The Adventures of Picklock Holes. By . R. C. Lehmann. (Brad-
bury, Agnew, and Co. 2s. 6d. net.)—These are of the class of humorous efforts which lose effect by being put together. They first appeared in Punch. Thus they would be read singly, and enjoyed ; read together they have a look of repetition; and, for all their cleverness, they are apt to weary a reader.—From the same publishers we have also Punch's Dramatic Sequels, by St. John nankin (2e. Od. net). Thackeray, it will be remembered, wrote a sequel to " Ivanhoe." Rowena is supposed not to have been a success as a wife; the jest is justi• fied, in a way, by the fact that the original Rowena is certainly somewhat tedious. The "Dramatic Sequels" are constructed on the same lines. We cannot say that we like them very much. It seems to profane such a play as Alcestis, when she is represented as a termagant whom even death rejects. Possibly Mr. Rankin would plead as an excuse the unmanly character of Admetus. Hamlet is not much affected by a comic sequel. The same may be said of Much Ado About Nothing and The Critic. The Relapse of Lady Teazle is distinctly disagreeable. As for the present-day drama, exemplified by The Second Mrs. Tangueray and The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith, no sequel can possibly profane it.
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