Stories from Old Chronicles. By Kate Stephens. (Sidgwick and Jackson.
ls. 6d.)—These fourteen stories, which begin with Boadicea and end with the Princes in the Tower—we do not reckon "King Lear and his Three Daughters "—are admirably told. Miss Stephens uses her originals, Holinshed, Asser, Froissart, and others, with great discretion. Among the subjects are Arthur, Alfred, the battle of Hastings, and the story of Wat Tyler. Perhaps in dealing with this last it would have been better to be content with a general caution against the aristocratic leanings of Froissart. Young readers can hardly judge of particular points. The motto chosen is from Ruskin, who tells us that " the only history worth reading is that written at the time of which it treats." A note as to the authority which Holinshed used for his story of Boadicea would have been useful to satisfy a possible critic. Tacitus may very well have talked with men who served in the campaign.
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