The Making of Europe. By "Nemo." (T. Nelson and Sons.
3s. 6d )—This is said on the title-page to be " A Simple Account of the Origin and Formation of the Principal Countries and States of Modern Europe:' If this description had been exact the book would have been more useful than it actually is. We may take the chapter on " France" as an example. We do not care to hear what the author has to tell us about their skill in manu- facture, their fisheries, their actors; what we do look for is a detailed account of how the three provinces ruled by Hugh Capet, the Isle of France, Picardy, and Orleans, grew into the France of to-day. But we do not see any mention of the duchies of Burgundy and Brittany; there is no account of the possessions which came to Henry II. with his wife. Nor is there anything, to come down to later times, either about the acquisition of Savoy and Nice, or the gain and loss of Alsace and Lorraine. It is true that in the chapter on " Germany " we hear about the two provinces, but Savoy is not mentioned either in " France" or in "
" Nemo " goes out of his way to express a number of opinions and sentiments which may be all true, but he has missed a good opportunity. What in the world does he want to pronounce on the "fatal Triple Alliance " or the " wretched Crispi " ?
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