The Huguenots in the Seventeenth Century; including the History of
the Edict of Nantes, from its Enactment in 1598 to its Revocation in 1685. By Charles Tylor. (Simpkin Marshall and Co.)—Mr. Tylor has set himself to write a history of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, but he evidently lacks the impartial spirit with which such investigations must be conducted. He does not go to the bottom of the subject, and yet he has taken more care than is usual in such books, enough to make one wish that he had decided to do the whole thing thoroughly. The Revocation was a fatal mistake ; but if Mr. Tylor had reflected on the general quietness of France throughout the persecution, he would, perhaps, have recognised that at one time there was more to be said in its favour than now appears. Michel has shown that Louis had certain clear aims of a religious and political kind ; his religious views were no doubt much affected by the change which came over the Court in 1666; and it is quite clear that the Huguenots formed a distinct and dangerous party in the State, and that their existence conflicted with the then prevailing notions of statesmanship. All this part of the subject finds but a slight echo in Mr. Tyler's book, which is strongest in its descriptions of the sufferings of the Huguenots. Mr. Tylor would have done well to have consulted Mr. R. L. Poole's work on the Huguenot emigratidn, both for its references to French local histories which are worth consulting, and for its general estimate of the religious and political situa- tion. M. Monod's catalogue, also, would have supplemented the authorities. In a second edition, p. 316 may with advantage be reconsidered.
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