A Yeoman's Letters. By P. T. Ross. (Simpkin, Marshall, and
Co. 5s.)—Mr. Ross went out with the 69th Sussex Company Imperial Yeomanry. He reached the Vaal River on May 28th, 1900, came back to Cape Town in March last, and reached home in April. He wants an opinion on his book, and we will frankly say that we do not like it. Perhaps it is unfair to grudge his joke to a man who has gone through a good deal, but the fact remains that the four pages with which he, so to speak, concludes the whole matter, "Why I Joined the Yeomanry" and "Why I Left," do not give a single creditable motive, at any rate, for leaving. Possibly No. 20, which suggests a real love of fighting, the writer leaving the Imperial Yeomanry for the South African Constabulary, is an exception. These reasons are supposed to be actual contributions from men who have served. Was there no one who had the idea of duty? Of course there were thousands, very likely Mr. Ross himself among them. But then it is "bad form" to be serious.
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