GHOST STORiBS. * IT is not sufficient for a ghost story

to be merely a good stery,—that eerie& of strangekinoidents which excite the. interest -and.carry the reader along to the end. The dash ought to creep, the blood to. be -chilled, andthe hair to feel as if life were in. it, should it not exactly rouse andstir.. Even this, however, can be managed by knack, or rather by gift; but to be a complete ghost, story, there. should be a• thorough consistency. lithe. ghost is to be reallys. ghostly visitant, nothing is required bun thatit should obey the' received laws upon the subject; which seem resolvable into frightening the actual guilty, as• in the case of Macbeth, or- appearing to the innocent in order to lead to the punish-;- ment of the eriminaly, as in,Hamlet If itappears on appropriate occasions, and: its appearance effects -the object in view, no expla- nation is required. If the, ghost is not supernatural, but only' supposed to be by guilt or by fear, then not only must a skilful contrivance make everything explainable at the end, but the apparition must in.all eases obey the laws of physics. A. delusion, for instance, is of connse only visible to the person labouring under' a nervous affection; but when flesh and blood' assume the ghost, it then must be, seen of all. It is a defect- if these separate cha- racteristics are not kept separate ; it is a greater fault if an effect is'sought for by, throwing &mystery over the matter and not making everything. clear at last. k' more surprising story, indeed, may be concocted by neglecting received laws ; but feeling-of disappoint- ment arises' at the conclusion.

The "ghost stories" in this volume,are obnoxious to this-cen- sure. " The Watcher" is •the tale of. am Irish .naval officer who is haunted by soiunls, and forms; the foimrtaking the, shape of a sea- man whose ■death Captain Barton's severity is, supposed; to have.' caused : but' the, tale is neither supernatural nor natural. In the outset the, captain is pursued., by steps without arty trace of human agency, through an.unfinished part of Dublin : at his• death, oc- currences of a clearly supernatural kind take place, for material obstacles do not bar ii,passage; but "'the watcher' sends letters through the pest ; he discharges fire‘arins; on some occasions-such vulgar things as doors and walls. are insurmountable ; and he is visible.to other persons besides Barton.:.; but then, he sometimes disappears as if he. vanished,, and it ire intimated that lee is alto- gether smaller than his hying size. In the..story of " Sehalken ' the Painter " there is the same incongruity. A strange suitor pre- I sent himself, and by dint of money marries Gerard Dow's niece, with whom. Schalken. -his pupil is in 'love. About the corporeal character of. Minheer Vanderhausem there is no ,donbt, lie carries

IrAnimals from the Sketth-Book of Harrison Weir. Published by Cundall' and Addey. The Story of Jack and the Giants: illustrated by Richard' Doyle. Same Publishers.

1+ A Treasury of Pleasure-Books for Young and Old. Same Pablisbers. 4 The Peacock at Home. By Mrs. Dorset. Same. Publishers.

Il The Pleasures of the Country: Simple Stories for Young People.. By Sits. riet"Myrtle. Same Publishers.

• Ghost Stories and Tales of Mystery. With illustrations by Phis. Published'

by Oa and Co,; and. hVGlashan, Dublin.. .

-geld-- hatOgns his he rides in a coach, and, notwithstand.-

.itiiiiftesorthl3t-apkatniance, perferms other social actions that pet he seems to vanish liktitgat watcher ; and F. j

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,Aeatr ,of Rose, like that of Ihmtianianeecimpanied. by supernatural" agency. After the marriage, lifizilisenTanderhausen and his wife ostensibly set oat for Itotterdam; but as nothing is heard of them for a lona. time; Gerard Dow jemmies to the city in search of them ; but no such name is known there. Fraud is evi‘ dent; but the painter does not see,m,to suspect anything supernatural,. though the catastinphe.showshim,pleinly-that such was the case:. " One evening,..thepainter and his pupil -were- sitting by the fire, having accomplished a comfortable meal,: and had yielded to the silentan&delicions mehtneholy,of..digestion, whorl-their ruminations were disturbed by it load'. soundsitolthe street-door as ifelieatiened by-some person rushing and iteratetV bring: vehemently. against it. - A elomestie- land ?ram without delay to we the cause .of tlietlistUrbanoe,, an& theyleartilim twice or thrice interrogate the applicant foceadmismon, but without,elicithig any other answerbutse- sustaine& reiteration of the sounds. Thepheard him -then open the belie• deori,an&immediately,there followed a light-and rapid.tread upon the stair- case. Schalken advanced towards the door. It opened' before ho reached-it, and Rose rushed into the room. She looked wild, fierce, and haggard with terror and exhaustion.; bather dress surprised' them. as much even as her unexpected appearance. It consisted of a kind of white woollen' wrapper' made close about the neck, an&deseending to 'the very ground. It was much deranged and I:kneel-toiled. The poor creature had. hardly- entered, the- chamber when she -fell senseless on the floor. With some difficulty they succeeded in...reviving her ; and on recovering. her senses she instantly ex- claimed, in. a tone of terror rather than mere impatience, ' Wine ! wino

quickly, '

"Astonished, and. almost seared, at the strange agitation in' which the call wasmade. they at once administered to her-wishes, and shedrank. some wino- with a na'ste and eagerness which surprised, them. She. had hardlysivallowed. it, when she exclaimed, with-the same urgency, Food, for God's sake, food at once, or I perish !'

"A large fragment-of wrong joint wasrupowthe table, an&Selialken mecliately begam to ent'eome ; but he was anticipated ; for no'sooner did she

see it than she caught more than mortal: image of famine, and with her' hands,, and evenwith her teeth, she tore off the flesh, and swalloweddt._ When the paroxysm of hunger had been a little appeased, ahe appearedot. a sedden-overcome with shame ; or it may have been that other more agi- tating thoughts overpowered and seared'her; for she'began it weep bitterly, and to wring-her hands:

" '04send for teministerot Godl' said slier; I aninot safe till lie °miner,: sandlot him speedily.' " Gerard Douw despatched a messenger instantly, and prevailed.on his niece to allow him to surrender his bedchamber to her use. He also per- suaded her to retire there at once to rest : her consent was extorted upon the condition that they would not leave her fbr a moment.

" 014 that the -holy man. werehered ' she said ;.1 he can' deliver me : the: dead and the living.can never be one; God has.forbidden. it !' "With these mysterious words she surrendered herself to their guider:leer and they proceeded' to the chamber' which Gerard Douw'had' assigned. to her use:

" ' Do not, do. not leave me for a.monient ! ' she said ;' ane lost forever' if you do.'

Gerard_ Douw's chamber was approached tIn-ough, a 'spacious apartment, which they 'were now about to enter. He and Sehalken each-carried a candle, so that a sufficiency of light-was east-upon all surroundieg objeets. They were now entering thelarge chamber, which; as .I have said,- communicated with Douw's apartment, when Rose suddenly stopped, and; in a whisper' which. thrilled them both with horror, she -said, 'Oh, God! he ii here ! hum here! See, see ! there-he goes!' " She pointed towards the door of the inner room, and Schalken thought_ he saw irshadowy and ill-defined form gliding into that apartment:. He drew his sword, and misingthe eandle•seas to throw its'light'with increased` distinctness: upon the objects in' the room, heentsred.the chamber into whit& the shadow hadsglided.- No figure was there—nothing but the furniture' which belonged to the room; and yet ho could. not be deceived. as to, the faot that something had moved' before them into the chamber. A sickening; dread came upon him, and' the cold perspiration broke out in heavy drops upon his fbreheatt; nor was he more composed when he heard' the increased urgency.and agony' of entreaty with which Rose implored,them not to leave her for a, moment., " ',saw him; said. she ; he's here. It cannot be deceived ; 'know him.; he's by me ; he iewitli me; he's in the room. Then, for God's sake, as yen. would save me, do'not stir from betide me.' " They st length-prevailed-upon, her tie lie down upon• the bed, whore she continued tourgo them.to stay by her. Shefrequentiy_utterod incoherent sentences, repeating again and: again, 'The dea& and the living- cannot he one.; God, has forbidden it' : and. then agaier Rest to the wakeful—sleep! to the sleep-walkers.' These and such mysterious and broken sentences she' continued to utter until the clergyman arrived. Gerard Doom began to fear, naturally enough, that terror or ill-treatment 'had' unsettled' the poor girl's intelleot; and he half suspected,- from the suddenness of her appearance; the• unseasonablenees-of the hour, and,. above all, from the wildness and terror- ofTher manner, that Edle had made her- escape from some placed confinement for lunatics, and was.in imminent fear of pursuit. He resolved to MLIMI14n medical advice as' soon. as the mind of his niece had been in some measure set at rest by the offices of the' clergyman whose attendance she had so ear. nestiy desired ; and until this object had been, attained,' he did not venture to put anyquestiona to her whieemight possibly, beroviving painftl or hor- rible recollections, increase her' agitation. The clergyman soon arrived.; a man of ascetic countenance and venerable age—one whom Gerard, Douw na- spected much, forasmuch.as he was a veteran. polemic, though one perhaps. more dreaded as' a' combatant than beloved as a Christian—of pure morality, subtle brain, and frozen heart, He entered the chamber which commune- cated with that in whichHose reclined ; and, immediately an his arrival she requested him to-pray for her; as for one who lay in the• hands of Satan,. and: who could hope for deliverance only from Heaven. "That you may distinctly, understand all the circumstances of the event whieh I am going to describe, it is necessary testate. the relative position of the.parties who were engaged in it: The old clergyman and Sehalkeir were is the anteroom of which I have. already- spoken; Rose lay in the inner chamber, the door of 'which was open ; and by the side of the bed, at her urgent desire; stood her guardian ; mcandle burned in the bedchamber, and. three were lighted in the outer apartment. Tho old man now cleared his- voice; as if about to commence ; but before he had time to begin, a sudden gust of air blew out' the eandlewhich served to illuminate the room inwhiefe the poor girl lay, and she with. hurried alarm exelaimed,.. 'Godfrey,•bring iv another candle ; the darkness ieunsafe.' "Gerard Douw,, forgetting for the moment her repeated injunctions,. in the immediate impulse, stepped frourthebedchamberinte the other,. runnier..•

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Two other stories in e filume. area ,„ ttePagP0P5f- redly calls "tales of mys ry, ni which there „nothing super- natural, though there may he something. .pretemjMural in the cleverness or crime. " The Mnrdered Cousin " is ail:Irish story of an uncle who aims at getting- possession of his niece's fortune by marrying her to his son ; but, failing in that isolteme;the,father and his young hopeful attempt to murder her, li i'kill the/11404,er ilvi jal and sister instead: "The Evil Guest", ' 4 etif intrigue, mnr- der, and incipient madness ; the tinnire, ' ch takes place in the last century, with manners'and other ii&isiories to correspond. PoiVer, distinctness, a kiiiivrledge "iirthe country and charac teristics in which the scene is laid, with considerable cleverness iii- contriving the incidents, are the merits of Ghost Stories and Talii' of 3fystery. There is also a facalitf and a critical kiiiiiiledge- of what is obviously required, thafiseem to argue praetke- iii the author. There is something hard in his persons, as if 'fhb rather a craftsnian'e creation than real creatures : but tlio; l knre interesting, though somewhat disappointing in the auperioi treatment. The volume will furnish more real excitement than half a dozen trashy novels, if it do not send its readers trembling to their beds.