We brought away from battle, And much their land bemoaned them, Two thousand head of cattle, And the head of him who owned them: Ednyfed, King of Dyfed, His head was borne before us; His wine and beasts supplied our feasts, And his overthrow, our chorus. THOMAS LOVE PEACOCK. CHAPTER IX BOOK REVIEWS "A good book is the precious life blood of a master spirit." JOHN MILTON. I. Assignments 1. Write a review of a book of travels. 2. Write a review of a biography. 3. Write a review of a novel. II. Models I FRASER, JOHN FOSTER. _The Amazing Argentine._ Pp. 291, illustrated. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company. $1.50 net. This volume should go far to dissipate any idea that there is not much of any consequence south of the Rio Grande besides the Panama Canal. In the story of his journeyings over the length and breadth of this enormous country--twice the size of Mexico--Mr. Fraser paints us a picture of a progressive people, and a country that is rapidly assuming a position as the foremost producer of the world's meat-supply. Stretching from the Atlantic to the Andes Mountains and from north of the Tropic of Capricorn to the Straits of Magellan, it supports 30,000,000 cattle, over 80,000,000 sheep, and 8,000,000 horses. The railroads, in which the British have invested £300,000,000, are among the best equipped in the world, and carry annually 40,000,000 tons of freight, with approximate receipts of £25,000,000. The export trade is advancing by leaps and bounds, and in 1912 the value of wool exports was £50,000,000, live-stock products £35,000,000, and agricultural produce £53,000,000; while the extent of the frozen-meat business may be gaged from the fact that £11,000,000 is invested in freezing-houses. The book is a distinct help to Americans in showing them a little more of the great country that is opening up to their enterprise.--_The Literary Digest_, October 17, 1914.[2] [2] Reprinted by permission of Funk & Wagnalls Company. II LE SUEUR GORDON. _Cecil Rhodes._ 8vo, pp. 345. New York: McBride, Nast & Co. $3.50. Cecil Rhodes must be looked upon as the Clive of South Africa. He found that country a land of wilderness and savagery. He transformed it into a fair and industrious province. He possessed the unscrupulous and relentless spirit of such conquerors as Julius Cæsar, and he was at the same time a financier of the widest resource. But some nefarious or alleged nefarious transactions which stained his name as a business man and a politician deprived him of royal recognition. He was not only denied a title, but even failed to obtain a decoration, and it was not until his death that a magnificent monument was unveiled to his memory in the heart of Rhodesia, a province which he had created and which was named after him.