LIKE ANOTHER HELEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2398, 15 February 1900, Page 65

LIKE ANOTHER HELEN.

By Sydxkt C. Gkikh. Edinburgh and London : William Blackweed and fc'onh. Dunedin : Whitcoraba and Tombs. A capital novel, such as we have grown to expect from the author whose *' Peace with Honour," "A Crov.ned Queen/ etc., have given u& a most excellent standard 01 ability. It has long been the fashion to write and to read stories of Indian life — more especially those woven about the time of the Indian Mutiny — and " L'ke Another Helen ' adds one more to the list. The style, however, m which Mr Grier has. Clio-sen to present his &emi-historical romance — namely, the letters ot " A Young Lady of Sense and Sensibility, Resident at Bengal During the Years 1855-57,"' removes the book entirely from comparison with others thai have preceded it. The "atmosphere" of the time is admirably preserved. Each detail of speech, costume, social observance, as well as the tone and sentiment of the age, is so faithfully reproduced thai the illusion is perfect, and we seem indeed to bs reading the actual letters which the lovely fcjyivia Preyne indited with such constant affection to her "dearest Miss Tamer."' Sylvia, whose fair young mother died when she was a mere infant, has been brought up in England under the care and direction of two maiden ladies, whose excellent establishment is renowned for turning out young genLlewomen of distinction and accomplishments. It is at school that the devoted friendship of Sylvia Preyne and Amelia Tamor develops, and the first of the series of letters is written immediately after Sylvia's departure from school, and before she joins the ship which is to land her in India after a ten months' voyage, to be welcomed by a father who is an utter stranger to her. Under the cli&peronage of a clever woman of the world, Mrs Hamlin, who is also talcing her niese, Miss Hamlin, to India, Sylvia accomplishes the voyage under favourable circumstances, Miss Hamlin proving herself a companion of the liveliest wit and most brilliant parts. Mr Freync has married again — a, faded beauty who bitterly resents the advent of so fresh and fair a rival as her stepdaughter. Mrs Freync. who lives only for society, has long entered upon the course o£ extravagant luxury which marked the establishments of the East India Company's servants at this time. Moreover, she has adopted the fashionable vice of gambling, playing very heavily. ■ From the moment of Sylvia's first appearance in society, she is overwhelmed with attentions, notably the unwelcome ones of Mr Menotti, a Portuguese gentleman of immense wealth, whose advances are favoured in every way by Mrs Freyne. To Sylvia the man is intolerable, personally she shrinks from him, and regarded as a fctiitor. he is several degrees more obnoxious than the dozen or so other desirable " partis "' who requests the honour of Miss Sylvia Preyne's hand in marriage. The fact is, a certain manty, honest young Scotch officer, Mr Eraser, has already secured Sylvia's affections, and though for the moment a lovers' quarrel separates them, there is little hope for any other man, and less for Menotti. An attempt by the Portuguese lover to abduct Sylvia having failed, and Mrs Preyne'fl financial affairs having reached a crisis, "a confession seems to be ihe only course open to that ingenious lady, who takes great credit to herself for the candid revelations she forthwith makes to her husband. What those revelations are, together with other and deeper complications which are unwoven with the tragic history of the Mutiny, and deal with historical events and

personages, wehavsnotEpo.ee to detail, nor should we in any cast feel inclined to spoil the interest in a really well -writ lon and clever novel. "Like Anothci Helen' is quite up to the excellent &tandaicl set by -\ir C4rier's former books, and may be heartily commended to all and sundry readers. 1 the' history of the great boer ! TREK. By the Late Hoy. Hbn-ry Cr.oTSTi:, LL.D. London : John Murray. ' We have received" from Mr Murray a copy of the above, and hasten to draw attention to so valuable a contribution to the > literature of what is just now an all-engros- i sing topic — affairs past and present, in a word, "history,"' o{ the South African .Republic.". Rider Haggard has given us the romance of the great irek in his popular ; novel, '" Swallow," but there is the sober version of accumulated facts to be mastered by all who take a really intelligent interest in the subject (and who does not?), and i we cannot do better than commend io such | readers Mr Cloete's narrative, merely, re- 1 marking that as her Majesty's High Com- ; missioner for Natal, his opportunities for ! accurate observation stand unchallenged. ; MY FIRST FRENCH BOOK. | (Blaikic's Modern Language Series.) By Maegxtkh.ite XiNirr. Glasgow : JBlaikie and Son. We have received the above charming little book direct from the publishers, and 1 have no hesitation in saying that in our opinion it is the most attractive and effee- ' tivo book ol its kind we have come across. Designed for beginners, its lessons, easy, but always advancing, are bright, natural, and interesting. The topics chosen for the respective lessons are such as every child will understand as a pare of everyday life and experience, and thus retain that pleasant aspect of familiarity which seems so essential to the childish mind. A wide raiii-e of topic is, however, observable, as '" The Negro and the Crocodile,' " La Menagerie."' etc. ; but even in these subjects there is a wise choice of such matters as the child's books and plays will already have rendered him capable of appreciating. We notice that the !ingl>r4i price of the neatlybound and well- illustrated booklet is oniv Is. "LES AILES DE COURAGE." | (Blaikie's Modern Language Series.) ' By Gjcot'iGEs Sand. Glasgow : Blaikie and Son. This neat i'ttle edition of Georges Sliand's delightful story, " The Wings 01 Courage," k edited by B. R/opei, and forms p irt of the same seres as " My First French Book,"' noticed above. For the benefit of those who lirve not read the story in its English form, we may &ay that it is a beautiful conception, and moreover so full of interest, so brimming over with vivid Imiminity, and withal so in sympathy with Nature, that "gro-nn-ups ' will ioliow with an interest almost as been as the children the adventures of Clopinet as he feeds and doctors the maimed sea birds whose v.iid fystjie&jes he invades. A very comprehensive vocabulary, as well as a table of idioms etc., renders the book, which is identical in appearance with " ily .First Fiench Book," frlly equipped for purposes of instruction. The English price is Is 6d. BLAIKIE" S ENGLISH CLASSICS. j Glasgow : Blaikie and Son. j Three number* of these neat little book- ' lets — -admirably ad-ipted for the use of j schools — have reached us : two in paper l covers at the modes c price of twopence, one j in stout linen at threepence. A3! three I numbers are selected from the works of Ten- j nyson, and in addition to bsins; well annotated, are excellent in type and technique ; while the size is particularly handy. Taking then in a fancied order — a number would, we venture to think, be an improvement — No. 1 contains " The Morto D J Arthur "' and " The Lady of Shalott " ; No. 2, "Dova, the May' Queen,'' and "Mariana in the Moated Grange"': No. 3, being devoted to " The Day-dream," "Death of the Old Year."' and "Charge of the Light Brigade.'' We congratulate Messrs Blaikie very heartily on the production of these little volumes of which we are sure the public will lose no time in showing the'r appre- ' ciation. j j SPECIMENS OF ENGLISH PROSE. ! Selected by Bertha Skt:at. j Glasgow : Blaikie and Son. , "From Malory to Carlyle."' says the subtitle of these selections, and when we see > by whom these arc made, one may feel ' pretty sure of the wisdom of the selection, without examining too closely the 200 odd pages which make up such an interesting whole. Miss Ske.it wus lecturer at Kevni- . ham College, beside having held various ' important positions. The various selections are conveniently gv v, ued under their vari- 1 ous headings of Eeli'-ibii, Philosophy, Education, History, etc. ; while in lighter vein we have a final section devoted to'romances and novels.