I, A N D A X D \N' A T E K - 
BOOKS THAT EXCEL. 
December 4, iQio- 
' My Year of tiic 
6s. net. 
War." By Frederick H.lmcr. (John Murray.) 
M'%., 
FREDERICK 
'AI.MIvR has been 
the accredited Ameri- 
can correspondent at 
the British Front ; lie 
is now lecturing in tiio 
United States, and it 
is therefore of i)eculiar 
interest to learn what 
sort of \iows he is 
likely to present to his 
fellow countrymen with 
whom his word is bound 
to carry exceptional 
weight. "In this vol- 
ume we liave his opin- 
ions set out in plain, 
^iraightforwai-d Eng- 
lish ; there is little 
motional appeal, in- 
deed, the author con- 
stantly warns his 
readers against any 
MR. FREDERICK p.M.MER. exaggerations of the 
horrors of war, with the 
result that the cold truth acquires a new awfulncss. " We 
know how to suffer in Belgium," said a Belgian jurist to 
Mr Palmer and Mr. Palmer shows most \i\idly what that 
suliering is.' His chapters on Belgium are in many ways the 
most \aluablo in this volume simply because he assumes 
this unemotional outlook. 
But let it not be thought that this talented war corres- 
pondent cannot indite stirring passages when fitting subjects 
offer His account of how the Princess Pats held then- 
trenches during the terrible fighting at Yprcs on May 8th, 
is as line a story as has ever been set out in cold pnnt. Many 
other passages might be mentioned. Alst) there is recorded 
here Mr. Palmer's visit to the Grand F'leet. 
During this year of war the author not only went into the 
French trenches.'but paid a \isit to Germany ; with the result 
that his work leaves on the mind the impression of being the 
most complete chronicle of the war on the Western Front 
that has appeared so far. 
•• A Rambler's Recollections and Reflections." By Alfred Capper. 
(George Allen and Unwin.) 10s. 6d. 
This is the best book of its kind which has been 
published for a long time, and one is not surprised to hear that 
it is one of the best sellers of the early winter. Mr. Alfred 
Capper, who is the well-known " thought reader," takes for 
his motto Matthew Arnold's Unc : " We nod and glance and 
bustle by," and he lives up to it in every chapter, introducing 
all kinds of people from Royalty downwards, telling one or 
two anecdotes about each, and then passing on quickly before 
the reader has time to tire. 
Of his own peculiar powers he writds : " There is nothing 
supernatural about my performances ; I have a power of 
adapting my mind consciously to the will of any other person ; 
I can in a way mesmerise myself so that my mind becomes a 
perfect blank" willing to receive the impressions of othere." 
This gift he has turned to good advantage, not only has it 
given him a comfortable livelihood, but it has brought him into 
toucli with all kinds of interesting people, and his s^nse ot 
humour and genial nature has enabled him to obtain the best 
out of every one whom he has met. 
One is inclined to say that Mr. Capper is able to extract 
sunbeams out of cucumbers, — the simplest incident, as related 
by him, has a pleasant glow, and over all there is the aroma 
of kindliness. Though good stories abound in these pages, 
chcstiiuls are uncommonly rare, and the one or two that arc 
given are sweet chestnuts, and very agreeable. Mr. Capper 
has never given a better entertainment in his life than the one 
he has provided in this half-guinea volume. 
•• The Story of the Royal Scots." By Lawrence Weaver. (" With a 
preface by the Earl of Rosebery, K.G. "Country Life " Library.) 
7s. 6d. net. 
" The Story of the Highland Regiment." By Frederick Watson. 
(A. and G. Black.) 5s. net. 
The first of these two books contains a summary of the 
history of the oldest British regiment of foot from the tim.; 
of its formation up to June of 1915, together with such extracts 
from history as will render the doings of the famous regiment 
intelligible. "No more than a sumuKiry is possible, f-r the history 
of a British regiment, and especially of so old a regiment ;is 
, • ■ iH- .,,1. t,. .omim'ss into the limits of a single volume. 
,h,s, is d.HRul " •^^";^t„,.,t,a i„ that his task of compres- 
iSn £;Xen';o'dr U;::^ nether the interest nor the lus- 
"■"'^^JroS;' '"n^S-r^^i^i: the earlier pages will prove 
1 '""-^"'^ . r J, . ^leta facts that are now almo^t 
Tonb of Lord Jamss Douglas, Th;rJ Goloacl of the Royal Scots. 
traditions. The illustration reproduced here depicts the tomb 
of a member of the Douglas family, with which the regiment 
was closely connected in its early diys. The services of the 
regiment "in medixval France, at Tangier, at the siege of 
Namur, and in Marlborough's campaigns, furnish stories 
which enable the reader to get a new view of the history 
of the times concerned. But the whole book is interesting, 
as well as a work of standard value and importance. His 
Majesty the Kirghas been pbased to accspt a copy of this 
historv of the Royal Scots. 
The Story of the Highland Regiments is told by Mr. 
Frederick Watson in far more compressed form, involving 
as it does reference to far more historical incidents, and not 
always bearing in mind the balance that should be held between 
the regiments concerned and contemporary history. It gives, 
however, a good account of the work of the Highlanders hi 
the service of their country, from the formation of the Black 
Watch to the lighting in Flanders in this present war. It is 
descriptive rather than statistical, the author having aimed 
at picturesquencss and the presentment of heroic exploits, 
rather than a connected history. Sequence, however, is 
maintained, and the book is spc'cially to be commended with 
regard to the work of the Highlanders in the Peninsular 
campaign and the South African war. 
A( the Front, an excellent little book of verse recently 
published at a shilling by Messrs. Frederick Warne and Co., 
is also obtainable in paper covers at yd. All profits from the 
sales are devoted to the funds of the British Red Cross, 
" 
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 
AND AFTER. 
DECEMBER. 
Why nol a Currency Loan? 
Britain's War Finance and Eccnoinic Future: 
The Role of the Squaw : 
V,\ II. .1. .li;xNi.N<;3 
3 Forecast aiid .1 Warning. 
is.v J. Luis iiAitiii:!-. 
some Reflections by an American. 
liy Cihi;les .Tuiin-'^ton 
Germany seen from an Internment Camp. T!v iKANCis (;uiiii;i,r. 
Leaves from a Field Note-Book iCaiidudcl^. I'.y Profe.-sor J. H. Jloiui.ix 
{UlU Hoiiu- Olluc Commissioner u it.lt l/w British Fxpeditiottutv Force). 
The Problem of the Adriatic: Italy, Austria and the Southern Slavs. 
By J. .\ U. llARRIOTT 
Serbia Yesterday and To.day : 
(1) Belgrade, the Gateway to the East. 
I!v tho Right Hon. W. F. liAIiEV, C.Ii. 
(2) The Serbian Soldier in Action, liv E. Un.TO.s YoiKO, It.N.V.I!,, Ml". 
The Morale ol the French Soldier. 
The Meaning of Death. 
Working-Wcmen ond Drink. 
Won;o;i and thj Reconstruction of 
Memories of Melton Mowbray. 
' Death Bills.' 
A Cliancc Conversation in 1905. 
Probloms lor a European Congress. 
Industry. 
r.y .sill ci.EMr.Nt 
liy tICNEB.AI. Bkktiiait 
Uy W. s. l.iUA- 
liy AXXA .Makti.s 
Kl.SLOCllCOOKE. M.P. 
Bv MiincTox Krkwb.n 
liy Wn.Piiiu WuiD 
By (1. B. "(iursiiv. I> litt. 
By l^UDtlilC II MIKloO^ 
London : Spottiswoode & Co., Ltd., 5 New Street Square. 
2J. 
