3 DECEMBER 1898, Page 28

The King's Reeve. By the Rev. E. Gilliat. (Seeley and

Co.)— Mr. Gilliat makes good use of certain traditions about the "greatest of the Plantagenets." There is a ballad of "John the Reeve " in Bishop Percy's collection. The adventure therein celebrated is made the leading incident in this story. It is one that is told in various forms of many Princes. Haroun-al- Raschid when he seeks adventures incognito, James of Scotland when he wanders in the Highlands, and Richard I. in the friar's cell, are specimens of this kind of legend. It is told here in a very spirited way, and is made highly entertaining. At the same time, the necessary element of the serious and sentimental is pro- vided by the love-story of Molly, the Reeve's daughter, and Cyril de Somerton.