This sea story is Mr. Springer's first book, and it
is a capital piece of melodrama. The story itself is the narrative of an old sea-captain, but the author rather spoils his chances of being read and enjoyed by the casual reader because he does not let his sea-captain embark on his exciting tale until he has wasted two whole chapters on an unnecessary and rather amateurish introduction, in which a very absurd author is quite needlessly brought into the picture. He is, then, a little slow in getting under way, but once out of port he loses no time. All the familiar ingredients of a good tale are present. There are a beautiful ship with a bad reputation, a hero who is twice as strong as anyone else, a mild and beautiful heroine who is married (though only in name, it goes without saying) to the heaviest of the villains, half a dozen picturesque scoundrels, a mutiny and several good fights. And these ingredients are deftly mixed. Mr. Springer displays a power of narration unusual in a new writer : he can both conceive and tell a story ; and if we may judge of his future work by this bright sample he will not lack admirers. For our own part, we will promise to read at least one new book of his every year if he will only keep to the sea and jolly melodrama and steadily perfect his craft.
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