The Crusaders : a Story of the War for the
Holy Sepulchre. By the Rev. A. J. Church, M.A. With Illustrations by George Morrow. (Seeley and Co. 5s.)—We welcome Professor Church's never-failing contribution of an excellent historical tale to the pile of Christmas gift-books that begins to accumulate in the early days of autumn. This year it takes the form of a narrative of the Crusades, which the author ingeniously places in the mouth of that mysterious legendary person, the Wandering Jew. The object gained by this fictitious device is the linking together of descriptions of events scattered over a period of about two hundred years ; at least that was the object the author had in view. An advantage to the reader that comes in by the way is the incorporation in the volume of the outline of the Wandering Jew's own story. But these things touch only the form of the book. Those who are impatient of artificial settings to historic material may ignore the legends and attend only to the narrative, which is full of interest and instruction. Especial care is taken to bring out the opposite characteristics of the three Western Kings who played prominent parts in different Crusades,—our English Richard Cceur de Lion and Edward I., and Louis IX. of France. The detail of mediaeval warfare, with its Greek fire and elaborate "engines," is made very clear; and so is the mingling of every form of worldly greed and violence with the finer motives inspiring the soldiers of the Cross. A special pathetic interest attaches to the story of the Children's Crusade and its disastrous outcome. And an historical note at the end of the volume supplies exact dates, which the serious reader will be glad to have by the side of the romance and adventure of the stories. Altogether, the book is one that it will be pleasant to give and to receive.
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