"Distinguished by humour, quick observation, and effective and economical writing." -Daily News and Leader."Mr. Ervine, who is familiar to friends of the Irish Theatre as the Author of ' Mixed Marriages, ' brings to these little tales the same sanity of judgment and firsthand knowledge of the lives of the respectable poor which were such marked features of his play." -Morning Post."The stories in this book are all admirable. Most of them are quite perfect in their form....Mr. Ervine is always himself and always interesting. His little book will delight the discerning." -Daily Express (London)."It is only a blatant and base age which overlooks its short story writers like the present one, and every newcomer to their ranks deserves the congratulations due to heroes....Gifted with insight into human nature ...never fails to strike the true and human note in realism." -Daily Citizen."Mr. Ervine writes with understanding and sympathy, and the result is a book of real human interest; one that can hardly fail to arouse emotions of pity and of a bettei." understanding of the lot of all those who are desolate and oppressed."-T.M.P. in The New Witness."The writing of sketches and short stories is, as Mr. Ervine's Irish characters would say, 'the quare business.' There is no such thing as an infallible recipe for their concoction, each master of this delightful baffling little art having his own private and incommunicable method. ...This book contains seventeen studies; not one of which but displays admirable craftsmanship ...the mere technical execution is almost perfect, with not a word out of place or redundant, with construction neatly balanced, and with every point made with ease and precision."-P.W., in The Manchester Guardian. "Mr. Ervine is a very considerate artist. He makes his effects with an extraordinary economy of material."-The Star."This slim little book of stories and sketches shows Mr. Ervine to be a -man of greater variety than one might have gleaned from his plays. They have all the power of observation that 'Mixed Marriage' had; but they have also an unexpectedly wide range and a genuine capacity for expression combined with a reticence that makes for true realism." -Pall Mall Gazette.