11 JULY 1903, Page 22

London Roses. By Dora Greenwell McChesney. (Smith, Elder, and Co.

6s.)—We certainly miss the vigorous hand that drew " Cornet Strong " for us. London Roses is the story of a love affair begun in the Manuscript Room of the British Museum, of all places in the world. (How did such a butterfly as Miss Rhoda Comstock find her way into this retreat of learning ?) We have a good many digressions by the way, some of them, as that of the " Moth," bringing us into contact with real pathos ; but the whole is disappointing. The two brothers, Thomas and Stephen, fail to interest us, and the story depends for whatever attraction it has on the brightness and cleverness of the narrative. Of these we never fail to get a certain measure.