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OUR BOOKING-OFFICE.

One of the Baron’s Assistant Readers has been reading a really interesting, well written novel in two volumes, by MARY BRADFORD-WHITING.  It is called Denis O’Neil, and tells of the adventures of a young Irish Doctor who gets entangled in the plots of one of those Secret Societies that used to exist in “the most distressful country that ever yet was seen,” some twenty years ago.  The romance contains some clever sketches of character.  The story (published by BENTLEY) ends sadly, and those who want to find fault with it will say it is too short.

[Illustration:  Our Competition Novel.—­Competitors at Work.]

The Leadenhall Press,—­immortalised by its invention of that invaluable work of art, “The Hairless Author’s Paper Pad,” which the Baron herewith and hereby strongly recommends to Mr. GLADSTONE, who has so much writing to do with a pad on his knee, and for this purpose Mr. G. would find this the “knee plus ultra” of inventions,—­this same Leadenhall Press has recently published a story without a title, offering a reward of L100 to any individual, or to be divided between such individuals, as may guess it.  The story is in effect about a youth who lost his right eye in fighting another boy, and who subsequently revenged himself by depriving his antagonist of an eye by a violent stroke at Lawn-tennis.  What can be the title?  The Baron has had the following suggestions made to him:—­“Eye for an Eye,” “The Egotist,” “My Eye!” “Aye! aye!” “Ocular Demonstration,” “A Man of One Eye-dear!” “Eyes Righted,” “One Left,” “The Other Eye,” “Two Pupils and One Eye,” “You and Eye,” “The Eyes Have It.”  The Baron “winks the other eye,” and will be very glad should any hint of his have assisted a deserving person to gain the reward offered by Mr. TUER. En attendant the Baron has hit upon a still more novel idea.  He will write some contributions towards short stories, and his readers shall finish them.  The terms will be these:—­The Baron commences a chapter, or a few lines of it, and leaves it unfinished, then his readers shall finish the sentence, and sometimes the chapter, for themselves.  If the sentence, or the chapter, as the case may be, shall turn out to be exactly what the Baron would have written had he continued it, then he, the Baron, will award L100 to the successful candidate, or will award a division of that sum among the successful candidates.  Every competitor shall pay the Baron L50. And to insure such payment, each competitor’s cheque for this amount must accompany his or her contribution.

EXAMPLE.—­CHAPTER I.—­The harvest-moon was slowly rising.  The heather, dried and burnt by the mid-day sun, appeared, to the eye unaccustomed to this aspect of the country, to be merely a rugged divergence from the main road.  Descending carefully from his dog-cart, a small man in a big coat, muffled up to the eyes, proceeded leisurely to—­