A Daughter of the Philistines. (David Douglas, Edinburgh.) —The "Philistines"
are a family of the name of Hampton, who, having made money in the Far West (of the United States), naturally come to spend it in the East. There is a father, who is a vulgar, unscrupulous speculator, not altogether unkindly ; a mother who has her social ambitions, and a son who contrives, thanks to an extravagant expenditure and a certain languid insolence of manner, to make himself one of the leaders of fashion. There is no little skill displayed in the way in which lima Hampton's
character is developed in the midst of such surroundings. She is not perfect by any means, she has not even courage and steadfastness, but she is true and has fine instincts, which keep her right in the end.
The doings of the " Philistines " themselves do not make pleasant reading. The young dandy, Walter, in particular, is made more odious than he need be, but the "daughter" is a gracious and attrac- tive figure. We feel an interest in her throughout the story, as in a real person, and are glad to leave her, all storms safely weathered, in the harbour of domestic content.
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