Abstract
THE “notes” in the first of these two books do not embody the results of a very wide experience. They simply record some observations made by the author in the course of a nine months' tour round the world. “Wanderer” does not, however, pretend to offer an exhaustive account of any of the subjects on which he touches. He has an easy, pleasant style, and gives with some vividness his first impressions of the scenes he describes. The greater part of the book relates to New Zealand, the practical, commercial, and social aspects of which he had, he thinks, more and better opportunities of studying than are obtainable by the majority of “globetrotters.” There is a short but interesting chapter on the Maoris, of whose qualities, as they have been affected by contact with civilization, “Wanderer” has no very exalted opinion. He admits, however, that there are exceptions to what he calls “the average of uselessness.” One of the native members of the House of Representatives is, he says, “highly educated, intelligent, and even eloquent.” The question whether women should be admitted to the House was lately discussed, and the speech of this deputy on the subject was “by far the most brilliant and entertaining of a debate in which many colonial legislators soared above the ordinary level of dull mediocrity.”
Antipodean Notes.
By "Wanderer." (London: Sampson Low, 1888.)
Lights and Shadows of Melbourne Life.
By John Freeman. (Same publishers.)
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[Book Reviews]. Nature 38, 29 (1888). https://doi.org/10.1038/038029a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/038029a0