Marietta's Marriage. By W. E. Norris. (W. Heinemann.)— It is
useless to regret a vanished past ; still, we cannot help thinking how much more pleasant it would have been to read Marietta's Marriage in the three-volume form, which, perhaps, we hardly valued as much as it deserved when we had it. It is a positive effort to embark on these three hundred and fifty closely printed pages. But the effort made, it is easy enough to continue the journey. Marietta herself is a heroine whom we are com- pelled to accept. She makes a good motive for the cleverly con- trived story which Mr. Norris, with his wonted skill, has made out of her personality and her fortunes. But we do not like, and are not meant to like, her. Betty Mallet, on the other hand, is a quite delightful creature. We make her acquaintance when she is still in the schoolroom, and we follow her career with undimin- ished interest till she disposes of herself with characteristic inde- pendence and unconventionality. She is a specimen of Mr. Norris's work when he is in his happiest mood. Lady Maria, her grandmother, whom Betty professes to obey but really rules, is also an excellent sketch ; nor has the novelist often done better work than in his drawing of Strahan, the rascal, and St. Quinton, the man of honour. We must congratulate him also on the skilful management of his plot.
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