SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
[Under This heading we notice such Books of the week as hare not been teemed for review in other forms.1 The Lady Next Door. By Harold Begbie. illustrated. (Hod- der and Stoughton. 6s.)—Mr. Begbie is not a great prophet, yet he is more than a ranting preacher ; he is not a great politician, but he is better than the party hacks who pose as such. The fact that he is devoid of historical and critical senses diminishes the value of this treatise upon Ireland, which is really an orgy of emotionalism. Nothing so prosaic, for instance, as agricultural co-operation appeals to Mr. Begbie. Rural Ireland charmed him; therefore it is perfect. His strong prejudices against the Roman Church vanished into thin air. His single tour convinced him that the "English garrison" knows nothing of the country in which it has dwelt for generations. He naively makes it plain how an earnest Catholic Home Ruler of brilliant intellect, whose personality is thinly veiled as "the little Bishop," could entirely "sweep him off his legs." Mr. Begbie's conclusion is that he longs to see Home Rule, because areland is mainly a " natural" country tied to one made artificial by industrialism ; but if he belonged to Belfast he would be a Unionist, because an industrial town is likely to gain by the " social" legislation of England. His appalling picture of the conditions of labour in Belfast has aroused controversy elsewhere, and the stern Protestantism of the Churches is naturally repugnant to Mr. Begbie's warm heart. He encourages us to believe that on the whole religious intoler- ance is dying out, but does not see that this points to a weaker demand for Home Rule. He is so repelled by economics that he would not wish to be credited with a valuable work in that direc- tion ; nor can we ascribe political value to the book. Ifistor) makes us fear that the nation which remains for ever " natural,' in the phrase of to-day, will have to be called stagnant to-morrow. Yet after all the times are materialistic enough, and one must sympathize with the spirit that can despise the desire to gain the whole world at the price of the soul. But though industrialism may be called money-grubbing, and the peace of pastoral life gives more chance of cherishing the soul, the extremes are both bad. Mr. Begbie would sweep industrialism from the earth. To mitigate its evils while preserving its benefits does not occur to him.
Previous page
