short story. One, "Alston Crucis," by Miss Helen Shipton, runs
through the whole volume ; another, Mr. G. Manville Fenn's "Nurse Elisia,," extends through half ; and Mrs. L. B. Walford's "The One Good Guest," through a third. Another contributor to the department of fiction is Mr. W. Black, with his "Magic Ink." Among the other contents, the "Travel and Descriptive Papers" should be specially noticed. The Rev. A. B. Buckland contributes to this department four papers of great interest on "London Street Life," and, in curious contrast, there are two by Mr. William Jolly on "Pastoral Life on Loch Etive during the Last Century ;" Mr. Geoffry Westerwood writes, "In the Laureate's Footsteps," a good paper, with the advantage of the excel- lent illustrations of Mr. George G. Napier's "Homes and Haunts of Alfred, Lord Tennyson" We may remind Mr. Westerwood that the locality of the "Miller's Daughter" is neither one of the mills turned by the Somersby stream, nor Stockworth mill, but that which is familiar to all Cam- bridge men, near Trumpington, "if it is anywhere," for this was the poet's own salvo. Mr. Frank Podmore writes on Madame Blavatsky ; and does not seem inclined to reconsider the decision at which he and his fellow committee-men of the Psychical Society arrived, that the wonders which she claimed to have performed were frauds.— The Sunday Magazine. Edited by the Rev. Ben- jamin Waugh. (Same publishers.)—The chief serial story is "Half-Brothers," by Miss Hesba Stretton, of which, as it has been separately published, we shall have occasion to speak elsewhere. Among the smaller contributions to the fiction, we feel bound to single out Mrs. L. T. Meade's "Under Dog" (a curious title which, however, is not ill-explained). The story is of the simplest kind ; but its pathos is admirably effective. If husbands and wives could keep their vow of "for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse," as Pamela Apjohn, Mrs. Meade's admirable heroine did, the world would be not a little improved. Of the other papers we should men- tion—though selection is not easy when there is so much that de- serves praise—Canon Talbot's "Our Bible : How it has Come to Us," and the" Sunday Evenings with the Children," a speciality of the magazine, half of the papers being contributed by the editor. Mr. Harry Jones contributes two papers on "Capital Punish- ment," inspired by his characteristic moderation and good sense. He would retain in the hands of the executive the power of in- flicting the death punishment, though he would greatly diminish its frequency. We are disposed to doubt whether, at the present time, it is too frequent.
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