Derelicts. By William J. Locke. (John Lane.)—There are some excellent
studies from life in Derelicts. Stephen Joyce, the unhappy man who is dogged by the evil report of having been in prison, is good, but does not show so much subtlety as other parts of Mr. Locke's work. His miseries are vividly portrayed, but the man himself is not quite intelligible. How, with the fine qualities which he shows, did he get into trouble ? On the other hand, Yvonne Latour, with her absolute femininity, is nothing less than admirable. This is the sort of woman that makes a man absolutely happy, but the man must have a backbone. Poor Yvonne finds herself unwittingly a bigamist. Nothing could be more delicately drawn than the picture of her feeling and. demeanour under these circumstances. Mr. Locke's story is slight, but it is an adequate setting for the studies of character which make the staple of his book.
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