Sicily in Shadow and in Sun. By Maud Howe. (Stanley
Paul and Co. 12s. 6d. net.)—Here we have a, very graphically written story of the catastrophe of Messina. It begins with a pleasant little dinner of four on December 28th, 1908. At the end of it the evening newspapers are brought in with the headline " Earth- quake in Calabria." But evening newspaper have the same character all over the world, and an earthquake is a familiar sensation. Then the truth becomes known ; there is a picturesque description, among other things, of the collection in the streets of Rome for the sufferers. Then we hear about some of the fugitives, for they had already begun to arrive in Rome. One of them tells the story of how she and her people escaped. After this we have narratives of the efforts to give help, the Royal visit to the desolated city, the voyage of the 'Babylon,' the American relief ship, and generally the zealous energy of the American colony, headed by the Ambassador, to do all that was possible to relieve the awful pressure of distress. Altogether we have a most vivid account of the great earthquake, as effective in its way as any- thing within our experience.
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