Snake and Sword. By Percival Christopher Wren. (Long. mans and
Co. 6s.)—The true lover of Kipling cannot afford, in these days of sentimental and introspective novelists, to be narrow-minded ; he should extend his admiration to those also who follow in his train. Therefore we welcome all that Mr. Wren will give us, since his work must certainly be labelled "School of Kipling "; indeed, if it were not so fresh and so delightful, and if we did not wish to avoid any criticism which could possibly be construed as derogatory, we would accuse its author of plagiarism and have done with it. Here is a second Mulvaney come to life in the person of O'Shaugh- nessy, here are the chapter headings of not too relevant poetry, here the familiar and effective use of capitals : "No, young Piggy-wee," replied Dam. " Gettin' old an' fat : Joints stiffenin'. Come an' sit down and bear the words of wisdom of your old Uncle Dammiculs, the Wise Man of Monksmead." Who, chancing with an open mind upon such as this, could fail to recapture the first joy of his acquaintanceship with Stalky ? We cannot, however, deny that Mr. Wren has marred his work with two rather serious faults, lie is lacking now and then in self-control, notably when writing of the Army and of the life of a gentleman-ranker; and he has based the whole of his novel on a case of hereditary terror of snakes so overwhelming and so complex that we should hesitate to accept it as a psychical possibility.
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