CURRENT LITERATURE
Major-General Beith's appointment as Public Relations Officer to the War Office has synchronised' with the appearance of his pleasant and informal history of the British infantry soldier, under his well-known pseudonym . of " Ian Hay ;' (Methuen, 7s. 6d.). It recalls in style The First Hundred Thousand and other books that, he wrote about our volunteers during the War. Two-thirds of the book are given to the historical sketch, closing with the Great War, and in the remaining hundred 'pages -Ian Hay' deseribes 'the daily round of army life and the meaning of army discipline and discusses the difficulties of recruiting. It is no secret that the men who break the rules by getting married under the age of twenty-six bring trouble upon themselves as, well as on the Army, and that the higher wages offered in civil life tempt many trained men to seek their discharge: Ian Hay considers such questions fairly while making , it clear that the pfivate soldier is much better treated nowadays and is taught a trade so that he need not
fear to be unemployed when his term of service is over. •
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