FICTION.
DEEP WATERS.t
THE title of Mr. W. W. Jacobs's new volume may possibly excite misgivings in his numerous admirers. But they will be speedily reassured. The night-watchman still dominates the scene, and our old friends Sam Small, Ginger Dick, and Peter Russet are still to the fore. And though their latest adventures occasionally suggest a ringing of the changes on old themes, so deft13 is it done, so neat is the workmanship, that the present reviewer, at any rate, is not minded to complain. In dealing with his amphibious characters Mr. Jacobs leaves few loopholes for criticism. The only signs of comparative weakness aro to be found in the two war episodes—billeting experiences of a villa-owner—in which the fun seems forced and the nomenclature savours of old-fashioned farce. But " Dirty Work," which tells how the night-watchman indulged in a course of ineffectual mud-baths in the search for hidden treasure, and "Shareholders,'' another story of treasure-trove, are worthy of the 'author of The skipper's Wooing, and; in the words of Mr. Peggotty, we " can't say no fairer than that." The philosophy of the night atchman in regard to the inscrutable behaviour of women and the trials of the sailorman on shore is a source of pure delight, and the narrative is constantly illumined by happy sayings, descriptive or reflective. We may content ourselves with two. What could be better than this summary of the efforts of an unsuccessful pugilist : " Nearly every time I hit 'im, 'c wasn't there, and every time 'e hit me I wished I hadn't ha' been" ? And how true to life is this concise statement of the doctrine of self-help and self-criticism : " Say wot you-like, a man's best friend is 'imself. There's nobody else'll do as much for 'im, or let 'im off easier when 'e makes a mistake."
READABLE NOVELS.—The City of Palms. By Kathlyn Rhodes. (Hutchinson. 6s. 9d. net.)—Even when, as in this instance, her plot is not very credible, Miss Rhodes has a pleasant knack in telling a story. The scene of this novel is laid partly in Constantinople, partly in the oasis of El-Denar. —Odds and Ends. By B. M. Croker. (Same publishers and price.)--A collection of short stories, of which the first, "The Spare Bed," is a very grim example.--The Wicked Marquis. By E. Phillips Oppenheim. (Hodder and Stoughton. 6s. net.)— The aristocrats in Mr. Phillips Oppenheim's new story are of the uncompromising type more usually seen on the boards of the Adelphi Theatre than encountered in the pages of a six-shilling novel. It is to be hoped that the author, like Lord Beaconsfield, writes " in irony," for the reader will certainly call the book bombast.