24 JANUARY 1874, Page 22

Victor and Vanquished. By Mary Cecil Hay. (Hurst and Blackett.)

—This is a pretty story, with a slight confusion in its law ; but that is not a very serious fault in a lady's noveL The devotion and ex- piation of the sister make the reader very tolerant of the Niches of the brother, who is indeed righteously entitled to more pity than blame. Miss Hay deserves praise for the high tone of her story, and for the courage with which she depicts a woman under the influence of deep and ruling love, inspired by neither a " viking," a centaur," a " tawny giant," or a "beau sabreur," but merely by her own brother, who is in misery and disgrace. Tho interest is well sustained, and the plot is better constructed than that of Miss Hay's first noveL