23 JUNE 1894, Page 27

Mr. Bailey - Martin. By Percy White. (W. Heinemann.)—This is a very

clever character-sketch indeed. Mr. Bailey-Martin tells us his story from childhood to mature age, and in telling it draws a curiously minute and lifelike picture of an absolutely selfish man. It would be idle to pretend that this narrative makes attractive reading. The book is, on the contrary, one that gives a sense of uneasiness as we read, yet its ability draws one on. The hero is cleverly kept within the line of what one can endure. There is just the suspicion of a conscience in the creature that makes one feel that he is a human possibility.