inlys Deserr-—By Frank M. Spearman.
Hodder & Stoughton, London. 7/6.
Jeff Selleis becomes a gun-thrower and outlaw simply because he robbed the man who had killed his father and robbed him of his gold mine. He makes the luckiest hit of his life
fin lawyer, and rescues her from the when he befriends "Ann Harriton, 8 Clutches of a gang of unscrupulous villains in the employ of his father's killer. Ann had: come to Sleepy Cat fo establish a practice and Jeff risks his liberty and his life to save her. Ann reciprocates, gets the mine Festored. to its rightful owner, and saveo Jeff when he is tried for murder. Love scenes intervene and the happy couple are united ina fast and breezy story of the frontier.
The author, Frank H. Spearman, is by no means a tenderfoot and this novel of his is well worth reading. Thave not the slightest hesitation in recommending, it—wate. abided by the rules he laid down for others.
No matter what criticisms may be directed. against Cromwell's dictator thip—-to Use a word more familiar these days—to him must be given trlbute for making the English flag respected throughout the world. To him, too, must go much credit for the estabiighment of England's. greatness as maritime Power. One of his grea est alms was the honour and welfare fof England and he waged war against Spain. and Holland to' extend the country's trade.
His opponents saw in his Puritan sin, which, curiously enough, finds its unwitting exponents to-day'in the New Life Moverrent in China, only Intrigue and hypocrisy, but in his zeal there was a firm conviction and if he was a stern disciplinarian he himself basic stut of Oliver's charac ter, (eave Mr. Buchan), was the same that of the ordinary' Englism coun toyman, of more delicate texture than Snterwover with finer Mrorkaday fabric. He had none of tne Ieaden arrogance of the superman Who Seeks a pedestal apart from humanity. hough pinnacled high eneuch By. fate, the "was never out of hearing of the common voices of life."
If Mr. Buchan's reputation asa biographer and. historian needed cementing, his Oliver Cromwell would Supply the mortar. The author is a consummate stylist, which makes his book all the more readable, although sometimes he shows a tendency to note a phrase where one of his own devising would do as well—ss.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.