THE GOLDEN GOAT. By Donn Byrne. (Sampson, Low. 5s.)—As the
publishers do not vouchsafe any informa- tion concerning the history of this posthumous work of Donn Byrne, the reader is in the unfortunate position of not knowing whether he is dealing with a late and unrevised MS. or an early story which for some reason never satisfied its author. This is a pity because one would like to excuse the book's curious chronological inconsistencies and other superficial defects on the former assumption ; whereas the dust-cover's ominous silence definitely favours the latter: However, the story canters. along gently enough, and for those who enjoy reading about gambling and the Romance. of " the tables ' it should provide pleasant recreation at bedtime or in a railway train. Here fortunes are won and lost at all the games of chance from Baccarat to Boule, played in all
the casinos of the C6te d'Azur by a crowd as queerly ppoolitan as one could wish. Against this background of pink banknotes and spinning roulette wheels the principal charac- ters move with easy nonchalance, and though there is not really quarter enough plot to make a novel, the matter is handled just sufficiently cleverly to miss being unbearably redundant. There are one or two passages of rather shocking sentimentality, and a few literary affectations, but these the indulgent reader will doubtless pardon.
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