Quiller-Couch almost entirely avoids such attempts, and even Mr. Conan Doyle only dips into them timidly. There is, one has been told, a theory that the romancist has no right to picture history in this way. But he makes his rights when he does it as Scott did it. Since “The Splendid Spur,” Mr. Quiller-Couch has published nothing in book form which can be considered an advance on his best novel, but there have appeared by him a number of short Cornish sketches, which are perhaps best considered as experiments. They are perilously slight, and where they are successful one remembers them as sweet dreams or like a bar of music. All aim at this effect, so that many should not be taken at a time, and some (as was to be expected with such delicate work) miss their mark. It might be said that in several of these melodies Mr. Quiller-Couch has been writing the same thing again and again, determined to succeed absolutely, if not this time then the next, and if not the next time then the time after. In one case he has succeeded absolutely. “The Small People,” is a prose “Song of the Shirt.” To my mind this is a rare piece of work, and the biggest thing for its size that has been done in English fiction for some years. These sketches have been called experiments. They show (as his books scarcely show) that Mr. Quiller-Couch can feel. They suggest that he may be able to do for Cornwall what Mr. Hardy has done for Dorset—though the methods of the two writers are as unlike as their counties. But that can only be if in filling his notebook with these little comedies and tragedies Mr. Quiller-Couch is preparing for more sustained efforts. “Our hope and heart is with thee We will stand and mark.” J. M. BARRIE. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE BOWLING-GREEN OF THE “CROWN” II. THE YOUNG MAN IN THE CLOAK OF AMBER SATIN III. I FIND MYSELF IN A TAVERN BRAWL; AND BARELY ESCAPE IV. I TAKE THE ROAD V. MY ADVENTURE AT THE “THREE CUPS” VI. THE FLIGHT IN THE PINE WOOD VII. I FIND A COMRADE VIII. I LOSE THE KING’S LETTER; AND AM CARRIED TO BRISTOL IX I BREAK OUT OF PRISON X. CAPTAIN POTTERY AND CAPTAIN SETTLE XI. I RIDE DOWN INTO TEMPLE; AND AM WELL TREATED THERE XII. HOW JOAN SAVED THE ARMY OF THE WEST; AND SAW THE FIGHT ON BRADDOCK DOWN XIII. I BUY A LOOKING GLASS AT BODMIN FAIR: AND MEET WITH MR. HANNIBAL XIV. I DO NO GOOD IN THE HOUSE OF GLEYS XV. I LEAVE JOAN AND RIDE TO THE WARS XVI. THE BATTLE OF STAMFORD HEATH XVII. I MEET WITH A HAPPY ADVENTURE BY BURNING OF A GREEN LIGHT XVIII. JOAN DOES ME HER LAST SERVICE XIX THE ADVENTURE OF THE HEARSE XX. THE ADVENTURE OF THE LEDGE; AND HOW I SHOOK HANDS WITH MY COMRADE THE SPLENDID SPUR. CHAPTER I. THE BOWLING-GREEN OF THE “CROWN.”