The Blindness of Dr. Gray. By Canon P. A. Sheehan.
(Longman and Co. 6s.)—This novel is not very artistically constructed. There are parts of it which might be retrenched without loss, and even with advantage. The smuggling of Dr. Wycherly's eldest son, for instance, has no important place in the plot, and does not even develop into picturesque scenes ; smuggling, too, is somewhat out of date, though Tariff Reform will probably revive it. But, whatever its defects, the book is profoundly interesting. Dr. Gray is a parish priest of the old school ; a Nationalist, but deeply disgusted with the greed for which Nationalism is made to furnish a cloak. We see the inner meaning of the difference that now and then reveals itself between Irish politicians and Irish ecclesiastics. Another vivid picture is that of the young priest who seeks to harmonise his faith with modern culture. There are power- ful scenes, pathetic and humorous, of humbler Irish life. Nothing could be better in its way than the examination of the mother who complains of the schoolmaster's ill-treatment of her son,—his real offence is that ho is nephew to a land-grabber. And Dr. Gray himself, as his character is brought out in relation with the orphan niece whom he unwillingly receives, is a figure to be remembered. We have seldom come across anything finer.
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