20 AUGUST 1898, Page 25

The Fatal Phial. By G. Beresford Fitzgerald, F.S.A. (Digby Long,

and Co.)—This story has several good points, but we con- sider the plot is rather defective, because we had a prejudice from the beginning against Mrs. Richmond, and this feeling is not entirely removed when the mystery about her is finally solved. The author, unintentionally, has rather overdone it, and has made her not merely foolish, but knavish as well. There are, however, some good situations and characters, and altogether it is a very readable volume.