31 AUGUST 1895, Page 25

The Model of Christian Gay. By Horace Annesley VachelL (Bentley

and Son.)—Mr. Vachell describes this story as "A Study of Certain Phases of Life in California." We cannot see that there is anything especially Californian about it. We have had many like it, in which every character and incident was European. Perhaps, however, the Sheriff, with his " quid" and his talk, has some local colour about him, and the scenery, of course, is that of the New World. The tale, while told with some force, is of a repulsive kind. The thing that surprises us most about it is the dedication. Can the reader guess who is the last person in the world to whom a writer of a story of illicit passion would dedicate his work ?