29 APRIL 1899, Page 13

Beyond the Border. By Douglas Walter Campbell. (Constable and Co.

6s.)—This book is an agreeable surprise. It is a volume of really original fairy stories and extravaganzas, com- bining humour and sentiment in fair proportions. From the point of view of humour, quite the best of the stories is the first in the book, "Joke or no Joke," and in this also the illustrator is quite at her best. That joke, that ran riot through the town, turning the head of everybody, from the blacksmith who made it and instantly forgot it, to the King who never heard it, though he thought he could repeat it, is a first-rate bit of whimsical drollery. "How Many Beans Make Five ? " is very good also And "None sae Pretty" is charming and quite worthy of its name.