The opening lines of the Preface to Sir CHARLES VILLIERS STANFORD'S book of reminiscences contain so good a story that I cannot forbear to quote them. The tale concerns the famous conductor HANS VON BUELOW, who (says Sir CHARLES) was once taking the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra through a rehearsal at which some ladies had been invited to be present. They indulged in whisperings and chatterings which greatly disturbed the players. BUELOW turned round and said, "Ladies, we are not here to save the Capitol, but to make music." Pretty neat that for a Prussian! It is an example of the many excellent tales to be found in _Pages from an Unwritten Diary_ (ARNOLD). Some of the best of them concern this same BUELOW, and have done much to disprove my personal belief in the non-existence of German humour. But throughout his book Sir CHARLES is the best of good company. Whether he is chatting about Royalty--there is a rather moving little anecdote of QUEEN VICTORIA and TENNYSON that was new to me--or telling again the often-told history of the Cambridge Greek Plays and the A.D.C., he has a happy pen for a point, and even the chestnuts inevitable in such a collection are served with a flavour of originality. I must be allowed to quote one more of VON BUELOW'S good things. A gushing lady at a musical party begged for an introduction to the great man. Which being given, "_Oh, Monsieur von Buelow_," she said, "_vous connaissez Monsieur Wagner, n'est-ce pas?_" Bowing, and without a shade of surprise, BUELOW answered at once, "_Mais oui, Madame; c'est le mari de ma femme!_" A great man! * * *