6 AUGUST 1887, Page 26

A Set of Four Hunting and Racing Stories. By W.

B. Gilpin. (Field and Taer.)—The first and longest of these stories is not attractive or pleasant. It shows the turf in its very worst aspect, and might well act as a warning, if the people given up to this kind of folly were capable of taking warning. The shorter stories are better ; the last, "Don't Always Judge from Appearances," is a really humorous tale of how a steeplechase was won by a very unlikely-looking horse, more fit, it seemed, for the circus than the field. That story deserves the first place. But all have the advantage of being obviously written by a person who understands his subject.