10 JANUARY 1943

Page 1

FRENCH AFRICA AND FRANCE

The Spectator

A GREAT deal might be said about the assassination of Darlan, but very little with advantage. He is dead, and General Giraud has succeeded him as High Commissioner for North...

Page 3

HITLER'S NEW YEAR

The Spectator

A S an old year ends and a new year begins men and nations inevitably pause for a moment in the flying present to consider their fortunes in the past and the future. Adolf Hider...

Page 4

A SPECTATO R'S NOTEBOOK

The Spectator

N O one is under any temptation to glorify assassination, but there seems to be more than a touch of false sentiment about some of the comments in various journals on the death...

Page 5

GERMANY IN RUSSIA

The Spectator

By STRATEGICUS A S the year ends it is worth while noting how badly Hitler's plan has foundered in Russia. M. Stalin revealed come time ago, on the basis of captured documents,...

Page 6

THEY ALSO SERVE . . .

The Spectator

By QUINTIN HOGG, M.P. W 1-IILE attention is naturally rivetted on the dramatic events of the North African coast, the opening of the new BeirutTripoli (Syria) railway by...

Page 7

GREMLINS

The Spectator

By W. E. WOOSNAM-JONES It is naturally very difficult for a pilot to get a really good look at a Gremlin. For Gremlins are very elusive, and usually hide themselves in the most...

Page 8

FISH, MOTH AND MAN

The Spectator

SEEK not nor search those pools, slip-silver fish: No gentle river reaches will uncover But sucking whirlpools which will deep draw down Along dark labyrinthine streams to...

ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY

The Spectator

By AMABEL 1VILLIAMS-ELLIS Our industrial effort here is enormous, and no population has ever before been mobilised as ours has been. We had 27,000 war factories in July, and...

Page 9

MARGINAL COMMENT

The Spectator

By HAROLD NICOLSON I N his popular but discomforting study of Conditions of Peace, Professor E. H. Carr assures us that we are passing through a silent revolution against " the...

Page 10

THE THEATRE

The Spectator

" The House of Jeffreys." At the Playhouse.—" Jack and Jai." At His Majesty's. —" Peter Pan." At the Winter Garden.—" A Midsummer Night's Dream." At the Westminster. I PRESUME...

Review of the Year

The Spectator

THE CINEMA 1942—a year in which British cinemas will probably be able to show the highest audience figures in their whole history—has unfortunately been also the occasion for...

Page 11

Snt,—In referring to the verses of Thomas Gray which Mr.

The Spectator

R. D. Perkins quoted in the House of Commons, " Janus" confesses he can find no trace of these lines. They are a translation from Luna Habitabilis. The Latin lines are as...

GRAY'S PROPHECY

The Spectator

Snt,—With reference to your search of Gray's poems for the quotation in Mr. Perkins' peroration, I have the quotation amongst odds and ends with this note: " Translated from...

RELIGION IN THE SCHOOLS

The Spectator

Sni,--The passage, quoted by Sir Herbert Grierson, from the Book of Job is certainly consistent with Christian ethics. But it does not contain their essentials. These essentials...

SIR,—It is assumed by those who are unwilling to hand

The Spectator

over the Church Schools to the Education Authority that the religious teaching in the Church Schools fosters adherence to the Church of England. I lived in a parish which had...

THE BEVERIDGE REPORT

The Spectator

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR StR, — My appreciation of the literary qualities of the writers in The Spectator tempts me to ask your judgement on a method of expressing large sums of...

Snt,—No doubt many other correspondents will have been quick to

The Spectator

point out that the lines quoted by Mr. Perkins are a translation of his Latin poem (composed at Peterhouse) Luna Habitabilis. But does Mr. Perkins deserve such credit for...

Page 12

NEWTON'S THEOLOGY •

The Spectator

SIR,—Professor Andrade's information on Newton's theology is not upto-date. The subject has been investigated by the Rev. H. McLachlan, D.D., and the results published in his...

THE TRAGEDY OF THE JEWS

The Spectator

SIR,—You say in your note of December 4th that " we cannot help Jews whom we cannot reach." True, but whom can we reach? Apart from the larger question of whether an offer to...

SIR,—I have just read Mr. Unwin Fleming's letter about the

The Spectator

County Badge Scheme, in your number of December 4th. Having been a member of Gordonstoun School since May, 1939, I can state authoritatively that his statement that "...

CLICHES

The Spectator

SIR,—Is not the ready condemnation of clichés itself becoming something of a cliche, and, as such, often a little tiresome and unhelpful? Your reviewer of Allan Michie's Retreat...

THE COUNTY BADGE SCHEME

The Spectator

SIR,—The letter on the County Badge Scheme signed " Unwin Fleming " and dated from St. Paul's School in your issue of December 4th merits a brief reply. In the first place I...

MR. BAXTER'S PLAY

The Spectator

SIR,—In spite of what " Janus " has to say about ordinary members of the play-going public who call in question the opinions of the " professionals," I cannot refrain from...

Page 13

Wasted Wisdom

The Spectator

From Many Angles. By Major-General The Right Hon. Sir Frederick Sykes. (Harrap. 25s.) THIS book is a monument to the solid achievements, ranging over numerous fields, which...

BOOKS OF THE DAY

The Spectator

Chinese History WHEN this book was announced, the reviewer's first impulse, as a compatriot of its autnor, was to congratulate him on his initiative. At last a gap which had...

Page 14

An Unusual Don

The Spectator

Bernard Lord Manning. By F. Brittain. (Heifer. 7s. 6d.) THERE is a quiet and impressive competence about this discerning biography of a quiet and impressive man, and even those...

Elegant Essays

The Spectator

Channel Packet. By Raymond Mortimer. (Hogarth. 12s. 6d.) ELEGANCE—that is Mr. Mortimer's besetting virtue. No man is more highly skilled in the finer mechanics of writing. His...

Page 16

Downfall : A Play in Three Acts. By Douglas Reed. (Cape. 5s.)

The Spectator

Shorter Notices MR. DOUGLAS REED has done well to put his latest prophecy on the future of Germany in dramatic form, for this means that he wastes no words and goes to the...

A VIVID personality to those who knew him, Nunn is

The Spectator

also interesting as a type in the best tradition of the social reformer. This biography, with its detailed record of his achievement in Hampstead and its far-reaching effects...

First Qualities in Short Supply

The Spectator

The Case of the Tea Cosy's Aunt. By Anthony Gilbert. (Crime Club. 8s. 6d.) Night Exercise. By John Rhode. (Crime Club. 8s. 6d.) Toper's End. By G. D. H. and M. Cole: (Crime...

Page 17

SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD No. 197 to, The

The Spectator

a The winner of Crossword No. 197 is Miss E. J. WALSH, aragon, Clifton, Bristol. SOLUTION ON JANUARY 15th

THE SPECTATOR " CROSSWORD No. 199

The Spectator

[A Book Token Jo' one guinea will be awarded to the sender of the first correct solution of this week's crossword to be opened after noon on Tuesday week. Envelopes should be...

Page 18

COUNTRY LIFE

The Spectator

THOSE who complain of the English climate might well correct their prejudice by making a list of the flowers that are open at Christmas, while listening to the song of thrush...

READERS of War and Peace have been known to wonder

The Spectator

why the atmosphere of Moscow is so subtly differentiated from that of St. Petersburg. Some clues are supplied in this book, as we learn how the stupendous rococo palaces of the...

Only the Stars are NeutraL By Quentin Reynolds. (Cassell. 8s.

The Spectator

6d. ) MR. REYNOLDS wrote this book during a stormy and dangerous passage across the North Atlantic last winter. It is lively, changeable and interesting like the North Atlantic...