The Promotion of the Admiral. By Morley Roberts. (J. Eveleigh
Nash. 3s. 6d.)—It is difficult to say which is the most amusing of Mr. Morley Roberts's collection of sea-stories ; perhaps, however, the story from which the book takes its name is the most original. Here the author preaches the same moral as Mr. Barrie in the second and third acts of The Admirable Crichton, which is, of course, that the natural superiority of the best man will bring him to the top, given an equal chance with his fellows. In the Admiral's case the moral is turned upside-down, as, far from the man of low rank rising to his opportunity, it is no less a person than a British Admiral and K.C.B. who proves his metal in adverse circumstances. In a word, the Admiral is kidnapped in San Francisco, drugged, and shipped as an ordinary seaman before the mast. How he proves his metal in these untoward circumstances, and finally brings the `California' into the port of New York as her skipper, we advise every one who likes a good story to find out for himself. "The Crew of the Kamma Tunder '" is also a most entertaining yarn, and there is a grimness in the last story about the unlucky ship 'Pandora' which will give even a landsman a decided thrill. It is very delightful, as well as very unusual, to have no dull stories in a collection, and it must be acknowledged that Mr. Morley Roberts has achieved the feat of giving his readers eight amusing stories at once.
Previous page
