More Famous Houses of Bath and District. By J. F.
Meehan. (Meehan and Co. 12s. 6d. net.)—Some five years ago "The Famous Houses of Bath and District" appeared. It by no means exhausted the subject, and now we have a continuation not less full of interesting matter than the first volume. Bath is, indeed, rich in associations ; at one time it stood second only to London as a centre of culture. It is less conspicuous now, though Probably it Could still show a respectable .roll of distinguished residents; because other places, especially the seats of new Universities, outshine it. But the glories of the past are undiminished. The word " district " is liberally interpreted, for it extends as far as Wells and Wilton, and one famous character of fiction is admitted among the real celebrities. Among the latter we see the names of General Wolfe, Major Andre, J. A. Roebuck, Joseph Hume, John Wesley, Robert Southey, and Lord Nelson. It was at Bath that Wolfe met Miss Lowther, the lady whose portrait was found on his body as it lay on the field of victory. Nelson was at Bath in his bey- hood,—it was there that Gainsborough's portrait of him in his twelfth year Was painted.- Ho went again to recover his health in 1780, being attended by a patriotic physician, Dr. Woodward, who reduced his fees to the lowest possible point ; and again when the city conferred its freedom on him. Southey spent part of his childhood in Bath, not, it would seem, very happily, Many such reminiscences are to be found in Mr. Median's pages, and they are set off by some excellent illustrations.
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