Antonina,  by  Wilkie  Collins.  A  romance
of  the  fifth  century,  in  which  many
of  the  scenes  described  in  the  <  Decline
and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  >  are  re-
set to  suit  the  purpose  of  the  author.
Only  two  historical  personages  are  in-
troduced into  the  story, —  the  Emperor
Honorius,  and  Alaric  the  Goth;  and
these  attain  only  a  secondary  importance.
Among  the  historical  incidents  used  are
the  arrival  of  the  Goths  at  the  gates  of
Rome,  the  Famine,  the  last  efforts  of
the  besieged,  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  the
introduction  of  the  Dragon  of  Brass,  and
the  collection  of  the  ransom, —  most  of
these  accounts  being  founded  on  the  chron-
icles of  Zosimus.  The  prmcipal  charac-
ters are  Antonina,  the  Roman  daughter
of  Numarian;  Hermanric,  a  Gothic  chief-
tain in  love  with  Antonina;  Goisvintha,
sister  to  Hermanric;  Vetranio,  a  Roman
poet;  Ulpius,  a  pagan  priest;  Numarian,
a  Roman  Christian,  Father  of  Antonina
and  a  fanatic;  and  GuiUamillo,  a  priest.
This  book  does  not  show  the  intricacy  of
plot  and  clever  construction  of  the  au-
thor's modern  society  stories;  l>ut  it  is
full  of  action,  vivid  in  color,  and  suffi-
ciently close  to  history  to  convey  a  dra-
matic sense  of  the  Roihe  of  Honorius  and
the  closing-in  of  the  t>arbarians.
SYNOPSES  OF  NOTED  BOOKS


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Daby's  Grandmother,  Tke,  by  L.  B.
