Welsh Journals

matter of criticism a man must not be in a hurry, he does best to linger in company with the great men whose work he wishes to understand and to postpone criticism to intimacy." And with this point of view no great fault can after all be found. What he has therefore given us is a series of admirable studies of the lives and achievements of some of our great literary men and to this work he has brought a wide scholarship, sound taste and a personality of a persuasive kind. For the details of his portraits he has gone to letters, diaries, and journals, while by means of abundant quotations he has succeeded in giving a sound first-hand knowledge of the works discussed. Yet his treat- ment throughout is free from pedantry; the dust of learning is nowhere allowed to accumulate in his work. Where he treads on familiar ground his outlook is always fresh and suggestive, where he moves into less frequented paths he holds the attention by the good things he points out on every side. Moreover, he writes as one who has read with enjoyment, and his style is in consequence a live and an attractive one. It is this quality, together with his keen insight and his broad human sympathies, that make Mr. Glover so helpful and inspiring as a literary guide and his book, it may safely be said, will be warmly welcomed by all lovers of literature. J. H. Atkins. A Little Book of Quiet. Dorothy Frances Gurney. "Country Life," London. Pp. 61. Those who like such a title for a book of poems, and they are by no means the worst of mortals, will like what this title covers. In other words, these poems are both small and quiet. There is a pleasant smell of lavender sheets, of garden flowers, of cleanliness. There is also an insipidity. Many of the poems are pretty, many are quietly, though not very deeply, thoughtful, and all are skilfully written. To the poet the book is negligible. To those who like poetry and water it will probably be helpful." But to those who like a quiet book for Sunday afternoons or bedside reading, who like, that is to say. a book that recalls pleasant and peaceful emotions, without stirring them too deeply, or compelling them to think, the book would make an excellent present. That is, of course, at once its justification and con- demnation-it depends on how you look on books. Two poems, Cornwall" and The Shelter," have something more in them, that makes them stand out far beyond their fellows. They, at least, are beautiful. The Economics of War and Conquest." By J. H. Jones. MA. P. S. King. 2s. 6d. net. This examination of Mr. Norman Angell's economic doctrines is the substance of lectures delivered by Mr. Jones in Glasgow last winter. Like all answers to a specific argument it suffers as an individual achievement through the limits of its aim. Interesting questions are raised that cannot be developed. And it also suffers from the general failure of books on technical subjects that are addressed to the general public. Explanations are given of technical terms, like the bill of exchange, which are unnecessary to students of economics, yet it is very probable that the general reader will fail to understand other parts of the book, especially the able description of the effect of the declaration of war on the banks and discount houses. In this connection attention may be drawn to an error which Mr. Jones is not alone in making. Mr. Hartley Withers in his War and Lombard Street has also perpetuated it. He says that the Bank Act was suspended. This was not the case, as a reference to any weekly statement of the Bank will show. And it is a very interesting point in the psychology of economics that there was no necessity for it to be suspended. The mere knowledge that it would be suspended, if necessary, was sufficient. But in spite of these defects, Mr. Jones' book is a valuable contribution to economic thought. He examines such questions as armaments and their effect on economic strength, and in opposition to Mr. Angell thinks that the economic stability of such countries as Belgium and Holland depends, not on their lack of military and naval strength, but on the general belief in the will of their stronger neigh- bours to protect them if need be. He weighs the pros and cons of economic gain for a conqueror, considers the value of colonies and of cash indemni- ties. Mr. Jones is a scrupulously fair critic. He distinguishes carefully the truths in Mr. Angell's doctrines. especially (I) the folly of imagining that one country can completely destroy another by war. and (2) the great rapidity of recovery of defeated nations. On the other hand he deals frankly with the cases in which he believes the theories of The Great Illusion to be unsound or based on incomplete or misunderstood evidence. While Mr. Jones is careful not to commit himself to any rash prophecies, he allows it to be gathered that in his view the solution of the armament rivalry will be found in a federation of states with a joint army and navy for protective purposes alone. And