16 SEPTEMBER 1876, Page 22

The Rector of St. Judy. By W. Soleman. (Provost and

Co.)—This book is a puzzle to us. It is, we suppose, written in all sincerity, and intended as a real sketch of country life in the West. The writer, however, has absolutely no power :except of blank statement, and no eyes except for the most sordid and evil side of ordinary country life. If Smollett without his genius had sat down to write an account of a country village, he would have told us very much what Mr. Soleman has narrated. We do not find it interesting, and there is a bad smell in the atmosphere into which we are led.