Rare Pale Margaret. 2 vols. (Sampson Low and Co.)—There is
nothing that we see especially " rare " or " pale " about the Margaret who is the heroine of this story. She is a high-spirited girl, who loves both open-air life and books, and who would scarcely be distinguishable from her fellows but for the accident of a divided and doubtful love. Circumstances have created a peculiar relation between her and a young neighbour, a man of culture and even genius, and of commanding moral qualities, but suffering under the affliction of being a deaf mute. On the other hand, her heart is solicited by a less romantic but not less sterling affection on the part of the Vicar's son, a gallant young sailor. This love-history, entangled as it is with that of a Tillage beauty, is told with much vivacity. We follow it with interest, while we recog- nise in its personages genuine types of character. Of these personages, perhaps some of the less important are the most skilfully drawn. Nothing in the book is better than the picture of Margaret's shallow, clever mother, with her art of sympathetic talk. The earlier scones please us better than the later. But this is so common a failing in stories of this kind, that we are inclined to attribute it not to any falling- off in the writer's power, but to the reluctance with which we leave the scenes of childhood, with their sweet and tranquil impressions, for that which is more perplexed and disturbing.
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