Led by Love. By M. A. Paull (Mrs. John Ripley).
(Hodder and Stoughton.)—This is a story about which we find it difficult to speak quite candidly. The intention with which it is written is obviously good ; it is so plainly meant to work for righteousness in all that read it that we are loth to criticise. Yet we do not altogether like either the religion or the love-making in it. That a change so abrupt as that which is described in Mary Wilson is
possible we are not disposed to deny, yet we think it is out of place as an incident in fiction. On the other hand, is not Mr.
Osborne's wooing, with his present of diamonds and his kiss under the mistletoe, a little barbarous ? He had just come from Australia. Was he thinking of the Australian custom of marriage by capture ? On the other hand, there is much that is excellent in the book. The story of Mary's devotion is pathetically told, and the lighter touches of the narrative are added with a certain skill.
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