Crcesus's Widow. By Dora Russell. 3 vols. (John and Robert
Maxwell.)—Nora Sudeley, who loves and is loved by William Vyner, an artist, is induced to marry the wealthy John Treloar, induced by a downright falsehood, which seems to pass the limits which even an -unscrupulous match-maker would allow herself. Mr. Treloar dies, leaving her all his wealth. Hence she becomes " Crcesus's Widow." But the real heroine of the book is Nellie Blythe, who marries an impecunious and unscrupulous young nobleman, one Lord Seaforth. The marriage is runaway and secret ; and after a while, Lord Seaforth, finding his debts pressing more and more hardly upon him, resolves to ignore it, and to marry the wealthy widow who, by skilful manoeuvring on the part of mutual friends, has been made to look favourably upon him. Miss Russell tells the story very well ; in fact, this is as well constructed and as interesting a novel as we have seen for a long time. And while all the characters are drawn with credit. able skill, two or three are very vigorous sketches indeed. Campbell of Strathearn, with his great, manly heart, is a striking contrast to the weak and selfish Lord Seaforth ; and Joannah Brewis, who, half against her will, shows kindness to poor Nellie in her trouble, is, in another way, full as effective a personage. We are glad to find that there are am signs of exhaustion in Miss Russell's work, large as is the quantity of it which she gives to the world.—Milicenes Story. By Fayr Madoc. (Macmillan.) — The setting of this tale is excellent. Delysford, a sort of "Sleepy Hollow," which the movement of the world has quite left behind, and Delysford people, who can- not conceive of happiness as existing outside their own borders, and speak with the pitying epithet " poor " of the young woman who has made an excellent marriage with a stranger, are described with a quiet humour which is highly entertaining. The merits of the tale itself are but indifferent. Rene du Lys and his sister are the last re- presentatives of a noble family which came over with the Conqueror, while the Tremaines are descendants of the first Du Lys' barber. The family of the barber has contrived to acquire all the property of their noble employer, all bat one house, which several generations have coveted in vain. The last Tremaine hopes to secure it from the last Du Lys by means of his daughter, whom Du Lys loves. But Mili- cent du Lys sacrifices herself, by accepting Mr. Tremaine's hand on the condition that her brother should be allowed to marry Amy Tremaine without the condition of parting with his ancestral property. This is a story which is neither probable nor attractive, and the natural re- pngnance excited by it is not removed by the prospect of seeing the lands of Da Lys come back to their original possessors. But when we get away from the story, and read what Delysford folk thought about the world, we are sure to be entertained.
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