A Pocketful of Sixpences. By G. W. E. Russell. (E.
Grant Richards. 7s. 6d. net.)—There are times when Mr. Russell pleases altogether, when the draught which he offers is without a suspicion of bitterness. When he is writing about the Eton and Harrow match in "Lord's," for instance, he is at his best, enjoying what he writes and making his readers enjoy it. And there are many papers—the whole number is thirty-nine—in which there is nothing to object to, even when there are fires suppositi cineri doloso. Of such kind are the papers which concern Lord Beacons- field and his novels. "Political Wives" and "Great Leaders" may also be ranked high. But there are faults of which Mr. Russell cannot rid himself. He is not always above reproach in the accuracy of his quotations. Again, he is, to put it mildly, lacking in magnanimity. Certain of his political opponents receive pensions as ex-Cabinet Ministers. Why sneer at them in this fashion, that though they are not
On Pacne's eternal belle-roll worthy to be filed,'
they are filed on the belle-roll of the Pension List"? It is agreed that such pensions are justified. And if we are to speak of abuses, what could be worse than the case of Mr. Villiers, who received £2,000 a year for thirty years or so on the understanding that he needed it, and left more than a quarter of a million ? Finally, Mr. Russell cannot help being arrogant,—witness his allusion to "Essays and Reviews" as "a stale bash of platitudes and errors."
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