25 JULY 1914, Page 25

Belgium, her Kings, Kingdom, and People. By J. de C.

MacDonnell. (John Long. 15s. net.)—The Belgian Kingdom gained a somewhat unenviable notoriety through Leopold IL's Congo speculation. Mr. MacDonnell assures us that "it was by a chance he (Leopold) tried hard to avoid that he died worth money." Thus the author's research in the Belgian archives has brought at least one new fact to light!