Certain Personal Matters. By H. G. Wells. (Lawrence and Bullen.)—This
volume is made up, as the author tells us with a praiseworthy candour, of newspaper articles. They furnished entertainment to one set of readers, and we hope they will do the same for another. It will not be Mr. Wells's fault if they do not. He is very amusing ; in fact, his jokes are almost too abundant. If now and then he could resist the temptation to be funny, as 'when a Scripture quotation suggests itself, it would be well. The collection is something like a basket of strawberries, the best come first; and though Mr. Wells never falls below the level of readableness, he is not always equal to himself. He first main- tains an amusing paradox, that various properties, furniture and the like, may last too long, and does it with much humour. How good this is: "Her wonderful silk dresses—they would stand alone--still went rustling cheerfully about an ephemeral world ;'' and this, of the Babylonians, "among that massive populace, even their newspapers were built of brick." The second, "Of the Choice of a Wife," is equally good. Here is a specimen :— " Take, for instance, the statement that beauty fades.'
Absurd ; every one knows perfectly well that as years creep on beauty simply gets more highly coloured. And then 'beauty is only skin-deep.' Fantastically wrong ! Some of it is not that." We may mention "In a Literary Household" and "Of Clever.. ness " as good specimens of Mr. Wells's work. It is a curious thing to find him speaking of "Margaret's Street, Great Portland Street," as "a derelict thoroughfare." He evidently has not been there on a Sunday, or on any day when there is a great function at St. Margaret's.
Previous page
