The People of the Mist. By H. Rider Haggard. (Longmans,
Green, and Co.)—Mr. Rider Haggard long ago found or created his public, and he is probably wise in continuing to provide that
public with the kind of thing which it has learned to expect from him. His one or two attempts to break away from the story which is of mysterious romantic interest all compact, have been creditable, and in various degrees successful ; but there is one
thing that he can do supremely well, and it is the kind of thing which he does in The People of the Mist. Whether the new book
will rival in popularity such predecessors as " King Solomon's
Mines," "She," or "Allan Quatermain," we cannot say. If there be any failure of interest it will simply indicate that the appetite
of the reading public for this kind of fare is satisfied, and that a change of diet is demanded ; for the items in the bill of fare are as piquant as ever, and there is no falling-off in the culinary skill with which they are served up. People read Mr. Haggard's books that they may be excited and enthralled, that they may become pleasantly unconscious of the flight of time; and the critic can guarantee that the new story will produce the old effect.
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