220 REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS 



China The Mysterious and Marvellous. By Victor Murdock. New 



York, Fleming H. Revell Co. 

 The desire of this visitor to China was to give a description of 

 the country to those at home, "No man can be sure' that he has given 

 in print the impression he intended, but I have tried to get China 

 to you just as China came to me, through my eyes, ears and nose." 

 The reader will admit he has done this. It has many merits not the 

 least being vivid and realistic description. It has no permanent value 

 however, for there is no attempt to study the institutions of the 

 Chinese and probe into their peculiar qualities and the nature of their 

 civilization. It is simply a description of things he saw as he went 

 up the Yangtse into Ssu Chiian. And so far it will be read with, 

 pleasure by those who desire to have an outside knowledge of China 

 and the Chinese. He only saw what every traveller sees. A difference 

 perhaps would lie in the manner of description. For here we are in 

 the choppy sea of American slang in an unusual degree. The language 

 too is much exaggerated, of which a good example may be had in 

 page 45 in the account of No. 1 Boy. Some incorrect statements 

 are made such as the age of the child ten years in page 58; and this 

 "The Chinese will not rescue drowning persons on the Yangtse" (page- 

 65). What then about the red boats which save hundreds every year. 

 The author's opinion is that the doctrines of Jesus Christ and demo- 

 cracy are the foremost elements in the world. These must leaven 

 East and West. If not then there is coming an industrial war which 

 will shake the world. 



It is a handsome volume well illustrated. 



Democracy and the Eastern Question. The Problem of the Far East 

 as Demonstrated by The Great War, and Its Kelation to the 

 United States of America. By Thomas F. Millard, New York, 

 The Century Company, 1919. 

 Mr. Millard in the first place is an American citizen, and in the 

 second place has lived for over twenty years as a newspaper man 

 in the Far East. He has put into this book his reasoned conclusions 

 on the various problems which may be summarily comprehended under 

 the name of "The Far Eastern Question." Others have made their 

 contribution to the subject, but Mr. Millard was fully justified in 

 setting forth at length his views and supporting them by such 

 documentary evidence as has been made public. We do not expect 

 him to be friendly towards the Japanese. He frankly admits in his 

 preface that he cannot claim his book to be an impartial discussion 

 of the subject. He openly takes sides against one country and for 



