What is a Girl to Do r By H. Sutherland
Edwards. 3 vols. (Chapman and Hall.)—This is a conundrum which is often asked, and which is best answered, perhaps, in the conclusion to which Mr. Edwards brings his story. But it is for his episodes rather than for his subject that the author really writes. The heroine, reduced to poverty by the unfortunate speculations of her father and the villainies of an uncle (who exhibits, by the way, a shocking example of the French law of marriage), tries the occupations, first of a pianist, then of a singer at the opera, and finally of the governess of two Russian young ladies. These experiences she recounts, and is always amusing in her narrative. How concerts are given, bow tickets are placed among friends, the meanness of some people (those, for instance, who have to be baited for with a gratuitous matinee), and the liberality of others, form the subject of some very entertaining pages. The heroine's preparation for and debut at the opera also give occasion for some very readable chapters. Then the account of Russia is excellent. The episode of a nurse's experiences in the Franco-German campaign of 1870-71 is not very artistically intro- duced. The surprise expressed by some of the heroine's friends that a possible prima donna should be found among the ambulances is certainly shared by the reader. Still, it gives an opportunity for bringing about what we have already spoken of as being the best answer to the question of the title,—" What is a girl to do ?" As it does this, and is itself well-written, it would be ungracious to make any objection to it.
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