7 DECEMBER 1907, Page 8

In a Deep - Water Ship. By Ernest Richards. (Andrew Melrose. 3s.

6d. net.)—This account of an apprentice's first voyage in a clipper, though not told with the freedom and swing we look for from its author, is a true and unmistakable story of the sea, and the characters of the crew and the officers are well drawn. The strain and stress of life before the mast develop individualities in a manner gratifying to the story-teller. The story of a voyage often reminds us of a school story,—sailors are merely boys in a rougher, sterner school. Of course, there is the inevitable shortage of provisions. Why is it that even a fair-sized ship cannot, or will not, carry sufficient for even half a voyage? This is a boy's book, and, interesting though it is, will banish some of the romance of the sea from youthful minds.