27 MAY 1905, Page 21

The Taming of the Brute. By Frances Harrod. (Methuen and

Co. 6s.)—Whether Evan Rhys, the " brute " of the title, remained tame, or rather reformed, after his marriage with the charming Cecilie, will remain doubtful in the mind of the reader, but the story of the young lady's benevolent escapade on his behalf is decidedly worth reading. The little sketch of eighteenth- Century Bath is vividly touched in, and though the book as a whole is rather slight, it is gracefully put together, and the scene of the fire is well and powerfully written. But the most attractive thing is the character of the heroine, whose wilful and either capricious charm Mrs. Harrod has represented with quite exceptional success.