The Undersong. By H. C. Macilwaine. (A. Constable and Co.
6s.)—This, except for the last two sketches, is a book of Australian stories which give a very lifelike picture of the country in which the scene is laid. To the ordinary reader " Jasper Townshend's Piccaninny " will probably be the most attractive of the collection. The strongest is, however, the first story, "Billy Durbey." The two pictures of the " noble savage," first on his honeymoon, and then in the dock for the murder of his forcibly dishonoured wife, are finely contrasted, and Mr. Macilwaine succeeds in communi- cating to his reader a shudder at the hopeless sufferings of the wild creature caught in a trap. "A Microcosm of Empire " is also an excellent story, and the collection may be strongly re- commended to readers who want to combine amusement with information on Australian matters.
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