7 JUNE 1890, Page 25

Charles .Franklyn, of the Camel Corps. By " Hasmbig." (Smith,

Elder, and Co.)—The author of this story, whose curious pseudonym looks like an anagram, is in all probability an officer who has been through the Soudan Campaign, and who thinks that some of his reminiscences of adventure will have a better chance of acceptance if worked up into a novel, than if presented in their native simplicity. So far as the better class of readers is concerned, we are convinced that he has made a mistake, " Hasmbig's " vein of invention is very thin, and those parts of his book which are obviously fictitious are rather poor stuff ; but when he describes actual experiences of conflict and peril, he is really vigorous and interesting. His descriptions of the Battle of Abu Klett, and of the fall of Khartoum as seen from the outside, are very spirited; and his book is all the better for the total absence of acrimonious party politics.