Eevictr of li'Ticiri'. 7!l-2lli 



1029 



BOOKS IN BRIEF. 



Maximilian the Dreamer. Bv Christopher 

 Hare. (Stanley Paul. i2,'6 net.) 

 This picture of the grandfather of Charles 

 y. of Spain presents to us a most fascinat- 

 ing' character. If his practice was not up 

 to his ideals, it was possibly largely owing 

 to the epoch in which he lived. The book 

 opens with a genealogical table of the 

 House of Hapsburg", which, howev^er, was 

 not quite up to Maximilian's idea of the 

 antiquity of his house. He desired proof 

 that his forefathers could be traced at 

 least as far back as the Flood. He was 

 a writer as well as a dreamer, and re- 

 sumes of his two books, the " Weiss- 

 kunig ■" and "Prince Teuerdank," are 

 g"iven in this volume. The book contains 

 a handsome frontispiece and six photo- 

 gravures. 



Incidents in the Life of Madame Blavatsky. 



By A. P. Sinnett. (Theosophical Pub- 

 lishing Co. 2 (). ) 

 A reprint, with several rotes inset, of the 

 book issued in i<S86, which was compiled 

 from information supplied by ?iladame"s 

 relations and friends. The reminiscences 

 include family details calculated to bring- 

 into prominence the extraordinary sur- 

 rounding's of this most singular woman, 

 even from her earliest childhood. 



Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition. 



By Rafael Sabatini. (Stanley P.iul 



and Co. 16/- net.) 

 A close study of the personality and career 

 of the grrim Dominican friar, who per- 

 suaded or coerced Isabella of Spain into 

 a consent to the establishment of the In- 

 quisition. Mr. Sabatini lays stress upon 

 the fact, as shown by history, that reli- 

 gion and persecution have alwavs been 

 closely allied. He draws a spirited picture 

 of the resolute, high -principled Oueen, and 

 does his best to put Torquemada in a g-ood 

 ligrht. while at the same time giving us an 

 awful picture of the Inquisition at work. 



The Marquis of Montrose. By John Buchan. 

 (Nelson and Sons. 7/6 net.) 

 The story of the unfortunate Marquis of 

 Montrose, executed in 1650. is here gi\"en 

 in a most sympathetic manner and with 

 " accurate " details. The book deals 

 chiefly with the campaigns of 1644-45, 

 and is enriched with maps, plans, and il- 

 lustrations Xaturallv, if Montrose is 

 painted white. Argyll must be wholly 

 black. Perhaps that which will prove of 

 the greatest interest to ordinary readers is 

 the analysis of Montrose's character, show- 

 ing why, though he signed the Covenant, 

 yet it was the Covenanters who were his 

 bitterest enemies. 



From Naval Cadet to Admiral. By .Admiral 

 Sir Robert Hastings Harris, K.C.B., 

 K.C.M.G. (Cassell. 12/- net.) 

 Sir Robert's prime thought in writing his 

 memoirs was to show what a pleasant, 

 healthy, and engrossing- life it is possible 

 to enjoy whilst serving one's Sovereign 

 and country afloat in a man-of-war, and 



withal to sound a note of warning- to the 

 powers that be now that the amount of 

 foreign service is lessened. The Admiral's 

 g-randmother was ^Irs. Trimmer, so there 

 is a writing- tradition in his family, and 

 his father took part in the expedition 

 which gave the Empire Hong Kong-. The 

 Admiral himself was a Commander in the 

 days when sails, not engines, propelled 

 our ships of war. and very indignantly 

 he writes of the obstinate folly of Ad- 

 miralty officials which ■ hindered progress 

 for so many years. Of course, he dreads 

 Germanv; and he would not be himself 

 if he did not love sport, admire Rhodes, 

 and consider Kruger insolent. 



Outlines of Railway Economics. By Douglas 



Knoop, M.A. (Macmillan. 5'- net.) 

 In these lectures, originally given at the 

 [Midland Railway Institute, Derby, and at 

 the University of Sheffield, the author has 

 sought to show how the economic prin- 

 ciples which underlie business and industry 

 in g-eneral apply to railways in particular. 

 The matter is so lucidly put and the in- 

 formation given is so out of the way of 

 the ordinary reader that it has a charm of 

 its own. independent of the special infor- 

 mation given. 



Submarine Engineering of To-day. By 



Charles W. Domville-Fife. (Seelev 



Service. 5 - net.) 

 Everything- that pertains to deep-sea div- 

 ing appeals stronglv to the imagination, 

 and this book of 318 pages, with its capi- 

 tal index and profuse illustrations, is cal- 

 culated not only to satisfy that appeal, but 

 also to instig-ate further curiosity. There 

 is also an account of a wonderful private 

 submarine rnuseum hard by the Thames, 

 which contains relics of many a bygone 

 naval disaster or curious implement for 

 the recovery of treasures lost therebv. 



Lollardy and the Reformation in England. 



By James Gairdner. (Macmillan. i(/6 



net.) 

 The fourth volume of a very important work 

 by the late Dr. Gairdner, whose life was 

 prolonged to the age of eightv-four. He 

 left the manuscript of the last section to 

 his friend, Mr. W. Hunt, who has revised 

 and published it with a short account of 

 the author. The book opens with the storv 

 of Queen Mary's first tri;ds, and closes 

 with her marriage. 



The Old Time Before Them. Bv Eden 

 Phillpotts. (John Murrav. 3/6.) 

 Delightful tales told bv the six or seven 

 old cronies who used to meet at the 

 " Plume " down to Widecomb. The old 

 souls were all wifeless in theorv or fact, 

 and Johnny Rowland, the host, could" 

 crack a joke with the best— and keep a 

 sharp eye also to see that the mug's got 

 filled pretty often. Pathetic, sordid, comi- 

 cal, it is quite impossible to give pre- 

 eminence to any one of these Dartmoor 

 stories— which, like Johnnie's beer, would 

 never have tasted the same if set down 

 by any other hand. 



