21 DECEMBER 1912

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We cannot leave the question of Mr. Bonar Law's speech

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without making some reference to the two very remarkable leading articles dealing with it in the Times. Though the Times view on the general question of customs duties and...

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

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O N Monday at Ashton-under-Lyne Mr. Bonar Law made his eagerly awaited speech on Food Taxes. After sur- veying the Parliamentary situation and the condition of the working...

It was often said that the Colonies did not desire

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that food duties should be imposed in Great Britain. If this proved to be true, no such duties would be imposed in any circumstances. The Unionist Party emphatically did not...

Lord Curzon, speaking at York on Tuesday, strongly deprecated premature

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speculations as to what the Unionists would do when they returned to power. They could not foretell the time or the result of the next general election. Bat for the sake of...

Another aspect of Unionist fiscal policy was to try to

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secure for British workmen the largest amount of preference with the markets of the overseas dominions. But this could be done only by means of food duties, and therefore the...

We have dealt elsewhere with Mr. Bonar Law's speech, but

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must say here that though it does not altogether satisfy us it was the speech of an honest man, and also of a moderate man —of a statesman who does not wish to ride rough-shod...

4 4 * The Editors canna' undertake to return Manuscript in anycase.

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In the Italian Chamber on Wednesday the Marquis di San

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Giuliano, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, explained the renewal of the Triple Alliance. "In the form in which it is drawn up," he said, " it guarantees all our interests....

Yesterday week in the Commons Mr. France, the Liberal M.P.

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for the Morley Division of the West Riding of York- shire, moved an amendment to Clause 4 of the Welsh Disestablishment Bill, limiting disendowrnent to tithe. By this means he...

The Conference was resumed on Tuesday, when the dele- gates

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exchanged credentials. It was then found that the Turkish delegates had authority to negotiate only with the three states who had signed the armistice and not with the Greeks....

In the House of Commons on Wednesday the Prime Minister

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was asked by Mr. Joynson-Hicks whether, in view of the amendment to the Address moved by Mr. Lloyd George on December 10th, 1900, he would consider the desirability of bringing...

On Monday the Peace Conference opened at St. James's Palace,

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and Sir Edward Grey delivered a speech of welcome to the delegates of the Balkan Alliance and Turkey. The King, said Sir Edward Grey, desired to express to the delegates his...

On Wednesday M. Kokovtsoff, the Russian Premier, made a declaration

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on foreign affairs in the Duma. The chief interest of the speech lay in its references to the Balkan war. The Premier said that Russia, in her capacity of a great Slavonic...

Mr. Michell also described the tour he had made in

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the Putnmayo district between August 6th and October 17th last in company with Mr. Fuller, the American Consul. The pre- sence of the Peruvian Consul and of Senhor Arena so...

Last Saturday General Botha surprised South Africa by resigning the

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Premiership. The resignation does him great credit, and we trust it may be the means of his being able to return to power with a Cabinet able to speak with an undivided voice....

An important statement was made in the House of Commons

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by Sir Edward Grey on Tuesday on the subject of the Putnmayo atrocities. He had been informed by the British consul at Iquitos that most satisfactory results have attended the...

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At the Landowners' Convention in Dublin yesterday week an interesting

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discussion took place on the subject of land purchase and the intention of the Government to introduce anew measure dealing with that subject. Lord Clonbrock, who presided,...

On Thursday, in the discussion of the eighth clause, Mr.

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Ormsby-Gore moved an amendment proposing that the glebe should be left in the Church's possession, which was rejected by 277 votes to 222, the Government majority thus falling...

We regret to record the death of Mr. Whitelaw Reid,

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the United States Ambassador, which occurred after a short illness last Saturday. Mr. Whitelaw Reid, who was born in Ohio in 1835 and came of old Scots Covenanter stock, made...

On Wednesday Mr. Silvester Horne moved an amendment to nationalize

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the Welsh cathedrals, but Mr. Asquith, on behalf of the Government, admitted the validity of the argu- ments used against the proposal when it was made in the Bill of 1895....

The Times of Wednesday described a new Society for the

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Promotion of Nature Reserves which we welcome with great pleasure. Among the objects of the Society are the following: (1) To collect and collate information as to areas of land...

Bank Rate, 5 per cent., changed from 4 per cent.

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October 17th. Consols (2 - 1) were on Friday 74k—Friday week 741. -

A letter from the King to the General Committee of

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the King Edward Memorial Fund was published in Friday's papers. The King suggests the reconsideration of the plan for erecting the memorial in the Green Park, and proposes as an...

On Tuesday Mr. McKenna announced that the Government would accept

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the amendments to Clause 8 standing in the names of two Liberal members—Mr. Atherley Jones and Mr. Beck. The Queen Anne's Bounty grants from Welsh sources and the Parliamentary...

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TOPICS OF THE DAY.

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MR. BONAR LAW'S SPEECH. A T a crisis like the present we must refuse to discuss Mr. Bonar Law's speech from any point of view except that of its effect upon the Unionist cause....

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THE EUROPEAN SITUATION.

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D URING the earlier part of the week there was some- thing very like despondency about the European situation. We are glad to say, however, that as we write on Thursday there is...

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ANGLO-AMERICAN PEACE.

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W E take it for granted that the proposal to celebrate in 1914 the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the last war between Great Britain and the United States, will be...

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THE NEW PRIVILEGED CLASS. T HE method by which the North-Eastern

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Railway strike has been settled raises issues of the most serious consequence. Let it be admitted at the outset that there is at least a possibility that Driver Knox was the...

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A REAL ANTIQUE IN SOHO.

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T O most of ns Soho is a place of cheap dinners and sham antiques. The antiques have become a little older as the years pass on, but in the main Soho maintains its old reputa-...

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THE BEST OF WINTER . SPORTS.

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I F a Londoner who died some twenty years ago could revisit Charing Cross or Victoria Station and watch the departure of the boat trains at this time of year, he would be...

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IN SEARCH OF A PAYING POULTRY FARM.

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S OME seven years ago a weekly paper, the County Gentle- man, published a series of articles by the well-known writer who signs himself " Home Counties," entitled " In Search of...

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CORRESPONDENCE.

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THE GAME: AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR PATRIOTS. LTD THE EDITOR Or Tag " SPECTATOR."] Sin,-Perhaps you may care to print the following attempt to appeal to the patriotism of the man at...

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

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EVENING COMMUNION. [To THE EDITOR OP TEE "SPECTATOR. " ] SIR, — The interesting letter which appears in your issue of December 7th on " Evening Communion " is well calculated...

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[To THY EDITOR OF THY "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—I have been a

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Conservative, not to say a Tory; from my youth up, and I have always done, and in my old age still do, my best to support the Conservative cause both by gifts of money and,...

[To THY EDIT= OF 122 " SPECT•TOR,"]

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SIR,—I am a country parson in an agricultural parish in the south-west of England. Half my time is spent in talking to working people. The wages of our labouring class are low...

UNIONIST POLICY.

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[To ram Enrros or THZ "SrEcreros."] was prevented last week from writing, as I intended, to congratulate the Spectator on its able and practical article on the position of the...

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pro THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. " ] SIS,—I think that the

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following questions, which I asked of two of our local "no Referendum at any price" protagonists, might well be asked of Lord Lansdowne and Mr. Bonar Law : (1) Do they honestly...

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. " ] SIR, —I heard Mr.

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Bonar Law's speech last Monday and came away feeling that he had done Lancashire a great injustice. He said the Indian excise put on cotton piece goods was for the protection of...

THE TRADE UNIONS BILL.

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[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR:A Six,—Since Unionist members of Parliament have been attacked for the amendments they have proposed to the Government's Trade Unions Bill it...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] Sta,—Mr. Bonar Law in

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his speech at Ashton-under-Lyne, explaining why his party have decided to cancel Mr. Balfour's pledge, given at the last election, that before Tariff Reform became law it should...

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[To THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR "]

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Srn,—The proceedings of the last sitting of the Standing Committee on the Trade Unions Bill deserve more considera- tion than they have received. Mr. W. Guinness moved a new...

THE RIGHTS OF PARENTS.

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[To TEE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTLTOIL."] Sin,—After reading Lord Hugh Cecil's letter appearing in your paper of December 14th on the subject of the rights of parents, it is...

[To TEE EDITOR OP THE "Erzernos."] SIR,—Let me begin by

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gratefully acknowledging Lord Hugh Cecil's recognition that the action of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in the Carter case arose from the best...

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TURKS AND MOHAMMEDANS.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] Siu,—In the editorial note appended to Mr. Ameer Ali's letter in the Spectator of November 30th you say, " We cannot believe that any body...

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. " ] Six, — The letter of Lord

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Hugh Cecil reminds me of a case that was before me not long ago. A child of eight suffered from adenoids, and the Medical Officer to the Education Authority induced the parents...

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GERMANY AND THE PORTUGUESE COLONIES IN AFRICA.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR." . 1 SIR,—I have just seen a copy of your• issue of November 2nd. In your article on " The International Situation " you suggest that Germany...

"THE MAN IN THE STREET."

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[TO THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTAIOR. "1 SIR,—Last week you had occasion to quote Lord Haldane as saying, " Remember how the man in the street looks up - on the Government." It may...

TRAITS OF MACAULAY.

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(To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR.") SIR,—In your issue of November 16th I ventured to speak of Macaulay as an "extra good hater." The justice of the com- ment is shown by the...

• LORD CROMER ON DISRAELI.

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(To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR.") SIR,—Perhaps as good an answer as can be given to Earl Cromer's reference to Disraeli as "this nimble-witted alien adventurer" is furnished...

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COUNTRY-HOUSE GAMES.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECIATOB.1 SIR,—The article on "Country-house Games" in the Spectator of December 7th reminds me of one we played on a wet day in my old home many years...

PSALM XLV. ON CHRISTMAS DAY.

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[To THE EDITOR OF ZEE "SPECTATOR. " ] But,—The choice of Psalm xlv. ("Eructavit cor meum ") for one of the proper Psalms appointed for Christmas Day (Mating) must appear to some...

'" THE BATTLE OF LIFE" AND SLOMAN'S.

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ITO THE EDITOR OF TEE - "SPECTATOR. "] But,—In your interesting review of Mr. T. E. Kebbel's " The Battle of Life" (December 7th; page 969) reference is made to Sloman's of...

PRAGMATISM AND POETRY.

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[To THE EDITOR OF 'THE " SPECIATOIL'l SIR,—A "pragmatical" poet is perhaps a contradiction in terms; at any rate, a poet who embodies the principles of Pragmatism is still...

THE UNION JACK AND IRELAND.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR." J Six,-16 having been decided that in the event of the Home Rule Bill becoming law the Union Jack is no longer to be the flag of Ireland, it...

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] you allow us through

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the medium of your columns to call the attention of the general public to the needs of the Gordon Hospital for Rectal Diseases, in the Vauxhall Bridge Road? It is a small...

TWO APPEALS.

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[To THE EDITOR OF rue espeerares."1 Sia,—At this season, when in our gratitude for peace and prosperity We feel we must pass on at least a small share of our good things, may we...

NOTICE'.—When "Correspondence" or Articles are signed with the writer's lime

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or initials, or with a pseudonym, or are marked "Communicated," the Editor must not necessarily be held to be in agreement with the views therein euressot or with the mode of...

A NATIONAL RESERVE WEEKLY. [To THE EDITOR OP THE "

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SPECTATOR.") SIR,—Is not the time ripe for the establishment of a weekly (or at least a. monthly) paper as the organ of the National Reserve P Such a publication would, I am...

POETRY.

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THE WELL OF THE MAGI, A LEGEND OF REPHAIM. "A lantern unto my feet." Femur', of Herod's cruel eyes, And doubtful of old prophecies, In basting from Jerusalem To Bethlehem, The...

BOOKS.

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THE POETRY OF COLERIDGE.* THE edition of Coleridge's Complete Poetical Works, prepared by Mr. Ernest Hartley Coleridge, and published by the Clarendon Press, includes some poems...

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THE ANGLO-GERMAN PROBLEM.* Ma. SAROLEA, the editor of Everyman and

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head of the French Department in Edinburgh University, has written a book of absorbing interest on the relations of Great Britain and Germany. He has a style which moves freely...

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LIFE OF GEORGE TYRRELL.•

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Tins fascinating book falls into two parts, an autobiography bringing the story of Tyrrell's life down to the year 1884, and a history of the circumstances leading to its tragic...

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PROFESSOR ELTON ON ENGLISH LITERATURE: 1 " PROVESSOR ELTON describes his work

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as "a review, a direct criticism, of everything I can find in the literature of fifty years that speaks to me with any sound of living voice." It is not therefore a history of...

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A NEW BOOK ON PORT-ROYAL.*

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THE story of Port-Royal has been often told, and it will be told many times again. For Port-Royal in its palmy days was a little world—a world in the variety of its characters,...

A TRUE REFORMER.t

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THE life of William Hone was eminently worth writing, not only as the story of a man who played an important part in one of the moat interesting periods of English social and...

THE PERFECT PARODIST.*

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THE seventeen parodies strung together by Mr. Beerbohm are not all equally successful ; and, strangely enough, he imitates least well the authors whose methods and manner are...

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FICTION.

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CEASE FIRING.t To superficial and fastidious critics who find in the crudities of American life something incompatible with the spirit of romance, there is an abiding and...

TEA-TABLE TALK.*

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IT does not do to inquire too closely into the artistic justifica- tion of Mrs. Fraser's reminiscences. Ought any lady of our day to be allowed three stout volumes of this most...

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GIFT-BOOKS

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Marvels of the Universe. (Hutchinson and Co. 2 vols. 12s. 6d. net each.)—The publisher or an anonymous editor describes these volumes on the title pages as a "popular" work, and...

Parsifal. By T. W. Rolleston. Illustrated by Willy Pogany. (Harrap

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and Co. 15s. net.)—Mr. Rolleston is known as one of the broader-minded of the modern students of Celtic poetry and myth. His rendering of the legend of Parsifal and the Holy...

The Songs and Poems of Robert Burns. (Edinburgh: T. N.

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Foulis. 10s. 6d. net.)—Edinburgh firms have done well and loyally by Burns in the publishing and the good printing on excellent paper of this stout volume. Lord Rosebery has...

The Ace of Hearts. By C. Thomas-Stanford. (Methuen and Co.

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6a.)—Mr. Thomas-Stanford has turned from Sussex and the great Civil War to Madeira and the Portuguese Revolution. As one would expect, his writing is firm, clear, and scholarly...

READABLE NOVELS.—The Unbearable Bassington, by H. H. Monro (J. Lane,

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6s.), and his friends and relatives are made almost bearable by the acidity of " Saki's" discursive humour.—The Moss Troopers. By S. R. Crockett. (Hodder and Stoughton. 6s.)—...

From Pole to Pole. By Sven Raclin. (Macmillan and Co.

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7s. 6d. net.)—An anonymous translator has " abridged and edited" Dr. Sven Hedin's Fran Pot till Pol " for the use of English-speaking young people," and the same young people...

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Modern War and Peace. By Viscount Esher. (Macmillan and Co.

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ls. net.)—Lord Esher recently delivered a lecture before the " Cambridge University War and Peace Society " ; and it is now reprinted. The main subject of the paper is Mr....

We have received the November issue of The Russian Review

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(Nelson and Sons, 2s. 6d.). A considerable portion of it is devoted to a series of articles upon the Napoleonic Campaign in Russia a hundred years ago. Of the other articles we...

SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.

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[Under this heading we notice such Books of the week as have not been reserved for review in other forms.] THREE ANTHOLOGIES. —The Voice of the Garden. Compiled by Lucy...

Eii'die Land. By Margaret Hays and Thomas Burke. Pictures by

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Grace G. Wiederseim. (Blackie and Son. 3s. 6d. net.)—Amusing verses written from the point of view of a little boy or girl. Most of the pictures are brilliantly coloured, and...

The Story of St. Francis of Assisi. By Elizabeth W.

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Grierson. With 16 illustrations and frontispiece in colour. (A. R. Mowbray and Co. 2s. 6d. net.)—Miss Grierson has had much experience in the writing of children's books, and...

Disraeli. By the Earl of Cromer. (Macmillan and Co. ls.

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net.) —We feel sure that our readers will be glad to learn of the republication in a permanent shape of the two striking articles upon Disraeli which appeared in these columns...

Messrs. T. C. and E. C. Jack have issued another

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batch of "The People's Books" (6d. net each). Three of the new volumes may be grouped together, since they deal respectively with Marriage and Motherhood, The Baby, and The...

Twinkle - Twinkle Stories. By William H. Harding. (Morgan and Scott. 2s.

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6d. net.)—This is an attempt to make stories of saints and heroes, whether drawn from the Bible, English history, or everyday life, interesting to modern children, by means of...

The Moon - Boat. By Alice 3f. Brown. Illustrated by Isabel Bonus.

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(F. and E. Stoneham. 2s. 6d. net.)—This is a pretty little book of verses written in a quiet, gentle style. Children will enjoy some of them very much, such as "Our Jack," which...