The Wolf. By .T. Et Buckrose. (Hutchinson and Co. 6a.)—
The "wolf" of the title stands as a symbol of the feeling of quo vadis P which overcomes all human beings every now and then, and which takes this form for one of the principal characters, owing to an experience which befell him during his travels in Russia. The interest of the story, however, lies in the delineation of those of its characters which are drawn from the middle classes, the eccentric gentleman, George Hamilton, being not so convincing. Hamilton, nevertheless, is the pivot of the• plot, for it is he who, unable to marry for fear of hereditary madness, hands over his
• Crossriggs. By Mary and Jane Pindlater. London Smith, Elder, and Co. [6s.] estate to Mark Branscombe and his wife on condition that the BOB newly born to them shall bear his name and become his heir. This astonishing bargain naturally enough causes much gossip in the little village of Saltmarsh, near which Hamilton's house is situated, for Mark Branscombe's wife Susy is the heroine of the book, and is possessed of all a heroine's attributes in looks and character. The baby is to be brought up by his own parents during Hamilton's absence in Canada, and in the end gossip is silenced and the l3ranscombes are left to the full enjoyment of their strange position. The character-drawing is distinctly above the average, and the reader will not find it so difficult as he mighb imagine to believe in the circumstances of the story, the delineation of life in Saltmarsh being specially deserving of praise. One of the best portraits is that of Ada Drewry, a cousin of Susy's, who is bead fitter in a large London shop. The story, indeed, though anything but perfect as a whole, and showing faults both of conception and execution, is extremely well and carefully worked out in detail.
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