Jack Warleigh : a Tale of the Turf and the
Law, By Dalrymple J. Belgrave. 2 vols. (Chapman and Hall.)—The nature of the narrative material of this exceedingly lively story may be inferred from its sub-title ; and it is not too much to say that in the person of its author, Mr. Hawley Smart has found a formidable rival who writes with vivacity equal to his own, and puts a good deal more substance into his work. Jack Wcodcigh is certainly a full book, for the two volumes might easily have been expanded into three without leaving any impression of thinness, and Mr. Belgrave can not only construct a story well, but can toll it well also. As a matter of course, we see a good deal of the seamy side both of the turf and the law, and there is certainly a side of both which is not misrepresented even by such unmitigated scoundrels as Colonel Beamish and Mr. Christopher Leekes, who are, it may be noted, a good deal more lifelike than many of the villains of fiction. Jack Warleigh does not belong to the highest class of fiction, but it is a capital story of its kind, being strongly constructed and brightly written.
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