The Legacy. By Mary S. Watts. (Macmillan and Co. 6s.)—
This novel, which bears the sub-title of "A Story of a Woman," is of what we may call the "George Gissing " type of fiction, and may describe as an interesting presentment of uninteresting things. Some of our readers will probably remember an earlier work from Miss Watte's pen, Nathan Burke. But in that tale we were brought into some sprt of contact with great men and great events there is nothing of the kind in The Legacy. There is no one great or even interesting; no one whose final disappearance from the scene we should regret ; nothing is done, nothing is said worthy of notice, and yet we go on reading. We are, as it were, looking at .a series of well-executed photographs of quite plain and commonplace persons, dull streets, dismal fiats of country. Is this sort of thing worth reading? we ask. Well, there is the old Torontian maxim, Nihil humani, to be pleaded on the affirmative side, and the plea has to be allowed. Only it must not be pushed too far. This, too, is to be remembered : the meaner the subject, the greater should be the skill in picturing it. We are content with less when the heroic is being presented : we grow immedi- ately impatient if the subject and the style are both dull. Nathan Burke dragged, we remember, now and then, and The Legacy drags more often. If Miss Watts elects to write in this fashion she must take care.
Previous page
