#Serenus, and Other Stories of the Past and Present#, by _Jules Lemaître_; translated by "_Penguin_" (_A. W. Evans_) (London: Selwyn & Blount). Although this volume has not yet been published in the United States, it is one of the few memorable short story books of the season, and should readily find a publisher over here. Anatole France has prophesied that it will stand out in the history of the thought of the nineteenth century, just as to-day "Candide" or "Zadig" stands out in that of the eighteenth. These fourteen stories are selected from about four times that number, and a complete Lemaître would be as valuable in English as the new translation of Anatole France. The present version is faultlessly rendered by an English stylist who has sought to set down the exact shade of the critic's meaning. #Tales of Mystery and Horror#, by _Maurice Level_; translated from the French by _Alys Eyre Macklin_, with an Introduction by _Henry B. Irving_ (Robert M. McBride & Co.). Mr. Irving's introduction rather overstates M. Level's case. These stories are not literature, but their hard polished technique is as competent as that of Melville Davisson Post, and I suppose that these two men have carried Poe's technique as far as it can be carried with talent. The stories are frankly melodramatic, and wring the last drop of emotion and sentiment out of each situation presented. I think the volume will prove valuable to students of short story construction, and there is no story which does not arrest the attention of the reader. #The Story of Gotton Connixloo#, followed by #Forgotten#, by _Camille Mayran_; translated by _Van Wyck Brooks_ (E.P. Dutton & Company). Mr. Brooks' translation of these two stories in the tradition of Flaubert have been a labor of love. They will not attract a large public, but the art of this Belgian writer is flawless, and worthy of his master. Out of the simplest material he has extracted an exquisite spiritual essence, and held it up quietly so as to reflect every aspect of its value. If the first of these two stories is the most completely rounded from a technical point of view, I think that the second points the way toward his future development. He presents his characters more directly, and achieves his revelation through dialogue rather than personal statement. #Short Stories from the Spanish#; Englished by _Charles B. McMichael_ (Boni and Liveright, Inc.). The present volume contains seven short stories by Rubén Dario, Jacinto Octavio Picón, and Leopoldo Alas. They are wretchedly translated, but even in their present form one can divine the art of "The Death of the Empress of China" by the Nicaraguan Rubén Dario, and "After the Battle" by the Spaniard Jacinto Octavio Picón. The other stories are of unequal value, so far as we can judge from Mr. McMichael's translation.