25 DECEMBER 1920

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NEWS OF THE WEEK.

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IT IHE spectre of unemployment haunts the Christmas feast The closing task of the Parliamentary session was to sanction certain palliative measures devised by the Government....

Mr. Clynes, speaking for the Labour Party, was not very

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helpful. He said that half the unemployed were not registered slid that the Government proposals were inadequate. The main solution of the problem, ho declared, was " to get...

The ex-King Constantine entered Athens on Sunday, amid the applause

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of excited crowds, and assumed the Greek throne once again. The Allied Ministers in Athens have been in- structed to remain at their poets, but to have no official relations...

Bolshevik agitators promoted an insurrection in Bohemia last week. They

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proclaimed a general strike, and at Kladno, to the north-west of Prague, they took up arms and began to loot factories and houses. The strike proved a complete failure, and the...

The first Assembly of the League of Nations ended its

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labours on Saturday last. In its closing sessions the Assembly agreed to admit Bulgaria, Albania, Finland, Luxemburg, and Costa Rim to membership. On the other hand, it rejected...

The Prime Minister remarked of Mr. Henderson's demand for a

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Royal Commission and of his proposal to " stabilize induct' y " that we might as well talk of stabilizing the sea. Unemployment was less serious here than in any other country...

'V The Editor cannot accept responsibility for any articles or

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letters submitted to him, but when stamped and addressed envelopes are sent he will do his best to return contributions in case of rejection.

NOTICE.

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Owing to the Government having taken over our old premises, we have removed to new offices, IS York Street, Covent Garden, 1V.C. 2, where all communications should be addressed.

TO OUR READERS.

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Should our readers experience any difficulty in obtaining the SPECTATOR during their absence from home at Newsagents or Red/way Bookstalls, will they please communicate at once...

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Further telegrams have passed between the Prime Esni 5tel and Father

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O'Flanagan. On Friday, December 17th, Father O'Flanagan telegraphed that the Government, while sending m essages of peace and goodwill, had "intensified their fiendish attacks"...

The Allied and American delegates who have been conferring at

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Washington about the future ownership of the ex-German cables concluded their sittings last week without coming to an agreement. Great Britain and Italy accepted the American...

It is obvious that Sir Nevil Macready, though he means

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to restore order, will not have it restored by undisciplined means. This is absolutely right and only what we should have expected in spite of all the malicious...

The Sinn Fein insurgents have continued to attack small parties

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of soldiers or policemen. At Kikommon, in Tipperary , on the 16th instant, four policemen were murdered and one badly wounded in a Sinn Fein ambush. The same day a Sinn Fein...

To inform the cowardly assassins in Ireland who shoot from

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behind hedges that some of their own people are with the convoy, and that if they insist upon shooting they will be turning their arms against their own people, is a different...

There is, however, another point. As we have often said

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before, we should like to see unity of command established in Ireland. We should like to see one coherent policy under a, supreme administration for both soldiers and police. If...

M. Caillaux in his enforced seclusion has written a book

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in which he openly denounces the Franco-British understanding and avows himself our bitter enemy. The summary of the book, which appeared in the Times of Friday, December 17th...

Lord Emmett and three Members of the House of Commons

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were asked by the Foreign Office last May to inquire into the treatment of British prisoners by the Bolsheviks. Their report, published in Tuesday's papers and signed by Major...

Brigadier-General .Curving, Commander of the Kerry Infantry Brigade, has issued

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a proclamation that, owing to the treacherous attacks upon military and police convoys, leaders of the Irish Republican Army who are in military custody will in future be sent...

The enactment of the Home Rule Bill, the certainty that

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Ulster will set up a Parliament, and the application of martial law to the worst districts are bound to have considerable effects upon the situation in Ireland. In a circular...

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Mr. Lloyd George replied that he had hoped that with

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modera- tion and common sense on both sides it might have been possible to reach an understanding :— " 'You now imply that, in your judgment, the only road to peace is the...

Bank rate, 7 per cent., changed from 6 per cent.

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Apr. 15, 1920; 6 per cent. War Loan was on Wednesday, 81i; Thursday week, 821; a year ago, 91.

Mr. Ronald McNeill said that the bonus had been increased

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by the Treasury without the sanction of the House. The House ought to "make a stand against this practice." We heartily agree. The only consolation in connexion with this...

The House of Commons on Thureday, December 16th, con- sidered

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the Lords' amendments to the Government of Ireland Bill. It accepted the Lords' proposal to establish Senates in both the Irish Parliaments, though Sir Edward Carson remarked...

On Friday, December 17th, the Lord Chancellor invited the House

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of Lords to concur with the Commons' amendments to the Government of Ireland Bill. He induced the peers to modify their proposals in regard to the Council of Ireland, but they...

The issue between the two Houses was thus narrowed down

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when the House of Commons again considered the Lords' amendments on Saturday last. Sir L Worthington Evans advised the House to give way on the question of the Senates, which...

The House of Lords on Friday, December 17th, made further

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amendments in the Agriculture Bill. The clause amending existing leases, so as to entitle a leaseholder to compensation for which he had not bargained when his lease expired,...

In the House of Commons last Saturday on the vote

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for the Civil Service, Lieut.-Colonel Guinness, in an excellent and timely speech, asked the Government to justify the bonuses to Civil servants in accordance with the rise of...

When the Irish Bill was returned to the House of

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Lords on Monday, the Lord Chancellor persuaded the peers to accept the Commons' amendments, with slight modifications. Lord Midleton protested to the end, but Lord Crowe went...

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TOPICS OF THE DAY.

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THE UNIONIST PARTY. A Tlast the Unionist Party is beginning to take thought of itself and its future. Ever since the Coalition emerged from the fiery furnace of the war we have...

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THE ROMAN CHURCH AND .1.HE IRISH LMBROGLIO.

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WE dealt last week with the Nemesis of Pretence in the handling of the Irish question. Another pretence, and one which deserves treatment by itself, appears in our attitude...

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THE JUTLAND DISPATCHES.

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T HE public having long demanded all the papers on the Battle of Jutland have got them with a ven- geance, and now do not know what to make of them. This confusion of the...

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THE PROBLEM OF UNEMPLOYMENT.

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T HE problem of unemployment is as old as organized society, and there is no absolute cure for it. To imagine that there is somewhere in lurking a solution which will end...

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FAMILY PARTIES AT CHRISTMAS.

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T HE modern " family party," such a party as is entertained in so many houses at Christmas-time, derives directly from the ancient feudal feast. The selection of the guests,...

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THE AMERICAN FOLK-SONG.

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J T was declared in a recent number of a well-known American 1. magazine that " rag-time " was the folk-music of the white population of the United States. The writer should...

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FINANCE—PUBLIC AND PRIVATE.

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WAR'S AFTERMATH. [To THE Boma or THE "firrmaroa!9 Six,—Immediately following the announcement of the suspension of payment by Farrow's Bank the Board of Trade issued a...

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[To THE EDITOR or THE "SPECTATOR. "] Sim — Recently ivou expressed

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doubt on the Government index figure of the cost of living on the ground that hardly anyone buys commodities of the same quantity and quality as pre-war. The actual expenditure...

WOMEN AT CAMBRIDGE.

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LTo THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR ") Sta,—Mr. Felton is evidently not well acquainted with Oxford, and has also not noticed the letter signed by a number of heads of houses,...

.LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

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[Letters of the length of one of our leading paragraphs are often more read, and therefore more effective, than those which fill treble the space.] THE INDEX FIGURE. [To THE...

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FRANCE, AMERICA, AND THE LEAGUE.

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[To THE BOUM% or THE "SPECUTOII.'91 Sig, Will you allow me to point out that the attitude of the Spectator in regard to America, France, and the League of Nations is perhaps not...

(To THE DWI= or THE " SPECreX011."3 Sin,—In consideration of

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the great importance of the grace which a fortnight ago was submitted to the Senate, and which induced a large number of members to make tedious and expensive journeys to...

THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH SINN FEIN. tTo THE EDITOR OP rue.SPECTITOg."1

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Sig,—You permitted me in the early winter of 1917 to draw the attention of your readers to the analogy between the American Civil War and the war with Germany, and to enter,...

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THE INDIAN SERVICES AS CAREERS. (To THE EDITOR or THE

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" SPECTATOR.") Sus,—Last January I wrote a letter pointing out the great advantage of the Indian Civil Service as a career, and, in order to enable possible candidates to form...

PROHIBITION IN AMERICA

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(To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.") Sm,—In your issue of August 28th, "E. W. P." reports condi- tions in Pennsylvania resulting from the adoption of Prohibi- tion very...

AMERICA AND THE LEAGUE.

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[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "Seeman:m."1 Sta,—in the excellent article in the Spectator of November 20th, entitled "The Fickle Greeks," you use this telling sentence: "But he who...

THE EXPORT OF HORSES TO BELGIUM.

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(To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR.") Sui,—In 1911 you published my letters describing the sufferings of old English horses exported to Belgium. Tho law changed to this...

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DR. 1NGE ON EUGENICS.

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[To me Emma or me "SPECTATOR.") Sia,—In a recent lecture the Dean of St. Paul's offered a depressing picture of the future of the English race. He said that he was unable to...

THE DOG RIVER.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.") SIR,—As I am in the hinterland of Bengal your issue of August 14th, in which Mr. D. H, Bates criticizes statements in my article "The Dog...

LABOUR AND THE "CAPITALIST" PRESS.

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(To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.") Sia„—Your correspondent Mr. E. T. Good writes a plausible article trying to make out that the capitalist Press is " quite fair and even...

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PISE BUILDING.

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ITo THE EDITOR or THE "SPECTATOR. "] Ste,—I was much interested in the account given by Mrs. Du Boulay in your issue of November 6th of the building of " Beat- lands"...

r JOSEF HOLBROOKE AND HIS WORK." ITo THE EDITOR or

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rue " SPEC - 111'01. ") Ste.,—I should very much like you to contradict three asser- tions made in the book published on my work, some of which your reviewer mentions. The...

PISE IN KOREA.

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Pro THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR.") SIII,—It may interest you, as an advocate for several year. past of pisd building, to know that this method is common in Korea, where it...

"THE COMING REVOLUTION."

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[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPED:LIMO] SLR,—I thank you for the characteristic fairness with which you printed my letter. I must not presume on your hospitality to return to the...

PROFIT-SHARING.

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(To THE EDITOR or THE "SPECTATOR. "] Ste.,—About a year ago there appeared in the Spectator a very interesting and detailed profit-sharing scheme for a mill in the north of...

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THE ROYAL NATIONAL ORTHOPAEDIC HOSPITAL.

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(To TEE EDITOR or " SPECTATOR.") Sra,—Lady Dorothie Moore is organizing a Children's Party, to be held at Devonshire House on the 12th January next. H.R.H. Princess Alice has...

THE "SPECTATOR" AT THE OUTPOSTS OF CHURCH AND EMPIRE.

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[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR29 SIE,—I hope I have not too long delayed expressing my heartfelt thanks with some joyful surprise at the prompt and ample response to my...

THE WAIFS AND STRAYS SOCIETY. (To see EDITOR or THE

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" SPECTATOR.") Sra,—The parents amongst your readers know so well what Christmas means to their children that I am emboldened to ask the privilege of claiming through your...

POLYPHONIC PROSE.

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LTo vas. Donna or sus " Sercrsvoa."1 Sia,—Your critic, after quoting a passage from Miss Bryher's novel, recommends her to read the polyphonic prose of Miss Amy Lowell. There...

THE TRAVELLERS' AID SOCIETY.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."' iia,—Can you very kindly allow me to draw this attention of Four readers to the pressing need of our Society, which exists solely for the...

PATTERNS OF SOUND.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR...1 Sax,—I used to attend the University Sermons at Cambridge accompanied, at her own desire, by a child of ten. When I inquired whether she...

HEDGEHOG OR OWL?

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(To THE Emma or THE " Sescrsroa."1 have been interested in reading the letters in the Spectator of December 11th with regard to the " heavy breath. ing" often heard in country...

THE HEDGEHOG.

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[To THZ EDITOR OF THE " STIKTATOR.") SI11,—One of my pet hedgehogs used to inhabit a little house specially made for him, and spent the winter in it snugly curled up in a nest...

tht Sputatur

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TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION. Including postage to any part of the United Kingdom „„ OVERSEAS POSTAGE. Including postage to any of the British Dominions and Colonies and India ;...

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THE THEATRE.

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THE SWEDISH BALLET AT THE PALACE THEATRE. I surrosu that most people went to the Russian Ballet primarily and essentially to see dancing. They took the other delights which the...

AN AUTUMN FLOWER. Uxesnuessai and untainted, The slowborn autumn flowers

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With richer skill are sainted By one whose dying powers, Forgoing fame and fullness For a fastidious care, Shape in a ruined garden One blossom, perfect, rare! RICHARD CHRUCH.

POETRY.

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CISTERCIANS. Cisterciana cisterna et lane. Au. things in the beginning Before their Maker came : The wheatfield for the winning, The furze-bush for the flame; Tho cattle in...

NOTICE.—When "Correspondence" or Articles are signed with the writer's name

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or initials, or with a pseudonym, or are marked "Communicated," the Editor must not necessarily be held to be in agreement with the views therein expressed or with the mode of...

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BOOKS.

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MR WELLS'S VISIT TO RUSSIA.* WErrs's account of the crash—his favourite word—of Russia under Bolshevism does not differ materially from the grim descriptions which we have...

SOME PLAYS WORTH SEEING. EVERYMAN, HAMPATEAD.—The Melting Pot . .

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[Mr. fangolll'e ploy about Jews and immigration in America.] AMBASSADOES. — The White - Headed Boy .. [An amusing Abbey Theatre comedy, very well acted.) SEArreSturitY. —...

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LIFE AND LETTERS.*

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THERE is a very hardy convention in English journalism that, when a distinguished man of letters publishes a book which is not entirely new or conspicuously ponderous, but...

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MR. BALFOUR.*

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lila. " RAYMOND'S " biography of Mr. Balfour is an entertaining hook. He states the facts fairly, and his comments are lively and on the whole sympathetic. He does justice above...

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THE ALL-CONQUERING RACE.•

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WE are all of us participants, however unconsciously, in the ancient struggle between Celt and Anglo-Saxon. The struggle continues, as it must inevitably do in a heterogeneous...

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A ROMAN CATHOLIC VIEW OF HISTORY.* MR. Bers.00 would, we

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believe, in common with his co-religion- lets, reject the term "Roman Catholic " ; but as - the creed he upholds is that organized under the Roman Pontiff, and as be • Europe...

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COLONIES FOR CONSUMPTIVES.* Iv one considers the history of the

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study and treatment of tuber- culosis, or consumption, during the past forty or fifty years, one is struck by the extraordinary similarity of this evolutionary process to the...

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THE DOG IN WAR.*

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COLONEL RICHARDSON, the well-known authority on dogs, has written a most interesting account of the part played by dogs in the late war. In August, 1914, only one sentry dog, an...

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MR. MILNE'S BOOK OF ESSAYS.*

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THERE is no question that Mr. Milne is, whatever wo may Chink of his plays, a most enchanting essayist. If I May is an ideal bedside book, providing just the kind of rather...

SECRETS OF EARTH AND SEA..*

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Six Ras LANKESTER'S Science from an Easy-Chair was a book so delightful that we probably expect too much of its successor.. Let it be said at once that Secrets of Earth and Sea,...

READABLE NOVELS.—The Cates of Tien The. By Loslif Howard Gordon.

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(Hodder and Stoughton. 8s. 6d. net.)— The story of the baffling of a Chinese secret society which carriit on its activities in London. The episodes are exciting, but BA book...

FICTION.

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THE BLACK KNIGHT.} Tins is a highly interesting if not very well-balanced experiment in collaboration. Mrs. Sidgwick is a novelist of standing and repute with many enjoyable...

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POETS AND POETRY.

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MR. STURGE MOORE'S BOOK.* MR. STUROE MOORE'S work is generally acknowledged to be more remarkable for melody than vigour. The present volume is not one that will be likely to...

STORIES FOR BOYS.

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Roscoe Makes Good, by Hylton Cleaver (Milford, 5s. net), is a lively school story ; Roscoe is described at the outset as a boy "whose animal spirits arc abnormally developed,"...

POEMS WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION. —Rickard II. By James F. Weight.

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(George Allen and Unwin. 2e. 6d. net.) A long play, chiefly remarkable for the really admirable way in which the author has got round the difficulty of writing English which...

GIFT - BOOKS.

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STORIES FOR GIRLS. READERS who are bewildered by the masses of new children's stories in the bookshops may be glad to have a few more hints as to the books which are worth...

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England in Egypt. By Lord Milner. (Arnold. 85. 6d. net.)

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—This is the thirteenth edition of Lord Milner's well-known book. It was first published in 1892, and the text has not been altered since then, though historical appendices...

An Angler's Garland. By Erie Parker. (Philip Allan. Os. 6d.)

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— Mr. Parker has compiled a must attractive anthology of prose and verse for the Fisherman. Ever since Izaak Walton the tradition of literature—some would say of...

Highways and Byways in Northumbria. By P. Anderson Graham. With

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Illustrations by Hugh Thomson. (Macmillan. Is. 6d. net.)—This is a most attractive new volume of a famous series. Mr. Anderson Graham writes with the enthusiasm and local...

The Geographical Journal for December contains Mr. Philbys important paper

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describing his journey across Central Arabia from the Persian Gulf through Riadh to Taif and thence to Jeddah on the Red Sea. It is accompanied by a good map, most of the detail...

Demosthenes Demobilised. (Cambridge : Heffer. Os. net.)— This little book

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is a record of the Cambridge Union Society's debates from February, 1919, to June, 1920, by the four presidents who in turn occupied the chair. As most of the speakers were...

SOME BOORS OF THE WEEK.

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Wanes in this column dose not rsecesaarfly Fnrscwrc rs8usqaeN. Mg.WI The Place-names of Northumberland and Durham. By Allan Mawer. (Cambridge University Press. 20s....

The Birds of the British Isles and their Eggs. By

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T. A. Coward. Second Series. (Warne. 12s. 6d. not.)—This is a most attractive and convenient handbook. With the volume published earlier in the year, it deals with all the...

Cultivation with Morabie Frames. By H. Cowley. (Country Life. 9d.

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net.)—Amateur gardeners will find some useful hints in this little book. After giving a brief introduction on the value of movable frames in gardens, the author tells his...

Giovanni dells Italia. By Allan Marquand. (Princeton University Press and

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H. Milford. 8 dollars net.)—Professor Marquand has earned the gratitude of students of Italian art by his scholarly annotated and illustrated catalogues, embody- ing an...

Old Seed on New Ground. By James Adderley. (Putnam's. 72.

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6d. net.)—Old Seed on New Ground is an attractive little book of satire. Mr. Adderley is, of course, a clergyman who has had considerable experience of a poor town parish. The...

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The Road Wandered. By Henry Shaweross. (Andrew Melrose. 3s. 6d.)—Selected

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chapters from a larger book, Nature and the Idealist, in the style of Richard Jefferies' Story of my Heart. The descriptions of nature are attractive. The author has imagination...

Barbizon House. An Illustrated Record, 1920. (8 Henrietta Street, Cavendish

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Square. 21s.)—Mr. Creel Thomson has again prepared a record, carefully written and freely illustrated, of the more important pictures and other works of art which have passed...

WORKS ox REFERENCE. — Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage for 1921, edited by

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A. G. M. Hesilrige (Dean, 75s. net), has been revised up to the end of November, and proves to be as accurate as ever, where we have tested it. Even the " Companionage "...

Windfalls. By "Alpha of the Plough." (Dent. 6s. net.)— Essays

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on subjects that range from the habits of ducks to re- reading the classics, mostly in a humorous vein. This is the third volume of the series, and the author, who disguises...

A Dictionary of Napoleon and cis Times. By IL N.

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B. Richard- son. (Cassell. 30s. net.)—This is a useful compilation, though it needs revision and should be used with care. It includes short biographies of Napoleon's family...

Mks Agnes Anderson has written a personal war history of

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a rather new sort. This time the subject of the biography is a Q.M.A.A.C. ("Johnnie." Heath Cranton. 6s.)—" Johnnie" was a Scotch girl brought up in a strict and very...

How to Identify Persian Rugs. By C. J. Delabere May.

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(Bell. 6s. net.)—This is a practical little book, lucidly written and effectively illustrated. The author is not afraid to give the elementary explanations which beginners...