26 JULY 1902, Page 22

The Ball. By A. S. Baxendale. "Novelettes de Luxe." (W.

Heinemann. 2s. 6d.)—There seems no particular reason why a set of short novels bound in dark-grey cloth should be dubbed "Novelettes de Luxe," though perhaps the March Hare's answer, "Why not ?" applies as well to the naming of the series as to Alice's question why the "three little sisters", should, dI4vi everything beginning with an M." In this novel called The Ball, from the quatrain in Omar Khayyam, the characters do not seem more the sport of fate than usual. It is an ordinary little story of modern social life, not distinguished in any way, but readable. The people are not unlike those we meet every day, and readers who want a novel chiefly or solely to pass the time will find The Ball answer the purpose fairly well.