Springtime. By H. C. Bailey. (John Murray. 68.)—The "springtime" of
Mr. Bailey's title took place in the fifteenth century, and the Beene of the book is Italy. That being so, the reader will be prepared for a story full of intrigues and adventures. If the personages of the drama are rather like puppets, and all marked by a strong family resemblance, they have at any rate amusing sentences put into their mouths by the author, who uses his subtle pen as dexterously as usual. There are a great many battles, and the villain of the piece- Castracane—seems even to exceed the possible limits of Re- naissance wickedness. The ladies are all supremely lovely, and the men whimsical, brave, and full of chivalry. Combine this with stirring and hair's-breadth escapes, and he would indeed be a churlish reader who would ask for more solid or lees stimulating mental food.
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