27 FEBRUARY 1926, Page 22

Messrs. Constable have published the ninth and tenth volumes of

the Works of Thomas Love Peacock (2 guineas net). The " Essay on Gastronomy and Civilization " is a paper of pure delight, written in the highest of Peacock's high spirits. It.ranges from " the turnips of Cincinnatus to Andrew Marvel's cold shoulder of mutton," with delightful divagations on the ethics of intoxication and the metaphysic of cooking. We are inclined to doubt Peacock's assertion that Alexander "if he ever exceeded at all " was only drunk when the day's work was done. But who shall now decide ?