder-cloud and full of lightning. Only, he is a great poet, and passion in his hands is as law-abiding as beautv. No one, then, with any real appreciation of poetry as a high art and as a medium of intellectual and emotional expression can read Watson's poetry without wonder, admiration, and gratitude. How much the world has lost by discouraging his genius it is Impossible to say: but the writer a lesser poet with like Ideals knows too well how enthusiasm can be damrjed and lnsDlration choked by lot 'A vividly wrirren ory." Stor. "On i of pleasure by a particularly vivacious mre oat of uus novel Edinburgh E.

Nmt. oat of this novel TS Thmieh no notice had been given, arid the meeting was irregular, ihey proceeded to question Sir John as to what evidence he had acted upon, and he had to confess that he really did not know. He had sent the letter, lie said, without due thought, snd would never cease to regret it. There was taik of censuring the Lord Mayor, hut in the end the Corporation Passed a resolution expressing regret at what hail happened, and posted a notice, disavowing knowledge of any rnmratini-catinn made to the executive Government of Die inalnliiv of tin1 magistracy to pre-sene Die pefii nf the Metropolis." CAPTVRE OF TEMPLE BAR. There were certain.

some disorderly elements at work the next day or two. Late on Monday night about a thousand men, carrying a tri-coloured flag, marched down the Strand into liowning-street, and had a tussle with Peel's new police, and the next day they took possession of Temple Bar, closed the gates, and made every man in a cou who wanted lo pass Diroogli take on his hill and shout Hurrah: hich uiost of ili'iu did with the utmost leadillcss. Hut Sir John Key hrer ceased lo regret thai, afn.id of a few roughs, he missed the opporl unity of en-terlaiiung the whole Kiunily. ferrmg to the deserted that bleak November 9, a scribh'er wrote. 'Twfis dismal all and no-one waa there.

Except indeed the ginnt pair, Who had full manv a feaat Men In the bold days that once have been. Ere Ministers the State's rein tightened. And Kings were of their subjects frightened. I FLY AWAY HOME IS IN ITS SECOND IMPRESSION Very good entertainment." kvk.vim; sews. "Graphic pictures of London life." tukstih.

UNDER PERUVDAN StCDES by A HYATT VERRILL Author of" Thirty Years in the Jungle," Lost Treasures," Old Civiliwations of theNea World." Wateriest deserts and Andean heights. Modern cities and Incan ruins. Ancient civilisations that reached their zenith, fell, and were forgotten before the Trojan War. Picturesque aborigines with strange habits and customs. Lost treasures of incalculable worth.

Unusual birds and beasts. These arc few of the subjects described in the pages of this fascinating volume. With a Coloured Frontispiece and ttS Illustrations from Photographs and Dr taming i by the Author. Large demy 8vo. 21 net.

(Just Ready). JEFFERY FARNOVS New Novel HURST BLACKETT. LTD. indifference, and by ignorant, or Indolent, SALVATION ARMY OVER THE MILLS DAILY TELEGRAPH says All the Ingredients of romance are here flashing swords, hardship, courage and hairbreadth escapes provide certain enjoyment." MICHAEL SADLEIR. (Broadcasting) says: "One of the two best costume novels that have recently appeared." Titchfleld Abbey, Hants, has been scheduled as an historic monument, and is now being repaired by the Office of Works, and during the past week some interesting discoveries have been made within the Abbey precincts.

A quantity of Early English tiles has been unearthed. Though these are 600 years old, they are in splendid preservation, and are amongst the finest specimens of medieval tile-work known. Most of them are coloured and bear crests. im Une group of the tiles, which lies in its original position on the cloister lloor. inscribed.

Before you sit at table remember the poor." AJsti in the cloister and opposite the chapter-house have been unearthed the tombs of some of the eighteen abbots who ruled the bouse successively. They were interred in stone coffins, and one of them Abbot Isaac waa a giant of a man physically, for an examination of his remains proves him to have stood nearly 6 It. 6 In. high. Founded in 1JS2, Titchfleld Abbey was a house of the Augustinian Canons.

At the Dissolution it fell Into the hands of Thomas Wriothsley, first Earl of Southampton, who turned It into a residence, which he named Place House. This eventually fell into ruin and. wlttt the wails of the Abbey, was largely dsSsnantled to provide material for building Caius Hall, Fare-ham, which as erected to suit the whim of l.ady Betty Delme, a famous Regency beauty and, like most of her kind, a very extravagant and capricious lady. By succession the Abbey passed into possession of the Dukes of Portland, and thus provided the heir to that duchy with his courtesy title of Marquis ot Titchfleld. The only connection which the Portland family have now with the place is represented by some exceptionally fine family tombs In the village church, and whlctt they maintain In good preservation.

Prior to the Dissolution, Titchfleld Abbey was a house of some importance and frequently visited by reigning monarchs. Henrv left it to embark at Southampton for Aglncourt, snd in the Abbey Henry VI. was married to Margaret of Anjou. A relic of this Royal bridal still exists near the Abbev gate In the shape of a stone bridge, which the canons built to carry over a stream the procession of Henry and Margaret when they left for London. It Is still called Anjou Brtdgs," and is one ot the most interesting medieval bridges existing.

Thousands of motorists cross ft yearly without knowing anything of Its origins. Titchfleld Abbey, or Place House as it is alternatively called, is, however, a well-known landmark to motorists. It stands clos beside the main Brighton to Southampton coast road on which cars ST I CTION A CHANGES or cowardly criticism. England can never atone, tor these years of neglect and depreciation, but before the great poet leaves the country he has loved and served so well. Englishmen have at least an- opportunity to show him a little gratitude and honour gratitude and honour to the poet who, in his own words, with constant heart And with no light or careless ministry Have served what seemed the Voice; and unprofane, Have dedicated to melodious ends All of myself that least ignoble vas; to the poet who wrote of The England from whose aide have not swerved.

The immortal England whom 1 too have tn be opened tomorrow, A ronfert'tn DORAN HILL'S First novel (which has been called "A new Beloved Vagabond." nf.ws-cbrosiclev sorveo. Accounting, her all living lands above, In Justice and in Mercy and in Love. NAKED AND ALONE I JOHN LONG LTD Five Selected jf6 Novels for the Library List DEEP FURROWS by Joan Kennedy Author of "Green Harvest," "Of That lUd Soil," "Mist LavmdeV of London," The Blue of Beyond," etc. THE POISON TRAIL by Nell St. John Montague (The weU-hnotvn Society CUurvoyante).

Author of The Revelation of a Society Clatrcoyantc MEET MY FRIENDS by Leslie Beresford Pan Author of "The Impotable Marriage? "Mr. Appletm Avxtha," "A Moth at Monte," The Venus Girl," etc. THE FALCON MYSTERY by Stanley Guise Author of The Absurd Adventure," etc. MYSTERY at ANGEL'S END bv Tohn Chancellor i Eit Mildmay Conference Hall, to discuss important questions aflecting the work and constitution of the Salvation Army, i Amongst the forty-two Commissioners who 1 are to take part in the proceedings will be Commander Eva Booth, from America, i sister of the late General: Commissioner Catherine Booth, his daughter; Commissioner Yamaniuro, from Japan; Conimis- signer Muthiah, from India; and Commissioners from Australia. New Zealand.

Canada, and the Continent. Over and over again, it was recatled eslerdfiy, C.eneral Higgins has expressed view that there shouid he some i hanges; and there are three main things lo which he has pledged himself. The first is that the property and capital assets in Great Britain, instead of being held by the General for the time being as sole trustee, i shall be held by a trustee company. The second is that, instead of the future General being appointed by the present General, bv putting a name in an envelope, he shall be elected by an electoral body. And the third is that the General term of FUND OPENED.

A fund has been opened at the Midland Bank, 5, Princes-street, E.C.2. for the assistance of Sir William Watson. At the age of seventy-two," it is explained, this oldest of our living poets lies ill and in poverty." The fund will be administered by a committee consisting of Mr. Lascelles Abererombie, Mr. Arthur Machen.

and Mr. Wallace B. Nicbolls. Among the signatories to the appeal are Lord Crewe. Lord Desbo rough.

Dean Inge. Bar. Kipling, Mr. Galsworthy. Sir J.

M. Barrio, and Mr. Lloyd George. The pleasanteit kind of sentiment the sort W. j.

Locke gave us In 'The Beloved You are really taken Inside the Parisian studios, not merely peeping through the door." AYLW1N MARTIN Author of Black Blood has written a novel which we should like to put down before our blood runs cold BUT WE CAN'T." MAD INTERLUDE Love, cruelty, exotic scenery, lust, and the horrors of a negro revolt are welded together by a vivid and powerful pen into a first-rate story." nkws-c bbokk. LK swarm all the vear rouna ana is one or the points that all drivers keep on the look out Tor. as there are sharp turns on earh side of it. THE ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON CLCB. office shall not be for lite, but tnat an age shall he fixed for his retirement If, it was stated there are oilier things the Commissn iners wish to discuss full scope will be given to discuss them.

At nresent General Higgins has absolutely the As two of the slrven streets in London known as New-street an in the St. Marjle-bon ana, both beta in tha north-west postal The Karl of- Elfin will preside at the seventh dinner ot tha Robert Louis Stevenson dub, to be held at the Hotel TTil Tt on November 20. Mr. John BiichAn. M.P., will propose The Immortal Memory of SJtjJB.

Tick eta can be had from tha Hon SAMPSON LOW same powers that any General in the Salvation Army ever possessed, and he is voluntarily "offering to reduce them. He is not doing it to popularise the Army, but because be thinks it is right. Author aistnct, tne Lonnan uounij umu aas m- of "Proa," The Return of Prate," The Ladder of Oatmr Mvtterr of Norman's Court, etc. outset to at um oca on renamed Msloomhu iltsst do, aawn asas,.