There is always room for more of it, however, and, if Mr. VERNON
RENDALL disappoints us, it is not merely because the standard has
been set unusually high. His style is smooth and assured, and, though
somewhat lacking in humour, his touch is light and pleasing. He begins
well and interests us in his principal character so that we look
forward with zest to the adventures of a personality which is
everything that this sort of fiction requires. Here unfortunately the
matter ends. _Belsize_, who promises so much, has no adventures worth
the name. It is true that he rescues the _Prince of Mingrelia_, runs
to earth a gang of highly-educated and aesthetic criminals, and does
other things that we properly expect such men to do. But there is no
excitement about his methods. Not to put too fine a point on it, the
author of _Belsize_ lacks the true imagination that makes the unreal
seem real--a very different thing from the imagination which merely
clothes realities in a garment of mystery. Notwithstanding this
defect, _The London Nights of Belsize_ should wile away an hour or so
very pleasantly.
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