24 MARCH 1894, Page 24

Old Caleb's Will. By Frances Armstrong. (Jerrold and Co.)— This

is a temperance story ; the subject is handled with taste and moderation, and the result is satisfactory. The incident of the prodigal's turning back, not, unhappily, in a repenting mood, is made tragically effective. The book, on the whole, shows some literary skill, besides an excellent motive.—The Petrie Estate. By Helen Dawes Brown. (Osgood, McIlvaine, and Co.)—This is the story of a conscientious young woman who comes into a pro- perty largely consisting of houses in New York, which it was no credit to possess. How she is relieved of her trouble, and how she finds the happiness which a fortune certainly did not bring her, the reader may find out for himself, not without some pleasure, and even profit.