I was discussing Mr. GILBERT CANNAN with a friend, and he said, "I have read many reviews of his books, nearly all of them good reviews, but not one that made me want to read the book itself." Well, I am afraid this one won't make him want to read _Old Mole_ (MARTIN SECKER). The hero, _Old Mole_, otherwise _H. J. Beenham, M.A._, had himself written a book, and this is what Mr. CANNAN says of it: "The essay was cool and deliberate, broken in its monotony by comical little stabs of malice. The writing was fastidious and competent. Panoukian thought the essay a masterpiece, and there crept a sort of reverence into his attitude towards its author.... Then, to complete his infatuation, he contrasted Old Mole with Harbottle." I am no _Panoukian_. Mr. CANNAN'S opinion of _Old Mole's_ book may stand as mine of Mr. CANNAN'S book. But I can understand the _Panoukian_ attitude; and when I read the _Panoukian_ reviews--referring inevitably to the "damnable cleverness" of Mr. CANNAN--then I suspect that they have been contrasting him with the _Harbottles_ of the literary world, the gushers and the pushers and the slushers. After a month of these a fastidious writer may well infatuate a reviewer. For myself, who have not had to wade through _Harbottles_, I remain unstirred by _Old Mole_. Not a single character, male or female, moved me to the least interest; they were all cold, dead people, and Mr. CANNAN talked over their bodies. Clever talk, certainly--he shall have that adjective again--but when it was over I had a wild mad longing to take to the Harbottle. Even Mr. HALL CAINE ... but this is morbid talk. * * * * * In a preface to _In the Cockpit of Europe_ (SMITH, ELDER) Lieut.-Colonel ALSAGER POLLOCK states that "the personal experiences of George Blagdon, in love and war, have been introduced solely in the hope of inducing some of my countrymen to read what I have to say about other important matters"--an ingenuous confession which deprives my sails of most of their wind. Otherwise I should have said that this book is not so much a novel as an airing-ground for grievances, adding for fairness that these grievances are national and not personal. A terrific war with Germany gives _Blagdon_ opportunity to win various distinctions, and _Marjory Corfe_ affords him ample justification for falling in love; but although I grant, even in the face of that preface, that _Blagdon_ is not completely a puppet, he is used mainly to emphasize his creator's ideas. Officials at the War Office who read _In the Cockpit of Europe_ may possibly require some artificial aids to digestion before they have finished it, but both they and the Parliamentary and Ministerial strategists will have to admit that their critic's honesty of purpose is beyond all manner of doubt. * * * * * [Illustration: USEFUL INVENTIONS. THE FLOATING COLLAR-STUD--JUST THE THING FOR YACHTSMEN.] * * * * *