7 FEBRUARY 1925, Page 24

THE OLD MEN OF THE SEA. By Compton Mackenzie. (Cassell.

7s. 6d. net.) Mr. Compton Mackenzie, having hoisted the Jolly Roger, has cast himself free from psychological and other restrictions and settled down to tell his readers a good yarn. Although much of the book is clearly derivative, certain scenes are exceedingly well done, notably the visit of the ancient Harry Hawkyard and Marsham, the teller of the story, to the volcanic island where the pirate steamer has met her end. Mr. Compton Mackenzie's characterization is not quite happy in these new circumstances, and the figure of Hunt, the tailor, is as boring in the book as the man himself would have been in real life.