Countess Ida. By Fred Whishaw. (John Long. 6s.)—We must say
that the incident out of which this story is developed seems somewhat improbable. An English officer living in Russia becomes the victim of a plot which turns him into a Russian student, is convicted of a murder committed by his alter ego, and hurried off into Siberia. At this point we suspend our criticism. What a convict would see and feel, whether he could be set free by a provincial Governor who belonged to a secret society, and how he would make his way from Siberia to St. Petersburg, are matters about which we are incompetent to form a judgment. All that we can say is that Mr. Whishaw has made a very lively story out of them. We have not, and Mr. Whishaw clearly does not mean us to have, much admiration for his hero. He was a weak-kneed creature, though fairly strong in the arm, and he behaved badly to the Countess Ida. Still, he makes a picturesque figure, and moves very briskly about in our author's skilful hands.
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