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 620 SHORT NOTICES October The second volume of Willem de Eerste Prim van Oranje, by Dr. P! J. Blok (Amsterdam : Meulenhoff, 1920), is on the same lines as the first volume. 1 It carries the history through the pacification, the rule of Matthias, and of Anjou, down to the murder of the prince, and is an admirable narrative, the interest of which is sustained to the end, while it is informed by a legitimate enthusiasm for the hero. It would some- times have gained, at least to a foreign reader, by a fuller discussion of surrounding circumstances not strictly biographical; for instance, how far they really justified Orange in his adherence to the policy of supporting Anjou against the wishes of his own supporters. The book is very well illustrated, and the authorities relied on are given in notes at the end. There are two appendixes, one on the prince's estate (which was heavily indebted at the time of his death), and one on the sources and literature of the prince's life. There is a poor index consisting merely of names of persons and places. Thirteen groups of figures after ' Utrecht ', or twelve after ' Culemborg ', are not very helpful with two volumes to hunt through, and it is to be hoped that in the next edition this may be remedied. It is a small defect in an admirable book. H. L. Professor H. G. Eawlinson's British Beginnings in India, 1579-1657 (Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1920), gives, in the words of its sub-title, ' an account of the early days of the British Factory of Surat ', together with a narrative of the earlier efforts made by English merchants to get into touch with the East Indies. The author has made skilful use of the extensive materials now available, and the result is a very readable sketch, which brings together within one cover information hitherto scattered over many volumes. It is disturbing to notice at the outset that the list of authorities (p. 6) omits two out of the five volumes of Mr. Sainsbury's well-known calendars, while in the six other items there are four mistakes. Proceeding, one finds occasional slips in names and dates, and, in at least three cases, errors in transcribing passages from earlier writers. Another sign of haste occurs on p. 81, where the details given of Sir Thomas Roe's first interview with the Emperor Jahangir at Ajmer include some which properly belong to the ambassador's visit to Prince Parwiz at Burhanpur. However, the work has many merits, and the reader will probably be willing to overlook its shortcomings in consideration of the general interest of the story it tells. An attractive feature is the inclusion of ten photo- graphs from Surat of the Fort, the English tombs, and ' the old English Factory '. As regards the last named, it may be noted that the official tablet placed upon the building in recent years has evidently misled Mr. Rawlinson into thinking that this was the factory dwelling of the period with which he was dealing. As a matter of fact, the seventeenth- century factory was long ago demolished, and the connexion of the existing building with the East India Company cannot be carried further back than to about the year 1700. W. F. We have before us a short book by Dr. G. H. Turnbull, Samuel Hartlib. A Sketch of his Life and his Relations to J. A. Comenius (London : Milford, 1 See ante, xxxv. 308.