48o 



IHE KEVIEW OF KEVIEWS. 



occupants. The manner is discursive, sometimes 

 flippant, and the sort of Tit-Bits style reminds the 

 reader of a visit to some beautiful sanctuary, where 

 the guide who had to be followed hastened on rapidly 

 with a breathless description which left but little 

 impression. However, thcrf is no time limit with a 

 book in which, with the help of an index, one can dip 

 here and there at one's own sweet will. The 

 engravings are a great addition. 



The Indian Scene. By J. A. Spender. 

 (Methuen. 3s. 6d. net.) 



The editor of the Westminster Gazette went in his 

 professional capacity to the igii Durbar, and has 

 here recorded his impressions of a memorable visit. 

 His story opens with all the verve and joyousness 

 of a boy set free from school. He journeys on with 

 the trained ej-e of the observant journalist, and records 

 his observations with the open mind and sympathetic, 

 temperate criticism which would be expected from Mr. 

 Spender. The thoughts of such an "outsider" are 

 worth careful attention; perhaps the gist of them may 

 be gathered from this quotation : — 



" To the traveller in India the surprising thing 

 is not that there should be unrest, but that there should 

 ever be any rest. When he realises the vast number 

 of the inhabitants, their differences in race, creed, 

 and language, the high degree of intelligence and 

 the subtlety of mind with which large numbers of 

 them are endowed, he wonders only how it is possible 

 to find governing formulas for them all. He will 

 see more beautiful faces in a morning's walk in an 

 Indian bazaar than in any European city, and he will 

 be charmed by the grace and courtesy of the common 

 folk. . . . However this may be, one does get the 

 impression in India that to rule these people per- 

 manently must be an intellectual and imaginative 

 effort of a high order, for which no police, however 

 vigilant, and no army however strong, can in the long 

 run be a substitute." 



Among the Congo Cannihah. By John H. 

 Weeks. (Seeley Service. i6s. net.) 



There is material for more than one romance in this 

 unvarnished and unprejudiced account of the Boloki 

 and other Congo tribes by a man who has lived thirty 

 years in their midst. From the pictures one would 

 judge the natives described to be healthy, clean-limbed, 

 and fairly intelligent. The chapter on the language 

 is interesting, the construction being alliterative; the 

 folk-lore stories will also please the general render. 

 In short, there is a mine of information of every kind 

 in these closely-packed pages. 



15,0110 Milc^ in a Ketch. By Cnptain R. dii 

 Baty. (Nelson. 2S. net.) 



The attraction of this story of a French sailor, who 

 crossed the Atlantic and sailed southwards to the 

 Antarctic seas in a 25-ton boat, can well be imagined. 

 Captain du Haty spent eighteen months on the almost 

 unknown island of Kerguclen seal fishing, and finally 

 landed in Melbourne, a brilliant feat of seamanship. 

 There are plenty of funny incidents as well as bravely- 

 liorne suffering. Moreover, the journey was not under- 

 taken in a spirit of bravado, but in the cause of science. 



Tlie Brenner Pass. By Constance Leigh Clare. 

 (Century Pres.s. 6s.) 



This is largely a compilation from many German 

 works, together with the experience gained by twenty 

 visits to the Tyrol. It begins With an account of the 

 importance of the Brenner as the lowest pass in the 



Eastern Alps, and thus the natural link between the 

 north and the south, and goes on to give a most inte- 

 resting description of the many Tirol valleys, well 

 known and little known, also including many of the 

 stories which have been traditional in those valleys. 

 The Passeierthal, the place of Andreas Hofer's birth, 

 gives occasion for the history of his times, perhaps 

 the most momentous in the story of Tirol. The book 

 is charmingly illustrated by drawings and water- 

 colours. 



Things Seen in Palestine. By A. Goodrich- 

 Freer. (Seeley and Co. 2s. net.) 



A most delightful little volume, giving just the infor- 

 mation most people would like to have and refuting 

 many of the odd ideas we have of that country. For 

 instance, it is said that probably there are not more 

 than three score Turks in Jerusalem, that women have 

 much freedom and are held in honour, etc. There are 

 no fewer than 50 fine pictures. 



Adventures in Southern Seas. By Richard 

 Stead. (Seeley and Co. 5s.) 



A series of descriptions of the inhabitants of the 

 Southern Sea Islands, from Fiji to Madagascar, their 

 wars, manners, customs, etc. 



Through Dante's Land. By Mrs. Colquhoun 

 Grant. (John Long. 12s. 6d. net.) 



A brightly written and interesting account of a delight- 

 ful holiday spent in Italy. The illustrations are 

 numerous and beautiful, and the four characters intro- 

 duced. Sir Mark Revel and his young half-sister 

 Persis, who went abroad to escape from the winter 

 fogs and gloom of England, and the two .Americans 

 they met travelling in a barroccino del lattaio, or 

 milkman's cart, give the book a living interest. 



HUMOUR. 



A Book of Famous Wits. By Walter Jerrold. 

 (Methuen. 7s. 6d. net.) 



The compiler of this capital collection says in his 

 preface that Man " may be also described as an ane,-- 

 dote-loving animal." The good things given here for 

 his delectation are a sort of anecdote-history of wits 

 from the days of Elizabeth to Oscar Wilde. Of course, 

 like champagne, jests orrce exposed to the air become 

 somewhat flat, and like sweetmeats should not be 

 swallowed in large quantities, but placed on the library 

 bookshelf ready to hand when needed no one could 

 find a better tonic for melancholy than Foote and 

 •Sheridan, Quin, Baron, Dr. Fell, and the others of 

 this company. Shakespeare wrote that a jest's pros- 

 perity lies in the ears of those who hear it, and he 

 must be a dull fellow who cannot relish the answer 

 of Quin to an offended man who exclaimed, " Mr. 

 Ouin, I understand, sir, you have been taking away 

 my name." He was asked, "What have I said, sir? " 

 " Vou, you called me a scoundrel!" "Well, sir, 

 keep your name," answered the actor. 



The Holiday Round. By A. A. Milne. 



(Methuen. 6s.) 

 London Lavender. By E. V. Lucas. (Methuen. 



6s.) 



These charming books, by contributors to Punch, are 

 delightful for an occasional leisure half-hour. 

 Though in the form of a novel, neither comes 

 exactly under that description. Mr. Milne's sketches 



