Nathan Burke. By Mary S. Watts. (Macmillan and Co. 6s.)
—Here is a book of six hundred and twenty-eight pages, closely printed pages too, and we, who have quite as much reading to get through as can be conveniently managed, were positively sorry to come to the end. There is nothing especially original or striking in the story itself. Nathan Burke starts life as the "hired man" of Mr. William Ducey in the capital town of the State, and rises to be a man of wealth. Sometimes the narrative is not as clear as it might be,—the part concerning the land which really belongs to Nathan is somewhat obscure to an English reader. But the
book has two great merits. First, there is the quite surprising vigour of the portraiture. It is not one picture only—not a few writers are equal to that—there is a whole gallery of excellent work, and the women are as good as the men. And secondly, there is the style. Here is a specimen :—" It is the wives and mothers who adjust the scale, who judge, decide, govern, and protect in all social. matters. Their office seems to be somewhere between guardian angel and private detective."
Previous page
