25 SEPTEMBER 1926, Page 33

THE BEADLE. By Pauline Smith. (Cape. 7s. (id. net.)— Finely

written, restrained in tone and in style, this sincere and simple story of South Africa yesterday is comparable in matter only to The -Scarlet Letter. The Cape Dutch are just such a hardy and austere folk as the New England Puritans, and to them, too, the Bible represents both law and beauty. The simple Dutch farmer-foLk.live in these pages vividly, and the authoress contrives an unusual clarity and perfection in her tale of an unlawful romance. The book is alive with simply but perfectly drawn characters.