The Money - Spinner, and other Character Notes. By H. S. Merri-
man and S. G. Tallentyre. (Smith and Elder.)—These sketches or studies, twenty-three in number, are reprinted from the Corn- hill. They are not like the " characters " of Theophrastus, but concrete examples. This certainly makes them more interesting, but at the same time renders them less characteristic. "The Caretaker," for instance, is a melancholy little story of how an old woman trusted a young one and was sadly deceived. But there is nothing particularly characteristic of the " caretaker " race. Some are distinctly successful. " Intellecta," for instance, which pictures the "New Woman" in her learned development, is very good. One that bears the title of "The New Woman" is, in parts, somewhat of a repetition. "The Farmer" is not one of the best. It is the " farmer " of the stage, rather than of real life, that it gives us. "The Dog," on the other hand, is very good, though we are inclined to resent the intervention of the " Consummation " at the end. On the whole, we could have done with a little less sentiment.
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