Afloat at Last. By J. C. Hutcheson. (Blackie and Son.)—
This is not such a good story as "The Wreck of the Nancy Bell,' " but there is a strong and healthy flavour of the sea in it, as there is in most of Mr. Hutcheson's stories. The exciting part of the story does not come till the end, when the ship is attacked by piratical junks, and is finally saved by the timely appearance of a gunboat. There are one or two lively characters, notably a Chinaman and an Irishman, in the book. We think Mr. Hutcheson might have spared us some of Rooney's dialect and brogue, amusing as it is ; there is almost too much of it. He is really a capital character, however, and very natural. By-the- way, he bears a rather strong resemblance to a certain "Red Rooney" who occurs in one of Mr. Ballantyne's tales, though in the matter of language he far surpasses him.
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