The Crimson Bookshelf

From the pens of two English humor lie come these burlesque and some. times not unamusing remarks on business and the law. Mark Spade's little book discusses efficiently, production, distribution and allied topics under the head of running a bassoon factory in separate chapters, each (in the best and most ancient Punch tradition) with a mangled quotation from Shakspere as its introduction. A. P. Herbert has made a collection of strange and unusual law-cases involving outworn precedents and statutes, which are often ridiculously funny and usually point a good moral. Herbert's first case is the funniest, and from it you may gain an idea of the manner of all the rest. It is "Tiurib, Rumble, and Others v. The King and Queen"--Fish Royal. Tinrib, Rumble and others bring suit against the King and Queen for the removal of a whale which has been cast ashore near the town of Pudding Magna. The whale, according to ancient decree is fish royal and belongs to their majesties. Consequently the inhabitants of Pudding Magna are not going to take matters into their own hands, although "all fishing was suspended in Pudding Bay; Pudding Magna was now scarcely inhabitable except on the rare occasions of a northerly ; the majority of the citizens bad field to the hills and were living in huts and caves." Appeals to the Mayor, to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries proved fruitless, and eventually even the suit was adjourned. We compassionate the good citizens of Pudding Magna.

Bassoon Factory

The same gentle satire is seen in Spade's handbook on business. Here he is assisted by diagrams, parodies of those we commonly meet in serious treaties on economics, which are extremely ludicrous. But the book does not answer