Tack Suit By Lieutenant Mark Ben-ott. "London: Edward Arnold.
Pp. 09. 75 Gd. net.
It was so difficult, not many years ago, to waken the interest of maritime nation in its merchant ships and seamen that subject was most as remote as the Absolute; for the truth is, says the "Manchester Guardian," we are no more a seafaring nation than a nation of coal-miners. The mysteries _of seamanship and navigation are not popular mysteries.—It was even possible, not long before the war, to undo'to a grave extent the work of Samuel Plimsoll, and that without a debate in Parliment and without a protest from anyone that mattered. The public never knew what had been done, and so never connected the reports of ships that were lost and men that were drowned with anything that was not an act of God. We think we remember that even the professional] union of sailors and firemen failed to see at the time any need for official criticism of the decision again to load into ships more than they were designed to carry. As! should like to correct the tive Miss Durham has rendered an author in one particular. He repeats the old story that foreign seamen, in pre-war days, so often manned British ships because they id not drink like British seamen; foreigners were not signed on because they were cheaper, but because they were sober. It happy that, when this was a subject of] controversy some years before the war, we spent a deal of time secking information in the articles—of ships, where the facts about wages were'given, And Lieutenant Benctt is wrong. Ships got their crews on the Continent because the port rates were lower there. Nor were the foreigners always more submissive to stern discipline than the! difficult Britisher. And, again, they had certain disadvantages drunk or sober; as to one of them, it was discovered, in emergencies, that was unlucky to have men who did not understand orders, when given in English, on a British shi The author declares, for his pa that the "war wrought wonders We know it is true that, some how, we were maintained in supies during the war, and that our armies were transported wherever they were needed. It was an immense task, British merchant seamen did rather well, in tenth, Lieutenant Bennett is inclined to] think that this may have—been caused, to some extent, through igh" prices and early closing! hours." Again we think he is wrong. And "he should remember that} soldiers were actually given tots before going over the top. One of] the features of an old - battleground was the rum jars. Something seems wrong with his argument. Good men cannot be dis solved in liquor; though, when he has to face a long and ' ugly task, the weaker brother is apt to pour! a little spirit on his dismal faith' to make it flame more brightly, "The Story of a Reed-deer" by the Hon. J. W. Fortescue originally, published in 1897 field become a classic and has en-Joyed a wide circulation is several forms. It is now for the first time to be issued with illustrations, and the publishers, Messrs, Macmillan Ca, have been fortunate in securing in Mr. G, D. Armour, an artist, the excellence of whose draw.
sporting subjects is well In his latest volume of short stories, "Great Security" (Cassel 7s, Gd.), "Bartimeus" well mai tains his skill in depicting the life of the Navy man on board ship and ashore, though on this occasion many of the stories are very poor in plot. The title-story, for instance, which fills nearly half the book, although on a singularly inspiring theme of which a great deal could be made, is as artificial and unconvincing in plot as it could possibly be, and the only really interesting characters in it are the lower ratings. But some of the shorter sketches are excellent, especially "The Golden Ball," giving very vivid infpression of ' sailor's light adventure in dock, and "Such Other Punishment," in which an ex-Naval convict, breaking gaol, makes a night escape by boat down the river and boards an. old hulk which is used as a target by light important service. For we cannot afford to ignore what'she has gathered together. She would, it is true, have written a better and a shorter book if she had checked her moral indignation and her disgust for the politicians and soldiers of Belgrade. When we learn that a European Cabinet is involved in the guilt of an assassination we can form our own opinion of it without being prompted. A detached record of facts would have been far more effective than the style Miss Durham has preferred. But the facts are there, and that is the main thing. Stripped of its complications, the story, as it is known up to the pre= sent, may be briefly set down, At the outbreak of war Serbia vas, as Jugo-Slavia still is, a semic barbarous country, Mer Royal Fa-muy had been on the throne only since 1903, and the gang of off cers that had murdered the last King and Queen of the previous dynasty was still active and powerful. It had formed a secret s0- ciety called the "Black Hand" or "Union or Death," which was pledged to unite the scattered South Slav lands and to stick at no me fame in achieving this purpose. One of the leaders of the "Black Hand," Colonel Dimitrieviteh, who was also chief of the Serbian Military Intelligence Department, had a share in the arrangements for the Archduke's murder, which he regarded ax necessary' to prevent Austrian aggression. The three sick= youngsters (all were under 20 ud all have since died of consump= tion) who actually went to Serajevo had been in touch with the Colonel. That they were planning their crime was known to M. Pashitch (then, as row, Prime Minister of Serbia). who told his Ministry at a Cabinet meeting, where it was agreed that steps ought to be taken to prevent the boys from erossing the frontier. But the frontier guards made no arrests, and M. Pashiteh did nothing to warn the Austrians of what was going to happen. Thus the murder came as no surprise to the Serbian Government. Later, in 1917. Colonel i after the famous Sale 4 charge of having plotted A the life of the Ragent, Who ther he had done so is doubtful, but there is no doubt that the "Black Hand" and the Government were at Ditter feud. 'Such are the barest outlines of the tale. It is not yet quite diventangled. "How much "M. Pashitch knew, whether the plotters were encouraged by Russia, and whether the Salonika trial w put-up job, staged on the that dead' men tell no tales, to the bottom of which still to see, Probably we never shall, for the waters are deep, muddy, and much stirred, Nor, un Tess we are historians, need we inquire any further. The moral of the business is crystal clear. A world so dangerously poised as. that of 1914 could be toppled into war for the rottenest of reasons. Had the League of Nations existed then even at ite present level of efficiency, it would "have brought out Serbia's partial responsibility at once and have given Austria a means of sa-fistying herself without making the guns go off. and heavy ships and aeroplanes. In these "Bartimeus" ig sti very best.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.