nies of
self-abasement and rarefied desire, is uncannily clever; and the
thoroughly unpleasant episode of our _William_, minx-free, only to be
caught in the toils of that insatiable sensualist, Mrs. _Daintree_, is
presented with discreet vigour. There is possibly a moral in the
fascinating _Marmaduke's_ desperate half-hour in Dr. _Ferox's_
consulting-room. But Mr. HEWLETT never wrote this flippant tale to point
a moral. Rather, as I suggest, he seems to have said, "These are samples
of several _genres_ in which I can succeed on my head. Some day I will
really finish something. Meanwhile pray be amused."

* * * * *

Of Miss ETHEL DELL'S popularity there seems to be no possible doubt, and
her publishers, Messrs. HUTCHINSON, assure me that her latest, _The Bars
of Iron_, is the best novel she has written. While accepting their
unprejudiced judgment I retain the liberty of remaining unimpressed.
Miss DELL has an eye for a plot and she can make things move; but her
methods are too feverish for my taste. A man-fight in the prologue is
followed by a dog-fight in the first chapter, and through the early part
of the book the _Rev. S. Lorimer_ beats his numerous family again and
again. It is true that, between her explosions, she introduces certain
lovable characters, but they fail to correct the general atmosphere of
violence. Neither the beauty of _Piers Evesham_ (his naked shoulders
looked "like a piece of faultless statuary, god-like, superbly strong"),
nor his sympathy with children, offers adequate compensation for his
volcanic temperament. If Miss DELL, who seems to have a penchant for
tempestuous heroes, would devote some of her superfluous energy to a
study of men, so as to get to understand them as well as she understands
her own sex, it would be a good thing for the quality both of her work
and of her public.

* * * * *

In her latest little volume of verse, modestly entitled _Simple Rhymes
for Stirring Times_ (PEARSON), Miss JESSIE POPE shows that she has not
only the right spirit, but a sense of form beyond the common. She does
not pretend to heroics and she seldom allows herself to touch a note of
pathos; her mission is just to inspire other hearts with the infectious
gay courage of her own. It finds a natural expression in the easy lilt
of her measures. She is fluent rather than polished and never overlays
her designs with excess of embroidery. Long