Two Queenslanders and their Friends. By Frances Campbell. (Alexander Moring.
65.)—It is a very real pleasure to see once again the two delightful little Australians, Joe and Mimi, whose acquaintance most people have already made in the Westminster Gazette. They are charming children, though they take great delight in inflicting all the agonies of suspense on their relations and on the readers of their adventures by every now and then going through the most appalling perils, from which, however, they always emerge unscathed. Apart from these prominent personages, Mrs. Campbell's book gives a very vivid picture of life in the remote parts of the Australian bush, and a very attractive life it must be. Readers who are tired of the autumn fogs of England will find the perusal of this book a most effective way of raising their spirits, even if it is a little tantalising to read of such splendid sunshine and such fresh free air. It must be supposed that Mrs. Campbell's poetic pen conceals the drawbacks to the life she describes, otherwise one is tempted to inquire why any one in Australia lives anywhere except in the bush. The chapter called "Sunshine and Shadow" stands out as an idyll of extraordinary pathos, and though the whole book is good, perhaps it may be said that Mrs. Campbell is at her best in this episode.
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