Is Love a Crime ? By Mrs. .Tagger. (Swan Sonnensolmin
and Co.) —Things are certainly changed since the days of our youth. Then it was the great reward of female virtue to marry a clergyman ; now a novelist has to ask whether love is a crime,—in a clergyman, it must be understood. There are some strange things in this history of Dudley Raiford and Ruth Fletcher. Dudley Rufford is squire of the parish, and takes orders, becoming curate apparently against the will of the latitudinarian rector. In course of time he is presented to the living, and subsequently resigns it ; hut still contrives, it would seem, to occupy the vicarage (the benefice has apparently changed its character),—such are the privileges of squiredom. There is merit, however, in Mrs. Jaggees story. Ruth's career, when she starts in life for herself, is interesting, though it is not without improbabili- ties. The author's chronology seems to be a little confused. The passing of the Education Act (1870) and of the Married Women's Property Aot are both brought in, though the action of the story certainly cannot exceed a couple of years.
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