3 DECEMBER 1898, Page 27

A Fighter in Green. By Herbert Hayens. (T. Nelson and

Sons.) —This " Tale of Algeria " comes, we may say, opportunely. It is as well sometimes, and particularly now, to hear about the gallant deeds of other nations than our own. Little is commonly known about the French campaigns in Algeria. Hence Mr. Hayens's story will have a certain novelty for many readers. He gives our neighbours their due meed of praise, and, not to leave our British patriotism out in the cold, assigns a prominent part to country- men of our own. It might spoil the interest of the story were we to reveal the secret of the " fighter in green." It must suffice to say that his is a very romantic career indeed.—From the same author and publishers we also have In the Grip of the Spaniard. This is a story of South America when the Spanish colonies were engaged in the war of liberation. One of the heroes is a patriot ; his companions and allies are British. Mr. Hayens knows how to tell a good story, and these two will doubtless find readers in plenty.—French and English. By E. Everett-Green. (Same publishers.)—This is another historical story. Mrs. Everett- Green always brings careful study to bear upon her narratives, and gives us the circumstances of the tales she tells with laudable care. This is a story of British fortunes in North America, in the days when we had to struggle with the Indians and with the French. The story of Wolfe's victory at Quebec has been often told before, but it will well bear repetition.—With these may be mentioned In Pirate Waters, by Kirk Munroe (Blackie and Son), also especially opportune, as being " a tale of the American Navy." The young hero is a particularly interesting person, engaging as he does our sympathy from the difficulties which he overcomes.—Then, again, we have Ralph Denham's Adventures in Burma, by G. Norway (W. P. Nimmo, Hay, and Mitchell) ; and lastly, Jungle and Stream, by G. Manville Fenn (S. W. Partridge and Co.) Mr. Manville Fenn is here on ground with which he seems to be specially familiar. His two boy heroes meet with sundry adventures in Siam. One of the first is to catch a crocodile while bait-fishing, one of the most exciting of angling experiences. Then one of them saves a woman from a cobra, and is bitten by the snake. Here, too, is an adventure which no one will find wanting in excitement. It is not only the struggle with the snake, but the after struggle with the poison for the lad's life, that moves the heart. Mr. Fenn has never written anything better than this.