Moondyne. By J. Boyle O'Reilly. (Routledge.)—Mr. O'Reilly introduces us to
the convicts of Western Australia in the year 1848. Every one is agitated by a large reward-offered for the dis- covery of a fabulously rich gold-mine; one man only, the hero, discovers this. "Moondyne Joe" is certainlya striking sketch of a somewhat improbable convict; and he is undoubtedly a noble creation. The same must be said of the man who, in the latter part of the story, inaugurates a new penal law. In both the writer has given the reins to his imagination, but fails to make us grasp the fact that they are one and the same individual. There is plenty of good writing, much that is powerful and instinct with truth, much that is fanciful, and a trifle bombastic. The ordinary human beings of Mr. O'Reilly are very human indeed ; they and their actions are described with much skill and occasional pathos. Moondyne is decidedly a powerful novel ; the writer has really made two fine and heroic men out of " Moondyne-Joe."
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