George Stalden. Edited by Edmund Lawrence. 2 vols. (Reming- ton.)—We
suppose that we may:consider the " edited " a literary artifice. The little drama of George Stalden's life—for it is "a personal memoir of the American Revolutionary War" that we are supposed to be reading—is rounded off with a certain completeness that is not likely to be found in actual experience. We have, we must confess, no other reason for not thinking it genuine, though we were on the look-out in reading for anachronisms and other inconsistencies. This, by-the-way, is an attitude of mind which does not conduce to the enjoyment of a book, and one, therefore, which it is not to the interest of the writer to bring about. Otherwise, the tale is of con- siderable interest, and indicates, we should say, a careful study of the period to which it is assigned. We should have been glad to hear, indeed, more about the Revolutionary War, and less about not very interesting persons and things in England. Possibly there is a good deal put in of this kind to keep up the appearance of an auto- biography. If we are under a mistake in this matter—and there is a matter-of-fact tone about Mr. Lawrence's preface that makes one doubt—we can only say that the fault is not with us. It is absolutely necessary that the external history of a manuscript thus published should be given. From the literary point of view, on the other hand, it is a mistake to leave it uncertain whether a book is to be regarded as fact or fiction.
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