Mrs.
CONYERS' hunting _clientele_ may much prefer to read about the dishonesties
of _Con Cassidy_ and his fellow-horse-copers and the simple but heroic
_O'Toole_ and his supernatural friends. But, as the average Irish hunting
man cares little more for books than he does for bill-collectors, his
preference may not be of paramount importance. In any case the Irish
ingredients of _Irish Stew_ would be easier to assimilate if Mrs. CONYERS
would refrain from trying to spell English as the Irish speak it. If the
reader knows Ireland it is unnecessary and merely makes reading a task. If
the reader does not know Ireland no amount of phonetic spelling will
reproduce a single one of the multitudinous brogues that fill Erin with
sound and empty it of sense. On the whole Mrs. CONYERS' public will not be
disappointed with her latest sheaf of tales. But it is _Mr. Jones_ who will
give them their money's worth.
* * * * *
I was, I confess, a little sceptical--you know how it is--when I read what
Messrs. HODDER AND STOUGHTON'S official reviewer said of Mr. HAL. G.
EVARTS' _The Cross-Pull_: "The best dog story since The Call of the Wild,"
etc., etc. Well, I certainly haven't seen a better. Mr. EVARTS' hero,
_Flash_, is a noble beast of mixed strain--grey wolf, coyote, dog. The
Cross-Pull is the conflict between the dog and the wolf, between loyalty to
his master and mistress whom he brings together and serves, and the wolf
whose proper business is to be biting elks in the neck.
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