11:1.E. NEW NORTH.
The New North. By Agnes Deans Cameron. (D. Appleton and Co. 108.6d. net.)—Miss Cameron made the journey from Edmonton to the mouth of the Mackenzie, and enjoyed herself so thoroughly, and kept her eyes and ears open to such good purpose, that if any energetic lady wants to have a good time she cannot do better than read The New North, even if she does not stir out of the house. Cheery, humorous, observant, nothing escapes Miss Cameron's notice or upsets her equanimity. She is doubtless one of those fortunate individuals who know how to travel, to whom travel is a joy, and who have the secret of getting on with people, the true traveller's tact. Her style, commonly restrained, sometimes almost sensational, reflects all these characteristics, and also the dialect and the phrases of the many races and individuals she met on her descent of the Mackenzie to the Arctic Ocean. Occasionally there are pages with distinct literary charm, and we find these as we approach the land of the Eskimo. The spirit and vigour of her portraits are undeniable, and she has the knack of seizing on certain traits of habit and speech which bring the Indians, the Hudson Bay men, and the Eskimo vividly before us. There are a host of entertaining facts, stories, little touches of character and scenery, which appear on every page, and make the book most entertaining. It is an astonishing country this new Northland, and we do not suppose any one quite understands bow vegetables and grain can be grown up to the Arctic Circle ; but the fact remains that its agricultural capacity is, latitude for latitude, quite unique as well as something of a puzzle. Miss Cameron fell in love with the Eskimo, who seem to have discovered the art of being cheerful. Those who feel the fascination of the life of the great Dominion will find anecdotes of all sorts and conditions of men, from Bishop Bompas downwards, in this interesting record of a summer excursion.
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