18 OCTOBER 1890, Page 27

Wooing. By R E. Francillon. (Hutchinson and Co.) — Out

of the fifteen stories that make up this collection, the first

-only, the one that gives its title to the book, is by R. E. Fran- onion ; the rest are by various writers. The first is, indeed, the best, and next to it we would put "That Queer Mr. Harper."

None of the others reach a moderate standard, if we except "Wanted, a Son-in-Law," "The Alderman's Daughter," "A Romance of the Road," "Love at First Hearing," and " Paddyeen Carroch," which we mention in the order in which they appear. The idea of heading a collection of stories with the best of them, may be good from one point of view, but it is prejudicial to the others from another.