20 JUNE 1896, Page 24

The Life of Nancy. By Sarah Orne Jewett. (Longmans and

Co.) —The Life of Nancy is the title-story of a pleasant little volution of tales of provincial life in America. " Nancy " and " The War- Debt" are quite the best things in the book. "Nancy" tells with quiet pathos the story of an unselfish life, pushed carelessly aside, and lived in the shade without grudge or repining ; and "The War-Debt" vibrates with the emotions of North and South, and two families who have fought on opposite sides brought together by courtesy, to be united by love. One other story that deserves special mention, as being pleasantly amusing, is "Fame's Little Day," in which a worthy couple enjoy most unexpectedly the sweets of newspaper publicity through the boyish freak of a young reporter.