19 FEBRUARY 1927, Page 21

This Week's Books

Mit. STODDARD KING is well known in America as a contributor of light verse to the Saturday Evening Post and other journals. Some of his " facetious fragments " which have just been published by Messrs. Harrap (5s.), under the title What the Queen SaEd,.are rather obvious : e.g., Mr. Ford negotiating for power sites in Norway " to enable him to make spare parts for fjords," and so on. But there is lots of fun to be found also and an excellent parody of one of Mr. Vachel Lindsay's best known poems :- "Three hundred whales burst wetly into tears, They were only young whales, but large for their years, And they were ashamed of their horrible size-- The song of the canaries had opened their eyes."