Shorter Notices
Lofoten Letter. By Evan John. (Heinemann. 3s. 6d.)
THERE is often a great deal of sense in a little book and this is an example of how much of wisdom and humour can be put into no more than 67 pages of what is, in 'substance, a long letter to his wife by one of the English members of the successful little expedition to the Lofoten Islands off the coast of NorwaSr. The author is an actor, who can write naturally and entertainingly— incidentally, he includes a variation of Rupert Brooke's famous sonnet, " If I should die," which is not unworthy of the original. In a lively account of the daily happenings aboard ship on the way to the islands he mingles entertaining sketches of members of the crew with much sound criticism of army discipline.
" I counted three contradictory orders in five minutes, and all ended with the Sergeant-Major shouting at us to double-march while the officer was simultaneously telling us that all move- ments must be carried out at a walking pace."
But his criticism is that of a lover not of a hater of order and discipline. He can also quote Gibbon with effect ; his own admiration of the modern battleship calls to his mind Gibbon's remark about St. Sophia Cathedral, " . . how dull is the artifice, how insignificant the labour if it be compared with the formation of the vilest insect that crawls upon the face of the dome."
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