The Pilgrimages to Walsingham and Canterbury of Desiderius Erasmus. By
John Gough Nicholls. (John Murray.)—This is a second edition of a work published some years ago. The late Mr. Nicholls had begun to revise the translation, the introduction, and the notes some months before his death. This task of revision has now been com- pleted. There was a time when the " Colloquies " of Erasmus was one of the bent known, if not the most popular of books. Something, pro- bably the Ciceronianism against which he was wont to contend, drove it out of the schools, and now, though it is often quoted, The Pilgrim- ages perhaps more frequently than any other part, it is seldom read. The editor thinks that the revival of pilgrimages which the last few years have witnessed "restores a point and interest to the words of Erasmus, which seem to have faded from them by the lapse of centuries." This is true, but the points of contrast between the old and the new pilgrimages are very striking. The old wayfarer, with his shell, verily believed that he was seeking his soul's health, though he sometimes lapsed into strangely inconsistent practices ; the modern pilgrim is chiefly bent on making a demonstration. A book always of interest is still further commended by its valuable and interesting notes.
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