Be/tiara/ley. By G. Robert Wynne, D.D. (S.P.C.K.)—The Archdeacon of Aghador
has here given a story of the terrible days in Ireland a hundred years ago, which, if not quite so well com- pacted as it might have been, is yet full of incident, brogue, and character, and is perfectly true to history and to life. His hero and heroine, John Driscoll and Nora Kinsella, are thoroughly Irish in their simple love and their by no means simple mis- fortunes, while for what are nowadays known as " scallywags " Farmer O'Keefe and Darby Scanlan will stand a favourable comparison with any similar characters in the range of Irish fiction. What between school-mastering, excise-duties, nugget- hunting, and fighting, John has certainly a very hurried and anxious time, and the other characters in the story are, with scarcely an exception, as busily occupied as he is. Perhaps the horrors of Scallabogue, New Ross, and Wexford are reproduced too fully and realistically, but Dr. Wynne is to be congratulated on having written an admirable historical romance dealing with a little-known period,—a romance which will be appreciated by men and enjoyed by boys.
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