19 OCTOBER 1901, Page 23

Unstoried in History. By Gabrielle Festing. (Nisbet and Co.

Festing has brought together in this volume some fetters, narratives, ho., of women who played remarkable parts in the sixteenth and following centuries. " Famous " they scarcely were; if they had been they could hardly be described as " un- storied in history." But they were notable persons, who made their mark on their times, and are certainly worthy of some com- memoration. The chapter on "Beleaguered Ladies" may be specially commended to our readers. Not the least curious story is that of Thomas and Jane Pitt. Thomas was the owner of the treat Pitt diamond, which he bought for £24,000, and sold to the Regent Orleans. Unfortunately, the Regent died before the instalments were paid. The debt still remains unsettled. Prob- ably, however, the Pitt diamond turned out well enough, though not as well as its purchaser expected. It had to be cut down from SOO to less than 200 carats, and the huge price which had been anticipated was never realised,