16 MARCH 1878, Page 23

tense ; the attention is roused and hold; in fact,

the latter scenes are Laxton's Builders' Price-Book, 1878, 12mo tSlmpkin & Co.) 4/0

genuinely dramatic. The end of the " Two Knaves" is a scene skilfully conceived and powerfully told. Striking, too, are more than one of the scenes in which the "Queen," a remarkably picturesque personage, figures. That especially in which she confronts, for her lover's sake, the deadly peril of 31. de Gaillefontaine's sword, is one which ought, acted on the real stage, to create a profound sensation. This is not one of the highest class of novels, but it is a very clever one of its kind, and above all things, eminently readable.