12 JANUARY 1895, Page 23

the papers of this character are "History and Fiction,—a Chat

with Mr. Stanley J. Weyman," by Mr. Frederick Dolman ; "The Picturesqueness of the Peers," by Mr. Alfred Robbins, which, though not at all political, may be found interesting at the pre- sent moment; "A Woman's Day in Town," which begins well, but ends somewhat abruptly ; and "Whistling as a Profession."

We cannot say much for the fiction in the January number of Cassell's. But "A Black Sheep" is a good story of essential nobility of nature that survives even a great moral fall. Altogether, Cassell's is much more readable than it used to be.