The Story of Hanksgarth Farm. By Emma Brooke. (Smith, Elder,
and Co. 6s.)—This book is well worth reading, if only for the picture of the heroine, " Silence " Whinnery. Furthermore, the descriptions of life in Westmorland nearly eighty years ago are charmingly written, and the story will be found very soothing to people who are tired of the ultra-modern and ultra-sensational in fiction. Not that the story is dull, or that it does not contain exciting incidents, but its charm is in the quiet country atmosphere which the author manages to create, and in the drawing of the characters. "Silence" and John Gospel, the Methodist servant, live before the eyes of the reader, while the old farmer and his wife, not to speak of Silver, the hero, are delightful figures. The wicked heroine, Nexus, is not, perhaps, quite so successful. It requires the pen of George Eliot herself to make a heroine who has nothing but physical beauty to recommend her attractive through the medium of print and paper. But with this reservation, the story is well worth reading, and will leave a very pleasant impression on the mind.
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