Short Notices. 95
" a duck laid an egg in a crypt under the Abbey. On this egg a toad sat, and as a result a cockatrice was hatched, which inhabited the vault and grew to an enormous size, and killed and ate anybody who entered there ; all the time the nuns being in terror lest it should get out. This continued till a man had a good idea. He let down a strong mirror into the vault, and the cockatrice on seeing his own image fought it until he himself was absolutely exhausted, and then the brave inventor went down and despatched the beast." This pamphlet illus- trates the store of folk-lore still uncollected. It may be hoped that the author will continue his researches.
St, Bridget of Sweden : a Chapter of medieval Church History, by Sven Magnus Gronberger ; edited by J. J. Walsh. Washington. 1917.
St. Brigitt or Brigid or Bridget of Sweden, one of the great women educators and saints of the pre-Reformation period, was born about 1303, and her life was passed on the shore of Lake Velter at a town named Vadstena, where she founded a new order. The author of this interesting study of medieval religious life became assistant librarian of the Smithsonian Institution, knew practically all modern languages, and was an accomplished naturalist. The book is written in a spirit of fervent piety and well deserves publication.
The Breakfast of the Birds, and other Stories, from the Hebrew of Judah Steinberg, translated by Emily Solis- Cohen. Jewish Publication Society of America, Phila- delphia. 1917.
The author of these stories was born in 1863 at Lipkany, Russia, and died at Odessa in 1908. His purpose in writing the tales was to encourage children to speak and write Hebrew. The book
