4 FEBRUARY 1888, Page 22

Memoirs of the Princesse de Ligne. Edited by L. Perey.

Trans- kited by Laura Ensor. (Bentley and Son.)—This is, on the whole, a readable translation of a very delightful book ; but we fear that we

cannot say much for the workmanship of the translator. It is probably more Miss Ensor's misfortune than her fault that she has not succeeded in catching the spirit of Princes )16'61:le's childish

memoirs ; and that the charm of the Prince de Ligne's letters has entirely evaporated in the translation. But she might surely have

spared us the" Good Lord !" which is her version of the "Dieu, Dieu!"

with which the Prince pare greets his son's return from the Russian campaign. And the book abounds in careless translations,—such as "without inconvenience" for sans inconvenient, and " ignored " for ignora. We have charitably assumed that the rendering of naivement by " ingeniously " is a printer's error ; but even so we cannot forbear remarking that Miss Ensor's knowledge of her native tongue leaves much to be desired.