In Russet Mantle Clad. By George Morley. (Skeffington. 10s. 6d.)
—The author of these countryside sketches has much insight into the peasant's mind, and sympathy with his views of life. He takes a circumscribed bit of country, a few hundred acres perhaps, but he does it well, with plenty of quiet emphasis. The chapters about the poachers and the tragedy that ended the career of their leader show the author at his best. The description of the lurcher provides the drama with a most pathetic silent character, which is handled with great effect. It is astonishing indeed how attached these dogs are to their owners ; they represent the highest result of skilful training, while they are the most ill-treated of their kind. Their life "iS not a happy one." A certain want of breadth is noticeable about these sketches, nor has the style, pleasing as it is, quite that sharpness of definition which one naturally looks for in a work dealing with interesting but narrow types of humanity. Yet there is much thoughtful work in Mr. George Morley's book.
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