23 JULY 1881, Page 22

The Little Messmates. By the Rev. Frederick W. Smart. (Masters

and Co.)—This is a charming little tale, which is only too short, —it does not take a quarter of an hour to read the whole of it ; but it is written by one who knows how to embody true humour and true pathos within the limits of a very few pages, and to make, his readers thoroughly enjoy what seems at first eight so little in quantity, that there could be hardly room in it either to touch the heart or to reach the springs of mirth, much less to do both effectually.