22 AUGUST 1903, Page 24

Chris of All Kinds. By S. Baring-Gould. (Methuen and Co.

6s.)—Mr. Baring-Gould is effective in this story, as, indeed, he never fails to be in whatever he may see fit to write. It is not difficult to point out faults. The chief of them, perhaps, is a certain tendency to. let comedy degenerate into farce. There are incidents in Chris's career on which this criticism might be passed. Then, again, though the heroine is an excellent figure, the hero is a poor creature. His conduct in the affair which leads to the breaking off of the engagement is inexcusably foolish. But, after all has been said, the broad fact remains that the book is very good reading. Chris of All Kinds is not on a level with Mr. Baring-Gould's best work in the line of fiction, but it is far above the average novel.