6 JULY 1918, Page 25

The Greater Patriotism. Public Addresses by John Lewis Griffiths. (J.

Lane. Gs. net.)—Thu late Mr. J. L. Griffiths, tho American Consul at Liverpool from 1005 to 1909 and in London from 1909 till his death in 1914, was greatly esteemed in England for his kindly personality and for his charm of oratory. His widow has collected in this volume a number of his speeches and addresses, and has written an interesting Memoir, to which Mr. Belloc contributes a commendatory Preface. It is true, as Mr. Belloc says, that Ameri- cans and Englishmen are apt to misunderstand one another for the very reason that they speak the same language, and therefore assume that there aro no differences of outlook between them. Mr. Griffiths was one of those able and genial Americans who had made themselves liked by us, and who had thus prepared the way for the great reconciliation which has come to pass under the stress of war. His addresses are pleasant to read, especially those on Lincoln, on Hawthorne—one of his predecessors in the Liverpool Consulate—and on the American spirit, with its unbounded optimism and its keen interest in education and social service.