24 OCTOBER 1903, Page 25

Helen Adair. By Louis Becke. (T, Fisher 17nwin. 6s.)—This is

a convict story of old days in Australia. All through the book, and especially towards the end, Mr. Becke's readers cannot complain of any want of incident. The escape of the convicts is followed by a shipwreck and other exciting complications, but in the end vice is punished and virtue rewarded. It may be remarked that the convicts are political prisoners, and therefore they represent the virtue, not the vice. Mr. Becke always paints the scenery of his novels very vividly, but his characters are not quite so successful. In the present book the personages are a little woodm and un- convincing; still, the story is readable, and in places exciting.