A SUBALTERN OF HOESE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2812, 5 February 1908, Page 87

A SUBALTERN OF HOESE.

By the author of "On the Heels of De

Blackwood's Colonial Library,

This is not, as one might suppose from the title, a story of the tented field or of military daring. Certainly the hero is a genuine cavalry officer; but his adventures are restricted to London, Aldershot, polo, and the hunting field. Yet the author has succeeded in writing a story that is exciting, racy, and wellsustained throughout. Indeed, the present reviewer began to read with his first pipe alight at 8 p.m., and did not lay down the except to refill and relight until after midnight, when the book was finished. Perhaps the cleverest element in the book is the American dialogue of an American family, the head of which has made " pots of money in patent poisons." The portrayal of American millionaiies encountering a London social boycott is a favourite one -with authors, but the present author makes better use of the situation, and sustains it by more racy American vernacular than any writer we have come across. Whether his Americanisms are accurate or not we cannot say. But they are certainly extremely efficient, and with all respect to the authors of the King's English, we are inclined to regard the most efficient words — the words that mean in themselves as much as a page of writing — as the most likely to live, whether they* are Americanisms or not. In one or two places we hardly think the author's grammar will bear analysis. For example, on page 40, "It is the sound of the vivacious crowd which, gathered round the artistic centre shrine, dedicated to our stalwart friend Reynard, is re-echoed by the glazed roof overhead." No doubt the author means that the sound is re-echoed, but that is not what he says ; or, if he does, then it is the sound and not the crowd that is gathered round the shrine. There are one or two other lapses from the King's English, but we cannot suggest that these mistakes have lessened our interest in the story or our admiration of the author's skill.

It would be unfair to the author to outline his story, which depends for its interest as much on skilful craftsmanship and clever dialogue as on any inherent interest in the plot. We can confidently recommend the story as one of the best we have read for a long time.