15 NOVEMBER 1902, Page 9

The Last of the Cliffords. By E. F. Pollard. (T.

Nelson and Sons. 5s.)—Long as this story is, we think that few young people will lay it down without regret, for the many striking characters of the great Civil War move through its pages with an air of being very good portraits indeed. Charles the Martyr, Falkland, Sir Nicholas Crispe, Rupert of the Rhine, and others are sure to take most boys' fancy. The heiress of the Cliffords, who holds Skipton Castle for a long time against Lambert, is the heroine, and a woman of unusual force of character, staunch to her race and King, a most notable person in fact. The authoress describes the manners of the time and the unselfish devotion and spirit of the Cavaliers with something like insight, and the story never flags. The romance of Rupert's devotion to Lucille, who is connected with the White Doe of Rylston, is a pathetic incident in the story. No boy or girl should miss reading such a healthy, stirring, instructive, and most excellently written tale as The Last of the Cliffords.