31 AUGUST 1912, Page 21

Treasure of Thule. By B. D. Steward. (Sidgwick and Jackson.

Ss.)—The improbabilities that are apparent in this story do not in the least mar the refreshing high spirits which the author has com- municated to his characters. An amateur crew of three, yacht- ing among the Orkney Islands in the `Flurry' (an abbreviation of Flurry Knox' of blessed memory), must have the happiest of times, if one at least understands wind, tides, sails, and the use of the galley. How much more so when they meet a simple, absent- minded professor of archaeology to help them in finding a viking's treasure, and the professor's niece, sharing the ownership of the island and its treasure, to make one of the crow happy for ever I Mr. Steward knows the sea and the Scots of those parts. He has also drawn well a slighter picture of masters and boys at school in term time between these exciting holidays. Furthermore, ho can

please the critical reader by showing that he knows good English style from bad.