The Coil of Cares. By John Oxenham. (Methuen and Co.
6s. net.)—Mr. Oxenham has given us here, as it is his wont to give, an excellent story. The "coil" is a very complicated entangle- ment, which indeed is never actually undone, the reader being content at the end—this is really a great achievement—so to leave it. Which of the two boys, Jack and Jim, is the rightful heir to the estate of Came ? This is the question, and it is never answered, though the story is so worked as to leave us content with the conclusion. It is good all through, but the best part is the conclusion, where the scene is transferred to the Crimea, where one of the heroes is an officer of Engineers, the other a subaltern in one of the regiments of the Light Brigade. Many people will have been reading lately with a renewed interest the story of the war as told in the Life of W. H. Russell, and this tale will, so to speak, materialise it. We must not conclude our notice without a word of praise for the admirable character of Eager, the clergy- man who has much to do with the making of the two heroes what they are.
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