eable element of tragedy, only slightly relieved by
the lighter aspects of life. His novels deal with profound issues.

Clubs should notice the relations' of fathers and sons in the books
mentioned. Discuss the problems presented; read the descriptions of Manx
life among the people; compare the heroes. Read several of the dramatic
chapters from The Scapegoat and The Deemster. Does the play The
Christian show more strength than the novel of the same name?

V--STANLEY J. WEYMAN

In striking contrast with this last novelist is Stanley J. Weyman, the
writer of fascinating historical novels which rank among the very first
of their kind. Born in Shropshire in 1855 and educated at Oxford, he
became first a lawyer and then a novelist. His Gentleman of France
brought him immediately into prominence.

The scenes of most of his books are laid in France, either in the period
of the Great Cardinal, or later in that of the Revolution. They are
crowded with adventure, the plots are of absorbing interest and his
characters are full of life and individuality. The times of which he
writes are described with accurate fidelity, and his pictures of the
court, of campaigning, of travel, of village life, are romantic yet
historically correct. Under the Red Robe, The Red Cockade, The Castle
Inn, and The Abbess of Vlaye are all fascinating. Read from any one of
these and then from a good history giving an idea of the same period,
and note the precise study Weyman gave to his settings.

A paper might be prepared on Sir Walter Scott, Dumas, Hewlett and Weyman
as historical novelists. The differences might be brought out by
comparing the character of Richard Coeur de Lion in The Talisman and
Richard Yea-and-Nay, and that of Richelieu in The Three Musketeers and
Under the Red Robe.

VI--JAMES M. BARRIE

James M. Barrie is a Scotchman, born in 1860 and educated at Edinburgh
University. He knows thoroughly his own people. He does not write with
any defined moral purpose, nor does he have any great events to record;
but he has in an unusual degree the power to charm. His sympathetic
insight, delightfully sly humor, play of fancy and light touch of pathos
are all unique.

A Window in Thrums, describing the lives of the weavers, so apart from
the world yet so full of interest, Auld Licht Idylls, with its amusing
difficulties of the old churches, and Margaret Ogilvy, the exquisite
portrait of the author's mother, are unsurpassed in delicate