The Californians. By Walter Fisher. (Macmillan.)—This is a witty, cleverly
rhetorical book. It would hardly be true to say that we should have liked it better if it had possessed less of these qualities, but we may venture to assert that we should have known more about California and its inhabitants. That it abounds in allusions which it taxes one's knowledge of literature to understand is not, perhaps, a fault. If Mr. Fisher knows these books, say, for example, the French humourists, so well, why not his readers ? But it is certainly a drawback that to appreciate what he writes we ought to start with a considerable know- ledge of the persons, things, and places which he writes about. It is a common practice to read about things which we do not know ; those who follow it in this instance will certainly meet with some disappoint- ment. Nevertheless, if they have taste and sense they will be enter- tained, interested, and in a measure instructed. There is not a chapter which does not contain much excellent reading, and the whole leaves a strong, if not a very distinct, impression on the mind. We would specially recommend to the attention of our readers the chapter on " Their Chinese," as dealing sagaciously with a question which will probably concern us very soon, as it certainly concerns at the present moment more than one of our colonies. The chapter, again, on " Their Writers " takes us over new ground. In literature, as in other things, California is likely to become a distinct power.
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