A Snail's Wooing. By E. M. Sneyd-Kynnerzley. (Macmillan , and Co.
6s.)—Any one who had the pleasure of reading "H.M.I." (a most humorous account of the experiences of an Inspector of Schools) will be eager to see what the writer makes of his first venture in fiction. He will not be disappointed. He will probably do what we have done, read every word of it. (Only a reviewer who knows what the autumn crush of books means can appreciate the- force of this compliment.) A Snail's Wooing is described as "the Story of an Alpine Courtship," and we may further explain that the hero is the "snail," because he has the phlegmatic tempera- ment of the fair-complexioned, while his rival has the rapid move- ment which is natural to the dark. We must not spoil the story by anticipation, but we must express our admiration of the way in which this quality is utilised for the purpose of the tale_ Theauthor is evidently a keen and experienced mountaineer, and the Alpine background will have a special charm of its own for some readers. Further, we may say that his first book did not by any means exhaust his stock of good stories. Here is one which any one who has made the same move from the South of England to the North will appreciate. A newly come Lanca- shire incumbent, meeting a collier in a lane and seeing him lift his hand to his head, touched his own hat. The man was indignant and shouted : "Hey, gaffer'. ah wur nowt but scntttin' ma yead."
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