Young England. (57 Ludgate Hill. 58.)—This "Magazine for Boys" seems
to be well adapted to its purpose. The two chief items among its contents are "Day by Day in a Deep-water Ship" and a story of school life under the title of "Rivals and Chums." The first of these lies, as may be supposed, outside our range of criticism. The writer describes from his own experience as an apprentice. We do not doubt that he will carry his young readers with him,—whether actually to sea or not, we cannot say. The school tale has many merits. It is told in vigorous, idiomatic language, the school dialect being ingeniously clothed in so much literary form as is needed and no more,—you cannot give the dialect itself any more than a reporter can give the words of an average speaker. We think that the transformation of the faineant into the very vigorous person who is the hero of the tale makes too large a demand on our faith. No one in the school knows that he had ever played football, when all of a sudden he blossoms out into a "wing three-quarter," and wins back lost honours for his school. Still, "Rivals and Chums" is a well-told story. And there are many other good things in the volume.
Previous page
