That is a passage which isasadmirablein styleand presentment as it is in criticism. We hope we shall be pardoned by our vigorous and distinguished contemporary if we say that...

I UTnfortunately, when such things happen, some persons who deserve to enjoy freedom from harm and loss are involved in injury. It cannot be helped. We live in a world which is...

I We hope that the inauguration of official reprisals will do much to clear the confused state of the public mind about what are generally and loosely called " reprisals," and...

- The Manchester correspondent of the Times stated in Thurs- day's paper that Mr. De Valera had been for some days in Manchester. An Irishman who gave this information to the...

Lord Grey of Fallodon received on Tuesday the freedom of the I City of Glasgow, which was to have been conferred upon him on the very day when war was declared. He recalled the...

We give elsewhere some striking quotations from the San Francisco Argcnaut in regard to the Sinn Fein activities in America. It happens, however, that in the same number there...

Negotiations for a truce in Ireland continue in a shadowy I manner. Interest is now fixed upon the return from America of Mr. De Valera, the so-called President of the Irish...

I Martial law was proclaimed on Tuesday in four more Irish counties, Clare, Waterford, Wexford, and Kilkenny. A bomb was thrown at a party of police on Parnell Bridge, Cork, on...

I WORKS OF REFERENCE.- -The Peeple's Year Book, 1921 (Co-operative Wholesale Society, 2s. net), is the work of the Co-operative Press Agency, and deals mainly with...

The Research Defence Society, at 11 Chandos Street, Caven- I dish Square, has published several interesting pamphlets. The Prevention of Tetanus during the Great War by the Use...

Messrs. Dent have added a number of new volumes to their I attractive series of cheap reprints, entitled ' The King's Treasuries of Literature," and edited by Sir Arthur...

Cocoa. By Edith A. Browne. (A. and C. Black. 2s. 6d. net.)-| This new volume of a series called "Peeps at Industries " gives a highly interesting account of the cultivation of...

A Farmer's Handbook. By R. C. Andrew. (Bell. 6s. net.)- This little manual, intended for students and beginners, gives a useful account of ordinary farming operations,...

The Study of the New Testament, 1883 and 1920. By C H. I Turner. (Clarendon Press. 5s. net.)-Professor Turner's in- I augural lecture, delivered on his appointment as Dean...

An Eastern Library. By V. C. Scott O'Connor. (The author, I care of H. S. King and Co. 10s. (d. net.)-This charming little volume, printed in Glasgow by Messrs. Maclehose and...

BRITAIN AND AMERICA. HTHE Times of January 1st contained a most interesting 1 and striking interview with Mr. Owen Wister, the well-known American man of letters. It was he who...

[TO THE EDITOR OF 'HE " SPECTATOR."] Siz,-MNay I crave the hospitality of Your columns to correct a statement of facts in your article on the Jutland dispatches of I)ecember...

"ILLEGAL GOVERNMENT"T AND THE REMEDY. [To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECT4TOR."] SIR,-Witlh reference to Your striking article under the above title, will you allow me to quote a few...

MORE OLD PAPERS. [To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,-In one of his interesting articles under the above heading Sir Evelyn Grant-Duff, in your issue of January 1st, says:...

[TO THE EDITOR OF TEZ " SPECTATOR."] SIR,-Sir Evelyn Grant-Duff asks: " What might have happened if Stonewall Jackson had lived, and been at Lee's right hand on that fatal...

The Cologne Post, the excellent English daily paper published I for the British Army of the Rhine, has published an attractive S&uvenir Numnbe-r (12 marks or Is.) to celebrate...

The Horse as Conwrade and Friend. Ov Everard R. C(altliri-. With an Introductory letter by Lord Lonschale. (HIi tehiIIs II. 16s. net.)-MAr. Calthrop has lived all his life...

Catalogue of Painters and DraughtswnR Represented in the Library of Reproductions of Pictures and Drawyings. Formed by I Robert and MLar)y Witt. (Privately pi'inted.)-'T he...

Kziqhts of Malta, 1523-1798. By R. Cohen. (S.P.C.K. I 2s. net.)-This new volume of the excellent Helps for Students of History gives a concise and scholarly sketch of the...

Macsbmillan's Historical Atlas of Modern Europe. Edited by I F. J. C. Ilearn3haw. (Macmillan. 63. net.)-This useful little I atlas contains eleven maps, carefully drawn and...

The Publishers' Circular of last week records the surprising I fact that 11,094 books were published in the United Kingdom in 1920, despite the high cost of paper and printing....

The London Mercury for January contains some highly I interesting extracts from " Anton Tchekhov's Notebook "-an odd assortment of ideas for stories, epigrams, and queer...

I The second, or January, number of The Army Quarterly (Clowes, 7s. 6d. net) maintains the promise of the first. It contains many well-wrritten and instructive articles which...

Jesus College, Cambridge, in Black and White. By E. Channing I Matthews. (Cambridge: Spalding. 4s. 6d. net.)-This attrac- I tive little book contains some clever drawings of...

Letters to Youn2g Sportsmen off Hunting, Angling, and Shootir''. By Lieut.-Colonel J. Mackillop, Horace G. Hutchinson, and thwe Hon. Douglas Cairns. Illustrated by Lionel...

THE DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE. I ^HE war has given every rational person a dislike 1 for war, and added to this dislike there is a hope, merging into a vague and tentative belief,...

The revolutionaries are seeking to use the unemployed for I their own ends. On Tuesday the Daily Herald stated that on the previous day, outside the Islington Town Hall, " a...

Mr. Henderson, Mlr. J. H. Thomas, Mr. Gosling, and Air. Ramsay Mac Donald, acting as a sub-committee of the Labour Party and the Trade Union Congress, have issued a letter to...

The executives of the building trade unions decided last I week to submit the latest offer of the Ministry of Labour to a ballot of their members. The Ministry's terms are...

We are told, and our informant may be right, that when we I I are attacking the bonuses which have been added to the salaries of minor Civil servants in accordance with the...

The Government are also considering the possibility of I increasing our export trade with Central and Eastern Europe by means of long credit bonds issued by the distressed...

It may be that the decision about the new site for tho Head- quarters of London University has been finally taken and that it is too late to suggest any alternative. But we are...

The Select Committee drew attention to an unfortunate war contract for nickel, which has cost a million or two and involves further liabilities. It recommended that the...

The New Year Honours List included five peerages, conferred upon Sir William Beardmore, Sir Ernest Cable, Sir Horace Marshall, Colonel Stewart-Mackenzie, and Mr.Vauglan-)avies,...

The Government on Saturday last invited employers to share I "the existing volume of work " as far as possible among the wage-earners. Sir Robert Horne, in a letter to...

The Select Committee on National E-xpenditure, which continues to do most useful work, devoted its seventh report, issued last week, mainly to education. Education is costing...

LYNCH1ING IN AMERICA. [TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] Sia,-As an American reader may I make one or two comments on the editorial and book review on the subject of lynching...

VICTOR HORSLEY MlEMORIAL FUND. [TO THE EDITOR Of THE " SPECTATOR."] SiR,-We are appealing for contributions to found a scholarship or a lecture in memory of Sir Victor...

PROPORTIONAL RE1PRESENTATION` IN THE HOME RULE ACT. [To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,-The Home Rule Bill as introduced provided that both Nortlhern and Southern Irish...

UNEMPLOYMENT AND THE NEDD FOR STEADINESS. T HE chief thing to hope for in the present crisis is that T the Government, while adopting every legitimate expedient for reducing...

IRISH REPUBLICAN LEADERS AS HOSTAGES. [To HE EDITOR OF 'IRE " SPECTATOR."] SIB,-Referring to this subject as dealt with in " News of the Week " paragraphs in your issue of...

T1IE PASSPORT SYSTEM AND I'TS REFORM. [TO THE EDITOR OF THE SPECTATOR. I C!. A ~~~ll : le.- .- IL - .1. A -- f Il ,___ _ . 1 - 0ia,-v ery emptianuc strictures nave lately...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SiR,-In your leading article, at the close of an estimate of what you believe will happen in the future, you write: "These are not the...

LANDLORDS' GRIEVANCES. [To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SiR,-I think that the utmost publicity should be given to one aspect of the Increase of Rent and Mortgages Act,...

i' I C T I ON. THE AGE OF INNOCENCE.* MRS. WHARTON has peifoimed a considerable lour de forcc in producing a finished picture which completely realizes the social conditions...

PLATO AND IXDlA.t PLATO was the first writer in Europe to assume that man is a spiritual being and that all the valuations which matter are spiritual valuations. This...

WATER-PLANTS.* TRos34 who were delighted with Mrs. Arber's Herbals will have been looking forward to the appearance of her Water Plants. And disappointment will not await them,...

We havc received a copy of the report of the Nile Projects Commission, which was appointed a year ago by the Egyptian Government to investigate charges brought by Sir William...

The Adi Dravidas are the aboriginal inhabitants of Southern I i India. They are regarded by the Hindus of the higher castes I as outcasts and " untouchables." Surely there is...

Signor d'Aiinunzio's adventure at Fiumc ewls ended peace- fully. On Friday, December 31st, the civic authorities to whom the poet had resigned his command came to an agreement...

Herr von Bethmann Hollweg, who was the German Chancellor from July, 1909,to July, 1917,died on Saturday, aged sixty-four. He was typical of the Prussian officials whom the...

Ln truth we are throwing India into the melting-pot and sacrificing the benefits of our rule at the bidding of a wild and frenzied minority, intoxicated with the belief that...

NEWS OF THE WEEK. W E have dealt elsewhere with one facet of the Indian[ problem-the great danger which would ensue from , the appointment of Lord Reading as Viceroy, a...

ANOTHER BOOK ABOUT WOMEIN.* '\ u.o-N really want the best in men ; men do not want the beat in us-yet." This sentence might serve as a motto for the authors of Nails. We must...

OUR FAMILY AFFAIRS. * MR. E. F. BENSON must surely have been born under some lucky star. He has been fortunate in his home, fortunate in his friends, fortunate in his school...

POETRY. LUCKY. LUCKY to live, Lucky again To have met, and marched With the finest men (So I believe) Earth ever bred Since heaven was arched . . . But they are dead. Lucky to...

THE AMERICAN FOLK-SONG. [To TnE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,-The interesting article on "The American Folk-Song " in the Spectator of December 25th referred to the...

DE BRY'S "GUNPOWDER PLOT." [To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,-Should you kindly permit an old reader of your paper to inquire through its columns for a rare German work...

" FRtITION." [TO TEE EDITOR OF THE " SFECTA.TOR."I SIR,-I wonder if it is too late to rescue the wvord "fruition " from a like misuse that has befallen the words "origin," "...

TIHE PORCUPINE'S SNORE. [TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.".] SIR,-Some years ago I was helping in a nursing home in Mussoorie (India). I was on night dutv, and as it was very...

HlEDGCElHOGS AND BAR.N-OWLS. [TO THE EDITOR CF THE SPECTATOR."] SIR,-Vy first acquaintance with a hedgehog's grunt at niglit was an alarming one. I was sure my burglar had...

" JOSEF 1IOLBROOKE AN D IlIS AWORIK." [To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR." SIR,-In reply to Mr. I1ollbrooke's letter in your issue of December 25th last, I should like to point...

VILLAGE CLUBS. [TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."'] Siu,-Lord Latymer has, I fear, misunderstood my letter. The subject of it was not a " certain men's club," but was meant to...

THE PLUMAGE BILL: AN APPEAL. [To THE EDITOR OF TUX " SPECTATOR."] SIR,-It is superfluous to point out how great have been the services of the Spectator to a righteous and most...

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF GIRLS' CLUBS. [TO THE EDITOR OF THlE " SPECTATOR."] SiR,-January seems perhaps hardly the month when one thinks of holidays, but we are venturing to...

COLOUR IN OUR STREETS. [To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."I SIR,-Play I remind you that in my lecture, "Art and the City," for the London Society, at the Royal Society of Arts...

TWO THEATRICAL EVENTS. [TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SIm,-May I call the attention of your readers to two events, both of interest to amateurs of the theatre? The first...

READABLE NO-ELS.-Coflquest. By Gerald O'Donovan. (Constable. 8s.)-Deals with contemporary life in Ireland, but in his efforts to be impartial the author succeeds in being dull....

SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK. [Notice in this column does lot vecessar.ly prechulz sulsequent reicl.] I London Topegraphical Record. Vol. XIL. (London Toro- graphical Society, 17...

POETS AND POETRY. TIHE SECRET: SIXTY POEMS.* IT is somewhat difficult to criticize Mr. Laurence Binyon's poems. In a sense the work of his younger contemporaries owes so mucd...

LORD GORELL.* WiEan Mr. J. E. G. de Montmorency was invited to write the life of John Gorell Barnes, the first Lord Gorell, a wise choice was made. He was associated with Lord...

THE THEATRE. PANITOMMES. I WISH I were a folk-lore expert. If I knew enough to make Dut a moderate case for the theory that Prince Charming was really Dionysus, the Dame a...

BO OK S. THE PASSING OF THE NEW FREEDOM.* THE duty of reviewing this book is one exceedingly diflicult for an Englishman to perform. He wants to be fair to the author, and in...

THE PA. RISH MAkGAZINE. HTHOSE people who read parish magazines have not Tgenerally much choice of literature. '; It would disgraco a parish magazine " is a hostile verdict...

TOPICS OF THE DAY. LORD READING AND THE INDIAN VICEROYALTY. W E have hitherto refrained from noticing the rumours V V that Lord Reading is to be made Viceroy of India. Wde...

THE JUTLAND DISPATCHES. [TO THE EDITOR or THE: " SPECTATOR.Al] Siu,-I read with great interest your article on the Jutland papers, and it was a satisfaction to see the...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. [Letters of the length of one of our leading paragraphs are often more read, and therefore more effective, than those which fill treble the space.] LORD...

MONEY MATTERS. IT matters very much indeed, for it is the mainspring cf most human endeavour. We speak of it slightingly but we pursue it persistently, for it makes our lives...

IRISH GLASS.* IRISH glass has a great vogue with collectors, but very little is known about it, and the wildest fables, as in other Irish questiors, have gained currency. W1re...

THE TANK IN' ACION.* THERE was once a stage character who constantly referred to a pocket-book in which he kept a list of his pet aversicns. It included such various items as...

FINANCE-PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. PROSPECTS FOR THE NEW YEAR. [To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,-The New Year in the City may be said to have opened according to programme....

ST. JOHN THE DIVINE.* Tills latest addition to the International Critical Commentary comes from the first living authority on Apocalyptic literature, and contains the harvest...