The Minneapolis journal., 1904-08-27
NEWS OF THE BOOK WORLD
Pleasing Romance Of the Roer War by
One Of the Roer Observation-Disclosures Pic.
ture OF tho Struggle Given With the
Adventures OF a Young Commandments
The Lessor o! an irrevocable Mistake.

What world wanderer a book reviewer
IS! Yesterday he may have followed some,
adventurous souls thru frozen Alaska in
the dead OF winter; today he is with the
Boers In their last fight for liberty; to-
morrow he may be off in Mars or some
where in the milky way under the spell
of some new romance Of two worlds or Of
the Infinite universe.
But today The Uneasy Chair is with the
Boers In the war with England. The au-
thor magician, under whose spell he thus
dehes the flight of time and outspeeds
express trains and fleet ships, is Ben J.
VilJocn, late assistant commander general
of the Tralsvaal burgher forces who
works his magic In Under the VerkIeur, a
book that Is something more than a chron-
1cle Of happenings to few Beers, pos
sessing. as it does, considerable literary
merit. 1t Is in brief the story of young
Boer who becomes commandant, and
thru the exigencies of war is parted from
the girl he loves. He is desperately
wounded. rccovers, but is held prisoner,
escapes. leads !, commando into Cape Col
ony. is wounded, 'recaptured and then
courtmartialed and sentenced to be shot.
And then
The picture the author gives, besides
being pretty story from a romantic point
Of view. is valuable as showing the con-
ditions In the Boer republics and the fine
spirit that actuated the burghers during
the struggle. Very naturally there is a
disposition on the part of the author to
color The acts Of the British darkly and
those of the Eoers in brighter hues. On
the whole, however, the author is quite
ldtspassionate and impartial. His main
obsect seems 20 be to tell the story of his
| chief Characters, not to awaken sympa-
| thy for a lost cause. But just because he
has told story of more than usual in
terest he does awaken sympathy for the
~ e>,, ~. I. u.
who was a pro- Britisher and who still
believes that British rule in South Africa
will prove benefcent who writes this. SO
| the confession is worth something.
| 1t did seem harsh and cruel to court
martial and shoot men who had been fight
ing for their liberty. That is what the
author makes out the British did, and we
must accept his word, not having time
to verify his statement But cruel meas
ures are necessary in war times, and the
courtmartial was one of the means the
British took to break up the guerilla war
| fare which marked the closing period OF
the war, after the British had made forn1a
republics and were beyond doubt their
masters. The story Of one of these mill
tary executions Is told thus in the words
| of a British hospital attendant:
/! Wy, sir, they captured i'm when e was sick
with fever, and tried i'm within week. They
i ,ad to carry Inn both before the courtmartlal
and to the grave. The two who to i'old
i'm up refuses to stand in front of the bullets
and small blame to EN-, says 1. Nor wouldn'1
(. "A done it, neither So they sets i'm in
chire. with is eyes tied up. Hi wasn't there
but Hi eared that e asked to be allowed tt
stand be'ind the chire and 'old to it, and tt
I ave lis eyes unbandaged. But they wouldn't le
I i'm. Hand 80 e died.
! General Viljoen is at present in st
Louis, as president Of the South African
Boer War Exhibition company, which Is
presenting at the Louisiana Purchase ex
position a reproduction Of scenes Of Boel
life and the battles Of the recent war.