One of Buller's Horse. By William Johnston. (Nelson and Sons.
3s. 6d.)—There are three hundred and fifty-nine pages in this book. At p. 181 we get to Malta ; and when we have got as far as p. 195 we reach the " brave foe," but our hero does not find himself in his presence for some pages yet. Now it is scarcely right to label a book so made up with the title of One of Buller's Horse, nor is the case improved by the fact that it is the Buller of twenty years ago with whom the hero serves. There is a sub- title it is true, "A Tale of the Zulu War," and we frankly acknowledge that to our mind this is a better subject than a war not yet ended. Only let us have nothing like a catchpenny title, for many readers probably think otherwise. We have no space remaining for any critique or description of the story. It must suffice to say that it seems fairly good.—There is no such pre- face in the case of Dick Dale, the Colonial Scout, by Tom Bevan (Partridge and Co., 3s. 6d.) The story is one of the present war, and we have it told from the Colonial point of view. That means, of course, a greater proportion of angry feeling. Every one must have noticed the statement, which is only too likely to be true, that the Boers have treated the Cape Volunteers much worse than the British soldiers. It is when neighbours and old friends fall out that war is likely to assume its worst horrors. In this tale, which has a strong look of probability about it. there are not a few complications caused by relations of friendship or neighbourhood that date from the war. It is a particularly spirited story, one of the best of its kind that we have seen. The subject is not to our taste, as we have taken more than one occasion of saying before, but it has been well managed. Let us hope that Britisher and Boer may some day come to the good understanding that was renewed between the Dales and the Van Ecks.
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