The Stolen Bacillus. By H. G. Wells. (Methuen.)—Readers of the
Pail Mall Gazette and Budget will be glad to find that the amusing stories contributed by Mr. Wells to those two publica- tions have been collected and republished in the form of a book. The author has already achieved some reputation for originality, and these short stories, with the exception of the first, from which the title is taken, should add to it very considerably. They are, for the most part, models of what a short story should be; full of suggestion though brief, combining a certain measure of probability with a happy extravagance, and seasoned with a very pleasant humour. The best of the collection is the tale of "243"ornis Island ; " but the farcical burlesque of "The Hammer- pond Park Burglary," and the rather gruesome tales of " The Lord of the Dynamos " and " A Moth—Genus Novo." are equally well told. But why Novo ? Mr. Wells is evidently something of a naturalist himself, and as his tales are full of scientific lore and Latin nomenclature he should know better.
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