Typhaines Abbey : a Tale of the 2'wdfth Century. By
Count A. de Gobineau. (Sampson Low.)—This is a story, told with some power, of an incident in the great struggle between feudalism in France and the rising power of the towns. The burghers of Typhaines, led by one Master Simon, seek to compel the abbey to sell its rights, and to permit the establishment of a "commune." The dispute comes to blows, the abbey being championed by one Philippe do Cornehant. The fighting fills, of course, a considerable part of the volume, and is de- scribed with sufficient vigour. Then, of course, there is the complica- tion of a love story. Philippe is betrothed to a great heiress, the Lady Mahant of Cornouiller, who is very well described, a passionate, head- strong woman, but not without a certain tenderness and grace.which redeem her. Then there is Simon's beautiful daughter, Damerones, who secretly loves the knight, and excites great wrath in the imperious Mahant. She makes a pretty sketch ; and there is force, too, in the drawing of Falk, the gigantic squire, with his somewhat stolid look, but brave as a lion, and never wanting in practical wisdom. All the accessories and scenery of the story seem to be well done; and the translation, which is the work of Professor Meigs, of Philadelphia, is fairly good. We notice one or two Gallicisma—" scandalous" used for "offensive," to wit (p. 98).
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