14 DECEMBER 1889, Page 24

Dorothy Arden. By J. M. Callwell. (Nelson and Sons.)—This

" story of England and France two hundred years ago" is so con- trived that it takes in the Dragonnades in the days of Louis XIV. and Monmouth's rebellion. We are inclined to think that it has been a mistake thus to divide the interest. In fact, the second part of the story is somewhat hurried over, whereas the first is worked out with much care and no little skill. The escape of Dorothy Arden from her uncle's house is very well told, and the whole of her story is of more than common interest. We are sometimes inclined to think that we have heard enough of the persecutions which preceded and followed the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Still, it is no good to pretend that they were not the outcome of a spirit which still exists, and which only wants the opportunity to show itself.