His latest collection of tales, with the significant title, _Actions and Reactions_, is a particularly welcome volume to those of us who prefer the nineteenth century Kipling to the twentieth. To be sure, the story _With the Night Mail_, shows the new mechanical cleverness rather than the old inspiration; it is both ingenious and ephemeral, and should have remained within the covers of the magazine where it first appeared. Furthermore, _A Deal in Cotton_, _The Puzzler_, and _Little Foxes_ are neither clever nor literary; they are merely irritating, and remind us of a book we would gladly forget, called _Traffics and Discoveries_. But the first narrative in this new volume, with the caption, _An Habitation Enforced_, is one of the most subtle, charming, and altogether delightful things that Mr. Kipling has ever given us; nor has he ever brought English and American people in conjunction with so much charity and good feeling. I do not think he has previously shown greater psychological power than in this beautiful story. In the second tale, _Garm--A Hostage_, Mr. Kipling joins the ranks of the dog worshippers; the exploits of this astonishing canine will please all dog-owners, and many others as well. Naturally he has to exaggerate; instead of making his four-footed hero merely intelligent, he makes him noble in reason, infinite in faculty, in apprehension like a god, the paragon of animals. But it is a brilliant piece of work. The last story, _The House Surgeon_, takes us into the world of spirit, whither Mr. Kipling has successfully conducted his readers before. This mysterious domain seems to have a constantly increasing attraction for modern realistic writers, and has enormously enlarged the stock of material for contemporary novelists. The field is the world, yes; but the world is bigger than it used to be, bigger than any boundaries indicated by maps or globes. It would be interesting to speculate just what the influence of all these transcendental excursions will be on modern fiction as an educational force. Mr. Kipling apparently writes with sincere conviction, and in a powerfully impressive manner. The poetic interludes in this volume, like those in _Puck of Pook's Hill_, show that the author's skill in verse has not in the least abated; the lines on _The Power of the Dog_ are simply irresistible. It is safe to say that _Actions and Reactions_ will react favourably on all unprejudiced readers; and for this relief much thanks. If one wishes to observe the difference between the inspired and the ingenious Mr. Kipling, one has only to read this collection straight through.[16] [16] I have not discussed a new collection of Mr. Kipling's stories, called _Abaft the Funnel_, consisting of reprints of early fugitive pieces; because there is not the slightest indication that this book is in any way authorised, or that its publication has the approval of the man who wrote it. Perhaps an authorised edition of it may now become necessary.