Life of the Princess Margaret, Queen of Scotland, 1070 - 1093. By
Samuel Cowan. (Mawson, Swan and Morgan, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 8s. 6d. net.)—The records of Queen Margaret's reign are, says Mr. Cowan, "meagre and disappointing." It is only too true, and wo must not be too hard on Mr. Cowan if he has gone far afield to find matter for his book. We cannot understand the Queen and her work unless we know something about her royal ancestors. So we are taken back to King Alfred, and follow the succession until we reach the Conquest. Meanwhile we have, along with other digressions, five pages about Edward the Confessor's foundation of Westminster Abbey. Lady Margaret appears on p. 101, and pretty nearly all that bas to be said about her is included in less than a score of pages, and this though somewhat expanded by our anther. Is it indeed true that she "first introduced the tartan" ? Had not the virgata sagula which the Gauls wore many centuries before made their way into Scotland? However, it would be ungracious to prolong these criticisms. Mr. Cowan has done ae well with a difficult subject as could reasonably be expected.
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