Longmans' Colonial Library), is an admirably written story, Mr. Bagot's aim in this as in previous works is to show the harm that is attempted and often done by the Roman Catholic Church, not as a religious, but asa political institution. The Latin proverb, Corruptio optimi pessima, might be the text of Mr, Bagot's writings. The scene of "Donna Diana" is modern Rome, the Vatican side of it, not the Quirinal, The heroine is a charming young girl who has a large fortune coming to her as soon as she is of age, and she has been taught from childhood that her vocation is a convent in order that the Charch may secure her fortune. Her guardian is a cardinal, an honest and well-meaning, but weak old gentleman with a scoundrelly nephew and an equally scoundrelly man of! affairs, and she is loved by and loves a young Englishman, who determines to rescue her from the fate intended for her, Mr. Bagot's knowledge of Roman society is extensive and thorough, and his book is attractive from the first page to the last, and ends happily.
Lady's Honour," by Bass Blake (Unwin's Colonial Library), belongs to Mr. Unwio's "First Novel Library." Its sub-title is "A Chronicle of Events in the Time of Marlborough," and a thoroughly stirring quasi-historical novel it is, with the crudeness often found in a first attempt, but intensely readable, most of the adventures with which it is filled displaying a very active imagination in i's author, The great John Churchill, "who never fought a battle that he did not win nor besieged a city that he did not take," the greatest English soldier that ever lived, comes in but not too prom-mently, the story dealing with the fortunes of a very charming girl and her two lovers, one fairly good and one very bad. It also ends happily.
"Life the Interpreter," by Phyllis Bottome (Longmans' Colonial Library), is a very well-written story, of aristocratic "slumming" in the east of London, It is a somewhat serious book as the subject demands but decidedly interesting, and the writer draws her characters with a firm hand and makes them li This heroine, too, has two lovers. The one she chooses in the end, a doctor, is no doubt the better of the two, but the sympathies of most readers will be with Jack. "When Jack heard of her marriage he shrugged his shoulders. 'I always thought she would run amok on some sort of a professional chap, but I rather thought it would be a parson, he said, and thought how much better she might have done for herself if she had only known when she had a good thing.
"*T thought she was cut out for an old maid, Edith lo Mentier told her friends; ' but those sort of women generally marry and have fourteen "Winifred and the Stockbroker," by Charles Eddy (Longmans' Colonel Library), is decidedly light, but it is a capital story to while away an unoccupied hour with, Winifred is as lovable as she is capable, the Stockbroker and his fellow-clerks are capital examples of Gilbert's young city men, Of a commonplace type, With a stick and a pipe, And a half-bred black-and-tan," and the author gives a good insight into the working of the Stock Exchange in London before the rules affecting membership were amended. It has a happy ending.
"The Lady of the Barge," by W.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.