has done her best to spoil by enlarging it to book dimensions, and a little
over-sweetening it. There is real delicacy and beauty in her theme. The
youth forced by partial blindness to give up all the hopes for which he had
been educated, who becomes a shepherd, solacing himself with his pipe
(musical) and the simplicities of country lore for the loss of love and
ambition; and eventually, after his death, is deified by rustic tradition
into a supernatural helper of "all things that are kind"--here is an idea
for the tenderest handling. My feeling is, while giving Mrs. BUCKROSE every
credit for such an inspiration, that she should have been a little sterner
with herself over the treatment, and thus avoided a certain stickiness that
may irritate those who prefer the simplicity of nature to a not quite
sufficiently concealed art. But, as I began by saying, it all depends on
the individual palate; and, anyhow, the book has the historic excuse of
being a very little one, which you can read, with pleasure or irritation,
within the hour.

* * * * *

If you should chance to hanker for a change from novels in which the hero
and heroine dally over-long in falling in love you will get it by reading
_The Fur-Bringers_ (HODDER AND STOUGHTON). No time is wasted upon
preliminaries, not a minute; and as soon as _Ambrose Deane_ and _Colina
Gaviller_ have met and discovered at sight that they are just made for each
other the really exciting part of the story begins. I forget how many times
_Ambrose_ is arrested during the course of the tale, but I do know that
things keep on happening all the time, and that the rescue of the hero by
the Indian girl _Nesis_ is delightfully told. Altogether Mr. HULBERT
FOOTNER'S picture of the life of a trader in Athabasca is particularly
attractive. I like it all, including the cover.