The House of Cecil. By C. Ravenscroft Dennis. (Constable and
Co. 10s. 6d. net.)—The authentic history of the Cecile begins with David Cyseell, or Syssell, of Stamford, the grand- father of Lord Burghley. But in Elizabethan times the genealogists were not above manufacturing a long pedigree for a man of wealth and position; it is rumoured that they have not greatly changed in this respect—see Burke passim. Bnrghley delighted in heraldic studies, and contrived to trace back his descent to one Robert Sytsylt, who in 1091 took part in the Norman conquest of Glamorganshire. The genealogical notes in his handwriting, which still exist at Hatfield, show that this pedigree was the outcome of a dozen other versions which did not work out satisfactorily. The history of the house of Cecil was worth writing, and Mr. Dennis has written it conscientiously.
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