19 MARCH 1898, Page 26

The Store of Marlborough. Told in Fifty-two Coldured Designs by

Caron d'Ache. With a Descriptive Text by the Hon. Frances Wolseley. (Grevel and Co. 103. 6d.)—Why. the pictorial advocate of the Franco-Russian Alliance should set forth the glories of Marlborough does not appear. That he has done so is our gain, for that sparkling cleverness and humour which distin- guishes this artist—M. Poirde, whose better known name signifies " lead-pencil " in Russian—is nowhere more happily displayed than when he is dealing with soldiers. There is one picture in the book the humour of which we suspect to be unconscious. It is a picture of Cromwell. whose rule the authoress describes as the "fierce despotism of a country gentleman." From this sentence Caren d'Ache has conjured up the most amusing figure of a pro- vincial ruffian of the deepest dye, with a tub-like figure Mid white matted hair and beard ! The artist is in his happiest yein when he is caricaturing the periwigs and bigwigs d the Court; while the battle pictures are full of spirit.