Eric, Prince of Lorlonia. By the Countess of Jersey. (Macmillan.)
—This is an exquisitely pretty and exquisitely illustrated story, written in a fine old-fashioned style, of which the following pas- sage may be taken as a specimen :—" Nearly seven years have hastened by, and the Castle of Lorlonia is the scene of such rejoicing as it never knew before. On its highest tower floats the Royal Standard, having on one side the Eagle Banner of Lorlonia, and on the other Duke Lorlonia's Crimson Rose, for the King himself has come to grace the marriage of Sir Raymond, youngest yet bravest of his Knights, with Princess Olga, the fairest lady of his empire, and sister to the most powerful of his Princes." Apart from the ornate style in which it is written, this story is a delightful combination of the natural and supernatural. The dying mother of the young Prince of Lorlonia leaves him in charge of his sister Olga, who is a good deal older than himself. But he has a relative of the dangerous wicked-uncle type in the person of a Count Vladimir, who endeavours to secure his person for his own selfish ends. For a time Vladimir succeeds ; but Olga and Eric escape from him. Then there are marvellous monkeys who aid the rightful Prince against Vladimir, who is temporarily aided by equally marvellous dwarfs who inhabit a Rose City, which is, after all, the most marvellous thing in the book. The story ends with victories, marriages, and the con- version to goodness and loveability of the wicked Vladimir. Altogether, this is a most delightful story which takes us back to the old-fashioned fairy-land, and makes us wish to remain there.
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