Bt. George for Merrie England. By Margaret Bulley. (George Allen
and Sons. 5s.)—If we have a patron saint, and are disposed to bring his patronage to the front, it is as well to know who he was. "To denounce St: George," writes Miss Bulley, "or to confuse him with other persons, has always had a strange fascina- tion for men." Who was he then P That, unfortunately, is not very easy to answer. His " Acta" were early corrupted by heretical influence, so much so that they were formally condemned by Pope Geeslin in 496 A.D. We may, however, with fair probability assign his martyrdom to the persecution of Diocletian. The attempt to fix his date precisely is attended with great difficulties. If he suffered for defacing an Imperial edict, his day can hardly be where the Calendar puts it in April. We know that the edict was issued on February 24th. His connexion with England is comparatively modern. He was said to have helped the Crusaders temp. Richard I., and was formally adopted by Edward III. But these matters are scarcely relevant. The real thing that we care about is the Dragon. As a legend or as a. parable the conquest of the Dragon is everything. About this, as, indeed, about other things that we want to know, Miss Bulley's book, with its plentiful illustrations, tells us.
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