The Lady of the Well. By Eleanor Alexander. (Edward Arnold.
6s.)—This novel is a romantic story of Guelf and Ghibelline, of troubadour and queen of beauty. The Emperor Frederick II., grandson of Barbarossa, is the central figure, and the troubadour, Bernart, is very properly the hero. There is a great deal of real Romance in the book, and the clash of arms and perilous adventures which occur in it are very much more lifelike than is usual in works of this kind. The beginning of the story certainly drags a little, and it is difficult for the patient reader to get the threads of it into his hands and to find out what the author is driving at. But with a little perseverance, and after the perusal of the first three or four chapters, everything becomes clear, and the development of a very charming story can be properly appreciated. The snatches of verse translated by the author are well done, and the account of the journey which Bernart takes when the Abbess and Adelaide are being unconsciously carried off has almost a flavour of the "Canterbury Tales." The book is alto- gether an extremely successful attempt to portray an exceedingly difficult subject, and we may congratulate the author on the mediaeval atmosphere which she has contrived to impart into her story.
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