15 DECEMBER 1883, Page 22

Old Wives' Fables. By Edouard Laboulaye. (Routledge and Sons.)—These are

very lively stories, with, perhaps, just a touch of satire in them, which would be well away, for a fairy-tale ought to be absolutely simple in intention, and never remind us of questions of the every-day world. Still, they are very amusing, and present us with a great variety of adventure. They come, too, from many parts of the world. Yvon, the hero of the first tale, is a Breton lad ; then there are Bohemian stories, and tales from Italy, Finland, Norway, and Iceland." "Piff Paff, or the Art of Government : a Tale of All Lands," is perhaps as clever as any, but then it is of the satirical kind.