28 MARCH 1903, Page 22

.Ranson' s Folly. BY Richard Harding Davis. (W. Heinemann. es.)—Mx.

Harding Davis's little book of stories is very pleasant 'reading. The first story, which gives its name to the book, is, though the longest, not the best. That distinction belongs to "A Derelict," the story of the correspondent who had no mission, and --who, slipping on board a fellow-pressman's launch, watched the battle of Santiago while the authorised correspondent lay drunk in his berth below. There is the real sting of warfare in this' little story, and we cordially advise no one to miss reading it who appreciates the work which Mr. Harding Davis can do at his best. It must be confessed, however, that "The Bar Sinister," ,the story of a dog, written by that animal, is unworthy of its company.