29 AUGUST 1896, Page 24

Mediwval Legends. By Mrs. Leighton. (D. Nutt )—We cannot help

thinking that one at least of the five "legends" which Mrs. Leighton relates for the benefit of the "children of England" is. somewhat "strong meat for babes." Melusina's strange children —one of them with three eyes, who has to be put to death for the general benefit of the family—and Melusina herself, vanishing in the form of a lovely woman with a dragon's tail, are horrible images which will haunt unpleasantly some youthful memories. The quaint life of 2Esop, with its curious mingling of the Oriental, the "peasant's epic" of the "Seven Suabians," "The Sweet and Touching Tale of Fleur and Blanchelleur," and the story of "Duke Ernest," may pass.