15 NOVEMBER 1902, Page 7

The Tramp Ship's Fate. By F. M. Holmes. (S. W.

Partridge and Co. 2s.)—A "tramp ship," it should be understood, is a ship that is ready to carry cargo wherever it may be wanted. The Meteor' carried tinplates from Wales to the States in the days before the trade was affected by the tariff. It had also, or rather, an important person among its crew, had, another object in view. It is on this " secret commission " that the story turns. Early in the course of events the ' Meteor' picks up a castaway, and he, too, has an important part to play. The story is not on the level reached by some tales of the sea—Marryat's, or " The Green Hand," or Clark Russell's— but it has merits of its own.