Fairy Tales of Old Japan. By W. E. Griffis. (G.
Harrap and Co. 6s.)—Mr. Griffis tells us that he has drawn his collection of Japanese fairy tales from many sources. Had he gone further and told us which owed their origin to folk-lore, legend, or opera we think it would have added to the interest of the book. Some, he confesses, "exist in no Japanese text," but were suggested to him by what he saw in the Land of Sunrise. These, though un- doubtedly charming, have not quite the interest possessed by those actually "of the country." Among the latter are some which breathe a spirit essentially Eastern. The delightfully humorous little tale entitled " The Travels of Two Frogs " would not easily find a parallel among Western folk-lore, nor the descrip- tion of " How the Jelly Fish Lost His Shell." On the other hand " The Grateful Crane " treats of a theme which occurs again and again in European fairy tales.
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