Franciscan Martyrs in England. By Mrs. Hope. (Burns and Oates.)—It
is needless to spend much time in examining Mrs. Hope's little book from our point of view. But it is curious to contrast her state of mind with that of intelligent persona of her faith fifty years ago. She believes, for instance, in the genuine prophetical character of the Maid of Kent. Dr. Lingard has no doubt that she was an im- postor. Equally curious it is to see the credulous eagerness with which she quotes about the death of Henry VIII. disgusting fictions, which we should bare thought a woman's pen would have refused to write. These are matters of the merest common-sense and good-taste. More serious subjects, as that of the attitude of the English Protestant Monarchs towards the Papal authority and its adherents, it would be a waste of time to discuss with her.
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