21 NOVEMBER 1896, Page 11

Crown and Anchor. By J. C. Hutcheson. (F. V. White.)—

Master Jack Vernon goes to sea at some time in the Fifties, getting his nomination through Sir Charles Napier, whose some- what eccentric personality helps to enliven the earlier chapters of the book. He finds the usual variety of comrades—good and bad, comic and serious—and goes through some of the usual adven- tures. Part of the historical element introduced is the unlucky

business of the Taku forts. It is well for English lads to know that things have not invariably gone well for us. They are too much accustomed to an unbroken series of successes.