Books in Brief. 



585 



BOOKS IN BRIEF. 



NEAR AND FAR. 



Old English Towns. By Elsie M. Lang. (T. 

 Werner Laurie. 6s. net.) 

 These sixteen towns are delightful, and so is the descrip- 

 tion of them and the accompanying illustrations. 



The Inns of Court and of Chancery. (Macmillan. 

 IS. net.) 

 Six lectures by W. Blake Odgers, K.C., delivered in 

 Middle Temple. A valuable contribution to our records. 



Castles of England and Wales. By Herbert A. 

 Evans. (Methuen and Co. 12s. 6d. net.) 



A delightful account of our castles, arranged in 

 chronological order. For instance, Pevensey and 

 Hamburgh of the nth century, come first, whilst Dun- 

 stanburgh is the solitary example of a 14th century 

 castle. There are 24 illustrations and 33 plans. The 

 writer is very modest in his estimation of his own 

 work, but the reader will appraise it highly. 



Rambles in Ireland. By Robert Lynd. (Mills 

 and Boon. 6s.) 

 A discursive series of visits to various places. 



Monaco and Monte Carlo. By Adolphe Smith 

 (Grant Richards. 15s. net.) 



A luxurious and fascinating volume, with fifty-six 

 illustrations and much Monegasque lore. 



Provence and Languedoc. By Cecil Headlam. 

 (Methuen. los. 6d. net.) 



A delightful book to read and dream over. The 

 very word " Provence " spells romance. Mr. 

 Headlam begint with a fascinating description of the 

 Rhone Valley. The next chapter concerns the 

 Troubadours, of whom he says the names of nearly 

 five hundred have come down to us. Tarascon has a 

 whole section to itself. A close and accurate observer, 

 his descriptions of many of the old buildings and their 

 history make the volume a valuable one to the student, 

 as well as full of charm for the ordinary reader. 



A Wanderer in Florence. By E. V. Lucas. 

 (Methuen and Co. 6s.) 



An unimaginative person indeed must he (or she) be 

 who cannot explore that most delightful of cities in 

 company with such a well-informed and withal so 

 witty a " wanderer " as E. V. Lucas. Here is a 

 graphic picture of the modern town, which, by the 

 way, has not escaped the all-pervading tramcar : " Few 

 persons in the real city . . . live in a house built for 

 them. In fact, it is the exception anywhere near the 

 centre to live in a house built less than three centuries 

 ago. Palaces abound, cut up into offices, flats, rooms, 

 and even cinema theatres. The telegraph-office in the 

 Via del Proconsolo is a palace commissioned by the 

 Strozzi, but never completed ; hence its name, Nonfinito. 

 Next it is the superb Palazzo Quaratesi, which Brunel- 

 leschi designed, now the headquarters of a score of 

 firms and an ecclesiastical school whence sounds of 

 sacred song continually emerge." 



Malta and the Mediterranean Race. By R. N. 

 Bradley. (T. Fisher Unwin. 8s. 6d. net.) 

 In this able and interesting book Mr. Bradley attempts 

 to prove by a critical examination of the prehistoric 

 remains which have been recently discovered in Malta 

 and the sister island of Gozo what Professor Sergi's 

 investigations in Crete and elsewhere have already 

 gone a long way to establish — namely, the existence of 

 a great pre-Grecian race occupying the whole Mediter- 

 ranean basin, probably Semitic or Euro-African in 

 origin and possessing a very high degree of civilisation. 

 The very valuable archaeological monuments to be 

 found in Malta are clearly described, and there 

 are delightful chapters on Maltese folk-lore and on 

 Semitic language traces which survive to this day in the 

 Maltese tongue. 



Venezuela. By Leonard V. Calton. (T. Fisher 

 Unwin. los. net.) 

 A valuable contribution to our knowledge of this fas- 

 cinating part of South America. It is illustrated with 

 very fine photographs, showing the habits of the people 

 and the country. The appendices show the population 

 of the states and districts, the trade and exports, 

 government, finance, etc. There is a comprehensive 

 bibliography and a fine map on a large scale. 



The Royal Visit to India. By the Hon. John 

 Fortescue. (Macmillan and Co. los. 6d. 

 net.) 



Very few of the King's British subjects were able 

 to visit India for the Coronation Durbar. For this 

 large majority of stay-at-homes this interesting volume 

 is full of interest, and for those who were so fortunate 

 as to be present much that is here given will be new, 

 and much will help to deepen the delightful remem- 

 brance. 



HISTORICAL. 



A History of the British Nation. By A. D. 

 Innes. (Messrs. Jack. 3s. 6d. net.) 

 A very useful history for the millions who wish to 

 know something of their country, and make acquaint 

 ance with the ancestors who have made her what she 

 is. It is the kind of book to put on the cottage shelf 

 side by side with a one-volume Cyclopaedia, the index 

 being very good for reference purposes. It contains 

 numerous illustrations, and though somewhat scrappy 

 and superficial in places, that is to be expected in what 

 may be called "a bird's-eye view." In style it might 

 be placed between Froude and Green on the one hand, 

 and the school book on the other. Needless to say, a 

 History of the British Nation consisting of 1,000 pages 

 at the price of 3s. 6d. is certainly not a book for the 

 student to carry about in the railway train. 



The Beginnings of Modern Ireland. By Philip 

 Wilson. (Dublin : Maunsel and Co., Ltd. 

 i2s. 6d. net.) 

 A history of Ireland from r5oo to Elizabeth, founded 

 upon State records, MSS., and private and public 

 documents. One of the conclusions of the author is that 

 neither the Celtic temperament, which under other 

 circumstances agrees well enough with the Teuton 

 element, nor the influence of the priesthood, is 

 accountable for the Irish Question. The remedy is 

 hinted at by a quotation from a speech of Benjamin 



