20 MAY 1899, Page 25

The Martyrdom of an Empress. (Harper and Brothers. 7s. 6d.)—

This is the story of the life of the Empress Elizabeth of Austria by some one who in past times was in attendance upon her. One does not expect in a book produced under such circumstances a judicial attitude. The author's mind is wholly possessed by admiration and pity. Both feelings have ample justification. The Empress was a woman of great and attractive qualities, and her life was marked by tragedies, from the death of her cousin, King Ludwig, down to her own strange end. Readers of this volume will scarcely find it a biography, but they will not fail to recognise its remarkable interest as the story of a strong personality.