• The Wooing of Wistaria. By Onoto Watauna. (Harper and
Brothers. 6s.)—This is a Japanese novel,—that is, it is a novel about Japanese people, and the scene is laid in Japan. No preface or publishers' note suggests that it is a translation, but a portrait of the authoress forms a frontispiece, and depiets a pleasant- looking young woman in Japanese costume. The action of the story takes place somewhere in the " sixties " at the time of the overthrow of the old nobility. The hero and heroine pass through many adventures before they are finally brought together, but their hairbreadth escapes fail entirely to thrill the reader. Never- theless there is a charm about the book. The writer knows how to bring scenes like Japanese pictures before the eyes of her readers, and the mixture of softness and cruelty, civilisation and savagery, in the Japanese character is strongly portrayed. We would advise Onoto Watanna to write another Japanese novel of an entirely domestic character, if she has the requisite knowledge.
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