Gods and Heroes; or, the Kingdom of Jupiter. By R.
E. Francillon. (W. Blackwood and Sons.)—Mr. Francillon tells the old stories of gods and demigods, the dwellers on Olympus (whom he calls, we see, by their Latin names), and the inhabitants of woods and streams, and the other personages of the pantheon and the heroic legends, in a way that will attract many readers. It has the merit of simplicity ; possibly it may seem to be wanting in dignity. We are inclined to think that some of the later legends, in which the old grace has been a little spoilt by less tasteful additions, might with advantage have been omitted. Homer's Achilles, for instance, is a character drawn with so firm and delicate a band, that we regret the post-Homeric addition of his invulnerability. What becomes of the hero's dauntless courage ? Mr. Francillon has helped his young readers by marking for them the quantity of
the syllables that might be mispronounced. We observe that the " a " in Arcadia is marked long (p. 34).
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