Reviews. 409
Studies in English and Comparative Literature. By former and present students at Radcliffe College. Presented to Agnes Irwin, Dean of Radcliffe College (Cambridge, Mass.). (Rad- cliffe College Monographs, No. 15.) Ginn & Co., 1910. Post 8vo, pp. viii+ 170.
This work is of the nature of a Festschrift dedicated to Miss Agnes Irwin, a former Dean of Radcliffe College, and like most volumes of that description affords a good deal of " fine confused reading." Some of the articles are purely literary. Others deal with matters of interest to folklorists, and of these the two which have most attracted us are those on "The Story of Vortigern's Tower," and the " Island Combat in Tristan," both of which display much research, and are well worth reading. We cannot help also alluding to Miss Allen's study on the "Authorship of the Prick of Conscience," long ascribed to that delightful writer, Richard RoUe of Hampole. Miss Allen more than doubts this assignment, and gives very cogent reasons for the hesitation which she shows in accepting the popular verdict.
The shortest paper in the book, — consisting of but two pages, — is by Miss Blount. It contains the important information that she has collected fairly complete material " for an onomasticon, or name-book of the Arthurian cycle of romances, which, while not likely to be published very soon, is now accessible to scholars in the library of Harvard University." Seeing how very useful such a book would be to hosts of workers, and how absolutely hopeless it is for them to think of visiting the " library of Harvard Uni- versity," we venture to express the hope that someone will expedite the publication of this work so that it may be accessible to those unhappy enough to live out of reach of the existing manuscript.
B. C. A. WiNDLE.
On THE History of the Ballads, i 100-1500. By W. P. Ker. (From the Proceedings of the British Academy^ vol. iv.). Frowde, 1910. 8vo, pp. 27.
The ballad, Professor Ker thinks, is an idea, a poetical form, which can take up any matter, and does not leave the matter as it
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