2 DECEMBER 1911, Page 14

A Hundred Short Essays. By W. Stewart Thompson, M.A. (Simpkin,

Marshall and Co. 2s.)-This is a second edition of a second series. Evidently Mr. Thompson ministers to a public want. These essays are on " Public Examination Topics." The sagacious candidate, judging from the topics of the day or from the idiosyncrasy of the examiners, conjectures the subjects likely to be set and primes himself with something to say about them. We are not quite sure that we like the idea. The essay is meant to show whether or no a man can think. If this system works, it is rather a test of whether he remembers. We are reminded of the Colour Test Examination. Ingenious crammers contrive so to teach colour-blind candidates that they can pass these and yet not be able to distinguish between a green lamp and a red.