30 JUNE 1923, Page 21

Athanasius, Clement, Philo ; those victorious Arabs whose imagination in

turn was conquered by the wonder of the Tower of Pharos • Alexander, most modern of commanders, o

whose dreams f Plulhellenism were so suddenly and mysteri- ously diverted ; Mrs: Eliza Fay, most courageous of cats ;

Mr. Forster introduces us to them all in turn in so engaging a fashion that we feel as if some host were parading his odd but delightful friends for our amusement. If, as he says, the history of Alexandria is yet to be written, surely he is the man to do it, even if we must thereby renounce a successor to Howard's End and The Room with a View.