30 NOVEMBER 1895, Page 27

When Vaimond Came to Pontiac. By Gilbert Parker. (Methuen and

Co.)—This story of "a lost Napoleon" is a romance, one might almost say of the extravaganza species. We doubt whether the author is justified in inventing—for we suppose he has invented—the incident on which the story is founded. And we have no doubt at all that one scene at least it would have been better to have retrenched. There are some well- drawn sketches of character. The old veteran of the Empire is particularly good. Valmond himself is, we think, less suc- cessful.