Page:English Historical Review Volume 37.djvu/480

472 SHORT NOTICES July than men appear always to command the author's interest. But in fact it was not individuals who were mainly responsible for the durable success of the Republic, but rather the gradual rebirth of a positive belief in repub- lican institutions in the minds of the vast majority of Frenchmen. The Republic in 1875 was only the government which divided Frenchmen least ; the hostility of the aristocracy and the clergy was not only active but important, while the diplomacy, army, and navy of the state were almost entirely directed by its avowed enemies. The victory of the republic was assured not mainly by the dissensions of the royalists and by the extreme folly of their action in the Boiilanger and Dreyfus affairs, but by its own solid successes, especially in foreign and colonial policy. The former, however, receives very summary treatment from M. Seignobos, who allots it no more than thirty-five pages, which form indeed an epitome admirable for those who know how much has been omitted, but misleading in its baldness to the general reader. Colonial policy, on the other hand, is treated with a fullness which is appropriate to the most grandiose achievement of the Republic. The chapters on social and economic progress are, as usual in this series, most careful and interesting, but the con- servatism of French agriculture and industry during the last hundred years has led to a good deal of repetition in the portions assigned to these subjects in the last three volumes. Literature and the fine arts receive so meagre a consideration that Anatole France is given only fifteen words and Rodin fifty. In spite of the learning, accuracy, and impartiality of this volume it must be considered one of the less satisfactory of the series. C. R. C. In the first two of the four volumes of his History of the Great War (London : Nelson, 1921) Mr. John Buchan has recast that portion of his previously published popular narrative which covers the period down to April 1916. The history is primarily one of military and naval operations, and is probably the most complete and convincing account from the British point of view that we are likely to have for some years. It is clear, well balanced, adequately equipped with maps, and admirably free from the racial prejudices and hatreds which flourish in time of war. The style is vivid and attractive. Scholarly allusions abound. There is a constant appreciation of historic backgrounds. Mr. Buchan was one of the many writers whom the government employed for political or propaganda purposes at army head-quarters, and none of them has turned his experiences to better ends. He writes of generals and general- ship with sufficient courage and independence. The only criticism one ventures to make is that his smooth and polished pages may induce posterity to under-estimate the strain and misery of the fighting line and the steadily growing anxiety and disillusion at home. Mr. Buchan's stirring -story tells the truth but not quite the whole truth ; it would be a miracle if it were otherwise. (J. B. H. The dean of Wells has published the address he delivered before the election of the bishop of Bath and Wells in October 1921 : Conge d'Elire (Oxford : Mowbray, 1921). He sets out the present method of appointing