20 FEBRUARY 1904, Page 22

The Jewel of Seven Stars. By Bram Stoker. (W. Heinemann.

6s.)—It is a pity that before beginning this novel Mr. Bram Stoker did not quite make up his mind whether the soul of the Egyptian Princess was reincarnated in the body of Miss Margaret Trelawny, or whether it was awaiting a physical resurrection in its own mummy. Even the hardened novel-reader cannot be expected to believe in two contradictory mysteries at one and the same time. And no sooner does the reader get into the proper frame of mind to thrill over the weirdness of the proposed revival

of the mummy, than a cold doubt arises in his mind as to whether the soul of the lady is not all the time inhabiting a present-day body, in which case it is obviously no use making elaborate preparations for bringing the original body to life. What happens in the last scene only Mr. Bram Stoker can under- stand ; it suffices for the ordinary reader that the entire "cast " of characters is swept away, leaving as the sole survivor (and for obvious reasons) the narrator of the story.