THE MAJOR'S CANDLESTICKS. By George A. Birm- ingham. (Methuen. 7s.
6d.)—Mr. Birmingham is here in his merriest mood. Admirers of Spanish Gold will be glad to meet again the Rev. J. J. Meldon. " J. J.", after some years of residence in England, is, if possible, even more resourceful, garrulous, and elusive than before. Meeting at Weymouth is old friend, Major Kent, he embroils that slower-witted gentleman into a scheme for salvaging the valuable candle- sticks which were the only possessions that he saved when, during the Irish Revolution, he fled from his burning mansion beside the Shannon. In effecting his escape, the Major had allowed the candlesticks to fall into the river-bed. He has small hope of recovering them ; nor; indeed, has he much taste for the enterprise. But he is bullied or mesmerized by Meldon into making the attempt. In Ireland all manner of adventures befall the searchers, not the least piquant among which is the encounter with Herr Deissmann, the engineer for an electricity-supply company that has acquired the site upon which Major Kent's residence formerly stood. Meldon rides easily enough over his fellow Irishmen ; but he finds the German less susceptible to blarney. The story is full of delightfully impossible situations and moves at a rollicking pace. Beneath its burlesque there is some true satire upon racial differences.
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