31 DECEMBER 1904, Page 23

The History of Yachting, 1600 - 1815. By Arthur H. Clark. (G.

P. Putnam's Sons. 21s. net.)—Mr. Clark in writing this book has rightly conceived his duty as a citizen of the country which holds the championship in the yachting world. He does not, it is true, go down as far even as the days of the 'America' (now more than fifty years ago), when we lost the honour that we have never been able to regain. But to write the history of modern yachting would have been a formidable addition to the already great burden of his work. We must be content, therefore, with what he has given us. With this he has evidently taken a world of pains, and the result, both as regards narrative and illustra- tions, is satisfactory. As Mr. Clark gives a few pages to quite ancient times, he might have allowed a brief notice to what is, in one sense, the most famous yacht in literature, the phase/us of Catullus, an excellent sailer, the poet tells us, whether the wind was aft or on either quarter. When we come down to the period which is professed by the subject of the volume, we have all that we can desire.