W W Jacobs

Night Watches W W Jacobs

Since Mr. Jacobs has already published fifteen volumes of stories of seafaring men, it is scarcely necessary to review at length his last book. This is, therefore, not a criticism, but an appreciation, for those who have once loved Mr. Jacobs's humour can never cease to love it, and must needs hold out to others the pleasure that is theirs. His is the humour, not of the unexpected, but of the obvious, at the opposite pole to Mr. Chesterton's fantasies, the humour of the man who sits down on his hat, the humour, if we may be allowed the expression, of the man who cannot see a joke. Here, in Night Watches, are all the old friends, among them Ginger, and Sam Small, and the night watchman, who philosophizes as of old: " One drawback to a good-looking man is that he generally marries young; not because 'e wants to, but because somebody else wants 'ha to. And that ain't the worst of it: the handsomest chap I ever knew married five times, and got seven years for it. It wasn't his fault, pore Amp; he simply couldn't say No." Among the collection is one little story, " The Three Sisters," which for sheer horror rivals " The Monkey's Paw."