poor _Godfrey's_ demise for some
time, and may perhaps think that she takes a trifle too long over
her arrangements for the event. They will almost certainly share my
view that the explanation of the mystery is far too involved and
unintelligible. I shall, of course, not anticipate this for you.
It has been said that the works of HOMER were not written by HOMER
himself, but by another man of the same name. This may, or may not,
give you a clue to the murder of _Godfrey Pavely_. I wish the crime
were more worthy of such an artist in creeps as Mrs. LOWNDES has
proved herself to be.

* * * * *

The test of the second water, as sellers of tea assure us, provides
proof of a quality for which one must go to the right market. BARONESS
ORCZY has not feared to put her most famous product, _The Scarlet
Pimpernel_, to a similar trial. Whether the result of this renewed
dilution is entirely satisfactory I leave you to judge, but certainly
at least something of the well-known and popular aroma of romantic
artificiality clings about the pages of her latest story, _Lord Tony's
Wife_ (HODDER AND STOUGHTON), while at the bottom of the cup there is
not a little dash of the old strong flavour. On the other hand, though
it may be that one's appetite grows less lusty, it does seem that
in all the earlier chapters there is some undue proportion of thin
and rather tepid preparation for episodes quite clearly on the way,
so that in the end even the masterly vigour of the much advertised
_Pimpernel_, in full panoply of inane laughter and unguessed disguise,
failed to astound and stagger me as much as I could have wished. _Lord
Tony_ was a healthy young Englishman with no particular qualities
calling for comment, and his wife an equally charming young French
heroine. After having escaped to England from the writer's beloved
Reign of Terror, the lady and her aristo father were comfortably
decoyed back to France by a son of the people whose qualifications for
the post of villain were none too convincing, and there all manner of
unpleasant things were by way of happening to them, when enter the
despairing husband with the dashing scarlet one at his side--_et voila
tout_. The last few chapters come nearly or even quite up to the mark,
but as for most of the rest, I advise you to take them as read.

* * * * *

In _A Certain Star_ (HODDER AND STOUGHTON) Miss PHYLLIS BOTTOME
achieves th