24 JUNE 1899, Page 39

Ronald and I. By Alfred Pretor. (Deighton and Bell, Cam-

bridge. 3s. 6d.)—A volume of clever sketches. Indeed, there is more than cleverness in them. There is feeling, often expressed with no little subtlety and skill, and plenty of humour. Some of the stories are of the strangest. Mr. Pretor solemnly assures us of the truth of the most remarkable specimen, " Our Rector," and we are bound to believe him. But a parson who took his lunch in church on Sunday, and smoked a cigar, correcting meanwhile the thirteen-year-old boy whom he had put up 0 read the Lessons, is certainly a great demand upon our faith.