Three Shots from a Popgun. By James Prior. (Remington.)— We
do not see why the author has chosen for his book this somewhat silly title. The three stories are, on the whole, not below the average of merit commonly attained in the novelette ; and the first of the three, which deals with a subject that may always be invested with a certain interest—an unequal marriage—is above it. There is a certain affectation in the author's mode of addressing his reader : "Good day to you, madam," and "Good day to you, sir" (the first sentence in the first story), is a salutation which is really somewhat of an impertinence ; and "Allow me, ladies, to assist you over this high stile," which we find a little further on, is a shade worse. But we do not have so much of this in the main body of the tale, when the writer feels that he has got something to say.
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