The True Pathetic History of Poor Match. By Holme Lee.
(Smith, Elder, and Co )—Holme Lee has for once written a pleasant child's book, and, of course, being pleasant, it is about twice as readable as the majority of such books are. The last time she tried her hand at this work she produced an admirable series of allegories which no sane mother would allow her children even to see. There was a skeleton hand in them which might almost have frightened critics. This blunder has been carefully avoided, and all children with a love for animals, or a sense of humour, or a decent appreciation of a "pretty story," may fol- low "Poor Match" through two hundred pages of pleasantly told ad- venture with real enjoyment and no slight benefit to their own humanity. The sketches, too, of child character are strangely life-like,
coming from one who has such a hankering after the weird and grotesque. We must quote one little passage as a real relief after the "goody" talk of most of these productions. "It was at the second rest on the steps of Whiny Church that Mary, after a long pause of silent rumination, opened her mouth and said, 'Miss Hurst, do you know what we shall have for dinner to-day?" Cold roast beef and gooseberry-pie—I saw cook making gooseberry-pies yesterday,' was the very satisfactory answer; after which the young people achieved what remained of the church stair quite buoyantly. I would not insinuate that the children meditated about gooseberry-pie during the sermon, because that would be scarcely correct; but I think it may be admitted without blame to anybody that the cool, refreshing anticipation of it pervaded their imaginations unconsciously, and helped them to bear the stultification of the tall pew into which they were ushered with a better grace than they otherwise could have done."
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