A tale of the Clare coast and its fishing population (drawn with much skill and fidelity) half a century back. The story centres in a mysterious and romantic rock unapproachable by sea and connected with the land by a single rope only. There is a mysterious owner, or rather a series of them, and mysterious gold. But the central idea of the book (one of the most original in literature, it has been justly called) is the study of a deaf-mute who, by brooding on his own misfortune, grows to envy and then to hate his own child, because the child can hear and speak. ⸺ SWEET INNISFAIL. Three Vols. (_Tinsley_). 1882. Scene: chiefly the neighbourhood of Clonmel. The interest is mainly in the plot, which is full of dramatic adventure and of movement, without any very serious study of Irish character. ⸺ OLD CORCORAN’S MONEY. Pp. 310. (_Chatto & Windus_). Crown 8vo. Cloth. 3_s._ 6_d._ 1897. Money is stolen from an old miser. The interest of the complicated plot centres in the detection of the thief. Clever sketches of life in a southern town. Characters carefully and faithfully drawn, especially Head-Constable Cassidy, R.I.C. ⸺ ZOZIMUS PAPERS. (N.Y.: _Kenedy_). 38 cents net. 1909. “A series of comic and sentimental tales and legends of Ireland.” The title is most misleading. There are six pages of an introduction dealing with Michael Moran, a famous Dublin “character,” nicknamed Zozimus. The rest of the book consists of a series of stories by Carleton, Lover, Lever, Barrington, &c. The contents have nothing to do with Dowling nor with the famous periodical ZOZIMUS. =DOWNE, Walmer.= ⸺ BY SHAMROCK AND HEATHER. Pp. 325. (_Digby, Long_). 1898. Scene: mainly in Ards of Down, near Strangford Lough, but shifts to Edinburgh, London, and Capetown. Theme: an American girl visiting her father’s native place in Ireland. Consists largely of gossip about the characters introduced, not rising above this level. The writer likes Ireland and the Irish, but knows little of them. There is an air of unreality and improbability about the whole book. Some prejudice against Church of Ireland clergymen is displayed. =DOWNEY, Edmund; “F. M. Allen.”= Born (1856) and educated in Waterford. Being the son of a shipbroker, he came to know well the various sea types that frequent a port. Went to London at twenty-two, and became partner in the firm of Ward and Downey. Retired in 1890, and in 1894 founded Downey & Co. Both of these firms, especially the latter, did a great deal for the publishing of Irish books. His writings are many and varied. They include humorous sketches, extravaganzas, sea stories, fairy tales, sensational stories, a biography of Lever, a volume of reminiscences, and a history of Waterford, and the two novels, _Clashmore_ and the _Merchant of Killogue_. He at present carries on a publishing business in Waterford.