In a Hollow of the Hills. By Bret Harte. (Chapman
and Hall.) —The character of Collinson. of Collinson's Mill, his simplicity, good faith, courage, and touching belief, born of his own honesty, in the wife who has deceived him, would redeem any story; one from Mr. Bret Harte's pen has, as may be supposed, other good points. We have not found it always quite easy to follow. But the vigour of its drawing of character, and the vividness of its pictures of life, make it an effective piece of work.—The Bishop's Delusion. By Alan St Aubyn. (Ward and Downey.)—The chief incident in this story has been anticipated by one of Mr. Grant Allen's tales, the relapse of a negro into heathen degradation, a man to all appearance profoundly affected by culture and religion. Mr. St. Aubyn, however, leads up to it and manages it in a way of his own, and may be considered to have thus asserted his property in it. It is not an agreeable story, but there is certainly some power in it.—Galloping Dick. By H. B. Marriott Watson. (John Lane.)—Mr. Watson's hero is a highwayman, who tells the story of various adventures in which he has been engagad in the exercise of his profes- aion. All his narratives seem to us very unreal. The Bishop in the first, Sir Ralph in the second, the fine lady in the third, have not the look of life. The lady is a peculiarly offensive creature. A woman with but the slightest veneer of manners does not talk and act in the shameless way which it is Mr. Watson's pleasure to attribute to Lady Fulton. But he pro- bably knows his public. They want their food highly flavoured, and apparently can consume a vast quantity of the dishes so revolting to any healthy taste. But it must end, we hope, in nausea. —Woodnip's Dinah. By Mrs. Stevenson. (Hutchinson and Co ) —This is a story of life in the Dales, and is a pleasant and whole- some little tale, quite free from pessimism and morbidity. On the other hand, it is not milk and water. Mrs. Stevenson knows that there are strong passions working in life, and she is not afraid to picture them. Dinah is an excellent study which we feel at once to be very close to life.—Twenty Stories, by Twenty Tellers. Edited by Leopold Wagner. (T. Fisher linwin.)—We always feel that these collections of short stories are not easy to read, and quite impossible to review. There are some good names among the tellers; indeed, there is not one who has not a reputa- tion among writers of fiction ; but this kind of thing is intended to flavour other reading, not to be collected into a mass. A reader would probably prefer a connected tale by any one, even by the least gifted, among the " twenty."
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