28 NOVEMBER 1896, Page 24

To the Death. By R. D. Chetwode. (Cassell and Co.)—This

is a stirring little tale of the year 1650, in which we are introduced to all sorts of characters, good, bad, and indifferent from a moral point of view, but all interesting from a fictional point of view. Young Noble, the hero, being an orphan, is very nearly cheated out of his inheritance by his cousin, one Lloyd Hamberlayne, who is a dishonest Roundhead, but withal a man of considerable force of character, and a really interesting person. After escaping transportation to the Plantations our hero has sundry startling and extremely well-told adventures with Sir Pierce Chesterfield. The tale gives a very fair idea of what sort of life some of the more active Cavaliers had to live during the early part of the Commonwealth. We can heartily recommend it to all boys.