Evening star., 1936-12-30
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
MARGARET GERMOND.

"Mummy's name was English,
And Daddy's name is Dutch;
And Grandmas French and German,
But 1t doesn't matter much.
Cos from all this mixture, Mummy says,
Came me her little Joy.
So I'm German French Dutch English,
Afrikaner little boy!
So runs the first verse of one of q
group Of songs composed by Miss Pattie
Price for the entertainment of her little
nephew and published in London by
Ascherberg. Hopwood e. Crew, Ltd, and
Methuen u Co., Ltd, under the title
The Afrikaner Little Boy" This song
and its companions received q senSa-
tiOnal welcome in New York and Gre
ated phenomenal demand for the lee
ture-recitals which have brought fame
and sincere admiration to their author
in Canada, in this country and in
Africa. And it has been the pleasure Of
q number Of Washingtonians during the
past week to meet this charming, blue
eyed, versatile poet-composer, who was
the guest during her visit to this city
Of Mrs. Austin Kautz.
Miss Price was born in South Africa
and has always lived there except for
an interlude In London, where she
studied music with the intention of be-
coming a pianist. 1t was while study
ing music that she learned that nature
had richly endowed her with more than
one talent. She discovered that she
could sing. and also that she possessed
q Gif fnr yyystf ING nd for.
ing. AS singer. pianist, diseuse, COM
poser and author she created a new
field In the art of cultural entertainment
that found expression In interpretations
OF the children's classics OF many lands.
and which has won for her the high
esteem and affection of thousands OF
people in England, Africa, Canada and
the United States.
1t has been something Of q hobby Of
Miss Prices to study the children Of all
lands, and In her own country particu-
larly has she been a devoted observer
Of the interests, habits and pleasures OF
the youngsters Of every nook and corner
OF South Africa. Her own sketches, pre-
Sented in the present volume of delight
ful songs, reflect her deep insight into
and her keen appreciation of the life
OF that country from the European, as
well as from the native, point of view.
There Is a fascination about these
Sketch-Songs which kindles a desire to
make the acquaintance of the little
nephew on farm in South Africa for
whom they were originally written Miss
Price, however. possesses a quantity of
that very large wisdom which is sell
dom found in the kingdom of aunts and
grandmstherS. She believes that it would
not be good for him to know that any
body else in the world has heard them.
He loves the songs because they tell
OF events with which he is familiar
And that she believes, is for the present
quite sufficient. She has no intention of
letting him know that in the buStling,
bewildering, far-away world of song and
entertainment he is an utterly charming
little hero
Ten songs are included in the volume,
each one relating some incident in the
life Of the "Afrikaner little boy" or some
of his associates. The chief characters
are his father, his mother, Hans" the
farm manager; "Jim," the Zulu head
boy" on the farm; Christmas, Jim's
little piccanin. and "Japie," his little
dog.
Jim is the title of one song, in which
the praises of that worthy fountain
head Of knowledge are sung. Christ
mas" is the subject of another, which is
far too delightful in its expression OF
martyrdom and envy to pass by with
mere mention. Three illustrations of
the little black-skinned playmate, clad
in narrow band Of fringe, give addi-
tional realism to the woeful plant:
when I'm all dressed up
For going to Town
With my socks pulled up
And my collar turn'd down
And know I'm wearing
An ugly frown,
Cos feel as if Town wasn't worth it!
For my coats all thick
An hot, you see,
My shoes are tight
An my neck isn't free,
An Christmas" stands and grins at me,
With nearly nothin' on!
He doesn't have to wash his face,
Or brush his hair,
Or tie his lace.
And think of how lovely to run race,
With nearly nothin' on!
He sits about
In the sun all day.
With nothin' to do
But think and play,
And watch the chickens don't run away,
With nearly nothin' on!