Miss Richards, in her Prelude to Provmwe (Richards' Press, 10s.
6d.), knows that in one volume she cannot describe in meticulous detail the dreaming beauty of the country or the enormous wealth of monuments it can boast, and therefore, and rightly, she prefers to indicate atmosphere, mainly through the medium of history. The Mediterranean has always been the dominating factor over Provence, and through it have come the various civilizations which have coloured its develop- ment. From the sea came the Greeks to found their colony rt Massilia, whence radiated the Greek tradition which has never been lost ; the Romans to build the theatre and the great arch at Orange, the mysteriously impressive Pont du Gard, and the amphitheatres of Nimes and Arles ; and the iaracens to give a stimulus to the poetry of the troubadours. l'here is no space in this brief notice even to indicate the
admirable and varied nature of the historical chapters which aompose the bulk of the book, but we would draw particular attention to the author's remarks on Provencal architecture, Nhich illustrates " so clearlS7 how ROman building developed nto mediaeval and Gothic." The typography of this cholarly work gives it a worthy setting.
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