Blue Lights ; or, Hot Work in the Soudan. By
R. M. Ballantyne. (J. Nisbet and Co.)—The nearer he approaches to the realms of actual fact, the less imaginative, and therefore the less charming,
does Mr. Ballantyne become. Even the characters have less in- dividuality about them, though here and there we get a touch which
reminds us of the boisterous and jolly sailor of "Red Rooney" and other tales. I great many details about the "Sailor's Welcome" are introduced without sufficient excuse, and though no doubt an
admirable institution, one gets tired of its repeated appearances and excellences. It is only when having left it behind, and plunged with the hero into the desert, that we perceive a sparkle of the writer's old narrative power. The hero is captured by Arabs, and after a rather unpleasant meeting with the Mahdi, is
allowed to escape with his companions by a grateful Arab. One of the incidents of the story is the attack on McNell's zareba, and is decidedly spirited. Blue Lights is hardly up to the level of the writer's previous tales, the usual " go " and sprightliness being decidedly deficient.
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