Bristol, Past and Present. By J. F. Nicholls and John
Taylor. Vol. III. (J. W. Arrowsmith, Bristol ; Griffith and Farran, London.)—This third volume brings to a conclusion this interesting account of Bristol. The period of history which it includes begins with the Civil War, and is carried down to the present time. The city stood two sieges, and suffered not a little in the second, when Prince Rupert sur-
rendered it to Fairfax. It excepted the Puritan rate with willingness, but was not backward in welcoming the King in 1660. Thence- forward its domestic history continues to be fall of interest, culminat- ing, perhaps, in the famous riots, which the obstinacy of Sir Thomas Wetherell excited, and the incredible supineness of the authorities, civil and military, suffered to grow to each a height. The Bristol mob
has been at least as riotous as that of any other English city. We may say, perhaps, that this tendency is only the dark side of the very
strongly marked character of the place. Few have had so many public-spirited citizens. When the authors reach 1830, they inter- polate a chapter dealing with the streets, domestic architecture, and public institutions of the city. This is remarkably full of interest, and presents a very creditable picture of public spirit and enterprise. In the account of University College, Bristol, credit should have been given to the liberal support afforded to that institu- tion by Balliol and New Colleges. The volume is, like its predeces- sors, adorned with an abundance of excellent illustrations.
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