One Little Vein of Dross, by Ruth Lamb (Nisbet), is
an agreeable story of the married life of a well-to-do young couple, Tom and Olive Beauchamp, and except for one character in it, is not easily distinguishable from other works of fiction with a purpose. This
character is James Smith, a very mild specimen of the detective, who, amateur or professional, appears to be regarded nowadays as a
sine gw% non in popular fiction. Family diamonds are mysteriously
lost and wonderfully recovered, and the wrong person is blamed for what seems, but is not, a robbery ; the result is the revelation of the unselfish character of the girl who is supposed to be the thief, and the eradication of the vein of dross in the character of Tom Beauchamp. One character stands out from all the rest in
One Little Vein of Dross,—Mrs. Beauchamp, Olive's strong-minded mother-in-law, whose very weaknesses and prejudices have an amiable side. Altogether, this is a capital story of its class. The illustrations, it must be allowed, have a rather commonplace look, which is due chiefly to the younger women that figure in them. being dressed as much alike as sisters,—or as Mr. Du Maurier's favourites.
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