f those demon-scenes out of the pantomimes he describes so
lovingly--"_Do so! May safety and success attend on Crusoe._" But of course
the subsequent action is more responsible. I imagine Mr. AGATE'S picture of
young-man life in the Manchester of the nineties to be very much like the
real thing. Relaxation was not wholly remote from it. Cotton and
commandments were broken with equal facility. Also you may be impressed by
the number of Germans in it. Finally, after telling us, sometimes
engagingly, sometimes verbosely, all he can remember about Lancashire, Mr.
AGATE brings his hero to Town, levers him along, year after year, and gets
(almost on his last page) to his big situation. I won't spoil it.
_Responsibility_, which might better have been called "Garrulity," is a
novel containing boredom and charm in about equal proportions; not to
mention promise for the days when its author has learned to discipline his
too-ready pen.

* * * * *

From the early part of 1915 until the end of 1917 Admiral Sir REGINALD
BACON commanded at Dover, and from the preface to _The Dover Patrol_
(HUTCHINSON) we can gather that he is smarting under a considerable sense
of injustice and injury. Of the merits of his case--he frankly describes
his dismissal as brutal--I do not pretend to judge, but can safely assume
that the other side have something to say for themselves, if they care to.
However, you are not to suppose that this is a bitter book. Most generous
are the praises which the Admiral bestows upon his subordinates; his venom
he reserves for just the chosen few who, no doubt, can bear it. Apart from
personal recriminations, of which some of us must be more than tired, these
two portly volumes are of real historical value. You will find in them not
only a record of actual achievements, often carried out under desperately
difficult conditions, but also of projects which for one reason or another
were never fulfilled. "Why don't we try to land on the Belgian coast?" was
a question our amateur strategists were never weary of asking. Well, here
is their answer. Here, too, are countless photographs, charts, plans and
diagrams--a really wonderful collection. Even if you are not in the least
interested in Sir REGINALD'S grievances you will find him a writer who has
a lot of useful things to say and knows how to say them.

* * * * *

AN EFFECT OF THE CRIME WAVE.

[Illustration: _