The Late Returning. By Margery Williams. (W. Heinemann. 2s. 6d.)—The
Late Returning is as a story a little too allusive. The reader for a long time wonders where he is, and (to para- phrase Calverley) "who on earth they were, and what this is all about." There is a President, and a revolution, and a young lady whose relations with the President cannot even be described as questionable. This lady executes a most unexpected volts-face at the end of the book. She goes off in man's attire with the head of the Revolutionaries, is taken prisoner, and put to death, whether with or without the knowledge of the President is uncertain, but as he appears and carries off the corpse the moment after the fatal shot is fired, it appears as if he knew very well what was going on. The last scenes are powerfully written, and if the whole story were not so vague that it is difficult to take an interest in the characters, would be rather affecting. The story is provoking because it has narrowly missed being good.
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