SOMTIRSET.*

&NY one wishing to make an acquaintance with Somerset and its people could not do better than read these three books.

Professor Wade and his son have given us an excellent survey of the geography and archeology of the county, and have presented it in a readable form, which is neither guide- book nor history. Although the chapters deal with routes such as "the county between Bristol and Bridgwater," and "along the Fosse way," it is in no sense a road book for the traveller to find out the shortest way or the best road, neither are inns mentioned. But a journey over the county described after reading the book would be made with an enlarged vision.

The authors have a most pleasant way of generalizing, and passing rapidly from scenery to history, and back again, touching lightly on a number of subjects, in a manner too discursive to be dull, and too full of knowledge to be super- ficial.

Perhaps the chief characteristic of Somerset is the variety of its scenery. There are parts on the coast, like Holland, below the level of the sea, and secured by dykes. This low- lying land runs to the foot of the Quantock and Mendip hills, while at the north-east the rolling country of meadows and voodland contrasts forcibly with Exmoor at the south-west.

The dawn of history is not more interesting in any part of England than here, for it was along the northern slope of Mendip that the Saxon conquest paused during those critical eighty years when the conquerors became Christian. It has, indeed, been supposed that this interval when the Teutonic tide was stayed may have been the time of King Arthur, and that the great primitive earthwork of Cadbury Castle, to the south of Mendip, was Camelot. Not far from this region, when the mist of the past began to clear, Alfred won his victory over the Danes, and made the peace of Wedmore. In Somerset, too, the last battle was fought on English ground. Sedgemoor was the prelude to the establishment of constitutional govern- ment, though at the time it seemed to be the triumph of tyranny.

Writing of "the lie of the land" the authors of the book before us say truly :—

"Its variations are surprising. No landscape is alike ; even the hills differ in character and contour, and each plain has its peculiarities. There is little similarity between the rocks and ravines and weird caverns of the Mendips, and the heathery slopes and leafy combes of the Quantocks, or the rolling wastes of Exmoor, gorgeous with ever-changing colours. And how different are the pictures of the gleaming apple-orchards of Glastonbury, the prodigal corn lands of Taunton Dean, and the mist-laden marshes of Sedgemoor! One scene within its borders stands with pre-eminent distinction—the far-famed Cheddar Gorge, which is quite unique of its kind. But even granting • (1) Rambles in Somerset. By G. W. and J. H. Wade. London: Methuen and Co. [63.]—(2) A Somerset Sketch-Book. By H. Hay Wilson. London : J. M. Dent and Sons. [3a. 6d.]—(3) Records by Spade and Terrier. By J. D. C. Wickham. London: Harrison and Sons. [7n. 6d. net.] that pictorially Somerset has many rivals and some superiors, yet in one particular it more than holds its own. It cannot be beaten for its combination of attractions ; the range of its interestingnesa is immense. Many districts which minister prodigally to the demands of the artist have little to say to people of other tastes. Some have contributed but sparsely to the making of history, their annals are purely local—a mere matter of manors and pedigrees. The scientific interest of others is slight ; their present aspect has few links of connexion with distant and dissimilar days. Others, again, have given birth to few men whose achievements have secured for them a per- manent niche in the temple of Fame. Somerset in all these aspects is no lean land. Though originally the domain of a single tribe, its story has none the less become an inseparable part of the history of the nation. Twice over the destiny of England was decided amongst its fens. The scientist, too, knows Somerset well. Long ago he ransacked the recesses of its limestone caverns for evidences of prehistoric life, and he has not yet finished his examination of its mounds and earthworks. For the archaeologist its churches, abbeys, and manor houses are all storied fabrics. To have two such cities as Bath and Wells (to say nothing of Glastonbury) within its confines is sufficient to make the antiquarian reputation of any county."

If the visitor to Somerset wishes to understand something of its people, and to get an insight into its country folk, he could not do better than study Miss Wilson's Somerset Sketch- Book. The author has the true sympathy which enables her to portray the countryman as he really is with that depth

and truth of art which the photographic method can never attain. Perhaps one of the reasons why these studies of character are so highly successful is that Miss Wilson

possesses in a high degree that most needful interpre- tative gift, the sense of humour. We should like to consider these sketches in more detail, and should do so but for the fact that most of them are known to our readers already, having appeared in the columns of the Spectator. But we feel sure that there are many people who will be glad to

have these papers breathing the true air of Somerset collected into a volume.

Mr. Wickham has made an inquest of the minutest kind

into his village of Holcombe, at the eastern end of Mendip, and has given us the results of his digging and documentary researches. The locality yielded a good deal to the spade, and

a mound containing prehistoric remains is described, as well as later Celtic dwellings, and finds of pottery and Roman coins.

Among the most interesting portions of this book are the chapters devoted to village religion, beginning with the evidences of primitive man's belief in the continuance of the life of the dead, as shown by the contents of the barrow. The interior seems to have been arranged like a living hut, and in it were placed objects of daily use, as if it were expected that

the dead would require these things. The bones found seem to have been in a scattered and fragmentary condition. Mr. Wickham does not tell us if the skeletons were in the position of the child before birth—a position used by the men of the old

Stone age, which, it has been suggested, came from a desire to symbolize the idea of immortality : as the child issued from the womb, so would the dead man come forth from his grave. From the men of the barrow to the building of the new village church in 1885 is a long journey, but Mr. Wickham has been able to describe many of the milestones that mark the way.

-Very interesting, too, is the section dealing with social life. Here old accounts play an important part, and the spelling of

these is sometimes delightful ; as, for instance : "For making our own rats (rates). Pd. to W. Taylor for the book (Bible) that lyed in ye church, 6s. A bottle of clattery lectery (Daffy's elixir) for Abraham Goodland, 2s. 3d. For ye stratch- ing out Ann Nokes and for meat and drink, wool, bell, and grave, 6a. 6d." Mr. Wickham has a happy way of illustrating what he writes about by quotation, making his book, not merely the chronicle of one parish, but a mine of village lore.