The Last Abyss. By George Manville Fenn. (S.P.C.K.)—Mr. Manville Fenn
has written very few disappointing books. This, however, is one of them. It is long, laboured, and tedious. Ms. Fenn's "purpose" in writing it is, indeed, painfully clear. He wishes to indicate to boys with a fancy for astronomy how to ge about such preliminaries as the building of a telescope. Young readers, however, are certain to get tired of the telescope and of the scientific portion of this book generally. But they will not get tired of the rather stupid but not uninteresting or cowardly Tom Blount, and his fights with his very bad cousin Sam, the country rascal Pete Worboys, and the dog that is worthy of Pete. The contrast between the two uncles, James and Richard Brandon, is well brought out ; and Masted, as a good sketch of a manly English parson, is in Mr. Fenn's best style, And although at the commencement the action of the story halts a little, it briers up most decidedly towards the close, where Sam Brandon attempts to play the burglar, and his cousin plays the detective. It ought, at this time of day, to be quite unneces- sary to say that in all respects The Last Abyss is a thoroughly wholesome story.
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