1 DECEMBER 1888, Page 24

Pen. By the Author of "Tip-Cat." (Walter Smith and lanes.)

—A pitiful story of two poor motherless little girls, who are left to the tender mercies of a dissolute father and a rough and kind- hearted friend, Sandy by name. Without him, they would have

fared very badly indeed. But he is a fine character, a rough diamond of the first water, and does all that he can to protect his little friends. As a last resource, he proposes to the elder of the girls,—doubtless a very good idea, but somewhat too abrupt and strained. The history of Sandy's devotion and the sufferings of the sisters is really pathetic, and one scene, that in which " Pen " sits up for her miserable father, has much dramatic power. Mr.

Mangles, the caretaker, has a certain comic pathos which is refreshing; he might, indeed, have appeared oftener if the pro- prieties of the plot had required him. There is true pathos and much genuine character in Pen.