5 DECEMBER 1925, Page 43

COLOMBIA, LAND OF MIRACLES. By Blair Niles. (John Long. 18s.

net.) FEW countries are less well known than Colombia; and few possess equal charm. The chapters of this book, in which.Mrs.

Niles reveals to us its beauty, all romantically titled—" Sheets of Rose and Blue," " Green Candles in the Dawn," and " In- scrutable Doors "—are potential poems which prove, on acquaintance, to be actual elegies. One realizes the march of life from the days of the Spanish conquest, black magic, miracle and saint, through revolution and struggle towards democracy—finally to the Ambitious present. Not least amongst her many adventures Mrs. Niles flew from the coa:st to the Andes. The whole book is written in a restrained and beautiful manner. .