24 JULY 1886, Page 26

Fickle Fortune. By Robiva F. Hardy. (Oliphant, Anderson, and Ferrier,

Edinburgh.)—Here we have a specimen, and not a very happy specimen, of the " claimant " story. An amiable heroine is dispossessed of her inheritance by the sudden appearance of a brother, supposed to have been lost long before. The " brother " ia, of course, an impostor, and a very unskilful one; but then, who shall say how little skill is wanted to deceive the "unerring instincts" of the masses Did not the most preposterous pretender on record actually return a Member to Parliament ?—for the election of his advocate for a great Midland borough was really nothing less than this. There is some interest in Ilia Hardy's story ; but it wants finish, and, we are disposed to say, relation to reality.