25 OCTOBER 1890, Page 24

many would have desired in a story of the period

it treats of ; but it has other good points, the first of which is the old-fashioned style. It is readable all the way through, and if occasionally prolix, it is of that pleasant, reflective nature that attracts older people. There are enough characters, one or two being fairly vigorous ones, to keep up the interest till the end; and as the scene is laid on the Sussex coast, smugglers figure now and again. Silas Peckover, we must admit, is a somewhat puzzling villain; the manner of his betrayal of the Cause is not quite clear. The closing scene in the tale brings in the Great Frost, and this is perhaps the most sensational incident in a non-sensational but really interesting story.