5 DECEMBER 1908, Page 11

Runners of Contraband. By Tom Bevan. (S. W. Partridge and

Co. 8s. 6d.)—Blockade-running is always a stirring motive for a story of adventure, and this story of Finland's struggle for autonomy opens well with a dash for the Aland Islands with contraband arms. The interest is well kept up, as the story takes us into the dreaded fortress for "politicals" in St. Petersburg, and, after sundry vicissitudes, to London once more. It is a well-told, briskly written story, with illustrations above the average. The scenery of the tale is snowy, and so may be reckoned as eminently seasonable for young readers.