25 SEPTEMBER 1909, Page 26

The Bachelors of Wescombe. By Mrs. Ada Pitfield. (Clay and

Hancock. 6s.)—This novel, though slight, possesses a good deal of charm, and is extremely suitable for holiday reading. The story is divided into two books, of which the first is decidedly the more interesting. There seems to be no reason in the second book why the heroine should fall in love with her husband after her hasty marriage, or why the means which he takes to awaken her tender- ness should not have had the very opposite effect. The beginning of the book, however, showing the arrival of Hope de Latour in her brother's house, and her disappointment at finding that the presence of his friend spoils her hoped-for Me-Zs-tete, is amusing. The story is very pleasant reading in a quiet way.