27 MAY 1893, Page 25

Berris. By Katherine S. Macquoid. 2 vols. (Ward and Downey.)—This

is not as good work as we expect to get from Mrs. Macquoid. Her heroine is a silly, selfish person, without

anything about her to interest, except her beauty, and beauty on paper, where it can be painted only by words, does not go for much. It is impossible to care about her fate. Almost any other character among Mrs. Macquoid's dramatis persona; would have done better for the principal figure. The most notable thing in the book is the invention of a new verb. "A glance at the widow's impassive face decided him to pretext an engagement at Sidmouth." Why not "pretend," or "invent," or "imagine," or " feign " The sentence would have done well for a "missing word"

competition.