17 MARCH 1894, Page 23

Penshurst Castle. By Mrs. Marshall. (Seeley.)--The addition of " In

the Days of Sir Philip Sidney " to the title, marks the character of Mrs. Marshall's volume. She has already, with con- siderable success, grouped various incidents and persons round the central figure of some important character in history, civil or ecclesiastical. Bishop Hall, of Norwich, Bishop Ken, and George Herbert have served this purpose ; now it is Sir Philip Sidney. We are not sure that we like this book as well as some of its predecessors; Sidney is not an easy figure to manage. The sub- sidiary story is good, and the whole leaves a pleasant impression. Mrs. Marshall has qualities of good taste and good feeling which never fail to show themselves in her work.