Rebels and Rogues. By Tom Bevan. (J. Nisbet and Co.
5s.)— Mr. Tom Bevan has never done better than in this tale ; the "Rebels," it must be understood, are the unlucky West Country folk who followed "King Monmouth," the " Rogues " are of various kinds, the chief of the company being one Bruton, other- wise "Galloping Dick," who is as engaging a highwayman as we have ever come across. The Monmouth Rebellion is an excellent occasion for such a story as this. The historical background is familiar ; everyone knows or can picture to himself—not a little helped, it may be said, by Macaulay's admirable narrative—the scene, the action, the actors ; and while it is familiar it makes no overpowering impression ; plenty of room is left for a story of private interests. The story opens with the visit of a certain Dick Trenchard to Squire Bampfylde, of Willows Farm, near Bridgwater. Trenchard is a fervent partisan of " King Mon- mouth " ; Bampfylde has no love for King James, but holds back from the new enterprise. The time is not ripe for it; due pre- paration has not been made; the leader is naught. But the Squire has a niece, Nancy Luttrell by name, who is a fervent partisan of the Duke, and she is the heroine of the tale, and an excellent heroine, too, though we may say that there is not a word of love-making from beginning to end. Next in interest to Nancy is Aunt Rhoda, a noble dame, who has no liking for Monmouth and his followers, but has a firm political faith of the old-fashioned kind, in which the divine right of kings and the greatness of the House of Luttrell are the chief articles. The plot of the story is excellent, well contrived, and well carried out. One merit not always found in this kind of tale is that the oharacters are capable of making mistakes. One gets tired of infallible heroes.
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