Rogues' Island ; o r, the Pirate Lair. By W
. C. Metcalfe. (J. F. Shaw.) —There is plenty of the humour of the brine—of the Smollett, however, rather than of the Ma.rryat or the Clark Russell type— in this delightful book. The poor young here's father is, perhaps, a trifle too "peppery" and unreasonable, although it may be allowed that, but for his unreason, his son's character would not be disciplined so very thoroughly by adventure and mishaps as it is. But at the worst, the cruelty of the father is forgotten in the hairbreadth escapes of the son, who has certainly his fair share of the troubles that are always associated with life at sea. Mr. Metcalfe's Chinese pirates, with their redoubtable and rival leaders, Fong Tah and Ah Singh, and their prisoner Miss Girter supply what is a groat treat of its kind, if only in virtue of its novelty. Rogues' Island is undoubtedly one of the most entertain- ing and readable of the gift-books of the season.
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