The Lower Life. By Francis Gribble. (A. D. Innes and
Co.)— The "Lower Life" is practically the life of Stock Exchange
speculation. Mr. Gribble appears to know a good deal of the secrets this business, and is not chary in his revelations. Now and then we recognise some transaction that has made its way into notoriety, as in the telegram that burst up the " Armageddon " swindle : "This d--d mine doesn't seem to have any gold in it at all, Arklow." And other things, read:as if they were written out of a sufficiently full knowledge. The coarse materialism in
private life which goes with this absolutely immoral and un- spiritual occupation of speculating is only what one might expect.
We wish that Mr. Gribble could have kept Helen's forbidden passion out of his story. It was not wanted in the least ; it adds nothing to the intere st ; in such a woman it was not even probable. Do publishers exact this from the authors who write for them? "A story of eighty thousand words, with adultery meditated or committed," is, we suppose, part of the contract.
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