TRAMPS THROUGH TYROL.* ALL books of foreign travel are divided
into two classes—into those which are meant to be read and enjoyed at home and those which are to be packed in a bag and consulted, somewhat after the manner of a guide-book, on the spot. To this latter class belongs most certainly Mr. Wolcott Stoddard's Tramps through Tyrol. Mr. Stoddard has lived many years in Tyrol (to say " the Tyrol " is, by the way, no more justifiable than to say " the Wales "), and has gained, in consequence, a really intimate acquaintance with its history, its topography, its legends, and its people, which is evident, for example, in his discussion of Tyrolese religion. " The Tyrolese peasant," he says, "sticks with the tenacity of the limpet to old traditions and customs. . . . The religions customs and ceremonies, Church processions, and religions beliefs have undergone little or no change, and it is tolerably
• Tramps through Tyrol. By F. W. Stoddard (" Dolomite "). London : mills and Boon. go. 6d. net.]
safe to assert that there is not an agnostic, still less an atheist, among the peasantry of Tyrol."
And yet Mr. Stoddard has succeeded in producing a book interesting only to those who, like himself, are already friends of the country, for, though clearly and concisely written, it is lacking in sympathy and inspiration, and contains but little of interest to the general public. The illustrations are in harmony with the letterpress, for they consist almost exclusively of photographs of the more important places. Occasionally Mr. Stoddard shakes himself free from the tyranny of Baedeker, and gives us some really delightful Tyrolese legends and stories, and vivid sketches of the " Schuhplattler " and other national dances ; but as a whole Tramps Through, Tyrol is to the ideal book of travel what a highly finished photograph, however carefully wrought, is to an early Florentine portrait.
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