Terrors of the Law By Francis Watt. (J. Lane. 4s.
6d. net.) —Any one who writes about Lord Chancellor Jeffreys has scarcely any choice but to whitewash him. Macaulay has done the blackening so effectively that there is no possibility of rivalling him. Mr. Watt does his best for his queer client. It may be allowed that he succeeds in putting m a little shading. More we cannot grant. Really we cannot have the Baxter trial dis- missed because "there is no shorthand note of the proceedings, and Cahtmy's Life' is our sole authority." Let any one read the long note on the matter in " Chalmers " (IV., pp. 195-98) and say whether it can possibly be all fiction. If only a part is true, Jeffreyq stands hopelessly condemned. The bare fact that Baxter was condemned for his "Paraphrase of the New Testament" is quite enough. Put this side by side with the man's known moderation, and no more need be said. The two other sketches, "George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh" and "Lord Bras- field," who is treated as "The Original Weir of Hermiston," are of much superior quality. Here Mr. Watt is not _EV03 V _ th IlartJ—TTCOV,
always a tedious process.
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