A Rash Verdict. By Leslie Keith. 2 vols. (Bentley and
Son. 12s.)—A testator leaves all his property to a niece with the proviso that she is to forfeit it if she marries a certain person whom he names. She takes it for granted that her uncle has good reasons for thus acting. This is the " rash verdict," for, as a matter of fact, the condemned person had acted very honourably, refusing to dirty his hands with a questionable bit of business in which the testator had wished to engage him,. The usual complication ensues, only it is not the young lady, but the man who entertains the prohibited love. There is really very little story beyond the facts epitomised above, but of what there is the author makes the best. That she might have told all she has to tell in a few pages cannot be denied. All the earlier part, where we read how Margaret Thrale goes to the library of the British Museum, and what she thinks, being there, serves no purpose but to introduce the condemned lover. (We may remark that, as Margaret was not of age, she ought not to have been able to get a ticket.) But this, and indeed the whole story, is very well written. " Leslie Keith," often reminds us of Mrs. Oliphant. But she must beware of beating out her material too thin.
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