Katie ; an Edinburgh Lassie, by Robina F. Hardy (Oliphant,
Anderson, and Ferrier, Edinburgh), is a simple tale, with illustra- tions, of humble life, the heroine being a domestic servant of a rough, but honest and loyal, Scotch type. The ladies of the house- hold are pleasant characters pleasantly described, and in the general good tone of the book girls will no doubt find sufficient to interest them through its hundred and ninety short pages, notwithstanding a rather unusual abstention from the element of love, of which there is only just an innuendo towards the end. In this respect the tale is in very marked contrast to the next on our list, viz., Merevale, by Mrs. John Bradshaw (Swan. Sonnensohein and Co.), in whioh, extending to 400 pages, are introduced several couples, with all of whom its coarse, as would be expected, does not ran smooth. This is a tale of higher pretensions ; the motto on its title-page, taken from Carlyle, is, "There is in man a Higher than Love of Happiness : he can do without Happiness, and instead thereof find Blessedness." The authoress discourses not unworthily of this theme ; her characters are developed naturally and easily ; and the general literary qualities of the book are up to the same level. It will, we have no doubt, find appreciative readers, particularly in girls.
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