28 FEBRUARY 1880, Page 24

St. Nicholas' Eve, and ether Tales. By Mary C. Rowsell.

(Griffith and Farrar.)—This first tale, which gives a title to the volume, is a charming little love-story, of which we shall not spoil the interest by revealing the novel and well-conceived incident which brings matters to a satisfactory conclusion. The scene of " Heatherwold Hall," the second tale, is laid in a country-house, at the end of the seventeenth century. Here, it strikes us, the writer is far more conventional, and, as a result, leas successful. The other four stories are of a fair average merit, and altogether make up a pleasing volume, though St. Nicholas's Eve is very much the best.