Mr. S. E. Winbolt, from a fragment of pottery, a
Roman tile, and a few stones that looked very like an old wall, was excited into carrying on excavations at East Wear Bay. He and his assistants uncovered a number of Roman villas, and now in Roman Folkestone (Methuen) he gives us a lively and full account of what his party found, and of the specula- tions he builds upon this evidence. It is one of the best books of its kind we have come across ; for it turns a detailed and learned subject into a romance. This is partly because we are given a diary of the progress of the excavations ; we can follow the work as though we were ourselves involved in it, react with hope or disappointment, feel angry when the heavens send down torrents of rain, and angrier still when crowds of inquisitive visitors impede us. At first it was easy to deal with visitors ; a man would stroll up from time to time, gaze idly at the party, and ask, without much interest, " Digging for worms ? " " Of course," Mr. Winbolt would reply. Later they were a more persistent nuisance. Another part of the romance, however, is in Mr. Winbolt's speculations —which we leave the reader to discover.
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