14 FEBRUARY 1903, Page 24

Thews of England. By [Patrick Vaux. (W. Heinemann. 68.)—In these

eight tales Mr. Vaux projects himself into the future, and describes naval battles that shall be. The average landsman will find them somewhat hard to understand, though their general meaning is plain enough. That naval affairs will have been mismanaged and preparations "scamped," that the combats of the future will be very terrible affairs, and that the "thews of England" will in the end assert their superiority over all antagonists is what we may read in these stories. There can be no doubt that they are told with a certain lurid dramatic power. Now and then' there are touches of Nature unmistakably true. It is not a pleasant book to read, so gloomy is the colouring and so 'obscure the narrative, but it is worth reading.