6 JUNE 1896, Page 26

Martin Verlost. By Marguerite Bryant. (A. and C. Black.)— We

have not been able to discern the connecting thread which runs, or should ran, through this story. The scone is laid first in a Pacific island, where some one finds a magic ring, the possessor of which commands the obedience of some people who obey nothing else ; then in Loudon, then in Genoa, where it seems a man may be held to ransom as he used to be in Calabria, then in Ireland. Martin Verlost has a part to play everywhere; but the clue is not obvious. There is cleverness in the writing ; the quotations show reading ; the people interest us ; but more clearness is wanted ; readers will not puzzle out a novel.