Meditations in the Tea - Room. By M.P. (Pickering and Co.)— These
reprinted essays'are fairly good reading, with just a sub-acid dash of satire in them. The English Constitution and method of government afford endless opportunities of ridicule. The party system, for instance, is nothing better than a farce, if you look at it theoretically, but practically it works well enough. The party newspapers, of course, show it at its worst. It is too absurd to be able to predict with confidence what they will say on every subject. "M.P." is somewhat cynical in his estimates of men, but he often hits the bull's-eye. A statesman professes to repre- sent the will of the nation, but what would be a more conclusive reason to him for not consulting it than to know that an election would go against him. There are some particularly gcod remarks on diplomacy and a Parliamentary regime.
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