26 MAY 1928, Page 29

The first great gift of the essayist is to see

familiar things through fresh eyes, and the second is to allow his readers to share in his discoveries and enthusiasms. That Mr. Robert Lynd possesses both these faculties may be proved by any reader of The Pleasures of Ignorance (Methuen, 5s.). Although this book was originally published before the War, there is no trace of staleness in it, for the author has written of undatable delights in a manner that can never cease to charm.