The Old Lieutenant and His Son. By Norman Macleod, D.D.
(Strahan.)—It is out of no disrespect to Dr. Macleod that this story has lain some time on our table without being noticed. With some books the mere fact that they have been passed over when they were first pub- lished is, an excuse for passing them over altogether. But books like this of Dr. Macleod's may come in at any time. One knows that they will keep good, and also that there is no hurry to get through them. Their strength, in a literary sense, is their weakness, from the point of view of modern literature. No one will take up the Old Lieutenant and His Son for amusement, or will expect to be excited by anything sen- sational. But is readers will be prepared for something better, and will not be disappointed. The characters of the two principal person- ages are worked out in a very striking manner, and are themselves worthy of the pains their author has bestowed on them. In the other characters we do not find so much to praise, but they are natural, and they serve, at least, to bring out the strong points of those to whom they are subordinated.
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