Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1905-09-06
Books, BOokish
People and Things
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


Charles ScriDner's Sons, New York.
sl.25 net.
The well known author of THE Lit
tie Shepherd of Kingdom Come" has
written an exceedingly readable lac-
count Of his experiences as a war cor
respondent in the Far East.
after seven months my spoils Of
war we're post-mortem battlefelds.
Wounded convalescents in hospitals, de-
serted trenches, a few graves and one
Russian prisoner In a red shirt"
Mr.. Fox wrote his book on the field
and he says: Were to re-write these
articles, I should doubtless temper both
word and spirit here and there; but
as my feeling at the time was sincere.
natural and justified, and as there is,
believe, no overstatement Of the facts
that caused 1t, and as the articles were
written without malice or the least
desire to get event let them go.
as written, into book form now"
The personal note" for which the
author apologies, is the only thing
that makes the book worth reading.
Without that pleasant snap of indivi-
dual aeration the account would be
like soda water when the gas has es.
capped.
Mr.. Fox left Virginia and came West.
ward reaching San Francisco at last,
as travellers will. Still west for seven
days and the author touched our
shores:
Two pictures only carried away Of
the many hoped to see-the Hawaiian
swimmers, bronzed and perfect as sta
tues, who floated out to meet us and
dive for coins, and crowd Of little
yellow fellows, each on the swaying
branch OF the monkey pod tree, black
hair shaking in the wind, white teeth
flashing, faces merry, and mouths
stretched wide with song"
"Hardships Of the Campaign" and
Lingering In Toxic" are the titles OF
two most entertaining chapters about
the japanese and their ways. Although
Mr.. Fox did not like the Hawaiians he
was much taken with the Japanese
girls and carried on quite Irritation
with little Kamura-san whom he has
immortalized.
Making for Manchuria" and the
chapters that follow are not only high
ly amusing but they give one true
insight into the japanese methods Of
treating war correspondents. And
the way Mr.. Fox and his associates
witnessed actual fighting reminds one
OF Mark Twain's account of French
duelling.
THE Guardsman said Whose
shells?' I don't know said the
Guardsman. AS a matter of fact, those
shells were so far away that we could
not tell whether they were Russian or
Japanese, whether they were coming
towards us or going away But we
could count them, and. of course, that
was great profit and fun.
80, while the battle ragged, we fear
lessly strolled around the hillside or
sat in groups and told stories. and one
dare devil Of a correspondent, made
reckless by the perils we had passed,
deliberately turned his back to the
fight and calmly read newspaper"
While Mr.. Fox sympathized with the
prO-Japanese" than he lever touched
foot on the shores OF the little island"
he was shocked and thrilled to see
white man in the hands of a man OF
somewhat darker complexion:
I'm one cart sat man in n red
Shirt with white handkerchief tied
over his head and under his chin.
Facing him was bearded Japanese
with musket between his knees.
The man in the red shirt YEARLY turn
ed his face. 1t was young, smooth
shaver and white. The thrill was that
the man was the first Russian prisoner
we had seen-the shock that among
those yellow faces was captive with
skin like ours. couldn't help feel
ing pity and shame-pity for him and
shame for myself that needn't ex-
plain. It's no use. Blood Is thicker
than water-or anything else-in the
end"
Such sight would make a man
feel hathaway, but so far as Mr.. Fox
Is personally concerned, would the
shock have been equally great to him
II he had seen a white man sitting W
the side Of his black brother eating.
say his tiflin?
OF Manchuria an observation Is
made: "Here is the absence of that
insistent plague-that disgusts the
sensitive nose in Japan. The fragrant
summertime would have been a satire
II It had been written in Japan.
But there is no charm here as there
Is everywhere in Nature and Man in
Japan. Besides, the Chinese, here at
least, are filthy in person and in their
homes-the smell OF the Chinaman IS
positively acrid-while the Japanese
are beyond doubt the very cleanliest
people In the world"
Why does Mr.. Fox say ian Hawai-
LAM"
With the exception Of one or two I'M
important slips such as calling beri-