Ida Craven. By H. M. Cadell. 2 vols. (Henry S.
King and Co.)— Novelists are often told that they ought not to terminate their stories with marriage, which is indeed the beginning rather than the ending of real life. The advice is good, but it is not easy to follow, as long at least as love must be the staple of a tale. If husband and wife love each other,—well; they are happy, but happy as the nation is happy that has no history. But if either give their love elsewhere, how perilous the path on which our novelist is started ! This path Mrs. Cadell has chosen, and treads it with discretion. Ida Craven marries at sixteen, without a notion of what she is doing, being, in fact, some- what entangled with a little love-affair, which, being certainly old for her years, she has already had. She accompanies her husband to India ; neither of the two comprehends the other ; the old lover tnrns up, and a difficult situation ensues, which Mrs. Cadell treats with skill and good-taste. Indian life and scenery are described with considerable force. The episode of Colonel Craven's friendship for Saadut Khan is novel and striking. We only wish that such friendships were more common, and we are afraid that it is only too true to fact when we read that the well-born Mohammedan was commonly called "Craven's nigger." We should not recommend Ida Craven to every reader, but it teaches a good lesson, and teaches it well.
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