Philip and his Wife. By Margaret Deland. (Longmans.)—Miss Deland, we
may remind our readers, is the author of "John Ward, Preacher." Knowing this, they will know what to expect. The author feels herself called upon to deal with certain social and ethi-
cal questions. We can view with respect her obedience to this call while we may at the same time regret that she has misconceived the function of literature. If a man finds that he has made a mistake in his marriage, what is he to do ? To treat the marriage as null, or to make the best of it ? Old-fashioned people will, it may be, remember the words, "For better, for worse," and answer accordingly. This view does not commend itself to the high- principled Philip. For our part, we must say that we object generally to any treatment of such a subject in a novel, and par- ticularly to Miss Deland's treatment, which we conceive to be marred by one or two very serious faults.
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