The Tropic Seas : a Tale of the Spanish Main.
By W. Westall. (S. Tinsley and Co.)—With tales of the Spanish main the reader gener- ally associates that attractive flavour of lawlessness and adventure which belonged to the old buccaneering literature. Thoroughly modernised, and turned into peaceable records of commercial and senti- mental experiences, stories which deal with life in the South-American Republics are no more interesting of themselves than similar records whose scene is laid anywhere else ; and though Mr. Westall has got up his topography very carefully, and leads off with a stirring story of a murder almost terrible enough to rival the Ratcliffe-Highway tragedies of half-a-century ago, true flavour is wanting to his book. The best chapter is one called "The Haunted Island," which relates the adventures of the deserted hunters for "the mother of gold." If all the castaways are a little too cheerful, and too ready to relate very lengthy narratives under the circumstances, it must be borne in mind that these peculiarities have always, from the first introduction of castaways into the literature of fiction, received great indulgence at the hands of the public. The adventurers go through a good many ups and downs, the lovers have a probation sufficiently severe to make them quite sure of themselves and each other, and the story ends in the good old fashion :—" Now, round the broad verandahs of Las Aguas may often be heard the patter of tiny feet ; bright little faces gleam amongst its orange-blossoms, and merry voices and the music of child- hood's laughter mingle with the plash of fountains and the silvery murmur of running eaters."
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