17 JUNE 1905, Page 24

The Sensitive, and other Pieces. By A. E. Manning Foster.

(George Allen. 3s. 6d. net.)—Mr. Foster is sometimes instruc- tive, but he is not humorous, and the non-humorous essayist is, we take it, a mistake. We have, indeed, a definition of humour. It should "awaken thoughtful laughter—the laughter that blends with tears." This effort will scarcely supersede its numerous predecessors. Perhaps the best thing in the volume is the appre- ciation of Sarah Bernhardt. That on Walter Pater is not satis- factory. There have been few mon whose style changed more than Pater's ; but it did not follow the usual course. With Carlyle and Tacitus the mannerism grew. Pater's early work is far more elaborate in style than " Marius."