A Faire Danzz , ll. By Esmi.- Stuart. 3 vols. (Hurst and
Blackett.)—Miss Stuart's story is as pleasant and as wholesome a novel as we have read for some time. She tells the love-story of her heroine in a simple, straightforward way ; she does not attempt to enlist any interest that is not perfectly legitimate ; she does not introduce any surprises ; she hardly makes what would be commonly called a " plot ;" and yet every reader whose taste for what is really good in fiction is not spoiled, will, we venture to assert,. follow the tale from beginning to end with unflagging interest. Mildred Catesby is what might be called a commonplace girl. If she bad not been extraordinarily pretty, she would have had, it is probable, no history worth speaking of. This, however, is but a transcript from real life. Great beauty is quite as real a power in the world as real genius. But Mildred is very pleasant to read about. She gives her heart, or thinks she gives it, tee an unworthy lover. She makes a second and better choice. Then comes the critical period of her life. She has to be, in her little way, a confessor, and she 'nines bravely out of the ordeal. All this is told without any kind of exaggeration, without any departure from what is probable and reasonable; and it makes a really effective picture of life and character. Then, what may be called the scene-painting is very good. The seaside village in Brittany where Mildred meets her fate is excellently described. Here, too, we get a very picturesque episode in the story of Seale and Jean L' Hotelier. Altogether, this is a novel to be recommended, not the less so, we venture to think, because it is suited virginibus puerisque.
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