Two volumes of the excellent series of " Popular County
His- tories " (Elliot Stock) may be mentioned together. These are A History of Cumberland, by Richard S. Ferguson, M.A., and A History of Warwickshire, by Sam. Timmins, F.S.A. The first is the more scientifically constructed of the two. It takes the reader through the various historical periods, the writer showing through- out the thorough mastery of his subject which all interested in antiquarian matters know to be characteristic of him. Cumber- land has, indeed, more of a continuous historical interest than most English counties, a superiority which is, so to speak, symbolised by its possession of so much of the great Roman vanunt. To this magnificent work, Chancellor Ferguson devotes, of course, special attention. After this he has a good deal to say about the British Kingdoms of Cumbria and Strathclyde. "The Norman Settlement" is described in four chapters, "The Baronies," "The Forest," "The City," and "The Church." Afterwards we have " The Sixteenth-Century Border War- fare," with many curious facts about Dacres and Cliffords and Scotts. We may notice the remarkable statement that in 1598 more than eight thousand deaths took place from the Plague in the four deaneries of Ponrith, Kendal, Richmond, and Carlisle. It would be interesting to know what was the population. Even now it can hardly be more than a hundred thousand. Later times are somewhat hurried over ; in fact, the writer is sadly cramped for room. He could have told us some- thing, had occasion served, of the Church in the eighteenth century that would have been news to most readers. Warwickshire does not lend itself so well to the method which has been followed with such success in dealing with Cumberland. It has a history, of course, and it has legends. It boasts the glories of Guy of Warwick, and the Battle of Edge Hill was fought within its borders. But its interest is, one might say, chiefly personal and literary. Mr. Timmins does not give an undue space to Shakespeare, but he has much that is interesting to say about him. Michael Drayton was born in the county, though his family came from Leicestershire. An antiquarian of eminence himself, Mr. Timmins has a good list of antiquarians to celebrate, headed by the famous Sir William Dugdale. Among Warwickshire artists, the most famous are David Cox, born at Birmingham, and Thomas Creswick, who, however, was a Warwickshire man only by adoption. Another man of note who identified himself with the county was William Ilulton, of Birmingham. Walter Savage Landor was a native. The warlike Bishop Compton was one of the Compton-Winyates family. Archbishop Bird Sumner was born at Kenilworth, as was Bishop Samuel Butler. This is a very pleasant book.
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