The Last Master of Carnandro. By Thomas A. Pinkerton. (Swan
Sonnenschein and Co.)—Mr. Pinkerton's characters are always
drawn with a vigorous brush: he intends us to know what his conception of a certain character is, and spares no pains to make it a definite and recognisable one. His style, too, has a value of its own; crisp, clear, sometimes almost too crisp, and coming near to being abrupt. It is capable, too, of considerable variation of tone, sometimes humorous, sometimes tragical, but never loose, and always with a kind of nervous vitality about it. Occasionally it is picturesque, and now and again has descriptive power of a high order. Mr. Pinkerton's plot is good enough to vie with the treatment of it. The principal character, Ronald Sinclair, is an unusual type, and the writer has managed to present a somewhat striking picture of a man whose ability (the writer calls it genius) has been replaced by a lifelong and measureless hatred. Such a character, quite possible, of course, is a somewhat un- pleasant study, but it gives great opportunities for introspective analysis. The transition from the buoyant, egotistical artist to the soured man, is perhaps too sharp, and perhaps, too, his ven- geance is too long delayed, though complete. The description of the life of Ronald Sinclair has a pathos and a weird suggestive- ness about it that we would not have missed on any account. Stanbourn is a good character, somewhat failing in interest towards the end, though he always remains consistent. This is as good as any of Mr. Pinkerton's former stories ; it is a distinctly powerful and original one, and has points and qualities that rank him with the best story-tellers of the day.
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