SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
[Notice in this column dose not neceseari4 prsaluds szassquent review.]
Medals as a reward for war service seem to have been of comparatively modern origin in England : so, at least, we learn from Mr. W. Augustus Steward's volume upon War Medals and their History (Stanley Paul and Co., 12e. 6d. net). After Sedgemoor, for instance, Sergeant Weems, of the 1st Royals, " for serving the great guns in an emergency" was awarded—not something corresponding to the Victoria Cross, but "a gratuity of 240." Naval medals were apparently awarded by Queen Elizabeth, but for the sister Service they were only instituted by Charles I. Even then, however, they were limited to officers or to those who specially distinguished themselves, and it was only after Waterloo that the custom was established of awarding them to all ranks alike. Mr. Steward gives a detailed description of the greater number of the medals struck for British cam- paigns, together with accounts of the circumstances in which they were awarded; and since his book is fully illustrated it should be as useful to the collector as it is fascinating to the general reader.
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