The Honour of the Clint one. By Archibald Marshall:. (Stanley
Paul and Co. 6a.)—The first impression of the readers of Mr. Marshall's former books on the Clintons will be that the Clinton twins, Nancy and Joan, have grown up and that this story is entirely concerned with them, but such is not the case. Joan is certainly the nominal heroine,
but the sentimental interest is not the chief interest of the book. As usual, the squire himself is in some sort the dominating figure. Mr. Marshall may be congratulated on the gradual revelation of his character. He stands for an order of things which is passing or perhaps has already passed away, but as an illustration of his type he is certainly drawn in a most convincing and lifelike manner. Worried as he was by the matrimonial adventures of his elder children, in this book he is even more tried, as for the first time actual sin and disgrace lay their hands on the Clinton good name. It must be said that the squire comes out of the embroglio extremely well, and, after one moment's hesita- tion and a considerable interval of bewilderment, at last sees the path of honour clear before him. It is to be feared that with the marriage of the last twin the records of the Clinton family must come to an end. Dick, the squire's eldest son, would be by no means a suitable central figure for another book, and unless Mr. Marshall means to introduce his readers to the whole of the second generation they must make up their minds to having paid their last visit to Kencote.
That Which Was Written. By Sybil Cormack Smith. (Methuen and Co. 6s.)—The scene of this novel is laid in South Africa, and though the story is rather melodramatic and con- ventional, yet the author gives a vivid picture both of the life of English people on a farm in South Africa and that of a half-Dutch family who are their nearest neighbours. It is difficult to believe either in the extreme success of the house- keeping of the Englishwoman or in the complete muddle in which the Dutch family habitually live. The plot of the story, with its mysterious dealings in gold and the complicated love affairs of the heroine, is not particularly interesting, but the book is worth reading for the sake of the atmosphere.
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