Mary Neville. By A. F. Slade. (Ilutehinson and Co. 6s.)—
Mary Neville is described by the sub-title as "a woman who attempted too much." The "too much," to put the matter briefly and plainly, is to reform a " ne'er-do-weel," one, in this instance, with the peculiarly hopeless weakness of alcoholism. It will be seen, i hen, that we have her a problem of psychology, with a da h of physiology thrown in. The unhappy Val Nelson's malady had its origin—let doctors take a note—in the copious uso of stimulants when he was treated in boyhood for a very bad case of typhoid. Our own feeling is that these things ara best left to books of casuistry or of medicine. But the novel-reading public seem to think otherwise, and they must have, we suppose, what they want. Here, then, they will find as full a dish of horrors as they could desire. So much for the matter of the story ; as for the execution, it is well written, though somewhat verbose.
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