CURRENT LITERATURE
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G 1FT-BO OKS.
Supplejack. By R. Ward. (Chapman and Hall.)—Here we have a delightful romance of Maoriland, full of action and humour, and with just enough of love and local colouring thrown in to render the charm of the whole firm and good. The reality of Maori savagery, bloodshed, superstition, and race-feuds is not -withheld from us ; on the contrary, it is admirably represented. But it is subordinated to the*" go" of the plot, and the humour of the characters, which is contributed almost entirely by the acrobat-hero, who of course turns out to be the kidnapped son of Sir John Crossbar, of Crossbar Hall, in Cheshire, and by Arapata, a wonderful Maorised Irishman, who is a faithful disciple of Mrs. Malaprop. A very bright sketch, too, is that of the White Prin- cess, who turns out to be Madge, the long-lost daughter of a missionary friend of Supplejack. It ought to be unnecessary to say that Jack rescues Madge from the Maories, and that, loving each other as did Marius and Cosette, they marry and settle down happily at Crossbar Hall. We have not for a very long time come across a book fuller of gusto and originality than Supplejack.
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