THE COMPLETE PEERAGE.*
Tins new and enlarged edition of what is undoubtedly the most learned and scientific of peerages will be welcomed by • The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct, or Dormant. By G. E. C. New Edition, Edited by the Hon. Vicary Gibbs. 12 vols. Vol. L London : St. Catherine Press. [212 12s.]
all who know, like Horace Walpole, "how entertaining a study genealogy is." Mr. liTicary Gibbs, who edits his uncle's work, has added many new features. Originally published in 1887, it has now been brought down to the death of Queen Victoria, all Peers who have succeeded or been created since that date being omitted. As before, the entries contain full informa- tion about the parentage and career of each holder of a peerage, together with his estates, residences, and the amount of his will. Occasionally the disease which took him off is given, and Mr. Gibbs has attempted the difficult task of defining his politics. We sympathise with the Rev. A. B. Beavan, who supervised this part, and who explains his policy in an appendix, for to state categorically the political persuasion of certain noble Lords might well puzzle a mortal writer. The chief English specialists have given their aid, Mr. Oswald Barron furnishing out of his unrivalled knowledge the armorial bearings ; the Athlone Pursuivant and the Scottish Lyon King-at-Arms have revised the Irish and Scottish portions ; and Mr. J. H. Round, the most learned of living antiquarians, has read the proofs. The preface contains some valuable passages on the early Writs of Summons, and among the appendices we would specially note those dealing with the Scottish peerages forfeited after the Jacobite risings, the Jacobite peerages, and the list of eldest sons summoned to Parliament in one of their fathers' peerages. The special feature of "0. E. C.'s " work was its scientific spirit. It stands almost alone among peerages in being inspired with the true historical perspective and an exact and exacting scholarship. The notes provide a wealth of illustrative material from old memoirs and general literature, and this feature Mr. Gibbs has greatly extended. As he tells us in his preface, "in the notes the Editor has allowed himself a free hand." Our only criticism on this edition is that this hand is sometimes too free. There is a great deal that is amusing and much that is illuminating in Mr. Gibbs's notes; but sometimes he is merely skittish, and sometimes he repeats gossip which is unworthy of a place in a serious work. Scandal quoted ex relatione Tom, Dick, or Harry is as valueless as, and more offensive than, the romantic inventions of the old school of genealogists.
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