The New York herald., 1922-11-05

made up of his graceful little
poses of cheerful and clever remarks
which appeared in Punch during the last
few years; they are Of the same good
sort which made the fortune of Happy
Days." published some seven years ago.
they are sometimes called; even if they
are short and slight they are always
graceful and often pungent. and deserve
a less patronizing title. They have all
the flavor of the best scraps from the
feast of languages" yet they are not
merely scrappy. and certainly less
"snappy" than quietly penetrating, like
the drop of absinthe in the cocktail-that
sad, bad, glad old memory of day when
humankind went galumphing down the
broad and easy way with light hearts
and fewer vague dissents from the prac-
tical working out of the long answer i'm
the catechism to the question What is
my duty to my neighbour"
There is plenty of good verse sprinkled
through this well-written, well-mannered
book of gentle sketches of more or less
familiar social scenes and circumstances.
1t is written for well-mannered readers
with wits and backgrounds Some of the
pieces have a local English quality which
may make them seem abstruse to habitual
American readers of exclusively Ameri-
can fiction or humor. But not even Mr..
Robert Lynd, Mr.. Logan Pearsal Smith or
even Mr.. Max Berbohm is better entitled
to polite hearing than Mr.. Milne: even if
he does not draw as much water as the
author of 1850" Few writer's do in that
class. But is the author of 1850" in any
"class'?
Mr.. f. " Lucas is so prolific a writer
of considerations of detached memoranda
in lengths suited to the many coy period
ical fireplaces in which his seasoned re-
marks snap and sparkle that the public
cannot be blamed if ii inclines to take
another book from him once in so very
often as a matter of course. just the
house-man is sure to bring in another
basket of wood at regular intervals. His
new book, Giving and Receiving" is just
as engaging and good humored as all the
others were; and in it one enjoys particu-
lary such chapters as that concerned
with BreSuet, the famous frencn
matchmaker, "The Evolution of Whimsi-
cality," a discriminating study of humor
in English literature, "The Eight Cities"
a note upon the public lottery-that most
cosmopolitan of amusements and "On
Being a foreigner" in which he re-dis-
covers the great truth that foreigners
everywhere are bound TO go sightseeing.
"Uncle Henry" a collection of the
ironic and penetrating remarks over that
signature published in Golfers is an
anonymous critiqHe of many phases OF
American life and individual examples.
He seems to be, as he is declared, "a man
old enough TO be past prejudices. parts
anship and bigotry." and So when che
talks along on marriage, politics. en-
tangling alliances or home brew you may
see him as he is'-young enough for in
terest and enthusiasm and doggedly good
humored, and hence of a wide popular
appeal.
In Single Blessedness." Mr. George
Ade has strung together a double handful
of his sprightly essays i'm the American
vernacular upon subjects of current in
terest, not to say pressing concern. He
disposes of the luxurious bachelor" myth
to his own satisfaction. at least. and
writes with genuine feeling on THE
Tortures of Touring" In his essay upon
Looking Back from Fifty" he makes