In this work Sir Walter Runciman deals first with Drake and what he calls the Fleet Tradition, of which he regards Drake, the greatest Elizabethan sailor, as the indubitable founder; next the author deals at considerable length with Nelson, his relations with Lady Hamilton, and the various heroic achievements which have immortalised his name. From Nelson the author passes on to Napoleon, and shows how his career and policy have had a vital relation to the World War. As himself a sailor of the old wooden-ships period, Sir Walter is able to handle with special knowledge and intimacy the technique of the seafaring exploits of Nelson; and Sir Walter's analysis of the character of Nelson, a combination of vanity, childishness, statesmanlike ability, and incomparable seamanship and courage, is singularly well conceived. Bolingbroke and Walpole. By the Rt. Hon. J. M. ROBERTSON, Author of "Shakespeare and Chapman," "The Economics of Progress," etc., etc. Demy 8vo, cloth. 12s. 6d. NET Inland Postage 6d. Many years ago, in his "Introduction to English Politics" (recast as "The Evolution of States"), Mr. Robertson proposed to continue that survey in a series of studies of the leading English politicians, from Bolingbroke to Gladstone. Taking up the long suspended plan, he has now produced a volume on the two leading statesmen of an important period, approaching its problems through their respective actions. The aim is to present political history at once in its national and its personal aspects, treating the personalities of politicians as important forces, but studying at the same time the whole intellectual environment. A special feature of the volume intended to be developed in those which may follow is a long chapter in "The Social Evolution," setting forth the nation's progress, from generation to generation, in commerce, industry, morals, education, literature, art, science, and well-being. Seen from a Railway Platform. By WILLIAM VINCENT. Crown 8vo, cloth. (Spring, 1920.) 3s. 6d. NET. Inland Postage 6d. Mr. Vincent must from his early years have cultivated his faculty of observation, and he has a marvellous memory for what he has seen or heard. His recollections start from the early 'sixties, when, as a boy, he got a situation as bookstall clerk, from which position he rose to be bookstall manager in various parts of the country. His experiences as bookstall manager on a railway platform, with its continuously shifting crowds and contacts with various idiosyncracies, are highly interesting, but he recalls many events that have happened in his time away from the bookstall, the notorious Heenan fight, the remarkable exhibition of the "Great Eastern" and others. He gives curious accounts of the early railway carriages, the treatment of the third-class passenger and much other lore concerning railway travel in the now distant days. Altogether, Mr. Vincent has produced a valuable volume of reminiscences.