Banning and Blessing. By the Author of " The Atelier
du Lye." (National Society.)—This tale centres in the doings of Lois Smerdon, a " black " witch, who had the luck of living at a time when witches were no longer burnt or drowned, but were still believed in, and so could levy contributions on possible victims without fear either of refusal or revenge. The description of the old woman, with her cleverness, her trained habits of observation, and the acute attention to the present which gave her such shrewdness in guessing at the future, is an excellent piece of work. She has sworn that Sir Julian Brent, to whom she owes a grudge, shall not have an heir to inherit his lands ; and it seems as if her oath would be kept, for his four sons die in their youth, and die, it is supposed, childless. We must not spoil an interesting story by revealing how, in spite of her, and yet in a way through her help, the " banning " is turned into a " blessing." The picture of life in "Abbot's Grange Farm," the abode of a careless, good- natured farmer and his over-careful, shrewish wife, is well given.
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