28 NOVEMBER 1896, Page 24

The Romance qf the Sea. By Fred Whymper. (S.P.C.K.)—Mr. Whymper

discusses in several chapters some of the legends of the sea which these days of steamships have relegated to the limbo of vanities. The Kraken, witches, the Flying Dutchman, the sea-serpent, and the many remarkable facts of the great deep, are set down in a pleasant chatty fashion for young readers who will have the benefit of making an acquaintance with fables and their significance, and so perhaps escape the con- temptuous snubs of their elders which follow the too greedy perusal of some Munchausen of the ocean. This is a most suitable book for a boy thirsting after general information, and is well furnished with illustrations.