I5 
LAJNU & WATER 
July 5. i<)i7 
, either on one side qr the other. Moreover, it is a true holiday - 
novel written with that smiling air whose bkindibhments 
it is hard to i«sist. 
* ♦ ♦ • • 
The Candid tourtship, by Madge Mears, (John Lane 6s.) 
^ seems at first to 'be going to develop into what at the 
end of last centurv used to be called i)ar excellence the 
'problem novel. For in the second chapter we find the 
sufiragcttc beitrine regretfully refusing the hero because of 
a confession he makes to her about a previous affair. We 
move on to the ne.xt chajjfer in fear of floods of rhetoric on 
the lines of "one law for the man and another for the 
woman." But Miss Mears has too much humour to be 
quite guilty of that, or she could never have written on 
the subject of open windows that " incompatibility of 
temperature has broken up many a happy home," and we 
find ourselves in consequence taking more interest in; th« 
' somewhat unexpected developments of the story than 
perhaps thestorv justifies. It- presents, for those interested, 
an insight into the psychology of a certain type of feminist. 
♦ * *-■».* 
Here is the third novel I have dealt with which has the 
true holiday spirit. Which are the other two, I leave it to the 
ingenious reader to guess. There can be no doubt about 
the hohday value of a good detective novel. There can be no 
doubt too that The Post-Master's Daughter by Louis Tracy 
(Cassell & Co. 6s.) is such a detective novel. It is. of orthodo.x 
pattern — body discovered, ingenious . invention of false 
scents, stupid local pohce, clever C.I.D. men (the " Yard" 
is allowed more kudos than usual), but there are novel 
incidents for each phase and novel characters to perform 
them, all being well set off against a well-studied background 
of village life. The whole tale moves with lively talk 
and bustling action. Mr. Tracy is a good story-teller and 
this is, I think, so far his best. 
Auluvin. by Muriel Hine (John Lane. 6s.) is the story of a 
man and hi« wife who separated hastily through incom- 
patibility, and, with this author's usual skill, the varied for- 
tunes of" the two are rendered thoroughly interestiiig. Deirdre 
Caradoc, the wife, had a charming country cottage given 
her by her rich cousin, and there she settled down to captivate 
the neighbourhood, more especially a rather eccentric squire. 
Complications, oi- course, ensue ; how they end the reader 
will find it well'^Vorth while to ascertain. The main interest 
of the book, as in all Miss Mine's work, lies in her characterisa- 
tion. In spite of the husband's hasty judgment and its result, 
sympathy with him is skilfully retained, and in spite of the 
obviousness of what follows on Deirdre's decision to go and 
live alone, iJne wants to know just how it happened, and to 
know, too, just what will happen next — in that \vay one is 
drawn oil to the story's end, with scarcely time to notice how 
very skilfully th&^tage is set. The beauty of the country 
cottage ard its setting, , the atmosphere in which Deirdre 
lives, are so well rendered that in reading one may see it all 
and get some of the perfume of the country flowers. This 
book fulfils the promise of the author's earlier works, and forms 
an event in the fiction output of the year. 
Iniquity of Gulls 
To the Editor of L.\nd & Water. 
Sir. — Can Dr. Burland cite a solitary proved instance (not 
hearsay or unproved assertion) in which gulls have propagated 
foot and-mouth disease or anthrax, or have eaten fruit ? 
I put the question because (i) your correspondent's state- 
ment that the gull is now " about the most common bird we 
have " shows that his knowledge is confined to coast areas 
and counties ; (2)- his observation that " almost all birds are 
quite capable of looking after themselves " indicates that 
he js unaware of the persecution to which many species are • 
subjected and of the extermination of some of these in Great' 
Britain; (j), his statement that gulls have been withdrawn 
from protection in Scotland is true only of eight coimties- 
and only partially true of two of these ; (4) gulls are not pro- 
tected by the Act in the open season, the only time when 
(if at all) they could be of use " in the food interests of this,, 
nation," and their eggs are not protected by the Act. ' ' '; 
I do not deny that one or (perhaps) two species of gull' 
have greatly increased of late years ; but this Society, when 
considted, offered no objection to the removal of the protection 
accorded to y^eeggs by local authorities in certain districts, 
in order, that those eegs might be collected for food. I would 
suggest that those who make wholesale charges and sweeping 
assertions should not disregard accuracy in setting fortli 
their indictments. L. G.vrdi nkr. 
Secretary, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 
2 J (Jueen Anne's Gale, S.W. . - 
S^>:.-(i 
Militarism and th^ 
Individual. 
By "BLACK WATCH." 
"It is a big di'tuvback to Army life," said a i';etired officer 
to the writer reliently, " that it so thoroughly unfits a man for 
any other kind , of life. It's quite true that the Army makes a 
man in one sense., but equally it unmakes him. The routuio 
destroys his individuality. A man may struggle like the devil 
to avoid losing his personality, but unless he is an exceptional 
sort of fellow he has to give in in the end. '' . , 
I give the comment for what it is worth. It may be over- 
stated, but thei:e is a large measure of truth in it. The 
great complaint .of ofheers at the front is that > however 
liardworked they may be, mentally they are rusting. Below StaS 
ranli there is little or no chance for " brains." 
That is ope of the many reasons why .such an enormous 
number of officers occupy themselves in their scanty leisure by 
studying the Pelman System of mental training. Apart from 
other benefits. — with which I will deal further, on — ithe System is 
beyond all question one of the very finest forms of mental recrea- 
tion thatcoidd be devised. " A brilliant mental tonic " (to quote 
the remark of a Pelmanist) describes it neatly. It would, frankly, 
be Impossible for any man, be he ever so jaded or brain-weary, 
to, follow this syitem without receiving a huge indraft of fresh 
energy, fresh inspiration, and fresh hope. 
But,j:^|fck stupid prejudice which puts Officialdom against 
&x\}jih\r^vj\^^^i- advertised (as though the Govei-nment had not, 
itself, ei^MwKjbe ..aid of adv^ertisement to secure its needed 
millions oT'TOcn ^'id money!), I verily believe that the )Ndv 
Office would have miade the Pelman Course an integral part of 
every officer's training. There are over 4,000 British officers who 
will bear me out in this assertion, and who would doubtless add, 
emphatically, that it would be a gi-and thing for the Army. ., 
For " Perrrianisrri " does not limit itself to affording welcome 
mental recreation. I would describe that, indeed, as the smallest 
of the advantages to be gained by it. "Pelmanism" has an intensely 
practical bearingirpon efficiency in every sense of the word. ' 
Keen powers of observation and perception — clear reasoning 
ability-^self-oonfidence and self-control (even to the point of 
courage) — concentration — the abolition of mindrJVS^andering and 
brain-fag — decision — will-power — and, above all, an absolutely 
dependable memory: these are what the Pelman Course develops 
in those who study it. 
The strenuous character of this war has made it imperative 
that eveixmEiri who aspires to do his part with credit shall exert 
every unit of his mental ability: and "Pelmanism "helps him 
to do. this. There is no officer — ifrom the newest subaltern to the 
C.O. — wh^ can afford to overlook this tried and proven aid to 
efficiency. 
I ha^ie seen some hundreds of letters from the front : letters 
from Generals, from Colonels, from R.F.C. and R.N.A.S. officers, 
from Admirals, from the Captains of many of the finest fighting 
ships, from the Infantry, from the A.S.C., from the B.A.M.C. — 
letters froin every rank and from every xmit of the British Army 
and Navy, telling in the plainest way what immense advantages 
have been derived fi'om the Pelman Course. 
Of these letters "Truth " very aptly remarks: — 
The results obtained by students in the AiTny and Navy 
demand special consideration, if only from their 'volume. It 
might have been anticipated that men engaged on active service 
■jvould have little time to spare for what, from an uninformed 
point of view, might seem to be an academic study which might 
well bo left to the times of peace. That is not the view of the 
Army or 'the Navy. The Services demand the best from every 
.man, here and now. Activp sendee does not teach habits of pro- 
crastination, and youth— in AiTny and Navy are the flower of the 
hatiori's youth-i-is tb(^l*;^ger to wait for to-morrow. So the 
Army and Navy^ia\'e titkeM to " Pehnanising " with avidity, and 
irom all rnidvs comes the testimony of its value, from the General, 
who " accepts, •si'ith thankfulness, the new ideas " which he gets 
I'rom the coui-se, to the cadet. 
' A full reprint of "Truth's" Specinl Supplement, dealing 
with the work (jf the Pelman institute iu the Array and Navy, 
ttc, together with a copy of " Mind and Memory," in which the 
Pelman Couree is fully described and explained, may be obtained, 
\/ratis and post- free, by applying to The Pelnmn Institute, 
"39Mi3Veuham House, Bloomsbury Street, London. W.GJ. 
