Hagar. By Mary Linskill. (James Clarke and Co.)—Amongst the pile
of new books that flood our tables at this time of year, it is very pleasant to come, sometimes, upon an old friend in a new form, such as Miss Linskill's Hagar. It appeared as the Christmas number of Good Words in 1882, and it now reappears in the nice, compact form of a small book,—cheap, well printed upon good paper, and with every accessory that can make a pleasant story still more pleasant. We can heartily recommend Hagar to all. Those who have read it already, will, we are sure, read this picturesque story again with pleasure, so fresh and touching in its simplicity as it is; and those who have not read it will do well to do so. Miss Linskill is in her element upon her Yorkshire coast, with its rough but good-hearted country-folk, and its wild, fascinating beauty. Her Yorkshire dialect is capital, and Hagar, with her shy, girlish love for her idol—the poor village schoolmaster—is a most charming character. The tragical finding of the Squire's young eon by the Squire, in the first morning light, is very dramatic in its effect. Miss Linekill could not spare us the tragedy ; but to those who know her writing, we need not say that she would not be herself without the tragic element ; but there is not a touch of bitterness in it, in this case, and Hagar ends as well as can be desired.
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