25 DECEMBER 1926

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News of the Week

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I T is a great pleasure to know that the British Govern- ment have taken the lead in proposing a realistic and modern policy in China. Mr. Miles Lampson, who is possessed of...

Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the present Cantonese regime, was

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a Christian who may have been a Socialist, but whose ideals (which are on record) amounted to nothing more than the gradual creation of a Republican democracy. If General Feng...

We have described elsewhere the generous manifesto on War debts

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which has been published by the Faculty of Political Science in Columbia University, but here we would point out that significant though it is it would be a mistake to suppose...

* * * * All this implies that there will

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be no attempt by the Powers, even temporarily, to intervene in China, but lest there should be any misunderstanding on that point, the desire to intervene is expressly...

The main purpose of the British proposals is said to

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be to meet the reasonable claims of-Chinese nationalism and to convince the whole of China that the Powers have no desire whatever to subject the country to foreign domination....

EDITORIAL AND PIIDLISIIING OFFICES : 13 York Street, Covent Garden,

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London, W.C. 2. — A Subscription to the SPECTATOR costs Thirty Shillings per annum, including postage, to any part of the world. The SPECTATOR is registere d as a Newspaper. The...

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In the early hours of last Sunday the French Budget

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was passed. The Senate insisted on a few modifications in favour of small farmers and sent the Bill back twice to the Chamber before an agreement was reached. The Budget debates...

* * * We have written elsewhere of the fall

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of the Marx Government in Germany. Here we may express the hope that whatever form the new Government may take Hen. Stresemann will still be Minister of Foreign Affairs, or if...

The clerical leaders of the " dry " campaign in

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Northern Ireland are not hesitating' to denounce Sir James Craig though most of them belong to his party. Mr. Pollock, the Minister of Finance, pointed out lately that if the...

General Hertzog has again underlined the reality of his conversion

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to the British Empire. At Pretoria, on Monday, he said that he did not hesitate to declare that the happiness of South Africa could be maintained in no better way than by...

The New York correspondent of the Times says that under

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the new Treaty between the United States and Panama, Panama pledges herself to go to war whenever the United States fights, and to give Washington the right to control the...

The result of the By-Election at Smethwick has not been

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announced when we write these words, as ow i n g to the fall of Christmas we go to press earlier than usual. The campaign was noticeable for ugly incidents and for exceptional...

A bloodless revolution took place in Lithuania or, Friday, DeCember

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17th. The GoVerninent :which wa s overthrown had certainly offended the majority of the Roman Catholic peasants by its educaticinal legislation, but its . chief offence was to...

The Hungarian elections have resulted in an over- whelming success

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for the Government. The Party of National Unity returns with 169 members and the Christian Social Union with 35 members. The next largest parties are the Social Democrats with...

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We are particularly glad to see that he mentions the

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possibility of " an agreed policy " in regard to trade union law. This is precisely what we have been suggesting for months. Many trade unionists want to be saved from the...

Medical science has .condemned so many forms of preservative for

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food as harmful to health that the Minister of Health has done well to decide to prohibit these preservatives at the New Year. The Times says that a few manufacturers were so...

The authorities might usefully turn their attention to the regulation

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of pedestrians in other ways. There is now no method among people walking along the pavements. Nobody knows whether to keep to the right or to the left. The result is an...

Having undoubtedly speeded up the traffic in London by the

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roundabout method, the authorities arc turning their attention to the regulation of foot passengers. An experiment has been begun in Parliament Square where five signposts bear...

Mr. Philip Snowden has great independence of mind and it

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is refreshing, after .the. unthinking way in which Socialists have for years condemned Trusts, Combines and Cartels out of hand, to read his considered opinions on the subject....

In a letter of good wishes to Mr. Marshall Pike,

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the Unionist candidate, Mr. Baldwin said that the Communists must be prevented from misusing the power of the trade unions for wicked ends. " We have no intention of destroying...

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

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on December 8rd, 1925. War Loan (5 per cent.) was on Tuesday 1001 ; on Wednesday week 100 ts ; a year ago 1001. Funding Loan (4 per cent.) was on Tuesday 1342 : on Wednesday...

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Two Voices from America

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E NGLISHMEN have read the news from America this week with mixed feelings. On the one - hand they have been informed of an extraordinary change cf attitude by President Coolidge...

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The National Genius of England

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1.4 ORD GREY OF FALLODON in his recent speech at the Guildhouse, Eccleston Square, on the national genius of England declared : " If I were asked to sum up in one sentence the...

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The Challenge of God

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fi lHERE are many nowadays to whom the story of Bethlehem stands or no transforming fact, no ever-present reality—it is to them " as the words of a very lovely song," and it is...

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Republicans versus Monarchists in Germany

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T HE fall of the Marx Government has come at an inopportune moment. For a long time that Government has managed to keep its balance on the tight rope, and although the movements...

How to Make British Farming Pay VII.—There is no Free

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Trade Party A WARE of the temerity in writing thus in the columns of the .Speetutor, the very sanctuary of Free Trade, I say that it is sheer doctrinaire stubbornness to set up...

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Good Will in Industry

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[Sir Robert Hadfield, like Mr. Ford, has been a lifelong advocate of high wages and high production, and has practised what he preaches with success. As a scientist and inventor...

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Some Christmas Customs

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TN thii materialistic age the superstitions which -- 11 - troubled our forefathers no longer exist. Neverthe- less, many of the ancient rites and ceremonies connected with...

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The Ventorro

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TN the distance I saw the ventorro and gladness -I- surged up within me. I would now be able to get food and drink and rest and shelter ! I was very hungry, for I had walked...

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Correspondence

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[A LETTER FROII DUBLIN.] [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sia,—The conclusion of the Imperial Conference renders a few lines from the Irish Free State, perhaps, timely. The...

THE " SPECTATOR " SUBSCRIPTION RATES.

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The following rates include postage to any pact of the world :— 5 a weeks .. .. .. 5 0 i - 26 „ .. • • • • IS I - . .. .. .. •• 7 1 6 2 f6 Postal 4 Orlars an d Cheques...

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* * THE ABBOT AND THE FARMER.

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Theorists on agriculture are continually laying emphasis on the need of scientific education. Perhaps they hardly realize how very great the advance in this direction has been....

A sheaf of queries has reached me about the healing

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of a certain great tulip tree that seemed to be suffering fro m anaemia and old age, but was cured .by a specialist. All these correspondents wish to be put in touch with the...

Country Life and Sport PRESERVING ENGLISH SCENERY.

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Within a very short while one of the English counties will take definite action to conserve its own beauties from desecra- tion by ugly and ill-placed buildings. That pioneer is...

THE. HOLLY CULT.

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- Within one . day this month six van loads of berried holly passed through : one small village in Hertfordshire. Poor Hertfordshire,. where no holly _tree, even on private...

For the first time in the memories of many of

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us swallows and martins have still been with us while the later winter visitors were arriving. Both birds were seen in several counties during the second week of December. The...

Next Week

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An important article by Mr. Murray Allison on Advertising the League of Nations.

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THE PROBLEM OF THE FAMILY [To the Editor of the

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SPECTATOR.] welcome criticism so vigorous as the letter of " Clinicus." But when he charges me with disingenuousneso for not mentioning the action of the Labour Party Conference...

Letters to the Editor

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" THE NEW WAY IN EDUCATION " [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Mr. F. A. Mackenzie gives good counsel to parents of moderate means when he advises them to cultivate an...

SCOUTING TO TAKE THE PLACE OF THE O.T.C.

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Nearly all old Public School boys are enthusiastic regarding the many good points of the Public School system, but most will agree that...

AGRICULTURE AND THE RAILWAYS

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In his article on " How to make Agriculture Pay," Sir F. Fox refers to Mr. Lloyd George's statement that it is cheaper to transport bacon...

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A HIGHER AND A LOWER STANDARD OF LIVING

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR, —We have lately heard much about these, most lately in President Coolidge's statement in reference to the pronouncement of the conference...

THE PROBLEM OF SINGAPORE

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Shall we never learn from history, as well as from the late War, that our possessions are protected by our fleet, and that only a small...

THE . VOCAL THERAPY SOCIETY

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sm,—The Committee of the Vocal Therapy Society, whose work there is good reason to believe has done much to restore shell-shock patients to...

A PROOF-READER'S LETTER

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] . Sm,—I am a proof-reader, the son of a proof-reader ; and am distressed to find that the Spectator has recently revealed signs of a weakening...

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LITERARY COINCIDENCES

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I write to call your attention to an odd coincidence in Gray's Elegy and Byron's Childe Harold. The first line of the fifth verse of...

THE EASTER ISLAND STATUES

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sra,—Information has recently come into my possession which appears to indicate that certain native peoples were in the habit of fashioning...

" COME TO BRITAIN "

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sra,—Britain has something to offer to our American cousins that no other part of the world has, at least for the majority of them, viz., that...

" GOD'S SILLIE VASSAL "

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sia,—A correspondent in a recent issue asks what is the intended meaning of " God's sillie vassal." There is surely no doubt about the matter....

AMERICAN ENGLISH

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_ [To the Editor of the Senciwroa.] --The Lancashire colliers all say " Yah " for " Yes," and always have, so far as I can find out. I don't know. where they got it from, but...

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THE AUSTRALIAN REFERENDUM . - • • . [To the

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Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I have read with interest and- substantial agreement . your note on the recent Australian Referendum (issue of September 11th). You are...

A " FAR FLUNG " SPECTATOR [To the Editor of

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the SPECTATOR.] Si*,—! think the following story of a - " far flung" weekly copy of the Spectator is worth telling. For more than thirty years I have been a subscriber, and...

THE NUMBER SEVEN

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIRS Will you permit me to use a small space in the Spectator with h request for some enlightenment to the origin of the Widespread use, both...

UNIVERSITY AND PUBLIC SCHOOL MEN IN THE DOMINIONS [To the

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Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—The National Union of Students under the Presidency of Lord Cecil is arranging a tour round the world for University and Public School men to...

A MOTOR-BOAT. WANTED .

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sm,—The parish of Belle Oram, Newfoundland, is in great need of a motor-boat to replace an unseaworthy craft with worn-out engines, which is...

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. ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—I am endeavouring to compile a comprehensive' biblio- graphy of imaginative literature in any hu,plage dealing with capital punishment....

" LOST LONDON " • [To the Editor of the

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SPECTATOR.] Sin,—In an appreciative review of Lost London, in a recent issue of the Spectator, the remark is made : " A little may one wonder that Crowther's artistic eye did...

IF FOR CHIMPANZEES, WHEN FOR CHILDREN ? [To the Editor

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of the SPECTATOR. ] SIR,—In May of 1924, after a•visit to New York, where I saw -infants in glass cubicles opaque to ultra-violet light, I wrote a letter to Nature, asking for a...

Poetry

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England, 1926 LORD, love the land that Thou host planned And lit with myriad lights, Let not our futile failings leave The future which our doubts conceive— A length of...

INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE OF. CHILDREN

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,---We desire to make more widely known the- existing opportunities for children or students of either sex to visit a oreign country by way...

• PRIDE OF COUNTRY [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

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SIR,—The concluding sentence in Dean Inge's England reminds me of the Irishman who,- being asked what he would like to be if he were not an Irishman, quickly answered : " Why,...

LIFE OF SIR FRANCIS BURDETT [To the Editor of the

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SPECT A TOR.] SIR, —I am writing from the Family Papers (Burdett Papers and C,outts papers) the Life of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet (1770 . to 1844)—the last purely...

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Some More Christmas Charities

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WE gladly hand on notes upon a few more appeals that have reached us, though there can be few of our readers who are not doing all they can for their local good works and others...

Sir Alan Cobham's Australia and Back is published by Messrs.

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Black for 2s. 6d. and not 3s. 6d. as stated in last week's review. Half a crown is remarkably cheap for this story of a great flight

This Week's Books

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FICTION.—Show Boat, by Edna Ferber ; Goodbye, Stranger, by Stella Benson ; Great Short Stories of the World (Heinemann); IVigger Heaven, by Carl Van Vechten ; The Black Knight,...

To the long list of War books Sir George Arthur

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has just added a finely-produced and highly interesting volume, completing The Story of the Household Cavalry (Heinemann, 35s.) up to the Armistice. All who served in France in...

The Society for the Provision of Birth Control Clinics has

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sent us their Annual Report for 1925 and 1926. Those interested in this controversial cause may procure a copy from 1536 East Street, Walworth Road, S.E. 17. * * * *

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Haggis to the General IF our libraries and bookshelves are

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ever scientifically analysed, the book before me should undoubtedly be described as a " Haggis " book. This will be no term of contempt, but will mean, in the first place, that...

Travel, How To—and How Not To

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Sailing Across. Europe. By Negley Farson. Photographs by the Author. (Hutchinson. 21s.) " IF, in providing to a certain degree, however lopsided, a picture of the continent of...

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A Symposium of St. Francis

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THESE essays will interest all Franciscan students and delight those simple lovers of the Saint who cannot aspire to the name of student at all. To the latter class such...

Spirits U.P.

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Mn. LANGFORD REED has established himself as the antholo- gist of nonsense, a proud distinction to which he seems fully entitled. But, at times, I begin to wonder whether he is...

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The Ultimate Austerity

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Or So dreary is the sea of mediocrity and talent through which the critic has to wade that -he gasps, incredulous, when suddenly a palm-shadowed island of genius is sighted....

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Recent Theology The Capacity for God. By R. F. Horton,

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MA., D.D. (George Allen and Unwin. 7s. ed.) Da. Hon:ropes book is delightfully written. It is something better still. A recognized champion of Nonconformity, from the day when,...

The Nabobs in England

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The Nabobs in England. A Study of the returned Anglo-Indian, 1760-1785. By James Holtzman. (Published in New York.) This very entertaining book should have been twice as long I...

Studies in the Text of the New Tentament. By A.

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T. Robertson, D.D. (Hodder and Stoughton. 8s. 6d.) Professor Robertson has added to a long list of works on the New Testament an admirable synopsis of the gradual evolution,...

Eternity : Is it a Biblical Idea ± By James

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Henderson Brown. (James Clarke and Co. 3s. 6d.) Eternity : Is it a Biblical Idea ± By James Henderson Brown. (James Clarke and Co. 3s. 6d.) A great part of the discussion on "...

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FROM CORONET TO CROWN, or THE LIFE OF WILLIAM THE

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CONQUEROR. By Sarah Henry Benton. (Kegan Paul. 103. 6d.)—With every good wish to encou rage what might have been a praiseworthy effort, the duty that the reviewer owes to the...

• INGRES : HIS LIFE AND ART. By L. Frolich-Bume.

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(Heinemann. 4s.)—This handsome book, which contains eighty large reproductions of the painter Ingres' work, should do much to remedy the lack of appreciation of this great...

Mr. Stuart has compressed a great deal of reading and

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thought into his survey of religious conception and dogma. He really starts from an obviously deep impression caused by Otto's remarkable work, Das Heilige, and, sketching many...

AN INVENTORY OF . THE HISTORICAL MONU- MENTS IN HUNTINGDONSHIRE. (Stationery

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Office. 85s.)—The little county of Huntingdon—the smallest save three in England—has at last attracted the attention of the archaeologist. Until a few months ago the county had...

Current Literature

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GLASGOW AND BALLIOL, AND OTHER ESSAYS. By the Rev. P. A. Wright-Henderson. (Oxford University Press. 6s. net.)—Old Wadham men, who had a sincere affection for " Pat," and many...

WANDERINGS IN ROMAN BRITAIN. By Arthur Weigall. (Thornton Butterworth. 6s.)—The

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countless Roman remains that have been snugly lying hid for centuries under 20 feet (more or less) of soil may be called aurum irrepertum, but not surely et sic meting situnt....

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GOSSIP ABOUT DR. JOHNSON AND OTHERS. By Francis Henry Skrine.

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(Nash and Grayson. 12s. 6d.)- Miss Laetitia Matilda Hawkins was, according to Mr. F. H. Skrine, who has just edited her diary, an acidulous old maid. The daughter of a rich and...

TAUNTON : ITS HISTORY AND MARKET TRUST. By George H.

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Kite and IL P. Palmer. (Taunton. E. Goodman and Son. Price not stated.)-This little book will be of interest not merely to Somerset folk but also to students of municipal...

Novels in Brief

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The Jade Rabbit. By Adele Blood and Tam Marriott. (The Diamond Press. 7s. • 6d.)-The quest for The Jade Rabbit-the totem of a Chinese secret society-whose posses- sion carries...

THE LEGACY OF THE MIDDLE AGES. Edited by C. G.

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Crump and E. F. Jacob. (Clarendon Press. 10s. net.)- Seventeen well-known specialists show us both the differences and the resemblances between the mediaeval period and our own...

Christmas Films in London

The Spectator

_ CumaRELLA.-Matinees of this delicious eighteenth-century version of the fairy tale, which was first shown at the Film Society, are being given daily at the Capitol, Haymarket....

The Week's Special Broadcasts

The Spectator

Sunday, December 26th.-Bach's Christmas Oratorio (3.30 p.m.). Robert Loraine, reading an arrangement of " A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens (4.30 p.m.). Special Service of...

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Finance—Public and Private

The Spectator

The Past Year—Abnormal Conditions IT has often been said that it- is Well that the future is hidden from our eyes. That is a truth which the .writer of annual financial reviews...

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ECONOMY.

The Spectator

While I do not propose to follow Lord Inchcape in his allusion to the causes of unrest in China, with which I may say the City as a whole is not in agreement, I cannot refrain...

Financial Notes

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THE P. AND 0. MEETING. It is not surprising that P. and 0. stocks should have risen following upon the speech of Lord Inchcape at the meeting. For in the most casual and dry...