The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-01-28

now houses one of the finest collections of old Sussex iron in existence, as well as some wonderful old furniture, of which the author is an ardent collector. Lyons used to do lot of caravanning, but now owns an auto with which he has as exciting and droll experiences as MT. Britling" himself.
 John Galsworthy, the novelist. is doing his share in France as masseur In a hospital. He learned massage many years ago, and now he is using the old skill to make things easier for suffering sol- diers. A friend who met him recently tells me that Galsworthy finds his new work most inspiring, and much prefers it to writing.
 Stanley J. Weyman, who used to be- guile us with galloping "c1oak and rapier' novels like "A Gentleman of France" and Under the Red Robe. laid aside his pen, you may remember, after he had written score of so of them and declared that he would spin no more yarns. And he has kept his word Since he qult l, for one, have never even seen his name in print and many may have concluded that he had joined the great majority.
 Not so, however, for an article by MT. Weyman appeared the other day in the London Star. 1t was headed 'Autocracy in Shining Armor: Why There Will Be No Revolution in Germany" and makes Interesting reading. In it Weyman says:
 on the eve of the conflict, and dur Ing the earlier phases, no hope was more commonly expressed than the hope that the German people would take the matter into it's own hands. that the solidarity of labor, regardless or national boundaries, would assert llself and forbird or stay the blood shed And today scarcely a morning passes that we do not read in our newspapers the expectation that the straits to which Germany is driven for food will lead to revolution.
 The 'rebellions of the belly are the worst, says Bacon; and causes so much lighter have in our own history. and the history of our neighbors, led to violent movements, that the sugges- tion seems reasonable
 If French revolution, why not d German revolution? If Paris could win her liberty on the day of the Barri- cades, why not a striving Berlin? If the exerclse or divine right during a lew months cost James II his throne, why need any despot sit secure?
 The nature of the fighting which has taken place in this war supplies the true answer
 Man is still the ultimate factor in War But without material man is helpless in modern war. Fighting has become thing highly technical, ;. matter of engines rather than weap- ons, and though, given equality of en- glnes, the stoutest hearts will win and those hearts we believe we have without the engines courage and strength are alike useless. Cannon and machine guns, those with aero planes, the very eyes of them and polson gas the soul of them are the kings of the field. And though Rosa lie, as the French soldier calls his oayonet, be the Queen, she acts and can only act under their protection.
 It follows that change has taken place, not unlike that which helped to secure the Tudor dynasty on the English throne. Any man in Plantage- net days could snatch up bill or bow. and he was IS good as another man. But with the Tudors the power of artillery began to assert itself. and only the government had, only the government could have, an artillery brain.
 'In the same way today only the government has, only the government can have, great stores of munitions. or heavy guns. of machine guns, of lighting aeroplanes. Set against these rifles and barricades. the hasty leyies of the people, the uprising of mob. are as useless as the attack of a savage tribe armed with bows and arrows
 We see, indeed, an instance of this today. Confronted by a fewSGerman machine guns, the toilers, of Belgium. bred in freedom and long reckoned among the most turbulent of labor's sons, are being carried into slavery aimost without resistance For they. know that resistance under the muzzlez or machine guns is useless
 For this reason we shall look in Valn for any rising of the German people during the war"