erfulness will keep breaking in."
Thus he excused the Government's non-interference with the Sinn Fein
"courts," whose writ now runs over half Ireland, on the ground that
for all he knew they might be voluntary courts of arbitration; and
when Major O'NEILL expressed the hope that he would at least take
steps to protect the British public from the criminals "transported"
by sentence of these mysterious tribunals he blithely disclaimed
responsibility, and said he was quite content that they should be out
of Ireland.

Considering the counter-attraction of the Ascot Gold Cup, Mr. BALFOUR
had a surprisingly numerous audience for his discourse on the League
of Nations. His enumeration and analysis of the League's various
enemies were in his happiest vein of philosophical humour. His
conclusion was that the League had much less to fear from its avowed
foes than from its fanatical friends, who were already attempting to
put upon it tasks for which it was unfitted, and even to supply it
with an International Police Force. Its proper weapons were not armies
and aircraft, but Delay and Publicity.

This formula, so reminiscent of Wait and See, did not prevent Mr.
ASQUITH from hinting in the politest manner that the League was not
likely to prevent the wars of the future unless it made some effort to
stop those now in progress.

* * * * *

[Illustration: _Nephew_ (_after several hair's-breadth escapes_). "NOT
FEELING NERVOUS, ARE YOU, AUNTIE?"

_Aunt._ "I AM, RATHER. YOU SEE, THIS IS ONLY MY THIRD EXPERIENCE OF A
MOTOR-CYCLE."

_Nephew._ "WELL, YOU'VE BEAT ME; IT'S ONLY MY FIRST."]

* * * * *

RAW SOUL STUFF.

I don't think I have ever read a short story about a film, so I have
made one up myself.

* * * * *

Viviana Smith was born in Battersea. At twelve years old she ran about
the streets with holes in her stockings and played a complicated game
with chalk squares and a stone. She had the accent of London streets,
which is the only accent that can pierce through the noise of London
traffic. But she had hair the colour of marsh-marigolds, a Vorticist
mouth and patent enlargeable eyes. In the street she made eyes at
errand-boys, and at school she made eyes so large that there was no
room to dot them.

At the age of seventeen she went in for the Purple Pomegranate film
competition, and was selected from five hundred thousand