Two books of negro music recently received are The Second
nook of Negro Spirituals edited with an introduction by Mr. J. Johnson (Chapman and Hall, $3 50 cents) and Singing Soldiers, by Mr. J. J. Niles (Scribners. 10s. 6d.). Mr. Niles leas a pilot in the United States Air Force during the War and has made an extremely amusing book on the lighter side of life during the grim spring of 1918; indeed, it is from volumes such as this that the real history of the War will one day be -compiled. In addition to the good but rather broad stories, there is much to interest the music lover and there are excellent line illustrations. The editor of the Spirituals 6ftell uses that horrid hybrid word " Aframerican," but Perhaps we shall have to get used to it, as there does not *era to be a better. There is no doubt that the American 1}(I'TO is contributing something of value and importance to the world civilization, and Mr. Johnson's interesting volume 'will go far to break down the foolish notion that the negro T? America "is nothing more than a beggar at the gate of be nation." He has a wealth of national endowments and 41s left his imprint on the United States. Jazz music, again,
is a serious subject : its rhythms have undoubtedly a peculiar fascination for the average person.
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