Of AU Things. By Robert Benchley. (Lane. 6s. net.)— Mr.
Benchley's contributions to our contemporary Life are familiar to many English readers. He will win further adherents in England with the present volume of humorous sketches. Though influenced by Mr. Lea.cock, his work is by no means a dilution ; it is coloured with a whimsical and wholly individual humour that can bear no label other than Robert Benchley. His .Footnotes to a Passage from Hamlet are pleasantly reminiscent of the innumerable variorum editions that his country has pro- duced. Each word is annotated by Mr. Benchley in this fashion : "And. A favourite conjunction of Shakespeare's in referring to the need for a more adequate navy in England." Delightful is his suggestion for a cinema scenario with " uplift " entitled The Education of Henry Adams ; or, Why Minds go Wrong. The list of characters is as follows : "Henry Adams, Left Frontal Brain Lobe, Right Frontal Brain Lobe, Manservant, Crowd of Villagers, Reflexes, Complexes and Mental Processes." The action is entirely cerebral and represents various mental states of Henry Adams. Whether or not the scenario is adopted by some producer matters little, for Mr. Benchley has acquired by it the unprecedented honour of being the first dramatist to give a walking-on part to a complex.
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