Mr. Chamberlain which he had obtained for that purpose! It will be gathered from this that Joshua is no mere unconscious humorist.

Father Benson's New Novel

Some time ago, it will be remembered, I had occasion to note the respective literary activities of the three distinguished sons of the late Archbishop Benson, one or other of whom is always bringing forth some new work. They are all distinguished by sincerity, and it is difficult to say which of the three may be regarded as the cleverest. The Rev. Robert Hugh Benson, who was, I think, the last of the trio to take to literature, is certainly no whit behind either of his brothers in ability, and there is an increasing earnestness of purpose in his fiction. His recent novel, "By What Authority?" had a quite remarkable success, and I shall not be surprised if his important new story, The King's Achievement" (Pitman : 6s.), should occasion much discussion. It deals with one of the most interesting periods of English history, the time of Henry VIII. and his defiance of the See of Rome. Naturally, Father Benson approaches his subject from the point of view of a sympathiser with the Papacy, but he has all the historical novelist's power of vivifying the great characters of the period who are introduced into his romance, and his literary art is beyond question. No thoughtful reader of fiction is likely to pass by "The King's Achievement."

and I shall venture to quote the exact words before proceeding to explain myself:

No steps have yet been taken towards preparing a tenth edition, and there is no reason to suppose that, if such a work should be put in hand, it could be completed in less than fifteen or twenty years from now. It is not, indeed, certain that there will ever be a tenth edition. Grave doubts were entertained when the ninth edition was proposed as to whether it would ever repay the outlay it involved. The late Mr. Adam Black, who was at that time at the head of the house of A. and C. Black, was so strongly opposed to the undertaking that he withdrew from the firm, in order that he might not be involved in the disaster which he believed to be imminent. Now, I need scarcely explain that the above reference is to a work entitled "The Encyclopædia Britannica"; nor need I remind my readers that, instead of waiting for some fifteen years to produce the tenth edition, that edition was actually on the market in less than five years from the appearance of the veracious advertisement I have quoted. Obviously, the

paragraph was written so that intending purchasers of the ninth edition might not have an uneasy feeling that the publishers would depreciate the value of that edition by immediately setting about the production of a tenth. On this head I make no comment whatever, but I am informed, on very good authority, that an eleventh edition of this absolutely indispensable work is even now in preparation, and that before many years have passed, we may suffer once again all those unforgotten horrors of daily circulars and pleading advertisements in the morning papers. I can only hope that I may have been misinformed as regards this coming terror, but I fear it is an "ower true tale," and, if so, I should not be surprised were it to lead to indignant mobs attacking the offices of the huckstering Times. J. A H

Some Aspects of the Foursome

The foursome, so long neglected, appears to be coming into its own aga n. I am unfeignedly glad that this is so, for, as my readers are aware, I have long held, and have lost no opportunity of saying, that the foursome is the finest form in which a match at golf can be played. One of the good results, therefore, which I expect to flow from the great match of a few weeks ago, will be the resuscitation of the foursome from its undeserved burial. Time was, some twenty years ago, when the foursome flourished like the proverbial green bay tree, not on account of its wickedness, but because the golfers of that day had grown up saturated with its traditions, and because they knew that it was an essentially good thing. In the days when I first played at St. Andrews the afternoon round was devoted almost always, and almost without exception, to this most delightful form of golf. You played your round in the morning against the friend for whose blood and half-crown you were thirsting, having first arranged with him. to play in the afternoon against some other pair of friends who were devoting the morning to a similarly friendly cutting of throats. Thus the golf adversary of the morning, whose every stroke you watched with the intention of countering it by some shrewder and better blow of your own, became after lunch the partner of your afternoon golfing joys and sorrows, the sworn ally, whose every effort you seconded with all the powers at your command, in the endeavour to defeat the pair who had accepted your gauge of battle in the morning. If the match turned out an even and interesting one, you arranged to play it again and again; and I will wager that out of foursomes thus arranged, more pleasure, fun, and interest were extracted than won from the most evenly matched single. The reason for this is not far to seek.

ever were

The Selfishness of the "Single"

The single, from the nature of things is, and must always remain, a selfish form of golf. You are playing for your own hand all the time; you have no sense of responsibility. If you win, no one shares your pleasure; if you lose, no one sympathises with you on your defeat. Your mistakes have to be retrieved by yourself, and your good strokes have to be discreetly applauded by yourself in the silence of your own bosom. Your caddie is your only partner, and, when you are playing badly, sometimes only adds to your misery by his presence, for you feel in your inmost bones that he is longing to tell you that he could play all your strokes much better himself merely with a niblick, or any other queer weapon you might choose to arm him with. In the foursome all this is changed. You have formed a fighting alliance, and the fortunes of war are of as much concern to your ally as to yourself. You have chosen as partner one whose form, through

Notions

many singles with him, you thoroughly know. He on his side has the same knowledge of your strength and weakness. Each of you, therefore, tries to the best of his abilities to play each stroke to suit the other's game. You consult briefly at each crisis of the game, and do your best to make your partner; in other words, to place him in such a position that he may execute the stroke that comes easiest to him. Instead of a pure slogging match, with an eye to a possible scoring record as well, as the single match so often is, your match is now a thing of science, a fine combination of forces, a strategic alliance, every movement of which is calculated and carefully thought out. In older days still than those I spoke of above, these afternoon foursomes were sometimes most pawkily" arranged. Some good old golfer, whose long game was on the wane, but whose short game was as deadly as ever, would choose as partner some lusty young hitter, and then propose a foursome to some other similar pair. Then there would be considerable higgling of the market before the proper odds were conceded, and much small wagering would take place on the result.

The Old-Fashioned Foursome

Some of the old hands were famous for their genius at arranging a foursome on lines favourable to themselves, and used their powers of character-reading to adapt the foibles of their adversaries to their own advantage in the match. Those good old, cheery, chaffing foursomes gave way before the rush from the South, when every man strove for a record, and wore a pained and bored expression on his face when you suggested a foursome for the afternoon. Worse still, there supervened the era of the four-ball foursome, to my mind one of the meanest and pa triest methods of evading the true foursome. Now, thanks to the great International match, we may hope to return to saner methods, and revert to the form of golf beloved by the older generation, the good, wholesome old foursome, one of the finest tests of golf and character that the game can provide. One hears continually of the congested state of most of the favourite Scottish links during the summer holidays. Might not some part of this be avoided if the authorities at the various links laid down a compulsory law enforcing foursomes in the afternoon? After a few weeks, I feel sure the law would no longer be needed, for the foursome has only to be properly mastered and understood in order to be loved for its great and fascinating qualities without any compulsion whatever. To me the proof of the true and pure golfing nature lies in a man's love for a foursome. If he have that love, then he is a worthy worshipper at the shrine, fit to follow in the footsteps of the generations of golfers that have gone

before him.

Ernest Lehmann

The Opera

The season of Italian opera has, so far, been a pronounced success, and the promoters of the scheme have no reason to be dissatisfied with the result. The revival of Puccini's La Tosca was a

noteworthy performance. Madame Giachetta gave a remarkably fine interpretation of the name-part. She was in much better voice than earlier in the week, and, except for her highest notes, she sang in many ways beautifully, and with great variety of tonecolour, and her acting throughout was magnificent. Signor Sammarco, too, rose to splendid heights, both vocally and dramatically-the more one hears this remarkable artist, the more one realises how fine he is. Signor Di Marchi sang charmingly as Cavaradossi, but the band, especially the brass, was somewhat obstreperous. Aida filled the bill on Thursday, and, again, there was a fine performance, Signor Zenatello (on whom the Gods seem to have smiled) singing throughout with delightful ease, the really beautiful quality of his voice being especially noticeable in the aria "Celeste Aïda," and again in the duet "By the Banks of the Nile." Here, also, Madame Buoninsegna, the soprano, sang very finely. The brass, again, had an innings, and scored in undue proportion. Of the performance of Rigoletto on Saturday there is little to say. Madame Melba, in perfect

voice, sang superbly, as only she can sing; but both her acting and her powers of dramatic expression are enormously improved. This was especially to be noted in the famous duet in the third act, when she reached a high level of excellence. Signor Stracciari was a good, sound Rigoletto, and Signor Giorgini, a new-comer, sang agreeably as the Duke. The chorus has been excellent throughout.

The Promenade Concerts

These splendid concerts continue to attract large crowds to Queen's Hall nightly, and no wonder. Mr. Henry Wood is really wonderfully catholic, and caters for everyone. Nor is he afraid to produce new works. Two, during the past week, call for notice. The first performance of Hausigger's "Barbarosa Symphony," and Mr. Hamilton Harty's "Irish Symphony." The former, although showing much cleverness and constructive skill, does not strike one as being a particularly inspired work, although some clever effects were produced by muted strings in depiction of a mist.

Op. 106, a group of Chopin's pieces, some Schumann, and Liszt's transcription of Paganini's "La Campanella." this comprehensive pro

To

gramme the artist did more than justice. The Beethoven Sonata was magnificently played, and the Schumann excerpts were given with that exquisitely liquid touch and sentiment for which the pianist is so justly famous. Curiously, the famous Ballade in A flat of Chopin was the one thing which was not more than satisfactory. The type of temperament did not seem right, nor was there the singing quality one would have wished.

The Liszt items, which brought the programme to a close, however, were so superbly played that no less than four encores followed. Miss Eleanor Felix sang some songs in a pleasant manner, displaying a sympathetic voice, "It is a Wondrous Mystery," by Rico, being a remarkably fine dramatic song, which the singer treated with due regard to its requirements.

Mischa Elman

This wonderful boy violinist gave a concert on Tuesday, 17th inst., when he had the co-operation of the Queen's Hall Orchestra. The Langham Place hall was filled by an enthusiastic crowd. Mischa Elman played the Beethoven Concerto, and introduced, for the first time, a new concerto by Glazounoff, the celebrated Russian composer. The new work is of very considerable merit, and should become popular. It is written in one movement, though it has four well-defined sections. The boy played it beautifully, as he also did the Beethoven. At the end of the concert a remarkable demonstration took place, after which he played again. E. W. E.