13 SEPTEMBER 1902, Page 22

The Temple of the Kings at Abydos. By A. St.

G. Caulfield. (B. Quaritch. 16s.)—This is a publication of the Egyptian Research Account for the current year. The drawings are of excellent quality, and are the work of Mr. Laurence Christie. Professor Flinders Petrie has written a chapter in which he gives, under the title of "Archaeological Notes," what may be called an interpre- tation of tho facts collected by Mr. Caulfield (who modestly disclaims the qualification of an Egyptologist) and figured by Mr. Christie. The general upshot of his remarks is that the Temple was built and equipped by Sety I. and Rameses II., ostensibly in honour of the early Kings, really to glorify their own dynasty by thus claiming a connection with the greatness of the past.

There is a series of "The Dumpy Books for Children" and "The Larger Dumpy Books for Children" (Grant Richards, is. 6d., 2s. 6d.), and we have a specimen of each before us. The Little Girl Lost, by Eleanor Raper, is a very graphic and interesting story of how a little English girl strays out of the compound of the British Legation in Pekin, and is kidnapped by a rascally Chinaman, who wants to make a profit out of the reward that will, he thinks, be offered for her recovery. Nelly Grey herself is a fine sample of an English child, and the other dramatis personae are well-drawn figures. There is an irresistible air of verisimili- tude about this little tale which cannot fail to attract its readers. It is meant, we are told, for "little girls," but we are much mis- taken if it will not please many who are neither girls nor little. Baby Jane's Mission, by Reginald Parnell, is a very different book. It is an extravaganza of the wildest kind. Baby Jane goes to Africa to teach the wild beasts how to amuse themselves. If they could only learn how to do that, they would soon behave well, she is sure. It was only because they were so neglected that "they wandered about in the cold woods and roared and went on eating things." She starts with a dancing class, and has for her first pupils a bear, a lion, a rabbit, a lady crocodile, and a nigger boy, whom the lady crocodile drops out of

her month. Into what a marvellous series of incidents the dancing is developed we cannot attempt to describe. We must leave that to Mr. Parnell himself. Thanks to an inexhaustible fancy, a practised pen, and a clever pencil, he does it to excellent effect