20 DECEMBER 1890, Page 24

True Stories from French History. Compiled by N. M. Paul.

(Griffith, Ferran, and Co.)—From Vercingetorix, the ablest cham- pion of Gallic liberties against Caesar, down to the Franco- Prussian War, with its recollections of Bazaine, ll/VMahon, and others, is the extent of a somewhat ambitious programme. If the author had aimed at less, he might have accomplished more. Three volumes at least—ancient, mediaeval, and modern—would have been amply supplied from the materials which, by their abundance, must have caused such an embarrassment of choice. The stories are thirty-two in number, and include most of the leading events in French history.