The Princess's Story - Book. Collected and edited, with an Introduction, by
George Laurence Gomme. (A. Constable and Co. 6s.)—This, happily, is a volume that does not call for any criticism. The stories are taken from masters, more or less eminent, of the art of fiction, and are so chosen as to illustrate the course of English history from the days of Harold the Saxon down to Queen Victoria. Lord Lytton, for instance, in the first describes the scenes at Westminster before the English King marched southward to meet the invader. The battle of Senlac itself is described by Sir W. Napier. We should have preferred to have had Lord Lytton's picture of the fight, which is one of the finest things he ever did. The romance in the other some- what spoil.; it. The "Death of Becket" comes from a story of Mr. T. Miller. Why not go to a chzonider ? Walter Scott furnishes the picture of Richard in Palestine, and Jane Porter that of Edward I. at Falkirk. The next three stories come from Froissart. Lord Lytton, Scott, W. H. Ainsworth, Fenimore Cooper (who may be safely utilised for anything before the Declaration of Independence), Samuel Lover, and finally Disraeli in " Coningsby," are put under contribution. The selection is good, though prebably copyright considerations have hindered here and there.
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