uit. Now, inasmuch as this fortress has been pronounced by the
Russian expert, Colonel Shumsky (pronounce Sch-tchoomsky), to be
stronger than either Namur or Liege, the precipitate retirement of the
Austrians can only be accounted for by a complete breakdown of _moral_.

The cause of this breakdown may escape most observers, but it is in
reality simple enough. It has long been known that the Austrians have
found themselves terribly handicapped by their inability to deal
faithfully with the consonantal difficulties presented by the names of
towns and districts in which the ethnic basis is Slav and not Teutonic.
Quite recently, on the capture of the town of Prtnkevichsvtntchiskow
(unpronounceable, and only to be approximately rendered with the
assistance of a powerful Claxon horn), the garrison were found to be in
a deplorable condition of aphasia and suffering from chronic laryngitis.
We have therefore the best grounds for believing that a similar cause
operated in the case of the Austrian defenders of Wszlmysl. They fled
because they were unable to cope with the vocal exigencies of the
situation.

To sum up, we have in our Eastern ally a nation not only great in
numbers, in warlike prowess, and in enthusiasm for their cause, but also
fortified by the possession of a language so rich in phonetic variety
and so formidable in consonantal concentration as to strike terror into
opponents of lesser linguistic capacity.

* * * * *

AT THE PLAY.

"THOSE WHO SIT IN JUDGMENT."

In days of great national tension the public needs some coaxing to be
got into the theatre at all. Our managers should either, at the risk of
appearing callous, offer us a pure distraction from the strain of things
or else provide something in harmony with the emotions of the time. But
frankly I cannot find in the programme at the St. James's any apparent
sign of consideration for present conditions. It is true that it
supplies excellent entertainment for Mr. GEORGE ALEXANDER, who has
plenty of occupation in a part that suits him well. But I was thinking,
selfishly enough, of my own needs and those of other non-combatants.

I admit that the scene in West Africa was a diverting novelty. I had
never before, to my recollection, met a native monarch from the Gold
Coast, and I have pleasure in accepting the assurance of Mr. CROWTHER,
Secretary for Native Affairs in this district, that they are like that.
But it was impossi