Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1914-12-26
REVIEWS OF BOOKS AND
NEWS OF PUBLICATIONS
Account Of English "Grand Tour. in
Eighteenth Century Filled With
Interest and Information.
LAWYER STUDIES EVIDENCE
James NJ. Beck Summarizes Contents
OF Official Books" Issued by War
ring Powers-Nr. Chapman Col
lects Incorporate Utterances.

Altogether out Of the ordinary is
The Grand Tour in the Eighteenth
Century" {Houghton Mifiin). by Will
liam Edward Mead. AS the title very
clearly indicates, 1t is not an account
or contemporaneous travel OF the char
acter OF which most OF us arc pretty
we'll surfcited. but Is carefully COM
piled book, descriptive OF journeyings
on inc Continent when the grand tour"
was considered a necessary part OF an
EnSlish Eentleman's education For
eisn travel has always been common
among the upper class English. but.
particularly at the time Of which the
author writes. the grand tour" was
4 formal and somewhat stilted affair
IL comprised no lfght-henrted wander
ing whittier tho travellers fancy might
lead him. but "a carefully planned
journey through France and Italy, and
a return journey through Germany and
the time commonly required for the
completion OF the tour In It's full gran
deur, and 1t was accomplished gem
orally under the guidance OF tutor
me author goes into detail concern
Ing the crossing of the channel, the
their condition. and the tourists them
selves In describing these last, he
writes very entertainingly, showing
! that the tour was frequently productive
or much beside education. The letters
and diaries which people of that day
FOUND time to prepare with such care
provide the author with an almost In
exhaustible source OF information. OF
Which no takes full advantage In COM
piling his Interesting volume From
the correspondence of such men as John
Evelyn. Arthur Young and Horace Wal
pole, Mr. Mead has CLEANED vast
amount OF Instructive comment, which
ne further comments upon, but In
notes RELOCATED to tho back OF the book.
There ls also an index, as we'll as q
number of Illustrations from contem-
noraneouH pictures. To the untraveled.
the book will prove delightful on its
own account: to the more fortunate, 1t
Is mine OF Information from which
to extract comparisons
John Martin Hammond has rendered
very valuable service to antiquarians
and students OF Colonial history and
senealogy in collecting the mass Of
material that he has presented SO at
tractively in his Colonial Mansions
of Maryland and Delaware" (Lippin>
cott). For he has not only describe ed.
and supplied many illustrations of, a
number Of the notable mansions In the
two States. but has devoted serious at
tention to the various families, their
ancestors and descendants, to which
the manors now belong, and to which
they formerly belonged. AS Mr.. Ham
mond observes, "A continual source
OF surprise to one who searches for
Colonial houses ia how little Ia known
about them even in the Immediate
neighborhood In which they have stood
for so many years" Therefore, this
handsome book Will be welcomed by
many interested in the subject treated
| in general. and In the houses and
families discussed in particular.
James NJ Beck. formerly Assistant
Attorney-General OF the United States.
has. In The Evidence in the Case"
(Putnam). offered a brilliant summary
Of what an able and keen lawyer has
been able to gather from the official
books Issued by the Belgian, Eng
lish. Russian and German governments
At the time the book was written, the
French yellow Book" had not been
Issued. but 1t would seem only to con-
firm the authors position. For he does
not hand down an opinion In anything
like judicial capacity: on the con-
trary, he presents an advocates view
OF the situation. and It is as counsel
for the allies that he has prepared his
forceful and readable brief The force
with which the book Is imbued doubt
less arises from the lawyers firm con-
victions. based upon the evidence that
he has found in the official papers.
but its readable quality is due to the
authors Indignation with the Kaiser
and the military party in Germany, an
Indignation that has fired him to use
very vigorous, IL not eloquent, Eng
lish.
Deutschland Ueber Allies" (Putnam)
by John Jay Chapman, is a rather un-
kind collection of Incorporate REMARKS
by noted Germans about the war and