of history consists in its exhibiting the progress of a nation in all that constitutes civilisation, and tracing the origin and changes of the political institutions under which it continues to exist.

For these reasons the progress of law and government, and the minutiæ of domestic life, are continually brought under the notice of the reader. The universal interest taken in the history of stirring events, however, has not been forgotten, and the Author has therefore endeavoured to relate the peculiarly striking incidents of EDWARD'S reign in a suitable manner.

This work being then, in a certain sense, a continuation of the 'Lectures,' the events which occurred during EDWARD'S childhood are not related; but, after a preliminary summary of the characteristics of the reign, the Author gives a sketch of the circumstances attending his father's deposition, and then proceeds to enter on the history of the reign itself. The evil influences of MORTIMER'S Sway and the first conflict with the Scots form the subject of the opening chapter. The Author then goes on to relate the history of MORTIMER'S fall and the first opening of the dispute which led to the long wars with France. The history of its temporary settlement follows, after which war with Scotland again becomes the subject of the history; but this soon ceases, and the vexatious conduct of the King of France, pursued with the evident purpose of gradually ousting the English from his dominions, is brought under the reader's consideration. The fifth chapter is devoted to an account of the commercial state of the nation, of the history of the woollen manufacture, and of its important bearing on the events of the reign.

War with France having now become inevitable, and, owing to the feudal character of its origin, the assistance of foreign allies being indispensable to EDWARD, an account is given of the means by which he was enabled to secure their aid, some remarks on the origin of the kingdoms of Western Europe being added, in order to enable the reader to understand the complicated circumstances under which that aid was granted. EDWARD'S Consequently necessary assumption of the title of King of France is stated, and an account is given of the extravagantly costly but fruitless commencement of the war with France, Flanders being the basis of operations. An account is then given of the King's return to England, and of the consequences of his extravagance. Three chapters are now devoted to the interesting events occurring in Brittany, and their immediate connection with the great quarrel between the Kings of England and France is traced out. The next chapters give an account of EDWARD'S landing in Normandy, of the undesigned course of his invasion, ending in the glorious victory of Crécy,

and the important capture of Calais. A lull in England's war with both France and Scotland having now taken place, an account is given of the domestic state of the nation, of the pestilence known as the Black Death, which afflicted the whole of Europe, and of its important effects on the relations between the employers of English labourers and the labourers themselves. The death of PHILIP of France and its consequences are then related, after which a further account is given of the social condition of England, and especially of the laws affecting its home and foreign commerce. The BLACK PRINCE now takes a prominent part in the events of this reign, and the first volume ends with an account of his successful campaigns in the South of France, terminating in the important victory of Poitiers, of the capture of JOHN King of France, and of his being taken to England as a prisoner.

The second volume opens with an account of the iniquitous laws relative to Ireland passed at this period of the reign, explains their remote causes, and, by implication, pleads for a more considerate study of the Irish question. There then follows an account of the miserable state of France, caused by the disastrous wars with England, of ETIENNE MARCEL'S deeply interesting attempt to revolutionise and reform the Government of France, of its unfortunate failure, of the death of MARCEL, and of the bearings of all these events on the relations between England and France. King EDWARD'S second, and uniformly successful, invasion of France, and its termination in the securing the possession of onethird of France to England, in the creation of the Duchy of Aquitaine with the BLACK PRINCE as its Duke, and in the release of King Joнs, by the Treaty of Bretigni, form the subject of the next two chapters. Another lull in warfare having now occurred, the history of the inner life of the English nation is resumed. An account is given of the establishment by law of the use of the English language in legal proceedings, and the more decided English character thus imparted to the rulers and people of England; and other matters concerning the social state of the kingdom are treated of. The voluntary return of King JOHN to captivity in England, caused by the treachery of his son, his death in England, and the approaching renewal of the war with France, are then related. Then follows an account of the BLACK PRINCE's victorious campaign, of its extraordinary cost and consequent disastrous results, as shown in the necessity for his taxing his subjects, and their consequent disaffection. From this time until nearly the end of the reign, the pages of this history are occupied with an account of the disastrous results to England of the continuation of the war, and of

February 27, 1869

the final expulsion of the English from the whole of France except Calais. The work concludes with an account of the very remarkable political events which happened in England in the last year of the King's reign.

LIST of the ILLUSTRATIONS.
VOLUME I.
MAPS.

1. Origin of the Kingdoms of Western Europe (in Four Compartments).

1. Empire of Charlemagne.

2. Ditto, in A.D. 847, as divided among the Sons of Lewis the Pious.

3. Ditto, in A.D. 888, after Deposition of Charles the Fat.

4. France and Germany in the Time of Edward III.

2. Campaigns in Flanders.

3. Brittany, Normandy, and North-Western France. 4. Battles of Crécy and Poitiers.

5. Ford of Blanche-tache.

6. Southern France.

PLATES.

Portrait of Edward III. (From a Wall Painting for-
merly in St. Stephen's Chapel, Westminster.)
Effigy of Queen Philippa. (From her Monument in
Westminster Abbey.)

WOODCUTS.

Sir John D'Aubernoun (from a Brass in the Church of Stoke Davernon, Surrey), illustrating the Armour of the Commencement of the Reign of Edward III. Archbishop Stratford. (From his Monument in Canterbury Cathedral.)

Court of Exchequer in Ireland in the 15th century. (From the Red Book of the Exchequer Court of Ireland.)

Covered Way to protect Pioneers advancing to undermine Walls.

Round Table. (From a Miniature of the Fourteenth Century, Bib. Imp. de Paris.)

Archer with Sheaf of Arrows.

Crossbowman with Shield.

Lives of the Tudor Princesses, including Lady Jane Gray and her Sisters. By AGNES STRICKLAND, Author of 'Lives of the Queens of England.' Pp. 420; with a Portrait of Lady Katharine Gray, and Effigies of Mary Tudor and Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, engraved on Wood from Bosses in the Lady Chapel in Southwold Church, Suffolk. Post 8vo. price 12s. 6d. cloth. [Dec. 24, 1868.

THE

Lives of the Princesses of the Royal Tudor lineage, including 'Jane the Queen' and her sisters the Ladies Katharine and Mary Gray, are here for the first time presented collectively in chronological order.

This important and much required chain of royal female biographies commences with the birth of the beautiful Mary Tudor, youngest surviving daughter of Henry VII. and his consort Elizabeth of York. A large amount of fresh historical matter is embodied in the life of this princess and those of her posterity. The rupture of her contract with the Prince of Spain (subsequently the world-renowned Emperor Charles V.) after she had worn publicly his ring of betrothal and borne the title of Princess of Spain, her state marriage to the aged and infirm sovereign of France Louis XII., her brief royal wedlock, her briefer widowhood and hasty love-match with the Duke of Suffolk, the representative of her brother Henry VIII. at the court of France, are circumstantially recounted here.

The life of MARY TUDOR precedes those of the issue of her eldest daughter, the Lady Frances Brandon, Marchioness of Dorset, on whom the fatal reversion of the crown of England was entailed by the despotic will of Henry VII.

The short and mournful memorials of Lady Mary Gray are followed by the lives of Lady

Eleanor Brandon, Countess of Cumberland, youngest daughter of Mary Tudor, and the Lady Margaret Clifford, Countess of Derby, the last survivor of the princesses of the royal Tudor lineage on whom the regal succession was entailed. The events of the Lady Margaret's life have never been previously recorded, either in history or biography. Cautious silence respecting the false accusation and long imprisonment of this victim of Queen Elizabeth's jealous state policy fettered the pens of contemporary annalists; nor have the historians of the House of Stanley done anything to raise the cloud in which the destiny of this lady has hitherto been involved.

The volume closes with the life of Lady Arabella Stuart, who by her marriage with William Seymour, the grandson of the Lady Katharine Gray and the Earl of Hertford, thought to unite her own claim to the royal succession, as the English-born descendant of Margaret Tudor, eldest daughter of Henry VII. with that which her husband, as the male representative of Mary Tudor, Queen-dowager of France and Duchess of Suffolk, derived from the will of Henry VIII. an unrepealed Act of Parliament, and the illegal deed of settlement rashly executed by King Edward VI.

Commentaries on the History, Constitution, and Chartered Franchises of the City of London. By GEORGE NORTON, formerly one of the Common Pleaders of the City of London. Third Edition, revised. 8vo. pp. 450, price 12s. 6d. cloth. [February 13, 1869.

HE present is the Third Edition of a work, THE first published in 1828, which has long been out of circulation, and the reissue of which is due to the Corporation of London, to whom the copyright of the work had been presented by the Author, and who have passed a resolution for taking three hundred copies for the use of its members and officers. But it has appeared to them that information throwing light on the early history of the City, the origin and nature of the civic constitution, and the quality of its franchises, deserves also the attention of their fellow-citizens; and the Author, allowing himself to share in that hope, ventures to think that such a work may not be without interest to some of the class of general readers.

It cannot be doubted that the system of municipal government in the cities and boroughs of England-and more particularly that of the City of London-is of national concern. On that system, and on the franchises through which it is maintained, the self-government conceded by the English Constitution is in a very great degree

founded. The personal interests and the social position of a large portion of the public are also intimately involved in these civic institutions, and in the authority which they exercise. The political power possessed by municipal corporations is a subject of still more important consideration. The student of general history and of antiquarian literature finds his inquiries continually directed to the effects of the corporate rights and privileges enjoyed by great cities, and their influence on the manners and customs of the inhabitants, as well as on the national weal.

All these rights and privileges depend on charters or are derived from ancient customs. But the unlearned inquirer, desiring to obtain some knowledge of the nature of these civic charters, and of the customary rights and liberties secured by them, would feel compelled to acknowledge that the meaning of the early, the most important, and the most really effective of these charters, and of these ancient customs, has become, through the lapse of ages, for the most part unintelligible without the help of legal and antiquarian study. Hence every assertion of these privileges essentially requisite to be maintained, every effort for the expedient modification of others, and every tendency to the judicious abandonment of such as are no longer beneficial, becomes (as in times past) a theme for controversy rather than for wise regulation. The mass of the citizens most concerned in the right conclusions, and in the most suitable measures, find themselves altogether at the mercy of the few who may choose (or perhaps only pretend) to make themselves acquainted with the subject proposed to be dealt with. At no period throughout the history of London could the attention of the citizens to their ancient rights and customs be more appropriately called for than at the present time, when their municipal government and franchises have become the matter of much public criticism and even of Parliamentary discussion. The work now submitted to the public is confined to an attempt at explaining, in as popular a manner as the subject will admit, these chartered and customary rights and liberties. The Author has endeavoured, by a careful revision of his work, to render it better worthy of the acceptance both of the Corporation of the City of London and of the public generally. He has redistributed some of the chapters, and has made many corrections and several additions, though he has not essentially altered the original text. His object has been to supply easily accessible information, at least to such as are most concerned in attaining it; but neither to them nor to the general reader can he profess to offer other entertainment than what attends the rational pursuit of useful knowledge.

Second Edition published February 13, 1869. ROM youth to manhood, and from manhood

FROM

to the verge of age, it has been the lot of the Author to live surrounded by a kind of poetic turbulence and almost romantic violence, which he believes could scarcely belong to real life in any other country in the world. But, extraordinary as the incidents recorded in this volume may be, the Author can vouch for their truth as facts. His reasons for publishing them are mainly threefold:

First, his tales are of real life. Many of the incidents described therein have been told in various forms, often very incorrectly, in the newspapers and journals of the day. The Writer's desire has been to give a clear and truthful account of occurrences which virulent party spirit or local prejudices have placed before the public, distorted through a false medium. He has endeavoured calmly and dispassionately to relate the facts as he believes them to have occurred, and in most cases as he knows them to have happened to himself in person.

His second reason for publishing these tales is to give the English public some idea of the difficulties which occasionally beset the path of an Irish landlord or agent who may wish to improve the district in which he is interested.

Thirdly, he wishes to add his testimony to the fact that Ireland-notwithstanding the many difficulties which may beset the path of those who earnestly desire to improve her conditionis nevertheless not altogether unmanageable, and that though we may meet with many disappointments, many acts of apparent and some of real ingratitude, yet justice fully and firmly administered is always appreciated in the end.

The Author has purposely abstained from offering any opinion of his own on the various political and social grievances of which Ireland complains-real or imaginary. These questions have attracted his earnest attention, and perhaps they may hereafter form the subject of another volume. But Englishmen frequently complain that they cannot obtain facts concerning Ireland, and he has here endeavoured to supply some which have come under his own observation.

Ireland in 1868 the Battle-Field for English Party Strife: its Grievances, Real and Factitious; Remedies, Abortive or Mischievous. By GERALD FITZGIBBON, Esq. one of the Masters in Chancery in Ireland. Second Edition, revised, with Notes, Explanatory and Corroborative, and an Additional Chapter. 8vo. pp. 374, price 8s. 6d. cloth. [January 8, 1869.

WHAT

HATEVER may be the demerits of this book, the single purpose of the Author has been to delineate faithfully the case of Ireland as seen from a point of view which few have ever taken who had the will and the faculty of depicting what lay before them, and were free from motives to misrepresent in any way the objects which they professed to describe. That stand-point was attained by a variety of experiences which it has not fallen to the lot of many persons to pass through. who has not lived as an equal in several grades of life can but imperfectly know the virtues and the vices, the temper and the motives of the many classes of which a civilised community is composed. To ascend these grades without the helping hand of party is a laborious task. To accept that aid is to confine the view to party interests, and to become an enlisted soldier pledged to fight for victory without regarding the cause of battle.

He

Whether wisely or not, the writer of these pages has for a long series of years stood a spectator of party strife without engaging in it.

In the interest of that great section of the Irish people who in their various stations with silent energy discharge their several duties to themselves and to those who depend upon them, and by doing so secure comfort and competence for their families, while they produce whatever exists of wealth, civilisation, and prosperity in the country, the pages now published have been conceived and written. For their perusal and for their approval they are offered by the humble advocate of their rights. To the duty-loving people of England they are addressed, in the hope, however faint, of exciting attention to the true character and effects of the legislation now recommended under a false pretence of justice for Ireland.

Within the limits of a brief analysis it is scarcely possible to give more than a summary of the various topics discussed in this volume. The condition and national character of the Irish people, and the true causes and real extent of their poverty and discontent, deduced from observation and traced from authentic history; the expediency of instituting purely sectarian colleges and schools; the utility of Government interference with the