Mrs. Holmes: Commandant. By R. E. Forbes. (Edward Arnold. 5s.
net.)—No one who has any intimate knowledge of Auxiliary Military Hospitals can fail to find great entertainment in this volume. From the mobilizing of the Great Woman who gives her name to the book, right to the end of the third section, there is not a word which rings false, and though " R. E. Forbes " sees life through a most humorous pair of spectacles, the ideals which lie at the root of the work of even the most frivolous of " V.A.D.'s " are with considerable art always kept within sight of the reader. With the end of the book it is not so easy to be in sympathy. Though the Mouth of every medical officer must water at the thought of the inspector turned patient, the general atmosphere of flirtation which is the result -of the opening of the officers' ward is really less admirable in a hospital than the author makes us believe while we are still reading the story. For, charm the author never so wisely, there is serious and fundamental harm in love-making between hospital staffs and their patients. The portraits of the men whilst the hospital is kept for the rank-and-file are excellent, the impish naughtiness and quiet heroism which alike endear the wounded soldier to all those in charge of him being presented with much discernment. Whether Mrs. Holmes's sister-Commandants will allow the book to circulate freely in their hospitals may perhaps be doubted. But they will read it themselves, and they may be quite sure that it will be infinitely enjoyed both in the " Pro's " dining-room and in the wards, to both of which places it will finally percolate with, or without, the Commandant's permission.
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