A South - Sea Lover. By Alfred St. Johnston. (Macmillan and Co.)—This
is a very vigorous, brightly coloured picture of life in one of the islands of the Pacific. Christian North, an English sailor, escapes with a Polynesian shipmate from his ship, makes his way to Omeo, his friend's native island, and loves an Oicaan maiden, Utamb. How Christian's life is influenced by the customs of his new home is made the subject of the story. Their influence upon it is at once adverse and friendly. He finds a blood-brother in his comrade Soma, and this relationship, admirably described, by-the-way, saves his life more than once. On the other hand, Utame is tabu to the son of a neighbouring chief, and tabu is an obstacle in the course of true love far more formidable than any of the impediments interposed by Western civilisation. Accordingly, we have a whole epic arising out of Utarne's love-affairs. She has, it should be understood, another admirer, who is equally un- mindful of the law which forbids her to him. His fate, and the war which it brings about between the OmOans and their neighbours, are tragical in the extreme. Tragical also is the end of the blood-brotherhood. Here Mr. St. Johnston's powers of description rise to their highest. We have not seen anything finer for some time than the account of Soma's death. All through the story the figure of the Omean youth is one of striking interest. Great praise is due to the delicacy and tact with which the author treats his subject. But what wild talk is this :—" Woman never civilises. It is she who keeps alive the elemental passions." The " elemental passions," we take it, want no keeping alive; and woman is just as much modified by civilisa- tion as man.
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