good wishes. Certainly, _The
Daily Telegraph_ Belgian Fund, to which will go the entire proceeds of
the sale, deserves well the shillings that this splendid effort will
bring to it. _King Albert's Book_ is indeed a noble tribute to
nobility--one that for every sake will become an historic souvenir of
the Great Days. And (if I may confess the secret wickedness of my heart
as I read) how I should love to see the Berlin Press notices!

* * *

When Mr. THEODORE ROOSEVELT stated on page 25 of _Through the Brazilian
Wilderness_ (MURRAY) that his was not a hunting-trip, but a scientific
expedition, I winked solemnly, so often have I read books in which
science is used as an excuse for a slaughter that to the unbloodthirsty
seems to be more than a little indiscriminate. Now, however, there is
nothing to do but to withdraw that wink and to say that Mr. ROOSEVELT
and his companions killed only for the sake of food and specimens,
though on one very exciting occasion a man called JULIO displayed a most
unwholesome desire to slay anybody or anything. This renegade's lust for
murder was merely a side-show, but it serves vividly to illustrate the
dangers and risks that the travellers took as they fought their way
along the River of Doubt. No escape is possible from the buoyancy of Mr.
ROOSEVELT'S style; as frankly as any schoolboy enjoying a holiday he
revelled in the ups and downs of his adventures; and if his enthusiasm
for the important work that he was helping to accomplish occasionally
leads him to relate trivialities, and also prevents him from advancing a
few kilometres without adding up the total number he has travelled, the
essential fact remains that his tale of exploit and exploration is told
with a _joie de vivre_ that carries everything before it. Among the many
discoveries that he made is one from which time has taken away any cause
for surprise. "There was," he says, "a German lieutenant with the
Paraguayan officers--one of several German officers who are now engaged
in helping the Paraguayans with their army." _Through the Brazilian
Wilderness_ is packed with wonderfully good photographs, two of which
introduce us to a game played by the Parecis Indians, of which the
initial rule requires the "kicker-off" to lie flat on the ground and
butt the ball with his head. One wonders if Brazil's future battles will
be won in the playing fields of the Parecis.

* * *

The opening lines of the Preface to Sir CH