3 JUNE 1949, Page 30

Inky Blossoms. By C. B. Mortlock. Introduction by Sacheverell Sitwell.

(Macdonald and Evans. 8s. 6d.)

MR. MORTLOCK is master of that despised and difficult art, the writing of short essays. Why the essay is out of favour, unless it is because few people write it so well as Mr. Mortlock, is hard to say. But, no matter how much the reader may incline to the view that essays are a waste of time, let him make an exception in the case of Inky Blossoms which is full of good stories and remote enquiries. "How Busy are Bishops ? " the author asks in one essay, and the answer is as engaging as the question. The author's subjects range from prelates and archdeacons to lay preachers, but outside ecclesias- tical bounds he has a horizon wide enough to include many cities and all manner of men.