4 DECEMBER 1909, Page 10

Through Surging Waters. By Harry Davies. (S. W. Partridge and

Co. 3s. 6d.)—This might be called a story of the educational ladder, only that we do not get into contact with educational interests. Where the ladder comes in is that it brings the hero, and through him the heroine—they are brother and sister— into contact with another brother and sister of superior rank who have much to do with their after lives. If Frank had not gone up to Oxford, Rupert and Evelyn would not have come into his and his sister's life. The story has merits, but there is a lack of fineness of drawing. The scene, for instance, where Rupert and Evelyn are rescued from drowning is of the poorest. Well- bred people could not have behaved so badly.