The Athenaeum July-December 1890
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({NDEX SUPPLEMENT to the ATHEN ZUM with No, 3301, Jan. 31, 1801 ’ \s aN T 6 % ‘Fr’ ATHENAUM JOURNAT OF LITERATURE, SCIENCE, THE FINE ARTS, MUSIC, AND THE DRAMA. JULY TO DECEMBER, 1890. LONDON: PRINTED BY JOHN C. FRANCIS, TOOK’S COURT, CHANCERY LANE. PUBLISHED AT THE OFFICE, 22, TOOK’S COURT, CHANCERY LANE, E.C,, BY JOHN C. FRANCIS. SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS AND NEWSMEN_IN TOWN AND COUNTRY. AGENTS FOR SCOTLAND, MESSRS, BELL & BRADFUTE AND MR. JOHN MENZIES, EDINBURGH. MDCCCXC.
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[SUPPLEMENT to the ATHENZUM with No. 8801, Jan. 31, 1891 AINV/ O XUM
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SUPPLEMENT to the ATHENZUM with No. 3801, Jan. 31, 1891) INDEX OF CONTENTS. LITERATURE. Reviews. Abbot’s Cleeve, &c., edited by Clarke, 662 Académie des Beaux Livres, Annales Littéraires, 815 Acton’s (Mrs, A.) Rosebud, 774 Adz Murimuthi Continuatio Chronicarum: Robertus de Avesbury, edited by Thompson, 444 Adams’s (F.) Songs of the Army of the Night, 126 Adventure Series: Military Career of John Shipp, 540 JULY TO DECEMBER 1890.
| Birdwood’s (A.) An Arabic Reading-Book, 190 Birdwood’s (Sir G.) Old Records of India Office, 287 Bishop’s Edward VI, and Book of Common Prayer, 881 Bismarck Intime, translated by Hayward, 34 Black is White, 852 Blackie’s Modern Cyclopedia, 191, 480, 815 Blaydes’s (F. A.) Genealogia Bedfordiensis, 477 Boarding-out System, The, 95 Bébm-Bawerk’s Capital and Interest, tr. Smart, 152 | Bohn’s Library of Sports : Athletic Sports, 287 Alcott’s (L. M.) Recollections of my Childhood’s Days, 697 | Alexander the Great, Syriac History of, ed. by Budge, 252; by Dodge, 811 ’ Alexander’s (Mrs.) Forging the Fetters, 93 ; Blind Fate, 9 ** All’s Well!” 662 Cobbett—Cycling, by Griffin, 126; Tennis, &c., by Marshall, Spens, an | Bombaugh’s (C. Bohn’s Standard Library: Whiston’s Josephus, ed. Shilleto, 316; Johnson’s Lives of the Poets, ed, Mrs. Napier, 415; Lives of the Norths, ed, Dr. Jessopp, 480 Boldrewood’s (R.) A Colonial Reformer, 811 .) Gleanings for the Curious, 663 | Bonghi’s (A, F.) Un Autunno su e git, 223 Tait, 287 ; Gymnastics, by Jen- | kin, 625; Broadsword and Singlestick, by Phillipps- | Wolley and Allanson-Winn, 698 Allen’s (F. M.) Brayhard, 191 Allen’s (G.) The Great Taboo, 734 Allingham’s (W.) Thought and Word, &c., 249 Almanach de Gotha, 853 Almanacs, Calendars, Diaries, Pocket-Books, &c., 546, 663, 698, 737, 815 America, Narrative History of, ed. by Winsor, 446, 630 Amicis’s (E. de) Il Romanzo di un Maestro, 350 Analecta Liturgica, edited by Weale, 446 Anecdota Oxoniensia: Lives of Saints from the Book of Lismore, edited by Stokes, 218 Angel, The, and the Idiot, 414 Annual American Catalogue, 255 Annual Volumes: Little Wide Awake, Sunday, Little Folks, World of Adventure, Harper’s Young People, 625 Anstey’s (F.) Voces Pepuli, 626 Arber’s (E.) List of 837 London Publishers, 287 Arbuthnot’s (F. F.) Arabic Authors, 89 Archeological and Historical Collections relating to the County of Renfrew, Vols. I. and II., 162 Armastrong’s (F. C.) Sisters of Phaeton, 734 Army and Navy Calendar, 62 Arrowemith’s Christmas Annual, 624 Aryan Reader, First, edited by Schrumpf, 447 Ashby-Sterry’s (J.) Nutshell Novels, 53! Ashton’s (J.) Social England under the Regency, 380 Atkinson’s ( ) Rosalinda, 697 Aubert’s (F.) Le Parlement de Paris, 254 Austin’s (C.) Unlucky, 662 Austin’s (S8.) The Little Princess Angel, 774 Australian Critic, The, 698 Australian Girl, An, 93 Bacon’s (fF Essays, or Counsels, ed. by Reynolds, 480 Bagwell’s (R.) Ireland under the Tudors, 94 Baillie’s (A. F.) Kurrachee (Karachi), 245 Bain’s (F. W.) Dmitri, 59 Baker’s (Sir S. W.) Wild Beasts and their Ways, 540 Ballantyne’s (R. M.) Charlie to the Rescue, 624 Balzac, H. de, L’Quvre de, by Barriére, 222 Banks’s (Mrs. G. L.) Miss Pringle’s Pearls, 887 Barine’s (Arvéde) Princesses et Grandes Dames, 221 Baring-Gould’s (S.) Historic Oddities and Strange Events, 662; My Prague Pig, 774 Barker’s Facts and Figures for 1891, 737 Barker’s (E. H.) Wayfaring in France, 808 Barnum’s (P. T.) Funny Stories, 35 Barr's (A. E.) The Last of the MacAllisters, 250; Friend Olivia, 885 Barrett (F.) and others’ Strange Doings, 284 Barrett’s (F.) Between Life and Death, 622 Barttelot, E. M., Life of, by W. G. Barttelot, 694 Baruch, Rest of the Words of, edited by Harris, 285 Bashkirtseff, Maria, Journal of, tr, by Miss Blind, 118 Bathgate’s (A.) Far South Fancies, 510 Batiffol’s (P.) La Vaticane de Paul III. & Paul V., 252 Bazin’s (R.) A l’ Aventure, 776 Beaconsfield, Lord, by Froude, 657 Beatty-Kingston’s (W.) A Journalist's Jottings, 814 Beaumarchais, Madame de, by Marsangy, 221 Bendall’s <) Ivy and Passion-Flower, 510 Berens’s Myths of Ancient Greece, &c., 445 Beresford’s (Max) Bonnie Dundee, 441 Berge’s Complete Natural History, ed. Crawford, 851 Berris’s (B.) Lady Brough, 773 Besant’s (W.) Armorel of Lyonesse, 695 Betham-Edwards’s (M.) Love and Mirage, 381 Bikelas’s (D.) Christian Greece, tr, Marquis of Bute, 737 | Bourne’s (W.) 22 All-England Series: Chess, by Green—Swimming, by | —* Catalogues, 95, 163, 480, 584, 663, 698, 776, 5 Booth’s (General) In Darkest England, 578 Bourget’s (P.) Un Coeur de Femme, 159 Bourne’s (Mrs.) Beta, 850 andy Assurance Directory, 62 Boyle’s (J. R.) Old Newcastle and Gateshead, 813 | Bozon, Nicole, Les Contes Moralisés, edited by Miss Smith and P, Meyer, 121, 163, 288 | Braddon’s (Miss) One Life, One Love, 441
Bradshaw’s (Mrs, A. 8.) Wife or Slave? 734 Bragg’s (W. B.) Market Harborough Parish Records, 884 Bramston’s (M.) Wanted a Sphere, 624 Brandon’s (M.) Hypnotized, 479 Brayshay’s (R.) Specially Surveyed Roads in Scotland, 191 Bréal’s (M.) La Reforme de l'Orthographe —— 222 Brett’s (T.) Commentaries on Laws of England, 382 Chauncy’s (Dom M.) History of the Sufferings of Eighteen Carthusians in England, 285 Cherry’s (J. L.) Stafford in Olden Times, 813 Chesterfield’s, Lord, Letters to his Godson, Appendix, 698 Child’s (G, W.) Church and State under the Tudora, 185 Chiswell’s (Archdeacon) The Slave Prince, 887 Christmas Cards and Books, 737, 776, 853, 888 Chronicon Henrici Knighton, edited by Lumby, 444 | Church Congress Handbook, 448 | Church’s (A. H.) Flower and Bird Posies, 510 Church’s (Rev. A. J.) A Young Macedonian, 697 Clare’s (A.) A Pearl in the Shell, 736 Clarendon Press Series: Dryden’s Essay of Dramatic Poetry, ed. Arnold, 221; Schiller’s Jungfrau von Orleans, ed. Buchheim, 317; Ovid, Tristia, Book II1I., edited by Owen, 624 Clarke’s (M.) Selected Works, 814 Bridges’s (W. B.) Barony and Town of Okehampton, 161 | British Almanac and Companion, 737 British Association, President’s Address, 311 Britton’s (W.) Civil War on the Border, 584 Brooke’s (E. 8.) A Son of Issachar, 476 Broughton’s (Rhoda) Alas! 582 Brown’s (Mrs. J. L.) Otho, 773 Brown’s {R.) Jack Abbott’s Log, 188 Browne’s (M.) Wanted a King, 697 Briinnow’s (R, E.) Classified List of Ideographs, 447 Buchanan, George, Humanist, by Brown, 117 Buchanan’s (R.) The Moment After, 414 Bulkeley’s tone H., J.) Alypius, 544 Burchett’s (G.) One of the Wicked, 31 Burnand’s (F. C.) Very Much Abroad, 62; Keep it Quite Darkest Africa, 162; Rather at Sea, 287; Quite at Home, 663 Burnley's (J.) History of Wool and Woolcombing, 253 Burns, Sir George, Memoir of, by Hodder, 545 Burrow’s (J. H.) Adventures of Alfan, 887 Burton’s (Rev. H. D.) Paul Nugent, Materialist, 159
Burton’s (T.) History of Hemingborough, ed. Raine, 248 | C. E. M.’s A Silver Teapot, 851 Caffyn’s (M.) A Poppy’s Tears, 479 Caillard’s (V.) The Ottoman Public Debt, 663 Caine’s (W. S.) Picturesque India, 625 Caird’s (E.) Critical Philosophy of Kant, 118 Calendar of State Papers in the Archives of Venice, edited by Brown and Bentinck, 348 Cambridge's (A.) A Marked Man, 381 Camelot Series: Prose Writings of Thomas Davis, ed. by Rolleston, 184; Aristotle’s Ethics, tr. by Chase, 192 ; Germania and Agricola of Tacitus, 584 Cameo Series : Mistral’s Miréio, tr, 2 Preston, 505 Cameron’s (Mrs. L.) Jack’s Secret, 734 Campbell’s (Lord A.) Children of the Mist, 814 Campbell’s (Rev. J.) Church of Scotland, 809 Canning’s (Hon, A. 8. G.) Heir and No Heir, 220 Canterbury Poets: Women Poets of the Victorian Era, by Mrs, Sharp, 852 Carey’s (R. N. ? Lover or Friend? 414 Carisbrooke Library: Ireland under Elizabeth, &c., 192 Carlyle’s Translation of Wilhelm Meister, 698 Carroll’s (L.) Wise Words about Letter-Writing, 254 Casseli’s Japanese Library, 162 Castellane’s (Le Marquis — Destruction, 188 Castellani’s (C.) L’Origine della Stampa—La Stampa in Venezia, 412 Catalogue of Early Belfast-Printed Books, 287 Caylus, Le Comte de, by Rocheblaye, 222 Chambers’s (G. F.) Tourist’s Pocket-Book, 287 Chapman’s (A.) Income Tax, &c., 383 Characters and Episodes of the Great Rebellion, selected from Clarendon, edited by Boyle, 383 Chasseresse’s (Diane) Sporting Sketches, 287 107456 Classical Series: Plutarch’s Lives of Galba and Otho, edited by Hardy—Pliny’s Letters, Books I. and II, edited by Cowan, 624 Claviére’s (M. de M. la) Louis XII., Vols. I. and II., 541 Cleland’s (D.) The White Kangaroo, 774 Clifton’s (A.) An Unwilling Wife, 31 Clinch’s (G.) Bloomsbury and St. Giles’s, 90 Clive, Lord, Life of, by Col. Sir C. Wilson, 120 Cobb’s (T.) For Value Received, 159 Collins’s (L.) Hadasseh, 888 Colmore’s (G.) A ne Se 811 Compton’s (C. G.) Scot Free, 661 Compton’s (H.) The Dead Man’s Gift, 250 Comyn’s (E.) Romance by Proxy, 811 Conney’s (Mrs.) A Line of her Own, 811 Continental Literature, July, 1889—July, 1890: Bel- gium, 7; Bohemia, 8; Denmark, 8; France, 9; Ger- inany, 16; Greece, 20; Holland, 21; Italy, 22; Norway, 23; Poland, 24; Russia, 25; Spain, 28 Conway’s Climber’s Guide to Central Pennine Alps, 88 Cookson’s (C.) Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, 252 Corbett’s (Col.) An Old Coachman’s Chatter, 625 Corelli’s (M.) Wormwood, 661 Corporation Records of St. Albans, by Gibbs, 813 Corrie, G. Elwes, D.D., Memorials of, ed. Holroyd, 283 Cowper’s Registers of St. Alphage, Canterbury, 161 Crane’s (L.) Zebel, 220 Crawford’s (F. M.) A Cigarette-Maker’s Romance, 539 Crawfurd’s (O.) Round the Calendar in Portugal, 732 Cresswell’s (H.) Sliding Sands, 350 Crewe’s (S.) Nemesis, 188 Critical Review of Theological, &c., Literature, 663 Croker’s (B. M.) Two Masters, 350 Cromie’s (R.) A Plunge into Space, 220 Cross’s (A.) Rosalinda, 697 Curtius’s (E.)}Unter Drei Kaisern, 254 Cushing’s (W.) Anonyms, 316 Dale's (Darley) Noah’s Ark, 662 Damien, Father, by Stevenson, 255 Daniell’s (C. J.) Industrial Competition of Asia, 280 Dante : Paradiso, tr. Longfellow, 192; Commedia, 223 Daphnis and Chloe, edited by Jacobs, 219 Darmesteter, Arséne: Reliques Scientifiques, edited by his Brother, 733 Daudet’s (A.) Port-Tarascon, 661; tr. by James, 773 Davidson’s (Mra,) A Story of Stops, 697 Davidson's (J.) Perfervid, 59 Davis’s (H. R.) Gilbert Elgar's Son, 773 Davis, Thomas, by Sir C. G. Duffy—Prose Writings of, edited by Rolleston, 184 Dawes’s (K.) Attic Greek Vocabularies, 221 Dead Man’s Diary, written after his Decease, 59 Debenham’s (M. H.) A Little Candle, 697 | Debrett’s Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage, 888 | Deland’s (Mrs. M.) Florida Days, 510; Sidney, 773 Derbyshire Archzological Society, Journal, Vol. XII, 851 Derwent’s (L.) A Daughter of the Pyramids, 734 Diamond’s (R.) Deeds in St, Petrock, Exeter, 286 Dibdin’s (E.) The Spoilt Twins, 774 Dickens’s (C.) Christmas Carol in Facsimile, 663 Dictionary of National Biography, Vols. X[X. to XXIII., 151, 195 Dictionnaire Général de la Langue Frangaise, by Hatz- feld and Darmesteter, 733 Dobson’s (A.) Four Frenchwomen, 662 Dobson’s (G.) Russia’s Railway Advance iato Asia, 34 Domenichetti’s (R. H.) The Quest of Sir Bertrand, 189 Donovan's (D.) Who Poisoned Hetty Duncan ? 734 Doveton’s (F, B.) Maggie in Mythica, 736 Dowd’s (Rev. J.) Limerick and its Sieges, 251
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THE ATHENZUM (SUPPLEMENT to the ATHENEUM with No. 3301, Jan. 31, 1891 JULY TO DECEMBER 1890 LITERATURE. Reviews—continued. Downe’s (H.) Innocent Victims, 31 Doyle Fairy Book, translated by Montalba, 883 Doyle’s (A. C.) The Sign of Four, 773 D'Oyle’s (L. C.) Notches on Rough Edge of Life, 479 Driver's (S. R.) Notes on Hebrew Text of Samuel, 56 Duckett’s (Sir G. F.) Documents relating to John, King of France, 812 Dudgeon’s (P.) Introduction to Origin of Surnames, 252 Dumas’s Swiss Travel, edited by Parry, 221 Duncan’s (8. J.) A Social Departure, 59 . Ebner’s (Dr. A.) Die Kldsterlichen Gebets-Verbriider- ungen, 318 ” Ecole des Hautes Etudes: Bibliothéque, 285 Edmunds’s (L.) Letters Patent for Inventions, 382 Edwardes’s (Mrs. A.) Pearl Powder, 59 Edwards's (Mrs. S.) The Secret of the Princess, 885 Elementary Classics : Legends of Ancient Rome from Livy, ed. Wilkinson, 318 ; Virgil, Aeneid, Lib. III., ed. Page—Alcestis of Euripides, ed. Bayfield, 624 Ellis (A, J.) On Early English Pronunciation, 282 Elsdale’s (May) Stella’s Cup, 851 Elsevier's Geillustreerd Maandschrift, 853 Eminent Women Series : 8. Wesley, by Mrs. Clarke, 62 Enault’s (L.) Le Sacrifice, 93 Encyclopedia Americana, 380 English History from Contemporary Writers: St. Thomas of Canterbury, edited by Hutton, 286 English Illustrated Magazine for 1889-90, 415 English Leaders of Religion: Newman, by Hutton, 5()7 English Men of Action: Clive, by Wilson, 120; Sir Charles Napier, by Butler, 473 ; Erasmus; Testament vom 22 Januar, 1527—Inventarium, edited by Sieber, 660 . Esclangon’s (A.) Le Fablier de la Jeunesse, 221 Euripides: Hippolytus, «d. Hadley—Alcestis, ed. Bay- field, 624; Iphigeneia at Aulis, ed. Headlam, 735 Everett-Green’s (E.) Mischievous Moncton, 445; Secret of the Old House—The Stronger Will, 662; Loyal Hearts—Dulcie’s Love Story—Birdie’s Resolve, 813 Ewald’s (A. C.) Paper and Parchment, 775 Exercises to accompany the School German Grammar, by Eve and Zimmern, 318 Exner’s (A. H.) China, 254 Faguet’s Dix-huitiéme Siécle, tudes Littérairee, 222 Falconer’s (L.) Mademoiselle Ixe, 622 . Farjeon’s (B. L.) The Mystery of M. Felix, 59; Basil and Annette, 661 Farmer’s (L.) Chronicles of Cardewe Manor, 124 Farrington’s (M. V.) Fra Lippo Lippi, 850 Fearn’s (M.) Called to be Conquerors, 445 Fendall’s (P.) Margaret Byng, 476 Fenn’s (G. M.) Lady Maude’s Mania, 539; A Double Knot, 695; Cutlass and Cudgel, 813; Nolens Volens— Syd Belteon—A Fluttered Dovecote, 887 Fergucon’s (Lady) Story of Jrish before the Conquest, 95 Ferguson’s (R. 8.) History of Cumberland, 160 Fickle Phyllis, edited by D’Esterre, 661 Fifty-two more Stories for Girls, edited by Miles, 851 ; for Boys, edited by Miles, 887 Findlay’s (J.) Norman Reid, M.A., 662 Firth’s (J. C.) Nation Making, 158 Fishwick’s (H.) History of Rochdale, 245 Fiske’s (J.) The Beginnings of New England, 447 ; Civil Government in United States, 814 Fitzgerald's (P.) Picturesque London, 770 Fivas’s (V. de) Grammar of French Grammars, 221 Five, Ten, and Fifteen, 662 Fletcher’s (J. 8.) The Winding Way, 773 Flowers from a Persian Garden, ed. by Clouston, 252 Folk-lore and Legends : English, 698 Folk-Tales of the Magyars, collected by Kriza, translated by Jones and Kropf, 317 Ford’s (I. O.) Miss Blake of Monkshalton, 695 Foster’s (E.) The Folks of Fernleigh, 662 Fowler's vs E.) Hope, 736 France’s (A.) Thais, 582 Franzos’s (E.) The Chief Justice, tr. by Corbet, 509 Frazer’s (J. G.) The Golden Bough, 155 Frederic’s (H.) In the Valley, 695 Freeman’s (R. M.) Steady and Strong, 813 Freytag’s (G.) Reminiscences, tr. by Chetwynd, 731 Frith’s (H.) The Log of the Bombastes, 813 Frowde’s Finger New Testament, 511 Fry’s (E. N. L.) Sbreds and Patches, 697 Fulcher’s Ladies’ Memorandum Book, 815 Gale & Polden’s Military Series: Physical Drill with Arms — Physical Training without Arms—Military Training in English and Hindustani, by Hutchinson— Non-Commissioned Officer’s Guide to Promotion, by Gordon, 415 Gardiner’s (S, R.) Student’s History of England, 732 Gasquet’s Edward VI. and Book of Common Prayer, 881 Gautier’s (L.) Chivalry, translated by Fritb, 774 Gebhart’s (E.) L’Italie Mystique, 346 Genealogist, Vol. VI., edited by Murray, 162 George Albert of Erbach, Adventures, translated from Kraus by Princess Henry of Battenberg, 810 Gerard’s (D.) Recba, 159 Gerard’s (E.) Bis, 811 German Poetry for Beginners, ed, Miss Buchheim, 221 Gerrare’s (W.) Rufin’s Legacy, 811 Gibbon’s (C.) A Strange Wooing, 695 Giberne’s (A.) Nigel Browning, 284; Least Said Soonest Mended, 813 Gift’s (T.) The Little Colonists, 813 Gilbert’s (W. S.) Songs of a Savoyard, 736 Gilbert’s Clergyman’s Almanec, 737 Gilchrist’s (R. M.) Paseion the Plaything, 59 Gildersleeve’s (B. L.) Essays and Studies, 90 Gilman’s (A.) Story of Boston, 447 Girl’s Own Petry Book, edited by Davenport, 851 Gissing’s (A.) A Village Hampden, 31 Gladden’s (W.) Santa Claus ona Lark, 697 Gladstone's (W. E.) Landmarks of Homeric Study, 729 ; Impregnable Rock of Holy Scripture, 888 Goddard’s (J.) The Golden Weather-Cock, 851 Goethe’s Reineke Fox, &c., translated by Rogers, 815 Golfing Annual, 62 Gooch’s Face to Face with the Mexicans, 579 Gordon’s (J.) A Diplomat’s Diary, 850 Gordon's (W. J ) How London Lives, 774 Gow’s (Dr. J.) Minerva, tr. into French by Reinach, 221 Gowing's ‘School Bourd Chronicle’ Edition of Code, 287 Grabam’s (W.) Socialism, New and Old, 852 Grand-Carterct’s (J.) Bismarck en Caricatures, 126 Gray and his Friends, edited by Tovey, 218 Green’s (A. K.) A Matter of Millions, 350 Greenaway’s (Kate) Almanack for 1891, 480 Greenwood’s (J. BE.) Nelly Blythe, 220 Gregory of the Foretop, edited by Clarke, 774 Griswold’s (W. M.) Index to German Periodicals, 255 Groombridge’s Magazine, edited by E. S. Yates, 888 Guers’s (F.) Frerch Soldiers in German Prisons, 663 Guizot’s Edouard IIL et les Bourgeois de Calais, edited by Clapin, 318 Gunter’s (A. C.) Small Boys in Big Boots, 697 Gyp’s C’est Nous qui sont l’Histoire !!! 622 Habakkuk, The Pealm of, edited by Sinker, 446 Habberton’s (J.) All He Knew, 159 Haggard’s (E.) Life and its Author, 189 Haggard’s (H. R ) The World’s Desire, 773 Haigh’s (R.) Idolaters, 695 Hake’s (T. G.) The New Day, Sonnets, 56 Hale’s (H.) Manual of the Oregon Trade Language, or “ Chinook Jargon,” 583 Halt ! 662 Hamer's (S. 8S.) An Old Chronicle of Leighton, 662 Hamley’s (General Sir E.) War in the Crimea, 730 Hampstead, Records of, edited by Baines, 215 Handbooks: For Lincolnsbire, 181, 226; Of Jamaica, 1890-91, 415; For Durham and Northumberland, edited by Espin, 888 Hare’s (A. J. C.) France, 474 Harrison’s (B.) Patient Waiting, Sermons, 248 Hart’s (M.) Two English Girls, 188 Harte’s (Bret) A Ward of the Golden Gate, 661 Harvey’s (W. F.) Grammar of Spanish Language, 253 Haydn’s Book of Dignities, continued by Ockerby, 191 Hayter’s Statistical Essaya, 35 Hazell’s Annual for 1891, 815 Healy’s (Rev. J.) Insula Sanctorum et Doctorum, 251 Hearn’s (L.) Youma, 284 Heidelbergsche Catechismus, De, ed, by Gooszen, 34 Heine as Novelist and Dramatist, tr. by McLintock, 61 Heinemann’s International Library: Bjérnson’s In God’s Way, tr. Carmichael—Maupassant’s Pierre and Jean, tr. Bell, 383; Franzos’s Chief Justice, tr. Corbet, 509 Henley’s (W. E.) Views and Reviews, 476 Henty’s (G. A.) By Right of Conquest, 624; By Eng- land’s Aid, 662; Maori and Settler, 813 Hermathena, 253 Herodotus, V., VI., edited by Shuckburgh, 624 Hetherington’s (H. F.) Paul Nugent, Materialist, 159 Hewitt’s (E. M.) The Heart of Sheba, 736 Heyse’s (P.) Incurable, translated by Eve, 815 Heywood’s (J.) Illustrated Primer, Part II,, 221; Illus- trated Guides, 415 Hill’s (G.) With the Beduins, 775 Hoare’s (Rev. E. N.) Lennard’s Leader, 624 Hocking’s (J.) Jabez Easterbrook, 220 Hocking’s (8. K.) Her Benny, 445; Rex Raynor, Artist, 774 Hogsn's (J. F.) The Lost Explorer, 477 Hollie’s (M.) Audrey, 188 Holmes’s (Dr. O. W.) Over the Teacups, 888 Homer : Bilder-Atlas, by Engelmann, 544 Hooper’s (A, E.) Up the Moonstair, 851 Horace: Odes, trans. by Hatton, 316; by Stanley, 448 Horder’s (W. G.) Hymn Lover, 162 Hornibrook’s The Queen of the Ranche, 774 Hornung’s (E. W.) A Bride from the Bush, 582 Hosie’s (A.) Three Years in Western China, 217 Houghbton’s Restauration des Bourbons en Espagne, 223 Howell’s Epistolz Ho-elianz, 698 Hughes's (G. M.) History of Windsor Forest, &c., 692 Hugo’s (V.) En Voyage : Alpes et Pyrénées, 377 Huguenot Society, Proceedings and Publications, 851 Hullah’s (M. E.) As the Tide Turns, 220 Hume’s (F.) The Man with a Secret, 59 Hungerford’s (Mrs.) A Born Coquette, 811 Hunter’s (Rev. R. H.) After the Exile, 285 Hutchinson’s (J. R.) Hal Hungerford, 774 Hyde’s (D.) Leabhar Sgeulaigheechta, 447 Hyne’s (C. J.) Four Red Night Caps, 885 Idle Hour Series: The Haunted Organist of Hurly- Burly, by Mulholland — Wooing, by Francillon — Princess Fédor’s Pledge, by Fenn, 223 Igdrasil, 546 Index to Wills preserved at Chester, 162 Indici e Cataloghi, 255 Inge’s (W. R.) Selections from Valerius Maximus, 544 Ingelow’s (J.) Very Young, &c., 885 Ingham’s (S. C. J.) Esther Lovell, 622 International Journal of Ethics, 584 Irich MS. Series, 125 Jackson’s (A. F.) In the Days of our Childhood, 697 Jacobi’s (C. T.) Printing, 223 Jacobs's (J.) English Fairy Tales, 580, 629 James's (H.) The Tragic Muse, 124 Jocelyn’s (Mra. R.) The Criton Hunt Mystery, 250 Jones's (C. A.) Little Sir Nicholas, 662 Joshua, his Life and Times, by Deane, 34, 99 Journal of Philology, 253 Junker’s (W.) Travels in Africa, tr. by Keane, 543 Jusserand'’s (J. J.) The English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare, translated by Lee, 185 Kant, Critical Philosophy of, by Caird, 118 Karr’s (A.) Héléne, 539 Karsland’s (V. and C.) The Witoess Box, 479 Keith’s (L.) A Lost Illusion, 582 Keller, Gottfried, Tales, translated by Kroeker, 737 Kennard’s (Mrs, E.) A Homburg Beauty, 811 Kenyon’s (E. C.) Monica’s Story, 445 Kerr's (E.) Rollica Reed, 774 Kerr’s (J.) History of Curling, 89 King’s (J. E.) Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, 252 King’s (R. A.) Love’s Legacy, 811 Kinloch’s (A.) Russian Conversation Grammar, 478 Kipling’s (R.) Story of the Gadsbys, 31; In Black and — 348; Wee Willie Winkie—Under the Deodare, Knickerbocker Nuggets: Poor Richard's Almanacs, 511 Knowles’s Vestiges of Old Newcastle and Gateshead, 813 K6ppen’s Armies of Eurore, tr. by Count Gleichen, 852 Korolenko’s The Blind Musician, translated by Stepniak and Westall, 59 Korts’s (G.) Commercial Terms, English-French, French- English, 221 Ladder, The, edited by Balsillie, 888 Lamington’s (Lord) In the Days of the Dandies, 61 Lane-Poole’s (S ) The Barbary Corsairs, 122 Lang’s (A.) The World’s Desire, 773 Lange’s (F.) German Reader, Notes by Davis, 221 ; Graduated German Prose Writing, 318 Lauder's (Sir T. D.) Scottish Rivers, 888 Layman’s Prayer Book in English about 1400 4.p., edited by Littlehales, 33 Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices, by Dickens and Collins, 223 Leamy’s (B) Trish Fairy Tales, 125 Leander’s (R.) Dreams by a French Fireside, 697 Lecky’s (W. E. H.) England in the Eighteenth Century, Vols. VII. and VIII., 619 Leclere’s (Max) Lettres du Brésil, 34, 62 Lee’s (T.) Stephanie, 159 Lemore’s (C.) A Harvest of Weeds, 441 Leslie’s Old Sea Wings, Ways, and Words, 191 Lester’s (A. 8S, E.) Name and Fame, 315 Lewis's (H.) Ancient Laws of Wales, ed. by Lloyd, 581 Libellum de Aleatoribus, edited by Hilgenfeld, 286 Library of Theological Literature : St. Augustine’s City of God, 191 Lightfoot’s (Bishop) Apostolic Fathers, 34 Ligne, Le Prince de, et ses Contemporains, by Du Bled, 92 Lilly (W. 8S.) On Right and Wrong, 345 Litchfield’s (G. D.) Little Venice, 813 Literary Opinion, 815 Literature Primers : English Composition, by Nichol and McCormick, 318; Roman Literature, by Wilkins, 544 Living Leaders of the World, 163 Loch’s (C. 8.) Charity Organization, 126 Lodge’s Peerage and Baronetage, 853 Lodwick’s (R. W.) John Bolt, 381 Low’s (F. H.) The Air Child, 851 Lowndes’s (C. 8S.) A Rash Promise, 662 Lowson’s (A.) John Guidfollow, 159 Lysaght’s (E. J.) Thorns and Roses, 445 Lyster’s (A.) Dorothy the Dictator, 736 M. E. and I. S.’s Songs of Siluria, 510 McCorquodale’s Railway Diary, 888 ; Mac Donald’s (G.) A Rough Shaking, 662; The Light Princess, 736 Macdonald’s (Rev. J.) Light in Africa, 509 Macdonell’s(A. A.) Camping Voyages on German Rivers, 287 Mackay’s( J. G.) History of Fife and Kinross, 350, 386 Mackinder’s (H. J.) University Extension, 191 Mackiotosh’s (C. F.) Letters of Two Centuries, 58 Mackonochie, A. H., Memoir of, by E. A. T., 95 Macmaster’s (M.) Our Pleasant Vices, 582 Macmillan’s Greek Courze : First Greek Syntax, 623 Macmillan’s Latin Course : Second Part, by Cook, 544 Macquoid’s (G.) Up and Down, 254 Macray’s (Rev. W. D.) Annals of the Bodleian, 848 Mahaffy’s (J. P.) Greek Pictures, 510 Mahan’s Influence of Sea-Power upon History, 125 } a ane
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= XUM SUPPLEMENT to the ATHEN ZUM with No. 3301, Jan. 31, 189i] Juty TO DecemBER 1890 INDEX OF CONTENTS v Maimun ben Joseph, Letter of Consolation of, edited by Simmons, Malan’s (Rev. A. N.) Lost on Brown Willy, 851 Male’s (Rev. A.) Scenes through the Battle Smoke, 584 Malot’s (H.) Sous Terre, edited by Dupuis, 318 Marryat’s ( ? Mount Eden, 381 Marsh’s Annals of Hospital of St. Wulstan, 846 Marshall, Sir J., Memoir, by Brownlow, 545, 589 Marshall's(E.) Eaetward Ho! 813 Martin’s (Mrs. H.) Little Great-Grandmother, 736 ; Claude and Claudia, 774 Maseachusetts Historical Society, Collections, 446 Matheson’s (A,) Religion of Humanity, 544 Maudslay’s (A.) Old ‘I houghts for Young Brains, 815 Maury’s (Dr.) Biirger et les Origines Angluises de la Ballade Littéraire en Allemagne, 254 May’s (E.) The Greatest of These, 552 Meade’s (L. T.) The Honourable Miss, 661; The Beres- ford Prize—A Girl of the People, 662; Heart of Gold, 77 Men of Action : Monk, by Corbett, 287 Men of the Bible : Minor Prophets, by Farrar, 446 Men of the Time Birthday Book, compiled by Boycs, 34 Mercy-Argenteau, Comte de, Correspondance Seciéte du, edited by D’Arneth and Flammermont, 313 Meredith, G., Characteristics of, by R. Le Gallienne, 775 Mitler’s (W. H.) On the Bank's Threshold, 351 Milne-Home’s (M. P.) Mamma’s Black Nurse Stories, 445 Milnes, Richard Monckton, Life, &c., by Reid, 769 Milton’s Samson Agonistes, translated into Hebrew by Massel, 583 Minerva Library : Thackeray's Vanity Fair, 62; Barth’s Travels, 192; Hugo's Short Poems and Tragedies, 415 Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica, Vol. III., 813 Modern Men, 383 Modern Milkmaid, A, 509 Moi-Méme’s Poems of the Past, 189 Molesworth’s (Mre.) Story of a Spring Morning, 350; Children of the Castle, 736 Moliére’s Les Précieuses Ridicules, ed. Braunholtz, 221 Monkhouee’s (C.) Corn and Poppies, 189 Moore’s (J. M.) New Zealand, 126 Moore’s (T.) How to be Married in all Ways, 383 More's (P, E.) Helena, and Occas‘onal Poems, 775 Morfill’s (W. R.) Essay on Slavonic Languages, 253 ; Grammar of Russian Language, 477 Morison, Jeanie, Selections from the Poems of, 775 Morley’s (H.) English Writers, Vol. V., 583 Morris's (M. 0’C.) Dublin Castle, 94 Morris’s (W.) The Roots of the Mountains, 409 Motti’s (P.) Russian Conversation Grammar and Key— Eleme:.tary Russian Grammar and Key, 478 Mounteney-Jephson’s (A. J.) Emin Pasha and the Re- bellion at the Equator, 694 Miiller’s (F. M.) Natural Religion, 770 Murphy’s (J. J.) Sonnets and other Poems, 510 Naganowski’s (EK, S.) Anglia Wezechmozna, 885 Nansen’s First Crossing of Greenland, tr. by Gepp, 845 Nanteuil’s (Madame de) En Esclavage, 773 Nelzon: Southey’s Life of, ed. Macmillan, 415; His Words and Deeds, by Russell, 737 ; Life of, by Browne, 847 Nettleship’s(H.) Moral Influence of Literature—Classical Education, 479 New Code: Copy-Books, 221; Handbook of the, by Moss, 663 New Editions and Reprints, 62, 126, 192, 255, 415, 448, 511, 546, 584, 626, 663, 775, 815, 852, 888 New Latin Primer Series: First Latin Primer, by Post- gate—Latin Prose, by Bayfield, 544 New Zealand Crown Lands Guide, 415 Newbery House Mazazine, 163 Normand’s (J.) Contes 4 Madame, 188 Norris’s (W. E.) Marcia, 773 Northcote, Sir Stafford, Life, &c., by Lang, 577 Northern Notes and Queries, edited by Hailen, 286 Norway’s (G.) Hussein the Hostage, 774 Nuttall’s Standard Dictionary, revised by Wood, 736 Ohnet’s (G.) L’Ame de Pierre, 159; A Weird Gift, translated by Vandam, 811 Oliphant’s (E. H. C.) The Mesmerist, 220 Oliphant’s (Mra.) The Mystery of Mrs, Blencarrow, 159 ; Sons and Daughters, 381; Kirsteen, 509; Royal Edin- burgh, 881 Oliver’s (E. E.) Across the Border, 95 O’Reilly’s (Mrs.) Hurstleigh Dene, 662 Orient Guide, edited by Loftie, 415 Ouida’s Ruffino, &c., 539 Over the Sea, edited by Martin, 736 Overton (R.) and others’ Wedding, 539 Ovid: Tristia, Libri V., edited by Owen, 183; Meta- morphoseon, Liber I., edited by Sanderson—Tristia, Book III., edited by Owen, 624 Owen’s (D.) Declaration of War, 186 Pallain’s (G.) Talleyrand sous le Directoire, 621 Pantin’s (W. E. P.) First Latin Verse Book, 544 Panton’s (J. E.) Having and Holding, 188 Parr’s (Mrs.) Dumps and I, 851 Paschkoff's i.) Fleurs de Jade, 188 Paternoster Review, 415 Paterson’s (A.) The Better Man, 220 Patmore’s (C.) The Unknown Eros, 693 Payn’s (J.) The Word and the Will, 414 Peach’s (R. E. M.) Annals of Swainswick (near Bath), 477 Peacock’s (Miss M.) Taales fra Linkisheere, 383 Peard’s(F. M.) The Locked Desk, 662; Mademoiselle, 695 Peet’s (T.) Besom Yard, 697 Pellow, Thomas, Adventures of, edited by Brown, 810 Penny’s (Mrs, F.) Caste and Creed, 734 Perrens’s (F. T.) Histoire de Florence, Vol, III., 247 Phelps’s (E. S.) Come Forth ! 441 Philips’s (F. C.) Margaret Byng. 476 Phi'limore’s (W. P. W.) Index Library, 162 Pickering’s (A.M.D.W.) Adventures of Prince Almero, 736 Pinkerton’s (T, A.) Last Master of Carnandro, 188 Pitt Press Series : Odyssey, Book X., ed. Edwards, 544 ; Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, Liber V., ed. Duff, 624; Herodotos, V., VI., ed. Shuckburgh—Hippolytus of Euripides, ed. Hadley—Livy, Book 1V., ed. Stephen- son, 624; Platonis Euthyphro, ed. Adam—Iphigeneia at Aulis of Euripides, ed. Headlam, 735 Please Tell Me another Tale, 774 Poems of the Elizabethan Age, edited by Bullen, 34 Political and Social Letters of a Lady of the Eighteenth Century, edited by Osborn, 886 Pollock’s (Sir F.) History of the Science of Politics, 697 Pollock's (W. H.) Old and New, 849 Pontmartin’s (A. de) Episodes Littéraires, 221 Poor and Plain, 774 Post Office London Directory, 852 Pozzo di Borg», by Maggiolo, 448 Praed (Mre. C.) and others’ Under the Gum Tree, 414 Price’s (A.) Hamilton of King’s, 774 Prince's (Au.) Of Palomide, 775 Prinsep’s (Val) Virginie, 773 Prior, Matthew, Poems of, edited by Dubson, 162 Procés-Verbaux du Comi é d’Instruction Publique de l’Assemblée Législative, ed. by Guillaume, 153 Profitless Quest, A, 479 Public Schools Year-Book, 888 Publishers’ Circular, 815 Quaritch’s (B.) Catalogue of Medizval Literature, 287 Queen’s Prime Ministers : Lord Beaconsfield, by Froude, 657; Lord Melbourne, by Dunckley, 852 Quick’s (R. H.) Essays on Educational Reformers, 775 Rabusson’s (H.) Hallali! 539 Raffalovich’s (A.) A Willing Exile, 315 Ramakrishna’s (T.) Life in an Indian Village, 545 Randolph’s (Lieut.-Col, G.) Aunt Abigail Dykes, 476 Rankin’s (Rev, J.) Church of Scotland to 1688, 809 Ranking’s (G. 8. A.) T‘alim-i-Zab4n-i- Urdu, 190 Rayner’s Chess Problems, 126 Reade’s (F. E.) Seven Idols, 736 Records of the Past, Vol. II., edited by Sayce, 125 Rec:eil des Actes du Comité de Salut Public, Vols. I. and II., edited by Au'ard, 153 Red Fairy Book, edited by Lang, 736 Reid, Capt. Mayne, Memoir by his Widow, 61 Religious Review of Reviews, 853 Renan’s (E.) Histoire du Peuple d’Israél, Vol. III., 807 Reports and Catalogues of Free Libraries, 163, 546, 698 Ricard’s (J.) Histoires Fin de Siécle, 250 Rimmer’s Summer Rambles around Manchester, 312, 361 Rivett-Carnac’s (Col.) Presidential Armies of India, 95 Robert of Torigni, Chronicle of, edited by Howlett, 161 Roberts’s (M.) In Low Relief, 509 Robinson’s (F. W.) The Keeper of the Keys, 93 Rogers’s (T. E.) Records of Yarlington, 236 Russ’s (S.) Roses and Rue, 415 Routledge’s Pocket Library : Trans'ation of Paradiso, 192 Routledge’s Sixpenny Encyclopedia, 287 Rowing at Westminster from 1813 to 1883, 191 Roxburgbe Ballads, Part XX., edited by Ebsworth, 413 Royal Cvlonial Institute, Proceedings of the, 223 Rulers of India: Akbar, by Col. Malleson, 254 ; Dupleix, by Col. Malleson, -379; Warren Hastings, by Capt, Trotter, 648 ; Cornwallis, by Seton- Karr, 810 Rumeey’s (A.) Way to prove a Will, &c., 383 Ruesell’s (A.) Glimpses of Eastern C:ties, 162 Russell's (C. H.) Greek and Latin Translations, 316 Russell’s (D.) The Secret of the River, 695 Russell’s (W. C.) My Shipmate Louise, 539; Nelson’s Words and Deeds, 737; Master Rockafellar’s Voyage, 813 Rutherford’s (M.) Miriam’s Schooling, ed. Shapcott, 124 Sachau’s (E.) Catalogue of Persian Manuscripts in the Bodleian, edited by Ethé, 508 Sadler's (M. E.) University Extension, 191 St. Aubyn’s (A.) A Fellow of Trinity, 381 St. Johnston’s (A.) A South Sea Lover, 414 St. Matthew, Greek Text by Westcott and Hort, Notes by Sloman, 33 Sainte-Beuve, Souvenirs by Troubat, 222 Salis’s (Mrs. de) Tempting Dishes for Small Incomes, 287 Salnameh of Ottoman Government for 1308, 853 Sand’s (G.) La Mare au Diable, ed. Davis, 318 Sandford’s (E.) Cureory Relation of all the Antiquities & Familyes in Cumberland, ed. by Ferguson, 851 Saxe-Coburg-Gotha’s (Duke of) Aus meinem Leben, Vol. III.—English Translation, Vols. I1I. and LV., 55 Schiller’s Prosa, edited by Buchheim, 317 Schleiermacher, Selected Sermons, tr. Wilson, 511 Schlumberger’s (G.) Un Empereur Byzantin, 187 Schopenhauer’s (A.) The Wisdom of Life—Counsels and Maxims, trans'ated by Saunders, 443 Schumacher’s (G.) Northern ’Ajlin, 248 Scott, Sir W., Journal, 617 Scott’s (Rev, A.) Buddhism and Christianity, 625 Scott's (C.) Blossom-Land and Fallen Leaves, 254 — = from Contemporary Writers, edited by mith, Second Poetry Book, compiled by Woods, 221 Selby’s (A.) In the Sunlight, 31 Selections from Letters, &c., in the Foreiga Department of Government of India, edited by Forrest, 158 Serao’s (M.) Addio, Amore, 350 Sergeant's (A.) Name and Fame, 315 Seven Summers, an Eton Mc dley, 415 Severne’s (F.) Verses and Thoughts, 544 Shakspeare : Sonnets, ed. by Tyler, 123; Twelfth Night, ed. Crawley—Coriolanus, ed. Beeching—Julius Caesar, Merchant of Venice, and Macbeth, ed. Deighton, 317 Shields’s (G. O.) Cruisings in the Cascades, 510 Shipton’s (H.) The Last of the Fenwickes, 622 Short Notices, 35, 62, 95, 163, 192, 223, 255, 287, 318, 352, = 415, 448, 480, 511, 546, 584, 626, 663, 698, 737, 815, 53 Shortt’s (Rev. J.) Hi-tory of Ribchester, 506, 670 Sibley, General Henry Hastings, Life, by West, 61 Sims's (G. R.) Dramas of Life, 626 Sinclair’s (F.) Ballads, &c., from the Pacific, 189 Sinclair's (J.) Scenes, &c., of North of Scotland, 251 Sixty Folk-Tales from Slavonic Sources, tr. Wratislaw,317 Skinner's (Major) Fifty Years in Ceylon, 737 Skinner’s (T.) Joint-Stock Registration Manual, 255 Smalley’s (G. W.) London Letters, 659 Smith’s (C.) The Riddle of Lawrence Haviland, 250 Smith’s (L. P.) Doctor Cameron, 88 Smith’s (T. C.) History of Ribcheeter, 506, 670; History of Longridge and District, 623 Smith’s (W. C.) A Heretic, and other Poems, 775 Soden-Smith’s (R. H.) Flower and Bird Posies, 510 Song-Straya, 544 Speeches in India by Marquis of Dufferin, ed. Wallace, 34 Spen’s (K.) True of Heart, 774 Sportella, Unseen Passages for Translation,ed. Fowler, 624 Sprigge’s (S.) The Methods of Publishing, 546 Stables’s (G.) ’Twixt School and College, 624; By Sea. and Land, 887 Stanley’s (H. M.) In Darkest Africa, 30 Statistical Year-Book of Canada for 1889, 223 Stebbing’s (G.) Wild Kathleen, 851 Stephen’s (H. L.) Law of Support and Subsidence, 382 Steuart’s (J. A.) Kilgroom, 811 Stevens's (B. F.) Manuscripts relating to America, 584 Stocks’s (J. E.) Market Harborough Parish Records, 88£ Stockton’s (F. R.) The Schooner Merry Chanter, 734; Ardis Claverden, 813 Stoker’s (Bram) The Snake’s Pass, 850 Stone’s (EK. D.) Selection from Greek Tragedians, 544 Stories of the Bagh o Bahar, 125 Story of the Nations: Barbary Corsairs, by Lane-Poole, 122; Jews under Roman Rule, by Morrison, 246; Scotland, by Mackintosh, 251 Stott’s (H.) Morals, &c., of Seventeenth Century, 254 Strand Magazine, 815 Stredder’s (E.) Archie’s Find, 813 Stroud’s Judicial Dictionary of Words and Phrases, 382 Stuart’s (B.) Kestell of Greystone, 695; In the Days of Luther, 774 Student's Manual of Ethical Philosophy, 280 Studia Biblica et Ecclesiastica, Vol, II., 692 Sutcliffe’s (J. D.) Hand-Craft, 737 Suvoroff, by Lieut.-Col. Spalding, 691 Swan’s (H.) Colloquial French for Travellers, 415 Sweet’s (H.) A Primer of Spoken English, 251 8; monds’s (J. A.) Essays, Speculative and Suggestive, 279- Tales from ‘ Blackwood,’ 191, 888 Tales of the Black Forest, edited by Strangways, 221 Tales of the Sun, collected by Mra, Kingacote and Pandit Nates’a S‘astri, 317 Taylor's (I. A.) Vice Valentine, 441 Temple Library : The Poetical Works of Thomas Lovell Beddoes, edited by Gosse, 879 Tennyson’s (F.) The Isles of Greece, 655 Tertullian : Apology for Christians, tr. by Bindley, 33 Thackeray's (Rev. F. St J.) Translations from Pruden- tius, 216 Thanet’s (O.) Expiation, 188, 228, 259 Thomas’s (Annie) The Love of a Lady, 284 Thomas’s (B.) The House on the Scar, 220; Sundorne, 622 Thorburn’s (C. H.) The Mysterious Stranger, 315 Thornton’s (L.) Opposites, 87 Three Notable Stories, 220 Thucydides: Fourth Book of, ed. by Rutherfurd, 314 Tiddeman’s (L. E.) Dr. Rollison’s Dilemma, 479 Timmis’s Charts of R»yal House of England, 161 Tinseau’s (L, de) Strass et Diamants, 5y Tisdall’s (W. 8S.) Grammar of Panjabi Language, 125 Tolstoi’s Kreutzer Sonata, 59; “ Work while Ye have the Light,” translated by Dillon, 850 Tom’s Opinion, 662 Tomei’s La Donna Gentile di Ugo Foscolo, 191 Torch, The, 95 T’oung Pao, edited by Schlegel and Cordier, 253 Tourguénief’s (I.) Senilia, translated by MucMullan, 415 Toxar, 31 Toynbee’s (W.) Lays of Common Life, 189 Traill's (H. D.) Saturday Songs, 61 Tramoyeres’s (Sefior) Institutiones Gremiules, 254 Travel, &c., from ‘ Blackwood’s Magazine,’ 253 Tristram’s (O.) Locusta, 695 Trollope’s (F. E.) Madame Leroux, 93
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(SUPPLEMENT to the ATHENZUM with No. 3301, Jan. 31, 1891 THE ATHENZUM JuLY TO DECEMBER 1890 LITERATURE. Reviews—continued. Troueseart’s (C.) Un Réve @ Deux, 734 Troup’s (J. BR.) With Stanley’s Rear Column, 694 Tudor Library : Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, edited by Rigg, 441 Two Blackbirds, 662 wee 8.) Sapphira, 315; Nobody’s Girls, 697 nderhill’s (G. F.) The Hand of Vengeance, 479 United States, Constitutional History of the, 447 Urlin’s Handbook on Investments in Houses, &c., 383 Usher’s (Rev. W. N.) An Anglo-Saxon Cathedral, 181 Verne’s (J.) The Purchase of the North Pole—A Family without a Name, 813 Vernes’s (M.) Précis d'Histoire Juive, 446 Vestry Minute Books of St. Bartholomew Exchange, edited by Fresbfield, 161 Vignon’s (C.) Soldat ! 59 Vinet, Alex., Critique Littéraire, by Molines, 222 Virgil : First Book of the Aneid, edited by Poole, 736 Waddell’s Versions and Imitations in Greek, &c., 162 Walford’s (L. B.) The Havoc of a Smile, 315 Wallace-Goodbody’s (F. G.) Rosalba, 661 Ward’s (E.) Fresh from the Fens, 851 Ward’s (H.) Five Years with Congo Cannibals, 694 Ward’s (H. D.) Come Forth ! 441 Warwick’s Spare Minutes, 287 Washburn’s (W. T.) Spring and Summer, 189 Washington’s (G.) Rules of Civility, ed. by Conway, 815 Watson's (J.) Confessions of a Poacher, 479 Weber’s (A.) Leal Souvenir, 661 Week in a Wherry on the Norfolk Broads, 813 Wellsman’s (W.) Fleet Street, 1846-1890, 853 Westall’s (W.) Strange Crimes, 61 Westbury's (H.) The Deliverance of Robert Carter, 885 Wheeler’s (W.) A Fellow of Trinity, 381 White’s (A. 8.) The Development of Africa, 772 Whitney's (Mrs, A. D. T.) Ascutney Street, 736 Whitney’s (W. N.) Dictionary of Roads, &c., of Japan, 283 Wickersheimer’s L’Europe en 1890, 815 Wilson’s (E. C.) La Rocheile, 813 Wilson’s (J. M.) Addresses to Girls at School, 479 Wolley’s (P.) Snap, 477 Wollstonecraft’s (M.) Vindication of Rights of Women, 584 Wood’s (Mrs, H.) The House of Halliwell, 476 Wood-Martin’s (Cvl.) History of Sligo, 93 Woollam’s (W.) All for Naught, 315 Worboise’s (M.) A Man’s Mistake, 773 Wordsworth’s Series Collectarum, &c., Latine Reddita, 162 Wright’s (W.) Lectures on the Semitic Languages, 475 Wright’s (W. H. K.) Barony, &c., of Okehampton, 161 Wrightson’s (R. H.) Sancta Respublica Romana, 415 Yarrow : its Poets and Poetry, edited by Borland, 318 Year-Book of Commerce, edited by Murray, 888 Year-Books of Edward III., edited by Pike, 444 Yonge’s (C. M.) The Slaves of Sabinus, 697 Yorkshire Chap-Books, edited by Federer, 448 Yoxall’s (J. H.) Nut-Brown Roger and I, 774 Yule, Col. Sir Henry, by Cordier, 255 Zeno, 509 Poetry. Dickens returns on Christmas Day, by T. Watts, 889 Great Highway, by Mary A. M. Marks, 546 Newman, Cardinal, by C. G. Rossetti—by E. Gosse, 225 Rhyme of the Three Captains, by Rudyard Kipling, 776 Sunburnt Poet, R. F. B., by T. Watts, 738 Threnody, by A. C. Swinburne, 816 Twilight, by A, Mary F. Robinson, 319 Original Papers. Addison’s ‘ Spectator’ MSS., 586 American Publishers and British Authors, 223, 288, 385, 452, 547, 585, 627, 701, 776, 816 as, Home of the, 323 Asiatic Society, Bombay Branch of the, 548 Authors, Quarrels of, 889 Avignon, Early Printing at, 289 Bishop of London Transcripts, 36, 127 Bonfires, 386, 417 Bozon, Nicholas, 163, 288 British Museum: Reports for 1889, 192 Canaries, New Manuscript of Conquest of, 449, 483 Cecil Papers, The, 419 Chesterfield’s (Lord) Letters, 664 Coleridge, Unpublished Verses by, 288 “ Conférence du Livre” at Antwerp, 226, 256, 356 Cook’s (Capt.) Logs, 416 Copyright Bill, The New, 855 Corens’s (The late Mr. F. W.) MSS., 98 Defoe’s Birth and Marriage, 257 ‘ Dictionary of National Biography,’ 483, 512, 587, 628 * Dies Ire,’ The, in English, 128 Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon, 129 Education: Intermediate, in Wales, 419; Higher, in America, 482 Eisteddfod, The, 352 Elizabethan Poet, An, and his Relations, 256, 323, 385 English Dialect Society and the Dialect Dictionary, 98 English Economic Association, 588, 664 Fontainebleau Greek Manuscripts, 419 German Translations, 450 Goethe Anecdote, Another, 128 Great Rebellion, Official Despatches of the, 63 Greek MSS. at Salonica, 45 Gunpowder Piot, A Hebrew Poem on the, 854 Gutenberg Celebration in Cologne, 62 Hebrew Inscription, An Early. 164 ‘ History of Fife and Kinross,’ 386 House of Lords, Manuscripts of the. 36 Howell’s‘ Familiar Letters, 484, 512, 548, 586 ‘ Joshua: his Life and Times,’ 99 Junius and his Contemporaries, 193, 323 Kipling (Mr. Rudyard) and Messrs, Harper Brothers, 452, 547, 585, 627, 701, 776, 816 Library Association, 352, 388, 417 Lincolnshire Guides, 226 Literary “‘ Borrowing,” 226, 288, 355 Literary Boycotting, 224, 255 Literary Sweating, 65, 127, 163, 192 ‘London City,’ 37, 62 ‘ Lyrical Ballads’ of 1800, 699 Malagasy ‘ Maud,’ A, 127 Mun, Thomas. 738, 853 Newman, Cardinal, as a Man of Letters, 257 Oriental Congress, The Next, 481, 549, 587, 627 Oxford, Notes from, 739 Palimpsest on Mount Athos, A New, 353 Parish Registers, Sale of, 323, 352, 385 Petrie Papyri, The, 547, 777 Plantin as a Poet, 256 ‘ Pride and Prejudice,’ 515, 547, 585 * Prince Dorus,’ 35, 63 Public Schools in 1*90, 96 Publishing Seaton, The Autumn, 226, 291, 323, 353, 386, 417, 450, 484, 514 ‘ Rivera of Great Britain,’ 323, 353, 887 Rosslyn’s (Lord) Poetry, 416 Royalist Composition Cases, 99 Sales, 63, 127, 700, 739, 855 Schopenhauer, The Biography of, 739 Service Book, Predecessors of the, 384, 419, 483, 586 *— Shelley: Propoeed Monument to, 389, 481; at Syon House Academy, 816 ‘Slang and its Analogues,’ 226 Steele, Sir Richard, 589 Talleyrand, 891 Thackeray : ‘An Interesting Event,’ by M.A. Titmarsh, 36; bis Marriage, 512, 548, 628 Tobit, Source of the Book of, 700, 738 Transcripts in the Public Record Office, 548 Vanbrugh, Sir John, Letters of, 289, 321 Washington, George, Poems in his Copy-Book, 854 Washingtons, The, of Warton, 99 Welsh Prayer Book and Proposed Revision, 319 Wordsworth’s Verses in his Guide to the Lake Country, 225, 255; Some Early Poems of, 320 Obituaries. Abbott, Mrs. H., 892. Ackermann, Madame, 228, Armitage, Dr., 589. Asher, Dr. D., 818, Bachelin, A., 329. Baxter, Right Hon. W. E., 228, Bell, G., 778. Belot, A., 891. Bennoch, F., 37. Bergeron, L., 195. Blacker, Rev. B. H., 665. Bone, W. T., 164. Brace, C. L., 292. Brockie, W., 550. Brown, Dr. J., . Bulmerincg, Prof. A. von, 292. Burton, Sir R. F., 547. Call, W. M. W., 288, Carnarvon, Earl of, 35, 40. Chatrian, A., 325. Church, Dean, 817. Collier, Rev. R. L., 259. Davis, Sir J. F.,701. Dexter, Dr., 779. Dickinson, F, H., 164. Dietz, M., 892. Duffield, A. J.,514. Ebert, Prof. A., 65. Ellis, Dr. A. J., 627, Evans, J. P., 588. Gibbon, C., 255. Gédecke, Dr. P. A., 293. Gérlitz, K., 100. Grad, C., 65. Hahn, W., 857. Hardman, Sir W., 389. Harri- son, General P., 130. Hergenréther, Cardinal, 485. Karr, A., 452. Keller, G., 100. Lee, Canon, 857. Leitner, K. G. L. R. von, 87. Liddon, Canon, 355. Liebrecht, Prof. F., 228. Ljungberg, P. A., 293. Lothian, J., 164, Maguire, Dr. R., 356. Marpon, M., 38. Molesworth, Canon, 892. Moore, O., 665. Mudie, C. E., 588. Newman, Cardinal, 224, 225, 257. North, Miss M., 319. Oliphant, F.C.,665. O’Reilly, Dr. B., 228, Pebody, C., 630. Pfizer, G., 130. Putlitz, G. zu, 356. Revilliod, G.,892. Rogers, Prof. J.E. T., 512. Rosslyn, Earl of, 356, 416. Ruelens, C., 818. Scheler, J. A., 741. Schuyler, E., 130, Sellar, W. Y., 515, Simonides, M., 550. Smedley, Rev. A., 164. Snow, J., 515. Steggall, R., 353. Stein, Dr. L. von, 421, Stoll, Prof., 38. Szaro, K., 325. Thomas, Rev. W. G., 485. Ware, H., 195 Gossip. American Copyright in the ‘ Encyclopedia Britannica,’ 38. Chief Parliamentary Papers, 38, 65, 100, 131, 165, 196, 228, 259, 293, 325, 357, 390, 422, 453, 486, 515, 551, 589, 630, 666, 702, 741, 779, 818, 857, 892. The Society of Authors, 65, 127, 163. New Folk-lore Society in Berlin—Barnsley Free Public Library, 65. Buckinghamshire Architectural and Archzo- logical Society, 164. Notes from Naples, 165. British Museum, Acquisitions, 228. Mrs. Crawshay's Prizes, 259. Discovery of some MS. Fragments of Dante’s ‘ Divina Com- media’ at Sarzana, 293. Dr. Rackwitz on the so-called “ Freudenfeuer,” 325, 386, 417. Indian Civil Service, 355. Society of Authors and Pirated Editions in the Colonies, 421. London Booksellers’ Society, 485, 549; its Insurance Scheme, 515. North Midland Library Association, 515. Miss Austen’s ‘ Pride and Prejudice,’ 515, 547, 585. School for teaching English at Busreh, 551. General Meeting of Scottish Historical Society, 589. Memorial over the Grave of Drummond of Hawthornden, 630, Annual Meeting of Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society, 665. Annual Meeting of Scottish Text Society, 701. Cambridge Anti- quarian Society, 740. The Waverley Desk, 817, 856. Bill for American International Copyright, 856. Messrs. A. & C. Black’s New Premises, 892 SCIENCE. Reviews. Anthropological Institute, Journal, 229, 666 Archeologia, 590 Astronomical Journal, 133, 487, 551 Astronomical and Magnetical and Meteorological Ob- servations at Greenwich for 1888, 895 Astronomical Society, Memoirs of the, 294 Astronomische Nachrichten, 102, 261, 391, 516, 551, 703, iH} Atlas de Géographie Moderne, 779 Backhouse’s (J., jun.) Handbook of European Birds, 165 Baker's (W. G.) Geography of the British Empire, 857 Bartholomew’s (J. G.) Physical and Political Atlas, 858 Berlin Geographical Society, Zeitschrift of the, 359, 742 Bernthsen’s (A.) Text-Book of Organic Chemistry, trans- lated by M‘Gowan, 326 Biblical Atlas and Scripture Gazetteer, 779 Birmingham’s Red Star Catalogue, edite! by Espin, 166 Blanford’s (H. F.) India, Burma, and China, 858 Bremen Geographical Society, Geographische Blaetter, 742 Brightwen’s (Mrs.) Wild Nature won by Kindness, 391 Brion’s Photo-Relief Map of England, &c., 358 British Astronomical Association, Journal, 780 Brooksmith’s Arithmetic for Beginners, 260 Buckley’s (A. B.) Through Magic Glasses, 893 Campbeli’s (D. H.) Structural and Systematic Botany, 702 Carlisle to Hexham, 858 =" (N. L. 8.) Motive Power of Heat, ed. Thurston, 5 Chemical Technology, Vol. I., by Mills and Rowan, 100 Christy’s (M.) The Birds of Essex, 453 Ciuvcinnati Observatory, Publications of the, 391 Comptes Rendus, 231, 487 Connaissance des Temps for 1892, 742 Crimp’s (W. S.) Sewage Disposal Works, 741 Cunningham’s Treatise on the Common Sole, 893 Darwin's (C.) Journal of Researches, 67 Dawson’s (Sir J. W.) Modern Ideas of Evolution, 131 Dibdin’s .- J.) Practical Photometry, 551 Draper’s Elementary Text-Bovk of Light, &c., 551 Dunman’s (T.) Anatomical Terms, &c., ed. Wingrave, 260 Dyson’s (Mra.) The Stories of the Trees, 198 Ecker’s (Dr. A.) Anatomy of the Frog, tr. Haslam, 259 Elderton’s (W. A.) Maps and Map Drawing, 630 Elementary Mechanics, 551 Ellis’s (H.) The Criminal, 325 Ellwanger’s (G. H.) The Garden’s Story, 198 Engelhardt’s (Baron von) Observations Astronomiques, 68 Fauna of British India: Reptilia and Batrachia, by Boulenger, 666 Finding of Wineland the Good, edited by Reeves, 858 Geddes’s (Prof. P.) Evolution of Sex, 67 Geological Record for 1880-1884, 293 Golden Gates of Trade with our Home Industries—Map- Studies of Mercantile World, comp. by Yeats, 858 Gore’s (J. E.) The Scenery of the Heavens, 67 Gray’s (A.) Absolute Measurements in Electricity and Magnetism—Theory and Practice of Absolute Measure- ments, 589 Gray’s (J.) Electrical Influence Machines, 589 Harpur Euclid, by Langley and Phillips, 260 Harrison's (W. J.) Magnetism and Electricity, 551 Horne’s (G.) Birds of Herefordshire, 453 Humphry’s (G. M.) Old Age, 326 utehiaen's Autobiography of the Earth, 893 Index to Transactions of Royal Society of Edinburgh, 260 Internationales Archiv fir Ethnographie, 294, 666 Irving's Studies in the Metamorphism of Rocks, 293 Jeans's (J. S.) Waterways and Water Transport, 486 Johnston’s (W. & A. K.) Cosmographic Atlas—General Map of Australasia, 358 Kapp’s (G.) Electric Transmission of Energy, 589 Kempe’s (H. R.) Electrical Engineer's Pocket-Book, 589 Kent’s Modern Seven Wonders of the World, 132 Kiepert’s (Dr. R.) Map of German and British Pro- tectorates, &c., in Equatorial East Africa, 630 Lankester’s (E. Ray) Advancement of Science, 390 L' Anthropologie, 779 Linnean Bociety of New South Wales, Proceedings, 101 Lock’s (Rev. J. B.) Dynamics for Beginners, 260 Longmans’ New Five-Shilling Atlas—Junior School Atlas, 358 McAlpine’s (A. N.) How to know Grasses, 197 McClure’s Photo-Relief Map of England, &c., 358 McCoy’s Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria, 101 Mackay, A. M., Pioneer Missionary, by his Sister, 858 McKendrick’s (J. G.) Text-Book of Shostaheer, 260 Marine Biological Association, Journal, 702, 818 Maxwell's (T.) 'erminologia Medica Polyglotta, 326 Memorie della Societa degli Spettroscopisti Italiani 198, 326, 487 Mendenhall’s (T. C.) Century of Electricity, 132 Mills’s (J.) Advanced Physiography, 326
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SUPPLEMENT to the ATHENUM with No. 3301, Jan. 31, 1891] JuLy To DEecemBeER 1890 INDEX OF CONTENTS vu Milner’s (H. E.) Landscape Gardening, 702 Moscow Observatory, Annales of the, 102 Natural History of the Animal Kingdom, from the German of Schubert, by Kirby, 666 Nevill’s Report for 1889 of the Natal Observatory, 422 Newman’s (F. W.) Elliptic Integrals, 260 Nice Observatory, Annales of the, 166 Nisbet's (J. F.) Marriage and Heredity, 131 Nordiske Fortidsminder, 229 Owen’s (E.) Manual of Anatomy, 326 Perry, Father, of Stonyhurst College, Life of, 101 Petermann’s Mitteilungen, 38, 101, 358, 591, 742 Philip & Son’s Portable Sun-dial, 68; Imperial Atlas of the World, 358 g Popular Scientific Recreations, tr. from Tissandier, 893 Poulton’s (E. B.) The Colours of Animals, 293 Preston's (T.) The Theory of Light, 551 Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford, Observations at, 1886, 819 Report on the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger: Zoology, ols). XXVIII.-XXX., 65; Physics and Chemistry, Vol. II., 228 ; Roth’s (H. L.) The Aborigines of Tasmania, 515 Routledge’s Atlas of the World, 779 Royal Society, Proceeding, 422 Royal Society of Cunada, Proceedings, Vol. VI., 131 Russ’s (Dr. K.) Canary Birde, 453 Sachs’s (J. von) History of Botany, tr. by Garnsey, 197 St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Reports, Vol. XXV., edited by Church and Walsham, 326 Sanderson's (F. W.) Hydrostatics for Beginners, 260 Schynse’s (Rev. Father) Stanley und Emin Pascha, 359 Scottish Geographical Magazine, 38, 359, 591, 742 Sedgwick, Rev. Adam, Life and Letters, by Clark and Hughes, 196 Seebohm’s (H.) Classification of Birds, 165 Selenka’s Zoological Pocket-Book, tr. by Davis, 818 Sime’s (J.) Geography of Europe, 858 Simon’s (Sir J.) English Sanitary Institutions, 260 Smithsonian Report, 1886 and 1887, 390 Society of Antiquaries, Proceedings, 780 Stanford’s Maps of Parts of Southern Africa, 779 Stanley's (W. F.) Surveying and Levelling Instruments, 858 5 Steel’s (R. E.) The World of Science, 893 Tarn’s (E. W.) Light, 551 Thorpe’s (T. E.) Dictionary of Applied Chemistry, 892 Trimen’s (R.) South African Butterflies, Vol. III., 390 Tumlirz’s (Dr.) Potential, translated by Robertson, 589 Turnbull’s (R.) Index of British Plants, 198 United States Fish Commission, Report for 1886— Bulletin, Vol. VII., 131 United States National Museum, Proceedings, 702 United States Naval Observatory at Washington, 551 Vienna Geographical Society, Mittheilungen, 101, 742 Walker's (S. F.) Electricity in our Homes, 132 Washburn Observatory, Publications, 358 Watson’s (J.) Nature and Woodcraft, 100; Sketches of British Sporting Fishes, 391 Weber’s Ethnographic Notes on Flores and Celebes, 666 Werge’s (J.) The Evolution of Photography, 702 White's (C. A.) Magnetiem and Electricity, 551 Wilson’s (Rev. E. F.) Our Forest Children, 133 Wright’s (C. R. A.) The Threshold of Science, 893 Yarnall’s Star Catalogue, edited by Prof. Frisby, 68 Zoological Record for 1888, 131 Original Papers. Anthropological Notes, 183, 229, 294, 422, 590, 666, 779 Astronomical Notes, 68, 166, 198, 230, 294, 326, 358, 391, 422, 487, 516, 551, 590, 708, 741, 859 British Association at Leeds, 357 Geographical Notes, 38, 358, 391, 551, 591, 630, 742 Greek Medical Writers, 294 Medical Authors, The Wrongs of, 487, 516 Medical Congress, International, 229 Psychology, Experimental, 894 Publishing Season, 294, 327, 359, 391, 422, 453 Raverty’s ‘ Notes on Afghanistan,’ 132 Royal United Service Institution, 67 Sacred Stones, 516 Supplementary Charters for Scientific Societies, 260 Societies. Anthropological Institute—Elections, 859 Archeological Institute—68, 667 Aristotelian—Elections, 703, 780. Also 631, 859 Asiatic—859 , 703, 859 Astr ical—Electi British —— Association—742, 818 — ological—Elections, 101, 231, 667, 819. Also 359, Folk-lore—Mr. Gomme’s Opening Address, 780 Geographical—Elections, 38, 667, 742, 818 Geological—Elections, 38, 703, 780, 859 Hellenic—552 Historical—7 43, 895 Huguenot—Elections, 704 Institution of Civil Engineers—Electi 780, Also 667, 7a tn of Ce ngi ctions, 7 so 667, Linnean—Elections, 68, 667, 748, 819 Mathematical—Elections, 859, Also 703 Meteorological—Flections, 895. Also 743 Microscopical . 630 New Shakspere—743 Numismatu—Elections, 743, 895. Also 552 Philological—Elections, 819. Also 667 Physical—38, 703, 819, 895 Royal—Anniversary Meeting, 780. Also 742, 859, 895 Royal Institution—Elections, 68, 631, 780 Shorthand—Annual Meeting, 39. Elections, 667, 819 Society of Antiquaries—780 Society of Arts—Annual Meeting, 38. Also 743, 819 Society of Biblical Archeology—631, 780 aide Engineers—Annual Meeting, 819, Also 487, 1, 780 Statistical—Annual Meeting, 389, Alzo 703, 859 Zoological—667, 743 Obituaries. Berghaus, Dr.,780. Bunge, Dr. A. von, 198. Carnelley, Prof., 295. Chadwick, Sir E., 69. Chihacheff, P. de, 591. Croll, Dr. J.,859. Duncan, Dr, M.,358. Fearnley, C. F., 294. Galbraith, Dr., 552. Hancock, J., 517, Hibberd, S., 703. McCormick, Mr., 591. Nicholson, E. C., 590. Oorn, F. A., 358. Parker, W. K., 67. Peters, Prof. C. H. F., 231. Ralfs, J., 101. Smyth, R. B., 295, Studer, G., 895 Gossip. Prospecting for Oil on the Baluchistan Frontier, 69. Estab- lishment of a School of Medicine at Cardiff, 133. New Astronomical Society, 231. French Society for the Ad- vancement of Science, 261. Notes from Naples, 294. Memorial to Father Perry, 631. Cassell & Co.’s Ten Technical Scales, 704 FINE ARTS. Reviews. Allen’s Monumental History of Esrly British Church, 295 Anderson’s (W. J.) Architectural Studies in Italy, 327 Archzologia Aliana, Vol. XIII. Part IT., 391 Archeological Journal, 135, 136, 453 Archeological Survey of India, edited by Burgess, 231 Archie, 668 Art Annual: Birket Foster, by Huish, 668 Art Decorator, 168 Art Journal, New Serier, 1890, 860 Balch’s (E.) Glimpses of Old English Homes, 861 Bertal’s Marie Sans-Soin, 896 Blackburn’s (H.) Academy Notes— Illustrated Cata- logues, 106; Academy Sketches, 135 Boisgobey’s (F. du) An Ocean Knight, 861 Boutkowski-Gliuka‘s Petit Mionnet de Poche, 328 Brugsch’s (E.) La Tente Funéraire de la Princesse Isimkheb, 361 Brydall’s (R.) Art in Scotland, 261 Burnard’s (R.) Dartmoor Pictorial Records, 423 Cabinet Portrait Gallery, 668 Calendar for 1891, 861 Carrington’s (E.) Stories for Somebody, 861 Catalogues :—Iilustrated Catalogue of the Paris Salon, 106; of the National Society of the Fine Arts, Paris, 135; Descriptive Catalogue of the Collection of Pic- tures belonging to the Earl of Northbrook, 262 Cave-Browne’s History of All Saints’, Maidstone, 552 Child’s Pictorial, 1890, 668 Child’s (T.) Young People and Old Pictures, 861 Church’s (A. H.) Chemistry of Paints and Painting, 489 Church’s (A. J.) The Laureate’s Country, 896 Clark’s A Southern Cross Fairy Tale, 668 Classical Picture Gallery, 423 Cook's (E. T.) Studies in Ruskin, 896 Corpus Inecriptionum Greecarum, 821 Courtship and Marriage of Cock Robin, &c., 896 Cox’s (P.) Another Brownie Book, 896 Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archzo- logical Society, Transactions, 135, 454 Dart, River, Etchings by Brown and Charlton, 668 Doudney’s (S.) Thistle-Down, 896 Diirer, A., Literary Remains, edited by Conway, 704, 743 Epps (F.) and others’ The Nursery Coach, 668 Esgex Archeological Society, Transactions, 454 Evans's (J.) Coins of Ancient Britons, 860, 897 Follies, Foibles, and Fancies, figured by Foster, 168 Fontainebleau, 423 Gentleman’s Magazine Library: Architectural Antiqui- ties, edited by Gomme, 423 Godfrey of the Cradle, and other Stories, 668 Green’s (E. M.) When We were Children, 861 Griffith’s (F. L.) Inscriptions of Sidt, &c., 200 Hand-made Laces, edited by Co!e, 360 Harvest Fields, The, 861 Havers’s (Miss A.) Book of Old Ballads, 861 Heales’s (Major A.) The Churches of Gottland, 488 Hill’s (G. B.) Footsteps of Dr. Johnson (Scotland), 896 Hoffmann’s (Dr.) Dekorative V orbilder, 168 Hope’s (St. J.) Liturgical Colours, 168 Howorth’s Coins and Tokens of English Colonies, 328 Jackson’s (F. G.) Decorative Design, 327 Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, Trans- actions, 70 Lefébure’s (E.) Embroidery and Lace, tr, Cole, 517 Leonardo da Vinci MSS., ed. by Ravaisson-Mollien, 168 Lermolieff’s Kunstkritische Studien die Galerien Borghese. 69 Liell’s (F. J.) Die Darstellungen der Allerseligsten Jung- frau und Gottesgebirerin Maria, 16 Little Wide-a-Wake's Primer, 668 Lloyd’s (W. W.) Sketches of Indian Life, 861 Longfellow’s (H. W.) The Song of Hiawatha, 860 Lover’s (S.) The Low-backed Car, 861 McCarthy’s (J.) Charing Cross to St, Paul’s, 896 Magazine of Art, 668 Marshall’s Pictures illustrating the Lord’s Prayer, 861 Millar’s Historical Castles and Mansions of Scotland, 360 Milman’s (H.) The Little Ladies, 861 — (Mrs.) Twelve Tiny Tales—Family Troubles, 8 Mon Premier Alphabet, 896 Monkhouse’s Earlier English Water-Colour Painters, 134 Mullins’s (E. R.) Primer of Sculpture, 423 Mythology and Monuments of Ancient Athens, translated by Verrall, 166 Nightingale’s (J. E.) Church Plate of Dorset, 198, 235 Picturesque Life in Shetland, 781 Piggy Wiggy’s Picture Book, 896 — Histoire de l’Intrépide Capitaine Castagnette, Railway Book, The, 668 Real Artists, and other Tales, 668 Rembrandt, Original Drawings by, 517 Scottish National Memorials, 102 Senior’s Thames from Oxford to the Tower, 781 Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, 668 Shute’s (E. L.) Monsieur Pouf, 896 Sketches of England, 861 Some Old Love Songs, 861 Spence’s (H. D. M.) Dreamland in History, 896 Spitzer Collection, Tome Premier, 591 Stanley’s (Mrs. H. M.) London Street Arabs, 781 Sun Artists, 201 Sussex Archeological Collections, 454 Thorburn’s (Col. W. 8.) Coins of Great Britain, 328 Thurston’s (E.) History of Coinage of Territories of the East India Company, 200 Told by the Fireside, 861 Turner’s (J. M. W.) Liber Studiorum, Selection from, 262 ; Richmondshire, 860 Uhle’s (T. von meee Kultur und Industrie Siidameri- kanischer Volker, 199 Vanity Fair Album, Vol. XXI., 423 Waldstein’s (C. ) Catalogue of Casts at Cambridge, 135 Weatherly’s This Little Pig went to Market, 861 Wroth’s (W.) Catalogue of Greek Coins, 359 Yorkshire Archzological and Topographical Association: Journal, 69; Record Series, 69, 70 Young England’s Nursery Tales, 861 Origiuoal Papers. Aquee Solis, 168, 201, 234, 266, 298 Archeological Institute at Gloucester, 232, 263 Asia Minor, Last Notes from, 454 iho British School at, 72; Notes from, 70, 266, 554, 8 Bettona, 200 British Archzological Association at Oxford, 71, 102, 168, 201, 234, 266, 298 Cambrian Archeological Association at Holywell, 296 Cappadocia, Notes from, 233, 518 Chester, Roman Inscriptions at, 820, 862 Cyprus, Explorations at, 39 Beypt, Destruction of Monuments in, 592; Notes from, Hieropolis-Castabala, The Site of, 104 Isauria and Cappadocia, Notes from, 233 Leland Club, The, 424 Megalopolis, An Inscription from, 266 National Gallery, Additions to the, 231 New Prints, 39, 201, 592, 705, 819, 896 Norwich Cathedral, 232, 296 Petrie’s (Mr.) Exhibition of Egyptiauw Antiquities, 297 Pirzeus, Notes from the, 361 Pisidia, Notes from, 136 Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland in Donegal, 392 Sales, 40, 72, 105, 137, 861 Tonge Hall, 361 Vapbion, The Tomb at, 361, 393 Westminster Abbey, 168 Exhibitions. Coxes (David) at Birmingham, 668 Fine-Art Society: Mlle. M. Roosenboom’s Drawings, 490; Drawings of Hokusai, 744; Mr. A. Goodwin’s Drawings, 897 French Gallery, 705 “= (Messrs.) Gallery: Mr, G. Hitchcock's Pictures, Graphic Society, 705 Grosvenor Gallery : Society of British Pastellists, 553 Institute of Painters in Oil Colours, 631 Marks’s (Mr.) Drawings of Birds, 553 — Painters in Water Colours, Winter Exhibi- tion, Tooth & Son’s (Messrs.) Gallery, 592
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(SUPPLEMENT to the ATHENZUM with No. 3801, Jan. 31, 1891 JuLy To DecemMBER 1890 THE ATHENAUM FINE ARTS. Obituaries. Artz, A., 670. _Baudit, A., 424. Boehm, Sir J. E., 861. Brown, J. L., 706. Charpentier, E., 862. Clayton, Mr., 106. Cope, C. W., 299, 328. Couppa, P. D., 106. Cox, Rev. J. E., 632. Delaroche, P., 106. Drake, Sir W. R., 783. Fisher, R., 821. Gautherin, J., 137. Gavarni, Madame J. L , 106. Gentz, W., 299. Gide, T., 783. Havers, Miss (Mrz. M. A. Morgan), 329. Hilgers, C, 862. Horsley, H. H. H., 490. Kurtz, A. G., 455. Lalande, Madame L., 490. Lapostolet, C., 202, Lévy, E., 202. Maskell, Rev. J., 782, 862. Mélingue, G.,669. Mossman, J.,424. Ottin, A. L. M., 862. Palm, Prof. G. W., 490. Rattier, P., 106. Rose, J. A., 424,455. St. Marcel, M., 106. Salles-Wagner, Madame, 72. Scott, W. B., 745. Selous, H. C., 490, 519, Smith, C. R., 202. Sonne, Prof. J. V., 490. Stevens, A., 455. Toulmouche, A., 555. Verlat, C., 593, Wallace, Sir R., 187. Wallis, H., 519 Gossip. National Gallery: Purchase of Pictures for the, 72, 137, 267 ; Acquisitions, 267, 669. Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society—Dr. Schliemann’s Work at Hissarlik, 73, 821. The Revised Rules of the Royal Academy Schools, 105. Excavations at Pompeii, 106. Discovery of a Statue of Apollo at Samos, 137. Pictures at the French Exhibition —Excavations by the Greek Archeological Society, 169. Louvre: Acquisitions, 202, 329,669. Award of Scholarships from the British Institution Fund, 234. Notes from Naples, 235. Notes from Athens, 299, 593, 897.. Discoveries at os, Licosoura, Verona, and Alexandria, 299. Pre- historic Necropoles of the Province of Syracuse, 329. Burning of the ue of Santa Sophia at Salonica, 361. National Gallery of Scotland : Mr. W. F. Watson’s Bequest, 362. Catalogues of the Boulaq Museum, 456. Excavations on the Acropolis at Mycene, 520. Discovery of Frescoes in the Cathedral of Cahors, 555. Winding up of the Graphic Society — Fairford Church Restoration, 593. Rev. J. Shortt’s ‘History of Ribchester,’ 670. Opening some Celtic Tombs at Straubing, in Bavaria, 706. Hanover Exhibition at the New Gallery, 745. British Museum: Acquisitions, 745, 783. Report of the Executive Com- mittee of the Silchester Excavation Fund, 783 MUSIC. Reviews. Beethoven’s Unsterbliche Geliebte, 235 Concerted Instrumental Music, 456 Crowest's (F. J.) Musical Groundwork, 267 Engel’s (L.) From Handel to Halle, 137 Great Musicians: Beethoven, 7 Rudall, 203 Hunt's (L.) The Music Pupil’s Guide, 267 Law of Musical and Dramatic Copyright, 784 Musical Notation of the Middle Ages, 862 Organ Music, 363 Pianoforte Music, 330 Prout’s (E.) Counterpoint, Strict and Free, 202 Rubinstein, Anton, Biographical Sketch, by McArthur, 73 Short Notices, 26 Song Albums, 299 Vocal Part Music, 490 Wodehouse’s (Mrs. E. R.) Index to Sir George Grove's ‘ Dictionary of Music and Musicians,’ 42 Original Papers. Bale, 897 Work that Wants Doing, 363 Operas, Concerts, &c. Albeniz’s (Sefior) Concerts, 670, 746 Bach Choir, 863 Berg’s (Master Van den) Recital. 594 Bonawitz’s (Mr. J. H.) Concert, 74 Boosey’s (Mr. J.) London Ballad Concerts, 707 Bristol Musical Festival, 557, 594 Cardew’s (Miss M.) Concert, 864 Caryll’s (Madame Z.) Concert, 41 Cellini’s (Madame) Concert, 41 Croker’s (Mr. N.) Song Recital, 822 Crystal Palace Concerts, 107, 520, 555, 593, 633, 671, 706, 47, 784, 821, 863 Douste’s (Mile. J.) Reci‘al, 707 Ess poff’s (Madame) Concert, 594 a ont Choral Association, 784 Fiood-Porter's (Miss A.) Violoncello Recital, 41 Franceschetti’s (Signor) Concert, 41 Gerardy’s (Master Jean) Violoncello Recital, 821 Globe Theatre: Mr. Searelle’s ‘The Black Rover,’ 425 ; Allinson’s ‘ The Crusader and the Craven,’ 520 Gompertz’s (Mr. R.) Concerts, 863, 898 Grand Theatre : Gounod’s ‘The Mock Doctor,’ 747 Halle’s (Sir C.) Manchester Concerts, 633, 671, 707, 747, 784, 898 ; London Concerts. 706, 784, 863 Hambourg’s (Master Max) Piano Recitals, 107, 138 Hampstead Consersatoire Concert, 707 Hampstead Popular Concert. 707 Hann’s (Messrs.) Concerts, 594, 707, 823 Hawkins's (Miss E.) Concert, 822 Henschel’s (Mr. and Mrs.) Vocal Recitals, 747, 823 Klengel’s (Herr J.) Violoncello Recital, 823 Lara’s (Mr. I. de) Concerts, 73, 7&4 London Symphony Concerts, 746, 821 Ludwig and Whitehouse’s (Messrs ) Concert, 74 Lyric Theatre : Burnand's ‘ La Ciga'e,’ 520 arx's (Madame B.) Recital, 594 Miiblen’s (Herr von zur) Vocal Recital, 107 Musical Art‘sts’ Society, 491 Musical Guild: Concerts, 671. 747, 864 North St»ffurdshire Musical Festival, 491 Norwich Musical Festival, 520, 555 Occhieppo’s (Countesses A. and E. F. d’) Recital, 74 Paderewski's (M.) Recitals, 671, 784 Pavia’s (Master I) Recitals, 520, 633 Philharmonic Concerts, 41 Popular Concerts, 555, 593, 633, 671, 706, 747, 784, 821, 863, 898 Prince of Wales’s Theatre: ‘ Captain Thérése,’ 299 Richter Concerts, 41, 73, 106 Royal Academy of Music: Concerts, 170, 863 Royal Choral Society, 671, 747, 823 Royal College of Music : Concerts, 41, 170, 671, 821 Royal Italian Opera:—Summer Season: ‘ Rigoletto,’ 41; Mr. Thomas's ‘ E-meralda’ in French. 106; ‘Ham- let,’ 138; ‘ Les Huguenots,’ ‘Carmen,’ 170. Autumn Season: ‘Aila,’ 555; ‘Les Huguenots,’ 555, 670; * Faust,’ 555, 593; ‘11 Trovatore,’ ‘ Lucia,’ ‘ Robert le Diable,’ ‘La Gioconda,’ 593; ‘ La Traviata,’ ‘ Mefis- tofele,’ ‘ Norma,’ 633; ‘Orpheus,’ 670; ‘ Lohengrin,’ ‘ Rigoletto,’ 670, 706; ‘ Tannhbiuser,’ 706; ‘L’Etoile du Nord,’ Close of the Season, 746 Royal Society of Musicians: Anniversary Featival, 106 Sarasate’e (Seiior) Concerts, 557, 633, 822 Savoy Theatre: Mozart’s ‘Cosi Fan Tutte,’ 107, 138 ; ‘The Gondoliers,’ 822 Schiller’s (Madame M.) Piavo Recital, 107 Shinner Quartet Concert, 633 Sonntag’s (Miss E.) Piano Recital, 42 Strolling Players’ Concerts, 784, 898 Thomas's (Mr. J.) Concert, 41 Vernon (Miss A.) and Vaillant’s (Mlle. G.) Concert, 74 Westminster Orchestral Society : Concert, 784 Wind Instrument Chamber Music Society: Concerts, 671, 863 Worcester Musical Festival, 362, 393 Obituaries. Bertini D., 425. Franck, C., 671. Gade, N., 897. Grégoir, £.,74. Heckmann, Madame M., 203, Hel- more, Rev. T.,74. Palmieri, Madame M., 425. Sain- ton, P., 557. Sgarzi, Signor, 268. Wood, J., 425 Gossip. Concert for the Benefit of the Morfa Colliery Explosion Fund, 41. Patti Concerts at the Albert Hall, 41, 107, 633, 707. The New Royal College of Music, 74. Wagner Society’s Conversazione, 107. Concert of the Students of the Normal College for the Blind, 170. Promenade Concerts at Covent Garden, 235, 267, 299, 330, 456. National Aca- demy of Music for Scotland, 330. Mr. Basil Tree’s ‘‘ Panel Concert Date List,” 394. Dr. Mackenzie's Incidental Music to ‘Ravenswood,’ 425, Bristol Monday Popular Concerts, 492, 633. People’s Concert Society, 492. Mr. J. A. Kappey’s Lecture on the Development of Modern Military Music, 594. Cheltenham ‘ Musical Festival,” 633. Dr. J. F. Bridge’s Lectures at Gresham College, 707, 747. ‘Benvenuto’ at the Paris Opéra Comique, 785. Berlioz’s ‘Les Troyens’ at Carlsruhe, 823. Mr. F. Bos- cowitz’s Lecture on the Spinet, Harpsichord, and Piano- forte, 863 DRAMA. Reviews, Zischylus: The Seven Plays in English Vers*, by Camp- bell—The Agamemnon, Choephore, and Eumenides, rendered into English Versa by Cooper, 898 Bowman's (A.) Acting Charades and Proverbs, 785 Carisbrooke Library: Masques and Entertainments by Ben Jonson, 300 Dramatic Peerage, by Reid and Compton, 785 Dumon’s (K.) Le ThéAtre de Polycléte, 138 Elizabethan Plays, Best, edited by Thayer, 425 Endymion’s Dream, a Comedy Masque, 236 Field’s (M.) The Tragic Mary, 395 Fleay’s Chronicle History of the London Stage, 331 Gozzi, Count Carlo, Memoirs of, tr. Symonds, 595 Griffiths’s (L. M.) Evenings with Shakspere, 300 Haigh’s (A. E.) The Attic Theatre, 138 Hamilton’s (W.) The Drama in England, 522 Houssaye's (A.) Behind the Scenes of the Comédie Francaise, edited by Vandam, 74 Ibsen, Henrik, Prose Dramas of, edited by Archer, 268 Kohler's (B.) Trachtenbilder fiir die Biihne, 595 Macready, William Charlee, by Archer, 457 Milman’s (C.) The Dolls’ Drama, &c., 785 Odes from the Greek Dramatists, edited by Pollard, 898 Old English Plays: The Works of Robert Davenport, edited by Bullen, 522 Robertson, T. W., Principal Dramatic Works of, 236 Shakspeare: The Bankside, Vols. III., 1V., VI., VII, aud VILI.,170; New Variorum, Vol. VIII., edited by —— 521; The Henry Irving, Vols. VII. and VIII., Thornely’s (J. L.) Stanley, a Drama, 595 Wallack’s Memories of Fifty Years, edited by Hutton, 171 Original Papers. Greek Theatre, The Stage in the, 172 ‘Ion’ at Cambridge, 747 __, Sardou’s (M.) New Play, 634 Theatres. Adelphi—Sims and Buchanan’s ‘ The English Roee,’ 203. ‘ The Struggle for Life,’ 521 Avenue—Calmour’s‘ Cyrene,’ 42. Buchanan and Horner’s ‘ The Struggle for Life,’ 457, 521. Carton’s ‘Sunlight and Shadow,’ 633 Comedy—Nelson's ‘ ew 557. Grundy’s ‘ May and December,’ 708. Nicholls and Lestocq’s ‘ Jane,’ 899 Court—‘ The Cabinet Minister,’ 521 Criterion—Mayer and Tarpey’s ‘ Papa’s Honeymoon,’ 42. Vernon’s ‘Sowing and Reaping,’ 75. Albery’s ‘ Wel- come, Little Stranger,’ 203. Howard's ‘ Truth,’ 395. ‘ Still Waters Run Deep,’521. Revival of Boucicault’s ‘London Assurance,’ 785, —_ Lane—Pet:itt and Harris’s ‘ A Million of Money,’ Gaiety—Matthews and Jessop’s ‘A Gold Mine,’ 139. Torr and Clark’s ‘Guy Fawkes, Esq.,’172. Pigott’s ‘The Bookmaker,’ 235. Sims and Pettitt’s ‘Carmen up to Data,’ 492 Globe— Vera,’ 42. Mrs, Fairfax’s ‘The Best People,’ 108. Leclercq’s ‘This Woman and That,’ 203 Grand— The Bells,’ 42. ‘ Theodora,’ 268, ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ 596. ‘Joeeph’s Sweetheart "—‘ Miss Tomboy,’ 672. ‘Hamlet,’ 864 Haymarket—Mrs. Beringer and Mr, Hamilton's ‘That irl,’ 203. ‘A Village Priest,’ 492. Stevenson and Henley’s ‘ Beau Austin,’ 633, 785, 824. Revival of ‘Called Back,’ 671. ‘The Ballad Monger,’ 785. : Red Lamp,’ 823, Chimbers’s ‘ Captain Swift,’ Her Majesty’s—French Plays: ‘ La Tosca,’ 76 Lyceum—‘ Taming of the Shrew,’75. ‘As You Like It,’ 107._ Daly’s ‘The Great Unknown,’ 203. ‘ Castin the Boomerang,’ 236. Merivale’s ‘ Ravenswood,’ 425, ‘ The Bells,’ 899 Lyric—Buchanan’s ‘Sweet Nancy,’ 107. * Moths,’ 596 “a Olympic—Barrett and Widnell’s ‘ The People’s Idol,’ 823, *The Lady of Lyons,’ 864 Opéra Comique—Law’s ‘The Judge’—Hurst’s ‘ Nearly Severed,’ 396. Webster’s ‘Smoke,’ 672 Princess’s—‘ Antony and Cleopatra,’ 707 Royalty—‘The Merchant of Venice,’ 332, ancy ’—Morris’s ‘ Pepper’s Diary,’ 492 St. James's—McCarthy's ‘ Your Wife ’—La‘y Greville’s ‘Old Friends,’ 42. ‘ Frou-Froa,’ 76. French Plays: ‘Divorgons,’ 596; ‘Les Revoltées,’ ‘L’Autographe,’ . _ 634; Dumas fils’ ‘ L’Ami des Femmes,’ 672 ; Hamilton's ‘Sweet Shaftesbury—Courtney'’s ‘Kit Marlowe,’ 75. Jones’s ‘Sweet Will,’ 172. Jones’s ‘The Deacon,’ 300, 382. ‘The Violin Makers,’ 300. ‘The Middleman,’ 332. Buchanan’s ‘The Sixth Commandment,’ 492, 634. Hannan’s ‘Monsieur Moulon; or, the Shadow of Death,’ 595. Watson and Mrs, Lancaster-Wallis’s ‘The Pharisee,’ 707. Macklin’s ‘My Lady Help,’ 748 Standard—‘ Little Jack Sheppard,’ 268 Strand—Revival of ‘ Fazio,’ 42. Leclerceq’s ‘Illusion,’ 75 Terry’s—Law’s ‘The Judge,’ 172. _ Pinero’s ‘Sweet Lavender,’ 458, Golsworthy and Norman's ‘My Friend Jarlet,’ 634. Pinero’s ‘In Chancery,’ 748. Cross’s ‘ Penalty,’ 785 Toole's—Darnley’s ‘The Solicitor,’ 75, 785. ‘ Two Recruits,’ 671 Vaudeville—Miss Righton’s ‘ Little Nobody’ and ‘ Dear Friends,’ 140 Wyatt's Obituaries, Ashley, H. J., 748. Bauernfeld, E. von, 236. Bouci- cault, D., 426. Chapelle, P. A., 864. Dumont, J. (Brasseur), 492. Lagarde, Madame J, S8., 426 Gossip. Performance of the ‘ Antigone’ at Bradfield, 42. Marlowe Memorial Fund, 75. Production of Mr. Christie Murray's ‘Chums’ at the Opera House, Auckland, 140. Production at Calcutta of ‘ Rajah-o-Rani,’ the first Stage Play written by a Native, 236. Burning of the Queen’s Theatre, Man- chester, 268. Monument over Mrs. Siddons’s Grave in Paddington Burial-Ground, 364 _ ‘The School for Scan- dal’ at the Crystal Palace — Theatrical Criticism, 557. M. Meilhac’s ‘Ma Cousine’ at the Variétés, Paris, 596. Mr. Wilson Barrett on the Madness of Hamlet, 672. Mr. Willard in ‘The Middleman’ in New York, 748. The ‘Adelphi’ of Terence at Westminster School, 864. The Ballet of ‘Dolly’ at the Empire—The ‘Antigone’ of Sophocles at Queen’s College, Harley Street, 900 MISCELLANEA. Blank Catalogue, A, 300, 332 Chinege Currency, 786 Mistake, A Little, 76 —- NE ee te fed
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N° 3271, Jury 5, ’90 THE ATHENZU.D 7 SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1890. CONTENTS. PAGE CONTINENTAL LITERATURE, JULY, 1889—JuLy, 1890: BELGIUM, 7; BOHEMIA, 8; DENMARK,8; FRANCE, 9; GERMANY, 16; GREECE, 20; HOLLAND, 21; ITaLy, 22; NoRWAY, 23; POLAND, 24; Russia, 25; BPAIN, 28 * ooo ove ooo ies 7—28 STANLEY AND EMIN .. ooo ooo eee ooo oa NovELs OF THE WEEK iis ovo see ooo a THEOLOGICAL Books .., oe ooo ous aay «. 33 Ovugk LiprRARY TABLE—LisT oF NEW Books ... 34—35 THE EARL OF CARNARVON; ‘PRINCE Dorus’; ‘ AN INTERESTING Event,’ BY M. A. TITMARSH; THE BisHop oF LonpON TRANSCRIPTS; THE MANU- SCRIPTS OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS ... ose 35—35 LITERARY Gossip eae eee ene oes eee oe ©6988 SCIENCE—GEOGRAPHICAL NoTes; SOCIETIES; MEET- INGS; GossIP oes ose oes ooo 38—39 Fine ARTS—NEW Paints; THE EXPLORATIONS AT Cyprus; SALES; GossIP soe eee ooo 39-40 Music—THE WEEK; Gossip; CONCERTS, &C., NEXT WEEK ... ove eee a a ve is 41—42 DRBaMa—THE WEEK; Gossip; NeExT WEEK’s NOVEL- ] CONTINENTAL LITERATURE, July, 1889, to July, 1890. —>— BELGIUM. Amone the books that have appeared in Belgium since July, 1889, two are of especial interest to British historians, because they treat of the history of the famous Scottish queen, whose trial has so often been re- investigated without as yet the attainment of a final verdict. In his ‘Etudes sur l’Histoire de Marie Stuart’ Prof. Martin Philippson, of Brussels, has reprinted a series of learned and impartial articles which had appeared in the Revue Historique of Paris. The author is free from prejudice or preconception of any sort; he seeks truth, and seems to find it. Very different is the impression created by the book of M. Kervyn de Lettenhove, although his good faith is notin question. ‘ Marie Stuart, )iuvre Puritaine, le Procés, le Supplice,’ is a sincere, but not particularly convincing de- fence. M. Ferd. Vander Haeghen, librarian of the Ghent University, and his two learned coadjutors, MM. Arnold and Vanden Berghe, have compiled out of their well-known ‘ Bibliotheca Belgica’ two volumes of more than eight hundred pages each, which will delight all readers interested in the fine publications recently brought out by Mr. J. H. Hessels in the name of the consistory of the Dutch Church, Austin Friars, London. The two volumes of the ‘ Bibliographie des Martyrologes Protestants Néerlandais’ con- tain a mass of information on all questions relating to the bloody repression of Pro- testantism in the Netherlands under Charles V. and Philip II. The late M. Gachard, General Archivist of the Kingdom, had acquired a European celebrity by his editions of countless import- ant documents, but could hardly be said to have produced more than a single book. Nevertheless he had almost unceasingly brought out short dissertations, the greater part of which have lately been reprinted, in three volumes, under the title of ‘ Notices et Etudes Historiques concernant |’ Histoire des Pays-Bas.’ The indefatigable Mgr. Naméche, formerly the Rector of the Catholic Univer- sity of Louvain, has recently added two volumes to his great ‘Cours d’Histoire Nationale.’ Onthis occasion Pope Leo XIII. sent the industrious old man a letter of con- gratulation on the manner in which he has treated the religious struggles of the six- teenth century from the Roman Catholic point of view. Of numerous works relating to local history, one must be mentioned as ranking very high above the rest, ‘ L’ His- toire de la Constitution de la Ville de Dinant au Moyen Age.’ The author of this monograph, M. Henri Pirenne, pro- fessor in the University of Ghent, is perfectly familiar with works of a similar kind brought out in Germany, England, France, and Holland—a somewhat uncommon merit with our Belgian historians. The voluminous collections of documents edited by the Royal Historical Commission have continued to appear at regular inter- vals. Foreigners will be particularly inter- ested in the following publications: ‘La Correspondance du Cardinal Granvelle,’ of which M. Piot, General Archivist of the Kingdom, has just given us the seventh volume ; and the eighth volume of the ‘Relations Politiques des Pays-Bas et de l’Angleterre sous Philippe II.,’ edited by M. Kervyn de Lettenhove. This volume contains documents dating from October, 1575, to November, 1576. In the province of economic sciences we may mention: ‘La Question Monétaire en Belgique en 1889,’ by M. Frére-Orban and M. de Laveleye ; ‘L’Economie Politique et la Constitution Progressive de la Sociologie au XIX° Siécle,’ by M. Hector Denis; and ‘La Crise Sociale: Dépréciation des Richesses,’ by M. Allard. Mgr. Van Weddinghen, the court chap- lain, has written a voluminous ‘ Essai d’Introduction 4 Etude de la Philosophie Critique,’ which constitutes an important study of spiritual Catholicism. There is yearly an increase of books con- cerning the vast colony created by the King of Belgium in Central Africa. The ‘ Lettres sur le Congo’ of M. Dupont, Conservator of the Brussels Museum of Natural History, are especially addressed to scientific men ; whilst the general public will read with great pleasure M. A. J. Wauters’s ‘Stanley au Secours d’Emin,’ which seems to give a foretaste of the revelations contained in the book which Stanley himself is about to bring out. M. Picard and M. Van Rysselberghe have written an agreeable description of ‘Une Mission Belge au Maroc.’ The literary school which calls itself ‘‘ La Jeune Belgique” has produced a few volumes of verses, the most noticeable of which are ‘L’Art en Exil,’ by M. Georges Rodenbach (who now resides in Paris), and a drama imitated from Shakspeare, ‘La Princesse Maleine,’ by M. Maurice Maeterlinck, who, like M. Rodenbach, is Flemish by birth. Curiously enough the greater number of the writers of ‘“‘ La Jeune Belgique” are not of Walloon origin. One of the veterans of our French literature, M. Xavier de Reul, has lately given us a vigorous and original novel, ‘Les Enfants d’Apollon.’ We must mention for the special benefit of amateurs of popular songs two most remarkable publications. The‘ Recueil d’ Airs et de Crimignons Liégeois’ is edited with musical accompaniments by the Society of Walloon Literature of Li¢ge, and contains more than two hundred melodies intended to accompany the erdmignons, a species of reel danced by the people of Licge during the /étes of the different quarters of that city. M. Florimond Van Duyse has issued two volumes containing about a hundred old Flemish songs (‘ Oude Nederlandsche Liederen’), with melodies collected by him from psalters of the sixteenth century. Some exquisite gems are to be found in these collections—exquisite from the musical as well as from the literary point of view. In Flemish literature the event of the year is the appearance of a posthumous novel by Henri Conscience. Until last January it was generally believed that this great popular writer, who died in 1883, had not left any manuscript behind him; but in January a story of village life came out, ‘De Duivel uit het Slangenbosch’ (‘ The Devil of the Snakewood’), which apparently was begun by Conscience and finished by his only daughter Madame Antheunis. It is a pleasing work, but it will add nothing to the reputation of the favourite novelist of Flanders. In the domain of poetry the most interest- ing productions are those of two young ladies: ‘Rouw-Violen’ (‘Mourning Violets’), by Mille. Helena Swarth, and ‘ Gedich- ten’ (‘Poems’), by Mlle. Hilda Ram. These two writers have already published several volumes of verse, and acquired a well-deserved literary celebrity; but their talent seems to beat astandstill for the time being. Amongst a number of dramatic works we may notice an historical drama called ‘De Dood van Karel de Gosde’ (‘The Death of Earl Charles the Good,’ 1127), by M. Julius Plancquaert, who obtained the triennial prize for dramatic literature awarded by the Government. This play shows inexperience and is a declamatory work, yet it is not wholly devoid of merit. As regards history, we must mention the fifth volume of the exhaustive description of the streets and buildings of the city of Ghent, ‘Gent van den Vroegsten Tyd tot Heden,’ by M. Frans de Potter; and the curious book of M. Augustin Thys, ‘De Belgische Conscrits in 1798 en 1799,’ in which the author relates the revolt of the conscripts in Belgium against the armies of the French Republic. This fierce struggle of the young Walloon and Flemish peasants against the generals of the Directvire is one of the darkest episodes in our annals. Two books of travels have attracted much notice this year: ‘In Spanje’ (‘In Spain’), by M. Van Steenweghen, and ‘ Ken Winter in het Zuiderland’ (‘A Winter in the South’), by Mlle. Virginie Loveling, a novelist of great merit, who in this last work has more especially described the life of tourists of all nationalities who winter in the hotels and pensions of Nice, and Mentone, and of some Italian towns. One of our most distinguished poets, M. Pol de Mont, has collected in two volumes a great number of prose studies on French, Provencal, Flemish, and Dutch writers of our epoch, under the title of ‘ Losse Schetsen uit de Letterkundige Geschiedenis van onzen Tyd’ (‘Fragmentary Sketches on the Literature of our Times’). In the course of last year M. de Mont had already published a book of the same kind on con- temporary German writers. The author supplies an able and warmly sympathetic sketch of the literary movement of the félibres in the south of France, who are
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8 THE ATHENZUM N° 3271, Jury 5, ’90 endeavouring to revive the language and literature of the troubadours in the Middle Ages. Eire pe Laverzye—Pavut Freperice. BOHEMIA. Tue twelve months just passed have on the whole been favourable. Numerous works, most of them valuable, have been published; and this is especially the case with our poetry. The struggle between two different tendencies, the national and the romantic, the latter pessimistic in its tone, is still worthy of note, though lacking some of its original intensity, as some of the older lyrical poets of the former school have somehow or other become silent. Joseph Sladek is an exception, for he has caused no little sensation by his fiery and patriotic lyrics ‘Rural Songs and Bohemian Sonnets.’ The only other large collection of patriotic songs which deserves mention has been published by Irma Geissel under the title ‘Z Podkrko- nosi.’ In ‘Smiles,’ by the gifted, tender- minded Ruzena Jesensk4, patriotic tendencies are to be traced amid much meditative and thoughtful verse. Otherwise the poets of the romantic school have the field to them- selves. The originator of this school, Jaroslav Vrehlicky, stands foremost, having followed up ‘ Divers Masques,’ which was mentioned last year, by two beautiful and valuable volumes: ‘Days and Nights’ and ‘Bitter Kernels.’ The latter is most pessi- mistic, and powerfully describes the bitter- ness of human life ending in the grave, the sadness of vanished love, and the sorrow which checks the productive power of the artist. ‘Without a Name,’ by a younger member of this school, J. S. Machar, holds out promise of something still more remark- able in the future. Some new writers have appeared. Of these Ant. Klose has attracted attention by his ‘Poems’; Eman. ryt. z Cen- kova is the author of a collection ‘Out of my Album,’ Josef Simon of ‘ Poems,’ Ant. Klastersky of verses ‘ To the Living and the Dead.’ All of these show that among the rising generation of poets pessimism has struck deep root. Eliska Krasnohorska’s new satirical collection ‘Stories of Grown- Up People’ is also a little tinged with this feeling; it is to be regretted that she is sometimes not lucid enough. Of narrative poems not many have appeared, but some of great importance. The first place belongs to ‘ Heroic Songs,’ by Francis Chalupa, who, alas! is no longer among the living. They are rhapsodies in the spirit of the Russian and Serbian national songs, episodes from Bohemian history, bearing new witness to the author’s rare gifts, and animated by Slavonic patriotism. Another writer of narrative poetry died young last year, Josef Jakubec, whe particu- larly excelled in simple yet powerful descrip- tions of Bohemian country scenery and character. He was able to revise the second part of his ‘Country Tales,’ which appeared after his death, and especially in the charming ‘Picture from a Fair’ has struck upon what may almost be called a new vein for a tale in verse. Both of these poets, along with Svatopluk Cech, who is writing an attractive story of his youth (‘Vaeslav Zivsa’), show that in narrative poetry the nationalist party is triumphant. The only narrative poet of the romantic school is Julius Zeyer, whose manner is less brilliant than his matter, and who likes to choose foreign subjects. He has pub- lished ‘Annals of Love,’ but only one of the stories (‘ Olgerd Gejstor’) has any con- nexion with Bohemian history; the others lose in value from being poor in style and too obviously dependent on foreign influence. The latest production of this poet, ‘ Pia de Tolomei,’ has more of intrinsic merit than of beauty of form. Fiction has been cultivated with success. Many works have appeared, varying, of course, in value. Alois Jirdsek, the best of Bohemian novelists, has published mostly short pieces in the second and third parts of his ‘Tales and Novels,’ in the collection ‘From Stormy Times,’ and in magazines. A valuable biographical sketch of his, ‘F. L. Vek,’ describing the revival of the Bohemian nation at the end of the last cen- tury, is just appearing as the second part of the author’s ‘Collected Works,’ the first part of which contains two charming ‘ Stories from a Small Town.’ Ferdinand Schulz, who writes short tales and historical novels, has published a long romance of which the scene is laid in the beginning of the four- teenth century, ‘Nymburska Rychta,’ a remarkable work, though there are faults in the description of details and character. Joseph Braun’s historical tale ‘ Pani Sybilla,’ dealing with the stormy times of the battle of Miihlberg, is firmly constructed, the characters are well drawn, and it shows an extensive knowledge of historical details; but it is deficient in style, being marred by unnecessary archaisms. Svatopluk Cech has for the first time tried his skill upon an historical tale in his satire ‘A New Excur- sion of Mr. Broucek, this time into the Fifteenth Century,’ which, while full of racy humour, shows at the same time the results of deep study. Besides these authors several other writers, such as Vacslav Vlcek, Kolda Malinsky, A. Dostal, and Joseph Svatek, deserve mention. Among many pictures from the life of to-day V. Vicek’s ‘Captain Halaburd’ holds the first place. It is an idyllic story, but with a good measure of naturalism. At the same time the plot is good, the descrip- tions of character are fine, and the motives of the heroareelevated. Naturalistic tendencies prevail in M. A. Simacek’s remarkable novel ‘Two Brothers,’ as well as in B. Kaminsky’s interesting ‘Nocturno.’ Less perfect is the last - named writer’s ‘New Prose.’ Iagnat Hermann, known for his original descrip- tions of Prague life, has published some small stories, ‘From Corners of Prague.’ Another partisan of naturalism has excited some attention: Rudolf Kronbauer, who is publishing a series of sketches, the first part of which contains pictures from a madhouse. In Moravia the same sort of fiction is cultivated by the popular author Vacslay Kosmak in his capital story ‘How Martin Chlubil Erred.’ Loftier conceptions and a better style and skilful delineation of character mark another Moravian writer, Gabriela Preiss, who has produced the third part of her ‘ Pictures of Slavonia’ and a smaller collection of ‘Ideals,’ A similar tone characterizes the second part of J. Konrad’s ‘ Dalmatian Tales’; ‘Two Tales,’ by Bohdan Brodsky; ‘Skapulir,’ by Karolina Svetlé; Ferd. Schulz’s ‘ Late Years’; J. L. Hrdina’s ‘ Pictures,’ &c. With the exception of Sv. Cech’s work above mentioned, the humorous style is represented by only one writer, K. Sipek, in his first-rate miscellany ‘In Jest and in Earnest.’ J. Herben’s remarkable ‘Moravian Pictures’ and Ed. Jelinek’s ‘ Slavonic Visits’ have a didactic undertone, and cannot be exactly classed under the head of fiction. The drama has been cultivated with great vigour. Of the many pieces produced, the best is without doubt ‘A General without an Army,’ by Eman. Bozdech, an approved dramatist who disappeared last year mysteri- ously and has never been heard of since. It is generally believed that he committed suicide. Another piece by him, already known on the stage, ‘The Master of the World at Home,’ has also just found its way into print. The hero of both come- dies is Napoleon Bonaparte, in the former as a general of little renown, aspiring to the command of the Italian army; in the latter as the mighty emperor, who finds his greatest difficulties in his family circle. Both plays are in the style of Scribe’s best productions; the plot is lively, the delinea- tion of manners and character is excellent, and the dialogue sprightly. Jarosl. Vreh- lick¥’s historical drama ‘ The Brothers’ turns upon the murder of the Bohemian duke and saint Wenceslav by his brother Boleslav, who afterwards became one of the most energetic and powerful monarchs the country has had. Another drama of Vrchlicky’s, ‘The Wooing of Pelops,’ is as lofty in conception and dramatically as effective as ‘The Brothers.’ J. Stolba’s ‘Testa- ment’ treats a subject of country life, and enjoyed great success on the stage, but is devoid of poetry, and is, therefore, of small literary value. F. X. Svoboda’s ‘ Marinka Valkova,’ too, has only the advan- tage of being suitable for the stage. Ladislav Stroupeznicky’s naturalistic piece ‘ Vaclav Hrobcicky z Hrobcic’ possesses, besides fit- ness for the stage, more real merit of plot, characteristics, and dialogue; still it is marred by many trivialities. The other plays that have been printed are all of them more or less only attempts at dramatic production. Bouvstav CERMAK. DENMARK. I ree~L somewhat at a loss when I sit down once more to write a review of the Danish literature of the year. I ought to give your readers a report of the literary harvest, but the year might justifiably be termed a year of dearth. Of course, if my task con- sisted only in enumerating and describing new books, I should have plenty of matter, for in the number of publications no diminution has taken place; very few of these publications, however, at least in belles-lettres, contain anything really novel, and such books, I think, ought to be the principal subject of a review like this. No year has for long been so barren of new writers, and the few that have made their appearance are rather insignificant. Still the tale ‘Et /igteskab’ (‘A Marriage’), by Massi Bruun, deserves some attention. Cer- tainly three other tales may in a sense be attributed to new writers, for their authors hitherto had confined themselves to the drama. Ed. Brandes has published ‘A XUM iY
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& N° 3271, Juty 5, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 9 Politician,’ in which he endeavours to por- tray some phases of our political and social life, with no great success, however. Karl Larsen, who last year wrote two able plays, had better have left unpublished such in- significant attempts as ‘A Boy from the Grammar School, and other Tales’; but E. Christiansen in ‘ Joppe,’ a tale of a young girl, has proved that he is possessed of the gift of story-telling. Christiansen has increased the series of his plays by a new one, ‘ Generationer,’ but it is not one of his best. Of other plays I need only name Mrs. E. Gad’s *Felles Sag’ (‘Fellowship’), the lively dialogue of which extorted applause on its performance, and an historical drama of character, ‘ Caligula,’ by Fr. Steincke. With poetry, and especially with novels and smaller tales, we are more richly supplied. E. v. d. Recke in ‘Gamle og nye Digte til En,’ and K. Gjellerup in ‘Min Kjeerligheds Bog’ (‘The Book of my Love’), have produced variations on the old yet always new theme of love—the former showing greater accuracy and melody of rhythm, being especially successful in catch- ing the tone of popular ditties, the latter, perhaps, displaying greater originality and subtlety of feeling. O. Finss in his second volume of verse, ‘Stemninger og Strofer’ (‘Sentiments and Strophes’), once more shows his skill in describing landscape; and the aged poet Chr. Richardt in ‘ Dan- mark’ celebrates with patriotic ardour the different parts of our country. I may further call attention to the publication of ‘One Hundred Popular Ditties from Jutland’ by that industrious collector and investigator E. T. Christensen. Many of our novelists have published tales that only reproduce well-known materials, and do not offer anything new in conception or style; for instance, ‘ Messias,’ by V. Stuckenberg; ‘Mutterlillen’ (‘The Old Hag’), by H. Kaarsberg, alias Hans Juul; ‘ His- torier fra Skovridergaarden’ (‘Tales from the Ranger’s House ’), by 8. Bauditz, an amiable and rather entertaining book, but as usual destitute of any notable features; ‘I Tus- moérke’ (‘In the Twilight’), by Fanny Suenssen, known as the author of ‘ Amalie Vardum’; and ‘Fra Jyllands Vestkyst,’ by Mrs. Schidrring. ‘Emma Jonsson,’ by Laur. Bruun, and ‘Af Byens Dagbog, og andre Skitser,’ by F. O. Andersen, are even inferior to their predecessors, and the rather insig- nificant and colourless ‘Tales’ of A. Ipsen can by no means compete with the author’s poetical works of former years. On the other hand, ‘Maagen’ (‘The Mew’) by Zach. Nielsen, and ‘ Kreemmerliv’ (‘ Shop- man’s Life’) by Scheel- Vandel, may perhaps be said to denote some progress in the art of their authors. Sketches like those of F. O. Andersen are also to be found in ‘ Verdens syv Underveerker, og andre Smaating’ (‘The Seven Miracles of the World, and other Trifles’), by Poul Fasting (7.e. Joh. Marer), who occasionally displays wit and humour, and in ‘Korte Veje’ (‘Short Ways’), by P. Nansen, who in his miniature pictures of life really shows a delicate art. After this brief enumeration I may men- tion at somewhat greater length three or four books of the year whose worth and influence are likely to be of greater perma- nence. ‘Skyer: Skildringer fra Provisorierne Dage’ is no doubt the best book that H. Pontoppidan has yet published, and contains the most valuable tales of the year. After an introduction of striking originality the author in a series of novelettes simply and truthfully depicts the fatal effects of the political condition into which our present government has thrown the country: the fermenting wrath and yet cowardly and irresolute behaviour of the population, the painful position of honourable and conscientious functionaries, the alienation of old friends, and the deception of humble people confiding in the mancouvresof the poli- tical parties. The work is not only important as a true delineation of the present state of our country, but also remarkable for its fine and noble art. H. Drachmann’s new collection of poems, ‘Sangenes Bog’ (‘ The Book of Songs’), is a pleasing addition to the long row of his publications, since it shows the lyric poet again in possession of his old vigour ; the songs of “ the wandering lad” have been generally admired, imbued as they are with all the seductive vivacity and joy in life peculiar to this favourite character of our poet’s. Of quite a dif- ferent character are the ‘ Poems’ by H. Bang, original not only in their earnest and fearless reflections, but as much in the free rhythms of their blank verse. Besides, this author has published two prose works. The three short tales, or rather sketches, of ‘Under Aaget’ (‘Yoked’) are most akin to his greatest success, ‘ Stille Existenser,’ which appeared some years ago; his peculiar, so to say mosaiclike mode of working in many scattered touches and hints, fragments of description and snatches of dialogue, is best suited for the picturing of such narrow, every-day life and conditions as he has selected for these novelettes. In spite of some happy passages, his larger novel, ‘Tine,’ dealing with the last Sleswick war, is upon the whole of less value. We are also carried back to the sad events of our last war by the most successful book of the year, viz., ‘En Rekrut fra Fire og Treds’ (‘ A Recruit in Sixty-four’). Half a work of fiction, half an historical narra- tive, it owes its great impressiveness to the plain and sober, yet highly picturesque way in which the anonymous author tells of our useless and hopeless efforts, and of the sufferings of our brave soldiers, avoiding at one and the same time stilted phrases and unmanly lamentations or imprecations. The work is, beyond comparison, the most important of the great number of books about the campaign of 1864 that have appeared during the last two years. To turn to Danish history, a young author, N. Neergaard, has commenced a work on a large scale, ‘The Period of the Constitu- tion of June, 1849,’ in which he will tell circumstantially the political history of our people during the years 1848-66. The elaborate work of Alex. Thorsde, ‘The Reign of Frederick VII.,’ treating of almost the same period, has at length been con- cluded. The ‘History of Denmark in our Century,’ by S. Thrige, has been continued ; and Troels Lund in the tenth volume of the twenty-four which his large ‘ History of Denmark and Norway at the Close of the Sixteenth Century’ is intended to fill, con- tinues his delineation of customs and tells of the ‘ Preparations for a Wedding.’ Con- tributions to the history of our national life, our institutions and customs, are to be found in ‘The Danish Post-Establishment down to the Year 1711,’ by Olsen; ‘ Christian IV. and his Men in the Royal Dockyard,’ by H. D. Lind; ‘The Danish Stage,’ an historical work, exhaustive and richly illus- trated, commenced by P. Hansen, who a few years ago published a similar work on Danish literature; ‘The Royal Theatre during the Years 1852-59,’ by H. Christensen ; finally, in ‘ Life in Copenhagen in Old and Recent Times,’ by J. Davidsen, well known by his earlier books on the same subject. To these publications may be added some biographical writings; for example, the old autobiography of Rasmus /Ereboe (who led an adventurous life in the beginning of the eighteenth century), edited by G. L. Grove; a splendidly illustrated work on ‘ Thorwaldsen, his Life and Works,’ commenced by Sig. Miiller (the biography published by Thiele, 1851-56, is rather a valuable collection of materials and docu- ments than a memoir); ‘The Confidential Correspondence of Frederick VI. with Ner- way, 1809,’ edited by C. Th. Sérensen ; and two autobiographical publications by living authors: the rather elaborate ‘Reminis- cences,’ by Miss Benedicte Arnesen-Kall, and the fresh and unpretending ‘ Events of my Life,’ by 8. Schandorph. To biography also belong ‘ Jung-Stilling,’ by Rich. Peter- sen, and ‘ Da de vare unge’ (‘ When they were Young’), pictures from the youth of renowned men, by Mrs. E. Juel-Hansen. Turning to criticism, I must first name two volumes of ‘ Essays’ by G. Brandes, one of them dealing with Danish and the other with foreign authors, and distinguished by the well-known peculiarities of this writer ; and ‘Bastien Lepage, and other Essays,’ by that excellent writer on art Jul. Lange. Further we have ‘ The English Drama before Shakspeare,’ by Torben Lundbeck, and ‘Studies on the Golden Age of Danish Poetry’ (the period of Oehlenschliger and his successors), by V. Vedel, who maintains the value of the romantic tendencies that our critics have been of late rather inclined to depreciate. In philosophy nothing at all has appeared. In theology, apart from collections of ser- mons and similar publications, I have but to mention a useful book by A. C. Larsen, ‘The Five Books of Moses: a Guide to the Critical Reading of the Bible.’ Among new books of travel I may mention ‘Lower Egypt,’ by L. Ussing, the well-known Professor of Archeology. Rich. Kaufmann, who has for many years lived in Paris, has again published pictures of life and customs in that city under the title of ‘ Paris beneath the Eiffel Tower.’ Of the two new periodicals mentioned in my last review, Ny Jord has ceased to appear, but the reading public obtained ample compensation in Af Dagens Krinike (From the Chronicle of the Day), edited by P. Nansen; unfortunately it, too, has expired. Viaco PETERSEN. FRANCE. Noruine is more wearisome after a time than the perpetual chorus of fin de siécle, which poets and novelists and other writers of the day repeat at every turn, and which
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10 THE ATHENAUM N° 3271, Juty 5, ’90 serves to cover some of their wildest aber- rations. It is none the less true, how- ever, that the latter years of this century coincide with a period of undeniable barren- ness and uncertainty. least—and must we restrict this judgment to France alone ?—is still feeling its way, and has not yet found the right path. Is it to be supposed that the utilitarian tendencies of our epoch and the increasing difficulties of life have reduced to naught the small army of readers of poetry, and are likely to starve out the Muse? In this old world, at any rate, dreamers will surely never be wanting. M. Chantavoine, in very fine strophes which I should like to quote at full length, alludes to the sterility, whether sincere or affected, of our epoch. The first two stanzas, which belongs to a collection called ‘Au Fil des Jours,’ are as follows :— Tous les Dieux sont tombés. Dans le ciel solitaire Nos regards étonnés voient bien rouler encor Le soleil impassible et les étoiles d'or ; Mais d’ow vient, cependant, que les fils de la terre Vivent préoccupés d'un douloureux mystére Dans une nuit funébre ot leur dime s’endort ? C’est qu’au souffle du temps l’antique poésie A perdu sa fraicheur et sa sérénité ; C’est que l'homme aujourd’hui, par la Muse quitté, A brisé dans ses mains la coupe d’ambroisie, Et, morne, gémissant sous le poids de la vie, Délaisse l’idéal pour la réalité. M. Chantavoine concludes this fragment with an eloquent protest against modern pessimism. I trust that poetry, as well as humanity, may recover—and no doubt they will recover simultaneously — from this malady. When we shall have ceased to think ourselves corrupt and disillusioned, and ceased to deny the good and the beautiful in subtle language, we shall doubtless see the real poets reappear, armed with truth and simplicity. An undeniable fact at pre- sent is the lamentable death of Romanticism. Victor Hugo is so out of fashion that there are not enough subscribers to raise a monu- ment to his fame; and his posthumous works, which continue to appear with a pious regularity, are received with im- perturbable coolness. This year’s volume contains two dramatic works: the first, ‘Amy Robsart,’ is a new edition of a play whose failure has remained memorable; the second, ‘Les Jumeaux,’ is an unfinished drama of later date (founded on one of the many interpretations of the problem of the ‘Masque de Fer’’), which terrifies the critics of the day by the unrestrained truculence of its tirades. M.Vacquerie, one of the disciples of the great poet, has published a drama in verse, ‘ Futura,’ which is a sort of sequel to Goethe’s ‘Faust,’ and was sympathetically reviewed, but chiefly out of respect for the noble character of the author. M. Vacquerie has outlived his century and the century of Victor Hugo. In its present state of hunger, and weary of the subtle lucubra- tions with which it is attacked, the public is now longing for simplicity, and will- ingly returns to the very sources of popular poetry. Unfortunately, railway travelling, our military conscription (which gives our peasants in their respective garrisons the taste for café concerts), the gradual extinction of dialects, and other causes, are fast doing away with popular songs. They will soon have disappeared like the linen caps, so fantastically frilled and starched, which framed the sunburnt faces of our peasant | | women in such picturesque fashion. We have no time to lose in sketching the last headdress of the bressane, and the last | embroidered vest of the das-breton ; we must French poetry at) | | } hasten to note down the last melancholy utterances of the old provinces. Numerous gifted musicians have latterly busied them- selves with collecting these old songs—a species of research which has become a branch of learning, and to which the Eng- lish name of folk-lore has somewhat pe- dantically been given. So much has been done in this way that M. Julien Tiersot, one of the most active and fortunate of its explorers, has been able to summarise the results of his work in an important ‘ Histoire de la Chanson Populaire en France.’ In order to convey an idea of the charm of this collec- tion it would be necessary to quote largely from these quaint couplets, alternately gay, melancholy, ironical, and heroic, according to the subject, and, above all, according to the country, so varied are the tendencies and characteristics of our French population. M. Tiersot’s learned and ingenious comments will not be food for the musician alone: the historian or the philosopher who desires to penetrate to the very soul of ancient France cannot do better than acquaint himself with this book. Another volume of the ‘Correspondance de Flaubert’ has just appeared. One can- not sufficiently deplore the excessive love of the ‘‘document”’ and the blind idolatry of those who put into the publishers’ hands untold numbers of letters and papers, which are, for the most part, utterly insignificant when they are not actually detrimental to the fame of the idol. The publication of Stendhal’s ‘ Journal’ has dealt an irrepar- able blow to the author of ‘ Rouge et Noir,’ by revealing the narrow egoism, the cold- heartedness and vanity of the man whom his biographers were seeking to exalt and glorify. Flaubert’s worshippers did him almost equal wrong by publishing the first volume of his ‘ Correspondance,’ which proved beyond a doubt what we only sus- pected before—the constant attitudinizing of the author before the public, his desire to astound the middle classes and make them shudder; and what was worse, we were made to see that this supposed matamoro expressed the outpourings of the heart in the tone of an ingénu et troubadour. The last volume, while it confirms these impressions, is never- theless more interesting than the first. Here the author of ‘Madame Bovary’ gives an account of the genesis of his works, and by this explanation of his purpose, and of the means he employed to fulfil it, he reveals himself as an industrious and, after a fashion, conscientious man. The opinions he gives of illustrious writers of various kinds and epochs are sometimes curious, and show more judgment and common sense than might have been expected. For instance, it is surprising to find that Flau- bert admired Boileau, whom he pronounced to be vraiment fort. Speaking of Chateau- briand, he exclaims: ‘‘ Quel homme g’eut été sans sa poctique; comme elle l’a ré- tréci ; que de mensonges, que de petitesses! ” Stendhal he accuses of having been obscure. This severity, which horrified our ‘“ psycho- logists,’’ will atone for many sins in Flaubert. M. Ludovic Halévy’s ‘ Notes et Souvenirs’ of the Commune of 1871—in Paris and at Versailles—are a record of impressions pre- sented in familiar form, and without preten- sion of any kind. This book is full of keen and witty observation. Anecdotes and cha- racteristic remarks seem literally to spout out from the pen of the writer, and in spite of himself reveal that he is a dramatist as well as a man of heart and mind. M. Ferdinand Fabre makes a speciality of describing clerical life and people. His last work, ‘Ma Vocation,’ is the most impressive of all because it is made up of personal recollections and experience. The young Fabre was brought up by a most loving, but also most pious mother; he was much cared for and influenced by two very re- ligious aunts, and early in life was driven — not violently, but irresistibly — into the ecclesiastical profession. It is only fair to add, however, that the gentleness of his character and a certain tendency to dreami- ness seemed to incline him that way. He anticipated with considerable fervour the holy joys, the peculiar delights, of such a life. It is, in fact, not particularly easy to under- stand whya vocation which seemed so natural ended. It is hardly possible to attribute this defection to the triumph of doubt over faith in such a naive and docile soul as that of young Fabre, nor does it seem to have been due to a revolt of the flesh against the monastic discipline of the seminary. But, on the other hand, it is likely that the contact of companions grosser and more sensual than himself destroyed more than one illusion in the soul of the young aspirant. He was also deeply impressed, no doubt, by the appalling example of one of his comrades, who, after a desperate struggle with his doubts, owned himself van- quished on the very day of his ordination. The reader will find once more in ‘Ma Vocation’ the striking imagery and the luminous though somewhat jarring style of the author of ‘ L’Abbé Tigrane.’ It is not particularly easy to class or cha- racterize the collection of literary criticisms published by M. J. J. Weiss under the title of ‘Le Théatre et les Moours.’ This eminent writer touched upon a thousand subjects in his contributions to the Journal des Débats, and the universality of his interests con- stantly carried his readers away—from the most trifling starting-point—into wonderful excursions through the world of his per- sonal recollections and of his philosophical opinions upon the different movements of ideas in France. He tries to describe the perpetual oscillation which makes the whole soul of a nation, at different periods, feel and act like one individual soul, and directs it irresistibly towards one aim or one ten- dency. During the almost heroic period of 1830-48 it was faith that animated this great body; the period which began in 1852 was practical, sad, and full of disillusions, that the disaster of 1870 confirmed only too effectually. But the French people would no longer be French if generous sentiments altogether ceased to inspire its thoughts and actions. Faith and enthusiasm are as necessary to its existence as food and drink. Of the series of short biographical studies which the firm of Hachette is bringing out, in a highly attractive form, containing all that an honnéte honmme—to use an expression of the last century—should know of great Cie
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XUM N° 3271, Jury 5, 90 THE ATHENZUM 11 French writers, of their lives, of their works, and of their influence on the morals and manners of their epoch, as well as on the development of literature, philosophy, and science, two new volumes have appeared : ‘D’Alembert,’ by M. Joseph Bertrand, and ‘ Vauvenargues,’ by M. Maurice Paléologue. The learned author of ‘D’Alembert’ com- bines the taste of a man of letters with the science of a mathematician, and was the man fitted above all others for judging a philosopher and geometrician. I only re- gret that M. Bertrand should have pre- | served throughout a tone of imperturbable coldness towards the doctrines of which the author of the ‘ Préface de l’Encyclopédie ’ was such a brilliant exponent. In his ‘Vauvenargues’ M. Paléologue has deli- | neated with much grace and feeling, the noble and melancholy spirit of the philo- sopher who wrote ‘ Réflexions et Maximes.’ M. E. de Vogiié’s ‘ Remarques sur |’Ex- position du Centenaire’ are a_ series of recollections of our last year’s fétes. The new Academician acquaints us with the endless trains of thought that were suggested to his mind—much given to generalizing and even to dreaming—by the imposing and varied scene unfolded before him. M. de Vogiié sometimes rises very high in his upward flight, and describes, in truly prophetic language, a renewed humanity, transformed by those discoveries in practical science of which the Exhibition was the brilliant manifestation—a humanity moving freely on its narrowed earth, and trusting to its own unlimited powers. At other times the author comes down to de- tails, but only to soar again and describe in powerful language the new and seductively strong art of iron architecture, the sculpture and painting of the future, and the future France of Asia and Africa, so picturesquely represented at the Esplanade des Invalides. A few glimpses into politics—containing wise, but probably useless advice to the monarchical party in France—conclude this book, in every way worthy of the intelli- gence and patriotism of M. de Vogiié. There is abundance of literary essays, but I am obliged to limit myself to the rapid mention of the following works: ‘ Les Figures Littéraires,’ by M. Paul Deschanel, containing the finely drawn portraits of Renan, Paul Bourget, Sainte-Beuve, &c.; ‘La Société du Consulat et de l’Empire,’ by M. Ernest Bertin, containing a charm- ing sketch of Madame de Custine and of Lucien Bonaparte; ‘L’Histoire Littéraire de la Suisse Frangaise,’ by M. Philippe Godet, a wise, pleasing, and conscientious book, which traces to the habits and political condition of the people the literary develop- ment of the Romansch populations of | Switzerland; ‘L’Histoire du Théitre en France,’ by M. Petit de Julleville, an excel- lent and ingenious work of criticism ; ‘ Les Artistes Littéraires,’ by M. Maurice Spronck, whick treats of the modern apostles of /’art pour Vart, such as Théophile Gautier, | Baudelaire, Flaubert, Leconte de Lisle, &c., witha curiouschapter on the “decadent” and symbolical sects; ‘Le XVIII° Siécle,’ by M. Faguet, a violent declaration of war against the century of Voltaire, which is often un- just and paradoxical, yet highly suggestive ; and ‘La Renaissance de la Poésie Anglaise, 1879-1889,’ by M. G. Sarrazin. Like an oasis in the Sahara of our novel- literature, a few names appear in various ways and degrees illustrious: Zola, Guy de Maupassant, Paul Bourget. The critic | must be satisfied with these. The especial | force and merit of M. de Maupassant is that instead of falling into the subtle 'analysis in which so many of his col- leagues have lost themselves—a few in seek- | ing to react against the excesses of natu- | ralism, and others through simply following the craze of a generation which thinks it- self decrepit, and attributes to an artificial division of epochs a fatal influence on the | human mind—his especial merit, as I said | before, is that he never loses his footing. | He does not, like others, create an unreal | world for automatic individuals to move | about in with marvellous regularity. Our | planet, the doulevards of Paris, are the stage | upon which his dramas evolve themselves. | His characters are intensely alive; their appetites are not remarkably fine; they are often, indeed, exceedingly coarse, and seldom, if ever, restrained by virtuous scruples. Good people are rare in his | books. The world is certainly better | than he sees it; but what he does see | is terribly true, and the reality of his cha- racters is made still more impressive by his exact descriptions of their surroundings and by the naturalness and vividness of his dialogues. These preliminary remarks have been somewhat lengthy, but on the other hand I shall give only a short account of one of M. de Maupassant’s best novels, ‘ Fort comme la Mort.’ Olivier Bertin, a fashionable artist, is the lover of the Comtesse de Guil- leroy, an attachment of many years’ stand- ing, which both time and age have, as it were, made regular. When he is fifty or thereabouts the painter suddenly feels that a new emotion, new wants, have taken the place of his calm and mature attachment. | Hefinally discovers, andthe countess discovers also, that the anxious tenderness which seemed at first to be a revival of the old love is not for the middle-aged mistress, but for a new Madame de Guilleroy in the | person of the graceful Annette, ‘the still more beautiful daughter of a beautiful mother.” Olivier Bertin’s love for the young girl is made up of recollections and | Visions of the past as much as of present attraction. The rising passion of the artist | (who at first completely deceives himself), | his sufferings, and above all the anguish | of the countess, to whom the symptoms of approaching age are the sure signs of defeat | and ruin—all this is admirably rendered in | * Fort comme la Mort.’ With M. Paul Aréne we quit these sombre thoughts. The joyousness of the sunshine of Provence, the bright laughter of happy young girls, the love of life under a fine blue sky, all these are per- | Sonified in M. Aréne. His style is the style of Daudet twenty years ago—of Daudet before he became corrupted by ‘his contact with unworthy forms of Parisian life. By the title of ‘La Chévre d’Or’ is understood a hidden treasure, concealed somewhere in the Mountains of the Moors. Norette, the daughter of a landowner in the village of Puget- Maure, is said to possess the talisman or secret of the treasure, and is in consequence t%- besieged by suitors. A young archeologist, who is visiting that part of the country in order to complete his studies on the “ pas- sage of the Saracens,” falls in love with Norette for her own sake, and, having proved that he cares not for the treasure, marries her. Well for him that he had not allowed himself to be seduced by the gold! The mysterious treasure, which M. Paul Aréne does not believe in very firmly, nor care to make his reader believe in, finally turns out to be the young girl herself. It matters little, however, whether the legend be authentic or not; the whole charm of the book lies in its seductive style and spark- ling wit. ‘Le Songe de l’Amour,’ by M. Paul Meurice, is a charming sketch, deliciously tender in its sentiment and most amiably ex- pressed, after the fashion of the ‘“idyls” that were in vogue towards the middle of this century. It is, in fact, in Paris in 1840 that the scene of this sentimental story is laid. A young actress, with a two months’ holiday in prospect, conceives the idea of ‘‘playing” at pure and disinterested love with a young student, freshly arrived from the provinces, whom she has seen—without being seen herself—at the house of the critic Giroux. She puts on her working-girl’s dress once more, and resumes her former occupation of lace-maker in a humble lodg- ing on a fifth floor, close to the room of the student. The young man is at first extremely shy, and it takes more than one graceful subterfuge on the part of his fair neighbour to make him declare his love. When that happy moment has arrived, a period of inexpressible tenderness begins, which is spent partly in the humble attics of the lovers, partly in some of the loveliest nooks of the environs of Paris. But all things come to an end, and Valentin, return- ing after a few days’ absence, finds the nest empty. His grief becomes absolute despair when he recognizes his beloved mistress in the person of a fashionable actress at the Théatre Francais, and follows her to the sumptuous apartments which she inhabits. Their dream of bliss has vanished, and the past cannot be resuscitated. The two lovers, having thus unconsciously played with fire, can find no consolation except in death. This story is not in the fashion of the day, and more’s the pity! for it is both touching and graceful. The psychological school gives us a littletoo much relief from sentimentalism, for nothing is more remote from sentiment than sensa- tion, and nothing is less human than the excessive and implacable analysis which now distorts such a large portion of our litera- ture. M. Bourget has lately been much impressed by the havoc made in weak or morbid minds by this mania for decomposing human souls. A famous case of murder, perpetrated in cold blood by one of the adepts of the psychological school for the perverse pleasure of analyzing new and complex sensations, has at last awakened M. Bourget to the necessity for a reaction. Was he not conscious of hav- ing formerly taken an influential though unintentional part in this work of de- pravation of young ‘‘decadents”? The ‘‘Disciple” is the pupil of one of these hollow and crotchety, but nevertheless dangerous analysts— Adrien Sixte— who
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12 THE ATHENZUM N° 3271, Juty 5,’90 from the peaceful retreat of his study analyzes human passions, classifies and labels sensations, and writes that there is no such thing as crime or virtue, and that our volitions—this is a ‘‘ decadent” phrase— are facts of a certain order governed by certain laws: no good and no evil, nothing but psychological phenomena, which are matter for the study of the analyst. Iobert Greslou (who to my thinking is a near relation of the Sorel of ‘Rouge et Noir’) has been fed upon these fine doctrines, and is desirous of applying them experimentally. By the aid of odious machinations he suc- ceeds in seducing the daughter of Count Jussat (it is noticeable that the aristocratic world is the favourite field of action of the decadent sentimentalists), in whose family he is a resident tutor. The whole story and its teaching lie in these facts. All the rest —the heroic struggle of Charlotte de Jussat against love and passion, the cowardice of the young monster who refuses the poison which the noble young girl offers him, the admirable frankness of Charlotte’s brother, who prefers truth to family pride, and the just revenge he finally takes on the wretched seducer—all this is but the clothing, highly dramatic it must be owned, of the lesson of the book. Since I have spoken of décadents, it may not be amiss to mention, for the special use of curious people, a sort of novel by M. Maurice Barrés, one of the most fashionable of these admirable young men. ‘ L’Homme Libre’ is the somewhat lengthy monologue, unrelieved by action of any sort, of a super- fine psychologist who studies the bizarre transformations of his ego. Starting from the idea that peace and happiness are abso- lutely denied to the miserable creature called man, he comes, nevertheless, to certain con- clusions which seem to affirm the superiority of mind and thought (even as a moral satis- faction) over action; and the sadness of remembrance seems to be the only con- solation allowed to the human victim. ‘L’Homme Libre’ is not, I must add, par- ticularly lively reading. In the midst of this deluge of analysis and of ‘cruel stories,” as the saying goes, I have found the counterpart of M. Paul Meurice’s sentimental tale. The author of it is M. Francois Coppée, who for this once has been unfaithful to the muse. ‘‘ Henriette’ is a young working-girl, who is probably contemporaneous with the Jenny of the popular song. She falls in love with the son of the family by which she is employed as daily seamstress, and a tender attachment ensues between the two young people (one might almost say children), which almost reduces to despair the young man’s mother, who cannot for- give the stranger for robbing her of a part of herson’s affections. Before long Armand succumbs to typhoid fever, and even then the mother is irritated at the sight of his friend’s intense grief; but after a time she finds her lonely widowhood unbearable, and accepts the hand of an old friend. On the very day of her wedding she receives a letter from poor Henriette, who is dying in a hospital, and who begs her forgiveness for having loved her son. One last pang of jealousy and anguish pierces her heart, and ‘ she exclaims: ‘Can it be that she loved him more than his mother? ” In ‘Passionnément’ M. Albert Delpit has undertaken to portray the position in society of a divorced woman. Public opinion has not yet frankly accepted this | reform, which is, nevertheless, much to the statistics. which makes the situation of a divorced wife so painful, however interesting and deserving she may be. It was evidently attractive to make this intermediate period coincide with what M. Delpit persists in calling the jin de siécle. The best part of the book, to my thinking, is, from the author’s point of view, but an episode in the story, though it fills a great many pages. It is the portrait of a beautiful and gifted, but terribly vicious foreigner, who profits by the incredible indulgence (particularly where foreigners are concerned) of a certain section of Parisian society to carry on simultaneously a passionate love intrigue with an elegant club-man and a purely interested connexion with a banker. This episode reveals the hand of a master by its powerful treatment. I must now betake myself to China. The most French, nay, the most Parisian of all Chinamen, General Tcheng-ki-Tong, a military attaché at the Chinese Legation, has become one of our most fashionable writers, and every year volumes bearing his now familiar name appear in our book- sellers’ windows. His ‘Contes Chinois’ are a collection of legends, translated, or rather adapted to French readers, which yet retain their original framework and native flavour, and which, to tell the truth, are very far remote from French taste. Nothing is more distasteful to the countrymen of La Fon- taine and of Perrault than the absence of in- genuousness and of imagination which forms a characteristic trait of these Chinese tales. The hero is almost invariably a student, who passes a great many examinations, who becomes a public official, and often extorts all he can from poor people—a peculiarly Chinese habit, it is said! Morality is also almost completely absent from these stories. The deus ex machind often appears in the shape of a strange divinity, with a distorted mouth and grotesque features, who strikes right and left with inexplicable whimsi- cality. Another well-known trait of Chinese life is the strength and influence of family ties. Woman is always represented in these tales, but it is hard to tell whether her influence is for good or evil. Certain types of young girls are truly delightful. Some of these fables would lead one to believe that decorum is not always strictly observed between young people of different sexes in China. The style of General Tcheng-ki-Tong is elegant and flowing, but I must say that s: Peau d’dne m’était contée.... The enforcement of universal and com- pulsory military service could not but give rise to a sort of military literature in France. A number of young men, on leaving their regiments, have collected and published their impressions. A few years ago this form of literature was purely patriotic, and even somewhat chauvinistic, and an unfavourable remark upon the | days the remembrance of the war and in- and the necessity for the nation in arms appears less evident to younger generations, from whose midst numerous and at first timid protests have gradually made them- rom ge pat ‘ig gy eg selves heard against the severity of military ill- couples, to judge by | It is, moreover, probable that | society will soon rid itself of the prejudice | army would have been resented. Nowa-. | vasion of 1870 has become more distant, | service for young men of good birth, for gentle poets and delicate men of letters. ‘ Le Cavalier Miserey,’ by M. Abel Hermant, ‘Le Canon,’ by M. Jules Perrin, &c., are pessimistic variations on the same subject: the disillusion of the soldier compelled to lead the monotonous and insipid life of the barracks. We can just put up with these lamentations in M. Marcel Luguet’s ‘ Eléve Martyr,’ although it is full of unlikely state- ments and juvenile errors, but they are intolerable in ‘ Sous-offs,’ by M. Descaves. This so-called novel is nothing but a violent and unjust attack on the non-commissioned officers of the French army, in which they are represented as a gang of ruffians who rob the poor soldiers of their food and otherwise ill-treat their inferiors. A dreadful picture is drawn—in weak and pretentious style—of their low instincts and revolting habits. The officers themselves are almost equally roughly handled. ‘Sous-offs’ has delighted the Germans, who in their inmost hearts do not believe a word of it. In France the book had a suecés de scandale; but al- though the jury finally acquitted its author of the charge of immorality and libel, he was condemned by public opinion, and it is not likely that M. Descaves will have many imitators. By the side of these unhealthy produc- tions how truthful and how virile a book M. Ch. Mismer’s ‘ Six Ans Soldat’ appears to be! The theme of these personal recol- lections is also the disillusions of a young soldier, but this time we are taken back to the Crimean and Italian wars under the Second Empire. M. Mismer had enlisted while yet a very young man, in love with .nmilitary glory, and fired with the heroic example of the old soldiers with whom his native Alsace had filled the armies of the Revolution and of the Empire. His illusions were soon dispelled. This army, composed as it was of mixed nation- alities, of lazy, unoccupied, and coarse individuals, was indeed a school of vice; and for a young man restricted to the extremely small pay and to the common routine of the soldier, material life was exceedingly hard. The officers, who had grown old in the lower ranks, were ignorant and harsh, and almost as coarse as the soldiers. But M. Mismer admits that the picture (strikingly true as it is) he presents of the army at that epoch is in no way applicable to the army at present, which is laborious, instructed, and full of hope and ardour. Besides this, the author is very far removed from systematic pessimism, and in spite of his sufferings he knows how to praise as well as to condemn. He knows how to detect the good by the side of the bad, and he often meets with a bright intellect by the side of a sleepy brute. An heroic action on the part of an officer otherwise harsh and unjust imme- diately raises him in the author’s esteem: this is life, this is truth, made up of good and evil, of beauty and of ugliness. It is fitting to name in the same breath with M. Mismer’s book a collection of letters by a brave though obscure officer, Capt..Faré, mn
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XUM N° 3271, Juny 5, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 13 dating from 1804 to 1815 (‘Lettres d’un Jeune Officier’). These unpretending family documents present an interesting picture of military life in the Napoleonic armies, which will assuredly hold an honourable place in the curious collection of which ‘ Les Cahiers du Capitaine Coignet’ is the masterpiece. M. Gaston Bergeret’s ‘‘ Cousin Babylas” is a sort of adventurer who has made a large fortune in America. On his return to France he gathers together the few relations that are left him and makes them a most extraordinary proposition. Each one of them—Frédéric, an idle and worldly young fellow; Yvonne, a young marriageable girl; Valerie, a coquettish young widow; two old well-to-do people; the Martys, a married pair of the working class—each one must agree to put aside his ordinary clothes, to abandon his home, his friends, and hisincome, and seek employment in Paris like a simple workman, with only a hundred francs in his pocket. Twelve hundred thousand francs will be given to the one who at the end of a year shall have earned or saved the highest sum. All of them, except Valérie, consent to begin the experiment. Fré- déric soon comes to the end of his re- sources and is obliged to undertake very doubtful business, which compromises him terribly without bringing him the least profit. Yvonne enters a baker’s establish- ment, and by her industry and amiability soon makes for herself a good situation ; she is, in fact, about to gain the prize, when she falls in love with an honest young fellow who woos her in a bashful but touching manner, and who is absolutely ignorant of her real position. The young girl spends all her savings in nursing hersuitor through aserious illness, and while she thus loses all chance of inheriting Cousin Babylas’s fortune, she wins an excellent husband in the honest man of whom she had at first made fun. The old rentiers have fasted so much in order to economize that their privations have soured their tempers and made them quarrel with one another. The Marty couple spend in a very few days the small capital given by Cousin Babylas, but being used to poverty they manage to live and to save, by working a little and by sending their children to beg in the streets ; the prize will surely be theirs. However, the cleverest of all is the widow Valérie, who turns the head of her bachelor cousin and makes him marry her. We must not look for a moral to this philo- sophical story. M. Bergeret amused him- self by writing it, and we amuse ourselves with reading it, and that is all. In ‘La Bete Humaine’ M. Zola continues to develope his thesis of the fatality of evil, of the inevitable consequences of heredity and surroundings, in virtue of which his Rougon-Macquarts are the most monstrous family that it is possible to imagine. Never before, perhaps, has crime been let loose as in ‘La Béte Humaine:’ All the characters in the book are able to boast of a certain number of crimes; and a witty critic, who amused himself with counting the dead and wounded in ‘La Béte Humaine,’ reached a total of twenty-three dead and thirty-one wounded, ‘“ without counting eighteen railway earriages full of soldiers which we leave at the last page flying onwards to inevitable destruction.” Itis in the railway world that the last feats of the Rougon-Macquart family take place. In order to study his ‘“‘ human documents” from the life, M. Zola has fre- quented the company of stokers and engine- drivers, and has travelled with them on the engine. A host of technical details are spread over the whole narrative, in order to give it the appearance of truth. But, alas! competent men have pointed out dozens of in- accuracies, which is not surprising when one considers the rapidity with which M. Zola has had to fill his head with notions hitherto absolutely unknown to him, and it matters little to the ordinary reader, who, on the contrary, admires excessively the precise and sober descriptions of the powerful writer. Although the art becomes too apparent after a time, we must own that the talent is as strong as ever. The author is sincerely impressed by the strangeness and the poetry (why should we hesitate to use that word ?) of railways and railway travelling; the con- tinual rumbling of the trains; the man- ceuvres and the signals; the solitary life of the signalman in his glass cage; the possible tragedies in the existence of these beings who are perpetually carried at a wild speed through space, who necessarily possess two homes, and sometimes two families, at opposite ends of the line; the struggle of passions on the platform of the engine, an outpost the occupant of which is in per- petual danger. Such is the scene and frame- work of ‘La Béte Humaine.’ The under stationmaster Roubaud, a clever official, but otherwise of narrow understanding, brutal and jealous, finds out one day that his wife Séverine has been, and is still, the mistress of President Grandmorin. Roubaud orders his wife to induce her lover to travel with her in the same railway carriage, and he murders him as the express train is flying along. The narrative of the crime from the lips of Séverine is quite a master- piece of style and composition. If Rou- baud has taken the pocket-book of his victim, it is only to make the world believe in a robbery, and as he still loves his wife, it is easy to foresee that the two accomplices will struggle hard to save their lives. At this point the study of character becomes highly interesting. M. Zola, with a sense of the dramatic which no one can deny him, makes Séverine the object of the passion of two men who could furnish serious information on the murder : Jacques Lantier, who has _ witnessed (indistinctly, it is true) a part of the tragic scene, and M. Oamy-Lamotte, secretary- general of the Ministry of Justice, who is in possession of the note written by Séverine to draw Grandmorin into thetrap. Séverine then plays an admirably acted part of charmer with these two men. But from that moment all the characters change suddenly, and, to our dismay, lose all apparent con- sistency. Séverine, who so far has been re- presented as an irresolute woman with no conscience, becomes an energetic and per- severing creature, who seeks to make her lover Lantier raise his hand against her husband ; and Roubaud, until then jealous and violent, is almost indifferent to the infidelity of his wife. Can this incredible change be accounted for by the fact that, having become a gambler and used the money of the pocket-book, he is degraded in his own sight? As to Jacques Lantier, when he murders his mistress Séverine the motive of his crime must not be traced to one of the passions common to all mankind. Lantier is the predestined individual of the book, the victim of heredity, condemned from his birth to be a criminal and to avenge ‘‘no one knows what crime, which took place,” says the critic I mentioned before, ‘“‘ when man still inhabited caverns under the ground.” M. Zola’s last novel is pure and rational in comparison with ‘Le Cadet’ of M. Jean Richepin. The rivalry of our two prin- cipal schools of fiction is well known: the naturalistic and the psychological or intui- tiviste school. A certain number of M. Zola’s admirers have lately separated from their master with the idea of borrowing something from his opponents, and of reacting against both extremes. M. Richepin, it would seem, has tried to unite and reconcile the exag- gerations of the two schools. His ‘Cadet’ is the story of two brothers, whom a double hereditary influence forces into mutual hatred, and a total difference of character. Each of the brothers (sons of a nobleman and of a peasant woman) is the incarnation of one of the two races from which they are descended. The gentleman, Amable, having lost his fortune, is received into the house of his brother the peasant. Jealousy soon awakens in the heart of Amable, arising at first from trifling causes, and then, strange to say, from a passionate love of the soil, which is suddenly born in the soul of the townsman. A deformed wretch, Le Borgnot, admirably portrayed as such characters always are by M. Riche- pin, urges him to fratricide. Amable begins by robbing his brother of his wife, and then kills him treacherously during the war of 1870. He allows Le Borgnot to be condemned in his place, and finally dies of a loathsome disease, minutely described by the author. In the midst of these ultra- realistic descriptions are placed some charm- ing country scenes, though at times too crudely expressed. I have already spoken of a novel of M. Delpit’s; I have just found another, ‘Comme dans la Vie.’ Roland Monfrauchet involuntarily causes the death of a man, and appropriates a large fortune in such strangely complicated circumstances that he is looked upon as a hero. Having thus become rich, he marries the daughter of his victim, whom he loves, but his peace and happiness are destroyed by the remembrance of the past. He is, moreover, threatened with the revenge of the man who has been punished in his place, and he commits a (this time) wilful murder in order to rid himself of this danger. All this is, for- tunately, not comme dans la vie; but the re- markable dramatic talent of M. Delpit and his clever manipulation of his story fully account for the success of his new work. — We again find ourselves involved in social “ psychology” with M. Rabusson. ‘L’Il- lusion de Florestan’ forcibly reminds me of the ‘Dialogues Moraux’ of Crébillon fils. Men and women like those of the eighteenth century hold discussions on love with cool composure; what have they to fear, indeed ? Society life, sceptical and superficial as it is, andregulated by mere formsand etiquette, has so dried up their hearts as to exclude all possibility of passion. The young pro- vincial fop Florestan has come to Paris in
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14 THE ATHENZUM N° 3271, Juty 5,’90 search of a heart; Madame de Fossanges takes care to point out his mistake. Carried away by specious reasoning, this strong- minded woman forgets her danger, and finally becomes the mistress of Florestan. So far all is well. But Madame de Foss- anges, after another false manceuvre, is led into running away with her lover to the Riviera. How unconventional! This esca- pade, however, soon convinces Madame de Fossanges that love does not suffice for her happiness; she leaves Florestan, and resumes her place in society ! M. Edouard Rod has published a series of short tales, ‘Scénes de la Vie Cosmo- polite,’ which, though they are not deeply tinctured with the habitual pessimism of the writer, are nevertheless somewhat sad in their philosophy. One of them is charm- ing. We are introduced into the home of two old people who live obscurely, and whose past has been uniformly mono- tonous. The husband is methodical, selfish, and tyrannical; the wife is humble, timid, and invariably obedient. After fifty years of married life the husband wishes to celebrate his golden wedding by giving a dinner, which he carefully orders according to his own taste. The wife reflects a little, and remembers her long and miserable life by the side of this unfeeling tyrant—a joyless life, during which her self-respect has been continually wounded, and has finally suc- cumbed. No, she will not hold revel over this half century of shameful slavery ; for once she disobeys orders and holds up the head that has always bowed down under the yoke, and declares to her astounded husband that she will not do as he wishes. But it is too late to throw off the yoke, and death is too near at hand. The poor old woman is satisfied with this moment of rebellion, which makes up to her for many wrongs, and resumes her monotonous life of submission. ‘La Gageure,’ by M. Cherbuliez, has a com- paratively simple plot. A young girl, Claire Vionnaz, pretty, kind, and unsophisticated, lives with a friend, the Duchesse d’Ar- manches. A frequent visitor at the duchess’s house, Count de Louvaigne, falls in love with Claire and marries her. Butthe duchess, who is slightly jealous, endeavours to spoil the happiness of the newly married pair, and keeps them from the first day in a state of moral divorce by suggesting doubts to them. “ He has married you out of esteem,” she says to Claire; and to Louvaigne, ‘She has chosen you from pure reason and be- cause she is so docile, but you are not in love yourself.”” The wager is that the count will make his wife love him, or rather will prove that he is really beloved. The whole story revolves round this intrigue, which it would seem might have been ended in a minute by a frank explanation, notwith- standing the devices of the duchess. M. Cherbuliez has avoided with great delicacy the objectionable development which the nature of the plot might have suggested to another writer. ‘Le Dernier Amour,’ by M. Ohnet, is another story of aristocratic life, in which the fecund novelist narrates the sublime devotion of a countess who sacrifices her life to the happiness of her husband, in love with a young girl. ‘Fin de Réve,’ by M. Georges Duruy, is of a much higher order. The idea of it, however, is in doubtful taste. M. Duruy has represented Gambetta in the person of Michel Costalla, and a certain number of other political men under various disguises. Facts are considerably altered or amplified, and dates much mixed up for the sake of the interest or charm of the plot. This somewhat hybrid style, which holds an intermediate place between history and fiction, does not seem to adapt itself very well to the treatment of con- temporaneous history. The present article has been divided, as much as was possible, according to the nature of the works that have appeared during the past year. Should we class M. d’Hérisson with the novelists or with the historians? Let us agree to call by the name of ‘historical novels” his last two books, ‘Le Nouveau Journal d’un Officier d’Ordonnance’ and the ‘ Journal de la Cam- pagne d’Italie.’ M. d’Hérisson is the in- carnation of paradox. What he likes best in history is an indefensible cause, or a purely fantastic or arbitrary theory. He pounces upon these, becomes their ad- vocate, collects from every quarter a motley heap of documents, and consults the surviving actors of the drama he wishes to reconstruct. For instance, for the first of these ‘‘ journals,” which treats of the Paris Commune, he interviewed the sur- viving soldiers of the troop who shot down Mgr. Darboy. In this narrative alone there are two or three paradoxes, of which I shall mention one only: Rossel, according to M. d’Hérisson, was a cham- pion of the Empress Eugénie, and joined the Commune in order to bring about a restoration of the Empire. The proofs given are that Rossel died like a Christian, and did not ery out “ Vive la République! ” or “ Vive la Commune!” and that he was attended in his last moments by an avowed Bonapartist, Jules Amigues. The rest is in unison with the above sample. Of the ‘Campagne d’Italie’ there would not be much to say unless I were to relate the wild fiction of the Carbonari reminding Napo- leon III., through the medium of the Orsini plot, of his promise to liberate Italy. This supposition is not new. Several writers, and amongst others M. de Beaumont Vassy, have connected those events in a similar way; but this interpretation is completely annihilated by the memoirs of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. What I wish particu- larly to recommend in M. d’Hérisson’s book is something which does not proceed from his pen: an extract from the journal of an officer in the Italian army, which is certainly original and authentic, although we are not told the author’sname. These notes are full of colour and of feeling, for the brave cap- tain is more of a philosopher than a soldier. He belongs to the school of Courier and Stendhal, and observes and reasons with much delicacy and wit. His own character is remarkable, and his too short narra- tive teaches many a lesson about that Italian campaign, which served to bring into strong relief the, alas! unprofitable valour of the French troops, and the abso- lute incapacity of their commanders. Some of the portraits of colonels and generals de cour, and certain anecdotes taken from the life, are positive gems. A great deal has been said and written about Jeanne d’Arc of late years. M. Joseph Fabre, a professor who was for some time a deputy, has undertaken with zeal and ability the glorification of the bonne lorraine. His two works on that subject, ‘ Histoire de Jeanne d’Arc’ and ‘Le Procés de Jeanne d’Arc,’ have become the sacred books of a positive worship, and the devotees of Jeanne d’Arc incessantly offer sacrifice in the shape of various publications, of funds for the erection of statues, and even of wreaths to- be periodically laid at the foot of her monu- ment. Patriotic feeling, kept painfully alive by the ever-bleeding wound of the war of 1870, sufficiently accounts for this ardent. devotion, and makes it a respectable senti- ment. But the historian, whose duty it. is to judge of things more coolly, may well ask himself whether national grati- tude and patriotic hopes have not some- what perverted the real nature of the mission of the virgin of Vaucouleurs. An officer, Capitaine Marin, has lately devoted a whole volume, ‘Jeanne d’Arc Stratégiste,’ to the praise of the military talents of the Pucelle. The ‘Jeanne d’Arc’ of M. Le- signe is also curious for its perversion of the truth. The author attacks the legend of Jeanne, and tries to demolish it altogether. In his eyes Jeanne was only one of the numerous visionaries or seers which the misfortunes of the times and the credulity of the people fostered and encouraged. The formalities of examination by matrons and of presentation to the king were repeated with every new case. Jeanne d’Arc, dis- interested, pure, and enthusiastic, was the precious instrument of Charles VII. and his councillors, and nothing more. No miracle was expected through her agency. The king and his council, some clever generals and shrewd diplomatists, had pre- pared the defeat of the English by a series of well-combined mancuvres. The citizens were munificent in subsidies; the Burgundians had forsaken the English ; some excellent artillery and infantry had been formed ; and, finally, the English, ill supported by their Government, had grown very weary, while, on the other hand, a whole nation was rising up, resolved to put an end to the horrors of the invasion. Jeanne d’Arc was only the moral stimulus of a movement long prepared and decided upon. The part she played in politics and war is reduced to nothing. Such is the idea. put forth by M. Lesigne in his very close critical study. Unfortunately he is carried away by his thesis into committing serious mistakes. His critical powers fail him when he accepts the untrustworthy version by which Jeanne is supposed to have escaped death at the stake, and to have married the Sieur d’Armoise. In his determination to destroy the legend M. Lesigne entangles himself in his own meshes. Jn vitium ducit culpe fuga. The Iron Mask and the fate of Louis XVII. are historical problems that have caused rivers of ink to flow, and to no avail, for the most perspicacious have been unable to come to any conclusion on the subject. What numberless ro- mances have been founded on the tragic adventure of the unfortunate Dauphin! Did he die in the Temple, or did he make his escape? If you question people on the point, eighty out ofa hundred will decide for the escape, for the human mind likes what- *
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KUM N° 3271, Jury 5, ’90 THE ATHENZAUM 15 ever is mysterious and complicated. Ask ten Parisians what caused the premature and ainful death of Gambetta; nine will relate know not what dramatic story, absolutely refuted by probabilities, and by the testi- mony of the friends of the great statesman. Supposing the Dauphin really escaped, what became of him? A most embarrassing question! Somany heads, so many versions of the story. And with what ardour some affirm while othersdeny! with what ferocity the neighbour’s hypothesis is attacked, to the great amusement of the reader! Heaven only knows how many good people have quarrelled over the Dauphin. M. Provins, who has recently entered the fight, is not less passionate than his elders, judg- ing from his book called ‘Le Dernier Roi Légitime de la France.’ He advocates the claims of Naundorff, who has had many particans and adversaries already. Naun- dorff, according to M. Provins, is the real prince, and he escaped after the ninth Ther- midor at the instigation of Barras, who wished to be able to oppose the real Dauphin to the Comte de Provence, in case the latter triumphed with his foreign coalition. M. Provins follows his idea at a furious pace, and makes all history revolve around this mystery. For instance, it was in order to perpetuate the usurpation of his successors, and to ensure silence as to the existence of Louis XVII., that the Duc d’Enghien, the Duc de Berry, and so many others were put to death! “ Pends-toi, d’Hérisson,” for thou hast found thy master. Nevertheless there is still much to be said on the question of Louis XVII. The ‘ Souvenirs’ of the Comte de Roche- chouart is certainly one of the most interesting publications that have appeared on the occasion of the anniversary of the French Revolution. These memoirs begin during the first years of the Revolution, and close about 1830—a period of forty years which represents a sum of events, of actions and ideas that cannot be equalled by any known century. The Rochechouart family was dispersed by the Revolution as early as 1789. After countless misfortunes and hard- ships, the young Comte de Rochechouart, at fifteen years of age, but ripened by the hardness of his destiny, took refuge in Odessa with his relative the Duc de Richelieu. The first part of the memoirs relates chiefly to the duke and his administration, and to the wars with the Turks and moun- taineers of the Caucasus. After the retreat from Moscow, the allies assumed the offen- sive once more, and the faithful emigrants began to hope. The young count, like many others, served in the allied armies, and on the battle-field often encountered other Frenchmen, other nobles, who had become reconciled to the Empire ; and some- times other Rochechouarts. He does not seem to have shone much in battle; he was elegant and fashionable, and preferred to serve on the staff or to be sent on missions. This position afforded him an admirable point of observation, which enabled him to obtain much precious information, some- times by rather questionable means. We are thus made spectators of the retreat from Moscow, of the conference between the allies, and of a mission of the young count to Bernadotte, Crown Prince of Sweden, an interview which is related with charming vivacity and wit. Upon the return of the allies and the occupation of Paris in 1815, the count was made a general, and, as a reward for the services rendered by his mother (who had risked her life in several conspiracies for the liberation of the prisoners in the Temple) to the royalist cause, Governor of Paris, so that he had the mournful honour of presiding at the execution of Marshal Ney. This is the last important episode in his memoirs. Under the title of ‘De Dante a ]’Arétin,’ M. Lefebvre St. Ogan presents us with a history, or rather a collection of interesting pictures, of the manners, private and public, of the small Italian republics of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. What a strange contrast is presented by the magnificent development of art and science known under the name of Renaissance, and the civil wars and incessant rivalries of Italian principalities! The political annals of that epoch speakof nothing but murder, poisoning, ambuscades, and treason. Authority passed from one hand to the other by a series of crimes ; and the last usurper lived in con- stant fear of dying under the blows of another like himself. Some of these tyrants killed for the sake of killing, and thus ac- quired an insatiable thirst for blood. Never- theless these monsters protected the arts; glorious times indeed for Italy, broken up though it was into a hundred inimical prin- cipalities! Who knows whether the great poets, who even then sang of the unity of Italy in admirable verse, would not now regret, in the name of art, and in presence of the intellectual barrenness of united Italy, the accomplishment of their desire ? Does it not seem as if inspiration had run dry and genius had become exhausted after the fulfilment of this great purpose ? ‘Les Lettres du Duc d’Orléans,’ edited by his own sons, the Comte de Paris and the Duc de Chartres, throw much light on the real causes of the great popularity of that prince. The greater part of these letters were written from the army, in the camp near Antwerp and in Africa. They show a well-balanced mind, and reveal plenty of courage and spirit. The Duc d’Orléans also exhibits liberal ideas, as befits an heir pre- sumptive. It is easy to detect in his descrip- tions his anxiety to preserve his popu- larity, and to make his associates forget the position he owed to his birth by his good- humoured ways, and by a sort of respectful condescension towards the old officers whose hair had grown white in theservice. Again, he let it transpire that he did not accept the rank to which his country had been condemned by the treaties of 1815. Certain anecdotes, wittily and graciously narrated, furnish a good picture of the old limited standing army, with its chivalrous manners and feelings, now probably irrevocably de- stroyed by the rapidity of modern wars, by the immensity of modern armies, and, perhaps, also by the hatred of nations. The Crimean was probably the last of heroic and courteous wars. I cannot forbear quoting a short passage from a letter of the duke’s written at Antwerp after the sur- render of that fortress: ‘‘ Major Seelig (a Dutchman) asked me if I had noticed the effect of one of his guns which was con- stantly placed on a projecting point of the Toledo bastion. ‘I noticed it so well,’ I replied, ‘ that I nearly lost my head by it.’ ‘Ah! Ithank you heartily,’ said he. ‘And you,’ I added—‘ what say you of the firing of our battery No. 13?’ ‘Two of my best artillery captains were killed by it,’ said he. ‘Ah! very good,’ I answered; and then we changed the conversation.” The Champ de Mars in Paris is one of the spots in the world that have seen the most tragical, imposing, or strange events. MM. Maindron and Viré, who have lately given us a history of the Champ de Mars, have described, with an unprecedented profusion of de- tails, the periodical ceremonies which were, under the Revolution, the manifestations of a Republican cult supposed to replace the worship of past times. Marie Joseph Chénier, David, Pleyel, Méhul, were the organizers of these /étes, in which the most unexpected allegories and symbols were somehow mixed up with reminiscences of Greece and of Rome. Not long after, blood flowed freely on the very site of the altar of Liberty; and since then the Federation, the national workshops of 1848, the exhibi- tions of the Third Republic, have made the history of the Champ de Mars almost the history of the century. The deluge of books on the French Revolution has now subsided. There are, however, a few belated writers on thatsubject. M. Guadet, the nephew of the conventionnel of the same name, has brought out a condensed ‘ Histoire des Girondins,’ which is, naturally, a sort of apology, but a very conscientious one. The history of the flight of the Girondists, who were hunted down, and had to wander all over France, and were repulsed by their own partisans (these were the great majority of the nation, but were kept down by the fear of Paris), is a well- known episode, but it is always tragical and impressive. It is not, however, by M. Guadet in his ‘ Histoire’ that this tragedy has been most strikingly reproduced, but in the memoirs of a conventionnel (a friend of the Girondists), of which M. Aulard, the distin- guished professor, has given us the first com- plete edition. I speak of the ‘Mémoires de Louvet,’ the celebrated author of ‘ Faublas.’ When Louvet made his first appearance at the bar of the Legislative Assembly in 1791, instead of the brilliant hero which the public was waiting for with intense curiosity, a small and insignificant - looking man appeared, bald, delicate, and almost poorly clad. The same antithesis is found in his memoirs. Throughout his affecting and dramatic flight from one hiding-place to another, in the midst of the most extraordinary adventures, the author of ‘Faublas’ (that masterpiece of scepticism and inconstancy) was followed everywhere by a woman (Madame Cholet, his famous Lodoiska), whom he loved most tenderly and faithfully, and whom he was soon to marry in consecration of her own heroic devotion and tenderness. General history has been successfully treated by M. Lavisse, the eminent professor who lately wrote a remarkable preface to the French translation of the fine work of Mr. James Bryce on the ‘Holy Roman Empire.’ The last book of M. Lavisse is a ‘ Vue Générale de l’ Histoire Politique de l’Europe.’ The taste for general historical surveys of this kind, which were called in the seventeenth and
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16 THE ATHENAUM N° 3271, Jury 5, 90 eighteenth centuries “discours sur l’histoire universelle,”’ has returned to us from England, who is justly proud of the develop- ment of historical studies in her midst. The idea of the new book of M. Lavisse was suggested by an introduction which he wrote in 1886 for a translation of Mr. Freeman’s ‘ Historical Geography of Europe. We shall find in M. Lavisse’s small volume an _ interesting estimate (as philosophical and as free from patriotic prejudice as possible) of the part played by France in European affairs. France has been, according to the expression of M. Lavisse, ‘‘the most fearful opponent of the fatality of consequences.” By her interference a century ago Europe was launched in a totally new direction. The conclusions of M. Lavisse are somewhat pessimistic; yet he is of opinion that if impending conflicts are to be appeased it will be due to the influence of France. A man of heart and understanding, whose pen is both facile and eloquent, has treated the ‘ Question d’Alsace’ in a book which is deeply moving in its simplicity, and power- ful in its moderation. The author, who probably wrote his book in Alsace, has chosen to remain anonymous. ‘‘ Heimweh,”’ the pseudonym under which he writes, is in itself the motto and preface of the book ; it mournfully expresses the feelings of the French of Alsace, both on this and on the other side of the Vosges, for their sufferings ere almost equally great on both sides of the frontier. The first part of the ‘ Ques- tion d’Alsace,’ which is most remarkable from an historical point of view, is the pic- ture of Alsace since the half-willing and half-violent annexation of the imperial pro- vince to the kingdom of France. The author begins by showing the good that ac- crued to Alsace from the French occupation of Strasbourg, thereby securing order and prosperity to a country hitherto so disturbed ; he then proceeds to point out the advantage to Germany herself, who by this one stroke was liberated from the Austrian yoke. From that time Germany began to exist as a nation, and conquered the right of living and thinking. ‘The second part of the work is a striking comparison between the mild- ness and reasonableness of the French rule and the brutality and injustice of the German conquest and government. On the one hand we see respect for the laws, the customs, the religion (even at the time of the Revocation), and the language of the province; the gentle and affectionate initiation to French genius, and the parti- cipation of all in the conquests of liberty, and in unspeakable greatness and glory ; and on the other hand we see the barbarous and useless bombardment of Strasbourg, a rule of iron, an inquisition carried into family circles, the exile of non-adherents, the locking-up of the frontiers, the hunting down of all French recollections and of the French tongue, the suppression of every liberty. Alsace, which is German by its tongue, can only be Germanized by its heart, and violence makes friendship for its conqueror for ever impossible. Moreover, Alsace compares the two nations; she re- members the mildness of government and the liberty of France, and cannot become accus- tomed to the military despotism of Prussia ; she compares the two, and gives the palm of civilization to the French people. That is why she sends protesting members to the Parliament of Berlin with unshaken con- stancy and perseverance. ‘ Heimweh” ex- presses all this better than I can; argu- ments and proofs flow freely from his pen. One feels that he has lived, and perhaps still lives, in the conquered country. His book will certainly be read throughout France ; but it should be read abroad also, and especially in those countries where certain political arrangements have led two or three Prime Ministers to guarantee the existing order of things in Alsace-Lor- raine, enforced against the will of its popu- lation. The life of ‘Général Yusuf,’ by Colonel Trumelet, is quite aromance. We possess but vague information concerning the origin of this strange individual. According to M. Trumelet, Yusuf (or rather Yousouf, the Arab for Joseph) was of Italian origin, and was carried away from the island of Elba by some Tunisian pirates, who brought him to the court of the Bey. There he was care- fully brought up and made to enter the corps of the Mamelouks. At the time of the Algerian expedition he drew upon himself the displeasure of the Bey by an intrigue with his daughter, the Princess Kaboura. Yusuf only made his escape through the support of M. Ferdinand de Lesseps, who was then éléve-consul at Tunis. The French army, encamped at Sidi-Terruch, near Algiers, suddenly beheld a young and handsome cavalier, in a gorgeous Eastern dress, who came to offer his services to General de Bourmont. Yusuf was accepted, and served at first as interpreter and then as officer. He was chivalrously bold, he was wily, and at times ferocious like an Arab, and soon became the terror of the enemy. His feats and exploits at Bone, at Constantine, at Isly, and at the taking of the Smala, revealed extraordinary energy and audacity. When he was promoted to the rank of general he astonished Parisian society by his imposing air, by his magnificent costumes, by the mysteriousness of his life, and by the fame of his military exploits and of his dramatic duels. His death at Montpellier was sad and commonplace. Yusuf out of Africa was Yusuf no longer, but his name will always sound heroic in the Algerian epopee. The life of Surcouf, the bold corsair of St. Malo, is hardly less adventurous. The greatness of the epoch and the distance of the scene of his exploits have made the name of this man, a contemporary of Napoleon I., almost legendary. One of his descendants, M. Robert Surcouf, has given us a ‘ Vie de Surcouf,’ which, though not particularly well written, is extremely interesting. One never wearies of the adventures of those brilliant cruisers who were the terror of British merchants in India and in the East. Surcouf, after one of his expeditions, would come back in triumph, loaded with spoils, to his eagle’s eyrie at Port Louis, in the Lle de France. The bold corsair outlived this career of warfare and incredible peril, and retired to his native St. Malo, where he became a rich shipowner, and where his name has ever retained great popu- larity. The history of the French conquest in India has inspired two authors—M. Cas- tonnet des Fosses, in his ‘Inde Frangaise. avant Dupleix,’ and M. Tibulle Haumont, who relates the beginning and end of the French conquest in two volumes, ‘ Un Essai d’Empire Frangais dans les Indes au XVIII* Siécle: Dupleix,’ and ‘ La Fin d’un Empire Frangais aux Indes sous Louis XV. : Lally- Tollendal.’ These three works complete each other, and constitute an interesting monograph on that part of our colonial history. Our geographical publications are always exceedingly numerous. It is fitting to name: the following amongst the first in rank: ‘Voyage aux Lacs de]’Afrique Equatoriale,’ the narrative of the remarkable travels of M. Victor Giraud, a naval lieutenant ; ‘ Lettres sur le Congo,’ a learned and conscientious monograph, geological and anthropological, by M. Ed. Dupont, the director of the Museum of Natural History at Brussels ;. several works on the French Soudan, supplying valuable details about the vast. empire which is being created in Eastern Africa — ‘Au Soudan Frangais,’ by Capitaine Péroz, one of the bold officers who, with a handful of men, have achieved the conquest of the lands that divide Upper Senegal from the Niger; ‘Cing Ans au Soudan Frangais,’ by M- Béchet, which describes with much truth and feeling the life of the settler in the midst of the blacks in the Soudan; and ‘ Le Congo Frangais,’ by M. Guiral, the journal of one of M. de Brazza’s companions, who died at his task on the Congo. I may further mention ‘ L’Asie Centrale, Thibet et Régions Limitrophes,’ a learned description of the mountains of that region, by M. Dutreuil de Rhins, well known for his important studies on Indo-China; and. ‘Le Paraguay,’ by Dr. de Bourgade. JoserH Rernacu. GERMANY. A new era has opened. The new “ Haus- meier”’ (steward) of the Germanic ruling family, whom history will one day surname ‘*Otto the Great ” like the first Saxon em- peror, has withdrawn in vexation to the leafy shades of the old Saxon forest near Lauenburg. A youthful autocrat has taken his place, whose love for the sea seems to revive the Northern tradition of the Norman sea-kings and the ocean-ruling Hansa. The programme he has sketched for himself and his kingdom suggests the word of com- mand given by a naval captain: “ For- wards, full steam, the course is the old one.’” It were much to be desired that this should hold good of literature as well as of politics. There are, however, serious indications that in literature, at any rate, the course is not the old one, and that the tendency is to turn backwards rather than forwards. The artistic and ethical idealism, the heri- tage of the classical period of German literature, which regarded the elevation of nature as the mission of art, is rapidly losing ground. But it is not healthy realism, striving with loving fidelity to re- flect real nature, that has succeeded to an undisputed heritage ; it is rather a morbid naturalism introduced from foreign lands, depicting with malicious joy the ugliness of nature, which is threatening to gain the
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XUM N° 3271, Jury 5, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 17 upper hand. Instead of raising us above nature, as do the classic writers of our nation, instead of marching side by side with nature like the true realist, the naturalistic writer often suffers himself to sink beneath it. The maxim which, though indisputable in itself, is subject to inevitable limits in art, whose aim is the representation of beauty, ‘‘Naturalia non sunt turpia,” is misinter- preted by this process of naturalizing into a caricature, which represents turpia as the only naturalia. Zola in the West, Tolstoi and Dostoievski in the East, have favoured this esthetic ‘‘ barbarism ’’ in the domain of the novel, while the Scandinavian dramatists Bjérnson and Ibsen in the North have fostered it on the stage. This tendency has had the greatest influence on novels and plays, which both agree in representing real life. The professedly moral tendency which claims to represent vice unadorned only in order to frighten men from it, and forgets that this very nakedness has rather an attracting than warning influence, has se- duced even noble spirits into these bypaths. As a fruit of this in narrative literature we find the “local novel,” which depicts the physiognomy of the great German residen- tial capitals Berlin, Vienna, and Munich, and the “class novel,’ which represents the morality and immorality of certain social, aristocratic,and professional classes, descend- ing even to slang in its minute accuracy. Since our present theatres look but coldly on the ‘‘ youngest ’’ German generation, the example of the Parisian thédtre libre has been followed, and a “free stage,” hitherto only a private one, has been started at Berlin for theatrical productions of this nature. Here the works of the new Stiirmer und Driinger—who may, however, be distin- guished from the Sturm und Drang of last century, to which Goethe’s ‘Gitz’ and Schiller’s ‘Riuber’ owed their origin—can count upon a party, ‘still small and not powerful,” of enthusiastic disciples. It is in lyrical waters that the course has changed least. The true song, such as national poetry and Goethe have fashioned it, and the thoughtful poetry pregnant with ideas such as Schiller produced, were the result of two eternal characteristics com- bined in the German nature: Gemiith, a word impossible to translate into other languages, and. ‘‘pure reason,” which is incomprehensible to other nations. In con- sequence of this Gemiith (sentiment), natural to every German, the number of sentimental lyrists is as great as that of the original singers, who amid this profusion of senti- ment can strike a new chord of feeling, must necessarily be small. Uhland and Riickert, Heine and Scheffel, have all had followers in their domain. Elementary lyric-writers such as the late Mérike and the still living Martin Greif, whose works have lately appeared in an elegant edition enriched with charming additions, are their own models. A note of grandeur such as belongs to the author of the epic ‘ Die Vilkerwanderung’ also pervades the rough lyric poems, ‘Jahresringe,’ of Hermann Lingg; and Emanuel Geibel’s discovery of this poet, whom he introduced to the world without a feeling of envy, may be regarded as a merit on his part not much inferior to the production of his own poems. While Lingg’s favourite study is universal history, that of Albert Moeser is natural science. There is something pessimistic yet grandiose about the historical conceptions of the former, and the views of nature entertained by the latter, adapted to metrical form with noble feeling and unusual purity. A. Moeser’s ‘ Deutsche Kaiserlieder,’ dedicated to the memory of the active William I. and the ill-starred Frederick III., are among the finest specimens of German patriotic poetry produced of late years, for as a rule such productions have been more “ patriotic ” than ‘“ poetic.” A noble note, though often more didactic than is con- sistent with ‘the tender spirit fantasy,” is sounded in ‘Aus dem Siiden,’ the new poems of Stefan Milow, whose former collections ‘Lied der Menschheit’ and ‘Deutsche Elegieen’ have already proved that Schopenhauer’s dreary philosophy can- not amalgamate with the magic of poetry as well as did Schiller’s verse with the incisive thought and moral sternness of Kant’s wisdom. Heavy reflections, which crush down simple feeling, also burden the lyric fantasy of Adolf Wilbrandt, the dramatist and story-teller. His ‘Neue Gedichte’ con- tain hardly one true song; on the other hand, H. Seidel’s collection ‘Glockenspiel’ sounds many a charming chime of spring and love, though it lacks the powerful notes of the tocsin and of Faust’s Easter bells. Among lyric writers, as among the singers of the air, the female portion is apt to be the larger. Of these our attention iscalled for op- posite reasons to M. Janitschek and Alberta von Puttkamer, who have both appeared ere now before the public. The former is noteworthy for freedom of speech and dis- regard of conventionality, the latter for elevated sentiments and moral dignity. The voice of one singer whose nobility of soul and intellect threw into the shade her aristocratic birth has, unfortunately, been stilled for ever by the premature death of the author of ‘Astorga’ and ‘ Marina,’ the Countess Wilhelmine Wickenburg - Almasy. In the domain of narrative poetry we can neither dispense with the singer of the ‘Rattenfiinger von Hameln,’ Julius Wolff, nor with the subject of Tannhiuser, which R. Wagner’s pathos has done more than H. Heine’s cynic humour to recall from the dead of the Middle Ages. Wolff contri- butes to this year’s poetry a ‘ Reiter- lied” in a manner no longer uncommon, ‘Der Pappenheimer’; Max Burkhardt, in his ‘Lied vom Tannhiiuser,’ celebrates the ‘‘Venusberg” in light modern guise. A volume, ‘ Episches und Lyrisches,’ in which narrative predominates, bears excellent testi- mony to the wonderful preservation of the poetic genius which has enabled the veteran poet Ludwig August Frankl to celebrate this year (he was born in 1810) his eightieth birthday in the enjoyment of health and activity. Another epic writer, many years younger, W. Jordan, who produced the version of the Nibelungen in ‘‘Stabreim,” appears, to judge from his latest work, ‘ Feli-Dora,’ to have experienced the fate that even Homer did not escape. We get the impression of a dream from this poem, which seems to be a strange com- bination of old and new materials. Its subject, the death of the heroine on the dunes of Heligoland by a flash of lightning, after which she is carried ‘‘ upwards ”’ into the air and vanishes, has caused physicists to demur and the author to defend himself. The most voluminous of this year’s narra- tive poems is the ‘ Volkram-Lied,’ in twelve books, by Julius Grosse. Its aim is to depict the stages of German life from the German Revolution of 1848 till the founda- tion of the German Empire in 1870, and the reader is attracted by the tone of flippant levity suggestive of Byron’s ‘Don Juan,’ which is, however, deceptive, for it is soon dropped, and gives way to a serious and didactic manner. The drama has sustained a heavy loss this year by the death of Ludwig Anzengruber —a loss that would be even heavier were it not that we are compelled to fear that the author of the ‘ Meineidbauer’ and ‘ Kreuzel- schreiber’ had already begun to degenerate. Anzengruber has done for the peasant class of Germany what Lyly in England, Diderot in France, and Lessing in Germany have done for the middle class: he has raised their life and fate to the height of tragic dignity. The heroes of his peasant trage- dies differed from those of the once popular ‘‘ village tales” in being at the same time real peasants and really tragic heroes. Many of his characters, as ‘‘ Wurzelsepp”’ and ‘‘Kinsam’,” have been drawn from the depths of peasant life, and are plastic types of imperishable vividness. His best pieces were based on the life of the people, and thought and language belong to popular dialect ; when he attempted to rise above this into the realm of the higher classes he grew weak like Anteus. His last work, which he did not live to see performed, his play ‘ Der Fleck auf der Ehr’,’ excellent in conception, but poor in action, does not come up to its predecessors; but it is much to be regretted that the poet was snatched away at the moment when he had taken the direction of a hopeful undertaking, the new German National Theatre in Vienna, the aim of which was to cultivate a real ‘“‘ national drama.” The revival of the Passion Play at Oberam- mergau, which is acted by peasants, and Wagner’s Festival Theatre at Baireuth have given a sanction to the idea of building theatres for national drama. One such has been erected at Worms, on the occasion of the celebration of the Reformation, by the Town Council for the representation of Hans Herrig’s ‘ Luther Festival Play.’ The performances, likethoseon the Shakspearean stage, took place without scenery, and, as in the mysteries of the Middle Ages, they were entrusted partly to professional actors and partly to amateurs. It would be im- possible to find a more striking contrast to the scenic luxury of our modern theatres, which is carried furthest by the ‘“ Mein- ingen” troop under the direction of their princely patron, or to the dramatic virtuoso system which is practised, after the model of Sarah Bernhardt, by- wandering stars. Yet even those who condemn these abuses —for instance, R. Proels; in a pamphlet ‘Ueber das Deutsche Volkstheater ’—have declared against the bare stage and un- trained amateur actors. In the foreground of this year’s dramatic production stands Richard Voss, whose middle-class plays ‘ Eva’ and ‘ Alexandra’ have attained a success on the stage — as
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18 THE ATHENZUM N° 3271, Juty 5, ’90 usually falls only to the lot of French play- wrights. Voss, like the French writers, loves startling contrasts, and curiously com- plicated, not to say artificially concocted situations. These situations, which often border on the improbable, once granted, he succeeds in deducing the inevitable consequences with such convincing logic, and in representing them with such plastic reality, that the spectator is carried away by the impression. Eva, a woman of high birth, has, to atone for a crime of her father’s, re- nounced her lover and given her hand to a burgher husband who has nobly taken on himself the count’s fraudulent bankruptcy. She leaves him, however, to follow her old ad- mirer, whom she still loves, kills that admirer when she finds that he has betrayed her, and dies in prison in the arms of her husband, who forgives her, at the very moment when her release is announced to her. Alexandra is a woman betrayed and forsaken by her be- trayer. She is falsely accused of murdering her child, and on her return from the peni- tentiary where she has undeservedly served her time, she again meets her former lover. He recognizes her, and charmed by her beauty is again inspired with love for her, and, not knowing whence she comes, he takes her to his mother. To avenge herself she keeps back her confession, which she means to withhold until retreat is impossible, and the disgrace of being united to a whilom convict can be no more retrieved. But the presence of the man she had once loved re- awakens her former affection,andshe kills her- self to avoid the risk of letting her dangerous secret escape her. The author himself must admit that both these situations are, if not impossible, at leastimprobable. His assump- tion that the former heroine, whose act of murder was not planned beforehand, but only the effect of momentary passion, should have a loaded pistol lying on her toilet table just at the right moment, though it can hardly as yet be regarded as one of a lady’s toilet requisites, is as arbitrary as it is con- venient. The same may be said of the other supposition, that the lover whose attachment revives will not inquire where his beloved one spent all those years when she was spinning wool in the penitentiary. Apart from these improbabilities, both plays exhibit such breathless action, such intense reality, such striking language, such skilful dramatic structure culminating in effective dénotiments, and a poetic justice that solves the drastic discords so satisfac- torily, that we may count them among the most truly effective dramatic productions of the present day. It is especially this characteristic of moral atonement which dis- tinguishes them favourably from those pro- ductions which, like the realistic dramas, share with them the striving after truth to nature, or, as do those of the “free stage,” the preference for strange, abnormal situations. The murderess of her lover, to whom she has sacrificed everything, is a pathetic character ; the sovereign princess who shoots down with her own hand the man of the people whom she has raised out of love to a place beside her on the throne, at the moment when he places himself at the head of the mutinous people, because, as A. Fitger tells the story in his play ‘Von Gottes Gnaden,’ her princely blood rises within her and the consciousness of ruling “ by the grace of God” revives, is only a pathological mental perversion. Espe- cially the dramatists of the ‘“ free stage ””— among whom is found real ability, as in Hermann Sudermann, the author of the sensational drama ‘Ehre,’ and G. Haupt- mann, author of the play ‘ Vor Sonnenauf- gang ’—prefer painful subjects artificially exaggerated, the resultsof natural or assumed prejudices, inherited vices, physical and in- tellectual conditions in which physical or moral disease plays the part of fate. A physiological scheme of motives takes the place of the psychological with these dramatists, who pride themselves on being naturalists. The striving to render actual nature faithfully is carried so far that the poet assigns to his characters a com- plete catalogue of peculiarities; age, colour of the hair, dress, individual habits, are described with the minute accuracy of a police handbill. Others—such as C. Bleibtreu, who, in spite of his excessive self-confidence, possesses unusual dra- matic gifts, but produces rather too much work—are free from this kind of bad taste, but in their endeavour to adhere to truth are in danger of becoming dull. This is, indeed, the case with this author’s play ‘ Ein Faust der That’ (the title of itself is pretentious), a work which in many respects is worthy of consideration. This Faust, who has nothing in common with Goethe’s, but a good deal to do with ‘“‘Faustrecht,” turns out, to our surprise, to be no less a person than Cromwell. But the great historical trial which ends in the king’s execution takes a course rather historical than dramatic, because the author attends more closely to politics than poetics; it is diplomatic skill rather than physical force that gains the day, and from want of action all that is left of this great political trial is the king’s bloody head and the cool political reasoning of the ‘‘rough brewer,’ as Charles calls him. A diametrical contrast to the sensational drama adapted to the stage is afforded by Wolfgang Kirchbach’s fantastic, yet imagi- native and thoughtful piece, ‘Die letzten Menschen.’ It is a dramatic poem rather than a regular drama, and herein resembles works like Goethe’s ‘Faust,’ Grillparzer’s ‘Traum ein Leben,’ and Wilbrandt’s ‘ Meister von Palmyra,’ a play which was rewarded this year by the Grillparzer Prize. The poem transports the reader (for even Kirchbach can scarcely expect a spectator) to the end of the earth’s life. The sun is nearly extin- guished, the earth has entered the glacial period; humanity has died out, with the exception of one human pair, who have grown up apart from one another, and have no remembrance of the existence of their race. But the longing for life inex- haustible in human nature shows itself afresh in this pair, so that they, the last, imagine themselves to be the first men, destined to found a future race and a future civilization. When the extinction of the sun rouses them from this cruel deception, it is a consolation to them to see, in place of the setting star, new worlds arise and the hope of new races of beings. Fantastic glimpses into the future of the universe, however deficient they may be in prosaic truth, are at any rate more akin to poetry than the representation, however true to nature, of the muddy, tainted depths of present humanity. Greatness, even though criminal, and weakness if it be amiable, or at any rate harmless, may harmonize with art—vulgarity never. Wil- brandt’s latest comedy ‘Der Unterstaats- secretiir’ has succeeded in showing in an attractive manner that the desire of women to take part in politics, though an amusing, may be a charming weakness. This author, who, since he gave up the direction of the Vienna Burgtheater, has laboured indefa- tigably in the most varied domains, has returned with this work to the field where his excellent ‘Maler’ originated. The plot is poor. The young lady who anony- mously carries on a violent opposition to the ministry in the press recognizes in the man who loves her and whom she loves, to the surprise of both, the ‘political soul” of that ministry. This, of course, puts an end to the “opposition,” though not to the ‘‘ policy ” hitherto pursued. The situations are amusing, the dialogue is neither dull nor too highly seasoned ; the language of the Viennese court-players has made the poet himself a master of lan- guage. In the domain of the novel, too, Wilbrandt, hic et ubique, has this year carried off the prize. Spielhagen and Ebers have made this easy for him: the former has written his memoirs under the title ‘Finden und Erfinden’; the latter in his ‘Joshua’ has pro- duced not somuch a novel as a rhetorical para- phrase of the Bible narrative, though it lacks the light and colour of landscape, which we should expect here, particularly from the celebrated Sinai traveller. But Wilbrandt’s ‘Adam’s Schne’ is a true romance, with just so much symbolic meaning as romance can bear without being heavily didactic, and, indeed, requires in order not to be drearily prosaic. The characters of his novel are ‘‘sons of Adam,” and therefore represent the type of humanity in varying forms, and are thus raised even as types above the in- different mass of commonplace, and their actions and experiences are interesting not only individually, but also universally. The action of the novel changes ‘‘ from rock to sea” (to quote the motto of the German Imperial house), from the Alps of Salzburg to the shore of the Baltic at Dobberan, over the whole extent of German soil; and it introduces representatives of nearly every race and class of the nation, North as well as South German, nobility, middle classes, peasants and workmen, the man of action and the sensualist, the dreamy idealist and the coarse-grained radical, the naive, fallible woman and the bold advocate of women’s rights, the man of strong will and the woman of character. The central interest lies in the rivalry between father and son, two equally noble natures, for the hand of a woman equally worthy of them both, and the willingness with which, when they become aware of this, each desires to sacri- fice what he loves best, until at last a care- fully calculating fate in the form of the beloved woman steps between them and decides. The conduct of the action, which grows to dramatic intensity, and the delinea- tion of the characters, which bear the living impress of the present day, are admirable. The whole may be considered a well-rounded, sufficiently elevated, yet truthful picture of
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N° 3271, Jury 5, 90 THE ATHENZXUM 19 present Germany; and the political element introduced in the review of the German fleet in the harbour of Kiel, in the last chapter of the novel, throws a lustre on the future of the characters of the story and the nation to which they belong, and which has now at- tained a position of historical importance. Among the flood of novels I can here only mention such as do not owe their exist- ence to a mere passing tide. ‘ Lebens- miichte,’ by Stefan Milow, a book that reflects the noble but instructive character of its author, contains brilliant descriptions of real, idle existence in aristocratic circles, but does not leave the impression of being an artistically finished whole. Felix Dahn, who, like Ebers, devotes himself to romance as well as to science, conducts the reader in ‘Skirnir’ once more into his beloved world of Scandinavian gods and heroes, a world that naturally assumes a somewhat modern character. His second book, ‘ Weltunter- gang,’ which he calls an historical narrative of the year 1000 s.p., describes with intense reality the medieval dread of apparitions, and draws a vivid picture of the last night which was expected to precede the destruc- tion of the world and the millennium, spent amid the extremest terror. The subject of Karl Frenzel’s ‘ Wahrheit ’—a husband troubled by suspicions of the fidelity of his deceased wife, who prefers to attain the sad certainty of her faithlessness, and thus des- troy his own life’s happiness and that of his innocent daughter, rather than leave the gracious veil of secrecy unraised—reminds us by its subject of the uncompromising Northern ‘‘ apostle of truth,’’ Henrik Ibsen. That fruitful writer W. Jensen brings for- ward two novels at once, ‘Die Kinder von Oedacker’ and ‘ Doppelleben,’ which are neither inferior nor superior to his former works. I cannot say the same of the former ‘‘amaranth-poet’’ Oscar von Red- witz, whose novel ‘Gliick’ can best be described by a line from the late Fr. Halm :— Gliick? Was ist Gliick? Ein Schatten und nicht mehr ! (Fortune? What is fortune? A shadow and no more !) Hermann Heiberg’s ‘ Schulter an Schulter ’ reveals a nature naturally poetic and pos- sessing the power of realistic description, which, however, keeps within the too narrow limits of a country town. An un- usual depth of psychological subtlety com- bined with clear delineation of character and dramatic power is revealed in the Wovellen, ‘Das Hoferecht’ and ‘Blut,’ of J. J. David, a young Austrian poet, who promises to do good work, too, in the domain of lyric poetry. Another Austrian appears for the first time as a narrator, the Hungarian Ludwig Déczi (Dux), who has won laurels in the domain of the drama, the author of a truly poetic comedy ‘Der Kuss,’ for which he gained a prize. His story ‘ Car- mela Spazaro’ is highly coloured, but evinces somewhat of the doubtful tendency of the stories of the Heptameron, and abounds in cleverness and flashes of wit. Breaches of confidence and infidelity are made to appear here in a comic light, as was the custom among the earlier Italians and Spaniards; while Marie von Ebner - Eschenbach, an author who is rising rapidly to popu- larity, treats of these subjects in her latest | story, ‘ Unsiihnbar,’ showing their tragic consequences with moral earnestness. Un- fortunately the author has neglected to make us comprehend the fault, doubtless beyond atonement, of a lady of high social position and intellectual powers, en- dowed with all the most brilliant gifts of heart and character. Besides the authors already mentioned, Isolde Kurz is distin- guished for her excellent ‘Florentiner Novellen,’ and Ilse Frapan, who has also published memoirs of the late art critic F. Vischer, for stories ‘Zwischen Elbe und Alster,’ which give an incomparable picture of social life in the old burgher families of the Hanse city Hamburg. Ossip Schu- bin’s (Lolo Kirschner) latest story, ‘ Lenski,’ which is cleverly written, but superficial, treats of a subject which, since ‘ Asbein,’ &e., is no longer uncommon—the undue admiration paid to musicians by themselves and others. I must further mention, for the sake of the excellent local colouring, the ‘ Rémische Dorfgeschichten,’ by R. Voss, the dramatist, and ‘Wo die Alten Hiiuser stehn,’ by A. Chiavacci, next to F. Schligl the most gifted of the local Viennese writers. Among the naturalistic novels—of which the Munich model novels by M. G. Conrad, and ‘Die Alten und die Jungen,’ by C. Alberti, compete to their own disadvantage with Zola—H. Sudermann’s ‘ Frau Sorge’ and ‘ Am Katzensteig ’ occupy an important position through their plastic form and freshness, though rather as horrible pictures of the populace and moral conditions. It is easy enough to write national history for those who have the national archives at their disposal, and it is satisfactory, too, when the direction and course of events is in accord with the wishes of the best men of the nation. H. von Sybel, in his ‘ Be- griindung des Deutschen Reiches durch Wilhelm J.,’ has been fortunate in both these ways. Ever since the Reformation and the beginning of the Thirty Years’ War North Germany has been moving towards the foundation of a Protestant empire, the crown of which, after the premature death of the Swedish king, was reserved for the Brandenburg princely and Prussian royal family. Ever since the dissolution of the old German empire the question of its re-establishment has been identical with the Prussian question, and its solution, though delayed by the establishment of the German ‘‘ Bund” in 1815 and by Frederick William IV.’s refusal of the imperial crown in 1849, could no longer be prevented after the victories over Austria and France. The ‘‘ Prussian vein’’—which has characterized German literature for the last century, from H. von Kleist’s ‘ Prinz von Homburg’ to Wildenbruch’s ‘Mennonit’ and Sche- renberg’s ‘Leuthen,’ and German history from Stein and Scharnhorst to Bismarck and Moltke—has found in Sybel its destined historian, a man whose views, when compared with the partisan H. v. Treitschke, may be regarded as moderate. His picture of the re- nascence of the German empire, ‘‘drawn from authentic sources,’’ follows his narrative of the dissolution of the old empire, described in his ‘Geschichte der Franzisischen Revolu- tion.’ On March 19th, 1881, he received from Prince Bismarck permission to use for his history of the years 1850-70 the contents of the national archives and the registers of the Foreign Office. He nowhere denies his par- tiality for Prussia, but we must do him the justice to acknowledge that in the five volumes already before us he has faithfully adhered to the promise given in the preface, ‘*to confess the mistakes and failures com- mitted in our own camp, and to judge the conduct of our opponents justly and fairly.” Compared with this weighty work based on original sources, the memoirs of that poli- tical ‘‘Gallopin” among German princes, Duke Ernst II. of Coburg, which have just reached an end with the appearance of the third volume, seem light indeed. In this last volume the most interesting part is the description of the German “ Fiirstentag”’ at Frankfort in 1863, a ‘parliament of sovereigns”? unique of its kind, presided over by the Emperor Franz Josef of Austria with as much national enthusiasm as ora- torical skill. Its success, however, was pre- vented by the absence of Prussia. Among historical works that do not treat of our own nation the first rank is taken by the ‘Ge- schichte der Stadt Athen im Mittelalter,’ which Ferdinand Gregorovius, the cele- brated author of the ‘Geschichte der Stadt Rom im Mittelalter,’ has now placed by the side of this standard work. In the ‘Ge- schichte der Normannen in Sicilien,’ by Count Adolf Schack, a worthy companion volume to his ‘Geschichte der Araber in Spanien,’ we recognize the learning of an historical student and the amiable per- sonality of the poet. The number of biographies is especially large this year, showing, unfortunately, that a literary generation is dying out. The re- ligious philosopher and idealist art critic Moriz Carriere has published under the title ‘Lebensbilder’ a number of reminiscences, among which the most interesting are those which deal with Goethe’s “child” Bettina von Arnim, and his own work for thirty years as the secretary of the Munich Aca- demy of Fine Arts. Robert Hamerling, who died this year, author of ‘Ahasverus in Rom’ and ‘Konig von Sion,’ published a short time before his death ‘Stationen von der Lebensreise,’ which show the develop- ment of a character through many difficulties, and under the pressure of narrow circym- stances making its way by its own efforts to a remarkable height. The correspondence between Eduard Moérike and Moriz von Schwind, the most original song-writer of the Swabian school and the most romantic painter of the Romantic school, with its charmingly poetical and artistic supplement, affords an incomparable picture of two artistic natures, congenial through their naive genius and simplicity, such as were the singer of ‘Rothtraut’ and the creator of ‘ Melusine.’ Of this year’s essays the principal are: ‘Fiinfzehn Neue Essays,’ by Herman Grimm, a clever author, whose style and language, however, have often been cen- sured; A. Wilbrandt’s ‘ Dialoge und Selbst- gespriiche,’ collected for the first time and showing much thought; and H. Bulthaupt’s essayson Hebbel, Grillparzer, and O. Ludwig, collected as the third volume of his ‘ Dra- maturgie der Classiker,’ striking criticisms all of them, and the second especially ad- mirable. The chief contribution to Goethe literature, besides the publication of the Weimar Goethe archives and the Goethe
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at 20 THE ATHENAUM N° 3271, Jury 5,’90 year-book, in which a series of letters to August Goethe, when studying at Heidel- berg, show us the poet as a careful and anxious father, is O. Mejer’s essay on ‘ Wolf Goethe,’ the poet’s younger grandson, which furnishes some insight into family and pecuniary conditions. Both grandsons, especially the younger, were oppressed by the weight of the great name they bore. Walther, the musician, never rose beyond mediocrity; Wolf, the poet and scholar, never did anything but write the poem ‘Erlinde,’ hovering strangely between two opposite kinds of poetry, and make prelimi- nary studies for a biography of the humanist Bessarion. Theconsiderable fortune amassed from the poet’s writings, of which each grand- child’s share (besides Walther and Wolf there was a sister Alma) was 70,000 thalers (about 10,000/.), had shrunk so much in the hands of their mother, Goethe’s Ottilie, who died in 1872, that at the death of the last brother there were only 30,000 marks (1,500/7.) left, and the poet’s house at Weimar had fallen into disrepair, from lack of money to keep it up. The transfer of the house and its collections to the ducal family of Weimar took place along with its restora- tion. The pressing want of an adequate biography of Schiller will be met by J. Minor’s ‘Schiller: sein Leben und seine Werke,’ after the style of O. Jahn’s ex- haustive Mozart biography. The tiresome Shakspeare-Bacon question, which Count Vitzthum’s book ‘Shakespeare und Shaxpere’ had introduced into Germany, has been settled, at any rate as far as this book is concerned, by Prof. J. Schipper’s work on the subject. Bernhard ten Brink’s ‘Geschichte der Englischen Literatur’ (the second volume, which appeared during the year, extends to the accession of Queen Elizabeth) is regarded by good judges as the first real history of English literature in the German language. The minor works of the late accurate authority on Romance and Spanish literature, Ferdinand Wolf, have been published this year, some time after his death, at the suggestion of grate- ful colleagues and pupils. Ever since among our ‘nation of thinkers” the place of the pure thinker has been taken by the military thinker, and Hegel replaced by Moltke, philosophy has forfeited its leading place in our literature. Nor do we meet with any new guide in this domain. No such claim can be made either by A. Riehl’s ‘ Kriticismus,’ which is based on Kant, or W. Wundt’s ‘System der Philo- sophie,’ based on experience. The former fails because it abandons the systematic connexion between the branches of phi- losophy, and limits its science to the thecry of knowledge, 7.e. of cognition, and thus, to quote Lotze, ‘sharpens the knife, but does not cut with it”; the latter, because experience can supply a daily increasing realm of facts, but not a system, and it is as impossible to deduce from it a metaphysical as an ethical system. The history of philosophy—which shows fresh signs of life in W. Windelband’s description of ancient, and O. Falckenberg’s of modern philosophy, and in L. Stein’s admirably conducted Archiv fiir Geschichte der Philosophie has established a special organ for itself—cannot replace for long this temporary want of ideas capable of making original advances in the science. May the new era also bring a fresh life worthy of the past to those productions of the intellect which, since the time of Leibnitz, have been the glory and speciality of our nation ! Rosert ZIMMERMANN. GREECE. Two books stand by themselves among the productions of the past twelve months. One of these is a biography of Coray, which has appeared at Trieste. The learned author Dionysius Therianos has handled his theme with a philological learning that seems nearly exhaustive, and displays quite an extraordinary width of reading. He starts with the influence of Greek scholars on the Renaissance, and then he follows up the fortunes of Hellenic culture under the Turkish supremacy—all this by way of introduction in order to make intelligible to his readers his account of the position of Coray in relation to the education of the nation, as well as to philology as a whole. He enters at length into Coray’s labours in producing each one of his books, and com- pares every one of his editions of Greek authors with those which have since ap- peared, and thus he not only throws light on the whole career of the great scholar, but also discusses many philological ques- tions of the present day. The other book is the result of several years of labour, and is an examination by Theodorus Papade- metrakopulosof the Erasmian theory of Greek pronunciation. In spite of all the hostility of the advocates of the Erasmian view it will remain the text-book of their opponents. G. Hatzidakis has published a monograph on modern Greek style, in which he advo- cates adopting a diction midway between the spoken language and ancient Greek. Of ancient classics I need only mention a critical edition of Hesiod, by ©. Sittl, a professor at Munich, which forms the third volume of the library issued under the auspices of the Greek Philological Union of Constantinople; and an edition with explanatory notes, mainly historical and topographical, of those books of Strabo (XIIL-XVI.) which deal with Asia Minor. The editor, P. Karolides, who is a Privat- docent at the University of Athens, is him- self a native of Asia Minor. This year, like last year, the great majority of the books that have appeared are works of an historical character or deal- ing with the sciences auxiliary to history. Some of them are excellent, such, for instance, as the ‘ Historical Essays’ of the Professor of History, Constantine Paparrigo- pulos, which consists of a collection of eleven monographs, which had previously appeared separately. Among them the memoir of G. Karaiskakis, one of the heroes of the War of Independence, is especially noteworthy. ‘The Capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453,’ by Alexander Paspatis, deserves especial men- tion, because the writer is well known for his knowledge of the topography of Con- stantinople, and because M. Déthier has placed at his disposal a mass of informa- tion which has enabled him to throw new light on the great event. M. Déthier’s own collection of materials, which will fill four volumes, will, it is said, be published before long. The ‘Cypris’ of G. Phrangudis is de- voted tothe history and topography of Cyprus, and is divided into three parts dealing with (1) the Cyprus of to-day ; (2) the history of Cyprus from the earliest times; and (3) the topography of Cyprus. This monograph is not to be confounded with an earlier (1885) work of Euribiades Phrangudis, a relation of the new author. Of great value for the his- tory of the War of Independence are ‘The Historical Diaries’ of Vice-Admiral G. Sachturis. They resemble the diaries re- cently published of Anastasius Tsamadus and Alex. Kriesis. To a new edition of the ‘Memoirs’ of the elder Kolokotronis, Dr. N. Politis, the editor, has added a collection of seventy-two popular songs relating to the family of Kolokotronis. I may further praise an excellent ‘ History of the Ionian Islands from 1755 to 1815,’ by G. Mauro- jiannis, to which is prefixed an introduction dealing with the earlier history. The book is partly based on search among archives. An essay by a Corfiote, M. Theotokis, on ‘Capo d’Istria in Cephalonia, and the Revolt of 1800-2,’ is entirely founded on documents. §S. Balanos has written a brief sketch of the exertions of Lord Guildford in the cause of Philhellenism. A dro- chure by Charilaus Meletopulos on ‘ Euro- pean Diplomacy in Greece since the Days of Capo d’Istria’ is fuller in dealing with recent events than with the earlier time. Madame ©. Parrin has begun the pub- lication in parts of a ‘ History of Woman’ that is to run to several volumes. I have further to speak of the first volume of the ‘Alexandrinus Diacosmus’ of the late Dionysius Oekonomopulos, a book which is designed to supply an account of the Greek savants and Hellenists of Alexandria from the foundation of the city to its con- quest by the Arabs. The long introduction treats generally of the history of Egypt and the topography of Alexandria. Of works dealing with Christian archeology I may mention ‘ Christian Athens: an Essay His- torical and Archeological,’ by T. Neroutsos, and the ‘Archeology of the Monastery of Daphni,’ near Athens, by G. Lambakis. A work of great utility, compiled at the suggestion of Prof. Hirschfeld, of Kénigs- berg, ‘by A. Miliarakis, has been issued by the Historico-Ethnological Society of Athens; it isa bibliography of all the works on topography and geography that have appeared in modern Greek between 1800 and 1889. It contains 1,389 entries. The ‘Athens’ of Nicolaos Spandonis, an illus- trated publication appearing in parts, is to deal with the fauna and flora, the climate, topography, history of Attica, with Athens for its centre. The five parts already issued contain a general sketch of the topography of Attica by Miliarakis, and a description of the topography of the Peirzeus by J. Dragatsis. Poetry, drama, and fiction are to be found in the weekly papers and also pub- lished in volumes, but little of what appears is of value. The best of the plays is Demetrius Koromilas’s comedy ‘ The Times,’ which seems to have a marked political tendency. I mentioned last year his ‘ Eury- mede.’ ‘The Prior of the Monastery of Anaphonitra’ is a pretty poem by a Zan- tiote, A. Martzokis, and is based upon an episode in the life of the patron saint of Zante, St. Dionysius. ‘The Monk of the Kleisoura of Missolonghi,’ by Constantine XUM
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XUM N° 3271, Juty 5, 90 THE ATHENAUM 21 Krustallis, a promising beginner, is an inci- dent in the War of Liberation told in verse. The best collection of lyrics published during the twelvemonth is indubitably ‘ Words of the Heart,’ by young Constantine Manos. Of the pieces collected in this volume ‘The Nereids’ is most charming. Two translations of ‘Hamlet’ have ap- peared to add to the two we already possessed. J. Polylas, of Corfu, who some twenty-five years ago translated ‘The Tempest,’ has translated ‘ Hamlet’ into the speech of every- day life with skill, and prefixed an excellent introduction. The other translator, Con- stantine Damiralis, has in his endeavour to render the original word for word made his work extremely stiff. In conclusion I would call attention to the Bibliographical Bulletin, a monthly list which has been published at the office of the Hestia since January, and which will inform the friends of modern Greek lite- rature of the books that are published. Sr. P. Lambros. HOLLAND. In 1888 I announced the first volume of Pierson’s fine book ‘ Geestelyke Voorouders,’ in which he traces the sources of civilization and intellectual life. In the second volume, as far as it has yet appeared, he sketches Greece in its epic poems and history. Accord- ing to Dr. Pierson, the Hellenic spirit em- bodied in the Homeric epics is not the tra- ditional serenity of a joyous people basking ineverlasting sunshine, but it is peace of mind without gaiety, and sadness without bitter- ness. Under this impression he dilates upon the epic poems, the characters, and the idea of the divine involved in the conceptions of Zeus and Athena. In Pindar’s odes he sees the germs of the historic sense, reveal- ing itself in a mystic feeling about some relation between past and present ; Herodotus’s spirit of research leads to something like historical knowledge ; Thucy- dides raises history to a science, and Xeno- phon is the first biographer. This book is doubly suggestive: it stimulates scholars to compare and to refute, to put the question whether Dr. Pierson is consistent or not in ac- cepting the unity of the characters and reject- ing the idea of the unity of the composition of the epics, &c. The beauty and seeming sim- plicity of the book fascinate the unlearned, who cannot fail to admire the classic nobility of the style, which gives a fresh charm to the well-known stories of Solon and Croesus, Psammenitus and Cambyses, &c. The suc- ceeding instalments will treat of the drama, the philosophy, and tho plastic art of an- cient Greece. Some of the late Busken Huét’s letters have been published by his wife and son. Highly interesting are those to Madame Bosboom-Toussaint, showing how much friendship and esteem can exist between two persons whom a shallow public con- siders each other’s antipodes. The same public will also be surprised to see that a caustic, inexorable critic can be a tender husband and father, a good brother and kind friend. The letters are apparently quite sincere, and written without any view to publication. For the history of our literature in the sixteenth century Mr. Kalfi’s new book is a valuable repertory. The author paints our people as they were then, tur- bulent and rude, yet feeling an interest in the literature of the day, that of the Rhetori- cians. The Renaissance widened their views and purified their taste, the Reformation gave colour and passion to life. In the second half of the century Calvinism made our nation stronger and more independent, but also more serious and less light-hearted ; new ideas had created new forms, so that the sixteenth century had sown what the seventeenth could reap. It is no slight merit that Mr. Kalff has delineated the characteristics of this much-neglected era in such a clear and agreeable way. A posthumous work of Prof. Jorissen’s has been published, ‘ Historische Bladen.’ These papers bear strong marks of what they originally were—lectures treating of prominent historical personages or periods, delivered for the purpose of awakening the interest of the educated public. Jorissen’s essays are not written in the calm, unrufiled style of the purely objective historian ; his love of liberty and his indignation have often guided his pen and dictated many an eloquent page. These lectures give a good survey of the history of our nation in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and under the French dynasty. His papers on Maryken-Meu, on Cromwell, on the con- version of Henri IV., on the character of Madame de Maintenon, on Marie Antoinette (1770-80), are worth reading. A good monograph has been written on Louis of Nassau by Prof. Blok, who has made this noble brother of William the Silent his particular study, and has exhausted all the sources, known and unknown, to achieve a good delineation of his hero. Mr. Nyhoff has contributed much to our knowledge of the eighteenth century in his defence of the character of the stout Duke of Bruns- wick who had such a great influence on our Stadtholder William V., and who in- curred so much of the hatred of the people. What injustice there may have been in the verdict of the people has induced Mr. Nyhoff to draw another portrait which is so much improved that we hardly recognize the un- popular duke at all. Prof. Fruin has pub- lished the memoirs of Joris de Bye, one of those who sided with Prince Maurice against Oldenbarneveldt. To the same scholar we owe a fine description of the relation of King William III. to England. To the care of Prof. P. L. Muller and of the Messrs. Diegerick (first of the father, and after his death of Mr. Diegerick, jun.) we are in- debted for the publication of the correspond- ence between the Duke of Anjou and the Prince of Orange and the States. The second volume of Dr. Bussemaker’s ‘ Over- ysel’ deals with the private quarrels and feuds in that province. The important second volume of the careful edition of the correspondence of Christiaan Huygens brings the reader to the year 1659. The latest part of Ter Gouw’s ‘ Amsterdam’ de- scribes the shameful conduct of Amsterdam during the siege of Haarlem in 1573, and explains it by attributing it to the egotism of the magistrates, who wished to keep the government in their own hands. Mr. Heeres has edited the second volume of Tiele’s ‘ Bouwstoffen,’ which treats of the uninteresting period 1623-40, in which we find the same complaints that are heard nowadays about the influence of the Mo- hammedan priests in India, the deri-beri, &e. Mr. Louw writes about the third Javanese war of succession, 1746-55; Mr. Mendels about Daendels before he became Governor of the East Indies; Mr. Wilken about the ceremonies that accompany betrothals and marriages among the nations of the Indian archipelago. The interest in India is as lively as ever. Realistic novels (‘ In en uit’s Lands Dienst,’ by Maurits), Indian sketches by Van Bloemen Waanders, romantic stories (‘Een Vriendenkring,’ by Kusky), pages from the history of the war with Atjeh (W. Cool and G. B. Hooyer), and solid, instructive books like Leendertz’s ‘ Van Atjeh’s Stranden,’ &c., are appearing every day. Nor are books of travel wanting. There is a well-written book about South Africa by Mr. Hendrik P. N. Muller; an instruc- tive book about Russia by Mr. Westerouen van Meeteren. Very different, but worth reading, are the little books about London, one by Mr. Jack T. Grein, and the other by Miss G. Carelsen. Messrs. Mulder, Maaldrink, and Emants have successfully written for the stage. In a novelette, ‘Jan Starter en zyn Wjf,’ Dr. Ten Brink tells everything concerning the poet who wrote gay songs about wine, love, and liberty at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The personages speak just enough old Dutch to give the whole story a quaint but pleasant flavour of au- thenticity. Mr. van Sorgen’s novel ‘ Porce- lein’ shows progress ; so does Van Nieuw- landt’s historical novel ‘ Arslan Bey.’ Most of the capital stories of Mr. Hooyer and the commendable sketches of Mr. de Veer had already appeared in the serials. ‘ Athanasius Mors,’ by Jan Holland, is again a glorifica- tion of the Roman Catholic Church and its institutions. The adventures of Van Duyl’s ‘Karel Danig’ will not prove interesting enough, I fear, to carry the readers through the first volume, let alone the second. Maal- drink’s Guelder stories are not particularly profound, but form agreeable light reading. The lady novelists have not produced anything which will increase the repu- tation won by their former novels. Mrs. Wermeskerken’s ‘ Tom en ik’ is not so good as her ‘ Binnenhuisje.’ Marie Boddaert’s old-fashioned and romantic ‘Sturmfels’ is inferior to her poetry. ‘De Morrisons,’ by Mario, though the characters and descriptions are not above the average, is better in point of language than many I pass by without comment. Mr. Aletrino’s ‘Uit den Dood’ are sombre, realistic sketches; language and composition can- not always pass muster. Jac. van Looy’s ‘Proza’ is striking and original; his de- scriptions are mostly exact and often graphic. But with the photographic accuracy of de- tail which many of our moderns affect, how can we ever expect from them anything beyond fragments—sketches or novelettes at the utmost ? From Mr. Schaepman, the Catholic enthu- siast, we have had a good volume of new poems. Schimmel has published the best of his old verses and some fresh ones under the title of ‘Innerlyk Leven,’ adding sundry annotations of his own, which ex- plain his intellectual growth and may afford sundry hints for a future biographer of this
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22 THE ATHENZUM N° 3271, Juty 5, ’90 original author. The ‘ Rouw-Violen’ of Helena Swarth and the ‘Gedichten’ of Verwey do not give me occasion to alter the opinion I expressed about them last year. Death has snatched away in the course of this twelvemonth many learned men: Prof. Cobet, the great Greek scholar; Dr. Campbell, whose ‘Annales de la Typo- graphie Néerlandaise au XV° Si¢cle’ are well known; Dr. Penon, a writer of thorough and accurate monographs on literary sub- jects ; several popular authors, such as the witty old Gouverneur, the novelists Brun- ings and Annie Foore; Van Hogendorp, who has called forth many a pleasant smile by his gossip in the Haagsche Stemmen ; and, last not least, the poet Ten Kate, whose name, thanks to the fascinating music of his lines and his command over language and metre, will outlast some of the modern iconoclasts who have attacked him. E. van CAamMpEn. ITALY. My account of Italian literature for the last year—from June to June—will not be so meagre as usual. I have two books especially to mention to you. Signor Carducci, acknowledged to be by far the best of our poets, has published the ‘Terze Odi Barbare,’ that is, the third instalment of odes in _ classical metres which very strangely and for casual reasons have been called ‘bar- barous.” There one finds, as in all his other poems, a strong imagination, exquisite language, and a profound inspiration, but there is some stiffness, and the difficulty in grasping the meaning of the author is in many passages exceedingly great. This fault is particularly conspicuous in the ‘ Ode to the Queen of Italy,’ or ‘The Lute and the Lyre.’ The Queen asked the poet what sort of poetry was sung with the lute, and the poet, who was a Republican, but has been con- verted by the gracious Queen, answers with much more impetuosity than clearness. But notwithstanding this, I gladly acknowledge that the book has many beautiful verses and images and thoughts, but I cannot translate them for you. I am not sure that I should place im- mediately after Carducci Signor Gabriele d’Annunzio. He has published a volume entitled ‘L’Isotteo: La Chimera,’ but the poems contained in the book are not new compositions. They have already been given to the public singly, although they now appear in a collected form for the first time. Signor d’Annunzio excited much greater ex- pectations than he has realized; but the fault does not lie entirely with him, but with the Italian public, which is accus- tomed to praise a promising youth so lavishly that it ultimately spoils the object of its panegyrics. His verse has much colour, but little substance. If after reading one of his poems you think of it, you find that nothing has remained in your mind. Nevertheless, he is not always easy to read and to understand. His adjectives appear sometimes to be chosen at random, and they seem to be very desirous to be placed somewhere else. I shall not detain you with other poets of less or no worth. We have had fewer than in past years, which is a good thing, because our poetic literature was morbid and feeble. I hear that ina few days will appear a great poetess, Vivanti by name. Signor Carducci has written a preface to her poems, and this is a great honour. I may perhapsmention twotranslators—Signor Faccioli, who has turned into Italian the lyrics and tales of Longfellow; and Prof. Nannarelli, who has translated the‘ Faust’ of Lenau. The first has been the more success- ful, but then his task was the easier. I shall now pass to the prose literature of the romance, and I am glad to have to note some productions of real merit. Edmondo de Amicis, who is one of the two or three good Italian writers, and who is certainly the most read, has published a novel en- titled ‘Il Romanzo d’ un Maestro.’ Un- happily what is wanting in it is the “romance.” Signor de Amicis has a talent for photographing everything which he sees or thinks of, and this talent is most conspicuous in this last work of his. He wanders from school to school, from teacher to teacher, from schoolmistress to schoolmistress, from mayor to mayor, from inspector to inspector, from superintendent to superintendent, and he paints all quaintly, cunningly, brightly, and with a light touch of irony. But the singular thing is that, after having read his book, you find that you have not yet understood what he is driving at and what he thinks of elementary education and of its methods and results. He discusses it from the beginning to the end, but we cannot guess if it is in his opinion a nuisance or a benefit, and, in the former case, if there isany means of amending it. Yet the book is so well written, with such fluency and richness of language, that the reader cannot lay it aside until the close, and con- tinues to hope to the end that he may finally grasp the object of the author, and take some interest in the hero of the book—an indifferent teacher, who reappears from time to time, and at the end marries a schoolmistress whom he could have married long before. However, from the romance of De Amicis to the others which have been published this year in Italy there is a very great descent. Matilde Serao, who is the best of Italian novelists properly so called, has published one with the title ‘Addio, Amore,’ which is highly attractive. Salvatore Farina has written many novels much more amusing than the ‘ Don Chisciottino’ which appeared lately. Arturo Colauti is the author of ‘Nihil,’ a very terrible Russian tale. Valcarenghi has come out with another instalment of his series ‘‘I Retori.” This last has the title ‘Le Coscienze Oneste.’ He is a clever man, and his novel has reached a second edition. I may mention also the ‘Nidiata’ of Sofia Bisi Albini, familiar scenes nicely handled; ‘Le Tre Contesse,’ in two volumes, by E. Arbib, a clever member of the House; ‘ Nell’ Azzurro’ of Antonio Reale; ‘Demetrio Pianelli’ of Emilio de Marchi; and ‘ Scene Popolari’ of Luigia Codemo. Many others I shall omit because they have not met with such a reception in their country as to be worth introducing in yours. What is literature beyond poetry and romance? History, perhaps, but history not only scientifically explained, but artistic- ally put together. I cannot say that we have had almost anything of this second kind: perhaps, indeed, only one instance of it, the ‘ Memorie’ of Giusti, edited by F. Martini; but Giusti has been dead some years, and Martini, who is one of the best Italian writers, has only annotated and prefaced them most cleverly and fully. They refer to a very brief period of the Tuscan revolution of 1848; and it cannot be said that they contain much matter that is particularly new or interesting. Signor Cappelletti has published in three volumes a history of the first French Revo- lution ; he is a most painstaking and truth- ful man, but a poor writer. So is Tivaroni, a Radical, whose history of the same revolu- tion is not so interesting as his studies of the condition of the Italian powers and society upon the eve of it; but they are not quite free from prejudice; the eye of the historian is not without flaws. The articles of Prof. Franchetti on the same subject, which appear in the Nuova Antologia, always the best of our reviews, are much more historian-like. The third volume of the ‘Annali d’ Italia’ of Isaje Ghiron, lately dead, is just now come out; they are a continuation of the annals of Coppi, who in turn was a continuator of the great Muratori, but they have no pretension to artistic merit. The very nature of the work prevents it. But if we are not rich in the historical art, we are rich in scientific researches on history, or, to speak more precisely, in publications of historical sources. The Historical Institute has published this year four highly interesting volumes—the correspondence of Cola di Rienzi by Gabrieli, the most ancient Venetian chro- nicles by Montirolo, the registers of Ugolino d’Ostia and of Ottaviano degli Uberti by Levi, and the ‘ Notabilia Tem- porum’ of Angelo de Tummulillis by Signor Corvisieri. Signor Paoli has brought out a very important edition of the ‘ Book of Mon- taperti,’ so named from the place where it was lost by the Florentine Guelfs on the 4th of September, 1260, in their battle against the Ghibellines of Siena and other parts of Tuscany. This book contains statutes, de- liberations, elections of officers, accounts of victuals, and so on. It has been very well annotated by the editor, and it is generally acknowledged that his work is a capital one. It would be a long list if I tried to name here merely the titles of works, and espe- cially of little works, on some special his- torical point. In this direction there is at present in Italy a very great deal of activity, and itis to be hoped that the movement will grow, and that I may be able next year to report to you that some great writer has given to Italy the story of one or two of its historical periods, either glorious or wretched. Senator Tabarrini, while in- augurating the last session of the His- torical Institute, remarked that there was now in Italy a striking disproportion be- tween historical research and historical com- position ; there is too much, perhaps, of the first, and too little of the second ; quite the contrary to former times. It is necessary that this disproportion should cease, because historical research must be utilized from time to time, and its results must be summed up, for if it be not, it runs, by growing too enormous, the danger of being lost.
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XUM Ne 3271, Jury 5, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 23 Since the above was written the lyric — of Annie Vivanti have appeared. hey show a very lively intellect and an original vein. ‘The preface of Carducci is merely a brief letter, and not particularly happy. What his author lacks is style, or, as we say, forma; and Carducci, who has so much style, says that it is absurd to require it, which is a most absurd thing to say. Mile. Vivanti, who is a very young lady, half an Englishwoman, must work hard to acquire much more command than she possesses over the language which she em- ploys if she wishes to acquire great and enduring fame. And while I speak of ladies, I cannot pass over in silence a book written entirely by ladies and published a few days ago, ‘A Beatrice Portinari nel VI. Centenario della sua Morte le Donne Italiane.’ Beatrice Portinari is no unknown name; she was the lovely young girl whom Dante im- mortalized. The idea of celebrating her centenary occurred to Carlotta Ferrari von Londi, a poetess. She proposed to celebrate it by the presentation of a bust of Beatrice to the Municipal'Council of Florence, to be put in Santacroce, and by lectures and writings by ladies. The design has been much combated by men of letiers, and even by other literary ladies, especially by Olga Lodi. Carducci has been the most sturdy opponent. Was it quite certain that Beatrice had existed (which, it may be said by way of parenthesis, it is impossible to doubt sincerely)? Was it she who inspired Dante’s muse? Where is her portrait? Why put her near Dante? These were the objections, and others of the same kind. But Carlotta Ferrari has won the day. The bust has been presented to Florence, and the book is printed, a most beautiful book. And this ceremony has been also the occa- sion of many ladies giving lectures, which is a new phenomenon. It is such a time since a lady has spoken in public in Italy. More than one has succeeded pretty well. It is possible that the example of gentlemen has influenced them. For there has been an astonishing rage for lecturesin Italy this year. There has not been a man of any reputation who has not been asked for several lectures not only in the largest, but even in the smallest towns in the country. There are already far-famed lecturers—Bonfadini, Vil- lari, &c. A committee of Florentine ladies tried to start a course of lectures on the close of the Italian Middle Ages and on the beginning of the revival of learning; and the course they have had. It has been the first time that a lecturer has been paid in Italy 200 francs. But, alas! I am afraid that this great fervour will cease soon. The well-known verse of Dante, E cid che fa la prima, e l’altre fanno, is most characteristic of the Italians of to-day. They want to imitate one another; but they are soon tired of a thing, and are eager to find something new to imitate. Some years ago there was a great craze for literary weekly newspapers; very quickly scores of them sprang into being, but now all, or nearly all, are dead, or lead a most miser- able existence. R. Boneut. NORWAY. I vo not know whether any statistician has ever investigated the relations of com- merce to literature. That there really exists a connexion between the two is beyond doubt. When “hard times” are prevalent, books are among the first articles of luxury of which people are willing to deprive them- selves. Publishers are forced to publish less, and consequently they become severer critics of manuscripts. When business begins to improve the sale of books increases in proportion, publishers become less difficult to please, and many a work, rejected when times were bad, sees the light of day. Trade has of late been exceptionally good. It is not to be wondered at, there- fore, that publications have been exception- ally abundant since I wrote my last report to the Atheneum, and that, thanks to the prosperity of Norway, a great number of writers have been enabled to make a first appearance. Money not only creates joint- stock enterprises and speculators on ’Change. It also creates authors. In considering the latest contributors to literature criticism must be almost aban- doned if we are to say that they are all of them very good. Unfortunately there are among them novelists without style and dramatists whose entire baggage consists of a somewhat piquant situation and a some- what light and easy form of speech. Of the novelists Jakob Hilditch is the one whose book gives the best hopes for the future. It is called ‘Under Norske Flag, Fortellinger og Skitser.’ What is particu- larly promising in this book is a hearty, outspoken humour which peeps out here and there. In the present day humour is such a rarity in our literature that it at once attracts attention when one stumbles upon it. The author is a native of the eastern part of Norway, and it is the broad and coarse-grained humour of the east- country folk which constitutes his indivi- duality as an author. He seems to have a peculiar love of describing that type of people in low-comedy style, and this is what in time will probably be his strong point, if one may venture to cast his horo- scope from one little book. If Jakob Hilditch is a pleasant humourist, Gabriel Finne is solemnity itself, so imbued with the deadliest solemnity that he thinks it hardly proper to indulge in a smile. Apparently he is a man of industry and energy. In less than a year, but in a ponderous and at times youthfully awkward style, he has written two stories, ‘The Philosopher’ and ‘ Dr. Wang’s Children,’ and has already intimated to the papers that he has begun a third. Such produc- tiveness in a beginner must either proceed from the fertility of his ideas or from his being too easily satisfied with them. In this case the latter is probably the real reason. Independence both in ideas and interpretation is wanting. Possibly this may not be so when the author has had more experience. ; A third young man, Hjalmar Christensen, has made his début with ‘A Freethinker: a Picture of the Times.’ Lastly, a young lady, whose pseudonym is Anna Munch, has published a tale of Christiania which bears the rather pretentious title ‘Women: a Story of Historic Development.’ This caused a good deal of sensation through its clever and accurate, though somewhat bold de- scription of the family life of a Government official in the capital. It is said that the author is a young painter, and that she has just published a new book in her own name, which, however, I have not as yet had an opportunity of reading. The new dramatists are vastly inferior to the new novelists. Holger Sinding, a journalist, has written a play in one act, ‘Fru Ragna,’ which was brought out last winter at the theatre of Christiania. It is a “ problem-drama”’ in Ibsen’s style, good enough in form and not without a certain delicacy of sentiment, but devoid of ori- ginality. Vetle Vislie has published a four- act drama written in dialect, ‘Utan Hivding’ (‘ Without a Chief’); and a third author, Bendix Lange, has produced a couple of dashing though not particularly clever plays. Two or three other new authors have pub- lished some short dramatic pieces in book form, but I need not weary the reader by mentioning their names. Bjérnstjerne Bjérnson’s novel ‘ Paa Gud’s Veje’ (‘In God’s Way’) is without doubt the most important and the most interesting work published during the twelve months by a well-known author. It is a descrip- tion of two friends, their development, and the story of their life from childhood upwards: one becomes a clergyman, the other a doctor, and the different views of life adopted by each in his separate calling lead to violent collisions, which, however, end in reconciliation as the clergyman gives up his fanatical orthodoxy, and sees at last that it is not severe dogmatic faith, but rather a true and noble humanity, which is all-important in this world. ‘There, where all good folk walk, are the ways of God,” he remarks at the close. In certain places the story is slightly tiresome, being too much interlarded with theology and overfull of sick-bed stories and medi- cinal learning; but many passages evince a depth and richness of sentiment and a power of description which give it a pro- minent place amongst Bjérnson’s works, and prove that his poetical vein is as fresh and powerful as ever, although he will soon complete his fifty-eighth year. For instance, there are descriptions of a winter’s evening, of a ball in a little provincial town, also of a pine wood of the east country, which cer- tainly belong to the best and cleverest things our literature has ever produced. Amongst the many characters, the doctor’s wife is unquestionably the first. It would be difficult to find anything more tender, soft, and refined than this charming per- sonage. Kristian Gloersen’s new story ‘ Stréms- kavl’ (‘ Drifting Streams’) also contains a most interesting and finely-drawn character of a woman, decidedly the best thing the author has yet done. The book is, however, unfinished ; the first part is published, but a long illness has prevented the author from putting the finishing touches to the second. A few months ago Arne Garborg pub- lished a new novel, ‘ With Mamma,’ which has enjoyed the distinction of receiving a reward of 2,000 marks from the “ Freie Biihne” of Berlin. The author spent last winter in Germany, and his works are much
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24 THE ATHENAUM N° 3271, Jury 5, ’90 thought of by the naturalistic school there. In my opinion, his new novel is far in- ferior to the best of his earlier writings. In his desire to describe realities accu- rately as they are, it seems as though he were afraid to give free rein to his talents. Nothing could be simpler or more common- place than this description of every-day life ; but though it may sound like heresy, I can- not refrain from confessing that there is more commonplace than I can appreciate. The author seems to have done his utmost to disappear behind his work that it may produce an objective and true effect. For my part, when reading it, I regretted his absence. I missed his fertility of mind, I missed his piquant style, and most of all I missed his powerful humour, which flashed out in some of his earlier works, and which, perhaps, is his best quality as an author. I closed the book with a vivid impression that what is really of importance in litera- ture is not to be true to reality, but to be true to oneself—to be entirely engrossed not by the outer stuff or material, but rather by one’s own individual peculiarities, and to mould them in artistic form as pregnant and intense as possible. Kristofer Kristofersen has added to the list of his tales a “picture from the last century,” called ‘Pram.’ Constantius Flood in ‘ Ufredstid’ has contributed one of his usual descriptive narratives from the war in the beginning of the century. He is not one of those writers who are anxious to tread new paths. On the other hand, Rosenkrantz Johnsen has made satisfactory progress with his story ‘Kaptein Apenes’ Datter’ (‘ Captain Apenes’s Daughter’). Jonas Lie has not, as is his custom, en- riched the literature of the year with one of his excellent stories; but he has published a small volume of poems. Their chief interest lies in the light they throw on the character of the popular novelist. A collection of ‘ Digte og Skitser ’ (‘ Poems and Sketches’), by Th. Kierulf, who died recently, a lyric poet of the Welhaven school, is being pub- lished by Hartvig Lassen, the veteran his- torian of literature. Otherwise lyrical pro- ductions are, as usual, few and far between. Holger Sinding has published an an- thology, in which some of the songs of our youngest authors find a _ place. His opinion is that the collection proves ‘‘ that it is by no means true, what so many are inclined to assert, that the taste for poetry is altogether extinct,with us.” The assertion to be proved is,‘it may be seen, modest ; but still the proofs of it contributed to the collection by the younger writers are not exactly convincing. No new dramatic work by Henrik Ibsen has seen the light. Failing this, the national theatre has been obliged to content itself with a success of a lower order, a fairy comedy entitled ‘Svein Urad,’ by Nordahl Rolfsen. This piece is not wanting in lyrical beauty ; but otherwise its literary worth is slight. It is essentially a spectacular play, and it was chiefly on account of the scenery that it enjoyed such a long run during this spring. Gunnar Heiberg’s four-act play, ‘King Midas,’ is a much more important affair. It was rejected by the theatre at Christiania, but accepted and brought out by the royal theatre in leuheomn: later on it was put on the stage at Christiania, and also in Sweden by a Swedish company, and finally it was translated into German, and acted both in Berlin and Vienna, where it created a great sensation. At Christiania it was the cause of three “ hissing concerts’’; in Vienna, too, it was much hissed; while at Berlin, at the first representation, there was a regular fight between its admirers and opponents. In Copenhagen it has been the means of filling the large royal theatre on many an evening. Why is it that a piece by an author hitherto almost unknown has caused such a stir? It is by no means entirely upon literary grounds. The chief cause is that the piece is a tolerably open attack on Bjérn- stjerne Bjérnson and his school of thought. One of the doctrines Bjérnson has most zea- lously advocated is the necessity of truth in all relations in life—what he calls to “‘ be in truth.” A demand like this is, of course, worthy of respect, but it must always be taken cum grano salis. Were itto be carried out to the uttermost in all conditions of life, in small things as in great, it would soon come to be ridiculous or offensive. I do not recollect what French author it is who said that for cases where heartiness did not exist, men had invented politeness ; but whoever may have said it has pointed to one of the vast spheres where Bjérn- son’s demand for truth does not hold good. This theory of truth has often been ex- pressed in highly exaggerated phrases; and the opposition to it and his later theories of morality has found vent in ‘ King Midas.’ The principal character, who in many ways reminds one of Bjirnson himself, is a stern apostle of truth, utterly without feeling of delicacy or good breeding, and therefore, when he finds himself at liberty, goes about doing mischief very much like a bull in a china shop. The piece is more of a sketch than of a study thoroughly worked out; yet it is the fruit of a powerful mind, and con- tains many excellent things, both in dialogue and in character. Altogether it fully merits the attention it has excited; at the same time the personal character of the attack has deservedly excited the reprobation which has accompanied its success. Prose literature has also several new works to show this year. The genial philo- logist Sofus Bugge has completed the first series of his ‘Studier over Nordiske Gude- og Heltesagn’ (‘Studies on the Legends of Northern Gods and Heroes’), which he began ten years ago. A work which has taken a still longer time in preparation, Hans Ross’s appendix to Ivar Aasen’s Norwegian dialect dictionary, has also begun to appear. Vetle Vislie has pub- lished a detailed biography of the poet Asmund Olafssen Vinje, and not less de- tailed is a life of the Empress Eugénie by Clara Tschudi. Wilhelm Troje has brought out a meritorious book on ‘' Thomas Carlyle, his Life and Works,’ at the same time introducing Carlyle into our literature by translating his book on hero-worship, and giving an extract from his history of the French Revolution. The important statistical and topogra- phical work ‘Norges Land og Folk’ has come to an end with a description of the Stavanger district. The Government has not been much more successful with another topo- graphico-historical undertaking which it has supported, namely, Magnus’s ‘Finmark: Contributions to Finmark’s History’; as soon as it appeared it was condemned as a com- plete fiasco by all competent critics. Henrik Jeger has taken advantage of his stay in Bergen to write a book about that town and its inhabitants (‘ Bergen og Bergenserne’), and he has collected and published, with the title of ‘ Mixed Pickles,’ a collection of feuilletons and sketches, chiefly of literary, historical, and dramatic subjects. Arne Garborg has printed a volume of his critical and controversial papers, entitled ‘ Fri Forhandling.’ The veteran journalist Ditmar Meidell has published a second instalment of ‘Paa Kryds og Tvars,’ consisting of contro- versial and humorous essays dating from the time when he was editor of the comic paper Krydseren, After having mentioned Didrik Gronvold’s ‘Paa Reisefod og Hjemme,’ a miscellany which consists chiefly of sketches of travels in England, I do not think I have forgotten much that can lay claim to be men- tioned among Norway’s literary productions during the past year. Henrik JaceEr. POLAND. Rarety has a new book created so much excitement in Poland as the three-volume novel by Boleslaw Prus, ‘The Puppet’ (‘Lalka’), a really remarkable work. Its shortcomings are obvious at a glance; but the ability of the author is so great thatthe reader soon forgets to criticize and feels himself car- ried along without a break by the narrative. The aim of the novel is, perhaps, not sufli- ciently clear, and the portrayal of the cha- racter of the chief hero is not sufficiently natural, while in the plot there are here and there weaknesses and gaps; but for all these defects the reader is compensated by the lifelike series of subordinate personages, the wit that bubbles up at every turn, and especially by the background, which is sup- plied by the social condition of the country, and is filled in in a way betokening unusual powers of observation. ‘The Puppet’ is certainly one of the most remarkable ad- ditions made of recent years to our ima- ginative literature, and is quite the most notable work produced in the last twelve months. Other novels dealing with social life—such as ‘Count Witold,’ by Stanis- law Rzewuski, which is marred by the sophistical morality of the principal figure, a morality not made psychologically intel- ligible, as well as ‘The Lotos Flower’ of Mile. Rodziewicz, and her ‘ They’ (in French it would be called ‘ Elles’), in which our critics detected a falling off on the part of a writer whom they had, perhaps, overrated at starting—have achieved no great success. Nor is there much else to mention. Wlodzimierz Los, one of the most prolific authors of recent times, has brought out, besides tales and short stories, ‘ The Counts Starosta,’ in two volumes, and ‘Lydia the Russian,’ a story of the revolt of 1863. E. Naganowski, who spent a considerable time in England, has published a picture of the present state of matters in Ireland under the title of ‘ Hessy O’Grady.’ There are also some additions to be chro- nicled to our list of historical romances. ‘The Christian Knight’ and ‘In the Morn- ing Dawn,’ both by T. T. Jez, are descriptive of life among the southern Slavs, in deal- ing with which the author is always at his best. Kajetan Kraszewski, a brother of the
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XUM N° 3271, Jury 5,’90 THE ATHENAUM 25 celebrated Joseph Ignatius Kraszewski, whose death I mentioned three years ago, has pictured the habits and customs of the nobility of the eighteenth century in his ‘Bartochowski.’ Deotyma (Jadwiga Luszc- zewska), who for several years past has been widely known as an improvisatrice, has placed the scene of ‘The Slaves of the Tartars’ in the thirteenth century. This kind of work is somewhat difficult of accom- plishment, and her characters leave a good deal to be desired. The best part is the description of manners in the medizval, more especially in the Asiatic, world. By the side of the novel properly so called, the novelette yearly comes more into vogue. Sienkiewicz, the poet Gomulicki, Lentowski, Balucki, Lubowski, Gawalewicz, Sewer, Dygasinski, all of them well known, and most of them meritorious writers of tales, have not failed to contribute to this branch of literature during the last twelve months. A younger generation is represented in the second volume of stories by Antony Miesz- kowski, a highly promising author. Women are especially inclined to this sort of fiction, and never have there been so many writers of tales among them as now, when it has become the fashion. The most distinguished are the lady who adopts the pseudonym of Ostoja, Zapolska, Walerie Solecka (who has unfortunately died early), and the youngest of them all, Maria Waligorska, who has made a successful start in authorship. There has been a good deal of activity among our dramatic writers, and some of their productions are destined to endure. A comedy by Edward Lubowski, ‘The Wives’ Confidante,’ is one of the best productions of that able writer. Kasimir Zalewski, who has usually devoted himself to serious comedy, has written a witty and highly suc- cessful farce ‘Oh, those Men!’ Michael Balucki has brought out, besides the dluettes ‘The Cousin’ and‘ The Love Letter,’ acomedy ‘Hard Times,’ which has obtained a succeés @estime on its performance. Sewer the novelist has also made a successful essay as a playwright. His drama of popular life, ‘For the Holy Ground’s Sake,’ won the praise of the critics by its noble tendencies and original portrayal of country life. In ‘The Last Day of Don Juan,’ a fantastic piece by Stan. Rzewuski, whom I mentioned above, there are here and there effective situations, butthe wholeisinjured by its lack of sequence in construction and foreign reminiscences. Kasimir Glinski has written a tragedy in verse, ‘Almansor,’ the subject of which is borrowed from Spanish history; and Madame Ulanowska has printed a play of popular life written in conjunction with Alfred Szczepanski, ‘The Ancestral Estate.’ Of poetry properly so called nothing pos- sessing much importance has been published during the twelvemonth. M. Gawalewicz and J. Kuczynski belong to that class of writers who have attained a certain amount of reputation by their technical dexterity, while others, such as Casimir Tetmajer, Waclaw Lieder, Joseph Wierzbicki, Stanis- las Tomkiewicz, and Guldenstern, are new writers, several of them showing traces of genuine talent that may develope into some- thing stronger in course of time. Rodoc (Biernacki), in his third series of satires, which are characterized by a pleasant style and biting wit, often raises questions of uni- versal interest. His sketches of social life are excellent. History has been mainly confined to the publishing of sources and documents—such works, in fact, as the ‘Town and Country Acts,’ of which Prof. Liske has issued another volume; acollection of ‘The Laws, Privileges, and Statutes of the City of Cracow,’ by Pie- kosinski; ‘The Geography and Statistics of Poland in the Fourteenth Century,’ by Jablonowski, and other books of the kind. ‘The History of Poland,’ by E. Boguslawski, has encountered a good deal of criticism on account of its leaning to Panslavism, a rare thing among us. ‘The Affair of Sigismund Unrug,’ by Alex. Kraushar, is a skilful account of the religious persecution to which a Polish nobleman was subjected by his order in the times when our culture was at its lowest. An excellent picture of manners is presented by Wladyslaw Lozinski in his valuable work ‘ The Patricians and Citizens of Lemberg in the Sixteenth and Seven- teenth Centuries.’ I cannot conclude without mentioning a few books in other departments of know- ledge: ‘The General Commercial Geo- graphy’ of Prof. F. Czerny ; the narratives of travel by Stan. Belza, ‘Beyond the Apennines,’ ‘ Holland,’ and ‘ Polish Silesia ’; ‘The Flora of the Carpathians,’ by Hugo Zapalowicz; and especially ‘The Geogra- phical Lexicon of Poland,’ in its ancient extent, one of the greatest literary under- takings of which we can boast, and which is approaching its conclusion, having reached its tenth volume. A great deal of praise is due to the journal of geography and ethno- graphy, Wisla (Vistula), lately established in Warsaw by Dr. J. Karlowicz, of which three volumes have already appeared, containing much matter of value. Apam BELcrkowskI. RUSSIA. Every year the task of reviewing the literary movement of Russia grows more and more difficult. Not so long ago we possessed clearly defined schools and parties, closely connected with the questions that agitated society, whose internal strife was so bitter that no new writer could remain neutral; allegiance to one or the other camp was indispensable. But of late years all this has changed. Of course the old nightingales still warble the old melodies, but the new men, the young men, are growing up and being formed in a society whose stagnation is ever growing more complete, and in which interchange of ideas is as steadily declining. We have now no currents which can carry us along without effort, no schools of thought to impress us by the general accept: ance society accords them ; and consequently individualism is in the ascendant. Each man sits in his own corner and developes out of his inner consciousness theories of his own, or perhaps remains without any equipment at all of general ideas. Hence literary productions are more often than not either entirely wanting in ideas, or expressive only of the personal reflections of the author, which, although they may have their ‘value in use,’’ do not obtain with the public any “‘value in exchange.” This individualism is shared even by the work which has attracted the greatest attention this year and has called forth most discussion, namely, Count L. Tolstoy’s ‘Kreutzer Sonata.’ Tolstoy has repre- sented with his usual power one of the very common forms of unhappy marriages in Russia. A certain Pozdnuishev, a worn- out rake, marries a girl whose one idea is to get married, no matter to whom. Of course the two have nothing in common beyond a purely physical love for each other; the result is mutual misunderstand- ing, irritation, differences, complicated in this instance by jealousy, and terminating in the murder of the wife by the husband. The hero tells his own story himself in a railway carriage, and intersperses his recital with reflections on matrimony. He em- phasizes very strongly the animal side of his love, and comes to the conclusion that marriage and carnal love are generally immoral, and that humanity should renounce them even at the price of putting a stop to the procreation of the human race. One of our critics, Mikhailovski, has refused to accept the views of the hero of ‘The Kreutzer Sonata’ as those of the author. But, although this may have been only a literary quibble, the Russian public, whose interest in them was due to the belief that they were the views of Tolstoy himself, was probably more accurate in its judgment. In his later works Count Tolstoy has more than once given utterance to several of Pozdnuishev’s dicta ; and in the course of the present year he has repeated them once more in a connected form in a work which, like ‘The Kreutzer Sonata,’ has not received the censor’s approval, but which has appeared in a French translation under the title of ‘De la Vie.’ It would be erroneous to suppose that this work treats of ‘ life” in the biological, physiological, or psychological sense of the word. Its subject is ‘‘true” life, which Tolstoy maintains consists solely in seeking after righteousness, and con- sequently the book is purely ethical in character. This is the only idea of life which we have vouchsafed us, says Tolstoy, in our inner consciousness, this is the only idea which we possess non-intermediately. The whole of the universe, the organic and inorganic, and even our animal nature, la béte humaine, is something outside of ourselves, foreign to us. Count Tolstoy opposes an inner moral consciousness to our animal nature, and finds in this opposition the great paradox of human life. Our inner consciousness tells us we are immortal, but our terrestrial covering is continuously decaying and drawing nearer to death. This paradox, and the fear of death which it involves, is the inevitable result of a wrong view of life, and is only possible while our consciousness identifies itself with the animal covering which is really foreign to it. For the latter is only a temporary vehicle for consciousness, and this conscious- ness existed before it and will exist after its destruction. In its general aspect the teaching of Count Tolstoy does not present any features especially original or peculiarly his own. But this general aspect does not suffice for him. If the ‘‘scribes’’ lie,—if the men of science and learning, who regard consciousness as a derivative function of the organism, and who confound “life” with in- dividual existence from birth to death, are wrong,—the “ pharisees” are liars as well, the men of positive religion, who oppose
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26 THE ATHENAUM N° 3271, Jury 5, ’90 real “life” to material existence, and remove it into the future, the world beyond the grave. Real life is possible even within the limits of individual existence, although it simultaneously denies the latter. It con- sists of love and of self-sacrifice for the good of our neighbour. But this love is not the ordinary preference of one person for another; that is but animal passion, from which it is imperative that we should eman- cipate ourselves, and which causes 99 per cent. of the misfortunes of humanity. Every material object of love would, according to this theory, be such a ‘‘ preference,’”’ hence true love has no material object outside itself. True love is directed, not towards the immediate help of others, which would necessarily be but an amelioration of their individual existence, but towards the reformation of oneself, and towards discard- ing animal nature. By indulging our animal nature and allowing its requirements to grow, we only increase our fear of death; by alleviating its sufferings with the aid, for instance, of hateful science in the shape of medicine, we simply obstruct the growth of true life, for suffering is invariably the con- sequence of one’s own or other people’s sins, and is most instrumental in helping us to recognize our sinfulness and to subdue our animal natures. The man who has added to his own, and hence to true life, and has therefore increased the sum of love in humanity, knows nothing of suffering or death. ‘‘ The force of his life continues to act after his death,” he therefore lives on (e.g. Christ). The final triumph of “true life” over animal existence must therefore necessarily be the extinction of the animal life of humanity. Now we can understand why Pozdnuishev learned from the abuse of his animal requirements to advocate their absolute extermination. For Tolstoy regards all concession to the animal as depravity, in which he can see no degrees, no shades. His depraved hero is not an exceptional, but a typical man, who has listened to his animal promptings, and has no conception of true life. Of course all this requires no refutation; I have simply expounded this theory of true life, this mixture of paradoxes and truisms, because it is an indispensable commentary to ‘The Kreutzer Sonata.’ Unfortunately, however, this essentially ‘‘pharisaical”’ system of morals has many disciples in Russia. Partly related to this teaching of Tolstoy’s is the philosophical theory of the poet Minski, which he has expounded in a work entitled ‘In the Light of Conscience.’ He too has endeavoured to explain the inherent contradiction in human nature of conscience on the one hand demanding immortality, and reason on the other proving the im- possibility of such immortality. After recapi- tulating at the commencement of his book the pessimistic arguments of Schopenhauer, he finds consolation at the end in the antinomies and paralogisms of Kant, although Kant’s ‘‘ Grenzbegriffe”’ of pure reason, which are negative and formal, are transformed by him into something definite and positive— into ‘‘ nonentities,’”’ which, if not satisfying to the reason, are at least supposed to appeal to our sentiments and feelings. By such artificiality and eccentricities are the philosophical views of our men of letters distinguished ; nevertheless the demand for some philosophical and ethical basis can scarcely be regarded as artificial. Let us turn to another literary artist, A. Tchekhoff. He does not philosophize, but the desire to find an ethical conception of things is plainly discernible in his latest productions. A collection of his stories published this year bears the title of ‘ Discontented People,’ and, indeed, the general impression produced by a perusal of these tales is one of deep discontent with the external me- chanical movement of life. The longest of them, and perhaps the best Tchekhoff ever wrote, ‘A Melancholy Tale,’ in order to bring out more strongly this state of mind, produced by a feeling of moral vacuum, describes the sufferings of two totally oppo- site characters from one and the same com- plaint, a consciousness of the aimlessness and inanity of life. One is a professor devoted to science and his professorial duties, who has spent his life in doing useful work for humanity ; the other a young girl, who has scarcely commenced life, and is already disappointed with it, having dis- covered herself unsuited for the artistic career she had chosen. The first frames a diagnosis of his disease with the interest of a scientific observer, the other makes frantic efforts to escape from it ; but neither the one nor the other arrives at any satisfactory result. The professor patiently awaits the natural solution which death will bring, and scien- tifically studies its approach. The girl tries to find oblivion, and finally probably com- mits suicide, though the author leaves us to draw our own conclusions, and thus heightens the impression of the inextricable nature of the situation which the story leaves. Such an end is, indeed, more natural than any far- fetched theory of anabstract loveof humanity, or a still more fanciful worship of the “non-existent.” A. Ertel has produced an interesting, but somewhat discursive and artificial novel descriptive of village life after the eman- cipation of the serfs, and entitled ‘The Gar- denins: their Servants, their Adherents, and their Enemies.’ P. Boboruikin’s ‘On the Wane’ is an artistic novel cleverly imitating the realistic school of French writers, and containing many touches that are borrowed direct from St. Petersburg and Moscow life. Thanks to the appearance of a new maga- zine, the Artist, I am enabled to devote some space to the dramatic literature of the year. Out of the ten plays, more or less im- portant, that have appeared inthis magazine, several have enjoyed considerable success on the stage, but none would have got into print if it had not been for this periodical. Their plot is generally based upon adultery, but upon adultery of a particular kind. The adulterer of the Russian stage is neither playful nor immoral; his transgressions are not caused by the impulse of the moment, nor is legitimacy always vindicated in the end. On the contrary, the breach of the seventh commandment is so serious a matter that it forms the basis for fresh family relations, to which the old legitimate matrimonial life must give way. Thus, in one of these plays, ‘The Lady-Bird,’ by P. Boboruikin, the husband not only resigns his wife to her lover, but, when the two latter disagree, he makes peace between them. Again, in ‘The Whirlpool,’ by I. Shpajinski, the wife gives up her husband to his mistress, and when the latter cools towards him, it is the wife who remonstrates with her and adjures her to be constant. In a third piece, by I. Loduijenski, ‘Under Love’s Sway,’ the wife dies because her lover lacks the deter- mination to elope with her, and her husband is not sufficiently complaisant to let her go of his own accord. A fourth play, ‘Chains,’ by Prince A. Sumbatoff, makes the wife the destroyer of domestic happiness by appear- ing, after having previously deserted her husband, to disturb his second, happy, although illegitimate family; and fate, or rather the author, makes her commit suicide for the sake of the m‘siress. From this it is apparent that the sympathy of a Russian audience is always assumed to be on the side of strong feeling rather than of legality. It is doubtful whether the same tendency does not prevail in every other European theatre. N. Mikhailovski has brought out, since Saltikoff’s death, a separate volume con- taining materials for the definition of Saltikoff’s place in literature; and A. Puipin and K. Arsenieff have collected materials for his biography. A biogra- phical sketch by the last writer forms part of the complete collection in nine volumes of Saltikoft’s works, which has only just appeared. During the year the first pos- thumous edition of Ostrovski’s works, with a biography, ten volumes in all, has also been issued. I should not omit to mention in this place the magnificent edition of Gogol which Prof. Tikhonravov has brought out. This is the first critical edition of the text from authentic manuscripts, with all the variations and subsequent alterations the author made, and provided with a most perfect historical and literary commentary. Important for the history of modern Rus- sian literature are also the recently published ‘Memoirs’ of Madame Golovatchev, for- merly Madame Panaeff, the widow of the editor of the Sovremennik (the Contemporary). Here will be found interesting particulars of Tourguénief, Nekrassoff, the Radicals of the ‘‘ sixties,” especially Dobrolyoubov, and of the younger literary Bohemia composed of such men as Reshetnikoff, Sleptzoff, &c. N. Kolyoupanoff hascommenced a most compre- hensive biography of A. J. Koshelev, one of the Slavophils. A. Skabitchevski, a well- known critic, has collected in two volumes some of his essays treating of Russian lite- rature during the last thirty years, includ- ing his ‘ Forty Years of Russian Criticism (1820-60),’ first published in 1870, though not in its complete form for press -law reasons, in the Otetchestvenia Zapiski. The first volume has also appeared of Vengerov’s ‘Critical and Biographical Dictionary of Russian Authors,’ an enormous tome de- voted solely to the letter A, and confined principally to notices of living authors. The most important event in philosophical literature has been the appearance of a new periodical, entitled Questions in Philosophy and Psychology, and published by the Moscow Psychological Society. The meta- physico-ethical tendency, to which I had occasion to refer in my last article, is the prevailing tone in this society and in its | magazine, although, of course, other branches | are not excluded, as, for instance, the his- torical and psycho- physiological. During — '
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kk N°? 3271, Jury 5, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 27 the year this society has been reinforced by a new but talented thinker, Prince S. Tru- betzkoy, who has made his début with a dissertation on ‘The Metaphysics of Ancient Greece.’ As far as one can judge from this paper, and an article in the same periodical ‘On the Nature of Human Consciousness,’ the prince goes further than his school, and is preparing to found a system of his own, not metaphysical, but theosophical. The metaphysics of ancient Greece he considers as partly allied to the old Greek religion, and partly a ‘‘ pre-Christian Christianity.” He shows, in the course of its development, how it grew from an elementary naturalism into a dualism of form and matter, God and the world. Monism is, indeed, the feature of modern thought which he finds especially unsatisfactory, both empirically and ideally, in either of which forms of it he finds a common feature that is at the root of its inadequacy, namely, subjectivity, which cannot be logically deduced, and there- fore leads us inevitably to the recognition of something outside subjective consciousness, something in contradiction to it, by which consciousness itself must be explained. Whilst accepting the idea of a gradual de- velopment of consciousness in the world, either on the theory of evolution or on that of the “‘ philosophy of the unconscious,” he places at the foundation of the universe acom- pletely developed and perfectly absolute con- sciousness, 7.¢., God. ‘This system the author has not yet finally formulated in its details, but even in these its general aspects it reminds us strongly of the leader of all this school of thought, Vladimir Solovieff. This year Solovieff has published at Paris his ‘La Russie et l’Kglise Universelle,’ which expounds the general features of his teach- ings, in anticipation of that larger work to which I referred left year, and which is not yet completed. In his system God is the foundation of the world, not in the panthe- istic sense as the soul of the universe, but in the dualistic sense as the creator—nay, even in the Christian sense as a trinity. This trinity Solovieff explains as the three aspects of the Deity, existence, activity, and sensation. In order to the manifestation of the last aspect of His nature, 7.¢., sensation, feeling (that is love), God created chaos, which had primevally only potentially existed within the Godhead, but which did not manifest itself as an opposite to God until the divine omnipotence, guided by the divine will, refrained from repressing it any longer within Himself. At first God was all things, but now that God has produced out of Himself a world which is foreign to Him, it is God’s will that all things should be God-like. The penetration of this triune principle into the world constitutes the his- tory of the universe. Having separated Himself from the world, God is now re- uniting Himself to it in man. A “human organism ’’ is created likewise on the triune principle. It consists of man, woman, and society, and unites itself in the ratio of its growth with the Deity into a ‘‘Theo- Humanity,” its three constituents represent- ing Christ in the man, the Mother of-God in the woman, and the Church in society. A complete union of humanity with the Godhead can only be effected by means of a universal Church. For this reason it is imperative to place the Church above the State—to convert it into a papacy, in fact. But the Church cannot subsist independ- ently of the State, for its mission is the reformation of this world. ‘‘ The historical mission of Russia appears to be to confer that political power on the Church which is indispensable to it for the salvation and reformation of Europe and the world” (pp. lix-lxvii). In this coalition of the Roman High Priest with the Russian Tzar, Vladimir Solovieff, consistently with his principle of a trinity, finds a place also for himself; for both the one and the other have still to be persuaded of the necessity of such an alliance. To exhort them to recog- nize their ideal mission, and to prepare them for their future union, a third agent is wanted, namely, the prophet, ‘‘ the repre- sentative of the absolute ideal of human society.” In Russian history, ethnography, and archeology this year has been a fruit- ful one. First and foremost stands the excellent work of A. Lappo-Danilevski, a valuable contribution to the history of Russian finance in the seventeenth century, ‘ The Organization of Direct Taxa- tion in the State of Muscovy,’ and this is followed by Prof. Serguéevitch’s ‘Russian Legal Antiquities,’ vol. i. (terri- tories and population); N. Tchetchoulin’s ‘The Towns of the State of Muscovy in the Sixteenth Century,’ a work based on researches in the Government archives; and M. Dyakonov’s ‘ The Power of the Tzars of Muscovy to the End of the Sixteenth Century,’ an interesting study of the history of the doctrine of autocracy. In this con- nexion I should also notice Prof. V. Klyoutchevski’s remarkable essay on ‘The Organization of Representation on the Zemski Councils’ (the ancient Russian Parliament), where the connexion of the representative principle with local govern- ment in Russia is for the first time explained. As will be seen from the above brief enumeration, the attention of Russian his- torians has been directed principally towards the study of the economical and legal condi- tionsofancient Russia. Aninteresting,though perhaps scarcely critical history of ‘The Detachment of Ruthenia from Poland’ (3 vols.) has been produced by P. Koulish. VY. Andrievitch has written a ‘History of Siberia’ (6 vols.), which, however, is solely a systematic arrangement of data compiled from the ‘Complete Collection of Laws,’ and VY. Yakoushin ‘Outlines of Rural Policy in the Eighteenth Century,’ also based on the same. A very well-written ‘History of Catherine II.,’ based on the official records of the Russian and foreign governments, has emanated from the pen of Bilbasov; so far, only the first volume has appeared, which concludes with Catherine’s accession to the throne. The Academy of Sciences has issued ‘Records of the State of Muscovy,’ vol. i. (1571-1634), edited by N. A. Popoff, and vol. ii. ‘Letters of the Emperor Peter the Great’ (1702-3), edited by A. Th. Buitchkoff ; the Russian Historical Society its sixtieth volume of transactions, containing a treatise on ‘The Diplomatic Relations of Russia and France in the Time of Napoleon, 1800-2,’ by Tratchevski, besides numerous documents. I should not omit to:mention an elaborate work by D. Tzvetayev on ‘Pro- testantism and Protestants in Russia down to the Reforms of Peter the Great,’ more interesting for the facts it contains than for the ideas it reveals. Ethnography has been enriched by two admirable works by the brothers Kharouzin—‘The Kirghese of Boukeef,’ by A. Kharouzin, in which the anthropo- metrical section is highly interesting, and which is copiously illustrated with photographs showing the ethnographical peculiarities of this mixed race; and ‘Russian Laplanders,’ by N. Kharouzin. I. N. Smirnoff continues his ethnographical researches on the Volga, and has presented us with a new book on ‘ The Votyaks’ (their history, customs, religion, and bibliography). Finally, D. N. Anoutchin has made some interesting researches on the ‘ Geographical Distribution of Stature among the Male Population of Russia.’ Count T. Tolstoy and Kondakoff are con- tinuing the issue of their ‘ Russian Antiqui- ties,’ although the text of their second num- ber can satisfy neither scientific nor popular readers. The eighth Archeological Congress at Moscow contributed much that is new. Prof. Antonovitch read a paper in which he made a perfect classification of the tumuli to be found in the province of Kiev, and for the first time the tumuli of different Slavonic tribes are distinguished. N. M. Yadrintzev gave an account of his journey te the summit of the Orkhon, in Mongolia, where he discovered a remarkable inscription with two parallel texts—one in so-called runic, being of a character found along the river Yenissei, but the other in unknown characters which have still to be deciphered. In short, our archeologists pay more atten- tion to historical geography and ethnography than to prehistoric research. I cannot conclude this notice without a brief mention of those writers whom we have lost. Among these is one of the most prominent of our lady authors, Madame N. D. Khvostchinski, who lived a retired life in the country, and retained to the last the freshness of her sympathies and her depth of thought. We have also lost N. T. Tchernisheftski, the author of the celebrated novel ‘Tchto Delat?’ (‘What should we Do?’) in the opinion of some, the ringleader of the famous Nihilism of our country, in that of others, a deep thinker on political economy and a clever publicist. His long exile in Siberia (since 1863) broke his energy and blunted his mind; but even in his latest work, a translation of Weber’s ‘Universal History,’ we can recognize his remarkable power of work and his jour- nalistic vigour, which manifests itself in those parts of the history which he regarded as not sufficiently liberal in tone. Besides these, two St. Petersburg professors have passed away, A. Gradovski and O. Th. Miller: the first one of the most thorough of our lawyer historians, the other less distinguished for his mental attainments than regretted by all as one of the most noble of men, lofty-minded and warm- hearted. He was a Slavophil at bottom, but too impartial and conscientious to remain blindly wedded to one point of view. He was ready to take the good wherever he found it, and was not, so much concerned with har- monizing conflicting ideas in some precon- ceived theory as with their beneficial influ- ence on actual life. © Pavn Mityouxov.
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28 THE ATHENAUM N° 3271, Juty 5, 790 SPAIN. Ir the progress of a nation in science, art, and letters is to be estimated by the quantity of books published within a given space of time, it must be owned that the Spanish peninsula is now making rapid improvement. Indeed, I do not hesitate to say that, notwithstanding its still deficient population, more volumes have issued from the press within the last twelve months of liberal government than in as many years of absolute and semi-despotic monarchy. ‘True it is that the number of important and costly works subventioned by Government, or by various literary funds, is by no means so considerable as it was a few years ago; but as a compensation for that several enterprising publishers have lately sprung up, both here in the capital and in the provinces, ready to contribute with their labour and their means—a thing almost unpre- cedented among us—to the diffusion of know- ledge. It may be safely asserted that several handsomely printed and richly illustrated works, of which I shall speak hereafter, would never have seen the light had they not been taken up by publishing firms here and at Barcelona. The Royal Academy of History has not been so active as usual. With the exception of one volume of the new series of ‘ Docu- mentos Inéditos de Ultramar,” of another (xxii.) of the “‘ Memorial Histérico Espaiiol,” and the pamphlet entitled ‘Secretas Inteli- gencias entre Cataluiia y Francia,’ intended as a sort of supplement to vol. ii. of Miguel Paret’s history of Catalonia, 1626-60 (Athen. No. 3219), the bulk of the Academic labours, by no means inconsiderable, has appeared in the Academy’s Boletin, which counts already seventeen volumes, In the last two students of archzology and history in all its branches will find learned papers by Francisco Coello, Manuel Danvila, Father Fita, Cesareo Fernandez Duro, Aureliano Fernandez Guerra, and others. Nor has another Royal Academy (La Espafiola de la Lengua) shown greater activity in the publication of the many inedited works which it is known to have in store. Indeed, that inestimable literary jewel of the Middle Ages, the ‘Cantigas’ of King Alphonso “the Learned,” though already in print, as reported, has remained unissued on the shelves of the Academical library for many years, for want, it is rumoured, of a few touches in the preface or introduction. The Academy it- self may after all not be responsible for the delay ; but considering that King Alphonso’s work is one of paramount importance for the history of Spanish literature in the thirteenth century, and that the ‘ Cantigas’ are written in the Galician dialect and in verse, the work should be brought out without any further delay, for the benefit and instruction of all scholars, native or foreign, interested in the history and literature of the Middle Ages. In order, perhaps, to satisfy the cravings of the learned, and in a certain measure compensate dis- appointed readers, the Royal Academy has decided to publish a new edition of Lope de Vega’s works. The task—a most arduous one —has been entrusted to a young Academician whose name is a_ sufficient guarantee that the undertaking, however difti- cult and tedious, will be brought to completion. For if weconsider that by no means all the plays and poetry of that prolific writer (the monster- wit, as we call him) are in print ; that a good many of them still lie unprinted in the libraries of this peninsula and abroad ; and that over and above the twenty-five volumes or parts of his ‘Comedias,’ there are no fewer than twenty-one of his ‘Obras Sueltas,’ besides 2 good number of tales and other works in prose, some idea will be formed of the gigantic enterprise which the Academy has committed to Don Marcelino Menendez Pelayo, better qualified than any other I know of to carry it out successfully, owing to his great knowledge of our national literature in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fer- nando has lately published a handsome folio entitled ‘Cancionero Musical de los Siglos XV. y XVI.’ which has lately been edited by Juan Asensio Barbieri, one of its members, without dispute the most celebrated composer (maestro) in the Peninsula. The ‘ Cancionero,’ though imperfect (fifty-four leaves are now missing), was discovered by Barbieri in the private library of the kings of Spain. It is written on paper in various hands, none of which is later, to judge from the contents of the manuscript, than the first fifteen years of the sixteenth century. In a learned introduc- tion to the ‘Cancionero’ its editor, who seems to be as conversant with the popular poetry of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as he is accomplished in music, has described with a masterly hand the various phases through which that noble art—whose professors have lately found a seat in the Academia de San Fernando by the side of architects, painters, sculptors, and engravers—has passed since the dark ages. He has, moreover, supplied as com- plete a notice of the poets and musicians as could possibly be derived from manu- scripts of the time, or from the ecclesiastical archives of Toledo, Salamanca, and so forth ; and what is still more commendable, he has transposed the music of the songs (can- ctones) into the more practical annotation of our days. In short, the editing of the ‘ Can- cionero Musical’ could not have been placed in better hands; the Academy deserves all praise for it. One of the most remarkable proofs of pro- gress is, in my opinion, the taste for ancient and modern art which has of late years sprung up among my countrymen. I have occasionally alluded to ‘ Bellezas y Recuerdos de Espaiia,’ by the late Parcerissa, as well as to ‘Monu- mentos Arquitecténicos de Espaiia,’ by Dorre- garay, and to ‘La Espajia, sus Monumentos y Artes,’ still in course of publication in Barcelona by the publishing house of Cortezo ; but these works, all excellent in their way, rarely, if ever, dealt with the industrial and sumptuary arts of the Middle Ages, such as carvings in ivory, wood, or iron, painting, enamels, sculptures, and so forth, of which there is still a number of valuable specimens in the churches as well as in the dwellings of our nobility. Of some of these, it must be owned, a slight account was given a few years ago in the ‘Museo Espaiiol de Antigiiedades,’ by Rada y Delgado; but nowadays the de- ficiency will, in a certain measure, be supplied by a more recent work, of which four parts (entregas) have already,made their appearance with extraordinary success—I mean ‘La Espaiia Artistica y Monumental,’ published by the firm of Viuda de Rodriguez, with “ re- producciones foto-tipicas” by Laurent and letterpress by Pedro Madrazo. The work is to consist of four series, namely, 1. Modern Spanish Art; 2. The Museums of Spain ; 3. Architecture and Statuary; 4. Tapestry and Armoury. In this last series many trea- sures of art hitherto imperfectly, if at all, de- scribed, will be reproduced, such as the cele- brated armour in the old Roman style (@ la Romana) of the Emperor Charles V., and pieces of tapestry representing either the preaching of St. John in the desert or pas- sages from the conquest of Tunis in 1535. In the first series, which begins with the ‘Cuadro de las Lanzas,’ or ‘Surrender of Breda,’ by Velasquez, and the ‘Santa Isabel’ by Murillo, there are also to be photographs of pictures by Cubells, Fortuny, Gisbert, Raymundo, Madrazo, Palmaroli, Pradilla, and others. That the letterpress explanatory of each illustration has been entrusted to Pedro Madrazo, well known as an excellent judge and critic in such matters, will be con- sidered by the lovers of Spanish art as a guarantee that an important work will be properly executed. ‘El Coronel Francisco Verdugo,’ by an anonymous writer of the seventeenth century, is an interesting sketch of the life of one of our best commanders in Flanders and the Low Countries from 1567 to 1591. Its editor, to whom we are indebted for many publications —most of them original—of the same sort, found it in a rather damaged condition on one of the many bookstalls in this capital. He has now printed it with opportune and well-selected notes, and has added to it an account (‘ Relacion’) by Vincart of the cam- paign in 1641. Of ‘Sevilla, Monumentol y Artistica,’ by José Gestoso y Gomez, I can only speak in terms of the highest possible commendation. Recently promoted to the post of professor at the School of Fine Arts in that city, the author is undoubtedly a competent critic in matters of art. The first volume of his book is divided into three sections: first, the pre- historic age ; second, the Roman; third, the Visigothic. In the course of his investiga- tions in the archives of the cathedral, Prof. Gestoso has been able to discover the names of several artists, Christian and Mohammedan, Spanish as well as foreign, and among them not a few Flemish or Italians, who during the Middle Ages worked in Seville and its immediate neighbourhood asarchitects, painters, sculptors, jewellers, carvers in stone or wood, glass cutters,andengravers. The fourthsection, which is to form by itself a second volume, will deal exclusively with the Mohammedan period, from the eighth century down to the thirteenth, when the city was wrested from the Moors by Ferdinand III. It will also com- prise the period of the Renaissance, which, though not so early developed as in Italy and Flanders, yet presents among us, it is well known, peculiarities and divergences well worthy of attention. The work itself, which is being printed at the expense of the Cor- poration of Seville, is handsomely got-up, and accompanied by numerous plates. It may, perhaps, be important for professors of archeology abroad to know that an Ara- Ae END ae
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in. no ORE REND XUM N° 3271, Jury 5, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 29 gonese nobleman, Count La Viiiaza, already well known in literary circles as the author of an interesting ‘Vida de Goya’ and other works, is now publishing a supplement to Cean Bermudez’s ‘Diccionario Historico de los Profesores de las Bellas Artes en Espaiia.’ Of the two volumes which have already appeared, the first contains the names of up- wards of two hundred artists from the eleventh century to the end of the sixteenth, whom the diligent writer above named did not include in his work. The second, reaching only to the letter L, and the third, which is soon to follow, will embrace the period of the Renaissance down to the end of the eighteenth century. If to this be added that to each of the volumes alphabetical and chro- nological tables have been appended, contain- ing the names of the artists, the years in which they flourished, the countries of their birth, the cities they resided in, or the churches and monasteries for which they worked, whether miniaturists, painters, architects, sculptors, carvers, or engravers, the reading public may form a correct idea of the Count’s book, and how useful it will be for future writers on art in the Middle Ages and from the sixteenth century almost to our days. ‘ La Ex- pulsion de los Moriscos Espaiioles,’ by Manuel Danvila, is a new book on a subject which has been treated by many writers before him, and yet its author has had the patience to consult the archives of Valencia and other towns, in which he has found plenty of mate- rials to illustrate his book and throw a new light on the two points so much debated by economists, namely, Was the expulsion jus- tifiable and necessary? What did Spain lose through it ? ‘Juan de Castellanos y su Historia del Nuevo Reino de Granada,’ by Marcos Jimenez de la Espada, is one of those publications that would require more time and space than I can dispose of, were I to attempt to give an idea of its contents. Suffice it to say that it is in the form of a letter to Paz y Melia, who at the beginning of last year committed to the press the recently discovered and hitherto in- edited fifth part of ‘Elegias de Varona ilustres de Indias,’ by Juan de Castellanos. With severe, though highly courteous criticism Seiior Espada refutes the manifold errors into which have fallen Caro, Vergara, and others who have lately dealt with the history of New Granada, owing chiefly to their not having seen the original of the ‘ Elegias,’ first printed at Madrid in 1589 in its incomplete form. Seiior Espada has done still more; he has proved that neither Castellanos, other- wise called ‘‘ El Clerigo de Tunja,” nor the celebrated author of ‘La Araucana’ (1569), nor Oita in his ‘ Arauco Domado’ (1605), nor Saavedra in his ‘ Peregrino Indiano’ (1599), nor Barco Centenera in his ‘Argentina’ (1602), is to be trusted as an historian, whatever their merits as poets may be, having frequently sacrificed truth to poetical fancy or to the unavoidable demands of the rhyme. An- other book of Seiior Espada, published almost immediately after the above mentioned, is ‘ Viaje del Capitan Pedro Teixeira agua arriba del Rio de las Amazonas,’ hitherto inedited. Better qualified, perhaps, than any other living Spaniard to bring to light works of the sort, owing to his great knowledge of Ame- rican matters as well as constant study in the Seville archives, the editor has enriched his book with learned notes and hitherto unpub- lished documents relating to the early naviga- tion of the Amazons, or Rio de San Fran- cisco de Quito, as it was originally called, besides a reduction of the coloured map exe- cuted in 1638 by one of the pilots who accom- panied Teixeira’s expedition—Bento d’Acosta or Fernando Montesinos. Nor is this all that has been done for American history and geo- graphy. Whether it be that the fact that the fourth centenary of the discovery of the New World is to be celebrated here at Madrid in 1893 has heightened the interest of Spaniards in American matters, or what is more probable, as I have already observed, a feeling of regret for the loss of what was once their own has awakened the curiosity of my countrymen, certain it is that several books have lately appeared relating to Spanish America and its discovery. For instance, two months ago Capt. Cesareo Fernandez Duro, the celebrated author of many important works on naval affairs, produced his ‘ Nebulosa de Colon,’ a book designed, as its title implies, to dissipate the clouds that still obscure the person of Chris- topher Columbus. Taking as a base for his criticisms the ‘Colombo e la sua Famiglia,’ lately written in Italian by a Genoese residing in Lisbon, in which the opinions of Mr. Harrisse on that subject are attacked with some violence, Capt. Fernandez Duro has succeeded in bringing to light several facts hitherto unknown, and has established them by aid of authentic documents, which will serve one day to reconstruct the biography of the discoverer of the New World. In his first chapter, entitled “ Peragallo contra Harrisse,”’ he passes in review the points on which those two writers are at variance respecting Columbus and his family. In the second, the voyages of Huwui, the Buddhist monk, to the coast of California in the fifth cen- tury of our era, and those of the Northmen in the tenth and the eleventh, are carefully examined. The third part of the book is devoted to Columbus’s nationality, and the author has, as far as I can judge, proved that Columbus was a Genoese by birth, not a native of Calvi in Corsica, as Perretti and others have lately alleged. As at the time of his birth the island of Corsica was still in the possession of the kings of Aragon, if born at Calvi, as asserted, Christophoro Colombo must have been a Spanish sub- ject. The fourth turns on the much de- bated question whether Fernando Colon was the admiral’s legitimate son, or rather whether Beatriz Enriquez de Arana, his mother, was the legitimate wife of Chris- tophoro. The author of ‘Nebulosa’ has proved from certain passages of the admiral’s will and other notarial deeds that Beatriz was never married to Columbus, In the fifth and last division of Fernandez Duro’s highly in- teresting book the death of the admiral at Val- ladolid is mentioned as having occurred on Thursday, the 21st of May, 1506, instead of on Ascension Day, as his son Fernando stated. By order of the Municipal Corporation of that town a memorial inscription has been placed over the door of the house where the discoverer of the New World is supposed to have lived and died; but this again our author proves to be a mistake, for the build- ing belonged at the time to a different family, and has since remained in its pos- session, ‘Los Itas,’ by P. A. Paterno, is a small octavo of 439 pages exclusively devoted to the description of the manners, customs, and languages of one of the aboriginal races of the Philippine Islands, called by Spanish authors /Etas or Negritos, from the word Itim, which in Tagalog means “ Blacks.” The author, who seems to be a native of the island of Luzon, or at least to have resided long there, is conversant with his subject, and treats it con amore, going so far as to give at the end of his volume an alphabet of the Itim language as compared with those of other tribes in the Philippines, as well as interest- ing accounts of their mythology, for many of them, and especially those who live in the sierras of Mindanao, are still idolaters. I have frequently alluded in former reports to the lack of cohesion between the races inhabiting this peninsula. Hence the remark- able differences—perhaps more perceptible here than in any other European country—which exist as regards the origin, traditions, laws, sentiments, and language of my country- men from the Pyrenean range in the north down to the Pillars of Hercules in the south. It is to be hoped that the dividing lines erected by nature, or caused by immigration and conquest, separating from each other different races living on the same soil, may eventually disappear; but in the mean time there can be no doubt that, not- withstanding the increasing facility of commu- nication, notwithstanding recent attempts at a new codification of civil laws throughout the Peninsula, its inhabitants in general still ad- here with singular tenacity to their customs and language, whilst the educated classes are making strenuous efforts to preserve among the lower ones that spirit of independence and rivalry which has always distinguished the Catalan, the Navarrese, and the Basque from the Castillian or the Andaluzian. I need scarcely say that a good percentage of the books nowadays published in Catalonia, Valencia, and Mallorca, and especially those destined for the lower classes, are written and edited in the popular dialect ; but it is not generally known that in Navarre and the Basque pro- vinces a similar practice is observed, and that within the last twelve months, be- sides the Huskal-erria periodically issued at St. Sebastian, which has already attained the twenty-first volume, upwards of twenty dif- ferent works, all of them in Basque, have appeared, if we are to believe R. Becerro de Bengoa in his recent article on the Basco- Navarra literature (La Espaiia Moderna, vol. xiv. pp. 17-40). I need not point out that the publication of similar works in Castille and Andalucia has kept pace with that ¢- servable in the above-mentioned kingdoms. Thus Alicante, Cartagena, Murcia, and Lorca in the east ; Aranjuez, Madrid, and Burgos in the two Castilles: Galicia in the west; Estepa, Granada, and Seville, have had each their share. Passing now to belles-lettres, I may say that as poets are never wanting among us, L might, if tempted, name several scores of them. I shall, however, be brief, and limit myself to saying that (leaving aside Campoamor’s ‘ Humoradas,’ of which I have seen a reprint with some additions, and a new volume by the
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30 THE ATHENZUM N° 3271, Jury 5, ’90 Duke of Rivas, son and heir of the celebrated author of ‘Moro Exposito’ and ‘La Fuerza del Sino’) nothing remarkable has been pro- duced by our most approved ' professional rhymers, though as compensation for that we have had recently ‘Cancons de Pere Serafi’; Ganso, ‘La Flammarada’; ‘Lo Gayter de Llo- bregat’ (vol. ii.) and ‘Cap de Fer,’ by Pelay Briz, all in Catalan ; besides Salazar, ‘ Poesia del Porvenir’ ; Gras y Elias, ‘Romances de Corte y Villa’; Velasco y Rojas, Marquis de Las dos Hermanas, ‘Xonetos’; and Dojiia Antonia Diaz de Lamarque, ‘ Poesias Re- ligiosas.’ In dramatic poetry, if I mention ‘Los Rigidos,’ by José Echegaray, and ‘ Los Hugonotes,’ by his brother Miguel, besides twoorthree occasional dramatic trifles (juguetes) by Chaves, Alfonso, and Blasco, I consider that I have done my duty by that branch of literature. As to novels, with the exception of one by Perez Galdés and two or three more by Pereda, whose collected works are now being edited for the second time, I do not think that I have omitted to record any that are really important, for Emilia Pardo Bazan, certainly the most noted of our female novelists nowadays, has only published a short, though decidedly charming tale, ‘Un Destripador de Antaiio,’ which, together with a few humouristic articles like ‘Travesura Pontificia’ and ‘La Muger Espaiiola,’ has seen the light in vol. xiii. of La Espariia Moderna, the best and most widely circulated literary review in Madrid. In the natural sciences, in geology and physics, there are no new works worth men- tioning, save perhaps the fifth and last volume of Prof. Colmeiro’s ‘ Flora’ of the Peninsula, and ‘Sinopsis de las Especies Fosiles en Espaiia,’ by Mallada, a young civil engineer (vol. iii.). Turning to Oriental languages I can, as usual, recommend the highly interesting translations from the Arabic of Prof. Codera, occasionally published in the Boletin de la Real Academia de la Historia, besides vol. vi. of his collection of Arabic texts illustrative of our national history. Some articles on the Spanish Jews by Father Fita in the same Boletin will also be found highly interesting, as well as ‘ Cata- logo de los Manuscritos Orientales de la Biblioteca Nacional,’ by Guillen Robles. In bibliography, besides the third and fourth volumes of Gallardo’s ‘ Ensayo de una Biblio- teca,’ which after an interruption of several years (the first having appeared in 1868) have at last been published, we have ‘ Annari Biblio- graphic’ in Catalan, giving a minute account of all books published in Catalonia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands during the year 1888, and two prize essays—one on the books printed at Alcala de Henares by Catalina, and another on those of Toledo by Perez. The various literary clubs or printing societies in this capital as well as in the pro- vinces have, as usual, been uncommonly active. The “ Bibliofilos” of Madrid, for instance, have issued during the last twelve months three volumes, namely, the second of the ‘ Pelegrino,’ ‘The Last Grand Master of Mon- tesa’ (‘El Ultimo Maestre’), by Guillen Robles, and ‘ Dialogos de la Monteria,’ by an anony- mous writer of the fifteenth century, which Francisco R. de Uhagén has edited with singular care and a learned introduction. A gentleman of this capital, the Marquis de la ' Coquilla, has edited the ‘Elogio 4 los Con- | quistadores de Sevilla,’ by Gonzalo Argote de Molina ; and last, not least, though it must be said that in point of style and taste it was far from deserving the honour and expense of printing, a manuscript in the Colombine Library entitled ‘Las Valencianas Lamenta- ciones,’ by Juan de Narvaez—a poet of the school of Juan de Mena, though very inferior to him, who, as may be gathered from the text, flourished in the first half of the sixteenth century—has been published at Seville. J. F. RraNo. LITERATURE —_——>— In Darkest Africa; or, the Quest, Rescue, and Retreat of Emin, Governor of Equatoria. By Henry M. Stanley. 2 vols. Maps and Illustrations. (Sampson Low & Co.) Wuen Mr. H. M. Stanley emerged at the mouth of the Congo on August 8th, 1877, after having crossed the whole of Africa, he at once took up his position among the most successful explorers of that continent. Mungo Park, Clapperton, and R. Lander had revealed to us the true course of the Niger; Livingstone had traced the Zambezi from its head-streams to the sea; Speke and Grant had “settled”? the Nile; and last, not least, came Stanley, and solved the only great problem remaining in African geography, by following the Congo to the At- lantic. After so distinguished an achievement Mr. Stanley might well have reposed upon his laurels; but Africa exercised upon him a potent spell. His share in the foundation of the Congo State is well known, and those among our readers who are disposed to underrate what has been done in that part of Africa should bear in mind that a journey to the Stanley Falis, which can now be accomplished by an ordinary tourist having the command of time and money, would have conferred immortal fame upon him who achieved it only about a dozen years ago. When Emin Pasha’s situation began to trouble the minds of people in Europe, and a committee had been formed to relieve his wants, Mr. Stanley was not appealed to in vain. He responded promptly, and placed his invaluable services freely at the disposal of the committee. With an energy quite unique he organized his expedition. On Decem- ber 11th, 1886, he was still lecturing in America; nine weeks later he landed at Zanzibar, and on March 21st in 1887 he started with his caravan from Matadi on the Lower Congo. ‘This indomitable vigour was exhibited by him throughout, and enabled him to overcome difficulties which had not been foreseen, and which would have baffled most men and compelled them to retire discomfited. Mr. Stanley had in- tended from the very first to go by the Congo route, and the arguments which he adduces appear to us to be unanswerable. His committee, however, decided upon an east coast route. Preparations to that effect were made, but the King of the Belgians intervened, and the Congo was chosen after all, but without the whale-boats which Mr. Stanley intended to have taken with him, and which would have proved invaluable on | the navigable reaches of the Aruwimi. From Banalya, on that river, Mr. Stanley proposed to travel by the most direct road to the southern end of the Albert Nyanza. And this he accomplished, notwithstanding the difficulties presented by a dense primeval forest, the villages within which had only recently been looted by Arab slave and ivory hunters. We cannot but admire the energy of the man who makes circumstances bend to his will. At the same time we think he might have escaped many a hardship had he accepted the advice of Dr. Junker’s boy Binza, ‘“‘ who suggested that it was better to travel through lands inhabited by ‘ decent men,’”? and who assured him that the Momvu tribes would accord him a hearty welcome. At one time Stanley, if our maps can be trusted, was actually within forty miles of Dr. Junker’s track, and his journey thence to Wadelai would have led through a fine savannah country abounding in food. But, however this be, in the main object of his expedition Mr. Stanley was successful. He conveyed to Emin Pasha 110 cases of cartridges and 26 barrels of gunpowder, and when circumstances compelled Emin Pasha to retire from his post, he conducted his charge and 555 of his followers safely to the east coast. If the Equatorial Pro- vince has fallen back into barbarism, this can certainly not be laid to Mr. Stanley’s charge. In the face of the Mahdists and of native tribes who did not look upon the presence of Egyptians in their midst as an unmitigated blessing, Equatoria could have been held only on condition of the troops and officials proving faithful to their Pasha. After they had revolted, seeing that Mr. Stanley had neither the authority nor the means to compel them to return to their allegiance, there remained nothing for him to do but retire as quickly as possible to the east coast. And this he did. Emin Pasha naturally occupies a pro- minent place in these volumes, and what Mr. Stanley has to say about him will be read with interest. Mr. Stanley, although he had many grievances, and complained, not without reason as we conceive, of the ‘‘pitiable irresolution’’ of the Pasha, is nevertheless at some pains to do justice to his character :— “ As an administrator he displayed the jinest qualities ; he was just, tender, loyal, and merci- ful, and affectionate to the natives who placed themselves under his protection, and no better and higher proof of the esteem with which he was regarded by his soldiery can be desired than that he owed his life to the reputation for justice and mildness which he had won. In short, every hour saved from sleep was devoted before his final deposition to some useful purpose, con- ducive to increase of knowledge, improvement of humanity, and gain to civilization.” He draws attention, likewise, to the cleanliness and order which reigned in the Egyptian stations, to the ingenuity with which the Pasha manufactured cloth for his soldiers, and to the efficient condition of his steamers after many years’ service. Yet the two men do not appear to have got on well together :— ‘Our natures were diametrically opposed. So long as there was no imperative action in prospect we should have been both capable of fully enjoying one another's society. He was learned and industrious and a gentleman, and I could admire and appreciate his merits. But the conditions of our existence prohibited a too prolonged indulgence in these pleasures.” cp ier ncn
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— N° 3271, Jury 5, 90 THE ATHENZUM 31 There may have been faults on both sides. Mr. Stanley’s speeches, as recorded by him- self, were a trifle brusque; the Pasha was sensitive, his advisers were indiscreet. Yet, when all is said, the silence of Emin Pasha after his safe arrival on the coast, and after the warm thanks which at an earlier stage he had tendered to his English friends, is ungracious, to say the least. But if Mr. Stanley failed in making a friend of the Pasha, he secured the goodwill and confidence of the companions of his toil to the fullest extent. Of their services he speaks in the kindest and most appreciative terms. Even of Major Barttelot he speaks with forbearance, although the ample details now published by him leave no doubt that the disaster which overtook the rear column was mainly due to the major’s lack of decision and inconsiderate conduct towards his native followers. Geographical discovery was not the object of the ‘“‘Emin Pasha Relief Expedition,” but it was nevertheless pursued with con- siderable success. Mr. Stanley’s descriptive passages are frequently admirable, and show him to be as keen an observer of the phy- sical and economic features of the countries traversed by him as he is of the nature of their inhabitants. A trained naturalist or geologist might possibly have done better in these respects; but Mr. Stanley amply com- pensates us by his fine maps, which are based upon numerous astronomical observations. Mr. Stanley’s great discovery was that of the broad Semliki Valley, which now joins the Albert Edward to the Albert Nyanza, but which formed anciently the bed of a lake of which the lakes just named are the survivors, themselves doomed to extinction in the course of time. On its eastern side this valley is commanded by the craggy peaks of the Ruwenzori or ‘‘ Cloud King,” and we quote the following passage as an example of Mr. Stanley’s powers of descrip- tion :— ‘¢On most days, the early hours of morning ushered into view a long, solemn, and stupen- dous mass, dark as night, the summits of which appeared to approach very closely to the cloud- less grey sky. But as toward the east the fast- coming day changed the grey to gold, faint bars of white clouds became visible above, and simul- taneously along the base of the range there rose stealthily a long line of fleecy mist. This was presently drawn within gaping valleys and fissures in the slopes, wherein it ascended with the upward draught in rolling masses along the slants of their crooked windings, gathering con- sistency and density as they ascended, yet changing their shapes every instant. Detached portions floated to the right and left, to attract unto them the straying and scattered mists issuing one by one from profound recesses of the chasms. Then, united in a long swaying line, robing the legions of hill shoulders, they issued into view from every flaw and gap in the slope, and ranged in order, it appeared as though the intention was to rally round the immense white range above. As the mist, now dense and deep, began to feel thé movement of the air in the higher altitude, its motion became quicker, more sudden in assuming new formas, and out of the upper ravines a host of restless, rolling white companies joined the main line, the foremost surging boldly ahead and leading the way irresistibly ‘skyward.’” We cannot follow Mr. Stanley when he wishes us to believe that his Ruwenzori represents Ptolemy’s ‘‘ Mountains of the Moon,” and that its melting snow “ has been for some fifty centuries most vital to the peoples of Egypt.” Mr. Stanley’s own observations and measurements disprove this. We must still look upon the Victoria Nyanza as the great reservoir of the White Nile, and upon the snows and rains of Abyssinia as mainly, if not wholly, pro- ducing its periodical floods in Egypt. Nor can we accept Mr. Stanley’s assump- tion that our modern chartographers are inferior to those of Homer’s time. He bids his readers to cast their eyes over a series of small maps, in order that they may ‘“ wit- ness for themselves what this tribe has done to destroy every discovery, and to render knowledge and labour vain.” Mr. Stanley is particularly severe upon a ‘‘chartographer now living, the chiefest sinner alive,’”’ who deliberately expunged the bay discovered by him at the north-east end of the Victoria Nyanza, and substituted for it a delineation of that part of the lake derived from Mr. J. Thomson’s map. We do not at all feel called upon to take up the cudgels on behalf of map-makers, ancient or modern. Several of the latter are, no doubt, mere copyists, who mechanically piece together the infor- mation derived from various authorities, as ladies used to do their patchwork blankets. It may be said in their excuse that many of our explorers furnish but vague informa- tion on the countries which they were the first to visit, and that after two of these ex- plorershave visited thesameregionit becomes next to impossible to reconcile their state- ments. In these cases the older, and, may be, the more trustworthy of the two, has usually to go to the wall. This is undoubtedly wrong. But when Mr. Stanley calls upon us to con- demu D’Anville and his successors for having expunged from our maps of Africa the fanciful delineations of the ancient geo- graphers and of the Arabs, we cannot follow him. We have a very high respect for Ptolemy, but we do not believe he knew any- thing about the sources of the White Nile. We cannot conjecture where his ‘‘ Mountains of the Moon” are to be looked for, unless it be in Abyssinia. This geographer’s Astapus, rising in a lake Coloe, can be no other river than the Takazze, whilst Coloe, which he places 350 miles in the interior, was no further than thirty miles from the Bay of Adulis. This, at least, we learn from the very precise information furnished by the anonymous author of the ‘ Periplus of the Erythreean Sea.’ If Ptolemy’s Nile lakes approximately occupy the sites of lakes only recently discovered, this is a mere accident. Ptolemy assumed his Upper Nile to traverse the ‘“‘cinnamon country.” Has “cinnamon” ever been discovered in Central Africa ? And when we come to the maps of the sixteenth century, with their jumble of ill- digested information, derived from Ptolemy, Leo Africanus, and the Portuguese, the case in favour of D’Anville becomes still clearer. Ludolfus, the learned and critical author of a series of works on Ethiopia, had already pointed out the errors of the map- makers of his day, and if we examine the nomenclature around the imaginary lakes on the maps of a Mercator or Ortelius we find ourselves in the midst of Abyssinian surroundings. Transfer these lakes to their proper places, and the interior of Africa at once becomes a blank. There is hardly a question connected with Africa and its future which is not touched upon in these volumes. Most interesting are the glimpses afforded of the dwarf races living in the African forests and of the pastoral Wahuma. The former are by no means scattered members of one people spread over a large part of Africa, but are representatives of distinct tribes, having different physical characteristics and speak- ing distinct languages. Of the results of the slave and ivory hunts carried on by the Arabs Mr. Stanley, during this last journey of his, had a most unwelcome experience :— ** Towards the Lenda and Ihuru rivers they had levelled into black ashes every settlement ; their rage for destruction had even been vented on the plantain-groves, every canoe on the rivers had been split into pieces, every island had been searched, and into the darkest recesses, whither a slight track could be traced, they had pene- trated with only one dominating passion, which was to kill as many of the men and capture as many of the women and children as craft and cruelty would enable them. They...... had reduced the forest land into a howling wilder- ness, and throughout all the immense area had left scarcely a hut standing.” Mr. Stanley points out that these Arabs would not venture a mile from their settle- ments if they were not supplied with gun- powder from the coast. He even goes the length of suggesting that every tusk of ivory brought to the coast should be seized, ‘‘ as there is not a single piece nowadays which has been gained lawfully.” There may be exaggeration in the latter statement, but the lawlessness of inner Africa is truly appal- ling, and is not wholly due to the presence of Arab marauders. Scarcely a tribe met with along Stanley’s route lived at peace with its neighbours. What Africa stands most in need of at the present time is the police- man, and not the missionary, whose labours can only be successful after security of life and property has been achieved. These fascinating volumes are sure to find readers in every circle. Their scien- tific value is of a high order, but they will perhaps be most highly appreciated because they afford an insight into the Africa of to- day, enable the reader to gauge many of the capabilities of that continent, and present him with an account of one of the most inter- esting episodes of contemporaneous African history. The illustrations are numerous and excellent. NOVELS OF THE WEEK. A Village Hampden. By Algernon Gissing. 3 vols. (Hurst & Blackett.) One of the Wicked. By Godfrey Burchett. 2 vols. (Ward & Downey.) In the Sunlight. By Angelica Selby. 2 vols. (Warne & Co.) Toxar. By the Author of ‘ Thoth.’ mans & Co.) An Unwilling Wife. (Remington & Co.) (Long- By Alice Clifton. Innocent Victims. By Hugh Downe. (Same publishers.) The Story of the Gadsbys. By Rudyard Kipling. (Sampson Low & Co.) Mr. AtceRNon Gisstnc tells a characteristic Gloucestershire story, in which the chief actors are two young and obstinate pro- vincials, the sons of a vicar and a farmer respectively, and inheritors of their fathers’
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32 THE ATHENZUM N° 3271, Jury 5, ’99 characters and responsibilities. The youthful farmer is dignified with the title of a village Hampden, apparently because he makes some attempt to better the condition of the poorer folk ina manner profitable to him- self, and has Socialistic tendencies — was there ever a Cotswold farmer with tendencies to Socialism? But he does not much re- semble the Hampden that we have read of from our childhood. He refuses, under stress of misfortune, to make restitution for a fraud on the vicar’s family, to which his father had confessed on his deathbed; and thereis, consequently, anantagonism between the two stalwart young heroes, who ought to have been good friends. They are life- like characters, and on the whole well and consistently drawn. Mr. Gissing has made a pleasant and faithful picture of Gloucester- shire scenery and rustic life. There are two or three very natural women in the book, who play a large part in developing its plot. “The wicked” in Mr. Burchett’s book rather predominate; but the one black sheep who is whitewashed by the agency of a good but unconventional woman is evidently intended to be the eponymous hero. Ayesmere hardly lives up to the part. He has been wicked, of course, and doubts about his morals and his poverty hamper him in his otherwise honest pursuit of the charming Eve ; yet, onthe whole, he presents himself as an extremely harmless gentle- man, likely, when he is completely re- claimed, to become too conversational. His talk is very tolerable as far as we accom- pany his career, and we feel he will hold his own with his energetic, intuitive, illogical wife. Yet a sequel, we can divine, would present few features of interest. It is some- thing, we must allow, for an author to sug- gest any future for the conventional couple. Apart from these two idyllic leaders, the actors in this rustic tragedy have little to recommend them. The Mephistophelian Pedro shows his hand too soon. The novice can follow him at once. Indeed, the author does not attempt to prolong any mystery about the murder in the marsh, and is so far original that he concentrates his skill on keeping an acknowledged criminal from the arm of justice. A good deal of pains has been taken, by means of a plan of the ground, &c., to rivet the reader’s attention to the details of the crime; yet all this machinery, suggestive ofthe new journalism, cannot prevent a sense of clumsiness un- worthy of Mephistopheles. The main interest is in the pair of lovers, and, as we have said, they talk too much for future happiness. There is a touch of nature in the girl who cherishes the memory of the intellectual scoundrel whom she regards in spite of all as a martyr. ‘In the Sunlight’ is well written, with an easy flow of language, some humour, plenty of romance, and an infusion of melo- dramatic Southern intensity. The heroine is in trouble through the persecution of an Italian count; one of her friends telegraphs to a despised lover in England, bidding him bring plenty of money and a big stick; the Englishman arrives in the nick of time, flogs the count, and pays him off with sterling gold; the count insists on a duel, and a beneficent earthquake intervenes at the critical moment. This brings one to- | wards the end of the second volume, when | the distribution of rewards and punishments _has begun. The story is not all so highly | strung, and some of the more quietly | romantic chapters are very entertaining and | satisfactory. ‘Thoth’ gave rise to expectations that neither ‘A Dreamer of Dreams’ nor the present romance, ‘Toxar,’ has quite ful- filled. In short, ‘Toxar’ is not ‘Thoth ’— not by a long way—and what we wanted, | and still want, is the book which is to | touch, not to say distance, it in its own line, —which shall bring out all that is best in its author; and this, it seems, is still to seek. In ‘Toxar’ it is true that the uncommon qualities which distinguished ‘Thoth’ are present in a lesser degree. Style, delicacy, reticence of touch, all are in part there. So is the power of stepping back, of making oneself kin with the past, not by analysis or description, but by a simple effort of the imagination that is something like genius. All this is to some extent to be found, and yet there is something amiss, something that wants changing. The thing appears to be more artificial and more conscious, and to lack that distinction of simplicity which struck us before and is so rare and precious a gift. This may be in a measure caused by the vehicle in which the story is pre- sented. A Greek philosopher is supposed to repeat it to a band of youthful disciples weary of graver themes. In this way one perhaps misses, as it were, direct contact with the vivid yet carefully subordinated personality of the author. This is probably a whimsical objection enough, but it may serve its turn, and be not wholly insignifi- cant. We note much still of the power of tracking a passion or emotion to its source and end—of exhibiting the elemental stuff of which human nature is composed, and which is persistent in all times and in all places. Antinous, Telemous, and their fellows may, more or less, fall short or fail to interest, but it is not that they are lifeless or wanting in the fibre of true emotion. Toxar himself, ‘‘theman of means,” isa strange and interesting figure, and in him we find suggested much that would have escaped an ordinary writer. Atossathe Per- sian we find less impressive, though she, too, has her moments; but she seems just saved from being not unlike several other con- ceptions of ambitious and voluptuous woman- hood, ancient and modern, by sundry small individual touches. The barbarian sooth- sayer, with the jewel of mysterious power inseparable from his own organism, is surely not very impressively managed, nor does he always play his part so well as might be. What the story lacks in power and originality, however, is in a measure made up for by happy expression and fine and careful treatment. ‘An Unwilling Wife’ is yet another story of the Indian Mutiny. That favourite theme, so full of the unexpected and so productive of chivalrous sentiments towards women, has in this case been used to sanction a very sudden marriage indeed; so sudden that it is, perhaps, scarce surprising that the young wife should have been an un- willing one. Although the idea of the mar- riage has been entirely prompted by the hero’s unselfish wish to protect a lonely young girl and to bring her into a place of safety, complications arise, with difficulties as to sentiments and affections and all the rest of it. They are both young and inex- perienced, and it is long before their path is made plain. The story of misunderstand- ings, growing affection, and final reconcilia- tion and devotion is not, we think, vastly entertaining as a theme; but there are, no doubt, others who will think differently ; and the thing, so far as it goes, is not so much badly done as wanting in strength and backbone. Scenes of the Mutiny help it out now and again, and give one a respite from the other troubles. The young people are in a difficult position, certainly, and then they are British youth, which does not help them much. Something in the hero and the treatment of the story generally pre- pares one for finding a lady’s name on the title-page. ‘Innocent Victims’ should by rights belong to the “harrowing up” type of story. By some mistake it belongs to the ‘* milk-and-water,” though it treats of strong waters. A something the reverse of im- pressive in the author's manner and expres- sion forbids the reader from taking the story to heart or feeling miserable over it. It begins with a look-on-this-picture-and-on- that sort of scene—the proud lawyer in the bosom of his family, the humble clerk, we regret to say drunk, in the bosom of ‘‘his’n.” The family of the latter suffer from attacks of intermittent starvation whilst the head of the house is engaged in looking for or losing a situation—usually the latter. One blood-curdling scene occurs when he breaks forth into ‘‘ muddled song.” Long- fellow’s ‘‘ Tell me not in mournful numbers ”’ is his fancy on this occasion, and it must be allowed he might have chosen a more repre- hensible ditty, and yet one more in keeping with his bacchanalian humour. There is talk of such things as ‘‘snowy mantles,” ‘British menials,” ‘‘ frock-coats with their usual accompaniments,” whatever these may be; and it takes no less than a para- graph of twelve lines to put somebody or other to sleep. There is also a family scene of ‘kisses and tears,” accompanied by breakfast eggs and artificial flowers, which is not cheering. One innocent victim dies ; it is not said that she was an idiot, but her conversation and manners give one every reason to suppose it. This isthe impressive sort of way in which the sometime haughty, but now reformed lawyer’s son’s name is introduced: ‘ ‘John,’ he said softly, ‘his son’s name was John......John, not Johnny or Jack, was the name of John Alston’s son,’’’ and so on, and so on. It is difficult to congratulate Mr. Kipling so warmly upon the second of a series of reprints of his Anglo-Indian tales, as upon ‘Soldiers Three.’ He adopts in ita quasi- dramatic method of unfolding the incidents he has to describe, and though the various scenes into which the action is divided are cleverly enough sketched, the work as a whole somehow seems rugged and unsatisfactory. As it stands, ‘The Story of the Gadsbys’ certainly could not be put upon the stage as a play; and con- sidered as a novel itis, owing to its scrappi- ness, woefully difficult to read. Mr. Kipling has more recently essayed a similar treat- ment of his materials in the ‘Lamentable Comedy of Willow Wood’ (published in — | ae a
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| ee — eta lenall XUM N° 3271, Juny 5, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 33 one of the monthly magazines), with which, by general consent, he did not score a suc- cess; and we would venture to advise him for the future to stick to story-telling pure and simple, in which he admittedly has few rivals. A drama is one thing and a story is another, but a mixture of the two is neither fish, flesh, fowl, nor good red- herring. There is little or nothing else to say against the book, except that it might surely have been clothed in these artistic days with a more attractive cover. It deals with the loves of Miss Minnie Threegan and Capt. Gadsby of the Pink Hussars, and the moral of it is that a soldier married is a soldier spoiled. As Mr. Kipling sings in his tuneful ‘ Envoi ”’ :— White hands cling to the tightened rein, Slipping the spur from the booted heel, Tenderest voices cry, ‘‘ Turn again,” Red lips tarnish the scabbarded steel, High hopes faint on a warm hearth-stone— He travels the fastest who travels alone. The captain was the pride of his regiment —‘“‘a big yellow man,” as his future wife portrays him, “just like a newly hatched chicken, with an e-normous moustache ’’— the champion plunger, waltzer, rider, swordsman, and lady-killer of Simla society. We have met him before, or a less intelli- gent variety of the same type, in the novels of “Ouida” and John Strange Winter. His acquaintance with the other sex has been of the most extensive and peculiar kind; but to the dismay of his intimates in general, and Capt. Mafflin in particular, he falls a victim to the charms of a mere chit from the nursery—‘‘a little bit of a girl with red hair” —and in a very few pages is led off to church like a lamb. ‘“ Poor old Gaddy!” says his friend Mafflin, who has come in to adorn him for the sacrifice. **T’ve seen a few turned off before, but never one who went to the gallows in this condition. Can’t tell how it affects ’em, though. It’s the thoroughbreds that sweat when they ’re backed into double harness......and that’s the man who went through the guns at Amdheran like a devil possessed of devils. But this is worse than the guns, old pal—worse than the guns, isn’t it? Poor dear old Gaddy! going like the rest of ’em—going like the rest of ’em...... Friend that sticketh closer than a brother......eight years. Dashed bit of a slip of a girl......eight weeks ! And—where’s your friend?” The story affords abundant opportunities for the display both of the virtues and defects of Mr. Kipling’s literary method. The former are conspicuous in the humor- ous pictures of the captain’s ridiculous qualms on the morning of his wedding day, and the equally pathetic description of the poor little wife’s illness. The latter are to be seen in the conversation of Gadsby’s acquaintances in the smoking-room of the Degchi Club, and in the leave-taking between the hero and his former flame Mrs. Herriott at a Naini Tal dinner-party, which for all their smartness— perhaps just because of it — leave a disagreeable impression, and make the reader long for’ the more genial cynicism of a Thackeray. THEOLOGICAL BOOKS. The Gospel according to St. Matthew. Being the Greek Text as revised by Drs. Westcott and Hort, with Introductions and Notes by the Rey, Arthur Sloman. (Macmillan & Co.)—-This text-book deserves high praise. The introduc- tory matter is good, derived from the best sources and well arranged. The notes are suited to young students, and are likely to be very useful. The author has devoted much pains to the study of his subject, and has been guided by a sound practical experience in selecting materials at once interesting and profitable. The author tries to be impartial, but in short remarks or notes involving great compression it is not easy to hit the exact truth. Thus his first remark is, ‘‘ From the earliest times the first Gospel has been attributed to the Apostle Matthew ”; but he does not mention the first author whose reference to the Gospel as the work of St. Matthew is unquestionable, and so we are left in the dark as to what is meant by ‘earliest times.” The author is inclined to take the ordinary orthodox view of facts. Thus, in speaking of the language in which the Gospel was written, he gives as the reasons adduced for an Aramaic original that there is “ (1) a con- siderable amount of ancient tradition...... and (2) the antecedent probability of a Gospel in the native language of the Jews.” But he dis- misses this tradition and probability by saying **a Greek original seems on the whole most likely (Salmon).” In the same way he states his conclusion in regard to the Lord’s brethren, that ‘‘ on the whole it seems most probable that the Lord’s brethren were His first cousins.” But this orthodox tendency does not prevent him from pointing out discrepancies in the narratives of the Evangelists, which he takes to prove their independence. The writer’s notes are historical, geographical, doctrinal, and lin- guistic. The note on the birth of Christ must puzzle a boy. It is: ‘‘ The date of our Lord’s birth was probably December, B.c. 5, or early in B.c. 4.” There is the utmost improbability that it was December, and an explanation should have been given how Christ was born four years before the birth of Christ. The linguistic notes are good, but do not show such a thorough study of Hellenistic Greek as we should have expected. Thus Mr. Sloman says that the ‘‘ dual number and the optative mood are rare.” But there is no real instance of the dual in the New Testament except dvo, and, of course, all consciousness that dvo was a dual had vanished. He notes twice “a subjunctive after historic tense, for vivid- ness”; but this is an error, for there is no real instance of an optative after an historic tense in the New Testament, and there are hundreds of subjunctives, so that no force is to be attached to the use of the subjunctive in any special passage. Mr. Sloman sets down the rendering of the Revised Version asif it had aright always to be first ; but he should have occasionally dis- criminated. Thus in rpof:BacGetoa he should have referred to Hatch’s illustration of the word from the Septuagint; and, indeed, he would have done well to have consulted the Greek of the Septuagint more frequently. These are all slight defects. The book is a thoroughly good text-book. Pages in Facsimile from a Layman’s Prayer Book in English about 1400 a.p. Containing Medizeval Versions of the Lord’s Prayer, Te Deum, Magnificat, &c. Edited from the Original in the British Museum MS. 27,592. By Henry Littlehales. (Rivingtons.)—If any one wishes to know what the pages of an English book of devotion looked like in the fourteenth century, he can satisfy his curiosity by an examination of Mr. Littlehales’s excellent facsimile reproduc- tions. But it is a pity that Mr. Littlehales, while he was about it, did not see his way to make his work in some respect complete. He has given in facsimile twelve leaves, not consecu- tive, out of a manuscript Prymer or Book of Hours containing in all sixty-one leaves, and to these he has added two leaves from other devo- tional books having no connexion with the Prymer. The Prymer is said to be the most ancient of its kind known in England, and in his preface Mr. Littlehales tells us that the leaves reproduced by him are the most interesting in the volume, affording ‘‘ versions of the Lord’s Prayer, Benedicite, Magnificat, &c.” Even this is not quite accurate, for the Benedicite is in- complete. The object of the brief preface is apparently to insist on the fact that our ancestors, or those among them who could read, were in the habit of reciting the Lord’s Prayer, Creed, and Commandments. This handsome booklet was, however, hardly needed to prove it. Mr. Littlehales might have pointed out, what is not so generally known, that the ‘‘ Hail Mary,” which follows the “ Our Father” in his Prymer, did not at this date, or, indeed, for more than a century later, contain the second part or petition, but only the words of the angelic salutation with the name of Jesus added. It would have been well if an accurate account had been given of the contents of this interesting manuscript. It certainly should be reprinted in its entirety— imperfect though it be—if only for its English version of Biblical passages, and for the specimen it offers of the devotional language of the day. The Apology of Tertullian for the Christians, Translated, with Introduction, Analysis, and Appendix containing the Letters of Pliny and Trajan respecting the Christians, by T. Herbert Bindley. (Parker & Co.)—Mr. Bindley states in his preface that this translation has been more particularly prepared for theological students, to whom he hopes it may be helpful. It is, in fact, a supplement to his edition of the ‘ Apologeticus’ which we lately noticed. It is, on the whole, a commendable translation. Although it is not an advance on the versions which have already appeared in the “ Library of the Fathers” or in the “ Ante-Nicene Christian Library,” it shows fair scholarship ; the English, while nearly literal, is good and intelligible, and the book will furnish considerable aid to those who are preparing for an examination on the ‘ Apologeticus.’ At the same time there is no proof that Mr. Bindley has made a thorough study of African Latinity. Thus he does not seem to know that nihilominus, as Koziol has pointed out, is sometimes used to signify “ undoubtedly,” “ unquestionably,” “ cer- tainly,” without any negative idea. He trans- lates ‘‘ disciplinam preeceptorum nihilominus in compulsationibus densamus,” ‘‘ And we enforce the teaching of their precepts none the less during attacks of persecution.” The meaning he has attached to compulsationibus seems to be based on the meaning which he assigns to nihilo- minus. But compulsatio does not mean an attack of persecution. He himself correctly translates it in c. 21 as ‘* contention,” and, as if he were uncertain in this-passage, he says in his note “inculcationibus is a preferable reading,” which it is, Even in passages where no special knowledge of the Latinity of Tertullian is re- quired he is apt to use general terms where the language of the original is more precise. Thus he renders circulatoriis prestigiis “fraudulent delusions” in the sentence “if they palm off a number of miracles through fraudulent delu- sions,” where the reference is to sleight-of- hand tricks practised by professional conjurors. Again, in c. 2 Tertullian treats of the applica- tion of torture to Christians to make them deny the truth, and uses in this connexion the ap- propriate terms questionibus and extorqueri ; but Mr. Bindley hides the meaning by translating questionibus ‘‘investigation” and extorquetis. “ elicit.” There are many instances of similar loose renderings, such as edito, ‘‘ appointed ” ; cum maxime, ‘then especially ” ; principaliter, “principally”; littere, ‘‘ letters,” where one letter is referred to; profecerit, ‘‘was elabo- rated.” There are also some misprints, as ‘‘ Epi- curean.” Mr. Bindley hopes that his transla- tion may be read by some who are ignorant of Latin, and to such his version may be recom- mended. He has prepared for them an intro- duction which is well written and accurate, and supplies exactly the information that the general reader desires. He has also appended a few notes, some of them derived from a perusal of Bishop Lightfoot’s last work, which are an im- provement on those added to the Latin text.
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THE ATHENZUM Ne 3271, Jury 5,’90 34 F De Heidelbergsche Catechismus. Textus Re- | ceptus met Toelicktende Teksten. Bijdrage tot de Kennis van zijne Wordingsgeschiedenis en vat het gereformeerd Protestantisme, door M. A. Gooszen. (Leyden, E. J. Brill.) — This handsome volume reproduces the text of the Heidelberg or Palatinate Catechism in delightful type, with the corresponding passages of the Genevan and Ziirich catechisms, the larger and smaller catechisms of Ursinus, &c., subjoined in smaller print by way of illustration. To the whole is prefixed an exhaustive critical and his- torical introduction, extending to 166 pages. The author’s professed aim is to indicate the true place of the Catechism in the development of the Reformed doctrine. With Dutch minuteness M. Gooszen marks out the work of his prede- cessors in the same field. He is of opinion that the long-maintained controversy as to its “ Phi- lippism ” or Calvinism did little to elucidate the real characteristics of the Heidelberg theology. The comparison of the text with cognate works —such as was instituted by Seisen and Vinke— was valuable as far as it went, but not suffi- ciently thorough. Siidhoff did good work in showing the relation of Olevianus and Ursinus to the Catechism, but erred in adhering to the view that Calvinism gives the only satisfactory repre- sentation of reformed theology, as Schweizer and Scholten erred in making the divine supremacy not only the corner-stone but the foundation of that theology. It was Heppe’s merit, in his ‘Geschichte des Pietismus und der Mystik’ (1879), to discover a genus tertium in Protestant- ism, a type of doctrine learnt not in Wittenberg at the feet of Melanchthon, but in Zurich, at the feet of Bullinger. The author himself hereupon reaches his own conclusion that the Heidelberg Catechism is sui generis, and represents the ten- dency which, in the absence of a better formula, may be called the soteriological-Biblical. Of this type Henry Bullinger is the foremost spokes- man and founder. Calvin was not without this element, especially at first ; butin him it became completely overshadowed by the intellectualistic- speculative. The starting-point of the Heidel- berg Catechism and its central idea is not pre- destination, but salvation by a Redeemer. THE second edition of the second part of Bishop Lightfoot’s Apostolic Fathers (Macmillan & Co.) is substantially the same as the first. No new ideas have been introduced ; the book has been carefully revised and slight errors corrected. Occasionally a sentence or two have been in- serted to indicate what has been written on the subject since the issue of the first edition. New fragments of the original Syriac version of the letters have been added, several new manu- scripts have been collated, and some new in- scriptions are introduced and discussed. The book is now arranged in three volumes, each with a copious index. Prof. J. E. B. Mayor contri- butes notes on the life of Polycarp by Pionius. Joshua: his Life and Times, by the Rev. Wil- liam J. Deane (Nisbet), will be rather confusing for ordinary readers, for whom the publication is meant, when they come to the chapters dealing with the geography of the distribution of the Holy Land amongst the tribes. Of what use is it to give the modern names of places, more than half of which are still doubtful, in a book which has only to deal with Joshua, and not with the geography of Palestine? Of course, it was to be expected that Mr. Deane would not accept modern criticism of the structure of the book of Joshua. But why does he mention at all varieties of opinion in some notes when he contradicts himself? He quotes, for instance, on p. 132 as the saying of Moses the blessing of Gad in Deuteronomy xxxiii. 20, and in a note on p. 89 he says concerning the corpses hung up all that day (Joshua x. 26): “ Deut. xxi. 23. The special command occurs nowhere else in the Pentateuch—hence a presumption that Deute- ronomy was well known to Joshua.” Why not, if Deuteronomy was written by Moses! A similar incongruity we notice in Joshua x. | 12-14, where the miracle of the sun and the moon is admitted and explained by a rather long sermon, whilst on a subsequent page it is stated that the Biblical expressions are mere exaggerations to be found in Assyrian inscrip- tions and in Homer. Here additions by the compiler are allowed by Mr. Deane, but else- where he blames modern critics for saying so. Mr. Deane admits another wonderful fact, viz., that ‘“‘an inscription at Tangiers, in Africa, which stated that the inhabitants were the descendants of fugitives who were driven from their home by ‘Joshua, the son of Nun, the plunderer,’ may possibly be authentic.” This inscription, we know, is written in plain square characters ; will not this fact create some diffi- culty about the history of the Semitic alphabet ? Of a similar kind is Mr. Deane’s statement that the discrepancy of the geographical lists in Joshua is owing chiefly to the use of letters for numerals. These and other remarks may have an appearance of learning for the uninformed — but is it not wrong to trade upon ignor- ance OUR LIBRARY TABLE. Mr. Jonn Murray publishes the Speeches delivered in India by Lord Dufferin, edited by Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace. Lord Dufferin’s reputation for careful speech is so well estab- lished that the public will expect to find an admirable collection of public discourses, and, we may add, will not be disappointed. In a speech at Pondicherry, which is given in French as well as in an English translation, there seems to be a curious little error in both versions — ‘‘the remembrance of ancient rivalries are extinguished,” and in the French, **le souvenir des anciennes rivalités s’éteignent.” Lord Dufferin’s French is a little wooden, and his printer is allowed to say “toute sort,” pro- bably for toute sorte. We prefer the ex- Viceroy in English, and some of his speeches in his own tongue are, indeed, perfect specimens of official oratory. Messrs. Dean & Son send us advance sheets of Bismarck Intime, by a Fellow Student, trans- lated by Henry Hayward. The title of the work is misleading, as it suggests a work about Bis- marck’s early days, and a series of pictures of the ex-Chancellor such as cannot be gathered from other sources. But the book is pleasant, although it does not contain much that strikes us a8 new, and it is not in all points accurate, but follows, in points in which they are wrong, stories which have already appeared elsewhere. On the whole, the picture presented of Prince Bis- marck’s life is excellent; but it is his later life as Chancellor that is recorded rather than his early days. The point which strikes us as most wrong is the impression that Bismarck is a man who worked long hours. As a fact, although he made others work, he got through his labours in an astonishingly short space of time by refusing to look at anything not of first- rate importance. There is also a passage with which we have fault to find, which implies that the Chancellor was watched when at home by four men of the police, as well as accompanied abroad by an inspector and eight men. In his ordinary life the Chancellor was extraordinarily regardless of precautions for his security, and at Friedrichsruh was never followed, and both rode in the forest entirely alone and drove without a footman every day. The book has not been very carefully revised. There is a mistake in the name of one of the best known of writers on jurisprudence. The heights given for the Bismarck family are in German, and not in English feet, and conflict strangely as regards the Prince himself with the passages which mention his ‘‘ gigantic proportions” and his ‘‘ form towering so high above the table that his hands do not reach down to it”—phrases which are wholly inapplicable to the height of “*5 ft. 1lin.,” which stands for that of Bismarck, and which is in English notation as inaccurate as that of ‘5 ft. 10in.” for the height of his eldest son. Three or four pages record the doings of the Empire Dog, who is alluded to fre- quently by nameasthough he werestill living ; but, alas! he is dead, and his successor, given by the present Emperor, is not afavourite. Our author has told several excellent stories, among them one which was Lord Ampthill’s best of his many about Prince Bismarck; but in this case our ambassador is called ‘‘ Earl Russell” and ‘‘ Lord Russell” throughout the story, instead of Lord Odo Russell. One of the stories relates to an answer given by the Chancellor to a request by an English lady for his autograph. There is one which has never appeared in print which we think better. Two years ago an English friend of Prince Bismarck’s applied to him on be- half of a lady for his autograph, and Prince Bismarck replied direct to the lady in his own hand :—“* Dear Lady ——, I have the greatest objection to giving my autograph, and never do so. Very truly yours, BisMaRcK.” Several statements in the work are made two or three times over, as, for example, that as to members of Parliament carrying off Bismarck’s pencils as memorials, and also that of the Chan- cellor grinding a barrel organ to the young Prussian princes, and being received by the present Emperor with the remark, ‘‘ You begin early to make the heir apparent dance to your tunes.” The translator’s English is not always ad- mirable. He speaks of goods as being “ notorious for their excellent quality.” But the book is above all intended to be readable, and is almost as readable in its way as the famous volume published by Prince Bismarck’s leave and trans- lated into all tongues. THE appearance of another volume of the graceful anthology from the lyrics of the Eliza- bethan age which Mr. Bullen is editing and Mr. Nimmo publishing will give pleasure to an increasing class of readers. Poems chiefly Lyrical, from Romances and Prose Tracts of the Eliza- bethan Age, contains several delightful specimens of Lodge and some beautiful things of Greene’s. Mr. Bullen has added sundry selections from Nicholas Breton. Breton is an unequal writer. He caught something of the lyric inspiration that seems to have been in the air in the reign of Gloriana, but he only caught it occasionally; and much of his best work in included in ‘ Eng- land’s Helicon,’ and therefore is not reprinted in this volume. We are glad, however, to have so perfect a gem as ‘‘ Come, little baby, come, silly soul,” which is one of the most fascinating things of its kind in the language. WE have received two excellent volumes con- taining reprints of letters to newspapers, ex- tended and improved by the authors on publica- tion in book form, the one English and the other French. Messrs, W. H. Allen & Co. publish Russia’s Railway Advance into Central Asia, by Mr. George Dobson, the author of the letters in the Times on the Central Asian Railway, who has expanded his notes on his journey from St. Petersburg to Samarcand in such a way that about one-third of the volume is rew, while all of it is interesting. Those who have read Mr. Curzon’s book should check their impressions by reading Mr. Dobson’s, as the writers by no means agree. We note that the Mr. Lessar of the text is twice called ‘‘M. Sessar” in the tables of contents. THE second of the two collections of letters to newspapers which we recommend is a French work on Brazil, published by MM. Plon, Nourrit & Co. under the title Lettres du Brésil, and con- sisting of the contributions of M. Max Leclerc to the Journal des Débats. These letters are violently anti-English, but are most ably written, and will be found of high value by all who are interested in Brazilian finance. Tus Men of the Time Birthday Book, which Messrs. Routledge have issued, is a neat little aw an taeetastttannamenennts 8 a | | 4
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— e——— XUM N° 3271, Jury 5, ’90 THE ATHEN#ZUM 35 volume compiled with care and accuracy by Mr. J. F. Boyes, who has had the happy idea of pre- fixing Pope’s lines to Martha Blount on her birthday. — The Funny Stories told by P. T. Barnum (Routledge & Co.) produce a better effect when told with appropriate gesture and accent than when seen in type. Messrs. WatKER, May & Co., of Melbourne, publish three admirable papers read before the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science by Mr. Hayter, the well-known Govern- ment Statist of Victoria, of which two—namely, those on official statistics and on the coming census—will be found of the highest importance by statisticians of all countries. WE have on our table A Handy Guide to the River Plate, including the Argentine Republic, Uruguay, and Paraguay, by G. C. Levey (Hut- chinson),—Rambles Abroad, by H. J. Hard- wicke, M.D. (Watts & Co.),— Picturesque Wales, by G. Turner (Simpkin),—Sir Charles Hallé, a Sketch of his Career as a Musician (J. Heywood), —Stanley in Tropical Africa, by R. Smith (Ward, Lock & Co.),—Practical Chemistry for Medical Students, by S. Rideal (H. K. Lewis),— First Lessons in Political Economy, by F. A. Walker, LL.D. (Macmillan),— American Farms, their Condition and Future, by J. R. Elliott (Putnam),—Leaseholds and Legislation, by C. A. James (Longmans),— Apples of Eden, by Estelle (Routledge),—Domelight, not Domlet, by the Rev. F. T. Bramston (Skeftington & Son),—The Two Bishops, a Welcome and a Memory, by C. Bulloch, B.D. (‘Home Words’ Office),—Veni Creator, by the Rev. H. C. G. Moule (Hodder & Stoughton),—The Wider Hope, Essays and Stric- tures on the Doctrine and Literature of Future Punishment, by Numerous Writers (Fisher Un- win),— Quaker Strongholds, by Caroline E. Stephen (Kegan Paul & Co.),—The Old Documents and the New Bible, by J. P. Smyth, LL.B. (Bagster & Sons),—An Office of Public Catechising (Grif- fith & Farran),—The First Three Gospels, by J. E. Carpenter (Sunday School Association),— Broad Lines; or, the True Theosophy, by S. H. Keir Moilliet (Griffith & Farran),—Conferences of Agostino da Montefeltro, translated from the Italian by H. Dalby Galli, Second Series (Baker),—The Word in the School, by A. S. Lamb (Nisbet),—A Few Lines of Thought on some Momentous Subjects, by an Aged Christian (Kegan Paul & Co.),—Thyself and Others, by S. Pearson (Clarke & Co.),—Le Juif de 1’ Histoire et le Juif de la Légende, by I. Loeb (Nutt),— Les Cabochiens et l’Ordonnance de 1413, by A. Coville (Hachette),—Lessing’s Minna von Barn- helm oder das Soldatengliick, with an Introduc- tion and Notes by S. Primer (Boston, U.S., Heath),—Hamlet ein Genie, by H. Tiirck (Leip- zig, Hoffmann), — L’Evolutionnisme des Idées- Forces, by A. Fouillée (Paris, Alean),—and Le Journal de la Jeunesse, 1889, Vol. II. (Hachette). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology, Eyton’s (R.) The Apostles’ Creed, Sermons, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Pulpit Commentary : 2 Chronicles, by Rev. P. C. Barker, 15/ Studia Biblica et Ecclesiastica, Essays by Members of the University of Oxford, Vol. 2, 8vo. 12/6 cl. Poetry and the Drama, Farrar's (F. W.) The Passion Play at Oberammergau, 1890, pott 4to. 2/6 cl. Matheson’s (A.) The Religion of Humanity, and other Poems, er. 8vo. 6/ cl. Murphy’s (J. J.) Sonnets, and other Poems, 12mo. 5/ cl, Reeves’s (B.) Cassiope, and other Poems, 12mo. 5/ cl. Rubdiyat of Omar Khayyaém, thé Astronomer Poet of Persia, rendered into English Verse, 8vo. 10/6 cl. Thomas’s (8.) Self Triumphant, or the Lady of White Towers, a Tale in Verse, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. History and Brography. Bismarck Intime, by a Fellow Student, translated by H. Hayward, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Mackintosh’s (J.) Scotland from the Earliest Times to Pre- sent Century, cr. 8vo. 5/cl. (Story of the Nations.) Symes’s (J. E.) The Prelude to Modern History, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Walpole’s (8.) History of England, Cabinet Edition, Vol. 1, cr. &vo. 6/ cl. Williams’s (M.) Leaves of a Life, cr. 8vo. 2/6 swd. Geography and Travel, Murray’s Handbook for Lincolnshire, 12mo. 7/6 cl. Oliver's (E, E.) Across the Border, or Pathan and Biloch, 14/ Philology. Eighth Century (An) Latin-Anglo-Saxon Glossary, edited by J. H. Hessels, 8vo. 10/ cl. Herodotus, Books 5 and 6, literally translated by J. Gibson, 12mo. 2/ swd. (Kelly’s Keys.) Tweedie’s (J.) Hindustani as it Ought to be Spoken, 5/ cl. Sctence. Drayson’s (Major A. W.) Untrodden Ground in Astronomy and Geology, 8vo. 14/ cl. Hjelt’s (Prof. E.) Principles of General Organic Chemistry, translated by J. B. Tingle, cr. 8vo. 6/6 cl. Kempis’s (H. R.) Electrical Engineer’s Pocket-Book of Modern Rules, &c., roy. 32mo. 5/ leather. Russ’s (Dr. K.) Canary Birds, how to Breed for Profit or Pleasure, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Sandhurst Mathematical Papers, 1881-1889, edited by E. J. Brooksmith, er. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Urquhart’s (J. W.) Electric Light Fitting, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Webb’s (W. W.) The Indian M edical Service, cr. 8vo. 5/6 cl. General Literature. Atkinson’s (B.) They have their Reward, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Baxter-Wray’s Chess at Odds of Pawn and Move, 3/6 cl. Collins’s (M.) The Blossom and Fruit, a True Story of a Black Magician, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Coupland’s (W. C.) The Gain of Life, and other Essays, 6/ cl. Cunningham’s (Sir H. S.) Wheat and Tares, a Modern Story, cr. 8vo, 3/6 cl. Cutler’s (M. C.) Philip, a Story of the First Century, 2/ cl. Dickens’s (C.) Nicholas Nickleby, Pictorial Edition, 4to. 3/6 Dickens’s Works, Crown Edition, Sketches by Boz, cr. 8vo 5/ Farmer's (L.) The Chronicles of Carduro Manor, cr. 8vo. 2/6 Francillon and others’ Wooing, Stories of the Course that never did Run Smooth, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Garnett’s (L. M. J.) The Women of Turkey and their Folk- lore, 8vo. 10/6 cl. (The Christian Women.) Gerard’s (D.) Recha, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Hartmann’s (F.) In the Pronaos of the Temple of Wisdom, 8vo. 7/6 cl. Hetherington (H. F.) and Burton’s (Rev. H. D.) Paul Nugent, Materialist, 2 vols. cr. 8vo. 21/cl. James’s (H.) The Tragic Muse, 3 vols. cr. 8vo. 31/6 cl. Masterpieces of Foreign Authors: Doctor Antonio, by C, D. Ruffini, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Montaigne’s Essays, translated by J. Florio, edited by J. H. McCarthy, Vols. 3 and 4, 3/ each. (Stott Library.) Russell’s (W. C.) Mystery of the Ocean Star, 12mo. 2/ bds. 8t. Johnston’s (A.) A South Sea Lover, a Romance, 6/ cl. Scott’s (C.) Blossom-Land and Fallen Leaves, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. FOREIGN, Law, Durand (J.): Les Etrangers devant la Loi Frangaise, 4fr. Fine Art and Archeology. Maitres Hollandais (Les), First Series, 10fr. Ravaisson-Mollien (C.): Les Manuscrits de Léonard de Vinci, Vol. 5, 150fr. Music. ‘ Gounod (C.): Le Don Juan de Mozart, 3fr. 50. History and Biography. Blumenstok (A.): Der Pipstliche Schutz im Mittelalter, 3m. 20. Glaser (E.): Skizze der Geschichte u. Geographie Arabiens bis zum Propheten Muhammad, Vol. 2, 18m. Meyer v. Knonau (G.): Jahrbiicher d. Deutschen Reiches unter Heinrich LV. und Heinrich V., Vol. 1, 16m. 80. Regesta Episcoporum Constantiensium, 517-1496, bearb. v. P. Ladewig, Vol. 1, Part 4, 4m. Regesten der Pfalzgrafen am Rhein, bearb. v. A. Koch u. J. Wille, Part 4, 4m. Schubert (R.): Herodots Darstellung der Cyrussage, 2m. 40. Philology. Hatzfeld (A.), Darmesteter (A.), et Thomas (A.): Diction- naire Général de la Langue Frangaise, Part 1, lfr. Luchs (A.): Emendationum Livianarum Particula IV., Om. 88. Meusel (H.): Lexicon Cesarianum, Parts 14 and 15, 4m. 80. Paul (H.): Grundriss der Germanischen Philologie, Vol. 1, Part 3; Vol. 2, Div. 1, Part 2; Div. 2, Part 2, 6m. Planudis (Maximi) Epistule, ed. M. Treu, 6m. Schoetensack (H. A.): Franzésisch-Etymologisches Wérter- buch, Parts 2-4, 10m. Science. Turrettini (T ): Utilisation des Forces Motrices du Rhéne, 35fr. General Literature, Boisgobey (F. du): Fontenay Coup d’Epée, 7fr. Coubertin (P. de): Universités Transatlantiques, 3fr. 50. Daudet (E.): Fils d' Emigré, 3fr. 50. Dérouléde (P.): Histoire d’Amour, 3fr. 50. Simon (J.): L’Affaire Nay], 5fr. THE EARL OF CARNARVON. THE premature death of Lord Carnarvon has not only caused deep sorrow and regret to a large circle of friends, but has removed from the world of politics and of letters a familiar and interesting figure, and his place will not easily be filled. In spite of his ardent patriotism, his high ideal of public duty, his undoubted services to the State, Lord Carnarvon’s refined and gentle nature, his simplicity of character, his warm- hearted and impulsive disposition, seemed to tind even more congenial scope and expression in the quieter walks of life than in the stir and strife of the political arena. His most recent contri- butions to literature, a translation of twelve books of the Odyssey and an edition of ‘ Lord Chesterfield’s Letters to his Godson,’ were enough to show that his knowledge of literature, ancient and modern, was far more than that of the mere dilettante. No one who enjoyed the privilege of his friendship will soon forget the charm of his talk on such matters, his genuine love of books, his keen instinct for what was best both in literature and art. His zeal in promoting all schemes of scholarly research was both earnest and well informed. After his withdrawal from oftice in 1878 he became President of the Society of Antiquaries, and in that capacity did excel- lent service for seven years. More recently he took a very warm interest in the estab- lishment and progress of the British School at Athens, and twice presided at the annual meeting of subscribers. When it was pro- posed a year or more age to present a testi- monial to Sir Charles Newton, Lord Carnarvon again showed not only his personal regard for Sir Charles, but his sympathy with the line of work to which he had devoted his life, by acting as chairman of the committee ; and when the project was carried into execution, he presided last October at the meeting called for the pur- pose of presenting the testimonial. In all such cases his readiness of sympathy, his unselfish disregard of his own convenience, his anxiety for the success of the matter in hand, his tact and wisdom in counsel, were truly admirable. Upon the qualities which endeared him to his many friends, which adorned his domestic lifs, this is not the place to dwell. It is enough to say that few Englishmen of his rank and traditions have, alike in private and in public life, acted so consistently up to the principle noblesse oblige. The world is poorer for his - ‘PRINCE DORUS.”’ The Leadenhall Press, E.C. THE copy of Charles Lamb’s ‘ Prince Dorus,’ a scarce and prettily illustrated child’s book in verse, published by M. J. Godwin in 1811, which belonged to Miss Flaxman—who illustrated at least one child’s book for Godwin—has been before described. Quite recently I had an oppor- tunity of examining another copy, dated 1811, of this rarity at Sotheby’s sale rooms—from the paleness of the stippled illustrations obviously a late impression of the first edition—and I now ask you to allow me to correct part of what I formerly said. The woodcut of the Long-Nosed King and Aged Fairy, that in Miss Flaxman’s is on the front of outside cover, is relegated in the copy which has just turned up to the back of cover, and in its place the title-page, slightly curtailed and date omitted, is repeated within a key border, while the sheet of music is trans- ferred from the beginning of the book to its proper place at the end. Miss Flaxman’s copy, probably unique, appears to have been a trial proof, and this is borne out by the brilliancy of the illustrations. It may be that in‘ Prince Dorus’ the genius of the Gentle is veiled by the weariness and vexation of spirit attending all pot - boiling ; but that Charles Lamb wrote this trifle seems hardly open to doubt. In one of the thirty-five closely written original volumes of Henry Crabb Robinson’s Diary, under date May 15th, 1811, is this note: “A very pleasant call on Charles and Mary Lamb. Read his version of the story of Prince Dorus, the Long-Nosed King.” And there is a foot-note as follows: ‘‘ This is not in his collected works, and, as well as two volumes of Poems for children, is likely to be lost.— He” “This year” (1811), says Robinson, ‘‘I began to keep a Diary.” The first entry in the diary is dated January 8th. Robinson’s editor, Thomas Sadler, says in his preface (‘Diary, Reminis- cences, and Correspondence of Henry Crabb Robinson,’ Macmillan, 1869): ‘* From the year 1811, the Diary is entitled to the most prominent place. The Reminiscences were not begun till Mr. Robinson had nearly reached three score years and ten ; and even if they had been written in the freshness of his memory and in the ful aess
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36 THE ATHENAUM N° 3271, Jury 5,’90 ae SE of his mental vigour, they would still hardly have had equal value with the daily record, which breathes the air of the scenes and incidents to which it relates.” ANDREW W. ToER. «AN INTERESTING EVENT,’ BY M. A. TITMARSH. 11, Savile Row, W., June 30, 1890. Since writing to you I have found where this story, which seemed strangely familiar to me, first appeared. It was in Lady Blessington’s ‘Keepsake’ for 1849. This was published by Bogue, and it is in the separate form only that the story should have been un- known to me. However, all doubt is now removed, and we have here a record of a story by Thackeray in a hitherto unknown form. It seems probable that Lady Blessington, or some one else con- cerned, had a few copies printed separately, of which the copy which I have is perhaps the sole survivor. It is worthy of note that the type was reset for this separate issue, and a few printer’s errors were corrected. Cuas. P. JoHNsoN. Peccavi. 53, Upper Berkeley Street, W. Tue last number of the Athenwum contains a note of inquiry from Mr. C. P. Johnson on this subject, which I am able to answer by re- ferring him to the ‘ Keepsake’ for 1849. P. 207 of that annual will show that the article entitled as above was an actual, and not merely “a con- templated production.” be permitted to ask for an explanation of a Thackeray puzzle, viz, How is it that when one representation of the Marquis of Steyne (on p. 336 of the first edition of ‘Vanity Fair’) was suppressed, that upon p. 421 was not treated in the same way? It is generally supposed that the suppressed woodcut was too accurate a like- ness of a living nobleman. How was it the picture was at the same time obliterated from p. 336 and perpetuated on p. 421? H. Setre Bennert. THE BISHOP OF LONDON TRANSCRIPTS. June 390, 1890. Mr. Sranrorp’s letter as to the Bishop of London transcripts is pithy and well timed. May I recount my experiences in brief? I was ‘once taken to see those transcripts in the dome —some cartloads of them, in a pile, covered with a pall of black dust. Being young in those days, { inquired whether I could examine them. No doubt I could, said one, if I was prepared to pay a guinea a day for an office clerk to watch my operations, from 10 to 4 daily. Moreover, a porter, or other minion, would be necessary, in view of the hundredweights to be moved and the dirt to be dealt with. On the whole, I decided to defer my research until the luckless books found a better home—say in Fett-r Lane. Ww. ©. W. THE MANUSCRIPTS OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS. THE time is now near at hand when the whole mass of State Papers in public and private custody will be available for a serious recon- struction of the history of the English Revolu- tion. Some important contributions to this subject have already been made by the Historical Manuscripts Commission, while the foundation of a comprehensive calendar of the official State Papers of the period marks an era in the progress of modern historical research. But beyond all other sources of original information the manuscripts of the House of Lords possess an interest to the student of constitutional his- tory in proportion to the leading part taken by the Whig aristocracy in the great revision of the Constitution. It is true that these reports do not present us with many new facts, and that their form and substance are indescribably wearisome to the conscientious reader who is anxious to conclude his task in a given period. Perhaps I may in turn | The true value and use of such records as these cannot, however, be immediately ascertained. It has been the curse of historical study in this country (inherited from an aze when professed historians were also politicians by training or necessity) that the evidence of records has seldom been taken, or even sought, with that completeness and sincerity which alone can justify the decisive verdict of the historian. Neither does the mischief end here. Later writers, more candid or better informed than their predecessors, plunge at once into an end- less controversy equally without full information upon all the circumstances. It has been well said by Dr. Cunningham that the fact of its being possible even to raise discussion on funda- mental questions shows how little has yet been done to put our knowledge of certain phases of English histery on a sound basis. It is all the more necessary to practise caution and reticence in the present instance, since a sharp reaction has already set in against the opinions rather than the method of the Whig historians who have made this period peculiarly their own. lf any one has doubts as to the expediency of this procedure let him compile a list of authorities available for the period and compare it with a like list of those in present use. Itis not too much to say that the progress of historical knowledge is bounded by the making of calendars of original documents. With the present Calendar, therefore, and its fellow volumes in progress we have made the first steps towards a true study of the history of modern England. It would be difficult to open this Calendar without happening upon some familiar consti- tutional document or political episode. During the first crisis of the Revolution the most urgent business before the House was to provide for the public safety by stringent precautions against the Papists. The number of the latter, accord- ing to the certifieates printed here, strikes us as being singularly small. It was reported, now- ever, to the House that “the constables gave very lame accounts.” On the whole, perhaps neither the religious nor the political suspects had much cause for complaint, in view of recent events. Their lordships were soon occupied with a far more delicate matter, being nothing less than the statement of their case in law against their rightful sovereign. The proceed- ings upon the vote of abdication are highly instructive. No deposed king ever had a fairer trial than James II. The judges, with learned antiquaries like Petyt, were called in as assistants, and although their arguments in support of the theory of original contract are not very convinc- ing, the moderation displayed throughout and the evident anxiety to arrive at the truth of the matter are much to be commended. The Commons had proceeded in a very different spirit, vying with the City mob in their intimi- dation of moderate politicians. There are several remarkable letters printed in the early portion of this Calendar which will be found to modify certain well-known passages in Macaulay’s ‘History.’ The first of these is the famous letter addressed by James II. to the Convention at Westminster, and dated January 26th, 1689. It is not ex- actly obvious why this paper has been calen- dared here, since it has been already printed at least as fully as many other documents omitted for a similar reason. However this may be, it is very interesting to observe the historical method of the great Whig historian in this instance. Beginning by misdating the letter, he goes on to prejudge its nature and reception by means of introductory comments, such as ‘* James, as usual, came to the help of his enemies”; ‘‘it had been transmitted to Preston by the apostate Melfort”; “no member of either house ventured to propose that a paper which came from such a quarter should be read.” Then he summarizes the contents as follows: “ His Majesty exhorted the Lords and Com- mons not to despair of his clemency, and gra- ciously assured them that he would pardon those who had betrayed him, some few excepted, whom he did not name.” Finally, he deduces from this example the impossibility of doing anything for a prince who told the arbiters of his fata that “if they would set him on his throne again he would hang only a few of them.” The im- portance of printing historical documents in their entirety will be readily admitted by all who compare this garbled versicn with the original before us, in which not one word will be found to justify the historian’s imputation. That James’s language is often silly and his conten- tions futile may be easily supposed, yet it isa fact that in place of the empty threats and im- placable hate insinuated in this abstract there will be found a passage—that which begins ‘‘ I was born free and desire to continue so ”—as noble and pathetic as any that was ever penned by a dethroned monarch, an invocation as eloquent as any put in the mouth of Richard Plantagenet by the greatest of English poets. So much for the “exhortation.” As for the ‘* assurance,” we read simply this: ‘‘ And there- for doe declare to you that wee are ready to return (when safely wee may) and to redresse all the disorders in our Kingdoms in a free Parliament called according to Law and held without Constraint. More particularly wee are contented to secure the Church of England as by Law establisht, and by the advice of that Parliament give such indulgence to dissenters as Our People may have no reason to be jealous of. We will lykeways by the advice of that Parliament heal all the divisions, Cover with oblivion all the faults, and restore the happyness of Our people, which never can be effectually done by any other Power.” It is not easy to find where the hanging comes in here; but whether James was sincere in his pro- fessions, or whether Macaulay was correct in his general estimate of the king’s cha- racter, are questions that we are not here concerned with. There is at least as little con- fidence to be placed in an historian who delibe- rately falsifies his authorities as in a king who habitually broke his word. Almost precisely the same method may be traced in Macaulay’s version of the king’s letter to the Scottish Con- vention, while his gratuitous reflections upon Sancroft’s absence from the Convention are dis- posed of by a characteristic letter of that prelate, which is printed here, alleging physical infirmity which had practically confined him to his house for several years. The above instances will serve to prove the value of the present Calendar for purposes of historical reference. It is only to be regretted that the entire collection was not treated in this manner from the very first; but there are enough of political incidents and constitutional cases printed or abstracted here with unimpeachable accuracy to enable us to utilize these important manuscripts for the purpose of a sober historical retrospect so soon as the Domestic State Papers, with which they are intimately allied, have been made available by the same admirable process, which in the hands of experts like Mr. Taylor and Mr. Felix Skene has added another to the many triumphs of patient scholarship achieved by the Historical Manuscripts Commission. Dferary Grosstp. Tue memoir of Robert Browning on which Mrs. Sutherland Orr is engaged will, it is said, appear, together with his last poems (‘Asolando: Fancies and Facts’), as the seventeenth volume of the new edition published by Messrs. Smith & Elder. Tue fourth volume of Canon Dixon’s ‘History of the Church of England’ is in the press. This volume contains the reign | of Queen Mary. It examines the martyro-
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XUM N° 3271, Jury 5, ’90 THE ATHENAZUM 37 logy, which no historian has done since the age of Fox. Particular attention is given to the last part of the life of Cranmer, on which new light is thrown. The career of Cardinal Pole in his last legation is care- fully traced. Throughout the volume the author has made use of contemporary docu- ments, some of which have not before been applied. The publishers are Messrs. Rout- ledge & Sons. Mr. Epwarp Arnotp has arranged to publish a cheap reprint of a selection from the ‘Modern Men’ appearing week by week in the Scots Observer. The volume will include the sketches of Messrs. Parnell, Gladstone, and A. J. Balfour, M. Bou- langer, and Sir George Trevelyan among poli- ticians; of Sir F. Leighton among painters; of Senor Sarasate among musicians; of Prince Bismarck among statesmen; of Messrs. Swinburne, Lewis Morris, Zola, and W. T. Stead among journalists and men of letters. A WE tsz translation of the report of the Commission on Sunday Closing in Wales was issued as a Government publication this week. It is the first report of the kind ever published by the Government in Welsh, though the Mines Regulation Act, 1887, and the Local Government Act, 1888, were officially translated. Prof. Rhys, the secre- tary of the Commission, who is responsible for the Welsh version, has written an interest- ing introduction, explaining the difficulties of translating such a judicial document, and defending his use of words like ‘‘siebin”’ for the English shebeen. Tue forthcoming number of the English Historical Review will contain articles on ‘The Seven Liberal Arts,’ by Mr. Henry Parker; ‘The Decrees of the Roman Plebs,’ by Mr. J. L. Strachan- Davidson; ‘St. Patrick’s Early Manhood,’ by Mr. B. W. Wells; ‘Odo of Champagne, Count of Blois,’ by Miss Norgate; and a third and concluding article on ‘Sir Richard Church,’ by Mr. S. Lane-Poole. WE greatly regret to hear of the death of Mr. Francis Bennoch, a most amiable and benevolent man, whohadin an unostentatious way helped many a struggling artist and man of letters. The son of a Dumfriesshire farmer, he came to London in the thirties, and received much kindness from Allan Cunningham, a native of his own county. About 1837 he printed a small volume of poems, which he sent to Wordsworth. Wordsworth praised his book, but, telling him of Scott’s remarks on literature as a staff and a crutch, advised him not to take to authorship as a profession. Bennoch had the wisdom to follow this counsel, and made a fortune in the silk trade, much of which he is believed to have subsequently lost. He latterly became active in foreign finance and various companies. On the other hand, he kept up his connexion with literary society. He breakfasted several times with Rogers, he was @ fast friend of Miss Mitford’s, and he won the confidence of Hawthorne, who was indebted to him for many real services. In 1877 Bennoch collected his verses in a volume of some 300 pages. He was a con- spicuous member of the Noviomagians, a dining club connected with the Society of Antiquaries. We have received from Dr. Fennell an abstract of a new theory of the Aryan vowel system which he will shortly publish. His views on Ablaut differ in many respects from those of the new German school, and are quite new in several important points. His theory has been suggested to him by a new explanation of the phenomena of ‘¢Verner’s Law,’’ which he laid before the Cambridge Philological Society on the 31st of January, 1889, and which led to the con- sideration of accent (melodic) in relation to the division of words into syllables, and to phonetic change. Mr. Lorrie requests us to mention that the circular issued by Messrs. Field & Tuer respecting his ‘London City’ was printed during his absence in Egypt, and sent out without his having seen it. Mx. E. F. Kyicur is now hard at work at his book describing his recent cruise in the Alerte in search of the treasure supposed to have been hidden by pirates in an unin- habited island. Although Mr. Knight did not succeed in finding the treasure he believes that he has gathered plenty of material for an interesting book. Messrs. Longman, who are to be the publishers, hope to have the book ready in the autumn. WE hear that, at a recent sale under the | hammer in America, the manuscript of the | ‘ Autocrat of the Breakfast Table’ realized | 315 dollars. Some additions to Thoreau literature may | be expected in the autumn. Mr. H. 8. | Salt’s ‘ Life of Thoreau,’ in one volume, will be published by Messrs. Bentley; and the same writer will edit a volume of selected essays from the ‘ Anti-Slavery and Reform Papers,’ which Messrs. Sonnenschein will include in their ‘Social Science Series.” | At the same time Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin | & Co., of Boston, U.S., will issue a volume of selections from Thoreau’s writings, edited by Mr. Harrison Blake ; and we understand that Mr. David Douglas, of Edinburgh, has a similar work in preparation. Messrs. BentiEy & Son will shortly pub- lish ‘ Wayfaring in France,’ by Mr. Edward Harrison Barker. The work will be de- scriptive of the highways and byways, the natural scenery, the country inns and build- ings of archeological interest, together with the customs and character of the people in various districts of Gascony, Dauphiné, Languedoc, Brittany, and Alsace, which the author has traversed on foot. It will contain numerous illustrations. Musutax Hoosatn IntEsar Jung, Financial Secretary to H.H. the Nizam, will contribute to the forthcoming number of the Asiatic Quarterly Review an article on ‘ Inter- Religionary Amity; or, is it possible to be Friendly and Affectionate to Aliens in Religion?’ Mr. Grorce Eyre-Tonp, the editor of the edition of ‘Ossian’ in the ‘Canterbury Poets,” is going to issue, under the title of ‘Sketch-Book of the North,’ a series of articles descriptive of Scottish scenes and manners, some of which have appeared in the Tilustrated London News, Chambers’s Journal, and other publications. Messrs. William Hodge & Co., of Glasgow, are to be the publishers. Tue July number of the Jewish Quarterly Review will contain two ‘In Memoriam ”’ articles, one by Dr. M. Friedlander on the late Chief Rabbi, the other by Prof. D. Kaufmann on Franz Delitzsch. Prof. Bacher will contribute an article on ‘The Sabba- tarians of Hungary,’ based on sources not previously accessible in English ; Dr. Hirsch writes on ‘The Jewish Sibylline Oracles,’ Prof. Sayce on ‘ Tax-Gatherers at Thebes in the Age of the Ptolemies,’ Mr. C. G. Montefiore on the Book of Proverbs, Mr. J. Jacobs on ‘Jewish Ideals,’ and the Rev. R. Travers Herford on the Talmudic doctrine of God. Dr. Neubauer contributes several shorter items, among them one on Berechiah Naqdan ; while Dr. Richard Gottheil writes on a Hebrew version of Ausop’s ‘ Fables.’ Lorp Rosstyn’s ‘ Sonnets and Poems’ is passing into a second edition, which will contain a portrait of the author. The third volume of the ‘‘ Rosslyn Series ” of Messrs. Remington will consist, it is said, of the collected poetry of Mr. W. H. Pollock. Tux ‘Letters to Living Authors,’ by Mr. J. A. Steuart, the new editor of the Pub- lishers’ Circular, mentioned in our columns some time ago, will not be published by Messrs. Sampson Low & Co. until the autumn. Mr. Steuart is also going to be | guilty of a novel. Mr. Raz has been revising his ‘ Country Banker’ for a new edition, the eighth, which Mr. Murray is going to issue. A FOURTH edition, with considerable addi- tions and an entirely new index, of the ‘ Denominational Reason Why ’—giving the origin, history, and tenets of the Christian sects, with the reasons assigned by them- selves for their specialities of faith and forms of worship—is announced by Messrs. Houlston & Sons. Tue much-talked-of moral text-book for Government-aided schools in India has now been issued, and has been distributed throughout the schools of the Panjab asa first experiment. It is styled ‘A Moral Reader for High Schools,’ and contains four distinct sections, the last of which treats on the Deity, prayer, &c., from the standpoint of ‘‘ general religion.” Sryce we published, a month ago, the latest authentic bulletin of Walt Whitman’s health, a report has appeared in some of the papers to the effect that the “ good gray poet”’ was ‘dying, and Dr. Bucke was in attendance.” We are glad to be able to contradict and explain this sinister state- ment. Dr. Bucke, who is an intimate friend and biographer of Whitman, was, in fact, at Camden, taking part in the celebration of the poet’s seventy-first birthday. His presence seems to have been simply mis- construed ; and so far was Walt Whitman from being in a dying condition that, writing to our correspondent on the 16th of June, nearly a month later than the date of our last bulletin, he says: ‘‘I am keeping on fairly—have been out in wheel-chair to the river side (Delaware) to-day — pleasant weather here.’’? This clearly indicates no change of condition since the previous ac- count, when the poet, who it will be re- membered has long been partially paralyzed, spoke of the same mode of progression. Tue Styrian poet K. G. L. Ritter von Leitner died recently at his native place Graz, in his ninetieth year. His ballads, which are distinguished by rhythmical flow,
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38 THE ATHENZUM N° 3271, Juty 5, ’90 brought him the name of “the Austrian Uhland,” whilst a number of his lyrical poems gained popularity by the compositions of Schubert, Lachner, Thalberg, Kreutzer, &c. German papers report that Von Leitner left a drama, called ‘Der Richter von Galwey’ (Galway ?)—which title reminds us of a famous drama of Calderon—and a volume of poems, both of which were to be published on November 18th next, the poet’s ninetieth birthday. Tur death is announced of M. Marpon, the well-known “discount bookseller” and publisher of Paris, noted for the cheap edi- tions of French classics he published at wonderfully low prices. We also hear of the decease of Prof. Stoll, well known by his handbook of Greek mythology, of which an English translation was published under the auspices of Kerchever Arnold. Tue attempt made by certain unscrupulous American publishers to foist on the market there a cheap edition of the ‘ Encyclopzedia | Britannica’ by means of photography appears to be frustrated by interdict from the American law courts. Some of the articles in the work are written by American authors, and these are protected by copyright in the United States. Mr. R. Smms is going to bring out a bibliography of the county of Stafford under the title of ‘ Bibliotheca Staffordiensis.’ Tue chief Parliamentary Papers of the week are a Return of Public Income and Expenditure for the Year ending May 31st, 1890 (1d.); Sweating System, Index to Report (4s. sd.) ; Correspondence respect- ing the Newfoundland Fisheries, 1884-90 | e et I pate! | an expedition into Urua, the lead of which is (4s. 5d.); Statement of Cost of the Navy, 1890-1 (3d.); Estimate of the probable Additional Expenditure caused by the Changes in the Education Code (1d.); St. Lucia, Report on the Blue-Book for 1889 (1d.) ; British Bechuanaland, Report of the Administrator for the Year ended September 30th, 1889 (3d.) ; and the following Trade Reports—France, Trade of Dunkirk (1¢.) ; Spain, Trade of Bilbao (1d.) ; United States, nsular Distri iladel- Trade of the Consu istrict of Ph 4 Major G. De Winton, Capt. D. Baker, Capt. W. G. phia (3d.). SCIENCE GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES, News has been received by the Paris Geo- graphical Society of Capt. Grombchefsky’s movements on the extreme north of India up to the 11th of March last. In October, 1889, he was exploring the Tagdumbash Pamir (which was also visited in 1889 by M. Dauvergne), and thence he proceeded to the Muz and Raskem Daria rivers. The first of these streams is a tributary of the Raskem Daria, and was previously unknown ; it rises in the glaciers of the Muztagh range, and the Russian traveller claims to have visited its sources. He also explored the Tiznaf valley, and visited Shahidula and the mountains to the east, where there are jade quarries formerly worked by the Chinese ; but the cold here was so excessive that he lost twenty-five horses out of thirty-three, and was compelled to return to Shahidula, whence he made his way to Khotan by way of Sanju. At Khotan he fell in with M. Bogdanovitch, the geologist attached to Col. Pietsof’s expedition, and the two travellers started for Nia. Capt. Grombchefsky says that the Kanjutis are the most irrepressible brigands imaginable, and that they have laid waste the | whole of the Raskem Daria valley, which bears signs of having been well peopled at one time. The captain has made a route survey 1,100 kilo- metres in length, and taken several observa- tions for latitude; he is believed to be con- tinuing his researches in the direction of the Lingzi Tang plateau, and he proposes to return to Russia in the autumn. Some interesting particulars are also published by the Paris Society respecting M. Dauvergne’s travels in the same region. He claims to have discovered the source of the river Oxus, where it issues from three great glaciers of the Hindu | Kush range. The range itself he crossed by the Karambar or Ishkoman Pass, which, though blocked by snow most of the year, is very im- portant as lying on the shortest route between Wakhan and the little Pamir on the one side and the frontier of Kashmir on the other. The Scottish Geographical Magazine publishes an instructive paper on the country lying to the north-west of Lake Nyassa, by the Rev. D. Kerr Cross, who accompanied Mr. H. H. Johnston to Lake Rukwa in November last ; and a useful list of the best topographical and general maps of Europe, by Mr. J. G. Bartholomew. Both these papers are accompanied by maps, that | +! we A 0 t — P y PS; | visual and actinic foci were not coincident, and at illustrating the latter aiming at exhibiting the progress in topographical and more general sur- veys throughout the world. In Petermann’s Mitteilungen will be found a map of Central Europe by Dr. P. Helfert, ex- some respects, is increasing rapidly, and is becoming better known and more used than formerly ; also that the Society, which has recently issued a new catalogue and index to the library, and likewise a general index to the first fifty volumes of its Journal, is now more at liberty to devote its funds to the general improvement of the library.—The under-mentioned were elected to be the President, Council, and officers for the ensuing year: Pre- sident, Dr. F, J. Mouat ; Council, A. H. Dyke Acland, A. H, Bailey, A. EK. Bateman, C. Booth, 8S. Bourne, E. H. Carbutt, Hyde Clarke, Major P. G. Craigie, Rey. W. Cunningham, Prof. F. Y. Edgeworth, T. H. Elliott, Prof. H. S$. Foxwell, F. B. Garnett, R. Hamilton, F. Hendriks, F. H. Janson, J. 8. Jeans, C. M. Kennedy, Sir V. H. Kennett-Barrington, G. B. Longstaff, J. B. Martin, R. B. Martin, F. G. P. Neison, Dr. W. Ogle, R. H.I. Palgrave, H. D. Pochin, | F. S. Powell, R. Price-Williams, Sir J. H. Puleston, | Dr. E, Seaton; Zreasurer, R. B. Martin ; Honorary hibiting the amount of cloud throughout the | year. In the accompanying text the author dis- cusses the voluminous materials upon which his | map is based. The Mitteilungen also furnishes | a welcome reduction of General A. von Tillo’s hypsographical map of Russia, and a chart of Molo Strait, which separates Flores from Rindja Island, and the existence of which became known only in 1848. The Belgian Compagnie du Congo pour Je Commerce et l’Industrie is about t» dispatch to be taken by M. Alexandre Deleommune, with whom will be associated Lieut. Hackansan, Dr. Briart, and others. M. Deleommune proposes to ascend the Lomami in a steamer, and then to proceed on foot, Katanga, with its famed copper mines, being the goal aimed at. SOCIETIES, GEOGRAPHICAL.—J/une 30.—Right Hon. Sir M. E. Grant Duff, President, in the chair.—The following gentlemen were elected Fellows of the Society : Brighten, Capt. T. H. H. Richards, Rev. F. EK. P. Bull, Messrs. L. Abelson, H. H. P. Bouverie, St. John Brenan, V. W. Chemery, B. R. Conolly, T. Cotton, B. R. Fleming, J. G. Fleming, R. B. Forster, W. Jacobs, H. M. Kennard, G. Lawford, H. J. Lewis, H. A. Mangles, M. Menpes, M. A. Morison, P. Mor- timer, C. Praed, L. H. Ransome, G. de Reuter, C. R. Rivington, O. C. Robson, A. Ross, H.C. Ross, I. ©. Rosse. H. Rumney, A. Smith, H. Smiles, F. Stafford, T. M. Stewart, H. M. Stutfield, H. W. Taylor, J. H. Watterson, and T, H. Wheeler.—The paper read was ‘Explorations in Cilicia Tracheia, Asia Minor,’ by Mr. J. Theodore Bent. GEOLOGICAL.—June 18.—Dr. A. Geikie, President, in the chair—Mr. T. D. Williams was elected a Fellow.—The following communications were read : | ‘The Borrowdale Plumbago, its Mode of Occurrence and Probable Origin,’ by Mr. J. Postlethwaite,—and ‘Notes on the Valley-Gravels about Reading, with especial reference to the Palolithic Implements found Therein,’ by Mr. O. A. Shrubsole.—The next meeting of the Society will be held on Wednesday, November 12th. STATISTICAL.—June 24.—Annual General Meet- ing.—Mr. F. Hendriks, V.P., in the chair.—The report of the Council, the financial statements of the trea- surer, and the report of the auditors were taken as read and unanimously adopted.—The deaths of Lord Addington, Sir E. Baines, Sir T. E. Cole- ' brooke, Messrs. W. L. Sargant, R. Baxter, W. West- | garth, J. B. Kyshe, and W. Blades are specially re- ferred to in the report.—The report generally is of a satisfactory nature, and shows the present number of Fellows to be 1,081. The chief points of interest are that the Society’s library, which is unique in Secretaries, J. B. Martin, A. E, Bateman, and Major : G., Craigie ; Lurecign Honorary Secretary, J.B. Martin. MICROSCOPICAL.—June 18.—Mr. F. Crisp in the chair.—Mr. Mayall mentioned, in explanation of the delay in bringing forward the report on the new objective, that before the committee met officially to examine the objective it had been agreed to support the report by the production of photo- micrographs of the various objects used as tests. They were, however, disappointed to find that the the request of Prof. Abbe the objective was returned to Jena. After a lapse of several weeks Dr. Czapski replied that he had not found any traze of a “chemical” focus non-coincident with the visual focus, and the objective was again forwarded to London. The committee then met, and the same fractured valve of P. angulatum was focussed ac- curately and then photographed, and it appeared quite sharp in the photograph. The transit of the objective from London to Jena had somehow got rid of the “chemical” focus. Unfortunately, the slide had become seriously deteriorated, so that the critical tests which they intended to photograph could no longer be tried. They were, therefore, compelled to await the arrival of another slide which Dr. van Heurck had most kindly sent, but which the committee had not yet been able to examine.—In the absence of Mr. Pringle, the new photo-micro- graphic apparatus recently made to his instructions by Messrs. Swift & Son for the Royal Veterinary College was described by Mr. Mayall.—Mr. E. M. Nelson exhibited upon the screen two photographs of the bordered pits of pine wood. He thought these pictures showed clearly that the pits were of the nature of clack valves, and probably served the purpose of checking the downward pressure of fluid in the vascular system. He also showed some new photographs of diatoms x1350, including one erratic form, which he proposed calling Craspedo- discus punchbowlii, from its resemblance to a punch- bowl.—Mr. Mayall gave a summary of the contents of a paper by Dr. Charles E. West, of Brooklyn, ‘On Early Binocular Instruments.—Mr. Dowdes- well’s paper, entitled ‘A Contribution to the Study of Yeast: Part I., Baker’s Yeast,’ was read.— Culture tubes containing specimens illustrative of the sub- ject were handed round for inspection.—Mr. C, D. Sherborn read some portions of a paper, which had been prepared by himself conjointly with Mr. H. W. Burrows and the Rev. G. Bailey, ‘On the Forami- nifera of the Red Chalk of Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and Yorkshire.’ Society oF ARTS.—June 25.—Annual Meeting. —The Duke of Abercorn, Chairman of the Council, in the chair.—The Secretary read the annual report, which was adopted.—The following were elected as ofticers for the ensuing year: President, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales; Vice-Presidents, H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, H.R.H. the Duke of Clarence and Avondale, Duke of Abercorn, W. Anderson, the Attorney-General, Sir F. D. Bell, Sir E. Birkbeck, Major-General Sir O. T. Burne, A. Carpmael, R, Brudenell Carter, Lord A. 8. Churchill, B. F. Cobb, Sir D. Cooper, Sir P. Cunliffe-Owen, Prof. J. Dewar, Sir H. Doulton, J. 8. Forbes, Sir D. Galton, T. Hawkesley, Sir V. Lister, Right Hon. Sir H. F. Pon- sonby, Sir K. Rawlinson, and Lord Thurlow ; Ordi- nary Members of Council, Sir G. Birdwood, M. Carteighe, Sir G. H. Chubb, J. Dredge, A. B. W. Kennedy, C, M. Kennedy, J. B. Martin, G. Matthey, Major-General Michael, J. F. Moulton, W. H. Preece, and E. C. Robins; Zreasurers, Sir F. Bram- well i. Sir O. Roberts; Secretary, H, Trueman Wood. PHYSICAL.—June 20,—Prof. W. E. Ayrton, Presi- dent, in the chair.—Prof. A. W. Worthington made a communication ‘On the Stretching of Liquids. — Mr. C. V. Boys read a paper ‘On the Measurement of Electro- Magnetic Radiation,’ by himself and z { 3 : 5 i
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XUM N° 3271, Jury 5, 790 THE ATHENZUM 39 Messrs. A. E. Briscoe and W. Watson.—Two com- munications, ‘Notes on Secondary Batteries,’ by Dr. Gladstone and Mr. Hibbert, and ‘An Easy Rule for calculating approximately the Self-induction of a Coil,’ by Prof. J. Perry, were taken as read. SHORTHAND.—June 30.—Annual Mecting.—Mr. J.G. Petrie, President, in the chair.—The report of the Council stated that the number of members on the roll was 253 as compared with 235 last year. Twenty-five new members had been elected during the year, five had resigned, and two members had died Of the new members elected fourteen were Fellows, five Associates, and six Foreign Associates. —The President, referring to the report, said it was satisfactory to find that the number of members had increased notwithstanding the friction that had occurred two years ago. It was evident that the assertion was not believed that a certain system had been unfairly treated by the Society. The Society afforded a fair field for all systems, without special favour for any.—The report was adopted unani- mously without discussion.—The officers for the ensuing year were elected, Mr. Henry Richter being appointed President for 1890-91.—Subsequently it was resolved that the monthly meetings should be held in future cn Tuesdays instead of Wednesdays. —A special resolution was also passed, adding to the rule defining the objects of the Society the words, “To improve the status and advance the interests of practitioners of shorthand generally.” MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Mon. Royal Institution, 5.—General Monthly. Tvrs. Horticultural, 1; Lecture, 3. Science Gossip. Messrs. Macmityan & Co. will shortly pub- lish a ‘ Handbook of Field and General Ornitho- logy: being a Manual of the Structure and Classification of Birds,’ by Prof. Elliott Coues. The ‘ Handbook’ contains those portions of the author’s well-known ‘Key to North American Birds’ which have not less interest for the English than for the American public. The examples cited in illustration of the principles of ornithology have been, for the most part, re- drawn by the author from British instead of American birds. It is believed that the volume will be found of great use by the increasing number of students of ornithology in this country. Messrs. Macmittan & Co. have also nearly ready for publication an illustrated ‘Treatise on the Myology of the Raven,’ intended asa ‘‘ Guide to the Study of the Muscular System in Birds,” by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington. At the present time —when the study of the structure of animals is becoming far more general, as one of the most efficient aids to observation and mental training, than it was some years ago—the author believes that such a book as this will be found very use- ful, both to general students of the morphology of vertebrates and to special students of birds. THE Council of the Institution of Civil Engi- neers have reappointed as treasurer Mr. Hugh Lindsay Antrobus, the senior partner in Messrs. Coutts & Co., Dr. William Pole as honorary secretary, and Mr. James Forrest as secretary. VeENUvs is, and will be during the remainder of the present month, in the constellation Leo, passing very near Regulus on the 13th inst., and being in close conjunction with Saturn on the evening of the 17th. Mars is still in Scorpio, and on the 18th inst. will pass the meridian about 8 o’clock in the evening. Jupiter con- tinues in Capricornus, and will be on the meridian about midnight by the end of the present month. Saturn, like Venus, is in Leo, but sets earlier each night, and will cease to be visible about the middle of August. Tue large sums of money which the Govern- ment of India devotes annually as rewards for the destruction of snakes in that country have brought about an unexpected and most un- desirable result. It seems from a communica- tion made by the Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces that the natives of those parts are now beginning to breed and rear poisonous snakes for the purpose of obtaining the usual head money offered ! FINE ARTS —-—_ ROYAL SOCIETY OF PAINTERS IN WATER COLOURS.—The ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH EXHIBITION is NOW OPEN. —5, Pail Mall East, from 10 till 6.—Admission. 1s.; Catalogue, 1s. ALFRED D. FRIPP, R.W.S., Secretary. Rosy LEGEND of the BRIAR ROSE, painted by E. BURNE JONES, -R.A. The LEGEND of the BRIAR ROSE.—The EXHIBITION of Mr. BURNE JONES’S Four Pictures is NOW OPEN at Messrs. Thos. Agnew & Sons’ Old Bond Street Galleries, 39, Old Bond Street, W. —Admission, ls. 10 to6o’clock. Saturdays, 10 to 5. NEW PRINTS. Messrs. C. Opacnh & Co. have sent us a remarque proof (one of fifty) on Dutch paper 25in. by 33 in. landscape-way) of a new plate etched by Heer C. L. Dake after Rembrandt’s famous masterpiece ‘The Lesson in Anatomy ’ (which has so often been engraved in various modes), now in the Royal Gallery at the Hague It was painted in 1632, and marks the culmina- tion of the master’s first, or smoother and more finished method. Heer Dake’s etching, which is darker than many other reproductions of the original, is very serious, thoughtful, and Rem- brandtesque. The vigour and boldness of this new version are not to be questioned, while the spirit of the chiaroscuro is first rate. The pic- ture and its history are so well known that we need not describe them. The Fine- Art Society has sent an artist’s proof of an etching by Mr. A. W. Rimington, called ‘Ghent, the Houses of the Guilds,’ andcom- prising the famous Maison des Bateliers and its nearly as picturesque neighbours on the bank of the canal at Ghent. Not long since we ad- mired Mr. Rimington’s fine and luminous etch- ing of Giotto’s Campanile, Florence, to which this new example of his taste and skill is a worthy companion. It is brilliantly lighted, firmly and well drawn, and shows much appre- ciation of the scene it represents with artistic force and sympathy. We have to thank Mr. A. Lucas for an ‘‘artist’s proof” of a mezzotint engraving by Mr. R. 8. Clouston after Mr. W. B. Richmond’s graceful painting ‘La Fiammetta,’ which was lately at the Grosvenor Gallery. It is an excel- lent reproduction, full of spirit and taste, ap- preciative of the best qualities of the picture— one of Mr. Richmond’s best conceptions, very ably carried out, and soundly finished as to beauty, colour, expression, and tonality. So far as we know Mr. Clouston never did so well before. His fine ‘Age of Innocence’ after Reynolds, which we praised some time since, good as it is, is less difficult, and neither so happy nor so spirited as ‘ La Fiammetta’ proves itself. English Etchings, Part LXXIV. (Sampson Low & Co.), contains—besides a jaunty notice of Sir John Soane’s Museum, and a bumptious note about the Society of Painter-Etchers and what is modestly called ‘‘the Royal Academy clique,” which, sad to say, has omitted to reward Mr. Strang and other etchers—one moderately good etching, an indifferent one, and a bad one. The first is Mr. P. Thomas’s ‘Old Chelsea,’ a rather bald and flat view of old houses, in which the colour characteristic of Time’s doings and the picturesque is conspicuously absent. The outlines are dexterously drawn; but it is a pity Mr. Thomas’s neat draughtsmanship has not extended to the miserable figures. Mr. W. G. Miller’s ‘Little Messenger’ is the etching we have described as indifferent. At best it is a clumsy figure of a boy with a preternaturally big head walking, or intended to walk (the artist is weak in leg drawing), with wonderfully large feet. The bad etching is Miss E. M. Brandard’s woolly, weak, and poorly drawn ‘Tintern Abbey.’ These works illustrate the common saying that any one can be an etcher, even although he has hardly acquired the lowest rudiments of draughtsmanship. We do not know who is ‘‘ Sigma,” the bold commentator who compares Mr. P. Thomas to Méryon, and declares that the Englishman has ‘‘ even more of delicacy” than the Frenchman; but the phrase is much more unfortunate for Mr. Thomas (whose reputation may develope in time) than for the hapless author of it, who must be very young indeed. Admirers of Wordsworth will thank William George’s Sons, of Bristol, for a capital photo- gravure of a likeness (said to be the earliest in existence) of the poet. The original was painted in oil of the same size as the print, 14 by 12 inches, by W. Shuter, who signed and dated it “1798.” Itis undoubtedly authentic, extremely interesting,and,although the work ofa timidartist who was not highly accomplished, as veracious as the reflection ina mirror. According to Dorothy Wordsworth’s Alfoxden journal, William Shuter executed this portrait at Stowey in April and May, 1798. He was a fairly well-known man in his time, chiefly devoted to flowers and fruit, but often employed for portraits such as this. His début was made with the Incorporated Society of Artists of Great Britain in 1771, and he continued to exhibit with that body, the Free Society of Artists, and the Royal Academy until 1791, when he disappeared. He lived mostly in the Soho region, notably ‘‘at the Golden Ball, King Street, St. Ann’s,” and at No. 13, King Street, Covent Garden. He sometimes combined portraits and flowers in the same picture. Mr. Hole writes regarding his two etchings which we praised a fortnight ago, complaining that we spoke of them as being ‘‘in a quasi- mezzotint manner (practically aquatint),” and adds :— “T believe that the assistance of ‘ quasi-mezzo- tint’ (whatever that may be), ‘ practical aquatint,’ drypoint, rocher, roulette, and other methods, quasi or otherwise, may all be legitimized by their effec- tual use—I have nothing to say against them. But, personally, I find that I can obtain the best results by means of the old-fashioned needle and nitric ; and, therefore, in the Crome, Millet, and Maris plates I have employed this method, and this alone.” We fail to understand what Mr. Hole complains of, except that he does not understand the phrase ‘‘ quasi-mezzotint,” which is simple enough. We called his plates etchings, and had no doubt about his method of work. In speak- ing of them as ‘‘quasi-mezzotint” we referred to the effect he had obtained. THE EXPLORATIONS AT CYPRUS. Salamis, Cyprus, June 1, 1890. THE season’s work at Salamis was brought to a close eight days ago, on May 24th. On the 28th the antiquities were divided with the Government, and two days hence the excavators’ share will sail for Larnaca on its way to Eng- land. Of the last fortnight of work the first week was a very active one, with a full comple- ment of hands. With the second came the beginning of the wheat harvest and the news that no further funds were forthcoming, so that nothing more was attempted than to round off, however imperfectly, the excavation of the sand site. To begin with the outlying sites, the Roman tomb with terra-cottta sarcophagi was quickly finished, and calls for no further com- ment. The site south of the Enkomi road, Totdpra tod McxanAy, led to no tangible re- sults beyond a quantity of fragments of inscrip- tions. The rock lies within a few feet of the surface, and any buildings that may have existed upon it have totally disappeared. A fresh try was made for tombs in a large field to the north of the same road. Tombs were found in abundance, which, although small, were of good construction, and apparently of fairly early date. But all had been systematically robbed, the robbers tunnelling from one to another through the thin dividing walls. From the 16th onwards the work was confined to the sand site. The progress made may be briefly summarized. The east wall, with the great marble columns, has been laid bare from end to
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40 THE ATHENAUM N° 3271, Juty 5, 790 end. The marble pavement to the east of the wall has been cleared as far as was practicable, and followed eastward in one place up to the limestone wall, which seems to bound it in that direction. At this easternmost point an admir- ably constructed limestone wall was discovered, extending some feet downwards below the level of the pavement, and serving as a foundation for inferior late building. At the north and south ends of the marble pavement two steps, similarly paved, lead upwards, and beyond them there is, at least at the south end, a marble pavement at a lowerlevelagain. All along the eastern extremity of the excavation there seem to be remains of extensive limestone building, large squared blocks, architectural fragments, and walls. These remains, together with the enormous depth of sand, not a little hindered progress. During the course of these developments, be- sides a number of fragments, two more headless marble statues were found, asmall marble head, and the upper part, without the head, of the colossal female marble statue. With the last vas a hand holding a snake, of the same scale, which seems to prove that the statue represents a goddess. Another point which was investigated during the last week of work was the centre of the site. Nothing, however, came to light but a remnant of poor wall. It must be sufficiently obvious that the sand site is far from finished, and it was no lack of material, but only lack of money, that stopped the work. The limestone remains at the eastern extremity of the site are of great interest, and it may be that they do not complete, but only commence, the really im- portant part of the building. It is noteworthy, although perhaps accounted for by the greater depth of sand, that only the east end of the site has been at all fertile in antiquities; and it must be remembered that the level of the pave- ment has not been passed, except in the single cutting made to investigate the above-men- tioned limestone wall. Another season’s work is urgently called for, and it is to be hoped that after so much has been done funds will not be lacking to complete the excavation. We com- mend both this site and the great field offered for further operations by the ruins of Salamis to the liberality of the subscribers to the fund. J. Arruur R. Munro. SALES. Messrs. CuristrE, Manson & Woops sold on the 27th ult. the following Turners, from the collection of Mr. Ayscough Fawkes. Rhine drawings: Mayence, 84l. ; ditto, 4301. ; Palace of Beibrich, 273/.; Rudesheim, looking to Bingen Klopp, 210/.; Bausenberg, 11951. ; Fiirstenberg, 105/. ; Baccharach and Stahleck, 74l.; Pfalz, 110/.; Oberwesel, 325]. ; Goar- hausen and Katz Castle, 84/.; Lurleyberg, 2041. ; ditto, 173/.; ditto, 115/. ; Katz Castle with Rheinfels, 84/.; Rheinfels, looking to Katz and Goarhausen, 157/. ; Castles of the Two Brothers, 147/.; Boppart, 1201.; Peterhof, 1571. ; Marksburg, 152/. ; Oberlahnstein, 1471. ; Entrance of the Lahn, 147/.; The Back of Ehrenbreitstein, from Pfaffen, 68/.; From Ehrenbreitstein, 157/.; The Quay at Coblenz, 1361. ; Bridge over the Moselle, Coblenz, 1471. ; Neuwied and Weissenthurm, 225]. ; Andernach, 115/.; Roman Tower at Andernach, 105/. ; Hammerstein, 126/.; Remagen and _ Lintz, 131/. ; Rolandswerth Nunnery, with Drachen- fels, 141/.; Drachenfels and Nunnery, 1261. ; Godesberg, 94/.; Rhine Gate, Cologne, 147/. ; Cologne, 2941. Other drawings : London, from the windows of 45, Grosvenor Place, when in the possession of Walter Fawkes, Esq., 2621. ; Windermere, 1,260/. ; Ulleswater, 3201. ; High Force, fall of the Tees, 220/.; Fountains Abbey, 2201. ; Valley of the Washburne and Lindley Bridge, 1361. ; In Wharfedale, with temple and ducks in a pond, 68/.; In Wharfedale, with rustic bridge, 68/. ; Loch Fyne, 724l. ; Vevey, Lake of Geneva, 9971. ; Sallenches, 4201. ; The ! | Valley of Chamouni, 8401. ; Lausanne and the | Lake of Geneva, 735/. ; Source of the Arveron, 215/. ; Rome, from Monte Mario, 472/.; Rome, from the Pincian Hill, 3671. ; Mount Vesuvius | in Eruption, 367/.; Naples, 2151.; Venice, from Fusina, 661/.; The Pyramids, 1261. ; Stonehenge, 231/.; Lake of Lucerne, from Fluelen, 2,310/.; Mont Blane, from the Val d’Aosta, 1,050. Pictures: The Lake of Geneva, from above Vevey, and looking towards the valley of the Rhone, 2,625/. ; A Scene in the Apennines, with peasants driving sheep, 8081. ; The Victory returning from Trafalgar, beating up Channel in three positions, fresh breeze, 2,1521. ; The Sun rising in a Mist, 1,0501. On the 28th ult. the following pictures by old masters, also the property of Mr. Ayscough Fawkes: J. B. Greuze, The Relentless Father, 147].; A Girl and Kid, 630/. A. Cuyp, A View over a River, with churches and windmills in the distance, 7871. N. Hondekoeter, A Garden Scene, with a peacock and peahen, and other birds, 6301. J. Weenix, A Garden Scene, with a dead hare suspended from a sculptured vase, 777l.; Dead Game and Dog, with implements of the chase, 1687. On the same day the following, from the Stover Collection. Drawing: After L. Da Vinci, Head of Christ and tive of the Apostles (Studies from ‘The Last Supper’), 89/. Pic- tures: T. Gainsborough, Lord A. Hamilton, in blue silk Van Dyck dress, with lace collar and sleeves, 4,410/.; Alexander, Duke of Hamilton, in black Van Dyck dress, 1,5751. J. Hoppner, A Lady, with powdered hair, black dress, and white kerchief, 1,575/. Sir H. Raeburn, Prof. John Playfair, 220). P. Potter, The Dairy Farm, 6,090/. M. Hobbema, A Woody Land- scape, with a cottage under a group of trees, 2,7301. A. Ostade, A Village Scene, with four peasants seated round a barrel outside a cabaret, 2521. G. Dow, An Interior of an Apartment, with a trumpeter seated at a table drinking, 2941. Van Dyck, Queen Henrietta Maria, in a green silk dress, 1,050. ; The Horses of Phaeton, 1261. C. Jansens, Portrait of a Gentleman, in a black dress, 168/. L. Backhuysen, A Grand Sea View, with the English Fleet, 619]. G. Schelken, A Woman opening a Shutter, 110/. Van Harpe, The Pot of Beer, 1261. Rem- brandt, A Philosopher, seated, his left arm resting on a book, 315]. Claude, A View of Tivoli, with the temple of the Sibyl and the palace of the Czesars in the background, 168/. Titian, The Adoration of the Shepherds, 126I. Raffaelle, The Escape of Cleelia and her Com- panions from Porsenna, 110/. G. Romano, Apollo and the Muses Dancing, 105/. J. Ruys- dael, A Grand Mountainous Landscape, 504J. J. Wynants and Lingelbach, A Grand Woody Landscape, 199. Also the following, from various collections. Pictures: F. Guardi, A View near Venice, with a ruined arch and figures, 105/. C. Roselli, An Altarpiece, with the Madonna and Infant Christ enthroned, 105/. Claude Lorraine, Mount Helicon, 299). J. Van der Heyden, A View in a Dutch Town, 220]. Sir J. Rey- nolds, Frances Catherine, Countess of Dart- mouth, 525/.; William, second Earl of Dart- mouth, in peer’s robes, 1311.; Portrait of Him- self, 162/.; The Marquis of Granby, leaning on a mortar, 525]. Van Dyck, The Marquis de Vieuville, 945). H. A*., Interior of an Apart- ment, with a lady in white satin dress, 4511. G. Romney, The Bashful Child, 997/.; The Shy Child, 798/.; Lady Hamilton, with her hands clasped, 399J.; The Coy Child, 651/.; A Mother and Child, 183/.; Lady Hamilton as Circe, 4,042/.; Cupid and Psyche, 168/.; Mac- beth and the Witches, 262/.; Portrait of Hayley, 141/.; Head of Lady Hamilton, 204/. Sculp- ture: Head of a Bacchante, 501. Venus, after Canova, 84/. B. E. Spence, Highland Mary, 115!. J. Gibson, The Tinted Venus, 1,837/. Sine-Art Gossip, Messrs. CuristrE, Manson & Woops will sell on the 7th inst. Mulready’s portrait of Mr. Sheepshanks ; Mr. J. Faed’s portrait of Wilkie ; Wilkie’s study for ‘The Burial of the Scottish Regalia,’ all drawings ; and various pictures by E. W. Cooke, Smith of Chichester, and others. Many of the fine pictures at Mulgrave Castle, Whitby, are, in consequence of the death of the Marquis of Normanby, to be sold on the 18th inst. by Messrs. Christie. Manson & Woods. We described these and other works in the same gallery in No. XXXYV. of ‘‘ The Private Collections of England” (Athen. No. 2608, October 30th, 1877), and in doing so were favoured by the late Dowager Marchioness of Normanby not only with special permission, which was generally withheld, but with much anecdotic and historic matter, of which she was the chief possessor. TuHE lamented death of the Earl of Carnarvon isa serious blow to the British Archzeological Association. He was its President, and intended to open the forty-seventh Annual Congress at Oxford on Monday next. It is understood that the Earl of Winchilsea and Nottingham, Presi- dent of the Association at the Lincoln Congress last year, has kindly undertaken at a very short notice to fill the duties of acting president, and to deliver, it is hoped, an address. A CoRRESPONDENT writes :— ‘* All who are interested in the Roman antiquities of England will be pleased to know that an oppor- tunity is about to be afforded of seeing the cele- brated pavement at Woodchester, which, after an interval of ten years, will be uncovered on Tuesday, July 29th, and will continue on view until August llth. This pavement, with its beautiful mosaic of tessere, formed part of an extensive Roman villa which formerly stood amidst the Cotswold Hills, overlooking the lovely valley between Stroud and Nailsworth. Although mentioned by Camden in 1695, it does not appear to have been opened until nearly a century later, when Samuel Lysons was enabled to trace the dimensions of the entire build- ing, the extent of which may be gathered from the fact that one gallery alone measured 114 ft. in length. Besides this gallery there were several rooms of considerable size; the hall, 48ft. 10in. square, was highly decorated with mosaic flooring, and this is the part which will be uncovered. The general design is that of a circular area 25 ft. in diameter. This area is surrounded by a_ border, within which and the circular space are to be found the representations of birds and beasts; some of these have been destroyed, but those remaining are well worthy of inspection, retaining a beauty and freshness of colouring which age has not been able to dim. The harmony of colouring is a striking feature of the whole design, and indicates the superior workmanship which must have been em- ployed. On the last occasion when this pavement was uncovered it was visited by a large number of persons, all of whom expressed their unqualified admiration.” Tue forthcoming number of the Archeological Journal will contain the following papers: ‘Burton Church, Sussex,’ by Mr. J. L. André ; ‘Further Discoveries at the Roman Baths in Bath, and the Probable Date of their First Formation,’ by the late Prebendary Scarth ; ‘On the Whitefriars or Carmelites of Hulne, Northumberland’ by Mr. W. H. St. John Hope; ‘English Wrought Iron-work from the Thirteenth Century,’ by Mr. H. Longden; ‘Notice of Sculptures of Oriental Design at Bredwardine and Moccas, Herefordshire,’ by the Rev. Greville I. Chester; ‘On Early Methods of Bell-founding,’ by Canon Raven; ‘Anglo-Norman Ornament compared with De- signs in Anglo-Norman MSS.,’ by Mr. J. Park Harrison ; ‘On the Norman Font in the Church of Toftrees, Norfolk,’ by Mr. J. E. Bale ; and ‘The Unpublished Material for a History of the County of Norfolk,’ by Mr. W. Rye. Tue old ‘‘ Washington House,” in Fredericks- burg, Virginia—in which the mother of George Washington lived and died, and near which she is buried—has been purchased by the Virginia Society for the Preservation of Virginia Anti- 7+ ae ns
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XUM N° 3271, Jury 5, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 41 quities for 4,000 dollars. It will be turned into , a museum of antiquities. THE meeting of the Society for the Preser- vation of the Monuments of Ancient Egypt, which we have already announced for Wednes- day next, will be held in the rooms of the Society of Antiquaries at Burlington House. A NEW gallery, comprising six salles, has been opened in the Musée de Sculpture Comparée, on the Trocadéro, Paris. It is the counterpart of the gallery already opened on the opposite side of the same building. Recent experience has convinced us it is most inconvenient to students that the Louvre, Luxembourg, and Trocadéro museums should be all closed on Mondays, so that the visitor has no opportunity for utilizing those days at any one of them. Ir has always been matter of regret to students of Oriental archeology that the late Rogers Pasha left incomplete his work on the heraldic devices of the Musulman princes. We are glad, therefore, to be able to announce that another distinguished Orientalist, his Excel- lency Yacoub Artin Pasha, has taken the subject in hand, and is now having engraved a large collection of coats of arms of the princes of the Fatimy and Eyoub dynasties and of the Mem- look sultans, taken from objects of ceramic art, glass, metal work, and architectural decoration. It is expected that the volume will be ready for publication during the ensuing winter. MUSIC ——— THE WEEK. Sr. JamMes’s HAtu.—Philharmonic Concerts. Concerts. WE are nearing the close of the season, and though performances are still numer- ous, the majority of them have little intrinsic musical interest. The Philharmonic Society concluded its season last Saturday, Bee- thoven’s Ninth Symphony being the only important feature of the programme. If not ideally perfect, the rendering of this exacting work was on the whole creditable, both on the part of the orchestra and the chorus, the latter, we believe, consisting of members of the disbanded Novello Choir. The soloists were Miss Fillunger, Miss Hilda Wilson, Mr. Maldwyn Humphreys, and Mr. Frank H. Morton. The same quartet took part in a somewhat unsatisfactory rendering of Costa’s quartet in canon, ‘‘Ecco quel fiero istante.’ M. Ysaye’s splendid tone and technique enabled him to give a most effective performance of Spohr’s ‘Violin Concerto in p minor, No. 9, a work which, however, now sounds rather faded, notwithstanding the unquestionable beauty of the popular adagio in Fr. Macfarren’s ‘Overture to ‘Chevy Chase’ completed the programme. The demonstration in favour of Mr. F. H. Cowen at the close of the concert was well deserved. He has tho- roughly proved his fitness for his duties, though he has been greatly hampered in the fulfilment of them by the large proportion of the time available for rehearsals having been taken up by the foreign composers who were invited to conduct their own works. Perhaps next season the directors will be less liberal in this matter, as, with the ex- ception of Dvorik’s Symphony in a, not one of the novelties from abroad has proved wholly satisfactory. Still, the spirit with which the Philharmonic Society is being directed at present deserves acknowledgment, and it is pleasant to learn that financially the season has been satisfactory. Richter The programme of the Richter Concert, which was given in conjunction with the Wagner Society on Monday, was attractive, | although it contained no novelties, and there- | : : . | drawing an immense audience. fore need not be dealt with at length. No description or criticism is required of the overtures to ‘Rienzi’ and ‘ Der Fliegende Hollander,’ the final scenes in ‘Die Wal- kiire’ and ‘ Gitterdimmerung,’ Elizabeth’s Greeting and Wolfram’s monologue from ‘Tannhauser,’ or the Prelude and Finale from ‘ Tristan und Isolde.’ It would surely have been well to have signalized a special oceasion of this kind by the performance of one or more selections hitherto unheard from ‘The Nibelung’s Ring.’ The opening scene and Loge’s narration from ‘Das Rheingold’; the fourth scene from the second act of ‘Die Walkiire’; the scenes between Mime and Siegfried and between Mime and Wotan from the first act of ‘Siegfried’; the humorous scene between the Wanderer and Siegfried from the third act of the same work ; the splendid parting duet of Siegfried and Briinnhilde in ‘Gotter- dimmerung,’ and also the fine scene between Briinnhilde and Waltraute, which has never yet been heard in London—these by no means exhaust the list of excerpts which are available for concert purposes. Concerning last Monday’s concert it is only necessary to add that the work of tha orchestra was splendidly executed, and that Miss Pauline Cramer and Mr. Henschel were both ad- mirable in their conception of the vocal items. Miss Cramer must be specially com- plimented, her singing, both in method and intonation, showing a marked improvement on all her previous efforts. Rlusical Gossip, Ir the historical concert given by Signor Franceschetti on Thursday last week had taken place in a public concert-room and at a less busy time it would have commanded considerable attention. It was principally made up of music by old Italian composers, including Gabriell Fallamero (circa 1500), Tartini, Jacopo Peri (the founder of the modern lyric drama), Boc- carini, Durante, Paradies, Pergolese, and others. The concert-giver was assisted by Signori Vinci, De Piccolellis, Dabiero, and Mancinelli. THE principal items in the concert at the Royal College of Music on the same day were Beethoven’s Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1, and Brahms’s Sonata in @ for piano and violin, Op. 78. Mapame CELuini’s concert, also on Thursday, was a decidedly mixed entertainment, some of the performers showing no fitness whatever for their appearance at a public performance in St. James’s Hall. This remark, of course, does not apply to Madame Nordica, Miss Eleanor Rees, Mr. Arthur Oswald, or M. Tivadar Nachéz, nor to Madame Cellini’s pupil Madame Newling, who may do well with further voice training. To finish with the performances of this busy day, it must be recorded that ‘Rigoletto’ was per- formed for the first time this season at the Royal Italian Opera, with M. Lassalle as the jester, Madame Melba as Gilda, Madame Scalchi as Maddalena, and Signor Valero as the Duke. Except as to the last-named artist, who achieved some success, this is a familiar cast, though M. Lassalle played the leading part for the first time in Italian. Vocally his presentation is, of course, admirable, but dramatically it left much to desire. Not only Ronconi, who as a singer was not to be compared with the French bari- tone, but several of Ronconi’s successors have acted more convincingly and picturesquely. THERE was little or no genuine musical interest in Madame Zoé Caryll’s concert at St. James’s Hall on Friday afternoon last week, but the galaxy of artists announced had the effect of As M. Jean de Reszke was engaged to appear in ‘Le Pro- phéte’ on the same evening, few were probably surprised at the apology made in his behalf. The efforts of M. E. de Reszke, M. Lassalle, Madame Melba, Madame Fursch-Madi, M. Nachéz, and others, do not call for comment. Madame Caryll is a competent pianist, but she was rather overweighted in Liszt’s ‘ Hungarian’ Fantasia, which is only effective when played with the utmost vigour and abandon. Madame Sarah Bernhardt’s recital was a failure, the artist being evidently in a state of suffering. Mr. Cowen conducted the concert. Ir is equally unnecessary to dwell on the concert at the Albert Hall on Saturday after- noon, at which Madame Patti made her first appearance since her recent illness. Her sing- ing showed that she has not yet fully recovered her vocal powers, and under the circumstances she may be excused for confining herself to the most hackneyed pieces in her limited concert repertory. A CONCERT was given at St. James’s Hall on Friday evening last week in aid of the fund for the proposed municipal band for London. The committee propose to engage the London Military Band, under the direction of Mr. Dan Godfrey, jun., and it was this able force of instrumentalists which took the principal part in the programme of the present entertainment. The leading items were Mendelssohn’s Military Overture, Délibes’s ‘Sylvia’ Suite, Sullivan’s overture ‘ Di Ballo,’ and Weber’s Clarinet Con- certo, Op. 74, the solo part of which was re- markably well played by Mr. Alec Smith. Madame Scealchi, M. Tivadar Nachéz, and others, contributed solos. The concert was very thinly attended, but this was probably owing to the plethora of music this season rather than to indifference concerning the object in view. Miss Amy Fioop-Porter, who gave a violon- cello recital at the Steinway Hall on Monday afternoon, exhibited considerable mastery over her somewhat unfeminine instrument. In Grieg’s Sonata in A minor, Op. 36, and various solos Miss Porter not only showed remarkable executive ability, but good tone and much refine- ment of style. Her sister, Miss Nellie Flood- Porter, is an able flautist. Miss Adéle Myers (soprano) and M. Jules Hollander (pianist) gave valuable assistance in the concert. Two concerts, consisting to a large extent of Welsh music, took place in St. James’s Hall on Wednesday. That of Mr. John Thomas, in the afternoon, included a musicianly duet for two harps in E flat minor, and in three move- ments, by the concert -giver; also an unpub- lished Trio in F minor, for harp, violin, and violoncello, by Spohr. This, however, proved to be a very poor work, of little intrinsic value. Among the artists who assisted Mr. Thomas were Miles. Marianne and Clara Eissler, Madame Edith Wynne, Madame Hope Glenn, Miss Liza Lehmann, and Messrs. Ben Davies, David Hughes, J. Hollman, James Sauvage, and Dyved Lewis. There was a band of twenty harps. THE evening concert was given for the benefit of the Morfa Colliery explosion fund. A choir of one hundred ladies from Cardiff, under the direction of Mrs. Clara Novello Davies, dis- played admirable tone, precision, and style in Roeckel’s unpretentious cantata ‘ Westward Ho!’ and other pieces to the curious accompani- ment of organ and twenty pianists on ten Bechstein pianos. The effect of this was rather monotonous, but not unpleasing. Mr. Hirwen Jones, Mr. Ffrangcon Davies, and M. Johannes Wolff took part in the concert.
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42 THE ATHENZUM N° 3271, Jury 5, 90
THE programmes of the remaining concerts mentioned in our lists from Thursday of last to Wednesday of this week were miscellaneous and contained nothing of interest to musicians. It is equally undesirable to criticize the second piano recital of Miss Else Sonntag at the Steinway Hall on Tuesday evening. The friends of this young lady are ill advised to permit her to appear on the public platform, as she is not far beyond the elementary stage of pianoforte playing. WE have received an index to the four volumes of Sir George Grove’s ‘ Dictionary of Music and Musicians,’ compiled by Mrs. Ed- mond R. Wodehouse (Macmillan & Co.). It is uniform with the dictionary itself, and is very copious, forming a volume of nearly two hun- dred pages. Assuming the general accuracy of the index, proof of which could only be fur- nished by frequent use, its value as a supple- ment to the main work could scarcely be over- estimated. XAVIER SCHARWENKA is at work upon a grand opera, based upon a Gothic subject, the already chosen title being ‘Masaswintha.’ The first two acts are finished, and it is said that the work promises to be its composer’s master- piece. Tue new Bellini Theatre erected at Catania, the composer’s birthplace, has been inaugurated with a performance of ‘Norma.’ The building is said to be of handsome proportions and rich in decoration. Accorpine to Le Ménestrel a conservatoire of music is to be founded by private enterprise at Malta. It will be under the direction of Signor Paolino Vassallo.
CONCERTS, &c., NEXT WEEK. Mon. Miss Amy Sherwin’s Concert, 3.30, Princes’ Hall. — Soirée Musicale in aid of St. John’s Hospital, 8, Princes’ Hall. - Reyal Italian Opera. Tvrs. Laying the Foundation Stone of the Royal College of Music by the Prince of Wales, 12.30. — Mile, Jeanne Douste’s Pianoforte Recital, 3, Princes’ Hall. a Royal Italian Opera. Wen. Trinity College Chamber Concert, 8, Princes’ Hall. — Royal Italian Opera. Tuurs. Herr von zur Miihlen’s Vocal Recital, 3, Princes’ Hall. - — Society of Musicians, Handel Festival, 7, Westminster ey — Royal College of Music Concert, 8, Alexandra House. os Royal Italian Opera. Fri. Royal Italian Opera. Sar. London Conservatoire Concert, 8, Princes’ Hall. a Royal Italian Opera.
DRAMA —_o— THE WEEK. 8ST. JAMES’s.—‘ Your Wife,’ a Farcical Comedy adapted from the French. By Justin Huntly McCarthy.—‘ Old Friends,’ a Play in One Act. By Lady Greville. AVENUE.—Afternoon Representation ; ‘ Cyrene,’ a Play in Three Acts. By Alfred C. Calmour. SrRaND.—Afternoon Performance: Revival of ‘ Fazio.’ ‘Your Wires,’ with which Mr. Arthur Bourchier began his management of the St. James’s Theatre, is an adaptation of ‘ Préte- moi ta Femme,’ by M. Maurice Desvalliéres, a grandson of Ernest Legouvé. The original, which was in two acts, was produced in September, 1883, at the Palais Royal, with MM. Milher, Numa, and Raimond in the principal parts. A somewhat dangerous experiment has been tried in affixing a third act to a piece which proved originally too long. Mr. McCarthy has, however, accomplished his task with a fair measure of ability ; his characters are comically con- ceived, and his dialogue, which includes some satire upon modern “ facts,” is happy. The entire action, which passes in one scene, shows the difficulties of a youth who has drawn from his uncle a double allowance on the pretence of being married, and on the unexpected arrival of that relative from Central Africa is compelled to borrow a wife and a house from a friend. Such moderate amount of suggestion as the | ' however, and she lacks the capacity to fuse
original possessed has been excised, and | the play, though flimsy as it can well be, is | perfectly innocent and moderately mirthful. | Mr. Bourchier played with some vivacity in the principal character; and Miss Annie Irish, Miss Adrienne Dairolles, Miss Edith Chester, and Messrs. Lawford, Everill, and De Lange took part in an acceptable inter- pretation. ‘Old Friends’ is a tender, but rather melancholy story of self-sacrifice on the part of a girl who gives up her lover toa younger sister. It furnishes opportunity for some delicate and touching acting by Miss Annie Irish, but its conclusion is not wholly palatable. Mr. Gilbert Farquhar plays a retired naval officer, and Mr. Laurence Cautley a not very staunch lover. In ‘Cyrene’ Mr. Calmour has repeated an experiment akin to that he attempted in ‘The Amber Heart.’ Taking a love story of the simplest character, he has placed it in medizval times, provided it with scenic accessories, and told it in blank verse. Nursing back to sight a king who has learnt to love her, Cyrene, in the indul- gence of a not very comprehensible whim, describes herself to her blind lover as other than she is. Instead of A daughter of the gods divinely tall And most divinely fair, she depicts herself as one with ‘‘ Phoebus’ armorous kisses black.’’ The monarch, re- covering his vision, refuses the pale-faced bride that presents herself, and espouses her swarthy and treacherous companion Ciprissa. Cyrene disappears, but hearing that the King, through sorrow at his unhappy union, is once more losing his sight, reappears in page’s costume to bring a report of her own death and to wait upon him in disguise. Ciprissa, who recognizes her, is not un- naturally jealous, and, seeking to bring about her death, succeeds instead in arousing the jealousy of her lover, by whom she is slain. This legend is told at needless length and in the blankest of blank verse. Thanks, however, to some remarkable acting it ob- tained warm recognition. Mr. Henry Neville, who played the King, has seldom been seen to equal advantage. Mr. Arthur Stirling delivered the lines assigned him with a sonorousness and an impressiveness that almost made them sound like poetry. Miss Marion Terry played Cyrene in a style that showed how much of a loss is her absence from the stage; and Miss Lilian Hingston, replacing at shortest notice Miss Vane, gave a very fateful character to Ciprissa. In smaller parts Mr. Hamilton Knight and Miss Clara Jecks were good. Like modern stage jewellery, Mr. Cal- mour’s piece may pass with the unskilful fora gem. It is, however, paste. A representation at the Strand of Mil- man’s ‘ Fazio’ served to introduce to the London stage, in Miss Claire Ivanowa, a young actress from whom something is to be hoped. To attractions of face, figure, and voice the new-comer adds some know- ledge of stage business. In the presenta- tion of emotion and passion she shows genuine power. Her transitions are abrupt, into a whole the separate traits which arrest
attention.
Dramatic Gossip. Durine the week Mr. Irving and Miss Terry have been playing at the Grand Theatre in ‘The Bells.’ Next week they will appear in ‘Louis XI.’ ‘Papa’s Honeymoon,’ by Messrs. Sylvain Mayer and W. B. Tarpey, produced at the Criterion on the afternoon of Saturday last, is said to be an adaptation from the German. It is a farcical comedy, of no great inherent vitality, in which Mr. Blakeley played a middle-aged cit who in- troduces into his family circle a stepmother in the disguise of a governess. Mr. Giddens, Mr. Graham, Miss Forsyth, and Miss Ellaline Terriss took part in the performance. As was to be feared, the strength of Madame Sarah Bernhardt gave way under the strain of repeated performances of ‘ Jeanne d’Arc,’ and in one case the representation had to be inter- rupted and the audience dismissed. She is, however, so far recovered as to undertake to-day performances of ‘Jeanne d’Are’ in the morning and ‘La Dame aux Camélias’ in the evening, a sufticiently indiscreet proceeding it might be held. ‘Adrienne Lecouvreur’ and ‘ La Tosca,’ the former given last night, are also to be per- formed during the coming week. MapamMeE DE NavcazE appeared on Tuesday at the Globe as the heroine of a play entitled ‘Vera,’ the subject of which is Russian. She has a good stage presence and some taste and knowledge of art. Her accent is slightly foreign. Ar the close of the performances of the Gaiety burlesque company, Mr. Nat Goodwin, the American actor, will appear at the Gaiety in a three-act comedy by Messrs. Brander Matthews and George H. Jessop, entitled ‘A Gold Mine.’ Tue production of ‘The Anonymous Letter,’ by Messrs. Mark Ambient and Latimer, is again postponed, this time until October. Messrs. RicHarp Davey AND WALTER Pottock have completed a romantic drama, the title of which, ‘ Holyrood,’ explains its subject- matter. Tue dramatic library of the late E. L Blan- chard, containing many volumes of much in- terest, is sold to-day by Messrs. Sotheby. Q.C. writes :— “T have read with much pleasure your apprecia- tive criticism of the performance of the ‘ Antigone ’ at Bradfield, a performance which reflected the greatest credit on all who were engaged in it. There was, however, one matter which I hoped you would have noticed, and which I confess seemed to me a serious blemish in the declamation, otherwise ad- mirable— namely, that the iambic rhythm was marred by sounding all the elided syllables and opening the contractions, I do not know what the justification for this practice may be, but it cer- tainly produced a very unpleasant effect on my ear, in many lines, where more than one elision was needed, quite obliterating all traces of the rhythm, whether of the iambus or of the anapest. Whatever diversity of opinion there may be as to the true pronunciation of Greek, it is obvious, at all events, that the rhythmic ictus must have been well defined. It is impossible to suppose that the lines which have come down to us should have been con- structed according to rules capable of the most exact statement, resting, as it does, upon an ex- amination of innumerable instances, unless this was the case. This rhythm, at all events, is capable of being in some measure reproduced to our ear, and it seems a pity that it should be sacrificed.”
NEXT WEEK’S NOVELTIES AND REVIVALS. Tves. Lyceum (Evening), Revival of ‘ Taming of the Shrew.’ Wen. Her Majesty’s (Evening), Revival! of La Tosca’ Tuurs. St. James's /Afternoon). Revival of ‘Frou- Frou’ in aid of Buttercup and Daisy Fund. (These announcements are subject to changes of plan on the part of managers. ]
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY Post. For Twelve Months aan one we << 25 3 For Six Months __... ooo oe an “ 2S
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4 XUM N° 3272, Jury 12, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 55 SATURDAY, JULY 12, 1890. CONTENTS. Tue MEMOIRS OF THE DUKE OF SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA 55 Tue HEBREW TEXT OF THE BOOKS OF SAMUEL 56 Dr. Hake’s NEW PoEMS « ove ose eco we «56 HIGHLAND LETTERS OF TWO CENTURIES ose a A Lapizs’ ToUR ROUND THE WORLD ©... ose a aan NovkELs oF THE WEEK a see ae ove ag: Oug LIBRARY TABLE—LisT oF NEW BOOKS .... 61—62 *“Lonpon Criry’; THE GUTENBERG CELEBRATION In CoLOGNE; SALES; ‘PRINCE DorRus’; THE OFFICIAL DESPATCHES OF THE GREAT REBELLION 62—63 LITERARY GOSSIP an “oh one ah ao a ScreNcE—THE VOYAGE OF THE CHALLENGER; LIBRARY TABLE; MR. W. KircHEN PARKER, F.R.S.; THE RoyaAt UNITED SERVICE INSTITUTION; ASTRO- ~ NOMICAL NorTEs ; SOCIETIES; MEETINGS; Gossip 65—69 Frvz ARTS—LERMOLIEFF ON THE BORGHESE GALLERY ; THE ARCHAOLOGICAL SOCIETIES; NOTES FROM ATHENS; THE BRITISH ARCHOLOGICAL ASSO- CIATION AT OXFORD; THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ATHENS; SALES; GOSSIP ius ooo ose 69—72 Music—THE WEEK; LIBRARY TABLE; GossIP; CON- ceRTS, &C., NEXT WEEK on ooo one 73—74 DRaMa—BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE COMEDIE FRAN- GAISE ; THE WEEK; Gossip; NExT WEEK’s NOVEL- TIES 2 ove ove cee oss ooo sus 74—75 MISCELLANEA ... oes ie coe a aes oo. LITERATURE —_~— Aus meinem Leben und aus meiner Zeit. Von Ernst II., Herzog von Sachsen-Coburg- Gotha. Dritter Band. (Berlin, Hertz.) Memoirs of Ernest II., Duke of Saxe-Coburg- Gotha. Vols. III. and IV. Translated from the German by Percy Andreae, Ph.D. (Remington & Co.) Every one recognizes that the period with which the Duke of Saxe-Coburg deals in the last volume of his ‘Memoirs’ is one of the most important in modern history. During its progress Italy and Germany each of them became a united power, and the great politi- cal forces of the Continent were combined in wholly new ways. The results accomplished in this striking time were not, of course, in any weighty sense due to accidental causes. During at least two generations the way had been prepared for them, and all serious students of international politics were aware that some such changes had become inevit- able. But the transformation of Europe was effected much more suddenly than any one anticipated. The energies below the surface, when concentrated for action, did their work so swiftly and thoroughly that the world had hardly time to realize the full meaning of what was being done. Even now there are prominent politicians who can scarcely be said to have vividly and accurately appreciated the far-reaching sig- nificance of the era which, so far as its military aspects are concerned, began with the war of 1859 and ended with that of 1870 and 1871. Readers of the Duke’s previous volumes probably expected that his reminiscences of this great epoch would be more important than those of the earlier periods of his life. This anticipation has not been fulfilled. Perhaps he was not admitted quite so freely behind the scenes after the Prince Consort’s death; or it may be that the time has not yet come for the publication of all the facts he has privately recorded. At any rate, he throws no fresh light on the central causes which were at work during the years he reviews; it is only about matters of minor interest that he tells his readers anything that was not in substance already known. Never- theless students of recent history will find that the volume is worth reading, for it con- tains many good sketches of eminent men, and the author never fails to describe clearly and effectively the events with which he has been personally associated. In the early chapters of the volume he presents a vivid picture of the confusion created in Europe by the immediate results of the war of 1859. In Germany a panic was produced by Napoleon’s demand for Savoy and Nice on the ground that France needed a rectification of frontier. If a recti- fication of frontier was considered neces- sary in one quarter, it might, the Germans thought, be considered equally necessary in another; and so they prepared themselves for an attempt by the French Emperor to seize some part of their western territory. According to evidence laid before the Duke at the time, the people of the Bavarian Palatinate believed that the annexation of their district to France was unavoidable; and the prospect does not seem to have caused them much uneasiness. The German people as a whole, however, strongly resented the idea of French aggression, and their feeling on the matter was shared by the sovereigns of the various German states. This was made sufficiently plain to Napoleon during his visit to Baden-Baden in 1860, when he met the Prince Regent of Prussia— afterwards William I.—and some other Ger- man rulers. In the course of this visit the Duke of Coburg had a private interview with Napoleon, who complained bitterly of what he professed to be the utter misrepre- sentation of his views and motives. The Duke did not quite trust him, but received the impression that the Emperor believed an attack on Germany to be a task beyond his resources at the time. Napoleon was so frank as to confess that he himself had been surprised by the triumph of France in the war with Austria. Says the Duke :— **He detailed the progress of events in the Italian war, and said he had succeeded better than he had ever expected; that he had seen the Austrian army in the most favourable light ; and that it had failed in the campaign only from a certain want of energy, and from the excessive unwillingness of the individual commanders to accept any kind of responsibility.” The dread of French designs gave a powerful impetus to the movement in Ger- many for national unity. It was generally felt that the Confederation had become useless, and that if Germany was to be secure it was necessary for her to have some kind of central government that would be capable of taking prompt and definite action in times of peril. The views of Austria and Prussia on the subject, however, were irre- concilable. Austria had been so long accus- tomed to hold the leading place in Germany that she could not be persuaded to abate her pretensions. At Berlin, on the other hand, every one was convinced that Prussia had a right to at least an equal voice in the control of German affairs; and the Prussian Govern- ment was more advanced than the Austrian in its estimate of the place which properly belonged to popular representation in any new scheme of national reorganization. The Frankfort Congress of Princes, summoned | : | Prince that the King’s scruples were over- by Austria in 1863, brought out distinctly the radical differences by which the two states were separated from one another. With this Congress Prussia declined to have | anything todo. The Duke of Saxe-Coburg thought she was mistaken, and gave free expression to his opinion in a letter to the | | | Prussian Crown Prince, by whom it was submitted to King William. The King’s comments, written on the margin of the letter and here reproduced, show how clear was the conception he had formed of his country’s rights, and how resolutely he was bent on maintaining them. About a year before the meeting of the Frankfort Congress the direction of Prussian policy had been placed in the hands of the statesman by whose diplomatic genius and imperious will the German problem was to be solved. Bismarck had had ample oppor- tunity of forming a decisive judgment as to the conditions by which the problem was affected, and before taking office had made up his mind that a settlement could be achieved only by the sword. The Duke says less about him than might have been expected, but appears to have no doubt that of all the forces by which German unity was accomplished the most vital was Bismarck’s masterful personal influence. Many details are given as to the Danish war, the complications which sprang from it, and the wars with Austria and France. The essential facts relating to these eubjects are so well known that it is unnecessary to follow the author in what he records about them ; but it is interesting to note how com- pletely public opinion with regard to Bis- marck changed as his policy was gradually unfolded. At the time of the Frankfort Congress he was the most unpopular man in Germany, for by his struggle with the Prussian Parliament he had given bitter offence to all who had any sympathy with Liberal ideas. His real aim in insisting upon the reorganization of the army was that Prussia might have at her disposal an instrument strong enough for the work that lay before her, and when the work was done it became easy even for Liberals to forgive the contempt he had shown for constitutional forms. Although opposed to the policy of Prussia in relation to the Frankfort Congress, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg had a much stronger general sympathy with her than with Austria; and it was as Prussia’s ally that he took part in the war of 1866. He was present at the battle of Langensalza, and no previous writer has given so full and lucid a description of the military complications and misunder- standings which preceded that engagement. After the surrender of the Hanoverian army he made his way, amid all sorts of diffi- culties, to Bohemia, where a place had been reserved for him at the headquarters of the Prussian Crown Prince. The best part of his narrative in this portion of the volume is that in which he depicts the various cur- rents of feeling and opinion about the terms of peace. King William, with his lofty notions of the divine right of reigning princes, did not at all like the idea of taking territory from any of the sovereigns who had opposed him. Bismarck’s influence was not yet strong enough to make him master of the situation, and it was mainly through the intervention of the Crown come. The Duke of Saxe-Coburg cordially agreed with the Crown Prince and Bismarck in their view of the matter, and his repre- sentations, being obviously impartial, seem to have had some effect in bringing about the ultimate decision.
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56 THE ATHENZXUM N° 8272, Jury 12,90 With regard to the Franco-German war, the Duke is of opinion that the responsibility for it did not immediately rest on the Em- peror Napoleon. He says :— ‘*When the question of the Hohenzollern candidature arose, I was one of those who thought it improbable that it could lead to an immediate danger of war. To no one who knew the Emperor of the French as I did could this have seemed credible unless he had known— what I only learned afterwards—that the health of the Emperor was far worse than the world supposed, and that he was consequently much less able than he had formerly been to resist those who surrounded him. The manner in which he was driven into the war still makes upon me the impression of a perfect martyrdom —a tragedy in which the hero plays a purely passive part.” In the paper which professed to consist of extracts from the Emperor Frederick’s diary, published after his death, it seemed to be claimed that to him alone was due the idea of the establishment of the German Empire as the result of the war with France. The Duke of Saxe-Coburg makes no allusion to this pretension, but states facts which finally dispose of it. He himself was strongly of opinion that the King of Prussia should be made German Emperor, and set forth this conviction in a memorandum addressed to Bismarck on the German Con- stitution. Having given the text of his memorandum, the Duke goes on to say :— ‘The answer of the Chancellor of the Con- federation—the date of which, October 12th, 1870, deserves attention—I am justified in re- garding as a document of high importance in the history of the origin of the new Empire. Count Bismarck declared expressly that all the essential ideas contained in my memorandum had been ‘for a long time’ his own, and added, ‘Since the beginning of this war they have been almost without limitation in the process of being realized.’” A new era began with the Treaty of Frankfort, and beyond that point the Duke does not continue his story. We have re- ferred only to some of the leading subjects of interest touched upon in the volume, and need scarcely say that there are a good many other matters worthy of notice. Espe- cially interesting, in this volume as in those that preceded it, are all the author’s refer- ences to the Prince Consort, for whom he had a warm affection as well as deep respect. Englishmen are accustomed to think of the Prince Consort chiefly as a man of gentle manners, delicate tact, and refined, artistic tastes. The Duke gives prominence to his vigorous intellectual life, and to the constant interest with which he watched and com- mented on the progress of events in Ger- many. At the time of his death the outlook for his native land seemed to be as dark as it had ever been at any period of its history. From many a phrase in his letters to his brother we may gather that nothing would have pleased him so much as to have been able to foresee the triumphant way in which the Fatherland was about to emerge from its perplexities. Of the translation by Dr. Andreae it is only necessary to say that, although neither fluent nor graceful, it has the merit of being accurate. Passages not likely to have much interest for English readers have been judi- ciously omitted. Notes on the Hebrew Text of the Books of Samuel, with an Introduction on Hebrew Palaography and the Ancient Versions and Facsimiles of Inscriptions. By the Rev. 8. R. Driver, D.D. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.) Or all books of the Old Testament, Samuel has suffered most in the trans- mission of the Hebrew text through the Masoretic school. There are smaller or larger omissions, which can, however, be filled up by the help of ancient versions, and more especially of the Septuagint. We frequently detect misunderstandings which are due to careless or ignorant scribes; and often words and passages are in the wrong places, while others are given twice over. Thenius was the first who pointed out these anomalies in 1842 by institut- ing a comparison of the Greek transla- tion with the Masoretic text. Other scholars tried to supplement Thenius with more or less success; but it was Prof. Wellhausen who in 1871 devoted a mono- graph to the different versions of Samuel in connexion with the Hebrew text. We cannot enumerate the many scholars who fol- lowed Wellhausen, and who in many points made valuable additions, amongst whom are in this country Prof. Kirkpatrick, of Cam- bridge, and the Rev. F. H. Woods, of St. John’s College, Oxford. We may, however, mention Dr. Klostermann’s contributions to the subject, made in 1887, which show the importance of Lucian’s recension of the Septuagint. Dr. Driver has naturally made use of all his predecessors, and has taken advantage of the MS. notes of the late Prof. Duncan H. Weir, extending as far as 2 Samuel iv. 13, which were offered to him. But, as he justly says in his preface, he has uniformly maintained an independent judg- ment, both with respect to Wellhausen and other scholars. Dr. Driver’s notes do not deal with the history of the text, but only with the philology, viz., with the principal idiomatic usages in the book, and with the variations that early translations offer. In order to make the student understand how the various errors crept into the Masoretictext, theauthor has rightly thought it well to supply an elaborate introduction, in which the following subjects are treated with clearness and accuracy: (1.) The early history of the Hebrew alphabet, in dealing with which Dr. Driver follows up the Tal- mudie sayings on this subject, and fur- nishes facsimiles and explanations of early Aramaic inscriptions, of the Siloam lines, of Maccabsean coins, and of later Hebrew, Phoenician, and Palmyrenian inscriptions, to which the stele of Mesha forms an appendix. (2.) The early Hebrew ortho- graphy, in treating which he shows (a) the misreadings from wrongly dividing the words, which were not separated in later times by points, as was the case in the Moabite and the Siloam inscriptions; (4) the scriptio plena, which sprang up in later times, and (ce) the form of the pronoun of the third person singular masculinewith “instead of ). (3.) The characteristics of the chief ancient versions of the Old Testament. This last chapter is the most important, and Dr. Driver has handled the matter in a mas- terly way. The notes which follow can only be de- scribed as very full and always to the point. The various theories are discussed, and the author gives his own opinion. The Hebrew restorations derived from the Septuagint or from other translations are in good Hebrew, and the grammatical explanations are sus- tained by happy quotation of parallel pas- sages of the Old Testament. Here Dr. Driver shows, as he had already shown in his trea- tise on the Hebrew tenses, that he is a consummate grammarian, and what is more, that he is quite at home in the Masorah. His emendations evince a profound know- ledge of the genius of the Hebrew language, and where he points out idiomatic usages his acquaintance with cognate Semiticlanguages is evident. Perhaps he introduces rather too many comparisons with Arabic, but that is just now the fashion. We doubt, for instance, whether the word 17N) (I. v. 9, A.V., ‘they had emerods in their secret parts ’’) can be connected with the Arabic + when 07> follows. The comparison of the word 1) (I. xiv. 16) with the Arabic cle is given as Dr. Weir’s suggestion, whilst it is to be found with the quotation in Aboo’l Walid’s ‘ Book of Roots.’ In rare cases sug- gestions are not quite followed up. For in- stance, I. ix. 12, the passage 7 732? 73n oyna many, A.V., “He is; behold, he is before you : make haste now, for he came to- day,’”’ is ingeniously corrected by Dr. Weir (according to the Septuagint) into 03°25? nn Dvn Any ANN, “lo, before you is the seer; now, just at present, he is come.” Why are then the words 01°73 INS °3 not corrected into OVNIANY*S inasmuch as another NN follows? In many cases Dr. Driver shrinks from hazarding an interpretation, for he says, ‘‘ There are some passages which, from whatever cause, defy, or elude explanation.” And this is one of the merits of Dr. Driver’s notes. He who can explain everything must often be wrong. Dr. Driver very seldom over- looks his predecessors. We have only noticed that a reference to Dr. Graetz’s remarkable study on the daguesh in the is omitted in I. i. 6, a.v. MOY; this word may rather be read 7YD4" —“to make her cry,” as in verse 7, “ therefore she wept.” Dr. Driver, in his modesty, hopes that his present volume may be found useful as a sequel to Mr. Spurrell’s ‘ Notes on Genesis.’ Mr. Spurrell’s book, as the author himself acknowledges, enjoyed Dr. Driver’s liberal help, and thus the latter is only pursuing in his notes on Samuel an idea of his own. We trust that he may continue his researches and comments on other Biblical books, either directly or indirectly. Such work will be useful not only to English students who care for the philology of the Hebrew language, but also to continental students, for Dr. Driver’s notes are clear and orderly—adjec- tives which could rarely be both applied to a German work of the kind. The New Day: Sonnets. By Thomas Gordon Hake. (Remington & Co.) Dr. Gorpon Haxe’s theory of the new day which he believes to be dawning for poetry is, to quote from one of the many earnest and beautiful sonnets in which he has em- bodied it, that
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N° 3272, Juty 12,90 THE ATHENAUM 57 The poetry of old is built on dream— A dream of beauty never coming true !— But Science shadows forth the nobler theme Of wondrous Nature ; be it sung by you ! Science and Nature, waiting hand in hand, Now on the threshold of the New Day stand. That Nature has always been the poet’s second soul, that Art itself is one of Nature’s mighty voices, are truths he would be the last to ignore—truths, indeed, which, under other forms, he himself urges again and again—nor does he forget that in all litera- tures the works of poets have given indi- cations of an affectionate observation of natural phenomena: but he thinks that, now Science is revealing Nature anew to mankind, it is for poetry to enter into the revelation and to speak with the strong in- spiration of knowledge as well as of love. He has no fear that philosophic research will lessen the poet’s reverence, will make him place the rainbow ‘‘in the dull catalogue of common things,” or will spoil the ‘‘ impulse from a vernal wood ”’; his creed is that with every onward step faithful inquirers see Nature greater, because they see with nearer and clearer vision, and more mys- teriously awful, because they discern more of her mysteries, and that, with Nature thus visible, there is a more glorious world for the poet than ever yet. He has no regret for lost illusions ; the truths they veiled are more beautiful. Yet these truths, as he con- ceives that the poet is to make them mani- fest, will not be mere plain hard facts; they will receive a deeper interpretation, for more is given to the poet taught by Nature than only material knowledge; she has special prompting for him and a speech “ which poets feel, but reason cannot reach.” The theory is noble; and it is not un- practical. In one sonnet Dr. Gordon Hake uses the ugly word “ science-poet”: we do not like the word, but why should what it represents not be? The feud between science and poetry is a foolish imagination ; and it is entirely a modern imagination. If ancient poetry clashes with recent science, it is not because ancient poetry was anti- scientific, but because ancient science is not recent science. It is clear enough that the earliest poets were among the earliest natural philosophers, and both in the use of myth and in metaphors and incidental allusions, and even in plain statements of physical facts and of received physical theories, they were the principal exponents to the unskilled public of the natural science of their times. If the Psalmist declared that the round world is fixed so fast that it cannot be moved, it was not by unconsciousness of contemporary science, but by an educated recognition of its teaching. And who but the poet to whom are ascribed the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes is he who spake of trees, from the cedar-tree that is in Libanus even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall, and spake also of beasts and of fowl and of creeping things and of fishes ? Homer surely—whether the blind Mzeonides or the composite ‘‘ other person of the same name ’’— was not a stranger to Nature’s teachings. There are critics who tell us that Greek poetry, on the whole, looked little to Nature; and they point to the dramatists to prove it: but they are scarcely right in the criterion. Taking the themes of the ex- tant dramas and their necessary treatment, there is no fit place for any such touches as show Shakspeare’s rural lore. And yet the Greek dramatists do infer in many a line, or even word, a feeling for Nature, an acquaint- ance with natural laws as known to the science of their time, as unmistakable to any reader who, unmindful of what he has been told to think about his author, tries to think with his author, as the fact that there is a water-course underneath is to the ob- servant wayfarer who sees a special green- ness and water-weeds curving along through what seems only firm grass-land. And apart from the dramas no one thinks of saying of what Greek poetry survives to us that it ignores Nature. No one accuses Latin poetry of such inobservance. The litera- tures of modern tongues all show poetry in sympathy with Nature and with such science of Nature as existed—at least they show it till a late period. There came a time when throughout literary Europe the poetry of Nature was in humiliating decadence: hackneyed epithets empirically applied did duty for description; the writers of verse might have been born blind for any indi- vidual observation they showed ; and they did not even take the trouble of noticing the common routine of Nature before their eyes, but rhymed along with their stock properties in flowers and singing-birds, re- gardless of seasons and habitats, in a way that must have driven gardeners and bird- catchers into bewildered lunacy, if any of them ever read the poems. Oddly enough, the blindness to Nature synchronized with the literary enthusiasm for rurality and frugality and bowers and sheep and rustic virtue in the moss-grown cot: the spurious worship of Nature crushed out the true. With poetry it was not merely what was written concerning natural objects that suf- fered from the prevailing unreality : there can be no such separation in poetry between the Nature which means Humanity and the Nature which means Humanity’s world as might have kept the poetic method observ- ing and truthful in the one case while imita- tively artificial in the other, and poetry became a strictly unnatural art. The very term ‘‘ poetic language,” which should mean the highest expression of truths, was made a synonym for exaggeration and for sham: sentences arranged wrong side up, or as arbitrarily as a: junior schoolboy’s imita- tions of Latin, were a trick of skill as ‘‘poetic inversions’; and there was no makeshift, from discrepant grammar to false fact, which could not be craftsmanlike as ‘‘ poetic licence.” Even through this period of conventional artifice, the higher writers now and again harked back to Nature for their counsellor ; but it must be owned that, as a whole, poetry was becoming a manner of speech rather than a spiritual and in- tellectual influence. And when, after a while, new poets began to look with their eyes and write what came of it, it seemed, from contrast, as if they had invented them- selves and were an unprecedented sort among literary creatures. Still, the period of inattention to Nature was but a brief hour in the long era of poetry, and the chronologically distinctive character of its verse products is in itself evidence that that brief hour was exceptional. As to the pre- sent time, the relation of poetry to Nature is so recognized that every poet, and almost | every poetaster, is, by the necessity and instinct of his vocation, to some extent a naturalist. But it is more than this that Dr. Gordon Hake would have of the poet. He asks for an interpreter who knows Nature ‘to the throbbing core,” an interpreter to whom she is known as she is to those who have made scientific study of her secrets. A modern Imlac, he will have his Rasselas account none a poet who fails to be not only imaginative and sensitive in the highest degree of the poetic temperament, but also an expert in science, familiar with its dis- coveries and past- master of its processes. And no doubt a man with such a tempera- ment and such an education would easily be pre-eminent among poets, and would, in especial, touch all that belonged to the material world of Nature with firmness and delicacy — the firmness that comes of cer- tainty, and the delicacy that comes of skilled strength. Yet is it so certain as Dr. Hake teaches—if we are to expound his sonnets according to the exegesis of Mr. Earl Hodg- son’s preface —that a systematic scientific education is strictly necessary for the poet ? Is it even shown by the evidence given us that science, or the absence of it, has a pre- ponderant influence in the poet’s impressions of Nature and his manner of observing it? Mr. Earl Hodgson cites, as the three known singers who have had a training in natural science, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Mr. Theodore Watts, and Dr. Hake himself: let us see how far the singing of these three is modified by their science. Dr. Holmes’s not at all: he has written much bright verse and some that is tender or even pathetic, and is always an acceptable lyrist, but he is not innately a poet, in the special sense of the word, and he has not the poetic love of Nature; consequently his references to natural phenomena are slight and merely commonplace — there are no sermons in stones and books in the running streams for him; and Natural Science has not sup- plied the lacking inspiration. It cannot be said that his poems are in any way different from what they would have been if science had formed no part of hie curriculum. As to Mr. Theodore Watts, Mr. Earl Hodgson by quoting his well-known ‘ Foreshadow- ings’ really shows convincingly how dif- ferent from science, and how independent of it, is intense poetic love of Nature. In ‘ Foreshadowings’ we have a poet’s artistic heartfelt observation of natural details and delight in their beauty, and that special poetic sympathy which makes such outward things seem as if they were somehow mani- festations of the human soul within him; but as to science, Mr. Watts might, for anything that appears in this sonnet, not know that the ‘bulrush spears” and ‘‘ broad - leaved lily -isles” belonged to botanical classification, that the rippling water had the slightest connexion witk hydrogen and oxygen, or that the stars had any pretensions to be worlds. What the poet saw—the secret of the poem—is the mystic ominous shadow that crept towards him and her (the darkening shadow of their own bright boat and happy selves), and the changes as the ripples that ‘‘ shook the stars to golden smiles” came to shake them to ‘‘ fiery tears,” and then While starry fingers wrote, And ripples shook the stars to a snake of fire.
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58 THE ATHENAUM N° 3272, Jury 12, ’90 Not to speak of the deeper human mean- ing—which is not the question now—the study of natural appearances is absolutely and minutely faithful; but as to science— a savage might have made the poem. Then, Dr. Hake himself does not blend his scientific experience with his poetic worship of Nature according to his own precept. Science is, to be sure, prominent in his present poems, but that is as a theme—almost an allegorical theme—for his enthusiasm ; scarcely at all as, in his own hands, the in- strument in the poetical exposition of Nature he would have science be. Of the doctrine of evolution, to which his editor refers in the preface as that which poets have mostly con- spicuously neglected by reason of their want of scientific training, we can find no mark in the sonnets ; the doctrine may have been in his mind—the preface shows that it must have been in his mind—in his welcomes of the New Day, but it has no guiding influence on his poetic expression. There is fervid zeal for Science, there is incidental infer- ence that the writer is himself a scientific expert, but, apart from that inference, the zeal, with all its splendid utterance, might conceivably be that of one who, regarding Science as the door to a new world, neither possessed its key nor looked to possess it. It may be that Dr. Hake deliberately re- solved to import no more of Science than his zeal for it into his sonnets of the New Day, for they are his clarion call to an un- named friend to be the “science-poet,” the New Day’s “ new interpreter.” Indeed, the enthusiasm with which he urges this high task—which surely must have been his own ambition—on another is as generous as it is remarkable. If any thought of him- self appears, it is but in such a line as ends the appeal of the tenth sonnet, Seize on the deathless prize, far-reaching friend ! And yet let one same scroll our memories blend ; or as My time may now be short, yours long may be, introduced into persuasions to Show Nature’s face as she to you appears. The almost passionate eagerness to see the great poetic mission he dreams of worthily undertaken gives an idiosyncratic intensity to these sonnets which is artistically and spiritually a great beauty in them, and which, though paralleled by a not less beautiful fervency of friendship, is a separate and a more exceptional feeling. The five sonnets beginning the ninety- three which make the sequence of ‘The New Day’ are delightful reminiscences of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Beautiful in themselves, these sonnets are fitted to fill with envy the souls of those who have shared in no such high communion as they show among the little group at Kelmscott, and by ‘‘the nestling ‘hames,” and in the Cheyne Walk studio “ with many a speak- ing vision on the wall,” and on “the Channel’s shore” at Bognor. The sixth sonnet commemorates George Borrow, ‘the walking lord of gipsy lore” as Dr. Hake calls him. But the book of the New Day is not for reminiscences; it is for hope— world-wide hope. As to its form, Dr. Hake’s sonnet stanza is, in its system of three quatrains and a couplet, that of Shakspeare. His manner is his own — without Shak- spearean echoes, and entirely modern. No one can fail to admire his management of the form he has chosen, marked as it is by easy and firm connectedness and by expres- sive and unforced completeness in the final couplets. We doubt if any one has used the measure better since Shakspeare’s self. Letters of Two Centuries. By CO. Fraser Mackintosh. (Inverness, A. & W. Mac- kenzie.) Nis togaidh na Gdeil an ceann ’S cha bhi iad am fang ni’s md. So sings the prophetic bard, and it seems as if the marked reaction in favour of Celtic study of every kind had really come in time to save the literature and language of the Highlands. Certainly there is no lack now- adays of intelligent interest, either in the oldest form of Aryan in these isles, or in the history and biography of the now scattered people who spoke it. Mr. Fraser Mackintosh has so often done good service to Highland antiquities and genealogy that it seems a little hyper- critical to complain of the form of the present reprint from his contributions tothe Scottish Highlander. Yet in order to maintain the appropriateness of his title ‘ Letters of Two Centuries,’ he has thought it necessary to provide one letter for each separate year from 1615 to 1815. It is obvious that this plan has hampered him considerably, com- pelling him not only to include some un- interesting documents in the series, but occasionally to go quite outside his legitimate field. What, for instance, is the advantage of including in a series of letters ‘“ chiefly connected with Inverness” a reference, not of a very interesting kind, to the relations of George Villiers, first Duke of Buckingham, with the University of Cambridge ? The note about the Virginian settlers in 1622 does not even seem to con- tain a letter, though perhaps the reference is justified. Certainly the state of the planta- tions was afterwards a vital matter to many a poor Highlander as well as Englishman, condemned to inhuman slavery upon them. Cromwell’s example in this respect was too faithfully followed, as witness Balnespick’s indenture, dated as late as 1716. On the whole, making allowance for the purely local interest of a great number of the letters, it must be said the compiler has succeeded in producing a fairly amusing volume, and one from which many side- lights are to be obtained on the state of the Highlands. The first thing that will strike the reader is the excellent scholarship shown by most of the writers. Highland chiefs of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries wrote letters quite as correct as Englishmen and Lowlanders of the same age, and there are very few which do not bear the marks of being written by men of the world, quite abreast of the common knowledge of their day. And this obtains not only among people of rank, but among persons who, though of gentle blood, might, in our recent phraseo- logy, be reckoned of the middle class (we are careful of this qualification, having Maclean’s proverb before our eyes: ‘“ Ged tha mi bochd, taing do Dhia, tha mi uasal,”’ a sentiment common nodoubt to the burghers of Inverness as well as their neighbours). It is true that an occasional reference in the letters is eloquent of the unsettled state of the country, and of archaic practices such as cattle raids or fire raising, but on the whole they are letters of business, showing a detailed and exact familiarity with affairs. The intelligent treatment of legal matters will surprise many who have adopted Macaulay’s ideas about Celtic savagery. No squire in the days of the Paston letters took a keener interest in litigation than these Highlanders ; indeed, as marking a state of transition in the social order, the earlier letters in this book remind one of nothing more closely than of Fenn’s celebrated col- lection. Documents of this sort are rather sad reading when one reflects how disas- trous the new weapons generally proved to those who used them. In the earlier letters Mr. Fraser Mackintosh introduces us to a circle of Northern worthies, Sir Donald Mackay of Strathnaver, George, Earl of Caithness, and the celebrated Sir Robert Gordon, Rector of Sutherland. Mackay, or Reay as he was afterwards, was in 1615 antagonistic to Caithness, and looks forward to the forfeiture of the latter for the ‘‘fyr of Sandside.” It is curious to note that when Caithness proposed to the Clan Gunn to burn this outlying post of the Forbeses, the then chief indignantly de- clined to do so, ‘but readily offered to murder the tenant.’”” The house of Caith- ness was an unlucky as well as turbulent race, and the late earl, by separating the estates from the title, has done his best to ruin the family. The correspondence of the Mackintoshes in all their branches naturally takes a prominent place. Notable among these letters is one from the Earl of Mar in 1667 to the Mackintosh of the day. The earl ‘‘ has written to Innercald ” (Far- quharson himself belonging to Clan Chattan) “to take along with himself my whole vassals and feuars in Braemar, Strathdee, and Glengairne, to attend you andaccompany him in what you may have to do in Locha- ber” (to establish his claims there against the Camerons). This obligation was hand- somely repaid in 1715. Mackintosh in 1689 is pressed by Claverhouse to come out for the king, in a letter of more scholarly fashion than one is apt to attribute to that warrior. Mackintosh seems to have left the honour of representing Clan Chattan to the Macphersons on that occasion. It isa little tantalizing to have so few letters from historical characters. Thus we have only two specimens of Simon, Lord Lovat, who is certainly the raciest letter- writer of his day and country. In his letter of 1736 he abuses one Mrs. Macleod in his usual style. Later, as we know from the excellent collection in vol. xiii. of the Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inver- ness, nothing would serve him but to exalt the Macleods and depress the Grants. When Fraser of Fairfield went against him in the election for the county in 1741, his chief expressed himself in a manner worth tran- scribing (he is writing to Mr. Donald, “ the Brigadier’s’’ ‘‘ governor”) :— **T must now tell you that you must call yourself of another family than ffairfields, if you are a mind to continue the name of Fraser, for he is no more ffraser, He is Allex™ Grant. sameee the Unnatural Monster refused all my offers, and said that he was previously engaged to the Laird of Grant and behooved to Stand to XUM
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N° 3272, Jury 12, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 59 it; Every man Called ffraser in Inverness, Stratherrick, and the Aird are enraged at him, So that he has for ever absolutely ruined him- self and his family in that countrey. He acted this Villainous part after it was made as clear as the Sun to him that my person, Interest, and honour, and the interest and honour of the whole name of ffraser, Depended on my gaining the Ellection for McLeod, so that he has plainly deserted his Chief and his Clan, for which they will certainly renounce him and his offspring for ever.” The mass of the present collection is of much more tranquil interest. Our old friend the Rev. Aineas Sage of Lochcarron com- plains, as usual, that he cannot get his stipend from Seaforth ; the warlike Borlum discourses on the planting of trees. Old love letters, and very tender and formal ones, form a chapter by themselves. James Boswell, in the character of an Edinburgh lawyer, writes wisely and humanely about a ‘‘summons of removing.” (The said James in his last will, after special direc- tions as to certain tenants, adds: ‘‘I do beseech all the succeeding heirs of entail to be kind to the tenants, and not to turn out old possessors to get a little more rent.’’) Several of the Inverness families—Robert- son of Inshes, Baillie of Dochfour, the Dun- bars, once numerous in the North, and others—owe some gratitude to the compiler for illustrations of their family history; and the letters from America, from Highlanders on service and others, are particularly in- teresting. Among matters of curiosity, the last letter, dated 1815, noting the marriage of Ronald Macdonell of Scammadale (who had fought for Prince Charles and after- wards for King George), at the age of ninety-five, and apparently in undiminished health and vigour, is certainly remarkable, For the printing and get-up of the volume we have nothing but praise; the introduc- tory remarks on each letter are generally to the point, though the grammar is occasion- ally susceptible of improvement. In one instance a query is inserted after a word which does not requireit. ‘‘ Mister” in the sense of want is very good Northern Scotch. ‘To beit a mister,” in the sense of to supply a want, is said to be a Lothian phrase. ‘I have nae myster to match with maisterful men,” is as old as the ‘Tale of Rauf Coil- zear.’ A Social Departure: How Orthodocia and I went round the World by Ourselves. By Sara Jeannette Duncan. With LIllus- trations by F. H. Townsend. (Chatto & Windus.) Tuts is essentially a book of to-day, for such a “social departure ” from accepted conven- tionalities as a journey round the world (embracing America, Japan, and India), un- protected, by two such correct and charming | young ladies as the narrator and her friend, would hardly, a few years ago, have been permitted or even thought of. Indeed, as it was, a certain amount of stratagem seems to have been employed on both sides in order to obtain the required permission, each of them having indirectly allowed her family to suppose that the other was a per- son of somewhat mature years. The narrator describes herself as a native of Canada, where opinion on the subject, though less enlightened than in the States, is in advance of the ideas of the ordinary Briton, which, she is careful to explain, are sym- bolized by her companion’s Christian name of Orthodocia. She freely admits, however, that her friend’s self-possession and power of taking care of herself are at least equal to her own. ‘‘She could walk ten miles in her broad-toed boots, and slay any member of the family with a tennis ball at a hundred yards’; but ‘‘she was only twenty-two, with a pinkness and healthiness which sub- tracted a year or two from that; she hadn’t a theory about her except that one should say one’s prayers and look as well as possible under all circumstances, and her inexperi- ence in the practical concerns of life seemed appalling.” Inexperience notwithstanding, Miss Or- thodocia’s talent for business was rather alarmingly illustrated on one occasion by a little venture in land speculation in the north-western parts of the Dominion, where she circumvented half a dozen land agents and cleared a profit of 40/. She explained, however, that she would need it all when she found herself among the temptations of Japanese curios, and it is, perhaps, a relief to learn that the Canadian land agents were avenged by the Japanese dealers in teapots. The characters of the two girls are not only attractively drawn, but their in- dividuality is well and carefully sustained, the illustrations, which for the most part are very clever, skilfully bearing out the text. There is a love affair, the result of a chance meeting with a cousin who was farm- ing and roughing it in Assiniboia, and who invites them to his very primitive dwelling, borrowing a friend’s aunt, who was occa- sionally used for this purpose, for the sake of the proprieties. The male portrait is not equal to those of our heroines, yet the story is amusingly told and cleverly treated, only cropping up occasionally and episodically through the narrative, though eventually it seals Orthodocia’s fate. It is in Japan that the highest pitch of enjoyment is reached by the pair; their warmest sympathies are evidently with that quaint and wonderful land and people, and all their reminiscences of other scenes seem to pale before those of their Japanese adven- tures. There is perhaps an undue propor- tion of the comic element among these, but the author can write seriously on occasion, and Orthodocia with her note - book was always alive to the duty of collecting in- formation ; it must, however, be admitted that the many situations from which amuse- ment is extracted are as natural as they are amusing. Little salient touches give fresh life and accuracy to the writer’s sketches, as, for instance, in the description of a long Indian railway journey, or of existence on board a P. and O. steamer—a hackneyed subject enough, but then these happy travellers revelled in the sense of dreamy comfort inspired by the combination of beautiful weather, varied society, and the many in- genious applications of modern luxury to ocean travelling. Nothing, indeed, shows the writer’s skill better than the freshness of her treatment of hackneyed scenes and doings, as a visit to the Pyramids, Shep- heard’s Hotel, donkey or camel riding in Egypt. In fact, there is a stream of fun running through the entire volume, rarely forced, and often decidedly amusing. There are a few mistakes, and we cannot expect a Canadian young lady to know that a native Indian servant whose name “ sounded like Ram Chan” could hardly be a ‘‘ Mo- hammedan,”’ or that Egyptian lattice work has not so long a name as “ mushribe- keyahs.”’ The journey, of course, was, as it was bound to be, a complete success, with a con- spicuous, if not suspicious absence of diffi- culties; but we recall a conversation between the travellers which perhaps throws some light on this. The writer is discussing with Orthodocia a stormy interview she had had with her lover, who had been objecting unseasonably to ladies travelling alone :— “*T can remember,’ I said, ‘a few occasions on which I would have been—glad of a man.’ ‘So can I!’ returned my friend instantly ; ‘ but you wouldn’t have had me admit it !’” And as for the dangers encountered, the narrator is asked at the end, by Ortho- docia’s mamma :— ***Do you think, as the result of all your experiences, that it is entirely safe and wise for young ladies to travel by themselves?’ ‘ Dear Mrs. Love, I equivocated, ‘I am afraid the wisdom must always depend on the young ladies themselves ; and as to the danger, you see what befel! Orthodocia!’ ‘ Yes,’ put in the friend at my side, thoughtfully, ‘but then—that might err anywhere !’ And I suppose it might. NOVELS OF THE WEEK, The Mystery of M. Feliz. By B. L. Farjeon. 3 vols. (White & Co.) The Man with a Seeret. By Fergus Hume. 3 vols. (Same publishers.) Pearl Powder. By Mrs. Annie Edwardes, 2 vols. (Bentley & Son.) Dmitri: a Tragi-Comedy. By F. W. Bain. (Percival & Co.) The Kreutzer Sonata. By Count L. N. Tolstoi. (Remington & Co.) The Blind Musician. From the Russian of Korolenko by 8S. Stepniak and W. Westall. (Ward & Downey.) Passion the Plaything. By R. Murray Gil- christ. (Heinemann.) Perfervid. By John Davidson. With Illustrations by Harry Furniss. (Ward & Downey.) A Dead Man’s Diary: written after his Decease. (Ward, Lock & Co.) Soldat! Par Claude Vignon. Calmann Lévy.) Strass et Diamants. (Same publisher. ) ‘Tue Mystery or M. Fetix’ is a decidedly good police story. The details are cleverly invented and put together, and tho secret is sufficiently well kept. A terser style of narration would have been an improvement, but it is easy to see that Mr. Farjeon has been forced to resort to various contrivances for filling the requisite number of pages. The police novel is one of the few pieces of artistic work which is the better for not being humorous. Wilkie Collins made a mistake in ‘The Moonstone’ by making the old servant comically garrulous; Edgar Poe avoided everything of the sort. Undoubtedly Mr. Farjeon would have been wiser if he had omitted some rather heavy comicalities about police constables, and the description of a treat of fried fish and stewed eels given (Paris, Par Léon de Tinseau.
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60 THE ATHENZAUM N° 3272, Juny 12, 90 to a little London slut. When he gets well into his story he is seen to much greater advantage. It is quite a legitimate artifice to tell parts of the story from different points of view; but Mr. Farjeon’s imaginary extracts from an evening newspaper go beyond reasonable limits of absurdity of style. Still with all its blemishes ‘The Mystery of M. Felix’ is commendable, and will please the not inconsiderable number of readers who are not yet satiated with stories of crime and mystery. ‘The Man with a Secret’ is a tale of mystery and morals, of drink and devilry, of love and dissipation in wicked London. A villain and an innocent are enamoured of the same girl—at least the one loves her and the other has designs upon her. The villain, who is the father of the innocent, does his best to ruin and debauch his son. He is, it must be admitted, an extremely stagey villain, and the story is as melodramatic as even Mr. Hume is accustomed to make his stories. Some of the situations are strong enough, in all conscience, and the treatment is not wanting in boldness; but of artistic handling and of delicate light and shade there is a somewhat meagre allowance. Under the not very attractive title of ‘Pearl Powder’ Mrs. Edwardes has written a story of the eighteenth century, a little stiff and long-winded, neither so fresh in subject nor so free in manner as ‘ Archie Lovell’ and several other romances by the same author. It is a narrative of the for- tunes of one Philippa, a lovely maiden of brave yet susceptible disposition, and one Oliver, a doctor’s nephew who revolts against the pestle and mortar, and justifies his revolt by becoming a successful artist. These two are attached in their youth; but Philippa has her romantic adventures in the fashion- able world—adventures in which the reader will find both mysterious plot and exciting incident. The text is distinguished by some antiquated spellings and turns of expression, eked out with some antique-looking capitals. Better than this, there is a savour of English life and circumstance under the reign of Farmer George which produces a fair mea- sure of pleasant illusion. Mr. Bain, we gather from the title-page of his book, is a Fellow of All Souls’, but there is nothing donnish or academic about his method of handling the romance of history. On the contrary, he never once deviates into archaism, but uniformly adopts a colloquial and almost slangy style in his conversations. Sometimes the effect is a trifle startling, as, for example, when we are confronted with such an expression as this, put into the mouth of a Polish nobleman circ. ann. 1600: ‘What the devil does it matter who he is, so long as we’re sure of a smack at the Muscovites?” This, in its way, is as bad as the laborious pedantry of the old-fashioned school of historical novelists. But it would be unfair to judge of Mr. Bain’s work by these occasional outbursts of the unregenerate “undergrad” spirit. He has got a capital subject—the story of the false Czar—and he has treated it with freshness and spirit. ‘Dmitri’ is a decidedly promising first effort. Count Tolstoi has now for some time been known to the world as a man of genius, and, it must be added, possessing a considerable amount of the eccentricity of genius. His new production, showing as it does both the power of the author and his original views, will no doubt command many readers, but it must be confessed the subject is a painful one, and it has been treated in a manner calculated to shock some of us. It is the whole question of the relation of the sexes reopened. The adventures of Podnishev and his wife affect us with a sort of night- mare, and recall some of the most startling pages of Edgar Poe. It is an old story this, the woman’s faithlessness and her death at the hands of her infuriated husband, and it is powerfully told. But we naturally ask, What need is there of reproducing it? and the odds seem still to be in favour of men and women being only united on the terms of affection and sympathy, in which doctrine Count Tolstoi apparently disbelieves, if we rightly gather his meaning. He does not hold any exalted idea of the mission of woman. In others of his works he has formulated his theory of her function: the duties of maternity and nothing else. He agrees with the ‘‘fat-faced curate Edward Bull” of Tennyson’s poem :— I take it, God made the woman for the man, And for the good and increase of the world. He habitually sneers at learned and fashion- able women, and like Clough holds society and the “‘old gentility stage-play’’ in con- tempt. The little book, like all other writ- ings of Tolstoi’s, abounds with felicitous expressions. The following remarks are interesting, and will remind some of our readers of a passage in the third book of Plato’s ‘ Republic,’ where he speaks of the necessity of legislation concerning what styles of music shall be allowed in the Re- public :— **TIn China music is an affair of State, and that is what it ought to be. Ought it to be permitted that any one who pleases should hypnotize one or more persons and do with them whatever he wishes? Ought it, above all, to be permitted that the hypnotizer should be no matter what immoral person? It is a frightful power in the hands of any man. Let us take, for example, this ‘Kreutzer Sonata’ with its opening presto —and there are many such works...... Such works should only be played on certain im- portant occasions, and in cases only where it is necessary that certain actions be provoked in correspondence with the music. But to provoke an energy which corresponds neither with the time nor with the place, and which expends itself in nothing, cannot but have injurious effects. On me the piece in question acts in a frightful manner. It is as though new feelings, new qualities, of which I was previously ignorant, suddenly declared themselves within me. ‘ Yes, that is it...... Not as I have thought and lived hitherto, but in this way must I live,’ something of that kind seems to speak from my soul.” There are many other passages of similar power in this clever but, we must add, dis- agreeable book. The translation, as might be expected from Mr. Sutherland Edwards, is carefully executed, and the text has only been modified, to all appearance, in one passage. To discuss in these pages some of the problems suggested by Count Tolstoi would be to write an ethical treatise. The strain of melancholy which pervades, more or less, all modern Russian fiction is not wanting in this charming little idyl of one of the most modern and one of the most promising of Russia’s writers. But if ‘The Blind Musician’ be a melancholy work, it is at least not morbid. Totally different in this respect from the languid fragrance of Tourguénief’s style, and the desperate misery which seems the inevitable Nemesis of Count Tolstoi’s characters, this sketch of Korolenko’s carries with it an air of healthy manliness and bracing energy. Instead of commencing brightly, joyously, and even wittily, as do the novels of Tolstoi, and those of the great French writers whom he imitates more or less unconsciously, ‘The Blind Musician’ begins sadly. As we open the pages, and read how the mother knows by presentiment, what the doctor only dis- covers much later by experiment, that her son is blind, we feel that we have come across only another of the numerous pes- simistic, lackadaisical stories with which the Jin de siécle novelists imagine they entertain us. But as we go on we discover that this poor blind boy, with his nervous suscepti- bility and his introspection, which are mar- vellously rendered, is after all no morbid creature, but may teach us a lesson of healthy usefulness which we may be the better for ; and when in the end the young man is taught by his grim but kind-hearted uncle to realize that he has fellow creatures more miserable than himself — when he rouses himself from his lethargic self-con- centration, and devotes his splendid talents to the benefit of his brethren in affliction— when he at last discovers that even for him there is a place in this world, and that even he can lead a useful life—we feel that we have not read the book in vain. It is conceivable that in Russia especially, which is at present almost paralyzed by pessimism and despair, the stirring words of Korolenko possess more than a purely literary value. After a generation or two of gloom and darkness it is pleasant to get a ray of light, to hear a voice proclaiming that there is a place in this world for one. We can imagine what the effect of this work in the original must have been on one of its trans- lators, and we can understand the enthu- siasm with which he has rendered it. As a beautiful study beautifully written, displaying a wonderful knowledge of the human soul, and conveying a healthy and stimulating lesson, ‘The Blind Musician’ is perfect. But as a story, as we English vulgarly regard a story, it is nothing. It is a short record of the growth and early marriage of a blind boy with a talent for music. It is even devoid of thrilling love passages. A girl in the neighbourhood marries him more from pity than love. And yet this simple record of an uneventful boy- hood is intensely interesting, and much better reading than all the shilling ‘‘shockers” that were ever printed. To say that the translation has been well done would be to accord but faint praise. It is one of the few English versions of a Russian book that we have been able to read with unalloyed pleasure, without feeling that the Russian ideas wore their English disguise uncomfort- ably, and were continually betraying them- selves by their uncouth movements. To English readers ‘The Blind Musician,’ apart from its inherent charm, should be interest- ing as showing that Count Tolstoi is not the only Russian novelist, and that pessimism is not the last word of Slavonic literature. ‘Passion the Plaything’ is a tale of intensity, as befits its title. Anne Mompes-
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XUM N° 3272, Jory 12, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 61 son, the heroine, after falling in love with and embracing the intense young hero, straightway forgets what manner of thing love is, and marries a nobleman for whom she has no particular affection. She writes novels with effective titles, and then destroys them; whilst the intense young man both writes and publishes. One day the wife, learning that her husband has departed on a journey, writes in a gushing strain to her former lover, bidding him meet her in “‘the Hell Garden” alone. He comes, and she inconsiderately goes mad. The in- tensity of this well-written little story towards its close is too great for descrip- tion ; it must be read to be appreciated. For those who can enjoy the absolutely grotesque, a prose extravaganza somewhat in the Gilbertian style, the career of Ninian Davidson will provide a good deal of amuse- ment. The romantic provost who claims the crown of Great Britain, and by force of arms compels the prosaic eccentric, Cosmo Morrison, to officiate as royal fool, is like nothing in nature, but often compels a laugh. The loss of his fortune cools his perfervid brain, and the love of a very womanly heroine completes his cure. Still the story, if such we may call it, is principally indebted for its comedy to the lively pencil of Mr. Furniss, who does ample justice to the heroic duel scene, and in the second story is not a little pathetic as well as humorous. Cosmo’s story, or the pilgrimage of Strongsoul and Saunders, with all its whimsicalities, has a good deal of something deeper than the mere grotesque. We need not narrate the doings of the childish champions, but would call attention to their portraits, as they dream of the Land of Beulah, on p. 218. Saunders’s account of his ‘‘ granny” is worth quoting :— ***T never had a granny,’ said Strongsoul. * Weel, ye needna compleen. My granny has a thyme that she’s aye comin’ owre— Gin ye’re an anvil, haud ye still; Gin ye’re a hammer, smite yer fill. And she’s been a hammer sin’ I kenned her, an’ a’body else is anvils,’” Mr. Bettany writes a preface to ‘A Dead Man’s Diary,’ in which he vouches for the anonymous author as ‘‘one whose essays and stories have been received with high appreciation on both sides of the Atlantic.” The story is put forth as “his actual expe- rience during a lengthened absence from the body, during which he was believed to be dead.” As the editor further says, no living man can confirm or deny his expe- riences. All that can be done is to remark that this apocalyptic narrative was written not only after the narrator’s decease, but also after his coming to life again; that a great deal has been made out of a very slight substance; that the dead-alive man had a long and romantic dream, and that he has taken the trouble to dilute the romance with a considerable amount of commonplace. Nevertheless those who read ‘A Dead Man’s Diary’ for its romance will find plenty of it; and the author will have himself to thank if his literary methods and effects lead discerning readers to conclude that the book contains, after all, nothing more than a waking and a written dream. ‘Soldat!’ we presume, from the name which it bears, is partly the work of the late Madame Rouvier, although it seems to have been finished by some one else after her death. It is a pleasant small volume, thoroughly readable, although it contains but little plot, and is a mere narrative of the life of a French soldier in his gradual rise from the ranks to a captaincy. M. de Tinseau’s new volume contains two short stories, of which the first is comic and full of character, and the second senti- mental : his admirers will not be disappointed with them. OUR LIBRARY TABLE, Messrs, Warp & Downey have sent us Mayne Reid: a Memoir of his Life, by Eliza- beth Reid, his widow. Mayne Reid was born in 1818, an Ulster man of County Down. Though thus by birth a member of the “ garri- son,” he seems to have entertained strongly Nationalist opinions. Indeed, all his opinions were strong, and he was narrow-minded, in the sense in which men of action such as he are bound to be—dominated by few ideas, and hold- ing them with a fervour for which action is the only outlet. Yet his active life—far more in- teresting than his literary career, whatever estimate we may form of his undoubted power of writing books of adventure—was singularly short. The Mexican war of 1847 was his only campaign, and though he did his best to give his services to Kossuth during the Hungarian revolt, that drama was played out before he could take part in it. His brief military ser- vice, however, was signalized by one brilliant adventure, and the share he took in the storm of Chapultepec showed that he possessed the qualities of an excellent soldier. The present memoir by his widow is written with affectionate enthusiasm ; and it is no slight tribute to his merits that late in life he should have evoked such obviously ardent devotion. Many quo- tations from his writings are given, of which the narrative and descriptive passages bear the marks of his ability, and the controversial ones, if often overstrained and (we must use the objectionable word) bombastic, are abundantly sincere. On many subjects—as, for instance, the value of classical training—he was hardly quali- fied to express an opinion. Still this simple narrative, if it does not much alter our estimate of his place in literature, cannot fail to keep alive the general interest in a remarkably single- minded and warm-hearted man. Lovers of the Police News and ‘ Newgate Calendar’ will welcome Mr. William Westall’s collection of foreign criminal cases in Strange Crimes (Ward & Downey). They will be able to contrast the dogged brutality of the German with the fantastic ferocity of the French criminal, and both with our own most notorious examples of these qualities. The compiler claims much psychological and moral value for his work. It may be allowed that he sometimes brings out a moral point worth notice, as, for instance, the number of crimes which seem to have sprung, especially in France, from a morbid vanity almost amounting to madness. But most people will not consider morality or psycholo- gical knowledge much promoted by the gloomy uniformity of this catalogue of horrors. Yet the author need not be discouraged; many people will like his book—the amateur detec- tives and moralists of the gutter. Of the individual stories, two, ‘The Diamond Necklace’ and the Orsini plot, have historical interest. The ten-year-old ‘‘child heroine” of Vogels- berg is above the usual sordid level of humanity in these pages. Her courage in looking the murderer in the face and escaping from the burning house, where her mother and brother lay dead, to save the baby leaves the only pleasant recollection we carry with us from this collection of ‘Strange Crimes.’ The only useful one, probably, is a good deal of self-congratulation that we do not live under foreign criminal law. Messrs. Rover & Drowtey send us Heine as Novelist and Dramatist, containing a series . of translations by Mr. R. McLintock. The chief works selected for translation are Heine’s early dramas, ‘Almansor’ and ‘ William Ratcliff.’ Neither of these tragedies gives proof of dramatic genius, but both are interesting from a bio- graphical point of view. They express the feel- ings and ideas of what Heine himself called his “Sturm und Drang” period. Referring to ‘William Ratcliff” Mr. McLintock says that ‘the prefatory verse will serve to show the very high opinion of this work which Heine cherished.” This is a rather misleading state- ment. It is true that at the time when the play was written the poet formed an extravagant estimate of its value, but afterwards he called it a ‘* dramatized ballad,” and reprinted it sim- ply as a document which might interest those who cared to study the development of his poetical faculty. Of ‘ Almansor’ he wrote, before he had quite finished it, that although it had cost him much labour, and contained, he believed, fine passages, it did not deserve to be called a tragedy. In comparison with Heine’s lyrics, these dramatic efforts offer few difficulties to the translator, and Mr. McLintock has suc- ceeded in rendering them into fluent and rather vigorous blank verse. Heine’s work as a novelist is represented by a good translation of the in- teresting fragment ‘ Der Rabbi von Bacharach.’ The volume also includes translations of ‘Bimini’ and several other poems. GENEALOGICAL studies, which are less active here than they used to be, are extending in the United States. The historical societies in the Western cities, which appear useless because there is no local history, devote them- selves to family records. A reminder comes to us from the Historical Society of Minnesota at St. Paul. In the library of that society are seven hundred volumes of English genea- logy, being the seventh collection for extent in the States. The report informs us that one lady spent two months in St. Paul in 1888, making 1,200 searches in relation to the history of her family. In this way grow up closer ties with the mother island, and an ever-growing senti- ment of kindred with the English-speaking races. Although family records are of deep interest to their members they are of none to others, and often pass unnoticed. One late work from St. Paul is the Ancestry, Life and Times of General the Hon. Henry Hastings Sibley. The career of this distinguished pioneer of the West and his services against the Indians of the terri- tory and the Confederate forces are vigorously depicted by the author, the Rev. Nathaniel West, D.D. To the Sibley family is devoted a mass of research from medieval records by Dr. West, which is not to be found in such notices as we have in Hasted and our other county his- torians. While a family here often sinks into obscurity and has got to the time when history is no longer concerned with it, it sometimes gains new lustre by the rise of its scions in New England. Thus with the Sibleys. A man of that name with two sons went to Connecticut in the beginning of the seventeenth century. In the beginning of this century seven hundred men named Sibley voted in one township election in that state. Now they are growing few in New England, and have taken their share in the settle- ment of the West. Messrs. Biackwoop have done well to reprint in a shilling volume Jn the Days of the Dandies, Lord Lamington’s pleasant papers which lately delighted the readers of Maga. One or two slips might have been corrected. The famous lines ‘‘The King to Oxford sent a troop of horse” are not quite correctly quoted. On p. 63 Louis XV. is a misprint for Louis XVI. Every one should read these enjoyable remi- niscences. Mr. Trattu’s Saturday Songs (Allen & Co.) are too purely political to be reviewed in these
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62 THE ATHENAUM N° 3272, Juty 12, 90 columns. Suffice it to say that they are brilliant specimens of party rhymes, and that they will probably be enjoyed by many of those who do not zhare the author’s opinions as well as by all those who do. Mr. F. C. Burnanp has begun to issue a “ col- lected uniform illustrated edition ” of his writings from Punch. The first volume, called Very Much Abroad (Bradbury, Agnew & Co.), con- tains ‘The Boompje Papers,’ notes of visits to La Bourboule, Royat, the Riviera, and else- where, and some general papers about foreign travel. Some of these are among the least feli- citous of Mr. Burnand’s works, and it is pleasant to know that the best are tocome. But even here there is plenty of good matter—humorous matter written with the deliberate intention of being humorous, and on a second reading quite able to hold the place it was meant to occupy. Mr. Burnand’s writings are well worth collecting. He has produced a very large body of comic writing of a high order of merit, and the amount of it that is first rate is considerable. There is a perpetual gaiety and airiness about his work which makes it always pleasant to dip into, and few humourists have the power of making their readers laugh so agreeably, so innocently, so often, and so much, Amone the new editions on our table is a second of An Introduction to the Study of Dante (A. & C. Black), one of the early works of that prolific writer Mr. J. A. Symonds, which now appears purged of a good number of errors and florid phrases that disfigured it on its original appearance.—We have received the first volume of a new issue of the late Mr. J. F. Campbell’s Popular Tales of the West Highlands, produced by Mr. Gardner, of Paisley, under the auspices of the Islay Association. — A neat edition of Vanity Far has been added by Messrs. Ward, Lock & Co. to their ‘‘ Minerva Library.”—A new edition of Mrs. Clarke’s interesting life of Susanna Wesley has appeared in the “ Eminent Women Series” of Messrs. Allen. The paper leaves something to be desired, and the printing is indifferent.—Mr. E. Arnold has brought out Lamb’s Adventures of Ulysses, with an introduc- tion from the facile pen of Mr. Andrew Lang. The copy before us is badly worked off. The Golfing Annual (Cox) has reached its third volume, and appears to share the increas- ing popularity of the game. It is an interesting miscellany, containing some sensible articles by Mr. Horace Hutchinson, Mr. Kenrick, Mr. Everard, and others. The Club Directory is useful in these days of multiplying golf clubs.— Mr. Bourne has sent us his excellent Handy As- surance Directory, a clearly printed and well- arranged selection of facts——To Messrs. Allen we are indebted for a useful work of reference, The Army and Navy Calendar. WE last week noticed a volume on Brazil by M. Max Leclerc, which we called “ excellent,” and ‘‘ recommended ” as ‘‘ably written” and of “high value,” though “violently anti-English.” M. Leclerc writes to us to complain of the last phrase. French writers hardly appreciate the strength of the language which they employ when they speak of England ; but we are glad to find that it is not the wish of M. Leclerc to attack this country. WE have on our table Talks with Ralph Waldo Emerson, by C. J. Woodbury (Kegan Paul & Co.),—Twelve Years’ Queen’s Scholarship Ques- tions, 1878-1889, with Answers to Arithmetic, Algebra, and Menswration (Moffatt & Paige),— On Unsoundness of Mind; in its Legal and Medical Considerations, by J. W. H. Williams (Clowes & Sons),—Sanitary Hand-book for India, by Surgeon-Major ©. J. McNally (Lewis),—Jack’s Mother (Bristol, Arrowsmith),—Frances Kane’s Fortune, by L. T. Meade (Warne),— Accessory after the Fact, translated from the Original of René de Camors by A. D. Vandam (Dean & Son), —‘Thenks awf lly!” sketched in Cockney and hung on Twelve Pegs (Field & Tuer),—Shake- speare’s ‘ Richard II.,’ with Introduction and Notes (Moffatt & Paige),—The Conversion of England, by E. H. Bousfield (Griffith & Farran), —The Gospel and Modern Substitutes, by the Rev. A. S. Matheson (Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier),—and Pendant la Terreur: le Pocte Roucher, 1745-1794, by A. Guillois (Paris, Lévy). Among New Editions we have A General View of the Criminal Law of England, by Sir James F. Stephen, D.C.L. (Macmillan), -— Fugitive Facts, edited by R. Thorne (Brentano’s),—Is the Church of England Protestant? an Essay by H. Cox (Griffith & Farran),— Wyndham Towers, by T. B. Aldrich (Boston, U.S., Houghton & Co.),— Ruby, by Miss A. Reade (Trischler & Co.),—and Anno Domini 2000; or, Woman's Destiny, by Sir Julius Vogel (Hutchinson), LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology. Brown's (R.) Outlines of Prophetic Truth, 8vo. 12/ cl. Burton’s (Rev. H.) Gospel according to St. Luke, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. (Expositor’s Bible.) Delitzsch’s(F.) Biblical Commentary on Isaiah, translated, &c., by Prof. S. R. Driver, Vol. 1, 8vo. 10/6 cl. Irwin’s (C, H.) History of Presbyterianism in Dublin and the South and West of Ireland, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Fine Art. Caldecott’s (R.) Graphic Pictures, complete edition, 21/ cl. Poetry. Commedia di Dante Alighieri, 12mo. 6/ cl. Girdle of the Globe (The), a Poem, by Ralph, cr. 8vo. 7/6 History and Bwgraphy. Gray and his Friends, Letters and Relics, edited by D.C. Tovey, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Mitchell’s (D. G.) English Lands, Letters, and Kings: IL., From Elizabeth to Anne, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Schurer’s (E.) History of Jewish People in Time of Christ, First Division, translated by Macpherson, Vol. 1, 10/6 cl. Stuart (Geo. H.), Life of, written by Himself, edited by R. E. Thompson, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Philology. Fedor Dose of the VII. Brigade, Episodes from Hackliander’s ‘ Wachtstuben Abenteuer,’ selected by Beresford, 2/ cl. Parry’s (C. H.) French Passages for Unseen Translation, 3/ Vergili Maronis Opera, Introduction and Notes by Sidgwick : Vol. 1, Introduction and Text, 3/6; Vol. 2, Notes, 4/6 cl. Science, Jacobi’s (C. T.) Printing, a Practical Treatise on the Art of Typography, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Jennings (O.) On the Cure of the Morphia Habit, cr. 8vo. 2/6 Kempe’s(H. R.) Electrical Engineer’s Pocket-Book of Modern Rules, &c., roy, 32mo. 5/ leather. Langley (E. M.) and Phillips’s (W. 8.) The Harpur Euclid, complete, 12mo. 4/6 cl. Thomson’s (Sir W.) Mathematical and Physical Papers, Vol. 3, 8vo, 18/ cl. General Literature, Allen’s (F. M.) Braghard, the Strange Adventures of One Ass and Seven Champions, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Annette, by Author of ‘ St. Olave’s,’ cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Black's (W.) The New Prince Fortunatus, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Bowdich’s (Mrs.) Confidential Chats with Mothers on Healthy Rearing of Children, 12mo. 2/ cl. Brooks's (E. S.) A Son of Issachar, a Romance of the Days of Messias, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Burnett’s (F, H.) Louisiana, and That Lass o’ Lowrie’s, Two Stories, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Cinderella and the Little Glass Slipper, 4to. 2/ bds. Constantine’s (J.) Health and Activity in Middle and Later Life, 8vo. 2/6 cl. Desart’s (Earl of) The Little Chatelaine, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Farjeon’s (B. L.) A Secret Inheritance, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Ford’s (P. L.) The Sayings of Poor Richard, 18mo. 2/6 cl. Fothergill’s (J.) A March in the Ranks, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Gordon’s (W.) The Non-Commissioned Officer’s Guide to Promotion, Lance-Corporal to Corporal, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Hardy’s (T.) Hand of Ethelberta, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Hocking’s (J.) Jabez Easterbrook, a Religious Novel, 2/6 cl. Nisbet’s (H.) Ashes, a Tale of Two Spheres, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Oliphant’s (Mrs.) The Mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow, 2/6 cl. Robinson’s (F. W.) The Keeper of the Keys, 3 vols. 31/6 cl. Sergeant’s (A.) Seventy Times Seven, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Studdy’s (A. E.) The Sporting Birthday Book, royal 16mo. 5/ Tytler’s (S.) The Blackhall Ghosts, er. 8vo. 2/ bds. Woodall’s (S. 8.) Ondar the Just, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. FOREIGN, _ Theology. Baumgartner (A. J.): Etude Critique sur le Texte du Livre des Proverbes, 8m. Ebrard (A.): Der Brief Pauli an die Rémer, 6m. Eisler (L.): Beitraége zur Rabbinischen Sprach- u. Alter- thumskunde, Part 4, 4m. Hartel (W. v.): Patristische Studien, Parts 2 and 3, 3m. 20. Kukula (R. C.): Die Mauriner Ausgabe d. Augustinus, Part 1, 1m. 80. Law. Corpus Juris Abessinorum, ed, J. Bachmann, Part 1, 16m. Fine Art and Archeology. Catalogue de la Collection Rothan, 80fr. Kopecky (L. F. J.): Die Attischen Trieren, 5m. 60. Michel (E.): Jacob van Ruysdael et les Paysagistes de I’Ecole de Harlem, 3fr. 50. Robida (A.): La Vieille Franee: La Normandie, 20fr, Drama, Anzengruber (L.): Gesammelte Werke, Vol. 2, 3m, 50. Philosophy. Heymans (G.): Die Gesetze u. El te d. Wissenschaft- lichen Denkens, 6m. History and Biography. Brosch (M.): Geschichte v. England, Vol. 6, 13m. Carette (A.): Mademoiselle de Montpensier, 3fr. 50. Fournier (M.): Les Statuts et Priviléges des Universités. Frangaises jusqu’en 1789, Vol. 1, 50fr. Schirrmacher (F. W.): Geschichte v. Spanien, Vol. 5, 10m. Geography and Travel, Claparéde (A. de): Champéry, 3fr. 50. Philology. Berliner Studien, Vol. 11, Parts 1 and 2, 3m. Dissertationes Philologe Vindobonenses, Vol. 2, 8m. Festi (Sexti Pompei) de Verborum Significatu que Super- sunt, ed. A. Thewrewk de Ponor, Part 1, 7m. 50. Gomperz(T.): Die Apologie der Heilkunst, e. Sophistenrede d. 5 Vorchristl. Jahrh., 3m. 60. Lombardische (Eine) Margarethen -Legende, hrsg. v. B. Wiese, 4m. 50. Roémische Litteraturgeschichte, v. M. Schanz, Pt. 1, 5m. 50. Strassmaier (J. N.): Babylonische Texte, Part 8, 12m. T’oung Pao, Archives rédigées par H. Cordier et G. Schlegel, Vol. 1, 20m. Weisweiler (J.): Das Lateinische Participium Futuri Passivi, 2m. 80. Zander (C.): Versus Italici Antiqui, 5m. General Literature. Lefébure (L.): Le Devoir Social, 3fr. 50. Mérouvel (C.): Mortes et Vivantes, 3fr. 50. Pierron (Général) : Stratégie et Grande Tactique, Vol. 2, 15fr. ‘LONDON CITY.’ The Leadenhall Press, E.C. PROSPECTUS-COMPILING is not in the author’s province, and Mr. Loftie’s ambiguous disclaimer in last week’s Atheneum has already been mis- understood. If Mr. Loftie will again look at the prospectus of ‘London City’ he will find it is on the artist, and not on the author—who does not need it—that praise is freely, but not too freely, lavished. All the promises, and more, made in the prospectus will be faithfully carried out. ANDREW W. TUER. THE GUTENBERG CELEBRATION IN COLOGNE. ‘Diz HILLIGE Stat vAN COELLEN,” as its title runs in Johann Koelhoft’s ‘Cronica,’ is perhaps the most clerical town in Germany, and St. Peter’s Day is still rung in with the clamour of a hundred bells and their hundred echos ; the pious inhabitants still march in procession from altar to altar, and still strew the streets by which the Host passes with roseleaves and oak branches: But yesterday, by a curious turn of Fortune’s wheel, St. Peter had a rival; the crowds of Cologne went out for a new purpose, trampling. eagerly through the flower-strewn streets to- wards the Reichshallentheater, where Guten- berg’s “ black art ” of 1440 celebrated its jubilee of 450 years in 1890. The Celebration, which a week ago began at Mayence, fitly terminated its octave of festivity in Cologne, where since the days of Ulrich Zell, one of Gutenberg’s earliest disciples, book and newspaper printing has uninterruptedly flour- ished, and, if the witness of yesterday’s function be correct, will flourish while Cologne remains. “Das Diivelwerk,” as the good folks of the fifteenth century called it (crossing themselves as they passed the Hof zum Jungen, where Guten- berg, nervous, desponding, never to be beaten, worked and waited), is now die Kunst, par excel- lence, of Cologne, and the unique little collection of printing relics now on view in the town library shows how quickly the craft grew in strength and beauty in the blossoming times of the sixteenth century. But it is a “far cry” from the Warhafftig Zeitung wy der Krieg zwyschenn den Frantzosen und Keyserischen yn Neapolis getriben vnd auch geendet sey and the Newe Zeytung ausz Rom to. the Koelnische and the Volks Zeitung of to-day, yet we seemed to bridge the distance yesterday as the fourteen hundred voices of the Koelner Miinner Gesang Vereine rolled out the noble words of the Celebration Hymn in the immense arena of the Reichshallentheater. German crowds are seldom picturesque, never brilliant unless military, and do not fall into dramatic grouping like some Southern nations ; but they are always in earnest, and their unanimity moves one as nothing else can. Whether they
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XUM N° 3272, Jury 12, ’90 THE ATHENZXZUM gather round a Denkmal of world-renowned beauty or a trumpery plaster cast scarcely worth a mark there is the same genuine feeling, ex- pressed without reserve. Those who heard the concluding stanza of Herr Zollner’s Fest Hymn,— So herrsche zum Segen Auf deine machtigen Throne, So lenke die Herzen, So fiihre zum Lichte, Aus Wahn und Verblendung Zur Freiheit den Geist! and the burst of applause that followed—those who saw the vast multitude spring to their feet as one man when Prof. Paasche concluded his speech with a call for three ‘‘ Hochs” for the great master and his art—they can tell why the Gutenberg Celebration in Cologne leaves an impression of personal enthusiasm which so many grander functions miss. From the president of the Festival Committee, Herr Neven-Du Mont, proprietor of the Koel- nische Zeitung, to the youngest apprentice of the craft, who aspired some day to join the Gutenberg Gesang Verein, every member of the assembly felt he had a real duty to perform towards the inventor, and did it. Of the Commers which preceded, and the Fest Abend which followed, the serious function of the festival, some description may be required by English readers, who are unaccustomed to the spectacle of an audience more than a thousand strong sitting quietly smoking and beer-drinking for the space of four hours, and becoming neither quarrelsome, rowdy, nor maudlin at the end of it. The great concert hall of the Eden Garten grew dense with smoke, it is true ; the waiters slipped to and fro, deftly exchanging empty mugs for foaming full ones ; then after a speech or song, which from time to time in informal fashion varied the proceedings, there would come a storm of “ Hochs!” and a sharp clatter of glasses clinking together with that ostentatious, emotional friendship dear to the German heart. If there were tears in some hundred eyes, they were tears of real feeling as Herr Henoumont’s clever little play entitled ‘Gutenberg’ set forth the master’s struggles, longings, and unshared ambitions in the work- shop at Mentz; the cringing, insolent creditor pressing for payment of the money by which Gutenberg’s types had been supplied; the buxom, supercilious landlady (a widow whom Weller senior might well have distrusted) recommending “ Weib und Kind” as a remedy for his unsatisfied aspirations; and, finally, the vision of truth, veiled as yet, but filling the air with a soft and ever-increasing halo of light, and with firm melodious voice filling the silent hall with hope and promise :— Doch freu Dich dieser neuen Helle, Die in die Welt Dein Werk gebracht Sich blitzen in des Lichtes Welle Des neu gewonnen Waffen Pracht. Durch diesen Kampf stets neues Blitthen Aus starr gewordener Schale bricht, Und selbst die Funken die entspriihen Den Schwertern geben neues Licht! No ! it was not all mere German sentiment, not only the froth of Miinchener Bier, but a unity of interest in its highest sense which lifted the German printers’ festival above the level of a mere successful tradecelebration. Shall I close with a fact? always bearing in mind that a fact is a sort of moral bulldog, and should not be loosed in polite society without due notice given: on Monday morning there was not one man missing from his place in all the wide depart- ments of the great newspaper which has its headquarters in Cologne. Could St. Peter have achieved more than this? ° And so the Gutenberg jubilee ended. G. S. SALES, Tue sale of the choicer portion of the valuable library of Mr. Alexander Young, of Glasgow, at the rooms of Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge on the 26th to 28th of June, attracted numerous competitors. Amongst other works Allot’s England’s Parnassussold for 17/.5s. Burns’s | Poems, first edition, 1001. ; second edition, 14/. 5s.; and third edition, 8/. 15s. Byron’s Poems, 1807 edition, 391. Campbell’s Pleasures of Hope, first edition, 91. 5s. Caxton’s Golden Legend, printed by Wynkyn de Worde, imperfect, 191. 5s. Chaucer’s Works, Reynes’s edition, 25/.; Wight’s edition, 11/.; and Petit’s, 14). Chronicles of Englande, Wynkyn de Worde’s 1528 edition, 261. Dibdin’s Bibliographical Works, 70I. 15s. 6d. Douglas’s Translation of Virgil’s Aineis, 301. Greene’s Arcadia, and other works, 23/. 16s. Herrick’s Hesperides, 17/. Heywood’s Spider and Flie, 17/. 17s. Higden’s Polycronicon, Treveris edition, 191. Holinshed’s Chronicles, Shakspeare edition, slightly imperfect, 40. Johnson’s Highwaymen, 39/. 10s. Marlowe’s Edward II. and Jew of Malta, 11/. 5s. Middle- ton’s Blacke Booke, 91. 10s. Milton’s Paradise Lost, and Poems, 21/. Scott’s Witchcraft, first edition, 201. 10s.; and two later editions, 7/. 10s. Shakspeare’s Piays, second edition, 23/. 10s.; fourth edition, 24/.; King John, 221. 10s.; Sir J. Oldcastle, 16/. 15s.; and Poems, 251. 10s. Ship of Fooles, by A. Barclay, 201. Spenser’s Shep- heard’s Calendar, 22/.; and Faerie Queene, 15]. 10s. Sir W. Stirling Maxwell’s Artists of Spain, 12/. 15s. Swift’s Gulliver, first edition, 61. Turberville’s Art of Venerie and Falconrie, 18/. 10s. The 921 lots sold for 2,238. 15s. Messrs. Puttick & Simpson sold on June 25th, 26th, and 27th old books and manuscripts from the libraries of Dr. Horatius Bonar, Mr. T. C. Heinz, and Mr. Thomas Archer. Some high prices were realized, of which the following are the most important : Thackeray’s The Gowns- man, 36/. La Fontaine, Fables, Oudry’s plates, 23). Hore B.V.M., MS., fifteenth century, with miniatures, 331. Topographical Deeds and Charters, 32/. Autograph Letters of Haydn (two), 10/. 10s.; Ditto, of Mendelssohn (ten), 30/.; Ditto, of Schiller (five), 42/. 10s. * PRINCE DORUS.’ Mr. TvER writes :— “Tn sackcloth and ashes I beg for a few lines to put right an excessively stupid blunder resulting from the worry and confusion produced by pres- sure of work. In last week’s Atheneum | stated that the sheet of music in ‘ Prince Dorus ’ had been transferred, in a copy of the first edition which had just turned up at Sotheby’s, from the beginning of the book to its proper place at the end. This, how- ever, refers to Lamb’s almost equally scarce ‘ Beauty and the Beast,’ a copy of which immediately pre- ceded ‘ Prince Dorus’ in the sale catalogue. There is, of course, no music whatever in ‘ Prince Dorus,’” THE OFFICIAL DESPATCHES OF THE GREAT REBELLION. THE magnificent series of Domestic State Papers has now been calendared down to the year 1668, with the exception of the three years which preceded the execution of Charles I. It will be evident, therefore, that the period which possesses attractions beyond any other for stu- dents of English history has chanced to be the last completed portion of this great undertaking. With the close of the year 1643 a considerable diminution in the mass of material to be dealt with was anticipated by the editor through the abeyance of the State Paper department during the Civil Wars. It happens, on the contrary, that the Parliament (as might have been ex- pected from the methodical proceedings of the moneyed interest) has bequeathed a rich legacy of these memorials, and it has been wisely de- cided to include them within the scope of these and the succeeding volumes, It would be difticult, in fact, to exaggerate the importance of these entry books, which record the proceedings of the Committee of both Kingdoms from day to day, the despatches received from the Parliamentary generals, and the instructions issued in reply, forming a narrative of the war on one side more graphic than anything that Clarendon has written on the other. Unfortunately, the military des- | patches cease in February, 1645, and they are wanting for the early part of 1644. On the Royalist side intelligence of the king’s movements and prospects is preserved in the regular series of State Papers, though these are very incomplete. At the same time that the Parliament at West- minster was engaged in considering the terms of a union with Scotland, a Royalist Parliament at Oxford was vainly endeavouring to set in order the king’s finances. A good account is given here of the social and religious factions which prevailed at both centres, showing that the financial assistance of the loyal Commons and the armed intervention of the Scotch were not unmixed blessings to either side which invoked them. The Derby House Papers throw much light on the designs of the Scotch faction at Westminster, and we learn that there was a strong opposition on the part of the mederate party, which naturally objected to being placed in a hopeless minority with regard to the con- duct of the war. The result was a consider- able modification of the original proposals, and it is a matter of history that the Committee ap- pointed under these auspices proved a conspicuous success. Multiplication of commands is the feature of the campaign of 1644 on the side of Parlia- ment. Hitherto the sole command had been vested in the Lord General, Essex, and the other armies that were on foot were really local arrays. There was now a new army under Manchester and another under Waller, to say nothing of the Scotch army, which had an advantage over all others in respect of appropriation of supplies. The results of this division were not at first encouraging. The brunt of the campaign in the West was borne by Waller, whilst Essex was permitted to undertake a useless expedition into Devonshire. If, however, his object was to frighten the queen, who was then lying-in at Exeter, it was completely successful, as is shown by an interesting correspondence now first de- ciphered here; although, to the unmistakable chagrin of the Committee, she contrived to make her escape to France. Being thus relieved of one great cause of anxiety, the king prepared to deal with the enemies on either side of him; but first he determined to make a demonstration towards the east of England, in order to draw off the Association which threatened to turn the scale against his generals in the North. It is just possible that he may have meditated an attack on London. Such, at least, was the fear of Parliament. Waller was hastily summoned from the West, and the trainbands were called out to cover the City with the help of the Eastern militia. The position was apparently critical. The king’s advance, unless checked by the southern army, would have necessitated the withdrawal of the Association, leaving the Scotch to their sure destruction between the armies of Rupert and Newcastle. In reality, however, this contingency was a remote one, for the king could never hope to shake off the pertinacious general whose services were, perhaps, more justly valued by his contemporaries than by some of his modern critics. After experiencing a virtual check at Cropredy Bridge, and now too late to save the North, the king turned back against Essex, who had by this time advanced far from his base of support into the unfriendly county of Cornwall. Here, without the shelter which the walls of Plymouth would have afforded, without the assistance of the fleet, which was de- tained by contrary winds, and with four Royalist armies closing round him, the earl indited his last despatch as a supreme commander for Par- liament, admitting that he had ventured every- thing on the faith of Waller’s ability to engage the king, and that he had lost everything through this miscarriage of the campaign. The fruits of the disputed victory at Cropredy Bridge were reaped by the king in the far West ; but in the mean time the victorious army of Manchester and Cromwell was passing south to replace Waller’s shattered and unmanageable levies.
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64 THE ATHENAUM N° 3272, Jury 12, ’90 The king was never again to get the upper hand in the war. Of the campaign in Yorkshire, which closed so disastrously for Charles I. at Marston Moor, it is only necessary to observe that there is a marked contrast between the sober intelligence of the original despatch preserved in these entry books and the confused and sensational narra- tives of other eye-witnesses. Cromwell’s share in the victory, to us a matter of supreme im- portance, is not alluded to in any way. ‘‘ We have nothing to add,” this laconic missive con- cludes, ‘‘ but that...... the glory of all the success belongs to God, and the benefit we hope will redound to the whole kingdom.” More information, however, is given on a subject of controversy recently renewed, the quarrel between Cromwell and Manchester ; and the editor even suggests that the omission of the former’s name from the despatches may be attributed to this incipient stage of their quarrel. It is further possible that these dissensions may be assigned to professional as much as to poll- tical jealousy. Surely to suggest, in the face of their commission, that Essex and Manchester were unwilling to press the king too hard, amounts to a reflection on their good faith towards Parliament which is directly in conflict with the evidence recorded here of their true and patient service. It must be admitted that the subsequent course of events justified the opposition of Cromwell and his friends to the way in which the war was being carried on, and it is equally true that, especially in connexion with Manchester’s failure to profit by his partial victory at Newbury, there was much cause for complaint. If, however, Parliament was satisfied on the whole with the conduct of its generals, it may be unwise at this distance of time to attach too much importance to the merits of a professional squabble upon points of strategy, which, like the equally famous disputes of Clinton and Cornwallis, or of Palliser and Keppel, will probably remain a vexed question for alltime. That the real issues were political rather than military was not fully realized at the moment ; and the fact remains that the re- tirement of the natural leaders, however incom- petent or self-seeking they may have been, was an experiment which might have had a fatal ter- mination for the Houses at Westminster. History teaches us that a new-modelled army requires long and careful training before it can be fully effective, and no opportunity was given for this needful preparation through an unlooked - for diversion in the king’s favour in Scotland, which left the army of Fairfax and Cromwell to bear the brunt of the campaign of 1645 in the open field, instead of being seasoned, as was first intended, at the siege of Oxford. There can be little doubt that had Goring effected his junction with the king's army in Leicestershire with troops flushed by a victory at Taunton the result would have been another indecisive battle at Naseby, followed by serious complications at Westminster, for the continuance of the war was all in the king’s favour. But Goring’s reverse at Taunton, in itself one of the most inexplicable incidents of the war, was fatal to the ‘‘ fair and hopeful ” prospects of his master, and the ‘‘ early and un- expected victory” (as it was described by the Committee at Westminster itself) of the “ new- model ” established a prestige which was never shaken down to its memorable disbandment at the Restoration. There are many other matters of the deepest historical interest included in the Calendar for the year 1645, such as the correspondence rela- tive to the ‘‘ contents of the king’s cabinet ” cap- tured at Naseby, a mischance of a more serious nature than even the loss of the battle. These papers have been printed elsewhere; but con- siderable light is thrown upon the continuity of the series known as the Sherburn Collection, which the editor describes as being inferior only to those taken at Naseby in their compromising character. As might have been expected, how- ever, several of the royal letters preserved here are of a more pleasing character, particularly one written by Charles to his wife only a week before Naseby, concluding with the assurance that ‘‘as divers men propose several recom- pences to themselves for their pains and hazard in this rebellion, so thy company is the only reward I expect and wish for.” This letter has been already printed, but several interesting letters of Lord Jermyn and Dr. Goffe are pub- lished here for the first time, containing some curious information respecting the queen’s pro- jects. It is scarcely necessary to refer to the con- tinued excellence of the editorial work displayed in these volumes. While the care and industry evident here are in accordance with the best traditions of the old State Paper Office, the his- torical insight and sympathetic treatment of the subject are characteristic of Mr. Hamilton’s pro- found knowledge of the period. It is, however, a matter for regret that such a work of reference as this should not be furnished with a more convenient index. A purely alphabetical ar- rangement may serve as a suflicient guide to recognized headings ; but further than this it is most desirable that the historical précis should be chronological. As they are arranged at present the entries are dispersed under arbitrary and sometimes unintelligent catchwords. Literary Ghossip, Sir Watrer Scorr’s ‘Journal’ is to appear in the autumn, reproduced from the original, which is preserved at Abbotsford. Mr. David Douglas will edit it, and add, besides elaborate explanatory notes, illus- trative extracts from unpublished sources, chief among them being the reminiscences in manuscript of James Skene, one of Scott’s oldest and most intimate friends. There are also letters from Carlyle and Lockhart. The whole work will form two octavo volumes, and they are said to contain nearly double the amount of matter given by Lockhart, while the sentences and paragraphs will appear as they were written by Scott. Many passages were truncated by Lockhart, many entries were omitted, and for five months not a line was reproduced. Tue Council of the Folk-lore Society have taken up the suggestion made at Paris last year, and are organizing a Folk-lore Congress in London, to meet in September of next year, under the presidency of Mr. Andrew Lang. The preliminary steps are now being completed, and the organizing committee will hold their first meeting next week. Mr. C. G. Leland, who is now in London, is acting with the Society in this matter, and there is every prospsct of a successful gathering. WE have not yet heard the last of De Quincey’s unpublished works. During the time he was editor of the Westmorland Gazette, 1818-19, he wrote not a few articles on political, philosophical, and literary topics of permanent value, which have never been republished. These have been unearthed from the files of that paper, and in a necessarily abridged form are about to be published by Messrs. Atkinson & Pollitt, of Kendal. Mr. Lamp having resigned the librarian- ship at King’s College, London, after many years of meritorious service, the Council is going to proceed to the election of a suc- cessor. Among the candidates are Mr. W. F. R. Shilleto, a son of the great Cam- bridge scholar, and Mr. Victor Plarr, of Worcester College, Oxford. Amone the contributors recently re- cruited to the new series of ‘‘ University Extension Manuals,” which Prof. Knight, of St. Andrews, is going to edit, and which are intended not to prepare the reader for examinations, but to educate him are Sir Alfred Lyall, who will write on the ‘British Dominion in India,’ and Mr. J. H. Muirhead, whose subject is ‘The Elements of Ethics.’ Prof. Jebb, it is hoped, may be in- duced to write on Greek literature, and Prof. Sellars on Latin literature. Prof. Knight himself will contribute ‘An Introduction to Philosophy.’ It may be as well to mention here that the volume which Prof. Seth has promised will not be a treatise on psychology, as has been announced, but an historical sketch of the subject. Mr. Sadler, the secretary of the Oxford Extension Delegacy, who was the other day elected a Senior Stu- dent of Christ Church, will write on ‘The Problems of Political Economy.’ Messrs. Macuittan & Oo. will publish immediately the first volume of Prof. Alfred Marshall’s long-expected treatise: on the ‘ Principles of Economics.’ It is an attempt to present a modern version of old doctrines with the aid of the new work, and with re- ference to the new problems of the age. Srvce January the library at the People’s Palace has been used by 204,647 persons, and the issue of books amounted to 35,558. On Sundays 27,228 persons have availed themselves of the library and reading-room. Over 1,500 volumes have been presented by various donors, 1,000 of these being given by the kindness of Mr. J. Passmore Edwards, of the Zcho. The Wilkie Collins memoria} fund has been expended in procuring a library of standard novels. There is a marked improvement in the class of reading, and a steadily growing demand for technical and scientific literature. TuE amount subscribed to the fund which the friends of the late Mr. F. A. Suttaby are raising for his family so far exceeds 4007. Further contributions, which can be paid to Mr. J. Whitaker of the Bookseller, or to Mr. Searle, St. Dunstan’s House, Fetter Lane, are expected. WE understand that in October a Day Training College for Elementary Teachers will be opened in connexion with the Uni- versity College at Cardiff. Ir is now announced that the author of ‘Thoth,’ ‘A Dreamer of Dreams,’ and ‘Toxar,’ is Mr. J. Shields Nicholson, Pro- fessor of Political Economy in the University of Edinburgh. This has long been an open secret. WE hear that Messrs. G. W. Bacon & Co., Limited, map publishers, of the Strand, have declared an interim dividend at the rate of 10 per cent. per annum. The business was recently turned into a limited company. A cory of ‘Sowerby’s Botany’ has, it is reported; been surreptitiously obtained from Messrs. George Bell & Sons by an applica- tion, professing to come from a member of the Government, written on official paper. Publishers should be on their guard against similar applications, and booksellers, should a copy of the work be offered for sale, should be particular in their inquiries, and, in case of suspicion, report to Messrs. Bell.
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XUM N° 3272, Jury 12, 90 THE ATHEN#ZUM 65 Tue Society of Authors had a pleasant dinner on Tuesday night. Prof. Jebb gave an excellent account of the Society’s aims, and Sir F. Pollock’s speech was also to the point. Mr. Besant, we may add, has pub- lished a pamphlet in which he accuses the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge of ‘‘ sweating” its authors, and not merely underpaying them, but breaking faith with them. Ofcourse, before forming an opinion on the matter it is only fair to await what the Society has to say. It is obvious the Publication Committee must reply. It can- not continue what appears to be its present policy of avoiding giving a definite answer. On Monday last a free public library was opened at Barnsley by the Marquis of Ripon. A local resident, Mr. C. Harvey, had agreed to contribute liberally towards the object on the understanding that the Act should be adopted. At a public meet- ing at Rugby also it has been resolved to adopt the Act. Dr. Eptzston’s reprints of the Gainford parish registers will be completed very shortly by the issue of the third section, containing the deaths. The volume will be published by Mr. Elliot Stock. THERE is some dissatisfaction among mem- bers of the Asiatic Society of Bengal at the fitful manner in which the once celebrated Journal of the philological department of that ancient society now makes its appear- ance. During the last three years not only have the numbers been abridged in size to one-third their original bulk—and of these only three, and sometimes only two, instead of four, issued in the year—but also these reduced instalments are generally published five or six months after date. Lack of papers to be inserted is not the cause of either diminished size or tardy issue, as the articles sanctioned for publication are many deep in the secretary’s hands. Wits the spread of printing in Turkey, literary piracy has, according to the Levant Herald, been taken in hand. The criminal court of Stamboul has sentenced Mustapha Effendi, of Egin, Youssoof Effendi, and Dervish Effendi to the payment of an in- demnity of 480/. to Ali Riza Effendi, pro- fessor at the College of Bayazid, for appro- priating his literary works. When will our American friends display such vigour ? Tue excellent report of the late Royal Commission on the Blind and Deaf has already borne fruit in India, and voluntary subscriptions for an educational institution for the deaf, to be erected in Calcutta, are already forthcoming. The list is headed by a contribution from an enterprising native gentleman, Babu Girindra Nath Bose, who promises 2,400 rupees per annum for three years, and 1,000 rupees down. The Bengal Government are prepared to supplement these subscriptions with a grant from public funds, and are making inquiry in this country as to a qualified oral teacher to undertake the mastership of the projected institution. Messrs. RovrtepGe & Sons have in the press a ‘Cyclopedia of Card and Table Games,’ edited by Mr. Angelo Lewis (‘ Prof. Hoffmann”’). Among other well-known authorities Dr. W. Pole will contribute articles on piquet, ombré, and patience games; Major-General Drayson on whist and écarté ; Mr. Arthur G. Payne on billiards. Mr. L. Hoffer (chess editor of the Field) undertakes the chess section, and Mr. R. McCulloch that on draughts. A melancholy interest will attach to the sections on napo- leon and solo whist, the writer, Mr. Charles F. Pardon, having died while the work was in progress. A COMPREHENSIVE history of the ancient Christian churches still existing in Syria, Persia, and India has at length been under- taken by a dignitary of that Romanized branch of the Nestorian Church known as the Chaldean Church. The author, the Rev. J. J. Nouri, who is Archdeacon of Babylon, has been spending some weeks in Southern India, visiting the centres of both the Uniat and the Jacobite Syrian churches in Travancore, Bangalore, &., and making copious extracts from records in those seats of early Indian Christianity, some of which are said to date back to the fifth century A.D. One portion of the Archdeacon’s work is to comprise a complete series of annals of the Chaldean race from the most ancient to the most modern times. Tuer Abbé Desgodins, whoit was announced had completed a new Tibetan-Latin-French dictionary four years ago, has at length brought his MS. to Paris. It has been accepted by the literary committee of the Papal Propaganda, and will be forthwith sent to press. It is to be published in the same sumptuous style as the Sacred Con- gregation accorded to the large Corean- French dictionary compiled by the Jesuit fathers in Japan. Tue death is announced at Colmar of M. Charles Grad. He was the author of a book called ‘Le Peuple Allemand,’ and of a handsome volume on his native Alsace, which we noticed last summer. He also contributed to the Hzpress of Mulhouse a number of articles on economical subjects. WE are sorry to hear that the novelist Friedrich Spielhagen, the completion of whose autobiography we announced some time ago, is lying dangerously, though not hopelessly, ill at Berlin. Tue well-known Romance scholar Prof. A. Ebert, of Leipzig, who was born 1820, died on the 1st of this month. Prof. Ebert founded in 1858, in conjunction with the late Ferd. Wolf, the ‘Jahrbuch fiir Roma- nische und Englische Litteratur.’ His ‘General History of the Literature of the Middle Ages’ has been translated into French. A new Folk-lore Society has been started at Berlin under the name of ‘“ Deutsche Gesellschaft fiir Volkskunde,” which will publish a quarterly Zeitschrift, one of the features of which will be the reviews of books relating to folk-lore. Messrs. Asher & Co., of Bedford Street, will be happy to receive books for this purpose and transmit them to their Berlin house, who are the publishers of the new periodical. ‘A Marrer oF Mixions,’ the new copyright novel by the author of ‘The Leavenworth Case,’ will be published on the 26th inst. by Messrs. Routledge. Mr. Francis Apams, the Australian poet, is about to issue through Messrs. Vizetelly & Co. an English edition of his later poems, entitled ‘ Songs of the Army of the Night.’ Tue Evening Post of New, York has come to hand, giving an account of the lawsuit brought by Messrs. A. & C. Black against an American firm who reproduced the ‘ Encyclop edia Britannica’ by photography. Messrs. Black appear to have won a con- siderable victory. Tue Parliamentary Papers of the week include Reports on the Blue- books for 1889 for Gambia (2d.) and Straits Settle- ments (2d.); Emigration to the Argen- tine Republic (2d.) ; Crofters’ Colonisation, Canada, Report of Commissioners (10d.) ; East India, Papers relating to Kashmir (8¢.); and a large number of the annual series of Trade Reports for 1890, from which we select the following: Netherlands, Trade of Dutch Guiana (1ld.); United States, Trade of the Consular District of Chicago (2d.); Trade of Corea (1d.); Portugal, Report on the Trade of Mozambique and District (1d.); Austria-Hungary, Foreign Trade (1d.); Italy, Report on the Trade of Brindisi (2d.); and France, Report on the Trade of Nice and District (2d.) and of Nantes (2d.). SCIENCE —f—— Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.U.S8. Challenger. — Zoology. Vols. XXVIII, XXIX., XXX. (Published by Order of Her Majesty’s Government.) Tue twenty-eighth volume of the Chal- lenger reports is occupied by one of the most interesting monographs of the whole series. It contains the description by Prof. Haeckel of those extraordinarily beau- tiful creatures the Siphonophora or oceanic Hydrozoa, illustrated by fifty exquisite plates. The Siphonophora are composite jelly-fish, colonies of delicate glass-like medusz strung together in various ways so as to form floating groups of incredible delicacy and beauty. They are hardly known on our own coasts, though occasionally one species, the Portuguese man-of-war or Physalia, is blown up the Channel and cast ashore in numbers at Brighton and Beachy Head. Their complexity of struc- ture has been the delight and despair of many zoologists who have had the oppor- tunity of studying them in the Mediter- ranean, where they are not uncommon. They formed the subject of Prof. Huxley’s most important first contributions to zoolo- gical science when he was surgeon on board H.M.S. Rattlesnake in 1849. In 1859 he published his ‘Oceanic Hydrozoa’; in 1869 Haeckel described the structure and development of several studied by him in the Canary Islands; in 1879 Haeckel re- ceived the Challenger collections preserved in alcohol ; in 1889 appeared this beautiful report, which not only deals with the Chal- lenger collections, but contains also the re- sults of Haeckel’s additional studies of Siphonophora made in the Canaries and in Ceylon, and of material obtained from the different museums of Europe, including the original drawings made by Mertens from living specimens in 1829. No one could possibly deal with a spirit-preserved collec- tion of Siphonophora whohad notalso studied them to a large extent in the living state. The shrinking and distorting action of the spirit has to be allowed for, and, in order to give a fair idea of the beauty of these
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66 THE ATHENAUM Ne 3272, Juty 12,’90 “* blossoms of the sea,’’ their colours must be ortrayed, in a few instances at least, from iving examples. Prof. Haeckel’s monograph is important, both for the new views and new terminology which he introduces in discussing the mor- phology of the Siphonophora and for the new forms which he makes known. Two views have existed as to the nature of the Siphonophora—the first that they are de- rived from a single medusa by the multi- plication of its organs so as to form an organism more elaborate and complex than an ordinary medusa; the second, that they are derived from floating colonies of hydroid polyps, the various ‘‘ persons” in which have become variously modified, some taking on the medusa shape, others remaining polyp-like, and both kinds being consider- ably modified and reduced in structure in various regions of the colony. Haeckel was formerly an advocate of the view that the Siphonophora were modified colonies of hydriform polyps. He now proposes as some- thing new a view which has long been familiar and taught by many zoologists, namely, that the probable starting-point of the Siphonophora is not from floating colonies of hydriform persons, but from such bud-producing meduse as were figured by Allman in his monographs of the Gym- noblastic Hydroids. These small medusz (Sarsia and others) were shown by Allman to produce other meduse by budding from the manubrium or stomach-stalk, and also sometimes by budding from the margin or under-face of the disc or umbrella. The hydriform and medusiform persons of the Hydromeduse being ultimately convertible morphological factors, it is, perhaps, not of very great importance whether we seek to derive the Siphonophora from colonial aggregations of the one rather than the other. We are, however, glad to find that Prof. Haeckel now adopts the theory of medusiform rather than of hydriform ancestry, and as a consequence regards the ‘‘persons”’ of the siphonophor colony as primarily meduse possessed of swimming- bell or umbrella and manubrium or stomach- stalk. His theory of “ dislocation’ and of “secondary replacement” is not so clearly developed in the present volume as we could wish, and as briefly set forth in the present memoir by him does not appear to be either necessary or probable. Given a colony of potential medusiform persons, by suppression of one organ in one group of persons, and of another in other groups, and by variation of the position and order of the component units of the colony, any known form of siphonophor can be obtained. The most important result of what Prof. Haeckel calls the ‘‘medusom-theory” of the Siphonophora is that we have to distin- guish two totally distinct lines of descent in that assemblage, which should, therefore, be divided and kept apart in classification. One set, the Disconanthze (Porpita, Velella), seem to be derived from a medusa ancestor of the group Trachomeduse, by budding on the under surface of the umbrella or disc, the central manubrium being retained and the marginal tentacles also ; the other series, the Siphonanthe, are traceable to Sarsia- like ancestors (Anthomedusz), which pos- sessed only one tentacle, and were con- sequently bilaterally symmetrical; these ancestral forms produced buds on the manu- brium. The Siphonanthz, which have this one-tentacled medusa as their morpho- logical unit, comprise all the varied and marvellously modified colonies of the Caly- conectze, Physonectz, Auronecte, and Cystonectz. It appears, then, that we have brought together in one artificial group two natural groups of independently developed, but similarly constructed derivatives of the simpler medusz, just as, according to the highly probable speculation of M. Paul Pelseneer (also published in the Challenger reports), we have to consider the pteropod molluscs as comprising two independent lines of descent from two different groups of sea-slugs, the thecosomes being torna- tellids modified for a swimming life, and the gymnosomes being aplysiids similarly modified. Amongst the collection of the Challenger Prof, Haeckel has discovered specimens which indicate a new order of Siphonanthe, to which he gives the name Auronecte, comprising the new genera Stephalia, Ste- phonalia, Auralia, and Rhodalia. These siphonophores are remarkable for their short compressed form ; they have a large pneu- matic sac, about one inch in diameter in the largest specimens, and below this the axis is distended so as to form a second gas- holding chamber, called by Haeckel the ‘‘aurophore.” Thislatter structure is peculiar to these new forms. Their tissues are very firm and cartilaginoid; swimming-bells are set in a close circle around the aurophore, whilst on the broad lower surface of the thickened axis are disposed tentacular, gas- tral, and sexual zooids. Prof. Haeckel infers from the structure of the Auronectie that they are inhabitants of the deep sea, and do not rise to the higher levels, but of this there does not appear to be any direct evidence. No one who is acquainted with Prof. Haeckel’snumerousand magnificent treatises on various groups of marine organisms can fail to be struck with the passion which he has for comprehensive systematic treatment of organic forms. He isthe greatest metho- dizer, the most skilful and uncompromising systematist, among modern zoologists. So complete and lucid are the classifications which he places before us that we cannot escape an uncomfortable feeling that the facts are bending themselves to suit the system, in- stead of the system being the expression of the facts. Does the system require a simple form serving to connect some more complex organism with the ancestry assigned to it by Haeckel’s system ? The inspired systematist seems to take up the first bottle of Challenger specimens, and, lo! the missing link is picked out by his forceps. Zoologists do not forget the Physemaria—the living gas- treeades ; they still marvel at Ctenaria cteno- phora, and at the forms connecting Lucern- aria and the free-swimming meduse. Far be it from us to doubt the good faith of the enthusiastic and talented naturalist whose genius itself perhaps causes other men to doubt by the rapidity and audacity of its achievements. The systematic position and special medusa-affinities of the Disco- nectz are elucidated by the aid of a won- derful group of simplified Porpitze, the Disca- lidee of the genera Discalia and Disconalia. These are drawn in two beautiful plates, the specimens being represented as- three inches in diameter. One species is bril- liantly coloured in red and blue. The ex- planation facing the plate gives no statement as to natural size, an omission which we have observed in all of Prof. Haeckel’s works on the medusez and allied forms. On turning to the letterpress, however, we find that these Discalidee were found in the collections of the Challenger (whence then the brilliant colours?), and are from one- fifth of a millimétre to six millimétres in diameter! They are stated to be “very similar to young Porpitide,”’ and corre- spond to a transitional larval stage of the latter, and retain the original character. of a simple octoradial medusa (like Trachynema) more nearly than any other Siphonophora. How, then, we may very naturally ask, is this interesting group to be distinguished from larval Porpitidee? On reference to the description of the Porpitidee we find that there is no means of making any such dis- tinction. Prof. Haeckel is not able to de- scribe the larvee of Porpitide. It is, indeed, clear enough that Prof. Haeckel has chosen to describe as a distinct group of great morphological importance what are quite probably only larval Porpitide. He has taken the same course in dealing with pro- bable larval forms of medusa in his ‘ System der Medusen.’ This is, indeed, an effective method of drawing attention to an interest- ing stage of development, and is to some extent capable of justification ; but it shakes our confidence in the beautifully elaborated ‘systems.’ There are certain conventions in use among naturalists, and one is that transient ontogenetic forms shall not be named, discussed, and treated as though they were permanent adult forms. The two things are different and of widely dis- tinct importance. Prof. Haeckel seems to think it useful to ignore this distinction. Such treatment certainly makes ‘‘ the sys- tem” look more complete and symmetrical. We are glad to see that Prof. Haeckel proposes to bring out a German edition of this work with some additions under the title ‘Morphologie der Siphonophoren.’ Thanks to the generosity of H.M. Stationery Office he has been able to issue as indepen- dent publications the plates of his large Challenger report on the Radiolaria, as also those of his report on deep-sea medusa, with a German text. No doubt the sale of these German reproductions of Challenger reports will to some extent diminish the circulation of the English originals in Ger- many; but then we must remember that, even when allowed to print from the stones exe- cuted for the Challenger reports, Prof. Haeckel cannot be considered as having been too liberally recompensed by H.M. Treasury for the important services he has rendered to the Challenger expedition. He has contributed to its credit not only valu- able morphological disquisitions, but also a large body of drawings and descriptions of his own discoveries which have had no con- nexion whatever with the Challenger or its collections. Vol. xxix. of the reports is not one volume, but three: nevertheless it contains not three reports, but one. Two of these volumes form the text and one contains the plates of Mr. Stebbing’s most laborious and meritorious treatise on the Amphipoda. a ~~ we noetlet ail ass nl —— ©
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Ee rce re XUM N° 3272, Jury 12, ’90 SSS THE ATHENAUM 67 These crustaceans are as innumerable and minutely diverse as some orders of insects. The Challenger report on them will be henceforward a classic. Vol. xxx., in two covers, text and plates, contains Mr. Percy Sladen’s fine piece of work on the Asteroidea—the starfishes—as distinguished from the snake - stars or Ophiurids. Very beautiful are the details of calcareous structure which Mr. Sladen figures as indicating specific characters. The Asteroidea were in need of the revision which they have here received. Like Mr. Stebbing’s work, Mr. Sladen’s does not con- tain any revelations of an extraordinary character. Nevertheless both are the out- come of years of patient observation and comparison, and for their successful com- pletion naturalists owe both these authors a debt of gratitude. The value of such descriptions and identifications is none the less because they do not comprise striking features of popular interest. In the Evolution of Sex (Scott), as the outcome of his articles in the ‘ Encyclopedia Britannica’ and with the collaboration of Mr. Arthur Thomson, Prof. Geddes has compiled from very varied sources a mass of fact and theory quite startling in amount and refreshingly accurate in transcription, though, it may be noted in passing, it might have been made more useful by fuller references to authorities. This mass of informa- tion, obviously the outcome of wide reading, is brought by the authors to bear not only on the subject chosen for the title (about which they have little that is new to say), but on almost every question relating to sex, from partheno- genesisto Neo-Malthusianism and sexual psychics. Prof. Geddes is the inventor, or at least the apostle, of what may be termed ‘‘ switchback- biology.” He represents all processes of life and their correlatives (in appropriate up-and-down diagrams) as expressions of anabolic and katabolic changes, of storage and waste. In his eyes nutrition and reproduction, male and female, spermatozoon and ovum, love and hunger, are all manifestations of the contrast between anabolism and katabolism ; and it is only fair to say that the idea has been most ingeniously worked out. Without entering here into a serious criticism of their thesis, we may point out that several of the positions on which the authors rely are by no means generally accepted (for example, Brooks’s theory of greater male variability), and we may also add that, doubtless unconsciously, they have sometimes a tendency to subordinate what is incompatible with their generalization. Diagram is often as fatal a rock to a biologist as metaphor to an orator, and Mr. Geddes has, in our opinion, struck on it; the phenomena of life seem at present too compli- cated for representation in a few geometrical figures. Still, if the authors have not materially deepened the current conception of sex, they have at least prepared for such a result by a careful summary of the available evidence, itself a valuable contribution to science, which is presented in a form readily intelligible to the student, and which, by the nature of the subject, cannot fail to be interesting. The book is clearly written and well arranged, in treat- ment not unlike a series of lectures. The pen of a too-ready writer leads at times to the ludicrous. To say of the increased activity of ophidian scent-glands at pairing time that “love has its noisy prayer replaced by the silent appeal of fragrant incense,” and of conjsgation among the Protozoa that “even at this low level, only through the fire of love can the phoenix of the species renew its youth,” is at least to be fantastic; but such passages are fortutetely rare. The Scenery of the Heavens: a Popular Account of Astronomical Wonders. By J. E. Gore, F.R.A.S. (Roper & Drowley.)—The author, who is already favourably known to the general public by his ‘Planetary and Stellar Studies,’ tells us in his preface that the design of the present work is to give a popular but exact de- scription of the most interesting facts relating to the planets, comets, meteors, fixed stars, and nebule, free from mathematical formule, and in language intelligible to the general reader. Mr. Gore, it need hardly be mentioned, is no mere book-maker, but has himself taken an active part in astronomical observations and in- vestigations. Many will, we are sure, be grate- ful to him for the interesting and systematic survey furnished them in these pages of the phenomena of the heavens, which bring a know- ledge of the most important astronomical facts within the reach of all. They have been care- fully brought up to date. The total number of small planets known is given as 287 ; and that is the number of the last discovery (named Nephthys) of 1889, but six more have been found in the present year, raising the whole number to 293. Allusion is made to the absurd suggestion to identify the planet Venus with the star of Bethlehem, which, as the author points out, there is no reason to suppose has ever been seen since the birth of Christ. In re- ferring to the comet seen in the autumn after the death of Julius Cesar, the date of that event is given one year too late, for it really occurred in Bc. 44, Mairan, indeed, tried to make out that the comet appeared in B.c. 43 ; but Gibbon was probably right in refusing to accept this view, whilst Shakspeare (who often uses the privilege of a poet to distort history, and erroneously assigns the Capitol as the scene of Czesar’s death) represents the comet as visible during the fatal ides of March. Encke gave the death-blow to the conjecture that this comet had been seen on other occasions, and was the one visible in 1680, referred to in the ‘Principia.’ There are a few other mistakes, but they appear to be very few. At p. 248 the constellation Triangulum Australe is called ‘‘ Triangulum Australis” ; at p. 260 Kirchhoff is spelt with one h ; and in two or three places the constella- tion Equuleus appears (in the genitive) as ‘¢Equuleii.” But as a whole the book is care- fully written and accurately printed, whilst the clearness and elegance of the typography leave nothing to be desired, and the numerous illus- trations are exceedingly good. Mr. Gore has produced a work which cannot fail to give a fresh stimulus to the study of astronomy, and to enable a larger number of persons to appre- ciate the wonders of the heavens as studied under the light of modern astronomy. Mr. Joun Murray has issued an illustrated edition of Mr. Darwin’s classical Journal of Researches. The illustrations are by Mr. R. T. Pritchett, and ‘‘ most of the views given...... are from sketches made on the spot” by him, with Mr. Darwin’s book by his side. There is, of course, nothing new to be said about this well- known book, save only that, as we looked it through, we found ourselves (as one does with Mr. Darwin’s books) reading with a fresh sense of pleasure passages that we knew quite well. With regard to the illustrations, Mr. Pritchett has been very successful in depicting scenery, but he must be said to have quite failed with his animals. It is a great pity that the work was not divided, for it is obvious that the portraiture of animals is not Mr. Pritchett’s strong point. Two maps, on which the track of the Beagle is marked, suitably complete the book. MR. W. KITCHEN PARKER, F.R.S. Tue world of science is the poorer by the sudden death of W. Kitchen Parker, for it has lost one eminently distinguished by laborious investigations, rare symvathy for nature, affec- tionate tenderness for friends, and swectness of manner towards all with whom he was brought into contact. There is no living zoologist whose loss could have touched us more. Parker did not begin life with the advantages of birth or wealth which bring men rapidly into notice. Such early education as he received at the hands of human teachers resulted in no higher degree than the membership of the College of Surgeons ; but as a child of the fields, and associated, as he must have been, with eminently pious persons, he acquired a love for nature and for nature’s God which gave a stamp to his character, and marked his writings with a peculiar note. He felt, as he told us, that “we live as in a twilight of knowledge, charged with revelations of order and beauty ; we stead- fastly look for a perfect light which shall reveal perfect order and beauty.” His earlier investigations, in which he was associated with Mr. H. B. Brady and Prof. Rupert Jones, were on the minute Forami- nifera; but about 1865 he began to de- vote himself to the morphology of the verte- brate skull, on the development of which he published a large number of valuable and lavishly illustrated memoirs, in which repre- sentatives of every great group were in turn described. This subject he made particularly his own. For about fifteen years he was Hunterian Professor of Comparative Anatomy in the Royal College of Surgeons ; in 1871 and 1872 he was President of the Royal Microscopical Society. As his life was essentially that of the student it did not contain many interesting incidents. What was, perhaps, its most notable characteristic was its intense happiness. Poor in this world’s goods, he was rich in the estimation of his friends, happy in his children, two of whom are well known as zoologists, and very happy in his work. A few months ago the great sorrow of his life—the loss of his wife—fell on a constitu- tion already impaired, and at the age of sixty- seven he has followed her to the grave. A few years ago his scientific friends gave him a sign of their appreciation by a powerful appeal to the First Lord of the Treasury for a pension from the Civil List. This and his two offices were the most signal honours of a blameless and honourable life, ihe remembrance of which will long be cherished by those who knew him. THE ROYAL UNITED SERVICE INSTITUTION. In the early part of last month the mem- bers of the Royal United Service Institution met, under the presidency of Admiral Boys, to consider their position and prospects in con- sequence of the impending call upon them by Government to vacate their present premises in Whitehall Yard. That call has not yet been made, but the incongruous exterior and quasi- isolation of the building occupied, compared to the stately mansions which have lately risen to overlook it, convey the impression that delay in attaining the bitter end is scarcely desirable. At the last anniversary meeting of the Institution, General Erskine represented the case as follows: “We occupy two houses, both of which are the property of the Crown, and in both we are tenants at will. One house is rent free, for the other we pay 2057, a year as rent ; but, on the other hand, the Government give us an annual subvention of 6007. sisees To put the matter shortly, we have at the present time free accommodation and an allowance of 395/. a year...... In view of our having to turn out from our present premises, the Treasury, some time ago, promised that they would pay the ground rent of a suitable site for the Institution, with a proviso that the Institution should build the house that would be required.” He proceeded to state that, on the 6th of January, 1888, the Council, deliberating on the situation, decided thata letter should be written to the Treasury, explaining that the finances of the Institution would not admit of its carrying out the arrangement suggested, and soliciting the Government to provide the required build- ing. The decision was acted upon ; but, no reply having been received, the application was re- peated on the 12th of April, 1889, and as this
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also remained unanswered, a memorial was ad- dressed, some ten or twelve weeks later, to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, supported by a large number of influential members of Par- liament. Meetings and interviews followed, the question was taken up by the press, many lead- ing journals warmly advocated the cause of the Institution, but the parliamentary session ended and matters rested in statu quo. The vacation ensued, and the Houses again met, when negotia- tions were resumed, but hitherto these have been without effect. General Erskine added, with force and truth :— “We are not pressing our individual claims in matters of personal interest, but advocating the cause of an institution which has proved itself of the very greatest utility to the two services—the army and the navy—and not only that, but which has shown itself one of national importance. The fact is that our records teem with testimonials to that effect, not only from naval and military officers of distinction, but also from ministers of the Crown, and statesmen of all shades of politics, and even from men of science and inventors. I have said that we have asked the Government to build us a new house, when we have to turn out of the present premises, but that is not, I think, quite so great a demand as it would at first sight appear, because the property will not be handed over to the Insti- tution. We should remain in the new house, accord- ing to the proposal of the memorial, as tenants at will, so that if the Government should wish to turn us out at any time, they would have the power to do it. We merely request that they will continue to us the same assistance as they have rendered up to the present time—that is, free accommodation, which was given to seven other institutions...... when they were turned out of Somerset House.” These, it may be noted, were the Royal Society, the Society of Antiquaries, the Linnean Society, the Chemical Society, the Royal Aca- demy of Arts, the Geological Society, and the Royal Astronomical Society. The yearly ex- pense to which Government would be put by acceding to the terms of the memorial was estimated at 2,800I., inclusive of interest on the cost of the new building, ground rent, and sub- vention money ; but it was shown that this sum could be materially decreased when once the _ Fequisite accommodation had been made avail- able. The United Service Institution, founded in 1831, is the outcome of a movement made more than sixty years ago by a certain number of influential naval and military men to supply the want of a central library and museum for the two professions which they represented. In 1860 it received a royal charter of incor- poration, and in 1874 its first annual gold medal, for the best essay on a naval and military sub- ject alternately, was issued, the winner being Capt. Hime of the Royal Artillery. A brief history of the Institution, drawn up by the secretary, Capt. Burgess, in 1885, shows that it possessed at that period more than 21,000 volumes in its library, and that the number of its members had reached the high figure of 4,591. Its journal had attained considerable reputation, and had a fair circulation with the outside public; while its lecture room had become a popular resort not only for profes- sional men, but members of Parliament and ladies. To those who have visited the museum of the Institution, attended the lectures, and listened to or taken part in the discussions held in its theatre, and who know something of the time and labour gratuitously given to the pro- motion of its interests and usefulness by its council and executive, not a word need be said on its behalf. Those who are not so familiar with its working and resources have only to glance at the contents of the volumes which it has published to feel assured that an institution of the kind is not only meritorious in itself, but indispensable to the country, and demands the support of H.M. Government as much in its aspect as part of the system of progressive in- struction exemplified by existing scientific centres in the metropolis, as for its indisputably national character.
That Government, in the person of its repre- sentatives, is not unfavourably disposed to the Institution may be inferred from the concluding words of the First Lord of the Admiralty, on responding to the vote of thanks passed to him for presiding at the anniversary meeting of the 1st of March last. There is only space to quote the following :— “T attach the highest importance to the preser- vation and extension of this Institution. It seems to me to discharge most important funetions......You may rely upon my doing everything in my power os = this Institution is properly located and oused.
ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. Tue United States’ Naval Observatory has recently published a third edition of Yarnall’s Star Catalogue, which has been prepared by Prof. Frisby, and is ultimately to form a first appendix to the volume of ‘Washington Obser- vations for 1884.’ The first edition appeared in 1873, and contained the places of all the stars observed from 1845 to 1871; and in 1878 Prof. Yarnall published a second edition, in which the results of six years’ additional observations (up to 1877) are included, though it was thought most convenient for reference to retain the numeration of the stars (their whole number is 10,658) as in the first edition, distinguishing the new objects by a dash after the number. A copy of the second edition only reached Prof. Yarnall about an hour before his death (which occurred on the 27th of February, 1879), and whilst already unconscious. In preparing the third edition, now before us, Prof. Frisby has not included any more recent observations, so that the catalogue remains that of Yarnall, but the stars are renumbered throughout, and the whole number amounts to 10,964, although this only exceeds that in the second by the addition of a few which were observed, but for some reason omitted from the catalogue. The whole of the work has been revised, and the errors which have from time to time been dis- covered corrected by the aid of observations made in different places. Some further changes might have been profitably made in the vexed question of star-nomenclature, in which the interpretation of Bayer’s letters adopted by Baily in the British Association Catalogue has usually been followed, whilst omitting Flam- steed’s numbers in such cases. Now (as was recently pointed out by Mr. Lynn in the Obser- vatory) it was unfortunate that when the British AssociationCatalogue appeared, Argelander’s valu- able ‘ Uranometria Nova’ had only just been pub- lished, and little use was made of it. There are several cases of stars in which Bayer’s letter is justly applicable to a neighbouring somewhat brighter star than that to which the letter is appropriated by Baily. Thus, in the case of a star in Cassiopeia marked w by Bayer, Flam- steed found two stars near the place indicated ; these he numbered 43 and 46 respectively, and registered both of the sixth magnitude. Baily affixed the letter w to the former of these, No. 43; but Argelander, finding No. 46 much brighter and really of the fifth magnitude, assigned the letter to that star in his ‘ Urano- metria.’ In like manner Argelander’s attribu- tion of the letter o to the star in Virgo num- bered 78 in Flamsteed seems preferable to its assignment to No. 84, as is done in the British Association Catalogue. Yarnall, however, follows the latter. In all the more important respects the new edition of his catalogue forms a valuable addition to works of the kind. We congratulate Prof. Frisby on its completion, and hope we may have before very long another Washington great catalogue, based on later observations. Baron von Engelhardt has recently published a second part of his Observations <Astrono- miques made at Dresden, the subjects being principally measures of double stars, star- clusters, and nebulz, though the volume con- tains also observations of several comets, includ- ing the comet which was discovered by Mr.
Barnard on the 2nd of September, 1888, but did not pass its perihelion until the end of January, 1889. Messrs. George Philip & Son send us an ingeniously constructed portable - sun - dial, adapted to all latitudes and provided with a compass. The first volume of the national edition of the works of Galileo has recently been published by the Italian Government.
SOCIETIES. ARCHEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.—July 3.—Rev. F. Spurrell in the chair.—Prof. B. Lewis read a paper ‘On the Roman Antiquities of Augsburg and Ratis- bon.’ The Roman remains in the former city are to be seen almost exclusively in the Maximilian Museum. The following are among the most remark- able : an inscription upon a milestone which records the repair of roads and bridges by Septimius Severus and Caracalla (the latter is called Marcus Aurelius Antoninus) ; another inscription which commemo- rates the erection of a temple by clothiers (in this case Augsburg is called Alia Augusta, in compli- ment to the Emperor Hadrian); the decuriones also are mentioned, who administered local affairs like a town council. A relief representing a cask on a four-wheeled cart was probably the sign of a wine- shop. Two draped figures in niches have been named duumviri, i.e, the two chief magistrates in a provincial city, corresponding with the con- suls at Rome, but this attribution is uncertain. A statue of Mercury is interesting because the deity carries a winged infant, Cupid, seated on a money-bag. Welser’s ‘ History of Augsburg,’ pub- lished at Venice, 1594, contains a full description and a fine engraving of a mosaic that has dis- appeared ; it represented a chariot race and groups of gladiators contending in various attitudes; it was, therefore, superior to the pavement at Rheims, where there are only single figures. The walls of the Roman castrum at Ratisbon have been carefully investigated, and for the most part the remains are sufficient to enable us to trace them clearly. On the western side of this fortified city atown grew up, like the civil settlements at the Saalburg. In 1885 the Porta Pretoria, facing the Danube, was laid open; it is very remarkable as a gate that is purely military, devoid of ornament, but imposing in its massive simplicity. On the other hand, the fragments of the Porta Principalis Dextra show that it was decorated ; itschief interest for us con- sists in the inscription on the attic recording its erection by Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, The Roman cemetery, as at Strasbourg, is close to the = station. An elaborate plan of it has been pubiished by Herr Dahlem, showing the direction in which the bodies were placed, and many other details. A little further from the town, near the village of Kumpfmiihl, Roman baths were dis- covered, also in 1885. From the objects found it is inferred that they were erected in the first half of the second century ; the building was probably destroyed by the Marcomanni at the beginning of the reign of M. Aurelius —Mr. W. E. Beck read an interesting paper ‘On the Keys of St. Peter at Liége and Maestricht.’ LINNEAN.—June 19.—Prof. C. Stewart, President, in the chair.— Messrs. W. H. Beeby and H. E. Milner were admitted, and Messrs. W. Cross and 8. Schonland were elected Fellows.—Mr. W. H. Beeby exhibited a specimen of Rumewx propinguus new to Britain, and procured in Shetland.—Mr. T. Christy exhibited and made remarks upon a specimen of Callistemon rigidum.—Mr. E. M. Holmes exhibited some marine Algx new to Britain, including Asco- cyclus reptans, Halothrix lumbricalis, Harveyella mirabilis, Sorocarpus uveformis, and Vaucheria litorea ; also specimens of Rhodymenia palmata with antheridia, and Punctaria tenuissima in fructi- fication, the last two not having been previously recorded to occur in this state in Great Britain.— The following papers were read : ‘Observations on the Protection of Buds in the Tropics,’ by Mr. M.C, Potter,—‘ On the Distribution of the South Ame- rican Bell-Birds belonging to the Genus Chasmo- rhynchus,’ by Mr. J. E. Rarting,—‘ On the Vertical Distribution of Plants ‘n the Caucasus,’ by Dr. G. Radde,—and ‘Notes ea the Forficulide, with De- scriptions of New Genera and Species,’ by Mr. W. F. Kirby.— This meting terminated the session of 1889-90, RoyAL InssITUTION.—July 7.—Sir J. C. Browne, Treas. and V-P., in the chair.—Messrs. T.T. Bucknill, E. A. Ha:vey, M. Morris, and W. T. Rabbits were elected Members.
MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. pon. Victoria Institute, 8—Annual Meeting; Address by Prof. Wace.
+. -
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mb + - XUM N° 3272, Juzy 12,90 THE ATHENAUM eee 69 Science Gossip, Tue Physiological Society, which has been in the habit of holding meetings at Oxford and Cambridge as well as in London, is this year travelling further afield, and will go to Edin- burgh, when the Research Laboratory of the Royal College of Physicians will be visited as well as the Physiological Laboratory of the University. Mr. Joun Cox, lately Warden of Cavendish College, Cambridge, has been appointed to the Chair of Physics at the McGill University of Montreal, and Mr. Ashley Carus-Wilson, Superintendent of the Testing Department in Cooper’s Hill College, to the Chair of Mechanical Engineering in the same University. Labora- tories in connexion with both departments are to be built, with the aid of a local benefactor, Mr. Macdonald, who has given, we understand, half a million dollars for the purpose. Dr. Ettiot, who is well known in connexion with his work in the laboratory of the University of Edinburgh, has been appointed Professor of Engineering, and Dr. Turpin, of Cambridge, has been appointed Lecturer and Demonstrator in Chemistry, at the University College, Cardiff. The new engineering laboratories at the College will be erected at once. on foot for the establishment of a medical school at Cardiff, to be opened in October, 1891. On Saturday last an industrial exhibition was opened at the University College, Liverpool, by the Mayor, the object being to obtain money for endowing scholarships for the working classes in connexion with the Walker Laboratory. THE congress of German Naturforscher wnd Aerzte is to be held at Bremen this year, from the 15th to the 20th of September. GOVERNMENT Officials are very busy just now prospecting for oil on the Baluchistan frontier, with the view to its application as locomotive fuel. Khattan is reported by Mr. Oldham to have reservoirs of petroleum sufficient to supply the Quetta Railway for many years ; whilst in the Harnai Valley (including Spin Tunghi, near Murree) there are indications of an extensive oil-field with capabilities not yet fully tested. The latest and most important finds, however, hail from the Suliman Hills. If these discoveries were utilized, it is estimated that they would set free for domestic purposes two million tons of coal now consumed annually from the Khost Colliery, Panjab, as well as the vast quantities of wood used on the Quetta Railway. A FULL biography of Emin Pasha, by Dr. L. Staby, will be published in six parts. The first part of the work, which is said to be based on authentic sources and will be provided witha map and illustrations by H. Boden, has just made its appearance. THE death of Sir E. Chadwick deserves chronicle in these columns on account of his contributions to sanitary science. A fitting record of these was supplied in Dr. Richardson’s recent work ‘The Health of Nations,’ of which an abridgment, entitled ‘National Health,’ appeared two or three months ago. FINE ARTS —_>— ROYAL SOCIETY OF PAINTERS IN WATER COLOURS.—The ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEENTH EXHIBITION is NOW OPEN. —5, Pal Mall East, from 10 till 6.—Admission, 1s.; Catalogue, ls. ALFRED D. FRIPP, R.W.S., Secretary. A ig LEGEND of the BRIAR ROSE, painted by E. BURNE JONES, The LEGEND of the BRIAR RO3E—The EXHIBITION of Mr. BURNE JONES'S Four Pictures is NOW OPEN at Messrs. Thos. Agnew & Sons’ Old Bond Street Galleries, 39, Old Bond Street, W. ~Admission, ls. 10to60’clock. Saturdays, 10 to 5. A strong movement is | Kunsthritieche Studien iiber Italienische Ma- lerei.—Die Galerien Borghese und Doria | Panfili in Rom. Von Ivan Lermolieff. | (Leipzig, Brockhaus.) |A ven of humour is always a valuable element in a work of imaginative literature ; few, however, will consider that it holds the same position in the department of fine-art criticism. Even were the fooling of the most excellent quality, most readers, students especially, would prefer the writer to lay _ aside the cap and bells when treating of the genuineness of pictures and drawings by the old masters; but when the drollery is mani- festly forced it becomes simply tedious. The joke of an Italian senator passing himself off as a Russian critic possibly diverted his | friends, in the same way that Mr. Peter Magnus amused Ais friends by signing his familiar notes ‘“‘ Afternoon’; still witticism of this order rather palls on repetition. Mr. | « Tvan Lermolieff’’ apparently thinks differ- ently, for we find him in his second volume of criticism again masquerading as a Russian, and styling himself ‘‘a son of the inhospitable steppes.” Mr. Lermolieff doubtless understands his own countrymen, and the agreeable and well-bred loungers of the Corso and the Pincio, who are ac- customed to treat art, as all other subjects, in a gay and volatile fashion, may reward with a smile the writer who seeks to lighten with small jokes what should be a scientific discussion. Had, therefore, Mr. Lermolieff written in the language of ‘‘ Capitano Fra- casso,” the method might not have been in- congruous; but when his work is addressed to German readers, he must surely strangely have misjudged their taste and habit of mind. Setting aside the fantastic embroidery, we find Mr. Lermolieff again airing the familiar platitudes of his former volume. Criticism of the old masters is an affair of the careful comparison of ears and fingers. Herein consists the new discovery which is to bring the correct assignation of a picture within the range of the meanest capacity. Previous writers had not adorned their pages with text illustrations of ears, therefore Mr. Lermo- lieff innocently supposes that they had over- looked that useful appendage of the human head. But the amateur is always fertile in discoveries. It was an amateur of literary tastes who discovered that by altering the received mode of punctuation, any one of Shakspeare’s plays could be made quite different, and the sense completely changed. From what is recorded of another production of this writer—he evidently took himself very seriously—he may have even persuaded some of his admirers that his discoveries were ‘‘epoch-making.” On the other hand, it is possible that Mr. Lermolieff is equally playful whether he is propounding a theory or posing as a Tartar, and that he enjoys the laugh against the small circle of youth- ful German writers and the two or three solemn professors who take him seriously. Perhaps the least agreeable feature of the studies is the persistent attempts to depreciate the Italian galleries and museums. Every one knows that in Italy, as elsewhere, cata- logues sometimes contain attributions which are not generally accepted by students; these were pointed out before Mr. Lermolieff em- barked on the career of art critic, and no useful end is attained in exaggerating their number. Artistic polemics are not exhilarat- ing, even when served up with a flavour of the farcical. Still, if they are to be indulged in, it is desirable to avoid misrepresentation. Mr. Lermolieff states that Messrs. Crowe and Cavalcaselle before 1881 described the Venice sketch-book as containing original drawings by Raphael (‘ Zeitschrift fiir Bil- dendekunst,’ 1887, note to p. 113), and after 1881 they suddenly described these original sketches as copies. Without explanation it might appear that Messrs. Crowe and Caval- caselle had recanted so far as the author- ship of Raphael was concerned; whereas in giving an extended analysis of the sketch- book they naturally pointed out that though the sketches were by the hand of Raphael, they were copies from Perugino, Signorelli, Filippino, Melozzo da Forli, and others. Mr. Lermolieff should stick to his last. As a senator he may be most praiseworthy; he has yet to learn that fanciful theories garnished with flippant witticism will be accepted as art criticism, which, at least on this side of the Alps, is considered to be an affair of long training of eye and judgment, accompanied by patient scientific research. THE ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETIES. The Yorkshire Archeological and Topographical Journal. Parts XLI. and XLII. (Bradbury, Agnew & Co.)—This is a fairly good number, but by no means equal in merit to those issued in former days when the late Mr. Fairless Barber was the editor. It contains, however, one paper of especial value. Mr. Richard Holmes, of Pontefract, a well-known Yorkshire antiquary, has discovered in a well near Ponte- fract a mutilated stone crucifix of great interest. Unlike most antiquaries, he seems to have given a too modern date to his ‘‘find.” The cross on which the figure is suspended has double arms, a form common in the East, but almost unknown in Western Europe, except in very early times. Mr. Leadham has given a paper on the execution of Archbishop Scrope. It is useful as gathering together nearly everything that is known concerning a person whose violent and cruel death induced the Yorkists to honour him as a saint. Though never canonized by Papal authority, his tomb was decorated with many costiy offerings, which were, of course, swept into the royal treasury during the re- ligious changes of the sixteenth century. Mr. Leadham’s paper on the battle of Stamford Bridge is useful and compact, but does not contain any new knowledge. Mr. Walker’s account of the chapel of the Blessed Virgin on Wakefield Bridge is interesting as giving an account of the many changes which this beau- tiful building underwent between the time of its secularization and its restoration to the Church of England some five-and-forty years ago. The present building is not the old one. All was swept away except the basement, and a facsimile has taken its place. We believe that what is to be seen now is an exact copy of its predecessor, except that one of the sculp- tures which was not considered fitting for an Anglican church has been replaced by a carving of the day of Pentecost. The Yorkshire Archeological and Topographical Association.—Record Series, Vol. VI. Index of the Wills in the York Registry, 1389-1514. (Printed for the Society.)—This volume is per- haps the most generally interesting of any of the Yorkshire Record Series. It would not be easy to exaggerate the value that it will be to persons engaged in genealogical researches, or on the history of the towns and villages of York- shire and Nottinghamshire. A will is now a dull and dry document, which no one would read
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70 THE ATHENAUM N° 3272, Jury 12, ’90 for pleasure unless he hoped to derive some- thing by it. The wills of the Middle Ages and even of a later period are often highly interest- ing documents, containing words not to be found elsewhere, and often giving lists of plate and furniture which throw much light on the man- ners and habits of our progenitors. A few of the wills here calendared have been printed in full or in abstract by the Surtees Society ; but most of them are unknown to literary inquirers. It is not without interest to remark how much more permanent the middle and lower classes have proved to be than the great houses which formerly ruled the shire. Nearly all of them have gone, perished off the face of the earth or migrated into other shires; but a directory shows us that the peasant names are now much the same as they were in the days of the Planta- genets. Fairfax, Scrope, Tempest, and Saville yet remain, yet these are but a small fraction of the noble and gentle names with which Yorkshiremen were once familiar. The Wars of the Roses worked great destruction among the families of the North, but probably not so much as the Pilgrimage of Grace and the Rising in the North. The industrial growth of York- shire during the last century and a half has dispossessed many of the old families which war had spared, and their place has been supplied by men of peasant and yeomen descent, who have gained wealth by trade. Students of sur- names will find several with which they are not familiar. William Shilbotell was a burgess of Scarborough in 1496; a contemporary of his was Robert Sikerwham, who was buried at Otley, near Leeds. John Byndezotyn flourished in 1402. It would be easy to extend this list to great length. As to the Christian names there are but few that call for remark. The Yorkshire Archwological and Topographi- cal Association. —Record Series, Vol. VII. Feet of Fines of Tudor Period. (Printed for the Society.)—The Yorkshire Archzeological and Topographical Society is doing good work by publishing calendars of the records of the county. The ‘‘ Feet of Fines” are a series of documents which are of priceless value to the topographer and _ genealogist. 3y their help many a missing link in a pedi- gree may be recovered, and they give evidence as to the devolution of landed property which in many cases cannot be supplied from any other source. The present volume, of upwards of two hundred pages, consists of a complete calendar for ten years only, that is, from 1583 to 1593. We sincerely trust that it may be continued at least as far as the end of the seventeenth century. The Elizabethan period is exceptionally interesting. The monasteries had fallen, but many of the Yorkshire land- owners were still adherents of the ancient form of belief. The laws against Papists were carried out with far greater rigour in Yorkshire than in several of the counties which lay south of the Humber. In the Northern counties the Roman Catholics were a source of real danger to the Government, whereas in the Midlands and the South they were not strong enough to be threatening. Many of the sales which this volume records undoubtedly took place to pay the heavy fines which were from time to time levied on those who refused to be present at the established form of worship. As far as we are able to judge without comparing the entries in the calendar with the original records, the work has been executed with commendable accuracy. We owe its formation to the zeal and energy of Dr. Collins. This fact we gather from a previous volume, for, unwisely as we think, the editor’s name is not given in the present volume. Thereis an excellent index of persons and places. Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society. Vol. VI. (Manchester, Manchester Press.)—These Transactions im- prove with age. The present volume contains little or nothing that will not be of interest to the inhabitants of the two important shires to the history of which it is devoted. The biblio- graphical portion is especially useful. We have what seem to be complete catalogues of the works, including magazine articles, of the late W. Thompson Watkin and the late John Eglin- ton Bailey. The paper on Henry Ainsworth, the Puritan commentator, is remarkably good. His writings are little read now, but during his lifetime and for a century after his death Ains- worth was looked upon as one of the greatest Hebrew scholars that England had produced. A considerable portion of his life was spent at Amsterdam, which was in his days and for many years after a refuge for all Protestants who were suspected of holding heretical opinions. Mr. Robert Langton contributes a useful article entitled ‘An Obscure Funeral Custom.’ He points out that in the earth of which Celtic | barrows are made it is common to find fragments of broken pottery and flint chips scattered through the soil, and has come to the conclusion that this widely-spread custom indicates some funeral rite of which the history has not as yet been recovered. That such is the case seems highly probable, and the practice of throwing stones on the graves of suicides may well be a survival of this ancient practice. The custom was not confined to the Celts. We have more than once seen objects of this kind found in grave-mounds which are commonly called Anglo- Saxon, and which almost certainly belong to some branch of the great Teutonic family. Mr. Henry Colley March has contributed a paper on stone circles which should be carefully studied by all interested in these prehistoric records. NOTES FROM ATHENS. An interesting inscription at Katsingri, a village near Argos, has recently been published by M. J. Kophiniotis, who some two years ago directed the excavation of Mount Lykone, of which I gave an account in the Atheimewm at the time. This inscription runs as follows :— AIO KPATAT BATA M. Kophinietis says that it is placed on the side of a square plate of marble which contains a pediment, on which Zeus is depicted grasping a thunderbolt in his right hand. . The plate is broken in three pieces. It is of the Roman period, and probably belongs to the second century of the Christian era. The epithet applied to Zeus, Krataibates, is new ; it is in no way to be con- fused with the Kataibates. M. Kophiniotis quotes yeppddes kpataiBoXou(Eur. Bacch. 1096), and Odpakes kpatarytador (I. xix. 360), kparat- Aews (Esch. Ag. 652, and Eur. El. 534), and Kpataizovs (Pind. Ol. xiii. 81). It may be assumed, therefore, that Zeus Krataibates was the god of the descending thunderstorm. A most interesting discovery was lately made at Marathon. You are aware that recently the Ephorate of Antiquities has turned its attention to the prehistoric tumuli in Attica. The success of the investigations at Spata, Vurua, and Velanidesa led to the resolution to make new diggings at the tumulus at Marathon, on which Dr. Schliemann was at work in 1884. The name, Soros, of this mound, which lies at the distance of a mile or so from the sea, was since anti- quity a puzzle. Was it Ywpds, that is simply a heap, a wall of earth, or was it Yopds, mean- ing a coffin, a place of burial? Was it a pre- historic tumulus, or the grave of the Athenians who fell in the famous battle (490 B.c.), of which Pausanias says: Taos dé év ty* wedi , , 2 ‘ > A Ok > “ ~ A > , A@nvaudv E€OTLV, ETL O€ auto oTnAat Ta OVOPLaATa Tov arobavovtwv Kata pvAas ExdoTwv éxovoat? Even before Dr. Schliemann’s excavations an indication which led to various conclusions being formed was the constant finding of heads of obsidian on this obviously artificial mound. Some said these were sure indications of the prehistoric nature of the mound, and led us back to the stone age. On the other hand, Francois Lenormant quoted the passage in Herodotus (vii. 69) mentioning the reed spears of the Ethiopians tipped with heads of hard stone. As the Ethiopians were mentioned among the troops of Xerxes, the French scholar held they might very possibly have been part of the army of Dates and Artaphernes. The excavations of Dr. Schliemann, as they led to the discovery of nothing belonging to the historical period, made people almost certain that the mound was _ pre- historic, and that it was by no means to be re- garded as the grave of the Athenians. But opinion on this point has altogether changed since the Ephorate of Antiquities determined to reinvestigate the Soros at Marathon. The results of the excavations are as follows: at a depth of 13 métres from the top of the tumulus the work- men came uponahydria of clay containing bones and ashes, and beneath it was found a layer, 26 métres long and 9 métres broad, full of ashes, charcoal, and human bones, which had suffered from fire and decay. There were also brought to view small vases, and polished lecythi, mostly dark, which were strewn here and there on the soil of the mound. This layer, so far as it had been laid open, was inspected on June 16th by a commission consist- ing of MM. Kabbadias, Lolling, and Stais, the architect Kawerau, and Prof. Mitsopulos. Their opinion was that we have before us the grave of the 192 Athenians who fell in the battle, and whose bodies were burnt by their fellow citi- zens. Over them were placed vases, and upon the grave was heaped a mound of earth 13 metres high. So far for the work of excavation. But the results are by no means purely archeological. They are of much historical value. It is well known that the story of the fight at Marathon, one of the simplest in history, yet offers great difticulties to the interpreter. Grote, Curtius, Finlay, Casagrandi, Delbriick, to name only the representatives of various theories, have tried their hands upon it. Even the site of Mara- thon, the most important town in the Tetra- polis, is dubious. Before the days of Leake, the village of Marathona was identified with Marathon, and Lolling has recently revived this theory. Leake placed Marathon at the modern Vrana, and most subsequent writers have adopted his opinion. New light on the topo- graphical as well as the historical question was promised by the inquiries of a German, Capt. von Eschenburg, in 1886. He urged that the position of the Deme of Marathon was of great importance for the identification of the battle- field, and adopted neither Lolling’s nor Leake’s view, but maintained that the Deme extended from the valley of Vrana on one side as far as the sea, including the Soros, but on the other up to Plassi, not far from the torrent. This hypo- thesis compelled him to place the chief scene of the battle at a distance from the Soros, on the spot where the church of Panagia Misosporitissa now stands. By this means he supposed that he could arrange the opposing forces, the Athenians and Platzeans from the present Bei to Armeni at the beginning of the supposed settlement of the inhabitants of Marathon; while the Persian lines stretched from the site of the present chapel of St. George on the spurs of Mount Staurokoraki to the neighbourhood of Plassi. But to an arrangement of this sort the chief objection is that the torrent lies between the opposing forces, and would certainly have checked the charge of the Athenians which the description of Herodotus shows to have been a chief feature of the struggle. One of the main reasons that induced Capt. von Eschenburg to place the battle-field far from the Soros was the idea that the tumulus did not contain the bones of the Athenians who fell in the battle. This supposition was due to the excavations of Dr. Schliemann, and his remarks in an essay in the Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie on ‘ The so-called
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a= a, ) * XUM THE ATHENZAU.L 71 N° 3272, Jury 12, ’90 Grave of the hundred and ninety-two Athenians at Marathon.’ How much this weighed with Capt. von Eschenburg may be inferred from his own words :— “So interesting is this discovery of Dr. Schlie- mann’s, so important for the identification of the battle-field of Marathon—for the Soros was hitherto the one point which was regarded as certain—that I am of opinion that the statement of Dr. Schliemann has the advantage of enabling us to examine the question of the site of the battle-field with less antecedent prejudice than was hitherto possible. As I have already indicated, I am convinced that the whole ground about the Soros was at the time of the battle included in the Deme of Marathon, consequently the battle-field is to be looked for further to the north-east.” It is clear that the result of the most recent explorations on the Soros, if it is proved irre- fragably that the bones of the Athenians have been discovered, entirely alters the state of matters. Without antecedent prejudice one must again regard the neighbourhood of the Soros as the main scene of the struggle. But whether with that the theory of Capt. von Eschenburg, that the Soros lay within the territory of the Deme of Marathon, disappears, cannot yet be definitely said—not until excavations have been made round the Soros. In spite of the last excavations, which have not yet been finished, we must examine anew the old objections to the idea that the Soros is the grave of the Athenian warriors. They rest, strictly speaking, on the well-known passage in Pausanias (i. 32), in which he says of the grave: **Tt is in the plain; upon it stand memorials which record the names of the fallen according to their tribes”; and further on he remarks: ““The Athenians assert that they buried the Medes, it being a duty to cover a man’s corpse with earth. Yet I could not find a grave, for there is neither a tumulus nor any other indication to be seen.”” To conclude from this passage that the grave of the Athenians did not form a tumulus seems to me entirely without foundation. Pausanias speaks quite separately of the Athenians and the Persians. Where he could find no indication, therefore no stele or other memorial, that was upon the resting-place of the Persians. There also there was no tumulus. The remark is in obvious contradic- tion to the description of the grave of the Athenians. That was wanting on the grave of the Persians which was to be seen over that of the Athenians. The memorial pillars of the Athe- nians are expressly mentioned; the same we may conclude of the earthen mound, the yoya, of which in his description he did not think to make express mention. When, however, he says that the grave of the Athenians lay in the plain, it is not to be supposed that he in using these words excludes the existence of a tumulus. He only intends to tell us thereby that he really saw the grave of the Athenians, and on the field itself in contradistinction to the surrounding hills. The grave of the Persians he nowhere saw. Will further excavation bring to light the memorial pillars containing the names of the fallen warriors ? I believe it is possible. Sp. Lampros. THE BRITISH ARCHEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION AT OXFORD. THE Association opened its forty-seventh yearly Congress on Monday, under the presi- dency of the Earl of Winchilséa and Nottingham, who last year occupied the same position at Lincoln, and on this occasion kindly undertook the duty in place of the late Earl of Carnarvon. About sixty members and visitors assembled in the Council Chamber in the afternoon, where they were received by the Mayor (Mr. Alderman Hughes), the Sheriff, and other members of the Corporation, representing the City, and the Vice-Chancellor, the Warden of Merton, and other representatives of the University. The Earl of Winchilsea delivered an eloquent address, in the course of which he took occasion to observe that he was aware of the very ancient strife which once prevailed between the city and the University, but was glad they were now united, and the only strife remaining to-day was in the form of a generous emulation to see which of the two could do most for the well- being of all, and for the preservation of those buildings which were the equal glory of both parties. He proceeded to pay a warm tribute to the memory of Lord Carnarvon, who had himself fixed the date of meeting rather earlier than usual in the summer, with the express purpose of being enabled to take a personal share in the week’s proceedings. Passing under review the salient pcints in the public life of the late earl, the President next turned to an enumeration of some of the more important and typical features of the ancient edifices and remains about to be visited, and then went on to sketch out the medieval history of the city in reference to the sites set down on the pro- gramme of the Congress for elucidation. With regard to the more remote history of Oxford, little, he said, was known of it as it stood in Xtoman times; but in the Saxon age it had become a place of first-rate importance, on account of its strategical position, commanding as it did the communication to the south over the river Thames. This position was the cause of the many battles which had taken place around it, and it was remarkable that between Eynsham and Reading probably more conflicts had taken place than in any area of the same extent in the United Kingdom. The town had been the chief in Mercia, and now that there was a chance of ancient divisions being restored, possibly Oxford might again become the capital of that district. In the Norman time the castle had been built by D’Oilli, who had also erected St. Michael’s tower, partly as a church tower and partly as a substantial defence of the north wall of the town. Parts of the city wall still stand in the grounds of Merton College and New College, and the visitors to those sites would see the intelligent care with which the authorities had preserved the bastions and other integral parts of these ancient fortifica- tions. At the conclusion of the address the party began the perambulation of the city, and the first visit was paid to the University 3uildings and some of the old houses of the city, under the guidance of Mr. E. G. Bruton, F.S.A. Progress was then made to the Bod- leian Library, where the librarian exhibited some of the chiefest of the large collection of interesting pictures, antiquities, models and casts, books and manuscripts. Among the last, and only temporarily placed in the library, pending its republication by Mr. Evans, is the celebrated Hengwrt Codex known as the ‘Liber Landavensis,’ a twelfth century chro- nicle or register of Llandaff, containing lives and notices of the early saints whom that see especially venerates, viz., Telianus or Teilo, Dubricius, and Oudoceus; a large series of charters granting lands to the Church (of which the principal interest is that the boundaries are given in the ancient vernacular); and the corre- spondence which passed in the years 1130 and 1151 between the Papal Court, Urban, Bishop of Llandaff, and the Bishops of Hereford and St. Davids, respecting the alleged usurpation of parts of the diocese of Llandaff by the two last-named prelates. Many years ago the ‘Liber’ was edited by Rees, who gave the variant readings of this MS. in his foot-notes. In the time of Rees the place of deposit of this ancient MS. was unknown. possession of Mr. Davies Cooke. The other MSS. which are exhibited in the show-cases were also examined attentively. On Tuesday, the 8th, a visit was paid to Merton College. Here the Hon. G. C. Brodrick received the party in the hall, and delivered an address on the ‘ Ancient Buildings and Statutes of Merton College.’ The original seat of the It is now in the | } college, which is the earliest in England, was at Malden, in Surrey. Ten years after its foun- dation—namely, in 1274—it was transferred by Walter de Merton, the founder, to Oxford, and in his statutes, put forth in that year, he designated Oxford as the exclusive and perma- nent home of the scholars. These statutes, which may be justly described as the founda- tion of the college system, were confirmed by Edward I. Fully appreciating the great intel- lectual movement of his age, and unwilling to see the paramount control of it in the hands of the religious orders, Walter de Merton re- solved thereby to establish, within the pre- cincts of the university, a great seminary of secular clergy, which should educate a succes- sion of men capable of doing good service in Church and State. Among the parts of the fabric which are coeval with the foundation are the main walls of the hall, and the sedilia in the windows, which were opened out by Sir G. Scott. The ancient door, with its elaborate ironwork, is probably not far from this period. In the library, which has been thought by some to have been originally a common dormitory, a collection of ancient astronomical instruments, and the examples of the method of chaining the books to their respective bays, were examined with interest. In the chapel some matrices of sepulchral brasses were shown, among which one is of more than ordinary interest, because an early brass has been screwed down, without regard to strict symmetry, over an example of a tloreated cross of a different period, which or- nameuts a slab having apparently no relation to the brass itself. The glass of one of the windows on the north side of the chapel is enriched with a bordure, charged alternately with fleurs-de-lis and castles—a combination of devices which is seen on the early great seals of Edward III., to whose period the glass probably is to be re- ferred, and not to that of Edward I., as has been sometimes asserted. The Muniment Xoom contains an ancient register of the deeds and documents belonging to the college and the college Chronicle. The garden, which en- shrines the oldest part of the city wall, was formed by the gradual acquisition of small strips of land belonging to different owners. New College was the next point of interest in the proceedings of the day. This is one of the earliest foundations, and dates from 13879. Here was seen the crozier of William of Wyke- ham, enclosed in a glass-fronted niche near the communion table. The substantial portion of the city walls, with bastion and towers, forms a remarkable feature in the grounds. In the cloister wall are inserted some fragmentary portions of the original carvings of sacred sub- jects which filled the niches at the east end of the chapel, now replaced by other sculptures by no means so interesting to the antiquary. Dr. Liddell received the Association at Christ Church in the afternoon, and gave some account of the hall and cathedral. The portraits of illus- trious students which are hung round the hall were examined. They do not appear to be ar- ranged in any particular order. In the Chapter House is preserved a fragmentary, but elegantly carved tomb slab of a Countess of Warwick, thought to be that of Ela, recently removed from the site of Osney Abbey. It bears the legend in a rhyming leonine hexameter :— [eLE(?)]. DE . WARWIC . [COMI]TISSE . VISCERA . SVNT . HIC. Here, too, let into the wall opposite the door- way is the imperfect inscribed slab of the foundation of Wolsey’s College School at Ipswich. It is interesting for the shapes of the capital letters used by sculptors of the period, where the A has several forms, the E resembles F, and the M resembles N. The Palzeo- graphical Society might well reproduce this inscription among its series of British epi- It runs as follows: ANO. CH[RIS]IT . REGNI . HENRICI . REGIS . MENSIS . VERO . IVNIL. XA , graphy. MDXX[|V|III . ET ANGLLE . XX
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72 THE ATHENAUM N° 3272, Juty 12, ’90 POSITVM...P(er) IOH’EM . EP’M . LID’EN. The dean pointed out the important features of the architecture of the cathedral, and the har- monious effect of the late roof resting on the very early Norman work of the walls and arches was particularly noticed. Mr. J. Park Harrison, at the dean’s desire, pointed out to the party some details in the construction and ornamentation, as well as walled-up arches in the east end, which led him (Mr. Harrison) to claim a Saxon date for these parts, at least, of the fabric. His latest investigations have been just recently laid before the Oxford Architec- tural Society, but we must suspend our judg- ment as to the correctness of the theory until the last of his series of papers has been pub- lished. At the evening meeting, which was presided over by Dr. Bellamy, Vice-Chancellor, papers were read by Dr. J. 8. Phené, F.S.A., ‘On some Features of Early British History attaching to the Vicinity of British Roads and Earthworks,’ and by Mr. John Gilbert, ‘On Pre-collegiate Oxford.’ The programme for Wednesday included visits to Banbury, Broughton Castle, Bloxham, Adderbury, and King’s Sutton, and, in the evening, papers by Dr. Joseph Stevens ‘On a Cemetery recently discovered at Reading, pro- bably of Saxon Date’; and by Mr. T. Morgan, F.S.A., ‘ England and Castille in the Fourteenth Century Compared.’ THE BRITISH SCHOOL AT ATHENS. THE annual meeting of subscribers took place at 22, Albemarle Street on July 2nd, and was very fully attended. Mr. Penrose took the chair in the absence of Lord Savile. The honorary secretary (Mr. George Macmillan) read the report of the Managing Committee, which opened by the announcement that the past session had been the most successful that the School had yet held. Twelve students had been admitted and had done good work, not only in Athens, but in other parts of Greece. The School had undertaken excavations at Megalopolis, and also, at the cost of the Cyprus Exploration Fund, at Salamis in Cyprus. Messrs. Schultz and Barnsley had continued their valuable work on Byzantine architecture, which promised, if adequate funds enabled them to complete their scheme, to be a most important contribution to the subject. Mention was made of various donations of books and other appa- ratus, especially of a set of the Monumenti and Annali of the German Institute at Rome pur- chased by the Committee out of the generous gift of 4161. handed over to the School by Sir Charles Newton as the balance of his testi- monial fund. The donations of money had been rather more than last year, but in other respects the financial position of the School still left much to be desired. The income of 4301. was both inadequate and precarious, consisting as it did of subscriptions which might at any moment be withdrawn. An earnest appeal was made by the Committee for aid in placing the School upon a sound financial footing. The supply of students and the work done had more than justified its establishment. Its permanent endowment would be a noble object for the generosity of some British Mzecenas. The adoption of the report was carried unanimously. After a formal motion for there-election of ofticers and committee, the Director of the School, Mr. Ernest Gardner, read a report of the session. The number of students at the School—twelve— was twice as large as that at the French or any of the other schools during the past year. After the fashion of the French and German Schools, the meetings are divided into open meetings, attended by the members of the foreign schools and others interested in archxology (papers involving original research are read by the Director and students, and reports of excavations are produced), and private meetings of a less formal nature, intended primarily for the students, at which lectures are delivered by the Director varied by discussions, Twenty-four of these latter meetings were held during the session, alternately at the School and at some museum or sitein Athens. At the open meetings the attendance varied from thirty to fifty, and some six of them were held. Among those who read papers were the Director, Mr. Tubbs, Mr. Loring, Mr, Richards, and Mr. Woodhouse. Several of the papers will appear in the Journal of Hellenic Studies. The report then proceeded to give an account of the excavations undertaken by the School. The acquisitions of the library were next men- tioned, and the new fittings, which make it in some degree adequate to the wants of the School. Mr. Tubbs then gave some account of the excavations at Salamis, and Mr. Loring of those at Megalopolis. SALES. Messrs. Curistiz, Manson & Woopssoldonthe 5th inst. the following pictures, from various col- lections: A. Braith, A Rencontre, 1791. E. Grutz- ner, In theGreen-Room, Theatre Royal, Munich, 1991. T. Hamza, A Chess Party, 120/. Cor- tazzo, The Marriage, 1051. R. Bonheur, Head of a Bull, 5251. J. Israéls, Travailleurs de la Mer, 6611.; L’Enfant qui Dort, 5561. G. Smith, The Last Scene in the Gambler’s Home, 1261. The same auctioneers sold on the 7th inst. the following pictures: T. 8. Cooper, A Dairy Farm in the Marshes, 349/. Raeburn, Portrait of the Right Hon. C. J. Fox, 1051. Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge sold last week a Babylonian terra-cotta contract tablet as to the sale of a tract of land during the reign of Samsuiluna, 261. Another, similar, but damaged, 16/.; and a large baked clay tablet, with forty-four lines of writing recording a case brought before the judges cf Nabonidus by Nergalritsua, a slave, dated at Babylon the 4th of Adar, in the tenth year of Nabonidus, 361. The same auctioneers sold the following antiquities on the 7th inst.: An intaglio in amethyst, representing Nike writing upon a shield, 38/. 10s. A small brown vase in form of a Satyr’s head, 18/._ Head of a Satyr in black marble, 391. An axe with shaft, the whole of massive bronze, found in Etruria, 33/. 10s. A bronze dagger with the sheath, from Etruria, 511. The same auctioneers sold the following coins on the Ist inst.: Roman Aurei, Hostilian, rev. Emperor standing, 191. Diocletian, rev. Roma seated, holding Victory, 101. 5s. Greek: Motya Tetradrachm, head of nymph to left, rev. crab, 161. 5s. Decadrachm by Cimon, 62/. Gold Stater by Cimon, head of Arethusa to left, wearing sphendone, vev. Hercules strangling the lion, 40. Kine-Art Gossip. THe annual meeting of the Royal Archzo- logical Institute will be held at Gloucester from Tuesday, August 12th, to Tuesday, August 19th. Sir J. E. Dorington is to be president of the meeting. Dr. Edwin Freshfield will be presi- dent of the Antiquarian Section; Prof. E. C. Clark, Prof. Boyd Dawkins, Mr. A. J. Evans, the Rev. A. S. Porter, and Mr. C. H. Read will be vice-presidents. The Dean of Glou- cester will be president of the Historical Sec- tion, and Chancellor Ferguson, Sir John Mac- lean, and Prof. Montagu Burrows will be vice-presidents. Prof. J. H. Middleton will preside over the Architectural Section; Mr. C. J. Ferguson, Mr. J. Micklethwaite, and Precentor Venables will be the vice-presidents. Ir is welcome news that, owing to the co- operation of the Chancellor of the Exchequer with certain gentlemen of the City of London, the three famous masterpieces at Longford Castle have been secured for the National Gallery, the price being 55,000/. Of this sum 25,000/. is contributed by the State. The so-called ‘Ambassadors’ of Holbein, a group of nearly life-size full-length portraits 1873, and noticed at length in our cviticisin of | that exhibition, which elicited a comimunication from Dr. Woodward, of the British Museum, who explained to a long-puzzled world the |! nature of a ‘‘curious fish-like object” repre- sented in front, near the feet of the figures. It looks like an impossible bone, and the geologist demonstrated that it is really an anamorphosis of a human skull. It is dated ‘‘ 1533.” Velaz- quez’s ‘Portraitof Admiral Adrian Palido Pareja’ (R.A., 1873) will be remembered by means of the very fine and original version from Woburn which was No. 133 in the Academy last winter. ‘The Portrait of a Man in Black standing be- side a Column’ is a noble Moroni. THE current exhibition at the New Gallery will be closed on the 8th prox. At the meeting of the Society for the Preser- vation of the Monuments of Ancient Egypt on Wednesday, the report was read and adopted. The general feeling of the meeting seemed to be in favour of a French inspector being appointed to protect the monuments. Mr. C. A. Warp writes :— “ Having for a series of years devoted some atten- tion to the petty details of London antiquities, you will, I dare say, let me point out that your informant as to Cheselden’s designing Battersea Bridge is quite in error. The old wooden bridge was built at the ex- pense of fifteen proprietors, who subscribed 1,500/. each, and the date of erection was 1773. Now Chesel- den, dying in 1752, had by that date been in his grave twenty-one years. The design of old Putney Bridge was Cheselden’s, and that was completed in 1729, Phillips, George II.’s carpenter, carrying it out at a cost of 23,075/.; so that the two bridges cost the same amount almost to a nicety. Cheselden was here operating on a main artery, the wits thought. Day by day the picturesqueness of our town and its suburbs perishes. I am glad to see, however, that you can announce that several competent architects pronounce the Gate House at Lincoln’s Inn safe, which is satisfactory, seeing that a destructively incompetent archi- tect has found it to be unsafe. Anybody who doubts its solidity had better go and look at it. He will soon see that nothing short of an earthquake such as that of Lisbon, or, what is worse, an incom- petent architect, is likely to bring it down. Let us call him Brick-quaker. When the Rock of Gibraltar goes I shall expect the Lincoln’s Inn Gate House to follow. It would be the last thing to remain standing in London if left to itself.” Having some doubts on the subject, we spoke of Cheselden’s design for a wooden bridge with the saving words, ‘‘ We understand.” A §. K. Reaper writes :— “Now that the lamented death of Mr. Soden Smith makes it necessary to appoint a successor to the headship of the Book Department of the South Kensington Museum, may I be permitted, in the interim, to point out the absolute need of a stricter rule in the reading rooms? The reader is required, and that is well, to write out and sign a ticket before using a book; but instead of being required to return the volumes at the desk and receive the ticket as a receipt for them, he has only to leave them at his seat, and is in na way responsible for their safety. The risk of loss is appreciably greater than if the ticket were held in pledge,as it were. This is done at the British Museum, where the readers are far more numerous than at the South Kensington Libraries. Also, at the British Museum some guarantee of character is required, which is not the case (nor do I ask it) at South Kensington ; but the art students, who are admitted free, are for the most part a very irre- sponsible class. The labour to the assistant at the desk—whose duties are not severe—would not be overwhelming ; and in my opinion the rule should be extended to both the Art Library and the Dyce- Forster Collection. It need not, of course, be made to include the periodicals lying on the tables, or perhaps certain books of reference ; though, as the library is comparatively small, the delay is never great, and the assistants are, in my experience, very commendably prompt.” A LIFE-SIZE portrait in vil of Goethe is said to have been discovered among the effects left by his musical friend Zelter. German papers report that it was painted in 1810, when the poet was sixty years of age, by the ill - fated artist Gerhard von Kiigelgen, who was murdered at Dresden in 1820. There must be some standing side by side, was at the Academy in | @!Tor in the dates, since Goethe was in 1810 in his sixty-second year. A similar portrait is in the possession of Prof. Kiirschner, of Stuttgart. Tue death is announced of Madame Salles- Wagner, well known as a painter in Paris.
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—_ Ne 3272, Jury 12,90 THE ATHENZUM 73 Tue Penzance Natural Historyand Antiquarian Society held its excursion in June at Castle Horneck and Lezingey. The latter is an old British fort, probably one of a chain of four ancient fastnesses encircling Mount’s Bay, Tredava, Lescudjack, and Castle-an-Dinas being the others. A paper was here read by the president, the Rev. W. S. Lach-Szyrma, on this fort and its medizval neighbour, Castle Hor- neck (‘‘the Iron Castle’’). were shown. documents of the Borlase family were also ex- hibited, illustrating the history of the family during the eighteenth century. The gardens and waterfalls, which are very picturesque, were then visited. In demolishing the fortress of Chalcis, in Eubcea, part of an ancient Byzantine church has been found, still preserving some good mural paintings, representing saints, of vivid colouring. Various architectural fragments and ancient inscriptions were found at the same time worked up in the walls of the forti- fication. Ar Pompeii some mural paintings of more than ordinary interest have recently been dis- closed. In the Eighth Region, between Nos. 16 and 21 of the Second Insula, Via III. and IV., the remarkable discovery has been made of a house five stories high. The upper floor, which is entered from the higher level formed by a mound of prehistoric lava, is profusely deco- rated, and the principal hall displays on one wall the myth of Bellerophon, a nude figure who, holding with one hand the bridle of his horse, is in the act of receiving the letter and orders of King Proetus, who is seated on a throne before him. The lower part of the house, looking towards Stabize and the sea, was used as a bathing establishment. Three steps lead into the frigidariwm, which is perfect, the lower part of the surrounding walls being painted blue, and the upper red. The middle of the right wall is occupied by a picture repre- senting a nymph, semi-nude, borne over the waves on a sea-horse. The horizontal band dividing the blue from the red surface is a kind of frieze of comic or caricature scenes, repre- senting dwarfs and pigmies, in scenery evi- dently of the Nile country, fighting with various animals. One dwarf is in the act of throwing a large stone at an ibis ; while another is trying to save by drawing to the land a figure (pro- bably a woman) fallen into the river, when, seized himself by a crocodile, he has tied himself with a rope to another dwarf, standing behind, who is striving with might and main to prevent his comrade from being drawn down into the water. Tre Neve Freie Presse of Vienna publishes a letter from Dr. Schliemann, dated ‘‘ Troy, June Ist,” in which he describes all the work done by him at Hissarlik, with his three railroads and seventy men, since he began operations on November Ist of last year. His object was to lay bare the three entrance roads of the lower town to the south and west of the citadel in order to throw light on the latter. As the rubbish from successive layers of débris from fallen houses had covered the site to the depth of 16 métres, the excavation has on no spot yet reached the original level. Moreover, as all the ground removed had to be carefully sifted, and every object found photographed, progress could be only slow. Yet the discoveries made have been of greatimportance. Outside the old fortress wall, marked in the author’s ‘Troy’ }, and the later wall c, Dr. Dorpfeld has discerned a much older enclosure wall of the second or burnt city, which, it is evident, some great cata- strophe befell. This wall, with its towers, is well preserved, though the upper part is made of unbaked bricks. The town thus destroyed seems to have possessed only six or seven large buildings, which are all parallel, run- The party then | adjourned to Castle Horneck House, where some | remains of the walling of the old baronial castle | The family portraits and some | ning from south-east to north-west. The house walls, 0°85 to 1°45 métres thick, were all provided with porticoes or verandahs, and only their lower portion was built of stone, with clay used for mortar, or else of unbaked bricks. The rest must have been wood. The largest building (marked A in plan vii.) has a hall 20 métres long by 10 métres wide ; the other houses are somewhat smaller. To the south and east the town walls of the latest period of this second prehistoric town, with their towers, have now been laid bare in almost their whole length, and there is little doubt that they were pro- vided, as at Athens, with a covered gallery in wood. The wall marked B C in plan vil. is proved now to be a ramp giving access, as at Tiryns, to the town, the steps leading up to the ramp being of very primitive character, though still older ones have now been found on the south side of the citadel outside the south-east gate. To the south-east of the Roman acro- polis a small but well-preserved theatre has now been discovered, of the time of Tiberius, a kind of odeion with the roof fallen in, the lower seats being of marble, the upper ones of hard limestone. Inside, two life-sized marble statues have been found, of which one may be that of Claudius. MUSIC —— THE WEEK. Sr. JAMEs’s HALL.—Mr. Isidore de Lara’s Concert. Richte?t Concert. Mr. IstporE pE Lara’s concerts do not generally contain much of interest to musi- cians, but that of Thursday last week at St. James’s Hall was an exception to the rule. It is to the concert-giver’s credit that he should desire to gain acceptance in a higher class of music than that with which his name has been principally associated, and for this purpose he has studied under M. Maurel. His rendering of the so-called ‘‘Credo”’ from Verdi’s ‘Otello’ showed plainly the influence of his teacher, but its effect was injured by the noisiness of Signor Mancinelli’s orchestra. Mr. de Lara has composed an oratorio to a libretto arranged from ‘The Light of Asia’ by Mr. Beatty Kingston, and some numbers from the section of the work entitled ‘‘ The Renuncia- tion” were included in the programme. In thesethe composer hasobviously endeavoured to introduce what is known as “ local colour,” and to some extent he has succeeded; but whether this style prevails throughout, and whether, if it so prevails, it would not prove monotonous, is a matter that could not be determined without hearing a performance of the entire work. A selection from Signor Mancinelli’s ‘Isaias ’ was given, with the aid of Miss Ella Russell, Miss Damian, and a choir of ladies; and M. Nachéz, M. Holl- mann, and Madame Belle Cole took part in the concert. The Richter Concert on Monday was one of the best of the season, the programme containing more variety than usual. One new Wagner selection was given—namely, the duet between Eva and Hans Sachs in the second act of ‘ Die Meistersinger.’ The performance of this by Mr. and Mrs. Henschel and Herr Richter’s orchestra was nothing short of perfect. The coquetry of Eva and the tender badinage of the cobbler- poet were expressed with delightful art and seeming artlessness. Wagner was also represented by the ‘ Faust’ Overture and Herr Richter’s selection from ‘The Nibe- lung’s Ring.’ The second performance of Dvorak’s Symphony in a, No 4, was anti- cipated with much interest. No symphony since Schumann and Mendelssohn is so note- worthy for freshness and beauty as this latest example of the Bohemian composer’s genius. The musicianship is unimpeachable, and the spontaneity of the music has an irresistible effect alike upon musicians and general hearers. At the previous perform- ance the first movement appeared inferior to the others in individuality, but that was because the construction is more elaborate, Dvordk having made extensive use of four subjects. These themes are fresh and vigor- ous, and they are treated in a charmingly free and unconventional fashion. Indeed, the entire symphony is a conspicuous proof of the ease with which classical forms can be utilized by gifted composers, proving that the so-called trammels of form facilitate rather than retard the expression of their ideas. Mrs. Henschel gave her artistic rendering of Liszt’s ‘ Die Lorelei,’ and Mr. Henschel and Mr. Andrew Black sang an expressive duet from the pen of the German- American composer. Anton Rubinstein : a Biographical Sketch. By Alexander McArthur. (Edinburgh, Black.)— The author of this essay does not claim that it is complete or comprehensive, but offers it merely as a series of facts in the life of Rubinstein col- lected in St. Petersburg from various sources. The career of the Russian virtwoso, unlike that of Franz Liszt, does not present many attractive features to the biographer. The life of Liszt resembled a romance, and even those features in his career least creditable to himself form interesting matter for the reader. But Rubin- stein’s, though not uneventful, has been that of a greatly gifted musician, who, however success- ful in his vocation, was not endowed by nature with the qualifications necessary for shining in society. In temperament, as in appearance, he greatly resembles Beethoven, and, like the great master, he can throw off at times his saturnine manner and become genial and communicative. The most interesting chapters in the present volume are those on Rubinstein as a teacher and asaman. The most useful work of his life was undoubtedly the founding of the Conservatoire at St. Petersburg in 1862, and his autocratic direction of the school since he settled in the Russian capital in 1887 is probably in the main beneficial. It is very much to his credit as an artist that he will not permit in his pupils any of those vagaries in which he himself indulges in performance. According io Mr. McArthur, he admits that he is wrong, for example, in his treatment of Chopin’s ‘ Marche Fundbre.’ If this be so, it is rather beside the mark to defend the liberties he takes with the classics and to assail the critics for condemning them. The author is right when he says that a mere repetition of the notes is not a true interpretation of a work, and that an experienced artist should place it before his hearers in the light in which it appears to himself, precisely as an actor of genius may impress his own individuality on the character he plays, so long as he adheres to the text and general directions. But Rubinstein goes further than this, and his estimate of himself is more correct than that of Mr. McArthur, who declares that ‘‘ his conception of the composer’s ideas he plays is simply always above criticism.” Of no musician could so much be said with justice. Again, the author is on safe ground when he gives it as his opinion that Rubinstein would probably have been far more successful as a com- poser had he spent the greater part of his life in Germany rather than in Russia; but this scarcely tallies with the excessive laudation of his music,
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74 THE ATHENAUM N° 3272, Jury 12, ’90 especially of the works written for the stage. That Rubinstein possesses creative gifts no one would venture to deny. His songs and smaller piano pieces are always original and frequently beautiful ; but he has never evinced capacity to handle the larger forms of composition suc- cessfully, and whatever merit his operas may contain is in the lyric rather than the dra- matic pages of the scores. Mr. McArthur shows an intimate acquaintance with the personal merits and defects of the Russian virtuoso, and from his description it would seem that the man is a riddle, impossible to solve in a satisfactory manner. That which chiefly concerns the public is the melancholy assurance that, notwithstand- ing the enormous sums netted in the course of his professional tours, he is now in straitened circumstances. He could never save money, but it may be said to his credit that he has spent it freely on others as well as on himself, and in this respect he resembles Liszt. There are afew misprints in the book, which may be corrected should it reach a second edition. Thus we have “ Wahring ” instead of Wiring, and “ Juglini” for Giuglini (p. 11); Sonata in ‘‘ Fr,” instead of D, for piano and violoncello (p. 28); ‘‘ Shott” instead of Schott (p. 34); and Trio in ‘“‘z | major,” instead of B flat major (p. 133). Three portraits are included in the book, which, in spite of the author’s pardonably extravagant estimate of his hero, may be read with much interest by musicians. Musical Gossip, Tue Countesses Augusta and Ernesta Ferrari d’Occhieppo gave a vocal and pianoforte recital | at Collard & Collard’s concert rooms on Friday last week, and showed fair ability as soprano and contralto singers, the piano solos, which require no criticism, being contributed by Signor Carlo Ducci. Miss ApELA VERNON and Mlle. Gabrielle Vaillant gave a concert at the Steinway Hall last Saturday afternoon, and were fairly success- ful as soprano vocalist and violinist respectively. The principal item in their programme was Dvorak’s Sextet in a, Op. 48, and the concert- givers were assisted, among others, by Mlle. Janson, Miss Helen Meason, Mr. Bernard Lane, and Messrs. Ellis Roberts, A. Walenn, White- house, and Bowman. Mr. J. H. Bonawirz’s concert, given in the Princes’ Hall last Saturday afternoon, would have been more successful had the forces em- ployed been less amateurish, in the common, though not the literal, sense of the term. Mr. | Bonawitz’s orchestral and choral society is fairly | | apathy concerning the matter. competent as regards its instrumental con- tingent, but the choir, with the exception of the sopranos, was feeble and unable to render justice to his ‘Stabat Mater,’ which formed the principal item in the programme. This work is in seven brief movements, all of which are concerted. The construction is not elaborate, but the writing is musicianly, and the general style dramatic rather than church-like. Favour- able mention may also be made of an Introduc- tion and Scherzo in B flat minor for piano and orchestra, also from the pen of Mr. Bonawitz. Mendelssohn’s ‘Ruy Blas’ Overture and Bee- thoven’s ‘Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage’ were included in the programme. Miss AMy SHERWIN, the Australian soprano, has returnéd to London, and appeared at a concert at the Princes’ Hall on Monday after- noon. We understand that she has only just recovered from illness, and this may have been the cause of her false intonation in the ‘Couplets du Mysoli’ from Feélicien David's ‘Perle du Brézil.’ The tendency to sing sharp was less perceptible in two of Brahms’s Leider, M. Mlynarski, a Polish violinist, and Herr Bast, a German violoncellist, both able artists, took part in the concert. Very creditable performances were given of Dvorak’s Quintet in a, Op. 81, and Beethoven’s in c, Op. 29, at the last of Messrs. Ludwig and Whitehouse’s chamber concerts on Tuesday evening at the Princes’ Hall. The string exe- cutants were the same as before. Miss Fanny Davies was the pianist, and Mr. Plunket Greene the vocalist. The large audience showed how much classical chamber music is now appreciated even at the close of the season. THE ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the new Royal College of Music by the Prince of Wales on Tuesday does not call for descrip- tion in this place ; but we may congratulate the executive of the institution on the rapid pro- gress it has made since it was opened in 1883, notwithstanding its formidable rivals. The number of scholars has increased from 94 to 285, and the new school, which promises to be a noteworthy addition to the art buildings clustered in South Kensington, will provide accommodation for a much larger number. It must not be forgotten, however, that the proper housing of the Royal College is entirely due to the munificence of a private amateur, Mr. Samp- son Fox, of Leeds. Without his spirited action the school of music founded by the Prince of Wales might have waited for an indefinite period for a suitable home. Mr. Ferpinanp Wetst Hitz, son of the Principal of the Guildhall School of Music, has won the premier prix for violin playing at the Brussels Conservatoire. Mr. Hill, jun., is a pupil of M. Ysay¥e. ; THE deathis announced at Antwerp of Edouard Grégoir, who wrote a large quantity of music which has failed to survive, but who will be better remembered by his literary efforts, which included a ‘ Panthéon Musical Populaire,’ in six volumes, a ‘Galerie Biographique des Artistes Musiciens Belges,’ a ‘Histoire de VOrgue,’ &e. WE have also to record the death of the Rev. Thomas Helmore, for forty years Master of the Boys at the Chapel Royal, St. James’s. The deceased musician was much interested in the revival of Gregorian music, and his ‘Manual of Plain Song’ and ‘ Hymnal Noted’ have become very popular. M. Verpuvrt has arranged to transform the Paris Eden Theatre into an operatic house, and the new enterprise will be inaugurated about the beginning of October with M. Saint Saéns’s ‘Samson et Delila.’ Tue monument to Weber at Eutin, the birth- place of the composer, has just been inaugu- rated. The subscription list had been open for many years, German musicians showing singular Wacner’s ‘Tannhiuser,’ according to the Paris version, has just been produced in Dresden, with Frau Malten, who fora considerable period impersonated Elizabeth, as Venus. Her assump- tion is highly praised, but the ballet in the Venusberg scene apparently leaves much to be desired. Ir seems probable that visitors to during the coming winter will be deprived of opera. Signor Sonzogno will not open the Cos- tanzi, and Signor Canori, formerly director of the Argentina, has taken a theatre in Florence. At present the outlook is exceedingly unpro- mising. CONCERTS, &c., NEXT WEEK. Mon Madame Madeline Schiller’s Pianoforte Recital, 3, St. James’s Hall. = Royal Italian Opera. Turs. Koyal Italian Opera Wep. Royal College of Music. Performance of Mozart’s ‘Cosi fan ‘Tutte,’ 2, Savoy Theatre = Wagner Society's Conyersazione, 8.30, Institute of Painters in Water Colours. — Mr. Emanuel Nelson’s Concert, 8.80, Princes’ Hall, _ Roya! Italian Opera. Turrs, Royal Italian Opera Frit. Royal Italian Opera. Sat Royal Italian Opera. Rome DRAMA —_—o— Behind the Scenes of the Comédie Francaise, and other Recollections. By Arséne Hous- saye. Translated and edited, with Notes, by Albert D. Vandam. (Chapman & Hall.) ‘Les Conressions’ of M. Arséne Houssaye, on which the author bestowed the second title of ‘Souvenirs d’un Demi Siécle, 1830- 1880,’ were published in four volumes in 1885. Shrewd in observation, penetrative in criticism, outspoken in language, and supremely indiscreet in revelation, they ob- tained a conspicuous success. From this work Mr. Vandam has selected and trans- lated the passages connected with M. Hous- saye’s directorship of the Comédie Frangaise. The book thus obtained constitutes amusing reading, and supplies curious and interest- ing information concerning that illustrious body whose fortunes M. Houssaye retrieved at a time when they were truly desperate. Of M. Houssaye’s management a frank and totally unprejudiced critic has written :— ‘Sa direction ne fut pas moins active que conciliante : avec un demi-miillion de dettes pour point de départ, il ramena au Théatre-Francais une complete prospérité, et fit jouer pres de cent ouvrages de MM. Victor Hugo, Alex. Dumas, Ponsard, Augier, Musset, Mallefille, Madame de Girardin, Sandeau, Gozlan, &c.” Here in brief is the story which, through his translator, M. Houssaye has to tell. Less, however, in the main course of the narrative than in the halting stages is found the chief attraction of the book. A light—un- needed, to be sure, though brilliant—is cast upon the vanities, jealousies, and pettinesses of actors; and an insight, which in this country at least, under existing conditions, is valuable, is afforded into the relations of the drama to society in France, and the kind of friction that is involved in State inter- ference with the theatres. To the Revolution of 1848 and to the advo- cacy of Rachel M. Houssaye owed his pro- motion to the post of director of the Comédie Francaise, which he held for seven years. He had no close previous knowledge of the great actress whose nomination of him to the post seemed due less to judgment than caprice. Loyally did the actress and the manager stand by each other. A less firm alliance would, indeed, have ended in im- mediate fiasco. That the Comédie Francaise is a Govern- ment institution is well known in Eng- land. The extent to which it is subject to authority is, however, scarcely recognized. During his management M. Houssaye re- ceived orders from headquarters to shave off his beard. Of this adornment he was especially proud, and he resisted success- fully a ukase the mere promulgation of which is a matter of astonishment. At the period of M. Houssaye’s nomination the members of the Théitre Francais, sharing the revolutionary feeling everywhere in the ascendant, had determined to accept no master. The imposition upon them of a new director was accordingly resisted to the utmost. In every direction the manager met with hostility and mutiny. Both spirited and judicious in his treatment, he won a gradual but complete ascendency over the turbulent spirits under his charge. When at the end of the first year, in place
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ie ir is it 3, le taeQgoe SS OUP ROH YU OVW GO ct FR @® N° 3272, Jury 12, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 75 of the customary deficit of 100,000 francs, there was a surplus of an equal amount to divide among the proprietors, the voice of opposition was hushed; and when, for reasons principally personal, he gave in his demission in 1856, there were tears and lamentations on the part of those who had most keenly protested and fought against his appointment. ‘Les Confessions’ of M. Arséne Houssaye contain some of the best literary portraits of the day. The best of these Mr. Vandam omits as outside his scheme, others he spoils by his too familiar style. Aiming at being lively and colloquial, he becomes inaccurate and trivial. Mr. Vandam knows something of English literature. Can he supply either a precedent or an apology for a sentence such as the following ?—“‘ True, these dead ones, Corneille and Racine, had already re- cognized as one of their own the one who put his name to ‘Hernani’ and ‘ Marion Delorme.’” The italics are our own. Only less delightful than his sketches of dramatists—Chateaubriand, Casimir Dela- vigne, Musset, &c.—are M. Houssaye’s tributes to the actresses of his company. ‘‘There was nothing prettier on the boards than Judith—a downright nut-brown angel.”’ Next to Rachel his admiration is for the Brohans—Suzanne the mother, and the two daughters, Augustine and Madeleine. He would like to see them immortalized on canvas by Carolus Duran. ‘*The mother and daughters, if they had happened to be connected with the magnificent institution [the Comédie Frangaise] at the same time, could have played every [female] part in the works of Moliere, Marivaux, Regnard, and Beaumarchais. They will leave the recollection of all that is graceful, charming, witty, and passionate behind them. Suzanne was capable of representing every character, from the most tender to the most cynical. Augustine played the servants and soubrettes, but in ‘ Mile. de Belle-Isle’ and ‘Le Caprice’ she proved that she need yield to no one in her delineation of the grand lady. At her début Madeleine was at the selfsame time a loving woman in ‘ Les Contes de la Reine de Navarre’ anc a grande coquette in ‘Le Misanthrope.’ To find the like of such a glorious family of actors, one must go back to the three generations of the Poissons. And what charming women they were in private life. They have been accused of being too witty.” In dealing with actors, authors, and statesmen M. Houssaye is surprisingly in- discreet. The /iaisons that are only dis- cussed with bated breath he proclaims aloud. Reputations are mown down like grass before the scythe; when he meets with virtue, real or assumed, he speaks of it with a sneer; and he is even at the pains to chronicle advances on the part of the President of the Republic to Madeleine Brohan, which that young artist, then in the flush of youth, beauty, and talent, de- clined. The volume is, in short, thoroughly French; there is scarcely a line in it that could have been written in English. Some capital stories are told and some good witti- cisms are preserved. Not a few of these, among which is a marvellous story of Musset at the Tuileries, have already been repeated. Mr. Vandam’s translation is in- different; his notes are few and pertinent. With some astonishment do we note the number of stupid mistakes in French that are allowed to pass. Twice within a few pages do we hear of “ L’Ecole du bon Lens” for ‘L’Ecole du bon Sens,’ and we read of “Ferdinand Dugné” for Dugué, ‘Le Joueur Flute,’’ and so forth. THE WEEK. ; TOOLE’s.—‘ The Solicitor,’ in Three Acts. By J. H. Darn- “Tavressunr.— Afterncon Representation: ‘Kit Mar- lowe,’ a Play in One Act. By W. L. Courtney. CRITERION.— Sowing and Reaping,’ a Comedy in Two Acts. By C. Vernon. LyceuM.—‘ Taming of the Shrew.’ Tue appetite for farce is healthy and commendable. ‘‘ Pourceque rireest le propre de homme,” Rabelais, following a defini- tion attributed to Plato, says at the outset of his Gargantua and the world, though there have been and are those who preach heresy has held in the main to the true faith. So long as laughter is hearty the world is not particularly squeamish as to its source. We can no longer, it is true, bring on the stage the crudities of the earliest farces any more than we can repeat the practical jokes of Til Owlspiegle, or quote the more vivacious sallies of Rabelais. In all ages, however, conjugal relations have been a chief object of derision, and such they remain. In‘ The Solicitor’ Mr. Darn- ley takes a lamentable view of the conduct of both parties to the nuptial contract. Feminine error, it is true, does not extend beyond getting into debt, betting on horse races, keeping secrets from the hus- band, and other peccadilloes. Mr. Darn- ley’s husbands are, however, incorrigible. Whether young or old, married to elderly shrews or to the youngest and most at- tractive specimens of the fair sex, they are ready to rush to destruction after the first pretty face that they see. It cannot even be said that their intentions are dis- guised. They are in all cases the worst possible. the picture is conceded, and detection by a wife, and consequent humiliation, are sup- posed to constitute an adequate punishment. In ‘The Solicitor’ a pretty milliner is enough to upset all masculine integrity and all conjugal fidelity, to set husbands hiding in cupboards and vaulting over garden walls. It is true that the offenders are officers in the army, who are supposed to have time on their hands which they are not always indisposed to devote to purposes of gallantry. Mr. Darnley, however, will gain nothing by assigning a limited appli- cation to his satire. If his play means anything it means that husbands in general are not to be trusted. In farce, however, no one is offended. Did not Thackeray point out that in the Waverley Novels there is a very large amount of bloodshed, and that this is shown with so much tact that no one is in the least shocked? So is it with the latest development of farce. So soon as the ‘ pretty milliner”’ is proved to | have a bond fide lover of her own, the wives who have detected their husbands under most compromising circumstances, and have threatened separation and divorce, are appeased and all is well. It is needless to deal further with Mr. Darnley’s production, which caused much amusement, and is not likely to exercise any evil influence further , than establishing in the minds of a minority that the stage is a school of indecorum. Yet this portrayal of masculine | wickedness shocks nobody. The truth of | Mr. Tresahar displayed some comic talent as the hero of the piece, a solicitor who for a wager undertakes after dinner to drive a hansom cab, the driver of which is a little more intoxicated than his volunteer substi- tute. The ‘ Kit Marlowe’ of Mr. Courtney, origin- ally produced on Friday in last week at the Shaftesbury for the Marlowe Memorial Fund, will forthwith be added to the bill at the St. James’s. It ventures on ground previously occupied by Horne in his ‘ Death of Mar- lowe.’ Mr. Courtney assigns a sentimental colour to the brawl in whick the poet is said to have lost his wife, and shows Marlowe a victim of jealousy begotten by his affection for Nan, a pretty waiting maid ina hostelry. ‘Kit Marlowe’ is written with some vigour, and introduces some interesting allusions to the stage of the day. Marlowe’s companions consist of Chettle, Alleyn, and other cele- brities of his time. Mr. Bourchier gave an earnest representation of the dramatist hero, and Miss Annie Irish was a winsome Nan. ToChettle the dramatist is assigned a curiously cynical physiognomy. ‘Sowing and Reaping,’ which after being seen at various afternoon entertainments now finds its way into the regular bill at the Criterion, is probably of French origin. Beginning in comedy to end in something akin to farce, it shows the jealousy of a species of Célimare Je bien-aimé, who, after fluttering many matrimonial dovecotes, finds himself fully occupied with the task of de- fending his own. In this piece Mr. Wynd- ham is seen in his old and his best style. Mr. Giddens, Mr. Blakeley, Miss Mary Moore, and Miss Leyshon take part in a brisk interpretation. In ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ the Daly Company is still seen at its best. Such modifications as have been made since it was last seen are all improvements, the farcical element being subdued, and the poetical element gaining greatly thereby. Miss Rehan is an ideal Katharine, and the Petruchio of Mr. John Drew is no less vigorous and more artistic than before. The beauty of the closing scene still extorts admiration, and the entire performance ‘ retains exemplary fascination. Dramatic Gossip, At the afternoon representation at the Shaftes- bury for the Marlowe Memorial Fund, Mr. Willard gave his powerful costume recital of Rossetti’s ‘A Last Confession.’ He also read a part in Mr. Justin Huntly McCarthy’s duo- logue ‘ Vanity of Vanities,’ recently mentioned ‘in the Athenewm, in which the original ex- ponent, Mr. Herbert Waring, was unable to appear. One very disappointing feature in the entertainment was a representation by the Daly Company of ‘Miss Hoyden’s Husband,’ a one- act adaptation by Mr. Daly of Sheridan’s ‘ Trip to Scarborough.’ To see Lord Foppington in a moustache is enough to make the ghost of Colley Cibber shiver in Hades. This, however, was perhaps the most insignificant defect in a performance that afforded an exemplary lesson in the art ‘‘ how not to do it.” ‘TxLusion,’ a three-act drama by Mr. Pierre | Leclereq, given recently at an afternoon repre- | sentation at the Strand, is a clever but artificial and unsympathetic play resting on an unsound basis. It is not without interest, however, and in spite of inherentimprobability proved stimulating at points. Miss Marion Lea as the heroine dis-
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76 THE ATHENAUM N° 3272, Jury 12,’90 closed the possession of noteworthy gifts, but could not conquer an artificiality of manner which is the chief obstacle to her taking high rank. Much of her acting was daring, original, and effective ; but the whole was unconvincing. Miss Rose Leclercq played admirably in a difti- cult character. Tue Haymarket closes its doors this evening, to reopen on October Ist with ‘A Village Priest,’ which on Wednesday reached its one hundredth representation. Performances are also sus- pended at the Adelphi. Ir is pleasant to hear the report that the Augustin Daly Company have obtained the pro- mise of the Haymarket for next year. WHATEVER signs of languor or weakness were exhibited by Madame Sarah Bernhardt in Jeanne d’Arc had entirely disappeared when she returned to her old characters. In Adrienne Lecouvreur first, then in Marguerite Gautier, and lastly in La Tosca, she was seen at her very best. Rarely indeed in power, in witchery of style, or in variety can she have surpassed her later representations, and never can she have influenced more strongly her audience. M. Dumeny, who came over to play his original part of Cavaradossi in ‘ La Tosca,’ made also an admirable representative of Armand Duval. M. Garnier was Scarpia. A REPRESENTATION of ‘ Frou-Frou’ was given on Thursday afternoon at the St. James’s for a charitable purpose. Mrs. Charles Kettlewell (Miss Edith Woodworth) was Gilberte ; Miss Gertrude Kingston, Louise ; MissFanny Brough, the Baronne de Cambri; Mr. A. Bourchier, Brigand ; Mr. F. Terry, Valréas; Mr. Gilbert Farquhar, the Baron de Cambri; and Mr. Henry Neville, Sartorys. In certain scenes some of the actors ‘‘ gagged ” merrily. DisTRESSING news has been received of the health of Mrs. Bernard Beere, whose condition is still grave. Some improvement has of late been seen; but it is not likely that the actress can return to the stage for some time. Mr. Hersert Stanpinc, Miss Lingard, and Miss Fanny Brough are engaged for Mr. Harris’s next melodrama at Drury Lane. NEXT WEEK'S NOVELTIES AND REVIVALS. Mon. Globe (Afternoon), * The Best People.’ = St. James's, ‘Kit Marlowe’s Death.’ (See above.) Tves. Lyceum ‘As You Like lt’ Wen. St. James's Hall (Afternoon), Second Recitation of ‘Macbeth,’ by Mr. Irving and Miss Terry. [These announcements are subject to changes of plan on the part of managers.) MISCELLANEA —_—~——- A Little Mistake.—The title of one of Graser’s treatises on ancient ships is this :—‘‘ Das Modell eines altgriechischen Kriegsschiffes aus der Zeit Alexanders des Grossen. Construirt von Dr. B. Graser.”” Hence the following remarks of Guglielmotti in his treatise ‘Delle due Navi Romane,’ &c., p. 67:—‘‘Non dai condottieri della nuova eta, Bernardo Graser ed Allessandra de Grossen, egregi giovani, i quali hanno trat- tato pit la questione dei remi che delle vele, e pit le formole del raziocinio che il valore dei monumenti. ” Cecit Torr. To CorREsponpentTs.—W. J. D.—J. 8.—T. 8.—C. P.— R. W. B. N.—R. 8. & Co.—received. W. G. N.—You should send such a question to Notes and Queries. No notice will be taken of anonymous communications, TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY Post, » & For Twelve Months ose ose “ ove 15 3 For 8ix Months .., ove vee ove o 7 § SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & C0.’S NEW BOOKS. —_—_o—- THE NEW ANGLO-GERMAN TREATY. LIFE in UGANDA: Imperial Eng- land’s Latest Charge. By Rev. R. P. ASHE, M.A. F.R.G.S., &c., Author of ‘Two Kings of Uganda,’ &c. Crown 8vo. boards, 1s. NEW N OVELS AT ALL THE LIBRARIES, JACK ABBOTT’S LOG: a Yarn of the Merchant Service. 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Coloured Plates, besides Illustrated Text. ‘*We have seen nothing of the kind which is at once so dainty and so cheap; it is reasonable to assume that it will achieve immediate and considerable popularity. Artistic Japan, we think, is a capital publication.”—Saturday Review. SECOND EDITION IN THE PRESS. In Darkest Africa. Being the Official Publication recording the QUEST, RESCUE, and RETREAT of EMIN, Governor of Equatoria. By HENRY M. STANLEY, LL.D., &c., Author of ‘ How I Found Livingstone,’ ‘ Through the Dark Continent.’ With numerous Original Illustrations and many Maps. 2 vols. demy 8vo. cloth, 42s. “The style of the narrative is direct, vigorous, and incisive, as beseems one who is a man of action rather than a man of letters ; but in many of the descriptive parts Mr. Stanley shows that, consummate man of action as he is, he is a born man of letters as well.”—TZimes. : “Mr. Stanley’s animated pages; and will continue to be read as long as there remains amongst Englishmen any taste for adventure and any honour for manliness.”—Standard, London : Sampson Low, Marston, SEARLE & RIVINGTON (LIMITED), St. Dunstan’s House, Fetter-lane, Fleet-street, E.C, SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & CO.’S PUBLICATIONS. _¥__— ‘*A perfectly delightful book of Irish popular tales.”—Saturday Review. MYTHS AND FOLK-LORE OF IRELAND. By JEREMIAH CURTIN. With Etched Frontispiece, crown 8vo. cloth, gilt top, 9s. “Mr. Curtin’s work is especially valuable. It saves from loss many a fragment of folk-lore, and gives the reader a glimpse at the people of those remoter districts of Ireland which, as the author says, are inhabited by men who for the scholar and student of mankind are by far the most interesting in the country.”—Dublin Nation. ‘* Our chief favourite is the story which tells why the Gruagach Gaire ceased to laugh. It is per- fectly delicious, new, romantic, excellent. Mr. Curtin's is the best book of tales for many a long day.”—Suturday Review. ‘*A most welcome addition to the small stock of folk-tales collected in Ireland. Although no in- formation is given about the narrators, the tales are obviously genuine, and as obviously translated with spirit and verve.”—Folk-Lore. ‘* Nobody who once opens the enchanted volume can shut it till he knows what saddened the jolly Gruagach Gaire.”"—London Daily News. 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London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. (LIMITED), St. Dunstan’s House, Fetter-lane, Fleet-street, E.C. Boston, U.S.: LirrTLe, Brown & Co. 254, Washington-street,
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I N° 3273, Juzy 19, 90 THE ATHENAUM 87 SATURDAY, JULY 19, 1890. CONTENTS. PAGE THE EsSAYS OF A PLAIN MAN ove eee one we «=—857 A CLIMBER’s GUIDE TO THE PENNINE ALPS ... ia 8 ARABIAN LITERATURE ... eee ooo on ove oe 8 A History oF CURLING mere ee Se oe oe 89 BLOOMSBURY eco ooo eos as ove oe oa THe Essays OF AN AMERICAN SCHOLAR... ooo — = SocigTY BEFORE THE FRENCH REVOLUTION o a = NovELs OF THE WEEK a ae a Books oN IrRisH HISTORY ... ° ae 93 Our LipraRy TABLE—LISsT oF NEW Books 95—96 THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN 1890; Tag ENGLISH DIALECT SocieTY AND THE DIALEcT DICTIONARY; THE Late Mr, F. W. Cosens’s MSS.; ‘JosHua: HIS LIFE AND TIMES’; THE WASHINGTONS OF WARTON ;: RoyYALIsT CoMPOSITION CASES... ooo ose 96—99 LITERARY GossIP pa oe ose ee oe acs - 30 ScIENCE—RECENT PUBLICATIONS; GEOGRAPHICAL Notes ; SocreTIes; MEETINGS; GossIP 100—101 Fine ARTs—ScorrisH NATIONAL Me&MORIALS; THE BrRItisH ARCH £OLOGICAL ASSOCIATION; THE SITE OF HIEROPOLIS-CASTABALA; SALE; GOSSIP 102—105 Music—THE WEEK; GossIP; CONCERTS, &C., NEXT WEEK oe coe one coe one +» 106—107 DRamMa—THE WEEK; Gossip; NeExT WEEK’s NoOVEL- TIES ove . ove ae ae po «. 107—108 LITERATURE —_— Opposites: a Series of Essays on the Un- popular Sides of Popular Questions. By Lewis Thornton. (Blackwood & Sons.) Tue “plain man” in literature occupies a position of peculiar privilege. His is not the spirit which continually denies. On the contrary, he is never tired of taking the negative people to task for their hostility or indifference to what plain men still find their consolation in believing. He gives himself all the airs of a daring sceptic; in fact, only a sceptic so thoroughgoing as he can unmask scepticism, and convict it of the secret vice of dogmatism. He is untroubled by the modesty which caused George Eliot’s celebrated inquirer to stop short at hinting that on the question of the tides he held views widely different from the accepted scientific conclusions: ‘‘ Well, sir, nobody rightly knows. Many gives their opinion, but if I was to give mine, it ’ud be different.” The plain man begins by admitting that he knows no science; but that by no means prevents him from solemnly adducing a whole string of considerations which should tell with fatal effect against the doctrine of evolution. On the other hand, he is no critic; he is even half inclined to believe that the present plague of critics may have visited the groaning earth in fulfilment of New Testament prophecy, and that in this sign should all plain men read a warning that the end of all things is at hand. And yet that does not prevent him from confounding like a new Elijah the elaborately trained prophets of criticism. On all these and more subjects, in fact, the plain man does give his opinion, and it ‘different. ‘ New- ton and others think that in a revolving sphere the loose surface matter will tend to the equator; Mr. Bakewell thinks it will tend to the poles.” And as for those who lay claim to special competence in their several departments, let them rave. They may change everything else with their de- structive theories, but the convictions of the plain man never. Jmpavidum ferient ruine, and in the fierce competition of rival systems he backs plain duncery after all. In the preface to the volume before us the author describes, or rather indicates, his attitude with regard to questions and con- clusions as to which he is understood to differ from the main body of professional opinion :— “Specialism is too apt to think that there is no truth worth mentioning outside of its own speciality ; and again, as soon as it grows learned, it begins to build hypotheses, which is the tendency of great erudition. For the learned mind, delighted with its own performances, soon soars beyond its facts and employs itself in theory-making ; while the plain and un- learned mind, less powerful to speculate, is shut up more to the facts. Thus able thinkers, from their very capacity for thought, are apt to leave their facts and think out schemes of what might be, if existing conditions were altered ; whereas the plain and ordinary thinker desires to find a scheme which will suit the facts of life as they now stand. The plain, vagabond, per- verse mind, in a word, takes in a quantity of facts from a number of creeds and a number of departments, and has not much ability to make hypotheses on them; the learned, specialistic mind takes in the facts of one or two creeds or departments, and weaves them into quite a number of hypotheses.” And further, “the vagabond intellect may avoid some errors which specialism is almost bound to fall into.” Accordingly it is in this plain, vagabond, perverse spirit that he proceeds to deal, briefly, but directly, with a variety of topics, most of which are of absorbing interest at the present day. In the essay entitled ‘ Forwards or Back- wards’ he puts the case for pessimism as against those who talk of the beneficence of nature and the progress of man. But the beneficence, he tells us, is as imaginary as the progress, and the best of it is that the Bible said so all along. With this conclu- sion we have no desire whatever to quarrel; but when we are further informed that the ultimate annihilation of humanity, to which ‘‘the scientific creed” points, “ implies an incredible inutility, or the expenditure of a vast amount of trouble for nothing,” the reply is obvious that it does so only on the assumption that humanity as a whole plays, if not the principal, at least an important part in the universal drama. But “il se peut que tout le développement humain n’ait pas plus de conséquence que la mousse ou le lichen donts’entoure toute surface humectée,”’ and if so its ultimate annihilation need be an event no more vast or incredible than the ultimate annihilation of a moth in the flame of a candle. Our author next deals with the assertion (attributed to ‘‘rationalists’’) that ‘“‘ now that religious beliefs seem to be going, the poet must be looked to as the chief moral teacher of an enlightened and evolving humanity.” These rationalists may be plausible persons, but they have only to be exposed to the dry light of a plain man’s wit to betray their deep-seated defects of partiality and incompetence. For ‘‘ great poets,” says Lewis Thornton, ‘‘ become scarce exactly at those periods when they are most wanted,” and, worse than that, they actually “die out before a material- istic civilization.” And he borrows—and supplements in the same elegant and correct vein—the observation in ‘The New Re- public’ to the effect that the present age ‘* would sooner look at a foetus in a bottle, than at a statue of the god Apollo, from the hand of Phidias, and in the air of Athens.” Now it is quite useless to deny that in the present age a numerous class of persons habitually contemplate foetuses in bottles with undisguised interest and even enthusiasm; and it may be urged in ex- tenuation that their business, to which there is an important practical side, could not go on without it. But their business is not everybody’s business, nor have they as yet shown the slightest tendency to interfere with the freedom of, say, Mr. Mallock to contemplate the grown children of his own superstition, while, on the other hand, and side by side with such coarse inquirers, there are those to whom the artistic remains of Phidias are the object of a passionate devotion and a minute curiosity unknown before the advent of our materialistic civili- zation. Some ringing lines of protest and denunciation are next quoted from ‘ Locks- ley Hall Sixty Years After.’ On their author’s account, if on no other, they deserve to be pondered with respect, though it must be borne in mind that since Origen’s day it has been a habit with veterans to cry out that the universe is disordered, when it is simply the microcosm of their own system that is beginning to break up. The fourth essay, dealing with the wide subject of evolution, will probably be read with the greatest interest. The author sets out from the admission that Darwin’s hypo- theses, ‘‘ modified in the direction of con- firmation, are now almost generally held by those whose scientific training renders them best able to judge.” But nothing daunted by the weight of this concurrent testimony, the plain man rushes to the attack — his strength is as the strength of ten, just be- cause the weapons of his warfare are not scientific :— ‘*Tf the plain but sceptical man is going to combat the evolution hypotheses, he must attack them before they enter the realms of science at all. They rest, at their beginning, on a plain outside assumption; and that foundation- assumption is the point which the outside sceptic must attack, for he may claim to be quite as well qualified to decide about its truth or falsity as the best trained scientist in existence. It is not a scientific question at all, and it is simply this: these evolution hypotheses base their existence on the prior assumption that there is no evidence of the interference of the Deity, either in any process of Nature or any department of human life.” Now in the first place it has to be urged once more that the hypothesis of evolution deals only with the mode of succession and variation of living forms. It is perfectly open to any plain man—or for the matter of that to any evclutionist—to contend that the process is an expression of will, that the will is the will of a Person—nay, further, he is welcome to believe that he may know much of the character and intentions of the Person in question. Tho sphere of un- proved assumptions is wide enough to afford space for unlimited castle-building on the part of all such as may feel themselves cramped or stifled in the comparatively modest structures which science rears upon the basis of fact. But the plain man is too jealous, too exacting. He notices with in- dignation that certain men of science are not nearly so polite or attentive as they ought to be when he goes among them sur- rounded by his hopeful brood of private judgments and peculiar imaginations. Whence this ill-natured refusal to take cognizance of what he feels, what he knows
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88 THE ATHENZAUM N° 3273, Juzy 19,90 to be real? The facts upon which the evolu- tionist relies are ‘‘ scattered,’ whereas the facts from which plain men gather the cer- tainty of Divine intervention are “‘ not nearly so scattered, but often following very close after each other in time and place.” And as a specimen of such facts the aut or refers us to the wonderful events recounted in ‘A Narrative of the Lord’s Dealings with George Miller.’ But he immediately spoils his own case by admitting not only that Mr. Wallace is aware of the facts in question, but also that he is bold enough to interpret them in a way different from that of George Miller, and all this without prejudice to his belief in the doctrine of evolution! Our author incidentally professes a high admiration for the character and ability of the late Mr. Darwin; in fact he delights to honour him with the complimentery titles of “ great soul” and ‘ prophet”; but he appears strangely to have ignored the re- markable passage at the end of ‘The Origin of Species,’ where Darwin writes :— “ There is a grandeur in this view of life with its several powers having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one ; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved.” What becomes then of the asserted essen- tial contradiction between the hypothesis of evolution and that of a Divine interfer- ence, or even of ‘‘the descent of all from one primordial form,’’ which, as Lewis Thornton has said in his heart, is another of the assumptions of the doctrine of evo- lution? From all this it appears that the plain man has been at his old trick of first adulterating the leavings of the man of science, and then solemnly refusing to swallow them. The high a priori road is naturally that on which the plain man’s progress is most rapid and most easy ; but towards the close of his essay Lewis Thornton deviates from it for a while, and has recourse to what he is pleased to term “ good scientific dicta against Dar- winianism.” Now the argumentum ab homini- dus, which the plain man is fond of flourish- ing, as if it were the most trenchant of weapons, proves nothing, simply because it can prove anything. The history of science is full of examples of good or bad scientific dicta put forward by great men in opposi- tion to theories which have, nevertheless, conquered in the struggle for life. Newton, Leibniz, Cassini, and Liebig have, in differ- ent departments, all appeared as champions of what is now supposed to be the cause of error; and it may be that the scientific dicta which Lewis Thornton calls good will diminish rather than augment the future fame of Agassiz, Murchison, and Dawson. ‘‘ But why enumerate names?” cries our author. Why, indeed! seeing that no paradox is so forlorn as to be without its serious and cultivated champions. The essay entitled ‘Gods and Women’ contains a brief historical retrospect, and a solemn augury of the evil likely to result in practice from the modern ideas of the posi- tion and the rights of women. In the first place, female deities, as is well known, were far from exhibiting in themselves or inspir- ing in their worshippers such virtues and graces as are usually called feminine. They were both cruel and impure. So much he who runs may read. But “the world is now looking” not, of course, to goddesses, but “ to ordinary women for its renovation,”’ so it becomes important to examine the evi- dence of history as to the character and behaviour of ordinary women. ‘* Tf woman is to renovate humanity, she must be expected to do so mainly by her moral in- tuitions and her sympathy. But this expectation has very unfortunate historical facts to contend with before one can hope to establish it as a pro- bability. Cleopatra was a woman, and so was Catherine de Medici, and they were both devils ; and ‘the most relentless persecutor who ever sat on the throne of England was a woman.’...... The Roman women, gentle and simple, gazed with equal indifference, not to say pleasure, on the sufferings of men and children and beasts in the arena. Now it would be unfair to charge them with especial callousness for so doing, for they were only acting in the spirit of their age, and were probably no more really cruel than the ladies of modern society are who call each other ‘dear,’ and who know with such exquisite in- tuition just where to put the knife in—just how to torture each other by a look or a word, in a way which clumsy man can never hope to equal. No, they were not unusually callous ; but the point to be noticed is, that they were no more sensible than the men ; their unerring intuition did not show them that the fights of gladiators and burnings of heretics were prejudicial to society and logically indefensible ; it was male intellect that found that out, many centuries after.” Moved, then, by the contemplation of these lurid pictures, and with the solemn tones of Ecclesiasticus ringing in his ears, Lewis Thornton exclaims :— “ Does one wish to be either governed politically, or guided morally, by one’s own washerwoman ? For there are more washerwomen, it must be remembered, than ladies in the world ; and if everybody gets a vote, as everybody probably will in time, the washerwomen will outvote the ladies, just as surely as the chimney-sweeps now outvote the gentlemen.” But the cry of indignant protest is uttered too late. The die is cast. Whether the chimney-sweep in the unbiassed opinion of ‘‘the gentleman ” is worthy of the privilege which he shares with the latter is not now the question. The fact remains that he has got it, and those who advocate ‘‘ women’s rights” take their stand upon what ac- tually exists, and, if the worst comes to the worst, will see no reason for withholding even from the washerwoman what has already, for good or for evil, been conferred upon the chimney-sweep, however much they may dislike, on sentimental grounds, to wound the genteel feelings of superior persons. Towards the close of the same essay our author refers to the well-known fact that the idea of equality, political and social, between men and women is no new thing. ‘¢¢ Woman’s rights,’” he tells us, ‘‘ were tried long ago, and found wanting,” and he adduces in particular the case of Egypt, where the woman appears to have stood upon the same level as the man, adding the profound observation that ‘these early civilizations did not end successfully; and there is no saying how much of the vice which led to their downfall may not have been attributable to the forwardness of their women.” Now, it is undoubtedly true that these early civilizations came to an end, as all things do that have a beginning. But what does Lewis Thornton mean by saying that their end was not successful? How does a civilization end successfully? or which of the civilizations known to ancient history may be said to have so ended? The answers to these questions set forth clearly and in detail would form an important con- tribution to the philosophy of history. But the choice of Egypt as an example is sin- gularly unfortunate for our author’s im- mediate purpose, seeing that it has been plausibly maintained that the extraordinary duration of the ‘peculiar and noble” Egyptian civilization was in great part due to its freedom from the social evils which flow from the subjection of women. We have been compelled to leave several interesting points untouched, such as the author’s attitude towards theology and politics; but the examples already given are sufficient to illustrate his manner and the general character of his opinions. If we have called Lewis Thornton a plain man more than once, it is only because he him- self seems proud of the title, boasting it, as he does, repeatedly from page to page of his book; but we are far from wishing to imply that there is not ‘a hierarchy of ranks” even among plain people. Lewis Thornton is far above the level of the plain man who has his doubts about official science in high places, and publishes a common- sense quadrature of the circle. On the contrary, he has been a hard and discursive reader, and he is undoubtedly a smart writer. And after all, it is possible that the exertions of the plain man prevent the growth of a kind of official dogmatism of specialists, which would be as injurious to the interests of true science as the most orthodox ecclesiastical tyranny. In England at any rate, where the glorious privilege of private judgment is every man’s birthright, it will be long before he will find his occu- pation gone. Climber’s Guide to the Central Pennine Alps. By W. M. Conway. (Fisher Unwin.) AtriInE guide-books have necessarily not only grown in number with the growth of travel, but. have also differentiated them- selves in order to meet new conditions. One modern and very distinct species is the pirate ‘“‘ guide,” compiled by an editor who first steals his matter from his predecessors, and then pays his printer’s bill by levying blackmail on innkeepers for advertisements. Editing a handbook in this sense seems likely to become to the needy but industrious adventurer an eligible alternative to start- ing a new charity or a new hospital. His handicraft can always be detected by his omissions, by the outrageous unfairness of the hotel lists, and by the blunders few copyists escape—blunders which it flatters the vanity of the raw tourists who are his chief customers to discover and correct. Of the genuine guide-books our old friends the scientific and comprehensive ‘Alpine Guide,’ the discriminating and literary Murray, and the practical and well- mapped Baedeker remain the best-known types. The latest development in guides, the ‘‘ Pocket Guide,” initiated abroad by the late Iwan von Tschudi, stands to the last named XUM
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N° 3273, Jury 19,’90 THE ATHENZ UM 89 in the relation borne by a Liebig lozenge | toa good meal. There is no sweet mixed with the useful; no history, nor natural science, nor poetry, nor description of scenery, nor of adventure. The reader gets nothing but directions in signpost style, as to where he may find the best beer or the worst climbs. The author of the work now under review has (it must be said at once) a soul above beer, or even beds. He con- cerns himself only with the mountains, and even omits—and it is, we hold, a regrettable omission—any list of club huts. Some years ago Mr. Conway gave the Alpine public a ‘Zermatt Pocket-Book,’ a tiny volume containing brief, but tho- roughly practical details as to the peaks and passes surrounding that favourite haunt of mountaineers. He has lately determined to extend his scope, and to deal with the Pen- nine and Lepontine Alps from the Great St. Bernard to the St. Gothard in two volumes, the first of which, extending from the St. Bernard to the St. Théodule, has been issued in pocket-book form bound in waterproof linen. Mr. Conway’s object has been to afford in the fewest possible words such directions as may help capable climbers to profit by their foregoers’ experience in cal- culating distances or ‘‘times,” in finding their own way, and in avoiding needless risks. He very properly emphasizes the danger from falling stones, and in this respect his book may be of great service to those who are willing to listen to sound advice. Mr. Conway, however, in his pithy preface confesses that he has but small hope that his words will fall on attentive ears. His prophetic eye sees Zermatt invaded by the railway ; guides devoted to the “ porter- age of duffers’” up one or two great peaks, every stone on which they know by heart ; and a gradual replacement of mountaineers and travellers by a crowd of gymnasts and tourists. His very frank remarks may pos- sibly give offence to the ‘“‘ progeniem vitio- siorem”’ he assails. But since a large pro- portion of the tourists here denounced climb only for notoriety, it seems not im- possible that they may be deterred by brisk and timely ridicule, and this our author does not fail to administer. Mr. Conway’s booklet will be appreciated most by those who know best the difficulties of compiling and condensing such material. Two of these difficulties he has evaded with more or less success. The questions as to priority in ascents he simplifies by the dic- tum, ‘‘ Early ascents, not recorded, do not count.’”’ The more practically important matter of “‘times”’ he meets by taking the shortest times on record. In the case of such a mountain as the Dent Blanche these are probably the most misleading of all! Arabic Authors: a Manual of Arabian His- tory and Interature. By F. F. Arbuthnot, M.R.A.S. (Heinemann.) Tu1s is an unpretentious and meritorious little book, which may serve as a basis for something more exhaustive. In so small a space as two hundred pages it was mani- festly impossible to de more than run over the names and leading works of the chief Arabic authors, and that Mr. Arbuthnot has given these in their right places is at least a novel and notable addition to our exiguous stock of popular Oriental manuals. There is no other book on the subject in English, and none that can be called either critical or convenient in any European language. Von Hammer is out of the question to most Eng- lish students, and Yon Hammer is all that even the Germans supply ; so we must be thankful for what Mr. Arbuthnot has given us, and hope that he or some one else will goon to greater things in the same direc- tion. Much, of course, is wanting in this first essay. Itis, first and foremost, sadly to seek in criticism. A well-arranged and readable list of authors, traveliers, historians, poets, astronomers, jurisconsults, and the rest, is provided ; but this is of little use, except as a finger-post, without some indication of the nature of their writings and discoveries. What is the good of being told that So-and- so, more or less unpronounceable, wrote a geographical work, unless we know where he travelled, and how far he speaks from personal observation? In the case of his- torians we require to know not merely that they wrote history, but what sort of history they wrote—of what period and what coun- tries, and how far they founded their works on previous chronicles. All this is lacking in Mr. Arbuthnot’s manual. He supplies names, and little more. He gives no in- dications of sources and no examples of style. The last is a serious omission, for the reader can have no conception of the peculiar manner of Arabic annalists unless he is shown a specimen here and there; and though this would involve space and no in- considerable trouble, it were well done, even at the cost of reducing the over-abundant notice of the ‘ Arabian Nights,’ or the total omission of the ‘‘ana”’ at the end of the book, which are sometimes amusing, but are no more representative of Arabic litera- ture at large than Miss Edgeworth’s ‘ Irish Bulls’ are of that of Great Britain and Ire- land. A manual of literature without ex- cerpts is a maimed, one-legged production ; a history of literature without criticism and analysis of sources is a blind guide. Mr. Arbuthnot has fallen between two stools. He has attempted to combine a literary history with a bibliography, and he has not achieved either. What he has done is to notice the leading Arabic writers in most branches of letters and science, and to mention some of their works; but he has not traced their relations historically, nor enumerated their books in detail, either in the original or in translations. A true his- tory of Arabic literature would, we admit, be impossible in so small a space, and per- haps somewhat in advance of Mr. Arbuth- not’s ambition; but a thorough biblio- graphy of the chief authorities, especially of those which may be consulted in a Chris- tian language, was perfectly possible to any industrious compiler. The present work omits many important translations—such as those in French of Ibn Khaldun, Idrisi, and Ibn Khordadhbeh—and concludes with a rather misleading list of the publications of the defunct Oriental Translation Fund. This society did admirable work in its day, and we are glad that it is to be revived and con- tinued ; but many of its versions are obso- lete, and some indication should have been given of the fact. In bibliographical work, moreover, one cannot be too careful of ortho- graphy and the like; but ‘ Arabic Authors’ demands a long list of corrigenda before it can be regard-d as accurate. Such mistakes as ‘‘Hishim” for Hishdm, “Hakim” for Hakam, ‘‘ Akhsid” for Ikhshid, ‘‘ Firmidi” for Tirmidt, ‘‘Sayuti,”’ “Qanits,” “Tahir” for Zahir, ‘‘ brarorillah,” ‘Ibn Rashid” for Zén Rushd (Averroés), “Bujeh” for Buweyh, and the like, are irritating. Apart from the ‘‘ literary” chapter, there are sections on history, where such vital omissions as the Tulunides and Mamlukes occur; “about Mohammed,” where we find a fair account of the prophet, and the bare annals of his career ; and a longer chapter on tales and stories, which is interesting, but out of all proportion to the rest. Altogether, there is much to be done if ‘ Arabic Authors’ is to deserve the title of ‘‘a manual of Arabian history and literature.” At the same time, as we have said, it is a meritorious attempt, and in the absence of more complete works it will be of service in drawing the attention of students to that vast treasure-house of Arabic literature which is at last beginning to take its rightful place among the autho- ritative sources for mediwval history and civilization. History of Curling. By John Kerr, M.A., F.8.A.Scot. (Edinburgh, Douglas.) Curuine has a history more fertile in anti- quarian interest than even golf, though, in all probability, it is the younger game, and does not seem to have much royal patronage to boast of with certainty, unless the un- lucky Darnley may be reckoned among kingly players. It is naturally more pro- fusely illustrated with song than any other game, as the social splore in the evening was as important an element in the proceed- ings as the ‘‘ bon-spiel”’ itself. (Note that this word was originally applied to archery.) The beef and greens are still essential to the roaring game. The Canonmills Laureate (ec. 1760) gives the secret to the public of his day :— The lover doats on Menie’s eye, His life lies in the blinking o’t, For if it’s languid he maun die, He canna bear the winking o't. But curlers with unfettered souls That ane another's cares controuls On ice conveen like winter fowls An’ please them wi’ the rinking o’t. The sportsman may poor mawkin trace Thro’ snaw, tired with the sinking o’t, Or if his greyhound gi’ her chase He’s charmed wi’ the jinking o’t. But curlers chase upon the rink, An’ learn dead stanes wi’ art to jink; When tired wi’ that gae in and drink, An’ please them wi’ the skinking o’t. So far the ‘ Choise,’ which, on the whole, is a spirited version of a rather blackguard old song. Burns does not allude very often to a game which was in its full glory in the West Country in his day. Two lines at the commencement of ‘The Vision,’ and the well-known panegyric on ‘Tam Sam- son,’ are all he vouchsafes to it. In Sir David Lindsay’s time (1528) curling must have been unknown :— Now auld and cauld Januar, in dispyte, Reiffis from us all pastime and plesour ; Allace! quhat gentyll hart may this indure ? He evidently could not utilize the ‘“snel), snell, frosty weather.” George Ruthven (1546-1638) is the earliest bard of the
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90 THE ATHENAUM N° 3273, Juty 19, °90 channel stanes. In the ‘Muse’s Threnodie,’ a lament over James Gall,’a brother curler, after inviting his bows, his golf-clubs, and other ‘‘gabions”’ to lament, he says :— And yee, my Loadstones of Lidnochian lakes, Collected from the loughs where watrie snakes Do much abound, take unto you a part And mourn for Gall, who loved you with his heart, Lednoch Loch, about four miles from Perth, seems to have been a noted place for curling stones, now brought from Burnock Water or Ailsa Craig. Mr. Kerr’s historical and literary intro- duction to the art he loves leaves nothing to be desired ; while curlers will derive much benefit from his practical hints, and the most detailed information, not only as to the Royal Caledonian, the Jockey Club of curlers, but as to every important association both within and ‘‘ furth of ” Scotland. The wide diffusion of the game will astonish many readers. Its latest laureate, the lamented Principal Shairp, has given expression in his own hearty style to the feeling which always inspires its patriotic votaries. The illustrations and general get-up of Mr. Kerr’s volume are excellent. Bloomsbury and St. Giles’s, Past and Present. With Historical and Antiquarian Notices of the Vicinity. By George Clinch. (Truslove & Shirley.) Tne united parish of St. Giles’s and St. George’s, Bloomsbury, is one of the most interesting in London, both by reason of its antiquity and of its association with cele- brated men. St. Giles’s was long distin- guished as a village separated from London and Westminster by broad fields; and such special characteristics of a village as the stocks, the pound, and the round house re- mained almost to our own time. Even now the peculiar form of the parish can be traced, and before the opening of New Oxford Street in 1847 the highway from Oxford Street to Holborn was continued round by the church of St. Giles. The pound occupied the site of Meux’s brewery, the round house was close to the church- yard, and the gallows in the space where Tottenham Court Road, Oxford Street, High Street, and Charing Cross Road now meet. Bloomsbury as a parish of houses is quite modern, but as a district it is as old as St. Giles’s, and the origin of the name is found in the manor of the De Blemontes, Blemunds, or Blemmots. The manor house stood on the site of the present Bedford Place, and is described in the St. Giles’s Hospital grant as ‘‘the capital messuage of William Blemund.’”’ The manor passed through several hands before it came into the possession of Thomas Wriothesley, Lord Chancellor to Henry VIII. His grandson Henry, the third Earl, known to us chiefly as the friend of the Earl of Essex and patron of Shakspeare, purchased the manor of St. Giles’s, which he united to that of Blooms- bury, and the two have remained together to the present day. The history of the changes among the owners of the manor will be found written in the local names. Bloomsbury itself pre- serves the fame of the Blemunds; Southamp- ton Row recalls the Earls of Southampton; Vernon Place the memory of Elizabeth Vernon, the wife of Shakspeare’s Lord Southampton; and Bedford and Russell Squares the names of the present owners, who obtained possession through the mar- riage of Lady Rachel Wriothesley, heiress of the Southampton family, to Lord William Russell. St. Giles’s has been fortunate in finding historians. Parton published a large quarto in 1822, Dobie an octavo in 1829, and now Mr. Clinch produces a small quarto volume. Mr. Clinch gives a good account of the parish as it is now; but his review of the glories of the past is somewhat in- complete. Many celebrated men who lived in Bloomsbury are left unnoticed ; thus there is no mention of the famous actor John Philip Kemble, who lived for some years at 13 (now 12), Caroline Street (a house that is about to be pulled down in connexion with the proposal for a new street), and then removed to Great Russell Street, where he lived at the time of the O.P. riots, when songs reviling him were sung under his windows. St. Giles’s parish has long borne a bad name, and even when distinguished persons such as Alice, Duchess Dudley, lived there the poor and the vicious were not far off. But successive clearances have done their work: first of all the Rookery was opened up by the formation of New Oxford Street, and now the creation of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road has improved the district of Seven Dials. Bloomsbury Square was built in the reign of Charles II, and there was little to the north of this and of Great Russell Street until the end of the last century. The Duke of Bedford of the time strongly opposed the formation of the New Road in 1756, which cut through the rural district to the north of his house, and in 1800 Bedford House was pulled down, and the site built upon. To the north of Great Russell Street was a farm, and still further north, near where Woburn Square is now, lay the notorious Field of Forty Footsteps. At the end of the last century the present district of Blooms- bury was planned. Bedford Square was the first built, and Russell Square followed in 1804. The judges flocked to the place. Lord Chancellor Loughborough, Lord Chief Justice Tenterden, Lord Denman, Justice Holroyd, and Sir Samuel Romilly lived in Russell Square; Lord Chancellor Eldon, Lord Chief Justice Best, Justices Burrough, Littledale, and Park in Bedford Square. But fashionable society persisted in living further west, and the Bench followed. Mr. Clinch’s book is fully illustrated ; but the plates are not to be commended, as they are mostly too dark and indistinct. There is a faithful representation of St. Giles’s Church, with the Resurrection gate shown in its old position at the north-west corner of the churchyard; but the author does not mention the change to its present position in 1864-5. The index also is incomplete, and contains no references to several places which are mentioned in the text. We can, however, recommend this work to our readers as containing much that they will find it useful and interesting to know; and it may be considered as a satisfactory sign of the times that publishers are ready to bring out books of this character, for it shows that the public at last begin to feel some interest ~ the history of the places where they ive. Essays and Studies, Educational and Literary. By B. L. Gildersleeve. (Baltimore, Murray.) Pror. GILDERSLEEVE, best known on this side of the Atlantic for his labours on Pindar, has combined in a somewhat un- wieldy single volume four considerable essays on the state and prospects of classical education in America, with seven literary and historical studies, and two short ad- dresses, both delivered during the last five years at the Johns Hopkins University. It is difficult, in view of the high merits of both sections of the book, not to regret that they appear together. Two books, or, at all events, two volumes, would present the author’s zeal and learning in a more manageable and appreciable form. It is not easy to pass from a technical and theo- retical plea like ‘Grammar and Aisthetics’ straight to ‘The Legend of Venus’ and ‘Xanthippe and Socrates’ without a kind of intellectual jolt that disarranges the judgment. The four educational essays that form the first division of the book are the interesting and earnest—often pathetically earnest— utterances of a teacher who, with an ardent belief in classical learning as the true basis of culture, feels that the age is drifting into heresy on this subject, and that the multi- tude passes by on the other side with scant respect for the studies which, to him, seem to give vitality to history and profundity to thought. He chafes under the scorn of second-rate intelligence that blames its training for its mediocrity :— ‘*Too many seem to think that every assault made upon their early training is a vindication of their claims to the heavenly gift and a justi- fication of failure which some people would deem deserved. When a young man complains that his ‘ college lumber’ stands in the way of useful acquisition and application, we shall find in nine cases out of ten either that the road must be small which such ‘lumber’ would block, or that the fault lies in a want of vitalizing energy, which should have erected the ‘lumber’ into a temple or a fortress ; which should have turned the stores of learning into bone and muscle instead of dragging them about in a guarded commissary-train.” Again :— ‘*It is not a pleasant hearing for Americans, who are persuaded better things of their country, to be told by our Berlin professor that this tendency to materialism, this preference of the immediate and practical to the remote and theoretical, in short, all that is hard and real- istic and ‘ unbeautiful’ in the recent develop- ment of life, is called ‘ Americanism,’ and that those Americans who do not share these ten- dencies are simply set down as un-American. And yet the statement is but too true.” This is a note which recurs throughout these essays, sometimes defiantly and con- temptuously, sometimes despondently, always with an undertone of querulousness, as if the writer had not duly reflected on the conditions of learning in all ages, the im- possibility of its appearing in all its value to those who possess it only partially or not at all. If ever a man was learner and teacher in one, that man was Goethe; and his attitude of mind in this matter is worthy of all imitation. ‘‘ Dear friend,” he said to his disciple who chafed under the supposed neglect of his master’s writings, ‘‘ my writ- ings cannot be popular.” He saw—what »
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> N° 3273, Jury 19, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 91 Prof. Gildersleeve seems a trifle too im- patient to see—that intellect and learning work slowly upon the world, and have a scope beyond any contemporary conscious- ness of their value. Just as asaintly person, if he is also wise, does not fret because his neighbours do not become saints, but works unconsciously to the effect that saint- liness is at length appreciated, so the learned scholar, in America as elsewhere, does ill to expect an immediate harvest, or the expansion of learning in all its effulgence over an industrial and commercial com- munity, a young plutocracy, which, like all other youth, is proud of itself. The zeal and study displayed in these gleanings of many years are the true success ; if they had a hearing in their day, if there is a demand for their reappearance now, the leaven is working; if it seems along day before the whole lump will be leavened, that is not a subject for sighs and lamenta- tion, but rather for the frank resolve well expressed on p. 504 :— “Tam not at all shaken by the self-satisfied edicts of those who rule so large a portion of the reading world, and I maintain with unwavering confidence that all healthy literature must be kept in communion, direct or indirect, with the highest exemplars of our Indo-European stock ; and if anything could prove the necessity of a return to healthy human nature, with its com- passed form, its fair red and white, it would be the utter wearisomeness of so much recent fine writing, in which there is no blood, no sap, nothing but division and subdivision of nerve- tissue. ‘A pagan suckled in a creed outworn’ is a joy and delight in comparison with the languid invertebrate children of the great god- dess Anzemia.” That is a home-thrust in every sense of the term; and it is the expression of a faith in the triumph of his cause more robust than is elsewhere exhibited by the writer. When once we have discounted the rather querulous tone of these educational essays, we have little but praise for their critical and theoretical aspects. Particularly good is the realization, in tho first essay (‘ Limits of Culture’), that any wide failure in educa- tion ought in the long run to be laid at the door of teachers rather than of learners or of subjects. Following up a protest of Mill’s, Prof. Gildersleeve pronounces, in golden words, that “what we want is not less Latin and Greek, but less waste of time in learning, or pretending to learn, Latin and Greek.” Very good also is the protest in ‘Classics and Colleges’ against the pro- longation of purely youthful studies into what is, or should be, manhood, and in favour of some leisure hours for miscella- neous intellectual pursuits, as against the mechanical and exhausting curriculum of lectures and duties. Only here and there do we find an affected expression, as on p. 51, ‘‘statuettes which breathe the in- finite charis of Greekdom,” or a triumph of patriotism over good taste, asin the passage (pp. 105-6) in which the similarity of the Greek and American minds is over-loudly announced, in language that forces the critic to murmur the warning of Greece’s great dramatist :— €varoipws aively, rap’ dXAwv xpi) 768’ Epxer Oar yépas. No one, in any case, whatever be his opinion of political events now past, can fail to sympathize with the dignified sorrow of the passage in which the writer, ‘a man of the old South,” speaks of ‘those of us who for a large segment of their intellectual existence were cut off not only from contact with those who were pursuing the same line of study and pressing forward towards the same ideals, but cut off from new books, new journals, nay, every sign of life from without, now by the pillar of fire which is called war, now by. the pillar of cloud which is called poverty.” The literary and historical studies which are comprised in the second division of the book are, as might be expected from their titles, of very various weight and interest. The first one, on ‘The Legend of Venus,’ is full of curious learning, coupled with many remarks which are at once whimsical and inept. Dido, for instance, is Astarte, we are told; Aineas, apparently, is Baal-Mel- karth. Well and good; but the sequel is that “in view of all this it is no fancy that the cold moonshine of Astarte rests on Vergil’s Dido ; that there is an unreality about the whole con- ception, which shows a want of faith in the poet himself; for Vergil was a bookish man and better informed of the real purport of Dido than some of his commentators, who have gravely urged against him the charge of anachronism.” We will not argue whether this be ‘no fancy,”’ but take leave to pronounce it, whether it be serious or not, to be “ cold moonshine.”’ Where, again, is the point or grace of saying that Helen, in the Odyssey, “mixes a sleeping draught with all the skill of Mrs. Gamp”? The truth is that Prof. Gildersleeve writes well and sugges- -tively when he is in earnest; but when he adopts the lighter style, as in ‘The Legend of Venus’ and ‘ Xanthippe and Socrates,’ he fails both in humour and in charm. ‘Xanthippe and Socrates’ is certainly one of the most wearisome jests we ever read, and indeed, from its last sentence, we should almost infer that the author is of the same opinion. ‘Apollonius of Tyana’ is better, and contains an interesting though over- lengthy sketch of a curious personage of whom most of us have heard and few have knownanything beyond his effect upon Lamia in the poem of Keats. The two essays that follow, ‘ Lucian’ and ‘ The Emperor Julian,’ are far the best in the collection. They are vivid and penetrating; the latter, parti- cularly in its sketch of the influences and circumstances that made Julian what he was, is, we think, a piece of historical por- traiture of really high merit. The biographer, accurately or not, sees at least a man and a brother, not a mere nightmare of apostasy or sympathetic shadow of paganism. The essay on ‘ Platen’s Poems’ is meant to re- call to readers of a later day the poems of a writer who has probably had less justice and more excessive praise and blame than any writer of equal merits. We cannot think, from the specimens here translated, that ‘The Fateful Fork’ was a first-rate production; yet there is an ingenious and original touch about it which may well make us, in spite of Heine’s monstrous diatribe, turn aside, between Syracuse and Epipole, to visit Platen’s garden-grave. ‘Maximilian: his Travels and his Tra- gedy’ is a sympathetic sketch of the hero of the romantic dream that Juarez broke to pieces. Not without real literary skill does the writer work out some resemblances between Maximilian and Julian. Not with- out real tenderness does he conclude :— ‘*Few care what dreams of glory filled the brain of the heathen Emperor ; what words of madness or wisdom escaped his quivering lips. That last cry of Maximilian’s loving human heart finds its echo everywhere, in every ear, in a ene the heart and the ear of— otte |” Le Prince de Ligne et ses Contemporains. Par Victor du Bled. (Paris, Calmann Lévy.) To Michaud’s ‘ Biographie Universelle’ and Sainte-Beuve’s labours is due the over- whelming production of such works as the above. When will M. du Bled and his fellow compilers take to heart Montesquieu’s suggestion ‘‘Quand un homme n’a rien 4 dire de nouveau que ne se tait-il?’? The present book is devoted to the delineation of various types of French esprit : ‘‘the courtly, the poetic, the satiric, the misanthropic, the noralistic, the comic, the social-paradoxical, the political, the pamphleteering, the jour- nalistic.” Several other volumes are to follow, illustrating the esprit of the orators of the Revolution, of the men of the Directory, of Napoleon I., &c. Mercier observes that in his day the lawyer, bishop, soldier, financier, and courtier each seemed to borrow some of the characteristics of the other. The Prince de Ligne was, we think, a compound of this description rather than the type of the amiable man as M. du Bled prefers to con- sider him, whilst throughout the marshal’s voluminous memoirs appears a thorough enjoyment of life under all circumstances, with a certain bombastic swagger akin to the temperament of some of Charles Lever’s Hibernian heroes. To a childhood passed in the Low Countries amid the excitement then prevailing, and to an education con- ducted alternately by Jesuit priests, Jan- senist abbés, and atheistic cavalry officers, followed an early début at the court of Maria Theresa, and a marriage summarily imposed upon him by his father; then came some experience of active service during the Seven Years’ War, and a wild season of pleasure, maintained by aid of the Jews, till in 1767 the death of his much dreaded parent placed ‘Prince Charming” at the head of one of the most wealthy and illustrious families in Europe. With gentle malice he describes the court of ‘‘ce pauvre Louis XV., un mannequin qui avait l’air de marcher par ressorts’’; the ill-bred blunders of Madame de Pompadour, the seductions of Paris enjoyed under the guidance of Du Barry, and later the favour shown him by the royal mistress of that name when at the height of her power. In the same guise, partly as a disciple, partly as a satirist, De Ligne visits Ferney to graduate in philosophy. He arrives at the conclusion that “the Catholic religion must please all who care for the fine arts; to it we owe Pergolesi’s ‘ Stabat’ and numerous masterpieces in music, paint- ing, and sculpture, the ‘Descent from the Cross’ at Antwerp, and another, by Van Dyck, which is in my gallery.” A fair sample of the unconscious egotism of the grand seigneur; esteeming himself lord of all heaven and earth, he regards the addition of a gem to his treasures as the sufficient cause of Christianity. M.du Bled, however, who has little sense of the ludicrous, exclaims,
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92 THE ATHENAUM N° 3273, Jury 19, ’90 ‘‘Thus thirty years before Chateaubriand, De Ligne fought Voltaire with le génie du Christianisme.” But the prince’s reminiscences acquire a more general importance when, after sojourn- ing for a while at Bel (il in magnificent dilettantism, he joins the adoring circle gathered round Marie Antoinette at Ver- sailles. His finished study of the youthful queen and her associates in 1776 goes far to contradict her calumniators, especially De Lauzun, whose consummate treachery in all his amours, whether real or fictitious, renders it, in our opinion, impossible for him to have entertained for Madame de Ooigny, or any one else, that “highly chivalrous passion ”’ attributed to him by M. du Bled. We must at the same time express extreme scepticism of any statement based on M. L. Perey’s spurious memoirs of Héléne Massalska. De Ligne’s restless activity may be ima- gined from the fact that in one year he made thirty-four journeys from Brussels to Vienna, and eighteen from Bel (il to Paris. In 1780 he leaves Versailles for a six months’ tour. Arriving at Berlin, he exchanges ideas with Frederick II., “who set too great a value on his own damnation, and was for ever boasting of it.’’ On reaching St. Peters- burg the prince is so fascinated by the Semiramis of the North that he abandons the purpose of his journey, the prosecution of his daughter-in-law’s claim upon the Russian court for 400,000 roubles, for ‘it would be so indelicate to utilize the favour with which he had been received in order to obtain favours”’; proceeding next to War- saw, he vaguely aspires to the Polish crown, then hurries back in time to condole with the French queen on the death of her mother and his sovereign Maria Theresa. However, the most interesting event in De Ligne’s career was in 1787, when, to adopt his own expression, he accompanied ‘Catherine le Grand” as a “ diplomatic jockey” in that triumphal progress to the Crimea which preluded the further enlarge- ment of what she termed her ‘‘petit ménage.”’ Enthusiastic in hisadmiration of the Tsaritza, his portrait of her has nevertheless every semblance of truth: ‘Amant de l’impéra- trice est une charge de cour”; ‘‘I have known almost all of them’’; and he names a dozen who had held the appointment. But he gives good reasons for absolving her of all complicity in the death of Peter III., declaring her to be ‘‘a mixture of soul and of good sense, of enthusiasm and of energy.” She assured him, on the other hand, that she had been brought into fashion by Vol- taire, ‘“‘her kind protector,” and that she owed all her success to her ministers, Potemkin, &c. ‘‘Tout ce qu’on peut dire, c'est que j’ai élevé ces messieurs.” For once De Ligne ceases to be tedious as he crosses those deserts which Potemkin is said to have decorated for the occasion with card- board villages and with troops of ballet dancers dressed up as peasants. Throwing themselves with their faces to the ground, the people remained prostrate as Catherine drove past, and De Ligne from her carriage windows showered gold upon their heads. In two months he had thus distributed millions. At Kanieve she was greeted by her old love, Stanislas Poniatowski, who had ‘‘ spent three months and three millions to see her for three hours,” and to be, after all, dispossessed of his kingdom. At Kher- son they were joined by Joseph II., whose ardour for the partition of Turkey was somewhat cooled by the news of revolt in his own Low Countries. Probably never was De Ligne’s temper as a courtier more severely tested than in the ensuing cam- paign when co-operating with the desultory Potemkin. ‘My position here is that of a nursemaid in charge of a big, strong, and petulant boy’’; such is his bitterest com- plaint. And now began ‘‘L’aimable siécle ou Vhomme dit 4 l’homme: Sois mon frére ou je t’'assomme.” It brought to De Ligne the loss of his son, of his estates, of his sove- reign’s favour. But settling in a small house in the Austrian capital, ‘‘ he disposed of his pictures, laughed over his privations, ridiculed his own avarice, and inwardly chuckled when by dint of a few lies he managed to sell some copies of his volumin- ous works.’’ On one occasion the butcher refused him longer credit ; the prince went to the tradesman’s house, and sat down at his table, saying, ‘‘My good man, you would not send my dinner to my house, so I have come to dine with you.” The opening of the Congress of Vienna found him the object of universal homage; but he died a few weeks later, exclaiming, ‘Ea avant! Vive Marie Thérése!” M. du Bled, however, omits to mention that one of the old man’s last pleasures was the prattle of that mon- arch’s great-grandson, the little King of Rome. Home truths are never palatable; hence, whilst the productions of Mercier, another of M. du Bled’s heroes, commanded an enthusiastic welcome in Germany, he was, and still is, without honour in his own country. He was not a genius; in fact, as both he and his antagonist La Harpe agreed, none of the mer of the Revolution, Mirabeau excepted, were anything more than ‘‘des grands médiocres.”’ Still both Michaud and M. du Bled judge the author of the ‘Tableau de Paris’ too pitilessly when they regard him as “le singe de Jean- Jacques,” a nickname due to the malice of his contemporaries. If his absurdi- ties were numerous and his vanity in- ordinate, yet his criticism is often to the point, his descriptions are vivid, and his feeling for humanity is professedly based on his belief in ‘‘un Dieu qui a 1’oil ouvert entre mon frére et moi.” He maintained that the earth is round and flat, that the sun goes round it ‘like a horse in a circus ’’; he wrote a book on the physical impossi- bilities of the system of Copernicus, and in his ‘ Néologie’ declared Newtonianism to be the ‘“‘most absurd scientific extravagance that has ever issued from the human ima- gination.” On the other hand, few would now contradict him when in the same dic- tionary he interprets Voltairianism as ‘“‘a school based on destructive irony, injuring the generous impulses of great and vigorous conceptions, and incapable of raising or fortifying the human mind”; or again, when as a definition of the word ‘‘Larroner”’ he gives ‘‘ Voltaire, who, without saying a word, has continually stolen from Shak- speare, and then called him the savage drunkard.” M. du Bled echoes the old cry | that ‘‘ Mercier with his friends Rétif de la Bretonne and Dorat-Cubiéres formed a triumvirate of bad taste.’’ Yet, whilst thus condemned for his non-appreciation of Racine, Mercier could see beauty in Dante, Milton, and Shakspeare when they were being denounced as “monstrous” by La Harpe, ‘ce petit juge effronté des nations,” who could date the rise of English from the reign of Charles II., and attribute it to our increased intercourse with France. Is its ostracism of ‘‘ that miserable jargon called bel-esprit” the reason why M. du Bled disdains to notice Mercier’s earlier produc- tion ‘L’An 2440’? Yet this old Utopian dream i3 curious, inasmuch as it deals with not a few of our nineteenth century problems, from the cremation of the dead to the occu- pation of Egypt by France. Far more solid, however, is the interest attaching to the unique panorama which was begun in 1780, and which embraced every quarter of Paris, every profession, trade, and class. Herein Mercier depicts the king, who draws from the capital nearly 120,000,000 livres a year; the millionaire, whose wealth is talked about, but of whose benevolence it would be diffi- cult to say aught; the farmer general, with his troops of liveried servants; the bishop, whose absence from his diocese at all events ensures its tranquillity ; the swarm of abbés, serving neither Church nor State, but living in professed idleness; the man of fashion, prating of his chemical studies; the young seigneur, with untouched copies of Montaigne and Montesquieu on his table ; the judges and their épices ; the rapidly made fortunes of ad- vocates and notaries ; the lackeys, who when in company with their fellows adopt the name of their masters; the colporteurs, the only vendors of good, and therefore contraband, literature ; the courtesans, a class on which fifty millions of livres were yearly lavished; the letter-writers and the milliners, who plied their trades among the tombs of the pestilential cemetery of the Innocents; the terrible condition of the six thousand patients in the Hotel Dieu; the disgraceful state of the prisons, and the barbarous executions, which make Mercier exclaim, ‘‘Certes la justice est plus effrayante que le crime.” The horrible inequality of fortune, the absence of all political life, the gross ignor- ance of the people —such is his constant refrain. The Londoner, says Mercier, may be too ready with his fists and addicted to drink, but even with these drawbacks his fearless bearing is preferable to the anxious, restless, broken-down appearance of the pale, cowed, and stunted Parisian. ‘‘Dés que le peuple cesse d’étre agreste et clamateur, il devient sérieux, vain, débauché, pauvre, et conséquemment avili.’”’” From its variety of detail the book, we think, may be ranked among the most valuable contributions to the ethics of the French Revolution, yet so little sympathy has M. du Bled for his subject that though he fills twelve pages with quotations, these are singularly un- characteristic of the writer and of his aim. Thanks to philosophy, says Mercier, duelling had become very uncommon, and swords were only worn for full dress. This fact, we think, alone rendered possible that war of outrageous verbal insult, the record of which forms so large and wearisome a portion of French literature of that period. M. du Bled has made a judicious collection of epigrams due to the private animosities of Le Brun, Joseph Chénier, Chamfort, and
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XUM N° 3273, Jury 19, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 93 La Harpe; he bestows a few lines of bio- _—- notice upon each of these ‘‘ hommes esprit,” and his so-called historical study is complete. His sketch of Beaumarchais, however, is more commendable. NOVELS OF THE WEEK, The Keeper of the Keys. By F. W. Robin- son. 3 vols. (Hurst & Blackett.) Madame Leroux. By Frances Eleanor Trol- lope. 3 vols. (Bentley & Son.) An Australian Girl. 3 vols. (Same pub- lishers.) Lorging the Fetters. By Mrs. Alexander. (Spencer Blackett.) : Le Sacrifice. Par Louis Enault. (Paris, Hachette & Co.) Ir is by the method of developing his story that Mr. Robinson scores his successes, and continues, after the production of such a perilous number of volumes, to hold his place as one of the chief favourites of the circulating libraries. His characters, in spite of a sameness of type which is some- times apt to make them appear to be all t cousins to each other, are mostly nteresting, and his plots, though rarely very strong, are as rarely very weak. But in the “laying out” of the materials at his command he exercises a skill which enables him to arrest the reader’s attention and to secure it. Hence his books would form a useful subject of study to the beginner in the art of fiction. In every form of literary art a very large proportion of a successful writer’s power is simply the result of this method of laying out his materials. Indeed, it could hardly be otherwise if we consider what literary art really is. In the handling of a mass of historic facts, for instance, one historian will arrange them in such fashion that his history will be as readable as any romance. Another writer will contrive so to marshal the facts as to become as uninteresting as the framer of an Act of Parliament. And so in the art of speaking. Those who have read the judg- ments of the late Lord Chief Justice Cock- burn and compared them with the judg- ments of Lord Eldon will realize at once that in oratory any mass of facts upon almost any subject can be made interesting when laid out by a supreme master of the art of statement, and uninteresting when laid out by a less skilful hand. It is Mr. Robinson’s great experience that has given him the skill in laying out his subject- matter which we have commented upon. Were his material as rich as it ought to be, and as rich as it would be if the writer would concentrate his forces on one master- piece instead of dissipating them in a hun- dred volumes, a work of his would pass into literature. Through the books and chapters into which his novels are divided the story unfolds itself coil after coil with a logical steadiness that nothing disturbs. In the mere development of the plot there is never an incident out* of place—never a word too much—never a word too little —never too much expectation—never too much surprise. In these features ‘The Keeper of the Keys’ does not fall behind its numerous predecessors. One of the chief characters of the story has been found at midnight assassinated on one of the seats of the Embankment. Who was the assassin? Circumstances point to several persons, and point with almost equal em- phasis in each case; but in the case of the real assassin the indications and circum- stances are purely psychological. Of external evidence there is none, but the psychological indications grow with every line of the story, until at last, when the external evi- dence does present itself, it is scarcely needed. There is plenty of humour in the book as well as pathos. As a rule, Mr. Robinson’s characters lack intensity, hence the character of Eugenie Vandespur is a new departure. She is a woman of really deep passion such as Mr. Robinson has never before attempted. Mrs. Trollope has written better stories than ‘Madame Leroux’; but her novels are always well worth reading, and this is no exception to the rule. The chief fault that can be found with it is a certain looseness of construction in the plot, which suggests the idea that the author herself was uncer- tain of her dénotiment until the very last. What she delights most of all in describing is a certain rather vulgar aspect of English provincial life and the not very exalted emotions of the small country tradesman. Lawyer Shard, his wife, and Mrs. Jackson partake rather of the nature of caricature, and of caricature which is more truthful than kind. The Hawkins family, who live in the borderland which separates Bohemia from strict respectability, are much more pleasantly drawn, and their friend Zephany is charming. The heroine, Lucy Marston, whose misfortunes and adventures form the groundwork of the story, attracts quite enough of the reader’s sympathy to make her career interesting, though it is to be hoped that she was more than usually un- lucky in her search for employment. In the case of Professor Tudway Didear and his three girl slaves Mrs. Trollope would seem to be poaching on the preserves of Mr. Walter Besant. However, Mr. Besant would probably be the first to disclaim any personal and private rights in that particular field of fiction. The least suc- cessful of the characters is Madame Leroux herself. Mrs. Trollope has at- tempted to describe a singularly fascinating person, endowed with many good and bad qualities—the bad perhaps predominating— living a double life of alternate self-indul- gence and self-repression—a life which is sometimes the result of hard and selfish calcu- lation, and at other times of equally selfish impulse. Such a nature is perfectly possible, and doubtless exists; but Madame Leroux is hardly possible. She is neither incredibly good nor incredibly wicked ; but her actions are contradictory beyond belief. In the first two volumes we admire and accept her gladly; but in the last, when she foregoes her revenge and dies, her death is much more of the nature of an execution, in accordance with the exigencies of the plot, than of a suicide. Amongst a fair number of good novels which have lately reached us from the anti- podes none has possessed a deeper human interest, or has had passages of greater elevation or more decisive literary vigour, than ‘An Australian Girl.’ The heroine of this story is a finely drawn character of the high-strung, introspective, enthusiastic order of young women, yet true to all who have a right to depend upon her. No doubt she gets herself into trouble with two young men at the same time, one of them being her husband; but no one can attach any blame to her in the circumstances. Her brain nearly gives way, she nearly dies, nearly goes into a nunnery, and nearly leaves her husband; but in the end she pulls through, having found her way by gradual stages from her Australian home to the East- End of London and back to Australia again, and from ecstatic exaltations to resignation and good works. Some lengthy descriptive letters from the heroine to her brother ap- pear to have been dragged in without much regard to the plot of the story. The strong impression produced on the reader by ‘An Australian Girl’ would have been stronger still if the character of Dr. Anselm Lang- dale had been more elaborated; but even as it is the novel is far above the average. Mrs. Alexander’s short story will be easily read through at a sitting, and its natural interest may outlast an hour. There is nothing in it which would repay a reader for two sittings, or for more than an hour’s attention. A returned traveller bounces into a reserved carriage in a Scotch ex- press just as the train is starting, and this brings him into contact with a young wife from whom he had separated years before. He recognizes her, but she does not know him again, for he has changed his face as well as hisname. The situation is highly im- probable, and it has been used more than once or twice before; but Mrs. Alexander manipulates it cleverly enough, and rattles off a fairly amusing narrative. Her style is always a little slipshod. It abounds in such sentences as, ‘‘The guards are most negligent, and the insufficiency of porters most annoying.’’ The intruder in the rail- way carriage is ‘‘on the gui vive for another glance at her face.” As their second inti- macy progresses the husband and wife make * téte-d-téte explorations.” But things like these are trifles compared with the qualities of a simple, romantic, and well-told story. ‘Forging the Fetters’ is an ideal shilling ** select novel.” We are able to praise ‘Le Sacrifice,’ by M. Louis Enault, which is one of that pro- lific author’s best novels. IRISH HISTORY. IRELAND, poor in so many things, suffers from no dearth of historians. Scarcely a week goes by without the publication of some Irish history, and within the past year two weighty histories of Sligo county and town have been brought out. It is, perhaps, to be regretted that the two learned historians did not combine their information, for each would have gained by the collaboration of the other ; but historians, like doctors, disagree, and from the preface of Dr. O’Rorke (whose volumes we noticed some months ago) we learn that the rival chroniclers of *‘this intensely interesting county” are at daggers drawn. Col. Wood-Martin, in his His- tory of Sligo, County and Town, from the Acces- sion of James I. to the evolution of 1688 (Dublin, Hodges, Figgis & Co.), ignores Arch- deacon O’Rorke; and Archdeacon O’Rorke, writing of an earlier volume by Col. Wood- Martin, remarks, ‘‘ however reluctantly,” that this ‘ History of Sligo’ “ altogether fails to justify its title.’ Perhaps Col. Wood-Martin has pro- fited by this criticism ; or is it that the reverend doctor is a little hard upon his military fellow student? Certain it is that the volume before
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94 THE ATHENAUM N° 3273, Jury 19, ’90 us is the outcome of thorough and painstaking research, and (whatever may be said in its dis- praise) it does, most undoubtedly, merit its title. It is dry, it is prejudiced against the Catholics to the point of being rancorous; but in extenuation we must remember that it deals with a time of horror and mystery, so full of cruelty and bloodshed that it is difficult tostudy it without becoming one way or another a par- tisan. Terrible cruelties, inhuman barbarities were inflicted by each party upon the other, and perhaps a consciousness of guilt makes each party anxious to justify itself by dwelling on the atrocities committed by the other. Arch- deacon O’Rorke touches very lightly on the gaol massacre, and throws what discredit he can upon the depositions of Walsh and Jane Steward, which Col. Wood-Martin receives as gospel. The burning of Sligo by Hamilton shows us the reverse of the medal, for here the archdeacon exhausts the resources of the language in his denuncia- tions of Hamilton, but with Co]. Wood-Martin he is merely ‘‘an overbearing man at all times— now fearfully exasperated,” and the burning of a town containing hundreds of innocent and defenceless creatures becomes a “ decided and speedy measure,” while the Catholic perpetrators of the gaol massacre are “‘human tigers void of pity,” and “the wholesale and merciless slaughter in the gaol of Sligo has rarely been equalled in atrocity, if we take into consideration the inno- cence of the victims, the deliberate premedita- tion of the deed, and the pitiless disregard evinced for age and sex.” True, certainly ; butit is true also that Hamilton deserves every word that Dr. O’Rorke bestows on him. ‘“ Both parties in this terrible struggle noted down with great minute- ness the atrocities (whether real or alleged) of their opponents,” writes Col. Wood-Martin, and, true to this tradition, he notes only the iniquities of the Catholics, accepting without question the sworn depositions of fugitives, although the un- happy creatures were half crazy with fear, horror, suffering, and thirst for revenge. All who lived through that terrible time, whether Protestant or Catholic, were inevitably swayed by party feeling, terror, and indignation; their evidence is most contradictory, and the unconscious ex- aggeration of their heated fancy so gross that, though the total English population of Ulster was not more than 20,000, it was stated that 145,000 had perished. The word of men whose passions are roused cannot be taken as final, and many will question Co]. Wood-Martin’s assertion that ‘‘ the most reliable source [of knowledge] is evidently the sworn depositions of the survivors.” At all events, if it be true in one case it is equally true in the other ; the sins of one party should not be exposed while those of the other are covered. Against the Cromwellians Col. Wood- Martin says nothing ; even to Coote he extends the charity of his silence, and wickedness re- appears only during the brief ascendency of the Catholics in the reign of James II., when we are informed that ‘‘ old women and young chil- dren had their skeans and half-pikes, and none were allowed to appear at mass without some kind of weapon in their hands.” We should be glad to know the authority for that statement. It will be seen that Col. Wood-Martin is a staunch advocate of Protestant ascendency, and that the value of his work is much diminished by his one-sidedness ; but he has brought together a quantity of interesting material, so that, despite this great defect, his work is an important con- tribution to the history of the county. His volumes and those of Dr. O’Rorke conjointly afford material for a good picture of Sligo’s past. Dublin Castle. By M. O'Connor Morris. (Harrison & Sons.)—Without a smattering of French and of the classics nobody should attempt to read Mr. OConnor Morris’s chatty volume on Dublin Castle, for the author de- lights in expressing himself in any language that comes handy, and his readers will feel thankful that he is not a student of Hebrew or Chinese. A little Erse would be a pardonable variation in an Irish history, but when the subject is Dublin Castle it is a little hard that all the bons mots should be in Latin, Greek, or French; and when a book appears with an entirely English title, we have a right to demand that, “tam bene quam male,” it shall be written in the English tongue. Moreover, Mr. Morris does not address himself to scholars; his book is the lightest vice- regal gossip, with here and there a little historic information thrown in. We learn, for example (if we know Greek), that Ulster, like Attica, dua TO AerTOyewv del dotaciacTa (sic) ovca, and that Lord Chesterfield aiéy dpuotevery Kai brepexov (sic) éupevar dArAwv. The Greek, how- ever, is ‘‘ une quantité négligeable,” and we read other things about Lord Chesterfield in more current languages—as, for example, that ‘in spite of a milk diet contributed by an ass, a cow, and a goat, he died in 1773,” and that his essays are “slightly Sallustian in tone.” But Latin is an essential ; Mr. O'Connor Morris cannot get on for asingle page—hardly a sentence—without it; and not only has he summed up the character of the first Earl of Cork in one Latin sentence, but a few pages further on he quotes some Latin verses, and then informs his readers that “it is im- possible to understand Irish history unless these things are taken into full consideration.” His readers may wish that Mr. Morris had given a few of his yv@mac in English, and that he had favoured them with a translation of the Latin observation that he attributes both to Mr. Balfour and to Mr. Gladstone. They might like to know the point on which these two statesmen come to ethical and verbal agreement. Against the introduction of one Latin or French word in each sentence they will protest less strongly; it is probably prejudice to prefer Eng- lish words ; still the object of such innova- tions as feu de joie for bonfire, *‘a borné view ” for a restricted view, détenu for prisoner, is not apparent, and the author would do well to banish persona grata from his répertoire. English is more comprehensible, and pro tanto better, and it offends our “ sense of the 7d zpérov” that an English book should be written in these scraps of Greek and French and Latin. Alliteration, says Walker, is ‘‘ used by the best authors” (though, by the way, the only lines he quotes in proof of it, The bookful blockhead ignorantly read, With loads of learned lumber in his head, are decidedly uncomplimentary to bookworms), and if its use be a patent of merit, Mr. O’Connor Morris must be the very best author of all. Pope’s couplet pales before his description of Shane O'Neill, “a sensual savage,” ‘‘ full of lust and lubricity,” “cruel as a Kurd”; and who in all the world but Mr. Morris would have thought of a ‘‘dispendious [open-handed] duke,” ‘‘a pursuing prorex ” (Lord Lieutenant out hunting), and a ‘‘venatic Viceroy”? These are the greater lights of alliteration, but on every page we meet ‘‘ bourgeois barons,” “ parvenu peers,” “earls from Erin,” ‘‘ Milesian marquises,” and other “hybrid Hibernians.” The pursuing prorex of one page figures on the next as a “vigilant Viceroy’ destined (in his pursuing capacity) to measure the “depths of ditches through personal plumbing.” This Viceroy, ‘‘never among the first class of cross-country centaurs,” provides Mr. Morris with his best story. On one occasion he had a narrow escape of being over-ridden at a fence by a hard-riding horse-trainer. ‘‘I missed you, my lord,” said the penitent pursuer, when apologizing to his Excellency afterwards, ‘‘ by just the black of my nail.” But if Mr. Morris is neither a profound historian nor a master of style, his book is not without merit: all his gossip is good-humoured ; he is a Tory, but before all things he is an Irish- man, fond of his country and his race, pitiful towards the distresses of every class. As a writer, too, he has national qualities, as when he tells us that the famine of ’47 ‘‘ made every man, woman, and child in Ireland an almoner to relieve the surrounding distress.” Altogether his work, though not particularly profound, is amusing, and as a record of party events singularly just, sympathetic, and free from ran- cour. Some five years ago Mr. Bagwell published two volumes of a history of Ireland under the Tudors, so just, so clear, and showing such grasp of the subject, that it deserved and received nothing but praise. He now publishes a third volume (Longmans & Co.) in every way worthy of its predecessors, and thus completes a most valuable contribution to history and an achievement of which he has every reason to be proud. This final volume includes the dark and involved story of the Desmond rebellion, the war with Tyrone, the destruction of the Armada, and the disastrous enterprise of Essex. The historian, therefore, is weighted with an unwieldy mass of tragic and monotonous detail, out of which it is difficult to make anything more cheerful or instructive than a confused recital of battles, plagues, famines, torturings, treacheries, and mutilations. But. Mr. Bagwell has the historic gifts of clear- sightedness and proportion; details are given fully, but they do not obscure the main facts of the history; and amid all the misery, suffering, and defeats of the Eliza- bethan troops we trace the sure march of their inevitable victory. The research and labour re- presented by such a volume are stupendous, but the result is set down so simply and with such quiet ease that one is apt to accept the book merely as the brilliant narration of a gifted writer, and to forget that the dramatic pages (which hold the attention even of a reader to whom Irish history has lost its freshness) form the most complete and learned picture in exist- ence of Ireland from 1579 to 1603, and of Eliza- beth’s Irish policy throughout those years. The author has quoted freely from Elizabethan writers, from the queen’s letters, from those of her commanders, and from the journals of many travellers, with the happy result of a vivacity and charm and raciness that render the book as full of entertainment as of instruction. Though very serious, the volume is never dull. The poli- tical and religious significance of the various wars and rebellions is never lost sight of, the main issues are never obscured, but the actors in this tragedy of war are often allowed to tell their own tale and to exercise some of the influence over us that they exercised over their contemporaries. The influence and fascination of Elizabeth is certainly largely explained by her letters, and charming correspondence was a coin much at the command of the parsimonious queen; so that though her appearance on Mr. Bagwell’s stage is no greater than at ‘‘ Tilbury Fort,” he contrives in a very few words to sketch the character of a faulty, great, and extremely lovable old woman. ‘The reality of his picture is surprising —the more so that the pages devoted to local colour and gossip are really very few ; but the acrimony of Moryson and witty good humour of Sir John Harington are turned to excellent account, and we are privileged to look at Ire- land through these and many other English eyes, and also through the more romantic eyes of the Spaniard Cuellar. Cuellar was evidently greatly taken by the beauty of the Irish women ; but he always alludes both to the men and to the “ Lutheran English” as “savages,” and no wonder, since he was robbed and stripped, first by one and then by the other; but he eventually found pity among the natives, and gives a pic- ture of Irish life too valuable not to be quoted : “The habit of these savages is to live like brutes in the mountains, which are very rugged in the part of Ireland where we were lost. They dwell in thatched cabins. The men are well made, with good features, and as active as deer, They eat but one meal and that late at night, oat-cake and butter being their usual food. They drink some milk be- cause they have nothing else, for they use no water though they have the best in the world, At feasts it is their custom to eat half-cooked meat without bread or salt, Their dress matches themselves—
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XUM N° 3273, Jury 19, ’90 THE ATHENZXUM 95 tight breeches, and short jackets of big | coarse texture ; over all they wear blankets, and their hair comes over their eyes. They are great walkers and stand much work, and by continually fighting they keep the Queen’s English soldiers out of their coun- try, which is nothing but bogs for forty miles either way. Their great delight is robbing one another, so that no day passes without fighting...... They sleep on the ground upon rushes full of ice and water. Most of the women are very pretty, but badly got up, for they wear only a shift and a mantle, and a great linen cloth on the head, rolled over the brow. They are great workers and housewives in their way.” Most English travellers confirm the Spaniard’s testimony to the beauty of the women, but Mory- son allows only to the nobility the dress that — says “ matches themselves ”; for, writes e, “Touching the meer or wild Irish, it may be truly said of them, which was of old spoken of the Ger- mans, that they wander slovenly and naked, and lodge in the same house (if it may be called a house) with their beasts. Among them the gentlemen or lords wear close breeches...... and acloak...... They seldom put off a shirt till it be worn.” He is eloquent upon the “filthiness ” of both Irish and Anglo-Irish ; and the inadequacy of their sleeping arrangements is commented on by almost every traveller. At the same time they were far removed from the savage state Cuellar describes. The life was rough ; but Harington found ladies as well as men who could appreciate his English translation of Ariosto, and Burley and his Irish friends conversed learnedly about Roman history. In a country decimated by war, ravaged by famine, the standard of comfort was necessarily low. We have but to read Spenser’s and Mountjoy’s descriptions of the state of the country to understand that those who had food to eat and a roof to shelter them were not exacting as to the quality of either ; for, indeed, to both parties life in Ireland in the sixteenth century washard. Treachery, cruelty, and broken faith were common to both nations ; massacres, torturings, and mutilations were on both sides the penalties of defeat, and many of the com- manders were pitiless to women and little chil- dren. The barbarities of the troops were so revolting, and the famines caused by burning the crops so terrible, that at the distance of three centuries it is still dreadful to contemplate the suffering caused by the Elizabethan wars. “The price was high,” writes our author in his summary of the results of the queen’s policy, ** but it secured the conquest of Ireland...... The method pursued was cruel, but the desired end was attained.” It is here that we join issue with Mr. Bagwell, for the policy of “thorough” was still to be invented, the system of plantation on @ large scale still to be evolved. Elizabeth’s work was to bedone again by Cromwell, and by the Prince of Orange, and by the slow demoral- ization of the Penal Code. THE reissue, in an enlarged and carefully re- vised edition, of Lady Ferguson’s Story of the Trish before the Conquest (Dublin, Sealy, Bryers & Walker) will be welcome to young students of Irish history, for the work had long been out of print, and still remains by far the pleasantest first history of the early Irish. A little volume of this kind can never be exhaustive; Lady Ferguson has made no effort in that direction, and, contenting herself with being interesting, has boldly claimed legend and poetry as her allies, ‘“‘It may,” she writes in her preface to the new edition, “be open to question whether the ‘thread of poetry’ which I have woven into my narrative:is a merit or a defect. If I have erred it has been from the desire to interest the young and imaginative not only in the history and antiquities, but in the poetry illustrative of early days in the dear ancestral freland.” In the present instance the ‘‘ thread of poetry” is a great adornment ; historic fact and legends are kept separate ; and the fortunate young people who first become acquainted with Irish history in this volume will wonder whence its reputation for dulness. The maps, chrono- logical tables, and index add greatly to the value of this new edition ; but the interest and charm of the book are centred in such legends as the ‘Pillow Conversation’ of Ailill and Queen Maev, and the story of Dermid and Grania, To be sure some of these come very near to the borders of fairyland, and the ‘‘ naturalistic” school will protest that ‘‘a somewhat too favourable view is taken of a rude age and savage manners.” But Lady Ferguson anti- cipates this criticism, and deals with it very ably in her preface, for, writes she, ‘‘ In form- ing an estimate of any national character, it is better to err, if at all, on the side of respect and sympathy. The Irish tradition, however rude, is the intellectual food which has nourished in a long series of generations the only literary life that has subsisted amongst them. To the philosophic historian, no less than to the poet and romance writer, it is a material full of interest.” This, indeed, is a moderate state- ment of the case, for an insight into Irish lite- rature and legend is, intellectually at least, as important as a slight acquaintance with the few dry and dreary facts which are all the historic knowledge we have of Ireland’s pre- Christian days. OUR LIBRARY TABLE. Messrs. CoapMan & Hatt publish Across the Border ; or, Pathén and Biloch, by Mr. Oliver, illustrated by Mr. Kipling, father, if we mistake not, of the poet. This volume gives a good pic- ture of the various tribes inhabiting the frontier from the Black Mountain to Southern Baluchi- stan, and, while useful, is also amusing by reason of the freshness of many of the anecdotes relating to the habits of the Pathans. The work is chiefly a reprint of letters which have appeared in various Indian journals, and, to judge from the preface, the writer is a little behind the ‘ime, for he tells us that “Col. Sandeman’s recent successful negotiations with the Mahsud Waziris will probably be followed, at no distant date, by one vid the Gumal and Zhob.” The fact is that in the course of last winter the Zhob was occu- pied and the Gomul thoroughly surveyed, and there is now a large force at Apazai, although the British public hardly seems to have found out the fact. We may also be allowed to suggest that the map, although most useful, will not be found particularly clear by the public. Take, for example, the Gomul, of which we have spoken, and it will be found that it is not clearly shown. It would have been better that the map should have been detached, as it is hardly possible to use it without tearing. We area little puzzled by the author’s statement, ‘‘in the hands of scientific defenders the Khaiber could be made practically as unassailable as the Fortress of Gibraltar. But it is not in our hands.” The fact is that for all defence purposes the Khyber is in our hands; the Royal Engineers have erected a fortress in it, and two miles beyond the serait we hold the neck of the pass and the only place at which a great stand could well be made. The author is strongly favourable to the making of a railway t» Kabul, but the highest authorities upon the frontier are against him. The great sum of money which it would cost would be, in their opinion, better spent in fortifying a new position to command Ghazni and making a system of railways to that point. Messrs. W. H. Atten & Co. publish The Presidential Armies of India, which purports to be by the late Col. Rivett-Carnac. As a fact, however, we gather from the preface that less than half the book is by that officer and more than half by Col. Laurie. The work is somewhat confused, and largely consists of a summary of the history of very well-known events, which is followed by a jumble of anecdotes relating to particular branches of the Indian service or to particular regiments, and it does not strike us as interesting. Col. Laurie assumes in his pre- face that Sir Frederick Roberts is detained in India to direct a new organization of the Presi- dency armies, of which both the colonel and the general are known very properly to approve ; but it is unfortunately the case that opposition in high quarters has prevented any chance of a real reorganization of our Indian military system for the present. The style of the volume is not to be commended, as the following passage may bear witness : ‘‘ As, out of a population of 250 or 260 millions, it is quite possible—especially in these Congress days or of excess in self- government—for an inconvenient Asiatic army of 80,000 or 100,000 men, at very short notice, to assemble near any one of the three Presi- dencies for action...... E. A. T. has written, and Mr. E. F. Russell, of St. Alban’s, Holborn, has edited, a pleasant Memoir of Alexander Heriot Mackonochie. Mr. Mackonochie was not a learned theologian, but he was an untiring worker among the poor, eminently self sacrificing and charitable, and at the same time an excellent organizer, and he effected a wonderful amount of good in the crowded district in which his church was situated. A great portion of the volume is unavoidably taken up with the quarrels provoked by the ritual introduced at St. Alban’s, and will be uninteresting to many readers. Curiously enough, Mr. Mackonochie had himeelf little sense of beauty. “ Of form, colour, architecture, and music he had,” says his biographer, “little appreciation.” The memoir is throughout well written, and the account of his death in the snow in Argyllshire is extremely good. Messrs, Kegan Paul, Trench & Co. are the publishers. Messrs. SONNENSCHEIN & Co. publish a most excellent pamphlet on The Boarding-out System, which may be commended to all members of boards of guardians and to all members or in- tending members of Boarding-out Committees as a perfect exposition of the law and practice on the subject. THE current number of the Torch completes the third volume. The bibliography of New South Wales, which has been a feature in the serial, is nearly finished, and it will probably be succeeded by a list of works relating to voyages of dis- covery made in Australasia in the sixteenth and two following centuries. We have an unusual number of booksellers’ catalogues on our table. Among the contri- butors are Mr. Baker (good theological cata: logue), Messrs. Brown & Co., Mr. Edwards, Messrs. Ellis & Elvey (interesting), Messrs. Garratt & Co. (occult kooks), Mr. Gray (family history, also one of topography), Mr. Higham (excellent catalogue of hymns), Mr. W. Hutt, Messrs. Jarvis & Son (rather interesting), Mr. Nutt (two catalogues, one of science), Messrs. Parsons & Sons (rather good), Messrs. Sotheran & Co. (good), Mr. Spencer (fairly good), Mr. Stibbs (fair), Messrs. Suckling & Gallo- way, and Messrs. Williams & Norgate (theo- logy); Mr. Meehan of Bath, Mr. Downing, Mr. Lowe (good), Mr. Thistlewood, and Mr. Wilson of Birmingham, Messrs. Gilbert & Fow- ler of Bournemcuth, Mr. Miles of Bradford, Messrs. George’s Sons and Messrs. Fawn & Son (both fair) of Bristol, Mr. Murray of Derby, Mr. Bryce, Mr. Clay, and Messrs. Douglas & Foulis of Edinburgh, Mr. Commin of Exeter, Messrs. Kerr & Richardson of Glasgow, Mr. Simmons of Leamington, Mr. Miles of Leeds, Messrs. Young & Sons (fair) and Mr. Howell (fair) of Liverpool, Messrs. Jarrold & Sons of Norwich, Mr. Long of Portsmouth, Mr. Thorp of Reading, and Mr. Iredale of Torquay. We have on our table Essays of an Ame- ricanist, by D. G. Brinton (Philadelphia, U.S., Porter & Coates),—Sectional Map of North Dakota (Chicago, U.S., Rand, McNally & Co.), —The Political Problem, by A. Stickney (Kegan Paul),—Elementary Statics, by the Rev. J. B. Lock (Macmillan),—A System of Practical and Scientific Physiognomy, by Mary O. Stanton, Vol. I. (Davis)—The History and Progress of
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96 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3273, Juty 19, 90 District Nursing, by W. Rathbone, M.P. (Mac- millan),—The Vowel System of the Ionic Dialect, by H. W. Smyth, extracted from the Transac- tions of the American Philological Association, Vol. XX.,—Catalogue of the Scientific Books in the Library of the Royal Society of New South Wales, Part I. (Sydney, White),—TZhe Last Vestal, by W. H. Tardrew (Bristol, Taylor Brothers),—The Framework of the Church, by W. D. Killen, D.D. (Edinburgh, T. & T. Clark), —Truths to Live By, by F. W. Farrar, D.D. (Isbister),—Gems for my Crown, by a Child of Mary (Dublin, Gill & Son),— Revelation and the Bible, by the Rev. W. D. Thomson (Edinburgh, Macniven & Wallace),—The Asaph Psalms in their Connexion with the Early Religions of Baby- lonia, by E. G. King, D.D. (Bell),—Das Runa Simi, oder die Keshua-Sprache, by Dr. E. W. Middendorf (Leipzig, Brockhaus),— Aw Sud et au Nord, by Xavier Marmier (Hachette),—La Lé- gende Divine, by J. Darmesteter (Paris, Lemerre), —and I Sonetti di William Shakspeare, translated for the first time into Italian by A. Olivieri (Palermo, Carlo Clausen). Also the following Pamphlets: Limited versus Unlimited Liability in Business, by Messrs. Jenkinson & Co. (37, Walbrook, E.C.),—References to the Constitution of the United States, by W. E. Foster (New York, Society for Political Education),—The Province of Christian Ethics, Lecture by V. H. Stanton (Rivingtons),—Le Calendrier Positiviste et M. le Ministre des Finances, by M. Lemos (Rio de Janeiro, L’Apostolat Positiviste),—and Notes on Lectures, by a Novice, with I)lustra- tions by Busy Bee (Roper & Drowley). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology. A’Piconio’s (B.) Exposition of Epistles of St. Paul: Vol. 2, 2 Corinthians, &c., 12/ cl. Fitzgerald’s (P. F.) A Protest against Agnosticism, 3/6 cl. Iverach’s (J.) St. Paul, his Lite and Times, cr. 8vo. 2/6 ci. (Men of Bible.) Jack’s (T. G.) My Soul and her Saviour, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Law, Macassey (L. L.) and Strahan’s (J. A.) Law relating to Civil Engineers, Architects, and Contractors, cr. 8vo. 10/6 cl. Poetry and the Drama, ZEschylus: Agamemnon, Choephore, and Eumenides, ren- dered into English Verse by J. D. Cooper, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Austin’s (A.) English Lyrics, edited by W. Watson, 3/6 cl. Ballerina, a Poem ; Edelweiss, a Romance, by B. D., 5/ cl. Matheson’s (A.) The Religion of Humanity, and other Poems, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. St. Leger’s (W.) Ballads from ‘Punch,’ and other Poems, 12mo. 3/6 cl. Songs of Siluria, by M. G. and I. 8., 3/6 half-parchment. Music. Taylor’s (J.) Action and Easy Songs, with Sight-Singing Teaching for Infants and Junior Classes, 4to. 2/6 cl. Taylor’s (J.) How to Teach Sight-Singing, 4to. 5/ cl. Taylor’s (J.) New Code Sight-Singing Book, 4to. 3/ cl. Taylor’s (J.) School Songs, with Sight-Singing Exercises, 4to. 2/6 cl. Philology. Kempson’s Syntax and Idioms of Hindustani, Key to the Translation Exercises of, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Science. Felkin’s (R. W.) Hypnotism, or Psycho-Therapeutics, 3/6 cl. Hasting’s (Dr. R.) Timbers and How to Know Them, trans. by W. Somerville, 12mo, 2/ cl. limp. Maguire’s (W. R.) Domestic Sanitary Drainage and Plumb- ing, 8vo. 12/ cl. Mills’s (J.) Advanced Physiography, cr. 8vo. 4/6 cl. Milner’s (H. E.) Art and Practice of Landscape Gardening, with Pians and Illustrations, 4to. 31/6 cl. Mitchell’s (C. P.) The Philosophy of Tumour Disease, 16/ cl. Generat Literature, Barr’s (A. E ) Last of the Macallisters, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Boldrewooa’s (R.) The Squatter’s Dream, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Canning’s (Hon. A. 8. G.) Heir and No Heir, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Compton’s (H) The Dead Man’s Gift, a Tea-Planter’s Romance, svo. 3/6 cl. Crewe’s (S.) Nemesis, a Moral Story, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Haydn (J.) and Ockerby’s (H.) The Book of Dignities, 31/6 Hearne’s (L.) Youma, the Story of a West Indian Slave, 5/ cl. Irish Diamonds, a New Collection from all Sources of Irish Wit, &c., with Illustrations by Phiz, 12mo. 2/ cl. Leslie’s (R. C.) Old Sea Wings, Ways and Words in the Days of Oak and Hemp, 8vo. 14/ cl. Lewis’s (L.) Proving of Gennad, a Mythological Romance, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Loch’s (CO. 8.) Charity Organisation, er. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Maartens’s (M.) The Sin of Joost Avelingh, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Marsh’s (M.) Through Sorrow’s Fire, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Marshall’s (A.) Principles of Economies, Vol. 1, 8vo. 12/6 cl. O’Brien’s (M. B.) Manual for Authors, Printers, and Pub- lishers, 8vo. 2/ cl. Payn’s (J.) Mystery of Mirbridge, 12mo, 2/ bds. Pinkerton’s (T. A.) Last Master of Camandro, being the Story of Revenge of Ronald Sinclair, er. 8vo. 5/ cl. Pinkerton’s (T. A.) Spanish Poniard, being the Story of Remorse of Ambrose Drybridge, cr, 8vo. 5/ cl. Roberts's (Sir R. H.) Hard Held, a Sporting Novel, cheap edition, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Rowing at Westminster from 1813 to 1883, cr. 8vo, 5/ cl. Thomas's (A.) The Sloane Square Scandal, and other Stories, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds, Thorburn’s (C. H.) The Mysterious Stranger, a Romance, 3/6 Winter's (A.) Problems of Life, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. FOREIGN, Theology. Texte u. Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der Altchrist- lichen Literatur, von O. v. Gebhardt u. A. Harnack, Vol. 6, Part 3, 4m. 50. Fine Art. Milanesi (G.): Sebastiano del Piombo, 20fr. Drama, Rigal (E.): Alexandre Hardy et le ThéAtre Frangais, 15fr. ; Philosophy. Hilaire (J. B. 8t.): Etude sur Frangois Bacon, 2fr. 50. History and Biography. Guillaume (J.): Pestalozzi, Etude Biographique, 3fr. 50. Kéraval (M.): Histoire d’une Flotte du Temps Passé, 4fr. Lambert (M.): Les Fédérations en Franche-Comté, 4fr. Malartic (G. de Maurés de) et Gaffarel (P.): Journal des Campagnes au Canada (1755-1760), par le Comte de Maurés de Malartic, 8fr. Sourches (Marquis de) : Mémoires sur le Régne de Louis XIV., Vol, 10, 7fr. 50. Geography and Travel. Borelli (J.): Ethiopie Méridionale, 30fr. Thoulet (J.) : Océanographie, 10fr. Bibliography. Thierry-Poux (O.): Premiers Monuments de ]’Imprimerie en France, 60fr. Philology. Abel (L.) u. Winckler (H.): Keilschrifttexte, 15m. Kahle(B.): Die Altnordische Sprache im Dienste d. Chris- tenthums, Part 1, 4m. Science, Willkomm (M.): Illustrationes Flore Hispanie Insula- rumque Balearium, Part 16, 12m. General Literature. Bourget (P.): Un Cceur de Femme, 3fr. 50, Fillis (J.): Principes de Dressage, 10fr. Lanessan (J. L. de): La Marine Francaise au Printemps de 1890, 3fr. 50. Ohnet (G.): L’Ame de Pierre, 3fr. 50. Renan (E.): Pages Choisies, 3fr. 50. THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN 1890. THE school year now drawing to its close has had a life which may not perhaps be called eventful, but has certainly been agitated— agitated, we mean, not only by personal changes caused by death or resignation, but by increased pressure for alterations which may be called theoretical, but which are, nevertheless, signs of the times. A few years ago the curriculum of a public schocl was very little affected by any public opinion outside its precincts : those who sent their sons to it were supposed to acquiesce, and in the main did acquiesce, in the tradition of the school in matters intellectual ; institutions like fagging, for instance, were sometimes im- peached, the moral training, or the want of it, was occasionally denounced ; but the intellectual course was supposed to be adequate, if not perfect, and its incompleteness to become com- plete at the universities. This state of things exists no longer. A small and yearly diminish- ing proportion of public-school boys go to the universities ; even for the intellectual élite the Civil Service of India has been running the colleges hard, though the imminent change in the age for the Indian examination will probably redress the balance as far as the schools are concerned, and transfer the struggle to the universities. On the course of studies at public schools there now blows a brisk breeze of public opinion—it blows in dangerous squalls from the commercial quarter. In fact, the great danger of public schools used to be a too stolid admiration of their traditional curriculum ; the modern danger, we are convinced, will lie in a too ready subservience to purely utilitarian theories of education—theories according to which nothing is worth learning between twelve and eighteen that will not directly profit a clerk between twenty and forty—profit, we say, a clerk, or his employers: a very real distinction, apt to be ignored or lost sight of by influential bodies of commercial men. Herein lies, we think, the struggle of the immediate future, especially for the cheaper schools. Rich founda- tions, aristocratic communities, can hold their ground for long, and retain whatever intellectual luxuries they please ; their danger has always been that of preferring luxuries that are not intellectual. But the cheaper schools will have to fight a hard battle if they are to retain the wholesome truth that culture, wide interests, reflective power, capacity for employing leisure intelligently, are of more importance to nationat character than a shallow power of wage-earning. The personal changes have been considerable.. Death has removed an able teacher, a sound scholar, an influential head master, Dr. Potts of Fettes College—one of the many good teachers that Rugby has sent out into the world to per- petuate elsewhere the influence of Arnold and Temple. Tonbridge, vacant by the resignation of Mr. Rowe, was prepared to welcome Kennedy of Aldenham ; second thoughts, how- ever, made him resign the untried appoint- ment, and it is into the hands of Dr. Wood of Leamington that Mr. Rowe is even now giving over his office. At Haileybury, Mr. Edward Lyttelton reigns in the place of Mr, Robertson ; Mr. Dalton has succeeded Mr. Ingram at Felstead; resignation and death have made vacancies at Norwich and Coventry ; Mr. Bay- field of Malvern succeeds the present Bishop of Bangor at Brecon. It cannot be denied that. many who heard with great pleasure and hope- fulness of Mr. Lyttelton’s appointment have viewed with much dissatisfaction the circum- stances that have displaced his predecessor. The head master of Clifton, if we mistake not, made himself, in a generous spirit, the mouthpiece of this dissatisfaction. For serious diminution in the numbers of a school, no scapegoat, as a rule, can be found except the head master. But we repeat what we have said on a previous occasion, that legal mystification as to notorious facts of public-school life is capable of blinding the public to valuable services and to merit that is recognized by almost all who understand the subject. There is no direct remedy for this evil. But between any head master and these gusts of popular disapproval there should stand, for a time, two forces—a governing body not easil made nervous, and colleaguesnot lightly detached. How long they should so stand is, indeed, a difficult question. For some years the struggle between the old ideas and the new in connexion with West- minster has attracted the attention and divided the sympathies of those interested or engaged in public-school education. We learn that in May last the governing body, by the narrow majority of a casting vote, rejected the scheme by which a new and wider career would have been opened to Westminster ‘‘in that new world which is the old” world of London in- finitely multiplied. The circumstances of London are altogether so abnormal that no one can be surprised that its great educational institutions have experienced painful dilemmas. Experience has shown that a great London foundation could be transferred to the country, not indeed with. out a wrench, but without loss of prestige or historic unity or popular favour. It has shown, too, that without leaving London an old schoot may attain new and marked fame by concen- trating its efforts on meeting the new conditions, and supplying to London one more great and effective day school, supplemented by arrange- ments for boarding, so far as required. But at Westminster the question is whether the nucleus of boarders, endowed as Queen’s Scholars, is not, in that form, an impediment to the full develop- ment of the school’s hold upon London ; whether parents from elsewhere can be expected to send promising boys to board in London; whether, therefore, the scholarships have a fair chance ; in a word, whether the time has not come for the school either to move into the country or to become in the main a day school. To changes of this sort, at whatever school they may be proposed, one permanent element of opposition may always be taken for granted. The extreme conservatism natural to boy- hood—perhaps few except those who live in
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XUM N° 3273, Jury 19, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 97 the midst of it know how extreme it is—is specially tenacious of school customs and tradi- tions. Even in middle age men are slow to admit defects or limitations in the scene of their early training and first friendships. They ascribe unconsciously the happiness of youth to the arrangements of the scene where it was spent. Not only among Old Westminsters, but among Old Etonians, Harrovians, Rugbeians, Wykehamists, a powerful and_ enthusiastic majority could always be collected against any considerable change that seemed to alter the —— to which they look back with affection. It speaks volumes, in a certain sense, for the public schools that they have gathered around them this feeling—a feeling which no kindly per- son will deride, and no prudent ruler will ignore. Popularity can always be gained by encourag- ing it; distrust and disfavour always reward, for a time, any ruler who advocates other prin- ciples or legislates in another spirit. If anything could have made Sydney Smith unpopular it would have been his attack on the public-school spirit. Nevertheless it cannot be too strongly insisted upon that all the improvements—and they are many and great—that have maintained and even increased the hold of the public schools upon English society have been made in the teeth of what we may call the local majority, and made by men not afraid of incurring its displeasure. From the days of Arnold down- wards the changes have been made by men who had their eye on the future as well as on the past ; the note of execration has sounded, rising sometimes toa yell ; within a few years the ruler’s foresight has been justified, and the new system, the changed institutions, have become so integral a part of the school life that old and cherished abuses and defects have become “‘ even as a tale that is told” —we may add, “and that is hardly believed.” Foresight without the sentiment of the past has its dangers, creates its difficulties, and has a rough time of it; but sentiment with- out foresight leads straight to inadequacy and decadence. If it be true that a comprehensive reform at Westminster was only averted by a casting vote—if it be true that absence and in- tentional abstention from voting played their parts in the decision—we can understand the casting vote as given according to usage against a change ; but absence is regrettable, and absten- tion should be reminded of the wisdom of Solon, who saw in neutrality an offence against the commonwealth. Some opinion on the subject of a great scheme, advocated by an energetic head master, may surely be expected from every member of a governing body. AtSherbornethe calamitous chapter oflitigation has, we trust, been closed for many a long day. At Rugby anew and generous effort is announced —the granting of free education to home-boarders who can reach a certain standard—a change an- nounced by Dr. Percival with a warm eulogium of the system of home-boarding. We will not now repeat the many considerations—some of them sad enough—which year by year raise doubts of our boarding-school system being the unqualified success of which its advocates do dream and protest too much. At Winchester an interesting little experiment in training or, at all events, initiating teachers is announced for next term. Two graduates of Oxford or Cam- bridge are to be received at the school, an al- lowance for expenses made to them, opportunities for seeing and in some degree sharing work in different parts of the school afforded to them. A — testimonial of efficiency will be the only tangible result of their term of training— none the less the experiment is well worth making, well worth watching ; to give it a really fair chance it ought to be tried more widely. Turning to matters of more universal interest, we note with satisfaction the appearance of the head master of Harrow in the lists of the great Tournament of the Time-Table. His article (Contemporary Review, May, 1890) is, apparently, unfinished. The sequel will be read with in- terest, the more so that the break has happened just at a most crucial point—the point at which he is to deal with the relation of Greek, made optional and secondary, to the curriculum of a public school. He has said enough, however, to show the drift of his ideas : to some of them we take exception, yet we hail their expression. It is a relief to find a head master of conspicuous ability descending fairly into the arena, and trusting to open argument instead of mere tra- dition or an ipse dizi. In brief, then, Mr. Welldon, feeling the pres- sure increasing upon all subjects — classics, mathematics, natural science, English literature, modern languages, history, geography—calls upon the public schools to make up their mind how this pressure shall be met—by what prin- ciples of specialization, what of universalism ; what subjects should be fundamentaland primary, what should be secondary and reserved for the few, or taught for a portion only of a boy’s school career. And he not only asks this ques- tion, but ventures on an answer. Divinity and mathematics, Latin and French, English litera- ture, botany and physics—these are to be primary subjects, and occupy, therefore, not only the early years of public-school life, but the preliminary period usually spent at preparatory schools, Greek is to become the study of a minority—as a secondary subject it is to be learnt late, and not by all public-school boys. This is a clear answer; it represents views which will probably carry the day. Yet, to our mind, ‘t is vitiated by some fundamental assumptions or concessions, which are, indeed, systematically made, but are not, therefore, defensible. In the first place, Mr. Welldon tells us thai ‘the preparatory part of human life is a con- stant quantity, and so......is the receptive capacity of average minds.” This is a partial and arid truth, systematically viewed at public schools as if it were inspiration itself. The very inmost function of education is to teach people that the “preparatory part of human life” is never finished ; while the public schools have long favoured the idea that it is complete at eighteen, and closed for good at two-and-twenty. As to the “receptive capacity of average minds,” let us postulate, for the nonce, that it is ‘‘a con- stant quantity,” and then let us look round any public school and ask if the ‘‘ receptive capa- city” is full—nay, is half full. The difference between what is achieved and what is possible is everywhere enormous; but it is ignored more at public schools, perhaps, than anywhere else. Mr. Welldon sees this in reality ; yet his argument is based on the views of those who do not see it. He says with a sigh that ‘‘it may be doubted if the schools, and in particular the ancient en- dowed schools, have altogether risen to the level of their opportunities.” He is ‘‘ afraid they fail in intellectuality : they do not always keep alive a true ideal of boyhood.” It is most true; it will continue to be true so long as the pre- suppositions, which he holds sadly, are held joyfully by so many. It is not the multiplicity of subjects, but the deification of idols—idola fori et theatri, prati et circi—that has so limited intellectual aspiration and capacity that we all feel, with Mr. Welldon, that ‘‘ whatever amount of mental energy is spent upon one subject is so much taken from the rest.” This is the spirit of public schools ; the question is whether it need be. To meet the pressure of modern circum- stances and modern discovery, a dead-lift of in- telligence is necessary. What a miserable answer to this need is an elaborate machinery to secure that no boy shall learn anything that he does not like, be exposed to any danger of overworking himself, or acquire anything like a knowledge of Greek, e. g., as useful in itself, though “ ’tis not in the world’s market bought and sold”! But an intellectual dead-lift is impossible! There is the heavy unintelligent optimism of public schools in a phrase. Certainly a dead-lift can- not be made in a moment; it cannot be made at all except by people who believe in} its possibility. But we have only to look at the intellectual dead-lift in female education during the last ten or fifteen years to be assured that the thing is possible, and has been done by girls, and for girls, by those who believed in the cause. It has been done, too, in some measure, at the universities ; it will be done at the public schools. But it will not be done by the spirit that is always asking, ‘‘ What shall we leave off?” There are boys at every school who overwork themselves—they would do so under any system; yet a multi- plicity of subjects, no doubt, fosters their ten- dency. But the great mass of public-school boys no more live in an intellectual strain than they live in spiritual anxiety. Their condition is so normal that we are apt to think it necessary. And, indeed, it is not more work, but a dif- ferent atmosphere, more sympathy with intel- ligence, that is needed both at home and at school. It is not the subjects that matter so much as the fostering of intellectual interest in something. Without this, maturing boys fall back on sport or bigotry, listlessness or sen- suality. As to the Greek question, Mr. Welldon has, it is obvious, the temporary tide of opinion iu his favour in relegating Greek to a secondary place. There is so much force and wisdom in his argu- ment for “the gradual subordination of Greek,” that we almost hesitate in suggesting that he has been partly captured in a false dilemma. An ardent advocate for the retention of Latin, he sees (p. 682) that the parental views and the oblivion of general principles may any day lead those who have discarded Greek to sacrifice Latin on similar grounds. Yet he seems to argue as if fate had decreed the abolition of one dead language; it must not be Latin, ergo it must be Greek. Thinking in this way, he puts aside all the arguments for Greek as if they were directed against Latin, and defends the latter on grounds highly open to question if there is to be a duel of the two languages. Latin, he says, ‘* has been so long and closely studied as to be furnished with the necessary means and ap- pliances of teaching.” But so has Greek. Latin ‘exhibits a singular strength and precision of grammatical idioms.” Let it be granted ; is this a serious set-off in favour of an inferior and imitative literature? Latin ‘‘ is the language of law, of liberty, and of religion.” Of law, yes. Of liberty ? it is difficult to see the full bearings of the remark—certainly Magna Charta is Latin ofasort. Of religion ? surely the head master of Harrow does not wish to increase the number, already too great, of those whe think that the Psalms in the Prayer Book were written in Latin and the New Testament in English. This unhappy dictum is capable of palliation, no doubt ; but an educational dilemma has surely never had an unluckier success than in driving Mr. Welldon into the lists against the language of St. Paul and St. John on the ground that ‘‘Latin is the language of religion.” And for calling Greek a dead language the wrath of Prof. Blackie will surely descend upon him, We are convinced that the old argument, that the language which has the best literature is the best worth learning, cannot be answered merely by being ignored. It is undeniably true, and a favourite argument against Greek, that some only of the many that learn it come in sight of its masterpieces, and read Pindar or Plato. But this is an argument against all literary education, not against Greek alone. Reserve Greek for the minority, and insist on Latin and French, it will still be found that only a few will appreciate their Virgil thoroughly or luxuriate in Moliére. Or make German take the place of French, as Mr. Eve has recently urged in an interesting article (Education, May, 1890), still only a minority will take delight in its literature, and do. battle with Hegel or the second part of ‘ Faust.” But the popular argument based upon this limitation seems to us to run back to a mean
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98 THE ATHENZUM N° 3273, Jury 19, 90 ideal—a smattering of the exact sciences, some English literature and outlines of history, some colloquial French or German, and Latin if, and so long as, parents approve of it. This, of course, is a respectable equipment, but it will not serve as an ideal to quicken what Mr. Welldon calls the “intellectuality” of public schools. To aim at more than you will ever attain is the condition of any progress, moral or intellectual. We are convinced that the intellectual aspirations of a public school, viewed collectively, need no lowering. There is no question, however, that this Greek question is upon us; nor that Mr. Welldon is right in saying that “it is complicated by the relation of the public schools to the universities.” The biennial conference of head masters meets, we understand, at Clifton at the close of the year; we trust that they will not be dumb on this vital subject. We will conclude with one observation on the gravest of all matters. Roughness and brutality have so diminished at public schools, and the externals and ceremonials of religion have made such progress, that there is a strong disposition to say that all is well. Let us beware of saying it. Not here and there only, but everywhere, there is the gravest doubt if the inner morals of public schools have kept pace with the ex- ternal improvement. THE ENGLISH DIALECT SOCIETY AND THE DIALECT DICTIONARY. Two publications of the English Dialect Society for the current year will be issued to the members in a few days. The first is ‘English Dialects: their Homes and Sounds,’ by Dr. Alexander J. Ellis, F.R.S., being an abridg- ment of his work on the existing phonology of English dialects, which forms the fifth part of his ‘ Early English Pronunciation.’ There will be a selection of examples given in the Glossic notation, and two maps. The second publica- tion will be a ‘ Glossary of Words in use in the County of Gloucester,’ compiled by Mr. J. D. Robertson, and edited by the Lord Moreton. This also will have a map. The sixteenth annual report of the Society, for the year 1889, states that the number of members is 194, and of libraries and societies 56, making a total of 250, an increase of four as compared with the previous year. The treasurer’s accounts show a balance in hand at the end of 1889 of 351. The third annual report concerning the English Dialect Dictionary is issued along with the Society’s report. The editor of the Dictionary, the Rev. A. Smythe Palmer, states that “the last year, like the preceding one, has been spent in collecting and reducing into a practicable shape the rough material out of which the Dialect Dictionary is to be constructed. The work, it may be necessary to repeat, is to deal with that large and important section of the English language which is spoken, as apart from that which is written—folk- speech as distinct from book-speech...... It is this ‘vulgar tongue’ in its many varieties as spoken from Northumberland to Cornwall, in Wales and in Ireland, in America and our colonies, that we propose to digest in dictionary form, into one portly volume, which will not prove unworthy, we hope, to range as a supplement to Dr. Murray’s great work on standard English. As to our present stage of progress, almost all the known glossaries of the different dialects have been transcribed. To supply idioms and illustrations of usage, all such books and pamphlets as are written in dialect have been read for quotations,” Mr. Palmer has the assistance of about a hundred volunteer workers. The treasurer of the Dic- tionary Fund, the Rev. Prof. Skeat, in response to an appeal for subscriptions, has received in all about 180/., and at the end of 1889 had in hand a balance of 16/. 10s. He states that the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press have decided, on further consideration, not to under- take the responsibility of printing the Dictionary, and that an effort is being made to find another publisher, THE LATE MR. F. W. COSENS’S MSS. THE present season is already distinguished by its autograph sales, but the best has yet to come. Next week Messrs. Sotheby will dis- perse the valuable collection formed by Mr. Cosens, not as a distraction of his later years of leisure, but gradually, and with the dis- criminating good taste characteristic of the man, throughout his long and busy life. The “‘ lots” are not numerous, but many consist of large con- nected groups of correspondence and other docu- ments which, it is to be hoped, may continue to be kept together—some, we trust, in the British Museum, which is not so strong in modern literary MSS. as it might be. There is a mass of letters of Charles Dickens ; many of Sir Walter Scott’s to George Ellis; a hundred and fifty of Southey addressed to members of his family, to intimates, and to publishers; nearly two hun- dred of Mrs. Siddons ; extensive collections of the correspondence of Lady Blessington and of Hayley, both rather shadowy personages now- adays, but who had brilliant circles of corre- spondents; and, notably, two long series of early letters written by Coleridge in his prime —1796-8—to Cottle and to John Thelwall re- spectively. The former has been largely used, and still more largely abused, by Cottle in his ‘Early Recollections,’ but the latter, though of very remarkable literary and biographical in- terest, has never been printed. Besides these and other important connected collections, there are numerous single letters of great interest, printed and unprinted, of Burns, Byron, Cowper (to Samuel Rose), De Quincey, Hood, Keats, Lamb, Sterne, and Wordsworth, and large parcels of historical] documents, English and foreign, including the ‘“‘ Gondomar MSS. ,” tran- scribed from the archives at Simancas. These are only the plums, but there is much else of interest, and no rubbish. One of the gems is the original MS. of Lamb's essay on ‘ Witches and other Night-fears,’ show- ing many discarded readings and a concluding paragraph which was entirely rewritten before the essay was printed. The original passage has a value of its own, and it will be found interest- ing to compare it with the final version :— “When I awoke I came to a determination to write prose all the rest of my life; and with sub- mission to some of our young writers who are yet diffident of their powers, and balancing perhaps between verse and prose, they might do not un- wisely to decide the preference by the texture of their natural dreams. If these are prosaic they may depend upon it they have not much to expect in a creative way from their artificial ones. What dreams must not Spenser have had ! ELIA.” In one of Coleridge’s letters to Thelwall— December 17th, 1796—written, as were most of them, before the correspondents had met—are some unprinted verses more happily turned than usual with Coleridge when in the playful vein : “ Joking apart, I would to God we could sit by a fireside and joke viva voce, face to face—Stella [ Mrs. Thelwall] and Sara, Jack Thelwall & I! As I once wrote to my dear friend T, Poole, ‘ repeating’ Such verse as Bowles, heart-honoured Poet, sang That wakes the Tear, yet steals away the Pang; Then or with Berkley or with Hobbes romance it, Dissecting Truth with metaphysic lancet— Or drawn from up these dark unfathomed Wells, In wiser folly clink the Cap and Bells. How many Tales we told! what jokes we made, Conundrums, Crambo, Rebus or Charade ; Enigmas that had driven the Theban mad, And puns—these best when exquisitely bad ; And I, if aught of archer vein L hit, With my own laughter stifled my own Wit.” With delicate consideration for Thelwall’s lack of classic lore, Coleridge explains in a foot-note that by the ‘‘ Theban ” he meant ‘‘ (Edipus.” In another letter (Oct. 14th, 1797) Coleridge gives Thelwall some good advice :— “Your ‘Sonnet’ (as you call it, & being a free- born Briton who shall prevent you from calling 25 blank verse lines a Sonnet if you have taken a bloody resolution so to do)—your sonnet Iam much pleased with—but the epithet ‘downy’ is probably more applicable to Susan’s upper lip than to her bosom—& a Mother is so holy & divine a being that I cannot endure any corporealizing epithets applied to her or to any part of her—besides, damn epithets !” Coleridge, however, seems on the whole to have taken Citizen Thelwall—while unseen —rather too seriously, for he sent him copies of some of his poems preparing for the 1797 edition, and did him the honour of discussing them with him—especially the one beginning Oft o’er my brain does that strange fancy roll, which Thelwall found “obscure.” Coleridge replied that it was obscure to him only because he had never experienced the feeling expressed ; and that one should learn ‘‘to distinguish between obscurity residing in the uncommon- ness of the thought, and that which pro- ceeds from thoughts unconnected and lan- guage not adapted to the expression of them.” ‘“‘When you do find out the meaning of my poetry,” Coleridge continues, ‘‘can you (in general, I mean) alter the language so as to make it more perspicuous—the thoughts remaining the same?” However, he did twist the phrasing about a little in deference to Thelwall’s obtuseness ; but when at the end of the letter (which covers with the closest writing eight extra large foolscap pages !) he transcribes his sonnet addressed to Charles Lloyd (Hence that fantastic wantonness of woe !), Coleridge adds this impulsive confession, equally creditable to him as a critic and as aman: “I love sonnets ; but upon my honor, I do not love my sonnets !” In another letter, written in February, 1797, soon after his settlement at Stowey, Coleridge draws a lively and pleasant picture of his daily life, unfortunately too minute for reproduction in full. He never goes to Bristol; the early morning hours he spends in gardening ; from breakfast till noon he reads and composes ; then he feeds his pigs and poultry, and in the evening he writes reviews. For society he has his friend Thomas Poole, and as many acquaint- ance, including ‘‘a number of pretty young women,” as he can manage, and has recently acquired the accomplishment of dancing. He raises potatoes, &c., has an orchard, means to grow corn by spade cultivation, has pigs and ducks and geese, and would keep a cow but that Tom Poole supplies all the necessary milk. ‘© We are very happy,” he says, “and my little David Hartley grows a sweet boy, uad has high health ; he laughs at us till he makes us weep for very fondness. You would smile to see my eye rolling up to the ceiling in a Lyric fury, and on my knee a Diaper pinned to warm.” Cole- ridge must have been happy indeed to draw this companion picture to that done at Clevedon a year before, and that in ‘ Frost at Midnight’ done a year after. We have said that Cottle not only used but abused in his ‘ Early Recollections’ the letters which Coleridge wrote to him and to others. The full exposure of his maltreatment of them would occupy too much space ; but one of the more amusing instances may be given, just to show what he was capable of. In the ‘Early Recollections’ (vol. i. pp. 201-3) there is mis. printed a letter to Miss Cruikshank, in which Coleridge tries to excuse himself for the pub- lication in his 1796 ‘ Poems’ of his sonnet to Lord Stanhope, by pretending that it was in- serted without his consent, and that it was ‘‘wrote sarcastic.” It was, he writes, ‘‘in- serted by the fool of a publisher in order that he might send the book and a letter to Lord Stan- hope.” The publisher was Cottle himself, so he coolly garbles Coleridge’s words thus: It was ‘inserted by Biggs, the fool of a printer, in order,” &c., the Biggs so traduced having been his own partner in the printing business of “‘ Biggs & Cottle”! Then he adds a note to say that Coleridge’s memory must have deceived him, as it was Coleridge himself who sent the book, ‘‘ handsomely bound,” to Lord Stanhope. This note was suppressed by Cottle in his reprint of 1848, but he lacked the courage to do complete penance by relieving his partner of the fool’s cap to put it on his own respectable head.
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ice ———_—__—_————— 6 N° 3273, Juty 19, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 99 ‘JOSHUA: HIS LIFE AND TIMES,’ TueE Rev. W. J. Deane writes in regard to our review of his volume :— “A book that ‘had to deal with Joshua’ and yet neglected ‘the geography of Palestine’ would be a marvel of incompetence. I am thankful to know that other and better informed critics have differ- ently appreciated this feature of my little work, and noted the accuracy of topographical details derived from the latest surveys and investigations of tra- vellers in the Holy Land. I fail to see where I have contradicted myself in any particular. In regard to the staying of the sun and moon, I no- where state that ‘the Biblical expressions are mere exaggerations’; I have merely suggested that the extract from Jasher and the glosser’s comment thereon may be regarded as the poetical setting of some more simple occurrence. The inscription at Tangiers, your critic says,‘ we know was written in plain square characters.’ As we are acquainted with this inscription only from translations, how can we tell in what characters it was written originally? I am coarsely accused of ‘trading upon ignorance.’ Is not this assertion somewhat of the same character ? Will my critic deny that confusion often has arisen from the use of letters for numerals? And if he allows this, how can he justly accuse me of leading unin- formed readers astray by making mention of the fact? Criticism may be eminently useful, but then it must be just, and emanate from one who has more than a superficial acquaintance with the subject of which he treats.” The identifications in the latest surveys of the majority of Palestinian localities mentioned in Joshua are, to say the least, doubtful, if not inaccurate. How could it be otherwise if the text is in this part of Joshua often corrupt? In a popular book such matters ought to be avoided. Our sentence, ‘‘The Biblical expres- sions are mere exaggerations,” appeared to us to give the sense of Mr. Deane’s longer sentence. We do not understand what Mr. Deane means by saying that the Tangiers inscription is only known from translations. Translations of what ? The inscription was written in Hebrew with Syrian characters. Confusion in numerals arises from confusion of letters, but letters were not employed for the purpose in Joshua, however late a date may be assigned to the book. THE WASHINGTONS OF WARTON. Ir genealogists accept the evidence of Mr. Henry F, Waters as suflicient to point out with reasonable probability the true line of Washing- ton’s English ancestry, they will then wish to know what became of Leonard Washington, gentleman, and his wife (recusants) of Warton in Lancashire, and the fine old ‘‘ story” of these two being the reputed father and mother to the two emigrants Lawrence and John. Although I have made a special study of the records which refer in particular to Leonard Washington, I have never been able to find out whom he married and where he died. It curdled my blood nearly, though, when, having my sus- picions aroused, I at last succeeded in proving that Leonard Washington changed his name in so far as he signed it “Leo Wesham”—that signature remaining to-day as clear as when it was written. Of course, having proved that the person who signed Leo Wesham was really Leonard Washington, gent., of Warton, the fact makes the documents signed ‘‘ Leo Wes- ham” admissible as evidences—which is of muchimportance. For four years have I sought for and garnered evidences about this man, who was second cousin to Lawrence Washington of Sulgrave and Brington, the father of Lawrence Washington, M.A., Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford, and Rector of Purleigh. It is a very romantic tale, that told in Mr. Albert Welles’s book (about the Washingtons), that an old lady named Richardson sailed in the same ship as the emigrant John Washing- ton, and when the sailors had hung her for (as they thought) being a witch, John Washington threatened to give evidence against Edward Prescot, the owner of the ship, for the outrage. Mr. Waters in his Washington pedigree sheet shows that Elizabeth Richardson (of Turvey, Beds) was the grand-aunt of the emigrants Lawrence and John Washington. I find at Warton also an Elizabeth Richardson, and the following is part of her declaration. On the 9th of October, 1639, “Elizabeth Richardson widowe, of Warton, aged 77, saithe, that...... the dwelling howse of her brother Lawrence Washington deceased was all well lofted and boarded over wt” oken boards......and other materialls verye closelye, decent and suf- fycient, and since the death of the said Lawrence, Alyce Washington, his relicte, or some other by her appointed, hathe defaced, ruynated and pulde downe the s¢ Boardes, Joystes, planks and other materyalls ? of the said howse.’ About the end of the last century a Thomas Washington was vicar of the parish of Warton, and it is related of him that he used to speak of the relationship between his family and that of General Washington. In the beginning of the year 1650 Leonard Washington (aforesaid) was out of the country (England). Where did he disappear to? We have yet to find out. But this much I will add in conclusion, that every effort is being made to trace and make complete the history of the two branches of the Washington family left at Warton before and after the date 1650. F. A. WINDER. ROYALIST COMPOSITION CASES. THE reappearance of the latest Calendar of State Papers in the old familiar cloth binding will be a gratifying sight to those who have steadfastly protested against one of the meanest of the many paltry savings which the Treasury is delighted to effect at the expense of the literary interests and reputation of this great country. In other respects it must be admitted that the contents of the present volume are in- ferior in general interest to those of its prede- cessor. At the same time the historical value of this portion of the Commonwealth entry books is probably greater than that of more sensational manuscripts, although an entry book must, from its very nature, possess slighter personal interest than original correspondence, especially when, as in the present case, the former partakes largely of the character of a day-book or ledger. The financial system of the Commonwealth as conducted by its several committees has not as yet been perfectly understood, or, at least, it has never been fully explained. Mrs. Green has perhaps missed a great opportunity of doing tardy justice to a neglected subject in the pre- faces to this and the preceding volumes. Instead, one-half of a preface of three pages is devoted to curiosities of contemporary nomenclature. Mac- aulay, we know, thought it necessary to remind his readers that the name of Penn might be written in more than one form, but it is surely needless in the present day to collect such variants as Monk, Monck, Moncke, Munck, Muncke, Munk. If Mrs. Green considers these variations remarkable, what would she say to the cacography of Tudor worthies like Wriothesley, Raleigh, and Frobisher, or, indeed, to one- fourth of the names included in the recent index to the ‘ Return of Members of Parliament’? On the contrary, it is sufficiently notorious that under the Commonwealth handwriting and spelling alike entered upon a more modern and conventional phase. Apart from these possible shortcomings the form of the Calendar itself is, as usual, excellent, an enormous mass of local and personal informa- tion being made readily accessible to students. In order to appreciate the immense labour involved in working out the entire proceedings relating to many hundreds of composition cases, reference should be made to the classification of these entry books given in the former volume as well as to the several distinct stages of proce- dure set forth in the list of abbreviations pre- fixed to the present Calendar. In the case of such a well-known Royalist as Sir John Packing- ton, of Worcestershire, we find no fewer than eighty-seven separate entries relating to his case, | | all of which had to be brought together here in chronological order. This case was, however, complicated by the gallant baronet’s participation in the three civil wars of the period ; for having compounded in 1646 for his adherence to the king’s side, he was again involved in a charge of appearing ‘‘ at Pitchcroft with a sword by his side when the pretended King of Scots was at Worcester”; and, finally, in 1659 his estate was ordered to be seized for his suspected complicity in Sir George Booth’s rising. The commissioners were still sitting on his case when the Restora- tion came to his relief. Literary Giosstp. A arce mass of De Quincey’s corre- spondence has been lately unearthed, which throws new light, it is said, on his character and career, and Mr. Heinemann is prepar- ing to bring it out in two volumes before long, edited by Dr. Japp. There are letters from Coleridge and Wordsworth and many others of his contemporaries, and some from Charlotte Bronté, the first signed ‘‘Currer Bell,’ accompanying a presenta- tion copy of the poems of the three sisters, of which the publishers tell her, she says, only two copies have been sold. The cor- respondence, it is declared, redounds to De Quincey’s credit, showing that his claims to be on familiar terms with more than one man of rank of his time were not fictions of a vain imagination. Even the ‘‘De,” for which he was quizzed, was not of his manufacture. Its use appears to have been his mother’s doing. WE were right last week in saying that we had not heard the last of De Quincey’s un- published works. A number of papers have turned up which contain the manuscripts of ‘The Dark Interpreter’ and ‘The Spectre of the Brocken,’ mentioned in the first part, and supposed to have been burnt. In all, five of the lost papers have been recovered, and will be published in course of time by Mr. Heinemann, along with a list now discovered of the intended thirty-two papers that were to have formed the com- plete work. Messrs. Loneman & Co. have in the press ‘The Students’ History of England,’ by Mr. S.R. Gardiner. It is intended for the upper classes in schools, and aims at avoiding on the one hand the allusive style of writing, which is so puzzling to young people, and on the other hand the multiplicity of detail which unprofitably burdens their memories. The book will be illustrated under the super- intendence of Mr. St. John Hope, secretary to the Society of Antiquaries, and will be accompanied by a school atlas of English history prepared by Mr. Gardiner. The work will ultimately appear in a single volume of about the same size as ‘The Student’s Hume’; but for the sake of schools which do not wish to incur the expense of so large a book, there will also be an edition in three divisions. The first of these divisions, extending to the death of Henry VIL., will be issued in September next. Tue next number of the new quarterly review Subjects of the Day will be de- voted to ‘Socialism, Capital, and Labour.’ Among the contributors are Prof. Thorold Rogers, Mr. George Holyoake, Stepniak, Mr. Charles Bradlaugh, M.P., and the editor, Mr. James Samuelson.
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100 THE ATHENAUM N° 3278, Jury 19, 90 We hear that it is proposed to erect a monument in Salisbury Cathedral in memory of Richard Jefferies, author of ‘The Game- keeper at Home’ and other works of a kindred character. Mr. Fraser Rae will contribute a paper to the next number of Zemple Bar on Rivarol, whom Edmund Burke styled the Tacitus of the French Revolution. Mr. Parcnetr Martin is going to pub- lish an illustrated volume on the ‘ Children of Two Worlds’ (Australia and England) in August or September. The illustrations are by an Australian artist. Tue six lectures delivered to the managers of the London Board schools in 1889 and 1890, by Mr. Lant Carpenter, Prof. Stan- ford, Col. Onslow, and others, are to be “ease with a preface by Mr. William ousfield, chairman of the Committee of Representative Managers of the London Board Schools, under the title of ‘Ele- mentary Schools: How to Increase their Utility.’ Mr. Frexp has retired from the firm of Field & Tuer, and Mr. Andrew Tuer will continue the publishing and printing busi- nesses under the style of the Leadenhall Press. Ir is proposed to raise a subscription for Mr. Michael Reynolds, the author of ‘ Loco- motive Engine Driving’ and other works, and to present it to him on his fiftieth birth- day, August 3lst. Messrs. Crosby Lock- wood & Co. will receive subscriptions. Mr. Exuis talks of publishing his con- cordance to Shelley on the 4th of August, the ninety-eighth anniversary of Shelley’s birth. WE hear that the old and well-known firm of F. A. Perthes at Gotha has been converted into a ‘‘limited publishing com- pany.” Tue Turkish Government has just pub- lished in Turkish its first yearly Navy List. Tue death is announced of G. Keller, the Zurich poet and novelist ; also of K. Gorlitz, a German farce-writer and novelist. A UNIVERSAL and systematic survey of all military publications issued since the inven- tion of the art of printing down to the end of 1880 will shortly be published by Dr. J. Pohler, under the title of ‘ Bibliotheca Historico-militaris.’ The Library for August is to contain articles by Mr. Fleay on Shakspeariana, and by Mr. John Taylor on ‘The Monastic Scriptorium.’ Amonest forthcoming linguistic publica- tions, a primer of the dialect of the Eskimo tribes living north of the Mackenzie River districts, on the Alaska border, within the Arctic circle, is being prepared under the auspices of the S8.P.C.K. A syllabic cha- racter has been devised to express the lan- guage phonographically, closely resembling that which a native missionary of the Cree tribe of North American Indians invented, more than one hundred years ago, for the transcription of the Cree idiom, and which has been successfully adapted to the Chip- pewya, Tinné, and other Red Indian tongues of North-West Canada. Mr. Britt, of Leyden, proposes to publish a selection of ‘Old Saxon Texts,’ edited by Prof. Gallée, of Utrecht. Excel- lent as Dr. Heyne’s edition of these texts was for its time, itis insufficient for present requirements. The texts were not in each case collated with all necessary care. Be- sides, a minute description of the MSS. is now thought indispensable. It is intended to publish an edition with English notes if sufficient subscribers come forward. TurovcH the exertions of Sir Evelyn Baring, our Agent and Consul-General in Egypt, the desire of the natives to learn English has been in some degree encouraged. English is now taught in five secondary schools, but French in five times as many, though French intercourse and commerce are of so much less importance to the natives. Tue Parliamentary Papers of the most general interest issued during the week are Civil List Pensions granted during the Year ended June 20th, 1890 (1d.); Africa, No. 6, Anglo-German Agreement, Correspondence (2d.); Army Medical Department, Report for 1888 (1s. 3d.); Return of Loans raised in India (ld.); Trade and Navigation Accounts for June (6d.); Order in Council relating to Ancient Monuments (1d.); Corre- spondence with reference to Deaths from Electric Currents in the United States (2d.); and the Seventeenth Annual Report on Education, Scotland (6d.). SCIENCE — RECENT PUBLICATIONS. Nature and Woodcraft. By John Watson. (Smith & Innes.)— This is another of those chatty volumes which are turned out, from time to time, by the facile pen of the author of ‘Sylvan Folk.’ Popular articles on natural history, folk-lore, antiquities, &c., appear to be in demand at present for newspapers and maza- zines, wherein they serve their ephemeral pur- pose, and are afterwards collected and bound up, with perhaps the addition of a few illustra- tions. In the present instance Mr. G. E. Lodge, whose reputation as a draughtsman is well known, has contributed four; but these, unfortunately, have been lithographed, and, with the exception of the frontispiece—the peregrine’s eyrie—cannot be said to do justice to the artist’s powers. If the 300 pages of bold type were in a paper cover instead of in boards they would form an agreeable book for the railway, exactly suitable for that large class of persons who read simply to be amused, and who seldom think. The more critical minority will ask for explana- tions of such contradictory statements as the following: ‘‘The great grouse-poachers of the moor are the beautiful little merlins” (p. 12). ‘*But the beautiful little merlin, first among the falconer’s favourites, with all its ease and grace and majesty of wing—the merlin might be let live; it does but little harm, feeding principally upon larks and pipits. Sometimes in autumn this roving arab of the air destroys a few young grouse, but then by so doing it confers a boon on the sportsman. These are weak and ailing birds—the ones, probably, in which are the germs of disease—and the moor is best rid of them.” As a matter of fact, the grouse which a merlin could possibly carry off must be a mere ‘‘cheeper,” and if such a thing has ever happened, it must be thoroughly ex- ceptional; while to talk of the “majesty of wing” of this little falcon seems as ludicrous to any one who | ows the bird as to call it the ‘first among the falconer’s favourites.” Itisa very docile species, and affords pretty flights in a cramped country where the peregrine cannot be employed, but that is all. And this reminds us of a remarkable assertion about the pere- grine: “It will dash through a flock of wild ducks or a covey of partridges, wounding several in its sortie, but eventually carrying off the one selected with unerring aim.” How can this be? In turning out his ‘‘ tales” of bricks for several journals Mr. Watson has been obliged to make the most of his straw, and, unless our memory is grievously at fault, the passages, where ‘*the red mountain-fox” fleetly buoyant glides along and “floats along,’ are taken ver- batim from one of his former works. It shows a good airy style to speak of ‘“‘ Tam Edwards of Banff”; but if Mr. Watson were on such terms of familiarity with that talented though rather cross-grained naturalist as to call him ‘‘ Tam,” he might have known that the surname was Edward, not Edwards. However, with all its faults, the book is nice light reading, but it is not scientific, and does not pretend to be so. Chemical Technology; or, Chemistry in its Applications to Arts and Manufactures, Edited by C. E. Groves, F.R.S., and W. Thorp.— Vol. I. Fuel and its Applications. By E. J. Mills, F.R.S., and F. J. Rowan. (Churchill. ) —It is with much pleasure that we greet the appearance of the long-expected first volume of what is modestly described as a new edition of Richardson and Watts’s ‘Chemical Tech- nology.’ This work can now boast several de- grees of descent. Originally written by Richard- son and Ronalds (1848-1851) on the basis of the German work by F. Knapp (1847), it was much enlarged and in great part rewritten by Richardson and Watts (1855-1863), and now reappears under the able editorship of Messrs. Groves and Thorp. Of even the last edition, however, but little is retained save some of the historical passages and a few illustrations, the present edition being for all practical purposes a new work, and one which differs from its pre- decessors in a fundamental point; for whilst the earlier editions were compiled by writers who of necessity could but have had a second-hand knowledge of many of the subjects of which they had to treat, in the present edition each branch of technical chemistry will be dealt with by an author having practical experience in that branch, the editors confining themselves to the general supervision of the work. The present volume, on ‘Fuel and its Applications,’ has been entrusted to Dr. Mills and Mr. Rowan, the former, we presume, dealing more especially with the theoretical aspects of the subject. The work opens with descriptions of the natural fuels, wood, turf or peat, and coal, the last necessarily occupying by far the largest space, and embracing much valuable information. Many interesting statistics of coal production are given, amongst which we notice, however, the statement that “the total annual produce of the world is certainly not less than 300,000,000 tons.” If this is meant to apply to the present time, the quantity should be at least half as much again. The discussion of recent researches on the cause of explosions in collieries, and more especially on the part played therein by coal dust, is of very great interest. The next section is devoted to the effect of heat on fuel, and falls into three divisions—the preparation of charcoal from wood, the coking of coal, and the preparation of so-called artificial fuels (mainly from coal dust or small coal). Here, again, the chief interest lies in the accounts of the numerous modern coking ovens, and par- ticularly of those designed to obtain the ammonia and tar from the volatile products of the coking. In this connexion a good résumé is given of the researches of Watson Smith on the nature of the tars obtained from various coking ovens. At this point, and in an ap- pendix, an account is given of the action of the various coal-washing machines, which have the double object of removing sulphur (iron pyrites) and of grading the coal in sizes suitable for different purposes. These machines are exten- sively used on the Continent, and are at last making their way in this country. There is no
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De angen ae meee CO erererneesenenemnenneeeeeneees N° 3273, Jury 19, 790 THE ATHENAUM 101 doubt that they will come into extensive use as the increased cost of coal necessitates its more economical use. In the section on gaseous combustibles we come to a variety of fuel whose use may be said to be nearly entirely of later date than the last edition of this work. After an exhaustive account of blast-furnace gases and their utilization, the various forms of gas producers are treated of in historical order. The rapid spread of producers, and their constant utilization in fresh directions, seem to leave but little doubt that in the near future direct firing with coal or coke will be aban- doned in all except special cases, and that firing with producer gas will be therule. An account of natural gas as a fuel follows, although, judging by some recent reports from America, it is not unlikely that this will soon be of historical interest only. The section on liquid fuels deals with the utilization of petroleum residues and tar oils (dead oils), and the many ingenious con- trivances for burning them under boilers. The subject is of great interest owing to the high comparative efliciency of liquid fuel ; so high is this that the results of the earlier experiments on the subject were not credited. The authors express their belief that with proper apparatus it may be possible to obtain results equivalent to an evaporation of forty or fifty pounds of water per pound of oil. This high efficiency, combined with the relatively small space occupied by the oil, seems to point to a great future for it for naval purposes, especially for war-ships. The next forty pages are devoted to an admirable account of the more theoretical portion of the subject—the theory of heat, absolute and pyro- metrical heating effects, the relative value of fuel, the propagation of flame, &c. The remaining half of the book is devoted to the applications of fuels. In the section on domestic heating we have accounts of all the latest forms of coal and ga3 stoves and of many so-called smoke-prevent- ing appliances, followed by an historical review of the various forms of hot-blast stoves for the iron manufacture, with full descriptions of the forms now in use. Then comes an account of the various systems of heating buildings by hot water and steam. The next section, on vapori- zation, comprises descriptions of boiler furnaces of all sorts, locomotive, marine, and stationary, many forms of mechanical stokers being de- scribed, and much space being given to the question of gas-fired boilers and to a discussion of the vexed question as to the superiority of gas-firing or the direct combustion of solid fuel under boilers. In the sections on evaporation and distillation the most interesting novelties described are the Yaryan evaporator and the application of the regenerative system to the firing of gas retorts. Sections on drying apparatus, kilns, and furnaces follow, the major portion of the space being occupied by accounts of the numerous forms of regenerative gas fur- naces. The descriptive portion of the work is brought to a close by a distinctly good article on the practical effect of fuel. This is followed by a lengthy series of tables of analyses of coals and other fuels extending over some thirty pages, and by avery full index. The whole work is thoroughly well written, the descriptions are very clear and brought well up to date, and the book is abundantly illustrated. We can most strongly recommend it to all seeking informa- tion on the subject. We have received the eighteenth decade of Prof. McCoy’s Prodromus of .the Zoology of Vic- toria (Melbourne, Brain ; London, Triibner & Co.), which, like many of its predecessors, bears evidence of Mr. McGillivray’s labours on the poorly known and inconspicuous group of Poly- zoa. A lizard with a tongue of bright Prussian blue, and the great red king crab (Pseudocarcinus gigas), are among the forms of which figures and descriptions are given. In the nineteenth decade the most interesting form described is, perhaps, large, seems to be somewhat terrifying in ap- pearance. The fish-dealers of Australia are not, it seems, ichthyologists, for what they call whiting is not a whiting, but it tastes like one, and that fact is probably a quite good enough excuse. A LARGE portion of Part IT. of Vol. IV. of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South | Wales is devoted to the descriptions of insects ; but there are some important geological papers, and bacteriological notes by Dr. Oscar-Katz, who describes in detail his experimental researches with the microbes of chicken cholera. The paper | of most general interest is Mr. J. J. Fletcher's | : ; and not those of animals. account of his observations on the oviposition and habits of certain Australian batrachians. The Life of Father Perry, of Stonyhurst Col- lege, which has recently been issued by the Catholic Truth Society, gives an account of his many and valuable contributions to the progress of science, to which he may be said to have died a martyr a few days after observing the total one of the Salut Islands off the coast of French Guiana. He was born in London on the 26th of August, 1833, and for more than twenty years held the position of Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Stonyhurst, besides being director of the observatory there, to which he was appointed in 1868. was founded in 1838, but its operations under Father Weld, the first director, were confined to the departments of meteorology and magnetism. But it became possessed, whilst Father Perry was in charge, of several excellent astronomical instruments, of which he did not fail to make good use, giving special, though far from exclusive, attention to solar physics. But he will probably be principally remembered for his important obser- vations made in a large number of scientific expeditions. He was chief of a party sent to Kerguelen to observe the transit of Venus in 1874, and of another which observed the tran- sit of 1882 at Nos Vey, a small island off the south-west coast of Madagascar. Besides these he took part in no fewer than four expeditions to observe total eclipses of the sun: that of 1867 in Russia, which was rendered fruitless by That establishment | towards the close of the seventh century. It is intended to carry out a more thorough examina- tion of the site. Dr. O. Kriimmel contributes to Petermann’s Mitteilungen an excellent chart exhibiting the salinity of the Northern Atlantic Ocean. It is based in part upon the author’s own ob- servations, and is a considerable improvement upon the charts previously published by the German Admiralty and Mr. Buchanan. In the same periodical will be found a very readable article on ‘Involuntary Migrations in the Pacific,’ by Otto Sittig. Of course it is the migrations of men that the author refers to, SOCIETIES. ENTOMOLOGICAL.—July 2.—Prof. J. O. West- wood, Hon. Life-President, in the chair.—Mr, J. B. Hodgkinson and Mrs. Bazett were elected Fellows. —Lord Walsingham exhibited some rare Micro- Lepidoptera collected by himself at Cannes, . | including HLudemis helichrysana, Conchylis rubri- solar eclipse of the 22nd of December, 1889, on | weeding’ 2 enor, At shy cana, Milliére; a new Depressaria from Opo- ponax cheironium, which is about to be described by M. A. Constant, and Buceulatrix helichrysella ; and also a volume of drawings of larve of the genus Eupithecia, by Mr. Buckler, which formerly belonged to the late Rev. H. Crewe, — Mr. M‘Lachlan exhibited larve and cocoons of Mecyna deprivalis, Walk., sent by Mr. W. W. Smith, of Ashburton, New Zealand ; the species feeds com- monly on Genista capensis, an introduced plant.— Mr. 8. Stevens, in speaking of a tour which he had lately made in Devonshire, remarked on the ex- treme scarcity of insects on the coast of that county as compared with the coasts of Kent and Sussex ; there were very few larve, and the vegeta- tion was very luxuriant and very little eaten. He thought it possible that the reason of the scarcit was the heavy rainfall of South Devon, whic washed off and destroyed the young larva.—Mr. Barrett said that his experience had been the same, and that he put it down to the violence of the winds which beat the insects from the trees.—Mr. Bland- | ford remarked that he had found Coleoptera abundant on the Braunton Burrows, near Barnstaple, but very scarce in other localities. Mr. Mason and others took part in the discussion which followed.—Prof. Westwood read a paper on a species of aphis affect- ing the bread-fruit tree, which he had named Siphonophora artocarpi. At the conclusion of his paper he alluded to the use of Paris-green as a de- | structive agent for insects.—Mr. Blandford then cloudy weather ; of 1870, observed with partial | success at San Antonio, near Cadiz; of 1886, well seen by him at Carriacou, one of the Wind- ward Islands; and of 1889, which he success- | fully observed at Royal Island, one of the Salut group, but was suffering from fever at the | time, and died on the voyage to Demerara, about seventy miles before it was reached. Father Cortie’s little work is replete with in- terest; but it was hardly necessary to call Father Perry ‘‘the Jesuit astronomer” in the title- page, and then tell us in the preface how many astronomers have belonged to that fraternity ; still less to refer to the treatment of the political Jesuits in the time of Queen Elizabeth. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. THE most recent number of the Mittheilungen of the Vienna Geographical Society is exception- ally rich in maps. Dr. O. Baumann thus supplies the remaining sheets of his map of the Congo up to Stanley Falls ; Baron von Brenner- Felsach illustrates an adventurous journey through the country of the cannibal Bataks, in made some remarks as to the use of London-purple (another arsenic compound) as an insecticide in the place of Paris-green ; he stated that the compound was a waste product and one-tenth the cost of Paris- green, and further that it was more soluble and more easily applied ; he was also of opinion that arsenic compounds do not greatly affect sucking insects, such as Aphides, the ordinary kerosene preparations being more suitable for their destruc- tion.—Several Fellows took part in the discussion that followed. MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Tues. Horticultural, 1 Photogr*phie. 8. Horticultural, 1. Web. Science Gossip. Mr. Corrs, in charge of the entomological collections at the Calcutta Museum, will pre- sently bring out a monograph on ‘The Locust.’ He has amassed valuable materials relative to the periodicity of the inroads of this insect in India, and its general natural history. The new information has been chiefly obtained by means of circulars, extensively diffused through- | out the Presidencies, wherein were described all Sumatra, by means of a large map based upon | original observations ; whilst Dr. Kerner von Marilaun furnishes four plates, whichare intended to elucidate an interesting paper on the glaciation of that section of the Central Alps which lies to the north of the Brenner Pass. periodical will be found a short article on the | examination of the remains of an ancient city, which lies buried at the bottom of the sea in fourteen fathoms of water, close to the Istrian town of Rovigno. These ruins, consisting of a the large Melbourne cuttlefish, to which three | quay and houses, have been identified with the plates are devoted; the creature, though not | Roman city of Cissa, which is last mentioned In the same | known facts concerning the various species which have invaded the Indian continent, and requesting additional particulars, more espe- cially concerning the exact dates of appearance and the exact direction of the arrival and flight of the respective swarms. Tue death of John Ralfs at Penzance on the 14th of July, aged eighty-three years, gives occasion for comment. Probably not many of the present generation of botanists, who are apt to think that the study of cryptogamic botany is pre-eminently of modern, not to say German | development, have any adequate knowledge of
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102 THE ATHENZUM N° 3273, Juty 19, '90 what was done by their predecessors. And yet the foundation and much of the superstructure were laid by English workers. A conspicuous illustration of this is afforded by the labours of Ralfs among the desmids and the diatoms. Ralfs began life as a medical practitioner in Shoreditch, but retired to Penzance, where for the last thirty years or more but little has been heard of him. His work, however, more especially among the plants before named, will secure to him a lasting memorial. Mr. Ralfs’s memoirs are contained especially in the ‘Annals of Natural History’ and in his work on British Desmidieze, published in 1848. THe Russian Government have authorized four separate French scientific missions to exa- mine Russia under its agronomical and in- dustrial features. The two agronomical ex- peditions, each composed of five members, will explore Little Russia, Bessarabia, New Russia, the Crimea, the Caucasus, Northern Russia, the Volga basin, the Baltic provinces, and the Western provinces. The industrial expeditions will study the industrial circles of Moscow and Todz. Russian scientific men, or, at least, representa- tives of the Finance Department, will be attached to each mission, and the French reports are to be submitted to the Russian as well as the French Government. Pror. Hoven, Director of the Dearborn Obser- vatory, formerly located at Chicago, but now at Evanston, Illinois, publishes in Nos. 2977-8 of the Astronomische Nachrichten a paper contain- ing a catalogue of 94 new double stars discovered with the 183-inch refractor of that observatory, together with the results of measures obtained of 107 other pairs already catalogued. A portion (including livraisons 1 and 2) of the second volume of the second series of the Annales of the Moscow Observatory has recently | been published. Prof. Bredichin, the director, has some interesting investigations concerning the origin of periodical comets and of shooting stars, referring the former to eruptions in other comets (thus producing comets with orbits in many respects similar), and the latter also to | cometary eruptions. FINE ARTS ROYAL SOCIETY of PAINTERS in WATER COLOURS. — The ONE HUNDRED and THIRTEENTH EXHIBITION is NOW OPEN. —5, Pall Mail East, from 10 till 6 —Admission, ls ; Catalogue, 1s. ALFRED D. FRIPP, R.W.S , Secretary. Ree LEGEND of the BRIAR ROSE, painted by E. BURNE JONES, -R.A. The LEGEND of the BRIAR ROSE.—The EXHIBITION of Mr. BURNE JONES’S Four Pictures is NOW OPEN at Messrs. Thos. Agnew & Sons’ Old Bond Street Galleries, 39, Old Bond Street, W. —Admission, 1s. l0to6oe’clock. Saturdays, 10 to 5. Scottish National Memorials. Illustrated. (Glasgow, MacLehose & Sons.) Tuts noble volume is a worthy record of the historical and archeological collections formed at Glasgow in 1888, and in its typo- graphy, illustrations, and letterpress all that could be hoped for. Messrs. J. M. Gray, A. J. 8. Brook, D. Murray, and D. Duncan have contributed the larger portion of the letterpress, much of which is critical and full of research, combining with descrip- tions of many noteworthy relics not only the stories associated with them, but analyses of those often fabulous legends. The book thus sets forth so much of the truth as com- petent and careful contributors have been able to arrive at. Their conclusions are often as interesting as destructive. materials of the catalogue are grouped his- torically, beginning with the stone imple- ments of dateless ages, extending through the productions of later times, Roman, The | early Christian, and medisval. A curious body of medizeval and Renaissance relics precedes the numerous memorials of Mary, Queen of Scots, which proved, as in the Stuart Exhibition in London, the most attractive to the public in the preceding year. The relics of the Pretenders are not equal in interest to those of Queen Mary, yet they are numerous and curious. There are separate accounts of the fine collections of books and their bindings, and the great wealth of burghal memorials from old Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, and other towns. Many of the sections are furnished with his- torical introductions which might profit- ably, had space and cost permitted, have been longer than they are, and some notes need correction, such as that on ‘‘adder beads,” p. 338, which are spoken of as Roman, whereas if of great antiquity they are probably Tyrian, and Venetian if less old. The Charm Stone of Breadalbane and the Clach Dearg of Ardvorlich are balls of rock crystal, which, like similar instances in other countries, are said to have been brought home by Crusaders; they are in all probability Chinese, but the text does not say so. They are probably such as Mary Stuart sent with her last letter to Henri III. from Fotheringhay—two rare stones, valuable for the health, which she asked him to accept as the gift of his very affectionate sister-in-law (who was on the point of death), in token of her true heart | towards him. It is a pity the dimensions of the objects are not given when practicable, and that would be nearly always. But we have not found anything of the kind, even when por- | traits are in question. Talking of portraits, we are inclined to think it was a little rash to speak of one ascribed to Mary Stuart as sup- posed to be by Holbein (p. 82). In speaking of the execution of the fine monument of Mary, Queen of Scots, Mr. Gray writes rather loosely that that monument was ‘‘ begun about 1606,” nineteen years after the cata- strophe at Fotheringhay, although the entry in the Pell Records, dated May 7th, 1606, says that the sum of 200/. was then paid to Cornelius Care, the master mason, being due to him “for the framing, making, erecting, and finishing of a tomb for Queen Mary,” &c. Does Mr. Gray suppose Care was paid in advance? That is very unlikely. That in 1610 Care’s son and executor had 85/. 10s. in full payment is not opposed to the notion that the monument was practically finished some years before. The order for the removal of the queen’s remains from Peter- borough to Westminster was not given till 1612, and therefore we may conclude that the tomb was not completely decorated with colours and gold till that time. All the Stuart kings were tardy paymasters; some of their creditors were never paid at all. ‘Cornelius Janssens” should be ‘‘ Cor- nelius Jonson.”” The note (p. 59) on Mr. Threipland’s octagonal watch of Queen Mary, ‘‘that has only one hand,” seems | Supererogatory, or should have been re- | peated in all descriptions of similar objects. Till long after Mary’s day no timepiece had | two hands. One of the best entries in this | book is that by Mr. Brook on the so-called ‘Queen Mary’s Cup” preserved in the destructive criticism, proving the cup not to have belonged to Mary Stuart, although it may have been Mary of Lorraine’s; that it cannot be by Cellini, to whom this undoubtedly German work, probably from a design of Virgil Solis, ‘has been, with unconscious daring, ascribed; and that it is not a masterpiece, but a second- rate work of art. That the Pope gave such a thing to Mary Stuart is very questionable indeed ; but in saying that it was not in- tended for ecclesiastical purposes because satyrs are engraved in its arabesques Mr. Brook has forgotten that in a well- known church in Rome itself a sculp- tured Pan chases a naked nymph round the baptismal font, while on the gate of a famous sacristy in the same city there is a naked Venus wrought in bronze by an exquisite chisel. With regard to the hand-bell belonging to Lord Balfour, upon which Mr. A. Way built certain theories, Mr. A. H. Constable is wise in noticing that they are not now accepted, and that the bell itself is probably of a later time than Queen Mary’s. The relic was No. 323 at the Stuart Exhibition, to which a considerable number of things exhibited at Glasgow went. Mr. Brook, writing (p. 45) of the true colour of the hair of Mary Stuart, gives himself needless trouble when he speaks of the ‘eluci- dation of the question” as ‘‘a matter of difficulty.” The accounts, trustworthy portraits, and other relics agree with the order of nature in such complexions as hers. When very young her hair was very fair, ‘blonds et cendrez,” it became golden as she grew up, it deepened with a tinge of auburn with womanhood and wifehood, and thence passed to dark auburn, which some called black. Brantome said she was grey at thirty-five. After this time she, like other ladies of her time, adopted perukes of divers colours. Even at Loch- leven she had “‘ plusieurs perruques et aultres telles choses y servant”; while she was at Carlisle a parcel (pague) of perukes was sent to her; and Knollys told Nicholas White at Tutbury that “ she wears hair of sundry colours.”’ The executioner, grasping her borrowed auburn tresses in the hall at Fotheringhay, let fall the closely polled head and revealed its grey hairs thinly scattered at the temples. THE BRITISH ARCH-EOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION AT OXFORD, (Second and Concluding Notice.) BRovuGHTON CASTLE was visited on Wednesday, the 9th inst., and Mr. E. G. Bruton, F.S.A., to whom the society is much indebted for his numerous explanatory discourses on the archi- tectural remains during the unavoidable absence of Mr. E. P. L. Brock, F.S.A., read a short paper on the history of this fine medizeval mansion, which, although at first sight it appears to be of Elizabethan date, is on the east side almost-wholly of the fourteenth century. The history of the several families who have pos sessed this castle may be found in Skelton’s ‘Antiquities of Oxfordshire’ and Beesley’s ‘History of Banbury.’ The churches of Blox- ham, Adderbury, and King’s Sutton formed a remarkable triad of typical Oxfordshire ecclesias- tical edifices, interesting from the noble and , lofty proportions of their spires, and if not of very remote antiquity, yet replete with many Mid-Kirk, Perth. It is a capital piece of | details which proved attractive to the visitors,
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N° 3273, Jury 19, ‘90 THE ATHENAUM 103 and likely hereafter to afford some useful papers for the Jowrnal of the society. In the evening Mr. J. W. Grover, F.S.A., exhibited some diagrams of the Roman roads lying between London and Silchester, and of the Forum of that ancient site, which is about to be systematically investigated at a considerable outlay by the Society of Antiquaries. Mr. Grover declares that Silchester is to be explained as ‘* Solis-Castrum”’; that it is, in this respect, connected in some way with ‘* Aquie-Solis ” or Bath ; and that both these cities were dedicated to the worship of Baal, Sol, or the sun. Mr. W. de G. Birch combated the derivation of Sil- chester from Sol, and asked in vain for the justi- ficatory references to Silchester, or to any word of cognate form in the Roman writers on British topography ; he also rejected the antiquated pro- position that aque in the name of Bath represents the waters of the hot springs in that city, and showed that the Romans found on their arrival at Bath a district afterwards known to them as ** Acu-mannensis regio,” and an ancient road now called ‘‘ Ake-man street”’ ; that the inference is that the city was called by the inhabitants by some name which the Romans transformed into “* Aquie,” a word accidentally resembling the Latin word for waters, hence the pitfall into which so many have slipped in their statements respecting the archaic history of Bath. Mr. Grover claims to have found indications of a Roman town at ‘‘ Town,” near Bracknell, which latter he identifies with Bibracte, in opposition to those who place this station at Bray, near Maidenhead. He has obtained permission, and promises to explore this site. It will not, therefore, be long before his somewhat hazardous theories are tested. An animated discussion took place at the close of: his account, during which he took his hearers an imaginary walk round the ruined Forum, ex- plaining the butchers’ shops, the banking estab- lishment, the law courts, the Merchants’ Hall, the High Priest’s office, and finished up with the ‘‘oyster bar” at the south-west corner (indicated by a stupendous pile of oyster shells), where he humorously observed they would feel most at home. We believe that a more obvious reason for the presence of these shells in Sil- chester than that assigned to them by Mr. Grover will readily suggest itself to antiquaries. Thursday, the 10th inst., was devoted to a visit to All Souls’ College. Here the principal points of examination were the elaborate modern reredos at the east end of the chapel, consisting of thirty-five statues in three grand tiers of niches, and nearly a hundred smaller statuettes, also in niches, together with a set subject of the Crucifixion of our Lord treated in a rather unconventional manner ; the ancient encaustic tiles, bearing shields of arms—(1) a chevron between three cinquefoils, and (2) the same impaling the see of Canterbury, for the shep- herd-boy Archbishop Henry Chichele, founder of the college in 1437; the library; the ancient seal on which the ‘Song of the Mallard’ was founded ; the fifteenth century salt-cellar of silver parcel gilt and crystal, said to be older than the college itself ; the Planetarium ; and the sundial inscribed ‘‘Pereunt et impu- tantur,” a motto about which, in consequence of the shadow falling on the second word at the hour of luncheon, some ancient witticisms of the fellows were recounted. The church of St. Peter-in-the-East, the next place visited, is one of the oldest edifices in Oxford. Its condition in some parts is unsatisfactory. The foundation of this church has been fabulously attributed to King Alfred. The dedication is to St. Peter- ad-Vincula, and a peculiar and unusual decora- tion of the groining of the vaulted roof of the chancel has been thought to represent St. Peter’s chains, which are here sculptured as large as a chain cable of a man-of-war. The chancel has ambulatories. time a belief that an underground passage of There was at one | ' D’Oilli. great length existed here ; but on exploration the passage stopped somewhat ludicrously after a yard or two, to the mortification of its would- be investigators. The beautiful crypt is the important feature. There were three ways down to it from the church and one from the church- yard, but only the outside way is practicable at present. The floor has been dug about, and the whole apartment is sadly in need of careful treatment to preserve it from further injury. One only of the Norman capitals of the arched vaults is carved with a subject, apparently Sam- son or David in combat witha lion. Externally the church shows signs at the east end of an older roof ; and the round turrets at the angles, the little round-headed windows now blocked up, and the rectangular window below them, combine to present in this view of the church an edifice strongly resembling the primitive elevations and views of church buildings which occur in the oldest seals of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Mr. J. Park Harrison— to whose critical examination of the points and details on which all that is known of Anglo-Saxon architecture, as distinguished from Early Norman, depends, we look forward with much interest—sees in this east end several indications of a Saxon origin. In the same way he urges on antiquaries the duty of examining certain details in Christ Church Cathedral and the church of St. Leo- nard at Wallingford, with a view to throwing back their antiquity to a remoter period than has hitherto been assigned to them. Magdalen College was then visited. Here were inspected the panelling of the hall, which was brought from the dissolved abbey at Reading ; the carved wood scenes in the life of Christ, in- troduced into the panelling; the carved portrait effigy of Henry VIII., which represents the king late in his lifetime, 1541, as _ the beard is longer than usually depicted, and curled in ringlets; and the portraits of Car- dinals Wolsey and Pole, of whom it is said the former would be Pope, but could not, the latter could have been, but would not. The chapel, with its reredos reminding the visitors of that which they had seen earlier in the day, its windows being fine examples after the Italian and Spanish styles; the painting of ‘Christ bearing the Cross,’ by Ribalta, and the sepulchral eftigy of the father of William de Waynflete, the founder, were also among the chief objects of attention. Iffley Church, a short drive from the city, introduced to the notice of the archeologists a fine specimen of the Anglo-Norman style of architecture, of which so many examples may be met with in this neighbourhood. It appears to have been built about 1160, and was given by Dame Juliana de Sancto Remigio to Kenil- worth. Here especial attention was directed to the original west end, with restorations by Buckler ; its doorway, with small representa- tions of the emblems of the zodiac introduced into the mouldings ; and a little carved rosette of eight leaves, hazardously declared by the Rey. E. Marshall, F.S.A., to be a consecration cross, on the right-hand jamb. There is a blocked-up arched doorway seen on the outside of the south wall of the chancel, which, if carried through, would cut the triple sedilia, and requires explanation; and the unusual treatment of the chancel arch, which has a series of large flowers like sunflowers carved along the moulding, is worthy of notice. The leper-house of St. Bartholomew, Cowley, the County Hall, the keep of the Castle, the | long past. vaulted well in the mound, and the Norman | crypt of St. George’s Chapel, which was found | been visited and described, without any new facts being elicited about them, Mr. Bruton led the party to St. Michael’s Church, of which the tower was believed to have been con- structed by the builder of the Castle, Robert In the lower part of this tower Mr. | during the building of the new gaol, having | Bruton, during necessary reparation, discovered some blocked-up windows, and he believes that the lower part is earlier than the time of D’Oilli, who built the upper part only, and blocked the lower windows, in order to render it more secure from the attacks to which its exposed position at the town wall rendered it liable. At the east end of the church, in the vestry, a quaint sculpture, once, perhaps, the bracket or corbel of a mural slab, repre- sents a ‘Dance of Death,’ after the conception of the Elizabethan age. Here Death, the all- masterful, dances away, to the beat of drum and the tootling of fife (a strange jumble of the serious and the comic, which we meet so often in illuminated manuscripts), with the mistress housewife, whose inspection of the mirror he interrupts, and with the sapient master of arts whose study of a tome by the light of a candle held in his hand he intercepts. This long day’s doings were not concluded until two papers had been delivered at the Examination Schools. The first was by Mr. Bruton, on the ‘ Walls of the City of Oxford in the Thirteenth Century,’ illustrated with several maps and drawings, and productive of a lengthy discussion with regard to the watercourses and the underground appearances which occasional excavations reveal. The other was communicated by Dr. J. Stevens, ‘On a Cemetery recently discovered at Reading, probably Early Christian Saxon,’ in which a really important discovery has been made, possessing aspects both archeeo- logical and pathological. Among the remains there occurred the right arm-bone, humerus, of a female, encased in a material at its centre which proved to be two plates of copper sur- rounding the arm and overlapping each other, furnished on the edges with small holes as if they had been fastened together. The bone had been extensively diseased with necresis during life, which must have caused great mischief to the adjacent tissues, and these plates had evidently been applied as a protection, and to contain dressings, which have been recently ascertained to consist of som2 preparation of ivy-leaves, with fibres of flax for lint. Parkin- son, in his ‘Theater of Plantes,’ 1640, points out the use of ivy leaves to keep open issues and ‘‘to draw forth the humours,” evidently a survival of this old practice, which has not alto- gether passed away even now. Friday morning saw the party on its way to Witney, on the river Windrush, where the rector, Mr. W. Foxley Norris, described the church in glowing terms of admiration. This is alate Norman edifice, the tower dating about 1220-1230, with eight bells, the spire contem- porary, with large turrets at the angles, which he thought reminded one of similar work at Bayeux. At least ten altars can be shown to have existed in this church. The stone em- ployed in the work is very hard. It is thought to come from Tainton, also situate on the river Windrush, in this county, whence it could easily be transported to this site, the name of which may, perhaps, be connected with that river's name. The decaying crumbling stone of which so many Oxford buildings consist contrasts sadly with the fine sharp edges to be seen at Witney, which have stood six hundred years of weathering. This church has been called the ‘Cathedral of Wychwood,” and some of the details of the carving, representing boars’ heads, stags’ heads, and other emblems of the chase, are thought to symbolize the sports which the adjacent forest of Wychwood afforded in times The length across the long transepts is equal to that from east to west. The rector has, with much pains, compiled a list of the incumbents of the church from the earliest period to the present day, and he appropriately hangs up the vellum scroll on which it is written in the porch—a praiseworthy custom, which may be recommended to the clergy. From this it is worth notice that Witney has given no fewer than five bishops to the Church: Trilleck, 1338,
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104 THE ATHENAUM N° 3273, Jury 19, ’90 to Hereford; Wodeville, 1475, to Sarum ; Underhill, 1581, and Legge, 1795, to Oxford ; and Brideoak, 1655, to Chichester. Burford, another town on the Windrush, was the next halting-place, venerable in history for the Synod of 685, by which Malmesbury Abbey , ' this once archaic church are the large and boldly was enriched with extensive lands at Somerford, in Wiltshire. This ancient borough witnessed the battle in 752 between Ethelbald and Cuthred. The burgesses had a common seal, and formerly | possessed the right of hunting in Wychwood , Forest for one day in each year, a right commuted in 1593 for a pair of bucks and a fawn, formally demanded with sportive solemnities by an elected **Lord and Lady,” generally a boy and girl of Burford, from the keepers of the forest on Whit Sunday afternoon. The church, which is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, has the Agnus Dei, emblem of that saint, carved in the stonework. There are a Norman doorway, a massive-looking tower with six bells, from which the curfew has sounded for many a day, and several chapels or chantries. Among the celebrities of the parish are William Lenthall, Speaker of the House of Commons, 1640, buried in Pynnock’s Aisle; Brideoak, then rector ; Peter Heylyn, born here in 1599 and educated at the Grammar School ; and Lucius Cary, Lord Falkland, born here in 1610. Minster Lovel and Shipton were also included in the day’s pro- gramme. In the evening four papers were delivered :— the first, contributed by Mr. Thomas Morgan, F.S.A., who has lately relinquished the office of honorary treasurer of the society on account of his health, entitled ‘England and Castille in the Thirteenth Century Compared’; the next, by Mr. J. P. Harrison, M.A., on the ‘Saxon Church of St. Leonard, Wallingford,’ which was to be visited on Saturday. Mr. W. de Gray Birch read a paper on the river Wasa in the Anglo- Saxon charters of Abingdon Abbey, viz., grants of land at Buckland, 957 ; Fif-hidum, or Fyfield, 956 ; Appleton, al. Airmundesleia, 942; and Cumnor, 968,— four Berkshire parishes con- terminous with the Thames, and with Wasa boundaries which appear to refer to that river. Mr. Birch also propounded a new derivation of Berkshire, and criticized the significations put forward by Camden, the Lysonses, Lieut. Cooper King, and others. Mr. Birch suggests that Berkshire is Bearruc-shire, and that Bearruc is a form of Pearruc, a word of Celtic origin, occurring in the boundaries of Saxon charters, and connected with parochia and park; thus Berkshire would be the Parkshire, and the park, of course, is Windsor Forest with its surround- ing woodland, more extensive and more closely attached to it at the time when shires were in process of formation and appellation than now. The concluding discourse was that delivered by Mr. A. J. Butler, M.A., whoexhibited the brasen nose of Brasenose College, which, after many vicissitudes and a considerable lapse of time, had only a day or two previously been recovered for the college. It is believed by some to be a Byzantine work of the twelfth century; others, more sceptical, see in the ring-nosed lion’s face a sanctuary knocker of much later date. Saturday, the 12th, was a remarkably heavy day for those who had thrown in their lot with the society. The first place of stoppage was Dorchester, at the confluence of the Thame and the Thames. In the churchyard stands a cross, mutilated and restored. The vicar, the Rev. N. Poyntz, conducted the party over the church, and read a short paper, from which it appears that there are seven periods of the building from the time of Remigius, who removed the see of Dorchester to Lincoln in 1086. The only part , relief on the mullions ; | historic churches from time to time, forming an_ instructive museum, which other temporary custodians of would do well to imitate. Among them is included a Norman piscina of bowl-like form, with four ears and pierced base. The chief features of architectural interest in carved corbel or bracket, on which was appa- rently supported a pulpit, attached to one of the pillars of the west end or so-called parochial nave ; the carved ‘‘ Root of Jesse,” with the culminat- ing group, the Virgin and Child, hacked away, in a window at the east end ; an adjoining window containing scenes from the life of Christ, and some local traditions, such as St. Birinus convert- ing Cynegils, St. Oswald, his sponsor, having been the first sponsor especially so designated in English Church history, sculptured in high triple sedilia, with _ carved details increasing in proportion to the of the old pre-Reformation church which is still , unrestored is a chantry chapel to the north side of the north chancel aisle. Mr. Arthur Cates here exhibited a plan showing the various ages of the edifice. In the west end of the church are preserved a fine series of Norman capitals and other fragments which have been recovered | | | dignity of sub-deacon, deacon, and priest, to whom they were apportioned ; the early painted glass behind the seats ; and the leaden font of early twelfth century work, adorned with eleven figures of the apostles, draped after the Byzan- tine style, under round-headed arches with spirally fluted columns resting on a plinth of rosettes and foliage. The brasses also attracted attention, among them that of Sir Richard Beauforest, abbot, 1510, tonsured and holding a pastoral staff. Out of his mouth proceeds the mutilated ejaculation, ‘‘—— virgo virginum ora pro nobis tuum filium,” and at his feet the couplet :— Here lyeth Sir Richard Bewfforeste : I pray Ih’u geve his sowle good reste. Here, too, may be inspected the sepulchral slab which once covered the remains of John | de Sutton, Abbot of Dorchester, 1333-1349, Dugdale’s editors (‘ Nov. Mon.,’ vi. 323) give a blundering copy of the inscription, which runs round the slab in Lombardic capitals :— ABBATIS : GESSIT : VICES : HIC : QUI : REQUIESCIT : JO : HAN : DE: SUTTONA : DICTUS : QUEM : CRISTE : CORONA. Next on the list of places came Ewelme, where there is early brickwork in the almshouses which are provided for thirteen men, presided over by the venerable Sir Henry Acland, Bart., who here delivered an interesting account of the institution, and described the manner in which its endowment is administered. Ewelme Church contains no fewer than fourteen brasses, as well as an interesting monument of Alice, Duchess of Suffolk, 1475, with a skeleton carved in ‘ alabaster below the tomb, and some heraldic remains of the De la Poles. Crowmarsh has a Norman door, but there was only time to look at it for a moment, on the way to St Leonard’s Church at Wallingford. In this church Mr. J. -ark Harrison sees indications of Saxon work, notably in the shallow diaper-work of the arches of the chancel, the interlaced or basket patterns on the capitals or imposts, and in other details, for which he refers to the ornamentation of the illustrated Czedmon, about a.p. 1000. He con- siders that the Saxon arts were in advance of the Norman at the time of the Conquest, and that ‘‘ Anglo-Norman” would be a better term than ‘‘ Norman” for the early Norman work of the eleventh century. The curious bases of the pillars, resembling claws, and the walled-up openings in the outside south wall of the chancel were examined. One of these, with its angular head, resembles some of the work at Barton- upon-Humber, which the Association examined last year. Wallingford Castle proved an attrac- tive spot to the members, who, although there was little to be examined in the way of remains, ascended the mound to hear an excellent his- torical account of the site, with its varying for- tunes, from Mr. J. Kirby Hedges. This ground has been prolific in Roman coins of almost every emperor. The castle was able to with- stand siege after siege in the Middle Ages, but was eventually razed to the ground in the short space of seven months. The long drive back to Oxford led the members through Little Wittenham, where are several brasses, among them one of Cicilia, widow of Geoffrey Kyd- welly, 1472; another, very quaint, of Anne Dunch, an infant, 1682, with an inscription beginning— Behold an Innocent without spott Other than from its Parents gott. Brightwell Barrow, Sinodun Hill, Clifton Hampden, and Nuneham Park were points on the way home to the closing meeting in the evening at the Town Hall. At this meeting were exhibited the corporation charters and plate, and the farewell speeches delivered. The Rev. O. Ogle, in speaking of the charters, declared that they were uninteresting and of practi- cally no value, and that kings never granted privileges if they could help it, nor without sub- stantial fee; and after suggesting that no one but himself in the assemblage could read these documents, the seals of which fell to pieces whenever he touched them, he concluded with remarks about the spelling of some Norman- French words. Mr. W. de G. Birch, in the dis- cussion which ensued, pointed out the great im- portance of a corporation laying the highest possible value on its charters, and instanced the City of London as a place where any one could observe the value set by a right-minded corpora- tion on its charters. He begged the city of Oxford to decline to look upon their royal charters as useless, but to have the seals repaired and the deeds themselves kept in closer custody. As for the inability of any of the members to read them, there were two present that evening whose term of training among the manuscripts of the British Museum amounted to seventy- two years. Major G. Lambert, F.S.A., gave an amusing and popular account of the city plate, among which is the rare example of a gold cup of the time of James I. The extra days (a happy device of keeping a rather large party together after its proper time for dispersion) included on Monday, the 14th, a visit to Queen’s College, where Mr. H. Hurst described the buildings and Major Lambert the plate ; to Corpus Christi College to see the oldest plate in the university ; to St. Mary’s Church, a dreary edifice with stirring associa- tions ; to Wadham, St. John’s, and the Taylor Institution. Tuesday, the 15th, was laid out for a visit to Stanton-Harcourt, and to Abing- don, where the few insignificant remains of one of the richest abbeys of England are slowly crumbling away in unfrequented spots, and where the capacious church of St. Helen, which probably rivals that of St. Nicholas at Yarmouth, stands with little to attract beyond the alms- houses, or ‘‘ Hospital of Christ,” contiguous to its churchyard. The Congress at Oxford has proved fertile be- yond expectation in early architectural remains, and of course the city itself, teeming with colleges, churches, plate, portraits, and manu- scripts, could be but hastily passed under re- view. It owes much of its success to the kind- ness of the Mayor, the Vice-Chancellor, the Dean of Christ Church, the Warden of Merton, and other civic and university magnates, who sym- pathized with it in the loss of Lord Carnarvon at so critical a moment. THE SITE OF HIEROPOLIS-CASTABALA, HEARING of extensive ruins at a spot called Boudroum, to the north-east of the Cilician plain, not far from the river Jeihan(anciently Pyramus), the name of which had not been identified, we determined to visit them and to devote some time to the thorough exploration of the district. Boudroum is situated on rising ground about three-quarters of a mile from the Pyramus, just as that river emerges from the narrow defiles of the Taurus, through which it makes its way into the Cilician plain. The acropolis in the centre of the town is at the extreme edge of a narrow rocky spur of the mountains ; a cutting 40 ft. behind this separated it from the spur, and made >
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XUM Ne 3273, Juty 19, 90 THE ATHENAUM 105 a road communication between the east and west portions of the town. The area included within the ancient walls must have been over three square miles, and is thickly covered with ruins. The most conspicuous of these is the double row of columns of red and blue conglo- merate, which started from the principal gate- way, and must have closely resembled, though less ornate, the long colonnade at Pompeiopolis. The columns have Corinthian capitals and Ionic bases ; the diameter of the shafts is 2 ft. 8 in., the height 203 ft., the space for the road between the rows 35 ft., and the columns are at regular intervals of 8ft. This colonnade extended for a distance of 320 yards, terminating at the back of the theatre ; each row had about seventy- eight columns, and only thirty are now left standing, and very few of these in perfect con- dition. The colonnade ran along the south end of the acropolis, and must have produced a very striking effect. The theatre is large, the length of the scena being 62 ft., but it is too much ruined to give accurate measurements. Besides these there are many ruins of public buildings: one of these was a stadium, another an agora, and a third thermz down in the valley below. Not far from the colonnade are the ruins of a large temple ; an aqueduct cut in the spur of rocks behind the acropolis supplied extensive reser- voirs with water ; many fine heroa are dotted over the flat ground, sloping down to the Pyramus, and there are the ruins of three Christian churches built out of the more ancient remains. For some time we were unable to come across any inscriptions to guide us to the name of this ancient city ; but after a systematic search and the turning over of likely stones, we succeeded in collecting twelve, which enabled us to identify it beyond a doubt. Four of these inscriptions were from dedications which began with the for- mulaQOAH MOZOIEPOTIOAITON, satisfactorily proving that this town was called Hieropolis in ancient times. On referring to numismatics (Head, ‘ Hist. Numorum’) we find that Hiero- polis-Castabala (IIpist¢ ILupd, as it is termed) issued coins with the river Pyramus represented asaswimming figure, with anaquatic bird perched beside him carrying a torch (Ilvp). Other coins with the head of Artemis and the monogram [EP are attributed to this place (Imhoof Blumer). This is what Strabo says about it (Strabo, xii. 2): “Two provinces only have cities. In Tyanitis is Tyana......at a little distance from this city are Cas- tabala and Cybistra, towns which approach still nearer to the mountain. At Castabala is a temple of Ar- temis Perasia, where, it is said, the priestesses walk with naked feet unhurt upon burning coals. To this place some persons apply the story respecting Orestes and Artemis Tauropolos, and say that the goddess was called Perasia because she was conveyed beyond the sea.” Two of our inscriptions conclusively prove that Strabo’s Castabala was here: one had on it over the dedication the words BEATIEPASIA ; another found near the temple told us that an honorary statue had been erected ‘‘ out of the revenue of the divine Perasia.” Further evi- dence is given by Ptolemy, who says of Casta- bala ‘‘Perasia prius dicta,” hence our identity was complete. Pliny’s somewhat vague state- ment (Pliny, vi. 3) that Castabala was a city of Cappadocia has led some to think that there were two Castabale ; but our evidence from epigraphy, substantiated by Strabo and Ptolemy, must conclusively place Hieropolis - Castabala here on the Pyramus, and disprove Pliny’s state- ment. After all, Cappadocia in those days was an elastic term, when the area of eparchies was constantly changing. Of course, from Strabo’s statement, Tyana and Cybistra must also be looked for in this locality. Groskurd in his translation of Strabo has based an argument on an old Latin edition of the geography that for Perasia should be read Persica(quite indeed at variance with thecontext), and proceeds thereupon to build an elaborate theory respecting the influence of Persian cult on the inhabitants of Asia Minor ; but now that we have two inscriptions with the word Perasia upon them, what is the correct reading can be no longer a matter of doubt. Strabo also men- tions the same custom of walking over hot coals at Ferronia in Italy, which Varron thus naively accounts for: ‘‘ambulaturi per ignem, medica- mento plantas tingunt.” The second point of interest with regard to Hieropolis-Castabala refers to the itinerary of Alexander the Great. He marched from Soli (Pompeiopolis), crossed the Pyramus at Mallus, and reached Castabala (Curtius, iii. 7) on the second day, and sent Parmenio forward to re- connoitre the pass. Unfortunately both the Antonine and Jerusalem itineraries are con- fused on this point, only speaking of a Catabolo, which Curtius identifies with Castabala; and most travellers have tried hard to find a place suitable for Castabala on the coast-line between Age and Issos, but without any epigraphical proof this site must, of course, be mere conjec- ture. In the first place, it is not the least likely that there would be two towns of the name of Castabala within a space of twenty miles ; and, secondly, from its position Hieropolis-Castabala is a most important point on the ancient main road from Anazarba to the defile, which is just across the Pyramus, behind the modern village of Osmanieh ; it must, therefore, have been ex- tremely important for Alexander to ascertain that no enemy from that direction was behind him, and from Hieropolis-Castabala it was very easy to dispatch Parmenio to reconnoitre the defile through which the main road passed. From Castabala Alexander, having made sure of the country behind him, could safely drop down to the plains of Issos and commence operations. From the points brought to light by our inscriptions and the identification of the site of Hieropolis-Castabala I think it may be safely argued that the two conjectural Castabale, the one in Cappadocia and the one by the coast, did not exist, but that Hieropolis-Castabala on the Pyramus was the only one of that name. It was second to none, not even to Anazarba, in size and strategical importance of the cities of Eastern Cilicia ; it was noted for its worship of Artemis Perasia, and on the great main road which entered the mountain pass about ten miles away. Amongst our inscriptions from Hieropolis- Castabala is one which gives us the name of a new Iambic poet, Onesicles, son of Diodorus, of whom I can find no other record ; another was on a stele put up to the honour. of a man called Neicolonnatus, a curious name, sugges- tive at once of the above-mentioned long colon- nade ; and a long inscription in honour of one Arzykios, his wife and son, people of consider- able importance in the town, and giving us information concerning the government of the place. There are many other sites of towns to be identified in the neighbourhood, but we were not fortunate enough to find inscriptions to help us in doing so. On another spur, about four miles from Boudroum and at the edge of the plain, stood another ancient town, now called Hemita Kaleh. At Kars Bazaar, about ten miles to the north of Boudroum, exten- sive ruins are found on a gentle eminence above the Savroon, a tributary of the Jeihan. Every- where are columns, architraves, traces of old buildings, tessellated pavements in the streets of the present village, &c. In a cottage we found a large tessellated pavement in good con- dition, in the centre of which a long Christian prayer was inserted in black tesserze, stating that the pavement had been put down by the company of the fullers of the place. This spot must have been a great place in early Christian days; the building of the monastic establish- ment, now a mosque, cannot be later than 500 a.p. On no inscription could we find what had been the ancient name of the place, but two points tend to make me think it was Flavio- polis. Firstly, from coins we gather that Flaviopolis was on a river; and, secondly, it was the first station on the main road northward from Anazarba, the great rock fortress which in Roman times was known as Ceesarea penes Ana- zarbum, and abounds in inscriptions which point to the consideration the place was held in during the days of the emperors. J. Turopore Bent. SALE. Messrs. Curistize, Manson & Woops sold on the 10th and 12th inst. the following drawings : R. Cosway, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, 85. D. Cox, A River Scene, with cattle crossing a bridge, 54/.; An Old Mill, 61/.; The Hayfield, 951.; Fern Gatherers, 252]. J. S. Cotman, On the Thames, with barges, 50/. J. M. W. Turner, Bow and Arrow Castle, 73). G. Barret, A Classical Seaport, after Claude, 54/. P. de Wint, A Landscape, with ruined abbey, 531. T. Collier, Head of Glencoe, 541. W. Miiller, Macry, 78. J. Holland, On the Grand Canal, Venice, 2461. H. G. Hine, Littlehampton, 52/. G. Cattermole, Reading the Bible, 58/.; The Contest on the Bridge, 5251. Fine-Art Gossip, THE revised rules for the admission of students to the schools of the Royal Academy, of which we gave an epitome a few weeks since, have come into operation with beneficial effects. On the appointed day of the present month some sixty painter-students sent in their works according to the new regulations; this was rather less than one-third of the usual number. Of these the Council selected seventeen com- petitors, who are now producing in Burlington House what may be called their test works, i.e., drawing a head, arm, and hand from nature, for which they are allowed twenty-four working hours. On Monday next they will have to draw a partially draped figure from nature. On Tuesday the Keeper will set to them a subject for a monochrome sketch or composition, to be completed on that day ; and with this their probation will end. On the 29th inst. the President and Council will admit those who show most ability. So far as it is known, the works admitted for the com- petition are decidedly good. Of the seventeen, fourteen are by male students, and three only are by female students, and all of them are under twenty-three years of age. The operation of the new rules has thus proved most emphatically that a large proportion of ladies hitherto ad- mitted to study were not competent to profit by the Academy curriculum and gratuitous in- struction. One of the more beautiful and interesting architectural relics in England is the refectory of Waverley Abbey, near Farnham. It is a choice specimen of the finest Early English, and the most important fragment of the great Cistercian house. It was, next to the church —which is now an _ irredeemable wreck — the most important centre of the establishment, and therefore deserves our best attention. What remains of it is a fine vaulted chamber with a groined roof, divided in the middle by three detached columns of Purbeck marble. The whole is of elegant proportions and fine execu- tion. The vault, of good rubble work, is still intact, although rain has penetrated the roof ever since the upper story of the building was destroyed centuries ago. It will not, however, continue as it is much longer unless means are taken to stop the percolation of the water, which daily removes mortar from between the stones, and will ultimately cause the vault to fall. Ifa layer of good concrete was laid outside above the vault, and its surface arranged so as to shed the water into a drain, which would cost but a very small sum, this building would stand in its present condition for centuries to come, and need no further care. The present owner de-
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106 THE ATHENZUM
N° 3273, Jury 19, ’90
serves our gratitude for the care she takes of the ruins at large. Will she extend that care to the refectory roof in the manner suggested ? Lorp GRIMTHORPE’s angry letters in Know- ledge and the Times prove how slight a case he can make out for the barbarous proposal to pull down the gateway of Lincoln’s Inn. When Lord Grimthorpe waxes more than usually abusive it is a sure proof that he himself feels he is in the wrong. If the gateway had been the weak structure he alleges it to be, the treat- ment it has been subjected to for months past would certainly have brought it down. How- ever, it is likely to outlast a good many genera- tions of restoring architects. Mr. P. A. Danret writes :— “With reference to your paragraph in ‘ Fine-Art Gossip’ on the Longford pictures, I would add that the anamorphosis of a human skull painted in the ‘ Ambassadors’ is an admirable illustration of & pas- sage in Shakspeare’s ‘ Richard II.,’ which has exer- cised the commentators :— Like pérspectives, which, rightly gazed upon, Show nothing but confusion: eyed awry Distinguish form.—<Act II. scene ii. When in the National Gallery it is to be hoped that the picture will be placed on a screen, so that the spectator may easily indulge his curiosity in eying it awry.” AmoneG the persons associated with art and artists whose recent deaths it is our duty to record are M. St. Marcel, landscape painter ; Madame Jeanne Léonie Gavarni, widow of the famous designer and satirist ; M. Louis Artan, a Belgian marine painter of very fresh and real ability, some of whose works had reached minor exhibitions in London, but who was _ best known in the Salons of Paris and the galleries of Brussels; M. Paul Delaroche, grandson of his famous namesake ; and M. Paul Rattier, a well-known collector. M. Rattier left to the Louvre a fine Italian sixteenth century bas- relief in marble, representing the head in pro- file of a man wearing a casque, and generally known as ‘Scipio,’ because that name is in- scribed on the base. M. Rattier likewise be- queathed a noteworthy picture by Q. Matsys, representing the Virgin and Child. The Luxem- bourg has obtained a valuable addition in the shape of one of the finest pictures by Francois Bonvin. It is called ‘ Ave Maria!’ and repre- sents an interior court of the convent at Ara- mont; we admired it when it was exhibited in the Salon, 1870. Tue friends of Count d’Hulst will be sorry to hear that he has been treated with great brutality by the Turkish officials in Asia Minor. Although his papers were in perfect order he has been thrust into a prison with criminals. He has been compelled to abandon the archieo- logical researches he was engaged in. Mr. Crayton, formerly Town Clerk of New- castle, whose death at an advanced age was announced the other day, deserves mention for his extensive excavations on the Roman wall. He added much to our knowledge of it. He gradually bought up what he could of the land on which the wall runs, and at his death he was the owner of many miles of it, including five stations. He collected a number of inscribed and sculptured stones, and formed quite a valu- able museum. THE death is announced of Mr. Pelopidas D. Couppa, an architect, by falling from the top of a building at Constantinople. He was a native of Cephalonia, and had become a local authority on Byzantine archeology, on which he had given lectures at the Greek Institution, and published articles. He was the keeper of the collections of the Institution, which have now become respectable. He was also himself a collector. His special reputation was acknow- ledged, and he was entrusted by the Ottoman Government in 1877 with the restoration of a mosque, the Kahrieh Jamisi. In manuscript he has left a history of Byzantine architecture and a description of the mosque.
A Loan exhibition of fine arts and industry, which was successfully opened at Chislehurst last week, closes to-day (Saturday). Ar Pompeii excavations are being conducted at the furthermost extremity of the Via Nolona, and at the extreme angle of the triangular foruin of a small subterranean construction which stands before the Temple of Hercules, hitherto supposed to have been a bidental. It is now proved to be a simple well of spring water, for the stone casing ceases at a certain depth, and underneath only earth is found. Amongst the latest objects discovered is a small bronze head of a woman, with a silver band round the hair and a crown of ivy. Tue Roumanian Government has appointed M. Henri Révoil, of Paris, to superintend the various works of restoration now in progress in the country. THE name of Mr. Leadman was unfortunately printed ‘‘ Leadham” in our notice last week of the Yorkshire Archeological Journal. Mr. Butacksurn’s well-known Academy Notes have reached us from Messrs. Chatto & Windus, and so have his Illustrated Catalogues of the New Gallery and the Grosvenor Gallery, of which the former is the more attractive. Messrs. Chatto & Windus have further sent us the Illustrated Catalogue of the Paris Salon.
MUSIC ——S THE WEEK. WESTMINSTER ABBEY.—Anniversary Festival of the Royal Society of Musicians. Roya IraLtian OPERA, — Production of Mr. Goring Thomas's *‘ Esmeralda’ in French. Sr. JAMES’s HaLL.—Richter Concerts. Savoy THEATRE.—‘ Cosi Fan Tutte,’ Tue “Handel Festival’ held by the Royal Society of Musicians in Westminster Abbey on Thursday last week was a great success, and in all respects save one it com- manded the entire acceptance of amateurs. Many lovers of Handel’s music would have been better pleased had the programme included a larger number of pieces from the lesser-known oratorios, the selec- tions from ‘ Judas Maccabzeus,’ ‘ Theodora,’ ‘Samson,’ and ‘ Jephtha’ being more or less hackneyed. This remark, however, cannot apply to the Sinfonia and opening choruses from ‘ Saul,’ and the air ‘‘ Great God! who yet but darkly known,” from ‘ Belshazzar,’ and it must be borne in mind that the object of a performance in aid of a deserving charity is to strengthen the funds in any legitimate manner. Still, on a future occasion a more interesting scheme might be arranged without risk. A performance of ‘Israel in Egypt’ might be given, for example, with Handel’s trombone parts, which, so far as we are aware, have never been heard in public, and the interest of the occasion might be enhanced if two of our leading suburban choirs were engaged to form the double chorus. This is merely one of several suggestions which might be made with the object of imparting an element of genuine musical interest to the Royal Society’s celebrations in Westminster Abbey. All who were concerned in last week’s performance deserved praise. ‘The chorus and orchestra were large and of excellent quality, the ensemble, under Prof. Bridge’s skilful direction, being almost faultless. Equal thanks are due to the soloists, Madame Nordica, Madame Patey, Mr. Lloyd, Mr. Harper Kearton, and Mr. Hilton, who gave their services, and whose efforts in more or less familiar airs were strikingly effective.
Mr. C. 8. Jekyll was the organist, his con- tributions including the Prelude from Haydn’s ‘Seven Last Words,’ and Handel’s Organ Concerto, No. 2, in B flat. The production of Mr. Goring Thomas’s ‘Esmeralda’ at Covent Garden Theatre last Saturday must be regarded as an auspi- cious event. The work is the first, and by no means the best, of a series of English operas, produced under the auspices of the Carl Rosa company, which may be looked upon as forming the root and foundation of a national lyric drama, distinctly superior in artistic purpose to the old-fashioned school of English opera, of which Balfe and Wal- lace were the last and the most distinguished exponents. ‘Esmeralda’ was first per- formed at Drury Lane on March 26th, 1883, and we at once hailed it as indicating a new and welcome departure, the general con- tinuity of the music, the interest of the orchestration, and the absence of dialogue and of stereotyped ballads indicating a desire on the part of the young composer to attain a higher level of excellence than had been reached hitherto in the same depart- ment of art. His ambition has been justi- fied by results, for ‘Esmeralda’ has not only kept its place in the Carl Rosa reper- tory, but has been performed with success on the Continent, and has paved the way for the acceptance of his ‘ Nadeshda,’ a much finer work. Mr. Thomas is an extremely conscientious musician, and took the criti- cisms on his first opera in the proper spirit. The principal defect in the original version was the triviality of the finale, and this was to some extent remedied by the substitution of a quieter ensemble when the work was next performed in London. The fourth act has now been practically rewritten, and tragic gloom takes the place of the silly and inappropriately happy ending against which we ventured to protest at the outset (Athe- neum, No. 2892). Phoebus survives to pro- claim the innocence of Esmeralda, and then expires, the maiden stabbing herself in ortho- dox operatic fashion, and dying on his body. This is rather melodramatic, and there is no reason why the climax should not be more in accordance with Victor Hugo’s story, though, of course, it would require careful and delicate treatment. The new act commences with a scene in Esmeralda’s prison, in which Claude Frollo vainly tempts her to comply with his desires. The music of this is worthy of the rest of the score, though there is one very crude reminiscence of ‘ Faust.’ Quasimodo’s air, ‘‘ What shall I do for my queen ?” has disappeared, and has been replaced by another, less taking, perhaps, but more appropriate to the cha- racter of Claude Frollo’s dependent; and the finale, in which the theme of the air “‘O vision entrancing” is reintroduced, brings an essentially tragic opera to an effective and suitable close. The performance is in every respect equal to the high standard now expected at Covent Garden. It says much for the skill of the composer in writing for voices that the leading artists in Mr. Harris’s company are able to give so much effect totheir respective parts. M.Jean de Reszke is heard to very great advantage as Capt. Phoebus, and he invests the character with rare distinction. The cold and impas- sive style of Madame Melba is a dis- advantage in the réle of the Gipsy Queen,
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N° 3273, Jury 19, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 107 but she sings the music with much charm. M. Lassalle is striking and pic- turesque as Claude Frollo, and among the rest of the performers M. Montariol ae Gringoire and M. Winogradoff as Clopin are the most entitled to favourable mention. The opera is mounted with great care, and the scene in the Cour des Miracles might meet with objection on the score of its unne- cessary realism. The details, however, add picturesqueness to the representation re- garded as a spectacle, and it is to be hoped that the success of the production may be sufficient to ensure further attention to the claims of modern English opera. It should be added that the translation of the text has been made by M. Paul Milliet, but there is little correspondence between the English and French versions, which are printed side by side. The highly successful season of the Richter Concerts was brought to a brilliant termina- tion on Monday, the programme consist- ing of a Wagner selection, followed by Bee- thoven’s‘Choral’ Symphony. Intheformer were the Kaiser Marsch, Pogner’s address, and the finale from ‘Die Meistersinger,’ in which the solo parts were expressively rendered by Mr. Max Heinrich, and Lohengrin’s “ Farewell,” in which, as usual, Mr. Lloyd was heard to great ad- vantage. The rendering of the symphony was one of the best ever given under Herr Richter’s direction. The orchestral move- ments were played with the customary atten- tion to matters of minute detail, and the choir displayed surprising vigour, as well as correct intonation and excellent quality of tone. Ample justice was rendered to the solo parts by Miss Fillunger, Miss Lena Little, Mr. Lloyd, and Mr. Max Heinrich, and, on the whole, the performance may be regarded as one of the most satisfactory we have ever heard in London of Beethoven’s terribly arduous work. The usual compli- ments were paid to Herr Richter at the close, and he fully deserved them. These concerts are more than ever established in public favour, and they filla place in the musical work of London which entitles them to the esteem and regard of musicians. If the annual operatic performance of the Royal College of Music on Wednesday evoked less enthusiasm than those in former years, the cause may be ascribed to the choice of work, and not to any falling off in the efforts of those concerned. Mozart’s ‘ Cosi Fan Tutte’ is suitable enough for a students’ performance ; but the pupils of the Royal College have shown themselves capable of much more arduous work. As regards skill in pure vocalization, the opera certainly affords plenty of opportunity for display ; but it is just in this particular that the young performers on Wednesday left something to desire. Where ‘“ divisions’ occurred they were rendered in slovenly fashion, simply because this school of :singing does not receive the attention formerly given to it, and for this reason a performance of a Ros- sinian opera would be a great mistake. ‘ Cosi Fan Tutte,’ despite some occasional beauties worthy of Mozart, represents the composer at his weakest, though it was written at his ripest period, that is to say after ‘ Le Nozze di Figaro’ and ‘Don Juan.’ But Da Ponte’s silly and trivial libretto was quite unworthy of a composer of genius, and Mozart must have felt that his talent was being wasted upon it, though he had no choice but to obey the command of the emperor, and do the best he could withit. The subsequent resettings of the book have been so numerous that it is almost impossible to give a complete list of them. As recently as 1878 the late Arthur Mathison prepared a new version for the Carl Rosa company, but it was never performed. The translation used on the pre- sent occasion is from the pen of the Rev. Marmaduke Browne, and it follows the original with tolerable fidelity. The best numbers of the opera are nearly all in the first act. The opening terzetti, the quintet ‘‘Di scrivermi ogni giorni,” the trio ‘‘ Soave sia il vento,” Despina’s air “In uomini,” the tenor air ‘‘Un aura amorosa,” and the finale are all in Mozart’s best manner. But in the second act the constant succession of airs and duets becomes wearisome, and the listener cannot help feeling that the work would bear a great deal of compression. We have already spoken of the one weakness in the performance. Its most conspicuous merit was the perfect smoothness of the ensemble. The work of preparation had been complete, and there were no hitches of any kind. To particularize, Miss Ella Walker, Miss Ethel Webster, and Messrs. Edward Branscombe and John Sandbrook formed an excellent quartet of lovers; Mr. Charles Magrath dis- played remarkably good elocutionary powers as Don Alfonso; and Miss Maggie Davies showed herself a piquant actress as well as an excellent vocalist as Despina. The orchestra, consisting almost wholly of pupils, was admirable, and the very modest work for the chorus was well done. Musical Gossip. A SKETCH programme has been issued of the Bristol Festival, which will take place on Octo- ber 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th. The scheme includes ‘The Messiah,’ ‘ Elijah,’ ‘The Redemp- tion,’ ‘ The Golden Legend,’ ‘ Judith,’ and some orchestral works. It will be seen from this list that Handel’s ‘Theodora,’ which was at first announced, has been withdrawn, thereby de- priving the festival of one of its most interest- ing features. The principal vocalists engaged are Mesdames Albani, Macintyre, Hilda Wilson, and Hope Glenn, and Messrs. Lloyd, Iver McKay, Andrew Black, Watkin Mills, and Pier- point. Sir Charles Halle will bring his Man- chester orchestra, and will conduct, as on pre- vious occasions. HERR Von zUR MUHLEN, who had been absent from this country for a considerable period, gave a vocal recital at the Princes’ Hall on Thursday last week, and delighted a large audience by his extremely expressive singing, in which some typically German faultiness of production was atoned for by the remarkable intelligence with which every item was interpreted. Herr von zur Miihlen was heard in Schubert’s ‘Die Allmacht,’ Wagner’s Liebeslied from ‘Die Walkiire,’ some pleasing songs by Hans Schmidt, and a somewhat sensuous duet from Massenet’s oratorio ‘ Marie Magdeleine,’ which, although published for some years in English, has not yet been performed in London. The effective assistance rendered by Miss Liza Leh- mann, Miss Marguerite Hall, and Miss Zimmer- mann in a very agreeable concert demands acknowledgment. MapaMe MAaApeLine ScHILLER gave another pianoforte recital at St. James’s Hall on Monday afternoon, and was heard to more or less advan- ’ tage in Beethoven's ‘ Waldstein’ Sonata, some of Schumann’s ‘ Kreisleriana,’ and pieces by Chopin, Hummel, Liszt, &e. Notwithstanding the plethora of pianoforte music this season there was a large audience. Av the ordinary Saturday Concert at the Crystal Palace last week Miss Burghes, a young pianist whom we have had occasion to mention in favourable terms, played Mozart’s Concerto in D minor, a work that is now rarely heard in the concert-room, and displayed a clear, even touch and a neat, careful style, well suited to the music. She has the making of an excellent artist. Tue last Patti concert at the Albert Hall on Wednesday was of the usual character. The popular vocalist sang some familiar pieces, and showed that she has to seme extent recovered her powers. A number of eminent artists assisted, but nothing in the programme calls for criticism. We believe that it is in contem- plation to impart a stronger element of genuine musical interest to these concerts next season. At the Wagner Society’s conversazione on Wednesday evening the entire first act of ‘ Die Walkiire’ was sung by Miss Pauline Cramer, Mr. Bernard Lane, and Mr. Frederic King, with accompaniment on two pianofortes by Mr. Arm- bruster and Herr Schénberger. The rendering of the ‘ Fiinf Gedichte’ by Miss Cramer was another interesting feature of the entertainment. These beautiful Liedev deserve to be more fully known. Max Hampovre, the latest juvenile pianist, would seem to be as gifted by nature as his pre- decessors Hofmannand Hegner; but his teaching under his father, a professor at the Moscow Con- servatoire, has been inadequate. The ten-year- old executant displayed really marvellous mani- pulative skill as well as intuitive perception of the inner significance of nearly everything he played ; but, unfortunately, he has acquired some decidedly unpleasant mannerisms, and at times his playing was little short of grotesque, the rendering of Beethoven’s Sonata in A flat, Op. 26, being simply a caricature. Bach’s Chro- matic Fantasia and Fugue was somewhat better, but Max Hambourg’s most striking performance was that of Chopin’s Waltz ina minor. Another recital is announced for Monday next, after which it would be well to withdraw this highly gifted lad from public life and to permit the development of his talents under strict super- vision. CONCERTS, &c., NEXT WEEK. Mon. Max Hambourg’s Pianoforte Recital, 3, St James’s Hall. Roya! Italian Opera. Tvurs. Royal Italian Opera. Wep. Royal Italian Opera. Tuvrs. Royal College Orchestral Concert, 8, Alexandra House. a Royal Italian Opera. Frat. Royal Academy Orchestral Concert, 8, St. James’s Hall. _— Royal Italian Opera Sat Royal Academy Prize Distribution, 3, St. James’s Hall. — Royal Italian Opera. DRAMA —o— THE WEEK. Lyric.—‘ Sweet Nancy,’ a Comedy in Three Acts. Adapted from Rhoda Broughton’s ‘ Nancy’ by Robert Buchanan. LycreuM.—‘ As You Like It.’ THERE are two methods in which Miss Broughton’s story ‘ Nancy’ may be treated. At the outset Mr. Buchanan took the right course. Unfortunately, however, when the goal was almost in sight he deviated, got on to the wrong track, and finally lost his way. A ‘lame and im- potent conclusion ” thus attended a work of considerable brightness and charm. Dur- ing two acts ‘Sweet Nancy’ is a pleasant domestic idyl. In the third, under a con- ceivable but dangerous delusion, the adapter, in a vain effort to strengthen his action, mars a poem and does not produce a play.
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108 THE ATHENAUM N° 3273, Jury 19, 90 Miss Broughton’s story runs counter to the general teaching of the poets and to the real or supposed results of experience. It sanctions and blesses the nuptials of November and May. Burns in. his inimit- able fashion may ask What can a young lassie, what shall a young lassie, What can a young lassie do wi’ an auld man? Miss Broughton points out that she may find him acceptable as a wooer, turn him to good account as a husband, and end by regarding him with fervent love. In his early scenes Mr. Buchanan is happy. The courtship of Nancy by her distinguished lover is tender and sympathetic, the young children for whose sake his advances are accepted are attractive, and the scene in which the heroine communicates to them the intelligence of her betrothal is delightful. Not until the serious interest comes in does the action flag. Nancy’s reception of the advances of Frank Musgrave is excellent, and with his departure and the return of her husband the story ends. In order that Sir Roger may realize his own happiness it is necessary that the burden of suspicion shall for a brief while rest upon Nancy. She should, however, at whatever cost, vindicate herself. In the story delay is possible, in the play it is not. For the chivalrous defence of her elder sister there is no need. That young lady is well able to take care of herself, the cause of Nancy’s silence is imperfectly understood, the needless pro- longation of suffering is resented, and the return of Frank Musgrave is an offence. Here, moreover, as is but natural, where the story becomes insincere, the acting loses its significance. It must always be a difficulty to present a husband receiving from the supposed paramour of his wife the assurance of her innocence which he refuses to take from her own lips. Almost alone among human oaths the affirmation of a man so circumstanced in- spires no faith. By a tacit convention of society the man who has committed one offence against social law is compelled to supplement it by perjury. To render ‘ Sweet Nancy’ as pleasant as ‘ Little Lord Faunt- leroy ’ it only requires that the heroine, re- covering from her temporary alarm, should, in pretty, childish, half-mutinous fashion, reveal the truth and discomfit her adver- sary. This Miss Annie Hughes, who throughout acted with a sweet mixture of childishness and sincerity, could do excel- lently. In place, moreover, of the chill stern front he has to wear, Mr. Neville, who forms a capital representative of Sir Roger, would relax his agitation and fear of losing his wife to acquire the glowing conviction that he is loved for himself. The character of Barbara would gain rather than lose by being rendered more pliable and less im- portant. The general interpretation was good, the children being especially well played. A somewhat conventional representation of ‘As You Like It’ by the Daly company was lifted into popularity by the beauty of Miss Rehan’s Rosalind. A revelation such as dawned upon us when her Katharine was first seen was not to be expected in the case of Rosalind. Comedy and poetry are both present in Miss Rehan’s great perform- ances, but comedy prevails. In her Rosalind we see a bright, mirthful, and bewitching creature, whom Orlando might well worship, as against her lures it is impossible for masculine humanity to strive. It is, how- ever, a woman that he adores, a pas- sionate, enchanting, volatile creature, whose voice is all music, and whose move- ments are all grace. Enjoyment is her prime aim. She seeks to communicate to others the animal spirits by which she is carried away, and she succeeds. Of the princess we see little. Whether Shak- speare, could he see the present exposi- tion, and realize its variety and beauty, would refuse to recognize it as an embodi- ment of his conception is doubtful. His modern followers have, however, dwelt upon a Rosalind more ethereal than is now seen. Miss Rehan assigns the character nothing of Miranda, or even of Perdita. None the less her performance is irresistible, and as accom- plishment in art is magnificent. Mr. John Drew is an earnest and a picturesque Orlando; Mr. Lewis an acceptable Touch- stone. So far as regards the other cha- racters and the mise en scéne the performance is not to be told from an average English representation. Dramatic Gossip, On the last night of the Haymarket season Mr. Tree, in an address, announced a new plan of campaign. Henceforth one night in the week, Monday, will be set apart for the production of works other than those constituting the ordinary programme. This plan, which we have long advocated, has the advantage that it furnishes the theatre with a repertory and also with a wardrobe, now at most houses a thing of the past. The experiment deserves to succeed. ‘THE Best Peopte,’ a play nominally in four acts, was produced on Monday at the Globe Theatre, the author, Mrs. Fairfax, electing in it to take her farewell of a stage on which she is not particularly well known. The piece isa not very brilliant satire of social manners, and has an intricate and a not too conceivable plot. Mrs. Fairfax played a fashionable lady, and was supported by Miss Larkin, Miss Dairolles, and other actors. Ir is now decided that Madame Sarah Bern- hardt will appear in November next as Cleopatra, in a play by M. Sardou. ‘A Mittion or Money’ is said to be the title of the drama by Messrs. Pettitt and Harris with which Drury Lane will reopen for the season 1890-1. THE production at the St. James’s of Mr. Courtney’s dramatic sketch ‘Kit Marlowe’ has been indefinitely postponed, and the theatre, in consequence of the loss of voice of Mr. Bourchier, closed on Saturday last. Miss WrxirrED Emery has been compelled by illness to relinquish her part in ‘ Miss Tomboy,’ which is now taken by Miss Ella Bannister. NEXT WEEK'S NOVELTIES AND REVIVALS. Gaiety (Evening), ‘A Gold Mine.’ Lyceum (Afternoon). Miscellaneous Entertainment. ’ Mon. Web. Tuvrs. Terry’s (Evening), ‘ The Judge. [These announcements are subject to changes of plan on the part of managers.) To CoRRESPONDENTS.—W, C.—J. G. O.—F. C. H.—D. A. —H. P. M.—E. L. M.—W. M. B.—J. R. D.—C. J. G.— received. C. W. H.—You are mistaken, probably, in supposing the letter appeared in our columns, No notice will be taken of anonymous communications, TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY Posr. s. 4. 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N° 3274, Juty 26, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 117 SATURDAY, JULY 26, 1890. CONTENTS. A New LIFE OF GEORGE BUCHANAN .., THE JOURNAL OF MARIE BASHKIRTSEFF CAIRD’s EXPOSITION OF KANT ee A New BioGRApHy oF CLiIve én oe A COLLECTION OF MEDIZVAL STORIES ... THE BARBARY CORSAIRS ais eee A Stupy oF SHAKSPEARE’S SONNETS a NovELs OF THE WEEK ose . ae ne 124 PHILOLOGICAL LITERATUBRE ... oes pe e 125 Ovueg Lisraky TaBLe—Lisr or NEw Books 125—126 LITERARY SwkaTING; A MaLaGcasy ‘MAuD’; BisHop OF LONDON MANUSCRIPTS; SALE; AN- OTHER GOETHE ANECDOTE; THE ‘ DIES IR#’ IN ENGLISH; ECCLESIASTICUS AND THE WISDOM OF SoLoMoN one ooo one ooo ooo ‘ 127—129 LITERARY GossIP one “a as we ‘a we 129 SBCIENCE—RECENT PUBLICATIONS; RAVERTY’s ‘NOTES ON AFGHANISTAN’; ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES; Gossip ° aa ons ss aes - 131—133 Fink ARTS—EARLY ENGLISH WATER-COLOUR PAIN- .. TERS; RECENT PUBLICATIONS; THE ARCH £0- LOGICAL SOCIETIES; NOTES FROM PISIDIA; SALE; Gossip ose aes ees one ws ee 134—137 Music—F20M HANDEL TO HALLE; THE WEEK ; Gossip 137—138 DramMa—TuHE ATTIC THEATRE; THE WEEK; GOSSIP); NExT WEEK’s NOVELTIES ooo eve ee 138—140 LITERATURE George Buchanan, Humanist and Reformer. By P. Hume Brown. (Edinburgh, Douglas.) In the entrance hall of the Edinburgh Ex- hibition there stand four busts, of Scott, Burns, Knox, and Buchanan. To Scott and Burns Scotland owes the best portion of her literature, to Knox her religion ; but George Buchanan—what is her debt to him, that he should be ranked thus among her greatest sons? His name is, indeed, familiar to the Scottish vulgar, but, by Fortune’s strange freak, as that of a low buffoon. And even among educated Scotchmen not one, perhaps, in a hundred could tell more of the scholar- poet than that much of his life was passed on the Continent, that he was somehow mixed up in the charges against Queen Mary, that he afterwards became tutor to Queen Mary’s son, and that his portrait adorns the cover of ‘‘ Maga.” Not one in ten thousand could quote his epigram on tobacco, though down to the last (nay, into the present) century his poems were used as a text-book in the Scottish high schools. For, ambitious to write for posterity and the world, Buchanan wrote only in Latin, which, then at least moribund, now wholly dead, he dreamed was to become the universal language of the future. His ambition over- leapt itself; he consigned his poetic fame to certain mortality. But though his poems are forgotten, the poet himself is not, nor will be, if only by reason of this new life of him, which quite supersedes Irving’s memoir, now more than seventy years old, by its greater fulness, its greater accuracy, and its incomparably greater brilliancy. It is written in fine, delicate English, is instinct throughout with a rare enthusiasm for its theme, and in these modern days of book-making is a marvel of loving research and scholarly erudition. In the first half of it, relating mainly to Buchanan’s residence at Paris, Bordeaux, and Coimbra in Portugal, we find nothing whatever to add or to correct, nothing even to suggest, unless it be that we are not quite so confident as Mr. Brown that Buchanan’s erotic poetry was a purely scholastic exercise. ‘‘ Mundisomnia munda’’; still, is it so absolutely certain that the humanists as a body were immaculate? Muretus is Mr. Brown’s one exception to his rule; but Ulrich von Hutten surely is an- other. From his pen, at least, an ‘Apo- logia pro Lena’ would not have necessarily been a mere jeu d’esprit. That Buchanan’s ‘Apologia’ was such Mr. Brown makes certain, if only because it was addressed to Briand de Vallée, who founded‘a lecture on St. Paul’s Epistles, and whom Rabelais (!) could speak of as the “tant bon, tant vertueux, tant docte, et équitable président.” Against which we are minded to set this line from Buchanan’s own poem :— Olim tu quod eras, alios nunc esse putato. With the second half of Mr. Brown’s apo- logy (we mean biography) we are not so well satisfied. It is the more important of the two, since it deals with Mary Stuart as well as with Buchanan; and she for the general reader has as much more charm as loveli- ness than the scholar, who, to judge by his portrait here, was not wellfavoured. In 1561, in his fifty-sixth year, Buchanan returned definitely to Scotland, and in April, 1562, we find him daily reading ‘‘ somewhat of Lyvie” with the queen. He received from her a pension of 500/. Scots, and “ till the murder of Darnley in 1567 continued on the same friendly footing with Mary and the Protestant party alike.” From this time (we still are quoting Mr. Brown) his ‘‘ friendly feeling for Mary was changed to indignation and contempt, and thencefor- ward he took his place among the most formidable of her enemies.” He wrote, ‘quite in the spirit of humanism,” his famous—or infamous—‘ Detectio.’ To this work Mr. Brown devotes less space than to the ‘Spheera,’ unfortunately, we think, for the credit of his hero. The suggestion that the Casket Letters were forged by Buchanan, if forged they were, he sweeps aside in this most puzzling foot-note, that ‘‘ apart from the absurdity of such a suggestion, as the controversy now stands, it is irrelevant.” He wholly ignores the charge brought against Buchanan only four years ago by Dr. Aineas Mackay, that ‘the ‘ Detectio’ must be deemed a calumnious work, which not only sought out doubtful and trivial incidents to blacken her character, but inserted others for which there was no warrant,” ¢.g., that she tried to poison her baby son. He totally ignores, too, that hardest dilemma of all—either Buchanan remained consciously on friendly terms with an adulteress, or else Buchanan was himself aliar. For, by Buchanan’s own showing, Queen Mary had before 1567 been guilty of adultery with Rizzio, and of adultery, ‘open ” and “infamous among the people,”’ with Bothwell. We thoroughly agree with Mr. Brown that Mary’s innocence or Mary’s guilt is immaterial to Buchanan’s probity. She may have been privy to Darnley’s murder (it is highly probable that she was), the Casket Letters may be authentic; but Buchanan’s narrative still remains of her visit to Hermitage Castle :— ‘* When news hereof [of Bothwell’s danger] was brought to Borthwick to the Queen, she flingeth away in haste like a mad woman, by great journeys in post, in the sharp time of winter, first to Melrose, and then to Jedworth. There, though she heard sure news of his life, yet her affection, impatient of delay, could not temper itself, but needs she must bewray her outrageous lust, and in an inconvenient time of the year, despising all discommodities of the way and weather, and all dangers of thieves, she betook herself headlong to her journey, with such a company as no man of any honest degree would have adventured his life and his goods among them.” This may be humanistically true; but ac- cording to Mr. Small’s careful little mono- graph on ‘ Queen Mary at Jedburgh’ (1881) the facts stand thus. It befell in the autumn, not in the depth of winter. Queen Mary reached Jedburgh on the 9th of October, and tarried there till the 16th, holding a court of assize. Then she did ride over to Hermitage, but with her rode Moray, Buchanan’s chief patron at the time he penned the ‘ Detectio.’ But, Mr. Brown pleads, the matter of the ‘ Detectio’ was not Buchanan’s own; he had simply received a brief from Moray and Moray’s fellows, and made the very best he could of it; ‘‘how he succeeded the obloquy of three centuries on the part of Mary’s advocates is the most significant commen- tary.” The plea might pass had not Buchanan practically incorporated the ‘ De- tectio’ in his ‘History of Scotland,’ which surely was all his own. There we meet. with the selfsame misstatements and sup- pressions of the truth—the same lying account of the visit to Hermitage, and the same picture of Darnley as a ‘‘ young and harmless person,” an “innocent youth,” ‘‘ willing to gratify the queen in everything,” and ‘‘hoping to incline her to a better course of life, that she might repent.” Language like this must have sounded ridiculous in Scottish ears; but the ‘De- tectio,’ the ‘De Jure,’ and the ‘ History’ were written not for Moray and for Moray’s. followers—their conduct shows they needed no persuading. They were written to in- fluence Elizabeth and her counsellors ; with what success was seen at Fotheringhay. Our own conception of Buchanan has always been — and Mr. Brown has not altered it—that he was a cold, hard- headed, far-seeing opportunist, ‘of good religion for a poet” (Melville’s cautious phrase), but a ‘‘reformer” only in matters political. There he has exercised a lasting influence; Scotland is largely indebted to him for her spirit of democracy. Mr. Brown gives an admirable sketch of the ‘De Jure Regni,’ but he somewhat, perhaps, under- values the practical importance of that dialogue. Doubtless, as he points out, other writers had anticipated its arguments. in favour of the theory that the king exists by and for the people, and in vindication of tyrannicide. But were any of those earlier writers—Isidore of Seville, Gerson, and the rest—studied in England, as the ‘De Jure’ was studied, we know, by Milton? We fully accept Mr. Brown’s conclusion that ‘‘the doctrines he taught, which by many in his own day and in the century that followed were regarded as subversive of all government, were in every point carried into practice at the great English Revolution.””’ We demur, however, to his next proposition, that ‘‘as for his ideas regarding tyrannicide, the realization of his views of the mutual relation of king and people rendered unnecessary even their theoretic discussion.”’ Yes, after the Revo- lution ; but prior to that Queen Mary and her grandson Charles had bowed their necks to the headsman’s axe. As to the ‘History of Scotland,’ we cannot refrain
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118 THE ATHENAUM N° 3274, Juy 26, ’90 from expressing our surprise that Mr. Brown has paid no heed to Father Innes’s conten- tion, worked out in fifty closely-printed and closely-reasoned pages, that Buchanan’s chief purpose in writing it was, fairly or unfairly, ‘‘to support the principles of government of his dialogue ‘ De Jure,’ or the subjects’ power to depose and punish their kings.” There is much might be said for this view, according to which the ‘History’ is just a huge party pamphlet; but it is time to have done with our fault-finding— a thankless task in a book that vies with Mark Pattison’s ‘Casaubon,’ that so far, indeed, surpasses it in interest as the life of the great Latin poet was ampler, more varied, than that of the great commentator. The Journal of Marie Bashkirtseff. Trans- lated, with an Introduction, by Mathilde Blind. (Cassell & Co.) Tue pathos of Marie Bashkirtsefi’s brief life—the pathos of her own record of it—has in it something too complete for mere nature ; it affects one as it is rarely possible to be affected by anything but the finest art. Life is rarely so artistic in its poignancy—rarely impresses one with so sure an instinct for effect, so fine and sure a selection. The really profound emotions that are derived from books do not generally come from a record of facts; what touches us nearly is not the statement that such a man did actually suffer thus, but the quite imaginary record of some novel-writer’s hero who never existed. This is because the man who suffered can only, as a rule, tell you that he suffered, while the novel-writer can so describe his hero’s agonies as to make you imaginatively share inthem. But in read- ing this girl’s diary one feels almost as deeply moved as if the record were fictitious and Marie the heroine of 1 great novel. How rarely can one say so much for truth! But then the book is altogether abnormal—a book of genius; and genius can do anything, even with truth. ‘‘Should I not live long enough to be famous,” she says in her pre- face, ‘* this Journal will be of interest to Naturalists ; for the life of a woman must always be curious, told thus day by day, without any attempt at posing ; as if no one in the world would ever read it, yet written with the intention of being read ; for I feel quite sure the reader will find me sympathetic...... And I tell all ; yes, all.” ‘‘ Asif no one in the world would ever read it, yet written with the intention of being read.” There is the secret of what seizes us in this journal. It is sincere, without conscious evasions, without intentional suppressions ; it tells the truth with the same hard frank- ness about others and about herself; she can be content to seem ridiculous, she can mention humiliations. Yet the writer did not forget that the book was one day to be published. Remembering it, she constrained herself to be franker than ever; she took trouble to tell the truth, where the truth was intricate; she wrote with a determination (other than that of the usual lazy diarist) to be interesting, to make something perma- nently valuable, by this minute record of a woman’s life, ‘told thus day by day.’’ She looked on herself as the novelist looks on his heroine — with the same passionate interest, and, strangely, something of the same aloofness. Her analytical faculty was almost as strong as her receptive faculty. She was able to watch, weigh, and chronicle her own sensations and impressions, with that curious self-criticism which makes her journal so vivid, so tumultuous, so much a world in itself. She can praise herself, she can rage against herself, seeing clearly, if she judges wildly. It is the novelist and his heroine—the heroine’s life with the comments of the novelist. And what a life!—a life which burns with a devouring flame, swiftly, furiously, till the flame consumes it. ‘No one, it seems to me, loves everything so much as I do.” The world was very interesting to her, and these pages must surely be a revelation to some people of the interest there is, after all, in the world. One sees something of the outcome of this passionate interest in every-day things not only in the journal, but in her pictures. ‘She might have been,” says Miss Blind in her excel- lent introduction, ‘a painter with so profound a grip of reality as to invest the every-day life around with the im- pressiveness of history. There are passages in her journal, describing the drama of the street, that are like flashes of inspiration. She reads subtle meanings in the looks, the attitudes, the movements of passers-by, and suggestions of human tragedies in many a face caught sight of in the crowd. Mothers with children in arms, boulevardiers smoking in a café, the sight of a pretty girl leaning on a counter selling funeral wreaths with a smile on her lips—these things strike her as the very stuff to be turned to the artist’s use, and as fit for the brush as when Some great painter dips His pencil in the gloom of earthquake and eclipse.” And it is these things—these and her art— that she cares for chiefly, with all her world- liness. ‘¢ The Duchess de Fitz-James called to say that she would take us this evening to her daughter- in-law’s. There was a ball...... As to me, en- chanted as I was to find myself in this drawing- room, I thought all the time about a pastel which I had done in the morning, and which haunted me as a bad one.” This is what one finds constantly in these pages, where, side by side with a luxurious delight in all the expensive delicacies that can be obtained through wealth, there comes a revolt, a desire to be out of it all, to be poor—to be like Mlle. Breslau, whose name occurs with such exasperating mono- tony :— ** No doubt I am not favoured like Breslau, who lives in a small artistic circle, and where every word and step aid study in some degree. But I swear to you that I do what I can under the conditions in which I am placed. Iam com- pelled to lose time, no doubt—the evening, for instance, which Breslau spends in drawing or composing, while, as for me, I am distracted and worried by the visitors.” One may conceive that Mlle. Breslau (whose eleven pictures one may see in this year’s New Salon) has read such avowals as this with no little surprise, perhaps remember- ing a time when she longed to be like Marie Bashkirtseff, and thought that nothing could be so helpful for art. Naturally; and had Marie been in her place she would have longed for the Rue Ampére again. No one is content; but no one ever could be less contented with aught in life than Marie Bashkirtseff. ‘‘ God, not being able to give me what would render life possible to me, gets rid of it by killing me.” The interest of this book—in which there is so much vivid pleasure, so much amuse- ment and gaiety—is really the interest of a tragedy, and the shadow of the known end lies upon even the bright earlier pages, giving them something of that strange in- tensity which we assign to the casual sayings and old commonplace speeches of dead per- sons. There is so much hope, such ambition and outlook, such boundless capacities for living, for work; there are such dreams for the future, and already so much achievement; and then, attwenty-four, when the girl’s whole nature has collected itself for serious and strenuous labour—to be suddenly stopped, to have todie! The thing seems something beyond the permissible irony of fate. And there is another element of pathos in the last pages. Bastien-Lepage, whom she loves—an artist who has, indeed, achieved greatness, but who is going on from triumph to triumph—lies dying, and she hardly knows to which of them the end will come first. ‘* Bastien grows from bad to worse. “ And I can’t work. ‘My picture will not be done. ‘* There, there, there ! ‘*He is sinking, and suffers terribly. When I am there I feel detached from the earth, he floats above us already; there are days when I, too, feel like that. You see people, they speak to you, you answer them, but you are no longer of the earth ; it is a tranquil but painless indif- ference, a little like an opium-eater’s dream. In a word, he is dying. I only go there from habit ; it is his shadow, I also am half ashadow ; what ’s the use?” One turns the page, and reads this :— “T can no longer go out at all, but poor Bastien-Lepage comes to me ; he is carried here, put in an easy-chair, and stretched out on cushions—I am in another chair drawn up close by, and so we sit until six o’clock. “T was dressed in a cloud of white lace and plush, all different shades of white ; the eyes of Bastien-Lepage dilated with delight. ‘¢ ¢Oh, if I could only paint !’ said he. “And I— “ Finis. year !” Miss Blind’s translation of a book which she was the first to introduce to English readers is, as might have been expected, admirable—faithful alike to spirit and form, and almost as free and unstrained as the original itself. It is not difficult to discover minor blemishes here and there, but these do little to impair the remarkable excellence of the rendering as a whole. She is to be congratulated on having done so well what was so well worth doing. And so ends the picture of this The Critical Philoeophy of Immanuel Kant. By Edward Caird. 2 vols. (Glasgow, MacLehose & Sons.) Wut feeling all proper respect for Prof. Caird’s zeal and erudition, we must yet on many grounds condemn the present pon- derous work. We cannot admit that this age pressingly needs another elaborate com- mentary on the Kantian philosophy, nor, if we did admit it, could we allow that the volumes before us properly discharge the functions of commentary. They follow a bad system to which the English Neo- Kantian school has shown itself over much addicted, that of combining continuous ex- position of a philosopher with the attempt XUM
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XUM N° 3274, Jury 26, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 119 to construct out of his results, by judicious selection and judicious deduction from them, a new theory that his critic finds more satis- factory. Such a combination is unjust at once to the thinker criticized and to the in- terests of philosophy as a whole. We neither get the concise and accurate statements of principles, method, and treatment which would make the particular philosophical system in question familiar, or at least easy of study, nor yet do we obtain the wholly disinterested study and examination of its methods and principles which would enable us to take a step beyond it. If Prof. Caird’s main interest is, as we cannot help believing, to set before us the true foundations of philosophy, he ties himself down far too closely to Kant’s outworn terminology and somewhat pedantic evolution of his subject. If, on the other hand, he merely wishes to make Kant familiar, he indulges far too largely in speculations and developments of his own, which he knows full well Kant would have repudiated. The book, in fact, may be said to be written on the view, which we can scarcely in seriousness attribute to its author, that for true progress in philo- sophy Kant’s Critiques must be swallowed bodily and all further advance must be made solely through them. But to attempt this would be in effect to reduce us once more to the mental condition of the Middle Ages, which found their sole intellectual nutriment in Aristotle. We are, in fact, in no little danger of being buried under the ponderous masses of what can be described as nothing but a modern scholasticism. We prefer to do our best to avoid this suffocation of our intelligence. Not a mere repetition of the Kantian ideas in the Kantian order is needed, eked out by prefaces Kant would not have understood and corollaries he would have rejected ; rather we require thoroughness of criticism, which sifts the system from top to bottom, accepts nothing without examination, and is keenest to search and probe just what the system dwells least upon because most consistently and unquestioningly assuming it. With what right Kant de- scribed “ sensation ” as essentially successive, needing the conscious unity of the subject to integrate it—with what right he made of “conception ” a radically different operation from ‘‘perception,” so that even “pure perceptions” are essentially different from ‘*pure conceptions’ — these and similar questions are what we really desire to have answered in connexion with the critical philosophy. And they are questions with which the fairest and most intelligent of mere commentators is, by the very nature of his method, effectually debarred from honestly grappling. There are minor characteristics of Prof. Caird’s work which may be noticed here and which by no means add to itsvalue. We allude primarily to its intolerable diffuseness. Its author possesses a certain mediocre rhetorical gift, a quality which more than any that can be mentioned is the bane of philosophy. Cer- tainly to be a rhetorician is better than to be nothing at all; and this work compares favourably in point of liveliness with other productions of the same school—with the obscure formalism, for instance, of Prof. Adamson. But liveliness cannot be expected throughout a work of 1,400 pages, however great the profusion of second-rate epigram and self-contradictory metaphor; and when these are absent we have little left but a dexterous manipulation of formulas, a fatally fluent facility, behind which there seems to be as little mental labour as might be looked for in the street musician grinding out his melodies by a revolving handle. Of course Prof. Caird’s good faith is beyond question. He published some years ago a_ portly volume on the ‘Critique of Pure Reason,’ from which the present work is obviously discriminated by the addition of several chapters on the other two Critiques and remaining works of Kant. But its treatment even of the subject common to both works is quite new. Even with regard to the ‘Critique of Pure Reason’ Prof. Caird has been led by subsequent study to ‘“ extend” (p. viii)—would he could say to curtail !— the views he previously expressed ; doubtless even now we are not safe from further “extension.” But we would recommend something very different. If it is not too late, we would advise Prof. Caird to abandon his unhappy method and to prune his exuberant style ; his unsurpassed knowledge of Kant’s text may then enable him to offer suggestions that would not occur to others for what, we presume, he has alone at heart, the advancement of philosophy. In the present work Prof. Caird begins by setting forth at great length, but in his best style and with a delightful airiness, the Kantian view of dogmatism, scepticism, and criticism. Kant is, of course, cast for the part of arch-critic. The critic should be immediately preceded by a sceptic. Well and good ; everybody calls for our old friend Hume to fill his natural place in the pro- cession. But scepticism arises out of the strife of two dogmatisms (cf. vol. i. p. 162), each of which it turns against the other. This is all copiously explained. Unfor- tunately, just as the reader is preparing to amuse himself with a view of this three- cornered duel—dogmatist hitting straight out against dogmatist, the sceptic shifting nimbly from side to side, and assaulting now one, now the other, while the critical philo- sopher is seen slowly advancing in the background—it turns out that there is not a little difficulty in securing dogmatists for this thrilling struggle. Who was it that Hume pitted, against whom? is a pretty conundrum for the historian of philo- sophy to answer. But such insoluble conundrums usually result when it is sought to bring a history of philosophy constructed d priors to the test of fact. There is, in fact, something ludicrous in classing Locke, Hume’s intellectual progenitor, as a dog- matist. Locke, as the well-known passage cited by Prof. Caird shows, was in spirit as completely critical as Kant himself, and thought, whether wisely or not, at least in the true Kantian vein, that the value of our supposed knowledge could only be ascer- tained by a preliminary view of the mental faculty to which we owed it. But he studied this faculty in the wrong way, say the Kan- tians. He attempted to study introspectively its methods and processes as a pure psycho- logist, as if this could ever assure him of the validity of their results; as if, on the contrary, this habit of regarding knowledge as the outcome of natural processes of the mind did not directly tend to make our idea of knowledge something self-contradictory and inexplicable by reducing it to a merely subjective state. Now, Locke was no doubt wrong in thinking that the completest sur- vey of mental processes could give any guarantee for the objective validity of their results, and modern psychologists (see, for instance, Mr. Sully’s well-known manual) expressly guard themselves from being held to such an implication; but we should be glad to know how the Kantian mode of investigation offers any better guarantee for the objective validity of our knowledge. We have always understood it to end in the assertion that all knowledge was phenomenal—that is, in fact, subjective— though no doubt not subjective in the sense of varying from man to man and from moment to moment. Kant’s ‘ Critique of Pure Reason’ is, in fact, a psychology ; and if at one end it obtains some true and notable results, at the other it roots itself in most dubious psychological assumptions, that its own method forbids it to explore. We have another quarrel, too, with this first chapter of Prof. Caird, on which we dwell because thereby we call attention to the characteristic vice of the whole plan of the work. It is, in fact, quite impossible to tell how much of this chapter is due to Kant, how much to the Hegelian inspiration of his expositor. If it were all Kant or all Prof. Oaird we could understand its raison d’étre; at present we cannot. Is it Kantian to say that dogmatism is always two-horned, pointing simultaneously to two truths, which taken in separation seem to be contradic- tory, but which, as viewed by criticism, are seen to be mutually complementary ?. Is it the voice of Kant or the voice of Hegel we hear in the saying that ‘“ every dogmatism has the opposite dogmatism latent in itself”? But, in fact, Prof. Caird—just because his plan is essentially indefinite—plays fast and loose with his readers, and, professing merely to expound Kant’s view, gives them some- thing which, whether true or false, is not Kant’s view at all. The combination—found also in Hegel, to whose genius Prof. Caird owes all that is most striking in his work—of great erudi- tion with an irrepressible tendency to specu- lative generalization leads a man into strange self-contradictions. ‘‘The history of philo- sophy is the progressive evolution of a thought’: that is speculation. ‘‘To the writers of the eighteenth century it seemed that each thinker must begin the work of speculation de novo”: that is fact, or pur- ports to be such. But how can they be brought into agreement ? How, if ‘‘ Spinoza remained an enigma to Kant,” can it be true that “‘ Kant is deeply impressed with the Spinozistic idea of a universal unity, a unity of knowing and being”? As for this last interpretation of Spinozism, we should be glad if the author of the system could be recalled from his grave to give us his opinion of it. We should be glad to know whether Spinoza would recognize Hegel’s affiliation to himself with the same cer- tainty with which Hegel claimed it. Any- how, this ‘‘unity of being and knowing” is of immense importance. It is, we gather, the final proof of the reality of that external world which Bacon assumed by faith — we had always thought that faith was ‘the assurance of things un- seen.” If an ancient author had not taught
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120 THE ATHENZUM N° 3274, Juzy 26, ’90 us what to think of the judgment of those who ‘‘demand demonstrations from a rhe- torician,’’ we should have been inclined to ask Prof. Caird to explain how in finding a thing reasonable we for the first time find it to be real; how God was a mere name till the Christian revelation came—which seems hardly orthodox doctrine—and a name, too, for the Absolute Being—which seems stranger still. Are, then, savages thinking of the Absolute Being when they speak of “God” or “ gods”? To return for a moment to Spinoza,—we should cer- tainly have found the account both of his philosophy and of that of Leibniz more in- telligible and more useful if it contained less frequent reference to the mystic formula of the “unity.” What in plain language does Leibniz’s monadic theory amount to? It is, in fact, a protest against the falsehood that intellectual is merely one form of material action, and a protest of the most thorough- going kind, for it asserts the direct con- trary, the no less obvious falsehood that all material action is intellectual. It is this sort of see-saw that discredits philosophy, that marks it, though the noblest impulse of humanity, with the characteristic stamp of humanity’s frailty, the invincible re- pugnance, elevated by our Neo-Kantians into a principle, to accept more than one ultimate truth. Yet this school positively live by their protest against one particular application of this tendency. It is the office of “criticism,” Prof. Caird tells us, to pre- vent men from ignoring or misreading the spiritual phenomena through insistence on their exact parallelism with the material. Such an aim is no doubt a worthy one. But the very cause of such misreading is just the cleaving to a principle that Prof. Caird exalts as supreme and immutable. ‘‘ We cannot,” says he, ‘‘ rest in the con- ception of a dual or divided world without some principle to mediate between the dif- ferent laws that are supposed to rule it.” It is true that many do find themselves unable to rest at the point to which facts conduct them ; they then either plunge into extreme materialism, or they adopt the other extreme, not less monstrous, which commends itself to our author, that ‘‘ matter itself cannot be fully understood except as an element in a spiritual world,” or that “every object is not only connected with the whole, but in some sense reflects the whole,” a proposition which it will take more than Prof. Caird’s volubility to render intelligible, much less convincing. He him- self thinks, indeed, that his ‘‘ one principle ”’ follows directly from what Kant supposed himself to have established: ‘‘To recognize that all existence is existence for a self is to adopt a principle the natural outcome or complement of which is the doctrine that all existence is the manifestation of a self.” It is admitted, however, that Kant would not have recognized the sequence of thought. And in fact all such expressions of opinion are out of place in a book like the present; they are neither Kant nor a criticism of Kant, but only a strange and mystical per- version. The account of Kant’s earlier mental deve- lopment—a really interesting section—the exposure of his futile deduction of his cate- gories from the logic of the schools, we pass over. What has Prof. Caird to say of the transcendental deduction of the categories and of their application? As the central part of the system, he devotes half a volume to it, and he has produced a fuller and more painstaking account than any we know in English. It is unquestionably repul- sive reading, but the attentive study of it will, we think, effectually disenchant those who wish to accept, or fancy that they have accepted, Kantian theories. To have done so much is to have conferred a public boon, and we thank Prof. Caird for it, though we can only wonder at the taste which led him to such a task and the enthusiasm which carried him through it. Prof. Sidgwick, in an excellent article, now some years old, in Mind, declared himself puzzled to conceive how the unification of “the manifold of sense’’ could be due, and in fact simply amount, to a recognition of the unity of the self. But in the volumes before us this astounding doctrine is again and again repeated with all the most precise references to the ‘Critique.’ ‘In the judgment ‘ Bodies are heavy’ I do not mean to assert that ‘body’ and weight’ as empirically conceived are necessarily combined with each other, but I do mean to assert that they are combined with each other by means of the necessary unity of apperception in the synthesis of percep- tions, 7.¢., they are combined according to the principles of objective determination which are deduced from the one ultimate principle of the unity of apperception.” However, as such combination is hard even for the best-prepared mind to understand, we have something, the mediating activity of the imagination, to lead up to it. Here, again, we can specially commend Mr. Caird’s analysis to the would-be Kantian. If in the end he succeeds in grasping either the likeness or the contrast of ‘‘sense” and ‘‘understanding,’’ or the function of the ‘imagination,’ —if he can see, we will not say any truth, but any serviceableness, in this ‘‘ transcendental psychology,”—we can only say he has been more fortunate than our- selves. Prof. Caird, of course, has his own solution in his pocket. According to him, sense is not, and understanding is not; the one thing that is real is a development of self-consciousness growing ever more com- plete. ‘‘As subject and object are strictly correlative, so the presence or absence of a knowledge of the one cannot be separated from the presence or absence of a knowledge of the other . . . All ignorance of the object is ignorance of the self, all development of consciousness is also a development of self- consciousness. An object that we may, but do not, know has for its counterpart a poten- tiality in us of perceptions which we have not realized, a ‘faculty which we have never used.’” This thought our author again and again reiterates. But unless re- petition is proof, there is nothing to persuade the reader to accept so extraordinary a doc- trine; if it is the true development of Kan- tian ideas, it discredits that which it is in- tended to confirm and enlarge. Prof. Caird tells us that it leads us to regard the “ sche- matism of the categories” as illusory and superfluous, the ‘‘ metaphysical deduction ”’ as futile; we thank him for this nega- tive work, though we are inclined to ask him where in his own work the true “deduction” is to be found, which he owns to be needed, and which he promises to give. After this long criticism of Prof. Caird’s account of the first Critique we shall say little about his exposition and development of the other two. Suffice it to say that it forms easy and pleasant reading, though incurably vitiated by incessant repetition ; it is also a tolerably fair and lucid account of the mind of Kant, though the purpose it most obviously aims at and most success- fully attains is that of serving as an intro- duction to the truth as it isin Hegel. In the ethical part the parallelism of the Stoical and Kantian theories and of the two worlds in which each arose, though familiar enough to us already, is well worked out; the hopeless formalism of both, ending by proofs after all imperfect, in no coherent ethical system, but in a number of disconnected rules which sophistical casuistry could wrest so as to justify any conduct, is well insisted on. Nevertheless we think that something like a demonstration is de- manded from Prof. Caird and his school of what they too readily assume, the supposed necessary connexion of the principle of self- consciousness with what we usually call the social instinct. Of the ingenious ‘ Critique of Judgment’ little needs to be said. Its theory of the fine arts is pretty and plausible, and at least lends itself well to Prof. Caird’s rhetorical diction; but we do not see that it possesses more authority than the numerous other theories of what is rather pompously called the ‘esthetic conscious- ness.” Onthe important subject of teleo- logy we find Kant’s utterances hopelessly wavering and uncertain. Prof. Caird, who finds in the ‘Critique of Judgment’ the culmination of Kant’s work, is delighted with its evident wish and impulse to recog- nize in Nature the ‘manifestation of a self’; but this impulse is rigidly restrained, as is, in fact, pointed out in these volumes, by considerations such as we should expect from the philosopher of the ‘Pure Reason.’ But we must end. We wish Prof. Caird had given us a work less bulky and less uncritical—one that summarized Kant more exactly and compactly, and examined him more profoundly. Still no one will deny him the credit of having produced the best ac- count in English of the Kantian philosophy. His printers, at least, have done their best to make the work readable, though a few curious misprints—‘“‘ casual’ for causal, and ‘paltry’ for partly—remain uncorrected. And let the professor take the advice of some humble Englishman how to use “ will” and ‘ shall,”? and what to substitute for the monstrous and superfluous adjective “ pre- ventative.” English Men of Action.—Lord Clive. By Ool. Sir Charles Wilson. (Macmillan & Co.) Tus excellent series contains, we think, no better or more compact piece of work than the volume furnished by Sir C. Wilson on the great soldier-statesman who won Plassy and made his countrymen masters of Bengal. The very word ‘‘ Clive ” provokes a compari- son with Macaulay’s masterpiece on the same theme. In writing about Clive the great essayist was led astray by few of those false lights which in the case of Warren Hastings
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N° 3274, Juty 26, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 121 lured him into a quagmire of blunders, exaggerations, and wild invective. He suc- ceeded on the whole in doing substantial justice to the man whose name not only ‘stands high on the roll of conquerors,” but figures ‘‘in the list of those who have done and suffered much for the happiness of mankind.” Nevertheless Sir C. Wilson has in his own way scored a genuine success. His style is clear, pithy, and pointed. He is more than equal to Macaulay in special knowledge of his subject; he judges men and events far more dispassionately, and never sacrifices truth of portraiture to bril- liancy of effect. His opening chapter forms an appropriate and attractive setting for the story which fills the rest of the volume. It furnishes a remarkably clear, picturesque, and accurate view of the general state of India at the moment when ‘‘ Robert Clive, a penniless lad scarce nineteen years old, and without a friend in the country, landed at Madras.” In the pages that deal with the wars and politics of Southern India the close packing of many details may now and then perplex the reader instead of enlightening him. But if brevity is sometimes carried to a fault, the volume as a whole leaves nothing to desire in point of clearness and sustained interest. The capture and subsequent defence of Arcot are told over again with admirable terseness and soldier-like force. Clive’s resolute daring and marvellous presence of mind are well brought out in the account of his exploits at Caveripak and Trichinopoly. Due credit is given—perhaps for the first time—to the courage and foresight of Mr. Saunders, then Governor of Madras. In this stage of his career Clive figures as the fighting hero, whose spirit rises with the dangers that confront him :— ‘¢The din of battle, thesmell of powder, steadied his nerves and cleared his head, and the excite- ment of action served but to increase the activity of his mind. Born with an undoubted genius for war, he never received that training which would have made him a great general.” The author finds “little trace of skilful com- bination in his plans, and on some occasions he appears to have neglected the most obvious military precautions.” Perhaps he did ; but so have other great captains done before and after him. Itis much, at any rate, to seek out your enemy and beat him thoroughly by force of personal intrepidity and the “ power of inspiring large masses of men with confidence.” There are few rules of war which a great commander will not break on fit occasion. Clive’s coolness was equal to his courage, and his able chief, Col. Stringer Lawrence, declared that he ‘‘led on an army like an experienced officer and a brave soldier, with a prudence that certainly warranted success.” The author gives a lively account of the difficulties which Clive surmounted in the work of restoring the Company’s fortunes in Bengal after the Black Hole disaster. With regard to the cruel trick played upon Omi- chund by means of a false treaty bearing his name, Sir Charles agrees with Macaulay that “the sham treaty was a blunder no less than a crime, for it was unnecessary.” All that can be said for Clive in this matter is that, ‘‘ except in this one instance, he appears to have been singularly straightforward in his dealings with the natives.” His open acceptance of the 200,000/. offered him by Mir Jafir is represented as ‘‘ contrary to no existing rule of the Company whose servant he was,” while it accorded with ‘‘ the general custom of the period in India.” Butit was, however, ‘‘impolitic,” as setting a bad example and giving his enemies occasion to blaspheme. Clive’s subsequent career in India and at home is traced with a firm and careful hand. His ambition was tempered by a high-minded zeal for his country’s service. His ‘“ genius in dealing with political and administrative questions” was ‘‘no less remarkable than his skill in the conduct of political affairs.” His knowledge of men seemed intuitive. He early discovered the worth and abilities of young Warren Hast- ings; he recommended him to the Directors in 1771 for the Governorship of Bengal, and, when Hastings was made Governor, wrote him a letter full of wise counsel mixed with friendly warning as to “a diffi- dence in your own judgment and too great easiness of disposition, which may subject you insensibly to be /ed where you ought to guide.” Was Clive mistaken, or had Hast- ings already found out this weakness and fought it down? The reforms which Clive effected during his second term of government did not long survive his return home. And he left behind him new seeds of evil in the double govern- ment set up for Bengal under the treaty of 1765. On the trials and sufferings of his last years we need not dwell. His great and splendid services could not save him from the combined attacks of many personal and political foes. But the magnificent courage that bore him safe through appal- ling dangers and quelled a widespread mutiny among his own officers once more rescued him from unmerited disaster, and the nation itself from the shame of an unjust sentence on the man who was found to have rendered ‘‘ great and meritorious services to his country.” In his closing chapter, on Clive’s character and policy, Sir C. Wilson aptly describes his hero as “ great in council, great in war, great in his exploits, which were many, and great in his faults, which were few.” Les Contes Moralisés de Nicole Boson. Pub- liés par Miss L. Toulmin Smith et M. Paul Meyer. (Paris, Société des Anciens Textes Francais.) Habent sua fata libelli. A happy fate, surely, has befallen this little book of the Minorite friar! After having been for nearly five centuries absolutely forgotten, after having been left to the dusty oblivion of one or two MS. collections, to have appeared again in the cheerful light of day under the auspices of the Société des Anciens Textes Francais, in a handsome volume edited by Miss L. Toulmin Smith and M. Paul Meyer! This is good fortune indeed. Miss L. T. Smith is well known to specialists as one of our most learned and scholarly students of English social life and English literature in the Middle Ages, while M. Paul Meyer is acknowledged to be one of the greatest living authorities on the language and literature of France in the same period. We may affirm without fear of contradiction that it would be impossible to name any other two scholars in England and France as ideally fit as these to introduce to the notice of the modern learned world this forgotten work of the fourteenth century, compiled in French by an Engiishman for the use of his countrymen. In the opinion of many, perhaps, this book of an old preaching friar may not possess extraordinary intrinsic literary merit, the author may not have been a great literary artist or an original genius; still, we believe that his book will be welcomed by many who take a general interest in the history of the social life and literature of our country, and by all who make a special study of the life and thought of the Middle Ages, or of that form of the French language which was once spoken in England, and which constitutes such an im- portant element of modern English. A few years ago the text before us (to which the editors have given the title ‘ Les Contes Moralisés’) as well as the name and existence of the author, Nicole Bozon, were entirely unknown. By a happy chance one of the editors found the MS. which forms the principal authority for the present text while searching in the library of Gray’s Inn, and soon after there was found in Sir T. Phillipps’s library at Cheltenham a MS. containing a great number of the same ‘Contes,’ with a perfectly unique collection of the poems of the same author. Nothing whatever is known of the writer except what we can gather from these literary remains. It may be inferred from an allu- sion in one of the ‘ Contes’ that they were compiled after the year 1320 ; inthe opinion of experts the Gray’s Inn MS. cannot have been written later than about the middle of the fourteenth century, so we can approxi- mate pretty closely to the exact date of the collection. The copyist of the Gray’s Inn MS. gives the name of ‘Metaphors’ to Bozon’s work. This term was used in a special sense by the writers of the Middle Ages. It was applied to the employment of the facts of science, especially of natural history, for the purpose of enforcing some moral lesson. These “‘ Metaphore” form the basis of ‘Les Contes Moralisés.’ But we also find in this collection for the purpose of illustration a large number of popular stories —fables properly so called, and anecdotes old and new—which to many will form the most interesting part of the book. Bozon generally proceeds in the following manner. He first describes the property (proprietas) of an animal, a plant, or a stone as the case may be; he then draws from this property a moral application ac- companied with Biblical passages; and, lastly, to clinch the matter he illustrates his moral doctrine with some amusing tale, either a fable, or some story about a person more or less founded on fact. Whence did Bozon get his facts of natural history ? was our author a man of much learning? M. Meyer is quite certain that, although Bozon’s citations from Aristotle, Pliny, Dioscorides, Avicenna, and others are numerous, these citations afford no evidence that Bozon had read these authors at first hand; it may be clearly proved that they are due to one compilation, the famous ‘ De Proprietatibus Rerum,’ by Bartholomeeus Anglus, also called De Glanvil, a work written, in M.
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122 THE ATHENAUM N° 3274, Jury 26, 90 Meyer’s opinion, not later than the year 1260. The stories used for illustration were de- noted by a special term in the Middle Ages. They were called exempla, and were much used in the popular sermons of those times. Etienne de Besancon, general of the order of Dominicans (who died 1294), compiled a collection of stories for the use of preachers under the title of ‘Alphabetum Exemplorum.’ A collection was also made by a preacher of many sermons, Jacques de Vitri, elected Bishop of Acre, 1217. Eude de Cheriton made a great use of exempla in his sermons, a collection of which, dated 1219, was printed in 1520 under the name of ‘‘ Magister Odo, Cancellarius Parisiensis.”” M. Mever thinks it probable that Bozon was familiar with the works of De Vitri. Some of Bozon’s stories are of an English origin, and are due to popular tradition ; this may be inferred from the English personal names and the English phrases and proverbs which occur therein. The most important of these English stories is that of the seven dogs of the devil, found in a somewhat different form in the ‘ Gesta Romanorum.’ The aim of Bozon in this work is strictly practical and moral: it is intended to help the preacher in the composition of his ser- mons, and to give the people rules for the conduct of life. In order to interest the people and make them listen, Bozon sup- plies the preacher with allegories derived from the fantastic natural history of his times, the teaching being illustrated with anecdotes and fables. He was a practical social reformer rather than a dogmatic theologian. The vices he is most severe upon are those of the wealthy and of the men in power, especially of those who govern and administer the country. Covet- ousness is one of his principal themes. Usurers are the object of his most violent attacks. He deplores the fact that whereas they were formerly shunned and treated with scorn and contempt, they are now honoured by the nobles and fawned upon with a servile adulation by the poor. The mean and miserly also come in for a share of the friar’s blame—especially those who refrain from marriage for fear of the expense of housekeeping. There is one point in Bozon’s system of morals which especially deserves to be noticed, and that is his energetic preaching of the gospel of work. These are his words as modernized by M. Meyer :— ‘* Rien ne vaut en cette vie, pour le corps et pour l’ime, autant que travail bien ordonné...... Le travail chasse les occasions de pécher et procure i l’homme un bon sommeil pendant la nuit. Le travail allége les chagrins, calme les maladies. C’est le salut des gens, c'est ce qui aiguise tous les sens; c’est une dette pour les jeunes, un mérite pour les vieux.” The interest and importance of the book in M. Meyer’s opinion consists in this, that there is no other work in the whole of Anglo- Norman literature which supplies such a complete idea of what popular preaching was in England at the beginning of the fourteenth century. This volume is in every respect worthy of the high reputation of the Société des Anciens Textes Frangais and of the two learned editors. We find throughout evident marks of their industry and learning, of their judgment and taste, of their accurate scholar- ship. With its interesting introduction, its learned notes on the sources of Bozon’s material, and its excellent glossary, this editio princeps contains everything that the student would require for the full compre- hension and enjoyment of this medieval text. One more point deserves mention. The vocabulary of Bozon contains much that will interest the student of the English language. We have noticed in this text many instances of the occurrence of forms of words which were inferred by Dr. Murray when com- piling the early parts of the ‘New English Dictionary,’ but for which no French in- stances could be found at the time. If this book had been out in time Dr. Murray would have been able to have given the Anglo-French form of M.E. doistous, which occurs in our text in the form doystouse, being applied to a stone, and having the sense of rough, rugged. Under ‘‘ Bawdstrot’’ Dr. Murray infers an earlier French daudestrot ; in our text baudestrote occurs with the mean- ing of a procuress, a bawd. Under ‘‘ Cam- parnole’’ Dr. Murray gives no Anglo-French form; in our text campernole occurs in the sense of a bell. ‘‘Botrace’’ does not occur in the ‘New English Dictionary’ at all; it is, however, mentioned as a ‘‘ hard English word” in Batman on Bartholome, and occurs in our text in the form dotras, a kind of toad. Under ‘‘ Bucket” Dr. Murray gives no Anglo-French form; in our text boket occurs, translated by the editors ‘‘ seau de puits”; they add, ‘‘ Tous les ex. que l’on connait de ce mot sont fournis par des textes écrits en Angleterre.” Under “ Cirogrille ” no Anglo-French form is given in the ‘ Dic- tionary’; in our text the word occurs in the sense of the hedgehog or porcupine (see p- 57). Under “ Chinch” no Anglo-French form is given by Dr. Murray ; in our text chinchez occurs in the sense of niggardly. Under ‘‘Chit”’ (the young of a beast) Dr. Murray gives no Anglo-French form ; in our text chiton occurs in the same sense; our editors are probably wrong in connecting chiton with ‘‘ chit” (asprout). Perhaps the most interesting word in the glossary is escoymous, ‘‘épithéte appliquée a une per- sonne qui mange et qui boit peu”’; it is, of course, our word squeamish, which has been such a puzzle hitherto to all our etymolo- gists. It will be seen from these few examples that our text is a valuable mine of information on the French element of our language. Story of the Nations.—The Barbary Corsairs. By Stanley Lane-Poole. (Fisher Unwin.) Were the Corsairs a nation? is a question that the appearance of this clever mono- graph obviously provokes, but it can only be answered in the negative; and if the title “ Story of the Nations ” is understood, as the publisher appears to understand it, to mean a series of histories of nations, the book has no right to a place in it. On the other hand, if the words be taken in a more general sense, the volume seems to have ample title to its position, for the Corsairs of Barbary exercised a powerful and ex- tremely detrimental influence on the his- tory of all the nations inhabiting the northern shores of the Mediterranean. Piracy, Mr. Poole rightly points out, was no new thing in the Midland Sea when the Salee rovers became notorious; nor had the Mohammedans abstained at all from it in previous centuries. The Saracens who seized on Sicily and Corsica, and who made a lodgment on the coast of Provence, robbed as much by sea as by land, or rather more so. As the Saracen power declined the Italian republics became the chief pirates in the Mediterranean, and so continued till the conquest of Constantinople by Mohammed II., and the conquest of Granada by Ferdinand and Isabella, gave a fresh impulse to Mohammedan piracy. We can hardly accept Mr. Poole’s account of the mildness of the rulers of Morocco and Tunis before the downfall of the Moorish kingdom in Spain. The African Moors were always less civilized and more intolerant than their brethren on the other side of the Mediterranean, and the Almohades and Almoravides were almost as much dreaded by the Spanish Mohammedans as by their Christian foes. The sufferings of the In- fante Ferdinand of Portugal during his captivity at Fez (1437-1443) show that the Moors of Morocco had little to learn in the way of fanaticism and cruelty from the Gra- nadine exiles. But there is no doubt that the latter, smarting at the loss of their homes in Andalucia, eagerly betook themselves to piracy, and it assumed so large a scale owing to their thirst for vengeance that the Barbary Corsairs may be said to date from the beginning of the sixteenth century, when, in the person of Barbarossa, a man of genius arose to take command of the brigan- tines of the lawless adventurers who had preyed on the commerce, and harried the coasts, of Italy and Spain. Another potent cause was the growing luxury of the Sultan and his pashas, which caused a large de- mand for slaves and rendered the slave trade enormously profitable. Mr. Poole hardly grasps the full signi- ficance of the repulse of Charles V. at Algiers. He was then at the height of his prosperity; the master of the New World and the richest provinces of the Old World, he was more powerful than any emperor since Frederick II., and to the Mohammedan world he represented the might of Christen- dom. That he should fail to wrest their fastness from them gave to the Corsairs a sense of security such as they had never felt before; and daredevils from all parts were at- tracted to a career which promised abundance of adventure, wealth, and perhaps high com- mand. Although there wererenegades before, the era of the renegades really dates from the retreat of Charles V. On the other hand, we cannot help fancying that Mr. Poole exaggerates the importance of Lepanto. It was no doubt a dazzling success. It gratified the Pope and the Venetians, and, above all, the Spanish people, who hoped that Philip IL. was now fairly committed to that crusade against the Turks which they ardently desired, but for which he, with the Netherlands in full revolt, had no mind. It employed the brushes of Veronese and Tintoretto, and inspired the stately ode of Herrera, and Géngora’s exultant lines :— Where is now vain Uluc-Ali ? Fled to sea in shame and fear : And the Pasha's head, grim ensign, Frowns on Spain’s avenging spear. XUM
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XUM N° 3274, Jury 26, 790 THE ATHENAUM 123 Slaves are free, who toiled in galleys :— Pitying God, Thy grace alone Saved them by the threefold succours In the bond of Truth made one, But its permanent effects, we cannot help agreeing with Finlay, were small. Certainly it did not put much check on the activity of the Corsairs, who speedily captured many of the victors of Lepanto, among them Cer- vantes; nor did Ochiali cease to be formid- able. The Corsairs flourished exceedingly for fifty years afterwards, and their sub- sequent decline was in no way due to their rout at Lepanto. Mr. Poole’s book is full of life and vigour, and although a few slips, evidently due to haste, such as the queer piece of Latin ‘‘ dies nefas,’’ may surprise the observant reader, it is eminently pleasant. Its most serious fault is that the author has resorted too much to modern compilers of third-rate value like Mr. Broadley, and has neglected contem- porary histories 2nd documents. Had he, for instance, consulted the Emperor’s own letters reprinted by Lanz, he would have found that Charles gives the number of vessels employed at Tunis as about 300, not 600 as Mr. Poole says. Cerezeda puts the number at 412 exclusive of smaller craft. And it is a wonder that a writer who has evidently an eye for the picturesque did not consult Brantéme, who would have furnished details for his portraits of Doria and Bar- barossa. He has, too, overlooked im- portant monographs produced in recent years, such as Guglielmotti’s valuable essay ‘Marcantonio Colonna alla Battaglia di Lepanto.’ It is a pity Mr. Poole did not close his volume with the French capture of Algiers ; but unluckily Mr. Poole is a Gallophobe, and has added a violent tirade—which has nothing to do with his proper theme—about the ‘ perfidy,” ‘brutal camp-rule,” &c., of our neighbours. If a Frenchman were to write in the same abusive style about British doings in Hindostan Mr. Poole would be no doubt indignant. Is anything gained by an able and erudite writer who gives way to political prejudice of this sort ? Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Edited with Notes and Introduction by Thomas Tyler. (Nutt.) In 1640 John Benson, the publisher of St. Dunstan’s Churchyard, prefixed to the second edition of Shakspeare’s sonnets a note in which he assured readers that they would find the poetry ‘‘seren, cleere, and elegantly plaine, such gentle straines as shall recreate and not perplexe your braine, no intricate or cloudy stuffe to puzzell in- tellect, but perfect eloquence.” If this old publisher’s estimate is correct, what a puny brood of commentators we have had! All was ‘‘elegantly plaine’” to John Benson; yet scholars persist in finding difficulties and struggling to solve them.: For several years past Mr. Tyler has been perplexing his brain over these gentle strains. He has worked early and late, sparing no trouble, carrying his researches far and wide, weigh- ing evidence with nice discrimination, fol- lowing patiently every available clue, and only on very rare occasions indulging in the pleasures of imagination. Whatever results may be attained by future investigators, his edition will always be prized as a singularly thoughtful and suggestive contribution to the study of one of the most interesting and most intricate of literary problems. The mysterious dedication confronts us at starting :—‘“‘ To . the. onlie . Begetter . of . these . Insving . Sonnets . Mr. W. H. all. happinesse . and . that . Eternitie . Promised . by . our . Ever-living . Poet . wisheth . the. well-wishing . Adventurer . in . setting forth.T. T.” Weare sure about “T. T.”; he is Thomas Thorpe, a well-known pub- lisher, to whom ‘‘a Booke called Shake- speare’s sonnettes” was entered in the Stationers’ Register on the 20th of May, 1609. Over the identity of “Mr. W. H.” there has been much debate; but for many years past—before Mr. Tyler began his researches—scholars had, with few excep- tions, adopted the view (which Benjamin Heywood Bright and James Boaden were the first to propose) that ‘‘ Mr. W. H.” was William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. The words ‘‘onlie Begetter of these Insving Sonnets,” considered apart from the rest of the dedication, might conceivably be taken to mean that Mr. W. H. had collected the sonnets’ from various sources, and had handed them to Thorpe for publication ; but the context clearly forbids this inter- pretation. Mr. W. H. is styled the “ onlie Begetter ” of the sonnets as being the sub- ject of the larger portion of them; he is the youth to whom the ever-living poet’s ‘* powerful rhyme ”’ promised eternity. Sonnets i.-xvii., probably written early in 1598, form one continuous epistle, in which Shakspeare urges Mr. W. H. to marry. Herbert was born on April 8th, 1580; and it appears (from researches of the Rev. W. A. Harrison) that so early as August, 1597, his parents were anxious to make arrangements for his marriage with Bridget Vere, daughter of the Karl of Oxford and granddaughter of Lord Bur- leigh. On September 3rd, 1597, Lord Pem- broke wrote a long letter on the subject to Burleigh, who forwarded it to the Karl of Oxford. On September 8th Oxford wrote to Burleigh :— “T do perseyue how both my lord and ladie doo perseuer, which dothe greatly content me. denen My Lord of Pembroke ys a man syklye, and therfore yt ys to be gathered he desyrethe in hys lyfte time to se hys sonne bestowed to his lekinge, to compas w my thinkes hys offers very honorable, hys desyres very resonable.” The negotiations were afterwards broken off, probably because young Herbert was averse to the match. In 1600, when the gossip went that he was to marry a niece of the Earl of Nottingham, Rowland Whyte wrote: “I don’t find any disposition at all in this gallant young lord to marriage.” Sonnets xviii.-xxvi., expressing the poet’s devotion to his friend in language of extra- vagant compliment, may be regarded as a second epistle. Sonnets xxvii. and xxviii. were written when Shakspeare was on a journey. One of the finest in the whole series is Sonnet xxix., ‘‘ When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes,”’ which gives us (in Milton’s phrase) some of his ‘‘nightward thoughts.” If there are any who still think that Shakspeare was indif- ferent to his art, that he wrote plays simply as a means of livelihood, and attained per- fection by accident, they should turn to this sonnet and weigh the verse in which he describes himself as Desiring this man’s art, and that man’s scope. In Sonnets xxx.-xxxii. he calls to remem- brance past sorrows and bereavements, but finds compensation for all his losses in the friendship of Mr. W. H. The editor has a valuable note on Sonnet xxxii. Shakspeare anticipates that he will die before his friend, and that after his death other poets may sing his friend’s praises in more eloquent strains. ‘‘O then,” he pleads, vouchsafe me but this loving thought: “Had my friend's muse grown with this growing age, A dearer birth than this his love had brought, To march in ranks of better equipage ; But since he died, and poets better prove, Theirs for their style I’ll read, his for his love.” Mr. Tyler bids us compare some verses by Marston ‘in praise of his Pigmalion” (1598) :— Stanzaes like odd bands Of voluntaries and mercenarians ; Which like soldados of our warlike age, March rich bedight in warlike equipage ; Glittering in daubed lac’d accoustrements, And pleasing sutes of loues habiliments, The resemblance between the italicized lines is certainly striking; but Mr. Tyler is too confident when he asserts that “there is no great difficulty in perceiv- ing that we have here [in the passage of Marston] in all probability the source of Shakspeare’s line ‘To march in ranks of better equipage.’’’ We would point out that nine years earlier (in 1589) Nashe, in the preface to Greene’s ‘ Menaphon,’ had em- ployed the expression ‘ march in equipage”’ in commending Watson’s poetry: ‘And in trueth (Master Watson except, whom I men- tioned before) I knowe not almost any of late dayes that hath shewed himselfe sin- gular in any speciall Latin Poém, whose ‘Amintas’ and translated ‘ Antigone’ may march in equipage of honour with any of our ancient Poets.” Mr. Tyler unhesitatingly adopts Prof. Minto’s view that the rival poet of the eighty-sixth and preceding sonnets was George Chapman. The identification, he states, is ‘‘so complete as to leave no rea- sonable doubt on the matter.’””? We are not convinced. The eighty-sixth sonnet begins : Was it the proud full sail of his great verse, Bound for the prize of all-too-precious you, That did my ripe thoughts in my brain inhearse, Making their tomb the womb wherein they grew? In 1598 Chapman published a translation, in rhymed lines of fourteen syllables, of seven books of the Iliad. If he had dedi- cated this translation to Herbert we might possibly allow that Shakspeare is referring to these Homeric labours; but the dedicatory epistle was addressed to the Earl of Essex, to whom in the same year Chapman also dedi- cated ‘ Achilles’ Shield.’ There is no evi- dence to prove that Herbert at any time showed particular favour to Chapman. It is true that at the end of the completed trans- lation of the Iliad there is a complimentary sonnet to Herbert, but it was accompanied by a score of other sonnets addressed to persons of rank. Yet it may be admitted that Prof. Minto’s suggestion is ingenious and plausible. In the eighty-sixth sonnet occur those mysterious lines :— Was it his spirit, Ly spirits taught to write Above a mortal pitch, that struck me dead ? No, neither he, nor his compeers by night Giving him aid, my verse astonished.
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124 THE ATHENAZUM Ne 3274, Juny 26,90 He, nor that affable familiar ghost Which nightly gulls him with intelligence, As victors, of my silence cannot boast. Prof. Minto refers us to the dedication before Chapman’s ‘ Shadow of Night,’ 1594, where, after censuring ignorant pretenders to knowledge, the poet exclaims :— “Now what a supererogation in wit this is, to think Skill so mightily pierced with their loves that she should prostitutely show them her secrets, when she will scarcely be looked upon by others but with invocation, watching, yea, not without having drops of their souls like a heavenly familiar.” Again, in Chapman’s poem we read :— All you possessed with indepressed spirits, Endued with nimble and aspiring wits, Come consecrate with me to sacred Night Your whole endeavours and detest the light. These parallelisms are assuredly remark- able ; but the obscurity is at present so dense that we must wait for more light before we can come to any decision. The most interesting part of Mr. Tyler’s introduction is the chapter on ‘“‘The Dark Lady,” whom he seeks to identify with Mary Fitton, one of Queen Elizabeth’s maids of honour. It is clearly hinted in the son- nets that Shakspeare had succumbed to the Dark Lady’s attractions, and that he was afterwards ousted from her favour by Mr. W.H. Abundant evidence is produced by Mr. Tyler to prove that Mary Fitton had amatory relations with Herbert. On Feb- ruary 5th, 1601, shortly after Herbert had succeeded to the title of Earl of Pembroke, Sir Robert Cecil, in a letter to Sir George Carew, wrote: ‘‘ There is a misfortune be- fallen Mistress Fitton, for she is proved with child, and the Earl of Pembrooke, being examined, confesseth a fact, but utterly re- nounceth all marriage. I fear they will both dwell in the Tower awhile.” In the following month Herbert was committed to the Fleet, and Mary Fitton was delivered of a son, who died. Mr. Tyler quotes from a MS. document in the Record Office the curious statement that ‘in that tyme when that M'™F ytton was in great favour, and one of her Maiesties maids of honor, and during the time y‘ the Earle of Pembrooke fauord her, she would put off her head tire and tucke vpp her clothes and take a large white cloake, and marche as though she had bene a man to meete the said Earle out of the Court.” On his release from the Fleet, where he did not remain long, Herbert was anxious to procure the queen’s permission to travel abroad. At first she assented, but afterwards ordered him to retire (much against his inclination) to the country. Mary Fitton’s father, Sir Edward Fitton, tried to induce Herbert to become his son- in-law, but without success. It appears that Mary Fitton was twice married, and that—in addition to the son whom she fathered on Herbert—she had two daughters born out of wedlock, who are laid to the account of Sir Richard Leveson, Knt. To judge from the portrait which Mr. Tyler gives, she was not beautiful; neither was the Dark Lady beautiful. But her charm of manner, her “ warrantise of skill,’’ was such that (as Enobarbus said of Cleopatra) —— vilest things Become themselves in her; that the holy priests Bless her when she is riggish. The name ‘‘ Fitton” (jit one) readily sug- gests quibbling allusions. Mr. Tyler states that a monument at Gawsworth (the former seat of the Fittons) has an inscription ending— Whose sovle’s and body’s beavties sentence them Fittons, to weare a heavenly Diadem. The quibbles in Sonnet cli. will go far to convince even the most cautious scholars that Mr. Tyler is right in identifying the Dark Lady with Mary Fitton. Shakspeare’s Sonnets will continue to trouble the commentators; but Mr. Tyler’s volume certainly marks an important stage in the progress of Shakspearean criticism. NOVELS OF THE WEEK, The Tragic Muse. By Henry James. 3 vols. (Macmillan & Co.) Miriam’s Schooling, and other Papers. By Mark Rutherford. Edited by his Friend — Shapcott. (Kegan Paul, Trench & Co.) The Chronicles of Cardewe Manor. Farmer. (Hutchinson & Co.) Mr. James and Mr. Meredith have one point of contact: books by either may not be dipped into with enjoyment, or even com- prehension ; it is all or nothing with them ; every word or none must be read. Whether (as with Mr. Meredith’s) a book of Mr. James’s may be returned to with renewed interest is another question, and has nothing to do with the book before us. ‘The Tragic Muse’ has a good deal of the ingenuity and careful accomplishment which one expects from him, but little or none of the keenness of perception and discernment, the delicacy and distinction of touch, which marked ‘ Daisy Miller’ and ‘A Bundle of Letters,’ and made them famous. The handling is ill assured and tentative, as well as too heavily laboured for the issues and interests at stake, which are slight, not to say trivial, in essence, or postponed and attenuated to the merest nothingness. Mr. James still shows himself fond of working round a situation, of circling and wheeling about it, but always receding without even carrying away the barriers, yet returning to it again and again from another direction or from another vantage, but never, so to speak, vaulting it triumph- antly. The story, if we may say so, is for the most part negative—a history of occur- rences that do not occur, unions that per- petually hang fire, passions that come to nothing, aspirations—political and _ intel- lectual—that have no fruition, with other episodes of a clever but barren quality. There is, too, more French than one cares for in an English novel. Mr. James, as we know, has lately had much to say about the canons of art in general, and of the drama in particular. The part relating to it and the theatrical débuts of the young person of Jewish antecedents is, perhaps, more interesting and better presented than the rest. There is also a good deal about painting, mostly of the contemporary and actual chatter of the studios, but given with an air of some gravity and conviction—the sort of talk that is so much with us just now ; the ‘‘ art for art’s sake” point of view, which the British public is struggling to grasp. There are three or four personages (male and female), society people mostly, and the actress, with her mother, who has some By Lucy of Mr. James’s familiar but good touches. In Lady Agnes and her surroundings we have a picture that is characteristic of life as it is in London drawing-rooms, or at any rate in Mr. James’s conception of them, which perhaps comes to much the same thing. There is the suspicion of a male snob somewhere about—we will not say where, but he is present. It is the actress who has the most body—and soul, too—who is, in fact, the most human of the party. She has some force, and, above all, some directness, which is not given to the others. All more or less produce the feeling of people playing at a game called life, the deeper issues and the more significant moves of which Mr. James may manage to suggest with some cleverness, but which one shrewdly suspects he could not really ‘‘tackle”’ if he would. One young man is burdened with the feeling ‘‘of that complexity of things of which the sense had lately increased with him, and to which it was owing that any thread one might take hold of would pro- bably lead one to something discomfortable”’; also with ‘“‘an acute mistrust of the super- ficiality of performance into which the desire to justify himself might hurry him.’”’ There is a good deal of this sort of thing about the story, of course interspersed with many and sundry good things. Altogether those who know Mr. James’s writing well are principally struck by the sense of flatness and absence of relief, and the undeniable cleverness of what is, however, after all, much more like studio work than work that is the result of direct contact with nature. That strange writer who is pleased to call himself Mark Rutherford gives us in ‘Miriam’s Schooling’ another of those re- markable studies in mental history with which he has made us familiar in ‘The Autobiography of Mark Rutherford,’ ‘ Mark Rutherford’s Deliverance,’ and ‘The Revo- lution in Tanner’s Lane.’ The present book, unlike its predecessors, is a medley. First come three tales from the Old Testament— the story of Gibeon, retold by his son; the story of Samuel, which is from the seer’s own lips; and the story of Saul, from the mouth of Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. With these tales from Holy Writ we are not here concerned; they are told with sim- plicity and directness, with the utmost out- spokenness ; but they are not to our mind— we are content with the ancient words. ‘Miriam’s Schooling,’ the more important of the two secular stories, bears in method and execution a strong resemblance to the writer’s earlier chronicles of Cowfold. There is the same keen observation, the same deli- cate precision, the same unrelenting dis- section of mind, of motive; the village is shown to us as in a Dutch picture; the light and shade are vivid, all the daily life is there; while Miriam’s strength and weak- ness, her lofty aspirations and her shameful backsliding, all the turmoil of mind which lay hidden under the outward quiet of her life, are drawn with as pitiless a hand as that of Marie Bashkirtseft. ‘The Chronicles of Cardewe Manor’ is a volume of rather bright and vivacious stories, which, at odd moments, might be dipped into with a certain amount of pleasure. The teller of them is supposed to be one Lucy Farmer, a servant at the Manor, wedded to a gamekeeper in the same service. Mrs. XUM
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XUM N° 3274, Jury 26, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 125 Lucy has a sharp eye and a shrewd mind, and sees further through a millstone than the general run of people. Sometimes her vision is rather too keen, and her taste for “‘spotting’’ mysteries occasionally leads her into making mountains of molehills. On the whole, however, she is a very useful member of society, for nothing escapes her and she is much more often on the right than on the wrong track. This faculty for putting two and two together is exceedingly useful to ‘‘the family ” and their friends generally ‘as well as to Mrs. Farmer herself, and the faithful servant becomes quite a power in the neighbourhood, on more than one occa- sion helping to net clever burglars and to bring queer impostors to justice. There is a good deal of plotting and counter- plotting over some valuable jewels, which is rather exciting work. Mrs. Farmer has some character and individuality of her own, and this is well sustained throughout, and makes the stories go off well. They are separate, and yet hang together by a thread. There is some quiet humour in the presen- tation of persons and things from the point ‘of view of the ‘‘ servants’ hall.” PHILOLOGICAL LITERATURE. THE eminently practical character of ‘‘ Triib- ner’s Collection of Simplified Grammars” is well sustained by the Rev. W. S. Tisdall’s Simplified Grammar and Reading Book of the Panjabi Language, recently issued in this series. Panjabi, indeed, is a form of speech the inflec- tions of which are so simple already that they hardly need special simplification, the more so as in all essentials it follows Hindustani, a lan- guage already dealt with in the series. Ac- ‘cordingly only 27 out of the 137 pages of the present volume are occupied by the grammar proper, the remainder being given over to the reading lessons and vocabulary, and forming an addition most welcome to the practical student. Rightly presupposing that the majority f learners will approach Panjabi equipped already with some knowledge of Hindustani, Mr. Tisdall adds throughout useful comparisons with Hindustani forms and idioms. Oriental transliteration is at best a vexed question, but confusion is worse confounded when the ‘lingual or cerebral nasal is not only transcribed by ni (instead of the usual n), but actually called a ‘‘ palatal,” a term applied by most, if not all, grammarians to the ch- and j- group of consonants. As for the real palatal nasal, the usage of Spanish and other modern languages would seem to point to ii as a desirable equi- valent for it. Mr. Tisdall’s ny is rather awk- ward. The alphabetic table would bear revision in these and other points ; the table of paradigms, however, which accompanies it, is a model of clear treatment. Records of the Past. New Series, Vol. II. Edited by A. H. Sayce. (Bagster & Sons.)— The second volume of this work contains trans- ‘lations of eleven documents, of which four are in Egyptian, six in Assyrian and Accadian, and one in Phoenician. The translations of most of the Egyptian texts are by M. Maspero, and are well done ; we feel bound, however, to protest against his transcription of proper names, espe- cially against his writing “ Ri” for Ra, the Sun- ‘od. Among the translations from the Assyrian those by the late Arthur Amiaud alone are of much interest. They have been made with great care and skill, and every student who has worked at the difficult inscriptions upon the antiquities from Tell Lo will admit that these translations are admirable. The death of this most promising scholar can never be too much lamented. M. Bertin contributes a translation of an Accadian hymn to the ! setting sun, in which he says there is “‘a certain Semitic or [sic] Hamitic [sic] rather than Akkadian undercurrent of thought.” He omits to say that English translations of it have twice before been published in England (see Trans. Soc. Bib. Arch., vol. viii. pt. ii, p. 167, and ‘ Guide to the Nimroud Central Saloon,’ p. 63). Mr. T. G. Pinches contributes translations of Assyrian letters, in one of which we find the following extraordinary rendering : ‘‘ The words which the wind for the third time now has spoken to you,” &c. On referring to the text in ‘ W.A.L.,’ iv. 52, No. 1, it is at once evident that he has misunderstood the signs, which are to be transliterated sha-a-ri sha ld-ahti agd, and not “sha-a-ri salasis aga.” The editor has supplied to this volume translations of a few of the Tell el-Amarna tablets, the Assyrian Eponym Canon, and the large inscription of Assurnasirpal. He still reads “Ki dhema atma” instead of kibe-mna um-ma. The translation of the inscription of As- surnasirpal is the best of his work in this volume. It is based throughout on that of Dr. Peiser, who published his excellent version of the text in Dr. Schrader’s Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek, pt. i. The notes throughout the Assyrian por- tion of the volume are unfortunately trivial, and in many cases misleading. Dr. Neubauer sup- plies at the end of the volume an excellent sum- mary of the works on the Moabite Stone anda readable version of the inscription. ANOTHER volume of the Royal Irish Academy’s ‘* Trish MS. Series” has recently been published, and though it consists of nearly five hundred octavo pages it is sold at the very low price of 3s. 6d. The text selected is that of the religious discourses entitled ‘ The Three Shafts of Death,’ by Geoffrey Keating. The editor is Prof. Atkin- sop, who has added an exhaustive vocabulary and a valuable appendix on Irish verbs, espe- cially that most peculiar of all Irish verbs, the verb substantive, Among other things he dwells on the important Celtic distinction illustrated by the sentences até sé ’n-a iolur, ‘‘ he is in his state of being an eagle,” “he may be looked on, regarded as an eagle,” and the very different one is iolar é, ‘* (that bird) is an eagle.” We mention this as we wish to quote the following note on it, which will be found to have an interest transcending the narrow limits of the world of Celtic philology :— “The rationale of this construction is probably given correctly by Miklosich (Gr., iv. 727) in his discussion on the analogous use of the instrumental case in the Slavonian languages, where it is ex- plained by him as arising from ‘a certain ideal movement,’ expressive of a transformation, an ideal change of relation,in which an object is regarded from a different point of view; comparing the Latin tollere ad uxorem, Old Fr. eslire 4 roi [we would add the English to take her to wife, and the French vivre en roi]. As might be inferred from the ety- mology of the verbs employed, 7s denotes the in- herent essence, but ata the particular state ; to use the stock example, is fear é, ‘he is a man’ (not an elephant, &c.), but ata sé ’n-a fhear, ‘he isa man’ (not a boy) : cf. the distinction c’est un médecin, but ul est médecin, with is liaigh é and td sé ’n-a liaigh. But the most parallel case is the use in the Peninsula of the verbs ser and estar; thus es bueno, ‘he is (essentially) good,’ i.e, in his nature; but esta bueno, ‘he is ee temporarily) good,’ z.¢., in his health. Italian indeed does not possess this distinction, but it may be noted that the past parti- ciple of its verb to be is stato, which points to the feeling of distinction being present in all the dis- tricts where a Keltic language had been in use; and the careful and scrupulous observance of this subtle distinction in Welsh (cf. Welsh, ‘Arthur sydd yn frenin, ‘A. is a king’; but ‘A. yw y brenin, ‘A. is the king’) and Irish makes it tolerably certain that the origin of the idiom lay in the early Keltic speech, and was thence introduced into the Neo-Latin lan- guages.” Tue lady who has made an English abstract of the Stories of the Bagh o Bahdr from the Ori- ginal Text (Allen & Co.) has done her work, so far as it goes, well and with intelligence. But we gather from the note following her preface that the English version has been obtained from the Urdti, and the Urdu translator or adapter himself tells us, “ The ‘ Bigh o Bahar’ was com- posed by a Persian, Amir Khusrau, for the benefit of his master, Nizim-ud-din-aulia.zari- zarbakhsh ”—in other words, that its original language was Persian. Commonly known as the ‘ Kissah i Char Darvish,’ or ‘ Story of the Four Dervishes,’ it is perhaps doubtful who was its true author. Dr. Rieu (‘Catalogue of Persian MSS. in the British Museum,’ vol. ii. p. 762) says that a book so designated, in prose, is men- tioned among the works of Anjab, and that Sir W. Ouseley attributes the tales to Muhammad ‘Ali M‘astim ; at the same time he admits that it is popularly ascribed to Amir Khusrau, the distinguished poet, of whom Shaikh Nizému’d din Auliya was the spiritual guide. Readers who become acquainted with the ‘ Bagh o Bahar’ for the first time in the dress now assigned to it will scarcely find much attractive reading in this small, neatly printed volume. Stories within stories are well enough in their way, but the transition from one to the other must not be too abrupt or wanting in a certain relevance, albeit Oriental—defects which here become enhanced by monotony and repetition of incident and situation. As for those to whom the narrative is familiar, this English version will be as unex- pected as would be a new translation into our tongue of Czesar’s ‘ De Bello Gallico.’ The book has been in use for the examination of officers in India more than half a century, and it would be strange indeed had nothing in the shape of a “crib” been hitherto procurable. With regard to the present abstract, however, the perform- ance is satisfactory and meritorious, in spite of such inconsistencies of transliteration as ‘‘ Mu- hammud” and “ Mahommedanism,” “ Ahmud ” and ‘* Khfradmand,” ‘‘ darwesh” and “ durbar.” And our old Indian friend (hukka) is barely to be recognized in ‘‘ coffee and the hookar.” OUR LIBRARY TABLE, In The Influence of Sea-Power upon History, 1660-1783 (Sampson Low & Co.), Capt. A. T. Mahan, of the United States Navy, has supplied a most interesting and valuable discussion of the principles and precedents of naval strategy and tactics. Approaching his subject with the temper of an impartial student, he examines into the elements of sea-power, which he conceives to be based largely on geographical conditions, the extent of seaboard, the number of the sea- faring population, and the magnitude of the commerce. This power, though established by arms, acts to a very great extent by its silent pressure, so that much of its effect passes com- paratively unnoticed. He adduces as an instance of this the success of the English in India, which he considers mainly due to the prepon- derance of their navy and the command of the sea so acquired, in spite of the able opposition of the French admirals. Of the battles in Indian waters the English had little to boast; but the enduring pressure of superior force accomplished what the skill of their admirals was unequal to. But this is only one instance out of many. The book is in a very high degree suggestive, and deserves to be carefully studied by every one who wishes fully to understand how entirely England’s greatness rests on her navy. Mr. E. Leamy has a considerable literary gift ; it is seldom that we come upon a book of fairy stories so daintily and delicately imagined as Irish Fairy Tales (Dublin, Gill & Son). “No bird was fonder of green woods and waving branches,” he writes of one of his Princes Charm- ing; but beyond doubt there is one writer of Irish fairy tales at least as fond. There is not a page without some revelation of the author’s deep and loving appreciation of nature; so that though there are no long descriptions, we read these stories in an atmosphere bright with the sun and full moon, and fragrant with thyme and heather and golden gorse—the right atmosphere for fairy tales. And the tales themselves are exceedingly pretty. All the princes are brave, and the princesses beautiful and true. Finola
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126 THE ATHENZUM N° 3274, Juty 26, ’90 EE “was as sweet and as fresh as an opening rose- bud, and her voice was as musical as the whisper of a stream in the woods in the hot days of summer”; and, as befits such a nice girl, her story is one of the prettiest that can be ima- gined, and the description of her life with the withered old witch on the bare brown lonely moor recalls for delicacy and sweetness and charm the fairy stories of Hans Christian Andersen. It is, perhaps, the best thing in Mr. Leamy’s modest volume, for, like Andersen’s, his is essentially a gentle gift, and try as he will he cannot make his giants really terrible. Even that monstrous wretch “so ill-tempered that the other giants called him Shavan the Surly ” has his heart in the right place, though his one eye “burned like a live coal in the middle of his forehead, his mouth stretched from ear to ear, his teeth were long and crooked, the skin of his face was as black as night, and his arms and chest were all covered with black, shaggy hair.” Blood-curdling atrocities might be expected of such a person—dreadful apart from all question of size; but he turns out perfectly harmless, and his temper, judged by a less gentle standard than Mr. Leamy’s, would be merely called irrit- able. He is, indeed, softer-hearted than his fellow giant, who, not knowing what a prince is good for, imagines he must be good to eat ; but even here we know perfectly well that Mr. Leamy’s kindness will triumph over his political convictions, and that the prince will live happy ever after with his loved princess. All the stories have a happy ending, and will probably be more popular with girls than boys, and with grown persons than either; for the gory passages lack conviction, and the merit of the tales is chiefly in the many delicate touches that the young people will mostly fail to appreciate. Indeed, charming as these stories are, the best passages are not the dramatic ones, and we should expect to find Mr. Leamy in his element in a book of lyric verses. In the preface to his work on New Zealand for the Emigrant, Invalid, and Tourist, Dr. John Murray Moore (Sampson Low & Co.) tells his readers that the only possible excuse for adding to the books already published on New Zealand consists in the ability to say some- thing original. In these pages he proves his justification for now writing. In the chapters on the climatic qualities of the country he has opened up a comparatively untrodden field. His division of these islands into “ climatic zones”; his analyses of the numerous spas of the northern island, together with his account of the local peculiarities of the chief settlements, are full of interest to the professional man and the invalid in search of health. His lively description of the wonders of the hot lake district will attract the tourist, and so will those chapters which depict the fiords of the west coast. But the emigrant who desires to settle will not find much in this volume which has not been written, and better written, before. As all New Zealand statistics are derived from the same source, namely, the official returns, they cannot vary. They are the surest proof of the general prosperity of the colonists, notwith- standing the temporary cloud which has obscured the prospect, and which is the effect of a reck- less expenditure in former years. A sounder finance now prevails. Messrs. Vizetetty & Co. publish Songs of the Army of the Night, by Mr. Francis Adams, who has been described by the Sydney Bulletin as “the least Australian of the Australian poets.” The author thinks ill of England and is an anarchist, but an anarchist who finds a momentary satisfac- tion in the most unanarchic condition of Aus- tralia, where he now resides. We fail to find much poetry in Mr. Adams’s verses, and we do not always understand his sense, as for example where he makes a bitter attack on the English people for certain proceedings in Japan, their guilt in regard to which is not explained. Mr. Adams, however, can be sensible when he chooses, and what he has written of the eloquence of Bishop Moorhouse and of the regret of Australia at losing him is wise and just. Messrs, SONNENSCHEIN & Co, publish Charity Organization, by Mr. C. S. Loch, the well-known secretary of the London Charity Organization Society. The work forms part of a “Social Science Series,” and is a perfect little manual on the subject of which it treats. In the earlier part of the volume the Poor Law itself is briefly dealt with. M. J. Granp-CarTeRET issues through MM. Perrin & Co., Bismarck en Caricatures, an illus- trated volume which will amuse its readers. The caricatures of which specimens are given naturally vary much in merit, the German being by far the best, with the exception of the famous pilot cartoon from Punch, and one good Swiss cut of the Triple Alliance. The French caricatures here given compare most unfavout- ably with the German, and in proof of the correctness of our assertion we would refer readers of M. Carteret’s work to p. 99, where they will find an admirable German caricature of a party at the Chancellor’s, representing his gigantic form surrounded by the humble and obsequious figures of the deputies of his majorities. This is far superior to any of the French caricatures in the book. THE volumes of the “ All-England Series” of Messrs. George Bell & Sons are of such small dimensions that Mr. Green has only been able to produce within the limits assigned to him a treatise on the merest rudiments of Chess. So far as it goes, it is well done. The bibliography is fairly useful. Swimming, by Mr. Cobbett, is an excellent manual. Yet another member of the series, Cycles and Cycling, by Mr. Hewitt Griffin, seems to us to give too much space to a description of machines all of them likely to be soon superseded.—Chess Problems (Sonnen- schein & Co.), by Mr. Rayner, is likely to help the young chess-player to manufacture problems, and perhaps solve them. Messrs. Macmittan continue to deserve warm thanks by the continued issue of reprints at a moderate price, of convenient size, nicely bound, and well printed. Among the volumes before us are Mrs, Craik’s Two Marriages ; Mr. Montagu Williams’s Leaves of a Life; Sir Henry Cunningham’s clever novel Wheat and Tares ; The Water of Life, a volume of Kingsley’s ser- mons; The Squatter’s Dream, by Ralf Boldre- wood ; and Lowisiana and That Lass o’ Lowrie’s, two stories by Mrs. Hodgson Burnett, which appear together in one volume. The same pub- lishers send us a fourth edition of Prof. Sidg- wick’s standard work, The Methods of Ethics. Thanks to the enthusiasm of one of the author's admirers at Girton, an index is now added, we are glad to say, to this important work, which has been revised with a view to meeting recent criticisms. WE are glad to welcome the first volume of a selection from Madame D’ Arblay’s Diaries (Vize- telly & Co.), edited by Mr. W. C. Ward.— Messrs. Chatto & Windus’s reprint of Douglas Jerrold’s Barber’s Chair and Hedgehog Letters will be welcome to many. These reprints of Messrs. Chatto & Windus are nicely bound, the typography is good, and the price low.—In re- writing his work on Public Libraries Mr. Green- wood has much improved it. It is a slip of Mr. Greenwood’s, however, to call Mr. Magnusson “a Cambridge tutor.” From what he says at p. 367 it is evident Mr. Greenwood has not seen the rack for magazines at the Reform Club.— To Messrs. Macmillan & Co. we are indebted for a very handsome reprint of FitzGerald’s transla- tion of the Rubdiydt of Omar Khayyam.—Mr. Heywood has sent us a number of cheap editions of the racy stories and sketches of the late Edwin Waugh. LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology, Cleary’s (Rev. C.) New Light upon Scripture: Mashal, or Hebrew Poetry Revived, cr. 8vo, 2/ cl. Fisher's (G. P.) The Nature and Method of Revelation, 4/6 cl. Kingsley’s (C.) Sermons on National Subjects, cheap ed. 3/6 Smyth’s (N.) Personal Creeds, or How to form a Working Theory of Life, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Law, Boyle (E.) and Davies’s (G. H.) Principles of Rating Prac- tically Considered, 8vo. 21 Brown’s (T.) Secretaries of Duties, imp. 16mo., 2/ cl. Fine Art. Bowes’s (J. L.) Japanese Pottery, with Notes and Illustra- tions, imp. 8vo, 52/6 el. Poetry and the Drama, Ransome’s (C.) Short Studies of Shakespeare’s Plots, 3/6 cl. Philosophy. Maher’s (M.) Psychology, cr. 8vo. 6/6 cl. History and Bugraphy. Pollock’s (Sir F.) An Introduction to History of the Science f Politics, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Geography and Travel, Barth’s (H.) Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. (Minerva Library.) Stevens's (T.) Scouting for Stanley in East Africa, cr. 8vo. 7/6 Philology. Bower (A. M.) and Solva’s (Prof. D. E.) First Spanish Book, 16mo, 2/ cl. Swiss Travel, being Chapters from Dumas’s ‘ Impressions de Voyage,’ ed. by E. H. Parry, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Science, Andrews'’s (T. N.) Complete Comprehensive Course of Scale Drawing for Military Candidates, cr. 4to. 7/6 cl. Chaffey’s (W. C.) Lymph-Stasis, or Retardation of Lymph as an Element in Causation of Disease, 8vo. 3/ cl. Griffith's (A. B ) The Diseases of Crops and their Remedies, cr. 8vo, 2/6 cl. Jeans’s (J. 8S.) Waterways and Water Transport in Different Countries, 8vo. 14/ cl. Lee’s (R.) History and Description of the Collie or Sheep Dog, 8vo. 3/6 cl. Preston's (T.) The Theory of Light, 8vo. 12/6 cl. Ransome’s (A.) The Causes and Prevention of Phthisis, 5/ cl. Thomas’s (H. O.) Contributions to Surgery and Medicine, Part 7, 8vo. 10/ swd. Toynbee’s (Capt. H.) Weather Forecasting for the British Islands by means of a Barometer, 12mo, 2/ cl. Walker’s (F.) Tables and Memoranda for Electrical En- gineers, 32mo, 2/ cl. General Literature. Alexander’s (Mrs.) Heart Wins and The Australian Aunt, and other Stories, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. ublic Companies and their Bourne's (Mrs.) Two Loves in One Life, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds, Brightwen’s (Mrs.) Wild Nature won by Kindness, 3/6 cl. Cattle Ships, being the Fifth Chapter of Mr. Plimsoll’s Second Appeai for our Seamen, imp. 16mo, 5/ cl. County (The), a Novel, 12mo. 2/ bds. Craik’s (Mrs.) The Laurel Bush, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Cromie’s (R.) A Plunge into Space, roy. 16mo. 2/ swd. Dicey’s (A. V.) The Verdict, Tract on the Political Signi- ticance of Report of Parnell Commission, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Dickens’s Martin Chuzzlewit, Crown Edition, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Ely’s(R. T.) The Labour Movement in America, cr. 8vo. 5/ Green’s (A. K.) A Matter of Millions, cr. 8vo, 2/ bds. Hart’s (M.) Two English Girls, 2 vols. cr. 8vo. 21/ cl. Heyse’s (P.) Incurable, trans. by Mrs. H. W. Eve, 8vo. 6/ cl. Hullah’s (M. E.) As the Tide Turns, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Maclure’s (D.) David Todd, the Romance of his Life and. Loving, 12mo. 5/ cl. Mason’s (A.) Steps of the Sun, Daily Readings of Prose, 3/6 Metgerott, Shoemaker, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Paterson's (A.) The Better Man, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Rarahu, or the Marriage of Loti, by Pierre Loti, translated. by C. Bell, 12mo. 2/6 swd. Robinson’s (F. W.) A Very Strange Family, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Robinson’s (G. H.) Peter's Paradise, a Child’s Dream of the- Crystal Palace, ob. royal 8vo. 2/ bds. Seven Summers, an Eton Medley, by the Editor of ‘ The- Parachute ’ and ‘ Present Etonian,’ royal 16mo. 3/6 bds. Tourgee’s (A. W.) Pactolus Prime, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. FOREIGN, Theology. Déllinger (J. v.): Briefe u. Erklarungen iib. die Vaticanis- chen Decrete, 1869-87, 2m. 25. Law. Bugnottet (G.) et Sauvigney (A. N. de): Etudes Adminis- tratives et Judiciaires sur Londres et l'Angleterre, Vol, 2, 12fr. Fine Art and Archeology. Clemen (P.): Die Portraitdarstellungen Karls d. Grossen,. 6m. Kérte (G.): I Rilievi delle Urne Etrusche, Vol. 2, Part 1, 40m. Schreiber (T.): Die Hellenistischen Reliefbilder, Parts 3-5, 60m. Seyboth (A.): Das Alte Strassburg vom 13 Jahrh, bis zum J . 1870, 15m, Philosophy. Stumpf (C.): Tonpsychologie, Vol. 2, 12m. History and Biography. Aumale (Duc a’): La Journée de Rocroy, 3fr. 50. Geography and Travel. Henrique (L.): Les Colonies Frangaises Vol. 5 Colonies. d’ Afrique, 3fr. 50, Philology. Lienig (P.): Die Grammatik der Provenzalischen Leys a’Amours, Part 1, 2m. 80. Sobolewski (8.): De Prepositionum usu Aristophaneo, 4m.
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= XUM N° 3274, Jury 26, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 127 Generat Literature, Bunand (A.): Petits Lundis, 3fr. 50. Hugues (C.): Paris Vivant: Le Journal, 20fr. : Morsier (E. de): Romanciers Allemands Contemporains, 3fr. 50. Verne (J.): César Cascabel, Part 1, 3fr. LITERARY SWEATING. 7, Hyde Park Mansions, N.W., July 21, 1890. As a member of the Incorporated Society of Authors, I venture to ask you to allow me to express my utter and entire dissent from the attack on the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge which Mr. Besant has made in a new journal, called The Author, which he edits, and for which, I presume, we members of the Society pay. I can honestly say that for the only book which I wrote for, and published with, the Society, I received the most liberal and generous terms—far better terms than I have received from any one of the many publishers whom I have helped to enrich during the past thirty or forty years, and at least ten times as liberal as those which the late Mr. H. G. Bohn paid me for editing sundry volumes for his ‘‘ Libraries.” I should have thought that Mr. Besant could have found a fitter object for his shafts without travelling beyond Paternoster Row. E. Watrorp, M.A. A MALAGASY ‘ MAUD.’ Anglesey, Gosport. A QUAINT, and presumably rare, little volume has recently come into my possession, entitled ‘Chansons Madecasses, traduites en Francois, suivies de Poésies Fugitives, par M. le Chevalier A Londres, M.pcco.txxxvu.’ The anonymous author, or rather translator, who is evidently the erotic Creole poet of the Isle de Bourbon, Evariste Désiré de Parny, must have acquired his materials from the numerous Mala- gasy slaves, whose miseries and sufferings gave to him such a distaste to the lovely island of Réunion when he revisited the home of his boy- hood in the Indian Ocean in 1774. He could not, said he, writing to his sympathetic friend Bertin, enjoy his pleasure in a country where his eyes continually witnessed the spectacle of slavery, and where the sound of the lash and of chains continually struck his ears and re-echoed in his heart. Of these Malagasy singers, who are no mean adepts at musical accompaniment to their songs on the valiha and lokanga, the Chevalier states in his avertissement: ‘Ils n’ont point de vers ; leur poésie n’est qu'une prose soignée. Leur musique est simple, douce,et toujours mélancolique.” The following specimen of a Malagasy love song is the last of the twelve chansons given by De Parny, and it has been selected as exhibiting a distant parallelism in not a few ideas with some famous lines of our Laureate. This fanciful sentiment may amuse some of your readers, but even if it excites ridicule from the many, the lines themselves should interest a few :— Nahandove,* 6 belle Nahandove ! L’oiseau nocturnej a commencé ses cris, La pleine lune brille sur ma téte, Et la rosée naissante humecte mes cheveux. Voici l'heure; qui peut t’arréter, Nahandove, 6 belle Nahandove ! Le lit de feuilles est préparé ; Je l’ai parsemé de fleurs et d’herbes odoriférantes ;{ Zl est digne de tes charmes, Nahandove, 6 belle Nahandove ! Elle vient. J’ai reconnu la respiration Précipit€ée que donne une marche rapide ; J’entends le froissement de la pagne§ qui l’enveloppe; C’est elle, c’est elle, C’est Nahandove, la belle Nahandove ! Reprends haleine, ma jeune amie; Repose-toi sur mes genoux. Que ton regard est enchanteur ! ‘Que le mouvement de ton sein est vif Et délicieux sous la main qui le presse ! Tu souris, Nahandove, 6 belle Nahandove ! * Andovy is the Bara name of a bird. { Loiseau nocturne, the vorondolo, lit. ghost-bird, i.e., the | | of London, 475 complied with the law. If your owl. [] There are many sweet-scented flowers, jasmine, stepha- notis, &c., whilst the ravintsara leaves have a most delicious spicy odour. § Pagne—the /ambéa or robe, made of striped silk, cotton, or rofia fibre, Tes baisers pénétrent jusqu’a l’ime ; Tes caresses brilent tous mes sens ; Arréte, ou je vais mourir. Meurt-on de volupté, Nahandove, 6 belle Nahandove! Le plaisir passe comme un éclair. Ta douce haleine s‘affoiblit, Tes yeux humides se renferment, Ta téte se penche mollement Et tes transports s’éteignent dans la langueur. Jamais tu ne fus si belle, Nahandove, 6 belle Nahandove ! Que le sommeil est délicieux dans les bras d’une maitresse ! Moins délicieux pourtant que le réveil. Tu pars, et je vais languir dans les regrets et les désirs. Je languirai jusqu’au soir. Tu reviendras ce soir, Nahandove, 6 belle Nahandove ! As an example of the sonorous language, per- haps it may be as well to add the identical words of a Malagasy bard from Ambohimarina, who, says Mr. Baker,* being a cripple, gained his livelihood by song-making :— ANONIBE. Indro ny rano Ambaniala Avaratr’ Ambohidrapeto, Avaratr’ Ambohitrimanjaka ; Mahaiza mandeha, Mahaiza mizotra, Aza mamono zana’ bahoaka Tondraka, toa misaron’ doha ; Ritra, toa manao sikimbalaka: Ka ny azy re toetr’ andro ny Ka mivalambalan’ indray Koa mankany Ikiopa ; Ikiopa rano malaza ; Homamby fa tsy voky, Mivalambalan’ indray. THE GREAT RIVER. Yonder Ambaniala’s streams go forth, Ambohidrapeto to the north extends, To the north also Ambohitrimanjaka, Flow straight on! Keep to thy course! Nor kill the children with thy might ! Swollen, thou art like an ample lamba ; Dry, like a scanty waist-cloth ; And thus from day to day Thou rollest onward continually ; Soon at Ikiopa are thy waters found ; Ikiopa the renowned river, Devouring yet unsatiated, Toiling ever and unending. The bard follows the course of the great river, flowing on till it reaches the sea, till it comes to the frothy foam, writhing in restless agony and pain where the best beloved are un- wept for and forsaken, where all partake the bitter curse—meaning evidently foreign slavery. It is to be feared the coming gold mania may prove an equally ominous bane. The humane Ber- nardin de St. Pierre used to wonder when he heard the sound of the singing in the huts of the Malagasy slaves of the Isle of France far into the night ; alas! too often to be interrupted by the sound of the lash and cries of agony which pierced his soul with poignant sympathy. The present writer, too, has listened long and often to these plaintive cadences during the night watches in the villages of these people at their own homes in Imerina and Betanimena, or on the Betsimisaraka coasts. It was impossible not to feel deeply touched by the strains and enjoy- ment of these simple folk. Of their war songs I may have more to say hereafter. S. Pasrretp OLIvER, Capt. late R.A. THE BISHOP OF LONDON TRANSCRIPTS. 124, Chancery Lane, July 23, 1890. Your correspondent Mr. E. W. Stanford, in the Athenewm for June 28th, states that the Bishop’s transcripts for the diocese of London still exist ‘‘ up in the dome of St. Paul’s, await- ing the next conflagration in London, and some at Fulham Palace,” and leads us to the opinion, from his reference to a letter from Mr. Waters relating to the Washington family, that these transcripts may be of seventeenth century date. Hitherto the generally received opinion has been that no transcripts were returned to the Bishop of London until 1813. Some change appears then to have taken place, and in 1829 it was stated that out of 618 parishes in the diocese correspondent is, however, correct, his discovery **On the Poetry of Madagascar,’ by the Rev. E. Baker, in Journal of the Bengal Asiatic Society, vol. i., 1832, is a very important one, and further inquiry re- specting it should be made. Genealogists will be especially thankful, for such transcripts may fill up many a gap in the parish registers of Middlesex. But, however this may be, the mere statement that there exists such a heap of unsorted docu- ments in St. Paul’s Cathedral excites one’s curiosity. It goes to show, what I have already urged on several occasions, how desirable would be the formation of local or county record offices, in which their owners might deposit such docu- ments pro salva custodia. W. P. W. PHILLIMORE. SALE. Messrs. SorHesy, WILKINSON & HopGE con- cluded on Friday, July 18th, the sale of the library of the late Mr. W. Hartree. The prices throughout ruled high, and the interest and competition were well sustained to the end. In many instances it was known how much the books had cost Mr. Hartree. With the excep- tion of the ‘‘ Galleries” and a few of the larger works, they nearly all realized a considerable advance upon what he paid. Beauties of England and Wales and Scotland, on large paper, with many extra illustrations inserted, 6651. Alken, British Sports, 1821, 27/. 10s. Angas, New Zealanders, 1847, 18). Atkyns, Gloucester- shire, 1712, 251. (cost 91. 9s.). Baker, North- amptonshire, large paper, 1822, 121. Blomefield, History of Norfolk, 5 vols., 1769-75, 381. (cost 16]. 16s.). Botta, Monuments de Ninive, 5 vols. vellum paper, 1849, 251. 10s. Brayley, Theatres of London, with extra illustrations, 1826, 44]. 10s. Oswald, Caledonian Pocket Com- panion, presentation copy to Robert Burns, with a song and notes in his autograph, 241. 5s. (cost 6l. 6s.). Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland, complete set, 43/. Two volumes containing prints, portraits, &c., relating to theatres, 301. (cost 101. 10s.). Caoursini, Obsidionis Rhodie Urbis Descriptio, Ulmeze, 1496, 201. 5s. (cost 31. 10s.). Clutterbuck’s History of Hertfordshire, 3 vols. large paper, 1815, 22l. Curtis, Flora Londinensis, 5 vols., 1835, 271. 10s. Doubleday, Genera of Diurnal Lepidoptera, 2 vols., 1846, 18/. 10s. Dugdale, Antiquities of Warwickshire, 1730, 23]. Dallaway, Western Division of the County of Sussex, 3 vols., with extra illustrations, 771. 10s. (cost 48I.). A series of Dramatic Memoirs, in 21 volumes, inlaid to quarto size and illustrated with numerous engravings, playbills, autograph letters, por- traits, caricatures, &c., 572I. (cost 1341.). A col- lection of engravings of various schools, in several folio volumes, 160]. Gould, Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains, 201. ; Birds of Europe, 80/.; Birds of Australia, 210/.; Birds of Asia, 961.; Birds of Great Britain, 591. ; Birds of New Guinea, 40/.; Monograph of the Trochilide, 47/.; Mammals of Australia, 30/. Gray, Genera of Birds, 1849, 231. Heures de Notre Dame pour Mademoyselle Francoise Du Plessis, illuminated manuscript on vellum, sec. XVI., 501. Horz B.V. Marie, printed on vellum, 1522, 38/. 10s. (cost 25/.). Hasted, History of Kent, 4 vols, 1778-99, 201. A collection of Hogarth’s Prints in three volumes, 311. The Houghton Gallery, 2 vols. 1788, 251. (cost 101. 10s.). Kingsborough, Anti- quities of Mexico, 1831-48, 591. Loddiges, Botanical Cabinet, 1817-33, 22/. 10s. Hussey, Illustrations of British Mycology, 2 vols., 1847, 121. (cost 8l.10s.). James I., Basilicon Doron, first edition, Edinburgh, 1599, 511. (cost 51. 5s., and was previously sold for 6s. 6d. !). Manning and Bray, History of Surrey, 3 vols., 1804-14, 281. Martius, Historia Naturalis Palmarum, 3 vols., 1831, 217. 10s. Meyer, Illustrations of British Birds, 4 vols., 19/. 10s. Morant, County of Essex, additionally illustrated, 1768, 15/. 5s. Nichols, History of the County of Leicester, 8 vols., large paper, 1795-1811, 1111. (cost 851. 10s.) Ormerod, History of the County and
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128 , THE ATHENZAUM N° 3274, Jury 26, 90 City of Chester, large paper, 1819, 291. Piranesi, Opere, 24 vols.,45/. Poliphili Hypnerotomachia, 1499, 641. Milton, Paradise Lost, first edition, 1669, 161. Nichols, Progresses of Queen Eliza- beth, with additional illustrations, 17]. (coat 121. ‘12s.). Pilkington, Dictionary of Painters, with illustrations inserted, 16/. 10s. (cost 7/. 10s. ). A collection of engraved portraits in several volumes, 63/. A series of original etchings by Rembrandt, with copies and other engravings, 41l. 14s. A collection of mezzotint prints after Sir Joshua Reynolds, in a folio volume, 431. 10s. Roberts, Holy Land, 6 vols., a coloured copy, 36. (cost 561. ). A collection of engravings after the works of Rubens, in 5 vols., formed by J. Smith, 1001. (cost 84/.). Rowlandson, English Dance of Death, 2 vols., 1815-16, 12/. J. Smith, Catalogue Raisonné, 9 vols, 161. Sowerby, English Botany, 13/. 5s. Selby, Illustrations of British Ornithology, 2 vols., 1834, 271. 10s. (cost 211). Shakspeare, Comedies, Histories, and Tragedies, first folio edition, 1623, imperfect, 115/. (cost 1001.) ; the second edition, 1632, 291. (cost 18/. 10s.); the third edition, 1664, 891. (cost 24/.) ; the fourth edition, 1685, 45]. (cost 81. 8s.). ‘Shakspeare’s Works, by Halliwell- Phillipps, 16 vols., 801. Shaw, "History of Staf- fordshire, 1798, 27/. 10s. Silvestre, Paléographie UDniverselle, 4 vols., 19/. 10s. (cost 48/.). Spence, Anecdotes, extensively illustrated, 1820, 371. (cost 157. 10s.). Surtees, History of Durham, 4 vols., 1816, 161. Theatrical Portraits, Satirical Prints, Playbills, &c., bound together in a large volume, 761. Thibault, Académie de l’Espée, 1628, 251. The sale produced 8,255/. 10s. 6d. ANOTHER GOETHE ANECDOTE. Arts Club, July, 1890. Lone after his retirement from the active duties of theatre management, Goethe retained his kindly feeling towards the players, and every actor or actress who visited Weimar, either as tourist or a star, managed to get him or herself presented to the great poet. In 1827 Auguste Sutorius was in Weimar, and she induced the Berlin actor Kriiger to introduce her to Goethe. The talents of Auguste as an actress were con- siderable, but her literary attainments must have been rather despicable. She had played in Goethe’s ‘ Mitschuldigen’ —a piece produced before the poet had attained the age of eighteen —but the actress did not know by whom the play was written ; nor was ignorance y bliss 1 in the case of this unhappy lady, since her want of knowledge of the authorship of this play led her into a terrible pitfall. She was young, handsome, vivacious, but was ‘€ ein echtes Wienerkind,” a true child of Vienna, and cannot have cared much for literature. Goethe met her with the rather stately manner in which he occasionally received visitors, and his style of address somewhat confounded a lady accustomed to the Bohemian tone of a Vienna theatre. Kriiger thought to interest Goethe in his protégée by explaining that Demoiselle Sutorius had acted Sophie in the ‘ Mitschuldigen,’ where- upon the lively lady exclaimed, in tones of strong disgust, ‘‘ Oh, don’t speak of that, Herr Kriiger ! pray don’t mention that horrible piece. I never hated any part more.” The disconcerted Kriiger felt ready to sink into the earth; but Goethe, without showing the slightest symptom of irrita- tion or annoyance, observed calmly, ‘‘ Good, good ; that is very nice.” The great and gener- ous poet did not allow the young lady’s literary deficiencies to militate against her theatrical pretensions or lessen her claim upon his kindly courtesy. H. Scutitz Witson. THE ‘DIES IRE’ IN ENGLISH. Southfields, Longford, Coventry. Here follows a list of versions of the ‘ Dies Ire’ in the English language, being all of which I have yet been able to ascertain the existence. It is in two portions, British and American: the stars mark those versions (all American except one) whereof I have been hitherto unable to procure copies. If any correspondent will kindly send me copies of these, or of any others not upon the list, he will have my grateful thanks. The date attached is that of the first publica- tion, supposed of course to coincide, or nearly so, with that of the writing ; where it has come to my knowledge that these dates differ, the version is placed under the latter, the former being noted in the middle column. Where I have received or discovered a version altogether dateless, it is placed at the end of that decade of years to which at a rough guess, and on the best evidence that could be found, it has appeared to belong. All are in triplets where it is not otherwise stated, and the use of the words iambic and trochaic is confined to these versions ; but there is no need of a separate column to show the nature of the rhyme, since it is sufficiently in- dicated in the description of the metre ; for it is of course clear that ‘‘trochaic 8s” must have a double rhyme, and “trochaic 7s” and “iambic 83” a single one. As to the character of the version itself, a reader will be safe in assuming that one not in triplets is of a paraphrastic kind : the converse rule, that a version in triplets is a literal one, is not so universally true, but it may be considered as near enough to the truth for the purposes of a rough list like the present ; and, indeed, in most cases, it is true at least for the greater part of each version. It may perhaps be acceptable to readers to give references, for facts concerning the un- decided authorship of Nos. 4 and 8, to the Saturday Review for the 23rd of August and the 20th of September, 1884, and the Dublin Review | for October of the same year. . S. Warren, M.A. I, British Versions, No. Date. Author and Source. Metre. 1 1621 Joshua Sylvester: Divine Weekes of Dubartas k ove «. 1778, 778 2 Richard Crashaw : Steps to the Temple see i aoe eee ... Coups. irreg. 3 Patrick Carey : Trivial Poems and Triolets ... a6 ase ve ... Trochaic 7s 4 William Drummond (or Ben Jonson): Posthumous Poems au one ovo Iambic 8s 5 A. Crowther and T. V. Sadler: Rosarists’ Daily Exercises eee ooo eee ... Tambic 88 6 James Dymock: Sacrifice of the New Law ... oo sion one ove ... Trochaic 7s 7 Anon.: Following of Christ ae oe need ... Tambic 88 10 8 Earl of Roscommon (or John Dryden): Miscellanea Sacra ni ose ooo ... Iambic 8s 9 Anon.: Bona Mors eee * we seo BS tee «-. Couplets 10s 10 Anon. : Office for the Dead soe ss ... lambic 83 ll Sir Walter Scott: Last Minstrel (expanded by Father Police, 1881) one oe «. Couplets 8s 12 Anon. : Orthodox Journal oe ove me on ... Couplets 8s. 13 ‘Anon. “T. T. S.”: Christian Observer, May ... ooo «. ITrreg. 10s 14 F. C. Canon Husenbeth : Catholic Miscellany ; iad Missal ad the Iaity, 1831. coe --- 886, 886 15 Anon. : Collection of Catholic Hymns = eee - Quatrains 8s 16 Anon. “0.”: Christian Remembrancer, April .. ove eve 5 oes +» Zambic 88 17 Lord Mecaulay : Christian Observer a as ie es na .-. Couplets 7s. 18 William Hay: Bengal Annual - “_ -» Couplets 7s 19 Canon Parkinson (Fragment) : Saturday Magazine, 22 Sept. ; ; also Poems, 1832, 1845... ... Variable 20 Isaac Williams: British Magazine, Jan.; also Hymns from Parisian ae 1839... Trochaic 7s 21 1837 John Chandler: Hymns of Primitive Church .. pa +. Trochaic 8s 22 1837 Anon, “C. F. R. of Fulneck” (Moravian) : Christian Observer, Jan. a ooo «. Trochaic 8s 23 1839 J. R. D. Beste: Catholic Hours oe ove eee ne ove +» Trochaic 8s 24 1839 Anon.: Catholic Magazine on iow poe ase ... Tambic 8s 25 1839 Daniel French : Selection of Catholic Hymns... a ooo sails +» Quatrains 8s 26 1842 William Young: Catholic Choralist = ove ose ove +. Iambic 8s 27 1844 Dean Alford: Psalms aud Hymns ... aa ie son ove =r +» Trochaic 7s. 28 1844 Abp. Trench: Hymns for the Sick . oso a eos ove one «» Trochaic 7s 29 1845 W. F. Wingfield: Prayers for the Dead seo ae =e ne Iambic 8s 31 ¢1846{ Father James D. Aylward: Annus Sanctus (ed. 0. Shipley, M.A. 1864 ou in sews hag 32 1847 Lord Lindsay (Earl of Crawford): History of Christian Art ais nae mae .. Trochaic 7s 33 1847 Howel W. Lloyd: Paradise of the Christian Soul eee ae aoe oes ... Trochaic 7s 34 1847 W.J. Copeland: Dublin Review, Jan., 1883 ... ane aes i on «» Trochaic 7s 35 1847 Anon.: Spiritual Repository (rhymeless) abe oo ooo eos os Trochaic 8s 36 1848 Richard D. Williams: Manual for Sisters of Charity a 6665, 6665 37 1848 Dr. W. J. Irons: Pamphlet ; Hymns for Margaret Street, Chapel about 1849; HA. M. 1861 «. Trochaic 8s 38 1849 Dean Disney: Irish Ecclesiastical Journal, May ove ove ove coe ... Iambic 8s 39 1849 Archdeacon Rowan: Do., June (triplets) . ove ose ne ooo +. Variable 40 1849 Father Edward Caswall: * Lyra Catholica se ae ve +» Trochaic 7s 41... Anon. “E. 8.”: Holy Thoughts and Prayers, ed. Dean Hook ae ioe een + Iambic 8s 42 1850 Dr. F.G.Lee: Poems... oes sow aos ove +. Trochaic 7s 43 1851 Arthur T. Russell: Psalms and Hymns ie Sve = +. Trochaic 8s 44 1852 William J. Blew: Church Hymn and Tune Book eee ov ove «» Trochaic 8s 45 1854 R. G. Loraine: Libretto to Mozart’s Requiem ... ° see =e pee Trochaic 8s 46 1856 James A. Johnstone: English Hymnal ses noe se a «» Trochaic 8s 47 1857 H.J. Buckoll (Fragment): Rugby School Collection as nee hod a Trochaic 8s 48 1858 Mrs. Elizabeth Charles: Voice of Christian Life in aad coe ove oe Trochaic 7s 49 1858 Canon Bright: Athanasius, and other Poems ... ae eee ooo «.. Trochaic 7e 50 1859 John W. Hewett: Verses by a Country Curate ° “ * Trochaic 7s *51 .... W.Sugden: Hymns of Methodist New Connexion ove ove ove aes Kp ove 52... Charles L. Kenney: Libretto to Verdi’s Requiem ov ee ove ovo +. Trochaic 8s 53 1860 Abp. Benson: Wellington College Hymn-Book “ ove ove 3 Trochaic 83 54 1860 Mrs. F. J. Partridge : Catholic Hymnal ase oe ooo Trochaic 83 55 1860 Philip 8. Worsley: Blackwood’s Magazine, May ; Poems, 1863. ove ove ... Trochaic 8s 56 1862 W.H. Robinson: South London Chronicle, 26 May, 1866 ose se ove +. Trochaic 7s. 57 1862 Dr, Herbert Kynaston (Fragment): Occasional Hymns ene ooo eve +» Trochaic 8s 58 1854 Anon.: Mercer and Goss’s Church Psalter an ove es ove «. Trochaic 7s 59 1864 C. B. Cay ley: Church Times soe ae +. Trochaic 8s 60 1865 Father Francis Trappes: Liturgical ‘Hymns (third line rhymeless) = ie .. Trochaic 8% 61) ( Iambic 8s 62 -1866- J. H. Sweet: The Beautiful Latin Hymn, &c., third rhymeless ; two former revised 1873 Trochaic 83 63 Trochaic 8s 64 1867 Robert C. Singleton: Anglican Hymn-Book ies es es ... Iambic 8s 65 1867 John Wesley Thomas: Poems “ “ +. Trochaic 7s 66 1868 J. H. H. Abrahall: Christian Remembrancer, Tan. nor Tr. 8s coups. 67 1868 Dean Stanley: Macmillan’s Magazine, Dec. ; ow in Portal’ 's Albury Hymns, 1864 ... Tr. 7s coups, 68 1868 R. Holt Hutton: Spectator, 7th March sep Iambic 8s 69 ... Anon. (Quaker): Friends’ Magazine Iainbic 8s 70 1874 Dr. John Wallace: Hymns of the [Roman] Church Trochaic 8 71 1874 Charles Kent: The Month, Nov. . Trochaic 8s 72 1874 Mr. Justice John O’Hagan : Irish Monthly, March Trochaic 8s. 73 1875 Anon.: Messenger of Sacred Heart .. Trochaic 7s 74 1876 Dr. Hamilton Macgill: Songs of Christian Creed Trochaic 8s 75 1876 Mrs. Emily Righton: unpublished .. 0s Trochaic 8s 76 1878 Dr. William Macilwaine: Lyra Hibernica Sacra was ... Trochaic 7s. 77 1878 Osmund Seager: Oremus.. ae Trochaic 7s. 78 1878 Charles Warren : ‘unpublished Iambic 8s 79 1878 C. F.S. Warren: unpublished Iambic 8s 80... Dr. William B. Robertson: Presbyterian Hymnal Trochaic 83 81... Dr. Orlando Dobbin: unpublished ... Iambic 8s 82... Jackson Mason: unpublished Trochaic 8s 83 1880 D. T. Morgan: Hymns of Latin Church Tambic 8s 84 1880 Father F. G@. Maples: Messenger of Sacred Heart ; Our Lady of Light, — other Verses, 1884 Iambic 10s 85 1883 Father C, W. Hilton: Dublin Review, July ... ; Trochaic 8s 83 1884 Father Henry Rawes: Fly-sheet (rhymeless) .. - os ... Trochaic 88 87 1886 Father F, G. Maples (“‘ ,”): unpublished ove ws ... Brochaic 8
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XUM N° 3274, Juty 23, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 129
II, American Versions. Author and Source. *1 1841 Anon.: New York Evangelist, 16 Oct. 1845 Andrew Dickinson: City of the Dead 1847 H. H. Brownell: Poems sins ae 1848 J. Newton Browne: Baptist Memorial, Oct. 1851 Dr. Charles P. Krauth: Lutheran Observer, July ... ae = cs 1851 Dr. William R. Williams: Miscellanies ... 1852 Epes Sargent: Literary World, 13 Nov. *9 1852 Anon. ‘ Z.”: Literary World, 11 Dec. *10 1852 W.G. Dix: Literary World, 11 Dec 11 1855 Dr. Syivanus Phelps: Sunlight and Hearthlight ... 12 1856 Dr. Henry Mills: Hore Germanice 13 1859 Anon. * Somniator”: Poems... ose *14 1859 Dr. Richard Furman: Pleasures of Piety 15 1859 Dr. C. Z. Weiser: Guardian ese 2 1860 Dr. Robert Davidson: Elijah... eco *83 1860 Charles Rockwell: Christian Intelligencer *34 1861 Adolphe Periés 35 1863 Dr. George A. Crooke : Episcopal Recorder, 24 Jan. 36 1864 Alexander Rogers: The Lutheran oa 7 1864 James Ross: New York Observer 38, 3° } 19644 Erastus C. Benedict: Christian Intelligencer; Hymn of Hildebert, &c., 1867 41 1865 John A. Dix: Seven Great Hymns ove 42 1866 Marshall H. Bright: Round Table, 27 Oct. 43 1866 Edward Slosson: Seven Great Hymns ... 44 1867 Anon.: Living Age, 26 Jan. ... eve 45 1867 Anon.: Round Table, 2 Feb. ... ase 46 1867 Anon.: Round Table, 23 Feb.... ove *47 1867 C. M. Dodd: New York Observer, 28 March 48 1868 Roger S. Tracy: Evening Post, Jan. 49 1868 Dr. Philip Schaff: Hours at Home, May; Christ in Song, 1839 50 1869 Horace Castle: The University, April *51 1869 Anon.: Lippincott’s Magazine ae *52 1869 Anon.: Lippincott’s Magazine (Fragment) *53 4... Anon.: (partly in) Hours at Home, July, 1868 54 ... Robert M‘Corkle: Evening Post ove 55 .. Henry J. Macdonald ao 56... Oliver Taylor ca re as 57 1870 Asahel C. Kendrick: Our Poetical Favourites 58 1870 Anon.: Catholic Manual a 59 1872 John D. Van Buren: Catholic World, April, 1881 ... #30 1872 Anon.: The Churchman, 9 March 61 1873 ©. A. Walworth: Catholic World (rhyme irregular), May 62 1874 Charles H. A. Esling: Catholic World, March = } .s76{ John Anketell ; American Church Review, July ... }isz7 } Samuel W. Duffield: Warp and Woof; Christian Intelligencer 65 *36-70 71 1878 Samuel J. Watson: Belford’s Magazine, May 72 1878 William W. Nevin: Weekly Press, 18 Jan. *73 1878 J. Howard West: Pennsylvania College Monthly “ *j4 1879 Dr. Oliver Crane: Christian Secretary, 6 Aug. *75 1879 Nathaniel Smithers: Translations of Latin ‘ymns- 76 1879 Dr. Joel Swartz: Lutheran Observer, 22 Aug. 77 1880 Randolph W. Lowrie: The Churchman, 3 April *78 1880 D. Y. Heisler: Reformed Quarterly Review *79 1881 Charles Eliot: Standard, 24 Feb. -_ *80 1881 James Whitney: New York Observer, 19 May *81 1881 Luther Sheeleigh (rhymeless)... $2 1881 Matthias Sheeleigh: Lutheran Observer, 20 May ... 83 1882 Joseph J. Marrin: Catholic World, April *84 1882 Henry Lea: Translations and other Rhymes *85 1882 Emily Pearson: Christian Secretary, 24 May *86 1882 Dr. Thomas Porter: The Guardian, Oct. 87 1883 Thomas Mackellar: Hymns and a few Psalms *88 1883 Elizabeth Cleveland: The Independent, 12 April ss *89 1883 M. Woolsey Stryker: New York Evangelist, Nov. 90 1884 Dr. Franklin Johnson : privately printed 91 1884 George Davie: Catholic World, Nov. ... 92 1884 John Mason Brown: Catholic World, Nov.
ECCLESIASTICUS AND THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON. Acoop deal of discussion has lately taken place regarding Prof. Margoliouth’s theory that Eccle- siasticus was written in metre and in the Neo- Hebrew dialect. Three Oxford critics ventured to differ from the Laudian Professor, not accept- | ing the metre on the one hand and rejecting | a great part of the restoration in Neo-Hebrew | on the other hand, as the latter contains words never before heard of, as well as impossible forms, and, above all, a language mixed with Syriac, Aramaic, and Arabic, which is not the case in the Neo-Hebrew texts of the Mishnah and the contemporaneous Midrashim. Was Prof. Margoliouth’s theory altogether so new that it should have made such a stir in the theological world in this country? By no means. Many years ago Prof. Bickell, of Innsbruck, proposed a metre for Sirach, although a different one from that of the Laudian Professor ; and from | the fragments of Sirach preserved in the Tal- | mudical literature the conclusion was drawn forty years back that the author employed the Neo-Hebrew dialect. Even the task of re- storing the original text by the help of the | Greek and Syriac translations of Ecclesiasticus, | | Laudian Professor’s work is the conclusion he | which often differ, has been attempted by many continental scholars, and was lately re- peated by the lamented Dr. Edersheim in | Hebrew of the prophets and the Psalms and published by Mr. 2 3 ese ‘4 can ; 1851 Mrs. Margaret J. Preston: Presbyterian, 18 Jan., 1868 7 8 Microcosm.’ Nos. 1 and 2 first appeared in the Newark Advertiser, March, 1847 Metre. Trochaic 8s 883, 888 Trochaic 7s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s Iambic 8s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s Iambic 83 - Trochaic 8s (Trochaic 8s 6-2 i 22-26 \ee Abraham Coles, M.D.: Dies Ire in Thirteen Original Versions, 1859 ; the fifth edition, 1868, | Trochaic 7s 2 added Nos. 14 and 15, and 16 came out in 1881 in a volume of poems called ‘ The< Iambic 8s | Iam. couplets 8s \Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 7s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s ... Trochaic 7s di ee 836, 886 { Trochaic 8s ***’’ Trochaic 7s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 7s Iambic 8s Iambic 8s Trochaic 8s «» Trochaic 7s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 7s Trochaic 83 . Trochaic 83 Trochaic 88 Trochaic 8s Iambic 8s Iambic 8s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s Iambic 8s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s **'\ Trochaic 7s Trochaic 8s .. Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s 76, 76 Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 8s Iambic 8s . Trochaic 7s Iambic 8s Trochaic 8s Trochaic 7s «. Trochaic 8s Trochaic 7s Iambic 8s collaboration with Prof. Margoliouth in the ‘Speaker’s Commentary.’ But whilst most scholars hesitated to publish their results, the Laudian Professor was bolder and more confident of the truth of his discovery, and has proposed a complete restoration of Sirach, of which we find | a good number of specimens in his inaugural lecture, and more in his papers which have appeared in the Hupositor (April-May) as a rejoinder to his critics. The tone employed in these was rather that of a Jupiter Tonans, more especially as regards one of them, who went, ac- cording to the professor, into too many details in order to show how unacceptable was the language of the restoration ; the professor brandishes the tu quoque, and accuses him of having made a grammatical mistake by putting the relative TUN after the word »; this the professor finds for- | bidden in the elementary grammars of Gesenius, | Davidson, &c. That may be so, but the exact construction is to be found in Ecclesiastes v. 15, in the words Soy'y , which most likely the | reviewer imitated purposely. A similar construc- tion is possible in Syriac, and if we are not mis- taken in Ethiopic also (see Dillmann’s ‘Grammar,’ p. 417). As to Arabic, the position of WN and aldi is quite different. What is new in the draws that a gulf exists between the classical
that of Sirach ; in one word, he wants to show that no Maccabean Psalm is possible, since the classical language was at that period extinct. He takes up the defence of Revelation, and not of himself. Two of the reviewers in their answers met the professor half way, which they will now probably consider a hasty act of surrender, after having seen Prof. Néldeke’s article in the Litt. Centralblatt of July 12th, in which he goes much further than Eng- lish reviewers have done. He maintains that Prof. Margoliouth contradicts himself in his own invented metre, that he handles the translations arbitrarily, and above all that his philology is often wrong, and his pointing against grammar. We hope that Prof. Margoliouth will set Prof. Néldeke right, as he has done his English reviewers. In the mean time the Laudian Professor has published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society an essay under the title ‘ Was the Book of Wisdom written in Hebrew?’ He answers the question in the affirmative, although this theory of Bretschneider has been abandoned by all the Biblical scholars of this century. Space forbids us for the present to give critical details, which the professor also dislikes. We shall only say that the restoration here is the wildest yet met with, and that, too, in passages which offer scarcely any difficulties. He gives, for instance, for cwmate Kataxpép dpaptias (i. 4), the rabbinical words NXDON IN, which mean ‘obliged to bring a sin sacrifice”; for otvoracw Koopov (vii. 17) he mentions the words pdyy })P'N, which mean “for the existence or peace of the world.” Can any Hebrew scholar give the meaning of the following words of the professor’s restoration without consulting his commentary : MVYYYID mdyn NNW MWN.-- padi -. D3? We doubt it. And for the Sapientia the resto- ration is not narrowed by the necessities of a metre, at least for the present.
Lfterarp Grosstp, M. Renan’s third volume of the ‘ Histoire du Peuple d’Israél’ will appear at the begin- ning of October. In October Messrs. Longman ig to publish the two final volumes of Mr. Lecky’s ‘History of England in the Eighteenth Century.’ As Mr. Lecky announced in his sixth volume, he has devoted the concluding portion of his work to a careful examination of one of the most critical and contested periods of Irish history. The recall of Lord Fitzwilliam, the extension of Irish conspiracy and its relations with France, the rise and influence of the Orange Association, the re- bellion of 1798, the Legislative Union, and the failure of the measures of Catholic relief which Pitt intended to be the immediate sequel of the Union, are the chief subjects dealt with in these volumes. Mr. Lecky has had, it is said, access to important manu- script materials—often of a most confiden- tial character—which no previous historian has used, and which throw much new light on some portions of his subject. Tue United Service Magazine for August will contain articles on ‘National Insurance,” by Mr. Gibson Bowles and Admiral Lord Clarence Paget ; ‘The Present State of the Powder Question’; ‘A Summer Night’s Dream’; and the first of two articles on ‘The War Training of the Navy,’ by Admiral of the Fleet Sir J. Phipps Hornby. ‘SwirzerRLAnpD,’ by Mrs. Lina Hug and | Mr. Richard Stead, will form the next volume in the “Story of the Nations Series,” T. Fisher Unwin. The
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130 THE ATHENZUM N° 3274, Jury 26, ’90 history of the Swiss people is traced from the founding of Helvetia to the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The work is further designed as an historical handbook for the use of tourists in the country, and with this view the illustrations are numerous. Blackwood’s Magazine for August will con- tain an article by Mr. Herbert C. Gibbs on ‘ Bimetallism’; the conclusion of ‘The Vale of Idar,’ in which is given an account of the career of Carl Fuchs, a remarkable self- taught artist in cameo-cutting ; a paper on ‘ Agricultural Education,’ by Prof. Aikman, of Glasgow; and a description of ‘ Heligo- land, the Island of Red, Green, and White,’ its people and its legends. Tue publication of the July number of the Asiatic Quarterly Review has been de- layed by a change of ownership. It will be issued henceforth by Messrs. Sonnenschein, and the new number will contain articles on Chinese history, by Mr. F. H. Balfour ; on Morocco, by Dr. Cust; ‘The English Lan- guage in India and the East,’ by Dr. Hyde Clarke; and ‘The Healing of the Schism among Orientalists,’ by Dr. Leitner. Tue Advocates’ Library, Edinburgh, will be closed during the month of August. Tue Library Association of the United Kingdom will hold its annual meeting at Reading on the 17th of September and three following days, when papers of the usual character will be read. Mr. Mackrnper, one of the Oxford Ex- tension lecturers and the University Reader in Geography, and Mr. Sadler, the Secretary to the Delegates, are going to print a brochure on ‘University Extension: has it a Future?’ It will be published during the holding of the summer meeting of the Extension students, which begins at Oxford next Friday. Mr. 8. R. Gardiner, Mr. Medley of Keble, Dr. Murray, Mr. Arthur Sedg- wick, Prof. Green, Mr. Seymour Haden, Mr. Madan, and Mr. Arthur Evans are among the lecturers announced. Tue slips for the ‘Chaucer Concordance,’ with the exception of the ‘Friar’s Tale,’ fifteen pages of the ‘ Parson’s Tale,’ book iii. of ‘Troilus,’ and the ‘A BO,’ are either written or in progress, and Mr. Graham, 7, Gloucester Terrace, Maidenhead, will be glad to hear from any one who will help to complete this part of the work. A WELL-KNown genealogist has recently assed away in the person of General lantagenet Harrison, whose imposing figure has long been a familiar object in the public search rooms of the Record Office, where for upwards of twenty-five years he had devoted himself with incredible industry to the task of extracting from the voluminous and hitherto totally unindexed Rolls of the Queen’s Bench and Common Pleas all entries relating to the transfer of land or contain- ing any materials for family history from the reign of Richard I. to that of James I. These collections, which fill thirty folio volumes, will, we believe, be privately offered for sale; and in the interests of the many students frequenting the Record Office they should not be lost sight of by the authorities. Papre Cozza-Luzzt has now published his monograph on the island of Caudon, near Crete, discovered in the Strabonian palimpsest, book xvii. The codex to which these fragments belong, all of which will be published by him in due course, is the only MS. of Strabo in uncial capitals that has been preserved; hence its great authority. Tue last member of the Schwibische Dichterschule has just passed away in the person of the poet Gustav Pfizer, who died a week ago at his native place, Stuttgart, at the age of eighty-three (not eighty, as some German papers have it). Pfizer’s poetical activity chiefly extended, like that of Uhland, over the first period of his life only. In 1838 he was bold enough to publish a severe criticism on Heine, for which the latter took merciless revenge in his ‘Schwabenspiegel.’ Messrs. Crossy Locxwoop & Son request us to state that the paragraph in our last number connecting their name with a pro- posed public subscription for Mr. Michael Reynolds was unauthorized by them, no previous intimation of such a proposal having been made to them. While under- taking no responsibility in the matter, they will forward to Mr. Reynolds any sums which may be sent to them in response to that paragraph. Aw appeal is made to the public for 250/. on behalf of the Paddington Free Library to carry on the work connected with it till the end of the year. It is claimed for the institution that it is doing useful work, there having been more than thirty-two thousand certified readers during the present year. ConTINENTAL papers report that the well- known Spanish writer and politician Seiior Emilio Castelar, being engaged on a ‘ Life of Jesus,’ will shortly repair to Palestine, thus following the example of M. Renan, who had also made himself practically ac- quainted with the scene of Christ’s preaching before writing his ‘ Vie de Jésus.’ Seiior Castelar’s work will, however, unlike the latter, be rather of a descriptive kind than critical and philosophical. It is said that he is also engaged on a history of Spain. An Indian association, known as the Pure Literature Society—the object of which is to translate into the vernaculars, and to dis- seminate in cheap form throughout the country, light wholesome reading, to sup- plant, if possible, the nauseous presentments of English life which certain smart Bengali writers have of late been putting into circu- lation—is in difficulties about a proposed Guzerati edition of Dickens. Naturally ‘Pickwick’ comes first to the front. How- ever, the vexed question does not seem to concern the tremendous problem of render- ing such a character as Sam Weller compre- hensible to the native intellect. It appears rather that there are one or two Noncon- formist ministers on the committee, who are dismayed at the idea of introducing a Mr. Stiggins to the Indian public! Whatever weight the objection may be entitled to, one thing is certain: the Pure Literature Society are contemplating an almost impossible task in much too light-hearted a spirit. Imagine the poor Indian ryot brooding over the vagaries of Daniel Quilp or Sarah Gamp! Does the Society accept the responsibility of intruding on Hindu mythology new and eccentric incarnations of Vishnu and of the goddess Kali ? A Bencaut, one Babu Ram Chandra Palita, has in hand a series of biographical sketches of the native celebrities of his | country. The selection is to include some of the leading Maharajahs and other Indian worthies, and will be illustrated with auto- type portraits from photographs sent to England for reproduction. This is the first attempt to compile a ‘Men of the Time’ for India ; but all except native notabilities will be excluded. WE regret to hear of the death of Mr. Eugene Schuyler, who at one time was a frequent contributor to these columns, prin- cipally on matters connected with Russian literature. Mr.Schuyler was for several years Secretary tothe U.S. Legation at St. Peters- burg. He took advantage of his stay in Russia to acquire a thorough knowledge of the language, and early in his career ventured on a translation of Tourguénief’s ‘ Fathers and Sons.’ He afterwards made a journey in Central Asia in 1876, and published an elaborate work, ‘Turkistan: Notes of a Journey in Russian Turkistan, Khokand, Bokhara, and Kuldja.’ Subsequently trans- ferred to Bucharest, Mr. Schuyler wrote an excellent biography, in two volumes, of Peter the Great, which appeared in 1884. During Mr. Cleveland’s administration Mr. Schuyler was not employed, and resided mainly in Italy, whence he addressed a series of letters on literary subjects to the Nation of New York. On the return of the Republican party to power Mr. Schuyler obtained a high post in the Foreign Office at Washington, and was presently made Consul-General for the United States in Egypt. Mr. Schuyler was a most amiable, accomplished man, whose decease will be widely regretted. For theopportunity of printing the follow- ing letter of Chandos Leigh, a writer of some pamphlets long forgotten, we are indebted to the courtesy of Mr. George Bentley :— **T have just returned from Oxford and saw there the triumph of Ultra Toryism inall its glory. The D. of Cumberland, the ‘ chevalier sans peur et sans reproche,’ the immaculate D. of Cumber- land was received with enthusiasm! How com- plimentary to the Duke of Wellington! I remember a noble Duke, when the D. of W. was about to carry the Catholic question, saying to me, I shall give my support to the D. of Wellington, and I like him the better because he is honoured with the special hatred of the D. of Cumberland. Lady Lincoln, daughter of the D. of Hamilton, to the credit be it spoken of Whig descent, was by far the most beautiful person there; nobody but her Grandfather Beckford could adequately describe her, she comes nearer to Burke’s Queen of France than any young Beauty I ever saw, ‘ glittering like the morning star, full of life, splendor and joy.’ Lord Lincoln is Son of the Duke of New- castle, whe of course received from the liberal sons of Alma Mater the tribute of immense applause when presented in the Theatre. The good taste and good feeling displayed by the gowned Mob in proposing names of certain statesmen to be hissed, although the individuals themselves were absent, must be obvious. The Duke of Wellington was surrounded by a mis- cellaneous assemblage of his gallant Companions in arms, his old Anti Catholic opponents, apos- tate Lawyers, Ultra Tory Doctors, and up- roarious Under-Graduates. The galleries were full of noble and beautiful Women, Bevies of dainty dames of high degree. In short, I saw much to astonish, much to de- light, but more to disgust me. I must own I felt no ambition to share University honours in common with the Duke of Newcastle, Lord Winchelsea, or even Sir James Scarlett.”
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XUM N° 3274, Juty 26, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 131 Tue chief Parliamentary Papers of the week are a Return of Orders in Council relating to Heligoland (1d.); Copy of Articles of Capitulation of Heligoland in 1807 (1d.); Trustee Savings Banks, Return (3d.); Zulu- land, Further Correspondence (6d4.) ; Educa- tion, Ireland, Fifty-sixth Report (3d.); Housing of the Working Classes, Report from the Standing Committee on Law (2d¢.) ; Report by Sir Henry Loch of his Visit to Basutoland (1d.); Report of the Chief Inspector of Factories for 1889 (11d.); Education, England and Wales, Report of the Committee of Council on Education for 1889-90 (2d.); and a Report on the Consti- tution, Attributes, and Legal Status of “Trusts” in the United States (6d.). SCIENCE a RECENT PUBLICATIONS, Marriage and Heredity: a View of Psycho- logical Evolution. By J. F. Nisbet. (Ward & Downey.)—There is a proud humility about the opening sentence of this remarkable treatise, which will only be fully appreciated by those who read the whole attentively : “It is hardly the Author’s fault if this book appears to lay claim to being the Manual of a new Social Science.” We are unavoidably reminded of the pathetic story of the ‘‘feckless hairy oubit” as related by Canon Kingsley, for our author has attempted to reduce to a “‘ Manual” a study (it cannot yet be termed a science) the most baffling of all that at present lie in the field of natural philosophy, and without a single quali- fication for the task. It would be unnecessary to take him seriously were it not that by country book-clubs and subscription libraries a work of this nature is so often accepted as the last word of science, for want of a touchstone by which to try it. Mr. Nisbet, after some mis- cellaneous reading on his subject, has produced an amorphous work of the ‘ tragical-comical- historical-pastoral” order, for which the highest praise we can find is that the proofs have been carefully corrected. Chapters on love and mar- riage are followed by others on such topics as heredity, atavism, prepotency; the information in them is often gleaned from untrustworthy sources, sometimes inaccurately presented, and always devoid of arrangement. Mr. Nisbet’s ignorance of the physical processea involved is shown by the remark (p. 129) that ‘‘it is rea- sonable to suppose that the circulation of the mother’s blood through the foetus should, in process of time, affect the mother’s physique.” Unfortunately for the supposition and the infer- ence which he draws from it, no drop of blood passes between mother and offspring. The astonishing properties, again, attributed to the “latent germ,” which at one time appears to be the homunculus of the older anatomists, and at another a mixture of Keimplasma and of a mysterious force, are on the same plane with the statement just quoted. The basis of a large part of the book is to be found in the unproven hypothesis ‘‘ that a mental state comprising an elaborate set of social sentiments is more or less transmissible.” Finally, the utterly incredible case of hybridism quoted seriously from Lucas on p. 124, together with the fact that variation, a subject absolutely inseparable from heredity, is, to the best of our belief, mentioned but once in the whole book, shows that Mr. Nisbet has not yet learnt the alphabet of his subject. Some y we may hope to arrive at a scientific basis for a study of heredity and variation (even our author states that ‘‘ admittedly science has not yet mastered all the laws of the variation as well as the reproduction of species” !), but it- will be many years before a “Manual” is required. Modern Ideas of Evolution as related to Re- velation and Science. By Sir J. William Dawson. (Religious Tract Society.) The position and labours of Sir William Dawson would seem to demand attentive consideration for any work from his pen, and in the present volume there are some remarks which evolutionists might do well to notice. There is, however, one passage which shows Sir William either to be entirely ignorant of one of the most elementary facts of physiology, or—which we cannot believe—to have made a statement which he knows to be un- true. This is a severe judgment to pass, but there is no escape from it, Our readers shall judge for themselves how thoroughly it is de- served :— “ An egg is mainly composed of protoplasm—pure in the white, mixed with some other things in the yolk. Itis also an example of dead or non-living protoplasm, though produced in the body of a living animal. But if fertilised it hasin it a living and organised germ, also protoplasmic; and this germ can grow and assimilate the remainder of the proto- plasm, and produce out of it all the parts of an animal even so complex asa bird.” This is as absurd a travesty of the facts of development as can well be imagined, and an author who is seemingly so ignorant of the fundamental facts of individual development has really no authority to speak on the problems of evolution. If he has been manipulating his facts to suit his arguments he is unfit to deal with the deeper questions which are implied by | his use of the word “ revelation.” Proceedings and Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada. Vol. VI. (Montreal, Daw- son Brothers.)—The comparatively youthful Royal Society of Canada is divided into four sections, the first of which deals with ‘‘ French ” literature, history, archeology, &c., the second with similar ‘“‘ English ” subjects, the third with the mathematical and physical sciences, and the fourth with the geological and biological. The extent of British rule cannot, perhaps, be better exemplified than by the fact that in section ii. we have a grammar of the Kwagintl language ; while the solidarity of the Canadian Dominion is happily proved by a paper in sec- tion i., which is entitled ‘Trois Mois & Londres —Souvenirs de l’Exposition Coloniale—Frag- ments,’ The general impression left on our mind by the scientific memoirs is that the standard of scientific acquirements in Canada is, unfortunately, not so high as in some of the Australian colonies. We should be glad to see the Government of the Dominion attracting men of eminent scientific attainments from this country. Readers of Prof. Huxley’s charming autobiography will remember that the Univer- sity of Toronto would not “look at” either Dr. Tyndall or himself. Since that time both these professors have done a good deal to make a number of capable men of science, some of whom are, unfortunately, in the ranks of the unem- ployed. The Zoological Record for 1885. (Gurney & Jackson.) — Although this instalment of the ‘ Zoological Record’ was a good deal behind time in appearing, we are glad to welcome the twenty- fifth volume of the series. Twenty-five years is a long time in the life of a working zoologist, and those who can remember the appearance of the first will also remember the anxieties that beset its production. Those anxieties were justi- fied. Often did the ‘Record’ appear to be at its last gasp, and we were far more certain of its disappearance than of that of those celebrated statesmen and artists who have so often already bidden us farewell. But success comes at last, and the fragile barque which Dr. Giinther launched in 1865 has for three years found a pacific sea under the lee of the wealthy Zoolo- gical Society. Changes on a staff so large as that of the ‘Record’ must be frequent; recorders grow old, busier, and even idler; but Mr. Boulenger, the doyen of the present staff, again contributes an excellent account of what has been done for reptiles, batrachians, and fishes; Dr. Sharp supplies 941 titles of papers relating to insects, and devotes, in all, 327 pages, most of which are closely printed, to this large group ; Prof. Herdman, Mr. Hoyle, and Mr. A. H. Evans are all old friends, who have already shown that they are conscientious workers. Mr. Sclater regrets that the volume was not published till after the close of last year, but does not assign any causes for the delay. We admire his good taste in not gibbeting the delinquents, but it is clear that, like some of their predecessors, they must have played the editor false and left him at the last moment to find help where he could. A glance at the reports of the writers who have replaced the faithless contributors is suffi- cient to show that they have been done under great pressure, and with no previous training either in bibliographical work or in the special groups which the writers have undertaken. We may, of course, assume that they were employed pro hac vice only, and we will, there- fore, content ourselves with regretting that the reports on the crustacea and the lower marine invertebrates other than the ccelenterates are of no possible use, and are greatly disfigured by misprints. By this time, no doubt, suitable recorders have been found for the next volume. United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries: Report of the Commissioner for 1886. (Wash- ington, Government Printing Office.) — This volume of the U.S. Fishery Reports is of great interest, because it contains the last paper of Prof. Spencer Baird on the sea fisheries of Eastern North America. Though pre- pared some ten years ago, it has not till now been published, and in parts, therefore, it inadequately represents the present state of our knowledge. The great services, however, which Prof. Baird rendered to the important question of economic fisheries give a special value to everything that proceeds from him on this subject. It is impossible here to enter into the details with which the memoir bristles, but it is easy enough to learn the lesson which is taught us by the words, “A volume could readily be written in regard to the peculiarities of habit, condition, and relationship of fishes.’ To our- selves the question naturally arises, Is there any man or any organization in England who could write such a work in a scientific fashion? We say England, for both Scotland and Ireland have Fishery Boards, with an annual budget which, men being given, may effect the work. It is perfectly clear that a similar institution should be provided for this country; the work might well be undertaken by a special department of the Board of Trade, or it might be entrusted to the Marine Biological Association. The latter body does, indeed, receive a grant from the State, but it is one that is far too small to enable it to undertake the operations that a full inquiry into the scientific aspects of English fishery problems requires. Were it as richly endowed as the scientific department of the Scotch Fishery Board it might well do the work which ought to be instituted and fostered by the Government. We have, again, several important scientific memoirs on fishes, fish parasites, and jelly-fishes. The reports of vessels and stations are of great interest ; an impartial study of these latter will give some idea of the difficulties which beset the successful rearing of fishes in an artificial manner. That, however, is not a reason against, but rather a powerful argument for, further experiments, and especially experiments designed to seek for the causes of success and of failure. What is wanted is a scientific basis for fish culture, and not a series of isolated and costly experiments such as have in the past done so much damage to the cause and inflicted severe monetary loss on the “‘ practical man.” Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission. Vol. VIL. for 1887. (Washington, Government Printing Office. —The latest volume of the Bulletin again contains a collection of papers on
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132 THE ATHENAUM N° 3274, Juty 26, ’90 fishery questions, varying in value and interest. Some of these will be sure to be acceptable to members of every class of ichthyologist or pisci- culturist. Electricity in owr Homes and Workshops, by Mr. Sydney F. Walker (Whittaker & Co.), deals with telephones, electric bells, and more espe- cially with mining signals. The preliminary chapter on galvanic batteries contains very full information on the selection and management of such batteries as are suitable for these pur- poses ; indeed, we do not know of any work where this subject is so fully and usefully treated. The style of the book is clear and pleasant, and there is a sound practical ring about it which commends it to the taste of a genuine seeker after knowledge. The title covers much more ground than the book itself. This, we are told in the preface, is owing to lack of time to carry out the original design, and the author hopes to treat of the remaining subjects—such as electric lighting and transmission of power—in another book. It does not seem to have occurred to him that a change in the scope of the book might have been accompanied by a corresponding change in the title. Mr. T. C. Menpennatt’s Century of Elec- tricity, published by Messrs. Macmillan in their ‘Nature Series,” is a very brief but intelligent résumé of the history of electrical theory and its practical applications from the earliest times. The Modern Seven Wonders of the World, by Mr. Charles Kent (Routledge & Sons), gives popular accounts, historical and explanatory, of seven notable inventions, namely, the steam engine, the electric telegraph, photography, the sewing machine, the spectroscope, the electric light, and the telephone. It is a very instructive book to put into the hands of young persons. RAVERTY'S ‘NOTES ON AFGHANISTAN.’ Tue fifth and concluding portion of these *Notes’ marks the close of one of the most important contributions to Eastern history and geography that have been made during the pre- sent century. For the last fifteen years Major Raverty, well known for his linguistic and his- torical researches in connexion with India and its adjacent countries, has been engaged in trans- lating, annotating, and amplifying with the fruit of his own observation and study a voluminous Oriental manuscript of a unique character. No scholar appears to have previously set eyes on this precious manuscript (two copies of which have come into Major Raverty’s possession), and it is needless to state, therefore, that no translation of it has hitherto been made. What the original author’s name was we do not learn from the present work; but Major Raverty promises to divulge this on the completion of the last chapter, which for some reason or other is not included in the present section or volume. A good deal is told, however, about the original native author. He was a man of Mogul descent, of good family and superior education, and possessed a great taste for geographical knowledge. He himself says he undertook this series of journeys, spreading over eight or nine years, in order to describe the appearance and political condition of the countries adjacent to Delhi on the north and north-west, because he found that the his- torians of his day, even if they possessed such information, invariably omitted it from their records. He was in the prime of life about the time that Ahmed Shah overthrew the Mahrattas at the battle of Paniput, and subsequently, when Hindostan was in an utter state of disorder, culminating in the blinding of the old king, Shah Alum, the author set out on his wanderings, the account of which he completed in 1790-1791 ap. The date of his death is not known, apparently, but he was acquainted with the names of Warren Hastings and the Marquis Wellesley, to whom he was presented, if, indeed, he was not personally well known to them. The manner in which this native traveller ex- plored the various routes which he describes is not exactly stated, but he appears to have used a com- pass, as he gives bearings and distances, and where these have been tested on recent occasions by our troops and surveyors they have been gener- ally found to be most accurate. He evidently lost no opportunity of accompanying the inhabitants and merchants of these parts in their journeys to and fro and of getting them to aid him in his objects. He would often make a stay of some duration in a particular locality until he had succeeded in learning all that was possible about it, not unfrequently making acquaintance with the head men and priests. For instance, when his travels had brought him up to the remote valley of Chitral, on the extreme north-west frontier of India, he was fortunate enough to fall in with a kindred spirit in Shah Riza, of Drush, the Badshah or Chief of Kashkar and Chitral, who not only gave the author every facility for exploring those regions, but even personally accompanied him on foot for the sake of thoroughly examining the various passes which lead over the huge mountain range of the Hindu Kush into the valley of the Oxus river. The manuscript itself is in Persian, though portions here and there, forming not improbably the substance of oral information given to the author, are in the Pushtu or Afghan tongue. It is translated, verbatim for the most part, by Major Raverty, who has enriched it with innumer- able notes and comments, and with collateral information obtained from Oriental historians and European critics and translators. Some of the preceding sections were briefly noticed in our columns some years ago at the time they ap- peared. Part V., which, so far as we understand, concludes this interesting work, deals more espe- cially with the mountainous tract abutting on the British frontier between the river of Kurram (Raverty’s Kurmah) on the north and the province of Ghazni on the west. This region is of great strategical and political importance, for through it lie routes which, though imperfectly known at the present day, were followed in times past by invaders of India like Baber. The inhabit- ants, like so many of our immediate neighbours in the East, are virtually independent tribes, owning no real allegiance to the Amir of Cabul and but a grudging respect to the superior force of our arms. It is clear, however, from the recent annexation of the Zhob valley that the gradual extension of our dominion, and the paramount necessity of ensuring a quiet and strong frontier, are fast bring- ing these parts within our sphere of influence. The whole highland tract is enclosed by four bounding chains of mountains and forms an irre- gular parallelogram, likened by Major Raverty to a schooner’s mainsail ; its eastern and western limits are buttressed by the Koh-i-Suliman, or Suliman mountains, while the intervening space, we are assured on the same authority, is the only place to which the term of the Afghanistan (or meeting-place of the Afghan races), as distinct from the Afghan state, can properly be applied, the Pushtu or Afghan tongue being the sole language there spoken. These mountains are seamed with passes and routes, some of which merely lead from the plains of the Indus into adjacent valleys, while some are important roads capable of being utilized for military purposes, and leading right through into Khorassan or Khurasan, as the country to the westward is called by the Afghans. A complete analytical list of nearly a hundred passes emerging from the highlands into the British districts of Bannu and Dehra Ghazi Khan is supplied by Major Raverty, a fact which enables one to realize the difficulty and expense of strengthening a frontier like this against external attack. Foremost among the inhabitants or frequenters of this region are the famous Powandahs, or itinerant fighting merchants, respecting whom much that is erroneous has been written. Their origin, ethnology, and early history are ex- pounded at length by Major Raverty, and it seems that as far back as the beginning of the sixteenth century a great Kafilah of these nomad traders was encountered by the Emperor Baber, and the latter's followers were desirous of plun- dering the caravan, but were forbidden, the monarch remarking that he “considered them subjects, and it was not advisable to plunder one’s own subjects.” On a subsequent occasion, however, Baber was not so liberal- minded, for he not only allowed his soldiers to plunder a body of Afghan merchants of the Nuharni tribe, who were conveying muslins, calicoes, sugar, aromatic drugs, and horses, but even suffered them to kill the chief, who was a well-known and respectable merchant. “Such,” remarks Major Raverty, ‘*is the unprovoked treatment the Afghans have been in the habit of receiving at the hands of every invader, in this instance from one of the most civilized among them, and yet they are abused and called savages for following the examples they have received from others.” The Afghans possess strong commercial in- stincts, nearly all of them evincing a great keenness for trading. Major Raverty tells us that he had an Afghan “ mullah ” staying with him in England for three years. During all the time the Afghan did not spend more than a few shillings a month out of his salary, but about six months before his time was up he expressed a wish to lay out the money in a mercantile venture. One great desire of bis was to obtain a small machine for making mould candles, because, as he said, a vast deal of mutton fat was thrown away at his home which might be made into candles ; whereas in the long winter even- ings they had very often to sit in the dark. He succeeded in obtaining a small machine for making about twelve or eighteen candles at a time, and learned how to manage it. Some of his money was laid out in a little glass and crockery, and he had a great liking for table napkins and finger-glasses, though not for soap. Another purchase wasa large bottle of sulphate of quinine, which he expected would realize over five hundred per cent. profit. But at least nine- tenths of the money was invested in French merinos of the gayest colours, obtained from a wholesale house at a cost of over 1001. All these things were carefully packed in tin-lined cases and dispatched by way of the Cape of Good Hope (it was before the Suez Canal was opened), but unfortunately Major Raverty never heard how the ventures turned out, for after a time the Afghan’s letters suddenly ceased, apparently as if he had died soon after reaching his home. In countries like those we are describing, which are very mountainous and unprovided with roads, and so unsuited to wheeled carriages (even if the people possessed any), and without means of river navigation, com- merce must be carried on as from the earliest times by means of beasts of burden, as it was, indeed, so late as eighty or ninety years ago in the three western counties of England. Eastern countries, especially in the southern half or most civilized part of Asia as well as in Northern Africa, from the earliest times camels have been principally used for this purpose. Consequently many Afghan tribes, particularly those dwelling in their old seats near the valley of the Indus, whose lands are fit for little elsethan rearing camels, have for many centuries devoted themselves to camel breeding and the carrying to and fro of the products of Central and Western Asia and of India. Those possessing capital carry their own merchandise and accompany their own camels, while others hire out their camels to merchants of their own or other tribes, who either accompany their own merchandise or send agents with it. Of late years, owing to the lawless condition of the countries traversed by the Powandahs, the latter have had to com- bine together and make their migrations in force, from 5,000 to 10,000 people uniting under a Khan or head, whom all agree to obey. They proceed with the caution of a military body in an enemy’s country, move by regular marches,
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XUM N° 3274, Jury 26, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 138 with advance and rear guards, occupy positions favourable for defence, and post pickets and sentries round their camps. They have to be constantly on the alert for their foes, the most numerous and implacable of whom, the Waziris, are always on the look out to harass them. Stragglers are cut off, cattle carried away on the line of march, where favourable spots occur, and also from their encampments at night. Indeed, skirmishes are of daily occurrence, and sometimes a pitched encounter takes place. The goods thus imported into India con- sist of carpets, furs, silks, manufactured and raw, nankins, velvets from Bokhara, woollen cloaks, caps, &c., Russia leather and saddlery, drugs, dyes, fruit, and large numbers of horses, ponies, cats, dogs, sheep, goats, camels, and the like. During the autumn, as soon as the first snows fall on the Suliman range, these nomads begin to assemble from their grazing grounds in the neighbourhood of Ghazni, Kalat-i-Ghilzai, and Cabul, and de- scending eastward by the Gumul and other passes into the Indian plains, they pitch their black hair tents in the Derah-jat or valley of the Indus. Here they leave their families with some of their tribes as custodians, while they themselves proceed all over India, travelling as far east as Calcutta and Dacca, and southwards to Bangalore, and even further, to dispose of their goods. They usually return in the begin- ning of the spring. All their wants and require- ments are supplied by their flocks and herds. The wool and hair furnish them with the materials for their black hair tents, their felt carpets, their sacks and bags, and other articles. From their milk they make butter and cheese, which form an important part of their food, save when making a feast or entertaining a guest. A few copper cooking and other utensils, some clothes and bedding, constitute the remainder of their household goods, which are few in number so as to enable them to move about with celerity. The goods taken by the Powandahs on their return journey usually consist of broad- cloths, merinos, muslins, calicoes and other piece goods, wax candles, metals, guns, and hardware. An interesting piece of history is elucidated by Major Raverty in his identification of the site of the ancient city of Zabul or Zuhak, which is frequently mentioned with Cabul and Sijistan in the annals of the ancient kings of Iran, from which the celebrated epic the ‘Shah-Nameh’ was compiled. It was the burial-place of Rustam and Sohrab, and with the two cities just named formed part of the Irani empire ruled over by the Ashkanian Maliks after the death of Alexander the Great. A copious list of refer- ences to the place in the pages of Oriental history has been compiled by the author, who identifies it also with the Rustam’s plain of Baber. But although it is little more than fifty miles from the British border, the place has never been visited by any European, so far as is known. It is not surprising, when historical sites at so short a distance from our frontier are unknown, that our acquaintance with the principal routes in that part of the country should still be meagre. It was Major Raverty who several years ago brought under the notice of the Indian Government the existence of the direct route by which Prince Muhammad Dara-Shukoh led his formidable army of over 100,000 men from Multan to Candahar, an identification which quite revolutionized the theories of Anglo- Indian strategists. In the present work we are told of a new route from Dehra Ghazi Khan to Can- dahar by way of the Chaudwan Pass, the real name of which is the Afghan equivalent of “Slippery Road Pass”—a name of somewhat ominous import, it may be remarked, for a military road. Major Raverty assures us, however, that the pass, which is the most diftfi- cult bit of the road, could be made practicable without much engineering; that the entire route ' History and Antiquarian Field Club. The Rev. is without doubt the most direct, shortest, and | easiest route yet known to Kalat-i-Ghilzai and Oandabar ; and that a railway could be carried from our territory to those places without | difficulty. He reckons that it.is a clear gain of 163 or 173 miles in length over the routes followed by Generals Biddulph and Wilkinson, and its strategical use in enabling us to cut off a force coming from Cabul towards Candahar is obvious to any one consulting the map. Interwoven with the geographical data and descriptions of these various routes on the Indian frontier is a vast amount of historical and ethnological information collected by Major Raverty during his lifelong researches. One hundred pages are devoted by him to a descrip- tion of the Sibi district—annexed within the last few years by the British Crown, and now forming part of the province of British Baluchistan—its history from the earliest times and its inhabit- ants. In the course of these disquisitions Major Raverty devotes great labour and space to a refutation of hasty or ill-formed theories set up by other historians. To speak candidly, the refutations appear to be carried sometimes to an excessive length and minuteness; but there can be no doubt that if history is to be trustworthy, microscopic accuracy is, at the worst, a fault on the right side. Major Raverty’s seven hundred closely printed foolscap pages form an honourable monument of laborious and scholarly research, and mark a distinct advance in the progress of Oriental literature. ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES. A CanaptAn Indian Research and Aid Society has been founded in Ottawa, under the patron- age of the Governor-General, with Sir William Dawson as president and the Rev. E. F. Wilson (well known as the originator of several institu- tions for the training of Indian children) as secre- tary. The object of the society is to promote the welfare of the Indians, to guard their inter- ests, to preserve their history, traditions, and folk-lore, and to diffuse information with a view to creating a more general interest in their pro- gress. A monthly journal is to be published, containing papers of an ethnological, philo- logical, and archzeological character. The Mo- hawk chief, J. B. Brant, is a member of the council. Mr. Wilson publishes, in connexion with his Indian homes, a magazine called Owr Forest Children, to which he contributes original articles on the Indian tribes. The article on the Koo- tenay Indians of British Columbia contains two hitherto unpublished stories, collected by Dr. Boas, on the origin of the sun and moon and prairie fires, and on the origin of the Rocky Mountains; and also a vocabulary of the language. The inventive genius of this tribe is still equal to the construction of stories, for they have a satirical account of the origin of the Boston man. They have also a tradition as to the origin of mosquitoes from the ashes of an old hag who caught young children and cooked and ate them, till a party of them toppled her on to her own fire. f The contributions to anthropology made by members of local societies and field clubs, which are recorded in the report of the Corresponding Societies Committee of the British Association for the year 1888-9, number forty-five, as against twenty-seven in the pre- vious year. To the Essex Field Club, Mr. Laver described flint implements found at Walton-on-Naze and Lexden, and Mr. W. G. Smith neolithic and paleolithic scrapers. The Rev. T. N. H. Smith continued the valuable observations on weights and measures of pupils for the Marlborough College Natural History Society. Dr. Hicks wrote on prehistoric man in Britain for the Hertfordshire Natural History Society. Mr. T. F. Plowman contributed a paper on the divining rod to the Bath Natural | Literary and Philosophical Society. W. S. Lach-Szyrma historically compared the Cornish and Manx languages for the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society. Mr. M. Browne reviewed the evidences of the anti- quity of man in Leicestershire for the Leicester Messrs. Law and Horsfall gave an account of small flint implements found beneath peat on the Pennine chain between Huddersfield and Oldham, and Mr. C. Roeder of a new archeological discovery on the Ship Canal at Sticking Island, to the Manchester Geological Society. Mr. C. Heape discussed the weapons of savages, their develop- ment and distribution, and the ornament applied to them by the races of Oceania, before the Roch- dale Literary and Scientific Society. Numerous other original observationsare recorded as having been communicated to local societies in York- shire, Cardiff, the Isle of Man, Edinburgh, Inverness, Belfast, and elsewhere. Science Gossip. Lorp ABERDARE presided on Wednesday at a meeting of London Welshmen convened for the purpose of aiding in the establishment of a School of Medicine at Cardiff, by founding a Chair of Human Anatomy and one of Physiology and Histology in connexion with University Col- lege. A London committee is being formed, with Miss Caroline Williams and Dr. Isambard Owen as secretaries. It has also been decided to open two other departments in connexion with the College in October—a School of Engineering, liberally endowed by the Drapers’ Company, and a Day Training College for elementary teachers in accordance with the provisions of the new Code. Our readers may remember that Prof. Jeffrey Bell asked some time since in our columns for information regarding the word savaglia. A very beautiful specimen of the savaglia of the old Italians, the so-called black coral of the Medi- terranean, or the Gerardia savalia of zoologists, has lately been added to the Coral Gallery of the Natural History Museum. It is by far the finest specimen in any museum, and its beauty alone makes it a most attractive addition to the galleries in Cromwell Road. In a paper communicated to Nos. 220-1 of the Astronomical Journal Mr. Stockwell claims to have hit upon the most ancient historical record of an eclipse of the sun, and to have found it in the seventeenth book of the Iliad. In the course of an investigation on the secular and long-period inequalities in the moon’s motion, he has found that ina total eclipse of the sun on August 28th, B.C. 1185 (we prefer the ordinary date to that used in making the calculation, which is a year later), the moon’s shadow passed centrally over the Hellespont and the western part of Asia Minor. Now in the fight over the body of Patroclus the poet speaks of a darkness which enshrouded the combatants and concealed both sun and moon from view (Il. xvii. 367). Mr. Stockwell suggests that this was caused by the eclipse in question, which he proposes, there- fore, to call Homer’s eclipse. But it is difficult to accept this view when we consider that the darkness (whatever it was) is stated to have overspread only a part of the Grecian and Trojan host, whilst the rest fought in clear air (im’ aifépt, v. 371). Mr. Stockwell treats in the same paper of other ancient eclipses, and thinks that the one said to have been predicted by Thales and to have prevented a battle im- pending between the Medes and the Lydians occurred not on May 28th, B.c. 585 (as most recent investigators have supposed), but eighteen years earlier, on May 18th, B.c. 603. He scarcely seems, however, to have considered the effect upon recent observations of his alterations in the elements used in the lunar tables.
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134 THE ATHENZUM N° 3274, Jury 26, ’90 FINE ARTS —e—_ ROYAL SOCIETY of PAINTERS in WATER COLOURS. — The ONE HUNDRED anu THIRTEENTH EXHIBITION will CLOSE on SATURDAY, August 2nd.—5, Pall Ma'l East, from 10 till 6 —Admission, ls.; Catalogue, ls. ALFRED D. FRIPP, R.W.S., Secretary. The LEGEND of the BRIAR ROSE, paintei by E. BURNE JONES, A.R.A. The LEGEND of the BRIAR ROSE —Messrs. Thos. Agnew & Sons have to announce that the Exhibition of Mr. Burne Jones's Pictures WILL SHORTLY CLOSE.—Admission, 1s. 10 to6 o’clock. Saturdays, 10 to 5. 39n, Old Bond Street, W. The Earlier English Water-Colour Painters. By C. Monkhouse. Illustrated. (Seeley & Co.) Penv1v¢ the publication of thatlong-promised history of water-colour art in this country to which we referred not long since (Athen., No. 3258, p. 443), and which is to be founded on the researches of John Joseph Jenkins, once the Secretary of the ‘‘Old Society,” this concise and intelligent account of the subject ought to be accepted with more than the gratitude due toastopgap. The writings of the brothers Redgrave on the same subject have a distinct and peculiar value, but, unlike the volume before us, they are rather notices of artists in a chronological sequence than a history of the art they practised. Yet, although his comments are somewhat disjointed, Samuel Redgrave enjoyed the advantage of much longer and closer acquaintance with the subject than Mr. Monkhouse can pretend to, while, apart from the assistance in technical matters that it was his habit to obtain from his younger brother the Acade- mician—an excellent artist in water colours —Samuel Redgrave was himself a fairly good draughtsman, and had, so to say, been all his life intimate with painters, en- gravers, and critics of every kind, and closely connected with some of the chief collectors of English water-colour drawings, especially with the late William Smith of Lisle Street and his hardly less accomplished brother George, as well as with Dr. Percy. More select, and richer in choice specimens of the characteristics of the painters, and better furnished than Dr. Percy’s with drawings of high technical merit, the collection of William Smith, now at South Kensington, was long at the command of Jenkins and Redgrave, to whom Smith freely imparted the marks, and he displays a commendable love of order and logical treatment. He wisely omits technical criticisms on matters such as points of execution, the use of pigments, transparent, semi-transparent, and opaque, and the application of vehicles. Upon these questions, however, great stress must needs be laid by thoroughgoing students when they have to deal with the scientific side of water- colour painting. What the use of a trans- parent and resinous vehicle is supposed to have been to the progress of oil painting, the use or disuse of body-colour is to draughts- manship in water colours. As was the transi- tion from fresco to oil painting, so was the transition from tinting to full colours and more or less solid pigments. The history of that transition is the key to the develop- ment of the art, the British history of which Mr. Monkhouse has written. Mr. Monkhouse begins, not with the beginning of water-colour art in England (to do so would, as he apologetically says, take him very far back indeed), but with the Sandbys. He might profitably have extended his notices to a somewhat earlier period, and certainly we are of opinion that, although he does not fail to admire warmly J. R. Cozens, he does something less than justice to that artist. It may be that in quoting the judgment of Gainsborough that Cozens ‘‘ was the greatest genius that ever touched landscape,” and in referring to the almost equally honourable testimony of that excellent critic C. R. Leslie, Mr. Monkhouse intended to endorse their praise. If so, why need he say that their commenda- tions are ‘‘perhaps open to the charge of hyperbole”? which is, however we look at it, not a happy phrase. More room ought to have been given to Samuel Scott and De Loutherbourg, two painters of rare merit, but, oddly enough, contrasts in every respect. To De Louther- bourg’s influence on English landscape sufficient credit has never been given since Gainsborough and Turner himself—the very fruits of his consummate knowledge and | long experience as a dealer, draughtsman, and collector. The new history, therefore, which is .o come, must needs be looked for with hope, because it will surely include all that can be said with advantage on the subject, and M. Roget’s accomplished pen is qualified to do justice to a most unusual conjunction of favourable circumstances. Although not enjoying these advantages, best authorities on the subject—distinctly admitted their indebtedness to him. It is not enough to say that, though not a great colourist nor a great genius, he was a sound painter; that ‘there is a vigour in his storms and battle-pieces, and a boldness of composition in his landscapes and seascapes, that made his individuality felt in spite of the conventions on which his art was based.” It is true that ‘‘ Peter Pindar” wrote sarcastically of the Brass skies and golden hills, And marble cattle in glass pastures grazing of De Loutherbourg. But it should not be | forgotten that to Hogarth and De Louther- Mr. Monkhouse has done remarkably well, | and produced an acceptable book, from a popular and non-technical point of view. | The greater portion, if not the whole, of it has already, with the cuts in another form, appeared in the Portfolio. Mr. Monkhouse has, perhaps, not much to say that is at once new and historical. His criticisms are, indeed, his own, and fresh ; but apart from this we have found very little in them that any intelligent and sympathetic amateur might not have written. Still, in addition to much that is apprecia- tive and tasteful, unusual clearness of dis- crimination and analytical facility are mani- fest in many of Mr. Monkhouse’s re- bourg we owe the reformation of costume on the stage, and the fact that Artaxerxes ceased to appear in trunk hose and a | Ramilies wig, and Othello in the uniform of King William’s guards. More than this, De Loutherbourg reformed the representation of nature in stage scenery, and by reproducing the poetry of atmospheric effects, the dignity and sentiment of light and shade, the progress of cloud shadows upon a landscape, and the varying illuminations of the sun ascending and declining, he effected a pro- digious improvement. Gainsborough was enraptured with the ‘‘Eidopheisikon”’ of De Loutherbourg, and Reynolds often went . to Panton Square when that entertainment was produced. From De Loutherbourg himself Turner undoubtedly learned much, although his exhibition had been closed before that master was acquainted with its inventor. The change in Turner’s art from the phase which Mr. Monkhouse very ably illustrates in its relation to Girtin to that other which he not inaptly, if comprehensively, speaks of as Turneresque, and which, above all things else, embodies the expression of sentiment in the atmosphere and on the land- scapes he delineated, has always seemed to us to be due chiefly to the influence of De Loutherbourg. It began shortly before Turner went to live at Hammersmith, near De Loutherbourg. We differ from Mr. Monkhouse in de- scribing Bonington as ‘‘an offset of the English school planted in France,” although every one knows our author is right in en- larging on the influence of the Englishman upon French landscape painters. That could not be exaggerated nor overrated. We fail to see that likeness between the art of F. L. T. Francia and that of Borington which p. 68 before us more than suggests. There were in fact, artistically speaking, two Boningtons — the delicate landscape painter, who had not been to Italy, and the splendid follower of Titian and Tin- toret, who did so much for the so-called ‘romantic school”? in France. To his work as a water-colour painter of landscapes this book is, of course, confined. His influence was no doubt great, and we think more durable than Mr. Monkhouse seems to ad- mit; and we do not understand how it is possible for our author to say that the im- pression made by the fine paintings he exhibited in 1828 ‘‘soon passed away.” It seems to us that both here and abroad the conspicuous merits and rare powers of Bonington have been ungrudgingly allowed by students and critics, and it is a little beside the facts to say that ‘high rank must, however grudgingly, be at last awarded him.” Nearly forty years ago his ‘Turk’ sold with S. Rogers’s collection for about three hundred pounds, which was a high price in those days for a genre picture. We should like to discuss with Mr. Monkhouse his estimate of William Hunt, especially of William Hunt in early life, painting in water colour interiors of rooms and churches, rough landscapes, and studies of fervid sunlight as vigorous, brilliant, and broad as Linnell’s, and uniting some of the characteristics of that powerful artist with the breadth, dignity, and suavity of Edridge’s landscapes and some qualities that were like Bonington’s. We know, for ex- ample, a drawing of the interior of a bed- room, lined with what is now old-fashioned paper, where a girl is dressing her hair at a glass, while the blind is pulled down to keep out the glare of the sun. It is, with all its homeliness of subject and naive treatment, as fine a study of the “‘ qualities,” of light, and of a shadowless coloration as M. Dagnan Bouveret has produced. It was at No. 8, Old Belton Street, now called Endell Street, Long Acre, that W. Hunt was born, not at ‘‘ Bolton Street.” The first works he exhibited were undoubtedly in oil, although Mr. Monkhouse seems—we do not know why—to doubt the fact. Hunt made his début at the Academy in 1807 with three oil pictures, Nos. 51, 78, and 190. His
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a XUM N° 3274, Jury 26, 90 THE ATHENAZUM 135 first connexion with what is now styled the ‘¢ Old Society of Painters in Water Colours ”’ (then, and for a time, called ‘The Society of Painters in Oil and Water Colours ’’) was as anoil painter. It was comparatively late in his life that Hunt took to painting fruit in the manner popularly known as his. To sum up, the general reader should look at this book on account of its many good qualities and its excellent plates. RECENT PUBLICATIONS, Catalogue of Casts in the Museum of Classical Archeology, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. By C. Waldstein. (Macmillan & Co.)—The collec- tion of casts of ancient sculpture was commenced at Cambridge as early as 1850, and continued by various gifts and purchases ; but the chief im- pulse was given by Mr. Sidney Colvin during his long tenure of the Slade Professorship of Fine Art. The museum, with theatre and galleries attached, was erected at a cost of nearly ten thousand pounds, and formally opened in 1884. Most of the casts were selected and purchased by Mr. Colvin, and the collection as finally arranged is excellently adapted for the illustra- tion of Greek sculpture and its development, so far as this is, indeed, recoverable. Some such collection could scarcely be dispensed with when it was determined by the University that art and archzeology should form a special section of the Classical Tripos. The two studies have a certain natural connexion, though in important respects they become inevitably divergent and even opposed, while contributing in common to give precision and interest to the study of classical literature and civilization. The archeological interest of a work of Greek sculpture may be quite independent of its value as a work of art. Of such value it may have much, little, or none. It is prized accordingly as it affords manifest hints of a transition, even as a Darwinian may be more enthusiastic over the rudimentary toe of a dwarf hipparion than at the sight of the noblest racer ever cheered at a Yorkshire winning-post. If the Laocoon group is to be felt the story must be known in its outlines, though the sculptor’s treatment of it both in spirit and detail differs from Virgil’s ; and a general acquaintance with classical mythology is as necessary in this museum as familiarity with English history for a visit to the National Portrait Gallery. It is to be assumed that graduates of a university will come to such a school of art as this museum already in possession of a due store of historical and poetical associations ; then what they have a right to expect there is guidance in recognizing the phases of antique thought and feeling in the art of antiquity. It is but a poor and, indeed, a questionable comment on the fine bust of Demosthenes to connect ‘‘ the protruding upper lip with the stories concerning his difficulty in pronouncing.” To one whoshall come to it from the perusal of the Crown oration or the criticisms on it of Quintilian or Dionysius, the aspect of the orator will bring home a sense of that character- istic ascribed to him of Sewvdrns, for which no English word provides an equivalent. For those who should not come so prepared, it would at least be well that the true source of literary illustration should be indicated to them. It is in this reaction of literature upon study that the happiest influence of this niuseum is to be hoped for. It is, indeed, a worthy object of ambition of a teacher to so present to the student the artistic perfection and the nobility of sentiment and style of the Panathenaic procession as to send him back to his Thucydides with a sense of the reality and the dignity of the civilization of the age of Pericles such as not even the pages of the greatest of historians had impressed him with before. Archeology, in fact, is scientific chiefly, and art as art is not. Devotion to archeology, therefore, unless care- fully guarded, is apt to be a solvent of true | artistic enthusiasm ; in any case it does not tend | to foster appreciation of genius in sculpture— of poetic art, which is the embodiment, only in- ferior to literature, of the sentiments and aspira- tions nearest to the heart of a nation. There can be no doubt that archeology lends itself more easily to the purposes of the lecturer ; it is a subject in which specific instruction may be given, which may be “got up,’ and acquirements in which may be tested in exa- mination. But as regards art, if it is too much to say that instruction can give no help to the development of a sense of beauty and discrimi- nation of its degrees and varieties, it is certain that it must adopt a far more delicate and diffi- cult procedure. It is no help to a student in this direction to be told authoritatively—‘‘ This you must admire, and you must not admire that”; ‘‘Before this master you must bow in reverence whatever it costs you to do so, and from that you must turn away at what- ever violence to your sympathies.” There may be as much skill required to bring a novice cor- dially up to a Bellini, not to say an Albert Diirer, as to lead a shying horse up to a pile of flints. It is here that the literary studies of the university should be made available. A certain knowledge, and even a considerable knowledge, of what may be called mere matters of fact is constantly required in the first instance. The subject of a work of art has to be understood before we can in the fullest sense appreciate its sentiment. In an introduction to the catalogue of a few pages Dr. Waldstein distinguishes the leading periods of art and interposes periods of transition. But this rather obscures the notice- able fact that the chief developments of art pro- ceed not by gradual, but by sudden changes. No single monument has yet been brought to light which could be dated anterior to Phidias and at the same time be accepted as a promise of the absolute perfection which sculpture attained to in his hands. As the birth, so the demise ; the lamp of ancient art goes out at the death of Hadrian suddenly and for ever. But, in truth, if the test of advancing knowledge is the ap- proach to agreement among special students of a subject, there is some fear that we shall have to count Athenian art as one more of those as to which mankind seems doomed to debate, if not wrangle for ever, only ‘to dismiss the contro- versy bleeding the more entangled for the hear- ing.” What is to be hoped when a German professor is quoted with respect as transform- ing the Dionysus of the eastern pediment of the Parthenon into a Mount Olympus, the Fates at the other extremity into personified Clouds, and the company of attendants on Poseidon on the west front into Mounts Parnes and Citheron and Cape Colias? The Choiseul- Gouffier statue of the British Museum, which Mr. A. S. Murray now candidly and loyally in- scribes as an Apollo, is still catalogued here (110) as ‘An Athlete preparing to Box,’ though ad- mitted equivocally in the index as a god. This publication, then, will, as a catalogue, supply a certain amount of useful information to visitors and even students ; but examination of it brings home to us a sense of the need of a different style of interpretation if this admirable collection is to become a real furtherance of university teaching. We have received from Messrs. Chatto & Windus the eighth number of Mr. Blackburn’s series of Academy Sketches, a collection of sketches of pictures in various exhibitions ; also from thesame publishers the Illustrated Catalogue of the National Society of the Fine Arts, Paris. THE ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCTETIES. Transactions of the Cumberland and West- morland Antiquarian and Archeological Society. Vol. X. Edited by the Worshipful Chancellor Ferguson. (Kendal, Wilson.)—This society takes high rank among our local societies de- | voted to the history of the past. All its papers are contributed by students of reputation. The volume before us is no exception. The three papers on Sizergh and the house of Strickland are remarkably good. The elaborate pedigree which accompanies them is, we believe, trustworthy, and if so is by far the best pedigree of the race which has as yet appeared. Chancellor Ferguson contributes a paper on the retreat of the Highlanders through Westmoreland in 1745. It is illustrated by many useful maps, and is decidedly the best account we have seen of the retreat of the Scottish army. Mr. J. Wilson’s account of the baptismal fonts of the Rural Deanery of Car- lisle is a useful contribution to ecclesiology. If this district may be taken as a specimen, we may conclude, as is antecedently probable, that the fonts of the north of England were not so elaborate as those of more southern parts. The one at Bowness-on-Solway is an _ elaborate specimen. The sculpture on it is a running pattern of very highly conventionalized foliage. The writer considers it Norman. Without examining the object itself it is not possible to tell whether his conclusion be right or wrong. We do not remember to have seen a Norman font with similar ornamentation. The paper on the Premonstratensian Abbey of St. Mary Magdalen at Shap is the joint production of the late G. F. Weston and Mr. W. H. St. John Hope. The architectural description is excellent, and is accompanied by a good plan. The historical portion contains little that is new. The dedi- cation to St. Mary Magdalen is worthy of note. Though one of the most popular of saints in the Middle Ages, there seem to have been but few churches dedicated to her. We believe that there are but seven parish churches which bear her name in the whole of the large county of York. This is the more remarkable as the **apostolorum apostola,” as she was called, was an object of special devotion in that shire, where she was addressed in a well-known hymn as Matri Christi coequata. There must have been some reason, with which we are at present unacquainted, why dedica- tions to her are so rarely to be found. Mr. M. E. Kuper contributes a good paper on the field-names in the parish of Dalston. There are few things more difficult than the interpre- tation of local names of this sort. Many are evidently of remote antiquity. Guessing as to what they mean is an easy and foolish amuse- ment, and it is but seldom that we can arrive at anything like certainty. ‘‘ Piper Croft” is probably a bit of land, the use of which be- longed to the village piper. There were two of these in the parish of Dalston. Bell-gate is another curious name. Its origin, if truly reported, is most interesting. It is said that a bell once hung here to announce the arrival of the strings of pack-horses when they came from Keswick, and also to warn the neighbourhood of the approach of Scottish rievers. The Archeological Journal, No. 183 (Oxford Mansion, Oxford Street), contains Mr. G. T. Clark’s ‘ Contribution towards a Complete List of Moated Mounds, or Burhs,’ divided into counties, and enumerating the examples of these remark- able, but often obscure and little studied re- mains, consisting generally of circular mounds, each table-topped, and surrounded by a deep and broad ditch, out of which the mound, where it is wholly artificial, has been formed. Norman castles were often built upon them, as at Norwich, Guildford, Farnham, Bungay, and Clare. We believe the large mound in a wood near Stour- bridge, Worcestershire, not mentioned by Mr. Clark and very little known, is one of the finest burhs in England. Mr. B. Lewis continues his welcome notes on Roman antiquities abroad in a paper on Tréves and Metz, which is extremely valuableandreadable. Mr. A. Hartshorne’s ‘ Nor- wich Castle,’ read to the Archeological Institute in August last, is an excellent supplement to
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136 THE ATHENZUM N° 3274, Juty 26, 90 Seeeuneemeneenesaaaaall and continuation of Harrod’s account of that ill-treated building. Mr. G. T. Clark writes upon Castle Acre. The opening addresses at the Institute meeting at Norwich by the Rev. Dr. Jessopp and the Rev. C. R. Manning complete this instalment of the Journal. The Archeological Jowrnal, No. 184, which concludes vol. xlvi., contains an unusual amount of solid matter. The somewhat operose early municipal history of Norwich, by the Rev. W. Hudson, the ‘Roman Norfolk’ of Mr. G. E. Fox, and a capital account of the Perpendicular style in East Anglia, by Mr. J. L. André, make the number as valuable to natives of that favoured part of the earth as No. 183. Traces, as at Tasburgh, Caistor, and Brancaster, of Roman stations exist on the north side of the Saxon Shore, and at the rivers’ mouths; but it is observable that although interments and isolated homesteads thinly scattered throughout the county attest its occupation by the Romans and Romanized Britons, no Roman town, nor even a village, is known to have existed in the county. Mr. Fox does not convince us_ by his assertion that this extraordinary paucity of remains in a large and valuable district, close to Colchester, Cambridge, and other Roman towns, is due to the want of durable building materials in Norfolk. In this respect Essex is as her northern neighbour, yet the names of Colchester and roads and ports are numerous enough to tell us how the Romans valued the fertile county. Foundations of flints and good lime are not easily got rid of when they exist in numbers. Besides, the Romans surely knew how to make bricks, and Norfolk lacks not brick earth. Mr. Fox is cautious in what he says of the ‘urn burials ” about which Sir Thomas Browne blessed the learned world with an in- comparable essay. These relics are numerous in Norfolk, but they are not all Roman, even when Roman coins accompany them. Whence came that prodigious host of Roman coins, 17,000 in number, which in 1884 was found at | Baconsthorpe? Were they intended to pay troops stationed at Norwich, at Venta Icenorum (Caistor), the greatest Roman station in East Anglia, capable of holding nearly 5,000 men, or at Burgh, on the side of the Waveney, where the huge fortress is a wonder to this day? So prac- tical were the Romans, we may be sure they did not build, and for at least three centuries maintain, these stations merely to defend a few poor settlers of their race and the tribes who submitted to them against the sea-rovers, who would not have given much trouble if loot had not abounded within reach of their ‘“‘long ships.” The riddle of Roman occupation in Norfolk remains unsolved. The late Preben- dary Scarth’s account of the Gallo-Roman temple discovered on the summit of the Puy de Déme in 1873 is quite marvellous. Prof. Bunnell Lewis’s account of the ‘ Antiquities of Treves and Metz,’ a valuable essay con- tinued from the previous number, is not con- cluded. It describes the noble Roman aqueduct at Jouy-aux-Arches, near Metz, the second in rank of its kind in France (the first being the Pont du Gard). Mr. Lewis deplores the signs of a ‘‘fading prosperity” and ‘‘traces of a recent defeat’ in the country and the faces of its ‘‘ suffering population.” The paper by Prof. G. F. Browne on a Runic inscription found in Wirrall, Cheshire, among building materials which had been used successively for two churches at Upton, Birkenhead, is one of the shortest the Jowrnal has contained, but few show as much acumen. NOTES FROM PISIDIA. Konia, June 29, 1890. Dvurine twelve days spent in the Pisidian mountains we have completed the first instal- ment of our task this year, namely, to supple- ment and connect previous surveys of the geo- graphical and archzeological features of the coun- try about the great lakes. We left Smyrna on June 14th, and travelled up the railway to its new terminus at Dinari (Celeenze-Apamea). The extension, lately completed by the energy of Mr. Purser, from Seraikeny to the head of the Meander, is the greatest step in the develop- ment of Anatolia which has been taken for cen- turies. Dinari has been transformed in a few months into the greatest corn market of this part of Asia, and as far inland as Konia the peasants are learning to bring to the railway the produce which, in an abundant year, used to rot in the fields. Konia we shall grow vines,” said a Beysheher villager to us the other day ; and to Konia it is hoped that the rails will be brought before long. For the tourist the line does much: Hierapolis, ‘*When the railway comes to | as to fill great part of a valley shut in by hills of no great height. This larger city, whose ex- treme length was about 700 yards, with a breadth of about 200, was not fortified. The Agora lies partly inside and partly to the north of the earlier city, whose walls were destroyed in part to allow of the extension. It extended probably up to a building of peculiar shape, in fair pre- servation, about 180 yards north; but great part of it is a heap of confused ruins. Our survey indicates roughly the situation and shape of all the buildings which can be distinguished with certainty, but necessarily leaves out the great majority. Two hundred yards further north | there are three small temples, in two of which Laodicea, and Colossze are now within two or | three miles of railway stations, and can be visited with ease and comfort. At Dinari we copied half a dozen new inscrip- tions, two, one Latin and one Greek, being of unusual interest ; and we left it on June 16th. In the course of the next two days we visited the sites of Conana and Seleucia Sidera, and ob- tained inscriptions of little interest. The third evening found us at Egerdir, and we took the opportunity of visiting the ancient monastery which has survived on the island of Nisi in the lake. It possesses a MS. lectionarium of the fifteenth century. Hence we struck into the wildest part of the Pisidian Taurus, leaving our baggage to go round tothe Beysheher Lake by a circuitous route, and being compelled to spend four nights on the open hillside. We first crossed into the valley of the Upper Eurymedon, and found at Tofalas, near the site of Timbrias, a number of curious Pisidian epitaphs. A very long ride, during which we had to cross country of terrible difficulty, brought us to Kara Bavlo, the site of Adada, discovered by Schonborn, and since visited by Prof. Sterrett. The situation of Adada is certainly striking. In a country that consists chiefly of impassable mountains it is a really important road-centre ; amid a wilderness of rocks it commands a large | We had great | extent of most fertile territory. difficulty in finding it, and still greater difficulty | 1 d L | find a work more interesting and fruitful at the | price than the excavation of Adada. in leaving it; and our experience was the best proof that the country can hardly be traversed except along a few routes, almost all of which | | : oe n | Turkish pronunciation of IlatvAos. Numerous pass through Adada, for our difficulties were caused by ignorance of the natural lines of the | | of the patron saint or the church in the ancient road, and our attempts to take other routes re- sulted either in failure or in hard work. We found no road that is not indicated in Kiepert’s most recent map, but we learned that some of his lines indicate routes which could never be made passable, except by unlimited tunnelling and bridging, while others, though poor enough at present, might easily be put in a very fair condition. The latter pass through Adada. This knowledge, which could not be got from previous | city. | the walls are practically complete. Inscriptions show that the city contained temples of Aphro- dite, of Serapis, and of the Fatherland, and that the cultus of the emperors was associated with and put before each of the other cults ; but there are difficulties, which need not be here men- tioned, in assigning the names to particular buildings, owing to the fact that Prof. Sterrett is not quite so accurate in stating the locality of his inscriptions as in copying the text. Of his thirty-four inscriptions we saw only fourteen, besides one which he had not observed ; a few we copied more completely, but in most we only confirmed his text. With little trouble and no great expense the mass of ruins might be sorted and thoroughly examined, the whole plan of the city discovered, and a great deal of information obtained about its condition under the Empire. Nothing can be expected from the ruins to adorn a museum, for it is improbable that any fine works of art ever came to Adada, and certain that every accessible fragment of marble has been carried away long ago. But for a picture of society, as it was formed by Greco-Roman civilization in an Asiatic people, there is, perhaps, no place where the expenditure of a few hundreds would produce such results. The opinion will not be universally accepted that the most important and interesting part of ancient history is the study of the evolution of society during the long conflict between Christianity and paganism ; but those who hold this opinion will not easily The modern name, Bavlo, is undoubtedly the examples occur where the modern name is that Adada then was under the protection of the apostle. Now it is the chief town on the natural path from Perga to Antioch of Pisidia ; and it is easy to understand that, even if no real tradition existed, the belief would naturally grow that Paul passed through the city on his first missionary journey in Asia Minor. A mile | south of the city, by the road to Perga, stands travellers, introduces order into the topography | | place for penitents and the body of the church, of this whole district. Prof. Sterrett has very briefly described the ruins of Adada, and has copied the inscriptions with great diligence and accuracy; but his state- ment that the city (whose name he did not know) is situated in ‘‘mountains that are not only uncultivated, but are not capable of being cultivated,” gives a very inadequate account of the surroundings. We had only about six hours of daylight available for work at Adada, and most of this was taken up in making a rough survey of the extensive and remarkably well- preserved ruins. The city, as Mr. Headlam first observed, occupied originally a small hill (called by Sterrett the acropolis), and a larger double-peaked hill to the south-west of it. The lines of fortification of this earlier city, partly natural and partly arti- ficial, lay high above us on the right, wall above wall, as we approached by the road from Perga. This Pisidian hill-fortress, under the prosperity and peaceful government of the Roman Empire, was extended to the north so a little church, apparently of fairly early cha- racter, with the separating wall between the and with triple apsidal termination. This church might probably repay examination. The difficulty of getting through the moun- tains to the southern end of the Beysheher Lake ean hardly be exaggerated ; passes, pro- perly so called, do not exist, and it 1s necessary to cross ridges at a great elevation by paths which a loaded horse can scarcely traverse. Three days of continuous riding brought us to | Kashaktu at the south-western corner of the lake ; three-quarters of an hour to the east, on a spur of the hills, is a walled site, which there can be little doubt must be identified with the Roman colony Parlais; and the identification is supported by the presence of Latin inscrip- tions in neighbouring villages. The ruins are situated precisely in the position assigned on general grounds to Parlais in the forthcoming ‘Historical Geography of Asia Minor.’ From Beysheher to Konia we took the horse road by Fassiler. It had been our intention to photograph the ‘‘ Hittite” monument dis-
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ee N° 3274, Juty 26, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 137 covered at that place by Prof. Sterrett, but continuous rain, unusual in June, rendered this impossible ; in any case, the position of the stone makes a satisfactory photograph un- attainable, and the drawing published in the Athenische Mittheilungen for 1889 must remain the only representation of the monument. To-morrow we go southwards to visit the sites of Lystra and Derbe, and to make a tour in Cilicia Tracheia, and hope to report our pro- gress when we return northwards to Nigde or Kaisariyeh at the end of July. W. M. Ramsay—D. G. Hocartu. SALE. Messrs. CuristrE, Manson & Woops sold on the 19th and 21st inst. the following pictures, from various collections: T. Gainsborough, Constantine John, Lord Mulgrave, 9551.; Capt. Charles Phipps, in naval uniform, 110/.; A View near Sudbury, with herdsman and cattle in a pool, 2731.; Charles Hotchkin, Esq., 105/. Sir J. Reynolds, Lady Lepel and Child, 2731.; Constantine John, Lord Mulgrave, 283/.; Henry, Earl of Mulgrave, as a Child, with a Dog, 3721. ; Portrait of the Artist, in Spectacles, 120/.; John Paterson, Clerk to the Barbers’ Company, 1151. K. Du Jardin, The Swineherd Resting, 110). H. Alken, A Set of Four Hunting Sub- jects, 1571. W. P. Frith, An Old English Merry-making, 157]. A. Jacque, A Landscape, with shepherd and sheep, 189/. C. Stanfield, The Windmill at Saardam, Holland, 199/. F. Holl, Leaving Home, 1991. Sir E. Landseer, Pets, portrait of Lady Rachel Russell with her favourite fawn Harty, 498/.; The Pet of the Duchess, 215/.; Setters and Grouse, 2781.; Dying Golden Eagle, 100). T. 8. Cooper, Milking Time, 2461. R. Ansdell, Turf Stackers, scene in Glen Lyon, Perthshire, 162/. G. Morland, The Deserter, 1361. J. Hoppner, Lady Brathwaite Boughton, 157/. P. Nasmyth, A Lane in Surrey, 388). J. M. W. Turner, Fairlight Glen, Hastings, 105/. Fine-Art Gossip. THE two pictures recently bought at Christie’s by Sir F. Burton are now hung in the National Gallery, Room VII. No. 1309 is called ‘ Por- trait of a Young Man,’ in the rich golden tone of Titian’s school, by Bernardino Licinio, who painted between 1524 and 1541. It is inscribed ‘“‘Stephanus Naniabavro XVII., Mpxxvitt., Lycinius Pt.,” and represents an effeminate face. No. 1310, ‘Ecce Homo!’ hangs on a screen, and is assigned to Giovanni Bellini. THE second and concluding volume of Mr. Williamson’s edition of Boyne’s ‘Trade Tokens of the Seventeenth Century’ will contain ten separate indices of counties, places, surnames, Christian names, initials, devices and arms, merchant marks, shapes, values, and pecu- liarities. Mr. Stock is the publisher. THE death is announced of M. J. Gautherin, the sculptor of the statue of Diderot in the Place Saint-Germain and the ‘ Paradis Perdu’ in the Parc Monceau. He obtained medals in 1868 and 1870, and again Third-Class Medals in 1873 and 1878. He also obtained the Legion of Honour in 1878. ALTHOUGH it is a pity the great distinction was not accorded to him many years ago, and while he was able to produce fine works in abundance, it is pleasant to record that M. Francais, to whom the Medal of Honour of the late Salon was given, has been elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, peintwre, in the place of M. Robert-Fleury, deceased. Among the new member’s rivals on this occa- sion were artists with whom it is an honour to compete, e.g., MM. J. Lefebvre, Detaille, E. Lévy, O. Merson, and Harpignies. To-pay, Saturday, has been appointed for the opening, in presence of the King of the Belgians, of the grand new Musée des Beaux-Arts, Ant- werp, which has been designed by MM. Winders and Van Dyck. It is one of the largest build- ings in Belgium, and has been arranged so as to show the works of art to great advantage as to lighting and classification. Tue famous sculptor M. Guillaume has been appointed Director of the French Académie de Rome, in place of M. Hébert. It is certain, as a Parisian journal remarks, that the ‘‘ pure tradition classique” will not be neglected at the Villa Médécis. The best known of Pradier’s pupils, a member of the Académie des Beaux- Arts, and an Honorary Royal Academician, he was born at Montbard in 1822; in 1845 he won the Grand Prix de Sculpture, and in 1862 succeeded Petitot at the Institut. Besides the practice of his art and his functions as professor and Director of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, M. Guillaume has frequently written on eesthetics—for instance, on ‘Dante considéré comme Ecrivain d’Art.’ THE death at Paris, on the 20th inst., of Sir Richard Wallace affords an occasion for mention- ing his merits as an art patron, collector, and zealous lover of art. His extreme liberality in lending the whole of his collections of pictures and objets d’art to the Bethnal Green Museum in 1872 is not forgotten. The Royal Acade- micians profited by his loans. He was a Trustee of the National Gallery, and one of the Com- missioners of the Paris Exposition Universelle, 1878. Tue ring of which we now give an engraving is that to which we referred lately as having been lost by Sir Charles Dilke. It contains a portrait—of the head only, with worn features and a melancholy expression—of Charles I., and is placed under an oval glass or crystal with bevelled edges. It is believed to be one of the few memorial rings of the monarch in question, and was missed not long after it was returned from the Stuart Exhibition of last year. Any one who has knowledge of the relic may, on communi- cating with the publisher of this journal, de- pend, should the ring be recovered, upon an adequate reward. Foreign papers are requested to repeat this statement, and apply for casts of the block representing the ring. From Samos the discovery of a statue of Apollo is announced. It is of archaic style, the arms hanging down close to the body, the hands closed, and the feet as it were in motion, the left foot being a little in advance of the right. On one of the thighs is a dedicatory inscription of twolines. Unfortunately the head is wanting MUSIC Sa From Handel to Halle: Biographical Sketches. By Louis Engel. (Swan Sonnenschein & Co.) Tue author of those amusing if not music- ally valuable volumes ‘From Mozart to Mario’ has apparently discovered that the journalist who adopts music as the basis of his essays in light literature has a field of work in which at present profit may be earned without the trouble of encountering serious criticism. The alliterative title of the present work is just as unmeaning, and perhaps for that reason just as attractive, as that of its precursor. Indeed, the series might be indefinitely extended: from Bach to Brahms, from Palestrina to Patti, or from Goudimel to Gounod, would be precisely as suitable, and would strike the careless ama- teur with the same amount of force. But Mr. Engel must not be taken seriously, though at times he wears the cap and gown of the philosopher. He chats in a desultory though pleasant manner concerning Handel, Gluck, Beethoven, Sir Arthur Sullivan, Mr. Joseph Barnby, Madame Albani, Sir Charles and Lady Halle, and the juvenile pianists who have recently created so great a sensa- tion in the musical world. So far as regards matters of fact his sketches are fairly trust- worthy, but he has no high opinion of those writers who confine themselves to solid in- formation. With reference to German bio- graphers, he says that they “‘ are dreadfully particular as to completeness, and for that purpose cram their books with innumerable and often quite irrelevant details.” If this be a fault it is one that cannot be laid to Mr. Engel’s charge, and there are doubtless many superficial amateurs able to appreciate the cheap proverbial philosophy which forms such a large proportion of his work. Here are two examples of the method adopted by the author with the ostensible view of making his work readable :— ‘‘Tf a man be able to give a sovereign asa charity, but will throw the gold coin so as to avoid the touch of the needy person, he will by humiliating him diminish the value of the gift ; but it is given only to few people—to gentle- women above all—to accompany the gift with a warm sympathetic look or smile, or a kind word, which will do more than the gift itself to con- sole and comfort......Luck, that is the word, so often used as an explanation of the unusual success of any man, because it is so consoling for jealous, envious, would-be rivals, not to admit the superior genius, or the greater know- ledge, or the more amiable qualities of character, while just the very combination of all these qualities is required to lift on the high pedestal of contemporaneous recognition the performer, the composer, the poet, or the statesman.” Among many truisms are a few truths, perhaps the most striking of which is the peroration concerning Patti which ends the volume :— ‘*T honestly think that if Madame Patti could meet but once in her life with somecreature, male or female, who would not do what she wants, would not be too happy to guess all her desires, would not treat her to the titles—which she has heard ad nauseam—of Queen of the Song and Diva, and what other nonsense, but would have skill and tact and superiority enough to tyrannize her, I fully believe that that person she would adore. She accumulates wealth because people force her into it, but to my mind she is utterly blasée, having had all that the most profuse Providence could grant her, she has nothing to desire, and everything that is brought to her or offered her, has been offered a hundred times before. She seems to me to stand alone on her pinnacle of fame, and to lack that which consti- tutes the blessing of social life—a circle of sincere friends,” What object Mr. Engel had in view in soliciting autobiographies of Prof. Huxley and Mr. Herkomer for inclusion in a volume of musical sketches is not apparent. After some natural unwillingness the distinguished scientist consented to write a few modest details concerning his life and work. Mr. Herkomer, on the other hand, appears to have considered the opportunity for self- advertisement too good to be lost. He occupies thrice as much space as_ that devoted to Gluck and Beethoven, and de- ~ ae
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138 THE ATHENZUM N° 3274, Jury 26, 90 scribes the petty experiences of his early career as if they were as interesting as they are in reality commonplace. That others did not at once recognize his artistic powers was evidently a sore trial. With reference to the somewhat cavalier treatment he ex- perienced on his first application to Cassell’s, he says,— ‘* If editors and managers would only remem- ber that they may be dealing with men who are destined to succeed, and who remember kindness as keenly as they do cruelty, they would be more courteous to strange ‘young men,’ or at least more cautious,” This egoism may raise a smile, but an impression otherwise than painful cannot be excited when the writer lays bare the wounds he suffered in private life, and thus speaks of the woman who became his first wife :— ‘The fancied wrongs of her life were the springs that let loose my pity, and from the highest motives of self-sacrifice, I thought I was doing a worthy thing in trying to make one person happy who had not known happiness, according to her versions. I was wrong. Chaos followed everything she touched, and her mind was unable to see anything in its true light.” The utter want of taste—to use no severer description—which characterizes this wholly unnecessary disclosure of matters usually deemed sacred needs no comment. If the book reaches a second edition it will be as well to correct such misstatements or misprints as that Handel’s oratorio career commenced with ‘ Esther’ in 1732; that he wrote only sixteen oratorios; and that Beethoven’s birthplace in Bonn ‘is kept by a Restaur- ant” (sic). On the whole, the volume is calculated to afford the reader considerable entertainment, if not much edification. THE WEEK. : RoyAt ITALIAN OpERA.—‘ Hamlet.’ THE visitors to the Royal Italian Opera have certainly no ground to complain of any lagging energy on the part of the management. Within a few days of the production of ‘Esmeralda,’ the ‘Hamlet’ of M. Ambroise Thomas, which had not been performed for nearly a decade, was thoroughly rehearsed, and produced for the first time in French. Monday’s perform- ance was certainly the best we have wit- nessed of this work since it was first given in London during the coalition season in 1869, when the ré/es of Hamlet and Ophelia were sustained by Mr. Santley and Madame Christine Nilsson. Though to the student of Shakspeare Messrs. Carré and Barbier’s treatment of ‘ Hamlet’ must appear in every sense lamentable, yet regarded simply as an example of French grand opera M. Thomas’s work is, in a certain degree, effective, notwithstanding that the weakest portions of the score are those where the composer has been most ambitious. He has not the capacity to construct elaborate concerted pieces nor to handle dramatic situations. The scene with the Ghost is lugubrious, but without musical interest; and in the duet between the Prince and Gertrude the composer never rises to the height of his argument. On the other hand, the pen that wrote ‘ Mignon’ is clearly dis- cernible in the pretty pages’ chorus, “ Nargue de la tristesse,” the duet between Hamlet and Ophelia, ‘‘ Doute de la lumiére,” the Danish march, and the whole of the fourth act, which consists of the rustic ballet and the death of Ophelia. ‘Hamlet,’ therefore, can only be appreciated by those who can temporarily obliterate all recollection of the source from which the French librettists took their theme. We have already men- tioned that Monday’s performance was com- mendable, and, indeed, as regards the repre- sentation of the three principal characters it was exceptionally fine. M. Lassalle, Madame Melba, and Mlle. Richard have frequently played their parts in Paris, and are, therefore, thoroughly familiar with all their requirements. It would be invidious to assign the palm to any one of these three artists, but it may be said that Madame Melba appeared to greater advantage than in any of her previous assumptions in Lon- don. True, she lacks the sympathetic touch which rendered Madame Christine Nilsson’s Ophelia such a winning performance; but her singing, particularly in the fourth act, where M. Thomas introduces a pathetic Swedish melody, was marked by brilliancy of execution as well as perfection of method. M. Montariol in the small part of Laertes, M. Isnardon as the King, and M. Darvall as the Ghost were commendable, and the general performance was exceedingly cre-. ditable. Rlusical Gossip, At the second pianoforte recital of Max Hambourg, at the Princes’ Hall on Monday, the programme was more wisely chosen than on his first appearance, and the little executant was therefore heard to greater advantage. That his natural musical capacity is remarkable there can be no doubt. His reading of two of Bach’s preludes and fugues, Schumann’s Arabesque in c, Op. 18, and a mazurka and waltz of Chopin was novel and at times grotesque; but in every- thing he attempted the ten-year-old pianist evinced extraordinary sensibility and a manifest sense of the inner meaning of the music, though his physical powers were insuflicient to give it full expression. It is probable, though we be- lieve the matter is not decided, that Max Ham- bourg will be placed under M. Paderewski for his further training. Attention may be called to the numerous errors in the printed pro- gramme, due mostly to the differences between German and English nomenclature. WE have received an early copy of the pro- spectus of the Festival of the Three Choirs, which takes place this year at Worcester be- tween Sunday the 7th and Friday the 12th of September. The meeting will open on Sunday morning with a grand choral service, in which the chorus and orchestra will take part. Monday will be devoted to rehearsals, and the regular performances will be as follows : Tuesday morn- ing, ‘St. Paul’; evening, Mr. Lee Williams’s cantata, ‘The Last Night at Bethany,’ and parts one and two of ‘The Creation.’ Wednesday morning, Mozart’s ‘Requiem,’ Beethoven’s Symphony in c minor, and Spohr’s cantata “*God, thou art great”; evening, a Pastoral Symphony of Bach, presumably from the Christmas Oratorio, the same composer’s can- tata ‘ A Stronghold Sure,’ and Weber’s Harvest Cantata. Thursday morning, Dr. Bridge’s new oratorio ‘The Repentance of Nineveh,’ and Beethoven’s ‘Mount of Olives’; evening, ‘Elijah.’ Friday morning, ‘The Messiah,’ and evening a closing service, in which the three choirs and string band will take part. There will be only one secular concert, that is to say, on Wednesday evening, the programme consist- ing of Dr. Hubert Parry’s ode ‘St. Cecilia’s Day’ and a miscellaneous selection. The prin- cipal vocalists engaged are Mesdames Albani, Hutchinson, Anna Williams, Hilda Wilson, and Damian; and Messrs. Lloyd, Hirwen Jones, Watkin Mills, Plunket Greene, and Brereton. The orchestra will consist of seventy-seven per- formers, led by Mr. Carrodus, and the conductor will be Mr. Charles Lee Williams. Wira reference to Mozart’s ‘Cosi Fan Tutte,’ it may interest some of our readers to learn that the opera was performed for the first time by the students of the Royal Academy of Music, under the direction of the late Cipriani Potter, at the King’s Theatre (now Her Majesty’s) in December, 1829. Among those in the orchestra were Sterndale Bennett, F. Blagrove, W. H. Holmes, H. G. Blagrove, and George Mac- farren. The late Principal of the Royal Academy was announced to play the trombone ; but as there is no trombone part in the score, it is tolerably certain that the performance was not remarkable for the respect paid to Mozart’s intentions. THE degraded state to which musical art has fallen in Italy has received a further illustra- tion in the excessive and fuiscine congratula- tions bestowed on Signor Mascagni, the com- poser of ‘Cavalleria Rusticana.’ The writer of a successful one-act opera is being féted as if he were a great composer who had enriched the world with many masterpieces. Even musicians seem to be unduly excited over the matter, for Signor Sgambati writes, ‘‘ All discussion is im- possible concerning this music, which fascinates and which strikes one dumb.” Mascagni is now engaged on an opera founded on one of MM. Erckmann and Chatrian’s dramas. Tue Milanese journals announce the ap- proaching retirement of the famous tenor Signor Tamagno. It is understood that he has amassed a large fortune by the enormous terms he de- manded and obtained. THE municipality of Nuremberg have finally decided to institute the proposed festival per- formances of ‘Die Meistersinger.’ A series will be given annually, to be commenced next year. THE total cost of the Mozart Theatre at Salz- burg, now in course of erection, will be about 30,0001. 7,000/. will be expended on the ap- proaches, and the expenses of the first two productions are estimated at 9,000/. Tue design for the proposed monument to Mozart at Vienna is to be the subject of a prize competition. The successful designer will re- ceive 8,000 florins, and the second and third 1,000 florins and 500 florins respectively. THE greatest living song composer in Ger- many, Robert Franz, has just celebrated his seventy-fifth birthday. He was born at Halle in 1815. DRAMA —o— The Attic Theatre. By A. E. Haigh. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.) Le Thédtre de Polyeleéte. (Paris, Leroux.) Here are two books, the one general, the other special, which add greatly to our knowledge of the construction and working of the Greek theatre. To those who know German, indeed, Mr. Haigh’s facts are accessible either in Albert Miiller’s ‘ Biihnen- alterthiimer’ or the still more recent article in Baumeister’s ‘Denkmiiler.’ These and all his other sources he enumerates with honest detail in his preface, and a perusal of his book shows with what care and judg- ment he has used them. Such a book on such a subject was so sorely needed by the Par K. Dumon. XUM
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N° 3274, Jury 26, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 139 English student, and still more by the college Don who undertook to lecture on the drama without knowing German, that the chorus of laudation with which it has been received is not surprising. It will be, perhaps, a pleasant variety for Mr. Haigh, after a surfeit of panegyrical reviews, to find a few little points noticed in which he may possibly have fallen short of absolute perfection. Or is he, too, one of those over- sensitive scholars who translate even the mildest criticism into the expression of personal hostility on the part of the critic ? Let us begin with very little spots. It is mere clerical error when he speaks of ‘the ghost of Clytemnestra in the ‘Agamemnon.’” But if we compare his index of technical terms with that of Alb. Miiller, whose book he has constantly before him, we find a good many gaps in the Greek names for dresses ; perhaps in some cases the want is in the index only, and may be supplied somewhere in the text, but among other terms €upérea, éurrepovnpa, yxeia, Ocparirys, and iepovexys strike us by their absence; while, again, an occasional word such as Geppavorpis appears here and not in Miiller. Of the more important terms not explained, so far as we can find, are dvariGévar and mpoBodet’s. In a new edition the learned author will no doubt supply these small deficiencies, as well as some allusion to the contributions of Zielinski and of Liiders, seeing that the tract of the latter on the Dionysiac artists is still the best monograph on the subject. A closer comparison with the laborious work of A. Miiller will show that while here and there Mr. Haigh omits a fact worth mentioning, he has added to the knowledge of the subject, not only from more recent contributions, but especially from valuable correspondence with Dr. Dorpfeld at Athens. The pity of it is that he has not further utilized this invaluable source, so easy of access, and so ready to pour out its know- ledge to all that require it. Thus, for example, when he says, ‘The following facts and measurements will give some idea of the size and capacity of the Athenian theatre,” he adds some figures from which no mathematician could possibly compute the area ; and he is content to repeat from a note in A. Miiller a Greek estimate of the possible audience at 27,500, whereas Dr. Dorpfeld’s measurements are said to bring it down to the reasonable figure of 15,000. We feel in this and other points that Mr. Haigh lacks one condition for making his book perfect—he never writes from autopsy, but only from books and advices; and yet in the present days of easy travelling it is hard to imagine a competent man attacking such a subject without going out and seeing the thing for himself. What would he not have gained from an hour’s conversation with Dr. Dérpfeld in the theatre itself! especially as he holds an independent atti- tude, and controverts one of the learned architect’s theories on the date of the exist- ing structure. It is worth adding a few more points of detail on this valuable and conscien- tious piece of work, where almost every careful reader can suggest something, and help the author. Though he adds an important inscription, on a dramatic per- formance, to the information in Miiller, he might have found in that author records which he has overlooked. So also in his next page, when speaking of the difficult question of the number of tragedies which competed yearly, he omits the fact that to come third was always regarded as a dis- grace to the poet, which could hardly have been the case were he not actually the last in the list. He quotes, to prove that the principal actor hired his subordinates, a passage from Demosthenes (€xwv “Ic. tov devtepay.) which does not appear to us to bear out his argument. Nor does he insist upon the characteristic fact that until a very late date tragic and comic actors were quite distinct. He gives in a note instances of iambics interchanging with lyric metres as if there were only one or two cases. Surely he should have mentioned that in Euripides, whom he here passes by in silence, there are the most remarkable dramatic scenes where this contrast is intended to express the contrast of a calm and an excited speaker. Instances will occur to the classical reader from the ‘ Hippolytus,’ ‘ Alcestis,’ and ‘ Heracles.’ But the drama as literature is not Mr. Haigh’s strong point. It is, perhaps, necessary that the externals of the Greek performance should fill a special volume, now that so vast a body of materials is before us. But if so, care must be taken that this splendid phase of Greek genius should not degenerate into a merely anti- quarian study. A sound and practical survey of the plays as literature must not be set aside as unnecessary, even for the accuracy of technical details. On the whole, however, we congratulate Mr. Haigh for his highly successful dealing with a complicated and difficult subject, where the gaps in our knowledge are perhaps more remarkable than the amount we have discovered. We come now to the monograph of M. Dumon, who shows by a most careful tech- nical account—so technical that the ordinary student cannot follow it—how Polycletus built his famous theatre at Epidaurus on strictly geometrical principles, attaining the marvellous symmetry of his proportions by assuming a unit or modulus of eleven feet, and making all his dimensions multiples and submultiples of this unit, his radii, &c., being similarly selected. The tract, which is sumptuously printed, is accompanied by careful plates in folio, and the first glance apprisesus whatsubtle and surprising art was employed in this structure, which Pausanias praises so unreservedly. The secrets of Ictinus’s art, as shown by Mr. Penrose upon the Parthenon, make us quite ready to accept any demonstration of this sort of skill in a Greek building of the golden age ; but we miss in the book all account of M. Dumon’s own visit to Epidaurus or the grounds upon which he contests some of the measurements of Dr. Dorpfeld and others. And, by the way, in speaking of his prede- cessors in these researches, he never men- tions the name of Mr. Penrose! How far these careful geometrical measurements pro- duced good results upon the acoustic qualities of the Greek theatres seems not yet deter- mined, if at all determinable. Those who have stood upon the ruined stages and made trial with people seated in the auditorium generally report that they were well and easily heard, though, of course, the dis- appearance of the high back wall of the stage must have altered the conditions de- manded by the builders. But the fact that the Greeks with all their theoretical subtlety were so eminently practical makes it pro- bable that this most accurate and geo- metrical plan was not merely conducive to beauty, but possessed other advantages which we do not now appreciate. The recent investigations undertaken at the largest of them all—that of Megalopolis—will, we trust, bring some new light to bear on the many obscurities which still encompass this fascinating subject. When may we hope that some of the many theatres in the wilds of Asia Minor may receive similar attention? That of Aspendus is confessedly the most perfect extant, and, though Roman- ized, was doubtless a Greek building. But there are many more known, probably more even as yet unknown. What a field for explorers ! THE WEEK. GalrTy.—‘A Gold Mine,’a Comedy in Three Acts. By Brander Matthews and George H. Jessop. GtossariEes to plays have hitherto been confined to works belonging to antiquity. If, however, Transatlantic actors insist upon bringing over with them plays written in ‘choice’? American, something in the way of explanation will be necessary. Copies of Mr. Farmer’s ‘ Americanisms Old and New’ might, perhaps, like opera glasses, be kept on hire by the attendants, or space might be spared on the programme for a few ex- planations of words and allusions. It was uncomfortable and almost irritating for the Englishmen who were present at the first appearance of Mr. Goodwin at the Gaiety to hear the Americans, who constituted an unmistakable majority, laughing and crow- ing over jokes which to nearly half the audience were incomprehensible. Some smartish sayings, it is true, were generally intelligible. Such was the assertion attri- buted to the hero, that ‘‘the virtue of a man who has never been tempted is not a quality, it is a hypothesis.” Asa rule the applause which greeted the play was Ame- rican, and it is doubtful whether any amount of study of Americanisms will commend ‘A Gold Mine’ to the London public. The main idea seems to be to give an American adaptation of the scenes in ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ between Benedick and Beatrice. Coming over to England to sell at a very moderate price a gold mine of which he is the fortunate possessor, Silas K. Wolcott, a Californian speculator, allows himself to fall in love with Mrs. Meredith, an English widow, by whom he is much _bantered. Behind their jocose recriminations it is easy to see that there is mutual admira- tion. For the sake of his mistress Silas allows her brother, a grasping trader, to have the mine at athird of its value, and the money, his all, which he thus obtains is given to her nephew, an extravagant young scamp who is on the verge of an unpleasant exposure. What can his mistress do less than reward with her hand the man capable of such self-abnegation ? She throws herself at him accordingly, and brings as a portion of her dowry the gold mine, out of which she has with some ingenuity contrived to cheat her brother. With this main plot is woven
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140 THE ATHENAUM N° 3274, Jury 26, 90 a slight thread of underplot showing the wooing of a young lady by an Irish Home Rule member of Parliament. Such story as there is is not unsympathetic. It is, how- ever, scarcely credible. The sacrifice of for- tune by the hero does not command either belief or admiration, and certain scenes are flimsy and almost wearisome. Portions of the dialogue are smart, but other portions are trivial. ‘A Gold Mine’ is, indeed, written wholly for the purpose of providing Mr. Goodwin with jokes. A certain cha- racter called Sir Charles Butler is thus mentioned, but not seen, in order that the hero may mistake the real butler for him, and thus bring about some comical mis- takes. Mr. Goodwin’s performance is clever, comic, and in the main artistic. It is free from palpable exaggerations, and it pro- vokes much laughter. There is about it a kind of delicacy, the absence of which from much English comic acting is to be deplored. Mr. Goodwin is, in short, likely to become a favourite. Mr. William Farren, Mr. Charles Glenney, Mr. Eversfield, and Miss Carlotta Leclereq were comprised in the cast, but few opportunities of distinguishing themselves were provided. Dramatic Gossip, Tn consequence of the success of ‘ As You Like It,’ as rendered by the Daly Company at the Lyceum, the remainder of the promised pro- gramme will probably be withdrawn. A MISCELLANEOUS entertainment was given on Wednesday at the Lyceum for a charitable pur- pose. In the course of the afternoon Miss Gene- vieve Ward appeared in the last scene of ‘ King John,’ Miss Ada Rehan in the third and fourth acts of ‘As You Like It,’ and Mrs. Gilbert, Mr. Lewis, and other members of the Daly Com- pany in ‘A Woman’s Wont.’ Miss Oxca Branvon’s part of the fasting girl in ‘ Judah,’ to be vacated when that actress joins the Adelphi, has, after much reflection, been given to Miss Calhoun. THE production at the Opera House, Auck- land, of a new play of antipodean life, by Mr. Christie Murray, entitled ‘Chums,’ is a matter that deserves to be put on record. It was first played on the 4th of June. Ir is stated that Mr. H. A. Jones will shortly be associated with Mr. Willard in the manage- ment of the Shaftesbury. Of such conjunctions between actor and author few have proved durable. It is to be hoped that a different precedent may be established. ‘ Lirrte Nogopy,’ a three-act comedy by Miss Mary Righton, was given on Thursday after- noon at the Vaudev ille, the author playing the heroine. ‘Dear F riends,’ a one-act piece “from the same source, was also played. Nothing in the entertainment calls for comment. NEXT WEEK'S NOVELTIES AND REVIVALS. Haymarket pt piaage Uy That Girl,’ by Henry Hamilton and rs. Oscar Beringer. Sar. Globe, ‘This Woman and That,’ by Pierre Leclercq. [These announcements are subject to changes of plan on the part of managers. } Wep. 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Ne 3275, Ava. 2, 90 THE ATHENAUM 151 SATURDAY, AUGUST 2, 1890. CONTENTS. THE DICTIONARY OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY THE LAWFULNESS OF USURY se THE FReNcH REVOLUTION ... eee A 8Stupy IN COMPARATIVE RELIGION NATION MAKING PAGE coo 151 oe 152 « 153 « $155 wo. 158 . 158 WARREN HASTINGS AND HIS ENEMIES . - NOVELS OF THE WEEK ooo oe on ooo 189 ANTIQUARIAN LITERATURE ... one . 160 MopDERN LATIN VERSE “a aes ooo oan «so, 103 Our LiprRaARy TABLE—LIsT oF NEw Books ... 162—163 Mr. WALFORD AND THE 8.P.C.K.; Nicnotas Bozon; An EARLY HEBREW INSCRIPTION ‘ oe 163—164 LITERARY GossIP owe oo eee “as wo. 164 ScIENCE—ORNITHOLOGICAL LITERATURE; ASTRONOMI- CAL NoTES; MEETINGS ... oo we 165—166 Fink ARTS—MYTHOLOGY AND MONUMENTS OF ANCIENT ATHENS; LIBRARY TABLE; WESTMINSTER ABBEY; BRITISH ARCHAZOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION; GOSSIP 166—169 MusIC—THE WEEK ; GossIP ese ie - 170 DRaMa—THE BANKSIDE SHAKSPEARE; LIBRARY TaBLE; THE WEEK; THE STAGE IN THE GREEK THEATRE; Gossip; NExT WEEK’S NOVELTIES 170—172 LITERATURE —_o— Dictionary of National Biography. — Vols. XIX.-XXI., edited by Leslie Stephen. Vols. XXII. and XXIII., edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. (Smith, Elder & Co.) Tue ‘Dictionary of National Biography’ is produced with such exemplary regularity that it is apt to outstrip the reviewer. Since Messrs. Smith & Elder’s great publication was last noticed in the Atheneum five volumes have appeared, dealing with the names between Finch and Haighton; and very important volumes they are. It will be observed that Mr. Leslie Stephen has taken to himself a co-editor in the person of Mr. Sidney Lee, with whose name readers of the ‘ Dictionary’ are already familiar as the writer of many admirable articles on the Tudor period, and to whom, we believe, is to be attributed much of the credit for the accuracy and scholarship for which the work as a whole has throughout been dis- tinguished. Under the joint auspices of the two editors the ‘ Dictionary’ continues to maintain its high level of excellence. Exception may perhaps be taken to the length of some of the notices dealing with the minor characters of the nine- teenth century. But it is only just to point out that there are no people about whom it is harder to obtain trustworthy information, as many biographical dic- tionaries simply reproduce the hastily com- piled obituaries of the daily papers. Still there are some articles in the course of these five volumes which appear to be unduly long —notably those of Fletcher, Vicarof Madeley, Friswell, Galt, Gresham, and Graham of Claverhouse, though the last two are other- wise worthy of high commendation. Mr. Henderson’s article on Claverhouse appears, however, especially prolix when contrasted with Dr. Gardiner’s on another famous Graham, the Marquis of Montrose, and we cannot help thinking that Mr. Henderson might have disposed of the whole question of Claverhouse’s responsibility for the Wigtown martyrdoms by a reference to authorities. In its review of the previous volumes of the ‘ Dictionary’ the Atheneum complained that some important names were omitted in connexion with the earlier periods of our history. We are glad to say that an examination of the lists of names, especially the numerous Fitzgeralds, Grahams, and Gordons, appears to show that a good deal more care has been taken to attain complete- ness. Indeed, such omissions as are dis- coverable are of little moment. Capt. Freney, the Irish highwayman, stood, how- ever, at the very top of his profession ; and though a cross-reference to her sister Lady Anne Barnard might have disposed of Lady Margaret Fordyce, to whom Sheridan ad- dressed the lines beginning Mark’d you her cheek of rosy hue, there is another lady celebrated by Sheridan who is deserving of a separate notice, namely, Mrs. Greville, the author of ‘The Ode to Indifference.’ Geoffrey of Anjou, the hus- band of the Empress Matilda, though the father of an English king, is perhaps too entirely a foreigner to be inserted; but space might have been found for Gerbod the Fleming, the Conqueror’s stepson, whom he made Earl of Chester. Men of a more recent date who might have been included are Grierson, the railway organizer, and G. F. Grace, the cricketer, whose claims seem as good as those of Fordham, the jockey, who occupies a column and a half. It appears, by the way, rather an eccen- tricity of arrangement to deal with one of the beautiful Miss Gunnings under “ Gun- ning ’’ and the other under “ Coventry,” her married name. The contributors to the ‘Dictionary of National Biography’ are nothing if not critical. The story of Judge Gascoigne’s committal of Prince Henry to prison is utterly rejected by Mr. Rigg; Prof. Laughton considers that a good deal of poetic exaggeration has collected round Sir Richard Grenville and the Revenge; Mr. Lee proves that Guy of Warwick never existed. By way, perhaps, of consolation, Mr. Alexander Gordon permits us to believe in Lady Godiva, though not, it appears, in Peeping Tom. Conscientious research is apt to deal rather harshly with anecdotes and ana, and the staff of Mr. Stephen and Mr. Lee is on the whole admirably conscientious. Ori- ginal authorities are quoted in nearly every case, and apparently at first hand. It is, however, difficult to imagine that the ‘ Nou- velle Biographie Universelle’ can contain information of much value on the subject of Lord Glenelg. On the other hand, Governor Hutchinson’s correspondence might have been consulted with advantage for the article on Lord Gage, Raikes’s journal for the article on Frederick Augustus, Duke of York, and Greville for that on Lord Fitz- gerald, better known as Mr. Vesey Fitz- gerald. Still, in the course of several hun- dred articles it is impossible to discover more than two or three that appear to display downright carelessness, and that is high praise. One of these is the notice of Fitzjames, Duke of Berwick, which contains no mention of his plan for the invasion of England in 1696 and its close connexion with the atrocious assassination plot, and which blunders terribly in representing Berwick as having accompanied St. Ruth on his expedition to Ireland, and as having left the country on Sarsfield’s surrender of Limerick. The actual facts are just the contrary; the duke followed James II. to Ireland, and left the country before the arrival of St. Ruth, and months before the surrender of Limerick. Another article which appears to have been more or less scamped is that on Thomas Grenville, states- man and book collector. A consultation of such obvious sources of information as the ‘Memorials and Correspondence of C. J. Fox’ and the ‘Life of Lord Shelburne’ would have taught Mr. Barnett Smith that Grenville was not sent to Paris in 1782 to arrange the termsof thetreaty with the United States, but of that with France. The nego- tiations with Franklin, the representative of the United States, were in the hands of Mr. Oswald, the envoy dispatched by Lord Shel- burne, who had charge of colonial affairs. Later on the communications for the momentous coalition between Fox and Lord Grenville passed through Thomas Grenville; but the circumstance is not mentioned in the article. Mr. Smith, who has touched ona good many subjects in the course of these volumes, has also contrived to deal with ‘‘Bob” Grimstone without alluding to his long and honourable connexion with Harrow cricket. And now for a cursory glance at some of the more important articles. Royalty is represented in these volumes by the four Georges, and it is quite unnecessary to say that they have all been entrusted to tried con- tributors. The only fault to be found with Prof. Ward’s excellent article on George I. is that insufficient space is devoted to foreign affairs; and in Mr. Rigg’s monograph on George II. the sole point to which exceptionis to be taken is that he hardly appears to do justice to the resource displayed by the king at the battle of Dettingen. Mr. Hunt is seen at his best (and very good that best is) when writing on George III.; and the solitary comment we have to make is that Madame D’Arblay’s ‘Diary’ is perhaps a better authority on Margaret Nicholson’s attempt on the king’s life than those that are given. In Mr. Hamilton’s article on George IV. the relations of the Prince of Wales with Mrs. Robinson are not quite correctly stated. The bond for 20,000/. was obtained by her at the beginning, not at the end, of the connexion ; and though it is true, as Mr. Hamilton says, that she surrendered the bond, he ought to have added that she obtained instead an annuity of 500/. Among the articles on minor princes, Prof. Tout’s Owen Glen- dower is especially good; but people less erudite than himself may possibly be un- aware what a ‘“‘cymmwd” is or was. A person unenviably connected with royalty, Mrs. Fitzherbert, has been allotted to Mr. Kebbel, who is unable to discover what was Fox’s authority for asserting in the House of Commons that she was not married to the Prince of Wales. Surely the Prince’s ad- mission to Grey that Fox had exceeded his instructions leaves little doubt on the point, considering the character of the speaker. Politicians occur so frequently in these volumes that many important articles must be passed over in silence. Among the earlier statesmen, Earl Godwin and Ranulf de Glanville are exhaustively treated by Mr. Hunt and Prof. Maitland respectively ; while in his article on Fitzaldhelm, the governor of Ireland, Prof. Tout may fairly claim to have cleared up finally the confusion be- tween him and William de Burgh into which historians have constantly fallen. In the article on Daniel Finch, second Earl of Nottingham, there appears a somewhat
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152 THE ATHENAUM N° 3275, Ave. 2, ’90 confused idea of the ecclesiastical legislation in the reign of Queen Anne ; and Mr. Leslie Stephen is, perhaps, unduly severe on Lord Godolphin, who was, with the exception of Halifax, the ablest financier of his time, and who was throughout the war of the Spanish succession the alter ego of Marlborough. The writer of the article on Lord George Germain would appear to think that he continued in office until the downfall of Lord North; but, as a matter of fact, he resigned after General Conway’s motion against the continuance of the American war had been carried. Under Fitzherbert, Lord St. Helens, we find no mention of the admirable manner in which, while minister at Brussels, he kept the Government informed of the destination of the French fleets during the same crisis. Oordial praise may freely be bestowed on Mr. Russell Barker for his articles on Flood and Grattan; but his article on Lord Grenville is not quite so satisfac- tory, as it does not lay sufficient stress upon the stately language of his despatches when Foreign Secretary, which Matthew Arnold praised so highly, and which Mr. Lecky, without much warrant, has attributed to Pitt. The notices of Lord and Lady Hol- land are not put together very neatly, and little is said of the French sympathies of Holland House, which came out very strongly not only during the war with Napoleon, but also during the Syrian crisis of 1840. Mr. Hamilton omits to mention that Lord Grey was offered the Foreign Office on the formation of Lord Melbourne’s second ministry; and Mr. Russell Barker, when writing on Lord Aberdeen, might have devoted a line or two to his important disclosure of the cabinet’s volte-face on the Corn Laws to the editor of the Times. Again, his statement that the Aberdeen cabinet was not seriously divided upon sub- jects of domestic policy is misleading ; there was a good deal of friction about parlia- mentary reform. Prof. Creighton should not have omitted an allusion to Sir James Graham’s vainglorious speech at the Napier banquet. Mr. Humphry Ward writes elo- quently about that recently deceased states- man Mr. W. E. Forster, but we do not follow him in attributing Lord Cowper’s resignation to the ‘‘ Kilmainham compact” (see Mr. Wemyss Reid’s ‘Life,’ chap. x.). The article on Sir Bartle Frere is unduly long. The soldiers in these volumes are, on the whole, treated with knowledge and care, notably the Cavaliers and Cromwellians, .who naturally fall to Mr. Firth. In the article on Sir Hope Grant too much space is devoted to his discovery of the talents of Lord Wolseley, but unqualified praise can be bestowed on Col. Veitch’s account of General Gordon. Prof. Laughton’s articles on sailors have now acquired the very quality they previously lacked, namely, conciseness, and his Franklin and Frobisher are masterpieces of lucid narrative. That legal luminary Fitzgibbon, Lord Clare, has justice done to him by Mr. Macdonell, who rightly rejects the absurd legend that Clare repented him on his deathbed of his action with regard to the Union. But why does Mr. Hamilton omit the fairly authenticated story that Sir William Follett’s speech in the case of Norton v. Norton and Melbourne was the original of Serjeant Buzfuz’s oration in the case of Bardell v. Pickwick? Miss Clerke is usually a model biographer when she has a man of science for her subject, and her article on Flamsteed is one of the most notable in vol. xix. Mr. Edmund Gosse writes on his father, P. H. Gosse, with praiseworthy candour. Of the artists, Mr. Austin Dobson’s Gillray and Mr. Cosmo Monkhouse’s Gainsborough and Gibson are quite admirable; and not much objection is to be taken to Mr. Cust’s notice of Fuseli, though more use might possibly have been made of Haydon’s autobiography. There is a valuable, if somewhat lengthy article by Mr. Lee on Foxe the martyrologist, and Prof. Fowler is interesting as well as thorough on Foxe, Bishop of Winchester. Another divine, Grosseteste, is dealt with by Dr. Luard, who hardly emphasizes sufficiently his patronage of the friars and the manner in which he effected his reforms through their agency. Unstinted eulogy is too prominent in the articles on the historians Grote and J.R. Green. Prof. Croom Robertson, for instance, might have pointed out Grote’s propensity to judge the heroes of Athenian democracy by the standards of modern Radical reform. Mr. Leslie Stephen’s article on Gibbon is noteworthy, but it might have been possible to discover later information about Gibbon’s house at Lausanne than that it was still standing in 1868. Dr. Garnett’s appreciation of Finlay is judicious ; but there is no mention in the article of the seizure of his land by the King of the Hel- lenes, which came prominently before the world in connexion with the Pacifico affair. Of the earlier poets and dramatists, there are scholarly articles on ‘‘moral” Gower and Fletcher by Mr. Lee and Mr. Bullen respec- tively, and Mr. Leslie Stephen’s memoir of Goldsmith is quite equal to its very im- portant subject. In dealing with Gay the editor might, perhaps, have dwelt on the ase significance acquired by ‘The eggar’s Opera’ through the application of some of its passages to the quarrels between Townshend and Walpole, though the appli- cation must, of course, have been an after- thought. And Gifford’s castigation of the Della Cruscans in the ‘ Baviad’ and ‘ Me- viad’ was surely meritorious, not, as Mr. Stephen thinks, mere labour lost, inasmuch as it exposed an impudent attempt to ‘“‘nobble ” periodical literature While Burns’ pure healthful nature ran to waste. In Mr. Knight’s excellent article on Garrick the only fault to be found is that the author- ship of ‘High Life below Stairs,’ by some ascribed, without much evidence, to Garrick, and by others to Townley, is left unsettled ; and in his notice of Foote Mr. Knight might, perhaps, have mentioned Murphy’s clever caricature of Foote’s conversation in the Dashwould of ‘ Know Your OwnMind.’ Of the authors of the nineteenth century the talents of Mrs. Gaskell receive due recogni- tion from Prof. Ward; and it is unnecessary to say more of the article on Edward Fitz- Gerald than that it is by Dr. Aldis Wright. A slip and an omission or two were, of course, inevitable in some of the minor articles, but these are surprisingly few. Mr. Morse Stephens appears to be unaware that General Fitzpatrick wrote the prologue to ‘The Critic’ ; and he can hardly have pub- lished ‘The Bath Picture’ in 1772, if 1771, the date of ‘Clio’s Protest,’ Sheridan’s reply, is given correctly by Moore. An- other reply of Sheridan’s, the celebrated, if mythical, Tov 8’ drape.Bopevos tpooépy Sheri- danios *jpws, should have been mentioned in the article on Lord Belgrave (Grosvenor, Robert), and Notes and Queries might have been investigated about the Greek quota- tion by which it is supposed to have been evoked. ‘French intrigues in Holland” were not so much the cause of the Prussian invasion of 1787, as stated in the article on Sir Charles Gordon, as the conflicts between the Orange and “ patriotic” parties, though the latter, no doubt, relied on French sup- port. The Marquis Wellesley, not ‘of Wellesley,” succeeded Hookham Frere in Spain. Of Gaisford the scholar we learn a good deal, but nothing of Gaisford, the Dean of Christ Church ; and for the article on Gabell, head master of Winchester College (why will so many contributors to the ‘ Dic- tionary’ persist in speaking of Winchester School ?), ‘ Wykehamica,’ by the Rev. H. C. Adams, might have been consulted, particu- larly on the rebellion of 1818. Though it was, perhaps, unnecessary to give the titles of the whole of James Grant’s fifty and odd novels, some of the more familiar—for instance, ‘Second to None’—should not have been omitted. The writer of a very long article on Friswell should have known that his ‘ Familiar Words’ is a theft from Bartlett, as the Atheneum proved when the book appeared. One of the last articles in these volumes is that on Joseph Gurney, shorthand writer, and in it we find no allu- sion to the fact that his report of the ‘ Speeches in the Trial of Warren Hastings’ was edited by Dr. Bond, the late Principal Librarian of the British Museum, under whose name it is to be found in the Catalogue. These are, however, but trifling blemishes, and the five volumes, taken as a whole, are worthy samples of an undertaking which one of the press notices printed at the end of vol. xxii. terms, by no means inappro- priately, ‘‘the magnum opus of our genera tion.” Capital and Interest. By Prof. Eugen v. Bihm-Bawerk. Translated by W. Smart, M.A. (Macmillan & Co.) Tuts book is a fresh and striking example -of the increased interest which economists in this country are now taking in the work of those engaged upon similar studies in other lands. Written in German by Dr. v. Béhm-Bawerk, Professor of Political Economy in the University of Innsbruck, it has been translated into English by Mr. William Smart, the Lecturer on Political Economy in Queen Margaret College, Glas- gow. The work thus becomes immediately accessible to that vast multitude of English readers who would not unnaturally feel that to attempt to read so solid a volume of critical argument in another language was beyond their powers. In the work of trans- lation Mr. Smart has enjoyed the assistance, as he mentions in his preface, of his former pupil Miss Christian Brown. This is satis- factory evidence that if it is necessary to undertake further work of this description, young students will be forthcoming to ac- complish it. The scope of Prof. v. Bohm - Bawerk’s volume is wide. It undertakes the critical
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history of a most important point in eco- nomic theory, the discussion of which began in the time of Aristotle, was continued through the Middle Ages, and is still vigor- ously carried on in our own days. This history necessarily includes an examina- tion of the opinions of a large array of | | the temporal legislation succumbed to the thinkers, some of them diffuse, some close and accurate in argument. the principal—of all the important writers on economics, in fact—will be found in the index. The preface and the analytical table of contents which Mr. Smart has added render the plan of the work clear and easily intelligible. The form in which the book is set before the English reader having been thus ex- lained, the next point is the substance. egarded as a matter of business, the ques- tion why interest is paid on a loan presents to most persons no difficulty whatever. There may be some difficulty about the actual pay- ment by the individual who owes it, but there can be no question at all as to the obligation. More than this, most people in the ordinary course of life would find it a somewhat puz- zling task to imagine from what quarter any difficulty could arise. The payment of interest is to them the “natural return” from their property, whether inherited or accumulated. This ‘‘return,” this ‘“ pro- duct’’ from capital, appears to them as much a matter of course as the return from a field which has been cultivated. The land has been prepared, the seed has been sown; the harvest should be, and as a matter of fact usually is, reaped in due season. That there should be any question as to the origin of so usual a phenomenon appears to them as unnecessary as to inquire why there should be daylight after the sun has risen. And yet those who read (and we trust there will be many who will read) this volume will find that not a few of the ablest, many even of the subtlest, intellects in the world have exercised themselves over this apparently simple problem, and have developed from it, with the utmost ingenuity, the most contradictory results. From Aristotle onward, who laid down the principle that money was in itself un- fruitful, that ‘‘money was intended to be used in exchange, but not to increase in interest,”—from the Canon Law, according to which ‘loan interest is simply an income which the lender draws by fraud or force from the resources of the borrower,’’—the idea survived into comparatively modern times that interest on a loan was something unnatural. It was not merely from the ‘*friend” that the ‘‘breed for barren metal” was not to be taken. The principle was a fixed one, that money could not of itself produce money. Many loopholes, of course, were found. The interest arising from the lending of durable goods—houses and the like—and rent also in its various forms, were not included in this condemnation. The distinctions drawn by the canonists as to the cases in which payment for the use of a thing is or is not lawful are most ela- borate, as was to be expected at an era when economics were still included in theology. The strong common sense of Thomas Aquinas justified the existence of private property, but he regarded a claim for interest for the use of money as being The names of | | statutes the sanction of Roman law.”
on the same level as a claim for the use of time, ‘‘a common good, which belongs to no one in particular, but is given to all equally by God.” Divine authority was cited against the practice. Gradually the field in which interest was still reckoned as being lawful was narrowed. ‘At last even Church’s influence, and gave its severe After many centuries the tide of opinion turned. The requirements of business and of ordinary life overpowered the teachings of the Church. Prof. v. Bohm-Bawerk narrates the succes- sive steps through which the precepts of the Canon Law, attacked by Salmasius in 1638, were finally overthrown by Turgot, 1769-89. These discussions, as well as Bentham’s arguments in favour of usury, are all now past history. After reading them, however, the reader may for a moment be staggered when he finds on p. 215 the following sentence from Prof. v. Bohm-Bawerk’s own pen :— “T maintain that the much decried doctrine of the canonists was, all the same, right to this extent — that the independent use of capital, which was the object of dispute, has no existence in reality.” The idea thus broadly expressed forms, we may say, the germ idea of the book. For the details of Prof. v. Bohm-Bawerk’s discussion of the principle laid down by the canonists we must refer the reader to the work itself. He will find in it some very unexpected things—what ‘thin partitions do the bounds divide ” between the opinions of canonists in the Middle Ages and of Socialists in the present century. He will find in it also some extremely sharp criticisms of the writings of economists of all nationa- lities and of all opinions—of Adam Smith, Ricardo, Senior, of J. B. Say, of Bastiat, of Leroy-Beaulieu, of Hermann, Knies, and Karl Marx. Finally, the English reader will have the pleasure of learning that the theory of interest as held by Prof. v. Bohm-Bawerk is an expansion of an idea thrown out by Jevons, but not applied. The untimely death of the English writer doubtless prevented the completion of his work. Prof. v. Bohm- Bawerk has been more fortunate—he has finished the exposition of his theory and has published it. This volume, ‘Die Positive Theorie des Kapitals,’ has not yet been translated into English. The best apprecia- tion we can show of Mr. Smart’s present labours is to express the hope that he will translate this second volume also.
Recueil des Actes du Comité de Salut Public, avec la Correspondance Officielle des Repre- sentants en Mission et le Registre du Conseil Exécutif Provisoire. Publié par F. A. Aulard.—Tome I. 10 <Aowtt, 1792—21 Janvier, 1798.—Tome II. 22 Janvier, 17983—81 Mars, 1793. (Paris, Imprimerie Nationale. ) Procés-Verbaux du Comité @d’ Instruction Pub- lique de lV’ Assemblée Législative. Publiés et annotés par M. J. Guillaume. (Same publishers.) ‘‘THEsE papers are the very basis of the administrative history of France during the National Convention.” Thus does M. Aulard define the publication he has com-
menced. His plan is to range three series of records side by side: (1) The proceedings of the Committee of Public Safety from its first establishment as the Committee of General Defence, January Ist, 1793, till the end of the Convention. (2) The correspond- ence of the commissioners, ‘‘ représentants en mission,” with the Committee of General Defence, with the Committee of Public Safety, and with the Convention. (3) The minutes of the sittings of the Provisional Executive Council from its creation, August 10th, 1792, till it was suppressed and superseded by the Committee of Twelve, April Ist, 1794. To place these documents in chronological order regardless of their relative affinity was, perhaps, the only method possible, still an index might have been added. The sudden transitions from the army in the north to that in the east, west, or south, from the arrangement of a play to the execution of the king, from revolutionary mystics to Vendean chiefs, or from the quarrels of commissioners’ wives to the exposition of the process whereby foreign provinces and states voted their incorporation with the French Republic, render a summary of these interesting volumes as unsatisfactory to ourselves as we fear it will prove to our readers. To treat the collection as a consecutive history is impos- sible, as many prominent events (such as the September massacres) are unnoticed ; whilst space forbids us to analyze the contradictory statements set forth, or to trace how far the letters of the different commissioners cor- roborate the opinions held by Jomini and others on such debatable ground as the Duke of Brunswick’s transactions with Dumouriez, or as to the exact point at which the military tactics of the latter be- came tainted by treachery. M. Aulard’s first volume extends from the dethronement to the execution of Louis XVI.; the second continues the work to the defection of Dumouriez. But it is to prior events that M. Aulard devotes the greater part of his valuable introduction, with the object of antedating the origin of the Com- mittee of Public Safety and the establish- ment of commissioners. Both these insti- tutions have hitherto been attributed to the innovating spirit of the Convention. But M. Aulard proves that they had an inter- mittent existence during the Constituent and Legislative Assemblies. They were designed to enable the legislative authority to usurp the executive power, and thus to break one of the fundamental rules laid down by the Constituents. On the other hand, the Pro- visional Executive Council organized on the deposition of the king was based on thoroughly constitutional principles, for the Legislative Assembly, whilst electing the ministers who were to compose it, de- creed that none of them could be drawn from the ranks of the Assembly. From the outset, however, it came into collision with its unconstitutional partners in powers, the commissioners of the Legislative Assembly. Both possessed the same authority and de- rived it from the same source; both were empowered to dismiss, arrest, suspend, or supersede generals or any other public officials, civil or military. Thus the Exe- cutive Council, MM. Roland, Claviére, Danton, Monge, and Le Brun, ordered the arrest of Lafayette, and appointed Dumou-
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154 THE ATHENZXUM N° 3275, Aua. 2, ’90 riez to succeed him in the command of the Army of the North. But the Legislative Assembly wasalready on thealert, and though one set of its commissioners was arrested at- Sedan at the instigation of Lafayette, an- other batch was instantly sent to the army which the delinquent general had just de- serted. Supported by Dumouriez, these commissioners named Arthur Dillon to fill the vacant post, but he was distrusted by the Council, who reiterated its orders to Dumou- riez to assume the command; and so the appointment was tossed backwards and for- wards tillthe Council was forced tosurrender, whilst still reminding Dumouriez of its strong dislike to Dillon, and entreating him to reconsider the matter. On begging the Assembly to think of the inconvenience arising from the power of the commissioners, the Council obtained permission to nominate similar representatives. Nor did the action of this Executive Council when untram- melled always command respect. In August, 1792, Russia, Naples, and Venice were arming their fleets. Thereupon Admiral Truguet was ordered to the Mediterranean with two men-of-war of eighty guns and seven others of seventy-four guns, besides a number of smaller craft. He was directed to repulse force with force regardless of the strength of the enemy. On October 19th five Russian armed vessels were reported off Leghorn. On the pretext that Cathe- rine IJ. had shown herself friendly to the emigrant princes, the Council commanded Truguet to seize the ships. After the lapse of a week it occurred to the Council that Tus- eany might object to such a capture in her own waters, and that Russia might, perhaps, construe it into a casus belli; hence the order was rescinded, and hostile manifestations towards the Northern empire were deferred till the Republican navy should be in a con- dition to attack with some chance of success. The Convention had also not infrequently to recant its judgments. General Montes- quiou had hardly entered on his successful campaign in Savoy when doubts arose as to his fidelity. The Convention pronounced his dismissal, for, said Danton, who had just resigned his seat in the Council in order to become a Representative, “ Il faut nous montrer terribles; c’est du caractére qu'il nous faut pour soutenir la liberté.” Further inquiry caused the suspension of the decree. Amongst the earlierand miscellaneous work of the Executive Council is the cashiering of such men as Berthier, the suspension of provincial municipalities that had evinced monarchical tendencies, and the decree that henceforth the seal of State shall bear the figure of Liberty, and the legend “‘ Au nom de la nation frangaise.”’ The allied armies advance, Verdun has fallen, the Council orders Paris to prepare for siege ; the public buildings are to be filled with beds for the volunteers, who, moreover, must have good bread, whatever be the quality of that provided for the troops on the frontier. Arms are to be obtained by domiciliary visits, whilst 3,500 muskets are bought in London at thirty shillings each. The Théatre Francais and the Théatre Moliére are closed and bankrupt: in the expectation that by free performances of suitable pieces they may inspire the people with patriotism they are subsidized by the Council. With the same intent the inhabitants of besieged cities are reminded that instant death will be the punishment of any one who may speak of surrender. Nor in the extremity of danger does the Government shrink, for on the 25th of September the Council refuses to listen to any overtures of peace till Prus- sian troops shall have evacuated France. This steadfastness is rewarded on the 380th, when the commissioners with Dumouriez’s army assure the Convention that Paris may now be considered safe. Apologetic in their admiration of the stand that general had made at Ste. Ménehould in defiance of the Convention’s orders, the commissioners grow eloquent as they follow him ‘‘in the cam- paign which,” as they predict, ‘‘ will form an epoch in the annals of France,” till on the 13th of October they announce the recovery of Verdun, and beg that ‘‘ the Convention will observe that the capitulation is made between the generals of the Republic of France and those of the King of Prussia.” Certain letters of change of the Duke of Brunswick on Louis XVI. fall into their hands, and witness to the dubious policy of the French king. ‘‘Il faut avoir la Ré- publique dans le coour pour faire marcher les choses en son nom,” remark another set of commissioners who describe the gallant defence of Lille, and the merciless bombard- ment thereof by the Austrians, which the Archduchess Christina, sister to the French queen, gazed upon with such delight. On the 24th of October the Council de- sires that the army shall not lay down arms nor go into winter quarters till the enemies of the Republic be driven beyond the Rhine. To the campaign in Belgium follows the discovery that the free navigation of the Scheldt is necessary ‘‘to prove to every nation in Europe that the destruction of tyrannies and the triumphs of the rights of man are the sole ambition of the French nation.” England expostulates, so, the Council directs the ambassador, M. Chauve- lin, ‘‘ to continue his discussions with Mr. Pitt, but to make no declaration regarding Holland.” But in fact the Council itself is dubious what course to pursue, for its dis- trust of Dumouriez grows in proportion as his anxiety to attack Zeeland increases, whilst scarcely less embarrassing are the mutual recriminations with which Custine and Kellermann enliven the campaign on the Rhine. On the 15th of December the Convention proclaims the sovereignty of the people, and the subversion of all existing governments in the countries occupied by the French, and denounces as enemies all who may refuse the liberty offered. At last, on January Ist, 1793, on the motion of Kersaint, the Convention decrees a Com- mittee of General Defence to provide for the vigorous prosecution of the impending war with England. Meanwhile letters pour in from its commissioners, Collot d’Herbois and others, clamouring for the punishment of the ‘“‘ nationicide.” ‘‘ Weare surrounded with dead and wounded, the tyrants are slaughtering our brothers in the name of Louis Capet, and we hear that the man is still permitted to live!’ A few days later and we find the Executive Council entrusted with the preservation of public tranquillity during the trial of Louis XVI. Some of its members are afterwards deputed to prepare him for the hasty execution of the verdict, ‘and to assure him in the name of the Con- vention “that the French nation, great in benevolence as it is rigorous in justice, will take care of his family and provide it a suitable maintenance.” On the 2lst of January the Executive Council observes that, though Roland, Minister for the Interior, had refused to sign its recent proceedings, he had been present and had voted thereat. On the 23rd his resignation is declared. And now follow in swift succession schemes to meet that struggle with monarchical Europe which the execution of Louis had made inevitable. One member of the executive would attack the Dutch at the Cape of Good Hope, another would war upon England in India; others, to concentrate the forces, would abandon some of the French West Indian possessions. General Miranda, announcing the desire of the city of Licge to be united to France, exclaims, ‘‘If this example be only followed by the rest of Belgium, and if the National Convention will declare the whole country an integral part of the French Republic, it seems to me that the triumph of liberty over tyrannical conspirators will be complete.” A Batavian deputation, with pseudo-patriotism, urges the Committee of General Defence ‘‘to re-establish liberty in Holland, as in that country would be found money for the French troops,” &c. At the same time Chauvelin, just dismissed from the Court of St. James’s, indignantly repels Pitt’s assertion that France is fighting for her own aggrandizement ; he recommends a descent upon the north of Ireland, where the invaders would be joined by the native malcontents. The English, he says, are not likely to be influenced by Republican addresses, for they are timid, covetous, and commercial in their instincts; ‘‘ce qui leur en imposera, c’est ce que l’on se proposera de faire de grand et de majestueux ”’—an effect which ought to have been achieved when the Committee of Finance asks for and obtains 800,000,000 livres in assignats, a formidable increase to that burden which Mercier describes as ‘‘l’impot le plus étendu qu’on puisse imaginer.”” How to work this tax at home and abroad is ever the difficulty, ‘‘et sans la circulation des assignats comment pourrons-nous continuer la guerre ?”’ inquire the commissioners from the army at Mayence. The depreciation of the paper is ascribed to England, which sub- sidizes Swiss forgers and Jews for the pur- pose. The Council is besieged by appeals for money. Ex-Ambassador Chauvelin claims the cost of that change in his liveries which was necessitated by the revolution of the 10th of August. Cries of distress arise from three thousand destitute French lately serving in the royal household ; innumerable are the families whose sole breadwinner has been taken for the army. The district of Romorantin shows a deficit of 80,000 setiers of grain; fertile lands, like those round Sedan, are already exhausted “by the presence of three republican armies and a portion of that of the enemy.’ Paris is distracted by bread riots, whilst from the west comes the declaration, ‘‘Il faut trés impérieusement faire vivre le pauvre si vous voulez qu’il vous aide a achever la Révolu- tion.” Disaffection in Brittany makes it difficult to man the navy, yet vessels are rapidly put to sea, among others the Her-
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N° 3275, Ava. 2,’90 THE ATHENAZUM 155 mione and Melpomene, frigates which were destined, if we mistake not, soon to float under another flag. Every encouragement is given to privateers, and by the end of March those of St. Malo “ ont fait pour plus de six millions de prises.” The security of Corsica appears all-im- portant. Pleading old age, Paoli evades the flattering invitation of the commissioners to come over to Toulon in the corvette they have sent for his accommodation. Whilst they impart to the Committee of General Defence their opinion that on the first = he will surrender the island to the nglish who have so long pensioned him, the Executive Council appeal to Volney to decide if Corsica, after all, is worth retaining. Custine, awaiting siege at Mayence, is ac- cused of having denuded Strasbourg and Landau of heavy artillery. He manifests in the public press ‘‘ how much his tender heart has been hurt” by the commissioners of the Convention. They have talked of four guns when upwards of a hundred were in question, and now entreat him “not to ride the high horse upon his four cannon ”’ (‘de ne pas s’appesantir et rester i cheval comme il fait sur quatre canons”’). ‘‘ Every prince of the Empire who does not shake off the yoke of the Germanic confederation is naturally our enemy,” writes Commissioner Merlin. The Elector cannot be allowed to remain neutral; occupy the Palatinate and the whole of Germany will be at the mercy of the Republic, for Austria is fully occupied with Belgium. ‘ Weigh well these words, my dear fellow citizen, and give Custine a positive order to seize Mannheim, for I tell you frankly he has too much sympathy for the ci-devant. Generals make mountains of molehills. No advance is made unless we write to you or to the Convention.” ‘‘The safety of the French Republic, as you know, lies in Belgium. It is only by the union of this rich country to our territory that we can hope to re-establish our finances and continue the war.’’ Thus from Brussels write Delacroix and Merlin, as they beg to be supplied with an overwhelming force to keep in awe those primary assemblies in which the people are to decide on the government to be adopted. At Ghent Camus and Treilhard find how difficult it is to induce heavy intellects to pass from deliberation to action, even though they use ‘‘the suppression of taxes as a lever.” Soon the successes of Dumouriez in Holland, his capture of Breda and Gertrudenberg, are counterbalanced by the check of Miranda before Maestricht, a defeat glozed by the assertion that the 30,000 round shot fired by the enemy only cost twenty lives. But on the loss of Aix la Chapelle and Litge Commissioners Danton and Delacroix hasten back to Paris. Commissioners are instantly sent to every section of the capital to call the citizens to succour their brothers in Belgium, and the next day, after some stirring words from Carnot, eighty -two commissioners are dispatched into the de- partments to levy 300,000 men. On the 11th of March, in tardy obedience to the Con- vention, Dumouriez arrives at Louvain, where are the three armies of Valence, Miranda, and Lanoue, each general being equal in power and on bad terms with his col- leagues. So hot is the altercation which there takes place between the Commissioners Treil- hard and Camus and Dumouriez, that the general’s letter, penned next day to the Convention, is termed by Jomini an actual declaration of war. When, a few days later, the success of Tirlemont is followed by the defeat of Neerwinde, the Convention lose no time in acting on the conviction that ‘‘ our unfortunate soldiers are victims of the per- fidy of the majority of our generals and of a conspiracy which is to restore Belgium to Austria and to make Dumouriez dictator or king.’”” However, Dumouriez was more dexterous and bold in escape than was his nineteenth century imitator Marshal Bazaine. That they whom Carlyle describes as ‘‘ powerfuller than king or kaiser’’ had an all-pervading influence is evident. Com- plete was the subservience in which they held naval and military leaders. Couriers conveyed news from the armies to the Council every four hours: the commander- in-chief, as, for instance, the aged Luckner, was to supply it daily with minutely de- tailed despatches and with annotated copies of every letter or item of information he might receive, whilst the commissioners with the army lent their ear to every malicious whisper against him, and were always ready with the cry of ‘‘ Treason.” It is the commissioners who, ‘‘ whether re- porting triumphs or reverses,” have always to note the desertion and want of discipline in the ranks, the occasional massacre of Austrian prisoners, and the hatred inspired by the excesses of the soldiery. From a regimentserving in Belgium eighteen officers out of thirty-two are absent without leave. Promotion is rapid, corporals become briga- diers in three months, but the commissioners think that the commanding officer at least should know how to read and write. Con- stant in their demands that the soldier should not be left naked and starving, they expose the frauds of army contractors, the neglected state of the arsenals, and some- times acknowledge that these things were managed better under the old régime. From Nice Commissioner Grégoire assures the Italians that French liberty does not inter- fere with religion; that in France mass, confession, the sacraments, sermons, &c., are conducted as before. At Nancy the commis- sioners denounce the daily and clandestine celebration of seven hundred masses, and ‘the decidedly anti-civic spirit of the women of Toul, who are irritated by the total ex- tirpation of the holy order.” Later on Turreau from Troyes thunders against the “ prétraille sanguinaire.” On the 22nd of March, 1793, the Council forbids bishop and priest to exercise any sacred rite; and on the 27th Carra, in a remarkable proclama- tion to the Vendeans, declares the Republic to be founded on the morality of the Gospel, excusing himself the while to the Committee of General Defence on the ground that ‘‘nous y devons parler tant soit peu le langage de la religion pour y ¢tre entendus des paysans ; c’est une politique nécessaire pour réussir.”’ M. Guillaume’s bulky volume on the Legislative Assembly’s Committee of Public Instruction is, like its subject, merely a preface to a still larger work he is pre- paring on similar committees subsequently organized bythe Convention. In consequence the report of Condorcet, president of its Committee of Public Instruction, was never brought before that assembly. The scheme recommended the gratuitous education of the whole nation. There were to be four grades of instruction, to be conducted respectively in primary and secondary schools, in insti- tutes, and in lyceums, whilst a national society of science and art was to superintend the whole. The yearly expense of the entire system was estimated at 24,400,000 livres. It was suggested that the Univer- sity of Paris should be suppressed and its revenues employed towards the formation of primary schools. The course in these, intended solely for the agricultural classes, was to cover four years, and to cost the nation 5 livres 10 sols a year for each child. Aspirants to distinction in the fields of social ecience might, we think, supply themselves with many appropriate whims and fads from the letters addressed by private individuals to the Committee during its labours. The abolition of corporal punishment, of figures in arithmetic, and of perspective in drawing all find their advocates. One correspondent sends an elaborate plan for the training of the male population, but as ideas regarding the proper position of women in society are “so vague, contradictory, and extravagant,” he thinks it useless to interfere with their education at present. The orthography in the petition of an ex- Ursuline nun, hitherto engaged in tuition, goes far to corroborate ‘‘the father of a family ”’ who incidentally states that village schoolmistresses can seldom read or write. But the Committee has other work. It is entrusted with the honours to be paid to the anniversary of Montesquieu’s death. It takes much interest in devising on a pseudo-classical basis ‘‘ the great and little triumph” to be accorded to victorious generals. It accepts Arthur Dillon’s request that reparation shall be done to the honour, and indemnity paid to the family, of Marshal Dillon, who in April, 1792, had, after a defeat, been torn to pieces by his own men. The Committee listens to Beaumarchais’s appeal to protect the copyrights of authors from theatrical managers. It hears M. Guirault explain his system of shorthand writing, and M. Chappe his invention of the telegraph. It considers the meteoro- logical experiments that M. Lallemant hopes to make by aid of his balloon. It opposes the king’s claim that his son, being now seven years old, should have a governor, by the decree that no such appointment shall be made till the prince shall be six years old, and in this manner tacitly denies the parent’s statement as to the age of his own child. On the 27th of August, 1792, it confers the title of French citizen on various foreigners, including David Williams, Thomas Paine, William Wilberforce, Ana- charsis Cloots, James Mackintosh, Jeremy Bentham, Pestalozzi, Klopstock, and Wash- ington. The Golden Bough: a Study in Comparative Religion. By J. G. Frazer. 2 vols. (Macmillan & Co.) Amone the most curious of the religious | institutions of which the record has come of the demise of the Legislative Assembly | down to us from antiquity is undoubtedly
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156 THE ATHENAUM Ne 3275, Ave. 2, ’90 the unique rule of tenure and succession characteristic of the Arician priesthood. The priest of the grove of Diana near Aricia took office after killing his predecessor, and he held it with the title of rex nemorensis only so long as he could defend himself against all candidates vi ef armis. More- over, in the grove there was a sacred tree, of which not a branch could be broken except by a candidate for the priesthood, who, before attacking the reigning ‘‘ king,” was obliged to break off a bough identified by tradition with that Golden Bough plucked at the Sibyl’s bidding by Aineas before en- tering upon his journey to the world below. The explanation of this curious rule reduces itself to the answers to two questions— Why was the priest obliged to kill his predeces- sor? and why before killing him was he obliged to pluck the Golden Bough? The answers to these questions will be found in the two handsome volumes before us, in which the author, whose knowledge of the literature of his subject is exhaustive, has collected facts from all quarters, and grouped them with great skill so as to exhibit their bearing upon the obscure problem of the Arician grove. His industry and ingenuity are alike worthy of all praise; in fact, with such elaborate care has the long chain of evidence been put together link by link, that we have no hesitation in recording our conviction that it will bear the strain of the far-reaching conclusions made to depend upon it. It is possible, indeed, that amid such an accumulation of details the reader may occasionally lose the main track, especially when he enters the wild region covered by the northern Aryans; but such digressions will not be without their re- ward in the discovery of strange survivals and unsuspected affinities. The most that can be done within our present limits is to call attention to the main stages of the argument, leaving the intermediate process to be gone over by the reader at his leisure. At the outset it is important to realize clearly that instead of having unfortunately become extinct a great number of years ago —to give way to a degenerate breed only too unworthy to inherit and transmit the tradi- tions of his lofty morality and profound philosophy—the primitive Aryan is amongst us at the present day. His beliefs and usages survive toa great extent in those of our modern peasantry :— ‘** Hence every inquiry into the primitive re- ligion of the Aryans should either start from the superstitious beliefs and observances of the peasantry, or should at least be constantly checked and controlled by reference to them. Compared with the evidence afforded by living tradition, the testiraony of ancient books on the subject of early religion is worth very little...... The mass of the people who do not read books remain unaffected by the mental revolution wrought by literature ; and so it has come about that in Europe at the present day the super- stitious beliefs and practices which have been handed down by word of mouth are generally of a far more archaic type than the religion depicted in the most ancient literature of the Aryan race.” And it is this consideration which explains and justifies the amount of space allotted by the author to the description of those living customs and beliefs of modern peasants which have preserved better than books the character of a remote antiquity. With regard to the title ‘King of the Wood” borne by the priest at Aricia, it is not sufficient to refer simply to the com- bination well known in antiquity of priestly with kingly functions. It must be borne in mind that the primitive king was something more than a priest supposed to be in close official relations with supernatural powers. He was himself the depositary of super- natural power, in other words a god, and as such was expected to make the sun shine or the crops grow. But the same idea of a man-god was also reached along another line of thought, that is to say, through the conception of what our author terms ‘‘ sym- pathetic magic,” which holds a place in every system of superstition, and of which the central principle appears to be that any effect can be produced by imitating it. ‘‘ There is, perhaps, hardly a savage who does not fancy himself possessed of this power of influencing the course of nature by sympathetic magic; a man-god, on this view, is only an individual who is believed to enjoy this common power in an unusually high degree. Thus, whereas a man-god of the former or inspired type derives his divinity from a deity who has taken up his abode in a tabernacle of flesh, a man-god of the latter type draws his super- natural power from a certain physical sympathy with nature...... But the line between these two types of man-god, however sharply we may draw it in theory, is seldom to be traced with pre- cision in practice.” It may be observed in passing that the belief in sympathetic magic contains the germ of the modern conception of physical causation —the conception, namely, that events, instead of being due to the disposi- tion or intervention of an anthropomorphic personality, are the necessary effects of definite and adequate causes; and if this doctrine, or even a crude suspicion of it, lay at the root of magic—as has been maintained, for instance, by Sir Alfred Lyall—we can well understand the jealous dislike with which magic has always been regarded by the established or professional dealers in the supernatural. Strange as it may appear to most of us, incarnate gods are the rule rather than an exception in primitive society. This con- clusion the author establishes in detail by a profusion of examples drawn from all parts of the world. The incarnations are of two kinds, temporary and permanent, and are broadly distinguished in their effects. The concomitant of a temporary incarnation is supernatural knowledge, and its effect divina- tion or prophecy ; the concomitant of a per- manent incarnation is supernatural power, and its effect the working of miracles. “There is said to be a sect in Orissa who worship the Queen of England as their chief divinity, And to this day in India all living persons remarkable for great strength or valour or supposed miraculous powers run the risk of being worshipped as gods. Thus a sect in the Punjaub worshipped a deity whom they called Nikkal Sen. This Nikkal Sen was no other than the redoubted General Nicholson, and nothing that the general could do or say damped the enthusiasm of his adorers. The more he punished them, the greater grew the religious awe with which they worshipped him.” And the King of Iddah told the English officers of the Niger expedition, in words which have a half-Biblical, half-Assyrian ring, ‘‘God made me after His own image ; I am all the same as God; and He ap- pointed me a king.” ‘* Weather kings are common in Africa. Thus the Waganda of Central Africa believe in a god of Lake Nyanza, who sometimes takes up his abode in aman or woman. The incarnate ‘god is much feared by all the people, including the king and the chiefs. He is consulted as an oracle ; by his word he can inflict or heal sick- ness, withhold rain, and cause famine. The King of Loango is honoured by his people ‘as though he were a god...... They believe that he can let them have rain when he likes ; and once a year, in December, which is the time they want rain, the people come to beg of him to grant it to them.’” But besides the kings or incarnate gods, whose power over nature was general or unlimited, there were others again whose power was conceived to be restricted to par- ticular departments or forces of nature, such, for instance, as rain and fire. Kings of the rain are met with in the regions of the Upper Nile and among certain tribes on the outskirts of Abyssinia; but by far the most remarkable of these departmental sovereigns are the two kings, of the Fire and of the Water respectively, who, it ap- pears, still exist in the backwoods of Cam- bodia. For the accounts, vague and con- flicting, of these mysterious beings, which are all that have reached the West, we must refer the reader to the book itself. The question now arises, Is there any evidence of the existence of a king or man- god whose department was the wood—that is, who was supposed to be responsible for the growth of trees and for the whole cycle of effects connected therewith? In other words, can it be shown that kings of the wood as well as of the rain and the fire were recognized and revered in primitive society ? In the first place, it can be shown that among all the great European families of the Aryan stock tree-worship played an im- portant part, and the notion upon which such worship is based—namely, that the tree is animated by a soul or spirit similar to that of which man is himself conscious— is widely prevalent among savage races at the present day. But an important advance in thought has been made when the tree, instead of being regarded as the permanent body or organism of the spirit, is looked upon merely as his characteristic dwelling- place, which he can visit or quit at plea- sure. “ Animism is passing into polytheism. In other words, instead of regarding each tree as a living and conscious being, man now sees in it merely a lifeless, inert mass, tenanted for a longer or shorter time by a supernatural being who, as he can pass freely from tree to tree, thereby enjoys a certain right of possession or lordship over the trees, and, ceasing to be a tree-soul, becomes a forest god. As soon as the tree-spirit is thus in a measure disengaged from each particular tree, he begins to change his shape and assume the body of a man in virtue of a general tendency of early thought to clothe all abstract spiritual beings in concrete human form.” But the important fact to bear in mind in connexion with our present subject is that this change of form, this promotion to the Sacred College, as it were, involves no change of character or functions. The powers ascribed to the informed or animate tree were possessed and wielded by the anthro- os
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XUM N° 3275, Aua. 2, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 157 pomorphic tree-god, and the author proves in detail— ‘* First, that trees considered as animate beings are credited with the power of making the rain to fall, the sun to shine, flocks and herds to multiply, and women to bring forth easily ; and, second, that the very same powers are attributed to tree-gods conceived as anthro- pomorphic beings or as actually incarnate in living men.” It further appears—chiefly from an ex- amination of European folk-customs—that the human representative or incarnation of the tree-spirit is commonly called either ‘the king ”’ or ‘‘ the queen,” while we come upon the very departmental title we are in search of among the Finns, whose chief forest-god, “by name Tapio, represented as an old man with a brown beard, a high hat of fir-cones, and a coat of tree-moss, was styled the Wood King, Lord of the Woodland, Golden King of the Wood.” Hence the conclusion seems irresistible that the rex nemorensis himself must once have been regarded as the incarnation of the tree-spirit, and as such credited with the possession of those miraculous powers which on the primitive theory of nature reside alike in trees and in human embodiments of the tree-spirit. The fact that a mysterious virtue or significance attached also to the Golden Bough need not disturb the con- clusion arrived at, for survivals exist in abundance of a duplicate representation of the tree-spirit, in human form as well as by a tree or a bough. Having thus determined the original character of the King of the Wood, we come to the question, Why was he obliged to kill his predecessor? It has been shown that in primitive thought kings, and especially departmental kings, are universally credited with the possession of powers of the utmost importance and value to their worshippers. In fact, instances are not wanting of rulers, like the Mikado of Japan, upon whose well- being the very existence of “the great globe” and ‘‘all that it inherit” is sup- posed to depend. But the king or man-god was subject to the law of death like ordinary mortals. And the fact of death imports to the savage mind either that a man’s soul has been extracted from him by the wiles of a demon or a sorcerer, or that it has volun- tarily quitted its earthly tabernacle never to return. In either case the soul of the man- god, with all its virtues and benefits, is lost to his worshippers. But supposing that the man-god dies a natural death, and that his worshippers succeed in catching the “ vital spark” and transferring it to a successor, even then the soul with the taste of death in it would have lost its savour, and the newly constituted man-god, charged, so to speak, with a decayed or impaired energy, would be feeble or impotent in face of the demands made upon him in the way of miracle. Hence the only way out of the difficulty was, first, to kill the man-god in order to make sure of catching his soul; and, second, to kill him when in full vigour in order that the soul might be transferred with all its energies unimpaired to the body of a suit- able successor. “The people of Congo believed that if their pontiff the Chitomé were to die a natural death, the world would perish, and the earth, which he | alone sustained by his power and merit, would immediately be annihilated. Accordingly, when he fell ill and seemed likely to die, the man who was destined to be his successor entered the pontiff’s house with a rope or a club and strangled or clubbed him to death...... In the kingdom of Unyoro in Central Africa, custom still requires that as soon as the king falls seriously ill or begins to break up from age, he shall be killed by his own wives ; for, according to an old prophecy, the throne will pass away from the dynasty in the event of the king dying a natural death.” Again, there are instances in which the king is allowed to reigr only for a definite term, fixed independently of any appearance in him of the signs of disease or decay, and at the end of which he is either killed by his successor or he immolates himself. Formerly the reign of the King of Calicut was thus limited to twelve years, after which he was obliged to cut his throat in public. But this rule was subsequently modified in a way which has an immediate bearing upon the question before us. At the end of the appointed time a great feast was made, and when this was over, any guest who, after fighting his way through the guards, suc- ceeded in killing the king was allowed to reign in his stead. We can now understand why, if the King of the Wood was an embodiment of the tree- spirit, his violent death was an obvious necessity. It was the only means of pre- serving his divine life with all its beneficent powers from being impaired by disease or decay. The rule that he held office so long as he could defend himself against all comers was probably, as in the case of the King of Calicut, a modification of an earlier custom of killing him at the end of a fixed period. But the logic of the arrangement is perfectly clear on the principles which have just been examined. “For so long as he could maintain his position by the strong hand, it might be inferred that his natural force was not abated ; whereas his defeat and death at the hands of another proved that his strength was beginning to fail, and that it was time his divine life should be lodged in a less dilapidated tabernacle.” Lastly, what was the secret connexion between the Golden Bough and the life of the King of the Wood? To make this plain it will be necessary to revert to a prominent feature of the savage doctrine of the soul. Though the savage and the ordinary enlightened person seem to be at onein regarding the soul as a some- thing which at the moment of birth is put into the body, and at the moment of death flies out again or somehow makes its way to another place, the broad distinction between them lies in the principle of savage psychology that the soul may absent itself from the body without causing death. Again, the savage thinker has a firmer grasp of the material aspects of the question :— “Unable to conceive of life abstractly as a ‘ permanent possibility of sensation’ or a ‘ con- tinuous adjustment of internal arrangements to external relations,’ the savage thinks of it as a concrete material thing of a definite bulk, capable of being seen and handled, kept in a box or jar, and liable to be bruised, fractured, or smashed in pieces. It is not needful that the life, so conceived, should be in the man; it may be absent from his body, and still continue to animate him, by virtue of a sort of sympathy or ‘action at a distance.’ So long as this object which he calls his life or soul remains unharmed, the man is well; if it is injured, he suffers ; if it is destroyed, he dies.” It follows immediately from this that if the soul of a man were once deposited in a perfectly safe place, the man would be immortal. Evidence of this primitive belief is presented in abundance by a class of folk- tales which in their essential feature all conform to one type. The best-known example is probably the story of ‘‘ the giant who had no heart in his body,” but the same idea under various local forms occurs all over the world. If, then, plucking the Golden Bough was a necessary preliminary to attacking the King of the Wood, we shall not be far wrong in concluding that the life or soul of the latter was supposed to be stored or embodied in the Golden Bough, which in that case would be a kind of concentration of the tree- spirit parallel to, though not independent of, the King of the Wood. But such a double incarnation of the tree-spirit presents no difficulty :— “The divisibility of life, or to put it other- wise, the plurality of souls, is an idea suggested by many familiar facts, and has commended itself to philosophers like Plato as well as to savages. It is only when the notion of a soul, from being a quasi-scientific hypothesis, becomes a theological dogma that its unity and indivisi- bility are insisted upon as essential. The savage, unshackled by dogma, is free to explain the facts of life by the assumption of as many souls as he thinks necessary.” Space will not allow us to do more than allude to the arguments by which, in con- clusion, the author seeks to identify the Golden Bough with the mistletoe, through which again he connects the worship at the Arician grove with the primitive cult of the oak, once, perhaps, the supreme Aryan god. We pass over this division of the book with regret, as well as those devoted to the eluci- dation of some of the more familiar myths of classical antiquity. On the whole, this book is not more im- portant for its results than for the example it affords of method and temper. We are too much accustomed in England in the study of primitive man to the profligate use of unproved assumptions of a sentimental character. On the one hand, there are those who would have us believe that there are no such things as savages—that, for instance, the Sandwich Islander’s every word is a polished jewel of metaphysic, if we only knew ; while, on the other, there are those whose fancy it is to lay stress upon the ex- ceeding savageness of the savage, but who nevertheless, out of consideration for the orthodox susceptibilities of the man in the street, do not fail to add that he must origin- ally have been a believer in the one true God. The man of science should know how to keep his feet from either slough. He will not seek to make fact look more re- spectable by dressing it up in fiction either philosophical or theological ; on the contrary, he will be at once candid and lenient, for, in Mr. Frazer’s words, ‘it is only by the successive testing of hypo- theses and rejection of the false that truth is at last elicited. After all what we call truth is only the hypothesis which is found to work best. Therefore in reviewing the opinions and prac- tices of ruder ages and races we shall do well to look with leniency upon their errors as in-
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evitable slips made in the search for truth, and to give them the benefit of that indulgence which we may one day stand in need of our- selves.”
Nation Making: a Story of New Zealand. By J.C. Firth. (Longmans & Co.) Tuts is an exceptionally interesting volume. Its author possessed singular opportunities of studying the character of the Maories and obtaining a clear knowledge of the native question, for during thirty-five years he was in constant intercourse with them. The result is a work full of pathos and humour, totally unlike the usual narrative of the ‘< globe-trotter’’ and of other superficial or self-interested observers. The descriptions of native life and of adventures by flood and field are written with vigour and effect, and they leave on the mind of the reader a more favourable impression of the dispossessed lords of the soil, and a more kindly feeling towards them, than do the works of most colonial writers, whose impartiality is often open to suspicion. The anecdotes and stories Mr. Firth tells are the best portion of his book, and several of them contain incidental traits of character and glimpses of motives and of feelings which cannot fail to enlist the sympathy of the reader. While giving this commendation to those parts of his book in which he deals with the Maories, we cannot assent to the many fanciful and unsupported views he propounds. He tells us, for instance, that the Maories are a branch of the Aryan race, and that the English are Celts. In this he will find but few ethnologists to agree with him. In his opinion the great merit of the English people is that they ‘assimilated’? the conquered races—that Saxons, Danes, and Normans were not so much conquerors as amalgamators. Ireland never was conquered, and therefore was not assimilated. It never can be “ made into a nation” until a large influx of English and Scotch settlers assimilates the natives and absorbs them into one homogeneous people—a strange way of making a nation- ality. According to our author, every indi- vidual in the world is more or less engaged in making or unmaking a nation. An unusual opportunity for the former is afforded in a new country like New Zea- land, and Mr. Firth points this out. Like all colonial authors, he is strong in sta- tistics. “These figures tell their own story. They show with one trifling exception New Zealand has a greater number of children per marriage, a greater birth rate, a greater percentage of births over deaths, a greater percentage of increase of population, a smaller percentage of illegitimacy, a smaller percentage of concubinage, a smaller death rate of infants under one year, a lower general death rate, a lower death rate in zymotic, parasitic, dietic, hydatids, atrophy, debility, and pulmonary consumptive diseases, a smaller per- centage of deaf and dumb persons, a smaller percentage of blind persons, a smaller percent- age of lunacy and idiocy, so far as returns are given, than any country in the world.” Our author’s strictures on the reckless borrowing which was introduced by Sir Julius Vogel are well merited and forcibly expressed, and so are his denunciations of political jobbery. But while it may be admitted that there is foundation for his remarks, those best informed on the subject do not share his pessimistic conclusions.
His political economy is hopelessly at fault. Most of the fads of the day find a place in his creed. Malthus was wrong: it is not population, but production, that in- creases too fast, and this must be diminished by a reduction in the hours of labour, by higher wages, and other means for limiting industry. Capital is a curse :— ‘¢ Tt is the Moloch of our century, which, under the sanction of English law, and made fashion- able by many of the maxims of a spurious political economy and by a cruel philosophy, demands and devours its victims as ruthlessly and remorselessly as the Maori savage of a past generation.”
BENGAL STATE PAPERS. Selections from the Letters, Despatches, and other State Papers preserved in the Foretgn Department of the Government of India, 1772-1785. Edited by G. W. Forrest, B.A. 3 vols. (Calcutta, Government Printing Office.) Tue pleasure with which we noticed Prof. Forrest’s former publications has been more than renewed by a study of these interest- ing, well-edited quartos, which cover the whole period of Warren Hastings’s rule in Bengal. The editor’s name alone is ample guarantee for the care and judgment with which this selection from the papers stored up in the Calcutta Foreign Office has been set forth in print. Passages from these papers have been quoted, indeed, by Mill, Auber, Gleig, Stephen, and other writers on Indian history ; but never before has so large and complete a body of first - hand evidence on a most important period of that history been placed within the reach of ordinary students. In publishing the Pro- ceedings of the Secret Select Committee of the Bengal Council from 1772 to 1785, Mr. Forrest enables us to trace the whole course of Hastings’s Indian administration, from the day when he took his seat as Governor of Bengal to the day when he resigned the office of Governor-General. We have now before us not only the recorded results, but all the processes of debate and discussion which led to those results. In those days the formative work of an Indian Council was carried on wholly by the pen. Instead of speaking his opinions, each member wrote them down. The method may have been slow and cumbrous, but it had its compensa- tions, at least for students of a later age. It has bequeathed to us the best materials for forming, in the editor’s words, “‘an in- dependent judgment of events, and still more of the actors and their motives.”’ With these volumes for our guidance it is no longer possible to accept as true the por- traits drawn by Mill and Macaulay of the first and perhaps the greatest Governor- General of British India. For some thirty years past, indeed, much has been done by various writers towards clearing the character of Warren Hastings from undeserved obloquy. Horace Wilson’s annotated edition of James Mill’s one- sided history struck many a crushing blow at Mill’s perversions of the truth. Marshman did good service in the same cause. Some twelve years ago Capt. Lionel Trotter ventured, not without success, to point out the wrong which Macaulay, guided by Burke and Mill, had done in his well- known essay to Hastings’s fair fame. And
some years later Sir James Stephen finally exploded the popular notion that Hastings had conspired with Impey to murder Nand- Kumar. But the glamour of Macaulay’s rhetoric still dazzles and misleads the popular mind, fifty years after the first appearance of his essay. More light was needed to dispel the mist that still hung around a great man’s memory. The light now turned upon it from Calcutta reveals the full extent of the injustice done to Hastings both in his lifetime and since his. death. These Bengal State Papers deal the death-blow to the group of legends invented by Philip Francis for the use of Burke, and brought into wider and more lasting cur- rency by Macaulay. In a masterly introduction of a hundred pages Mr. Forrest condenses the political history of the thirteen years during which Hastings governed Bengal. His narrative bristles with references, and with quotations not only from the State Papers, but from every known authority of any weight. He cites from the Proceedings a pleasing instance of Hastings’s fairness towards a bitter foe, when some of his Council opposed the ap- pointment of Nand-Kumar’s son to office, on account of the father’snotoriously bad cha- racter. In his foreign policy Hastings from the first showed timely vigour and strong good sense. When Shah Alam flung him- self into the arms of the Marathas, Hastings decided to withhold the tribute for Bengal, and made over the districts of Allahabad and Korah to the able and trustworthy ruler of Oudh. His reasons for this step are fully and clearly detailed in the minute quoted by Mr. Forrest—reasons which leave no. room for rational fault-finding. It is diffi- cult, indeed, to see what else a wise and patriotic statesman could have done. Mill’s sneering and Macaulay’s dogmatism are equally out of place. Both morally and politically Hastings was in the right. In return for all the favours conferred on him by the Company, the Padishah, ‘‘ a pageant of our creation,” had ‘ungratefully de- serted and since headed armies against us.’’ The grant of the Dewani was “a pre- sumptuous gift of what was not his to give, but what they had already acquired by their own power, the same power to which he was indebted for his crown, and even for his existence.” For the resumption of Korah and Allahabad no defence is needed. Hastings would have been a traitor to his masters if he had let them fallinto Maratha keeping. With regard to the Treaty of Benares and the Rohilla War, these volumes speak the last word in the long and bitter con- troversy which Col. Champion, egged on by Philip Francis, first set ablaze. In the full light they throw upon every stage of the process which resulted in Shuja’s conquest of Rohilkhand, Hastings’s character and conduct come out clear of all stain, while most of the charges once brought against ‘the Wazir of Oudh are shown to be either groundless or absurdly exaggerated. It is now as certain as proof can make it that the eloquent passage in which Macaulay described the Rohilla atrocities had no foundation whatever in fact. Those atro- cities—as Mr. Forrest, summing up the evidence on the whole case, points out with perfect justice—
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XUM N° 3275, Ava. 2,90 THE ATHENZUM 159 “owe their birth to the malignity of Champion and Francis ; their growth to the rhetoric of Burke ; and their wide diffusion to the bril- liancy and pellucid clearness of Macaulay’s style. A close and minute study of the evidence de- monstrates that a certain number of villages were burnt, and that the prizoners were ill sub- sisted, A hundred thousand people did not fly to pestilential jungles, but about seventeen or eighteen hundred Rohillas were expelled from Rohilkhand, and Hindu inhabitants, amounting to about seven hundred thousand, remained in possession of their patrimonial acres, and were seen cultivating their fields in peace,” The State Papers now published clearly show that the Bengal Government lent some of its troops to its ally of Oudh in order to punish the Rohilla chiefs for the wilful breach of a treaty promoted and attested by the English Commander -in-chief, and to annex a territory which those chiefs had won by the sword, but would no longer defend from the Maratha foe, whose aw- bition directly menaced the safety of Bengal. Hastings never denied the financial advan- tages of his policy; but he declared that never at any time had he consented “ to take up arms in an wnjust cause”; and he held it utterly false to speak of the British arms and honour as surrendered absolutely to the Wazir’s disposal. ‘The service to be performed was entirely the Wazir’s; it was therefore consistent and unavoidable that he should direct the objects of it ; but the execution of military operations was expressedly vested in our Commanding Officer ; of course the safety of our army and the honour of the British name and arms were entirely confided to his conduct and discretion.” Champion, however, wanted to play the part of dictator over the sovereign ruler of Oudh, and to let his troops share in the plunder of Rohilkhand. Thwarted by Hastings on both points, he consoled himself by spread- ing scandalous stories against the Wazir. An inquiry conducted by Hastings’s enemies in his own Council proved the general false- hood of these allegations. But Francis treasured them up for his own vindictive purposes, and made Burke the mouthpiece of calumnies which Macaulay repeated to all the world. When Nand-Kumar asked for leave to make good his charges before the Council, Hastings minuted an indignant protest against the purport of such a demand :— “The Chief of this Administration, your superior, gentlemen, appointed by the Legis- lature itself, shall I sit at this Board to be arraigned in the presence of a wretch whom you all know to be one of the basest of man- kind ?......Shall I sit to hear men collected from the dregs of the people give evidence at his dictating against my character and conduct? I will not.” His colleagues were free to form a com- mittee of inquiry on their own account ; but “‘T,” he said, ‘‘ will not meet Nand-Kumar at the Board, nor suffer Nand-Kumir to be examined at the Board.” One of his reasons for this decision was his strongly avowed belief that Clavering, Monson, and Francis were his real accusers, acting through their tool Nand-Kumér. So far from raising, as Mill says, ‘‘any pretences for stifling inquiry,’ Hastings merely protested against the unseemly mode in which his colleagues proposed to conduct it. With regard to the trial and conviction of Nand-Kumir himself, the Bengal State Papers add nothing of any moment to the evidence contained in Sir J. Stephen’s exhaustive work. They only make doubly sure the assurance that Hast- ings did mo¢ murder Nand-Kumar at the hands of Impey or of any one else. Hence- forth we must all consent to rank with the ‘idiots and biographers” of Macaulay’s argument. Hastings strongly condemned the rash- ness of the Bombay Government in their first alliance with Raghoba against the Peshwa. But when he saw the mischief which French intrigue was brewing at Pina on the eve of war with France, he set him- self straightway to counteract it by every possible means. No reader of these volumes can fail to appreciate the splendid courage, skill, and perseverance with which he played and, after a weary struggle with foes of all kinds in India and England, finally won his game. His “frantic military enterprises,” as Francis called them, helped to save our young Indian empire by convincing the native princes of our immense fighting power. He sent Eyre Coote off to drive Haidar out of the Carnatic, and used every rupee that he could raise in Bengal to feed the war in other parts of India. His arms and his diplomacy upheld England’s honour in the far East during a time of national disaster elsewhere. How his services were requited every one knows. How grossly everything he did was falsified or mis- represented by the malice of Francis and the rash credulity of Burke the official records have now made unquestionably clear. In knowledge of his subject, weight of argument, and statesmanlike breadth of view, Hastings surpassed his colleague as much as Francis surpassed his chief in biting satire and reckless innuendo. But ever Francis never wrote anything so crushingly severe as the minute in which Hastings finally exposed his incorrigible perfidy, and declared, in justice to the public and to himself, ‘“‘I judge of his public con- duct by my experience of his private, which I have found to be void of truth and honour.” Francis’s immediate answer to this charge was a challenge to the duel in which he got badly wounded; but some weeks later he minuted a reply which betrayed only the weakness of his defence. In his treatment of the Rajah of Benares it is clear that Hastings was impelled by other and higher motives than mere want of money for the public needs. That ques- tion, at least, is set at rest by the fresh evidence contained in these volumes. And Macaulay’s harrowing picture of the wicked Proconsul plotting with the ruler of Oudh to despoil the innocent Begams by force and fraud of their rightful inheritance must henceforth be treated as pure fiction, by those, at least, who care for the truth of history. There was nothing whatever in the Treaty of Chunar to justify the outcry afterwards raised against it, and it is absurd to hold Hastings answerable for all the measures taken by his sovereign ally of Oudh to fulfil his share of the compact. The atrocities imputed to Asaf-ud-daula were grossly exaggerated by foes of the Governor- General. We have no room to dwell on a mass of other documents that illustrate the period under review. Sir Eyre Coote describes in plain soldierly fashionthe movements and the battles which attest his own genius and the resolute courage of his sepoys. In the great fight of Porto-Novo “no Europeans could be steadier ; they were emulous of being fore- most in every service it was necessary to undertake.” We have several letters from that bold sailor Sir Edward Hughes, telling of stubborn and generally doubtful fights between his squadron and that of the far- famed Admiral Suffrein. The doings of Sindhia, Haidar Ali, and Tippoo fill many pages of Mr. Forrest’s work. An elaborate index of 140 pages has been contributed by Mr. Belletty, besides other ‘‘ valuable aid’’ in the preparation of these volumes, which seem to have been edited with remarkable care. NOVELS OF THE WEEK. ‘or Value Received. By Thomas Cobb. 3 vols. (Ward & Downey.) Paul Nugent, Materialist. By Helen F. Hetherington (Gullifer) and the Rev. H. Darwin Burton. 2 vols. (Griffith, Farran & Co.) Recha. By Dorothea Gerard. (Blackwood & Sons.) The Mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow. Oliphant. (fpencer Blackett.) John Guidfollow: a Romance of Forfarshire. By Alexander Lowson. (Glasgow, Mori- son; London, Simpkin, Marshall & Co.) All He Knew. By John Habberton. (Clarke & Co.) By Mrs. Stephanie. By Tom Lee. (Ward & Downey.) Un Cour de Femme. Par Paul Bourget. (Paris, Lemerre.) LT’ Ame de Pierre. (Paris, Ollendorff.) Iris a fair question whether a writer who wants to startle and engross his readers can obtain more effects out of sensational incidents flatly told or out of the average incidents of every-day life told in a cunning and picturesque manner. After reading ‘For Value Received,’ which is an example of the former style, one inclines very much to think that the latter style of fiction is to be preferred. The title of Mr. Cobb’s story is taken from what serves as the pivot of its action. The sister of the Vicar of Crock- hurst loves ‘‘an insignificant Civil Service clerk,” who falls under the suspicion of fratricide through the discovery of a blood- stained handkerchief near his brother’s corpse. The finder of the handkerchief is a Mr. Smellie, who thoroughly appreciates its value ; and in order to get possession of this damning record the vicar’s sister has the happy thought of engaging herself to Smellie. The wary reader perceives at once the shape that is taken by this highly com- mercial transaction. Mr. Smellie cheats the vicar’s sister, and comes off with ‘a Yorkshireman’s triumph.’’ He encarnadines a common pocket-handkerchief—but why proceed? There is a great deal to talk about in Mr. Cobb’s story, and a great deal is talked accordingly, with much perseverance and not a little success. It is not easy to guess why collaboration was deemed necessary in such a work as ‘Paul Nugent,’ nor why two names figure on the title-page. It is possible to imagine a single mind grappling alone and unaided Par Georges Ohnet.
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160 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3275, Aue. 2, 790. with such inspirations as it contains; if a negative quantity may be pictured, it would be equally easy to imagine the difference it would have made had it not been written at all. If we may hazard the guess, it is the Rev. H. Darwin Burton who supplies the theological speculations, whilst Helen F. Hetherington (formerly Gullifer) should plead guilty to the imagining of certain other things, including the extraordinary physical beauty of the materialist. Every- where “it won quick, admiring glances,” besides which “the faultless outline of feature made his face the most noted in the Row.” But the first Mrs. Paul did not long appreciate his perfections. In fact—as the reader may—she found him a bore. She, we are told, ‘‘ was rightly called Perdita, for she gravitated downwards like the lost souls in Dante’s Inferno.” Of her ultimate fate it is not for us to speak; but she cer- tainly ‘‘ gravitated ’’ to the extent of falling on her temple on a marble fender, and so perishing. During her life Perdita was one of those who go tochurch froma social instinct only (and but once a week). Her removal to some other sphere made way for the in- fluence of a being of exquisite loveliness, who attended church twice daily from higher motives—the very highest, indeed. A youth- ful Churchman also wrestled with Paul’s mis- guided, but enormous intellectual forces, till the latter emerged, broken in pride, a fervent lover and a piousman. A strangely sudden fire, of the usual fictional kind, then occurred, which helped to hurry on matters a little, and after his exertions at it Paul appeared to Maude “‘ as a white, calm face as beauti- ful as an Apollo-Belvidere—and as lifeless.” Ultimately he woke up, however, but not before Maude fell ‘‘like a lovely white statue; she would have died rather than confess her love, but nature was too strong, and flung her down before the eyes of the family, a mute but irrefragable witness to her love for Paul.’”’? Upon which we may leave them. ‘Recha’ is not the first story in which Dorothea Gerard has made a fine and care- ful study of Hebrew customs and character, and not the first in which she has repro- duced the local colour of Upper Austria, and of Galicia in particular. So far as anything in this new story is a replica of the artistic touches which gave distinct charm to ‘Reata’ and ‘ Orthodox,’ there is much justification for the author’s return to her former ideas, and to a familiar group of incidents and circumstances. There may be a question as to the exact degree of natural- ness in the character of Recha, and as to the real strength of the bonds by which she and her Christian lover are held in such fatal duress—bonds which the hero and heroine of many a fine drama and romance have been known to snap like tow. Is it naturally conceivable, for instance, that a woman of strong intelligence, passion, and will, who by a gradual process of thought has decided that the superstitions and fana- ticisms of her race are mostly wrong (p. 127), and who after a desperate struggle gives herself unreservedly into the hands of an honourable lover (p. 184), should within ten days sacrifice that lover and her own soul to a base tradition of the usurer’s counting- house? That is putting the affair brutally and at its worst. Miss Gerard makes it read much better; but the very success of her painful romance drives the reader to consider whether the pain would have been inevitable in actual life. A sketch thrown off by a practised hand should have had a little more motif than we can find in the rather sordid mystery of Mrs. Blencarrow. The misery of a sensible and withal sensuous woman who has contracted a secret marriage with a handsome dullard cannot be and is not overdrawn in the story of this unhappy lady. Kitty Bir- cham is lifelike, as far as she goes, but she is rather a slight Miss Hoyden. There is no moral in the story, which is so far well; but it is somewhat sad, and not 80 suggestive as usual. Mr. Lowson gives us yet another book got up in the very excellent style with which Scotch publishers are making us familiar. As for the matter, though we are rather inclined to think the author has post-dated the execution of his Forfarshire witches, he has certainly struck out a new line, and the murder of Lord Strathmore is one of the little bits of domestic history that illustrate the private bearing of politics, and are more suitable to the ‘‘ historical”’ novelist than the reproduction of chapters of more important history. The appendix, reproducing the pleadings and evidence led before the High Court of Justiciary, may interest some English readers from the un- familiarity of the technical terms, and some Scotchmen who will be interested in familiar names. There is a good deal of ‘ miscel- laneous feeding”’ in this rather gruesome chapter of Scotch history, and the author manages to attract us without the rudiments of literary power. The author of ‘Helen’s Babies’ should be a man of considerable observation, and doubtless he has studied the class of American readers at whom his glorified religious tract called ‘ All He Knew’ is directed. Itis hard to understand howsuch a book in such a form —good paper, good print, and ornamental boards—can succeed in reaching any class in England likely to be influenced by it. Still it isa very good tract, not at all unreadable, and not without a fair touch of pathos here and there; and the foundation upon which its experimental religious value rests is stated with real humour. The returned convict whose story is told in ‘All He Knew’ re- lates the main point in his conversion by the gaol chaplain thus :— ‘** After a while, the man said, ‘ You seem to be feelin’ better ?’ **So I am,’ said I. *¢¢ Then believe in Him,’ says he, ‘an’ you'll feel better always.’ ‘-*T’ve been told that before,’ says I, ‘but I don’t know how.’ ‘The man looked kind o’ puzzled like, an’ at last says he, ‘ What’s yer politics ?’ ‘© ¢T’m a Jackson Democrat,’ says I. ‘*¢ All right,’ says he, ‘ but Andrew Jackson ’s dead, ain’t he?’ ‘* So I’ve heard,’ said I. ‘¢¢ But you still believe in him,’ says he. *¢ © Of course,’ said I. ‘** Well,’ says he, ‘just believe in Jesus, like you do in Andrew Jackson, an’ you'll be all right in the course of time.’ ” The scene of Tom Lee’s short story of ‘ Ste- phanie’ is cast in the United States, excur- sions to France, Italy, Canada, and England being added. The American section is the largest and most natural, but there is nothing particularly sectional in the interest of the story, which turns upon the suppression of letters, and the consequent marriage of the wrong sister by the victim of the deception- The wrong sister is Stephanie, who is herself something of a victim, and in whom the reader is likely to become fairly interested. Altogether Mr. Lee’s novel is a fresh and simple narrative on very old lines. We cannot praise either of the novels by well-known writers which reach us together from France. M. Bourget has renounced the doctrine taught in ‘Le Disciple,’ and. gives us an imitation of ‘Monsieur de Camors’; while M. Ohnet deserts his usual. line, and takes to one much opposed to our English ideas. M. Ohnet’s volume is un- relieved by charms of plot or style. M. Bourget’s is well written, though, as is usual. with him, over laboured, and is marred by a failure to make an impression on the mind. by the creation of a distinct personality in the character of his heroine. The world of M. Bourget is that of fashion only, but it is still described not as by one who is of it, but after the manner of the “ outsider,” if not of the occupant of the servants’ hall. ‘“‘Gyp”’ will be able, if she pleases, to continue. her criticisms of M. Bourget’s remarks on dress and sport and the manners of smart. people, and will probably turn against him his own admission that the philosopher in society too often becomes the snob. On the other hand, his present book is written, above all, to sell, and M. Bourget will be able to point, doubtless, to a sale of such a magnitude as to salve a conscience which must have doubts as to the true worth and morality of his new novel. ANTIQUARIAN LITERATURE. A History of Cumberland. By R. S. Ferguson. (Stock.)—Mr. Stock is fortunate in having secured for this, the latest instalment of his ‘¢ Popular County Histories,” a writer so familiar with the history and antiquities of the Cumbrian. land as Mr. Ferguson. To compress into a book of the size of this volume the history of even a small county in an instructive and yet readable form is an achievement requiring special skill and a quite exceptional knowledge of the sub- ject. Mr. Ferguson, however, has been singularly successful, and is equally at home in the pre- historic period and in the contested elections of the last century. It is difficult, of course, to say anything that is new, but the writer has ap- proached his theme in an independent spirit, and is no mere compiler. On the tenth Iter of Antoninus, for instance, he has views of his own, while on the much-vexed question of the rela- tion of the Roman wall to the earthen vallum he suggests that the latter was a defence against rushes of ‘* guerillas, banditti, and dacoits ” from thesouth—a somewhat unsatisfactory hypothesis. The unity and the central point of interest in Cumbrian history are undoubtedly to be found in the border stronghold of Carlisle, the original nucleus of the county ; while the same element. of border defence accounts for the territorial ‘* baronies” established in the Norman period, the story of which is here accurately told, and their descent traced, almost for the first time. Mr. Ferguson takes pleasure in showing how the rivalry between the owners of these ancient estates influenced the history of the county, lingering on, through electoral struggles, down to the days of the Reform Bill. For the vigorous, martial, adventurous Dacres Mr. Ferguson a genuine admiration, and for them he reclaims most of the doings attributed to Lord William Howard, the ‘‘ Belted Will” of tradition. The
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XUM N° 3275, Aug. 2,90 THE ATHENZUM 161 writer’s excellent volume on the ‘ Municipal Re- cords of Carlisle ’ has supplied him with abundant material for tracing the development of muni- cipal liberties in the shire town and describing its curious guilds. But it is strange to find him asserting, by a slip, that the first great Roll of the Pipe “is the 39th [sic] Henry I.” More serious, however, is Mr. Ferguson’s rendering of an entry in the Roll of 6 Ric. I., to which he assigns considerable importance (pp. 193, 199, 203). Intimately acquainted though he is with the subject, we venture to question his transla- tion of ‘‘ 111 libras quas Burgenses de Carl’ com- modaverant domino Regi ad facienda negotia sua de firma Civitatis ” as ‘‘52l. which the Bur- gesses of Carlisle had advanced to the Lord the King in order to do their own business relating to the farm of the said city.” Surely the sense is entirely different, namely, that the burgesses had advanced this money, from their “‘ firma,” to the king for his purposes (‘‘ ad sua negocia ”’). This reading makes sense of the passage, which Mr. Ferguson’s certainly does not. We have not detected any other error in this work, which is quite a model for its class. A short but excellent classified list of books, articles, and maps relating to the county is ap- pended, and the index is deserving of praise. The one omission that the reader has to regret is that of a map of the county ; while if a plan of Carlisle had also been inserted the author's text could have bee: followed with far more ease and profit. Chronological, Historical, and Heraldic Charts of the Royal House of England from King Egbert to the Present Time. By I. A. Timmis. (Sothe- ran.)—Mr. Timmis has succeeded in producing a handsome drawing-room book ; and that, we fear, is all we can say for it. As he himself declares that “the work is far from perfect,” the critic is almost disarmed. Yet it is really necessary to say plainly that the chart pedigrees are badly arranged, and the historical annota- tions almost ludicrous. The redeeming feature is found in the heraldic illustrations, which are brilliant and effective. It was a pity, however, at this time of day, to insert the alleged coats of the Saxon and Norman kings. The arms also are badly described: Clare is given as “ Claire’; Monthermer as ‘‘ Monthemer”; St. Leger as ‘‘De Leger” (in pedigree also); and Edmund Crouchback has his wives assigned to “ Edward [sic] son of Henry III.” The heirs of younger branches of the royal house are not traced as they should be, while the Neville Earls of Salisbury are stated to have been originally Lords ‘‘ Bury” (?Raby). Turning from these and similar blunders, we come to such gems of information as that “ Whitnagemot, a court bef. Conquest, led to proving of Parlt.”...... “ Arch- bisp. Austin [? Anselm] the good.”......‘¢ Arch- bishop Packer” (Parker)...... ‘“‘ English manor or demesne introd.” (temp. Edw. III.?)...... ‘* leprosy and fits”’...... “gout in stomach”...... ‘red-hot iron into bowels” (such entries are painfully suggestive of the immortal Jingle)...... “Mort. ex. 1330, and Q. imp. D. abt. 1357” (not a chess problem)......°* Persecuted Lollards. Good Judge Gascoigne. Badges”’......“Azores & C. de berd [sic] Is. disc. Shoes tied to the knee.” Such are some characteristic specimens of history ‘‘as she is written” by Mr. Timmis. It isa pity that he did not confine himself to heraldic illustrations, and arrange them on some systematic plan. The Registers of St. Alphage, Canterbury, 1558-1800. By J. M. Cowper. (Privately printed.) — To those acquainted with Mr. Cowper’s previous publications, and, indeed, to all students of the subject, the issue by him of the registers of another Canterbury parish is most welcome. Painstaking and thorough from introduction to index, his work is of model cha- racter, and we are glad to see that he is about to issue two more registers of the old cathedral city. The present volume deals with a parish of special interest from its strong infusion of Protestant refugees. In spite of the efforts of the Huguenot Society it is still, we think, too little realized how many families among us are of refugee extraction, and how substantial an addition to the population in certain districts was contributed by this immigration. Even in these registers one would often take a foreign for a native surname, were it not for the favourite Christian names—Abraham, Peter, Daniel, Isaac, Jacob, Samuel, Sarah, Judith, Rebecca, Susanna, &c.—to which the refugees were so constant. We may pick out such names as Cassell (Castle, Castel), De la Rue, De la Planche, De Lannoy, Delamar (Delmar, Lamar, Lemar), De Spayne (Despaigne, Dispain, Spayne, Spain), De Villers, Dubois (Boys, Boice), Du- pont, Dupuis, Dutoit, Gambier, Great, La Heuque (Le Hooke, Le Hock, Houcq, Hook), Layard, Le Caron, Lefevre, Lefroy, Leman, Morillon, Poitvain (of which some fifteen forms are here found), Prevot (Prevau), Reynolds, Ricquebour (Rigbore), Tivelain, Vandepeare (Peere), Venables, and many others. Among native surnames attention may be drawn to that of Halsnot, Halsenod, Hasenode, Hawsnode, Harsnett, Harnett—all, we think, derived from an Anglo-Saxon ‘‘ Ealsnoth ”’—because the well- known Archbishop Harsnett is said to have been the son of a “ Halsnoth,” which illustrates the changes that names undergo. In his careful introduction Mr. Cowper notices some interest- ing points, the most striking, perhaps, being the daring and deliberate falsification of entries re- lating to the Denne family between 1612 and 1622. The Commonwealth entries are here, as elsewhere, deserving of notice, but we venture to question the inference that ‘‘ the parish at one time was more than usually Puritanic in its tendencies” from “ the careful avoidance of the prefix ‘Saint’ to some” parishes in these registers. Analysis proves that this was a personal matter, the first Parliamentary “ re- gister ” (the Puritan minister of the parish) care- fully omitting, and the second as regularly in- serting, the obnoxious prefix. Mr. Cowper has compiled a list of rectors from 1311; has en- graved rubbings from the Prude and Goseborne brasses, and printed the wills of the individuals they commemorate (1468 and 1522); has also given the will of John Caxton (brother of the great printer), a parishioner of St. Alphage (1485); and has collected the most curious of the Christian names that occur in these registers. To Mr. William Cowper are due the Index Nominum and Index Locorum, which add greatly to the value of the work. The latter feature is one well deserving of imitation. Some Account of the Barony and Town of Okehampton. By W. B. Bridges and W. H. K. Wright. (Tiverton, Masland.)—We fear there is not much to be said for this book, which repre- sents the collections of various writers, made at different dates. The bulk of it is composed of the work of Mr. Bridges, which appeared in parts, at intervals, some half a century ago (the original preface is dated 1836). To this have been added, in an appendix, the MS. annotations on that work by the Rev. H. G. Fothergill; a general description of Okehampton, as it exists at present, by Mr. Wright ; a paper on the commons and park of Okehampton, by Mr. W. Crossing ; an account of the parliamentary representation of the borough, by Mr. W. D. Pink ; and a list of the archdeacons of Okehampton, revised by Pre- bendary Hingeston-Randolph. We need scarcely say that the two last-named contributions are alike excellent. But, really, is it worth while, at this time of day, reprinting ‘‘ intact” such a work as that of Mr. Bridges, who began his account of the barons of Okehampton thus : “Pilgrim of beauty, whoever thou art, that seekest to amuse, and, may we hope, inform thy wanderings,” &c.? Mr. Wright, who has passed the book through the press, is too good an antiquary not to be aware of its shortcomings, and is careful accordingly, in his preface, to dis- claim responsibility for them. The Vestry Minute Books of St. Bartholomew Exchange, in the City of London, 1567-1676, Edited by E. Freshfield. (Privately printed.)— Dr. Freshfield’s excellent work among the re- cords of City parishes has long been favourably known. The documents he has now edited are well worth publication, and the preface, maps, and illustrations which he has added to them greatly enhance their value. Situated as it is im the heart of the City—half of the Exchange and of the Bank of England lies within its precincts —it must have possessed wealth and importance out of proportion to its size. The vestry records were evidently kept with great care, and afford a continuous chronicle of parish events. Sub- sidies for soldiers, benevolences for the poor, ordinances for the plague (from which the parish suffered in 1563, 1592-3, 1602-3, 1625, and, of course, 1665), and references to the Great Fire are duly found in them. The most interesting portions, however, as Dr. Freshfield observes, are those which relate to the troubled period 1642-60, These are quite deserving of study by any one investigating the attitude of the City in the struggles of the time. They prove clearly how, even as early as 1633, the obstinate and unfortunate efforts of Laud to force upon the people “‘ High” doctrines were sowing the seeds of strife. Dr. Freshfield speaks ‘‘ from a perusal of many of these parish records” when he states his conviction that Laud’s rule was the chief grievance of the citizens, and that ‘‘ above all things they desired to get the appointment of their own clergy into their hands,” as they had secured that of their lecturers. It was this that led to the otherwise inexplicable spread of the Presbyterian system in the City. One of the parish ‘‘ elders,” it may be mentioned, was Samuel Harsnett, a grocer, who rapidly became colonel in the Parliamentary forces. He wrote, we believe, an account of the affair at Abingdon to his friend Capt. Jones, who here occurs as a. fellow parishioner. He may be identical with the nephew and executor of the well-known archbishop. Richard “ Peaps,” who also occurs, was of the Norfolk Pepyses. We note with satisfaction Dr. Freshfield’s intention to supple- ment the publication of these records by that of the parish register. The Chronicle of Robert of Torigni. Edited by R. Howlett. (Eyre & Spottiswoode. )—This volume—the fourth of the ‘‘ Chronicles of the Reigns of Stephen, Henry II., and Richard I.”— is of less interest than its immediate predecessor. Valuable and on many points interesting as is the work of Abbot Robert, our editor can do little more for it than was done by M. Delisle. There were, however, as Mr. Howlett points out, English MSS. to be collated, the Vatican copy to be further examined, the sources of the writer’s information to be more thoroughly worked out, and his doubtful chronology to be tested. All this Mr. Howlett has done, and the result is a welcome addition to the volumes of the Rolls Series. While agreeing with Bethmann and Delisle as to ten out of the twelve works which they believe Robert to have used for his com- pilation, Mr. Howlett claims to have detected some half dozen others. It is impossible to follow him in detail through his ‘‘ wearisome investigation,” the only point likely to excite any special interest being his suggestion that, | instead of his author copying from Ordericus, they may both have used a ‘half - mythical rhyming history of the Norman dukes,” written in homceoteleutic lines. Mr. Howlett is indeed to be compassionated on having to edit a chro- nicle of which the MSS., from their number and their complex nature, restrict him to a pre- face, in his own words, ‘‘ technical to a degree which is none the less repulsive for being abso- lutely necessary.” The amount of critical work which he has concentrated within the space allotted to him bears witness to conscientious industry and a close acquaintance with contem- porary writers. It is, however, matter for regret that he should here again insist on an alleged
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162 THE ATHENAUM N° 3275, Aua. 2,90 “invasion of England by Henry in 1147 ”—a dis- covery which did not commend itself, when originally announced, to other students. More- over, the ‘‘ fine writing ” into which this thesis leads him (p. xxii) is of a kind not to be encouraged in prefaces to the Rolls Series. Archeological and Historical Collections re- lating to the County of Renfrew, Vols. I. and IL. (Paisley, Gardner), is a solid contribution to Scottish topography. These handsome quartos, together comprising nearly 550 pages, deal solely with Lochwinnoch, the second in size, but cer- tainly not in importance, of Renfrewshire’s fif- teen parishes. They mainly consist of 195 Latin and Scottish charters and other documents, of dates ranging from 1158 to 1592. Every one of these possesses some value for the genealogist, or for the student of the dialect, the place-names, or the domestic history of Scotland ; but none is more interesting than the foundation charter (1504) of the collegiate church of Lochwinnoch. It has been printed before by Cosmo Innes in the ‘ Registrum Episcopatus Glasguensis’ (Ban- natyne Club, 1843), but it is much less known than it deserves to be: Canon Bellesheim nowhere refers to it in his ‘History of the Catholic Church of Scotland.’ Yet it illustrates as does no other document the life, duties, and discipline of collegiate chaplains in the early years of the sixteenth century, and goes far to disprove the universal corruption and immorality imputed by Protestant writers to the clergy of pre-Reformation Scotland. The translations and abstracts of the Latin charters are well done ; and the translator is clearly not respon- sible for such curious entries in the index as “*Odardo, Capellano,” and ‘‘‘Sancte Crucis,’ Abbey of.” Otherwise the index is a full and useful one. The highest point of the Mistylaw Hills is 1,711, not 1,665 feet; and the date {1813) of the sale of the Castle-Semple estate to the Harveys might well have been given, and some mention been made of Lord Cockburn’s fre- quent visits to Bar, and of Alexander Wilson’s employment in Lochwinnoch village. Still, the work as a whole deserves very high praise, and we look anxiously forward to its ultimate conclusion. The Genealogist (New Series), Vol. VI. (Bell & Sons.)—Mr. Keith W. Murray has succeeded as editor of the Genealogist the late Mr. Walford D. Selby, a memorial notice of whom is contri- buted to its pages by Mr. E. Walford, who gives expression to the deep and general regret felt at his untimely death. The chief change introduced in the present volume is the substitu- tion of the register of St. Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey, as a supplement, for the ‘New Peerage’ edited by G. E. C. We have little doubt that the former will be appreciated more widely by genealogists, though the latter publi- cation, we are glad to learn, is to be continued in another form. Mr. Bain and Mr. J. A. C. Vincent again contribute learned articles, and Mr. B. S. Gatty begins a list of institutions of clergymen in the diocese of Winchester. Further instalments are given of Mawson’s ‘ Obits ’ (from the College of Arms) and the ‘Index to Chan- cery Proceedings temp. James I.’; but it is always open to question whether this disjointed method of publication is not the least convenient for reference that could be adopted. Among the other contributors to the volume are General Wrottesley, Dr. Jessopp, Dr. Marshall (Rouge Croix), Dr. Colby, and Mr. R. E. G. Kirk, the last of whom has a somewhat pretentious article on ‘ The Family of Lincoln,’ distinguished by frequent allusion to “the widow Fitz,Grip,” and cannot assign to a charter of “ Henry, Duke 3 A ormandy,” a closer limit of date than 1143- Mr. W. P. W. Puiimore sends us Parts XXYV.-XXVII. of the Index Library, which be- gins with this issue its third year. He may fairly be congratulated on the success of his scheme, his supporters having now formed themselves into the British Record Society, with which is now amalgamated the Index Society. An offshoot of his work is also to be seen in the proposed Irish Record Series. This issue of the ‘ Library ’ contains further instalments of the Lichfield wills and Berkshire wills, and con- tinues the second volume of the ‘ Index to Chan- cery Proceedings under Charles I.’ In it will also be found an interesting introduction, by Mr. Phillimore, to the ‘ Signet Bills Index,’ now rapidly approaching completion. The plan of issuing each index when complete in separate volumes, as with the publications of the Oxford Historical Society, is undoubtedly the right one; but it is a matter of some surprise to us, knowing the difficulties which have beset such enterprises in the past, that Mr. Phillimore should have secured suflicient support to encourage him to persevere in his useful but tedious work. Tue Lancashire and Cheshire Record Society has issued, as its twentieth volume, a continua- tion of its Index to the Wills and Inventories preserved in the Court of Probate at Chester. MODERN LATIN VERSE, Series Collectarum, dc., Latine Reddita. A Carolo Wordsworth, $.T.P. (Murray.)— The venerable Bishop of St. Andrews has employed his learned leisure in turning into Latin verse, mostly elegiacs, the whole ‘‘ Series Collectarum ” in the Prayer Book, and has added also render- ings of ‘Selecti Hymni Psalmique.’ The volume has a certain pathetic interest which compensates entirely for the absence of real brilliance in the execution. The Bishop has had other things to do than the writing of Latin verse, but his hand has not altogether lost its cunning, as the following version of Psalm xxiii. will show :— Nil mihi deficiat, Domino Pastore: salubres Pascet enim viridi gramine propter aquas, Ille malo renovans animum convertet ab omni, Atque ubi justitiz fert via, ducet amans. Immo etiam incedens mortis nil valle timebo, Nam tua firmabunt virga pedumque gradus. Tu mihi mensam, hostes vexent utcunque, parabis :— En! caput unctum oleo est: pocula plena bibam, Dum maneo in terris bonitas tua fida sequetur, Inque domo Domini vita perennis erit. Versions and Imitations in Greek and Latin. By William Wardlaw Waddell. (Glasgow, Mac- Lehose.) — The ‘ Versions and Imitations,’ in Greek and Latin prose and verse, which Mr. W. W. Waddell has thought fit to pub- lish, are by no means brilliant productions, and cannot be warmly recommended to school- masters on the look - out for ‘fair copies.” As the author himself deprecates criticism and seems to have designed his collection mainly for private circulation, there is no occasion to dwell on his shortcomings. The first stanza of his rendering of “ Scots wha hae” is a very fair sample of his muse. It runs :— Perferre docti uulnera cum Vala, Pugne scientes auspice Brussio, Saluete ! aiest seu mors cruenta, Sive, Caledonii, triumphus. OUR LIBRARY TABLE. THE copy we have received of Mr. F. C. Burnand’s parody of Mr. Stanley’s ‘In Darkest Africa’ is stated on the title-page to be one of the fifteenth thousand. Obviously, therefore, A New Light thrown across the Keep it Quite Darkest Africa (Trischler & Co.) is already, or is confidently expected to be, very popular. It would be rash to say that the public or the publishers are wrong, but the intrinsic merits of the “satirical and humorous sketch” are slight. It has to be judged by the standard which Mr. Burnand has himself set up, and it will bear no comparison even with ‘ Through the Keep it Dark Continent, to say nothing of ‘The Ride to Khiva’ or the delightful ‘ Strap- more.’ The work was produced with surprising rapidity, and it is impossible not to envy the man who can draw at sight upon an unlimited fund of jokes and not bad puns. The subject has, perhaps, not lent itself particularly well to Mr. Burnand’s method. Here and there, how- ever, he makes a decidedly happy hit. This isa fair specimen :— “ A man, then, who is ‘a man fora’ that’ means a man who at a moment’s notice is ready for anything and everything. That’s the sort of manIam. A thousand Tippoo Tips, with hundreds of thousands at their command, wouldn’t deter me. Iam a Welsh- man, a native of gallant little Wales, I am true to my country, loyal to my Prince. How is it that natives of Scotland and Wales succeed where other nationalities fail? This isa conundrum which men of other nationalities would give up. But a Scotch- man or a Welshman never gives up. Whatever he has got in him he never gives up, no matter how he has got it. The Scotchman can scotch a snake ora wheel......And if the Scotchman can scotch, the Welshman can welsh.” In Mr. Burnand’s satire there is nothing malicious. His good taste is shown particularly in this parody by the avoidance of topics which might give pain. Taek introduction that Mr. Dobson has pre- fixed to his Selected Poems of Matthew Prior, which forms a volume of ‘‘The Parchment Library ” of Messrs. Kegan Paul, Triibner & Co., is really an excellent biography of the poet. Mr. Dobson has turned to good account the manuscript of Sir James Montague, and thrown fresh light on Prior’s youth. Mr. Dobson also supplies some excellent criticism, has made a most judicious selection, and of excision he has been duly sparing. We regret, however, he has not followed the good example of Mr. Mitford in the Aldine edition and numbered the lines. By the way, Mr. Dobson has followed the folio of 1718 and all the editors in reading ‘‘ barely ” in canto ii. of ‘Alma,’ p. 160. We have long had a suspicion that it is a misprint for basely. On the whole, this pretty volume ought to do something to rescue Prior from the neglect into which he has undeservedly fallen. Glimpses of Eastern Cities, Past and Present, by Andrew Russell, M.A. (Nisbet), is one of many examples which should have been warn- ings. It is a set of parish lectures reprinted at the “request of some who heard them.” Interesting and useful, no doubt, to the rustic audience at Leslie, they have no originality or permanent value. Consisting merely of common- place travellers’ impressions of Jerusalem, Damascus, Ephesus, the Nile, and the Arabs, with accompanying ‘‘ morals,” they should have been reserved for semi-private consump- tion on the premises at Leslie. A book on Eastern cities which ignores almost entirely the historical and artistic importance of medizeval Damascus, and which treats of the Nile in the usual “ picturesque” fashion, but gives no ac- count of Thebes or Cairo, can hardly be taken au sérieux. Mr. Horper’s Hymn Lover (Curwen & Son) is mainly devoted to modern English hymns, In his other chapters Mr. Horder has evidently read up a subject about which he knew little, and did not care much; but with English hymnody since Wesley he is well acquainted. We altogether dissent from Mr. Horder’s literary judgments, but he writes with good feeling and wide toleration, and a genuine enthusiasm that it is impossible not to respect even if one does not exactly share it. Why has Mr. Horder omitted Sir Walter Scott from his army of hymn-writers? ‘‘When Israel, of the Lord beloved,” was a fairly popular hymn fifty years ago and later. Messrs. CAssELL have sent us four volumes of their ‘‘ Japanese Library,” so called from the illustrated covers, which are somewhat after the fashion introduced a few years ago in Paris. They are marked one and threepence each nett, a device intended to checkmate the cheap-jack, we presume. The volumes are convenient in shape, and the type is usually good. The paper is not exactly to our taste. The Yellow-Plush Papers is the most satisfactory of the specimens sent to us.
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_— XUM N° 3275, Ave. 2, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 163 WE have received the Reports of the Free Libraries at Barrow-in-Furness, Ealing, Hands- worth, Leicester, Marylebone, Norwich, Rich- mond (Surrey), Southport, and Twickenham. At Barrow the inhabitants are reading less, according to the chairman’s report, because trade has improved. At Richmond the financial diffi- culties are subject of complaint, the voluntary rate showing a continued decline. The other re- ports are satisfactory. At Handsworth, however, there is a lack of room. From Nottingham we have received two Catalogues compiled by Mr. Potter Briscoe.—A Catalogue of Books in the lending and reference libraries at Lisson Grove, Marylebone, has also reached us, and one of the Books in the Lending Department at Great Yar- mouth. Wes have received catalogues from the follow- ing booksellers in the metropolis: Mr. Baker (theology), Mr. Daniell (topography), Mr. Galwey (fair), Mr. W. Hutt (fair), Mr. Jack- son, Messrs. Jarvis & Son (interesting), Messrs. Luzac & Co., Messrs. Sotheran (good), Mr. Spencer (fair), Mr. Stanford (military books), Messrs. Wesley & Son (botany and zoology), and Messrs. Williams & Norgate (German litera- ture). Catalogues have also reached us from Mr. Davies of Bath, Mr. Lowe and Mr. This- tlewood of Birmingham, Messrs, George’s Sons of Bristol, Mr. Brown (fairly good) and Mr. Cameron of Edinburgh, Mr. Potter of Liverpool, and Mr. Coleman of Tottenham (topography, &c.). Mr. Ward of Richmond (Surrey) has sent us an annotated catalogue of engravings and drawings, Messrs. Newcome & Co. of Man- chester an interesting catalogue of autographs, Mr. Cohn of Berlin a catalogue, and M. van Langenhuysen of Amsterdam a valuable list of theological works, especially of books relating to the ‘ Imitatio Christi.’ Living Leaders of the World, although it bears the imprint of Messrs. Griffith & Farran, is ob- viously a quarto of American manufacture. It is a collection of biographies of living celebrities, a number of whom are better known in the United States than in Europe. The memoirs are superficial, and the illustrations are of a very cheap kind, the coloured ones being hideous. Mr. WELSH contributes to the August number of the Newbery House Magazine the first instal- ment of some interesting ‘ Notes on the History of Books for Children.’ WE have on our table Life of Lord Byron, by the Hon. Roden Noel (Scott),— Cambridge His- torical Essays: No. III. The Constitutional Experiments of the Commonwealth, 1649-1660, by E. Jenks, LL.B. (Cambridge, University Press),— Newspaper Reporting in Olden Time and To-day, by J. Pendleton (Stock),—Roots and Powers, with Examples and Answers, by H. T. Dufton (T. Laurie),—An Elementary Treatise upon the Method of Least Squares, by G. C. Comstock (Arnold),—Science applied to Work, by J. A. Bower (Cassell),—John Bull and his other Islands, by A. Bennett (Simpkin),— What Became of Him? by F. C. Milford (Dean & Son), —The Police Minister, by J. S. Borlase (Warne),— Out at Twinnett’s, by J. Habberton (Routledge), — What Cheer O? by A. Gordon (Nisbet),— My First Love, by Mrs. J. H. Riddell (Hutchin- son & Co.),—The Human Epic, Canto I., by J. F. Rowbotham (Kegan Paul & Co.),—A Poetaster’s Holiday (Fisher Unwin),—Verses for Song, by A. Wilkins (Remington),— Verse Essays, by R. B. Johnson (Stanesby & Co.),— Heavenly Teachings in Earthly Proverbs, by H. Douglas (Griffith & Farran),— Fire Sermons, by the Right Rev. H. B. Whipple, D.D. (New York, Dutton & Co.),—Les Lois de l' Imitation, Etude Socio- logique, by G. Tarde (Paris, Alcan), — and L’ Allemagne depuis Leibniz, by L. Lévy-Bruhl (Hachette). Among New Editions we have Prin- ciples of Religious Life, by the Very Rev. F. C. Doyle, 0.S.B. (Washbourne),—Tbsen’s Ghosts: a Drama in Three Acts, translated by H. F. Lord (Griffith & Farran),— City Legends, by W. Carle- ton (Low), — Training for Running, Walking, Rowing, Boxing, Football, Lawn-Tennis, cc., by ©. Westhall, revised by E. T. Sachs (Ward & Lock),—and American Whist Illustrated, by G. W. P. (Longmans). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology. Pulsford’s (J.) Loyalty to Christ, Vol. 1, 8vo. 7/6 cl. Law. Cotton’s (C. P.) Loans Manual, a Compilation of Tables and Rules for Use of Local Authorities, 8vo. 5/ cl. Poetry and the Drama, Adams’s (F.) Songs of the Army of the Night, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Bond’s (R.) The Immortals, and other Poems, 12mo. 4/6 English Miracle Plays, Moralities, and Interludes, edited, with Introduction, &c., by A. W. Pollard, cr. 8vo, 7/6 cl. Patmore’s (C.) The Unknown Eros, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Waugh’s (A.) Schoolroom Theatricals, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Philosophy. Pikler’s (J.) Psychology of the Belief in Objective Existence, Part 1, 8vo. 4/6 cl. History. Eyre’s (W. L. W.) Brief History of the Parishes of Swarraton and Northington, 4to. 15/ cl. Geography and Travel, Longman’s School Atlas, Physical and Political, 2/6 cl. Shooting on Upland, Marsh, and Stream, by Prominent Sportsmen, edited by W. B. Leffingwell, 8vo. 18/ cl. Sinclair’s (J.) Scenes and Stories of the North of Scotland, 6/ Philology. Russell’s (C. H. St. L.) Translations into Greek and Latin Verse, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. Science, Blair’s (J. A.) The Organic Analysis of Potable Waters, 3/6 cl. Dictionary of Practical Medicine, by Various Writers, edited by J. K. Fowler, 8vo. 21/ cl. Hayward's (R. B.) Elements of Solid Geometry, 12mo. 3/ cl. Kirk’s (R.) New Theory of Chloroform Syncope, cr. 8vo 2/ Milne (Rev. J. J.) and Davis’s (R. F.) Geometrical Conics, Part 1, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. Sickness or Health? or the Danger of Trifling Ailments, by M. D.C. M., cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Suckling (C. W.) On the Treatment of Diseases of the Nervous System, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. General Literature, Bohn’s Library of Sports and Games: Handbook of Athletic Sports, Vol. 2, edited by E. Bell, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Burnand’s (8. C.) Rather at Sea, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Crane’s (L.) Zebel, a Novel, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Elementary Schools, how tv Increase their Utility, Six Lectures, with Preface by W. Bousfield, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Francillon’s (R. E.) Romance of the Law, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Lowson’s (A.) John Guidfollow, or the Murder of the Earl of Strathmore, 8vo. 6/6 cl. Oliphant’s (E. H. C.) The Mesmerist, a Novel, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Sporting Sketches, by Diane Chasseresse, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Weston’s (J.) Ko Méri, or a Cycle of Cathay, a Story of New Zealand Life, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. FOREIGN, Theology. Corssen (P.): Die Altercatio Simonis Judzi et Theophili Christiani Geprtift, 1m. 60. Giesebrecht (F.): Beitriige zur Jesaiakritik, 5m. Holtzmann (H.): Johannisches Evangelium, 3m, Solger (E.): Das Urevangelium, 3m. 60. Law, Coulon (H.): Divorce, Vol. 2, 8fr. Barraute (P.): Code Pénal Italien du ler Janvier, 1890, 5fr. Turrel (E.): Code Pénal Italien du ler Janvier, 1890, 5fr. Fine Art and Archaeology. Farcy (L. de): La Broderie, 80fr. Lasteyrie (R. de): Album Archéologique des Musées de Pro- vince, Part 1, 12fr. Lepsius (G. R.): Griechische Marmorstudien, 6m. 50. Philosophy. Ceconnier (M. T.): L’Ame Humaine, 3fr. 50. Herbart’s Simmtliche Werke, hrsg. v. K. Kehrbach, 5m. Leibnitz (G@. W.): Philosophische Schriften, hrsg. v. C. I. Gerhardt, Vol. 7, 22m. a History and Biography. Besson (P.): Etude sur Jean Fischart, 5fr. Historique du 12e Régimente d’Artillerie (1834-1890), 5fr. Sorel (A.): Madame de B8taél, 2fr. Geography and Travel, Meylan (A.): A travers I’Italie, 3fr. 50. Vivarez (M.): Le Soudan Algérien, 3fr. 50. Philology. Bugge (8.): Etruskisch u. Armenisch, Part 1, 3m. Omont (H.): Facsimilés des Manuscrits Grecs de la Biblio- théque Nationale, 60fr. General Literature, Lafagette (R.): La Renaissance Romane, 2fr. Sorel (A.): Les Doctrines Littéraires de l’Encyclopédie, Tfr. 50. MR. WALFORD AND THE 8.P.C.K. Llanfairfechan, July 29, 1890, Psrmir me to send a word in reply to Mr. Walford’s note in your current number. He has no right to speak as a member of the Society of Authors. On July 19th he wrote to the secretary and refused the customary condition of membership. He therefore ceased to be a member in accord- ance with the rules. On the 21st he wrote to you in the disguise of a member. On the 24th, feeling, I suppose, a little un- comfortable, he wrote again to the secretary requesting to have his name removed from the list of members—a thing already done. In that letter he added a terrible threat. ‘What I think,” he said, ‘‘of the Awthor will be best seen in a letter which, I believe, will appear in to-morrow’s Athenewm.” Mr. Walford is now no longer a member of the Society, and he has carried out his threat of vengeance. The cause of the quarrel is a refusal to allow his own account of an ancient quarrel of his, already printed and, I suppose, circulated, to be published in the Society’s journal. It is a consolation to think that Mr. Walford has quarrelled with others. As regards his secession, I believe he has already seceded from at least two other institutions, even more venerable than ours. Yet they still survive. As regards his newly-born zeal fortheS. P.C.K., I would only ask your readers to observe the mental attitude of one who served long and honourably in the ranks of literature. It is that of the humble suppliant. ‘‘ Here,” he seems to say, ‘‘is my work. Take it. Sellit. Get all you can for it. As for anything that you may toss me I shall be grateful. Generous patron, your dole is greater than any other I have received this day !” As for any sense of justice or honesty in the acquisition and administration of other people’s literary property, such an attitude shows not a single glimpse. Surely it was time for our society to arise, if only to teach the simple lesson that men of letters have rights of property as much as owners of collieries or pigs. Wa ter Besant. NICHOLAS BOZON. Plymouth, July 28, 1890. On reading, in your current issue, the review of M. Meyer and Miss Toulmin Smith’s edition of the ‘Contes’ of Nicole Bozon, the name at once struck me as being familiar ; I therefore looked up my references, with the following result :— 1258-9, 16th March. Nicholas Bozun insti- tuted to the rectory of Ministre (Manaccan), co. Cornwall.* 1264-5, 4th April. His successor instituted. Patroness, Domine Johanne Bozon (spelt also Buzim). Her son was called Henry de Esse, who appears to have granted the advowson to Bishop Bronescombe.+ 1267, circa. John Bozon held the prebend of Trehaverock, in St. Endellion, co. Cornwall. 1369-70. John Bosun, attorney of the com- monalty of Exeter.$ 1384-99. Robert Boson, Chancellor of the Diocese of Exeter. He died 12th January, 1399 || 1389-1410. Richard Bozoun, Bosin, Boson, or Bozon was five times Mayor of Exeter within these years, inclusive.’ He hada son John.** It would be interesting to discover that the above first known rector of Manaccan was the author of the ‘Contes.’ A copy of the ‘Ser- mones’ of Jaques de Vitri, in two volumes folio, is included in an inventory, dated 1506, of the books in the library of Exeter Cathedral.t+t+ The foregoing notes serve to show that the name of Bozun occupied a position of some im- portance within the diocese of Exeter in the Middle Ages ; and as so little is known of the * Hingeston-Randolph’s ‘ Index to the Episcopal Register of Bishop Bronescombe,’ 152. 7 Ibid, } bid, p 170. § Oliver’s * History of Exeter,’ 1861, 320. | Oliver’s ‘ Lives of the Bishops of Exeter,’ 281. © Oliver’s ‘ Exeter,’ 230. ‘ ** Hingeston-Randolph’s ‘Index to the Episcopal Register of Bishop Stafford,’ 32. tt Oliver’s ‘ Bishops,’ 370.
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164 THE ATHENZXUM N° 3275, Ave. 2, ’90 author in question, I think no apology is needed for anything which may assist in his identifi- cation. Who was Eude de Cheriton, memtioned by your reviewer? There are two parishes of this name in Devon—Cheriton Bishop and Cheriton Fitzpayne. J. 8. Atrrwoop. *,* Information about Eude de Cheriton, with references to the principal authorities, may be found in the ‘ Répertoire des Sources His- toriques du Moyen Age,’ par Ulysse Chevalier, Bio-Bibliographie, Paris, 1877-86 (sv. “Odon de Sherston”). There is also a notice of his works in the ‘ Bibliotheca Latina’ of J. Albertus Fabricius, Florence, 1858 (s.v. ‘‘ Odo Schirton,” p. 152). Very little seems to be known of his fife history, except that he flourished about the year 1180, and was a member of the Cistercian Order. M. Paul Meyer, in a foot-note to his introduction of the work reviewed, says that Eude de Cheriton wasso named after the village of Cheriton, in Kent. We have not been able to find out on what authority the learned editor makes this statement. There was a writer named Odo of Kent who has sometimes been confused with Odo of Cheriton. For a specimen of the style of this precursor of Bozon, see Wright's ‘ Biographia Britannica Literaria,’ ii. p. 226. AN EARLY HEBREW INSCRIPTION. Pror. Sayce has communicated to me the following inscription on a small weight found on the site of Samaria, and purchased by Dr. Chaplin last spring: Face 1, Swyan; face 2, 333929; which seems to read 1¥) YI7 by yan, “‘a quarter of a quarter of a 483.” Mr. Flinders Petrie, to whom Prof. Sayce communicated this interpretation, writes that he has discovered from other sources that the standard weight of Northern Syria amounted to 640 grains, of which the quarter of a quarter would be 40 grains, that is, exactly the value of the Samaritan weight in the possession of Dr. Chaplin. Whether 13) is derived from the root 38° cannot be decided yet, but the use of by is important at the probable date of the eighth century BC., which the forms of the characters indicate, and in the northern kingdom. Oy, which is a contraction of WS, is found in Canticles, which is considered a production of the Samaritan kingdom, in Jonah, and in Ecclesiastes. The early use of by might perhaps help to bridge over the gulf which Prof. Margoliouth has found between classical Hebrew and that of Sirach. A. NEUBAUER. Viterary Grosstp, Mr. Wuirtier has written the following letter to Mrs. A. O. Boyce regarding her pleasant book ‘ Records of a Quaker Family,’ which we reviewed last February :— Oak Knoll, Danvers, Mass., 7 Mo. 1, 1890. My pDzAR FRD.,—I have read thy beautiful book with great satisfaction. As a truthful picture of the old Friendly life it seems to me perfect, and I give thee my heartfelt thanks for the privilege of reading it. Our dear Society seems changing and becoming more and more like the Calvinistic and other Dissenting Churches, both in doctrines and testimonies. But the good work it has done, and the simple exterior of its lives in the past, will not be forgotten by the world it has made better and sweeter. Gratefully, thy aged friend Joun G, Wuirtier. Dr. W. H. Russet, the veteran corre- spondent of the Zimes, has just finished his bock on ‘A Visit to Chile and the Nitrate Fields of Tarapaci, &c.,’ which will be pub- lished directly after the holidays by Messrs. Virtue & Co. Mr. Melton Prior has fur- nished some sixty illustrations. Tue Rey. W. Dunn Macray, author of ‘The Annals of the Bodleian Library,’ of which the second enlarged edition has just appeared, was presented on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of his employment in the Bodleian Library with an address and a memorial by the staff of this institu- tion present and past. Amongst the latter are the Dean of Canterbury, Prof. Max Miiller, Mr. Ingram Bywater, and the Rev. J. W. Nutt. Mr. Macray has taken a great part in the compilation of the general cata- logue of the Bodleian Library, and is the author of the catalogues of the MS. coilec- tions Digby and Rawlinson A to D, the last of which is passing through the press. Mr. Macray, being one of the most experienced of Latin paleographers, has assisted, and still continues to assist, a great number of workers upon Latin MSS. in the Bodleian Library. The Record Office has also availed itself from time to time of his capacities for investigating documents in foreign and pro- vincial archives. WE are asked to say that ‘The Sin of Joost Avelingh,’ which we lately praised and which has passed through several editions, is not a translation from the Dutch, but was originally written in English by the author, a Dutchman. A number of journals, both in England and America, have asserted the contrary, and “in consequence,” the author writes to us, ‘‘ I am credited with a literary fame in my own country to which I have absolutely no claim.” Mr. Patcuetr Martin has relieved his labours in writing Lord Sherbrooke’s ‘Life’ by editing for Messrs. Griffith & Farran a novelty in the way of juvenile literature. ‘Over the Sea,’ stories tor the children of two worlds, which we have already men- tioned, is now in the press, and will consist of a number of short tales, half of which are Australian, by zs. Campbell Praed, ‘“‘Tasma,’’ Mrs. Patchett Martin, and Mr. Hume Nisbet; the other half purely English, by the Countess De la Warr, Miss Mary Senior Clark, Frederic F. Weatherly, and Mr. Marriott Watson, the New Zealand poet. The book is to be profusely illus- trated in black and white, with a full-page colour drawing for each story, chiefly from the designs of Mr. H. J. Johnstone, the Victorian landscape painter. Mr. F. F. Barry has retired from the management of the advertising department of the Saturday Review, which he has super- intended for the last two years and more. His successor is Mr. Harben. Tue Rev. A. G. Legge has transcribed ‘The Churchwardens’ Accounts of North Elmham, Norfolk, from a.p. 1539 to A.p. 1577,’ and intends publishing them accom- panied by notes. He will prefix an intro- duction giving a brief account of the church, a list of the bishops and vicars of North Elmham, and of lands held by the church- wardens, and a full table of contents. Mr. W. Cupwortn, the author of ‘Round about Bradford’ and ‘ Life and Correspond- ence of Abraham Sharp,’ is going to publish a history of Bolton and Bowling, two town- ships in the borough of Bradford. The volume will be uniform with ‘ Rambles round Horton,’ recently published by the same author. The remainder of the Brad- ford townships will be similarly treated. Another local work will be styled ‘ York- shire by the Sea.’ The writer is Mr. George Radford, author of ‘Rambles by Yorkshire Rivers,’ &c. It deals with the whole of the coast of Yorkshire. It is divided into five chapters : the Cleveland Border (the country from Middlesborough to Whitby); the Fringe of the Moors, that from Whitby to Scarborough; the Margin of the Green Wold Hills (from Scarborough to Bridling- ton); Holderness and its Wasting Coast (from Bridlington to Withernsea); the Humber Side (from Eastrington to Hull). It will be enriched by twelve full-page etch- ings and other illustrations. Tue Library of Trinity College, Dublin, will be closed from August 18th to 30th inclusive. Tue deaths are announced of Mr. F. H. Dickinson, a Somersetshire archeologist, known by his edition of the Sarum Missal ; of a veteran Scotch journalist and littérateur, Mr. James Lothian, formerly editor and proprietor of the Alloa Advertiser ; the Rev. A. Smedley, author of ‘A Treatise on Moral Evidence’; and Mr. Bone, the bookbinder. Mr. Bone’s business will be managed, without change of style, by Mr. Brookbank. Tue ‘ ‘Id-ud-Duha,”’ or Mohammedan commemoration of Abraham’s sacrifice, fell on Monday last, and was the occasion of a considerable gathering of Mohammedans for the purpose of prayer at the mosque of the Oriental Institute, Woking. It is customary on that day for Mohammedans to offer some animal—generally a goat—and to distribute a large portion of the sacrifice among the poor of the neighbourhood. Among those present were several Turkish gentlemen, but the largest number of Mohammedans — more than thirty—were from India (Pun- jaub and Bengal). AttHoucH the proposal for a summer session for women at St. Andrews had to be abandoned from want of support, the can- didates for the licentiateship seem as numerous as ever: 607 candidates entered for examination at thirty-one centres, as compared with 536 in 1889 at twenty-six centres; 29 candidates passed the full number of subjects required for the diploma. Tue Buckinghamshire Architectural and Archeeological Society on their annual ex- cursion this year visited Olney. A tem- porary museum was arranged by Mr. T. Wright, the author of ‘The Town of Cowper.’ Among the contents were pieces of the patchwork quilt given to Cowper by the wife of the Vicar of Penten- hall, which drew from the poet the ‘ Lines to Mrs. King’; a lock of his hair in a brooch set with garnets; his poker and silver shoe buckles. There was an abund- ance of literature by and relating to Cow- per, and a variety of paintings, drawings, and prints of his head, and illustrations of all important places connected with his life. The Newton relics were also numerous. AnotueErR dictionary of Australasian bio- graphy is in preparation. It is compiled by Mr. Philip Mennell, a well-known journalist. It only begins, however, in ¥855, with the inauguration of responsible
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N° 3275, Aua. 2, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 165 government. Living persons as well as dead will be included in it. Tue thirty-first volume of the ‘ Histoire Littéraire de la France’ will contain amongst other matter an elaborate essay on the ‘ French Rabbis of the Fourteenth Century,’ as a continuation of the twenty-seventh volume of the same publication. The articles on the poet Jedaiah of Béziers, the trans- lator Kalonymos of Arles, the mystic Joseph Caspi of Largenti¢re, the mathematician Samuel of Marseilles, and the philosopher and astronomer Levi ben Gershom (Maestro Leo of Bagnols) will form the prominent part of the work. Tue Delegates of the Clarendon Press will shortly publish a Gothic Primer by Dr. Joseph Wright, the translator of Prof. Brugmann’s great work on comparative Indo-European grammar. Tuer Rev. H. G. Tomkins will publish in the forthcoming volume of the ‘ Records of the Past’ his translation of the Thothmes and Shishak geographical lists at Karnak. It was originally intended for publication in the Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archeology. Tue September volume of the “ Canter- bury Poets” will be ‘'The Painter- Poets,’ edited by Mr. Kineton Parkes. Besides poems by D. G. Rossetti, Mr. Morris, Mr. Wool- ner, and Mr. Bell, three poems by Mr. Ruskin will also be included; Mr. Alfred East will contribute one entitled ‘The Lark by Lake Bewa, Japan’; and poems also hitherto unpublished will be furnished by Mr. Ford Madox Brown, Mr. Thomas Faed, R.A., and Mr. Arthur Tomson. Selections from the verses of Mr. Wyke Baylies, P.R.B.A., Mr. Walter Crane, Mr. P. G. Hamerton, and Sir J. Noel Paton are also supplied. Pror. Junius Eurine, whose return from an antiquarian tour in North Syria we lately mentioned, has, it is said, brought some new inscriptions. We hope that he will not keep them too long unpublished, as Prof. Sachau has the Panammu inscription of thirty-two lines, on which he gave a lecture some months ago before the Berlin Academy. A suB-coMMITTEE of the §.P.C.K. has issued an able circular in reply to Mr. Besant’s complaints. Our Naples Correspondent writes :— * Some time has elapsed since I reported that Count Lucchesi- Palli had given a library of dramatic works to the nation. As yet they have not been housed, but Signor Boselli, the Minister of Public Instruction, has now granted for that purpose two handsome rooms belonging to the Pinacotheca of the National Museum of Naples. Count Lucchesi will decorate these rooms at his own expense, and in a few days the distinguished artist Perri will commence the affreschi of the ceilings. The Pungolo adds: ‘ Our libraries are not in the most flourishing state. It requires immense labour to make some of the distributors understand what.you require; they look at you stupidly; and after studying the cata- | logue for an hour, as if they were deciphering @ papyrus, they return and say that the ‘‘ book is out,’ or does not exist. All this is precious time lost, and it occurs frequently at the National Museum of Naples. When books really needed for study are sought for in vain, it would be as | well to burn the shelves, or sell the books to | the shopkeepers. The libraries have become reading-rooms for youths who frequent them to | read Manzoni or Walter Scott, or to study for | and used to be considered as the surviving re- | though it the approaching examinations the geometry of Legendre, the grammar of Melga, or the com- mentaries of Julius Cesar.’ The Pungolo pro- mises more details on this subject, and it is to be hoped that Signor Boselli will make some inquiries and introduce some necessary re- forms.” Tue chief Parliamentary Papers of the week are the Second Report of the Vacci- nation Commission (7s. 4d.); the General Report of the Thames Conservators to the 31st of December, 1889 (1d.); a Return of | certain Objections received by the Charity Commissioners relative to the Central Scheme published by the Commissioners for the Regulation of certain Charities, and Memo- randa on Free Libraries, &c. (2s. 5d.) ; Edu- cation Department, Reports on Training Colleges for the Year 1889 (7d.), together with other Reports of the same Department ; and Germany, No. 1, 1890, German Law of the 1st of June, 1870, respecting Nationality (1d.). SCIENCE — ORNITHOLOGICAL LITERATURE. Classification of Birds: an Attempt to diag- nose the Sub- Classes, Orders, Sub - Orders, and some of the Fumilies of Existing Birds. By Henry Seebohm. (Porter.)—To the careful study of the works of Sundevall, Garrod and Forbes, and of Profs. Huxley, W. K. Parker, Fiirbringer, and Gadow among the living, Mr. Seebohm has added nearly two years of indepen- dent research, in order to elaborate a scheme of classification in which the characters diagnostic of each group of birds shall hold good of that group alone. The difficulties to be encountered in a plan so simply formulated can only be realized by those who have at one time or an- other found themselves under the necessity of grappling with the subject; and, without con- sidering that anything like the last word has been spcken, the majority of working ornitho- logists will admit that in this important outline Mr. Seebohm has made a distinct advance. Osteological and myological characters have been carefully estimated, with due consideration for that very important feature, the condition of the young on emerging from the egg— whether naked and helpless, or clothed with down and able to run; and this constitutes, in fact, the main difference between the two alternative schemes of classification proposed by the author. In the former he makes six sub-classes, viz., Passeriformes, Falconiformes, Coraciiformes, Anseriformes, Galliformes,and Struthioniformes ; in the latter he merges Falconiformes, Anseri- formes, and two orders of the Galliformes—Tubi- naresand Impennes—inasub-class, Ciconiiformes, while placing the Lamellirostres (flamingoes) among the Galliformes. To this we take no objection, and are even surprised to find Mr. Seebohm expressing diffidence respecting the condition of the young flamingo, for we thought it was an established fact that the chick was hatched covered with down and able to run about in a few hours, like a young duck. Nor does it repel us to find the vultures of the New World (Cuthartides, not ‘‘ Cathartes,” Mr. See- bohm) associated with the hornbills, or the Raptores among the Ciconiiformes, for we well remember that Garrod used to say—and Forbes never denied—that ere long an Old-World vul- ture would be set down as first cousin to a stork. We are rather surprised, however, to read (p. 9) that “ now that the Didide have become extinct the order Columbz contains only one sub- order” (which Mr. Seebohm also calls Columbe, should be Columbidx). Surely Didunculus strigirostris of Samoa is still existent, presentative of the Didide! Tables are given of each division, by which the absence of any remarkable character can be seen at a glance, and definition is thereby greatly assisted ; there is, moreover, an excellent index. In the intro- duction the author makes some telling remarks, especially worthy of notice at the present time, when thera is a tendency among a certain set of writers to obscure the main features of the doc- trine of evolution by unmeaning verbiage, and to ‘‘ chop logic.” Mr. Seebohm puts the matter tersely :— “Tt must be remembered that, so far as the in- dividual is concerned, every bird inherited all its characters, whether they may be adapted to its present needs or not, but that a// characters were originally acquired either by the species or its ancestors because they were originally adapted to its needs.” On the other hand, we cannot admire such passages as :— “The various races of man are presumably all descended from one family : but ‘Quashy,’ thanks to his * pumpkin,’ has had a very easy time of it in tropical and semi-tropical Africa, and has conse- quently lagged behind wofully in the race ; whilst John Bull has had a hard fight for existence, espe- cially since he was crowded in his tight little island, and at the same time has made rapid strides.” This is hardly worthy of a lecture at some mechanics’ institute, and should never have found a place in an important scientific work which has undoubtedly made its mark, and will hold a high position for some time to come. A Handbook of European Birds, for the Use of Field Naturalists and Collectors. By James Backhouse, jun. (Gurney & Jackson.) —‘* Should this little volume (with all its faults) prove of value to ornithologists, more especially to those travelling abroad, and in any small degree assist them in their studies, the aim of the writer will have been accomplished.” The book consists of fewer than 350 pages, but the information it contains might have been advan- tageously compressed into three-fourths of the bulk, while the faults are sadly numerous. We are grievously disappointed, for we hoped for something far better than this feeble production, and had no idea that a scheme to which the author had devoted some years was so far beyond his strength. For a few pages there seems to be some system in the italicizing of the distinguishing characteristics of each species, but this soon gives way to an indiscriminate and confusing ‘‘underlining” —like a schoolgirl’s letter ; while really important features are often ignored. For instance, in the descriptions of the sand-martin (Cvtile riparia) and the crag- martin (C. rupestris), he omits to state that in the former there is a tuft of feathers above the hind toe, while there is none on the tarsus of the latter species : a distinction of infinite service to the field naturalist. As for the nomenclature, how is the beginner to know who is (Scop). [sic], Bonnat., Bodd., Jacq., Vand., Desfont., Payr., or Aud.? ‘Oh, well,” some one may exclaim, “ Aud. is the well-known abbreviation for Audu- bon.” Not at all in this case; it stands for Audouin! That there were two Gmelins, J. F. and S. G., does not seem to have occurred to Mr. Backhouse ; and unless our remarks lead him to search, we doubt if he realizes the difference between Fabr. and Faber. We find “ Otide” for Otidide, “Ibidee” for Ibidide, and other errors ; while the paragraphs on ‘‘ Distribution” and ‘ Habitat’ show a complete want of grasp of the subject. In the appendices Bulwer's petrel—almost, if not absolutely, restricted to the Canaries, Madeira, and Porto Santo—is set down as American; so are the two sooty and the noddy terns, though not one-tenth of the in- dividuals of these inter-tropical species visit the New World. Emberiza civides is ignored alto- gether, although Mr. Backhouse must be aware of the specimen said to have been taken in York- shire, and described, with a coloured plate, in the Ibis. Certhilauda duponti is placed among the species said to have occurred in Europe,
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166 THE ATHENAUM N° 3275, Ave. 2, 90 though it is well known to visit Spain, and— as var. lusitanica—inhabits the south bank of the Tagus ; Asio capensis, a winter migrant to Andalucia, is similarly treated; while Otis macqueeni, a purely Asiatic species of exceptional occurrence in Europe, is included. Why the black kite is put down as ‘‘of doubtful occurrence in Great Britain” passes our com- prehension, for a specimen brought to Mr. John Hancock in the flesh, and mounted by his un- rivalled hand, is in the Newcastle Museum. That Ireland should be considered as coming under the denomination of ‘‘Great Britain” does not surprise us; but if we get upon the question of geography we shall never come to anend. In the introduction there is a passage between quotation marks, ‘‘in the multitude of counsellors there is wisdom”; but if reference is made to Proverbs xi. 14, it will be found that the last word is ‘‘ safety”; and it would have been well if Mr. Backhouse had hearkened unto those who advised him to take his time about a work of this description. It would be cruel to be at all severe upon a young author, and we have been merciful to him; but we think that the sooner he withdraws this work from circulation the better it will be for his repu- tation as an ornithologist. ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. THE planets Venus, Mars, and Jupiter will be visible throughout the present month during the first half of the night. Venus is now in the constellation Leo, but will soon move into Virgo, passing within a degree due north of Spica on the 30th inst. Mars is in Scorpio, and will be about 2° duenorth of Antares on the 14th. Jupiter is in Capricornus, and will pass the meridian about ten o'clock in the evening on the 27th. The Perseids or meteors of the middle of August will be looked for about the end of next week. This period is of great interest from the length of time it lasts, and the probability that several radiants at no great distance from each other are involved in it. Another small planet, No. 294, was discovered by M. Charlois at Nice on the night of the 15th ult. We have to announce the discovery of two new comets, the first of which was detected by M. Coggia at Marseilles on the 18th ult., and the second by Mr. Denning at Bristol on the 23rd. The former (b, 1890) was at the time of dis- covery in the western part of Ursa Major (so that it is very low in the heavens at midnight), and moving in a south-easterly direction ; it is described as possessing ‘‘ assez brillante conden- sation.” The latter (c, 1890), which was ‘‘ faint,” was situated between 2 and @ Ursz Minoris, and moving towards the east. Coggia’s comet has been observed at Kieland other places. Its orbit has been computed by Herr A. Berberich, of Berlin, who finds that it passed its perihelion on the 10th ult., at the distance from the sun of 0°76 in terms of the earth’s mean distance. Its elements, he remarks, present some simi- larity to those of the comet observed by Tycho Brahé in 1580. It is now in the constellation Leo Minor, but is not likely to remain visible much longer. Rey. T. E. Espin has published,in No. V. of the ‘Cunningham Memoirs’ of the Royal Irish Aca- demy, his new edition of the late Mr. Birmingham’s ‘Red Star Catalogue.’ This work was under- taken in April, 1886, the 17} equatorial reflector of the Wolsingham Observatory being devoted exclusively to it until its completion. It was distributed into three sections: (1) The obser- vation of such stars of the original catalogue as seemed to merit special attention ; (2) a search for new red stars ; (3) the spectroscopic observation of all red stars which had not previously been observed with the spectroscope. In each of these divisions valuable and important results have been obtained. A number of new red stars have been discovered, so that whilst several of doubtful redness have been omitted, he revised catalogue contains 766 stars against Birmingham’s 658. But there is an additional list of 629 ‘‘ruddy stars,” and Mr. Espin con- siders that the work of discovering red stars in the northern heavens is practically complete down to the 8} magnitude. He gives also a list of forty stars with bright lines in their spectra, whilst an addendum contains several stars which were accidentally omitted in previous lists, or had been detected since the fair copy of the MS. was made. In the course of the work seven new variable stars were discovered, and the fact was established that stars of the fourth type of spectrum are in general subject to slight and irregular variations. The third volume of the Ainales of the Nice Observatory has recently been published under the auspices of the Bureau des Longitudes. It contains a new map of the solar spectrum, by the late M. Thollon (who died, it will be remem- bered, on April 8th, 1887); a discussion of the theory of the movements of the small planet Vesta, by the director, M. Perrotin ; the results of meridian observations of stars by several observers in 1887 and 1888, and those of equa- torial observations of comets and small planets, made chiefly by M. Charlois, who also gives de- terminations of the elements of the small planets which have been discovered at Nice, all which, excepting the first, were by himself. Prof. Pickering, of the Harvard College Obser- vatory, has issued the following notice :— “ Miss C. W. Bruce offers the sum of six thousand dollars during the present year in aiding astrono- mical research. No restriction will be made likely to limit the usefulness of this gift. In the hope of making it of the greatest benefit to science, the entire sum will be divided, and in general the amount devoted toa single object will not exceed five hundred dollars. Precedence will be given to institutions and individuals whose work is already known through their publications; also to those cases which cannot otherwise be provided for, or where additional sums can be secured if a part of the cost is furnished. Applications are invited from astronomers of all countries, and should be made before October Ist, 1890, giving complete informa- tion regarding the desired objects. Applications not acted on favourably will be considered con- fidential. The unrestricted character of this gift should ensure many important results to science, if judiciously expended. In that case it is hoped that others will be encouraged to follow this example, and that eventually it may lead to securing the needed means for any astronomer who could so use it as to makea real advance in astronomical science. Any suggestions regarding the best way of fulfilling the objects of this circular will be gratefully re- ceived.—EDWARD C. PICKERING, Harvard College — Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A., July 15th, MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Wen. Entomological, 7. FINE ARTS on eed Mythology and Monuments of Ancient Athens. Being a Translation of a Portion of the ‘Attica’ of Pausanias by Margaret de G. Verrall. With Introductory Essay and Archeological Commentary by Jane E. Harrison. Illustrated. (Macmillan & Co.) THE avowed object of this book is first and foremost the elucidation of the mythology of Athens. The subject is treated independ- ently in an introductory essay of one hundred and fifty pages replete with suggestive in- formation. The author then pursues it in connexion with the traditions and monu- ments of the city as they come under notice in the narrative of Pausanias. A secondary, but important topographical inquiry is thus introduced, tending to the recovery of the plan of the ancient city. Some help is given by the fact that the ancient traveller made notes of monuments as he came upon them, sometimes indicates proximities more or less precisely, and occasionally touches on sites which are identifiable by existing ruins or inscriptions. Further hints and indications collected from the entire range of ancient literature are duly taken into consideration, together with personal observations on the spot and comparison of theories many and various. Still it is too true that the main area within the circuit of the walls of Athens remains upon the map a disappointing blank. Antiquarian conjecture cannot be expected to resist the temptation of expatiating free over all the unappropriated field, and it is well if the few sites which should be ac- cepted as certain are not disturbed to accommodate a favourite hypothesis or a wild guess. This state of things has borne very hardly upon the best preserved monument not only of Athens, but of all Greece, the temple of Theseus, which is here referred to confidently as the temple of Hepheestus, or the ‘so-called Theseion.”’ It has been accepted as the Theseum too long and by too distinguished authorities not to be a tempting object of challenge by archeologists of a new genera- tion who yet have their spurs to win, and are somewhat destitute of opportunities. In the sculptured metopes the exploits of Her- cules are associated with the parallel exploits of Theseus, which agrees with what Plutarch and Euripides tell of the partnership grace- fully conceded by the Athenian hero. The direct inference from this is disregarded, and the Theseum, which, it is known, was near the agora, the gymnasium of Ptolemy, and the Poscile stoa, is not made use of to localize those sites, but is unceremoniously whisked away, like the house of Loretto, to settle again where chance (for really it is a matter of archeological caprice) may decide. The argument in the book before us would, were it consistent, drop the unlucky temple down near the Acropolis. The translation of Pausanias contributed by Mrs. Verrall is sufficiently adequate, though an error on its first page is rather alarming. ‘‘ Within it is also the house of Poulytion, where at the time of the festival of Eleusis the mysteries were enacted by some Athenians, men of a certain note,’’ should run, ‘‘ where they say that not the least distinguished of the Athenians enacted an initiatory ceremony copying that at Eleusis.” It was, in fact, the reputed scene of the mockery of the mysteries which sealed the fate of Alcibiades and, indeed, of Athens. Much, then, remains to be learnt, and much more will doubtless be discovered, respecting the topography of ancient Athens. In the mean time, though we may not always confide so trustingly as Miss Harrison does in the teachers to whom she dedicates her book, we owe to her our best acknowledg- ments for a diligent exposition of discovery and discussion up to the very latest date. The debt is not trifling of being spared many a wearisome examination of much ‘crude conjecture, many a tedious experience of how disappointingly the product of anti- quarian digging will ‘pan out,” so often with only a negative result, or at best with only here and there, it may be, the recovery of a few golden grains. To the mythology of Athens Miss Har- rison addresses herself with more zest than to the topography, and, indeed, with more
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a a | N° 3275, Aua. 2, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 167 confidence. And surely it is well that one who would face the task should be so sus- tained. Thucydides in earlier times and Pausanias in later are struck by that com- plexity of Athenian worships which is ad- verted to in the well-known words of St. Paul. The conspectus of seats in the theatre (p. 274) inscribed with titles of priests and priestesses of various worships enumerates over fifty, and with the account given by Pausanias of fanes and dedications goes some way to imply that the religion of the Athenians comprised a diversified scheme of coarse and childish superstitions. The school which holds that a study of the mental condition of savages is the best foundation of scientific mythology, and that the legends of the Greeks resolve ultimately into traditions from ancestors on a level with Eskimo and Bushmen, can boast of an accomplished adherent in Miss Harrison. She frankly owns that she regards ‘“ the myth-making Greek as a practical savage rather than a poet or a philosopher.” At the same time mythology is recognized by her ‘‘as the most vital and pliable of human growths,” as not unaffected by the personal tendencies of a Euripides or a Pindar—it might have been added, ‘‘of a sculptor or a vase painter’’—or even the political purpose of a statesman, and de- veloping from a primitive form ‘under constantly recurring factors.’ But san- guine assuredly is the undertaking to distinguish with ‘‘the greatest care in dealing with literary sources the earlier and later versions, and to disentangle the often almost hopelessly intricate web that logographers and Latin poets have woven for us.” The intricacy is, alas! of far remoter date, and the constantly recurring factors baffle even the resources of Miss Harrison in her analysis of such a legend as that of Procne. The Latin poets have comparatively little to answer for in the variation of legends. The most -important work in this direction had already been completed in ages which are virtually pre- historic. Herodotus may be said to state a manifest fact rather than to declare a mere opinion when he says that the Hellenic hierarchy of divinities was the work of the poets—of Homer and Hesiod—who reduced it to order by distinguishing characteristics, distributing functions, assigning attributes. It is only the very simple- mindedness of criticism which regards the mature and masterful poetical genius of Homer as a reflection of the world just emerging from childhood—the juventus mundi. It was a manifestation of power exercised upon poetic material, which was already an advanced transformation of superstitions gross or refined in far back centuries, where earlier and later forms had already been for the most part hopelessly intermingled and interchanged, and where the writ of authoritative historical criticism does not run. There is every probability that the grotesque cults and uncouth legends which Pausanias found current among the func- tionaries who were his informants were in many cases, or in the main, survivals from a period anterior to the systematic regulation of Olympus by the school of epic poets. Among these relics of an earlier time the traces are not unfrequent of what is much like totemism. But totemism itself involves a principal poetic element; this only mani- fests itself to remain abortive, sterile, in a properly savage tribe, but among the more gifted it is the first outcome of an energy destined to noble development. Even amidst what appear to be the grossest superstitions of superior races, mythological analysis is bound to search for, and due tests will usually detect, the presence in consider- able proportion of pure poetry—of the fan- ciful distinctly recognized as only fanciful, and then of genuine symbolism—a serious reference to a regulative energy in nature, for which symbols as necessarily mysterious only provide a more appropriate expression. In the Olympus of the epics we have the triumph of the poetic spirit over the gross and clumsy forms prevailing among primi- tive cults and rituals. Homer and Lucian are here in perfect sympathy, though grace and grandeur are the chief concern of one and farcical satire and burlesque of the other. But the serious element of the earlier myths had not perished and did not perish. Leaving aside its fortune elsewhere, it was in Attica which has appeared the very hotbed of vagrant and rampant superstition, that the reverential transformation was most complete. The significance of many another mythus was virtually identical with that of Demeter and Persephone, but in none did it shine through the symbolism so trans- parently, and when associated at Eleusis with all that Attic genius could devise to make ceremonial impressive, it was never allowed to be lost sight of, and commanded the respect of the best to the very latest date of paganism. Antique legends and primi- tive symbols were only retained to help the enforcement of human dependence and human supreme responsibility, the highest expression of the dignity of mankind in the prospect of an eternal destiny, and the harmony of piety and morals. As surely as Thucydides recognizes the work of an able statesman in the political unification of Attica may we discern its complement in the religious union which was effected by the predominance secured for the Eleusinia as the common national celebration. Hence it is that the aim and end of truly scientific study is to demonstrate how the spirit of Hellenism subdued to its purposes of truth and beauty the most refractory legends and unpromising types, rather than to be bent on resolving all that is most gracefully expressive into the vile conceptions that habitually circle round a wigwam. We fear it must be accepted as a sign how sentiment for the art of Greece is deadened by accepting barbarism as the secret of its mythology, that Miss Harrison can ascribe to the greatest of Greek sculptors in his most important work a treatment of the subject which passes the verge of the ridiculous. Her ‘‘ own distinct conviction” is that in the groups of the Parthenon pediment having reference to the birth of Athene, Zeus was enthroned in the centre and a little Athene was seen emergent from the crown of his head under the apex. The sculptor who protests that this ‘‘ would be contrary to plastic feeling” is charged with “setting up canons of art of which the Greeks knew nothing,” and is lightly waved away Like a fly or gnat on Ida At the hour of goblet pledge, By Queen Juno brushed aside, a Full white armsweep from the edge. Such courage in itself is commendable, but would have been more worthily exercised in denouncing the random identifications of the subsidiary groups by Brunn and his followers as personifications of the sea and the land, as mountains and clouds, and the liberty taken of seating the moon goddess like a postilion on one of her pair of horses. It is the very nature of this work, and in a certain sense the merit, to provoke differences of opinion. Generally it will be found an interesting and opportune acquisition, both by the critical and un- critical—by all who are in sympathy with the explorations which tend to foster in modern Greece the sentiment of the very noblest national lineage. Students of the book will be thankful for certain rearrange- ments in any later issue. The translation of Pausanias, which is now distributed in portions among the divisions of the work, should be printed continuously; and the maps of city, acropolis, precincts, &c., would be referred to more conveniently if collected in one place. So the full and valuable notes and references would be.more readily available if placed all together at the end of the book, and still more especially if refer- ence from the several notes to the text were facilitated by attached notes of pages. = The illustrations are numerous and well selected, but in too many of them both clear- ness and beauty—Hellenic characteristics if ever any—are utterly sacrificed to a cheap process of engraving. Die Darstellungen der Allerseligsten Jungfrau und Gottesgebirerin Maria aus den Kunstdenk- miilern der Katakomben. By F. J. Liell. LIllus- trated. (Freiburg-in-Breisgau, Herder.) — The manner in which the Virgin Mother of Christ was represented in pictures on the walls of the Roman catacombs and elsewhere has long been a subject of inquiry delightful to Dryas- dusts, art antiquaries, and the ‘‘ curious” at large. The matter has engaged the attention of students like Marriott, who, in his ‘ Testimony of the Catacombs’ and other works, examined the evidence for and against certain attributes of the Virgin in relation to Christ as they have been accepted by the Roman Church of the last three centuries. His conclusion was that some of the views concerning these attributes were founded on modern sophistications and so-called ‘“‘ restorations ” of the antique designs of Christ and His mother. Herr Liell, ignoring this important side of the subject, confines himself closely to the artistic representation of the mother and Son, and draws largely upon Dr. Garrucci, the founder of our knowledge of Early Christian glass, the Bullettino, the ‘ Roma Sotterranea’ of Bosio, Kellermann, Didron, Northcote, De Rossi, and many other writers on antiquity and art. With German thorough- ness and patience, with French clearness, our author has brought all these authorities to bear upon his own examination of the greater number of the relics to which his book is devoted. These remains are not, of course, to be found only in the catacombs or in the Lateran Museum, but they exist, and Herr Liell has described those he hasinspected orread about, in churches through- out Italy, at Arles, Treves, St. Gilles in Provence, at Toledo, Carthagena, and elsewhere. Herr Liell has arranged his materials and observations according to the subjects to which they refer, and under each heading he has placed them in chrono- | logical order, and has thus produced a book
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168 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3275, Aue. 2, 90 which deserves the most attentive consideration, but which, without lengthy quotations and many cuts borrowed from his text, it would not be possible for us to notice adequately. His book is a catalogue in the highest sense of the term, enriched with notes of his own re- searches, and made plain by several, but hardly numerous, cuts, which for accuracy and spirit are examples of what such things ought to be in a book where the whole value and bear- ing of a literary illustration, historical note, or point of zesthetic study often depend upon the accuracy and spirit (qualities which are by no means the same) of a cut. The coloured plates from distemper pictures in the catacombs of Pris- cilla, Domitilla, and Peter are first rate, while the uncoloured frontispiece of a picture of Mary in the catacomb at Albano could hardly be over- praised. The book may be accepted and read by students of the history of the Madonna-Ideal in art as a sort of forerunner of Dr. A. Fih’s work, which deals very learnedly with the re- presentations of the Virgin in old German paintings, one of the most curious subjects on record. Messrs. F. Warne & Co. have published Follies, Foibles, and Fancies, figured by Foster, and dedicated by the artist to his father Mr. Birket Foster. It comprises a goodly number of capital sketches of animals in laughable cir- cumstances and comical companionship. The wild geese flying over a terrified spaniel, crouch- ing on the earth, is a first-rate design. ‘ Full Inside,’ a hen covering a numerous family of chickens from rain, is funny, while ‘ Curiosity Rewarded,’ in showing the fate of a goldfinch who peers into a wasps’ nest, is not only edifying, but full of spirit and well drawn, like all the rest of the cuts. The same publishers have issued Young England’s Painting Book, which contains some pretty, but somewhat trivial de- signs in outlines, and coloured versions of the same to serve as models in tinting the outlines. The colours are washy. Miss C. Haslewood is responsible for both ; we wish, as the Irish say, ‘‘more strength to her elbow” for the next occasion. Mr. Sr. Joun Horer’s paper on the Liturgical Colours, reprinted from the Transactions of the St. Paul’s Ecclesiological Society, is characterized by the writer’s usual thoroughness, and will re- joice the hearts of those who love to clothe them- selves in splendid vestments, but are punctilious about the precise hues of such garments, and tremble to appear at an altar decked out in any but the regulation colours. Such scrupulous en- thusiasts have cause to rejoice that the secretary of the Society of Antiquaries has done such work for them as they assuredly could not do for themselves. If work like this had to be done, better that it should be done well. TuE Electrotype Company has sent us Part I. of a new serial by Dr. Hoffmann, of Stuttgardt, called Dekorative Vorbilder, and intended to supply designs and decorative suggestions for handicraftsmen. Some of them may be useful to persons who possess neither knowledge of design nor invention. They are very well exe- cuted ; they mostly follow florid types of orna- ment ; a few sin in this respect, while others are pretty and attractive. Many of them are unsuit- able for decorations, and fit only to charm that learned critic who, while commenting on a book of heraldic charges, was foolish enough to praise its naturalistic representations of animals (as if heralds desired portraits !), and contemn the conventional representations of animal character- istics in the abstract—such as the ravenousness, strength, and fierceness of the lion—by types sanctioned not only by history and ages of prac- tice, but truer, because apter, than portraiture can hope to be. Tue Electrotype Company has alsosent us No. 1 of The Art Decorator, which, so far as it goes, is not promising. We hope ‘‘ art” may appear in future numbers, It is an English edition of the Dekorative Vorbilder, which contains, amid a wilderness of trash, some good things. WitH commendable punctuality the Maison Quantin has just sent forth the fifth volume of the facsimiles of the Leonardo da Vinci MSS. belonging to the Institut, edited and translated by M. Charles Ravaisson-Mollien ; at the same time announcing that the sixth and concluding volume will be ready for pub- lication in the spring of 1891. The present instalment includes the MSS. G, L, and M, the first being in 8vo., and the two others small pocket-books in 16mo. The contents are of the same varied character as the rest of the series, scientific subjects predominating, and, of course, hints and sketches of the wonderful inventions which the fertile imagination of Leonardo was ever evolving. There are some interesting passages on landscape art, which were afterwards incorporated in the ‘ Treatise on Painting,’ the researches being carried into details concerning the organization and life of plants. Numerous notes on fortifications and military engineering indicate that MS. M belongs to the period when Leonardo was in the service of Cesar Borgia, in the capacity of head of the department of fortifications and engineering works. Of sketches purely artistic in their nature the present volume contains but few; at the same time the manual dexterity of the master is shown in many a forcible study of mechanical objects. Considering the discursive character of the contents of these various note-books, it will be desirable to await the publication of the con- cluding volume before attempting a compre- hensive notice of the series. Meanwhile it may be said that the highest praise is due to M. Ravaisson-Mollien and all concerned in the publication of a work which at last brings within the reach of the student the sketches and manu- scripts of Leonardo in absolute facsimile. It is pleasant also to note the support the under- taking has received from the French Govern- ment; for although scholars, artists, and men of science have long demanded the reproduction of these, together with the other Da Vinci MSS. in the various national libraries, the Minister in sanctioning the grant must have known that his action would have no appreciable influence on the arithmetic of the ballot boxes. WESTMINSTER ABBEY. TuHatT before long an ambitious scheme for the ‘*restoration”’ of the interior of Westminster Abbey would be brought forward has been a peril foreseen by most of us. Of course the Dean and Chapter know as well as we do that ‘‘restoration” is simply impossible, and they cannot but be aware that a restored Westminster Abbey would be a false antique. The pleas urged for the reparation of the ex- terior, and based on the fact that the atmosphere had seriously affected stone-work which, from Henry VII.’s apse to ‘‘Wren’s towers,” was neither original nor ancient, are of no avail with regard to the interior, which ‘‘gauming ” has, indeed, vulgarized and defaced, but not falsified. The Abbey is not simply the finest piece of archi- tecture in the empire, not solely the richest of all our buildings in historic memories, the one remaining and unsophisticated witness of some of the greatest events of our history, the tomb- house of a crowd of our best countrymen. It combines all these claims to be let alone. That the Abbey clergy should dream of sanctioning the destruction of a relic so grand and prac- tically authentic is, indeed, astonishing. Some mischief has been done already. Cer- tain tombs, like that of Sir Giles Daubeney, for instance, have been furbished up; _ the Coronation Chair has been defaced, and things here and there have been tinkered. But now nothing less is proposed than a thorough resto- ration and rearrangement of the host of monu- ments with which the Abbey is crowded. National gratitude should forbid us to shift from their time-honoured places the memorials of Wolfe, Vernon, and Vere, of Marlborough, Mansfield, and Montague, of Chatham, Wilber- force, and Fox, the captains and statesmen of Elizabeth, the generals of William, Anne, and the Georges. From the courtiers of the Jameses and Charleses few men would now take those mortuary honours which are all posterity allows. It would be folly to shift again the monument of Walpole’s mother, and many a foolish cenotaph and tomb has a history which it would be shame- ful to obliterate; for instance, the question of Lamb to Southey, whether he, when a West- minster boy, stole the head of André from his monument, would lose its meaning if that unfor- tunate piece of sculpture were taken from the wall. Who, if Mr. Pearson has his way, will walk along the aisles Selden, Pepys, Evelyn, Baxter, Goldsmith, Sir Roger de Coverley, Steele, Addison, Halifax, and other worthies frequented, and described, when the monuments cease to be in their proper places ? The auspicious Temple stood, and yet escaped the iconoclastic Puritans, the greedy courtiers of the second Charles, the dull neglect of Hano- verian times, and as yet, with some exceptions, the meddlers of our own day. But for Walpole the tomb of William de Valence, one of the noblest works of art in the Abbey, would, with the sanction of Dean Z. Pearce, have been concealed or shifted. Will the present Dean emulate his predecessor, and meddle with the memorials of the dead in order to comply with an architect’s whim, or gratify that silly love of tidiness which takes no note of history, national gratitude, or art ? All that need or ought to be done in the interior is to maintain its structural parts ; its decorative elements will, if that be done, maintain themselves. When the day comes and a suitable place can be found for them, it may be desirable to select the monuments whose presence has not the sanction of Time and _ historical associations, and remove them from where they encumber the view of those more ancient monuments which are part, so to say, of the Abbey, and cannot be taken away without injury to it. Many of the latter were erected against pillars, screens, and walls, in such a manner that original features were destroyed to make room for them. To shift them now would not only reveal the damage, which is irreparable, but abolish the history of the church of which they are now leading features. Once shift these monuments and an entire renovation would be urged, when the restoring architect would surely do his worst. The line for monuments which should be removed to a new Valhalla might be drawn at the beginning of this century, but we could not, although theyare, artistically speaking, out of keeping with the architecture, take away the statues of Pitt, Fox, and Wilberforce. To remove them because of their incongruity would justify stripping the side chapels of their Eliza- bethan, Jacobean, and Carolinian monuments ; but the huge statues of Watt and the soldiers and statesmen which encumber the smaller chapels, for instance, that of St. Paul, and are crowded round the pillars of the north transept, might well find places where their monstrous disproportions, inharmonious motives, and garish whiteness will not spoil the charm of a place to which they should never have been admitted. It rests with Parliament to erect a new British Valhalla, the nearer the old one the better, and best of all, we think, on the south side of the Abbey precinct—a proposal advocated by Mr. J. P. Seddon. THE OXFORD CONGRESS OF THE BRITISH ARCHEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION. Junior Athenzum Club, July 23, 1890. In your notice of the proceedings of this society in last week’s Atheneum I observe that Mr. W. de G. Birch is stated to have rejected ‘*the antiquated proposition that aque in the iocealusiinsoesciieitsinisesa Sct Sie
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N° 3275, Aua. 2,90 THE ATHENZUM 169 name of Bath represents the waters of the hot springs in that city, and showed that the Romans found on their arrival at Bath adistrict afterwards known to themas ‘ Acu-mannensis regio,’ and an ancient road now called ‘Ake-man street’; that the inference is that the city was called by the inhabitants by some name which the Romans transformed into ‘Aque,’ a word accidentally resembling the Latin word for waters, hence the pitfall into which so many have slipped in their statements respecting the archaic history of Bath.” This startling announcement, when made by Mr. Birch at the evening meeting at the Ex- amination Schools, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Dr. Bellamy, being in the chair, produced a ripple of surprise and subdued laughter; but as no observation was made publicly upon it, except by Mr. Grover, F.S.A., who had read a spirited and interesting paper on ‘ Proposed Excavations at Silchester’ (which no doubt caused Mr. Birch’s remarks and fan- ciful version of the meaning of ‘‘Aquze Solis ” according to his lights), and at once repudiated very strongly such an unexpected and fantastic derivation of so well-known and time-honoured a name, I had thought Mr. Birch would no longer have maintained his peculiar views on the matter, but have let them silently fade away, ‘‘and, like the baseless fabric of a vision, leave not a wrack behind” ! But as it seems, from the report I have already alluded to and made extracts from in this letter, that Mr. Birch does not intend toallow his, or some- body else’s new-born fancies to die out quietly, or be decently buried, I feel impelled to ask him how—if these ‘‘Acu” people were the means of inducing the Romans to pun, possibly, on their name in connexion with the hot springs which the Romans certainly knew of at Bath, and call the place ‘‘Aque,” ‘‘a word acci- dentally resembling the Latin word for waters,” as Mr. Birch so innocently suggests—the names for similar hot springs in France and elsewhere in Europe where the Romans had been should have been called by them ‘‘ Aque’’—as, for instance, Aix-les-Bains, the ‘‘Aquz Sextiz ” of the Romans ; ‘‘ Aix,” near Chambery, Savoy, ** Aquee Gratiane”; Aix-la-Chapelle, ‘‘ Aquis Granum”; or, better still, Dax, D’Aqs, De Aquis, and the ‘* Aquze Tarbellicze” of the same people near the Pyrenees, and of which famous place our best Roman antiquary now living, ‘Mr. Roach Smith, has so carefully written in his ‘Collectanea Antiqua.’ It might, perhaps, be urged, no one knowing for certain to the contrary, that these ‘‘ Acu”’ people were dwellers alse at all these con- tinental places, and so have been the means of the Romans giving to them these ‘‘ Aqueous” names; but as that does not seem very probable, or even is it suggested by such an Acw-te philo- logist as Mr. Birch would seem to be, I must leave him to explain how such similar names have been applied ‘‘ time out of mind” with that of ‘‘ Aquz Solis” for Bath, and which name I still, despite his new reading, humbly submit is the really true Roman and natural one for the famous city of the ‘‘ Waters of the Sun.” GrorcE R. Wricut, Hon. Congress Secretary, &c., of the B. A.A. Fine-Art Gossip, Boru the statesman and the artist are to be congratulated on the fact that Mr. Alma Tadema has undertaken to paint Mr. A. J. Balfour’s portrait ; indeed, he has begun a fine life-size likeness of the Chief Secretary, a subject whom he describes as ‘‘good enough to tempt any- body.” The picture will probably be at the Academy next year. A small picture of a very brilliant kind, representing an incident in the return of spring, vividly lighted, and compris- ing two charming figures, has just passed from the painter’s easel to the gallery of Messrs. Tooth & Son. Tue Cambrian Archeological Association is to meet at Holywell, Flintshire, on Monday, the 18th inst., and four following days. An ex- cursion will be made to Mynachlog ; Northop and Mold churches, built by Margaret, Countess of Richmond ; the Tower at Mold, a medieval fortified house, where in 1465 Reinallt ap Bleddyn hung the Mayor of Chester ; Nerquis Church ; and Pentrehobin, on the Tuesday. On Wednesday the archeologists will proceed to Caerwys, Newmarket, Gwaunysgor ; thence by Golden Grove, an Elizabethan mansion, to Llanasa ; on the way the sculptured cross at Maen Achwyfan will be inspected. Thursday will be devoted to Flint. On Friday Holywell Church, the remains of the Cistercian Abbey at Basingwerk, Mostyn Hall Library, and Whit- ford Church will be visited. Mr. GEorGE Simonps has finished the model to be cast in bronze of an heroic statue of the late Hon. Frederic Tollemache, which is to be erected at Grantham. The deceased gentleman is represented as looking down with a thought- ful expression ; he is bareheaded, and holds a wideawake in his right hand; a long and ample cloak, like an Inverness cape, such as Mr. Tollemache was accustomed to wear, reaches below the knees in broad and heavy folds. The costume is entirely modern, yet well managed in the capital design. Vistrors to the rearranged galleries of the French Exhibition at Earl’s Court will be re- warded by finding a few admirable modern pic- tures, mostly from recent Salons. Of the bad and indifferent paintings there is no need to say anything, but the following may be recom- mended to students as instances of good art, such as one would be sorry not to have seen here or elsewhere : No. 7, a poetical ‘ Full Moonrise,’ by the distinguished artist in that line, M. A. Allongé ; M. A. Aublet’s highly dramatic and energetic tragedy, ‘Henri ILI. during the Murder of the Duc de Guise’ (22); M. L. Baader’s well-studied life-size figure of a soubrette holding a plate, and called ‘ Covetous- ness ’ (35), a title we do not understand ; several spirited pictures (44-47) by M. E. Bellangé ; M. M. Bompard’s glowing and truthful picture of intense heat and vivid sunlight from the last Salon, entitled ‘ Entrance to the Vieux Chetna, Oasis near Biskra’ (72) ; M. Bramtot’s tenderly coloured and sympathetic ‘ Mary’s Dream ’ (90) ; a fine, solid, and vigorous exercise in varied greys, rich in tone, and animated in expression and attitude, being a life-size, whole-length portrait by M. Carolus-Duran of his daughter, ‘Mile. Sabine Carolus-Duran’ (124); a fine life- size recumbent figure of a ‘Woman,’ a nudity showing exceptional skill (126), and ‘A Back View, Study’ (127), all by the same; M. P. Carrier-Bel- leuse’s ‘Morning’ and ‘Evening,’ a diptych (140), showing a newly-wedded pair of lovers, and the same when Time has touched them; several richly-coloured studies by M. G. J. V. Clairin (148-51); M. E. Dantan’s ‘ Fisherman’s House at Villerville’ (167), ‘A Yard at Villerville’ (168), and ‘ The Feast at the Parc de St. Cloud’ (169), all capital illustrations of the skill of a Gold Medalist ; M. E. Dauphin’s ‘ Repair- ing the Samson, Toulon Arsenal’ (174), which, although not the best of his contributions to the last Salon, is a vigorous and splendidly lit picture, notable for good colour, but also for a heavy, somewhat rough touch; M. F. A. Delobbe’s accomplished version of that favourite subject ‘The Broken Jar’ (189); M. H. Fournier’s ‘Betrayed and Forsaken’ (255), a painful pic- ture, which was at the last Salon as ‘ Aban- donnée’; and M. J. Frappa’s ‘ Missionary’s Return’ (257). Two recent pictures of M. Géréme are alone worth going to this exhibition to see. They are ‘Lion on the Watch’ (272), peering from a rocky summit into a deep desert valley, where his prey are at rest, and ‘The Pursuit’ (273), a lion bounding furiously over the waste in pursuit of antelopes, which fly with all their might. ‘Eve under the Tree’ (300), by M. E. A. Guillon, is a solid and well-studied whole-length, life-size nudity. M. L. E. Lambert’s ‘Cat and Kittens’ (354) and ‘Red Kitten at Play’ (355), though far from being his best works, are delightful illus- trations of cat painting. The life-size ‘ Lady Godiva’ (389) of M. Jules Lefebvre, riding on a white steed in the street of medizval Coventry, was, although not a perfect picture, deservedly one of the greatest attractions in the Champs-Elysées this year, and ought not to be neglected in London. Two subjects of fisher- life by M. Le Sénéchal de Kerdréoret, Nos. 415 and 416, deserve special mention. The like may be said of the ‘ Exorcism’ (432) of that eminent melodramatist M. E. Luminais. The sunlight of the mist-laden valley of ‘ Avonne, near Besangon’ (506), is worthy of M. L. G. Pelouse. To these let us add ‘Dancers’ (579), by M. G. Roussin; ‘A Daughter of the Rajah’s’ (617), by M. Sinibaldi; M. Thirion’s ‘Primavera’ (638); M. Toul- mouche’s ‘The Toilette’ (645); M. Tony Robert-Fleury’s ‘ Under the Revolution, 1789,’ an odd title for a good piece of face painting (644); and M. J. Wagrez’s ‘Pigeons of St. Mark’ (676). Some good things will be found among the sculpture. They include M. Barrias’s ‘Mozart as a Child’ (705), a famous piece ; M. Bartholdi’s ‘ Lion of Belfort’ (707), which has exceptional historic interest ; M. A. Falguiére’s ‘Daphnis and Chloé’ (737); M. Géréme’s ‘Omphale,’ not the statue of tinted marble by the famous painter which we all remember to have admired in the garden of the Palais de l’Industrie; and instances by MM. Moreau-Vauthier, Peyrol, and Ringel. In a separate room may be seen a large number of sketches in ink, illustrating hospital and prison life, humours and vagaries of the streets, the ballet, forum, church, courts, and factories ; they are by that brilliant satirist M. Re- nouard. Many of them were made for the Graphic, and are lent by the proprietors of that journal. Among the best is the wonder- fully spirited series called ‘ Miss Booth a Paris.’ These, and many more, prove beyond question that no French satirical draughtsman has approached M. Renouard in delineating with veracity and insight the characters of English men, women, and children. We are glad to learn that, while Mr. Murray has succeeded in arranging and exhibiting pro- perly the fine collection of Roman mosaics belonging to the British Museum, and brought from various places in Britain, Carthage, and the East, the authorities of the Louvre, stirred, doubtless, by the activity of the English anti- quary, have resolved to bring from a cellar, where they have been hidden since 1860, when M. Renan brought them to France, the frag- ments of a mosaic measuring 2X14 meétres. They are to be placed in the salle between the Pavillon Denon and the Escalier Mollien, and on the ground floor. Tue French School of Athens has dispatched M. Jamot to bring to a close the excavations at Thespi, which were begun three years ago. At Heraclea, in Pontus, the bronze statue of a woman has been found, together with other objects of antiquity, all of which will be sent to the Imperial Museum at Constantinople. M. Lamsros writes from Athens regarding the new excavations that the Greek Archzeolo- gical Society is going to begin :— “Tn Athens the excavation at the Dipylon, which has been suspended for years, is to be taken in hand again, as well as the demolition of the Lytsikas corner house at the Tower of the Winds. But outside of Athens the Society will begin again the excavations at the Amphiarze‘on in the district of Oropus, which have been abandoned. All three explorations pro- mise to lead to interesting results. It is to be noticed that in the cellars of the Lytsikas house are frag- ments of columns and pedestals built in the walls, which indicate that this spot where Andronicus
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170 THE ATHENZUM N° 3275, Ava. 2,90 Kyrrhestos erected his Tower of the Winds is the site of an important building. Perhaps the re- mains belong to one of the halls which surround the tower.” MUSIC —— THE WEEK. Roya IraLtian OPERA.—‘ Les Huguenots,’ ‘ Carmen.’ ALEXANDRA Eovusr.—Royal College of Music. Sr. James's Hatt.—Royal Academy of Music. BeroreE proceeding to sum up the salient features of the recent opera season, two of the latest performances require brief notice. On Friday last week ‘Les Huguenots’ was given with two changes in the cast, Miss Ella Russell sustaining for the first time the réle of Valentine, while her place as Mar- guerite de Valois was taken by the young Polish vocalist Mlle. Regina Pinkert, who sang with commendable neatness and fluency, and proved that she may develope into a useful if not a brilliant artist. Miss Russell is not a born actress, and though she has sufficient voice-power and the requisite physique to interpret the great dramatic parts in opera with credit, she is never likely to rival the great artists of the Grisi-Tietjens school, who have left no successors. ‘This may sound discouraging; but at any rate Miss Russell may be complimented upon the great intelligence she threw into her rendering of one of the most arduous of all operatic parts. She seemed a little fatigued in the duet with Marcel, but she went through that with Raoul exceedingly well, and will do better with experience. The other parts were filled as at previous per- formances. The regular season came to an end on Saturday with ‘Roméo et Juliette’; but the extra performance of ‘Carmen’ in French on Monday aroused such widespread interest that the audience was larger than on any previous occasion. The cast as announced certainly appeared exceptionally strong, but as a matter of fact the performance was by no means without flaw. It was an artistic mistake, to begin with, to divide the opera between the three conductors, though matters of this kind are generally excused on aspecial occasion. Then Madame Melba, who was announced to take the part of Michaela, was unable to appear, and her place was taken by Mlle. Pinkert, who was efficient, but nothing more. M. Lassalle did not seem at his ease as the Toreador, and the French language hampered so many of the company that not only was confusion of tongues apparent, but some of the ensembles suffered considerably. Against these shortcomings must be placed the striking impersonation of Don 5 osé by M. Jean de Reszke. The wretched dragoon is not a particularly lofty hero, but the Polish artist invests every character he interprets with distinction, and his conception of José was thoroughly well thought out, from the growth of his passion for Carmen in the first act to the look of unutterable remorse and love which comes into his eyes almost imme- diately he has plunged the dagger in her heart. And this brings us to the principal moral of the season. The prima donna has been deposed, but a new idol has been set up in her place. If the English public will have it so it is useless to argue the question, and it is at any rate fortunate that their affection has now been placed on a worthy object. M. Jean de Reszke is a consummate artist; his impersonations are absolutely without flaw of any kind, and the operas in which he appears are such as no one would desire to banish from the repertory. Here, at any rate, is some ground for comfort. In the absence of a star prima donna the preductions of the Rossinian school and also those of Verdi in his earlier manner no longer prove attractive. The operas most frequently performed have been ‘Faust,’ ‘Lohengrin,’ ‘Carmen,’ ‘ Roméo et Juliette,’ ‘Les Huguenots,’ and ‘ Die Meistersinger.’ These, it will be noted, are all exacting works, and with performances every even- ing it is not surprising that the standard of excellence which characterized the earlier representations was not maintained to the end of the season. ‘ Die Meistersinger’ was the worst to suffer in this respect. It is as well to note this matter, leaving the remedy to the management. Of the many new- comers, Madame Tavary and Mlle. Richard have alone gained distinction, though Mlle. Pinkert and Signor Valero will probably be re-engaged as being useful artists. In dis- missing the subject we may fairly say that if the present outlook with regard to opera is very far from what its admirers would desire, it is more cheerful than could have been predicted three or four years ago. The concert season was brought to a con- clusion by the usual summer orchestral con- certs of the Royal College and Royal Aca- demy of Music. The performance given by the first - named institution at Alexandra House on Thursday evening last week was, on the whole, a marked success. That an orchestra composed almost entirely of stu- dents should be able to render a large amount of justice to such an elaborate and difficult work as Brahms’s Symphony in r, No. 3, speaks volumes for the intelligence of the pupils, and the excellence of the system of tuition to which they are sub- jected. The first movement, marked allegro con brio, was taken too slowly, and the violins did not impart sufficient expression to the lovely theme of the third movement; but these were shortcomings for which the young players could scarcely be held responsible. Of the solo performances, the most remark- able was Miss Ethel Sharpe’s interpretation of Schumann’s Pianoforte Concerto; but Miss Alice Elieson displayed good tone and expressive style in an adagio for violoncello by Bargiel. An interesting feature of the pro- gramme was the selection from the final act of ‘Guillaume Tell’ for Matilde, Jemmy, Edwige, and chorus. This fine music, worthy to compare with the rest of the opera, is ruthlessly sacrificed whenever a performance is given of Rossini’s greatest work. The English version of the words given in the programme was beneath criticism. Bee- thoven’s ‘Leonora’ Overture, No. 2, con- cluded the concert. The Royal Academy’s performance took place as usual in St. James’s Hall on the following afternoon. The dead level of mediocrity which too often characterizes the efforts of the students at these concerts was on this occasion happily relieved in two or three instances. Miss Clara Surgey, though alittle overweighted in the scena from ‘ Der Freischiitz,’ has a well-trained soprano voice of superior quality, and her enunciation was excellent. Miss Kate Savile Hughes, a contralto, showed almost equal promise in Schubert’s song ‘The Almighty.’ The best of the pianists was Mr. W. L. Lamb, who essayed Liszt’s Concerto in £ flat with con- siderable success. Miss Ethel Barns, a very youthful violinist, may be said to complete the list of those from whom much may be expected as executants. Of the two students’ compositions in the programme, the more important was an orchestral prelude by Mr. L. Drysdale, intended to illustrate the ballad of ‘Thomas the Rhymer.’ It is an extended piece, with atleast three important themes, all of which betray the Scottish nationality of the young composer. As the work of a student the orchestration is singularly rich and effective, and it is only in the some- what confused details that the hand of an inexperienced writer is apparent. The soli- tary chcral piece in the programme was Schubert’s piece for female voices, ‘God in Nature,’ and this was by no means well sung. It may be stated here that as the duties of Principal have proved so onerous that Dr. Mackenzie could not discharge them all without sacrificing the time he must devote to composition, Mr. Corder has been appointed his assistant, under the title of Curator. Musical Gossip, Messrs. Paterson & Sons, of Edinburgh, announce six concerts under the direction of Mr. Manns next winter, five of which will be orchestral and one choral. THE annual prize festival and concert of the students of the Normal College for the Blind took place on Friday last week at the Crystal Palace. Unfortunately the event clashed with the Royal Academy concert ; but we believe that some remarkable displays of musical talent and executive ability were made in the course of the afternoon. Durine August and September one or two special performances of Wagner’s works will be given weekly at the Munich Opera, on account of the large numbers of English and American tourists passing to or from Ober-Ammergau. M. Lamoureux and his Paris orchestra have undertaken a tour in Holland and Belgium during October. A sTaGE performance of Liszt’s ‘Legend of St. Elizabeth’ will be given at the old opera- house in Bayreuth on October 22nd. DRAMA —— The Bankside Shakespeare.— Vol. III. The Merchant of Venice. Edited by William Reynolds.—Vol. IV. Troilus and Cressida. Edited by Appleton Morgan.—Vol. VI. Much Ado about Nothing. Edited by W. H. Fleming.— Vol. VII. Titus Andronicus. Edited by Appleton Morgan.—Vol. VIII. A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Edited by William Reynolds. (New York, Shake- speare Society ; London, Triibner & Co.) ““Wuen one looks somewhat into Shake- spearean matters he must expect surprises !” So Mr. Appleton Morgan, editor-in-chief of “The Bankside Shakespeare,” concluding his introduction to ‘ Troilus and Cressida.’ One surprise at least has been our lot in looking into the Shakspearean matters placed before us in this collection of parallel texts. The purpose which of all others the bringing into apposition of the quarto and folio texts is best calculated to serve—which, a —— OO a ee tr ~-.S3 ke 1 mo
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N° 3275, Aua. 2,90 THE ATHENAUM 171 indeed, is its main object—is the determina- tion of the relations to each other of the two versions. The solution of almost every question of importance connected with the recension of Shakspeare’s text depends — entirely we were about to say, but at least in a very large measure—on the decision arrived at on this point. No better or more effective mode of helping the student to this decision can be devised than the printing of the two texts side by side for close com- parison. The importance of the subject needs no insistence on; it is patent to every one who has engaged, however slightly, in textual criticism. It is therefore somewhat matter of surprise to find that in the intro- ductions which preface the texts ia these volumes this question is almost completely ignored; the texts themselves, indeed, are hardly noticed, or, if mentioned at all, it is merely for the purpose of referring the reader to the wos of preceding editors for all matters needed for their complete eluci- dation; while at the same time they are so given as to afford no facilities for this necessary reference. Take the first play on our list: it is es- sential for the study of the relation of the folio to the quarto version that the reader should have before him the variations of the two quarto editions, Heyes and Roberts; we are here given the Heyes text for compari- son with the folio, but are referred to Dr. Furness’s Variorum edition of ‘The Merchant’ to pick out as we may the variations of the Roberts edition. The editor should have given them himself, and so arranged that they could have been readily compared with both the Heyes and folio texts. Not only is this not done, but, as stated above, no facilities for reference to Dr. Furness’s or any other editions are afforded: acts and scenes are not marked, and instead of the lines being metrically numbered, separately for each scene, an entirely useless system of line-notation is adopted. The lines, stage directions and all, are numbered merely as printers’ lines in one unbroken series, be- ginning with the first line of each text and ending with the last. The system is not even of use for this particular edition, for under it the line numbers of the two texts neces- sarily differ ; the line No. 1463, for instance, of the quarto becomes in the folio 1527. The incautious reader might even be be- trayed by it into a singular state of error if he judged of the relative length of the texts by the number of their lines, as he might not unnaturally do; he would thus make the startling discovery that the folio version of ‘The Merchant of Venice’ was eighty-five lines longer than the quarto; the fact, of course, being that they are both of a length. We must not, however, hold Mr. Rey- nolds, the editor of ‘The Merchant,’ individually responsible for the shortcom- ings of this edition; he merely conforms to the Banksile system, and that system apparently requires that no assistance shall be efforded to the reader that can possibly be withheld from him. With the next volume, ‘Troilus and Cressida,’ there being but one quarto edition, the necessity for reference to other works is not so pressing, and the absence of facilities for reference is not so much felt. The reader, however, who has not made a textual study of Shakspeare’s plays, must be cautioned against the misleading statement of the editor that in ‘ Troilus and Cressida’ he will find “‘ for the first time a perfect, or almost perfect, transfer of the quarto text to the folio.”’ If this were so a parallel-text edition would not be needed ; but the fact is that, as the Cambridge editors express it, “there are very remarkable discrepancies between the quarto and folio texts of this play, similar in character to those which are found on comparing the two texts of ‘Richard III.’” True, these discrepancies, as they add, are ‘‘not nearly so frequent, nor, as a general rule, so important’; but they are nevertheless most remarkable, and flatly contradict Mr. Morgan’s assertion. So far, indeed, from the folio text being a mere transcript from the quarto, there is no reason to believe that the quarto was even made use of in preparing “‘ copy” for the printers of the folio, as was done with the quarto of ‘ Richard IIT.’ and other plays. For ‘Much Ado,’ again, as there is but one quarto edition, the parallel texts contain in themselves all that is of importance for the study of the text, and this might almost be said also of ‘ Titus Andronicus’; but as a second edition of the quarto was made use of in printing the folio text, its variations from the first, though but trifling, should have been set forth; they are necessary for a complete consideration of the position of the folio. For ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ it is essential to a proper understanding of the position of the two quartos to each other and to the folio that there should be a full collation of the variations of the Fisher and Roberts editions. This, of course, is not supplied; though Mr. Reynolds, quoting from Mr. LEbsworth’s introductions to the facsimiles of these two quartos, does give some instances showing the kind of variations the student may expect to find. He has, however, unluckily fallen into the pit unintentionally digged for unwary walkers by the lithographer of the Roberts facsimile, who, by a blunder overlooked by its editor, substituted for two pages (Bl verso and B2 recto) of the Roberts quarto the two corresponding pages of the Fisher quarto. Mauch, therefore, of Mr. Reynolds’s argument as regards the relation to each other of the two quartos has been vitiated. We called attention to this unhappy error in the Atheneum of the 4th of August, 1888, wher reviewing an edition of this play edited by Mr. Henry Johnson; but our warning has, apparently, failed to attract the atteution of the New York Shakespeare Society. Mr. Reynolds is not the first victim, and probably will not be the last—an error once born being hard indeed to kill. There is little need to review in detail the ‘‘ introductions” of the several editors ; they are concerned for the most part with matters that have already been well threshed out by preceding editors, notwithstanding their pretensions ‘‘ to be exclusive of material within the range of the critical notices of other editions of the dramatist’ (see pub- lishers’ circular). Mr. Reynolds gives an essay on the sources of the plot of ‘The Merchant,’ and his reasons for believing that the play was immediately founded on an older play, now lost, called ‘The Jew,’ described by Gosson in his ‘School of Abuse,’ 1579, as ‘‘ repre- senting the greedine3s of worldly chusers, and the bloody mindes of usurers.”’ The larger part, however, of his introduction is devoted to the discussion of the author’s knowledge of law as manifested in the trial scene, his object being to prove that that author could not have been a lawyer of the eminence of Lord Bacon. Baconians, please note. Mr. Appleton Morgan also thinks it worth while to devote nearly the whole. of his introduction to ‘Troilus and Cressida’ to the refutation of the ‘‘Baconian theory.” Mr. Fleming, d@ propos of ‘Much Ado about Nothing,’ discourses of the statute 3 Jac. I. c. 21, against profaneness on the stage, and also of the Puritan opposition to the theatre. Mr. Appleton Morgan, again, in a dis- cursive and lengthy essay, states his rea- sons for believing that ‘ Titus Andronicus’ was a youthful production of our great dramatist. And, finally, Mr. Reynolds, in the second part of his introduction to ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ touches on the presentation of fairies on the Eliza- bethan stage. The volumes are admirably got up; print and paper leave nothing to be desired, and the texts themselves will be found of value to students who would complete them in MS. for their own use. This might readily be done by referring to the quarto facsimile series published under the superintendence of Dr. Furnivall, from which series the quarto texts of this edition are printed, though the editors have forgotten to men- tion the fact—an omission of some import- ance when the authenticity of texts is in question. Memories of Fifty Years. By Lester Wallack. With an Introduction by Laurence Hutton. (Sampson Low & Co.)—Like most works of the class, Lester Wallack’s ‘Memories’ are slight, sketchy, inadequate, and interesting. They were orally delivered towards the close of his life, and taken down by a stenographer. Before the last proofs could be corrected Wallack was dead. Mr. Hutton’s share in the volume has consisted in shaping and arranging, in supplying a useful sketch of the family of Wallack, and in enrich- ing the volume with a series of portraits of actors, English and American, together with other de- signs and facsimiles. The book thus obtained is pleasant and modest, and supplies useful information with regard to portions of our stage history on which light is welcome. Concerning the first Wallack, William, English records have little to say. Mr. Hutton mentions him as an actor and a vocalist at Astley’s Amphitheatre towards the end of the last century. His second son, James William, the Wallack, is stated to have been born in London in 1795, to have played at “the house afterwards known as the Surrey Theatre when he was but four years of age,” and to have ‘‘ filled an engagement of two years at Drury Lane” before he was fifteen. His performance at Drury Lane of Laertes to the Hamlet of Elliston is chro- nicled by Genest, October 10th, 1812. Genest supposes this to have been a first appear- ance, but as all the bills are not accessible it may not have been so. The information now given may accordingly well be correct. John Johnstone Wallack, subsequently known ‘as Lester Wallack, was the son of the Wallack,- his mother being a daughter of John Johnstone, a comedian and vocalist known as ‘‘ Irish” John- stone. His professional career began, as Mr. Les- ter, in the country with his father in 1839, and he died on September 6th, 1888, having practically quitted the stage a couple of years. Concerning
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172 THE ATHENZUM N° 3275, Ava. 2, 90 the stage at the outset of his career little is preserved ; and his recollections, few as they are, add to our knowledge. Among those of whom he speaks are Helen Faucit (Lady Martin), G. V. Brooke (on whom he passes some good criticisms), Charles J. Mathews and his two wives, the two Miss Cushmans, Elliston, Edmund Kean, Charles Kean and his wife, Macready, and Sothern, with many other actors, English and American, both living and dead. Dramatists such as Douglas Jerrold and Lord Lytton are also de- picted. No information of special value is com- municated, but the sketches are vivid and life- like. Accompanied as they are with portraits set principally in the text, they freshen for the veteran playgoer fast - fading recollections. Everything that concerns the illusive life of the stage has attractions for a certain class of readers, and these ‘Memories’ are likely to enjoy a full measure of popularity. THE WEEK. TERRY’S.—‘ The Judge,’ Comedy in Three Acts. By Arthur Sucapeaeneny,—Aftemnesn Representation: ‘ Sweet Will,’ Comedy in One Act. By H. A. Jones. Ensoyine hisrecently acquired immunities, the purveyor of farce makes continuous fun of dignitaries of whom a generation ago he would only have spoken ‘“ with bated breath and whispering humbleness.” To Mr. Gil- bert is due the irreverence of the modern stage. Beginning in his ‘Bab Ballads’ by “‘quizzing”’ bishops, Mr. Gilbert, by a logical progress in crime, ended with show- ing a Lord Chancellor dancing a fandango within the precincts of the Courts of Justice and the Houses of Parliament. His dis- ciples carry steadfastly out his teaching, and magistrates, private secretaries, and cabinet ministers succeed each other in a line des- tined, apparently, to ‘‘stretch out to the crack of doom.” Mr. Law has chosen as the subject of ridicule—or banter rather, for there is little sting in his satire—a puisne judge, dyspeptic, valetudinarian, and irri- table, but docile. Inthe hands of a come- dian so whimsical as Mr. Penley a character such as this cannot fail of being amusing. Amusing accordingly it is. It may be doubted whether any character recently put upon the stage has caused laughter louder or more continuous than attended Sir John Pye. The author, however, though he possesses genuine humour, has not avoided the trap into which writers of farce, as it would seem, inevitably fall. His first act, in which all is exposition of character, is as good as it can be. So soon, however, as he sets his puppets in motion we begin to lose interest in them. There is, indeed, little or nothing for them to do. A comely woman escaping from prison takes refuge in the rooms tenanted by the judge before whom she is to appear next morning on a charge of bigamy. He recollects in her a former sweetheart, and somewhat reluctantly extends to her the compromising shelter she demands. Upon the entry of visitors she declares herself his wife, and the judge has no choice but to accept the situation. The climax of the play is reached when, in his scarlet robes awaiting the advent of the sheriff, he finds himself manacled as a criminal by a perverse and stupid policeman. Extravagant as this seems, it is not outside the legitimate domain of farce. We pass, however, into the land of silliness when a baby appears on the scene, and the judge allows it to share his bed. Mr. Law has, in fact, just enough material for an old- fashioned on3-act farce. This he endeavours to spread over three acts—the result being failure. The various actors employed did their best, and one or two parts were well played. Mr. Kinghorne as the judge’s servant gave a decidedly clever study of character. Miss Grahame and Miss Leyton presented agreeably twin sisters. ‘Sweet Will,’ produced as part of a mis- cellaneous entertainment at the Shaftesbury, is in Mr. Jones’s simpler and earlier manner. It shows the difficulties between lovers when reasons of conscience compel the youth not only to forego the expected avowal, but even to counsel the acceptance of a proposal from another, which has been shown bim with a Machiavellian intent to force him to speak. The trifle is pretty and tender, but the dé- notiment is not all that can be desired. Miss Norreys played the heroine with brightness, but a little overdid one or two scenes. Mr. Lewis Waller was fairly successful as her lover. THE STAGE IN THE GREEK THEATRE. Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. THE reports of the excavations at Megalopolis which have appeared from time to time in the Atheneum may suftice to give some notion of the season’s work. But now that excavation is stopped for the summer it is possible to give an indication of our results, though some points of difficulty still require more careful investiga- tion. As to the stoa to the north of the river, the sepulchral mound, the altars, &., there is little to add to what has been already reported. But the importance of our discoveries in the theatre can be better appreciated now that the plan is fairly clear. The plan of the theatre, its front benches inscribed with the names of Arcadian tribes, its water-channel, and other arrangements, have been described in pre- vious reports ; but the evidence as to the exist- ence of a stage and its relation to the orchestra is what will be looked for with most interest. A publication with plans and sections will not be made until some doubtful points of detail have been ascertained by further digging ; mean- while a brief statement of our very important results will not be premature. I make this statement on the authority of the plans and measurements of Mr. Loring, who superin- tended the work. The controversy as to the existence of a raised stage in the fifth and fourth centuries has been very vigorous recently ; and Dr. Dorpfeld’s re- view of Mr. Haigh’s ‘ Attic Theatre,’ with the other discussions in the Classical Review, has given it a new impetus. It will be remembered that in various theatres with remains of the stage-buildings of Greek period there has been found facing the orchestra a row of columns which have their bases on a level with the orchestra, and are with their entablature ten to fourteen feet in height. This, or some trace of it, has been found at Epidaurus, at Oropus, at Athens, at the Pirzeus, at the theatre in the Valley of the Muses. The question arose whether the actors had their place on the level of the orchestra, with these columns as a background, or on a stage supported by the columns, and widely separated from the chorus in the orehestra. It must, however, be observed that this row of columns in no case goes back to the fourth century. At Athens the stage buildings of Lycurgus consisted only of an oblong block with projecting wings, between which a tem- porary stage could be erected—the row of columns was much later. At Epidaurus Dr. Kawerau, who speaks with authority, says that the column front was a later addition, the original fourth century structure being a mere oblong building, in front of which a temporary | stage could be erected. At Oropus the pro- scenium with columns is proved by the inscrip- tion not to be much earlier than Roman times, nor can the other two instances claim any higher antiquity. As to the stage, then, as distinguished from the oblong building that formed its back- ground, we had no evidence of good period before the excavations at Megalopolis. Now, at Megalopolis we have a_ stage almost certainly contemporary with the building of the theatre. It consists of a back wall with three doors about 6 ft. above the level of the orchestra, and a thick parallel wall in front, which formed the front of the stage, probably made, like the orchestra, of levelled and beaten earth. Probably the stage was about 5 ft. above the level of the orchestra ; and along its whole front and sides is a flight of steps descending to that level, thus affording easy communication between actors and chorus. The stage was 20 ft. broad. Here we have, for the first time, a fourth- century stage, probably similar to those on which the great works of the Attic drama were first acted. In Hellenistic times the high narrow stage of Vitruvius, supported on columns, may have become usual. At Megalopolis there is also a Roman stage supported on columns, but quite separate from the Greek one. A stage such as has been found at Mega- lopolis is a natural development from the cart or table on which the primitive actor mounted to make himself visible and audible above the chorus. Such stages were usually temporary and made of wood, but by a fortunate accident that at Megalopolis was of stone, and so survives to show what its predecessors were like. The controversy is thus restricted to the use of the stage buildings constructed in later Greek times, and so is of little importance for the drama in the fifth and fourth centuries. Ernest GARDNER. Dramatic Gossip. ‘Guy Fawkgs, Esq.,’ is the title of a so-called burlesque by Messrs. A. C. Torr (F. Leslie) and Clark, given on Saturday afternoon last at the Gaiety, with a view of being played in the country. It is no more amusing than such pro- ductions usually are, and its transference to country quarters is a matter upon which Londoners are to be congratulated. Mr. Arthur Roberts plays the principal character. THe Vaudeville Theatre closed its doors on Saturday last, and the Prince of Wales’s on Friday. The Court will follow suit on Fri- day next. Tue Novelty Theatre, once more rechristened the Queen’s and People’s Theatre—surely a sufti- ciently inclusive designation—now passes under the management of Mr. J. A. Cave, who will re- vive a series of well-known pieces. The prices will be those of a suburban theatre. TuovcH still in a state of extreme feebleness, Mrs. Bernard Beere has passed through the acuter stages of suffering, and hopes in the course of a week or two to bear the journey to Folkestone. Her life has more than once been in extreme danger. THERE is a prospect that Mrs. Langtry will in the course of the autumn be seen as Cleo- patra. It will not be easy to find an Antony. NEXT WEEK’S NOVELTIES AND REVIVALS. The New Queen’s (late the Novelty) ‘Evening), Revival of ‘ The Corsican Brothers.’ Lyceum (Evening), ‘The Great Unknown,’ Comedy in Three Mon. Tres. Wep Criterion (Evening), ‘Welcome, Little Stranger.’ Comedy in Three Acts. By James Albery. [These announcements are subject to changes of plan on the part of managers.) To CoRRESPONDENTS,—J. D. 8.—W. H. K.—J. J. H.— C. D.—E. C. B.—received. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY POST. ane? aur For Twelve Months oes For Six Months... ove oe
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. RECENT VERSE ... Ne 3276, Ava. 9,’90 THE ATHENZUM 181 SATURDAY, AUGUST 9, 1890. CONTENTS. PpacE LINCOLNSHIRE ... 0. ssn ov 181 THE TRISTIA OF OVID... ove ood cee as 18 THOMAS Davis ... =e pon a a oe 184 CHURCH AND STATE UNDER THE TUDORS 185 185 THe ENGLISH NOVEL IN ELIZABETH’S REIGN ... BHIPPING"IN TIME OF WAR ... ooo ons NICEPHORUS PHOCAS ... ° ooo eos ove Novets oF THE WEEK a. Sa ae HANDBOOKS TO ORIENTAL LANGUAGES ... oon ose Ovug Lisraky TaBLE—List oF NEw Books ... 191—192 “LITERARY SWEATING”; BRITISH MUSEUM REPORTS FOR 1889; JUNIUS AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES 192—193 LITERARY Gossip me | oes see = ee wed woe 195 BCIENCE—LIFE OF ADAM SEDGWICK; BOTANICAL LITERATURE; ASTRONOMICAL NoTES; MEETINGS ; GossIP eco oon one son oon «os 195—198 Frove AgTs—THE CHURCH PLATE OF DORSETSHIRE ; THE CULTURE OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN PEOPLE; LIBRARY TABLE; BETTONA; NEW PRINTS; THE QUARRELS OF ANTIQUABIES; GOSSIP... 198—202 Mvusic—Provut’s CoUNTERPOINT; LIBRARY TABLE; ene ee 1 202—208 DEamMa—THE WEEK; GossIP 203—204 LITERATURE Handbook for Lincolnshire. With Maps and Plans. (Murray.) An Anglo-Saxon Cathedral: a Handbook to Stow Church, near Lincoln. By the Rev. W. N. Usher, Rector of Stow. With Map, Plan, and Three Illustrations. (Lincoln, Williamson.) Tue ‘Handbook for Lincolnshire,’ which has just issued from the press, brings nearly to completion the series of ‘‘ Hand- books for English Counties” prepared under the auspices of the historic firm in Albemarle Street. Running our eye over the list atthe end of the volume, we see that all the English counties but four have got their handbook, and that for each of these four a guide is “in preparation”: one for the county of Warwick, which has been long called for, and the want of which was much felt when, two years back, the Archeological Institute met at Leamington; and another, which is to include Hertfordshire, Bedford- shire, and Huntingdonshire. Mr. Murray is to be congratulated on having lived to see the great undertaking, which has had many imitators, but of which he, in his own person, was the originator, more than half a century since, in his ‘Handbook for Travellers on the Continent,’ carried so far and so successfully towards completion. That he may live to witness in his green old age the publication of the final volumes of the series is a wish that we are sure will be echoed by all our readers. c It is hardly matter for surprise that the ‘Handbook for Lincolnshire’ should have been so long delayed. To some, to whom the county is little more than an unattractive name—synonymous, as George III. deemed it, with “fens, flats, and fogs ’’—it may be more matter for surprise that it should be published at all. It is demand that creates supply, and what demand, they would argue, could there be for a traveller’s guide for Lincolnshire? With all England before him, to say nothing of foreign lands, who in his sober senses that wanted a holiday would select Lincolnshire to take it in? Nor were these surmises altogether un- reasonable. It is certainly true, as the ‘Handbook’ says, that ‘‘no visitor to Lin- colnshire is likely to be enthusiastic over the county.” Full as it is of pretty bits, particularly in the Wolds—that continuation of the great backbone of chalk hills which runs across England from the coast of Dor- setshire to Flamborough Head, where the villages, nestling in their lonely basins fringed with fine trees, are often very charm- ing—and along the so-called ‘ Cliff’””—a bold escarpment of the upper lias and oolite running north and south, parallel with the Wolds—especially in the part between Grantham and Lincoln, and about Burton and Fillingham to the north of the Witham Valley, and erroneous as is the general estimate of its damp, swampy character, the county, generally speaking, offers but little of the picturesque to attract the tourist. Visitors to Lincolnshire are commonly either those who take an interest in agricul- ture, ‘in which industry,” the ‘ Handbook’ truly says, ‘‘the county has long asserted a proud superiority,” or lovers of eccle- siastical architecture, in which its ‘‘ supe- riority,” though not without qualifications to be referred to hereafter, may be “‘ asserted ”” with equal justice. The seacoast, extensive as it is, is too low and flat, and in parts too muddy, to be attractive ; and being the edge of the wide marshland—which has been so well drained as to be practically one of the driest parts of the county, sometimes ac- tually in want of water—the district behind it, the Lincolnshire “ hinterland,” offers few inducements for walks or drives, save in its churches, which are often singularly fine. The long line of sandhills which fringe the shore, and as a rule cut off all view of the sea from the houses which cower behind them, have a certain ruggedness which may almost pass for picturesque- ness; but the ‘ Handbook,’ with the con- scientious truthfulness which is one of its characteristics, remarks that ‘‘the sand- hills or ‘dunes’ have little beauty be- yond their wildness, while the sea, owing to the quantity of sand in solution, is rarely of any but a muddy colour.” ‘On the whole,” it continues, ‘‘ these sea-places ’— Cleethorpes, Mablethorpe, Sutton-on-the- Sea, and Skegness (a name with a grand Norse ring about it), names very familiar to us on “ posters” at railway stations— ‘‘can scarcely be recommended for a stay, except for families of children, but they are worth an occasional visit.” Owing to the facilities offered by the competing railway companiesthese Lincolnshire watering-places have become “ the great summer playground of the working classes” of the huge manu- facturing towns of the Midlands, who come here in their thousands for a day’s trip, and convert the once lonely —— sandy tracts With the hollow ocean-ridges roaring into cataracts, the haunt of Lord Tennyson in his youthful days, where the only sound beyond that of the waves was “the curlew’s call,” into a noisy fair-ground. Yet inferior as Lincolnshire is to many counties of England in picturesque beauty, it is far from being devoid of attractions— irrespective of its churches—to a tourist who has an eye for quiet beauty, and to whom the rural life of England, which may be seen in all its old-fashioned quaintness almost unalloyed in many of the isolated villages and hamlets of the Wold, affords material for interesting and instructive study. Any one who adopts Mr. Hissey’s excellent plan, and drives leisurely through the county with his own horse and carriage, will find much to enjoy in it, and will be ready to endorse the verdict of the ‘Handbook’ that it is “ both pleasant and interesting, and generally differing much from the ordinary opinion about it.” Such travellers, whose number is happily increasing among us, will, the ‘Handbook’ assures them from experience, “ always find, even in the very smallest market towns’ —of which the county is full— ‘‘a clean and comfortable market hotel with which the tourist may well be satisfied, at a moderate expense.” We have, however, this word of warning as to the roads, which in most parts of the county are certainly far from good, owing to the absence of hard “ metal” :— ‘‘The wold roads are very hilly, rough, and bad for cyclists ; the marsh roads are apt to be loose and sandy ; while the fen main roads, and most of those in Kesteven, have an excellent surface.” For tourists of Mr. Hissey’s class, and, indeed, for visitors of all classes and descrip- tions, whether, like that gentleman, they drive leisurely through the county, stopping where and as long as they please, or, like modern tourists generally, avail themselves of the railways by which the county is admirably served—‘“‘eight miles being about the extreme distance of the most remote parts from a station”—this ‘Handbook’ will certainly prove a trustworthy guide. Had it been less excellent than it is it would have been welcome, for hitherto Lincolnshire, as it almost alone of Eng- lish counties is entirely destitute of any- thing in the shape of a county history— Allen’s meagre and inaccurate compilation not deserving the name—so it has had nothing in the shape of a county guide-book. Not one of the enterprising publishers of local handbooks—the Stanfords, and Blacks, and others—has turned his attention to Lincolnshire. They probably thought— and not altogether unreasonably—that such a guide-book would be a losing speculation. Thanks to Mr. Murray’s resolution to leave no part of England undescribed, the gap is now at last filled, and, after a careful ex- amination of the book, we can say filled worthily. This youngest born of the hand- books, if not absolutely the most excel- lent of them all, has few rivals, and, we think (and we know all of them), no superior in the series. It is evident that every place described, with few exceptions, has been visited, and the notice drawn up from per- sonal observation. We have tested it “ by samples’’ in places with which we are familiar, and find the deviations from strict accuracy so few and unimportant as to save us from the disagreeable task of pointing out errors. The author describes his book as ‘in the main an original work, represent- ing a careful digest of notes accumulated during several years.” He claims also to have ‘‘ read nearly every work bearing on the topography, &c., of the county, and wherever it was possible to have revised the existing account on the spot.” The result of so much conscientious labour is what might be expected. We have said that the great distinction of Lincolnshire lies in the magnificent ex- amples of ecclesiastical architecture which it contains, with its unrivalled Minster
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182 THE ATHENZUM N° 3276, Ava. 9, 90 a at the head. It was essential, therefore, that the compiler of a handbook for the county should have an intelligent acquaint- ance with the history and science of architecture. This qualification the author of the ‘Handbook’ evidently possesses. Almost every one of the nearly six hundred churches of the county is noticed, and, where it deserves it, receives a full description. These descriptions show that the author knows what he is about. He can distin- guish between styles. He sees clearly and knows the meaning of what he sees, and his conclusions may, on the whole, be safely followed. For the Minster he has wisely taken as his basis the late Mr. R. J. King’s account in Murray’s ‘Cathedral Handbook,’ shortening and somewhat sim- plifying it, and bringing it down to the present date. Many will assent to his verdict, that this cathedral “wins the general suffrage of trained architec- tural critics as on the whole, for grace of out- line and perfection of detail, the first of English cathedrals, the only two that would admit of possible rivalry being Ely and York.” We observe that the ‘ Handbook’ corrects a very common mistake as to the universal prevalence of fine churches in Lincolnshire. Instead of being equally scattered over the whole area of the county, they are in fact, with some brilliant exceptions, such as Louth, Brant Broughton, and Claypole, confined to one or two districts. The author writes :— “The beauty of the parish churches is so great as to have become proverbial ; but exactly the same kind of blunder as the supposed fenny character of the whole county is made about them, by taking one portion, and even that not the larger, as representative of the whole. If Lindsey, which is much the largest division, were a county by itself, it would rank below Norfolk, Suffolk, Yorkshire, and Devonshire, and perhaps some other counties, though it has one of the most beautiful spires in the world at Louth, and churches of great beauty or interest at Barton on Humber, Bottesford, Grimsby, Stow, and many other places. Some of the earliest churches in the kingdom are found round Grimsby and Caistor. But in the whole central wold district of Lindsey the churches are mostly either very small and mean, or else have been recently rebuilt, so that the average of this great division is not very high. In the Kesteven division the churches, besides being exceedingly numerous, are built of the fine stone of the district, and are particularly re- markable for the great number and variety of their spires. The glorious churches of Grantham, | Heckington, and Sleaford would alone be suffi- cient to raise any county into the first rank; but these are only three out of a long list of noble buildings, which are either mostly grouped round Sleaford, or near the line of the ‘cliff’ from Grantham to Lincoln. It is curiously, however, the smallest division, Holland, which has been taken as typical of the whole county for its churches, just as it has for its fens. Here, indeed, it would be almost impossible to over- rate the size and beauty of nearly every parish church in the whole of the district. This is the more remarkable because there is absolutely no building stone in the district at all. Apparently the material most used was Barnack stone, which was conveyed by water along the drains. The cause of the splendour of these churches, many of which must always have been far too large for the inhabitants they served, is not easy to trace. In the case of Boston, of course, it arose from its commercial supremacy. In the line of churches between Spalding and Sutton Bridge [including Weston, Moulton, Whap!ode, Holbeach, Fleet, Gedney, Long Sutton, Lutton, and Tydd St. Mary] there seems to have been a decided rivalry between the monastic houses of Crowland, Spalding, and Castle Acre, and the example once set was contagious to local patriot- ee Crowland stands majestically alone, a beautiful and most interesting fragment. Boston Church, even without its celebrated tower, would still, perhaps, be the grandest as it is (in cubic contents though not in area, in which it is ex- ceeded by Great Yarmouth and St. Michael’s, Coventry) the largest church of a purely paro- chial type in England. But the fame of the Holland churches does not depend only on Boston. Those already mentioned, even if Spalding, Gosberton, Pinchbeck, Algarkirk, Donington, and Wrangle were added, would by no means exhaust all that well deserve attention in this one small district.” The section on the towers and spires of the county, which, as their importance de- serves, are treated of separately, affords again a useful correction of an erroneous impres- sion and a serviceable guidance. The Lin- colnshire towers are not, as is sometimes thought, in themselves remarkable. In towers alone without spires, ‘‘though Boston Stump and Lincoln Broad Tower stand head and shoulders above any other western and central towers in England, Lincolnshire would have to yield to Somersetshire at least.” The spires are its chief glory. It may boast of possessing the two finest spires in England, those of Louth and Grantham. But even if these were absent those left would be among the finestin England. The abundance of them in the Kesteven division is astonishing. Though of very moderate dimensions, the Perpendicular tower and spire of Moulton is, perhaps, the most abso- lutely faultless in the county. In delicacy of proportions it is certainly unsurpassed byany, not in Lincolnshire only, but in the whole kingdom. To these we may add the lately erected western tower and spire of St. Swithin’s, Lincoln, built by one of the chief manufacturers of that city as a memorial to his father, from the design of Mr. J. Fowler, of Louth. Its proportions are almost per- fect, and show that its architect has not lived under the shadow of that unrivalled steeple in vain. Passing to other subjects, it is curiously at variance with the common opinion to find that Lincolnshire is almost the driest county in England. The average rainfall is about 23in., against 44in. in Corn- wall, between 70in. and 80in. in Cum- berland, and 30in. over England generally. Though the temperature is 1° 6’ below that of Greenwich, standing at 47° 9’, the higher parts are exceptionally healthy, Lincoln itself being one of the healthiest cities in England; and even in the fens and marshes (thanks to an admirable system of drainage) ague has almost en- tirely disappeared. Rheumatism, however, is painfully prevalent. The systems of drainage which have so completely changed the aspect and character of large tracts of the county form an interesting department of the book. They are traced from the Carr Dyke and Foss Dyke of the Romans down to the operations of Cornelius Ver- | muyden, the Dutchman, in the Isle of Axholme, the ‘‘ North Forty-foot Drain ”’ of 1720, “the first of the new artificial | system in place of the old one of aid- ing the natural drainage,” and Rennie’s successful method of intercepting the water by ‘‘catchwater drains’? — following the example set so many centuries before by the Romans in their Carr Dyke—by which thousands of acres of unreclaimed fen near Boston have been successfully converted into corn land. The botany, geology, and natural history of the county are treated of by ‘‘three specially quali- fied gentlemen,” and appear to be well done. Perhaps it is to guard against the predatory habits of some botanists, which threaten to eradicate the rarer native plants, that in the long list of the flora no localities are indicated. But this absence makes the catalogue of little practical service. Much remains in this excellent little book that we should be glad to call attention to, but our limits forbid. We must conclude by stating that the book is provided with an excellent map and several plans. These last are certainly a great improvement on the clumsy plans of the earlier ‘Handbooks.’ There is a very full index, in which, for the first time we think in this series, the prin- cipal place-names are printed in capitals, and the earliest page-number indicates the paragraph where the place is fully treated of. Kings and bishops connected with the his- tory of the county, and the saints to whom churches are dedicated, form separate head- ings. It would be better if such double names as “Little Bytham,” ‘Great Humby,” ‘‘ North Reston,” ‘South Kelsey,” and the like, had a double entry. At present they stand under the first letter of their adjectival prefix, instead of under that of the place-name, which would be a better guide. In a second edition this might be corrected by a system of double entries or cross-refer- ences. We observe that Lincoln Heath is omitted, and that the reference to Stamford is 2 instead of 63-71. The mistake, which should be corrected, is caused by a confusion between p. 2 and route 2. The little handbook compiled by the pre- sent rector of Stow, the Rev. W. N. Usher, to the very remarkable church of that parish, is a good example of a class of local guides which we are glad to notice is becoming more common. Whether Stow was actually the seat of the bishopric of Sidnacester, and the church, or at least its predecessor, an ‘‘ Anglo-Saxon cathedral,” is a point on which different opinions are entertained. There is certainly an entire absence of documentary evidence for their identification. All that can be said is that Sidnacester must have been somewhere in Lindsey, and may have been at Stow, which has achurch of minster dimensions and plan. But, however this may be, nothing can de- prive the church of its unique interest as the only pre-Norman cruciform church in England, and the largest of its period, pre- serving in the arches of its crossing and the walls and other features of its transepts much of the original construction. Mr. Usher deserves much credit for the clearness and excellent arrangement of his modest little book, the usefulness of which is in- creased by a ground plan and some etchings.
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N° 3276, Ava. 9, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 183 P. Ovidi Nasonis Tristium, Libri Ve Re- censuit S.G. Owen. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.) Wirnovt implying any exalted estimate of Ovid’s merits either as a poet or as a man, it may be fairly said that he has not received his due from the scholars of our time. All the more cordially, therefore, can we wel- come this critical edition of the ‘ Tristia,’ which is the outcome of devoted labour and rare skill. It is well worthy to stand beside the ‘Ibis’ of Mr. Robinson Ellis, to whom Mr. Owen gracefully alludes as his “ prae- ceptor venerabilis.” As in the edition of the ‘Ibis,’ so in that of the ‘Tristia’ the com- ments are in Latin throughout, and Mr. Owen’s Latin is a pleasure to read, such is its constant grace, lucidity, and force, and so little open is it even to the minutest adverse criticism. In the introduction the title of the work, the manuscripts and their relations to one another, the history of the text in ancient and medieval times, and the early printed editions, are all treated tersely yet exhaus- tively. At the end a few passages of the text are discussed, and so well discussed as to raise regrets that the editor had not space to justify in a similar manner his judgments all through his edition. On the text Mr. Owen has spent the most minute and pro- tracted labour, and there could be no better proof of pure love for scholarship and true vocation for it than the sanity and modesty with which the results are presented. The ‘‘taedia per hos sex annos”’ of which we read in one passage have brought their reward. For a long time to come recensions of the text must take this edition for starting- point, and it will serve as a model to show younger scholars how such work ought to be performed. In the course of the introduc- tion many excellent remarks are to be found referring to textual criticism in general. In particular we would commend a vigorous attack (p. xlviii) on the practice of picking out a very limited number of MSS. of an author to form the sole foundation for an edition, so that the labour of examining other sources for the text is avoided. Mr. Owen’s weary task was lightened by one or two strokes of good fortune such as bring joy to a scholar’s soul. The text of the ‘Tristia’ has always de- pended a good deal on a lost MS. partially collated by Politian, who wrote many of its readings on the margin of a copy of the Parma edition of 1477. The book, which was in the library of the convent of St. Mark at Florence, was used by J. F. Gronovius, N. Heinsius, and others, but dis- appeared about the end of last century. Since then scholars have been dependent on the more or less imperfect and incorrect tran- scripts which had been preserved of Poli- tian’s annotations. But “habent sua fata libelli.” For Mr. Owen was destined the pleasure of discovering’ the volume in the Bodleian Library, which acquired it by pur- chase in 1834 from some London booksellers. How the book travelled from Florence to London remains a mystery. Another piece of luck such as, in scholarship at least, usually falls to those who deserve it, was the examination of a MS. of the ‘ Tristia’ in the Holkham Library. The claim that this is one of the three or four best MSS. of the text seems clearly made out. It would be too much to say that in performing the slippery task of settling the relative worth of the MSS., and of tracing the sources of their corruptions, Mr. Owen always finds a safe path ; but there are few pieces of work in the same kind which one could justly put above his. Perhaps he inclines too much to the assumption of wilful corruption of the text. Many of the instances set down by him may more naturally and justly be explained by supposing unintentional errors of various kinds. To take only one small example, fletque for scitgue, read by two MSS. in i. 2, 38, has clearly come from the similarity in a certain kind of writing between s (written with a tall stroke above the line) and /, aided by a short form of / which it would not be difficult to read for ec. Mr. Owen does not discuss the interesting question of the influence of different phases of medizeval handwriting on the text, nor does he deal with one fruitful source of mis- takes, the unintentional misreading of con- tractions. Scribes frequently passed, in copying, from contracted to uncontracted forms and vice versd, accumulating in course of time a large deposit of error. Mr. Owen will perhaps think it cruel to refer to a future edition, because he knows that in our country such studies as his are not popular. But if the work reaches a second edition his introduction might be rendered more nearly complete by a treatment of the themes to which reference has just been made. After the text (to which is appended the very complete apparatus criticus) come two most useful appendices. One contains a selection of conjectures by scholars, including a number of the editor’s own ; the other is a list of imitations found in the ‘ Tristia’ of passages in other authors, with echoes of the ‘ Tristia’ itself in later writers. Mr. Owen’s emendations are invariably scholarly, and one of their merits is that they do not strain after ‘‘ brilliancy,” for which the text affords little opening. The list of imitations is full, but not quitecomplete. In particular it does not convey an exact idea of Ovid’s indebtedness to Propertius. The kind of criticism which a scholar of Mr. Owen’s calibre will most appreciate is that which will lend aid to further improve- ment. We will therefore notice a few pas- sages in detail; they must of necessity be very few. First it may be noted that in i. 1, 103, a conjecture of the editor (not, how- ever, taken into the text), viz., referveat for reseviat, gives a non-existent word, for Jerveo is not compounded with a preposition, though Virgil has efervére. Lambinus justly ejected referveo from one passage of Cicero (‘ Pro Rosc. Com.,’ § 17), and recent scholars have rightly turned it out of another (‘Brut.,’ 316). It may be said that recalent would have seemed equally improbable had it not occurred once in the Auneid (xii. 35). But it is probably spurious there; Virgil most likely wrote rutilant, of which the rutilus cruor in a passage of Ovid is a reminiscence. In i. 2, 86, the word exi/em is left in the line Exilem facio per mea vota viam. It has been felt by many scholars to be in- supportable; the true reading is probably exul iens. A little lower down equally in- tolerable is Si satis Augusti publica iussa mihi. Among other conjectures to replace satis Mr. Owen mentions his own, sancta, which is certainly in the right direction, but the most likely word is sanzi: “if I have laid down as laws for my own observance every public ordinance of the emperor.” In i. 10, 7 and 8, Ovid is made to say of his ship :— Pariter fluctus ferit atque silentia longe Equora, nec sevis victa madescit aquis. What is meant by the ship “ striking equally (or evenly ?) the billows and the silent seas afar” ? Is not pariter a corruption of per iter ? And would Ovid assert that ‘‘ she does not, succumbing to the cruel waves, ship a drop of water’?? There is much to be said for fatiscit, the reading of the Gotha MS.; and Jerit appears to have been suggested by icta, a common lection for victa (which comes from the Marcian codex). Fert, which some codices give, is far better. Mr. Owen directs special attention to the reading of the Mar- cian codex at ii. 138, ‘‘ privaque fortune: sunt tibi verba mes,’ where others give parvaque, paucaque, or parcaque. But what is the mean- ing? Ovid is addressing the emperor, and speaking of the decrees by which he had been banished. This decree, he declares, was ‘“‘ungentle and threatening,” but ‘‘in naming the penalty it was merciful,” inas- much as Ovid was called in it relegatus, and not exul. Can the poet have gone on ‘‘and you use (sunt tid’) separate words relating to my possessions”? ? Strange Latin, surely. Tibi is an error for 1b7, which repeats in illo (se. edicto) in the line above. And priva cannot be right. The whole passage cries aloud for a word with the sense of merciful, which can be none other than parca. The passage cannot relate to a conversation with Augustus apart from the decree (even if priva could mean that); the decree must have laid down what was to be done with Ovid’s property. Into the difficult question how far Ovid’s sentence involved pecuniary loss we cannot enter. At ii. 479, in a passage concerning the /udus latrunculorum which is very well known, we have in our editor’s text ‘ut comitare sequens sciat (miles) et revocare priorem,’’? where comitare is the editor’s correction (suggested by incomitatus in the next line) of the strange readings of the MSS., mare velle, male velle, mage velle. The drift of the sense is not doubtful. A piece is to go out and support another piece en- dangered by the enemy, and to bring it safely back. We believe the right word to be vallare (to protect as with a rampart), which was erroneously written velle; then are was put above and misread mare, whence all the other corruptions. In iii. 10, 12, axe tremente (of the northern sky or climate) must be wrong, though left unchanged by Mr. Owen; the correct lection is axe rigente, with which may be compared many phrases in the ‘Tristia’ and ‘Ex Ponto,’ such as frigoris axe, axe boreo, gelido sub axe, nivali sub axe. Here is a curious passage (v. 10, 37 sq.), in which the poet describes the bar- barians as deeming him a barbarian because he cannot speak their language :— Barbarus hic ego sum, qui non intelligor ulli Et rident stolidi verba Latina Getz ; Meque palam de me tuto male sepe loquuntur, Forsitan objiciunt exiliumque mihi. Utque fit, in me aliquid siquidem, dicentibus illis Abnuerim quotiens annuerimque, putant. In the fifth line Mr. Owen reads se for me with C. Schenkl, and statui for siquidem, sup-
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184 THE ATHENAUM N° 3276, Ava. 9,90 posing, apparently, that when Ovid tries to communicate with the barbarians by signs, they think he is threatening them with some mischief. But this will hardly harmonize with ut fit. Rather keep me, and for siqui- dem (siguidc) read stupidi; the Gete can make nothing of the poet’s gesticulations, and naturally conclude that there is in him something of the imbecile. Here we must take leave of this important and most interesting book, merely adding a word of praise for the manner in which the Clarendon Press has produced the work, and a hint that the small school editions of ‘Tristia’ i. and iii. published by Mr. Owen are well worth the attention of scholars. Thomas Davis: the Memoirs of an Irish Patriot, 1840-1845. By Sir Charles Gavan Duffy, K.C.M.G. (Kegan Paul & Co.) The Camelot Series —Prose Writings of Thomas Davis. Edited, with a Memoir, by T. W. Rolleston. (Scott.) A.TnovcH it is five-and-forty years since Davis died, and his name has been, and still is, a power to conjure with in Ireland, the memoir by his colleague and close friend is the first that has been published. But to write an adequate biography of Davis is not an easy task; our sympathies are won by the man himself, by his noble qualities and charming personality, not by the details of his short, prosperous, event- less life. True, there is always pathos in the untimely ending of a useful, happy life ; but in the case of Davis regret is tempered by the knowledge that death spared him the anguish of witnessing the famine of ’47, and the sufferings and humiliations of the revolution of ’48. In that era of disaster there was no happy future for an ardent, unselfish nature, and Davis was far too noble and too devoted to his country to live content in personal prosperity amid the ruin of his ambitions and his hopes. To stand by in helplessness while a quarter of the population fade away from absolute starva- tion is a cruel trial even to the hardest heart ; and in our knowledge of the misery that another year of life must have brought to Davis it is difficult to regret his early death, save on public grounds. Poetry and lofty sentiments are powerless to check the march of famine: Davis lived long enough to raise his associates high above O'Connell’s level, and died in the full possession of his illu- sions and his hopes, bequeathing to his country the memory of a life that was abso- lutely devoted, absolutely sincere, and of a character free from all taint of vanity, personal ambition, or self-seeking. Never was prominence attained with less self- advertisement: Davis was too refined and modest to be pleased by notoriety, and the young men of his age and nation were sickened of the craze for popularity by the example of O’Connell. In his boy- hood Davis had dreamt of becoming famous; but from the time he fell in love with Ireland he lost all personal ambition, and cared only for building up a nation which should be good, illustrious, and free. As a Protestant and a gentleman of Eng- lish blood he was naturally surrounded by Conservative and ‘‘ English - minded” influences, and the bookish, quiet boy showed no exceptional talents or qualities. He was a dreamy, silent youth, an omni- vorous reader, retiring and self-absorbed ; and it was not until nearly the completion of his undergraduate career that he threw off the shyness that had paralyzed his boyhood, and developed that charm of personality and bearing that friends and opponents alike found irresistible. But even before this time he had been generally liked by his fellow students, and he was presently elected auditor of the Historical Society, at which time, writes his friend and opponent Daniel Maddyn, ‘‘he was as delightful a young man as it was possible to meet with in any country. All those virtues and peculiar charms which are to be looked for in a young man of energy and talent were assembled in his person. He was much more joyous than at the time he became im- mersed in politics. He was always at work...... He was thoroughly real. Simple, strong, un- affected, with proper pride, without any vanity. savant He had that broad, massive, and robust character which is, after all, the true genius of the Englishman...... But he showed great ardour —I ought to say enthusiasm—of so vehement and at the same time tender kind, that its fervour would show him to be an Irishman.” Whether or no ardour and enthusiasm are more characteristic of Irish than of English men, Davis possessed them in full measure. He was more Irish than the Irish, a “Nationalist” in the widest meaning of the term, seeking by every means in his power to lift up his compatriots, and to foster national characteristics of art and thought and language. He held and taught that “men are ever valued most for peculiar and original qualities. A man who can only talk commonplace, and act according to routine, has little weight. To speak, look, and do what your own soul from its depths orders you, are cre- dentials of greatness which all men understand and acknowledge...... Why should not nations be judged thus? Is not a full indulgence of its natural tendencies essential to a people’s great- ness? Force the manners, dress, language, and constitution of Russia, or Italy, or Norway, or America, and you instantly stunt and distort the whole mind of either people.” This paper, on ‘ Our National Language,’ though far from being the best in the col- lection of his prose writings, breathes the air of youth, enthusiasm, and patriotic fervour whichsurrounded Davis, and betterthan pages of description enables the reader to realize his charm. For charm and personal influ- ence are of all qualities those which most elude the biographer ; and it is difficult to convey by words the power and suggestive- ness that the glance and smile and tones of voice of some persons possess. Davis possessed this power in no ordinary degree. Truth, sympathy, and justice expressed them- selves in every glance and casual word; he made friends for himself by every peculiarity of dress and person, and every unconscious trick of manner. Everything about him bore the stamp of ‘‘a spirit as high, sincere, unselfish, sweet, and brave as ever illu- minated the history of any people.” ‘“ He loved to be loved,” writes Sir Charles Duffy ; ‘“but he was totally indifferent to popu- larity, and is distinguished from all Irish Tribunes who preceded him or have followed him by a perfectly genuine desire to remain unknown, and reap neither recognition nor reward from his work.” In this he differed notably from O’Connell, and as the younger man becamea power a col- lision between the two grew to be inevitable. We think that Sir Charles Duffy, who has already told the story of the secession of “‘ Young Ireland ” from the Repeal Associa- tion, has devoted too muchspace to the details of the squabbles, misunderstandings, scenes, and tears and reconciliations of the Young Irelanders and O’Connell. Time and the publication of O’Connell’s own correspond- ence have thoroughly justified the Young Ireland party; and the worst charge that O’Connell’s partisans could bring against Davis is that he may sometimes have let his zeal outrun his discretion. He lacked ex- perience, and was too honest for diplomacy, too outspoken for politics ; and certain prac- tices of O’Connell’s—such as his appeals to the prejudices and race hatreds of the people —were simply abhorrent tohim. Moreover, he had little sympathy with the bigotry and duplicity and pinchbeck qualities of the ‘“‘Liberator.” To build material prosperity on moral weakness was in Davis’s sight a deadly sin against the nation, and the whole system of false disparagement he thought contemptible. IfO’Connell denounced the ‘‘stunted Corporal,” Davis denounced the denunciation of “that most gallant soldier and able general.’”” Then O’Connell resented the criticism of a man younger than his own sons, and both men being of dogged disposition, difficulties did not adjust them- selves. Davis expressed himself through the columns of the Nation, time after time defending Irish men of genius from the belittlement of those who differed from them in politics :— ‘*TIt behoves every people to love, cherish and honour its men of ability, its men of service— the men who can adorn it with their pencil, make it wise by their teaching, famous by their pens, rich by their ingenuity, strong by their states- manship, triumphant by their valour......The first and greatest duty of an Irish patriot, then, is to aid in retaining its superior spirits. Men make a state. Great men make a great nation. puseke Without them liberation will come without honour and resources exist without strength.” All his writings, prose and verse, breathe the same spirit, and in judging them we must bear in mind that he was less a literary man than a cultured man of action who ex- pressed his thoughts in writing. The ‘‘ prose writings’’ collected in Mr. Rolleston’s volume are chiefly anonymous articles reprinted from a weekly paper, and some of them, written in haste, cost little time; yet ‘“ the thoughts are not rash and inconsiderate,’’ and there is not one feeble or puerile sentiment in the volume. It was O’Connell’s policy to adjust his eloquence to the understanding of his audience, and he felt no moral degradation in playing to the gallery; but Davis was incapable of striving for applause. He laboured solely for the good of his country, and spoke the simple truth when he said, ‘‘If your shouts were given to our enemies and your curses to us, we would work ex- actly as we are doing.” Writing to a con- fidential friend on the subject of the conflicts in Conciliation Hall, he says :— ‘¢T have to maintain a perpetual struggle to prevent myself from quitting politics in absolute scorn ; but my heart melts when I think it pos- sible for a union of brave, patient men to lift up the country in more ways than politics.” With such an aim Davis could never be merely a party man; he was a strong
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XUM N° 3276, Ava. 9, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 185 thinker, had large and noble views of man- kind, and ‘“‘a public measure was good or bad in his eyes solely by its tendency to make men nobler, greater, more virtuous, or otherwise”; and his voice was always raised on the side of truth and generosity and true progress. Like all thoughtful young men of his generation, he had great hopes from the spread of education, and was largely instrumental in founding the ‘Repeal Reading Rooms” and schools which were opened for the instruction of the ignorant. ‘*If the People be not wise and manageable they cannot gain liberty but by accident, nor use it to their service. An ignorant and turbu- lent race may break away from provincialism, but will soon relapse beneath a cunning, skilful, and unscrupulous neighbour...... We have to resist genius, skill, and immense resources ; we must have wisdom, knowledge, and ceaseless industry...... We want a brave, modest, labori- ous, and instructed People. Itis a deep pleasure to serve, and glory to lead such a People. It is a still deeper pleasure and honour to head a race full of virtue and industry and athirst for know- ledge. But for a swaggering People, who shout for him who flatters them, and turn from those who would lead by plain, manful truth—who shall save them ?” Such passages abound in the writings of Thomas Davis; and it is impossible to read these articles without drifting into fruitless speculations as to the course of Irish agitation had Davis lived to full maturity (for it is impossible to believe that powers which only showed themselves at the age of twenty-four were fully developed at thirty) and been spared to succeed O’Connell as the leader of the Irish race. Possibly graver disasters than the Ballingarry affair would have closed that revolutionary era ; but even so it is likely that he would have won for his country the respect and sym- pathy that he obtained for his party and his name. Sir Charles Duffy’s volume will impress the average English reader as far too long and too discursive; but as the work of Davis’s contemporary and friend it must always be the study from which shorter and more vivid sketches are painted, and it pro- bably contains all the available materials. It is marred, to our thinking, by a want of proportion and by the unnecessary serious- ness with which trivial details are dwelt upon. There is no distinction between the essential and the merely accidental, and the pleasing absurdities of enthusiastic youth are accepted as gravely as the sterling qualities that won respect from all who came in contact with the most lofty- minded of Irish patriots. The book contains a good deal that is valuable, but a great deal also that is without interest to the great majority of readers. In fact, O’Connell’s criticism on Maddyn’s portrait of Davis as Dormer fits Sir Charles Duffy’s memoir very aptly. It is ‘clever and generous, but not graphic..... an acquaintance recognizes its truth, but it would give a stranger no clear notion of the original.” Briefly, the memoir should be read by all those who care for Thomas Davis, ae the ‘ Prose Writings’ by all those who o not. Church and State under the Tudors. By Gil- bert W. Child, M.A. (Longmans & Co.) THE influence which the Oxford school of history has exercised upon the minds of cultured Englishmen during the last thirty years, and the stimulus which it has given to historical research, are beginning to pro- duce effects which might have been looked for before now, but have only lately become apparent. The masters and leaders to whom their enthusiastic disciples bowed down with unquestioning reverence as the accredited teachers of their time and the bringers-in of new things have passed their prime, and their successors are not of the calibre to command the hosts that the others marshalled and held in submission. There is springing up a generation of dwarfs who are trying to climb upon the shoulders of the giants, and find it very hard to hang on. The temptation, it must be allowed, is great. The heavy work of research has been done magnificently by such pioneers as Bishop Stubbs, Dr. Luard, Canon Raine, and Sir Thomas Hardy in one direction—by such others as Mr. Brewer, Mr. Gairdner, and their colleagues in another. The body of evidence which an historian has at his command has increased almost beyond the power of ordinary mortals to examine, while to sift and weigh and ponder it demands the powers of noordinary mind. More than ever before is there need of constructive genius and the rarer faculties of the judicial mind to qualify a man to discharge the duties of a great historical teacher. There- fore men are more and more taking up their little briefs and working up the evidence for defending this cause or that. There is an increasing tendency to take up a crotchet and to search the books for proofs of its absolute reasonableness, not to say its absolute de- monstrability. There is testimony enough at hand abundantly sufficient to prove any- thing ; and we have arrived at a point where writers with a certain claim to be regarded as specialists in some periods of history are coming forward as polemics and special pleaders— truth being, consciously or un- consciously, sacrificed to the interests of a theory or a cause. Readers can forgive—or at any rate they try to forgive—such a man as Canon Dixon, whose brilliant style and dash carry them along and carry them out of themselves; and we can excuse Mr. Gasquet, too, whom no one could expect to be other than a partisan. But there is something peculiarly irritating in such a book as this of Mr. Child’s, which being professedly based upon the works of such masters as Bishop Stubbs, Hallam, J. R. Green, and others for the facts, is put forth as an attempt to maintain a position which no one of these great historians would have regarded as other than paradoxical. It is impossible to regard as an historian a man who at this time of day writes a book to prove that ‘‘the English Church was as completely the creation of Henry VIII., Edward’s Council, and Elizabeth as Saxon Protestantism was of Luther, or Swiss of Calvin or of Zwingle,” and who gives it as his main conclusion—the result of his in- quiries, not hastily carried on, we must admit—that ‘‘from the time of Henry VIII.’s Acts of Supremacy and of Submission of the Clergy, the Church of England was, as its whole history shows, simply a department of the State” ? It would be idle to review a partisan volume like this in detail. The writer uses the word “church” as a word to conjure with, and seldom uses it in the same sense for two pages together. If we understand him—and it is not always easy to understand a writer whose language is decidedly loose and inac- curate—he would be almost bold enough to deny that the spirituality of England was ever an estate of the realm; and if he has really studied that profoundly suggestive chapter in the Bishop of Chester’s ‘ Constitutional His- tory’ which he refers to more than once, ‘‘The Clergy, the King, and the Pope,” it has been quite too much for him. The true philosophy of history demands some subtlety of intellect on the part of those who would attain to a deeper insight into its arcana. Mr. Child intends to produce another volume. Frankly, he is hardly the man to pursue the subject he has undertaken to deal with. Let him modestly ponder one paragraph from that very chapter of the great master whose name he has taken in vain; for there are some subjects which average men may safely amuse themselves with, illustrate gracefully, and write about prettily ; but there are some which such average men had better leave alone—only humiliation or something like it awaits them if they try. Therefore let Mr. Child remember that “the careful study of his- tory suggests many problems for which it supplies nosolution. None of these is more easy to state, or more difficult to handle, than the great question of the proper relation between Church and State.” He who would attack that problem even from the historical side must begin by being sure of his standpoint. The English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare. By J. J. Jusserand. Translated from the French by Elizabeth Lee. (Fisher Unwin.) M.JussEranv’s little monograph on the Eng- lish novel, originally published in French some five years ago, showed how much he could teach us about our own literature. His researches are now presented to us in a revised and enlarged shape, and the result is a contribution of permanent value to the history of Elizabethan literature. M. Jusse- rand has chosen ground that we ourselves have neglected ; but his explorations have not been superficial, and we are inclined to think that future travellers in the same country will find little new information to supply and few erroneous impressions to correct. With thoroughness as an inves- tigator M. Jusserand combines a faculty of placing his results attractively before his readers, and he has been fortunate in secur- ing the assistance of Miss Elizabeth Lee, who has done her work of translation satis- factorily throughout. Miss Lee’s English is always accurate, and when it sug- gests a French idiom we appreciate the scholarly flavour of the rendering. The book abounds in pertinent illustrations. William Rogers’s faithful engraving of Queen Elizabeth’s portrait forms the fron- tispiece. A view of Burghley House ex- emplifies the richness of Elizabethan archi- tecture, with which contemporary literature
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186 THE ATHENAUM N° 3276, Ava. 9, ’90 had much in common. Portraits of Sir Philip Sidney and his sister, well-selected plates from such works of imagination as Topsell’s ‘ Four-footed Beastes’ and ‘Ser- pents,’ examples of the illustrations em- ployed in French seventeenth century romances, all give a charm to the volume which the scholar will appreciate no less than the general reader. The useful index deserves a word of praise. M. Jusserand traces the sources of the novel even before the remote date of Beo- wulf, but he wisely avoids merely archeo- logical speculation, and begins a detailed treatment of his subject with Sir Thomas Malory’s ‘Morte d’Arthur.’ As everybody is aware, Caxton was the printer of this ‘‘noble and joyous book,” but it is less generally known that this was only one of Caxton’s efforts as printer, editor, or trans- lator to gratify his patrons’ insatiable taste for works of fiction. The new forms of literature and the new lines of thought which the Renaissance introduced seemed to stimulate rather than to check the demand for chivalric romances which had grown steadily through the Middle Ages. As we watch in M. Jusserand’s pages the develop- ment of the novel from Caxton’s transla- tions, through Lord Berners’s unwieldy romances, to the works of fiction produced by Shakspeare’s contemporaries Lyly and Greene, we are deeply impressed by the permanence of medizval influences. The early Elizabethan writers of romances assimilated much Renaissance sentiment, but it is not until we reach Nash’s studies in real life at the close of the sixteenth century that the medizeval leaven is super- seded. Lyly, with his wealth of illustration drawn from the scientific speculations of the Middle Ages and his fanciful descriptions of Athensor Naples; and Greene, with his stories of knights and kings and courts of chivalry, look like lineal descendants of the jongleurs of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. They reflect the past, and, despite M. Jusse- rand’s ingenious and luminous suggestions to the contrary, only occasionally foreshadow the future. But M. Jusserand has invested his accounts of Lyly’s work and of that of Lyly’s successors with so much fresh and appreciative comment that it will be impos- sible hereafter to refuse to these survivals a literary any less than an historical interest. Lyly’s hero Euphues becomes an attractive figure in the skilful hands of M. Jusserand, but Euphues’s undoubted affinity at some points to Richardson’s heroes does not con- vince us quite so readily as M. Jusserand is convinced that he is in any literal sense ‘the ancestor in direct line of Grandison”’ or of Lord Orville. The theory, at any rate, needs further testing. Of Sidney and pastoral romance, of Thomas Nash and the picaresque novel, and of English fiction in the seven- teenth century, M. Jusserand treats with far more judgment and knowledge than any of our own countrymen have devoted to the subjects. M. Jusserand is able at times to render his criticism and information more effective by drawing upon his knowledge of French literature for illustrative comments. Sir Thomas Malory’s sole mention of himself or of his personal opinions throughout his monumental epic is in a short chapter, in which he laments the decay in his day of virtuous love. M. Jusserand well contrasts the cold seriousness characteristic of the English romance-writer with the impetuous warmth of the author of ‘Aucassin and Nicolette.’ The relations between Early Eng- lish and French literature have never been fully investigated, and the fact that French translations of Greene’s romances and of Sidney’s ‘Arcadia’ became, while Elizabeth was still queen, almost as popular in Paris as the originals were in London, will be news for many well-informed students of our literary history. Some of them may not be more familiar with the circumstance that the debts which French readers of romance contracted to English authors in the sixteenth century were amply repaid in the seventeenth century, when English lovers of fiction satiated themselves with the interminable romances of Scudéry or La Calprenéde in English versions. These international amenities, which have been much neglected by literary historians, are worth dwelling on, and in the elaborate history of English literature on which it is generally understood M. Jusserand has long been engaged we may fairly anticipate to find them fully discussed. The points of interest about this book are so numerous than it would be impossible to deal with them in detail here. But those who read for amusement only may be as safely recommended to procure it as the smaller class who seek to extend their knowledge of the Elizabethan epoch, which remains the most brilliant of our literature. Declaration of War: a Survey of the Position of Belligerents and Neutrals, with Relative Considerations of Shipping and Marine In- surance during War. By Douglas Owen. (Stevens & Sons.) Tue title of this book is, perhaps, a little too modest, as it is suggestive of the work being merely a treatise on the insurance of ships as affected by declaration of war, whereas it is, in fact, a good deal more com- prehensive. Comparatively a small part of it deals with insurance or with the mere breaking out of hostilities; the book as a whole might fairly be called a treatise on war as affecting the commercial relations of belligerents and neutrals. For it is not only the critical moment of the declaration, but the whole state and condition of war, that Mr. Owen treats; it is by no means the underwriting interest alone that he investigates, but every kind of ownership or right that a state of war can bring about, destroy, or modify. He says, we think truly, that the knowledge on the subject thus roughly defined is not to be found elsewhere in a single treatise; it must be sought here and there, in works on the law of nations, shipping, and marine insurance. Mr. Owen has undertaken the duty of col- lecting it, and has thus made a useful addi- tion to the lego-commercial library. In order to give a somewhat more definite ides, of what is actually to be found in this work, we shall describe it briefly according to its logical divisions, without troubling our readers with an actual table of contents. The larger portion of the volume treats of belligerent rights and obligations — first, rights against the enemy; secondly, rights against neutrals; thirdly, municipal rights ; fourthly, belligerent obligations generally. Then comes a chapter on neutral rights and obligations, and, at the end, four or five chapters on special points, of which the most important, from a commercial point of view, is the ‘“‘ Effect of War on Contract.” By way of introduction there are three chap- ters, ancillary to the general topic, though not actually essential to it, under the head- ings of ‘ Retrospect,” ‘Domicile and Ownership,” and ‘The Declaration of Paris.” Of course, each large section of the work has numerous subdivisions; thus the chapter on “ Belligerent Rights against the Enemy ” includes ‘‘ Embargo and Re- prisals,” ‘Capture of Enemy Vessels,” ‘‘ Blockade,”’ and several other sub-titles; while that on “ Belligerent Rights against Neutrals” contains ‘‘ Visit and Search,” “Capture and Confiscation of Contraband of War,” &e. It will be seen that the task which Mr. Owen proposed to himself was one of no small labour and responsibility ; but he was not unprepared for it, being no novice with his pen, and he appears to have performed it efficiently, having, as a rule, arranged his matter well and supported his statements with industry and skill. Occasionally, it is true, we find mere references to the works of Arnould, Wharton, and other writers— in fact, mere appeals to private views, having no judicial character; but Mr. Owen generally refers to decisions of courts, and, in order to distinguish between English and American cases, he wisely prints the latter in italics. A comparison of some of his necessarily brief statements of decisions with the longer descriptions in the original reports has given us a favourable impression of his general accuracy ; but in a rather important modern case he appears to miss the real point and to convey a mistaken impression. Omitting immaterial details, we may mention that the charterers of the Teutonia, a Prus- sian vessel, directed her master to deliver a cargo at the French port of Dunkirk. On his arrival outside that port the master was informed by a pilot, erroneously as it proved afterwards, that war had been declared between France and Prussia, so that if he delivered the cargo he would be trading with an enemy, while at the same time he would place his vessel within that enemy’s grasp. He avoided this double peril, retiring to the Downs to make inquiries. There, in the security of an English road- stead, he learned that war was really declared a day or two after his momen- tary appearance off the French coast. Of course there could now be no ques- tion of delivering the cargo at Dunkirk, and on being asked to deliver it at Dover (one of the ports included in the charter-party), he refused to do so unless paid the full freight. The master went before the English courts and the question was decided in his favour, because, though Dunkirk was not, in fact, an enemy’s port when he lay before it, he had been credibly informed that it was, and had, therefore, been justified in making, for the purposes of inquiry, the delay which caused the ultimate non-delivery. It will be observed that it was clearly admitted, on the one hand, that the master ought to have delivered the cargo at Dunkirk if he knew that no war existed; on the other hand, that he was not bound to deliver it if he
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XUM N° 3276, Ava. 9, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 187 knew that war did exist. The point decided was simply this, that he was saved from the consequences of non-delivery by a reason- able belief at first that war had been de- clared, and by the actual declaration of war afterwards before the mistake was corrected. Mr. Owen merely tells us in his description of the case that ‘‘ whilst on the way to that port [Dunkirk] the master learnt that war was on the eve of declaration between France and Germany,” thus erroneously implying that he was saved by a simple expectation, afterwards justified by the event, that war was about to break out. Hence the im- portant moral of the case is lost ; and it is rather singular that Mr. Owen should have made such a mistake, as a portion of the judgment quoted in an earlier part of his own book (p. 422) might have warned him against it. The disputes which spring from the con- flict (if we may use the expression) between war and commerce give rise to many curious incidents, so that the narratives of the events and the decisions of the courts are naturally more interesting than those which we find in ordinary law reports. Even a non-legal reader, opening Mr. Owen’s book at hazard, may find amusement which will prevent him from closing it hurriedly. The Neutralitet case shows how the courts have to hold their own against the wits of the simple mariner, abnormally sharpened by the prospect of exceptional reward. On pretence of procuring a pilot, this vessel approached a blockaded port, and anchored in such a position that in the daylight she would be under the protection of the shore batteries. She was seized, however, we suppose before daylight, and a ruthless prize court would have it that she had intended to slip into the port on the first opportunity ; she was, therefore, condemned, notwithstanding her pacific name, for attempt- ing to ‘‘run the blockade.” In Esposito »v. Bowden a curious conflict of rights occurred. A merchant chartered a vessel to receive a cargo of grain at Odessa; but before the vessel got there the Crimean War had broken out, and the charterer refused to provide the cargo, on the ground that he could not do so without trading with the enemy. It was argued against him in the Court of Queen’s Bench that he might have bought a cargo from British subjects, and the Court gave ear to that contention and held that he was in the wrong. He appealed, however, and the Exchequer Chamber decided in his favour, partly (apparently) because “all goods in the country of an enemy must be considered enemy goods,’ and partly because, even if that were not so, the passing of the goods through the Russian Custom House and the payment of export duties would constitute a trading with the enemy. A curious instance of American perseverance is related at p. 214. In 1810 the Govern- ment of Washington denied the right of Denmark to seize American vessels which had sailed under protection of British convoy (Denmark and England being enemies, Denmark and the United States friends), and Denmark agreed to give compensation after twenty years of negotiations! Mr. Owen justly points out that the principle here asserted was contrary to the decision of Sir W. Scott in the case of the Maria, a vessel which had been seized while sailing under Swedish convoy. A curious case, turn- ing on the meaning of ordinary words, is mentioned in the short chapter on “ Piracy.” During a period of scarcity a body of coun- try people in Ireland took possession of a | |in the tenth century. M. Schlumberger, vessel laden with corn, and ran her upon the rocks; they then ‘ requisitioned” the cargo, paying for it on their own terms. A claim was brought against the under- writers, because the policy included ‘“ar- rests, restraints, and detainments of all...... people,” and also losses by ‘“‘ pirates.” On | the ground of piracy the claim prevailed ; it would otherwise have been rejected, for the Court did not hold a Milesian mob to be ‘people’ within the meaning of the policy. We should hesitate to say that this decision (Nesbitt v. Lushington) was unjust or illogical, though it certainly assigned to each of the two vital words a meaning some- what differing in comprehensiveness from that which is familiarly attributed to it. We may supplement these merchant- shipping anecdotes, abridged from Mr. Owen’s pages, with an amusing incident which has no place in his work, the circum- stances not having called for a legal decision. At or just before the beginning of the late Franco - German War, the master of a Prussian vessel laden with nitrate of soda applied to the authorities at an English port and asked whether the law required that they should detain her. Here was a remarkable case; the Prussians are an orderly and well - conducted people, as every one knows, but who would expect even a Prussian skipper to offer himself as a voluntary sacrifice on the altar of inter- national obligations? It was soon found that there was no reason for detaining the vessel, and she was told that she might go, but she remained of her own accord. Per- haps the authorities may have been a little surprised at the master’s heroic desire for an enforced sojourn in England ; if so, they may have discerned a reason for it some months later, when the non-delivery of the cargo at a French port of destination formed the subject of an action at law, to which ‘‘detainment of rulers and princes ”’ might possibly have been a good ground of defence ! The practical value of Mr. Owen’s book is enhanced by a liberal index, and an appendix consisting of the Naval Prize Act, 1864; the binding is bright and telling, the typography clear and generally correct ; but we think that a certain vessel with a cargo of pilchards, the staple of the Cornish coast, must have hailed from Padstow, not from ‘ Radstow,” as stated at p. 424. Mr. Owen reminds us that we have had no war to speak of for twenty-five years, that we cannot expect such good fortune to last for ever, and that his book may be useful to us as belligerents if war comes. We admit every one of these positions, but we hope, nevertheless, that many years may pass before we have to use it otherwise than as neutrals. Un Empereur Byzantin au Dixiéme Siecle, Nicéphore Phocas. Par Gustave Schlum- berger. (Paris, Firmin-Didot & Co.) No period of the Eastern Roman Empire seems to fascinate French writers so much as the tenth century —the century of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, Nicephorus Phocas, John Tzimisces, and Basil II. The remarkable work of M. Rambaud, ‘L’Empire Grec au Dixiéme Siécle,’ appeared just twenty years ago, and four years later M. Aug. Marrast published his ‘ Esquisses Byzantines’ — sketches of Byzantine life who has hitherto been known chiefly by works on numismatics, has now made a new and welcome contribution to the study of this interesting period. His en- thusiasm for his subject is quite refresh- ing; heisa ‘“ byzantiniste passionné.”” He tells us in his preface that his work has given him “le gout le plus vif pour l’histoire de cet empire extraordinaire.” But he is convinced that no one in France knows really anything about “‘ Byzantine history ”’ with the distinguished exception of M. Rambaud (of whose work the author has fully availed himself): ‘“ L’histoire de l’em- pire byzantin est encore tout entiére a faire.” We feel almost inclined to suggest to M. Schlumberger that the best way to begin would be to give up talking about ‘‘l’empire byzantin.” But we will not quarrel with him on this point. It would be as vain to expect a Frenchman to discard the phrases ‘‘Pempire grec” and ‘‘l’empire byzantin” as to expect him to call the last Lombard king anything but Didier. Nicephorus Phocas has enjoyed a rare distinction, rare at least for one of his kind. Blessed indeed is the sovereign of New Rome whose shade can boast that two monographs have been devoted to his memory in the course of three years. The wars of Nice- phorus with the Hamdanids of Syria formed the subject of an excellent little ‘‘ doctoral ”’ dissertation by K. Leonhardt in 1887; and now M. Schlumberger has chosen the same emperor for the hero of a far more elaborate work. The object of M. Schlumberger is to group round his hero as complete a picture as possible of the political, military, and social life of the period: ‘‘J’ai voulu faire de ce livre comme un résumé de l’existence militaire, sociale, et politique & Constan- tinople vers l’an 960.” The size of the work, which extends to nearly 800 pages, is partly due to digressions and elaborate descriptions of court ceremonies, &c., which the author has introduced to make his picture complete, partly to the numerous fine illustrations, which make the book doubly attractive. M. Schlumberger’s choice of a subject was wise. The second Nicephorus is a most attractive figure, and his reign was marked by more than usually interesting events. The great work of his life was the recovery of the long-lost provinces of Syria and Cilicia, and of the islands of Crete and Cyprus, from the Saracens. The tide had com- menced turning in 945 a.p. The frontiers of the infidel began to recede, and the frontiers of Eastern Christendom to advance. This change in the prospects of the Empire was partly due to the internal dissensions which agitated the Eastern Caliphate. The actual power of the Caliph hardly extended beyond the gates of Bagdad; his nominal dominions were, for the most part, in the hands of independent emirs openly hostile to him, or rather to his Sultan; for the position of the Caliph at this time resembled that of a Merovingian king at the beginning of the eighth century. Northern Mesopo- tamia was ruled from Mossul by the Ham- danid, Nasser Eddauleh; his brother Seif
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188 THE ATHENAUM N° 3276, Aua. 9, ’90 Eddauleh, the Emir of Aleppo, held Northern Syria ; Palestine and Southern Syria were governed from Cairo. But the successes of the Christian armies cannot be wholly ex- | plained by the weakness of the enemy. The brilliant Seif Eddauleh, of whom M. Schlum- berger gives a most interesting account, was a formidable antagonist, and the holy war against the Christian ‘‘ polytheists ” was one of the chief aims of his life. The fact that the Empire gained ground must be in great measure attributed to a succession of com- petent generals, belonging chiefly to the family of Phocas. Nicephorus Phocas, grandfather of the emperor of the same name, had driven the Moslem of the West from Southern Italy in the reign of Basil L.; Bardas Phocas, his son, ha@ proved him- self a formidable foe to the Moslem of the East in many a campaign in Asia Minor. Two sons of this veteran, Nicephorus and Leo, inherited his military talent, and Nice- phorus consummated the work which his father had begun, and reconquered pro- vinces for whose recovery the Basileis had long ceased to hope. These successful cam- paigns of Nicephorus, pleasantly related by M. Schlumberger, arouse in the reader an excitement and enthusiasm which could be awakened by no events in Roman history since Heraclius wrought the great deliver- ance from the Persian. We have, indeed, been rather surprised that M. Schlum- berger ignores the campaigns of the great emperor of the seventh century. On p. 158 he remarks: ‘Les guerres syriennes de l’empereur Nicéphore et de son successeur Jean Tzimiscés sont certainement la page la plus belle de l’histoire byzantine militaire depuis les exploits des généraux de J ustinien.”’ Surely the exploits of Heraclius against Chosroes were far more marvellous and brilliant than even the exploits of Nice- phcrus against Seif Eddauleh. The expulsion of the Arabs from Crete in 961 was of much greater importance for the well-being of the Empire than the recovery of Syria. The “Cretan question ” had been really the burning question for a century past, and Nicephorus Phocas had the glory of solving it. Chandax (Candia) was practically the headquarters of all the Saracen pirates of the Mediterranean,—‘‘une gigantesque caverne de voleurs, ou affluérent tous les trésors d’Orient, le marché d’esclaves chrétiens ou vinrent se ravitailler tous les pourvoyeurs de herems du monde musul- man.” By the middle of the tenth century the situation had become quite intolerable ; the navigation of the 7igean was suspended by the insolence of these Cretan plunderers, who were nominally subjects of the Caliph of Cordova. M. Schlumberger has well seized the intense interest of the great Cretan expedition in which Nicephorus won his laurels. After a long siege the nest of the pirates was sacked, and the inhabitants of the AZgean coasts and islands were at length delivered from the haunting terror of the horrible ‘‘ Agarene”’ corsairs. This triumph was won by Nicephorus before he had ascended the throne. His arms were not so lucky in the island of the West. If he had been able to lead in person the expedition that sailed to the relief of Rametta in the autumn of 964, or if he could have spared John Tzimisces for the p e, it is highly probable that Sicily, like Crete and Cyprus, would have been rescued from the unbelievers. But the expedition failed through the incompetence of the com- manders. M. Schlumberger gives (after Amari) a good account of this episode, the details of which were unknown to Finlay, who does not even mention Rametta, the last fortress that held out against the Saracen. It is an interesting circumstance, duly appre- ciated by M. Schlumberger, that Nicetas, one of the commanders in this expedition, spent the days of his captivity (at Mehedia) on a work of calligraphy, which is now one of the most precious treasures of the Biblio- théque Nationale. This MS. contains works of St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, and St. Chrysostom. The character of Nicephorus—half soldier, half monk—his relations with Athanasius the anchoret, the part played in these years by the Empress Theophano, who has been called ‘‘ the Theodora of the tenth century,” the intrigues of Bringas, the famous embassy of Liutprand—all these highly interesting matters have been excellently treated by M. Schlumberger. His account of Athanasius and the foundation of the Laura Monastery on Mount Athos is specially valuable. Here he has availed himself of a Russian work of M. Syrkov. We gather that M. Schlum- berger does not read Russian himself, but has had the assistance of Slavonic friends. So many important works bearing on the Eastern Roman Empire appear in Russian that a knowledge of this language is now —" indispensable to a worker in that field. M. Schlumberger does not impress us as being quite at home outside his own special century. We can hardly forgive him for calling the famous empress who ended her life in the island of Lesbos ‘‘ Zoé”—“ la fameuse impératrice Zoé, la contemporaine de Charlemagne”’ (p. 73). The mistake is repeated on p. 274. Athenian Irene had her faults, but she does not deserve to be confounded with the niece of Basil II. There is a less obvious, and therefore more dangerous, error on p. 341, where we read that Christianity was introduced into Bul- garia ‘‘au temps du czar Boris.” This is like calling Charles Martel a king of the Franks, or Pepin a Roman emperor, or the predecessors of Ivan III. Tsars. Boris was only a prince (knez); his successor Simeon was the first Bulgarian ruler who took the Roman title ¢sar (Cwsar). On p. 257 we are told that the ‘‘floraison intellectuelle ” which marked the reigns of the earlier Mace- donian emperors disappeared after Constan- tine VII., and did not revive until the days of the Comneni. This is not quite correct. The revival was inaugurated by the famous Psellus in the reign of Constantine IX. It is to be regretted that M. Schlumberger did not furnish his book with an index. The scarcity of references to his sources is also a drawback. On p. 15 we observe a misinterpretation of a passage in Genesius, but the author did not help us to the dis- covery. Genesius (p. 100, ed. Bonn) does not say that Ignatius was shut up for fifteen days ‘‘dans le sarcophage méme”’ of Constantine V. The Patriarch was con- fined in the heroon, wherein that sarcophagus stood. On p. 418 we find a strange form ‘‘bandos.”’ The author means bandon, the name ofa division of the army. But slips like these are few. We owe to M. Schlumberger a valuable and delightful book. NOVELS OF THE WEEE, Audrey. By Margery Hollis. (Bentley & Son.) Having and Holding: a Story of Country Life. - J. E. Panton. 3 vols. (Trischler & 0.) Jack Abbott’s Log: a Yarn of the Merchant Service. By Robert Brown. 2 vols. (Sampson Low & Go.) 3 vols. Two English Girls. By Mabel Hart. 2 vols. (Hurst & Blackett.) The Last Master of Carnandro. By Thomas A. Pinkerton. (Sonnenschein & Oo.) Nemesis: a Moral Story. By Seyton Crewe. (Eden, Remington & Co.) = By Octave Thanet. (Warne & 0 Contes d Madame. Par Jacques Normand. (Paris, Calmann Lévy.) Fleurs de Jade. Par Lydie Paschkoff. (Same publishers.) Destruction. Parle Marquis de Castellane. (Same publishers.) Tue deceased wife’s sister is at first sight an uninteresting subject for a novel; but Miss Hollis has made ingenious use of her materials, Not only has she evolved a good deal of complication from the central fact of her plot, but in her heroine she has powerfully depicted the impression upon a high-spirited girl of the discovery, just in the dawn of womanhood, of the slur upon her birth which neutralizes in the eyes of society all the personal advantages which might have made her path through life fortunate, if not triumphant. It is to be hoped there is no other man who, like Mr. Harrington, would repudiate the wife he had wronged and abandon his luckless offspring for the sake of securing wealth and consideration for himself. Fortunately Audrey’s time of trial is brought to an end by a convenient uncle from Australia, and only serves to test the faithfulness of her rather cautious, but entirely honourable lover. Her own character is a by kindness. The only point in which she fails to win our sympathy is in her total alienation from the kind aunt with whom she takes refuge after her flight from her “ uncle” Bevan, and whose only fault is having been compelled by apparently insurmountable difficulties to keep from her the knowledge of her parentage. Yet even this is emi- nently natural in one in whom a strong longing for maternal love was the outcome both of disposition and circumstances. The loves of the honest Clive and his strong- minded, though tender-hearted medical bride are not a little pathetic. Uncle Bevan we seem to have seen before ; he is good in his quintessential selfishness; but we re- member some such character in ‘The Woman in White.’ Dukes.and journalists play their parts in Mrs. Panton’s somewhat chaotic story. At all events there is one curious sample of each class, with Lord Williams and Lord Richards, and so forth. Lord Richard is a member of Parliament, who explains his position to his brother’s wife in this style: ‘‘T loathe, like we all of us do really, to be forced to be unselfish and consider our
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brutes of tenants.” The author can write better than this, and there are a few things which she understands more thoroughly than politics. Her main incident is borrowed from ‘ Diana of the Crossways,’ which is all the more unfortunate because she treats it far less naturally than the incidents which are apparently of her own devising. A book that is both a log and a yarn, on the testimony of its title-page, is evidently intended to meet a real or supposed demand for nautical romance; and Mr. Robert Brown is nothing if not nautical. Jack Abbott is, of course, a genial, rollicking hero—if he were not rollicking he would never have written his log nor spun his yarn. His adventures at sea are pes od at any rate would have been remar. if they had not hap- pened to many other sailors before. After various turns of fortune he finds himself at last in charge of a deserted ship, with a woman, a boy, and a handful of sailors under his command. The ship is plague- stricken ; the sailors go mad and die, whilst the other three put off in a boat, carrying the fever with them. Eventually they land on an island paradise, where they discover another derelict, half buried in the sand. Needless to say, that sixteenth century wreck contains a pile of gold. On such a basis Mr. Brown has built up a taking story of its kind. Beatrice Hamlyn and Evelyn Grey are two charming specimens of very modern English young ladies, who, like their Scottish proto- types, Bessie Bell and Mary Gray, have struck out an original line. They are art students at Florence, and their adventures in the city of flowers are deftly and delicately treated by Miss Mabel Hart. Both live in a world which is much more Italian than our countrywomen usually move in, and both in their very different ways give as much as they gain from the teachers-and fellow pupils who receive them so heartily and finally come to adorethem. About the best points in this little sketch of a life not very familiar to most of us are the extremely easy dialogue and the natural manner in which the pas- sionate old maestro Andrea Vivaldi, his roughish, masculine son Ugo, and the selfish, unmoral, not immoral, genius Guido Giu- dotti, act and are acted on by the bright society of two simple-hearted English gentle- women. It is obvious that every member of the little coterie is the better for the inter- course which is so vividly described, though a terrible lapse on Guido’s part leads toa tragic end of the hopes he once shared with Evelyn Grey. Yet even through the death of the more tender of the two gracious ladies some of her survivors learn a lesson which seldom comes without attendant pain, certainly not to so thoughtless, or at least so unreflecting, a creature as the younger artist. Ugo and Beatrice are as happy as they deserve to be, and.the cheerful Harry Pleydell and his American bride will go through life quite comfortably in spite of artistic heresy and quackery of all sorts. There is a great deal of force and a distinct power of concentration in ‘ The Last Master of Carnandro,’ far more so than in ‘The Spanish Poniard.’ The capacity for following a single idea or passion without becoming tedious, diffuse, or analytical is rare indeed, and Mr. Pinkerton’s story gives
evidence of the quality in no small degree, as well as of power of dramatic presentation and vividness. The passion depicted is in this case revenge ; the working out of it is quiet and masterly ; and the character of the avenger—which gradually loses all other attributes and grows to one fell and dreadful purpose—if excessive, seems yet not over- wrought. The whole thing is a dreadfully remorseless and inexorable bit of work; at the same time it is true to life. The moral torture and humiliation of the injured and formerly vain man, his state of mind as he coldly hatches his sinister plot, and the entire warping of his whole nature certainly make an extreme, but not, we think, an exaggerated picture. Given the premises, the nature and circumetances of the men, and you have something that is consistent enough. The story is restrained rather than highly coloured in tone, yet there are lurid and nightmarish touches, as the meet- ing on the Dean Bridge (the drama is enacted in Edinburgh anditsneighbourhood), which is strangely effective. Mr. Pinkerton is to be congratulated on having conceived a strong situation, and on its being well sustained and well executed. An author’s pleasure in his work is not always, we are told, intended to include a reader’s pleasure as well. To take a late instance, the writing of ‘The Picture of Dorian Grey’ gave Mr. Wilde, it seems, ‘‘intense artistic pleasure ”’—a pleasure he was content that ‘a few only” should share. If there can be any pleasure at all connected with a story like ‘ Nemesis,’ it must be a pleasure strictly confined to the author himself. We see nothing to admire or enjoy in it. It is a “horrid” sort of book, and what cleverness it possesses is small compared to the pervading nastiness of tone. That the characters who figure in it may be intended, perhaps, as types rather than individuals, hardly lessens the dis- agreeable impression of the thing. We wonder if, by any chance, the author may possibly harbour the suspicion that there is anything Voltairean in his ‘‘method”—that his would-be cynical and disenchanting touch has any resemblance to the style of a masterpiece called ‘Candide.’ Surely not. Yet wilder conceits have been. It is just possible, of course, that some people may see more in the book than a jumble of vulgar and ill-natured joking and sneer- ing; if so they are more fortunate than we have been. If the story is intended as a burlesque, skit, or satire on something or other, or on things in general, it failsof effect ; if it is intended to ridicule life itself and to give it an ugly colour, it is not strong enough to succeed. There is a good deal of buffoonery and some attempt at blasphemy; but as there is little wit and no humour we may look on it as a poor sort of extra- vaganza, belonging rather to the super- fluous and tasteless in fiction than to the dangerous. ‘Expiation’ is by an American author. It is a story of Arkansas during the Civil War, dealing not with military affairs, but with the brutalities of ruffians who made the war an opportunity for plunder and murder on their own account. The author must be credited with some power of vigor- ous description, devoted chiefly to horrible cruelties, and his story may be recommended
to those who think that bloodshed keeps fiction pure. The volume is unpleasant to read. The paper is exceedingly stiff, like that used too commonly for novels in Ame- rica. The spelling is American. It would have been convenient if the publishers had stated whether the book was published with the author’s sanction, and whether it has already appeared in America. From Calmann Lévy’s there reach us three novels, of which we have put first a pretty enough volume of short stories. The author of ‘ Contes 4 Madame’ unfortunately fancies he knows English, and writes ‘<tennis-cort,’’ and otherwise commits errors heey his printers should have corrected for m. ‘ Fleurs de Jade ’ is also a volume of short stories, of which two are about China, two about Russia, and one about Central Asia, while one treats of Japan, one of the Turkey of the Turks, and one of the Pera of the Levantines. All, except the remaining story, the scene of which is laid at Naples, are full of local colour. The novel of M. de Castellane is a picture of the havoc wrought by Paris on a young country noble of the west of France, full of exaggeration, but not without some power.
RECENT VERSE. Corn and Poppies. By Cosmo Monkhouse. (Elkin Mathews. ) Life and its Author: an Essay in Verse. By Ella Haggard. (Longmans & Co.) Lays of Common Life. By William Toynbee. (Remington & Co.) The Quest of Sir Bertrand, and other Poems. By R. H. Domenichetti. (Allen & Co.) Poems of the Past. By “ Moi-méme.” (Dublin, Gill & Son.) Spring and Summer ; or, Blushing Hours. By William T. Washburn. (G. P. Putnam’s Sons.) Ballads and Poems from the Pacific. By Francis Sinclair (“F. 8. C.,” “ Aopouri,” ‘‘ Philip Garth”). (Sampson Low & Co.) ‘Corn AND Poprpigs’ is one of the host of books of well-written verse which overwhelm the present generation of critics—books which are full of the qualities that go to the making of the best poetry, but which in some intangible way lack the one essential quality of being poetry. Mr. Monkhouse makes a whimsical use of short trotting lines, writing whole poems of three or four pages in such metre as— O Love, No skill Can move Thy will. No sight Can cow, No might Can bow, A friend To the end Art Thou,— and breaking up other measures, especially those of the ode, into skimp lengths of like sort ; but otherwise he has no special mannerisms calling for dispraise. And he has intellectual ability and a good command of poetic expression. ‘Life and its Author’ owes its republication to the filial piety of Mr. Rider Haggard. It is the attempt of a good and thoughtful woman, obviously neither poet nor philosopher, to oppose by poetic exhortation the progress of certain scientific thinkers. In an appended “Few Words to the Reader” she says that her object has been “‘ by suggestion rather than argument” to encourage the reverent spirit the absence of which she feels too apparent among persons engaged in the pursuit of science. The phrase “suggestion rather than argument” suflices to show the futility of her attempt from its logical side: Darwin, Huxley, Tyndall, Comte (these
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190 THE ATHENZUM Ne 3276, Ave. 9,90 are the names she specially cites), to be met by suggestion rather than argument! It would take an inspired poem indeed to convince such men or their students thus. And what inspira- tion Mrs. Haggard was able to find in her theme these lines,or any others from her essay, betoken: Is Nature, God? Are gases, reigning laws ? ** Atoms fortuitous ”"—the Great First Cause ? And say—of varying systems, which the best ? Can bland Development charm doubts to rest, As from remotest times exhumed we scan Th’ Ancestral Fish ; or, late in Nature's plan, The Apish Representative of Man : While Natural Selection’s pliant Law Transforms the tail to limbs, the fin to claw, And—“ Fittest still Surviving ” in the strife— From floods of Death distils Essential Life, Till, slow matured (why heed the Sacred Page ?) Man roams this Earth in Pre-historic age ? We have carefully searched the essay for a pas- sage to give some higher idea of Mrs. Haggard as a poet, but we cannot find one. Yet it is but just to say that the impression left by the essay as a whole is far less trite and dull than that given by any individual passage; for there is present a kind of continuous rhetorical fervour which gives unity and force, like those of an earnestly delivered speech, to what might other- wise seem insufficiently connected, and burdened with sciolistic information. There is, moreover, in the essay one really fine image. Unfortunately the idea is spun out into nearly two pages, amid which it is almost lost, and the length of the passage prevents our quoting it. But the illus- tration which likens Reason, become the ‘‘ use- less guide” of the too venturesome scientific investigators, to the magnet startling Arctic voyagers with its ‘‘ wild vibrations” as they Daring track that lone mysterious main By jealous Nature barred with icy chain, and approach the Magnetic Pole, is in itself a striking one artistically, and might have made three or four lines which could truly have been called poetry. For the sake of one whom her son’s tenderly written memoir shows to have been a sweet-minded woman of no mean ability, we regret the presentation to the general public of this belated specimen of a literary school already obsolete when Mrs. Haggard wrote. Mr. William Toynbee’s ‘Lays of Common Life’ are clever specimens of the kind of verse, much in vogue of late years, which achieves its effects of simplicity or pathos or cynicism or playfulness by use of the dialects of the slums, the plough-fields, and the more illiterate and slangy of the fashionable clubs. In the hands of a skilled master of it—and Mr. Toynbee is a skilled master of it—this method is often decidedly effective ; but it has at its root the canker of that worst sort of unnaturalness which shams being extra natural. It is like the sim- plicity of the ingénwe-harridan, like the wood- land wildness of rockeries and water-taps and harebells in a villa garden; the thing may be rettily done, but the trick of it is too palpable. t has neither the sincerity of true art nor of nature ; and much of it wearies. If, however, we must have new specimens of this pseudo- natural verse—unluckily so easy to any tolerable metrist—we give a preference to specimens so good of their sort as those of Mr. Toynbee. In ‘The Quest of Sir Bertrand’ Mr. R. H. Domenichetti starts with a version of the Tann- hauser legend. Sir Bertrand has been enticed by a beautiful demon into her enchanted grot, where he lay nine years with her lips pressed close to his ; then, having by some sudden grace aroused himself and come forth in shame, he goes through penances and trials till a hermit releases him. The knight departs on his pil- grimage and goes through many adventures, finally travelling to Rome to die in St. Peter's on Easter Day as the Pope pronounces the blessing at Mass. Oddly enough no more men- tion is made of the hermit’s staff which was to blossom. Mr. Domenichetti seems to have for- gotten it. We cannot give much praise to the telling of the tale of Sir Bertrand, and it is far too long for ballad measure. The volume con- tains besides many short poems, chiefly legendary. Some of them are much better than ‘ The Quest of Sir Bertrand.’ * ‘© Moi-méme’s” ‘ Poems of the Past’ are com- mendable from the moral point of view, being sane and wholesome matter, and possessing in their religious sentiment something so natural and so hearty that, although many of them are distinctively utterances of a thorough disciple of the Church of Rome, the Protestant who could not feel in kindly sympathy with the writer must needs be among the narrowest of sectarians. But of the poetical and literary quality of ‘‘Moi-méme’s” verses we cannot honestly say a good word. Mr. William T. Washburn’s ‘Spring and Summer; or, Blushing Hours,’ should have had for its second title ‘ Kissing Hours,’ rather than ‘ Blushing Hours.’ The book swarms with kisses, and there is no blushing whatever about them, unless anything of the sort occurred to the lady who is bidden Blush not, Lady, to have lain Beneath my kisses’ burning rain, Beneath my kisses raining down On thy crystal forehead’s frown, Xc. In some of the far too many sweethearting effu- sions there is a not unpleasant echo of the quaint sportiveness of the poets of Delias and Celias whom Mr. Washburn imitates. He is no in- admissible disciple of those old masters who could write E PLURIBUS, Learn, fair Cloisterer, in a trice, How few kisses would suffice To set the snow-king’s daughter free From love’s importunity ! Quick a golden hundred coin, And to them a thousand join ; Then, on lips that die of thirst, Let your hoarded treasures burst, Till the stinging drops of hail, Or wheat seeds springing from the fiail, Or silent stars that pave the sky, Or sands on Jersey’s beach that lie— But stop! look down! I’m half undone ; I almost missed this tiny one, But, though a few light imitative trifles like this might shine among pieces of soberer verse, like pretty trinkets worn sparingly, score upon score of them crowding a lengthy volume make a disagreeable impression of meretricious tawdri- ness, And there is a superfluity of the same order of thought in the poems that aim at earnestness. There is in the volume a section, ‘** Humorous Poems,” in which humour is sadly to seek. The narrative ballads are better of their kind, but they have the great defect that they do not make their story clear. The ‘ Ballads and Poems from the Pacific’ are written by Francis Sinclair, F. 8. C., Ao- pouri, and Philip Garth. If any one asks how there came to be so many authors to one little book, there is a like answer to that for the time-honoured problem of Elizabeth, Betsy, and Bess, who, finding a nest with three eggs, took each an egg, and left two in the nest. It appears that Mr. Francis Sinclair, who now thinks it “a fitting time to drop disguise and assume the responsibility of my work,” considers that the other names, especially Philip Garth, had suc- cessful careers, receiving ‘small blame and high praise,” and that their poetry deserves repub- lishing, and even adding to in an enlarged edi- tion. As to many of the poems in this edition we agree with Mr. Sinclair’s opinion about the republishing. Mr. Sinclair may fairly be called a poet, for he has poetic impulse as well as the skill of verse. Some of the pieces—we fancy they must be those of F.S. C. and Aocpouri, the more juvenile avatars—are somewhat too efflorescent ; but there are others which not only are without this defect, but are marked by true fervour and pathos. It is a pity that a tender, sad, little poem, ‘The Nightingales,’ one of his best and most attractive of the kind, should, by what was, no doubt, a trick of his memory, have caught so much of the refrain of Mrs. Brown- ing’s ‘ Bianca among the Nightingales’ as to dis- turb the repose with which the reader ought to follow the lament of his gentle mourner by reminiscences of the deserted Bianca’s tragic vehemence ; but the plagiarism is evidently unin- tentional, and his girl in the Devon lane is her- self and not a copied Bianca, Mr. Sinclair’s ballads have a good roll and swing. The title of the volume is a little misleading; some of its poems and ballads are ‘‘ from the Pacific,” but. by no means the majority of them. HANDBOOKS TO ORIENTAL LANGUAGES, In the preface to An Arabic Reading-Book, just issued by Messrs. Allen & Co., its author, Mr. Alan Birdwood, thus explains the cause of its appearance :— “Whilst studying Arabic, after passing through the first stages, for which there are many exeellent reading-books, I experienced great difficulty in bridging the gulf that exists between the beginner and the advanced reader, whose intention it is to become an Arabic scholar.” He goes on to state that, finding little or no assistance in existing vocabularies and other available works, he occupied himself in much promiscuous reading, during which he accumu- lated a mass of notes. ‘‘ From this mass,” he adds, ‘‘ I have made a selection such as I think would chiefly benefit others in a similar position to my own, and now present it, hoping that it will be useful to them.” There is undoubtedly much to be said in support of this argument ; for the simpler Arabic publications on sale in Egypt beyond the range of school-books—such, for instance, as the ‘ Tuhfatu’l Anfsah ’—are for the most part Syrian and not Egyptian. That Mr. Birdwood has done his work intelligently and well may at once be admitted. His “sen- tences and dialogues” are judiciously chosen ;. his ‘‘ various exercises” are practical lessons in the right direction; and his extracts from Arabic newspapers and manuscript letters are notably useful and appropriate. He deserves congratulation not only for the success achieved: by the work under notice, but for the example he has set to his fellow countrymen employed in Egypt in imparting to others, as well as ac- quiring for himself, a colloquial knowledge of the magnificent language spoken in the land of their sojourn. One word of mild criticism in conclusion, If the small print is somewhat of a drawback, the use of the accent aigu is sometimes perplexing. In the word printed wdéra—we take a single example—it is difficult to suppose that the second is really the long a, but it is so. Tue extract from the India Army Circular immediately following the preface to Dr. Rank- ing’s T‘alim-i-Zabdn-t- Urdu: a Guideto Hindu- stdnt, is hardly calculated to stimulate the zeab of Oriental students in the forces of our Eastern empire. Four-figure grants of rupees have dis- appeared from the programme, and are replaced by sums which fail to compensate the candi- date for the employment of a superior munshi, or native instructor. It is to be hoped that the introduction of the new rules, which took effect from the Ist of January, for the examination of officers may prove a wise and satisfactory mea- sure, irrespective of economical considerations, But there seems to have been unnecessary com- plication in the assessment of attainments which might aptly be classed under the two heads of special or high proficiency and that kind of pro- fiency which qualifies for staff appointment of any kind. The first would have a literary and scholastic, the second a practical and an official character. One would necessitate treatment by specially qualified examiners at the headquarters of Government; the other could be dealt with by district committees much as heretofore con- stituted. Minor examinations for regimental and incidental purposes might be separately pro- vided for without notification of results in general orders, or the grant of rewards or dis- tinguishing letters. On the other hand, for the ‘“‘high proficients” a grant of degree for Oriental languages would, perhaps, be better than any money reward. In his little book, ‘* specially designed for the use of officers and
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en XUM Ne 3276, Ava. 9,’90 THE ATHENZUM 191
men serving in India,” Surgeon-Major Ranking has undoubtedly rendered good service to the many military men for whom knowledge of Hin- dustini is an essential, not simply for entering the Staff Corps, but for ordinary professional efficiency, when attached to local regiments or in frequent communication with natives of India. If, in accordance with the author’s own invitation, we were to make ‘‘ any suggestions likely to increase the usefulness of the work,” the main one would in all probability be that he add to part ii. a few paragraphs explanatory of ‘‘Idiom,” more particularly those idioms used by himself in parts i. and iii. Examples may be found on p. 6, sentences two and three from the top, where the present tense is substi- tuted for the English past, and the first person for the English third, as well as in many other passages. Perhaps also the signification of the particle né would be clearer by further develop- ment than is given on p. 57. On p. 32 the pupil is told “ ; (wao with fatha)j=ow as in ‘cow.’” But is not the commonly received au, as in the German “augen,” better? Independently of the advantage gained by assimilating our trans- literation of Oriental words as much as possible to the continental system, what would be the result if the true pronunciation of the English ow were sought for in “low,” of which the example given is certainly suggestive? Messrs. Thacker & Co. are the publishers of Dr. Rank- ing’s very creditable manual.
OUR LIBRARY TABLE. Mr. Ropert C. Lesuiz’s Old Sea Wings, Ways, and Words, in the Days of Oak and Hemp (Chapman & Hall), is primarily a marine artist’s note-book, and as such is admirable. The numerous sketches of quaint, out-of-the-way, obsolete, or fast becoming obsolete, types of vessels and boats are delightful, and may very well help to throw light on some of the vexed questions of maritime archeology. We quite agree with Mr. Leslie as to the absurdity of accepting the devices of medieval seals, or coins, or illuminated manuscripts as represen- tations of actual ships or of anything more sea- worthy than a washing-tub; and we have no difficulty in believing with him that the ships 80 travestied were in reality not very unlike the one-masted Norwegian coasters of the present day. The stern, however, must have been different ; for the rudder, as we know it and as these coasters have it, was unknown: the early ships were certainly steered with an oar on the quarter. Unfortunately the literary part of the work is by no means on the same high level as the artistic. The reminiscences of naval incidents, too, are generally incorrect ; and the description of the loss of the Royal George, which, ad propos de bottes, the author repeats from “that mine of information the good old Penny Magazine,” is utterly and entirely false. The true account is given in Barrow’s ‘ Life of Earl Howe.’ In Brayhard: the Strange Adventures of One Ass and Seven Champions (Ward & Downey), Mr. F. M. Allen, who has won a reputation by being funny, is now, alas! only would-be face- tious. In an evil hour for his reputation as a humourist Mr. Allen conceived the idea of applying to the story of the Seven Champions of Christendom the methods employed by Mark Twain in handling Arthyrian romance. The result of his labours seems likely to cause several evil quarters of an hour to those whose pleasant memories of ‘Through Green Glasses’ may tempt them to embark upon ‘Brayhard.’ The dialect throughout is redolent of the music-halls ; champions and giants converse in the lingo of the bank clerk. Here, for example, are a few gems collected at random: “Go to Bath, you old fool !” ‘* Perhaps you’d like a nip of something short”; “ Good afternoon, have you used,” &c. ; “‘Thanks very much, dear boys”; ‘‘That’s a |
good chap”; ‘* The champions begged their boss not to get them into trouble,” &c. ‘ Brayhard,’ in conclusion, is—whether the plot, the inci- dents, or the dialogue be considered—without exception one of the most exasperatingly idiotic and hopelessly vulgar bocks that we have ever come across, Two works on different branches of athleticism reach us at the same time, of which the one is Rowing at Westminster from 1813 to 1883, pub- lished by Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co., and the other Specially Surveyed Roads in Scotland: being a Guide for Cyclists, written by Mr. Rowland Brayshay, and published by Messrs. George Philip & Son. These books are not of much interest to the general public; but we may commend Mr. Brayshay’s attempt to induce tourists to visit Scotland in May —often the best month in a bad year. Messrs. ALLEN & Co. publish The Book of Dignities, a continuation or completion, by Mr. Horace Ockerby, of Haydn’s work, which was itself based on Beatson’s ‘ Political Index.’ We have tested the index (which was lacking in Beatson) at many points and found it accurate, and we are persuaded that the work will be of the highest value to all who turn their minds to history. Wer have received Nos. 7, 8, 9 of the third series of Tales from Blackwood. General Hamley commences the séventh number with a tale of negro sorcery in the West Indies. Old Mammy Cis, the sorcerer, however, does not seem to practise obi or any of the darker forms of witch- craft, but rather to possess the “second sight” in an unusual degree. She is powerless to pre- vent the tragic end of her quadroon daughter's attachment ; but her prescience of its details, combined with the remarkable experience of Ensign Clifton on the day of Arabella’s death, sufliciently attests her supernatural gifts. The local features and manners of Jamaica seem. well reproduced. ‘ Alive and yet Dead,’ by Andrée Hope, is a clever and grim story of the horrors of female penal servitude in France, and rouses pity for such sufferings as Claire’s, even supposing her guilty of the crime insufficiently proved against her. ‘An Unexpected Fare,’ by Max- well Gray, is a bright little tale, aptly con- trasted with the last. It tells what results may flow from earls’ sons chafing under conventionalism and driving hansom cabs as a relief to their feel- ings, and barons’ daughters, whose ‘‘ English blood boils at the thought of restraint,” setting up as independent workers to avoid pressure on the subject of matrimony. Mark Forrester’s equivocal description of the pursuits of his right honourable parent and family, and Olive de Wynter’s shortlived fury at the trick he plays on her, are happily imagined. <A ‘ Reminis- cence of a March’ is another uncanny story. In the next number Mrs. Burton’s Sicilian story deals with a good parish priest, and his successful management of a rather un- ruly flock; Mr. Douglas's translation (?) from the Chinese of Wis Ming throws much interest- ing light on the marriage customs and literary officialism of the flowery land; Mr. Bradley describes in lively fashion ‘ An Old Virginia Fox- hunter,’ very different from the Leicestershire type ; and Mr. Johnstone’s ‘ Enchanted Bridle’ is a metrical version of an Ayrshire legend. The ninth number opens with a pathetic Northern story by Mrs. Scott-Moncrieff. The struggle in the breast of the dour Scotch farmer between his absolute love of truth and that which he feels for his only son, who has ‘‘ a muckle want,” and whom he endeavours to screen from the con- sequences of parricide, is touching. “Yell min’ an’ say tae them ’at they maunna be hard on Wullie,” are the last words of the murdered man. ‘Coincidences?’ by Col. Russell, the story of old Ismael Khan, the Pathan jem- madar, who is “faithful after death” to the English chief whom he blessed when he died on the field, is a stirring tale, apart from the super-
natural element. ‘A Dead Man’s Vengeance,’ by Capt. Bird, relates the terrific experience of a student who meddles with necromancy, and will satisfy the most jaded appetite for horror pure and simple. ‘The Story of James Barker ’ transfers us to the West Coast of Africa, which is made the scene of a chivalrous act of self- devotion, involving a sad retribution for an error of early life. On the whole, the series is quite of average merit. THE sixth volume of Blackie’s Modern Cyclo- pedia is before us, and confirms the impression its predecessors have given that Dr. Annandale has succeeded in producing a convenient work of reference for popular use. Occasionally exces- sive brevity produces obscurity; for instance, the reader may be apt to suppose that the population of St. John’s, Newfoundland, is 193,000, and that Mark Pattison was a Fellow of Oriel, while the beginning of the article “ Penin- sular War” is misleading. Andthereare a number of small slips; for example, Robert Carr was not Earl of Rochester, but Viscount Rochester ; the dates of the Philippics are wrongly given ; the definition of “ patricians” is incorrect ; Spain did not cease to be a first-class power in the year 1588; and Peter the Cruel did not put Eleanora de Guzman to death, although he pro- bablyconnived at her murder. We could multiply such slight errors, but they detract little from the value of the ‘Cyclopedia,’ which is an excellent work of its kind. University Extension: Has it a Future? (Frowde) is a sensible pamphlet, by Mr. Mac- kinder and Mr. M. E. Sadler. Perhaps it would have been clearer had the arrangement been more logical, and chapter ii., containing the historical portion, preceded chapter i. Even chapter ili. would be the better of revision. The authors seem to be unaware of the date (p. 65) when the lectures for women were started at Cambridge, and their chronology is in consequence some- what confused. However, they give a good deal of information in a short compass. The main object of the writers is to advocate an appeal to the State for aid in the work of developing the system of lectures. The best portion of the pamphlet consists of the remarks on the value to a lecturer of some preliminary training. They are decidedly to the point. A PLEASING little memoir connected with the career of Ugo Foscolo has been published in an Italian provincial town, Lanciano. It is written by Signorina Rosmunda Tomei, a poetess of some repute, and is entitled La Donna Gentile di Ugo Foscolo. This ‘‘ Donna Gentile” is a per- sonage of some note to the students and votaries of Foscolo, being one of the numerous ladies with whom he was more or less in love, and certainly second to none of them in the earnestness and self-sacrificing sweetness of her affection. She is here shown to have been a Sienese Jady, born in June, 1781—Quirina Mocenni, married to Ferdinando Magiotti. She first met Foscolo in Florence towards 1812. She survived him for a score of years, dying in July, 1847, and having after his decease done a good deal of work in connexion with his manu- scripts. Signorina Tomei has evidently made her undertaking a labour of love, and rightly sees that her heroine figures in this story to con- siderably more advantage than her hero. The author is Professor of Italian Literature in the Normal Institute of Siena. WE have before now had occasion to praise the “Library of Ancient and Modern Theo- logical Literature” issued by Messrs. Griffith & Farran, as furnishing standard works in theo- logy at a remarkably low price. The last instal- ment is an instance of this. It is a real boon to be able to obtain St. Augustine’s City of God in the translation of 1610 for a couple of shillings, well printed and bound in cloth—The same disposition to supply literature of a high class at a trifling cost is evinced by Mr. Scott, who has just published a revised edition of the
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192 THE ATHENZAUM N° 3276, Ava. 9,90 late Mr. Chase’s translation of Aristotle’s Ethics in the ‘‘Camelot Series.” — AnotheT laudable undertaking is the ‘‘ Carisbrooke Library,” edited by Prof. Henry Morley, and published by Messrs. Routledge. The volume before us, Ireland under Elizabeth and James I., consists of Spenser’s well-known ‘ View ’ supple- mented by various writings of Sir John Davies and Fynes Moryson. Messrs. Routledge have completed by the publication of the Paradiso their pretty reprint of Longfellow’s translation of the ‘Divina Commedia’ in their ‘ Pocket Library.” —To their valuable “ Minerva Library” Messrs. Ward, Lock & Co. have added Barth’s Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa. The volume contains the first half of Barth’s important work. SEVERAL new editions are before us. Messrs. Ward, Lock & Co. send us the twelfth edition of Mr. Barnett Smith’s well-known Life of the Right Hon. William Ewart Gladstone.—Messrs. Macmillan continue their issue, in agreeable type and convenient shape, of excellent and popular novels at three-and-sixpence. The latest instal- ment is A York and a Lancaster Rose, by Miss Keary.—Messrs. Seeley have published a new edition of Mr. Lee’s pleasant and scholarly monograph upon Stratford-on-Avon.—A shilling edition of Anne Bowman’s Cookery Book (Rout- ledge) ought to have a largesale. Its cheapness is remarkable. WE have on our table Four Years in Parlia- ment with Hard Labour, by C. W. R. Cooke, M.P. (Allen & Co.),—Open Letter to the Head of the Russian Synod, Privy Councillor Con- stantine Pobiedonosieff, by H. Dalton (Asher),— Horace, Odes, Book LI., edited by A. H. Allcroft and B. J. Hayes (Clive & Co.),—Epitomes of Three Sciences, by H. Oldenberg, J. Jastrow, and C. H. Cornill (Chicago, the Open Court Publish- ing Co.),—Lectures on Language and Linguistic Method in the School, by 8S. 8S. Laurie, LL.D. (Cambridge, University Press), — Elliots’ Scot- tish Hotel, Hydropathic, and Steamship Direc- tory for 1890-91 (Glasgow, A. & W. Elliot),— Sanity and Insanity, by ©. Mercier, M.B. (Scott),—The Care of the Skin in Health and Disease, by F. A. Cox, M.B. (Alexander & Shep- heard),—_How to Improve the Shooting in the Ranks, by Marksman (Chatham, Gale & Polden), —The New ‘ Little Folks’ Painting Book (Cassell), —The Way out of Agnosticism; or, the Philo- sophy of Free Religion, by F. E. Abbot (Mac- millan),—At the Mercy of Tiberius, by A. E. Wilson (Belfast, Olley),— The Stories of the Three Burglars, by F. R. Stockton (Low),—and Scenes in the Life of a Sailor, by L, Cave (Digby & Long). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Law, Btreet’s (J. B.) Law relating to Public Statutory Under- takings, 8vo. 10/6 cl. Music, Art Ballad (The), Loewe and Schubert, with Musical Lllus- trations by A. B. Bach, royal 16mo, 6/ cl. History. Gibbins’s (H. de B.) The Industrial History of England, 2/6 Pruotogy, Wright’s (W.) Lectures on the Comparative Grammar of Semitic Languages, 8vo. 14/ cl. Science, Bateman’s (Rev. G. C.) Fresh-water Aquaria, 8vo. 3/6 cl. Jago’s (W.) Inorganic Chemistry for Advanced Classes, 4/6 General Literature, Austin’s (W. F.) Notes on Tactics, er. 8vo. 5/ cl. Barrett (F.) and others’ Strange Doings in Strange Places, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Bohn’s Library of Sports and Games: Athletic Sports edited by E. Bell, Vol. 1, Cricket, &c., er. 8vo. 3/6 1 : Fenn’s (G. M.) Eli’s Children, the Chronicles of an Unhappy Family, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Gordon’s (W.) Non-Commissioned Officer’s Guide to Pro- motion, Corporal to Sergeant, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Hardy’s (T.) Return of the Native, 12mo. 2/ bds. Hugo's (V.) Ruy Blas, edited by H. A. Parry, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Jocelyn’s (Mrs. R.) The Criton Hunt Mystery, 3 vols. 31/6 cl. Molesworth’s (Mrs.) The Story of a Spring Morning, and : other Tales, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Simpson’s (Capt. H.C. C. D.) The Garrison Gunner, his - acct) Th ae Drills, 32mo, 2/ cl. inde’s (J.) The Buchholz Family, cheap edition, cr. 8vo. 2 Sugg’s (M. J.) Art of Cooking by Gas, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. : FOREIGN, Theology. Antoniades (B.): Die Staatslehre d. Thomas ab Aquino, 2m. 50. Kohler (A.): Lehrbuch der Biblischen Geschichte Alten Testaments, Series 2, Div. 2, Part 2, 2m. 80. Wiedemann (A.): Die Religion der Alten Aegypter, 2m. 75. Law, Conrat (M.): Geschichte der Quellen d, Rémischen Rechts im friiheren Mittelalter, Vol. 1, Part 3, 10m. 50. Fine Art. Ficker (J.): Die Altchristlichen Bildwerke im Museum d. terans, 6m. History and Biography. Politische Correspondenz Friedrich’s d. Grossen, Vol. 18, Part 1, 10m. Maggiolo (A.): Pozzo di Borgo, 1764-1842, 3fr. 50. Monumenta Vaticana Historiam Hungarie Lllustrantia, Series 1, Vols. 4 and 5, 15m, Geography and Travel, Hirth (F.): Chinesische Studien, Vol. 1, 15m, Philology. Brugsch (H.): Die Aegyptologie, Part 2, 14m. Prym (E.) und Socin (A.): Kurdische Sammlungen, Part 2, 8m. 60. = Science. Puton (A.): Tiaité d'Economie Forestiére, Vol. 2, 10fr. Weisslovitz (M.): Prinz u. Derwisch, ein Ind. Roman, Em. 40. General Literature. Hurlbert (W. H.): Voyage en France d’un Démocrate Américain, 3fr. 50. Mielke (H.): Der Deutsche Roman d. 19 Jahrh., 4m. Ricard (J.): Histoires Fin de Siécle, 3fr. 50. “LITERARY SWEATING.” In reply to Mr. W. Besant’s letter in your last number, I am quite aware that that gentle- man is a master of fiction, and I am afraid that his letter shows that power, for it contains four distinctly fictitious statements : (1) that I uttered a‘‘ threat”; (2) that I ever assumed, or assume, a disguise ; (3) that I have withdrawn from “ at least two other societies’ ; (4) that I have posed in the attitude of a “suppliant.” I withdrew from one literary association, the Folk -lore Society, because I strongly disapproved of the appointment of Stock as its publisher. In the ‘Dictionary of Heraldry’ I find a ‘‘ Besant” described asa Byzantine coin, usually of gold or silver. I fear that there are some of baser metal. E. WaALrorp. Lianfairfechan, Aug. 7, 1890. I Finp that I was misinformed as to the date of the letter in which Mr. Walford terminated his membership of the Society. It was on the 21st, not the 19th, as I stated. Our secretary has sent me his letter. Therefore when he wrote to the Athenwwm as a member of the Society it was on the same day, perhaps by the same post, as he wrote signifying his intention to cease his membership. No opinion need be expressed. WaLtTeR Besant. BRITISH MUSEUM REPORTS FOR 1889. THE annual reports of the two branches of the British Museum for 1889 now before us record the same steady progress in acquisition and organization for which, except when the resources of the institution chance to have been impaired by the freak of an erratic Chancellor of the Ex- chequer, the public look as a matter of course. Both the heads of the Bloomsbury Museum and of the Museum of Natural History in their general surveys of progress have occasion to draw attention to an immense amount of work per- formed in rearrangement ; and the former is able to announce the initiation of the most important undertaking as yet attempted at Great Russell Street. The admirable management of the evening opening by the electric light, so far as Mr. Thompson is concerned, is matter of notoriety : whether the public appreciation will correspond it remains for time to disclose. It need only be remarked at present that the total number of electric lamps of all descriptions is 983, and that the cost of installation has been 88421. Passing to individual departments, we find the Keeper of Printed Books reporting a sub- stantial increase in most branches of work and acquisition, and in particular the advance of the printing of the Catalogue from the article ‘*Heydekker” to the article “Klein.” The other publications of the department include the Hindustani catalogue, and a new and much improved edition of the catalogue of special bibliographies in the Reading Room. The catalogue of Japanese books has been far advanced in the press. The most important administrative improvement of the year has been one of the greatest moment, the accelera- tion of the incorporation of new titles into the Catalogue, which now takes place fortnightly, instead of at distant and indefinite intervals. By this, at a single stroke, the principal cause of delay in rendering acquisitions accessible to the public has been removed. Another useful and popular measure has been the distribution of many thousand volumes of duplicates, partly among the other departments of the Museum, partly among public libraries, sixteen of which, up to the end of 1889, had benefited by the donation. The list of important acquisitions is a long one, comprising unique romances and all but unique incunabula from the libraries of Lord Crawford and Commissionsrath Klemm ; the second edition of Eliot’s Indian Bible; two unique Spanish Romanceros ; the only known copy of Hans Gerle’s ‘Lautenbuch’; eighty volumes of Corean books ; and one of the only two extant copies of Bunyan’s first production, ‘Some Gospel Truths opened according to the Scriptures,’ 1656. The Keeper of the Manuscripts reports & great amount of cataloguing and indexing, in- cluding the publication of the catalogue of Additional MSS. from 1882 to 1887, and the preparation for press of the catalogue of Greek papyri. Among the more remarkable acquisi- tions are the correspondence of Sir Ralpk Sadleir, Elizabeth’s agent for Scotch affairs at three distinct periods, and from 1580 to 1585 custodian of the Queen of Scots; the cor- respondence of the Paston family to 1597, supplementary to that already in the Museum, and that of the Gawdy family in Norfolk and of the Hale family in Herts, the latter accompanied by a collection of 1,500 charters ; the inquiry of the Madrid Inquisition into animal magnetism, 1815 to 1818 ; Jeremy Bentham’s family papers, in twenty-eight volumes ; and Keats’s sonnet on Chaucer's ‘The Flower and the Leaf,’ written in the margin of Cowden Clarke’s copy of the book while the possessor slumbered. On the same occasion were obtained important auto- graphs of Leigh Hunt, Carlyle, and Emerson. The most noteworthy addition, however, to the MS. treasures of the Museum during last year has been made in the Department of Oriental MSS., where Dr. Rieu has acquired a literature at a stroke by the purchase of 328 Arabic MSS. collected in Yemen by Dr. Edward Glaser. These principally belong to the literature, hitherto quite unknown in Europe, of the sect of Zaidites, who differ from other Shiahs in maintaining that their founder Ali must always have a living representative. They existed for centuries in the highlands of Yemen as an independent community, and their litera- ture consists principally of legal, controversial, and historical works, Other Arabic MSS. of considerable importance have been acquired from Dr. Glaser, or brought back by Mr. Ernest Budge from his archeological expedition to Mesopotamia. The costliness of the great Glaser purchase has left but little opportunity for other acquisitions ; among these, however, is a great curiosity, a manuscript in the lan- guage of the Lolo mountaineers of Yunnan, written on coloured cloth. The list of the acquisitions of the Print Room occupies a larger space than that of any other department. The most important is thus de- scribed : ‘‘ A sketch-book containing designs by a Florentine artist, about 1460 a.p., in illus- tration of a ‘Cronaca Mondiale,’ formerly attri- buted to Benozzo Gozzoli, but more probably by Maso Finiguerra ; the drawings have been first
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N° 3276, Ava. 9, ’90 THE ATHENAZUM 193 sketched in silver-point, and then highly finished in a mixture of pen and bistre and bistre wash.” It is added that the book, which at one time contained fifty more leaves, now consists of ninety-five drawings on forty-nine sheets. It has had a succession of owners previous to its acquisition by the Museum, the last being Mr. Ruskin, who gave 1,000/. for it. Among other drawings by Italian masters is one by Andrea del Sarto. The purchases of the works of Ger- man artists include 128 original drawings in Indian ink for the Berne edition (1780) of Queen Marguerite’s ‘ Heptameron,’ by Dunker and Freudenberger. Drawings of special interest by English artists are a sketch by Gainsborough of himself and family, Girtin’s portrait of him- self, Grinling Gibbons’s sheet of sketches for his statue of JamesII., Samuel Laurence’s portrait of Carlyle, and W. H. Hunt’s portrait of him- self. The list of added etchings includes ninety- five by Arthur Ditchling, 394 by Charles Jacque, and no fewer than 457 by Edwin Edwards, con- stituting the complete work of this artist. The principal acquisitions of the Department of Oriental Antiquities are already well known to the public by their conspicuous size. The column of Rameses and the colossal statue of Osorkon, presented by the Egyptian Exploration Fund, are not likely to be overlooked by any visitor. Less externally striking, but perhaps more intrinsically important acquisitions are the seventeen hundred tablets and tablet fragments from Mesopotamia; while inscribed Greek ostraka of the first century a.p., Gnostic gems, and Cufic gravestones indicate the attention = to later developments of Oriental civiliza- tion. The long list of acquisitions which the Keeper of Greek and Roman Antiquities is able to pro- duce includes two of remarkable artistic merit : Mr. Malcolm Macmillan’s fictile lecythus, and the bronze relief of Dionysus and Ariadne. The most imposing addition, however, is a work of much later date, the silver ‘‘ Trésor de Chaourse,” Gallo-Roman work of the third century A.D. Progress is reported with a hand- book to the vases and a catalogue of Greek sculpture, as also with the publication of the ancient Greek inscriptions in the Museum. No archzological department takes so wide a range as that of British and Medieval Antiqui- ties and Ethnography, and none receives so many donations from collectors and explorers in every part of the world. Two or three stand out prominently: Mr. Gowland’s “ancient Japanese vessels, excavated from the ancient dolmens of Japan and the barrows of Corea” ; Prof. Haddon’s gatherings from the Torres Straits archipelago; and the selections from MM. Siret’s great collection of the early bronze implements of Spain. Among the endless mis- cellaneous additions—a large portion of which are, as usual, due to the liberality of Mr. Franks ‘himself—especial interest attaches to the dish and plates painted by Sir James Thornhill, and subsequently the property of his daughter, Hogarth’s wife, and of Horace Walpole. The most important feature of the report of the Department of Coins and Medals is the announcement of the bequest of more than four thousand coins, chiefly Indian, by Pandit Bhag- vanlal Indraji. The acquisitions to the Greek series include three most beautiful and remark- able staters, respectively from Sybrita in Crete, Lampsacus, and Mytilene, the last in electrum and unique. The Roman,: Anglo-Saxon, and Oriental series have received important addi- tions ; and the extensive series of departmental catalogues has been augmented by a catalogue of the coins of Corinth and her colonies, by Mr. Head ; and another of the coins of Pontus, Paph- lagonia, Bithynia, and the kingdom of Bosporus, by Mr. Wroth. In his introductory summary of the work of the Museum of Natural History, Prof. Flower mentions the improvements in the examination of new assistants, the delivery of the Swiney Lectures by the late lamented Prof. M‘Nab, the progress of the general and departmental libraries, and the publication during the year of six parts of catalogues, two zoological and four palzeon- tological. Fifteen more parts of various cata- logues are in progress. The lion’s share of the acquisitions in the Natural History Museum falls this year to the Zoological Department, which records the addition of more than 69,000 speci- mens, of which upwards of 47,000 were received by presentation—an important fact for the Museum, as in most cases the specimens had been accurately determined before reaching it. The total is larger than in any previous year, except 1885, and much larger than in any other year except 1887. 37,508 specimens belong to the insect world ; but although these and allied departments of the animal kingdom comprise the majority of the species absolutely new to science, the public will probably feel more in- terest in the four fine collections of birds, ac- quired by purchase from Capt. Shelley, and by presentation from Mr. Sclater, Mr. Seebohm, and Messrs. Godman and Salvin. No acquisi- tion, however, is so rich in novelty as Capt. Turton’s two hundred and seventy species of St. Helena shells, about one hundred of which are new. Only forty or fifty species had been pre- viously recorded. The most sensational acqui- sition should have been a specimen of the largest fish in the world, a huge shark (Rhinodon typicus) from Ceylon, of which only one other specimen is known to have been previously secured for a museum. But a full-sized individual should measure 50 ft., and this only measures 14 ft. The Departments of Geology, Mineralogy, and Botany enumerate the usual series of acquisitions from those realms of nature with which they are respectively concerned. There is nothing of very exceptional importance, except the pur- chase by the Botanical Department of the microscopic preparations made by the late Prof. De Bary in connexion with his investigations into vegetable anatomy and the parasitic diseases of plants. The total number of slides in this collection is 4,429. No fewer than 51.652 spe- cimens of plants have been mounted, named, and inserted into the herbarium. JUNIUS AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES. Too little attention, I think, has been paid to the impression made upon those who read the letters signed Junius when they appeared in the Public Advertiser or in a contemporary reprint. Many misapprehensions were current about the extent to which the letters affected the cir- culation of the Public Advertiser, It was assumed that the demand for the paper must have been great, and the sale unprecedented, during their publication. Mr. Dilke has shown, on the incontrovertible authority of Woodfall’s day-book, that Junius’s letters did not instantly increase the sale of the Pubiic Advertiser, which was then, as he remarks, “a successful and rising paper.” During the four years preceding the publication of the first letter signed Junius in the series reprinted by Henry Sampson Woodfall in 1772—that is, from January, 1765, to December, 1768—the increase in the monthly sale was equal to 60 per cent., the numbers sold rising from 47,515 to 75,450, ‘whereas, from January, 1769, to December, 1771, during which period the series of Junius’s letters appeared, it rose from 74800 to 83,950, or little more than 12 per cent.” When analyzed, the results are still more curious. Seventeen hundred extra copies were printed to supply the demand for the letter to the king. Relying upon the facts in the form in which Mr. Dilke presented them to the readers of the Atheneum on the 28th of July, 1848, and which are to be found at p. 28 of the second volume of the ‘Papers of a Critic,’ I shall reproduce his own words :— «To meet the demand expected, or which followed, for Junius’s next letter [to the Duke of Grafton), published 14th of February, 1770, 700 additional copies were printed ; for the following, on the 19th of March, the additional supply was 350; for the letter in April, 350; but not an additional copy was printed of the letter of the 28th of May. There were 100 only on the 22nd of August for the letter to Lord North. The letter to Lord Mansfield again awakened public attention, and 600 additional copies were printed. We have no detailed account of the sale to January ; but 500 additional copies were printed of the Public Advertiser which con- tained the letter in April, 1771; 100 of the June letter to the Duke of Grafton, 250 for the first in July to the same, not one for the second letter to Horne Tooke of the 24th of July, 200 for the August letter to the same, 250 for the letter to the Duke of Grafton in September. With the letter to the Livery of London in September the sale fell 250 ; with the letter of the 5th of October there was neither rise nor fall ; with the letter of the 2nd of November to Mansfield it —_ have risen 50, but we doubt it ; and — 28th, with that tothe Duke of Grafton, it rose OU, While, on the one hand, the writings of Junius had less effect than might have been anticipated upon the sale of the Public Advertiser, on the other there is ample contemporary evidence to show how general was the impression which they made upon the reading public. In the number of the Gentleman’s Magazine for February, 1769, being the first after the publication of Junius’s opening letter of the series which he prepared for republication, this paragraph is put at the head of a reprint of those which had then appeared: “The following papers are written with a knowledge of public affairs beyond the line of ordinary information, and are, therefore, submitted for the inspection of our readers.” Judging from the foregoing passage, it is clear that, to use a common phrase, Junius made a hit at the start. What may puzzle some investigators is the fact that the first letter which he signed did not appear, as is generally supposed, on the 21st of January, 1769, but on the 21st of November, 1768. At p. 22 of the second volume of ‘ Papers of a Critic,’ Mr. Dilke writes : “We do not know, nor is there one word of evidence to show, that Junius wrote a single line in the Public Advertiser before the publication in January, 1769, of the first ‘ Junius’; and it tends to confirm our impres- sion that he did not, that the earliest private note is dated the 20th of April, 1769, four months later than the first ‘Junius,’” At p. 20 Mr. Dilke writes about “the first letter which, according to Dr. Good, Junius wrote under that signature.” In this case Dr. Good was not blameworthy, and for once Mr. Dilke appears to have omitted to verify his references. Had he turned to the Public Advertiser he would have found a letter signed Junius in the number for the 21st of November, 1768. Yet no impression appears to have been made by that writer upon the newspaper-reading public till the publication of his letter on the 21st of January, 1769. By the time Junius had written ten letters he was a personage of note. A rumour was then cir- culated that he had been silenced with a place under Government, and Sir John Macpherson, afterwards Governor-General of India, wrote a ‘Monody ; or, Tears of Sedition on the Death of Junius,’ which he signed “ Poetikastos.” The last line is :— Virtue and vice disclaimed him fora son. Another minor poet, with the signature of “New Inn,” wrote lines in praise of Junius which end :— See Glory seats him in her golden car, And stamps on orient stars his patriot name. The daring address to the king which appeared in the Public Advertiser on the 19th of Decem- ber, 1769, was answered in two pamphlets. In one of them the anonymous writer was assumed to be Wilkes, and in both his advice to dissolve Parliament was rejected as dangerous and un- constitutional. A letter from Sir Horace Mann to Walpole, written on the 17th of February, 1770, illustrates the impression made upon men in the position of Sir Horace by the letters in the Public Advertiser :—
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194 THE ATHENZUM N° 3276, Ava. 9, 90 “T have lately seen a paper called the ‘ False Alarm,’ which pleased me much, such moderation and sound reasoning seems to be the best method to confute the seditious Junius, I mean to destroy the effects of his daring insolence with everybody but the mob who cannot be reclaimed by what they eannot read.” A letter published in the Gentleman’s Magazine for September, 1771, signed ‘‘ A North Briton,” professing to be from an officer of two-and- twenty, and addressed to ‘‘a foreigner of dis- tinction,” contains a clever defence of the king, and the following characterization of Junius :— “He isa master of composition, where he is not cramped with logic, facts, or argument, which he scrupulously avoids, either considering them de- structive of the beauties of rhetoric, or as perfectly unnecessary in compositions addressed to the multi- tude, where nothing is wanted but such bold attacks upon authority as to cause prosecution if ublic, inquisition if behind the curtain. These being the nectar of our politicians, he bears away the bell, not only from his great literary merit, but from a nearer approach to treason than any of his competitors.” In July, 1789, it was suggested by ‘‘ Anich- neutes” inthe Gentleman’s Magazine that Thomas Hollis was Junius, one reason being that “at the time these letters appeared, Mr. Hollis spent most of his time at Corsecombe in Dorsetshire, a retired situation well adapted to the purpose of secrecy, and where might be enjoyed most com- pletely that undisturbed leisure necessary for com- positions so finished and elaborate,” Another reason is: “ No long time after Junius gave over writing, Mr. Hollis died.” In the following month ‘‘ A Citizen in Retirement,” who knew Mr. Hollis, wrote to say that Hollis could not have written the letters, because he was ‘‘a virtuous man, a staunch patriot, a sound poli- tician, and a good citizen,” whereas Junius is “a witty, wanton, mischievous, and often malicious, funny rogue. But more, there is a deal of bold, round assertions in Junius, and a great deal of that embellishment which, among authors, is called slap-dash work.” The Citizen’s comments are less noteworthy than his recollec- tions, which appear to be those of a real person who describes what he has experienced, and which convey an interesting notion of the im- pression made upon ordinary readers when the letters appeared in the Public Advertiser. He writes :— “ At the time of their appearance, the politicians ata Coffee-house near St. Paul’s, which I frequented, had various opinions, I own. The first and most prevailing one was, that Junius was a writer of no mean talents, and a man who had been disgusted, if not greatly injured, by Administration, or the lead- ing men in power; that he had good information and good helps, for there appeared to be more writers than one. However there was, upon the whole, a system and regularity that showed there was some writer or editor at the bottom, who super- intended and directed the whole...... The various classesof men whom Junius attacked was another thing that puzzled us; for it may be truly said of him, as Swift says of himself, Attacking when he took the whim, Court, city, camp; all one to him. Though this puzzled us, yet it discovered something in Junius that was very singular, The only patrons he courted were evidently the people at large ; and the patriotic party, and their interest in particular, were the object of his attention ; and he spared no pains, nor missed no opportunity, of mauling those in power, or their friends, even in the most humble walk of tradesmen, he also showed himself to be a man who delighted to fish in troubled waters, or lived as it were upon the surface of them.” This Citizen thought, as many of his contem- poraries did also, that Wilkes wasJunius. Shortly after “A Citizen in Retirement” had tried to father the letters upon Wilkes, Philip Thick- nesse, the brother of George, High Master of St. Paul’s School, the teacher and the friend of Francis, published a small work entitled ‘Junius Discovered, the person discovered being Horne Tooke, the bitter adversary of both Junius and Wilkes. In the April number of the magazine for 1798 a writer makes a quotation from ‘ Political Anecdotes,’ an anonymous work in three volumes, then recently published, which is now known to have been compiled by John Almon. An account of Junius is given in the part relating to the Duke of Grafton ; the place of his abode while writing the letters is stated ; the chief events in his life are mentioned, but his name is withheld. What the correspondent of the Gentleman’s Magazine longed for can now be supplied, that is, the name of the person referred to, which was Hugh Macauley Boyd. Like Francis when he wrote after Junius’s Letters were published, Boyd, writing after them also, reproduced some of Junius’s turns of phrase and expressions. It is sufficient to note, without adding any comment, that in December, 1799, a constant reader of the Gentleman’s Magazine says the Edinburgh Evening Courant asserted that ‘‘ the late Dr. Gilbert Stuart was the author of Junius’s Letters.” On the 8th of August, 1802, H. Fielding calls upon Henry Sampson Wood- fall, ‘‘ who now resides in comfortable retire- ment in Chelsea,” to give a new and complete edition of Junius to the world before he leaves it himself, a hint which unfortunately was not taken. Mr. Fielding probably expressed the views of others than himself when he added that Junius, “ with all his malevolence, sophism, and impiety, was undoubtedly the most inter- esting party writer that ever took an Opposition pen in his hand.” I may interrupt the series of extracts from the Gentleman’s Magazine to note that, five years later, a greater man than the obscure correspondent from whose letter I have just quoted busied himself with Junius and noted down his impressions. The anno- tations made by Coleridge on his copy of the Letters are most instructive. For instance, this is admirable :— “The great art of Junius is never to say too much, and to avoid with equal anxiety a commonplace manner, and matter that is not commonplace. If ever he deviates into any originality of thought, he takes care that it shall be such as excites surprise for its acuteness, rather than admiration for its pro- fundity. He takes care? say rather, that nature took care for him. It is impossible to detract from the merit of these Letters: they are suited to their purpose, and perfect of their kind.” Coleridge writes of Letter xii., addressed to the Duke of Grafton :— “One of Junius’s arts, and which gives me a high idea of his genius, as a poet and satirist, is this :—he takes for granted the existence of a character that never did and never can exist, and then employs his wit, and surprises and amuses his readers with analyzing its incompatibilities.” In 1812 George Woodfall gave to the world a new edition of the Letters, which he had com- piled in concert with Dr. Mason Good. If this work had been undertaken by his father, who died in 1805, then much controversy might have been spared. Henry Sampson Woodfall could have selected the miscellaneous letters with a knowledge of the subject which his son George could not possess. One of the results of Woodfall’s edition, as this one is styled, was to prompt a letter, which appeared in the Gentleman’s Magazine for December, 1812, suggesting that Lord Shelburne was Junius, In the following number another correspondent rejects this supposition. Two letters on the same topic were published about the same time, the one in the Morning Herald, the other in the Morning Post, the writer of the first favouring the notion with regard to Shelburne, while the writer of the second ridi- culed it. The following sentence in the first is very curious :— ‘*‘ The secret, it appears, was not discovered by its connexion with any political affairs, but by some verses in the possession of a lady, who had a copy of them before they were transmitted to the printer for publication, and the handwriting of the Marquis is ascertained without the possibility of doubt.” At this time Taylor’s theory that Francis was Junius had not been published ; several years after its publication some verses addressed to Miss Giles were held to be evidence that Francis was Junius. If the verses referred to above are the same in each case, there are two candi- dates for their authorship. I have told the story of the verses in the Atheneum for the 25th of August, 1888, and I need not repeat now what has been said already. In the year 1813 a small work was written by the Rev. J. Blakeway to show, what Philip Thicknesse had tried to do some years before, that Junius was Horne Tooke. A short time afterwards, in the same year, John Taylor pub- lished his work entitled ‘A Discovery of the Author of the Letters of Junius.’ The notice of it in the Gentleman’s Magazine is so short that it may be given in full: ‘‘ Many ingenious argu- ments from internal evidence are adduced to prove that these celebrated Letters are the joint production of Dr. Francis, the translator of Horace, and his son, Sir Philip Francis. We still continue of a different opinion.” Later in the same year Mr. John Roche wrote to prove, as he thought, that the Letters were from the pen of Burke. A discussion was started by Mrs. Serres in favour of Dr. Wilmot’s claims. It is not needful to do more than mention this hoax, which was soon and easily exposed. In Septem- ber, 1813, a correspondent pointed out what Belsham had written about Junius in his ‘ His- tory of Great Britain, a work which Francis annotated, and in which he would have read that the Letters consisted “in little else than splendid declamation and poignant invective; and dis- covered a cool and deliberate malignity of dis- position, which, now that the passions and follies of the day have vanished, and given place to other passions and other follies, must excite dis- gust at least proportionate to our admiration ”; and that ‘‘ Junius stands recorded to all future times a liar, an assassin, and a coward.” A very practical statement is made in the same number regarding the water-mark on the paper. Parkes, in the ‘Memoirs’ of Francis by himself and Merivale, makes a point of the extant manuscripts being written on War Office paper, while the late Abraham Hayward pointed out that the paper corresponds with that of manuscripts now in the War Office. The state- ment in question is :— “ At the time Junius wrote, this mark [that is, the water-mark on the extant manuscripts] was used for foolscap paper by many, if notall, the paper-makers in England, who each of them, of course, had several similar frames constructed, and in a single year manufactured many thousand reams of paper therewith. This paper, when sold to different stationers in the metropolis and large towns in the kingdom, would be at nearly the same time on sale ata great number of different places ; so that the chance was, I suppose, five to one that in any part of England a man who wanted paper of that size would receive it with the same mark upon it.” In January, 1814, there is a notice in the Gen- tleman’s Magazine of a small work published by Mr. Murray to show that Glover was Junius. In this case, as in others, a simple mention of the fact must suffice. In the number for April, 1815, there are notices of two recently pub- lished works, the one trying to show that De Lolme, the other that the Duke of Portland was Junius; while in December there is a notice of John Taylor’s ‘Identity of Junius with a Distinguished Living Character Established’; and from this time dates the discussion concerning Francis. Judging from the correspondence in the Gentleman’s Magazine, there was no pre- vailing belief during the lifetime of Francis that he was Junius. The noteworthy refer- ences to Junius after Francis’s claims were put forward are two—the first being by a corre- spondent writing from the Middle Temple on the 6th of August, 1817, who called attention to passages in Nichols’s ‘Illustrations of the Literary History of the Eighteenth Century,’ published in that year. The first passage occurs in a letter from Daniel Wray to Lord Hardwicke, dated the 22nd of November, 1772 :— “The divisions are great in the Besiegers’ Camp; particularly between Lord T. and C——n, about the author of Junius’s Letters.” The second is a comment on these lines by Mr. Justice Hardinge :— iss neers
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=. XUM Ne 3276, Ave. 9, 790 THE ATHENAUM 0 195 “These few words are of no trivial import, and they wonderfully confirm a passage in a conversa- tion between Lord C——n [evidently Camden] and me. He told me that many things in Junius con- vinced him that the materials were prompted by Earl T——le; and he mentioned in particular a confidential statement, which had been made in private, between Lord Ch——m, Lord T——le, and Lord Camden ; which from the nature of it, could only have been disclosed by Lord T. through Junius to the publick.” Another correspondent expresses the hope that the real name of Junius may never be disclosed, “lest the discovery might detract from the merits of some character whom we have hitherto regarded with veneration [7equiescat in pace /], and we ought also charitably to hope that the mischief Junius has occasioned, he never imagined possible to occur at the time he was penning his celebrated invectives.” A third correspondent, writing in the same month, and signing himself J. O’Lanfrac, ex- presses his belief that the writer of the Letters was Sir William Jones. The only other corre- spondent from whom I shall quote is Mrs. Serres, who, writing in November of the same year, makes a much shrewder remark than any of those put forward by her to bolster up her imposition that Dr. Wilmot was Junius. She refers to the reply of Junius to Junia, which Junius tried to suppress on the ground that it was ‘‘idle and improper,” and she quotes his remark, “If I am fated to become a husband,” adding, ‘‘ Such expression clearly demonstrated the writer had never been married, or he would naturally have exclaimed, ‘If I am to have a plurality of wives, &c.” Sir Philip Francis was married at the time that Junius wrote ‘‘ If I am fated to become a husband.” A long article appeared in the Gentleman’s Magazine on Sir Philip Francis after his death, on the 23rd of December, 1818, wherein the writer declined to say anything about the Junius controversy in relation to him. A memoir ap- peared afterwards in the Annual Biography and Obituary, published by Longmans, which seems to have been overlooked by most of the Francis- cans. The contributor of the memoir of Francis says that he “was honoured with a last visit from Sir Philip Francis, on the 23rd _ of December, 1817...... the con- versation was miscellaneous, and proved highly in- teresting, for care was taken that he both led and selected the subjects. Of these Junius, that fertile theme for investigation, occupied a distinguished rank. He ridiculed the idea of his being the author; —he had already written on that subject till he was tired,—would write no more letters,—answer no more questions relative to it. ‘If mankind are so obsti- nate as not to believe what I have already said, I am not fool enough to humble myself any more with denials,—I have done.’ ” The following extract is quite as noteworthy. It is taken from the late Prof. De Morgan’s * Budget of Paradoxes ’:— ' “My old friend Mr. Taylor is well known as the author of the argument which has convinced many, even most, that Sir Philip Francis was Junius: pamphlet 1813 ; supplement, 1817; second edition ‘The Identity of Junius with a Distinguished Living Character Established,’ London, 1818, 8vo. He told me that Sir Philip Francis, in a short conversation with him, made only this remark, ‘ You may depend upon it, you are quite mistaken ’: the phrase appears to me remarkable ; it has an air of criticism on the book, free from all personal denial. He also men- tioned that a hearer told him that Sir Philip said, speaking of writers on the question,—‘ Those fellows for half a crown would prove that Jesus Christ was Junius.’” Prof. De Morgan ends his remarks with the question : ‘‘ What if the real Junius be some person not yet named?” I hold that the writer is still unnamed. The attitude to be assumed by rational inquirers is that which Dr. Arnold assumed in another case: ‘‘ Before a confessed and unconquerable difficulty his mind reposed as quietly as in the possession of a discovered truth.” Till somebody is proved to be Junius, let it be stated in biographical dictionaries and histories that the real author of the Letters bear- ing that signature is still unknown. W. Fraser Rag, Literarp Grossip. Ir is understood that the articles on French fiction in the last two numbers of the Quar- terly Review are by Dr. Barry, the author of ‘The New Antigone.’ TueE authorized ‘Life of Ibsen,’ written by M. Henrik Jeger, will appear early in the autumn in an English version by Mrs. Bell, the numerous poetical quotations being translated from the Norwegian by Mr. Edmund Gosse. It will be simultaneously published by Mr. Heinemann in London and by Mr. Lovell in New York. Canon Harrorp, of Westminster Abbey, is about to issue through Messrs. Sotheran, of Piccadilly, a volume of original epigrams, mostly English, but interspersed with a few in Latin and in Greek. They are to be “serious, semi-serious, and divertive.’’ The work will be published by subscription. Tue large and increasing body of students who have occasion to consult the registers of wills at Somerset House for literary purposes are anxiously awaiting the result of a memorial they have addressed to Sir James Hannen, praying for better accom- modation. The room which has been used for that purpose ever since the literary de- partment was removed to Somerset House is underground, dark, and ill ventilated ; and the health of Mr. J. C. C. Smith, the superintendent of the department, to whom students have long been indebted for grace- ful courtesy and kindly assistance, has suffered in consequence. We are sure Sir James Hannen will urge the matter strongly upon the Office of Works and the Treasury, and we hope he will do so with success. Mr. OC. F. Keary’s novel in letters, ‘A Mariage de Convenance,’ is to appear shortly in cheap form in Mr. Fisher Unwin’s novel series. Mr. Exsswortnu is far advanced in the second part (part xxi.) of the final vol. vii. of the ‘Roxburghe Ballads’; a number of sheets are in type, and the whole remainder of the part to p. 400 is readyin MS. A month ago Mr. Ebsworth went to Oxford on purpose to secure a number of additions necessary for the ‘Group of Religious Ballads,’”’ several of much importance, and for the ‘‘ William and Mary” group. To the volumes of ‘‘ Heinemann’s Inter- national Library” already announced may be added ‘ Fantasia,’ by Matilda Serrao, to be translated from the Italian by Mr. H. Harland (Sidney Luska), and a new novel from the Spanish of A. Palacio Valdés. Pror. J. 8. Nicnotson’s romance ‘ Thoth,’ which is now in a third edition, has been translated into German, and will shortly appear in the Berlin National Zeitung. Mr. Henperson, the proprietor of the Young Folks’ Paper, a highly respectable journal, lately complained of the way his paper was mentioned in the article on ‘ Penny Fiction’ in the last number of the Quarterly, and the editor has, with his usual courtesy, agreed to insert a rectificatory note next October. Mr. Baryett Suita writes :— “In his notice of the latest volumes of the ‘Dictionary’ your critic remarks that I have ‘contrived to deal with “Bob” Grimstone with- out alluding to his long and honourable con- nexion with Harrow cricket.’ This and other criticisms might well have been more graciously expressed, but in that case I suppose fancied smartness would have been sacrificed to cour- tesy. As a matter of fact, however, I must request permission to state that I ‘contrived” nothing of the kind. In my original manuscript full reference was made to Grimstone’s con- nexion with Harrow cricket.” Of course we could only deal with the article as it appeared in the ‘ Dictionary.’ TE death is announced of Mr. Hibbert Ware, an accomplished man, who was the author of one or more law books of repute, and who, although his name did not appear on the title-page, had a considerable share in his wife’s novels. THE increasing popularity of golf has led to the idea of starting a weekly paper de- voted to the subject, which is to begin its career in September. THE news comes from Neuchatel of the death of M. A. Bachelin, an esteemed Swiss novelist and military painter. The decease is also announced of M. Louis Bergeron, a journalist under the Monarchy of July, known by his quarrel with KE. de Girardin, who refused to fight him on account of the death of Carrel. M. Bergeron was the author of ‘Une Jeunesse Orageuse’ and other dramatic pieces. Tuer subscriptions towards the memorial to be erected to Adam Smith, author of ‘The Wealth of Nations,’ at Kirkcaldy, the place of his birth, have reached considerably more than 8,000/., but it is expected the amount will be much increased before the list is closed. WE are asked to say, in reference to the ‘Life of John Leech’ which Mr. Frith, R.A., is writing for Messrs. Bentley, that Mr. Frith will be glad to be permitted to see any letters of Mr. Leech which may be in the possession of any of our readers. Mr. C. L. Kinesrorp, who has been acting as an assistant in the editorial depart- ment of the ‘ Dictionary of National Bio- graphy,’ has been appointed to an examiner- ship in the Education Department. Ir is said that Mr. Kennedy, the American banker, who purchased the manuscript of Burns’s “‘ Scots wha hae,”’ has presented it to the city of Edinburgh, instead of selling it as was at first announced. GerMAN papers say that the Empress Frederick contemplates perpetuating the memory of her lamented husband by an exhaustive biography, which is to bring out fully his qualities as a man and a soldier. Numerous authentic materials, including the Emperor’s diaries and letters, as well as papers left by the Empress Augusta, are said to form the basis of the biography, in which the present German Emperor and Counts Moltke and Blumenthal will co- operate. The Grand Duchess of Baden will also furnish some reminiscences. Mr. Fisuer Unwin will publish next autumn a selection from the delightful stories ‘Die Leute von Seldwyla,’ by Gottfried Keller, whose death we recently announced. The volume will be preceded by a biographical and critical memoir of the author from the pen of the translator, Mrs, Freiligrath-Kroeker. Tue next volume of the ‘“ Book-Lover’s Library,” which is nearly ready for publi-
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cation, will be by Mr. William ©. Hazlitt, and will be entitled ‘Studies in Jocular Literature.’ Mr. Smart, whose translation of Bohm Bawerk’s ‘Capital and Interest’ we re- viewed last week, tells us that he has nearly completed an English edition of the same writer’s ‘ Positive Theorie des Kapitals.’ Dr. Icnazio Guin1, Professor of Semitic Languages at the University of Rome, has recently investigated the Ethiopic MSS. of the Fetha Nagast (the Corpus Juris of Abyssinia) in the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, and the Bibliothéque Nationale, Paris, for an official edition of the work, to be issued by the Italian Govern- ment for the use of the Abyssinian courts. Of course a critical edition, with textual variations, is out of the question for a text- book of a Corpus Juris. The professor’s object is to produce an intelligible text based upon MSS. and the Arabic original, for the Fetha Nagast is a translation from the Arabic, and some indispensable notes for the justification of certain alterations will be found at the end. It happens that a young Orientalist in Germany, Dr. J. Bachmann, is just now busy on an edition of the Fetha, of which the first part, con- taining the Jus Connubii, is out, consisting of the text and a Latin translation. The editor, however, had not the advantage of consult- ing the MSS. in the English and French libraries. The two editions will naturally supply the deficiencies of each other. Dr. Bachmann begins at the end of his first part a general history of the Abyssinian law. .Ar the new “Settlement” in Gordon Square, which will be opened for residence towards the middle or end of next October, the first course of lectures will be given by the Rev. J. E. Carpenter. They will be on the Synoptic Gospels, will be given at the Hall in the afternoon, and be repeated in the evening at Essex Hall. These will be followed after Christmas, it is hoped, by a special course on St. Luke, and in April and May by lectures on the Fourth Gospel, by the Rev. Charles Hargrove. In the Lent term, afternoon lectures on ‘The Religion of the Old Testament’ will be delivered in French by M. Chavannes, author of ‘La Religion dans la Bible.’ In May Mr. Wick- steed will lecture on the Pentateuch, and M. Jean Réville will take a subject from early Christian history; and the Rev. Richard Arm- strong will lecture on ‘ Man’s Knowledge of God.’ Mr. Stopford Brooke will deliver five or six lectures from November onwards, on ‘Poetry in the Nineteenth Century.’ In the Lent term Mr. Wicksteed will lecture on sociology, and in April or May Miss Beatrice Potter will give six lectures on the co-opera- tive movement. Tue most interesting to our readers of the Parliamentary Papers of the week are Public Records, Fifty-first Report (2d.) ; Education, England and Wales, General Report, North- Western Division (2d.); Education, Scot- land, Reports on Training Colleges (4d.) ; Education, Scotland, General Report, Southern Division (3d.); Report of the Committee of Council on Education in Scot- land (3d.); Return, under Counties, of Post-Office Savings Banks Statistics for the United Kingdom (8d.); Friendly Societies and Trade Unions, Report, Part II. (1s. 2d.);
and among Trade Reports a most valuable and interesting summary of the ‘Views of French Chambers of Commerce as to Renewal of Commercial Treaties,’ by Sir Joseph Crowe (2d.).
SCIENCE —_- The Life and Letters of the Rev. Adam Sedg- wick. By John Willis Clark and Thomas McKenny Hughes. 2 vols. (Cambridge, University Press.) Pror. Sepewick died in 18738, so that his friends and admirers—and who was not either one or the other ?—have waited long forhisbiography. The presont Woodwardian Professor soon found the duties of his chair too onerous to allow him to complete unaided the contemplated life of his predecessor ; and the labour of writing these volumes devolved to a very large extent upon Mr. John Willis Clark. Prof. Hughes contri- butes the geological portion only. The task of writing Sedgwick’s life has been a most congenial one to both the authors; it could not have been committed to better hands, and in our opinion the work could hardly have been better done. The two rather ponderous volumes constitute an excellent biography, and the collateral information which is abundantly supplied—some readers may think too abundantly—renders the work a rich treasury of biographical fact concerning Adam Sedgwick and the numberless in- teresting and important men and women whose intimacy he enjoyed. During a large proportion of the eighty-eight years of his life Sedgwick was undoubtedly one of the foremost men in the academical as well as the scientific world. He was a Cambridge man of the good old kind, attached affec- tionately to his college and university, pro- moting their dignity and extending their usefulness with single-minded devotion and untiring energy. But his long and honour- able career closed before the scholarly col- lege fellow was displaced by the bustling syndic, and few of his Cambridge friends will remember the original of the portrait facing the title-page of the first volume ; the second likeness exhibits the features familiar to us and most of those who knew him. The late Prof. Selwyn described him as “a most primitive man—of the solid ancient rock of humanity,” and went on to say :— “ He was primitive in his love for his dear coun- try, and of our British Constitution, combining the two great elements of stability and progress ; ‘a Whig of the old school,’ that was the school of Somers and Halifax, and the seven Bishops.” This ‘old granite boulderstone” was first discovered in situ in the vicarage of Dent in 1785. The Sedgwick family be- longed to the Yorkshire Dales, and Richard, the professor’s father, was appointed vicar in 1766. There were many noteworthy characters in and about Dent, among whom was Mr. John Dawson, surgeon and mathe- matician, of whom it was said that ‘he could solve a problem better when riding up the Dales on his saddle than when sit- ting at his private desk.”” Adam Sedgwick was one of several distinguished Cambridge graduates who owed much of their earlier training to this remarkable man. The in- habitants of Dent seem to have been God-
fearing and prosperous, and not at all averse to pleasures and sports. They had numerous old customs, the gradual extinc- tion of which the biographers record with regret. Sedgwick recounts an ancient practice ‘(and many times when I have thought of it I have felt sorrow that it had ever been aban- doned) of assembling and holding a Communion in the church at a very early hour on Easter Sunday morning. The custom had come down to them from ancient times—probably before the Reformation. There was nothing super- stitious in such an observance ; and it was well fitted to touch the conscience of any one who believed in his heart that his Saviour had at an early hour, as on that day, triumphed over the grave...... e He mentions another instance, and in doing so lets us see something of his own religious views and of those of his father the vicar :— ‘*Tt had been a custom, dating from a period, I believe, long before the time of James L, for the young men of Dent to assemble after Sun- day Evening Service, and finish the day by a match of football. My father might perhaps have put down this ancient custom ; but he did not interfere, because he thought the contest, if carried on in good will, tended to health and cheerfulness: and he knew well that it was not thought sinful or indecorous by the old inha- bitants of Dent.” After evening service there was a small tea-party at the vicarage, and the vicar read aloud to his guests, often an extract from Bishop Wilson’s sermons, and a football player or two would generally attend this reading. Sedgwick’s bringing up in the quiet parish among the Yorkshire hills settled for life his standpoint in respect of Church controversies. He was averse to innovations in ritual; but Dr. Goulburn surely overstated the case in saying ‘“he was exceedingly narrow in his religious opinions.” Sedgwick was elected Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1810, and in due course took holy orders under the old statutes. Till 1818, when he was ap- pointed Woodwardian Professor, he was much occupied with college business and tutorial work, neither of which seems to have been congenial to him. During this time his health was often upset; and then and throughout his life his frequent indis- ositions and accidents were vexatious to im. He very quickly became a man of great personal influence not only within the gates of Trinity, but throughout the uni- versity ; and although a man of enthusiastic temperament and of ardent opinions, which he did not conceal, he avoided personal quarrels, and possessed a wonderful gift of acquiring the cordial friendship of all kinds of men. He first visited the Continent in 1816, v@ Brighton and Dieppe. During this visit he made many notes of what he saw, and wrote many lively letters to friends in England, but as yet no geo- logical observations occur. From Paris he writes :— “ The beautiful, gay, and profligate city of Paris isa noble capital, but the people are so abomin- able and detestable that there can be no peace for Europe if they are not chained down as slaves, or exterminated as wild beasts.” The professor’s insular prejudices appear to have been strong. Of the Alps, however, he writes :— ‘One can conceive an outline varied in every possible form ; a man can imagine a mountain
—=—<-- |
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ee N° 3276, Aue. 9, 90 THE“ATHENAZUM 197 four times as high as any he has seen; but of that exquisite perfection of scenery which arises from contrast and combination, no one can have = notion who has not been in Switzer- land.’ Adam Sedgwick became Woodwardian Professor in 1818, beating his rival Gorham, of Queens’ College, by 186 votes to 59. The unpopular but learned pedant who founded the professorship bound the incum- bents of the chair to celibacy, lest, as he re- marked, ‘‘the care of a wife and children shou!d take the lecturer too much from study, and the care of the Lecture,” and Sedgwick remained a bachelor all his days. He had now found a vocation for which he was in every way suited, and henceforth his life was an unbroken success. If he had been a man of narrower sympathies and more restricted activity, he might, perhaps, have done more in his favourite science, although this is hardly possible. Prof. Hughes gives a full description of the extent and value of Sedgwick’s geological researches and teaching. The amount of work with the hammer and the pen, done single-handed or with the co-operation of Sir R. Murchison and others, is astound- ing. Between 1828 and 1838 much paleo- zoic geology was worked out; and sub- sequently to this period Sedgwick and Murchison carried on the investigations which resulted in the “ Devonian Sys- tem.” Later geological controversy entailed an estrangement between the two friends. A careful explanation of the grounds of the controversy is given, and we think it clear that Sedgwick suffered injustice, and that he proved himself the sounder observer. Sedgwick was Vice-Master of Trinity in 1847, when the late Prince Consort was elected Chancellor of the University. He was a supporter of the Prince’s claims, and threw himself into the contest with the energy and spirit that he displayed in all his duties, whether those of his geological professorship, his cathedral stall, his presidency of the Geological Society, or the homelier, but still exacting duties of hospitality in Norwich and Cambridge. The Prince soon after his election iavited Sedgwick ‘‘to undertake the duties of his Secretary at Cambridge, as Chancellor of the University.” ‘‘Those who were jealous of Sedgwick’s scientific reputation will regret’? his decision to accept this post. ‘‘It entailed upon him new duties and new responsibilities, of the extent of which he had no idea when he accepted the Prince’s offer—and it put geology, viewed as the serious pursuit of his life, still farther into the background.” In 1850 he accepted a seat on the Royal Uni- versities Commission, and thus further added to the burden of extra-professorial work. Sedgwick was an accomplished letter- writer. His correspondence, especially with jadies and children, or, at any rate, that portion of it now published, will be read by all with pleasure. With him letter- writing was an art, and it reveals his cha- racter and ways most delightfully. The charm of his letters is always appa- rent, whether the subject be court life, British Association meetings, Geological Society discussions, expressions of sym- pathy with sorrowing friends, or even half- comic, haif-earnest grumblings at his own ill health. Dr. Robinson, Master of St. Catharine’s College, describes Sedgwick’s life at Nor- wich from 1834 to 1873. But Trinity College was his real home, although his house in the cathedral city must have been the scene of much bright and happy hos- pitality, cheered as it was by the constant presence of much-loved nephews and nieces. From time t» time changes were made in the services, and these seldom gained his approbation. The Dean’s request to read lessons from the lectern, not from his stall as of old, was ignored. A lady met him. “Oh! Prof. Sedgwick, why don’t you read the Lessons from the new lectern? I am so sorry you don’t. I had quite looked for- ward to seeing you there.’ ‘What? Me, Ma’am! Me! expose myself before that bird! Nothing shall induce me!’” Sedgwick died in his college rooms in the winter of 1873. His niece, Miss Mar- garet Isabella Sedgwick, heard his last solemn words. The late Dean of West- minster, son of his old friend, preached the funeral sermon in Great St. Mary’s. “Who that ever saw the scorn of that fierce indignation against baseness, or meanness, or wrong, has not felt himself nerved to loftier aims? Who that ever read or heard his burn- ing words of detestation and disgust against the miserable folly and sin of sensual self-indul- gence—his admiration of whatever was unworldly, generous, and just—did not perceive how, amidst the exuberance of his never-dying youth, amidst all the eneryy of political or theological or scientific strife, there was in that granite rock a crystal spring of affection, simple, tender, and true as ever burst from the depths of human heart ? His strength was as the strength of ten, Because his heart was pure. He was, as far as in him lay,~‘ the salt,’ the Attic salt, the purifying salt, the invigorating salt, which kept us all from corruption, debase- ment, and decay.” BOTANICAL LITERATURE. History of Botany (1530-1860). By Julius von Sachs. Authorized Translation by H. E. F. Garnsey, M.A. Revised by Isaac Bayley Balfour. (Oxford, Clarendon Press. )—To those, and there must be many, to whom the name of Sachs is repellent, and to whom his ‘ Text-Book’ recalls painful memories, this present volume will come as a welcome surprise. It is not only that the ‘History’ is pleasant reading, whilst the ‘ Text- Book’ is very much the reverse—that is ac- counted for by the nature of the subject in the two cases—the main surprise is occasioned by the evidence of system and method in the ‘ His- tory,’ the absence of which from the ‘ Text- Book’ renders the perusal of that volume, with all its merits, a laborious and painful task. In the ‘ History’ the author’s grasp is surer and more persistent. He has to deal with matters which once were the subjects of discussion and of differences of opinion, but which now have either been discarded or ripened into dogmas. He is concerned with facts and opinions for which time and progress have secured stability, not with an ever-increasing host of new facts and novel interpretations which constitute the fluctuations of modern science, and which for the time serve to obstruct any clear or general view. The history of botany, as of other sciences, may be treated from the point of view of personal biography—sketches of the lives of great botanists may be made the framework and foundation of a general account of the progress of the science. Sachs’s method is different. He picks out certain leading ideas which were the characteristics of various periods—such as the arbitrary system of Linnzeus, the rational system of Jussieu, the theory of metamorphosis, the establishment of the essential identity in the sexuality of animals and plants, the dogma of the constancy of species, the theory of evolu- tion, the influence exerted by the improved knowledge of cryptogams and of vegetable anatomy, the nutrition of plants as elucidated by chemistry and physics, and so forth, A general sketch is given of the history of all these several topics, the state of the science at their inception is portrayed, their gradual progress is followed, and their influence on the general advance carefully estimated. To write such a sketch demands great research, much knowledge, clear judgment, sense of propor- tion, and strict impartiality. These qualities, in spite of some remarkable omissions in the case of systematic botany and geographical dis- tribution, and the problems connected withthem, are apparent in the work before us, and botanists will be grateful to the Delegates of the Claren- don Press for the opportunity of perusing so masterly a summary. For what has been done in their own country English readers will know where to look. They will not find it in this book. The translation has been well done, and the contents and index enable the reader to obtain easily any information he may require. How to know Grasses by their Leaves. By A N. McAlpine. (Edinburgh, Douglas. )—Prof. Wallace, who contributes a preface to this little book, is quite correct in his assertion ‘‘ that a want has long been felt of some simple and attractive guide to the identification of the common pasture grasses by their leaves.” Whether Mr. McAlpine has succeeded in sup- plying that want cannot be determined by a simple inspection of his book. That there are characteristics which are readily seized by village schoolboys after a little training is proved by the successive series of elaborate botanical analyses of the constituents of hay. from the various experimental plots at Roth- amsted. Many are the botanists who have been surprised, and it may be piqued, with the facility with which these lads separate the smallest fragments belonging to the individual plants from the mixed mass of hay before them. Duval Jouve and other botanists have studied comparatively the microscopical structure of the leaves of grasses; but such methods, though valuable to the man of science, are not suf- ficiently rough and ready for practical use. Mr. McAlpine claims to be able to deter- mine between the most common grasses in pastures—rye grass, fescu@}, dogstail, holcus, and foxtail— by the colours of the leaves of their leaf-sheaths. So far as_ the five grasses named are concerned, it Tanot at any time a very difficult task for one who has had a little practice to pick them out in a meadow even in the absence of flowers. At the same time we fully concur with the author that it is extremely desirable that agriculturists should familiarize themselves with the appear- ances of the plants they have to deal with, and more particularly with their mode of growth above and below ground—points neglected by botanists, and still more so by those whose in- terests are most concerned. Mr. McAlpine takes note of the characters presented by the leaves, their sheaths, their colour, their venation, their margins, their ligules, &c., and classifies them accordingly in ten groups; but the groups them- selves want classifying. What is an unlucky farmer to do who, grass in hand, has ten alter- natives presented to him at one time? Probably he will give up the choice in despair. Should he persevere he will find great assistance from the numerous illustrations, which, although somewhat roughly executed, are accurate and serviceable. It is to be hoped the author may be encouraged by the success of the first edition to make a second one even more useful by improved arrangement of his matter.
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198 THE ATHENAUM N° 3276, Ava. 9,’90 The Garden’s Story; or, Pleasures and Trials of an Amateur Gardener. By George H. EIl- wanger. (Heinemann.)—As the garden appeals to many and diverse tastes, the garden books vary accordingly. There is the highly tech- nical treatise, of the earth earthy ; there is the botanical dictionary, forbidding to the profane ; there is the book of literary gossip, with some reference to gardening; there is the gushing romance, ambitious in style, but having as little relation to gardening as Monmouth to Macedon ; there are essays on landscape garden- ing and dissertations on colour for the artist. Nor must we forget the humourists. They have had their say about gardens and gardening ; and every one who has read, for instance, ‘My Summer in a Garden’ will admit that the class of garden literature of which that book is a type is one which forms a most welcome foil and contrast to the others. The present work, which is dedicated to the Rev. C. Wolley Dod, **Master of Gardening,” occupies a somewhat intermediate position. It is sufticiently tech- nical for the amateur, its botanical details are correct enough for the purpose, it is pervaded with a literary flavour, refined by an infusion of poetry, and by no means destitute of a sense of humour. It is not a book to be dissected and criticized, but one to be taken up and enjoyed both in the garden and in the study. A preface by the Rev. C. Wolley Dod shows how the book, which was written under Aine- rican skies for American readers, can be readily adapted to British requirements. This will be conceded when it is remembered how large a proportion of our hardy plants have been derived from the North-Eastern and North- Western States of the Union. We Britons are proverbial grumblers, and gardeners in par- ticular rail at the climate and vituperate our soil. It is pleasant, by way of a change, to read what Mr. Dod, a most competent witness, says on the other side :— “ Countries with a summer warmer than ours may attain an annual climax of floral beauty which we cannot imitate—in some it is very short, in others more lasting—but taking the whole year round, perhaps few climates furnish conditions which enable a gardener to keep up a display of flowers in the open air for so many months as that of our island.” The Stories of the Trees. By Mrs. Dyson. (Nelson & Sons.)—A book without a preface and devoid of index! For all that the author’s purpose is plain, and the table of contents is sufficient for reference. The purpose of the book is obviously to interest children in trees by calling attention to their beauty, to their mode of growth and ways of life. The author does not tell too much, but supplies hints to the reader what to look for, and gives explanations of what might be obscure to the untrained observer. It may seem strange to congratulate the author on the general accuracy of her bota- nical details. But those whose business it is to look over so-called ‘‘ popular” books know but too well how very faulty they generally are in these respects. Mrs. Dyson is correct in her botany, so far as she goes; but she is mistaken in assigning the horse-chestnut to the mountains of Central and Northern Asia. Its real home was for a long time unknown, but of late years it has been discovered that its native abode is in the mountains of Greece. The book abounds in useful suggestions. Here is one:— “Here is a pleasant way of spending your holi- day, boys. You glory in making collections—eggs, butterflies, autographs, stamps; there is always something going onin that queer ‘den’ of yours. Now start an oak collection—buds, leaves, flowers, fruit, galls, insects, moths, wood, and everything else you can find on the tree, as it appears at dif- ferent times, every peculiarity, every variety. Study one tree especially, watch it every day, and make friends with all its inhabitants, and learn all its ways.” To carry out this recommendation fully would demand more than could be accomplished in a lifetime, more than could be compassed by any one mind; but for all that it is excellent advice, and the advantage to the lad who would follow it according to the measure of his ability and his opportunities would be very great both mentally and physically. Probably it would be productive of more benefit than the moral reflec- tions in which the author indulges. These are excellent and command our sympathy, but we very greatly doubt if the class of reader for whom the book is intended is likely to profit by them. Index of British Plants. By Robert Turn- bull. (Bell & Sons.)—This is a complete alpha- betical list of all the plant-names contained in the London Catalogue and in ten of the best- known botanical works, with references to figures in ‘English Botany,’ third edition, and to those in the illustrated edition of Bentham’s * Handbook.’ ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. Dr. Brpscnor, of Vienna, has computed the orbit of the comet (b, 1890) which was dis- covered by M. Coggia at Marseilles on the 18th ult., from observations including one made at Vienna on the 25th. The perihelion passage took place on the morning of July 9th, and the comet’s brightness is now only about half what it was at the time of discovery. Next week it will be in the constellation Leo (very near the second magnitude star 6 Leonis on the 14th inst. ), and, owing to the absence of moonlight, that will be a favourable time for observing it, not- withstanding its diminution in brightness. But it must be noted that it will set about two hours after sunset, so that its position whilst visible will be very low in the heavens. The comet (c, 1890) which was discovered by Mr. Denning at Bristol on the 23rd ult. was observed by M. Charlois at Nice on the 25th, when its place was R. A. 155 14™, N.P.D. 13° 23’. [t was also observed at Strasbourg on the 27th ult., and its orbit has been computed by Herr A. Berberich, of Berlin, who finds that the perihelion passage will not take place until about the 25th of September, at the distance from the sun of 1°33 in terms of the earth’s mean distance. The comet is also approaching the earth (its distance from which is now about 1°36 on the ! same scale), and its brightness at the end of the present month will be about twice what it was at the time of discovery. Its approximate places next week, from Berberich’s ephemeris, will be : R.A. N.P.D. h. m. s, i 4 Aug. 11 15 20 44 33 9 12 15 21 27 34 30 13 15 22 11 35 51 14 15 22 56 37 14 15 15 23 42 38 38 16 15 24 29 40 3 We have received the number of the Memorie della Societa degli Spettroscopisti Italiani for June. Several of the papers in it are selected, but the editor, Prof. Tacchini, has a paper on the solar eclipse of December 22nd, 1889, and also communicates a letter from Prof. Nobile on the variations of latitude in long and short periods. There is further a paper by Prof. Chis- toni, of Modena, on the method of measuring the magnetic intensity which is called in Italy Lloyd’s method, although it is really due to the late Prof. 8S. Hunter Christie, father of the pre- sent Astronomer Royal. MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Tves. Horticultural,1; Lecture, 3. Science Gossip. Dr. St. GEorGcE Mivart, at the invitation of the Belgian Episcopate, has accepted the post of Professor of the Philosophy of Natural His- tory in the University of Louvain. THE well-known botanist Dr. A. von Bunge, brother of the distinguished historian Dr. F. G. von Bunge, has recently died at the advanced age of eighty-seven. A statue of Liebig has recently been unveiled at Giessen. Prof. Hoffman, of Berlin, delivered a suitable oration on the occasion. A NEW monthly paper is to be started in October, styled The Aivimals’ Guardian. FINE ARTS —~o— The Church Plate of the County of Dorset. By J. E. Nightingale. Illustrated. (Salis- bury, Bennett Brothers.) Tue Bishop of Salisbury was well advised when he caused to be issued to every in- cumbent in Dorsetshire a printed form of return of all the church plate in his charge. These returns are to be preserved in the diocesan registry. Dorset being dealt with, it is intended to extend the practice to the other counties in the see of Sarum. It seems that, generally speaking, the clergy have cordially helped in the matter, and this book is a digest of particulars obtained from the three hundred (more or fewer) parishes in the county. Mr. Nightingale, to whom, as well as to his coadjutors, the Rural Deans and a handful of antiquaries, this was a labour of love, warns those intending to tread the same path of in- quiry that it is quite necessary that many of the returns should be supplemented and further researches made by those who are more expert in plate marks and the archeology of silver than incumbents can be expected to be. In Dorset there seems to have been no difficulty in finding able and willing inquirers who, ‘‘Oripps in hand,” examined the pieces which the re- turns indicated to be of interest, archzeolo- gical or artistic. The orders of King Edward’s commis- sioners to confiscate to his use all the church plate which in 1552 seemed superfluous were so thoroughly observed, and the greed, ignorance, and stupidity of church custo- dians have since then been so far effectual, that out of all the patens, chalices, and pixes of silver, pewter, or wood which were at that time in Dorsetshire, only three are now in use in the county. Yet it cannot be said that Dorset is worse off than other shires. In England, our author says, only twenty-seven pre-Reformation chalices are still in use, and about seventy-five patens; but we fancy the number is larger. In the Public Record Office is preserved a voluminous record of the church goods confiscated in the county. By this it ap- pears that 332 specimens of parish plate were brought to the notice of the king’s commissioners. How many more existed it would be hard to guess. At any rate, since 1552 no fewer than 229 pre-Reforma- tion pieces have certainly disappeared. Among the pieces that have taken their place are 104 examples bearing the marks of Elizabeth’s time, or otherwise appearing to be of that period. Such a proportion of Elizabethan plate is decidedly noteworthy, being nearly one-third of the number of parishes in the shire. The shape of the Elizabethan chalices is quite different from the older form. They are tall, stand on a foot, and the bowl is shaped like an in- verted bell, whereas previously, whatever might be the form of the stem, the bowl was shallow and wide, which is, of course, a true and proper chalice shape. With
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—e TS aw XUM N° 3276, Aue. 9, 90 THE ATHENZUM 199 the abolition of that shape vanished the aptitude of Shakspeare’s reference to the ‘* chalic’d flowers ” which held the morning dews. The post-Reformation form is distinctly German ; but a large number of the vessels themselves were evidently made by local craftsmen, who, it seems, adopted a type then fashionable. Mr. Ferguson in his ‘Old Church Plate in the Diocese of Car- lisle,’ which we reviewed in 1882, has shown that this type was in use at this time in the northern as well as in the southern diocese. The probability is that the fashion was set in London, where most of the Elizabethan chalices were made. It was not an inelegant type, but it distinctly belongs to the German Renaissance, as opposed to the fine Gothic character of the three beautiful examples of earlier dates which are to be found in Dorset: (1) at Coombe-Keynes, dated c. 1500; (2) at Buckhorn- Weston, c. 1510 (a paten); and (3) at Sturminster-Marshall, dated 1534, but not now in its original state. The oldest known parish chalice, which was, till lately, in continuous use, belonged to Berwick-St. James, Wiltshire. It is now in the British Museum. To this we have already more than once referred in reviewing works on church plate. It is at least as old as the thirteenth century, and exhibits distinct Romanesque elements. The chalice at Coombe-Keynes is of so beautiful a form and in so excellent a state of preservation that it almost com- pensates Dorset for its poverty in pre- Reformation plate. The bowl is broad and conical, the stem hexagonal and plain, with a bold knop terminating in six lobes with traceried openings spirally twisted, and ending in angels’ heads crowned. It has a mullet-shaped base, reeded ver- tically and spreading broad to rest on leaf-shaped feet, one to each angle. It is so very like the beautiful chalice at Nettlecombe (described in the Archeologia, vol xlii., by Mr. A. Morgan, and by Mr. Cripps in his ‘Old English Plate’), and that at Old Hutton, in Kendal, described by Mr. Ferguson, that one might almost venture to ascribe the three specimens to the same craftsman; undoubtedly they might have been produced within the period of one man’s lifetime. It bears a general resemblance to the fine chalice at Wylie, Wiltshire, which Mr. Nightingale first described in vol. xl. of the Archeological Journal, p. 437, as dated 1525, but it is older, and even older than Bishop Fox’s chalice at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, a transitional specimen, of which Mr. Night- ingale gives the date as ‘‘ undoubtedly... . 1507,” while Mr. Cripps dates it 1511. Another piece that is curiously like the Wylie chalice is Sir T. Pope’s chalice at Trinity College, Oxford (Cripps, 1527). But the Coombe-Keynes chalice (which Mr. Cripps refers to as at ‘‘ Coombe-Pyne”’) seems to us older than the famous and beautiful specimen at Nettlecombe, Somer- set, the date of which is 1459. The Dorset- shire chalice most closely resembles that at Old Hutton, which is safely assigned to the middle of the fifteenth century; we think c. 1440 would not be far wrong for either. The Coombe-Keynes chalice seems to have been noticed by the commissioners in 1552 _and mercifully left for the future use of the | owing to climatic conditions, the life of the parish. In their‘ English Medicval Chalices | inhabitants was comparatively easy—there and Patens’—to which everybody desiring | to master the curious subject with which it deals must needs refer (see Archeological Journal, vol. xliii.)—Messrs. W. H. St. J. Hope and T. M. Fallow say, p. 147, that the ‘* Coombe-Pyne, Devon,” example has lost its original stem and knop. Can it be that these authorities have confused the chalice at Coombe-Keynes with that at Sturminster- Marshall ? The bowl and foot of the Sturminster- Marshall chalice are medieval in character, but an inserted intermediate stem is out of keeping with the rest of the object, and looks like late sixteenth century work. At Buckhorn-Weston the paten is older than the Elizabethan chalice (dated 1562-63) with which it is now associated. It is five inches in diameter, and has shell-like sexfoils in the second depression, and, although there is no hall mark upon it, its style agrees very well with the date 1510-20 ascribed to it by our author. Kultur und Industrie Siidamerikanischer Vol- ker, nach den im Besitze des Museums fir Volkerkunde zu Leipzig befindlichen Samm- lungen von A. Stiibel, W. Reiss, und B. Koppel. Mit Text und Beschreibung der Tafeln von Max Uhle. Vol.I. (Asher & Co.) Tuis magnificent folio, treating of the culture and industries of the South American people, is the result of ethnographical collections which have been formed by several highly competent authorities. From 1868 to 1877 Messrs. Reiss and Stiibel were engaged in researches which extended over portions of the uplands of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, as well as along the Pacific coast; and it may be remembered that on August 27th, 1881, we spoke with deserved approval of their splendid and profusely illustrated work on the great burial-place at Ancon, a sheltered bay about thirty-five miles to the north-west of Lima. In the present volume it has been considered un- necessary to repeat the account of the ex- cavations made there, with descriptions of the objects obtained (translated into English by Prof. A. H. Keane) ; and the Peruvian specimens of pottery, ornaments, weapons, &c., now figured are chiefly, though not entirely, from inland localities. To the collections formed by Messrs. Reiss and Stiibel have been added many valuable specimens acquired by Consul - General Bendix Koppel during his residence of twenty-five years in Bogota, while the de- scriptive letterpress of the whole has been prepared by the eminent ethnologist Dr. Max Uhle. We regret to see the announce- ment that no English translation of this work will appear, for undoubtedly the text lays a permanent foundation for future labours in the field of South American archeology. The coloured plates illustrate the early period of art and domestic life among several nations or tribes of whose history little is known, while their origin can only be conjectured. Their pottery presents many similar characteristics, even in places situated very far apart; but it will be noticed is a stronger tendency to produce grotesque and even humorous shapes of animals as well as men than is the case among the sullen and gloomy denizens of the high table-land, some thirteen thousand feet above the sea, round Lake Titicaca. To this, how- ever, there is a remarkable exception in the ruins of Tiahuanaco, where the uprights of the great gateways are parallel, as in Cen- tral American architecture—not inclined towards each other near the top, as is the case with buildings under the Inca dynasty ; moreover the great monolith, well known from engravings and photographs, is pro- fusely sculptured with grotesque human and animal-headed figures, which also bear a strong resemblance to the exuberant designs characteristic of the Central American tem- ples. It is probable, although proof is wanting, that the authors of these reliefs belonged to one cf the Nahua races of the North; and all the collected evidence is strongly against their being the production of the rude Aymards, who have inhabited the lofty plateau on the confines of Peru and Bolivia for an unknown period. It is also at Tiahuanaco that we meet with the finest specimen of the walls conveniently termed ‘‘Cyclopean,” in which the angles of each stone—often re-entrant—correspond so closely with those of the next that, literally, the blade of a knife cannot be inserted between them. Copies of the peculiar pattern of these walls may be seen in the pottery figured from that locality, but there is nothing to show that the archi- tecture and the ceramic representations were in any way contemporaneous; while, to add to the mystery, side by side with this elaborate work stands a rude circle similar to that of Stonehenge or Carnac. We will hazard the opinion that the engraved mono- lith was executed by a race which inhabited that table-land at a time when the climate there was less rigorous than it is at present. The traditions of the Incas or Quichua- speaking conquerors of the Aymaras are dumb upon the subject, except for some vague stories, probably derived from the Spanish priests, and similar to those of the destruction of the sinful pre-Noachian giants and also of the Cities of the Plain. Nothing is proved by the fact that Tiahuanaco was turned into a shrine under the Incas. Their system, like that of other dominant races, was to engraft their particular form of worship upon that of the tribe they subju- gated, and the evidence of this may still be seen in the ruins identified by tradition as ‘‘Temples of the Sun” at Pacha-cémac, Trujillo, and other places on the coast-line of Peru, the conquest of which was only completed by the Incas, after long warfare, about a century befere the advent of the Spaniards. Mention of the coast brings us to consider the high and luxurious state of civilization found there by the Incas when they de- scended from their mountain fastnesses. Nowhere are the ruins so vast, and nowhere has so much treasure been disinterred, as in the great city which was the headquarters of the Chimus, and still displays miles of lofty walls, extensive public places, and huge terraced huacas, or burial mounds, between that in Colombia and Ecuador—where, | the exposed bay of Huanchaco and the
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200 THE ATHENZUM N° 3276, Ava. 9, ’90 modern city of Trujillo. Few ornaments and utensils of gold or silver—in which the Chimus were skilful workers—have escaped the melting-pot, but articles less tempting to the cupidity of the spoiler have fortu- nately been preserved; and in the present volume illustrations are given of two ponchos with sleeves, the patterns of which, like those of other garments obtained by the writer in the same locality, are extremely tasteful, while the texture is exquisite. This extra- ordinary development in the art of weaving llama wool from the mountains as well as cotton from the lower valleys was by no means confined to the Chimu capital ; fabrics little, if at all, inferior in quality having been found by Messrs. Reiss and Stiibel in the necropolis of Ancon already mentioned, considerably further south. Ancon possesses an excellent harbour (for Peru), and the contents of the rifled graves show that a considerable trade must have been carried on by sea with the natives of the warmer and moister regions of Ecuador. The head ornaments of many of the mummies re- semble those of the Jivaros Indians of the forests, being composed of the feathers of bright-plumaged birds unknown on the dry treeless coast; and among the dolls, toys, and pets buried with the corpses of children have been found parrots of the woodland genus Chrysotis—one of these, evidently a great favourite, wearing a necklace and feet ornaments of coral. On the other hand, the Chimus were cut off from intercourse by sea, owing to the surf in the open roadstead of Huanchaco, and they were forced to carry on their communications with their neigh- bours through the valleys and passes of the Cordillera; hence the abundance of gold in their capital, probably from ‘‘ washings” in the Utcubamba and other tributaries of the Maranon. Woven fabrics, household utensils, work-boxes with quaintly coloured spindles, weapons, provisions, &c., are found, with slight variations, in all these places of sepulture of the great Yungas race; but few gold ornaments have been obtained from Ancon, the inhabitants of which were evi- dently seafaring folk, maintaining compara- tively little intercourse by land, owing to the absence of lateral valleys. When we pass northward to Colom- bia, the gold ornaments figured from Cundinamarca (the modern Bogota) are of great interest, especially a group of men on a sort of raft. The faces of these navigators belong to a type which differs considerably from that of the coast- dwellers of Peru, resembling, on the one hand, those on some of the sculptures in the Central American cities, and those of the monolith at Tiahuanaco on the other. Even tradition is almost silent as regards the his- tory of these people, distinguished, for con- venience, by the name of Chibchas; nor do we know much about the Scyris, the in- habitants of the uplands of Ecuador, whose civilization was probably on a level with that attained by their Inca conquerors, so soon to be involved in one common ruin by the Spaniards. The headdresses of both these nations or tribes are peculiar in shape, as are also the numerous fopus or brooch- pins, of which plates are given, many of the latter presenting a superficial resemblance to our quaint and angular medizval work, while others are grotesque imitations of jaguars, frogs, and lizards, and especially of snakes, one of which displays a well- shaped hand at the end of its numerous sinuosities. No space is left for remarks upon the weapons, which range from the rude flint arrow-head to the elaborate copper axe, nor has it been practicable to give more than an outline of the contents of this handsome volume. The price of the completed work (8/.), though far less than that of the three massive folios on the Ancon necropolis, is still beyond the reach of the general public, but museums and scientific institutions should certainly provide themselves with a work of such importance to the student of ethnology. We look forward with pleasure to the appearance of the second part, which will deal with the modern period of South American art. The Inscriptions of Sitt and Dér Rifeh. By F. L. Griffith. (Triibner & Co.)—With the literary assistance of twelve gentlemen, four of whom are Egyptologists, Mr. Griffith has pub- lished nineteen lithographic plates of inscriptions from copies of Egyptian texts which he made at Asyit and other places in 1886, 1887, and 1888. The inscriptions are published without transliteration, translation, or commentary, and no description of the places where the tombs were found is added. The correct form of the Arabic name of the town where Mr. Griffith copied these inscriptions is Asyit or Usyit, as we know from the geography of Abu’l Feda (ed. MacGuckin de Slane, p. 112) and Yakat (ed. Wiistenfeld, vol. i. p. 272). The Coptic form is Sidut or Siduth, from the Egyptian forms of the name of Lycopolis, Saut and Sautet. It matters not which of these names is given to the town of Asytit in Upper Egypt, but whichever is chosen should be written correctly. The contract in- scription is of considerable interest ; but as no explanation whatever of its contents is given, it is to be feared that Mr. Griffith’s book will, as he wishes in his preface, be forgotten, except by the Egyptologist who cares for such things. Mr. Epcar Tuorston, Superintendent of the Madras Museum, already favourably known as the author of the catalogues of the Mysore and Dehli coins under his charge, has compiled a useful History of the Coinage of the Territories of the East India Company and Catalogue of the Coins in the Madras Museum (Madras, Government Press). He has made full use of the Government and Mint records, and of the published works of Marsden, Thomas, Yule, Ruding, Wheeler, and others ; and his historical annals of the coinage, though a little intricate and in need of summaries and classification, will be found of great service by students of a complicated branch of modern numismatics. The catalogue and the twenty plates will be invaluable for the arrangement of collections, for the sometimes very minute and obscure distinctions of different issues are clearly described and illustrated. BETTONA. Bertona is only a few miles distant from Perugia, yet almost unknown to travellers. My main object in spending two or three days inside its gloomy walls (relics of Papal rule built by Cardinal Albornoz in the fourteenth century on the existing Etruscan foundations) was to see a picture of historic interest painted by Perugino. As it has been described by Crowe and Caval- caselle in their ‘ History of Painting’ more or less correctly, I will repeat their comments upon it :— “During the campaign fought by Gaston de Foix for the possession of the Romagna in 1512, one of Baglioni’s captains, a Perugian called Boto da Mara- glia, was taken prisoner 15th of February by the French, and on his release he ordered a votive por- trait in remembrance of his troubles, which is still in the church of the Minorites at Bettona. In this hasty distemper on canvas Boto kneels cap a pie, and looks up to a life-sized St. Anthony holding in one hand the fire,in the other the book. The date of the vow and the name of Perugino are on the lower part of the canvas, which has pretty much the appearance of a Virgin of eT between SS. Manno and Jerome with male and female patrons under her cloak in the same church. Both pieces are characteristic of the period. They are painted with slight transparent colour. The figures are fairly drawn, in good proportion, and easy motion, but the old carefulness of the master is obviously giving way to a neglectful facility. The inscription on the canvas runs: ‘ Boto da Maraglia da Peroga quando fo pregione de Franciose Che fo addi XI. de febraio MDXII. Petrus pinxit de Castro Plebis.’ The surface is now discoloured and washy, the sky bare to the thread. The lower part of the legs (en- cased in red hose) of Boto is gone.” If this passage has not been corrected in edi- tions subsequent to that of 1866, from which I quote, it perpetuates a prodigious blunder. The word “ Boto” in the inscription is the old and very common way of writing ‘‘ Voto,” and, of course, “ Boto da Maraglia da Peroga” means vow made by Maraglia of Perugia, and ‘‘ Boto ” is certainly not the proper name of the donor. The name of Bettona itself is an apt example of the variation, as it was formerly Vettona and Vetuna. A classic instance to the precise point occurs in the sixth novella of the seventh day of Boccaccio’s ‘ Decameron,’ ‘‘ Io fo Boto a Dio.” I found that nothing is known in Bettona of the pious soldier who so strictly fulfilled his vow, but, thanks to my friend Prof. Adamo Rossi, I am enabled to give the scanty but authentic information, derived from the archives of Spello, that one record at least survives concerning him. It is in the form of a legal document, dated July 2nd, 1501, drawn by the notary Giovanni Morichelli, by which it appears that this Mara- glia was named Bartolommeo, his father Pietro, and his grandfather Bartolo; and that up to the date of this instrument he followed the profession of arms is shown by the nature of the document, which is a receipt given for sale of “booty of war,” pro se et nomine totius bottini (see original bastardello, or short protocol, in Spello Archivio for years 1485 to 1508, carta 63). Trusting to hearsay only, certain Italian writers have supposed this picture was dedicated to San Diego, a Franciscan monk, but it is un- doubtedly to Sant’ Antonio of Padua, represented as usual with the flame (luce dei credenti) in the right hand and the book in the left. Since Crowe and Cavalcaselle wrote the pic- ture has been removed from the Church of the Minorites, and is now in a room of the ex-Con- vent of San Crispolto. They speak of the warrior as armed cap « pie, but his helmet is devoutly placed on one side as he kneels in supplication to the saint. The picture of ‘The Virgin of Mercy between SS. Manno and Girolamo’ they allude to is still in its place in the old church. Its position formerly in respect to Perugino’s Sant’ Antonio was on a side wall in the same chapel. As one is painted on wood and the other on canvas they could never have had any connexion such as is hazily hinted at. Maraglia, as he may safely be called, was fighting under the command of Malatesta IV. Baglioni at the time he was taken prisoner by the French in the sanguinary battle of Ravenna, that battle which, when Louis XII. heard of the heavy slaughter of his troops, made him exclaim, ‘*God grant such victories to my enemies.” The famous Chevalier Bayard, the knight ‘ sans eur et sans reproche,’ who was present, is reported to have been sorely afflicted by the extraordinary use of artillery which distin- guished it, as he foresaw that “ villainous salt- petre” triumphant had on that bloody field sounded the knell of personal valour, and chivalrous feats of arms. Sixteen thousand men perished of both armies. Alfonzo d’Este, of Ferrara, seems to have been the chief employer of artillery, but as Perugia was, 150 years before,
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a a a a ae ee oe . = Ge N° 3276, Ave. 9, 90 THE ATHENZUM 201 one of the first cities in Italy to manufacture bombarde, spengarde, and columbrine, probably Malatesta had some of them in his train. Maraglia was among the prisoners, but his young leader, then only twenty years old, was found among the dead and dying, with twenty- two wounds, and brought back to Bettona for cure. A picture is still in the possession of the Baglioni family, representing him in bed with his head swathed in bandages, and sur- rounded by his faithful vassals of Collazzone, who had ordered the picture to be painted as a proof of attachment. It was till lately in the Palazzo Baglioni at Perugia, but is now in their villa at Torgiano. The stain of treachery weigh- ing on the memory of this Malatesta will pro- bably never be washed out. When, seventeen years after Ravenna, his magnificent valour and fame caused the Florentines to elect him military governor of their city, during its eleven months’ siege by an overwhelming con- federation, formed to restore the power of the Medici dynasty, he was forced to despair of the short-lived liberties fought for by the citizens. I have read attentively the many letters, particularly those addressed to the Signoria, in which he tells them, on the word of a captain whose honour is unsullied, that want of bread and the increasing number of the besiegers, without hope of help from anywhere, render hopeless a continuance of the defence ; and he resigns his command. His tenderness, warmly expressed, for the treasures of art and antiquities contained in the city may probably have been strengthened by communications with the Medici Pope Clement VII. (specially interested in their preservation), several of whose letters to him before and after the surrender are published. Whatever his innocence or guilt, we need not forget that his conduct saved Florence as a rich treasure house. The diary kept by a baker called Giulio di Costantino, who accompanied Malatesta and his 4,000 or 5,000 other Perugians, refers to their defence of Florence, and is a curiosity of litera- ture ; but unfortunately only half of it (thirty or forty pages) has been printed at private expense ; hitherto both the Government and Municipality, {am sorry to say, have been too indifferent to finish the publication. Malatesta died in Bettona on the 24th of December, 1531, after horrible sufferings, and the annals of Perugia are full of accounts of many portentous incidents con- nected with his death in the popular imagina- tion. A comet in the heavens over Monte Malbe is said to have directed its rays towards Perugia, as signal of some dire calamity. Also on the fatal night roofs of houses were blown off by a terrible wind, followed by violent hail and thunder. He was buried with great funeral pomp in Perugia. Bettona possesses two or three other valuable pictures. The altar-piece in the church of S. Crispolto is a Presepio painted by Dono Doni, very brilliant in colour, and in excellent pre- servation, showing no traces of the fire which consumed the choir decorations not long ago. The painter has introduced an old woman as the central figure, quite unusual and out of place, which may possibly represent one of the family Oliviera, the committente, i.e, donor of the pic- ture. In the principal church S. Maria there is an Assunta, attributed to Simone Memmi of Siena, also a fine Rosario, whose painter is unknown. Another interesting painting is a Gonfalone used for processional purposes in times of pes- tilence, and in sad condition from careless treat- ment. §S. Anna appears surrounded by clouds, and underneath is the Madonna withia a rainbow, by whom all the darts of evil are averted from her Bettona people. It was formerly supposed to be by Spagna, but quite recently Cavaliere Bianconi, the industrious writer on the story of his native town, made sure that it was by Ciancio Pinturicchio, a name hitherto never heard of. I quote his words :— “In confirmation that the painting belongs to the Commune, there exists the order given by the Commune itself; and I account myself for- tunate inasmuch as Vermiglioli discovered a new Bernardino (a Perugian painter) distinct from Bernardino Pinturicchio, so by means of the Bettona archives I have verified the existence of another Pinturicchio called Vincenzo, unheard of till now, and not even mentioned by the learned Mariotti among the Perugia artists. The document bears date 1518, and reads thus: ‘ Ciancio Pinturic- chij solutum in Contum florenos duos per finali solutione duodecim florenos per pictura Madonnz gratiarum, terra Bictonis in Eccl. Sancte Marie.’ ”’— am entrata ed uscita Nov. Dec. vol. ii. foglio Ome I may explain in passing that Ciancio is a diminutive of Vincenzo. Bettona has little to recommend it beyond the above-mentioned works of art and its beau- tiful and salubrious position. Still, in the dreary dulness and weariness of its social life there was once a poetical custom (now possibly passed away) worth recording. Under date 1584 in the municipal regulations is the following edict : “Considering how dangerous is the old abuse of hanging olive branches over the doors on houses where a male child has been born, we order that all cutting of olive trees be prohibited on pain of a fine of one scudo, and in such cases it may be lawful to proceed by indictment or otherwise.’ As Cav. Bianconi says, “ this sign of gladness ” had been carried too far, and sprigs of olive had grown into mighty branches. The extent which this abuse had reached is shown by a note ap- pended to above enjoining the mulcting for ‘¢ damages,” in addition to the fine for breaking the law. Wirt1am Mercer. NEW PRINTS. THE life-size, full-length sketch in mono- chrome by Gainsborough, a portrait of the Hon. Mrs. Graham, bore at the Academy last winter the title of ‘The Housemaid.’ On the 15th of February last the present Earl Cathcart pro- tested in our columns against the absurd name of a picture which does not represent a house- maid at all, but a cottager’s daughter, standing, with a broom in her hand, at her father’s door, and looking after some one who had just left her side. While describing the pictures at Castle Howard in ‘‘The Private Collections of Eng- land,” No. X XIX. (Athen. No. 2557), we were the first to call attention to this charming work, which had not till then been recognized by writers as a choice Gainsborough, still less cata- logued or exhibited. Its reputation will be en- sured and extended by the publication of a photogravure, one of two hundred, for which we are indebted to Messrs. P. & D. Colnaghi, and which gives a spirited and, on the whole, adequate representation of it. One of the most estimable publications of the season, it is the only version of the original likely to be given to the world. We prize the picture the more because it is not only the largest but the most spontaneous of Gainsborough’s studies. Messrs. Frost & Reed, of Bristol, have pub- lished a vigorous and solid etching by Mr. Lowenstam after Mr. W. Dendy Sadler’s picture at the Grosvenor Gallery of this year, entitled ‘The First of September, Sportsmen regaling.’ In some respects this is Mr. Lowenstam’s best work, and manifests the increasing firmness of his draughtsmanship, searching modelling, and much improved perception of the values of colours when translated into black and white. It is a capital rendering of a picture which is first rate in its own line, and ought to be accept- able by all who value genre of the kind. We have an artist’s proof from the plate. From the same firm we have received an artist’s proof of a broad and luminous etching by Mr. Charles Bird, similar plates by whom we have already praised, of ‘ The Entrance to St. Joseph’s Chapel, Glastonbury Abbey.’ Mr. Bird has added refinement and finish to his touch, which gives successfully the massive character of the subject and much of the peculiar crumb- ling surface of the stone, and is rich in colour withal. If the living figures had been more em- phatically differentiated as to tone and colour from the building there would be litile to de- sire in this study of a piece of architecture which of itself makes a telling engraving. Sun Artists, No. 1 (Kegan Paul & Co.), is edited by Mr. G. Davison, who has charming faith in the photographic camera as an artistic machine. He calls its productions works of art, and with beautiful simplicity lets his readers into the nature of its operations. We have no objection to this pleasing delusion of his, and welcome two pretty photographs this No. 1 contains. In ‘Sleepy Hollow,’ the first of them, we find no somnolence, nor the expression of any- thing (least of all any suggestion of sentiment) whatever which even approaches the brilliant charm of a landscape reflected in a mirror, and, of course, it is perfectly art-less. Another “sun - picture,” a badly grouped composition of ‘Brixham Trawlers,’ has in its vagueness something of the charm of mystery. As this, however, is due to sunlight, it departs from nature, which is unfortunate in a ‘‘sun-picture.” THE QUARRELS OF ANTIQUARIES. OnE would have thought an antiquary of in- telligence so shallow as to go about in Oxford affirming that the name of the River Thames ‘is derived from qwotapés by cutting off the prefix zo-”’ would be careful to study the matter a little before he ventured to criticize what I said about the ancient names of Bath. Mere ‘* ripples of surprise” would barely express the astonishment of Father Thames when this piece of childish perversion reached him. How I came to say anything about Bath was in this way. Mr. J. W. Grover, F.S.A., speaking about Silchester, declared that there existed in Roman times a widespread worship of the sun —or Baal !—in the South of England, and that Silchester was ‘‘Solis-Castrum” and Bath was ‘* Aquze-Solis,” two important eponymic sites where a special cult of the sun obtained. In the discussion which ensued I rejected these two derivations, pointing out :— 1. That Silchester has been by some anti- quaries identified with Calleva, and that no such place as Solis-Castrum, or any other word approaching to Silchester, has reached us from the Romans. The sun, indeed, is not a local deity of Silchester. That honour belongs to the Segontiac Hercules. Nennius and Henry of Huntingdon speak of Cair Segeint, the latter very explicitly: ‘‘Kair Segent que fuit super Tamesin non longe a Redinge et vocatur Sil- cestre”’ (‘Mon. Hist. Brit.,’ 692). We may, therefore, I think, infer a derivation somewhat after this fashion: Kair-Segent—Segent-Cas- trum = Sent-cestre or Sint-cestre = Silcestre, — the last change being softened from the penulti- mate form by one of those peculiar processes of corruption of proper names which defy the ordinary rules of philology. The impending examination of Silchester by the Society of Antiquaries will corroborate or demolish this view ; meanwhile, ‘‘Solis-castrum” is nought but a chateau d’ Espagne of Mr. Grover’s imagina- tion. 2. That the expression ‘‘ Aquze-Solis ” applied to Bath has no meaning of waters nor of the sw in it. The local British deity who is designated by the second word was a female, equated by the Romans with Minerva. That this is beyond any kind of doubt must be candidly admitted by any one who will take the trouble to look at Hiibner’s ‘Corpus Inscriptionum,’ vol. vii., art. ‘‘ Aquee-Sulis.” There remains, then, to deal with aque. The brilliant discovery that this word, in the case of Bath, has been ren- dered ‘‘ waters ” by a false analogy is not mine. It was given to the world a few years ago, if I mistake not, by an Oxonian in the Academy. I completely agree with it, and put the case thus. The Romans, arrived at the British city of Bath, found it enjoying some name of which we now have post-Roman traces only in the
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202 THE ATHENAUM N° 3276, Ava. 9, 90 passages: ‘‘ eclesiam Sancti Petri que sita est in urbe Achumanensi” (‘Cartul. Sax.,’ No. 1164, a.p. 965); ‘‘ At Acemannes-byrig, Set is at Batan” (‘A.-S. Chro.,’ a.p. 972); ‘On Scere ealdan byrig, Acemannes ceastre ac beornas BaSan nemnab” (ibid., a.p. 973), &c. Other forms are: ‘‘ Acamanni civitas ” ; ‘‘ Ace- manecestria ”; and In arce, Kimannis castrum a priscis jam nomine dicta, Nec Bathum ab aliis non pro ferventibus undis. * Ethelw. Chr.,’ iv. 9. This evidence, taken with the British Ake- man Street, which starts from Bath towards Verulam, abundantly proves the existence of the earliest name of Bath to be Achu, Ake, or Ace, which easily and misleadingly turned in the mind of the Romans, when the waters were be- fore them, into Aque ; for it is well known that they dressed up native names in Latin garb, and had no need to invent new names for old places. The idea of explaining Aceman as the ‘*¢ man of ache,” or ‘‘ invalid,” adopted by Toller in his edition of Bosworth’s ‘ Anglo-Saxon Dic- tionary,’ seems to me the height of absurdity. WALTER DE Gray BIRCH. Mr. OcLe writes to us complaining of our report of his observations at the final meeting of the British Archeological Association in Oxford :— “T never said, never dreamt of saying, that the charters of Oxford ‘ were uninteresting and of prac- tically no value.’ As amatter of fact, I have spent two years’ diligent work upon them and other similar documents in our archives, and have persuaded the city to print them, as being in my opinion of exceeding interest and the greatest possible value. I never said that ‘kings never granted privileges if they could help it, nor without substantial fee.’ What I did say was that the privileges granted in charters were generally such as had been Jong pre- viously enjoyed, and now in this way received royal confirmation, And in speaking of one particular charter, I mentioned that James II. was said to have made the city pay 1,000/. for it. I never sug- gested, never dreamt of ‘suggesting, that no one but’ myself ‘in the assemblage could read these documents.’ The arrogance and absurdity of such a statement should be enough, I think, to show its incorrectness. What possibly gave rise to such a monstrous misstatement may have been a simple apology that I made for asking the meeting to take my word as to the contents of the documents I was describing, as under the circumstance (i.e., of gas- light, position, haste, &c.) I could not expect my hearers to take the trouble to read them for them- selves, I never said that ‘the seals fell to pieces whenever I touched them.’ What I did say was, in speaking of two of them, that portions of their seals had become detached since last I handled them. I did not ‘conclude with remarks about the spelling of some Norman French words.’ In the middle of my observations, while exhibiting two interesting letters of William of Wykeham, I men- tioned, en passant, that the authenticity of one of them might be established by his curious slip of ‘lui seint esprit ’ for ‘le seint esprit,’ which occurred also in another known letter of his. I mentioned no other word, and no other spelling.” We are sorry if we misunderstood Mr. Ogle. We observe that a local paper shows by its report that it shared our idea of the drift of his remarks. Fine-Art Gossip. Wir much regret we record the death, on Saturday afternoon last, at his house in Strood, Rochester, of the venerable and accomplished antiquary, Mr. Charles Roach Smith, whose services to metropolitan and Kentish archzeo- logy during a very long period cannot be over estimated. He was born at Landguard, Isle of Wight, in 1805, and early in life devoting him- self to antiquarian studies, attained, asco-founder with Thomas Wright, a considerable position in the then newly-established British Archzeo- logical Association, to the first volume of whose Journal he, in 1845, with the signature of *“C. R. S.,” contributed essays on ‘Numis- matics’ and ‘Roman London.’ He continued to support this institution with great ability and industry, and, apart from the two subjects which occupied most of his attention, illus- trated the Roman walls of Dax, the antiquities of his native island, Berkshire, and Wiltshire. He edited the ‘Inventorium Sepulchrale,’ compiled and published the ‘Collectanea Antiqua’ in six volumes, wrote ‘The Anti- quities of Richborough,’ &c., 1850, and ‘ Tllus- trations of Roman London.’ His collection of London antiquities, one of the most important of its kind, is now in the British Museum, where, with his own catalogue, it was placed in 1856. A leading member of the Society of Antiquaries, he frequently contributed to the Archeologia, and gave much to the Proceedings of various archeological societies, to this journal, and to the Gentleman's Magazine. Among the most courteous of men, he was most liberal in impart- ing knowledge to others. Mr. Movrray has nearly completed the arrangement of the sculptures of the Nereid Tomb, brought from Xanthus to the British Museum by Sir C. Fellows. These relics are now being grouped in that which used to be called the Phigalian Room, and care has been taken to show, so far as the size and height of the chamber permit, the original relative positions of the friezes which, one above the other, encircled the podium of the monu- ment. It was out of the question to allow sufficient space between these lines of sculptures, but the model of the entire work, as restored from measurements and antique records, which is to be placed in the Nereid Room, will illus- trate not only the relationship of the parts, but the aspect of the whole, including the fragments of the statues, which, fronting the friezes, will be disposed on pedestals and detached in a row on the floor of the room. Manifest as is the improvement thus secured, it is in no respect so obvious as in showing the friezes in an advantageous light, and so that their technical qualities and vigorous design, which are most interesting when considered with regard to the Phigalian and Panthenaic friezes, can be studied with ease. AccorDINéG to a letter addressed by Dr. Schlie- mann to the Anthropological Society of Berlin, he intended leaving off on the 29th ult. his ex- cavations for the present year, chiefly owing to the fever which prevailed among his workmen, and the numerous snakes which infest the scene of his activity. On Sunday last there died at Paris, at the age of sixty-four, that able and well-known painter M. Emile Lévy, whose fine works it has often been our privilege to admire in the Salons. He was born in Paris in 1825, studied there at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts under Abel de Pujol and Picot, and gained the Grand Prix de Rome in 1854. In 1855 he exhibited ‘Noah cursing Ham,’ which the Government bought. His famous and highly dramatic ‘ Death of Orpheus ’ was till lately in the Luxembourg. It contains many vigorous naked figures of high merit. Almost as well known is his ‘ Meta Sudans’ of the Salon, 1877. Among his productions are ‘The Willow,’ ‘A Bather,’ ‘Love and Folly,’ ‘The Path, an Idyl,’ ‘Caligula,’ ‘The Letter,’ and ‘A Young Girl with Fruit.’ He painted in the Church of the Trinity, Paris, at the Bouffes Parisiens, and in many domestic buildings. Of late years he has hardly maintained his reputa- tion. He became a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1867, obtained a Medal of the Third Class in 1859, a Salon Medal in 1864, another in 1866, a Third Class Medal at the Exhibition of 1867, a First Class Medal in 1878, and a Gold Medal in 1889. Tue Louvre has received, says the Journal des Arts, a charming little picture, 20 by 25 cent., painted upon wood by Pietor Codde (1599-1678), and representing a ‘ Lady at her Toilet,’ seated, wearing a dressing gown of yellow, edged with blue; a cape is on her shoulders ; a waiting maid arranges the reddish hair of her mistress; behind is a young woman in a grey dress, playing on a guitar. The painter’s cipher, P. and C. interlaced, is seen on the music-book. This is the gift of M. J. Maciet. The same journal tells us that M. le Commandant Marchant has sent to the Louvre a numerous collection of Carthaginian anti- quities, which have been temporarily placed in two vitrines in the Salle des Prisonniers Bar- bares. The collection comprises 62 Punic steles from Carthage ; 30 Greek and Latin in- scriptions ; about 150 Roman lamps with various inscriptions and subjects; a number of frag- ments of statues and bas-reliefs, and fifteen busts (tétes) of emperors and divinities, including a magnificent Jupiter Serapis and Hadrian, laureated. Tue ‘ Portrait of a Young Woman’ attributed to Clouet, which had disappeared from the gallery at Cherbourg, has been found in the possession of a frame-maker and gilder in Paris, who, after it had been offered to many dealers for sale, bought it for thirty francs. It is now in charge of the Administration des Beaux Arts. The discovery was due to the publicity given to the theft by the newly established Bulletin des Musées. THE contest for the Prix de Rome, Sculpture, has resulted in the Premier Grand Prix being awarded to M. J. P. B. Gasq; the Premier Second Grand Prix to M. J. B. J. G. Belloc ; and the Second Second Grand Prix to M. F. L. Sicard. THE able French marine painter M. Charles Lapostolet died last week, aged sixty-six. He was a pupilof Léon Cogniet, and obtained medals in 1870, 1872, and 1889. His ‘Port de Dun- kerque’ is in the Luxembourg. On the occasion of the seventieth birthday of the distinguished artist Prof. Adolf Menzel, a stipendium, amounting to eight hundred marks yearly, was founded for the benefit of young promising German painters. The stipendium will be awarded for one or more years. MUSIC Counterpoint, Strict and Free. By Ebenezer Prout. (Augener & Co.) In noticing Mr. Prout’s treatise on harmony we said that it was one of the most im- portant works on the theory of music which have appeared for many years, and similar remarks will apply to the volume now before us. Controversy has recently sprung up among musicians as to the value of study in what is called “strict” counterpoint. Its opponents maintain, not without some show of reason, that the mastery of rules which are antiquated and are never observed in actual composition is a lamentable waste of time. Mr. Prout appears in defence of the old methods, and a more suitable champion could not be desired. No one would describe Mr. Prout as a musical pedant. A zealous admirer of Handel, he was one of the first English musicians who recognized the genius not only of Wagner, but of Brahms and other exemplars of the latest develop- ments in musical art. His arguments in favour of the retention of strict counterpoint as a valuable branch of study are, therefore, certain to receive respectful attention. The following extract will indicate the nature of his views :— ‘Strict counterpoint is only a means to an end, Just as a student of the pianoforte prac- tices technical exercises for the hand, frequently in peculiar and cramped positions such as he will seldom, if ever, meet with in the pieces he will play later, in order to acquire freedom in the muscles of the fingers, so the student of XUM
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N° 3276, Ava. 9,790 THE ATHENAZUM 203 composition learns to work in the first instance under apparently arbitrary restrictions, in order that he may be able to use his freedom judiciously when the restrictions are removed. There is no instance of any composer having attained the highest eminence without previously submitting himself to this course of discipline.” Another point on which the author properly insists is that in confining the student to triads and their first inversions all fixed progressions are avoided, and he of necessity familiarizes himself with the best method of treating those chords in a key which have no arbitrary resolution. Every teacher of theory knows how the pupil will contrive to write a series of concords which may be perfectly correct, but which, never- theless, is angular and wholly unsatisfactory. Strict counterpoint will show him how to move with ease and elegance among these humbler members of the great harmonic family. But Mr. Prout, while adhering to the ancient rules in their spirit, introduces such modifications as will make them con- formable to the modern laws of tonality. For this reason he rejects the melodies which are given in the standard works on the subject, simply because they are written for the most part in the old ecclesiastical modes, which differ more or less widely from our modern scale. Further, he writes his subjects in notes of varying length, and he permits the leap of the major sixth, and even in one instance of the minor seventh, in the counterpoint. The leap of the seventh which he allows is that of the dominant upwards to the subdominant, resolving, of course, on the mediant. If this be permitted, surely the downward leap from the submediant to the leading note below, resolving on the tonic, should receive equal toleration. To follow the book through all the rami- fications of the science, which are dealt with in the most minute and comprehensive manner, is of course impossible. Enough that almost every available progression is described and classified under the headings of “good,” “possible,” and “bad,” and that the reasons why one is good, another possible, and a third bad are given with scrupulous exactness. It is said that the study of harmony and counterpoint should proceed side by side, and that as soon as the student has mastered triads and their inversions he should begin elementary coun- terpoint. With this we cordially agree; but surely the student who has just mastered triads could not be expected to understand the following, taken from chapter ii., on ‘* Melodic and Harmonic Progression ’”’ :— ‘Of the above chords the mediant chord in the major key requires special care in its em- ployment. This is because it is in reality the chord of the dominant major thirteenth, the root position of the mediant being the last inversion of the chord of the thirteenth ; while the root position of the last-named chord gives the first inversion of the mediant.” To musicians, however, this is a lucid explanation of the necessity for the careful employment of this chord, which, it is scarcely necessary to add, the late Sir George Macfarren rejected altogether. The portion of the work dealing with free counterpoint cannot fail to prove especially valuable to learners. This is a branch of the subject which has been generally neglected by theorists, although its practical utility is, of course, immense. Here Mr. Prout recommences his extracts from the works of the great masters which form such an important feature of his harmony treatise. The subjects of double counterpoint, canon, and fugue are not dealt with in the present work, but they will be fully treated in subsequent volumes of, perhaps, the most practical series of text-books on the subject of musical theory ever placed before the public. « The Great Musicians.—Beethoven. By H. A. Rudall. (Sampson Low & Co.)—We are in- clined to regard this as one of the most success- ful of the series of musical biographies issued under the editorship of the late Dr. Hueffer. Of course, no information of importance con- cerning the greatest of all composers has re- cently come to hand, and Mr. Rudall would probably be the last to claim special authority and importance for his little book. But he is entitled to praise, not only for the trustworthi- ness of its contents, but for its eminent read- ableness. The author neither indulges in piling up dry masses of facts and dates on the one hand, nor in fine writing on the other. The following passage will afford an example of the purity of Mr. Rudall’s literary style :— “Scamp as Carl undoubtedly was, one is almost inclined to commiserate the terribly severe retribu- tion which has been meted out to him by posterity. ‘he irreparable evil wrought by him in the life of a great man has caused his insignificant personality to be singled out for opprobrium from among other young men as bad or worse than himself, and has conferred upon him a place in history it is impos- sible to ignore; so that Beethoven’s worthless nephew must ever figure prominently in any record of this last and saddest period of Beethoven’s career. The only slip we have noted is on p. 67, where the well-known Andante in F is spoken of as in E. The book concludes with a catalogue of the master’s works. epee , Musical Gossip, THE international conference which met at Vienna in 1885 for the purpose of arriving at a settlement of the pitch question finally decided on an A produced by 435 vibrations per second. With a view of introducing this (so-called French) pitch, the Chancellor of the German Empire has ordered the manufacture of special tuning-forks. The new pitch has already been introduced in the military bands and in most of the orchestras and conservatoires of Germany; the normal schools have been instructed to adopt the new pitch, beginning this winter ; and similar changes will be introduced in the schools of Alsace-Lorraine. Next year will see the centenaries of four composers, viz., F. Hérold, born in Paris, January 28th, 1791; C. Czerny, born in Vienna, February 21st, 1791 ; Meyerbeer, born in Berlin, September 5th, 1791 ; and Mozart, who died in Vienna on December 5th, 1791, at the age of thirty-five. TuE ashes of Gluck will be transferred from the old cemetery at Vienna to the new one towards the close of thismonth. The ceremony promises to be imposing, as 1,200 singers, now taking part in the musical fétes in that city, will form the cortége. Iv is announced that Madame Pauline Lucca will take final leave of the stage after appearing in a series of farewell operatic performances at Frankfort-on-Main and Munich, her intention being to devote herself in future to the instruc- tion of exceptionally gifted pupils. She pur- poses spending seven or eight months of each year in Vienna—the remaining months at her country house, where she is having a small theatre erected for the use of her pupils. Baron FRANCHETTI’s opera ‘ Asrael’ will be brought out at Breslau and Coburg during the coming season. The work has already been played at Hamburg and in the chief cities of Italy. Eventually, perhaps, it may reach Eng- land. TaBLets have recently been set up at the following places: one to a house in Wiirzburg where Wagner lived in the year 1833—this was done at the instigation of the Liedertafel of the town ; another to the house in Rain where the late Franz Lachner first saw the light; anda third over Adolf Henselt’s grave at Warmbriinn. A TABLET will shortly also be placed over the house at Cremona in which Lauro Rossi died a few years ago. This composer enjoyed a great reputation in Italy, and his ‘Domino Nero’ is said to have been almost as popular as Auber’s ‘Domino Noir.’ PRAGUE seems to be ahead of other European cities as regards operatic enterprise. Herr Angelo Neumann, manager of the Opera there, has produced no fewer than forty-two works since 1886. Tue Bayreuth Theatre being closed this summer, two well-known Wagnerian artists have accepted engagements at Berlin. Friulein Malten will appear at the Berlin Opera-house, and Herr van Dyck at Kroll’s Theatre. TuHEop. Renpaum’s three-act opera ‘Don Pablo’ has recently been produced at Kroll’s Theatre, Berlin, with fair success. It was first heard at Dresden in 1880. Herr Rosert v. Hornstetn, whose part- songs are much appreciated in Germany, recently died at Munich at the age of fifty-seven. WitH regret we record also the death of Madame Marie Heckmann, wife of the leader of the famous quartet party. Madame Heck- mann appeared occasionally as pianist at her husband’s concerts. She was much esteemed in private life. DRAMA —o— THE WEEK. ADELPHI.—‘ The English Rose,’a Drama. By G. R. Sims and Robert Buchanan. GLoBE.—' This Woman and That,’a Comedy. By Pierre Leclercq. LyceuM.—‘ The Great Unknown,’ a Comedy from the German. By Augustin Daly. CRITERION.—' Welcome, Little Stranger,’ Comedy in Three Acts. By James Albery. HAYMARKET. — Afternoon Performance: ‘That Girl,’ Comedy in Three Acts. By Mrs. Oscar Beringer and H. Hamilton. Mopern melodrama might almost, as it seems, be turned out by contract. Scenes, situations, and effects are repeated in known order, the characters are conventional, and the atmosphere is as familiar as unreal. From the conjunction of Mr. Sims and Mr. Buchanan something better than ‘The Eng- lish Rose’ might have been expected. In- stead, however, of supplying a thrilling story of adventure, or animating and informing with passion scenes of domestic interest, the . dramatists have elected once more to depict the trials and triumphs of the stage Irishman, one of the most unreal creations of the modern drama. In so doing they minimize their opportunities. Some fresh- ness and robustness of treatment may be found, and the whole is a fair piece of handicraft. Single scenes stir the pulse of the audience, and the difficulties con- nected with political questions are cleverly evaded. A sense of unreality, however, is felt throughout, and the ultimate vindica- tion of the unjustly suspected hero is too much of a foregone conclusion to cause much excitement. An attempt is made to introduce some novelty into the play by
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making the brother of the hero a priest, and causing him in the discharge of his functions to receive the confession of a murder of which his own brother is unjustly accused. That this innovation proves but moderately effective is due mainly to the conception of character on the part of an actor who substitutes for an Irish village priest a species of ritualistic West-End curate. The highest praise to which Messrs. Sims and Buchanan are entitled is that they have produced a work which, when the requisite compression has been exercised, will probably retain its place in the Adelphi bill; and against the charge that they have done nothing to raise the character of melo- drama, they may urge that the Adelphi is not a hopeful place for experiments. In . their comic scenes they are successful, and the dialogue assigned to Mr. Shine as a bibulous constable, to Miss Jecks, and to Mr. Lionel Rignold as a cockney book- maker, is mirthful. Miss Olga Brandon, who played the heroine, was heavily handi- capped by a cold. Mr. Leonard Boyne ren- dered sympatheticthe sufferings and anxieties of the gallant Irish hero. Other parts were sustained by Miss Mary Rorke, Miss Kate James, and Messrs. Abingdon, Beveridge, and Dalton. Whatever chance of success Mr. Pierre Leclercq’s comedy might have had was nulli- fied by the terribly spasmodic manner in which the principal female character was played. Some acknowledgment of obligation to M. Valabrégue for his plot is made by Mr. Leclercq, who, however, will find no one disposed to claim a share in his honours. Having been refused by a gamesome and emphatic young lady, the hero amuses him- self by making love to the wife of a friend with whom he is staying. So successful is he in this that the lady consents to flight, and does, indeed, elope from her husband’s roof. The guilty pair are, however, pursued by the heroine, who with no great difficulty talks them into a better frame of mind. After some not very significant hints of suicide, the wife rejoins her husband and the hero is recaptured by his first love. Mr. Otis Skinner played with much firm- ness as the lover, Mr. Mark Quinton was the husband, and Miss Calhaem the guilty wife. So effusive and gushing was Miss Adelaide Moore as the heroine that the effect conveyed was that of burlesque. After the success obtained by Mr. Drew and Miss Rehan in ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ it is scarcely, perhaps, remarkable that in the various comedies in which they appear the relations of Petruchio and Katharine are to some extent maintained. Miss Rehan is continually the wild, ungovern- able creature, with a fund of genuine ten- derness underlying her mutiny, and Mr. Drew is as often the man she “ requites,”’ Taming her wild heart to his loving will. In ‘The Great Unknown,’ the weakest play surely in which these artists have been seen, she is an American girl just developing into womanhood, deserted by her mother, who cultivates the Muses in Italy and France, and furnished with a vocabulary that is un- intelligible toa London audience, but causes much mirth among her own country folk. In this character, as in all others, she is very bright and winning. Mr. Drew is also ex- cellent, and Mr. Lewis and Mrs. Gilbert have
parts which they play with their known ability. These artists, however, can scarcely assign interest to the flimsy play in which they are seen. The title is derived from the mother of the heroine, and is procured for her by her anonymous works. It seems at one time as if, like Madame Benoiton, she was to remain unseen. In this manner only could the unknown obtain its prover- bial acceptance as the admirable. Mr. Albery’s posthumous play proves to be an adaptation of ‘Le Petit Ludovic,’ a comedy produced in 1879 at the Théatre des Arts. It is a flimsy and not particu- larly amusing piece, in which Mr. Blakeley, Mr. Giddens, Miss Forsyth, and Miss Vane Featherstone are seen to moderate advant- age. <A few pungent phrases of Albery may be detected, but the play as a whole is feeble and not very agreeable. Beginning in weariness and depression, ‘That Girl,’ founded by Mrs. Oscar Ber- inger and Mr. H. Hamilton upon a story by Miss Clementina Black, developes in the closing acts a strong dramatic interest. So good, indeed, is the termination it might be worth while to rewrite the whole of the earlier portion. Owing to the intrinsic dul- ness of the opening scenes and the repel- lent vulgarity of an American child, failure seemed at one point imminent. The second act closed, however, with some spirit, and from that time forward, though the dramatis persone lost their consistency, all was well. Miss Norreys was fairly successful in a line of characters in which she is seen at her weakest ; and Miss Houston, Mr. Somerset, Mr. Reeves Smith, and Mr. Gardiner sup- plied a capable interpretation.
Dramatic Gossip. Mr. Hamitton Aipé has written a new play, in which the chief part, that of a wicked woman, will be played -by Mrs. Kendal. This will bea new and to the public most interesting réle for that accomplished lady. THE first year-book of the Grillparzer Gesell- schaft, which, as we announced some time ago, was inaugurated at Vienna by Hofrath von Zimmermann, is expected to be issued in Octo- ber. The volume will contain, among other hitherto unpublished letters of the poet, those which he had addressed to Katharina Frohlich, towards whom he felt an immutable attachment, and whom he poetically styled his ‘‘ ewige Braut.” Miss Winirrep Emery will support Mr. Wilson Barrett as leading lady in his forth- coming experiment at the New Olympic Theatre. THE representation of ‘ Antony and Cleopatra’ mentioned in last week’s Atheneum will, it is believed, taxe place at the Princess’s Theatre. Berore his departure for America Mr. Willard wil] pruduce at an afternoon representation ‘The Deacon,’ a new comedy of Mr. H. A. Jones. Mr. Bucnanan’s adaptation of ‘La Lutte pour la Vie’ will be given next month at the Avenue Theatre. Mr. Henry NEvILzeE starts for America in the Majestic on the 20th inst.
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Errata.— Athen, No. 3274, p. 118, col. 2,1. 13 from bottom, for ‘‘eleven” read clever. No. 3275, p. 1€5, col. 2,1. 9 from bottom, for ‘“‘ Old-World” read New- ¥ orld,
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SATURDAY, AUGUST 46, 1890,
CONTENTS. HAMPSTEAD ooo ooo oo THE PoreTRY OF PRUDENTIUS WESTERN CHINA ‘ ove IRISH SAINTS a ooo GRAY AND HIS FRIENDS oe DAPHNIS AND CHLOE ... ooo eve é ooo NoveELs oF THE WEEK coe ove eve ooo ScHOOL-Books—FRencH LITERATURE... pee Ouse LipraRy TaBLE—Lisr ov NEw Books .... i AMERICAN PUBLISHERS AND BRITISH AUTHOBS ; LITERARY BoycorrinG; CARDINAL NEWMAN; WoRDsWORTH’S VERSES IN HIS GUIDE TO THE LAKE Country; LINCOLNSHIRE GUIDES; THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON; LITERARY ‘‘ Bor- BOWING”; ‘SLANG AND ITS ANALOGUES’; THE “‘ConFERENCE DU LIVRE” AT ANTWERP .., 223—226 LITERARY GossIP < ose on. 20s one ooo. aad BcIENCE—REPORT OF THE CHALLENGER; ANTHROPO- LOGICAL NoTes; TENTH INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CONGRESS; ASTRONOMICAL NOTES; SOCIETIES 222—231 FINE ARTS — ARCHZOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA; ADDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL GALLERY ; NORWICH CATHEDRAL; ARCHAOLOGICAL INSTITUTE AT GLOUCESTER; NOTES FROM ISAURIA AND CAPPA- DOCIA; AQu# SOLIS; GossIP ... 231—234 Music—GossipP ... ne see a ile sos oe ©2365 DEaM4—THE WEEK; LIBRARY TABLE; GOSSIP 235—236
LITERATURE —~ Records of the Manor, Parish, and Borough of Hampstead, in the County of London, to December 31st, 1889. With Maps and Illustrations. Edited by F. E. Baines, C.B. (Whittaker & Co.) In 1813 John James Park, the first historian of Hampstead, published his ‘ Topography of the ‘ Village.””’ The writer had not at that time attained his majority, and his book, now decidedly rare, is a remarkable production for so young a man. In these records Mr. Baines has under- taken to carry on the chronicle to our day, and it has been his aim to present ‘*something which, if supplemented by a sys- tematic record in manuscript from year to year by the Local Authority, will make the work, at all events in Hampstead, of a Royal Historical Manuscripts Commission of a future age less laborious than the present Commissioners have found it in other boroughs in the past.” This is a praiseworthy object, and in some respects it has been well accomplished. The mass of facts and figures brought together in this volume may do good service in the future, and the records are none the less valuable because the larger number of them are of purely local interest. It is inevitable that a volume of this character should con- tain much that will have no attraction for the public; were it otherwise the work would not fulfil its function. Mr. Baines hints that “the plan may be imperfect and the structure faulty,’ and these defects are palpable. The editor has suffered from an embarras des richesses, and he has not always made good use of his stores. ‘ About seventy inhabitants have written original articles,’ and while some of these contribu- tions are of considerable value, there are others which add only to the bulk and in- coherence of the volume. Repetitions under such a system are inevitable; and we note too, what is perhaps equally inevitable, overmuch praise of local magnates and local institutions. Hampstead may be the best of all possible parishes, and the public spirit of the inhabitants may be highly praise- worthy, but these are virtues which buyers of a local history generally take for granted. The chapter on the workhouse inclines the reader to envy its inmates; and the picture of the infirmary, where ‘‘in fine weather the infants gambol in the balconies, the old
and infirm sit in the sun, read a little, gossip more, and meditate supper,” claims the pencil of a Hampstead artist. The borough is blessed with a model vestry, which accounts for the apathy of voters, for ‘‘a belief that the best is done that circumstances admit of leaves little margin for enthusiasm at election time.’ Happy, too, is Hampstead in the character of its police, whose ‘“ bear- ing and discipline have been at all times unexceptionable,” and equally happy in its Board schools, that ‘“‘are amongst the most successful in the metropolis.” Mr. Baines would have compiled a better book if instead of relying so much on ex- ternal help he had exercised his judgment more freely on the material so lavishly supplied to him, and sifted the wheat from the chaff. Having pointed out some of the defects of the volume, it is but fair to add that its solid worth as a book of reference is not greatly affected by them. The ‘ Re- cords’ appear in a handsome form; Mr. Du Maurier and some other artists living at Hampstead have contributed illustra- tions; and portraits, maps, appendices, and index add to the interest and usefulness of the work. In some respects Hampstead is the most attractive of London suburbs. For beauty of position it is unrivalled, and, with the exception perhaps of Kensington, its asso- ciations are unrivalled also. Within living memory it was a village surrounded by fields and woodland ; it is now blessed (or cursed) with more than 9,000 houses and a popula- tion of 67,000. Within the last few years the builder has been at work with the usual results, and the old-fashioned charm of the High Street is destroyed. ‘‘ Improve- ments,” indeed, have swept away much that deserved to go, but they have given Hamp- stead much also in exchange that will vex the soul of every lover of beauty. Happily the crowning glory of Hampstead remains, and the Heath, doubled in extent and variety by the recent purchase of Parliament Hill Fields, is the most restful and rural spot to which a Londoner can resort within so short a distance of Charing Cross. In the last century the principal attraction of Hampstead was the chalybeate spring, and “‘ Well Walk vied in popularity with the Pantiles at Tunbridge Wells.” According to a physician who wrote in 1734, the waters were good for vapours or lowness of spirit ; but he adds the rather paradoxical statement that those who expect to reap any benefit from them must be ‘‘entire strangers to everything that is the least melancholy or sad.”” Dr. Arbuthnot, who undertook the cure of Gay at Hampstead, seems to have been of this opinion, for when he was him- self ill Pope spent a day with him there, and told Martha Blount that the doctor was in the Long Room all the morning, and had card parties every night. The Long Room is now a private house, the Pump Room has been swept away, and the dissipations of Well Walk are a memory of the past. The well, indeed, is there, and the water may still be drunk, but not without some peril ; for the immediate vicinity of a sewer appears to have deteriorated its character. When Hampstead was deserted by patients suffering from the vapours, the raffling shops, bowling greens, card tables, and horse races provided for their entertainment gradually
disappeared also ; but the village did not lose its reputation as one of the pleasantest and healthiest spots known to Londoners. From the days of Johnson and Richardson to our own this famous northern height has been rich in attractive associations. There, at the Upper Flask, as we all know, the ‘‘ dear fugitive ” Clarissa Harlowe vainly tried to escape from Lovelace; there Lord Chatham hid himself from the face of men and women ; there Dr. Johnson wrote ‘ The Vanity of Human Wishes’; and thither many years later came Samuel Rogers and danced ‘‘ four or five minuets in one evening.” He came to ‘‘ the pleasantest village about Lon- don” at the invitation of Mrs. Barbauld, who proposed having her petition supported by a round robin of the young ladies of Hamp- stead. They seem, indeed, to have been sadly in want of male attendants, for she tells the poet of a friend with five tall marriageable daughters, and “not a single young man to be seen in the place.” Mrs. Barbauld, by the way, relates that she met a Frenchman who came to Hampstead for the sole pur- pose of seeing the inn in which Clarissa lodged. It had formerly been famous as a summer resort of the Kit-Cat Club, and there, after it became a private house, lived and died George Steevens, the Shakspearean commentator, who discovered that it would need an Act of Parliament to induce any one to read the poet’s sonnets. Steevens died in 1800, and sixteen years later a critic of a very different order, who loved Hampstead ‘above all places in the world,” resided in the Vale of Health. Leigh Hunt’s cottage no longer exists, and the once lovely Vale remains to show how stupidity and vulgarity can defile nature, for what was once a thing of beauty is now made hideous by a monster tavern and other enormities. The painful associations of Keats with Hampstead are too familiar to be dwelt upon. We all know how he loved and sang and suffered, and how more than one act in the tragedy of his life was enacted there. For all who love this won- derful poet his spirit haunts the Heath still. So, but in a lesser degree, does that of Shelley, of whom Hunt tells a beautiful story in connexion with the Vale, and who, writing from Italy, ‘‘ devoutly wished” he were living near London, and added :— ‘‘My inclinations point to Hampstead, but I do not know whether I should not make up my mind to something more completely suburban. What are mountains, trees, heaths, or even the glorions and ever-beautiful sky with such sun- sets as I have seen at Hampstead, to friends ?” Leigh Hunt himself was, as Mr.. Colvin has observed, a kind of self-appointed poet laureate of Hampstead, and there he wel- comed Shelley and Keats, Coleridge and Lamb. At the same time Hampstead had its poetess, who won much love and praise from Scott. Joanna Baillie’s fame as a dra- matist has died away, but it is still remem- bered how, like her sister Agnes, she was be loved by every one who knew her. Through out the first half of this century Sir Walter’s ‘dear Joanna” was the most distinguished woman in the village. Her sweet nature and gentle, homely ways won Scott’s heart, and in one of his letters he anticipates the time when, thanks to steam, ‘‘we may be able to bring Abbotsford and Hampstead within the distance of ‘ Will you dine with
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216 THE ATHENZUM N° 3277, Auc. 16,90 us quietly to-morrow?’” Scott visited the sisters at their house on Windmill Hill, but what does Mr. Baines mean by saying that Johnson and Reynolds ‘‘ would come up in the Hampstead stage to pay their respects” to them? They must have been strange passengers in a stage coach, for both John- son and Sir Joshua died many years before the Baillies settled in Hampstead. From 1790 until 1825 Samuel Hoare, the banker, lived in the large house on the Heath now the resi- dence of Sir Algernon Borthwick. Here in the early years of the century the genial host welcomed poets and men of letters. There is no record, we believe, that Hunt or Lamb, Keats or Shelley, was among the guests, but Wordsworth and Scott, Rogers and Campbell, Crabbe and Coleridge, sat at one time or another round Mr. Hoare’s table. Crabbe, indeed, found a temporary and plea- sant home at Heath House, and heartily en- joyed himself. ‘‘ To-day,” he writes, ‘‘ I read one of my long stories to my friends and Mrs. Joanna Baillie and her sister. I rhyme at Hampstead with a great deal of facility, for nothing interrupts me but kind calls or something pleasant.” It was with Crabbe, it will be remembered, that Wordsworth gazed on London “ from Hampstead’s breezy Heath” ; and we believe it wasat Mr. Hoare’s that Tennyson met for the first time the poet whom he was destined to succeed as Laureate. Of late years poetry seems to have forsaken Hampstead, or, to use the editor’s more exalted language, it has ‘‘ ceased to be the cradle of the Muse.” It must not be forgotten, however, that Mr. Allingham, a true though minor poet, left the parish poorer by his death last winter; and Mr. Baines reminds us that the present Bishop of Exeter held the vicarage of Christ Church for more than thirty years, and that his ‘Yesterday, To-day, and for Ever’ ‘has had, especially in the United States, an immense circulation.’”’ He might have also said—for it is a fact quite as notable—that the bishop has been bold enough to add a verse to Dr. Newman’s lyric ‘‘ Lead, kindly Light.” Artists have always loved the Heath, and one of the most original of landscape painters chose the scene for one of his finest pictures, which is now at the South Ken- sington Museum. Constable lived in Well Walk in “a comfortable little house,’”’ which “commands,” he wrote, ‘‘a view unsur- passed in Europe, from Westminster Abbey to Gravesend.” ‘I call Hampstead my home,” he said, and so it proved. He rests in the churchyard, but his genius has received no recognition in the town, and although he has been dead scarcely more than fifty years, it seems to be a matter of doubt which house he occupied. One cor- respondent, whois not likely to be mistaken, says the original number was 6, and adds, ‘‘The numbers have been since altered twice, and the present number of Constable’s house is 40’; while another contributor gives the number as 44, and remembers being taken there sixty years since to see the artist’s pictures. Uatil the present day Hampstead appears to have left the memory of its worthies unhonoured, and we are reminded that our exact knowledge of the houses in which Keats lived during the most fateful portion of his short life is in a measure due to the painstaking researches of Mr. Buxton Forman. It is only recently that the Hampstead residence of Romney has been identified with certainty, and there appears still to be some doubt with regard to the position of the large studio that he is said to have built there. The house in which Stanfield lived for twenty years happily bears his name. It is now the public library, which, thanks to the zeal of a few ladies and gentlemen, contains a noble collection of books as well as por- traits of the men and women known to fame who have resided in the neighbourhood. The walls of Stanfield House, indeed, con- tribute an agreeable chapter to the history of the place. This is, we believe, the only instance in which the name of a Hamp- stead artist has been given to the house in which he lived or died; yet throughout this century the parish has never been without resident artists of whom it might be justly proud. William Collins resided there for some years, and spent summer after summer on the Heath. Poole lived there for five- and-twenty years, and there in 1879 he died. Four years previously Alfred Stevens, to whom the Royal Academy did tardy justice last winter, had died ‘at his house in Hampstead,” but where that house was the ‘ Records’ do not state. Margaret Gillies, a delightful old lady, who knew many of the literary celebrities of this century and painted their portraits, after living for twenty-six years in Church Row, died in 1887; and a year later Hampstead lost Frank Holl, who lived in Fitzjohn’s Avenue, where “many of the eminent men of the day came to be painted by him.” That the parish still abounds with artists, picture a and purchasers, does not need to be told. The men whose unquestionable reputation does honour to the locality have, of course, their deeds, or some of them, recorded in these pages; and here also, equally of course, may be read many a long list of ‘‘names ignoble, born to be forgot.” Fastidious- ness, however, is not a desirable quality in the historian of a parish, and the ‘‘men dressed in a little brief authority,” if they exercise it worthily, may justly expect to have their good deeds recorded in a local chronicle. ‘In every work re- gard the writer’s end,” and keeping this maxim in view it does not surprise us that the name of one vestryman should be handed down to fame as having attended twenty- five vestry meetings and seventy-five com- mittee meetings in one year, and that two other gentlemen are credited with having scored a still larger number. Such parish virtue claims a public boast. Mr. Baines’s pages suggest many attrac- tive topics; but enough, perhaps, has been said of a book which, notwithstanding some faults of omission and more of commission (a view of Hornsey Church does duty for the old church at Hampstead), contains in its handsome pages much minute local information, and much also which is likely to give pleasure to the general reader. Translations from Prudentius : a Selection from his Works, rendered in English Verse, with an Introduction and Notes. By the Rev. Francis St. John Thackeray, M.A., F.S.A. (Bell & Sons.) Ir was a happy thought which led Mr. Thackeray to bring out a selection from Prudentius which gives the reader a fair idea of this little-known author within a reasonable compass. It is an edition which should satisfy all classes of readers, since it contains the original text for scholars and translations into English verse for those who prefer Prudentius in that shape, with a suffi- ciency of notes and introductions to make it intelligible to all. Prudentius is at present little known, at any rate in England, even to professed students of Latin. One or two of his hymns, such as the ‘ Morning Hymn,’ beginning ‘‘ Nox et tenebre et nubila,”’ are, indeed, occasionally sung still in college chapels, but it may be safely assumed that very few of those who hear them are ac- quainted with the author’s name. This neglect of Prudentius is easily ac- counted for. He falls completely outside the range of classical Latin literature, and this not so much in date (since he was a contemporary of Claudian) as in style. The contrast between him and Claudian is, indeed, remarkable. In the latter we still hear everywhere the echoes of the tones of Virgil. Of all post-Augustan poets he, perhaps, represents most faithfully the rhythms and diction of the master whom they all in their degree copied, and it is this quality which makes him a useful study to the young composer of Latin verse. No one would make the same claim for Pruden- tius. The model of the Christian poet is, indeed, Horace rather than Virgil; but in point of fact he has passed away, as in creed so in language and poetry, from the realm of the Augustan writers. He is the beginning of medieval Latin verse, as Claudian is the end of classical ; and readers who take up this volume must be prepared to accept this fact and to judge him only from this point of view. Otherwise they will inevitably be vexed at every turn by the non-classical usages and the non-classical metres which meet them everywhere in mediseval verse. The selection in the present volume is taken mainly from the ‘Cathemerinon,’ or collection of hymns for each part of the day, and the ‘ Peristephanon,’ or odes in honour of the Christian martyrs. These are the two best known of Prudentius’s works, and also the most readable ; and though it might have been interesting to have had some more specimens of his hexameter poems, such as the conclusion to the ‘ Hamar- tigenia,’ there is not much ground for com- plaint on this score. A more reasonable objection may be made to the relative pro- portions of the extracts from the two works above named, the hymns from the ‘ Cathe- merinon’ occupying half as much space again as the specimens from the ‘ Periste- phanon.’ This is probably due to the great reputation which Prudentius has enjoyed in the Roman Church as a hymn-writer ; but on grounds of poetry and general interest we think it is a mistake. The great fault of Prudentius is his prolixity, and this is more wearisome in moral reflections than in
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XUM N° 3277, Ava. 16,’90 THE ATHENAUM 217 narrative. Hardly any of the hymns given by Mr. Thackeray can be read, in spite of his occasional omissions of portions of them, without the reader wishing there were less of them; while, on the other hand, in the odes to the martyrs, where the editor has applied his pruning-knife more freely, the reader will often wish that he had allowed more. Moreover, Prudentius is happier in his metres in this part of his work. The triumphant lilt of the dactylic tetrameter is far more appropriate to the ‘St. Eulalia’ than to the ‘Hymn before Food’; and the thread of narrative carries the reader through the natural monotony of some of the other metres, of which he cannot help being con- scious when he is beginning some new moral reflection in nearly every stanza. Finally, there is a unique interest in the picture pre- sented by the ‘ Peristephanon’ of the spirit in which the fight with persecution was carried on, of the enthusiasm with which the martyr’s crown was sought, that can- not be paralleled in the hymns, much of which might naturally have been written at any period since the foundation of Chris- tianity. Probably, however, no two persons would ever agree precisely as to the selection to be made from any given author, and the present edition contains a very fair and adequate representation of Prudentius. As regards the rest of the editorial work, the same ad- jectives almost might be employed. The introductions are sensible, and convey briefly all that is necessary for the reader to know concerning the life, thoughts, language, and metre of the author. The notes are judi- ciously short, and appear to be sufficient, though it may be suggested, with reference to a note on p. 201, that it was not necessary for Prudentius to go to the catacombs for the image of the Good Shepherd. In the translations Mr. Thackeray has had a cer- tain amount of assistance from other writers. Mr. Robert Bridges contributes a fine ver- sion of the ‘ Morning Hymn,’ in a somewhat unfamiliar metre :— The darkness of earth is torn By the level spears of the morn, The colours return and play In the smile of the star of day. Sir George Young, Dr. Gregory Smith, Mr. E. D. Stone, and Mr. R. F. Towndron each translate one piece in the ‘ Periste- phanon,’ while the first-named also gives an extract from the ‘ Apotheosis.’ The rest of the work is Mr. Thackeray’s own, and if not particularly striking it is still quite adequate. A translator has not such a hopeless ideal set before him when he is rendering a medieval hymn as when ke is grappling with Virgil or Sophocles, and Mr. Thackeray’s version is in most cases a very tolerable representation of the original. Occasionally one might demur to his choice of a metre, as when he represents the rapid dactyls of the ‘Hymn before Food’ by a slow rhythm obviously modelled on George Herbert’s meditative verse. A more satis- factory specimen may be given from the ‘Funeral Hymn,’ the finest of Prudentius’s poems in this part of the work. We are tempted to give the Latin as well, which would probably be as unfamiliar to most readers as the English. It is the passage beginning ‘‘Tam mesta quiesce querela,’’ which, as the notes inform us, was long the favourite funeral hymn of the Evangelical Church in Germany :— Then let the sad complaint be dumb ; O mothers, stay the falling tears ; Weep not your children’s too brief years ; Death but prepares for life to come. So buried seeds repair our store, Re-orient from the parchéd earth, And teeming with their promised birth Blossom and burgeon as of yore. Take, Mother Earth, to sleep in dust, Cherish in no unfruitful rest, Quicken to life in thy soft breast These noble relics I entrust, Of the ‘ Peristephanon’ a specimen may be given from ‘St. Cyprian’s Martyrdom,’ translated by Sir George Young :— There is a vault at Carthage deep hidden from the day, Where Cyprian, darkling and in chains, did to the Father pray : “ Almighty God, the Father of Jesus Christ our Lord, Maker of a2ll_things,—and Thou, Christ, who by ‘Thy potent word Didst form man, whom Thou lovest and wouldest not should die, I, who was once beslavered with the serpent’s poison,—I Whom Thou didst pity and assoil from frailties of man’s flesh And bid to be hy servant—I, Cyprian, born afresh, Put on the new, put off the old; Thou didst my guilt efface. If Thou couldst purge the sinful breast by Thy effectual grace, Visit the darkness of this prison; undo the body’s chain ; Release my soul and let me as a sacrifice be slain. Suffer not that compassion should appease the judge's frown, Or that the tyrant’s rage should cease, and rob me of my crown. Grant, too, that of the flock I ruled no one may slothful be ; That none for any pains of death stumble or fall from Thee ; So I may render back full tale those whom Thou gavest me,” In conclusion, it should be said that the volume is well printed on good paper and is of a handy size, and that at the end there is a good photographic facsimile of a portion of the principal MS. of Prudentius, the sixth century Paris ‘ Puteanus.’ Three Years in Western China: a Narrative of Three Journeys in Ssii-ch’uan, Kuet-chow, and Yunnan. By Alexander Hosie. (Philip & Son.) Western Curva is at the present time attracting a considerable share of public attention, not only in this country, but also in France and Russia. It is of comparatively late years that we have become aware of the immense wealth which is hoarded in that portion of the Celestial Empire. The travels of Sladen, Cooper, Margary, Gill, Baber, and Hosie have revealed the fact that be- hind the mountain barriers which separate Eastern from Western China there lies a territory of boundless wealth and with immense capabilities of development. The three provinces of Szech’uan, Kweichow, and Yunnan cover an area nearly as large as that of France and Germany combined, and contain a population of about 51,000,000. They are rich in natural products, mineral wealth, and manufactures, and offer a tempting field for the employment of Euro- pean capital and skill. To enter readily into this goodly land has of late been the ambition of the several Western countries peculiarly interested in the East. Russia has striven to reach it from the north, France has succeeded in opening a trading route into it from Ton- quin, and we, in that hesitating way which now characterizes all our attempts to advance, have talked a great deal of opening com- munication between Burma and Yunnan, but have done nothing. ‘There isa child’s game which mainly consists in shutting the eyes and opening the mouth and seeing what the king will bring; and it would appear that this is the game which the India Office and Foreign Office are playing with regard to Western China. They per- sistently close their eyes to the researches which have been made in that territory, the surveys which have been effected, and the rapid advance which the French have made towards the coveted region, and sit with their mouths open, hoping that some por- tion of the good things may fall to their share. A notable instance of this indiffer- ence coupled with bungling has been the attempt made by Mr. Little to reach Western China over the rapids on the Yangtszekiang. The Chefoo convention sanctioned the passage of steamers up the Ch’ungk’ing, and Mr. Little thereupon had a steamer especially constructed to make the voyage. So far all was well. But for some unaccountable reason the steamer had no sooner reached her starting-point below the rapids than Mr. Little applied to the English minister at Peking to ask for the leave of the Chinese Government to proceed. This is much as though a creditor, having obtained a distress warrant against a hardened debtor, were to write to ask his permission to be allowed to place the matter in the hands of the bailiff. The veriest tyro in Oriental diplomacy might have forecast the event. very possible form of obstruc- tion was employed by the Chinese to prevent the proposed undertaking, and eventually a convention was agreed to, as we have lately been told, by which it is laid down that no English steamers shall attempt to ascend the rapids until a Chinese steamer has shown the way, which practically postpones the question to the Greek Calends. Whether Mr. Little would have succeeded in passing the rapids or not may possibly be doubtful, but a golden opportunity was missed of putting the matter to the test when, instead of going straight on, he made reference to Peking. Unfortunately, Mr. Hosie, perhaps from a chivalrous desire to defend a defeated cause, considers that the best route into Western China is through the gorges of the Yangtszekiang, and throws an unnecessary amount of cold water on the various pro- posals to reach that El Dorado from Burma. Meanwhile the French have found a prac- ticable route by which Méngtsze in Yunnan can be reached from Hanoi in from twenty to twenty-nine days, and recognizing this fact the China Customs have established a foreign custom house at that terminus. Mr. Hosie lays great stress on the fact that Szech’uan is in a far more prosperous condition than Yunnan, and in this he is quite right. But he entirely forgets what wonderful effects are produced in compara- tively sparsely-populated and unproductive regions in the East by the introduction of foreign commerce and railways. The rail-
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218 THE ATHENAUM Ne 3277, Ava. 16, 90 ways in Burma are instances in point. The | districts through which several were built furnished only a very indifferent outlook for profitable results, and yet they are now paying large dividends. And Mr. Hosie himself illustrates our contention when he mentions that, whereas in 1875 foreign goods to the value of only 40,000/. were sent under transit pass from Hankow to | Szech’uan, this amount was increased to 160,000/. in 1876, the year in which the Chefoo convention was signed, and to 290,0007. in 1877. If these results were gained merely by the extension of foreign trade, the means of transport remaining the same, what might not be hoped from the introduction of railroads into so rich a pro- vince as Yunnan ? As an explorer Mr. Hosie labours under the disadvantage of having to tell a twice- told tale. We have heard, for instance, of the white-wax insects from Richthofen, of Mount Omi from Mr. Baber, and of Talifu, Yunnanfu, Chéngtu, and the other large cities of Western China from several tra- vellers. The routes Mr. Hosie chose were, however, not always those taken by his pre- decessors, and he gives his experiences by the way with great zest, though occasionally in halting English. Anecdota Oxeniensia —Lives of Saints from the Book of Lismore. Edited by Whitley Stokes, D.O.L. (Oxford, Clarendon Press. ) Tue ‘Book of Lismore’ is a manuscript written between the years 1450 and 1500 | for Finghin MacCarthaigh Riabhach, an Trish chief, who had married Catharine FitzGerald, a daughter of the eighth Earl of Desmond. It is called after the Duke of Devonshire’s castle of Lismore, where it was found in 1814, in a passage which had been walled up. How it got there is unknown, for Carbery, the territory of the swarthy MacCarthy (MacCarthaigh Riabhach), lies a long way to the west of the country of the Deisi, in which Lismore is situated. The MS. is in more than one hand, and two of the scribes—O’Buagachain, a friar, and Angus O’Callaid—have recorded their own names. They bore the same relation to the MS. that a working printer does nowadays to a book, and when the hardness of their task and the couple of cows each which was probably all that they got for their labour are considered, it seems that Mr. Stokes might have tempered his censure with a little commiseration. He says: ‘‘ All of them were more or less careless and ignorant.” The book is a collection of compositions of many subjects, periods, and authors, comparable to such a series of volumes as that commonly known as Lord Somers’s Tracts. Mr. Stokes in his introduction has given a fuller account of its contents than has ever been published before. He is careful to explain that his account is not exhaustive, but it is very full and will be most useful to students for reference. The swarthy Mac- Carthy certainly had abundant and amusing reading. For Sundays he had lives of saints, of which Mr. Stokes has edited and translated nine; for weekdays he had a translation of part of Marco Polo’s travels, a history of the Lombards, and a sheaf of Irish stories, such as the adventure of | It always refers to Ardea cinerea. Dael ap- Damgaire, and the journey of the bards. On the day before holding a folkmote on his earthen rath he could prepare himself to shine before the brehons and in the eyes of his clan by perusing the ‘ Book of Rights,’ that curious guide to Irish ceremonial and | taxation, or might commit to memory a few | sententious remarks from the famous will | of Cathair Mor. When the Bishop of Ross came to feast on badger hams and mead | with him, MacCarthy could read the history | of the clever Bishop Cainchomrac, who knew | the day on which every one would die, or | the verses of Bishop Cormac the lexico- | grapher, or the treatise on the three cries of | the world—that of the Israelites on entering | the Red Sea, that of Hell when the just | ancients were carried out of it, and that of | Doomsday when the sheep are separated from the goats. When a poet or historian came, how learned would the chief be over | the history of the massacre of the Milesians by Cairpre Cathead and his slaves, or on the history of the first poem made in Ireland! As might be expected, the poet, who lived | on an island in Lough Corrib, was a royal | and noble author, nephew of a king of Ireland; and his poem—which is not at all sentimental, but about such concrete sub- jects as a chariot, a sword, a cauldron, and the like—is so far equal to some modern poets in obscurity of meaning that even the learned editor has not ventured to set forth a translation of tho lines. After giving a full account of the varied contents of the ‘Book of Lismore,’ Mr. Stokes proceeds to a critical examination of the lives of saints which his work contains. | This, with an explanation of more than | three hundred words adopted from Latin | and other languages into Irish, and met with in the lives, occupies forty-five closely printed pages. Mr. Stokes concludes the controversy as to how reading became known to the Irish by deriving the Irish verb /éghaim, I read, from Latin /ego; and scribaim, I write, from seribo. Twenty-nine pages of abstract of the contents of the lives, ‘‘so far as they throw light on the history and social con- dition of ancient Ireland,’ follow. This is a dish of learning dressed after the German manner, end will be most relished by those professors who hold that ignorance is the sole reason for the omission of any possible fact from a book, and that what has not been stated in print may be justly presumed to be unknown. The texts of the lives of Patrick, Columba, Brigit, Lenan, Finian, Finchua, Brenainn, Ciaran of Clonmacnois, and Mochua follow, and then their trans- lations. The lines are numbered, so that reference is easy from text to translation. An interesting little poem of eleven four- | line verses has escaped translation. Notes containing much varied learning follow the translation, and after these come an index of matters, one of persons, of places and tribes, of first lines, and of Irish words, and finally a table of addenda and of corrigenda. The thorough method and unwearied dili- gence shown throughout the book deserve the highest praise. Of course it supplies abundant material for controversy in par- ticular words and in general expressions. Corr, though called in the Anglo-Irish dia- lect a crane, ought to be translated heron. correctly be restricted to the stagbeetle, an insect which is rare in Ireland. In the life of Brenainn a false choice of a word spoils an interesting passage. ‘‘Is annsin tainic in crosan cu Brenainn ”’ is translated ‘‘ Then came the buffoon to Brenainn’’; but the crosan was a rhymer, a poet attached to a family, a person versed in old pagan tales— in the time of Brenainn and in Connaught, perhaps a pagan. Brenainn’s preaching makes him desire to be a Christian; he is converted, and the wild enthusiasm of his conversion is described: ‘‘So after the crosan had partaken of Christ’s Body and His Blood, he leaps at once ashore with ex- ceeding joy, and the sea-cats devoured him all save a few of his bones, and he is buried by the brethren, and his name is written in a martyrology, for he was a wonderful martyr.” An authority for the translation is the family name of the bards of the chiefs of Leix, Mac ui Crosdin, “son of the descend- ant of the rhymer or bard.” The name is now anglicized to Crosby, but the Earl of Ormond, in a letter to Sir Robert Cecil in 1601, points out the pure Irish nature of the name and of those who bore it. There has, perhaps, never been a more faithful editor of texts than Mr. Stokes, and those who differ from him in details of his translation will do so mainly in matters of scholarship and of taste. He is a little in- clined to disregard the opinion of the Irish about their own idiom, and in the transla- tion to drift now and then into expressions of which the good intention is evident, but which are nevertheless not good renderings, because they are not good English. On the other hand, it might, perhaps, be said that a scholar who has added so much to his branch of learning must be allowed his own way, and if this is a privilege to be earned by incessant work, by the accomplishment of a long series of difficult tasks, and by the solution of innumerable philological ques- tions, Mr. Stokes is fully entitled to it. Gray and his Friends: Letters and Relics in Great Part hitherto Unpublished. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey, M.A. (Cambridge, University Press.) A story is told of the fruitless attempts of an English traveller in India to get rid of a tin of sardines which some hospitable friends had included in a hamper of provi- sions destined for use on the journey. At the first halt at a staging bungalow the tin was thrown into the fireplace, where, how- ever, it was discovered by a zealous servant, and at the next resting-place the traveller found the obnoxious article restored to the hamper. A more vigorous plan was now determined upon, and shortly after leaving the bungalow the traveller threw the box out of the window. This attempt was not more successful than the former, and at the next halt to change horses the carriage was overtaken by an exhausted native, who had picked up the tin, and had run four or five miles to restore it to the owner. This story is sometimes brought to our recollection by the excessive zeal of modern editors, who in their anxiety to rescue from oblivion every scrap which their author has written show little regard for his wishes and still less for his literary reputation. In Tadg, son of Cian, the siege of Druim! plies to any of the Coleoptera, and cannot | the most important respect Gray has escaped
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XUM N° 3277, Ava. 16, 90 THE ATHENAZUM 219 well from this posthumous danger, and much as we admire and value his poetry, we cannot pretend to share the regret that is sometimes expressed because it is not possible to add to the writings of Gray which we already possess. ‘Gray,’ said Mr. Lowell at Cambridge in 18835, ‘‘is the one of the English poets who has written less and pleased more, perhaps, than any other.” What poet could wish for higher praiee ? But when we turn to Gray’s journals, his friends’ letters, his annotations of books, and his classical exercises we find that there is a plentiful stock which till quite recently had not come into the printer’s hands, and the supply appears to be still unexhausted. Within even the last few days two pocket- books with memoranda in Gray’s autograph were sold in Sotheby’s rooms. It is from this sort of unpublished material, for the most part of slight interest to the general public, that Mr. Tovey has compiled the little volume entitled ‘Gray and his Friends.’ One of the principal designs of the editor (himself, we believe, an old Etonian) is to give a more complete record than has hitherto existed of the friendship between the four Etonians, Gray, Horace Walpole, West, and Ashton, known to their schoolfellows as the ‘‘ Quadruple Alliance.” Mr. Tovey has been assisted in his plan by discovering in the Mitford MSS. in the British Museum copies of some unpublished correspondence between the four friends. Among its contents are five letters from Gray to Ashton, and one from Gray to West. Two others, both addressed to Ashton, are the joint production of Gray and Walpole. These letters were all written before the end of 1742, the year of West’s death, and are the most valuable contribution to the volume. Gray’s letters are generally de- lightful, and those befere us are no ex- ception to the rule, though they are slightly more affected than usual, and show that the writer was at that time a good deal under the influence of Walpole, whose tone of fashionable cynicism he, perhaps uncon- sciously, imitates. We certainly agree with a remark in Mr. Tovey’s introductory essay that Gray shows himself ia his letters a modern, though at times—as, for instance, when writing to his mother—he could adopt the eighteenth century style. More than half of Mr. Tovey’s volume is taken up with the ‘Correspondence and Remains of Richard West,’ but the contents hardly explain the affection with which he was regarded by his friends, West’s mis- fortunes and his early death seem to have invested his memory with a certain halo of romance. Mr. Tovey has further found among the Mitford MSS. two letters from Miss Speed to Gray, who is supposed—without much reason, however—to have regarded the lady with feelings of somewhat tender interest. Miss Speed was one of the ‘brace of warriors, not in buff, but rustling in their silks and tissues,” who on a very flimsy pretext set off from Stoke Park to visit Gray at his mother’s house. | Neither of the ladies had any acquaint- ance with the poet, and fortunately he was not at home. Lady Schaub, Miss Speed’s companion in the adventure, left, however, a short note to inform him, with her com- pliments, that Lady Brown was very well. As he hardly knew the lady in question, the information could not have much interest for him; but Gray returned the visit, and afterwards celebrated the incident in verse by the delightful ‘Long Story.’ One of Miss Speed’s letters in this volume is an acknowledgment of the performance, of which she is good enough to write, ‘‘ Every- body that has seen it is charmed.” Gray’s ‘Notes of Travel’ given in this volume are of slight importance. The former portion refers to the journey in France and Italy, and some of it appears to be memoranda made by Gray from the descriptions of previous travellers as a sort of guide-book for his own use. The latter part of the notes is a very brief account of the tour in Scotland in 1764 mentioned by Mr. Gosse in the appendix to his ‘ Life of Gray.’ The remainder of the volume is devoted to extracts from one of Gray’s pocket- books, collectanea by Gray from Mitford’s ex- cerpts in the British Museum, and, of course, a few Latin poems, as no editor of Gray is able to resist the temptation of drawing on the copious supply which exists of Gray’s not very first-rate Latin verse. The anecdotes in these collectanea were chiefly derived from Walpole, the War- burtons, and Mason. Most of the stories are already familiar, but one piece of infor- mation, ‘‘ Lord Chesterfield never coughs, and says nobody need,” is not generally known, and we remember no instructions of this sort in that nobleman’s ‘Letters to his Godson,’ or in the earlier series to his son. The ill-natured gossip about Pope and Martha Blount is inaccurate, and Gray probably heard it from Mrs. Warburton, a very untrustworthy authority on this subject. It would be unjust not to say afew words in commendation of the editor’s short but satisfactory notes, and of the introductory essay, which is pleasant and suggestive. Mr. Tovey is distressed at Gray’s want of earnest- ness, and at the levity with which he treats of public events. The poet smiles in ’46 over Hawley’s defeat at Falkirk. He cares nothing for Byng’s loss of Minorca, and a few years later he turns into ridicule Pitt’s speech on proposing a monument for Wolfe. Mr. Tovey thinks—and we rather agree with him—that the explanation of this ‘‘ Walpolean spirit” is to be found in the following remarks of Mr. Lowell re- ferring to those days: ‘‘It certainly was a comfortable time. If there was discontent, it was in the individual, not in the air; sporadic, not epidemic. Responsibility for the universe had not yet been invented .. .” The absence of patriotic feeling which | appears not only in Gray, but in so many of his contemporaries, was more apparent than real. It only required circumstances and a more complete knowledge and appre- hension of passing events to develope the sentiment. ‘Gray,’ writes Mr. Tovey, ‘‘read Rousseau ; sometimes, as he confesses, ‘heavily, heavily,’ seeking, that is, amuse- | ment, and finding it not; but for the signs | of the times he consulted the weathercock.” | Gray’s cynicism was undoubtedly in many | cases mere affectation ; he was, moreover, | by nature a man of sluggish emotions, perhaps even a little selfish, and any per- | was remote and improbable. Noone would accuse Johnson of want of love for his country, or of indifference to the national glory, yet his letters, written at a time when our armies and fleets were engaged in nearly every quarter of the globe, contain no allusion to the subject. News travelled slowly in those days, and public events were very imperfectly known or understood. The sources of information were in fact very limited. Brigadier Townshend’s despatch with the account of Wolfe’s victory appeared in the London Gazette about a month after the event, and was reproduced with hardly a word of comment in the next number of the Chronicle. Gray may, perhaps, have seen it, but the death of the young general, struck down ‘‘at the head of Bragg’s and the Louisburg Grenadiers, advancing with their bayonets,” would scarcely have arrested his attention. His mind—so receptive, under certain circumstances, of poetical impressions—was unable to realize the marvellous picturesqueness of the scene on the heights of Abraham; and the weathercock could tell him nothing of the lasting importance of our triumph. Mr. Lowell was right. ‘It was a comfortable time.” We conclude with a short but rather significant anecdote from Mr. Tovey’s in- troductory essay :— “Samuel Rogers told Mitford ‘that Gray in London saw little Society. Had a nice dinner from the Tavern brought to his lodgings, a glass or two of sweet wine, and as he sippd [sic] it talked about great People.’ ” The story is delightfully characteristic both of Gray and Rogers. Daphnisand Chloe: the Elizabethan Version, from Amyot’s Translation, by Angel Day. Re- printed from the unique Original Edition, and edited by Joseph Jacobs. (Nutt.) Tue fault of the Greek romances (and of romances generally) is that they are tedious. Heliodorus’s narrative is interminable; and we soon have enough of Achilles Tatius. ‘Daphnis and Chloe’ is, happily, only half the length of ‘Clitophon and Leucippe,’ which would go twice into ‘Theagenes and Chariclea.’ The old pastoral story has se- cured a permanent place among what Ben Jonson called ‘lovers’ scriptures’; but it has never been particularly popular in England. Charles V. Le Grice, the schoolfellow of Charles Lamb, was a devoted admirer of Longus. He published in 1804 a scrupu- lously modest translation, which he dedi- cated to Robert Bloomfield, the forgotten author of ‘The Farmer’s Boy’—a person little capable of appreciating the compli- ment. It is to be feared that Le Grice’s translation fell flat. Some few years ago a Penzance bookseller was advertising copies at sixpence apiece. But, while English readers neglect ‘Daphnis and Chloe,’ our lively French neighbours are constantly issuing new editions. It was in Amyot’s translation that the romance was first printed, in 1559; the Greek text was not edited until 1598. Angel Day, author of ‘ The English Secretarie ’ (an entertaining manual of correspondence), gave an English dress to Amyot’s translation in 1587. A copy, supposed to be unique, of Day’s ; Sonal danger from the nation’s disasters | version is in the collection of Mr. Alfred
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220 THE ATHENAUM N° 8277, Ava. 16, ’90 H. Huth, who has allowed it to be repro- duced in Mr. Nutt’s “Tudor Library.” Mr. Joseph Jacobs contributes an interest- ing preface; and the book is choicely printed. Of the verse which Day chose to introduce it is impossible to speak favour- ably; but the prose is attractive, as the following extract will show:— “Tt was now no time to leade the beastes to pastures, nor to suffer them almost to go out of doores. The freesing Boreas called for great tires, which according to ancient hospitalitie of shepheards, was made on a large harth in the middest of their halles, the blasing shew wherof izamediatly after the mornings cocke, inuited each one in the cold frostie seasons, to drawe round about it : and there with farre more easie labour then abroade, to dispatch their housholde busines. The hindes and such as tilled and labored the groundes, tooke herein great plea- sure, in so much as the bitternesse of the weather, became vnto them for the time being, a releasment of their hard endured labour, so that sporting themselues in diuers housholde pastimes, they chaunted their countrie tunes, and divers songes accustomed in their vintages to y® honor of Bacchus.” NOVELS OF THE WEEK, Nelly Blythe. By Jessy E. Greenwood. 2 vols. (Ward & Downey.) The House on the Scar. (Sampson Low & Co.) Heir and No Heir. By the Hon. A. 8. G. Canning. (Eden, Remington & Co.) Three Notable Stories. By the Marquis of Lorne, Mrs. Alexander, and Thomas Hardy. (Spencer Blackett.) Jabez Easterbrook: a Religious Novel. By Joseph Hocking. (Ward, Lock & Co.) As the Tide Turns. By Mary E. Hullah. (Ward & Downey.) Zebel. By Lillie Crane. (Eden, Remington & Co.) The Better Man. By Arthur (Ward & Downey.) The Mesmerist. By E. H. C. Oliphant. (Eden, Remington & Co.) A Plunge into Space. By Robert Cromie. (Warne & Co.) Tur creation of new dukes goes on un- checked. MissGreenwood hasadded another, and seeing that her pretty romance—very creditable if it be a first work—would have gone as well if her duke had been a ground- ling, it may be worth her while to consider, before writing another story, whether her fictitious graces are not commonplace, and de- structive of the very illusions which a roman- tic novelist desires to create. Miss Green- wood’s duke, prospective and actual, pursues the heroine for something like ten years with marvellous and inexplicable constancy. As for Nelly Blythe (the author ought really to have resisted the temptation of a refer- ence to the friend of our childhood, Nelly Bly), there are apparently two of that name. One isa dummy, brought in to ex- cuse an impossible situation, in which an artist woos, or is wooed by, the affianced bride of the absent marquis. That is the first weak corner-stone of the plot. Another is an absurd scene of kapnomancy, a trivi- ality in which the three principal actors of the story seem implicitly to believe—and the author also. But, with all reservations duly By Bertha Thomas. Paterson. made, ‘Nelly Blythe’ is very pretty pastime for a summer day. Miss Bertha Thomas has written better novels than ‘The House on the Scar.’ She has formerly exhibited no little power of characterization, and it is a pity that she should have turned her attention to mystery and adventure, for which she has not shown much aptitude. Her experiment is, more- over, tried too late, for the public rage for tales of this sort shows signs of abating, and novel-readers are developing some sort of taste in these matters, by demanding study from the life and not being so much taken with stories in which plot and action are contrived, so to speak, out of one’s head. Miss Thomas, who always writes well, has put plenty of energy, and even swearing, into her story—and indeed the circumstances de- manded plenty of both; but lifelike detail and adequacy of human interest are wanting. There seems nothing particular to say about ‘Heir and No Heir.’ As a story it has no great vitality, perhaps, and it is as a story it must either stand or fall. Mr. Can- ning is already known as the author of sundry political pamphlets and sketches of Irish history, generally evincing a fair range of reading, knowledge, and a temperate and reasonable outlook. His present volume is a story of Ireland in ’97, and is not in any way a striking piece of fiction, nor particu- larly interesting from its historical standpoint. There are a good many people in it, Irish and foreign, none of whom greatly holds the reader’s interest, for they are neither skil- fully nor convincingly drawn. A triplet of short stories by three different authors, each of some reputation, with the additions of good print and a pretty binding, make a not unwelcome volume. ‘ Love and Peril,’ by the Marquis of Lorne, comes first, but not first in order of merit. It is a story of sport and adventure in Canada, varied by Indians and a love episode with a girl belonging to them. It is all rather shallow and superficial, and not the kind of story which could work any one up much—not even a boy. Mrs. Alexander’s ‘To Be or Not to Be’ is, on the other hand, of the domestic order of story, and is bright and amusing enough, written in a way well suited toits length and scope. ‘The Melan- choly Hussar,’ the last of the three, is by Mr. Hardy, and possesses a good deal of his peculiar and rather shadowy charm. His way of opening a story is always a way of his own, and generally an effective way. So far as the present tale goes (and it is but slight), it has a kind of effect on the imagi- nation—a wholly indefinite sort of effect, but still an effect. Mr. Joseph Hocking’s ‘Jabez Easter- brook,’ which announces itself as ‘‘a reli- gious novel,” issomewhat wearisome read- ing. A sturdy young Wesleyan minister encounters a fascinating young lady of agnostic tendencies; they argue together throughout the tedious length of the volume; at last they arrive at what seems to them a righteous and satisfactory compromise, whereupon they marry. The book is not worth a spare half hour. Miss Hullah’s novelette of theatrical life is fairly interesting, and the young actress is a lifelike character. Mr. Ogden, like many another man whom love blinds to all the imperfections of his mistress, grows in time to visit the consequences of his own short-sightedness upon the innocent cause of his mistake. It is a very common form of selfishness, but a man like Paul Ogden, when he recognizes the meanness of which he has been guilty, will find his remorse almost intolerable. In the present story poor Lily Dubury’s married life is too short for much misery, and she dies entirely recon- ciled to the husband who misunderstood and undervalued her. Miss Crane is an admirer of the simile. Not a little fine writing in her rather pro- mising book takes this particular form. But she should chasten her practice in this respect, and amend her grammar, if she is to become a successful author. ‘“ Like” is not equivalent to ‘‘ as,” and when a classical reference occurs to her she should not employ it in this way: ‘‘ Lyons—where the boisterous blue gentleman ‘ Rhone’ and the calmer, duller lady ‘Soane’ [sic] join their mighty waters, rushing thence, for ever locked in one mad, close embrace, straight away tothe beautifulsea.”’ A passage tomake angels weep. Altogether this love story is rather “ missish,’”’ but we quite acknowledge the charm of the half-Arab daughter of the warrior of Algiers, and think her thrown away upon the suspicious old baronet. Why a baronet, by the way? Tom Eckersley, scapegrace, of Oriel Col- lege, Oxford, goes out to New Mexico and takes service under one Frank Houghton, an old friend, and the owner of a cattle ranche. The pictures of ranche life, of pony driving and cross-country riding, are manifestly drawn from the author’s own experience. Such as it is, the story could scarcely have been better told. Mr. Pater- son has a gift of illusion considerably above the average. E. H. C. Oliphant, who begins by taking the Deity to witness that his or her story is true, tells of murder by hypnotic influence. It is the tenth or twelfth version of the same achievement which has been published within a year or so; and perhaps all the ten or twelve versions are equally true. It must be honestly affirmed that this last narrative of the series does not eclipse the best of its forerunners. It is a downright melodrama, and as such it will be appre- ciated, for at any rate it has the qualities of its defects. Mr. Cromie’s Utopia is charming, and the quasi-scientific detail of the expedition of Messrs. Barnett and MacGregor is given with so much integrity that we hardly find cause for wonder at the marvellous results accomplished. The exploring party to whom we are indebted for our knowledge of the institutions and sociology of the planet Mars is aptly composed of a scientist, a practical explorer, a novelist, an artist, a newspaper correspondent, a financier, and an Irish M.P. Mr. Blake is in private life an excellent fellow, and it is impossible not to sympathize with him when he finds him- self in a world where flirtation is a lost art, and where, as there is no Government to attack, there is no rcom for the professional politician. Sir George is rather out of his element in a place where there is no money and the wine is weak; but his chagrin is nothing to Blake’s :— “© Come, now, Blake,’ Sir George whispered. ‘Have a shy at the Government. It will remind you of England and home.’ ‘** How is a man to have a shy at the Govern-
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XUM N°#3277, Ava. 16,790 THE ATHENZUM 221 ment when there is none—I mean no party in power,?’ ‘Then have a shy at the party that should be in power.’ **€Can’t do it. There is nothing tangible to goon. Howcan one deal with such a medley as Mars? They have given up horse-racing or its prototype, and yet existence continues to be tolerable—to them. They keep dogs—I mean things like dogs—but they treat them as of secondary importance to the human inmates of the home. The weather has been abolished, and conversation has not become obsolete. Women have the same privileges as men, and seem no- thing the worse of it. The upper classes behave quite respectably, and seem all the better for it. The lower classes have enough to eat and drink, and decent clothes to wear, and seem to like it—unlike our own very poor, in whom we revel—vicariously—in all the orthodox blessings of poverty, the elevating influence of want, the refining effects of excessive work, the chastening elements of despair, the—the—’ “¢Excellent, Blake! I am proud of you!’ MacGregor shouted. ‘ Go on, go on.” But he cannot, and the scientific Barnett completes his discomfiture by pointing out that the phenomena which distress him are really the result of progress, the develop- ment of the individual through many ages, almost the reverse in its procedure of purely political effort :— **¢Our popular theorists, said Barnett, ‘would construct a perfect community out of constituents the majority of which are imper- fect; whose imperfection, indeed, is the only basis for their own theses. They purpose to break down a system designed mainly for the restraining of evil influences in order to create a system in which these influences would continue unchecked...... The Martians commenced with the individual—not the State. They built their house from the foundation upwards.’” It must not be supposed that the conver- sation of our intrepid voyagers is always of so grave akind. There is much admirable fooling in the book, and a love story which intereststhereaderthe morefromthe obviously tragic issue which must attend the introduc- tion of earthly passion in a society which has so long outgrown the possibility of strong emotion. Poor Mignonette should have lived a few decades of centuries earlier than she did. SCHOOL- BOOKS. German Reader. Compiled by Franz Lange. With English Notes [by ?] J. F. Davis.— Advanced Part. (Whittaker & Uo.)— Ifthe multiplication of school-books would secure thesuccess of theschoolmaster’sefforts the British youth of the day ought to surpass German clerks in the speaking of modern languages. Half the publishers in London seem to be engaged in providing him with grammars, reading-books, and vocabularies, which perplex the critic, be- cause they are too like one another to offer occasion for comment; but we fear that in spite of them the average schoolboy attains but an imperfect acquaintance with either French or German, Dr. Lange’s extracts will be found difficult, and if a boy can read them he will not be puzzled by any ordinary German writer. Mr. Davis’s notes are mostly of that useless kind— translations of phrases. When he deviates from this he is not always correct. Superbagnéres is not “‘ Bagnéres (de Bigorre)’ in Haute [sic] Pyrénées.” Tales of the Black Forest: Selections from A uer- bach’s ‘ Schwarzwiilder Dorfgeschichten.’ Edited, with Notes, by A. H. Fox Strangways. (Long- mans & Co.)—Mr. Strangways has taken more trouble with his annotations, but we are not Progressive sure whether he was wise in choosing Auerbach’s pleasant tales for a school-book. Boys have enough to do in trying to learn literary German, and as they usually fail to do that, it is surely superfluous to trouble them with the dialect and manners of the Black Forest. Mr. Strangways, too, seems to forget occasionally that he is not writing for adults. What do schoolboys know of the Abbey of Andlau ? Les Précieuses Ridicules. Par J. B. P. Moliere. With Introduction and Notes by E.G. W. Braun- holtz. (Cambridge, University Press.)—Dr. Braun- holtz has supplied excellent notes, put together with intelligence and industry, and he has also furnished a good index to them. This edition rises considerably above the usual level of school- books. Of course we do not always agree with Dr. Braunholtz. At the outset we disapprove of his note on ‘‘ Seigneur La Grange.” We think ‘Seigneur ’” isironical. In the ‘ Mariage Forcé ’ it is frequently so used. Swiss Travel: being Chapters from Dumas’ ‘Impressions de Vogage.’ Edited by C. H. Parry. (Longmans & Co.)—Mr. Parry’s volume is excellently adapted to advanced classes. He is quite right in calling Dumas “the very prince of French story-tellers ”’: heis the greatest story- teller Western Europe has seen. The teacher should procure a good map and interest his pupils in the geography of Switzerland when using this book. German Poetry for Beginners. Edited, with English Notes and a Complete Vocabulary, by E. 8. Buchheim. (Oxford, Clarendon Press. )— Miss Buchheim has made an excellent selection of simple verses for beginners, and her notes are good, although she is a little too much given to translating. Le Fablier de la Jeunesse. By A. Esclangon. (Griffith & Farran.)—M. Esclangon has tried to help young beginners by adopting the inter- linear method. We doubt the advantages of this process, at any rate when continued for a hundred pages. Commercial Terms: an English-French and French - English Vocabulary. By G. Korts. (Hachette & Co.)—Mr. Korts’s vocabularies are useful enough, but would have been improved by indicating distinctions of synonyms. New Grammar of French Grammars. By V. de Fivas. (Crosby Lockwood & Son.)—This old- established school-book has reached its fifty-first edition, and has been reduced in price. Clarendon Press Series. — Dryden: An Essay of Dramatic Poetry. Edited, with Notes, by Thomas Arnold, M.A. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.)—This reprint of Dryden’s famous essay is welcome; but Mr. Arnold’s introduction is a rather remarkable production for a veteran critic. One who can say, “In his work [sic] on the Elizabethan dramatists, Charles Lamb produced passages from some of the best plays of all the principal authors; but it must be owned that they make no great impression,” may be con- gratulated on his courage, but certainly not on his taste. The notes are largely from Malone. Mr. Arnold’s additions are fairly good, but leave an impression of being hastily put together. The note at p. 132, on the plays founded on the story of Medea, is an instance in point. Mr. Arnold appears never to have heard of the ‘ Medea’ of Neophron. A Second Poetry Book. 2 parts. Compiled by M. A. Woods. (Macmillan & Co.)—These little books ought to delight any boy or girl with a taste for verse. Miss Woods has again shown excellent judgment, and compiled an anthology that is really delightful. Messrs. Sampson Low & Co. issue a set of twenty-two New Code Copy-Books, on Mr. Jack- son’s system of upright and, in our opinion, ungraceful penmanship. The copy-books seem to be well graduated and carefully got up, and the headings are made as useful as possible. John Heywood’s Illustrated Primer, Part IL, one of the “ Paragon Readers,” is a pleasant little reading-book, which will be found useful in infants’ classes. Attic Greek Vocabularies. By E. Dawes. (Nutt.) — Miss Dawes’s vocabularies are well arranged, and will be serviceable to boys trying to acquire a good stock of words. Minerva: Introduction a ’ Etude des Classiques Scolaires. Par le Dr. James Gow. Ouvrage adapté aux Besoins des Ecoles Frangaises par S. Reinach, (Paris, Hachette & Co.)—This isa French adaptation of Dr. Gow’s excellent ‘Com- panion to School Classics,’ which deserved the compliment paid to it by that able scholar M. Reinach. The French edition is superior to the English—at any rate, to the first edition of it— in the matter of illustrations. FRENCH LITERATURE, THE name of Beaumarchais still volitat per ora virum, and indeed the character of Figaro is not likely ever to let it die. The odd circum- stances of his life, historical and fictitious, are also not forgotten ; but we do not think that many people, in England at any rate, know much of his wives. The heroine of M. Louis Bonne- ville de Marsangy’s Madame de Beawmarchais (Paris, Calmann Lévy), the third and latest of these, was a lady whose Christian names, Marie Thérése Amélie, are far preferable to her rather hideous patronymic of Willermawla, said to be Swiss. She was thirty-five when in 1786 Beaumarchais, then seventeen years her senior, married her. If she was anything like the por- trait here given, she must have been extremely attractive ; and her letters show that she hada good deal of the intellectual as well as of the other charms of the better class of Frenchwoman in the eighteenth century. She soon became a widow, but she survived her widowhood long, and did not die till 1816. As is known, Beaumarchais’s fortune, large, but not solidly founded, was most of it dissipated by his own speculations and by the Revolution ; still she recovered enough to live in reasonable comfort. Her life was not eventful, but it was interesting enough to furnish M. de Marsangy with the materials of a book which is, perhaps, a little too long, but not much. Tue last, or nearly the last, fruit off a very old tree is presented in the Episodes Littéraires of the late Armand de Pontmartin (Paris, Calmann Lévy). There were some who said that the tree never bore anything much better than crabs or bullaces; and they no doubt will find this late crop at least as harsh as the earlier. Those who, like ourselves, are not able to agree with this depreciation, though recognizing in M. de Pont- martin many faults of prejudice and some of method, will find it an interesting addition to a singularly extensive and, if never supremely good, always acute and vigorous body of critical literature. The contents are mostly personal reminiscences, now literary, now miscellaneous, concerning the end of Louis Philippe’s reign, the Second Republic, and the early years of the Empire. Though somewhat desultory and rarely presenting any separable or quotable traits, they are worth reading for the literary history of that time, always remembering that M. de Pont- martin, though as we believe strictly honourable, was the most extreme of partisans. There isa sort of preface of the author’s own, and an in- teresting and enthusiastic, though brief notice by his old friend M. Léopold de Gaillard. Tue work of ‘‘ Arvéde Barine” has hitherto been good work, and the volume which she (for Arvéde Barine is, we believe, a lady) has just added to it will not diminish her reputation. Her Princesses et Grandes Dames (Paris, Hachette) are Marie Mancini, Christina of Sweden, the Duchess of Maine, the Margravine of Bayreuth, and a “‘ Princesse Arabe,” who is, perhaps, rather honoured by her company. All the essays are good, and may be particularly
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222 THE ATHENZUM N° 3277, Auc. 16,90 commended in two points. The first is that their author has gone in each case to the best authorities, and the second is that in no case has she contented herself—as essayists, both male and female, are nowadays far too fond of doing— with merely abstracting one or two such autho- rities. Her opening essay is, perhaps, the best of all, and, indeed, there can be few better sub- jects for such an essay than the strange career of the girl who was so nearly Queen of France. On Christina, Arvéde Barine is, we think, rather hard; she certainly does not give sufficient weight to the distinct dose of irresponsibility for her actions which, if it does not excuse, accounts in part for some of the actions of Monaldeschi's mistress. And she is too lenient both to Monal- deschi himself, who, whether he deserved death or not, wascertainly a sorry scoundrel, and to Magnus de la Gardie, who was a worthless ingrate. She is also a little unkind to Condé’s granddaughter ; but perhaps the graces of the imperious little duchess, and the disgraces, if we may so speak, of the Queen of Sweden, are equally likely to be strongly disliked by those who do dislike them. Arvéde Barine, if a severe, is a decidedly shrewd judge and an interesting writer. Not a few competent judges, we believe, think M. Emile Faguet, whose Dix-huitiéme Siécle, Etudes Littéraires (Paris, Lectne & Oudin), has just appeared, to be the best literary critic of France of the younger generation, inasmuch as he has a lighter style and a wider range of taste than M. Brunetitre—a more distinct lite- rary grasp, and less of the habit of frisking round a subject instead of going to the heart of it, than M. Lemaitre. His new volume will not disappoint these admirers, though there are certain faults in it. Some of the separate articles are rather too long; an essay of eighty or ninety closely printed pages ceases to be an essay, and yet hardly becomes a book. In the handling of individual points M. Faguet is sometimes what English university slang calls ‘* cryptic” ; there is too much of the nudge and nod and catchword, which are all very well ina circle of the initiated, but not so well in general literary society. The former fault, however, is closely connected with his intimate knowledge of his subjects, and the latter with the fact that he has constantly something more or less ori- ginal to say about them. The papers in the volume deal with Bayle, Fontenelle, Le Sage, Marivaux, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot, J. Rousseau, Buffon, Mirabeau, and Chénier. That cn Le Sage is, we think, the best thing that we have ever read on that great writer by a French hand, and it is also the most eulogistic; but even on M. Faguet the sense of Le Sage’s “ un-Frenchness ” seems un- consciously to weigh a little. On the other hand, no one has brought out better the intensely French character of Diderot, the essay on whom we should rank with that on Le Sage as the best in the bock. The contrast of it with the late M. Scherer’s study of the same subject is remarkable—all the more so that M. Faguet speaks of that critic with just admiration, and so nearly approaches him in moral severity as to say that in the ‘ Religieuse’* L’ennui le dis- pute au dégotit” (and this despite ‘“‘ mon pére, je suis damnée ! ”), and to call,the ‘ Supplé- ment au Voyage de Bougainville’ a “ priapée sentimentale.” M. Faguet even pushes this sternness so far as to say (his severity here combining itself with a rather De Quincey-like waggishness of paradox) that the ‘ Pucelle’ is “moins amusante”’ than the ‘ Henriade,’ so that it may be seen that he is uncompromising on the score of propriety. But in this case at any rate, and we think in most others, he has that perhaps rarest quality of the critic which permits him to condemn and dislike peccant parts without transferring his dislike and con- demnation to parts not peccant. If he fails anywhere in this respect it is in his unsparing treatment of the philosophy of the Philosophes, No doubt it was superficial and sciolist enough from the point of view of strict metaphysics, or even of accurate psychology ; but then it hardly ought to be criticized from the point of view of either. The essays on Bayle and Fontenelle are good, and likely to be the more useful in Eng- land that neither author is much read with us. Itis perhaps an obvious criticism— or witticism— to say that there is a little marivaudage in the essay on Marivaux. Let us only add that M. Faguet is as severe on Voltaire as Mr. Carlyle himself, though nearly as great an admirer of him in other ways as any man can be, and that he seems to us to have been more just to Mon- tesquieu than any recent French critic. We shall then have said as much as in a short space can be said to indicate to the reader an excep- tionally interesting book of its kind. WE are not sure whether M. Michel Bréal, in a paper on La Reforme de VOrthographe Fran- ¢aise, which he has reprinted from the Revue des Deux Mondes, and published with MM. Hachette, is, or is not, practising that old feint of the controversialist and politician which consists in welcoming proposals for innovation most politely, and then pointing out gently that they had better be “read a second time this day six months.” He certainly in effect makes this suggestion, but we are not sure whether he means it in the straightforward or in the parliamentary sense. If it is in the latter, he is, perhaps, wise in his generation, though there may be some who would have preferred the bolder course of asking directly, ‘‘ What on earth is the good of any innovation at all?” Incidentally, M. Bréal gives some good sketches of the French equivalents of Mr. Pitman, who are not much known with us. WE are not certain that it was wise of M. Louis Molines to publish in extenso a doctoral thesis on Alexandre Vinet, Critique Littéraire (Paris, Fischbacher), in all but five hundred large pages. This is criticism of criticism with a vengeance, and Vinet as a critic must, it may be unkindly said, have done his commenting exceedingly ill if it stands itself in need of such acommentary. The next step would naturally be that some one should write a manual of two hundred pages on ‘ Louis Molines, Critique de Vinet,’ and then some one else a reasonable essay of thirty on this. To speak more seriously, such handling seems to show a defect of literary insight and sense of proportion. Vinet is im- portant among critics because he succeeded, unlike some of his followers, in combining a very strong and, indeed, pre-eminent interest in the moral character of his subjects with a due sense of their literary form. To impress his value in this respect by a few well-chosen examples and a luminous survey of his method is one thing ; to go laboriously through his work with the pointing stick, and to repeat ‘‘ Vinet voit,” ‘*Vinet dit,” ‘‘Vinet justifie,” “‘ Vinet com- mence,” ‘‘ Aux yeux de Vinet,” and so on for five hundred mortal pages, can only be called a most tedious solecism. A.rHoucH M. Jules Troubat, whose Souvenirs du Dernier Secrétaire de Sainte-Beuve have just been published (Paris, Calmann Lévy), is to be carefully distinguished from that other secretary who, in a discreditable book unnecessary to name, at once committed breach of good literary morals and petty treason towards a dead master, we do not know that we greatly desired any more “indiscretions” (as he called his own former volume) even from him. He has, however, chosen to give them, and they are sufficiently unobjectionable, though not very important. Part of them relates to M. Troubat’s own ex- periences and life—part to the nine years when, having been engaged at first for a couple of hours’ work at morn and night as amanuensis, he became before long an inmate of the critic’s house, and generally at work for him from morn to dewy eve. Some of the reminiscences have been published before, and few of them are much above the ‘‘ devilish interesting story” of the Sumphish kind which, when strung together, provides unexciting reading for an idle hour, but lends itself neither to comment nor quota- tion. Part is devoted to a sufficiently generous, but quite unnecessary protest against the refer- ences to Sainte-Beuve in the ‘Journal des Gon- court.’ Perhaps the most interesting thing in the whole book is a protest of Sainte-Beuve’s own against these very gentlemen. “Je n/’ai jamais éreinté personne,” said he in reply to. some reported snarl of theirs, and in truth “slating”’ is a very crude form of criticism, and: argues both limitations of faculty in the writer and limitations of comprehension and taste in. the reader. As M. Samuel Rocheblave observes in the- preface to his essay on Le Comte de Caylus. (Paris, Hachette & Co.), that rather typical example of one class of the French eighteenth century noblesse has with those who know some- thing, but not very much, about him two dif- ferent reputations, neither of them particularly desirable. The one is as of an antiquary whose- learning is itself antiquated ; the other as of a writer of stories which stand to those of ‘* Marivaux and Crébillon ” as those of Marivaux. and Orébillon stand to graver fiction. On the latter head M. Rocheblave has little to say. He confesses and avoids with the almost textual hope that ‘‘ perhaps it isn’t true after all.” But- he is a warm defender of Caylus as an archzo- logist and art antiquary, maintaining his priority to, independence of, and in some sort superiority over Winckelmann, and claiming for him an at: least equal place on the whole with the German as a schoolmaster to bring men to the real study of ancient art. He also does what he can to- vindicate Caylus from the charge of want of personal amiability. We cannot say that he seems to us wholly successful. Caylus must always lie under the blame of having been erudite with- out elegance and frivolous without geniality in his work; while personally he seems to have had rather more than his famous mother’s malice with none of her charm. His criticism, if it has academic sureness and sanity, has ultra-academic pedagogy and pedantry about it. The constant tone towards others is, “‘ Who on earth are you # and what business have you to have an opinion ?” Nevertheless, there is no doubt—there never has been any—that he knew more than almost any of his contemporaries about the history of art, and M. Rocheblave has, we think, to a great extent made good his claim not merely to know- ledge, but to method in knowing and to a cer- tain faculty of scientific divination, which is the rarest, but the highest crown of the scholar. L’Cwuvre de H. de Balzac, by Marcel Barriére (Paris, Calmann Lévy), is tediously volumin- ous and amiably enthusiastic. The ‘ Comédie Humaine’ certainly does not itself lack volumin- ousness, and volume volume breeds; but five hun- dred pages (not the ordinary page of the well- known French novel, but well-filled pages of large octavo) are something too much for an intro- duction to it, while M. Barritre would be the last person to pretend that they will suffice instead of the text. The book is a fresh example of that curious kind of expository criticism which so many people nowadays mistake for criticism proper. It is sometimes necessary, no doubt, in order to “ catch hold ” of a subject or to enable the reader to catch hold, to give a kind of summary or analysis of it; but this can never be needful except in regard to parts of the work criticized, and is never justifiable except as a preliminary and basis. With M. Barritre it is too often basis, substructure, superstructure, and all. This is a pity, because the author shows here and there a good faculty of judgment, and always a great love for his subject. His ‘‘ Chapitre des Con- clusions ” is really good, and so are not a few of the critical remarks on the several books. Un- luckily, they are watered down with or merged in such a flood of tedious summary that it is very difficult to get at or to relish them. It EAD
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= | XUM Ne 3277, Aue. 16, 90 THE ATHENZUM 223 seems to be more and more forgotten nowadays that reasonable shortness is of the essence of criticism. ‘‘ Who judges long books must himself be long” is a counsel not of perfection, but of perdition. Mr. Hovcnton has given in Les Origines de la Restauration des Bourbons en Espagne (Plon) a careful account of the course of events in Spain from the coup d'état of January 3rd, 1874, to the restoration of the monarchy in January, 1875. Mr. Houghton was in Spain at the time, and witnessed several of the events he describes ; and he has had the assistance of General Pavia, Seiior Castelar, and other per- sons who played an important part in the revo- lution. His tone is moderate and sensible, and he tries to be fair to all parties, and is usually successful. He is, perhaps, a little partial to Marshal Serrano, who displayed neither political nor military talents when at the head of affairs, making no serious attempt to improve the government of the country, and hurling his troops against the Carlist positions at Somor- rostro, although he was aware of their strength. The best chapter in Mr. Houghton’s book is that describing the intrigues of the Alphonsists dur- ing the latter part of 1874, which resulted in the pronunciamiento of Martinez Campos. OUB LIBRARY TABLE. Tue ‘Idle Hour Series,” a venture in the short story line of literature, edited by A. H. Miles (Hutchinson), continues to increase and multiply. The three following volumes are now before us: The Haunted Organist of Hurly-Burly, and other Stories, by Rosa Mulholland ; Wooing: Stories of the Course that never did Run Smooth, by R. E. Francillon and other writers ; and Princess Fédor’s Pledge, and other Stories, by Manville Fenn. All three are more or less pretty and attractive in the matter of binding, and are suit- able enough to the purpose with which they are published. Miss Mulholland’s volume leans to the supernatural element, the majority of her stories being at least fanciful or fantastic in motive or intention. ‘The Haunted Organist of Hurly- Burly’ is the best of the bunch; it has, if not more power than the rest, at any rate more of sympathetic treatment. ‘The Fit of Ailsie’s Shoe’ is also rather pretty and light. ‘The Country Cousin’ and ‘The Hungry Death’ are more serious in tone, and may be read with some amount of interest, but no excitement. The others appear to us somewhat wild and, if we may venture to say so, at the same time some- what weak. The stories in ‘Wooing’ should tell their own tale ; all are concerned with the momentous question of marrying and giving in marriage, and, as befits the subject, ‘‘ love is all their theme.” As they are written by different authors, however, there is plenty of variety of | manner and motive. Mr. Francillon leads off with what is certainly the best and most amus- ing of the lot, ‘The Romance of Ryde Pier.’ It is in a humorous and happy vein, showing the skilled and practised hand, and the light touch that comes of use and is everything to the success of short stories. With the exception, perhaps, of ‘A Romance of the Road’ and * Paddyeen Carroch,’ which are short and rather spirited, there is nothing that need be mentioned in detail. ‘ Princess Fédor’s Pledge’ and the other tales of the third volume on hand are from the ready pen of Mr. Manville Fenn, and none of these, we think, calls for particular praise. What should be noted is the number of printers’ errors and misprints in these volumes; one is, indeed, bound up wrong ; some of its pages are repeated twice, others are omitted altogether, which is tantalizing to readers. Ir is questionable whether it was worth while torepublish the Lazy Tour of Two Idle Apprentices and its accompanying stories (Chapman & Hall). Though Charles Dickens’s and Wilkie Collins's are names to conjure with, the stories are better fitted for the periodical in which they ap- ! peared than for preservation in volume form. They will, however, in their first collected state, be of interest to Dickens collectors, who would doubtless have preferred that the numerous clerical errors, especially in the second story, ‘No Thoroughfare,’ should have been corrected. The pictures (which are new) certainly do not improve the book. Printing, by Mr. C. T. Jacobi, is one of the technological handbooks issued by Messrs. Bell & Sons, and, indeed, is too purely technical in its character for lengthened notice in these columns. Suffice it to say that it is the work of a man who understands the subject on which he is writing and is able to express his meaning clearly. Mr. Jacobi may further be compli- mented on having supplied an excellent index. WE have received two volumes of importance which relate to the colonies: the twenty-first volume of the Proceedings of the Royal Colonial Institute, and The Statistical Year- Book of Canada for 1889. The former is published by the Colonial Institute, and the latter by the “Queen’s Printer ”—that is, the Queen’s Printer for the Dominion. The Canadian statistical volume, for which Mr. Roper, of the Department of Agriculture, is to be praised, will be found of value, and the Colonial Institute volume con- tains many most interesting papers and discus- sions. OnE of the last volumes published by Messrs. Rivington was a pretty edition of the text of the Commedia di Dante Alighieri, a handy little volume of 500 pp., very nicely printed. It will be a boon to the growing body of Dantophilists in this country. The text is in general that of Witte. Un Autunno su e git (Milan, Paganini) con- sists mainly of letters addressed by Signor Bonghi to the Italian newspapers when he paid his last visit to this country. They are lively and amusing—the writing of a kindly and in- telligent observer, at once a man of learning who has read and thought much, and a states- man who has had abundant experience of ad- ministrative duties and party politics. They may be strongly recommended. WE have on our table Paris aw Club, by Carle des Perritres (Paris, Lévy),—Ko Meéri; or, ‘‘ A Cycle of Cathay,” by Jessie Weston (Eden & Remington),—A Titled Maiden, by C. A. Mason (Warne),—Romantic Stories of Stage and Ring, by a Wandering Musician (Edinburgh, Menzies & Co.),—The Mystery of Crowther Castle, and other Stories, by G. W. H. Firmstone (Digby & Long),—Laying Down the Cards, by the Hon. Mrs. Fetherstonhaugh (Spencer Blackett),— Great Odes, English and American, selected and edited, with an Introductory Note, by W. Sharp (Scott),—Poetic Imagery selected from the Works of British and American Poets and Dramatists, by the late John Pitt-Taylor (Remington),— Scenes from the Past, and other Poems, by T. H. (Hicks),—Conferences of Agostino de Montefeltro, translated from the Italian by C. A. Ansell, First Series (Baker),-—The Gospel History of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, arranged by C. C. James (Cambridge, University Press),— The Kingdom of Christ, by A. B. Tucker (Griffith & Farran),—Practical Reflections on Every Verse of the Psalter or Psalms of David, with a Preface by the Rev. H. P. Liddon, D.D. (Rivingtons),—Poesias de Rafael Nvivez (Paris, Hachette),—L’ Anthropologie Criminelle et ses Récents Progrés, by C. Lombroso (Paris, Alcan), — Yvonne, by E. Delpit (Paris, Lévy),— Nouveaux Essais de Critique Philosophique, by A. Franck (Hachette),—and Les Artistes Célébres : Hobbema et les Paysagistes de son Temps en Hollande, by E. Michel (Paris, Librairie de ‘ L’Art’). Among New Editions we have Colonial Times on Buz- zard’s Bay, by W. R. Bliss (Boston, U.S., Houghton & Co.),—Our Lord's Miracles of Heal- ing, by T. W. Belcher (Griffith & Farran),— and One-Year Course in German, by O. Faul- haber (Boston, U.S., Heath & Co.). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology, Harris's (J. R.) Biblical Fragments from Mount Sinai, 10/6 cl. Piece (A) of a Honeycomb, Meditations for Every Day in the Year, cr. 8vo, 4/ cl. Law, Kerly’s (D. M.) Historical Sketch of the Equitable Jurisdic- tion of the Court of Chancery, 8vo. 12/6 cl. Poetry. Burrows’s (H.) The Prelude, and other Poems, 12mo. 4/6 History and Biography. Mackay’s (©. J. G.) Sketch of the History of Fife and Kin- ross, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Sidgwick’s (C. 8.) Story of Denmark, er. 8vo, 3/6 cl. Sothern (E. A.), Memoir of, by T. E. Pemberton, cheaper edition, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Geography and Travel, Engadine (The), Guide to the District, with Articles by Symonds, &c., edited by Strickland, 16mo. 5/ cl. Longman’s New Five-Shilling Atlas, for Use in Schools, edited by G. G. Chishclm, imp. 8vo. 5/ cl. Macdonald’s (A. A.) Camping Voyages on German Rivers, cr. 8vo. 10/6 cl. Russell's (W. H.) A Visit to Chile and the Nitrate Fields of Tarapaca, &c., super-roy. 8vo. 16/ cl. Philology. French Composition through Lord Macaulay’s English: Part 3, Lord Clive, ed. by J. Boielle, cr. 8vo. 3/cl. Grimm's Fairy Tales, German Text, with Notes by W. J. Hickie, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. Science, Forsyth’s (A. R.) Theory of Differential Equations, Part 1, 12/ General Literature, Allen's (G.) This Mortal Coil, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Edwards’s (M. B.) Love and Mirage, or the Waiting on an Island, er. 8vo. 2/ bds. Frost's (G.) The Troubles of Monsieur Bourgeois, cr. 8vo. 6/ Giberne’s (A.) Nigel Browning, cr. 8vo. 5/ c}. Gunter’s (A. C.) Small Boys in Big Boots, imp. 16mo. 6/ cl. Jeffery’s (J. C.) James Vraille, the Story of a Life, er. 8vo. 2/ Lang (A.) and Sylvester’s(P.) The Dead Leman, and other Ta'es from the French, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Memoirs of the Extraordinary Military Career of John Shipp, ed. with Introduction by H. M. Chichester, 5/ cl. Minutolo (A. C.), by Mrs. A. Craven, translated by M. 8. Watson, cr. 8vo. 2/ swd. Next World Communications from Eminent Historians, &e., now in Spirit Land, through Mrs. 8. G. Horn, 5/ cl. O Reilly’s (Mrs.) Hurstleigh Dene, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Philips (F. C.) and Fendall’s (P.) A Daughter’s Sacrifice, 2/6 Rock well’s (R.) Grand Gilmore, er. 8vo, 2/ cl. Walford’s (L. B.) History of a Week, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Wohl’s (8.) Sham Gold, trans, by 8, L. Simeon, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. FOREIGN, Theology. Cornely (R.): Commentarius in Primam 8. Pauli Epistolam ad Corinthos, 9tr. 60. Weissmann (A. S.): Das Buch Judith, 0m. 80. Fine Art and Archeology. Lentzner (K.): Das Kreuz bei den Angelsachsen, 0m. 80. Sédille (P.): L’Architecture Moderne en Angleterre, 10fr. Drama, Monval (G.) : Le Premier Registre de la Thorillitre, 6fr. 50. History and Biography, Zeller (B.): Montluc et le Sige de Sienne, 50c. Geography and Travei, Demanche (G.): Au Canada, 5fr. Philology. Hymnus Homericus in Mercurium ab A. Ludwich editus, 2m. Loeck (G.): Die Homiliensammlung d. Paulus Diakonus, Im. 50. Moschopuli in Batrachomyomachiam Commentarii, ed. A. Ludwich, Part 1, 0m. 60. Poussié: Manuel de Conversation en Trente Langues, 10fr. Wiistenfeld (F.): Der Imim el-Schafi'f, seine Schiiler u. Anhanger, 5m. Science, Baillon (H.): Histoire de Plantes, 10fr. General Literature. Goethe’s Gespriiche, hrsg. von W. Frhr. v. Biedermann, Vol. 7, 5m. (Euvres Choisies du Prince de Ligne, 8fr. Quatrelles: Double Face, 3fr. 50. AMERICAN PUBLISHERS AND BRITISH AUTHORS. August 13, 1890. In the course of nearly thirty years’ continuous literary work I have had frequent occasion for protest against the dishonesty of American pub- lishers, but I think my latest experience supplies one of the most striking examples of unscru- pulousness in piracy. ‘ I am credited in a glowing advertisement with the authorship of a sensational romance called ‘ Tiger-Head ; or, the Ghost of the Avalanche,’ now being published in the New York Sunday Mercury. Now I never wrote a story called ‘ Tiger-Head ; or, the Ghost of the Avalanche,’ nor any story which could by any possibility be described by such a title, and I beg to protest most earnestly against this misuse of my name.
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224 THE ATHENZXZUM N° 3277, Aue. 16, ’90 In the words of the great Burke I may say, & My errors, if any, are my own. I bear no man’s proxy.” Mary E. Maxwe .t, née Brappon. LITERARY BOYCOTTING. 124, Chancery Lane, August 11, 1890. In 1880 Mr. E. Walford had a dispute with Mr. Elliot Stock, into the merits of which it is unnecessary to enter. In 1887 I wrote ‘How to Write the History of a Family,’ which was published by Mr. Stock. In 1888-90 I edit “The Index Library,’ which has always been published and printed quite independently of Mr. Stock. A few days ago I received a communication through the post, insufficiently stamped and written on an obsolete “ Index Library” circular, which was signed ‘‘E. Walford,” and in which the writer stated, ‘‘I have great respect for the name and family of Mr. Phillimore...... But I always refuse to subscribe to or support works published by Elliot Stock (for reasons see enclosed letter to Lord Talbot), and I must decline to support those who are in any way connected with him.” To make the communi- cation more ludicrous, the words ‘ How to Write the History of a Family,’ following my name, were carefully obliterated ! For the sin (/) of one business transaction with Mr. Stock I am for ever boycotted by Mr. Walford. Comment thereon is needless. It is scarcely necessary to add that Mr. Walford’s wrath will not deter me from continuing business dealings with Mr. Stock. W. P. W. PHILLIMORE. CARDINAL NEWMAN, A GREAT leader of men, an influential ecclesiastic, a man of saintly life, a spiritual force of great power, a master of English prose, has passed away this week with John Henry Newman. To modern England he has been as one of the dead from the night Father Dominic, the Passionist, passed over his threshold at Littlemore, and he has himself written the biography of that dead self in one of the masterpieces of English litera- ture. What Father Newman did in life and letters is of quite subordinate interest to the spiritual career of the Fellow of Oriel, who exercised so much influence on the Church of England and might have exercised more. It is only so far as that career has affected the inner life of England and its manifestations in English letters that it can be considered in this place. It seems almost a paradox to say of the author of forty volumes that his true sphere was in action, not thought or litera- ture. Yet it is a paradox that contains more than the usual fraction of truth. He was born to lead men; the very modesty that caused him at times to deny this con- cealed his dissatisfaction even with the enormous mastery over men’s souls and fates that he wielded for so many years. It was by personal intercourse that he sought to move the world, and did move it. The tena- city with which he clung to old friend- ships was significant of much. His whole life was a sermon, the text of which might well bethe title of his epochmaking discourse, ‘Personal Intercourse the Means of pro- pagating the Truth ’—the sermon that really started the Tractarian movement, and not Keble’s on National Apostasy. Through- out his Anglican period the ecclesiastical things which touched him most nearly were not things of dogma, but lay in the sphere of almost practical politics. “At every point of his career it was some problem in the rela- tions of Church and State that affected him most strongly. The abolition of the Irish bishoprics, the miserable muddle of the Jerusalem bishopric, the alliance of O’Con- nell and the Whigs—these things, and things like these, are the turning-points of his career. Even the diplomatic reserve and “economy of truth” with which the world credited him for so many years were marks of the ecclesiastical statesman, not of the religious thinker. It bears out this classification of him as a man of action, not of thought, that almost every one of the forty volumes of which we have spoken is what might be termed occa- sional. His sermons, fine as they are, are occasional on the face of them. ‘Tract No. XC.’ is a tract for immediate consumption. The magnificent ‘Apologia’ is but a pam- phlet writ large. His‘ Verses’ are, as their title-page informs us, ‘‘on Various Occa- sions.” Even when he engaged in works that might seem to imply a purely theoretic interest, like his ‘Essay on Development,’ they were written with a practical aim, even though it were a personal one—of working the subject out to ‘‘ quiet him,” as he said, somewhat after the principle of kd0apo.s, familiar to the Greeks and to Goethe. His was not the writer’s nature that is irresistibly impelled to writing and thinking for their own sakes. He thought, he wrote, that he might influence the actions of men. He didinfluence their actions, but, as a consequence, most of what he wrote has in reality died away with its practical effect, and of his forty volumes but a few sermons, ‘‘ Lead, kindly Light’’—the one hymna of our language—the ‘ Apologia,’ and perhaps ‘The Idea of a University,’ will form permanent additions to English litera- ture. His histories are unhistorical, his criticism uncritical, and much of his theology is founded on his history and his criticism. His ‘ Arians’ and his ‘ Via Media,’ his ‘An- glican Difficulties,’ even his ‘Grammar of Assent,’ have mainly a personal interest to commend them. And yet what literary powers were those that thus seem to have been squandered away on temporary objects! Bizarre as his reasoning seemed to most of us, how subtly he weaved the weft of it! Dealing for the most part with subjects remote from human interest, he would so order his argument that it would have the attraction of a plot for us. Topics that seemed forbidding both for their theological technicalities and their repulse of reason were presented by him with such skill that they appeared as inevitable as Euclid and as attractive as Plato. All the resources of a master of English style—except, perhaps, one, descrip- tion—were at his command; pure diction, clear arrangement, irony, dignity, a copious command of words combined with a reserve in the use of them—all these qualities went to make up the charm of Newman’s style, the finest flower that the earlier system of | a purely classical education has produced. It is curious, by the way, that the only two men of our time who have written on theology and possessed a style, Dr. Martineau and Newman, have had Huguenot blood in their veins. And with Newman all this was informed with the attraction of a personality so rare and a nature so rich that the appeal is irresistible even to those who care little for his topics. Yes, that was an exceptionally rich nature which has just been removed from the world. He moved many men, because he had within him the making of many men. He had points of contact with nearly all the currents of thought and feeling which were to transform the higher England in Queen Victoria’s reign. That revolt of his against ‘‘ Liberalism,” as he called it, was prophetic of nearly all the deeper move- ments of our time. The resort to history for spiritual nourishment, which led him from the Evangelicalism of Simeon to Rome herself, has become a source of inspiration for the higher politics and economics of our time. There was some- thing, too, of the romantic temper in him—that return to the mystic glow and imaginative colouring of the Middle Ages that has done so much for our literature and our art. Even the method of evolution ap- pears to have operated on Newman’s mind in the doctrine of development that finally led him to Rome. And that absorbing interest of Newmanin dogmatic theology was but a fore- shadowing of what has befallen most of Eng- land’s higher minds during the past half cen- tury, even when it hasled them toagnosticism. England is the only European country that cares for theology, say continental observers, and its passionate interest in theology begins in this century with the movement with which Newman’s name will for ever be connected. Even the rise of the interest in art and music seems to be foreshadowed in New- man’s own personal fondness for them. Newmanism, as we may call it, included all these things, and thus touched the national life in the early decades of Queen Victoria’s reign in far more points than might seem at first sight to be the case. But it was chiefly and mainly in his passion for theology that he came nearest to the higher strivings of his countrymen. In no one of his time was manifested more strongly the wish to believe which some of his dis- ciples have ranked so high above the desire to know. His whole life was dominated by this wish, and it is this that gives such dra- matic unity to the ‘ Apologia.’ No other auto- biography—certainly not that of St. Augus- tine, its nearest prototype in literature—is so intensely theological. It is not the life of a man we read, it isthe drama of a soul, and of a soul entirely occupied with the relations of itself to God. Surely few men have always lived their life so completely in the great Taskmaster’s eye. He seems to have ever lived in the spirit of that childish fancy of his, that the men around him were angels disguised in human form—in other words, that God and heweretheonly noumenal reali- ties of the world. It was characteristic of his whole tone of thought that in dealing with what seemed to be a purely logical problem in his ‘Grammar of Assent,’ he postulated a new sense—the Illative Sense—clearly for the one purpose of giving validity to faith. Logician as he was, he subordinated here, as elsewhere, the claims of logic to the claims of theology. What was it, then, that caused ‘‘ New- manism” to be ultimately ineffective and led Newman further and further away from the main currentsof English thought and feeling? All these rich forces of his spiritual nature j | wire am teen ee
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whe nae em D5 4 ee ae © eter XUM N° 3277, Aua. 16, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 225 were tyrannized over-by a subtle intellect and a passion for logical consequence which is furthest removed from English habits of mind, and may, perhaps, be traced to his Huguenot mother, as it has been equally ex- emplified, though in an opposite direction, by Prof. Newman, the Cardinal’s brother. No Frenchman could be more consequent in following logic to an absurdity than New- man. Now English institutions, whether of State or Church, are founded on com- promise, or the renunciation of logical con- sistency. Hence the aloofness of Newman from the practical course of English politics, ecclesiastical or constitutional. There is something foreign about his whole tone of thinking, which has found a natural and logical outcome in his death as a cardinal of the Roman Church. The same attitude of mind accounts for his deficiency in the essentially English feeling of humour, which is intimately connected with the spirit of compromise. Irony he possessed in all its efficacy, but the attempts at humour in his so-called novels, ‘Loss and Gain’ and ‘Callista,’ are strained in the extreme. How comes it, then, that Newman, of all men in the world, with his hatred of com- promise and thirst after logicality, should have ever thought to find rest in a via media, a compromise among compromises? There comes in another quality of his mind, which is equally un-English outside the particular profession for which it is appropriate. In reckoning up the formative influences on his character, something should be said of the legal tone which may have been given to it in early years by the fact that he was in- tended for the Bar. There isa curious touch of the man of the world in much that was done and said by the author of the ‘ Dream of Gerontius.’ In much of his dialectic there is a subtlety of distinction which recalls the legal quibble, and at times even the legal fiction. It was a crude feeling of this that caused Kingsley to ask his famous question, ‘¢ What, then, does Dr. Newman mean?” to which he obtained so crushing a reply. To the Philistine truth is a matter of yea or nay; there is no place for subtle gradations of meaning and reference. Kingsley was, with all his powers, something of a Philis- tine, and required this sharpness of outline in what we may term truths of the emotions. Newman easily overthrew the contention, but the very subtleties which he had to in- troduce into his defence, in all parts of it that were not merely personal, gave the British public an uneasy feeling that there was some justification for Kingsley’s general position. Newman amply vindicated his own personal veracity, but he was scarcely so successful in removing all suspicion of what is euphemistically termed “‘ economy of truth ” in the practice of the Church he had joined, and in his own method of dealing with theological problems. It was the nisi prius tone that left this: impression, and it was generally this legal and quibbling tone in the treatment of religious topics that helped to undermine Newman’s influence from the time of the appearance of ‘ Tract No. XO.’ It was, too, this nisi prius attitude that enabled Newman to believe as long as he did in his via media. It is impossible even at this distance of time to explain with any clearness the subtle distinctions which in Newman’s mind differentiated the Anglican | Church, as the via media, from the Roman Catholic Church. The distinctions he makes are exactly of the legal kind. There was no room in his mind for what Englishmen would call the common-sense method of solving the difficulties his own subtleties had raised. He never to the last faced the plain fact that the Roman Catholic Church no longer occupies the position of the Church of the fifth century or of the fifteenth. That Church is so far removed from the tone and feeling of the modern world that it is impossible to consider conversion to its fold anything but «7 gran rifiuto of these latter days—-a renunciation of all the privileges the modern mind holds dear, and, to do it justice, the Roman Church fully recognizes the fact. But it remains that Newman did make the renunciation, and thereby declared his antipathy to the modern ideals. They who hold to those ideals may admire Newman, but they must condemn his renunciation of reason and its claims. He had the head of a lawyer, we have said, but it should be added that he had the heart of asaint. The saintly life has never been more faithfully followed than by John Henry Newman. It is due to his life more than to his doctrines or his presentation of them that so marked a change of public opinion has occurred about Newman and about his Chureh. After all, men judge creeds by the characters they produce rather than by the logical consistency of their doctrines. That the pendulum of public opinion about Roman Catholics in England has swung back from violent antipathy to sympathetic admiration is due in large measure to the saintly life of John Henry Newman. CARDINAL NEWMAN. “In the grave, whither thou goest.” O wEARy Champion of the Cross, lie still : Sleep thou at length the all-embracing sleep: Long was thy sowing day, rest now and reap: Thy fast was long, feast now thy spirit’s fill. Yea, take thy fill of love, because thy will Chose love not in the shallows but the deep: Thy tides were springtides, set against the neap Of calmer souls: thy flood rebuked their rill. Now night has come to thee—please God, of rest: So some time must it come to every man ; To first and last, where many last are first. Now fixed and finished thine eternal plan, Thy best has done its best, thy worst its worst : Thy best its best, please God, thy best its best. CHRISTINA G, ROSSETTI. PEACE to the virgin heart, the crystal brain! Peace for one hour through all the camps of thought ! Our subtlest mind has rent the veil of pain, Has found the truth he sought. Who knows what page those new-born eyes have read ? If this set creed, or that, or none be best ?— Let no strife jar above this sacred head ; Peace for a saint at rest! EDMUND GOSSE. WORDSWORTH'S VERSES IN HIS GUIDE TO THE LAKE COUNTRY. Tuts prose work of Wordsworth’s is quite un- known to the average tripper of these days, and even the true Wordsworthian pilgrim does not always put it in his wallet. A good many who would number themselves among such have pro- bably never seen the book except in Mr. Gro- | sart’s three volumes of the ‘Prose Works ’ | (1876), and in that form it is not very handy ' for tourists ; but copies of the separate editions (1822-23-35-42-49) are not very difficult to procure on the bookstalls. It is a capital com- panion on a tramp over the Wordsworth country, being not merely illuminating, but highly prac- tical. The later editions are the best, because they are the fullest, but any one will prove a welcome and not too bulky complement to Bad- deley. My purpose, however, is not to describe Wordsworth’s ‘ Description of the Scenery of the Lakes in the North of England,’ but merely to call attention to some of his verses first printed in the little book—first appearances which have not all been noted by his biblio- graphers. The most important of the unnoted items is the sonnet on ‘ Long Meg and her Daughters.’ This is always stated to have been “ composed in 1833, and first printed in 1835,”* having been classified by the poet himself among the ‘‘ Poems composed or suggested during a Tour in 1833.” But as it appears in the 1823 (and probably also in the 1822) edition of the ‘ Description,’ it must have been the fruit of a much earlier tour than that of 1833. Wordsworth is writing about the Roman and British antiquities of his country- side, and when he comes to discuss “a few circles of rude stones attributed to the Druids,” he adds a long foot-note, the latter part of which is almost identical with the “note” usually printed with this sonnet. The sonnet follows, and as its text differs materially from that finally printed, and as the changes are not uniformly happy, I make no apology for giving it here :— A weight of awe not easy to be borne Fell suddenly upon my spirit, cast From the dread bosom of the unknown past, When first I saw that sisterhood forlorn ;— And Ber, whose strength and stature seem to scorn The power of years—pre-eminent, and placed Apart, to overlook the circle vast. Speak, Giant-mother! tell it to the Morn, While she dispels the cumbrous shades of night ; Let the Moon hear, emerging from a cloud, When, how, and wherefore, rose on British grouné That wondrous Monument, whose mystic round Forth shadows, some have deemed, to mortal sight The inviolable God that tames the proud. The local superstition that no one can count the Druid stones correctly is illustrated by Wordsworth’s note. The received number seems: to be sixty-seven, but Wordsworth makes them seventy-two, and to this number he adhered to- the last. It was in the ‘ Description’ that the poem afterwards entitled ‘ Waterfowl’ was first printed and marked“ MS.” It was detached from ‘ The Recluse,’ that early record of his residence at Grasmere, only recently given to the world in its entirety. In the ‘ Description,’ as in the co?- lected ‘ Poems,’ it lacks the graceful setting of the context, and opens with chilling conven- tionality :— Mark how the feather’d tenants of the flood, With grace of motion that might scarcely seem, &c, In the original, “the birds that haunt the flood,” “keeping festival,” are more appro- priately introduced :— Happiest of happy though I be, like them I cannot take possession of the sky, Mount with a thoughtless impulse and wheel there One of a mighty multitude, whose way Is a perpetual harmony and dance Magnificent. Behold how with a grace Of ceaseless motion that might scarcely seem Inferior to angelical they prolong Their curious pastime... .. Close by, in the prose text, our guide sees ‘the sand-piper flitting along the stony mar- gins, [which] by its restless note attracts the eye to motions as restless.” This is, clearly, a reminiscence of the sight seen a quarter of a cen- tury before from the yew-tree seat overlooking Esthwaite—“ the glancing sand-piper,” alias the sand-lark, restless bird, Piping along the margin of the lake. Yet another extract from ‘ The Recluse’ was used to illustrate the guide, the description of the ‘‘ cottages of mountain stone,” “scattered * Where printed in 1835 I do not know. The only volume of Wordsworth’s poems published in that year was ‘ Yarrow Revisited, and other Poems,’ and, although this contains the series of sonnets connected with the tour of 1833, it does not include the one in question,
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226 THE ATHENZUM Ne 3277, Ava. 16,90 over the valleys, and under the hill sides, and on the rocks ”:— Cluster’d like stars some few, but single most, And lurking dimly in their shy retreats, Or glancing on each other cheerful looks Like separated stars with clouds between. (The third line is greatly improved here from the MS. copy recently published, where it stands thus :— Or glancing at each other cheerful looks.) The ‘Address to Kilchurn Castle’ has found its place in Wordsworth’s ‘Poetical Works’ among the ‘‘ Memorials of the Tour of 1803,” but in a note the poet explains that only the “ first three lines were thrown off at the moment he | first caught sight of the Ruin...... the rest was added many years afterwards.” His trumpei- blast and the noble relic which evoked it were recalled when discussing in his ‘Description’ the harmonies which are possible and impossible between man’s and nature’s handiwork in land- scape, quoting from “ MS.” :— Child of loud-throated war, the mountain-stream Roars in thy bearing; but the hour of rest Is come, and thou art silent in thy age! The prose of the ‘Description’ is one of the best commentaries on the poetry of its author. J. D.C. LINCOLNSHIRE GUIDES. 26 and 27, Cockspur Street, Aug. 12, 1890. In your issue of Saturday last, August 9th, there is a review of Murray’s ‘ Handbook for Lincolnshire, and your reviewer remarks: ‘ Not | one of the enterprising publishers of local hand- books—the Stanfords, and Blacks, and others— has turned his attention to Lincolnshire. They probably thought—and not altogether unreason- | ably—that such a guide-book would be a losing speculation. Thanks to Mr. Murray’s resolution to leave no part of England undescribed, the gap is now at last filled.” This is a hard saying, and difficult for ‘‘the Stanfords” to accept. Ten years ago, in 1880, there appeared, bearing my imprint, ‘ The Lincoln Pocket Guide: being a Short Account of the Churches and Anti- quities of the County, and of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, commonly called the Minster,’ by Sir C. H. J. Anderson, Bart., based on a previous guide of 1874; and this book was deemed worthy of an appreciative review, two and a quarter columns in length, in the Atheneum of September 18th, 1880. The book is still obtainable. Although willing to give precedence to Mr. Murray in most things, I cannot do so in the present case, and I beg that this letter may be inserted in your next issue in justice to Sir Charles Anderson, ‘‘ the well-known county antiquarian ” (vide )Murray, p. 176), as well as to EDWARD STANFORD. THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON, Messrs. Dean & Son announce a book by Mr. A. Goddard on the contemporary stage,— ‘Souvenirs of the Second Empire,’—a volume of verse, dealing with the proposed Channel Tunnel, &c., from a humorous standpoint, by Mr. R. St. John Corbett, —a new edition of Timbs’s ‘ Book of Wonders,’ containing chapters on the Forth Bridge and the Eiffel Tower, —and ‘ The Correspondence of Hans Christian Andersen.’ LITERARY ‘“ BORROWING.” New Club, Glasgow, Aug. 12, 1890, Tue Scottish Review for July, 1890, contains an article entitled ‘The Cession of Heligoland,’ by Andrew T. Sibbald. With the political opinions Mr. Sibbald expresses I have nothing to do, but there are a few facts as to which he errs. I feel some embarrassment in correcting him, however, I must say, as although he does not mention my ‘ Heligoland and the Islands of the North Sea’ (1888) from beginning to end, | several of his errors are my errors, of which I privately repented long ago. For instance, he says Heligoland belonged to Denmark from the | time of Ohthere, who dwelt in Heligoland in | the reign of King Alfred (p. 160). Now what Ohthere said was that he dwelt in ‘‘ Halgoland,” | meaning the Swedish (once Danish) province of Halland (Grimm, ‘D. M.,’ iv. [Stallybrass] | 13860); but by mistake J, on p. 16 of my | book, identified- Halgoland with Heligoland. I | do not know what Mr. Sibbald means by “the | Fohr Islands” on his next page, for Fohr is simply the name of one of the group of North Frisian islands. It is quite likely that goats’ milk in Heligoland ‘‘is sold at a fabulous price,” as I am not aware that there are any goats. It is somewhat singular that an incorrect sentence mentioning goats appears in my book— indeed, it is odd that the only two errors I am aware of having made in writing of Heligoland should be repeated and expanded by Mr. Sibbald. Again, “ There are no roads,” he observes; “‘ the houses are popped down on the velvet turf any- where, to all appearance, and without foundation. own. As there are some thirty or forty streets, ‘velvet turf” near most of the houses, and as every house except the poorest has two or more stories, I wonder if Mr. Sibbald has ever been in Heligoland ! The following sentence occurs on p. 162 of Mr. Sibbald’s article: ‘‘ There are few trees, no running water, no ruins, but an extraordinary | width of sea-view, seen as from the deck of a gigantic ship.” If any one is curious on the subject he will find precisely the same words on | p. 1 of my book. If Mr. Sibbald has, in fact, not heard of my book (as the entire absence of any acknowledgment of it as asource of informa- tion implies), I may at least regard the use by him and by myself of identically the same phrases as a very remarkable coincidence indeed. But I am afraid Mr. Sibbald is not the only person who considers it fair to “ borrow ” largely. The writer of ‘ Heligoland in 1890’ in Murray’s Magazine for August might, I think, with fair- ness, have mentioned my book, as almost every paragraph is simply a paraphrase of the first two chapters of that volume. I annex a few examples, which I can easily multiply. I am sure this appropriation of another man’s work cannot | have Mr. John Murray’s approval. Theyare all of onestory.” This is all Mr. Sibbald’s | roads, and lanes in Heligoland, as there is no | BLACK, 1888, Every face tells of strong sun and salt waves.—P. 4, Aloft on the Oberland one may wander half the summer day without meeting any one save the herd-girl who comes to untether the patient sheep that baa with pleasure at her coming, and rub their noses against her hands and face as she bends over them or milks the goats, their only neigh- bours. Under the rim of the cliff the white waves ure end- lessly dashing against the red rocks, and sinking with a tumul- tuous gurgle in half-submerged caverns. The butterflies hang in the air just beyond the islana’s rim, as if they would go a- voyaging, but could not quite quit the fragrant land.—P. 9. The Heligolander would be contented enough......with suffi- cient fishing to keep life to- gether, an occasional wreck or two to give alittle excitement, &e.—P. 5, * MURRAY'S MAGAZINE,’ 1890. Every face telis of sun and salt waves.—P. 248. The tethered sheep and goats rub their noses against the hands and faces of the girls who come to milk them. You hear the milk babbling in the pail, while under the cliff the white waves dash against the red rocks, and sink back with a guryle m half-submerged caverns, The butterflies hover in the air round the edge of the rock,—P. 249. During the greater part of the year the Heligolander is content with sufficient fishing to keep tife toyether and an occasional wreck or two to bring some life and excitement. —P. 249. WriiramM Gerorce Brack. ‘SLANG AND ITS ANALOGUES.’ August 11, 1890. May I trespass upon your space to make the following explanation ? Analogues,’ announced The publication of vol. ii. of ‘Slang and its for June last, has been | delayed ; my late printers, after producing vol. i. | and the greater part of vol. ii., having refused to complete their contract unless I consented to the expurgation of certain words, not in polite use, but important from the points of view of history and etymology. As ‘Slang and its Analogues’ is not intended for the use of ladies’ schools, but aims at treating the subject as completely and exactly as possible, such expur- gation and attempted censorship were not to be thought of; indeed, acquiescence would have cut from under my feet the only real raison @étre of my work. I have since sought advice of some of the best authorities in Britain, with the result that one and all have expressed themselves in favour of exact and scientific treatment ; and I am glad to say that I have been able to make arrangements for printing, and that the second volume is passing through the press. I hope not to be obliged to delay its appearance longer than September 30th next. Joun S. Farmer. THE ‘‘CONFERENCE DU LIVRE” AT ANTWERP. Tue ‘‘ Conférence du Livre,” held at Antwerp from Thursday, August 7th, to Saturday, August 9th,in connexion with the tercentenary celebration of the death of Plantin, cannot be regarded as an unqualified success. In the first place, it attempted to cope with too many subjects; and in the second too much time was wasted in discuss- ing questions of second-rate importance, or, per- haps I should say, questions upon which opinion will be strongly divided so long as the world lasts. The gathering, on the other hand, was so thoroughly representative—delegates from nearly every important country in Europe being pre- sent—that if it be made an annual affair, and each meeting held in a different country, it should become a useful and even powerful Parliament in the republic of letters. It is an institution greatly needed, and one which, with the lesson of the Antwerp meeting as a guide and a warning, might in future achieve results as yet scarcely dreamt of. That the Conférence du Livre should become international in every sense of the word was an opinion freely ex- pressed at Antwerp last week; but a more general and sincere co-operation on the part of “adherents” is absolutely necessary before the scheme can be worked with success. ‘‘ Absent,” “ Absent,” and “ Pas ici” were the too frequent responses when the names were read out; and in this respect the English were especial sinners. Out of nineteen who sent in their names only five appeared. From this number—which in- cluded Mr. J. Yates, Mr. H. Morse Stephens, and the Rev. J. C. Hudson—Mr. Charles Welch, the Guildhall Librarian, was elected a vice- president. Although the Conference was not officially opened until Thursday morning, the “home” members met on Wednesday afternoon in the rooms and charming garden of the Cercle Artistique to welcome the foreign adherents. The constitution of the “bureau,” as read by M. Max Rooses on Thursday morning before the first general assembly, contained a long list of men distinguished in various paths of litera- ture and science. The four honorary presi- dents were M. J. Vandenpeereboom, the Minister of Railways, Posts, and Telegraphs ; the Baron Osy de Zegwaart, Governor of the Province of Antwerp; M. Léopold de Wael, Burgomaster of Antwerp ; and General Renette Moretus; the acting president being M. Charles Ruelens, Conservateur of the Royal Library at Brussels. There were ten vice- | presidents, whilst M. Max Rooses acted as | | the general secretary. M. Ruelens, in a brief , and happy opening speech, described the aim and object of the Conference. The chief ques- tion discussed on the first day related to the adoption of a general system for the determina- tion of the forms of books, it being contended that the words “folio,” “octavo,” &c., have no real meaning at the present day. One member went so far as to state that he had in his library no fewer than twenty-one different sizes of octavos. The proposition that a universal sys- tem should be adopted met with an extraordinary amount of opposition and, it must be added, ror Sao
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are: —— N° 3277, Auc. 16, 90 THE ATHENAUM 227 excitement, several members speaking simul- taneously, with a result which is better imagined than described. The most logical speech on behalf of the existing order of things was made by M. Plon, the well-known publisher of Paris, who, basing his theories chiefly on the grounds of the rights of liberty, argued that the matter is one which should be left entirely to the dis- cretion of the printers and publishers. The exceedingly excited and unnecessarily prolonged discussion was wisely stopped with a short and very vigorous speech by M. Max Rooses, who, taking a medium view, threw, so to speak, oil on troubled waters. The question had already been discussed in committee, where it was de- cided unanimously that a general system for determining sizes should be adopted. It seemed superfluous, therefore, to discuss it at the general meeting, where eventually it was referred back to the committee. The proposition, formulated by M. Dauby, directeur of the Moniteur Belge, to the effect that the governments of various coun- tries should be prevailed upon to employ a uni- form and handy size for official publications of all sorts, was adopted after a short debate. The subject of national bibliographies occupied some considerable time in discussion, without eliciting many views either new or remarkable. It was somewhat superfluously argued that such works should be as complete as possible, and that an international bibliography would be a Utopia indeed. On Friday matters went much more smoothly. The Minister, M. J. Vandenpeereboom, made a longand charming speech on the subject of artistic bookbinding, after explaining that it was as a bibliophile that his Cabinet colleagues desired him to represent them at the Conference. He pointed out the great discrepancy which-existed in Belgium between the excellence of their typo- graphy and the poverty of their binding. He analyzed in a biographical form the efforts which had been made to place binding upon an artistic basis, and declared that there were not a hun- dred veliures de luxe in the country—a fact which could not be attributed to librarians. He pro- mised, as minister, to make every effort to alter this condition of things. Several questions of practical importance came up and were disposed of on Friday, including the much discussed one relating to the sizes of books, professional in- formation relating to book industries, the exten- sion of “contents” lists, and the addition of an index to every book—propositions which were agreed to almost nem. con. The inexhaustible subject of catalogues natur- ally caused much discussion, Mr. Welch leading off with a paper entitled ‘D’un Catalogue Général de Manuscrits avec leurs Endroits de Depdt, ou de la Préparation Immédiate d’une Liste Inter- nationale, d’aprés laquelle un Catalogue pourrait étre fait plus tard.’ This proposition was agreed ’ to, and an additional one to the effect that the private owners of manuscripts should be ap- proached with a view to obtaining a catalogue of their manuscripts. The question as to whether a catalogue, complete or otherwise, of every library should be placed at the disposition of the reader was one upon which also the Con- ference got tremendously excited, nearly every member having his own ideas, and several evincing strong desires to give vent to their feelings upon the subject at one and the same time. It was argued by the more conservative. that no cata- logue be placed at the disposal of the public, and that the librarian was appointed for the purpose of indicating the locality of the books under his care. A second argument was that “a catalogue” might be placed at the disposal of the public, and a third that the catalogue should be complete. The Conference appeared to be about equally divided on the three points. The only paper of note read on Saturday embodied two points, cne of which was that libraries proper should be entirely distinct from lending libraries ; and, secondly, that no MS. or valuable document of any sort should under any circumstances be allowed to leave the library. These propositions were carried, but not without opposition and lengthy discussion. Dr. Durieu, director of the University Library at Leyden, pointed out that he had sent MSS. on loan to all parts of the world, and that out of a thou- sand examples not one had been damaged in any way whatever. Mr. Welch suggested the method, frequently adopted in England, of depositing rare works with the custodians of other libraries where the student may more conveniently consult them. During this discussion it was stated that the only books preserved at the burning of the Strasbourg Library were those which had been borrowed. A few other points, such as the wire- stitching of periodicals and the processes of illus- tration, were also discussed, but only super- ficially. The Conférence du Livre was not by any means all work and no play. What with con- certs specially organized in honour of visitors, the right of free entry into nearly every building for which a fee is usually demanded, and a delightful trip by steamer on the river Schelde, the adherents had a very delightful time of it ; and this was crowned by the banquet of Saturday evening. More permanent souvenirs were re- ceived in the shape of a diploma (printed with Plantin’s type and borders in the workshop of tho great printer), and a dainty brochure en- titled ‘Les Rimes de Christophe Plantin,’ by Max Rooses. The natural hospitality of the Flemish is quite a matter of history ; but the extreme heartiness with which the foreign adherents were received, and the invariable courtesy of every one connected with the Confer- ence, are not likely to be soon forgotten. The English members especially are under the deepest obligation to Mr. Antoon Moortgat. W. Ropers. Literary Grossip. Next spring Messrs. Longman will pub- lish ‘Persia and the Persian Question,’ by the Hon. G. Curzon, M.P., author of ‘Russia in Central Asia and the Anglo - Russian Question.’ This new book, which will fill two volumes, will both describe the travels of the author in all parts of Persia in 1889-90 and will also attempt to supply the want, never yet fulfilled, of an authoritative work upon Persia as a nation and as a factor in the politics of the East. In the former aspect it will contain an account of the principal provinces, cities, ancient ruins, and post or caravan routes in thecountry. In the latter it will contain chapters upon Persian govern- ment, administration, resources, revenue, trade, the Persian army, British relations with Persia in the past and present, British and Russian policy in Persia as affecting the Central Asian problem, the future develop- ment of Persia, &c. It is believed that most of these chapters will supply information not elsewhere accessible to the public, and it is the desire of the author to render his book both useful to the traveller and a work of reference for the student. With the latter object, tables of distance and dates will be added, as well as a bibliography of all the principal works upon Persia in the chief European languages. The volumes will contain a number of illustrations, chiefly from photographs and sketches made by the author. Mr. R. H. Hurron’s memoir of the late Cardinal Newman will be published in September. Messrs. CHAMBERS will publish next month ‘Josiah Mason: a Biography, with Sketches of the History of the Steel Pen and Electro-plating Trades,’ by Mr. J. Thackray Bunce, editor of the Birmingham Post. This memoir of the founder of the Mason Science College, and of the orphan- age and almshouses at Erdington, was ori- ginally prepared at the request of Sir Josiah Mason’s executors, for whom a small number of copies was privately printed. The materials were in a large degree obtained from Sir Josiah Mason himself, consisting partly of his own memoranda, and partly of notes, made by the author, of conversations held with him. It will now be given to the public for the first time, revised, partly re- written, and considerably expanded, the account of the steel pen and electro-plating trades having been added. A new serial story by Mr. Marion Crawford will begin in an early number of the English Illustrated Magazine. Messrs. Macmillan & Co. will publish ‘A Cigarette Maker’s Romance’ by the same author this autumn. In the September number of the Zxglish Illustrated Magazine will appear an account of Osterley Park, the residence of the Earl of Jersey, the newly appointed Governor of New South Wales. The article was written by the late Miss Balch, the American author. Mr. Frederick Hawkins, for many years editor of the Theatre, contributes a paper on the Beefsteak Room at the Lyceum Theatre. The Hon. Maude Stanley writes on ‘Ser- vants,’ and Mr. Spearman on the identifica- tion of criminals in France. The latter article, which is illustrated from Government photographs, fully describes the way in which criminals are recognized in that coun- try. Mr. Woodhall, M.P., supplies a paper on ‘Potteries in Rhineland,’ illustrated by Mr. Harry Furniss. Mr. Marion Crawford contributes an article on Philippine Welser ; and Mr. Noble deals with the question of ‘Education andthe Working Man,’ concerning which he has had some practical experience. Tne translation of Hans Andersen’s cor- respondence, which we have announced in another column, will contain several letters of Dickens. Messrs. CuAmBers will publish immedi- ately a companion volume to ‘Great Thinkers and Workers,’ entitled ‘Beneficent and Useful Lives,’ edited by Mr. R. Cochrane, brief biographies of men who have laboured or given money for the good of humanity. Amongst the names included are Lord Shaftesbury, George Peabody, Sir Josiah Mason, Mr. Andrew Carnegie, Mr. Besant, Arnold Toynbee, Sir J. Y. Simpson, Dr. Arnold, &. Mr. Carnegie, in returning the proofs of the sketch of himself, wrote as follows :— 5, West Fifty-first Street, New York. My pear Mr. Cocurane,—I think yours the fullest and best account of myself that I have yet seen—far too complimentary in a sense, of course, but still correct in facts, &c. Truly yours, ANDREW CARNEGIE. P.S.—The talismanic letters, “W. & R. Chambers,” what their works have done for Scotland ! My first lessons after Jearning to read were from their publications. If they publish something of my life, I think “the Scotch lad” has really climbed a little. A, O. A uistory of the English Church in Bengal during the eighteenth century is being prepared jointly by the Rev. H. B.
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228 THE ATHENZUM N° 3277, Ava. 16,90 Hyde, of Calcutta, and Mr. Hyde, senior, of Ealing. Much information of archeological and historical value has been obtained by the concurrent examination made by these gentlemen of the minutes of proceedings of the East India Company preserved in the archives of the India Office and the mass of records stored in the chests of St. John’s Church, Calcutta. Curious facts concerning the strange ecclesiastical régime of the old Company in the last century have been brought tolight. Perhaps the most interest- ing archzeological item, however, relates to the discovery now made of the existence of an ecclesiastical edifice hitherto unknown to Calcutta topographers, styled St. Ann’s Church, which was the earliest church of the English community in India, and which, it seems, was destroyed by a cyclone at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Messrs. Sonnenscuern & Co. are about to add to their ‘Social Science Series’ a translation of M. Fustel de Coulanges’s ‘Essai sur ]’Origine de la Propriété Fon- ciére,’ edited by Prof. Ashley, of Toronto, with an introduction estimating the character and value of the contributions of Fustel de Coulanges to economic history. The trans- lation has been undertaken with the sanction of Madame Fustel de Coulanges. AnorTueEr history of Chelsea is announced. Mr. Elliot Stock will be the publisher, and the author Mr. Alfred Beaver. ‘Memorials of Old Chelsea : a New History of the Village of Palaces’ will be issued in quarto size to subscribers, and will be copiously illustrated by the author. Tur fund which is being raised for the family of the late Mr. Suttaby has been increased, since we last named it, by con- tributions amounting to upwards of 360/. These include an anonymous donation of 2007. The list of subscribers will be closed on the 31st of this month. Ar the sale of the Rev. E. Bradley’s library at Messrs. Sotheby’s rooms the original manuscript of the ‘ Adventures of Verdant Green’ realized 20]. 10s., and a copy of Notes and Queries, to which Mr. Bradley was a frequent contributor, was knocked down for 19/. Tue death is announced of the Right Hon. W. E. Baxter in his sixty-sixth year. He was the author of ‘Impressions of Central and Southern Europe,’ ‘The Tagus and the Tiber,’ and other works; but he was better known as a politician than an author. Mr. Artuur W. Hvrron, the librarian of the National Liberal Club, who was for some years a priest in the Oratory at Bir- mingham, is writing some reminiscences of the late Cardinal for the Zxpositor for Sep- tember. Tue Clarendon Press will issue in the course of the year an edition of the Tenth Book of Quintilian’s ‘Institutes,’ by Prin- cipal Peterson, of University College, Dundee. Besides an estimate of recent German criti- cism, this edition will embody the main results of a special collation of the MSS. in this country—in particular of the Harleian MS., which has hitherto been somewhat neglected. The Tenth Book is put forward as an instalment of a complete edition, with which Dr. Peterson has already made some progress. Messrs. Cuambers will add the following to their series of ‘‘ Books for the Young”’: ‘Zoe,’ by the author of ‘ Laddie,’ ‘ Tip-Cat,’ and ‘Miss Toosey’s Mission’; and ‘The Night Hawks,’ by the Hon. Eva Knatch- bull-Hugessen. For their ‘‘ School Series ”’ they have also in preparation a ‘ Geography of the World,’ a set of geographical readers, and another set of historical readers, to meet the recent requirements of the Education Department. Messrs. Chambers will also publish a new cookery book by Miss Griggs, of the Edinburgh School of Cookery. Mr. Cartes Kent is going to write on Lord Lytton in the September Atalanta. Seribner’s Magazine for September will con- tain an account of the history, traditions, and customs of Heligoland and its people. The illustrations are from recent photo- graphs. Pror. Ferix Liesrecur, a noted Ger- manist, born in 1812 in Silesia, has just died at St. Hubert. He held the Chair of Professor of German at Li¢ge from 1849 to 1867, and translated several works from Greek and English. He also edited the ‘Otia Imperialia’ by Gervase of Tilbury. Messrs. WarNE & Co. write :— **In your present issue we note you review a work published by us entitled ‘ Expiatioa,’ and at the end of the review is appended a clause which we think is entirely uncalled for, and of which we are bound to take notice. We would ask. Whatisthe necessity for our making any such statement as is suggested, and for what purpose, except discourtesy to your clients, is the insertion | of such a poorly veiled suspicion inserted in a review? Had the reviewer given the matter one moment’s consideration, he must have known that the novel in question has been running in the numbers of Scribner’s Magazine, which have been sent to you monthly for review, and that our firm are the sole agents for that magazine in England. We can only add that the issue by us of this work is by due arrangement with the author, and the volume, on the back of the title- page, contained the very information your re- viewer has quibbled for.” Why did not Messrs. Warne & Oo. put a brief note by way of preface, instead of ex- pecting us to guess that ‘‘OCopyright. En- tered at Stationers’ Hall [All rights re- served |,”’ means, This is an American novel, originally issued in Seribner’s Magazine, and now reprinted by arrangement with the author ? Mr. Kocer writes to complain that in our list of acquisitions by the British Museum the name of his brother-in-law, Mr. Ditch- field, was, by an oversight, misspelt Ditch- ling :— ‘*He bequeathed to the Museum his collec- tions of etchings by Jacque and lithographs by French artists. The examples of his own work now in the Print Room, consisting of a complete set of his etchings and some water- colour and chalk or charcoal drawings, were presented by his sister, Mrs. Roget, who also gave to the South Kensington Museum some of his drawings in each material as an addition to his own bequest to that institution of six oil pictures painted by himself and a small collec- tion of water-colour drawings by other artists. The refined quality of A. Ditchfield’s art is evinced in a selection of his etchings and latest water-colour sketches which is included in the interesting gathering of works of art now in the gallery of the Burlington Fine-Arts Club.” From America comes intelligence of the decease of the Rey. R. Collyer, a popular writer and preacher in the United States, by birth a Yorkshireman; and of Dr. Boyle O’Reilly, an Irish writer of verse and the editor of the Pilot of Boston, U.S. Madame Ackermann, the author of more than one notable volume of poems, has died at Nice at the age of seventy-three. Tue chief Parliamentary Papers of the week are Annual Accounts of the Chamber- lain of the City of London (2d.) ; Education, Scotland, General Report for the Western Division (3d.); General Report for the Northern Division (2d.); Woods, Forests, and Land Revenues of the Crown, Evidence before Select Committee (ls.); and Trade and Navigation Accounts for July (7d.). SCIENCE Report of the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.MU.S. Challenger.—Physics and Che- mistry. Vol. II. (Published by Order of Her Majesty’s Government.) Four distinct reports, each a contribution of decided value to its own department of science, are bound together in this noble volume. But while all are more or less valuable, there can be little doubt that the most importaut of the series, though occupy- ing the second place in the volume, is Mr. Buchan’s report on ‘Atmospheric Circula- tion.’ It is not simply that it is more voluminous than the other publications with which it is associated, but it is a work stamped with peculiar value by the fact that many of the questions involved in the study of oceanic meteorology receive for the first time a satisfactory discussion in these pages. Before the Challenger started on its memorable cruise our knowledge of diurnal meteorological phenomena had been based mainly on work carried on in observatories on land; and we knew but little of the diurnal fluctuations in the temperature, pressure, and humidity of the atmosphere resting on the open sea. As the sea covers nearly three-quarters of the surface of our terraqueous globe, it is obvious that any views based solely, or even mainly, on land observations must be liable to imperfection in a serious degree. The meteorology of the land needs to be supplemented by the meteorology of the sea. Accordingly, when the Challenger was equipped, arrangements were made for rendering it a floating obser- vatory, in which observations should be systematically taken and recorded at hourly, or at most two-hourly, intervals. The mass of data thus accumulated be- tween the years 1873 and 1876 was ulti- mately placed for discussion in the hands of Mr. Buchan. At the suggestion of Dr. Murray the inquiry was fortunately so broadened that the Challenger observations were discussed in association with information from any otheravailablesources. Mr. Buchan’s report, representing some seven years of labour with the aid of qualified assistants, has thus come to be a work of exceptional interest, giving to us not simply the results of a single expedition, but a comprehensive review of atmospheric phenomena in general. It is true Mr. Buchan’s work has lost much of its freshness in consequence of the chief results having been already communicated to the Royal Society of Edinburgh. But the full text of the report is now published
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XUM N° 3277, Aua. 16, ’90 THE ATHENZXUM 229 for the first time, and this is accompanied by a mass of valuable tabular matter and by a large series of beautifully exocuted maps, showing the isotherms, the isobars, and the prevailing winds of the globe. Mr. Buchan divides his report into two chief sections, the first of which deals with diurnal phenomena. One of the most note- worthy results brought out in this section relates to the surface temperature of the sea. The Challenger observations showed that the variation each two hours from the mean daily temperature of the surface of the ocean was quite trifling, in no case exceeding one degree Fahrenheit. But though the atmospkere above the sea rests on a floor practically uniform in temperature through- out the twenty-four hours, the air itself shows considerable diurnal variation in tem- perature. It is to be noted, too, that the diurnal oscillations of the barometer are as well marked on the open sea as on land, and it is, therefore, clear that these fluctuations cannot be due to the heating and cooling of the earth’s surface—for the sea-surface remains almost constant in temperature through the day—but must be primarily referable to the direct solar heating and nocturnal cooling of the molecules of air and of its associated aqueous vapour. This con- clusion alone is worth registering as a con- tribution to science of no mean value. In the second part of the report Mr. Buchan deals with the monthly, annual, and recurring phenomena of the atmosphere, and discusses in a comprehensive and masterly manner the comparative climatologies of the globe. This section is illustrated by a series of fifty-two excellent maps, arranged in two sets, one set giving the mean temperature of the earth fur each month in the year and for the whole year, while the other shows for successive months and for the year the mean atmo- spheric pressure and the prevailing winds of the globe. These maps, which will super- sede our older maps of isothermal and iso- baric lines, are so tinted as to give a notion of the height of Jand and depth of sea, thus enabling the observer to mark the influence of altitude on meteorological phenomena. Looking at Mr. Buchan’s report as a whole, few meteorologists will be disposed, we be- lieve, to differ from Dr. Murray, the editor, when he says in his prefatorial remarks that ‘‘Mr. Buchan is in every way to be congra- tulated on the completion of this classic work, which must for many years to come be a standard book of reference.” Of the other reports in this volume, the first place is assigned to one by Prof. P. G. Tait, on ‘Some of the Physical Properties of Fresh and Salt Water.’ The investigations here put on record involved a considerable amount of experimental work on the com- pressibility of glass, water, and mercury, the details of which are* necessarily of a highly technical character. Prof. Tait inci- dentally mentions that the whole depression of the sea-level due to the compressibility of sea-water is about 116 feet; and that if water ceased to be compressible the effect would be to submerge about two million square miles of land. Another report published in this volume deals with the magnetic observations which were made in various parts of the world during the cruise of the Challenger. Com- mander Creak enters into an elaborate dis- cussion of these data and of their general bearing on what we know from other sources regarding the earth’s magnetism. ‘The charts which accompany the report show graphically the distribution of the magnetic elements in the year 1888. The report may be said to supplement Sabine’s Magnetic Survey of the globe, and is a distinct addi- tion to our knowledge of terrestrial mag- netism. Finally, the volume contains a report by Prof. Renard, of Ghent, descriptive of the rock specimens collected on oceanic islands during the voyage of the Challenger. As this report deals exclusively with petrological and mineralogical subjects, it is difficult to see why it should be included in a volume professedly devoted to ‘‘ Physics and Che- mistry.” But whether in its right place or not, there can be no doubt as to its value. At the time the Challenger collections were distributed for examination it may not have been easy to find competent petrologists in this country, though, fortunately, this is by no means the case to-day; and Dr. Murray no doubt felt justified in entrusting the ex- amination of the rock specimens to the accomplished abbé who then had charge of the collections in the Brussels Museum, and who has since been transferred to a chair in the University of Ghent. It must be admitted that the work could hardly have been in abler hands. Special interest attaches to this report, inasmuch as many of the islands from which the specimens were collected are situated at considerable distances from continental land, and are but rarely visited. It is true the circumstances under which the voyage was made usually offered but little opportunity for geological exploration, and hence the specimens had to be collected in a desultory rather than in a systematic manner. Still in the case of the smaller islands the materials were sufficient to enable Prof. Renard to form a general idea of their geological structure. Thin sec- tions of a large number of specimens have been submitted to microscopic examination, and are fully described, and where necessary illustrated, in this report. Most of them, as might be fairly expected, are volcanic rocks; but it is well to raise a protest against the notion that all oceanic islands are essentially of volcanic formation. Prof. A. Wichmann, of the University of Utrecht, has shown that some of the islands of the Pacific Ocean are certainly built up of crystalline and sedimentary rocks—a conclusion acknowledged also by Prof. Renard. ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES, TuHE Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries of | y 3 1 Copenhagen has issued to its fellows the first part of a new quarto publication under the felicitously succinct title Nordiske Fortidsminder. It contains two memoirs in Danish, to each of which is appended a réswmé in French by M. E. Beauvois. The first article is on interments of the early iron age at Nordrup, in Zealand, by Henry Petersen. The skeleton of a man of | middle height under a heap of huge stones bore | ona finger of the right hand a spiral ring of gold, and had by its side two glass beakers adorned with painted figures of animals of excellent design. On one are represented a bull and a bear, who are excited to attack each other by a man with a whip and bearing a shield ; behind is a lion attacking a stag. The other has a figure ofa leopard pursuing a hind who is faced by a tiger. Fibulz, vases, and other objects of considerable beauty were found in connexion with this and other interments. The second paper is on neck-rings of the later bronze age and early iron age, by Dr. Sophus Miiller, based on the study of 260 specimens, and illustrated by phototypes of a few of the more remarkable ones. In numerous cases they form the sole adornment of a female skeleton. The Mémoires of the same society contain a paper, also by Dr. Miiller, on the cutting instru- ments of the early stone age. He determines the forms of unpolished flint implements with cutting edges, and illustrates their use by an example, found at Kolding, with its wooden handle still affixed to it. In another paper on zoological and archzeological determinations the same learned author investigates the use of the bones and horns of various animals for pins, picks, and other purposes. Mr. Kristian Bahn- son contributes an essay on objects of nephrite and jadite in Europe. The principal paper in the Jowrnal of the Anthropological Institute for August is a memoir of seventy-five pages, by Mr. A. W. Howitt, on the Diéri—or Dieyerie, as spelt by Mr. Gason— a tribe of Central Australia, who have long and deservedly served as the type of Australian bar- barism in its lowest form. The paper is founded not only on Mr. Howitt’s own knowledge, but on the ripe observations communicated to him Lutheran missionaries who have long laboured among this and kindred tribes. It con tains abundant details as to the customs and relationships of these people, which give the author the opportunity of retorting upon Mr. Curr some of his attacks on the Rev. Lorimer Fison. Mr. Howitt states that his observations prove conclusively the existence in Australia at the present day of group marriage in a_ well- marked form, and that it is evidently only the modified survival of a still more complete social communism. The other contents of the Jowrnal are papers, by Mr. Shore, on characteristic sur- vivals of the Celts in Hampshire ; by Dr. Gar- son and Mr. Lawrence, on skulls dredged from the Thames in the neighbourhood of Kew ; and by Mr. Stanley, on his new spirometer. THE TENTH INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CONGRESS. On Monday, August 4th, the most successful International Medical Congress was inaugurated in the large arena of the Circus Ring, Berlin. At 11.30 a.m. Prof. Virchow, the President elect, opened the proceedings before an audience of between 4,000 and 5,000 people. The eminent Professor welcomed the assembly in appropriate terms. There is no need to enter into the de- tails of his speech, which dealt more or less with the management of the Congress ; but we may allude to the special greeting he gave the French colleagues, who must have felt pleased with their reception and the applause that followed Prof. Virchow’s words. After the conclusion of the President’s speech the secretary of the Congress and several German Cabinet ministers addressed the meeting, and these were followed by the leading representa- tives of the various nations. Sir James Paget, whoreplied for the United Kingdom, was greeted with prolonged and almost deafening applause, which was highly gratifying to the Englishmen present. A feature, however, was the Latin speech by Signor Baccelli (Italy), who dis- coursed so fluently in the classical tongue that many did not recognize the dead language, and thought he was speaking Italian, all the more as he pronounced the Latin words after | the mellow manner of the modern Romans, and accompanied his remarks with the characteristic gesticulations of the lively Southerner. These formalities having been gone through, the election of the honorary presidents was pro- ceeded with. The following were chosen amongst
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230 THE ATHENZUM N° 8277, Auc. 16, 90 others to share presidential honours with Prof. Virchow : Sir James Paget, Sir William Stokes, Dr. Grainger Stuart, Mr. Billings, Profs. Bill- roth and Baccelli, and H.R.H. Karl Theodor, the well-known philanthropic surgeon. After a short interval the second part of the inaugural meeting began with Sir Joseph Lister’s speech on ‘ The Present Position of Antiseptic Surgery.’ There is, perhaps, no surgeon who is more known and honoured in Germany, and he was naturally received with prolonged and keen applause, and his words were listened to with silent attention. He alluded to the theories and discoveries of Metschnikoff, who showed how the phagocytes (or white blood corpuscles) destroy the noxious parasites. He then described the antiseptic treatment of wounds. and confessed himself to be a great admirer of corrosive sublimate solu- tions, at the same time pointing out the ad- vantage and importance of using weaker solu- tions. In operations on the pleural cavity he deemed drainage a necessary 2ccompaniment of the antiseptic dressing. However, he ex- pressed himself strongly against the use of the spray. Then followed what was, perhaps, the best feature of the whole Congress, viz., the speech of the famous Prof. Robert Koch. He announced a preliminary communication of new and im- portant experiments, and this he did with his wonted modesty andaccuracy. Space does not allow us to enter fully into the subject-matter of his communication. He traced how, by means of perfected microscopes, methods of staining, cultivations and inoculations of organ- isms, a certain number of bacteria have been proved to be pathogenic, and, indeed, the This is true of exceedingly weak solutions of cyanide of gold (g5)555). But in the animal body these substances have been inefficient. Yet he has found substances (which he will soon make public) which, when injected into a guinea-pig | an animal highly susceptible to tubercle—will produce immunity from the tubercle bacillus, and cause the disease, even when advanced, to abate altogether. In the afternoon the sectional meetings were begun, and we shall later on shortly allude to a few important results gained by the discus- sions. On Monday evening the members of the Congress, numbering between 6,000 and 7,000, were entertained in the grounds of the exhibition. The permanent exhibition buildings were used for the sectional meetings, and also for the demonstration of anatomical, pathological, pharmaceutical, and other specimens, surgical, physical, microscopical, and similar appliances. | There were specimens of the greatest rarity, but we need only mention preparations of the human membranous inner ear and eggs which during the progress of incubation had been opened under proper precautions, allowing a glass | window to be let into the shell, so as to enable causing agents of certain diseases ; how it had | been shown that a species of micro-organisms is constant, and cannot change into another species. He then discussed the causal con- nexion between a disease and its pathogenic germ, claiming, firstly, that the disease and organism always appear together; secondly, that the respective organism is not found in any other disease ; and, thirdly, that the organism cultivated outside the body through several generations should always cause the same disease after being inoculated. He exhorted bacterio- logists to investigate how and whence the bacteria enter the body. The next advance of bacteriology was the discovery of poisonous substance secreted by micro-organisms (pto- maines). He spoke strongly against the phago- cytic theory above alluded to by Sir Joseph Lister. He then mentioned some marvellous facts regarding the influence of air, warmth, moisture, and chemicals on the bacteria. Direct sunlight destroys the bacteria quickly (ec. g., the tubercle bacillus’, and so does diffuse sunlight, though somewhat more slowly. Tubercle bacilli the observer to watch the growth of the embryo at his leisure, and perform all kinds of opera- tions on the ovum with a view of producing monstrosities and deformities. The whole of Tuesday, August 5th, was devoted to discussions in sectional meetings. In the evening the members accepted an invita- tion of the Berlin Corporation, and attended a banquet at the Town Hall. The crush was so great that it was impossible to move. Alto- gether it must have made a peculiar impression on the British members, as there was no recep- tion of any sort, but the visitors simply entered | the beautiful halls, where hundreds of tables cultivated at a window for five to seven days | died. Moisture, though absolutely necessary for the life of a bacterium, may impair its dis- tribution by preventing the organisms being carried off. New staining methods have proved to us the presence of nuclei and flagella in bacteria. He pointed out that the organisms of certain infectious diseases (scarlatina, measles, smallpox, rabies, influenza. yellow fever, &c ) were still to be found. Yet in some of these cases we might expect to find not bacteria, but other organized bodies (¢. y., protozoa). Thus in ague plasmodia (protozoa) had been found. He next turned his attention to the practical re- sults derived from the scientific study of bacterio- logy: the protective vaccinations of Pasteur in cases of rabies, anthrax, &c., the advance- ment of disinfection, the examination of soil, air, and water. The great professor himself has for years looked for therapeutic agents to cure or prevent consumption, and began his experi- ments with pure cultivations of tubercle bacilli. He found that many substances (e. g., ethereal oils, aniline dyes, mercurial vapours, gold and silver salts, especially cyanide of gold) are | impermeable. laden with wine and supper were arranged. Long before midnight approached it became evident that Bacchus reigned supreme, and the banquet vividly reminded one of the genial Studenten-Commers. The second general meeting took place on Wednesday forenoon, Sir James Paget being in the chair. Rome was chosen as the rendezvous for theeleventh Medical Congress in 1893, which, from climatic reasons, most probably will take place in April. Then Prof. Bouchard (Paris) rose to deliver his lecture on the ‘Mechanism of Infection and Immunity.’ We shall shortly allude to a few remarks of the learned professor on the latter subject. The chemical products of the micro-organisms are the chief cause of in- fection, and act on the vasomotor centres, impairing the nutritive filtration process between the tissues and the vessels, the latter becoming The good effect of vaccination is explained in the following manner. The chemical products have been altered in such a way that they no longer cause vasomotorial dis- turbances or impair diapedesis. The French professor was followed by Prof. Axel- Key (Stockholm), who addressed the assembly on the subject of ‘ The Development of Puberty in School-children and its Relation to Disease.’ We draw the attention of all teachers and pedagogues to this lecture, and hope to see it made accessible to the English public, as it is | of the utmost importance in these days of over- work at school. The evening was devoted to sectional dinners, | and here the surgeons took the palm in number | and splendour. Sir Joseph Lister was again warmly received, and the enthusiasm for the | great English surgeon grew so intense that cries were heard of ‘‘ Lister auf den Tisch.” the manner of the Germans, toast followed toast and after each toast an endless clinking of glasses, all the guests walking about the room to clink their glasses with the great heroes of surgery. The lady visitors also met at the convivial board, but it was only to the ‘‘ pathological” dinner that ladies were capable of preventing the growth of this bacillus. | invited. | After | | Thursday and Friday were again devoted to sectional meetings. The Congress ball took place on Thursday night, while on the following day at 6 p.m. the delegates of the various coun- tries and universities attended the Imperial garden concert at Potsdam, the German Em- peror, who at the time was in England, being represented by a junior member of the house of Hohenzollern. On Saturday the Empress visited the exhibition privately, choosing a moment when the members of the Congress were attending the farewell meeting. The latter was so crowded that many could not gain ad- mission. It lasted altogether six hours, and was inaugurated by Prof. Meynert (Vienna), who spoke on ‘The Co-operation of the Cerebral Elements.’ Remarkable were his views of the nature of the ‘“‘ Ego” (‘das Wesen des Ich”), which he considered to be the sum total of con- sciousness accumulated in the cerebral cortex. In this sense mental diseases become a compara- tive science instituted by nature herself; the cerebral diseases become parts of a comparative cerebral physiology. Nothing is transmitted by heredity or innate, but everything acquired, and hence he believes that uninterrupted mental work will advance the development of the ‘‘ Denkarbeitsorgan.” Next Dr. Stokvis (Amsterdam) spoke on ‘ The Comparative Pathology of Races and the Resist- ing Power of Europeans in the Tropics.’ He was followed by Virchow, who addressed the farewell words: ‘‘ May the labours of the Con- gress serve to advance the fraternity of men and the peace of the nations! Auf Wiedersehen in Rom!” Such were the last words of the President, who was followed by some of the delegates, amongst whom Mr. Billings, of the United States, caused much amusement by wish- ing the assembly “Gesegnete Mahlzeit,” and Baccelli once more in elegant and fluent Latin delivered a grand eulogy on Prof. Virchow, who then likewise replied in fluent Latin. An em- brace and a kiss of the two Cicerones concluded the tenth Congress, which as far as the number of visitors goes surpasses all the previous re- cords ; and if we are to find fault, it is this, that the programme was too long. We shall in conclusion mention the result of the discussion on inflammation in the patholo- gical section, a subject of interest not only to the pathologist, but also alike to the anatomist, botanist, and zoologist. Here the death-blow was given to Cohnheim's vascular or leucocytic theory, which had been more fully advanced by Prof. Ziegler ; and it must have been gratifying to Virchow to see Prof. Ziegler himself give the coup de grace to this theory, which was so popular, especially in certain sections of the British medical world. Virchow’s cellular theory of inflammation, which he had pronounced some thirty or forty years ago, came out victorious. Profs. Grawitzand Marchand assisted the veteran bravely, but we must specially mention Messrs. Ballance and Sherrington, of St. Thomas’s Hos- pital, London, who, by means of beautiful spe- cimens, proved absolutely the validity of Vir- chow’s theory. Once more Virchow has proved that he is not the antiquated pathologist people take him to be, once more he has shown his power of observation. May he long be spared to pathology ! ASTRONOMICAL NOTES, THE comet (c, 1890) which was discovered by Mr. Denning at Bristol on the 23rd ult. con- tinues to increase in brightness, and, though it is moving rapidly southwards, it is still within the circle of perpetual apparition at Greenwich. It is now in the northern part of the constella- tion Bodtes, moving towards Corona Borealis, and the following are its approximate places from to-night until the end of next week from the ephemeris of M. Charlois, of Nice (Comptes Rendus for the 4th inst.), computed for mid- night at Paris :—
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XUM N° 3277, Aua. 16, °90 THE ATHENAUM 231 R.A. N.P.D. h. m. s. pits Aug. 16 15 24 26 40 43 15 25 13 42 12 18 15 26 1 43 42 19 15 26 49 45 13 20 15 27 38 46 45 21 15 28 27 48 18 22 15 29 17 49 51 23 15 30 7 51 25 After these dates the increasing moonlight will interfere with its observation until the first week in September. We regret to announce the death, on the 19th ult., suddenly, of Prof. C. H. F. Peters, director during more than thirty years of the Litchfield Observatory of Hamilton College, Clinton, N.Y., where he discovered, whilst forming his celestial charts, no fewer than forty-seven of the ever- increasing list of small planets, the last of his discoveries being Nephthys, found by him on the 25th of August, 1889. He was a native of Sleswick, and at the time of his death had nearly completed his seventy-seventh year. In 1869 he had charge of a party sent to Des- moines, Iowa, to observe the total eclipse of the sun on August 7th, and was also chief of an expedition which proceeded to New Zealand to observe the transit of Venus in 1874, on which occasion he obtained a large number of photo- graphs of the transit. He was elected an Associate of our Royal Astronomical Society in 1879. Prof. Tacchini communicates to the number of the Comptes Rendus for the 4th inst. a réswmé of his solar observations made at the observa- tory of the Collegio Romano during the second quarter of the present year. The result, as compared with that of the preceding quarter, shows on the whole a slight increase in the number and extent of the spots, proving that the minimum of solar activity had really passed. The phenomena of the protuberances had, how- ever, remained stationary. A new astronomical society is being formed, of which Mr. Walter Maunder, Hyde House, Ulundi Road, Blackheath, and Mr. T. F. Maunder, of 55, Sydney Road, Brixton, are secretaries pro tem. Its chief objects are the association of observers, especially the pos- sessors of small telescopes, and their organiza- tion in sections under experienced directors. Meetings will be held in London and the provinces where the number of members is sufficient. The annual subscription is to be half a guinea. SOCIETIES, ENTOMOLOGICAL.—Aug. 6.—Capt. H. J. Elwes, V.P.. in the chair.— Major-General Carden and Sir V. Harpur-Crewe, Bart., were elected Fellows.— Prof. Meldola exhibited a male specimen of Chry- sophanus dorilis, Hufn., a common European and Asiatie species, which had been taken at Lee, near Ilfracombe, in August, 1887, by Mr. Latter. At the time of its capture Mr. Latter supposed the speci- men to be a hybrid between Chrysophanus phlaas and one of the “Blues,” and had only recently identified it as belonging to a well-known species.— Mr. Stainton, Mr. J. J. Weir, and Col. Swinhoe com- mented on the additions to the list of butterflies captured in the United Kingdom which had been made of late years—Mr. W. F. H. Blandford exhi- bited and made remarks on five specimens of Athous rhombeus, Ol., recently collected by himself in the New Forest.—The Rev. Dr. Walker exhibited a large collection of Coleoptera which he had recently made in Iceland. ‘lhe following genera, amongst otheis, were represented, viz.: Patrobus, Nebria, Byrrhus, Aphodius, Philonthus, Barynotus, Chrysomela, Agabus, Creophilus, aud Carabus.—Mr, Champion, Dr. Sharp, and the Chairman made some remarks on the collection.—Capt. Elwes exhibited three species of the genus Atossa, Moore, three of the genus Elcysma, Butl., aud three of the genus Campylotes, West., all from the Himalayas aud North-Kastern Asia. The object of the exhibition was to illustrate the remurkable differences of venation in these closely-allied forms of the same family.—Col. Swinhoe, Mr. Warren, and Mr. Moore took part in the discussion which eusued.—Mr, P. Crowley read a paper entitled ‘ Descriptions of Two new Species of Butterflies from the West Coast of Africa,’ and exhibited the species, which he pro- posed to name respectively Charawxes gabonica and Cymothoe marginata. He also_exhibited several other new species from Sierra Leone, which had been recently described in the Annals and Maga- zine of Natural History. FINE ARTS Archeological Survey of India.—The Sharqi Architecture of Jaunpur: with Notes on Zafarabad, Sahet-Mahet, and other Places in the North-Western Provinees and Oudh. By A. Fiihrer, Ph.D. With Drawings and Architectural Descriptions by Ed. W. Smith. Edited by Jas. Burgess, LL.D., C.i.E., Director - General. (Calcutta, Thacker ; London, Triibner.) Tus is the first volume of a new series of reports, begun after the reorganization of the archeological surveys of Upper India in 1885. Dr. Burgess’s aim is to unite in each volume as exhaustive and complete a treatment as is possible of the existing monu- mental records of the place described, and in the present instance the attempt has been most successful. Dr. Fiihrer is the archeo- logist responsible for the letterpress and decipherments, and Mr. E. W. Smith has prepared the architectural descriptions and superintended the native draughtsmen who contributed the forty-six admirable drawings —plans, elevations, and sections—which, with nine photo-electrotypes, illustrate the work. The history of Jaunpur is related with learning and in detail by Dr. Fiihrer in the first twenty-two pages, though some side lights might with advantage have been obtained from the coins. Jaunpur is com- paratively modern, and its history is brief ; yet for its short duration as an independent state its annals are brilliant with deeds of arms and more lasting works of art. After the destruction of the city known as Zafara- bad, probably about 1200, its prince built a palace a few miles to the west on the bank of the Gumti, and here in 1360 the great Firuz, Sultan of Dehli, found a prosperous town, with a palace and four large temples. Firuz resolved to create a noble city, the future Jaunpur, out of this nucleus, and though he did not accomplish more than the building of a fort, the remains of which, in- cluding the fine eastern gateway, are still standing, his example bore fruit later on. The materials for great works were at hand in the ruined Hindu temples, and how freely this quarry was drawn upon may be seen from the numerous Brahmanical carvings found upon the stones which were dislodged when the towers were blown up in 1859. The independent dynasty of the ‘‘ Kings of the East,” or Sharki rulers of Jaunpur, dates from Khwaja-Jahan, Chief Eunuch and Vezir of the court at Dehli, who was assigned the title of Malik-ash-Shark in 1394, and soon assumed practically royal prerogatives. The charge of this count of the eastern marches was exceedingly import- ant; not only was his territory extensive, but his duty and satisfaction was to add to it by subduing the border chiefs. At one time, during a period of anarchy, he even re- ceived the tribute formerly paid by the Bengal kings to the Sultan of Dehli. The third of the line, Ibrahim Shah Sharki, during a long reign, full of glory both in war and in the arts of peace, made his court the refuge of the learned who were dislodged from their usual seats by the con- tests of the time, and erected the mosque and baths of the fort at Jaunpur, and above all the great Atala Masjid, finished in 1408. The splendid facade of this magnificent mosque, where a lofty propylon conceals from view the dome which surmounts the Kibla, and is flanked on either side by the colonnades which surround the great court, is well represented in the plates, together with ample illustrations of the architectural details and exquisite arabesque mouldings. Another beautiful building at Jaunpur, the Vermilion Mosque, Lal Darwaza, so called from the colour of a gate, was the work of Mahmud Shah, the fourth ‘‘ King of the East,’’ or rather of his wife Bibi Raji, who was a lady of resolute character and much ability. The Masjid Jami’, or Mosque of Assembly, was built (1438 ff.) by the last of this enlightened line, Husayn Shah, who (according to the ‘ Catalogue of Indian Coins in the British Museum,’ from which Dr. Fiihrer appears to have taken the dates) was deposed about 1475. After the Mogul conquest Jaunpur sank into insignificance; since 1525 it has never been independent, and after the foundation of Allahabad in its vicinity it became a mere country town, and we read but a ‘‘ rambling mention of different incidents in its steady decay.” Its history is thus limited to little more than a hundred and fifty years; and its monuments consist chiefly in the fort and bridge and the three mosques already men- tioned. These, however, would redeem any city from the stigma of insignificance. Mr. Fergusson has already made us familiar with their general style (which is alike uniform and almost unique), and the admirable drawings and descriptions in the present volume greatly strengthen the im- pression he gives of their architectural merits, the beauty of their general propor- tions, and the decorative details of orna- ment. These exquisite monuments are, indeed, all that remain to show us what Jaunpur once was; but to look at them is enough to confirm all that has been written of the science and learning, the twenty famous schools, the poetry and music and love of art, which earned for the capital of the Kings of the East the title of ‘the Shiraz of India.” The volume concludes with some notices of the scanty remains of Zafarabad, now a mere village ; of Ayodhya, Bhuila Tal, and Sahet-Mahet. At the last-named site there is a vast collection of ruins, the remains of Sravasti, and important results may be ex- pected from a thorough excavation—not yet accomplished. The most interesting dis- covery made here by Dr. Fiihrer was a long Sanskrit inscription describing the erection of a convent for Buddhist ascetics in 1219. Dr. Burgess may be congratulated on the first instalment of his new series of reports, the continuation of which will be eagerly awaited by Indian archeologists. ADDITIONS TO THE NATIONAL GALLERY. Tue pictures which Sir F. Burton has bought of the Earl of Darnley with part of the annual grant to the National Gallery are two by Paolo Veronese and one by Tintoretto; they are large decorative examples, full of action, sumptuous in colour, and in perfect condition. As the two Veroneses belong toa group of four, the remaining two of which will, no doubt,
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232 THE ATHENZUM N° 3277, Ava. 16, ’90 find their way to the gallery next year, or as soon as funds are forthcoming, we may as well describe the whole of them at once. They are all on canvas, and measure about six feet square each. Along with other pictures from Cobham Hall they were at the Academy in 1877, each with the title ‘ Allegorical Subject,’ and severally numbered 95, 103, 115, and 126. They were engraved by Crozat in the so-called ‘Orleans Gallery,’ 1729-42. They had belonged to Christina, Queen of Sweden, and afterwards to the Regent. It would now be difficult, if not impossible, to explain their subjects. ‘Two of them were valued at two hundred guineas each, the other two at one hundred and fifty guineas each, but they realized at the Orleans sale very different prices. The then Lord Darnley gave for ‘Le Respect,’ as Crozat called No. 126, thirty-nine guineas ; for ‘L’Amour Heureux,’ No. 95, sixty guineas; for ‘ L’Infidélité,’ No. 103, forty-six guineas ; and for ‘Le Dégotit,’ forty-four guineas. Of their extraordinary de- corative and technical merit there can be no question ; they form a series, or portions of a series, of enrichments for a ceiling, and must be looked at accordingly. They exhibit the deco- rative power of Veronese at a very high pitch in respect to colour, composition, and action, while his characteristically large and bold style of design and draughtsmanship are most fortunately employed upon them. One may readily conceive the magnificence of the saloon for which they were executed, and of which they must have been the chief ornaments. They are capital, if not very lucid, illustrations of the passion for moral allegory which, during the later half of the sixteenth century, obtained in Italy even more than elsewhere. As it would be difficult to offer a complete explana- tion of the subjects, so it would be still more difficult to appreciate the inspiration of the designs. It was about 1550 or 1560, we pre- sume, that Veronese painted them. Sumptuous as they are now, their superb qualities would be enhanced if they could be seen with all their original accompaniments of _ gilding, carved frames, and magnificent furniture. In ‘Le Respect’ Cupid is conducting a warrior, who is held back by an older man, towards a naked, sleeping Venus or nymph, who lies lost in dreams, and is an image of luxury. The champion is, it seems to us, indifferent to her charms ; at least he appears diffident and un- willing to encounter temptation. He wears a quasi-Roman costume, such as Veronese often affected for his warriors, of rich golden tints, making fine colour with his bronzed and ruddy complexion and dark chestnuthair. Theattitudes of all the figures have been adapted to their original position on a ceiling. The technique exhibits more pupils’ work than any one of the other three paintings ; the broadly-drawn out- lines are laid on with less refinement and less reserve, although such roughness is common enough in the master’s decorative productions ; the forms—for example, the bent leg of the sleeper—were originally somewhat carelessly defined, and afterwards corrected with broad, bold touches of dark pigment, additions doubt- less due to Paolo himself. The colour in general, though rich, powerful, and well considered, lacks the silveriness of the other pictures ; the true Veronesian olive hues are not so fine as else- where ; the face of the nymph lacks the purity of the carnations, which is so precious in most similar examples. In ‘Le Dégoft’ Cupid is chastising with his bow a man who lies pro- strate. Over his body the tiny god strides, stand- ing in indignation on the broad and brawny chest of the culprit. Two females, one of whom guides the other, are hurrying away towards our left ; the elder carries an ermine, the well-known emblem of purity or virginity, in her hand ; she is rather lean and wan, and a dignified and severe expression pervades her somewhat worn features ; her companion, whom she may be sup- posed to have rescued from peril, is much younger, a sumptuous beauty of the Veronesian type whose charms are freely, but not im- modestly exposed; her look as she turns to gaze at the prostrate man is full of dignity and indignation. In ‘L’Amour Heureux’ Cupid is introducing a victorious warrior to Fame, or Fortune, seated on a great stone orb at the entrance of a magnificent building. She is in the act of placing a wreath on the champion’s brow. He is led by a beautiful, richly-clad damsel, who seems to have received a palm from the goddess, and to be about to bestow it on the happy lover. An amorino guides the lady by a golden chain placed about her waist. ‘ L’Infidélité’ seems to be the complement tothe last. ‘‘Infidélité,” an undraped figure, is seated between two lovers, one of whom, a serious-looking personage, wears his dark hair close cropped ; the other, younger, with a gay air, is surreptitiously giving a letter to the damsel. On the letter is an inscription, which was probably not intended to be legible. With her right hand the woman seems to reject the older man; her attitude welcomes his rival. The carnations of her back are exquisitely com- bined of the white, under gold, and rose; the greys, so delicious to artisticeyes, have beenintro- duced with amazing skill, and the entire work is pearly and less warm than usual with Veronese. No single picture of the four Paolos ap- proaches the Tintoret in its transcendent in- terest. It is called the ‘Nursing of Hercules,’ and depicts the legend that Hermes carried the child to Olympus and put him to the breast of Hera while she was asleep, but as she awoke she pushed him away, and the milk thus spilled produced the Milky Way. Juno is represented as half rising from the celestial couch, surrounded by amorini, and attended by peacocks and other emblems of pride, luxury, and state ; and her limbs testify to the power of Tintoret in flesh painting, notwithstanding the questionable blackness, coldness, and even dirtiness of some of the shadows, which look as if they had been repainted by a hand inferior to the master’s. There is a smile of pride and joy on her face, which, by the way, is completely out of keeping with our notions of the countenance of Juno, as the fine, long, and virginal limbs and torso of the figure are remote from the ideal of the stately matron-like Queen of Heaven. We need say nothing of the queer eagle, holding the thunder- bolt, which, with other figures, appears in the deep - blue firmament, a glorious piece of colour in itself, combining in subtlest har- monies with the carnations and the varied and powerfully coloured draperies which float around the group. From Juno’s bosom issue long lacteal jets, that seem, so to say, to crystallize into stars. Hence the second title of the picture, ‘Creation of the Milky Way.’ It was obviously designed as the centre-piece of a decorative scheme, in which accessories now lost gave additional splendour to a ceiling which all the parts were intended to enrich. This mag- nificent work, the rarity of which as a fine Tintoret makes it trebly welcome in Trafalgar Square, formerly belonged to the Orleans Gallery, and was sold to Mr. Bryan for 501. It was No. 298 of the Art Treasures at Manchester in 1857, and has not been exhibited since then. The four Veroneses were in the same exhibition, Nos. 285-8. The Tintoret and two of the Veroneses will shortly be hung in the National Gallery. NORWICH CATHEDRAL. As yet no official contradiction has appeared of the unpleasant rumour which has gone the round of the local press, that Dean Lefroy pro- poses to erect a marble reredos in this cathedral, which will hide the most interesting bishop’s throne in England, so carefully preserved by his predecessor, and that he intends to employ a local builder to carry out the work. No county has suffered more than Norfolk from the misguided zeal of church ‘‘ restorers,” and it is bad enough to see our local architec- ture defaced and altered even by well-known architects. But if the rumour is true that so wholly unnecessary and incongruous a work is about to be perpetrated without even the slight safe- guard afforded by the employment of an archi- tect, a very strong argument will be afforded for removing the control over the fabric of cathedrals from the persons who have, by the accident of their political convictions, been placed in their charge. Water Rye. THE ARCHZOLOGICAL INSTITUTE AT GLOUCESTER. Ir is just thirty years since the Royal Archeological Institute held its annual Con- gress at Gloucester (July, 1860), and it is happy in having again selected as its headquarters for the usual week’s meeting a cathedral town pos- sessed of a history reaching through medivval into Roman times. Moreover, the county is rich in architectural antiquities, owing partly, as has been well observed, to the excellent quality of the building stone. Of the noted antiquaries or historians who contributed so largely to the success of the former meeting, the Revs. Canon Powell, C. Yonge Crawley, J. Louis Petit, S. Lysons, C. H. Hartshorne, Dr. Guest, and Pre- bendary Scarth, Dr. G. Ormerod, Messrs. J. H. Parker, J. D. Niblett, Edmund Waterton, Oc- tavius Morgan, Profs. Buckman and Willis, Mr. Augustus Franks, Dr. Collingwood Bruce, and Mr. E. A. Freeman, only the last three still sur- vive. The present meeting is under the patron- age of the Bishop of Gloucester, the Earls of Ducie and Eldon, Lords Moreton and Sudeley, Mr. West (High Sheriff), and the Dean. On Tuesday, August 12th, at noon, the Mayor and Corporation of Gloucester, with the pre- sident and members of the Bristol and Glou- cestershire Archzeological Society, received the Institute at an inaugural meeting at the Corn Exchange. After the address of the Mayor and Corporation had been read by the town clerk, another was read by Sir Brook Kay, Bart., pre- sident, on behalf of the county society. After a response from Earl Percy, F.S.A., President of the Institute, Sir John E. Dorington, Bart., M.P., as president of the meeting, then de- livered his inaugural address, and in the course of his speech he pointed out what the attention of the visitors had best be directed to, and said that if ecclesiastical architecture of any period was the object of their search they would find it in the neighbourhood of all periods, from the rude and early Saxon at Deerhurst to the most modern and successful church at Highnam. Again, if the archeology his audience were seek- ing for was the history of our land as shown by its houses, by its castles, by its forts, there was locally a rich mine for them to draw upon. No- where in England that he knew of was there such an abundance of small houses of the freeholders and gentry of the Jacobean, Eliza- bethan, Tudor, and early times. They were built and roofed of excellent stone, were pic- turesque in their outlines, and were perfectly adaptable to modern uses. Among the numerous half-timber houses which would attract their attention in the city of Gloucester was the New Inn, built in 1450, which was worthy of special remark. In an old drawing of Hogarth’s he had seen a similar gallery to that of the New Inn represented as surrounding _ the courtyard of the formerly well-known Ram Inn at Cirencester, once one of the great post- ing-houses of the country. Sir John next alluded to the copy of the rental of all the houses in the city of Gloucester in 1455, recently issued under the auspices of the Corporation, and noticed some of the changes made since that period. In the afternoon the members assembled at the Schools of Science and Art, the arrange- ment being that the party should there break into two divisions, the one to inspect Roman Gloucester under the direction of Mr. John gn Pe he tei
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oe . pen acu s™ N° 3277, Aue. 16, 90 THE ATHENAUM 233 Bellows, and the other to inspect medieval Gloucester under the direction of Mr. F. W. Woller and Mr. H. Medland. Previous to starting Mr. Bellows made a few explanatory remarks as to what would be seen under his guidance. He said the discovery that portions of the Roman wall were still in existence was made during alterations on his premises in Eastgate Street in 1872. He had a pit sunk, and in two hours the wall was struck, and in another two hours a large and interesting col- jection of Roman remains was found, suflicient for a museum, including Samian ware, and ware lustred with oxide of manganese, which was said to belong to the seventh century, and also Up- church ware. The black pottery appeared to have been used for cooking purposes. During jast week a pit had been sunk north of the choir of the cathedral, and a portion of the Roman wall laid bare, at a depth of about ten feet from the surface. Oyster shells and much pottery, with a few small pieces of glass, were found. Mr. Bellows then proceeded to give his ideas as to the reason for the occupation of Gloucester by the Romans, and said it was the first town garrisoned by the Romans in 43, under Claudius. Many of the articles alluded to as having been found at Eastgate House were handed round for inspection. In the evening the members were entertained at tea by the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol and Mrs. Ellicott, and later Dr. Freshfield, F.S.A., opened the Antiquarian Section. After touch- ing on the antiquarian discoveries of last year, and mentioning the work of excavation now begun at Silchester, Dr. Freshfield dwelt in particular upon the excellent work now being done by the British Schoolat Athens. He then gave an account of some of his own experiences in rescuing from oblivion the early Byzantine remains of Greece, and enlarged on the neces- sary qualities that go to form the character of a good antiquary, and on the various opportunities possessed by all of doing something to advance the cause of archeological science. The address was followed by a paper read by Prof. Montagu Burrows, F.S.A., having for title ‘Oxford as a Factor in the Progress of Archeology.’ On Wednesday the archzeologists went up the Severn by steamboat to Deerhurst and Tewkes- bury, returning in the evening at seven o’clock. For a second time the fine weather favoured them, save a partial shower that caused no incon- venience. The Vicar of Deerhurst, Mr. Butter- worth, in a paper descriptive of the church, said that he had satisfied himself, only a few days ago, that the apse of the original Saxon church was semicircular, and not angular, as he formerly believed, and as was given in the plan published in his book. At Tewkesbury Mr. A. Hartshorne, F.S.A., read a paper de- seribing the chief features of the Abbey Church, dwelling especially on the noble series of eftigies it contained. At nine o’clock that same even- ing Prof. J. H. Middleton, F.S.A., opened the Architectural Section. NOTES FROM ISAURIA AND CAPPADOCIA. Kaisariyeh, July 29, 1890. As we anticipated in our letter from Konia written to the Atheneum a month ago, we have spent July in the Isaurian Taurus and South- Western Cappadocia The greater part of this district of Asia Minor is admirably adapted for summer travelling, for, excepting the southern valleys and the coast line, it lies high enough to afford cool nights, and the scenery of the southern slope, especially in the lower valley of the Calycadnus, is superb. Our route, on leaving Konia, lay due south to the site of Lystra (Khatyn Serai). Here we copied a few new inscriptions and verified old ones, among the latter the milestone in the graveyard of Kavak, of which we obtained a more accurate copy, which establishes the line of the Roman road from Laranda and Derbe to Lystra. Some miles to the south-east we found another inscribed milestone upon the same road, standing, probably in situ, upon a bridge over the Tcharshembi Su. With the exception of Dorla, which is full of late epitaphs, the villages in this district contained nothing of interest, and we passed on rapidly by the site of Derbe (which should be placed at Gudelissin rather than at Losta) to Karaman. It should be men- tioned, however, that we visited Dinorla, where Prof. Sterrett placed Nea Isaura, and were con- vinced from an inspection of the ruins that the identification is impossible. From Karaman we elected to travel over Taurus by the easternmost of the two roads to Mut, that passing by Kestel, where we expected to find traces of Coropissus. Nor were we dis- appointed, for immediately below the village, ten hours from Karaman, we found a ruined city, occupying a strong position above the Tchiri Su. Of the earliest foundation—Coropissus—little remains. The imposing structures which make the site remarkable belong to the later Christian city, renamed (as we learn from the ‘ Notitiz’) Hierapolis, while the fine acropolis whose towers crown the southern extremity of the plateau is later still, and almost certainly represents the Armenian fortress Sivilia, passed by Frederick Barbarossa on his march to Seleucia. Inscrip- tions we looked for in vain, but had a hard day’s work photographing and planning the site. Of a fine early church we made a detailed plan, and traced successfully the disposition of streets and buildings over the rest of the city area. We next attempted to find the ruins at Kodja Kalessi, of which great reports had reached us ; but the only result of our first essay was that we went nearly twenty miles out of our way and down three thousand feet, which we had to climb again next day. However, we found a guide at Mut, and the ruins four hours to the north-west. They proved to be those of a great inonastery : the church, a very fine specimen of sixth century architecture, is wonderfully com- plete, and no agencies but those of nature have contributed to its overthrow. other buildings is easily traced. From the evi- dent importance of this lonely monastery, and | from the character of its architecture and elabo- rate ornamentation, it seems very probable that Kodja Kalessi represents the monastery of | ; name Uzunja Burdj, ‘‘ the Long Tower,” while Apadua, built, according to Procopius, by Jus- tinian in Isauria. We made plans of the whole group of buildings and drawings of the church, took several photographs, and copied some rock inscriptions. One of the latter will give us a date: it was evidently cut by a monk in his own lifetime ; for after recording that he was mperBvrepos and rapapovapuos of the monastery from the consulship of Gadamippus (Gafius] ? Damippus), he left a blank space for the date of his death, which, alas! no one has been found to fill. Near Mut we discovered the remains of a city, probably Dalisandos ; the ruins are of late cha- racter, but abound in inscribed sarcophagi. In Mut itself we were fortunate enough to find two new inscriptions of considerable interest : one is a dedication to Zeus Proasteios ; the other contains the name Claudiopolis, thus confirming at last Leake’s conjecture as to the identity of | the site. The rest of our time in the Calycadnus valley | was spent in the vain endeavour to find Dio- cxesarea. In the course of the quest we dis- covered a solitary temple of the Roman period in very good preservation, and a fort. The ruins | about the former were not considerable enough to warrant our identifying the site as Dioczesarea, but it appears certain that that city must have been somewhere not far away. But nothing can be done in such a country as these spurs of Taurus except by means of native guides and information ; and no one appeared to know of any other ruins. So we gave it up, and struck the Ermenek road at Inai-bazaar, and so de- scended to Selefkeh. On our way from Selefkeh to the north we took the opportunity of visiting some of Mr. Bent’s brilliant discoveries of this year. We went first to Olba, the ruins of which are among the most interesting in Asia Minor, and fully justify Mr. Bent’s description in the Athenewm of June 7th ; but the temple, though imposing to a distant view, is a great disappointment, being coarse and bad in style without any trace of archaic character. We must express our high admiration of the care and thoroughness with which My Bent examined this and other places that we visited. The way in which he concen- trated his work on a small district may be re- commended to all archeological travellers, and his splendid discoveries in a country recently visited by such explorers as Langlois, Duchesne, Sterrett, &c., prove that this method is the one most likely to be successful. From Olba we made an excursion to the coast to see the great Corycian inscription discovered by Mr. Bent. In the month of July over Isaurian roads, or, what is worse, along the foundations of a Roman road, with an inscrip- tion to copy that covered the whole front of the anta of a temple, this excursion entailed the hardest three days’ work that we have ever experienced in this country. Owing to various causes, we were almost destitute of food, and the beach beside Corycos is a favourite haunt of mosquitoes. We, of course, concede to Mr. Bent the task and the honour of publishing his discoveries ; but, as our experience has always been that a first visit cannot exhaust the possible discoveries | on any site, we considered that the plan of our journey required us to visit these important remains, and after we have seen them the best way seems to us to place all our results at Mr. Bent’s disposal in publishing his account of his journey. The city of Olba, like that of Tyana, consisted of two parts, the fortified polis and the hieron with the town that grew up around it. The | latter is about two and a half miles west-south- The plan of the | | fended until about the time of Augustus, when west of the former, and it was wholly unde- the tower described by Mr. Bent was built under the priest Teucer, father of the Ajax who struck a well-known series of coins between 11 and 15 a.p. This tower has originated the modern the city proper still bears its old name under the form Oura, justifying the inference drawn in the ‘ Historical Geography of Asia Minor’ from Byzantine authorities that the true native name was Orwa or Ourwa, and that Olba was a Grecized form to suggest a connexion with OAPBos. The hieron had a better situation than the polis, and almost all the finer buildings and the architectural features of the city during the Roman period were placed beside it; but the polis was still inhabited, and about 200-210 a.p. an aqueduct was built to supply it with water. This aqueduct bears a dedication, justly de- scribed by Mr. Bent as ‘‘dreadfully obliterated,” in honour of Septimius Severus, Caracalla (Geta erased), and Julia Domna. But, like Komana, the site of Olba is, on the whole, a great dis- appointment: the inscriptions are few and un- interesting (except those just mentioned and a Christian epitaph with the name Sandansaka), and about the priest-kings of this historically interesting city we learn nothing. Mr. Bent’s great inscription at Corycos can- not be taken as a list of the priest-kings of Olba. In the first place it does not contain the name of any of the known priests of Olba. In the second place it is engraved on the temple at Corycos, and we cannot agree with Mr. Bent in assigning to Olba any authority over such cities | as Corycos or Sebaste, any more than we can accept the statement that it was ever metropolis of Isauria in Christian times. Sebaste in par- ticular was a much more important place than Olba, though to archeologists at the present day Olba, as being far more truly representative of native character, is much the more interesting
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234 THE ATHENAUM N° 3277, Aue. 16, 90 place. Moreover, the position of the inscription | Imperial Museum. We hope to convey it thither and the character of the names suggest a differ- ent and, unfortunately, far less interesting ex- planation. The inscription was discovered by Mr. Bent in the wall of a Christian church, which is obviously of no very early date. This church was made by utilizing the temple which stood beside the brink of the Corycian cave. The walls of the cella were raised higher, and an apse was built on at the eastern end: the additions are of coarse work, and ean be de- tected at a glance. We madea plan, showing the relation of the two buildings and indicating the peribolos wall of fine polygonal masonry that surrounded the temple. The southern anta of the temple has disappeared ; the northern still stands, wanting only the uppermost course of stones. The great inscription covers the whole of the front of the anta; but the unfortu- nate loss of the top stone has deprived us of the preamble. The rest consists of an enumeration of citizens, probably of Corycos, and may fairly be taken as the list of those who subscribed to build the temple, probably about the beginning of the first century after Christ. The inscription was engraved on the stones before they were put into their places in the wall, and by an error of the builders two of the stones were turned upside down as they were placed in position. Many other inferences can be drawn from this long inscription, which is now very hard to read in its upper part, but quite clear at the bottom. Our copy, which is almost complete, and the plans of the temple, of the two cities at Olba, and of some other places (several done hy Mr. Headlam), have already been offered to Mr. Bent to make use of in his account of the work. The Roman road from Laranda, by Coropissus and Olba, to Sebaste was traced by us at various points of its course, partly by cuttings and levels, partly by the pavement and the mile- stones. We had never travelled along a Roman road with the original pavement unaltered, ex- cept by time and weather, and with the mile- stones still in their original position, until we traversed the last fifteen miles to Sebaste. Most of the stones were either illegible or uninscribed, but we obtained several inscriptions, showing that the road was constructed under Septimius Severus. From Uzunja Burdj we crossed the mountains to Eregli, and thence made a détowr to Jorcez. Our object was to obtain impressions of two of the inscriptions near the great ‘‘ Hittite” rock relief, but we only succeeded with the lower one. However, we made careful copies of all the texts, redrew certain parts of the figures which have been inadequately represented, and took several photographs of the whole relief. In almost all points we find that the drawing published in the Archiiologische Zeitung, 1885, was a great improvement on that of Davis, reproduced in Wright’s ‘ Empire of the Hittites.’ The water of the millstream which flows at the foot of the ‘‘ written rock ” was fortunately low, and we were able to copy several new symbols in the lowest inscription. Of the whole monu- ment we must say that it yields to no rock relief in the world in impressive character. No repre- sentation has yet done justice to it, enhanced as its effect unquestionably is by the wild and beau- tiful surroundings. A river rises, already twenty feet broad, from among the boulders thirty yards above it; and with this natural pheno- menon, familiar to dwellers in limestone coun- tries, the relief was, beyond question, originally connected. Two days later we reached Bor and set about finding the celebrated incised Hittite inscription, discovered there in 1882. We found it without difficulty, but its owner, as before, would allow no squeeze or copy to be made. It became clear that we must buy the stone outright, and this we at last succeeded in doing, though at a high price. We conveyed the stone forthwith to Nigdé, lodged it in the care of the governor, and wrote to Constantinople offering it to the after our tour in the Anti-Taurus. Still more fortunate was our discovery on the next day of asecond incised stone, so far similar to the first that it must be a part of the same series of reliefs. It is more than probable that others of the series exist, above or below ground, and all come unquestionably from Kiz Hissar (Tyana). The second stone has been cut into a round shape in modern times, and many of its symbols lost ; but a bearded head remains and a large part of the inscription. The characters are, perhaps, somewhat more elaborate than those of the first stone, but their essential character is the same. To-morrow we start for the Anti-Taurus, in which Gériin will be our turning-point. Good reports have reached us from various quarters of the character of the stone seen by Davis near the silver mines of Bulgur Maden. We hope, after returning from the Anti-Taurus, to follow the direct road from Czsarea to the Cilician Gates, and thence to turn westward to Bulgur Maden. W. M. Ramsay—D. G. Hocarru. AQU SOLIS. 2, Lancaster Place, Cliftonville, Margate, Aug. 9, 1890. I wisH I could be quite as sure about the really true explanation of the relation of the old names of Bath to one another as Mr. W. de Gray Birch appears to be. It would be a great relief to the student of Celtic antiquities, to him who pines for a Roman peace among antiquaries, to hear that that ancient subject of dispute, the derivation of the old names of Bath, ‘‘ Aquze Sulis” and ‘‘Acemannes burh,” has at last been settled beyond any possibility of doubt. But has Mr. W. de Gray Birch settled the question? I think not. It seems to me that his conclusions rest upon extremely doubtful and disputable facts, and that he has not even attempted to prove the most paradoxical pro- positions. For instance, Mr Birch calmly asserts, as if it were a self-evident proposition, that the ‘‘ Aque” in the Roman name of Bath, “** Aquz Sulis,” has nothing to do in its ultimate origin with the Latin aque, waters, but is due to an older Celtic name. Surely we have here another instanee of that inordinate love of paradox, that horror of the perfectly plain and obvious, which is such a common characteristic of local antiquaries. Mr. Birch has brought forward nothing to show that in the name ** Aquee Sulis” the appellation ‘* Aquze” was not given to this place of abundant waters by the Romans quite independently, without any indebtedness to an older British name. Every- body knows that the name ‘‘ Aquee” was given by the Romans to numbers of watering-places on the Continent. Surely it is the height of antiquarian perversity to maintain that this most appropriate Roman name for this fair place of springs is after all a mere freak of popular etymology, due to the inisunderstand- ing of an older British name. Mr. Birch asserts without the slightest hesitation that the British name of Bath was ‘‘ Achu, Ake, or Ace.” But is there any sure evidence that this name ever existed except in the brain of Mr. Birch? In what text is any trace of the name to be found? Mr. Birch thinks he can find a trace of this hitherto unknown Celtic ‘‘ Achu ” in the ‘‘ Ace- mannes burh (ceaster)” of the ‘A.-S. Chronicle,’ A.D. 972 and 973. He assumes, without offer- ing a particle of proof, that the word ‘ Ake- man” is a genuine Celtic word. How do we know that the tenth century name of Bath, ‘** Acemannes ceaster,” may not mean the forti- fied place of an Englishman named ‘‘ Ace- mann”? At any rate, Mr. Birch has brought forward nothing to show that the element Ace- in the ‘A.-S. Chron.’ form Acemani is the source of the ‘‘ Aque” in ‘‘Aquze Sulis,” a name which appears in inscriptions earlier by many centuries. A, L. MayHew. Fine-Art Gossiy, THE first award of scholarships derived from the British Institution Fund, which was made on the 6th inst., has, for thisoccasionat least, beenon the whole fortunate, so far as paintingand sculp- ture go, in calling forth competitors. For the engraving scholarship there was, however, no can- didate ; for the architectural one a single com- petitor presented himself, who, much to the Trustees’ regret, for his drawings were very good, was not qualified to receive the prize. The scholarships in painting were awarded to Mr. Frank Joseph Mackenzie and Mr. Charles March Gere. The scholarship for sculpture fell to Mr. Henry Charles Fehr. Each award carried 501. for two years. The works of the successful competitors, which were considerably above the average, have been exhibiting during the present week at South Kensington. They are on view to-day (Saturday) from 10 to 6 o’clock. THE report of the Director of the National Gallery of Ireland for 1888 is a little tardy in making its appearance with the date 1890. It is, nevertheless, a gratifying and encouraging one, and illustrates the activity and good fortune of Mr. Doyle, who has secured some capital pictures at small prices. The following new pictures have been bought: ‘ A Winter Scene in Holland,’ by Van der Capelle ; ‘ Portrait of R. Burke,’ by Sir J. Reynclds ; ‘ Head of C. Macklin,’ by Zoffany ; and several others of less interest. The collection of engraved portraits is increasing. Mr. Brapiey, whose ‘Dictionary of Minia- turists’ is well known to our readers, has in the press a life of Giulio Clovio, the famous miniaturist. This life deals not merely with the biography of the artist, but with contem- porary miniaturists and the artist life in Italy of the sixteenth century, and contains detailed descriptions of the works of the great miniaturist, with discussions and criticisms upon those usually attributed to him, such as the Grenville Victories of Charles V., the Munich Offices, &c. Mr Quaritch, of Piccadilly, will be the publisher. Tue Fine-Art Society proposes to exhibit in October next a number of bird pictures by Mr. H. A. Marks, and a collection of drawings of flowers by Madame Roosenboom, the well- known artist of such things. Some time later a gathering of drawings (the third collection of her works) by Mrs. Allingham will be shown in the rooms of this firm. Wirnout making any official offer, the Egyptian authorities have hinted that they might be disposed to allow the Society for the Preservation of the Ancient Monuments in Egypt to undertake the reparation and care of one of the temples. Considering that it is the ancient monuments which form the chief attrac- tion for the tourists who visit Egypt, and spend large sums of money in the country, it is scarcely likely that the English public will sub- scribe for what it is not only the duty, but also the interest, of the Egyptians to do themselves. Even if the Government furnished the funds, it is highly improbable that any committee hav- ing its seat in London would accept the respon- sibility of such an undertaking. Mr. E. Burne Jonus’s series of illustrations of the ‘Legend of the Briar Rose,’ which have been for a time removed from Messrs. Agnew’s gallery in Old Bond Street, will be shown there again in October next. THe Egyptian Department of the Berlin Museum has recently acquired an important statue in wood of the ancient empire, found to the right of the railway between Medinet-el- Fayoum and Edwa. THE committee appointed to complete the decorations of the Panthéon, Paris, having before them in situ a model of M. Rodin’s statue of Victor Hugo, were struck by its in- feriority in style, commonness of conception, a —_ sa
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XUM THE ATHENZUM 235 N° 3277, Aua. 16, ’90 and triviality. This judgment was long ago anticipated by the more thoughtful order of critics, who now congratulate M. Rodin on the opportunity offered to him by the committee of trying again. The so-called ‘ Triumph of the Republic,’ which was intended for the choir of the Panthéon, has been found to be out of proportion with the building. Tue Parisian journals report that the Salon of the Société des Artistes Francais in the Champs Elysées netted 240,000fr. this year, the New Salon 170,000 fr., or 410,000 fr. in all. Last year the former body alone received 320,000 fr., and was able to assist a consider- able number of poor artists in a manner which is now beyond its power. The quarrel will doubtless be healed before long, because it is manifest that the New Salon has, the novelty of the thing being already discounted, few of the elements of long life. If the schism ceases with the reunion of the combatants and a com- plete society is organized, the artists will be in a position to declare themselves independent of the State, to build their own gallery or buy that on the Champ de Mars, so as no longer to be compelled to pay, in the form of a free day or days, heavy rent for the use of the Palais de l'Industrie. It would be a great thing for art if the reunited Société des Artistes Frangais was in a position to do as our R.A.s do, and form, if not a second exhibition of modern ex- amples, at least a collection of those works by deceased masters in which France, Belgium, Holland, and Spain—which for art purposes should be one country—abound. With an in- come of, say, a quarter of a million of francs a year, the society could do wonders. In the commune of S. Giustino, in Umbria, a trench tomb has been discovered in which was a cinerary urn covered by an Etruscan mirror bearing a representation of the Dioscuri and Helen. A proof is thus afforded of the maintenance of the Italic rite of burial in this part of Umbria down to the third century B.c., to which age the mirror must be assigned. At Pompeii, in the five-storied house now being excavated close to the seashore, in which are the scenes from the Nile country recently described by us, another small chapel, very low and narrow, has been found, containing a small altar, probably for the Lares. On a ledge before the altar stood, still undisturbed, a terra- cotta lamp and several small vessels, probably for incense or perfumes. We hear that the land on which stood the Academy of Plato is offered for sale. It is now a large orchard with a dwelling-house, and as Athens extends it will soon form one of the suburbs of the Greek capital. The ground is rich in antiquities, possibly of the Temples of the Muses and Prometheus. The reserved price is only 2,500). This ought to tempt our Hel- lenic Society. By the way, it may as well be inentioned in reference to site-buying, that a well-known magnate of Liverpool has bought a portion of the Mount of Olives, in order, we understand, to forestall an enterprising firm who considered the land ‘‘eligible” for the erection of a large hotel. Mr. NIGHTINGALE writes regarding our review of ‘ Dorset Church Plate’ :— “You say, in speaking of Bishop Fox’s chalice at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, ‘ Mr.Nightingale gives the date as “ undoubtedly...... 1507,” while Mr. Cripps dates it 1511.’ Thisextract is not mine. I do not men- tion this chalice at all. Mr. Cripps gives the correct date 1507, as it bears the hall-marked date letter of that year. You give the date of the Nettlecombe chalice as 1459, and suggest that the Dorset chalice, as wellas the one at Old Hutton, may more likely be assigned to c. 1440. It is, of course, not easy to fix a definite date to these unmarked examples, but Mr. Cripps, in the third edition of his book (p. 53), gives his reasons for discarding his first cycle of date letters, and begins with 1478, the Nettlecombe ex- ample being probably 1479, instead of 1459. You also say that Mr. Cripps ‘refers to the Coombe- Keynes chalice as at Coombe- Pyne’; also that Messrs, St. John Hope and Fallow may have con- fused the chalice at Coombe-Keynes with that of Sturminster-Marshall. This could not have been the case, as both Dorset chalices have only lately been made known, long after either Mr. Cripps or Messrs. Hope and Fallow wrote their notices.” Mr. St. John Hope writes much to the same effect. Mr. Nightingale must have forgotten that in the Archeological Journal, vol. xl. p. 437, he said of the Wylie chalice: ‘‘It has much more of the fifteenth century type than the chalice given by Bishop Fox to Corpus Christi College, Oxford, which is undoubtedly of the year 1507.” Mr. Cripps, in the first edi- tion of his ‘Old English Plate,’ 1878, p. 192, which, by accident, we used instead of the revised third edition, says of the Fox chalice that it ‘‘is undoubtedly of the year 1511.” Our Naples Correspondent writes :— ‘*At last there seems to be a probability that the monument to Garibaldi decreed by this city will shortly be taken in hand. Thirty years have passed since Naples was liberated by that great hero, and, judging from the mad enthusiasm exhibited at the time, one might have expected to see the monument rise in a few months or years. The preliminary steps, however, have been taken, A commission has been formed to superintend and direct the work, and a sum amounting to 250,000 lire (=10,0007.) has been decided on for the expense.—His friends—and he has many in Naples—are welcoming the Com- mendatore Fiorelli back to his native place. For some years he was director of the excavations at Pompeii, where he did marvellous work. To him the world is indebted for the quasi-revival of many of those unfortunate persons who were over- whelmed by the ashes of Vesuvius in the great eruption. It is with much satisfaction that I call to mind the having seen the first experiments of Fiorelli in putting together and binding up the dis- jointed remains of the dead. There they lie in the private museum of Pompeii, and thousands of visitors must have witnessed the indications of the tortures which those unhappy people suffered. On the expulsion of the Bourbons Fiorelli was called to Rome and raised to the post of Director-General of Antiquities and of the Fine Arts. He has obtained permission to retain his post, with the right of residence in Naples.” MUSIC —— Rusical Gossiy, THE twenty-third triennial Norwich Musical Festival will take place on October 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th. The opening day will be de- voted to Handel’s ‘Judas Maccabzeus.’ On Wednesday morning Dr. C. H. H. Parry’s new cantata for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, ‘L’Allegro ed il Penseroso,’ composed expressly for this festival, will be performed under the composer’s direction. On Wednesday evening Dr. Mackenzie will conduct his Prelude and Entr’ Actes to the ‘Bride of Lammermoor,’ and also ‘The Dream of Jubal.’ Sir Arthur Sullivan’s ‘Martyr of Antioch’ will be per- formed under his direction on Thursday morn- ing. At the miscellaneous concert in the even- ing Mr. Hamish MacCunn will conduct his orchestral ballad ‘The Ship o’ the Fiend,’ and Mr. Edward German his overture ‘ Richard III.’ The festival will conclude with Mendelssohn’s ‘Elijah’ in the morning, and a miscellaneous concert in the evening, the latter including the second act of Wagner’s‘ Flying Dutchman.’ The principal vocalists will be Madame Nordica, Miss Liza Lehmann, Miss Macintyre, Miss Grace Damian, and Miss Marian McKenzie; Messrs. Edward Lloyd, Maldwyn Humphreys, Ben Davies, Henschel, F. Novara, and Alec Marsh. Miss Julia Neilson will recite the nar- rative of ‘The Dream of Jubal.’ The whole festival is under the conductorship of Mr. Alberto Randegger. THE ninth season of Mr. Freeman Thomas’s Promenade Concerts commenced on Saturday last at Covent Garden ; and on Wednesday the first part of the programme was, as in former years, devoted to ‘‘classical” music. The symphony, Dvorak’s in p, Op. 60, one of his most beautiful and characteristic works, received a fairly adequate rendering at the hands of Mr. Gwyllym Crowe, who this season again holds the bdton. The programme included also Cheru- bini’s ‘ Anacreon’ Overture, Massenet’s Prelude to ‘Hérodiade,’ Reinecke’s Vorspiel to ‘ King Manfred,’ and vocal pieces sung by Madame Marie Roze, Madame Belle Cole, and Mr. Watkin Mills. It is announced that a symphony will be played every Saturday evening, an experiment the result of which will assuredly be watched with interest by musicians. On Friday in last week the lyric drama adapted by Messrs. Emile Zola and Louis Gallet from ‘Le Réve’ was read by those gentlemen to M. Verdhurt, of the Théatre Lyrique, with the result that the work will be given there this winter. The music is by M. Bruneau. A canzoneEtra for three male voices by Weber, mentioned in Jahn’s catalogue of the composer's works as lost, has recently been discovered at Berlin. THE first novelty of the season at the Berlin Opera will be Ingeborg von Bronsart’s ‘ Hiarne.’ THE anniversary of Franz Liszt’s death—July 3lst—was celebrated at the Vienna Opera- house by a stage performance of the ‘ Legend of St. Elizabeth.’ M. Sarnt-Sakns has presented to the town of Dieppe his rich collection of Louis Quinze fur- niture, rare clocks, gold plate, jewellery, oil paintings, water-colour drawings, library, and autographs. The objects have been placed in the large hall of the Etablissement des Bains, under the title of the ‘‘ Saint-Saéns Museum.” Messrs. WEINBERGER & HoFBAUER, the well-known Viennese publishers, have just brought out ‘Ten Variations for Pianoforte by Franz Schubert,’ the first of a series of unknown compositions by that master. The variations are spoken of in the Musikalisches Wochenblatt as being without character, and such as any diligent and fairly-gifted student, under the guidance of a careful teacher, could have written. Tue Lamoureux Concerts in Holland are announced for the following dates: October 16th, at the Opera-house, Rotterdam; 17th, 18th, and 19th, at Amsterdam ; and the 20th and 21st, at the Hague. From Vienna we hear that Strauss, who is now at Ischl, is at last putting the finishing touches to his grand opera ‘ Chevalier Paxmann.’ It is authoritatively stated that the work will be produced at the Vienna Opera-house in. the autumn. A uiTTLE book, entitled Beethoven’s Un- sterbliche Geliebte has just been published at Bunn, from which it would appear that the ‘* Immortal Beloved ” was not, as generally sup- posed, the beautiful Giulietta Guicciardi, but, as already suggested by Thayer, the Countess Theresa of Brunswick. who died at Pesth in 1861. The author of the little volume states that in June or July, 1806, Beethoven became engaged to this lady, and that the courtship lasted till 1810, being then broken off, and the letters on both sides returned, on account of the composer’s inability to establish himself in a suitable position. DRAMA —_e— THE WEEK. Garrty.—‘ The Bookmaker,’ a Comedy in Three Acts. By J. W. Pigott. Tue final venture of the summer season consists of the production at the Gaiety of Mr. Pigott’s comedy ‘The Bookmaker.’ Not wholly a novelty is this piece, which was given in March, 1889, at Terry’s Theatre, with Mr. Terry in the part now taken by
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236 THE ATHENAUM N° 3277, Ava. 16, ’90 Mr. Goodwin. It is an unambitious work, the chief merit in which is that it is unconventional in treatment and wholly of its day. How deep-seated in the English breast is affection for horse-racing is shown in the reception of ‘The Bookmaker.’ The hero, a goodhearted, uneducated bookmaker, who comes unexpectedly into a title and a fortune, and sets himself the task of redress- ing some of the wrongs of the world, sprang into immediate popularity. Every phrase that fell from his lips was greeted with delight, and one speech descriptive of an exciting finish to a race produced an out- burst of enthusiasm louder and more pro- longed than has often been heard in a theatre. No allusion to the stables and no reference to betting escaped a laugh, and the cheers at the end of the performance were uninterrupted by a single sound of protest. Mr. Good win’s impersonation of Sir Joseph Trent, otherwise the bookmaker, proves him a genuine comedian. It is none the less a misreading of the part. Joe Trent is an essentially comic personage, who has known since his boyish days how to take care of himself, and has reaped from human follies and vices a respectable harvest. He is essen- tially a vulgarian, is easily flattered, and owns a good heart. Show the comic aspects of this character, and the sympathies of the audience will necessarily follow him. Almost the only way to escape them is to adopt the plan of Mr. Goodwin in sentimentalizing the hero. The interpolated passages of tender- ness, the tears in the voice, and the rest are incongruous and out of place. A hard struggle was maintained between the two accents, natural and assumed, American and cockney, and the victory was not always to one side. An interpretation generally competent was provided; but the piece would have gained something had the feminine representatives possessed more dis- tinction and charm. Mr. Farren sketched a character, but did not fill it out; Mr. Frank Wood was very comic as a butler; and Mr. Reeves Smith, Mr. Glenney, and Mr. Dalziel were seen to advantage. The Principal Dramatic Works of Thomas William Robertson. With Memoir by his Son. 2 vols. (Sampson Low & Co.)—Those more important plays of Robertson which were sufii- ciently successful to be included in what are called acting editions have been collected and published in two volumes, with a brief and un- pretending memoir by his son. Sixteen plays in all out of about thrice that number are given. Of those omitted half have never been printed, while most of the remainder are uninteresting and forgotten. A half promise of a further and more comprehensive edition, or, at least, of amore extended biography, is furnished. Most readers will, however, be content with what is now sup- plied them, and it is not likely that posterity will concern itself with more of Robertson’s literary baggage than is contained in the volumes before us. So far, indeed, as the author's re- putation is concerned a more careful winnow- ing of his works might have been recommended. It is easy to sneer at Robertson’s best works. Those, however, who recall the series of pieces beginning with ‘Society’ and ending with ‘M.P.,’ which between 1865 and 1877 he gave to the Prince of Wales’s Theatre, will have little dis- position to such exercise. Whatever might be the defects of Robertson’s style, the whole was pure, healthy, and virile. Coming after a period of dramatic darkness, his plays heralded, if they did not create, the taste for histrionic entertain- ments which is one of the most striking signs of the times. The new style of acting and stage management which they brought with them, and for which Robertson was largely responsible, counted for much in the favourable reaction which set in. It is, at least, certain that each successive production of Robertson’s at that theatre was watched with an interest and a cer- tainty of delight that have since been rarely encountered. Under the spell of pieces such as ‘Ours’ and ‘Caste’ a freemasonry was estab- lished among the first-night public, and strangers who met each other on these occasions only overcame the shyness and_ reticence of the Briton, and contracted a species of inti- macy of sympathy. What has been seen at subsequent first nights, fashionable as these have become, faintly reflects what was then experi- enced, critical curiosity now, as a rule, sup- planting the pleasurable anticipation of former times. Upon these pieces as they were seen but one opinion was passed. From the stage point of view many of them are excellent. This is, of course, their highest praise. They were written for a special purpose, which they fulfilled. In literary merit, though they are not unworthy of consideration, they stand in a lower plane. The best of them constitute pleasant and sympathetic reading, and all can be perused without ennui. It is easy to trace the influence of Thackeray and Tennyson as the strongest to which Robert- son was subject. Augier, George Sand, and Musset, assisted Robertson’s development. That his plays— ‘Caste’ even, the most theatrically effective work of its epoch—will live can scarcely as yet be said. There is much fine work in these two volumes, and there are some _ trivialities. Whether for the sake of the former the latter can be pardoned remains to be seen. Of Robertson’s long and arduous struggle and of his honourable and, in some respects, ill-starred life his son gives a good account. All that could be said is not said, but the biography is correct in details and fair in statement as well as appetizing. Endymion’s Dream: a Comedy Masque (Bell & Sons) is a retelling of Chaucer’s ‘ Knight’s Tale’ in the form of a drama. So far as we can make out, Endymion, spellbound by Diana into a trance of sleep, dreams this drama ; but this is not clear, for Diana says he is in his charmed slumbers to ‘‘order and vary scenes devoid of strife,” a description scarcely applicable to the quarrels between Palamon and Arcite for Emilia’s love, their murderous combat, and the death of Arcite. As, when the drama is ended so far as the ‘ Knight's Tale’ portion of it is con- cerned, Diana (who plays a part in both portions) re-enters to clear her grove of all the dramatis persone by her irresistible though unrecognized commands, and then with —— now for my dreamer. Awake soft with this kiss, my shepherd lad, dispels his sleep, we might take the author’s intention of making the story pass for a Mid- summer Night’s dream in Endymion’s brain as distinctly declared ; but then Diana has ad- dressed the dramatis persone as “ airy phantoms called mortals,” which can scarcely mean any- thing but that they are men and women—crea- tures whose lives are unreal in comparison to the goddess’s immortal being, but who are as real as mortal conditions allow. Whichever way is intended, the introduction of Endymion as an outsider somehow connected with the plot of ‘Palamon and Arcite’ has a most incongruous effect. Why Penthesilea is in the drama, and with so much to say and nothing to come of it, and what her reproaches at Hippolyta’s sup- posed degeneracy from her Amazonian breed- ing have to do with it, cannot be fathomed ; but she speaks some good lines among her many. We must suppose a very great proportion of the versification of this work to be merely experi- mental, for there are other parts which show French writers, however, | that the author can write metrically. The ex- perimental versification has excruciating results. Dramatic Gossip, For the last week of the performances of the Augustin Daly Company ‘Casting the Boome- rang’ has been revived. American managements will do well to take to heart the lesson that ex- periments should not be prolonged into August. The only chances of fighting against the time of year are found in pieces appealing to the masses or in very light expenses. Wuen Mr. Terry returns to his theatre Miss Grahame will move her piece and company to the Opéra Comique. Mr. H. Kemste having had to join Mr. Beer- bohm Tree’s travelling company, his part in ‘Nerves’ has been taken and played with much brightness by Mr. Gilbert Farquhar. To the theatres that have closed must be added the Court, the Lyceum, and the Globe. Mr. Watrter Pottock and Mr. Richard Davey have written another play together. The subject is St. Ronan’s Well, and the plot turns on the central idea of the novel, though the changes for stage purposes have had to be many and various. Tue Viennese playwright and poet Eduard von Bauernfeld, who has just died at the ripe age of eighty-eight, was the principal re- presentative of what the Germans call ‘‘ das Conversationslustspiel.” His plays are distin- guished by elegant and witty dialogue, but are lacking in moving dramatic situations. Two of his plays excited at the time great atten- tion. The one was ‘ Grossjahrig ’ (1846), which pleaded, under a harmless dramatic disguise, the emancipation of the people, now come of age. It was animated by a breath of | the great ‘‘Miarzrevolution” in 1848, but the political tendency was so thickly veiled that the censor could not help passing it. In 1867 Bauern- feld wrote the play ‘ Aus der Gesellschaft,’ which caused a great commotion among the Austrian aristocracy, the plot turning on the love of a prince for a governess, whom he makes his law- ful wife. The Viennese censidered this play as a political event, but it does not belong to Bauernfeld’s best dramatic productions, of which his ‘ Biirgerlich und Romantisch’ is the most characteristic, and perhaps the most success- ful. In his poems the didactic element prevails over the lyrical. Bauernfeld was a great favourite with the Viennese, who, amidst the stern events of modern times, have not yet lost the amiable quality, which so favourably distinguishes the Germans in Austria from those in Germany proper, of entertaining an almost filial affection and veneration for their poets. A posthumous play entitled ‘ Die Hitzkopfe’ will be performed at the Burgtheater. The publication of his other literary remains will be confided, in accordance with his testamentary directions, to the poet Ferdinand von Saar. Some sensation in native circles in Calcutta has arisen in consequence of the production at the Emerald Theatre in that city of the first stage play written by a native, a tragedy, ‘Rajah-o-Rani’ by name, thecompilation of a Bengali, Rabindra Nath Tagore. The plot, the scene of which is laid in Kashmir, turns upon the excessive love of a rajah for his consort and the romantic affection of a brother for his sister. An additional de- parture in this production concerned the per- formers, who were, both male and female, all natives, marking the opening of a new epoch in Hindu theatricals. To CorRRESPONDENTS,—T. B, P.—H, T. 8.—J. H.—E. G.— B. H. L.—M. C. V.—A. E. B.—J. W. G.—G. R. W.— received. No notice will be taken of arconymous communications, TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY Post. Fer Twelve Months For Six Months an? we
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N° 3278, Auc. 23, 90 THE ATHENAUM 245 SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 1890. CONTENTS. KURRACHEE aie oe o0e Tue History OF RoCHDALE ae THE JEWS UNDER RoMAN RULE... des THE FALL OF THE FLORENTINE REPUBLIC ARCHDEACON HARRISON ooo coe ooo A History oF A YORKSHIRE VILLAGE ... THE DECAPOLIS OF GALILEE co 7 ALLINGHAM’s LATER POEMS NOVELS OF THE WEEK one ooo = ove we. 200 SCOTLAND AND IRELAND—PAILOLOGICAL LITERATURE 251 Our Lisraky TABLE—List or NEW Books... 253— LITERARY BoycoTtTinG; WoORDSWORTH’S GUIDE TO THE LAKE COUNTRY; MR. CHARLES GIBBON; AN ELIZABETHAN POET AND HIS RELATIONS; PLAN- TIN AS A PoET; DEFOE’s BIRTH AND MARRIAGE; CaRDINAL NEWMAN AS A MAN OF LETTEE: 255—257 YY Gossip ae ei abe on ‘in wo. 258 ScIENCE—CARNOT’S Essay ON HEAT; LIBRARY TABLE; MEDICAL LITERATURE; SCHOOL-Books; SUPPLE- MENTARY CHARTERS FOR SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES ; MEETINGS ; GossIP sis on oa «. 259—261 Five ARTS—ART IN SCOTLAND; LIBRARY TABLE; THE ARCH ZOLOGICAL INSTITUTE AT GLOUCESTER; AQu~z Souis ; AN INSCRIPTION FROM MEGALOPOLIS; NOTES FROM ATHENS; GOSssIP ... eco 261—267 MusIc—RECENT PUBLICATIONS; GOSSIP ... on ae DEaMé—LIBRARY TABLE; IP... ove 268 LITERATURE —o— Kurrachee (Kardéchi): Past, Present, and Future. By Alexander F. Baillie. (Simp- kin, Marshall & Co.) Ir there be any city of modern British India deserving a special volume to itself, that city is Kurrachee. We adopt Mr. Baillie’s spelling, though disagreeing in his argu- ments on its behalf. Unlike Delhi, Agra, and other well-known centres of population, in which European innovations are merely akind of trimming, or quite secondary features, the solid English town which, with its useful and extensive public works, has become the political as well as com- mercial and maritime capital of Sind, has utterly effaced the wretched fishing village of the Talpar Amirs, and is the outcome of that effacement. From the period of the conquest of the province in 1843, it has a history of considerable interest; but its re- lations with England prior to that event extend the retrospect to more than fifty years. It would be worth while to revert to the commencement of that half century if only to compare Kurrachee of those days with Kurrachee of 1890. Such a history, however, to be trustworthy and fairly written, should not be compiled essentially from official records. These con- vey but a sorry idea of the work done in Sind when the soil was under preparation for the introduction of regular ‘ govern- ment,” and reports were not made to Bom- bay or Calcutta with the conventional ex- actitude of after years. Sir Charles Napier broke ground by proclaiming honest ad- ministration, and commencing public works of unmistakable usefulness. But it can in no way be derogatory to the predecessors or successors of Sir Bartle Frere to accept that distinguished statesman as the practical modeller, if not the actual founder, of the pro-consulate of which Kurrachee is the present type. When it passed into his hands as what is familiarly called in India ‘a non-regulation province,” it had barely had time to learn the character and customs of its new masters; and it is impossible to overrate the importance of the first stages of education when applied to the people of a conquered territory, whose religion and caste or mode of life differ essentially from the professions and practices of their conquerors. The circumstances, moreover, attending the transfer of Sind to British India placed many special difficulties in the way of reconciling subjects to rulers; and these difficulties, until overcome, were serious obstacles to successful progress. True that the country was, in origin, Hindi; but its conversion to Islam had been effected cen- turies ago, and it had been governed by Muhammadan princes or chiefs, with but one break, since the days of the Khalifs up to our own times. So thoroughly, indeed, had it become imbued with Muhamma- danism that its Hindi merchants and scribes were regarded as more or less foreign settlers in the land, and the Arabic alphabet, flooding the national literature with words and passages from the Xuran, was in constant requisition to represent its written language. How Frere and his assistants threw themselves into the work of reclaim- ing Sind, morally and materially, so that she could worthily take her place with older Indian governments, and shine forth con- spicuously among them in the hour of need and peril, is yet an unwritten narrative. But it is one on which the judgment of his- tory must await the result of the biographer’s labours. It contains lessons of administra- tion which can only be learnt and appre- ciated by a study of the character of the administrator. They are not confined to rules which can be codified, nor to a proce- dure which can be prescribed by regulation. Mr. Baillie’s handsome volume will doubtless be welcome reading to those who are concerned in the material progress of a second capital for Western India, notably those whose interest in the prosecution of the desert railway, directly connecting Delhi and Kurrachee, makes them eager to collect all possible arguments in favour of that undertaking. But its contents are of too rambling a character to command con- tinuous and general attention. The author himself says in his brief introduction :— ** An apology is due to my readers for the comments and discussions that have been inter- polated, and which I find, on revisal, occupy a considerable number of the following pages. I am inspired with the hope that this extraneous matter may serve to relieve the otherwise uniform gravity and monotony of my subject.” So far so good for a certain section of readers who may be considered in their way specialists. But as regards the general reader we find it hard to admit that contro- versies about railways and public works are likely to enliven a descriptive and historical narration; nor is it clear why the story of Sind and its rulers, exemplified in the development of its maritime capital, should be uniformly grave and monotonous. Itisto be feared, moreover, that the “ relief ”’ con- templated is too irrelevant to meet the re- quired end, for a dissertation on Paraguay and forecast of an imaginary struggle on the Helmand can hardly be brought within the scope of a sober volume, the general cha- racter and outer appearance of which give no room for presupposing the introduction of a ‘Battle of Dorking,” even by way of episode. For the rest, Mr. Baillie has a large stock of good humour, and is clearly ac- tuated by the best intentions towards his reader, to whom he may be recommended, in the sense indicated, as a cheerful as well as useful guide. It is hoped that the following extract, which may be taken as a fair specimen of the writer’s style, gives currency to a mis- apprehension. If it be otherwise, the sooner a remedy is applied the better. Mr. Baillie is speaking of the employment of field officers of the Indian Staff Corps, no longer required with their regiments :— “Some are appointed executive engineers, others are nominated garrison instructors, and a considerable number are placed at the disposal of the civil authorities, by whom they are employed on the Revenue Survey, or as col- lectors and magistrates, as city magistrates, and as district and sessions judges. In these capacities, and in the daily administration of justice, as for example in police cases, and in civil and criminal causes, to the extent of the powers with which they are indued, there is no reason to doubt that, so far as regards the ordinary ciasses of misdemeanants, and of litigants, their adjudications may generally be accepted as right and equitable ; but in district courts such as those of Kurrachee, it is per- fectly possible that a suit may be instituted against the Government itself, and there arises the question whether a court, presided over by an officer of the Staff Corps, is a court so con- stituted that implicit confidence can be placed. in its decisions.” And a little further on :-— ‘They are absolutely dependent on the good- will towards them of the Government they serve,. and should they venture to give a decision un-- favourable to their employers, they expose themselves to very serious results. Of course there is no scandal, no apparent cause of com- plaint ; but the officer who has incurred the dis- pleasure of his superiors is quietly removed, and sometimes, so to speak, is kicked up-stairs. He is gazetted to another appointment, nomin- ally of more importance, and more remunerative, but probably in some other district, where the- climate is maliferous, and life is a misery.” The History of the Parish of Rochdale. Fishwick. (Stock.) Mr. Fisuwick has given us in this hand- some volume a highly creditable piece of work. That he has approached his subject in the right spirit is evident from his outspoken preface, in which he tells us of Baines and Whitaker that, “not having much faith in the accuracy of either of them, I have not accepted any state- ment of theirs without consulting the original’ authority for it, the result often being to confirm my unbelief.” Rochdale, a district some ten miles in diameter and containing over forty thousand acres, consisted of four divisions, Castleton, Hundersfield, Spotland, and Butterworth, each of them, in their turn, comprising several townships and hamlets. The Listers of such a parish, therefore, is an arduous undertaking, and one which accounts for the size of the volume before us. The story, however, that Mr. Fishwick has to tell is, in its earlier portions, singularly uneventful. The real history of Rochdale is confined to the last hundred years. The true descent of the manor is conclu- sively established by the author, who shows that from the Lacys of Pontefract, its original possessors, it passed through their descen- dants, the Dukes of Lancaster, to the Crown. Baines and Whitaker had erroneously sup- posed that it passed to the Ellands and Saviles, and from them to the Crown. The nucleus of the manor was clearly at Castle- ton, which derived its name from a castle By H.
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246 THE ATHENZUM N° 3278, Ava. 28,790 or burh of the normal Anglo-Saxon type. | Mr. Fishwick falls, by the way, into a not uncommon error when he assumes from the silence of Domesday the ruin of this castle at its date. Adjoining this fortress, as we might expect, arose the parish church, first mentioned, it would seem, about the end of the twelfth century, when it was held by the Dean of Whalley. It was bestowed shortly afterwards by De Lacy on his Abbey | of Stanlawe, a foundation which acquired, by successive grants, much land in Rochdale. It would be interesting to trace the ‘‘ four bovates ” assigned by the monks to the vicar of the parish as glebe, and to identify them, if possible, with the glebe as it existed in the last century. Mr. Fishwick has worked at the public records, but the chief harvest they have yielded has been the subsidy rolls and the manor records, both of them most valuable to the local investigator, but possessing no features of special interest. He has, however, unearthed some incidental | allusions to the local industry in its early dawn. The growth of wool, to which here, as elsewhere, the inhabitants in the Tudor period largely devoted their energies, was already supplemented in the days of Eliza- beth by a trade in woollen goods. The supply of water-power favoured from the first the development of manufacture, for, in the words of Samuel Cur wen, ‘*the place seems to have been designed by Providence for the very purpose to which it is allotted, viz., the carrying on a manufacture which can nowhere be so well supplied with the conveniences necessary to it.” Cotton goods were also being sold there be- fore the end of Gloriana’s reign, and coal- pits were already worked there before the Spanish Armada. With the accession of | the Stuarts the woollen manufacture was in full activity at Rochdale, and clothiers were soon accumulating fortunes from the labours of the cottage weavers. Dyeing and full- ing were also practised, but the weaving and spinning of cotton was comparatively slow to take root, and it was not till 1795 that the first cotton mill was built. In this mill Jacob Bright, John Bright’s father, began his career as a weaver in 1802. An instructive sketch of Rochdale in 1777 speaks of the district as ‘“‘ covered with houses, and each manufacturer having a small farm or parcel of land besides his trade to depend on, there being more freeholders, or owners of small farms and plantations, here than in any county of the kingdom.” These yeomen were, indeed, the parents of Rochdale’s prosperity and the founders of the ‘cotton aristocracy.’ Typical, for instance, were the Fieldens, who held land in Roch- dale from the days of Elizabeth. Joshua Fielden, the originator of their greatness, and his sons and daughters ‘*were part farmers and part clothing makers, and had two or three hand-looms constantly at work...... It is a family tradition that when John Fielden was nineteen years old [1803] he often | walked on a Tuesday with his father to Man- chester market (forty miles there and back), | starting at four o’clock in the morning, and returning at midnight.” Mr. Fishwick claims that family history is ‘‘a special feature” of this work, and that his pedigrees are based on original research and authentic evidence. It is re- freshing to find a local historian rejecting so decidedly spurious pedigrees, such as those of Entwisle, though favoured by Dugdale, and “entered,” be it noted, at the College of Arms in 1807; Howarth, though certified by the same authority and accepted by Baines ; Crossley of Scaitcliffe, as given by Baines, Foster, and Burke, which he de- clines to accept ‘‘as in any way authentic,” &c. His remarks also on a local patro- nymic, such as Butterworth, not implying descent from the possessors of hall or manor, are much to the point. With the ‘old houses” the writer deals as carefully as with the “old families’ of Rochdale. The great number of picturesque old residences in the parish may cause surprise, and the charming illustrations of them here given—especially the “‘ process” engravings —will prove to many the most attractive feature in the work. Their general character is thus described :— “The old halls and houses in Rochdale are mostly of thesixteenth andseventeenth centuries. In the former period the use of timber for the external walls was fast falling into disuse, and the half-timbered houses arose, which again gave place to buildings of brick and stone. Internally the greater houses consisted of a large hall for common use (or in later instances a small hall and a parlour for the family and a kitchen for the domestics), with a wide staircase with carved oak balustrades entering therefrom.” The book, in addition to the general index, has a most elaborate ‘‘Index Nominum,” though the references, we think, would have been better for revision. As the illustra- tions have been supplied with no sparing hand, it is much to be regretted that they do not include a map of Rochdale, a really | indispensable appendage for so thorough | and careful a work. The Story of the Nations—The Jews under Roman Rule. By W. D. Morrison. (Fisher Unwin.) Tue history of the Jews under the Roman rule embraces the epoch from 164 B.c. to 135 a.v. It is interesting not only from the point of view of the Jews, but also of the Roman empire. At the outset the Jews were trying to reconquer their independence from the successors of Alexander, and the Romans to become masters of the Mediterranean states in the East. This they could only ac- complish by an ally whom they found in the Maccabean dynasty in Palestine, a country which was destined to be swallowed up by them. Although the history of the period in question has beer written with much completeness by Prof. Graetz in his great work on the Jews, with the help of all accessible documents, the reader will not find Mr. Morrison’s book a mere réchauffé. Of course he is obliged to use Josephus, and some scattered notices in Roman writers, which latter were also adduced by Mommsen in the fifth volume of his history of Rome, | and the Talmudic data he knows only at second hand; nevertheless, his graphic de- | scription of the political, social, and religious state of the Jews during this period is ex- cellent, and, we may say, complete enough considering the limited space allowed by the publisher. We need say little of the part of Mr. Morrison’s work which comprises the Roman rule in Palestine; the head- ings of the chapters will enable readers to judge of the completeness of the descrip- tion. Mr. Morrison begins with a sketch of Roman policy before the conquest of Pales- tine, 164 to 63 B.c.; then follow chapters on the Roman conquest, 63 to 41 B.c.; the Roman Vassal King, 41 B.c. to 4 A.p.; the Roman Tetrarchs, 4 a.p. to 37 a.p.; the Roman Procurators, A.D. 6 to A.p. 37; the destruction of the Jewish state, a.p. 37 to A.D. 73; and the final conflicts, a.p. 73 to A.D. 1385, when the last fragment of Jewish political independence was destroyed. The second part treats of the structure of Jewish society under Roman rule. This subject having been fully mastered by writers on the history of the New Testa- ment epoch, of which Prof. Schiirer’s book is the latest specimen, Mr. Morrison had only to choose his extracts and put them into shape. He begins with the institution of the Sanhedrin, or supreme national council, with which the Romans did not meddle; he continues with the description of the Temple and the synagogues. He then treats of the Law and Tradition. Mr. Morrison is wrong when he says that there were disputes about the admission of some books of the Writings only (Hagiographa); there was also a hard fight concerning the canonicity of Ezekiel; but he is right when he says that the canon did not assume its present form till the opening centuries of the Christian era. After having explained the two branches of rabbinical learning, viz., the Halacha and the Hazada, Mr. Morrison devotes a chapter to the teachers of the Law, viz., the scribes and the first rabbis, and another to the sects, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes. Our author holds with Ewald that the last name bore a close resemblance to the Syriac word for pious, and was therefore employed for the Essenes, who were known as the pious. In a popular book it is wrong to mention one conjecture only, for it misleads the reader. He rightly rejects Graetz’s belief in the undoubted connexion between Chris- tianity and Essenism. The chapter which follows, and which treats of the people, is, in our opinion, the best in the whole book, and is a sound contribution to the solution of the question how much the Greek lan- guage was introduced amongst the Jews. The chapter which follows on the Messianic Hope is too condensed to form a proper exposition of such an important idea. A belief that did so much to sustain the hopes of the Jews and is intimately connected with Christianity cannot be disposed of in twelve pages. On the other hand, the last chapter, which has for subject the Jews abroad, or the Diaspora, is skilfully com- piled from all accessible sources first and second class. The interest of the book is enhanced by the numerous illustrations, such as maps, coins, buildings and ruins, and specimens of ancient writing, which are in general well selected. We regret only that the Semitic quotations are often disfigured; and that use is made of Midrashic literature without regard to the date of its composition or compilation. It is a pity that the author did not address himself to a specialist for this part of his book. We hope that ina second edition these irregularities may be remedied.
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ere XUM N° 3278, Auc. 23,90 THE ATHENZUM 247 Histoire de Florence, depuis la Domination des Medicis jusqu’d la Chute de la République. Tome III. Par F. T. Perrens, Membre de l'Institut. (Paris, Quantin.) In this volume—the third of his ‘ History of Florence under the Medici,’ the ninth of his completer history of Florence from her origins—M. Perrens has reached the final overthrow of Tuscan liberty. Henceforth Florence, no more the Athens of the modern world, gradually sinks into a pleasant pro- vincial Residenz-Stadt, ruled by economical and Jesuitically-minded sovereigns, and con- spicuous by her absence from great thoughts or great affairs. As well write the history of Baden-Baden or of Schaumburg-Lippe as the history of Florence under Gian- Gastone and his Austrian successors. The long gallery of ducal portraits in the Bridge of the Uffizi shows violent and tragic private histories, but the picture of no public man. Incontrovertibly M. Perrens is in the right in ending his ‘ History of Florence’ with the downfall of the Republic; there is no tenth volume to his history, unless he skip three centuries and more, to begin again with the kind, stupid Austrian grand duke driving out of Florence in his coach and six, while the good-humoured populace throw bouquets through the carriage windows and wish him ‘* Buon viaggio!” after the cheerfullest re- volution known to Clio. And the history of Florence thenceforth is but a chapter in that history of Italy which has, as yet, not only to be written, but to be made. This sense of the approaching end of the little world in which for so many years our author has been so passionately absorbed has taken from him, in his latest volume, some of his wonted sparkle and picturesque- ness. It is true that no Dante, no Lorenzo dei Medici, no Savonarola, lights up with the ancient glory and enthusiasm of Florence the melancholy years between 1512 and 1540. Still there is Macchiavelli, singu- larly slurred over and belittled by M. Per- rens, and there is the ominous and pathetic figure of the childish Catherine de Medici, the little ‘‘ Duchessina,” which would cer- tainly have touched the imagination of M. Perrens in former years. But in his horror at, and pity for, the approaching cataclysm a change has come over the spirit of the witty historian. Less light, less piquant than of old, he is absorbed by the hopeless ruin of a beautiful thing—the more hopeless that he sees the end to be inevitable. And this mistiness of outline, which detracts from the brilliance of the professor’s latest volume, possesses a tragic value of its own. He ob- serves the humiliating negotiations which led to the treaty of Cambrai, the treasons and agonies of the heroic siege of Florence, through eyes blurred by sorrow for the downfall of the republic. The opening pages treat of the return of the Medici after the sack of Prato. Im- posed by a foreign soldiery and desecrated by Tuscan bloodshed, the exiles come home, not as fellow citizens, but as strangers and princes. Yet Florence is naive enough to rejoice in the election to the Papacy of the young Cardinal Giovanni dei Medici(Leo X.). His reign teaches her to realize that to these younger Medici, educated abroad during eighteen years of exile, Florence is no be- loved homestead to protect and to enrich, but an unruly and capricious vassal, valu- able merely for the length of her purse, in which they find the price of their magnificent necessities. Theelection of a second Medicean Pope (Clement VII.) finds the city sceptical, callous, and ready for conspiracy. The brightest pages of the book, pages in which M. Perrens recoversall his accustomed animation, are those which deal with the conspiracy in those famous Rucellai gardens familiar to every reader of ‘ Romola,’ and to every tourist who has made anything like a stay in Florence. M. Perrens makes us see and know the little ultra- delicate coterie of ratés—enlivened by one man of genius, Macchiavelli—who used to meet under the shade of the ilexes round the wheeled arm-chair of their crippled host. The Rucellai gardens were, in fact, a salon ; out of them no serious and sustained effort of energy was likely to issue. The miser- able collapse of the Rucellai conspiracy left the Medici as strong as ever, but served to show, alike to them and to the city, how many spirits were impatient of their rule. Five years afterwards the sack of Rome by the Constable de Bourbon, and the im- prisonment of Clement VII. in the Castle of St. Angelo, rendered the Medici little re- doubtable to the city which so long had sup- ported their yoke unwillingly. The people rose in arms and expelled the Papal legate with the two bastards—the handsome young Hippolito, son of the dead Giuliano, and the hideous Alessandro, supposed to be the son of Lorenzino dei Medici, but in reality the child of Pope Clement and a Moorish slave. Rid of her monstrous regiment of priests and children, Florence prepared to renew the republic. But outside the walls a sudden reconciliation between the Pope and the emperor set Clement at liberty, and made him more redoubtable than ever. The 29th of June, 1529, witnessed the celebrated treaty of Barcelona, which allied the Pope to Charles V. and provided a Florentine crown for the lad Alessandro, who was to marry the emperor’s illegitimate daughter, Mar- garet of Flanders. The restoration of the Medici was stipulated expressly, even should it be necessary to resort to arms. Thus a Florentine, Clement VII., betrayed Florence to the Austrian. The one hope of the unhappy city lay in France, her imme- morial, her intangible ally. ‘‘The lilies should grow well together,” said the Floren- tines, and forgot how the French had broken their promises in 1495, and had kept Pisa at the expense of their ally ; how the French had forgotten their promises in 1498, and had omitted to send the troops promised to Savonarola, who paid with his life for their defect of memory. Francis I. had hitherto followed the traditional policy of the Valois in regard to their allies across the Alps. His friendliness had been a mere expense of adjectives. It is true that a treaty—the treaty of Cognac—bound him to the Floren- tines. But the treaties of that monarch, and, indeed, of all the princes of his age, were as easy as a pair of gloves, and slipped on and off without a moment’s shuffling. The Florentines, therefore, hoped as vainly as persistently that their French ally would | send an army to combat the emperor in their defence. In August the treaty of Cambrai reconciled the emperor and Francis I. Thus the great powers of Europe—France, Spain, the Empire, and the Pope (and Venice did not hesitate to join them, despite a treaty binding her to Florence)—all the world, in fact, was arrayed against a cautious, trimming, prudent little city of shopkeepers. In plain common sense there was but one thing to do: accept the Medici and make what amends the emperor required. Yet, in spite of common sense, such a wonderful thing then happened as has occurred more than once in the history of another nation of shopkeepers, as unchivalrous, as money- loving as the Florentines, but equally in- spired with the holy love of liberty. The Florentines defied the imperial forces, and prepared their tiny fortifications to with- stand the onslaught of the invincible Charles V. Four years before the emperor had defeated at Pavia the magnificent chivalry of France. And the Florentines knew what blood, what tortures, what dia- bolical roastings and wrenchings, followed the inrush of the barbarous Spanish soldiery ; for every man of them over twenty could recollect the sack of Prato in 1512. Yet they did not pause an instant in their sacred folly. ‘‘ Rather death,” they cried, “than the Medici again.” The enterprise from the first was hopeless. How could a mere handful of citizens, inexperienced in warfare, resist a general with unlimited troops and unlimited time at his command? As well might the hare turn on her haunches and yelp defiance to the assembled hunt. But by a sort of miracle, and at the price of endless sacrifices, the Florentines did contrive to keep their enemies at bay for nearly ten months, and in the end capitu- lated with the honours of war, and all due conditions and ceremony. Florence was spared the outrage of a sack, if she did not succeed in preserving her liberties. The dissipated half-negro Ales- sandro was duly crowned duke, and when Lorenzaccio murdered him a little later, and patriots hoped for the renewal of the republic, the power of Spain was still predominant in Italy; Charles V. elected another Medici, Cosimo, duke in his place. And the ducal line ran on, from the house of Medici into the Austrian house of Lorraine, until, in our own days, the great resurrection of Italy stirred Lazarus in his vault and bade the dead awake. M. Perrens, in a concluding chapter, recapi- tulates the fatal causes of the fall of Florence: firstly, the natural decay of all that grows and lives, the natural death following four centuries of development and prosperity ; secondly, the instability of her form of government; thirdly, the absorption of an artistic and prosperous people in their own brilliant affairs: too rich, too busy, too gifted to become mere fighters, they hired a merce- nary soldiery, and learned to depend on the doubtful faith of foreign alliances; fourthly, their oppression of their colonies, which made of their subject cities so many enemies ready to rise in revolt against them on the first day of national disaster. It is, however, an ungrateful task, and to be excused only by the lesson that it teaches, to dwell on the imperfections of this surprising city. In farewell, we will turn to M. Perrens, and bid him excuse the fall of Florentine | liberty :—
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248 THE ATHENZUM N° 3278, Ava. 23, ’90 ‘Tt was, no doubt, a misfortune, but the most natural misfortune, since all political forms and all nations have their time, even as all that lives and is in the world. We must not pity or blame Florence, more than we blame Cicero or Cesar, for not having thought or lived as we think and live in the nineteenth century. We should rather praise her exceedingly, because, without the knowledge of antiquity, she found out for herself the life of a free commune within the narrow limits in which liberty was then conceivable. She knew how to become a re- public and a state without losing her personality, and was so devoted to her original institutions that she preferred death to the loss of them. If on more than one point she was mistaken, her mistakes were but the first rude attempts that all must make who invent without a pre- cedent. And, in fine, Florence, having before her eyes no model to copy, was the first to rediscover and the boldest to trace the great outlines, the primordial laws, of the self-govern- ment of a nation—in other words, of that labo- rious, cultivated Athenian democracy which is the hope, as it is the honour, of humanity.” Patient Waiting. Sermons preached in Canterbury Cathedral by Benjamin Harri- son, late Archdeacon of Maidstone. With a Memoir of the Author. (Rivingtons.) Ir is well that there should be some literary memorial of the long and useful life of Archdeacon Harrison, though he evidently regarded himself as a man of action rather than of letters. Certainly it was not lack of capacity or industry which kept him from authorship, for which his high culture and wonderful memory constituted a rare equip- ment. It may well be that his genial and sympathetic temperament qualified him so eminently to influence men personally, that he felt the making of books was not the kind of work allotted to him. The Archdeacon threw himself with zeal, even to the detri- ment of his health, into all kinds of Church business, his slight yet dignified figure being as familiar in Convocation, and at the meet- ings of various religious societies, as in the stalls or pulpit of Canterbury Cathedral. A large portion of his fine collection of books, which included the library bequeathed to him by Archbishop Howley, has been given to the Old Cathedral Library of Can- terbury. The short biographical notice by his old friend the venerable Canon Jeffreys might well have been longer. The experiences and impressions of a clever and practical Churchman, who had resided at Canterbury as Archdeacon of Maidstone for more than forty years under four primates, could not fail to be interesting. We might, moreover, have been told that the Archdeacon was at college with Mr. Gladstone, who, even when apparently overwhelmed with political avo- cations, could find time to write long letters to his old friend. It would have been in- teresting to read that the veteran priest retained to the last the rare faculty of making himself an agreeable companion to young men; so that the news of his death in 1887 must have saddened many a stalwart cricketer fresh from school and college as well as their elders. The reminiscences of the youth of many distinguished contem- poraries and of the stirring scenes in which he had borne part formed not the least interesting feature of his conversation. In 1832, as Archbishop Howley’s chaplain, Mr. Harrison, then aged twenty-four, was in that prelate’s carriage when it was attacked by the mob in the streets of Canterbury, and shared the various emotions raised in the breast of Church dignitaries by the questions of Catholic Emancipation and the establishment of the Ecclesiastical Commis- sion. The twelve sermons, of which the main lesson is the need of “faith perfected by patience,” are scholarly discourses, distin- guished by simplicity, earnestness, and the dignified yet modest tone of ‘‘ one having authority.” There is no straining after effect, no rhetorical display, and in the few controversial passages no bitterness or bigotry. The preacher represents the views of a moderate High Churchman of the old school who is disturbed by the tendencies of modern movement and thought, but has sufficient faith in God and man to be neither vituperative nor despondent. Perhaps, how- ever, many will be more interested in the archidiaconal charge delivered in 1848, which constituted a biographical memorial of Archbishop Howley, whose primacy forms a decidedly interesting epoch in the modern history of the Church of England. The History of Hemingborough. By Thomas Burton. Edited by the Rev. Canon Raine. (Yorkshire Archeological and Topographical Association.) Canon Rarnz has been modest in describing himself as editor only. Mr. Burton was a studious and careful antiquary, who had gathered together a large mass of material concerning Hemingborough; but it is evi- dent that much of the interest of the book is owing to Canon Raine’s additions. As a village history it is not easy to speak of it in too high terms of praise. It abounds with facts arranged in lucid order, and the reader is spared that which is so often to be found in books of local history, an epitome of the history of England. The author and editor have taken it for granted that their public have at least a schoolboy’s know- ledge of the annals of their country, and have avoided disquisitions on well-known subjects. Hemingborough is situated at the junction of the Ouse and the Derwent. Its annals are interesting ; but not more so, we believe, than those of many another Yorkshire village which yet lacks an historian. The first men- tion we have of Hemingborough is in the Conqueror’s great survey. From that time to the present it has been found possible to compile an almost complete record of the devolution of the various estates comprised therein, and to give some biographical details of many of the persons who were connected therewith. Had the work been done earlier it would have contained much of interest that is now lost beyond hope of recovery. The church windows, we know, were once rich with stained glass. This has now almost entirely perished, and we cannot but believe that many tombstones commemo- rating forgotten worthies have been de- stroyed. This valuable book contains information on many subjects which will interest those who have no connexion with York- shire. As an example we may mention that a building now destroyed, which seems to have been a kind of town hall, was called the Tolbooth. Many per- sons have a notion that this word is confined to Scotland. Several other English examples could, we believe, be given were it needed. It may also not be useless to point out that in 1409 Thomas Walworth, the rector, be- queathed to Hemingborough Church his best missal and a blue damask vestment. The modern Roman Church does not use blue among her ritual colours, and therefore it has been hastily assumed by some that blue was unknown in the mediwval English ritual. One of the most striking things in the volume is the account given of the Church preferment of a certain Bogo de Clare, a son of the Earl of Gloucester. Without further investigation we cannot tell whether the Pope was to blame, or whether the disgrace must rest on Bogo’s kinsmen and friends; but a more shameless misappropriation of Church property cannot well be conceived. Canon Raine gives a list of Bogo’s ecclesiastical preferments far too long for quotation. He tells us that the income which this man squeezed out of the Church was not less than 50,000/. a year in our money. We do not know how he has arrived at this estimate, for it is most difficult to reduce the money of the Middle Ages to our standard; but from the catalogue he has given we imagine that if there be an error he has not fixed the sum high enough. Had the man been, like some of the ancient pluralists, anxious to do good with his vast wealth, there might have been some small excuse; but he seems to have been utterly regardless of all the purposes for which riches had been showered upon the Church. ‘*The officers of York Minster told with horror how De Clare’s creatures allowed the sacred vestments in the treasury to be taken out and used by women in childbed, and the Lanercost chronicler narrates how the only reredos at the church of Simonburne, in North- umberland, was one made of wattles besmeared with cows’ dung.” There are many passages in this interest- ing volume which throw light on the con- dition of the Roman Catholics during the Elizabethan and Stuart times. The account given of the sufferings of the Babthorpes for their religion is most touching. Bell- ringing at certain times seems to have been a punishable offence. In 1564 a certain Mr. Salvin was proceeded against by the Royal Commission for Ecclesiastical Causes at York for ordering the church bells to be rung on the night of Allhallows. Northern ’Ajlin, “‘ Within the Decapolis.” By Gottlieb Schumacher, C.E. (Palestine Exploration Fund.) Tue little volume in which the Palestine Exploration Fund have published the re- sult of Herr Schumacher’s researches in Northern ’Ajlin is a most business-like production. It is full of information, is not guilty of superfluity, and is illustrated by an excellent map, and numerous plans and drawings that bear evidence of a well- trained hand. The district explored covers about 220 square miles; it includes such important places as Umm Keis (Gadara), Irbid (Ar- bela), and Beit Ras (Capitolias); and through it ran two of the great lines of communication between the Jordan Valley, the Hauran, and Damascus. It lies south-
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XUM N° 3278, Ava. 23, 90 THE ATHENAUM 249 east of the Sea of Galilee, immediately south of the river Yarmik, and its general characteristics are those of a shelving plateau, seamed with wild ravines, and to a great extent thickly clothed with a mag- nificent forest of oak. Here and there, as in the plain west of Umm Keis, a rich volcanic soil favours cultivation, and the Wad el-’Arab, with its perennial stream, is exceedingly fertile ; but asa rule the land is stony, barren, and devoid of water, ex- cepting such as is collected in ‘‘ more or less filthy cisterns which lie scattered over the length and breadth of the coun- try.” As in other districts of Palestine, there are many traces of terrace-culture and former prosperity. The olive, the vine, and the fig were widely cultivated; and olive presses, cisterns, watch-towers, and rude ruins of crumbling limestone, attest the presence at one period of a large settled population. Not the least interesting pages of Herr Schumacher’s book are those which are devoted to the changes that have taken place (and that are not yet ended) in the population of Northern ’Ajliin during the last half century. Less than fifty years ago wandering Bedawin levied khuwwdt (brother-right) on the unfortunate villagers, and the wild ravines were the haunt of the ’Arab es-Sa’ didi, who raided the country far and near. So great was the insecurity at that time that the villagers had decided to leave the country, and they were only pre- vented from carrying out their intention by the vigorous measures of the Turkish Government, at last roused to action by the prospect of losing their only taxpayers. The ’Arab es-Sa’aidi were exterminated, and the other marauding Bedawin were driven south or reduced to herd the flocks of the sheikhs over whom they had once tyrannized. Even Kuweitin Agha, son of the celebrated Akileh Agha who, twenty-five years ago, harried the rich plain of Es- draelon, and was decorated by more than one European monarch, has settled down with his tribe in the Upper Ghor, and, perhaps as a natural consequence, has become practically a bondsman in the power of a Syrian money-lender. The fel/ahin are all relations or connexions of certain great sheikh families that have lived in ’Ajltin for centuries, and many of the older men carry evidence on their bodies of the days when they had to defend their homes against the roving Bedawin at the peril of their lives. They are now left in peace, but have lived to find the Syrian usurer of Damascus less merciful than the Bedawi marauder. Herr Schumacher gives a minute descrip- tion, with plans and sections, of the theatres, the walls, the gateways, the paved streets with ruts worn by the wheels of Roman chariots, and the rock-hewn tombs with stone doors still swinging on their hinges, which bear silent witness to the grandeur and importance of ancient Gadara. The ruins of Arbela and Capitolias, though on a smaller scale, are of equal interest as afford- ing evidence of the prosperity attained by the free cities, essentially Greek in cha- racter, which appear to have formed a league or Bund, like the Hanseatic towns in later times, under the name of Decapolis. On the Ard el-Mahajjeh, north of et- Taiyibeh, and at Kefr Yiba, Herr Schu- macher discovered two large dolmen fields, and at the latter place he was able to con- firm, by numerous excavations, the theory of the late Mr. James Fergusson that these remarkable structures are in most cases sepulchral monuments. It is also of interest to note that, to the south of the high road from Umm Keis to the Haurin, he was shown a terebinth tree, ‘‘ of mythic attributes in the common report of the people of Northern ’Ajlin,” which reminds us of the palm tree under which Deborah sat between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim (Judges iv. 5). ‘Its name,” Herr Schumacher says, ‘‘ Shejarat el-’Arrafiyeh, means ‘the tree of the seeress,’ and I was informed that it stands at the place where in ages past kings and warriors used to meet to make peace, or inquire of the seeress as to the future before commencing a war or concluding a peace.” It remains for us to add that the memoir of Herr Schumacher has been carefully pre- pared for the press by Mr. Guy le Strange, who has also supplied an index which gives the names of all places in Arabic, with their translation and transliteration, and adds greatly to the value of the book. Thought and Word, and Ashby Manor. By William Allingham. (Reeves & Turner.) A LITTLE more than a year ago we reviewed the late Mr. Allingham’s ‘Flower Pieces and other Poems ’—almost entirely a volume of reprints—and, perceiving that his publi- cation of 1887, ‘ Irish Songs and Poems’— also a volume of reprints—had in it no poem which was to be found in ‘ Fiower Pieces,’ and that the two together repro- duced all the contents of his former volumes excepting ‘Laurence Bloomfield,’ we drew the obvious inference that ‘Irish Songs’ and ‘ Flower Pieces’ must be considered as for the present completing each other as the approved collection of Mr. Allingham’s lyrical verse, with ‘Laurence Bloomfield’ as a volume apart. The inference was correct; we have now at last a volume of Mr. Allingham’s lyrical verse which con- tains few or no reprints. He must have meant the reintroduction of his earlier poems in fresh groupings with fresh title- pages to take its final form in the issues of 1887 and 1889, and must have resolved to follow them up by another volume in which, making a new departure, he would print only poems hitherto unpublished, the fruit of his later thought. Thus the public is given in what, unhappily, death has made the final volume of the set no repetitions of what was published long ago, and, fol- lowing on ‘Irish Songs’ and ‘Flower Pieces,’ it supplements them with the work of a comparatively contemporary period, and makes with them and ‘ Laurence Bloomfield ’ the completed representation of his poetical career. But the completion given to the series by this new volume is a peculiar one. It is such a completion as that of a road which has a gap to be leaped and then turns off sharp at aright angle from where it was taking you and goes on steadily to another destination. Some change Time will make in any writer’s manner and his moods; on the whole the change is that of development, or, alas! development’s antithetic sequel, decay ; but there are, of course, exceptional instances in which experiences of life, in- tellectual training and surroundings, or other circumstances, transform the mental being. If that has chanced to a writer, his earliest and his maturer work will be of | markedly differentiated character. Even in that case, however, the transformation, ac- cording to the wont of human nature, would not be of that sudden sort which would render the contrast striking between the book of one year and the book of the next ; it would be gradual in the personal being, still more gradual in the result on the lite- rary tendency. Setting aside mimetic altera- tions of style or theme, and artificial posing (and we are not speaking of that sort of thing, but of genuine transition), literary transition will not show more sudden stages where it is guided by an altered bent of mind than where it is solely a process of development. It will end in a much greater divergence from the starting-point; it may arrive at its full divergence more promptly ; but neither divergence nor speed is the same thing as abruptness. In Mr. Allingham’s transition, as presented, there is a startling abruptness. It could scarcely be otherwise, seeing that by his system of republication there is a leap over more than a quarter of a century from his last book to this: ‘ Flower Pieces’ had, it is true, some poems (those from which its title was deduced) which had not appeared in his former collections, and which were marked by what was either an abandonment or a loss of the light touch used on the earlier productions; but they were too few to affect the nature of the collection as a whole; so that, in spite of the presage of these more studied and con- strained poems of later date, Mr. Alling- ham’s verse could still only be said to possess the briskness and flow which won it favour in his youth. This last volume, in which not a trace of his early manner appears, comes as if from another hand. There is absolutely no connexion between the care- less singer ‘‘on the Banks of Erne” and the composer of the grave and elaborate strains of ‘Thought and Word.’ The author’s name on the title-page is the same as heretofore, but we have to make acquaint- ance with a stranger. Mr. Allingham seems to have felt this, for he has endeavoured to create a link with his former self by printing his portrait taken several years ago, and with it, as a preface to the book, theselines—lines having a sadness now, from his departure— ON A PORTRAIT. When a Poet knew himself, once on a time, And his joy of life overflow’d into rhyme, He had supple joints and curly dark hair ; Folk see him now with a pate half bare, Some grizzled locks hanging lichen-wise Over wrinkled forehead and sunken eyes: 3ut why not show him (guarding truth) As he used to be in his days of youth ? Look and believe ! he once was young ; When he sung of Love, he felt what he sung ; A Poet then, if a Poet now, Why with sad cheer and wither’d brow Greet the good Frierd who may wish to learn How he look’d ?—He looked thus, on the Banks of Erne, (Nay, younger still, and merrier far,— Already long set is the morning star) Erne water dancing from dawn to dark : Over the green hills caroll’d the lark, Seagull screech’d over ocean-strand, | Plover wail’d on the brown moorland
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250 THE ATHENZUM N° 3278, Ava. 23,90 Woman was loveliness; life was wide, Fill'd with wonders on every side ; Heaven clear open as far as God, Maker and Guardian of sun and clod ; Truth, unselfishness, merely were right, Poets walk’d in celestial light. Gloom and fear and longing and pain— He forgets them now,—is almost fain (But no!) to wish himself young again. We are glad of both portraits, that in photo- graphy and that in verse; but they are not portraits of the writer of this volume. The two longest and most important poems in the book are ‘ An Evil May-day’ and ‘News from Pannonia.’ The first is the experience (whether dramatic or really autobiographic does not affect its literary truth) of one who, looking out on the beauty of a May morning, was suddenly impressed with the conviction that there is no God, nor any individual existence after death, and, accepting the swift conviction then and there, had his life darkened by it for years, but on, 80 far as (in spite of much serious-sound- ing dissertation which constitutes the poem) is anywhere shown, no deeper argument than such as had produced his unbelief, re- turned to belief and “found God again.” ‘An Evil May-day’ does not do: it is a work in which the writer makes a manifest effort to be profound, and thus falls short of poetry, and with all its show of profundity it is shallow and trite in thought, and thus falls short of philosophy. What shall we say of a poem made up of wiseacre talk like this ?— Why no more is known ? Enough it is the nature of things; and how In sooth could I conceive it otherwise, Create a different world? What use this faith ?— What use wide-sweeping universal thoughts? Nay what use is the Universe itself ?. . At least we ’ll take for granted it exists, Though questions may lack answers! iret,” ....» We have taken the specimen really hap- hazard; anywhere else in ‘An Evil May- day’ would have been similar. ‘ News from Pannonia’ is an account in dialogue form of the philosophy of Marcus Aurelius—much of it quotation, or paraphrase in inverted commas, from his writings. It reads as if a clever upper-form boy had had the subject set him for an essay, and had resolved to distinguish himself by doing it in dialogue and blank verse. Far the best thing in the book is a piece already known (we think it appeared in a magazine) :— DEATH DEPOSED. Death stately came to a young man, and said “If thou wert dead, What matter?” The young man replied, ‘*See my young bride, Whose life were all one blackness if I died. My land requires me ; and the world’s self, too, Methinks, would miss some things that I can do,” “ Matter,” Then Death in scorn this only said, ‘* Be dead,” And so he was. And soon another's hand Made rich his land. The sun, too, of three summers had the might To bleach the widow’s hue, light and more light, Again to bridal white. And nothing seem’d to miss beneath that sun His work undone, But Death soon met another man, whose eye Was Nature’s spy ; Who said, “ Forbear thy too triumphant scorn, The weakest born Of all the sons of men, is by his birth Heir of the Might Eternal; and this Karth Is subject to him in his place. Thou leav’st no trace, ““Thou,—the mock Tyrant that men fear and hate, Grim fleshless Fate, Cold, dark, and wormy thing of loss and tears ? Not in the sepulchres Thou dwellest, but in my own crimson’d heart ; Where while it beats we call thee Life. Depart! A name, a shadow, into any gulf, Qut of this world, which is not thine, But mine: Or stay !—because thou art Only Myself,” This has something striking in the idea. But yet there is the strain, the attempt to be beyond himself and consequent falling short of his true power, which is the unhappy characteristic of Mr. Allingham’s second manner. The drama, ‘Ashby Manor,’ is in prose, with occasional blank verse. We are sorry that the accusation, formerly made in a news- paper correspondence, of its having been plagiarized by a London manager and pro- duced in a ‘‘clumsy parody,” is insisted on in a note. The plot, no doubt perfectly original with Mr. Allingham, in the sense of not being a copy, is one which has long since become so much a matter of course in plays and romances dated in the times of Cavaliers and Roundheads, that no one can have more property in it as a subject for his literary canvas than he might in a sun- set orasea. The fact is that the plot and chief incidents of ‘ Ashby Manor’ had been used often before and will be used often again, and the better or worse management of them is the only question there can be, whoever reintroduces them. We do not think they are very vividly dealt with in ‘Ashby Manor,’ and, in particular, the necessary traitor is a poor one, being almost useless to the march of events, and his hireling spy has nothing to spy about. NOVELS OF THE WEEK, The Criton Hunt Mystery. By Mrs. Robert Jocelyn. 3 vols. (Hurst & Blackett.) The Riddle of Lawrence Haviland. By Constance Smith. 3 vols. (Bentley & Son. The Last of the MacAllisters. Barr. (Clarke & Co.) The Dead Man’s Gift: a Tea-Planter’s Romance. By Herbert Compton. (Allen & Co.) Histoires Fin de Siecle. Par J. Ricard. (Paris, Calmann Lévy.) ‘Tue Criton Hunt Mystery’ is not par- ticularly mysterious, and certainly no great accession to literature. But it is brightly written, though marks of haste and defects of accuracy may be seen on every page. It is rather a tax on our imaginative powers to suppose the two earls’ daughters taking up their quarters for the first time in a hunting country with a view to sport, when their knowledge of the subject By Amelia E. induces them to think that huntsman | and whips are present to carry food for | the hounds, who cannot be expected, poor things, to hunt a fox without an interval for dinner. Lady Helen, however, is divinely gifted as a horsewoman, and soon takes her place in the first flight. Not so Lady Marcia, disguised as Molly Jones; her quarry is man, in the pursuit of whom she is as cool as she is tremulous and flurried when exposed to the accidents of the field. Poetical justice decrees that Nellie shall secure both the results of pursuit, while Molly is unfortunate in both her objects. There is some sardonic humour in the way she turns the tables on Lord Clarenby, and a certain amount of liveliness in the description of the old housekeeper’s agonies while posing for the nonce as the stepmother of the two wilful young ladies in her charge. The French in Mrs. Jocelyn’s book is, if possible, worse than her English. In ‘The Riddle of Lawrence Haviland’ the reader will find sundry notes of the modern story in the style now fashionable, including a Russian Nihilist or two and a batch of suspected dynamiters. But Constance Smith’s novel is a good deal more than a story d Ja mode, as any one who has read ‘The Repentance of Paul Wentworth’ would naturally expect. Lawrence Haviland’s riddle is propounded by his inflexible character, which combines a passion for justice with a proud reliance on his own judgment. The combination leads him into one or two awkward situa- tions, and his wife and sister create other difficulties for him, so that the just man struggles with adversity throughout three volumes. The author has an eye to the development of character, and she breaks down the overweening pride of her hero by making him deflect from the path of justice on his own account, and so levelling him down to the wife whom he had harshly con- demned. There is room for doubt as to the adaptability of some of Constance Smith’s machinery for the effects which it is intended to produce, but on the whole her story is vigorous and satisfying. In style and tone it is unexceptionable, and well above the average of recent fiction. Mrs. Barr seems at one time to have read her Scott carefully and to have acquired some familiarity with the names of Highland places. But it must have been some time ago, or she would hardly have produced so bewildering a jumble of people and localities as she does in her present little book. The sort of stage Highlanders she draws, and the elaborate, but not idiomatic Lowland Scotch which she puts into their mouths, may pass muster with such English people as even in these days know nothing of their northern neighbours, but to any one with the slightest knowledge of the country the book will be almost irritating. For the Highlands have a history, and one which is pretty well known, aud to write a story in- volving references to the rising of 1745 with- out a moderate adherence to facts is surely a mistake. It would have been far better to make no historical allusions than make them all wrong. Mrs. Barr places her MacAllister up among the Macleods and Mackays, with his two sons, Lairds or Lords (the terms are with her convertible) Hector and Angus! (One of the characters gravely rebukes a woman for not address- ing Angus as ‘Laird Angus.”) Had a Jacobite chief been in that part of the country in 1745 it is needless to say he would have been in a hornets’ nest. However, MacAllister is ‘‘located” in Assynt, and becomes, proh pudor! ‘‘ Karl of Reay and Viscount Assynt’’ when he accepts a title from the Hanoverian. His eldest scn, we may mention, is Lord John Assynt! After this we learn without sur- prise that the Frasers, not the Macdonalds, have since Bannockburn claimed the a
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eee XUM N° 3278, Auu. 23, 90 THE ATHENAUM 251 privilege of forming the right wing in a Highland army. It was not young Glen- garry at Sherifimuir, but some one else, who said, “To-day forrevenge and to-morrow for mourning.” It was one Fraser of Glensarg, not Malcolm Macgregor, who (at Preston !) called to his men that he was not dead, and should see if any of them failed of his duty. We had thought no Frasers were in the field till after the retreat from Derby, and that then they were under the Master and Inverallochy, but we know better now. Gipsies may have wandered up to Sutherland, but it is rather a far cry from Yetholm, where we fancy that the gipsy Gordons lay. And Angus, an attainted Jaco- bite, may have taken the side of the American colonists with some enthusiasm. There were such cases; but on the whole few loyalists suffered more severely than the Highland emigrants, and Highlanders for many generations had had no cause to love the American planter. Has Mrs. Barr ever heard of Macdonald of Kingsburgh and the North Carolina Highlanders ? India has become of late years a favourite theme with novelists, but almost invariably the elements of the story are the Mutiny and love-making at hill stations. Mr. Compton has departed from the beaten track, and chooses for his subject the adven- tures of a young tea-planter at the foot of the Himalayas. The insight into tea- planter society, its composition and its daily routine, is decidedly interesting, and the local colouring is excellent. The course of the hero’s love-making is described with skill and sympathy, and—what is rare in the novelists of the present day—there are several good character sketches. The Cambridge Don who has drifted into the position of a tea-planter, but who, absorbed in the composition of a great work on mathematics, neglects alike his plantation and his progeny, and becomes irritated if the spoons and the chairs are not sym- metrically arranged, is an excellent varia- tion of an old type. The Parsee shop- keeper, with greed and kindness struggling for the upper hand and an unconscious habit of emphasizing his meaning by swear- ing in broken English, is as true to nature as he is comic. The tender touches in the delineation of the wife of the ex-private soldier, who has become a sort of unattached missionary, are also good. The villain, good-natured, but merciless and unscrupu- lous when his interests are affected, is a cleverly sketched character. In short, Mr. Compton has so skilfully blended virtue and villainy, each with a reasonable amount of its opposite for alloy, and has so deftly managed to make his dramatis persone act as if they were not marionettes, that he has produced a very good novel. M. Ricard’s short stories are clever ; but the volume will not be to the taste of the English-speaking public.‘ Our author makes one of his heroes come to England to buy a bit of second-hand rope from the hangman. This reads like an extravagant fancy, but as a fact we are informed that great ladies in Paris have been known to try to induce Home Office clerks to use the influence of the Home Secretary with the hangman to obtain a luxury unknown in France, “the best of talismans,” for ‘suicides’ ropes won’t do’’! SCOTLAND AND IRELAND. Scotland, by John Mackintosh, LL.D., in the “Story of the Nations” series (Fisher Unwin), is favourably distinguished from most short histories of Scotland by its being brought down to the present century, and by its giving some space to Scottish literature. It is readable, and free as a whole from actual blunders ; but throughout it is vitiated by strange omissions and an utter lack of proportion. St. Cuthbert, Drummond of Hawthornden, Adam Smith, and Lord Melville were at least as worthy of mention as MacWilliam, Thomas (?) Chambers, Sir Archi- bald Alison, and Mr. Andrew Dunlop; nor should the battles of Otterburn and Harlaw have been left unnoticed, when those of the Grampians and Killiecrankie receive two pages apiece. Scotch whiskey gets one and a half pages, Montrose’s campaign seven lines; the Darien scheme four pages, St. Margaret just half a line ; Hogg two and a half pages, Scott as poet a fifth of that space. We are glad, however, to learn that ‘‘some of Scott’s poems are still read,” just as we are glad to learn that Darnley’s murder was a mere episode in a revolutionary movement—not a hint of Queen Mary’s com- plicity. ‘‘Darly” (Dalry), “Sadlaw” (Sidlaw) Hills, “ Botherwick” (Borthwick), and many more similar misprints are due perhaps to English compositors, but they are irritating. The sixty illustrations vary much in worth, the portrait of James VI. being curious, that of Robert Bruce simply ridiculous. Scottish History from Contemporary Writers : The Days of James IV. (Nutt) is the first of Mr. York Powell’s new series, whose “aim is to send the reader to the best original authorities, and so to bring him as close as may be to the mind and feelings of the times he is reading about.” That aim has been well attained in the little volume before us, for its editor, Mr. G. Gregory Smith, shows a wise discrimination in the 120 passages that he brings together from Polydore Vergil, Hall, Major, Pitscottie, and a dozen other authorities. Room might perhaps have been found for James IV.’s curious letter commending a gipsy earl to the King of Denmark, as also for the foundation charter of Lochwinnoch collegiate church, which illustrates as does no other document the state of the pre-Reformation Church in Scotland. Certainly it is a pity that Dalyell’s edition of Pitscottie was not followed rather than the folio edition, and that the text of the latter has been so anglicized, and sometimes wrongly. Thus there are three bad blunders in this one brief passage: ‘‘Of this desire the said Sir Andrew Wood was well content, and passed forth to the Firth well manned with two ships to pass upon the said Englishmen, whom he ‘ foregathered’ [joined] withal immediately before the Castle of Dunbar.” Dunbar of course is not in the Firth of Forth; and in Dalyell the passage runs :—“ Off this Sir Andrew Wood was weill content, and past furth of [out of] the firth with tua schipis weill maned and artylled to pas vpoun the said Inglismen, whom he forgathered with [met] at the castle of Dunbar.” As a whole, however, the book deserves high com- mendation, the notes, maps, illustrations, and general get-up being excellent. Ir people are fond of Scotland and yet dislike the pipes, Mr. Sinclair, in Scenes and Stories of the North of Scotland (Edinburgh, Thin), advises them to go to Caithness, where the Scandinavian population have expelled the melodious strains which have charmed the Celt since the days When Jubal in his oxter squeezed The blether o’ a sheep. Indeed, for other reasons travellers might do worse than make their way to the rocky coast of Caithness. Our author is at his best in de- scribing the character and peculiarities of Thurso. Peelans and Boustie and their like are pretty much the same as the familiar ‘‘ natural” of every Scotch village a few generations ago, but, of course, they have differential oddities of their own. Boustie’s account of the loyal meeting which resolved to stick by the national Church is good. “At last Maister D——, daecent, godly man, brocht ’is han’ doun wi’ a thump on ’e table, an’ said, G— d— it, what will we do bit stick by ’e Steablished Kirk? There wis a Steablished Kirk afore ’e world was, an’ ’ere ’Il be ane efter she’s dune.” In spite of a monstrous deal of padding, there are several good bits in this book. The descriptions of Assynt, the Lewis, and other northern districts are graphic, and in describing the cradle of his race Mr. Sinclair speaks with natural enthusiasm. Dr. Heaty is to be congratulated upon hav- ing succeeded in making Jnsula Sanctorum et Doctorum; or, Ireland’s Ancient Schools and Scholars (Dublin, Sealy, Bryers & Walker), really readable and entertaining. Antiquaries may, perhaps, wish that more historic details and fewer legends had been given, but the book is excellent of its kind, and the monks, hermits, and recluses of old days live again in these pages as men and women, strong in faith, rigorous in mortification, but with individual characters and a suspicion of human frailty. There is, of course, an inevitable monotony of subject, and we are forced to the conclusion that the Christianity of the early Irish was a singularly dreary creed ; but its professors are painted by Dr. Healy as men and women of strong and various character, subject to all the passions and temptations of a fiery, high- spirited, untamed race. Indeed, no book that we can call to mind at present gives such a vivid, truthful picture of the Irish in the days of holiness and learning. Of course the bishop is in full sympathy with his subject; but he writes with great self-restraint, and refrains from expressing his own opinion on the fearful penances that these recluses imposed upon them- selves. Roman Catholics will, no doubt, read the work with more unalloyed pleasure than those to whom many of these lives appear wasted ; but the biographies may be read with interest by all who care for religious his- tory, romantic legend, or the study of human character. Limerick and its Sieges. By the Rev. James Dowd, A.B. (Limerick, M‘Kern & Sons.)— From the preface we gather that Messrs. M‘Kern were extremely anxious to publish this little volume, which probably appeals to a local public. The circumstances of the sieges of Limerick are, however, pretty well known, and a local history should be far more exhaustive than Mr. Dowd’s, if it is to possess any value. The subject is a good one, but the book before us is far too slight to meet any want there may be, or to convey any new information. PHILOLOGICAL LITERATURE, A Primer of Spoken English. By Henry Sweet. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.)—The first half (forty-four pages) of this little volume is a translation, with some improvements, of the grammar contained in the author’s well-known ‘Elementarbuch’; the latter half, consisting of dialogues and colloquial narratives written in phonetic spelling, is entirely new. The conver- sations are cleverly invented, and are actually worth reading for their own sake. A foreigner who wishes to know how Englishmen really talk will find them much more useful than any- thing he is likely to meet with in novels or plays. The phonetic notation is intended to represent the author’s habitual pronunciation, uncorrected by reference to any theoretical standard. Most phonetic writers hitherto, ex- cept when treating of dialects, have directed their efforts to representing what they think they ought to say rather than what they actually do say. Dr. Sweet’s careful record of his own pronunciation is unquestionably valuable, though whether it is quite in its right place in a “primer” may be doubted. The pro-
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252 THE ATHENAUM N° 3278, Ava. 23, ’90 nunciation noted seems to be somewhat “slovenly ”; that is to say, the elisions appear to be more frequent, and the difference between the stressed and the unstressed sounds of cer- tain words to be greater, than they are in the average speech of educated people. If we are right in this opinion, it is a pity that the ‘ Ele- mentarbuch’ should have been so generally accepted in Germany as an authority on orthoepy. Dr. Sweet himself, indeed, makes no such claim for it; he seems rather to think that there is no criterion for determining which of two pro- nunciations is the better. We should be inclined to say that, as the end of language is to be understood, the intrinsically best pronunciation is that which has the greatest degree of clear- ness, short of what general educated usage agrees in condemning as pedantic. An Introduction to the Origin of Surnames, by Patrick Dudgeon (Edinburgh, Douglas), is nicely printed, and that is about all that can be said in its favour. Mr. Dudgeon has filled about sixty pages with a mere catalogue of modern surnames, classified according to what he supposes to be their etymological meaning. No one who knew anything of scientific etymology, or of the special difficultiesattending the explanation of surnames, would have ventured on such a task. Perhaps about one in fifty of the author’s guesses may be accepted with tolerable confidence, a much larger proportion must be dismissed as impos- sible, while the remainder may, for all the evidence that exists, be either right or wrong. Under the head of “General Personal Cha- racteristics”” Mr. Dudgeon places the surnames Akenhead, Bickerdyke, Bondham, Bracewell, Cantwell, Cleverley, Fleet, Hurlstone, Jump, Lightoller, and many more, which are pretty certainly derived from names of places. Many other surnames of similar origin are given under all the remaining headings ; e. g., under “ Trades and Callings ” Holderness is said to mean “‘ up- holsterer,” and Shuttleworth is explained as ‘‘weaver.” The classified lists are preceded by forty pages of introduction, containing some interesting matter, chiefly copied from Mr. Bardsley, and a good many highly original blunders, such as the statement that ‘the terminations ham, nam, an, and er are very often used for man.” An Introduction to the Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, by J. E. King and C. Cook- son (Oxford, Clarendon Press), is chiefly an abridgment of ‘The Principles of Sound and Inflexion in Greek and Latin,’ by the same authors, which was favourably reviewed in the Atheneum last year. The condensation has been skilfully done; very few of the results contained in the larger work have been omitted, and the more important statements are accom- panied by a brief but lucid summary of the reasons on which they are based. If the book is intended for use in schools, it is, perhaps, somewhat too full of matter, and here and there too concise in expression ; but these are faults which a good teacher will not find seriously embarrassing. That the work contains several statements that are open to controversy is, of course, unavoidable in the present condition of the science, but we have observed little that can be designated as unquestionably erro- neous. The word herald, however, should not have been cited as cognate with «jpvé; and it is strange to find ri ¢uoi cal coi given as an example of dativus ethicus. The new matter consists chiefly of a chapter on comparative syntax. We think the authors go a great deal too far in supposing that each of the tense- forms of primitive Aryan had its rigorously defined function ; but the chapter is on the whole extremely interesting and instructive. TuE fabulous history of Alexander the Great ranks in importance for folk-lore with the story of Bidpai and the ‘Arabian Nights.’ It has been translated from the Greek of Pseudo-Callisthenes directly or indirectly into all possible languages, Eastern and Western. Strangely enough, no Arabic version has been discovered in a MS. as yet. Mr. Budge now supplies this lacuna by his excellent edition (based on five MSS., and furnished with an English translation and notes) of the Syriac version, The History of Alexander the Great, being the Syriac Version of the Pseudo- Callisthenes (Cambridge, University Press), which he proves from the misspelling of some names must be derived from an Arabic ori- ginal. So far we can agree with him; but when he says that the Arabic was translated directly from the Greek, we must express our doubt; for as far as our knowledge goes no Arabic translation exists which is made directly from the Greek. Aristotle, Archimedes, Hip- pocrates, Galen, and others were all translated from the Syriac into Arabic. It is, therefore, certain that an early Syriac translation of Pseudo- Callisthenes existed, just as there is one of Bid- pai, which is now published with the title of ‘Kalilag we Damnag.’ The present Syriac trans- lation is made from an Arabic translation, just as there is such a one of ‘ Kalilah we Dimnah.’ The date of our Syriac translation is uncertain. Mr. Budge attributes it to some period between the seventh century and the ninth ; the late Dr. Wright was more timid, and assigned the date of the translation to the tenth century. But Mr. Budge is right in saying as follows :— “Whether we assign the earlier or the later date to the translation, it does not appear that the value of the work as a means for helping to restore the ancient form of the Alexander story will be im- paired. Also it is certain that the Syriac translation represents one of the oldest forms of the story, older probably than any other known to us.” In order to establish this fact it would be necessary to collate the Hebrew translation from the Arabic, which is published. It is to be regretted that Mr. Budge had no opportunity of seeing this publication, for otherwise he would not have fallen into the error of making the Hebrew translation the original of the his- tory of Alexander. However, one man cannot master everything. There is no necessity to say that the Syriac textis correctly edited as far as the MSS. allow it, since the sheets passed through the hands of that lamented master of Semitic languages, Prof. W. Wright. The English translation is, although faithful, most readable, and the notes, which refer mainly to the Greek text, are of importance. The indices of the proper names in Syriac and English are ela- borate, and the Syriac glossary, which contains words omitted in the only accessible Syriac dictionary for students, viz., Castellus- Michaelis (the ‘Thesaurus Syriacus,’ by the Dean of Canterbury, not being yet complete), will be welcomed by Syriac scholars. So far for the Syriac work. But we have to mention Mr. Budge’s extended introduction. He begins naturally with the description of the MSS. at his disposal. Then follows a chapter on the Egyptian origin of the Alexander story, in which are given some hieroglyphic texts on Egyptian working of magic. Next comes a chapter of the versions of the history of Alexander, for many of which Mr. Budge necessarily has to rely on second-hand documents ; but he has satisfactorily worked out the Syriac version, to which he has added the Christian legend of Jacob of Serugh in an English translation, and the Ethiopic, for the full description of which according to MSS. scholars will be thankful. We hope that the indefatigable editor may be enabled by one of the two University presses to publish the Ethiopic text with an English translation. Before concluding our inadequate notice we must mention the novelty of type, viz, the Nestorian characters, produced for the first time in a book printedin England. It is a mere curiosity, for we cannot say that there is any advantage gained for Syriac texts by their being printed in one character or another. We may be allowed to add to the enumeration of the biographical notices of Dr. W. Wright, which Mr. Budge gives at the eni of his preface, that of M. R. Duval in the Revue Critique. M. Pierre Batirron has made an important contribution to the history of the Greek MSS. in the Vatican Library. His nicely got-up monograph, with the title of La Vaticane de Paul Ill. a Paul V. daprés des Documents Nouveaux (Leroux, Paris), gives a short descrip- tion of the Greek MSS. acquired from 1545 to 1621, according to the official inventory to be foundin the Vatican. This library possesses not fewer than 3,614 Greek MSS., which aro known as six collections, viz., that called Palatinus, with 431 MSS.; that of the Queen, with 190 MSS.; the collection Ottoboni, with 471 MSS.; that of Pius IX., with 55 MSS.; the Urbino collec- tion, with 165 MSS ; and, finally, the Vaticana, which represents the Pontifical collection, with 2,302 MSS. The last was begun much later than the Pontifical collection of Latin MSS. Indeed, in 1443 the library of Eugenius IV. did not contain more than two Greek MSS., viz., Boéthius in Greek and Latin, and a Psalter partly in Greek and partly in Latin. Two years later the Pontifical collection consisted of 355 volumes, and at the death of Sixtus IV. there were nearly 900 MSS. Nothing is known as to what became of these MSS. The nucleus of the Vaticin collection of Greek MSS. began with Leo X., which numbered, in 1519-21, 450 MSS., which are nearly all to be found in the Vatican Library. From Leo X. to Paul III. the Greek collection grew rapidly, and the Vatican Library possesses the inventory of the Greek MSS. in the time of Paul III., dated 1545. It is upon this document that M. Batiffol bases his interesting sketch, which he continues till the time of Paul V., i.e., 1621. The sketch is followed by the original document concerning the various collections embodied in the Vatican Library at that time. A special monograph on the Rossano collection is promised by M. Batiffol. Ir Government and the public be justly chargeable with apathy in the promotion of Oriental studies in England, the author of a recently published volume entitled Flowers from a Persian Garden, and other Papers (Nutt), has shown commendable activity in putting before his countrymen the claims to consideration pos- sessed by his favourite Oriental writers. Mr. Clouston is already known to many as the editor of a ‘Group of Eastern Romances and Stories,’ ‘The Book of Sindibad,’ the ‘ Bakhtydr Ndma,’ and ‘Arabian Poetry for English Readers ’— volumes which, though privately printed in Scot- land, are welcome additions to cosmopolitan libraries. He may be also credited with untiring zeal in reproducing meritorious, if too little appreciated, renderings of Persian poetry which have from time to time appeared during the last hundred and odd years, or from the days when Sir William Jones so skilfully initiated the investigation of Eastern literary lore on classical and at the same time popular lines. The work before us is a pleasant publication, and may be applauded for its. usefulness. If adapted rather to club or railway reading than serious study, and more likely to attract the man who knows little or nothing of Oriental ways than an expert in Orientalism, to whom the teaching and illustra- tive narration of its pages are familiar things, it has practical value in supporting the cause so steadily advocated by its author and compiler. It is not quite clear why the short papers entitled ‘Ignorance of the Clergy in the Middle Ages’ and ‘The Beards of our Fathers’ have been added to the sections headed ‘‘ Oriental Wit and Humour” and “The Tales of a Parrot ”—imme- diately succeeding and forming part of the ‘Flowers,’ the ‘Arabic Tale of Love,’ and ‘ Apo- cryphal Life of Esop’; nor are we sure that ‘Rabbinical Legends, Tales, Fables, and Aphor- isms’ supply an appropriate subject under the covering designation of Mr. Clouston’s book. The question of Biblical history might, however, have been legitimately touched on in relation to
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e. XUM N° 3278, Ava. 23, 90 THE ATHENZUM 253 the teaching of S‘adi and other Persian moralists, and a most interesting réswmé made of the many passages in the writings of medizeval or modern authors which seem to reproduce ideas if not the actual words found in Scripture or the Apo- crypha. Could S‘adi, for instance, have had in his mind one of the precepts of Solomon (Pro- verbs xxv. 17), rendered in the Revised Version, Let thy foot be seldom in thy neighbour’s house ; Lest he be weary [marginally expressed ‘‘ full ”] of thee, and hate thee, when he said, ‘‘ There is no harm in paying visits to others, but go not so often that they say, ‘It is enough’”? Or could he have read the words of the son of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus iv. 23), “Refrain not to speak, when there is occasion to do good, and hide not thy wisdom in her beauty,” when he wrote, ‘‘ Although, in the estimation of the wise, silence is commendable, yet at a proper season speech is preferable ” ? But such and more remarkable instances are abundant and well worth the pains of collation. Unfortunately the pages of this neatly turned out book are disfigured by manifestly incorrect or inconsistent transliteration. A very few are noted. If the letter e be admissible in Anglicized proper names, it would be far better to use it as the last vowel in ‘‘ Atabag” than of ‘ Mu- hammed ” (p. 4). The yd represented by a y in ‘* Jalaly ” (p. 23) should, on the same principle, neplace the i in Saddi (S‘adi?), but the last is preferable ; and “shaikh” is perhaps more sightly and better than Mr. Clouston’s ‘‘shayxh” (p. 3). Finally, the “ Nassdla Shiraz” (p. 20) is shown, in the Persian text as well as on the testimony of travellers, to be the “ Musalla-i-Shirdz,” a spot (literally ‘“ prayer-carpet”’) celebrated by the poet Hafiz in some well-known lines, of which the version by Sir William Jones contains the distich, A stream so clear as Rucnabad, A bower so sweet as Mosellay. Wk have receivedacatalogue (privately printed) of the collection of Hebrew MSS. in the pos- session of Herr S. T. Halberstam, of Bielitz (in Austrian Silesia), compiled in Hebrew by the owner, who is well known to rabbinical scholars from his writings on this branch of literature. The number of the MSS. is no fewer than 411, amongst which many are unique, such as casuis- tical works, Diwans, and more especially Fes- tival prayer-books (Mahazorim), one, for instance, according to the ritual of Montpellier, and several from the Greek synagogues. Works of all kinds by Italian rabbis are best represented in this collection, without the investigation of which the history of the Italian Jews will remain defective. As the owner is willing to part with his important collection, we draw the attention to it of public libraries, and more especially of the administrators of rabbinical schools. The London Jewish congregation pos- sesses already about one hundred and fifty Hebrew MSS., of which a catalogue ap- peared in 1886. The acquisition of the present collection would be a great boon to rabbinical students, and would honour the Jewish congre- gation of the United Kingdom. A Simplified Grammar of the Spanish Lan- guage, which Mr. W. F. Harvey has compiled for Messrs. Paul, Triibner & Co., gives a brief, but clear statement of the chief facts of the language. It is the only book of the kind in English we know of which is based on the results of modern philologists and makes suf- ficient reference to the old. forms of Spanish. On the latter account it will be found particu- larly helpful by those attempting to read the ‘Poem of the Cid,’ or any of the other monu- ments of the early literature of Spain. We hope that the promise held out by Mr. Harvey in his preface may be fulfilled, and that he may before long bring out a more exhaustive gram- mar. Tue editors of the new Oriental journal, the Z’oung Pao—the first number of which now lies before us—might well have omitted the apology they make for introducing a new periodical of the kind to the learned world. Interest in Oriental matters is sadly at a discount in Western Europe, and especially among ourselves. A debt of gratitude is due, therefore, to MM. Schlegel and Cordier for the creation of the T’oung Pao (Leyden, Brill; London, Luzac & Co.). Dr. Hirth, M. Cordier, Prof. Schlegel, and M. Henri Leduc are the contributors to the present number. Dr. Hirth’s article on the history of paper-making in China, and MM. Cordier and Leduc’s articles, the one on ‘ Les Frangais en Birmanie au XVIII* Siécle,’ and the other on a journey to Yunnan by way of Tong- king, are perhaps the most interesting. Fol- lowing these contributions is a clear and concise account of the Oriental Congress held in Stock- holm last year; and the number closes with notices of recent works on Oriental subjects, and a bibliography by M. Cordier “des princi- paux ouvrages, articles de revues, mémoires de sociétés savantes, &c., parus pendant l’année 1889.” Hermathena (Longmans & Co.) appears now half-yearly. The number before us contains an excellent criticism of Mr. Owen’s edition of the ‘ Tristia’ (see Athen. No. 3276) by Mr. Robinson Ellis, and some notes on the poem by Prof. Palmer ; a sharp review of Dr. Verrall’s recent edition of the ‘Agamemnon’ by Prof. Tyrrell, and other good papers. —The new number of the Journal of Philoloyy is also deserving of atten- tion. Mr. Morritt has printed his inaugural lecture as Reader in Russian at Oxford under the title An Essay on the Importance of the Study of the Slavonic Languages (Frowde). The historical notices in this admirable paper are particularly interesting. OUR LIBRARY TABLE. The History of Wool and Woolcombing, by James Burnley (Sampson Low & Co.), supplies a detailed account of the progress that has been made in the art of woolcombing since the time when Cartwright’s invention began the revolu- tion. Though his Big Ben did not altogether fulfil its inventor’s expectations, it was the first step in the substitution of machine combing for hand labour. This change was long resisted, and attempts were even made to prohibit it by legal enactment ; but Parliament refused to pass the measure, and after a long and miserable struggle the handcombers were driven from the field in 1845. Mr. Burnley gives a clear explanation, illus- trated by numerous diagrams of the machinery and portraits of inventors, of the various steps that have been taken in overcoming difficulties and in perfecting the plant. An appendix con- tains a list of the patents which have been taken out since Cartwright’s time, and thus gives an accurate and dated record of progress. Mr. Burnley shows an obvious desire to be fair in estimating the importance of each step, and fully recognizes the independence of the work that was done by Heilmann and Lister, and the originality of both. It is not altogether fortunate that the author in attempting to re- lieve the tedium of merely technical discussions should have introduced so much and such poor padding. His account of the early woollen manufacture in England is exceedingly slight. Had he been acquainted with Smith’s ‘Memoirs of Wool’ he might have treated it better, and amplified his remarks on the encouragement given to wool-growing. His use of authorities is not satisfactory. Aldhelm wrote a homily ‘De Laudibus Virginitatis,’ but this hardly entitles him to be called a chronicler, and his illustrations do not give much proof as to the condition of Eng- lish industry. Youatt’s ‘Golden Fleece’ is of very little value as evidence in regard to the precise steps taken by Edward III. Considering how closely the history of woolcombing at a later period is connected with the West Riding of Yorkshire, it 's remarkable that the author should lay such stress on Edward III. and ignore Henry VII. Not content with sketching the history of this art in England, Mr. Burnley enters the field of legend, and assures us asa ‘* notable fact’’ that ‘it was from the ranks of the priesthood that the woolcombing industry received its two principal creative spirits.” The allusion is to St. Blasius and Dr. Cartwright. Of the former it need only be said that there is no more reason to believe that he was a wool- comber because he was tortured with combs than there is to suppose that St. James was a fuller because he was killed with a beetle. On the whole, it seems a pity that a book which deals so well with the technical history of a par- ticular branch of industry should be swelled by so much irrelevant and ill-digested matter. Tue sixth number of Messrs. Blackwood’s series of Travel, Adventure, and Sport from ‘ Blackwood’s Magazine’ begins well with Mr. Scott’s graphic narrative of his experiences in Afghanistan in 1878. The heroic death of Battye gives rise to some incidental remarks on the value of the lance in Afghan warfare, and another occasion leads to an observation on the value of the old ‘‘line retiring” in the face of barbarous swordsmen. We rejoice to hear, oa the authority of Yakoob Khan, that “he never saw an army at once so powerful and so courteous and quiet” as oursin that war. One usual accom- paniment of war was absolutely unknown, to the eternal credit of British and native officers and men. Among other experiences of the writer, his ascent of the highest point of the Safed-Koh, 15,629 feet above sea level, is not the least interesting. ‘The Americans and the Aborigines,’ from the German of Charles Seals- field, shows a higher estimate of the noble savage than his fallen descendants now generally de- serve, and introduces us to some stirring scenes during the “short war” between England and the States.—Albert Smith’s ascent of Mont Blanc, in the seventh number, reminds us of the lecture we heard in our youth—how many yearsago! A naval contributor writes of whales and walrus in Nova Zemla. ‘A Ride to Magnesia’ in 1842 affords a view of the old- fashioned Asiatic Turk of that day, of whom the writer speaks highly, as well as of the Turkish soldier. In ‘Aland—the Baltic in 1854, the late Col. Charles Hamley, R.M., re- vives our recollections of work done by our fleet that was by no means unimportant, though dwarfed by the occurrences in the Crimea.— ‘The Laying of the Atlantic Cable’ commences the eighth number, which also contains ‘ Life in Central Asia,’ ‘A Visit to the Big Trees of Cali- fornia,’ and ‘The Pirates of Segna,’ a long and romantic story concerning those strange people the Uzcoques of the Dalmatian coast. Our Central Asian traveller gives a good account by the natives of the origin of Beluchistan : “They say that Allah made Beluchistan the most per- fect land on the face of the earth—a land where reigned eternal spring or autumn (for if the Beluch who speaks happens to be hungry, he says it was an eternal time of date-ripening, whereas if he be satisfied he sets it vaguely down as an eternal time of tree-budding), and so lovely that when the angels flew over it they were always in danger of forgetting His commands ; but that Iblis, enraged at such a prospect of bliss for the favoured Beluches, tearing up great ranges of mountains to the north, cast these down upon the beautiful country, and, not con- tent with that, like a dog, scraped down upon it with his heels a good quarter of the desert of Seistan.”—In the last number Mr. Crosse dis- courses of the destruction of Szegedin. ‘Six Weeks in a Tower’ is a bit of Chinese experience in the Kwang-Tung province; and a strange adventure of the late Mr. Finlay’s during the Greek revolution, and a rattling chapter of ex- perience in a Ross-shire forest by Col. Henry Smith, conclude the volume. Col. Smith writes well, his motto regarding the ‘“‘ekercy an fheidh” being evidently that of Iain Fraser
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254 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3278, Aua. 23, 790 ‘Far am faic mise fear de na biastan, bidh mo pheilear troimh chorp.” Blossom-Land and Fallen Leaves, by Clement Scott (Hutchinson), consists of thirty-one papers on the ‘Island of Sleep’ (Sark), ‘ Poppy-land’ (Norfolk), the ‘ Palace of Peace’ (Biirgenstock), the ‘ Garden of Sleep’ (Sidestrand churchyard), &c.—titles not without a certain felicity. Pre- fixed is the portrait of the author. Tn the volume of the ‘‘ Rulers of India” which has just appeared under the title of Akbar and the Rise of the Mughal Empire (Oxford, Claren- don Press), an attempt has been made to describe in a popular form the history of one of the most remarkable of Oriental potentates, and the result has been such as might reasonably have been expected when the work to be performed was entrusted to the pen of an experienced as well as a ready writer. The opening chapter, setting forth the argument, divides the book into three parts: Babar, Humdytin, Akbar—the former two occupying, in all, one-third of its pages. Of the last we quote Col. Malleson’s own words :— “The remaining two-thirds of the book have been given to Akbar. But, here again, I have subdivided the subject. In the first of the two-thirds, I have narrated, from the pages and on the authority of contemporary Muhammadan historians, the political events of the reign. In the last chapter I have endeavoured to paint the man.” Practically, the last two chapters, which in substance constitute more than half the book— the other ten chapters being in the main intro- ductory to the broad consideration of the reign itself—are exceedingly well written and interest- ing, although on the lines of accepting the historical Akbar in his best and most becoming pose. They will, no doubt, be welcomed even by experts in Indian history in the light of a new, clear, and terse rendering of an old, but not worn-out theme. As to Eastern monarchs in general, however difficult it may be to geta trustworthy narrative of a reign anterior to the sixteenth century from the records of court chroniclers who have not the chance of escaping the moral fetters applied to their craft, yet in the case of Akbar there is much information to be obtained from contemporary history, and, outside the range of history, from European rather than from Asiatic sources, such as the Jesuit missionaries, the Dutch of the Surat Factory, and the English traveller Fitch. In quite recent years, moreover, the story of this exceptionally distinguished ruler has been in- corporated in a Dutch romance of some repute, while the Count de Noer’s ‘Kaiser Akbar’ shows that the same emperor’s career has exercised the attention and scholarship of an accomplished Prince of Sleswick - Holstein. Upon the whole this volume is a worthy and valuable addition to Sir W. Hunter’s promising series. The Morals and Manners of the Seventeenth Century, which is the title not, perhaps, alto- gether happily given to a translation of La Bruyére’s ‘ Caractéres’ by Helen Stott (Stott), is an attempt, on the whole decidedly meri- torious, to do an exceedingly difficult, if not impossible thing. La Bruyére is in prose what Racine is in verse—the quintessence of the classical style of the French seventeenth century. That is to say, the attraction of his style is de- rived entirely, or almost entirely, from order, pro- portion, and delicate adjustment, from phrase and thoughtalike chastened to the very utmost degree, and avoiding for the most part all bright colours, all unusual and startling effects. To translate such a style into another language without becoming bald is, we repeat, so difficult as to be very nearly impossible. La Bruyére’s admirable sense and observation of life of course remain, and are well presented by the translator, but we hardly know another instance in which so much is lost in translation. The irregularly flashing epigram of La Rochefoucauld, the close- packed pregnancy of Joubert, are hard enough to render, but they are less thankless and slippery than La Bruyére’s quiet urbanity. China: Skizzen von Land und Leuten mit besonderen Beriicksichtigung Kommerziellen Ver- hdltnisse. Von A. H. Exner. (Leipzig, Weigel.) —This work is one of the outward and visible signs of the designs for making money out of China which have been lately set on foot by German capitalists. It is not to be denied that China offers a tempting field for European speculators. With the exception of the short line which connects the Kaip’ing mines with Tientsin, her soil is untraversed by railways; the ships of her navy are quite inadequate for the protection of her coasts, and her forts are only very imperfectly manned with modern guns. No wonder the sight of such material destitution should have excited the interest of those in Europe who have the means at their command to supply all these deficiencies. Naturally, each country would like to have its share in the good work of giving to those who need, and numerous syndicates from London, Paris, New York, and Berlin have of late years found their way to Peking laden with schemes for the material regeneration of China. Hitherto on most points the Chinese Govern- ment has shown a distrust of these gentlemen dona ferentes, and has professed to regard their offers as gifts from Pandora’s box. It fully acknowledges the advantages which would be derived from railways, a powerful navy, and an abundance of heavy artillery, but it questions whether it will not be better to wait for these improvements until it is able to make them for itself. No doubt China has had some bitter experience of the want of ability or honesty in some of the agents employed to supply her with weapons from Europe. In _ the diary of the Marquis Ts’éng, which has been lately published in China, mention is made of the purchase of warlike stores and materials in Europe which have proved to be utterly value- less. Nevertheless the time must come when she will be compelled to equip herself with the panoply of material progress, and it is equally certain that this necessity will arise before she can possibly be in a position to turn rails, guns, and ships out of her own factories and yards. It was a knowledge of this fact which induced the Deutsche Bank to send a syndicate to Peking to lay the contents of its coffers at the disposal of the Chinese Government. Herr Exner formed one of this syndicate, and he and his fellow workers are to be congratulated on the success- ful issue of one part of their programme. A few months ago it was announced that a branch of the German Ostasiatische Bank has been opened at Shanghai. With this exception, there is little to show as the result of three years’ constant importuning. But the wheels of Chinese statesmanship grind slowly, and it may be that Herr Exner and his colleagues will yet reap the reward of those who know how to wait. We quite agree with the author in con- sidering that a new era of progress is about to begin in China, and there can be no doubt that it will take the direction in which the foreign syndicates desire to lead it. But it is certain that the Chinese Government will use its own, and, we believe, a wise discretion in the choice of the agents which it will trust. Through the resident ministers at the foreign courts it is thoroughly well informed as to those manufac- turers and others whom it may be safe to employ, and it may fairly be assumed that in this competition ‘‘ the best man will win.” Herr Exner considers that his position as a member of the German syndicate gave him exceptional facilities for seeing the country. But if this were so, he either neglected his opportunities or has kept from us his most interesting experi- ences. According to his own account he did not visit any place which has not been ‘‘ done” by every ‘‘globe-trotter” during the last two de- cades. Nor did he make any fresh discoveries on those well-trodden scenes. He visited Canton, Shanghai, Tientsin, and Peking; he journeyed to the Great Wall ; went six hundred miles up the Yang-tsze Kiang; had an interview with Li Hung-chang ; and paid some attention to Buddhism. But he has nothing new to tell on these subjects, and the reader will rise from the perusal of his book with a feeling of dis- appointment. Le Parlement de Paris de Philippe le Bel & Charles VIT, Par Félix Aubert. (Paris, Picard.) —M. Félix Aubert’s work on the Parlement of Paris during the fourteenth century is one of almost pure erudition, but of very consider- able utility. There is probably no institution of the ancient French monarchy—not even the peerage—of which it is so difficult to give an ordinary English reader a clear idea as of the Parlements, and especially the Parlement of Parise. M. Aubert himself says that as the offspring of the curia regis “il avait un prétexte pour viser 4 l’universalité,” and it was, in fact, by turns a court of justice, an administrative commission, and a kind of political council. Of its acts in these various capacities during his period, M. Aubert has given a history well stored with fact and document, and very in- telligently arranged. His conclusion is that at the close of the Middle Ages the Parlement of Paris was really the most important and strongest institution of the kingdom, second only to the Crown, and hardly to the Church. We do not know whether he intends to continue his history, but it certainly would be worth while to show how in the new state of things which was brought on by Charles VII. this strength was stunted or distorted till the Parle- ment became merely factious, as in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, or merely im- potent and corrupt, as later. Unter Drei Kaisern (Berlin, Hertz) is a col- lection of essays by the accomplished Prof. E. Curtius. One of the best is the memoir of his brother, the celebrated philologist. There are, too, good papers commemorative of Béckh, K. 0. Miiller, and Lepsius. The ‘Recollections of Emanuel Geibel’ are also interesting, although Prof. Curtius, naturally no doubt, somewhat. overrates his old friend’s poetry. ‘ Naxos’ is an excellent paper of its kind. For the semi-political addresses that open the volume we care less. Dr. Maury has published an erudite mono- graph on Biirger et les Origines Anglaises de la Ballade Littéraire en Allemagne (Hachette), which we regret we cannot review at length. It isa highly judicious piece of criticism. Dr. Maury rightly points out the great influence Herder had in reviving in Germany the taste for popular poetry. The whole essay is worth reading. Mr. Lewis Carroii has invented a stamp case, and written Hight or Nine Wise Words about Letter- Writing (Oxford, Emberlen & Son), which are very sensible indeed, and would be most useful if people would only observe his rules. In Institutiones Gremiales, su Origen y Or- ganizacién en Valencia (Valencia, Domenech), Seiior Tramoyeres has written an excellent account of the organization of the various trades of Valencia. He might have taken to heart Racine’s advice, “ Passons au déluge,” and, omitting any remarks on the Roman period and the Gothic kingdom, begun with the con- quest of Valencia by Don Jaime ; but when he gets fairly started he gives an elaborate and in- teresting description of the industrial life of the city during the Middle Ages, which down to the accession of the Bourbon dynasty retained its early form. The book will be found of much value by any one studying the history of Spain. Tue best portion of Mr. G. Macquoid’s Up and Down (Ward & Downey) is the chapter devoted to Rothenburg. The rest of the book deals too much with the beaten track. Mr. T. R. Macquoid’s eketches are a real ornament to the volume.
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XUM N° 3278, Ava. 23,90 THE ATHENZUM 255 Some pamphlets on our table deserve mention. Father Damien, by Mr. R. L. Stevenson (Chatto & Windus), is a trenchant piece of English re- printed from the Scots Observer, which must have made Dr. Hyde repent of having ever slandered Father Damien.—Le Colonel Sir Henry Yule, par M. H. Cordier (Paris, Imprimerie Nationale), is a graceful memoir of the late Sir H. Yule by the well-known French scholar. In the sonnet by the late Mr. Baber, which M. Cordier has appositely quoted from the Athe- neum, there are unluckily two slight misprints in the fourth line. THE new editions on our table comprise The Laurel Bush, another volume of the handsome edition Messrs. Macmillan are issuing of the late Mrs. Craik’s novels, and an equally commend- able reprint of Kingsley’s well-known Sermons on National Subjects, issued by the same firm. —Messrs. Methuen & Co. send usa reprint in their three-and-sixpenny ‘‘ Novel Series” of My Land of Beulah, by Mrs. Leith Adams.—Messrs. Ward & Lock have done aservice by reprint- ing in one stout volume Malthus’s Essay on the Principle of Population. The analysis Mr. Bet- tany has prefixed should prove helpful to the reader. — Ariadne Florentina is the latest instalment of the convenient reprint of Mr. Ruskin’s writings which Mr. Allen is issuing.— Messrs. Robertson, of Glasgow, have issued a neat reprint of Whistle Binkie, originally “a tiny book in an elegant paper cover, price one shilling,” but which has grown by successive additions of new Songs to two volumes of 500 pages each. The work will, no doubt, be highly popular in Scot- land, and the Southerner will refrain from criticizing it. It contains many excellent songs, and others which are considered excellent north of the Tweed.—Mr. Edwards-Moss’s pleasant Season in Sutherlandshire reappears in a cheap edition (Macmillan). Amonc the other new editions on our table is a valuable work on chess by Mr. Horwitz and Mr. Kling, Chess Studies and End Games (Bell & Sons). This second edition has had the ad- vantage of being revised by Mr. Wayte, who is as versed in chess as in Plato. Mr. SKINNER has brought out a useful volume, the Joint-Stock Registration Manual, which extends from the first day of last January to the 30th of June. It will be found convenient by stockbrokers, bankers, and others interested in companies.—The Annual American Catalogue, always a welcome publication, has reached us from the office of the Publishers’ Weekly at New York. It is an excellent compilation.— From Cambridge, Massachusetts, comes another speci- men of the industry of Mr. W. M. Griswold, an index to the chief German periodicals from 1886 to 1889. That anybody should have had the patience to compile such an index is indeed surprising. —Some more instalments of the Indici e Cataloghi, dealing with the Palatine and other MSS., are on our table. WE have on our table The Story of the French Revolution, by E. B. Bax (Sonnenschein),— War Path and Bivouac; or, the Conquest of the Siousx, by J. F. Finerty (79, Dearborn Street, Chicago, U.S.),—A Holiday Tour in Austria, by the Rev. H. P. Stokes (Digby & Long),—Sketch-Book of the North, by G. Eyre-Todd (Glasgow, Hodge), —Moffatt’s New Geography, edited by T. Page and revised by the Rev. E. Hammonds (Moffatt & Paige),—Confidential Chats with Mothers on the Healthy Rearing of Children, by Mrs. Bow- dich (Baillitre, Tindall & Cox),—Harmony in Praise, compiled by Mills Whittlesey and A. F. Jamieson (Boston, U.S., Heath),—Transactions of the National Association for the Advancement of Art and its Application to Industry, Edin- burgh, 1889 (22, Albemarle Street),—Jrish Loyal and Patriotic Union Publications issued during 1889 (Office of the Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union),— Midnight Talks at the Club, reported by A. K. Fiske (New York, Fords, Howard & Hulbert),— With Fire and Sword, by H. Sien- kiewicz, translated from the Polish by J. Curtin (Low),—Midge, by May Crommelin (Trischler & Co.),—The Sloane Square Scandal, and other Stories, by Annie Thomas (Sonnenschein),—7he Fantoccini Man, by W. Townshend (Roper & Drowley),—Loafing and Loving, by the Author of ‘My Neighbour Nellie’ (‘Fun’ Office),— and We Two at Monte Carlo, by A. D. Vandam (Chapman & Hall). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology. Bible’s (A. F.) Jesus and the Resurrection, cr. 8vo. 3/ cl. Poetry. Sibree’s (J.) Poems with Two Additions, and Rosalie, a Tale of Wye, in Five Cantos, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. History and Biography. Hug (Mrs. L.) and Stead’s (R.) Switzerland, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. (Story of the Nations.) Geography and Travel, Blake's (M. E.) A Summer Holiday in Europe, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Chamberlain’s (B. H.) Things Japanese, being Notes on various Subjects connected with Japan, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Science, Ostwald’s (Wilhelm) Outlines of General Chemistry, trans. with Author’s Sanction by J. Walker, 8vo. 10/ cl. General Literature. Breckon’s (J. R.) North-Eastern Railway Company, an Analysis of the Capital expended 1838-1889, 8vo. 2/ swd. Hopkins’s (T.) The Nugents of Cariconna, a Story more or less Irish, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. King’s (R. A.) Passion’s Slave, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Litchfield’s (M. E.) The Nine Worlds, Stories from Norse Mythology, cr. 8vo. 3/ cl. Marryat’s(F.) Mouut Eden, a Romance, cr. 8vo, 2/ bds. Riching’s (E. A.) In the Shadow of Etna, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Ross’s (W. S.) Roses and Rue, being Random Notes and Sketches, 8vo. 3/ cl. Schmid’s (Canon) Tales, translated by H. J. Gill, er. 8vo. 3/6 Westall’s (W.) Two Pinches of Snuff, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Wood’s (Mrs. H.) Johnny Ludlow Papers, Fourth Series, 3/6 Woollam’s (W.) All for Naught, 3 vols. cr. 8vo. 31/6 cl. FOREIGN, Theology. Steinmeyer (F. L.): Beitriige zum Verstindniss d, Johanneis- chen Evangeliums, Part 5, 1m, 80. History and Buwgraphy. Krumbhkoltz (R.): Samaiten u. der Deutsche Orden, 4m. 50. Scriptores Rerum Germanicarum in Usum Scholarum, rec. F. Kurze, 2m. 40. Mythology. Drexler (W.): Mythologische Beitrige, Part 1, 4m. 40. Philology. Grimm (J.): Kleinere Schriften, Vol. 8, 12m, 50. Meyer-Liibke (W.): Italienische Grammatik, 12m. Offinger (H.): English-French-Italian-German Technical Dictionary, Part 2, 3m. Otto (A.): Die Sprichwérter der Rémer, 10m. Plauti Casina, rec. F. Schoell, 5m. 60. Porphyrii Questionum Homericarum ad Odysseam Per- tinentium Reliquias ed, H. Schrader, 10m. Science, Hildebrandsson (H. H.), Képpen (W.),u. Neumayer (G.): Wolken-Atlas, 12m. General Literature. Rivet (G.): La Recherche de la Paternité, 3fr. 50. LITERARY BOYCOTTING. Barton-le-Street Rectory, Aug. 16, 1890. I am glad to see that Mr. Phillimore has exposed Mr. E. Walford’s anti-Stock mania. I am a companion in sorrow, for I also have been boycotted by that gentleman. Having met Mr. Walford threetimes at the annual meetings of the Archeological Institute, and having unwillingly heard ad nauseam the fullest details on each of these occasions of his view of a quarrel with his publisher, I trusted that the matter would have rested. But at the beginning of this year I received a letter from Mr. Walford, which I cannot conceive to be private, as it was evoked by acircular that had reached him. In it he said: ‘‘Can it possibly be true that you are going to have anything to do with Elliot Stock after all that I have told you?” And then, after some remarks complimentary to myself as an antiquary, and after asking me once again to read his printed bitterness, he added: “If this is true, I shall not be able to support [sic] you in any way, for I cannot read or recommend any- thing that man publishes ; I would not have my shelves defiled with anything bearing his im- print.” Nevertheless, my connexion with Mr. Wal- ford’s boycotted publisher continues and pro- spers. How truly unenviable is that frame of mind which remains actively malevolent about a quarrel ten years out of date! Upwards of three thousand six hundred suns have set upon this bubbling wrath of Mr. Walford ; is it too much to hope that it may now simmer down into quiescence ? for such virulence only defeats its own purpose. J. Cuartes Cox, LL.D., F.S.A. WORDSWORTH'S VERSES IN HIS GUIDE TO THE LAKE COUNTRY. August 18, 1890. WHEN writing the note under this heading printed in last week’s Atheneum, I had no oppor- tunity of consulting Prof. Knight’s edition of Wordsworth’s ‘Poems’; and in speculating as to the dates of composition and publication of the ‘ Long Meg’ sonnet, I had before me only the bibliography issued by the Wordsworth Society, and reprinted in Macmillan & Co.’s one-volume edition of Wordsworth’s ‘ Poems.’ I have since referred to Prof. Knight’s edition of these, and find he gives the date of the first publication as 1836, not 1835; and, further, that the poet first saw the monument in the winter of 1820-1, as is shown by an extract given from a letter written by Wordsworth on January 6th, 1821—a letter printed in full in Prof. Knight’s ‘Life’ (iii. 65). I have also found that the sonnet, as I had supposed, was printed in the 1822 edition of the ‘ Description,’ so that the date of composition may now be put down as 1821 or 1822, and not 1833, as hitherto. Let me also note a curious error in the title- page of the 1823 edition of the ‘ Description,’ the fourth, which is said to be ‘‘now first printed separately,” the same statement having been made, and there made correctly, on the title-page of the third edition in 1822. J. D. C. MR. CHARLES GIBBON. In the late Mr. Charles Gibbon the reading world has lost a favourite whose better manner almost entitled him to the front rank among our novelists. A Scot by birth, one of those immigrants to London whose wisdom is some- times thought to have been proved sufficiently by their expatriation, he essayed to make a fortune by his pen about the same time that his countrymen Mr. William Black and Mr. Robert Buchanan came into notice. His best work was done some twenty years ago. In ‘ Auld Robin Gray’ and ‘ For Lack of Gold’ he showed himself possessed of that sympathetic insight which, in its highest development, was the secret of Scott’s mastery of detail. As we remarked in a notice of the second of the above works, it is ‘a powerfully written, nervous story, by a native writer, in which the strong features of the most marked of all nationalities are well preserved, and the imbecilities of the ordinary Scoto-maniacs are conspicuous by their absence.” In these days, when fashion is doing so much to induce all sorts and conditions of writers to try their hands at something Scotch, one cannot help looking back with a certain amount of fond regret to one of the two or three masters of their native tongue who were also true exponents of the nature of their country- men. Two or three are with us yet—perhaps five—but the circle is distinctly impoverished by the loss of Charles Gibbon. In later years, relieved by a legacy from the necessity of writing for bread, he wandered from the field in which he was successful. ‘For the King’ showed a certain amount of decadence ; the mastery of detail failed him, as it does most authors who venture on historical romance. Quite lately he showed more of the qualities which distin- guished his earlier work. ‘Beyond Compare’ and his last collection, ‘ Blood Money, and other Stories,’ have proved that he could assimilate the local peculiarities of thought and diction in what was to him a strange land, the homely seaboard of East Anglia, where his last years were passed.
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256 THE ATHENZUM N° 3278, Aua. 23, 90 AN ELIZABETHAN POET AND HIS RELATIONS. THE name of Thomas Watson stands high, even among Elizabethan poets, in the estimation of those who can distinguish true melody in verse. Very little is known concerning the life- history of the author of the ‘ Passionate Century of Love,’ but from the loving mention made of him by certain of his contemporaries we should desire to know more. Therefore the accidental discovery of a private letter among the unpub- lished State Papers* and the identification of some Star Chamber proceedingst in connexion therewith, which confirm the traditional date of his death, and supply information as to his matriage, together with the hitherto unsus- pected factt that the writing of plays was | ‘his daily practyse and his living,” may prove | interesting to students of Elizabethan anthology. | It appears from the above-mentioned docu- | ments that Watson married the sister of Thomas | Swift, a servant or protégé of William Cornwallis, eldest son of Sir Thomas Cornwallis, the well- known Comptroller of the Household under Queen Mary. Swift may well have been himself a humble worshipper of the Muses. He was recommended to the family of Cornwallis, whose members pos- sessed some literary taste, by the veteran writer Churchyard ; and besides his connexion with Thomas Watson, he was patronized bySir Thomas Mounson, a well-known friend of poets. In this service Swift had the misfortune to fall in love with his master’s daughter. This was in 1591 or 1592, when he was twenty-five years old. The lady was Frances, eldest daughter of William Cornwallis, and through her mother the granddaughter of Lord Latimer. The family residence was in Bishopsgate Without, where Watson also seems to have been in attendance for the purpose of reading with young (Frederic ?) Cornwallis, Sir William’s son and heir; and here the lovers, whose prospects were sufliciently hopeless, invoked the experienced aid of the amatory poet. The plan which he proposed to them was quite unromantic and not very credit- able. Swift was to prepare a formal contract of marriage, by which the lady could be legally bound. Having done this, they must trust to the mediation of the Church and to the natural desire of the family to avoid a public scandal. The contract was duly executed, several minor details being suggested by Swift’s brother Hugh, such as the bestowing of ten angels upon Mistress Frances ‘‘ that the same might be to hir instede of a Ringe to bynde the contract.” The friendship of the lady’s brother for Watson induced him to become a party to the plot, which appeared as promising as such a desperate enterprise could ever be when, unfor- tunately for the lovers, Watson, who held all the threads of the intrigue, died. Left to his own devices, Swift seems to have precipitated matters by avowing the contract and claiming his wife. He was ignominiously ejected from the Cornwallis mansion, and successful efforts were made to ‘‘ alienate Mistress Frances in affection” from him. Doubtless the one inter- view with her father described in the following letter would have had the desired effect. At any rate, she renounced Swift in the face of the Church, and was wedded to a wealthy knight. Rendered desperate by this ruinous failure, and certain negotiations opened on his behalf by Thomas Mounson having fallen through, Swift weakly attempted to extort money by threats, whereupon he was at once lodged in the Marshalsea on an information before the Star Chamber. The efforts of his sister (who seems to have resided with him after her husband’s death) to procure the intercession of Sir Thomas Heneage in his behalf were doubtless the occasion of the present letter :— * Tower Miscellaneous Rolls, No. 458 (Darrell Papers, &e.). ms _ Chamber Proceedings, Eliz., Bundle XXXIIL., 0. 38. t There seem to be only two contemporary allusions, one of which is to Watson’s translation of the ‘Antigone,’ and | the other very obscure. St How just the accusations be of this woman of his lying on the ground and fed at the Allmes Basquett, let these Letters of his Keper satisfye you Sr, and, by you, whosomever ther demandeth favor for him; He is kept from starting and from con- ference ells I dare avow he hath more releaf ther of me then any kinsman he hath abrode will give him. For of his mother-side those that have wealth he | and his brother Watsoon hath heartofore layd platts for ther goods, and lyfes, and by his father he hath not one that ever he durst for shame call cosine. Sr I had him of Churchyard when all the clothes on his backe wear not wourth ij* after geven me by his father wt tearsin his eyes for lacke of abilitye to giue him xij¢ ; since wc" time I dare avow he never fed himsellf nor cladd himsellf to this howre but owt of my favor. I trouble you S* with this because of hes bragg off his kinred kept from releving him; As for his being kept from confer- ence & company of the prisone, my Lord Keper gravely sed he thought it most necessary, for uther- wise if they come to prisone wt two points of knavery, they learn ten, and the prisone w*" shoulde correct vice, becomes a schoole and Seminary to refine it for moe lewd practyses uppon ther in- lardgment. lor the copy of the letter S' inclosed, it is trew he delivered me one, not altogether this; w°" after I had examined my daughter I burnt as a libell, and for the parts that concerne my sellfe meerly lies, and ridiculous chalenges of merite for his service ; as I will prove unto you S' at my attending on you which should have been to-day, but that I will take some order for his houswife who by your favor I heer is beholding to some of your servants, that speaks for hir brother for her sake. Now S* pardon me a little more, he saith he hath letters of hers he would have produced them then at the Bishop’s when he was asked proves of her assertion.* Believe it, St, he hath none of hers. He hath a letter wet her brother by the politique perswation of Watsoon gatt her to write unto him (to Watsoon) who theruppon had promised my soone to gett away the cousoning paper from Swift, and having received that letter a yeer before his death, left this for a Record; and yet of no effect but if he should do her such a | piece of service, she should thinke her sellf behold- ing to him: S" he that could devise twenty fictions and knaveryes in a play w" was his daily practyse and his living, could draw the lies and devyses of this letter, we" Sir upon my lyfe was Watsoon’s pen- ning for the most part, mingled wtsome of his owne and oppositions against Watsoon to marke the matter and the platt the better between them. They wear more then a yeerI can prove in debate how to discover this matter and to whom; it was once agreed it should have been first to my father, then to my younger brother, but at length the councell of trim’e tram’ef agreed, it should be to mysellf, adding therunto a protestation of knowing of her earnally to shutt up my mouth withall, though my hart wear never so much in rage. My soone, S*, who knew this knavery of the writing a yeer before me, and concealed it by Watsoon’s deep dissimuled advise, who red unto him daily,f and had gottena young man’s love, knows all this and much more manifesting lies, perjury, and cousonage. And for shame to end troubling you, let me be beleved for thus much in her behallf. Uppon my reding the copy of this letter to her those parts that would so abominably and unsupportibly touch her and at such time as she did in agony and fear exspect ex- treem punishment at my hands and to have been sent owt of my howse forever; She did the most instantly deny all, forswear all, brought reasons wit- nesses of the maides and women that wear daily conversant to disprove possibilitye of any treuth, that by god of heaven, S', had she been the child of a Jew I should have beleeved her. For Wales if he had brought this letter, bona fide, for recompence and amends of wrongs, he had merited my better opinion, but I suspect, S", he did ; it to induce you to excuse the hugenes of his com- panions faute, and to stopp me with this libell’s fear from bringinge it to the Starr Chamber. But, Sr, the fear is past for as evil as he hath written he hath spoken to God knowes how many. And so I humbly take my leave, honoring and hartely loving you, 8‘, as becumes me. The xv‘ march 1593.§ W. CORNWALEYS. St I dowt not your blame of consideration or com- passion lacking in th...... for if I do not manifest the conspiracy, cousonage, lies with p...... red uppon them that the lords and judges of the place shall thinke...... nature, reason, and civill government, he * An excellent instance of the objective possessive. + It would be interesting to kuow what the allusion is here. } Watson we know was “‘ juris studiosus,” and most young geutlemen of good birth were taught a smattering of law. § A rare use of the New Style. It may be accounted for by the writer’s frequent travels and Catholic associations, be wourthier to louse his ly...... his eares, cesse you St for ever to be my frind. St I was bold to looke in this letter wherin I beseech you note his devise was to desire to feed on the basquett to the end of some coulor to seem forst to it ; besides the keper sends werd he lieth uppon the best fetherbed in the prisone. Stif he be not the most insatiable villayne of lies, and coulors to lye upon, that lives, let me live defamed for ever. [Endorsed] To the right honorable St THoMAS HENEAGE Knight of her Ma Prevy Councell. The theory of the prosecution, as will be gathered from the above letter, was that Watson was the real instigator of the plot, and the interrogatories administered to the prisoner were for the most part directed towards this point. Swift, however, had the courage to deny abso- lutely the allegation that Watson had assured him ‘‘that his master was growne miserable, and that there was noe waye to make gaine of him but to finde meanes to intrappe his daughter, and then he woulde departe with anythinge to save his daughter's creditt.” He denied also that he had openly ‘‘ exclaimed against the said Watson as the cause of his woe miserie and undoinge,” with the following qualification, ‘that he findith and so is persuaded that if he had lyved he myght have donne him good, but now beinge dedde he findeth that his wryting hathe donne him much hurt in that he did so depelie dissembell with his late Master.” It is only just to Watson to remember that Wil- liam Cornwallis was by no means a popular person in his own day, though no evidence is forthcoming to shake the credibility of his state- ment ; indeed, this very letter shows him to us as a cold and harsh, but just man. On the other hand, we have the hack-dramatist with his disreputable brother-in-law and his unprovided widow. Surely the moral is once more to be found in the poverty, neglect, and evil asso- ciations which cramped the moral energies of so many of the sweet singers of the Elizabethan age. In conclusion, I have to acknowledge the kind assistance and valuable criticisms of my friend Prof. Hales for the elucidation of these documents. Hvusert Hatt. PLANTIN AS A POET. 1 REFERRED last week to ‘ Les Rimes de Chris- tophe Plantin,’ edited by M. Max Rooses (Lisbon, Imprimerie Nationale). With ample margins and initial letters printed in red and black, it is essentially a bibliophile’s book, although there are only forty pages of it. It is truly a “humble monument érigé en Yhonneur du grand imprimeur Anversois” ; but these ‘rimes du hasard, écrites & de longs intervalles, inspirées par Voccasion bien pro- saique d’un livre & recommander ou A dédier,” as M. Max Rooses so neatly puts it, show that amid all his difficulties and all disappoint- ments Plantin had the true poet’s heart. The dozen poems of various lengths and in several forms which M. Rooses has now brought together are either derived from various publi- cations of Plantin or are preserved in manuscript in the archives of the Musée at Antwerp. They have a distinctly literary value, which is much enhanced by M. Rooses’s brief notes at the end and by his admirable introduction. These poems commence with a brief address to the translator — Jean Bellre — of the first book printed by Plantin—‘L’Institution d’une Fille de noble Maison,’ 1555; and for nearly a quarter of a century afterwards he indulged occasionally in verse-making, his latest attempt in this direction being apparently some lines addressed to the Prince and Princess of Orange on the occasion of their visit to his printing works, December 14th, 1579. The daintiest of all is, perhaps, the ode ‘Aux Muses & Poétes d’Anuers,’ whilst it is also full of literary interest. His two longest pieces are contained in ‘La nal SN ae st
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os a 2 a ae naam eens a XUM N° 3278, Aua. 23, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 257 premiére et la seconde partie des Dialogues Fran- gois pour les ievnes Enfans,’ 1567, and are addressed to the “excellens et magnifiques signeurs,” the burgomasters, &c., of the very renowned city of Antwerp, and to schoolmasters respectively. The latter is especially noteworthy, inasmuch as in this poem Plantin describes how he relinquished bookbinding for printing. If neither the quantity nor the quality of the poems places Plantin very high among littérateurs, they are, at all events, of quite sufticient importance to merit a place in literary history. Both printer and editor are to be congratulated on having produced a charming book which will eventually become an object of keen competition in the auction rooms. W. Roperrs. DEFOE’S BIRTH AND MARRIAGE. In the Contemporary Review for February I was able to show that the oft-repeated statement that Defoe married twice was a mistake. The maiden name of the wife who was the mother of all Defoe’s children, and who survived her husband, was Mary Tuftley, and I gave numerous particulars of her property and family. One child, Mary, daughter of Daniel Foe and Mary his wife, was buried at St. Michael’s, Cornhill, in September, 1688 ; and assuming, as was pro- bably the case, that this child died young and was Defoe’s firstborn, I suggested that Defoe probably married when he was about twenty-six, that is (accepting the date 1661, as commonly given, for Defoe’s birth) in 1687. Mr. T. J. Austin has since been good enough to draw my attention to a marriage licence alle- gation at the Vicar-General’s Office, which en- ables me to give precise dates in place of surmises. The licence to which I refer runs as follows :— “28 December, 1683. Charles Lodwick, of St. Michael, Cornhill, applies for Daniel Foe of the same parish, 24 and a batchelor, marchant, and Mary Tuffley, of St. Botolph, Aldgate, 20, spinster, with consent of herfather, At St, Botolph Aldgate, St, Giles Cripplegate, or St. Lawrence Jewry.” Four days later, on New Year’s Day, the marriage was solemnized at St. Botolph’s, Ald- gate. Iam indebted to the Rev. J. A. Dodd for the following transcript from the register :— “Jan. 1. 1683 [O0.8.]. Daniel Ffoe, batchellor, and Mary Tufflie, spinster, married by Mr. Holling- worth.” It will be seen from the licence that in 1683 Defoe was already a merchant in the parish of St. Michael], Cornhill. His business was that of a hose factor, and his office or shop was in Free- man’s Yard, Cornhill. Four years earlier a sister, Mary, was described upon her marriage as of St. Swithin’s parish. This information is de- rived from another licence in the Vicar-General’s Office. 1 had already shown, from the will of Defoe’s father, an abstract of which I gave in the Contemporary Review, that Defoe had a sister who married a Mr. Bartham, and whose son was called Francis. The name of this sister, like those of Defoe’s wife and first child, was Mary. This was the licence for her marriage :— “ Bartham, Francis, jun., of St. Mary, Whitechapel, shipwright, bachelor, about 30, and Mrs. Mary Foe, of St. Swithin, London, spinster, about 20, with her father’s consent; at St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, co. Surrey. 20 May, 1679.” This Mary Foe, then, was born in 1658 or early in 1659, and I think I shall be able to show that Daniel Defoe was her parents’ next child, and that he was born in 1659 or early in 1660. The date usually given, 1661, is based upon a passage in the preface to an anonymous pamphlet of Defoe’s called ‘The Protestant Monastery,’ and dated 1727. Defoe there says: * Alas, I have but small health and little leisure to turn author, being nowin my 67th year, almost worn out with age and sickness.” Deducting 66 from 1727, the biographers arrived at 1661 as the year of Defoe’s birth. But, as is often the case, ‘The Protestant Monastery’ was post-dated, and was really published on Novem- ber 19th, 1726. The preface would be written a little earlier, and we have, indeed, evidence that the book itself had been written for some time, for Defoe says he would not have published in pamphlet form if any of the journals would have inserted his project. But he had quarrelled with Mist and other publishers, and none of the papers would print the piece, though it was offered gratis. But putting this aside, we have the definite statement that by November, 1726, Defoe was in his sixty-seventh year. If he had then only recently attained to the age of 66, we should have for the date of his birth 1660 ; but if he was nearly 67 when this passage was written, he may have been born at the close of 1659. In the marriage licence, dated December 28th, 1683, he is described as 24. If this means that he was then just over 24, we have for the date of his birth the end of 1659; but if he was much over 24, he must have been born earlier in that year. The registers of St. Giles, Cripple- gate, have been again searched in vain for any record of Defoe’s baptism; but in the absence of such an entry it seems clear that Defoe was born in the latter part of 1659 or early in 1660. If we, could rely implicitly on the statement of age in the licence, we could fix the date of birth definitely as 1659. ‘The Protestant Monastery’ contains ‘‘a com- plaint against the brutality of the present Age ; particularly the pertness and insolence of our youth to aged persons. With a caution to people in years, how they give the staff out of their own hands, and leave themselves at the mercy of others.” There is much that is of in- terest in the tract, and we cannot but think that in writing it Defoe had already experienced some of the neglect on the part of his children of which he afterwards complained. G, A. AITKEN. AFTERTHOUGHTS ON CARDINAL NEWMAN AS A MAN OF LETTERS. Joun Henry Newman began to write before he could have studied style; and, as often happens with masters of prose, his first “effusions” (as he himself actually called his later verses) were inrhyme. That was before he was in his teens. Once in them, his models were, first, Johnson (whom he afterwards described as “yearning for the Catholic Church”), and finally Gibbon, whose cadences echoed in his ears; and echoing cadences had with Newman a commanding power. Into Macaulay’s ink-pot and De Quincey’s he dipped the tip of his pen, but that was in later life. But whatever its derivations in detail, his style was his own—was the man. It was charged with his own feeling, had his own expansiveness, his own limitations. It was, above all, a style of level excellence equable as that of his own mind. What sway he held with it will never be realized by lovers of literature for its own sake alone. Newman had changed the doctrines of the Anglican Church as he found it. All he could do for Rome was to change the English in which she expressed her doctrines. Catholics, despoiled of their old universities, and driven for their education to Rome, to Douai, to Valladolid, left Anglicans to the undisputed mastery of English prose. With Crashaw and Southwell, the sweet ministry of word-making ceased to wait upon the Catholic worshipper. Besides, even if he was educated clandestinely in England, his religion found, as it still finds, official utterance in another tongue. Cardinal Wiseman’s culture had no expression in his style ; though he knew what style was when he saw it, and he rejoiced in it when he first met it in Ruskin. Speaking of the Catholics of that day, the wittiest and tersest, as a talker, of the two convert cardinals (though all will not know him by this sign) con- fided to me, only half in jest, ‘‘ When we spoke English to them they did not understand what we said.” The anomaly of the position will not be un- apparent even to outsiders, For to Catholics, at any rate, must literature always remain the greatest of the arts. Music, sculpture, painting, these the Church may use as her handmaidens, but it is to a Book she points as enshrining her divine mandate to teach the world. It was New- man’s mission to Catholics, therefore, to give them volumes in the vernacular about their belief. To some of them it remains as a great regret that the task entrusted to him by his warm admirer, Cardinal Wiseman, was never carried through—that of making a new transla- tion of the New Testament—such new transla- tion, that is,as a man of letters would be guided in by the great work that is the possession of England. Even the handbook of the faith came to Catholics from the midst of aliens—from Douai; and so it still remains. The luck of English Protestants in that their translation occurred at a certain epoch of the language can only be appreciated through an attempt to imagine the Scriptures rendered in the English, say, of the Augustan age of Anne. When New- man was invited, in after years, to be one of the Committee of Revisers he excused himself on the plea that he had not made a critical study of the sacred text. Did any style depend upon absolute precision, Cardinal Newman would have been no “‘ impec- cable master.’ False collocations are not in- frequent with even him: “only” is shuffled loosely out of its right place; as in ‘‘I only thought of the mercy to myself.” You take up a volume at random and you encounter a sen- tence in whith the number of a noun of multi- tude is changed : ‘‘ He finds the population as munificent as it is pious, and doing greater work out of their poverty,” &c. In a famous passage on Protestants and the confessional, he says :— “ How many souls are there in distress, anxiety, or loneliness, whose one need is to find a being to whom they can pour out their feelings unheard by. the world. They want to tell them, and not to tell them ; they wish to tell them to one who is strong sonny to bear them, yet not too strong to despise them.” Whether the last sentence meant “ Yet too strong to despise them,” or, more likely, “ Yet not so strong as to despise them,” it is certain that, as it stands, after revision in successive editions, it says exactly the opposite of what the author meant. These lapses are worth naming only because we are dealing with an admitted master, and a master who polished each passage that came ruggedly from his pen. I have another reason for the mention of them—that it gives me an opportunity to put upon record the Sur- prising Adventures of a Personal Pronoun. If you want to find the shadow of a Catholic saint, says Newman, ‘‘to Wesley you must go, and such as him.” Such as he (is, or was) is the change almost involuntarily made by readers of that fine passage in ‘The Present Position of Catholics in England.’ I mentioned the matter to one or two authorities, with curious results. First, a brother cardinal declared for “such as he,” with characteristically instant decision. It is true that Dr. Angus’s ‘Handbook of the English Tongue’ alleges : ‘‘‘ As many as,’ ‘the same as,’ ‘such as,’ seem used sometimes as compound pronouns, and the whole phrase is put in the same case” ; while Wesley, some- times slipshod, wrote, “He hath died to redeem such a rebel as me”; and Brougham in his haste asked: “Can England spare from her service such men as him?” But, to name only two on the other side, where thousands could be called, there is Campbell’s ‘‘ Revelation was never intended for such as he”; and there is Swift’s— Rather let such poor souls as you and I Say that the holidays are drawing nigh. At last appeal was made to Matthew Arnold, whose letter I copy without more ado :— Fox How, Ambleside. English grammar is a loose thing, and I do not set up for being an authority in it, but I should most certainly have written, like Cardinal Newman, “to Wesley and such as him.” And for the reason that the conjunction as takes the same case
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258 THE ATHENAUM N° 3278, Aua. 23, ’90 after it as before it. A lui ct aux hommes tels que lui; you see at once what a blunder it would be to say tels qwils. And it is a blunder of like kind to say “to Wesley and such as he.” Only an Eng- lishman is allowed to say that he intends an ellipsis, and “he” to stand as the subject to “is” under- stood ; and English grammar being, as I say, a loose thing, this passes ; but in a stricter grammar it will not pass, and if you intend your “he” to be sub- ject to ‘‘is,” not object to “to,” you must express your “is”: A lui, et aux hommes tels qu'il est, lui. Has, then, Mr. Matthew Arnold, this other great man of letters, made the strange mistake of taking Jui to be necessarily a dative, when the sixth standard boy knows that it is, like moi, an occasional and more emphatic nomi- native, and an occasional and more emphatic accusative, as well as normally a dative? Moi qui vous parle is a familiar phrase enough, and it surely never occurred to any one to take this moi as anything but a nominative. This is what it is to become one of H.M. Senior In- spectors of Schools ! An author who has published forty volumes may well be weary of giving copies away. The tax on him becomes great even if his free list goes no further than his aunts. Newman, from the first, set his face against this common form of prodigality in writers. The Rev. J. B. Moz- ley, D.D., writing to his sister in 1837, says :— ‘Newman has given me a copy of his book, *Romanism and Popular Protestantism.’ He pre- sented it with much grumbling and many complaints at being obliged to give away so many; but, how- ever, I should have that copy because it was greased. I told him I should value the gift so much the more from seeing the sacrifice it was to him to make it.” Just fifty years later the aged Cardinal, at Birmingham, was invited to contribute a set of the works written during his Catholic life to the Papal Jubilee Library. The idea was to send to Rome, for public reference there, a complete collection of all the books written in English by Catholics during the last fifty years ; an offer- ing to Leo XIII. similar to that which some other countries had made—one, moreover, that his Holiness had intimated his readiness to accept. His Eminence, replying to the application, wrote to a member of the committee :— April 27, 1887. Iam very sorry, but I am obliged to say that I shrink from your proposal. I could not have the face to send my writings to the Holy Father; and the offence, as I sh‘ consider it, w4 be increased if I had them, as I must in that case have done, bound in a costly fashion. I am what I am. I might be worse ; but certainly I might be much better. Ex- cuse a short letter, but I do not use my fingers without pain, Very truly yours, JOHN H. CARD. NEWMAN, Nobody ever solved the mystery; and ex- planations were out of the question. So it ended by a great admirer’s giving the books to a col- lection which would have been deformed without them. I find in the earliest letter Cardinal Newman wrote to me the ending is,‘‘ Don’t forget in your prayers that I am very old now, and need every help I can get from friends.” This was in March, 1874 ; and for sixteen years that was to be the refrain of a multitude of letters addressed to his intimates, or to mere casual correspondents such as I. A moving announce- ment from the first, how pathetic it became when, as in the Jubilee letter quoted, old age was not only openly asserted, but unconsciously betrayed! The first controversy involving his name into which he himself did not enter was only a few months before his death ; and a very few weeks before it he composed a little speech. Sir John Millais, when Cardinal New- man sat to him some years ago, almost took his sitter’s breath away by exclaiming, ‘‘ What a beautiful complexion you have, Cardinal !” adding, ‘‘It’s just the complexion of a child.” And like an ideal child’s was the sweet and tender simplicity of the little speeches recently coined by the old man whose heart religion had kept perpetually young. As a boy, and when his unindulgent hour for getting up in the morning was five, Newman prevented the dawn, perhaps with prayer, for he was always pious, but certainly with Walter Scott. ‘ Waverley’ and ‘Guy Mannering’ were under his pillow ; so that he read his Scott with a unique advantage—at the most impressionable time of life, and when the books were still the literary event of the hour. For the moment Scott was current as well as a classic. In later years he lamented when he saw Scott put aside by Oratory schoolboys in favour of writers of fiction who were current, but will never be classic. He delighted in those early days to hear Scott’s poetry read aloud; nor was it only its currency that commended it tohim. On such models in verse he formed himself, admiring Crabbe, and bestowing upon Southey’s ‘ Thalaba’ a feeling for which admiration is too weak a term. Byron he easily tolerated as a poet. Obviously, therefore, of poetical poetry he was not one of the inner worshippers ; and although it was a convenient convention for those who thought Reason and Rome the two incompatible R’s to say, as Sir James Stephen once did ina letter to Napier, that Newman was highly ima- ginative, a closer observation will show that it was precisely in imagination and in fancy that Cardinal Newman’s limitations as a writer are found ; that in these departments the mastery in contemporary prose is with Mr. Robert Louis Stevenson. Newman’s absence of dramatic fancy accounts for his own failure as a con- structor of the two stories he attempted, not for art’s sake, but for religion’s. The deep feel- ing which he associates with religious doc- trine in ‘ The Dream of Gerontius’ will be mis- taken for imagination only by those who are not cognizant of Catholic teaching and of the depth of sincerity with which Newman held it. The verses to which the public has given the title of “ Lead, kindly Light ”— correcting the author’s own curiously inapt title of ‘The Pillar of Cloud’ —remain a great hymn because the real emotion of the writer is mysteriously felt in them, despite the unimaginative use of moors and fens and crags and torrent rills to symbolize spiritual doubts ; and despite, too, the reproach the writer offers himself and the good daylight by accusing himself of having loved the “‘ garish day,” though he is praying for light, and, in his last line, anticipates with joy the dawn. But each man must speak for himself in these things ; and I am just brought to a standstill by remembering, to my confusion, that Mr. R. H. Hutton places ‘ Callista’ at the head of all Cardinal Newman’s works—and this because of its ‘‘ marvellous imagination.” It was the ‘ Apologia’ that breathed new life into George Eliot. The old sermons of Oxford days are treasured as incomparable by those who are, perhaps, Anglicans first and critics afterwards. Lord Coleridge, calling all the works of Newman as witnesses, delivers judgment on him as the greatest modern master of style, with the appa- rent concurrence of the whole court of men of letters, including Mr. John Morley. It was ‘The Dream of Gerontius’ that did not abandon Gordon at Khartoum. W. M. Literarp Gossip, Messrs. Loneman & Co. have in the press ‘The Letters and Correspondence of John Henry Newman during his Life in the English Church, with a brief Autobio- graphical Memoir.’ These letters have been arranged and edited, at Cardinal Newman’s request, by the editor of the letters of the late Prof. J. B. Mozley, D.D. We understand that Major Barttelot’s diary and his letters written to his family will be published by Messrs. Bentley early in the autumn. Messrs. BentieEy will publish in October the third and concluding volume of the Princess Lieven’s correspondence with Earl Grey. An index to the whole work will be added. Mr. W. S. Litty is writing an article for the Fortnightly on the late Cardinal Newman. Mr. Lilly edited the volume of extracts from Newman’s writings which was published with the author’s sanction and has run through several editions. Mr. Epmunp Gossz has completed his life of his father, Mr. P. H. Gosse, and it will be published early in the autumn by Messrs. Kegan Paul & Co. The minute particulars which it gives of social life in the colony of Newfoundland, where the naturalist resided from 1827 to 1835, will have a special interest at this moment, when public attention is so much concentrated onthatisland. Mr. Gosse’s later adventures as a farmer in Canada, a schoolmaster in Alabama, and a collecting naturalist in Jamaica may also be expected to attract interest by their novelty. He spent a year in the heart of the Southern States at a time of which hardly any other record describing social life on the planta- tions exists. Mr. Witrrep Pottock will contribute to the September number of Blackwood’s Maga- zine an account of Mr. Knght’s expedition, in quest of the lost treasure of Lima, to the island of Trinidad. Mr. Pollock was one of the adventurers who accompanied Mr. Knight in his unsuccessful treasure hunt. The fiction in the September number of Blackwood will comprise, in addition to ‘A Secret Mission,’ the opening of a new story by the author of ‘Miss Molly,’ called ‘Dorothea,’ and ‘A Physiologist’s Wife,’ a sketch by the author of ‘ Micah Clarke.’ Pror. Vertcu, of Glasgow, will contribute to the September number of Blackwood’s Magazine an article on ‘The Vale of the Manor and the Black Dwarf,’ containing many recollections of David Ritchie, the original of Scott’s Elshender the Recluse. The same issue will contain a paper entitled ‘A Morning in the Grampians,’ an essay on Highland scenery, and an article on the acting of the Daly Company, with special reference to Miss Rehan’s Rosalind. Mr. Axrsany Fonsianqve will contri- bute a serial story, ‘ Heiland of Heidelberg,’ to Temple Bar, commencing with September. Miss Carry will publish with Messrs. Bentley a new novel early next month. A serres of ‘Studies in Biblical and Patristic Literature and History” is about to be commenced by some of the younger students of theology at Cambridge. It is hoped that the first three numbers may be published at Christmas, namely, ‘A Study of Codex Beze,’ by Prof. J. Rendel Harris, formerly Fellow of Clare ; ‘The Testament of Abraham,’ hitherto unedited, by Mr.M. R. James, Fellow of King’s; and ‘ A Study of the Martyrdom of St. Perpetua,’ with a fresh recension of the Latin text from the MSS., by Mr. Arm.tage Robinson, Fellow of Christ’s, who is to Le the editor of the series. Among future possible contributors may be men- tioned Prof. Ryle, Mr. Chase (Christ’s), Mr. Wallis (Caius), and Mr. Brooke (King’s). Tux Clarendon Press will shortly issue an early MS. Manx translation of the Prayer- Book of 1604. The editors of it are the Rev. F. J. Moore, Vicar of Kirk-Braddan, Isle of Man, and Prof. John Rhys, of Ox- ford, who has spent lately a few weeks in oe iam ee Sere Sera y= a
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nee EERE ETRE CEnR ys XUM N° 3278, Aua. 23, 90 THE ATHENAUM 259 the island in collating the MS. with the printed sheets. Mr. Extior Stock will issue almost imme- diately a facsimile of the autograph of Dickens’s ‘ Christmas Carol,’ with an intro- duction by Mr. F. G. Kitton. The MS. is written on quarto letter-paper, with nume- rous erasures and corrections; a limited edition will be produced by photography, and will be issued to subscribers. Messrs. SonNENSCHEIN & Co. have in pre- paration a translation of Prof. Seyffert’s ‘Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Reli- gion, Literature, Art, and Archeology.’ It is to be edited by Prof. Nettleship of Ox- ford and Dr. Sandys of Cambridge. The English edition will contain more than one hundred new cuts, and it is expected to be ready early in November. Prof. Seyffert has promised additional matter for the English edition. Messrs. Warne & Oo. have sent us another letter on the same subject as the one printed last week. We do not print it, for there is really nothing worth arguing about in the small point raised between us. If they fancied we questioned their good faith, they are altogether mistaken. Mr. Haypn WItLLIAMs Whitby :— ‘*In your last issue there is an erroneous an- nouncement of the death of the Rev. Robert Collyer, ‘a popular writer and preacher in the United States, by birth a Yorkshireman.’ That excellent man is still in the land of the living, and proposes to visit England again. The Mr. Collier who has passed away is the Rev. R. Laird Collier, D.D., who was a native of America, but held appointments for some years in England and then returned to the United States.” Mr. Tuomas Kerstaxe has written a monograph on an episode of English history in the eighth century, entitled ‘Saint Richard the King—and his Territory,’ and has provided fifty copies, of which he will, with much satisfaction, present one in exchange for the address card of any gentleman likely to be interested in the subject. His address is Clevedon, Somer- set. Mrs. CrawsHay is going to give her prizes this year for essays on ‘The Revolt of Islam’ (cantos xi. and xii.), Shelley’s ‘Early Poems’ (those of 1816 and 1817), ‘The Siege of Corinth,’ ‘The Island,’ and ‘Otho the Great.’ As the first prize for an essay on cantos viii., ix., and x. of ‘The Revolt of Islam’ was not awarded last year, it will be again open to competition. Mrs. Crawshay again offers prizes for pictures of incidents in the lives of Byron, Keats, or Shelley. The essays are to be sent in before June Ist, 1891; the pictures by Novem- ber Ist, 1890. Tue Félibres and Cigaliers had the other day a meeting at Agen, when they placed a tablet on the house where Jasmin was born, and unveiled a statue of Cortéle de Prades, a fabulist of the seventeenth cen- tury. They next proceeded to Montauban and fixed a tablet on the house where Ingres was born. Tue Congress of the Union of German Historical and Antiquarian Societies is to open at Schwerin in September, and will last four days. writes from Tue chief Parliamentary Papers of the week are United States, No. 2, 1890, Corre- spondence respecting the Behring Sea Fisheries (4s. 4d.); Revenues of the Church of England, Return (2d.); Africa, No. 9, 1890, Declarations exchanged between the British and French Governments with re- spect to Territories in Africa (1d.); Return showing with regard to each Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom the Number of Electors on the Register now in Force (2d.); National Portrait Gallery, Report (2d.); and Trade Reports for the Consular District of Frankfort-on-Maine (2d.), and Turkey, Trade of Smyrna (4d.). SCIENCE —— Reflections on the Motive Power of Heat and on Machines fitted to develop that Power. From the French of N. L. 8. Carnot. Edited by R. H. Thurston, Cornell University. (Macmillan & Co.) BesrpEs Carnot’s famous essay, to which the above title properly belongs, this book con- tains a brief memoir of Carnot by his younger brother, with portrait, a chapter on his work by the editor, the well-known account of Carnot’s theory by Sir William Thomson, and two appendices. Appendix A is entitled ‘Extracts from Unpublished Writings of Carnot,’ and Appendix B consists of the original foot-notes to the ‘ Reflections.’ We learn from the editorial chapter that the essay, which had previously been difficult of access, was reprinted a few years since by Gauthier- Villars, accompanied by the present biographical sketch. We are further told :— ‘The original manuscript of Carnot has been deposited by his brother in the archives of the French Academy of Sciences, and thus ensured perpetual care. The work of Carnot includes not only the treatise which it is the principal object of this translation to give to our readers, but also a considerable amount of hitherto un- published matter, which has been printed by his brother with the new edition of the book, as illustrative of the breadth and acuteness of the mind of the Founder of the Science of Thermo- dynamics.” This hitherto unpublished matter includes (as the editor points out) important anticipations of the work of Mayer and Joule. It is not quite clear from the above statement whether the manuscripts containing this matter have been deposited with the Academy, nor is any explanation given of the fact that Carnot’s relatives have withheld for half a century the materials for a just appreciation of his position as a pioneer in scientific discovery. The essay itself occupies, with the foot- notes, 114 pages of the present volume, and is lucid and practical to a degree that will be somewhat startling to those numerous readers who have previously only known it through English summaries written from a high-and-dry philosophical standpoint ; and both in the essay and the appendices, though there are some things out of date, one is continually struck with instances of the ad- vanced character of Carnot’s knowledge. He states pretty accurately the amount by which the temperature of air is raised by sudden compression, and also the ratio of the two specific heats. In the following passage of Appendix B he correctly assigns the cause of the cold of the higher regions of the atmosphere :— ‘*Ts it not to the cooling of the air by dilata- tion that the cold of the higher regions of the atmosphere must be attributed? The reasons given heretofore as an explanation of this cold are entirely insufficient ; it has been said that the air of the elevated regions, receiving little reflected heat from the earth, and radiating towards celestial space, would lose caloric, and that this is the cause of its cooling; but this explanation is refuted by the fact that, at an equal height, cold reigns with equal and even more [greater] intensity on the elevated plains than on the summit of the mountains, or in those portions of the atmosphere distant from the sun [earth].” In Appendix A he argues in favour of the view that heat is not a substance, but is something that can be produced by the con- sumption of motive power, and can in its turn produce motive power. He even assigns the mechanical equivalent of a given quantity of heat. Taking as the unit of “work,” or as he calls it ‘‘ motive power,” the weight of a cubic métre of water raised to the height of a métre—that is 1,000 kilo- gramme-métres—and as unit of heat the kilogramme-degree, he says :— *¢ According to some ideas that I have formed on the theory of heat, the production of a unit of motive power necessitates the destruction of 2°70 units of heat.” This makes 2°7 kilogramme-degrees equi- valent to 1,000 kilogrammétres, and there- fore 1 kilogramme-degree equivalent to 370 kilogrammétres. The correct value, instead of 370, is 424. Besides the passages which relate to heat, the ‘‘ unpublished writings” contain a mis- cellaneous assemblage of sparks from the anvil in the shape of maxims for the prac- tical conduct of life, reflections on political economy, thoughts on religion, &c., which are valuable from the light they throw on his character. The large body of students to whom the name of Carnot merely suggests certain abstract principles of thermodynamics will turn with much interest to the account of his life. He was a high-spirited young military officer, expert at physical exercises, with delicate features, an excitable tempera- ment, and a keen appetite for all kinds of knowledge. He was born in 1796, and died in 1832. His father, the famous Republican Minister of War, named him Sadi, after the celebrated Persian poet and moralist, and the same name is borne by his grandnephew the President of the French Republic. The present publication will materially tend to increase Carnot’s reputation. TuE latest volume of the series of ‘‘ Foreign Biological Memoirs” is Ecker’s Anatomy of the Frog (Clarendon Press), translated by Dr. George Haslam, As with the other two volumes which have appeared in this series, there seems to be no real reason for its translation ; the work is far too detailed for even advanced students, and those who require to consult it for purposes of teaching or research can, or at least ought to be able to, read the original. The translation is heavy in style, but, where we have tested it, gives the author’s meaning ; a good deal of new matter has been introduced, chiefly of a histolo- gical character ; some parts have been rewritten, some rearranged, in both cases to the advantage of the book. More than a hundred new figures, of very unequal merit, have been inserted (in- cluding a poor coloured plate) ; and the lists of
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260 THE ATHENAZUM N° 8278, Ava. 23,790 literature have been greatly enlarged. Dr. Haslam has evidently read largely and dissected carefully ; and, supposing the translation to have been advisable, it might have been placed in far worse hands. WE have received a quarto volume, a General Index to the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1783-1888, preceded by a reproduc- tion of the title-page of the first volume, and the dedication of it to George III., signed by the then Duke of Buccleuch ; historical notices of the founding of the Society and of its career ; lists of presidents and the present members, and copies of the rules and charters. This hand- some volume isa gift to the Society from Messrs. Neill & Co., who have been its printers since its formation. London societies are so imbued with the modern spirit that they call for tenders for their printing, so that they cannot expect any such munificent gift as this, which does credit alike to the liberality and the typo- graphical skill of Messrs, Neill & Co. MEDICAL LITERATURE. English Sanitary Institutions, reviewed in their Course of Development, and in some of their Political and Social Relations. By Sir John Simon, K.C.B. (Cassell & Co ) - Sir John Simon has added largely to the work which he has already done for the good of the public health of this country, by the publication of the history of English sanitary institutions. Unless we are much mistaken it will rank for all time with Sir Thomas Watson’s ‘ Practice of Physic,’ and Sir James Paget’s ‘Surgical Pathology,’ as the work of a master of pure English who is also an expert in the subject upon which he writes. The first part of the volume is deeply interesting, telling the history of work done for the benefit of the public health in ‘‘ early historic and pre- historic times”; while the second part is full of encouragement for the future, showing how much has been done in the present Victorian reign in improving the health and bettering the position of all sorts and conditions of men. Sir John pays a well-deserved and generous tribute to the work done by his predecessors, such as Mead, Pringle, Lind, and others. We think that tho name of Dr. Thomas Short might be added with advantage to the list, as he pub- lished a work entitled ‘New Observations on City, Town, and Country Bills of Mortality’ in the year 1750. Appointed Medical Officer of Health to the City of London in 1848, Sir John Simon published reports which were extensively quoted in the daily press, and which eventually led the way to valuable legislation, of which we are reaping the benefit at the present time. Local suthorities can now control the letting of houses for human habitation, can regulate unhealthy in- dustries, can put a stop to nuisances, and punish the adulteration of food and drugs, and all this is largely due to the industry, ability, and tact of Sir John Simon. He found sanitary legis- lation almost non-existent ; he left it in excellent order, knowing that it only required tact and judgment in its application to make it beneficial to all. Such work as this was not carried out so successfully without much opposition, without experiencing some disappointment, and at times failing to secure all he thought right. In this excellent work the reader will see for himself how much was achieved, will realize for himself how much the country is indebted to the author for the present sound foundation of sanitary science, from which will spring in years to come greatly improved health and increased prosperity for the people. We believe that the book will be read with great interest and pleasure by all engaged in sanitary work, with which for all time will be associated the name of the first medical officer of the Privy Council. Tue second edition of Dunman’s Glossary of Anatomical, Physiological, and Biological Terms {Griffith & Farran), edited and supplemented with an appendix by V. H. Wyatt Wingrave, M.R.C.S., appears to be for the most part free from positive error; but the definitions are seldom either exclusive or exhaustive, and the philology isat times remarkable. The derivation of ‘* Atoll (L. attollo, I raise up)” credits even scientific men with rather too great forgetfulness of their classics ; the word is really. Maldive in origin. TuE second part of Prof. J. G. McKendrick’s Text Book of Physiology (Glasgow, MacLehose), of which we noticed the first instalment last year, is entitled ‘Special Physiology,’ dealing chiefly with the alimentary, nervous, circulatory, and reproductive systems. The two volumes, amounting in all to about 1,300 pages, constitute a physiological compendium of the utmost value as a reference book both to students and to medical men ; they are clearly written, well illustrated, and present the most recent experiments and speculations with more detail than is custo- mary in physiological text-books. SCHOOL-BOOKS. Elliptic Integrals. By F.W. Newman, M.R.A.S. (Cambridge, Macmillan & Bowes.)—This is an extension of and incorporates a short treatise | on anticyclics issued for the author by the same publishers. It follows Legendre in its main principles, and is, therefore, easier for the less advanced student to follow than the more re- condite, though masterly and exhaustive investi- gations of Prof. Cayley. The author has laboured on his own lines independently of, and, indeed, to a great extent ignorant of, the researches of his contemporaries. If this has rendered his work less valuable in some respects, it has ren- dered it more so in others, and the original in- vestigator, as well as the class of students for whom it is mainly intended, will derive profit from its perusal. The Harpur Euclid. Books V., VI., and XI. By Edward M. Langley, M.A., and W. Seys Phillips, M.A. (Rivingtons.)—We favourably noticed the first part of this work when it ap- peared some time ago, and we can speak with equal praise of the second part now issued. The authors have followed Euclid’s order of proposi- tions, and have not made any sweeping changes in his demonstrations ; but the alterations which they have made are decided improvements. Symbolic abbreviations are used freely. The utility of the book is increased by the addition of several propositions on loci, maxima and minima, harmonic division, and other subjects not usually discussed in elementary text-books. There are also numerous well-chosen riders for practice. Dynamics for Beginners. By the Rev. J. B. Lock, M.A. Third Edition. (Macmillan & Co.) —That this book has already reached a third edition is a proof that teachers entertain the same favourable opinion of it which we expressed when it first appeared. Hydrostaties for Beginners. By F. W. San- derson, M.A. (Macmillan & Co.)—This is a carefully written and useful little work, well illustrated by excellent diagrams, and with plenty of examples for practice. Arithmetic for Beginners. By J. Brooksmith, M.A., and E. J. Brooksmith, B.A. (Macmillan & Co.)—We find nothing to call for any special remark in this book, which is written on the usual lines, and is neither better nor worse than the ordinary run of arithmetics. We have lighted on one trifling error in it. The answer to example 12, p. 161, should be 985°6, and not 61°6. SUPPLEMENTARY CHARTERS FOR SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. A point of some interest has arisen of late years as to the new regulations at the Privy Council Office with regard to charters for scien- tific societies. Formerly the cost of a charter was some 450/. in fees, besides lawyers’ charges. Under the Joint-Stock Companies Act provision was made for the incorporation of societies for any useful public purpose by certificate of the Secretary of the Board of Trade. The cost is between 20/. and 501. There is, however, a strong objection to being mixed up with joint-stock companies, however remotely, although there is an absolute distinction in the constitution. There is likewise a power of registration under the Benefit Societies Acts at trifling cost, but this has not been favoured. The Royal Historical Society, the Royal Statistical Society, and the Institute of Jour- nalists have lately obtained royal charters of incorporation through the Privy Council at a very moderate outlay of from 1001. to 150/. Some of the older societies are embarrassed with obsolete provisions, which a supplementary charter could relieve. The point has not yet been decided whether if they obtain a supplemen- tary charter, they will have to pay 500/. for minor advantages, or whether they come under the new regulations, though there is little doubt that the old scale does not apply. The point has been raised several times at the general meetings of the Royal Botanic Society, and last on the 11th of August. The founder of the Society, the late Mr. Philip Barnes, F.L.S., in veneration of the memory of Linneeus, obtained a provision in the charter that the anniversary should be held at or near the birthday of the great botanist. In earlier days some people were found in London on the birthday of Linnzeus, but for several years there has been trouble to get a bare quorum to assemble in the centre of the Regent’s Park, the more particularly as the hour is fixed at one, and there are no means of allaying hunger within half a mile. There is lunch for the Council, but there are seldom more than five or six so attracted. Practically the Council have not met their constituents for many years. This has very naturally led to complaints, and the desire is expressed that the anniversary shall be held on some convenient day and at some convenient hour. This has been evaded by the administration year after year, on the plea that a new charter would be required, which might cost 5001., and for which the Society would have no funds. The practical result is that this large society has no meeting for discussing its affairs, and the Council, in which only one member has this year been changed as usual, is regarded as a close clique. Any observations made now are prac- tically within closed doors. At the last meet- ing attention was called to the unsatisfactory state of the finances and the grounds. The de- benture debt is 12,500/., and as in a successful year 200/. is paid off, at this rate sixty years will be required, while the Crown lease is approach- ing its close with no certainty of renewal. In case of non-renewal there would be no realiz- able assets, and such a collapse as happened to Horticultural creditors at South Kensington. The condition of the beds and walks was denounced, but it was pleaded on behalf of the Council that there were no funds, and that it is a botanic garden. Inthe discussion it came out that it was equally starved as an ornamental and as a botanic garden. Attention was called to the necessity of admitting the public to the gardens on payment, as at the Zoological, so as to provide funds, instead of the gardens being kept as a private promenade for a few people, with some féte days. It was urged that the most essential step to give vitality to the Society is to enable the Fellows to attend the meetings, and to become conversant with the state of affairs before it is too late. It is possible that other societies may feel the want of relief ; but so far as regards the Royal Botanical, the grievance is one which has at- tracted the attention of the Atheneum and other journals, and which the longer it is allowed to exist the more serious it becomes. At the re-
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XUM N° 3278, Aua. 23, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 261 quest of some of the Fellows, I have adopted this mode of calling attention to the subject. Hype Crarkez, F.R.B.S. (1839). MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Tvxs. Horticultural, 11; Lecture, 3. _ Phot«graphic, 8. Science Gossip, UnpeEr the title ‘The Development of Africa,’ Mr. Silva White, Secretary of the Scottish Geographical Society, is bringing out a work in which he deals comprehensively—while availing himself of the latest information—with all the various aspects, geographical, historical, and political, of the African question; his main object, however, being to deduce from these data the probable lines of development of that con- tinent as a field for European enterprise. The subject is one with which the author, in his capacity as editor of the Scottish Geographical Magazine, has shown himself to be exceptionally familiar, and a set of maps specially designed to illustrate the work will be contributed by Mr. Ravenstein. The book, published by Messrs. George Philip & Son, will probably appear in October. Tue French Society for the Advancement of Science has held its meeting at Limoges this year. It began its meetings last week, and closed them three or four days ago. M. Cornu was the president. The German anthropologists have held their annual congress at Miinster. A new work on ‘Evolution’ is about to be issued by Messrs. Kegan Paul & Co., the author being Mr. David Syme, of Melbourne, author of ‘ Outlines of an Industrial Science ’ and ‘ Re- presentative Government in England.’ It is said to contain an entirely new theory of the origin of species. Herr A. BersericH has published in No. 2984 of the Astronomische Nachrichten an im- proved determination of the orbit of Denning’s comet (c, 1890), with an ephemeris up to the 8th of October. The comet will attain its greatest apparent brightness about the end of next week, but that will not much exceed twice what it was at the time of discovery on the 23rd of July. It is now in the constellation Corona Borealis, very near the star p, and will be a little to the south of ¢ (both these stars are of the fifth magnitude) on the 26th inst. So rapid is its motion towards the south during the time of its visibility that it will pass into the southern hemisphere on the 20th prox., between the stars w Serpentis and 6 Ophiuchi, moving towards Scorpio. The perihelion passage will take place on the 24th of September, at the dis- tance from the sun of 1°28 in terms of the earth’s mean distance; and the comet is now at its nearest to us. FINE ARTS oe Art in Scotland : its Origin and Progress. By R. Brydall. (Blackwood & Sons.) Mr. Brypatt is an art teacher in Glasgow, and some years ago he became impressed with the idea that a systematic history of design in his native country was needed, as neither from any one book, nor from several, could an inquirer learn much, even in a fragmentary manner, about it. Al- though it is possible to exaggerate the im- portance of the theme, and to make the history of ancient art in Scotland seem greater than fortune and the genius of the people allowed it to become, there can be no question that it is a curious subject. The modern art of Scotland, as we shall show presently, begins with Raeburn, Wilkie, Burnet, the Nasmyths, Dyce, and John Phillip. These, and a few more names of note, make up the catalogue of Scottish artists of high merit. It is hard to find another country, where the standards of culture and poetic power are so high as Scotland’s, which has not produced more fine painters, sculp- tors, and architects. Mr. Brydall, of course, supplies a long list of men of ability and at least local renown, and asks his readers to accept them as representative of design in Scotland. The fact is, however, that there was little that was Scottish about the best artists of the seventeenth century, Sir John Medina and J. M. Wright, except their residing north of the Tweed. Wright had, it issaid, a few lessons from Jamesone, who, after all, was but a third-rate follower of Van Dyck. That Wright learned much from Jamesone is out of the question. He was at work in London before he was seventeen, and there developed under better influences than Jamesone’s. He improved greatly while he was in Italy, and became the moderately good artist we know. But there is nothing particularly Scottish in what he did. Nor is there anything national about the archi- tecture of the Adams—the sculptures of T. Campbell and L. Macdonald; and it is difficult to see anything peculiarly Scottish in the engravings of Sir R. Strange. However this may be, we know that Strange’s work had no exceptional merit until, in 1749, he entered the atelier of Le Bas, and, adopting that master’s style, de- parted from his own earlier manner with conspicuous good fortune. Not to Strange, but to John Burnet, belongs the honour of being the first purely Scottish engraver; he was a capital painter to boot. Not toJamesone, still less to J. M. Wright, nor even to Allan Ramsay, is the title of first Scottish portrait painter proper due; that is the property of Raeburn, who, with some ‘‘hints” (they must have been very small) from David Martin, “ taught himself,” and is truly described in this book as the man who, about the beginning of this century, made “‘ portrait painting the earliest developed branch of the art in Scot- land,” and under whom “it took its full position.’”” Mr. Brydall does not seem to think so, but, as far as so able a painter can be said to imitate another, we have no doubt Raeburn owed a good deal to the prints after Reynolds’s portraits which were common in Scotland before he became competent to adapt the principles of Sir Joshua to his own powerful and original notions and methods. Mr. Brydall laments the absence of a satisfactory account of Raeburn by an artist competent to write on art. We wonder why he does not give us such a book, and, still more, why he did not check Cunningham’s untrustworthy memoir by the materials published not long since in Notes and Queries, of which he seems to know nothing. It thus appears that the art records of Scot- land, so far as first-rate painters, or even second and third rate ones, are concerned, really begin with the artists of the present century, with Raeburn, Wilkie, Burnet, and the Nasmyths. Of the Scottish architects, as such, it is also impossible to say much till the beginning of this century, because, although there are several beautiful Gothic buildings north of the Tweed, they ex- hibit no important peculiarities of style, feeling, or treatment to separate them on the one hand from English work, and on the other hand from contemporaneous (or rather earlier) French work. We hear of a few Scottish jewellers and medalists, but they are not distinguishable from the French and English of the time. Mr. Brydall injures his case by quoting and adopting the extravagant praise which has been bestowed on some of the minor arts as they existed in Scotland in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The wood carvings of King’s College, Aberdeen, are neither ‘“‘ gorgeous” nor ‘‘delicate.” They are not much better than fairly good ship-carver’s work, and to say, as Billings was foolish enough to do, that ‘‘ no English specimens” could ‘‘rival them,” is preposterous. Eng- lish misereres and canopies of the period are immeasurably superior to those of Scot- land, the best of which were probably exe- cuted quite late in the sixteenth century, if not in the beginning of the next age. Some of the stone carvings in Scotland are better than the wooden ones, but whenever their merit is exceptional they are of foreign origin, and they are never above, and seldom approach, the standard of the time in Britain and Flanders. Some of the best of them are obviously French. No doubt some of the churches of Ecotland were decorated in a worthy manner by artists possessing a certain degree of skill; but so far as the history of art in that country goes (and with that only are we now concerned), neither the records nor the relics time has spared serve to show that they were particularly beautiful, or, what is most to the point, that the artistic style and peculiarities of their tech- nique were Scottish. What was the state of art in Scotland before the beginning of this century may be inferred from the remark on p. 214, that previous to 1790 there were only about two or three en- gravers on copper in Edinburgh, and London publishers knew how to empley them at low rates. Lizars, who was one of them, was certainly skilful. The fact comes out broadly in every comprehensive history of Scottish pictorial art that nothing like a ‘‘school,”’ in the true and customary sense of that term, existed before the advent of Raeburn, of Wilkie and Burnet. Thomson of Duddingstone (1778-1840), whom many have supposed to be the first Scotch land- scape painter, was but a moderately skilful follower of Ruysdael about whose art there was nothing Scottish. What Hogarth in 1730 did for the English school of painting, Wilkie and Burnet (with the help of Sir William Allan) did, ¢. 1806, for that of Scotland, and ‘The Village Politicians’ is the Scottish equivalent to ‘A Harlot’s Pro- gress’ of England. Mr. Brydallis, no doubt, aware of this, but it is the chief defect of his intelligent and sympathetic book that these conclusions, which Southrons have long ago arrived at, are hinted at rather than formulated. Of course, they come out plainly enough in the course of the narrative ; still it is largely occupied with hypothetical matters, and the statements, often unwar- rantable, of old writers who had not only no critical education, but no knowledge of art. To them patriotism supplied what they lacked in learning. We do not know what Mr. Brydall means by saying, “‘ Of the ill-starred Queen Mary
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262 THE ATHENAUM N° 3278, Ava. 23, 90 it is doubtful if we can authenticate a single portrait as having been done from life.” The drawing in the Bibliothéque Nationale, the miniature at Windsor, the ‘‘Deuil blanc” portrait, and more than one at the late Stuart Exhibition were evi- dently ‘‘done from the life,” while no reasonable critic will refuse to accept Lord Hartington’s picture. As to the authentica- tion of Queen Mary’s likenesses, whether ‘‘done from y® quicke” or not, our author must be behind his age if he thinks the Blairs College picture, although not from the life, is not to be trusted; and it is difficult to understand why he wrote: ‘‘ Notwithstanding the most ingenious re- search, it is difficult to put one’s finger, as already said, on a well-authenticated por- trait, and it is a poor test of the genuine- ness of any to be referred to the sculpiured figure on her tomb, executed after death.” This statue satisfied Queen Mary’s son, and her contemporaries who knew her better than he ; it answers tothe exact and minute descriptions handed down of her features and person, and agrees admirably with a long series of portraits of the queen to which we referred while reviewing the Stuart Exhibition of last year. Of course Mr. Brydall, when he was writing, had not the advantage of seeing the pictures col- lected at the New Gallery; but surely he ought to have informed himself of what later and more fortunate authorities than Prince Lobanoff, or even the late Mr. Albert Way, had said on this subject. This is an instance where the author proves himself imperfectly informed about the latest researches and opinions. Mr. Brydall had so much to do in attempt- ing to cover so large a theme as the history of Scottish art from the days of St. Columba till the death in 1867 of the clever and vigorous landscape painter whom his con- temporaries delighted to call ‘‘the great MacCulloch,” that shortcomings of this kind are to be expected. Still his book answers its purpose with considerable suc- cess, and deserves to be commended as not only among the best of its class, but the first to supply a comprehensive and com- plete sketch of art in Scotland. In respect to criticisms we think Mr. Brydall would have done well not to repeat the absurdity of the newspaper writer who said MacCul- loch’s ‘ Deer Forest’ was equal to a Turner. It was not in 1843 that R. R. Mac Ian ‘‘ published the first part of a book on the Highland Clans.” In 1845-7 James Logan published his well-known ‘Clans of the Scottish Highlands,’ which was illustrated with sketches by Mac Ian. In 1848 Logan issued ‘ Gaelic Gatherings,’ with plates after Mac Ian. To continue our list of mistakes, Mr. Brydall’s estimate of the merits of Dyce as an artist, high as it is, is not equal to that painter’s merits. We do not see how he is justified in reckoning as a Scottish artist that admirable painter Sam Bough, who was born in Carlisle, got what training he could in London, and did nothing which can be called Scottish until, in 1855, he settled in Edinburgh at the age of thirty-three. Our author was mis- informed when he wrote that the Royal Academicians in Strange’s time ‘‘ excluded all engravers from its ranks in face of the | protests of its president, Sir Benjamin West.” West was never knighted, and he was not President till 1792. Associate-Engravers (Major, Ravenet, Canot, J. Browne, and T. Chambers) were elected in 1770, 7.¢., two years after the foundation of the Academy, and even before other ranks of the body were filled up. The long-rankling grievance of the engravers against the R.A. ought to have been properly stated, if mentioned at all. It is not true that ‘‘ engravers were not admitted [to the R.A.] till 1853.” Mr. Brydall means that there was no engraver Royal Academician till 1855 (not 1853), when S. Cousins was elected. In this con- nexion ignorant Southrons have disrespect- fully asked, ‘‘ What was the Scottish Aca- demy about after 1826?” and how many engravers were members of its body besides Lizars, the only foundation Associate-En- graver, who resigned in 1830? Whereas the Royal Academy from the first reckoned plenty of Scotchmen among its members, dodos were only a little rarer than Eng- lishmen in the northern society. Why is it said (p. 181) that James Gillespie designed ‘‘the fine Saxon chapel of the Whitehouse Convent,” ¢. 1811? We do not believe that in 1811, or at any other time, “study of the Elgin Marbles was limited to students of the Royal Academy.” It was not to T. Campbell, nor for her statue by him which is now at Chatsworth, that the Princess Pauline Borghese is said to have sat naked, replying to an English duchess’s remonstrances, ‘‘ Oh, madame, la chambre était échauffée!”’ Several errors in spelling call for correction. Thus “ Ricci” stands for Rizzio on p. 63; ‘‘ Hyffidg”’ should be Hyssing (p. 116); ‘‘ Bouquet” should be Roquet (p. 120); ‘‘Vesperies ”’ should be Vespre (same page). A Descriptive Cataloque of the Collection of Pictures belonging to the Earl of Northbrook, with twenty-five illustrations, comes to us in the form of a stately quarto, somewhat too heavy for use, finely printed on thick paper of a | costly kind, withample margins and other blank | spaces suitable to the magnificence of the col- lection itself, and, so far as the Low Country and French paintings are concerned, supplied with notes by Mr. A. H. J. Weale, and as to the Italian and Spanish schools by Dr. J. P. Richter. They were written in 1878. unequal value and beauty, although they are all faithful so far as they go. The Van Mus- scher itself is only tolerably reproduced. Among the most satisfactory plates are a fairly good transcript of ‘Christ’s Agony in the Garden,’ by Mantegna, famous in the history of early Italian art, and the so-called Raphael, a ‘Virgin and Child,’ formerly at Corsham House, and variously ascribed to Lo Spagna, Eusebio da San Giorgio, Raphael, and Timoteo Viti. Although hardly equal to a Raphael and difficult to date among his works, it seems to us far more reasonable to attribute it, as some have done, to him than to Lo Spagna or San Giorgio, neither of whom painted quite in this manner ; while the bad drawing of the hands, which Dr. Richter points out, although unworthy of that ideal Raphael whom we all adore, is exactly what the real master was by no means incapable of. Justly did Browning make his Andrea del Sarto say of a Raphael, —— indeed the arm is wrong. As to Viti, we know so little and guess so much about his workmanship that he really occupies the position Goldsmith indicated for Pietro Perugino : he is a good subject for quack critics to talk of. Dr. Richter accurately recog- nizes the Raphael-like elements in this picture, which deserves to be studied alongside of one of the Panshanger Raphaels, the ‘St. Cathe- rine’ in the National Gallery, and works of that class. If we rejected it as a Raphael, it would be on account of the somewhat weak expression and commonness of the Virgin’s face. The book supplies a brief description of each picture, its history, and the names of former owners. The sales in which it has passed from hand to hand are chronicled (but not often the prices it realized) as well as countless details, which are otherwise difficult to win out of the ‘‘rubbish heaps” of catalogues recondite, and rare to a degree. The cataloguers of this collection have not failed to exercise their critical powers by declining to award pictures to men to whom they are often rashly ‘‘attributed”” or ‘‘ascribed.” For example, the ‘Virgin and Child’ which was formerly | at Greenhithe, and was called a Verrocchio because the hem of the Virgin’s dress bore letters formerly read as ‘‘ Averoe,” but really forming part of ‘‘ Ave Maria,” is now ascribed, with better judgment, to Lionardo’s follower Antonio Solario. Collectors and _connois- seurs will welcome the reprint of the Cata- logue of the Verstolk Gallery, to which the Northbrook Collection owes many noble in- stances. The Northbrook Collection has already | been illustrated in a welcome manner in Lord We would recommend the publishers, Messrs. | Griffith, Farran & Co., to issue the letterpress and plates in a less sumptuous and costly, but more convenient form. The Northbrook Collection has been so generously and so fre- quently placed at the disposal of the Royal | ; : | consists of four parts, each of which contains a Academicians for their Winter Exhibitions, that nearly all the pictures are well known to | the public, from the ‘John Herbster’ of Hol- bein to that delightful masterpiece of Van Musscher the portrait of W. Van de Velde the Younger, which when at Burlington House last | year attracted the attention of all artists not familiar with C. G. Lewis’s frontispiece to Smith’s ‘Catalogue Raisonné,’ part vi. In criti- cizing it even Dr. Waagen rose to the occasion and declared that there is ‘‘something very pleasing in the feeling of this picture.” So much he might safely say of such a masterpiece. Van Musscher is said to have been born in 1645, we are expected to believe that he painted this fine thing before he had completed his fifteenth year As | in 1659. We do not believe it. Nor do we believe | that ‘‘ 165-” is the number of the picture in the sequence of the artist’s works. The illustrations, | sequen f tl tist ks. T , which are due to the Dixon and Gray ortho-chro- matic process, printed in platinotype, are of very | Ronald Gower’s capital volume of 1885 (Samp- son Low & Co.) which bears its name, and comprises much better prints than those before us. A Selection from the Liber Studiorum of J.M.W. Turner, R.A. With an Introduction by F. Wedmore, and Notes by F. Short. Tllus- trated. (Blackie & Son.)—This publication copy of a plate from Turner’s immortal work, printed in brown like its original, and engraved upon by Mr. F. Short. The subjects are ‘ The Little Devil’s Bridge,’ ‘ Falls of the Clyde,’ ‘St. Catherine’s Hill, Guildford,’ and ‘ Isis.’ Besides these there are dispersed throughout the work thirty-one photographic facsimiles of Turner's etched outlines of as many members of the same series, made by him before they were finished in mezzotint by his engravers. There are also a number of minor illustrations printed with the letterpress, which embodies notes by Mr. Ruskin and less distinguished authorities. The alleged reason for this publication appears to be that the ‘ Liber’ is supposed to be fit to serve as a drawing book for would-be draughtsmen to copy, and the reader is by implication, if not by direct statement, led to think that Mr. Ruskin has recommended the ‘ Liber’ for this purpose. We should demur to such a recommendation
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XUM N° 3278, Ava. 23, 790 263 THE ATHENAULT under any circumstances, and made by any authority, however eminent ; but we have failed to find it in any of Mr. Ruskin’s writings, un- less a note in the ‘ Elements of Drawing,’ to the effect that an ‘‘original etching” of a Liber would “be a drawing master in itself alone,” is to be taken in its narrowest sense and as an unchallengeable dictum. That every member of the series does embody matter invaluable to students of art is a truism which needed no prophet, although the editor of this work (Mr. John Ward, F.S.A.) and others con- cerned in it seem anxious to make the world believe that the ‘Liber’ was practically un- known to artists until 1857, when the ‘ Elements of Drawing’ was published. The assertion that at this time ‘‘scarcely any of the engravings were to be found in the British Museum” is an exaggeration, although it may be true that none of them was at South Kensington. That ‘‘ even now the ‘ Liber Studiorum’ is known and un- derstood by comparatively few” is a_ state- ment the value of which depends upon what the writer meant by ‘‘ comparatively.” The young draughtsman had, as a matter of fact, much better leave these plates alone. Turner himself would have laughed, or growled, at the notion of using them as drawing copies to train the hands of tyros who, long before they were competent to imitate them with intelligence and success, ought to have ceased using ex- amples in ‘‘the flat.””. Turner, of course, in- tended that they should be used by students: he says so most emphatically in the very title of the work; but that he intended beginners to draw from them we cannot admit. For this purpose, if they are so to be employed at all, the original drawings—the majority of which are in the National Gallery—or even some of the superior instances in the series of photo- graphs published many years ago by the Arundel Society, would be far more serviceable. As to the four prints in question, it is difficult to reconcile the statement of Mr. J. Ward that ‘artistic life” has been given to them ‘‘ by additional engraving and careful revision by Mr. Frank Short,” with the latter gentleman’s notice, on p. 16, that these are ‘‘ reproductions by a mechanical process of engraving,” without a word of the share ascribed to him by the ‘‘ edi- tor,” who evidently knows very little that is new about the matter, and, we suspect, still less about the labours of his accomplished co- adjutor. The transcripts are the most valuable things in the work, but they differ greatly in merit and fidelity. ‘Isis,’ the temple in Petworth Park, is the best, and very good indeed. ‘The Little Devil’s Bridge’ is not so good; part of the distance is weak and confused, while the foreground is rather harshand thin. Still on the whole itis excellent. ‘The Falls of the Clyde’ is better than ‘The Little Devil’s Bridge,’ yet the middle distance is rather flat and thin, as, indeed, many otherwise fine impressions of the original plate are found to be. ‘St. Catherine’s Hill,’ one of the least valuable examples in the ‘Liber,’ is the one failure in the volume. It is coarse, murky, and hard. As a mark of homage to Turner, especially in the one fine plate we have mentioned, and on account of the reproductions of some of the etchings made for the ‘ Liber,’ as well as because it comprises copies of more than one of the unpublished prints of the series, we may welcome this work (which is well printed and got-up), but not as a drawing book. The notes of Mr. Short are, as a rule, intelligent and sympathetic. We could have dispensed with the effusive and laboured remarks of the Rev. Stopford Brooke, whose true vocation is not art criticism ; and the con- tributions of Mr. John Ward are supereroga- tory. THE ARCHEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE AT GLOUCESTER. Some remarks made in the course of the paper read by Mr. A. Hartshorne, F.S.A., at Tewkesbury, on Wednesday, as we went to press last week, are too important to be omitted im an account of the proceedings of the Institute. Mr. Hartshorne divided the tombs in the Abbey, he said, into two classes, those with eftigies and those without. On the north side of the nave is the effigy of a man, commonly, but wrongly, said to be Lord Wenlock Street, who was killed at the battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. ‘The figure exhibits some curious points of costume. It wears a pointed bascinet with a camail of banded mail, fastened with a lace in the usual way. Only five examples of banded mail are known in England. The effigies of Hugh Despencer, who died in 1349, and his wife Elizabeth, lie under a magnifi- cent canopy on the left side of the altar. The eftigy of the man is tenderly sculptured in white alabaster. He wears a round bascinet, which is not characteristic of the period. The fan vaulting of the canopy is early—perhaps the earliest known. The eftigy of Guy de Brown, who died in 1390, has some features which are rarely, if ever, seen in armour. The mail hose covering the legs is strengthened and protected by splints of steel embedded in it after the Oriental fashion, and there are at regular intervals upon the figure small wooden pegs that have held decorative studs. The whole of the mail has been worked in gesso, and the field of the arms diapered in the same way. It is recorded that the whole of this effigy has been covered with leaf silver, and painted and gilt in parts. The eftigy of Edward Despencer, who died in 1875, represents him kneeling upon a cushion, under a curious canopy on the top of the Trinity Chapel. This figure, Mr. Harts- horne stated, is quite unique, and is extremely valuable, because it is painted all over to the life, and the back is as carefully finished as the front. The monument attributed to Abbot Wakeman, the last abbot of Tewkesbury (1531- 1539), was described by Mr. Hartshorne as quite a century earlier. ‘‘ The lively picture of death”’ has reptiles crawling over it, which is a very unusual, if not a unique feature. There are several plain tombs of abbots and three canopied ones in the south aisle, showing admirably the gradual growth of such memorials during about a hundred years. Mr. Hartshorne also dis- coursed upon the painted glass in the choir, which is unsurpassed in brilliancy. It is ren- dered still more interesting by eight military figures in it. They all carry lances and wear ailettes, and the mixture of mail and plates in their harness fixes the date of the figures to the early part of the second quarter of the four- teenth century, the most important period of military costume. By closely studying the heraldry on these figures, Mr. Hartshorne identified Robert, Earl of Gloucester, Fitz Hamon, four De Clares, a Zouche, and a De- spencer, and he is of opinion that they were placed by Eleanor, wife of Hugh Despencer the younger. A good choice was made of Prof. Middleton as spokesman for architecture at the Gloucester meeting, as he is a native of the county, and most intimately acquainted with it. was a crowded and deeply interested audience when he opened the Architectural Section on Wednesday evening, the 13th inst., at the Tolsey. In the course of his able address, partly read and partly delivered vivd voce from notes—which may be described as having for its subject the points of contact, and the similarity of feeling and motive, between styles of architecture in ancient, medizeval, and modern times, in ages and countries far distant from one another— he said there was probably no district of Eng- land so rich as Gloucestershire in archzeological objects of interest embracing all periods—pre- historic, Roman, and medieval. With all the various races who had inhabited Britain this part of Mercia had been a specially favourite dwelling-place, owing partly to its fertile well- watered valleys and also to its noble ranges of hills, affording the best of sites for camp earth- There | | scription by a resolution works or fortresses surrounded with stene walls. In building materials for military and domestic use Gloucestershire was specially rich. Further, he said the archeology of no district in Eng- land had been more carefully studied and ex- pounded. Therefore he looked further atield. It was becoming more and more necessary to realize that archeology was a_ subject that must be worked at as a united whole; the art and antiquities of no one country could fruitfully be studied by themselves, but must be explained and illustrated by a comparison with the state of artistic develop- ment in other countries-——not necessarily a contemporary period of time, but with those which were passing through a similar stage in their mental and artistic development. Inter- esting remains, such as those of Lydney and Bath, were illustrated by the explorations of the sacred temenoi of AXsculapius in Athens and at Epidaurus. A study of the later Roman style of buildings and details went far to illustrate and explain the early types of the architecture of the Normans. In Spoonley Villa, which they would visit on Friday, and in other Roman houses in Gloucestershire they saw in the mouldings of capitals and bases the prototypes of many of the most characteristic mouldings of the Norman style, and even of the Early English ; and at Deerhurst they saw in the shapes of the Saxon caps and arch-imposts copies in stone of the later brick forms of the Romans. In the nave and crypt of Gloucester Cathedral they saw with the utmost clearness how the Norman builders of the eleventh century copied and modified the characteristic Tuscan or Romano-Doric of the later empire. The pro- fessor quoted other interesting samples of similarity in the buildings of different races at different periods, and alluded to recent im- portant discoveries on the Acropolis of Athens, which, he said, have in many ways gone far to modify all previously existing views on the development of Greek art, especially architec- ture and sculpture. In conclusion, he alluded to coloured decoration as applied to sculpture. All such decoration applied to sculpture by the Greeks was curiously similar both in style and technique to the colour which the artists of medieval England applied to their carvings, and no finer example of its kind existed anywhere than the splendid reredos of the Lady Chapel in Gloucester Cathedral. Mr. John Bellows supplied an instructive account of Roman Gloucester, continuing where he left off on Tuesday at the Science and Art School. His lecture was illustrated by plans specially prepared for the occasion. At the general meeting of the Institute for the transaction of business, on the Thursday morning, it was evident that a larger proportion of representative members had attended the Gloucester meeting than had been present on the same occasion for the last two years. After the usual preliminaries connected with finance and the election of officers for the coming year, Earl Percy called upon the Secretary to read the report, a short portion of which we are enabled to give our readers :— “The Council, under the directions given at the last annual meeting, has revised the terms of sub- passed at the general meeting of members held on the 17th April last, whereby the entrance fee was reduced to one guinea, and the life-membership raised to fifteen guineas, it being expected that this alteration will encourage persons to become annual members, Among the advantages available to members the Council would again allude to the library, and to the services ren- dered by Mr, E. C. Hulme, the honorary librarian, in the entire rearrangement of it and the produc- tion of the catalogue. ‘The latter is now ready for delivery to subscribers and others, as previously arranged. The price is six shillings, The Institute also possesses a large collection of prints and draw- ings, which are now being catalogued by Mr. Gosselin. The study and practical application of archeology alluded to in the last report has since been advanced by certain of the local societies in union with the
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264 THE ATHENZUM N° 3278, Ave. 23, 90
Society of Antiquaries discussing proposals to effect that purpose...... The Institute has to regret the loss by death of the Rev. Hill Searth, a short notice of whom appears on p. 179 in the June number of the Journal; of Mr. R. H. Soden Smith in his sixty- ninth year, who was a frequent contributor to our earlier volumes and an accurate interpreter of objects of art of varied interest......Mr. John Clayton, of Chester, perhaps the most distinguished, as he was the Nestor of the Northern antiquaries, and the loving owner of many miles of Hadrian’s great barrier, has passed away. On two occasions he entertained the Institute with princely hospitality. Mr. Roach Smith, the Nestor of Southern anti- quaries, has followed his lifelong friend, and like him full of years and learning.” In conclusion, Earl Perey announced the pro- visional acceptance by the Council of the in- vitation of the Scottish Society of Antiquaries to visit Edinburgh next year for their week’s meeting, and on calling for a show of hands found the members present unanimous in its favour. At eleven there was a numerous attendance in the Chapter House to hear the Dean of Gloucester open the Historical Section. After taking up the historical record where it was left by Mr. John Bellows on Wednesday even- ing in his description of Roman Gloucester, given in the Architectural Section immediately after Prof. Middleton’s address, the Dean en- deavoured to give a picture of the intermediate times from the final departure of the Roman legions from South Britain in 409, through British misrule and internecine warfare and all the horrors of the English invasion (he empha- sized the use of the word ‘‘ English,” to include Saxons, Jutes, and Angles, v. Freeman), until, after well-nigh three centuries of oblivion, Gloucester once more emerged out of the darkness, and towards the end of the seventh century Osric received from Ethelred permission to found the Abbey of St. Peter ; and it was re- corded that ladies of the highest dignity became abbesses in the new foundation. In 1022 the Benedictines formed an establishment in Glou- cester. This great order continued without a break until 1539, when the Prior of Gloucester surrendered the abbey to the commissioners of Henry VIII. The Dean then referred to a number of royal meetings and gemotes held in the Chapter Room of St. Peter’s Abbey—the very room in which they were assembled. Edward the Confessor held a great Wittan there, and decided that his mother should be deprived of her possessions. Another famous gemote held in the abbey was that at which the execu- tion of the Welsh Prince was decided upon. The head of the Prince was brought to Edward the Confessor in Gloucester. When William the Conqueror was at peace, which was not very often, he spent his mid-winter feast in Glou- cester ; and without being at all fanciful, said the Dean, we may be quite certain that on these occasions the Conqueror and his barons sat in this building, which is very little changed except for the rich work we see around it, and took counsel with the great assembly of the nation. It was also here that Domesday Book was decided upon, only a little more than a year before his death. At the time of the Conquest Gloucester occupied the third posi- tion in the realm. The minster church, among other stately ceremonials,
witnessed | the coronation of King Henry III. and the | sadder sight of the hurried obsequies of King Edward II., who lies beneath the exquisite canopied tomb hard by the high altar. This same royal tomb received more ornamentation at the hands of King Richard II., who, curiously enough, round the massive Norman pillars which overshadow the beautiful tomb of Edward II. blazoned his favourite device of the white hart couchant. The same device—as we find on the two contemporary portraits of that monarch worked on his robe, one of which is in Westminster Abbey, and the other on the famous diptych of Lord Pembroke at Wilton House—ap- pears to have been the cognizance of his mother,
widow of the Black Prince, once known as the Fair Maid of Kent. It was in Gloucester that this king (Richard II.) held the famous ‘‘ Money ” -arliament. Tradition has it that the Commons sat in the Chapter Room, and the King and the Peers in the so-called Parliament Room of the Deanery, which was once probably the work- room of the monastery, where, for instance, the beautiful stall canopies and the exquisite misereres were carved. In the course of his address Dr. Spence mentioned that, onlya fortnight before his death, Mr. Gambier Parry (who, had he lived a little longer, would by his learning and genial cha- racter have formed a connecting link between the two meetings the Institute has held at Gloucester) told him never to give up the earlier date assigned by antiquaries to the crypt of Gloucester Cathedral. In vain the Dean endeavoured to arouse a discussion on this long- controverted point, as to whether the crypt was built by Aldred in 1058 or by Serlo in 1089, on which he enlarged to such length that the meet- ing had to break up for luncheon without having had a paper promised by Mr. F. Haverfield, ‘On the Last Ten Years’ Researches into Roman Britain.’ Mr. Haverfield has just been appointed by Dr. Hiibner to compile the supplement to the volume of the Berlin Cor- pus containing the Latin inscriptions found in Britain, but it is to be hoped that he will not on that account be prevented from speedily giving to the public the paper he had prepared for this meeting. At two o’clock the members again assembled at the Cathedral, and spent three hours under the guidance of Prof. Middleton in making an inspection of every portion of it. He premised that it appeared the Benedictine churches were much more generally preserved than the Cister- cian, because the former constituted the churches of the people rather than the priesthood. Gloucester Cathedral was saved owing to the fact of its being converted into the seat of an episcopal see. Tewkesbury Abbey had been bought by the liberality of the parish. At Pershore not the whole church, but only the choir, had been preserved. Winchcomb, once one of the richest and most beautiful Benedictine abbeys in England, lost its abbey in the fifteenth century through the vanity of the Benedictines, when, the parish church having been given to the people, they gave up their right to the altar of the abbey, and now there was not a single stone remaining of it above ground. Gloucester was founded on the site of an older house of secular clergy, many of which were suppressed. With regard to the date of the Norman church, on the whole they might be pretty certain that they saw the church with its magnificent arches much as it was consecrated in 1100. In spite of the fires that happened in the twelfth cen- tury and the rebuildings that followed, no serious change took place in the nave. When it was consecrated it seems to have had a large central tower, probably very like that of Tewkes- bury. When the nave was finished it had two western turrets. What was most noticeable about the church was its great height and the splendid proportions of the triforium. The original flat wooden ceiling of the nave was re- placed by a stone vaulting. <A special point of interest was that we possessed a better chronicle of the building than was the case with most other ecclesiastical buildings. He would run over the dates of the alterations that took place after Norman times. The nave vaulting was done from 1230 to 1240. The old reliquary in the north transept was built about 1260. With that they had an end of the Early English work. Then they came to the very small amount of purely Decorated work in the south aisle, the whole of which was remodelled and partly re- built about 1318. The windows in the south aisle were of special magnificence and richness. There was no other example with so many orders of ballflowers on them, They were
similar to the windows of Badgworth Church and Merton College Chapel. The death of King Edward II. and the founding of his shrine, and the great access of wealth that came into the abbey in 1327, when his body was laid here, were the beginning of the magnificent works which had been carried out. In 1330 began the casing of the south transept, with its sort of screenwork open panelling of stone laid over the old Norman work in a very skilful way. It was the earliest example in England, and in the world, of the Perpendicular style. The next work that was done was the vaulting of the choir, the panelling on the walls, and the tracery work laid on so skilfully to the plain Norman walls and the great east window. That was done between 1337-51. The next was the cloister, which must have been designed in 1360, though it was not finished until 1400. We had here certainly the earliest example of fan vaulting in England. So in more than one respect Gloucester might be regarded as the cradle of one of the most important of English styles. It was to be seen in its perfection, and also in its earliest stage. The next thing that happened to the church was the giving way of the two western turrets, and the consequent rebuilding of the two piers of the western nave. Then came the building of the upper part of the tower. The old part was finished many years before the external tower was built. The great notion of the cathedral designers seemed to have been to carry through the general line of vaulting as much as possible. The last thing that was done was the building of the Lady Chapel, which occupied most of the second part of the fifteenth century, being begun about 1457 and finished 1498. The east window was in some respects one of the most magnificent windows in the world. It was filled with most beautiful painted glass in the most delicate style. In some respects it was exceptional, as it had fourteen lights, an even number, whereas east windows usually had an uneven number, the odd number coming in the middle, while in this ‘case the middle comprised two lights. The scheme of colour was ruby alternating with blue. The figures, which com- prised rows of bishops and knights, were prac- tically not coloured glass, but in ‘‘ silver stain,” a white enamel glass, with ruby or blue back- ground. This silver stain was of a beautiful yellow colour. The window belonged to the finest period for this work, 1345. In the top row there were a few figures of a later date, with curious jewel-edged robes, false gems being melted on to the glass. The window was slightly bowed outwards, with the view of giving it additional support on its foundation. This was a very daring form of construction, as was also that of the tower. Those who prepared the arches below were not prepared for such a mass of masonry to be raised above them, and corbels were carried out on arches over the roof to gain the required additional strength. As to the supposed reliquary at the end of the north transept, the Rev. W. Bazeley gave it as his opinion, adopted from the architect of the Cathedral, Mr. Waller, that this structure of arches formerly stood at the entrance of the old Lady Chapel (thirteenth century), for which purpose it was built. He was quite sure it had been removed from its original position. On arriving at the Lady Chapel, built during the latter part of the fifteenth century, Prof. Mid- dleton’s enthusiasm was fairly roused. He said all that coloured decoration which was applied to sculpture by the Greeks, as in the score of ancient pre-Periclean statues recently found on the Acropolis, is here seen reproduced by medizeval artists. Of this painted stone no finer example of its kind existed anywhere than the splendid reredos of this Lady Chapel, which even in its sadly-mutilated state ought to be protected from all injury, and more especially from ‘‘restoration,” as an object of priceless
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N° 3278, Aua. 23,90 THE ATHENZUM 265 value. There was the same fearless use of bright, pure colours, the same minute delicacy of painted pattern covering every detail, and, above all, the same richness and beauty of texture given by the use of slight but distinct relief to all the brilliantly-coloured designs. With gold that was specially necessary : gilding applied to an unbroken flat surface looked at once poor and gaudy, and both the Greeks and the medieval artists invariably applied their goldleaf to surfaces which were slightly broken up by relief work in gesso or other material. This, by giving a varied play of light and shade, immensely enhanced the decorative value of the gold, and at the same time gave it a look of body and solidity. Any attempt to restore the reredos in the Cathedral Lady Chapel would be a most disastrous failure, and would in- evitably cause the destruction of one of the richest examples of medizeval coloured stone that are still left to us. He also referred in eulogistic terms to the reredos at the high altar, saying | how extremely glad he was to see the spirit of | the old work as far as possible carried out by colouring and gilding the whole. Challenged, as it were, by Mr. Middleton’s energetic protest, the Dean promptly sprang to his feet, and thrice emphatically declared that as long as he was Dean of Gloucester the in- comparable reredos of the Lady Chapel should never be interfered with. Indeed, he said it should not be touched, except for necessary repairs. Later in the afternoon the Dean and Mrs. Spence received the whole company in the Deanery, where they greatly enjoyed their visit to this historic building, and were much in- debted to Dr. and Mrs. Spence for their kind hospitality. The library in the Deanery, over the west entrance to the cloisters, with its Norman features of great antiquity, was much admired. The chamber in which, according to tradition, the barons met at the memorable Parliament of Gloucester, held by Richard IL., was next inspected; and at six a special choral service took place in the Cathedral, in which the members joined. A short paper on the armorial tiles still to be found in the Cathedral was read by the Rev. A. S. Porter, F.S.A. On Friday the bright sunshine again helped | | it was the refuge of the king in 1643. to keep the members together, and a large party of some hundred and fifty left Gloucester by rail at half-past ten for Cheltenham, whence they had a pleasant drive of seven miles over the Cotswold Hills, with a splendid view all the way of the well-wooded Severn vale, to the pretty and interesting old-world market town of Winchcomb. Here the fine Perpendicular church was inspected under the direction of Mr. J. T. Micklethwaite, F.S.A., who said it was chiefly | remarkable for having been built new without its form being in any way influenced by an earlier building on the same site. Such cases are very rare in England, as they could only happen where a parish church was moved toa new site, a thing which was seldom done. The cause of it here, as it was in some other ex- amples, was the appropriation of the original parish church by the great Benedictine abbey close by, which once rivalled Gloucester in mag- nificence, but of which there are now no remains | above ground. The parish was there before the abbey, and the first settlement of monks was made in its already existing church, of which the community appointed the rector, the parishioners of course retaining their old rights in it, and keeping them when in due time their little church was pulled down to make way for the stately minster raised by the monks. What the people determined to do, to have a church of their own, they did well, and having no particular style to copy from, as that was not a church-building age, most of the churches required having been already built, they erected a large capacious structure, with nave and chancel all of equal height, under one continuous roof, and side aisles of very great height, giving both light and life to the building. Till within memory the chancel of Winchcomb Church was fitted up with seats all round, after the Puritan fashion, of which Deer- hurst Church has been quoted as probably the only surviving example. After luncheon an hour’s drive took the members to Spoonley Roman villa, where Prof. Middleton acted as guide and interpreter—an interesting example of a Roman-British house, for the careful excavation and preservation of which antiquaries are indebted to the generosity and outlay of the late Mr. and Mrs. Dent, of Sudeley Castle, who have had the work of ex- cavation and protection carried out, at their own expense, under the supervision of the Rev. W. Bazeley. The villa is built on the typical cloister-like plan : in the central block are the principal rooms, such as the tablinwm and tri- clinium ; in one wing are the bath-rooms, both | hot and cold, and in the other a range of un- heated apartments, probably for summer use. There are two tessellated pavements, safely preserved under buildings erected by Mrs. Dent, the larger one —contaiming a hot-air room, heated by flues, and a cold plunge bath—being covered by the flat stones found in the villa, which had been formerly used by the Romans for the roof of the house itself or of the pent roof running round it. These stones, unlike those of the present day, probably from the same quarry, are of a hexagonal form, and are each secured by one wooden pegatthe top. By this admirable device the tiles are preserved and visitors may gain some idea of what the appearance of a Roman roof was. Mrs. Dent then received the whole company at Sudeley Castle, a place of historic interest as the last dwelling place of the widowed Queen Catherine Parr, who lies entombed in its private chapel. In the suite of rooms inspected the visitors easily recognized many of the relics and pictures that had been so recently lent to the Tudor Exhibition. A paper was composed for the occasion, on the history and antiquities of Sudeley Castle, by Mr. Wilfrid Cripps, C.B., F.S.A., who said that after the death of Thomas Seymour, to whom it had been granted by Henry VIII., Queen Elizabeth visited it no fewer than three times. During the Civil War On returning to Gloucester in the evening the Antiquarian Section was reopened, and a paper was read by Mr. A. Hartshorne, F.S. A., on ‘Hanging in Chains,’ an out-of-the-way, though rather ghastly subject, which was treated, however, with sufticient delicacy and judgment, and upon which he threw consider- | able light, thus dispelling many popular fal- lacies. Another paper, ‘On Pigeon Houses,’ was read by Mr. A. Watkins. During the conversazione given by the Mayor , ' and Corporation, at the Shire Hall, on Thurs- | day evening, which was a paper was read by Mr. W. H. St. John Hope, F.S.A., ‘On the Corporation Regalia of Glou- | cester.’- A fine display of maces, swords, and plate was laid on the table, some having been kindly lent for the occasion by the corporations of Coventry, Leicester, Cardiff, &. The two fifteenth century maces from Winchcomb, how- | ever, were the most beautiful of all. Saturday morning, by a wise innovation, was devoted to the reading and discussion of papers. attended by 500 guests, | The first read was ‘On the Monumental Brasses | of Gloucestershire,’ by Mr. Cecil T. Davies, and the second ‘ On a Civil War Tract,’ by Mr. F. A. | Hyett. The former proved of more than ordinary | interest, and was ably treated. Mr. Davies said there were now only eighty-three brasses left in | the county. Two other papers set down cn the programme, one by Mr. G. E. Fox, F.S.A., on Cirencester, and another by Mr. G. H. Piper, on Taynton Church, were held over for another time. In the afternoon the members took train for Woodchester, where they inspected the large | Roman pavement, which had not been uncovered for ten years, and which was to be covered up again on the following Monday. It was ex- plained by Prof. Middleton. The floor belonged to the tetrastyle atrium of a large Roman villa. One remarkable circumstance is that these tes- sellated pavements constructed by the Romans in Britain, though made entirely of indigenous materials (white oolite, dark red sandstone, blue lias, burnt clay, &c.), are almost as effective as the ancient marble pavements found abroad. One exactly similar in design, repre- senting Orpheus playing to the beasts, has been found recently at Constantine, in Africa, while at least three other similar ones are now known to exist in Numidia. Detached portions of the villa scattered over the neighbouring field were uncovered for the occasion, proving the accuracy of the plans made by Lysons when he discovered and opened out the villa at the end of the last ceitury. It were much to be desired that the lo al archzeological society or the neighbouring landlords could see their way to having the whole site cleared and permanently roofed in and preserved for inspection. Unfortunately the elaborate and beautiful mosaic pavement is in the churchyard, and cut off by a public road from the rest of the site. The party then left for Stroud, where they had a long drive through most enchanting scenery to Prinknash Park, now the residence of Mr. Dyer Edwardes, by whom they were hospitably entertained. The Rev. W. Bazeley read a paper in the drawing-room on the historic interest of this old monastic country residence, which was visited by Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn when on a progress through Gloucester- shire in 1535, which has not hitherto been re- corded by a single historian. They remained at the prior’s villa several days, and Mr. Bazeley has quite recently found all the details of their festive reception at Gloucester, and of the doings of every day of their tour, in the Corporation archives of Gloucester and in the Public Record Oftice, London. He mentioned incidentally that only within the last few days he had made him- self sure that the chapel attached to the house had been consecrated in 1628, and not in 1629, as stated in county histories, and that the cere- mony was most probably performed by Arch- bishop Laud, who was formerly Dean of Gloucester and Bishop of St. David’s. Early on Monday morning the members mustered in force for a long day’s excursion to Withington, Chedworth, and Northleach. Withington Church was explained by Prof. Middleton, who put down the Norman work to 1160. In the chancel he pointed out an early English window-arch made of stones with chevron mouldings of that date, which had been reset after the destruction of the old window when the chancel was built at a later period. Underneath this window, on the north, or gospel, side of the altar, could still be seen an almost unique example of a water cistern for the ablution of the chalice, with an opening below for a leaden cock and spout. The stone trough, however, containing the lost lead tank, has been removed from its former site during recent re- storation. The Norman doorway arch protected by the south porch was much admired. At Chedworth Roman villa the company first par- took of luncheon, and had then ample time to examine the remains, under the direction of Mr. Fox and of Prof. Middleton. Mr. Fox has written a full description of the villa in a late number of the Archeological Journal, and his admirable exposition in each room on the actual site was clear and concise beyond measure. While, however, he called the first room of the large and well-preserved bathing establishment the dressing-room, and the second the sudarium, and the third a heated room giving access to the warm-water bath, Prof. Middleton differed from him, so as to make the second room the tepi- darium and the third the sudatorium. The flues and hypocausts under these two rooms and under the basin or vase bath for hot water could be
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268 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3278, Ava. 23, ’90 the next chamber. This is the best preserved Roman bath now known in Roman Britain. The family burying-place still exists in the wood behind the villa, but has never yet been tho- roughly examined. A few sculptured stones from it are to be seen in the museum erected in the courtyard of the villa by Lord Eldon, and would doubtless yield a large treasure of anti- quities to the happy explorer. ever, of all archzeologists are due to Lord Eldon for the noble example he has set to all owners | | To the north, a very short way off, we have of monuments of this kind by the admirable way in which the ruins have been preserved and kept in the state in which they were dis- covered. All the walls and floors of the villa are in just as good condition as when first found. In late Roman times the best rooms of the north wing, facing south, had been turned into a full- ing and dyeing establishment, and the large cemented vases and the arrangement of hypo- causts for drying are all well preserved. The occurrence is not strange, as the Cotswold has ever been famous for its flocks ; esting circumstance was pointed out by Mr. Fox in the mosaic floor of the dining-room, that winter is represented symbolically by a shep- herd well clothed with buskins, cape, and tunic, showing us exactly howa British peasant of that day would be attired. Several examples of the monogram for Christ, the ‘‘Chi Ro,” were found scratched on slabs, and can now be seen in the museum; but this circumstance throws no light on how far Christianity may have been professed by the inmates. The lower portions of the Lares in stone were found still i situ near the entrance when the villa was disin- terred. A drive to Northleach Church concluded the day’s proceedings. the rich woolstaplers of the neighbourhood about 1450, and the ancient altar-stone is still preserved in the vestry. The fine Perpendicular porch retains two of its ancient images, and another is still visible on the outside of the church, at the apex of the east window of the nave. on the church floor, especially noteworthy being that of the woolstapler Bush and his wife. A gloom, however, was thrown over Monday’s excursion by the knowledge that during the night one of the members, Mr. Hamilton Ross, had been carried away by apoplexy. At the usual concluding meeting of the Institute, on the Monday evening, it was determined, in conse- quence, that the visit of the society to Berkeley Castle should not be officially conducted. arrangements, however, having been made be- forehand, most of the members paid a hurried visit to Berkeley on the following day, when the Rev. W. Bazeley acted as guide. In the great hall many valuable charters, out of some six thou- sand documents earlier than 1603 in the muni- ment room, were laid out on the tables, and were duly expounded by Mr. J. H. Jeaves, of the British Museum, who had now spent two years in studying them. On the completion of his task, in another few months, he would have his catalogue of 600 charters ready for publication. He then hoped a digest of their more important contents could be printed. A splendid series of brasses were seen | | wherever the sun worship prevailed on high The thanks, how- | and an inter- | well seen. The cold-water plunge bath was in | Gray Birch is so down in your last number ; but as my name is given prominently in his re- marks, there is some little danger of my being thought to deserve the title ; so I must ask a few lines in your pages to explain what I did say in my paper at Oxford, which has unfortu- nately given rise to such ‘‘acute ” controversy between Messrs. Birch and Wright. I said that the name Sil-chester was pro- bably derived from Sol or Sil and (Chester) castrum, the camp of the sun. I stated that I found the ‘‘sun” in many places thereabouts. ‘*Sul-ham,” ‘* The Home of the Sun”; near it two parishes, Sul-hampstead Abbot, Sul-hamp- stead Bannister, the homestead of the ‘‘ sun,” &c. Eastward we have the sun itself in Sun- ningdale and Sun-ninghill ; southward we have it in Sil-bury Hill; and westward I supposed we had it at Aquie Solis, the bath or waters of the sun. At Stonehenge we had, we know, asun temple, set out to face the rising sun on the longest day, &c. Sun-, Sil-, Sul-, Sol-, all evi- dently mean the same thing. In Brittany St. Sul of the Sun is still worshipped. The cul- tus or worship of those ancient times was all based on seeing in the great luminary the ‘*manifestation of Baal”; so high places were generally chosen, notably as at Silchester. At Bath we have a temple or temples consecrated to the great male and female divinities of nature, represented by sun and moon. The great stone medallions of the pediments of these temples are | preserved in the Museum at Bath; there we This church was built by | see the sun, Apollo (or Baal), and the moon, a female head in a crescent. The temple was dedicated to Sul-i, Minerva. The Roman name of the place was Aque Solis: the first word so derived because there was a great spring there ; the second from the fact that the sun | was worshipped there. Mr. Birch may struggle with this simple and obvious derivation as much as he pleases, but it cannot be explained away with all his acv- men. The Christian successor of Apollo, or the sun god, was St. Michael, so we find St. Michaels places, and in the main streets of great cities at the centre, where the temple of Apollo stood, notably at Verulam and in Bath, Gloucester, &e. The St. Michael’s Mounts in Cornwall and France tell the same story: they were the high places of ‘‘ Baal.” Mr. Birch’s talents command my respect ; Ido not think, however, | inthis case they helped us very much at Oxford, All | and I feel that Mr. George R. Wright, F.S.A., | by no means deserves Mr. Birch’s criticism for Mr. Bazeley earned | great praise by the energetic, clear, and pains- | taking way in which he performed his task. He | held forth successively in the triangular court- | yard, in the great hall, in the chapel, and in the room over the dungeon, where Edward II. was so barbarously murdered. The other room, popularly pointed out as the last the ill-fated monarch ever saw, he entirely discredited. After a succession of fine days, and in the midst of lovely scenery, thus was brought to a close the Archeological Congress of Gloucester of 1890. AQU SOLIS. Chase Lodge, Clapham Common, Aug. 13, 1899. Happity I am not the antiquary of ‘“shal- his defence of the great luminary and its famous ** Bath.” J. W. Grover, F.S.A. AN INSCRIPTION FROM MEGALOPOLIS. King’s College, Cambridge, Aug. 11, 1890. May I be allowed to make an addition to previous reports of the British School excava- tions at Megalopolis ? An inscription, some 250 lines in length, which was found in the possession of one of the villagers, and copied both by Mr. Castroménos and myself, proves to be part of the famous Edict of Diocletian, fixing maximum prices throughout the empire. More than half of the fragment at Mega- lopolis is new. The new portions fall for the most part under the following headings : [Ilepi] Tov pur Gov THs Bextor plns (fares), Llepi ydpzou (fodder), Ilept wAovpouv (feathers of various birds), [epi fkaXdpwv cat peAaviov (pens and ink), Ilept é€oOyros (clothing), [Tepe épéas] (wool), Ilepi Acvov (linen). Besides these portions, many obscure or frag- mentary lines in Lebas and Waddington (1870) and the ‘Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum’ (1873) —in which all the fragments, Greek and Latin, up to date of publication, are pieced together ' —will be cleared up or restored by the new fragment, which we hope to publish in the next low intelligence” on whom Mr. Walter de! number of the Journal of Hellenic Studies, It is reported (I think in your columns) that another fragment of the same edict has been discovered this very year by the American School in their excavations at Plata. If dis- coveries of fragments continue at this rate, it ought to be possible before long to restore the whole of the original inscription, which would then be one of the most interesting (as well as entertaining) documents of the Empire. W. Lorine. NOTES FROM ATHENS. THE excavations of the Archzeological Society at Dipylos, which have been going on for some time under the care of M. Mylonos, have led to the discovery of a wall some fifty métres long and some eleven métres high, which proceeds from the well-known monument of the ox ina north-eastern direction. The discoveries made in the graves which have been opened are as yet of small account ; at any rate, no sculpture has been met with. The excavations will be prose- cuted further. The well-known chapel of the Hagia Triadha has been purchased by the Archeological Society, and will be pulled down as it is hoped something of interest may be brought to light. The Government has author- ized the Society to turn up the ground, which has hitherto been left undisturbed (both in 1862 and again in 1870 and in 1879) because claims were raised to it by private individuals. M. Mylonos is contemplating a history of the ex- cavations since 1862, a really necessary work, as there is a great deal left to say about them besides what is found in the volumes which, like that of Salinas, only deal with sculpture. An interesting purchase on the part of the Archeological Society is reported : that of one of the most ancient olive trees on the Sacred Way between Athens and Daphnis. It is said to be over two thousand years old. Several years ago M. Francois Lenormant in his book ‘La Voie Sacrée’ called attention to the exist- ence of several extremely ancient trunks in the olive wood of Athens. The tree in question is certainly a fragment of antiquity which is not kept under glass, of course, yet deserves the attention of every lover of antiquity. The old mosaics in the church of the monastery of Daphni near Athens, which date from the tenth century, and which were terribly damaged by the earthquakes of December 29th and 30th, are, on the recommendation of the Italian Government, which was consulted on the matter, being ‘‘ restored” by a skilled workman from Salviati’s factory at Murano. The great mosaic picture of the Saviour presents especial difti- culties. It is proposed that it should be taken out bit by bit, and, after restoration of the terribly shattered cupola, be put together again. We shall hope that this process may prove successful, but—caveant consules On the 30th of July a solemn jubilee was observed—the fiftieth commemoration of the death of K. O. Miiller, who met with a sun- stroke at Delphi in 1840, and came back to Athens todie. He lies on the hill of Colonus ; near him sleepsCharles Lenormant. Noworthier resting-place could be found in the neighbour- hood of Athens for one who studied and felt the whole of Greek antiquity in all its beauty. On the hill, full of noble memories, his admirers assembled around his grave. The stele itself, inscribed with an epigram in ancient Greek, which is placed over his remains, has ' been cleaned and polished by order of the In- spector-General of Antiquities, and it was hung withcrowns by theGerman archzeologistssojourn- ing at Athens and by his Greek admirers. Dr. Wolters, the second secretary of the German Archeological Institute, and the grey - haired secretary of the Archzeological Society of Athens, Prof. Kumanudes, made speecheson the occasion. The cabinet of coins has been put in order again. After the wholesale robbery which took place three years ago, the coins which were saved were packed up and waited rearrangement
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N° 3278, Ava. 23, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 267 Owing to the appointment of Dr. Svoronos to the curatorship, the old plan of reorganization, which was interrupted by the robbery, has been revived. The coins have been arranged in the wide galleries of the building of the Aca- demy, and the most interesting are exhibited in suitable show-cases. A rich collection of plaster casts will serve to complete the collection. The Commission which is to hand over the coins to the new director will meet soon. After this is done, the work of cataloguing will be proceeded with. Spyr. P. Lamsros. Fine-Art Gossiy, In addition to works we have already men- tioned the National Gallery has received the following pictures, and they have been numbered and hung accordingly. No. 1311, ‘A Winter Scene and Castle,’ by Beerestraaten, is a very telling, well-composed, and warm snow piece, A large square fortress, with round towers at its angles, occupies much of the middle of the view. No. 1312, ‘ A Village Scene,’ is by Jan Victoor. These are placed in the Dutch Room. In the same room ‘A View on the Maes,’ by A. Storck, No. 146, which has been for some time at South Kensington, has now returned. In the Spanish Room a new example is to be seen. It is No. 1308, ‘A Portrait of a Man,’ by Del Mazo, Velazquez’s pupil and assistant, and exhibiting some of the characteristic qualities of his master’s art. It is a small, whole-length, standing figure in the costume of the painter’s time, resting his left hand on the back of a chair, and in the other hand holding a large hat with feathers. Mr. W. Grices, the well-known lithographer, published some time back an illustrated work on armorial china, and he is now preparing for publication another work on china decorated with the armorial bearings of the London companies. Some of these companies do not at the present time possess any such china, but these objects are known to be in existence, and Mr. Griggs is anxious to obtain on loan from any private owners specimens of china deco- rated with the arms of the City companies, so that he may be enabled to complete this im- portant historical series. THE remarkable series of fifteenth century wall-paintings, lately uncovered and repaired at the church of Pickering, is about to be fully described, together with other details of this interesting church, by Rev. Dr. Cox. Mr. Glaisby, of York, is preparing photographic illustrations. Tue September issue of the Antiquary will contain an account of an armourer’s bill of the fourteenth century by Hon. Harold Dillon, F.S.A., and an illustrated description by Mr. John Ward of a cinerary urn and incense cup recently found in Derbyshire. The same number includes the opening parts of a series of papers by Rev. E. M. Cole on the earthworks of the Yorkshire wolds, and by Rev. Father Palmer on the kings’ confessors, beginning with the reign of Henry ITI. A ‘Directory (revised to July, 1890) with Regulations for establishing and conducting Science and Art Schools and Classes’ has been published, C. 6125, and is stated to ‘‘ supersede all those [regulations] in former editions.” It is a volume of 271 pages, octavo, with some illustrations, and must be sold at a considerable loss for sixpence. To everybody affiliated to the Department of Science and Art it is a document of great importance. A statuE of Louis XIV., by Coysevox, formerly in the Hétel de Ville, destroyed in the time of the Commune, 1871, has been placed in the Musée Carnavalet, Paris. Tue Grand Prix de Rome in architecture has been given to M. E. Pontremoli. As no award was made in this section last year, a second Grand Prix has fallen to M. D. Sortais. A CoRRESPONDENT refers to our note on the three pictures going to the National Gallery from Longford Castle (Athen., July 12th, 1890, p. 72), in which we indicated the nature of the curious representation in the foreground of Hol- bein’s so-called ‘ Portrait of Two Ambassadors,’ the most important of the three works, and mentioned a letter to us from Dr. Woodward, of the British Museum. In reply we cannot do better than call our correspondent’s attention | to Athen., No. 2361, January 25th, 1873, p. 120, which contains Dr. Woodward’s communication, the first solution of a puzzle centuries old, and a diagram explaining the anamorphosis, for such the representation is, of a human skull. At our request the learned geologist examined the picture, and, after repeated trials, succeeded in finding the clue. The skull was probably drawn from the reflection ina cylindrical mirror. Such representations were, as we said at the time, not uncommon. In the Catalogue of the Royal Pictures, printed by Bathoe, a portrait of Ed- ward VI., which was evidently an anamorphosis, is recorded as ‘‘ Prince Edward’s head in per- spective,” No. 969 in King James’s collection. It seems to be the same mentioned by Hentzner in 1598, as seen by him at Whitehall, ‘‘a pic- ture of King Edward VI. representing at first sight something quite deformed, till by looking through a small hole in the cover which is put over it, you see it in its true proportions.” Shakspeare, in ‘ Richard II.,’ Actii. sc. 2, says: Like perspectives, which rightly gazed upon, Show nothing but confusion,—ey’d awry, Distinguish form, The Duke of Saxe-Weimar, travelling in Eng- land in 1613, saw at Whitehall what was doubt- less the king’s picture ‘‘ perspectively painted.” Walpole saw it in Old Somerset House. In Athen., No. 2358, p. 22, January 4th, 1873, is an elaborate description of this group, with historical and critical notes. It was Wornum who discovered the signature ‘‘Joannes Hol- bein Pingebat, 1533,” just below the lower edge of the overcoat of the so-called Sir Thomas Wyat. Thereis only a probability that Wyat is represented by one of the figures; various guesses have been made as to the name of his companion. It has been supposed that the pre- sence of the skull indicated that one at least of the persons represented was dead when the picture was painted. This, unless we suppose the mortuary emblem was introduced after the work was finished, is improbable, because the likenesses are very lifelike indeed, and as unlike posthumous portraits as they well can be. Weare, however, aware of Holbein’s practice of finishing his pictures from studies, e.g., the noble likeness of the Duchess of Milan lent by the Duke of Norfolk to the National Gallery, most important work in England.” A skull in a portrait does not conclusively indicate death. On the contrary, we read in Evelyn’s ‘Diary’ for 1648, ‘‘1st July. I sate for my picture, in which there is a Death’s head, to Mr. Walker, that excellent painter.” A skull thing else. MUSIC a RECENT PUBLICATIONS. Musical Groundwork. By F. J. Crowest. (Warne & Co.)—It is impossible to read many pages of this book without wondering what was | the author’s precise object in writing it. He says that itis not for beginners, and he certainly discourses about the rudiments of music in such a way that no beginner could form any correct ideas on the subject. The same may be said concerning his chapters on ancient and medieval , music, subjects of which Mr. Crowest would | seem to have little more than elementary know- upon which, all things considered, we should | prefer to bestow the praise Wornum gave to | ‘The Two Ambassadors,’ of being ‘‘ Holbein’s | was usually a memento mori, and seldom any- | | ledge. We are told that ‘self educationists ” and schoolgirls and youths qualifying for various examinations may peruse the book. It is fer- vently to be hoped that they will not, for their chances of passing would be considerably re- duced if they accepted Mr. Crowest’s informa- tion. Here is some that will astonish musicians : The G and the F clefs bid fair to meet all the demands of modern music; the notes ©, E, G, and B double flat form a chord of the diminished seventh ; the chord of the ninth has three in- versions ; among the composers of the modern French school is Flotow ; Purcell’s ‘Dido and neas’ was the first of his many operas ; music for the violoncello is written in the F clef; the bassoon ‘‘frequently figures” in Beethoven’s symphonies ; the clarinet has only a compass of three octaves; Mozart wrote forty-nine sym- phonies, all of which, save the E flat, the G minor, and the ‘Jupiter’ are on the small lines of Haydn’s least important examples in this form; among modern German musicians are Gade and Rubinstein ; Schubert was born in 1727, and his songs were composed in 1815 ; and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony was composed in 1823. These are a few samples of the num- berless absurd misstatements scattered up and down Mr. Crowest’s pages. Perhaps the most astounding errors, however, are included in the following sentences :— “The trumpet has a compass very similar to the horn. Its best note is G [above the staff]. Like the horn, it is supplied with different pistons, to produce different tones in certain keys. Com- posers have not availed themselves of it largely. Here and there in Beethoven’s works it is to be met with—in the ‘ Leonora’ overtures, to wit ; but per- haps the most beautiful instance of its use is by Schubert, in the slow movement of his Symphony inc. That Mr. Crowest should have written such a tissue of nonsense concerning an instrument so universally employed as the trumpet is suffi- cient proof of the measure of his fitness to speak with authority on musical matters. The Musie Pupil’s Guide. By Louisa Hunt. (Weekes & Co.)—The author of this little book has put together a quantity of musical informa- tion for very young learners, including a little on such various subjects as touch, analysis, form, musical history and biography, opera, oratorio, &c. In a work necessarily so superficial and sketchy, omissions must, we suppose, be inevit- able ; otherwise it is difficult to account for the biographical notes on Clementi, Field, and Sterndale Bennett, while Dussek, Hummel, Brahms, Gounod, Palestrina, Scarlatti, Cheru- bini, Purcell, and others of scarcely lower rank, are relegated to a list of ‘‘ less celebrated com- posers.” However, the actual errors are very few and trifling, and the style is readable and suited to children. WE have also received the following: Har- mony Lessons, by Charles A. Trew (Schott & Co.), a concise catechism of elementary har- mony, correct and, within its limits, compre- hensive ; A Third Book on the Theory of Music, by Louisa Gibson (Weekes & Co.), containing lucid explanations of the chords of the seventh, ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth, chromatic chords, modulation, unessential notes, &c., and a few notes on counterpoint and various forms of composition ; Illustrated Manual of the Vowel Sounds, by Mrs. M. A. Carlisle - Carr (Weekes & Co.) ; Story’s Coloured Music System, Book I., for beginners (Philip & Son); and Brinsmead’s History of the Pianoforte, new and | enlarged edition (Simpkin, Marshall & Co.). Musical Gossip, THE second ‘‘classical” night at Covent Garden took place on Wednesday, when Bee- thoven’s © minor Symphony, the same com- poser's E flat Concerto, the Overture to the ‘Flying Dutchman,’ and Grieg’s suite ‘ Peer Gynt’ were the principal works performed. The symphony was, on the whole, very well
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268 THE ATHENAUM N° 3278, Aue. 23, 90 played, the first movement alone excepted ; but Herr Friedheim’s rendering of the concerto lacked warmth and expression, though it was technically worthy of praise. The overture and suite were rather tamely given. sang with much success. Mr. Crowe conducted. | THe Welsh National Eisteddfod will be opened at Bangor on September 2nd. Lord Mayor of London will be one of the presidents. On the 27th inst., at St. Petersburg, will take place the first of the recently instituted com- petitions for composers and pianists, due to the liberality of Anton Rubinstein. Composers must send in a work for pianoforte and orchestra, or a piece of chamber music for pianoforte and other instruments : pianists will be called upon to play a concerto and pieces of chamber music or solos of ancient and modern date. The value of the prize is 2001. These competitions, which are to take place every five years, will be held in rotation at St. Petersburg, Berlin, Vienna, and Paris. The omission of London is significant. THERE is talk in Paris of the formation of a company, with M. Epron at its head, for the construction, on the site of the old Opéra Comique, of an international lyric theatre to hold 2,000, and to be used for the popularization of lyric works of real value, and without dis- tinction of nationality. Thus M. Epron proposes to mount, before January Ist, 1892, two French, two German, and two Italian works. The French works are not yet chosen, but the German would be Goldmark’s ‘Queen of Sheba’ and Wagner's ‘ Meistersinger,’ and the Italian, Verdi’s ‘ Otello’ and Boito’s ‘ Mefistofele.’ AccorpinG to the Brussels Guide Musical— whose Wagnerian sympathies are well known— the forthcoming production at Bayreuth of the Paris version of ‘Tannhauser’ is regarded by many of Wagner’s warmest admirers with any- thing but unmixed satisfaction. They urge, and it must be admitted not unreasonably, that the music written by the master for Paris in 1860 (after ‘ Tristan’) differs so entirely in style from the rest of the opera as to seriously interfere with the unity of impression. Tue Emperor William has presented to each of the chief conservatories of music in Germany a copy of the works of his ancestor Frederick the Great, recently published by Messrs. Breit- kopf & Haertel. THE substitution of French for Italian as the language of opera is being seriously discussed in various quarters. Chicago, meanwhile, has de- cided. The exhibition to be held there in 1893 will include an opera-house, at which the works of all nations will be given in French. THE assassination is announced, at Constan- tinople, of Signor Sgarzi, director of the music | to H.I.M. the Sultan and conductor of the Italian opera in that city. M. Sarnt-Saiins has retired to Saint Germain, where he is said to be working at a volume of verse, shortly to be published. _ M. Massenezr is at Vevey, putting the finish- ing touches to the orchestration of his opera ‘Le Mage.’ DEAMA —»— Prose Dramas of Henrik Ibsen. Authorized English Edition. Edited by William Archer. Vols. I.-1I. (Scott.)—One only of the three plays in the first volume of this edition of Ibsen’s prose dramas is wholly new. Translations of ‘A Doll's House’ and ‘The Pillars of Society’ have already appeared, and one of these at least has given rise to a controversy which has rendered possible the publication of this series. ‘De Unges Forbund’ (‘The League of Youth’) is first in order of production of Ibsen’s dramas, The vocalists | were Miss Colombati and Mr. Ben Davies, who | The | | and at its earliest performance at the Christiania | Theatre, October 18th, 1869, gave rise by its | supposed political significance to a protest not | far short of a riot, which was renewed on one or two subsequent representations, Ultimately it won acceptance, and now ranks as a classic. 'It has the unmistakable stamp of Ibsenite ' satire, but is far less strongly conceived than ‘The Pillars of Society,’ and in the punishment of Stensgard (pronounced Staynsgore) goes dan- gerously near farce. The translations are idio- matic, though Mr. Archer has experienced some difficulty in finding English equivalents for the catchwords employed in the original, and in “ re- producing the nervous conciseness, the verna- | cular simplicity, and, at the same time, something ' of the subtle rhythm of his [Ibsen’s] phrases.” | The last quality can scarcely be preserved in a translation. A satisfactory amount of local colour is, however, retained, and the whole con- stitutes agreeable and stimulating reading. The second volume contains ‘ Ghosts,’ translated by | the editor ; ‘An Enemy of the People,’ by Mrs. | E. Marx-Aveling; and ‘The Wild Duck,’ by Miss E. F. Archer. The third contains ‘ Lady Inger of Ostrat,’ by Mr. Charles Archer, and ‘The Vikings at Helgeland’ and ‘The Pre- tenders,’ by the editor. If not the most inter- esting or valuable volume of the series, the third is at least the most of a novelty. In it we have the historical dramas which Ibsen wrote | before he began with ‘The League of Youth’ the series of his social dramas. To trace the species of revolt against tradition and custom | Which is apparent in the works—two of them | founded on Norwegian history and one on Scandinavian legend—casts an interesting light on the intellectual growth of the poet. On the whole, we are disposed to regard ‘The Vikings at Helgeland’ as the most heroic work. The | relation in which it stands to ‘The Vélsunga- | saga’ and other Icelandic sagas Mr. Archer ; explains in detail in a very interesting preface. | With these things Scandinavian scholars may concern themselves. What Ibsen has done is to inform with dramatic life characters which have hitherto seemed mythical and, in a sense, out of reach. Hiordis is one of the fiercest and most fateful beings in the drama. More deadly than the beauty of Helen, her fierce tongue sows dissension between brothers in arms, and leads to the death of all in whom the reader takes an interest. In her contempt, however, for the passive Dagny, who has won the love of Sigurd, but can never fill the life of a hero, and in her sublime confidence that she alone can fire him to strife and to manly deeds that his name shall be heard over every land, she wins forgiveness and admiration. The characters, one and all, are finely conceived, and the play, o far as the closet is concerned, is impressive work. In ‘The Pretenders’ Ibsen gives a striking picture of life in Norway in the thirteenth | century, with historical characters and basis. His psychology, which is necessarily original, is very remarkable, and the characters of Hakon Hakonsson and Earl Skule stand out in very noble antagonism. The women, too, are greatly conceived. In both plays the use of supernatural machinery is daring, but justified by success. Nicholas Arnesson, Bishop of Oslo, is a very original creation. His aspirations after the life of a warrior, his confession of cowardice, with the attendant evils naively avowed, and the quasi-epicene nature to which he owns, are wholly Ibsenish. The death scene of the bishop is marvellously strong, and with a powerful actor could scarcely fail of thrilling an audi- ence. ‘Lady Inger of Ostrat’ is less heroic, but contains striking characters and situations. Some difficulties have attended the translation of the lyrics. Mr. Archer has accordingly given in an appendix the originals. He has accom- plished his task in good fashion, and the trans- lation will do much to render intelligible a dramatist who is no less remarkable from the antipathies than from the devotion he inspires. Dramatic Gossip, Tuincs theatrical have reached the nadir, and so far as the West-End theatres are con- cerned no novelty has been produced during the past week, and Mr. Jones’s two-act piece ‘The Deacon,’ to be given on Wednesday afternoon at the Shaftesbury, is all that is promised for the next. The holiday period is, however, brief, and active progress is being made with the novelties in preparation at Drury Lane, the Lyceum, and the Gaiety. A SERIES of representations by the Comédie Frangaise will, it appears, be given in London next summer. The anticipated visit is due to the new arrangement of M. Claretie with regard to the decennial cleanings of the house, the first of which is fixed for 1891. Authorization has been given to the Comédie Frangaise to play one night every month in one of the large French country towns. The privilege is in little danger of being abused. A visit for a single night of the company to Toulouse, Marseilles, or Bor- deaux, or even to Nantes, is not likely to be particularly remunerative. A THROAT attack, we regret to hear, com- pelled Miss Olga Brandon to resign temporarily to Miss Ada Ferrar her part in ‘The English Rose.’ Mr. THorneé begins on Monday at Margate: a country tour. His company has been rein- forced by the accession of Mr. Conway, who has returned from America. On Monday Miss Grace Hawthorne, who is said to purpose revisiting America, reappeared at the Grand Theatre in ‘Theodora,’ with the realistic accessories which have been exhibited at many country theatres. THE Gaiety burlesque of ‘Little Jack Shep- pard’ has been given during the week at the Standard Theatre, with Mr. Dallas as Blueskin and Miss Fanny Robina as the hero. Mr. Joun Hare, whose silver wedding was recently the excuse for a presentation on the. part of the company and staff, has resigned temporarily, for the sake of a holiday, his part in ‘A Pair of Spectacles.’ It is now taken by Mr. Raiemond. THE cast with which ‘A Million of Money” will be given at Drury Lane comprises Mr. Charles Warner (recently returned from Aus- tralia), Mr. H. Nicholls, Miss Millward, Miss. Lingard, and Miss Fanny Brough. Miss Harriett Jay purposes reviving ‘ The Bride of Love’ at the Royalty Theatre. THE Queen’s Theatre, Manchester, burnt down on Sunday last. Mr. Hardacre, the lessee, was absent from Man- was chester, but returned on Monday to find little. of the building remaining except the four walls. All engagements made for the Queen’s will be carried out at the Comedy Theatre. AFTER its return to New York the Daly Com- pany will, it is said, make its first appearance in ‘New Lamps for Old,’ by Mr. Jerome K. Jerome. The Story of the Memorial Fountain to Shak- speare erected at Stratford-wpon-Avon by Mr. George W. Childs has been told at full length by Mr. L. Clarke Davis, and issued from the Riverside Press at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Other gifts of Mr. Childs—the Herbert and Cowper window in Westminster Abbey, the Milton window, St. Margaret’s Church, and the Bishops Andrewes and Ken reredos at St.. Thomas’s, Winchester—are also described. To CorresponpeNTs.—A. & Co.—E. L.—G. H.—D. E.— W. G. B. P.—received. No notice will be taken of anonymous communications. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY Post. an? eur For Twelve Months For Six Months J. Pitt. SE TEI 8 pant int
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i, AR Ne 3279, Ava. 30, 790 THE ATHENAUM 279 SATURDAY, AUGUST 30, 1890. CONTENTS. PAGE Symonps’s Essays, SPECULATIVE AND SUGGESTIVE ... 279 THE INDUSTRIAL COMPETITION OF ASIA as oe ©6280 A MANUAL OF ETHICAL PHILOSOPHY ... ae a ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION . ove os ese eve 282 MEMORIALS OF DR. CoRRIE ... ooo ooo ose. ee 283 WHITNEY’s GAZETTEER OF JAPAN... coe one oe §=283 NOVELS oF THE WEEK eee ooo ace oes «ee 284 THEOLOGICAL BOOKS—ANTIQUARIAN Books 284—286 Ovurg Lipraky TABLE—Lisr or NEW BvOKS 287—288 AMERICAN PUBLISHERS AND BRITISH AUTHORS; LITERARY ‘‘ BORROWING”; UNPUBLISHED VERSES BY COLERIDGE; NICHOLAS Bozon; Mr. W. M. W. Catt; EARLY PRINTING AT AVIGNON; LETTERS OF SiR JOHN VANBRUGH; THE AUTUMN PUBLISH- ING BEASON ... eee one ase po 238—291 LITERARY GossIP coo one aie ose ooo «ce Sel ScIENCE—THE COLOUSS OF ANIMALS; GEOLOGICAL LITERATURE; ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES; ASTRO- NOMICAL Notes; GREEK MEDICAL WRITERS; Gossip oon bid ane ies see ow. 293—294 Five ABTS—THE EARLY BRITISH CHURCH; THE CAM- BRIAN ARCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION AT HOLY- WELL; Nokwicu CATHEDRAL; MR. PkTRIE’s FoRTHCOMING EXHIBITION OF EGYPTIAN ANTI- QUITIES ; AQU-Z SOLIS; GossIP 295—298 Music—NEW SonG ALBUMS; GOSSIP ... wile vos 299 DrRaMa—THE WEEK; LIBRARY TABLE; GOSSIP ee 300 MISCELLANEA oe ein eee ose one eo 390 LITERATURE —~- Essays, Speculative and Suggestive. Addington Symonds. 2 vols. & Hall.) TuEse pleasing, but somewhat scrappy essays, though not unworthy of their author, have hardly either the solidity we should look for from his earnest and protracted study of history, literature, and art, or the profundity which he hints is inspired by the mountain solitudes in which he passes the greater part of his life. The hint is con- veyed, we admit, in the prettiest manner; the terse Greek motto and the more diffuse, but graceful preface both inculcate with much felicity the idea that the thoughts of dwellers in the wilderness have always been deeper than those of ordinary men. Pos- sibly, however, these hermits had not the disadvantage—if we may say so without offence—of night-long conversation with pretty women, a pleasant distraction for which Mr. Symonds may well express grati- tude in his dedication, but one, perhaps, which tends to break the continuity and impair the massiveness of a hermit’s thought. To speak seriously, we think Mr. Symonds has tapped many good veins, though not so wholly unworked as he at times implies, but has pursued none with sufficient con- stancy. His large stores of knowledge and his ample command of time might have enabled him to illustrate dogmas, which, abstractly expressed, are mere truisms, with a luminous breadth, a convincing ful- ness, that would have raised these truisms to genuine histories of human development in the spacious and interesting fields Mr. Symonds has so well studied and so tho- roughly knows. The historian of the Italian Renascence and the Elizabethan drama should not have contented himself with hints and compendia not above the level of the most superficial dabbler. Thus we read with interest, if not with an entire sense of novelty, Mr. Symonds’s theory of particular products of a nation’s mental activity, such as Italian art, English or Greek drama. Instead of vapid gene- ralities about birth, culmination, and decay, he insists strictly, in the essay called ‘ Evo- lutionary Principles,’ on the biological ex- ample of the germ or embryo, requiring, indeed, nutriment from without, but re- By John (Chapman fusing to grow into other than its pre- destined form, and obliged after the full development of its specific functions to return to shapelessness and dissolution :— “ A type of art, once started, must according to my view fulfil itself and bring to light the structure which its germ contained potentially. As this structure is progressively evolved, it becomes impossible to return upon the past. No individual man of genius in the age of Scopas could produce work of Pheidian quality, albeit his brain throbbed with the pulse of Marathonian patriotism. Originality has to be displayed by eliciting what is still left latent in the partially exhausted type. To create a new type while the old one is existent baffles human ingenuity, because the type is an expression of the people’s mind, and has its roots deep down in the stuff of national character...... After meri- dian accomplishment a progressive deterioration of the type becomes inevitable, and cannot be arrested. Are we, for example, to suppose that in the age of Vasari and Bronzino at Florence there were not painters equal in artistic gifts to Ghirlandajo, Botticelli, Fra Bartolommeo? The supposition is absurd...... So far as capacity goes, there must have been abundance of good crafts- men. The reason why these did not manifest their genius on the same lines is that Painting had performed its curve, fulfilled its cycle, dis- played its several aspects, effloresced and been exhausted. In other words there was no longer the old type to use.” All this is excellently said, and in a measure, especially in regard to architecture, not in- adequately illustrated. But what a field for its illustration was open to the author of ‘ Studies of the Greek Poets’ or of ‘ Shake- speare and his Contemporaries’! In point of fact, six small pages are given to the history of the English, and rather less space to that of the Greek drama. The latter pages may be of some interest to the classically educated, the former can be of interest to nobody. Yet a chapter more than equal to the longest of Mr. Symonds’s might have been given to Sophocles alone as an illustra- tion of his doctrine of a development—at once growth and degeneration—of a specific type. For meditation on such themes and elaboration of such thoughts those ‘long dark winter nights’ of Davos, that the dedi- cation alludes to so plaintively, were well fitted, and by no means too long. Mr. Symonds has chosen to barter literary fame for conversational pleasures, and doubtless he is well satisfied with his bargain; but his readers are the uncompensated losers. That Mr. Symonds has in his preface pitched his tone and pretensions some- what too high we have already hinted. The reader turning over his pages will, we think, be struck by the number of common- place titles to the chapters, and not less struck by the somewhat commonplace treat- ment many of these receive. Whether poetry be a criticism of life, what are the merits of style and the conditions of an indi- vidual’s style, the intellectual differences between languages and nations, the points of likeness and distinction between the arts —all these seem topics we have heard dis- cussed before, and, to speak plainly, better discussed than here. It is only fair to Mr. Symonds’s admirable candour to admit that he is always ready to yield unstinting ad- miration to what is good in matter and diction in his fellow critics; he quotes them freely not merely where he criticizes them, but where he owns himself in full agree- ment with them. Weare glad to be able to meet this generosity with the admission that if in these pages Mr. Symonds often shows himself excelled by others, it is because he has himself voluntarily foregone to write up to the highest level he has attained elsewhere. The hermit has not taken trouble enough; perhaps, after all, it is more natural and usual to take trouble ‘in low dim cities where men live and strive’ than ina hermitage. Too many of the chapters seem to have been begun merely as magazine articles, and then to have been laid aside because the author would not give them the elaboration that even magazine articlesrequire. What and where, then, it will be asked, is the high philosophy of this book—that which should justify the epithet “speculative” in its title and make its author’s claims to be nearer the roots of things in his snowy solitude seem at least plausible? The philosophy consists in a kind of pantheism expounded in the first essay, applied (as regards some of its consequences) in the second, again brought up for consideration in the appendix, and inspiring (with no very satisfactory result) an essay on myths. The doctrines that nature is one, that there is no God but the soul or reason or energy of nature, seem to Mr. Symonds to have received large con- firmation from the modern discovery of development in species, the modern surmise —largely verified—of development and con- tinuity everywhere. All nature is a process of unfolding ; but unfolding implies an im- manent energy within, not a constructive hand from without. We shall not here criticize these ideas; they are in the air and will be readily understood; they are ex- pressed often with force, always with entire conviction, by Mr. Symonds. His desire to draw out the media axiomata of development in the special fields of literature and art, and to illustrate these axioms in detail, is altogether praiseworthy ; of media axiomata deduced in these volumes we can, at least, produce the doctrine of the type, the sub- stance of which is given in the long quota- tion cited above. But, on the whole, our verdict must be that a plan nobly conceived has been only intermittently and desultorily carried out, and that Mr. Symonds’s reputa- tion would have stood as high, if not higher, if this book had never appeared. Mr. Symonds’s enforced residence in the Alpine solitudes, if it has not communi- cated profundity to his thought, has often, we think, imparted a new charm to his style, and never more happily than in an elaborate illustration occurring in an essay on Words- worth and Matthew Arnold’s criticism of him, which does not otherwise soar much above the level of calm good sense :— “Tt is always good to be with Wordsworth. His personality is like a climate at once seduc- tive and stimulative. I feel inclined to compare it to the influence of the high Alps, austere but kindly, demanding some effort of renunciation, but yielding in return a constant sustenance and soothing the tired nerves that need a respite from the passion and fever of the world. The landscape in these regions, far above the plains and cities where men strive, is grave and sober. It has none of the allurements of the south—no waving forests or dancing waves or fretwork of sun and shadow cast by olive branches on the flowers. But it has also no deception and no languor and no decay. In antumn the bald hill- sides assume their robes of orange and of crim-
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280 THE ATHENZUM N° 3279, Ava. 30, ’90 son, faintly, delicately spread upon the barren rocks. The air is singularly clear and lucid, suffering no illusion, but satisfying the sense of vision with marvellous sincerity, And when winter comes, the world for months together is clad, in flawless purity of blue and white, with shy, rare, unexpected beauty shed upon the scene from hues of sunrise or sunset. On first acquaintance this Alpine landscape is repellent and severe. We think it too ascetic to be lived in. But familiarity convinces us that it is good and wholesome to abide in it. We learn to love its reserve even more than the prodigality of beauty showered on fortunate islands where the orange and the myrtle flower in never-ending summer.” In easy, unforced eloquence likethis—such as would make a lecturer’s fortune at Chau- tauqua—these volumes abound. It is not exactly the style of a sequestered philosopher or a learned student; it is something too voluble for weight, too reminiscent for ori- ginality. But its brightness and facility will be grateful to readers as facile in their way and by no means so bright. We cannot pretend to say how far the varied learning exhibited in this work is marred by inaccuracy. Few critics can boast of a width of erudition fit to cope with and to judge that of Mr. Symonds. Yet less instructed persons than himself could remind him that the line “Labitur et labetur in omne volubilis «vum”’ is from Horace, not from Virgil; and that a well-known Rabe- laisian expression is not ‘chimera bom- bycinans in vacuo,” but dombinans. In a modern critic and poet some straining after novelty of diction is permissible ; but we are more puzzled than impressed by such an epithet as ‘‘rock-pluming.” A word of thanks should be given for the pleasing translations of Latin and Italian verse, and more than a word to the striking original poem in ¢erza rima in the appendix, perhaps the best thing in the work. The Industrial Competition of Asia. By Clar- mont J. Daniell. (Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co.) ‘Tne object which Mr. Daniell has set before him in this work is, as the title-page informs us, ‘“‘an inquiry into the influence of cur- rency on the commerce of the Empire in the East.’? His book accordingly divides itself, that this intention may be fully carried out, into two parts: the first an historical in- vestigation into the facts of the case; the second a recommendation of the course that in Mr. Daniell’s opinion ought to be pur- sued to remedy the evils which he describes. The first necessarily includes a history of bi- metallism, as having, through the action of the Latin Union, exerted a very strong influ- enceontherate of exchange between Indiaand those countries which employ gold as their monetary basis, and hence on all monetary transactions between India and Great Britain. With this part of Mr. Daniell’s volume we do not propose to deal at any great length. Mr. Daniell condemns bimetallism, as practised in the Latin Union, in one short sentence: it ‘‘fails to produce the results claimed for it, because it involves the funda- mental economic error that a monetary law can supersede and regulate the natural law of values.” Though bimetallism on this basis finds no favour with Mr. Daniell, he is fully aware of the confusion resulting from the constant variations of value between gold and silver, and bimetallists, including Mr. Chaplin, will hail with gratitude the following remark :— “ At the present time 1001. sterling buys more wheat grown in India, Russia, and the Argentine Republic, than it can buy of English-grown wheat, and the price of the latter, therefore, tends to fall to that obtaining in those countries.” Now the statement made in this sentence involves one of the most sharply controverted theories which have been ever discussed. All we can do here is to refer to the fact that Mr. Daniell has mentioned it, and that he and all the world will soon have an ex- tremely good opportunity of observing whether it is accurate or not, now that the value of silver is again approaching the level it held before the disruption of the Latin Union. We prefer greatly to pass on to the second portion of the volume, in which, in the last three chapters, Mr. Daniell puts forth his own remedy for the difficulty caused by the variation of the exchange between India and this country, and for all the inconve- niences caused by the differences of value existing in a standard based on gold or on silver. It is briefly this: that the Indian mints shall be open for the free coinage of all gold and silver bullion brought to them ; that the silver currency shall continue as at present; that gold coins identical with sovereigns shall be minted to any amount, for any individual desiring this ; that these gold coins shall be legal tender for any sum due to the Government of India, and in other cases for any amount not exceéding 5,000 rupees (say 500/.) at the option of the debtor ; that the Government of India shall from time to time declare ‘‘the rate at which the gold coin of its currency shall be accepted as legal payment of sums con- tracted to be paid in silver coin; and this State rate of conversion shall be strictly regulated by the market value of the silver rupees of the British Indian currency in these gold sovereigns.’’ Clauses saving the equities of existing contracts are also added. Those given above, the more im- portant of which we have given in Mr. Daniell’s own words to prevent any doubt as to the accuracy of the reference, suffi- ciently explain the scheme. Now we have only one thing to say about this project: that if Mr. Daniell’s plan can be carried out nothing would be more useful. Under its influence, if it can be brought into permanent working order, the Indian Treasury and the Indian banks would exert —as the Bank of France and the Bank of Germany have done since 1874 or there- abouts, as the Treasury of the United States has also in some measure done—a powerful moderating force over the course of the foreign exchanges of the country and its exports of gold. What is really required in India is a force that will steady the exchanges between that essen- tially silver-using country and all gold- using countries. For the internal pur- poses of India silver is, no doubt, better adapted than gold. Even the copper coins, and a fortiori far more the silver, are too valuable for the ordinary use of the poverty- stricken population of India. Mr. Daniell testifies to this in a very interesting pas- sage at p. 191. To discourage the use of silver would inflict a great injury on the country. But would the plan enunciated by Mr. Daniell succeed? Now we do not intend to prophesy. The last few years have wit- nessed the non-fulfilment of almost every conceivable prophecy about the future of the gold and silver question. To add one more pebble to the heap which marks the grave of so many reputations for intel- ligence and sound insight in these matters is not our intention. And we are confirmed in this resolution by observing that Mr. Daniell himself incidentally, and perhaps unconsciously, controverts an opinion which we have heard not unfrequently loudly ex- pressed, namely, that if the value of silver relatively to gold rose, an enormous efflux of silver from India would follow. Mr. Daniell traverses this opinion by quoting from General Ballard, “who, as Master of the Mint at Bombay, had excellent oppor- tunities for forming an opinion on the pre- valence of hoarding silver and gold in that part of India.” General Ballard writes as follows: ‘‘There is no reserve of silver bullion in India available for minting pur- poses.” Mr. Daniell supports what General Ballard says by statistics for which we must refer our readers to the book itself. Again on this point all we can say is that this statement, if correct, removes one of the greatest obstacles to the successful carrying out of Mr. Daniell’s plan. This plan has a great deal in common with the well-known report of Sir Isaac Newton of 1717, which dealt with the rate at which the gold and silver coins were to pass current, and ex- change for each other; thus establishing a “double,” or, to use the modern phrase, a ‘“‘ bimetallic’ standard on a basis which the Government was, from time to time, at liberty to alter. Though the power of fore- sight is in many ways forbidden to man, yet he may employ his faculties in observing things present, and this fact is patent—that those countries are best able to bear with the difficuities of a dual standard, such as Mr. Daniell proposes, the course of whose foreign trade enables them, as a rule, to draw the precious metals to them. India has long possessed this power. For years counted by centuries—for years counted by thou- sands, it may rather be said—that country has been an abyss which has swallowed almost untold masses of bullion, and this circumstance may enable it to employ the more valued metal, which there is no doubt it possesses in abundance, as part of the circulating medium—as part of the standard of value. And if the experiment is ever to be tried there can be no doubt that the recent movement in the value of silver, which is fast bringing it back to the old level, gives a favourable opportunity for putting into action the plan which Mr. Daniell proposes. A Student's Manual of Ethical Philosophy. Adapted from the German of G. von Gizycki by Stanton Coit. (Sonnenschein & Co.) We should hardly describe this volume, though one of considerable merit, as a very suitable student’s manual. It has, indeed, the simplicity and directness needed in works of that order. But for an introduction to moral philosophy—a region vexed with
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XUM N° 3279, Aua. 30, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 281 such secular disputes, occupied by so many illustrious names, consecrated phrases, and famous systems—it is too authoritative, too magisterial, too violently polemical. We certainly do not complain that a book should be didactic which is intended to teach; but there are various ways of being didactic. Without unnecessary confusion to the stu- dent’s mind, he might, we think, be led to see the various, the naturally various ways in which moral action and the rules for it have been regarded; and we certainly should not complain if an author, after exhibiting these different points of view, had tried to harmonize them in one of his own, so long as he impartially maintained the effort to present and do justice to all, so long as he was not obviously one-sided and dogmatic. The work before us, however, proceeds from the first from a single prin- ciple, which from the opening to the final page it enforces with consistent vigour on the reader’s mind. It leaves, accordingly, a false impression of the simpleness of ethical philosophy, and is not well fitted to serve as an introduction to wider reading. Its multitudinous quotations tend also to suggest a greater harmony in men’s views on moral subjects than perhaps really exists. About these quotations—a very curious feature of the book—something more must be said. They are all given without references, a plan more suitable to a sermon than to a text- book on philosophy, even an elementary one. They are taken also from sources of widely different authority. That the great majority of them come from English thinkers is flattering to our national vanity, and also natural in a book which bears so strongly the impress of the English school of morals, of which Prof. von Gizycki was known to be an adherent. But of the relative intellectual rank of these moralists and of the profundity of their dicta the author (perhaps we should say the authors) of this volume does not always seem to make a reasonable estimate. The ambiguity of our expression is inten- tional. We do not, in fact, positively know how much of this book is due to the Professor of Moral Philosophy in the University of Berlin, how much to the American preacher. To the latter we certainly owe such phrases as ‘‘to go under” for to perish, ‘ back of” for behind; and we thought at first reading that we must certainly be indebted to him for the solemn, if not very weighty aphorisms of that little-known philosopher Mr. W. M. Salter (we believe of Chicago) and of some others. Closer reading, however, shows the author and his adapter to be in very intimate sympathy. In one place we notice a quotation from Mr. Stanton Coit, which we presume was hardly inserted by Mr. Coit himself. Nor is it necessary to assume that a German philosopher could not un- aided mistake pomposity for depth, especially when couched in a foreign tongue. We think, then, we shall be doing no substantial injus- tice to Prof. von Gizycki if we attribute these critical blemishes to him, especially when we find him citing very obscure com- patriots of his own for utterances neither novel nor profound. Intellectual faults of this kind are, most likely, naturally associated with a fervent, though perhaps too exclusive interest in the subject of morals. The fervour, indeed, of the professor is unmistakable. It makes his book serious and earnest, but it perhaps communicates to it a more hortatory tone, a deeper tinge of the pulpit style, than we are accustomed to meet in philosophical works. In this, too, the author may have been guided by the idea that he was writing an essentially introductory manual, a student’s text-book. He was not, we think, wisely guided. He perhaps forgot that he was writing, and not lecturing. The “ youth- ful listener””—to use the Aristotelian phrase —does not love reading sermons, not, at least, in England, though he is often awed, and beneficially so, when hearing them. We do not wish, however, to press this topic too much. Prof. von Gizycki’s book is too solid and thoughtful to be dismissed as a more or less eloquent address. We have presented to us here a purely inductive system of morals, purporting to base itself on known facts alone—facts of human nature, of course, included—and dis- pensing with a belief in the unverifiable, in God and in immortality—in fact representing these elements as unnecessary, if not posi- tively corrupting, to the moral view of life. The attempt is made to point out what is recognized by us as truly desirable, and what qualities and tendencies in human nature and action tend to promote or impede its attainment; attention, of course, is also given to the reformation and correction of the im- pediments, so far as they lie in our character and intelligence. That which is truly de- sirable is the general welfare, “the greatest happiness of the greatest number” as it may be described, provided we never at the beginning of our computation definitely leave out of reckoning the welfare of any minority, however inconsiderable. The author adopts from Bentham, not without some well-grounded scruple, the name of ‘‘principle of utility” for the fundamental principle of action, and defends it in Bent- ham’s strain, and often in Bentham’s own incisive words. If by inductive examination of the qualities and acts men praise it can be proved that the general welfare is what men really want, it seems to the author un- necessary to inquire for any deeper ground in human nature, such as the self-conscious reason of the Hegelians, why men should want this. The Hegelian solution he would certainly regard as illusory, for he devotes much space to showing that between reason and action there is no direct relation; that reason is never the spring of action, though, as the faculty of discrimination, combination, and prevision, it of course finds a place in all action, except that of the lowest and most impulsive kind. About this we shall have something to say further on. At present we desire to notice that the author seems untrue to his own method when he attempts to prove by a transparent sophism that the general welfare is what is actually desired by mon. The argument is not un- familiar : happiness is what we desire ; the greater the happiness the more strongly we desire it ; therefore we desire the happiness of the greater number more than that of the less, as if from the premise that each desires his own happiness we could possibly deduce the conclusion that each desires that of another. Here we think the author might have profitably reconsidered his doctrine of the inability of reason to generate original motives. According to him, reason merely combines motives given by feeling or elicits what is present, but latent, in such motives. To us it seems that the feeling we have towards others, though no doubt largely due to the sympathetic instinct and the physical constitution, is also in part derived from reason as an original spring. Reason dis- tinctly recognizes that other human beings stand on the same footing, that they have the same right as ourselves to the happiness we desire. But if we admit this much, the thought will infallibly suggest itself that reason is at the bottom of all claims, other than instinctive, and all recognitions of rights whatever. It will become doubtful whether the highest principle of morals— that of the general welfare—becomes bind- ing on us by any other faculty than this ‘* much-despised ”’ reason. In fact, an ideal—not an ideal to be at- tained (that we all have), butan idealof desire —is not, we think, to be deduced from what men do actually desire. Desire and reason, says Prof. von Gizycki, are entirely disparate. But if reason cannot, what can give a law to desire? What can teach us to desire what we actually do not desire? Of this gradual upward movement of desire Prof. von Gizycki is, of course, aware ; but he does not seem conscious how much it involves. It is all very well to say that from the very first, even in the savage state, man has been conscious of a ‘‘ general welfare,” and has felt a disposition to restrain by the desire of it his own narrower impulses and more selfish desires. But how is it that the ‘ general,” in this phrase ‘general welfare,” has grown so marvellously in compass? How is it that, having been confined at first to the tribe or clan, so that “‘ general” was in fact synonymous with “ tribal,’ it has extended itself to the race, to the state, to all mankind? It is an old observation, too, that we need not go to remote times or countries to study the savage mind. All grades of savagery and civilization exist in our midst. There is, perhaps, no one amongst us purely selfish— none, at least, that, if purely selfish, has not become so by what his own order and class would recognize as moral degeneration. But surely there are many whose sympathies are absolutely closed to those outside their own family or blood, their own trade, their own union, their own nation, their own colour. How did sympathies once everywhere narrow as these, or narrower, become ex- tended? Was the extension purely historical, that is accidental? Had reason nothing to say to it? Is not the very utilitarian philo- sophy itself reason’s own appeal to us on behalf of those against whom our hearts were closed ? But on this point Prof. von Gizycki’s mind, like that of almost all the utilitarians, is in a state of confusion. He will not admit reason, but only fecling, to be the ultimate arbiter in morals; yet he thinks to prove to A, from the undoubted proposition that ‘‘A’s happiness is good,” the further pro- position that ‘‘B’s happiness is good.” To the first statement A’s feelings will give undoubting assent; to the second they may assent or they may not, and, feeling being the ultimate arbiter, no reason can constrain them. We grant to Prof. von Gizycki that the moral feeling, the desire to do what is right, is found in humanity through all its grades; we grant to him that this moral feeling is recognized as distinct from the
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282 THE ATHENAUM N° 3279, Ava. 30, 90 desire of one’s own advantage, even that it is recognized as the desire of the advantage of others. But of what others? Surely only of those in the same system, tribe, union, or nation as himself; and outside this narrow range the desire, so far as mere feeling, will never get. What has extri- cated it? Has it not been reason, and reason in the garb of religion? a fact (if it be one) which so impartial and earnest a writer as Prof. von Gizycki might have called to mind when heaping up the usual argu- ments of his school for discrediting and dis- paraging religion. We can warmly praise in this book the high moral tone, the insistence on the reality and independence of the moral sentiment, the demonstration that man is not shown to pursue his selfish interest by showing that pain and pleasure are the forces that every- where set him in action. The zealous at- tempt to uphold and develope the doctrine of determinism in a sense that contradicts neither the facts of life nor the moral senti- ments—an attempt which fills two lengthy chapters—must be admitted to be mentally stimulating even by those who cannot agree with the conclusion ; and again, the effort, unsatisfactory as we have in some respects asserted it to be, to discriminate the working of reason and feeling is conscientious, energetic, and really enlightening. That some parts of the book are commonplace, some merely homiletic, some offensive, may have been anticipated after our earlier remarks. But enough remains to make it quite worth reading, even though the exact purpose indicated by its title may be con- sidered to have remained unfulfilled. On Early English Pronunciation, with Especial Reference to Shakspere and Chaucer. By Alexander J. Ellis.— Part V. Lxisting Dialectal as compared with West Saxon Pro- nuncration. With 2 Maps of the Dialect Districts. (The Philological Society, the Early English Text Society, and the Chaucer Society.) Tue title of Mr. Ellis’s great work is in some sort a misnomer, the collateral in- vestigations undertaken for the purpose of indirectly throwing light on questions of early English pronunciation having been so elaborately followed out that they occupy much more space than is given to the original subject. The book as a whole, though full of valuable material, is un- deniably deficient in unity and method. No such complaint, however, can be justly made against this fifth part, considered as an independent treatise. It is, in fact, no less remarkable for its lucid and orderly arrangement than for the extraordinary abundance of carefully verified material which it contains. Some notion of the enormous labour which has been bestowed on the volume may be obtained from the fact that it includes a minute analysis of the dialectal pronunciation of more than 1,100 places in England and the Lowlands of Scotland, the data having to a great extent been procured at first hand (.e., from the actual pronunciation of native speakers of provincial dialects) either by Mr. Ellis himself or by two assistants, Messrs. Hallam and Goodchild, who have been thoroughly trained in the observa- tion and registering of phonetic pheno- mena. The method which Mr. Ellis has pursued in the collection of his material is the result of many years’ study. He has prepared a long list of modern Eng- lish words, which, when reduced to their Old English or Old Norse forms, exemplify all the sounds existing in Old West Saxon and Old Norse respectively, in every variety of position that may be thought likely to give rise to diversities of phonetic develop- ment. These words are classified according to the vowel sounds which they contain, and there are added lists, classified on the same principle, of words of Romanic and of un- certain origin. As, however, the pronuncia- tion of words in isolation often differs from that which they assume in continuous speech, Mr. Ellis has composed two con- nected passages of considerable length, of course thoroughly colloquial in character, and so framed as to form a test of dialectal peculiarities. The pronunciation of the word- lists and of the comparative specimens has, so far as practicable, been taken down in phonetic spelling from the dictation of per- sons familiar with the respective dialects. In some instances Mr. Ellis has been obliged to rely on the testimony of correspondents who have communicated the dialectal pro- nunciation in their own orthography, which is, of course, often extremely ambiguous ; but even in these cases his wide knowledge of dialect and of phonology has often enabled him, though only as the result of prolonged and laborious inquiry, to arrive at a fairly certain interpretation of the evidence. The material thus collected has been supple- mented by miscellaneous notes, contributed by many informants in various parts of the country, relating to the pronunciation of individual words not included in the lists. The result of the discussion of this vast body of evidence has been to divide the map of England (including the Scottish Lowlands) into six great dialectal sections, containing forty-two smaller districts, most of which are in turn subdivided into several portions marked by well-defined varieties of local speech. The phonetic notation employed in this volume is to some extent new, and exceeds in precision everything of the kind that has hitherto been attempted. The extreme accuracy aimed at may at first sight appear superfluous and unpractical. But it is now well understood that sound-change proceeds by almost imperceptible gradations, and if it could be assumed that all the dialectal pronunciations given in the book have been recorded with all the minute precision of which Mr. Ellis’s symbols admit, an immense amount of light would be thrown not only on the special phonology of English, but on many wider questions relating to the laws of phonetic change in general. Unfor- tunately, as no one knows better than Mr. Ellis himself, this assumption is not justified. The truth is that absolute exactness could only be attained if the pronunciation of each dialect could be recorded by a person who spoke it as his native tongue, and who at the same time was an accomplished pho- netician. This condition is no doubt ful- filled by Mr. Hallam and Dr. J. Wright in describing their native dialects; but there are no other instances of the kind. Even where the pronunciation has been recorded from actual hearing by Mr. Ellis or his skilled helpers, there are still many elements of uncertainty. It is quite impos- sible for any person, however well trained in phonetic analysis, to appreciate with absolute certainty the precise character of unfamiliar sounds unless he has the oppor- tunity of hearing them many times. Then it is always possible that the pronunciation of a particular speaker of dialect may have been influenced by association with strangers, or that some of its characteristics are indi- vidual rather than dialectal. Besides, when a speaker’s attention is directed to his pro- nunciation (as is necessarily the case when he is expressly questioned about it), the sounds uttered are apt to vary from those which he would use in ordinary speech. Of course, all this applies with still greater force to the cases in which information has been furnished in writing by persons who are not phoneticians and whose knowledge of the dialects which they describe is not that of natives. However, if Mr. Ellis has necessarily fallen short of his own standard of accuracy, there can be no doubt that on the whole his results are far more precise than they could have been if he had con- tented himself with any less delicate method of notation. In the classification of the word-lists according to their original vowels Mr. Ellis has fallen into a few errors, due to the un- trustworthy character of the Anglo-Saxon dictionaries which he was able to consult in the early stages of his work. The Old English xésu is placed among the examples of long 0 ; in feohtan, to fight, the diphthong or ‘‘ fracture”’ is erroneously treated as long, and the long vowel in /a’sest, least, and the long diphthong in éowu, are given as short. As the classification of the word - lists is merely intended as a sort of rough index to the material, not as a basis for the formu- lation of phonological laws, the only incon- venience which can result from these over- sights is that a reader may sometimes be led wrongly to conclude that certain infor- mation is not given at all because he does not find it in the expected place. For the investigation of the sound-laws of English dialects the point of departure must, of course, be the common Germanic sound- system, not the West Saxon orthography, which represents (and that with imperfect accuracy) only one of the many dialects from which modern English is descended. It does not seem likely that the modern phonology of English dialects can throw very much new light on the older pronunciation of English. The fact is that rustic dialects are in general not nearly so archaic as is often supposed. Not unfrequently, indeed, they represent a stage of phonetic development considerably more advanced than that of standard English. In the latter the natural processes of sound-change have sometimes been retarded (though never quite arrested) by the influence of education, while in the dialects they are still going on unchecked. The Old English vowels? and 7, for instance, which in educated English have assumed the diphthongal sounds represented in the words time and town, have in certain north mid- land dialects undergone further development, the pronunciation of these words being nearly what would be understood by the spellings ¢ahm and tahn. A curious evidence aE NN NE
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XUM N° 3279, Ave. 30, 90 THE ATHENAUM 283 of change in a dialect within a short period (not in the direction of conformity with re- ceived speech, but away from it) is afforded by the conventional spelling adopted by the writers of Lancashire dialect. The sound corresponding to the Old English # and the modern ow is expressed by the spelling caw. When this symbol was first devised (in the latter part of the eighteenth century), this sound must have ended in the “labial glide” to which it is etymologically entitled. According to the testimony of all Mr. Ellis’s informants, this glide has now wholly dis- appeared. Whether it will be found pos- sible to correlate the wider dialectal dis- tinctions now observable with the local diversities existing in the Old English period is at present altogether doubtful. It is not, however, by results of this kind that the value of Mr. Ellis’s researches must be judged. Their chief philological importance consists in the fact that they have rendered it possible to apply the evidence of modern dialects, with far greater completeness and certainty than heretofore, as an aid to etymological investigation, and in the mass of data which they have furnished for the study of the processes of phonetic change. We congratulate Mr. Ellis on the com- pletion of his long and laborious task, which probably no other living man could have accomplished with equal success. Memorials of the Life of George Elwes Corrie, D.D. Drawn principally from his Diary and Correspondence. Edited by M. Hol- royd. (Cambridge, University Press.) Tue records of a singularly uneventful life are not often so interesting as these memo- rials of the late Master of Jesus College. Though his intellectual attainments were scarcely more than moderate, he exhibited during an exceptionally long period of re- sidence as a Cambridge “ don ”’ much force and originality of character. His university career extended from October, 1813, to September 20th, 1885, when he died, his bodily health having gradually failed for about two years; but it was not until his ninety-first year that the infirmities of age affected him seriously. In 1817 he graduated as eighteenth wrangler, and was appointed assistant tutor of St. Catherine’s Hall, and became tutor in 1821. In 1838 Mr. Corrie was elected Norrisian Professor of Divinity, and was appointed Master of Jesus College in 1849 by Bishop Turton, his old college tutor, visitor of the college. The dark passages of his life were family bereavements, such as the sudden death of his brother, the Bishop of Madras, and a dangerous attack of heemorrhage of the lungs in 1832. We are not sure whether it was this illness to which he referred when say- ing that when he was a young man an attack of influenza cured him of consump- tion. Though his lungs were never sub- sequently strong, he never wore an overcoat, and on mention being made of Dr. Worsley’s death, Dr. Corrie observed: ‘Ah, my friend, he wrapped up too much. I warned him fifty years ago against wearing a great- coat.” Soon after his ninetieth birthday the venerable Master apologized to a caller for being deaf. ‘ This,” said he, “is one of my bad days, but as the deafness fluc- tuates, I hope eventually to shake it off alto- gether.” On this occasion he talked with animation of the differences of diction exhi- bited in the various earlier editions of the Homilies. In personal appearance Dr. Corrie altered little between the ageof sixty-five and his last illness, so that for more than a quarter of a century his spare erect figure, refined features, delicate complexion, and snowy hair constituted an ideal personification of academic dignity of a distinguished type which seems doomed to extinction. For many years Dr. Corrie was the head of the Conservative party in the University of Cambridge, his political views remaining those of a High Tory of the Regency period. He took great interest in both political and religious controversy, being a moderate Churchman of the old school. He conversed in 1837 “on the want of firmness and principle manifested by Conservatives in Parliament.” A long life, spent during an epoch of transforming progress, might have been embittered by the persistent triumph of objectionable principles but for Dr. Corrie’s serene trust in Providence and his entire freedom from acrimonious feeling towards opponents. To them and to all he was invariably kindly and courteous. He was wont to express his opinions roundly, but with thorough good temper and not seldom with a spice of quiet humour. He could say to a Puseyite, in a tone and man- ner at which no offence could be taken— ‘‘ My friend, I detest all dissent, whether it be Puseyite or Wesleyan.” And he certainly did contrive to detest any opinions which he considered heterodox, especially Roman- ism, very heartily, without feeling or dis- playing any animosity towards the holders. He always spoke of the High Church party as a Nonconformist sect. A clerical and Ritualistic member of Jesus College once asked for the use of the ante-chapel for a few Sundays in order to lecture to the students in the afternoon on doctrine. When the Master was told of this, he ob- served, knowing that his words would be taken cum grano salis, ‘“‘ Be so good as to tell him that the chapel has already been lent to the Wesleyans for those Sundays.” Though anything but a Torquemada, he was rather fond of the phrase, ‘In healthier times you (he, they) would have been burnt.” The words, uttered with a genial smile, were once his reply to a somewhat priggish asser- tion of Ritualistic tendencies by a junior Fellow. They were also applied to Dr. Donaldson, and to Sir James Stephen, who was characterized as ‘‘ a live Gnostic.” The bulk of the book, which is creditably edited by Miss Holroyd, consists of notes from a diary of a tour through France, Switzerland, &c.; a diary extending from 1836 to 1843, which contains many very interesting notices of university matters; and extracts from Dr. Corrie’s correspondence. Perhaps some of the letters to him might have been omitted. A few very pleasant and profitable half hours may be spent over these pages, through which three intertwined threads of sentiment run: to wit, of fervent and unaffected piety, of detestation and horror of Popery, and of fondness for riding and shooting and love of nature. How far removed, however, from the ideal “ sporting parson ”’ this staid student of theology was, may be illustrated by the following extract : “Sept. 5...... Mr. A. called, bringing me a beagle hound. “Sept. 15. At Blatherwycke, I rose early and went into the woods after a deer; Tryon of Bulwick was there with his hounds, but we found nothing. It was truly beautiful and refreshing to sit in the green, lovely wood. I was in the house again by 10 o’clock, and was occupied in writing a sermon for to-morrow. In the after- noon I went to visit sick people, and arranged to administer the Holy Communion to one of them. “Sept. 16. I took the whole service in Church this morning, and have much cause for deep thankfulness to God, who has this day given me strength to go through the public services of the Church with comfort.” The impressions of Ireland and the Con- tinent which are recorded are little more than feelings of pity and horror excited by the prevalence of Romanism, which actually led Dr. Corrie to say of the service in the chapel of the British Ambassador at Paris, ‘‘T was never more pleased or enjoyed a service more in my life.’ However, the pages on Ireland are not altogether devoid of interest. It would be unfair to pick out the plums, but we must quote one excellent item contributed by the present Master of Jesus :— “On one occasion, when in Switzerland, he hired a carriage and agreed to pay 20 francs for the journey he was about to take, the payment to be made to the innkeeper at the end of the stage. The bill was enclosed in an envelope which on his arrival at his destination Dr. Corrie presented. The innkeeper, not aware that the Master knew the contents, took it into his office, changed the 0 into a 6, and, returning it to him, said, ‘Sir, the price of the carriage is 26 francs.’ ‘Young man,’ replied the Master, ‘you must not only be a great knave, but you must bea great fool, for if you had not been a great fool you would have changed that 0 into a 9, instead of intoa 6’; he then paid the crestfallen inn- keeper his 20 francs and left him. When he told me this story he added, ‘and let me tell you the man seemed more annoyed at my denouncing him as a fool than as a knave.’” Dr. Corrie was a zealous student of eccle- siastical history, and, inter alia, made a valuable collection of books relating to the sect called the ‘‘ Familists,” which he pre- sented to the University Library. A list of these works was contributed to Votes and Queries, Fourth Series, 1869, by Mr. J. H. Hessels. The venerable subject of these memoirs made his last appearance in the Senate House with some éclat on the occa- sion of Mr. Welsh, the first Jesuit Senior Wrangler of this century, taking his degree. A Concise Dictionary of the Principal Roads, Chief Towns and Villages of Japan, with Populations, Post Offices, §c. By W.N. Whitney. (Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co.) Dr. Wuirney, whose linguistic attainments render him a worthy bearer of the name, has done an excellent work in compiling this volume, which must have entailed great labour and demanded no little research of a peculiarly difficult nature on his part. The main portion of the book is a sort of gazetteer of Japan, but in a very consider- able appendix are contained translations of the organic laws of Japan, inclusive of the new constitution now in operation, together with a mass of statistical information which will be of great service to all who take an interest in the present position and future
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284 THE ATHENZAUM N° 3279, Ava. 30, 90 progress of the island-empire of the far East. The lists of towns, villages, roads, railways, provinces, counties, are exhaustive, and each name is accompanied by the proper Chinese characters employed to designate it in native maps and documents. For the pur- poses of the foreigner, however, this is hardly sufficient. In the first place, the names of mountains, rivers, capes, and coast and sea tracts are omitted. Next, the place-nomenclature of Japan, or rather its transcription into Chinese, is to a large extent of an arbitrary character. The Chinese ideographs are not—save occasion- ally—read with the fixed Sinico-Japanese pronunciation, but into one or other of the numerous kun, or true Japanese words, which exhaust their signification. Hence Dr. Whitney’s lists are insufficient for the purpose of finding out how a native place- name, given in Chinese only (as is almost always the case in maps, &c.), ought to be read ; and alist of the Chinese names should have been subjoined, arranged in the sequence of their characters in the order of the radicals of each. Such a list would not have required more than three or four additional pages at the most, and would have very greatly increased the utility of the book. Considerable interest attaches to the study of Japanese place-names, which are not seldom, as Mr. Chamberlain has shown, of Aino origin, but have been subjected to a curious duplicate process of modification : first, by being japonicized in pronunciation, and next by being further changed when transcribed into Chinese ideographs read with a Japanese meaning. Thus Fw, origin- ally pitsu, an Aino name for a heap or mass of débris, may be so written in Chinese as to signify immortality, the wistaria plant, &c., whence arise a whole succession of myths. The new constitution, if read with care, will be seen to be nothing more than an ingenious device for giving the shadow of political power to the people—or rather to a select class of notables—and keeping the substance in the hands, not of the Mikado, but of his advisers, who, almost to a man, are samurai of the former Chéshiu and Sat- suma clans. In European countries such a constitution would rapidly modify itself in a democratic direction, but this process may be long retarded in Japan, where a small Euro- peanized minority may continue indefinitely to prolong the supremacy they possess over the masses of uneducated peasantry who consti- tute the bulk of the Japanese people, and who are not likely to make much advance in education so long as five or six years’ study is necessary to acquire any considerable facility in the arts of reading and writing. Statistics must be dealt with by an expert in that science which few find so attractive as Mr. Galton, but we cannot help thinking that the population of Japan is consider- ably exaggerated. Some years ago Japanese authorities estimated it at forty-five millions ; according to the present work it has risen from nearly thirty-six millions in 1879 to thirty-nine millions in 1887. There are some reasons for doubting whether it really attains the figure of thirty millions. Fully two-thirds of Japan is barren, mountainous land, and the proportion the alleged popula- tion bears to the remainder is enormous. With this must be coupled the fact of a greatly increased exportation of rice within the last decade—none was exported from old Japan—while the increase of cultivation has taken place almost entirely with reference to the two staples of tea and silk. Moreover, the rate of increase and the distribution of the population according to sex and age do not seem to be in harmony with the ratios known to prevail generally. The extra- ordinary advance made by Japan in material civilization is, perhaps, best shown by the fact that nearly a thousand miles of railway are now in existence, and at least a thousand more projected. A less favourable item—not taken from this volume, but from a Japanese newspaper—is the proportion of divorces to marriages. To nearly forty out of every hun- dred Japanese wives Japanese husbands give sari-jo, letters of divorce, every year. This peculiar correspondence, it should be added, can only emanate from the male side. NOVELS OF THE WEEK, The Love of a Lady. By Annie Thomas (Mrs. Pender Cudlip). 3 vols. (White & Co.) Nigel Browning. By Agnes Giberne. (Long- mans & Oo.) Youma: the Story of a West-Indian Slave. By Lefcadio Hearn. (Sampson Low & Co.) Strange Doings in Strange Places. By Frank Barrett and Others. (Cassell & Co.) Waar Annie Thomas means by ‘The Love of a Lady’ it would be difficult to say. Her story is concerned with various ladies, or at any rate ‘‘ fine ladies,” and the majority of these have several loves at the same time, on the ‘‘ pick where you choose’’ principle. Perhaps the expression is meant to be taken in an abstract sense, and to inculcate a piece of social philosophy—as, for instance, ‘‘ the love of a lady is an unaccountable thing.” The meaning of the title is likely to pique the reader’s curiosity all the more because the meaning of the story itself is quite un- discoverable. This record of lawless and hectic love, if love it must be called, of spiritualism from the Seven Dials, and im- possible scenes in the houses of people sup- posed to be refined, is an altogether unreal picture of life. Unfortunately the tone and style of the narrative do not assist the reader in his efforts to ignore the disagree- able elements of the plot. Neither characters nor circumstances will be found very attrac- tive by those who are at all fastidious in their taste. Fulvia, not Nigel, should have been the eponymous hero, or heroine, of Miss Giberne’s tale. For she is a heroine, this young lady with tawny locks and imperfect ideals. Of course the gentle Ethel deserves the prize, the hand of the excellent young man adored of both these ladies; but it is distinctly ‘‘rough upon” Fulvia to have her life saved twice, first by the male and then by the female lover, until from sheer grati- tude she feels bound to give up the happiness she has promised herself with Nigel. Such benefits might* have had an opposite effect upon some people, if the old seaside super- stition about saving folks from drowning may be relied on. So Fulvia gives up her engagement, and as far as we can see is to content herself with the thankless réle of a brevet-aunt. Though the book is not violently exciting, and the fate of Miss Rolfe’s money is obvious from the first, there is a good deal of quiet power in the delinea- tion of the principal characters. ‘Youma’ is an American story reprinted from a monthly magazine. Even the manu- facture of the book is American, as is duly placed on record at the back of the title- page, and as appears quite unmistakably from such indigenous vocables as ‘ favor,” ‘“‘vapory,” and the like. It is an admirable little tale, full of local characteristics, with curious fragments of Creole French from Martinique, and abundance of wide human sympathy. It deserved reprinting for Eng- lish readers more than three-fourths of the fiction which is wont to cross the Atlantic under similar circumstances. The eighteen ‘complete sensational stories” reprinted from a weekly journal under the title of ‘Strange Doings in Strange Places’ deserve both the descriptions which have been given of them in their collected form. Their authors are all practised hands, who have known how to furnish what was required for their original readers. It is impossible to say whether a dash of madness was infused in the sample up to which they appear to have worked, but if not it is a curious coincidence that so many of them should have made their stories turn upon the doings of a madman or a madwoman. It is as though madness had been held up to them as a more respectable and less re- pulsive basis of action than sheer villainy. In the very exciting stories of Maxwell Gray, Charles Gibbon, and Florence Warden the perpetrators of crime are mad, whilst in two others madness enters into the plot— five cases of brain-disease out of ten stories taken at random. But for the most part these chapters of romance are thoroughly entertaining. Perhaps the best of all are Maxwell Gray’s ‘ Mysterious Guide,’ Frank Barrett’s ‘Brigand of To-day,’ and Fran- cillon’s ‘ Alive or Dead ?’ THEOLOGICAL BOOKS, Moses Ben Marmoon, usually called Maimo- nides, is well known by rabbinical scholars as well as by those who are interested in Arabic philosophy. With his father, who, according to the epithets given to him by learned casuists, must have been a rabbinical authority, scholars areonly slightly acquainted, since he has left but little mark in literature. Indeed, in the great collec- tions of Hebrew MSS. in various libraries no work of Maimoon is recorded, except a letter of consolation written in Arabic and addressed to his distressed brethren in the Magreb in 1160 A.D., an epoch when great persecutions came upon them under the dynasty of the Almohads. In this letter, composed in elegant Arabic and written in Hebrew characters, which were gener- ally adopted by the Jews whatever language they might be using, he encourages his brethren to remain faithful to their religion and rather endure martyrdom than be converted to Islam —a conversion which must have occurred fre- quently, since Maimonides himself saved his life by such an act. It is to be found in a unique MS. in the Bodleian Library, which the Rev. L. M. Simmons, B.A., Lecturer on Hebrew and Arabic at the Owens College, Manchester, has now carefully edited with a faithful English translation—The Letter of Consolation of Mai- mun ben Joseph, reprinted from the Jewish Quarterly Review, 1890. He has reproduced the text diplomatically, as is right in the case of a unique text, with Hebrew characters, giving in the notes a Hebrew translation of the sentences and words which a copyist added inthe MS. In his English translation heindicates all the sources
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XUM Ne 3279, Avs. 30, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 285 from whence Maimoon quotes. In an appendix Mr. Simmons gives passages of Maimoon’s Arabic commentary on Genesis and Exodus, which his grandson Abraham inserted in his own commen- tary, written in Arabic with Hebrew characters. The latter also is preserved in a Bodleian MS. From these passages it may be concluded that Maimoon wrote a commentary on the Pen- tateuch, perhaps also on other books of the Old Testament, since an explanation of a passage in Esther is found amongst them. It is to be regretted that Mr. Simmons has not trans- lated these exegetical fragments, or at least indicated to what school of exegesis the author belonged. In the concise preface, in which the life of Maimoon is given, Mr. Simmons ought to have treated this subject rather than have devoted space to a fact perfectly well known from previous works, viz., that Maimoon’s letter is not identical with that ‘‘on Apostasy ” written by his son. Mr. Simmons is right not to admit with Prof. Graetz that Maimoon wrote on mathematics and astronomy, for if such were the case his son Moses would not have neglected to mention them in his writings on these matters. WE may well recommend to those who are interested in the history of the Jews during the captivity the Rev. P. Hay Hunter's book After the Exile: a Hundred Years of Jewish History and Literature, in two parts (Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier). The author is well acquainted with the modern books on the subject, and has made an eclectic use of them. He follows the critical school altogether. He supplies a clear account of the part which Ezra and Nehemiah played in the restoration of Israel, the one as a scribe and the other as a politician. The antagonism between the priestly party and the Davidic dynasty (represented by Zerubbabel and Joshua the High Priest as leaders) on the retutn from the exile, which was continued later by the Pharisees and the Sadducees, is conclusively proved from the exilic prophets, amongst whom the author places Joel also. He denies the unity of the book of Zechariah; he con- siders the book of Ruth a vindication of Gentile rights, and the book of Jonah a plea of toleration and in general anti-prophetic ; the latter idea is not accepted unanimously by the critical school. The Sabbath, he says, was still kept at Jerusalem in a primitive fashion, men “‘ doing their pleasure ” (Isaiah lviii. 13) on that day without regard to its special sanctity, it assuming its religious character only in Babylon. Perhaps it would be better to translate the word ‘JS5n, “thy pleasure,” in the later sense of the word, “thy business.” In Babylon also the idea of the law of Moses originated, and was pro- pagated in writing by Ezra and the men of the Great Synagogue. Interesting are the pages in which our author adduces parallels between the reformation worked by the Book of the Law found in the time of Josiah and that which re- sulted from the discovery in Ezra’s days. Mr. Hunter is perhaps too positive when he affirms that the former was Deuteronomy and the latter the Pentateuch, in substantially its present form. The same is the case with the derivation of the name of Sadducee from the name of Zadok, the chief of a priestly family according to Geiger, which Mr. Hunter accepts as certain. On the other hand, the author is too sceptical concerning the existence of the Great Synagogue or Assembly. He says that there is no evidence that “a sacred Senate or Academy ” of this sort ever sat at Jerusalem. An assembly, however, existed already in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, and one is men- tioned in an early Mishnah, and no doubt an assembly was continued after the death of these two great leaders of the Jews and creators of Judaism. The Great Assembly was not a sacred one, but carried on the reformation and the de- velopment of Judaism by completing the collec- tion of the Old Testament. In default of a recog- nized leader, such a body must have sprung up from a natural necessity. The History of the Sufferings of Eighteen Car- thusians in England, who refusing to take part in Schism, and to separate themselves from the Unity of the Catholic Church, were cruelly Martyred. Translated from the Latin of Dom Maurice Chauncy, a Professed Member of the London Charter House. (Burns & Oates.)— One of the rarest of rare little books is the ori- ginal edition of Maurice Chauncy’s ‘ Historia aliquot Martyrum Anglorum,’ published at Mayence in 1550. It contains a narrative of the atrocious massacre of the Charterhouse monks under Henry VIII. by one who had lived for years among them, but who, in a moment of weakness, was prevailed upon to subscribe to the king’s supremacy, and never ceased to deplore his frailty to the end of his days. The book was reprinted twice during the reign of Queen Eliza- beth, onceat Munich in 1573 and again at Burgos in Spain in 1583. The story has been told in his least happy manner by Mr. Froude, and with incomparably greater force and vividness by Canon Dixon in his first volume. It was one which produced a profound impression when it first was made public by Chauncy’s book; and the interest in the matter was revived when a re- print of that book, which the editor took all sorts of liberties with, even to the extent of re- writing large portions of it, was issued in 1608. Two years ago a new edition, carefully following the text of 1550, and furnished with a preface exhibiting some scholarly industry and critical research, was published by the lately revived English Carthusians, and accompanied by some curious reproductions of the old illustrations and other valuable matter. The translation of this volume, issued as a companion, is, we presume, intended for those who cannot read Latin easily, and yet whose zeal and fervour may be stimu- lated by a thrilling story of the ascetic life in the cloister kept up with unusual vigour, and serving to prepare devotees to face torture and death without shrinking when the supreme moment came. Such a work is hardly to be judged by the ordinary standards of criticism. No student of sixteenth century history can afford to neglect the narrative of the facts re- corded, nor will he be wise in passing over the curious and perhaps unique picture of the daily life of a most strict religious community in England at the very time when the spoliation of the monasteries was imminent ; but this transla- tion is hardly meant for the student ; it is feebly executed, and can supersede the original only for the strong in faith, who are, for the most part, weak in history. The edition of 1888, which faithfully presents us with the original, is a very different volume. WE areglad to seethat theapocryphalliterature is not entirely left to the theologians of the Old World. Prof. J. Rendel Harris, of Haverford College, Pennsylvania, late Fellow of Clare, Cam- bridge, has shown by his last production, The Rest of the Words of Baruch: a Christian Apo- calypse of the Year 136 a.vD., the text revised, with an introduction (Clay & Sons), that he is as well acquainted with the apocryphal literature as he is with that of the New Testament. Besides the apocryphal book of Baruch, there is a later one which goes under the same name, and which the professor styles the apocalyptic Baruch ; this was published in Syriac by Dr. Ceriani in the ‘Monumenta Sacra et Profana.’ There exists also an Ethiopic version edited by Prof. Dillmann, which has been twice translated into German. Of course the original of this apocryphal book was written in Greek, of which Prof. Harris now supplies a critical edition according to five MSS., and compared with a somewhat abbre- viated form in the ‘Menzum’ printed at Venice. It seems that the Greek Church reads a portion of our apocalyptic book asa memorial of the fall of Jerusalem on the 4th of November, just as the Jews read the Lamentations of Jeremiah asa similar memorial on the 9th of Ab (July), as the day of the fall of the city of God. Prof. Harris points out ingeniously that the month of Ab, | being the eleventh month of the Jewish calendar, _ is replaced in the Christian Church by November | as the eleventh month of the Julian calendar ; | from some unknown reason the days have been | displaced. We believe that Prof. Harris has conclusively shown that the author of the apo- | calyptic Baruch was a Christian who wrote after | the war of Bar-Cochba (136 a.p.), and that his object was to persuade the Jews to become | baptized in order to be permitted to remain in | the holy city, from whence they were banished | by Hadrian. The arguments concerning the ; author’s living near Jerusalem drawn from his topographical knowledge are plausible, but not as yet sufficiently convincing. Here we find an ingenious conjecture as to the present name of Artas for the supposed gardens of Solomon, which may be a corruption of hortus. In the enumeration of our author’s literary debt to his predecessors, we find that he used the earlier apocalypse of Baruch written by a Jew, the fourth book of Esdras, probably the apocryphal book of Isaiah and the Ascension of Isaiah, and “ there is some ground,” says the professor, ‘‘ for believing that he was acquainted with the Gospel of John.” Space forbids us to draw attention to many other interesting points in Prof. Harris’s valuable con- tribution to apocryphal literature. It is only fair tomention the excursus on the Terebinth-fair near Hebron, and on the name of Arphad or Ardath in the fourth book of Esdras (which we believe, against the professor, can scarcely represent the old name of Hebron, Kiriath-Arba); on the Baruch legend in the Koran, and finally on the possibility of the Christian Baruch referring to a passage of the Epistle of Barnabas. Here we find, strangely enough, Prof. Harris accepting a Hebrew-emendation of the Abbé Le Hir! This is somewhat eccentric for modern criticism. Tue Ecole des Hautes Etudes in Paris has added a new section to the four already existing, viz., that of Sciences Religieuses, which is under the able direction of the well-known M. Albert Reville, one of the Hibbert Lecturers. The pro- fessors of this section will publish special volumes in the ‘‘ Bibliothéque” of this insti- tution, the first of which is lying before us. It contains fourteen papers, commencing with a general introduction by the director. The Semitic branch is represented by M. M. Vernes’s paper on the old and primitive peoples of Palestine (which is less wild than his other con- tributions on Biblical subjects), and by M. H. Derenbourg’s paper on a Himyaritic inscrip- tion. The rabbinical paper on the chain of tradition, by M. Loeb, is based on the tractate of Aboth (‘Sayings of the Fathers’). M. L. Massi- beau continues his Philonic studies with the classification of the Jewish-Aiexandrinian philo- sophers ; he promises to work out gradually the MSS. of Philo. The criticism of the New Testa- ment is represented by an essay on the conver- sion of St. Paul by the late E. Havet; he concludes that Paul was never an enemy of Christ’s doctrine, but he pondered much before he could become an adherent. M. Sabatier has a paper on the question whether the author of the Acts knew and made use of St. Paul’s epistles. M. Jean Reville, the able editor of the Revue de UHistoire des Religions, discusses the réle of the widows in the communities of primi- tive Christianity, before they were replaced in the Catholic Church by women, who never married. The director of the Ecole contri- butes an able paper on the meaning of “‘ Sacra- mentum” in ‘Tertullian, and M. LEsmein writes on the investiture in the letters of Yves of Chartres. The investiture, according to the author of the paper, is the beginning of the separation of the State and the Church. The essay on the origin of the scholastic philosophy in France and Germany, by M. Picavet, belongs in some respects to medizeval religious thought. It is due to Alcuin among the French, and Raban Maure among the Germans, according to | the author of the paper. M. Sylvain Lévi, who succeeded the lamented Prof, Bergaigne, writes
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286 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3279, Ava. 30, 90 en the two Indian philosophical systems, viz., the Pacgupata and the Caiva, which are treated in two chapters of the ‘Sarva-Darcana-Sam- graha’ by Madhava. M. de Rosny has a paper on the text of the ‘Tao-Teh-King,’ by Lao-tse, which is much studied by Chinese philosophers and exegetes. Finally, M. Amélineau attempts a revised translation of the hymn addressed to the Nile, of which he also gives the text with variations from the two copies in the British Museum. He finds that this hymn is full of naturalism, which proves that at the time of its composition the Egyptian religion had not yet reached those high speculations which at a later date exercised such an influence on the creed of humanity; consequently the hymn is very old. One sentence says of the Nile ‘‘that there is no abode which can contain it.” Cf. 1 Kings viii. 27. We regret that from want of space we cannot give more details of some of these learned and interest- ing papers. The beginning is good, and we hope that the continuation may be even better. Libellum de Aleatoribus inter Cypriani Scripta Conservatum. Edidit et Commentario Critico, Exegetico, Historicoinstruxit Adolfus Hilgenfeld. (Freiburg, Akademische Verlagsbuchhandlung. ) —Considerable attention has been devoted to this treatise within the last year owing to the investigations of Prof. Harnack. It lay neg- lected among the spurious writings ascribed to Cyprian, but the Berlin professor thought that he had discovered in it the earliest Latin Christian treatise, and he tried to prove that it was the work of Victor, Bishop of Rome, towards the end of the second century. His arguments were ingenious and interesting, but not satis- factory. Wolfflin, and after him Mioddnski, have shown that the language and the extracts from the Bible are borrowed from Cyprian, and that, therefore, the treatise is later than the beginning of the third century. Hilgenfeld follows in the same line, and comes to the con- clusion that it was written by Acesius, Bishop of the Novatian Romans, in 325. But there is no sure ground for believing that it was the work of a bishop of Rome, and no means of reaching a precise date. MHilgenfeld’s edition deserves great praise. He has suggested several admirable emendations, he has thrown light on some difficult passages, and he has supplied the text with a good critical apparatus and many illustrative notes. Some of his emendations are too bold, and he has left much for subse- quent editors to correct. But the edition is a valuable contribution to the purity of the text and the elucidation of the subject. It is not, how- ever,so handy an edition asthat of Miodénski. The treatise is characterized by great grammatical irregularities. Thus it has the genitives paren- torum and ossuorum, pawpera as feminine of pauper, venenum letalem, perdet in the present, tuemur in passive sense, and ab with the accu- sative several times. Hilgenfeld seems to have been infected by this illiterate atmosphere ; for in his own Latin he creates a new verb, “ saliare ” for salire—‘‘ omnis fraternitas salianda magis convenit”; he imitates venenuwm letalem in *¢ Synesius indelebilem suum ludendi studium confessus est,” and perpetrates a few other curiosities. ANTIQUARIAN BOOKS, English History from Contemporary Writers.— St. Thomas of Canterbury (1180-1220). Selected and arranged by the Kev. W. H. Hutton. (Nutt.)—This series would be a very useful one if the editors of the several works were all equal to Mr. York Powell, the general editor. Such is very far from being the case with Mr. Hutton. This is the third volume which he has under- taken, and the worst. The materials for the history of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Can- terbury, fill seven portly volumes of the Rolls Series, not to speak of other sources of informa- tion which may be classed among the collateral evidence. Such a huge mass of contemporary material is not to be looked through at all care- fully in a limited time, and can hardly be ade- quately summarized by any but a specialist. Mr. Hutton is clearly not “ master of the situa- tion.” He writes in a clumsy and unattractive style, and his translations are shocking. He seems to have no familiarity with the language of the English Bible, and flounders hopelessly when his authorities quote texts of Scripture. He appears to have little critical faculty, and to think it no part of his business—perhaps it is not—to settle between the credibility of contradictory statements of fact, or between two presentments of the same documents. Is a tyro to accept Foliot’s long story, for instance, as true, or to reject it as a tissue of perversions? Or, again, is the form in which the Constitutions of Clarendon appear in Mr. Robertson’s fifth volume certainly to be preferred to that which the Bishop of Oxford gives us in the ‘Select Charters,’ and which he tells us is ‘‘ probably the exact form in which they were reported to the king and confirmed by the bishops and the barons”? Mr. Hutton dedicates his little book to the bishop as his master. It is a way that some pupils have who are no very great credit to their teachers. Records of Yarlington: being the History of a Country Village. By T. E. Rogers. (Stock.) —Yarlington is a little village in the county of Somerset. Its name has probably not altered for eight centuries, for in the Domesday Survey we find it spelt Gerlingtun. The interchange of G and Y has been so common that when either occurs at the beginning of a word we cannot now be quite sure of its proper pronunciation until we hear it from the lips of old natives or near neighbours who have not been influenced by education or modern fancies. Mr. Rogers is of opinion that Yarlington, like Girlington in York- shire, takes its name from a race called Girlings. Since the publication of Kemble’s ‘ Saxons in England’ this has been the common inter- pretation of most place-names containing the syllable ing. In some cases we may be pretty sure it is correct ; in others it would be more accurate to say that it is the only plausible guess that has as yet been offered. Like by far the greater number of our villages, Yarlington has no written history previous to the Conqueror’s survey. When that record was compiled, Robert, Earl of Mortain, was its lord. Mr. Rogers traces the feudal history from one great family to another, but nothing of special interest occurs regarding any of them. There is, however, a curious custom called “the deer’s leap” in this manor, which we are grateful to the author for having put on record. It is just one of those very old customs throwing light on the lives of our forefathers which the local historians of former days did not understand, and in which, as a consequence, they took no interest, and therefore left unrecorded. The deer’s leap was a right claimed by the lord of the manor ‘‘ to all timber growing within six feet, not from the stem of the hedge, but from the sheer of the out- side of the ditch, and in certain parts adjoining Bratton and Maperton within fifteen and a half feet.” It is by no means easy to tell how such a custom can have originated. The case, how- ever, is not an isolated one. In the east of England there is in some places a custom called ‘* freeboard,” by which a strip of land beyond the boundaries of a manor, and in some cases beyond the limits of the land of a private owner, is, as far as its surface is concerned, in some sort the property not of its nominal owner, but of those whose land it adjoins. In most of the instances the rights of the ‘‘ frontager ” are strictly limited, and modernenclosure acts haveswept away nearly the wholeof them. Instances of thissort carry back our minds to a time when ownership of land had not become the absolute right that it isnow. A junior branch of the great house of Berkeley were for some time the lords of Yarlington, con- cerning whom Mr. Rogers gives useful informa- tion. It has been said that there was not a parish in Gloucester or a hundred in Somerset in which the Berkeleys at one time or another had not property. This is, of course, but popu- lar exaggeration, but it is symbolic of the great influence that the descendants of Elnoth the Staller have had in the West. Mr. Rogers gives a useful pedigree of those Berkeleys who were connected with Yarlington—useful, we say, as it does not occur in any of the popular books of reference. Parish of St. Petrock, Exeter, Calendar of Deeds and Docwments belonging to the Feoffees of the Parish. Compiled by the late Robert Diamond. (Exeter, Pollard.)— This is a useful guide to the parochial records of St. Petrock’s. The compiler did his work well. He understood that modern as well as ancient documents were important for historical pur- poses, and has calendared every document which the church chest contains. Some of them are of considerable interest, especially the con- tract executed in 1518 for making new seats in the Jesus aisle of the church. We wish this old paper had been given in full. The will of John Kelly, executed in 1486, is given in English, but many Latin passages are inserted in brackets. It would have been far better to have printed the whole of the Latin text, and, if necessary, appended to it a translation or abstract in the vernacular. Among the testator’s household goods was a silver standing cup, with a cover like a bell. He bequeathed to Thomas Kelly, probably a relation, a gown of “ mustard vylers ” lined with ‘‘caleber.” The word ‘‘ mustard vylers” occurs in many forms, and strange guesses have been made as to its import. A document of the reign of Henry VIII., printed in the Archeologia, xlviii. 252, describes a woman seen in a vision as clad in ‘‘ must de villers”; and among the muniments of Magdalen College, Oxford, there is a document of the middle of the fifteenth century, which speaks of ‘‘una toga de musterdevyles.” It was probably a kind of cloth made at Montivilliers, near Harfleur, the Latin name for which is Monasterium Villare. (See Prof. Skeat’s article in Notes and Queries for August 2nd.) Caleber was some kind of fur, probably that of a foreign kind of squirrel. Dr. Murray says that the word is now used to indicate the fur of the grey or Siberian equirrel. It is not probable that in the Middle Ages Sibe- rian furs made their way into England. If it be true that the name is a form of Calabria, we may not be far wrong in surmising that the squirrel whose fur bore that name here was a native of Italy. Northern Notes and Queries; or, the Scottish Antiquary. Edited by the Rev. A. W. Cornelius Hallen. Nos. 9-13. (Edinburgh, Douglas. )—This is a quarterly magazine, intended to do for Scot- land only that which Notes and Queries does for the universe. In works of this kind there must necessarily be much of merely local value, but the greater part of the numbers before us is occupied by notes which have a wide interest. As an example we may take the pedigree of the widely spread family of Ross. It is a most ela- borate and carefully compiled chart. Authorities are not given in the number before us, but, if we understand the author rightly, this deficiency will be supplied in a future issue. There is no reason for thinking that all who bear the surname of Ross are family connexions even in a remote degree. A correspondent who signs A. W. C. H. has given a sketch of a brass mortar found at Kinross, bearing the inscription LOF GODT VAN at. This he translates ‘‘ Love God above all.” This is surely an error. A reference to Hexham’s or Sewell’s Dutch dictionaries would have in- formed the writer that lof signifies ‘‘ praise,” not “love.” This mortar does not seem to be dated. We have seen in a private collection two small mortars similarly inscribed, one of which is dated 1612 and the other 1642. A. W. C. H. points out that in former days a devotional
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XUM THE ATHENZUM 287 N° 3279, Ava. 30, ’90 invocation was not uncommonly affixed to medical prescriptions, and conjectures, with great probability, that this motto was used with a like devotional intent. We have heard of two others bearing the legend used by Chaucer’s prioress, ‘* Amor vincit omnia,” a misarranged quotation, there can be little doubt, from Virgil, Omnia vincit amor; et nos cedamus amori (‘Ecl.’ x., 1. 69), There are some interesting notes on iron coftins, or rather coflin cases. They have now gone out of use, and are almost entirely forgotten; but when the resurrectionists were a terror they were not uncommonly used by the rich. In Southey’s remarkably un- pleasant verses called ‘The Surgeon’s Warning’ we are told that the maker lived in St. Martin’s Lane. Warwick’s Spare Minutes; or, Resolved Medi- tations and Premeditated Resolutions. (Glasgow, Bryce & Co.)—This quaint little volume is a curiosity. The outside is a reproduction of the original binding of 1637. The inside is pretty to look at and harmless to read. Even the commonplace of the seventeenth century has a certain charm. But why will not people | | | | | arranged explanatory edition of the Code, and the instruction under which the inspections of all public elementary schools will be conducted during and after the coming autumn. This Code marks, to a great extent, a new departure in State-aided instruction, and Mr. Gowing | wisely places an “ Historical Introduction ” before his exposition of the Code itself. The “ Intro- duction” is interesting and fair : a rapid account of State aid and State supervision from the earliest grant (30,000/.) ia 1839 is given ; suc- cessive changes in the system of administration | are described ; and the Code of 1890 is viewed | with satisfaction and hope. We are glad to read that “the Committee of Council, with a body of most able officials, has given ample evidence of its desire to make education thorough, rational, and formative in the elementary schools of this country.” We sincerely hope that the certificated teachers of the country will accept the Code in this spirit. Like many books of travel and adventure, Mr. Arthur A. Macdonell’s Camping Voyages on German Rivers (Stanford) will act as a warning rather than an encouragement. The general im- let things lie in their graves when once they | pression one gets is that the rivers are full of have died ? far back as 1835, if we may trust the date at the end of the preface. It did not find favour with the public then. Is it more likely to suc- ceed now ? OUR LIBRARY TABLE. Mr. Jutian Corsert’s Monk, which appears in Messrs. Macmillan’s ‘‘Men of Action,” is a picturesque book. The author thinks far more highly than we do of the man who brought about the Restoration. It would be cruelly unfair to lay at Monk’s door all the eviJ things which the return of the Stuarts brought into England and Scotland, for some of which we are suffering to this day ; yet it is quite just to say of Monk that he knew what sort of an idle, dissolute adventurer Charles had become during his youthful wanderings when he suc- ceeded in causing the Flemish burgomasters to advance loans and call him king. Monk’s early career on the Continent may perhaps be styled without exaggeration noble, but it was not until there was fighting in his own land that he became a prominent figure, shortly afterwards to Ireland, and his conduct there surpassed anything that can in fairness be charged to Oliver Cromwell. Mr. Corbett ad- mits that ‘‘the work was accomplished with all the horrible accompaniments which characterized Irish warfare.” It is terrible to call to mind that these deeds were done by one who was, as we believe, a mere soldier of fortune. Monk soon left the Parliamentary forces and went over to the king. “Morally there was nothing to prevent him joining the king’s side.” Here we have no doubt that Mr. Corbett is right, but how different Monk was from the heroes who died on the battle-field in fighting for English liberty! Monk was not long in the | royal service ere he was captured with many others near Acton Church, in Cheshire, and he and some of the more notable officers were sent prisoners to Hull. Imprisonment was not to his taste. He soon left Hull for the Tower, and eventually joined the Parliamentary forces to perpetrate further atrocities in Ireland. While Cromwell was all-powerful Monk found it to his interest to be a faithful servant. When chaos came again Monk discovered it to be once more convenient to change sides, and could calmly contemplate the deaths by torture of those who were to the last faithful to a lost cause. Mr. Corbett has stated his facts fairly enough, but he has undertaken to make something like a | hero of a man who seems to have been without conscience. The ‘ School Board Chronicle’ Edition of the Code. By Richard Gowing. (Grant & Co.)— Mr. Gowing gives to the scholastic world a well- He was sent | This very bookling was printed as | obstructions and difficulties, if not of dangers, that the upper waters are swift and shallow, that the middle reaches are troublesome to oarsmen on account of the great number of the mills and weirs, and that the lower reaches are too rough. But, of course, in reading one is apt to forget that there is plenty of plain sailing, about which, naturally, the author has little to say, while he performs the duty of a good guide by pointing out all the difficulties. On the whole, he prefers a Canadian canoe to any other craft; but, as in all modes of travelling, the baggage is the trouble. Mr. Macdonell’s book aims at being both a guide-book and a narrative. It is excel- lent in the former capacity, and not at all bad in the latter. But the two things are not easy to combine. The narrative no doubt makes the book attractive ; but in paddling down the rivers under Mr. Macdonell’s guidance one would cer- tainly find it more convenient to have the facts, maps, and tables of distances separate. It is pleasant to hear that on all their expeditions | Mr. Macdonell and his companions met with | much civility. THe second volume of Mr. F. C. Burnand’s works—Rather at Sea (Bradbury, Agnew & Co.) —contains three accounts of cruises and the well-known ‘My Health,’ which includes some yachting experiences when Miss Janie Straith- mere was one of the party. On reading ‘My Health’ again one finds plenty to laugh at still ; | Miss Straithmere, ‘‘my aunt” and Dodderidge her maid, the little dog that limps from “ affec- tation,” Budd, Bunter, and Wetherby—all these old friends are still lively and lifelike. It is a pity that Mr. Burnand does not put at the head of each piece the date of its appearance in Punch, | Sporting Sketches. By Diane Chasseresse. (Macmillan & Co.)—The lady who assumes the title of “ Diane ” explains that her little collection of personal anecdotes is written for the amuse- ment of her children, and for this purpose it is, no doubt, admirably calculated, especially as the illustrations are good. We see the author in various more or less exciting positions, which, if not very dignified, are eloquent of plenty of hard work. A lady of such energy must be very successful, one would think, in useful undertakings during the part of the year in which she cannot pursue masculine sports. It is principally as a rifle-shot she excels, stalk- ing all manner of birds and beasts, and not being very particular as to the amount of law she gives them. She catches trout with a worm in the dark, and treats deer, black game, and pheasants in much the same way, shooting her first and only royal when it was too dark to see his points. One cannot help smiling when she innocently confesses she always shuts both eyes when she pulls the trigger, and has been known to fire both barrels at once. There is an admir- able illustration of the lady’s position in shoot- ing uphill. She rests her back against the gillie’s, which must have tried that good fellow’s | nerves. She has much to say of “Mac,” who | seems to have been as patient and helpful as | most of his calling. There is not much sub- | stance in the book, but no doubt it will interest | the author’s personal friends. | Tae new volume of “ Bohn’s Library of | Sports,” ZZandbookof Athletic Sports (Bell & Sons), Vol. IL., is handy and well written. The ‘‘ Bad- minton Series,” of course, gave the hint, but there is plenty of room for cheaper books of | athletic instruction like the present. Herein | the veteran Mr. Woodgate discourses well and wisely of recovery, swing back, and other | mysteries of rowing. We are glad to learn | from him that ‘‘ form” is as necessary as ever, | in spite of the sliding seat ; and rejoice in his sound canon as to the nature and value of a ‘straight back.” ‘Now, lads, hunch your backs” is not in the new drill-book, though we | have heard the exhortation from a very high | quarter indeed. Mr. Knight’s article on sailing leaves little to be desired, and the illustra- tions are particularly good and very necessary. | Swimming is well treated by the Messrs. Cobbett. The cautions to bathers in fresh and salt water are simple, but useful. Some obvious printers’ errors in the first article should be corrected in any future edition. A new volume of the ‘f All-England Series ” (Bell & Sons) contains articles by Mr. Julian Marshall, Major J. Spens, and Mr. J. A. Arnan Tait on the subject of tennis (the true | jew de la puume), racquets, and both varieties of tives. As far as games can be acquired by precept, | aspirants may confidently rely on improvement from the study of this handy volume. Sir Georce Birpwoop has published a second edition (Allen & Co.) of his interesting report | on The Old Records of the India Office. People who are not dismayed by outward appearances will find here, as we have before said, much excellent and amusing reading. | Pror. ARBER deserves the thanks of all bib- | liographers for his valuable and satisfactory List of 837 London Publishers between 1553 and 1640 A.D. It is a most welcome result of his labours at Stationers’ Hall.—A word of praise is due to the Catalogue of Early Belfast-Printed Books, which has reached a second edition.—Mr. Quaritch has shown enterprise in printing his Catalogue of Medieval Literature, mainly romances of chivalry and books of costume, illustrated with excellent facsimiles. WE are glad to see a fourth edition of Mr. G. F. Chambers’s Touwrist’s Pocket-Book (Seeley & Co.), which contains some useful new matter. Tempting Dishes for Small Incomes (Longmans & Co.) is the title of Mrs. de Salis’s last contribu- tion to what may be called cookery-school-book | literature. The title not inaptly describes the contents : many of the dishes would be tempt- | ing if well made, and their ingredients, as here | prescribed, are neither far to seek nor expen- sive. Messrs. Rovur.epcr’s Sixpenny Encyclopedia is so wonderful a production for the money as to disarm criticism. Perhaps too many modern flies are embalmed in the amber, but there are few omissions of importance. The elder Pitt would seem to be more worthy of record than some names which rather surprise us as recorded, WE have on our table Short Studies of Shake- speare’s Plots, by C. Ransome (Macmillan),— Rhuddlan Castle, and other Poems, by the Rev. Fred. W. Kittermaster (Coventry, Curtis & Beamish),—Carmen Macaronicum, with Trans- lations by J. W. Mbollett, B.A. (Gilbert & Rivington),—St. Paul: his Life and Times, by J. Iverach (Nisbet),—Supernatural Revelation: an Essay, by C. M. Mead (Kegan Paul),—Les Artistes Célébres: Madame Vigée-Le Brun, by
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288 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3279, Aua. 30, ’90 C. Pillet (Paris, Librairie de ‘L’Art’), — Les Maitresses Authentiques de Lord Byron, by F. Rabbe (Paris, Savine),—and La Révolution et le Libéralisme, Essais de Critique et d’ Histoire, by A. Leroy-Beaulieu (Hachette). Also the following Pamphlets: University Education in Ireland, by R. F. Clarke, 8.J.(Longmans),—Free Education: Extract from ‘Pauperism, its Causes and Remedies,’ by the late Right Hon. H. Fawcett, M.P., and Mrs. H. Fawcett (Women’s Printing Society, Great College Street, Westminster),— The New Criticism, Sermons by the Rev. E. S. Ffoulkes (Skeffington), — Shakespeare and the Thames, by W. H. Harper (the Author, 28, Duncombe Road, Hornsey Rise), — The Opening of the Arctic Sea, by H. A. H. Dunsford (Ridgway), — Ireland’s Case for Home Rule Considered, by an English Convert (Kegan Paul), —and Strikes and Lock-Outs, by F, N. Robarts (Whittingham & Co.). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology. Daily Strength for Daily Needs, selected by Mary W. Tileston, 18mo. 4/6 cl. Douglas’s (H.) The Land where Jesus Lived, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Law. Pilling’s (W.) Land Tenure by Registration, Second Edition ot ‘ Order from Chaos,’ Revised and Enlarged, cr. 8vo. 5/ Poetry and the Drama, Borland's (R.) Yarrow, its Poets and Poetry, with Introduc- tion and Notes, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Hearts and Voices: Songs of the Better Land, illustrated by H. Ryland, E. Welby, &c., 4to. 2,6 bds. Hugo’s (V.) Select Poems and Tragedies, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. History and Biography. Ashton’s (J.) Social England under the Regency, 2 vols. 30/ Malleson’s (Col.) Dupleix, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. (Rulers of India.) Philology. Bower (A. M.) and Tolra’s (Prof. Don Eduardo) First Steps in Spanish Idioms, containing Alphabetical List, 2/ Darque’s (F. E.) A New Elementary French Course, specially designed for Young Students, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. Science. Coues’s (Prof. E.) Handbook of Field and General Ornitho- logy, illustrated, 8vo. 10/ cl. 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Westergaard (H.): Die Grundziige der Theorie der Statistik, 6m. 50, General Literature. Aide Mémoire de l’Officier d’Etat-Major en Campagne, Edi- tion Officielle, 5fr. Brunner (8.): Lessingiasis u. Nathanologie, 3m. 60. Le Barbier (E.): Le Crédit Agricole en Allemagne, 10fr. Loszbuch (Eyn), Photolithographische Reproduction d. Einzigen Bekannten Exemplars, 5m. Nelson (W.): Cing Ans & Panama, 3fr. 50. AMERICAN PUBLISHERS AND BRITISH AUTHORS. Annesley Bank, Lyndhurst, Hants, Aug. 22, 1890. Mr. Witi1aM CALDWELL is the alleged editor and proprietor of the New York Mercury. Upon him, therefore, must fall the disgrace of know- ingly attributing to my pen a book which I never wrote, and which he knows that I never wrote. He has before now put my name to a story well knowing at the time that I had nothing whatever to do with that story. I have patiently seen fifty novels of my writing reprinted in America without the slightest pecuniary ad- vantage to me, but I feel constrained to protest against a frittering away of my name as a writer, by giving it to stories that Iam known not to have written. I have just seen in the New York Mercury for August 10th, 1890, the opening chapters of “‘Tiger Head ; or, the Ghost of an Avalanche,’ a romance of love and peril in | Switzerland, by Miss M. E. Braddon, author of ‘Lady Audley’s Secret,’ ‘ Willard’s Weird,’ ‘ Aurora Floyd,’ &c.,” and I discover therein the groundwork of this most audacious piracy, which I find described in these words by the editor and proprietor of the paper :— “ Miss Braddon’s New Story.—Those who neglect to read Miss Braddon’s new story, commencing in this issue of the Mercury, will miss a great treat. It is especially adapted, this new romance, to summer reading. It is short, covering only four instalments, and the scenes are amidst snow, avalanches, and regions of ice.” Some years ago I produced at the Royal Alex- andra Theatre, Liverpool, a melodrama entitled ‘The Missing Witness,’ which met with consider- able favour from a Liverpool audience, and would have been produced at the Adelphi in London could Mr. Edward Saker and I have accepted the terms which Mr. Chatterton offered to him as actor, and to me as author. A few copies of this play were printed, for private circulation only, and it is doubtless from.one of these copies, misappropriated by a literary hack, | that the groundwork of Mr. Caldwell’s ‘‘ new and original copyright romance by Miss M. E. Braddon” has been stolen. The dishonesty of this method of fabricating literature is so glaring an example of the evil caused by the want of international copyright that I feel myself justi- fied in making this appeal to the English and American press. M. E. Brappon, LITERARY ‘‘ BORROWING.” In the Atheneum for August 16th, p. 226, there appears a letter from Mr. W. G. Black, in which he states that some passages in my article in the Scottish Review for July, 1890, entitled ‘The Cession of Heligoland,’ exhibit a curious parallelism with two or three sentences in his | ‘ Heligoland and the Islands of the North Sea’ (1888). I had not seen or heard of Mr. Black’s book until mentioned by him in his letter to the Athenewm, and my information was derived from totally different sources. I would, how- ever, point out that Mr. Black says that “ there are thirty or forty streets, &c., in Heligoland”; but a writer on the subject says that ‘‘a public path runs from one end of the island to the | other, which in their grandiloquent way the | Heligolanders call a high road, but which visitors | know by the less flattering, but more truthful title of the Potato-Alley.” There is no ground whatever for the complaint made by Mr. Black, and I shall feel obliged by your inserting this in your next issue. Anpbrew T. S1BBaLp. UNPUBLISHED VERSES BY COLERIDGE. 35, Queen’s Road, Brownswood Park, N. I meant to have earlier answered the query of your correspondent J. D. C. as to who was the Boughton mentioned in the lines of Coleridge addressed to my great-aunt Matilda Betham, which you printed in your issue of March 15th.. The lines mentioning Boughton are these :— —thy Poesie— Sent to my soul by Boughton’s pleading voice, and— What nobler meed, Matilda! cans’t thou win Than tears of gladness in a Boughton’s eyes? The person referred to is Lady Boughton, a | friend of Matilda Betham’s, and wife of Sir Charles Rouse Boughton, Bart. I have before me now a curious long letter in verse from them to my great-aunt, dated 1800, which must have escaped the attention of my aunt Miss M. Betham-Edwards. E. B. pe Breruam. NICHOLAS BOZON. Highgate, Aug. 23, 1890. TuE facts as to the name of Bozon or Bozun occurring in Cornwall from thirteenth to fifteenth century cited by Mr. Attwood in the Atheneum of August 2nd are interesting, and it is a curious coincidence that a Nicholas Bozun should be found instituted rector in 1258. But this can- not be the author of the ‘Contes.’ He gives a detailed anecdote of the bishop, John of Alderby, who filled the see of Lincoln from 1300 to 1320. Whether Bozon wrote during the bishop’s lifetime or afterwards, it seems im- possible that a man who was old enough to be made rector of a parish in 1258 should be surviving to write such a collection as this more than fifty years later, and highly improbable that he should have had the varied experiences of a wandering friar minor, such as the book shows in abundance. Our Bozon, too, was at least acquainted with the north of England, two rivers of which he mentions by name ; and other evidence goes to indicate that he belonged to the north rather than the south of England. There are several examples of the name to be found both in France and England, but as yet Friar Bozon has not been identified with any of them. As to Eude de Cheriton, M. P. Meyer’s reasons for giving him this name (against the other forms Sherston, Cirington, &c.), and for identifying Cheriton with the village of that name near Folkestone, are these. A collection of his sermons exists in various manuscripts under the name of Odo de Ciringtunia or Cheritona, and in the British Museum MS. Arundel 231 the same sermons are found under the name of Odo de Cantia (see Th. Wright’s ‘Biographia Britannica Literaria,’ ii. p. 225), whence the natural conclusion is that the supposed two writers were one and the same, and that this writer was of Cheriton in Kent. Lucy Tovimin SMITH. MR. W. M. W. CALL. Mr. W. M. W. Catt, who died August 20th, | aged seventy-three, might in other times have been the ideal English parish priest, combining refined pursuits and genuine learning with a life of active ministration, in which the influence of a gentle and exalted spirit should have made itself widely felt. For ten years (1847-1857) he was a clergyman of the Church of England, | and only by degrees came to feel that for him _ the position was intellectually impossible. After _ a struggle which left lasting marks upon him, he ' renounced a sphere for which he had seemed
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N° 3279, Ava. 30, 90 THE ATHENAUM 289 exceptionally qualified. But his intellectual | energies only became more keen. The first wave of ‘‘ modern criticism” in England, borne on by the Hares, Connop Thirlwall, and others, had pos- sessed him, along with the Greek classics and the poetry of Keats and Shelley. What poetry had been in earlier days, the higher critical studies became to him henceforward. The love of the beautiful never left him, but seemed overborne by the love of truth, for which he had sacri- ficed so much. He became a regular contri- butor to the Westminster Review ; and a list of twenty-five original articles which he published there between 1858 and 1883 recalls to mind both the depth and gravity and also the great range of his erudition. In 1881 the articles on Thomas Carlyle and on George Eliot, besides two articles on Kant, were from his pen. He also published in the Fortnightly Review and the Spectator. His extreme modesty, combined with other causes, withheld him latterly from printing much in his own name. He was engaged to the last, however, with an essay on ‘ Final Causes,’ and with the study of the pro- phets and psalmists in the original Hebrew. His poems, some written by him as an under- graduate of St. John’s, Cambridge, while bearing frequent indications of his love for Shelley and Keats, display also considerable power, reflecting the expansive hopefulness that marked the fifth decade of the nineteenth century. ‘ Rever- berations’ and ‘Golden Histories’ are the titles of two volumes, of which the latter contains some translations from the Greek, previously printed as ‘Lyra Hellenica.’ The versions of several Homeric hymns in the manner of Shelley’s ‘Hymn to Mercury’ are especially remarkable for their spirit and freedom. EARLY PRINTING AT AVIGNON. Plymouth, A SMALL pamphlet lately published by the Abbé Requin (‘L’Imprimerie & Avignon en 1444,’ Paris, Picard, 8vo., pp. 20) contains an account of some interesting and important documents discovered by him in the course of his inquiries about the early painters of Avig- non. These documents are preserved among the acts of three notaries who practised at Avignon in the middle of the fifteenth century, and are printed at the end of the pamphlet. A photogravure of one of them is given as a frontis- piece. The story which they disclose is briefly as follows. In 1444 one Procopius Valdfoghel (Waldvogel), a goldsmith of Prague, was living at Avignon, and instructed two students there, one Manaud Vitalis and his friend Arnaud de Coselhac, in the art of artificial writing (scri- bendi artificialiter), and furnished them with the instruments of the art, consisting of two abece- daria of metal and two iron forme, a steel screw, forty-eight forme of tin, and other imple- ments. About the same time Valdfoghel in- structed one Davin of Caderousse, a Jew, in the same art ; and two years later, on the 10th of March, 1446, he entered into an agreement with the Jewto supply him with twenty-seven Hebrew letters cut in iron (scisas in ferro) and other imple- ments for the practice of the art. At the same time the Jew agreed not to disclose the art, either in theory or practice, to any one as long as Valdfoghel remained at Avignon or in the neighbourhood. Meanwhile Valdfoghel appears to have entered into partnership with Manaud Vitalis and Arnaud de Coselhac, and in April, 1446, this partnership was dissolved so far as Vitalis was concerned, and Vitalis gave up to his partners all his share in the instruments of the art, whether of iron, steel, copper, lead, and other metals, or of wood. Upon his doing this Vitalis, at the request of Valdfoghel, made oath upon the Holy Gospels that the art of artificial writing taught him by Valdfoghel was a true art, and easy and useful to any one who desired to work at it and was fond of it. The Abbé suggests that possibly Valdfoghel was afraid of being punished by the Inquisition as a sorcerer, and it may be remembered that Gutenberg was afraid that people might think his art was jug- glery (gickel werck); but it seems more likely that Valdfoghel feared that it might get about that Vitalis was leaving him because he found the invention was a failure, and that to prevent this opinion he asked for the declaration. The great importance of the discovery of these documents will be manifest when it is considered that it was in 1439—only five years before we find Valdfoghel at Avignon—that Gutenberg was experimenting at Strasbourg, and that Vald- foghel was actually practising and teaching his art of artificial writing at Avignon before Guten- berg removed to Mainz. If, therefore, Vald- foghel’s artificial writing was in fact printing with movable types, Avignon, instead of Mainz as hitherto supposed, becomes the second city where printing was carried on. That the arti- ficial writing practised by Valdfoghel was print- ing seems to be clearly shown by the documents. They mention letters cut in iron, abecedaria, or alphabets of metal, types (forme), and metal screws, the use of which cannot be explained otherwise than on the supposition that Vald- foghel was in truth printing by means of movy- able letters. How had he learnt the art? How long did he continue to practise it at Avignon or elsewhere? The Abbé Requin has not been able to find any answer to these ques- tions. the secret either from Gutenberg himself or from one of his servants or workpeople, but we have no certain knowledge. I hope that in his future researches the Abbé may discover some further information about this early printer, and even some specimen of his work. Meanwhile we owe to him the most important discovery in the annals of typo- graphy since the finding in 1745 of the record of Gutenberg’s lawsuit with the representatives of Andreas Dritzchen. J. SHELLY. LETTERS OF SIR JOHN VANBRUGH. I. Amonc the papers of the Pelham family recently acquired by the Manuscript Department of the British Museum are many letters of Sir John Vanbrugh, written between 1715 and 1723 to Thomas, Duke of Newcastle, afterwards the well-known Prime Minister. Some copies are also in the collection of letters from him to the Duchess of Marlborough, referring to his famous dispute with that lady and to another matter not hithert», we believe, made public, viz., Vanbrugh’s share in bringing about the marriage of the duke with the duchess’s grand- daughter, Lady Henrietta Godolphin. Other letters relate to the building and decorating of the duke’s houses at Claremont and in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. The following specimens of Sir John’s epistolary style will be read with much interest by a lover of the period :— Whitehall, Feb. ye 5th, 1714/15, oe. I wish you much joy of your Elections, and of a good Parliamt in generall, for ’twill be a rare one. And I find our Friends dispos’d to make a good use on’t, Hang, Whip, Pillory, &c. I wish they cou'd love one another tho’, but they can’t; at least, I think they are all resolv’d to hate Soups [sic]. The storm thickens against him dayly, but he cocks still, and thrusts his little belly amongst ’em; but I’m affraid they ’ll give it a squeeze at last. Jacob [‘lonson] speaks rarely well of Sussex, and comes to my Levee about the Library ; we are to go view _— or four next week in order to out do em all...... [P.S.] I have promiss’d Jacob to come drink y® health with him to morrow nizht at sweet Barns; but I shan’t keep my word. He desir’d I wou’d tell yt L*ship, he will treat you in Bow Street with a Whiff of the finest Tobacco in the World. To the Duchess of Marlborough. [6 Nov. 1716.] opekes At my return from Mt Walpole w“ was Friday last, I found another Letter from the D. that he was at Claremont, and deferr’d returning to Sussex, till — see me, so I went downe to him on Monday ast, It is possible that Valdfoghel learned | He told me the business he had with me was to know, if any thing more had pass’d on the subject he had written to me at Scarborough relating to Lady H. And what discourse might have happen’d w'h your Grace at B[lenheim] upon it. I told him you had not mentioned one word of it tome. He said that was mighty strange, for you had talk’t with Mt Walters about it at the Bath, and writ to him since in such a manner, as had put him upon endeavouring to bring on a direct negociation. He then told me, that before he cou’d come toa resolu- tion of embarking in any Treaty, he had waited for an opportunity of discoursing with me once more upon the Qualitysand Condition of Lady H[enrietta]. For, that as I knew his whole views in marriage and that he had hopes of some other satisfaction in it than many people troubled themselves about; I might judge what a Terrible Disappointment he should be under, if he found himself ty’d for life toa Woman not capable of being a usefull and faith- full Friend, as well as an agreeable companion. That what I had often said to him of Lady H. in that respect, had left a strong impression with him ; but it being of so high a consequence to him not to be deceived in this great point, on which the Happi- ness of his Life would turn he had desired to dis- course with me again upon it in the most serious manner, being of opinion (as_he was pleas’d to say) that I could give him a righter character of her, than any other Friend or Acquaintance he had...... He then desired to know in particular what acct I might have heard of her behaviour at the Bath, and what new observations I might myself have made of her at Blen™, both as to her Temper, Person, Sense, behaviour, and many other nice enquirys. It wou’d be too long to repeat to your Grace what my answers were to him; it will be sufficient to acquaint you that 1 think I have left him in a Disposition to prefer her to all other Women. Vanbrugh winds up his letter by saying that he does not court being farther employed in this matter; for a Match maker is a Dam’d Trade, and } never was fond of meddling with other People’s affairs. But, as in this,on your own motion, and = own desire, I had taken a good deal of very nearty pains to serve you, and I think with a good deal of hearty success, I cannot but wonder (tho’ not be sorry) you shou’d not think it right to con- tinue your commands upon your obedient humble servant. To the same. Whitehall, Nov. the 8h, 1716. When I writ to your Grace on Tuesday last, 1 was much at a loss, what cou’d be the ground of your having dropt me in the service I had been endeavouring to do you & your Family with — upon your own sole motion & desire. But having since been shewn by Mr. Richards a large Pacquet of Building Papers, sent him by your Grace, I find the reason was, That you had resolv’d to use me so ill, in respect of Blenheim, as must make it impracticable to employ me in any other Branch of your service. These Papers, Madam, are so full of far fetch’d labour’d Accusations, mistaken facts, wrong Infer- ences, groundless Jealousies, & strein’d Construc- tions, that I shou’d put a very great affront upon your Understanding if I suppos’d it possible you cou’d mean anything in earnest by them, but to put a stop to my troubling you any more. You have your end, Madam, for I never will trouble you more; unless the Duke of Marlborough recovers so far, to shelter me from such Intoller- able Treatment. I shall in the meantime have only this concern on his account (for whom I shall ever retain the greatest veneration) that your Grace, like the Queen, having thought fit to get rid of a faithful servant, the Torys will have the pleasure to see your Glass- maker Mcor make just such an end of the Duke’s Building, as her minister Harley did of his Victorys, for which it was erected. Iam, &c, If your Grace will give me leave to print your Papers, I’ll do it very exactly, and without any other answere or Remarks but this short Letter tack’d to the Tayle of them, that the World may know I de- sir’'d they might be publish’d. To the Duke of Newcastle. London, Nov. the 10°, 1716. My Lorp DvuKE,—I sent your Grace last post a coppy of what I had writ to my Lady Marl’. I have since I saw you had a sight of the load of papers she had sent up to Richards, for a Foun- dation (tho’ a very rotten one) to quarrel with me. I therefore writ to her, by Thursday’s Post the Letter which I here enclose a coppy off. I have this afternoon had one from her, in answer to that I writ about your Grace, In w*® she says I have no cause to complain of her not speaking to. me and that I shou’d have done it first toher. In
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290 THE ATHENAUM N° 3279, Ava. 30, 90 short her Letter is a meer banter; and by a few words at the latter end about the Building, she shews quite plain, that she was resolv’d to get me out of that, and so judg’d it impossible to concern me any longer in t’ other affair. I need make no remarks to your Grace upon this abominable Woman’s proceeding, which shall not however lessen my regard to my Lord Duke, nor good opinion of his grand pte Poe who I do not think has one grain of this Wicked Woman’s temper in her; if I did, I wou’d not advice you to take her tho’ with the allay of a million. Your Grace’s ever faithfull & obedt servt J. VANBRUGH. The Poor Princess is most dangerously ill. He has behav'd himself most wondrouse well to her in this bitter time she has had. Garth and Jacob [Tonson] appointed to meet here this morning to shew me the Dedication in- tended to your Grace, which we corrected and compleated. Writing on November 15th, Vanbrugh refers to the duchess not engaging me to meddle any farther soon after the hopeful account I had given her of your disposition. I don’t at all believe, however, she’s indifferent in the matter, for she’s not a Fool, tho’ she’s a—— Worse thing. But as in all her other Traffick, so in a Husband for her grand daughter, she wou’d fain have him good, and cheap ; and she certainly fancys she can wheedle Peter Walton to play a cunning Knave’s part, and bring her business about with you, alone, without meddleing much with your Friends & Relations; for you see she do’s not send him to M™ Walpole as she did me, knowing I shou’d certainly go that way, whether she wou'd or not. However let her good Housewifely projects be what they will, I think it mighty probable this business may succeed ; for I don’t doubt but she ‘ll do something considerable herself, and if the Duke is well enough to be treated with I can scarce think he ’ll let you slip, and shou’d he dye my Lord Godolphin will certainly be in a condition to do a great deal, and I am confident both he & she will not be for sparing their money on so right an occasion. In a letter the Dutchess of Marl> writ to me on this occasion at Scar> she exprest herself much dispos’d to perswade the Duke to part with his money, and was only for saving herown. Soin my answer I writ thus—‘‘— and I hope the Duke of Marlborough will be entirely of your Grace’sopinion ; That his money can never be better bestowed, than to compass the best match in England for the only daughter of his next Heir...... a This letter she writ me word she read to him, and he seemed to take it very right, not shewing any uneasyness at it. As any thing now happens your Grace shall know of it from Your truly obedt Serv* J. VANBRUGH. The match she says she refus’d was (as I have reason to think) Wentworth of the North. The Princess is quite safe. On November 27th Vanbrugh writes that he had met Lord Godolphin by appointment and gone over the whole affair from the beginning ; he found his lordship personally well disposed to the duke, but of opinion that ‘‘ nobody can help the Birth forward with the Great Lady, but that she must be left to her own throws, and we must wait a little to see what that will bring forth.” Walpole and Lord Townshend had also been consulted on this great affair of state ; the latter’s opinion was “that ‘tis best to ly by a little, and not seem to her Grace too forward, who very possibly may then come to offer what’s reasonable. If not the Duke of Marlborough’s Fate shou’d be waited for, who will probably either grow well enough to be treated with or not hold out long ; in which case L* Godolphin will be both able & willing to end the matter him- self. To the Duke of Newcastle. Bath, Oct. the 9*b, 1717. My L» DuKE,—A Feaver I have been ill handled by, and from which I am but now recovering has not made me so indifferent to the misfortunes of others pot to have been struck in the most sensible degree about ten days since on the news we had deliver'd to us here for certain of the Dutchess of Newecastle’s being given over. My business now is only to congratulate yt Grace ten Thousand times on the falseness of that story, tho’ I find there was enough of it true to give youa round allarm. Iam extreamly glad to hear your danger is over of losing a Wife whose place you never can supply. Iam, Xe. Whitehall, Augt the 7h 1718. My Lorp DvuKeE,—After returning your Grace most hearty thanks for most sweet Venison, at the eating of which Ladys (amongst other folks) drank your health, I am to acquaint you that the Tate a Tate Club reviv’d last night at the Hercules Pillars Alehouse in high Holborn, There was stinking fish and stale cold Lamb for supper, with divers Liquours made of malt in an execrable manner. We drank your Grace’s health in them however (Bumpers) to shew (to one another) our great regards & respects to you. And amongst many material things in our conversation it was Nemine Contradicente agreed, That your Grace had writ a most Tyranical letter to the Brigadier, and that altho’, if he were not a Blockhead, Blockheadissime, he might sue there was 2, fund of love in the bottom of it, yet it had so hard an Outside that a man of a moderate understanding might have some sudden thoughts of hanging him- self upon it. In short he is of too great importance to our Board, to be parted with till Wednesday evening at soonest, Tuesday and Wednesday being days for passing monthly accounts. If he does not attend your Grace in 24 hours after, if you please to hang him, the Tate a Tate say they have nothing to object. So much for the Brigadier [Watkins]. As to the Club, one balf of it designs to wait upon you with the Brigadier, and the tother half will do it very soon after if the Devil will let him, who seems to preside very much in his affairs of late, and holds him upon some difficulty at this moment. He ’ll do his best however to pay his respects to your Grace, on whom he much relys for deliverance from all his troubles, and is with true gratitude, &c. Brigadier William Watkins was at this time one of Vanbrugh’s colleagues at the Office of Works. He held the post of ‘‘ Keeper of H.M. Private Roads and Conductor and Guide in the Royal Progresses,” at a salary of 200/. a year. August the 30th, 1718. My Lorp DUKE,—I fully designd to have waited on your Grace this day or tomorrow at Halland ; But (besides being more out of order than ever) I am stopt by such a turn of our board, as sets us at our witts end: and what the result of it will be, I can’t tell, tho’ my Lord Sun‘: has been so good to me, as to assure me of the utmost of his friendship : and indeed I am far from having the least doubt of his good intentions to me: I fear only, those same letters de cachet, that surprise folks every now and then. I wou’d say a great deal to your Grace on this occasion, were I so happy to be with you, the want of which, I don’t look upon as the least of my present misfortures. But I’m told you will soon be at Hampton Court, which I’m very glad of. In the mean time I most heartily rejoice with you, upon the destruction of the Spanish fleet. Let the Torys and the Whigs in friendship with them be as angry as they please. Your Grace will see in the Thursdays evening Posts a letter from Secretary Craggs to Monté Lioné, and hisanswer. I'll acquaint you (if you don’t know it already) that what is there in Monté Lioné’s name, was sent to M* Crags, who only shew’d it to the King ; whereas Lioné hop’d it wou’d have gotabroad, but finding it was kept snug, he form’d this immaginary letter from M* Craggs, and so got them both printed. There will be a smart prosecution upon it. T’is reckon’d Lord Stanhope left the Court of Madrid, about three days before the news might arrive of the ruin of their fleet. Albironi was so stout he wou’d not even consent to a cessation of arms. I hope he’ll sing an other tune now, for all the Torys contrive to make stocks fall alittle. I once more wish your Grace at Hampton Court who am the most faithfull & oblig’d of your humble servants J. VANBRUGH. P.S.—L? Marl° is recovered, they had given him over. The Treaty is renew’d between the Attorney Gen! & Lady Betty Howard & I think will be agreed. Greenh, Sunday [Sept., 1718]. My Lorp DvuKE,—Last night I recd the news of poor Lord Suffolks death. My Lord Walden will be at London I believe to morrow night, and in all probability will desire to be Deputy Marshall as his father was. The Duke of Norfolk wiil be prevaild on by Anstis, to endeavour it may be Lord Berk- shire. His character yt Grace knows full well ; and for that of the present Lord Suffolk, I may acquaint you that there is not a more zealous and determind Whig in England. But very warm in his temper, and ’twere pitty he shou’d be dissobligd at the first setting out ; which I’m much affraid he wou’d be if L* Berkshire had the preference. Besides, there is in that office, opportunitys daily of obliging numbers of people which power one wou’d wish, in the hand of one who will be sure to oblige the right sort. Your Grace will please to shew my Lord Sunderland what I take the liberty just to mention from the hearty wishes I have that every thing may go in such a way as to contribute to the King’s service ; for I have no particular in‘ in this thing, worth the naming. The dispute with Anstis, being now quite out of the Earl Marshals hand, and lying between the crown and him. Iam Your Graces most humble & most obedt servant, J. VANBRUGH. If my blisters will do me any good I’ll wait on your Grace very soon. Nottingham, Dec. ye 17th, 1718, My Lorp DUKE,—In as horrible a day, as storms, hail, snow and the divil can make it, I have been over your castle inside and out and am glad I have seen it at the worst since it has not alter’d my opinion of it at all: the rooms being calm and warm, and all still and quiet within doors. As to the Dehors I find them capable of a much better disposition both for use and beauty, than I ever thought of. There being not only space sufficient for stables & any other out buildings you shou’d ever have a mind to ; but you may have as agreable a castle gardenas you can wish, of near three acres of ground, and this actually within the castle walls, & willlye just under the great terrass, ina veryright manner, The park, is an extream pretty piece of ground, but is all to be planted. There may bea very noble pond in it, with small expence, and the views from the upper part of it are right good. The castle stands more (and in a better manner) distinguish’d from the towne, than I took it to do, and upon examination of an old servant there, who has liv’d in it fourty years, I don’t find the chimneys one quarter so faulty as they have been represented. And so upon the whole I think I may most reasonably congratu- late your Grace on your being master of this noble dwelling, which I cannot but think, you will ex- treamly like when a little us'd to it. At first perhaps, you ll think it stairs youin the face w% a pretty impudent countenance. In my next letter, I shall be able to say, what part of the necessary repairs I think shou’d be put in hand before your Grace comes downe to live here ; for at present, I think very little of the masons articles (in the estimate sent you up, some time since) shou’d be meddled with, it being of very great consequence to have them rightly concerted the want of which I have seena sad experience of, in my way hither, and just in such a case, I meane what has lately been done by the Duke of Rutland in the outworks of his castle: where for want of being rightly understood, the whole grace of them is lost, it looks all like pastboard work, and in reality, a great deal of it, is tumbling down already. Those things will therfore be proper to consider well of when your Grace is here upon the spot, and not ina hurry. And the execution of them, will not disturb you at all, as at Claremont; Here’s space enough to be easy whilst those sort of works are going on, which will prove an amusement and entertainment to you. I woul'’d therefore by no means advise your Grace, to force a journey hither now ; for con- sidering the short stay you can propose to make you will rather find yourself quite confounded than able to digest and comprehend things so, as to give any usefull directions: Besides the ways are so execrable and the days so short, that I plainly find, by my own driving (w is none of the slowest) you will not get hither in less than four days. I ther- fore hope your Grace will resolve, only to order the painting, glazing, whitewashing and such things to go on, and leave the rest till I can attend you here in April or May, and then what is done, may be to the purpose. This at least is the opinion I think I shall be in, when I write to you next post. All I have more to say his. That lam your Graces most truly humble & obedt servant. J. VANBRUGH. Castle Howard Dec. ye 25th 1718, Your Graces letter to meet you at Nott™ to-morrow I find here yesterday, and had been three days getting from thence to York through such diffi- cultys, as the stage coach cou’d not pass, which I left over set and quite disabled upon the way. There has now fallen a snow up to ones neck to mend it w°h may possibly fix me here as long as it did at the Bath this time two years, w°* was no less than five weeks. In short, ’tis so bloody cold, I have almost a mind to marry to keep my self warm, and if I do I’m sure it will be a wiser thing than your Grace has done, if you have been at Nottingham. But I believe my second letter to you (with D" Bowers prudent sdvies) will have kept you safe in Lincolns Inn Fields: from whence I shall desire to receive your commands at Nottingham in my return to London : designing to stop as long there, as may be any ways for your service. : My Lore Carlisle says, if youcome to Nottingham now he believes you will never come there again : but if you stay till spring, you will perfectly like it, and think you did quite a right thing in fixing your northern seat there. He drinks your Graces health every meal, and is as heartily dispos’d to be your humble servant, as any acquaintance you have in an ace oe
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| Mba wenn. XUM N° 3279, Aua. 30,90 THE ATHENZAUM 291 the world. He thinks all the King has been doing is right,and seems to have no small indignation towards those (whiggs) who wou’d obstruct his measures. I rejoyce with your Grace most heartily on the de- struction of the Earl of Nottinghams Bill. I find many of the clergy of this country dispos’d to be more drunck than ordinary this Christmass, to enable them to bear this great affliction with such humility as becomes the cloath. Iam Your Graces ever truly humble and truly obedt servant and hope the Duchess of Newcastle and M's Pelham will give me leave to profess my self the same to them. Pray my Lord tell the Duke of Kingston (& Mr Attorney) that by God I do not contribute to the keeping L4 Carlisle here one moment and my Lady Betty herself will one of these days I believe do me that justice. But he swears he will have his Christmass out before he stirs, tho’ the world and ten weddings depended upon it. (Dee. 1718.] Iam very glad I brought L4 Sun® letter it was very well rec’d, and I did my best to make the most on’t. Both father and son are good in the main. The latter will I believe be soon in towne, and vote right even in the Occasional Bill. The former has some sighs and groans about it. Tho’ to give him his due, not so much for fear of the church as for fear it shou’d not turn to the King’s service so much as he wishes and expects. He has however some difficultys upon him, in respect of his country in- terest which is amongst the High flyers tho’ he (with some difficulty) engages them in elections to vote for the Low. An other point with him is, that he voted with L4 Notting™ last time, and a man of honour shou’d not go backward & forward I pleaded to this, that the matter was neither a point of honour nor concience, but purely political & discretional : and that if he consider’d it that way, he wou’d find the same reason for voting against L# Nott™ now, that he did for voting with him here- tofore : and so upon the whole, I left him I think, in a disposition either to assist, or oppose very little, this good Bill. I believe he’ll let his proxy lye for that was what I press’d him most upon, as the easyest to his tender honour. Friday [1718 ?]. My Lorp DUKE,-—The Treasury has order’d the state of the expences of the works to be examin’d, and I am doing all I can in the world to get it done time enough to be laid before the King before he go’s; which sure will give him an other notion of my management in that Board than he has at present. Iam likewise preparing a plain intelligible paper for him, by which he’ll see, how the expence arises to about £33000 pr a®™, and by this paper he ’ll like- wise see that if the contract had gone on with Benson he had not sav’d him one shilling, so vilely did that Gent impose upon the Treasury, by giving in false accounts of every thing. I am your Graces ever obedt & most oblig'd humble serv* J. VANBRUGH. I have writ to Lord Stanhope, to desire he'll speak to our new Earl Marshall, not to let Anstis put any tricks upon me: which he has already attempted : in a very Benson like manner. I have dam’d luck to have two such fellows get over me. Pray my Lord put Lord Stan¢ in mind of this bit of friendship. Lord Lindsey is come to towne, I’m just going to him, Anstis was, of course, Sir John, just appointed Garter King at Arms, and the Benson referred to was one William Benson, who had “ super- seded ” Sir C. Wren as Surveyor at the Office of Works in April, 1718. Vanbrugh was at this time Comptroller of the Works and also “ Sur- veyor of Gardens and Waters.” Castle Howard, Jany ye 4th 1718/19. My Lorp DUKE,—By a letter from London this last post I find your Grace has really been at Not- tingham which my Lord Carlisle and I are both surprised at, and both wish you had not, being of opinion it may very probably have given you an impress" of the place, as may much abate what you hop’d for from it. However there is this good in it, that you will now be better able to concert upon the plans, what may be right to do, in order to mak- ing it a more compleat dwelling. I hope your Grace had the last letter I writ to you which was in answer to that I found from you here at my arrival, and in which I acquainted you, I wou’d make what stay you shou’d think necessary at Nottingham, in my return ; and desir’d I might have your instruc- tions, in what you wou’d have me do there. If your Grace writes to me any time next week, I desire your letters may be directed to me, at the George Inn in York, for we shall all go there from hence on this day se’night, stop a day there, and so to Lord Irwios in our way to towne, where I shall be very glad to find your Grace, less frightned with the Nottingham storms and precipices than I appre- hend. At least to encourage you, let me acquaint you, that this place where I am now, has since I remember been shiver’d at, when nam’d fora winter habitation. And yet is now so very comfortabie a one, that in this sharp season, there has not pasta day without setting open severali times, the door and windows of the room my Lord Car: and the Ladys constantly use ; it has been so much too hot ; and all the rest of the house is so in proportion. And so may Nottingham Castle be made, by the same care and methods. I have a wild strange acc; of the rout my friend and superiour officer Benson makes at the Treasury. I find poor Dartiquenave scar’d out of his witts the young, to decry the managements of former Boards, and exalt this precious new one. Ihave no | copy of this honest mem" so can say little to it | from hence, but that I know of no fault I have com- mitted that a jury in Westminster Hall, wou’d fine me half a crown for. And so having good reason to believe my Lord Sun* so much my friend, that he will never suffer me to be trickt into a criminall Iam easy ; Let me be but protected from any dark stroaks in the King’s closet, and I have nothing to fear. To defend me from which I know I may de- pend upon your Graces usual kindness, and I have writ a short letter to my Lord Sun‘ to beg the con- tinuance of his. My Lord Carlisle gives your Grace his most sincere humble service, he constantly drinks your health, and looks upon you now as a neighbour, and hopes there may be a very agreeable correspondence between your Castle and his. I believe the match with the Attorney, will be soon adjusted after the Lady arrives. Iam Your Graces ever most oblig’d & truly obed? Sert J. VANBRUGH. We hear Lord Lonsdale has again voted against the court, but don’t know in what, for your Grace did not name him about the Protestant Bill. I hear L* Halifax designs to oppose the Kings | intended favour to me, at Hamp: Court, which wou’d be a cruel ill natur’d thing, if he cou’d do it, since to be sure one wou’d not any way desire to | 'in Rhyme,’ by Arthur Clark-Kennedy, with make it prejudice to him. But y* Grace heard what P. Walters said. York, Jany ye 12th, 1718/19, By hearing nothing from your Grace since your return from Nottingham, I much fear I was right, in endeavouring to dissuade you from seeing it, in snow and tempests. But considering how your time must have been taken up, since you got to towne, I endeavour to hope the best, and that I may possibly have the honour of a letter from you this post. Lord Carlisle and his family will be here by and by, I came before them a day or two. He treats severall of his friends to day at dinner, and after- wards, we all go to pay our respects to York, at the Assembly, where the Ladys will muster strong on this occasion, Lord Carlisle being the Idol here, and well deserves their devotions. To morrow we go on to Lord Irwins. If your Grace has not sent me your commands yet, you may still do it, if you please by Thursdays post, directed forme at the George Inn in York. After that, if I am to have any orders from you, they must be sent to Nottingham, where I shall be some time next week, and very happy if I can be of any service, that may please you. Your Graces ever oblig’d & obed* servant, J. VANBRUGH. My congratulations are most hearty on all your Parliamentary successes. THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON. TuE following books are announced by Messrs. ‘To the Death of Alexander, —‘ A First History of Rome,’ by W. S. Robinson, M.A., with maps and illustrations,—‘The Christian Home,’ by Canon Knox Little,—‘ The Greek Lyric Poets,’ edited, with introductions aud notes, by G. S. Farnell, M.A.,—‘ Select Epigrams from the Greek Anthology,’ by J. W. Mackail, M.A.,— Vol. IL. of A History of the French Revolution,’ by H. Morse Stephens,—the two final volumes of Mr. Lecky’s ‘History of England in the Eighteenth Century,’—‘ The Life of the Right Hon. Robert Lowe, Viscount Sherbrooke,’ with a brief prefatory memoir of his kinsman Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, G.C.B., sometime Governor-General of Canada, by A. Patchett about a memorial given in by Campbell and Benson | Martin,—‘ Sir Richard Church, K.0.H., C.B, Commander-in-Chief of the Greeks in the War of Independence : a Memoir,’ by Stanley Lane- Poole,—Vol. I. of ‘The Students’ History of England,’ by Mr. S. R. Gardiner,—andan account of Dr. Nansen’s Greenland expedition under the title ‘The First Crossing of Greenland, illus- trated with woodcuts and maps. Next spring Messrs. Longman will issue ‘ Per- sia and the Persian Question,’ by the Hon. George Curzon, M.P. They have also in the press, or in course of preparation, ‘Lyra Consolationis from the Poets of the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth Centuries,’ selected and arranged by Claudia Frances Hernaman,—‘ The Practical Teaching of the Apocalypse,’ by G. V. Garland, M.A.,—‘ A Living Epitaph,’ a novel, by G. Col- more,—‘ A Treasure Hunt: being the Narrative of an Expedition in the Yacht Alerte to the Desert Island of Trinidad, by E. F. Knight,— ‘Some Great Golf Links,’ edited by Horace Hutchinson,—‘ The Letters and Correspondence of John Henry Newman during his Life in the English Church,’ with a brief autobiogra- phical memoir, arranged and edited, at Cardinal Newman’s request, by the editor of the ‘ Letters of the Rev. J. B. Mozley, D.D.,’—‘ Letters from Rome,’ by the Rev. Thomas Mozley,—‘ Pictures illustrations by Maurice Greiffenhagen,— Voces Populi, reprinted from Punch, by F. Anstey, with illustrations by J. Bernard Partridge,— ‘Very Young : a Story,’ by Jean Ingelow,—‘ The Beresford Prize, by L. T. Meade, with illus- trations,—‘ The Red Fairy Book,’ edited by Andrew Lang, with illustrations by H. J. Ford and Lancelot Speed, — ‘Sidney,’ a novel, by Mrs. Deland,—and a new volume of Prof. Witt’s “Classical Series for the Young,” translated by Frances Younghusband. Literary Grossip, Messrs. Parker & Co., of Oxford, con- | jointly with the Christian Literature Com- Longman: ‘A Life of Edward Bouverie Pusey, | D.D.,’ by H. P. Liddon, D.D.,—‘ The School of | Calvary ; or, Laws of Christian Life revealed from the Cross,’ by Canon Body,—‘ The Rela- tion of Confirmation to Baptism as taught by the Western Fathers : a Study in the History of Doctrine,’ by A. J. Mason, D.D.,—‘ Sermons,’ by Francis Paget, D.D.,—‘ The Intermediate State between Death and Judgment: being a Sequel to “After Death,”’ by H. M. Luckock, D.D.,—‘ Lessons from the Lives of Three Great Fathers : St. Athanasius, St. Chrysostom, and St. Augustine,’ by William Bright, D.D.,—‘ A History of Greece,’ for the use of upper forms of schools, by Evelyn Abbott, LL.D.: Part II. pany, of New York, are publishing by sub- scription a new series of English translations of the more important writings of the Nicene and post-Nicene fathers, under the editorial supervision of Dr. Henry Wace, Principal of King’s College, and Dr. Philip Schaff, of New York. The first volume, ‘ Eusebius,’ notwithstanding some difficulties causing delay, will be issued, it is expected, im- mediately. The series will consist of about fourteen volumes. Tne new edition of the ‘Lives of the Norths,’ on which Dr. Jessopp has been engaged during the last two years, is now in the binders’ hands. It will be published by Messrs. Bell & Sons, and will form three volumes of ‘‘Bohn’s Historical Library.” The third volume will be, substantially, a reissue of the curious fragment of Roger North’s ‘ Autobiography ’ which Dr. Jessopp printed in 1887. The ‘ Lives of the Norths’ have become very difficult to meet with, and it is not a little curious that a work which
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292 THE ATHENZUM N° 3279, Ava. 30, 90 possesses considerable interest for the historian, and is written in a very cap- tivating style, should have remained for sixty years without finding a new editor or publisher. Tue Rev. William Payne Neville, of the Birmingham Oratory, has been named by Cardinal Newman as his sole literary | executor. Tue September number of Merry England will be devoted to a collection of speeches and sermons delivered by the Cardinal on occasions of interest during his Catholic life, compiled from the newspapers of the last forty years. The frontispiece of the number will be a unique portrait of his Eminence, engraved from a photograph taken only a few weeks before his death by Father Anthony Pollen, of the Birmingham Oratory. Mr. Kryeron Parkes will contribute cer- tain ‘Reminiscences of Cardinal Newman’ to the forthcoming number of Jgdrasil. Mr. Parkes is a resident in Birmingham. A short unpublished letter is included. W. C. M. writes :— **Mr. Moncure D. Conway (see Athen., No. 3269) recently found the original work from which certain ‘Rules of Civility’ existing in Geo. Washington’s handwriting are supposed to have been translated, and, in his note to the New York Nation, seems not to be aware of any existing English version. He may be glad to know that F. Hawkins’s ‘ Youth’s Behaviour,’ published about 1640, and of which many edi- tions were issued during the century, may well have been the literal English original for Wash- ington’s copy. As he is preparing a monograph on the subject, he may be glad to have his at- tention called toa similar ‘Rules of Civility,’ 1673, also translated from the French.” A work on ‘London Street Arabs,’ by Mrs. H. M. Stanley (Dorothy Tennant), will be published early in September by Messrs. Cassell & Co. Messrs. METHUEN are bringing out a book, by Mr. W. G. Collingwood, entitled ‘John Ruskin: his Life and Work.’ Tue September number of the Bookworm will contain an article on ‘ Ye Sette of Odd Volumes,’ by Mr. W. Roberts, with reduced facsimiles of a charming menu specially de- signed for the Sette by Mr. Harry Furniss, of the original cartouche by Mr. G. C. Haité, and of the title-page by Mr. L. C. Henley. Tue Rev. Francis Jacox has founded an- other pension in connexion with the Printers’ Pension, Almshouse, and Orphan Asylum Corporation. The previous pensions are intended for printers’ readers ; the new one —the fourth—is to be allotted to com- positors. THE promoters of University Extension Lectures are about to make the experiment of establishing residential chambers in con- nexion with their Chelsea centre. It is thought that students may desire to enjoy some of the advantages of college life with- out sacrificing their business occupations. Rooms in Marlborough Buildings, Walton Street, Chelsea, will be ready for their occupants in October. Messrs. Arkinson & Po.uirt, of Kendal, publishers of the Westmorland Gazette, have issued an account of De Quincey’s editorship of that paper, from which he appears to have been a failure as a journalist. His occupation of the editor’s chair lasted only about seventeen months, when his resignation was accepted. A company has just been formed in Aberdeen the object of which is to publish there a new daily paper of Radical politics. The capital to be contributed is 50,0007. in 1/. shares. Amongst the promoters of the object are named the Karl of Aberdeen and Mr. Esslemont, M.P. Mr. Joseru Jacons, editor of ‘ Folk-Lore,’ has prepared a book of English fairy tales, which is practically the first attempt to form an English Grimm. It includes an important tale referred to by Shakspeare. The book has been profusely illustrated by Mr. J. D. Batten, and will be published shortly by Mr. Nutt. Mr. Exrior Srock promises a new edition of the second series of ‘Obiter Dicta,’ to be brought out in an altered shape, uniform in size and style with the first series. A sEconpD edition is announced by Messrs. Hodge & Co., of Glasgow, of Mr. George Eyre-Todd’s ‘Sketch-Book of the North,’ recently published. WE are requested by the Agent-General for New Zealand to announce that Messrs. Eyre & Spottiswoode have been appointed by the Government of that colony sole agents in the United Kingdom for the sale of publications printed and issued by the Government Printing Office at Wellington, New Zealand. We understand that the Countess of Aberdeen will edit a new penny monthly magazine for young women and mothers, to be brought out at the end of the year under the auspices of the Haddo House Associa- tion, of which her ladyship is president. A FEELING has for some time existed in Battersea that the Free Library should be open on Sundays, and on Saturday last a meeting was held in Battersea Park to discuss the subject, when a decision was come to in favour of the opening. At Messrs. Sotheby’s rooms a copy of the first edition of the scarce little volume ‘The Loving Ballad of Lord Bate- man,’ illustrated by G. Cruikshank, and published at 2s. 6d. by C. Tilt, has just been sold for 11/. 5s.; Hasted’s ‘ History of Kent’ was knocked down for 17/. 15s.; and a copy of the first edition of the ‘ Vicar of Wake- field’ for 20/. 10s. Tue death is announced of the dis- tinguished American philanthropist Mr. C. L. Brace, the author of ‘ Gesta Christi,’ ‘The Unknown God,’ and other works which attained considerable circulation. A CorRESPONDENT writes :— ‘* There was a time when the officina gentium attracted attention, but there is an officina lin- guarum, or literarum, going on in the East, which receives small attention. Some language is from time to time endowed with a literature ora drama, and the people who have had a dead and incomprehensible language for their liturgy are treated to an occasional revival by scholars of their ancient language, which has gone out of use for ages. From the polyglot city of Smyrna, with above 200,000 inhabitants, a strange inci- dent is announced. The theatre never having been rebuilt after the fire, no Italian or French troupe having turned up, an Armenian company has appeared with a répertoire of Turkish and operettas and farces. Armenian The main population of the city is Greek, this being a greater Hellenic city than Athens. Turkish is not cultivated by the Hellenes nor by the rest of the population, and the Turks are treated as political enemies, who are to be warred against and conquered. Arme- nian is only known to the Armenians them- selves, no one else picking up a scrap, and the Armenian tragedies in the sacred language of the Ark on Mount Ararat are not comprehended by the population. The shrewd Armenians who have got up the speculation will, how- ever, pull through. There are great numbers of the Anatolian Greeks, who up country speak common Turkish; the Armenians do the same. As the Turks have not taken to acting, although they have a drama, and as they do not put women on the stage, the Armenian actors work both the Turkish and the Armenian stage. The chief attraction is a comic operetta, ‘The Leblebiji,’ written in Turkish by an Otto- man literary man of Constantinople. There are, of course, Turkish and Armenian versions of French operetta, and the Greeks and Le- vantines will work their way through them in the thirst for relaxation. The population that will give the least pecuniary support is the Turkish, for they will not leave their homes at night for the music-hall on the Quay, nor will their wives. The enlightened observer, writing his book for the instruction of the world, might come to the conclusion that here was a happy family over which the favoured Turk presided, and that the lion was lying down with the lamb. He might admire the wonderful progress of culture, for when Byron was in Smyrna, or later, at the time of the Crimean War, the only dramatic entertainment was Kara Gueuz, or the Turkish Punch, at whose entertainments unbelievers were not very welcome. Common amusements do not, however, create common agreement. ll the populations conspire against the Turks, even their Armenian allies, and no love is lost among the Christian sects.” Tur late Emperor Friedrich, says the Tiigliche Rundschau, made a large collection of the correspondence of the late Queen Elizabeth of Prussia, for whose intellectual gifts he had a great admiration, with the intention of writing a biography of his aunt. There is a myth in Germany that this princess, who was educated a Roman Catholic, and became a convert to Pro- testantism on her marriage to the King of Prussia, was in secret a promoter of her earlier belief. The late Emperor believed that the publication of her letters would definitely put an end to this popular error. His early death of course stopped the work, but the materials remain in excellent order, ready for a capable editor. Tue great Riickert festival, which was to have taken place at his native town, Schwein- furt, on May 16th, 1888, his centenary birthday, will be held next October. The well-known novelist Felix Dahn will recite, on the unveiling of the poet’s statue, a poem written by him for the occasion. Tue eminent jurist Prof. A. von Bulme- rincq, who was a great authority on inter- national law, died last week at Stuttgart after a sudden illness. Born in 1822 at Riga, he made for himself a name by several forensic works, such as his ‘ Systematik des Vilkerrechts’ and his ‘De Natura Prin- cipiorum Juris inter Gentes Positivi,’ and was in consequence appointed Professor of the Law of Nations at Dorpat. In 1875 he settled in Germany, and in 1882 he was appointed successor of Bluntschli at Heidelberg. Whilst at Dorpat he greatly benefited the Baltic provinces by his efforts
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N° 3279, Aue. 30, 90 THE ATHENZUM 293 for their material welfare and intellectual improvement. Tue Berliner Tageblatt announces a recent discovery by Prof. Pozdneef, of St. Peters- burg, at the National Library of Paris. This is a Manchi manuscript which may prove of the greatest interest to Orientalists, and which he declares to be of more ancient date than the recently discovered inscription at Corea. The manuscript, which numbers 161 leaves, made of Chinese paper, all fully covered with writing, is said to have been acquired by the great French library, in some unknown way, towards the end of the last century. On the 19th inst., at Vik, near Vexid, the Swedish writer Dr. Peter August Gidecke died at the age of fifty. He had been Rector of the College of Vexié since 1880. His poems, novels, dramas, and studies were numerous, and he was a careful student of early Scandinavian literature and life. Gidecke’s translation of the ‘Edda’ into Swedish is a classic. Per Adolf Ljung- berg, the Church historian of the Swedish diocese of Vesteras, died at his parsonage of By on the 15th inst., aged seventy-one. Some MS. fragments of Dante’s ‘ Divina Commedia’ have been found at Sarzana in two parchment rolls, discovered among the papers left by Signor De Tomei, a notary. They are of great importance as they belong to one of the first copies of the poem ever made. The Biblioteca Marciana of Venice has recently acquired a valuable codex of the ‘ Divina Commedia,’ written in the first half of the fifteenth century, in semi-Gothic characters, and with marginal notes in Latin made by the same hand. The MS. belonged to the rich library of the Counts Piloni of Belluno. Pror. I. Gumi, known by his essay on the legal Coptic MSS. of the British Museum, has just published in Rome some funereal Hebrew inscriptions of the first half of the sixteenth century, recently found in the Trastevere. Several of the names therein are still represented in the Israelite commu- nity of Rome. Tue only Parliamentary Papers of general interest issued during the week are Local Taxation Returns (England) for 1888-89, County Treasurers’ Accounts (3d.); Report for 1889 on the Trade of Alexandria (2d.) ; and the Thirty-fourth Report of the Civil Service Commissioners (44d.). SCIENCE The Colours of Animals, their Meaning and Use: especially considered in the Case of Insects. By E. B. Poulton, F.R.S. (Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co.) But for the fact that this most unscientific book appears in the “‘ International Science Series” among really valuable and standard works, we should have forborne comment ; unfortunately, however, the familiar black and red covers invest it with a considerable capacity for harm (a case of aggressive mimicry). The author’s preface states that the general title has been adopted ‘‘in order to indicate the contents of this volume, although the vast majority of the examples are taken from insects, and indeed almost in- variably from asingle order, the Lepidoptera’”’; as a matter of fact the book deals only with protective, aggressive, and sexual coloration in Lepidoptera, with occasional references to other animals—an extremely restricted view of the “colours of animals.’’ There is practically no reference to the mass of facts collected of late by continental naturalists and travellers, among which Prof. Eimer’s studies on lizards, mammalia, and Papilio- nidw may be cited; there is no mention of the physiological and chemical side of the subject, the field of such workers as Kruken- berg, Sorby, and MacMunn, an appreciation of which is absolutely necessary in order to understand the origin of coloration; nor has Mr. Poulton even referred to the ‘‘Hochzeitsfarben” of fish and amphibia, nor to the coloration of the abyssal fauna. We have no desire to decry Mr. Poulton’s original investigations on Lepidoptera, which occupy the larger part of the book, and of which much has already appeared elsewhere ; but we protest against the confused reason- ing which is based on them, the unjustifiable hypotheses employed, and the general appli- cation of ‘‘ principles” which have only been partially accepted in particular instances. As an instance of the loose inferences employed, the author says on p. 41, ‘The fact that all well-concealed animals are good for food, and are eagerly chased and devoured by insectivorous animals, while unpalatable forms are conspicuously coloured, points strongly to the conclusion,” &c. Later on we read :— ‘¢The conspicuous animal is greatly benefited by its Warning Colours. If it resembled its sur- roundings like the members of the other [pro- tectively coloured] class, it would be liable to a great deal of accidental or experimental tasting, and there would be nothing about it to impress the memory of an enemy, and thus to prevent the continual destruction of individuals...... It must not be supposed that nauseous properties are necessari/y attended by Warning Colours ; there are very many instances in which they are accompanied by Protective Resemblances and habits. The common cockroach is a familiar example of this latter association.” It is hardly necessary to point out that there are at least two mutually destructive pairs of propositions in these quotations, nor yet that the cockroach may be nauseous to the author, and still palatable to its natural foes, notably so when such different animals as monkeys, hedgehogs, cats, and hens eat it with avidity. The book constitutes a remarkable in- stance of the ease with which natural phenomena can be reconciled to a pre- conceived idea: granted the hypotheses that all coloration is purposeful, and that its purpose is comprehensible in the light of our limited knowledge, explanations follow fluently. For example, speaking of birds’ eggs, the author explains the old difficulty of white eggs in an open nest, such as those of the wood-pigeon, by saying that ‘‘in these cases the eggs are protected from enemies beneath; for the holes in the loosely constructed nest through which they are seen, cannot be distinguished from others through which the bright sky appears’’! Does he seriously suppose that any animal in search of eggs would look throuzh the bottom of the nest? This attitude of mind leads naturally to the perpetration of such remarks as the following:—‘‘The cuckoo has [since she is supposed in some cases to deposit her egg in the selected nest by means of her beak] the chance of seeing the colour of her egg, and of carrying it to the appropriate nest.” It calls up a lively image of the hen cuckoo debating shrewdly over her new-laid treasure whether it most resembles a meadow-pipit’s egg or a yellow- hammer’s, counting the spots, matching the tints, and finally depositing it in ‘the appropriate nest.” GEOLOGICAL LITERATURE. Chemical and Physical Studies in the Meta- morphism of Rocks. By A. Irving, D.Se. (Long- mans & Co.)—The basis of this book is to be sought in a thesis written two or three years ago for the doctorate in science in the University of London. Most geologists in this country have, at some time or other, been drawn into the discussion of the vexed question of meta- morphism ; but few have approached the subject sufficiently fortified with a knowledge of experi- mental science to attack it successfully from the side of chemistry and physics. Dr. Irving had, therefore, a fine field before him; but it can hardly be said that he has made the best of his opportunity. His book sufficiently shows that he has read a good deal of German and other literature on the subject, and has presented this to the reader in a neat and acceptable form. But, to judge from his preface, he is the last man to set value on a mere compilation, how- ever elegant. Writing as one of those ‘‘ to whom it has been given to experience the regenerating influence of Nature upon the human intellect,” he invites attention to such parts of the work as represent original research; yet it is pre- cisely here that the results are disappointing. Most of the laboratory work, as set forth in the text and its appendix, is not remarkable for originality or profundity; nor are the field observations notable for throwing much light upon the complicated subject to which the book is devoted. On the broad question of the origin of gneiss and the crystalline schists the author sides with those who regard such foliated rocks as representing generally the primordial crust of the earth, and he suggests that a clue to the mystery of their foliation may be found in the effect of the primeval tides upon the non-con- solidated materials of the nascent earth. This suggestion is, of course, purely speculative ; but it is interesting to note that it is similar to the views expressed nearly a quarter of a century ago by Mr. Thomas Macfarlane, with whose writings, however, the author was unacquainted when preparing his thesis. In conclusion, it may be said that while Dr. Irving has produced a very well-written essay, which may be profit- ably read by the student of geology, he has not contributed much by his chemical and physical studies to the enlargement of our knowledge of the metamorphism of rocks. The Geological Record for 1880-1884. Edited by W. Topley, F.RS., F.G.S., and C. D. Sher- born, F.G.S. Vol. Il. (Taylor & Francis. )— Geology moves so rapidly that its literature forms in the course of five years a mass of appalling magnitude. To analyze the accumu- lation from 1880 to 1884—to record and classify the titles of the legion of papers contributed to geological science during this period—was the task which Mr. Topley and Mr. Sherborn some years ago voluntarily undertook, and which finds its completion in the present volume. Such bib- liographical labour demands generous acknow- ledgment. Unremunerative and irksome in itself, it is of unspeakable service in lightening the labour of all who have occasion to work in the domain of geology and its cognate sciences. The present volume—which runs to upwards of five hundred pages—deals principally with physical and economic geology, with petrology
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294 THE ATHENZUM N° 3279, Ava. 30, 90 and mineralogy, and with paleontology. Not the least important part of the work is the record of maps and sections, since this serves to remind us that the surveyor is abroad, busily mapping the rocks in all parts of the world, and thus contributing to a wide knowledge of the earth’s structure, which, after all, lies at the basis of pure geology. It would be wrong to close the volume without a word in praise of the index, which is so copious as to occupy no fewer than 189 columns. ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES. THE principal paper in Internationales Archiv fiir Ethnographie, Band 3, Heft 3, is by the editor, Dr. Schmeltz (in German), ‘On Indo- nesian State Weapons,’ illustrated by coloured drawings of a selection of fine specimens from the Sloet v. d. Beele collection. He discusses with great learning and research the ethnolo- gical and symbolical meaning of the Malay kris, and the dragon and serpent symbols with which it is adorned when used for state purposes. Dr. H. ten Kate, of the Hague, illustrates and describes (in English) a collection of Zuni fetiches in the Leyden Museum, rudely repre- senting the bear, the badger, the wild cat, the wolf, the eagle, the prey mole, the mountain lion, and other animals. Dr. Richard Andree, of Heidelberg, contributes a short paper (in German) on the stone age in Africa. Dr. Svoboda reviews the ethnological results of the voyage of the Austrian corvette Aurora in Eastern waters, and furnishes illustrations of some of the decorative and ceremonial weapons collected on the journey. Among the smaller publications issued by the Bureau of Ethnology of the Smithsonian Insti- tution are two pamphlets by Mr.Cyrus Thomas, ‘On the Circular, Square, and Octagonal Earth- works of Ohio,’ and ‘The Problem of the Ohio Mounds.’ The purpose of the first is to give a summary of the results of a recent survey, by the mound-exploring division of the Bureau, of the more noted circular, square, and octagonal works of Central and Southern Ohio, and incidentally to call attention to some errors in the ‘ Ancient Monuments’ of Squier and Davis in regard to them. The purpose of the second is to support the opinion of the author that the ancient works of that state are due to Indians of several different tribes, and that some at least of the typical works were built by the ancestors of the modern Cherokees. The elaborate sur- veys contained in the first pamphlet lead him to the conclusion that the theory of the great age of these mounds cannot be supported; and in the second he follows up the same argument by a discussion of the historical evidence, and a minute comparison of the arts and customs of the mound builders with those of existing tribes of Indians. The International Congress of Americanists will hold its eighth meeting at Paris, from the 14th to the 18th of October next. ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. Tue planet Mercury will be at greatest eastern elongation from the sun on the morning of the 3rd prox., and will be visible next week for a short time soon after sunset in the constellation Virgo. Venus, which is now also in Virgo and to-night very near its brightest star, Spica, will shortly move into Libra, and, in consequence of her increasing southern declination, she will by the end of September be too low in the heavens after sunset to be visible to the naked eye. Mars throughout next month will be in the constella- tion Sagittarius; he will be on the meridian about sunset ; but as his southern declination will amount to about 26°, his position in the sky when visible will be at very small elevation above the horizon. The only other planet visible in September will be Jupiter, which is in the constellation Capricornus, and will pass | | | | } | | the meridian at 9 o’clock in the evening on the 10th prox. and at 8 o’clock on the 25th. Dr. J. Palisa discovered another small planet at Vienna on the 17th inst. This is his seventy- third discovery of the kind, and will reckon as No. 295 in a general list. The second (concluding) part of vol. xlix. of the Memoirs of the Royal Astronomical Society has recently been issued. The most interesting papers are those of the late Father Perry on the ‘Photographs and Drawings of the Sun’ which were obtained at Stonyhurst during the year 1887, and of Mr. Green ‘On the Belts and Markings of Jupiter,’ giving the results of the examination of an extended series of drawings of the planet, which were commenced in 1859, and continued without intermission to the year 1887. In the first volume of the national edition of the works of Galileo, which has just appeared under the patronage of the King of Italy, and which is based on the autograph copy of the astronomer’s works possessed by the Biblioteca Nazionale of Florence, is to be found, amongst other writings, one hitherto unpublished, en- titled ‘ Juvenilia.’ The death occurred at Christiania, on the 23rd inst., of the eminent Norwegian astro- nomer Carl Frederik Fearnley, who has been Professor of Astronomy at the University of Chris- tiania since 1857. He was born at Frederiks- hald in 1818. He was the author of numerous astronomical and meteorological publications. GREEK MEDICAL WRITERS. In the year 1887 a Greek Doctor of Medicine, G. Kostomiris, of the University of Athens, pub- lished an interesting treatise on ophthalmology and otology among the ancient Greeks. Since then he has proceeded to Paris in order to pursue his investigations at the Bibliotheque Nationale, with a view of discovering inedited Greek manuscripts and of collating the texts of those writings which have been printed, but in a corrupt form. The results surpassed his ex- pectations, and he has been astonished at the number of treatises that remain unpublished. They are, he considers, important not only from an historical or philological point of view, but also from a medical, especially as the modern therapeutic is far from having used all the sources of the ancients And the incorrectness of the printed texts has also become clear. In spite of several isolated efforts, nothing systematic has been attempted of recent years. Unfortunately, M. Daremberg’s project of pre- paring, with the aid of several specialists, a col- lected edition of the writings of Galen has broken down. M. Kostomiris made many collations in Paris, copied much, and secured a quantity of extracts. The great plan of M. Daremberg of collecting the writings of the Greek and Roman physicians was in his mind’s eye, in regard to the Greek authors, at least, and in so far as such a scheme can be carried out by an individual. But it was natural that M. Kostomiris as a specialist in the diseases of the eye and the ear should pay especial attention to these branches, and he has collected from the unpublished works all pas- sages and sections devoted to these subjects, and has collated the Paris manuscripts of such trea- tises on them as have been printed. On the 18th of June of last year he read a memoir before the Paris Academy of Medicine ‘Sur les Ecrits encore Inédits des Anciens Médecins Grecs,’ and called attention in it to the import- ance of the texts that have not been printed, and enumerated the works of twenty-four phy- sicians and also several anonymous treatises which await publication. The most of them, to be sure, belong to Byzantine times, from the seventh century to the fifteenth and later ; but among them there are treatises by Galen, fElius, Promotus, Oribasius, and Aitius. This memoir was referred by the Academy to a special committee, which, after expressing its gratitude to M. Kostomiris for his communica- tion, urged him to pursue his investigations further, and expressed a wish that the unpub- lished texts should be printed as speedily as possible. The proposal was adopted by the Academy, and forwarded to the Minister of Public Instruction. This wasa good beginning. The sympathy ex- pressed by the Parisian doctors with the labours of M. Kostomiris could not fail to be echoed in Athens. M. Kostomiris returned to Greece last winter, and delivered an address before the Medical Faculty of the University of Athens in order to induce it to interest itself in his in- vestigations, and by its vote to enable him to realize his plans. But meanwhile there ap- peared in the Revue des Etudes Grecques a long report read by him at three sittings of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres under the title of ‘ Etudes sur les Ecrits Inédits des Anciens Médecins Greces.’ In this M. Kosto- miris dealt especially with the Pseudo-Hippo- cratean treatises that have not been printed, and also those of Kratenas, Galen, and Promotus. These preliminary studies have induced the Medical Faculty of Athens and the Senate of the University to take the matter up. The Minister has approved of the vote, and con- sequently M. Kostomiris has received the sum necessary for a year’s preliminary work in pre- paration for a collected edition of his inedita. He has now proceeded to Mount Athos in order to study the manuscripts preserved there, and he has begun by making thorough use of my manuscript catalogue of the codices. I trust that Athos will supply him with even more material than Paris. Spyr. P. Lampros. Science Gossip, Messrs. Longman have in_ preparation ‘Human Physiology: being the Substance of Lectures delivered at the St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School from 1885 to 1890,’ by Augustus D. Waller,—‘ Optical Projection : a Treatise on the Use of the Lantern in Exhibition and Sci- entific Demonstration,’ by Lewis Wright,— ‘Text-Book of Chemical Physiology,’ by W. D. Halliburton, M.D.,— ‘Elements of Materia Medica and Therapeutics,’ with numerous illus- trations, by C. E. Armand Semple, M.B.,— ‘Preliminary Survey,’ by T. G. Gribble,—and ‘Notes on Building Construction’: Part IV., ‘Calculations for Structures,’ with illustrations. Our Naples Correspondent writes :— “ Vesuvius has again given assurance of its exist- ence. For some time we have witnessed only the long column of smoke ascending and taking its course according to the direction of the wind. On the morning of the 7th inst., however, as reports Prof. Palmieri, ‘after several days of increased “ dinamismo” a lava of modest proportions issued from the base of the eruptive cone. It arrived at the base of the grand cone, and appeared to threaten an invasion of the narrow road by which the ascent of Vesuvius is made from Pompeii. ‘lhe seismograph of the observatory, which had previously announced this modest eruptive phase, indicated the approach of some increase,’ The hopes, however, of many observers have been disappointed so far, the splen- dour of the mountain has died away, and a black mass only remains. A glorious spectacle, too, was presented by the meteoric shower which usually falls at this period. Padre Denza, writing from the Observatory of Moncalieri, says,‘ The meteoricshower as observed here took place under propitious cir- cumstances, and was this year copious. In two observatories, well experienced in these researches 518 meteors were seen. Of these as many as 388 were observed in the night of the 11th inst. The appearance of the last night was truly splendid, from the number and the quality of the meteors, very many of which were followed by a lumi- nous stream. This is an indication that this year the earth has traversed the densest part of the meteoric cloud. Many were radiant, but the principal were those usually witnessed, that is of Perseus, Cassiopeia, and Andromeda.’ So far Padre Denza speaks of the north of Italy. Here, in the south, people were begged to be cn the watch, and though much could not be expected from the general mass, yet many who did not watch were astounded
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N° 3279, Ava. 30, 90 THE ATHENAUM 295 by the brilliancy of the spectacle on the night of the llth. The heavens were on fire, said some countrymen ; but if any scientific questions were put they were not answered here.” Tue Society of Arts and Sciences, Utrecht, has forwarded us a programme of questions pro- pounded for its prize competition for the year 1890. The first question, intended to be annual, invites ‘‘ Researches on the development of one or more species of invertebrate animals the his- tory of which is not yet known, the text to be accompanied by explanatory sketches.” Other questions (for this year only) include original remarks on the intensity of sound, with criticism on previous theories ; the retention or otherwise by plants of the free azote of the atmosphere ; periodicity of certain vital phenomena of plants ; application of bacteriology and chemistry to dairy farming; Litznar’s period of twenty-six days in connexion with meteorological and mag- netic phenomena ; and method of obviating the modification presented by the morphological elements of the blood after quitting the living vessels. Detailed information may be obtained from the secretary of the society, Baron Melvil de Lynden. Tue post of Director of the Marine Biological Laboratory at Plymouth will shortly be vacant, owing to the resignation of Mr. G. C. Bourne, who was appointed a short time before the Laboratory was, in 1888, formally opened. A CAREER of good performance and more pro- mise is cut short by the sudden death of Prof. Carnelley, of Aberdeen University, at the age of thirty-eight. King’s College, London, Owens College, and Bonn were the places of his educa- tion. He held the Chairof Chemistry successively in Firth College, Sheftield ; University College, Dundee; and Aberdeen University; and was Vice-President of the Chemical Section of the British Association in 1886. WE regret to hear from Victoria of the death of Mr. Robert Brough Smyth, a Tynesider by birth, who was in 1855-58 Director of Meteoro- logical Observations in the colony of Victoria, for some years member and secretary of the Board of Science, for sixteen years honorary secretary and member of the Board for the Pro- tection of Aborigines, director of the Geological Survey of the colony, and the author of many works and papers on geology, ethnology, and philology. Mr. Smyth was for some years employed by the Government of India as examiner of the gold-fields of the peninsula. ACCORDING to advices received at Buda-Pesth a few days ago, the traveller Andor Széchényi, grandson of the famous patriot Stephan Széchényi, was killed by his own men last July at Honolulu. FINE ARTS —_e—_ The Monumental History of the Early British Church. By J. Romilly Allen. (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.) Ir is not a little remarkable that the ground covered by Mr. Romilly Allen in this book has not hitherto been traversed by any eccle- siologist or student of early Christian life in England. Much that is in these pages is, of course, taken from other sources; but the collation of material has been so ably accom- plished and the critical powers of a keen observer have been so well exercised that the volume is practically new, and will prove an essential handbook to the study of the early Christian art of this country. The size of the volume prevents any exhaustive treat- ment; but, so far as it goes, the archieo- logical history of the early Church in Great Britain has at last found a worthy exponent. The chief object of the book, according to the author, is to show how far the history of the Church of this period, concerning which documentary evidence is altogether missing or very fragmentary, ‘‘can be elu- cidated by a careful examination of the | vestiges it has left behind it, in the shape | of ecclesiastical structures, sepulchral monu- ments, and portable relics.” The opening chapter, which deals with the Romano-British Church, is the most interesting section, though dealing of neces- sity with but fragmentary evidence; but the treatment of this difficult period—wrapped up by some in legendary garments, and stripped by others to an almost sceptical nothingness— shows that we have in Mr. Allen a painstaking and _ conscientious worker, who knows how to blend archzo- logy with history, so that they may eluci- date each other. So far as history is con- cerned, there are only three early state- ments as to a British Church. St. Chry- sostom, writing in 367, refers in general terms to the British Isles as possessing churches ; Gildas, in 564, says that churches existed in this country before the departure of the Romans; Bede, in 731, gives the first reference to a definite place, Canterbury, where a structural church was believed to have existed in the Romano-British period. Now no church or actual structure purposely erected for worship would be older than those first erected in Rome. It was not until 312 that basilicas were allowed to be built above ground. “As it would take some time for church- building to spread from Rome to Gaul, and then from Gaul to Britain, it seems very improbable that any Christian buildings can have existed in this country before the middle of the fourth century. There are thus about fifty years left of the period of the Roman occupation during which churches may possibly have been erected in Britain.” Mr. Allen then proceeds to inquire whether the remains of any such churches are still in existence, and his verdict is that no such case has yet been proved, although there are a great many churches in England in the build- ing of which Roman materials have been freely used. Roman bricks are frequently found in church fabrics, especially in Kent ; Roman altars have been used as window sills, and in two instances—Staunton and Haydon Bridge—have been actually turned into fonts. Other fonts have been formed out of Roman columns; and sculptured and inscribed stones of Roman origin have been used in such old ecclesiastical edifices as the crypts of Hexham and Ripon. Moreover, in three instances in Kent—namely, at Re- culver, Canterbury, and Lyminge—actual Roman walls form part of the present churches. At St. Martin’s, Canterbury, it certainly appears to us that the latest and most accurate researches establish a strong probability in favour of some parts of the present building being the remains of a church of Roman believers of the fourth | century. This is the opinion of Canon Rout- | ledge. With regard to Christian sepulchral | remains of this period, Mr. Allen has to | record in the letterpress that none have yet | been found; but in the preface he is happily able to point out that at all events one Christian Roman tombstone has been dis- covered, namely, on the Roman wall, as_ described by Mr. R. Blair in the Atheneum, | November 9th, 1889. A small stone sepul- | chral cross, found at the church of Amotherby, Yorkshire, about 1870, is also said to be Roman, but is not named in these pages. Lists of Christian objects of Roman manu- facture found in Great Britain have been compiled by Messrs. Haddon and Stubbs and by Hubner, and a few more examples have since come to light; but their number is very small. The Chi-Rho monogram has been found on various metallic articles as well ason pottery; oneof these is a leaden seal found in 1872 on the south side of the forum at Silchester. The formal excavations at Silchester that have now begun will pro- bably add to this list, as it is known that that important city was occupied in strength up to the time of the departure of the Romans. On that site, too, it is by no means impossible that the existence of a Christian basilica may yet be established. The next section of the book deals with the archeology of the early Celtic Church from 400 to 600. It is shown how there was no break in Ireland in the continuity of style between the methods of construction employed by the pagan and the Christian Celts. The characteristics of Irish pagan architecture, especially of their forts, are pointed out, and it is shown how the first churches were built within the fort of the chief who was converted to Christianity by the missionary who founded the Church. Thus St. Patrick’s Church at Armagh was built inside the strong rath of the chieftain Daire. Churches were also built near or within raths both in Wales and Scotland. The development of the early Christian oratories out of the beehive huts is also clearly and instructively told. To this period belong the rude pillar stones with Ogham inscriptions, chiefly in Ireland, of which Mr. Allen gives a valuable and ex- haustive table. The archeology of the later Celtic and of the Saxon Church affords a far wider subject for treatment, and here we think that our author shows much discrimination in selecting the main features for description or mention, instead of attempting any general catalogue. At the same time it might have been stated that the list of Saxon fonts, Saxon sundials, and Saxon sculpture could have been considerably enlarged. The rather remarkable sculptured capitals of the north arcade of the church of Enville, as well as the unique figure of the deacon bearing the fan or flabellum, which has recently obtained notice in foreign publica- tions, and one or two other details, ought at least to have been named. In the preface attention is drawn in almost too mild a way to the disintegration by the weather which is continually going on in the case of many of the most interesting of these monuments. Recent visits to Kirkdale Church, Yorkshire, built in the eleventh century out of the remains of a monastery several centuries older, showed that some of the invaluable and highly interesting crosses and sepulchral slabs built into its walls are now rapidly perishing. Surely they should be carefully moved into the interior of the fabric. The example set with regard to Ruthwell Cross, Dumfriesshire, in giving it a covered shelter, ought to be widely followed. This small book is a most creditable per- formance, and cannot fail to give satisfaction
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296 THE ATHENAUM N° 3279, Aue. 30, 90 to all ecclesiologists in search of accurate information. The style, too, is for the most part pleasant, though occasionally the use of such a word as ‘“‘lengthy”’ instead of the wholesome English expression Jong is irri- tating to sensitive nerves. But what has become of the illustrations? Illustrations are referred to in the preface, a tantalizing list of them is actually printed, and yet as we turn over leaf after leaf not a single one is to be found. Can we have received a defective copy? At all events, the omission of pictures is a decided drawback to a book of this description. THE CAMBRIAN ARCHAOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION AT HOLYWELL. THE selection of a suitable place of meeting for an archzeological society is always a matter requiring careful consideration. The anticipa- tions that the particular centre chosen before- hand will be the best for the purpose are not always realized. And the reason is not far to seek. It is because success depends on so many factors. A comfortable hotel for head- quarters, a convenient assembly room for even- ing meetings, an energetic president, a local secretary who understands his business(alas, how few do !), a district rich in antiquities, pleasant companions, and last, but not least, fine weather —all these go to make up the total of what is afterwards looked back upon as a meeting of ex- ceptional quality, much in the same wayas we talk of the vintage of a good year. It has been found that the smaller towns in Wales make quite as good centres for antiquarian ex- ploration as the larger ones do, and often it turns out that there is quite an unexpected amount of interesting objects to be seen in the less frequented neighbourhoods. Holywell, in Flintshire, was the place chosen for the annual meeting of the Cambrian Archeeological Asso- ciation this year. Although it seems to have formerly possessed greater importance, it must certainly now be classed amongst the smaller towns of the Principality. Its best days have evidently gone by, and there is a general appear- ance of dilapidation about the houses, which, however pleasing it may be to the artist’s eye, does not at any rate bespeak prosperity. The meeting was held under the able pre- sidency of Lord Mostyn, who delivered his inaugural address in the Town Hall on the evening of Monday, August 18th. The Presi- dent said he would spare his audience a learned disquisition upon archzeological science gener- ally, and would content himself with referring briefly to the antiquities the members would have an opportunity of seeing during the week. The address was not intended to be a display of learning. Nevertheless it served its purpose admirably, and had the great merit of being neither long nor dull. As much cannot be said for some of the papers read at the evening meetings, which were de- cidedly of the Dryasdust order, and might well have been condensed. The paper on ‘ The First Charters granted to the Four Senior Boroughs of Wales,’ by Mr. Henry Taylor, F.S.A., was well received. It contained much valuable matter relating to the rise and development of municipal institutions in Wales, and evoked a lively discussion. The Rev. Elias Owen, F.S.A., read a paper on holy wells, chiefly interesting on account of the information with regard to the superstitions connected with holy wells having been obtained at first hand. It was not a mere hash up of what previous writers have said on the subject. Mr. Elias Owen’s stories about the cursing well of St. Elian, in the parish of Llanelian, two miles from Colwyn Bay, were very curious, as showing how deeply pagan superstitions are rooted in the minds of many persons even at the present day. Mr. Owen said that ‘‘the manner of proceeding in order to curse any one was to go to the well and drop into it a pebble with the initials of the doomed party written thereon. This technically was called putting such a one intothe well. People from all parts of Wales went to Llanelian to put those they had a spite against into the well, and the dread of such a proceeding was great beyond belief. But happily a person could take himself out of the well, and then he would return to his normal state. There was a custodian of St. Elian’s well, whose work it was to search for the pebbles of those who had been placed therein and take them out, and advise what should be done to counteract the curse.” There were four days’ excursions during the meeting: on Tuesday, August 19th, in a southerly direction from Holywell, to Halkyn, Northop, and Mold; on Wednesday in a westerly direction, to Caerwys, Newmarket, Gwannysgor, and Llanasa; on Thursday in a south-easterly direction, to Flint and Chester ; and on Friday in a north-westerly direction, to Basingwerk Abbey, Downing, Mostyn Hall, and Whitford. All the excursions were by carriage except the one to Chester, which was reached by train. The chief antiquities belonging to the pre- historic or non-historie period seen during the excursions were the ancient British camp called Moel y Gaer (two miles south of Halkyn) ; Watt’s Dyke, which runs from Holywell, past Northop, Hope, and Wrexham, to Oswestry ; the great tumulus and bone cave on Gop Hill, close to Newmarket; the great gold torque found at Harlech Castle, and now at Mostyn Hall; and the sepulchral urns recently dug up near Penmaenmawr, and now in the Grosvenor Museum at Chester. Gop Hill was perhaps the most interesting place visited during the week. Being the highest elevation near the sea coast (820 ft.), a magnificent view is obtained from it in all directions. The hill is surmounted by a huge artificial mound of stones, 340ft. in diameter and 46ft. high, which forms a con- spicuous landmark for miles round. _ Prof. Boyd Dawkins, who was present, gave a descrip- tion of his explorations of the tumulus and of the bone cave situated on the hillside below. Owing to the generosity of Mr. Pochin, the owner, the professor had been enabled to sink a shaft, heavily timbered, to the bottom of the mound ; but with the exception of a few bones of domestic animals, he found nothing. He intends, however, to resume his investigations at an early opportunity. The bone cave was discovered accidentally in unearthing a fox run at the time that the twnulus was being dug into. The inner cave proved to be a hyzena’s den of the usual kind. In front of this was a rock shelter formed by an overhanging ledge of limestone, and underneath it was found a sepulchral chamber, built of dry rubble, con- taining the bones of a large number of indivi- duals. Amongst the bones were fragments of pottery of the bronze age, two perforated jet objects, and a polished flint flake. The sepulchral urns in the Chester Museum were obtained by Mr. Shrubsole, the Curator, from Darbishire’s Quarry at Penmaenmawy. They were accidentally lighted on in cutting through a low mound during the construction of a tramway up the side of the mountain to the quarry. There were four large urns and three small ones of the food-vessel type, besides several others which were broken. Amongst the bones were three small bronze pins, but the most remarkable find of all was a small boat- shaped stone cup contained in one of the large urns. Experts to whom it has been shown pronounce it unique. The Roman antiquities seen during the ex- cursions were Caerwys, the supposed site of a Roman station; the collections of inscribed stones and pigs of lead in the Chester Museum ; the so-called Roman Pharos (one mile west of Whitford) ; and an inscribed cake of copper at Mostyn Hall. The Roman Pharos is illustrated by Pennant, with a large goat in the foreground to give it local colour. The visit to it was a great disappointment, as it turned out to be a comparatively modern tower, perhaps a wind- mill, with wooden lintels to the windows. However, some good may have been done by exploding the fallacy of its Roman origin. Belonging to the early Welsh period (a.p. 450 to 650) was the inscribed whinstone boulder in the garden at Downing. It was brought from Caerwys, and is inscribed in debased Latin capitals :— HIC IACIT MVLI ER BONA NOBILI. An elaborately sculptured cross of the Hiberno- Saxon period (a.p. 800 to 1000) was seen near Whitford, called the Maen Achwynfan, and others of the same type in the Grosvenor Museum, and in the crypt of St. John’s Church, Chester. The similarity in the patterns seems to show that there was some connexion between the Saxon monasteries at Chester and Hilbre Island and the pre-Norman Welsh churches at Dyserth and near the site of the Maen Ach- wynfan. Space does not admit of a detailed description of all the medizval antiquities seen during the Holywell meeting, which included Flint Castle, with its historical associations with Richard I. ; the Tower near Mold; the Cistercian Abbey of Basingwerk ; St. Winefrid’s Chapel and Well at Holywell; churches at Northop, Mold, Caerwys, Llanasa, Newmarket, Holywell, Whitford, Flint, and Chester; the Grange of Basingwerk at Gelli; and old specimens of domestic archi- tecture at Pentrehobin, Gwasaney, and Mostyn Hall. The last day’s excursion included visits to Downing, the former residence of Thomas Pen- nant, and to Mostyn Hall, where the members were hospitably entertained by their President. Killarney has been selected as the place where the meeting for 1891 is to be held, the Cambrian Archeological Association having been invited by the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland to go there. NORWICH CATHEDRAL. Mr. A. J. Lacry has sent us the following extract from the Norfolk Chronicle, containing a contradiction of the rumour that the Dean was about to introduce a marble reredos which would obscure the Bishop’s throne in this cathedral :— “The Cathedral Restoration.—We last week in- serted a letter, giving an excerpt from a London paper with reference to a reredos which it was said to be the intention of the Dean to introduce in a certain way into the east end of the presbytery of Norwich Cathedral, and we ventured to suggest that the statement was probably unfounded. From in- quiries we have since made, we are in a position to state that this isso. The Dean, we understand, has engaged the services of an experienced and well- known local architect (Mr. A. J. Lacey) to prepare preliminary sketches for certain necessary restora- tion work, and the drawings, when completed, are to be submitted to the scrutiny of one of the most eminent ecclesiastical architects in London, whom the Dean had consulted a week before the sensational paragraph above referred to appeared in the papers.” It would have been better if the writer of the paragraph had categorically denied that any- thing in the nature of a reredos was intended, and had stated what was the ‘‘ necessary restora- tion work,” as there is apparently nothing needed on the spot in question. If restoration of existing work only is intended, what need is there of drawings to be made by one architect and submitted to another? Speculative restora- tion of one of our most interesting cathedrals by a gentleman whose experience in ecclesias- tical architecture we believe to be very small is surely to be deprecated. The rumour in the city that the reredos is to be erected, in spite of the above contradiction, is very definite, and should be denied officially if at all.
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Ne 3279, Ave. 30, 90 THE ATHENAUM 297 MR. PETRIE’S FORTHCOMING EXHIBITION OF EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES. Mr. Fuinpers Perriz’s annual exhibition of Egyptian antiquities has already attained the position of an institution. At least, it is such for Egyptologists, students of art and archzo- logy, and for those whose reading and fami- liarity with the contents of Egyptian museums have made them acquainted with the civilization which flourished in- the Nile valley four thou- sand years ago, and who can, therefore, keenly enjoy the sensations called up by being brought face to face with the actualities of that civili- zation. It is, indeed, a singular experience to pass from the stream of modern life in Oxford Street, with its roar of traflic and shop windows smart with the latest novelties, and then at the distance of a few paces to find oneself surrounded by the tools and utensils, the dresses and orna- ments, the objects pertaining to ritual observ- ance, the talismans, the charms against un- seen and malevolent influences, and even the coffins and funeral paraphernalia of a populace which, at an interval of more than forty cen- turies, was as brisk and busy as our own. The gloss and polish has departed from the surface of these articles, whether for use or ornament. They all, however, bear the stamp of a race of marked individuality, and they display the admirable adaptability, the ingenious invention, and the vivacious artistic design of the skilled artificer. To one impressed with the associations connected with these relics of the past, the fami- liarity of some of the objects of common life is almost startling. The sickle that cut the corn which may have helped to fill the granary of a Pharaoh is fashioned on the same lines as those sold by our village ironmongers, only instead of an iron blade we find a crescent of saw-edged flints. The small tooth-combs might have heen bought in the Lowther Arcade, saving that the modern workman would suppress the little touch of artistic carving. The baskets would find buyers in the Whitechapel Road, and the house- wife would not doubt their being of home pro- duction ; some, indeed, when found were in such good preservation that Mr. Petrie’s Arab diggers used them for carrying earth during the progress of the excavations. When we turn to the pottery the eye no longer falls on familiar forms. Those elon- gated pear-shaped vases, either rounded at the lower extremity or terminating at a point, and the half-globular bowls tell of different habitudes and a different climate. The hollow earthenware stands wherein they rested are also here, and explain how the vessels were kept cool and free from the dust that would have clogged their porous surface. The un- glazed pottery was for water, but there are bowls in a brilliant blue glaze that were used for wine cups, aud their decorations of lotus flowers, or the gondola-shaped boat with its nude girl occupant, are motives which would only suggest themselves to a ceramic artist bred on the banks of the Nile. Still more strange are the symbolical beetle forms bearing their mystical inscriptions, and each epitomizing a life history. Weird associations still cling to those fantastically-shaped charms and amu- lets, hinting the possibility that their magical influences may not yet be extinct or powerless. This singular blending of the familiar and matter- of -fact with objects owing their conception to iong-forgotten beliefs keeps the curiosity con- stantly on the alert. There is the glamour of romance inseparable from all the productions of the Eastern hand or brain. Mr. Petrie is very painstaking in the rigorous classification of his collection, and in maintaining the relative sequence of its various sections ; but he cannot eliminate or curb the element of Oriental fan- tasy—neither do we apprehend he would desire to—which bids defiance to all rules of scientific classification. The main portion of the exhibition may be said to be a continuation of that of last year, which, it will be remembered, consisted prin- cipally of the objects found in excavating two ancient towns in the Fayoum, Kahun and Gurob. These two towns, in the neighbourhood of the pyramid of Hawara, are assigned by Mr. Petrie, the former to the twelfth and thirteenth, and the latter to the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties. Mr. Petrie’s theory of the origin of Kahun is that it was built for the workmen and storekeepers of the temple of Usertesen II., which stood on the edge of the desert, opposite the east face of the pyramid. For confirmation he points out that the cylinders found in the town are all of the twelfth dynasty, the latest object belonging to the original town being a scarab of Neferhotep. He further gives reasons for supposing that the workmen were foreigners, probably Cypriotes. Gurob was also a work- man’s town in connexion with a temple of Tahutmes III., which was speedily ruined, and probably cleared away by Khuenaten. The town, however, was continuously occupied till the time of Rameses II., as is proved by the cartouches of kings of the eighteenth and nine- teenth dynasties. Here, too, judging from the names, the weights, the abundance of Greek and Cypriote pottery, the Cypriote alphabet, and their light hair, the inhabitants were prin- cipally foreigners. A full account of the exca- vations of these towns, of the remains of the habitations, and the objects found in the ruins and sepulchres is given in Mr. Petrie’s volume ‘Kahun, Gurob, and Hawara’ (published by Messrs. Kegan Paul, Trench & Co.), the illustrations being taken from the objects in his last year’s exhibition. No attempt at reali- zation by light and shade is aimed at in the illustrations, the form being rendered by out- line, admirable for its precision and accuracy. The descriptive text is terse and concise, but perfectly clear, on account of the writer’s tech- nical knowledge and acquaintance with the sub- ject on which he writes, the result being that two civilizations are placed before us, of each of which we can form a tolerably complete pic- ture. Many details are, of course, missing; still to collect such a mass of trustworthy infor- mation and to establish the connexion of so many individual facts is a valuable addition to our knowledge of ancient Egypt. We should strongly recommend intending visitors to the forthcoming exhibition to make themselves acquainted with the contents of the above- mentioned volume. A special feature of all collections of Egyptian antiquities is the excellent preservation of the objects in wood. Not only are the tools and im- plements in almost the same state as when last used by the artisans or husbandmen, but deli- cate little articles for the toilet or for some ornamental purpose retain their carving in all its pristine freshness. Thus we have handed | down an admirable example of the archaic type of the Hathor head in a mirror-handle of the twelfth dynasty, which when compared with those of a later period will serve as a useful illustration to the student of the history of Egyptian art. Representations of animals carved in wood of the same period show the careful study of nature of the early Egyptian artists, while the truthful rendering of form testifies that their system of technical education was sound and thorough. What would have been one of the most interesting specimens of wood carving is unfortunately in a damaged condition ; this is a palm-leaf capital from one of the private houses. In its original state it was probably painted; in its present state, how- ever, it is valuable as a proof of the antiquity of this form of capital. Ceramic art is represented by numerous and varied examples of exceptional interest. In glazed wares there are some charming specimens of polychrome tiles, a fine bottle- shaped vase in blue glaze of the twelfth dynasty, and some bowls in blue of the Rameside period, the last named bearing figure decoration, the subject of one of these betray- ing a vein of cynical humour in the artist which would have been relished by Swift. The actors are a man anda monkey, but their usual relation- ship is reversed. Here the monkey is seated eating fruit, while the man, bound and held by a rope, is dancing for his amusement. Kahun has yielded additional examples of the hard, close grained black ware, with graffiato orna- mentation filled in with a white pigment—the same ware that has been found in Italy, and is classed in the gallery of vases at the British Museum with wares of that country, without, however, being dated. If Mr. Petrie’s conclu- sion as to the period of the Kahun find be ac- cepted, its antiquity is far higher than any skil- fully executed pottery other than Egyptian. Its technical qualities imply an anterior fabrica- tion of considerable date. It cannot be ranked with the primitive essays of a savage race. At the same time it is not the ware that would have been produced for a refined community or one of delicate taste. It represents the art of a people of stern and unimaginative nature, and therefore not Egyptian. The ornamenta- tion in the pieces of this year’s exhibition is all geometrical, but it will be remembered that a fragment Mr. Petrie exhibited last year showed animal decoration, the motive of which in the perfect vase was probably two goats, vis-a-vis, on eithersideof aconventional tree. Therearestrong reasons for believing that the representation of twoanimals face to face marks the first step in the treatment of animal form from a purely decora- tive point of view. It isa motive which would naturally suggest itself to an ornamental de- signer living ina country where goats are herded. While the flock is waiting in the street it is no uncommon thing to see two of the animals rise on their hind legs—indeed they spring a short distance above the ground—and violently butt each other. When in the act of contact the group is extraordinarily picturesque, and at the same time possesses the symmetry necessary for ornamental design. To combine this motive with the passage of conventional ornament which stood for the sacred tree with the Phee- nicians would follow as a matter of course, and this is seen in early Cypriote pottery, and it will also be remembered that a quantity of the black graffiato ware was found by General Cesnola in Cyprus. The tree, however, in Mr. Petrie’s fragment was not the Phe- nician sacred tree, but a conventional repre- sentation of a bush, as in a similar example in a tomb at Beni Hassan (twelfth dynasty) ; still, although the action is changed, it is clearly only a moditication of the original motive, as in a gem found at Cyprus, and engraved in General Cesnola’s book, the m -dification takes the form of the goats being placed dos-a-dos. These con- silerations, briefly stated, do not absolutely negative the Italian derivation ; they do, how- ever, favour a Phoenician or Cyprian origin, especially when it is remembered that the foreigners inhabiting Kahun probably came from those regions. In any case they offer reasonable grounds for placing the ware among the earliest examples of ceramic art, both from the intrinsic qualities of the pottery and the ex- treme care exercised by Mr. Petrie in conducting his excavations. Respecting his conclusion in this instance he places the tangible evidence before us, he relates the circumstances attending the unearthing of the objects, and Mr. Petrie’s readers will have the unhesitating conviction that no efforts were spared to avoid error in the observation. His date will therefore probably receive general acceptation among students of Egyptian archeology. The Gurob find also offers important examples of pottery of non- Egyptian derivation. Among these is a vase of close cream-coloured paste, ornamented with a cuttlefish, painted in reddish brown. This at once recalls the Greek island pottery, of which the vases from Ialysos, at Rhodes, in the British Museum, are the most prominent specimens, and
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298 THE ATHENZUM N° 3279, Ava. 30,90 with these Rhodian vases was found an Egyptian scarab bearing the cartouche of Amenhotep III. The Mycenz pottery is represented by vases bearing geometrical ornamentation, several of these being of the kind which may be described as having a false neck between two handles, with the spout below the neck. The earliest car- touche found here was also that of Amenhotep III. There are examples of hitherto unknown styles of decoration on various fragments, of which the archzeologist and student of ceramic art will take careful note, and which will doubt- less find illustration in the volume which Mr. Petrie will devote to the exhibition. That a collection of this quality, photograph- ing, as it were, the civilization which flourished at a particular spot whose locality is exactly known, and representing a distinct phase in the life of ancient Egypt, should be dispersed will be a matter of profound regret not only to specialists, but to the educated generally. The obvious sug- gestion isthat selected examplesfrom the different categories should be placed together in a sepa- ‘ate case in the national collection at the British Museum. Mr. Petrie expects to have completed his arrangements by the middle of next month, so as to allow the exhibition to be opened on the 15th of September. It will be held at the Oxford Mansions as heretofore. AQUZ SOLIS. Junior Atheneum Club, Piccadilly, Aug. 13, 1890. ‘*No case; abuse the plaintiff’s attorney,” seems to be the principle upon which Mr. W. de G. Birch proceeds to vindicate the view he still takes of the ‘‘ brilliant discovery,” as he now calls it (thus admitting it is not his own after all, as in my previous letter I more than suggested), that has been made by a writer in the Academy—that Aque (Solis) never had any- thing to do with ‘ waters,” and was merely given by the Romans as a place-name, ‘‘ by a false analogy,” to a district in Britain where the ‘‘ Achumanensi” dwelt, according to the ‘Cartul. Sax.,’ No. 1164, a.p. 965, as Mr. Birch now states, or the ‘‘ Acv-mannensis Regio,” as he termed the place in his article of the 19th of July last, printed in the pages of the Athencewn that day. Without wishing to take up your valuable space too much on the subject of the Roman name for Bath, ‘‘ Aquze Solis,” said to have been so bestowed when the Romans founded the famous city in the first century of our era, I must in self-defence, and in explanation of the opening sentence in this letter, be permitted to observe that ‘‘abuse is no argument,” and that simple avoidance of what an adversary has fairly brought forward to establish his position in a controversy amounts to an acknowledgment of defeat. In my former letter, published in the Atheneum on the 2nd inst., I left it to Mr. Birch to explain how such Roman names for ‘*waters,”’ existing in Europe for hot springs, and largely used for baths in the present day, could be accounted for, and referred to those of Aquie Sextiz for ‘‘ Aix les Bains” ; Aquee Gratianze for those of ‘‘ Aix,” near Chambery ; and Aquze Augustze Tarbellicze for ‘‘ Dax,” of the Roman walls of which celebrated town my lately de- ceased friend and world-renowned antiquary, Mr. Roach Smith, F.S.A., wrote so fully in his ‘Collectanea Antiqua.’ In Mr. Birch’s present communication to the Athenmewm, which must be supposed to be an answer to my former letter (although my name is never mentioned in it), no notice whatever is taken of my challenge to him to account for this anomalous state of affairs ; for if ‘‘ Aquie ” Solis for Bath was derived only from ‘‘a false ana- logy,” as is now announced so positively, and had nothing to do with the well-known hot springs of Bath, or, as Mr. Birch asserts, ‘‘ has no meaning of waters nor of the sun in it,” it does appear a little singular that other places in Europe where hot springs abound should have had given them by the Romans the name of ** Aquee”’ (undoubtedly meaning ‘‘waters”’), and without the presence of these ‘‘ Achumanensi,” it is to be presumed, to explain the real rendering of the name, according to Mr. Birch and the other ‘‘brilliant discoverer” of the Academy. In the evidentavoidance of any reference to the above inquiry of mine, Mr. Birch instead makes a pointed allusion to ‘‘an antiquary of intelli- gence so shallow as to go about in Oxford aftirming that the name of the River Thames is derived from zotapds by cutting off the prefix zo,” and closes his polite remarks on a subject evidently dragged in ‘‘neck and heels,” as it were, to hide his own deficiencies in not being able to reply to the question this ‘‘shallow-pated antiquary ” had put to him, by observing that such a person should ‘‘be careful to study the matter a little before he ventured to criticize what ‘I’ said about the ancient names of Bath.” In the first place I must tell Mr. Birch, since it is useless to deny that I am the individual alluded to, that I never did, either ofticially or otherwise, whilst at Oxford last month, ‘‘go about” making the above statement, although in the second place I am not ashamed to avow that some twenty years ago, at the Cirencester Con- gress, I read a paper ‘On the Source and Nomenclature of the River Thames,’ which was printed in the Journal of the British Archzeo- logical Association, and has since been repub- lished, with other essays of mine, in a little book entitled ‘ Archzeologic and Historic Frag- ments’; and in that paper I referred to this Greek derivation for the River Thames, but associated with it the names of much greater antiquaries than possibly the world can now boast of—learned writers who had ventured in those far-off. years to suggest the idea that Greek roots were the foundations of many European words, and in that opinion I, to this day, cordially concur, although Prof. Max Miiller at the same period dissented from my view in a letter to the Times, and insisted (more swo) that nothing but an ‘‘ Aryan” root was to be found in the word ‘‘ Thames” after all! In concluding this very long letter, I will only say to Mr. Birch that, although in law and politics it has oftentimes been the custom “*to draw ” what is called ‘‘a red herring over the scent,” to divert the attention from some foolish blunder that has been made by a rash and ignorant person, it is a custom that should never obtain in the paths of literary or anti- quarian life, and that [should advise him, when- ever in any difficulty again, to acknowledge gracefully that he has gone too far in his argu- ments and cannot support them, but never, under any circumstances whatever, to lose his temper or to call his opponent, whoever he may be, offensive, silly, or insulting names. Georce R. Wricur. P.S.—Since writing the above letter, I have been gratified to notice in the Athenewwm the communications of Messrs. Mayhew and Grover, both maintaining the Roman origin of ‘‘ Aquze Solis”; and to the latter antiquary I especially offer my best thanks for the kindly manner he has referred to my ‘‘Birch”-smitten opinions on this now nearly threshed-out subject. I Hap nothing to quarrel with Mr. Grover about. The criticisms which I made in the dis- cussion which arose after his paper on Silchester were perfectly appropriate, and of the ordinary character. But it was necessary to mention what he said in order to explain the nature of the recent attack made upon me by Mr. Wright. lf Mr. Grover persists in asserting that Sil- chester has any connexion with Sol, by all means he is welcome to this opinion, but he will not convert many to his heresies. I am not de- sirous of teaching him the alphabet of archzeo- logy in the columns of the Atheneum. To point to Sulham, Sulhampstead, and Sunninghill as evidence that the sun was Sul, or that he was wor- shipped in chief at Silchester, is a disgrace to English scholarship. There could be found in the gazetteer a hundred place-names all over England beginning with Sun- or Sul-, or Sil-, which have as much to do with the Sun as Silchester or Sulham have. On the other hand, there is not a scrap of antiquity to connect the two together. And as for Bath, the late Prebendary Scarth —no mean authority on Roman Britain—who carefully collected in 1864 all Roman evidences at Bath, writes (‘Aquze Solis,’ p. 46): ‘‘ Wehave positive proof of the worship of the goddess Minerva, as Sul-Minerva, the presiding deity of the mineral waters.” The italics are mine. The worship of Apollo, even in the neighbour- hood, is confined to a single example, where he divides the honours of the immortals with Hercules on an altar at Compton-Dando, seven miles from Bath city, a solitary fact on which no one but Mr. Grover would be warranted to rely for theorizing that the sun occupied the paramount position of an eponymic deity at Bath, particularly when viewed in the light of the evidence given above in favour of Minerva. To return to Sulham, &c. In my opinion the youngest tyro antiquary would hesitate to explain this place-name as partly Roman and partly Anglo-Saxon. There is not the slightest difficulty in ascertaining its true derivation. If we may cut a word in two and say this part is a word of one language, and that of another, all philology of names is at an end, and I am not surprised that foreign professors are beginning to teach us our own language. I have just casually taken up the map of Sussex, and by applying Mr. Grover’s law of derivation, I am delighted to find that the worship of Noah’s ark must have prevailed in that benighted county when names of places were being formed, for we have Cocking, Henfield, Henhurst, Barnham, Egdean, Birdham, Avisford, Fish- bourne, Fishergate, Harting, Hartfield, Rogate, Buttinghill, Horsham, Horsmonden, Stedham, Trotton, Rotherbridge, Cowfold, Hawkhurst, Hawksborough, Foxearle, Gostrow, Catsfield, Ewhurst, Crowhurst, Crowborough, Swan- borough, and Whalesbone. This is the reductio ad absurdum. Mr. Grover aims a_ parting shot at me when he says I did very little to help the Association at Oxford. I am content to leave the remark to be dealt with by those who know better than he does what part I really took at the meeting. WALTER DE GRAy Brrcu. *,* We can insert no more letters on this subject. SFine-Art Gossip, Tue Art Gallery associated with the Corporation of the City of London will close to-day, so far as the loan collection of pictures is concerned. Though small, there has probably seldom been a finer selection of works of art accessible. The pic- tures will be shortly restored to their respective owners. The catalogue prepared by Mr. Temple, the curator, gives a brief biography of each artist represented. The exhibition was due to a suggestion of Mr. William Rome, F.S.A., a member of the Library Committee of the Cor- poration. Among the chief pictures are Mr. L. Alma Tadema’s ‘ Water Pets’; Sir Frederic Leighton’s ‘Hercules wrestling with Death for the Body of Alcestis’; ‘Ariadne in Naxos,’ by Mr. G. F. Watts ; ‘Le Chant d’Amour,’ by Mr. Burne Jones; ‘The Beloved, or the Bride,’ by G. D. Rossetti; ‘The Lilium Auratum,’ by J. F. Lewis; and a ‘ Portrait of a Doge’ attributed to Bellini. THE private view of the works of art at the forthcoming autumn exhibition in the City Art Gallery, Manchester, will take place on Monday next, and the gallery will be open to the public on the following day. Mr. R. Ross has given to the Corporation of Manchester, on condition that they shall be hung together and publicly exhibited, without
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i vw ww ~ ow WY CF YY VS _ = ESS — — > hic N° 3279, Aua. 30, 90 THE ATHENZUM 299 charge, in the Royal Institution, fifty-four water- colour drawings by deceased British artists. Among them are some capital examples. Tue death of Mr. Charles West Cope, late R.A., will be noted with regret ; we trust to refer to his numerous works next week. Tue Salon at Brussels will be opened on the 15th prox. In the Salle Rude of the Louvre have lately been placed some fine bronzes by Barye, the most important of which is the famous ‘ Jaguar dévorant un Liévre.’ With these are the models in plaster of ‘La Danse’ and the ‘Quatre Parties du Monde portant la Sphere,’ both masterpieces of Carpeaux, executed for the Opéra, Paris, the originals of which are, by the way, suffering from the weather and befouled with soot. At a time like the present, when the Royal Academicians have stringently revised the rules according to which students will in future be admitted to the art university at Burlington House, it is interesting to learn that the authorities of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, have, in a somewhat similar manner, likewise revised the rules for admitting students to the ateliers in the Rue Bonaparte. A few weeks since we quoted the new rules of the Academy, and later we stated the results of their opera- tion when they took effect, and a very large proportion of femate candidates failed to pass, A writer in the Tiigliche Rundschaw says that during the late voyages of the German Emperor, as in his earlier excursions to Eng- land, Russia, and the North, several of the members of his suite have been busily employed in making pencil and water-colour sketches. These are all carefully preserved as a pictorial diary of the tour. They consist chiefly of inci- dents of sea-life, scenes on the English coast, and scenic effects on the ocean. Tue death is reported from Berlin of the painter Wilhelm Gentz. He had a high reputa- tion in Germany as a master of Oriental sub- jects. We hear from Athens that on the 13th of August, near the excavation at Dipylon, of which our correspondent recently wrote, the dis- covery has been made, in situ, of a monumental sculpture, dating from a good Attic period. The carving, which measures 1°72 métres in height and 0°75 métre in breadth, represents a female clad in rich drapery, holding a vase in her right hand, while her left is lifted grace- fully. This relief is the first which has come to light during this year’s excavation. Besides this, with the exception of some insignificant remains in the graves, nothing has been dis- covered but six monumental pillars with inscrip- tions of the Roman period. The excavations are still proceeding, and hope is entertained that by pulling down the chapel of the Hagia Triadha some interesting antiquities will be discovered. From Samos comes the news of a fresh dis- covery. In the locality called Potintais a large sarcophagus has been found, delicately sculp- tured in relief, and adorned with columns. Though the lid was entire and well preserved, nothing was found inside. At Licosoura the excavations conducted by the Greek Government have brought to light the whole plan of the temple, with many archi- tectonic fragments, slabs of marble pavement, roofing tiles, &c. At the distance of a few metres from the south fagade were discovered the foundations of the portico described by Pausanias. From Verona news has been telegraphed that in the excavations now being made in the Piazza del Duomo the fragment of a marble statue has been found bearing the Greek inscription ‘* Praxiteles made it.” A GREEK sarcophagus has recently been found at Alexandria. Judging from the price placed upon it—25l.—it is probably not of very high quality, but it may be worth the attention of the curators of museums. Heraxpic students will be glad to learn that a facsimile in colours of the earliest known grant of arms will appear in the October part of the Miscellanea Genealogica. The mantling and accessories are said to be worthy of attention. The grant is by Clarenceux King of Arms to Thomas Northland, of the county of Sussex, gentleman, dated London, the tenth day of November in the twenty-second year of the reign of King Edward IV. (1483). MUSIC —— NEW SONG ALBUMS. Ausgewiihlte Lieder. Von Johannes Brahms. In Two Books.—Pisne Milostné (Love Songs). Von Anton Dvorak. (Berlin, Simrock ; Lon- don, Novello, Ewer & Co.)—In no department of musical work is there a larger display of energy manifest at the present time than in the publication of song-collections, original and otherwise. There is room for congratulation in this if it means that English amateurs are developing a taste for lyrics of a superior stamp to that of the ordinary shop ballad. Among living song composers Johannes Brahms must be regarded as second only to Robert Franz, if, indeed, he is not in some respects his superior. The present selections of songs, twelve in all, include such exquisite examples as ‘ Liebestreu,’ ‘Meine Liebe ist griin,’ ‘An die Nachtigall,’ ‘ Bot- schaft,’ ‘ Vergebliches Staéndchen,’ and ‘Som- merabend.’ The words are given in English and French as well as in the original German, but the translations cannot be highly com- mended. Dvorak’s songs are numbered Op. 83, from which it might be gathered that they are among his most recent compositions. No evi- dence as to this is afforded by the lyrics them- selves, which are for the most part sad in feeling, though certainly not dull. Perhaps the gem of the series of eight is No. 3, in which the com- poser’s nationality is strongly manifest. The original verses by Moravsky are translated into German and English, but the difficulties of adaptation have not been fully overcome.—The same publishers send Spring Songs, by A. C. Mackenzie, a set of seven extremely tasteful and expressive lyrics, some of which were in- troduced at recent concerts. The words, by A. P. Graves, are for the most part commend- able. Also Six Two-Part Songs for female voices, by Charles Wood, written in a pleasing and musicianly style, and decidedly promising ; Beethoven's Songs, Vol. IL, containing the beautiful ‘Liederkreis’ and several other favourite songs; Schubert's Songs, Vol. VI., containing the ‘Winterreise’; Schwmann’s Twelve Songs, Op. 35; the same composer’s sixteen songs, Dichterliebe, Op. 48; an album of Twenty-two Songs by Brahms, with English words by the late Dr. Hueffer; and Sixteen Songs by Dvorak, taken from Op. 2, 5, 17, and 31. With the exception named, the English adaptations in these collections are by Dr. Troutbeck and Lady Macfarren. Ten Love Songs, with words by modern poets, by Erskine Allon, Op. 13 (London Music Pub- lishing Company), are all noteworthy for high- class musicianship, though unequal in other respects, some being laboured and by no means grateful either to singer or accompanist. Others, however, are fresh and charming, the most pleasing of the series being, perhaps, No. 4, ‘A Ballad in June.’—Other albums which will repay the attention of vocalists are Trvelve Songs, by F. H. Cowen, with words by Browning, Swin- burne, Christina Rossetti, and others (Joseph Williams); Ten Songs, by Francis Gibson (Edinburgh, Paterson & Sons), noteworthy for refined melody and musicianly qualities; Six Songs, by William Wallace (Augener & Co.), in which the composer has set Heine’s verses appropriately though rather sadly; Six Songs; by Frances Allitsen (Ascherberg & Co.), very fresh and pleasing, with well-chosen words ; Four Songs, by W. Noel Johnson (Woolhouse), suitable for tenor voice and not by any means pretentious; and Three Songs, by Richard Farrell, equally simple but musicianly (Weekes & Co. ). Vocal music for children is also now published in considerable quantities, and we have before us Ten Children’s Songs, by Carl Reinecke, Op. 196 (Augener & Co); Nos. 1 and 3 of Kinder- garten Series, containing respectively twelve secular and twelve sacred songs, with music by Mary Carmichael ; Song Fancies for Children, by Ethel Harraden, and Songs of the Seasons, by Atherley Rush (Forsyth Brothers); Songs for my Children, by Mrs. James S. Baily (Birmingham, Stockley & Sabin); and two books of songs, the first sacred, by Sir John Stainer, and the second secular, by A. Scott Gatty (Griffith, Farran & Co.). From a musicianly standpoint the compositions of Miss Carmichael and Sir John Stainer are, perhaps, the most commend- able of the above series, but a general advance may be noted on the standard of merit formerly regarded as adequate with respect to juvenile music. Rusical Gossip. THE new comic opera ‘Captain Thérése,’ produced at the Prince of Wales’s Theatre on Monday, is feeble alike as to libretto and music. M. Bisson has placed his story near the close of the sixteenth century, but he shows himself quite incapable of dealing effectively with one of the most picturesque periods in the history of France, and his book is a farrago of pitiable nonsense, quite unworthy of serious musical illustration. That M. Planquette has failed to sustain the level of excellence he achieved in some of his former operas is, therefore, not surprising. His music never offends on the score of vulgarity, but it is trivial and insipid, lacking even the qualities most calculated to please uneducated listeners. The performance is generally meritorious, and special mention may be made of Miss Attallie Claire, a young American soprano, with a sympathetic, if not very powerful voice, and a pleasant, refined manner. THe so-called ‘‘classical” programme at Covent Garden on Wednesday included Raff's Italian Suite ; Grieg’s ‘Peer Gynt’ Suite; Liszt’s Hungarian Fantasia, played by Mr. Emil Bach in the stead of Madame Zoe Caryll; and Masse- net’s ‘ Le Dernier Sommeil de la Vierge.’ The great masters were solely represented by Schu- bert’s ‘Rosamunde’ overture, even the vocal music consisting of airs from popular operas. M. Paperewskt, M. Sapellnikoff, and Herr Stavenhagen have heen engaged for the forth- coming Saturday concerts at the Crystal Palace. Negotiations are pending with M. Ysaye and Mr. Leonard: Borwick for the same series. MapaAMeE Scumipt K6HNE has been engaged to sing the soprano part in ‘Elijah’ at the Albert Hall on November 12th and Mendels- sohn’s ‘Hymn of Praise’ at the Crystal Palace. Mr. Henry J. Woop has organized a com- pany for touring in the provinces with his new comedy opera ‘ Daisy.’ Mute. Avcusta Hotmis has just been elected a corresponding member of the Academy of the Royal Musical Institute at Florence. ‘ ANDREA DEL SARTO,’ a new opera by Serra- valli, will be given at Turin this autumn. Tue 150th anniversary of the birth of Grétry, which will occur on February 11th next, is to be celebrated at Liége, the Belgian composer’s birthplace. One of the leading musical asso- ciations of Liége, La Legia, has , taken the matter in hand.
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300 THE ATHENAUM N° 3279, Aug. 30, 90 Tue German opera season in New York will commence on November 26th. A strong en- deavour will be made to enlarge the scope of the enterprise, all efforts to induce the public to take interest in works other than those of Wagner having so far met with scant success. Among the operas it is proposed to produce are ‘Le Roi d’Ys,’ ‘Esclarmonde,’ ‘ Asraél,’ and ‘Der Templer und die Jiidin.’ Herr Anton Seidl will again conduct the performances. M. Xavier Lerovx, a pupil of M. Massenet, will compose the incidental music for MM. Sardou and Emile Moreau’s drama ‘ Cléopatre,’ which will be produced with Madame Sarah Bernhardt at the Porte Saint Martin theatre at the beginning of October. The music will consist of only four numbers. Anton Ruvernstern has returned to St. Petersburg from his holiday in Germany. He has finished an overture to Shakspeare’s ‘ An- tony and Cleopatra,’ which is already in print. DRAMA —_o— THE WEEK. SHAFTESEULY.— Afternoon Representation : ‘The Deacon,’ in Two Acts. By Henry Arthur Jones. ‘Tne Deacon’ is not, as its name seems to hint, a modern ‘ Tartufe’ or a renewed attack upon the Chadbands and Stigginses of more recent days. Its hero is, indeed, a luminary in the Dissenting firmament. No- wise polemical is he, however, and his ani- mosities are all but confined to the play- house, which he regards as an ante-chamber to the infernal regions. It is an inherited hatred which he bears. He himself has not once, he thanks God, seen the inside of a theatre, and those from whom he has derived his views are not less complacently ignorant than he. One personal motive he has to fortify him in his prejudices. His only daughter has eloped with a strolling player, and has been banished from his house and his affections. Seeking some object for his love, he has, with no special cause, adopted a young man, Tom Dempster, and brought him up as a barrister. This youth is the chosen companion of actors, and at the period when the deacon visits London is betrothed to a young actress, who is playing Juliet for a run at a West-End house—a somewhat surprising stroke of good fortune, since ladies in a position to make similar ex- periments do not often bestow their affec- tions upon young barristers of uncertain prospects. Upon the arrival of the deacon it is necessary to reconcile him with the stage and with the projected union between his adopted nephew and the latest Juliet. A difficult task this, it might be thought. Not a whit. One of Master Tom’s allies, herself a Juliet all but consigned to the shelf, undertakes his conquest, and effects it with consummate ease. She flatters our sanctimonious hero into a belief in his own attractions and her judgment, tricks him into missing an “indignation meeting” against the stage he purposed attending, and cajoles him into going to the theatre, whence he returns a convert. With the zeal of his new position, he is for spending the rest of his life in theatres and for adding to the stock of places of entertainment, which he finds inadequate. His consent to the marriage of Tom to the representative of Juliet, by whom he is bewitched, would have been easily ex- torted had he not even discovered in her his own grandchild, the offspring of his dis- inherited daughter. Not very strong, novel, or convincing is this. Mr. Jones, indeed, modestly and wisely calls his play ‘‘a sketch.” It has some amusing dialogue, with a certain fla- vour of epigram. It is but moderately interesting, however, has dull passages, and fails to carry away the public. Some change of treatment seems necessary. One would like to see the conversion of the deacon. This is obviously difficult, if not impossible. The conquest should, at least, be less facile. Not without some struggle perceptible to the audience should a life- long conviction be rooted from the heart. As Adam Boothroyd, wholesale bacon factor, Mayor of Chipping Padbury-on-the- Wold, and Deacon of Ebenezer Chapel, Mr. Willard supplies a striking picture of North- Country manners. His make-up is admir- able, and the portrait he presents has rugged strength. He is, however—perhaps neces- sarily—better in the early stage of virulent and implacable hostility to the stage than after the sudden relenting. The remain- ing characters were taken by Mrs. F. H. Macklin, Miss Annie Hill, and Mr. C. Fulton. The whole was received with favour. Masques and Entertainments by Ben Jonson, edited by Henry Morley, has been added to the **Carisbrooke Library’ (Routledge & Sons). Mr. Morley should really try to be more accurate. He tells us: ‘‘ When King Christian visited England in 1606, Inigo Jones came with him. ts: Ben Jonson’s entertainments at Althorpe and elsewhere had commended him [Jonson] to the Queen’s notice as a deviser of masques, and he had already produced at Court ‘The Masque of Blackness’ in the year before Inigo Jones returned to England.” Does Mr. Morley read the books that he ‘‘ edits”? How can he have failed to notice that Inigo Jones supplied the scenery for ‘The Masque of Blackness’? We have Ben Jonson’s plain statement (p. 5): ‘*So much for the bodily part, which was of Master Inigo Jones’s design and act.” Yet we are gravely informed that this masque was pro- duced ‘‘ in the year before Inigo Jones returned to England”! Webb's ‘ Vindication of Stone- henge’ is the original authority for the state- ment that Jones came with Christian TV. Peter Cunningham long ago pointed out, in his ‘ Life of Inigo Jones,’ that Webb was in error. Let an error be corrected fifty times, Mr. Morley will go on repeating it. The dates that he assigns to ‘The Masque of Owls’ and ‘The Fortunate Isles’ are wrong. He has followed Gifford, and has not been at the pains to con- sult Lieut.-Col. F. Cunningham’s ‘‘ Additional Notes” at the end of vol. viii. of the 1875 edition of Gifford’s ‘Jonson.’ Evenings with Shakspere: a Handbook to the Study of his Works, with Suggestions for the Consideration of other Elizabethan Literature, containing Special Help for Shakspere Societies. By L. M. Griffiths, Honorary Secre- tary of the Clifton Shakspere Society. (Bristol, Arrowsmith ; London, Simpkin, Marshall & Co.)—The author or authoress of this book is an enthusiast on the subject of Shakspeare Societies. ‘*There should be,” we are told, ‘‘a Shakspere-Society not only in every town, but in every set of people that can get together at least a dozen men and women with any literary desires.” Why? In addition to these local societies we need a ‘‘ British Shakspere As- sociation,” with a staff of secretaries and If this established it and a ‘*monthly Shakspere - magazine.” Shakspeare magazine were would but serve as a receptacle for crotchets. Mr. Ignatius Donnelly would presently emerge from his well-earned obscurity ; Mrs. Potts would come to the front; and the members of the Clifton Shakspere Society would pub- lish papers to prove that ‘‘Shakspere’s main purpose in ‘Measure for Measure,’ written on behalf of his fellow Roman Catholics, was to exalt the ascetic ideal”; ‘‘The comic scenes in ‘Locrine’ are undeniably Shakspere’s”; ‘‘Shak- spere was induced to take up the story of ‘The Merchant of Venice’ by his own money-lending habits,” &c. We have had enough, and more than enough, of such nonsense. However, we wish to deal fairly with these ‘Evenings with Shakspere.’ The writer has carefully brought together much useful information, biographical and bibliographical, about Shakspeare and the Elizabethan dramatists. But we fail to see why such ‘‘ Suggestions for Discussion” as we have quoted should be proposed to any company of sane persons. Dramatic Gossip. Mr. Wi1tarp is credited with the intention of reproducing an altered and revised version of Mr. Baring Gould’s ‘Mehalah.’ An adapta- tion in five acts, by Messrs. W. Poel and W. H. G. Palmer, entitled ‘Mehalah; or, the Power of Will,’ was given at the Gaiety on the afternoon of June 11th, 1886, with no very con- spicuous success. Mr. Hermann Vezin then played the hero. Dvurine the absence from London of Mr. Thorne and his company alterations, including the erection of a new and wider portal, are taking place at the Vaudeville Theatre. Ir the old reckoning be adopted, and the autumn season be held to begin with the reopen- ing of Drury Lane next Saturday, the theatrical recess will have extended over three weeks. Mr. Watrer Lacy is at Brighton in a con- dition that inspires grave alarm. The well- known comedian, now in his eighty-third year, has suffered from persistent diarrhea. He has recently resigned his post of Professor of Elocu- tion at the Royal Academy of Music. In the revival at the Shaftesbury Theatre on Wednesday afternoon of ‘The Violin Makers,’ Mrs. Willard took the character of Giannina, of which she gave a picturesque representation. A COMPLETE Goethe cycle will shortly be per- formed at the German theatre of Prague, in- cluding even his dramatic trifles. A beginning will be made with the quaint Schdiubartspiel or masque, ‘Das Jahrmarkts-Fest zu Plunders- weilen’; anda performance of ‘ Faust’ will form the conclusion. Great regret is expressed throughout Ger- many at the ofticial dissolution of the Meininger Gesellschaft, which has contributed so much to raise the credit of the German stage at home and abroad. Why should such a well-trained theatrical society not be formed at the capital of Germany, which claims to be the ‘‘ capital of intelligence ” ? MISCELLANEA —.— A Blank Catalogue.—Will any of your readers kindly direct me to the best form of blank catalogue for recording the titles of the books of a private library of average size? I shall be glad of the name of publisher and price of the book. LIBRARY. To CoRRESPONDENTS.—G. F.—T. B.—receive]. No notice will be taken of anonymous communications, TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION By Post. — ao? Sue For Twelve Months ° ae ose For Six Months... ove oe oe ooo
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XUM N° 3280, Sept. 6, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 311 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1890, CONTENTS. PAGE 6818 F. ABEL’s ADDRESS ns ooo ae pom oe | RAMBLES ROUND MANCHESTER ous eee nan oe 312 AUSTRIAN STATESMEN AND MARIE ANTOINETTE ow. 313 RUTHERFORD ON THE TEXT OF THUCYDIDES ... oe 314 NOVELS oF THE WEEK whe oes aie ove os One CusHING’s DICTIONARY OF ANONYMOUS WORKS oe 316 CLASSICAL TRANSLATIONS... ove - ove ow. 316 FOLK-LORE sve ooo a ies ooo ove wc Gee SCHOOL-BooKs ... ove ooo oon eco ooo ee 317 Our LIBRARY TABLE—LIST oF NEW BOOKS ... 318 TWILIGHT; MIsSs MARIANNE NORTH; THE WELSH PRAYER BooK AND THE PROPOSED FURTHER RE- VISION; SOME EARLY POEMS OF WORDSWORTH ; LETTERS OF SIR JOHN VANBRUGH; THE IDENTITY oF JuNIUS; THE SALE OF PARISH REGISTERS; THE HOME OF THE ARYAS; “*TRIM’E TRAM’E”; AN EXPLANATION WANTED; THE AUTUMN PvuB- LISHING SEASON ... eee eee ooo ee 319—323 LFTERARY GossIP 5 ooo se ose ooo ee 324 ScIENCE—THE CRIMINAL; MEDICAL Books; TeExt- Books; ASTRONOMICAL Norges; MEETINGS; = - 25 —: Fring ARTS — LIBRARY TABLE; NUMISMATIC LITERA- TURE; CHARLES WEST CoPE; GOSSIP 327—329 Music—NeEwW PIANOFORTE Music; Gossip . +. 330 DEAM4—FLEAY’S HISTORY OF THE LONDON STAGE; GossIP on eco eos ooo o. 831—332 MISCELLANEA oo =332 LITERATURE + Address to the British Association for the Advancement of Science delivered at Leeds, September 3rd, 1890. By Sir Frederick Augustus Abel, D.Sc., F.R.S., President. Sm Frepericxk Aset, though one of the busiest of men, has found time to write an address of exceptional length. Mere length, however, is by no means an unqualified ad- vantage in a presidential discourse. If the subject is technical and the style heavy, the shorter the discourse the better for the bulk of the audience. But to Sir F. Abel belongs the merit of having written an address which is eminently readable. It deals with a great diversity of topics—rather too many for an hour’s discourse—but it does not attempt to carry the discussion of any of them beyond a moderate depth ; indeed, their multiplicity forbids such an attempt. Moreover, the sub- jects have the advantage of being mostly of such a nature as to need but little special or technical knowledge for their proper com- prehension. The President has chosen, as might have been expected from his pro- fessional career, to dwell upon the practical rather than the theoretical side of science— a choice which always has much to recom- mend it in the eyes of a general audience, but which was especially desirable in a great manufacturing centre like Leeds. Electricity and metallurgy, chemistry and engineering, furnished him with many a telling illustra- tion of the way in which science is constantly contributing to the resources of civilized life; and these illustrations he pre- sented to his audience in language singularly well chosen and forcible. It is not unnatural that any one placed in the position of the President of the Associa- tion should, at the opening of his discourse, indulge in retrospect. Looking back at the last meeting of the British Association in Leeds, the President had to stretch his vision across an interval of two-and-thirty years. The view was naturally for the most part in melancholy shadow; yet it was not without its bright spot. If most of the presidents of sections, who were men of scientific light and leading at that day, have since passed away in the course of nature, it is at least matter for congratulation that the distin- guished president of the last Leeds meeting, Sir Richard Owen, is still spared to watch with lively interest the progress of his favourite sciences. Having discharged the pleasant duty of complimenting the venerable naturalist, Sir F. Abel did his best to put the people of Leeds into good humour by reminding them of the number of illustrious men sprung from the town or connected with it by residence and work. Of these worthies the most notable in the annals of science was Joseph Priestley, whose original re- searches on gases earned for him the title of “The Father of Pneumatic Chemistry.” The President alluded to Priestley’s ‘‘ some- what random search after new discoveries,” and it is undoubtedly true that he fell upon most of his best things by a kind of chance, or, as James Watt put it, by ‘‘random haphazarding.” Yet it must be borne in mind that the lights of his day were dim, and that chemical science was then only just emerging from the darkness of alchemy. Working in this twilight, his methods were unsystematic compared with the rigorous methods of modern research ; yet his intellect was essentially original, creative, and rich in resource, while the interpretation of his experiments, though sometimes radically wrong, was always acute and, according to the views he held, logical. The mention of Priestley’s name at the present moment suggests a word in vindica- tion of his claim to the discovery of oxygen, since this claim has been warmly attacked by M. Berthelot in his recent work, ‘La Révolu- tion Chimique.’ To the people of Leeds the reputation of Priestley ought to be pecu- liarly precious, and it is, therefore, satis- factory to note that, although the subject was not mentioned in the presidential dis- course, it was ably dealt with by Prof. Thorpe in his excellent address to the Chemical Section. When a scientific writer or speaker wishes to impress those who are not strictly scien- tific with a notion of the proper value of physical science, he always has a safe subject in the marvels of electricity. Realizing this truth, and knowing that through the medium of this address he was speaking not only to the mixed audience before him, but to the public at large, Sir F. Abel devoted much of the early part of his discourse to the history of the electric telegraph and to the progress of electric lighting; to the rapid develop- ment of telephonic communication, and to the recent application of electricity to pur- poses of traction, to water traffic, and to haulage in mines. Whether the fault lies in our engineers or in the apathy of the public, it is certain that in the utilization of electricity we are at present far behind our rivals in the United States. Yet many of the ideas taken up and vigorously applied in America have sprung in the first instance from this side of the ocean. It is not with- out interest to note that the scheme for utilizing the enormous energy of Niagara as a source of electricity—a notion which haunted Sir William Siemens in his latter days—is at present under serious discussion, and it looks as if what has hitherto been regarded by most people as nothing more than a curious possibility is on the eve of becoming a scientific certainty. Less familiar, because more recent, than telegraphs and telephones, electric lamps and electric tram-cars, are the applications of electricity to the production of high tem- peratures in certain metallurgical operations, especially in the welding of iron and steel. By American ingenuity and energy the electric furnace has been applied on a large scale to the production of aluminium-bronze, ferro-aluminium, and other useful alloys. A discussion of the influence of aluminium upon the characters of iron and steel led the President to refer to the effect of the pre- sence of certain other metals, such as man- ganese, chromium, tungsten, nickel, and cobalt. The metallurgical section of the address was brought to a conclusion by reference to the recent advances in our knowledge of those modifications in the physical properties of steel which are brought about by the processes of harden- ing, annealing, and tempering. Notwithstanding the interest of such metallurgical questions to those immediately concerned in the progress of many of our industries, the majority of readers will prefer turning to the next group of subjects dealt with by the President. From Sir Frederick’s long official connexion with the War Department it might naturally be expected that the interest of his discourse would centre mainly in its reference to the application of science to the modern appli- ances of warfare, and especially to that subject on which he is recognized as a supreme authority—the chemistry of ex- plosives. But perhaps such topics are not altogether congenial to a peaceful gathering like a meeting of the British Association. Most members would no doubt rather hear of the ministration of science to the happi- ness of their fellow men than to their de- struction. Mindful of the existence of such a sentiment, the President judiciously placed his own professional subjects in a subor- dinate position. In the forefront of his discourse he sets forth the applications of chemistry and physics and engineering not to the production of the terribly destructive engines of modern warfare, but to the peaceful arts of life and the development of civilization. And when at length he turns, not without a word of apology, to the dis- cussion of professional matters, he is careful to restrain the discussion within limits that are discreetly moderate. The references to arms and explosives are sufficient to give distinctive colour and character to the dis- course, but not to lay it open to the charge of being “horribly stufi’d with epithets of war.” It is remarkable that most of the im- provements in gunpowder are of quite recent date. When the Association last met in Leeds the powder used in the services was practically the same, chemically and physically, as had been in use for generations. But after the Crimean War the substitution of rifled artilley for the old smooth-bore guns, and the great increase in the size and power of guns consequent upon the system of armour-plating on ships and forts, called for powders of a novel character. At first the improvements related solely to modifications in the size and shape of the grains or masses of powder in the charge; but these mechanical improvements were followed eventually by modifications in chemical composition. Men at last woke up to the fact that after all the old-fashioned
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312 THE ATHENAUM N° 3280, Serr. 6, ’90 composition might not be the very best attainable. And thus a brown prismatic powder came to be introduced for certain ——- in place of the time-honoured lack powder. The peculiarity of brown gunpowder lies mainly in the character of its carbon—which, instead of being ordinary charcoal, is only slightly charred vegetable matter—and in the proportion of saltpetre, which is sufficiently large to fully oxidize the carbon and the sulphur. Such powder burns but slowly, and the smoke which it produces, though not small in volume, is rapidly dispersed—a point of special im- portance in the present conditions of naval warfare. If it is a good thing that the smoke, having been produced, should be cleared off as soon as possible, it is a better thing that no smoke should, in the first place, be generated. For large quick-firing guns for naval use, and to a less extent for field artillery and for small arms, a smokeless powder is much to be desired ; and certain continental manufacturers have been equal to its production. It is found to be the saltpetre that is largely accountable for the production of smoke, since, being a nitrate of potassium, it yields on explosion certain potassium salts which are not gaseous, but are carried off in a fine state of division as a cloud of visible particles. It has therefore been proposed to replace this ‘‘ villainous saltpetre”’ by ammonium-nitrate—a salt which, though analogous in composition, yields no fixed products, being resolved after the explosion into compounds permanently gaseous. But this ammonium-nitrate is, unfortunately, a water-loving salt, and has, therefore, the great disadvantage of greedily absorbing moisture from the atmosphere— a vice of which common saltpetre, with all its villainy, is not guilty. Notwithstanding the hygroscopic character of ammonium- nitrate, which is a formidable obstacle to its use as an ingredient in gunpowder, this salt enters largely into the composition of many of the new “high explosives.” It is well known that gun-cotton is an explosive material absolutely smokeless ; but there are, unfortunately, grave difficulties in the way of utilizing this body with safety. In the open air it may be kept well under con- trol, but when strongly confined in the bore of a gun it is dangerously capricious in its action, though in a wet state it may be advantageously used for filling shells. Experiments on a large scale have recently been made in France with mélinite and certain other new explosives, around which considerable mystery still hangs. But whatever their composition, it is understood that picric acid is an important ingredient in their production. By France for some time past, and recently by Germany, large purchases of carbolic acid have been made in this country, and it is believed that much of this substance, instead of being used for disinfecting and antiseptic purposes, is applied to the more serious business of pro- ducing picric-acid explosives. More than a century ago it was known that the action of nitric acid on indigo yielded a yellow dye, and it was also found that silk treated with nitric acid produced a yellow acid substance, from which an ex- plosive salt could readily be obtained. It was soon discovered that this yellow acid was poisonous and intensely bitter to the taste, whence Dumas proposed to call it picric acid. As a dyestuff it was formerly prepared by the oxidation of a yellow resin from one of the Australian grass-trees, known as Botany Bay gum; but the use of this resin has given way of late years to that of car- bolic acid, or, as chemists prefer to call it, phenol, a substance which when oxidized by nitric acid yields the treacherous dye, many tons of which are thus manufactured annually in this country. The reticence and mystery maintained by the French authorities with respect to their new explosives have led to the most curious and exaggerated rumours respecting their character and power. It has been said, for instance, that the new agents of destruction are not only smokeless but soundless, so that in future warfare there will be neither roar of cannon nor cloud of smoke. Un- founded as some of these prophecies un- doubtedly are, it seems certain that the comparative absence of smoke will intro- duce into warfare an element with which commanders will have seriously to reckon. Science, usually beneficent, has of late years been busy in assisting those whose vocation it is—as the President put it—‘‘ to slay and be slain,” and in improving the material which is ‘‘destroyed in creating destruction.”” While engineers are devoting their energy to the production of man- killing appliances of the most refined type, chemists are busy in compounding explosives more subtle and more deadly than any hitherto known. It is pleasant to pass from military topics to the use of explosives in the peaceful art of mining. Sir F. Abel was a member of the Royal Commission on Accidents in Mines, presided over by the late Sir Warington Smyth, and was engaged for many years in testing the large number of safety-lamps submitted to the Commission. Not one of these could be pronounced faultless; and the lamp has yet to be constructed—probably by the electrician—which shall in truth be a lamp of safety in the pit. The President took occasion in this sec- tion of his address to point out the dangers arising from the presence of coal-dust in mines, though in connexion with this subject we miss the mention of Mr. Galloway’s name. It is established beyond dispute that the fine solid particles floating in the dry and dusty atmosphere pervading the workings of many collieries may readily propagate, if, indeed, they cannot initiate, an explosion, and this apparently without the actual presence of fire-damp: hence the grave danger of shot- firing under such conditions. Legislation, it is true, may do much to regulate the working of our mines; but it is to science that we ought to look as the true safeguard of our miners. Notwithstanding our in- creased knowledge of late years, it is humi- liating that there should still be so much that remains obscure. The recent accident at the Waltham Powder Mills and the fre- quent colliery explosions during the past year sufficiently show how much we have yet to learn before we can lay claim to any- thing like scientific mastery over the con- ditions which govern the safety of solid and gaseous explosives. The versatility of the President led him even at this advanced stage of his address to take up a@ new set of subjects, and to enlarge on the development of the petroleum industry and on the utilization of natural gas in the United States. Speaking in Leeds on the subject of new forms of fuel, he could hardly pass over the mention of water-gas, since it is there that Mr. Samson Fox has of late years turned this convenient, but decidedly dangerous fuel to use in metallurgical operations. As the President drew near to the close of his address he reviewed the educational resources of Leeds, and took occasion to compliment the Yorkshire College of Science upon its efficiency, especially in its textile and dyeing departments, which have ac- quired European reputation. Passing from Leeds to London, the President explained that the scheme for creating a comprehen- sive Science Museum at South Kensington —a scheme which has been in the air ever since the Loan Collection of Scientific Apparatus in 1876—is at length on the eve of consummation. On the south side of Imperial Institute Road there is to arise a building which in extent, in completeness, and in utility is to rival the famous Con- servatoire des Arts et Métiers in Paris. The new structure will stand immediately in the rear of the Natural History Museum, and will be opposite to the Science and Art Schools and to the South Kensington Museum with its wealth of art treasures ; while it will directly face the Imperial Institute. The mention of this Institute naturally recalls the useful work which Sir F. Abel, with his characteristic energy, has rendered, is rendering, and we trust will long continue to render, as its organizing secretary. What more fit as a peroration to the presidential address than a eulogy of this Institute! In the opinion of Sir Frederick Abel, the Imperial Institute “is destined to be one of the most important bulwarks of this country, its colonies and dependencies, by becoming a great centre of operations, ceaselessly active in fostering the unity, in developing the resources, and in thus maintaining and increasing the power and pro- sperity, of the British Empire.” Summer Rambles around Manchester. By Alfred Rimmer. (Manchester, Heywood.) WE always read Mr. Rimmer’s books with pleasure. He is not an antiquary—not a man of science of any kind, we should imagine; but he is just the sort of com- panion we should desire on a holiday. He does not overwhelm us with technical in- struction, but has an eye for beauty, both of nature and men’s hands, and is aware that the interest of scenery is much increased by historical associations. We do not imagine that the volume before us has had any higher object than that of amusing the tourist and the hundreds of others who would be tourists if they could. It has, however, a higher function. The illustra- tions, of which there is a good supply, represent in many cases the timber buildings for which the Manchester country is famous. We are most grateful for these engravings. The old timber houses are fast passing away, and it is but small satisfaction to know that modern builders are trying their best, or rather worst, to reproduce something they fancy like them. Turton Tower is a most lovely specimen of a kind of architecture to
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——» XUM N° 3280, Serr. 6,90 THE ATHENAUM 313 be found nowhere but in this island. Tonge Hall, we gather from the fragment still in existence, must have beenstill more beautiful. We are glad to know that a drawing of this building as it was in 1845, before the hand of the spoiler fell upon it, is yet in existence. Mr. Rimmer is not niggardly in the matter of illustrations; we wish he had given his readers a reproduction of this sketch. The old hall at Worsley is much more simple in style than most of the other timber buildings with which we are acquainted, but its size and the excellence of its propor- tions make it a most striking object. Mr. Rimmer’s mind is troubled, as that of every intelligent person must be, at the wanton destruction which is going on from day to day in our churches under pretence of restoration. The story of what has taken place at Ormskirk must sadden any one who cares for beauty, history, or the associations which gather around a place where our forefathers, Catholic and Pro- testant, have prayed for centuries. ‘It certainly was,” Mr. Rimmer tells us, “a substantial edifice, good for any number of years; but what do we find? Rebuilding has been begun...... The north wall of the church oes it is proposed to pull down entirely and rebuild, though it is admitted on all sides that the masonry is good and that the windows are as they were three centuries ago. This, it is stated, will absolutely destroy all the old build- ing, leaving only the tower and the spire, as records of what has been. The inside of the church is a wreck, and, excepting the chapels, it bears no resemblance to its former self." It was studdedalong theaisles with black oak benchends. These have been replaced with new white ones, and the old ones have been disposed of for shipment to Boston. There is an ancient carved chest in the vestry for the church records; the chest has been there, it is said, since the days of the Tudors. The enterprising American who secured the bench ends said he must really have this ‘in with the lot,’ but fortunately his bid was not high enough, and it is there yet.” This is but a sample of acts which are taking place all around us. It is surely not unreasonable to ask that Parliament should intervene to protect the little that is left. Mr. Rimmer tells a wonderful story of having bought at Montreal, some thirty-five or forty years ago, a let of books at an auction, among which was a copy of Burke’s ‘Landed Gentry,’ some forty years old. We suppose he means the edition in four volumes, published in 1836 to 1838. He gave ten shillings for his bargain, and has been offered fifty pounds for it. We do not understand this. The book is not of any great value. It is possible, though he does not say so, that the copy he possesses may be enriched with manuscript notes. Correspondance Secréte du Comte de Mercy- Argenteau avec l Empereur Joseph IT. et le Prince de Kaunitz. Publiée par M. le Chevalier Alfred d’Arneth, Directeur des Archives de la Maison, de la Cour et de l’Etat d’Autriche, et M. Jules Flammer- mont, Professeur d’Histoire 4 la Faculté des Lettres de Lille. Tome I. (Paris, Imprimerie Nationale.) Ir seems odd that the editors of this in- teresting collection of State Papers should have postponed the publication of their introduction until the appearance of the second volume. Their readers, however, will have little difficulty in discovering from various foot-notes that the Count de Mercy was born in or near Li¢ge on the 20th of April, 1727; that he entered the service of Maria Theresa under the patron- age of the Austrian Chancellor, Prince Kaunitz; that he became minister at Turin in 1754, and at St. Petersburg in 1761. In 1766 he was appointed imperial ambassador at Paris, and was still holding that post in December, 1780, when the series of letters published in the present volume began. The first important event mentioned in the correspondence is the death of Maria Theresa. The volume is, then, a sequel to Arneth’s ‘ Marie Antoinette : Correspondance Secréte entre Marie Thérése et le Comte de Mercy-Argenteau,’ published in 1874, and its contents have been in part anticipated by his ‘Marie Antoinette, Josef II., und Leopold II., ihr Brief- wechsel,’ published in 1866, and by Beer’s ‘ Josef II., Leopold II., und Kaunitz, ihr Briefwechsel,’ published in 1873. Still the editors have given to the world some mate- rials for history of great importance to the student of the antecedents of the French Revolution. At the close of 1780, as most people are aware, Great Britain wasat war single-handed with the United States of America, with France, Spain, and Holland; and the armed neutrality of the North was directly organized by Catherine of Russia to bring to an end our excessive pretensions with regard to the rights of blockade. It was the object of Kaunitz to effect a peace through the joint mediation of Austria and Russia, and his letters show plainly enough that the English Ministry were well advised when they turned a deaf ear to his proposal, and pre- ferred to negotiate directly with the French monarchy. A writer who could hail the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown with expressions of unbounded delight, and receive the intelligence of Rodney’s great victory over De Grasse with unconcealed de- spondency, was hardly in a frame of mind suited to the discharge of mediatorial duties. Besides, his real design in getting a Con- gress to assemble at Vienna was not to produce a cessation of bloodshed, but to increase the importance of Austriain Europe, especially at the expense of old Frederick of Prussia. ‘I am quite convinced,” he wrote to Mercy on the 8th of September, 1781, ‘that the belligerent courts will not make peace, and cannot even make it, so long as they are able to continue the war. But its duration will be of little consequence to me so soon as the opening of the Congress has dissipated my fear that they may make peace without us.” How little our military disasters impressed Europe in comparison with our naval vic- tories comes out incidentally in the Emperor Joseph’s comments onthe conditions of peace. He was unable to conceive how England could ever have consented to them, and came to the conclusion that they were only made to be broken. With the termination of the American war, England, exhausted by the struggle, and directed by the pacific policy of Pitt, practically disappeared from the arena of continental politics, and her affairs occupy very little space in the correspondence of Joseph, Kaunitz, and Mercy. Thoseof France, however, are naturally dwelt on at great length, particularly in their bearings on the “‘system,” as Kaunitz constantly calls it— the maintenance, that is, of the French and Austrian alliance. In 1780 the Austrian Chancellor expressed himself as being per- fectly satisfied with the honesty of the French Foreign Minister, the Count de Vergennes. But before long he began to modify his opinion, although he characteristically allowed that the legal training of Vergennes might be answerable for many of his defects. ‘The bar,” he wrote, ‘‘ appears in all his actions and even in his writings, of which there is a recent instance in the expression ‘to withdraw the plea’ and others besides in his last answer.” On his side Mercy lost no opportunity of con- firming the suspicions entertained by the Chancellor and the Emperor against Ver- gennes. The result of his letters was that fatal policy of playing off the influence of Marie Antoinette over her husband against that of the French ministers, which was one of the chief causes of her unpopularity in France, and which eventually helped to bring her to the scaffold. It was some time before the scheme could be brought into good working order. Marie Antoinette, immersed in the delights of the Petit Trianon, could not be induced by Mercy to take any interest in public affairs. In letter after letter he complained to the Emperor of her immoderate taste for pleasure; and Joseph warned his sister—‘‘the woman,” as he wrote to Mercy, ‘‘ whom I love best in the world’”?—that by neglecting her present opportunities of acquiring a position of importance she was preparing for herself a dreary old age. There is much Sophoclean irony in the expression. Failing the Queen, there was some talk among the triumvirate of procuring the ap- pointment of somecapableminister who would act in the interests of Austria as the suc- cessor to the aged Maurepas. Mercy thought that Loménie de Brienne would be the best man, and his absurdly exaggerated estimate of that worthless individual’s qualifications is all the more curious because his opinions on French statesmen in general were re- markably sensible. He lamented the dis- missal of Necker from office after the pub- lication of his famous ‘Compte Rendu,’ and distrusted the nomination of Calonne: ‘‘They say that he is clever, but no one can stand worse in the opinion of the public than he does on the score of character and honesty.” But Mercy finally came to the conclusion that Louis, who had mediocrity’s distrust of talent, was unlikely to submit to the domina- tion of a great minister, and Kaunitz agreed with him. ‘‘ Fools,’’ wrote the latter, ‘‘ are the most difficult people in the world to govern.” ‘‘Since the peace,” Mercy re- ported to the Emperor on November 19th, 1783, “there have been continual signs here of deep- seated disorders, and of difficulties which are all the more serious because the people whose natural office it is to remedy them are totally and notoriously incapable of doing so. Their dis- union adds to the embarrassment caused by their incapacity ; every action of theirs is a blunder, and its results immediate. In spite of the state of affairs, which apparently exists from no other reason than the folly of the ministers, the monarchy is such a source of strength that order could be promptly and easily restored if authority was placed once more in the hands of
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314 THE ATHENAUM N° 3280, Sept. 6, 90 acapable man. But it isa moral certainty that for some time to come such a man will not be sought or recognized as a necessity...... Indepen- dently of that consideration, it is well known that the King fears men of genius; and that is the reason of the perpetual banishment of M. Necker from the finances, though the general voice of the nation, even in its most distant provinces, demands his return to power.” Accordingly, since there was no chance of a pro-Austrian minister, further pressure was put by the Emperor on his sister, and Mercy was at last able to report that she was decidedly taking more interest in affairs of state. He even remarked that her zeal on occasions outran her discretion, and that her reprimands to Vergennes for his intrigues with Prussia and Holland were couched in too violent language. ‘ L’Autrichienne” had, in fact, learnt her lesson only too well. Vergennes was hardly a great statesman, otherwise he would not have embarked his country in the disastrous alliance with the revolted American colonies. He may have been, as Mercy constantly asserted, am- bitious in a little way, and actuated by a sordid love of wealth. But he was enough of a patriot to decline being led by the nose by Mercy and Kaunitz, and there can be no doubt that he thoroughly understood the character of Joseph II.—of the man who, to quote Frederick the Great’s familiar sarcasm, always took the second step before taking the first. The years immediately after the American war were those during which Joseph’s comprehensive and rash im- agination was most active, and Vergennes showed hardly less skill than did Frederick the Great in foiling his various projects as they came to light. In 1780 Joseph had met Catherine of Russia, and was deeply bitten by her idea that the hour for the partition of the Ottoman Empire had arrived. From one of his letters to Mercy it is clear that he was delighted with Catherine’s unprincipled occupation of the Crimea in 1783, and thought that the ob- jections of France might easily be satisfied by giving her Egypt as part of the spoil of that great division to which the occupation of the Crimea was to be a mere prelude. Mercy earnestly and ably remonstrated with his master on the folly of playing into the hands of Russia, and Joseph contented him- self for the time being with sending an army of observation to the frontier, in order to intimidate the Turks. Vergennes, nevertheless, took up the cudgels on behalf of the Porte in good earnest, and such was the vigour of his remonstrance that it almost seemed as if “the system” was likely to come to an end. Kaunitz, however, had recourse to a dodge which was afterwards a favourite of Lord Palmerston’s. A despatch containing a vigorous indictment of the recent policy of Vergennes was sent to Mercy by the ordinary post, with the inten- tion that it should be read by Vergennes on its arrival in Paris—as it was read. Ac- cording to Mercy the hint produced an excellent effect, and confidence was restored between the two Governments. None the less was Joseph compelled to abandon for the time being his schemes for the partition of Turkey. Meanwhile “the system” was endan- gered by proceedings of Joseph a good deal nearer the French frontier. He had during the American war taken the bold step of declaring the Barrier Treaty to be at an end, and had compelled the Dutch garrisons to withdraw from several of their fortresses, which were then dismantled. He now, in 1784, abruptly revived an old imperial claim upon Maestricht, and insisted upon the free navigation of the Scheldt. The brave little Dutch Republic promptly retorted by firing upon an Austrian ship, and Joseph pre- pared to pour troops into the Austrian Netherlands. It was now the turn of the French to send an army of observation to the frontier, where its presence was bitterly resented by Joseph. Further, Vergennes appears to have declined to present an Austrian ultimatum to the Dutch, and a period of irritation followed during which Mercy lectured Marie Antoinette, Marie Antoinette lectured Vergennes, and Louis listened amiably to everybody and did nothing. Eventually the question, which Joseph had complicated by entering into negotiations with the Elector Palatine for the exchange of the Austrian Netherlands and Bavaria, was settled by French media- tion. The letters in the present volume contain numerous references to the Treaty of Fontainebleau, by which the difficulty was composed in November, 1785, but they do not add much to our knowledge of the raison d’étre of its somewhat curious pro- visions. That treaty was immediately fol- lowed by a close alliance between France and Holland, which constituted another blow to ‘‘the system.”’ Mercy does not seem to have been aware of the arrangement, but his letters written at the close of the year show that he suspected Vergennes of trying to effect an understanding with the German League, which had been formed by Frederick the Great to counteract the projects of Joseph. The next volume can hardly fail to deal with the final and disastrous failure of those projects. The editing of this volume is worthy of the highest praise. The notes are concise and to the point, and the errors singularly few. The only mistake of importance that we have been able to discover is in the date of Rodney’s victory over De Grasse, which is wrongly given as the 12th of May, 1782, instead of the 12th of April. The Fourth Book of Thucydides. A Revision of the Text illustrating the Principal Causes of Corruption in the Manuscripts of this Author. By William Gunion Rutherford, LL.D. (Macmillan & Co.) Tue main point of this publication is to show that the text of Thucydides is pro- fusely garnished with ‘interpolated ad- scripts,” an undertaking which ought not to have been ventured upon without long and careful study of the text of Thucydides. This Dr. Rutherford has not, as he informs us in his preface, had the time to prosecute. He has found many words, phrases, and clauses in the text of Thucydides which seem, at any rate on a cursory view, to be super- fluous, and he has observed that in many cases such redundancies embody the kind of matter of which glosses largely consist. No one knows better than Dr. Rutherford all that pertains to scholia; so his contention may be safely accepted just so far. Thu- cydides often falls below the ideal standard of artistic regularity and parsimony of diction, so that his work occasionally presents the appearance of a text interspersed with elucidatory remarks; and as is often the case when an author overloads the frame- work of his sentences, the intended eluci- dation occasionally results in obscurity. The assumption, however, that this appear- ance is not due to the author’s idiosyncrasy, but to wholesale interpolation, is by no means warranted by the state of the text. To justify such an assumption there ought to be no possibility of mistake about the alterations and excisions which the proposer regards as inevitable. One is at first sight struck by the general correctness of dialect which characterizes the alleged “‘ adscripts,” relegated in archaistic type to Dr. Ruther- ford’s margins. Scholiasts would surely have betrayed their interference by obvious deviations from old Attic idiom. Itis quite possible that our text is an interpolated version of the first draft of Thucydides’s history, the interpolator being the author himself, in which case the accretions must be held sacred. It must not be forgotten that our author tells us that his primary aim was not to produce an dxpdapa, and that he had a poor opinion of the historical and geographical attainments of his con- temporaries. Dr. Rutherford can hardly have borne this sufficiently in mind when he condemned so many clauses which amplify geographical statements and allusions. On this point it is unnecessary to expatiate, so we shall pass on to defend our view by giving instances in which our editor seems to have formed his conclusions without due consideration. In the introduction (p. xxi) Dr. Rutherford propounds, with an air of discovery, one of Shilleto’s best- known “tips” for Thucydidean prose, viz., that a verb can always be paraphrased by wocioGa. (we fear Shilleto said wove Ga), and, in the passive, by y/yverOa. with a sub- stantive expressing the action of the verb paraphrased. But unfortunately we find another use of yevéofac mixed up with this well-known idiom as to chap. 47 (p. xxii), with the result that the Athenian generals are said to have contributed to the precision of a reason alleged by other people, whereas the effect of their contribution was that the reason, when it had been alleged, proved or appeared to be sound to the victims of the allegation. The introductory essay on style and diction also deals with a ‘* development of participial usage in Thucydides —a point of style which has not only confused the copyists but also puzzled pretty often the commentators. Take for example chap. 20, 3, where the Lacedaemonian envoys point out the advantages which the Athenians will reap from letting the prisoners in the island go :—Aake- Saipmoviwy efertuv ——— yever Oar BeBaiws avtTOv Te Tpockareoapévwv Yapioapevots TE parrov7} Buacapéevwv. You may become friends on a firm footing of the Lacedaemonians, they themselves entreating you and you doing them a favour rather than they compelling you. Here most manuscripts, and, I think, all editors read B.acapévors, as if any speaker pleading for con-° cession would admit that it was in the power of the other side to do as they pleased.” One of the puzzled commentators might suggest that the grammar of Biacapévwv is questionable, and might assert with confi- dence that the speaker pleading for conces- sion had admitted just as much by Biacdeis,
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XUM N° 3280, Serr. 6, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 315 chap. 19, § 3,as he would admit by Biacapevors here. The marginal notes start off badly with the unnecessary alteration of fvveraydvrwv into gvvevaydvrwv after Cobet. This re- nowned scholar, to whose memory the work is piously dedicated, is not seen to advan- tage in his notes on Thucydides, and in this case he has forgotten that, even if the exiles of Rhegium could not érdyev Locrians against their own country, they certainly could fuverdyewv. On p. xix we read of the ‘‘invariable middle of éréyeoOa:,” in spite of Shilleto’s excellent note on book i. chap. 107, § 6, which we earnestly recom- mend to Dr. Rutherford’s notice. The excision of domep taperxevdfovro (chap. 2) is quite unnecessary, the allusion to book iii. chap. 115 being helpful to the sense and beneficial to the sound of the sentence; while the excision of trav év ty 7éAc is absolutely surprising, as without these words we want the article before Kopxvpaiwy to take us back in thought to book iii. chap. 85, besides which the condemned phrase makes a good rhetorical balance to Tov év to Oper. The idea that the first sen- tence of chap. 4 is corrupt might have been dissipated by consulting Mr. Graves’s treat- ment of the passage, for if there is any- thing in the objection to péyp: on account of the absence of od (which is extremely un- certain), the simplest plan is to insert it, as it might easily have fallen out before adrois. We might go on straight through the book, showing that the majority of the changes suggested by Dr. Rutherford are either quite unnecessary or absolutely erroneous. On p. 112 Dobree should be credited with the suggestion that Mévdnv is a gloss. In chap. 24 dxpwrypiov, which is excluded, is absolutely necessary after rot re ‘Pyyiov, as To ‘Pyywov, meaning the town, comes just before. As to chap. 67,§3, it is obvious from the remarks on p. xlvi that Dr. Ruther- ford had not seen Mr. Graves’s rendering of adavyns 8) ein 1) pvdaky, “their looking out might be uncertain’ (cf. 2, 42; 8, 92 for the sense of dfavs), so that the condemna- tion of the end of § 3 must, at any rate, be reconsidered. As to chap. 30, § 38, brovo@y mpdtepov eAdoooc. Tov GiTov avrov éoréurev, we are told, with some temerity, that ‘Kennedy is right in making airov the same thing as tov citov for a number of men smaller than it.” Here an oppor- tunity of altering the recorded text has been missed, as the reading given by Mr. Graves in his second edition, tov cirov trav avrov, is diplomatically easy, and makes sense and grammar quite satisfactory. In chap. 32, § 1, royodpevor is inserted (with- out any indication that it is interpolated) between Aafdvres and tiv droBacrv, and the note tells us that the MS. reading can ‘only mean unobserved of the landing,” the determinant accusative being apparently forgotten for the moment. Enough has been said to establish a strong presumption that the text of Thucydides affords no solid foundation for our editor’s brilliant but hasty hypothesis. Dr. Rutherford should consult Mr. Graves’s edition of Thucydides for the future, and generally pay more respect and attention to English students of that author, who have done much good work which no editor can afford to neglect. We earnestly urge upon Dr. Rutherford not to endanger the reputation deservedly gained by painstaking work, through a notion that his oditer dicta on the textual criticism of a difficult author can take rank as a presentable edition. NOVELS OF THE WEEK, Name and Fame. By A. 8. Ewing Lester and Adeline Sergeant. 3 vols. (Bentley & Son.) All for Naught. By Wilfred Woollam. 3 vols. (Hurst & Blackett.) A Willing Exile. By André Raffalovich. 2 vols. (White & Co.) Sapphira. By Sarah Tytler. 2 vols. (Ward & Downey.) The Mysterious Stranger. By C. H. Thor- burn. (Digby & Long.) The Havoc of a Smile. By L. B. Walford. (Spencer Blackett.) Tue authors of ‘Name and Fame’ have endeavoured, with more success than might have been expected, to justify a bold step across conventional boundaries. Lettice Campion avows to Alan Walcott, a married man, that she will come to his arms whether or not he obtains the divorce he is justified in seeking. Alan, a poet and a man of high refinement, has been put for years to the most terrible torture by an unfaithful and malignant wife; he has suffered un- justly at the hands of the law as the re- sult of her violence and deliberate false- hood; in Lettice he has found his equal in mind and his superior in generosity and candour ; Lettice has believed in him when his life was shadowed by disgrace, and has braved hostile opinion by receiving him when released from prison, and when he had not another friend in the world; and to these circumstances of inducement may be added the all-important fact that Lettice is in love. The temptation is immense. Apart from the breach of positive law in- volved, there is nothing immoral in the course contemplated by the lovers. And yet, in spite of the skill which enlists our sympathy for the generous, honest-hearted heroine, we feel that in the last concession to her lover she is unworthy of herself. We cannot blame her, but we are sorry; there is more of self in the resolution than she herself suspects. That the literary authors of her being think so too is obvious from their commonplace expedient of killing Cora out of the way to make room for legitimate love. There is a good deal that is read- able in the book, which has a sufficient counterplot in the affairs of the aspiring Conservative lawyer and politician, Sydney Campion. The effect that prosperous gen- tleman’s J/iaison with Milly has upon the proud and pure lady whom he has since married is told with much pathos and fidelity. There is a little too much flavour of the ‘Newgate Calendar’ in Mr. Woollam’s book. Bell is a right good sister, and faithful at heart to the lover she justly re- nounces; but it is a dangerous experiment to make the leading figure a returned con- vict, and a scoundrel with so few lighter traits to relieve him as ‘‘Mr. Miles.” He is supposed to be more or less a gentleman by education, but it is not in nature that a man of his antecedents should have attracted the affection of a spirited girl like Di Kennedy. He is not represented to have retained it; but it is unlikely, to our thinking, that the prison taint should not have be- trayed itself sooner. Be this as it may, his repulsive presence mars the story. There is a warmish love scene on the ‘ Chan- cellor’s Bench,” which shows very pretty powers in that style of description. George ought, of course, to have kissed the lady, which would have saved all the subsequent complications with the wretched Miles. The two girls are the best characters in the book. A very heartless murder and a suicide of unusual character are introduced for deco- rative purposes. ‘A Willing Exile,’ by André Raffalovich (author of a volume of slender verse), appears to us very poor stuff indeed; it is even disagreeable in places, though happily of weak enough texture to escape one, as it were, inthe very reading. It is supposed to be a picture of a certain phase of second- rate London society, actual and of the moment. One would hope the phase is momentary indeed, and as ephemeral as the somewhat nauseating impression of the novel itself. Of the story nothing need be said. It is a series of mere sketches and faintest of silhouettes; style there is none, and the narrative is jerky and uncomfortable. The motto is chosen from Thomas 4 Kempis. What, one would like to ask, is Thomas a Kempis doing dans cette galére ? Miss Tytler’s short story shows no falling off, though it will hardly suffice to increase the writer’s reputation. Her pair of sisters are well contrasted: Agnes, with her Viking air, and Georgie, the plump brunette, are both as attractive as they are in many ways unlike. Of their physical differences the author justly says, ‘‘ We English, Lowland Scotch, and Americans, who claim not only Anglo-Saxons, but Normans and Danes, with possibly a sprinkling of Celts or Cymri, among our remoter ancestors, may well dis- play traits of various nationalities.” So Agnes is a Norsewoman, Georgie a Celt. The qualities of each supplement the other’s. When obscurity and poverty are the suffi- cient troubles of the modest home, Agnes stands in the breach with heroic pen, and supports her mother and sister. When dis- grace comes—disgrace through the mother she has idealized and set upon a pedestal for worship—Agnes breaks down, and prac- tical Georgie exercises the domestic virtues in the days of banishment to the Norman city. When the poor mother, whose one lapse from truth and honour has been so long her chastisement, dies in saving her elder daughter from burning, Agnes renews her life with her recovered veneration for her parent. There are, of course, lovers in reserve for these honest maidens, and Georgie and her brother remain in the land of their adoption, which Miss Tytler knows so well. ‘The Mysterious Stranger’ is so crude and unformed, and lacking in knowledge of how to shape the mere elements of a story, that it can scarce be regarded seriously. It is not very interesting in itself, and it is full of platitudes, irrelevant and trite re- flections, weak dialogue, and hopeless in- congruities. The first person singular is occasionally introduced in a bewildering way, something in the fashion of “and I am a good man, too,” of the ballad. All
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316 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3280, Sepr. 6, ’90 sorts of unnecessary things are dragged in, such as an ordinary Atlantic trip, the state of the police, the militia, tobogganing, &c. ‘‘Equally as pleasurable,” ‘‘I love you greater,” ‘‘ Won’t you come in my room?” and many such solecisms occur. The myste- rious stranger, “ arrayed in a perfectly plain dress, through whose folds the graceful out- line of her figure appeared and disappeared,” causing her to resemble the Venus of Milo, suddenly introduces herself, ‘‘ when the night is late,” into a young bank clerk’s rooms, where she encourages him to treat her to black currant jam, port wine, and passionate love-making. He rises to a pitch of real enthusiasm when he entreats her “to love him, not as a merchant regards his clerks, but with a deeper, intenser feeling.” All this and more, which we omit, may surely be taken as a good example of how not to write a story. ‘The Havoc of a Smile’ is the not par- ticularly attractive title bestowed by Mrs. Walford on a little story that is pleasant enough, and certainly innocent enough in character. There are people who will call it ‘‘cheap”’ as regards sentiment and work- manship. It is certainly not all one has been taught to expect from the author, and one can well believe that in writing it she has expended but little effort. Yet the result is not displeasing; there is ease and lightness of touch, and a good deal of that unobtrusive cleverness which distinguishes most of her work. Better things we have read, of course, by the same hand, but ‘ The Havoc of a Smile’ is quite as agreeable and amusing as other of its fellows of the half- hour sort. Beatrice is a nice girl, and her championship of the neglected cousin Geoffrey and its consequences are not alto- gether unlike the ways of real life. The story, such as it is, is naturally and simply told—especially at the outset. Anonyms: a Dictionary of Revealed Author- ship. By W. Cushing, B.A. 2 vols. (Sampson Low & Co.) Wirn the publication of ‘Anonyms’ Mr. Cushing brings to a close his bibliographical labours. These, which include the two series of ‘ Initials and Pseudonyms,’ are confessedly based upon or imitated from the ‘Super- cheries Littéraires Dévoilées’ of Quérard, and the ‘ Dictionnaire des Ouvrages Ano- nymes,’ &c., of Barbier, to which in Paris a supplement has just been issued. A quota- tion, indeed, from the former writer appears upon the title-page. Inquiries into the authorship of anonymous works have always had an attraction for the student. ‘To re- move for a moment a well-worn mask and obtain a flash of a real face is as much of a pleasure as, in some instances, of an imper- tinence. In a world in which vanity is a prime agent it is not surprising to find few literary secrets of importance successfully guarded. Where any general recognition attends a work, and any consequent curiosity prevails concerning its author, the cases are rare in which the incognito is successfully guarded. Many motives may lead a man to adopt the vizor of the unknown. Sometimes, as in the case of Sir Walter Scott, a writer who has won a reputation in one class of litera- ture is anxious not to imperil it by breaking new ground. Now and again a novelist or a playwright, who is or fancies himself the victim of a cabal or of some unmerited hos- tility, produces anonymously a work that shall stir no prejudice. In these and similar cases, however, avowal is the necessary at- tendant upon success, and the fact that the authorship of a book remains obscure fur- nishes in nineteen cases out of twenty proof of the indifference of the public. As a rule it is only when the motive is self-preserva- tion that the secret remains intact. In the case of religious pamphlets, which in some periods might lead a man to expiation in Smithfield, or of political writings, for which a writer, if he were not hanged, might reason- ably expect to have his ears nailed to the pillory, great and successful care has some- times been exercised. Every monarch has not been so indulgent as Charles II., whokept his satirists about his court, nor every noble- man 80 lenient as the marquis who is said to have boxed the ears of Moli¢ére when he might have had him beaten by his servants or slain. Satire is accordingly not seldom anonymous, and its writer remains occasion- ally to the present day uncertain. The authorship of Junius is thus the great problem of English literature, and that on which the most intelligent and conscientious labour has been bestowed. This name, however, appears in the author’s first series of ‘Initials and Pseudonyms,’ and the two parts of the ‘ Political Contest’ are un- mentioned. Completeness is, of course, impossible in the case of a work of this description. Fresh knowledge is constantly rendered available, and each successive volume of Notes and Queries furnishes matter for additions. It will serve, indeed, as proof of the difficulty of obtaining full information that from the list of successive editors of that periodical the name of Dr. Doran is wanting. Mr. Cushing’s work is useful, and will be in constant request. In one particular at least it is capable of improvement. Wher- ever possible the authority for the ascrip- tion of a book to a given author should be furnished. The value of information de- pends greatly upon its source. Authorship may be assigned to a man rightly or wrongly, with a benevolent or malevolent purpose. The name of a publisher affixed to an address to the reader is sometimes, without justification, assumed to be that of the writer. Other causes of error exist, and an arbitrary statement that a book is by a given writer will not always carry con- viction. The work is comprehensive, and is a result of commendable industry. It may even be read with pleasure by those interested in bibliography, the chief draw- back in this respect being that the reader is constantly referred to one or other series of ‘Initials and Pseudonyms,’ of which he may or may not possess a copy. A chief, and perhaps inevitable, weakness in works of this class is the amount of space occu- pied with matter with which every man of moderate information is supposed to be familiar. Thus on the first page we find ‘The Abbot’ ascribed to Sir Walter Scott, and ‘Abbotsford’ and ‘Newstead Abbey’ to Washington Irving. A few pages further, under ‘‘ Adventures,” are those of Peregrine Pickle and of Roderick Random assigned to Smollett, and of Philip ‘‘on his way through the world” to Thackeray. ‘All Vows Kept,’ acomedy, Dublin, 1733, by Capt. Downes, described in the ‘ Bio- graphia Dramatica’ as ‘‘ nephew and aid- du-camp [s?c] of Primate Hoadley when he was one of the Lords Justices of Ireland,” is given in error to John Downes, described as ‘“‘ bookkeeper and prompter ” (the two offices are the same) ‘‘of the Duke’s Company...... 1662-1706?” (1710). The ‘Amours of Messalina, late Queen of England,’ London, 1689, and other attacks upon Maria d’Este, are not inserted. These are assigned to Gregorio Leti. It may be said that the authorship of these is unsettled. In other cases, however (see /neas Eunuchus), the names are given of reputed authors. Without going beyond the opening letter it would be easy to point out further in- accuracy. The task would be ungracious, since the work is both conscientious and use- ful. We fail to see any great advantage in giving the authors of reviews in magazines, most of which are to be found in Poole’s ‘ Index to Magazine Literature,’ and the titles of songs such as ‘And you’ll remember me,’’ concerning which no doubt, so far as we know, has ever existed. CLASSICAL TRANSLATIONS, Tr is not long since we noticed the first three volumes of the revised edition of Whiston’s Josephus, which is a welcome addition to “Bohn’s Standard Library” (Bell & Sona). Volumes1V.and V., completingthe work, are now before us. They contain the ‘ Jewish War,’ and the little treatise (written against Apion) on the antiquity of the Jews. Whiston’s translation is revised by the Rev. A. R. Shilleto, and topo- graphical notes are added by Sir Chas. Wilson, K.C.B., one of the pioneers of exploration in Palestine. Mr. C. H. RwussExt's volume of Greek and Latin T'ranslations (Percival & Co.) is one of the smallest books ever offered to the public in the dignity of a buckram binding. It consists of thirty-four pieces of Greek and Latin verse, averaging about fifteen lines each. Of the pieces at least twenty are Latin elegiacs,a few are in hexameters, one in asclepiads, and the rest in Greek iambics. The book will be of some use to schoolmasters, for the English extracts are all of great merit, and present no difficulties that a boy may not fairly be asked to encounter, while the “fair copies,” though not brilliant, are good, and exemplify several useful tricks, especially the trick of repeating a word or phrase in elegiacs. The first stanza of the translation of ‘‘She walks in beauty, like the night,” is a very fair specimen of Mr. Russell's style :— Pulcbrior incedit nigrantis imagine noctis, Qua liquido fulgent sidera multa polo. Sive quid obscuri est seu quid mirabile clari, Hoc simul in voltu luminibusque coit : Non secus ac tenerum quod molli vespere lumen Esse solet, medio non solet esse die. Tue Rev. J. L. S. Hatton, being of opinion, as his title-page avows, that “Wein, Weiber, und Gesang” are proper subjects of admiration, has translated the Odes of Horace into English verse (Seeley & Co.). In spite of some halting lines, some lapses of grammar, and many mis- prints, the translation is, as a whole, pretty readable, and is now and then good. The lovers of Horace, however, to whom it is dedicated, will not think highly of it for an excellent reason ; Mr. Hatton has paid no attention to metre at all. He hardly ever attempts to produce, even to the eye, a semblance of the original stanza ; he renders alcaics and sapphics into six or eight metres indiscriminately, and most of the English metres that he chooses are of a rattling and convivial character. Whatever merit there may be in the performance, it is annoying to find a serious ode rendered in the
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XUM N° 3280, Sept. 6, 90 THE ATHENZUM 317 metre of “ A nice young man was Billee Taylor,” or of “O young Lochinvar is come out of the West.” The beginning of iii. 30 (“‘ Exegi monu- mentum ”) is a fair specimen of Mr. Hatton’s untimely merriment :— I have built me a monument better than brass, Or the regal pyramid tall, The vain north winds and the rains shall pass, But they never shall work its fall, Nor countless years, nor time’s swift flight, For I never shall wholly die, And my better part in its power and might From the clutches of Death shall fly. Here is a better example in the same style (i. 11, ‘‘ Tu ne queesieris ”) :— Do not inquire, it is useless, Leuconoe, What the gods purpose for you or for me, Try not the oracles called Babylonian, Better endure it, whatever it be; Whether more winters great Jupiter gives us, Or ’tis our last one that ruffles the brine, Drink well, but hope little, time flies as we chatter, The future is doubtful, the present is thine. This glib stuff is as much like Horace as a satyr is like Hyperion. Mr. Hatton would probably do better with original ditties of a Bacchanalian cast. FOLK-LORE. Sixty Folk - Tales from exclusively Slavonic Sources. Translated, with Brief Introductions and Notes, by A. H. Wratislaw. (Stock.)—The immediate source from which the tales in this volume are derived is a Slavonic chrestomathy (Citanka, ‘‘ Reader’’), published in 1865 by the Bohemian scholar K. J. Erben, and containing a hundred popular stories in different Slavonic dialects, with a vocabulary of the words and forms of which explanation is needed by Chekh readers. Mr. Wratislaw’s selection includes twenty stories in Western Slavonic dialects (Bohemian, Polish, &c.), fourteen in the dialects of Russian, and twenty-six in Bulgarian, Servian, and Illyrian-Slovenish. One or two of the pieces were not worth translating ; the Lusatian ‘Red Riding Hood,’ for instance, presents no variation of any importance from the form ordi- narily current. If the tale really circulates in this form in Lusatia, the fact might be worth recording, though a mere statement in a note would have been sufficient ; but the reader is not informed whether the Lusatian version was actually written down from the dictation of an unlettered narrator. In general, however, these stories are almost as interesting as Grimm’s Mérchen. Although in many cases the groundwork is familiar enough, the treat- ment is nearly always strikingly original and often genuinely poetic. One of the finest popular tales in existence of the marvellous kind is the Polish ‘ Prince Unexpected’ (No. 17), of which ‘ The Fisherman’s Son’ (No. 58), trans- lated from the IlIlyrian-Slovenish, is a much poorer variant. The Carniolan tales differ from the rest of the collection in being in the strictest sense mythological. The first of them tells of the origin of the human race. The universe, it is related, sprang into being from the glances which darted from the eyes of God when He awoke out of the sleep that had possessed Him from all eternity. The Creator travelled through the starry regions to see the worlds which He had unconsciously made, and when at last He reached the earth, wearied with His long journey, a drop of sweat fell from Him and became man. Hence it is that mankind, though akin to God, are doomed to a life of toil. Then follows a legend of a flood in which the human race was destroyed, only one person surviving, preserved by the interven- tion of a mysterious being‘called Kurent, appa- rently a sort of Bacchus. Afterwards Kurent and the man struggled for the dominion of the earth. The man was superior in strength, but Kurent, by means of the wine-cup, caused him to incur the anger of God, and brought down upon him a terrible vengeance, in consequence of which his descendants are dwarfed and feeble, so that Kurent now rules the world unresisted. Of the latter portion of the story there are two differing versions, though the result of the con- test is the same in both. One would like to know more about this curious mythological cycle, which certainly looks like a genuine sur- vival of Slavonic paganism. Mr. Wratislaw’s introductions and notes are not so full of in- formation as could be desired, and they contain some unscientific attempts to interpret folk-tales as nature-myths; but these blemishes do not greatly affect the merit of this singularly interest- ing book. The Folk-Tales of the Magyars. Collected by Kriza, Erdélyi, Pap, and others. Translated and edited, with Comparative Notes, by the Rev. W. H. Jones and Lewis L. Kropf. (Folk- lore Society.)—The popular tales of Hungary have hitherto been almost wholly overlooked by English folk-lore students, as they have been accessible only in the original language, and, to a limited extent, in little-known German trans- lations. The present volume contains fifty-three storics from various sources, accompanied by a large amount of illustrative material. As the Magyars speak a non-Aryan Janguage, it would be natural, at least according to the theories generally current, to expect that their folk-tales would be found to exhibit some marked differ- ences in character from those of Aryan-speaking peoples. In fact, however, there are few incidents in the stories of this collection for which German or Slavonic parallels may not be found, and many of the tales are current, with little essential variation, among the peasantry of England or France. It is, of course, very likely that some of the tales which circulate among Teutonic and Slavonic peoples may be of Hungarian origin ; on the other hand, the Magyars have certainly borrowed freely from their neighbours. The references to parallels in Grimm and Ralston might easily have been made more numerous ; but the editors have wisely preferred to illus- trate the Hungarian tales chiefly by comparison with those of the Lapps and Finns, many of which are given from unpublished sources. The introduction, which is somewhat unskilfully written, contains a brief sketch of the history of Hungary, and some interesting details of Hungarian popular usages and superstitions. Tales of the Sun; or, Folk-lore in Southern India, professes to be ‘‘ collected by Mrs. H. Kingscote and Pandit Nates’a S’astri,” and in her preface Mrs. Kingscote speaks of her own tales as distinct from those collected by the Pandit and already published by him. Ex- amination, however, shows that of the twenty- six tales composing the book no fewer than twenty-three have been already published by the Pandit, nearly all in the Indian Anti- quary. Yet, as that valuable periodical is quite beyond the reach of the ordinary reader, the present handy and pleasantly printed little volume will be none the less acceptable to all such as care for some specimens of the South Indian equivalents of our popular and nursery tales. The publication will have been justified to some extent if it serves to bring before the public and students of general folk-lore the name of the patriotic and industrious scholar who has worked for some years past on the popular literature of his country. It is only a pity that he allowed himself (if, indeed, he was consulted at all) to be associated, and actually in a subordinate position, too, with such a colla- borateur. When first published his tales had the advantage of annotations from the pens of writers like Capt. Richard Carnac Temple and Mr. W. A. Clouston (‘‘ Mr. Cowper Temple” and “ Mr. Clowston” are Mrs. Kingscote’s at- tempts at these gentlemen’s names) ; now they are associated with the scanty effusions of an author whose introductory essay is as feeble and unscientific as her preface is misleading and disingenuous. It is not a little surprising that a firm like Messrs. Allen, with at least some aspirations to be reckoned an Oriental house, should have consented thus to publish a volume in which the work of a deserving native scholar is placed in so false a position. SCHOOL-BOOKS. Twelfth Night; or, What You Will. Edited by H. H. Crawley. (Rivingtons.)—The Tragedy of Coriolanus. Edited by H. C. Beeching. (Same publishers.)—Julius Cesar. With an Introduction and Notes by K. Deighton. (Mac- millan.)}—The Merchant of Venice. (Same editor and publishers.)—Macbeth. (Same editor and publishers.) —The multiplicity of editions of plays of Shakspeare is a notable symptom of the tendencies of education ; for it is to be presumed, unless there was a general and growing habit of reading a play ortwo of Shakspeare in ourschocls, public and private, publishers would not issue such a number of editions. We should have been disposed to think that the plays edited by the late Mr. Clark and Dr. Aldis Wright would have sufficed for ingenuous youth ; but that is evidently not the opinion of the trade. The ‘¢ Falcon edition,” issued by Messrs. Rivington, has been favourably distinguished by handiness of size (in that particular it is superior to the Clarendon Press series)and competence of editing. Mr. Beeching has already made a reputation as an editor ; Mr. Crawley we do not remember to have encountered before. Mr. Crawley’s intro- duction shows much ability and acuteness. At the same time he is inclined to forget that Shakspeare’s characters are, after all, the crea- tions of an artist, not real men and women; and when he finds fault with Malvolio, Mr. Crawley appears to forget that he is not an historical personage, and one cannot help feeling that a critic who treats an imaginary character as ‘‘a document” is travelling on a wrong road. Mr. Crawley’s text is a little too conservative for our taste; but that is not a bad fault in a school- book. His notes are sound and good, but he should beware of listening to Charles Knight, who would construe through a brick wall in order to defend the first folio. Both Mr. Beeching and Mr. Crawley add glossaries to their notes, so that the learner cannot complain of lack of explanation. Prof. Deighton’s editions are mainly intended for Indian students, and seem to be well adapted to their purpose. Clarendon Press Series. — German Classics, Edited with Notes by C. A. Buchheim.—Vol. X. Schiller’s Jungfrau von Orleans. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.)—Dr. Buchheim’s practised hand is seen to advantage in this edition of the ‘Jungfrau von Orleans.’ Careful prolegomena and notes compiled with diligence and research are the characteristic of this as of the writer's previous selections from Schiller. Dr. Buch- heim’s criticism is sensible, and he has carefully studied the history of the time, so that his introducticn is lucid and serviceable to the learner. He has paid attention to the text and he has studied the commentators. In his own annotations he gives suflicient, but not too much help, and the volume concludes with a good index. Buchheim’s Deutsche Prosa.—Vol. I. Schiiler’s Prosa, consisting of Selections from Schiller’s Prose Works. With English Notes and an Introduction by C. A. Buchheim, Ph.D. (Sampson Low & Co.)—These extracts from Schiller’s prose works have been selected with great judgment, and edited with careful con- sideration for the wants of English students of German. They vary in subject, style, and extent, the longest being those from the ‘Thirty Years’ War’ and the ‘ Revolt of the Netherlands,’ which, together with the ‘Ghost Seer, make up nearly the whole volume. Those taken from the first two of these works comprise all that is likely to interest ordinary readers, such as the narrative and descriptive portions, which are most interesting and instructive, the philosophical disquisition and long digressions being omitted, and the historical matter in the omitted por- tions briefly supplied in the notes, which also explain the numerous allusions in the text to persons, places, and events. In this way a vast amount of historical and geographical informa-
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318 THE ATHENAUM N° 3280, Sepr. 6,'°90 tion is communicated, which is rendered all the more available by the biographical and historical index at the end. The explanation of the general drift of occasional obscure passages is also useful, but the renderings of idiomatic phraseology sometimes fall short of the high standard of excellence reached in other works for English students by the same editor. Hector Malot: Sous Terre, Episode de ‘ Sans Famille’ Selected for use in English Schools. Edited, with Grammatical and Explanatory Notes and a French-English Vocabulary, by A. Dupuis, B.A. (Hachette & Co.)—This episode from Malot’s ‘Sans Famille’ gives a thrilling account of the flooding of a coal mine, from which only six out of a hundred and twenty miners were rescued, after having been confined in a narrow space for fourteen days. The tale is all the more effective from the absence of apparent aiming at effect. There is no trace of exaggeration or improbability. The description of the mine and the various incidents of the disaster, including the sufferings, alternating feelings, conversation, and behaviour of the men, brings the whole scene vividly before the mind, and keeps up an intense interest till the happy consummation is reached. M. Dupuis’s renderings of the text, though faultless in the English, do not always correspond so closely with the French as might be wished. Many of the words wanting in the vocabularies are given in the notes, but this is not always the case. M. Guizot: Edouard III. et les Bourgeois de Calais ; ou, les Anglais en France. Edited, with Grammatical and Explanatory Notes, by the Rev. A. C. Clapin. (Hachette & Co.) — English readers cannot but feel a deep interest in the portion of history contained in this volume. M. Guizot’s frequent quotation of ancient autho- rities, besides taking them to the fountain-head of information, has the further advantage for those who wish to become familiar with Old French of bringing numerous specimens of it under their notice, which Mr. Clapin’s notes will enable them to understand. His explanation of modern French and observations on points of grammar will be found useful, as also the illus- trations and map. It is strange that no account should be given of the battle of Poictiers, which surely took place when the English were in France, and would, therefore, seem to be in- cluded in the title of the book. George Sand: La Mare au Diable. Edited, with Grammatical and Explanatory Notes and a Comprehensive Vocabulary, by J. F. Davis, D.Litt. (Hachette & Co.)—George Sand’s simple love story of French peasant life having been appointed as a subject for examination in normal colleges, the present edition of it has been pre- pared for the use of candidates. Some historical or biographical work would, perhaps, have been more suitable for their study, but, however that may be, they will here find their wants fully anticipated and well supplied. The notes in some cases furnish more assistance than they are likely to need, and are always good. In the vocabulary such meanings only are given as suit the text. Elementary Classics.—Legends of Ancient Rome from Livy. Adapted and edited, with Notes, Exercises, and Vocabularies, by Herbert Wil- kinson, M.A. (Macmillan & Co.)—This little book is made quite useless by carelessness. In the vocabulary we are told that nepos means a “guardian”; and, though quantities are given, the middle syllables of nemoris, nepotis are un- marked. At the bottom of p. 2 we find medium contionem. The translations of defero make it impossible to render Nwmitori imperium defert (p. 3) into decent English. New Analytic Method of learning Languages. —Graduated German Prose Writing. By F. Lange. (Hachette & Co.)—To judge by this volume the new analytic method of learning languages is rather a matter of show than sub- stance. Not that it is atall a bad book ; but it does not differ so much as one expects from other books of the kind. Dr. Lange’s transla- tions are not always judicious. If boys are told without explanation that “der edle Mensch hilft”” means “the noble man will help,” they are pretty sure, especially if they are intelligent, to suppose that hilft is a future tense of a verb of which they may or may not know the infini- tive. Then at the foot of p. 35 it would be better to translate doch by ‘‘ yet” in the sen- tence, and not in the note only. Exercises to accompany the School German Grammar. By H. W. Eve and Alice Zimmern. (Nutt.)—A good set of easy exercises to accom- pany Mr, Eve’s well-known grammar. Literature Primers.— Questions and Exercises on English Composition. By J. Nichol and W. S. McCormick. (Macmillan & Co.)—This little book, the joint composition of Prof. Nichol and Mr. McCormick, is a favourable specimen of the genus primer. All treatises on English com- position have an air of unreality about them, but this is as good a manual of the kind as we have seen for some time. OUB LIBRARY TABLE. Late at e’en, drinking the wine, And ere they paid the lawing, They set a combat them between To fight it in the dawing. Strange how the power of the old Border ballad, which breathes nothing but slaughter and despair, should have won so many tender poets to gentle meditation on the scene of the tragedy. For it is rather this old song of the “dowie dens,” we take it, than Hamilton of Bangour’s beautiful poem, or the ‘Flowers of the Forest’ in either version, that has taken captive so many imaginations. In Yarrow: its Poets and Poetry, with introduction and notes by R. Borland (Dalbeattie, Fraser), local patriotism has worthily discharged the pious oftice of collecting all that has been said or sung about the classic spot. After the Di Majores— Scott, Wordsworth, Hogg—we are inclined to think “J. B. Selkirk” bears the palm among these contributory ‘‘ makkars,” though the lamented Shairp and many others pay their offerings to Yarrow! garlanded with rhyme That clothes thee in a mournful glory, Though sunsets of an elder time Had never crowned thee with a story. To the editor the illustration of his parish has been evidently a labour of love, and the excel- lent printing and get-up of the book reflect generally the highest credit on the local pub- lisher. Some good portraits and other illustra- tions enhance the modest merit of the collec- tion. The punctuation in a few places re- quires correction, notably in an extra prosaic stanza of Prof. Blackie’s, where he is ringing the changes on the word “ lordling ”—rather a favourite of his. Die Klésterlichen Gebets-Verbriiderungen bis zum Ausgange des Karolingischen Zeitalters. Von Dr. Adalbert Ebner. (Regensburg, Pustet.) —Although much has been written of late years on our English guilds, their origin may still be said to be wrapped in obscurity. They were, however, undoubtedly preceded by guilds of a religious character, such as united the members of various monasteries together, and gathered even laymen or secular ecclesiastics into union with specified monasteries by the insertion of their names in bede-rolls or necrologies. It is with satisfaction, therefore, that we hail the appearance in Germany of a learned monograph on what we may call monastic guilds. For over and above guilds for charitable and social pur- poses, such as the craft guilds and the merchant | guilds of London, all Europe was once bound together by what we may call prayer guilds established in the various monasteries. Indeed, this dissertation, with its exhaustive account of all the literary sources from which information on the subject of monastic confederation may be gathered, is the first systematic examination of the history and value of monastic confrater- nities, Their value to the historian will be seen at a glance when we consider the nature of the authentic sources which are here laid under contribution, as monastic obits, annales necro- loyici, rotuli defunctorum, libri anniversariorum, libri vite, in which are registered so many per- sons’ names and dates, visits of pilgrims or travellers, &c., and the rotwli annuales, or encyclical letters announcing year by year to all the confederated monasteries the names of the brethren deceased. There are occasions when these documents have preserved the only remaining record of a long-lost name of abbot, bishop, or noble, of a journey or visit to a foreign monastery not otherwise known to history, while they often serve, by the explicit informa- tion they give, to correct some rash conclusion or hasty surmise. The author connects the monastic prayer guilds with the early Christian use of the Diptychs, and shows, moreover, that the institution spread from the English monas- teries through the Saxon missionaries into Ger- many, the first examples of this organized con- federation for pious purposes that we find being in the English monasteries of the latter half of the seventh century. WE have on our table Report of the Royal Com- mission on the Mineral Resources of Ontario (Toronto, Warwick & Sons),—Livy, Book I., edited by A. H. Allcroft and W. F. Masom (Clive & Co.),—The Explanatory Pronouncing Dictionary of Latin Quotations (Walker & Co.), —Holiday Studies of Wordsworth, by the Rev. F. A. Malleson (Cassell & Co.),—Old Cricket and Cricketers, by H. H. Montgomery, D.D. (Wright & Co.),—Salads and Sandwiches, by T. Herbert (Low), — Monsignor, by Mrs. Compton-Reade (Bristol, Arrowsmith),—-The Countess Muta, by C. H. Montague (Routledge),—Phil, a Story of School Life, by A. Harper (Digby & Long),— Tuo and Two, by E. Glaister (Simpkin & Mar- shall), — Eleusis, a Poem (Chicago, privately printed),—The University Shakespeare: Julius Cesar, edited by B. Dawson (Sutton & Co.), —The Pleroma, a Poem of the Christ, by the Rev. E. P. Chittenden (Putnam),—Jesus, the Carpenter of Nazareth, by a Layman (Kegan Paul),— Analysis of the Catechism of the Church of England, by the Rev. L. Hughes (J. Heywood), —A Short History of the Church of Ireland, by L. A. Pooler (Belfast, Olley),—The Steps of the Sun, selected by Agnes Mason (Rivingtons),— For Christ and City, Sermons and Addresses, by ©. W. Stubbs, M.A. (Macmillan),—and Voyage en France dun Démocrate Américain, by W. H. Hurlbert (Paris, Lévy). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology. Churton’s (Rev. E. T.) The Missionary’s Foundation of Doctrine, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Glazebrook’s (M. G.) Lessons from Old Testament: Senior Course, Vol. 1, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Hunter’s (Rev. A.) Devotional Services for Public Worship, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Lang’s (Rev. J. M.) Gideon and the Judges, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Lightfoot’s (late Right Rev. J. B.) Sermons, Vol. 1, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. (Contemporary Pulpit Library.) Poetry. Blake’s (W.) Poetical Works, edited by W. M. Rossetti, 12mo. 2/6 cl. (Aldine Poets.) Davenport's (E.) The Girls’ Own Poetry Book, er. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Hall’s (G.) Verses, 12mo. 3/6 cl. Mistral’s (F.) Mireio, a Provencal Poem, translated by H. W. Preston, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. (Cameo Series.) History. Harrison’s (F. B.) True Stories from Italian History, 2/6 cl. Geography and Travel. Bacon’s (G. W.) New Atlas of London and Suburbs, on the Scale of 4 Inches toa Mile, 8vo. 6/ cl. Porteous’s (A.) A Scamper through some Cities of America, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Philology. Longman’s French Grammar (Course), complete, by T. H. Bertinshaw, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. Frith’s (H.) The Triumph of Modern Engineering, 3/6 cl. Parkinson’s (R. M.) Structural Mechanies, cr. 8vo. 4/6 cl. Generat Literature. Child’s (T.) Young People and Old Pictures, 4to. 10/6 cl. Clare’s (A.) Crooked 8, the Story of a Square Peg in a Round Hole, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl.
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XUM N° 3280, Szer. 6, '90 THE ATHENAUM 319 Clark’s (K. E.) The Dominant Seventh, a Musical Story, 5/ Cresswell’s (H.) Sliding Sands, 3 vols. cr. 8vo. 31/6 cl. Edwards’s (N. B.) Doctor Jacob, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. freeman’s (R. M.) Steady and Strong, or a Friend in Need, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Frith’s (H.) The Log of the Bombastes, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Gift’s (T.) The Little Colonists, or King Penguin Land, 2/6 ‘Gould’s (8. Baring) Arminell, a Social Romance, cr. 8vo. 3/6 Halford’s (M.) Fortune’s Mirror set ia Gems, roy. 16mo. 5/ Hudson’s (W. C.) Jack Gordon, Knight Errant, Gotham, 1883, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Maybury’s (L.) Job Carson’s Portrait Gallery, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. Milman’s (H.) The Little Ladies, imp. 16mo. 5/ cl. North’s (B.) The Diamond Button, cr. 8vo, 2/ bds. Piggy Wiggy's Picture Book, 2/6 cl. Richard’s (M. 8. C.) Creation’s Hope, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Robinson Crusoe, illustrated by 8. Berkeley, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. FOREIGN, Geography and Travel, Baedeker (K.): Great Britain, Second Edition, 10m. Philology. Sar Bahlule (H.): Lexicon Syriacum, Part 2, 20fr. Hoffmann (O. A.): Hermes u. Kerykeion, Im. 50, Spanoghe (E.): Emendationes Tullianz, 1m. 70. Unger (G. F.): Die Abfassungszeit der Aegyptischen Fest- kalender, 2m. 10. : Science. Koch (R.): Ub. Bakteriologische Forschung, 0m. 60. General Literature, Genouillac (G. de): Inviolable, 3fr, 50. Guérin : La Question du Latin, 3fr. 50. Jupin (L.): Tactique et Chiens de Guerre, 3fr. 50. Montépin (X. de): La Magicienne, 2 vols. 6fr. Rameau (J.): Moune, 3fr. 50. TWILIGHT, WHEN I was young the twilight seemed too long, How often on the western window seat I leaned my book against the misty pane And spelled the last enchanting lines again The while my mother hummed an ancient song Or sighed a little and said, ‘‘ The hour is sweet,” When J, rebellious, clamoured for the light. But now J love the soft approach of night, And now with folded hands I sit and dream While all too fleet the hours of twilight seem ; And thus I know that I am growing old. © granaries of Age! O manifold And royal harvest of the common years ! There are in all thy treasure-house no ways But lead by soft descent and gradual slope To memories more exquisite than hope. Thine is the Iris born of olden tears, And thrice more happy are the happy days That live divinely in thy lingering rays. So autumn roses bear a lovelier flower ; So, in the emerald after-sunset hour, The orchard wall and trembling aspen-trees Appear an infinite Hesperides, Ay, as at dusk we sit with folded hands Who knows, who cares in what enchanted lands We wander while the undying memories throng ? When I was young the twilight seemed too long. A. Mary F, Robinson (Madame James Darmesteter). MISS MARIANNE NORTH. THE world is the poorer by the loss of Miss Marianne North, who died at her house in Alderley, Wotton-under-Edge, on Saturday last. She was the elder daughter of Mr. Frederick North, of Rougham Hall, Norfolk, and formerly M.P. for Hastings, her sister having married Mr. John Addington Symonds in 1864. Miss North was a lineal descendant of the Hon. Roger North, whose ‘ Lives’ of his three brothers is an English classic. On her father’s death, in 1869, Miss North set out on her travels with the intention of illustrating the flora of some coun- tries of the world which were then less known than now. She visited, at intervals, Teneriffe, Brazil, the West Indies, California, India, Cey- lon, Borneo, Java, Japan, Australia, and the Seychelles, unattended by a single servant, and brought back at various times a collection of many hundreds of elaborate drawings in oils and water colour of the scenery, vegetation, and especially the flora she had studied in their several habitats. After twelve years of explora- tion and journeyings, in which she encountered some perils and many hardships, Miss North determined to make her collections available for the use of the public ; andin 1881 she presented a series of 627 pictures to the nation, and erected a gallery for their reception in Kew Gardens at her own expense, the late James Fergusson, F.R.S., having furnished the design. Though during all her travels Miss North never suffered an hour’s illness and seemed proof against malaria, even in the most plague-haunted jungle or morass, the tension at which she had lived during so many years began to tell at last even upon her immense strength and wonderful con- stitution, and in 1882 she resolved to travel no more. After superintending the arrangement of her gallery at Kew, and with her own hand carrying out the interior decorations of the walls and panelling, she gradually retired from London, where, at her flat in Victoria Street, Westminster, she delighted in entertaining her friends, and among them literary and artistic celebrities from all parts of the world; and in 1886 she removed to Mount House, Alder- ley, where she has succumbed to a painful malady, though one to all appearance in no way re- sulting from what she had gone through in her active life. Itis believed that Miss North has left behind her many journals and other memoranda of her wanderings. She was a woman of vereatile genius, and her gifts as a musician were not inferior to those she exhibited as an artist. Her conversational powers were of a high order, the force and nobleness of her cha- racter and the elear incisiveness of her intellect giving to her spoken words a certain air of rugged shrewdness at times which, to those who were comparative strangers, seemed to indicate power rather than the grace of reticence. The truth is that the large-hearted tenderness and deli- cacy of feeling of the woman was always keeping in subordination and restraint the masculine element, which showed itself in her astonishing physique, her absolute fearlessness, and her majestic and commanding beauty. It is to be hoped some account of Miss North’s life and her life’s work will before long be given to the world. There are ample materials for such a biography, and the literary world will naturally turn to Mr. Addington Symonds as the fittest person tv undertake it. THE WELSH PRAYER BOOK AND THE PROPOSED FURTHER REVISION. University College, Cardiff, Aug. 18, 1890. THERE are a few points which, in view of the pending revision of the Welsh Prayer Book, it may be of interest to note. There does not exist, so far as I know at least, any connected historical account of the book, and the notices scattered through Rowlands’s ‘Cambrian Biblio- graphy’ are in some cases somewhat mis- leading, and in others wholly inaccurate. The important editions are those of 1567, 1599, and 1664, Considerable interest, however—mostly from the point of view of the collector of old books —attaches to the editions of 1586, 1621, and 1634. These, all of them, are now becoming very scarce. It is, perhaps, unnecessary to point out what is obvious, that the edition of 1567 is the oldest of the printed documents of the Welsh Church, and the first of the great religious books printed in the Welsh language. Its publication was the first important step towards the emanci- pation of Welsh from the oppression of Latin— an oppression suffered in common by all modern European languages before the era of the Re- formation. I have pointed out elsewhere that the printing of the Prayer Book in Welsh pro- bably did more than the translation of the Bible itself to revivify and fix the language, for the first edition of the Welsh Scriptures which came within the reach of the people was not issued from the press until 1630. The Bibles of 1620 and 1588 were bulky folios, published at a great price, wholly beyond the means of the population generally. The 1567 Prayer Book is not to be found at the British Museum, Lambeth, Oxford, Cambridge, or any one of the Welsh diocesan libraries—in short, there is no copy to be found in any one of the great collections of the king- | dom, public or private. There are two frag- | ments in North Wales, and another at Swansea in the collection bequeathed to the town by the late Dr. Rowland Williams, Vice-Principal of St. David’s College, Lampeter. Lowndes never saw the book, nor did Rowlands, and there is no trace anywhere of a copy changing hands at any one of the great sales. My copy, I regret to say, wants a few leaves, and, like most old Welsh books, it is not in good condition. The translation is ascribed sometimes to Bishop Richard Davies, at others to William Salesbury, the famous translator of the New Testament into Welsh. We owe both these works in- directly to the Act of Elizabeth, 1563, and the two translations were made concurrently. It is generally thought that the New Testament ap- peared first ; but this is clearly a popular error, as is proved by a remark of Bishop R. Davies in his letter to the Welsh prefixed to the Testa- ment, The epistles and gospels were, however, very naturally taken from Salesbury’s New Testament, without avy material variations from the text as ultimately published before the close of the year 1567. But it seems to me that the translation of the prayers proceeded from another pen. The language of the prayers is smooth and flowing, and substantially identical with that of the book as it exists at this moment. On the other hand, the language of the epistles and gospels is stiff and rugged, and characterized by what seems to be a straining after literal accuracy. This seems to have been felt from the very first, for when the Welsh Bible, 1588, appeared, Salesbury’s version of the epistles and gospels in the Prayer Book gave place to Bishop Morgan’s. It would, perhaps, be idle to seek the cause of the difference of style observable. It may have been due to a very natural division of labour. Davies may have undertaken the prayers in order that Salesbury might not be disturbed in his greater work. This theory, however, is not altogether satis- factory, for the prose of Davies’s letter appears to me almost as stiff as the prose of the Testament. It is not improbable that the translation of the prayers was based on earlier MS. versions, made by clergymen for their private use among their own parishioners. Of the existence of earlier versions there is some evidence in the traditions which have come down to us. In 1546 there appeared what seems to be a Welsh version of the 1543 Primer, from the hand of Sir John Price, of Brecon, one of the commissioners ap- pointed to inquire into the state of the monasteries in the western counties before their dissolution. A few leaves of Sir John Price’s translation are preserved, I think, under a glass case in the British Museum. It is not impossible that Salesbury himself may have included some of the prayers in ‘Kyn-niver Llith a Ban’—a ver- sion of the epistles and gospels which he pub- lished as early as 1551. Both the Prayer Book and the Testament were printed ‘at the costes and charges” of Humfrey Toy, whose interest in Welsh affairs is, perhaps, explained by a note, one among many thousands, all in the handwriting of Browne Willis, in my copy of his ‘Survey of St. David’s,’ dated 1716. The note takes the form of a pedigree of the Toys, which shows that John, the son of Humfrey Toy, who enjoyed an estate, probably derived from his mother, at Carmarthen, married Jane, a daughter of Rowland Meyrick, Bishop of Bangor. Some of John and Jane Toy’s descendants survived, I believe, in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire till quite recently. The orthography and punc- tuation of the 1567 Prayer Book attest the English nationality of the compositors and cor- rectors of the press. Many English words are incorporated in the text, and a few Latin forms. For instance, Tadau (fathers) appears as “ Tadze”’; calonaw (hearts) as ‘‘calonze”; responses as “ re- spond”; Christmas Day, ‘‘ Die natalic Christ ”; Baptism, public and private, ‘‘ Bedydd, public a privat”; and so on. There are no marginal directions to the priest against the Consecration Prayer in the Communion Service. The rubric
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320 THE ATHENAUM N° 3280, Sept. 6, ’90 befcra the morning service is not without an interest in connexion with modern ecclesiastical controversies and the Ridsdale judgment, for specific directions are given that the vestments (in Welsh, gwisgoedd) in use in the second year of Edward VI. are to be worn by the officiating ministers at all times of their ministrations. I have already indicated the modifications made in the Welsh Prayer Book of 1599. The 1604 revision of the English original does not seem to have affected the Welsh version in any degree. The corrections made by Bishop Parry in his 1620 edition of the 1588 Bible were not observed in the epistles and gospels in the edi- tions of the Prayer Book 1621, 1630, and 1634 ; but they were introduced for the first time in 1664, under the provisions of Charles II.’s Act of Uniformity. No further material change was effected till 1809 and 1839, and very little, so far as I can see, in those years. Liberties have been taken with the orthography, and unimportant verbal changes have been made by the publishers from time to time ; but substantially the Welsh Prayer Book remains as it was left by the editors at the Restoration. As a whole it is a perfectly magnificent specimen of Welsh ; and if I might venture, on literary grounds, to give a hint to such august bodies as the English Con- vocation and the dignitaries of the Welsh Church, who now propose to make a further revision, I would repeat to them Punch’s advice to those about to be married—‘‘ Don’t.” Ivor JAMEs. SOME EARLY POEMS OF WORDSWORTH. TuE book-lovers of the West Country will enjoy a rare opportunity of enriching their col- lections during the present month, when the fine library of the late Rev. W. L. Nichols is dispersed at Bath. Thesale begins on the 17th, and will occupy eight days. Mr. Nichols was a collector from his boyhood till his death, last year, at the ripe age of eighty-eight. He died, as he had for long lived, at his beautiful place of Woodlands, which nestles under the ‘‘ Quan- tocks’ airy ridge,” near “Kilve’s delightful shore,” and close to Alfoxden and the Stoweys, in the very heart of the neighbourhood haunted by memories of the golden prime of Coleridge and Wordsworth. Woodlands itself was once the residence of “ joy-dispensing Kenyon,” the friend of poets, from the ‘‘ Lakers” to the Brown- ings. Mr. Nichols naturally took a keen interest in ‘‘The Quantocks and their Asso- ciations,” and some years ago presented his friends with a pamphlet bearing that title, so well conceived and executed that it is to be hoped the new edition for which he had made preparations may be printed for unrestricted circulation. Mr. Nichols’s library had no over- mastering speciality ; he was a scholar, a con- noisseur in art, an antiquary, and a biblio- grapher, catholic in his tastes, and possessed of means for their gratification, so that the library was furnished with everything in due proportion. He liked nice copies, and though he read and annotated them sedulously, he kept them nice, his pencillings, like Mr. Beckford’s, being made on the fly-leaves and not on the margins. When visiting the Quantocks in 1888 I had the good fortune to spend an evening with Mr. Nichols at Woodlands, when he showed my companion and myself a little parcel of MSS. They consisted of copies of several of Wordsworth’s early poems—a few in the poet’s own handwriting, and the remainder in that of his sister Dorothy. I had not then time or opportunity to do more than glance with something of pious envy at the interesting relics, and hardly hoped ever to see them again; but by the kindness of Mr. Nichols’s executor the MSS., now handsomely bound for their better preservation, are before me, with permission to make free use of the con- tents. The outer leaf (which may have formed half of a wrapper, although it is rather smaller in size than the others) bears the inscription, ‘*Manuscripts of Wordsworth,” in the hand- writing, very familiar to me, of Thomas Poole of Nether Stowey, indicating that the little col- lection had once been in the possession or in the keeping of that honoured friend of Wordsworth, recently made more fully known to the world by Mrs. Henry Sandford’s admirable memoir. The poems to be found here are ‘ Hartleap Well,’ ‘The Two Thieves,’ ‘Dungeon-gill Force,’ “ Strange fits of passion I have known,” ‘ Lucy Gray,’ ‘Poor Susan,’ ‘‘There was a boy, ye knew him well, ye cliffs,” the inscription be- ginning, ‘‘ Stranger ! this hillock of misshapen stones,’ and that for the Hermitage on St. Her- bert’s Island, ‘ The Waterfall and the Eglantine,’ together with one other without title, which has never been printed. With the exception of the last mentioned, all of these poems appeared for the first time in the second volume of the ‘Lyrical Ballads,’ published in 1800, but the texts do not correspond exactly with any printed version. It is impossible to fix precisely the date of these MSS., but I am strongly of opinion that it is anterior to any publication. This is certainly the case in one instance—the poem which begins “ There was a boy ”—as will appear further on, and in that instance neither paper, ink, nor penmanship distinguishes it from the others in character. As no editor of Wordsworth’s works has seen these MSS., none of the various readings they afford is recorded even in Prof. Knight’s excellent standard edition of Wordsworth’s ‘ Poetical Works’ (8 vols. 1882-6), and I trust students of the poet may be able to glean some- thing of interest from the following notes. The MS. text of ‘ Hartleap Well’ differs little from that printed in 1800, but there is one noticeable reading in the former. In the printed versions from first to last we are told that the knight urged on his hounds With suppliant gestures and upbraidings stern, while the MS. has With fawning kindness and upbraidings stern. Neither phrase is peculiarly happy, but the latter seems to me the better of the two. The de- scription of the “‘ cruel leap” of the hart in the second part gave Wordsworth much trouble. In the MS., in 1802, and in 1805 it began with a pretty, halting ballad rhythm, thus :— From the stone upon the summit of the steep Are but three bounds...... In 1800 it dropped to the dead level of the guide-book :— To this place from the summit of the steep ; and not until 1815 was the standard reading achieved :— Even from the topmost stone, upon the steep. ‘The Two Thieves’ has no second title in the MS., and the opening differs materially from any printed text :— Oh! now that the boxwood and graver were mine Of the Poet who lives on the banks of the Tyne! Who has plied his rude tools with more fortunate toil Than Reynolds e’er brought to his canvass and oil. Then, Books and Book-learning ! I'd ring out your knell ! The Vicar should scarce know an A from an L. Neither the odious comparison nor the pro- clamation of Bewick as a poet was ever com- mitted to print, but there is no reason for sup- posing that Wordsworth’s positive estimate of the engraver ever declined, for to the last he protested that if Bewick’s genius and skill were granted to him, he, Wordsworth, would flout the Muses and “ take his last leave both of verse and of prose.” To repine that the jocose aspiration was unanswered were as vain as the aspiration itself, but one may be permitted to feel a very real regret that Wordsworth did not make the best of the decrees of Providence by getting Bewick to apply his genius to the illustration of the poems. The task would assuredly have been undertaken and carried through with rare sym- pathy, the great fame of the illustrator en- hanced, and the popularity of the poet hastened by twenty years. Half the ‘ Lyrical Ballads’ seem as if they might have been written ex- pressly for Bewick to illustrate. ‘The Ancient Mariner’ would have been beyond him—and he would have felt it—as it has eluded the grasp of all the illustrators who have given their attempts to the world; but there are few of Wordsworth’s contributions which would not have furnished an embarrass- ing choice of subjects. Yet the poet did not employ Bewick even to the extent of getting an ex-libris from him like that with which Southey adorned the books in his library. No other notable change was made in ‘ The Two Thieves,’ for it was perhaps hardly worth while to ex- change the opening of the eighth stanza— ’T was a smooth pleasant pathway, a gentle descent, And leisurely down it and down it he went, as it stands in MS., for Twas a path trod by thousands, but Daniel is one Who went something farther than others have gone. There can be little doubt that the MS. of ‘The Idle Shepherd Boys’ is a first draught, for it has the single title of ‘ Dungeon-gill Force : a Pastoral’; the stanzas are not num- bered, as was the case in the ‘ Lyrical Ballads’; and the poem opens with what has been since its first printing in 1800 the second stanza. The third stanza lacks the first four lines of all the printed versions :— Along the river’s stony marge The sand-lark chants a joyous song ; The thrush is busy in the wood, And carols loud and strong, the lines which these replace having been scratched out with a knife, and nothing substi- tuted. But the erasing has fortunately been done so imperfectly that one has no difficulty in reading the following :— The Spring already is gone by In many an English field, but here Twice do we view the flowers, and May For us renews the year. The only word not quite clearly legible is that I have deciphered as ‘‘ flowers,” but there can be little doubt about it. The substituted lines are exquisite, but so are those rejected, and I can hardly believe the latter were sup- pressed altogether, but rather that they were reserved for some other setting which I fail just now to recall. Of the many successive changes, not invariably improvements, which Wordsworth made in his “ Lover’s Tale,” to which henever vouchsafed atitle (‘Strange fits of passion I have known”), none appears inthe MS. But in the eleventh line, asin the twenty-first, the lover’s horse “mov’d on,” instead of ‘‘trudg’d on” as in all the editions until the latest, or all but the latest, when, dis- satisfied, perhaps, with “‘ trudg’d” as undignified or unromautic, and disliking the repetition of “mov’d,” he got rid of both by writing the conventional With quickening pace my horse drew nigh. The MS. of ‘ Lucy Gray’ differs from all the printed texts. The title is simply ‘ Lucy Gray,’ as in all the editions until 1815, when the sub- title ‘Or Solitude’ was added. Two or three verbal differences in the MS. may be passed over, but an entire stanza varying from any printed version deserves note. Wordsworth re- wrote its first line several times, but left the other three untouched in all editions. The first print, 1800, reads thus :— And now they homeward turned and cried, ** In Heaven we all shall meet!” When in the snow the Mother spied The print of Lucy’s feet. In the MS. we read :— The mother, turning homeward cried We never more shall meet When in the driven snow she spied The print of Lucy’s feet. The punctuation of this stanza has received no attention, as is also the case with many more in the MS.; but there is one instance in which it has been employed effectively :— They follow’d from the snowy bank The foot-marks one by one Into the middle of the plank —And further there were none. This significant long dash was never adopted in print.
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XUM N° 3280, Sept. 6, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 321 a The MS. of ‘ Poor Susan’ presents the same text as 1800, save for a misprint in the latter, The only one dwelling on earth which she loves having been printed instead of ‘‘ the one only,” &c.; and one may easily see in the MS. that in the tenth line ‘“ Down” has been written over “ Through ”:— Green pastures she views in the midst of the dale Through which she so often has tripp'd with her pail. The MS. has the final disturbing stanza printed in 1800, but happily never again :— Poor Outcast ! return—to receive thee once more The house of thy father will open its door, And thou once again, in thy plain russet gown May’st hear the thrush sing from a tree of its own. Was there a century ago, as now, a tree at the corner of Wood Street, and did the thrush “hang” on a branch of it? Wordsworth put the poor bird definitely into a cage only in 1827 —up to which date the line ran :— There’s a thrush that sings loud, it has sung for three years, and the reader might beguile himself with the fancy that it sang, a free bird, “on a tree of its own” in Cheapside. The unnamed poem beginning There was a Boy ; ye knew him well, ye cliffs And islands of Winander ! comes next in order. The text is that of 1800, with two exceptions, one of which is too trivial for notice. The other is interesting. The lines belong to ‘The Prelude,’ and, although they ultimately found a place in its “ Fifth Book,” formed one of the very earliest passages which Wordsworth composed. Like ‘Lucy Gray’ it was written in that hard winter of 1788-9 when Wordsworth and his sister shivered over their stove at Goslar, and was sent to Coleridge, then a student at Ratzeburg. An extract from Cole- ridge’s letter of acknowledgment is printed in the memoir of Wordsworth by his nephew (1851, i. 187): “The blank lines gave me as much direct pleasure as was possible'in the general bustle of pleasure with which I received and read your letter. I observed, I remember, that the ‘fingers woven,’ &., only puzzled me ; and though I liked the twelve or fourteen first lines very well, yet I liked the remainder much better”; and he goes on to say that had he met the lines That uncertain heaven received Into the bosom of the steady lake “running wild in the deserts of Arabia, he should have instantly screamed out, ‘ Words- worth!’” The text of Mr. Nichols’s MS. must be the same as the first draught sent to Cole- ridge, for it, too, is without the explanatory line, the lack of which was evidently the cause of Coleridge’s puzzlement over the whistling passage. The explanatory line (printed below in italics) was supplied, doubtless in deference to Coleridge’s remark, before the lines were first printed in 1800. The boy stands alone, at evening, “ beneath the trees or by the glimmer- ing lake ”:— And there, with fingers interwoven, both hands Pressed closely palm to palm and to his mouth Uplifted, he as through an instrument Blew mimic hootings to the silent owls That they might answer him. The MS. also contains the first and best of several readings of the lines a little further on : And when it chane’d That pauses of deep silence mock’d his skill, introducing one of the finest passages in Words- worth’s poetry. Wordsworth wrote several inscriptions “ with a slate-pencil,” and one of them is here, the opening of which differs materially from any printed version. The poem has no title or note, but was afterwards localized ‘‘ upon one of the islands at Rydal.” In the second line ‘‘ world” is erased and replaced by ‘‘ time.” Stranger! this hillock of misshapen stones Is not a ruin of the antique [world] time, Nor, as perhaps thou rashly deem’st, the cairn Of some old British Warrior, no, to speak An honest truth ’tis neither more nor less Than the rude germs of what was to have been A pleasure-house, and built upon this isle. At the end there is a curious hesitating blank —“Ifthou hast hewn,” the poet pleads, Out of the quiet rock the elements Of some mansion destin’d soon to blaze In snow-white glory, think again, and taught By old Sir William and his quarry, leave Thy fragments to the bramble and the rose, There let the vernal slow-worm sun himself, And let the redbreast hop from stone to stone. Although the closing lines, in which the dic- tion suddenly glows into poetry, were never altered, I have been unable to resist the gratifi- cation of unnecessarily transcribing them. And I feel ashamed to break the spell by remark- ing that the poet never hit on any better word than ‘‘trim ” to fill up the blank, and qualify a ‘mansion destined soon to blaze in snow-white glory,” or “ splendour ”—for the two words alter- nate bewilderingly in successive printed texts. ‘The Waterfall and the Eglantine’ is written here exactly as printed in all the earlier editions. There is therefore nothing to note but the fact that in the fourteenth line ‘‘ fibres” is written over ‘‘ branches.” The verses printed in all editions, from the first in 1800, with the title ‘Inscription for the Spot where the Hermitage stood on St. Herbert’s Island, Derwentwater,’ are here named, ‘ In- scription for the Remains of the Hermitage on St. Herbert’s Isle, Derwentwater.’ There are old walls still on the island, which are ‘‘ said to be” remains of the Hermitage. Does the change in the wording of the title indicate on the part of the poet some subsequent scepticism on the question? The text of the poem is remarkable even among Wordsworth’s compositions for the number of changes it underwent in the course of years, and the poem was omitted altogether from the edition of 1815. The MS. version is exactly the same as that printed in 1800. The remaining poem in this collection was never printed at all. It was one of the great poet’s failures—not more of a failure, perhaps, than some which he did not himself recognize as such, but no better. The scene of its story lay among his beloved Quantock combes ; the story itself was deeply tragic, but it did not inspire him. It was related by Poole to Wordsworth and Southey as the three friends were walking over the ground, and they urged him ‘‘to draw up the history in writing.” This Poole did in very graphic prose, but did not print his narrative until 1833. He then sent it to the Bath and Bristol Magazine, whence it was reprinted, under the title of ‘ A Tragedy of the Quantocks,’ in the West Somerset Free Press for May 28th, 1887. It would be well worth reproduction in some more accessible quarter. Coleridge wanted to print it in the Friend, telling Poole it “stamped him as a poet of the first class in the pathetic, and in the painting of poetry, so very rarely combined.” He could not have said so much for Wordsworth’s versified narrative, which has been permitted to remain in manuscript. J. D.C. LETTERS OF SIR JOHN VANBRUGH. Il. Leicu Hunt in his memoir of Vanbrugh guesses the date of his marriage to have been about 1710. The following letter shows how very wide of the mark Hunt was :— Nottingham, Jany ye 24th, 1718/19. My LorD DUKE,—I have been very well pleas’d at my arrival here to find, you were not so angry with me but that you wou’d give me leave to make some attonement, by future service if I am able. I have in order to it, employ’d three days in view- ing every thing you have recommended to me; and tho’ I may appear the less significant to you for the future by owning you have done well without me I will however confess that truth ; for I do not see any thing considerable, I wou'd have disputed with you, had I been present at your giving your orders tothe Mayor; and Iam very glad I may tell your Grace, I find him in a very good way of executing them especially in that one thing (of no small weight with you) dispatch, for there is a very great pro- gress made, and your castle will be fit for habitation sooner than one cou’d have immagin’d. I need mention nothing in particular of what I have given directions in (which is little else but the manner of doing things already order’d), since I shall be so soon in towne to make my Report to your Grace in person. I'll therfore say no more now, than to express my great satisfaction to hear the middle of winter has not discourag’d you, from thinking it practicable to live upon a precipice a hundred feet high. For as I have been the instrument of your fixing on this castle for your northern seat, I shou’d have been heartily concern’d to find you disappointed init. I have no care now left, but to see the Duchess of Newcastle as well pleas’d wt it as your Grace is. I hope she won’t have the less expectation from my judgment in chusing a seat, from my having chosen a wife, whose principal merrit in my eye, has been some small distant shadow of those valuable qualifications, in her, your Grace has formerly with so much pleasure heard me talk of. The honour she likewise has, of being pretty nearly related to the Dutchess gives me the more hopes I may not have been mistaken. If I am, ‘tis better however to make a blunder towards the end of ones life than at the beginning of it. But I hope all will be well; it can’t at least be worse than most of my neighbours which every modest man ought to be content w“ and so I’m easy. I had promiss'd to join Lord Carlisle & his family two days since at Stamford, but found too much to do here, to keep my word. I hope however to get to towne before the end of next week, and will im- mediatly wait upon your Grace, whose most humble & most faithfull servant I shall always be, whether a married man or a batchelour. J. VANBRUGH. Jacob [Tonson] will be frightned out of his witts and his religion too when he hears I’m gone at last. If he is still in France, he’ll certainly give himself to God, for fear he shou’d now be ravish’d by a gentlewoman, I was the last maa left, between him and ruin, In a letter dated July 23rd, 1719, chiefly about the progress of the building at Claremont, Vanbrugh adds in a postscript: “‘I have just now an account that a gentleman newly arriv’ad from Paris actually saw Friend Jacob in a Frock.” This will explain an allusion in the following :— Whitehall, Augt ye 6th, 1719. I rec’d your Graces commands of the 34, M* Ben- sons reign ended nextday. But Mr Hewets Patent not being yet past (tho’ passing) we have no Board. So that nothing can yet be done about the gateway, but preparatory. In the mean time I may observe to your Grace, that I find many people surpris’d there shou’d be no other expedient found to make way for coaches, &c., than destroying one of the greatest curiositys there is in London as that gate has ever been esteem’d, and cost a great sum of money the building; and so well perform’d that altho’ now above 200 ys old, is as entire as the first day. The Chancellt of the Exchegqr said much of this to me last night being entirely of opinion it ought not to be destroy’d, if an other expedient can be found, and there is a very easy one, with small expence, which is. To open the wall of the Privy garden, near Lord Rochesters, and turn the passage thorough aslip of that wast ground coming out into the street again, between Mr Vanhulsse’s and the Banquetting house. I know of no objection to this, and by this means, both Lord Stanhope & the Comptroller will be ten times more reliev’d and accom’odated than by pulling the gate downe. If your Grace thinks this right, there is time enough to propose it to my L* Stanhope. Since either this way, or pulling downe the gate, the end desir’d may be accomplish’d in a months time, whenever ’tis gone about. Jacob is not in a Frock, as was most positivly affirm’d. I here enclose a loving letter I have from him (the copy of it) & I can assure your Grace, the good luck he has had there in purchasing in the new Company amounts (if he sells now) to ten thousand pounds proffit to him. This I have from my brother, and his nephew own’d to me yester- day ‘twas true, and that he has advis’d him to sell. lam Your Graces ever most obedient Servant J. VANBRUGH. I’m sorry my project of the reversion won’t do, *tis a very hard matter for me to find out anything till tis too late to ask for’t ; but they know of every thing time enough to help their humble servants (without their aid) when they are quite determin’d to take care of them. Which is Hewets case now, and was so once before, when L@ Halifax made him Survey’ of the Forrests, without his ever dreaming - of it. I resolve live in hopes my L4 Sun? will do the same by me to help this pill downe, which is a little bitter, now I come just to the time (and dis- grace) of swallowing it. I don’t however blame anybody, nor think them wanting. But ’tis one of the hardest pieces of fortune, that ever fell to any- body. Of which there need be no other proof, than the Report the Auditors have made to the Treasury
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322 THE ATHENAUM N° 3280, Serr. 6, 90 relating to what they find of the expences in the Office of Vorks. Which Report allows what I set forth of having reduc’d the charge above ten thou- sand pounds a year. One wou’d have thought there needed nothing more to determine the King,whether I had been an expensive officer or a sparing one. [Endorsed] Ab‘ the Gateway, Whitehall. London, Augt ye 11th 1719. Your Graces letter of ye 9° I have found at my return from Claremount. Ifthe saving of the gate must start a new brangle with Boscawen, let it go; else I wou’d give as much money for it, as the mak- ing a way thoroush the garden wou’d come to, and so put the King to no expence at all. Besides the making away through the garden, wou'd really be of great use, in the service intended, the other, will be of some, but not much your Grace shall have an acc’ of the expence you require, as soon as ever we have a Board which will be ina week. What I mentioned of my hard luck was far from being meant, any sort of complaint either of your Grace, or those others you name who I am entirely satisfied do bear me all good will, and do neither trick me nor neglect me. There is nothing your Grace has said, in stating my small affairs, but what is just and true ; and I have (in my own thoughts) never once stated them otherwise, so that I have no other meaning, in what I say about them, but to set forth my ill fortune by way of a little vent for ease. But I am not one of those, who drop their spirits, on every rebuff ; if I had, I had been under ground long ago. I shall therfore go on, in hopes fortune will one day or other, let those help me, who have a mind to it. And that as I am past over, where my pretentions are good, and I cou’d be of use ; I may chance to be taken notice of, where my pretentions are nothing, and I can be of no service at aii. I think however at present I need not trouble your Grace to write any thing to my L* Sund¢ nor to read any thing more of this matter, but my most gratefull thanks, for all the kind expressions of friendship you have in this last letter made use of. I have been two days at Claremount, but not en Famille, a bit of a girle popping into the world three months before its time, And so the business is all to do over again. Augt ye 15th 1719, This letter is only to acquaint your Grace w“ a strange affair, if true. That Thornhill has been re- commended by Benson as a properrer man for Sur- vey of the Works, than M* Hewet, and that there is a great struggle for him. I did indeed hear six weeks ago, that he (Thornhill) was got to be very great with the Duchess of Marlborough and that his endeavours were to be Survey’ by letting her find her account, in work he wou’d do at Blen® but I gave no sort of credit to it. And how to think there can really be any thing in it now, is very hard, and yet I have it from such hands, that I doubt there’s too auch monstrous truth in’t. But what part my L4 Suné takes, I don’t hear said, tho’ I think t’is _impossible he can suffer such a thing to pass, *Twou’d be a pleasant joke to the world, to see a painter made Surveyt of the Works, in order to save ovo A : when all the small knowledge or talk they ever have of it, is only in the great expensive part, as collumns, arches, bass reliefs &c which they just learn enough of, to help fill up their pictures. But to think, that such a volatile gentleman as Thorn- hill, shou’d turn his thoughts & application to the duty of a Surveyors business, is a monstruous pro- ject. I’m told (besides the Dutchess of Marl) there ’s something come from abroad in favour of it, which is reckon’d the way Benson has workt, and *tis supposed is to have money for it himself from Thornhill as well, as to get some for somebody else, I’m so sick of this rhidiculous story I can write no more on’t, nor of any thing else this bout but vex’d or pleas’d shall always continue your Graces most obedient servant, / J. VANBRUGH. {Endorsed] To his Grace the Duke of Newcastle at Haland near Lewis in Sussex. London, Sept. ye 15th 1720, I went with my Lord Carlisle & Lord Morpeth on Sunday last, to the Duke of Chandois’s church, and so to dinnerw" him. He has very good musick, and to deal justly with his magnificence, we found nothing at all in it ridiculous or foppish as many people have represented. He has done great things since I was there both in building and gardening in which I do assure you, he has sav’d nothing by not letting me be his archi- tect. For Ihad cutt him out less expence, and you may be sure (I think) a better house. His fronts however are very fine and all of stone, but the inside is of poor invention. He talk’d to me of “incre Graces new room at Claremont, designing to ave such a one in the new house he builds in London, tho’ he has not yet seen it you must know, but thats nothing. I have however done all I can to prevent his coming till t’is quite done, that it may stair in his face, and knock him downe at once. To morrow Lord Carlisle, L4 Morpeth, S* Richa Sandford, Mr Oldfield my brother and I, have made a party to go there. And the Brigadier has engag’d to have a shoulder of mutton for us in the green room, w° is just done. We shan’t fail to drink your Graces and the Ladys healths in (I daresay) the best wine in your cellar, Castle Howard Augt 8th 1721. I have no other business to trouble your Grace with a letter upon, but to thank you for your warrant, The rest is only to remind you, of my constant wishes (others wou’d say, prayers) for your health and happyness wherever I wander. And amongst those good wishes, one is, that you were here at this time, to see in its beauty (warm weather too) the most delightfull place 1 ever beheld. Many new charms open this year, that never appear’d before, and many more will next, that people do not dream of now: If I take in what a third will produce (bar more Southsea storms) I believe here will be (beyond all content) the top seat, and garden of England. Of the house I say nothing : The others I may commend, because nature made them ; I pretend to no more merrit in them than a midwife, who helps to bring a fine child into the world, out of bushes boggs and bryars. I was at York all last week. A race every day, and a ball every night ; with as much well look’t company, as ever I saw got together. The Ladys I mean in chief. As tothe men the Duke of Whar- ton was the top gallant. The entertainments ending on Friday. He declar’d if the company wou’d stay in towne one day more, he wou’d treat the jockeys with a plate, the Ladys with a ball, and all together with a supper. T’was done accordingly, and my Lady Milner who had all along been his partner, was now his Queen. When supper was ended, he invited all the good company to meet him again that day twelve month, on the same terms; with many decent and good complim® to the inhabitants of York and Yorkshire for the bonour they did him, and hop’t wou’d do him again. To which they gratefully bow’d, as who wou’d say, yes. But his Grace, then bethought himself, of one civil thing more, and said. That unless my Lady Milner wou’d absolutly engage to be there too, he was off, as to the rest of the company. Upon which she look’d she did not know how, and all went home to sleep. He is now here, for two or three days, & we have jok’t off the affair of the House of Lords on both sides. Here’s the house full of company, which I like better when it ’semptye, so am going to morrow to Lumley Castle, and Delavals, which will take me up a fortnight. I shall then return to York, [Zo Brigadier William Watkins, in Scotland Yard.] York, Augt ye 26th, 1721. Cou’d you see how busy I have been ever since I writ to you last, you wou’d easily forgive my being so long before I did it again. I return’d but last night from the north (for here you must know we are in the south) where I have been near this three weeks finding a vast deal to do, both at Delavals and Lumley Castle. Since it is not easy, to go there often, I resolv’d to do all the service I cou’d while I was there now. | that, I point towards London. The Admiral [ Delaval]is very gallantin his opera- | tions, not being dispos’d to starve the design at all, so that he is like to have a very fine dwellirg for himself now, and his nephew Xe. hereafter. Lumley Castle is a noble thing, and well deserves the favours Lord Lumley designs to bestow upon it : In order to which, I stay’d there near a week, to form a general design for the whole, which consists, in altering the house both for state, beauty and convenience, and making the courts gardens and offices suitable to it; all which I believe may be done, fora sum, that can never ly very heavy upon the family. If Ihad had good weather in this ex- pedition, I shou’d have been well enough diverted in it; there being many more valluable and agree- able things and places to be seen, than in the tame sneaking south of England. Iam going in three or four days again to Castle Howard, where I must spend a week or ten days, to do what is necessary there. My Lord Carlisle going on with his worksas usuai; by which the seat is wonderfully improv’d this last year. Two years more, tho’ they won’t compleat all the building, will so beautify the outworks, of gardens, park &e. that I think no place I ever saw, will dispute with it, for a delightfull dwelling in generall, let the criticks fish out what particular faults they please in the architecture. Here are several gentlemen in these parts of the world, that are possess’d with the spirit of building, and seem dispos’d to do it, in so good a manner, that were they to establish here a sort of a Board of Works to conduct the affairs, I do verily believe, | | | | they wou'd sooner make Hawksmr a commissioner of it, than that excellent architect Ripley. When I met with his name (and Esquire to it) in the news- paper ; such a laugh came upon me, [ had like to have myself, Poor Hawksmoor, what a barbarous age, have his fine ingenious parts fallen into. What wou'd Monsr Colbert in France have given for such aman? I don’t speak as to his architecture alone, but the aids he cou’d have given him, in almost all his brave designs for the police. A thing I never expect to hear talk’d of in England, where the parts of most of the great men I have seen or read of, have rarely turn’d to any farther account, than getting a great deal of money and turning it through their guts into a house of office. And now I think of eating. Pray do me the favour to get a warrant from his Grace for an other buck instead of that he sent a stag for I find that he will be of no use to me here. The buck I have bad, and very good. The sooner you can send me this, the more you will oblige, your dear Brigadr J. VANBRUGH, I writ to his Grace not long since, you ’ll make my compli to him now, with Mr Pelham and the Ladys. My service too, to Darti [quenave]. Green July ye 30th, 1723. My Lorp DvuKE,—I am now very near setting out for the north: I believe I shall get away on Sunday or Monday : and have therfore exactly fix’d every thing for the wall and given Billinghurst such perfect sketches, for his instructions in carry- ing up one length or bay of it to the top; that I think be cannot miss it, and so at your return, your Grace may by that specimen judge of the rest. I have likewise drawn out and sent to the Brigadier, the design for the garden house, which I think do’s mighty well. [ have just now a message from Grimsthorp, that my old friend & ally the great Chamberlain is at last gone. I have no particulars how matters are left, but I think the son he has left will prove the best soveraign that has sate upon that throne, and I hope all reasonable means will be us’d to cultivate — for I don’t take him to be of an ungratefull soyle. I din’d with Mt Walpole at Chelsea on Wednes- day last, and find him much content with what is doing in Norfolk. I desire your Grace will not let any body hinder you from being so at Claremont because it will be much better for you, as well as for Your most obedient servant, J. VANBRUGH. Happening to meet with St Rich# Steel t’other day at Mr Walpoles, in towne, he seem’d to me to be (at least) in the declining y * had heard he was. If it shou’d go otherwise than well with him, your Grace will give me leave to remind you of what you told me not long since, of your favourable intentions towards me, for that sinecure. The reversion of which, I now take the liberty to ask of you. [Endorsed] Re{ceived at] Crowhurst Augt 1, 1723, answ! Augt 9, Castle Howard, Augt 20th, 1723, Your Graces very kind letter, has found me here, and I return you my humble and hearty thanks for it. I have been drinking waters at Scarborough three or four days,and am to return thither with Lord Carlisle, for a weeks swigging more, and soon after But shall wait upon his new Grace of Ancaster in my way, having the honour of an invitation from him, to consult about his building : by which I believe he is inclin’d to go on upon the general design I made for his father last winter, and which was approv’d of by himself. He certainly has the honest heart your Grace says, and I hope will do all that’s right. He is not mutinous, but takes more notice of little things being done in a kind or unkind manner, than he seems todo ; and was hurt, me | being put to so tedious a solicitation about that small business of Oldfields, which to this hour, is still where ’twas. When I come to towne, I will beg of Mt Walpole to surprise him with doing something in it, without his know- ing he has a thought about it. ‘T’is reduc’d toa trifle. The arrear due was 600/. But upon some talk he had, between jest & earnest with my Lord Townshend about a composition for the widdow, I believe 300/. order’d in the manner I mention (without any fresh solicitation) wou’d make all well. Here has been a great deal of company of late, and Lord Halifax, Lady Halifax, Lord Binny and Mr Montague (Westminster) are here still : and pro- fess themselves prodigiously pleas’d. Great im- provements have been made since I was here last, and much greater we are now setting out, for next years operation. I hope I shall find the walls at Claremont, as much to my satisfaction (and your Graces too) as these are here. I find the more my Lord Carlisle sees of them the more he is pleas’d with them. And I think all that come here, are surpris’d at their magnificent effect. [Endorsed] Received at] Haland, Augt 26, rf
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nd XUM scrap of information. N° 3280, Sepr. 6, 90 THE ATHENAUM 823 THE IDENTITY OF JUNIUS. 27A, Farringdon Street, Aug. 30 1890. THE late rediscussion of this question in your columns suggests the sending of the following I have before me a small copy of ‘‘ The Letters of Junius. London, printed in the year MpccLxx.” This evidence notwith- standing, it is probably a foreign piratical re- print—the device on the title-page, a cap of liberty, strongly suggesting Parisian origin. Upon the fly-leaf is written, apparently by two contem- porary French hands, the following: “The author is Mr. Burcke RicHarp Burcke aidé par son frére le celebre [sic] Edmund Burcke 1771.” CuHarirs HicHam. THE SALE OF PARISH REGISTERS, Barton-le-Street Rectory, Sept. 3, 1890. THE following lot appears in a catalogue of second-hand books just issued by John Hitch- man, of Cherry Street, Birmingham :— “217. Oxfordshire: The Register book of the Parish of Dudcot (Didcot), Christenings 1575-1678 ; Marriages 1571-1674; Burials 1568-1679, written on 20 leaves of vellum, 8vo., 21s.” Mr. Hitchman ought to know that registers are a Class of property that cannot be sold. The book can be recovered by the Rector of Didcot without any compensation to the bookseller. J. Cuartzs Cox, LL.D. THE HOME OF THE ARYAS. Pror. J. Scumipt has published in the J'rans- actions of the Royal Prussian Academy the paper which he read at the Oriental Con- gress at Stockholm, ‘On the Original Home of the Indo-Germans.’ This essay created a great sensation at the time. After it had been read, the President asked the assembled members of the Aryan Section whether, as they were assembled on Scandinavian soil, there was any- body present who would say a word in favour of the Scandinavian origin of the Aryan family, or against their emigration from Asia. No one rose, not a single dissentient voice was heard. The President, Prof. Max Miiller, was the only one who, in returning thanks to Prof. Schmidt, expressed some doubts on the force of the argument, though he gladly took note of the apparently unanimous agreement of the Oriental scholars present in support of the non-European origin of the Aryan languages. The title of Prof. Schmidt’s paper is ‘Die Urheimath der Indogermanen und das Europiiische Zahlsystem.’ “TRIM'E TRAM’E.” August 23, 1890. I rinp the expression ‘‘ trim’e tram’e ” queried at p. 256 of the Atheneum, under the title ‘An Elizabethan Poet and his Relations, referring to Thomas Watson. Your correspondent asks for the allusion in “the councell of trim’e tram’e”; it is, I fancy, explained in Halliwell’s ‘ Archaic Dictionary,’ ii. 889: “Trim-Tram, a trifle or absurdity.” The writer, “ W. Cornwaleys,” dwells upon their vacillation: ‘‘They wear more then a yeer I can prove in debate,” “trimming,” as it were, between the usual three courses. A. Hatt. AN EXPLANATION WANTED. Messrs. Cassett & Co. advertise the proxi- mate publication, in monthly parts, of a book to be called ‘The Rivers of Great Britain.’ ‘*The text,” I read in their advertisement, ‘ is supplied by the following writers,” fourteen in number, of whom, to my amazement, I find that I am one. Will it be believed that I know nothing whatever of this publication, that I never before heard of it, and that I have reason to believe some of the other men of letters men- tioned in the advertisement are in the same position ? OnE OF THE FOURTEEN, THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON. Amonc the books in active preparation at the Clarendon Press may be mentioned the follow- ing. Theological: ‘‘Nouum Testamentum Domini Nostri Iesu Christi Latine, secundum Editionem S. Hieronymi, Ad Codd. MSS. fidem recensuit I. Wordsworth, 8.T.P., Episcopus Sarisburiensis ; in operis societatem adsumto H. I. White, A.M. Partis I. Fasc. II. Euan- gelium secundum Marcum,”—‘ A Concordance to the Septuagint,’ edited by the late Rev. Edwin Hatch and the Rev. H. A. Redpath, Fasc. I.,—‘ The Peshito Version of the Gospels,’ edited by the Rev. G. H. Gwilliam,—‘ Studia Biblica et Ecclesiastica,” Vol. III., edited by the Rev. W. Sanday,—and ‘ Helps to the Study of the Prayer Book.’ Classical: ‘A Grammar of the Homeric Dialect,’ by D. B. Monro, M.A., second edition,—Plato, ‘ Republic, Greek text, edited by the Rev. B. Jowett and the Rev. Lewis Campbell,—‘ The Inscriptions of Cos,’ by W. R. Paton,—‘ The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle,’ critical text, edited by I. Bywater, M.A.,—Purves’s ‘Selections from Plato,’ new edition by Evelyn Abbott, M.A.,—‘ The Memo- rabilia of Xenophon,’ edited by J. Marshall, M.A.,—‘ Noctes Maniliane,’ by Robinson Ellis, M.A.,—Horace, ‘ The Satires, Epistles, and De Arte Poetica,’ edited by the Rev. E. C. Wick- ham,—‘ The Annals of Tacitus,’ edited by the Rev. H. Furneaux, Vol. II.,—Virgil’s ‘ Aineid,’ VIL-IX. and X.-XII., edited by the Rev. T. L. Papillon and A. E. Haigh, M.A.,—and ‘The Georgics of Virgil,’ edited by C. S. Jerram, M.A. Oriental: ‘Thesaurus Syriacus,’ edidit R. Payne Smith, §.T.P., Fasc. IX.,—‘ A Catalogue of the Turkish, Hindfistini, and Pushtii MSS. in the Bodleian Library,’ by H. Ethé, Ph.D., Part II.,—‘ A Catalogue of the Armenian MSS. in the Bodleian Library,’ by Dr. S. Baronian,— a collotype reproduction of the ancient MS. of the ‘ Yasna,’ with its Pahlavi translation, a.D. 1323, in the possession of the Bodleian Library, —and ‘ Lessons in Tamil,’ by the Rev. Dr. G. U. Pope, second edition. In general literature: ‘The Arthurian Legend,’ by John Rhys, M.A., —‘ Melanesian Anthropology,’ by the Rev. R. H. Codrington, D.D.,—‘The Prince of Macchia- velli,’ edited, with introduction and notes, by L. A. Burd, M.A.,—‘ Catalogue of Rawlinson MSS. D. in the Bodleian Library,’ by the Rev. W. D. Macray,—and ‘ Hymns and Chorales for Colleges and Schools,’ selected and edited by John Farmer. In modern languages: ‘A Finnish Grammar,’ by C. N. E. Eliot, M.A.,— and ‘Specimens of Medizval French,’ edited by Paget Toynbee, M.A. In history, law, &c., the Delegates promise ‘The Landndma-Béc,’ edited by the late G. Vigfusson, M.A., and F. York Powell, M.A., —‘The Gild Merchant: a Contribution to English Municipal History,’ by C. Gross, Ph. D., in 2 vols.,—‘ Early English Land Tenure,’ by Prof. P. Vinogradoff, Vol. I.,—‘ A History of England from the Accession of Henry IV. to the Battle of Bosworth Field,’ by Sir James H. Ramsay, in 2 vols.,—‘ A History of Sicily,’ by E. A. Freeman, D.C.L., Vols. I. and II.,—‘ A History of America,’ by E. J. Payne, M.A., Vol. I.,—‘Italy and her Invaders,’ by Thomas Hodgkin, D.C.L., Vols. I. and II., new edition, —‘A Historical Geography of the British Colonies,’ by C. P. Lucas, B.A., Vol. II.,—‘A Geographical Study of the Dominion of Canada,’ by Rev. W. Parr Greswell, M.A.,—‘ Two of the Saxon Chronicles Parallel,’ a revised text, edited by the Rev. C. Plummer on the basis ofan edition by the Rev. J. Earle,—‘ The Song of Lewes,’ edited, with introduction, notes, and translation, by C. L Kingsford, M.A.,—Bentham’s ‘Fragment on Government,’ edited by F. C. Montague, M.A.,—‘ Law and Custom of the Constitution’: Part II., ‘ The Executive,’ by Sir W. R. Anson, D.C.L.,—and ‘The Land Re- venue Systems and Tenures of British India,’ by B. H. Baden-Powell. In English language and literature: ‘ Bosworth’s Anglo-Saxon Dic- tionary,’ Part IV., edited by Prof. T. N. Toller, —‘Principles of English Etymology’: Second Series, ‘The Foreign Element,’ by the Rev. W. W. Skeat, Litt.D.,—‘A New English Dic- tionary,’ Vol. II. Part III. (beginning with Clo), edited by J. A. H. Murray, LL.D., and Vol. III. Part I. (beginning with the letter E), edited by Henry Bradley,—Stratmann’s ‘ Middle- English Dictionary,’ new edition, rearranged, revised, and enlarged by Henry Bradley,— ‘Synopsis of Old-English Phonology,’ by the Rev. A. L. Mayhew,—‘ A Translation of the Beo- wulf in English Prose,’ by the Rev. John Earle, —Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales,’ edited by the Rev. W. W. Skeat, Litt.D., 2 vols. ,—Chaucer’s ‘Prologue to the Canterbury Tales,’ edited for beginners by the Rev. W. W. Skeat, Litt.D.,— Shakspeare’s ‘Henry VIII.,’ edited by W. Aldis Wright, D.C.L.,—Bunyan’s ‘Holy War,’ &e., edited by Edward Peacock, — Bacon’s ‘ Essays,’ edited by the Rev. S. H. Reynolds, — ‘Selections from Swift,’ edited by Henry Craik, M.A.,—‘ The Worldly Wisdom of Lord Chester- field,’ edited by G. Birkbeck Hill, D.C.L.,— Shelley’s ‘ Adonais,’ edited by W. M. Rossetti, —and Scott’s ‘Lady of the Lake,’ edited by W. Minto, M.A. The second series of ‘‘ Sacred Books of the East” will include Vol. XXX., ‘The Grihya- Sitras,’ translated by H. Oldenberg, Part II.; Vol. XXXII., ‘ Vedic Hymns,’ translated by F, Max Miiller, Part I.; Vol. XXXVII., ‘The Contents of the Nasks, as stated in the Eighth and Ninth Books of the Dinkard,’ translated by E. W. West ; and Vols. XXXIX., XL., ‘ The Sacred Books of China: Tao Teh King,’ trans- lated by James Legge. The following works are in preparation for the series of “ Anecdota Oxoniensia” :—‘ Collations and Extracts of the Kanva Text of the Satapathabrihmana, I.-IV.,’ by J. Eggeling, M.A.; ‘Firdausi’s Yasuf and Zalikha, edited by H. Ethé, M.A. ; ‘ A Colla- tion of the Greek Text of Portions of Aristotle with Ancient Armenian Versions,’ by F. C. Conybeare, M.A.; ‘ Collations from the Harleian MS. of Cicero (2682),’? by A. C. Clark, M.A. ; ‘The Elucidarium,’ edited from a dated Welsh MS. of the fourteenth century by John Rhys, M.A., and J. M. Jones, B.A.; and ‘A MS. Work of Bishop Bale’ (Seld. supra, 64), edited by R. L. Poole, M.A. The following volumes have been arranged for in the series of ‘‘ Rulers of India ”:—‘ Asoka, and the Political Organiza- tion of Ancient India,’ by T. W. Rhys-Davids, Ph.D. ; ‘Aurangzeb, and the Decay of the Mughal Empire, by Sir W. W. Hunter, K.C.S.1.; ‘Lord Clive, and the Establishment of the Eng- lish in India,’ by Prof. J. Seeley; ‘ Warren Hastings, and the Founding of the British Ad- ministration,’ by Capt. L. J. Trotter ; ‘ Ranjit Singh, and the Sikh Barrier between our Grow- ing Empire and Central Asia,’ by Sir Lepel Griffin, K.C.S.I. ; ‘Mountstuart Elphinstone, and the Making of South- Western India,’ by J. S. Cotton, M.A.; ‘Lord William Bentinck, and the Company as a Governing and Non- trading Power,’ by Demetrius Boulger; ‘ Lord Clyde, and the Suppression of the Great Revolt,” by Major-General Sir Owen Tudor Burne, K.C.S I. ; ‘Earl Canning, and the Transfer of India from the Company to the Crown,’ by Sir Henry 8. Cunningham, K.C.I.E.; and ‘The Earl of Mayo, and the Consolidation of the Queen’s Rule in India,’ by Sir W. W. Hunter. Messrs. Cassell & Co.’s announcements include ‘The Life, Letters, and Friendships of Richard Monckton Milnes, First Lord Houghton,’ by T. Wemyss Reid,—‘ Lectures on Christianity and Socialism,’ by the Right Rev. Alfred Barry, D.D.,—‘ Loans Manual : a Compilation of Tables and Rules for the Use of Local Authorities,’ by Charles P. Cotton,—‘ The Law of Musical and Dramatic Copyright,’ by E. Cutler, QC., Thomas Eustace Smith, and Frederick E. Weatherly,—‘ London Street Arabs,’ by Mrs. H. M. Stanley (Dorothy Tennant), with pictures
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324 THE ATHENZUM N° 3280, Szpr. 6, 90 from original drawings by Dorothy Tennant,— ‘Magic at Home,’ by Prof. Hoffman, fully illus- trated,—Vol. II. of ‘The World of Adventure,’ with numerous illustrations, —‘ Aubrey de Vere’s Poems,’ edited by John Dennis,—‘ Life of Father Mathew, by Frank J. Mathew,—‘ Metzerott, Shoemaker,’—‘ David Todd: the Romance of his Life and Loving,’ by David Maclure,— ‘Pactolus Prime: a Novel,’ by Albion W. Tourgée,—‘ Scouting for Stanley in East Africa : being a Record of the Adventures of Thomas Stevens in search of H. M. Stanley,’—Vols. IT. and III. of ‘ Cassell’s Book of the Household,’— and cheap editions of ‘ Celebrities of the Century,’ edited by Lloyd Sanders; ‘Electricity in the Service of Man’; ‘The Journal of Marie Bash- kirtseff,’ translated by Mathilde Blind; and ‘The Illustrated Book of Poultry,’ by Lewis Wright. Among new story-books, &c., Messrs. Cassell promise ‘ Wanted—a King; or, How Merle set the Nursery Rhymes to Rights,’ by Maggie Browne, designs by Harry Furniss ; ‘ The Mar- vellous Budget; being 65,536 Stories of Jack and JilJ,’ by the Rev. F. Bennett; ‘ Lost in Samoa: a Tale of Adventure in the Navigator Islands,’ by E. S. Ellis, illustrations by Gordon Browne; ‘Tad; or, ‘‘ Getting Even” with Him,’ by E. S. Ellis, illustrations by John Schon- berg ; and ‘Schoolroom Theatricals,’ by Arthur Waugh, with illustrations by H. J. A. Miles. “* Cassell’s Japanese Library of Popular Works” will contain twelve volumes. The ‘‘ Railway Library” contains the following new volumes : ‘Jack Gordon, Knight Errant,’ by W. C. Hudson (Barclay North); ‘The Diamond Button : Whose Was It?’ by the same author ; and ‘Strange Doings in Strange Places,’ com- plete sensational stories by Frank Barrett, Max- well Gray, and others. To the “ Red Library,” “The Antiquary ’ and ‘ Nicholas Nickleby’ will be added. New and cheap editions are promised of ‘ Cassell’s Concise Cyclopeedia’ and the ‘ New German Dictionary’; also Vols. IIf. and IV. of “Casseli’s New Popular Educator.. Among other educational works are ‘ Casseli’s Popular Atlas, — Vol. VI. of Prof. Henry Morley’s ‘Euglish Writers,’—‘Gaudeamus: One Hundred Songs for Schools and Colleges,’ edited by John Farmer,—and ‘Cassell’s Map-Building Series,’ outline maps prepared by H. O. Arnold-Forster. The yearly volumes of the Quiver, Cassell’s Family Magazine, Cassell’s Saturday Journal, Work, the Woman’s World, Little Folks, and Bo-Peep, and ‘The Year-Book of Commerce for 1890-91,’ with such useful matters as Letts’s Diaries, complete a varied list. Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. announce the fol- lowing works as in the press :—‘ The Life and Reminiscences of E. L. Blanchard. with Notes from the Diary of Wm. Blanchard,’ by Clement Scott, in two volumes,— ‘The Australasian Dictionary of Biography,’ comprising notices of eminent colonists from the inauguration of responsible government down to the present time, edited by Philip Mennell, F.R.G.S.,— ‘The Poets and the Poetry of the Century,’ edited by A. H. Miles, in eight volumes,— ‘ Nutshell Novels,’ by J. Ashby Sterry,—‘ Mount Eden: a Romance,’ by Florence Marryat, — ‘Love and Mirage; or, the Waiting on an Island,’ by M. Betham Edwards,—‘ Wedded,’ by Robert Overton,—‘ A Handy Guide to Australasia,’ with maps, by G. Collins Levey, C.M.G.,—and cheap editions of Dean Vaughan’s ‘ Works,’ in ten volumes; ‘Demonstrations in Arithmetic,’ by Clement Davies, M.A.; ‘The Low - backed Car,’ with original photogravures and wood engravings by Wm. Magrath; a fine- paper edition of ‘ Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’ with the original illustrations by George Cruikshank; ‘ From Middy to Admiral of the Fleet: the Story of Commodore Anson,’ by Dr. Macaulay; and ‘Up North in a Whaler,’ by E. A. Rand. Literarp Grossip, ConsipErinc the influence of the Indian civil service examinations on educational institutions in this country, the statistics published by the Civil Service Commis- sioners relative to the last open competi- tion are very important. Out of the forty- five successful candidates, only thirteen had sufficient knowledge of the history of their country to present themselves for examin- ation in it; and only the same small number took up English literature. The total number of marks scored in English history by the successful candidates was 983, while the total scored in French was 9,898. It is true that the maximum number of marks allotted to English history is only 300, while French has 500; but the figures are, nevertheless, very remarkable. Moreover, out of the 250 candidates who competed, only 86 took up English history, while 247 took up French. We have received various complaints from correspondents on the closing of the Library of the British Museum. The inten- tion of closing was announced in our columns of August 30th; but it certainly seems a pity that longer notice was not given. Amonest the large number of Greek papyri found by Mr. Flinders Petrie in the Fayoum, and now being examined by Prof. Sayce, are portions of Plato’s ‘ Phzedrus,’ in a text of the time of Alexander. A work entitled ‘ The Colleges of Oxford : their History and their Traditions,’ will be published next spring by Messrs. Methuen. Mr. A. Clark, Fellow of Lincoln, edits the book, and the chapters are contributed by various well-known members of the univer- sity. Messrs. SonnENSCHEIN & Co.’s new volume of the ‘‘ Contemporary Pulpit Library ” will consist of a selection of some of the most popular sermons by the late Bishop Light- foot. Tue Rev. T. A. Eaglesim, of the Bir- mingham Oratory, has undertaken the preparation of a life of Cardinal Newman for the Catholic Truth Society—a body in which the late cardinal took much interest. It was to a deputation from the conference of this society, held in Birmingham at the beginning of July, that the cardinal’s last address was given. ‘Toe Dawn or THE Enciish REFoRMA- tion,’ by Mr. Henry Worsley, M.A., is an- nounced for early publication by Mr. Elliot Stock. THERE is an epidemic of Lincolnshire books. Mr. William Andrews, of Hull,is now editing a volume to be entitled ‘ Bygone Lincolnshire,’ which will deal with the his- tory, folk-lore, and memorable men and women of the county, and include many illustrations. A work on ‘ Holy Trinity Church, Hull,’ by the Rev. J. R. Boyle, F.S.A., will shortly be issued by Messrs. A. Brown & Sons of that place. Miss Brappon’s next novel will be issued by Messrs. Simpkin & Co. early in October. ‘Top AFTER SupreEr’ is the title of Mr. Jerome K. Jerome’s new book, which is shortly to appear from the Leadenhall Press. A booklet at a farthing has been issued, with a view to secure the copyright. Mk. Fisner Unwin’s “ Adventure Series” is now published in America by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. Vol. iv., which will appear in October, will consist of the ‘Adven- turesof Thomas Pellow, of Penryn, Mariner.’ It isan account written by himself of three- and-twenty years’ captivity among the Moors, and will be edited and have an introduction by Dr. Robert Brown. Vol. v., to be issued in December, will be called ‘ The Buccaneers and Marooners of America,’ and consist of an account of famous adventures by free- booters on the Spanish Main. It will be edited by Mr. Howard Pyle, the well-known American author and artist. ‘A Cavatrer STRONGHOLD,’ a romance of the Vale of Belvoir, by Mrs. Chaworth Musters, is the title of a new novel shortly to be published by Mr. James Bell, of Not- tingham. A popuLaR edition, ata shilling, of Charles Lamb’s ‘ Prince Dorus,’ with all the coloured plates, is in the press. Mr. Andrew Tuer contributes an introduction. Mrs. Kent SrenpeEr will publish, through Messrs. Swan Sonnenschein & Co., a new novel early this autumn. Its title is ‘ Lady Hazleton’s Confession.’ Messrs. Tittotson & Son announce the forthcoming publication of an English story by the Queen of Roumania (‘‘CarmenSylva’’), who is on a visit to this country. Messrs. Tillotson have also secured stories by Mrs. Oliphant, Mr. Robert Buchanan, Mr. Bret Harte, the Marquis of Lorne, Mr. Justin McCarthy, Mr. James Payn, Mr. Clark Russell, and Mr. Hawley Smart, original publicatioa of which will take place in the newspaper press of both hemispheres. Tue ‘Author’s Manual,’ by Mr. P. Russell, to be published immediately by Messrs. Digby & Long, is intended, we learn, to afford information and help to all desirous of entering any branch of the literary pro- fession. Tue well-known publishing firm of W. & R. Chambers, of Edinburgh and London, has been turned into a limited liability com- pany, the capital being 100,000/. The shares are not being offered to the public, but are to be divided amongst the Chambers family and the employés. Messrs. MacLesose & Sons, of Glasgow, will publish immediately ‘ An Introduction to Social Philosophy; being the Shaw Fel- lowship Lectures for 1889,’ by Mr. J. 8. Mackenzie, who has just been appointed Assistant Lecturer on Philosophy in Owens College, Manchester. RovssEAv's influence on the development of the idealistic school of German philo- sophy, from Herder and Kant down to Hegel, forms the subject of a monograph by Herr R. Fester which bears the title of ‘Rousseau und die Deutsche Geschichts- philosophie,’ and will be published very shortly. Gortur’s birthday was observed with the customary enthusiasm at Frankfort last week. Pror. Mascxa has discovered in the Town Library of Trent, in a vellum codex of Virgil belonging probably to the eleventh century, a series of glosses in Old High German. The MS. had belonged to the Gentilotti ee eee a ee
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ee . XUM N° 3280, Sepr. 6,’90 THE ATHENAUM 325 family,a member of which was Bishop of Trent in 1725. Tue well-known “ Lutherforscher,’’ Dr. Buchwald, has had the good fortune to make two interesting discoveries in the Municipal Library at Zwickau. He has found two books with marginalia in Luther’s handwriting. The first of these, printed probably in 1493 or 1494, is ‘‘Johannis de Trittenhem abbatis Spanhemensis, ordinis sancti Benedicti de observantia Burss- feldensi Liber lugubris de statu et ruina monastici ordinis; omnibus religiosis ac devotis viris non minus utilis quam jucun- dus.” The manuscript remarks in Luther’s writing show that he read this book while he was still an Augustinian monk. The book itself is rich in suggestions on the need of reforming the monastic system, and doubtless had a considerable effect on the reformer’s mind, and represented his own early standpoint. The other book, ‘ Opus- cula Anselmi Archiepiscopi Cantuariensis ordinis Sancti Benedicti,’ also contains numerous remarks upon the margin from Luther’s pen. A book-mark was found within this latter volume, containing the words, in Luther’s handwriting, ‘‘ Ve vobis qui ridetis, quia flebitis olim. At vos nunc qui fletis certe gaudebitisolim.”” Out of the nine books of the Rector Daum’schen Bibliothek which were formerly in Luther’s possession, seven have now been found. A CorRESPONDENT writes :— ‘*Dr. Rackwitz, of Bochum, at the request of the Commission fiir Wissenschaftliche Landes- kunde von Deutschland, is collecting materials for an exhaustive treatise upon the so-called ‘Freudenfeuer,’ such as the Easter fires, Wal- purgis fire, Michaelmas fire, St. John’s fire, St. Martin’s fire, and others. ‘ Easter fires’ are not confined to North Germany ; ‘ but according to communications which I have received,’ writes Dr. Rackwitz, ‘they are found also in Denmark, England, Northern France as far as Brittany, Holland, and Belgium. It is of great importance to prehistoric science to fix the boundary lines of these Easter fires with greater exactness, since it is probable that they concur with primi- tive boundaries of race.’ A line can already be drawn through Central Germany on the north of which the ‘Osterfeuer’ is kindled, while on the south the ‘Johannisfeuer’ is substituted. In the Mark Brandenburg and Westphalia, for instance, the Easter fire is in use, but to the south of these provinces is almost unknown. Dr. Rackwitz applies for local information from places where fires are still kindled, or have been lately kindled, at Easter, Walpurgis (May Ist), St. John’s day, Michaelmas, St. Martin’s day, or Christmas. All these ‘ fires’ are of German heathen origin, and up to the beginning of our century hereditary ceremonies were in use not only at the kindling of the fire, but also at the collection of the materials, There are already signs that the old ritual customs are passing away, while a new meaning is being given to what the English of the seventeenth century called ‘the Blazes.’ Thus a ‘ Leipzig-feuer,’ and still later a ‘ Sedan-feuer,’ in memory of the great battle, have taken the place of the old ‘ Michaelis-feuer.’” Kart §zaro, the Hungarian historian, died on Monday at Klausenburg. Tue death of Alexandre Chatrian recalls the wonderful literary partnership which proved, perhaps too well for the interests of many would-be successors, that an appa- rently solid unity of style may coexist with the advantage of the proverbial duality of heads. M.Chatrian, who was born in 1826, became acquainted with his partner in letters in 1847. From that date began their literary activity, but not till later (about eleven years) their financial success. It were needless to recapitulate their famous Alsatian tales. The English playgoer is familiar with their drama of ‘The Bells.’ The fact that old and successful comrades should have finally disagreed merely proves, what needs no proof, the irritability of the genus; but so much of their fame as sur- vives will be their joint possession. Tue Parliamentary Papers of the week include Civil Establishments Commission, Fourth Report and Evidence (ls. 11d.) ; Education, Scotland, Report of Committee of Council, 1889-90 (1s. 11d.); Intermediate Education, Ireland, Account, 1889 (1d.); East India Civil Service, Report of Com- mittee (1s. 6d.) ; Mines, Hours of Labour, Return (1d.). SCIENCE The Criminal. By Havelock Ellis. (Scott.) In this work the able editor of the ‘“ Con- temporary Science Series” contributes to that excellent collection a volume well cal- culated to maintain its reputation. It is curious that in Britain, which claims to be pre-eminently a country of practical people, so little should have been done, and so little should be known of what has been done elsewhere, in that branch of the anthropo- logical sciences which has the best pro- mise of affording results of immediate practical value—criminology. We share Dr. Topinard’s dislike of the term ‘‘criminal anthropology,” and may adopt the term ‘‘criminology”’ till a better can be found. Mr. Ellis’s work should enlighten the British public as to the practical issues to which scientific investigation of a subject of vital importance to the commonwealth may con- duce, and as to the sources of valuable information on questions relating to the treatment and reclamation of criminals which we are neglecting. Since the publication of Lombroso’s great work in 1876 Italy has taken the lead in this study; and it was therefore fitting that the first ‘‘ International Congress of Criminal Anthropology,” in 1885, should be held in Rome. France is not far behind, as the record of last year’s exhibition and the ‘Archives de )’Anthropologie Criminelle ’ may testify, and it was equally fitting that the second congress should be held in Paris in 1889. It is hardly credible, but it is true, that not a single representative to that congress was accredited from Great Britain ; nor has this country produced a single scientific work on the subject before the one now under review. We showed the same lack of interest when Prof. von Liszt originated the International Association of Penal Law, which held its first meeting at Brussels in 1889. Mr. Ellis appends to his work a statement of the objects and opera- tions of that association, which may possibly induce some of his readers to remove this reproach from our countrymen. Mr. Ellis modestly disclaims any origin- ality for his work; but it must not be understood from this that he has been con- tent merely to copy or to record the re- searches of the foreign criminologists. He has issued a series of questions to the medical officers of prisons, and has obtained from them a valuable body of information ; and he has collected from the works of English non-scientific observers, such as the Rev. J. W. Horsley, Mr. Michael Davitt, and others, a large number of facts and incidents illustrating or rectifying the con- clusions arrived at in the foreign text- books. In the practical suggestions he makes as to the treatment of criminals—in which he advises the abolition of capital punishment, and, indeed, of all definite and fixed sentences, and the substitution of a system of education and physical training similar to that adopted at the Elmira Re- formatory in the State of New York—our author accepts the responsibility of his own opinions. The object of the criminologist is, first, to establish the existence and define the cha- racteristics of a physical criminal type or types ; second, to investigate the psychical phenomena associated with criminality. As a broad generalization it may be asserted that arrested development and abnormality of the cranium and its contents are met with in criminals in a larger proportion than in persons unaffected by crime. The like remark applies to the features; common observation testifies to heavy jaws, sinister expression, and wrinkled, haggard faces as marks of a criminal type. A similar asser- tion may also be made with respect to many physical peculiarities and pathological con- ditions. The criminal is in general a person of inferior vitality, and Mr. Ellis adduces some interesting evidence to show that criminals and insane persons are in a large proportion of cases the offspring of aged fathers, and that their relatively feeble con- stitution may to some extent be attributed to that cause. The mental aspects of the criminal in like manner afford indications of arrested de- velopment. Mr. Ellis groups these under the heads of moral insensibility, defective intelligence, vanity, emotional instability, sentiment, and religion. He also furnishes many curious examples of thieves’ slang, prison inscriptions, and criminal literature, art, and philosophy, but, oddly enough, omits to mention one of the most remarkable, the ‘Prison Thoughts’ of the Rev. Dr. Dodd, who beguiled his captivity while he lay under sentence of death in Newgate by writing an elaborate poem. Mr. Ellis justly distinguishes between a political criminal and an ordinary criminal, and defines the former as ‘‘the victim of an attempt by a more or less despotic government to preserve its own stability.” He is, therefore, right in not including among criminal literature the romance with which the public have recently been favoured by an Irish member of Parliament. The work is copiously illustrated, and the illustrations are described in an appendix. A seriesof thirty-six criminal heads, sketched at Pentonville by Dr. V. Clarke, is worth careful examination; but several of the other pictures are perplexing to the reader because they have no relation to the text. Thus a plate representing four Italian brigands is placed opposite a description of twelve English atheists. Three composite photographs of inmates of Elmira are given,
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326 THE ATHENAUM N° 3280, Sept. 6, ’90
which curiously show the effect of compo- sites in smoothing down deviations from a normal type. Thus a composite of eleven individuals produces a heavy jaw and broad, unprepossessing features; one of twenty ‘‘dullards”’ presents a regular and not un- pleasing expression; while one of thirty- eight is almost half-angelic. An irritating misprint occurs on the last line but one of p. 305, where the “ hearts- ease,” the popular name of the viola or pansy, is printed “‘ heart’s case.” One or two others occur in quotations from foreign works.
MEDICAL BOOKS. A Mainal of Anatomy for Senior Students. By Edmund Owen, M.B. (Longmans & Co.)— Under this somewhat modest title the author has brought out a clear and concise manual of anatomy with special reference to its application to practical medicine and surgery. There was undoubtedly room for such a work ; Mr. Owen realized the want, and has supplied it admirably. Such a book should be invaluable, not only to senior students, but to medical men in active practice of all ages, both senior and junior. To arrange anatomical knowledge, unencumbered by unnecessary details, in such a way as to apply it at once to practical medicine and surgery is a work of much difficulty, requiring great ability ; but the author has succeeded in his task with credit to himself and with advantage to the medical profession. We can heartily recommend the work. Old Age. By George Murray Humphry, M.D., F.R.S. (Cambridge, Macmillan & Bowes. )— Prof. Humphry when President of the British Medical Association revived an idea suggested many years before by Dr. de Bartolomé, of Sheffield, that an association having so great an organization should do something in the way of collective investigation. Prof. Humphry’s well-known energy carried the scheme to a suc- cessful issue. One of the subjects chosen for consideration was ‘‘ old age”; the professor took charge of it, and the result of his hard and con- scientious work is tabulated inthis volume. The part played in the production of longevity by an inborn quality for endurance, by sound organs, and freedom from exposure to the various casualties of life, the advantages that females have over males, due not only to their manner of life, but also to the fact that infantile female vitality is greater than that of the male, are clearly put and discussed ; while the existence of longevity in some members of a family is shown when other members of the same family have died of consumption. Prof. Humphry tabulates the facts about fifty-two centenarians, which are full of interest, and go far to prove that a happy interest in the world’s doings may be taken even at the age of a hundred. The book is well worth reading, as all that comes from the same pen is; and we think it is full of valuable suggestions to enable us to secure longevity. St. Bartholomew's Hospital Reports. Vol. XXV. Edited by W. S. Church, M.D., and W. J. Wal- sham, F.R.C.S. (Smith, Elder & Co.)—This is one of the most interesting of the reports pub- lished in recent years. Much as we regret the absence of papers from the older members of the staff, still we can congratulate the editors on having secured excellent and practical papers, founded on the progress of science as well as on the interesting cases treated in the wards of the | 3 , : | commendation ; whilst a full index enables easy hospital. Such contributions have been received from Sir Dyce Duckworth, Dr. Gee, Dr. Shore, Dr. Rolleston, Mr. Butlin, and others. ‘The Recent Advances in Nerve Physiology’ are ably discussed by Dr. Shore; while the antiseptic treatment of consumption and the way in which ‘hypnotic suggestion” may be advantageously
applied to the treatment of disease are carefully considered by Dr. Harris and Dr. Rolleston. St. Bartholomew’s Hospital has always been able to attract to, and been willing to keep in, its school able students, who have helped much in the progress of science and promoted the success of the reports. We wish the seniors could see their way to give the results of their great experience, which would be beneficial to the profession at large and encourage the efforts of their juniors. Terminologia Medica Polyglotta: a Concise International Dictionary of Medical Terms. By Theodore Maxwell, M.D. (Churchill.) — Dr. Maxwell has compiled a book which will prove of great use in the European and American medical world. He has given the Latin, Eng- lish, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Russian equivalents for all the terms used in medical books. He has been assisted by foreigners for their own tongues, and is himself so accomplished a linguist as to be able to edit their notes. The work is one of great difficulty, and Dr. Maxwell has carried it out with admir- able clearness. The terms for each disease or organ are placed one below another in order, French being used as the key language. This arrangement is the best that could have been adopted, and is superior to that of separate lists. Clear type and a large page contribute to make the lexicon all that can be wished.
TEXT-BOOKS. Advanced Physiography (Physiographic Astro- nomy). By John Mills. (Chapman & Hall.)— This work is stated to have been specially pre- pared to meet the requirements of advanced students of the subject in the Science and Art Department at South Kensington. Whether the above way of describing an elementary trea- tise on astronomy is a judicious one may, we think, admit of doubt; but the work unques- tionably forms a very clear and excellent intro- duction to the study of that science, partly explanatory and partly descriptive. It com- mences with a brief account of the principles of construction of the most important astronomical instruments ; and the chapters on the ‘ Prin- ciples of Spectrum Analysis” and the ‘‘ Physical and Chemical Constitution of the Sun” merit special attention. The concluding section is on terrestrial magnetism, included (oddly : in a chapter “Celestial Pl enough) in a chapter on elestia 10to- graphy,” which, as the author observes, has already been of immense service, and ‘will doubtless be the means of achieving still greater success.” Great care has evidently been exerted to secure accuracy in the information; but of course opinions will often differ with regard to the selection of the determinations of numerical values adopted, which is always a source of trouble to writers of popular books on astro- nomy, who must necessarily give in most cases only those which they consider to be the nearest to the truth. In more than one place Kirchhoft’s name is erroneously spelt with a single h; and in the table of comets on p. 236 ‘‘Olber’s comet ” is mentioned, as if the famous Bremen astronomer’s name had been Olber instead of Olbers. The author does not seem to be aware that Lexell’s comet has in all probability been observed again recently after another change in its orbit, as shown by Mr. 8. C. Chandler. But, as already remarked, the work before us is an exceedingly useful elementary book on astro- nomy, and cannot fail to give the student a clear idea of its fundamental principles and methods of research. The typography and illustrations are both such as can only elicit reference to be made to any part of a most handy volume, for which we heartily wish the success it deserves. A Text-Book of Organic Chemistry. By A. Bernthsen, Ph.D. Translated by G. M‘Gowan, Ph.D. (Blackie & Son.)—<As almost every pro-
fessor of chemistry seems to think it necessary, sooner or later, to prepare a special work for the use of his own classes, it is not surprising that Dr. Bernthsen, when lecturing at Heidelberg, failed to satisfy himself that any of the numerous text-books exactly suited his purpose, and was consequently led to prepare one after his own heart. There can be no question that the work he produced is one of value, and—as it has been well received in Germany—it occurred to Dr. M‘Gowan, of Bangor, that it might be usefully translated for English readers. The author, having read the proofs, has published a prefatory note testifying to the translator’s accuracy. It appears that Dr. Bernthsen has exchanged his chair in the old university on the Neckar for the position of Scientific Director of the Baden Aniline and Alkali Manufactory ; but he still keeps himself well informed about all that relates to organic chemistry, and for the purpose of this translation has introduced such modifications and additions as bring the information up to date. Organic chemistry has of late years undergone such immense development that it has expanded into a special science, requiring, if properly taught, a professor all to itself. The teacher of a class of organic chemistry will find this text-book concise and well suited to the wants of the average student.
ASTRONOMICAL NOTES, ANOTHER small planet, No. 296, was discovered by M. Charlois at the Nice Observatory on the night of the 19th ult. It is of only the thirteenth magnitude, and was, when found, very near the place of Hera, No. 103, which was discovered by the late Prof. Watson, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, twenty-two years ago. We have received the number of the Memorie della Societa degli Spettroscopisti Italiani for July. It is wholly occupied with accounts of observations of the solar eclipse of June 17th, in which, although the central line did not pass over any part of continental Europe (the eclipse was, however, annular in Crete), more than half the sun’s diameter was covered in Italy, and more than three-quarters in the southern part of that country and in Sicily, where Prof. Riced’s observations at Palermo were only par- tially successful on account of clouds.
MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Tves. Horticultural, 11; Lecture, 3.
Science Gossip. We learn from Edinburgh that the fourth annual series of the Vacation Science Courses closed on Saturday last with an excursion to Melrose and Abbotsford. This year the various courses provided in summer by the University Extension Scheme have been consolidated, with good results :— “ Hence the lectures were reduced to four series, each of twenty lectures, as follows :—1. Introduc- tion to Sociology, by Prof. Patrick Geddes ; 2. Prin- ciples of Biology, by Prof. Geddes and Mr. J. Arthur Thomson, lecturer in the School of Medicine; 3. Zoology, by Mr. Thomson; 4. Botany, by Prof. Geddes, Mr. R. Turnbull, lecturer in the School of Medicine for Women, and Mr. A. J. Herbertson, assistant lecturer in University College, Dundee. The courses of sociology and general biology were arranged to illustrate each other, while the courses of zoology and botany were also kept parallel to the teaching of more general biology, so that the student might attend forty, or at most sixty, lectures in all, with much of the continuity of a single course. A series of excursions was also arranged to places combining biological and social interest. This plan of associating courses of study dealing with the humanities and natural science has been found so successful in practice that the committee are not only preparing a more developed scheme for the August gathering of 1891, but propose after this renewed experience to arrange a similar course of higher instruction in Edinburgh during the winter following.” Ar a recent meeting of the Academy of Sciences at Paris M. le Baron Larrey presented
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N° 3280, Sept. 6,90 Dr. Bateman’s treatise on ‘Aphasia and the Localization of Language.’ According to the Transactions of the Academy the work met with such a favourable reception from this august body that it was referred to the Committee for the prize in Medicine and Surgery for 1891. THE Clarendon Press announce the following , t=) works in mathematics and physical science : “Mathematical Papers of the late Henry J. S. Smith, Savilian Professor of Geometry in the University of Oxford,’ with portrait and memoir, in 2 vols.,—‘A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism,’ by J. Clerk Maxwell, M.A., new edition,-—‘ An Introduction to the Mathematics of Electricity,’ by W. T. A. Emtage, M.A.,— “A Manual of Crystallography,’ by M. H. N. Story-Maskelyne, M.A.,—‘‘ Translations of Foreign Biological Memoirs”: III., ‘ Contribu- tions to the History of the Physiology of the Nervous System,’ by Prof. Conrad Eckhard, translated by Miss Edith Prance ; a translation of Prof. Van’t Hoff’s ‘Dix Années dans |’His- toire d’une Théorie,’ by J. E. Marsh, M.A.,— and Count H. von Solms-Laubach’s ‘ Intro- duction to Fossil Botany,’ translated by the Rev. H. E. F. Garnsey, and edited by I. Bayley Balfour, M.D, F.R.S. AMONG scientific books promised by Messrs. Cassell are ‘Hygiene and Public Health,’ by Arthur Whitelegge, M. D.,—‘ Medical Handbook for Colonists,’ by E. Alfred Barton, M.R.C.S.,— new editions of ‘Climate and Health Resorts,’ by Dr. Burney Yeo, and ‘The Story of the Heavens,’ by Sir R. S. Ball, —‘The Art of Cooking by Gas,’ by Marie Jenny Sugg, illus- trated, — ‘ Nature’s Wonder- Workers: being some Short Life-Histories in the Insect World,’ by Kate R. Lovell, — ‘Object Lessons from Nature: a First Book of Science,’ by L. C. Miall,—‘ Commercial Botany of the Nineteenth Century,’ by J. R. Jackson, A.L.S.,—two new volumes of ‘‘Cassell’s Agriculture Series,” edited by JohnWrightson : ‘Soils and Manures,’ by Dr. J. Munro, and ‘ Crops,’ by Prof. Wright- son, —and ‘The Year-Book of Treatment for 1891: a Critical Review for Practitioners of Medicine and Surgery.’
FINE ARTS Architectural Studies wm Ltaly. By W. J. Anderson. (Glasgow, Maclure, Macdonald & Co.)—Mr. Anderson won a travelling student- ship in 1888, and was thus enabled to spend three months in Italy. Although the facilities for getting from place to place are undoubtedly double what they were forty years ago, three months is a small time for one who wishes to examine and sketch the architectural remains of any large district. Mr. Anderson, therefore, very wisely chose as the subject of his studies the classical Renaissance in its central period, as he calls it, which is nearly coeval with the first half of the sixteenth century, when the great revival of refinements of proportion in the mass and propriety and homogeneity in details was seen to the best advantage. Such a selection was, of course, wiser in the case of Italy than it would have been in any country north of the Alps, where a national and natural style, adapted to the wants and character of the natives, had prevailed before the develop- ment of the Renaissance, which was exoteric, non-natural, and foreign, completed its ruin. Granting his own premises and conditions, Mr. Anderson could not have done better than devote himself mainly to the works of Baldas- sare Peruzzi of Siena, whose design for St. Peter’s at Rome remains a monument of genius
of the highest order, and is by not a few, includ- | ing Mr. Anderson, considered the best that was produced. To this master, who is much less known in England than he ought to be, some of the best drawings before us are appropriated— for instance, the cortile of the Palazzo Massimo- , delle-Colonne at Rome, and its details, a lovely example of pure style, choice proportions, and admirable execution, c. 1526-36. If anything could justify the enthusiasm of Vasari, who averred that Peruzzi ‘‘never had an equal in architecture,” it would be this fine instance, where composition, order, subordination, and grace con- cur with the refinement of the master, who seems in this case to have imbibed the very spirit of antiquity. Five plates fairly well illustrate this gem of design, and all we can regret on this point is that some of the carvings and mould- ings were not drawn on a scale large enough to show the style of that execution for which the palazzo is justly renowned. Photographs would do this best. The Casa Pollini, too, with its vast eaves, cornice, and cornice-like range of attic windows, is another good work of Peruzzi’s. If Mr. Anderson is right in attributing it to him, Baldassare was good in moulded brick, witness a charming archway on plate xvii., which is crowned by one of the few examples of how to treat gracefully that too common abomi- nation, a broken pediment. <A brick doorway in this plate, in the Via Abba da Nuova, Siena, is enjoyable for its grace and a certain quaint- ness. The small latticed windows at the side of this example are very good. Il Cronaca’s church of San’ Salvador del Monte, Florence, 1504, which, with numerous details, Mr. Ander- son illustrates in four plates, is massive in every respect and without the least heaviness, but it was unkind to the inemory of that worthy to bring it into rank with the elegance and fine proportions of Peruzzi. Michael Angelo’s ad- miration for this structure, which is severe without purity, and distinguished by its roof of red tiles, was characteristic of him—it re- quires an education to do it justice. What might be called a biography of the architect, and almost 2s interesting as Vasari’s, is ready written, so to say, for the student who devotes himself to this remarkable building, which was obviously a favourite of Inigo Jones. Far in- ferior in every respect to the masterpiece in small of B. Peruzzi is Fuga’s somewhat coarse and self-assertive east end of the antique basilica of Sta. Maria Maggiore, Rome, which, completed in 1743, is a specimen of very late Renaissance, but happily finished before Rococo became rampant. The whole deserves attention because it is well massed—a piece of good fortune it may owe, in part at least, to the situation of the building at the summit of a flight of steps, a circumstance to which various churches, such as St. Vincent de Paul, the Madeleine, and St. Etienne du Mont in Paris, and St. Gudule at Brussels, owe more than their architects would like to admit. Sta. Maria’s owes more than any of these to the staircase on which it stands, and yet, perhaps, it would suffer least by being dismounted. The sketch before us, though spirited and sympathetic, does not adequately represent the structure. The cupola of St. Andrea della Valle, Rome, by Carlo Maderna, see plate xii., has, though it is late, many good elements; among these fine proportion is not the best, and we are at issue with Mr. Anderson, who says it is the finest in Rome. Mr. Ander- son has not confined himself to Renaissance or Rococo, but has studied fragments of antique Greek and Roman carvings in the Lateran Museum. Hisstudiesmayserve formemorandato the already informed, and tothose who have access to casts of similar fragments, or, as in the British Museum, originals which have been brought to thiscountry, but apart from this the plates before us are of little use. Some details of marble basins are not quite so insufticient for students’ use. It was rather more whimsical than wise on Mr. Anderson’s part to give much attention to the iron-bound windows of Florentine palazzi (see plate xxiv.). However ably treated in relation to the encadrements they almost conceal and wholly deface, these cages are not worth study- ing for themselves, nor likely to be of use in Glasgow, where our architect hopes to practise.
Incomparably more welcome, and extremely beautiful, are his ‘Types of Campanili, Florence,’ of which there could not be too many. Among the fine things this book con- tains, and which the world is not likely to cease admiring, are the windows of the cloister of San Lorenzo, Florence, ascribed to Brunelleschi. Of the Palazzo Albergati, Bologna, by Peruzzi, we could not have too much. The cornice proper is an extremely beautiful instance, and adds greatly to the impressive grace of the whole; the doors are only to be seen to be admired, and there is nothing one could not fall in love with in the whole of a building which was never finished. The windows of the middle tier are models of their kind. The doors have often been copied. Among the most valuable parts of this book is the group of details of mouldings of this editice given on plate xxxi. Sansovino’s Libreria Vecchia (1536), the Ducal Palace, and the Campanile, Venice ; Peruzzi’s Palazzo Prosperi at Ferrara, and its noble portal; the Roman gateway at Verona, and a few other noteworthy instances complete this acceptable series of studies of a kind of archi- tecture which is more talked about than under- stood—that is, the ‘‘ central Renaissance ” of Italy, as it was manifest in the sixteenth century. Decorative Desigru: an Elementary Text-Book of Principles aud Practice. By F. G. Jackson. (Chapman & Hall.)—We cannot agree with Mr. Jackson that there is any ‘‘ want of inexpensive text-books on the subject of decorative de- sign”; indeed, we doubt, to begin with, where there is any need for them at all ; but, granting that they are of use, we can unhesitatingly say that, so far from there being any lack of them, there are at least ten too many, in which the authors unite in hunting old trails, and are con- tent to repeat with variations those great prin- ciples which are commonplace, although, so far as the subject is concerned, they have the validity of the Ten Commandments. Admitting that such text-books can with profit be put into the hands of tyros, it becomes a question who among their authors most compactly, clearly, and sufticiently has set forth the truisms of decoration as they have obtained since the avatar of Owen Jones, which initiated the de- corative gospel according to the Department of Science and Art. Every great decorator of original genius has averred that design cannot be taught, and, least of all, in schools where pupils are reckoned, not by the score, but by the hundred. You can teach a person of ordinary aptitude to draw, which is the craft of the hand and the eye, but you cannot impart to any one who has not got it in him already how to design, any more than how to write poetry. Mr. Jack- son feels the difficulty thus suggested, and at the very outset admits that if by design pure invention is meant, it cannot be taught. ‘¢Tt is an impossibility,” he declares. Design, he says, cannot be taught, but composition, which stands in the same relation to it as versi- fication to poetry, is a subject for teachers and learners. He begins, therefore, at the begin- ning, and demonstrates by examples the most obvious the process of developing ornament from simple repetitions of plain forms ; he then, with chevrons in a row, proceeds to illustrate contrast with repetition, and uses further in- stances of more complicated character, such as leaves differently grouped, to make plain to the meanest understanding the preciousness of sym- metry and radiation, which are developed from contrast and repetition, as if they were the in- evitable outcomes thereof, which, by the way, they certainly are not. Thus much Mr. Jackson, who takes care never to confuse his readers by show- ing the least lack of self-confidence, makes plain in asort of discourse, in which certain utterances of Mr. Ruskin are set up as nine-pins, only to be knocked down. So far the author has the best of the matter, and lectures Mr. Ruskin with charming imperturbability. He has the whole subject at his fingers’ ends, and having
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328 THE ATHENZUM N° 3280, Serr. 6,90 set forth what the Art Department calls the fundamental principles of ornament, offers — having digressed into the decorative character- istics of prehistoric pottery—analyses of the neatest kind of linear design, of form, of lines, and of the qualities of curves. If organ-grind- ing were music, decorative art which could be scientifically developed in this ingenious and, within its own narrow limits, quite logical man- ner might likewise be called design. . The pro- cess is almost amusing until the system is mastered and its purely mechanical nature is manifest. The nett result of this sort of thing is diapers, diapers, and diapers, or, at best, scrolls like those the Roman carvers wrought with so much vigour and in so firm a style. The real point is involved in the answer to the question, ‘‘ What follows your diapers, rosettes, acanthi, and scrolls?” There must be something, surely, beyond the prin- ciples which enable the so-called student to de- sign on Owen Jones’s principles diapers for wall-papers and such-like things, which, accord- ing as you vary certain details, are classic, Gothic, ‘‘Arabian,” Persian, Moorish, or what not, and end in the detestable ‘‘ symmetry ” of “** Victorian ” decoration, as it has been despair- ingly called by those who have tried the system. Mr. Jackson gives sensible hints to tyros who cannot teach themselves to think and feel, that is, such as can be taught in this mechanical manner. Thus he repeatedly warns them against departing from nature too far on the one hand, or too rudely shaking off the bonds of ‘‘ sym- metry’ on the other hand. The happy medium between conventionalization to excess and raw naturalism is, according to him, most earnestly to be sought. His book is at once saddening and interesting. It shows how much, or rather how very little, art can be taught by a ‘‘ depart- ment” where genius cannot be imparted, and where, if ever admitted to study under its pro- phets, it is very likely to be smothered. It marks with irresistible emphasis the boundary between mechanical ‘‘art,”’ so called, which is the antithesis of true art, and that noble spon- taneity which we recognize in the works of all true designers, from Diirer and Holbein to Mr. Walter Crane. NUMISMATIC LITERATURE, A Guide to the Coins of Great Britain and Ireland in Gold, Silver, and Copper, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time, with their Value. By the late Col. W. Stewart Thorburn. Second Edition. (Upeott Gill.) — The first edition of this work was published in 1884 by the late Col. Stewart Thorburn, then holding the rank of major in the army. From his early boyhood Col. Thorburn took a consider- able interest in numismatics, especially in those portions which relate to the coinage of the British Isles and the colonies. ‘‘ A roving life of military service and the pressing duties of his profession ” deprived him of the many advan- tagesexperienced by those who reside in London, and are able at their leisure to pay visits to the auction-rooms ; yet Col. Thorburn formed a very good representative collection of coins, as was clearly proved when it was disposed of by public auction some little time ago, and is also evident from the fact that many specimens in that collection are specially described and remarked on by Mr. Kenyon in his work on the ‘Gold Coinage of England,’ and in the second edition of Hawkins’s ‘ Silver Coinage of England.’ One of Col. Thorburn’s difficulties in forming his collection was the keeping himself aw cowrant with the market prices of coins, as they are sub- ject to frequent changes. The only means of obtaining this information is either by attending public sales or else by carefully wading through the numerous sale catalogues. The notes which Col. Thorburn made by the latter process formed the foundation of his ‘Guide to the Coins of Great Britain and Ireland,’ the object and plan of which was to give to the young student a short description of the various coinages of the country from the earliest times to the present day, with the prices realized at the more import- ant sales since 1854. The first series of coins described in the ‘Guide’ is the British, chiefly struck before the arrival of the Romans in this country, then follow the Anglo - Saxon, and so on in succession the English, Scottish, and Irish series, concluding with a notice of the more important colonial coins The work, which was chiefly designed for the beginner, has proved a success, as is shown by the rapid sale of the first edition and by the issue of a second one. Col. Thorburn’s aim was to make it, though very concise, as complete as_ possible by adopting all the most recent suggestions in the classification of the coins, and by adding references to the latest sales. He did not live to seethe full successof his labours, as he died in Oc- tober, 1886, just two years after the first issue of his ‘Guide.’ The new edition before us las not been carried out in quite the same spirit as the first one. Since 1884 scarcely any changes have been suggested in the classification of the various coinages ; but in the case of the values of the coins there has not been the same sta- bility. During the last few years the number of collectors of British coins has considerably in- creased, and in consequence several very import- ant collections have found their way into the market. The greater demand for such pieces has naturally raised their value in very many cases ; but of these changes there is no record given in the new edition, as the text is only ¢ reprint of the edition of 1884. This is a some- what serious omission, as will be seen by any one at all cognizant of the subject on perusing the work from this point of view. A compari- son of the ‘Guide’ with the sale catalogue of the Shepherd collection in 1885 will sufficiently illustrate our remarks. This sale is a criterion for the present prices of rare and fine English coins. The work cannot, therefore, be said to come down quite to the present time, as we think it would have done had Col. Thorburn lived to superintend the new issue. The plates in the second edition have been rearranged and placed at the end of the work, the gold, silver, and copper coins being figured separately. This is an improvement ; but we venture to think that instead of the ‘‘toned plates” plain out- line engravings would have been more satisfac- tory, as in the case of Ruding’s plates in ‘ The Coinage of Great Britain,’ or photographic representations, as in the case of Mr. Cochran Patrick’s and Mr. Burns’s works on Scottish coins. To the rearranged plates have been added eight others, which are executed in an embossed style, and which are even less pleasing to the eye than the toned plates. In giving a list at the end of his work of the more important sales of coins since 1854, Col. Thorburn was careful to note only those which referred to his special sub- ject. In the new edition this discrimination has not been exercised, and the amended list contains references to some sales in which not a single English, Scottish, or Irish coin was to be found. For instance, the Bagot and Whittall (parts i. and ii.) collections consisted only of Greek and Roman coins, and the Ingram collec- tion entirely of Italian medals, coins, and seals. Also, in referring to sales comprising various properties, it would have been better to have described them as such, and not to have selected one particular name whereby to identify such a sale and under which only a few lots occurred. Coins and Tokens of the English Colonies. By Daniel F. Howorth. (Sonnenschein & Co.)— This is a carefully compiled little handbook, which will be useful to young collectors and to those who cannot afford the larger and more ' expensive work by Mr. J. Atkins. Mr. Howorth gives a brief sketch of the history of | each colony and a list of its coins, omitting the minor varieties. The Anglo-Hanoverian series | most popular members, is not included, and the types of the Australian and New Zealand tokens are, very wisely, not described at length. In another edition the writer might gain no inconsiderable space by omitting the word ‘‘legend” in every descrip- tion, and by abbreviating ‘‘ obverse ” and ‘‘re- verse.” He might also follow the general prac- tice of using the terms “right” and “left” (or rand 1) to indicate the direction of a head or bust, instead of employing the words ‘‘ dexter ” and ‘‘ sinister.” (On p. 79 we find the ‘‘sinis- ter head of Holloway,” the late proprietor of a well-known pill and ointment.) The intro- ductory chapter, contributed by Mr. Samuel Smith, jun., might with advantage have been longer, though Mr. Smith has made a judicious use of his six pages. The book is illustrated by some tolerable woodcuts of about forty coins. The collecting of English colonial coins, or in- deed of any (non-current) modern coins, is not, perhaps, much to be encouraged beyond the schoolboy stage of existence. A certain amount of history and geography is, no doubt, to be picked up by collecting such coins, just as it is by collecting postage-stamps ; but at the best such collecting is not much more than what Mr. Howorth calls it, a ‘‘ pleasant hobby,” and is not entitled to rank with the serious study of those ancient and medizeval coins which throw independent light on history and art. Petit Mionnet de Poche. Part TI. By Alex- andre Boutkowski-Glinka. (Berlin, Hahlo.)— In our notice of Part I. of this work we ex- plained fully the plan on which it was based ; viz., that it contained a description of such coins of the Greek series as bear upon them the names of their places of mintage in the nominative case. Part I. broke off in the middle of the de- scription of the coins of Magnesia, in Asia Minor. Part II., which is carried out on the same principle, completes the author's task, and includes the coinage of Asia and Africa. Throughout the work, as before, references are given to the most recent publications, the types are described, and long lists of magistrates’ names supplied. To these are added the latest market values. Among the more important chapters are those on the coinages of Smyrna, Aphrodisias in Caria, Kilbia and Nica in Lydia (mostly unpublished), and Apamzea and Laodicvea in Phrygia. The second portion of M. Boutkowski-Glinka’s work has proved rather a more difficult task than the first, as, with the exception of a few cities, the coinages of Asia Minor has not been so much studied by nunis- matists as those of Greece Proper and Magna Greecia ; and besides that it consists chiefly of Greek imperial pieces, i.e., coins struck under the Roman emperors. Towards the end of his work the author shows visible signs of having become a little weary of his task, as the coinages of many cities are but slightly treated of. As we have already stated, the work would have been much more useful had the author curtailed somewhat many of his descriptions, and not con- fined himself to so limited an area. In a closely printed volume of over four hundred pages it would have been quite possible to have given a ‘*Mionnet de Poche” of the whole of the Greek series, such as would have been most useful to the young collector, whose first aim is to make himself acquainted with the more common types, and especially the market values. However, such as it is, the work as it now stands is one which can be consulted by advanced numis- matists with advantage. CHARLES WEST COPE, RETIRED R.A. By the death, on the 21st ult., of this distin- guished artist the Royal Academy lost its doyen, and one who, till age incapacitated him, was among the society’s most active, if not _ The son of a painter of whose doings we know very little except that he executed portraits with moderate success, he was born at Leeds in 1811, and, after attending
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N° 3280, Sept. 6, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 329 an ordinary school in that town until he was about thirteen years of age, his taste for art | encouraged his father to place the lad in the atelier of Mr. Sass in Bloomsbury, where a very large number of artists were trained for the Royal Academy. Young Cope entered in, we think, 1825. Mastering the entire curri- culum at Somerset House and entering upon the practice of his profession occupied several years. Having found means to go to Italy, he worked there during more than two years, the greater part of which was spent in Rome, and devoted to the study of Raphael. He studied this painter with so much success that, to the last, Raphaelesque traces are distinct in nearly all Cope did, and mark him as one of the few English painters who cultivated style of a sedate and noble kind. Returning home, Cope painted a ‘Holy Family,’ the considerable merits of which induced Mr. Beckford to buy it. His début at the Academy Exhibition was made in 1833, but the promise of his first picture was not sustained until 1836, when ‘Hagar and Ishmael’ affirmed the skill of the painter and manifested afresh the influence of Raphael on his mind. ‘Paolo and _ Francesca’ (1837), “Osteria di Campagna, near Rome’ (1838), and ‘The Flemish Mother’ (1839), with a few less grave subjects of modern geivre, such as ‘ Almsgiving,’ ‘Poor Law Guardians,’ and one er two illustrations of themes borrowed from Goldsmith and Burns, filled up the years until the ambitious scheme for decorating the new Houses of Parliament opened a way for Cope, who in 1845, at the first competition for em- ployment there, won high honours in West- minster Hall with his very able, masculine, and studious cartoon representing the ‘ First Trial by Jury,’ and gained one of the chief prizes of 300/. each. In the whole of that remarkable gathering of cartoons not six approached Cope’s, and not more than three surpassed it in accom- plishments, aptitude, and spirit. The way to a great success was thus made clear before the artist. That success was assured when, skill in fresco painting being the desideratum, Cope sent to the second competition (1844) his admirable ‘Meeting of Jacob and Rachel,’ a simple and beautiful design, executed with such choiceness and gravity as proved his fitness to paint in the Parliament House, and his thorough mastery of the style appropriate to an important mural decoration. It wonan A.R.A.ship for the artist in the same year. To him was justly awarded one of the tirst six commissions to paint in fresco at Westminster. The subject which fell to him was not well adapted to his training, tastes, and powers. Owing to this, perhaps, ‘Edward the Black Prince receiving the Order of the Garter’ is a qualitied success. It was finished in 1845. Minor pictures followed from his easel, and in 1848 Cope became a Royal Academician. the Peers’.Corridor of the ‘‘ Houses ” he succes- sively painted, four on each side, ‘ Raising the Royal Standard at Nottingham,’ ‘The Defence of Basing House,’ ‘ The Expulsion of the Fellows of Magdalen College,’ ‘The Burial of Charles I.,’ ‘Speaker Lenthall asserting the Privileges of the Commons,’ ‘ March of the Trained Bands of London,’ ‘ Departure of the Pilgrim Fathers,’ and * Parting of Lord William and Lady Rachel Russell.’ These are fresco or stereochrome pictures. Among his less important works the following are the best; they all exhibit more or less of that feeling for style we have admired, but only a few of them are worthy of the painter of ‘Jacob and Rachel.’ They are ‘ Young Mother,’ ‘ The Firstborn,’ ‘ Lear and Cordelia,’ ‘Parting of Lord William and Lady Rachel Russell’ (a second version), ‘Shylock and Jessica,’ ‘Othello relating his Adventures,’ and ‘Cromwell receiving a Deputation.’ Until quite recently, his industry being long sustained, Cope appeared at the Academy with pictures of unequal value, none of which was less than re- In | spectable and interesting. He was an original member of the Etching Club, and as such con- tributed to its always welcome publications— which have been graced by the works of S. Palmer, Sir J. E. Millais, Mr. Hook, and R. Redgrave—the fine and Rembrandtesque plate representing the ‘Life School at the Royal Academy,’ a somewhat heroic version of what used to be seen in the interior of the cupola of the National Gallery building, then occupied by the Academicians and their students. He was one of the Trustees of the Academy, and a con- scientious member of its Council. A few years since he, to make way for a younger man, joined the Retired Royal Academicians. Apart from his art and a manner which was not in- variably graceful, Cope was an accomplished and well-read gentleman, and, as such, honoured and loved in his immediate circle. Fine-Art Gossip, THe death, through a sad misadventure, of Miss Havers (Mrs. Mary Alice Morgan) causes a blank in the list of our women painters, and in an ancient family of the artistic county of Norfolk. Tue task of restoring the famous Mayor’s Chapel at Bristol is now complete, including reglazing the windows with what is called cathedral glass, and further enrichments of stained glass of a decorative character, designed by Mr. Pearson. The transept window, upon which most pains have been expended, is a con- siderable work of wheel tracery surmounting four lights of Transitional design. In the Chapel of the Gaunts a figure of St. Mark, to whom the building was dedicated, has been placed in the window, and subjects associated with that evangelist appear elsewhere in the interior. Art the private view of the Autumn Exhibition at the City Art Gallery, Manchester, on Monday last, the rooms were well attended, and a large number of pictures were disposed of. Tue Ross collection of pictures, which has been so liberally presented to the city of Man- chester, contains fifteen of David Cox's drawings. Prout and De Wint are also well represented, there being nine examples of the former artist and eight of the latter. AmonG illustrated works Messrs. Cassell & Co. promise Vol. I. of ‘The Picturesque Mediterranean,’ with frontispiece in colours from an original drawing by Birket Foster, R.1., a new volume of ‘The International Shak- spere,’ viz., ‘ Othello,’ illustrated with a series of photogravures from original drawings by Frank Dicksee, A.R.A.,—Vol. IL. of ‘ Abbeys and Churches of England and Wales,’ with numerous illustrations,—the Magazine of Art, volume for 1890,—‘The Lake Dwellings of Europe : being the Rhind Lectures in Archzeo- logy for 1888,’ by Robert Munro, M.D.,— and Vol. I. of ‘The Cabinet Portrait Gallery.’ THe Goethe National Museum of Weimar has been enriched by a valuable portrait of the poet. The portrait was made in 1776 by the artist G. M. Krauss for a volume of Nicolai’s ‘ Deutsche Bibliothek.’ After some time it passed successively into the possession of Goethe's friend Zelter, of Varnhagen, and of the famous politician Johann Jakoby, of Konigs- berg. The latter left it to his sister Friulein setty Jakoby, who, on her part, bequeathed it to the Weimar Museum. GERMAN papers report that an ‘Ecce Homo’ in oil is now exhibited at Stuttgart, which is giving rise to a lively controversy. Some connoisseurs maintain that it is the missing ‘Ecce Homo’ painted by Albert Diirer in 1512, whilst others stamp it as a spurious produc- tion. Tue Russian Imperial Gallery of the Hermit- age has just acquired a picture by the Flemish drinking wine in front of a chimney-piece, and was purchased of a private person at Penza. Van Crasbeek’s paintings are very rare. The Hermitage already possessed what was thought to be one, but it has been proved to be the work of another artist. The present work is un- questionably authentic, and is, moreover, in a good state of preservation. WE noticed lately in the Louvre the very successful cleaning of Prud’hon’s ‘ L’Enlévement de Psyché,’ which is one of the more important works in the salle distinguished by the presence of the ‘Méduse’ of Géricault. This success seems to enforce the cleaning, or restoration, of Prud’hon’s ‘L’Assomption de la Vierge,’ facing the first-named work, and now in a deplorable state, so much cracked that gaps an inch wide interlace upon the whole of its surface. The ‘Méduse’ (one of the most masculine of French pictures, and on the whole, despite the fact that, while the billows are urged in one direction by the wind, the sail bellies towards the opposite quarter, probably the most masterly of its kind) will soon require attention on a considerable scale. Not only is the piece in a bad way where the canvas was rent and mended with a patch behind, but where the asphaltum affected by the painter was thickly laid on much of that fallacious pigment has streamed downwards, blistered, and seems about to leave the canvas. The skill of French picture restorers has often been taxed by similar tasks, and doubtless this great work will be rescued from destruction. We believe it has been repaired before. From St. John of Acre comes the report of the discovery of a sepulchral crypt, the walls of which are covered with paintings in fresco. Within were found three sarcophagi in stone and one of lead finely sculptured in bas-relief. Beside them were some precious vases and two portraits well preserved, one of a man and the other of a woman. The tomb is thought to helong to some royal family of Phcenician or Hebrew race, possibly Philistine. Dr. Orst has been engaged latterly in ex- ploring the prehistoric necropoles of the province of Syracuse. Most of the numerous tombs made in the rocks are in the form of a round chamber, a little over two métres in diameter, and are entered by an oval or elliptical vestibule, closed by one or two slabs of stone. Outside the vestibule is a kind of trench made to give access to the inner chamber, so that every tomb is really composed of three parts. In some of the more recent tombs, however, the sepulchral chamber is square. Inside many skeletons were found placed side by side, while others were found in the vestibule. The latter had stone axes placed by the head, with carthenware vases baked not in ovens, but by an open fire, and painted with ornaments like those of the Myce- nean period. In one place were found traces of a prehistoric village, consisting of a great heap of broken vases (of Myceniean style), stone implements, and refuse. ‘ihe higher rocks seem hewn artificially as a foundation for a prehistoric fortress, which was occupied at a later date by medieval buildings. Dr. Orsi, who will publish hereafter a minute description of these dis- coveries, is of opinion that these burial-places and the village belong to the aboriginal Siculi, and may be of the Mycenzean epoch. In some places were found a few objects in bronze and | some Hellenic pottery, obtained by the inhabit- ants of Sicily from the Greek settlers on the coast in the eighth century B.c. Some primi- tive tombs opposite the city of Syracuse have been despoiled and used for secondary inter- ment, probably by the Greek colonists on the island. It is also thought that there is here and there evidence of Phcenician sepulchral rites. All these details are of importance, as these early Siculan tombs have remained hitherto unexplored, though visible on the surface. TueE lately deceased Swiss painter and author, artist Jost van Crasbeek, It represents a peasant | C. Bachelin, has bequeathed his splendid collec-
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330 THE ATHENZUM N° 3280, Serr. 6, 90 tions of weapons and costumes to the Historical Museum of Neuchatel. He has left only three or four finished pictures, but an immense quantity of sketches and studies, which are to be exhibited early in 1891. He has also left a second historical romance worthy to take a place beside his popular ‘Jean Louis.’ It will shortly be published by a friend of the artist. A report by ‘Dr. Fouquet, a medical prac- titioner of Cairo, has been printed in the Jowrnal Officiel of the Egyptian Government, denying that the mummy of Seti I. has altered for the worse since it was unrolled in 1886. This opinion is contrary to that held by Dr. Virchow, of Berlin. The report is, of course, intended as a reply to M. Naville’s letter of last summer. The question of decay of the mummies was not, however, the important point there raised, but it was the indecency of making a show of the remains of some of the most famous rulers in the world’s history. Dr. Emite Bruescu, of the Ghizeh Museum, has been offered the post of director of a museum in California, and it is probable he may accept it. From his extensive knowledge of the contents of the Ghizeh Museum, and from the fact of his being a fellow worker with Mariette, his place at Ghizeh will be supplied with difficulty. If, however, he decides on leaving Egypt, it should be remembered that while French, German, and Italian Egyptologists have had the advantage of working for a time at Ghizeh, no Englishman has yet been on the staff of that establishment. WE are requested to correct a notice which appeared in our last number. The grant of arms to Thomas Northland, 1483, is ‘‘one of the earliest origina grants known,” and should have been so designated. LEarlier ones are recorded at the Heralds’ Office, but the pecu- liarity of the present example is that it is an original document with seal attached. MUSIC —~—_ NEW PIANOFORTE MUSIC. Bright Flowers: Six Progressive and Melo- dious Pieces. By Heinrich Lichner. Spring- time; Mountain Violets; A Dream of Beauty; In the Meadows ; Happy Howrs ; Joyous May. By the same composer. (Forsyth Brothers.) The extravagant, not to say ridiculous titles of most of the above pieces give sufticient evidence that they are not intended for musicians. For many years protests have been made against the custom of dubbing pianoforte pieces for amateurs with absurd names, but hitherto with no result. The series first named above are sketches in the Clementi style, suitable for beginners, as intro- ductory to the easier sonatas of Mozart. The others are slightly more difficult, and may be described as pretty, and for the most part re- fined sketches, quite harmless, and certain to | please young people.—The same publishers send | an album entitled Sketch-book, seven pieces by Max Mayer, Op. 12, being trifles of three or four pages each, varying in difficulty and also in merit, some being dry, and others piquant and attractive,—also Holiday Album, a series of six pieces by Fritz Spindler, fairly pleasing, and on the whole calculated to be useful as practice. No. 4, ‘Rustic Dance,’ is a good study in left- hand work, of course for elementary players. The Easiest Pieces, by T. Jadassohn (Ash- down), is the title of six duets for teacher and pupil, the latter part being in single notes in octaves for both hands, and confined to the five white notes c to G. Obviously they could only interest or prove useful to beginners of | tender years.—We have also from the same pub- lisher Féte Napolitaine, by Margaret Gyde, a moderately difficult, but not very spirited taran- telle ; Entends ma Priére, by Fritz Spindler, a somewhat discursive and by no means easy piece, in the style of a nocturne ; Chant des Sirénes, by Boyton Smith, a sketch with the melody principally in the left hand ; Mazurka Caprice, by A. C. Faull, brilliant and showy, and, it must be confessed, somewhat vulgar; and Gavotte in G, by G. W. F. Crowther, an average ex- ample of this overworked form of composition. Pianoforte Album for Small Hands, Op. 14. Twelve Scandinavian Sketches, Op. 16. By John Kinross. (Curwen & Sons.)—The first of these books consists of twenty little pieces without octave passages. They are written in a musi- cianly style, but, with some exceptions, scarcely tuneful enough to attract young pupils. The Scandinavian pieces are equally fragmentary, and the composer scarcely shows himself capable of writing in the style of genuine Norse music. Indeed, it might almost be said that its most characteristic melodic and harmonic pro- gressions are here conspicuous by their absence, although in other respects the sketches are bright and attractive. MENTION may be made of Seven Pieces by Gustav Ernest, Op. 15 (Woolhouse), notable for high-class musicianship, but too fragmentary to be very interesting ; The Quaint Gavotte, by Oliver Cramer (Weekes & Co.), lively, but with no resemblance toa genuine gavotte ; Calautne, Hypatia, and L’ Alia, by Gustav Ernest (Hop- kinson), easy pieces, the first and second of which are preferable to the third ; Gigue en Sol, by Ridley Prentice (Alfred Hays), tolerably easy, but containing good finger work ; Air de Ballet, by Benjamin Godard (Metzler & Co.), an effective piece, in the modern French style, and not very difficult ; an Entr’acte from ‘Zuleika,’ a comic opera by H. J. Wood (Joseph Williams), orchestral in manner, but as abstract music of considerable merit; a Noctwrne in B flat minor, by Frances Allitsen (Augener) ; a Caprice in E flat minor, by the same composer (Boosey & Co.), both suitable for advanced players ; a Minuetto in a flat, by Dvorak (Ducci & Co.); two very easy and tuneful sketches, called Réverie-Etude and Tivilight Memories, by G. J. Rubini (Alfred Hays); The Van- quard, march, by H. M. Higgs, and Serenade, by Saint-Saéns (Metzler & Co.); Réverie du Lac, by Margaret de Pachmann (Novello, Ewer & Co.) ; and Tempo di Mazurka, by G. Martucci, Souviens-toi, by Henri Bevignani, and Dimi se m’ ami, by B. Geraci (Ricordi), florid pieces in the modern Italian style. Musical Gossip. WE have received an advance copy of the prospectus for the thirty-fifth season of the Crystal Palace Saturday Concerts. The per- formances will commence on October 11th, and will be suspended after December 13th until February 14th, when they will be resumed, the series ending on April 18th. The arrangements exhibit as much liberality and enterprise as usual, and, indeed, the proportion of novelties in the programmes is, if anything, higher than in recent years. The list of works marked “* first time” includes Dr. Hubert Parry’s Norwich cantata, ‘L’Allegro ed il Pensieroso’; Mr. Hamish MacCunn’s choral ballad, ‘ The Came- ronian’s Dream’; Grieg’s scenes from ‘Olav Trygvason,’ Op. 50; Berlioz’s ballad ‘La Mort d’Ophélie,’ for female chorus ; the Third Act of Wagner’s ‘Tannhiuser’; Dvorak’s Symphony in G, No. 4; a Symphony in £ minor by Mr. Edward German; Dr. A. C. Mackenzie’s inci- dental music to ‘The Bride of Lammermoor’; and various items by Mr. F. Cliffe, Miss Rosa- lind Ellicott, Mr. Couldery, Herr Goldmark, M. Saint-Saéns, and other composers. Among the artists who will appear for the first time are M. Paderewski, Mr. Leonard Borwick, Madame Tavary, Madame Schmidt-Kohne, and Miss Amy Sargent. We need scarcely add that the concerts will once more be conducted by Mr. August Manns. THE principal items in Wednesday’s classical programme at the Promenade Concerts were Haydn’s ‘ Letter V’ Symphony, Schubert’s Un- finished Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Pianoforte Concerto in G minor, and Sterndale Bennett’s overture ‘The Wood Nymph.’ Miss Annie Grimson played the first two movements of the concerto very commendably, but in the finale her memory completely failed her, and a some- what painful scene ensued. For this she was alone to blame, as there is no merit whatever in dispensing with the printed notes in the performance of a concerted work. We have already given full particulars of the Festival of the Three Choirs, which will be held at Worcester next week. It is satisfactory to learn that in a financial sense the meeting pro- mises to be more than usually successful, and that special interest is being evinced in the pro- duction of Dr. Bridge’s new oratorio ‘The Repentance of Nineveh.’ THE efforts made from time to time to estab- lish a national academy of music in Scotland appear at last likely to be crowned with success, the directors of the Glasgow Athenzeum having made arrangements to inaugurate a school, with Mr. Allan Macbeth as principal. A staff of about forty professors has been engaged. The new venture will have the good wishes of all inter- ested in music. THE current number of the Meister contains an article entitled ‘Wagner Mis-staged,’ deal- ing in trenchant fashion with the stage arrange- ments of ‘ Lohengrin’ and ‘ Die Meistersinger’ as performed at Covent Garden Theatre. We have already dealt with the principal features in the indictment, at any rate as regards ‘Lohen- grin,’ which has been staged in a more slovenly fashion than Wagner’s humorous opera ;_ but the lack of intelligence on the part of the general public with respect to matters of this kind renders it an almost hopeless task to insist on the needful reforms. THE latest of the various attempts which have been made to transform the pianoforte into a sustaining instrument, or, as it is termed in Germany, ‘‘ Streichklavier,” has been exhi- bited by Herr Franz Kiihmeyer, of Pressburg, in Lower Austria. The tone is said to be equal to that of six violins, two violas, and two vio- loncellos. No example of the sostenuto piano, however, has hitherto been successful. Tne school for dramatic singing at Bayreuth, under the direction of Herr Julius Kniese, is to be opened on October Ist. The students are to be promised participation in the festival per- formances as quickly as they gain the requisite proficiency for their duties. Ir seems probable that ‘Lohengrin’ will first be performed in France at Nantes, where it is now in preparation. It remains to be seen, however, whether the work will receive the respectful hearing which it was refused in Paris, by courtesy only a centre of musical art at the present time. Aw absurd statement having been published by a correspondent of the Paris Figaro to the effect that Herr Richter conducted French operas with his left hand in order to display his contempt for French music, the gifted Viennese conductor has somewhat unnecessarily written to refute the charge, explaining that the fatigue of conducting without cessation for several hours compels him to employ the left hand in works with which his orchestra is so familiar as to need little direction. Unper the direction of Herr Angelo Neumann an opera called ‘Cordelia,’ founded on M. Sardou’s drama ‘La Haine,’ by a Russian com- poser named Solovieff, has been produced with much success at Prague. Solovieff, who has already obtained considerable reputation in his own country, has been hailed by the Bohemians as a composer of the first rank. Anton RustnsteIn has passed the vacation at Badenweiler, in the Black Forest, where he
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N° 3280, Sepr. 6, 90 THE ATHENAUM 331 is said to have put the finishing touches to a number of compositions, including an orchestral overture, some pianoforte pieces, and several Lieder. A CORRESPONDENT writes to say that the ‘Variations for Pianoforte’ by Schubert, of which we quoted a criticism in the Musikalisches Wochenblatt, are not now published for the first time. They have already appeared in Breitkopf & Hiirtel’s complete edition of the composer’s works, now in course of issue. DRAMA —_—o— A Chronicle History of the London Stage, 1559-1642. By Frederick Gard Fleay, M.A. (Reeves & Turner.) MareriAts for a history of the English stage previous to the imposition of Puritan rule are fairly abundant. Apart from the ‘ Histriomastix’ of Prynne, a work more often pillaged than quoted, a large amount of information has within recent years been brought within reach of the student. State documents and municipal records have been sifted and analyzed, and from early plays and other similar sources many curious and valuable illustrations have been drawn. Henslowe’s ‘ Diary,’ of which more anon, is in itself a mine of information. The ‘Diary’ of Herbert remains inaccessible as a whole; and the all-important transcript by Prof. Arber of the Registers of the Stationers’ Company awaits its index, in which respect it resembles the useful. and valuable, but inconvenient compilations of Chalmers and Malone. What, however, is most unfortunate is that our MS. treasures at Dulwich and elsewhere have been fal- sified to an extent which as yet even is imperfectly understood, while works which claim to be authoritative, and are accepted as such outside a limited circle, are untrust- worthy and misleading. To one, then, who, like Mr. Fleay, seeks to establish order out of chaos, and who brings to his task indomitable zeal and a good measure of critical insight, our thanks aredue. These shall be ungrudgingly paid. Mr. Fleay’s new book is the most pains- taking, accurate, and important work in its class to which this or probably any other country can point. Years of patient in- dustry have been spent in searching for new materials and testing the value of old. Nothing seems to have escaped the eye of the explorer, and such omissions as may be traced by the best informed consist only of matters rejected by Mr. Fleay as outside the scope of his intention or reserved for a com- plementary volume which he has in view. His present volume is, in fact, a companion to his ‘Chronicle History of the Life and Work of William Shakespeare,’ the method of which is to a certain extent adopted. The projected third volume, which will be gladly welcomed, will consist of the bio- graphy of every known dramatist of the period, with a chronology of his writings. It is to be regretted that the claim to con- sideration of what must be a standard work is impaired by the querulous tone Mr. Fleay elects to adopt, and its utility—or, at least, its availableness—diminished by the sub- stitution of index lists for the general index a book of this importance requires. In the ‘Shakespeare’ the absence of an index was felt; in the present case it is far more sensible. Great, indeed, must be the neces- sity and great the zeal of those who master the scheme. For the absence of an index the author puts in a species of apology, declaring that it would in this case, “if at all complete, be of extravagant bulk and very difficult to use.” It is pleasanter to congratulate Mr. Fleay on what his book is than to take exception to what it is not. His lists are in their way excellent, and the claims of Mr. Fleay may be conceded that ‘“‘no such lists have ever before been compiled,” and that ‘“ they have a considerable value for reference, independent of the other parts of the present work.” They are twelve in number, occupy near sixty pages, and give: 1. The theatres; 2. The companies of players ; 3. Their indi- vidual component actors; 4. The authors that wrote for them; 5. The early plays, 1559-1583; 6. The publishers of plays; 7. Plays not in the Stationers’ Registers ; 8. Plays produced 1584-1642; 9. Masks, &c., presented at court; 10. University plays; 11. Latin plays; 12. Pageants. The first list alone, which is the shortest—that of the theatres in existence at some time between 1559 and 1642—will save the student hours of laborious research. Twenty-two houses in all are given (one of which, the Boar’s Head, Mr. Fleay brackets as apocry- phal), with their respective dates, and are arranged alphabetically under three divisions: ‘‘Inns turned to Playhouses,” ‘‘ Private Houses,’’ and ‘‘ Public Houses,”’ in which last division are the Curtain, Fortune, Globe, Hope (Paris Garden rebuilt), New- ington Butts, Red Bull, Swan, and the Theater. The last name is applied to the building erected by James Burbadge in 1576 or 1577 on a site in Halliwell, or Holy Well, in the parish of St. Leonard’s, close to Finsbury Fields. This house, which Mr. Fleay holds to be the first London theatre properly so called, was finally closed on July 28th, 1597. Early in 1599 its timbers, &e., seem to have been used by Richard and Cuthbert Burbadge in the erection of the Globe. No less interesting and important is the second list, that of the companies: 1. The Boys; 2. The Nobleman’s Servants; 3. Those under Royal Patronage. The same company sometimes appears under different heads. In the list of actors the arrangement is as intelligible as is consistent with brevity, and the references to the body of the work may be made with no extreme difficulty. Take, for instance, the name Thomas Pope. We find that he was abroad with Leicester’s company 1586-7, was with Strange’s com- pany 1589-93, and with the Chamberlain’s (Lord Hunsdon’s) 1594-1603, and that he died 1603-4. In the long list of plays 1559-83, the date so far as it can be ascer- tained, and the company by which it was performed, are given in parallel columns, with the names of the authors in paren- theses, and of conjectured authors in brackets. It is impossible to go seriatim through these lists and show of how much import- ance they are to the student. For purposes of reference, indeed, they might with ad- vantage be published in a separate form. Ample acknowledgment of indebtedness is, of course, made to Mr. James Greenstreet, the product of whose invaluable researches saw the light in the Atheneum. The period which Mr. Fleay covers — 1559-1642—includes the reigns of Eliza- beth, James I., and Charles I. It com- prises the birth of Shakspeare and the death of Jonson, whom Mr. Fleay characterizes as ‘‘ his latest survivor of eminence’; the pro- duction of the first English tragedy, ‘ Gor- boduc’; the first English comedy, ‘ Ralph Royster Doister’; and ‘the last expiring effort of this most vital of all literatures ’’ in the production of Shirley’s play ‘The Sisters’ in April, 1642. With regard to the earlier history of the drama, the period of mystery and miracle play, Mr. Fleay owns that it has been sufficiently well done by others who feel a greater interest in it that himself. In the body of his work Mr. Fleay has ‘‘carefully eschewed the plan of a merely chronological arrangement.” Holding that for the requirements of study it is necessary that ‘court performances should be kept distinct from those at public play places,” he has subdivided his sections with a view to keeping them distinct ; and holding, more- over, that, ‘‘ unless the one object of tracing the history of each company is kept solely in view for the time, it is not possible to unravel the complicated and delicate pro- blems now solved for the first time as to their chronological succession,” he has kept this aim steadily in view. Unless where some point of general interest is raised he has omitted all notices of acting in pro- vincial towns. Where so much has been accomplished it would be churlish to refuse self-imposed limitations. None the less the plan of subdivisions, though convenient for the student, is discouraging to the reader, and the introductions to the seven chapters constituting the body of the work—chapter viii. consists of the index lists—are almost the only part of the book that can be read continuously. Very far indeed are we from deprecating the Dryasdust industry at which Mr. Fleay says it is easy to sneer. Never previously was there a time when the importance of the collection and the tabulat- ing of materials won so full and prosperous recognition. In respect of these things Mr. Fleay strides in advance of his predecessors. Such inferences as he draws are, moreover, sound, and he is at commendable pains to distinguish conjecturefrom knowledge. None the less his book, owing to its scheme, may almost be said to belong to the class of ‘‘mémoires pour servir,”’ and the man who from it shall in the future construct a read- able whole will have some claims on grati- tude. In respect to this method Mr. Fleay has probably taken an accurate self-measure- ment. The one thing that seriously hurts us in endeavouring to speak in terms of encouragement to an indefatigable and painstaking worker is the querulousness of which we have spoken. A very moderate acquaintance with a subject enables a man to find out how little was known by his pre- decessors, and an amount of judgment also modarate should teach him to be lenient in censure, in order that his own successors, ~ who start where he ends, should in their turn be indulgent. Let it be granted that a student of our early drama labours under special provocation. It is known that one writer on the subject churlishly refused
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332 THE ATHENAUM N° 3280, Sept. 6, 90
to lighten to others labours that he had found arduous, and would not give his authorities, and that a second was guilty of flagrant and scandalous dishonesty. Let these things once be temperately said, and all is well. An occasional explosion of in- dignation even may be permissible when a trail purposely falsified leads the worker miles from the track. When Mr. Fleay remarks concerning the existing edition of Henslowe that ‘Collier’s edition of this book is a disgrace to English literature, and the Dulwich authorities would do well to have it re-edited by a competent hand, with careful elision of his numerous forgeries,” &c., he is on safe ground, and his indignation is just. When he writes of “the sneers of critics and the con- tempt of the readers of modern plays,” he is at best captious, and flying at small game. When, however, concerning Collier, Cunningham, and Halliwell (pp. 173-4), he indulges in attacks which we will not quote, he is wholly wrong in temper and in taste, to use language of no stronger condemnation. Strong condemnation, however, has, it ap- pears, been used in vain, since he himself owns: “I have been severely blamed for speaking plainly of the procedures of this triad of worthies.”” These are not the only “ worthies ’ at whom Mr. Fleay levels his lance. Editors, societies, critics, have all of- fended him; and even his literary opinions, when modern writers are in question, seem as snappish as unjust. In the case of a poetaster or a denizen of Grub Street these things might be accepted. It is with sorrow, however, we find a display of petulance in a man who renders real and high service to literature. Jonson was splenetic enough. Lines such as those beginning Oh, this would make a learned and liberal soul, have manly dignity that commands respect. Mr. Fleay is only cross. This protest seems challenged, since a tone of carping and com- plaint, wholly uncalled for by any attitude of criticism and irreconcilable with the dignity of scholarship, is not uncommon among those to whom one looks for better things. A word of praise is due to the get-up of the volume. It is one of the books that, so far as regards appearance, will grace any shelves, and there are few libraries in which it ought not to be placed.
Dramatic Gossip, A PERFORMANCE of ‘The Merchant of Venice’ was given at the Royalty Theatre on Saturday last, with Mr. Charles Cameron as Shylock. This actor, formerly a member of the company of Mr. Barry Sullivan, played the part in the declamatory style now almost banished from the London stage, but still welcomed, it is said, in some country towns. Miss Olive Stettin was Portia. Mr. and Mrs. Kenpat have returned from their American tour, and appeared, for the first time since their return to England, on Monday last at the Theatre Royal, Manchester, in ‘The Squire.” They were welcomed by a large audience. In consequence of the favourable reception awarded ‘The Deacon’ of Mr. H. A. Jones, it was repeated at the Shaftesbury on the after- noon of Wednesday. This evening ‘The Middle- man’ is revived at the same house, and will be played three nights a week, the other three being occupied with ‘Judah.’ On the 26th inst. Mr. Willard’s London season will conclude.
Ir is understood that the Olympic will open next month under Mr. Wilson Barrett, with a melodrama entitled ‘The People’s Idol,’ and not with ‘ Hamlet,’ as was originally understood. Mr. GrorGE ALEXANDER has resumed at the Avenue the part of Dr. Bill. The last nights of this amusing comedy are announced, but the date of the production of ‘La Lutte pour la Vie’ is not yet fixed. In this Mr. Alexander will play Paul Astier, and Miss Genevieve Ward his wife, other parts being assigned to Mr. Albert Chevalier, Mr. F. Kerr, and Mr. B. Webster. AFTER the return of Mr. Terry to his theatre Miss Grahame will, on the 15th inst., migrate to the Opéra Comique with ‘The Judge,’ the third act of which will, it is said, undergo im- portant alteration. THE run of ‘The Bookmaker’ at the Gaiety was suspended on Saturday last, and the piece was transferred on Monday to the Grand, with Mr. George Barrett in the title véle, taken successively by Mr. Terry and Mr. Nat Goodwin. A NEW comedy by Mr. Arthur Law, entitled ‘Retribution,’ has been produced by Mr. Terry at the Prince of Wales’s Theatre, Liverpool. WE hear that Mr. Charles Hannan’s French play is to be given towards the end of the month, and that arrangements are being made for sub- sequent production upon the Parisian stage. WE understand that Miss Braddon has a melodrama awaiting the Lord Chamberlain’s licence. Mr. Too.e’s reception, both social and artistic, at Brisbane had the warmth that has hitherto distinguished his progress through Australia. Mrs. BERNARD BEERE is at Margate, slowly recovering from an attack which for a long time seemed likely to be fatal. BesipEs the Freie Biihne, which is an imita- tion of the Parisian Théatre Libre, and has been established at Berlin for some time, the project is entertained of founding there a Freie Volksbiihne, at which social-democratic plays are chiefly to be performed. AN article in Blackwood on the performance of ‘As You Like It’ by the Augustin Daly Com- pany, in which the Rosalind of Miss Ada Rehan is opposed, is attributed to Sir Theodore Martin. Sir Theodore’s knowledge of the stage and his right to speak on dramatic subjects will not be contested. It is to be regretted that he seldom enters the arena except for the pur- pose of challenging some new exponent of Rosa- lind. No conception of Rosalind, however poetical, has a right, as a memory, to mono- polize the stage. In this, as other matters, the law that the old gives place to the new prevails, and protest, even when most disinterested, is about as available as the familiar attempt of Mrs. Partington to arrest the Atlanti¢ with a mop.
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N° 3281, Serr. 13,90 THE ATHENAZUM 345 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 1890. CONTENTS. PAGE we =3845 . 846 . 348 oe 348 + 350 350 LILLY ON RIGHT AND WRONG $e ovo MYSTICISM IN ITALY IN THE MIDDLE AGES RupyARD Kipiine’s NEw STORIES . SraTE PAPERS FROM NORTHERN ITALY ww A History or Fire AnD KINROSS... NOVELS OF THE WEEK eee ove eee ove a Ovg LipRARY TABLE—LIsT oF NEW Books ... 351—352 THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION; THE EISTEDDFOD; THE SALE OF PARISH REGISTERS; A NEW PALIMPSEST ON Mount ATHOS; MR. ROBERT STEGGALL; ‘ THE RIVERS OF GREAT BRITAIN’; THE AUTUMN PuB- LISHING BEASON; LITERARY BORROWING; CANON Lippon sae oe soe ovo ‘sie we 892—355 LITERARY GOSSIP see ooo see ose oe . 305 ScIENCE—THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION AT LEEDS ; NEW Maps AND ATLASES; DR. MATTHEWS DUNCAN; ASTRONOMICAL Noves; GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES; SOCIETIES ; GossIP mee aa oes 357—359 Fink ARTS—CATALOGUE OF GREEK COINS; LIBRARY TABLE; THE ToMB AT VAPHION; TONGE HALL; NoTES FROM THE PIRAZUS; GOSSIP ... 359—361 Music—THE WEEK; NEW ORGAN Music; WoRK THAT WANTS DOING; GOSSIP ... ove 362—363 DzRaMa—THE WEEK; GoOSssIP - 363 LITERATURE gies On Right and Wrong. By William Samuel Lilly. (Chapman & Hall.) Tue versatile Mr. Lilly, lawyer, theologian, historian, and philosopher, has here given us in a collected series of magazine articles “‘ a practical treatmentof a practical subject.” To find time for writing the present book he has abandoned historical research. What, then, are the results of this con- scientious devotion to the more pressing social needs? Weare afraid they must be pronounced rather slight. We have said that this book does not pretend to be more than a reprint of articles from periodicals. To write such articles must, we think, have been an easy task to an author with Mr. Lilly’s fluent diction, confidence, wide reading, and abundant opportunities of per- sonal intercourse with distinguished men; nor does a perusal of this volume in any way lead us to doubt that it was written easily from a running pen, a full memory, and a complacent conviction. Such re- sources complete the equipment of the ready magazine writer; they are by no means sufficient for the author of a con- tinuous work. Accordingly these chapters, which in their original form were no doubt found bright and stirring by their readers, appear now altogether insufficient. They are little-more than an effective party pam- phlet, which will stimulate and reinspirit, very possibly, those disposed to accept its doctrines, but will certainly convert no par- tisans in the opposite camp. These will ridicule its emphatic assertions, backed up by a cloud of authorities, but little sup- ported by argument; they will easily pick holes in its sweeping and comprehensive strictures of whole literatures and peoples— strictures, indeed, which will perhaps arouse distrust in the more cautious even of Mr. Lilly’s supporters; lastly; the enemy will not be slow to gibe at the ready rhetoric, the stock-in-trade less of a philosopher than of the eminent preachers whose sermons, having attracted a crowded audience on the Sunday, are announced on Monday’s chapel bills to be procurable for a few modest pence by those of the faithful who could not per- sonally attend their delivery. The general purpose of Mr. Lilly’s book is to insist on the decay of the sense of right and wrong which he finds going on all around him. In its latter six chapters, which form the larger, though the less sane, por- tion of the present volume, he attempts to trace this decay in six important fields, the popular views of punishment, property, and marriage, the practice of politicians, jour- nalists, and artists. In his four earlier chapters he seeks to assign the primary causes that inevitably drag with them this growing decay of the moral sense. These causes he sums up in the victory, each day becoming more assured, of materialism over transcendentalism. His first chapter is a bright and striking description of these two phases of thought. He insists that mate- rialism must be taken to include not merely that cruder form of speculation which de- duces all life and thought and action from the solidity and extension of matter, from geometry and the Newtonian laws of motion, but also the subtler forms which, to English readers, are mainly identified with the names of Huxley, Clifford, and Spencer, each of whom Mr. Lilly separately criticizes. However long the chain of development be made, however subtle and involved its course, however disparate its beginning and its end, yet what developes is but matter, and the influence which developes it is an irresistible and immutable law, most alien to the con- ceptions of consciousness and freedom, on which alone morality can be based. That from such matter, subject to such law, no ethical principles are deducible, is the theme of Mr. Lilly’s second chapter. Here let us notice close together two examples of con- troversial unfairness, pardonable, perhaps, in ephemeral writing, hardly excusable in a work like the present. We find Mr. Huxley quoted as saying, ‘‘ Even the manifestations of the higher faculties are in the long run resolvable into muscular contraction’; but this does not justify a writer in taking him to mean that these manifestations are really nothing more than such contraction, particu- larly when, as Mr. Lilly has to observe, a saving clause is expressly introduced in the text commented on. Nor, again, is the doc- trine that ‘‘all rights are based on expe- diency,” or its newer form, that morality is “accord of the individual with the social instinct,” fairly represented in the gross cari- cature of it offered by Mr. Lilly :— ‘* Material power, the force of numbers, fur- nishes the last reason of things, and the sole organ of justice ;...... any ‘ damnédd error’ becomes right if a numerical majority of the male adult inhabitants in any country can be induced, by rhetoric or rigmarole, to bless it and approve it with their votes.” Such language, effective doubtless, is not that of a philosopher ; it is the voice of the cynical bystander, if not of the systematic pessimist. A little further on we read, ‘Intention must be beside the question in the new morality.”” The Determinist, it is here implied, regards the act as alone of consequence, the intention as unimportant. Very little thought, however, will show that nothing of the kind is necessarily contained in Determinist morality ; the philosophers of that school certainly do not attribute less weight to the character of a man—and in- tention is but the manifestation of character —than to his act; if proof were needed, a well-known passage of Mr. Leslie Stephen’s book might be cited to prove this. Itisa pity that Mr. Lilly, who is capable of better things, should deface a weighty argument by unfairness. Mr. Lilly undoubtedly occupies strong ground when he refuses to identify morality with public opinion—when he points out that morality is constantly being purged and remade, and by at first insignificant minorities, to which ‘‘ public opinion” is, to begin with, vehemently opposed. But his opponents, who will not allow his position that ethics is something definitely fixed in all its details from the first in a metaphy- sical world of noumena, are not really driven to represent morality as nothing more than the opinion—and that not even the normal, but the accidental opinion—of the majority. In identifying the moral code with the social good they may be far from identify- ing it with what the popular voice of the moment deems to be for the social good ; nay, they would say that in this identifi- cation, taken quite generally, they are in advance of the popular consciousness, which has hardly yet come to recognize that morality is only the interest of society as a whole. It is not, of course, for us ina merely critical review to commit ourselves to either side on these profound and vital questions. But so far as what has been said above is relevant to the criticism of Mr. Lilly’s work, it may be summed up in the remark that, while he is just, eloquent, and forcible in the exposition of his own transcendental view, he is by no means fair to, and does not even seem fully to compre- hend, the views of those who reject his solution. Itis of a piece with this that he sees nothing but evil and growing evil in a world in which transcendental views are certainly regarded with suspicion. In fact, as we have stated above, he finds rottenness everywhere, in our art and literature, in our views of property and marriage no less than in our metaphysics. We admit with plea- sure the acuteness of his criticism of ‘“‘ Evolutionary Ethics,” as they appear in Mr. Spencer’s well-known tract. But then this tract must itself be considered as very far from final in ite own line of thought. Mr. Spencer’s psychology, in the first place, should probably be considered as the merest rudiments of a true psychology, chequered with huge blanks and filled up with audacious guesses. His ethics have been characterized by later speculators in the same vein as no pure product of the strain of thought he has done so much to intro- duce, but a cross between it and the old alloy of Benthamism, from which he has never shaken himself free. In such a hybrid it is no wonder if Mr. Lilly detects inconsistencies and contradiction. But to confuse is not to convince us; and Mr. Lilly’s ingenious and spirited polemic will not, we think, convince his opponents that the idea of evolution is the utterly worthless key he supposes to the nature and history of the moral sentiments. Of the drift and purpose of Mr. Lilly’s later chapters we have already spoken. They do not require any detailed notice. Mr. Lilly’s detestation of the current theory of punishment will be anticipated. To him it is primarily neither deterrent nor refor- matory, but vindictive; and no doubt the instinct of vengeance is deeply implanted in human nature. Yet for its full justification
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346 THE ATHENZUM N° 3281, Srpr. 13, 90 in the eye of reason something more seems needed than a few eloquent phrases from Augustine or Plato, a few scholastic dicta from Aquinas and Hegel. It is true that not only do we instinctively demand com- mensurate punishment for wrongdoers, but that some wrongdoers of themselves court punishment and feel relieved by it. We have ourselves heard a man of distinguished intellectual gifts, but, it must be owned, of somewhat morbid sensitiveness, wish for a public whipping-post, where he could obtain for a trifling sum the castigation he felt he had by some particular folly merited. But dispositions of this sort are not common, at least among those who have passed the age of childhood. Mr. Lilly’s diatribes against our politicians and journalists call for no special remark; we are glad he exempts some of the latter from his censure, and we hope he will allow we have done our best to speak truthfully of himself. The chapter on ‘‘ The Ethics of Property ” might easily suggest matter more than sufficient to complete an entire review; we must content ourselves with saying we have learnt nothing from it except the width of Mr. Lilly’s sympathies and the vacillations of a transcendentalist forced to apply his ideas in the field of practice. If the fasci- nation of historical study does not prove too strong for him, we would invite Mr. Lilly to consider this subject anew and in more detail, not to be content to start a thought without pursuing it in its con- sequences, and to avoid ‘‘tanquam scopu- lum” the peculiar rhetoric of those “un- ethical” persons, the leader- writers of political journals. LD’ Italie Mystique: Histoire de la Renaissance Religieuse au Moyen Age. Par Emile Gebhart, Professeur a la Faculté de Lettres de Paris. (Paris, Hachette & Co.) France is at present much preoccupied with an idealist reaction; nothing is more Jin de siecle than the soul, and the readers of the Figaro are acquainted with the New Fiesole. But the excellent young agnostics who are the latest disciples of St. Francis of Assisi will not find their ideal spokes- man in M. Gebhart; his delightful little book will never become their vade mecum. Forthe strength and the weakness of ‘ L’Italie Mystique’ consist in the fact that it is the work of an outsider, written from the point of view of the historian—a kindly historian, with a sense of all that is poetic and pic- turesque in the extraordinary movement he describes, yet naturally more occupied in tracing the exterior development of mysti- cism and its relations to the general history of the Middle Ages than in penetrating the inner secret of a religious emotion. Occa- sionally the very lucidity of Prof. Gebhart interferes with his comprehension, even as the clearest sheet of ice will prevent us from seeing the bottom of ariver. But his work is rich with qualities often conspicuous by their absence from volumes of religious his- tory: it is quite impartial, nourished with facts, charmingly written, logical, and lucid. If the figure of St. Francis remains more living in the “ Fioretti’’ than in Prof. Gebhart’s history, on the other hand we know no volume that brings before us in so succinct and interesting a fashion the whole set out again upon his journey. In the current of feeling that began with Joachim first flush of spring he reached Jerusalem; de Flora, and ended with Dante’s ‘ Para- it was the beginning of Lent. For forty diso.’ To have done so much so thoroughly, days he prayed and meditated in a cavern to have done it in three hundred pages, to of Mount Tabor. On Easter morning the have given us facts and documents, and yet to have preserved the unworldly and roman- tic colour of the medizeval renaissance of religion, is indeed a considerable achieve- ment. revelation of his mission dawned upon him. And Joachim knew that henceforth he was to be the chief apostle of a transfigured Christianity. For many centuries the religious spirit Like the saints of the Mussulmans, had been preoccupied with the second Joachim de Flora grew in his tomb: his | advent of the Lord. St. Augustine had influence was greatest after his death. Myth and uncertainty soon wrapt the figure of the abbot in their magnifying haze. Even in our own times the names of Joachim and of the ‘“‘ Eternal Gospel” are familiar to many who know nothing of the man; and M. Gebhart has rendered us a real service in showing us the mysterious Abbot of Flora in his true proportions and as he lived on earth. John dei Gioiacchini was born in the year 1132, near Cosenza in Calabria, of parents noble by birth, burghers by position. The Sicily of those days was a country of hermits, a land of almost Oriental piety, largely affranchised by its Norman monarchs from the rule of Rome. Islam was abundant in the island ; the elegance, the science, the grave culture of the Arabs placed them in the front rank of the Sicilians. The cha- racter of Christianity, influenced to no slight degree by these Oriental neighbours, was further impressed by the Greek schismatics. Hermits, Arabs, Easterns, all breathed the same tranquil acquiescence in the ends of Heaven. Joachim was a solitary child. He would lie on an old grey stone under the pergola the length of half a day, neither speaking nor thinking, but letting his soul develope in that “ wise passiveness” dear to our Westmoreland poet. Joachim, in truth, bore already in his childish breast ‘‘ the heart that watches and perceives.” At fifteen he quitted his solitary musings in the garden, and, having studied at Cosenza, entered the royal Curia of the Norman Court. But while he was writing his diplomas the young chancellor was dreaming of Palestine and the Holy Sepulchre. After a little time his father sent him thither, not as a humble pilgrim, but followed by a train of friends and servants. So we may imagine him, like the Palzeologus of the Riccardi Chapel, riding abstracted over hill and dale, his eyes fixed, not on the pageant of his accom- paniment, but on a visionary goal. Thus he entered into Constantinople. It was the year of the plague. The brusque contact of his idealizing spirit with the horrors of mortality awoke the young Joachim, still adolescent, asfrom a dream. He dispatched homeward his retainers, cast off from him his princely apparel, and with shaven head, alone, wrapped in a common mantle, he set off on foot for the Sepulchre of Christ. On the way thither he fell in with a company of Saracens; they were poorer than he, and, like St. Martin, he gave them his garment. Weary with unaccustomed hardships, he fell sick of a fever; he was more miserable than they, and the infidels tended him as a brother. their tents, the playmate of the heathen children. Then, when at length his strength For some while he dwelt among | established long ago that the sixth day, the time of trial, was the present age, and that the seventh day, the millennium, was at hand. Until the eleventh century began the pious supposed that the year 1000 a.p. would end their probation. Later saints acknowledged that the millennium was de- ferred, yet in all the churches a breath of expectation, a divine hope, a sense of change at hand, stirred the multitude. In the middle of the twelfth century Amaury of Chartres proclaimed the inauguration of the millennium. Almost at the same moment, and without any communication with Amaury, Joachim on Mount Tabor received the reve- lation of his Eternal Gospel. But, as we shall see, the preaching of Joachim did not immediately follow upon his conception of his call. Like the Virgin Mary, he pondered these things in his heart. He returned to Calabria and hid himself among the mountains. One of his companions having been arrested for the theft of a fig, Joachim confessed the sin that was not his in order to deliver his friend. His appear- ance before the judges revealed his exist- ence to his father, who believed his son to have perished long ago in Palestine. The child he had sent away as a prince, with a princely retinue, had returned a lean, worn hermit, arrested for theft and confessing his misdemeanour. The disenchanted father readily consented to let the son who had promised so much and done so little enter as a simple lay brother in the monastery of the Cistercians of Sambucina. Here Joachim remained for a year, the doorkeeper of the convent. But, mere lay brother as he was, the fame of him went abroad among the people. The effusion and unction of his eloquence, the mercy of his loving kindness, excited the easy idealism of a Southern race ; already inthe country-sidethe peasants began to speak of the miracles of Brother Joachim. In 1168 he entered religion, and ten years later, yielding to the importunity of his spiritual brothers, he became the Abbot of Corazo. But the government of a com- munity, the difficulties and compromises of diplomatic relations with the Norman Court, were things most foreign to the serene and melancholy soul of Joachim. He fell home- sick for his whitewashed cell and the long hours spent over Isaiah and the Apocalypse. He fled to Rome and besought the Pope to relieve him of a charge which hindered him in his meditations on the word of God. The Pope (Lucius III.) obeyed the desire of the prophet. And Joachim returned to Calabria, into the desert of Pietralata, into an absolute solitude and tranquillity, where he might proceed in peace to take down in writing his three great revelations: the Concordia, the commentary on the Apoca- lypse, and the Ten-stringed Psalterium. The returned to him, he bade them farewell, and | attraction of his sanctity drew towards him * | |
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Tale. a , . Ne 3281, Szpr. 13, 90 THE ATHENZUM 347 many who desired to know the secrets of tle other life. When the retreat of Pietralata had be- come insufficient, Joachim led this chosen flock to the tableland of Sila, a cold land, wind-swept, among the mountains. Here he built for his spiritual children (another Patmos) the Abbey of Flora. And here, on the 30th of March, 1202, having fulfilled the appointed space of seventy years, he died. Now that Joachim was dead, his disciples opened his books—opened that ‘‘ Eternal Gospel” which is the title of no one of his meditations, but which will preserve his name so long as Christianity endures. They read on every page the proclamation of a new, an ideal Christianity, proceeding from the Christianity of the New Testament as the fruit proceeds from the flower—a purely spiritual religion, needing neither sacrament nor dogma. The Church is but a tent, set for the night, to be folded with the coming dawn. The hour of liberty, of intelligence, of contemplation, is at hand. A mystical Church of hermits and visionaries, renounc- ing the government of this world, dwelling in the deserts, nourished on locusts and wild honey, should succeed to the pride of Rome. The age of faith is over, said Joachim; the age of the love of God has come at last. All Italy, from Sicily to the Alps, thrilled in response to the message of Joachim de Flora, and Joachim was but the John Baptist of the movement he awakened. We have nothing but praise for Prof. Gebhart’s description of the life and teach- ings of the Abbot of Flora. We are less wholly at one with him in his account of Joachim’s great successor. Yet there is much poetic charm in his account of the young aristocrat of Assisi—twenty years old at the time of the death of Joachim—a light-hearted and lovable spendthrift, liber- ally shedding his father’s florins along the steep streets of his nativetown. The young Francesco was the child of a great cloth merchant, one of the privileged of the city, aman much travelled, who had been over the Alps into France in pursuit of his busi- ness. His son, bred on French romances and Provencal poetry, often used the speech of France, deeming it a nobler idiom than that of Umbria; so that the people called him Francesco, ‘“‘the Frenchman.’’ The young “Frenchman” dreamed in truth of serving under the banner of some great Norman captain of adventure, such as Walter of Brienne. His visions were all of trans-Alpine chivalry. ‘I shall be a great baron!” he would say to his companions. But he was destined to enlist under a spiritual captain. The youth of Francesco of Assisi coincided with the religious revival precipitated by the writings of Joachim of Flora. The young man—sensitive as became his type—dark- haired, delicate, and smiling, slender and alert, bright-eyed and dreamy—the young Francesco, emotional and gentle, was quick to feel the new impulse that quickened the atmosphere of Italy as with a spiritual springtide. of convalescence he heard distinctly the inner voice that called him. A melancholy, not morose but affectionate as his nature, veiled | the natural gaiety of his disposition. Now, when he went abroad, he noticed in the He fell ill, and in the renewal | fields the lepers with their bells, and heard the plaintive voices of the fugitive serfs begging their bread “ for the love of God.” One night, in a festival, Francesco, crowned by his companions king of the revels, stopped suddenly pensive in the streets where the chorus of his comrades echoed. And a voice, clearer than the song of the revellers, spoke in his heart and said, ‘‘ Francesco, whatsoever hitherto thou hast loved and chosen in this world, henceforth must thou forsake and abandon.” And henceforth the young man was absent from the banquets of Assisi; whoso would find must seek for him in the lepers’ huts, where he bound up the wounds of the afflicted. Yet Francesco did not enter, as Joachim had entered, into any order. In the fine phrase of M. Gebhart, ‘‘ he was athirst for spiritual liberty, and would run towards God along untrodden paths.” The need of the new religion, the new life, of which Joachim had prophesied, was keen as a natural ap- petite in the Italy of those times. Francesco, having solemnly renounced the world and foregone his share in his father’s heritage, went up and down the streets of his native town wrapped in an old second-hand mantle, a beggar among the other beggars, dignified and authorized by no orthodox religious mandate. He was but a poor fool among the children of this world. For some time he hired himself as cook to a neighbouring convent: Francis never appears to have felt the need of self-respect, or that perversion of dignity which the French call “‘ respect humain.”’ It was not till 1209, after several years of meditation, that he set out for Rome with the first rough draft for his new order; and then with no thought in his innocent soul, we may be sure, of any pos- sible justification for his own apparently insane behaviour, but rather as one who, having come by accident into the possession of a secret all important to the welfare of the human race, seeks to win as many as possible to the knowledge of it. The secret of Francis of Assisi was the joy, the inner peace, the gaiety, that spring from the sim- plification of life. For lightness of heart is the inheritance of the poor—of the poor who accept their poverty, who seek not to rise in the world or to preserve appearances. There is more true gaiety in the laugh of a little sallow nun than in all the banquets of wealthy stockbrokers. To desire no more than one has, to be content with little, and to trust in Providence to answer for the morrow ; what a fund of innocent mirth is there! These are the real conditions of happiness, the true enfranchisement from care and anxiety: to be poor and to believe; to ask little of this world and to expect much from eternity ; and this was the secret of the cheerfulness of Francesco. Never was saint less sancti- monious. Light as a lark, he roamed along the valley of the Tiber, his cook’s cap pushed a little back from his forehead, and on his lips the words of a Provengal rondo. He himself made other verses, the most exquisite of pre-Dantean Italian poetry. Never before had the man of God come singing, stepping lightly, with a smile on his lips. Joachim de Flora had done well to prophesy a new religion. Christianity entered a second avatar in Francis of Assisi :— Wem Ewigkeit ist als Zeit Und Zeit als die Ewigkeit Der ist befreit von allen Streit, In the rule of 1221 Francesco enrolled the Virtue of Joy among the qualities of the true Christian; the brothers must ever be ‘*gaudentes in Domino.” To a melancholy novice he observed: ‘“ Brother, hast thou sinned? ’Tis between God and thee. But show a happy face to thy brothers of this world.” At the end of his life, sick unto death, there was but one sin which he could not gladly lay at the feet of his Saviour, and this was his severity towards his body. “I have been too hard,” he would say, ‘“‘ onmy brother the ass.” One night he heard these words: “ Francis, in all the world there is no sinner beyond the pardon of God; only he who shortens his days by an excess of austerity shall find no compassion in eternity.”” The unpardonable sin, in the pure eyes of Francesco, was to fall from the holy duty of joy. To the beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount he had added another: ‘‘ Beati quirident.” Readers of Ferdinand Fabre will remember the hermit of ‘ Bar- nabé,’ who turns away a melancholy novice: ‘Tl faut apprendre 4 rire avant d’endosser Vhabit de Saint Francois.” The cheerfulness and the simplicity of the first Franciscans favoured the development of a type to which Prof. Gebhart has, perhaps, not given all the prominence that its singularity deserves. He gives us, it is true, the portrait of Fra Salimbene, ‘ moin- illon candide, d’esprit fort médiocre,” fond of a good story, naif and childlike. But Fra Salimbene is without the unworldliness that distinguishes the folly of the true child of light. Prof. Gebhart has given us no example of the type of Parzifal, ‘‘ der reine Thor’; he has omitted the inimitable Frate Ginepro from his silhouettes of the com- panions of St. Francis. Yet none of them, not the noble Brother Egidio himself, is so characteristic as the innocent Ginepro. Ginepro riding seesaw in the market-place in order that the gibes of the townspeople may fill him with humility ; Ginepro cooking for the brothers, with the best willin the world, a festal banquet ‘‘che non é porco in terra di Roma si affamato che n’ avesse mangiato”’; Ginepro walking stark naked through the streets of Assisi; Ginepro cutting a foot off a live pig to make a dainty dish for a sick man; Ginepro, who longs to dig up the corpse of his dead friend, “that I may drink my porridge out of his skull to the lasting memory of the same,” —this half-witted Ginepro is no better than the village idiot. Yet the “ Fioretti” tell us expressly that among all that company of wise and holy men Brother Ginepro was ‘‘ especially efficacious against the Evil One.” And in the prominence given to this poor fool in the legends of the Order we see the reverence of the Orientals for the creature wholly bereft of worldly wisdom, and nearer for that deficiency to the inspiration of the Deity. Ginepro is the Western equivalent of the Gooroo Paramirtta, who tries to hatch a mare from a melon, and who, having failed in that way of procuring himself a steed, fishes for hours to catch the shadow of a horse grazing on the banks of a lake. Yet the Gooroo is a great saint, worthy of all honour as such, and very ‘‘ efficacious against the Evil One.” He is as pureminded,
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348 THE ATHENAUM N° 3281, Sept. 13, ’90 as disinterested, as Don Quixote himself or Parzifal. ‘‘Truly the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.” In this singular honour paid by the most sincere idealists to imbecility we hear the echo of the voice of Pascal, preaching, from the height of science, the virtues of /’abétissement. We have already taken so much space that no room remains to describe the excel- lent chapters of Prof. Gebhart on the de- velopments of the Eternal Gospel by the followers of Joachim, on the ballads and the popular art of the revival, and, finally, on the mysticism of Dante. We recommend our readers to the book itself: it is not longer than a French novel and a great deal more profitable. The serious will tind in its pages a logical conception of a great and fruitful moment of history; the dreamers and the poets will reap their own harvest in many a quaint passage of the Golden Legend or verse of Jacopone, and in such exquisite and suggestive stories as that of St. Douceline wandering through the con- vent corridors at night, singing aloud, ina sweet voice, ‘‘New Jesus, O new Jesus!” and such portraits as that of St. Louis by Fra Salimbene: ‘‘ Erat autem Rex subtilis et gracilis, macilentus convenienter et longus, habens vultum angelicum et faciem gratio- sam.’’ Need we say more of a book whose dramatis persone are St. Francis and Saladin, Giotto and Dante ? In Black and White. By Rudyard Kipling. (Sampson Low & Co.) Wirz the third instalment of this series of republished Indian stories Mr. Rudyard Kipling returns to his earlier manner, and may be unreservedly congratulated on the result. His little book of studies in ‘‘ black and white’’—which can be read through from cover to cover in a couple of hours, or even less—is a collection of small masterpieces, in the style he has made pecu- liarly his own. As its name implies, it sets before us in contrast the native and his master—the crafty subservience of the one, the contemptuous self-reliance of the other ; and as the stay-at-home Englishman peruses its pages he falls to marvelling afresh at that standing miracle, the maintenance of the British raj. Mr. Kipling knows his natives, as he knows his soldiers, at first hand. He has eaten bread and salt with them, has “drunk” of their tobacco, and has pene- trated (as few of his compatriots succeed in doing) far into the recesses of their conscious- ness. Further, to this intimate knowledge of their hearts and minds he adds the rare faculty of reproducing their speech almost verbatim, which lends an air of strong vrai- semblance to his narrative. The present volume contains eight tales, and each of them is better than the one before it. For skilful presentment in a few bold strokes of a strange and moving scene it would be hard to beat the escape from the flooded mine in ‘ At Twenty-two’ or the fanatical riot of ‘On the City Wall.’ The former story, indeed, is a gem of the first water, and the reader is fascinated from the outset by the personality of the blind miner, whose superhuman acquaintance with the workings enables him to guide the three imprisoned gangs, including in their number his own wife’s paramour, to the light of day ; while the latter, with its account of the courtesan Lalun’s ingenious stratagem, and the sudden outbreak of those racial and re- ligious passions which the paramount power alone controls, is admirably told. Enthral- ling, too, is the idyl of a dusky Hero and Leander called ‘In Flood Time,’ where the incident of the lover’s fearful swim across the swollen waters of the Barhwe, using his rival’s dead body as a life-buoy, is most dramatically conceived and described. Ina lighter vein we must not forget ‘The Send- ing of Dana Da,’ which may be commended to the followers of Madame Blavatsky and Col. Olcott, if any survive in an age whose scepticism is at least on a par with its superstition. The cult of Esoteric Buddhism is hit off delightfully in its opening sen- tences :— ‘“*Once upon a time, some people in India made a new Heaven and a new Earth out of broken tea-cups, a missing brooch or two, and a hair-brush. These were hidden under bushes, or stuffed into holes in the hill-side, and an entire Civil Service of Subordinate Gods used to find or mend them again; and every one said :—‘ There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy.’ iosper The Religion never seemed to get much be- yond its first manifestations; though it added an air-line post and orchestral effects, in order to keep abreast of the times and stall off com- petition.” A “‘sending,”’ it should be stated, is ‘*a horrible arrangement, first invented, they say, in Iceland. It is a Thing sent by a wizard, and may take any form, but generally wanders about the land in the shape of a little purple cloud till it finds the Sendee, and him it kills by changing into the form of a horse, or a cat, or a man without a face.” This particular ‘‘ sending” was a very fear- some visitation, consisting in nothing less than the unseasonable appearance, at all hours of the day and night, of little white kittens, repulsively juvenile, in the bed and at the board of the unhappy victim; yet, as the author says at the conclusion of his awe- inspiring tale, ‘‘ Consider the gorgeous sim- plicity of it all!” The kittens had been bought and paid for in the bazaar at so much a head—but, there, we will not further violate these psychic mysteries. : Mr. Kipling has a singular gift for vividly describing scenery. With a few common nouns and adjectives he paints a picture upon which a less clever writer would waste whole potfuls of fine phrases, and then leave it blurred and indistinct. Take, for example, the following effective sketch of springtime in one of the North-Western defiles, put into the mouth of an Afridi horse-thief :— ‘*There is a pleasant wind among the mul- berry-trees, and the streams are bright with snow-water, and the caravans go up and the caravans go down, and a hundred fires sparkle in the gut of the pass, and tent-peg answers hammer-nose, and pony squeals to pony across the drift-smoke of the evening.” Or this, in which he shows us, as in a suc- cession of receding planes, the panorama seen from Lalun’s chamber on the wall :— FEE WOU. .se looked forth, you saw all the cattle of the city being driven down to water, the students of the government college playing cricket, the high grass and trees that fringed the river-bank, the great sand-bars that ribbed the river, the red tombs of dead emperors beyond the river, and very far away through the blue heat-haze, a speck of the snows of the Hima- layas.” ‘ Another secret of Mr. Kipling’s success as a writer is the directness with which, in an age of over-refined analysis of human motives, he deals with the old-world, in- destructible themes of love and hate. His types—Tommy Atkins and Ram Baksh— are primeval, and their language, it must be allowed, is often scarcely proper; but to a palate jaded with the latest Transatlantic kickshaws these homelier viands come as a welcome variety. It is so pleasant to find things happening in a book, to read again of battle and murder and sudden death, and to know that when an event has occurred one will not have to wait two hundred pages for the next. If Mr. Kipling should not ultimately blossom (as we have already ventured to hint is a possibility) into an Anglo-Indian Dickens, he will, at all events, occupy a high place in the litera- ture of our day. Calendar of State Papers and Manuscripts relating to English Affairs existing in the Archives and Collections of Venice and in other Libraries of Northern Italy. Vol. VII. 1558-1580. Edited by the late Rawdon Brown and the Right Hon. G. Cavendish Bentinck, M.P. (Eyre & Spottiswoode.) We have here the last gleanings of the harvest of Mr. Rawdon Brown. Out of 829 entries, 357 were not only furnished, but translated by him; the remainder have been translated and edited by Mr. Cavendish Bentinck from documents which either came to him as Mr. Rawdon Brown’s executor, or were bequeathed by Mr. Rawdon Brown to the Record Office. As in such a col- lection of historical material everything depends on the sources from which the material is drawn, our readers will wish us to supply an abstract of the account of these sources which the editor gives in his preface. It appears, then, that almost for the whole reign of Elizabeth those invaluable official reports which were wont to be sent to the Signory of Venice by their ambassadors are wanting in the case of England. From 1557 to 1602 Venice had no representative in England. This was partly due, no doubt, to the efforts made by the party of the Counter-Reformation, and especially by the Pope, to isolate the here- tical Queen of England and, as it were, to ‘send her to Coventry.” This volume itself contains much evidence of the intrigues set on foot for this purpose at Venice by the Papal party, and of the ineffectual resist- ance made by those who had the commercial interests of the Republic at heart, and felt the importance of keeping up communications with England. Mr. Rawdon Brown, however, found at Mantua a series of letters written from England to certain Mantuan officials between December, 1558, and June, 1559, by a person who signs himself “‘ Il Schifanoya,” and who appears to have been connected with the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England. Mr. Cavendish Bentinck considers himself to have established, by inquiries made in Italy, that ‘‘ Il Schifanoya’’ was the true name of the writer, and not, as Mr. Rawdon Brown had believed, an assumed name. In any case the letters contain a most valuable and
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XUM N° 3281, Sept. 13,90 THE ATHENZUM 349 minute report of the important events which accompanied and followed Elizabeth’s acces- sion. For the rest Mr. Rawdon Brown fell back upon the despatches relating to Eng- land written by the Venetian ambassadors at the courts of France and Spain. The ambassadors at the former court were Gio- vanni Michiel (1559-60), Michiel Surian (1560-62), Marc’ Antonio Barbaro (1562- 1567), Giovanni Correr (1567-69), Alviso Contarini (1569-71), Sigismondo de’ Cavalli (1571-74), Giovanni Francesco Morosini (1574-77), Hieronimo Lippomano(1577-79), and Lorenzo Priuli (1579-80). The ambas- sadors at the Spanish Court, with the ex- ception of Paulo Tiepolo, do not furnish so much information. There is also a significant gap in the reports from the French Court. ‘By the intentional act of some unknown persons,” as the editor says, all the French despatches written between February 24th, 1572, and April 6th, 1573, have been abstracted from the Venetian archives, so as to obliterate all record of the massacre of St. Bartholomew. It will thus be seen that the volume before us may, on the whole, be described as fur- nishing materials for a history of English affairs during the first twenty-two years of Elizabeth, as viewed from the French Court. Mr. Cavendish Bentinck has summed up this history by saying that ‘Fall the ambassadors from Giovanni Michiel in 1561 to Lorenzo Priuli in 1579-80 concur in ex- pressing opinions to the effect that the mortal hatred which had always existed between Eng- land and France, and which would never end, must prevent any cordial understanding ever being established between the two countries ; and that though Queen Elizabeth avoided war with France, because she was so greatly alarmed on account of Spain, yet that she did not wish France to enjoy any secure peace, and therefore did her utmost to procure that the Huguenot party, which was entirely dependent on her, should remain strong and be continually on the increase. It is to be remarked on this that ambas- sadors’ reports are authoritative only as far as they deal with the present and with matters of fact, and that ambassadors are as liable as other men to be superficial and to err when they speculate about causes, or when they predict the future. It seems to us superficial to say that Elizabeth aided the Huguenots because, influenced by the traditional hatred of England to France, she “did not wish France to enjoy any secure peace.” No doubt that hatred was still lively enough between 1558 and 1580— nay, about 1560 it seemed likely to lead to a great Anglo-French war. Nevertheless, from about 1570 political causes drew Eng- land and France together, and from that time till the time of Cromwell it may be said that England and France belong, on the whole, to the same system in Europe. There is surely no need to inquire curiously why Elizabeth aided the Huguenots. After the conclusion of the Council of Trent in 1564 there was always a terrible danger lest the Spanish and French Governments should unite in a crusade against heresy, the more so as a princess of the house of Valois became Queen of Spain in 1559. To Elizabeth, therefore, it was an affair of life and death that the Huguenots should not be crushed. In the absence of all the despatches re- ; lating to the massacre of St. Bartholomew, and to its causes and consequences, the most important matter dealt with in these papers is, perhaps, the Alengon marriage nego- tiation. The details of that affair are, indeed, not really of great importance, and this collection, it is to be observed, does not cover the last four years of the duke’s life. Nevertheless international politics did for a time seem to turn so much on this nego- tiation and on the fortunes of this very worthless Valois prince, that the period between 1577 and 1584 might almost be called the age of Alencon. The editor has taken the trouble to deduce from these papers a summary of the whole negotiation from 1573 to 1580. As the papers were written in France they present, of course, a French view of the affair. The editor lays great stress on the change of policy of Henry IIT. and the queen mother in respect of the English marriage, pointing out that between 1573 and 1575 the objection to it seems to have been on the English side, but thatin 1576 Henry conceives an enmity against Elizabeth which he retains ever after, and which leads him to oppose the marriage. The editor also discovers that the queen mother never abated her efforts to put an end toa mar- riage which was “‘ repugnant to her religious prejudices, and also detrimental, as she believed, to the true interests of her adopted country.” Perhaps the editor takes the whole matter too seriously. Was the queen mother really such a slave to ‘‘religious prejudices””? Was she so devoted to ‘‘ the true interests of her adopted country’? At any rate, if the question is to be decided, all the evidence ought to be considered together, and the relation of Alengon to the king and queen mother ought also to be considered, since between 1573 and 1576 Alencgon had made himself almost an inde- pendent potentate. Nothing can be gained by inquiring to what conclusion a part of the evidence—the part which happens to be contained in this collection—would point if it stood alone. Nevertheless it is important to read what Lippomano wrote on January 16th, 1580, about the views of Catharine de’ Medici :— **T know that she is very unhappy from the consideration that by this marriage her most noble lineage incurs manifest peril of becoming extinct, though I hear on good authority that she still cherishes some little hope that Monsieur does not any longer desire the marriage so ardently as he did, because she has been in- formed quite recently that Monsieur was some- what embarrassed when, as a young man devoted to pleasure, he called to mind the ad- vanced age and repulsive physical nature of the queen (le brutte qualit del corpo della regina), she being in addition to her other ailments half consumptive (mezzo ettica).” Oneof the most important events of English history, though as a negative event it has received too little attention, is the queen’s refusal, if it may be so called, to marry Philip II. when he proposed to her at the beginning of her reign. Looking back through a vista which gives a false form and colour to the state of England in 1558, we find that refusal quite natural. And no doubt there were strong reasons which might be urged for it even at the time. Still, when we consider the dangers which surrounded Queen Elizabeth at her accession, the almost hopeless difficulty of her position, and remember also that probably she had no strong religious conviction to bear her up, we cannot help thinking that an offer of marriage from the greatest sovereign in the world must have come to her as a message of deliverance. We expect, at least, to find her hesitating for a time. This collection contains a despatch written from Brussels on April 23rd, 1559 (about the time of the Treaty of Cateau Cambresis), by Paulo Tiepolo, at that time Venetian ambassador with King Philip—a despatch which is cer- tainly important, and which partly bears on that subject. It begins thus :— “The Queen of England, being at length con- vinced how ill she provides for her security by never having come to any conclusion about her marriage with King Philip, now that the peace is made, and that his Majesty has given his word to take another wife, is so dissatisfied and alarmed lest some evil befall her through this peace and alliance, that at present she would on any terms gladly persuade his Majesty to break the promise made to France, and to take her for wife. Owing to this circumstance it is now confirmed to me from several quarters that whereas it was before in her power to dictate the conditions to his Catholic Majesty, so at pre- sent through the medium of the Count de Feria she offers King Philip her acceptance of what- ever conditions and compact may please him, provided she become his wife. This news causes much comment at the Court, where many per- sons incline towards this arrangement, it being asserted that two of his Majesty’s councillors are of this opinion; one, the Count de Feria, who urges it to the utmost, promising that the queen will turn Catholic, and the other, Don Juan Manrique; it seeming to them that the opportunity ought not to be lost for acquiring so great and noble a kingdom, most especially from the danger of its falling into other hands, which might cause the loss of these provinces [i. e., the Low Countries].” This passage puts vividly before us how truly the independence of England was at stake—how imminent was the danger for England of disappearing as a province in the great Habsburg Empire, which had been created by marriages. We hardly know whether, until this paper was published, any evidence existed that Elizabeth seriously wavered in her refusal of the hand of Philip, but certainly the probability of the case, not to speak of the habit of irresolution which she displayed in after years, confirms what Tiepolo here states. It is impossible so soon after the publica- tion of a collection like this to form a suffi- cient estimate of its value. Investigators will gradually determine how much it adds to our knowledge of the period. Meanwhile, there can be no question at all of its import- ance, or of the interest with which readers will welcome it. It will also take time to decide whether the editor has maintained the high standard of accuracy which is expected in such a work. We find in the index that the Pope mentioned in entries 531 and 533 is taken to be Gregory III., a misprint, of course, for Gregory XIII. But the despatch num- bered 531 is dated December 28rd, 1571, and despatch 533 is dated January 9th, 1572. Now at these dates the reigning Pope was not Gregory XIII., but Pius V.!
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350 THE ATHENZUM N° 3281, Serr. 13, ’90 A Sketch of the History of Fife and Kinross. By /ineas J. G. Mackay. (Edinburgh, Blackwood & Sons.) Tue best Scottish local history written for many a day—Sheriff Mackay’s book is that, and it is something more. Such works too often are portentously dull, or else are amus- ing only by their badness; but this is both readable and well worth reading. Its theme, to be sure, was a rare one for freshness and singular interest. Fife and Kinross together have an area of only five hundred and sixty square miles, or smaller than that of all but five English counties; yet these narrow limits contain, or once contained, seventeen royal burghs, the ecclesiastical metropolis and the oldest university of Scotland, the birthplace of golf, the sepulchre of Bruce and eight other Scottish kings, two royal palaces, half a dozen religious houses, and a good score of feudal castles. Fife has no Bannockburn or Culloden, no “auld clay biggin” or Abbotsford ; but its history is truly a miniature of the history of Scotland, and its long list of worthies includes such names as St. Margaret, Sir Patrick Spens, Sir Andrew Wood, Sir David Lyndsay, Kirkcaldy of Grange, Charles I., Alex- ander Selkirk, Adam Smith, Lady Anne Barnard, Wilkie, Lord Campbell, Marjorie Fleming, Dr. Chalmers, and Major Whyte- Melville. The death of Alexander III. at Kinghorn by a fall from his horse; the starving at Falkland of the Duke of Rothesay ; the murder at St. Andrews of Cardinal Beaton, at Donibristle of the Bonny Earl of Moray, and on Magus Moor of Archbishop Sharp; John Knox’s “jdolatrous sermon”’; the fate of Chaste- lard; Queen Mary’s first meeting with Darnley at Wemyss Castle, and her cap- tivity at Lochleven—these are familiar stories, but they never were better told—never, in- déed, before had thus been brought to- gether. And interwoven with them are a number of less-known episodes (such as the attempted colonization of the Lewis by Fife adventurers in 1599), biographical sketches, accounts of former travellers in Fife, and a chapter on its industries and agriculture. In the last is this curious picture of the establishment of a Fife farm of under a hundred acres in 1792 by one of its inmates :— “It consisted of the farmer, his wife, a lad about seventeen, a maid, and a boy—to wit, myself, All worked and ate together, and all slept in the farmhouse, which consisted of one room and a kitchen...... In the morning, about eight, we breakfasted on oatmeal porridge, with churned or skimmed milk, and sometimes whey. Butter was scarcely ever used, and though a few hens were kept, they and their eggs were uni- formly sold. The dinner-hour was one, and the fare was always barley-broth, with plenty of cabbage or green kail, sometimes a little pork or a salt herring being added; occasionally, when there was no pork, a little butter in the broth, beef or mutton never being seen in the house. We had bread in abundance —a healthy and substantial mixed bread of oat, pease, and barley meal, baked in the house. At night we had again porridge, or, in winter, potatoes and milk. On Sundays the master and the mistress in- dulged themselves with a cup of tea. I never saw or heard of spirits, wine, or even beer in the house. We made our own candles, but were more indebted in the dark nights to the splint coal...... The winter evenings were spent in the kitchen, mainly by the light of the fire. While the women spun, the master knitted stockings, the man-servant mended his shoes or stockings, while I usually read aloud for the general benefit. Our stock of literature was scanty—the Bible, some old sermons, a copy of Boston’s ‘ Fourfold State,’ Hervey’s ‘ Meditations among the Tombs,’ and an ample stock of old stories and ballads, the latter being the joint property of the maid and myself. We had family worship every evening, the hour of which, as well as of bed- time, was a little uncertain, there being no watch or clock in the house. When the weather per- mitted we regulated ourselves by the progress the seven stars made over the peat-stack.” Burns’s visit to Dunfermline might surely have been noticed; and in the account of Sharp’s murder one misses the ‘‘ opening of his tobacco-box, out of which flew a living humming-bee. This either Hackston or Balfour called his ‘familiar,’ and some in the company not understanding the term, they explained it to be ‘a devil.’” Space might also, perhaps, have been found for the famous abduction of Lord Durie; for the Sabbath profanation at Beath in 1640 (danc- ing, piping, deboshing, and football); for old Borlum’s gallant dash across the Forth ; and for the capture by Jacobite cavalry of two Government war-ships at Burntisland. We should have liked some authority (is there any older than Pennant?) for ascrib- ing to Lyndsay the well-known lines upon Beaton’s assassination ; and the sketch here of Richard Cameron ignores the difficulties that crop up in his biography—the Sir Walter Scott of Harden, for example, in whose family he is said to have acted as tutor, but of whom genealogists know abso- lutely nothing. Montrose was not yet a marquis in 1638; Leslie’s “‘ bloodless victory” at Dunse Law is a trifle misleading ; it was at Newark, not Newcastle, that Charles I. joined the Scots camp; “ dightavit” in Drummond’s macaronic poem is a misprint, probably, for digitavit; “Owl” (rather Howlet) Hill is not identical with Tarvit Hill; Michael Bruce’s poem is called ‘Elegy to Spring,’ not ‘ Praise of Spring’; the Corona- tion Stone is no longer believed to have been brought from Dunstaffnage ; and to say that St. Thenew was “driven by a storm” to Culross is the merest rationalizing of the old monkish legend. But these slips are as trivial as they are few in number, and we note them only for correction in a new edition. NOVELS OF THE WEEK, Two Masters. By B. M. Croker. 3 vols. (White & Co.) Sliding Sands. By Henry Cresswell. 3 vols. (Hurst & Blackett.) The Story of a Spring Morning. By Mrs. Molesworth. (Longmans & Co.) A Matter of Millions. By A. K. Green. (Routledge & Sons.) Addio, Amore. By Matilde Serao. (Naples, Giannini.) Il Romanzo di un Maestro. By Edmondo de Amicis. (Milan, Treves.) THERE is plenty of go about Miss (?) Croker’s story. The Irish part of the drama is the most lifelike. The Glasgow bodies may have had their originals, but the Scotch tongue is rather out of the writer’s way, and she has introduced, only to spoil, a very ancient story of Dean Ramsay’s. On the other hand, her presentment of the O’Briens of Billy Park is realistic enough, and one can sympathize with the cheery impecu- nious uncle and his affectionate but dowdy daughters, with little Miss O’Toole, and that rather bitter partisan Mrs. Shine. Ex- cept that we do not think Irish people would apply the expression “‘avick ” to a girl any more than that Highlanders would call her a “bonnie fellow,” we should fancy there is little to criticize in this part of the book. Of the plot and the cruel fate which subdues Ellen Le Marchant at the same time to an exacting parent and a jealous spouse, we will only say that, though the interest is well maintained, we hardly think it in nature that Ellen, who was so capable of taking her own line on occasion (as when she left the wretched quinquagenarian Bellamy ‘‘ planted” on his wedding day), should have submitted herself unreservedly to the clearly insane directions of her father, or deceived a husband whom she is repre- sented as loving to distraction. The visit to Kant’s quarters is almost impossible. We should be inclined to question a man so astute as Sim’s murderer is represented to be keeping the sleeve-link of which he had lost the fellow in the bog. Yet it is certain that criminals almost constantly do commit. some ostrich-like piece of folly, which com- promises their safety in the end. As it is left a little doubtful, we may assure our author that the Scotch marriage of Kars- lake and the heroine could never have been valid in law. Nothing is sacred to a sapper, and but little to a literary engineer. Yet we could wish Mr. Cresswell had not intromitted with the good old name of Osbaldistone, which we have a shrewd fancy he must mispro- nounce. Otherwise the thin joke about ‘“‘Mr. Balderdash ” loses its point. For the rest, the story has merit. The life of a newspaper office is fresh ground, as far as we know, for the produetion of heroes and heroines, and all the writer’s fun is not so poor as his conception of the Dickenesque old invalid lady. Mr. Green, the reporter, is a permanent portrait. The impression of the whole book, however, is sad and rather sordid. Orlando turns out so very con- temptible in the method of his wooing that one cannot forgive him as one might a bolder villain. The picture of the dull, but long-suffering wife, and the unutterably sad one of the deaf and dumb child, so fond of his unworthy father, are more prominent in the recollection than any less depressing memories. The excellent Dudley is com- monplace, except in that he is an honour- able gentleman ; and the other characters, save the heroine, who is bright and womanly, are but lightly touched. Still, the sketches of the old editor (this must have had a living model), of the bumptious Hugh Spender, and the lions, young and old, of the Lonchester Herald, are distinct and masterly. A new story by Mrs. Molesworth—whose name has so long been a household word —is bound to have, as it were, a certain succes d’estime, if no more. She has done such good work, and above all so much to raise the standard of fiction for chil- dren, that we cannot be too grateful. If there has seemed in recent stories any token of a falling off, a thought less of spontaneity of expression and feeling, may it
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not be that her many conscious and uncon- scious imitators and admirers have in some degree robbed her work of some of its appearance of originality and freshness of invention? ‘The Story of a Spring Morn- ing’ scarcely gives the lie to such an im- pression, for it has certainly something of a “written to order” air about it, and less of the quality we have been taught to look for in the author of ‘Carrots.’ We hasten to add that it is not wanting in light and pretty touches, and is quite pleasant read- ing, with illustrations bearing the familiar signature of M. E. E. There are several stories, but the first is the most important, and gives its name to the rest of the volume. The idea of this first story is by no means new. Some ardent nursery spirits escape without sanction, to secure tribute of fresh wild flowers to cele- brate their parents’ return. Hence war and rumours of war. The flaw in the story seems to us to lie in a certain fussiness in the parents, their lack of all feeling for pro- portion, or saving sense of humour with regard to the doings of their children. The boy who is the guiltless hero of the morning’s adventure is stupidly treated, and has to bear vicarious punishment and an illness, principally because his elders are too high- minded or too unobservant to find out how it all came about. The theme in itself is very much overworked, and though the story does not approach the morbid and ‘“< misunderstood ’’ element, still it is a trifle too seriously conveyed, or so it seems to us. The volume, however, as a whole, is better fitted to produce the healthy, happy, and wise frame of mind; and that is what is wanted. ‘A Matter of Millions,’ like most of Miss Green’s novels, is of the police kind, and as good of its sort as some she has lately pub- lished, though it does not seem to come up to ‘The Leavenworth Case’ or ‘ Behind Closed Doors.’ This is not the place to comment on the peculiar and somewhat restricted talent necessary to success in this type of fiction. In France it has reached a high degree of excellence, and the literature of crime is both scientifically and artistically treated. Miss Green has already proved that she has something of the root of the matter in her; that besides having a power of conceiving and working out her plots in more masterly fashion than most of her contemporaries, she has, to some extent, command of character and physiognomy. An impressive beginning has much to do with the success of a story of plot and mystery, and the beginning of ‘A Matter of Millions’ is impressive and stirring too. Indeed the element of surprise and un- certainty is not wanting throughout, though the end is weaker with regard to plot and circumstance than might have been ex- pected. Several unimportant issues detract from the principal action, and make the interest a little scattered and confused. The thing, in fact, grows somewhat in- volved, and does not emerge so clearly and logically as it ought to do. There are many Americanisms, but they do not affect the interest of the story, though it is tiresome when the artist—from being natural in speech and manner—suddenly adopts a highflown style. Then she annoys one as only an American can when she deserts the strait path (conversationally speaking). Yet whilst
this, and more, might be said against it, the fact remains that ‘A Matter of Millions’ is made of exciting material and keeps alive one’s curiosity and interest. Matilde Serao, the ablest of Italian woman writers—indeed, in some respects the ablest of contemporary Italian novelists, be- cause the most spontaneous—has just issued anew romance under the title ‘ Addio, Amore.’ Like aprevious work, ‘ Fantasia,’ by the same gifted author, it is a study of modern nevrotic disease, the malady which, as the brothers De Goncourt remarked to Zola, is the foundation of most of the art work of our age. The tale in itself is simple, free from stirring episodes or intricate plot— just the psychological study of an over- wrought girl who, living in the midst of a corrupt society, utterly without occupation to divert her mind, concentrates all her faculties upon love, after which she hungers, and which in its best and highest form is never vouchsafed to her. How her unfor- tunately placed affections eat out her heart and soul, how her empty vapid life lends itself to uninterrupted brooding, how all her faculties are concentrated on one im- possible end, is told with a force of analysis, a philosophical calm, a profound knowledge of the human heart, which are truly admir- able. The whole is a clever piece of special pleading in favour of a poor, weak, poetic, misguided heart; while the portrait of the cold, calm, dispassionate husband, to whom the heroine insisted on linking herself, is blocked out with firm, strong touches, giving the lie to the assertion that women’s men are not manly or true to life. Dias is no monster, no Rochester. He is a person such as we may encounter any day—arid, spent, bored—not unkind, but indifferent, and cal- culated to madden an impetuous nature living beside him. Signor de Amicis is favourably known out- side the limits of his native land asan elegant writer of books of travel and military life. He is above all things a keen observer of life, and a careful, sympathetic student of the development of affairs in modern Italy. This study led to his work ‘ Cuore,’ in which he treated of school children; and from out of this again sprang, by natural evolution, his latest book, ‘Il Romanzo di un Maestro,’ in which he recounts the petty martyrdoms, the trials, the sad lives, to which are exposed, in contemporary Italy, those brave pioneers of civilization who are sent by the State to carry enlightenment into far distant coun- try districts, into priest-ridden villages, into centres ruled by vulgar and ignorant muni- cipal councils. Theoretically and on paper the modern system of compulsory education in Italy is perfect. In practice it is lament- ably defective, and where defective and why, and whence must come the remedy, is shown admirably in this book, which is a novel merely in name, and would have been called ‘Maestri e Maestre’ but for commercial exigencies urged by the pub- lishers. It is a series of carefully painted genre pictures of school and village life, some of them of inimitable exce]lence, and can be read with pleasure even by those for whom the fundamental purpose of the book has less interest. Signor de Amicis handles his lan- guage like a prose-poet and a master, and his work should always be read in the ori- ginal.
OUR LIBRARY TABLE. On the Bank’s Threshold, by W. Haigh Miller (Partridge & Co.), is really an attractive book on a subject which most people would not expect to find amusing. The staple of it is advice—and sound advice, too—addressed to the young man who begins work in a banking- house as his occupation in life. That occupa- tion has been described, but not by Mr. Miller, as the perpetual working out of one long sum, which never is ended till the weary man closes his book for the last time, and goes home to the rest and quiet which years of assiduous labour have earned. This does not sound a cheerful account of the occupation of the rank and file of a banking establishment. But Mr. Miller shows how different an aspect such work may assume in the thoughts of those who are dis- posed to take bright views of their surroundings. He has himself, as he tells us, thriven in the vocation, the early steps of which he describes ; and at the age of near eighty, in comfortable retirement, he stretches out a kindly hand to encourage those who are beginning life in a bank, and feel, perhaps, more than a little bewildered at the aspect of the inside of such an office. The staple of Mr. Miller’s book is, as we have mentioned, sound advice based on that rarer quality, sound common sense ; but Mr. Miller has worked into this a web of anecdotes which alike illustrate and enforce his arguments. A man who, as Mr. Miller can do, remembers Fauntleroy, and the ineffectual efforts made to save him from the punishment of death inflicted at that time for forgery—who recollects also see- ing the last drawing for a Government lottery in England, and can describe the look of the Bluecoat boys who were employed to call out the numbers, and their singular pronunciation of the words as they read out each number to avoid risk of error—has had great oppor- tunities of accumulating many illustrations in the way of stories — opportunities which he has used freely, but with judgment. Bank- ing in Mr. Miller's youth was conducted very differently from the way in which it is carried on now. “We have seen,” he says, “in our young days a note for ten shillings issued by a Highland bank.” Perhaps this minute paper currency explains how it was that at the same date a real golden sovereign was looked upon ‘‘as a complete novelty.” But Mr. Miller has had also experience in more modern things, and in particular of the risks which the use of the telephone involves. Thus he describes a fraud successfully committed through that instrument by means of the imitation of an individual’s voice. Mr. Miller’s anecdotes, how- ever, and the way he introduces them, show one thing very plainly, namely, that he has had practical experience of the things he describes. He is strong, and rightly, on the import- ance of the element of character in business transactions. ‘If a customer is deficient on the latter point, the banker should have nothing to do with him.” This is a very needful hint. Many people are apt to think that if there is sufficient wealth and ample security the element of character may be regarded as less important. We have noticed one slip of the pen in the book which may easily be corrected in a later edition. The inquiry into “‘ Bimetallism,” mentioned on p. 117, is stated to have been made by a Com- mittee of the House of Commons, but it was made by a Royal Commission. The facts are otherwise correctly described. No book on modern business would be complete without reference to the employment of ladies as clerks. Though this is hardly yet the case in this country, it may occur sooner than some expect that ladies may here, as in the United States, become directors, cashiers, and managers. “ The refreshing element in the presence of a lady” —we must refer our readers to Mr. Miller's description of the cause of this—may be found so important that in future editions Mr. Miller
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352 THE ATHENZUM N° 3281, Sepr. 13, 90 may find it needful to address himself to the ladies also. Meauwhile, we may recommend the book to all aspirants after banking honours. WE have on our table Through North Wales with a Knapsack, by Four Schoolmistresses (Kegan Paul),— English Lands, Letters, and Kings from Elizabeth to Anne, Vol. IL, by D. G. Mit- chell (Low),—Luke’s Handy Guide to Plymouth, Devonport, Stonehouse, and the Neighbourhood, by W. H. K. Wright (Plymouth, Luke),—The History of the Church and Manor of Wigan, in the County of Lancaster, by the Hon. and Rev. George T. O. Bridgeman, Part IV. (Manchester, Chetham Society), — The Scientific Education of Dogs for the Gun, by H. H. (Low),—Models for Latin Prose Composition, selected from the Best Authors, by J. Oliver (Combridge & Co.),— Handbook of Cyclonic Storms in the Bay of Bengal, for the Use of Sailors, by J. Eliot (Cal- cutta, Government Printing Office), — Publi- cations of the University of Pennsylvania: On Sameness and Identity, by G. S. Fullerton (Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press), —Our Babies, and How to Take Care of Them, by F. Stacpoole (A. Gardner),—Amyon Drewth, by J. L. Williams (Ward & Downey),—Her Last Throw, by Mrs. Hungerford (White & Co.),— The Wrong of Death, a Realistic Poem, by L. H. North (Digby & Long),—The Girdle of the Globe, a Poem, by Ralph (Authors’ Co-operative Pub- lishing Co ),—Sappho, by C. A. Dawson (Kegan Paul),—and 4 Key to the Psalms, by the late Rev. T. Boys, edited by the Rev. E. W. Bul- linger, D.D. (St. Paul’s Churchyard). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology. Brigg’s (8. R.) New Notes for Bible Readings, 8vo. 2/6 cl. Handbook of Scientific and Literary Bible Difficulties, edited by R. Tuck, 8vo. 1/6 cl. Kennion’s (Rev. A.) Principia, or the Three Octaves of Creation, 8vo. 5/ cl. Newman’s (Cardinal) The Arians of the Fourth Century, cheap edition, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Law, Ryde’s (W. C.) Reports of Rating Appeals heard during 1886-90, 8vo. 18/ cl. Fine Art. Lover’s (8.) The Low-Backed Car, illustrated, 4to. 7/6 cl. Mulready (William), R.A., by F. G. Stephens, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. (Great Artists.) Taylor’s (E. R.) Elementary Art Teaching, cr. 8vo. 10/6 cl. “ Poetry. Browning’s (E. B.) Poetical Works, 1826-1844, 12mo. 2/ cl. (Newbery Classics. ) Lyra Consolationis, from the Poets of the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth Centuries, selected by C. and F. Hernaman, 12mo. 6/ cl. Newman's (Cardinal) Verses on Various Occasions, cheap edition, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. History and Biography, Prescott’s (W. H.) Critical and Historical Essays, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. (Excelsior Series.) Secret Log-Book of Christopher Columbus's Discovery of America, roy. 8vo. 9/ cl. Geography and Traw/ Bartholomew's (J. G.) The Royal Atlas and Gazetteer, imperial 8vo. 12/ cl. Brittain’s (H.) Rambles in East Anglia, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Hare’s (A. J. C.) North-Eastern France, South-Eastern Frauce, South-Western France, cr, 8vo, 10/6 each, cl. Philology. Dahn’s (F.) Felicitas, edited by G. A. Bienemann, 18mo. 2/ cl. (Episodes from Modern German Authors.) Horace’s Odes, Books 1-4 complete, with a Translation by T. J. Arnold, 18mo. 2/6 cl. Moore’s (A. W.) The Surnames and Place-Names of the Isle of Man, 8vo. 10/6 cl. Science, Bird’s (C.) Geology, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Ricks’s (G.) Woodworking Tvols, How to Use Them, 2/6 cl. BSteel’s (J. H.) Treatise on the Diseases of the Sheep, 12/ cl. Wanklyn (J. A.) and Cooper's (W. J.) Air Analysis, a Prac- tical Treatise on Examination of Air, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Woodward’s (C. J.) Acoustics, Light, and Heat: Arithme- tical Physics, Part 1, Book D, er. 8vo. 3/6 cl. General Literature, Blackie’s Modern Cyclopedia, Vol. 7, 8vo. 6/ cl. Buchanan's (R.) The Moment After, a Tale of the Unseen, cr. 8vo. 10/6 cl. Burnaby’s (C. A.) Harold’s Friends, or the New Rector of Greythorpe, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. Cambridge’s (A.) A Marked Man, some Episodes im his Life, 3 vols. cr. 8vo. 31/6 cl. Chiswell’s (Archdeacon) The Slave Prince, illus. er. 8vo. 5 Cinderella and the Littie Glass Slipper, 4to. 2/ bids. Dickens's (C.) Barnaby Rudge, Pictorial Edition, 3/6 cl. Emily Stretton, or Did She Kede-in It ? a Novel, er. 8vo, 6 Findlay’s (J. P.) Norman Reid, er. 8vo. 3/6 cl. ; Green’s (E. E.) The Stronger Will, cr. 8vo, 2/6 cl. Hatton’s (J.) By Order of the Czar, cheap edition, 1 vol. 6/ Hoey’s (Mrs. C.) Falsely True, new edition, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Hutchinson’s (Major H. D.) Military Training in English and Hindustani: Nagri Edition, Urdu Edition, cr. 8vo. 2/6 each, cl. Jones’s (C.A.) Little Sir Nicholas, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Lamb’s (C.) Essays of Elia, ed. by A. Birrell, 12mo., 2/6 cl. Leney’s (J. H.) Shadow-land in Ellan Vannin, or Folk- Tales of the Isle of Man, 12:no. 3/6 cl. Martin’s (Mrs. H.) Claude and Claudia, a Tale, illust. 2/6 cl. Maupassant’s (Guy de) Pierre and Jean, tr. by C. Bell, 2/6 May Hamilton, aTale for Girls, by M. B., illust. cr. 8vo. 2/6 Millington’s (Rev. T. 8.) No Choice, a Story of the Unfore- seen, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Murray's (D. C.) John Vale’s Guardian, er. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Nicholson’s (J.) Folk-lore of East Yorkshire, cr. 8vo. 4/6 cl. Not by Bread Alone, by the Author of ‘ Occupations of a Retired Life,’ cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Pearce’s (J. H.) The Miller’s Daughter, a Cornish Romance, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Pollard’s (B.) Every-Day Miracles, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Rand’s (E. A.) Up North in a Whaler, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Russell’s (P.) The Author’s Manual, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. St. Aubyn (A.) and Wheeler’s(W.) A Fellow of Trinity, 3 vols, cr, 8vo. 31/6 cl. Sand Key (The Key to All), after Epicharmus, 12mo, 3/6 cl. Sergeant’s (A.) The Luck of the House, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Thoreau’s (H. D.) Anti-Slavery and Reform Papers, edited by H. 8. Salt, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. (Social Science Series.) Treasury of Pleasure Books (A), illustrated, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Tytier's (8.) Young Oxford Maiden in the Days of King and Parliament, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Vincent’s (V.) Cathedral Bells, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Won by Love, the Story of Jane Kendall, by the Author of * Boundbrook,’ cr. 8vo, 2/ cl. FOREIGN, Theology. Groot (J. V. de): Summa Apologetica de Ecclesia Catholica ad Mentem 8. Thome Aquinatis, 2 vols. 10m, Philippi (F. A.): Kirchliche Glaubenslehre, Vol. 5, Part 3, 4m. 50. Reindell (W.): Luther, Crotus u. Hutten, 2m. 70. Verchowskij (J.): Stimme e. Griechisch-Katholischen Chris- ten gegen den Papismus, aus dem Russ, 4m. Fine Art and Archeology. —“ (B.): Histoire des Styles d’Architecture, 2 vols. 40fr. Drama. Duruy (G.): Ni Dieu ni Maitre, 3fr. 50. Philosophy. Brunnhofer (H.): Giordano Bruno’s Lehre, 1m. 20. Pitimacher (O.): Der Kampf um’s Unbewusste, 4m, Wolff (H.): Handbuch der Ethik, 2m. Philology. Strassmaier (J. N.): Babylonische Texte, Part 9, 12m. Science. Boas (I.): Allgemeine Diagnostik u. Therapie der Magen- krankheiten. 8m. Ewald (C. A.): Klinik der Verdauungskrankheiten, Part 1, m. Leo (H.): Diagnostik der Krankheiten der Verdauungs- organe, 8m. Vaschy (A.): Traité d’Electricité, 2 vols. 25fr. General Literature. Faisons la Chaine : Contes, X&c., 3fr. 50, THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. Tae Reading meeting of librarians on the 17th inst. will be preceded on Tuesday, the 16th, by what promises to be a very pleasant trip on the river. The train leaving Paddington station at 1035 for Taplow on the last-named day will be provided with a saloon carriage for the accom- modation of those who purpose attending the conference. At Taplow the visitors wiil embark on board a launch (about 11:22) and will pro- ceed up the Thames to Reading, where they ought to arrive about 6 o'clock. A pause will be made at Marlow for luncheon about 1°30 p.m. On Tuesday evening there will be a reception at the Town Hall. The meeting will be held in the New Town Hall, where there will be an exhibition of library appliances. One entire day is to be de- voted to public library legislation, and as a basis of discussion, without prejudice, as the lawyers say, the Public Library Bill drawn up by Messrs. Ogle and Fovargue will be considered clause by clause, and amended by the votes of the majority of the meeting. Copies of the Bill will be supplied to those members of the Asso- ciation who wish to take part in the discussion. After luncheon on Wednesday there will be a drive to Silchester. On the day following a visit to the ruins of Reading Abbey will be supple- mented by a reception given by the Berkshire Archzeological Society and a soirée in the public buildings. Reading School will also be visited | on this day. There will be a drive to Eversley | on Friday, a visit to Bearwood, and in the even- ing a dinner of the Association. Saturday will be devoted chiefly to a trip in steam launches to Wallingford Castle and to Mr. Davis's pre- historic relics and fine collection of coins. THE EISTEDDFOD. Tue National Eisteddfod of Wales for 1890 was held last week at Bangor. Musical com- petitions and adjudications on literary work occupied the greater portion of the morning sittings. As has been customary of late years, an art exhibition was also held in connexion with the Eisteddfod, At the open-air session or Gorsedd of the bards, a bardic degree was conferred on the Queen of Roumania, who also assisted at the subsequent ceremonial of chairing the successful bard. Her Majesty read a sonnet she had written for the occasion, together with some specimens of Roumanian folk-lore. Sectional meetings were held by the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, the in- augural address being delivered by Mr. A. H. D. Acland, M.P., on ‘The Development of Tech- nical and Intermediate Education in Wales’; Dr. Isambard Owen also read a valuable paper on ‘ Linguistic Training in Intermediate Schools,’ with reference to the bilingual condition of Wales. Several societies which are attached to the Eisteddfod held their annual meetings in the course of the week at the University College. At the Dialect Society, of which Prince Lucien Bonaparte is president, Prof. Rhys spoke of the necessity of a dialect map of Wales, and Prof. Lloyd, of Aberystwith, and Prof. Morris Jones, of Bangor, contributed papers dealing with methods of studying dialects and explaining the phonetic notation adopted for the purpose of reproducing the actual pronunciation of words. The Society for the Utilization of the Welsh Language in its report announced that arrangements had been made with leading educationists for the early publication of three different series of bilingual reading-books, so as to include in the curriculum of both elementary and intermediate schools the study of Welsh literature together with the history and geography of the Prin- cipality. At the meeting of the Musical Asso- ciation, a harp and violin duet, composed for the occasion by Mr. John Thomas, was very effi- ciently played by the composer and Miss Meta Scott. The establishment of local libraries and the extension of a local lecture system were discussed at the Welsh Students’ Union under the presidency of Principal Reichel ; and the association for promoting the education of Welsh girls reported some most valuable work done in connexion with the Intermediate Educa- tion Act, 1889. Next year’s Eisteddfod will be held at Swansea. THE SALE OF PARISH REGISTERS. Anglesey, Gosport, Sept. 6, 1890. Dr. Cox is strictly right in his notice relative to the unsaleability of parish registers, and, he might have added, many other classes of MS. documents and books ; but it is hardly wise or politic to insist on the “ pound of flesh” in order to recover them. The second-hand bookseller has many good opportunities of obtaining such missing invaluable works and papers, and he very often saves them from the paper-maker’s pulping apparatus, the butterman’s grease, or the baker's fires. If the reward due to him for such well-deserved salvage is withheld, the last fate which will overtake similar books, when met with in the course of business by the second-hand purchaser, will be worse than the first. The preservation and publication of such registers are of the first importance ; their re- storation to the parish which has so neglected them is of secondary consideration. The book- seller who saves public property from destruction should be rewarded at a liberal rate to induce him to recover similar papers, and such docu- ments should thereupon be impounded by Her
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N° 3281, Sepr. 15,90 THE ATHENAUM 353: Majesty’s Record Office ; and, on requisition by the parish officers, photo-lithographed copies might be provided on payment of the expenses incurred. The parish authorities who have per- mitted such papers to get astray, by not pro- viding proper security for their preservation, should not be permitted to keep the originals. The vellum leaves of the Dudcot christenings, burials, &c., will be very cheaply purchased at one shilling per page, with an extra shilling for the cover. S. Pasrietp Otiver, F.S.A. A NEW PALIMPSEST ON MOUNT ATHOS. Athens. In the year 1888 I published—first in a con- gratulatory address on the occasion of the fifty years’ jubilee of the University of Athens, and afterwards as a separate bruchwre—an essay on the Greek palimpsests on Mount Athos under the title Ilepi tov radwyjotov Kwdikov Tov dywopetixav BiBr.oOnKwv. From the rarity of Greek palimpsests, and having regard to the value which people attached to an investigation of the library on the sacred hill, I considered it my duty, before the pub- lication of my complete catalogue of the MSS. there, to inform the scientific world on the subject of the palimpsests therein contained— the more so as the public was perhaps inclined to over-estimate the importance of the library at Athos in this respect. Indeed, it is proved by the collation in my essay above mentioned that in the twenty libraries I have investigated and catalogued (the task is reserved for a later occasion in the case of the monasteries of Laura and Vatopedi), only thirteen palimpsests are preserved, and two even of these are in a foreign language. But few of them are of any consequence, the most important being Codex 91 of the library in the Dionysian Monastery, which, in the middle of a chapter headed ‘‘The Panarium of Epiphanius,” con- tains part of a theological tract by Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem in the seventh century, otherwise completely lost. Only a small portion of it exists in a Latin translation, and is pub- lished in the ‘ Bibliotheca Patrum’ of De la Bigne (tome vii. s. 153 sqq.), Paris, 1589. In the preparation of my essay, however, a palimp- sest escaped my notice, of which I first became aware when working at my catalogue with a view to its final publication. It is Codex 36 in the Pantokrator Monastery. It is a parchment Gospel in folio of the fourteenth century, written in two columns. The first twenty-two sheets of this dilapidated codex are palimpsest. The lower MS. extends over thirty-eight lines, and is also written in two columns, It has the same direction as the upper MS. As, however, the written portion of the upper MS. (the Gospel) is narrower and shorter than the lower, the older MS. overlaps the later. The older codex dates from the twelfth cen- tury. On a part of the margin introductory signs (inverted commas) may be observed. From this it is evident that we have to deal with a text set forth for exposition. The frag- ments which I read run as follows :— . «6 €utporbev xpdvos kateipydoaro adn’ dps €ADdv eis tiv Kawdpeay od pixpov aveyvéw ote kai v... . bropéeverv eh ofs yxpnoOar odXAdKis Avrnpots orpBaivew, worAXAds S€ Kal Tov Oeiwv éerurtodov. . . TACovaler...pdvov.. TO €xxdty adrois Kal poBepd TO... dmethovvres . .. Tpds TovrTois olay tiv dddv Wvuoev... ... vos (?) troBadropévyns ovTws exeivos tais ddyGeiars aitrytos av Kal pnd’ iad kakovraGeias... ++. @v qrelyeto péAAwv adn tiv Tpds Oedv a e , s paXddXov odeverv ropeiav Kat Tov puKkpov TOUTOY | a | ee of € ++ (BoouyjKovra Toivuy ypépas drodecavtes kata tiv dddv oWeroTe arnvTiTapev eis TI)V Rove. It would be difficult to form any theory of the contents of the lower MS. from such iso- lated and scattered fragments, were it not that we had two highly important names to deal with. Ceesarea is mentioned in one place. Cycysus (Kovxovaoyv) is, no doubt, the complete form of a place-name, the commencement of which is deciphered in the last of the fragments above quoted. Now Cesarea and Cycysus carry us back to Basil, Gregory, and Chrysostom. But what works of these fathers we have before us (perhaps from their letters) it is not easy to determine without an arduous exploration in the catacombs of Migne. But even such a labour would not be sufficient for the thorough determination of the contents of the palimpsest, as we have certainly rather to do with cited passages of Chrysostom and the other two fathers, as the above-mentioned signs of introduction indicate. That specialist in Greek paleeography and Byzantine literary history, M. Sakellion, keeper of the MSS. in the library here, whom I called into council, avowed the opinion that we were dealing with a biography of John Chry- sostom by some one who accompanied him into exile. I can hardly support this view of my worthy friend’s ; but how to correct it I know not myself for the present. Persons better versed than I in ecclesiastical literature may successfully determine the contents of the lower MS. of the codex. For their guidance I would make one positive remark: that of the above-quoted passages the one in which the name Cycysus is, in my opinion, to be read is one of those which are dis- tinguished by marks of introduction, consequently one of those which most probably served as texts for a following exegesis. Spyr. P, Lamsros. MR. ROBERT STEGGALL. WE regret to announce the death, on the 1st inst., at Lewes, in his sixty-first year, of Mr. Robert Steggall, formerly of Chiswick. Among the minor poets of the Victorian age he had within the last twenty years secured to himself a@ recognized position. His maiden work, ‘Jeanne d’Arc, and other Poems,’ published in 1868, first wakened the attention of the more discerning in his regard. His next metrical venture, ‘ Evensongs, &c.,’ which appeared in 1875, was inscribed ‘‘To the Author of ‘Festus,’ ” the now veteran Philip James Bailey. His latest volume, one of larger scope and greater pretension than either of its predecessors, entitled ‘A Heart's Obsession, Sonnets of the City, and other Poems,’ and published in 1886, was dedicated “*To my dear Friend Charles Kent.” Mr. Kent possesses a sonnet addressed to him on the occasion, which may some day be included among the published writings of the poet. ‘THE RIVERS OF GREAT BRITAIN.’ Ludgate Hill, Sept. 10, 1890. WE observe with much surprise in the Athe- neum of Saturday last an anonymous letter, the writer of which charges us with having falsely advertised his name as a contributor to our serial called ‘The Rivers of Great Britain,’ and intimates that we have dealt in the same manner with other persons. Although we cannot pretend to identify your correspondent, we have no hesitation in saying that his statement is without foundation in fact. The serial publication called ‘The Rivers of Great Britain’ comprises, as the full prospectus indicates, two sections, which have appeared already in volume form under the titles respec- tively of ‘ Rivers of Great Britain: Rivers of Thames from Source to Sea.’ The serial pub- | lication, for obvious reasons, bears only the | general title. We have published the names of the East Coast,’ and ‘The Royal River: The | | fourteen gentlemen as having contributed to- the complete work. That statement is abso- lutely true, and we shall be happy to prove it if it is further challenged by your correspondent, who will not, we trust, withhold his name if he still persists in his charge. CassELL & Co. *,* The name of the writer of the letter of the 6th inst. was, of course, communicated to us. Had the prospectus of Messrs. Cassell which was seen by our contributor been as explicit as their present letter, no misunder- standing on the matter would probably have arisen. THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON. Messrs. Macmittan & Co. announce the following publications in general literature :— ‘The Poetical Works of Lord Tennyson,’ one- volume edition,—‘ J. Russell Lowell’s Collected Writings,’ in ten monthly volumes, Vol. I. in October, — ‘ Miscellanies,’ by John Morley, Vol. IV.,—‘ Wild Beasts and their Ways in Asia, Africa, America, 1845-1888,’ by Sir Samuel W. Baker, 2 vols.,—‘ Relics of the Royal House of Stuart,’ illustrated by forty plates in colours drawn from relics of the Stuarts by Wil- liam Gibb, with an introduction by John Skelton, LL.D., and descriptive notes by W. St. John Hope,—‘ Royal Edinburgh : her Saints, Kings, and Scholars,’ by Mrs. Oliphant,—a new edition of ‘ The Vicar of Wakefield,’ with illustrations by Hugh Thomson and a preface by Austin Dobson, —‘ Glimpses of Old English Homes,’ by Eliza- beth Balch,—‘ London Letters and some Others,’ by George W. Smalley, 2 vols.,—the third and cheaper edition of ‘ Problems of Great Britain,’ by the Right Hon. Sir Charles W. Dilke,—‘ Ox- ford Lectures and other Discourses,’ by Sir Frederick Pollock,—‘ Landmarks of Homeric Study,’ by the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone,— ‘The Oxford Movement,’ by Dean Church,— ‘The Life of Archibald Campbell Tait, Arch- bishop of Canterbury,’ by the Dean of Windsor and the Rev. W. Benham, 2 vols. ,—‘ The Greek World under Roman Sway,’ by Prof. Mahaffy, and ‘A History of Greek Literature,’ by the same, in 2 vols..—‘ Dr. Schliemann’s Excava- tions at Troy,’ &c., by Dr. Carl Shuchhardt, translated by Miss Eugenie Sellers, with intro- duction by Walter Leaf, Litt.D., illustrated,— ‘Elements of Politics,’ by Prof. H. Sidgwick,— a revised edition oi ‘The Cambridge Shakespeare,’ edited by W. Aldis Wright, LL.D, in nine quarterly volumes, Vol. I. appearing January, 1891,—a new edition of ‘The Poetical Works of John Milton,’ edited by Prof. Masson, in 3 vols., —one-volume editions of ‘ Shelley’s Poetical Works,’ edited by Prof. Dowden, and ‘ Matthew Arnold’s Poetical Works,’—a collected edition, in 6 vols., of ‘The Poetical Works of Alfred Austin,’—a new edition of ‘The Poems of Christina Rossetti,’ with two designs by D. G. Rossetti,—‘ Tennyson for the Young,’ edited, with notes, by Canon Ainger,—‘ The Isles of Greece, and other Poems,’ by Frederick Tenny- son,—‘ The Sisters’ Tragedy, and other Poems,’ by Thomas Bailey Aldrich,—‘ Ballads, Lyrics, and Lancashire Idylls,’ by the Rev. H. D. Rawnsley,—‘ Fifty Poems of Meleager,’ with a translation by Walter Headlam,—‘ Letters of Keats,’ edited by Sidney Colvin,—three volumes of ‘‘English Men of Action”: ‘Sir Charles Napier, by Col. Sir Wm. Butler ; ‘ Drake,’ by Julian Corbett; and ‘Warwick, the King- Maker,’ by C. W. Oman,—and a new volume of the ‘‘ Golden Treasury Series”: ‘Balladen und Romanzen: being a Selection of the best German Ballads and Romances,’ edited by C. A. Buch- heim. New novels forthcoming at the hands of the same firm are ‘ A Cigarette Maker’s Romance,’ by F. Marion Crawford, 2 vols.,—‘ Kirsteen : the Story of a Scotch Family Seventy Years Ago,’ by Mrs. Oliphant, 3 vols.,—‘ The Book of the Forty-five Mornings,’ by Rudyard Kipling, —‘The Two Penniless Princesses : a Story of
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354 THE ATHENZXUM N° 3281, Spr. 13, 90 the Time of James I. of Scotland,’ by Charlotte | M. Yonge, 2 vols. ,—and ‘ A Colonial Reformer,’ by Rolf Boldrewood, 3 vols. New volumes of ‘*Macmillan’s Three-and-Sixpenny Series” are announced as under: ‘ The Miner’s Right,’ by Rolf Boldrewood,—‘ The Heriots,’ by Sir Henry Cunningham, K.C.I.E.,—‘The Heritage of Dedlow Marsh,’ by Bret Harte, — ‘ Janet’s Home,’ by Annie Keary,— ‘John Vale’s Guardian,’ by D. Christie Murray,—‘ Sant’ Tlario’ and ‘ Griefenstein, by F. Marion Craw- ford,—‘ The Aspern Papers,’ by Henry James, —‘ True Tales for my Grandsons,’ by Sir Samuel W. Baker,—and ‘ Tales of Old Travel,’ by Henry Kingsley. A reissue of the sixpenny edition of Charles Kingsley’s novels is announced. The volume for 1890 of the English Illustrated Maga- zine will contain nearly 550 illustrations. Of new works in theology we are promised ‘ Essays,’ by the present Bishop of Durham,—four works by the late Bishop of Durham, viz., ‘ Leaders in the Northern Church’; ‘Ordination Addresses and Counsels to Clergy’; an abridged edition of the ‘ Apostolic Fathers’; and a new edition of *St. Clement of Rome : the Two Epistles to the Corinthians,’ 2 vols.,—a new edition of ‘The Church of the First Days,’ by Dean Vaughan, —the continuation of the series of Charles Kingsley’s sermons,—‘ Stories from the Old Testament,’ by the Rev. A. J. Church, illustrated, —a new edition of ‘ Natural Religion,’ by the author of ‘Ecce Homo,’—‘ An Introduction to the Thirty-nine Articles,’ by Canon Maclear,— ‘The Gospel according to St. Luke,’ the Greek text, with notes by the Rev. J. Bond,—and * Hymns for School Worship,’ compiled by Miss M. A. Woods. Messrs. Macmillan will also publish a new edition of J. N. Keynes’s ‘ Scope and Method of Political Economy,’ together with a number of new school-books, classical and others. Messrs. Griffith & Farran announce a number of new books for children. Among coloured story-books we find ‘ Told by the Fireside,’ ori- ginal stories by sixteen authors, illustrated by Mrs. Seymour Lucas,—‘ Over the Sea: Stories of Two Worlds, containing contributions by eight writers, and edited by A. Patchett Martin, illustrated,—‘ Hearts and Voices : Songs of the Better Land,’ illustrated,—and ‘ John Chinaman at Home,’ description versified by Rowe Ling- stone, illustrated. Under the title of “‘ artistic gift-books for the young, illustrated in black and white,” we have ‘Stories for Somebody,’ by Edith Carrington,—‘ When we were Children,’ by E. M. Green,—‘ The Little Ladies,’ by Helen Milman,—‘ Young People and Old Pictures,’ by Theodore Child, with numerous engravings from pictures by the old masters dealing with child life,—‘ Christmas Rhymes and New Year’s Chimes,’ by Mary D. Brine,—and ‘ A Treasury of Pleasure Books for the Young.’ ‘ Illustrated story books” is the description of ‘ Cutlass and Cudgel: a Tale of the Old South Coast,’ by G. Manville Fenn,—‘ Steady and Strong; or, a Friend in Need,’ by R. M. Freeman,—‘ In the Enemy's Country, by A. H. Drury,—‘ The Slave Prince,’ by Archdeacon Chiswell,—‘ The Miller’s Daughter,’ by Anne Beale,—‘ Poor and Plain : a Story for the Elder Girls,’ by the late Mrs. Seymour,—‘ Crooked S,’ by Austin Clare,— and ‘ Cathedral Bells, by Vin Vincent. In the “Own Favourite” and “Coronet” series are promised ‘The Girl’s Own Poetry Book,’ edited by E. Davenport,—‘ The Queen of the Ranche,’ by Mrs. Hornibrook and J. L. Hornibrook, illustrated,—‘ At all Cost,’ by C. Holroyd, illus- trated,—‘ Winning her Way ; or, Left in Difii- culties,’ by the late E. Malcolm Turner, illus- trated,— ‘Sandford and Merton,’ unabridged edition, illustrated, —‘ Robinson Crusoe,’ un- ; abridged edition, illustrated, with an introduction by Thomas Archer,—‘ The Log of the Bombastes,’ by Henry Frith, illustrated, —‘ The Rajah’s Legacy ; or, the Secret of a Hindoo Temple,’ by David Ker, illustrated,—‘ The Little Colonists ; or, King Penguin’s Land” by Theo Gift,— ‘Claude and Claudia,’ by Mrs. Herbert Martin, | illustrated,—a new edition of ‘True of Heart,’ | by Kay Spen,—and ‘ Rollica Reed : a Story for Girls,’ by Eliza Kerr, illustrated. Among books classed as ‘‘instructive and useful” may be mentioned ‘ Triumphs of Modern Engineering,’ by Henry Frith ; ‘The Way to Win: how to Succeed in Life,’ by John T. Dale; and ‘ Glean- ings for the Curious from the Harvest Field of Literature,’ collated by C. C. Bombaugh,—in the ‘‘ Half-Crown Historical Library,” illus- trated: ‘True Stories from French History,’ compiled by N. M. Paul; ‘True Stories from Italian History,’ by F. Bayford Harrison ; and new editions of three books by Mrs. Alexander (Barbara Hutton): ‘ Castles and their Heroes,’ ‘Heroes of the Crusades,’ and ‘Tales of the Saracens.’ Of a miscellaneous kind are ‘The Letters of S. G. O., 1844-88,’ edited by Arnold White,—*‘ Political and Social Letters of a Lady of the Eighteenth Century,’ being the corre- spondence of the Hon. Mrs. Osborn during the years 1721-71, edited by Emily F. D. Osborn, — ‘Sixteen Lay Sermons and Clerical Lectures,’ by Sir John Lubbock, Canon Barker, Dr. B. W. Richardson, and others,—‘ The Life of Benjamin Franklin,’ written by himself, now first edited from original MSS. and his printed correspond- ence by John Bigelow, 3 vols..—and ‘ Belle- rue,’ by the author of ‘ Shiloh.’ Messrs. Frederick Warne & Co.’s list of new books for the forthcoming season includes an illustrated volume entitled ‘A Mosaic,’ edited by N.S. Morris,—‘ An Ocean Knight,’ a story of the Corsairs and their conquerors, by Adrien Marie,—‘ Rex Raynor, Artist,’ by the Rev. Silas K. Hocking, illustrated,—and ‘ Picturesque England : its Landmarks and Historic Haunts,’ being the new volume in the “ Pictorial Standard Library.” Their list of works for boys will include a book of adventure by Dr. Gordon Stables, entitled ‘By Sea and Land,’ illustrated, —a revised cheap edition of the late Rev. J. G. Wood’s ‘ Boy’s Modern Playmate,’—and a new edition of ‘Sport in Many Lands,’ by H. A. L. (“The Old Shekarry”). The next addition to the ‘* Stanley Library” will be a story by the Rev. A. N. Malan, entitled ‘Lost on Brown Willy,’ illustrated,—to the “ Home Circle Series,” ‘Stella’s Cup; or, the Boy Artist,’ by Mary Elsdale, illustrated,—and five new volumes to the ‘‘Prize Library for Boys.” Their new novels will include ‘Lady Maud’s Mania: a Tragedy in High Life,’ by G. Manville Fenn, —and two books for girls: ‘ Noah’s Ark: a Tale of the Norfolk Broads,’ by Darley Dale, and ‘ Heart of Gold,’ by Mrs. L. T. Meade. In the ‘‘Cavendish Library” the volumes following ‘ William Hazlitt’ will be ‘ Half-Hours with the Best Humorous American Authors,’ in 2 vols., arranged by C. Morris, and ‘ Pepys’s Diary and Correspondence,’ edited by Lord Braybrooke. The new volume in the ‘‘ Chandos Classics ” will be ‘The Old, Old Fairy Tales,’ edited by Mrs. L. Valentine. Their works for children will in- clude ‘Little Sir Nicholas,’ by Miss C. A. Jones, illustrated,—‘A Peep into Catland,’ with monotint illustrations,—‘ Young England’s Nursery Tales,’ with illustrations in colours,— ‘A Natural History Book for Children,’ illus- trated,—and ‘See-Saw: a Book of Songs, Rhymes, and Ballads,’ with original music by W. M. Hutchinson. Messrs. Warne’s new editions include ‘The Leather-Stocking Tales,’ by Fenimore Cooper, in 5 vols.,—‘ From Crecy to Assye,’ by H. R. Clinton,—‘ Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey,’—the ‘* Standard Poets,” with portraits and vignettes, —and ‘Boutell’s Heraldry, Ancient and Modern,’ edited by S. T. Aveling, with upwards of 400 illustrations. They will also issue shortly the | third series of the ‘Encore Reciter,’ edited by F. E. Marshall Steele,—a new birthday book, ‘Fortune’s Mirror set in Gems,’ by M. Halford, illustrated,—and Scribner’s Magazine for 1890. Mr. Nimmo announces as to be ready in | October ‘The Venetian Printing Press,’ an historical study, by Horatio F. Brown, with twenty-two facsimiles of early printing, and ‘The Thames from Oxford to the Tower,’ by William Senior, illustrated with thirty original painters’ etchings by Francis S. Walker, R.H.A., R.P.E.,—also, complete early in December, ‘The Soft Porcelain of Sévres,’ with an his- torical introduction by Edouard Garnier, a work which has been coming out in parts, which we have had occasion to notice. Among Messrs. Routledge & Sons’ forth- coming publications will be W. S. Gilbert's ‘Songs of a Savoyard,’ illustrated by the author,—‘ Picturesque India: an Unconventional Guide-Book,’ by W. S. Caine, with illustrations and maps,—‘The Book of Card and Table Games,’ by Prof. Hoffmann,—‘ Discoveries and Inventions of the Nineteenth Century,’ by Robert Routledge, —‘The Popular Natural History,’ by the Rev. J. G. Wood, illustrated, —‘The Swiss Family Robinson,’ edited by W. H. G. Kingston, illustrated,—‘ Robinson Crusoe,’ illustrated,—‘ Chivalry,’ by Léon Gau- tier, translated by Henry Frith, illustrated,— ‘Small Boys in Big Boots,’ by Archibald C. Gunter, author of ‘Mr. Potter of Texas,’ illus- trated,—a new edition, in 6 vols., of ‘ Oliver Wendell Holmes’s Writings,’ — the Pocket- Volume Longfellow, in 15 vols.,—three volumes in the ‘‘ Amusement Series,” a new series of indoor recreations,—‘ Battles of the British Army,’ by C. R. Low, with illustrations,—‘ Bob, the Spotted Terrier,’ illustrated by Harrison Weir,—‘ Brandram’s Reciter,’ a cheaper edition, —‘ Kings in Exile,’ by Alphonse Daudet,—new editions of Miss Edgeworth’s ‘Early Lessons’ and ‘ Parent’s Assistant,’ Hawthorne’s ‘ Wonder Book’ and ‘ Tanglewood Tales,’ Mrs. Jameson’s ‘ Characteristics of Women’ and ‘ Female Sove- reigns,’ and Mayne Reid’s books for boys, — Prof. Hoffmann’s ‘ Drawing-Room Amusements and Evening Party Entertainments, —‘ Great African Travellers from Mungo Park to Stanley,’ —Little Wide Awake for 1891,—and ‘Men of the Time Birthday Book,’ by J. F. Boyes. Messrs. George Philip & Son announce for October ‘Home Life on an Ostrich Farm,’ an account of life in the interior of South Africa, by Mrs. Annie Martin, illustrated, and a new edition of ‘The Unknown Horn of Africa,’ an exploration from Berbera to the Leopard River, by the late F. L. James, M.A., author of ‘ The Wild Tribes of the Soudan,’ with illustrations and a map,—and for November ‘ Across East African Glaciers,’ being an account of the first ascent of Mount Kilima Njaro by Dr. Hans Meyer, with illustrations and maps. Among the chief publications of the Religious Tract Society for the ensuing season will be found the following :—‘ Greek Pictures: drawn with Pen and Pencil,’ by J. P. Mahaffy,—‘ Bib- lical Atlas and Scripture Gazetteer,’ new and revised edition, maps by Henry Courtier,—a new edition of ‘A Yacht Voyage round England,’ by W. H. G. Kingston,—‘ The English Reforma- tion of the Sixteenth Century,’ by the Rev. W. H. Beckett,—‘ Pioneers of Electricity,’ by J. Munro,—‘ How London Lives’ and ‘ Foun- dry, Forge, and Factory,’ two volumes by W. J. Gordon in the “Leisure Hour Library,” new series,—‘ No Choice : a Story of the Unforeseen,’ by the Rev. TF. 8. Millington,—‘ Not by Bread Alone,’ by the author of ‘ The Occupations of a Retired Life,—‘ A Young Oxford Maid in the Days of the King and the Parliament,’ by Sarah Tytler,—‘ Of all Degrees,’ by Leslie Keith,— ‘The Percivals; or, a Houseful of Girls,’ by Evelyn Everett Green,—‘Ida Hatherley at School,’ by Constance Evelyn,—‘ His Young Neighbour,’ by Ellen Louisa Davis,—‘ Peter's Sister,’ by Janet Eden,—‘ Adopted ; or, an Old Soldier’s Embarrassments,’ by E. A. B. D.,— ‘The Twin Houses, and other Stories,’ by Anne Beale,—‘ Harold’s Friends ; or, the New Rector of Greythorpe,’ by C. A. Burnaby,—‘ Christie’s Next Things,’—‘ Dot-and-go-one,’ by M. Blanche Hayward,—‘ What to Read’: Part IV. ‘Sun- a
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+ me XUM N° 3281, Sepr. 13, 90 THE ATHENAUM 355 day Readings in Prose,’ by Rev. F. Langbridge, —‘ Within Sight of the Snow: a Story of a Swiss Holiday; and A Surrey Idyl, by Lily Watson,—‘ Mr. Farrer’s Big O's,’ by Emily Brodie,—‘ Short Biographies for the People,’ Vol. VIL, containing John Abercrombie, Arch- bishop Whately, James Hamilton, Sir James Young Simpson, George Wishart, and Robert Moffat,—‘ When Jesus was here among Men,’ by Mrs. Waterworth,—‘ Cottage Politics,’ by Mary E. Ropes,—‘The Story of a Christmas Sixpence,’ by Emma Leslie, —‘ Sarah: a Princess,’ by Miss J. E. Slade,—‘ The Mysterious House,’ by Mrs. O. F. Walton,—and ‘Old Anthony’s Secret,’ by Sarah Doudney. LITERARY BORROWING. New Club, Glasgow, Sept. 4, 1890. I wAvE only to-day returned from Heligoland, or I would have noticed Mr. Sibbald’s letter to you in time for an earlier Atheneum. I cannot regard his letter as either an explanation or an apology. If I am to understand from it that he not only can write a long sentence word for word like mine, but make the same errors of fact that I made, without having seen or heard of my book, all I can say is my credulity is somewhat taxed. I do not accuse Mr. Sibbald of having ‘‘ bor- rowed” allhis matter from my book,—farfromit ; but if the new and original errors I pointed out are derived from “sources” known only to Mr. Sibbald, Iadvise him to disregard those “sources.” Any information he wants as to streets, &c.—if he does not believe me—he can procure from the annual Winke fiir Badegiste, published by Uter- hark, Heligoland ; or, still better, he might visit Heligoland and thereafter read over his descrip- tive article on ‘ Heligoland’ in the Scottish Re- view. He will not then wonder at his readers’ amusement or that of the Heligolanders to whom I had the pleasure of repeating his choicer passages. Witt1aM GrorGE BLAck. Sept. 6, 1890, ‘‘ LITERARY BORROWING,” like the proverbial ‘* killing a cat,” may be done in varicus ways. It is quite possible for a defendant in such case to find all he wants in a review; he can take ideas, nay, whole passages, and yet declare, with perfect innocence, that he never saw the book, perhaps never heard of its publication, and certainly never read it. It would be difficult for any Act to be drafted so as to follow “‘ extracts,” like stolen goods, from one possessor to another. A. H. CANON LIDDON. THE great ecclesiastical orator who has passed away leaves a personal void which will be felt by many outside the Church of England. Like the still greater lately lamented father of the uni- versal Church who found his logical resting- place at Rome, Liddon exercised an influence on his time and his contemporaries which far tran- scended any estimate which posterity will infer from his literary remains. Pious and ardent (perseverance and combativeness he may have inherited from his father, one of Parry’s Arctic captains), the young student of Christchurch early threw himself into the polemical field under the guidance of Pusey, Hamilton, and Keble. Successively Vice-Principal of Cuddes- don and Prebendary of Salisbury, he was appointed Bampton Lecturer in 1866, and at once made his mark as a scholarly and contro- versial preacher of the first force by his dis- courses on the central question of ‘ The Divinity of our Lord.’ This treatise has been well cha- racterized as a “work of massive thought and brilliant utterance,” which “ is now and promises to remain the best work” on that transcendent theme. But it is the vox viva which his contem- poraries will miss—the spark of personal energy which held mixed audiences spellbound during the twenty years of his canonry of St. Paul's. Of the attitude of Dr. Liddon to contro- versies within the Church it is unnecessary to speak. He was the ablest champion of the High Church party. He carried his sympathies with Greek Catholicism into the field of politics, in which he was a Liberal, so far as was con- sistent with his ecclesiastical standpoint. But beside his grave controversy should be silent. His personal charm, his kindliness, his courtesy, will be remembered by many who had scant sympathy with his opinions ; and none will grudge him his appropriate resting-place in the national cathedral he so long adorned. Besides his biography of his friend and master, Bishop Hamilton, in whose honour he annually paid a visit to Salisbury, ‘Some Elements of Religion, Lent Lectures, 1870-72,’ ‘Sermons preached before the University of Oxford, 1873,’ and a‘ Report of the Proceedings at the Re- union Conference at Bonn, between the 10th and 16th of August, 1875,’ are the more im- portant of his contributions to literature. Literary Grossip. Tue Civil Service Commissioners have issued a syllabus showing the extent of the examination in certain subjects at the open competition for admission into the Indian Civil Service in 1892 under the new regu- lations raising the age limits of competitors to twenty-one and twenty-three years. The scheme of the examination has been made to embrace most of the subjects of the honour schools in the universities of Great Britain and Ireland. The Commissioners say they have desired to avoid all disturb- ance of the general course of university studies, and to render it possible, with due regard for the principle of open competition, for those who have graduated with honours at the universities to attend the examination for the Indian Civil Service with good prospects of success. The examiners will be instructed to keep the standard in each subject up to the level of the highest course of study pursued in the universities. Mr. H. P. Gurney writes :— ‘The case against the present India Civil Service Schedule is even stronger than at first appears. Since 100 marks are deducted from the 300 maximum assigned to English history as well as from the 500 given to French, candi- dates who are good enough to obtain half marks in each subject would score only 50 for English history, but 150 for French. One candidate failed because he took up history and literature. Although first in the former and well up in the latter subject, he was only credited with 206 marks for the two together. The same work bestowed on more highly-marked subjects would probably have placed him among the successful candidates. It must be remembered that this schedule was drawn up at the dictation of the head masters of the public schocls, who con- trived that those subjects only should be well marked which they thought public schools would be competent to teach.” Mr. Nivmo is about to publish a new uniform and limited edition of the works of the late Sir William Stirling-Maxwell. ‘The Annals of the Artists of Spain,’ to appear this autumn in four volumes, will include ‘ Velasquez,’ which was separately published in an enlarged edition. ‘The Cloister Life of Charles V.’ and a volume of ‘Miscellanies’ will be published in the spring. Many alterations and additions by the author are incorporated in this new edition, and the illustrations are chosen from a number collected by him for the purpose. Srupents of English medieval literature will be gratified to learn that an exact reprint of ‘The Golden Legend’ as origin- ally set forth by William Caxton is in preparation, under the joint editorship of Mr. William Morris and Mr. F. 8. Ellis. If it is found practicable to obtain the use of a copy of the first edition it is proposed to reproduce that text with scrupulous accu- racy, supplementing it with a glossary and index. In place of the black letter, to the use of which there are manifold objections, a fount of types newly designed by Mr. Morris after the fashion of those employed by Nicholas Jenson will be substituted. In view of the extreme value of the original, it will be necessary to make a complete tran- script of the whole work, amounting to about a thousand closely printed folio pages, and where absolute accuracy is aimed at this must be done by the editor himself or carried on under his own eye. Some time must necessarily elapse, therefore, before the work can go to press, though it will be proceeded with immediately. The editors have agreed to give their labours gratuitously in con- sideration of Mr. Quaritch bearing all expenses of production. As the impression will be a limited one, subscribers would do well to send their names to the publisher forthwith. Tue inaugural dinner of the recently formed London Booksellers’ Society will take place on October 2nd at the Holborn Restaurant. In the ‘‘ rules” of the society the most important item states that the main object is to restrict the discount to purchasers of books to 25 per cent., so the long-dis- cussed question of 3d. in the shilling is practically settled. It is difficult to see how more than this allowance could be given, as in many cases by this concession the bookseller is actually out of pocket. WE hear of a case of recent occurrence where, under the veil of an ‘agency,’ books were obtained from the publishers ostensibly for review, and directly the appli- cant had received them they were offered for sale to a bookseller. Publishers should be cautious how they entertain applications of this kind. Mr. Ruskin has in the press two volumes of poems. They will be ready for issue early next year, and will contain a number of plates. Mr. Recrnap L. Poorz is preparing for publication at the Clarendon Press an auto- graph manuscript of Bishop Bale, preserved in the Selden Collection in the Bodleian Library, which contains an alphabetical catalogue of English writers and their works. The special value of this book is that, un- like the bishop’s printed ‘ Catalogus,’ it supplies notices of the libraries, &c., where he found the works enumerated, thus fur- nishing information not only as to the con- tents of existing libraries, but also as to those of the monastic and other collections which were in his own time or subsequently dispersed. A yew popular edition of the ‘‘ Waverley Novels” is announced by Messrs. A. & C. Black. The publication will be commenced about the end of next month. The work is being very carefully collated, and with the aid of the material in the publishers’ p os-
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356 THE ATHENAUM N° 3281, Sepr. 18, ’90 session the text will be rendered as correct as when it left the author’s pen. Mr. R. H. Ineris Parcrave is editing a ‘Dictionary of Political Economy,’ to which many well-known economists, both English and foreign, will contribute. Messrs. Mac- millan are the publishers of the work, which will extend to twelve or fourteen quarterly parts. Cart. Trorrer’s volume on Warren Hastings for the ‘“‘ Rulers of India” series will be published in the beginning of October. A new book by the Rev. John R. Vernon, M.A., author of ‘The Harvest of a Quiet Eye,’ &c., is in the press. The title is ‘Gleanings after Harvest, or Idyls of the Home,’ and the volume consists of ‘‘ studies and sketches,” some of which appear for the first time; the rest are revised reprints. It will be illustrated by Arthur Hopkins, Allan Barraud, and other artists. The book will be issued shortly by Messrs. Cassell. Aw illustrated work on the ‘Island of Hayti,’ by the Rev. J. W. Hérivel, is to be published shortly by Mr. Elliot Stock. ‘How Stanley wrote “ In Darkest Africa”: a Trip to Egypt and Back,’ is the title of a little book in which Mr. E. Marston tells the story of his visit to Mr. Stanley in Cairo. It will be fully illustrated, and will contain much matter in addition to that which appeared in Seribner’s Magazine. Lippincoti’s for October will contain a new sea story by Mr. W. Clark Russell, entitled ‘ A Marriage at Sea.’ Messrs. ALEXANDER & SHEPHEARD are about to publish a series of discourses on the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth chapters of the Gospel of St. John, by the Rev. Dr. Maclaren. Pror. Marcoriovutn, of Oxford, will read at the next Church Congress a paper on ‘ Inspiration.’ Aw English translation of the last edition cf Kautsch -Gesenius’s Hebrew grammar will be published by the Clarendon Press. Tue Jilustrated Naval and Military Maga- zine for October will contain ‘Shooting Adventures in Paraguay,’ by Capt. Bushe, R.N.; ‘In the Cavalry Ranks; or, Why not Enlist as a Soldier?’ by a Corporal of Dragoons ; ‘ Wellington,’ by W. O’Connor Morris, &c. Dr. Bucnnem has in the press a new edition of Goethe’s ‘ Faust,’ part i., giving the original text and a prose translation on opposite pages, with notes and an historical introduction. The volume will be published by Messrs. Bell in ‘‘Bohn’s Standard Library.” Aw amalgamation has taken place between the Dublin firms of Messrs. A. Thom & COo., printers and publishers of ‘Thom’s Irish Directory,’ and Messrs. Sullivan Brothers, the well-known publishers of educational literature. Aw excellent philanthropist and a con- troversial writer of some mark has gone ad plures in the person of Dr. Maguire. ‘ Per- version and Conversion,’ the ‘Seven Churches of Asia,’ ‘Mottoes for the Million,’ were some of the productions of his pen. But as an energetic labourer in the cause of his poor parishioners at Clerkenwell and South- wark he will be better and longer remem- bered. WE have received from Dr. T. R. Armi- tage, the energetic secretary of the British and Foreign Blind Association, the report of the sub-committee of that body ‘on starting pupils in business after leaving institutions.” Literary men, who depend on their eyesight, need no appeal to them to read and mark the good work of the Association. Messrs. Loncman & Co. are going to publish next month a collection of fragmen- tary thoughts and criticism by Dr. Eders- heim, with the title of ‘Tohu-va-Bohu’ (‘Without Form and Void’), edited by Miss Edersheim, with a short memoir. In the Earl of Rosslyn farmers lose an excellent landlord and friend. From a literary point of view he is principally re- markable as a survival of the ‘‘ mob of gentlemen who wrote with ease.” The mob is now mixed, and the gift is gone. Mrs. Macevorp, with her husband and son, is travelling for her health in North Germany. We are glad to hear she has found benefit from the change, especially from a stay in Liibeck, which, apart from its art interest, is a very healthy town. Dr. StatKer’s ‘Imago Christi’ is being translated into German, and his ‘Life of Christ’ into Portuguese. TueE French poem containing the history of William Marshall, which M. Paul Meyer discovered in the Phillipps library in 1881, and of which that scholar gave an account in Romania of the following year, is to be printed by the Société de l’Histoire de France, in three volumes. The first will appear in 1891, and M. Meyer spent a few days lately at Cheltenham, verifying the proofs by the manuscript. From a circular just issued to the “ ad- hérents’’ of the ‘‘ Conférence du Livre” by M. Max Rooses, we learn that the Compte- rendu of the first meeting will be published early in the coming year. It will contain, besides the text of the discussions taken down in stenography, several papers sent in by members, but which were not read at the Conference because there was not sufficient time. The value of this report will be greatly enhanced by the fact that it is to contain a facsimile of the first catalogue of Plantin and some reproductions of bindings of the manuscripts in the library of Mathias Corvinus. The ‘‘ Conférence” is to be held annually. Tue second volume of Dr. Bellesheim’s ‘Geschichte der Katholischen Kirche in Irland,’ the publication of which work we announced last May, is expected to be issued this month. Tue Empress of Austria is reported to have visited, during her recent stay at Paris, Heine’s grave at Montmartre, depositing there a wreath. It is gratifying to know that, although the Empress was obliged to retract under moral compulsion her pro- mise of a munificent contribution to a monu- ment of the poet, she does not hesitate to pay a reverential tribute to his memory. In Gustav zu Putlitz, born in 1820 of an aristocratic family, Germany has just lost a writer of considerable merit, who distin- guished himself as novelist, poet, and dramatist. He first made for himself a name by his charming idyllic fairy tales, ‘Was sich der Wald erzihlt,’ which en- joyed great popularity in Germany and other countries forty years ago. Several of his comedies and dramas were very successful on the stage, more particularly his ‘Testament des Grossen Kurfiirsten,’ which is a dramatic vindication of the Princess Electress Dorothea, who was accused of having induced her husband, the Prince Elector Frederick William, to make a will to the detriment of the unity of Brandenburg. Putlitz, who was active as Hofmarschall in 1867-68 to the late Emperor Frederick when Crown Prince, and sub- sequently as Intendant of the Karlsruhe Theatre, was a noble-minded character, and enjoyed the esteem of all political parties. Dr. H. Scuerer, the founder and former editor of the commercial journal Actiondr, is said to be engaged on the completion of his ‘Allgemeine Geschichte des Welthan- dels,’ the first two volumes of which appeared as far back as the years 1852 and 1853, and were at once translated into the principal European languages. The third volume will begin at the time of the declara- tion of independence of America. Liprartans may be interested to hear that Petzholdt’s well-known ‘ Katechismus der Bibliothekenlehre ’ will shortly be pub- lished at Leipzig in a revised and en- larged edition, under the title of ‘ Grund- ziige der Bibliothekslehre mit Bibliogra- phischen und Erliuternden Anmerkungen,’ by Dr. A. Griisel, the Custos of the Univer- sity Library of Halle-on-the-Saale. A new literary periodical, entitled Der Zeitgenosse, is to be issued next month at Berlin, the chief object of which will be to discountenance the introduction of worthless foreign literary productions into Germany. Herren R. Zoozmann and L. Jacobowski are to be the editors. Tue documents recently discovered at Weimar with reference to the assassination, in 1819, of the famous playwright Aug. von Kotzebue by the student K. L. Sand, amount, accerding to the Jenaische Zeitung, to no fewer than one hundred volumes. Many interesting disclosures are expected on the tragic event, which turned out so unfortunate for the Liberal movements in Germany in those days. Some extracts pub- lished in 1821 were all that was previously known of these documents. Dr. E. Lowentuat has written a contro- versial novel as a reply to Mr. Bellamy’s ‘Looking Backward.’ It will be published before the end of the month. It is entitled ‘Der Staat Bellamys und seine Nachfolge.’ A memortAL tablet in honour of the Minnesinger Oswald von Wolfenstein has been affixed to the ruined castle of Hauen- stein, in the neighbourhood of Bozen, close to the boundary line of the German and Italian tongues. Oswald was formerly the Burgherr of Hauenstein. The inscription is : 1890. Was hier von Treue und Minne Sang Oswald Wolfenstein, Mit ritterliche Sinne, Darf nie verklungen sein. 1367-1445. The Bozen section of the German and Austrian Alpenverein, which erected the monument, entertained over three hundred invited guests at the unveiling. The festival
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XUM N° 3281, Sepr. 13, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 357 oration was delivered by the well-known “‘Germanist”’ of Bozen, Prof. Anzoletti, a Franciscan. SEVERAL new memorial tablets have been placed upon historical houses in Zurich this year. The Berichthaus, now the printing office of the Zagblatt, hasa tablet in memory ef Felix Hemmerlin (‘‘Malleolus”’), who lived there from 1430 to 1450. The Pfarr- haus of St. Peter has a tablet to the memory of the first Reformed Pfarrer, Leo Juda, 1523-1542, and of J. C. Lavater, who re- sided in it from 1783 to 1801. A tablet has also been affixed to the house near the Poly- technikum where Bodmer entertained Klop- stock in 1750, and was visited by Goethe, Duke Karl August, and the Stolbergs in 1775, and again by Goethe in 1779. A new tablet on the Fraumiinster states that the abbey was founded by “Ludwig the Ger- man” in 853. Tue chief Parliamentary Papers of the week are East India, Moral Progress, State- ment for 1888-9 (1s. 9d.); Royal University, Ireland, Account, 1889-90 (1d.); Queen’s College, Belfast, Report for 1889-90 (3d.) ; Army, General Annual Return, 1889 (7d.) ; and Statistical Abstract, United Kingdom, 1875-89 (1s.). SCIENCE THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION AT LEEDS. ‘*Wuy is the Leeds meeting so small?” was the question which all old members of the Association asked one another when they found that the number present fell short of 1,800. Not only is Leeds itself a populous centre, but within easy reach are many of the large in- dustrial towns of the Yorkshire coal-field, and it might naturally have been supposed that among their inhabitants would have been large numbers of people of intelligence and culture eager to attend the session of the great Parlia- ment of Science. But somehow or other they were not attracted. It certainly was not the fault of the local committee, for their arrange- ments were on the most liberal scale ; neither was it in any way the fault of the authorities of the British Association, for their programme was rather more than usually attractive, the selec- tion of presidents and lecturers this year having been generally regarded as exceptionally happy. It may be well to begin our survey of the work by a word in praise of the ‘ Handbook for Leeds and Airedale,’ specially prepared for the use of the members by Prof. L. C. Miall, of the Yorkshire College of Science. The editor opens it with an admirable contribution from his own pen on ‘ Airedale ; its Scenery, Historic Sites, Geology, and Natural History.’ This is followed by a paper on_ the ‘ Carboniferous Rocks of the Upper Aire Valley,’ by Mr. R. H. Tiddeman, of the Geological Survey. A sketch of the history of Leeds is contributed by Prof. Ransome ; a chapter on the local ‘ Buildings and Institutions’ is edited by Mr. Sydney Lupton, one of the local secretaries; and another on the ‘Industries of the District’ is written by several specialists, and edited by Mr. T. Fairley. It is understood that the exigencies of space led to the curtailment of several of these contributions, but in such a work, intended as a pocket companion during the meeting, elegance must often be sacrificed to brevity. As it stands, it is a little work of enduring value. An opinion was freely expressed by many members to the effect that the time had come for a revision of the rules of meeting, and that it would be an improvement in the proceedings if the sections met in future at 100’clock in the ! morning and rose at 2, so that the afternoons might be devoted either to committee work or to excursions. At the present meeting, how- ever, the old rules were in force, and each sec- tion consequently worked daily from 11 until about 3 o'clock. The supply of papers was fairly good, but their quality in most cases hardly up to the average. Section A acts as a kind of three-fold cord, binding together the mathematicians, astro- | nomers, and physicists. This cord was not likely to be broken in the hands of Dr. Glaisher, who, though himself a devotee of pure mathe- matics, is not without keen sympathy with the other subjects included in this triple alliance. It was natural, however, that he should speak up boldly on behalf of the cultivation of abstract science; and in his presidential address he seized the opportunity of urging upon his audience the wisdom of cultivating the sciences of quantity and position for their own sake rather than as a weapon of research to conquer the problems of the concrete sciences. Most of the mathematical text-books in use at Cambridge err, in his opinion, by having too much in view the immediate application of the principles of pure mathematics to the handling of physical questions. Prof. 'Thorpe, who presided in Section B, de- voted to chemistry, having formerly been a highly popular professor at the Yorkshire Col- lege of Science, came before a Leeds audience as an old friend. In his hand he held a brief on behalf of Joseph Priestley. From Priestley’s connexion with Leeds, his chemical work would atany time have formed an appropriate topic, but on this occasion the subject was singularly oppor- tune. The eminent French chemist M. Berthelot hasrecently contributed to the Bibliothéque Scien- tifique Internationale a volume entitled ‘ La Révolution Chimique,’ in which he seeks to show that Lavoisier, and not Priestley, was the discoverer of oxygen, and further that the bril- liant Frenchman was also the discoverer of the non-elementary nature of water. It is a work in which the chemical philosopher seems lost in the patriot. Prof. Thorpe, in his presidential discourse, entered into a minute and critical examination of the evidence which M. Berthelot has put forward, and in the opinion of most of his hearers he established beyond reasonable doubt the title of Priestley to be regarded as the true and original discoverer of oxygen, or, as he called it, according to the lights of his day, “dephlogisticated air.” Lavoisier, notwithstand- ing M. Berthelot’s contention, can hardly be cited even as a later and independent discoverer of the principe oxygine; nor does the reopening of the old ‘‘ water controversy” improve his position in regard to the historical question of the discovery of the composition of water. It was a compliment to Leeds that the two Sections B and C should be presided over by two ex-professors of the Yorkshire College. While Prof. Thorpe reigned over the chemists, Prof. Green held sway in the Section of Geology. Engaged, even before he quitted the Geological Survey, in teaching geology, it was a happy thought that he should give the section his views on the value of geology as an educational engine. While enlarging on the advantages of geological training, even to boys, he is sufti- ciently honest not to hide the shortcomings of his brethren of the hammer, and he dwelt es- pecially on their lack of logical reasoning. In fact, he admits that geology, if incautiously used, is rather a dangerous educational tool. If Prof. Green's address may be said to be just a trifle too short, the address to the biolo- gists in Section D certainly erred by being much too long. Prof. Green’s address was short, light, and crisp, well fitted as an introduction to the real work of the week—a kind of crack of the whip in starting his geological team. Prof. Milnes Marshall, in opening the business of the Biological Section, selected a topic of absorbing interest, that of embryology, and treated it in a masterly manner, but he failed to realize the fact that a long memoir is entirely out of place on such an occasion. After occupying an official position in Algeria for well-nigh a quarter of a century, and acquir- ing during that time a thorough acquaintance with the shores of the Mediterranean and its beautiful islands, Sir 2. Lambert Playfair, who presided over the deliberations of the geo- graphers, did well to preface the work of his section by an address on the Mediterranean. That he is well capable of writing on this sub- ject let Murray’s ‘Handbook to the Mediter- ranean’ testify. His address naturally dropped into two moieties—one physical, the other his- torical. Sir Lambert rather happily followed a via media, making his discourse neither so learned as to appeal only to scientific geo- graphers, nor so popular as to lower the standard of the work of his section. It fell to the Geographical Section to provide one of the most interesting events of the Leeds meeting, in the shape of a charming paper by Miss M. M. Dowie, descriptive of the journey which she courageously undertook a short time ago in Ruthenia and the Eastern Carpathians. In the section devoted to Economic Science and Statistics Prof. Alfred Marshall opened the proceedings with a luminous address, in which he dealt with certain aspects of competition. Severe competition leads to combination, and he dwelt, among other topics, on the modern move- ment towards the formation of those combina- tions known as trusts. Economic problems require for their solution closer reasoning and analysis than our predecessors supposed, and the professor insisted on the recognition of the fact that generally our conclusions are not of universal application, but must have reference only to a particular country and a particular time. Arguments in favour of pro- tection which may be valid in a young country, tell against it, he believes, in an old country. ‘* Kspecially for England,” says Prof. Marshall, ‘*a protective policy would be an unmixed and grievous evil.” The mechanicians and engineers assembled under the presidency of Capt. Noble, whose introductory discourse dwelt on the indebted- ness of the naval and military services to mechanical science. A comparison of the vessels of Nelson’s day with the marine monsters of our own served to show how complete a revolu- tion had been effected by the aid of mechanics in every department and in every detail. From his official connexion with the first committee on rifled cannon, extending back to 1858, Capt. Noble was able to speak with authority on the improvements effected in modern ordnance. The present modes of mounting and working guns were compared with the rude appliances connected with the armaments of olden days. It is pleasing to hear from so high an authority that English gun-steel is in no way inferior to that employed in any country in the world. Anthropology, the youngest of the sciences, proved on this occasion the noisiest of the family. The officers seem to have been placed ina rather awkward position ; being desirous of pleasing everybody, they offended the evolutionists by admitting a paper by an elderly clergyman on the opposite side, while they offended certain representatives of the clerical element by read- ing papers in favour of evolutionary doctrines. The proceedings were opened by an excellent address by Dr. John Evans, dealing mainly with two questions—the age of the earliest known relics of humanity, and the origin and home of the Aryan family. As to the archzeological part, itis worth noting that the president still adheres to the view he has so often expressed, that no evidence of the existence of tertiary man yet brought forward will stand the test of severe scrutiny. It was matter of general regret that Dr. Evans was unable to be present at any part of the meeting, and it was whispered that this
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358 THE ATHENZUM N° 3281, Sept. 13,90 was owing to illness in his family. The meetings of the Anthropological Section were, therefore, conducted mostly by Mr. F. W, Rudler, one of the vice-presidents. The evening lectures, always an attractive fea- ture, were this year eminently successful. Mr. E. B. Poulton’s discourse on ‘ Mimicry,’ illus- trated by a series of superb lantern-slides, and Prof. Boys’s lecture on ‘ Quartz Fibres,’ illus- trated by original experiments of singular delicacy, were models of what such lectures ought to be. Prof. Perry, in lecturing to the artisans of Leeds on ‘Spinning Tops,’ chose a topic which seemed rather too difticult for successful presentation to such an audience. The foreign element at the meeting this year was represented largely by Americans. Prof. O. C. Marsh, the distinguished paleontologist, who described some remarkable horned deinosaurs, seemed none the worse for his warm controversy with Prof. Cope, which a few months ago amused the readers of the New York Herald. Humour, as usual, was in many ways slily introduced into the proceedings ; and, according to ancient custom, the Red Lions were duly fed. The pencil of Mr. Harry Furniss was busily engaged during the week in caricaturing the leading members of the Association, and his humorous sketches served to brighten the columns of the new paper, the Yorkshire Even- ing Post. Next year it is the intention of the Associa- tion to hold its meeting in Cardiff, under the presidency of Dr. Huggins, commencing on August 19th. Probably in 1892 the Association will visit Edinburgh. NEW MAPS AND ATLASES. THE new edition of Philips’ Imperial Atlas of the World, consisting of eighty maps of good size, is the most complete work of the kind published in this country. Several new maps have been specially prepared for this edition, including one of Africa in three sheets, which, whatever its shortcomings, exhibits a most abundant nomenclature, and will be found of service for all practical purposes. Out of the eighty plates contained in the atlas, six deal with the world generally, thirty-one with Europe, twelve with Asia, six with Africa, sixteen with America, and nine with Australia. As many as twenty-nine plates are devoted to the illustration of the geography of the British Empire. There is an index of about 200,000 names. Perfection is unattainable in a work of these dimensions, but this ‘Imperial Atlas’ will be found generally useful, and can be con- fidently recommended. The Cosmographic Atlas of Messrs. W. & A. K. Johnston has just been published in a fifthedition. Itconsists of sixty-six maps selected from the Royal and other atlases of the re- nowned Scotch firm, and illustrates all branches of geography — political, physical, historical, and Scriptural—as also astronomy, the last we should say very inadequately, for there is not even a map of the stars. Longmans’ New Five-Shilling Atlas for Use in Schools (Longmans & Co.) consists of thirty- two maps selected from the ‘New Atlas,’ favourably noticed by us some time since. Longmans’ Junior School Atlas numbers seventeen maps. It is claimed on behalf of this atlas that the maps are ‘‘ uncrowded,” but this will hardly be conceded in the case of some among them, whilst the lettering is very minute. The introduction of both physical and political colouring on the same map possesses undoubted advantages, but leads to confusion where the | much-coveted recognition. maps are on so smalla scale as most of those | contained in this atlas. The Photo-Relief Map of England and Wales, by H. F. Brion and Rev. Edmund McClure, M.A. (Society for Promoting Christian Know- ledge), cannot be pronounced a success if an exhibition of the hill-features is the principal object aimed at. Messrs. W. & A. K. Johnston have sent us a General Map of Australasia, drawn on a scale of ninety-one miles to an inch, and exhibiting very distinctly the political boundaries and other geographical features of our Australian colonies, of New Guinea, and of New Zealand. DR. MATTHEWS DUNCAN. THE services of the late Dr. Duncan in per- fecting the discovery of chloroform as an anesthetic are well known to all medical men, and as a writer of numerous works on his special subject, obstetrics, he has left a contribu- tion to the literature of his profession. Edu- cated at Aberdeen, his birthplace, and long in practice in Edinburgh, he came to St. Bartho- lomew’s in 1877 as obstetric physician and lecturer. Some verses by one of his old Edin- burgh comrades on the occasion are sufticiently eloquent of his characteristics :— His head was crammed wi’ curious facts, Doonright an’ fearless were his acts, At quackeries he whiles would rax Wi sic a clour That clyte they ’d fa’ upon their backs Amang the stoor! With the last verse all must sympathize :— Then Fare-ye-weel, wi’ a’ oor heart ; We feel it lessens sorrow’s smart Tae think ye'll shine, whatever airt Ye seek to dwell ; Sae, though it’s unco’ sair tae part, Ance mair, farewell. ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. THE Report of the Superintendent (Capt. Phythian) of the Naval Observatory at Washing- ton for the year 1888-9 has come to hand rather late. The great equatorial was in charge, as before, of Prof. Asaph Hall, and was principally employed in observations of double stars, and of the surface, rings, and satellites of Saturn. The 9°6 inch equatorial, under Prof. Frisby, was devoted to observations of small planets, comets, and occultations of stars by the moon, whilst the work of the transit-circle consisted of ob- servations of the sun, moon, major and minor planets, and such stars as were necessary for clock and instrumental corrections, besides a few of which the places were required for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. The reduc- tions. appear to have fallen somewhat into arrear, and further computing assistance is greatly desired. The sixth volume of the Publications of the Washburn Observatory has recently been issued by Mr. Comstock, who was appointed director of that establishment (in succession to Prof. Holden) in August, 1887. The first part contains meridian observations of a few selected stars which were observed in the summer of that year by and under the superintendence of Miss Lamb, who afterwards left the observatory. The second part gives the results of Mr. Comstock’s observations of double stars, measured with the 15$ Clark equatorial telescope, which is de- scribed in the first volume of the Publications of the observatory. It is with much pleasure that we have heard that the well-known astronomer at the Cape Town Observatory, Dr. David Gill, F.R.S., has recently been elected a member of the Berlin Royal Academy of Sciences. This complimen- tary election, which we understand was unani- mous, to the select ranks of the K. Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften, is an honour not bestowed indiscriminately, there being but twelve living Englishmen who have received it, and Sir George Airy is the ‘only other British astronomer who has been the recipient of this We are sure that this intelligence will cause as much grati- fication to our astronomer’s fellow workers on the banks of the Thames as it will to his ' kinsfolk north of the Tweed, for no one is more deservedly popular at Burlington House, Greenwich, or elsewhere than the Aberdonian who is now busy on the Cape flats mapping the southern hemisphere. We understand that Dr Gill will be at home next spring on leave of absence, and thus be enabled to take a prominent position among his European and American confréres at the next international congress of astronomers. Doubtless he will be able to re- port favourably of the progress of the photo- graphic survey which he has lately inaugurated. On the 24th of July occurred the death, in the sixtieth year of his age, of M. Fréderico Augusto Oom, Director since 1878 of the Lisbon Observatory, which he had had a large share, under the late Prof. Folque, in estab- lishing and organizing, having undergone a training in practical astronomy at the Pulkowa Observatory. The buildings for that at Lisbon are not even yet completed, and although some observations have been made, nothing has up to the present time been published, owing chiefly to the difficulty experienced in obtaining effi- cient assistance. ‘* Labor omnia vincit,” how- ever ; it is something to have made a beginning, and we hope that Lisbon will ere long take a good position amongst the observatories of the world, regretting the death of one who was labouring so earnestly in that direction. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. Mr. Cuartes E. D. Biack is engaged on a ‘History of the Indian Surveys’ during the last fifteen years. The work is in continuation of one of similar scope brought out by Mr. Clements R. Markham, C.B., F.R.S., in which the operations from the earliest times of the British occupation up to 1870 were reviewed. A second edition of Mr. Markham’s book was published a few years later, and the new work, which will be brought out by the India Office under the orders of the Secretary of State for India, will deal with the progress of the surveys up to the present year. The book is expected to appear before Christmas. The Berlin Geographical Society will shortly issue facsimiles of three maps by Mercator (including one of the British Islands published at Duisburg in 1564), which have recently been discovered in the Breslau Library. Only 220 copies are to be printed—a limitation which is most certainly contrary to the interests of geo- graphical students, however much it may be in favour with certain publishers. The same society is preparing for publication Prof. Roeh- richt’s ‘ Bibliotheca Geographica Paleestinensis.’ Petermann’s Mitteilungen publishes the con- cluding part of O. Sittig’s painstaking paper on ‘Involuntary Migrations in the Pacific,’ with an excellent map. Theauthor maintains that his map points to the fact that the aborigines of America constitute, together with Malays and Polynesians, one single family of the human race, whilst there is no reason whatever for supposing that Polynesia was peopled by migrants from New Zealand. In the same periodical is to be found an orographical sketch of Algeria, by Dr. A. Rothpelz, who corrects some prevailing notions on the configuration of the Atlas ranges. He distinguishes between a Greater Atlas, extending from Morocco into Tunis, anda Lesser Atlas, stretching from the ‘‘ Riff” along the coast of Algeria. We would suggest whether it would not be better to confine the term ‘‘ Greater” to the lofty ranges of Morocco, whilst applying the names of ‘‘ Maritime” and ‘‘Saharan” to the eastern, Algerian, ranges of the system. Lieut. Dhanis is reported to have carried on extensive explorations to the south of Lulua- burg, in the ancient Central African empire of the Muata Yamvo, on the strength of which the whole of this region has been annexed to the Congo State. The Portuguese will no doubt claim the whole of this country on the ground of explorations carried on there and treaties concluded long before the Congo State was heard of. The Anglo-Indian newspapers give some further particulars of the wanderings of Lieut. Grombchevsky, who failed to enter Afghanistan
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Ne 3281, Serr. 13, 90 THE ATHENAUM 359 from the north. Last October he attempted to penetrate into Kanjut from the Little Pamir ; but he had to retrace his steps, and content himself with exploring the valleys further east- wards, going over much the same ground as Capt. Younghusband. On November 21st, accompanied by only two men, he crossed the Karakorum pass, and during December he ex- amined some of the smaller passes in the neigh- bourhood. Early in the following month he started up the Kara-Kash river with a guide and two Cossacks, and succeeded in reaching the desert plateau of Western Tibet. The party suffered terribly from cold, and at an altitude of 17,000 feet nearly lost their lives in a snow- storm. They had to return in great haste, and after an unsuccessful attempt to cross the Hindu-tagh pass, they marched to Kiiian and Polu. Lieut. Grombchevsky succeeded in link- ing his surveys with those of Prejevalsky. The Rev. Father Schynse’s little book, Stanley und Emin Pascha (Cologne, Bachem), supplies a lively and instructive account of a journey from the Victoria Nyanza to the Zan- zibar coast, the greater portion of which was performed in the company of Mr. Stanley and of Emin Pasha. Mr. Stanley, to judge froma foot-note, believes that this genial priest ‘‘as- sumed quite a hostile tone” towards himself. Nothing could be further from the truth, for Father Schynse speaks most appreciatively of Mr. Stanley’s ‘‘amiability” and ‘‘ energetic character,” and contrasts him with Emin Pasha, whom he describes as ‘‘ absorbed in his scientific observations, a very simple man, now only living for science, a trifle Oriental, a great lin- guist.” Mr. John Geddie’s review, in the Scottish Geographical Magazine, of Mr. Stanley’s ‘In Darkest Africa’ is accompanied by a contoured map of Equatorial Africa by Mr. John Bar- tholomew, which affords a fairly correct view of the orographical features of the part of Africa delineated. The Zeitschrift of the Berlin Geographical Society publishes papers on the rating of aneroids, by Dr. H. F. Wiebe, of the Imperial Physical Observatory, and Dr. von Danckelman, the well-known meteorologist, which deserve the notice of travellers who make use of such instruments for the determination of altitudes. Among the instruments examined those by Casella and by Bohne of Berlin appear to have stood best the tests applied. Aneroids are generally supposed to be ‘‘compensated for temperature,” but this compensation cannot be trusted in many instances. Travellers, it is clear, should provide themselves with a portable mercurial barometer, such as George’s, so as to be able to check their observations at frequent intervals. SOCIETIES. ENTOMOLOGICAL.—Sept, 3.—Mr. H. T. Stainton in the chair.—Mr. C. Fenn exhibited and remarked on specimens of Kupithecia satyrata, Ludorea ambigualis,and Tortrix viburnana from Darlington, —Mr. H. Goss exhibited, on behalf of Mr. M. S. Higgs, a remarkable variety of Melitea aurinia (artemis), taken a few years ago in Gloucestershire by Mr. J. Merrin.—The Rev. Dr. Walker communi- cated some observations on the entomology of Ice- land, and gave an account of his recent travels in that island. He stated that he had taken Bombus terrestris this year, for the first time, in the north- west of Iceland, from which quarter of the island it kad not been recorded by Dr. Staudinger; he also referred to the enormous numbers of Ichneu- monidez and Diptera which he had noticed in the island. He further stated that in 1889, in the months of June and July, Noctua conflua was the most abundant species of Lepidoptera in Iceland, but that this year, in July and August, Crymodes exulis was the prevailing species, and that Chare@as graminis and Coremia munitata also occurred in great numbers.—In reply to a question by Mr. Stainton, Dr. Walker maid that the flowers chiefly frequented by the humble-bees were those of a small species of white galium (probably Galium saxatile) and Viola tricolor.—Dr. Walker also read ‘Notes on Calathus melanocephalus collected in Iceland and the Faroe Isles in June and July, 1890.’ —Messrs. M‘Lachlan, Stainton, Jenner-Weir, Stevens, Jacoby, Lewis, and others took part in the discussion which ensued.—Mr. A. G. Butler communicated a paper entitled ‘Further Notes on the Synonymy of the Genera of Noctuites.’ Science Gossip. ; Tue Cambridge University Press will publish on October 1st ‘ The Collected Scientific Papers of James Clerk Maxwell,’ edited by Mr. W. D. Niven, Director of Studies at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. The papers are arranged in two large quarto volumes, with portraits and other illustrations, and are dedicated by special permission to the Duke of Devonshire, Chan- cellor of the University. Messrs. MacmILian’s scientific works include Dr. Lauder Brunton’s Croonian Lectures, ‘On the Connexion between Chemical Constitution and Physiological Action, being an Introduction to Modern Therapeutics,’—‘ A Manual of Public Health,’ by A. Wynter Blyth, M.R.C.S., — No. 1 of the Jowrnal of the Leprosy Investiga- tion Committee, edited by P. 8S. Abraham, M.D., -——‘QOutlines of Psychology,’ by Dr. Harald H6ffding, translated by M. G. Lowndes,—‘ The Meteoritic Hypothesis,’ by J. Norman Lockyer, F.R.S., illustrated, — ‘Electricity and Mag- netism,’ a popular treatise, by Amédée Guille- min, translated and edited, with additions and notes, by Prof. S. P. Thompson, illustrated,— ‘Popular Lectures and Addresses,’ by Sir Wil- liam Thomson: Vol. ITI. ‘Papers on Navigation,’ —‘Are the Effects of Use and Disuse Inherited ?’ by W. Platt Ball,—new editions of Dr. Russel Wallace’s ‘Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection: and Tropical Nature and other Essays,’ and ‘The Malay Archipelago : the Land of the Orang Utan and the Bird of Paradise,’—‘ The Myology of the Raven (Corvus corax sinuatus): a Guide to the Study of the Muscular System in Birds,’ by R. W. Shufeldt, illustrated,—‘ Text-Book of Comparative Ana- tomy,’ by Dr. Arnold Lang, translated by Henry M. Bernard, M.A., and Matilda Bernard, with preface by Prof. Ernst Haeckel, 2 vols., illustrated, —‘ Lessons in Elementary Biology,’ by T. Jeffrey Parker, illustrated,—‘ A Text-Book of Physio- logy,’ by Prof. Michael Foster: Part III. ‘The Central Nervous System and its Instruments,’ —a new edition of ‘The Chemistry of the Hydrocarbons and their Derivatives, or Organic Chemistry,’ Part III., by Sir H. E. Roscoe and Prof. C. Schorlemmer,—‘ The History of Che- mistry,’ by Prof. Ernst von Meyer, translated by George McGowan,—‘ Elements of Physics for Public Schools,’ by C. Fessenden,—‘ Sound, Light, and Heat: an Elementary Text-Book,’ by D. E. Jones, illustrated,—‘ Elementary Applied Mechanics,’ by James H. Cotterill and J. H. Slade,—a new edition of Todhunter's ‘Plane Trigonometry,’ revised by R. W. Hogg, —‘The Geometry of Position,’ by R. H. Graham, C.E., illustrated,—‘ Manual of Loga- rithms,’ by G. F. Matthews, B.A.,—a new edition of ‘ Class-Book of Geology,’ by Archibald Geikie, F.R.S.,—three volumes of ‘‘ Macmil- lan’s Geographical Series,” edited by Archibald Geikie: ‘A Geography of India,’ by H. F. Blanford, F.R.S.; ‘A Geography of Europe,’ by James Sime, M.A.; and ‘ Map Drawing and Map Making,’ by William A. Elderton,—and a ‘Physical and Political School Atlas,’ by J. G. Bartholomew. Str Davin Satomons will contribute an article on electric lighting to the October number of Lippincott’s Magazine. A FORTNIGHT ago we reported that advices had reached Buda-Pesth of the violent death at Honolulu of Count A. Széchényi. We are glad to state that, according to more recent advices, he and his companions have arrived safely at San Francisco, and are returning home. FINE ARTS —-—_ Catalogue of Greek Coins: Pontus, Paphlagonia, Bithynia, and the Kingdom of Bosporus. With Thirty-nine Autotype Plates. By Warwick Wroth. Printed by Order of the Trustees of the British Museum. (Longmans & Co.) THE coins which are described and illus- trated in this new volume of the valuable series edited by Mr. R. Stuart Poole belong to cities and states which lie to the east of the Greek cities adjacent to the gean and extend along the southern margin of the Euxine. Certain coins of some scattered autonomous cities are included in the cata- logue, followed by the numismatic record of the Pontic and Bithynian kingdoms which were established in the third century B.c. Descending through the long and romantic reign of Mithridates the Great, we arrive at the coinage of the province of Bithynia- Pontus when Rome was still republican, the bronze of the usual imperial class, and finally, the series of coins of the long sur- viving kingdom of Bosporus. The types of the coins now presented to us are naturally destitute of the interest of those which in Greece proper illustrate the religion and traditions of localities renowned in history, art, and poetry. With exceptions to be noticed, there are few which are con- spicuous for artistic merit. A coin of Hadrian of the Pontic city Amisus presents on the reverse a beautiful figure of Dionysus in graceful pose as he holds a cantharus over an altar, but otherwise we have only re- miniscences of better representations on European issues. We find, however, some quaint views of temples, gates, city walls, and even of a city (pl. 11, 8), and the true numismatist will find scope for sagacity in various obscurities. But chief attention cannot be withheld from the series of the kingdom of Pontus. This was founded by Mithridates I. some half century after the death of Alexander the Great, whose head appears on a unique gold stater of this reign, in the collection of M. Waddington. The silver tetradrachms of Mithridates IT. (Mithradates on the coins) bear on the re- verse the type of Alexander’s coinage, the seated Olympian Zeus, with the addition of the Persian symbol, a star upon a crescent, the sun and moon. The same is repeated on the coin of his successor Pharnaces I. (190-169 3.c.), with a male figure of good design, but with a number of enigmatical attributes. The heads of both these poten- tates on the obverses unite extraordinarily naturalistic treatment with conspicuously excellent execution, but are absolutely un- Greek, and, indeed, as little Persian either as can be imagined. Both wear the Greek diadem round their short close hair, but their large unrefined features and faces are disproportioned to curiously small heads. Pharnaces is actually prognathous with a broad projecting under-lip. The exposed ears are delicately worked, and the grada- tions of elasticity and firmness of flesh about brows and cheeks are admirably rendered. We have portraits, in fact, which might have been executed under such an injunc- tion to conscientiousness as is ascribed to the Lord Protector. They call to mind
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360 THE ATHENAUM N° 3281, Sepr. 13, 90 Browning’s John the Pannonian, supplanter of his Byzantine Protus :— Here ’s John the Smith’s rough hammered head. Great eye, Gross jaw and griped lips do what granite can To give you the crown grasper, What a man! The coins of the Bithynian kings Prusias and Nicomedes also exhibit naturalistic physiognomies, but are far from possessing like forcible character. The fine heads of Mithridates Eupator, the Great (121-63 B.c.}, are as Hellenic in style as those of the immediate successors of Alexander the Great, which, indeed, they copy in general treatment. The admirable work confirms the recorded account of the love of this semi-Oriental for engraved gems aswellasGreek statues. The crescent and star are now associated on the reverse with Pega- sus, the steed of Perseus. On other specimens Perseus himself is represented, made avail- able after the legend (Herodotus vii. 61) to denote primeval relationship of Greek and Persian. This assertion of Hellenic sym- pathy is significant on the part of the monarch who roused in Greece a last hope of escaping absorption by Roman control— a hope to be extinguished on the second time fatal field of Cheronea. The physio- gnomy of the king, without being naturalistic, is strikingly individual. There could be no more expressive face of a man whose resolute energy, endurance, and resource gave active occupation during half his reign of fifty-five years to the Roman legions under such successive leaders as Sylla, Lucullus, and Pompey. The likeness to his barbarian ancestors is not quite lost, and it would be excusable to read in it an impress of that ferocity which concerted the general massacre of all the Italian and Roman citizens in Asia Minor. The inference would be fallacious. The career of his cul- tured opponent Sylla—who seems, indeed, to have been moved towards him with a degree of fellow feeling—reminds us that ruthlessness of such a nature is a common- place in the story of great conquerors. The later coins of Mithridates present in- consistently a younger face, and that rather conventionalized than idealized. We must recognize here only that “decorative in- stinct,” or rather trick, of the die engraver to which Mr. Warwick Wroth ascribes the changed treatment of the hair. Thisis now shown as blown back from face and fore- head in a manner to suggest to Visconti that it might be copied from a statue of the king as a horseman. The peculiar treat- ment of the hair on his finer coins comes down from those of Alexander the Great. It displays what is observable in numerous fine antique busts, a very marked definition of the hair of the scalp relatively to that of the coronal region. The distinction is in these coins already over-done. The large free locks arise and radiate so exclusively and vigorously from the exact crown as to be suggestive of the patch supplied by the wig-maker. Again, the ambrosial curls which border the forehead and descend in luxuriance over the neck anticipate the inspiration of the perruquier of the Grand Monarque. On the coins of the Ptolemies the chevelure of Zeus Ammon is more and more exaggerated until the features become almost lost in it. The end of such tendency is shown grotesquely in those British coins which, derived from Greek originals, have so far degenerated that only imagination can identify traces of features at all. The catalogued coins of the long series of kings of Bosporus after Mithridates the Great bring us down to the third century of our era, when, after its conquest by the Goths, it became the basis of those naval expeditions which devastated the most glorious sites and monuments of Greece, and made the name of Goth a byword for all time. Studies from the Musewms.—Hand-made Laces from the South Kensington Musewm. Edited by A. C. Cole. (Sutton & Co.)—The title of this collection of plates from choice examples of the handicraft in question suggests, although there is nothing to confirm it, that the work is one of a series devoted to manufactures in iron, wood, glass, and brass. If so, we should be glad of the success of an effort to extend the function of our national museums. Something of the kind would be no novelty; but no works of the sort, even those supported by public authority and promoted at public cost, seem to have suc- ceeded commercially. It may be that few or none of these experiments have been wisely and economically made. Many were, doubtless, before their time. None has been more aptly or richly illustrated than this, except some that have had coloured plates. We have an impres- sion that some at least of the cuts before us have been published in anotherform. However this may be, of the thirty large plates not one is less than correct, clear, and large enough to be of practical use and fit to be studied or copied with precision. They have been pro- duced by Mr. E. Witthaus with the ‘‘glass print” process, which lends itself surprisingly well to reproduction of ancient laces of every date. Plate ii., an Italian bed-cover of the sixteenth century, enriched with designs re- presenting the Months in a manner which forcibly reminds us of tarsia work, is quaint and curious. Mr. Cole remarks that the designs are similar. to those published by F. Vinciolo in the time of Catherine de Médicis. The costumes of the figures are, let us add, more French than Italian, but the needlework may be, for all that, Italian. Exquisite designs by Italians of the seventeenth cen- tury, that golden age of lace-making, abound in this book, and illustrate that sort of needle- work to which artists confine their admira- tion. The popular vrai réseau de Valenciennes and fausse Valenciennes of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are detested by artists, who turn with admiration to old Venetian point lace, often represented in portraits, such as the interesting Dutch pictures of English ladies and soldiers which were at the Royal Academy’s last Winter Exhibition. It is not only that the patterns thus delineated suit the process em- ployed and are true to the function of lace, but they are, generally speaking, incomparably more beautiful and simple than the elaborate pillow- lace patterns of later days, when the true prin- ciples of design were not appreciated, much less understood and obeyed. The floral patterns of plate i., a beautiful table-cover made of coloured gimps and gold and silver thread, embody all that is apt and fine in Italian work of the seventeenth century. The table-cloth of linen delineated on plate iii. is, strictly speaking, mostly embroidery rather than lace proper in the modern sense of the term, with insertions of reticella needle-point, grateful to artistic and antiquarian eyes. Very German indeed is the hanging figured on plate iv., with its foliage interlaced with figures of sportsmen and beasts of the chase, harpies and birds. artistic. The darned German cloth, plate v., is superior to the realistic No. iv. in design and The patterns in the Flemish pillow lace taste. figured on plate vi. are dear to admirers of seven- teenth century work, but, compared with the Venetian work, such as the point de Venise on plate viii., one of the finest instances in exist- ence produced during the seventeenth century, they are clumsy and rude. With them may be reckoned the chalice cover of plate ix., a noble instance, designed in the choicest manner and with exquisite taste. It is superior to the later jabot of the same sort represented by plate x., where the foliage is conventional and its curves are harsh and imperfectly graceful. Beautiful and appropriate are the patterns in conventional scroll-work of plates xiii. and xiv., superb altar- cloths or frontals executed in Venice about the middle of the seventeenth century, and, if erring at all, too elaborate and crowded with details. The craftsmen of the last-named century failed, as time went on, to appreciate the limits of design. Similar deterioration appears in nearly all de- corative crafts of this age, the most admired specimens of which in lace occur in plate xv., where the two borders and a lappet of flat needle- point lace are exactly such as amateurs of our own time have long raved about. The lappets are pretty in themselves, but not fit to be com- pared with those of an earlier time. In the artistic sense one of the least apt and beautiful specimens before us is a flounce of Brussels lace of the eighteenth century, figured on plate xiv. A weaker specimen of the same kind is the point d’Alengon lappet made early in the eighteenth century, and truly illustrating the faulty naturalism of its small details, such as flowers, leaves, and other devices. See the central example on plate xx. The lappets of point d’Alengon lace of the period of Madame de Pompadour on plate xxi. indicate a better influence at work than was usual at the time. The central specimen on this plate excels its neighbours exactly where it approaches the older point de Veiise; the same may be said of the specimens of Mechlin and Brussels laces during the last century, very fortunately copied on plate xxii. The specimens of cambric cut, drawn, and embroidered to imitate lace, which were made in Denmark and England during the eighteenth century, are comely in them- selves, but fitter for embroidery proper than for imitating lace. The wedding veil shown on plate xxvi., with its festoons of super-delicate flowers, its two hearts transfixed by arrows, and its hymeneal torches, embodies the ideal of the time in which it was executed. It is of Brussels manufacture in the last century, and would have astonished the Venetians of a preceding period. The borders produced at Mechlin m the last century, plate xxix., are very pretty indeed, and in some respects indicate a return to earlier and better types, but they are mono- tonous and timid to a degree. In fact they could readily be copied by a machine. In this connexion we think Mr. Cole would wisely have taken only the finest laces for his specimens of the elegant craft of the needle. This book is a fitting companion to Mr. Cole’s ‘ Ancient Lace,’ which we reviewed in 1885. Mr. A. H. Mittar’s Historical Castles and Mansions of Scotland: Perthshire and Forfar- shire (Paisley, Gardner), is a sort of successor to two previous works on the castles and mansions | of the Lothians and of Ayrshire, the latter by Mr. Millar himself. Less sumptuous than they, it isa great improvement in one respect, that it takes in ruins as well as inhabited houses. There was an obvious absurdity in admitting Prestongrange and Treesbank, but omitting Borthwick and Turnberry ; still, even in this volume we are puzzled by Mr. Millar’s principle of selection, by the presence of fully one-half of the castles and mansions here treated of, and the exclusion of Blair, Drummond, Fingask, | Grantully, Airlie, Brechin, Edzell, and Fin- But it is not | haven castles. What there is, however, is generally very good, in spite of some faulty Latin and Italian, and of some antiquated geology. The Drummer of Cortachy and the
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XUM N° 3281, Sepr. 13,90 THE ATHENAZUM 361 Monster of Glamis might well have been noticed ; and surely it was needless to waste space over a portrait of Charles I. with the statement that he was ‘‘second son of James I......executed by Oliver Cromwell, 164%.” On the other hand, most of the 430 pages yield some curicus item or other, such as the account of the two Englishwomen house-painters at Glamis in 1686 ; the full text of James VI.’s dispensation in 1584 to Erskine of Dun, that zealous Reformer, to ‘‘ eit flesh on the forbiddin days in the oulk, to wot Woddinisday, Fryday, and Satterday, and in the time of Lentroun”’; and the entry as to the death in London of his successor—‘‘ He ows about ane hundereth and twente ponds sterling hier, and if we had not ingadged for the payment thairof, his corps had _ bein arrested.” The forty-two illustrations are not worthy of the text. La, Tente Funéraire de la. Princesse Isimkheb. Par EF. Brugsch. (Cairo.)—In this publication M. E. Brugsch, Assistant Conservator of the Bilék Museum, has given in five beautifully coloured plates a reproduction of the designs which were found painted upon a roll of leather which originally formed the canopy placed on the coffin of Uast-em-Chebit during the ceremony of her funeral. This leather roll was found by M. Brugsch at Dér el-Bahari while engaged in making his famous explorations at that place. An able monograph on this subject has recently been published by M. Maspero (‘Les Momies Royales de Déir el-Bahari,’ Paris, 1889), in | which an outline sketch of the canopy of Uast- em -Chebit is given on pp. 585-587. text of the inscription on the canopy as given by Maspero differs in some nine places from that published by Brugsch ; the general mean- ing is, however, clear enough. Uast-em-Chebit was the granddaughter of Pi-nétem II., the fourth king of the twenty-first dynasty at Thebes, and the daughter of the high priest Masaherth ; a description of her coffin and other pieces of funereal furniture has been given by M. Maspero in ‘Les Momies Royales,’ p. 577. The designs on the original leather are of the greatest beauty, and lovers of Egyptian art will be glad to find that they have been so well and carefully published. THE TOMB AT VAPHION. Nocéra di Umbria, Aug. 17, 1899. In the report of the work at Athens in the Journal of the Hellenic Society for this year there is a brief account of the discovery of the tomb at Vaphion, in which it is reported that ‘*it is said that there are indications of the use of mortar,” or words to that effect. Whoever originated the report could have had only the question in view which arose from the discus- sion on the ruins at Tiryns, in which I main- tained that the presence of mortar was absolute proof of the comparative modernity of a struc- ture. I was so much surprised at this on dit, which was not justified by the minute report given me by the excavator of the tomb, Mr. Tsoundas, that I wrote to him to ask if it were true, and have just received the following reply :— Athénes, le 29 Juillet. CHER MONSIEUR STILLMAN,—II n’est pas vrai que dans le tombeau de Vaphio on a trouvé du mortier a chaux ; il n'y avait que de la chaux pure (ou peut- étre du gypse) sans sable couvrant les jointures des yierres avec lesquelles est construite l’entrée (orépecov). On ne peut done parler de mortier. Du reste la méme maniére de couvrir les jointures «les pierres avec de la chaux pure était déja remarquée dans le tombeau de l’Heraion et dans un de ceux que j’ai fouillés & Mycénes (cf. ’Apyai. ’Epnu., 1888, p.121,1). Tout d vous, CHRISTOS TSOUNDAS, The question is an extremely important one to prehistoric archeology, when mortar came into use. I suppose I have examined critically more prehistoric structures in Greece and italy than any person of whom I know, having made their technical indications the subject of my almost exclusive observation The | | them. during my archeological studies, extending over a period of nearly thirty years, and I have never found any structure which could be with certainty put down as of earlier date than the fourth century B.c. in which mortar was used. Besides this I have the testimony of the most experienced excavators in the Greek and Latin ranges of early civilization that the pre- sence of burnt bricks or mortar in archaic structure is unknown to them. This is the testimony of Phillios and Tsoundas, the most experienced practical investigators known to me at Athens, and of the officials of the Depart- ment of Antiquities at Rome. Iam aware that | Prof. Middleton holds a different opinion, and believes that mortar was used in the Tullianum; and his opinions have so great weight with me that I should not think of opposing mine on any other question connected with ancient structure ; but I have examined carefully the Tullianum with reference to the point as well as all the early Roman walls I could get at—in- cluding the bit of the wall of Ostia uncovered by the late excavations there—and I am per- suaded that there is no foundation for the belief that mortar has been employed in any of them. The Tullianum has been, at a period subsequent to its construction (I believe many | centuries subsequent), divided into two stories, and all the disturbed wall, or most of it, has been reconstructed with mortar, and the work is badly done, showing no similarity to the work which may still be seen in the lower courses of stone, which fit so closely that a penknife blade cannot be introduced between But the Tullianum was originally, I believe, a cistern, and the original wall, as far as it is preserved, shows still traces of the cement which the ancients, from the earliest times of which we have any such structures, employed for the lining of their cisterns, which, indeed, could not have been of use without this. The joints of the masonry in these lower and undisturbed courses of the structure are still filled with the cement which once coated the entire interior, and it is even possible (though it cannot be demonstrated without the demo- lition of the whole building) that the same cement was laid between the stones to make the cistern water-tight. Prof. Middleton re- cognizes the want of analogy between the use of such a cement to make the stones bed perfectly together, and the use of mortar for binding masses of stone together; but I think that even if it were proved, which I do not believe it to be, that in such cases of the use of cement as he supposes the stones were laid in it for the purpose of more perfect bedding than could be got by cutting the faces of the stone, there would not be any relation between this use of the material and the use of mortar as we under- stand it. But I believe that the use of the cement in the Tullianum is limited to coating the interior and filling up the joints of the stonework to make them perfectly water-tight. In walls of certainly no earlier date there is no hint of the use of anything resembling mortar, and it would have been of great value in in- creasing the stability of city walls, as the Romans discovered. The suggestion of Mr. Tsoundas that the material found in the tomb of Vaphion is gypsum merits determination by a chemical analysis; but however determined, it is clear that the report of the discovery of mortar in a tomb which must be as old as the eighth cen- tury, and which the excavator believes to be a century or two earlier than that, has no basis. I believe that the discovery of mortar must have depended on that of the value of pozzolana for mixing with lime, and that it is due to the Romans. Certainly the Greeks used neither it nor burnt brick, the value of which de- pends mainly on the use of it with mortar, before the advent of the Romans. W. J. STmiMan. TONGE HALL. Hurst Lea, Alderley Edge, Cheshire, Sept. 9, 1890. I HAVE read with much interest the remarks as to the engraving of Tonge Hall contained in Rimmer’; ‘Rambles.’ You express regret thas a reproduction of the drawing as it was in 1815 was not given. The drawing in question is contained in one of Canon Raines’s volumes of MSS. It is in pencil, and makes a very pretty picture. Some time ago I had the draw- ing photographed, strengthened with printers’ ink, and a plate cut, and some fifty copies struck off for my friends and fellow antiquaries. I now forward you an impression in the hope that it may find a resting-place in a portfolio. The hall is now my property, and an architect is at present making plans for either partial or whole restoration, and it depends greatly on its condition and the expense whether I can see my way to achieve the object in view. I much regret to say that factories with their smoke debar me from ever making it my residence, as I should have wished. Some of the oak timber- ing is very rotten, and the whole building will require a thorough overhauling. There are left some very nice old leaden panes, and also three ornamental lead spouts, dated 1703, with initials “R. T.,” the last Richard Tonge who lived there. My plate was at the disposal of Mr. Rimmer, and it was apparently carelessness on the part of the publisher which led to its omission, as the letterpress on p. 198 states, ‘‘ A facsimile of the drawing at the Chetham Library is given.” I regret it exceedingly, as the draw- ings of old houses are very scarce, and require placing on record when an opportunity like the present occurs. Wm. AsHETON TONGE. NOTES FROM THE PIRZUS. In the court of a house near the railway bridge is the fragment of a memorial column built into the wall, bearing a four-line inscrip- tion :— Aniroxes pe erexvoce Pirovperyn eLavedynve Opéve IIpoxdvyncos tov voua Mytpofios. The words were cut at an early date with a sharp tool, and each line of verse is separated from the next by a ruled or rather engraved line, there being also a line to head and to con- clude the whole inscription. It is (says the ‘Eoria of Athens) to be noted that in the first line the pronoun is engraved in full instead of in the abbreviated form p’, thus producing, pro- bably through the workman’s carelessness or inadvertence, a hiatus. To the north of the Pirzeus, and by the road leading to the Phalerum, the upper part of another memorial column has been found, upon which is a sculpture in bas-relief. Part of a figure is discernible in the latter—namely, the head of a woman turned towards the left. Above is the inscription :— ’Exixrynots ’Epyo xdpou MctAnota. In the court of a house by the west slope of the Mounichian hill is a baseless funeral urn of white stone ‘51m. high. On it is represented a bearded man, sitting on a seat with a back and a footstool, holding out his hand to another man standing before him. From the recess between the two appears a woman’s form. The accom- panying inscription is PiAvAAos ‘Hynouxpérys. The name ®iAvAAos is not to be found in Pape’s lexicon, though PtAvAAws is given, as that of an ancient writer of Athenian comedy. Fine-Art Gossip. For a long time—in fact, since the destruction of Titian’s ‘ Peter Martyr’—no piece of artistic news has described a greater disaster than that which, on Monday last, informed us of the ruin by fire of the mosque of Santa Sophia at Salonica,
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362 THE ATHENZUM N° 3281, Sepr. 13, ’90 one of the most preciousremains ofthe Byzantine Empire, and in some respects as important as its larger namesake at Constantinople, which, to some extent, it resembled. The magnificent mosaics with which the dome and other parts of this edifice were lined, as well as other mosaics in the same city, are described and figured, some- what coarsely and gaudily, in colours in Messrs. Texier and Pullan’s ‘ Byzantine Architecture,’ which we reviewed at the time of its publica- tion. The marked difference in the styles of the mosaics in question and the earlier works we are accustomed to call Byzantine added pro- digiously to the value of the former. It is hoped the destruction of these pictures has been less complete than report alleges. ‘‘ Re- storation ” would be worse than anything else. WE are very glad to learn, no idea of what is called ‘‘ restoration” being in view, that it is proposed to protect from further injury the re- mains of the early British church of St. Piran- in-the-Sands (Perranzabuloe), near Perran Porth, Cornwall. This small relic has been imperilled so many times, and, by the very means which seemed to ensure that catastrophe, has so often escaped final destruction, being buried by the sands and again dug out of the encroaching, sea-wind-driven stream, that, even apart from its archeological importance, it is a great curiosity. Very soon after its latest exhumation in 1845 by the Rev. W. Haslam, the rude doorway and its arch were allowed to fall ; since then the walls of the sacred enclosure have suffered much, and even the western gable, the loftiest portion, has been much reduced in height ; at present stones, evidently thrown down from the wall, encumber the neighbouring sands. Mr. Haslam’s woodcut of his discovery by no means represents the present state of the building. The church ought to be covered by a wooden roof and, without rebuilding any portion of it, as many as possible of the stones belonging to it replaced. A very small sum will suffice for all that should be done. Lately we noticed that the large granite slab Mr. Haslam placed on the top of the tomb of the saint, which seems to have served as the altar of the church, has been very recently chipped and morsels taken from its angles. The discoverer warned us that originally this slab had nothing to do with the tomb, and that the inscription Sanctus Piranus, ‘in rude Roman letters,” it now bears was executed by himself and a mason’s apprentice. Neverthe- less, there being no doubt of the antiquity of the slab (it seems to have been part of a cross), it deserves respect in its turn as well as on account of its office. A CONTEMPORARY states that Clarendon Square, which encloses it, having fallen upon evil days, the Polygon, Somers Town, has been leased to the Vestry of St. Pancras. This bene- volent body contemplates the erection—at the cost of the ratepayers, of course—of an enor- mous block of ‘‘workmen’s” dwellings on the site of the Polygon. It will be remembered that William Godwin lived with Mary Woll- stonecraft, his second wife, in one of the houses, and died there. Mr. W. F. Wartson’s bequest, contingent on the death of his sister, who survived him, has now fallen into the hands of the trustees of the National Gallery of Scotland. It comprises etchings, engravings, some of which are said to be rare and valuable, Wilkie’s sketch for ‘ The Penny Wedding,’ and examples attributed to Hogarth, Turner, Van Dyck, and Holbein. The late Miss Watson has bequeathed to the Scottish Museum of Science and Art certain bric-a-brac and a few personal relics. Ir has been decided to hold at the New Gallery, from January to April of next year, an exhibition of pictures and objects of interest connected with the royal house of Hanover, from the accession of George I. to the death of William IV. (a.p. 1714-1837). It is proposed that the exhibition should include not only portraits of the royal family, but also those of the most famous statesmen, lawyers, divines, commanders naval and military, and the repre- sentatives of art, literature, and science. Be- sides portraits the exhibition will comprise | miniatures, prints, drawings, books, manuscripts | (including autographs), embroideries, plate, porcelain, coins and medals, seals, and per- sonal relics. Messrs. G. Bett & Sons contemplate the publication of a fourth volume, comprising plates which have been already collected for the purpose of Mr. G. W. Reid’s maginwm opus, ‘A Catalogue of the Works of George Cruik- shank,’ issued some years ago by the firm here mentioned. Tue Greek press announces that the Italian Government has received a grant of land near the military hospital in Athens for the purpose of building an archzological school, and the Italian minister, Count F. D’Ostia, has already begun measuring out and making a plan of the site. Though last in the race, Italy will soon be abreast of England and America, whose schools, already built, will be its near neigh- bours, and by whom it will be warmly wel- comed. We wish the project all success. MUSIC —— THE WEEK. THE WORCESTER FESTIVAL. Tue 167th Festival of the Three Choirs shows the long-established institution in vigorous life, and rendering acceptable ser- vice alike to art andcharity. The strictures which for many years it was necessary to pass on more than one feature of the festivals are no longer deserved, and there has been little to call for adverse comment during that portion of the present meeting with which we can deal this week. The appointment of Mr. Charles Lee Williams as conductor was a sufficient guarantee that the performances would not be beneath criticism, as was unfortunately the case on some previous occasions, and the extra time allowed for rehearsals was a further change for the better. Having said this, we must, nevertheless, call attention to some unsatis- factory points in the performance of Mendels- sohn’s ‘St. Paul,’ which opened the festival on Tuesday morning. It was too readily assumed that the whole of the executants were familiar with the work, the result being that unsteadiness prevailed at times. Moreover, the pace adopted in several of the choruses, and in the bass airs ‘‘O God, have mercy,” and ‘I praise thee, O Lord,” was much too fast, and materially detracted from the dignity of the music. Some of the choral numbers, however, were very effectively rendered, and the choir itself is a fine body of voices, the Leeds contingent strongly leavening the quality of tone. Mr. Plunket Greene, who essayed the leading part may, asa young artist, bestrongly advised to adhere to the composer’s text when he is interpreting a standard work; in other respects he sang well, though his phrasing was not always strictly accurate. Madame Albani’s singing was characterized by the same merits and defects as usual, and of Mr. Lloyd it is, of course, unnecessary to | speak. It must be presumed that nal Damian was deceived as to the acoustic | capacity of the Cathedral, as otherwise she | would not have forced her voice so un- | “gamed in the air ‘But the Lord is mind- ful.’ Tuesday evening’s performance may be lightly passed over. Mr. Lee Williams’s remarkably well-written and devotional church cantata ‘The Last Night at Bethany’ was well rendered, an especially beautiful effect being gained in No. 13, the orchestral interlude and unseen chorus, by placing the harp and the singers in the Lady Chapel, that is to say, as far as possible away from the orchestra. The first and second parts of the ‘ Creation’ followed the cantata, the performance being of average merit. The scheme on Wednesday morning was almost sufficient for two concerts, and it is difficult to perceive the wisdom of offering a programme which must inevitably prove fatiguing alike to audience and performers. At these festivals, however, the error is constantly repeated, and we must, therefore, presume that there is some excuse for it which ordinary observers cannot perceive. Mczart’s ‘Requiem’ was the first work on the list, and on the whole the rendering was highly satisfactory. The choir, orchestra, and principal vocalists left little to desire, and Mr. Williams displayed the intelligence in the general direction of the work which it needs, but which is not always forthcoming. The same amount of praise cannot be awarded to the performance of Beethoven’s c minor Symphony. It lacked distinction, and the phrasing was frequently blurred and indistinct, as if the conductor had not secured a perfect understanding with his forces. Of Spohr’s cantata ‘‘God, thou art great,” which completed the first part, nothing need be said. The most interesting item in the second part was Bach’s cantata ‘‘ A strong- hold sure,” perhaps better known to musi- cians by the familiar choral on which it is founded, ‘‘ Hin’ feste Burg ist unser Gott.” It is uncertain when this remarkably vigorous example of Bach’s fecundity in this department of composition was actually written, but it is unquestionably one of the efforts of his ripest period, dating probably from either 1730 or 1739. The predominant features of the several movements are jubila- tion and sustained energy, this remark especially applying to the very lengthy opening chorus, the soprano and bass duet, No. 2, and the choral presentation of the fine old tune in unison with florid and intricate accompaniment in six-eight time, No. 5. Many of Bach’s cantatas may be remarkable to a greater extent for abstract beauty and expressiveness, but not one could be named in which he revels more in contrapuntal elaboration of the primitive groundwork than the “‘ Ein’ feste Burg.” The difficult choral writing was excellently rendered on this occasion, and the solo parts were carefully sung by Miss Anna Williams, Miss Damian, Mr. Hirwen Jones, and Mr. Watkin Mills, Miss Damian being entitled to particular mention for the improvement she displayed in her singing as compared with that of the previous day. Weber’s so-called ‘ Harvest ’ Cantata, composed, with other text, as a jubilee cantata for Friedrich Augustus I. of Saxony in 1818, seemed perhaps a little too secular for performance in a cathedral, and as the executants were all more or less in a state approaching ex- haustion, it is not surprising that the work was interpreted in a somewhat slovenly Dea nh —~ =
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Ne 3281, Szpr. 13, 90 THE ATHENAU.,. 863 manner. The programme should have finished with Bach’s cantata. Of the remainder of the festival, which includes its most important features, we must speak next week. NEW ORGAN MUSIC. The Organist’s Quarterly Journal. Part 84 (Novello, Ewer & Co.). Parts 85, 86, and 87 (London Music Publishing Company). — Al- though new organ music is issued in increasing quantities in this country, our most prominent composers pay very little heed to the instrument, and this accounts for the fact that the contents of the above numbers of Dr. Spark’s publication are mostly by composers whose namesare scarcely familiar in the musical world. If, however, we do not find any works of striking originality and merit, the selection is judicious, and there are several more or less elaborate pieces cha- racterized by a high order of musicianship as well as a knowledge of effect. Mention may be made of a Scherzo in pb, by the Rev. A. H. Stevens ; a Prelude and Fugue in «a, by G. B. Polleri ; a March in p, by E. Silas ; a Bridal March in B flat, by W. H. Sangster ; and a kind of fantasia on Carey’s Easter Hymn, by the Rev. J. H. Mee. Original Compositions for the Organ. Nos. 117, 118, and 119.—Soft Volwntaries. By George Calkin. Book XI. (Novello, Ewer & Co.)—The books of original pieces consist re- spectively of a Festal March in F, by George Calkin ; a Romance in D, by Battison Haynes ; and a Larghetto in bp, by F. E. Gladstone. These are all meritcrious compositions, but we must give the preference to Mr. Haynes’s Ro- mance, which is modern and fanciful, but at the same time written in the true organ style. Mr. Calkin’s voluntaries, six in number, are refined and pleasing little pieces, of very moderate difficulty. We have also a Theme and Variations in D flat, by Tertius Noble (Augener & Co.), a brilliant and effective composition suitable for recitals. WORK THAT WANTS DOING. Whitley Batch, Llandaff, Aug. 30, 1890. Irdoes not need therecord of the extraordinary number of concerts of classical music that are now given in London in the course of a single season to make us aware that the appreciation of works of the great masters is growing in extent rapidly with us. In London especially— in the provinces to a certain extent—the music of mediocrity is giving place to works of genius. Better music for the piano and better orchestral music are heard than formerly, and chamber music of the highest character is more often performed. But the popularization of good songs does not keep pace with the general musical progress, and the Lieder of Schubert and Schumann, of Franz and Brahms, of Jensen and Grieg, appeal to a circle the limit of which extends but slowly. The obstacle to their pro- gress in general esteem is, no doubt, that the words of few of them are translated well enough to allow of their being sung with pleasure by a person of cultivated taste. Month by month you review countless volumes of verse, many of which are distinguished by great aptitude in the manipulation of language, and by artistic and poetic feeling. If amongst the crowd of poets some could be found willing to give us English renderings of songs by the great lyric artists that would be in harmony with the musical setting, they would earn grati- tude from many of us. At the same time they must not only be excellent as translations, but must conform themselves to the particular musical settings with which they are intended to be sung. The genius of Burns himself does not always reconcile us to the awkwardness of wedding the originals of his songs to music which was written for German translations. Adaptability is wanted as well as poetic inspira- tion for the work. HeErsert M. THompson. Rusical Gossip, THERE is, it seems, a possibility of a season of French legitimate comic opera at Covent Garden during the coming winter, but the matter is very far from being settled, and there cannot be two opinions that the theatre is too large for the purpose. Amateurs, however, would delight to renew acquaintance with the delightful genre of opera with which the names of Boieldieu, Auber, Adam, Thomas, and others are chiefly asso- ciated, though a difficulty, we fear, would arise in the selection of artists. Mr. Henry J. Woop has completed a dramatic cantata, in three scenes, entitled ‘Nacoochee,’ the libretto by Mr. F. Grove Palmer (founded on an Indian legend), written and composed for the Redruth Choral Society, Cornwall, for performance in November. Tue tour of Sir Charles and Lady Hallé in Australia has been a brilliant success, all their concerts having been attended by enthusiastic audiences. They are now on their way home. THE hymn which, as we stated at the time, Prince Henry of Prussia composed on the occa- sion of the marriage of his sister, Princess Sophie, with the Crown Prince of Greece, will be published shortly, arranged for military band as well as for the piano. Herr ScHARWENKA, who has recently re- turned to Berlin from New York, will undertake another American tour early next year. M. Reyer’s opera ‘Salammbd’ is to be pro- duced at the Paris Grand Opéra as quickly as possible. The rehearsals will commence at once. THE venerable composer Litolff has just completed a four-act opera on the subject of ‘King Lear,’ the libretto having been arranged from Shakspeare’s tragedy by Jules Adenis. Tr is stated that in default of new operas of merit by native Italian composers, Rossini’s ‘Cenerentola,’ ‘ L’Italiana in Algeri,’ and ‘ Le Comte Ory’ are to be revived in Rome. DRAMA —~— THE WEEK. Drury LAnE.—‘ A Million of Money,’ a ‘‘ New Military, Sporting, and Spectacular Drama,” in Five Acts. By Henry Pettitt and Augustus Harris. Less and less pretence have the spectacles presented at Drury Lane to be treated as drama. Beyond the fact that the comic interest is supported by means of dialogue, there seems no reason why the whole should not be, as much of it is, dumb show. Next to nothing is explained in ‘A Million of Money.’ We see a singularly foolish young gentleman secretly married to the daughter of his ‘‘coach,’’ and find that at the moment when he is crippled with gambling debts he receives, instead of the citation he ex- pects, the information that he has come in for a million of money. How long it takes him to be robbed of this amount is left to be guessed. A view of the Derby is afforded; he puts in an appearance for the sake of mounting a coach and driving four horses off the stage. Incidentally, we learn that he is the owner of the Derby winner. Relentless in his pursuit, his arch enemy plants upon him one of the sirens of magical beauty whom card-sharpers have always at their disposal. Our hero, like Werther, is a moral man, and the efforts of the decoy to capture him are vain. His wife, however, sees him under what appear to be compro- mising circumstances, and a misunderstand- ing begins. No explanation is afforded, and when the hero, now a captain, proceeds to the East with a regiment of Guards, he is believed by his wife to carry with him as mistress a woman who, in fact, is another man’s wife. After his departure the heroine becomes penitent. She makes a passionate appeal, and is favoured with a vision of him little calculated to restore her serenity, since she sees him on a desolate reef in the Indian Ocean tending her rival during what prove to be her dying hours. She cries for him to come home, and by some occult sym- pathy her voice is audible to him where he lies. More miracles are in store. She awakes from her dream, and her husband appears in his own person to clasp her in his arms, and, it is to be hoped, to be more careful for the future. How he has escaped from a reef of which he was the solitary living occupant, how he has bridged in an hour some thousands of miles of sea, and appears dry and well clad, are things left to the imagination. No explanations are afforded, and none, it is fair to say, seems necessary. In the scene upon the reef the dialogue was in- audible, and a loss of interest was the re- sult. What, then, isthe play? After a brief introduction it consists of a picture of the Derby, with real horses, carriages, and, it may be added, men and women; a scene in the French Exhibition, in which the hero is discovered by his wife talking to a woman of no reputation; a march of the Guards from Wellington Barracks; a scene on a reef; and the return of the hero. In many of these scenes dialogue is reduced to a minimum, in nearly all it is superfluous. These things constitute a pleasing kind of entertainment, but on the whole we should prefer it, like a pantomime ballet, without words. Actors have really no opportunity except to pose. With the exception of two comic characters, played brightly by Mr. Nicholls and Miss Fanny Brough, there was nothing except posturing and meaningless declamation. Mr. Glenney had, indeed, an episode in which as a gin-soddened sports- man(!) he inveighs against the wife who has betrayed him, and in so doing dies. This, however, is an impertinence. Mr. Warner, Mr. Standing, Miss Millward, and Miss Lingard took part in the representa- tion. No fault needs to be found with the entertainment. The only thing to be, not resented, but deprecated, is the bestowal upon it of the title of drama. Dramatic Gossip, ‘Ravenswoop,’ Mr. Merivale’s rendering of ‘The Bride of Lammermoor,’ is forthwith to be produced at the Lyceum. The full cast is now advertised, and is in the main excellent. The dresses have been designed by Mr. Sey- mour Lucas and Mrs. Comyns Carr. Mr. WitLarp reappeared last Saturday as Cyrus Blenkarn in ‘ The Middleman,’ and played the part with his customary sincerity and power. Some changes have been made in the cast. Mrs. Willard is now Bessie ; Miss Bessie Hatton, Nancy ; Mr. Harbury the Middleman ; and Mr. E. W. Gardiner, Jesse Pegg. Tr seemed for some time as if the arrangement of Mrs. Langtry with the Princess’s Theatre had fallen through, and that the performance
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364 N° 3281, Sepr. 13, 790 THE ATHENAUM of ‘ Antony and Cleopatra,’ announced in these columns, would not take place. The theatre was, indeed, advertised as to let. Mrs. Langtry has, however, secured the house for a twelve- month, and will carry out her intention. Mr. Coghlan will, it is believed, come from America to play Antony. ‘Cutprits,’ the eccentric comedy by Mr. Arthur Law, the recent production of which in the country has been chronicled in the Atheneum, will serve for the re-opening of Terry’s Theatre. An unrehearsed drama, somewhat leaning to farce, but more interesting than that on the stage, was witnessed in the lobbies of Drury Lane last Saturday, when a well-known artist struck a journalist with his cane. A scuffle ensued. Moved then by a spirit of emulation, another visitor to the theatre attacked the same jour- nalist. A second scuffle was the result. In both cases friends interfered, and the combatants were separated before any serious damage was done. Mr. Harris is the most enterprising of managers. We are curious to know whether this entertainment for his visitors was not of his providing. THE grave of Mrs. Siddons, in Paddington burial-ground, is in a dilapidated state and it seems likely to become obliterated. Mr. Wilson Barrett suggests the erection of a monument of the great actress, and offers his services in aid of carrying out the project. To CORRESPONDENTS,—E. U.—L. C.—J. 8. W.—R. L.— received. AN INQUISITIVE ETYMOLOGIST.—You should send such a communication to Notes and Queries. No notice will be taken of aconymous communications, TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY Post, ~ ane For Twelve Months For Six Months woh SECOND EDITION NOW READY. (THe NEWBERY HOUSE MAGAZINE for SEPTEMBER. Illustrated. Price One Shilling. AGNOSTICISM and CHRISTIANITY: ELSMERISM and PAUL NUGENT. With a LETTER from the Rt. Hon. W. E.GLADSTONE, MP. DIFFICULTIES PECULIAR to the CHUKCH in WALES: How they are Met. By Rev. Canon Griffi-h Roberts, M.A. FAMILY PRAYERS. By Rev. Augustus Jessopp, D.D. FLEMISH PAINTERS. III. Peter Paul Rubens. Illustrated. By G. 8. Macquoid. SOME ANGLO-NORMAN EPITAPHS. By Rev. J. E. Field. SOME NOTES on the HISTORY of BOOKS for CHILDREN. II. Block Books and Early Printed Books. Illustrated. By Charles Welsh. The late Rev. E. B. PUSEY, D.D., on ‘‘ The COURT of LOKD PEN ZANCE.” &c. &c. Griffith, Farran, Okeden & Welsh, London. THE NINETEENTH CENTORY. SEPTEMBER. Price 2s. 6d. A PRIVATE SOLDIER on the PRIVATE SOLDIER'S WRONGS. By Arthur V. Palmer. MUTUAL AID among ANIMALS. By Prince Kropotkin. HOW ART KAVANAGH FOUGHT RICHARD the KING. By the Hon. Emily Lawless. gio the SCENES in ENGLISH POLITICS. By the late Nassau W. A power for the TWENTY-NINTH CENTURY. By Frederic AMERICAN RAILWAYS and BRITISH FARMERS. By J. Stephen eans. BION of SMYRNA. By W. Morton Fullerton. WATER in AUSTRALIAN SAHARAS. By the Hon.T. A. Brassey. On CRITICISM; with sume Remarks on the Importance of Doing Nothing. (Concluded. ) By Oscar Wilde. RUIN of the CIVIL SERVICE. By Sir Robert G. C. Hamilton, K.C.B. A MEDIZVAL POPULAR PREACHER. By Maurice Hewlett. IS CENTRAL AFRICA WORTH HAVING? 1. By Sir John Pope ee K.C.M.G. 2. By Edward Dicey, C Londen: Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co. Limited. Just published, ICTURESQUE LIFE in SHETLAND. Twenty-seven Plates from Drawings by FRANK BARNARD. Illustrating the _— Shetland Life in the Cottage, on the Cliff, and e Voe, with Descriptive Notes. “ Pictures of a pert as works of art, and as illustrations of the life of an interesting people in an interesting land.”’—Scotsman. In 1 vol. oblong folio, 15 by 11, price 25s. nett. George Waterston & Sons, Edinburgh; and 8, St. Bride-street, Ludgate-circus, London. AN ENTIRELY NEW WORK ON AUTHORSHIP, Just published, cloth extra, price 5s.; postage, 43d. THE AUTHORS’ MANUAL: BEING A COMPLETE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO ALL DEPARTMENTS OF JOURNALISM, LITERARY WORK GENER- ALLY, AND BOOK-PRODUCING, WITH SPECIAL ADVICE IN REFERENCE TO IMAGINATIVE LITERATURE. By PERCY RUSSELL, Author of ‘ A Journey to Lake Taupo,’ ‘ Australian Tales and Sketches,’ &c. Diesy & Lone, Publishers, 18, Bouverie-street, Fleet-street, London. Mr. HEINEMANN begs to announce that he has this day published the following Novels, which will be found at the Libraries :— 1. The MOMENT AFTER: a Tale of the Unseen. By ROBERT BUCHANAN. 1 vol. 10s. 6d. 2. A MARKED MAN: Some Episodes in his Life. By ADA CAMBRIDGE. 3 vols. 3. The DOMINANT SEVENTH: a Musical Story. By K. E. CLARK. 1 vol. ds. 4, PIERRE and JEAN. By Guy de Maupassant. 1 vol. 3s. 6d. ; paper covers, 2s. 6d. LONDON: 21, BEDFORD-STREET, W.C. GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS’ NEW SETS OF BOOKS. OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES'S WRITINGS. In 6 vols. crown 8vo. cloth, 21s. SMOLLETT’S NOVELS. A New Library Edition, in 6 vols. demy 8vo, cloth, 30s. ; half-roan, 38s. PRESCOTT’S WORKS. A New Edition, in 15 vols. crown 8vo. cloth, 17. 10s.; half-roan, 21. 2s. FIELDING’S NOVELS. A New Edition, in 5 vols. demy 8vo. cloth, 25s, ; half-roan, 31s, 6d. MORLEY’S UNIVERSAL LIBRARY. Bookcase, 41, 10s. ROUTLEDGE’S POCKET LIBRARY. In 60 vols. cloth, in Oak Bookcase, 31. 13s. 6d. The POCKET- VOLUME EDITION o WORKS, including the Translation of Dante’s ‘ Divine Comedy.’ in a Box, 21s. LORD LYTTON’S NOVELS. Pocket-Volume Edition, in 28 vols. paper covers, 28s.; cloth, cut or uncut edges, 42s, ; leather back, gilt top, cut or uncut edges, 56s. In 21 vols. in Oak LONGFELLOWS In 15 vols. cloth, GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & Sons (Limited), London, Manchester, Glasgow, and New York. : inner _——_—--—- —__- XUM
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XUM N° 3282, Sept. 20, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 377 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1890, CONTENTS. PAGE VicToR Huao as A TRAVELLER ... ove ae Pre | MALLESON ON DUPLEIX pon ose ooo oa ow. 379 ENCYCLOPZDIA AMERICANA oo see eee ove «. 380 SociaAL ENGLAND UNDER THE REGENCY... ove +. 880 NOVELS OF THE WEEK ese eee eco ove oo. 381 Law Books ooo ose 382 ee a ove ooo ove Our Liprary TaABLE—LisT or NEw Books 383—384 THE PREDECESSORS OF THE SERVICE BooOK ; AMERICAN PUBLISHERS AND BRITISH AUTHORS; THE SALE OF PARISH REGISTERS; AN ELIZABETHAN PORT AND HIS RELATIONS; BONFIRES; ‘ HISTORY OF FIFE AND Kinross’; THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON ; ‘THE RIVERS OF GREAT BRITAIN’; THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ... oes ove os ‘ 384—388 LITERARY GossIP ooo coe ooo ooo ese oo. $388 ScIENCE—SouTH AFRICAN BUTTERFLIES; LIBRARY TABLE; GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES; ASTRONOMICAL Norses; Gossip as a ion «. 390—391 Fivz ARTS—THE ARCHOLOGICAL SOCIETIES; THE Royal SocieTY OF ANTIQUARIES OF IRELAND; THE ToMB OF VAPHIO; GossIP 391—393 Music—THE WORCESTER FESTIVAL; GOSSIP ... 393—394 DRaMéa—THE TRAGIC MARY; GOSSIP... ont wo. 395 LITERATURE ——_o— En Voyage: Alpes et Pyrénées. Par Victor Hugo. (Paris, Hetzel.) THE fine old Celtic word Alp (‘ White Mountain ’’) has been played with pretty freely of late, especially by the geographers of Greater Britain. There are, it seems, the Alps of New Zealand, whose sublime fastnesses would have given a throb of fierce delight to Dante in his highest moods. There are the Canadian Alps, encircling the “‘ Devil’s Lake,” the terror of whose beauty would have satisfied Milton’s grandest dreams. Then there are the ‘Alps of Africa,” towards which the Alpine Club are already turning their eyes—the mighty factory of equatorial mists hiding through immemorial ages their peaks behind the vapour veil of Ruenzori till the British East Africa Company and Mr. Stanley should come to claim and annex them for the de- lectation as well as the profit of John Bull. All true Britons and honest jingoes are naturally proud to hear of all this. But to us, the cosmopolitan critic, it only shows that there are ‘‘ Alps and Alps.” It only shows that there are the “Alps” the great Carthaginian crossed—the Alps that the poets of Europe have sung; and also those other Alps of Canada, of New Zea- land, of equatorial Africa, which—encircled by no halo of man’s memory, unknown to history and unknown to song— are just “‘ white mountains ” and nothing more. Not for the world would we disparage these Alps of the Geographical Society, the British Association, the Colonial Institute, and the geographers of ‘‘ Greater Britain ”’ —no, not for the world. Nor do we contend, with a certain poet, that it is only the muses who can make the hills sublime. But it behoves these Alps of man’s yesterday to be more modest ; and the geographers of the British Association, the Greater Britons, and the worthy globe-trotters who exploit them must be more modest too. No doubt it is true, as the philosophers of the daily press have it, that ‘‘we live in wonder- ful days”—days rather too wonderful, if we may be allowed to say so—days when his Majesty King Lobengula, from his royal waggon, cedes solemnly to two English dukes and their friends gold mines in esse or in posse whose riches im esse or in posse would have turned any ducal heads but such as flourish on British shoulders — days when the Sahara is about to be turned into a French flower-garden, and crossed by a railway path from Algiers to the once mysterious or half- mythical Lake Tchad — days when the “armoured knights” and ‘‘armoured steeds” of Bornu are to exploit their splendours before the protect- ing eyes of Niger Company officials from London—days when our fellow subjects of the Canadian Dominion are laying out two hundred and fifty square miles of mighty peaks and glaciers and canyons as a public pleasure park and recreation ground. The wonderfulness of such days is apparent— only too apparent. But ‘‘ tant vaut "homme tant vaut la terre,” and still the Alps of Hannibal stand where they did—stand un- equalled, stand unvulgarized even by the mountebank mimicries of a Napoleon. Moreover, is not the fate of poor Carrel the other day proof enough tha. the beautiful and terrible Lady of the Hills, Natura Maligna, sister of the Himalayan Parvati, still takes Mont Blanc for her throne ? And even as there are Alps and Alps, so are there travellers and travellers. For is there not (as Carlyle said) the universe as reflected ‘‘in the eyes of Newton” and the universe as reflected in the eyes of Newton’s dog? Is there not the traveller of the tribe of Odysseus, and also the tra- veller of the tribe of the American globe- trotter and the cockney tourist? Is there not the traveller with the eyes and ears of him who wrote the ‘English Traits’—the most clear-sighted and genial picture of a country not his own that any nineteenth century writer has yet produced? and is there not the traveller with eyes of a dif- ferent lens from his and ears of a different convolution — eyes and ears, for instance, such as those which belong to that fair fellow countrywoman of his to whom Lon- don is an abject spectacle, and for whose especial behoof the illiterate English judges murder the Yankee tongue and talk on the bench of “ consti-chew-ency ” and the “ Cork Hurled” ? This, the latest issued of that post- humous collection of Hugo’s writings whose number is as overwhelming as the vital power that informs them, shows quite as clearly as did the letters from the Rhine to which kind of traveller the poet belonged. Excellent in many ways was Hugo’s equip- ment as a traveller. Not that the reader must look for any records of mountaineer- ing in the book. Hence it perhaps may not find much favour with the heroes of the alpenstock. Not often a mountaineer or even a cragsman is your poet. It is not the Matterhorn, but only Parnassus, that you can effectively climbin dreams. Indeed, the delight of viewing in the distance the beauty of picturesque mountain scenery is in no way the same as that yearning to climb mountain peaks which to the born moun- taineer is an irresistible passion. Not, of course, that the mountaineer is without the poet’s love of Nature’s beauties; but then his passion is climbing. No man _ loves Nature more than he, none but he knows her in her holiest lairs; but first and fore- most he is the climber—the steeple-jack of “ Parvati, the goddess of the hills.” Even as the tableau of Epsom Downs on Derby Day is a mere dream-picture to the business-like member of the ring, and even as the fairy-like loveliness of the Wye is a mere dream-picture to the professional fisher, so the wonderful vistas of beauty to be seen from lofty mountain peaks form but a dream- picture to the mountaineer whose business it is to keep up with his guides and still get higher and higher. Would that it were given to one and the same man to scale the Matterhorn and to write ‘La Légende des Siécles’! If with the genius of Victor Hugo Nature would combine the thews of Gorret (the colossus who dragged a frozen corpse down the Alpine shelves), what poetry should we get then! But Nature, though a kind mother, is a jealous one. Not even to man does she vouchsafe that harmony of functions which might lift him to a too exalted seat by her side. There is no goat nor chamois that is not more sure-footed than he. There is no monkey that is not better at climbing. And if he can enjoy scenery and depict it in verse he does so at the expense of certain quadrumanous functions which he lost with his prehensile tail. And as to Hugo, though Dumas on a memorable occasion was struck with admiration at the way in which Hugo kept his head at the top of Notre Dame, it is difficult to imagine a man of Hugo’s temperament at any period of his life “‘ keeping his head” at the Dent du Géant, ascending the Matterhorn from Breil by aid of ‘ Maquignaz’s rope,” or accompanying Mr. Crawford Grove along that appalling ledge which even he found rather ‘‘trying to the head ”—that famous ribbon of path, a few inches wide, winding upwards like the thread of a corkscrew round the mountain top with a gulf of thou- sands of feet below. But then Mr. Grove could never have written ‘ Le Roi s’Amuse.’ Divided into two parts, one recording Hugo’s travels in the Alps in 1839, the other his travels in the Pyrenees in 1843, this book is written in two styles. The first part, indeed, is but a continuation of the second ‘ Voyage au Rhin,’ but consists, with the exception of one long letter to the re- cipient of the Rhine letters, the painter Louis Boulanger, of letters addressed to Madame Hugo. The second portion of the book, dealing with the Pyrenees, consists of sketches written in two albums at the various places visited and depicted—albums enriched by pen-and-ink drawings (not given here), and bookmarks made of the flowers, leaves, and herbs gathered on the mountains and in the forests. This second portion of the travels is given inan uninterrupted and complete manner from their commencement right through—describ- ing the Loire, Bordeaux, Bayonne, Biarritz, Saint-Sébastien, Pasages, Leso, Pamplona, &e. But from the description of Pamp- lona onwards the book consists of isolated chapters only. Hugo made notes in order to complete his recital at some future time —describing on the spot those places and things which struck him the most forcibly, and those only. It will be seen, therefore, that the difference of style, which is so per- ceptible between the two divisions of this book, is attributable to the conditions under which they were written, and not to the passage of afew years. Yet the points of likeness are, of course, immeasurably more striking than the points of difference.
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378 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3282, Sepr. 20, 90 In both parts we get the same mingling of objective with subjective power, the lack of which is so grievously felt in those con- temporary books of travel which join with the novels in pressing out literature. In speaking once of the ‘ Voyage Imaginaire’ we said that in books of travel there are two kinds of interest, one realistic, one idealistic. There is the interest attach- ing to the new vistas which the tra- veller’s exploits open up to our view—new vistas of the life of nature and of man—and there is the interest attaching to the effect that these new vistas have worked upon the mind and the emotions of a_ specially endowed traveller. In reading the travels of Goethe, or of Sterne, of Dr. Johnson, or of Serjeant Kinglake, the interest is quite unlike that which attaches to the travels of writers like Vaillant, Stephens, Mitchell, Stanley, or even that which attaches to the romantic personal experiences of writers like Mungo Park and Du Chaillu. With the latter group of writers what fascinates us is mainly the new thing seen ; with the former group what fascinates us is not so much the new thing seen as the new way of seeing it. The difference between them is, of course, a difference of kind. One belongs to the literature of fact, the other to the literature of power. To say that one is better than the other would be absurd; but in these days, when man’s instinct for wonder can only be satisfied by new and still newer stories of expeditions into Central Africa, or by the latest telegrams about the Argonauts of Mashonaland and Mount Hampden, it is as well to remind the world, by such books as the letters from the Rhine and the post- humous volume before us, that there was a time when that instinct for wonder could be satisfied by books recording the effect pro- duced by scenes not new upon some new and remarkable personality—books like Sterne’s ‘Sentimental Journey,’ or Muszeus’s ‘ Phy- siognomical Travels,’ or Byron’s ‘Childe Harold,’ or Kinglake’s ‘ Ecthen.’ In a word, it is as well to remind the world that books of travel may be not only historical docu- ments, but literature. But in doing so we are confronted by a question that at first seems puzzling: How is it that among all the books of travel that have been written since Herodotus blended history, poetry, philosophy, and travel in one un- approachable and delightful amalgam, so few have passed into literature? Con- sider that all true literature is a reflex of the life of nature or else a reflex of the life of man, and consider the enor- mous mass of material for literature that has been collected since Herodotus wrote, and then try to answer the question: Why has the “literature of power,”. instead of fully utilizing the literature of fact, been obliged so often to spin its web, spider-like, out of its own bowels? The real world is as full of material suggestive of every possible phase of the human soul as is the imagina- tive world of the poets. And as to landscapes, there is no scene imagined by the poets that is so beautiful as many of those described by African travellers, or even as some of the scenes in our own Channel Islands, or so wonderful as the gorges of the Selkirk range, or the canyons of the Fraser River through which the Canadian Pacific trains run. The moun- taineer who could describe the scenery of the Andes as vividly as Milton describes the landscapes of Eden and of hell, or as Spenser describes the home of Morpheus in the ‘Faerie Queene,’ or as Coleridge describes the scenery of ‘The Ancient Mariner’ and ‘Kubla Khan,’ would out- climb all the mountaineers of Parnassus. What is the cause of the enormous waste of material and waste of power when the wonders of the external world are left by the poet to be described by the man of fact? The cause seems to be this: the lite- rary artist, as a rule, has that ‘‘inner eye” which Wordsworth speaks of, and none other. The subjective power which makes a man a literary artist, which gives him his subtle sense of style in prose and music in verse, is rarely combined with the objective power which is given to born travellers. Some- times, however, they are combined, as we see in the case of Sir Richard Burton and certain other travellers of our time. In some considerable degree they are combined in Victor Hugo. Not only does he see clearly, but he sees with eyes that are the windows of a new personality. Out of the many instances here afforded of his power of seeing with the inner eye and the outer eye at the same moment, take the following passage, in which he distinguishes between the colour of the Mediterranean water and the colour of the waves of the ocean :— “‘T/Océan a ses nuées, ses brumes, son flot glauque et vitreux, ses dunes en Flandre, ses falaises en Normandie, ses granits en Bretagne, ses votites immenses, ses magnifiques marées ; la Méditerranée est tout entiére sous le soleil, on le sent & l’unité inexprimable qui est au fond de sa beauté; elle a une cdéte fauve et sévére dont les collines et les roches semblent arrondies ou taillées par Phidias; l’austérité de la rive s’accouple harmonieusement 4 la grace du flot ; les arbres, ]& ou il ya des arbres, trempent leur pied dans la vague ; le ciel est d’un bleu clair, la mer est d’un bleu sombre ; ciel et mer sont d’un bleu profond. Du lac de Lucerne je suis allé au lac Léman ; du lac Léman a la Méditer- ranée, C’est un crescendo. Maintenant il me faut l’Océan ou Paris. Je suisarrivé & la Médi- terranée par le Rhéne. J’ai vu le Rhone entrer dans la Méditerranée, large de deux lieues, jaune, trouble, fangeux, grand et sale. Il y a six jours je l’avais vu sortir du Léman, sous le vieux pont de moulins de Genéve, clair, trans- parent, limpide, bleu comme un saphir. Au Léman, le Rhéne est comme un jeune homme ; ala Méditerranée, il est comme un vieillard. La-bas il n’a encore vu que ses montagnes, ici il a traversé des villes. Dieu lui donne de la neige, les hommes lui donnent de la fange. Voila ce que c’est, mes enfants, que de vivre et de courir. Apres avoir vécu, aprés avoir écumé, rugi, dévoré des torrents et des riviéres, brisé des rochers, lavé des ponts, trainé des far- deaux, nourri des villes, reflété le ciel et les nuages, le fleuve, parti étroit et violent du Léman, arrive, immense et calme, & la Médi- terranée et s’y ensevelit. La, il retrouve, sous un soleil éblouissant, avec un horizon sans borne, l’azur profond, serein et splendide du lac de Genéve. La tombe ressemble au _berceau, seulement elle est plus grande. Je suis descendu ce matin d’Arles & dix heures par le paquebot & vapeur. A partir d’Arles les embarcations marines se montrent sur le fleuve, les rivages reculent et s’aplatissent, puis l’énorme plaine déserte de la Camargue s’empare de la rive gauche, puis l’horizon devient immense. Au midi, le ciel semble se lever comme si sa voiite grandissait. Tout & coup une ligne bleue appa- rait, C'est la Méditerranée.” As a rule it is the scientific observer, and not the poetic, who knows that both the lakes and rivers, and also the ocean itself, exhibit a variety of colours second only to the variety that the sky can display. Owing, it is said, to the varying nature of the salts suspended, the only water which can ever be properly called blue is that which is at once pure and deep. So various in colour are the ocean waves, that sometimes to exclaim :— Roll on, thou dark green ocean, roll ! or even Roil on, thou sallow ocean, roll ! would be far more accurately descriptive of them than Byron’s famous line about the ocean’s ‘‘ dark blue.” It is the trained eye of the scientist, as a rule, that sees such dif- ferences as these. By the poet’s ‘‘inner eye” the azure hue of the Lake of Geneva, the Lake of Lucerne’s wonderful deep green, the mysterious blue of the St. Lawrence and the Rhone, are generalized with the emerald green of the Rhine. By most French poets save Victor Hugo and Théo- phile Gautier, adjectives of colour are used in a conventional way and for ornamenta- tion, not for classification. The exceptions we have named are remarkable, if we remem- ber that the genius of both poets is essen- tially lyrical. For not even music is a more subjective art than literature, and, of course, the most subjective form of literary art is poetry, which is nothing more than the musical expression of the reflection of the external world in the emotions of man. And as to the lyrist, if it is true that before a musician like Weber can assimilate the beauty of a landscape he has to translate the mental image of it into absolute music, it is equally true that before a man like Shelley can do the same he has to translate the image of the landscape into metrical language. And although all this subjec- tivity of the poet is more clearly seen in the case of the pure lyrist, it is seen in all poets —save, perhaps, in three, Homer, Chaucer, and Scott. For, as we have before remarked when speaking of the Provengal poets, sharpas is the contrast between the subjective method of the troubadour and the objective method of the trouvere, it is merely a question of method—it is the pressure of external fashion and taste upon the singer of the langue d’oil which causes him to seem to be more objec- tive than the singer of the dangue d’oc. The “inner eye” of the poet is, no doubt, ‘the bliss of solitude,” but the stronger the vision of such an eye working inwards, the weaker and the more bleared is the outer eye with which common folks see. Many a country boy can distinguish by its flight a cushat from a stockdove, and a blue rock pigeon from either, but how many poets are there who, after much self-conscious training, can do it? When Browning, talking under the trees of one of the most beautiful avenues in Cambridge, seemed to his interlocutor as unconscious of the summer fairyland around him, as deaf to the music of the birds, as blind to the playful shafts of golden sunlight filtering through the leaves on the grass, as though he had never sung about such things, was not his behaviour like that of most poets in the like circumstances? Until they have learnt what Wordsworth and Tennyson learned very early in life—that the best poetry is the result of
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XUM N° 3282, Sept. 20, ’90 THE ATHENZ UM 379 the struggle in the poet between the subjec- tive and the objective forces in man—that poetry has not only to be as emotional as music, but as concrete as painting and sculp- ture — that although the artistic medium of poetry is nothing but verbal symbols more or less arbitrary, it has in some degree to compete with the plastic arts, with their material media of solids and colours—they exercise the ‘“‘inner” at the expense of the outer eye. But the way in which the followers of Wordsworth and Tenny- son strain those “inner eyes’ of theirs as they struggle to look out from their poetic atmosphere into the clear air in which ordinary people see is always interest- ing; often it is most pathetic. But, as we have said, if the only three really purely objective poets are Homer, Chaucer, and Scott, there are a few poets whose objective power is quite sufficiently developed, and who yet combine with it a fine subjectivity such as is beyond the compass of those three great masters. At the head of these stands Hugo. No other great lyrist since Pindar has shown that passionate love of physical details which it is difficult to associate with the lyrical impulse. Still, inasmuch as the interest of this book is (according to the distinction given above) the interest that attaches not to new vistas opened up to our view by the traveller’s adventures, but to the effect that these new vistas have worked upon the mind and upon the emotions of a specially endowed tra- veller, it belongs to the old-fashioned kind of books of travel typified by ‘The Senti- mental Journey.’ And it must always be remembered that the charm of perfect literary style, which is the special virtue of the class of travellers to which Victor Hugo belongs, would not be a virtue with the other kind of travellers, for this literary charm would have the effect of robbing their matter-of-fact record of its apparent authenticity. That literary picturesqueness or word-painting which we look for in the writer of ‘The Sentimental Journey’ makes us yawn if thrust upon us in the matter-of- fact itinerary of the kind of travellers now so deservedly popular. In the one case we expect the writer to do the generalizing, the philosophizing, and the sentimentaliz- ing for us; in the other we prefer to do all this for ourselves. We want to feel that the traveller’s facts are not selected and marshalled in order to fit into his gene- ralization, his philosophical axioms, or his turns of sentiment. Accuracy of statement is the ‘be-all and end-all here.” If we were asked to furnish instances of the way in which the authenticity of the narrative may be weakened by the very excellence of the literary setting, we should be inclined to give two chapters from this book, one from the first part, called ‘Les Bate- leurs,’ the other from the second part, called ‘La Cabane dans la Montagne.’ The former of these describes a party of those wander- ing mountebanks much beloved by the rustics of the Midi, such as until now used to form a principal feature at the Féte of St. Cloud, but has, alas! just been ‘‘ banished from the fair’ by the Parisian Prefecture of Police. It tells how they were all ruined by the jealousy of one of the party, and wonder- fully graphic it is; but somehow the group- ing of the characters, the artistic arrange- ment of the contrasts, seem to deprive it of that authenticity which the reader demands in all statements of matters of fact. The episode seems to have the authen- ticity and veracity of Sterne’s story of ‘‘ poor Maria’’—no more. Enveloped in an atmo- ' sphere of poetic exaggeration, it is simply a new story of ‘ Beauty and the Beast.’ We know that Beauty’s loveliness, though great, is here exaggerated; we know that the Beast, although ugly, is not really so hideous as here painted. Moreover, as soon as the smallest amount of special knowledge is brought to bear upon the drama of the sentimental traveller it is seen to belong to the fairy land in which the idealist must fain live, move, and have his being. He who has any knowledge of such subjects as Hugo handles in this episode perceives the old confusion between the gipsy and the general vagabond which has always been displayed by all French writers save Méri- mée, and by most English writers save Borrow, Mr. George Meredith, and Mr. Groome. These vagabonds travel with a curtain scorched and cracked by the sun and rain, bearing a hieroglyphic inscrip- tion :— “Ta bannitre qui ombrageait le couple était bien la plus inintelligible pancarte de char- latan que j’aie jamais rencontrée ; ce qui d’ail- leurs ne nuit pas au succes. Figurez-vous une large toile peinte en bleu et, au milieu de cette toile écaillée par le soleil et sillonnée par les pluies, rien autre chose que cet hiéroglyphe peint en noir... . Si le peu que je sais des récentes explica- tions de feu Champollion ne me trompe pas, cette phrase, parfaitement égyptienne, sig- nifie : Aujourd’hui comme toujours pendant Péternité.” Now, of course, it is possible that a group of bateleurs who were not gipsies might have travelled with such a curtain so bedizened, but it is improbable. By an accident the Romanis, who certainly came from India, were christened Egyptians by certain Euro- peans, and hence they are proud of making out that they came from Egypt. But are these bateleurs gipsies? Certainly not. They are anything but gipsies, as is shown by all they do and all they leave undone, by all they say and all they leave unsaid. What gipsy woman would or could have betrayed her people to the Gorgios, for instance, as the jealous ogress betrays her companions in this story ? The truth is that Victor Hugo, with all his self-conscious study of vagabond life, never did learn the enormous differ- ence between the Romani and the Gorgio. Not that his habitual confusion in this matter is not shared by all writers in France and by most writers in England, to whom a gipsy is any one who does not live in a house. Only the other day, for instance, the writer of some extremely sympathetic and interesting remarks upon George Borrow—a writer who evidently had known Borrow well, and had lately, he affirmed, been re-reading ‘ Lavengro’—spoke of one of the chief figures in that matchless book, Isopel Berners, as Lavengro’s ‘‘ handsome gipsy ’’—a blonde, be it remembered, whom Borrow himself loved to compare with Brynhilda, because she was a blonde ! But as to this episode of the dateleurs, who shall find fault with it on account of this literary manipulation, seeing the class of narratives to which it belongs? ‘Truth, indeed!” exclaimed once John Ballantyne when the veracity of one of his stories was impeached; ‘‘any blockhead can stick to truth, but it’s a sad hamperer to genius.” And his hero, Sir Walter himself, confessed to furnishing his anecdotes with the “‘ cocked hat and gold-headed cane” required by all respectable stories. Though in the other episode we have men- tioned, ‘ La Cabane dans la Montagne,’ Hugo does not show the same degree of freedom from the ‘‘ blockhead’s”’ restrictions, the same readiness to furnish the ‘cocked hat and gold-headed cane,” the very excellence of the art with which the lights and shades are arranged seems to weaken its veracity. With regard to this episode, for limpidity of narrative style we cannot be wrong in putting it at the very head of Hugo’s prose writing. The literary self - consciousness which always came upon him when writing for print seems nearly suppressed in this admirable story. This literary self-con- sciousness, which is the bane of all narra- tive, is the one seed of dissolution which may destroy Hugo’s splendid work. It is not merely in fiction that prevails the law we once alluded to in describing dramatic art: in books of travel also the less the reader’s attention is devoted to the quality of the literary medium, the more the book gains in apparent authenticity. Rulers of India.—Dupleiz. By Col. Malleson, C.8.I. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.) Ami the bewildering turmoil of the fight for ascendency between the French and English in Southern India during the middle of the eighteenth century, the figure of Joseph Dupleix fills a commanding place as that of the statesman who toiled so hard and skilfully to build up a strong French empire on the wrecks of the old Moghul rule. Dupleix, as Elphinstone has well said, was “the first who discovered the illusion of the Moghul greatness, and turned to his own purpose the awe with which weaker minds still regarded that gigantic phantom.” And he knew how to profit by that discovery, for, in the same writer’s words, he was “the first who made an ex- tensive use of disciplined sepoys; the first who quitted the ports on the sea, and marched an army into the heart of the con- tinent.” To Dupleix, in short, we may, with Col. Malleson, give all the credit ‘‘ of having been the first to devise the method by which European predominance on Indian soil might be established.” What might have happened if fortune had been less perverse, if some of his agents had noi failed him at the pinch, if such men as Clive, Saunders, and Lawrence had not been pitted against him, will always be matter for speculation to minds of a certain cast. Facts, however, are stubborn things, and it serves no very useful purpose to speculate on what might have been. The great Frenchman played his game with marvellous skill and boldness, but to all appearance he had lost it when the order came for his recall. In the present volume of the “ Rulers of India” series Col. Malleson gives a concise and often spirited account not only of Dupleix’s career in India, but of the later struggles between the two nations which
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380 THE ATHENAUM N° 3282, Sepr. 20, 90 issued in the final collapse of French rule in 1783. An introductory chapter deals at due length with the earlier history of French enterprise in Eastern seas down to the time when Dupleix succeeded the able Dumas as Governor of Pondichery. Even in 1783 the fortunes of the two nations in Southern India still hung in the balance, when the Peace of Versailles settled the question once more in favour of the country- men of Warren Hastings. That the author of ‘The French in India’ is thoroughly at home among the scenes described in the present volume, no reader of his former works on the same theme can doubt. To the less-informed class of readers this little book may be recommended as a fairly accurate and readable summary of the period over which it travels. Col. Malleson’s enthusiasm for his particular hero makes him here and there a little blind to the faults which accompanied Dupleix’s un- doubted virtues. His ambition was of the highest order, his courage rose to the need; in his darkest hour he never despaired nor showed himself at a loss for new expedients ; he expended his wealth even more liberally than Hastings in the public service, and his genius traced out the lines by which empire in India might be won. But, as Elphinstone truly says, ‘‘ he showed in his official conduct a total disregard of the principles of morality and public law, with an insincerity and love of artifice degrading even to a character less elevated than his.” Of several good chapters the best, to our thinking, is that which shows Dupleix as ‘*too heavily handicapped ”’ after the loss at sea of his ablest subaltern, De La Touche. The comparison of Dupleix with Napoleon might have been spared, but the rest of the chapter is very stirring. In point of literary workmanship the book leaves something to desire. The style lacks polish and betrays frequent marks of careless writing. The author has an incurable weakness for one small particle, the word ‘‘then,” which crops up in his pages after the fashion of King Charles’s head in the correspondence of Mr. Dick. In one short paragraph we find this ill-used word in three sentences running. Once in this case would have been quite enough. The spelling of proper names might be more consistent: Arcot in one page becomes Arkat in another; while Trichinopoli sometimes appears as Trichi- napali. Encyclopedia Americana. Hubbard Brothers.) Tue present work is designed to be at once a companion and a supplement to the ‘Encyclopedia Britannica,’ which, compiled mainly with a view to European readers, would naturally in many respects be found wanting, or at least inadequate, in America. The chief place, therefore, is here assigned to the history, resources, industries, and in- stitutions of the United States. The bio- graphical part not only includes notices of eminent persons who have died too recently to find a place within the range of the ‘ Britannica,’ but is further enriched with accounts of living celebrities, European as well as American. But in one respect it (Philadelphia, would, perhaps, be more correct to describe the work as an antidote rather than as a supplement to the ‘ Britannica ’:— **The important subjects relating to the Bible, which have been treated in the ‘ Britannica’ in an extremely rationalistic spirit (the later volumes in this regard exceeding the earlier), have been discussed in this Supplement in a reverent manner by American scholars of acknow- ledged ability. The views here presented, so far as they controvert the assertions of the English and German writers in the ‘ Britannica,’ will be found to be based on an equally thorough know- ledge of the original languages and to show a more thorough sifting of evidence.” Now the truth is that such words and phrases as “evidence,” ‘“ demonstration,” ‘triumphant vindication,” and ‘‘irrefrag- able conclusion ” have one set of meanings with English and American apologists, and quite another among the scientifically trained inquirers of France, Holland, and Germany. And one of the great merits of the ‘ Britan- nica’— acquired largely through the co- operation of continental scholars— is its conspicuous freedom from the limitations imposed by the apologetic temper. But in the supplement before us all this is changed. Writers of undoubted industry and ability track the erring footsteps of Prof. Robertson Smith and his associates (including Well- hausen, Harnack, and Hatch), eradicating the tares, and sowing orthodox wheat in their stead. We are far from wishing to underrate the merit of their performances considered as contributions to the apology for tradition. The articles show evidence of careful study, and are written in an incisive style, and with a gravity worthy of the important questions at issue. Above all they have the merit of consistency. The American writers are far too clear-headed to seek salvation in half-reasonableness, or to suppose for one moment that anything lasting or ‘“‘luminous” is to be gained by first advertising a tardy acceptance of one or two elementary principles of Old Testa- ment criticism, and then retreating to tradi- tional ground as soon as ever the results of the same criticism applied to the New Testament begin to be obnoxious to eccle- siastical pretensions. Though the cause they champion is in our judgment a lost cause, their honesty is above suspicion. A notable feature of the biographical part of the supplement is the just importance assigned to Scandinavian worthies :— “ Scandinavian biography, generally neglected, has had the oversight of one of the most eminent authorities in the literature of that region. In America, especially, the interest in this depart- ment is advancing rapidly, not only through the circulation of the works of writers such as Bjérnson, Ibsen, and Jonas Lie in translations, but through the great immigration from Scandi- navia having brought us some excellent scholars and authors who are not content to have their native country and its notable men and books remain unknown to the country of their adop- tion.” In some cases it is difficult to understand by what principle of rejection and inclusion the compilers have been guided. For instance, while Sylvester’s labours as a mathematician are chronicled and appre- ciated, not one word is said of Cayley, with whose name that of the former is invari- ably associated ; and among the astronomers Adams is conspicuous by his absence. But on the whole our countrymen have been well treated. Facts are presented accu- rately, judgment is given with sobriety, and there is a complete absence of “gush.” In the articles on Carlyle, Ruskin, Browning, and, above all, Newman, this last quality is as welcome as it was unexpected. The pages are disfigured by few misprints, and the illustrations are excellent. Social England under the Regency. By John Ashton. 2 vols. (Ward & Downey.) A cAREFUL study of the state of England under the Regency could hardly fail to be a most attractive book. The period is one which the aged among us can dimly re- member, and yet its manners and customs belong almost entirely to a past which has little connexion with the present. And the writer of such a description would not have far to seek for a model; he would follow the lines laid down for him by Macaulay in his famous third chapter. ‘ Society,” in the restricted sense of the word, would not monopolize his attention. He would pass rapidly by the pinchbeck splendours of the court, nor would he be long detained by the mysteries of Almack’s, or the club life of the Bond Street dandy. His main object would be to reproduce a picture of the life of ordinary men and women, and to show how far their existence differed from that led by /’homme sensuel moyen of the present day. A visit would be paid to Vauxhall and the theatre, the fare at the midday meal would be described ; we should learn how people travelled by the stage coach, and what they read in the old newspapers. From Miss Austen the writer would glean an exact idea of the peacefully monotonous amusements of the country houses. From other sources he would endeavour to realize how far the four-bottle squire was the rule, how far the exception, and what were his relations with the parson.. A comparison of parliamentary papers with the writings of Cobbett would give him a clue to the state of the agricul- tural poor ; from Samuel Bamford he would perceive what were the hardships endured and what were the aspirations entertained by the artisans. The materials for such a book are abundant; but they have never been thoroughly collected and sifted by one competent, as Macaulay was, to inspire elo- quence into statistics, and to invest matter- of-fact details with the charm that belongs to romance. Some, if not all, of these topics are touched upon by Mr. Ashton in his latest publication; but he is very far from pro- ducing an ideal book. He is content to lay before his readers a sample of the raw materials of history, consisting for the most part of cuttings from the newspapers of the time, varied by rather haphazard selec- tions from contemporary memoirs. As Mr. Ashton glories in being ‘‘ a mere compiler,” it is, perhaps, useless to complain that instead of giving to the world a serious con- tribution to literature, he has been satisfied for the most part with wielding the scissors and paste-brush. The advantage of his system is, it appears, that he sinks himself. Yet one gathers in the course of these pages quite a large crop of Mr. Ashton’s views on things in general; and while it may be a legitimate subject of regret that his dancing days are over, it is quite unnecessary on his part to air d propos of Queen Caroline a griev- ance against the editor of the ‘ Dictionary of National Biography.’ Mr. Ashton’s
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XUM N° 3282, Serr. 20, 90 THE ATHENAUM 381 running commentary is, however, adequate on the whole, though instances of a trivial sort of humour occur here and there, of which the application of the terms ‘‘ Miss,” “Mamma,” and ‘ Papa” to the Princess Charlotte and her parents is a specimen. But a grave defect in the book is the inor- dinate amount of space devoted to State ceremonial—as on the occasion of the visit of. the allied sovereigns to London—and to matters which have no bearing on the social condition of England at all. Many pages deal, for instance, with the French prisoners of war, and there is a long account of the capture of Paris by the allies, besides some wholly superfluous documents connected with the war with the United States. Mr. Ashton would have acted wisely if he had taken for granted that his readers possessed some knowledge of the political history of the time, more especially as he commits several errors of fact in his attempts to en- lighten them. It was hardly the case, for example, that the Prince of Wales made no objections to the restrictions of the Regency Bill of 1789. The Bill was fought tooth and nail by his supporters in the Commons, and Mr. Ashton actually quotes the Regent’s declaration in 1811 :— “T do not hesitate to accept the oflice and situation proposed to me, restricted as they are, still retaining every opinion expressed by me upon a former and similar distressing occasion.” And why should he call the Duke of York the Regent’s dme damnée? If the facts of history and the evidence of contemporary memoirs go for anything, he was the superior man of the two. Mr. Ashton is rather un- compromising in his opinions, and he is particularly scornful of any sympathy with the sufferers in the ‘‘ Peterloo massacre.” But surely it was an act of extreme impru- dence on the part of the magistrates to order the arrest of Hunt on the hustings; and the charge of the Hussars, which caused the panic, was totally unnecessary. It is true, of course, that the actual wounds in- flicted by the soldiers were very few. By far the best feature in these volumes is the illustrations, taken from Rowlandson, Cruikshank, and their contemporaries, of which ‘A Dandy’ at his toilet is especially to be commended. There is also a very interesting extract from M. de Levis’s intel- ligent appreciation of the appearance of England, notably of the streets of the capital. Indeed, it almost seems as if Mr. Ashton had intended in his last chapters to deal with his subject on some sort of system, but he wanders off to give an account of jusus nature, like women serving in men’s clothes as sailors andsoldiers. And though the book as a whole is frequently irrelevant, there is no gainsaying that much instruction is to be derived from its pages. Our ancestors’ devotion to good cheer is instanced by the menu of a dinner given by a mayor of Chester, with items like sixteen tureens of turtle and ten haunches of venison, as well as by the description of a christening at Belvoir Castle, at which the tenants could, and did, drink from a cistern of punch for days together. Some enterprising Lap- landers, we are told, brought frozen game to England as early as 1816, but, owing to the heavy import duty of 50/., the luxury must have been a dear one; and we read that in March, 1814, owing to the severe weather, such common vegetables as brocoli cost 16s. per bundle, and French beans 8s. per hundred. People in those days did not take their pleasures sadly, whether in the suburban tea-gardens or in an excursion to Margate and Ramsgate, where the sources of enjoyment do not seem to have materially changed. Less defensible were the savage delights of bull-baiting, and the squalid rowdyism of Bartholomew Fair. The dandy- horse, predecessor of the modern bicycle, was introduced into England in 1819, and an unnamed benefactor of his species first stationed donkeys on Hampstead Heath in 1817. How little is new under the sun occurs to one in reading of a descent from a balloon in a parachute, and of a women’s cricket match. Of the latter there is given a capital etching by Rowlandson, in which one damsel has made a lofty hit to leg, and another is making a worthy effort to bring off the catch. Apart from the Luddite riots and other manifestations of popular discontent, those were lawless times. Smugglers carried on a wholesale trade, and several good stories are told of their encounters with the coastguardsmen, in which the latter were generally worsted. A lax view of the obligations of marriage prevailed among the working classes, and the sale of wives was by no means un- common. For instance, in 1815 a matron was disposed of for 3s. 4d. in the King’s Head Inn at Staines, and the newspaper account adds:—“ This degrading custom seems to be generally received by the lower classes as of equal obligation with the most serious legal forms.” Superstition still held sway over large sections of the community, and Mr. Ashton gives one or two curious instances of its prevalence. For example, an old woman of Bridgewater extorted money from a little girl under threat of be- witching her, and, when detected, told the parents that if they accused her the child should die by inches. The mother, how- ever, was equal to the occasion. Drawing a pin from her clothes, she scratched the witch from her elbow to her wrist in three places to draw her blood, an antidote be- lieved to be of unfailing efficacy. Altogether Mr. Ashton’s volumes may be read with some profit, but he would have done well to winnow the grain from the chaff. His bald lists of artists, musicians, and so forth are irritating, and the remarks on the religious condition of England with which the book concludes are hopelessly scrappy. NOVELS OF THE WEEK, A Marked Man. By Ada Cambridge. 3 vols. (Heinemann.) A Fellow of Trinity. By Alan St. Aubyn and Walt Wheeler. 3 vols. (Chatto & Windus.) John Bolt, Indian Civil Servant: a Tale of old Haileybury and India. By R. W. Lodwick. 2 vols. (Digby & Long.) Love and Mirage ; or, the Waiting on an Island : an Out-of-Door Romance. By M. Betham- Edwards. (Hutchinson & Co.) Mount Eden: a Romance. By Florence Marryat. (Same publishers.) Sons and Daughters. By Mrs. Oliphant. (Blackwood & Sons.) ‘‘Apa CamBRIDGE” gives us something to think of in her book; very differently, no doubt, according to our several natures. Some will see nothing but manhood in Dicky’s refusing to take orders when “ the finger of Providence points to a bishopric and ten thousand a year”; some will think his determination would have done him still more credit had orthodoxy been presented to him in a more attractive form than that embodied in Mr. Delavel-Pole; some will wish that in his last moments Dicky’s daughter might have had something more sympathetic to offer to her father’s mind than “Arnold’s paper in the Fortnightly,” and—in spite of the element of mythos—will prefer an older, less fashionable treatise of consolation ; others, recognizing that life is more than death, may admire the literal adhesion to a moral law maintained in spite of years of rebellious passion by one entirely unsupported by transcendental sanctions. These and many other thingsmay be thought. Herein the book differs from most novels, which avoid all food for reflection. The descriptions, both of still and active life, are true as far as they go, though it is noteworthy that not a single high character is represented on what may be called the Christian side of the question. The old- world village of Dunstanborough, where the Delavels reign in rural state, is good in its local colouring. We fancy we de- tect an anachronism in the installation of an advanced Ritualist in such a parish thirty years ago. John Morrison, the East Anglian farmer of the old school, may have flourished then, as now. Indeed, his type is likely to survive the newer experimental agriculturist. ‘‘O si sic omnes!” is the prayer of many a hardly-driven landlord in these days. But to point the moral against squires and parsons the writer seems to have slightly mixed two periods. The only other doubt we have on the point of vrar- semblance is whether the “‘ extremely proper little person’’ with whom Dicky commits matrimony in the first volume could develope into the impassive incubus of the last :— No ass so meek, no ass so obstinate. Yet possibly she had it in her all the time. She is enough to account for any amount of madness in her husband, who, by leave of his originator, is not a very strong character except in the matter of impulsive honesty. The Australian part of the story, the cama- raderie between Sue and Dicky, who is a loving, if unconventional father, is pretty enough in spite of its tragic termination. People who write about Fellows of Trinity should at least be grammatical ; and “‘like’’ for as is not grammar. Nor is ‘agreeable to’’ for agree a phrase often heard above stairs. Apart from a slipshod style, there is much that is commendable in ‘‘A Fellow’s” story. Cambridge men of some thirty years’ standing will murmur :— When within my veins the blood ran and the curls were on my brow, ; I did, O ye undergraduates, much as ye are doing now ; and yet this story of university life is not of the old type. Girton and Newnham and married tutors have introduced the necessary element which converts the old college yarn into a possible romance; and very effective use is made of it in the present case. The “Trinity Lily” would have probably been unapproachable in days gone by, and her presence, alternating with other scenes,
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382 THE ATHENAUM N° 3282, Spr. 20, 90 gives a graceful and gracious relief to the boyish orgies, more questionable deal- | ings over the card table of the sisters Bel- lenden, and other devious, not abandoned, courses run by our embryo Fellow and his | friends. Besides sentiment, there is a suffi- cient amount of tragedy in the dark episode in the villa at Chesterton, the death of the athletic champion Geraint, and the suicide of the luckless Spurway. By the way, why is Spurway a “nobleman”? Baronets are not noble, except as all “‘ gentlemen’ by birth are noble in the foreign sense. spite of these terrible incidents the principal actors on this rather crowded stage come to more or less honour and happiness in the | end, though Herbert’s triumphs are sad- dened by the loss of his “little mother,” and we hardly think that that maudlin | convert Mr. Brown should have become a bishop and married such a woman as Mary | Barclay. ‘ John Bolt’ is a terribly longwinded story, owing to the author’s strong belief in the interest of what he writes about, and his resolute determination to fill in every detail, lest some one should accuse him of having spoiled a good story in the telling. Old Haileybury days are described from the idle student’s point of view; then there are some love-making and jilting, of the sort which is apparently indispensable to an Indian story ; a few mutiny scenes; and some con- cluding chapters of disappointment and dis- illusion. The reader would have found his task an easier one if the author had con- descended to paragraph his chapters, which drag on from end to end without a break. There is a list of errata at the beginning of each of the two volumes which might easily have been trebled in length. ‘Love and Mirage’ is a pretty and senti- mental story, delicately told. Arthur Ven- ning and his younger brother Hervey go off to an island which is not geographically defined, though it is described as ‘‘a verit- able Eden under the northern star.’’ Here they come across two lovely German sisters, and fall in love with them. Arthur’s friend, however, refuses his offer, on the ground that a disgrace is attached to her family through the conduct of an elder sister. The girls go away, but on the same island Arthur discovers a prince’s castle and a mysterious lady ; and here there is a second phase of love-making. The mysterious lady turns out to be the eldest of the three sisters. The author’s confidence must be preserved as to the fate of the two unfortunate ladies on whom Arthur Venning had successively bestowed his preference. This ‘out-of- door romance”’ is well worth reading for its own sake. It is painful in a sense, but extremely pathetic, and with a good deal of pastoral charm. Florence Marryat’s heroine, Evelyn Rayne, who becomes mistress of Mount Eden twice over, is not so pretty as the heroines of fiction are expected to be. She has a large, heavy nose, a wide mouth, and “a pair of large, liquid eyes, set in a noble fore- head.” But she is interesting and good- natured. The estate which she enjoys for a time has been left to her by an uncle, after one of his nephews has been drowned and the other has forged his name. The drowned cousin comes to life again, and serves Evelyn as overseer for some years, In | whilst the forger turns up and gets employ- ment on the estate, so that Miss Rayne has her two disguised cousins in her service, | one of whom she does not know, whilst they do not know each other. Such a story can _only have one ending, so far as the good people in it are concerned. The author goes on deepening the villainy of her villain throughout the book; but in the universal benevolence of her last two pages even the | forger is let off cheap, and has a prospect of living on the fat of the land. The best thing in Mrs. Oliphant’s last novelette is the discovery by Gervase—the sensitive, ultra-refined, hypercritical moralist, who nearly loses a healthy-minded girl who loves him rather than accept a sum of money from an unknown hand—of his father, who has taken bankruptcy so easily, living ob- | scurely with a young wife and family. Old Mr. Burton’s uneasy shamefacedness when he meets his son under these novel condi- tions, and the mutual relief with which they part, are in Mrs. Oliphant’s best manner. But on the whole the book is very slight, though we have never yet been able to call the author dull. LAW BOOKS. Commentaries on the Present Laws of England. By Thomas Brett, LL.B. 2 vols. (Clowes & Sons.)—Mr. Brett’s object has been to give, in as comprehensive a manner as is possible within moderate limits, an account of the present laws of England. ‘‘ The fact,” as he says, “that great, indeed almost revolutionary, changes have been introduced into the theory and practice of the law in recent times, so that, as a high autho- rity has told us, the judicial spirit itself is altered cooess would seem fully to justify the appearance of a work the object of which is to lay before the reader a statement of English law as it now is.” The work is divided into thirteen books. Booki. treats of real property. In no branch of the law have the changes above referred to been greater than in this department. Book ii, treats of personal property ; book iii. of contracts ; bookiv., torts. In book v. the large subject of equity is considered ; book vi. treats of practice ; book vii. of evidence ; book viii. of bankruptcy ; book ix. of probate and administration; book x. of divorce ; whilst Admiralty, ecclesiastical law, and criminal law form the subjects of the remaining three books respectively. The work is well and carefully written, and is not of inconvenient length, although the extent of the subject is immense. It is well adapted to convey a general idea of the existing state of the law, and will prove of use to the student, but will, we think, be of special value to the intelligent layman who wishes to acquire a general, though not profound, knowledge of the laws under which he lives. The Judicial Dictionary of Words and Phrases Judicially Interpreted. By F. Stroud. (Max- well & Sweet.)—This work differs considerably in character from all the pre-existing law dic- tionaries. On the one hand, its scope is wider than that of the works of Jacob, Tomline, and phrases not to be found in any of those works. But, on the other hand, it does not generally treat purely legal words and expres- sions at so great a length as is done in the works above mentioned. To use the author’s words, ‘The work is a dictionary of the English lan- guage (in its phrases as well as single words) so far as that language has received interpretation by the Judges. Its chief aim is that it may be a practical companion to the English-speaking lawyer, not only in the Mother Country, but also in the Colonies and Dependencies of the Queen. The hope is also indulged that it may not be without utility to the man of business, nor Wharton, and Sweet, and embraces many words | without interest to the student of word-lore.’’ These are rather ambitious aims, but we see no reason for doubting their realization. The idea underlying the work is a happy one, and it has been laboriously and ably worked out. The following extract, which we take from p. 62, and in which the author explains the word “attempt,” will give a fair idea of the character of the work: “ Attempt, A mere offer to give security on pro- perty if it can be effectually done is not an ‘at- tempt’ to anticipate or incumber the property within a clause of forfeiture (Graham v. Lee, 26 L.J.Ch. 395; 23 Bea. 388 ; 29 L.T. 0.8. 46): x. aliena- tion. ‘ An attempt to commit a crime is an act done with intent to commit that crime, and forming part of a series of acts which would constitute its actual commission if it were not interrupted. The point at which such a series of acts begins cannot be de- fined ; but depends upon the circumstances of each particular case. An act done with intent to commit a crime, the commission of which in the manner proposed was, in fact, impossible, is not an attempt to commit that crime. The offence of attempting to commit a crime may be committed in cases in which the offender voluntarily desists from the actual commission of the crime itself’ (Steph. Cr. 37, 38; Vf. R. v. Cheeseman, L. and C. 140; 31 L.J. M.C. 89).” The work will, in our opinion, be found valuable as a book of reference. The Law of Support and Subsidence. By Harry Lushington Stephen, LL.B. (Butter- worths.)—This little work deals with a very important and somewhat intricate subject, viz., the rights and duties of adjoining owners to require and give support from and to one an- other’s property. It is divided into six chapters, treating respectively of natural support, artificial support, modes of acquiring a right to support (grant and covenant), modes of acquiring a right to support (prescription), modes of acquir- ing a right to support (Acts of Parliament), and rights to interfere with support founded on prescription and custom of the manor. It is somewhat remarkable that several of the more important principles applicable to the subject have only been established quite recently, one of the leading cases (Humphries v. Brogden) having been decided in 1850, and another (Angus v. Dalton) in 1880. This circumstance is doubtless explicable, as the author observes, by the fact that the science of mining as now carried on is modern, as is also the practice of rebuilding town premises on a gigantic scale. Mr. Stephen’s work is an excellent exposition of the law on the subject. The Law and Practice of Letters Patent for Inventions, with the Patents Acts and Rules Annotated. By Lewis Edmunds, D.Sc., assisted by A. Wood Renton, M.A. (Stevens & Sons. )— The above work is the most comprehensive treatise on the law of patents which has ap- peared since the publication in 1846 of the work of the late Mr. Hindmarch. Since that year the law of patents, like many other branches of the law of England, has undergone the most exten- sive alterations. These alterations were partly effected by the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852. In the year 1883 that Act was repealed, and its provisions, with many additions and modifications, were re-enacted by the important Patents Act, 1883. One result of this legislation has been to simplify the proceedings necessary for obtaining letters patent and to diminish the expense thereof. The above work is divided into three parts. Part i. treats generally of patent law and practice; part ii. contains the Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks Acts, 1883- 1888, so far as they relate to patents, with full notes and cross-references to other parts of the work ; and part iii. contains an appendix of statutes, forms, foreign and colonial patent laws, &c. The law of patents has greatly in- creased in extent and importance since the pass- ing of the Patent Law Amendment Act, 1852, as may be inferred from the fact that before that Act the annual number of grants was about 450, whilst at the present time the number of grants per annum is about 10,000! The work seems
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XUM N° 3282, Szpr. 20, 90 THE ATHENZUM 383 very complete, and will meet a professional, if not a popular want. The Way to prove a Will and to take out Ad- ministration. By Almaric Rumsey. (Hogg.)— In this work the author has had chiefly in view the wants of three classes of people, viz., those appointed executors by, or who are next-of-kin of, deceased persons of small means ; clergymen, who may have to give advice to the poorer and more ignorant of their parishioners ; and solici- tors, who may find in the work the information required in ordinary cases of probate and ad- ministration in a more convenient form than in the large works on the subject. The book con- tains a good deal of information compressed into a small space; and in the appendixes all the forms required in ordinary applications for pro- bates and letters of administration are set forth. The book will chiefly be found of use by the first-mentioned two classes above referred to, A Handbook on Investments in Houses and Lands. By R. Denny Urlin, F.S.S. (Effing- ham Wilson & Co.)—This little work contains a good deal of information likely to be of use to persons who may contemplate an investment in land or houses, but have had little or no experience in dealing with that species of pro- perty. The work comprises chapters on the purchase of freehold and other real or heritable property and of leaseholds ; on house property in towns, taxes and other outgoings, tenants’ agreements and leases, mortgages, building societies, Irish property, and solicitors and agents, In the appendix are chapters on, among other things, registration of title and solicitors’ remuneration. We observe that at p. 31 Mr. Denny Urlin states that ‘‘a freehold residence in Sloane Square, or Grosvenor Place, or in any other of the best London quarters, if in very good condition, can only be bcught to yield about 44 per cent.; while small house property in the third-rate suburbs may be bought to yield 9 or 10 per cent., or even more.” The first part of the statement is pro- bably very near the truth, but our experience leads us to think that the second part of the statement is exaggerated. If by ‘‘small house property” is meant weekly property occupied by working men, “9 or 10 per cent.” might fairly be taken to represent the gross return to the landlord; but when the cost of repairs, rates, taxes, and other outgoings (including agents’ charges of collecting rents), all of which are in the case of property of the class in ques- tion borne by the landlord, are deducted, the nett return to the landlord is very little, if at all, over 5 per cent. How to be Married in all Ways and Every- where throughout the British Empire and in Foreign States. By Thomas Moore, late Surro- gate in the Diocese of Canterbury. (Griffith & Farran.)—The author’s object in this book is “to present to the public a brief, comprehen. sive, and clear outline of the British laws re- lating to the solemnization or contract of marriage, and also of the laws of some foreign states relating thereto, so far as the inter- marriages of British subjects with the subjects of such states are concerned.” The work, we believe, is the only one in English treating of the forms of marriage generally. It contains chapters on (among other things) marriages in the Church of England, marriages in Roman Catholic and Nonconformist chapels registered for marriages, marriages by superintendent registrar's certificate, marriages in a super- intendent registrar’s office, remarriages, mar- riages of divorced persons, marriages of Quakers, Jewish marriages, marriages in Ireland, Scot- land, Jersey, &c., and India, and marriages of British subjects in foreign countrics and on board British war and merchant ships. The work will be found of general utility ; but why should the author have added some fourteen pages to its length by setting out in full the Church of England marriage service, from the | publication of the banns to the final admonition as to the “new-married persons” receiving the Holy Communion ? Income Tax; and how to get it Refunded: Practical Instructions for Assessment, Appeal, and Return of Tax. By Alfred Chapman. Seventh and revised Edition. (Effingham Wilson & Co.)—That this is a convenient and useful little book might be seen by a glance at its contents, even if its good qualities were not suf- ficiently attested by the appearance of a seventh edition. It honestly covers the ground indicated by the title, and treats the various points in a practical manner. As an instance, the reader is taught how to calculate his three years’ average underchanging circumstances by looking through ten years of a supposed tradesman’s business, during which the various incidents of abate- ment, exemption, full payment, and relief under 5 & 6 Vict. c. 35, s. 133, are lucidly illustrated. Greater accuracy of language would be desirable here and there ; ¢.9., it should have been stated that property is exempt when wnoccupied, not when “unlet.” Perhaps there is no body of law more discreditable to our statute book on the score of prolixity and confusion than the Income Tax Acts. The public should be grateful to an author who gives them some intelligible | ideas on a subject respecting which they could probably derive none whatever from an unaided study of the Acts themselves. OUB LIBRARY TABLE Characters and Episodes of the Great Rebellion. Selected from the History and Autobiography of Edward, Earl of Clarendon, and edited by the Very Rev. G. D. Boyle. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.)—We are by no means satisfied that a series of selections from Clarendon was called for, but are quite sure that, if it were, Dean Boyle is not the man to do it effectively. The old Royalism of the Civil War time is not dead yet. In many a country home it is as rampant as ever, and some who can trace their ancestry to the days of Naseby fight, the sur- render of Newark, or the doings of the garrison of what took place in those wild times as authentic history. There is much that is pardonable— something, indeed, poetic—in all this, but we do not thank any one for giving us scraps from Clarendon’s books compiled with an evident bias against the Parliamentary party. The pre- face is a short one, but long enough to show the author’s point of view. “If it be true,” Dean Boyle says, “ that the plots for the assas- sination of Cromwell were really secretly en- couraged by Clarendon, some allowance must be made for the many provocations he had re- ceived.” To us this is absolutely unintelligible, except on the grounds on which some men have chosen to defend the slaughters of the French Revolution. It used to be the fashion of the writers of the last century to charge the Jesuits with teaching murder. We will not now discuss the truth or falsehood of such an allegation, but it certainly rings strangely in our ears when the very same doctrines come from the pen of an English dean. We ourselves believe that murder is in no case whatever to be tolerated, and that those who suggest that ‘‘ many provocations” should be taken into account are misleading | teachers, who are, of course unconsciously, furnishing an excuse for any ruffian of the police court. Cromwell had done no especial injury to Clarendon, but he knew him to be devoted to the cause of the dead king, and was | Digby.” | | | compelled to treat him as anenemy. We have | no fault to find with the very high character Dean Boyle gives of Clarendon as a writer of stately prose; there is nothing of the kind equal to it in our language; but we are bound to provide this set-off. As far as our researches have gone among his collection of MSS. in the Bodleian and other sources of information, we have rarely found him accurate, and we believe | speech of her rustic neighbours. h ; : | Pontefract, still treasure Clarendon’s version of | not actually peasant born (as was William Barnes, that some of his errors are not mere mistakes. The selections are well made, but we cannot help feeling that the compiler is Qéo.v duapyA- Adtrwv. The extract called “The Usage of the King ” is a flagrant instance of this kind. We should like to be informed whether Dean Boyle knows what was the treatment given by Par- liament to Edward II, and Richard II. ; and it would be interesting to know whether he has ever heard of a book called ‘ King Charles his Case ; or, an Appeal to all Rational Men con- cerning his Tryal and Execution in the High Court of Justice,’ by John Cook, of Gray’s Inn, barrister. It was written in days when we had still great lawyers in the land. The dean’s few notes are not of much value. Great care is taken to throw a pleasant light on those who in their love for monarchy condoned the faith- lessness of the king. We are told that ‘the family of Glynne are descended from Sir Kenelm This is true, but gives us little in- formation, for, as the dean should know, there are several races of Glynne which do not inherit the Digby blood. Modern Men, from the Scots Observer (pub- lished by Edward Arnold), is not much in our way. Some of the sketches are affected by party politics, others are too ‘‘savage,” but many of them are decidedly clever. They are said to be by various hands. Miss Maset Peacocx’s little volume Taales fra Linkisheere (Simpkin & Co.) is more than equal in merit to her ‘ Tales and Rhymes in the Lindsey Folk-Speech,’ published two years ago. There are both pathos and humour in the tales, and their style is quite in keeping with the cha- racter of the supposed narrators. It is very seldom that we observe a sentence that looks like a translation from literary English. The book will, no doubt, be thoroughly relished by Lincolnshire people, and by those outside the county who interest themselves in dialect lite- rature. We should like to see, however, what Miss Peacock could do in the way of writing stories in common English, portraying the manner of life and the ways of thought and For any one for instance) writing in dialect must always be more or less of a tour de force; and, excellent as these stories are, they suggest that the author might do still better work, and at the same time reach a wider circle of readers, if she wrote in her own person and in ordinary language. The phonetic spelling is, on the whole, good, though it is impossible quite to convey a correct notion of the pronunciation to those who have never heard it. Such renderings as agaain, paaid, how- ever, are more misleading than they need have been. Or ‘‘Heinemann’s International Library,” edited by Mr. Edmund Gosse, we have the first two volumes on our table—In God’s Way, trans- lated by Elizabeth Carmichael from the Nor- wegian of Bjérnstjerne Bjérnson, and Guy de Maupassant’s Pierre and Jean, translated from the French by Clara Bell. It would not have been easy to find two contemporary novels better worth translating into English. Bjérnson’s story is conceived in that downright, honest spirit, exe- cuted with that laborious, patient detail, for which we have been accustomed to look in the romances of Scandinavian novelists. ‘In God’s Way ’ is thoroughly pathetic ; but at times it is so uncompromising in its representation of facts that it would serve M. de Maupassant as an instance of the unskilful art which he describes in his striking introduction to the later editions of ‘Pierre et Jean.’ The latter story is more familiar to English readers than Bjérnson’s, and there is much to be said for the consensus of judgment which ranks it amongst the best gems of modern French fiction. As a study of cha- racter through what Mr. Gosse calls “ the super- ficial aspects of action and intrigue” it is worthy of comparison with some of the most painfully
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384 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3282, Sept. 20,90 engrossing works of Balzac. Pierre’s two nights on the breakwater at Havre and the scene between the mother and her son in the seventh chapter are aquafortis etchings as keen and un- compromising as any that can be found in psycho- logical fiction. Mr. Gosse’s introductions to both stories are adequate and not over-ambitious. Is it hypercritical to add a protest against the printing of such unsightly words as ‘‘ harbor,” *‘endeavor,” and “labor” in an English book ? They are not English words, and they look more inappropriate than ever in a translation from the French. Paltry attempts of this kind to improve the English language where no improvement is called for ought not to pass without demur. WE have on our table A Holiday Trip to America, by W. Stanyen (Simpkin), — Our Holiday; or, the Honeypets at the Seaside, by T. E. Southee (Diprose & Bateman),— Pocket Map and Shippers’ Guide of Pennsylvania (Chi- cago, Rand, McNally & Co.),—asy French Passages for Unseen Translation, compiled by A. M. M. Stedman (Methuen & Co.),—Book- keeping, by D. Tolmie (Pitman),—Hducation from the Cradle, by Princess Mary Ouroussov, translated by Mrs. E. Fielding (Bell),—Prac- tical Ambulance Tablets, by S. Partridge, M.D. (Churchill),—A Theory of Wit and Humour, by F, R. Fleet (Remington),—My Wife's Politics, by H. G. Hutchinson (Arnold),—Nunnery Life in the Church of England, by Sister Mary Agnes, O.8.B., edited by the Rev. W. L. Holland (Hodder & Stoughton), — Geometry in Re- ligion, and the Exact Dates in Biblical His- tory after the Monuments (E. W. Allen),— Pastor Pastorum ; or, the Schooling of the Apostles by our Lord, by the Rev. H. Latham (Bell), —Isaac and Jacob: their Lives and Times, by G. Rawlinson, M.A. (Nisbet),—La Genése Uni- verselle, by J. de Strada (Paris, Dreyfous),—Die Gesetze und Elemente des Wéissenschaftlichen Denkens, by Dr. G. Heymans, Vol. I. (Leyden, Van Doesburgh),— Walther von der Vogelweide, by A. E. Schénbach (Dresden, Ehlermann),— Les Deux Rivales: V Angleterre et la France, by Léon Delbos (Paris, Savine),—and Contes pour les Assassins, by M. Beaubourg(Paris, Perrin & Co.). Among New Editions we have A Popular Hand- book to the National Gallery, compiled by E. T. Cook (Macmillan),—Daphnis and Chloe, a Pas- toral Romance, from the Greek of Longus (Vize- telly),—Notes from a Soldier’s Diary, by D. E. Mackay (Remington), — Battalion Drill made Easy, by W. Gordon (Chatham, Gale & Polden), —and Inventions, and How to Patent Them, by T. E. Smith (Whittaker & Co.). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology. Grey’s (H.) An Epitome of the Holy Bible, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Hardman’s (Rev. W.) The Preacher Prepared, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Life and the Shadow of Death, compiled by E. Tee, 2/6 cl. Maclaren’s (A.) The Holy of Holies, Sermons on Chapters xiv.-xvi. of Gospel of 8t. John, cr. 8vo, 5/ cl. Fine Art. Brown (W.) and Charlton's (E. W.) The River Dart, a Series of Etchings. 4to. 10/6 cl. Poetry and the Drama, Farrar’s (F. W.) With the Poets, a Selection of English Poetry, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Keats’s (J.) Poetical Works, 12mo, 2/5 cl. (Aldine Poets.) Shakespeare’s Works, edited by H. Irving and F. A. Marshall, Vol. 8, royal 8vo. 10/6 cl. History and Biography. Dictionary of National Biography, edited by L. Stephen and 8. Lee, Vol. 24, royal 8vo. 15/ cl. Fearenside’s (C. 8.) History of England, 1485-1580, with a Chapter on Literature of the Period by Low, 3/6 cl. Gardiner’s (8. R.) The Students’ History of England: Vol. 1, B.c. 55 to A.D. 1509, er. 8vo. 4/ cl. Johnson’s Lives of the Poets, edited with Notes by Mrs. A. Napier, 3 vols. cr. 8vo. 3/6 each, cl. Lane-Poole’s (8.) Life of Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, K.G., cr. 8vo0. 7/6 cl. Schwaab’s (E. F.) The Secrets of Canning, cr. 8vo. 25/ cl. Walpole’s (S.) History of England from the Conclusion of the Great War in 1815, Vol. 4, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Geography and Travel. Hamilton’s (W.) A Transatlantic Voyage, or Twelve Days on the Ocean, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Ward’s (C. S.) Surrey and Sussex (including Tunbridge Wells), 12mo. 3/6 cl, Philology. Century Dictionary, ed. by Prof. W. D. Whitney, Vol. 3, folio, 42/ cl. Homer’s Iliad, Books 22 and 23, literally translated, with Notes, by J. H. Freese, cr. 8vo. 2/ swd. Lallemand (H.) and Antoine’s (A.) French Composition and Idioms, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Melliet’s (Leo) Le Frangais par le Frangais: 2nd Part, Con- struction et Syntaxe, 12mo. 3/ cl. Otto (Dr. E.) and Corkran’s (S. F.) French Dialogues, 2/6 cl. Xenophon’s Memorabilia, edited for Schools, with Notes, &c., by J. Marshall, 12mo. 4/6 cl. Science, Beuttler’s (J. O.) Inorganic Chemistry, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Buxton’s (A. 8t. Clair) Ophthalmic Hints: Diagnosis and Treatment of Affections of the Eye, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Eustace’s (Rev. J. M.) Notes on Trigonometry and Loga- rithms, cr. 8vo. 4/6 cl. Ferrier’s (D.) Croonian Lectures on Cerebral Localisation, June, 1890, 8vo. 7/6 cl. Lock’s (C. E. W.) Mining and Ore-Dressing Machinery, 52/6 Morris’s (J. H.) Practical Plane and Solid Geometry, includ- ing Graphic Arithmetic, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Newsholme’s (A.) Lessons on Health, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Potts (W. A.) and Sargeant’s (W. L.) Elementary Algebra, with Numerous Examples, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. General Literature, Brine’s (M. D.) Christmas Rhymes and New Year’s Chimes, roy. 8vo. 5/ cl. Butler’s (N.) Geraldine, a Tale of Real Life, cr, 8vo. 2/ cl. Cook’s (W.) Ducks and How to Make them Pay, cr. 8vo. 2/cl. Daudet’s (A.) Kings in Exile, cr. 8vo. 3/6 swd. Dickens’s (C.) The Christmas Carol, a Facsimile Reproduction of the Author’s Original MS8., 4to. 10/6 half-parchment. Half-Hours with the Best English Authors, selected and arranged by C. Morris, 2 vols. cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Hamer’s (S. 8.) An Old Chronicle of Leighton, cr, 8vo. 3/6 cl. Harte’s (Bret) The Heritage of Dedlow Marsh, and other Tales, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Hazlitt’s (W. C.) Studies in Jocular Literature, 12mo. 4/6 cl. Holroyd’s (C.) At all Cost, or a Wilful Woman, cr. 8vo. 3/6 Johnstone’s (P. H.) The Age of Chivalry, cr. 8vo. 4/6 cl. Ker’s (D.) The Rajah’s Legacy, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Meade’s (L. T.) The Beresford Prize, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Moser’s (Inspector) Stories from Scotland Yard, cr. 8vo. 2/ Payn’s (J.) The Word and the Will, 3 vols. cr. 8vo. 31/6 cl. Peet’s (T.) Besom Yard, a Story of Trial, Temptation, and Deliverance, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. Phelps (E. 8.) and Ward's (H. D.) Come Forth, cr. 8vo. 7/6 Randolph’s (Lieut.-Col. G.) Aunt Abigail Dykes, a Novel, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Ryland’s(F.) Chronological Outlines of English Literature, cr. 8vo, 6/ cl. Spen’s (Kay) True of Heart, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Stark’s (J.) Life’s Phases, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. True Stories from French History, compiled by N. M. Paul, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. FOREIGN, Theology. Hartel (W. v.): Patristische Studien, Part 4, 1m. 60. Maimonides: Kiddusch Hachodesch, ed. E. Mahler, 2m, 50, Fine Art and Archeology. Boetticher (E.): Hissarlik wie es ist, 3m. Brugsch (H.): Religion u. Mythologie der alten Aegypter, 16m. 50. Havard (H.): Dictionnaire de l’Ameublement, Vol. 4, 55fr. History and Biography. oo (Comte): Le Prince Impérial, Napoléon IV., r. 50. Krall (J.): Studien zur Geschichte d. alten Aegypten, Part 4, 1m. 60. Philology. Delectus Veterum Carminum Arabicorum, ed. T. Néldeke, 7m, Science. Deutschmann (R.): Beitrige zur Augenheilkunde, Part 1, 2m Internationaler Atlas seltener Hautkrankheiten, ed. P. G Unna, &c., Parts 3 and 4, 20m. ° General Literature, Henkel (H.): Goethe u. die Bibel, 2m. Monnier (H.): Scénes Populaires, 12f. Péladan (J.): Coeur en Peine, 3fr. 50. Stapleaux (L.): L’Ivresse de Jean Renaud, 3fr. 50. THE PREDECESSORS OF THE SERVICE BOOK. IT is to be regretted that neither Sir Walter Scott nor Lord Macaulay has been very precise in his description of the volume that caused the great ferment in Scotland in the time of Charles I., seeing that there are many persons who are content to take their views of several points of Scots history from these writers. The last- named author says, for example, that it was ‘* the English Liturgy ”—which it certainly was not. But he goes on to modify the statement considerably, and adds, ‘‘or rather a Liturgy which, wherever it differed from that of England, differed, in the judgment of all rigid Protestants, for the worse.” This, perhaps, is not far from the truth. The statement to be found in the “ Large Declaration” of King Charles, that the English Prayer Book and the Service Book were almost identical, is by no means a truthful record. The king was by that time in sore straits, and a plausible view of his good intentions had to be put forward. This theory, by the way, is the view which misled a correspondent of the Atheneum who some two or three years ago was so hardy as to call in question Dean Stanley’s share in the tablet erected in St. Giles’s to commemorate. the events of 1637. Most of the readers of this journal, however, are aware that it was, in several important respects, a very different volume from the Common Prayer Book of the Church of England that it was attempted to force upon Scotland. It is needless to recall the cruel injustice, the duplicity, the concealments, the poor puns, and the tricky steps taken in introducing. the canons with which the Service Book was ushered in. There could not fail to be much jealousy. Notwithstanding, it was the opinion of many of the more reasonable that had the king thought fit to send down to Scotland the Prayer Book of the Church of England, with,. perhaps, a new title-page showing the Scottish arms, and setting forth that the book was for the use of the Church of Scotland, all would have- gone well, without any further unpleasantness than a few wry faces on the part of the ultra- Scotch. Lord Clarendon was one of those whose opinions tended in this direction, Thus he gives his views: “The whole [Scottish] nation seemed in the time of King James well inclined to receive the Liturgy of the Church of England. ose And many wise menwere then, andstill are, of opinion that if the king had proposed the Liturgy of the Church of England to have been received’ and practised by that nation it would have beer submitted to against opposition” (‘ Hist.,’ booki.). In another place Lord Clarendon states that one purpose of Charles’s visit to Scotland in 1633: was ‘to finish the important business of the Liturgy.” Further, Laud, who accompanied the king, remarked in conversation with Bishop Maxwell: ‘‘I told him I was clear of opinion that if his Majesty would have a Liturgy settled: then it were best to take the English Liturgy without any alteration, that the same Service: Book might be established in all his Majesty’s dominions.” It is in support of the reasonableness of these views that I would submit the following facts, which I believe are not so well known, even by persons well versed in the subject of Caroline liturgies, as they deserve to be. There was already in Scotland at the time spoken of, besides Knox’s ‘ Book of Common Order,’ a version of the English Liturgy, ‘The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments...... of the Church of England,’ in common use. It is a small octavo volume, of which the dimensions are: height, 64 inches ; width, 4} inches ; and a quarter of an inch in thickness, This little book was printed at Edin- burgh “ by the Printers to the King’s most excel- lent Majestie, c.p. 1633.” There is typographical evidence to show that it issued from the office of the printer of Laud’s book, namely, Robert Young, whom the Earl of Stirling, in concord with Robert Baillie, characterizes as ‘‘ the greatest knave he ever dealt with.” A copy of this interesting volume is in the Advocates’ Library—a handy little book, not very well printed and meant evidently to be cheap. It has been suggested that this volume may have been put out in view of King Charles’s visit. to Scotland, without any thought of its passing into general circulation. It is true that “ at the King’s Chapel at Holyrood, at one of the colleges at St. Andrews, and at some of the cathedrals, the English Liturgy was used without offence ” (Prof. 8. R. Gardiner). But this theory is scarcely sufficient, for this reason : There was published in the following year, 1634, another edition of this book, similar in size and general appearance, but with such minor differences of type, &c., as to show that it was not merely a further issue of the original Prayer Book, but a veritable new edition. Thus the appearance of at least two cheap editions of the English
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XUM N° 3282, Serr. 20, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 385 Liturgy, both printed in Edinburgh within the e of less than two years, is surely evidence that this book was in extensive use prior to the memorable year 1637. The copy of the 1634 volume at one time in my possession was the property of the late Mr. David Laing, and I believe was sold at his sale. Copies of both the books I have mentioned were exhibited by him at the Caxton Celebration as curiosities, and excited considerable attention. I have not been able to find mention of either of these editions in any list of the various issues of the Prayer Book that I have consulted. Yet it is evident that there must have been many of them in use at onetime. The late Mr. Francis Fry of Bristol, the well-known collector, having learnt that I was interested in this subject, very courteously sent me a goodly bundle of fragments, in a more or less tattered condition, single leaves and half leaves, from which I believe it would have been possible, with patience, to make up one or two complete copies of the Prayer Books. To leave no part of the case unstated, it should be noted that in one point there is a considerable divergence between the two books. In the prayer for the royal family in the Litany the book of 1633 has: ‘‘ Almighty God the fountain......our most gracious queen Marie, Prince Charles, the lady Marie, the lady Eliza- beth his Majesties only sister and her princely issue,’’ whereas the book of the following year has in the corresponding prayer: “Our Most Gracious Queen Mary, prince Charles and the rest of the royall Progeny.” There may have been State reasons for the change. Moreover, of the fragments mentioned one or two of the year 1633 do not correspond with one another in typography. Further, these fragments of Mr. Fry’s differ considerably from Mr. Laing’s copy of the same year. The Edin- burgh Prayer Book of 1633 may be found in the British Museum, but not that of 1634. It has been often shown that in Archbishop Laud’s time the objection to the English Prayer Book was far from being universal in Scotland. It was his own Service Book, with its faulty doctrines, that was the cause of quarrel, and, as much as anything else, the unscrupulous manner in which the canons enforcing its use were con- ceived and their provisions carried out. We need say nothing regarding the Popish doctrines alleged to be found in his book, but, on the contrary, may give the author of it full credit for a new form of Anglicanism, different from the more noble and comprehensive Anglicanism of Hooker ; yet his theory was so little understood that Queen Henrietta Maria as well as both the Puritans and the Papists of that time mistook it for Popery. Ina letter to Madame de Motteville, quoted by Hallam, the queen writes of Laud him- self that she found him ‘‘dans son cceur trés bon Catholique’; and in his liturgy “peu de différence de la foi orthodoxe.” Her Majesty and the Pope, for all his infallibility, were grievously wrong on both points ; and both were proportionately disappointed. The Scots were, no doubt, also in error when they found in the archbishop’s book ‘‘ nought bot the mass in English ”; not quite so much in the wrong, per- haps, when they asserted that by it “also the Service Book of England is abused.” But two such experts as those that have been named having been deceived, is it any wonder that the Scots nation were also led into error, and re- sented the misleading ? The Service Book is a splendid specimen of the typographic art, a noble black-letter folio. The price, too, was splendid—namely, 41. 16s., or, with the canons, “91. 12s. the two,” a goodly sum for a country minister to pay in those days. The cheap little Prayer Books I have mentioned compare favourably with the Service Book in point of economy. This paper is bibliographical, not doctrinal ; but it may be stated that, as is well known, the Scots Communion Office of the present day is based on the corresponding portion of Laud’s Liturgy. This office it has lately been the well-intended object of the bishops of the Scots Episcopal Church, by certain well-considered alterations, to raise to an equality with the position held by the English Prayer Book. These efforts have for the moment failed, from the action of one party in the Church, who deprecate a finger being laid, as they think, ona precious relic, a national document, conveying views pure and primitive, and based on models ancient and Eastern ; and of another party, who Question the claim to Scots nationality, and dislike—even in an amended form—what they believe to be a cause of doubt and perplexity to many. Arex. Frrevusson, Lieut.-Col. AMERICAN PUBLISHERS AND BRITISH AUTHORS. WE have been requested to publish the follow- ing letter :— Miss M. E. Braddon. DEAR MADAM,—My attention has been called to a card recently published by you in the London Atheneum, in which you charge me with having used your name in connexion with a story (pub- lished in the New York Mercury) which you had not written. The accidental omission of a line “founded on the melodrama of ‘The Missing Wit- ness’” (which was written by you) has afforded you the grounds for the charge. I say “accidental omission” because, in a multitude of suggestions fora more satisfactory title for the novelette than the original one, ‘Marion de Marsac,’ the missing line was omitted by a mere chance. I regret that this unintentional omission should have caused you annoyance. The story, I am sure, reflects no dis- credit upon you. The novelette was written and purchased by me several years ago, from Mr. Henry L. Williams, a well-known Jittérateur, then, if not now, in the employ of your husband, Mr. Maxwell, and I had reason to believe from that circumstance and the internal evidence of — style which he had adopted, as well as from the fact that he had followed closely the language of the play, that he had your permission to use the material, and that there would be no objection to presenting your name in connexion with it. The father of Mr. Williams, since dead, was in my employ as a reader at the time, and when he brought me the story I had every reason to think it had met your approbation, and this was the inducement that led me to make the purchase. As to the insinuation made by you that your name had once before been used in the Mercury in con- nexion with a story you had not written, permit me to correct the misstatement. Some twenty-five years ago I purchased from one of your countrymen and published in the Mercury one of your early productions, entitled ‘The Black Band,’ a powerful and a very good 7% which, after its appearance, I was informed by a literary correspondent in Eng- land you had threatened to repudiate because it was a little too sensational for the style you were then seeking to adopt ; but as printed evidence of the paternity of the tale was within reach, the rela- tions of the story to you were not at that time further disturbed. You complain that upwards of fifty of your stories have been used on this side of the Atlantic without recompense to you. This may be true, for the so-called “Library” publishers here are as great pirates in the matter of the productions of English writers as are the cheap publication houses on your side of the ocean in regard to the works of American authors. But permit me to assure you— and the fact is susceptible of proof—that no journal in the United States or Canada has dealt so fairly with English writers as has the New York Mer- New York, Sept. 4, 1890. cury, which for over thirty years has been annually | in receipt of advance proof-sheets from leading writers of Europe — among others, Pierce Egan, Mrs. Henry Wood, Charles Reade, Wilkie Collins, Fairfax Balfour, B, L. Farjeon, “ Ouida,” Rhoda Broughton, and others—and during the last quarter of a century I have paid to your publishers thou- sands of dollars for advance sheets of your stories, though they did not always prove satisfactory after being dames Boome on the strength of your name, a fact which has led to the suspicion expressed to me by my reader that you were only the alleged author of the romances forwarded from your literary headquarters in your name. Indeed, it was only in January of the present year that I bought from one of your publishers, Sir W. C. Leng, the right for the State of New York to use the advance sheets of your latest production, ‘By Whose Hand?’ and paid for the same. But upon receipt of the copy and submitting it to my reader,it was pronounced too “dry, dull, and dreary ” to retain the interest neces- sary for serial publication, and was laid aside as a dead loss. My reader also called attention to the fact that the plot in this story was very similar to the plot of the story purchased and published last year, ‘By Whose Hand?’ and this was an additional reason against imposing it upon the public. Per- haps this refusal to publish after paying for ‘ By Whose Hand ?’ may in some measure account for the animus of your recent ill-natured and inaccurate card. With much respect, I remain, Yours, &e., W. CAULDWELL. Miss Braddon writes to us :— While frankly admitting his sin of omission, Mr. Cauldwell curiously ignores his sin of commission in the shape of a flaming paragraph which an- nounced ‘ Tiger Head; or, the Ghost of the Ava- lanche,’ as a new and original story by M. E, Braddon: a statement hardly consistent with the knowledge that the mafiuscript had been sold to him by the adapter—in more than one sense—of the drama, and ostensibly as an adaptation. After a polite expression of his regret for this unintentional omission, Mr. Cauldwell goes on to tell me some home truths, which I hope I am able to accept in the chastened spirit of a writer inured to the fluctuations of critical opinion. That a vamped-up story, in which a thin thread of dialogue —from a drama written fifteen years ago, chiefl with a view to scenic display—meanders throug the wide expanse of Mr. Williams’s eloquence, should be preferred by the subscribers of the Vew York Mercury to a novel carefully thought out and carefully written for serial publication argues some eccentricity of taste upon their part; while the resemblance in style between Mr. Williams’s work and mine is a point upon which I would invite the judgment of my American readers, I do not myself admit that resemblance. I must further beg to assure Mr. Cauldwell and the American public that of those fifty novels pub- lished in England under my own name, every line, from the first page to the last, has been written by me. The original MSS. of the greater number of those novels are in my house at Richmond, where rene of my American friends have seen and handled them. Any similarity between my recent novel, written for Sir Christopher Leng, and another story called ‘By Whose Hand ? ’—if it exists otherwhere thanin the imagination of Mr, Cauldwell—is purely acci- dental, as I have not seen that story, or even so much as a review of that story, nor has it ever been spoken about in my hearing. In closing this dis- cussion of the morality of American piracy I would remind the readers of the Atheneum that Mr. Cauld- well’s method of supplying English fiction is at least half a century old, as in 1841 Charles Lever had to. protest against the issue in a leading New York journal of a serial described as “‘ Major O’Connor,’ by the author of ‘Charles O’Malley,’”’ not one line of which the author of ‘Charles O’Malley’ had written. THE SALE OF PARISH REGISTERS. 6, Fulham Park Road, 8.W., Sept. 6, 1890. May I be permitted to state that the earliest parish register of Didcot, co. Berks, has passed into my possession? A copy has been made for printing, and the original restored to the parish from whence it strayed. The book has been missing for some years, and but for its appear- ance in the catalogue of a local bookseller would probably have remained in private hands for an indefinite period. Whether the advertisement of such records for sale is to be encouraged I leave your readers to decide. Gzo. F. Tupor SHERWOOD. AN ELIZABETHAN POET AND HIS RELATIONS. Tue document concerning the author of ‘The Passionate Century of Love’ which Mr. Hubert Hall has discovered among the unpub- lished State Papers, and which is printed in your issue of August 23rd, is of so great interest that it seems almost ungracious to question the most important conclusion the discoverer draws from it, viz., that Thomas Watson was a dramatist as well as a poet. I cannot help thinking that the antiquary’s natural desire for discovery has induced the deduction which Mr. Hall draws from the passage in the Heneage letter :—‘‘S™ he that could devise twenty fictions and knave- ryes in a play w” was his daily practyse and his living.” I trust that the transcriber will
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386 THE ATHENAUM N° 3282, Srpr. 20, 90 pardon the questions, first, whether the word which is printed “play” may not be “ platt” ; and, second, if the word is really ‘‘ play” in the MS., whether the ‘‘twenty fictions and knaveryes” are not rather to be referred to the plot, play, plan, or trick in-which Watson had engaged himself with his brother-in-law for the worldly advantage of both of them than to the writing of dramas or stage plays. If dramatic authorship had been Watson’s ‘‘ daily practyse and his living,” it seems hardly possible that no record of such work should be found in the Stationers’ Registers or elsewhere. F. 8. Ex.ts. BONFIRES. Paris, Passy, Sept. 7, 1890. I sez it announced in the Athenewm of yes- terday that “ Dr. Rackwitz, of Bochum, is collect- ing materials for an exhaustive treatise on the so-called Freudenfeuer.’’ Some indications are added which clearly show that it is purposed to treat this important subject on mistaken lines, and with the feeblest grasp as to what it really includes. These fires on high places are not of German heathen origin, as alleged. They are the remains of ancient Sabian worship, and can- not be considered as distinctive of any one race, as the custom was disseminated among many races, and was not confined to one country nor to one continent. Its observance was no doubt modified by climate and locality, but in Scan- dinavia, as the Midsummarsblot, or on the shores of the Mediterranean its characteristics were the same. To seek for any boundary lines in its ancient prevalence, so as to mark any ethno- logical boundary, is illusive. Its extensive prac- tice in the early past is seen from the fact that, although Charlemagne issued at least one edict prohibiting it, the Romish Church found it to be more politic not to combat it, but to change the name into St. John’s fires. Dr. Rackwitz will find information as to its practice in England in Dyer’s ‘ Popular Customs’ and Brand’s ‘ An- tiquities.’ He is further mistaken in limiting its actual practice to the ‘‘north of France as far as Brittany.” If he had been in the little town of Cannes, on the Riviera, on the 24th of June last, he would have found himself stifled with smoke, and on inquiry would have learned that it was caused by les feux de St. Jean, then burn- ing on the neighbouring heights. J. G. FoTHEeRIncHam. September 8, 1890. In last Saturday’s Athenwwm a correspondent asks for local information regarding “ fire- festivals” kindled anywhere in recent times. It may not be generally known that in the island of Jersey on St. John’s Eve the older inhabitants used to light fires under large iron pots full of water, in which they placed silver articles —as spoons, mugs, &c.—and then knocked the silver against the iron, with the idea of scaring away all evil spirits. There are now railroads in Jersey, and these old-world practices have probably disappeared. WwW. D. ‘HISTORY OF FIFE AND KINROSS.’ Dundee, Sept. 13, 1890. In the review of Sheriff Mackay’s ‘ History of Fife and Kinross’ in to-day’s issue of the Atheneum the critic suggests that the word dightavit should be digitavit. This is even more ludicrous than the original passage in Drum- mond of Hawthornden’s poem of the ‘ Polemo- Middinia,’ or Midden-fecht, from which the learned sheriff quoted correctly, and which is acknowledged to be the earliest Scottish maca- ronic poem. When the poet is describing the rustics who are mustering to the battle, he finishes the list thus :— et alter (Deil stick it ignoro nomen) slavry beardius homo Qui pottas dightavit, et assas jecerat extra. Here he evidently alludes to a kitchen scullion “‘who wipes the pots, and throws the ashes outside.” The verb ‘to dight,” pronounced dicht, is in constant use throughout Scotland, and the phrase is perfectly intelligible, as it stands, to every Scotsman. A. H. Mittar. *,* Mr. Millar is certainly right. During the month of August, when the review was written, no copy of the ‘ Polemo-Middinia’ was acces- sible; and Sheriff Mackay does not give the context. THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON. Messrs. Suir, Exper & Co. are about to pub- lish ‘ English Prose : its Elements, History, and Usage,’ by Prof. J. Earle,—‘ The Historic Note- Book,’ by the Rev. Dr. Brewer, — ‘ Pocket Volume of Selections from the Poetical Works of Robert Browning,’—two anonymous novels, ‘A Bride from the Bush’ and ‘The Rajah’s Heir,’—besides new editions of the ‘ Life and Writings of Joseph Mazzini,’ in 6 vols., of which Vol. I. will be published on October 27th; of Stepniak’s ‘Underground Russia,’ with a preface by Peter Lavroff, translated from the Italian; of Darwin’s ‘ Geological Observations’; of ‘Hodge and his Masters,’ by Richard Jefferies, and ‘The Gamekeeper at Home,’ by the same author; ‘ With Essex in Ireland,’ by the Hon. Emily Lawless ; and ‘Object Lessons in Practical Life,’ a new edition of the series of reading books hitherto called ‘ Suggestive Lessons in Practical Life,’ graduated for Standards 3 to 7. They also announce as new additions to their popular red- cloth novels three of Mr. George Gissing’s works : ‘Demos,’ ‘A Life’s Morning,’ and ‘ The Nether World’; and a reissue of the Brontés’ works in 7 vols. Messrs. Bell & Sons’ announcements in- clude ‘The Shorter Poems of Robert Bridges,’ —a new and cheap reissue of the ‘‘ Aldine Edition” of the poets, the first seven volumes being Blake, Keats, Campbell, Coleridge, 2 vols., and Chatterton, 2 vols.,—‘ The Life and Works of Sir G. A. Macfarren,’ by Prof. H. C. Banister, —‘ The Diary and Letters of Madame D’Arblay,’ 4 vols.,—‘ The Registers of Cheltenham College,’ edited by Alexander A. Hunter, Registrar,— a revised edition, by Edward Bell, F.S.A., of ‘ Architectural Studies in France,’ by the late Rev. J. L. Petit,—* The Book of Sundials,’ third and enlarged edition, by H. K. F. Eden and Miss Lloyd,—the third and concluding volume of Mr. Ernest Law's ‘History of Hampton Court,’-—‘ A Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistles to Titus, Philemon, and the Hebrews,’ by Pre- bendary Sadler, —a third series of ‘ Bishop Steere’s Notes of Sermons,’ edited by the Rev. R. M. Heanley,—‘ St. Augustine: De Fide et Symbolo,’ ‘St. Leo: Ad Flavianum Epistola,’ and ‘ Student’s Help to the Prayer Book,’ edited, with notes, by the Rev. Charles Whitaker, of Natland,—a revised edition of Teuffel’s ‘ History of Roman Literature,’ with considerable addi- tions by Prof. Schwabe, translated by Prof. G. C. W. Warr, of King’s College,—‘ A Literal Prose Translation of Euripides,’ by Mr. E. P. Coleridge, —‘The Hellenica of Xenophon,’ Book I., with analysis, notes, &c., by the Rev. L. D. Dowdall,—a volume of Latin verse by the Rev. C. H. Bousfield,—‘Scientific Voice, Artistic Singing, and Effective Speaking,’ by Thomas Chater,—a revised and enlarged edition, with plates, of ‘ Bookbinding,’ by J. Zaehnsdorf, —and ‘Feudalism: its Rise, Progress, and Con- sequences,’ by Judge Abdy. In Bohn’s libraries Messrs, Bell will issue ‘Johnson’s Lives of the Poets,’ by Mrs. Alex- ander Napier, 3 vols.,—North’s ‘ Lives of the Norths,’ edited by Dr. Jessopp, 3 vols.,— Goethe's ‘ Faust,’ text, translation, notes, and introduction, edited by Dr. Buchheim,— Ricardo’s ‘ Principles of Political Economy and Taxation,’ edited by E. OC. K. Gonner, M.A.,— Schopenhauer’s ‘ Essays,’ selected and trans- lated by E. Belfort Bax,—Edgeworth’s ‘ Stories for Children,’ illustrated,— Racine’s ‘ Plays,’ translated and edited by R. Bruce Boswell, M.A., —-several volumes of the ‘ Handbooks of Athletic Sports,’ edited by Ernest Bell, M.A.,—and Bohn’s ‘ Handbook of Games,’ new edition, re- vised and enlarged, 2 vols. Books dealing with athletics include ‘ Association Football,’ by C. W. Alcock, secretary of the Football Association, —‘ Gymnastics,’ by A. F. Jenkin, winner of the German Gymnasium Society’s Challenge Cup, 1887-8-9,—‘ Single Stick, Sword Exercise,’ &c., by R. G. Allanson Winn and OC. Phillipps Wolley,—‘ Athletics,’ by H. H. Griffin, L.A.C., —and ‘ Riding,’ by W. A. Kerr, V.C. Messrs. Bell will also issue ‘Chess Problems : a Collec- tion of Two-move Problems,’ by B. G. Laws, —and ‘Solo Whist,’ a short treatise, by R. F. Green. Messrs. Swan Sonnenschein & Co. announce among devotional and _ theological books ‘Where is Christ?’ a new series of essays on practical religion, by the Rev. H. B. Chapman, —‘Mors et Vita: Thoughts for Solemn Seasons,’ by L. C. Skey,—a new edition of ‘ Before the Throne: a Manual of Private Devotion,’ by the Rev. W. Bellars,—and ‘Sermons,’ by the late Bishop Lightfoot, forming Vol. IV. of the “Con- temporary Pulpit Library.” The additions to the ‘‘ Young Collector Series ” will be ‘ British Ferns,’ by E. J. Lowe,—‘ Flowering Plants,’ by James Britten,—‘ Grasses,’ by Frank Tufnail, —‘Introduction to Zoology,’ by B. Lindsay,— ‘Book Collecting,’ by J. H. Slater,—‘ Postage Stamps,’ by W. T. Ogilvie, — and a_ second edition of ‘Chess Problems,’ by James Rayner. Other books promised by the same firm include ‘A Household Dictionary of Medicine,’ by F. R. Walters, M. D.,—‘ An Introduction to the Study of Petrology,’ by F. H. Hatch, F.G.S.,— ‘Monumental Brasses: a Handbook for the Archeologist,’ by the Rev. H. W. Macklin,— ‘The Boating Man’s Vade Mecun,’ by William Winn,—a new edition of ‘The Best Books: a Reader’s Guide,’ by W. Swan Sonnenschein,— ‘From Dawn to Sunset,’ poems by George Barlow, — ‘The Development of Rational Theology since Kant,’ by Prof. Otto Pfleiderer, written specially for ‘‘ Sonnenschein’s Library of Philosophy,” and translated by J. F. Smith,— ‘The Art of Literature’ and ‘Social Essays,’ translated from Schopenhauer by T. Bailey Saunders, — Mr. Chamberlain’s ‘Home Rule Speeches, 1887-90’—a cheap edition of the ‘*Tmperial Parliament Series,’—and a new library edition of standard authors, including Dyce’s ‘ Shakespeare,’ 10 vols. ; Pepys’s ‘ Diary,’ 4 vols.; Saint-Simon’s ‘Memoirs,’ 3 vols. ; Walpole’s ‘ Anecdotes of Painting,’ revised by R. N. Wornum, 3 vols. ; and Boswell’s ‘ John- son,’ edited by Percy Fitzgerald, 3 vols. Messrs. Sonnenschein will add the following volumes to the ‘‘Social Science Series” : Thoreau’s ‘ Anti-Slavery and Reform Papers,’ edited by H. 8. Salt,—‘ Crime and the Prison System,’ by W. Douglas Morrison,—Malthus’s ‘ Essay on Population,’ edited by A. K. Donald, —‘Our Destiny,’ by Laurence Gronlund,— Lange’s ‘Labour Problem,’ edited by the Rev. J. Carter,—‘ The Working-Class Movement in America,’ by Dr. Aveling,—‘ The Unearned In- crement of Land,’ by W. H. Dawson,—Fustel de Coulanges’s ‘Origin of Property in Land,’ edited by Prof. Ashley, — ‘The Co-operative Movement,’ by Beatrice Potter,—‘ Self-Help a Hundred Years Ago,’ by G. J. Holyoake,—‘ The Land and the Labourers,’ by the Rev. C. W. Stubbs, — ‘The Student’s Marx,’ being an abridged edition of Marx’s ‘ Capital,’/—and ‘ The New York State Reformatory in Elmira, by A. Winter. Their educational books include ‘A Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Religion, Literature, Art, and Antiquities,’ by Dr. Oskar Seyffert, revised by Prof. H. Nettleship and Dr. J. E. Sandys, —‘The Student's Greek Trage- dians,’ adapted from Dr. Munk’s ‘ Geschichte der Griechischen Literatur’ by Dr. Verrall,— ‘A School Geography,’ by A. Kirchhoff and A. Sonnenschein,—Paul’s ‘ Principles of the History
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XUM N° 3282, Szpr. 20, 90 THE ATHENZUM 387 of Language,’ translated by H. A. Strong,—‘ An Introduction to English, French, and German Phonetics,’ with reading lessons and exercises, by Laura Soames,—‘ Botany for Students,’ by Dr. E. Aveling,—and five new volumes of the “ Parallel Grammar Series”: ‘ English Examples and Exercises,’ Part I., by M. A. Woods; ‘Second German Reader,’ by W. S. Macgowan, M.A. ; ‘Preparatory French Course,’ by Mlle. Zweifel ; ‘ Livy Lessons,’ by J.C. Nicol, M.A., and the Rev. J. H. Smith; and‘ French Syntax,’ by Prof. Moriarty. Among works of fiction and illustrated gift-books are ‘The Wages of Sin,’ by Lucas Malet, 3 vols.,— ‘Lady Hazleton’s Confession,’ by Mrs. J. Kent Spender, 3 vols. ,— ‘The Last Master of Carnandro,’ by Thomas A. Pinkerton, — several additions to the ‘* Two- Shilling Railway Series,”—‘In the Days of | | 3 vols.,— ‘ Prince of the Glades,’ by Hannah Luther ; or, the Fate of Castle Lowengard,’ by Esmé Stuart,—‘ Maggie in Mythica,’ by F. B. Doveton,—‘ The Life of Joseph Sturge,’ by A. Peckover,—and new editions of ‘The Lay of St. Jucundus,’ by Edith Robinson, illustrated ; ‘An English Hero : the Life of Richard Cobden,’ and ‘An American Hero: the Life of J. Lloyd Garrison, both by F. E. Cooke; ‘African Heroes,’ by C. E. Bourne, 2 vols. ; Mrs. Sher- wood’s “ Juvenile Library,” 3 vols.; ‘ Alma,’ by Emma Marshall; and ‘For King and Country : a Tale of the French Revolution,’ by Jane A. Nutt, being a reissue of ‘ Kintail Place.’ The Leadenhall Press preliminary announce- ments include the following: ‘London City,’ dedicated to the Queen, by W. J. Loftie, F.S.A., with nearly three hundred illustrations by W. Luker, jun.,—‘ Eton Songs,’ also dedicated to Her Majesty, written by Arthur C. Ainger, set to music by Joseph Baraby, with illustrations by Herbert Marshall,—‘ Told after Supper,’ by Jerome K. Jerome, illustrated, —‘A Life’s Reminiscences of Scotland Yard,’ by Andrew Lansdowne, detective inspector,—‘ Never Hit a Man named Sullivan!’ by A. Dewar Willock, —‘A Story of Stops,’ by Mrs. Davidson of Tulloch, illustrated,—‘ Diary of Eve in Eden,’ edited by a Daughter of Eve,—‘ Geordie : the Adventures of a North- Country Waif and Stray,’ by a North-Countrywoman,—‘ A Week on a Wherry on the Norfolk Broads,’ by “ Blue Peter,” illustrated by ‘‘ The Purser,”—‘ Rescued Essays of Thomas Carlyle,’ edited, with an in- troduction and notes, by Percy Newberry,— ‘Ranch-Land: a Romance of Adventure and Adventurers,’ by W. B. Gilpin, — ‘Three Beauties ; or, the Idols of the Village,’ by Mill- wood Manners,—‘ Up the Moonstair: a Story for Children,’ by Albert E. Hooper, illustrated, —‘ Ephemera: Essays on Various Subjects,’ by E. H. Lacon Watson,—a new and enlarged edition of ‘ Handbook of London Bankers,’ by F, G. Hilton Price, F.S.A.,—‘ The Confessions of a Poacher,’ edited by John Watson, F.L.S., illustrated,_and a cheap edition of Charles Lamb’s ‘ Prince Dorus,’ including the coloured oe with introduction by Andrew W. Tuer, Messrs. Skeffington announce ‘ Please Tell me Another Tale,’ short stories for boys and girls, by G. A. Henty, Mrs. Molesworth, Agnes Giberne, and others, illustrated,—‘ My Prague Pig, and other Stories for Children,’ by the Rev. S. Baring Gould,—‘ Tales on the Te Deum,’ a new volume for Sunday afternoon reading, by the Rev. Dr. J. W. Hardman,—‘ Romance and Reality,’ a poem, by J. C. Stedman,—‘Our Prayer Book in History, Literature, and Church Lore, with some Reminiscences of Parson, Clerk, and Sexton in the Oiden Times,’ by the Rev. Dr. Hardman,—‘ Life and the Shadow of Death,’ a series of extracts on death and eternal life, compiled by Eleanor Tee, with preface by the Rev. J. W. Horsley,—and several volumes of sermons. Mr. David Stott’s forthcoming publications | introduction by William Sharp,—‘ Epistolee Ho- Eliane: Familiar Letters of James Howell,’ 2 vols. (‘‘Stott Library”), edited by W. H. Bennett, —‘The Renaissance of Music,’ by Morton Latham,—‘ Odes from the Greek Dra- matists,’ with translations into English metres by English poets and scholars, edited by Alfred Pollard,—‘ George,’ a novel, by the author of ‘Our own Pompeii,’ 3 vols. ,—‘ Goldoni’s Plays,’ edited by Helen Zimmern,—and ‘ The Thoughts of Novalis,’ translated from the German for the first time. Messrs. Methuen are about to publish in fiction ‘A Lost Illusion,’ by Leslie Keith, 3 vols.,— ‘A Double Knot,’ by G. Manville Fenn, 3 vols., —‘The Honourable Miss: a Tale of a Country Town,’ by L. T. Meade, 2 vols.,—‘ Urith: a Story of Dartmoor,’ by S. Baring Gould, Lynch, 2 vols.,—‘ A Marriage at Sea,’ by W. Clark Russell, 2 vols.,—two books for boys: ‘Master Rockafellar’s Voyage,’ by W. Clark Russell, illustrated, and ‘Syd Belton ; or, the Boy who would not go to Sea,’ by G. Manville Fenn, illustrated,—and two books for girls: ‘Dumps,’ by Mrs. Parr, illustrated, and ‘A Girl of the People,’ by L. T. Meade, illustrated. In general literature they will issue ‘ Historic Oddities and Strange Events,’ Second Series, by S. Baring Gould,—‘ John Ruskin: his Life and Work,’ by W. G. Collingwood,—‘ The Colleges of Oxford : their History and their Traditions,’ edited by A. Clark, M.A.,—‘Oxford and Oxford Life: with Chapters on the Examina- tions,’ edited by J. Wells, M.A.,—‘ Faces and their Story: the Czsars of the Julian and Claudian Lines,’ by S. Baring Gould, illustrated, —‘ Dissent in England: a Sketch of the His- tory and Constitution of the Principal Noncon- formist Sects,’ by the Rev. H. H. Henson,— ‘The Life of Admiral Lord Collingwood,’ by W. Clark Russell,—‘Old English Sports and Pastimes,’ by P. H. Ditchfield,—and ‘ Parson and Peasant: Chapters of their Natural His- tory,’ by the Rev. J. B. Burne. Next month Messrs. Methuen will begin the issue of a new series, ‘‘ English Leaders of Religion,’ edited by A. M. M. Stedman, M.A., to include ‘ Cardinal Newman,’ by R. H. Hutton, — John Wesley,’ by J. H. Overton,—‘ John Keble,’ by W. Lock,—‘ Charles Simeon,’ by H. C. G. Moule,—‘ Bishop Wilberforce,’ by G. W. Daniell,—‘F. D. Maurice,’ by Col. F. Maurice,—‘ Thomas Chalmers,’ by Mrs. Oli- phant,—and ‘Cardinal Manning, by A. W. Hutton. In the ‘ University Extension Series,” edited by J. E. Symes, M.A., Principal of Uni- versity College, Nottingham, the following volumes are announced: ‘ The Industrial His- tory of England,’ by H. de B. Gibbins, M.A., with maps and plans,—‘ A History of English Political Economy,’ by L. L. Price,—‘ English Social Reformers,’ by H. de B. Gibbins,— ‘Problems of Poverty: an Inquiry into the Industrial Conditions of the Poor,’ by J. A. Hobson,—‘ The French Revolution,’ by the editor,—‘ Napoleon,’ by E. L. S. Horsburgh,— ‘English Political History,’ by T. J. Lawrence, —‘ Shakespeare,’ by F. H. Trench,—‘ Victorian Poets,’ by A. Sharp,—‘ The English Language,’ by G. C. Moore-Smith,—‘ An Introduction to Philosophy,’ by J. Solomon,—‘ Psychology,’ by F. 8. Granger,—‘ English Painters,’ by D. S. Maccoll,—‘ English Architecture,’ by Ernest Radford,—‘ The Evolution of Plant Life : Lower Forms,’ by G. Massee,—‘ Astronomy,’ by J. D. Maclure,—and ‘The Chemistry of Life and Health,’ by C. W. Kimmina. Messrs. Ward, Lock & Co.’s announcements for the forthcoming season include three works by Mr. G. T. Bettany : ‘ The World’s Religions,’ with about 300 illustrations ; ‘The Red, Brown, and Black Men of America and Australia, and their White Supplanters,’ illustrated ; and ‘ The include Prof. Dowden’s edition of Goethe’s ‘Wil- | Dark Peoples of a Land of Sunshine,’—‘ Dicky helm Meister’ (Carlyle’s translation), 2 vols.,— | Beaumont: his Perils and Adventures, by Arthur Sainte-Beuve’s Essays,’ 3 vols., with biographical | Lee Knight, illustrated,‘ The Heir of Lang- ridge Towers,’ by R. M. Freeman, illustrated,— ‘ England’s Battles by Sea and Land,’ illustrated, —‘ Short Plays for Drawing-Room Performance,’ by F. C. Burnand, R. André, and other authors, illustrated,‘ How to read Character in Hand- writing,’ by Henry Frith,--‘The Vanishing Diamonds,’ by Sir Gilbert Campbell, — ‘ Dr. Belton’s' Daughters,’ by C. J. Hamilton,—the second volume of the new series of ‘ Amateur Work, Illustrated,’—a revised edition of ‘ Every Man his own Mechanic,’ by Francis Young, with 900 illustrations,—‘ Half-Hours of Scienti- fic Amusement,’ by Gaston Tissandier, translated by Henry Frith, illustrated,—‘The Lost Wit- ness ; or, the Mystery of Leah Paget,’ by the author of ‘ Shadowed by Three, —‘ Josiah Allen’s Wife,’ ‘Sweet Cicely,’ ‘ My Wayward Partner,’ and ‘ My Opinions and Betsy Bobbett’s, all four by Marietta E. Holley,—‘The Children’s De- light ’ (the children’s picture annual for 1890),— ‘Beeton’s Christmas Annual’ for 1890,—Glenny’s Illustrated Garden Almanac for 1891,—a new guide to ‘The Rhine and Rhineland,’—and a ‘ Handbook to St. Alban’s Cathedral.’ The eighteenth volume of the “Minerva Library of Famous Books” will consist of Darwin’s ‘Coral Reefs, Volcanic Islands, and South American Geology,’ with introductions by Prof. J. W. Judd. Messrs. Ward, Lock & Co. also announce the commencement of a new series of standard works, to be entitled ‘‘ The Macaulay Library of Great Writers,” the first three volumes of which will be a new and com- prehensive collection of ‘ Macaulay’s Reviews, Essays, and Poems’; ‘ Walton’s Complete Angler,’ illustrated ; and a large-type edition of ‘Sheridan’s Dramatic Works.’ They will also publish a new series of illustrated volumes for boys, entitled ‘“Beeton’s Boys’ Own Books,” edited by G. A. Henty. Their new editions will include ‘ Wordsworth’s Complete Poetical Works,’ 6 vols. (reduced in price),—‘ Malthus on Population,’—‘ A Dead Man’s Diary’ (second edition),—a cheaper edition of Sarah Tytler’s books for girls, 6 vols., and of Capt. Armstrong’s naval stories, 4 vols.,—‘ Home Theatricals made Easy,’ illustrated,—Prof. Wilson’s ‘ Trials of Margaret Lyndsay,’ and ‘ Lights and Shadows of Scottish Life,’ &c. Mr. David Nutt’s announcements for the autumn publishing season include Mr. Jacobs’s edition of Painter’s ‘ Palace of Pleasure,’ with literary introduction, appendix of inedited docu- ments, illustrative notes, &c., 3 vols., which will be delivered immediately to subscribers,—‘ Eng- lish Fairy Tales,’ collected and edited by Jos. Jacobs, illustrated by J. D. Batten, being a first attempt to form a corpus of nursery tales orally current in England, comprising forty-four tales, with notes and references, illustrated,— ‘Marriage Customs and Legislation among the Slavonic Races, being the Ilchester Lectures for 1889-90, by Prof. Maxime Kowalewsky, of the University of Moscow,—‘ Irish Folk-Tales,’ partly edited in Irish, collected, translated, and annotated by Dr. Douglas Hyde, with introduc- tion, index of incidents, &c.,—‘ The Exempla of Jacques de Vitry,’ edited by Prof. Crane, of Cornell University, and the ‘ Handbook of Folk- lore,’ compiled and edited by G. Laurence Gomme, Director of the Folk-lore Society (the last two on behalf of the Folk-lore Society),— ‘French Phrase-Book for the Use of Wellington College, by A. J. Calais,—‘ Latin Vocabularies for Schools and Colleges, arranged according to Subjects, by E. Dawes, M.A., author of ‘ Attic Greek Vocabularies,’—and new editions of H. Swan's ‘ Colloquial French for Tourists,’ and of Mr. H. W. Eve's ‘ Wellington College French Grammar.’ ‘THE RIVERS OF GREAT BRITAIN,’ Ir is only fair to Messrs. Cassell & Co. to say that I am perfectly satisfied with their explana- tion of the misunderstanding about the incor- poration of ‘The Royal River’ with the large work called ‘The Rivers of Great Britain.’ I
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388 THE ATHENZXUM N° 3282, Sepr. 20, ’90 have not seen the prospectus to which they refer. What I did see was an advertisement in Scribner’s Magazine, which, since it fills a whole page, I not unnaturally took to be exhaustive. And that announcement contains no reference to ‘The Royal River.’ Hence my letter. ONE OF THE FourrTEEN. *,* Messrs. Cassell, from whom we have re- ceived another letter on this subject, will see that our correspondent, while pointing out the | origin of his error, expresses himself quite satis- fied with their explanation, which he does not | challenge in any way. THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. Reading, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 1890. YESTERDAY a party of sixty-four members of the Association arrived here in time for their public reception at 8 pM. in the Town Hall by | the Mayor, Mr. J. T. Dodd, and the local com- mittee. The excursion from London vid Taplow was greatly enjoyed. The proper business of the meeting began to-day, when the President, Mr. E. Maunde Thompson, took the chair at ten o’clock, and delivered a most interesting address. The pro- gress of the movement in favour of free libraries he illustrated by the fact that since the passing of the Libraries Act in 1850 two hundred free libraries have been established. The English are slow to adopt new ideas, but the recent increase in the number of libraries shows that the desire for books has taken root in the national mind. The part of the kingdom where iibraries flourish most is in the central counties, where the population is mainly engaged in the cotton, iron, and other industries. They will leaven their neighbours, and ere long the country will be studded with libraries. After a long sleep the metropolis has aroused itself to the duty of establishing these institutions, which have to compete with theatres, concert-rooms, and all the multifarious occupations of London. The President went on to advise his hearers as to the conduct of their business : let them, above all things, cultivate. their minds and acquire knowledge for the benefit of their readers. The librarian who does not read is lost, he said, and it would be well for them to take up one par- ticular branch of knowledge, and study that at every leisure moment. Without this dis- cipline they might become mere machines. An accomplished bibliographer is a rarity. The few that exist seem to have been born so. A comparison of modern and medieval libraries led to the mention of printing and its power of preserving books even when many libraries have been destroyed. True, printing does, by the law of copyright, pour into certain libraries a wearisome quantity of books that are never looked at after being placed on the shelves. Newspapers, magazines, and reviews then came under review, and the librarians were cautioned to be discriminating when they admitted such to their tables. Novels as a recreation for the working man the speaker approved of. The tendency to give the public old stories told anew in an abridged form, such as ‘‘ Epochs of History,” ‘*Men of Action,” ‘‘Statesmen,” and other series, is a curious consequence of the busy, hurried life of the present time. An allusion to Pharaoh’s “Governor of the House of Books” and to the library of Sennacherib in baked clay greatly amused the audience. Addressing the auditors as members of a guild, not a mere literary society, the President sug- gested the formation of a benevolent or provident fund for the relief of members in distress. These annual meetings, he thought, were very useful in the interchange of ideas that occurred, and though he had heard of murmurs against the so-called picnics, he knew of many who | came to the meetings at a great sacrifice of time and money. With a brief obituary, including a graceful tribute to Mr. Hailstone asa collector, and to Mr. Blades the bibliographer and typo- grapher, this excellent address was concluded. Mr. Justin Winsor, from Harvard, spoke to the | _ vote of thanks, moved by the Mayor of Reading and seconded by Mr. Chancellor Christie, which was carried unanimously. The first paper read was ‘The Chief Private | | Libraries of the District around Reading,’ by the Rev. F. St. John Thackeray, and the second Corporation of Reading,’ by the Rev. J. M. Guild- ing. Mr. Greenough, the Reading Librarian, fol- lowed with a paper ‘On the Ventilation, Heat- ing, and Lighting, especially Electric Lighting, of Public Libraries and Reading Rooms.’ morning’s business was brought to a close by a | paper on ‘ The Literature and Writers of Read- | ing and the Surrounding District,’ by the Rev. | P. H. Ditchfield. | The most striking object in the museum of appliancesis one furnished by Mr. Cedric Chivers, bookbinder, of Bath, who has three girls at work illustrating his special system of sewing and forwarding books for his duro flexile binding ; and his system of whip-stitching old books which have broken away into single leaves is most ingenious. hn. H. Literary Gossip. In the forthcoming volume of the ‘ Dic- tionary of National Biography,’ which ex- tends from Hailes to Harriott, Mr. J. M. Rigg writes on Sir Matthew Hale and on Count Anthony Hamilton; the Rev. Alex- ander Gordon on the ‘ ever-memorable ” John Hales and Robert Hall, the Baptist preacher; Mr. Francis Darwin, F.R.S., on Stephen Hales, the naturalist; Canon Perry on Bishop Joseph Hall; Mr. G. T. Bettany on Marshall Hall, the physiologist ; Mr. Leslie Stephen on Henry Hallam and Sir William Hamilton, the metapby- sician; Mr. R. L. Poole on Robert Hallam, Bishop of Salisbury; Miss A. M. Clerke on Edmund Halley; Mr. Sidney Lee on J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps ; Prof. J. K. Laughton on Emma, Lady Hamilton; Mr. S. Rawson Gardiner on James Hamilton, Duke of Hamilton; Mr. T. G. Law on John Hamil- ton, Archbishop of St. Andrews; Dr. Auneas Mackay on Patrick Hamilton, the Scottish martyr; Dr. W. A. Greenhill on Bishop Hamilton, of Salisbury; Mr. R. E. Ander- son on Sir William Rowan Hamilton, the mathematician; the Rev. Richard Hooper on Dr. Henry Hammond; Mr. C. H. Firth on John Hampden; Mr. Fuller Maitland and Mr. Barclay Squire on Handel; Canon Overton on Archdeacon Hannah; the Rev. Dr. Thomas Hamilton on Bishop Hannington; Mr. G. F. Russell Barker on Jonas Hanway, Lord Chancellor Harcourt, and Robert Harley, first Earl of Oxford ; the Rev. William Hunt on Hardecanute and Harold; Mr. H. Manners Chichester on Viscount Hardinge, of Lahore ; Mr. Augus- tus J. C. Hare on Augustus William and Julius Charles Hare; Mr. Francis Espinasse on Hargreaves, inventor of the spinning- jenny; and the Rev. Prof. Creighton on Sir John Harington. Pror. Francis Witt1aM NEWMAN is en- gaged in writing a work on the earlier years of his brother, the late Cardinal. Canon Scorr Hotxanp will contribute an article on Canon Liddon to the next number of the Contemporary Review. Tue third volume of ‘The Century Dic- tionary ’ will be published on the 22nd inst. It will extend from ‘“‘G” to ‘‘Lyverey,” ‘The Charters and other Muniments of the | The | and will complete one-half of the whole work. Important musical and mathematical articles are given, respectively, to the words ‘‘harmony” and ‘“‘ keyboard,” and “ group,”’ “line,” and “logarithms.” This last is illustrated by tables. The word “‘ keep ”’ is defined and described in two pages of triple columns. The rest of the matter in the volume is copiously illustrated. Mr. Satr’s ‘Life of Thoreau’ will be published next week by Messrs. Bentley. Tue Law Quarterly Review for October will contain articles on the law of criminal conspiracy in England and Ireland (in reply to Mr. J. G. Butcher), by Mr. Kenelm Digby; the Bourgeoise case, by Mr. Mal- colm M‘Ilwraith; the compulsion of sub- jects to leave the realm, by Mr. W. F. Craies; the rule against perpetuities, by Mr. J. Savill Vaizey and Mr. G. H. Blakesley ; recent ‘‘tinkering company law,” by Mr. Edward Manson ; the difficulties of abstract jurisprudence, by Mr. W. W. Buck- land; and gifts of chattels without delivery, by Sir F. Pollock and Mr. H. W. Elphin- stone. Wuar the ordinary date-book does in re- gard to our political history, Mr. Frederick Ryland, in his ‘Chronological Outlines of English Literature,’ has endeavoured to supply for our literary history. The work, to be published immediately by Messrs. Macmillan & Co., is divided into two parts. Part i. brings the annals of English lite- rature into connexion with general European literature and with history, thus enabling the student te obtain a conspectus of the chief literary work that was being done at any given date, and also to trace the growth of scheols and movements. Part ii. gives an alphabetical list of authors, with their principal works, and thus enables the student to study literature from the biographical point of view. Cou. Srr Witx1AmM Butwer’s ‘ Sir Charles | Napier’ will be the next volume in the ‘English Men of Action” series. It will be ready for issue next week. Mr. Witrrip Warp is preparing a paper on Cardinal Newman for the October number of the Mineteenth Century. Mr. Ward, however, will reserve for publication in the second volume of his biography of his father the correspondence which passed between the late Dr. Ward and the Car- dinal. Tue October number of Merry England will be devoted to Newmaniana, for the most part reminiscences and anecdotes of the Cardinal told by those who knew him. There will be many illustrations, including one of his monastery at Littlemore, one of his house at Birmingham, and one of his last resting-place at Rednal. A new volume of the English Illustrated Magazine begins with the October number. In it will appear the opening chapters of Mr. F. Marion Crawford’s new story ‘The Witch of Prague.’ The story will be illustrated by Mr. W. J. Hennessy. Mr. A. C. Swinburne will contribute a poem of upwards of two hundred lines, entitled ‘An Autumn Vision’ (October 31st, 1889); Mrs. W. K. Clifford a short story; Mrs. Oliphant a paper on Edinburgh, with illus- trations by Mr. G. Reid, R.S.A.; whilst Mr.
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Urquhart Forbes will write on ‘The New | Trade Union Movement,’ Mr. Hume Nisbet about New Guinea, and Mr. Austin Dobson on ‘The Vicar of Wakefield and its Illus- trators.’ Amonest the papers of the late Mr. E. Hailstone, of Walton Hall, an amusing letter from Charles Dickens to a friend, describing the death of Grip, the famous raven of ‘ Barnaby Rudge,’ has turned up. The letter is dated ‘‘ Devonshire Terrace, 15th June, 1841,” and is communicated by Mr. Arthur Hailstone, of Manchester, to | the Manchester City News. Grip, it is re- corded, died from influenza, his last words being ‘‘ Halloa, old girl!” after uttering which he expired. The letter, which is worded quite in the Dickens style, seems to have been written just prior to a visit to Scotland. Tue forthcoming number of the <Asvatic Quarterly Review contains an article by Mr. Hyde Clarke on the diplomatic history of what is now called the Behring Sea ques- tion from 1790, including the proceedings of Pitt, Canning, and Wellington. It also refers tothe new policy affecting our Indian and Australian empires consequent on the opening up of the Northern Pacific. In the same journal Mr. H. H. Risley has an article on German colonial aspirations, under the title of ‘The Idea of a Greater Germany,’ the result of a special study of the subject and interviews with leading Ger- man statesmen and others. ‘Five YEARs WITH THE Conco CANNIBALS,’ the publication of which, by special arrange- ment with Mr. H. M. Stanley, is delayed until October 15th, is the first attempt at | describing the domestic and daily life of the savages of the far interior of Western Equa- torial Africa. This work is the pen and pencil result of a stay in their midst by Mr. Herbert Ward, one of the survivors of Mr. Stanley’s ill-fated rear-guard. Mr. Ward’s experiences in Africa commenced in 1884, when he received an appointment in the service of the Congo Government. Subse- quently, in 1887, he volunteered and became a member of Mr. Stanley’s Emin Pasha Relief Expedition. The numerous illus- trations are reproduced from Mr. Ward’s own drawings and photographs. Pror. Ruys and Mr. A. W. Moore are engaged on some important works in Manx literature. Prof. Rhys has written an in- troduction to Mr. Moore’s ‘ Onomasticon Manxiana, a Handbook of Place- and Sur- names in the Isle of Man.’ They are also joint editors of a volume of Manx prayers which the Clarendon Press will shortly pub- lish for the Manx Society. Except some few Ogam inscriptions, these prayers are the oldest extant specimens of the Manx language, and Prof. Rhys will specially deal with its phonetics in an introduction to the work. Messrs. Hutcuinson & .Co. will publish next week a cheaper edition of Mr. Joseph Hatton’s novel ‘ By Order of the Czar.’ The author has discovered that in revising his original serial copy for the press he omitted two chapters of a descriptive cha- racter, which he adds to the new edition. One of these, ‘The Ghost of the Lagoons,” deals with the disposition of the body of the villain of the story. Miss Marre Core. will be ready imme- _ diately with a new novel on a subject never before treated in fiction. | Mr. Fisuer Unwin will publish in | October a life of Nelson by Mr. G. Lathom | Browne. It will embrace the public and | private life of the hero, and ought to have a | special interest, owing to the fact that Mr. _Lathom Browne has had access to the _ documents and relics in the possession of _Lord Nelson and Lord Bridport (Duke of | Bronté). Mr. C. F. Keary, author of ‘ Outlines of | Primitive Belief,’ ‘The Dawn of History,’ | &c., is about to publish with Mr. Fisher | Unwin a work on ‘ The Vikings in Western | Christendom.’ It will give a hundred years | of history, and will contain much new matter. Tue first number of a new monthly serial will appear on January Ist, 1891, entitled The Coming Day. It proposes to address itself to the ‘‘ advocacy of the Religion of Humanity based on the permanent founda- tions of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.”’ The Rev. J. Page Hopps, of Leicester, will be the editor, and Messrs. Williams & Norgate the publishers. Tur Committee of Council on Education have sanctioned grants by the Council of the city of Worcester to certain institutions in that town, under the Technical Instruction Act, 1889, for subjects of general informa- tion not included in the branches of science and art ordinarily subsidized by South Ken- sington. Messrs. Dean & Son inform us that the Stationer, Printer, and Fancy Trades’ Re- gister will in future contain a buyer’s guide, the first instalment of which appears in this month’s number. Messrs. Wittiam ANDREWS & Co., of Hull, will publish immediately ‘Yorkshire Battles,’ by Mr. Edward Lamplough. The work is the result of a lifelong study of the subject. WE understand that the Chester Courant and Cheshire Observer, both of which have been acquired by a syndicate, will from the 1st of October be conducted by Mr. Robert Dennis, formerly of the St. James’s Gazette, and late managing editor of the New York Herald (London edition). Messrs. Cuarto & Winpvs, in London, and Messrs. John W. Lovell & Co., New York, have in the press, and will simul- taneously publish, Mr. Moncure D. Conway’s monograph, ‘George Washington’s Rules of Civility, traced to their Sources and Restored.’ Some American friends and admirers of Theodore Parker, together with several in England, have raised a fund for placing a more suitable memorial over his grave in the Protestant Cemetery at Florence. The memorial has been designed by Mr. W. W. Story, who contributes to it a portrait of the famous preacher and author, sculptured by himself. A MEMORIAL tablet bas been placed on the house at Maida Hill where at one period Robert Browning resided, as a record of his occupancy. We hear that a memorial monument to Shelley is to be erected on the shore of the
Mediterranean, near the place where the poet’s body was cremated in 1822. Sire Witiiam Harpmay, Q.0., one of the editors of the Ilorning Post, who com- bined literary and judicial energy to an unusual degree, has died in harness in the sixty-third year of his age. A snort ‘Guide to Evening Classes in London,’ giving full particulars of the chief educational classes arranged for the coming winter throughout the metropolis, is about to be issued by Messrs. Cassell & Co. for the National Association fcr the Promotion of Technical and Secondary Education. The Guide, which is published at sixpence, is the first attempt to give systematic information as to the educational work carried on in the institutions scattered over the vast area of London. A uistory of Clipstone and Sherwood Forest, by Mr. A. Stapleton, is about to run through a local paper, the Mansfield Advertiser, before being published in book form. WE understand that, in consequence of other engagements, Mr. John OC. Staples is retiring from the joint editorship of Atalanta. A biograpuy of the late Dr. Macfadyen, the well-known Nonconformist preacher of Manchester, is in preparation. It is being written by Dr. Mackennal, of Bowdon, near Manchester, an old friend of Dr. Macfadyen in his student days. Tue library of the late Mr. Charles Hard- wick, the Lancashire author, will be dis- persed under the hammer at Manchester on Tuesday and Wednesday next. The collec- tion embraces many books of Lancashire and Cheshire interest. A new volume of the ‘ Book-Lover’s Library” is announced for immediate pub- lication, entitled ‘Studies in Jocular Litera- ture,’ by Mr. W. C. Hazlitt. Tur publication of Prof. Gallée’s ‘Old Saxon Texts,’ contemplated by Mr. E. J. Brill, of Leyden, was noticed by us not very long ago. The closing of the sub- scription list being now announced to be postponed until November Ist, we take this occasion to supplement our former note on this subject. The work is not only to be a new edition of the minor Saxon texts already known (col'a‘ed afresh in each cas» with the MS.), but it will include a number of hitherto unpublished texts. A special feature will be a series of twenty-three phototypes, facsimiles of the most interesting page of each MS. re- presented. One of them will contain some seventh-century drawings inan Anglo-Saxon hand. An introduction dealing with the various MSS., and with the condition of the Church down to the eleventh century, will be prefixed to the work. It is to be pub- lished in German, but if a sufficient number of subscribers present themselves, an Eng- lish edition also will be printed. Dr. Bucuuem informs us that his new edition of Goethe’s ‘ Faust,’ which, as we mentioned last week, is to be published by Messrs. Bell, will virtually consist of Pay- ward’s prose translation of the drama, with his notes and appendices, thoroughly re- vised. The only original matter which Dr. Buchheim purposes to add is an historical survey of the Faust legend.
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390 THE ATHENAUM N° 3282, Serr. 20, 90 A FURTHER continuation of the autobio- graphy of the late theologian and Church historian, Dr. Karl von Hase, of Jena, will appear in a few days under the title of ‘Briefe aus Italien an die Zukiinftige Geliebte.’ These letters take up the story of his life at the point where he left it in his former volume, ‘ Ideale und Irrthiimer’ (1800-30). A completion of his autobio- graphy has been found amongst his papers, and it will be published next year by his son, Hofprediger and Konsistorialrath Karl Alfred von Hase, under the title ‘ Annalen meines Lebens.’ The annals will form an important contribution to contemporary his- tory, as they embrace an account from Hase’s point of view of the theological and eccle- siastical life of Germany from 1830 to the time of the Vatican Council. Tue Order of Citeaux is about to celebrate in the year 1891 the eighth centenary of the birth of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. On this occasion the abbeys of the Austro- Hungarian province of the Order propose to issue more publications, the editing of which is to be entrusted to Dr. Leopold Janau- schek, Professor of Theology at Baden. Amongst other things he will publish a ‘Bibliographia Bernardina,’ which will enumerate all editions and translations into foreign languages of the products of the great abbey of the Cistercians. ConTINENTAL papers report a curious find in the library of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise. In a folio volume, superscribed ‘ Professiones Novitiorum,’ there was discovered a ‘‘ Pro- fessio’’ of the Abbé Prevost, who was alternately priest and soldier, and the author of the famous novel ‘ Manon Lescaut.’ FERDINAND Lassax’s ‘ Jugendtagebuch ’ is expected to be published next month by Herr Paul Lindau in the periodical Nord und Sid. A work of special interest for archivists and historians will shortly be published by the historical writer Franz von Loher, the learned editor of the Archivalische Zeitschrift, under the title of ‘ Archivlehre: Grundziige der Geschichte, Aufgaben und Einrichtungen unserer Archive.’ AT a recent congress of students at Olmiitz, in Moravia, it was unanimously decided to urge the Slavonic deputies of that province to promote the foundation of a Slavonic university in Moravia. Tue long-expected catalogue of the Greek MSS. of Patmos, edited by the Keeper of the MSS. in the Athenian National Library, Mr. J. Sakellion, has lately appeared at Athens under the title of [artpiaxi) Bup- AvwohjKy. Tue son of Aristotle Valaoritis, one of the greatest poets of modern Greece, is preparing a new edition of his father’s works. Many hitherto unpublished poems will appear in it, the most important being an epic, ‘Gratianos Zorzi,’ on the subject of the resistance of the Leucadians to the domination of Venice in the Middle Ages. Tue well-known investigator of manu- scripts, Athanasius Papadopulos Kerameus, who of late years has acquired much reputa- tion for his catalogues of many of the monastic libraries in Asiatic Greece, has lately composed a voluminous catalogue of the Greek MSS. in the Patriarchal Library at Jerusalem. He has gone to St. Peters- burg for the purpose of its publication. He is at the same time to publish a volume en- titled ’Avddexra ieporoAupixns oraxvodoyias, which will contain a series of unpublished texts of different periods. He has, more- over, prepared for the press ten miscellaneous texts relating to the topography of Pales- tine. Tue Parliamentary Papers of the most general interest issued during the week are Board of Agriculture, Return of Allotments and Small Holdings in Great Britain (2s.6d.); Trade and Navigation Accounts for August (6d.); East India Railways, Report for 1889-90, with map (2s. 3d.); and Mining Royalties Commission, First Report, Evi- dence and Appendix (3s.). SCIENCE —-——_ South African Butterflies: a Monograph of the Extra Tropical Species. By Roland Trimen, assisted by James Henry Bowker. Vol. III. (Triibner & Co.) Tue present volume, devoted to the Papi- lionide and Hesperidz, completes what will long remain our standard if not our only work on South African Rhopalocera. Not that South Africa has a rhopalocerous fauna purely its own, as our author’s “ other Afri- can regions”? appended to his localities of species clearly prove, and most of the genera described in his monograph are familiar names to lepidopterists who have worked at the Western and Eastern faunz. The value of these volumes is, therefore, not limited to the area of which they treat nor to present workers, but they will form the groundwork for the future monographer of the whole tropical African butterflies, a work that must soon be undertaken as a consequence of the published labours of Mr. Trimen. In the preface to the first volume, pub- lished in 1887, it was stated that only about 380 species could be enumerated and de- scribed ; and as by this volume, published two years subsequently, but 387 species— including further additions to the fauna— are incorporated, we may take it as a closely approximate estimate of the number to be found in South and South-East Africa. Now, if these 387 species are not only to be the joy of the iconographer, but to afford absolute biological teaching, their whole life-history must be properly worked out and faithfully described; and here the merits of these volumes at once become apparent. A considerable number of the species are described in their larval and pupal conditions, and many of their food plants properly determined. If those West Coast missionaries who now devote a little time to the business of collecting and for- warding consignments of butterflies could only be induced, with these volumes in their hands, to observe, record, and describe the immature stages of the many species they must now know well, the study of tropical African Rhopalocera would be considerably advanced. To know butterflies in their perfect condition only has been the lifelong occupation of many esteemed entomologists, and theirlabours have borne fruit, as specially evident in the facts which prove mimicry, have prompted the discovery of seasonal dimorphism, &c., and, last and not least, are written in many pages of the record of geo- graphical distribution. But still such know- ledge is only that of the conchologist who knows naught but the shell, and is ignorant of its once living tenant. The many mono- graphs on tropical insects which are now appearing in this and other countries may surely claim to have done their part, and we may hope that other workers will supple- ment their labours in those fields to which we have alluded. Mr. Trimen’s monograph is an example; it is as complete as a present enumeration can be made; and one of the best purposes which it can serve will be the inducement of local entomologists to dis- cover the life-histories of those species which at present are only known in their winged condition, and thus enable the author to again come before us with another volume of additional information. The Advancement of Science. By E. Ray Lankester. (Macmillan & Co.)—Under a some- what ambitious general title Prof. Lankester has collected nine occasional essays and addresses dealing with a variety of subjects. Prof. Lan- kester always writes in an interesting manner, and is so well abreast of modern discoveries and phases of thought that it is less dangerous for him than for many to collect the ‘‘ chips” of past years. For ourselves, we are afraid we are too backward or tooconservative tolook withaffection on the method of advancing science which, quite in harmony with the Tory Democrat or the State Socialist, Prof. Lankester constantly re- commends. He is clearly in favour of a much greater amount of State aid to science than is at present afforded ; we are still inclined to the older fashion of English statesmen, which judges every case on its own merits. For example, it was necessary for the State to undertake the expense of the Challenger Expedition, which was quite beyond the power of a combination of individuals ; but the State made, we think, a great error in judgment in distributing a sum like 15,000/. per annum among the University Colleges. The college in Gower Street has profited by the muniticence of a Jodrell and of a Quain; but if they, being taxpayers, had already been taxed for higher education, would they not, in all human probability, have devoted their wealth to other objects? There is a homely proverb about a cake which is of universal appli- cation. Smithsonian Report, 1886. Part II. National Musewm.—Smithsovian Report, 1887. 2 vols. (Washington, Government Printing Office.) —There is always a great deal of interesting matter to a certain class of readers—Charles Lamb would not have been one!—in the annual reports of the Smithsonian Institu- tion, while their appearance three years after date gives a shock now and then to an expert. The most interesting paper in these volumes is, no doubt, Mr. William T. Hornaday’s account of the extermination of the American bison ; the author is a well-known traveller, and is also a most skilful taxidermist. The almost total disappearance of this magnificent beast caused the authorities of the Museum to dis- patch Mr. Hornaday on an expedition to obtain specimens which should be more worthy of the Museum than the few poor examples which they possessed. This expedition was entirely successful, and a very fine group has now been set up for exhibition. In the photographic re- presentation of the case which is here given we note that on the explanatory label Mr. Hornaday is mentioned as the mounter. We consider that this is a most admirable plan ; the taxidermist will not become an artist till he is treated as one, and made to feel that there is credit attach- ing to his work. Among other papers we must XUM
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N° 3282, Sepr. 20, 90 THE ATHENAUM 391 call attention to Mr. Mason’s ‘The Human Beast of Burden’ and Lieut. Bolles’s ‘ Prelimi- nary Catalogue of the Eskimo Collection.’ The National Museum, which is growing very rapidly, appears to be altogether in a very healthy con- dition, and we hope for great results from Prof. Brown Goode. Sketches of British Sporting Fishes. By J. Watson. (Chapman & Hall.)—Ten chapters of this book are devoted to British freshwater fish and seven more to poachers, fish-ponds, and cognate subjects. A careful perusal of the papers on fish reveals nothing new, and a good many well-worn quotations. Those which treat of the salmon and trout are particularly common- place, and the grayling fares no better, although the chapter on it was entrusted to a friend. A critic’s ire rises ata book of this kind. Why write it at all if it contains no new information ? Of what use is it to excite an ichthyologist’s curiosity or awake the angler’s interest in the fish against which he so insidiously plots, since both are sure to be disappointed when they read the book? Mr. Watson’s ‘Sketches’ form a flagrant instance of book-making of the worst type, and, although nothing is said of it in the preface, we believe that these articles have already seen the light in different periodicals. On the very first page the author’s statement, “Tt is now definitely known that in the great majority of cases salmon return to spawn in the river where they were bred,” shows the neces- sity of using very guarded language when any but an expert writes on so erratic and perplex- ing a family of fish as the Salmonide. The latest experiments, carried on by Mr. Archer on the coast of Norway (see the Field, April 19th, 1890), point to the fact that salmon appear to return to the district in which they were bred rather than to the particular river in which they were reared, to estuaries and the coast within a distance of at least ninety miles from their native river. The young fry, it is worth also point- ing out, are called alevins, not ‘‘avelins,” as Mr. Watson several times spells it. The later chapters on miscellaneous piscine subjects are pleasant essays, perhaps because they are not too long ; but all alike tell the old stories of pike devouring each other, of our ancestors’ stews in which carp were kept, and the like. Will it be believed, too, that in his essay on Ephemeree, or May flies, which occupies four and a half pages, Mr. Watson actually fills two of them with Kingsley’s well-known eulogies on the alder fly and the green-drake ? It is impossible to praise these jejune and commonplace ‘Sketches.’ The author has a love of scenery and country life, and might easily turn it to better account by producing more original work, founded on careful and long-continued obser- vations. Many points in the life-history and hybridizing of the Salmonide invite such a pains- taking chronicler. Wild Natwre won by Kindness. By Mrs. Brightwen. (Fisher Unwin.)—Mrs. Brightwen has written some pleasant and very interesting sketches of the habits of various pets which she has made. The spirit in which she expresses herself is sufficient warranty for the statement that ‘‘during twenty years of variable health the companionship of the animal world has been my constant solace and delight.” The book will not, we think, become a classic; but it is one which may be warmly recommended for the simplicity with which it is written and the power of observation which it displays. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. In 1882 the Intelligence Department of the War Office prepared a map of Middle Egypt in two sheets, on the same scale—1 : 200,000, or three miles to an inch—as the map in four sheets of the Delta. The map of Lower Egypt can be purchased at a shilling a sheet, but the two sheets from Memphis to Assiut are not on sale. The department has now revised the large area covered by the Fayoum and Wadi Raian, in accordance with the surveys undertaken by the Egyptian Government to verify the observa- tions of Mr. Cope Whitehouse. The changes are important, because (1) the Birket el-Qerun is shown to lie nearly due east and west; (2) the Gharaq district is brought within two miles of the cultivated land in the Nile Valley ; (3) the Raian depression is given with contours. The whole area is depicted with a clearness which brings into striking prominence the strange problem offered to geologists and physi- cal geographers by anarea of over one thousand square iniles, depressed to 230 ft. below the adjacent alluvial plain, and 150ft. below the Mediterranean, yet connected with the Nile through a valley a few hundred yards in width. The student of Ptolemaic maps should compare this map with those rendered accessible by Baron Nordenskjéld. He will find reason to believe that, so far as Egypt is concerned at all events, the medieval cartographers certainly followed a graphic representation which depicts that country as it was in A.p. 150. A considerable amount of survey work was accomplished during the recent Chin Lushai expedition. Work was commenced from Lung- leh early in December, 1889, and the triangula- tion extended eastwards. Lieut. Bythell, R.E., also accompanied the Gurkhas in their eastward march to Haka to join the Burma column, and carried both topography and triangulation thither, besides reconnoitring a large tract of country to the south and establishing the iden- tity of the Boinu and Kaladan (Koladyne) rivers. The Government of India have decided to retain No. 13 Survey Party (Mergui) till Novem- ber, 1891, to enable it to complete the survey of the rich tin- bearing tracts of the Mergui district. ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. Two more small planets, raising the whole number known to 298, were discovered by M. Charlois at Nice on the night of the 9th inst. Mr. K. J. Tarrant, F.R.A.S., has published in No. 2991 of the Astronomische Nachrichten a continuation of his micrometrical measures of double stars, containing those obtained by him at his observatory at Pinner, Middlesex, during the year 1888. The British Almanac and Companion for 1891 will contain, amongst other articles, one by Mr. Lynn on ‘Observatories.’ The ‘ Science of the Year’ will be, as before, from the pen of Mr. E. W. Maunder, of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. The tenth volume of the Publications of the Cincinnati Observatory, containing the observa- tions of double stars obtained during the years 1882-86, has recently appeared; also Vol. I. Part 4 of those of the Leander McCormick Ob- servatory of the University of Virginia, con- taining the results of double-star observations obtained in the years 1885 and 1886. Dr. Dreyer, of the Royal Observatory, Armagh, has been engaged for some years past on a bio- graphy of Tycho Brahe, to be founded on im- portant documents recently brought to light in Denmark and on Brahe’s own correspondence with contemporaries. No life of this remark- able man has been available to English readers except the one contained in Brewster’s ‘ Martyrs of Science,’ based on Gassendi’s biography of 1654. Dr. Dreyer’s work will shed a new light on the exile of the astronomer, tending to the reconsideration of his title to be regarded as a ‘‘martyr”’ of science. Besides the personal narrative, the volume will also contain a review of his scientific achievements, particularly with reference to the new star of 1572, all based on rare old publications and unpublished papers. It will be published next month by Messrs. Black. Science Gossip. Messrs. SmitH, Exper & Co. announce a new work by Prof. Ferrier, being ‘The Croonian Lectures on Cerebral Localisation,’ delivered before the Royal College of Physicians, June, 1890. Messrs. Bett & Sons promise a revised edition of Deighton’s ‘ Euclid,’ Books I. and II. and Books I. to III.,—‘ The Elements of Trigo- nometry,’ by J. M. Dyer and the Rev. R. H. Whitcombe, assistant masters of Eton College, —‘Solutions to the Problems in Dr. Besant’s Elementary Hydrostatics,’-—a Key to ‘ Examina- tion Papers in Trigonometry,’ by Mr. G. H. Ward,—‘ Colour in Woven Design,’ by Prof. Roberts Beaumont, of the Yorkshire College,— ‘Structural Mechanics,’ by R. M. Parkinson, A.M. Inst.C.E.,—and ‘ Pasteur and Rabies,’ by Dr. T. M. Dolan. ‘“*Metuuen’s Scrence Series,” edited by Mr. R. Elliot Steel, will include ‘The World of Science,’ ‘Elementary Light and Sound,’ ‘Elementary Electricity and Magnetism,’ ‘ Ele- mentary Heat,’ three volumes of ‘ Inorganic Chemistry,’ ‘ Elementary Practical Physics,’ and other volumes. FINE ARTS —— THE ARCHOLOGICAL SOCIETIES. Archeologia Ailiana. New Series. Vol. XIII. Part II. (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Reid & Co.)—We believe that the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne is the oldest provincial body devoted to the study of history. Its centre is in the immediate neighbourhood of the Roman Wall, and therefore excellently well situated for those who desire to study Romano-British antiquities, and almost every mile of the old Northumbrian kingdom is rich in ecclesiastical associations. There was the battle-ground of the long contest as to the time of keeping Easter fought between the Celtic clergy and those who followed Augustine; there were the fields on which Scotch and English struggled for. cen- turies. The earlier volumes of the series con- tain many valuable papers, intermixed, it must be confessed, with some of a highly speculative character. Of late years the ‘Archzeologia Xliana’ has been edited on sound principles, and we have observed very few pages which would have been better omitted. The number before us is entirely free from rubbish, although some of the articles are much more valuable than others. It ought to be remembered, though writers too often suffer from forgetfulness on the point, that the transactions of a learned society are not intended primarily to furnish entertain- ing reading, but to record facts for the use of future workers. Among the better articles may be classed Mr. Hedley’s paper on the prehistoric camps of Northumberland and Mr. Phillips’s account of the disused graveyards of Newcastle. Mr. Spence’s careful account of the maps and plates in Gardner’s ‘England’s Grievance Dis- covered’ is important for several reasons, Gardner’s curiously illustrated volume was published in 1655, with a dedication to the Lord Protector. It isa rare book in any state, and hardly any: two copies are exactly alike. If any one was desirous of exposing the fallacy, which is from time to time aired in the House of Commons and elsewhere, that duplicates are of no use in our great libraries, a better instance could not be furnished than that of Gardner’s ‘Grievance Discovered.’ Mr. Bates has con- tributed a learned paper on the dedications of the old churches of the diocese of Newcastle. It is an intricate subject, into which ignorant compilers during the last century have intro- duced much needless confusion. Dedications to saints were a reality in times when their invoca- tion was a part of the national religion ; when the Tudor changes took place they became for-
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gotten, except when kept in memory by feasts and fairs. It should, therefore, be borne in mind by all antiquaries that no information on the matter can be held to be trustworthy that does not extend back to a period beyond the Reformation. No one who has not studied this branch of medizval lore can imagine how much light the dedication of a church will often throw on past times and on the sym- pathies of those by whom the church was built. Mr. Bates says that, when a medizval bell | of the Aberdeen Ecclesiological Society. exists with an invocation of a saint thereon, we have sometimes here a key to the dedication of the church. Such is not the case. In fact, it seems to have been more commonly the custom to avoid dedicating the bells to the saint who gave his name to the church. Holy wells, too, have been often considered to furnish the infor- mation required; but if used for this purpose the information they give is commonly mislead- ing. The most authentic sources of knowledge on this subject are the wills of those who desired to be buried in this or that church or adjoining graveyard. Its dedication is commonly, though not always, given. Mr. Bates has incidentally done another good work, for which students and annotators of Sir Walter Scott will be duly grateful. In ‘Marmion,’ speaking of the wan- derings of the body of St. Cuthbert, the poet says :— In his stone coffin forth he glides, A ponderous bark for river tides, Yet light as gossamer it glides Downward to Tilmouth cell. There are several medizeval stories as to stones floating, but this is not among them. It seems that the tale was manufactured by one Robert Lambe, a former vicar of Norham. Our ances- tors were sufliciently credulous; we are not grateful to modern people who invent sham antiques for the sake of making them seem more simple-minded than they were. Transactions of the Leicestershire Architectural and Archeological Society. Vol. VIII. Part II. (Leicester, Clarke & Hodgson.)—The most im- portant paper herein is an account of the family of Bainbrigge, written by a scion of the race—the Rev. J. H. Bainbrigge, Vicar of St. Godwald’s, Finstall. The family has produced one man of considerable note in his day, Chris- topher Baynbrigg, who became a cardinal. His place in the family tree has not as yet been made out. He was born about 1460, at Hilton, in Westmoreland. Godwin says that he was “‘nobili ortus familia,” but ‘‘noble” here must be interpreted in its heraldic sense, not as representing him as sprung from a family some member of which had been called to the upper chamber. In 1507 he became Bishop of Durham, and in the next year was translated to the Northern primacy. He was a good public servant, more known as a politician than as an ecclesiastic. His death took place at Rome in 1514. He was buried in the English College, and his tomb may yet be seen there. It consists of a recumbent eftigy, with a Latin inscription of modest character, considering the days when it was written. His death is said to have been brought about by poison. Poisoning was in those days a common crime in Italy. When a man died suddenly of some disease which the slender medical knowledge of the day could not account for, it was the custom to attribute his death to poison. Some fragments of the accounts of the church of St. Mary, Leicester, are printed in full. Weare glad of this. The few church accounts which exist of an earlier
date than the Reformation are important, from | the light they throw on astate of things concern- ing which we know painfully little. It may be instructive to those persons who think that pews came in with the Reformation to know that they are mentioned here, as are also white candles— ‘‘whyte kandull”—showing that candles were sometimes made of unbleached wax. It is not improbable that candles were occasionally stained, | so as to make their colour harmonize with that of the vestments of the day. We find here on one occasion threepence halfpenny paid ‘‘ for grene kandull.” The Rev. A. Trollope has communicated extracts from Leicestershire mar- riage bonds. They are of comparatively late date. It is a pity to give extracts only. A calendar of the whole ought to be printed. From Scotland we have received two new volumes of Trransactions—one that of the Glas- gow Archzeological Society, and the other that Both contain good work, and both illustrate the change that has come over Scotland. In the one a Catholic archbishop, Dr. Eyre, describes the ‘‘ old arrangements of Glasgow Cathedral”; intheother Presbyterian and Episcopal ministers discuss reredoses, altar-lights, eucharistic plate, &e. The Rev. J. C. Carrick's article on ‘ Arch- bishop Leighton’s Newbattle Library’ is of general interest ; but one statement in it is cer- tainly misleading—that Leighton’s strong ad- vocacy of peace arose from ‘‘his early education in France, where for nearly ten years, till the age of thirty, when he was appointed minister of Newbattle, he associated with the French Quietists, of whom Fénélon and Madame Guyon may be taken as fair examples” ; for Leighton was ordained to Newbattle in 1641, ten years before Fénélon’s birth, and seven before Madame Guyon’s.
THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF IRELAND IN DONEGAL. THE proceedings of the autumn meeting com- menced in the Town Hall of Strabane at one o'clock on the 2nd inst., under the presidency of Canon Grainger, D.D., in the absence of Lord James Butler, president. The Duke of Abercorn had signified his willing- ness to preside if in Ireland, but unfortunately important business detained him in Scotland. The usual routine business having been gone through, the members drove after luncheon to Baronscourt, the seat of the Duke of Abercorn, a noble pile of modern structure, some eight miles distant, beautifully situated in a narrow valley on the west side of Bessy Bell mountain. Visits were made to the ruins of a castle on an island in a lake named after a chief of the Mac- Hughs, and also toa pile of ruins near it, dating from the reign of James I. The party then adjourned to the Court, where they were hospit- ably received by the duchess, and were shown many objects of interest to the archeologist and historian. The evening meeting was held at eight o’clock, and the Town Hall was crowded to overflowing. The Rev. Narcissus Batt read an exhaustive paper on Kilmacrenan and Doe Castle, Donegal, treating of that mountainous part of Northern Donegal which lies west of Lough Swilly to the Atlantic, and which was the home of the Mac Swynes. It was formerly known as Doire Kithne (Roboretum Eithnew). Eithne was the mother of St. Columb, but this name afterwards was changed to Cill Macnenain, in memory of the sons of Enain, whose mother, Mincholeth, was the saint’s sister. Ruins are still pointed out at Gartan, where he was born in 521, and there are remains of an altar on the road to Letterkenny, where he was baptized under the name Columb, to which ‘‘ cille”’ (of the church) was added, because of his diligent attendance at divine service. The church to which he was brought as a boy was Kilmacrenan. Another resort of the saint’s was Raymochy, whither he went to hear the learned Bishop Bugach ; and after leaving Donegal he studied at the celebrated college of St. Finian at Movilla, near Strangford Lough. This is about all that is known of him at Kilmacrenan, and when he became famous as the founder of Derry, Iona, and Durrow abbeys, some of his greatness was reflected on the home of his early days. The castle of Doe was then described, which is situated on a rock almost insular, with a lofty
tower, massive walls, dungeons, and vaults, and all the usual appurtenances of a medizval stronghold. The keep is surrounded by a ““bawn,” or castle yard, with round battle- mented towers. It was garrisoned by Capt. Vaughan for Queen Elizabeth, but betrayed by a friar to the followers of Sir Cahir O’Dogherty ; and it also stood a siege in 1608, and, as Davis says, ‘‘ being the strongest hold in Tyrconnell, it endured one hundred blows of the demi-cannon before it surrendered.” Reference was also made to the rock of Doune, an isolated peak on the east border of Kilmacrenan, where the chieftains of Tyrconnell were inaugurated from the earliest times. The ceremony is fully de- scribed by Giraldus Cambrensis. An interesting and learned paper was next read by the Rev. 8S. M. Mayhew, of London, on ‘Some Prehistoric Objects found in Ireland and Scotland,’ dealing with those of wood, bone, stone, and bronze, and illustrated by speci- mens and photographs. Mr. Seaton Milligan then read an able paper on ‘The Forts of Erin from the Firbolgs to the Normans,’ in which he said that there were three colonies in Ireland before the Firbolgs, none of which succeeded. The Firbolgs were a dark-haired race, with long-shaped head and of rather small stature. Their descendants still live in the counties of Mayo, Galway, and Kerry. The Tuatha De Danann, who next arrived, were a Celtic race, fair-haired, with globular-shaped heads and of large stature. The Milesians, or Scots, were the next to arrive, and conquered the two former. The various kinds of forts were next ex- plained. The dun was an earthen fort, with one or more concentric moats and _inter- vening fosse filled with water; it was of a military character, and was generally owned by a riagh or king, or a chieftain of a district. The rath and lis were also earthen forts like the dun, with the exception that the fosse was not filled with water. The cahir, or cashel, was a stone rath, built of large stones with- out mortar, and had frequently ramparts of earth as an outwork. Views specially taken to illustrate this subject were shown by a powerful oxy-hydrogen light. Among these were several of the Grianan of Aileach, near Derry, the ancient seat of the O’Neills. This structure was built, it is said, more than three thousand years ago, and is the first cashel recorded as having been built in Erin by the Danann. After referring to the crannoges in Glencar Lake, which were used as defensive struc- tures, the mode of construction was ex- plained, and several other examples given in county Cavan and other places. The round towers in point of time came after the cashels and before the castles. The early circular Norman towers, such as Reginald’s Tower, Waterford, King John’s Castle, Limerick, and Nenagh Castle, came in after the round towers and before the square towers were built. Castles built by the Irish were next described, such as Donegal by the O’Donnells ; Doe, by the Mac Swynes; Breffny, by the O’Rorkes ; Deargin, by the Mac Donoughs ; Maguire’s, near Ennis- killen ; Blarney, by the Mac Carthys, &c. <A description was next given of the houses the people lived in, made of wickerwork or rods, and plastered over with clay, also timber houses roofed with shingle. The paper concluded with a description of Tara in the reign of Cor- mac M‘Art, in the middle of the third century. Three thousand persons, it is said, was the number that Cormac used to maintain in daily pay, besides poets and satirists, and all strangers who sought the king. On the 3rda large party left Strabane for Donegal. On arriving the castle was at once visited, which was the chief residence of the O’Donnells, chiefs of Tyrconnell. It is in the town, close to the river, and near the spot called the ‘‘Fort of the Strangers ’—the meaning of the word Donegal. It is in tolerable preserva- tion, and was built on the ruins of the original
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90 nd val le- pt. by vis le- xt on nd 1e, ci- an ‘in he nd th e. of Je e, of Yr. Is —~ s S adh oll ome i at ~~ , a —- a | N° 3282, Sepr. 20,90 THE ATHENZUM 393 castle by Capt. Basil Brooke in 1610, who received a grant of the castle and lands after the Flight of the Earls. The banqueting hall on the second floor shows some signs of its ancient magnificence, and contains a tine chimney-piece of freestone, on which are carved the arms of Brooke, impaled with those of Leicester of Toft. A fine mullioned window, reaching from the floor to the ceiling, is now nearly destroyed. The monastery was then visited, when a paper by the Rev. Denis Murphy was read, which said: In this monastery the great men, the O’Clerys and Fearfeasa O’Mulchonry, gathered togetherthe ancient books in which the history of Erin from its very beginning was stored up—those immortal ‘Annals’ which O’Curry has pronounced to be *‘the largest collection of national, civil, military, and family history ever brought together in this or perhaps any other country.” Here also was composed the ‘Martyrology of Donegal,’ and hither were brought together the materials for the ‘ Acta Sanctorum’ and the ‘ Trias Thauma- turga’ of Father John Colgan. The writer then reviewed the work of the Franciscan Order, which was introduced into Ireland in the beginning of the thirteenth century. The first house was Youghal, and in time the Order spread over all Treland. The monastery of Donegal was founded in 1474 by Hugh Roe O’Donnell, son of Niall Garbh and his wife Finola. Reference was made to Father Meehan’s works, the details of which were taken from the MS. of Father Purcell, now in the Burgundian Library, Brussels. The destruction of the monastery was then fully described, the facts of which are immediately connected with the wars of Red Hugh O'Donnell. The monks were driven from their monastery, and a_ spark falling on some barrels of gunpowder an explosion occurred and the building was totally destroyed. Intheafternoon the excursion was continued to Killybegs, eighteen miles distant. The chapel of St. Mary, Killybegs, contains a fine painting of the Holy Family, said to be by Murillo, pre- sented by the late Mr. Murray, of Broughton, for which he paid 200 guineas ; and also a very fine Celtic tomb-covering of Niall Mor Mac Swyne, found at Ballysaggart, beautifully sculptured. Near Killybegs there are many remains of Cyclopean walls, stone forts, and cromlechs. The journey to Carrick, ten miles west, was continued next day. The party were now in the footsteps of St. Columb, who, before he became a wanderer from Ireland because of blood on his hand, laid deep the foundation of Chris- tianity in the wilds of Donegal. A short drive from Carrick brought them to Cloghanmore, one of the finest giants’ graves in Ireland. A few miles distant is Malinmore, with a series of cromlechs, the largest being one of the finest in Ireland. The drive was then continued to Glencolumbkille, situated in a per- fect amphitheatre of hills at the foot of Glen Head, rising perpendicularly from the sea toa height of 800 feet. The scenery here is mag- nificent, and the glen is full of archeological interest. Some forty stones are scattered up and down the valley, which are penitential stations to this day. On the slope of Glen Head is a holy well with a cairn of stones left by the devotees, and some ruins with a large stone called St. Columb’s bed. It is kissed as a cure for all kinds of diseases, and is the last spot visited in the penance. Some of the pillar stones are finely carved with figures and the usual interlaced Irish patterns. There is a good example of a souterrain in the churchyard, from eight to ten feet deep, and about twenty yards long. There are many curious traditions told by the peasantry, one being that Prince Charlie spent some time at the house of Robert Hamil- ton in the neighbourhood before his escape in 1746. During his stay one night at a place called Meenacrosh, where nothing but Irish was spoken, a girl was heard thus to soliloquize :— ‘“*There you are, bonnie Prince Charlie, and there is not in all Meenacrosh so much English as will be able to rouse you in the morning from your slumbers.” Excursions to Slieve League by land and sea filled up the morning of Friday. The weather was most unfavourable, but did not deter the visitors. Heavy masses of mist lay low on the mighty mass of the mountain, and it was impossible from the cliffs above or the sea below to view this glorious amphi- theatre of rocky strata, rising 2,000 feet in per- pendicular height from the rolling sea beneath. Few spots can exceed this in wild and solemn grandeur, impressing as it does the eye with awe, and being rightly called the ‘‘ Lair of the Whirlwinds.” To the geologist the spot is of exceptional interest, and seldom can be seen the book of nature more clearly opened to view, with its regular and contorted strata, than it is in the cliffs of Bunglas. THE TOMB OF VAPHIO. Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. I notice Mr. Stillman’s criticism of the state- ment in the Hellenic Jowrnal report, for which Iam responsible, that ‘‘in the tomb itself [at Vaphio or Bapheion] distinct traces of the use of lime mortar are said to have been found.” Not having been in the tomb, I could only quote from M. Tsountas’s report, and am very glad to see the more express statement of M. Tsountas quoted by Mr. Stillman. He had previously stated that the joints of the stones were covered with lime, and also that the breakages and damages to the stone had been later covered over with lime (aoBeoros). I naturally sup- posed that this meant some lime-compound of the nature of mortar, as it seemed improbable that pure lime, without sand, would have re- mained for three thousand years in holes and fissures of the stone. Of course I accept M. Tsountas’s correction as to the matter, on which he alone is competent to speak. But of such a compound as I supposed to be meant—the word aoBerros is used pretty vaguely in modern Greece, and in ancient Greek can mean plaster or stucco—‘‘ mortar” would be a sufficiently ac- curate description in a short report which only referred to the matter in one line. I have no wish to enter a controversy upon a question as to which I do not pretend to any special knowledge; but I mentioned the dis- covery of lime-dressing in the tomb at Vaphio because I knew that it, as well as similar dis- coveries at Mycenze, was regarded by competent authorities upon prehistoric architecture as hav- ing a bearing upon the Tiryns controversy. ERNEST GARDNER. Sine-Art Gossip, A CONTEMPORARY, distinguished by its intel- ligent and energetic regard for the public con- venience, and not unmindful of the interests of the taxpayer, calls attention to an economical plan for facilitating the foot traffic at street crossings, which would add an architectural charm to the dullest vistas of the metropolis, and materially reduce our risks of life and limb. It is pointed out that the chief reason why vehicles are blocked in the Strand is really not the narrowness of certain parts of that thoroughfare, but the necessity of stopping the cross-streams at Wellington Street while walkers go from one side to the other. Ifa circus was formed at this point by removing the four corner houses, the wheel traftic would soon adjust itself, and thus, for many years, render needless those schemes of the County Council which have already met with the thorough check deserved by their extravagance. Our contem- porary returns to a scheme we have more than once already urged, viz , the erection of light and elegant iron footbridges at such crossings. Regent Circus, Oxford Circus, Charing Cross, Wellington Street, and elsewhere in the Strand (especially at the Law Courts, for which place Street made a fine design of this nature, har- monizing with his building), Ludgate Circus, Ludgate Hill, and Cheapside would be suitable points. There is no reason why such viaducts should not be built of stone and iron combined. A simple experiment might be made without a great outlay. Subways are objectionable in so many respects that we have no hope in them. A GIGANTIC scheme, having for its ultimate object the appropriation of the whole of the Louvre and Tuileries to artistic and antiquarian services, is mooted in Paris. This plan advo- cates the removal of the Ministry of Finances from the Louvre (Rue de Rivoli) to the Hotel des Invalides, which is now only half occupied, and the occupation of the Pavillons Marsan and de Flore by the staff of the museums. At the present rate of increasing fervour with which the ruins of the ancient world are being ran- sacked (though the result is often the exhu- mation from the sites of provincial cities of matters of doubtful value), not ten Louvres would suffice to hold the booty of our antiquaries. The fact is that in too many cases we are collect- ing rubbish. Is not one secret of our error that book-scholarship obtains where art-scholarship ought to rule ? Mr. R. A. StrernpAe has in the Asiatic Quarterly Review for October an article on Cyclopean architecture of Asiatic origin in Polynesia, which derives its chief interest from the fact that the descriptions are from notes made on the spot by his late brother, who spent many years in exploring the ruins in Central America and the Pacific isles. The architec- ture (if it deserves the name) of the Polynesian of the present century is of so simple a cha- racter that the stupendous remains of the ancient people of those islands afford a wide and interesting field for speculation. Tue German School at Athens has obtained leave from the Turkish Government to excavate the ancient city of Magnesia on the Meander, famous for its temple of Artemis Leucophryene, a large part of the frieze belonging to which is preserved in the Louvre. A Greek named Demetrios Baltazis has recently discovered in- scriptions on the site. The work will be under the direction of Dr. Humann. In digging the foundations of the new houses Dr. Schliemann is building at Athens, near the Arsakeion, four stone sarcophagi of late date have been found, with remains of bones of the deceased. Tue Messenger of Odessa announces that on opening a tomb in the cemetery of Kertch a sarcophagus has been discovered, between 1,500 and 1,800 years old, very well preserved, and containing a coffin in which was the head of a girl whose hair was quite uninjured. Remains of textile fabrics and some vases in clay and glass were found at the same time. — MUSIC —_—— THE WEEK. THE WORCESTER FESTIVAL. Ir seems highly probable that in future the festivals of the Three Choirs will be held exclusively in the cathedrals of the respec- tive cities, the evening oratorio performances being far more remunerative than the secular concerts, at which the attendance is necessarily limited. As already announced, the scheme of last week only included one concert in the public hall, which took place on Wednesday evening. There was one novelty in the programme — namely, an overture entitled ‘ Froissart,’ by Mr. Ed- ward Elgar, a young musician residing in Worcester. To it is appended a motto,
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394 THE ATHENZUM N° 3282, Sepr. 20, 90 ‘¢ When chivalry lifted up her lance on high,” from which we gather that the work is not intended to illustrate any particular epi- sode in Froissart’s ‘Chronicles,’ but merely to suggest the age of chivalry in a general sense. As to this it is impossible to speak precisely, not a line of explanation or ana- lysis being furnished in the programme. The overture consists of a long introduc- tion, and a quick movement in the usual form, and the character of the music is alternately martial and sentimental. Mr. Elgar may be congratulated on the produc- tion of a musicianly and effective piece, the materials being handled with boldness and, for the most part, sound judgment. He may be encouraged to persevere. A remarkable fine performance of Dr. Hubert Parry’s can- tata ‘St. Cecilia’s Day’ was given under the composer’s direction, the choruses being rendered with really marvellous power and spirit by the contingent from Leeds. Similar praise is due for their splendid unaccom- panied singing in Mr. Harford Lloyd’s eight- part chorus, ‘To Morning.’ The rest of the programme consisted of more or less familiar items, but all of them worthy of a place in the scheme of a festival. On Thursday morning the principal event of the week took place, namely, the produc- tion of Prof. Bridge’s oratorio ‘The Repent- ance of Nineveh.’ It argued no little boldness on the part of the composer and his librettist Mr. Joseph Bennett to found an oratorio on the book of Jonah, one of the most enigmatical portions of the Scriptures. The primitive conception of the Deity, the naiveté of the mariners, and, above all, the incident of the prophet being swallowed by the great fish, present diffi- culties from which musicians and librettists have shrunk since the time of Carissimi. Mr. Bennett, however, has handled his subject with the same freedom he displayed in ‘The Rose of Sharon’ and ‘Ruth.’ His book is suggested by Jonah, but, with the exception of the incident of the gourd and the prophet’s discontent, the plot is mainly his own. In the first part the Ninevites are celebrating a victory over the Egyptians, and the king utters terrible blasphemies, to which the people respond. Jonah pro- phesies the destruction of the city within forty days, but is received with derision save by the king’s daughter, who urges repentance. The second part is virtually a long solo for Jonah, interrupted only by a distant chorus of the people and the utter- ances of the divine voice. In the third part the people and the king humble themselves, the queen, who is portrayed as a sort of Jezebel, alone remaining obdurate. A storm bursts over the city, but it passes off, and Jonah proclaims that Nineveh has obtained forgiveness, the oratorio ending with a chorus of general rejoicing. If the success of a work of this kind depended on the interest of the story, the chances of ‘The Repentance of Nineveh’ becoming popular would not be great. . Furthermore, although the skill with which Mr. Bennett has dovetailed texts from the Old and New Testaments deserves recognition, it is ques- tionable whether a librettist is justified in selecting sentences arbitrarily in order to serve his own ends. There is nothing in the present book so glaringly offensive as the words put into the mouth of the Elder in ‘ The Rose of Sharon,’ or so incongruous as the reference to Jerusalem in the opening chorus of ‘Ruth.’ But it would be just as feasible to construct a new play out of Shakspeare’s words as to use Biblical texts in Mr. Bennett’s manner ; and his original libretti, of which ‘The Dream of Jubal’ and ‘Thorgrim’ are the best examples, com- mand far more admiration than the books of his Scriptural oratorios, clever as they may be. It is now time to turn to the music, which is calculated to surprise even those who were prepared, by the composer’s secular cantata ‘ Callirhoé,’ to find that he would show but scant regard for conventionalities. Between this work and the older oratorios, with their formal airs and choruses linked together by more or less ‘‘ dry”’ recitative, there is a wide gulf. But it is not so much in the small respect paid to stereotyped forms that Dr. Bridge displays his freedom from restraint as in the bold and unconventional nature of his melodic and harmonic pro- gressions, and in the comparative scarcity of straightforward rhythmical phrases. The writing for the solo voices is in great measure simply declamatory, though it is not wholly devoid of melodic charm. The final air for Jonah (tenor), founded on what the pro- gramme annotator terms the motive of mercy, is beautiful, the effect being heigh- tened by the violin oddligato; aud there are other isolated passages, such as the phrase in nine-eight measure which we are told to associate with the gourd, that are pleasing as well as expressive. The strength of the work, however, lies mainly in the choruses, in which, of course, Dr. Bridge’s contra- puntal skill is brought into play. Though there are no fully developed fugues, the fugal style predominates, and much of the writing is masterly. Where a dramatic effect is needed, the composer knows how to supply it. Mention may be made of the sudden change of style when the people cry ‘‘It is the voice of a god”’ in the first part, and the beautiful transition from minor to major at the words ‘“ Seek ye the Lord” in the third part. The orchestration is rich, nicely balanced, and always appropriate, the most noteworthy portions of the work in this respect being the triumphal march in the first part and the storm in the third. In short, ‘ The Re- pentance of Nineveh’ does very great credit to its composer, and we shall be much mis- taken if his next effort in the same line does not show an advance upon it, as he evinces to such a large degree his power to write oratorio music in the dramatic style now regarded as essential. Let him bear in mind that shifting tonality and harsh chromatic harmonies become as wearisome as a constant succession of commonplace diatonic phrases, and that purely melodic passages introduced judiciously give an ex- quisite sense of relief. Considering the diffi- culty of the music the performance, under the composer’s direction, was surprisingly good. But for a painful loss of pitch in a very trying passage in the second part the efforts of the choir would have demanded unqualified praise, the attack, vigour, and precision being all that could be desired. In the hands of such artists as Madame Albani, Miss Hilda Wilson, Mr. Lloyd, and Mr. Brereton the solo parts were, 3 gaat presented in the most favourable ight. With this production the musical interest of the festival may be said to have ended. The second part of Thursday morning’s per- formance consisted of the silly perversion of Beethoven’s ‘Mount of Olives’ known as ‘Engedi, or David in the Wilderness,’ which it was fondly hoped had been laid on the shelf. Bach’s settings of the Passion and Gounod’s ‘ Redemption ’ are freely per- formed at the present time, and it is not easy to perceive why Beethoven’s one oratorio should still be presented in caricature. ‘Elijah’ in the evening attracted the largest audience ever recorded at a Worcester Festival. The performance was generally excellent, and special commendation is due to Mr. Watkin Mills, whose conception of the leading part has steadily im- proved in intention and achievement since he first assumed it a few years ago. ‘The Messiah’ was given on the following morning, and was also for the most part well rendered, though the pauses between the various movements were somewhat tire- some as well as unnecessary. Of the closing service, in which the three choirs and a string band took part, nothing need be said in this place. As the meeting was, on the whole, an artistic success, it is satis- factory to learn that financially it was one of the best of the series. The attendance reached nearly 15,000 persons, and the col- lections for the charity were on a corre- sponding scale. It is customary to conclude the record of a festival with well-meant, but not always judicious, words of advice to its promoters. On the present occasion a homily would be entirely out of place, as the latest festival of the Three Choirs has left little to be desired from any point of view. Musical Gossip. Mr. Basti TREE has issued his ‘‘ Panel Con- cert Date List,” giving the dates of all the serial concerts at St. James’s Hall for the coming season. It does not appear that any new enter- prises of importance will be started ; but it is satisfactory to note that those on which ama- teurs depended last season are all renewing their arrangements. Orchestral concerts will be unusually numerous. Six are’announced by Mr. Henschel, a similar number by Sir Charles Halle, three each by the Royal, Stock Exchange, and Strolling Players amateur societies, and two by Seiior Albeniz. The Young People’s, the Philharmonic, and the Richter concerts will be resumed later in the season. No oratorio per- formances of importance, however, are an- nounced, and until a new hall of sufticient capacity is built lovers of this form of musical art will look for it in vain in central London. Tue full prospectus of the Norwich Festival, which will take place on October 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th, has now been issued. It con- tains little information of importance in addi- tion to that we have already given, which, of course, there is no reason to recapitulate. The orchestra will number 69 and the chorus 230 performers, the latter being assisted by the boy choristers of the cathedral. Mr. Davin Jenkins, of Aberystwith, who is very well known in Welsh musical circles, is the author of a new oratorio, entitled ‘ David and Saul,’ which will shortly be published by Messrs. Novello, Ewer & Co. WE regret to learn that Mr. Ebenezer Prout has resigned the conductorship of the Borough of Hackney Choral Association, for reasons ae at G2 tet ett oe CWC Oe ith tite ait — ed "Mao &
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: 0 ct a ee aE ee ae ae” eee, eee ee ee OE OS Ee ti‘ N° 3282, Sepr. 20,90 THE ATHENAUM 395 which those fully acquainted with the circum- stances must regard as sufticient. The society has rendered much service to music during the past fourteen years under Mr. Prout’s direction, and his loss cannot fail to be severely felt. We understand that his successor has not yet been appointed. Messrs. Bentiey will publish next week Miss Bettina Walker’s ‘Musical Reminiscences’ in one volume, and ‘The Life and Letters of Schumann’ in two volumes. Two of the finest living German operatic artists—Herr Gura and Herr Vogl—are com- pleting the twenty-fifth year of their engage- ment at Munich. The former made his début on September 14th, 1865, and the latter on November 5th of the same year. THE announcement is made of the approach- ing publication of a work dealing with the career of Madame Patti, and entitled ‘ Le Déclin d’une Etoile.’ It will be published in French at Paris, in Germag at Vienna, and in English in London and New York. The name of the author has not transpired. THE management of La Scala, Milan, desiring to engage Signor Tamagno for Mascagni's ‘ Caval- liera Rusticana,’ the artist asked 4,000/. for fifteen performances, and named also a con- dition that he should sing in some other opera to be selected by himself. The terms were not accepted. For the production of ‘Lohengrin’ at Nantes the management has secured the superb scenic accessories prepared for the unfortunate per formances of the opera at the Paris Eden Theatre under M. Lamoureux. Art Vienna recently Wagner’s ‘ Lohengrin’ has been performed for the two hundredth time. The new statue of Mendelssohn, which has been executed by Werner Stein, will be placed in front of the new concert hall in Leipzig. The ceremony of inauguration will take place on November 4th next, the anniversary of the composer’s death. DRAMA —_s— The Tragic Mary. By Michael Field. (Bell & Sons.) For the name assigned Mary Stuart in her play Michael Field is avowedly indebted to Mr. Pater. Dramas concerning the Queen of Scots are almost as plentiful as black- berries in autumn. In place of the Mary Stuart as to a great poet of our time ‘she has appeared in majesty of intellect, con- scious of the burthen of her own beauty, and devoting every power of spirit and sense to the reception or excitement of desire,” or the Mary Stuart “now in pro- cess of canonization,’ but not as yet ‘‘ delineated” in drama, ‘‘a creature per- fect in action and forbearance from the day of her first communion to her bowing down upon the block,’’ Michael Field presents a third, her impressions concerning which ‘‘ have grown from a vision almost to a con- viction.”” That a conception of Mary dif- ferent from that of Mr. Swinburne or of her worshipper has been formed ‘it would be impertinent to deny. It is, however, pre- sented in no very tangible or realizable shape to the reader. The Mary Stuart of Michael Field answers to the hack- neyed description of woman by Virgil, or that given of her own sex by Rosalind. She comes under the spell of Bothwell, whose brutal passion for her seems equally compounded of love and of hate, and she meets him in varying moods of repugnance and surrender. To extract, however, an intelligible theory of her character from her disjointed phraseology and her general extravagance of speech is a task sufliciently puzzling to the masculine intellect. Something of the spirit of the old Eliza- bethans seems to animate this latest drama- tist. Some faint purple flush of tragedy falls around the world she depicts. It soon disappears, and the rocks are seen to be not only arid, but grotesque. The whole has the effect of an unconscious travesty. The rhymed couplets of Restoration trage- dians are immeasurably preferable as a vehicle for thought to the spasmodic and distorted language which Michael Field apparently regards as poetry. Addressing Moray, Mary says :— Dismiss this speech of broken sentences. This is exactly the advice we would bestow upon our author. A moment’s reasonable language upon the part of any character would be an inexpressible relief. As it is, the vocabulary of these warriors and nobles, and of the queen herself, is so limited that when a happy or an unhappy word or phrase is encountered it is seized upon and retained. Once, with something that may be passion and approaches poetry, Both- well addresses Mary in the tones of menace tempered by reluctant physical homage he constantly adopts :— We will ride forth Together when the briny air has given My bride another cheek ; two triumphing, Young lovers, Curse this arid pensiveness ; Will nothing break youin? Why, Z have seen you Let your soft ruddy hair blow in my face Asa flapped banner, you who banish me Your smiles, your lips, Deep, dominating clouds Are on your brow. I tell you, Marie Stuart, If you bend on me those remorseless eyes You will arouse the dull pangs of such hate As kept the devil patient in the glades Of Eden. I esteem you nowa thing To cow and trample. Apart from the foolish use of “dull pangs,” ‘‘trample,” and other words or phrases, the whole is strong, and there is in the lines in italics a pretty amorous conceit. From this time forth, however, we are pestered with the word “flap,” until near the close we find such speech put into Mary’s lips as the following :— Ah, my good people! . . . . Mercy, what is this ! Why flap this buried man? Would I had never Seen him before! I know he looked like that— So long in his long coftin-—and the child ! I’ve clapped those chubby fingers in my palm That point to point beg vengeance of the Lord ; For once I heard a little, lonesome cry, And then a voice that said I had a son. Subsequently she says :— I am sinking To impotence amid such scrannel whirr As ship whose helm and birthright government Are taken by a sea. Moved, it may be supposed, by admiration, Morton in the following speech exclaims :— Her hat falls off—St. Bride! her clothes are short ; Her face is blurred with evil and with tire. It may be said that in these passages the context is not given. No context, however, can explain or justify such misuse of words. Here are a few more gems. of Darnley Mary says :— (Apart) Patience! A hail-storm rushes through my blood At sight of him. Subsequently, upon his leaving her, she | breaks forth :— On the entry , He must be put away, Fool, traitor, noxious reptile. What are these Sharp swords about my heart? No issues thence Of sighs and dolorous weeping ; war and winter, Numb wretchedness, and fierce, constricting hate Huddle together. If I suddenly Could die! Ah, would to God that I were dead! With her great buoyant eyes. She doth not flush; the crystals in her cheek Are growing sharp and brilliant. To-day I should have conquered, if the battle Had not been struck with paralytic sun. You shall not speak it on a burning pant. Some of these things are only extravagant, others approach insanity. Rather than ac- cept such “forcible feeble’’ utterance for verse we would dispense with verse alto- gether. The one of her characters with whom Michael Field has been most success- ful, Maitland of Lethington, speaks fre- quently in prose. Well would it be for the reader if Mary Stuart and Bothwell would follow his example. As to the treatment of the subject, it may be said that the first of the five long acts is principally occupied with the murder of Rizzio, the third with that of Darnley, and the remainder of the play with the abduction of Mary by Bothwell and her separation from him. Bothwell has from the first a gloomy presage of com- ing events worthy of a Highland seer. In the opening lines of the play he says :— She banished me, she did not like my manners; She banished me, and yet a time shall come When the dire fetters of a marriage-bond Shall keep us ever locked. It is hard to know which pleases less, the long prevision of Bothwell of his subse- quent and hurriedly accomplished action, or the choice of terms, such as those we have placed in italics, to shadow forth the dreams of a lover bent on wooing a second Helen. Dramatic Gossip. Upon its revival at the Criterion, ‘Truth,’ a three-act farce of Mr. Bronson Howard, created a less favourable impression than when it was first seen at the same house a dozen years ago. This is probably due to the fact that Mr. Wynd- ham no longer plays the part of the hero, but assigns it to Mr. T. G. Warren, a clever and painstaking actor, who, however, lacks the mercurial temperament and the belief in his own devices essential to it. Mr. Giddens gives with much conviction the character of John Penryn, a gentleman whose simulated worship of truth is not wholly reconcilable with his actions; and Mr. Blakeley is mirthful in his own admirable, if rather mannered fashion, as the disreputable Sir Partridge Compton. Miss Helen Forsyth and Miss Fitzroy are included in the cast. Miss WINIFRED EMERY now sustains the part of Vashti Dethic in Mr. Jones’s drama of ‘Judah,’ with which Mr. Willard elects to conclude his season. Of the four successive exponents of a difficult part, comprising Miss Olga Brandon, Miss Calhoun, and Miss Annie Hill, none has charged it with more psychological subtlety. Miss Emery is, indeed, almost as suited to the character as the original exponent. Mr. E. W. Gardiner is a new and an acceptable repre- sentative of Juxon Prall. Tue Haymarket will reopen early in October with ‘The Village Priest.’ Mr. VANDERFELT, an actor from America, will, it is said, support Miss Fortescue in her forthcoming revival of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and in other leading parts. Miss EastTLakk is, it is said, shortly to under- take the management of a London theatre.
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396 THE ATHENAUM N° 3282, Serr. 20, 90 Mr. anp Mrs. Kenpat have played in the country with much success in ‘All for Her,’ a drama they propose to take to America. Upon its transference to the Opéra Comique, ‘The Judge’ of Mr. Arthur Law has undergone some alterations. These prove to be unim- portant and, in some respects, ill advised. Thanks, however, to the spirit with which Miss Grahame’s company act, and to the very droll portraiture of the judge by Mr. Penley, the whole is received with much laughter. ‘ Nearly Severed,’ by Mr. James P. Hurst, is also given. THE production is announced of Mr. Charles Hannan’s four-act French play ‘ Monsieur Moulon,’ in which Miss Alma Murray will play the leading part. ‘The piece was originally pro- duced for copyright purposes under the title of ‘The Fishergirl.’ ‘Monsieur Moulon’ will first see light at the Prince of Wales’s Theatre during the coming month. ‘THE S1xtH COMMANDMENT’ is the title, tem- porarily, at least, bestowed upon the play by Mr. Robert Buchanan with which, on the 8th of October, Miss Wallis will reopen the Shaftes- bury Theatre. Mr. ARTHUR CEcIL has returned to London, driven from Italy by the cold, but will seek better fortune in Scotland, previous to reappear- ing at the Court Theatre next month in ‘The Cabinet Minister.’ Mr. Kyrie BELLEw has created a very favour- able impression at the Princess’s Theatre, Mel- bourne, in ‘ David Garrick.’ In this piece and in ‘Our Dearest Foe’ he has been playing with Mrs. Brown Potter, whose reception has also been favourable. A company of shareholders has been formed at Buda-Pesth with the view of replacing the German Theatre, burnt down some time ago, by another theatre, at which not only German, but also Hungarian and French plays are occasion- ally to be performed. We are glad to hear that Grillparzer’s cen- tenary birthday, which falls on January 15th, 1891, will be worthily celebrated at Vienna. According to a promise officially given to the Grillparzer-Gesellschaft a cycle of his dramatic works—thirteen in number—will be performed on the occasion. To CORRESPONDENTS.—G. G —H. B.—H. L.—received. No notice will be taken of anonymous communications. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY Post, s @ For Twelve Months aaa as ee o 15 3 For Six Months _.... ove ooo ose wo 78 KIRKES’ HANDBOOK OF PHYSIOLOGY. With 500 Illustrations, crown 8vo. lis. Twelfth Edition. A HANDBOOK of PHYSIOLOGY. By W. MORRANT BAKER, F.R.CS., Surgeon to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, Examiner in Surgery at the Royal College of Physicians ; and VINCENT DORMER HARRIS, M.D. Lond., Demonstrator of Physiology at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital. John Murray, Albemarle-street. Now ready, BIBLIOGRAPHICAL MISCELLANIES, By WILLIAM BLADES. No. I. On the DEVELOPMENT of SIGNATURES. With 2 Facsimile Illustrations, 32 pp. 8vo. price 1s 6d. No. 2. BOOKS in CHAINS, WIMBORNE MINSTER. 29 pp. illustrated, price Is. 6d. Nos. 3, 4, 5. BOOKS in CHAINS, Giving a most int resting Description, with Views, of Chained Libraries and Books in the United Kingdom, Italy, &c. 70 pp. pice 4s. 6d. Orders for thc: numbers should be forwarded to the Publishers :— Blades, East & Blades, 23, ADchureh-lane London, E.C. SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & CO0.’S PUBLICATIONS. —_—\_>— SPECIAL NOTICE.—Now ready, THE NEW REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION OF THE HYMNAL COMPANION TO THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. EDITED BY The Right Rev. E. H. BICKERSTETH, D.D. Lord Bishop of Exeter. t@ The Publishers have addressed one copy of the NEW ANNOTATED EDITION, price 2s, 6d., to every Beneficed Clergy- man in the United Kingdom ; at least FOURTEEN THOUSAND COPIES have thus been GRATUITOUSLY DIS- POSED OF ; they therefore wish re- spectfully to announce that in future they can no longer continue to send Gratuitous Copies on application as heretofore, but a Specimen Volume of the Annotated Edition will still be sent to any address on receipt of One Shilling and Sixpence. The present Edition contains 600 Hymns, of which only 466 appeared in the last Edition—84 Hymns of that Edition, which contained 550, having now been omitted, whilst 134 NEW HYMNS have been added; and it is hoped that the loss of those omitted, some of which time has proved were rarely sung, will be far more than compensated by the gain of those introduced. The new Musical Edition has been edited by CHARLES VINCENT, Mus.D. Oxon., Organist of Christ Church, Hampstead, and by D. J. WOOD, Mus.B. Oxon., Organist of Exeter Cathedral, with the counsel and assistance, through- out their laborious work, of Sir JOHN STAINER, M.A. Mus.D., Professor of Music in the University of Oxford. The ‘Hymnal Companion’ is used in upwards of 5,000 Churches. Grants are made in special cases on the intro- duction of the ‘Hymnal Companion’ into poor parishes. A 16-paged Prospectus of all Editions on application. NOW READY, price ONE SHILLING, HARPER’S MAGAZINE, OCTOBER NUMBER. Contents. SONNETS by WORDSWORTH. tions. Drawn by Alfred Parsons. ANTOINE’S MOOSE-YARD. Julian Ralph. Iilustrations. Drawn by Freaeric Remington. ‘THE DRAGONESS.” A Story. George A. Hibbard. The STRANGE TALE of a TYPE-WRITER. Anna C. Brackett. PORT TARASCON: The LAST ADVENTURES of the ILLUSTRIVUUS TARTARIN. V. Alph: nse Daudet. With Fifteen Itlustrations. Drawn by Luigi Rossi, Louis Mortégut, and F. de Myrbach. NEW MONEYS of LINCOLN’S ADMINISTRATION. L. E. Cot enden. TEA TEPHI in AMITY. An Episode. A. B, Ward. 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N° 3283, Sepr. 27, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 409 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1890. CONTENTS. MoprkRis’s THE Roots OF THE MOUNTAINS THE ORIGIN OF PRINTING ° THE ROXBURGHE BALLADS ... NOVELS oF THE WEEK ; ooo ats ° . 414 Our Lipgary TABLE—LisT OF NEW Books ... 415—416 Lorp Rosstyn’s Poetry; Capt. Coox’s Loas; Bon- FIRES OR BONEFIRES; THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION ; THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON; INTERMEDIATE EDUCATION IN WALES; THE PREDECESSORS OF THE SERVICE BooK; FoNTAINEBLEAU GREEK MANU- SCRIPTS; THE CECIL PAPERS ... 416—419 LITERARY GossIP aa ae aos - 420 SCIENCE—ASTRONOMICAL NOTES; ANTHROPOLOGICAL Norges; THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON ; MEET- PAGE . 409 - 412 . 413 INGS ... oe eas eee eve 422—423 Fink ARTS—LIBRARY TABLE; THE LELAND CLUB; Gossip ss ese was 423—424 Music—Gossip ... . 424 DRamM4—THE WEEK; LIBRARY TARLE; MB. Bovuci- CAULT; GOSSIP... ooo oe ° 425—426 LITERATURE oe The Roots of the Mountains: Wherein is told somewhat of the Lives of the Men of Burg- dale, their Friends, their Neighbours, their Foemen, and their Fellows in Arms. By William Morris. (Reeves & Turner.) NosLE in treatment as is this prose poem, and heroic as is its temper, it is not as a whole so impressive as ‘The House of the Wolfings’: in the first place, it is not a tragedy ; in the second place, the motive is not so grand. The loves of Gold-mane and Sunbeam, the sorrow and the consolation of the Bride, the chivalry of Folk-might, and the victory of the allied families over the Dusky-men have no centre of pathos so important as the splendid renunciation by Thiodolf of the magic armour which would have kept his own life safe, but only at the expense of the life of his country. Not, indeed, by any one central idea, but by the treatment and general temper of the poem, is its heroic quality exhibited and sustained. This sets it on a distinctly lower level than ‘The Wolfings.’ In certain matters of structure and form, however, it is, we think, superior to that superb epic. In reviewing it we said :— “ His method of giving the important speeches in metre, though it depresses the imagination of the reader who has passed into the more per- fect illusion which prose narrative can command, would not, perhaps, have depressed the imagi- nation of an Icelandic reader, to whom the art of poetry served in some degree both for abso- lute music and metrical music, and who could himself easily pass from prose into verse, and this, perhaps, was still more the case with re- gard to the inhabitants of the Western Islands.” And this is true; and in the book before us the poet reverses this method. The dra- matic action is rendered entirely in prose. Nothing is given in verse save such matter as is purely lyrical. This we take to be a very great gain. But beautiful as the lyrics are, we are not sure that Mr. Morris has not interspersed too: many of them in a story which, being written without metre, has less freedom of flight than a metrical narra- tive. Itis easy to fall into this error. It is easy for the poet to forget that the temper of the reader of an unmetrical narrative is, as compared with the temper of the reader of verse, too eager after dramatic move- ment to accept with patience a rapid suc- cession of long lyrics, howsoever beautiful] they may be. This is especially so when the lyrics are introduced in any portion of the story where the reader’s interest has been greatly fired. The verse then runs the danger of being hurried over, and its more secluded beauties lost. Again, we are not sure that it would have been any loss to the book had certain of the more pronounced archaisms of diction and style been modified—though, as far as our own individual taste is concerned, the archaism, we confess, is to us a delight. But it must be remembered that archaism always runs the danger of raising in the minds of those who are not specialists the effect of mimicry, and that when this effect is raised in the slightest degree the authenticity of the narrative is weakened. The first requisite of every unmetrical narrative is that it should convince. And this should be constantly borne in mind by the artist who aspires to succeed where so many writers have failed and to pro- duce a story that without metre shall be a poem. So subtle a medium is language, so delicate in suggestions and associations, that a sense of cold archaism may be pro- duced by sentences in which there is no word and no locution that can of itself delay the reader’s understanding. But the imagi- nation of the reader is the first thing to consider, and it is astonishing what a “ tricksy sprite” the imagination is. To give to the principal characters of a story names so unfamiliar as to appear to the general reader grotesque—names such as Face-of-God, Hall-face, Iron-face, Stone-face | —is to run a risk that only the hardiest artist would run. It is no answer to this objection to say that in days of a remote past such names would not have appeared grotesque, and that to the specialist they may give a positive pleasure. A work of literary art— whether in verse or in prose or in both— though it can, up to a certain point, be built on a basis of documents, is not itself a docu- ment. Hence this is the best and, indeed, the only advice to give to any artist: capture the imagination of your reader and hold it ; leave all the rest to Providence. And after all, what careful archaism, based on what unimpeachable documents, can really and truly bring before the reader any past epoch as it was? All that any artist can do is to give us his own vigorous dream of the past, strengthened, undoubtedly, and enriched by being built on a foundation of documents. But at the best it is only a dream. The faithfulness of the most faithful artist like Meinhold is only a degree of falseness some- what less than that of Ainsworth or G. P. R. James. Inthe life of man on the earth there is only the present. Upon the narrow bar of light that trembles between the night of the past and the night of the future he walks fora moment. The past is a dream, and a false one; the future is a dream, and a false one; but as he walks along that narrow path it is happy for him that he can dream. Nothing is more precious than those works of the Icelandic sagamen which have come down to us from the thirteenth and four- teenth centuries. The simple and primi- tive times of which the two Eddas, the Vol- sunga Saga, Njal’s Saga, Heimskringla, the story of Grettir the Strong, are the voice—times with which Mr. Morris loves to contrast the complexity of our own—are delightful to dream about, but what they really were we have to infer by an inductive process that cannot but be fettered by the chain-armour of convention in which we move. Malory read the old Arthurian legends through the spectacles of the fif- teenth century. Tennyson reads Malory through the pince-nez of the nineteenth. Rossetti sees Dante’s Florence well—but sees it through the “ rosy smoke-mist ” of a Chelsea sunset. Morris reads the sagas well —lives in those sweet pre-middleman times beloved of us all—goes to Iceland, rides the little long-haired steeds, and, returning to Hammersmith, tries manfully to transmute a shopkeeping planet into an Earthly Para- dise, London into Lymedale, ’Arry into a cockney Sigurd, and ‘‘ Mary Jane” intoa Whitechapel Brynhild. And if this is so with regard to the past, how much more so is it with regard to the future! Books like Mr. Bellamy’s ‘ Looking Backward’ show that there is just now a taste for books depict- ing an imagined future. The future, at least, may get some amusement from them. What would Shelley have said had he known that between him and the millennium he dreamed of would intervene in a very few years the fight of brother with brother in the promised land of America—the most grievous spectacle that history can show—and then the march of the German nation on Paris? To dream with Exeter Hall about the English-speak- ing race moving with Little Bethel round the world is easy—as easy as to dream with Lord Wolseley about European civilization, the religion of Christ, the art of Italy, the literature of Greece and of England, being swept into the ocean by a thousand million of semi-barbarous Chinese. And inasmuch as man proposes and history disposes, inas- much as the Past is dead and the Future unborn, the artist who would deal with either must remember that he is an artist merely, and never allow the lifeless scaffolding to obscure the living structure. In one delightful feature this book resembles ‘The Wolfings’—it is free from the polemics that disfigured ‘John Ball.’ When we once compared the author of ‘Sigurd’ to Bragi, the son of Odin and Friga, certain impertinent objectors asked us scoffingly to justify so bold a com- parison. ‘‘ Was it not,” said they, ‘one of the virtues of the poetry-smith of the Northern Olympus that his tongue could utter none but words of wisdom, so deeply were the wise runes of heaven engraven in the very gristle round his larynx, the very flesh of his tongue?” and then they made scoffing allusions to certain utterances of the Hammersmith Sunday Walhalla whose wisdom was unapparent. The truth is, however, that it was not as the mere un- inspired critic that we ventured upon the comparison; it was in one of those fine moments of prophecy which sometimes come to us. We knew that the speciality of the celestial song-smith was that his wisdom did not come all at once, but grew with his years—grew in an exact ratio with the whitening of his hair and the lengthen- ing of his beard. We knew that it is only your Greek Apollo who in the smooth- chinned days of his youth has the cox- combry to be wise. We knew that to write an epic like ‘Sigurd’ one must be a great
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410 THE ATHENZUM Ne 3283, Supt. 27, ’90 poet, and that to be a great poet one must be a wise man. Whatever will-o’-the-wisp of impracticable fancy may at times lead the poet astray, a wise man at the root he must | be. For is not true poetry—poetry that lives—the very voice of wisdom—wisdom clothed in words that are winged? Even after reading ‘ John Ball’ we never for one | moment supposed that the writer of ‘Sigurd’ would continue to adulterate such artistic work as his with words of double meaning levelled at the middleman or glancing at the ‘‘blackguard dons.” It is time, however, to show by extracts the peculiar charm of the book before us. In tribal times there lived in a certain town or thorp beside a river called the Weltering | Water a tribe called the Men of Burgdale. Though a handful of men, they were the continental ancestors of the great and indi- visible race who now speak English on many a bank far away from the Weltering Water—on the banks of the Thames, on the banks of the Mississippi and the St. Law- rence, on the banks of the Murray and the Waikato, on the banks of the Niger and the Tana, on the banks of the Ganyana and the Orange River. In other words, the roots of a great and somewhat wearisome moun- tain were these unwitting men of Burgdale, and when they begat their sons they knew not what they did. The alderman of these Dalesmen, who lived in a hall called the House of the Face, was the most famous armourer of his time. The coats of mail he fashioned were well-nigh invulnerable to the spear. He was called ‘Iron- face,’”’ and he had two sons, Face-of-God and Hall-face. They came of a great and old family, in which the word “face was ever a part of their names.” Face-of- God (who was also called Gold-mane on account of the colour of his locks) was affianced to his father’s ward and kins- woman, a damsel of marvellous beauty both of body and soul, with hair of a dark red hue, fine and plenteous, eyes great and brown, brow broad and very fair, lips fine and red, cheeks not ruddy but nowise sallow, but clear and bright, tall and of excellent fashion, but well knit and well measured rather than slender and wavering as the willow bough. Being affianced to the prin- cipal young chieftain of the clan, she was called ‘‘The Bride,” and everything pro- mised well for the prosperity of their love, till on a certain morning in the late autumn of the year something happened to mar it. On that morning Gold-mane awoke when dawn was just beginning, and rose and stole out of the burg into the wild wood. What impelled the young lover to steal thus secretly from the house where his betrothed was sleeping, as though bound on a tryst to another, he knew not, for his love of “The Bride” was genuine and deep, as it had good reason to be, for she was ‘*a fair woman and strong: not easily daunted amidst perils: she was hardy and handy and light-foot : she could swim as well as any, and could shoot well in the bow, and wield sword and spear : yet wasshe kind and compassionate, and of great courtesy, and the very dogs and kine trusted in her and loved her...... her voice was sweet and soft, her words few but exceeding dear to the listener. In short, she was a woman born to be the ransom of her Folk.” But on Gold-mane went, as if drawn by some irresistible power, deep into the heart of the wild wood :— ‘‘He said to himself, but out loud, for he was fain of the sound of a man’s voice, though it were but his own, ‘What is mine errand hither? Whither wend I? What shall I have done to-morrow that I have hitherto left un- done? or what manner of man shall I be then, other than I am now ?’” Gold-mane little thought then, what he afterwards learned, that he was, in very truth, being drawn into a certain glade of the wild wood by a magic spell. For her own ends a certain damsel, unknown to him, but more lovely than the beautiful girl he had left at Burgdale, the daughter of an outlaw clan, also unknown to him, called ‘‘The Kindred of the Wolf ”—a clan living in hiding at a place called Shadowy Vale— was drawing him towards her. And why was she doing this? Not through love of the chieftain, but through love of the chieftain’s power. Time long ago her kindred, a small but heroic clan, had lived in Silver-dale, and built the burg of Silver-stead—an earthly Paradise in which there was nothing to desire. But after a time there had come from distant lands an army of aliens, crooked of limb and foul of aspect, who, though short of stature, were strong in numbers. These attacked the peaceful dwellers in Silver-dale, and by mere force of numbers eventually conquered them. Such few of the Kindred of the Wolf as escaped fire and sword fled into the forest, and after a while found them- selves in the barren region of Shadowy Vale —the same barren place whence they had years before migrated to the ‘‘ dear groves ” from which they were now driven, while the felon Dusky-men established themselves there. No hope was there of so small a clan as the men of Shadowy Vale ever being able to conquer so powerful a foe as the Dusky-men, save by allying themselves to some clan or clans more numerous than their own. They knew all about the Dales- men and their valour, but knew not by what means to approach them. Now the sister of the young chieftain of the Kindred of the Wolf, called by her folk the Sunbeam, having heard reports of Gold- mane’s prowess as a warrior, had determined to use her own beauty to capture him, in order to secure the aid of himself and his family. Though no spell-wife herself, it was she who, having consulted the Wood- mother, was conquering him by the aid of spells. Gold-mane, after certain adventures with the sister and brother of the damsel under whose spell he was moving, came upon the Sunbeam herself. At once and for ever he was enthralled by her beauty. She too, for- getting that it was the Wood-mother’s spells that had captured him, fell as deeply in love with him. Gold-mane returned to the burg a changed man, though this was only apparent to the watchful eyes of the Bride. The year wore on, and his thoughts were always with the Sunbeam; and the Bride’s heart knew in secret well what was its doom. One spring morning, as Gold-mane sat rest- ing himself after his toil on a low prim- rose bank just outside the chestnuts that encircled a meadow, his thoughts for a moment left Sunbeam and fell upon her, the neglected girl to whom he had plighted his troth. Not a word had ever been uttered as to the change that had come between them, only he now used unconsciously to call her ‘‘ kinswoman,” as though the betrothal were dead and buried. “Tt fell into his mind that this had been a beloved trysting-place betwixt him and the Bride...... Like the very image and ghost of his thought, lo! the Bride herself coming up from out the brook and wending toward him, her wet naked feet gleaming in the sun as they trod down the tender meadow-saffron and brushed past the tufts of daffodils. He stood staring at her discomforted, for on that day he had much to think of that seemed happy to him, and he deemed that she would now question him, and his mind pondered divers ways of answering her, and none seemed good to him. She drew near and let her skirts fall over her feet, and came to him, her gown hem dragging over the flowers : then she stood straight up before him and greeted him, but reached not forth her hand to him nor touched him. Her face was paler than its wont, and her voice trembled as she spake to him and said : ‘ Face-of-God, I would ask thee a gift.’ ‘All gifts,’ he said, ‘that thou mayest ask, and I may give, lie open to thee.’ She said: ‘If I be alive when the time comes, this gift thou mayest well give me.’ ‘Sweet kins- woman,’ said he, ‘tell me what it is that thou wouldest have of me.’ And he was ill-at-ease as he waited for her answer. She said: ‘ Ah, kinsman, kinsman! Woe on the day that maketh kinship accursed to me because thou desirest it!’ He held his peace and was ex- ceeding sorry ; and she said: ‘ This is the gift that I ask of thee, that in the days to come when thou art wedded, thou wilt give me the second man-child whom thou begettest.’...... She spoke slowly, hanging her head adown, but she lifted it presently and looked into his face and said : ‘ Woe’s me, woe’s me, Gold-mane! How evil is this day, when bewailing me I may not bewail thee also! For I know that thine heart is glad. All through the winter have I kept this hidden in my heart, and durst not speak to thee. But now the spring-tide hath driven me to it. Let summer come, and who shall say? seeeee Tell me, Gold-mane, when goest thou thither?’ He said: ‘I know not surely ; may happen in two days, may happen in ten. Why askest thou?’ ‘O friend!’ she said, ‘is it a new thing that I should ask thee whither thou goest and whence thou comest, and the times of thy coming and going? Farewell to-day! For- get not the token. Woe’s me, that I may not kiss thy fair face!’ She spread her arms abroad and lifted up her face as one who waileth, but no sound came from her lips; then she turned about and went away as she had come.” Soon Sunbeam had fully worked her will; an alliance was formed between her kindred and the men of Burgdale, who on their part formed further alliances with all the sur- rounding clans in order to destroy the Dusky- men, the common foe. The Bride bore her wrongs and her sufferings like a heroine, and determined to become a damsel-at-arms, one of the damsels of the Warrior. But she did not know that another chieftain had been drawn to her, and was even now cherishing a love for her of an exceedingly noble kind, a love known only to heroes. Sunbeam’s own brother Folk-might, the leader of the men of Shadowy Vale—he who in battle was so fierce that even his fierce fellow chieftains were amazed at his deeds—had perceived the Bride’s heavy sorrow, even before she herself had ever set eyes upon him, and his anger with Face-of-God for having caused it by his fickleness was so great that at one time he fell upon in
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ee Ss WCCO N° 3283, Sept. 27, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 411 him, and would certainly have slain him save for Sunbeam’s timely interference. Put until the accidental meeting with the Bride on a certain summer morning he had given no sign of his love. On that morning, having risen early at sunrise, he saw the Bride pass out from Burgstead and walk into the meadows. There he followed her and overtook her, and they talked together. The dialogue between them for nobility and chivalry has never been surpassed in modern poetry :— ‘**¢The face which thou bearedst yesterday against thy will, amidst all the people, that was because thou hadst seen my sister the Sunbeam for the first time, and Face-of-God with her, hand clinging to hand, lip longing for lip, desire unsatisfied, but glad with all hope.’ She laid hand upon hand in the lap of her gown, and looked down, and her voice trembled as she said: ‘Doth it avail to talk of this?’ He said: ‘I know not: it may avail ; for I am grieved, and shall be whilst thou art grieved ; and it is my wont to strive with my griefs till Iamend them.’ She turned to him with kind eyes and said: ‘O mighty man, canst thou clear away the tangle which besetteth the soul of her whose hope hath bewrayed her? Canst thou make hope grow up in her heart? Friend, I will tell thee that when I wed, I shall wed for the sake of the kindred, hoping for no joy therein. Yea, or if by some chance the desire of man came again into my heart, I should strive with it to rid myself of it, for I should know of it that it was but wasting folly, that should but beguile me, and wound me, and depart, leaving me empty of joy and heedless of life.’ He shook his head and said : ‘Even so thou deemest now; but one day it shall be otherwise. Or dost thou love thy sorrow! I tell thee, as it wears thee and wears thee, thou shalt hate it, and strive to shake it off” * Nay, nay,’ she said; ‘I love it not ; for not only it grieveth me, but also it beateth me down and belittleth me,’ ‘Good is that,’ said he. ‘I know how strong thine heart is. Now, wilt thou take mine hand, which is verily the hand of thy friend, and remember what I have told thee of my grief, which cannot be sundered from thine? Shall we not talk more concerning this? For surely I shall soon see thee again, and often ; since the Warrior, who loveth me belike, leadeth thee into fellowship with me. Yea, I tell thee, O friend, that in that fellow- ship shalt thou find both the seed of hope, and the sun of desire that shall quicken it.’ There- with he arose and stood before her, and held out to her his hand all hardened with the sword- hilt, and she took it, and stood up facing him, and said: ‘ This much will I tell thee, O friend, that what I have said to thee this hour, I thought not to have said to any man; or to talk with a man of the grief that weareth me, or to suffer him to see my tears; and marvellous I deem it of thee, for all thy might, that thou hast drawn this speech from out of me, and left me neither angry nor ashamed, in spite of these tears; and thou whom I have known not, though thou knewest me! But now it were best that thou depart, and get thee home to the House of the Face, where I was once so frequent; for I wot that thou hast much to do; and as thou sayest, it will be in warfare that I shall see thee. Now I thank thee for thy words and the thought thou hast had of me, and the pain which thou hast taken to heal my hurt: I thank thee, I thank thee, for as grievous as it is to show one’s hurts even to a friend.’” As the clans were, even when combined, outnumbered by the Dusky-men, it was decided between the war-leader Face-of- God and the other chieftains that there could be no division of forces in order to attack them between Silver-stead, where the larger division of the foe lived, and their other post Rose-dale, occupied by a smaller division, but that all the fortunes of war must be staked upon the storming of the town of Silver-stead. What the allied kindreds lacked in strength of numbers was counterbalanced by their superior valour and skill. An important element of their strength lay in the martial splendour of their damsels-at-arms, the inspired of the celestial Warrior, who marched always for- ward and never backward. On the eve of the great enterprise Folk-might met with the Bride, who was now a Bride no longer, but a damsel-at-arms, and talked of the great deeds that the allied forces hoped to do; and the Bride reminded the hero that, as they must both be in the forefront of the battle, they might never meet again alive. “He said: ‘Might I then but kiss thine hand?’ She said, no longer smiling: ‘ Yea, surely, even so may all men do who can be called my friends—and thou art much my friend.’ He took her hand and kissed it, and held it thereafter; nor did she draw it away. The moon shone brightly on them ; but by its light he could not see if she reddened, but he deemed that her face was troubled. Then he said: ‘It were better for me if I might kiss thy face, and take thee in mine arms.’ Then said she : ‘ This only shall a man do with me when I long to do the like with him. And since thou art so much my friend, I will tell thee that as for this longing, I have it not. Bethink thee what a little while it is since the lack of another man’s love grieved me sorely.’ ‘The time is short,’ said Folk-might, ‘if we tell up the hours thereof ; but in that short space have a many things betid.’ She said : ‘ Dost thou know, canst thou guess, how sorely ashamed I went amongst my people? I durst look no man in the face for the aching of mine heart, which methought all might see through my face.’ ‘I knew it well,’ he said ; ‘yet of me wert thou not ashamed but a little while ago, when thou didst tell me of thy grief.’ She said: ‘True it is; and thou wert kind to me. Thou didst become a dear friend to me, methought.’ ‘ And wilt thou hurt a dear friend?’ said he. ‘O no,’ she said, ‘if I might do otherwise. Yet how if I might not choose ? Shall there be no forgiveness for me then?’ He answered nothing; and still he held her hand that strove not to be gone from his, and she cast down her eyes. Then he spake in a while : ‘My friend, I have been thinking of thee and of me ; and now hearken: if thou wilt declare that thou feelest no sweetness embracing thine heart when I say that I desire thee sorely, as now I say it ; or when I kiss thine hand, as now I kiss it ; or when I pray thee to suffer me to cast mine arms about thee and kiss thy face, as now I pray it: if thou wilt say this, then will I take thee by the hand straightway, and lead thee to the tents of the House of the Steer, and say fare- well to thee till the battle is over. Canst thou say this out of the truth of thine heart?’ She said: ‘What then if I cannot say this word? What then?’ But he answered nothing, and she sat still a little while, and then arose and stood before him, looking him in the eyes, and said : ‘I cannot say it.’ Then he caught her in his arms and strained her to him, and then kissed her lips and face again and again, and she strove not with him.” Aware that their foes were on march, but with no knowledge of their daring project of storming Silver-stead, the Dusky-men were preparing in a confused way for a great struggle. In order to “foretell the luck of the deed to be done,’”’ there was to be a great human sacrifice in the public square of the town, the victims being the house-thralls and bed-thralls. And while preparations were being made for this the allied kinsmen were stealing round the town. They had got so near that from a low mound covered with brushwood the war-leader Gold-mane and the chieftain Folk-might could see into the public square —could see the scarlet-robed priests with their gleaming axes that were to fell victim after victim before casting them into the flames—could see the funereal fire, and see the victims (men and women of Folk- might’s own kindred) bound for the sacrifice, standing naked save for the flower-wreaths around their bodies. This determined them to hasten the assault. Sixteen of the closest-shooting bowmen, led by Sunbeam’s beautiful sister the damsel-at-arms Bow-may —‘‘the closest shooter of all the kindreds”’ —crept silently down the hill under cover of the brushwood, and reached the level of the town. Here, behind a fringe of shrubs, within bow-shot of the market-place, they crouched, and while the attention of the Dusky-men was attracted by the ‘‘harsh and ugly hymn” the priests were chanting to their Crooked Sword god, Bow-may and her archers notched their shafts and laid them on the yew, and each had between the last two fingers of the shaft-hand another shaft ready, and a half score more stuck into the ground before him. ‘*There now standeth Bow-may far-sighted and keen-eyed, her face as pale as a linen sleeve, an awful smile on her glittering eyes and close- set lips, and she feeling the twisted string of the red yew and the polished sides of the notch, while the yelling song of the Dusky priests quavers now and ends with a wild shrill cry, and she noteth the midmost of the priests beginning to handle his weapon: then swift and steady she draweth home the notches, while the yew bow standeth still as the oak-boll ere the summer storm ariseth, and the twang of the sixteen strings meketh butone fell sound as the feathered bane of men goeth on its way. There was silence for a moment of time in the market of Silver- stead, as if the bolt of the Gods had fallen there ; and then arose a huge wordless yell from those about the altar, and one of the priests who was left hove up his glaive two-handed to smite the nakedslaughter-thralls ; butoreverthe stroke fell, Bow-may’s second shaft was through his throat, and he rolled over amidst his dead fellows ; and the other fifteen had loosed with her, and then even as they could Wood-wise and the others of their company ; and all they notched and loosed without tarrying, and no shout, no word came from their lips, only the twanging strings spake for them; for they deemed the minutes that hurried by were worth much joy of their lives to be. And few indeed were the passing minutes ere the dead men lay in heaps about the altar of the Crooked Sword, and the wounded men wallowed amidst them.” As had been arranged with the leaders, before the Dusky-men could rush upon them Bow-may and her archers had fallen back upon the spearmen and damsels-at- arms. ‘The fight, now fairly begun, grew with every moment, and though the Dusky- men fought obstinately there was no resist- ing the onslaught of men and women fight- ing side by side, one sex vying with the other in valour. Those who want to see how it ended had better read the book, where they will find one of the most splendid battle- pieces in all poetry.
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412 THE ATHENAUM N° 3283, Szpr. 27, 790 L’ Origine Tedesca e V Origine Olandese dell’ | Invensione della Stampa. Testimonianze e Documenti raccolti e illustrati da C. Castellani. (Venice, F. Ongania.) La Stampa in Venezia dalla sua Origine alla Morte di Aldo Manuzio, Seniore. Ragiona- mento Storico di C. Castellani. (Same publisher.) In the first monograph cited’ above the prefect of St. Mark’s Library in Venice has | undertaken the very useful labour of placing | before the general reader the evidence in | favour respectively of the German and | Dutch claims to the origin of printing. | Signor Castellani remarks that his evidence | for the German side will be principally drawn from the works of Italian historians and chronographers :— ‘*La loro parola é autorevole, si per essere stati alcuni di loro tra’ piii reputati dotti del tempo, 8) per avere pronunciato giudizi imparzial- mente, cioe senza nazionale o privato interesse.”’ He might also have added that it is possible for an Italian scholar of to-day to write impartially of a matter which seems still to excite strange passion in the minds of German and Dutch typographists. It is, indeed, quite refreshing to read these fifty- two pages on early printing and find no abuse of anybody, and full justice dealt out to the writers on opposite sides. If Signor Castellani does, indeed, devote forty pages to the claims of Mainz, and only twelve to those of Haarlem, the reason lies in the fact that while testimony to the former abounds, the basis of the Haarlem case de- pends not on theflimsy traditions of the second half of the sixteenth century, but on the apparent barbarism of the so-called ‘‘ Cos- teriana.’’ It is the crudeness of the printing in the works attributed to Laurenz Coster, not the testimony of Van Zuyren and Junius, which is the real pith of the Dutch case. In the words of a humorous bibliographer, ‘‘The Coster-monger relies on rudeness.” The remarkably crude character of the printing in the ‘‘Costeriana” was first noted by Tonelli in 1831 :— ** La rozzezza e le imperfezioni di quei primi saggi sono un riscontro potentissimo che quei lavori debbono considerarsi come i primi tenta- tivi dell’ arte.” And Mr. Hessels has developed this argu- ment with great skill in his recent work, ‘Haarlem the Birthplace of Printing, not Mentz.’ On this point there was little for Signor Castellani to add, though we are inclined to believe that a study of types will in the long run not be found to be really opposed to the German claims. The group- ing of types and the investigation of their evolution and relationship is the ultima ratio of the typographist, and even in a case like the present will probably give crucial results. This being so, we can hardly agree with our author’s foot-note on p. 7 :— “‘Un altro mezzo per venire alla cognizione dell’ origine dell’ arte é I’ esamo e la comparazione de’ suoi pit antichi prodotti ; ma questo mezzo, per sé stesso razionalissimo, dando spesso luogo a congetture pi o meno fondate, produrra pur sempre risultati indecisi.” Such indecisive results will not flow from the method when used by the trained typo- graphist. Signor Castellani commences his work with a detailed account of the Italian evi- dence for Mainz, and in particular for Guten- berg. If we do not take into account the words of the dedication of the ‘ Epistolz Sancti Hieronymi,’ printed by Sweynheym and Pannartz at Rome in 1468, which speak only of the German origin of printing, we still find from 1474 onwards a widely spread Italian tradition that Gutenberg at Mainz was the inventor of printing. Italian tradi- tion from 1468 to 1475 abounds also in evidence in favour of Germany, and it is scarcely likely that the term ‘‘ Germany” is here used to embrace Holland. Turning to France, we have in 1471 the oft-cited letter in the ‘Gasparini Orthographia’ as a beginning of French tradition in favour of Gutenberg and Mainz, while Signor Castellani quotes in a foot-note on p. 30a still more important French document in favour of Gutenberg from the library of the Paris Arsenal, the authenticity of which requires, however, further investigation. Speaking of Mr. Hessels’s ingenious method of explaining away the Gasparinus letter, our author writes :— ** Questa serie di supposizioni revela acume nel loro autore, ma @ dubbio se ciascuna d’ esse resista all’ esame.” Mr. Hessels has, indeed, forgotten that a combination of slight independent possi- bilities does not give a total probability so strong as the least of the group. Coming from France. to England, we have Caxton’s evidence of 1482 that ‘‘the crafte of enpryntynge was fyrst founde in Ma- gounce in Almayne” about 1455. This evidence is the more important because Cax- ton had been in the Low Countries, where he certainly ought to have heard of the Dutch origin of printing. Indeed, at Bruges, where he probably had been, one of Coster’s ‘ Doctrinale’ is supposed to have been sold in 1445! Quite apart from Germany, then, there was before 1500 a wide-spread tradi- tion that Mainz was the birthplace of print- ing, and it is not till more than a century after its discovery (1561) that we find any trace of a Haarlem legend. If we take into account German testimony, which we might suppose to be biassed by national feel- ing, we find well-attested facts, even with regard to Gutenberg’s contract with Fust (‘Sammlung bibliothekswissenschaftlicher Arbeiten,’ fasc. ii., 1889), which certainly convince us that he must be looked upon as the father of German printing, if not its inventor. That Gutenberg was unfortunate can hardly be doubted, but that he was an impecunious and quarrelsome braggart has not yet been established. Indeed, Signor Castellani, who definitely attributes to him the ‘ Catholicon,’ remarks that its colophon contains language which of all the printers of that day Gutenberg only could have used ; that it is “tutta propria d’un gentiluomo di quel tempo e d’un pio uomo.” The Dutch school terms the same colophon ‘long-winded and verbose,” and considers the fact that Gutenberg does not mention his own name or ‘‘invention”’ strong evi- dence against his claims. Perhaps the printer, who described himself as a child, and ascribed all the merit of his work to God, may not, after all, have desired toescape his creditors, but have been simply afflicted with a certain modicum of humility. Such is Gutenberg’s case, and it is fairly and clearly put by Signor Castellani. The words of the Abbot of Cambray in themselves do not amount to a tradition of the Dutch origin of printing ; Van Zuyren and Junius come almost too late to strengthen Coster’s case. That case must fall or stand with the possibility of an early regression in printing. Is it more probable that the whole Guten- berg tradition is a myth, or that there could be crude printing in Holland at a later date than fine printing in Germany ? Signor Castellani sums up his work with the following words :— ‘“* Esposte cosi le testimonianze e i pui validi argomenti a favore della scuola tedesca e la favore della scuola olandese sull’ invenzione della stampa, il lettore giudicherd a quale delle due sia da dare causa vinta, se pur non pensi che sia piuttosto da dire che tuttora ‘sub judice lis est.’” But probably most readers of his mono- graph will ‘* mettere l’ animo in pace e riconoscere che il vero inventore della tipografia @ Giovanni Gutenberg.” The second work, the title of which we have given above, is a contribution to the history of printing in Venice, the city of all others which towards the end of the fifteenth cen- tury may justly claim to have been the metropolis of the press. Within the last thirty years of that century we know the names of nearly two hundred Venetian presses, and as Bernard has pointed out, these presses can scarcely have issued fewer than two million individual volumes. Signor Castellani commences his work with a rather lengthy preface, dedicated to the printers of Italy, and containing an elaborate refuta- tion of the apparently wide spread legend that the Italian Pamfilo Castaldi was the inventor of printing with movable metal types. If this legend is current in Italy, it is, perhaps, worth refuting, but it is hardly worth doing in the preface to a work which appeals to a wider audience. Or stay! is Signor Castellani really laughing at the ‘‘Qoster-mongers”’? For in truth, if any crude printing without date or printer’s name should be discovered as binders’ waste in Italy, there is nothing to hinder its being termed ‘‘Castaldiana,’ and then, with its greater documentary evidence, the Feltre myth would have more basis than the Haarlem legend. Putting aside this possible quiet joke of our learned librarian, we may briefly note the chief divisions of his work. We have first a list of Venetian printers from 1469 to 1515, opening with the famous brothers of Spire, who are followed by the still more famous Nicolas Jenson. In 1469 Johann von Speyer issued Pliny’s ‘Natural History,’ and died in the same year before he had concluded printing St. Augustine’s ‘De Civitate Dei,’ which was finished by his brother Wendelin in the following year. Magnificent as was the work of these brothers, and fully justifying the privileges granted by the Venetian magistracy to Johann, it was even surpassed by Jenson, who may justly claim to have introduced true Roman type of a kind scarcely since surpassed in beauty. After Jenson came Waldarfer with his wonderful Cicero and still more wonderful Boccac- cio, till Europe rang with the praise of the Venetian presses, and printers sought currency for their productions by declaring that they printed characteribus Venetis. Of XUM
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el sate N° 3283, Sepr. 27, 90 THE ATHENAUM 413 the other Venetian printers, like John of Cologne and Erhard Ratdolt, who also did excellent work in their day, Signor Cas- tellani tells us little, and here we must con- fess to some feeling of disappointment. He passes almost abruptly to Aldo Manuzio, but makes in his interesting account of that printer some recompense for what seems a serious omission, if we attempt to look upon his work as a complete history of Vene- tian printing. His last chapter is devoted to some account of Ottaviano dei Petrucci and the invention of movable types for music, another matter of which Venice may be justly proud. An appendix is added in which are collected a number of interesting documents bearing on Venetian printing. Not the least valuable from the historical standpoint are the wills of Jenson and Aldo. There are two successive wills of the latter rinter, and they contain several valuable its of Culturgeschichte. In particular, the manner in which Aldo treats his wife and daughter is deserving of special notice. In the first will of 1506 he says :— ‘* Lassoa Maria, mia consorte carissima, ultra ja sua dota, ducati cinquecento, cum questa con- ditione, che in termine de uno anno poi la morte mia deba fare una de doi cose: o deventare monacha de observantia de quelle che sono de bona fama, o maritarse in uno che sia o da Carpi, o da Asula, o da Ferrara, et non da altri lochi.” Eight years afterwards he has more con- fidence in his wife, ‘‘que est prudens et optim: ac honest vite,” aud he practi- cally leaves her the sole administration of his property, without need of rendering account, unless she marries again. As for his daughter Alda, she is to be brought up in a nunnery till she is sixteen, and then ‘‘ extrahatur ex monasterio preedicto et roge- tur diligenter sine deceptione aliqua, an velet religiosa.”” If she replies in the negative the princes of Ferrara and her grand- father are to choose a husband for her, and she is to have as dot 600 ducats and the clothes which she possesses! Beyond the choice of entering or not entering the cloister there was a rather limited power of selection left to the wife and daughter of the Venetian burgher in 1516. We have probably sufficiently indicated that there is interesting matter to be found in Signor Castellani’s second work, though it can hardly claim the same kind of importance or usefulness at the present time as his con- tribution to the Gutenberg-Coster contro- versy. The Roxburghe Ballads. Edited by Joseph Woodfall Ebsworth. Part XX. (Ballad Society.) THE present part begins the seventh volume of ‘The Roxburghe Ballads.’ As some five hundred odd ballads are to be included in this final volume, Mr. Ebsworth has found it necessary to slightly curtail his commen- tary, but his notes continue to afford lively entertainment. 3 First comes ‘ The Tradesman’s Complaint go the Hardness of the Times, Deadness of Trade, and Scarcity of Money.’ It is the old story: hospitality has decayed, the rich are callous, and the poor pine. Tradesmen used to take a pound in a morning; now, though they stay in their shops all day, their takings barely reach twelve pence. ‘ The Clothier’s Delight’ shows how crafty clothiers thrive by ‘‘ sweating” their work- men. It is followed by a ‘Lamentable | Complaint against Bayliffs and their Dogs. | Wherein is expressed their Villainous Outrages to poor Men. With a true De-: scription of their Knavery and Debauch’d Actions.’ Of a more cheerful character is the ‘Innocent Country-Maid’s Delight,’ con- | trasting the simplicity of ‘right country girls and true” (who ‘dabble it in the dew ’’) with the affectation of mincing town misses (who ‘‘ feed upon dainties fine’ and ‘whose liquor is curious wine’’). An odd ballad is ‘ Newes from More Lane,’ which tells how a knavish tapster baked a colt in a pasty and invited his neighbours to the feast. ‘The Virgin Race; or, Yorkshire’s Glory,’ gives a fairly spirited account of a foot- race run over a two-mile course at Temple Newsham, near Leeds (c. 1672), by four brisk Yorkshire maids. The first prize was a silver spoon, the second a silver bod- kin, the third a silver thimble, ‘‘ and the fourth nothing at all.’’? One of the best of the sporting ballads is ‘ Princely Diversion ; or, the Jovial Hunting Match’ (known as the ‘Trusley Hunting Song’), attributed to Tom Handford, the poetical blacksmith | of Trusley, near Derby. It opens well :— On Valentine's Day in the Morning, bright Phebus began to appear, Sir Wm. Cook winding his Horn, and was going a hunting the Hare ; Says “ Handford, uncouple our Beagles, and let them go questing along ! For lose her, or win her, we must go to dinner, or else they will think me long.” Says Handford, “I pray now forbare, Sir, and talk not of Dinner so soon ; For I’ve not been a hunting this year, and how can you give over by noon ? Black Sloven shall warm your bay Rodin, and make him go smoacking along ; . ; | Bonny Dick shall not gallop so quick, if we light of a Hare that is strong.” The writer keeps up this rattling pace through fifteen stanzas, and then draws rein :— Now, gallants, I bid you farewell, for I fear your patience L’ve try’d [tired 7] ; And hie fora glass of good Ale, that Poetry may be admir'’d. And here’s a good Health to the Sportsman, that hunts with the horn and the hound ! I hope you'll all pledge for the future, and so let this health go round. Several pieces in the ‘Group of Cupid Ballads” are by the once-popular writer Laurence Price, whose abilities were not of an exalted order. We prefer Tobias Bowne, whose ‘ Fairing for Young Men and Maids’ is worthy of Tom Durfey. The ‘ Fairing ’ tells how Thomas and Mary chanced to meet on a summer’s day; they were both going to the fair, and were glad of one another’s company :— He said that he did love her, as a young mana maid should do, And every stile they went over, he gave her a kiss or two, At the fair they met William and Betty; and all four fell to drinking canary. Over the wine Thomas courted Mary, and William paid his addresses to Betty. The girls accepted their suitors; and then the young couples —— walked the Fair all ore, To buy each other a Fairing, as young men and | maids should do; And when they were home repairing, they walked away two and two. | It was Thomas and Mary together, with William and Betty so rare: Pray what man can say any other, but that they had made a good Fair? Ballad-writers were usually in favour of early marriages. The prudent youth, who will not marry on a limited income, was no hero in their eyes. ‘Love’s Overthrow’ | relateshowa young maid of Exeter Exchange Court, in the Strand, fell in love with a serv- ing-man ‘‘ whose care was so great that he would not marry till he was in a good con- dition to maintain a Wife.” He recipro- cated her affection, but hesitated to plunge into matrimony :— The Young Man he was full of care, and fearful to ingage Himself in Wedlock, which did put this Maid into a rage: She loved him exceeding well, and so he loved too, But ’cause he made a small demur, she knew not what to do. The young fellow meant well; he was only waiting for an improvement in his financial position. But the girl mistook the cause of the delay, and supposed that he was fickle. A doleful catastrophe ensued : To Holbourne she one day did go, and passion was her guide ; Which did procure her overthrow, and made her go aside. Then with a Cup of Poyson strong she ends her mourntul Life, *Cause she before her time did long to be a married Wife: After this Poyson she had took, a week she lay in pain, Thinking her Love had her forsook, which made her to complain. And now she Buried is likewise, near the May-pole in the Strand, A stake is through her body drove, as we do under- stand. A batch of ballads is taken up with de- scriptions of the practices of scolding wives. A young man who “for lucre of gain” married an imperious widow had a bitter experience. No sooner were they outside the church than she ‘“‘ begun to snuff ’’; and at the marriage feast, before all the guests, she called him ‘‘a peaking clown.” Night and day she scolded, until A hundred times the young man curst The priest, the clerk, the sexton too, And tongue that did the widow woo, And legs that brought him to her first. At length he took counsel with some friends, and a scheme for taming the shrew was de- vised. They carried her into a dark room, fastened a chain round her leg, tied her arms, dishevelled her hair, and tore her gown. Then the husband called his neigh- bours together, and sorrowfully announced that his wife was mad. As the text of the ballad is mutilated, we do not know whether the desperate remedy was successful. An- other husband who was troubled with a vixenish wife cleverly contrived to ship her to ‘ Virginny.”’ The skipper paid him 10/. for her, and sold her across the water for 501. Usually the poor husbands had not the spirit to retaliate, but contented them- selves with bemoaning their hard lot. In the ballad ‘My Wife will be my Master’ the dejected victim sees no hope of escape from domestic tyranny :— Were I as strong as Hercules, or wiser then Apollo ; Or had I Jcarus’ wings to flee, my Wife would after follow : Should I live as many years as never did King Nestor, Yét do I greatly stand in fear, my Wife would be my Master......
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414 THE ATHENZUM N° 3283, SzPr. 27, ’90 Ievery morning make a fire, all which. is done to ease her ; I get a nutmeg, make a Toast, in hope therewith to please her ; With a cup of nappy Ale and spice, of which she is first taster, And yet this cross-grain’d quean will scold, and strive to be my Master. I wash the dishes, sweep the house, I dress the wholesome dyet ; I humour her in everything, because I would be quyet ; Of every several dish of meat, she ’]]1 surely be first taster, And I am glad to pick the bones, she is so much my Master. But wives were not all shrews. The ‘‘Oxford- shire Damosel,” who became ‘‘a Merchant’s Wife of London’s Famous City,” was a jewel of a girl; and Doll the dairy-maid, the heroine of ‘The Wiltshire Wedding,’ gave Daniel Do-well no cause to repent of his choice. Tobias Bowne thought that a young man’s only chance of safety lay in marriage :— While you are single you take but little care, Therefore I say, Better you married were ; Perhaps there ’s some at this will make a jest, But I say still a married life is best, Bachelors, according to Bowne, will not be able to resist the temptations of the ale- house, and will never acquire thrifty habits. In ‘Tobie’s Experience Explain’d’ he is very severe on hostesses who induce cus- tomers to drink more than is good for them. He is highly indignant that these fat ale- wives (who make their maids do all the work, and are too lazy to stir out of their chairs to draw a pot of ale for a good fellow) should have the impudence to com- plain of the excise, though ‘‘ their money is so easily got.’’ Their geniality, he declares, is insincere, their only object being ‘‘to draw the coyn out of your purse.” Evi- dently Tobias Bowne cherished some par- ticular grievance. It may be surmised that hard- hearted hostesses had exasperated him by threatening to ‘‘ draw no drink on score.” The woodcuts in the present part are numerous and curious. All are drawn and engraved by Mr. Ebsworth after the original illustrations. The members of the Ballad Society ought to be proud of an editor who has worked so skilfully and strenuously year after year without fee or reward. Messrs. Stephen Austin & Sons, the Hertford printers, deserve credit for the handsome style in which ‘The Roxburghe Ballads’ are produced. NOVELS OF THE WEEE, The Word and the Will. By James Payn. 3 vols. (Chatto & Windus.) Lover or Friend? By Rosa Nouchette Carey. 3 vols. (Bentley & Son.) The Moment After. (Heinemann. ) A South Sea Lover. By Alfred St. John- ston. (Macmillan & Co.) The Angel and the Idiot. (Stott.) Under the Gum Tree. By Mrs. Campbell Praed and others. (Trischler & Co.) Mr. Payn’s story flows with ease, and will not detract from his veteran reputation. There is nothing dull in it, and touches of deft description are frequent. Mr. Joseph By Robert Buchanan. Adderley regarding his gentle niece, whom some people likened to a saint, “ with the malevolence with which a gargoyle on a spout looks on ‘the prophets blazoned on the pane’”’; Hetty, the sharp-tongued but loving invalid, with her little bits of repartee (‘‘I did not say his temper was not short, but only that his memory was long,” is her reply to the objection that George’s fits of anger “never lasted a minute ’’); the speculations as to what was the book carried by Mr. Adder- ley in his formal portrait, public opinion finally pronouncing for a backgammon board,—all these and many more good things remind us that the writer has not lost his cunning. Yet on the whole it is not a pleasant story. Martha Vance is unnatur- ally hard, though she has to struggle with the mortification of a strong nature slighted in the only quarter in which it would fain show itself all gentleness, and with a grief the more intolerable that its existence can- not be hinted to others, hardly acknowledged by herself. In her self-suppression during Mary’s illness she is so nearly heroic that it is rather a shock to find her on her uncle’s death exhibiting all the sordid fea- tures which she detested in him, and disre- garding, partly from miserliness, partly from the hatred into which her disappointed love has turned, the dying injunctions of the only being whom she loves. The other characters in this domestic tragedy (the whole action is confined to two families in a sea-coast village) have their definite merits, down to the doctor and the lawyer (both excellent professional types); but it is the gloomy figure of Martha which predominates, and according to their estimate of her por- trait readers will, consciously or uncon- sciously, be attracted or. repelled by these volumes. The question ‘Lover or Friend?’ which forms the title of Miss Carey’s new book, doubtless arises more than once in the course of its three somewhat prolix volumes. Few of her readers, however, will fail to find the true and final answer to it con- siderably before the person to whose feel- ings we must imagine it addressed—Miss Audrey Ross—since there is but brief uncertainty concerning the nature of the sentiments entertained for her by the luckless Cyril Blake and also by Capt. Burnett. The story is certainly over-long for the solution of its plot or problem, but it is pleasant reading of a mild order, and gives an excellent picture of ordinary whole- some family life, such as may be found in many thousands of more or less contented English households. The excellent people who have no hesitation at all about depriving an unimpeachable young man of all hope in life on account of the discovery of his father’s misdeeds—a discovery as new to him as to them—exist no doubt by thousands. Their decision meets with little questioning from the heroine, and less still from the author. Under the circumstances Cyril Blake was probably justified in sacrificing his life in the way he did. His mother is a well-drawn picture of a flighty, unbalanced woman, and her shortcomings are quite a relief after the unvaried merit and ortho- doxy of the other characters. Miss Carey has added one more pleasant member to the large family of the English domestic novel, which has sprung up and multiplied so rapidly in the wake (though considerably in the wake) of Miss Yonge’s remarkable achievements. The proem of Mr. Buchanan’s strange tale of ghostly realism embodies his moral, or most of it. There is a characteristic ex- crescence in the rather hysterical chapter in which he inveighs against the Home Secretary as the judge of criminal appeal, but the real subject of his very gruesome parable is the immortality of the soul. No materialist will be convinced by it, any more than the doctor was convinced in the story ; but its imaginative power is undeniable, and, given certain premises, it contains a suggestion worth thinking of. Following the analogy of those half-drowned persons whom we hear of as having had the pano- rama of their past lives spread before them just as they were parting with consciousness, Mr. Buchanan imagines a criminal who has been ineffectually hanged undergoing a similar instantaneous experience in what. must, we suppose, be called a future life. Eternity of suffering (aidriov, not did.ov), the evolution of a purified soul from a sin-stained homicide, reconciliation, almost salvation, are completed in a space that appears to the living bystanders but a few moments of time. Another most unearthly tableau is that of the spirit of the newly dead looking at his earthly semblance in the coffin :— Wait for a little season—be patient yet for a day— Before the breath of thy going, the veil shall dis- solve away ; Thou too shalt stir in the darkness, no man dream- ing thee nigh, And look on thy worn white raiment, before they put it by ! This is not a book for nervous people in the small hours, but it should be read—in day- light. In his picturesque romance of love and war in Polynesia Mr. St. Johnston has the great advantage of a personal knowledge of the regions in which he has laid the scene and an enthusiasm for his subject. We have grown familiar of late years with tales in which romantic attachments are formed between adventurous Englishmen and heroic savages, but Mr. St. Johnston’s treatment of this theme redeems it in great measure from its lack of originality. There is a great deal of excellent description in ‘A South Sea Lover,’ the remainder of its contents being given over to love, friend- ship, and fighting. The spirit of the whole is occasionally tinged with senti- mentality, but the attractions which Poly- nesian life undoubtedly offers to a fine animal nature like that of Christian North are healthily and vividly depicted. ‘The Angel and the Idiot’ bears a certain resemblance to ‘Looking Backward,’ in that the hero comes back to this earth after a hundred years and finds a new order of things; but the resemblance is strictly con- fined to the outer shell of the story. The anonymous writer of ‘The Angel and the Idiot’ is bold enough to give the history of the means by which England was trans- formed into the Utopia of his fancy. The whole thing is fantastic and unpleasing ; luckily it is not long. ‘Under the Gum Tree’ is a little paper- covered cheap volume of stories by Australian writers, of which the best—and they are good—are one by “Tasma”’ (Madame Couvreur) and one by Mrs. Patchett Martin. The stories, being mostly about the back country of Australia, are somewhat too much
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N° 3283, Supr. 27, 90 THE ATHENZUM 415 alike, and the reader tires of bushrangers, and sheep, and Chinese cooks before he comes to the end. OUR LIBRARY TABLE. The Sancta Respublica Romana: a Handbook of the History of Rome and Italy, from the Division of the Roman World to the Breaking-up of Charlemagne’s Empire (A.D. 395-888). By R. Heber Wrightson. (Frowde.)—This is an odd little book. The first thing that attracted our notice in turning over the pages was the eccen- tric forms of certain proper names—‘“ Giovius,” *Thermanzia,” ‘‘ Malasunta,” “ Paolinus” — which pretty clearly indicate that the author has made rather unintelligent use of some book written in Italian, probably Muratori. Another curious feature is that Procopius and Zosimus are quoted in the Latin version. Each of the twelve chapters is preceded by a paragraph in small type ; all but one of these are summaries of the contents of the chapters, but that prefixed to chap. vii. is an outline of a portion of the history omitted in the text. The volume con- tains nothing to show that Mr. Wrightson has read any historian more recent than Gibbon. We have not observed any really serious his- torical mistakes; but the general point of view is antiquated, and the narrative is a mere lifeless skeleton, which can scarcely interest even a reader to whom the subject is altogether new. There are a few trifling slips here and there, which, though evidently due to mere absence of mind, confirm the impression of oddity which is the most striking characteristic of the book. For instance, “Catania” is in two different places written instead of Campania. The best thing in the volume is a foot-note protesting against Gibbon’s repeated application of the title of ‘‘the Sanguinary” to John, nephew of Vitalian, and showing that the passage which is the sole authority for the epithet is so full of manifest blunders as to deserve no attention. There is no index. Tue author of Roses and Rue (W. Stewart & Co.) has collected under this title a volume of ** random notes and sketches ” which are random in every sense of the word. These fragmentary shreds of gossip and comment are as vivid as an unchecked fancy could make them, bear evidence of some out-of-the-way reading, and occasion- ally put an old picture in a new light. Mr. Stewart Ross is indisputably clever and auda- cious, but he has too little respect for those who have been before him in the fields which he traverses. That he says enough to interest an unfastidious reader here and there is not to be disputed ; but for literary or other judgment, for critical faculty or self-restraint, the reader must not look to the author of these essays. The revolting paper on ‘ Leprosy’ is an illustra- tion of what may be done, with want of tact and taste, to destroy the value of otherwise legitimate criticism. Pror. Macminian, of Elphinstone College, Bombay, has edited Southey’s Life of Nelson (Macmillan & Co.), with introduction and notes, for the use of native students of English. The book is well and clearly printed, and the notes appear to be suitable and sufficient for the class of readers to whom they are addressed. The introduction is admirable, both as a short ab- atract of Nelson’s career and character, and as an estimate of the value of Southey’s work, which is justly described as having no great value, judged by a strict historical standard, but as “written in such beautifully natural language that it is an excellent model for students of English composition, particularly for Oriental students of the English language, who are apt to despise plain, simple language, and cultivate a style embellished with florid ornamentation.” To non-Etonian readers Seven Summers: an Eton Medley, “by the editors of the Parachute & Co.), is likely to prove rather unpalatable fare. The authors display a certain energy and volubi- lity, it is true, and their style is fairly free from the last infirmity of schoolboy journals — the effort to ape the mannerisms of the Sporting Times. On the other hand, they have not escaped from the baneful influence of Mark Twain, in spite of their quotations from the classics and Omar Khayyam, and a great deal of the humour is painfully long drawn and ex- travagant. Sometimes, however, they succeed in being thoroughly amusing without intending it, as, for example, when we read: ‘‘ How many of us are hypocrites when a woman’s tender feelings are at stake !” Judging from these pages, one would be inclined to set the average age of an Eton boy at about thirty-five. Itis quite a relief to find that a chivalrous devotion to their tutor’s little daughter is compatible with the temper and demeanour of thoroughpaced men of the world in the dramatis persone of ‘Seven Summers.’ Amone Mr. Arrowsmith’s pretty little volumes we welcome a tastily printed translation of Tour- guénief's Senilia; or, Poems in Prose. - Mr. 8. J. MacMullan has done his work well, and we trust readers will follow the advice quoted from the author, not to read all these suggestive parables or aphorisms at once. It is a book to be carried in the pocket, and dipped into. We have received the first number of the Paternoster Review (Gilbert Ellis & Co.). Its informing spirit is Conservative. Its outlook is by no means unpromising. A print from the last photographic portrait of Cardinal New- man is prefixed ; and the map of Ireland, show- ing the proportion of the country suffering from potato blight, is valuable. ‘‘ Love they their mother who their brethren hate?” is Mr. De Vere’s pertinent question to contending poli- ticians. Physical Drill with Arms.—Physical Training without Arms.— Military Training, in English and Hindustani. 6 vols. Nagri and Urdu Editions. By Major H. D. Hutchinson, Bengal Staff Corps. (Chatham, Gale & Polden.)—These books, which form part of Messrs. Gale & Polden’s well- known “ Military Series,” are intended to supply an obvious requirement of the native army of India. Text and hand books innumerable for the instruction of English officers and men exist, but there is none printed in their own character and in their own language available for the guidance of native officers and non-commissioned officers. This want Major Hutchinson has supplied in the books under review, which are ably and judiciously compiled, besides being specially adapted to the needs of our native troops. It is somewhat extraordinary that the military authorities in India should not have taken the matter in hand long before this, and that the handbooks in question should not have —ostensibly, at all events—received the patron- age of either the Government of India or the India Office. Gale & Polden’s Military Series—The Non- Commissioned Officer's Guide to Promotion: Lance Corporal to Corporal. By William Gordon, 2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders. (Chatham, Gale & Polden.)—In addition to obtaining an educational certificate, lance corporals before promotion to the rank of corporal are now required to pass a professional examination. As Quartermaster Gordon observes in the preface :—‘‘ To possess all the books really re- quired for the above purpose means consider- able expense to those concerned, to say nothing of the vexation and labour which must after- wards be experienced while wading through the volumes in order to pick out the portions required.” This handy little volume, costing only 2s. 6d., obviates the necessity of expense and labour. The arrangement is good. First there is given either general information or reference to the Queen’s Regulations or Drill-book, and and the Present Etonian” (Simpkin, Marshall then a series of questions and answers on the particular subject is added. We have noticed only one slight error, which no doubt will be corrected in subsequent editions. Under the heading ‘Manual Exercise (Rifle Battalions) ” we find, p. 154, “ Fix bayonets,” and on p. 156, *“Unfix swords.” In conclusion, we would observe that this manual will be very useful not only to lance corporals, but also to officers and volunteers. Mrs. Naprer’s edition of Johnson’s Lives of the Poets is a valuable addition to ‘‘ Bohn’s Standard Library.” The text is printed from the edition of 1783, and all emendations are confined to the notes. An introduction by Prof. Hales, and several interesting appendices, notably one on the Scots in Poland (of all sub- jects !) in vol. i., increase the merit of a book which was much needed. In the “ Aldine Edition ” of Messrs. Bell good reprints of Blake’s Poems, edited by Mr. W. M. Rossetti, and Keats, by Lord Houghton, leave nothing to be desired. A NEw and useful volume of Messrs. Ward & Lock’s “ Minerva Library” is the collection of Victor Hugo’s short poems and tragedies, trans- lated by various hands. The plan seems to have resulted in very high average of translation throughout. The type is good, but there are some printer’s omissions. Mr. G. T. Bettany is the editor. The English Iilustrated Magazine for 1889-90 is a fine volume, enriched by the continued reproductions of old masterpieces and other excellent engravings. Mr. Thomson’s illustra- tions are very piquant. The letterpress opens well with a poem by Mr. Swinburne, and there is plenty of amusement and instruction to be enjoyed. WE have before us more volumes of Messrs. Macmillan’s neat three-and-sixpenny novelseries. The Heritage of Dedlow Marsh, by Bret Harte, and John Vale’s Guardian, by D. Christie Murray, are welcome additions. In the Kingsley series of the same size, Sermons for the Times is the new number. TuE official Handbook of Jamaica, 1890-91, is a complete compendium of all that is necessary to be known about that ancient colony. The chapter on the Jamaica Institute indicates a considerable effort on the part of Government and people to bring the island abreast of the times in the matter of literature and art. To the Institute and to the exhibition to be held in January next all good Englishmen should wish success. WE have received from the Government of New Zealand the Crown Lands Guide, published through the Government Printer, and probably to be obtained in London. The pamphlet gives full information as to the land laws of the colony, and explains the nature of the Crown lands and the terms on which persons may come to occupy portions of them. Tue fourth edition of the Orient Guide (Samp- son Low & Co.) isa marvellous compendium of all sorts of matters which may interest the Australian voyager. In the present issue the letterpress and maps have been revised; and additional notes on the Red Sea, further par- ticulars as to the Suez Canal, and some coloured plates of flags and funnels increase the interest of Mr. Loftie’s work. Colloquial French for Travellers, by H. Swan (Nutt), seems to contain a sufficient number of useful phrases, and to succeed rather better than usual in conveying the phonetic value of French vowel sounds, though nothing in English really represents them ; and our own language is just as impossible to represent phonetically, even if we were agreed as to its pronunciation. Mr. J. Heywoop’s Illustrated Guides to Man- chester, the Lake District, and various places in North Wales, of which we have some twenty- five before us, are painstaking, and wonderfully good for the price of one penny. WE have on our table Deal: Past and Present, by H. S. Chapman (Reeves & Turner),—Monte
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416 THE ATHENAUM N° 3283, Sepr. 27,90 Carlo, and How to Do It, by W. F. Goldberg and G. C. Piesse (Bristol, Arrowsmith),— Letters from Rome, by C. J. Thompson (Cardiff, Owen),—History and Legends of the Broad Dis- trict, by E. R. Suffling (Jarrold & Sons),—In- habited House Duty, How and When to Appeal, by A. Chapman (E. Wilson),—Political, Social, and Literary Papers, by Uma Sankar Mis’ra (Benares, the Chandraprabaa Press),—The Testi- mony of Tradition, by D. MacRitchie (Kegan Paul),— Greco-Roman Institutions, by E. Reich (Parker),—Feodor Dose of the VII. Brigade: Episodes from Hackliinder’s ‘ Wachtstuben-Aben- tewer,’ edited by H. S. Beresford- Webb (Riving- ton),—The Gain of Life, and other Essays, by W. ©. Coupland (Fisher Unwin),—Dreamthorp Essays, by A. Smith (Rochester, Humphrey),— Ashes, by H. Nisbet (Authors’ Co-operative Pub- lishing Co.),— The Doctor’sSecret, by Rita( White & Co.),—Little Folks Volume (Cassell),— The Lumley Wood Mystery, by G. A. L. Banbury (Hutchinson), —The Lord’s Prayer in the Languages of Africa and the Districts where Spoken (Gilbert & Rivington),—The Cowntry Clergyman and his Work, by the Rev. H. James (Macmillan),—A Metrical Version of the Psalms of David, by F. P. Onslow (White & Co.),—The Passion Play at Oberammergau, 1890, by F. W. Farrar, D.D. (Heinemann),— Am Kreuz, ein Passionsroman aus Oberammergau, by W. von Hillern (Siegle), —Le Frangais par le Frangais, by L. Melliet, Part II. (Simpkin),—and L’Allemagne depuis Leibniz, by L. Lévy-Bruhl (Hachette). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology. Chapman’s (Rev. H. B.) Where is Christ? cr. 8vo. 4/6 cl. Everard’s (Rev. G.) Five Stones from the Brook, cr. 8vo. 2/ Kingsley’s (C.) The Good News of God, Sermons, cheap edition, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Lee’s (Rev. W.) The Threefold Cord of the Holy Scripture, 12mo. 2/ cl. Missioner’s (The) Book of Sermon Notes and Illustrations, edited from the Papers of Rev. H. G. Jackson, cr. 8vo. 6/ Murphy’s (Rev. J. B.C.) Through Fast and Festival, 2 vols. cr. 8vo. 5/ each, cl. Newman’s (Cardinal) Two Essays on Biblical and on Eccle- siastical Miracles, cheap edition, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Van Dyke’s(H. J.) The Church, her Ministry and Sacra- ments, 8vo. 7/6 cl. Watkin’s (H. M.) Modern Criticism considered in its Re- lation to the Fourth Gospel, 8vo. 15/ cl. Young’s Christ of History, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Fine Art and Archeology. Macklin’s (Rev. H. W.) Monumental Brasses, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Poetry. Palgrave’s (F. T.) Treasury of Sacred Song, cr. 8vo. 4/6 cl. Perke’s (W.) The Merry Muse, with Graver Moments, 2/6 cl. Music. Walker’s (B.) My Musica) Experiences, &vo, 14/ cl. Philosophy. Mackenzie’s (J. 8.) An Introduction to Social Philosophy, demy 8vo. 10/6 cl. History and Bigraphy, Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France. edited, with Introduction and Notes, by F. G. Selby, 12mo. 5/ Carlyle (Thomas), a History of his Life in London, 1834- 1881, by J. A. Froude, 2 vols. cr. 8vo. 7/ cl. Letters written by Philip Dormer, Earl of Chesterfield, to his Son, 1737-1768, 8vo. 7/6 cl. Napier (Sir Charles), by Col. Sir W. F. Butler, cr. 8vo, 2/6 cl. (English Men of Action.) Newman (Cardinal), by R. H. Hutton, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Robinson’s (W. 8.) A First History of Rome, 18mo. 2/6 cl. Russell’s (W. C.) Horatio Nelson and the Naval Supremacy of England, 8vo. 14/ cl. Schopenhauer (A.), Life of, by W. Wallace, Library Edition, 8vo. 2/6 cl. (Great Writers.) Thoreau (H. D.), Life of, by H. S. Salt, 8vo. 14/ cl. Geography and Travel, Blanford’s (H. F.) Elementary Geography of India, Burma, and Ceylon, 1Zmo. 2/6 cl. Mahaffy’s (J. P.) Greek Pictures drawo with Pen and Pencil, imperial 8vo. 8/ cl, Philology. Balzac’s (H. de) Ursule Mirouet, edited, with Introduction, &c., by J. Boielle, cr. 8vo. 3/ cl. Bevir's (J. L.) Italian Passages for Translation, with Notes, 12mo. 3/6 cl. English-Latin Gradus, or Verse Dictionary, compiled by A. C. Ainger and H. G. Winch, cr. 8vo. 9/ cl. Heard’s (Rev. W. A.) Second Greek Exercise Book, 2/6 cl. Livy, Book 5, edited by L. Whibley, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Science. Ormerod’s (Miss E. A.) Manual of Injurious Insects, 5/ cl. Williams’s (W. M.) Chemistry of Iron and Steel Making, and of their Practical Uses, cr. 8vo. 9/ cl. General Literature. Anstey’s (F.) Voces Populi, reprinted from ‘ Punch,’ 5/hf. cl. Beresford’s (M.) Bonnie Dundee, a Novel, 2 vols. cr. 8vo. 21/ Berry’s (E. P.) Leah of Jerusalem, a Story of the Time of Paul, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl, Bohn’s Library of Sports and Games, by Dr. W. Pole, &c. : Vol. 1, Table Games, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Boldrewood’s (R.) The Miner’s Right, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Christmas Stories and Poems for the Little Ones, by C.E. Cheney and others, illustrated, cr. 4to. 2/6 cl. Confessions of a Poacher, edited by J. Watson, 8vo. 2/6 cl. Craik’s (Mrs.) Miss Tommy, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Dale’s (D.) Noah’s Ark, a Tale of the Norfolk Broads, 3/6 cl. Dickens’s (C.) Barnaby Rudge, Crown Edition, 8vo. 5/ cl. Doveton’s (F'. B.) Maggie in Mythica, or What She saw in Fairyland, 2/6 cl. English Fairy Tales, collected by J. Jacobs, 8vo. 6/ cl. Foster’s (E.) The Folks of Fernleigh, a Country Chronicle, 5/ Gladden’s (W.) Santa Claus on a Lark, and other Christmas Stories, feap. 4to. 6/ cl. Haggard’s (H. Rider) Dawn, cheap edition, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Harte’s (Bret) Complete Works: Vol. 6, Tales of the Pacific Blopes, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Hewitt’s (BE. M.) Heart of Sheba, Story of a Great Queen as told in the Parchment of Arnath, 3/6 cl. Hodgson’s (W. J.) Mystery of the Rat-tailed Grey, or the Curate in Charge, oblong 4to. 2/6 bds. Hogan’s (J. 8.) The Lost Explorer, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Kerr’s (E.) Rollica Reed, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Lansdowne’s (A.) A Life’s Reminiscences of Scotland Yard, 8vo. 2/6 cl. Lowell’s (J. R.) Writings, Vol. 1: Literary Essays, I., 6/ cl. MacDonald's (Rev. J.) Light in Africa, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Marston’s (E.) How Stanley wrote ‘In Darkest Africa,’ a Trip to Cairo and Back, large paper, 5/ half bd., gilt top. Meade’s (L. T.) A Girl of the People, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Oliphant’s (Mrs.) Sons and Daughters, a Novel, cr. 8vo. 3/6 Poor and Plain, a Story for Elder Girls, by Author of ‘ De- throned,’ cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Roberts’s (M.) In Low Relief, 2 vols. cr. 8vo. 21/ cl. Ruftino, &¢., by Ouida, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Two Cousins, a Tale, by Friba, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Tytler’s (S.) Nobody’s Girls, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Willock’s (A. D.) ‘‘ Never Hit a Man named Sullivan,” 2/6 Winning her Way, or Left in Difficulties, by Author of *A Generous Friendship,’ cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Wood's (Mrs, H.) Adam Grainger, and other Stories, 3/6 cl. FOREIGN, Theology. Klotz (M.): Der Talmudische Tractat Ebel Rabbathi od. 8’machoth, Part 1, 1m. 75. Philosophy. Krause (K.C. F.): Anschauungen od. Lehren u. Entwirfe zur Hoherbildung d. Menschheitlebens, Vol. 1, 4m. 50. History and Biography. Reinach (T.): Mithridate Eupator, 10fr. Geography and Travel, Hellwald (Fr. v.): Die Welt der Slawen, 6m. Joanne (P.): Alpes Dauphinoises, Part 1, 10fr. Joanne (P.); Lyonnais, 7fr. 50. Bibliography. Warnecke (F.): Die Deutschen Biicherzeichen, 30m. Philology. Bibliotheca Normannica: Denkmialer Normann., Literatur u. Sprache, hrsg. v. H. Suchier, Vol. 5, 6m. Dissertationes Philologice Halenses, Vol. 11, 9m. Prdsek (J. V.): Medien u. das Haus d. Kyaxares, 3m. 50. Middendorf (E. W.): Die Einheimischen Sprachen Peru’s, Vol. 2, 48m. San Giorgio (R. B. v.): Neuestes Taschen - Wérterbuch, Italienisch - Deutsch u, Deutsch - Italienisch, Part 2, 1m, 50. Generat Literature. Block (M.): Annuaire de l’Economie Politique et de la Statistique, 9fr. Block (M.): Les Progrés Economiques depuis Adam Smith, 2 vols. 16fr. Carlier (A.): La République Américaine, 36fr. Grillon (E.): Le Chéque Barré, 6fr. Rabusson (H.): Hallali! 3fr. 50. LORD ROSSLYN’S POETRY. TuE late Lord Rosslyn, as the pathetic intro- duction to his collected poems clearly shows, was far too sensible a poet to flatter himself with lofty visions. No one knew better than he that in the firmament of English poetry his own modest little star would show (if at all) with a trembling and a languid light. No one knew better than he that the great poets of England are so many and their achievements so splendid that among their followers emulation is hopeless—admira- tion a fine despair. No one knew better than he that among contemporary singers there are only two or three that can hope to win any brighter wreath than that which crowns the “minor poet's” brows. But in the country of Shakspeare and Milton, as in the country of Homer, Aischylus, and Sophocles, to win even the minor poet’s genuine wreath is to win a prize indeed. Therefore Lord Rosslyn deserves something more than the hurried paragraph in the Atheneum which briefly announced his death. In some quarters the objection has been raised to his sonnets that they lack concentration, as, indeed, they do. This is an infirmity, however, which his work shares with that of many another. It would be a mistake to suppose that poetic feel- ing and mastery over verbal music will of them- selves, even when combined, enable a man to produce vital poetry, if these qualities are un- accompanied by that unlearnable and unteach- able art by means of which the poet can gather together and mingle in one concentrated flame such life-energy as Nature has endowed him with and set it burning in every line. Men of science tell us that the waves of universal ether in which the planets roll are of a composition so rare and attenuated that when gathered up and compressed by the earth’s attraction a great many miles of such waves (I forget how many) go to the making up of a single square inch of atmospheric air. And I have often thought that in the same relation to each other stand the life- energy of a poet and the poetry into which he has to compress it. And if Lord Rosslyn would have done well to bear this matter in mind, so would a good many of his contemporaries whom there is no need to name. That his endowment of poetic feeling was genuine, and that even his mastery over verbal music was at times considerable, no one will deny who reads his sonnets. I remember some years ago writing a little article for my friend Mr. Comyns Carr in the English Illustrated Magazine, then just started, an essay about the influence of children on the literature of the modern world. It was called, I think, ‘The New Hero,’ or else ‘The Modern Hero,’ and I remember that I quoted in full the following sonnet by Lord Rosslyn :— BEDTIME, “Tis bedtime; say your hymn, and bid ‘ Good-night ; God bless Mamma, Papa, and dear ones all ’; Your half-shut eyes beneath your eyelids fall, Another minute you will shut them quite. Yes, I will carry you, put out the light, And tuck you up, although you are so tall ! What will you give me, Sleepy one, and call My wages, if I settle you all right ?” I laid her golden curls upon my arm, I drew her little feet within my hand, Her rosy palms were joined in trustful bliss, Her heart next mine beat gently, soft and warm She nestled to me, and, by love’s command, Paid me my precious wages—"‘ Baby’s Kiss.” This lovely and touching poem—which was in itself quite good enough to make the fortune of a little essay so humble as mine—attracted the attention not only of such an authoritative judge as Mr. Swinburne (who was led by it to read and admire Lord Rosslyn’s poetry), but also of the general public. I got several letters from strangers making inquiries about Lord Rosslyn and his works. And I may add that in the collection of his poems edited last year by Mr. Earl-Hodgson will be found many other sonnets quite as tender and winsome as this. THEODORE Warts. CAPT. COOK’S LOGS. An article which appeared in the Times of the 20th inst., with reference to the recent sale of Capt. Cook’s journal on the Endeavour, contains some amusing misstatements. It cannot be too widely known that the Government is not in the habit of purchasing documents which have been out of official custody, and so are inadmissible in the courts of law; and it is equally important to point out, for the benefit of future purchasers of naval relics, that a semi-official journal is in no sense the log-book proper of the ship itself. We believe that the journal in question was examined previous to the sale on behalf of the Treasury and the New South Wales Government by experts, who formed a decided opinion as to its true character ; and therefore it is mani- festly unjust, not to say disingenuous, to reproach the authorities for wilfully neglecting a rare opportunity of adding to the existing series of logs. It will be of interest if we state that there are in official custody no fewer than twenty-four logs, or journals, of the Endeavour for the years 1768-70, kept by some nine or ten different officers. The greater part of these were dis- covered amongst the Admiralty Records at Deptford in the year 1869, whence they were transferred to the Public Record Office and there arranged for inspection by the public, as recently
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XUM N° 3283, Sept. 27,790 THE ATHENAUM 417 announced in the Athenwum. None of these is an original or ship’s log, which, indeed, was rarely preserved at that date, but they include official copies, admissible as legal evidence. The journal which is the subject of the Times article could not, however, possibly be classified with or admitted into this series. Besides the ship’s log and lieutenants’ journals, the captain’s journal was kept on board ship, and, like the former, transmitted to the Ad- miralty. These journals are still preserved at Deptford for the period, though they certainly are not ‘‘ bound in dark blue morocco.” Capt. Cook’s journal of the Endeavour is not, how- ever, amongst these ; but it is believed to have been removed for better preservation to the Admiralty. The remaining question is with regard to the position of the journal under dis- cussion. We have no wish to detract from the undoubted interest attaching to this relic of the great navigator ; but, on the other hand, the mystery surrounding its origin requires elucida- tion, while an exact classification of its position amongst Admiralty records would be more satis- factory to all parties than the professional and interested eulogy of the sale-room. BONFIRES OR BONEFIRES. THOSE interested in this subject I would refer to letters that appeared in the Atheneum some time between 1866 and 1870. St. Patrick and the other early missionaries in Ireland adopted for Christian purposes the heathen feasts and their adjuncts, dedicating them to their own purposes. It fell to St. John’s lot to get mid- summer (June 24th), formerly dedicated to Baal and his fires—the people to this day ‘‘ passing through the fire” while a bone or bones are burnt to represent the original sacrifice. These fires are lighted in nearly every district in Ireland at the present time. In a few seaside localities, especially South-East Ireland, the fires are lit on June 29th, it being the eve of St. Peter and St. Paul’s Day—the first being the patron of the fishermen—while in a few localities they are lit both on the eves of the 24th and the 29th. The fire on the eve of June 29th is probably a Christian introduction, but that on the eve of the 24th is undoubtedly an adoption of the great feast to Baal. It would be interesting to know on what day in Jewish time Baal’s great feast was held. G. H. Kinawan. *,* It is clear that the learned projector of the German book has Beltane to reckon with. We cannot insert any more letters on this subject. THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. Saturday, Sept. 20, 1890. Axsout two hundred of the visitors joined the excursion to Silchester on Wednesday afternoon. Spite of the dust and the stubble, all seemed to enjoy the glimpses of this grass- covered city obtained by the numerous excavations which are being carried on under the direction of a committee of the Society of Antiquaries. Mr. Fox, a Fellow of that Society, kindly explained to the librarians and their friends the various spots that had been uncovered and identified, including the Forum, the Basilica, and a temple. The ring of trees encircling the city, whose area was a hundred acres, indicated the enclosing wall. Through the south gate the high road passed, and here, as well as at the west gate, remains of carved stone of some magnitude have been turned up. One gentleman picked up a relic that gave a touch of life to the dead and buried city. It was the fragment of a Roman tile bearing the marks of five fingers, which must have been impressed there when the clay was soft and moist. On the return of the party to Reading in the evening a meeting was held for the transaction of official business, Mr. Chancellor Christie being in the chair. The report of the Council was received and approved, and an invitation from Bristol to hold the next annual meeting in that city was accepted. The election of president was left in the hands of the Council. Thursday morning was given up to a discus- sion on ‘Public Library Legislation,’ which began with a paper on the subject by Mr. George Whale, read, in the absence of the writer, by Mr. Chancellor Christie. The Prize Draft Bill of last year, drawn by Messrs. Fovargue and Ogle, was then considered clause by clause, with no result except that of opening the minds of the librarians present to the importance of the subject. The afternoon of Thursday was spent in Read- ing, firstly in the ancient parish churches of St. Lawrence and St. Mary, and then among the ruins of Reading Abbey. Much interest was shown in the statement that Archbishop Laud was connected with the church of St. Lawrence. The Rev. J. M. Guilding, who spoke from the pulpit in his church, afterwards accompanied the visitors to the ruins of the abbey, and gave an admirable lecture on the subject. A sketch- plan of the abbey was distributed. On behalf of the Berks Archeological Society, Sir George Russell, M.P., their president, received the librarians in the ruins of the old chapter house, and invited them to tea in the Mayor’s neigh- bouring garden. In the room of the Berks Society over the old abbey gateway was an in- teresting relic in the shape of a seal of the Abbot of Reading. On Friday morning Dr. Garnett’s paper on ‘Don Quixote’s Library’ was, in the writer's absence, taken as read. Mr. W. A. Copinger read his learned article on ‘The Editions of the Latin Bible of the First Half Century after the Invention of Printing,’ which he illustrated by a printed list of 141 editions between 1450 and 1499. This list was distributed among the audience, and was afterwards noticed by the pre- sident as being ‘‘ most valuable.” Mr. Plomer read a clever paper on a gruesome subject, ‘ The Literature of the Black Death and the Plague.’ A somewhat tedious paper followed, ‘ An Intro- duction to the Theory of a State Paper Cata- logue,’ by F. B. Campbell. The MacAlister prize essay was passed over, nothing having been sent in that was worthy of a prize. After luncheon the librarians paid a visit to the house of Mr. John Walter at Bearwood, and after passing through the picture gallery enjoyed a delightful walk in his beautiful park. Proceed- ing thence to Eversley—a rather long and dusty drive—the company was received by the Rev. A. Lawrence, the present incumbent of the living held by Charles Kingsley at the time of his death. The reverend gentleman recounted many interesting circumstances in connexion with the author of ‘Westward Ho!’ He ad- mitted the visitors into the study where Kingsley wrote many of his books, employing scraps of paper which, when written on, he threw upon the floor. These were afterwards gathered up by a member of the family and put in order to be read over to the author. Facing the study, and separated from the rest of the grounds, was a small lawn, where the pondering writer was accustomed to pace backward and forward, chew- ing the cud of knowledge. Saturday was devoted to an excursion in a launch up the Thames to Dorchester and Wallingford, starting from Caversham Lock. The earthworks called the Dorchester Dykes were visited, as was also Wallingford Castle, where Mr. J. K. Hedges conducted the visitors to the keep, and afterwards hospitably enter- tained them. R. H. THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON. Tue Cambridge University Press announce- ments include, in theology, ‘The Old Testament in Greek according to the Septuagint,’ edited by H. B. Swete, D.D., Vol. II.,—‘The Philocalia of Origen,’ the Greek text, edited by J. Armi- tage Robinson, M. A.,—‘ Psalms of the Pharisees, commonly known as the Psalms of Solomon,’ edited by the Rev. H. E. Ryle, M.A., and M. R. James, M.A.,—and further parts of “ The Cam- bridge Bible for Schools and Colleges” and “The Smaller Cambridge Bible for Schools.” In historical and miscellaneous works: ‘The Foreign Policy of England from 1725 to 1739,’ by Prof. Seeley, —‘ Lectures on the Comparative Grammar of the Semitic Languages,’ from the papers of the late Prof. Wright,—‘ Erasmus,’ the Rede Lecture, delivered by Prof. Jebb,— ‘Pronunciation of Ancient Greek,’ translated from the German of Dr. Blass by W. J. Purton, B.A ,—‘ Makdla-i-shakhsi sayydh ki dar kaziyya- i-Bib navishta-ast (a Traveller’s Narrative, written to illustrate the Episode of the Bab),’ Persian text, edited and translated by E. G. Browne, M.A., 2 vols.,—* An Historical Sketch of the Equitable Jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery,’ the Yorke Prize Essay for 1889, by D. M. Kerly, M.A.,—‘ On Election by Lot at Athens,’ by J. W. Headlam, B.A.,—‘ The De- struction of the Somerset Religious Houses and its Effects,’ by W. A. J. Archbold, B.A.,—and ‘The Early History of Frisia, with Special Re- lation to its Conversion,’ by W. E. Collins, B.A, In Greek classics the Pitt Press announces ‘Philoctetes,’ being Part IV. of Prof. Jebb’s edition of Sophocles,—and ‘ Euripides: Ion,’ the Greek text, with a translation into English verse by A. W. Verrall, Litt.D. The “ Pitt Press Series ” contains ‘ Cesar: De Bello Civili Comment. I.,’ edited by A. G. Peskett, M.A.,— ‘Homer: Iliad, Books XXII. and XXIII,’ edited by G. M. Edwards, M.A.,—‘ Livy : Book V.,’ edited by L. Whibley, M.A.,—‘ Livy : Book XXVII.,’ edited by the Rev. H. M. Stephenson, M.A.,—‘ Lucian: Menippus and Timon,’ edited by E. C. Mackie, M.A.,—‘ Thucydides: Book VIL,’ edited by Dr. Holden,—‘ Vergil: the Complete Works,’ edited by A. Sidgwick, M.A., 2 vols.,—‘ Xenophon : Cyropedeia, Books VI., VIL, VIII.,’ edited by Dr. Holden,‘ An Apo- logie for Poetrie,’ by Sir Philip Sidney, edited by E. S. Shuckburgh, M.A.,—‘ Milton’s Arcades and Comus,’ edited by A. W. Verity, M.A.,— abridged editions of ‘Moliere: Les Précieuses Ridicules’ and ‘Racine: Les Plaideurs,’ both with notes by E. G. W. Braunholtz, Ph. D.,— and one of ‘Schiller: Wilhelm Tell,’ with notes by Karl Hermann Breul, Ph.D. Measrs. Sampson Low & Co.’s first list of autumn announcements includes “ The Queen’s Prime Ministers,” edited by Stuart J. Reid: ‘The Earl of Beaconsfield, K.G.,’ by J. A. Froude; ‘Viscount Melbourne,’ by Henry Dunckley, LL.D.; ‘Sir Robert Peel,’ by Justin McCarthy, M.P. ; ‘ Viscount Palmerston,’ by the Marquis of Lorne ; ‘ Earl Russell,’ by the editor ; ‘ The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone,’ by G. W. E. Russell; ‘The Earl of Aberdeen,’ by Sir Arthur Gordon ; ‘The Marquis of Salisbury,’ by H. D. Traill; and ‘The Earl of Derby,’ by George Saintsbury,—a third edition of ‘In Darkest Africa,’ by Henry M. Stanley, 2 vols, —‘Emin Pasha and the Rebellion at the Equator.’ a story of nine months’ experiences in the last of the Soudan pro- vinces, by A. J. Mounteney Jephson, with preface by Mr. Stanley,—‘ Over the Tea-cups : a Series of Papers of Reminiscences and Cha- racteristic Reflections,’ by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, — ‘ Recollections of my Childhood’s Days, by Louisa M. Alcott, —‘The Broad Church; or, What is Coming,’ by the Rev. H. R. Haweis,—‘ Letters to Living Authors,’ by J. A. Steuart, illustrated with portraits,— ‘The Life of Harriet Beecher Stowe told for Boys and Girls,’ by Mrs. Sarah A. Tooley,— ‘The Complete Cookery Guide,’ by Mary Harrison,—‘ Dollars and Sense; or, How to Get On,’ by P. T. Barnum,—‘ The Snake’s Pass,’ by Bram Stoker,—‘ A Descriptive Catalogue of all the Postage Stamps of the United Kingdom issued during Fifty Years,’ by W. Westoby, M.A.,—‘ Women of the Time: being a Dic- tionary of Authenticated Biographical Records
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\ THE ATHENAUM N° 3283, Sepr. 27, 90 418 of Eminent Women of the Day,’ edited by Charles F. Rideal, —‘ Nelson’s Words and Deeds: a Selection from his Despatches and Correspondence,’ edited by W. Clark Russell,— * The Riverside Naturalist : Notes on the Various Forms of Life met with either in, on, or by the Water, or in its Immediate Vicinity,’ by Edward Hamilton, F.LS.,— ‘Shooting on Upland, Marsh, and Stream,’ a series of articles written by prominent sportsmen, edited by Wm. Bruce Leffingwell,.—‘The Interregnum, 4 D. 1648-1660: Studies of the Commonwealth, Legislative, Social, and Legal,’ by F. A. Inder- wick, Q.C.,—‘ Ten Centuries of European Pro- gress,’ by Lowis Jackson,—‘ The Aztec Treasure House: a Romance of Contemporaneous Anti- quity,’ by Thomas A. Janvier,—‘ Face to Face with the Mexicans,’ by Fanny Chambers Gooch,—‘ Big Game of North America,’ by G. O. Shields,—‘ Mountaineering in Colorado : the Peaks about Estes Park,’ by Frederick H. Chapin, ‘The Engadine: a Guide to the District,’ edited by F. de Beauchamp Strick- jland,—‘ Five Years at Panama: the Trans- Isthmian Canal,’ by Walfred Nelson,—‘ The Care of the Sick at Home and in the Hospital : a Handbook for Families and for Nurses,’ by Prof. Th. Billroth,—‘The Structure of Fibres, Yarns, and Fabrics: being a Practical Treatise for the Use of all Persons employed in the Manufacture of Textile Fabrics,’ by E. Posselt,—‘ Directory of Technical Literature: a Classified Catalogue of all Books, Annuals, and Journals published in England, America, France, and Germany, including their Relations to Legislation, Hygiene, and Daily Life,’ by Fritz von Szcezepanski,—‘ Lad and Lass: a Story of Life in Iceland,’ translated from the Icelandic of Jon P. Théroddsen by A. M. Reeves, —‘ Daily Strength for Daily Needs,’ selected by Mary W. Tileston,—and new editions of ‘ Sidelights on the Stuarts,’ by F. A. Inderwick, Q.C. ; ‘Friesland Meres, by H. M. Doughty; and ‘Marine Insurance,’ by Douglas Owen. Messrs. Sampson Low also announce two new books by Jules Verne: ‘The Purchase of the North Pole: a Sequel to ‘‘ From the Earth to the Moon,”’ and ‘ The Family without a Name,’ —‘New York to Brest in Seven Hours,’ by André Laurie,—‘ Roger Ingleton, Minor,’ by Talbot Baines Reed,—‘ Stories of Strange Ad- ventures,’ by Capt. Mayne Reid and others,— * Bevis,’ by Richard Jefferies, new edition,—‘ A Southern Cross Fairy Tale,’ by Mrs. K. McCosh Clark,—eight volumes of ‘‘Low’s Series of Standard Books for Boys”: ‘The Serpent Charmer,’ by Louis Rousselet ; ‘Stories of the Gorilla Country,’ by Paul Du Chaillu; ‘The Conquest of the Moon,’ by A. Laurie; ‘The Ma id of the Ship Golden Age,’ by H. E. Maclean; ‘The Frozen Pirate,’ by W. Clark Russell ; *The Marvellous Country,’ by S. W. Cozzens ; ‘The Mountain Kingdom,’ by D. Lawson John- stone ; and ‘ Lost in Africa,’ by F, H. Winder, —and eight volumes of “ Low’s Series of Popular Girls’ Books”: ‘The Ghost in the Mill,’ and other stories, by Harriet Beecher Stowe ; ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’; ‘ We and our Neighbours,’ by Harriet Beecher Stowe ; ‘ Picciola,’ by Sain- tine ; ‘Draxy Miller’s Dowry,’ by Saxe Holm; ‘Seagull Rock,’ by J. Sandeau ; ‘ In the Wilder- ness,’ by C. Dudley Warner ; and ‘My Summer in a Garden,’ by the same author. Their new novels and stories include ‘Stand Fast, Craig- Royston,’ by William Black, 3 vols.,—‘ The Begum’s Daughter,’ by Edwin L. Bynner,— ‘ Our Pleasant Vices,’ by Milner Macmaster, 3 vols.,—‘ Kilgroom : a Story of Ireland,’ by J. A. Steuart,—two new stories by Frank R. Stockton : ‘ Ardis Claverden’ and ‘ The Merry Chanter,’ — three new volumes of ‘‘ Low’s Standard Novels”: ‘Kit and Kitty,’ by R. D. Blackmore ; ‘ Duchess Frances,’ by Sarah Tytler; and ‘The Conspirator: a Romance of Real Life” by Count Paul P—, edited by Frank Harkut,—‘ Port Tarascon : the Last Adventures of the Illustrious Tartarin,’ by Alphonse Daudet, —new stories by Rudyard Kipling,—two Indian stories by Brownlow Fforde: ‘The Trotter’ and ‘The Subaltern, the Policeman, and the Little Girl,’—a cheaper issue of Thomas Hardy’s Wessex novels,—and numerous additions to ‘*Low’s Standard Two-Shilling Novels.” In the coming season Mr. Fisher Unwin will publish ‘Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling,’ illustrated by numerous incantations, specimens of medieval magic, &c., by Charles Godfrey Leland (“ Hans Breitmann ”),—‘ National Life and Thought ; or, Lectures on Various Nations of the World,’ by Prof. Thorold Rogers, W. R. Morfill, M.A., and others,—‘ A Vindication of the Rights of Women,’ by Mary Wollstonecraft, edited, with an introduction, by Mrs. Henry Fawcett,—‘ The Government Handbook : a Per- manent Record of the Various Forms and Methods of Government,’ by Lewis Sergeant,— ‘With the Beduins: a Narrative of Journeys to the East of the Jordan and Dead Sea,’ by Gray Hill, with illustrations and map,—‘ The Sovereigns and Courts of Europe,’ by Politikos, illustrated,—‘ Soul Shapes,’ with four coloured plates of souls,—‘ Teneriffe: Remarks on the Island as a Health Resort,’ by G. W. Strettell, —‘ Chess for Beginners ; and the Beginnings of Chess,’ by R. B. Swinton,—‘ Life in an Indian Village,’ by T. Rama Krishna, B.A., with an introduction by Sir M. E. Grant-Duff,—and ‘ Recipes for the Million.’ In biography Mr. Fisher Unwin announces ‘Abraham Lincoln: a History, by John G. Nicolay and John Hay, 10 vols.,—‘The Auto- biography of Joseph Jefferson’ (‘‘ Rip Van Winkle”’),—‘ The Public and Private Life of Horatio, Viscount Nelson, by G. Lathom Browne, illustrated, — ‘Gottfried Keller: a Selection of his Tales,’ translated, with a memoir, by Mrs. Kate Freiligrath Kroeker,— ‘Famous Musical Composers,’ biographies by Miss Lydia T. Morris, with portraits,—in ‘“‘ The Adventure Series,” ‘ Pellow’s Adventures and Sufferings during his Twenty-three Years’ Captivity in Morocco,’ edited by Dr. Robert Brown; and ‘The Buccaneers of America,’ edited by Howard Pyle,—‘The Vikings of Western Christendom, a.p. 789-888, by C. F. Keary,—and in “The Story of the Nations,” § Mexico,’ by Mrs. Susan Hall, and ‘ Portugal,’ by H. Morse Stephens. In poetry: ‘ Verses,’ by Robinson K. Leather, M.A.,—and two volumes of ‘‘The Cameo Series”: ‘ Lyrics, by Mary F. Robinson (Madame Darmesteter), and ‘Poems,’ by Robert Surtees, with an intro- duction by Edward Peacock. In romance: ‘Dreams,’ by Miss Olive Schreiner, — ‘ The Heart of Sheba,’ by Miss Ethel May Hewitt,— ‘Hadasseh,’ by Mrs. E. L. Collins (Emilie Lancaster),—‘ Esther Pentreath, the Miller’s Daughter,’ a Cornish romance, by J. H. Pearce, —three volumes in a new “Series of Short Stories”: ‘Mlle. Ixe,’ by Lanoe Falconer ; ‘The Story of Eleanor Lambert,’ by Magdalen Brooke ; and ‘The Mystery of the Campagna’ and ‘ A Shadow on a Wave,’ by Von Degen,— and ‘ Philosopher Dick: Adventures and Con- templations of a New Zealand Shepherd,’ 2 vols. Of books for children : ‘ Another Brownie Book,’ written and illustrated by Palmer Cox,—‘ Santa Claus on a Lark,’ by Washington Gladden,— ‘ Every-day Miracles,’ by Bedfcrd Pollard,—and s — and his Flowers,’ by Beatrice F. Cress- well. Mr. Unwin’s new editions and reprints com- prise a third and cheaper edition of the ‘ Life and Times of Savonarola,’ by Prof. Pasquale Villari, translated by Madame Linda Villari, 2 vols.,—the third edition of ‘ Legends and Tales of the Basque People,’ by Marianne Monteiro, with illustrations by Harold Copping,—the third edition of ‘The Dawn of the Nineteenth Cen- tury,’ by John Ashton,—the third edition of ‘Fairy Tales from Brentano,’ translated by Mrs. Kate Freiligrath Kroeker, —a new edition of ‘Dick’s Holidays, and What He did with Them, by James Weston,—the fourth edition of ‘ Foot- prints; Nature seen on its Human Side,’ by Mrs. Sarah Tytler,—the third edition of ‘How Men Propose,’ by Miss Agnes Stevens,—new editions of ‘Stops ; or, How to Punctuate,’ by Paul Allardyce, and ‘ English as She is Taught,’ by Catherine B. Le Row, with an introduction by Mark Twain,—in “ The Story of the Nations,” a new edition of ‘ Assyria,’ by Zénaide A. Ragozin, — in the ‘‘ Novel Series,” a second edition of ‘A Mariage de Convenance,’ by C. F. Keary,—and in the ‘‘ Lives Worth Living Series,” the second edition of ‘Good Men and True,’ by Dr. A. H. Japp. The half-yearly volumes of the Century and St. Nicholas will also appear. Messrs. Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier’s an- nouncements for the autumn season include ‘ Maitland of Lauriston : a Family History,’ and ‘A Vexed Inheritance,’ by Annie S. Swan,—new editions of ‘ The Luck of the House’and ‘ Seventy Times Seven,’ by Adeline Sergeant,—‘ An Old Chronicle of Leighton,’ by Sarah Selina Hamer, —‘Norman Reid, M.A.,’ by Jessie P. Findlay, —‘The Stronger Will,’ by Evelyn Everett Green,—‘ Won by Love: the Story of Irene Kendal,’ by the author of ‘ Boundbrook,’— ‘Geraldine: a Story of Real Life,’ by Nora Butler,—‘ Life’s Phases,’ by the Rev. James Stark,—‘ Between the Ferries : a Story of High- land Life,’ by Margaret Moyes Black,—‘ The Story of Stanley,’ by E. A. Macdonald,—‘ The Red Thread of Honour ; or, the Minster School- boys,’ by Marianne Kirlew,—‘ Syd’s New Pony’ and ‘The Witch of the Quarry Hut,’ two stories for children, by Evelyn Everett Green,— and ‘ Our Father : Stories on the Lord’s Prayer,’ by Sarah Gibson. Messrs. Partridge & Co. announce the fol- lowing works, mostly illustrated, for the forth- coming season : ‘ Nolens Volens ; or, the Adven- tures of Don Lavington,’ by G. Manville Fenn, —‘ Mad John Burleigh : a Story of Heroic Self- Sacrifice,’ by Mrs. Charles Garnett,—‘Six Stories by Pansy,’ Vols. I. and II.,—‘ Hamilton of Kings, by Alice Price,—‘Red Mountain of Alaska,’ by Willis Boyd Allen,—‘A Ride to Picture-land : a Book of Joys for Girls and Boys,’ by R. V.,— Bible Pictures and Stories : Old and New Testament,’ by James Weston and D. J. D.,— ‘Natural History Stories,’ by Mary MHowitt,— ‘Sunny Teachings: a Coloured Bible Picture Roll,’—‘ Fine Gold ; or, Ravenswood Courtenay,’ and ‘The Mother’s Chain ; or, the Broken Link,’ by Emma Mar- shall,—‘ Gerald’s Dilemma’ and ‘ Marion and Augusta; or, Love and Selfishness,’ by Emma Leslie,—‘ Chine Cabin,’ by Mrs. Haycraft,— ‘Dulcie Delight,’ by Jennie Chappell, —‘ Ben’s Boyhood ’ and ‘ Herbert’s First Year at Bram- ford,’ by the author of ‘Jack the Conqueror,— ‘ Wanderings of a Bible, by Clara Lucas Balfour, —‘Harry’s Monkey: How it helped the Mis- sionaries,’ and other stories,—and ‘No Work, No Bread,’ by the author of ‘Jessica’s First Prayer.’ In their series of ‘Popular Bio- graphies” they are issuing ‘James Calvert ; or, From Dark to Dawn in Fiji,’ by R. Vernon ; ‘Henry Martyn: his Life and Labours—Cam- bridge, India, Persia,’ by Jesse Page; and ‘Two Noble Lives: John Wicliffe, the Morning Star of the Reformation ; and Martin Luther, the Reformer, by David J. Deane,—besides additions to the ‘‘Home Library” and ‘‘ Pansy Series,” and new editions of several popular stories. Messrs. Burns & Oates make the following announcements: ‘The Workings of the Holy Spirit in the Church of England,’ reprint of a letter addressed to Dr. Pusey by the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster in 1864,—‘ The Choruses of the Ober-Ammergau Passion Play,’ in accordance with the original German as sung in 1890, translated by Mary Frances Drew,— two tales by the late Kathleen O’Meara, ‘ The Blind Apostle’ and ‘A Heroine of Charity,’ being Vol. III. of ‘‘ Bells of the Sanctuary,”— a second edition of ‘The Life of the Blessed John Fisher,’ by the Rev. T. E. Bridgett,— ‘The Christian Virgin in her Family and in the ew
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XUM N° 3283, Sepr. 27,790 THE ATHENZUM 419 World,’ from the French,—a second edition of ‘The Life and Labours of St. Thomas of Aquin,’ by Archbishop Vaughan, abridged and edited by Dom Jerome Vaughan, forming Vol. I. of the “ Benedictine Library,’—‘ A Memoir of the late Sir James Marshall, C.M.G.,’ taken chiefly from his own letters, by Canon Brownlow,— ‘Five Minutes’ Sermons,’ by the late Rev. W. H. Anderdon, Part II.,—‘ Peter’s Rock in Moham- med’s Flood,’ by T. W. Allies, being the seventh and concluding volume of his work on the ‘ For- mation of Christendom,’—‘ Meditations on the Gospels for Every Day in the Year,’ by the Rev. P. Médaille,—‘ A Martyr from the Quarterdeck : Alexis Clerc,’ by Lady Herbert, —‘ Mary in the Epistles ; or, the Implicit Teaching of the Apostles concerning the Blessed Virgin,’ by the Rev. T. Livius,—‘ Life of the Blessed Thomas More,’ by the Rev. T. E. Bridgett,—and ‘The Science of the Saints in Practice,’ Vol. I., by John Baptist Pagani, second General of the Institute of Charity. Messrs. Hutchinson & Co, announce the fol- lowing illustrated books for the young: ‘ Fifty- two more Stories for Boys,’ by G. Manville Fenn, W. H. G. Kingston, E. Paxton Hood, and others, edited by A. H. Miles, —‘ Fifty-two more Stories for Girls,’ by Rosa Mulholland, Sarah Doudney, and others, also edited by Mr. Miles, —‘ Roland Kalbris : the Adventures of a Fisher- man’s Son in Search of a Ship,’ by Hector Malot, —‘ Christmas Stories and Poems for the Little Ones,’ by C. Emma Cheney, Sydney Dayre, and Miss V. Stuart Mosby,—‘The Love Dream of Gatty Fenning,’ by Sarah Doudney,—‘ Miss Pringle’s Pearls,’ by Mrs. G. Linnzeus Banks,— pr: ‘The Clever Miss Jancy,’ by Margaret Hay- craft. Mr. Elkin Mathews is about to publish ‘George Meredith: Novelist and Poet, some Characteristics,’ by R. Le Gallienne,—‘ The Student and the Body-Snatcher, and other Trifles,’ by R. K. Leather and R. Le Gallienne, —‘ Letters to Living Artists,’ by Pasquin Junior, —‘A Sicilian Idyll: a Pastoral Play,’ by Dr. J. Todhunter,—‘ Alma Murray, Portrait as Beatrice Cenci, with Critical Notice containing Four Letters from Robert Browning,’—‘ Robert Browning and the Drama,’a note by W. Fair- fax,—and a new edition of ‘ Robert Browning : Essays and Thoughts,’ by J. T. Nettleship. Messrs. Whittaker & Co. announce three new school-books : Balzac’s ‘ Ursule Mirouet,’ edited by J. Boielle ; Scheffel’s ‘Ekkehard, edited by Dr. Herman Hager; and ‘French Papers for Preliminary Army Examinations,’ collected by Dr. J. F. Davis. INTERMEDIATE EDUCATION IN WALES. A CONFERENCE of representatives from all the joint education committees of the county councils of Wales was held at Shrewsbury on the 19th inst., to consider the working of the Intermediate Education Act, 1889. The Act provides for such a voluntary combination for purposes common to several counties or to the whole of Wales, and it was accordingly decided that all the committees should unite in a permanent consultative body, with Mr. A. H. D. Acland, M.P., as its chair- man. Among the subjects discussed were the best methods of satisfying the claims of girls in the educational system, and a committee was appointed to consider the relative advantages of mixed, dual, and separate schools, and to draft schemes to suit the circumstances of different localities. It was strongly urged that such en- dowments as the Meyrick Fund and Howell’s Trust, which are applicable to all Wales, should be treated as a general fund, to be administered by sub-committees. The most important subject for coasideration was a scheme for the establish- ment of a central authority, composed of repre- sentatives from the county councils and the various educational institutions of the Princi- pality. It was proposed that it should under- take the inspection and examination of the intermediate schools, and superintend the normal training of teachers, but further dis- cussion as to its functions and constitution was postponed till the next meeting. THE PREDECESSORS OF THE SERVICE BOOK. Lynmore, Claughton, Birkenhead, Sept. 22, 1890. THERE was some correspondence in the Atheneum in 1877 on this subject, and you then, November 10th, inserted a short note from me mentioning that I had the Edinburgh edition of 1634. On reference I find the prayer mentioned by Col. Fergusson is in my copy in the form which he says is peculiar to the edition of 1633. My friend the late Mr. D. Laing told me about twenty years ago, when he saw this 1634 edition in my house, that it was rare, but it can- not be particularly so, as you mentioned in 1877 that it was well known, and that Mr. Tyssen Amburst had a copy. Isaw one also a few years ago at the Bodleian. Ep, QUuaAILE. FONTAINEBLEAU GREEK MANUSCRIPTS. M. Henri Omonr, sub-librarian in the De- partment of Manuscripts at the National Library at Paris, has published a catalogue (“ Catalogues des Manuscrits Grecs de Fontainebleau sous Francois I. et Henri II., publiés et annotés par Henri Omont,” Paris, 1889, large 4to. pp. [4]+ 36+468) of the Greek MSS. collected at Fon- tainebleau by Francis I. and Henry II. (1529- 1552), and now forming part of the treasures of the great Paris library ; which both for style and utility is deserving of high praise. It exhibits in the introduction the lucid exposition, the precision of detail, and the sense of propor- tion, combined with high literary excellence, which one is not accustomed to find anywhere but in the best French work. And the body of the volume is valuable as a careful and elaborate list of the first considerable collection of Greek manuscripts formed outside Italy. The whole collection (540 volumes) has been kept together to the present day, except that one copy of the four Gospels (No. 208) is lost, and one contain- ing Aristoxenus on music, with other pieces (No. 44), is in the University Library at Cam- bridge (Kk. v. 26). En revanche, the Paris library possesses the only copy known of the printed Sarum Breviary of 1483, which belonged to Cambridge until the close of the last century, and which Henry Bradshaw identified with much acuteness (Prothero’s ‘Memoir of Henr Bradshaw,’ London, 1888, pp. 101-2). Could not these two unique books be amicably ex- changed ? The body of the work consists of a reproduction, in a very fine and large Greek type, of the two original catalogues of the library, one alphabetical (in the handwriting of Vergetius and Palzo- cappa, about .D. 1550, preserved at Paris with two other copies of it, a third copy being at Verona), the other according to subjects (written by Diassorinos at the same date, now preserved at Venice, but of which three copies or reissues are at Paris and two at Leyden). These cata- logues are full and minute, giving the size of each volume according to a scale of sixteen heights, and also the style of binding, furnishing a singular vocabulary of Greek words of colour and form. The editor has supplied, in his introduction, notes, and appendixes, everything which a Greek scholar could desire—a history of the collection, a transcript of the earliest list of the MSS., with notes on the later modifications of it, two facsimiles of bindings, a list of the Greek MSS. possessed by Pellicier, Bishop of Mont- pellier, now dispersed, a list of the provenances of the Fontainebleau MSS., and other interest- ing pieces. The notes abound with references to authorities made with an exactitude which scholars will appreciate. It should be added that to M. Omont himself is due the recognition of the Venice catalogue mentioned above, which had until 1886 been only described as “ nescio cujus bibliothecz.” F. M. THE CECIL PAPERS. A NEw instalment of the calendar of manu- script treasures preserved at Hatfield House will be heartily welcomed by students of the Eliza- bethan period, and, indeed, by all who have studied the two previous issues. The latter of these was remarkable for its exhaustive intro- duction ; but although in the present case this necessary guide is somewhat curtailed, the third report will not be found of inferior interest to either of its predecessors. The diplomatic correspondence is especially important. No English sovereign was better served than Elizabeth at the courts of foreign princes, and the despatches of Sir Edward Stafford from Paris are instructive as well as entertaining. The hardships of a diplomatic career are almost tragically detailed in the correspondence of the French ambassador to England, who was ‘robbed and pillaged of all he had in England down to his shirt,” including the presents given him by the English queen, so that he resembles, with his distressed family, ‘‘ those exiled Irish who solicit alms in England with their children by their sides.” We read, too, that Lord Seton, the Scotch ambassador to France, although reputed a ‘ mean, wise man,” was obliged to seek protection from the bailiffs, and to pawn the ordnance of the vessel which attended him. The most valuable portion of the diplomatic correspondence, however, for purely historical purposes, consists in the instructions of the Master of Gray to Archibald Douglas, the Scotch ambassador to England, with whom in the years 1586 and 1587 William Keith was associated in a special mission connected with the proceedings against Mary Stuart following Babington’s con- spiracy. Indeed, the papers on Scottish affairs form the majority of those calendared here ; and the newsletters and the memoranda thereon in Burghley’s own hand will be found valuable by students of this much debated question. It is a curious fact that the status of the Scottish envoy was a matter of some uncertainty both to himself and his correspondents. Just as Leicester was left in ignorance of his actual position as the royal general in the Low Countries, so we read that James VI., being interrogated on this subject, would only answer, ‘*that suppose you [Douglas] were not his ambassador......yet he would not have your packets stayed.” Indeed, it was an age in which many greater men held their offices on sufferance, though in the case of diplomatic agents the obvious motive was to disavow any inconvenient declarations which they might make, as appears from more than one instance in this volume. Moreover, James VI. was not merely apt to defer his instructions to an ambassador ‘until a more convenient time,” but even, incredible as it may seem, to put a faithful servant “in a great hazard” by revealing his plan of action to the ministerial opposition in spite of all promises of secrecy. The Master of Gray, who, to do him justice, put no trust what- ever in princes, cautioned Douglas seriously on this point. ‘‘ Princes’ ears,” was his pithy maxim, “are not given to men in life-rent.” Even the sedate Walsingham expressed his com- miseration of Douglas for this usage; but we must not lose sight of the fact that both the ambassador and his mentor were placed in a false position by their evident leaning towards the English view of the burning question of the day, the treatment of Mary Stuart. It was not to be expected that any papers of great import- ance on this subject should have remained unnoticed at Hatfield ; but still there are several published here for the first time which supply some links in the chain of evidence against the unhappy queen. The editors observe that ‘the general impression left by the record
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420 THE ATHENZXUM N° 3283, Sept. 27, 90 of James VI.’s policy is that he did not much care what became of his mother in England, ao long as her life was not taken ”—that is to say, he was content, as the Master of Gray more forcibly, though less elegantly, puts it, that she should be ‘‘strictly kepit” (in the Tower for choice), and ‘‘all hir auld knaifishe servantis heingit.” Such a position previous to the queen’s execution scarcely justifies the virtuous indigna- tion which that tragic event called forth through the unwilling mouth of his ambassador. In truth, it did not impress the latter or his correspondents very deeply, for while Walsingham, in a charac- teristic letter, attributes this sudden emotion to the circumstance that “ by a common mishap Princes are made naught by ill instruments about them,” the Master writes to assure Douglas that if the Queen of England can be induced to offer some reasonable excuse, the king his master “will love her and honour her before all other princes”; for it may be admitted that here “‘mecesse est unum mori pro populo, and so her Majesty shall go free.” Besides, public opinion in Scotland was by no means unanimous, although the hostile faction of Bothwell had now the upper hand. It was not given to every one, however, to adopt the cynical view of the matter taken by the Master of Gray as the ‘beholder ” of a political comedy. The honour of the Scottish Crown and nation had been un- questionably impaired by the high-handed action of the English Council in the face of the positive assurances given to Douglas and Keith, and the mere fact that James VI.’s subjects had taxed themselves to defray the expenses of the mission which had such fruitless results testifies to their sincerity. For the rest we can easily picture the king’s mortification, and the passionate grief of Bothwell and other members of the old nobility. The execution of a royal prisoner was not likely to be commended by the victim's countrymen ; nevertheless the English ministers did not shrink from the storm that they had aroused. They stoutly vindicated their action, and, leav- ing diplomatic excuses to their anxious mistress, prepared some telling countercharges against their incensed neighbours. Many of these are preserved in Burghley’s memoranda, and are very instructive. They include allegations re- specting the murders of Darnley, Murray, Lenox, and others, the maltreatment of English ambassadors and other crimes for which the guilty parties have been virtually rewarded, and which “ beare suche show of ane inwarde mynde full of crueltye and mortal hatred to all those of this natione that beare gude will to England,” as without great changes in the administration of affairs in Scotland (of course in favour of the Master of Gray and his friends) must lead to a permanent estrangement. There are many other papers of the greatest interest calendared here in connexion with the Armada and the English expedition to the Low Countries. It is certainly in favour of the Master of Gray (who may fairly be regarded as the hero of the present report) that he was on terms of intimate friendship with Sir Philip Sidney, whose death he feelingly deplores. There are also some curious discussions respecting the characters of Elizabethan Churchmen, and some zateresting notices of Irish affairs. Literary Grossip. Tue famous Talleyrand memoirs, the publication of which has been so long de- ferred, and regarding which public curiosity was aroused some time since by the enterprising proceedings of the Paris corre- spondent of the Zimes, are about to be published, in five volumes, by Calmann Lévy from the materials of the Duc de Broglie, who will edit the work. We are glad to learn that the publishers of the Century Magazine, who have made arrangements for advance articles, one dealing with each volume of the book, wiil commence the pub- lication of the series early in 1891. It is expected that these articles will be accom- panied by an introduction and notes by Mr. Whitelaw Reid, the United States Minister to France, who will edit the complete jour- nal, to be published later in the year. M. Ledos de Beaufort is the translator. The articles will be illustrated. Messrs. Brackwoov & Sons will publish in October the ‘ Life, Letters, and Diaries of Sir Stafford Northcote, Earl of Iddesleigh,’ by Mr. Andrew Lang, intwo volumes. We understand that Mr. Lang’s work is, to a considerable extent, a new departure in political biography, and aims at offering a study of Lord Iddesleigh’s personality rather than at writing a history of the parlia- mentary work in which he took so prominent a part. It is well known that Sir Stafford Northcote was one of those advisers upon whom Lord Beaconsfield chiefly leant, and that he was in the habit of writing long memoranda for the guidance of his chief, both upon the policy of their party and the condition of the House of Commons, and these documents are still sufficiently recent to possess very considerable interest. Sir Stafford, we understand, did not systematic- ally keep diaries, but several series of his daily notes, extending over some of the most important years of his life, have come into Mr. Lang’s hands. Sir Stafford was a genial and cultured correspondent, and those who are acquainted with his powers of letter- writing will be glad to learn that Mr. Lang has been able to make use of a large col- lection of family and other letters. Mr. GrapsTone’s new book will be pub- lished by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. within the next fortnight. The subject, ‘ Land- marks of Homeric Study,’ is dealt with under the headings: ‘‘The Homeric Ques- tion,”’ ‘‘ Homer as Nation-maker,”’ ‘‘ Homer as Religion-maker,” ‘‘ Rudiments of Ethics,” ‘‘Rudiments of Politics,” ‘‘Plot of the Iliad,” ‘‘The Geography of the Poems.’”’ Mr. Gladstone’s essay ‘On the Points of Con- tact between the Assyrian Tablets and the Homeric Text’ is included in the volume. Mrs. OxrpHant is now well advanced with her ‘ Memoirs of the Life of Laurence Oliphant,’ which Messrs. Blackwood & Sons expect to publish at an early date. The work will be looked forward to with keen curiosity, for Mrs. Oliphant has been fortu- nate enough to secure a mass of Laurence Oliphant’s private correspondence, com- mencing with letters written in his boy- hood, which may afford a key to open up that singular double character which contains at once the clever and brilliant man of society and the studious and dreamy mystic. One side of Laurence Oli- phant’s character was so mysterious even to his friends that any light upon it coming from his internal revelations will be welcome, while the adventurous life of which he has afforded so many glimpses in his writings contains highly romantic elements. We understand that it is more especially to the religious and mystic side of his career that Mrs. Oliphant has devoted her attention. THE new issue of Prof. Masson’s library edition of Milton’s ‘Poems,’ in three volumes, is justready. Some changes have been made in it, though all the matter of the preceding Cambridge edition of 1874 is carefully retained. The most obvious change consists in the rearrangement of the poems in their proper chronological order, the ‘Minor Poems’ occupying vol. i., and ‘Paradise Lost’ and ‘Paradise Regained ’ and ‘Samson Agonistes’ following in that succession in vol. ii. This permits the re- moval of the ‘General Essay on Milton’s English and Versification’ from vol. i. to vol. iii. Besides this change in the order of the contents there are considerable additions to the contents themselves. These include the recasting of the memoir, to which an appendix has been added entitled ‘Speci- mens of Milton’s Signature,’ whilst the in- troductions have been revised and added to. Mrs. OLIpHaNt’s new novel, ‘ Kirsteen : the Story of a Scotch Family Seventy Years Ago,’ will be ready, in three volumes, on October 7th; and Mr. F. Marion Crawford’s new story, in two volumes, ‘A Cigarette Maker’s Romance,’ will be issued on the 14th of that month. A Turirp and cheaper edition, in one volume, of Sir Charles W. Dilke’s ‘ Problems of Greater Britain’ will be published by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. in a few days. Messrs. Eyre & Srorriswoopk will shortly publish a new ‘Select Glossary of Bible Words,’ uniform with the ‘Glossary of Prayer Book Words’ already published. The editor is once more the Rev. A. L. Mayhew, of Wadham College, Oxford, the well-known authority upon Middle English. The ori- ginal texts and the modern renderings of them are frequently referred to, but the new feature of the work is the illustrations by which familiar Biblical expressions are traced to their origin in the English versions which preceded the authorized versions. The Apocryphal books are included in the scope of the work. Str ToeoporE Martin will contribute to the October number of Blackwood a transla- tion of Schiller’s ‘ Invincible Armada.’ The same number will contain an article on the persecution of the Jews in Russia, which throws much light on the present position of the Anti-Semitic agitation. For obvious reasons the contribution is anonymous. Sir Herbert E. Maxwell contributes an article on ‘Manners,’ and Mr. Fraser Rae a paper on ‘ Life at Bohemian Baths.’ Other articles are ‘On Surrey Hills,’ by “A Son of the Marshes,” the self-taught naturalist whose contributions to the magazines have of late brought him much into notice; ‘ Robert Henryson,’ a study of the old Scotch poet, by F. R. Oliphant; and‘A Night in a Moorish Hummum,’ by Walter B. Harris. Tue forty-first half-yearly volume of the Century commences in November. Among the attractions for the coming year are pro- mised, besides Talleyrand’s secret journal, a series of illustrated articles on Tibet, by Mr. Rockhill, an American traveller, ‘‘ who for 700 miles passed through a country where no white man had ever put his foot”; a story of country life by Mr. F. R. Stockton ; ‘Adventures of War Prisoners’ on both sides during the American Civil War; articles on Indian warfare by officers of the United States army ; on municipal govern- ment in Europe and America, by Dr. Albert Shaw; and ‘ Present-Day Papers,’
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N° 3283, Sepr. 27, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 421 by numerous writers, on sociological ques- tions of the day. Messrs. Brackwoop & Sons have in the press a novel of modern life, which will excite some interest on account of the lavish manner of its production as compared with the ordinary three-volume form. It is in one handsomely printed volume, with 120 illustrations, and is entitled ‘Golden Lives: the Story of a Woman’s Courage.’ The story was written some time ago, and the last twelve months have been devoted to the preparation of the illustrations. Mary Suettey’s tales have just been collected, and will be published shortly as the first volume of a series. Dr. Richard Garnett has written a preface to them. Tue Rev. H. D. Rawnsley, of Keswick, has a volume of poetry in preparation en- titled ‘ Poems, Ballads, and Bucolics,’ which is expected to be ready next month. Amone the contents of the forthcoming number of Jfind (completing its fifteenth year) are articles by Mr. Herbert Spencer on the ‘ Origin of Music,’ in reply to Darwin and the late Edmund Gurney, and by Mr. James Sully on ‘ Mental Evolution.’ Sr F. Potrock has in the press ‘ Oxford Lectures and Discourses,’ to be published shortly by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. Among other papers the volume will contain his Oxford inaugural lecture delivered in 1883 ; ‘Oxford Law Studies’ (1886); ‘The Eng- lish Manor,’ recast from several lectures, &c.; ‘Sir H. Maine and his Work,’ an Oxford public lecture given in 1889; ‘Home Rule and Imperial Sovereignty’ (from the ‘Truth about Home Rule,’ 1888); and ‘ Forms and History of the Sword,’ a lecture delivered at the Royal Institution in 1883. Srrenvovus efforts are, we understand, being made in India to publish the whole of the ‘ Dictionary of Indian Economic Pro- ducts’ by the end of the current year. Dr. G. Watt, C.I.E., the compiler, has had the assistance of Dr. James Murray, Dr. Clark, and Mr. Duthie. At present only two volumes have appeared. The third, which it was hoped would have appeared in the first quarter of the year, is on the point of being published, while of the fourth much has already been issued. THE next number of the new quarterly magazine Subjects of the Day treats of the government of Ireland. Mr. Gladstone writes on Home Rule for Ireland, address- ing the Tory householder. The other papers are written by W. E. Macartney, M.P., Justin McCarthy, M.P., E. F. V. Knox, M.P., Arminius Vambéry, W. B. Bowring, J.J. Clancy, M.P., T. P. O'Connor, M.P., and Sir John Pope Hennessy, K.C.M.G. Tue first number of the Foreign Review is to appear in October, edited by Mr. Green- hough Smith, and published by Mr. Fisher Unwin. It will be wholly devoted to trans- lations. Stepniak, Miss Mathilde Blind, and Mr. Arthur Symons will be among the contributors. Mr. F. G. Kitron informs us that the first two parts of a supplement to ‘ Charles Dickens by Pen and Pencil’ will be ready immediately, and that parts iii. and iv. will follow at reasonable intervals. Tue October number of the Bookworm will contain an article by Mr. W. CO. Sydney on the Abbé Bordelon’s whimsical ‘ History of the Ridiculous Extravagances of Monsieur Oufle,’ which is said to have had the same effect on the wehr-wolf superstition as ‘ Don Quixote’ on knight-errantry. Mr. Witw1am Heremany will publish in November a new short story by Count Tolstoi, dealing with the early Christians, and drawing a most striking parallel between pagan and Christian marriages. The English title will be ‘ Work while ye have the Light.’ The Russian original is said to have been suppressed by the Russian censor prior to publication. Messrs. Biackwoop have ready for issue a volume of tales by E. Gerard (Madame de Laszowska), author of ‘The Land beyond the Forest,’ and joint author of ‘ Reata’ and other novels. The volume bears the title of ‘ Bis.’ Mr. W. Crarx RuvsseEtr’s story, ‘My Shipmate Louise: the Romance of a Wreck,’ which is now current in Chambers’s Journal, will, when completed, be published in usual novel form by Messrs. Chatto & Windus. Mrs. Oxipnant will commence a new serial story in the October number of the Sun. BrsiiocraPuers will be glad to hear that Mr. G. C. Boase’s ‘Collectanea Cornubiensia’ is on the eve of publication. It will consist of nearly one thousand pages, and the index contains nearly fourteen thousand entries. The edition is strictly limited. A memorIAL in honour of the late Mr. William Beamont, of Warrington, the well- known Lancashire author, is to be erected in Christ Church, Warrington. A new biographical work by Mrs. Fen- wick Miller will be issued early in the forth- coming season. The subjects, six women, are known to fame, but not too familiarly. Messrs. W. H. Allen & Oo. will be the pub- lishers. In the forthcoming October number of the Asiatic Quarterly Review a ‘veteran missionary’’ will point out ‘The Non- Christian View of Missions’ ; H.E. General Tcheng-ki-Tong will open our eyes regard- ing ‘The Social Organization and State Economy of China’; and Prof. E. Montet, of the University of Geneva, will contribute an important paper on ‘The Conception of a Future Life among the Semitic Races— Whence and When the Notion was Re- ceived.’ ‘‘Persicus” will continue his account of the ‘Regeneration of Persia,’ by an outline regarding railways in that country, in the January number, for which also contributions have been promised by several foreign and Oriental statesmen on the attitude of the various continental coun- tries in the East—a term which now includes Africa. Awmonc the significant signs of the increas- ing intimacy of publishing relations between England and the United States is the appearance of the new firm of James R. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., which will shortly be established in Albemarle Street. It will represent Messrs. Harper & Brothers, and will have charge of the interests of the house in England. For nearly half a cen- tury Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston & Co. have been the English intermediaries of the house of Harper, and their names will continue for a while to be identified with the London issue of the magazine. But the changes of later years have made dif- ferent, but perfectly amicable arrangements desirable, and the magazine will therefore in a few months pass over to the new house. By this arrangement authors on both sides of the Atlantic will be able to deal imme- diately with publishing principals. A MEETING of wholesale and retail book- sellers has been held in Melbourne to form a booksellers’ association for the colonies, for the purpose of watching over the interests of the trude there. The meeting passed off successfully, and the necessary preliminary steps were taken, and a committee appointed. Tue result of the inquiry made by the Society of Authors as to the extent to which pirated editions are introduced into the colonial book market, to the detriment of English holders of copyright, appears to be that in Australia and New Zealand present legislation is sufficient, and that in India the evil is but partial. But in Africa and other parts of our dominions the 20 per cent. collected by the Custom House on the published price of books registered at Stationers’ Hall, even if care- fully levied, appears, according to the current number of the Author, not to be a sufficient deterrent. The fact that the lists supplied to the Custom House are often a year old or more, and that registration of books is frequently neglected too long, may partly account for the success of contraband enterprise. In any legislative attempts that may be made to correct the evil, the Society expresses itself confident of the co-operation of the Colonial Office. Mr. Extiot Stock announces a new work, by Mr. Edmund Swift, in reply to Prof. Drummond’s ‘ Spiritual Law in the Natural World.’ Dr. Lorenz von Stern, who has just died at Vienna, was born November 18th, 1815 (according to some in 1813), at Eckernforde, in Sleswick - Holstein. He was a great authority on political science. Deprived in 1852 by the Danish Government of his professorship at Kiel, he was appointed, three years later, Professor of National Economy at Vienna, which post he held till 1885. He was the first Protestant teacher in the faculty of jurisprudence at Vienna. WE hear that the once popular novelist Flygare Carlén, who was struck with almost total blindness a few years ago, has, in consequence of a skilful operation, partially recovered her eyesight. This gratifying fact is the more remarkable as she is eighty-three years of age. WE regret to learn that the well-known Romance scholar Prof. Tobler, who had been elected Rector of the Berlin Univer- sity, was obliged to decline the honourable office, on account of his feeble health. A second election will be necessary, an incident which has not occurred since 1832, when the election of Friedrich von Raumer was rejected by King William III., on account of a liberal article written by the historian on Poland. He icotanp is to be blessed from the beginning of next month with a Wochenblatt,
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422 THE ATHENZUM N° 3283, Serr. 27, '90 which is an inevitable journalistic institu- tion in Germany. The name of the paper will be Helgolinder Wochenblatt. A coLLEcTED edition of the numerous writings of Hoffmann von Fallersleben will be published in forty-eight parts, edited by Dr. Gerstenberg, of Hamburg, with anno- tations and explanations. Hoffmann, besides being an eminent Germanist and literary historian, was a kind of political DMinne- singer, and the writer of the most charming songs for children, so that his works in their collected form are likely to secure popularity. A postuvmovs work by the distinguished historian Prof. W. A. Schmidt, which is expected to give interesting disclosures on the struggle for constitutional freedom in Germany during the Wars of Liberation and the Congress of Vienna, will shortly be published at Stuttgart, under the title of ‘Geschichte der Deutschen Verfassungsfrage wihrend der Befreiungskriege und des Wiener Congresses, 1812-1815.’ The book will be edited by Prof. Alfred Stern, of Zurich. From Buda-Pesth and from Constantinople comes the news that an Hungarian com- mission will proceed to the latter city to make a fresh search in the imperial libraries for the remnants of the ancient archives of the kingdom of Hungary, carried away as booty from Buda, Temesvar, Belgrade, &c., during the Ottoman invasion of Central Europe. Prof. Vambéry and Dr. Kuno, members of the commission, will have as foreign associate Herr T. Velich. Srupents of MSS. in foreign archives will be especially glad to learn that a new reading-room has been prepared for their use at the Vatican, which is stated to be a large and well-lighted apartment, and above all dry by virtue of a wooden floor. Tue Working Men’s College, Great Ormond Street, reopens for its thirty-seventh session on October 6th. Sir John Lubbock, the Principal, will preside at the opening meeting on Thursday evening next, to which strangers are invited. Tue chief Parliamentary Papers of the week are East India Statistical Abstract, 1879-80 to 1888-9, twenty-fourth number (1s. 3d.); Education, Report for 1889-90 (3s.); Railways, Share and Loan Capital, Report for 1889 (3d.); and Wages, Minor Textile Trades, Return (10d.). SCIENCE ——s—— ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. TuHE planet Mercury willbe at his greatest west- ern elongation from the sun on the morning of the 15th prox., and will about that time be visible before sunrise in the constellation Virgo. Venus attains her greatest brilliancy about the end of October ; but being throughout that month very low in the heavens in the constellation Scorpio (very near its principal star Antares on the 17th), she will be visible to the naked eye for only a very short time immediately after sunset, and before the beginning of November will cease to be so at all. Mars is also situated very low, being in the constellation Sagittarius, and throughout October he will set between 9 and 10 o'clock in the evening. Jupiter con- tinues in Capricornus; on the 11th prox. he will be on the meridian at 7 o’clock in the even- ing, and on the 27th at 6 o’clock, setting, of course, throughout the month before midnight. The small planet, No. 286, which was dis- covered by Dr. J. Palisa at Vienna on the 3rd of August, 1889, has been named Iclea. D’Arrest’s periodical comet was carefully searched for at several observatories (parti- cularly at Vienna with the 27-inch glass) about the time of its expected return last summer ; but, like that of Brorsen, it failed to become visible. Its period is somewhat less than six and a half years; and the last return at which it was seen was that of 1877, when the late Dr. Julius Schmidt obtained the last observa- tion on the 10th of September. D’Arrest, when at Leipzig, discovered this, one of the faintest of the periodical comets, on the night of the 27th of June, 1851. Mr. Nevill, Superintendent of the Natal Observatory (who is just about to return there after a visit to England), has issued his Report for the year 1889, which was very unfavourable, he remarks, in that locality for astronomical observations. Nor does the instrumental equip- ment admit of much astronomical work being done. The only meridian instrument is a transit of three inches aperture, which con- tinues to be used for determination of time and the maintenance of the system of colonial time signals. The equatorial is an 8-inch by Grubb, which was employed from time to time; but some requisite alterations occasioned an inter- mission in its use. Meteorological observations were regularly carried on throughout the year. The rainfall, it may be mentioned, amounted to 29°28 inches, which is 8°46 inches below that of the preceding year (1888), and 10°66 inches below the average of the last fifteen years. ‘For the last five years,” Mr. Neviil remarks, ‘*the number of thunderstorms is gradually de- creasing at all the larger towns in Natal, but most markedly so in Durban and Maritzburg.” It is matter of regret that the state of his health has interfered to some extent with the progress of his theoretical investigations. Several interesting communications from Dr. and Mrs. Huggins appear in vol. xlviii. of the Proceedings of the Royal Society. Mr. Lockyer having published some results at variance with theirs with respect to the position and character of the principal line in the spectrum of the great nebula in Orion, they have made a careful re- determination of these, which decisively confirms the results obtained by them previously, viz., (1) that the principal line is not coincident with, but falls within, the termination of the mag- nesium-flame band; (2) that in the nebula of Orion this line presents no appearance of being a ‘‘fluting.”” So much of the available time in which the nebula was visible during the last period was absorbed by this examination, that little opportunity was left for obtaining photo- graphs of the spectra of different parts of the nebula. Two, however, were taken in March, quite sufficient to confirm previous suggestions that the photographic spectrum differs in differ- ent parts of the nebula, and to lead to the hope that much further light may be thrown upon the subject during the next period of visibility of the nebula. The third of the papers before us gives an account of a new group of at least six lines observed by Dr. and Mrs. Huggins in the ultra-violet portion (about A 3338) of the photographic spectrum of Sirius. ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES, Tue Society of Anthropology of Paris has of late been devoting attention to Africa. Dr. Jousseaume has communicated to it the ob- servations made by Count Teleki upon the Masai and other peoples of the region about Kilimanjaro. The expedition was unfur- nished with anthropometric instruments of any kind, and the communication only possesses such scientific value as the observations of a keen-sighted and intelligent traveller among little-known peoples must always claim. Some of them suggest the risk of hasty generalization. M. Dorlhac de Borne has contributed some notes on the Gaboon. He states that he found the pure M’pongwes very few in number ; describes their manner of preparing manioc, their insensibility to pain, the high degree of effectiveness of their organs of sense ; and relates how he became by chance on one occasion the eye-witness of a secret ceremony of their women, escaping with an impunity his intrusion hardly deserved. From the same dis- trict a number of skulls of man and gorilla and a complete skeleton of chimpanzee have recently been acquired by the School of Anthropology. Some important explorations have been re- ported to the Society, notably a Gallo-Roman necropolis at the village of Haute Ronde, Maine- et-Loire ; interments attributed to the Roman period at Cormeilles, Seine-et-Oise ; and remains of bear, deer, and horse associated with flint implements, at Saint Aubin, Cote d’Or. The Society has received the offer, as a gift, of the land on which a megalithic monument stands in the department of the Aisne. The quarterly Bulletin before us also contains three interesting essays: by M. G. Variot, on pigmentary nevi, both circumscribed and dif- fused; by M. Arséne Dumont, on natality in the isles of Ré and of Oléron, a careful study, in two limited and in some respects typical areas, of a question of great social importance ; and by Madaine Clémence Royer, on phylogeny, a propos of a biped lizard. In the last-mentioned paper the learned author starts from the fact that Chlamido saurus, an Australian lizard, has been observed to walk upon its hind legs, to the consideration of a number of difficult problems in evolution. Among her conclusions are these, that the first terrestrial ancestors of man and those of the anthropoids issue from pelagic forms, whose evolution up to that point had been parallel, but distinct— the one adapting itself toan upright position in a phase of amphi- bious ichthyophagy, the other to an oblique posi- tion in a similar phase. A less scientific theory of the origin of the lizard may be found in Mr. Abercromby’s col- lection of magic songs of the Finns in Folk-lore for September. The same journal contains an excellent review by Mr. Joseph Jacobs, the editor, of recent research in comparative reli- gion. THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON. THE Pitt Press will issue among mathematical and scientific works ‘The Collected Mathe- matical Papers of Arthur Cayley, F.R.S.,’ Vol. ITL.,—‘Mathematical and Physical Papers,’ by Sir W. Thomson, Vol. III.,—‘ A Treatise on Plane Trigonometry,’ by E. W. Hobson, M.A., -——‘A Treatise on Analytical Statics,’ by E. J. Routh, F.R.S.,—‘The Theory of Differential Equations : Part I., Exact Equations and Pfaff’s Problem,’ by A. R. Forsyth, F.R.S.,—‘A Treatise on Statics and Dynamics for Schools,’ by S. L. Loney, M.A.,—and two volumes of the ‘‘Pitt Press Mathematical Series”: ‘The Elements of Geometry after Euclid, Books ITI. and IV.,’ edited by H. M. Taylor, M.A.; and ‘Elementary Algebra, with Answers to the Examples,’ edited by W. W. Rouse Ball, M.A. Messrs. Charles Griffin & Co.’s scientific works include Dr. A. E. Garrod’s ‘ Treatise on Rheumatism and Rheumatoid Arthritis,’— Dr. A. E. Sansom’s ‘ The Diagnosis of Diseases of the Heart,’-—‘ Foods and Dietaries: a Manual of Clinical Dietetics,’ by Dr. R. W. Bur- net,—‘ Railway Injuries: with Special Reference to those of the Back and Nervous System,’ by H. W. Page,—‘ Outlines of Practical Histology,’ by Prof. W. Stirling, and a second and re- written edition of ‘Outlines of Practical Physio- logy,’ by the same author,—a laboratory course on ‘Pharmacy and Materia Medica,’ by W. | Elborne,—‘ Scientific Amusements,’ a variety of experiments illustrating some of the chief physical and chemical properties of surrounding | objects, and the effect upon them of light and heat, by Dr. C. R. Alder Wright, F.R.S.,— ee ae a oo es a a. i ie Oot
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XUM N° 3283, Sept. 27, 90 THE ATHENAUM 428 Prof. Roberts-Austen’s ‘Intreduction to the Study of Metallurgy, —Dr. C. Le Neve Foster's ‘A Text-Book of Ore and Stone Mining,’ ‘A Text-Book of Coal-Mining,’ by H. W. Hughes, F.G.8.,—‘ Aids in Practical Geology, with a Section on Paleontology,’ by G. A. J. Cole, F.G.S.,—‘A Text-Book of Electro- Metallurgy,’ by W. G. Macmillan, F.C.S.,— ‘The Design of Structures : a Practical Treatise on the Building of Bridges, Roofs, &c.,’ by S. Anglin, —‘A Zoological Pocket-Book ; or, Synopsis of Animal Classification,’ by Dr. Selenka and J. R. A. Davis,—the complete volume of Prof. Jamieson’s elementary manual of ‘Magnetism and Electricity,’—a thoroughly revised edition of ‘Seaton’s Manual of Marine Engineering, —‘ Sewage Disposal Works: the Construction of Works for the Prevention of Pollution of Rivers and Estuaries,’ by W. Santo Crimp,—and the eighth annual issue of the ‘Year-Book of Learned and Scientific Societies.’ An important work on ‘ Animal Life and In- telligence,’ by Prof. C. Lloyd Morgan, Dean of University College, Bristol, is in the press, and will be published by Mr. Edward Arnold in October. It will contain a careful discussion of the factors of organic evolution, of the range and limits of natural selection, of the problems of heredity, and of the origin of variations. The latter part of the work is devoted to considering the nature and limits of our knowledge of animal intelligence and emotion. Itis intended for general readers as well as for students. Messrs. Whittaker will publish a new and revised edition of Mr. Gisbert Kapp’s ‘ Electric Transmission of Energy,’—‘ Electro-Motors,’ by S. R. Bottone,—‘ Metal Turning,’ by the author of ‘Practical Ironfounding,’—a fourth and popular edition of Col. Findlay’s ‘ The Working and Management of an English Railway, —and ‘A Manual of Wood-Carving,’ by Charles G. Leland. The veteran Dr. James Croll is once more in the field with a new work, to be entitled ‘The Philosophical Basis of Evolution,’ which Mr. Stanford will publish shortly, uniform in appear- ance with his editions of the other works from the same pen. ‘Through Magic Glasses’ is the title of a new work from the pen of Arabella B. Buckley (Mrs. Fisher) which Mr. Stanford has nearly ready for publication. It will be a sequel to the same author's ‘ Fairyland of Science.’ ‘Maps and Map Making,’ by Mr. William A. Elderton, will be issued by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. immediately. The object of the book is to give a short account of the history of maps, of the surveys on which they are founded, and of the way in which globes and maps are made, and also to show how students are to use them and to remember them, MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Tves. Photographic, 8. Wen. Entomological, 7. FINE ARTS ——— The Vanity Fair Album (‘Vanity Fair’ Office) has reached its ‘‘ Vol. XXI.,” and the ‘* biographical and critical notes,” as he calls them, of ‘‘ Jehu Junior” are as terse and smart as before. Deftly-made antitheses too often do duty for wit in ‘‘notes” which, to adopt the writer’s own manner, are but ‘“parcel gilt bio- graphies and not so much critical as censorious.”’ in the circumstances it would be difficult to avoid mannerisms, and the examples of last year are more mannered than ever, which till now seemed impossible. The first ‘‘ Jehu Junior” —it is the efforts of his successor to which we now refer—had the advantage of inventing his own style; successfully to follow that model was, perhaps, more difficult than to create a new one. On the whole, the artistic portraits of this volume are hardly so good as their forerunners. ‘*Ape” continued excellent to the last ; his ‘Sarasate’ (which is before us) is spirited and original without being a caricature. ‘‘Spy” remains pre-eminent, and, amid many con- tributions never did better than in the portrait of Serjeant Murphy (nor one less worthy of himself than ‘Sir H. A. Isaacs’); but the designs of ‘‘ Hay,” a new hand—e. q., Sir J. White- head’s portrait and that of the Master of Jesus College—though clever enough and not un- pleasing, lack the ‘‘burr” and edge without which satirical draughtsmanship cannot exist. One of the worst portraits yet given in Vanity Fair is ‘* Lib’s ” ‘Lord R. Churchill.’ ‘* Quiz,” a ‘‘hand” we have not till now recognized, has done extremely well, in a quiet way, in ‘ Mr. Justice Manisty.’ Vontaineblean (Boussod, Valadon & Co.) con- tains, besides a lively sketch, by Mr. F. Wed- more, of the history and character of the palace, fifteen photogravures after the pictures by Mr. J. Haynes - Williams which we admired lately in the Goupil Gallery, New Bond Street. The subjects are charming, the pictures full of taste, spirit, and sympathy, and the photo- gravures surprisingly good, rendering all that black and white could be expected to give of their brilliant, firmly touched, and _ sharply finished originals. The best examples are (1) the bedroom of Marie Antoinette, or ‘‘ of the Five Marys,” distinguished by a low couch under a towering and magnificent canopy, an historic chamber of great beauty; (2) the ‘Galerie Francois I.,’ with its vista of sunlit spaces reflecting in a long array the resplendent lustre of the polished floor, the very ideal of a king’s gallery ; and (3) ‘The Salon des Gardes de la Reine.’ Very characteristic is the typical sculptured doorway in ‘ The Swiss Guard.’ The book is limited to 250 copies. To publish cheap and excellent cuts of famous works of art of all schools, as they are repre- sented by pictures in public galleries throughout Europe, was the laudable wish of those who pro- moted the German edition of the Classical Picture Gallery (Grevel & Co.), of which we have the first two numbers. It is difficult to under- stand why the plates thus issued at the rate of a penny each are not more worthy of their immortal originals. The exceptions which are not quite unworthy of the occasion are Nos. 5 and 6, each a ‘Laughing Boy’ after F. Hals. We hope for better specimens in succeeding numbers. A Primer of Sculpture, by E. R. Mullins (Cassell & Co.), is what its author desired it should be, a short treatise on the rudiments—a term which comprises the fundamental prin- ciples of the art—of sculpture, to serve as a practical guide for beginners. Mr. Mullins has ample practical experience, and shows his sense of the value of it by warning his readers ‘‘ that no book-learning nor theory will make a sculp- tor,” and that the studio only is the true place of education. He devotes himself chiefly to the methods of modelling and carving, leaving the toreutic crafts (which are, of course, nothing without modelling) for briefer treatment. Out- siders and untechnical persons need to know that for modelling in clay the hand and its fingers are the best tools; that ‘‘carving” is often limited to the actual execution of a design in stone or marble, and sometimes to decorative work, as distinguished from that which pro- duces figures, or sculpture proper in the higher sense. Mr. Mullins is careful to point out what are the proprieties of treatment in sculpture as related to works in marble, bronze, terra-cotta, and wood, and he speaks of English schools of modelling. With reference to the Royal Aca- demy’s School he is mistaken in saying that each class in that institution is subject to the teaching of several masters, each of them being an R.A. or an A.R.A., and taking a month in turn in instructing the students. The fact is these masters, or visitors as they are called, attend to the highest classes only, and are, with regard to them, assisted by the curators of each class, under the influence of the Keeper, which is all pervading and permanent. The system in question has disadvantages, no doubt; but those who object to it, as our author does, forget that pupils who have attained these higher classes are no longer raw tyros, but more or less accomplished students, capable of correctly estimating the idiosyncrasy of each visitor, while, of course, no visitor sets himself flatly to contradict the teaching of another. Dartmoor Pictorial Records. I. By Robert Burnard, Member of Council, Devon and Corn- wall Camera Club. (Plymouth, Brendon & Son.)—Mr. Burnard has been for some years well known among antiquaries for his loving labours in exploring the wonders of ‘‘ the Moor,” as Devonshire people are fond of calling their favourite Dartmoor. In these pictorial records he has, with the aid of the camera, brought before our eyes a series of very charm- ing views of conspicuous objects on the Moor, some of which are but little known except to the most adventurous of explorers. Indeed, the difticulty of getting atsome of the places figured— as, for instance, ‘‘Cranmere Pool”—must neces- sarily forbid any one but a Devonian, a lunatic, or a prisoner escaping from Princetown, from attempting to reach them. A pleasanter place to visit is Lydford ; also Post Bridge, of which there is given a charming view. This bridge was formerly supposed to be prehistoric, but Mr. Burnard contends that it is of much more recent date, and that it was probably built for the convenience of packhorse traftic. A favourite subject of exploration with our author has been the working of the tin mines in Dartmoor, remains of which have been discovered by him, some dating back to a very remote age. “The ancient miner,’ he says, “has been tin- streaming on Dartmoor for an unknown period. Traces of his operations are visible in every valley— mounds of débris and surface excavations. Here and there among these, and always near some stream, may be seen the remains of rude smelting huts or blowing houses, containing stones with curious circular or oval-shaped cavities, and rect- angular ingot moulds, hewn out of granite boulders or roughly-shaped blocks, together with ruins of furnaces, ancient watercourses, and wheel-pits. Ask the moormen who made these things, and they will tell you that they are the ‘old men’s work- ings,’ of a time so long since that none of them can give any clue as to the period when such re- markable evidence of centuries of work was accu- mulated.” All the workings are not of a very remote age, and it is presumed that with respect to these, were access allowed to the records of the Duchy of Cornwall—a thing hitherto unaccountably forbidden—much valuable information might be obtained. The same is also doubtless the case with respect to other objects of antiquity and interest in connexion with the Moor. The Gentleman’s Magazine Library. Edited by George Laurence Gomme, F.S.A.—Architec- tural Antiquities. Part I. (Stock.)—This first gathering concerning architectural antiquities, which Mr. Gomme has made from the Gentle- man’s Magazine, is all taken from the contri- butions of John Carter between the years 1798 and 1813, and the literary style of them is so bad that it is marvellous that they should have been allowed to appear in any magazine of any date without revision by some one who at least knew a little about English grammar and composition. The book is, indeed, hard to read, and now and then a passage is found which is quite unintelligible. Nevertheless we do not think Mr. Gomme has given too much. John Carter was the first Englishman who studied our old architecture in an intelligent fashion and in any way understood its real value; and it is won- derful that a man with his disadvantages should have attained so much as he did. His fustian pathos is not worse than has often been written since by men with education enough to put it
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424 THE ATHENZUM N° 3283, Sept. 27, 90 into tolerable English. And if his wrath did now and then boil over in incoherent rant, it was honest anger for sufticient cause, and some- times it was useful. Of all this there is enough in the book, but its real value lies in the descrip- tions of buildings which Carter visited in jour- neys overa great partofthekingdom. There is hardly one of them all which has not suffered from alteration since then, and many have been entirely destroyed. Carter’s notes of them are, therefore, of much value, notwithstanding occasional mistakes. And now that they have been collected and made available by means of a good index, they ought to be useful to many who are studying the history of ancient build- ings. THE LELAND CLUB. Txe Leland Club’s sixth annual London and Home Counties Excursion took place last week. At Maldon, Essex, the famous triangular tower of All Saints’ Church was examined and caused much interest to the ‘‘ Lelanders,” as well as did the library, near the ancient tower of St. Peter’s Church, founded by Dr. Plum in 1704, both of which churches were described by Messrs. Patrick and Fry, of London and Dover, whilst the Rev. E. R. Horwood, one of the trustees, produced some of the choicest volumes and MSS. of the library to the visitors. At Bedford the ‘‘ Lelanders ” were received by the Mayor, Dr. Coombs, and other members of the Corporation, and were conducted to the ancient churches and the other objects of his- toric and archeological interest in the borough town, the Bunyan Museum and chapel and the fine old library of Bedford being the most in- teresting and attractive. The fine Norman church of Elstow, and the famous tower stand- ing apart from it, and said to be part of the destroyed monastery, of which nothing remains but the chapter house, was visited after luncheon, and the drive continued to the residence of General Mills, where John Howard, the philan- thropist, formerly lived. Here the party were hospitably entertained by the gallant owner, and on their return to Bedford had tea in the gardens of the college through the kindness of Mr. Philpotts, the head master. On Friday, the last day, by permission of Mr. R. Bloxam, the Club visited the grand hall of Eltham Palace, and the walls and other remains within the palace gardens, and afterwards drove to Greenwich Park, vid Blackheath. Here the famous tumuli or barrows near the Observatory were pointed out by Mr. Wright, F.S.A., the hon. secretary of the Leland Club, who read a short paper on their supposed Anglo-Saxon or Danish origin, and in conclusion he especially called the speedy attention of the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Monuments to such interesting memorials. Mr. Wright regretted that relics so ancient and so near the metro- polis should be suffered to perish almost un- known, in spite of the researches of such antiquaries as Lambarde, Douglas, and Acker- man. Sine-Art Gossip, One of the most accomplished and zealous of our amateurs passed away on the 19th inst. when Mr. James Anderson Rose died at his house on Wandsworth Common. He had long been ill, but seldom, till recently, so ill as to be incapable of attending to business. A scion of one of the oldest families in Great Britain, Rose of Kilravock, Nairnshire, he was born in 1819; his father settled in London as a merchant. His elder brother was the late well-known Sir William Rose. The junior was educated at the Southwark Grammar School and University College, London. Adopting the law as a profession, he became a member of the well-known firm of Bebb & Rose ; later he set up for himself in Salisbury Street, Strand, where he remained till recently. At this place his taste for art brought him con- stantly into the society of painters and en- gravers, especially, as to the former, of that modern and grave school of which Rossetti was a chief member. Many of Rossetti’s fine draw- ings and some of his pictures were added to Mr. Rose’s collection, which was remarkable for its choiceness and high intellectual standard. Of engravings of all classes, ancient and modern, he formed one of the most valuable belonging to an English amateur. The sale of these works, which took place a few years ago, was one of the greatest on record in this country, and the catalogue of them, which the owner compiled, is a document of high character, much prized by dealers and collectors. His literary tastes were exercised in the formation of a large library, and his energy never seemed to tire in adding to his treasures of all kinds. Apart from his practice as a solicitor, Rose was de- voted to City charities and politics, and an active member of various societies, Master of the Cordwainers’ Company, Fellow of the Geo- graphical Society and other bodies. His man- liness, geniality, courtesy, and kind-heartedness were of the rarest order. THE private view of the Arts and Crafts Ex- hibition is appointed for the 4th prox., at the New Gallery. The public will be admitted on the following Monday. Tue Council of the Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts have resolved to make, as an experi- ment for at least one year, a complete change in the date of their annual exhibition. Their next exhibition (the thirtieth of the series) will be opened on December 15th. The receiving days will be towards the end of November. As the exhibition will be closed by the middle of March, all pictures shown in it willbe free in time to allow of their being sent to the important London and Paris exhibitions. It is thought that during the winter months, especially during the holi- day time at the end of the year, the attendance will be larger, and therefore the sales greater, than during the later spring months. THE October issue of the Aitiquary will con- tain an important summary of the work already accomplished in the excavations at Silchester, from the pen of Mr. W. H. St. Jchn Hope, who is in charge of the operations now in pro- gress under the control of the Society of Anti- quaries. The same number will also contain a timely article on Leicester Castle and its threa- tened demolition by a railway company, which is written by Mrs. Chaworth Musters. Tue Christmas number of the Art Jowrial, known as the ‘Art Annual,’ will this year be devoted to a fully illustrated biography of Birket Foster, from the pen of Mr. Marcus B. Huish. WE regret to note the death of the Scottish sculptor Mr. John Mossman, in the seventy- fourth year of his age. The statues in Glasgow of Sir Robert Peel, Livingstone, Thomas Camp- bell, and Norman Macleod were among his suc- cessful works. Tue Swiss painter Amadée Baudit died a few days ago at Bordeaux. He was born in Geneva in 1829, became a pupil of Diday, and from 1850 to 1886 lived mostly in Paris. He first exhibited at the Salon in 1852. Several of his pictures have been bought by the Ministry of Fine Arts, and presented to different museums. Tue first number of the journal of the Gizeh Museum, entitled Musée Eqyptien, which was announced for publication three or four years ago, has at length appeared. It consists of twenty medium-sized photographs having no titles, neither is there any accompanying text. THE iaos which formerly stood at Dimay, near Lake Keroum, in the Fayoum, has been transferred to the Gizeh Museum. It has been removed on account of the Bedouins having committed depredations at Dimay. Consider- ing the inflammable materials of which the Gizeh Palace is composed, and that an organized attempt to burn it was planned last year, it may happen that the fate of the Dimay aos will be ‘‘ out of the frying-pan into the fire.” THE marble fragment recently discovered at Verona bearing the name of Praxiteles con- sists of a trunk of a tree, which served as a support to the statue (as in the Hermes found at Olympia), upon which may still be seen traces of the clothing. The inscription runs thus, IIpagiréAns ede, and not eroince, as was erroneously given in the telegraphic dis- patch in the Times of last week. Of the small fragments hitherto discovered it has been im- possible to put anything together. Besides these, some ten statues, whole and broken, were found imbedded in a wall, but they are all of Roman times. The discovery being of great importance, the Minister of Public Instruction has appointed Dr. Orsi to make a report thereon before returning to Locri. Tue following new art publications are an- nounced by Messrs. Sampson Low & Co. : ‘Footsteps of Dr. Johnson (Scotland),’ by George Birkbeck Hill, D.C.L., with about 150 illustrations, including 18 heliogravures, sketched on the spot by Launcelot Speed, and reproduced by Lemercier & Co., of Paris,—‘ Historic Bind- ings in the Bodleian Library,’ containing 24 plates, reproduced by orthochromatic photo- graphy from the originals, and described by W. Salt Brassington,—Longfellow’s ‘Song of Hia- watha,’ illustrated by Frederic Remington,— ‘Wild Life on a Tidal Water: the History of a House Boat and Crew,’ by Dr. P. H. Emerson, illustrated by the author and T. F. Goodall,— and several volumes of the new series of ‘‘ Illus- trated Biographies of the Great Artists,” in- cluding ‘David Cox and Peter de Wint,’ by Gilbert R. Redgrave ; ‘George Cruikshank, his Life and Works,’ with a memoir by F. G. Stephens, and an essay on the genius of Cruik- shank by W. M. Thackeray ; ‘The Landscape Painters of Holland: Ruisdael and Hobbema, Cuyp and Potter, and others,’ by Frank Cundall ; ‘Van Eyck, Memlinc, Matsys, and other Painters of the Early Flemish School’; and ‘Memoirs of ‘*Gavarni,”’ by Frank Marzials. MUSIC —— Musical Gossip, THE prospectus for the coming season of the Royal Choral Society came to hand just too late for notice last week. It is not, on the whole, a satisfactory document, as the society does not see its way to present any of the festival novelties, and moreover the prices of admission are to be raised ‘‘ in consequence of the general increase in the cost of the concerts.” Some years before its demise the Sacred Har- monic Society felt constrained to adopt a similar measure, and this marked the beginning of the end. It is fervently to be hoped that history will not repeat itself, for oratorio is now only possible at the Albert Hall so far as regards the centre and West-End of London. To the general lovers of this form of art the list of works promised by the Royal Choral Society is unquestionably attractive. It is as follows: November 12th, ‘ Elijah’; 26th, Ber- lioz’s ‘Faust’; December 10th, ‘The Rose of Sharon’; January 1st, ‘The Messiah’; 21st, ‘Israel in Egypt’; February 11th (Ash Wed- nesday), ‘The Redemption’; March 11th, ‘St. Paul’; 27th (Good Friday), ‘The Mes- siah ’; April 15th, ‘Mors et Vita’; and May 6th, ‘The Golden Legend.’ The principal vocalists at present engaged are: soprani, Mesdames Albani, Nordica, Schmidt-Koehne, Macintyre, and Anna Williams ; contralti, Mesdames Hilda Wilson, Belle Cole, and Swiatlowsky ; tenor, Messrs. Lloyd, Ben Davies, and Iver McKay; and bassi, Messrs. Watkin Mills and Henschel.
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jon on aN - 150 1ed ced nd- 24 to- Ww. lia- pate of a on, sia us- in- his jik- Ape na, all ; ers , of the too the ety the ; of . of ts.” [ar- ing hat » is r as on. the oral ; as ser- » of Ist, ed- Ith, les- ith, ists mes yre, ilda ori, ay 5 hel. N° 3283, Sept. 27, 90 THE ATHENZUM 425 Mr. Barnby, of course, remains the conductor | of the society. THE incidental music written by Dr. A. C. Mackenzie for ‘Ravenswood’ at the Lyceum could not be properly judged at the first per- formance last Saturday evening, but we fancy when it is heard under more favourable circum- stances it will prove to be in the composer’s | The first performance in the | best manner. concert-room will be at the approaching Norwich Festival. Ir has been finally decided to fix the time of commencement of the Monday Popular Con- certs at 8 o’clock during the forthcoming season. The change to a later hour was made in the supposed interests of the subscribers, but it necessitated the curtailment of the programmes, and virtually the sacrifice of pianoforte sonatas. The reversion will be welcomed by the majority of Mr. Arthur Chappell’s patrons. ‘THe Brack Rover,’ written and composed by Mr. Luscombe Searelle, and produced at the Globe Theatre on Tuesday, is described as a romantic opera, but it is really a heterogeneous compound of various forms of the art. Some portions of the work approach the style of grand opera, while others are in the most extravagant raanner of opéra bouffe. This want of con- sistency cannot fail to militate against its success. Some of the melodies are by no means unpleas- ing, but the ensembles and the orchestration are amateurish. Of the performers Mr. Ludwig is by far the best, vocally speaking, but the humours of Messrs. John Le Hay, Charles Col- lette, and Shiel Barry do not lack admirers. Stir Jown Starner has undertaken the re- vision of the musical edition of the ‘ Hymnal Companion to the Book of Common Prayer,’ edited by the Bishop of Exeter, and published by Messrs. Sampson Low & Co. The same firm announce ‘Charles Gounod : his Life and his Works,’ by Marie Anne Bovet, illustrated ; and a new volume in the ‘‘Great Musicians Series,” ‘Cherubini,’ by Frederick J. Crowest. PIANOFORTE recitals will be unusually numer- ous during the autumn season. They will be inaugurated by Master Isidore Pavia, a lad of fifteen, who, notwithstanding his foreign name, claims to be English by birth and training. His recitals are at present fixed for October 15th and November 5th and 19th, but inasmuch as the first recital would occur during the Norwich Festival, a change of date is eminently desirable. Madame Essipoff announces four recitals, to take place on October 25th and 27th, November | 5th, and December 10th. Madame Berthe Marx will give a recital on November 5th, as at present arranged, but this date will probably be altered. Recitals will also be given by M. Paderewski on November 12th and 27th, and by Mdlle. Janotha on December 2nd and 5th. Messrs. Brerrkopr & HArTEL, the famous Leipzig firm of publishers, will shortly open a branch establishment in London. AFTER much delay the opinion of the law officers of the Crown has been expressed that the question as to the legality of the Toronto musical degrees, granted in absentid, will have to be settled by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. For the sake of all parties concerned the matter should be set at rest as quickly as possible. Tue death, at the age of ninety, is announced of the veteran operatic singer Mr. Joseph Wood, who married the famous songstress Miss Paton. Upwards of half a century ago Mr. and Mrs. Yood were stars of magnitude, constantly play- ing and singing together in the operas of ‘ Rob Roy,’ ‘Guy Mannering,’ ‘The Maid of Judah,’ and ‘The Marriage of Figaro.’ Anton RvuBINsTEIN is said to be preparing a volume of ‘Thoughts on Musical Art,’ dealing = musicians and the culture of music gener- ally. THE retirement is announced of the well- | known German operatic tenor Herr Franz | Nachbaur, who was for many years an especial | favourite of the late King of Bavaria. It will be remembered that Herr Nachbaur sang at Drury Lane during the German opera season in 1882. Earty in October the Costanzi Theatre at Rome will reopen under the direction of Signor Sonzogno, probably with ‘Cavalleria Rusti- cana.’ Mascagni’s opera has already been accepted at several theatres in Germany. Tue deaths are announced of Madame Maria Palmieri, once a greatly admired operatic soprano; and of Domenico Bertini, a prolific Italian composer, chiefly of sacred music. DRAMA —~— THE WEEK. Lyceum.— Ravenswood,’ a Play in Four Acts, from the Story of ‘ The Bride of Lammermoor.’ By Herman Merivale. SENTIMENT, even in times so prosaic as the present are reckoned, exercises a strong in- fluence on the public. Were matters other- wise Mr. Irving would scarcely have chosen for his new venture a further dramatization of ‘The Bride of Lammermoor.’ The sub- ject, it may be admitted, is of perennial interest. It offers, however, few fresh opportunities to the actor, and its story is so closely connected with the lyric stage that it has lost much of its freshness. In mounting it again at the Lyceum, accordingly, Mr. Irving has elected to give a spectacle of magical beauty accompanied by a repre- sentation of ‘‘ fierce war and faithful love,”’ rather than to show us a creation that may stand beside his Hamlet, Mathias, Charles I., or Louis XI. ‘The Bride of Lammermoor’ is cast in an antique mould. Only in its setting—the solemnity, dignity, and picturesqueness of which cannot easily be over-praised—is it new. Edgar of Ravens- wood is Romeo with an infusion of Hamlet, Lucy Ashton isa Scottish Ophelia. Like her predecessor she has a mad scene, and a very powerful mad scene it will be when the rapidly developing taste for realism allows it to be presented as it is conceived by Scott. In the present case it is entirely excised. Mr. Merivale has treated the story more poetically than his predecessors, and has produced a play which, though somewhat limp in the centre, begins and ends dra- matically. Carefully avoiding, as it seems, the features on which Scott set most store, he has sacrificed what is most rugged and Northern in the dénoiment, and has made most effective use of the portions of the story which were designedly relegated to the background. In so doing he has weakened the incident and the characterization, but has produced a poetical and a romantic play. An opening act, in which the funeral of the late Lord of Ravenswood with Catholic rites is interrupted by Sir William Ashton, and a combat almost over the corpse is prevented by the interference of Lucy Ashton, is sufficiently telling to triumph over much inherent improbability. It is only on reflection that one muses why on such an occasion Lucy and her father should be wandering unattended by night, and how by the red light of the torches the lovers should read in each other’s faces the unconscious doom. On the whole, the act is short, dramatic, and effective, and much of the language is vigorous and poetical. In the second act, Edgar, bent on revenge, enters, formally announced, the room of Sir William Ashton, who receives him as calmly as a solicitor would receive a client, but is forced by his visitor to a duel. Ravenswood’s eye falls, however, on the portrait of Lucy, and his project of revenge is abandoned. Cries are heard from with- out. Lucy is in danger from a bull, and Edgar, seizing a conveniently disposed musquetoon, shoots the animal through the open window. Here is a sufficiently prosaic piece of business, which on the first occasion produced a titter. Much better is the closing scene, in which Lucy and her father take shelter at Wolf's Crag, and Lucy, at her father’s bidding, puts up her cheek to be kissed, and feels her lover’s lips thrill her to the soul. Very poetical is the wooing by the fatal well, and the presence of Ailsie, most powerfully played by Miss Marriott, supplies the requisite element of fatefulness. Allowing for the absence of a mad scene for Miss Terry, the last act is as satisfactory as was to be hoped. Lucy dies of heart- break at the close of a strong scene, in which, after she has signed the deed of betrothal to Bucklaw, her lover returns too late and taxes her with perfidy; Bucklaw is slain by Ravenswood, whose subsequent death is described by Caleb Balderstone ; and the play ends with a solemn and effec- tive picture of the quicksand, and Caleb despairingly contemplating the spot in which the last lord of Ravenswood is en- gulfed. This drama, which may at least claim to be the most workmanlike version of Scott’s story yet seen, is superbly mounted, and forms a wonderful and an eminently poetical spectacle. It is well acted all round. No new phase of Mr. Irving’s talent is pre- sented. He wears gallantly a most pic- turesque costume, fights bravely and defi- antly, and makes love with much earnestness. His capacity to do these things is known. For his more individual and eminent gifts, which have won him his position at the head of his art, there is no opportunity. Miss Terry has a fine chance in the last act, and plays with marvellous pathos and power. Mr. Terriss is a gallant Bucklaw, and the various characters in the play are, as a rule, intelligently presented. The produc- tion is, in short, a success. Only within recent years has it been possible to give an entertainment at once so poetical and so stirring. Its reception was in the highest degree enthusiastic. The Best Elizabethan Plays, edited by William Roscoe Thayer (Boston, U.S.A., Ginn & Co.), includes ‘ The Jew of Malta,’ ‘The Alchemist,’ ‘Philaster,’ ‘The Two Noble Kinsmen,’ and ‘The Duchess of Malfi.’ The editor has brought together these plays in order that ‘‘ not only the general reader, but also the college student,’ may ‘‘taste the quality of Shakespeare’s rivals, and thereby esteem the more adequately Shakespeare himself.” His preface is well con- sidered, and the foot-notes are to the point. The text is expurgated, but Mr. Thayer assures us that he has been ‘‘ guided by decency and not by prudery.” Certainly ‘The Alchemist,’ which Jonson dedicated to Lady Mary Wroth, needs some revision before it can be commended to the sensitive ‘‘ general reader.”
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MR. BOUCICAULT. Tue death of Dion Boucicault, which took place in New York on the 18th inst., deprives the stage of an admirable actor and one of the most versatile of dramatists. Such part of his life as it is pleasant or profitable to recall is con- nected wholly with his stage triumphs. Born in Dublin on Boxing Day, 1820—or, according to ‘Men of the Time,’ 1822—he was educated under his guardian Dionysius Lardner, partly in that city and partly in London. He joined Macready’s company at Bristol, and made his first appearance in ‘Jack Sheppard.’ His earliest dramatic success, ‘London Assurance,’ was produced at Covent Garden, March 4th, 1841, under the pseudonym of ‘‘ Lee Morton,” which he employed when acting. It was a clever and sparkling work, and was fortu- nate enough to meet with a fine interpreta- tion from Charles Mathews, William Farren, Keeley, Mr. James Anderson, Madame Vestris, Harley, F. Matthews, Meadows, Mrs. Nisbett, and Mrs. Keeley, and has since held possession of the stage. ‘The Irish Heiress’ followed at the same house in 1842 with no great success. ‘Alma Mater ; or, a Cure for Coquettes,’ Hay- market, September, 1842; ‘Woman,’ Covent Garden, October, 1843; and ‘Old Heads and Young Hearts,’ Haymarket, 1844, came in annual procession. At the Haymarket were given ‘A School for Scheming’ in 1847, and ‘Confidence’ and the ‘Knight of Arva’ in 1848. In 1851 he gave ‘The Broken Vow’ to the Olympic and ‘The Queen of Spades’ to Drury Lane. In the ‘ Vampire,’ produced by Charles Kean at the Princess’s in 1852, Bouci- cault appeared as the central character. To the Princess’s he contributed ‘The Corsican Brothers, ’ ‘The Prima Donna,’ ‘ Louis XI.,’ and ‘ Faust and Marguerite ’; to Drury Lane his ‘ Eugénie ’; and to the Adelphi, ‘Genevieve,’ ‘The Willow Copse,’and ‘Janet Pride.’ For Charles Mathews he adapted ‘ Used Up.’ After a trip to America, in which he was accompanied by his second wife, Miss Agnes Robertson, he returned with the ‘Colleen Bawn,’ in which he and Mrs. Bouci- cault appeared at the Adelphi, September, 1860, with marvellous success. His subsequent work includes ‘ The Octoroon,’ Adelphi, 1861 ; ‘ Dot,’ ‘The Dublin Boy,’ and the ‘ Life of an Actress,’ in 1862 ; ‘ The Trial of Eftie Deans,’ 1863, during his temporary management of Astley’s; ‘The Streets of London,’ Princess’s, August Ist, 1864 ; ‘Fox Chase,’ St. James’s, 1864; ‘Arrah na Pogue,’ Princess’s, March 22nd, 1865; ‘The Long Strike,’ Lyceum, September 15th, 1866 ; ‘Flying Scud,’ Holborn, October 6th, 1866 ; and ‘Hunted Down,’ St. James’s, November 5th, 1866. ‘Presumptive Evidence’ and ‘ Formosa’ belong to 1869; ‘Paul Lafarge,’ ‘A Dark Night’s Work,’ ‘The Rapparee,’ and ‘ Jezebel ’ to 1870; ‘ Night and Morning’ to 1872; ‘ Led Astray’ to 1874; ‘The Shaughraun’ to 1875 ; ‘Rescued’ to1879 ; ‘The Bridal Tour,’ ‘Forbidden Fruit,’ and ‘The O’Dowd’ to 1880; ‘Mimi’ to 1881; and ‘The Jilt’ to 1886. In the piece last named Boucicault’s final appearance in London was made. Long as it is, the list is far from complete. Many of these plays are master- pieces in their way, though very many of them, perhaps most, are adaptations. The dialogue of his Irish pieces is often very touching. Bou- cicault himself was the best stage Irishman the present generation has seen. experiments, coming scatheless out of an attempt to rival Regnier in an adaptation by himself of ‘La Joie fait Peur.’ His enterprise in the direc- tion of management, and notably his production at Covent Garden of ‘ Babil and Bijou,’ the most extravagant spectacle ever seen, are ruefully remembered by those who advanced the money. Boucicault was a man of great enterprise, resource, and energy, and had a touch of what must be called genius. Into the sources of his plays and into some other things it is well, perhaps, not ‘‘ too curiously to inquire.” He made bold.
Aramatic Gossip, Mr. Hare, refreshed by foreign travel, re- appears to-night at the Garrick Theatre, the occasion being the two hundredth performance of ‘A Pair of Spectacles’; and Mr. E. Terry, after a long absence from London, revives on Monday ‘Sweet Lavender’ at the theatre bear- ing his name. Mr. Wrtarn’s season at the Shaftesbury closed last night, on which occasion he bade his farewell in ‘Judah’ and in the second act of ‘The Middleman.’ Mr. Hatt Carne’s adaptation of his powerful novel ‘The Bondman’ is a workmanlike and very dramatic piece. Some difticulty seems to attend its production by Mr. Wilson Barrett ; but it can scarcely fail to be set speedily before a London public. Tue Avenue was closed during the first three days of the week for the rehearsal of ‘The Struggle for Life,’ which was produced on Thursday. Two pieces, both by Mr. Jerome K. Jerome, and both destined to find their way to London, have been played in the country. One is ‘What Women will Do,’ a melodrama, produced by Mr. Wilson Barrett at Birmingham ; the second, ‘Birth and Breeding,’ adapted from the German of Hermann Ludermann, and given, for copy- right purposes, in Edinburgh by members of the company playing in ‘ New Lamps for Old.’ Miss Marton Lea will shortly, it is said, appear in Mrs. Aveling’s translation of Ibsen’s ‘Fruen fra Havet’ (‘The Lady from the Sea’). OnE of the events of the publishing season will be the issue of anew drama by Henrik Ibsen, who has given Mr. Gosse entire English and American rights. Mr. William Heinemann has made arrangements with Mr. Gosse to issue an English version in London on the day that the original appears in Copenhagen. MapaME JEANNE SAMARY LAGARDE, better known as Jeanne Samary, has died of typhus fever. Her death, in her thirty-fourth year, is a serious loss for the Comédie Frangaise. The TRAGIC MARY. By Micuaen FIELD, Author of ‘Long Ago,’ ‘ Callirhoé,’ ‘Canute the Great,’ &c. Small Edition, on hand- made paper, bound in brown boards, imperial 16mo. 7s. 6d. net. Large-Paper Edition, on Whatman’s hand-made paper, bound in vellum, with design in gold by Mr. Selwyn Image, 60 copies only (numbered), feap. 4to. 21s. net. “The rhymed couplets of Restoration tragedians are im- measurably preferable as a vehicle for thought to the spasmodic and distorted language which Michael Field apparently regards as poetry.” — Atheneum, ‘*The lines are adapted to the voice; they are, as it were, born of the vocal chords, and seem to call for utterance ; they swim along in the wide currents of pensive emotion, they break over the rocks of passion, their multiple rhythms express all haste and hurry of speeeh......Michael Field possesses power of writing for the voice over and above any one who has lived for the last 250 years.” St. James's Gazette. “‘Tt would be idle to pretend we have read it from begin- ning to end, for no one would believe us.”—Speaker. “It holds the reader bound and fascinated as tragedy should, it leaves him calm and satisfied, and that too is proper to tragedy.”—<Academy. ‘‘A noteworthy contribution to literature, and one to which all those to whom poetry is dear may safely turn for deep and enduring pleasure.”—Boston Herald.
PASTOR PASTORUM; or, the Schooling of the Apostles by our Lord. By the Rev. HENRY LATHAM, M.A., Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge. Crown 8vo. 6s. 6d. “This is a very thoughtful and remarkable book. It wears, in a combination equally delightful and uncommon, the characteristics of originality and of simplicity.” Guardian.
NORTH’S LIVES of the NORTHS. Right Hon. Francis North, Baron Guildford, the Hon. Sir Dudley North, and the Hon. and Rev. Dr. John North. Edited by A. JESSOPP, D.D. With Three Portraits. 3 vols, 3s. 6d. each.
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N° 3284, Ocr. 4, 90 THE ATHENAUM 44} SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1890. CONTENTS. PAGE oo 44] ee 441 we 443 . 444 ee 445 - 446 - 446 NOVELS OF THE WEEK ove ove ooo ove PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA ose ove oe SCHOPENHAUER’S PoPpULAR WRITINGS ... THE CHRONICLERS OF EDWARD III. Books FOR THE YOUNG THEOLOGICAL Books ... AMERICAN HISTORY = PHILOLOGICAL LITERATURE evo « 447 Oveg LisraRy TABLE—LIsT OF NEW Books we 448 A NEW MANUSCRIPT OF THE CONQUEST OF THE CANARIES; GERMAN TRANSLATIONS ; THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON; THE GREEK MSS8, aT SaLonica ; M. KARR she 449—452 LITERARY GossIP wee ro eee ove ooo . 452 SCIENCE— ORNITHOLOGICAL Books ; THE AUTUMN PuB- LISHING SEASON; MEETINGS ... ove ooo we 453 Fov— ARTS—THE ARCHOLOGICAL SOCIETIES; LasT NoTEs FROM ASIA MINOR; GOSSIP ... 453—455 MusIC—CoNCERTED INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC; GossIP... 456 DEaAMA4A—MACREADY ; THE WEEK ; GOSSIP 457—458 LITERATURE = NOVELS OF THE WEEK. One Life, One Love. By the Author of ‘Lady Audley’s Secret.’ 3 vols. (Simpkin, Marshall & Co.) A Harvest of Weeds. By Clara Lemore. 3 vols. (Ward & Downey.) Vice Valentine. By J. Ashworth Taylor. 2 vols. (Same publishers.) Bonnie Dundee. By Max Beresford. 2 vols. (Hurst & Blackett.) Come Forth! By Elizabeth Stuart Phelps and Herbert D. Ward. (Heinemann.) Nor only does Miss Braddon write many more novels than most novelists, but she also puts a good deal into each—much work in the development of her plots, and many pages for the reader. Miss Braddon’s admirers would probably be grateful to her if she would vary her plots and not make dénoiments depend on ghastly murders and revenges. Murder and the detection of murderers constitute only one of a thousand sections of the vast drama of humanity, and the novel-reader has been sadly overdone with them. The characters in ‘ One Life, One Love,’ do not stand out with any special distinctness or individuality, and in many chapters of the three volumes the plan and the detail of the story remind one strongly of others that have preceded it from the same pen. Granted the subject, there is little to be said except in the way of praise about the author’s style and manner of work; but it is unnecessary to insist on the fact that novelty of subject is a large part indeed of what one looks for in a good story. The Graysbrooks of Cheshire, as Clara Lemore reminds us, have been pillars of the State since the Norman Conquest, always selected by the monarch in ‘‘ any great or unusual emergency,” and mainly because their honour was as stainless as their birth. So we come to two Sir Erics, after the middle of the present century, who successively marry smart widows, one picked up in Bath and the other abroad. Eustace, the younger son of the elder baronet, takes orders and the family living, and Hubert, born eight years later, is left by the second Sir Eric under the guardianship of Eustace. Sir Hubert is twenty-one at his father’s death, but by an exceptional arrangement, common enough in the fiction of the day, he cannot touch the property until he is twenty- five, and meanwhile he is in the parson’s power. The uncle and nephew fall in love with the same girl, the antecedents of the two widow-brides are revealed, there is much intriguing and some play of character. It may be admitted that Clara Lemore has made a better story out of her materials than the absurdities in the construction of her plot would justify the reader in ex- pecting. The writer of ‘ Vice Valentine’ has, as might be expected, a good mastery of lan- guage, and the book is one that can be read without an effort. The scheme of personation which Valentine carries on for an appreciable time successfully is somewhat of a strain on our capacity for the improbable; and to our thinking the easy way in which Osmund Wynter for- gives the fraud which has been practised on him is even less likely, and his marriage with the impostor less likely still. Yet men, especially slack sort of men like Osmund, will grant much and forgive much to beauty, and Valentine is both handsome and piquant in her gipsyish way. One cannot help sympathizing with her when she turns and rends society, which has given her the experience of a Ralph Denny, and a step- mother like hers. Cyrilla has less colour about her, but she affords in her tender domestic attractiveness an apt foil to the rather lurid brilliancy of Valentine Krem- leck. We have not for some time read a much better story than ‘Bonnie Dundee.’ The complications which for a time expose the manly and sweet-natured hero to a charge so black as murder and seduction are a trifle too elaborate; but Bell’s part in the matter is concealed with more skill than is common among artists in incidental knavery. The characters all stand out distinct, from the heroic figure of Alison Dean—who is a compound of Grace Darling and Florence Nightingale, with a touch of her Who kneeling, with an arm about her king, Drew forth the poison with her balmy breath— down to the mature Juliet, Marget the maid, who takes such tender concern of the im- mortal part of the daft, but not fatuous Alec. One of the best bits in the book is theconversation between the waiting-woman and her sagacious mistress; and one of the most touching, the scene where, Ruth-like, Marget cannot part from the object of her devoted care. For the former statement let us endeavour to show cause :— ‘¢¢ Are you no comfortable with me?’ ‘ Deed, mem, amI. But a lassie’s aye the better o’ a laddie to pertect her ; and the prophet says it is na guid for man to dwell alane.’ ‘But he disna say for a woman, Marget! And when a lassie gets to a certain age her ill looks are all the protection she needs...... And I wonder you would consent to walk with him at all hours: are you not ashamed of yourself?’ ‘ Losh, mem, no! Disna the Psalmist tell us we maunna let oor richt hand ken fat the left ane does?’” On the whole, Marget is a very true type of a class which is getting less numerous than it was even as far north as Arbroath. In short, the author has made a readable book by the process of writing about what has come within his experience. Mr. and Mrs. Ward have had a success in Biblical fiction which has a little turned their heads. That is at least the most charitable explanation of the outrageous want of taste which has impelled them to resort to the most wonderful and pathetic story in the Gospels to furnish forth an afternoon’s amusement, while they utilize the central figure of the Christian systém as the Deus ex machind of a love tale. For such and no more is the new American ver- sion of the death of Lazarus and his rela- tions with the High Priest’s daughter. We are willing to acknowledge that the theme is not treated jocularly, but when the authors take credit for reverence it seems necessary pretty plainly to dissent. For the rest we may allow that the authors are evidently unconscious of offence. We cannot always commend their diction. How can a man “‘pass out over the portico”’? What is a ‘denied young person”? How does one ‘‘ cover his ardent eye with a soft film of remoteness’’? How did a builder and decorator in Palestine “atone for free- dom of imagination by severity of labour ” ? or was it the limitations of his freedom he atoned for? Problems like this present themselves with a frequency which one can only attribute to a rather forced attempt at fine writing in accordance with the supposed exigences of so notable a theme. The Tudor Library.— Giovanni Pico della Mirandola. His Life, by his Nephew Giovanni Francesco Pico; also Three of his Letters; his Interpretation of Psalm XVI.; his Twelve Rules of a Christian Life; his Twelve Points of a Perfeet Lover; and his Deprecatory Hymn to God. Translated from the Latin by Sir Thomas More. Edited, with Introduc- tion and Notes, by J. M. Rigg. (Nutt.) AxrnoucH not particularly familiar to Mr. Mudie’s subscribers, the name of Pico della Mirandola was one to conjure with when the young scholar (familiar to the lover of art as he stands in the Villa Lemmi fresco, his gold hair escaping from his scarlet cap, his keen grey eyes lit with the fire of valiant arguments) wasaliving presence, whoseyouth, whose brilliance, whose learned speculations made him appear the epitome and symbol of that Renaissance of which he was the flower. Count Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, ‘‘a grete Lord of Italy,” lacked no one of the advantages which served to recommend a scholar in an age such as his. He was of noble birth and fabulous ancestry, descended from a contemporary of Charlemagne, and, still more remotely, from Constantine; while a garland of fiery light had announced to his mother, on the eve of his nativity, the coming of a miraculous child. Secondly, if secondly, he was conspicuous for his personal beauty—blue-eyed, bright-haired, slim, and ruddy as a prince in some pageant of Pin- turicchio’s. Thirdly, he was young; an author at sixteen; at twenty a European celebrity ; at twenty-two the acknowledged knight-errant of learning, issuing a challenge to all the scholars of Europe to come to Rome and try conclusions with him de omni re scibili. Pico was the champion of nine hun- dred theses to prove the link that bound Platonism to Christianity, and he engaged himself to pay the travelling expenses of all his rivals. The Pope, however, detected heresy in certain of his propositions; and, indeed, the Roman Church could scarce
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442 THE ATHENAUM N° 3284, Ocr. 4, 90 allow that the words “ hoc est corpus meum ”’ are to be taken as a mere recital in the Mass and not as denoting an actual fact. Pico, however, took fire at this accusation, shook the dust of Rome from off his feet, and hastened to the Platonic academy which Lorenzo dei Medici held on the outskirts of Florence at Careggi. ‘‘The count lives like to a saint here,” wrote Lorenzo two years later; and some time before the saintli- ness of Pico had been deemed as surpassing as his doctrine. ‘‘ Era riputato uno santo,” wrote Guidoni in the spring of 1486. Alas for mortal perfection, though it be assisted by a great name, the wisdom of Solomon, and the respect of nations! Alas for mortal perfection—at one-and-twenty! Even while Guidoni was penning his eulogium, the youthful Pico was falling into a scrape which was destined to make a certain noise in Italy. As he was passing through Arezzo —probably when on his way to Rome to eup- port the celebrated nine hundred Platonic theses —in the spring of 1486, the young philosopher caught sight of a certain fair lady, the widow of a wealthy grocer, re- married to a poor relation of the house of Medici. It was the month of May; Pico was not quite two-and-twenty ; Mona Mar- gherita was also young and beautiful. The result of their interview was not in accord- ance with those Platonic precepts which Pico was prepared to defend against all comers. Mr. Rigg, who has caught a side- wind of the affair in a letter written by Pico’s sister-in-law to Savonarola, expresses himself curious to know the end of the matter. He will find all details in the letters of Aldrovandino Guidoni, pubiished in the first volume of M. Perrens’s ‘ History of Florence under the Medici.’ The young lady, madly in love with Pico (‘“cieca di si bel corpo”), resolved to quit her husband’s house. One fine day she left the town as if for a walk in the country, and met outside the walls, presumably not by accident, the young Platonist mounted on a swift horse, with an escort of twenty men. Without too much praying Margherita consented to forego her morning’s excursion, and, riding pillion behind her lover, was off with him beyond the hills. That would have been, so far as we are concerned, the end of the matter but for the fact that Margherita’s second husband, needy tax-gatherer as he was, happened to be born a Medici — ‘‘e benche sia povero, pur ¢ della casa.’’ The corporation of Arezzo, equally afraid of offending a great lord and public hero like Count Giovanni Pico, and of incurring the displeasure of the almost sovereign house of Medici, dared not refuse the injured husband’s request that they should give orders to pursue the fugitives. The bells were set a-ringing ; the soldiers of the Ten leapt on horseback, and had the ill luck to overtake the lovers. Pico, although a philosopher, was none the less determined to keep his mistress at the sword’s point. There was a sharp skirmish, in which a good many serving-men were killed; and the authorities of Arezzo found themselves, to their extreme perplexity, in possession of the persons of the lady, of Pico, and of Pico’s chancellor. In’their dismay at having to imprison a person of so much importance, the Ten of Arezzo issued the astounding order to keep the lady and the chancellor, and to let Pico go. Yet on second thoughts the logic of this proposition seemed inadequate even to the sapient magistrates of Arezzo. Pico was put in prison, but only for a day or two. Fortunately for the ending of the matter, Lorenzo dei Medici showed no in- clination to champion his kinsman at the expense of his favourite Platonist; and as the husband was willing enough to take back the lady, the affair was hushed up. Pico proceeded to his intellectual tournament, and thence, as we have said, to Careggi and the saintly life. Mr. Rigg has shown us that Donna Cos- tanza, the sister-in-law of Pico, had con- fided the whole matter to no less a person than Fra Girolamo Savonarola. The great monk was at that time absent from Florence, where his first sermons had met with scant success; but Mr. Rigg does not tell us that Fra Girolamo owed his recall to Pico della Mirandola. This was, however, the case. Burlamacchi tells us that the young Platonist declared ‘‘he could not live without Brother Jeremy Savonarola.” The monk was not in favour at the court of Lorenzo, who found there were already by far too many prophets in the pulpits of Florence. One of these (then a more popular preacher than Savonarola), a certain Franciscan, Brother Bernardino da Feltre, had just given him great trouble, in the spring of 1487, by de- claring that the will of God directed the Florentines to massacre the Jews; and Lorenzo had had considerable difficulty in preventing the populace from realizing the prophecy. As a humane and respectable despot, he was averse to oracles and their consequences, of which the most obvious was to make the authorities appear in an unpopular and irreligious light. But Lorenzo was a courteous host; Pico was dear to his heart; and he yielded to the young man’s repeated instances. It was not difficult for the Magnificent to obtain from Fra Giro- lamo’s Lombard superiors the transference of so unimportant a member of their com- munity. The matter was arranged, and in 1490 back to Florence came Savonarola. By the time that Fra Girolamo arrived in Tuscany, Pico had forgotten the lady of Arezzo, and was edifying the academy of Careggi by the austerity of his life, the purity and profundity of his thoughts. Savonarola marked him for his own; to bring so great a mind to the fold of St. Dominic and to the good Frate’s own party was an effort worthy of his energy. But Pico, despite his saintly life, had no wish to enter religion. He pre- ferred the liberty of philosophic speculation, and felt, perhaps, that his Platonism, how- ever pious, would be out of place beneath a cowl. In any case he continually resisted the efforts of his friend; and Savonarola, exasperated by an obstinacy equal to his own, showed himself severe, threatened eternal punishment, and with any other than the kindly Pico he would have come to open quarrel. It is characteristic of the age that while philosophers were praising the holiness of Pico, and the most popular preacher of the day (for such had Savonarola become) was endeavour- ing to secure him for his own particular fold, the young count was still under the ban of heresy. Nor was it lifted until 1493, whenthenew Pope Alexander Borgia—‘‘our holy father Alexander VI.” as More styles him with all due reverence—being himself a man of culture, of scant prejudice with regard either to the heresy of theses or the honour of married ladies, hastened to absolve so illustrious a philosopher. Pico did not live long to enjoy his absolu- tion, nor to put in practice a secret project that he had. Perhaps the words of Savona- rola worked within him. At any rate, it is known that shortly before his death, walk- ing with his nephew in an orchard near Ferrara, ‘‘ Nephew,” said he, ‘‘so soon as a certain book of mine is finished, I intend to give to poor folk the worldly substance that I have, and, armed only with a crucifix, to go barefoot throughout the world.” The nephew, though an heir, does not appear to have dissuaded Pico from his determination. But on his return to Florence Pico caught a fever. Charles VIII. of France, who was at that time invading Italy, sent two of his own physicians to the philosopher, or rather, as we may imagine (for Charles was more learned in Amadis than Plato), to the friend of Savonarola, the chief supporter of the French. But Pico was already beyond the reach of science. He expired very piously and sweetly at the age of two-and-thirty. He died, as he had lived, a convinced if an erratic Catholic; ‘‘and he shewed unto his sister’s son Albertus that the Quene of Heaven came to him at night, with a mer- vallous fragrant odour refreshynge all his membres that were bruised and frushed with that fever; and she promised him that he should not utterly die.” Yet Pico was not so absorbed in his mystical visions but that he saw to the pensioning of all his servants, and left his estates to the hospital of Florence. After his death Savonarola invested him with the friar’s dress, in which the gentle philosopher was buried, and preached for his funeral a terrible sermon, showing how nearly his friend had been damned for resisting the divine vocation. It was only that timely gift to the Florence hospital, and perhaps the intercession of Fra Girolamo himself, which had commuted the dread sentence into a purgatorial term. Even the briefest retrospect disengages something of the undying fascination of the life and personality of Pico della Mirandola, and we may, perhaps, be allowed to wish that Mr. Rigg had more elaborately defined the charm of his hero. He has performed, however, a more difficult and a more un- grateful task. If he tells us little about the life of Pico, he dives deeply into his works, and makes us feel how fundamentally altered is the ideal of literary, or indeed of philo- sophic, interest. He shows us how much of the scholastic Middle Ages still clung to the brilliant Renaissance philosopher, and what trivialities composed in his eyes the material de omni re scibili. Let us glance at the thirteen heretical theses contained in his famous nine hundred propositions. They are certainly interesting as showing that dawning Protestantism, as yet unaware of schism or heresy—the mere natural pro- duct of revived and keen intelligence play- ing round the problems of belief — which was to be manifested again, in a brief bril- liance, during the early years of the sixteenth century in France. We see here in Pico an unconscious precursor of such men as Lefévre d’Etaples. But many of his problems strike
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N° 3284, Ocr. 4,’90 THE ATHENZUM 443 us as strangely childish to occupy the most famous intelligence of his age: ‘‘ That it is more rational to believe that Origen is saved than that he is damned; that no science affords a better assurance of the divinity of Christ than magical and cabalistic science.” Such propositions show us the ground we have covered since the Florentine Renais- sance. Some of the theses, it is true, are of a more enduring value; we may still dis- pute whether the soul knows anything in act, or distinctly, save itself; that as no one’s opinions are just as he wills them to be, so no one’s beliefs are just as he wills them to be; or that a mortal sin of finite duration is not deserving of eternal punish- ment. But our nineteenth century interest in Pico’s theses must, of necessity, be mainly historical. We have left ourselves scant space to treat of a most interesting question which this book suggests—the attraction that drew Sir Thomas More to Pico della Mirandola. Both were men of a lofty and sincere reli- gious ideal, living by preference (yet not without qualms and many a looking back from the plough) the secular life in the society of the great. Both were men of pure heart and candid honour, who stumbled by accident into errors that were little less than crimes; and both by the nobility of their end redeemed their previous mis- takes. There is a pathos in remembering that the More of those years of strife—the More who was to fall from his wise charity and to persecute—feeling himself in need of a spiritual companion, translated for his own private use and example (with no thought of publication) the pious meditations of that humane and beautiful spirit, which also had been subject to passion and repentance, and had known the deep remorse with which the idealist visits the inevitable failings from his standard. We love More the better for his love of Pico, and thank Mr. Rigg for his elegant and convenient edition of this pathetic and interesting vade mecum of a politician in trouble concerning his soul. The Wisdom of Life.—Counsels and Maxims. Being the First and Second Parts of Arthur Schopenhauer’s ‘Aphorismen zur Lebens- weisheit.’ Translated with a Preface by T. Bailey Saunders, M.A. (Sonnenschein & Co.) In publishing these two little volumes Mr. Saunders has done English readers a genuine service. Schopenhauer’s system of meta- physics is not for the many. It is too abstruse, too severely logical, and too tech- nical in its language for the ordinary reader. It may be doubted whether even in Germany it is much studied save by students of the history of philosophy. But Schopenhauer followed up his systematic treatise with a number of minor writings, in which the metaphysician stoops from his lofty altitude and approaches the level of the plain man. These are by common consent eminently readable; and Mr. Saunders, who had pre- viously proved his skill in rendering Scho- penhauer into English in his translation of his ‘ Dialogue on Religion,’ has now brought one of the most valuable of them within reach of the English reader. He has also introduced his translation by a clear and thoroughly helpful preface, in which are defined with sufficient exactness Schopen- hauer’s philosophic standpoint and the relation of his minor writings to his chief metaphysical treatise. In these sketchy contributions to ‘the wisdom of life” the philosopher is mea- suring his metaphysical principles against the experience of the practical man. And it is this circumstance which gives the peculiar interest to the book. Schopen- hauer had not, one may safely say, a larger or richer experience of life than many a man who makes no pretensions to be a philosopher. It is no doubt true that he acquired a certain knowledge of the world in youth by being taken by his parents to travel before he began the study of books. But one does not see in Schopenhauer, as in Montaigne and others, the fruit of a large direct observation of the world. We know, indeed, from his biography that he was far from being a Weltmann, and might, perhaps, with more justice be described as a recluse; and the sagacious reader of these aphor- isms easily perceives the fact. There is know- ledge in abundance, but it is not that which is slowly and half-unconsciously assimilated from experience, but rather that which has been acquired in the study from the reading of many books, and from long and laborious reasoning. Rarely, if ever, does the pes- simist surprise us by a flash of intuitive penetration into the inmost realities of life ; on the other hand, he frequently strikes us as superficial, as paradoxical, or as bent on forcing facts into the mould of a pre- conceived theory. Here it is that he comes into competition with the man of practical knowledge. He offers a number of counsels and rules which have been deduced from his philosophical principles, and not woven in- ductively out of the very substance of expe- rience itself. Such a proceeding is, on the very face of it, hazardous, whatever the principles happen to be. In the case of Schopenhauer it is peculiarly and palpably so. As everybody knows, Schopenhauer was a pessimist in the most complete and rigorous sense, since he held that all con- scious life as such is painful. Happiness, according to him, is a purechimera. There is no such thing as pleasure, save in the negative meaning of a momentary escape from the proper normal condition of painful craving. This being so, it is hard to see how the conduct of life can offer any room for wisdom, save, indeed, that of reducing it to a minimum, by seeking a state of torpor which shall practically amount to non-existence. Much of the drift of these aphorisms may, perhaps, be described as having this direction. To hold indifferently what the mass of mankind seek most greedily, as wealth and reputation, is pro tanto to hem in the current of life. Yet in the new réle of practical counsellor Scho- penhauer could not consistently restrict himself to the maxim, ‘Live as little as may be.” As he himself tells us in his introduction, his attempt to define the con- ditions of a happy existence rests upon a compromise. Just as Hume could on occa- sion come down from his sceptical altitudes, so Schopenhauer is here conceding to the vulgar error of eudeemonism, and assuming with the plain man that life is, or can be made, good. The fact is that Schopenhauer had been piqued at the general indifference to his philosophical writings, and in these lighter effusions he made a new bid for popularity. He could not, of course, aban- don his fundamental position of philosophic pessimism ; but just as little could he ignore the firm persuasion of the multitude that happiness is a reality. Hence a certain look of inconsistency an@ instability in the whole essay. It is neither philosophy nor good common sense, but an unfused mixture of the two. Apart from this want of a stable founda- tion, the aphorisms are, when viewed in themselves, of very unequal value. To begin with, no instructed reader can fail to be struck by the large amount of reproduction of others’ thoughts. ‘Thus, to name but one example, stoicism has been spoiled of its choicest flowers with hardly a word of acknowledgment. For the most part, however, Schopenhauer acknowledges his sources, and is rather fond of an out-of-the- way scholarly quotation. Next to this want of originality comes the want of touch with the cencrete facts of life. In some cases, indeed, the writer strikes one as strangely ignorant of ordinary human nature. Thus, for instance, the supposition that it is only the highly intellectual man who can be satisfied with his self-esteem seems ludicrous to any one who has only a slight knowledge of the splendid capacity for self-conceit of, say, a City clerk or an African savage. In many other cases, though not absolutely wrong, Schopenhauer strikes one as forcibly exaggerating a truth. This is emphatically true of his re- mark, repeated ad nauseam, that happiness can only be found in oneself, and so, appa- rently, is only possible to the man of ample inner resources. That there is a grain of truth in this, no student of ancient philo- sophy need be reminded. Much that Schopenhauer says about the make-believe of ordinary social entertainments is forcible enough. The empty-minded rush into society to escape the boredom of their un- companionable selves. But to leap from this fact to the conclusion that all social intercourse is a barrier to happiness, and that this last can only be realized in a life of solitude, is characteristic of the pessi- mist’s manner of thought. And here it may be as well to say that our author’s whole case against human happiness, as commonly understood, owes much of its plausibility to the complete ignoring of the genuinely social side of ordinary human nature. There is throughout this essay no pretence to exa- mine the alleged delights of sympathetic companionship, friendship, love. In enu- merating the resources of old age no refer- ence is made to its main beatitude, the pro- longation of vivid consciousness through a large joyous sympathy with others who are still young. The relations which most of us probably regard as the sweetest and most sacred possession of life are dismissed with three or four words of cynical depreciation. Strange that the same writer who traced down all morality to a feeling of sympathy never once refers to the sentiment in build- ing up his practical scheme of a moderately happy life. So far from this, his account of our relations to others seems distinctly to show, as already pointed out, that human relations are to be shunned, not sought; that true wisdom consists in making oneself
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444 THE ATHENAUM N° 3284, Ocr. 4, 790 as rapidly as possible self-sufficing, both intellectually and morally. The grounds on which this is urged are amusingly inade- quate. To say, for example, that because a man cannot be in perfect accord with any one but himself, he does well to confine himself to the society of the latter, is an argument bristling with fallacies, on which a tyro in logic might appropriately exercise himself. While, however, we thus hold that ‘The Wisdom of Life’ is wanting in the large, calm objectivity of the true sage, and is in many respects shallow, one-sided, and paradoxical, we think it has a real value. Even in point of substance, it contains many a keen observation, and enforces unpalat- able, but eminently wholesome truths. There are probably but few, in these days of keen competition for social favours, who would fail to derive some profit from Scho- penhauer’s ruthless demolition of the popular idols—reputation, rank, and fame. It is safe to say that, however the writer may here exaggerate, we should all do well to go half-way with him in his substitution of self-esteem for the opinion of others. Nor do we remember to have met with a finer plea, on the whole, for that inner self- culture which is the great and unfailing condition of human happiness. If the reading ofthese passages should lead some of the smatterers in culture among us, who ‘‘ get-up”’ ideas for conversational purposes, to care less for the reputation than for the actual possession of knowledge, Mr. Saunders will have proved to be a real benefactor to his country. We have dwelt so long on the matter of this essay that there is but little time to speak of the manner. Schopenhauer is commonly ranked among the few philo- sophers, including our own Berkeley, who possess a literary style. The aphorisms give an excellent sample of this style. By their very form they exhibit at its best Schopenhauer’s characteristic manner—his directness, his momentum, his brevity. The language is for the greater part simple and even homely, and it is only when the author feels called upon to drag in some technical point from his metaphysical treatise that the smooth flow is interrupted. Thoughts are expressed clearly and compactly, and sometimes with epigrammatic point and neatness. There is sufficient adornment in the way both of similes which are often both fine in themselves and apt for their purpose, and of quotations which by their range and their appropriateness at once attest the wide and habitual reader. As already hinted, the prevailing tone is that of a quiet cynical contempt for most things prized by the many. The aphorisms owe no small part of their interest to the fact that they are a direct revelation of the writer's own personality. The trenchant, pungent language seems to exactly express the inner temper of the man. In reading these biting sarcasms on what Sir John Lubbock recently described as the “ glorious inheritance of life,” one can almost imagine that one hears the grim old pessimist growling out his cold comforts to the few who gathered about him in his Frankfort hermitage. One thing we miss—the humour which makes the misanthropic assaults of Carlyle so much more enjoyable than those of the German. But pessimism and humour are not natural allies, and had the Frank- fort sage had, say, a hundredth part of Goldsmith’s humour, he would probably never have been the decided and, on the whole, the consistent pessimist he was. Schopenhauer is not laughter-provoking ; rarely does he excite even the cold, con- temptuous laughter that Swift knew so well how to raise; and as to the more genial laughter that comes from a humorous re- cognition of our own folly in quarrelling with such life as we have, this he was im- probably quite incapable of comprehending. Perhaps the rigorous practice of abstract thought unfitted him to unbend so far as to occasionally grow playful. His much- hated Hegel might have taught him this art at least. Yet we must not quarrel with a writer because he has the defects of his qualities. Schopenhauer is here bent on stripping human life of its illusory beauty, and showing us the real hideousness beneath; and it may be plausibly urged that a certain grimness of deportment is appropriate to such a task. Chronicon Henrici Knighton, Monachi Ley- cestrensis. Edited by Joseph Rawson Lumby, D.D. Vol. I. (Eyre & Spottis- woode.) Ade Murimuthi Continuatio Chronicarum. Robertus de Avesbury de Gestis Mirabilibus Regis Edwardi Tertit. Edited by E. Maunde Thompson, Principal Librarian of the British Museum. (Same publishers.) Year Books of the Reign of King Edward III. —Years XIV. and XV. Edited and translated by Luke Owen Pike. (Same publishers. ) TueEsE three volumes are, each in its kind, fair specimens of the series of the “ Chro- nicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland.” It was hardly to be expected that the work done by so many editors should be equal in merit, or that all who offered them- selves should be found up to the mark. Yet taking the series as a whole there has been little to complain of. The materials for a really intimate knowledge of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries have been made accessible to all, and it was high time that antiquaries should be provided with an ampler apparatus for studying the fourteenth century, if only it could be found. Unhappily the contemporary writers who have deait with the age of the first three Edwards are not to be compared with those who belong to the earlier time, and the student has to be thankful for what he can get and to make the most of it. We have, indeed, the ‘London Annals,’ the ‘Annals of St. Paul’s,’ together with the other lives of Edward I. and Edward IL., edited by the Bishop of Oxford in his usual masterly and exhaustive way; the ‘St. Alban’s Chronicle,’ which takes up the story and carries it down to the year 1388; and overlapping these again the ‘ History’ of Thomas of Walsingham. But these works, valuable as they are, still leave the reader very much to desire, and there is no Matthew Paris to charm and fascinate him and makethe past alive for him as in the days of Henry III. As Bishop Stubbs has said, ‘Our knowledge of the reign of Edward II. is, toa very great extent, derived from mate- rials of the nature of legal record”; and the same is true for the reigns of his father and his son. The unapproachable superiority of Matthew Paris seems to have exercised a certain deterrent effect upon the annalists of the next age—they are timid historians and meagre ones. Nevertheless, such as they are, it is desirable to have them at command, if only that we may be able to consult, compare, and use them as supple- mentary each of the others. Prof. Lumby accordingly has undertaken to supply a new edition of Knighton’s ‘Chronicle,’ and Mr. Maunde Thompson has printed a distinctly important work in his two chronicles — the one by Adam Muri- muth, which covers about twenty years down to the end of 1346, the other by Robert of Avesbury, which Mr. Thompson aptly characterizas as a military history of the reign of Edward III. to the year 1356. Of all our fourteenth century writers, Knighton is least known and least read. The manuscripts are extremely rare—only two are known to exist ; the text is corrupt; the style of the writer is repulsive, affected, and not always intelligible; and the only edition hitherto printed appeared in Sir Roger Twys- den’s ‘Decem Scriptores,’ a book at once costly and not easily to be procured. The historic collections of Simeon of Durham, of Radulphus de Diceto, and of Gervase of Canterbury, which were also included in Twysden’s folio, have all been re-edited in the Rolls Series, the lasttwo by Bishop Stubbs. Knighton was still waiting for an editor, and in the fitness of things Prof. Lumby seemed the right person to undertake the task. For Knighton had professed to base his work upon the seventh book of Higden’s ‘Polychronicon ’; and inasmuch as that pon- derous work, in nine bulky volumes (includ- ing the translation by John de Trevisa), had at last been dealt with, the editor of this dreary, but at one time most amazingly popular writer deserved to be rewarded for his long years of literary drudgery by the refreshment of seeing Knighton’s ‘Chronicon’ through the press, and making the most of it. Why Knighton should have affiliated himself, so to speak, to Higden is not immediately apparent, unless, indeed, it was a kind of bid for popularity ; for it is clear enough that his ‘Chronicon’ contains a great deal of valuable original matter, derived as it seems from the archives of John of Gaunt, whose father-in-law was Henry, first Duke of Lancaster, and his father the third Earl, who had been Captain- General of the Marches of Scotland in the reign of Edward II. All three were Earls of Leicester and lords of the honour and castle there, and Knighton was a canon of the Augustinian house of St. Mary de Pré at Leicester, and doubtless made use of his opportunities and of the ‘‘state papers” which presumably were placed at his dis- posal. How valuable was the information he derived becomes clear by a glance at his accounts of the Scotch wars, and at many matters concerned with the town of Leicester and the doings of Henry the Earl and Henry the Duke of Lancaster. Knighton has been hitherto referred toas the first English writer who gave special prominence in his history to the ravages of the great plague of 1349 ; but for this and a great deal else readers must wait till the concluding volume of Prof. } XUM
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N° 3284, Oct. 4, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 445 Lumby’s work appears. Till then we refrain from criticism. Mr. Thompson does everything in a scholarly way. As he has the British Museum under his care, it remains a wonder how he can find time for getting through what he does and as he does it. His introduction furnishes an ex- haustive account of the MSS. which he has collated and examined. If any one supposes that a really conscientious editor of one of these English chronicles need give himself very little trouble, and has only to see his book through the press at so much a page, it may be well for such a light and airy personage to be told that there are at least ten MSS. of Murimuth which have been diligently compared line by line, and that such comparison has proved that the chro- nicler went over his own work at least three times during his lifetime, or, as we should say, brought out three editions of his book. Alas for the tyro or the clumsy and half- taught pretender, who found himself en- gaged in constructing a new text out of such a tangle of knotted threads! The MSS. of Avesbury are only three, and as the Cambridge and Oxford copies are evi- dently derived from the Harleian, the diffi- culty in this case of revising the text was reduced to a minimum. The two chroniclers were very different men. Of Murimuth something is known, for Bishop Stubbs has been at the pains of tracing what is still dis- coverable of his biography. He held several pieces of preferment, and he died a canon of St. Paul’s in 1347. He was an ecclesiastic in his sympathies, but he was something more, and it is not a little to his credit that in his old age and near his end he saw the significance of the battle of Crecy, and in- corporated in his chronicle the extremely valuable collection of letters which supply so graphic an account of Edward’s campaign in Normandy in 1346, including two by writers who themselves took part in it. Of course Murimuth denounces the ecclesiastical abuses of his time, the Papal encroachments, and the scandals that were abroad against this bishop and that; but he has one or two notes of special interest which come upon us as pleasant surprises. Thus his snarls against the noted bibliophile Richard Bury, Bishop of Durham, with his library of more than five great cartloads of books, his sneers at the English clergy for submitting to be lundered, stcut bont asint, and many another ittle piece of ill-natured gossip, show the man; and at least one passing remark which he makes when telling us about the Canary Islands is noteworthy. The inha- bitants, he says, ‘‘panem scindunt cum lapidibus, et cum talibus armis pugnant, quia ferrum non habetur ibidem.” So that actually in the fourteenth century the Spaniards were engaged hand to hand with these people, who were still using stone weapons like the men of the drift. Robert of Avesbury’s ‘ Chronicle,’ though almost professedly and exclusively a story of wars and fightings, is less graphic in the earlier portion than Murimuth’s; we owe more to the latter than to the former as far as the Crecy campaign is concerned. Happily, however, Avesbury supplements Murimuth by carrying the story of warfare in France and Scotland ten years further ; and though it is but a meagre record, yet the despatches of Sir John Wingfield giving an account of the raid of the Black Prince in Gascony in 1355, and the Duke of Lan- caster’s letter describing his rapid march through Normandy in the following year, together with the list of the French slain and taken captive at the battle of Poitiers, are all original documents which should be made easily accessible to all students, as, in fact, they now are. Nevertheless, we cannot but regret that the rigid rule of the Master of the Rolls should have deprived the reader of these ‘Chronicles’ of such elucidatory notes as the learned editor has supplied to his edition of Geoffrey le Baker, published by the Clarendon Press. That book seems to be a model for editors to follow. Perhaps if notes were allowed and encouraged, the very fact of their being expected might deter ignorant and wholly untrained ‘‘ gen- tlemen with a loose end” from offering their services in carrying on work of which they know nothing. On the other hand, we are not blind to the danger of giving a free hand to specialists, who are too prone to ride their hobbies very hard. When we turn to Mr. Pike’s volume, which contains the Year Books for the four- teenth and fifteenth years of Edward IIL., we are taken into a different world from that which Avesbury and Murimuth are concerned with. Soldiers and sailors and bishops and statesmen pass out of view, or appear only as pieces on the chess-board, moved and taken and castled and checked and mated by the great players in the law courts. Mr. Pike looks on absorbed by the interest of the game, and is so taken up with it that he tells us ‘‘ the fourteenth and fifteenth years of the reign of Edward III. osese have not attracted the special notice of historians.” We of the laity remember those years as the years when the king first assumed the style and arms of France, when he won the great naval battle of Sluys, when he challenged Philip to single combat, when a great deal else that need not be dwelt on happened at home and abroad which, surely, historians do not pass over without ‘‘special notice.” But to Mr. Pike, writing as a “black-letter lawyer,” these things are insignificant as compared with the momentous fact that in the fourteenth year of the king Presentment of Englishry was formally abolished, and in his fifteenth year he formally repealed the famous Ordinance of Northampton. Regarded as epochs in con- stitutional history, these two years may, in- deed, have receive less attention than they deserve; but the constitutionalist will hardly succeed in estimating the importance of such movements as are going on at home who neglects to take into account what is going on at the same time abroad. The confusion and disorganization, the general corruption —allowing it to have been as great as Mr. Pike represents it—which prevailed, were, in very large measure, due to the king’s absence. There was more than one game that was being played simultaneously. Mr. Pike, however, does not deserve to be made an offender for a word. He has printed a volume of much value, and edited with extreme care and thoroughness. The indices, especially the ‘‘Index of Matters,” are all that could be desired; the introduction is a clear and actually interesting chapter in legal history ; and though there is rather a tone of pessimism in it, and a slight disposi- tion to believe the worst of men who were in office in those rough times, yet, on the whole, there is an evident desire to exercise the judicial faculty with impartiality when reviewing the story of the past. Whatever else may be doubtful, there can be no doubt at all that these Year Books will have to be carefully studied by all those who aim at understanding the life of England in the fourteenth century. If no man can hope to understand the reign of Henry III. who has never carefully studied the monastic chronicles and annals, so no man will be able to understand the age of the Edwards until he has made acquaintance with the Year Books. BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. Monica’s Story; or, the Rightful Heir. Edith C. Kenyon. (Cauldwell.) Called to be Conquerors; or, Stella Adair’s Faith. By Maggie Fearn. (Same publisher.) Thorns and Roses: a Story of Home Life. By Elizabeth J. Lysaght. (Same publisher.) Mischievous Moncton; or, Jest turned to Earnest. By Evelyn Everett Green. (Same publisher.) Her Benny. By Silas K. Hocking, F.R.H.S. (Warne & Co.) Mamma’s Black Nurse Stories. By Mary Pamela Milne-Home. (Blackwood & Sons.) Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome. By E. M. Berens. (Blackie & Son.) In ‘Monica’s Story’ and ‘Called to be Con- querors’ we make the acquaintance of two of the most self-conscious and self-righteous heroines it has ever been our lot to encounter. Monica M‘Clure is tormented by the wickedness of her uncle, who has usurped fair lands. Stella Adair is oppressed by a wealthy and ungodly guardian. Both young ladies go through oceans of trials and temptations, from which they both emerge triumphantly as happy brides. Monica, having forced her uncle to disgorge his ill-gotten gains, weds “ the rightful heir ”; Stella converts and espouses her grim guardian. Both books are tiresome in the extreme, and we turn with a sigh of relief to ‘ Thorns and Roses,’ a homely, but attractive chronicle of honest struggle, and to Miss Everett Green’s ‘ Mischievous Moncton,’ a capital school-room story. Messrs. Warne bring out a new and more ornamental edition of ‘ Her Benny,’ one of the most popular of Mr. Silas Hocking’s many popular tales. ‘‘ Now that he appears,” says the author, “in finer dress, I hope his welcome will be none the less hearty, and that he will continue to play some humble part in winning sympathy and help for the waifs and strays of our streets.” Under the title of ‘Mamma’s Black Nurse Stories’ Mrs. Milne-Home gives us a most in- teresting collection of West Indian folk-lore tales, preceded by a charmingly written preface and accompanied by a glossary, which last is, indeed, very necessary to the right understand- ing of these quaint Anansi stories. By permis- sion of Sir George Dasent, some Anansi tales from ‘Popular Tales from the Norse’ are in- cluded in this little volume. They have lost the dialect, and present a somewhat bare appearance. The last volume on our list is a good and useful book, though there is some lack of judg- ment and learning in the selection of the matter. People may go through life very well without ever hearing of Consus, or Robigus, or Picumnus and Pilumnus, who are here introduced ; but the myth of the House of Atreus, which is not given, isa very important story. The distinction between Greek and Roman mythology is clearly enforced, though an absurd reason is given for it. The book is well printed, and the few illus- trations are neatly executed. By
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446 THE ATHENAUM N° 3284, Ocr. 4,’90 THEOLOGICAL BOOKS. The Minor Prophets, by Archdeacon Farrar, issued in the series called ‘‘Men of the Bible” (Nisbet), may fairly claim a place beside Dr. Driver’s ‘Isaiah’ and Dr. Cheyne’s ‘ Jere- miah’ in the same collection. It is in the first instance a good handbook for the litera- ture of this subject, as the author gives a short, yet full account of the various opinions of ancient and modern scholars. On _ the other hand, the archdeacon accepts freely the results of modern criticism concerning the dates of the minor prophets as well as the historical allusions found in them. He con- siders Joel to be post-exilic; he seems to be inclined to take Jonah, with M. Renan, “as a stinging satire against the prophets”; and he assigns the chapters ix.—xi. and xii—xiv. of Zechariah to two anonymous prophets. Dr. Farrar is outspoken concerning the mingled elements in Isaiah and the Psalter, of which he writes as follows: ‘‘ We must not be surprised if we are confronted by questions of unity of authorship, and transpositions of text, when we come to the writings of some of the prophets. The formation of the prophetic canon resembled in some respects the formation of the Psalter, and was liable to the same disturbing elements.” Of the book of Daniel Dr. Farrar says that few now doubt that it belongs to a later date than Ezekiel. In the historical data concerning Assyria the archdeacon follows the best autho- rities with gooddiscernment. He saysrightly that “the vague date of Amos, ‘two years after the earthquake,’ shows that in his days the Hebrews still reckoned in the most primitive manner. The Assyrian chronology was much more ac- curate and careful.” The author is fairly correct in his philological discussions. For the word p12 (Amos vii. 14), A. and R.V. “ an herdman,” we should be inclined to read 713, “‘a puncturer of sycamore trees.” There is, indeed, no mention that Tekoa was celebrated for pasture ; in the Mishnah the superior oil of this locality is men- tioned. The locality jJY N23 (Amos i. 4; A.V., “the house of Eden”), of which Dr. Farrar says that nothing is known of it, seems to be identical with JT) (ND) 32 (2 Kings xix. 12; A. and R.V., “the children of Eden”). The attempt to explain names of prophets, such as Habakkuk, ‘* embraced,” “ pressed to the heart,” or ‘* wrestler,” seems to us a loss of time and space. The Psalm of Habakkuk, a revised translation, with exegetical and critical notes on the Hebrew and Greek texts, by the Rev. Robert Sinker (Cambridge, Deighton, Bell & Co.), has in no way advanced the solution of some difficulties to be found in the third chapter of Habakkuk. Mr. Sinker agrees with the old school that the date of the prophecies of Habakkuk is the con- cluding years of the reign of Manasseh or the opening years of that of Josiah, whilst most critics assign these prophecies to the reign of Jehoiakim; the latter date gives the most natural meaning to the words “in our days” (i. 5). The word M121" (iii. 1; A.V., “ Shigyo- noth”) scarcely means a kind of musical accom- paniment, but rather songs which begin with the word j)*A’ (Ps. vii. 1). Mr. Sinker himself feels the difficulty of his translation of iii. 2, ‘I have trembled, O Lord, at thy work,” but he thinks it ‘‘defensible.” In our opinion, the word ‘N71 cannot mean ‘‘I have’ trembled,” but ‘‘I feared” or ‘‘am afraid” (A.V.). The reading ‘NS for ‘N81 would bo justified by the parallelism, viz., “I have heard thy fame, and I have seen, O Lord, thy work.” In verse 6 the translation “ His ways are everlasting ” (so also A.V. ; R.V., “ His goings were as of old”) is not justified by the Hebrew. man appears to express the later sense of the word, viz., ‘goings or rules”; we should thus translate ‘*The rules or laws of the world are with him.” In iii. 7 NNN scarcely means “ under” in the sense of under affliction (A. and R.V., “ in affliction ”). This verse and others in the same chapter are no doubt corrupt. Perhaps we may read as follows: PAN MY AIAN prey wr SAN NT }'7, “I saw the tents of Cushan shaken and the curtain of the land of Midian broken,” refer- ring to Judges iii. and vi. We cannot follow up other emendations which are necessary for the understanding of the text. Mr. Sinker’s suggestion that the bulk of Habakkuk’s psalm is written in “‘ ternary stichi” seems to be highly plausible ; some stichi appear to be composed of four words, Ir at any time the proverb ‘ extremes meet” was applicable, it is so at present in France in regard to Biblical researches. The late M. Ernest Havet in the Revue des Dewx Mondes, August, 1889, and Maurice Vernes in his essays in the Revue de l’ Histoire des Religions—essays the results of which are now embodied in his Précis d’ Histoire Juive depuis les Origines jusqu'a V Epoque Persane (Hachette & Co.)—come to the conclusion that Biblical literature does not begin before 400 Bc., and perhaps not even before 200 B.c.; it is in this epoch that the Pentateuch or the Hexateuch was composed by a school which sprang up at Jerusalem. The historico- prophetic books were put together as we now have them about 200 B.c., and the Hagiographa perhaps as late as the first century B.c. Let us say at once that the two French authors are not acquainted with the Hebrew language, their criticism being based upon Reuss’s translation of the Bible, and consequently the style of the various books is not taken by them into con- sideration. The world, however, expects of a critic of Homer that he should know Greek, of a critic of Livy that he should know Latin, of a critic of Dante that he should know Italian, and of acritic of Hebrew literature that he should know Hebrew. M. Vernes’s chief argument is that there are no documents which mention that the Israelites had a written literature previous to 400 B.c., for we do not possess any monuments of an earlier time except the Moabite and Siloam inscriptions. That is true, but twenty years ago no inscription at all was known which came from Canaanitic lands ; and is M. Vernes sure that none will be found when once excavations are permitted in Palestine? And how about the tablets discovered lately at Tell el-Amarna, which are full of information concerning the land of Canaan? In our opinion it would be a waste of time and paper to refute the theories of MM. Havet and Vernes. It is, perhaps, fortunate that the grandson of Sirach said in 132 B.c. that his grandfather read diligently the Law, the Prophets, and other books trans- mitted by his forefathers, otherwise M. Vernes would perhaps place the composition of the Pen- tateuch and the Prophets in the time of Christ. Analecta Liturgica. Sedulo collegit et in lucem protulit W. H. Jacobus Weale. (Lille and Bruges, Desclée, De Brouwer & Co. )—Mr. Weale has undertaken a laborious task which, if carried through with the minute care and ac- curacy with which it has been begun, will earn for him the gratitude of all who are interested in the historical development of the religious thought and language of the Latin Church. Mr. Weale, in fact, purposes to form a complete collection of the liturgical pieces of the Middle Ages. He makes a beginning with the hymns and rhythmical pieces, of which he has already laid hands upon some thousands not to be found in the collections of Daniel, Mone, and others. The first instalment of the ‘ Analecta’ consists of two parts. That which stands first and serves as a useful introduction and guide to what follows consists of an index to all the parts of the standard or revised Roman Missal of Pius V., and the complete calendars of ten different churches or dioceses, beginning with Rome and ending with Hamburg. The second part—with a different imprint and an earlier date—bears the title ‘‘Thesauris Hymnologicis hactenus editis Supplementum amplissimum e Libris tam Manuscriptis quam impressis eruerunt, notu- lisque illustraverunt E. Misset et W. H. J.. Weale. I. Prose, que apud Daniel, Mone, Neale, Gautier, Schubiger, Wackernagel, Morel: et Kehrein non reperiuntur. Londini, apud Thomam Weale, 1888.” In the portion thus already issued we have 180 proses or sequences not found in the above-mentioned works, and these proses are extracted from twenty missals. emanating from various local churches from. Norway to Spain. It will be remembered that the present Roman Missal contains only four such proses, of which the ‘ Dies Ire’ is the best example. The editors estimate that they have cut out for themselves ten years of labour with the ‘Corpus Hymnologicum’ alone. Dr. Murray’s ‘ English Dictionary ’ will be a thing of the past before Mr. Weale’s ‘ Analecta’ approach: their termination. But the value of the under- taking—dealing as these proses do so largely with facts and legends of the saints and popular theological ideas—not to speak of its linguistic and literary interest, is evident at a glance, and Mr. Weale’s experience and skill as an editor justify very high expectations. AMERICAN HISTORY, TuE first volume of the Narrative and Critical History of America (Sampson Low & Co.) is really the last published of eight composing the work. In this case the last is first, and the advantage of beginning with the second volume instead of the: first is not obvious. On the contrary, those who have perused each volume as it appeared must regret the most that they were not allowed to begin at the beginning. It is true that the problems connected with prehistoric America are many and puzzling, and it was natural that Mr. Justin Winsor, who has edited this great: historical work with skill and discretion, should have dreaded placing before the world problems of which no conclusive solutions could be given.. Regarded as a whole, this work is a monumental history of America ; or rather, to write with per- fectexactness, itis the most complete collection of historical facts concerning the American continent which hasyetbeen printed. Thestudentof history will find here a large mine and an excellent ex- ample. The mine is full of authentic information, and the manner in which the contributors have done their parts deserves praise. All critics must. be deeply impressed with the care and judgment displayed by Mr. Winsor as editor. He has kept his team of contributors well in hand, and that team comprises the best men who could be- chosen to fill their respective parts. A likeness. of Mr. Winsor, taken from a photograph, is pre- fixed to this volume. The artist has done less justice to Mr. Winsor than he has done to his subject. The one thing which is lacking to render this work unique is a general index. Each volume is indexed ; but this is no greater help to the student than asummary of the names of those who might be present on a particular occasion. He wishes to have all the names before him in order to learn or decide whether a particular person was present. Tue third volume of the sixth series of the Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society (Boston, published by the Society) contains much useful historical matter, and it is prepared with the same care as the preceding volumes. In this volume, as in others of the series, the index is a pattern of its kind. The documents here printed consist not only of the correspond- ence of Fitz-John Winthrop, but also of replies from his correspondents, the period covered being from 1690 to 1705. Several of the letters throw sidelights on early New England history, and the volume is well worthy of ranking among the many which have been published by the Massachusetts Historical Society. We regret to read in the preface that the members of this society who can spare the time requisite for pre- paring and annotating the historical manuscriptsin its possession and those to which they have access
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XUM N° 3284, Ocr. 4, 90 THE ATHENZUM 447 “were never sofew in number as now,” and we a that the good work may not languish for lack of willing and competent hands. There is still much original material to be printed, and New England patriotism will surely continue active and warm till the time shall come for rest- ing from the performance of duties which ought to be considered as labours of love. Mr, Joun Fiske is an American philosopher who would do greater justice to himself if he were to write about any other country than his own. No American can treat—certainly none has treated—the history of his own land with any approach to impartiality. If he were to remember that he was an historian first and an American afterwards, his work might not find a publisher in America, and if it did it might fail to find sympathetic readers. The Beginnings of New England, or the Puritan Theo- cracy inits Relation to Civil and Religious Liberty (Macmillan & Co.), is, indeed, a good book of its kind, yet it is not so good as Mr. Fiske could make it if he were unbiassed by the promptings of patriotism. The first chapter is one of the best, containing general and just ideas. Its only fault is that of being but re- motely connected with the subject, which is the Roman idea and the English idea as to colonization and nation- making. Mr. Fiske’s conclusion is that the final triumph of the English over the Roman idea was the migra- tion of the English Puritans across the Atlantic Ocean. As a deduction from the premises which he lays down, he mentions the French Revolution, which, in his opinion, was the out- come of what Locke and Milton, Vane and Sidney had written. And then “the American nation came upon the scene, equipped as no other nation had ever been for the task of combining sovereignty with liberty, undestruc- tible union of the whole with undestructible union of the parts.” Those who read this may recall the phrase in the platform of one of the American political parties to the effect that it acknowledged ‘‘the indissoluble union of in- destructible states.” This platform was phrased so as to please the people. Mr. Fiske delivered this book as lectures at the Washington Uni- versity in St. Louis. We do not doubt that he gratified his hearers; they could not fail to listen with delight to a sentence such as that which we have quoted. We repeat, however, that Mr. Fiske would have a better chance of earning international renown if he were to give himself to the study of another country than his own. Srnce the publication of Prof. Bryce’s ad- mirable work on the American constitution a want may have been felt for detailed informa- tion as to parts of it. A work published by Messrs. G. P. Putnam’s Sons, and the pro- duction of several eminent American jurists, will meet that want. It is entitled Con- stitutional History of the United States as seen in the Development of American Law, and it is the substance of a series of lectures delivered at the University of Michigan before the Political Science Association. The purpose of this body seems to be dealing with the political science of the ancients. Prof. H. W. Rogers, who writes the introduction, makes the scarcely excusable slip of attributing to De Lolme the saying, which, as he says, is familiar, but which was uttered in the first instance by Selden, about Parliament .being able to do anything but make a man a woman anda woman aman. Yet neither this blemish nor any other of the kind detracts from the value of the book as a whole. The various phases of the United States constitution are presented in it with great clearness, and, as has been already said, the information here given both supple- ments and elucidates the statements in Mr. Bryce’s work. The last page in this work con- tains the only passage which does not add National Hymn’ by Mr. Marion Crawford. Judging from the extract, we may pronounce his prose far better than his poetry. Mr. Artuur Giiman’s Story of Boston (G. P. Putnam’s Sons) cannot fail to please as well as interest a Bostonian. Everything that can be said in praise of the capital of Massachusetts is set forth in this volume. Samuel Adams is lauded as if he were a statesman, and its citizens are represented as strong men keeping up a struggle against monarchy during a century and a half. It is unquestionable that the founders of Massachusetts, who were also the builders of Boston, had a genius for government, and they had singular success in giving effect to their views. These men were Englishmen to the backbone, and if the capital of Massachusetts be as wonderful a place as Mr. Gilman thinks, then the merit is chiefly due to those who left England to form a new country across the Atlantic. The early governors of Massachusetts were elected by the people, and by those of the people whom the clergy considered qualified to vote, and the first royal governor was not the equal of those whose early homes were in Eng- land; he was Sir William Phips, a native of Maine, and he had all the virtues and most of the drawbacks of a man born in the woods of New England and self-educated. His chief distinction consisted in being the father of twenty-five children and acquiring a fortune by raising a Spanish treasure ship. He was a thoroughly muscular Christian, being a regular churchgoer and quite ready to floor with his fist a man who offended him. A statement ina foot-note at p. 277 requires verification. It is taken from Gordon’s ‘ History of the American Revolution,’ and is to the effect that in the colonial days a Bostonian ‘‘was actually obliged to pay in taxes two-thirds of his income, besides the excise on tea, coffee, rum, and wine.” If the foregoing statement be accurate, which we doubt, then the Bostonians must have been on the verge of pauperism. PHILOLOGICAL LITERATURE, A First Aryan Reader, Edited by G. A. Schrumpf. (Nutt.)—This book will be found useful by students of comparative philology, who are accustomed to see principles illustrated by means of the dissected fragments of languages, but who, if they were to confine themselves to the published hb ndbooks, would be in much the same position with regard to the living reality as a hypothetical student who should be versed in theoretical anatomy and even embryology, but who had never seen aman. The work has been prepared with great care, and a high level of accuracy has been reached and maintained throughout. The student is furnished with short specimens of the different Aryan languages accompanied by grammatical analyses and a copious choice of translations. In the latter case the compiler has, in our judgment, unne- cessarily burdened his pages with renderings which have no independent scientific value. For instance, there was no reason to summon a Sanskritist from Spain to confirm the transla- tions by Gorresio and J. L. Burnouf of an easy passage from the ‘ Ramayana,’ while M. Hip- polyte Fauche, whose elegant rendering is also printed, is no safe guide for the beginner. The same remark applies to the interesting hymn from the Rig-Veda. “ Clarissimus Wilso” may well be allowed te rotain his primacy honoris causa, though his translation was mainly based upon the orthodox tradition of the commentator ; but of the other scholars quoted two only are now significant for science—Ludwig and Roth. One circumstance is not without interest as showing that science, as it advances, learns also not to know. There is no specimen of ‘‘Indo- European.” The composition of a fable in this inferential jargon presented, indeed, no difti- culty to Schleicher, but his result remains simply to its value, being four lines from a ‘New | as a curious monument of a vanished epoch, and the present generation of scholars have grown too cautious to repeat the experiment. It is to be hoped that the compiler of this useful book will devote himself to work of a more special and original character, in which the qualities of industry and accuracy, which he plainly pos- sesses, will have worthier scope. Leabhar Sgeulaigheachta. By Douglas Hyde. (Dublin, Gill.)—This book of stories and old sayings is printed in the Irish language and character, with an Irish title-page, on which the place of publication appears in its collo- quial Irish form of Baile-ath-Cliath, instead of Dublin, but at the end the author has about forty pages of which he says, ‘‘I accordingly write, reluctantly enough, this and the follow- ing notes in English.” Leabhar is the Latin liber, book ; while Sgeul is a history,and Sgeulaigh- eachta, a history of story-telling. The stories are collected and arranged by the author, and curiously his own name as it appears on the title- page is the first word which requires criticism. “De H-Ide” he writes it in Irish. It ought to be Delahoide, in English Delahyde, and is a name not unknown in Irish history. Some of the names of this form in Ireland are Gaelic, but the associations of this particular race make it probable that Delahyde is a name imported from England. The father-in-law of Eleanor Delahyde was one of the FitzGeralds of Kildare, and was killed by the Irish of Leix in 1519. Sir Walter Delahyde was in 1528 a friend of Walter Wellesley of Dangan and an enemy of O’Conor. One of the only two acts passed by the Irish Parliament of 1585 was for the restitu- tion in blood of Lawrence Delahyde. Rowland Delahyde in 1616 was a friend of Sir Richard Southwell, and obtained a licence to keep forty taverns and sell aqua vite in Limerick. About the same time Richard Delahyde married a daughter of Sir Christopher Barnewall. In 1605 Walter Delahoid was allowed to enlist men in Munster for service abroad. It would not be difficult to pick out slight errors here and there in the book, but they are all unim- portant, and do not detract from its genuine value. The stories were most of them written down as they were told, and they are now printed for the first time. Several rustic riddles are given, as :— Teachtaire beag o theach go teach Achodlas amuigh san oidhche: A little messenger from house to house Who sleeps out at night. The answer is boithrin, a lane. Some curious sayings follow, as :— Four Englishmen that are not covetous, Four Frenchmen that are not yellow, Four cobblers that are not mendacious, That is a dozen that is not in the land. How many people are there, excluding actual scholars, who will enjoy the book on which Mr. Hyde has spent so much pains? Very few, we fear. Stanihurst three hundred years ago main- tained with some warmth that, whatever ignorant Englishmen might think, there were men in Ireland who knew but a few words of Irish, and whose vernacular was English. At the present day English is generally spoken, and it is only among the remote mountains and on the isolated islands that people are to be found who know nothing but Irish. Amongst these there is probably not one who could read Mr. Hyde’s book. This is the melancholy answer to the remark with which he begins his notes: “It seems ridiculous that we cannot publish a book in our own language without introducing more or less of English into it.” He deserves none the less great credit for the careful collection of these tales, and for the ability with which he has set them forth in their native garb. A Classified List of all Simple and Compound Ideographs occurring in the Texts hitherto Pub- lished, with their Assyro-Babylonian Equivalents, Phonetic Values, dc: Compiled by R. E. Briin- now. (Leyden, Brill.)—The convenient and valuable book which we have before us will be
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448 THE ATHENZAUM N° 3284, Ocr. 4, 90 welcomed with gratitude by every student of Assyrian, and will be of great service to those who wish to begin the study of that difficult language. Hitherto the only books which could help the beginner to learn the Assyrian character, besides the monumental work of Rawlinson, were the ‘ Assyrian Grammar,’ by the Rev. A. H. Sayce, and the ‘ Lesestiicke,’ compiled by Dr. Delitzsch. To both of these works, how- ever, the incompleteness of the syllabaries given and the absence of all references were very serious drawbacks, and students of all classes were in want of a complete list of signs, with their values, and as many references as possible to texts where they are found. This want Dr. Briinnow has en- deavoured to supply in his ‘ Classified List.’ He has collected all the signs which are found in the five volumes of Sir Henry Rawlinson’s ‘Cuneiform Inscriptions,’ in Strassmaier’s ‘ Alphabetisches Verzeichniss,’ and in other editions of texts; of each of these there are given all the phonetic values known at present, and full references. The student is thus able to test every statement made by Dr. Briinnow, and we hope that we shall see his accurate method of treating texts followed by other students. The work contains 14,487 entries ; the lists of non-Semitic verb-forms and phonetic values form practically a dictionary of Accadian, a compilation which will be of great use in the study of this much-discussed language. It is to be hoped that Dr. Briinnow may continue his labours on the Assyrian syllabary, for the publication of texts, which is now going on rapidly, will supply him with abundant material. OUR LIBRARY TABLE. In a free country every one presumably has the right to translate Horace if he likes, and even to publish his translations ; but the public has an equal right to avoid reading them, and it is a right which it may be advised to exercise in the case of Mr. E. H. Stanley’s translation of the Odes (Blades, East & Blades). The trans- lator’s preface is modest, but he cannot be said to have succeeded even in giving ‘‘ the general, and possibly non-classical, reader a fair idea of the scope and meaning of each one” of the poems. The metres are in many cases those of Moore, no doubt from a proper perception of the Horatian flavour of much in the latter poet; but unfortunately Mr. Stanley cannot command the smoothness, much less the melody, of his original. The following is a sample, less rough in rhythm than many, but sufficiently showing the character of the translation :—} v-s« Foreseeing the evil such precedent wrought ; Ye Gods, do I see—he exclaimed— Rome’s standards disgraced, by Punica brought To her shrine—and Rome’s honour defamed. As to scholarship, the following list of perver- sions of proper names occurring in these poems will make it unnecessary to discuss the ques- tion more widely : Euxene, Euxines’, Glycéra (rhyming with ‘‘dearer”), Neréus (trisyl- lable), Cocytus, Tihonous, Belerophon, Egcean, Proeneste, Tityon (elsewhere Tityos and Tityus), | Torentum, Necera, Danaae, CElius, AZachus, Neereus (trisyllable, for Nireus). Some of these may be due to the printer, but all cannot be, and there are many more of the same description. No reviewer should be ungrateful for a book which sends him back to his Horace ; but Mr. Stanley has hardly established a claim on the gratitude of the general public. Yorkshire Chap-Books, edited by Charles A. Federer (Stock), contains ten chap-books written and printed by Thomas Gent. The editor states that he intends to publish “in a collected form the various chap-books, pamphlets, and broad- sides which have appeared in the county of | York up to the close of last century.” We have | no wish to attempt to damp his antiquarian ardour ; but we confess that we are not eager i | St. Winefred,’ ‘ Lives of Afflicted Job,’ ‘ Histories of our Saviour,’ &c. If he would give us a new edition of Gent’s entertaining autobiography we should be grateful. From the house of Calmann Lévy there reaches us a volume on Pozzo di Borgo, by Vicomte Adrien Maggiolo. When Alexander I. of Russia marched from Poland to Paris, two foreigners, both of them belonging by birth to countries which had fallen within French in- fluence under Napoleon’s reign, were Alex- ander’s chief advisers: Jomini, the Vaudois, for war, and Pozzo di Borgo, the Corsican, for politics. Pozzo, who had previously been Pre- sident of the Corsican Council of State while George III. of England was King of Corsica, afterwards became—that is after the French Restoration in 1814—the soul of the alliance between the emperors of Russia and the kings of France, and exercised great influence in Europe from Paris, where he was Russian am- bassador. After the events of 1830 he was less of ‘‘a force,” and as Russian ambassador to St. James’s was not a success. The present volume is pleasant reading for those who have not time to wade through the despatches and letters of the great diplomatist, and there are a few secret documents in it which are new and interesting, though not important. We object to the spelling of Wellesley with a V, and have to point out to the author that Russian style is not ‘‘new style,” but old. WE have before us several new editions : first and foremost a third of the delightful Book of Sun-Dials (Bell & Sons), which we owe to the late Mrs. Gatty, her daughter, and Miss Lloyd : a volume that tempts to gossip, and lends itself to comment, for which, unluckily, we have no room.—Messrs, Jarvis & Son have sent us a reprint of twogossipy books, The Queens of Society and The Wits and Beaux of Society, by Grace and Philip Wharton. The original illustrations have been reproduced, and Mr. Justin H. McCarthy contributes a preface.— Messrs. Mac- millan continue their publication of a convenient edition of Mrs. Craik’s fiction with Miss Tommy. The Miner’s Right, by Rolf Boldrewood, has been added by the same firm to their series of novels at three-and-sixpence.—Mr. Marston has reprinted from Scribner’s his lively article How Stanley wrote ‘In Darkest Africa.’ Mr. Mar- ston’s habit of hard work seems to have ac- companied him to Cairo. Mr. Mackeson has issued (Hull, Peck) with his accustomed promptitude and regularity his Church Congress Handbook. The biographical sketches are rather uneven. Prof. Margoliouth deserved more than eight lines, and Sir F. Gold- smid more than six. WE have on our table Illustrated Europe, Nos. 117-23, To and through Hungary, by C. Siegmeth and others (Zurich, Orell, Fiissli & Co.),—A Summer Holiday in Europe, by Mary E. Blake (Dublin, Eason & Son),—Horne’s Guide to Whitby (Whitby, Horne), — Indian History, Asiatic and European, by J. T. Wheeler (Mac- millan),—The Brief for the Government, 1886-90, by W. H. Meredyth (Blackwood),—The School- master and the Law, by J. Williams and E. Markwick (Bell),— Exercises in Latin Prose Com- position for Schools, by M. G. Daniell, Part I. (Boston, U.S., Leach & Co.),—Primer of Book- keeping, by J. Thornton (Macmillan),— Essays, Essay-Writing, and Paraphrasing, by OC. Dawson (Hughes),—Annual Report of Mines, Victoria, 1890 (Melbourne, Bain),—Report on the Meteorology of India in 1888, by J. Eliot (Calcutta, Government Printing Office),—The Classical Review, Vol. IIT. (Nutt),—California State Mining Bureau, Ninth Annual Report, 1889 (Sacramento, Young),—Thirty-seventh Re- port of the Department of Science and Art of the Committee of Council on Education, with Appen- | dices (Eyre & Spottiswoode),— Bibliography of | | the Muskhogean Languages, by J. C. Pilling | to read many more of these doggerel ‘ Lives of | (Washington, Government Printing Office),—A | Hymn of Zoroaster: Yasna 31, translated with Comments by A. V. Williams -Jackson (E. Arnold),—In the Pronaos of the Temple of Wisdom, by F. Hartmann, M.D. (Theosophical Publishing Society),—Early Reviews of Great Writers, 1786-1832, edited by E. Stevenson (Scott),—The Modern Malady, by C. Bennett (E. Arnold),— Hypnotism, by A. Moll (Scott),— The International Annual of Photography, edited by W. J. Harrison and A. H. Elliott (Lliffe & Son),—Four Thousand Years After (Wakeham), —Ferrers Court, by J. S. Winter (White),— My Churchwardens, by a Vicar (Skeflington),— Captives to Cupid, by S. Gibney (Bowden & Co.)—A Clean Pair of Heels, by F. J. Pitt (Remington & Co.),— Tragedies of Elland, edited by J. H. Turner (Bingley, Harrison),—Trish Diamonds (Gibbings),—Rarahu; or, the Mar- riage of Loti, by P. Loti, translated by Clara Bell (Kegan Paul),—The Way Out, by Austin Clare (Masters),—The Tragedy of Capt. Harri- son; or, the Brounlow Street Mystery, by R. C. J. (Nutt), — Gentleman Jack, by M. L. Tyler (Authors’ Co-operative Publishing Co.),— Poems of Owen Meredith, selected by M. Betham- Edwards (Scott),—ZLyra Mancuniensis, by W. Hughes (Kegan Paul),—Bertram the Prince, an Idyl (Philadelphia, Collins),— Hours of Medita- tion, by E. Morris (Simpkin), — Bohemian Legends and Ballads, by F. P. Kopta (Schiitten- hofen, Jansky),—Poems, by L. Thain, Second Series (Brechin, Edwards),—Lostara, by S. L. Walters (Stock),—The Apostles’ Creed, Sermons by R. Eyton (Kegan Paul),—The Church Cate- chism in Scripture Story, Part IIT. (Griffith & Farran), — Oberammergauer litter, by R. Calwer, Series I. (Luzac & Co.),—Les Con- ciles et Synodes dans leurs Rapports avec le Traditionnisme, by F. Ortoli (Paris, Maison- neuve),— Shakespeare vom Standpunkte der Vergleichenden Litteraturgeschichte, by Dr. W. Weitz, Vol. II. (Kegan Paul),—Memorie d’ ua Fanciullo: Il Cappellano della Rovella, by G. Carcano, with Notes by the Rev. A. OC. Clapin (Hachette),—Les Hommes du 14 Juillet, Gardes- Frangaises et Vainqueurs de la Bastille, by V. Fournel (Paris, Lévy),—Die Journalisten, by G. Freytag, edited by W. D. Toy (Boston, U.S., Heath),—Les Artistes Célébres: Fragonard, by F. Naquet (Paris, Librairie de ‘ L’Art’),—and Rapport sur les Musées et les Ecoles d’ Ars Industriel en Angleterre, by M. Marius Vachon (Paris, Imprimerie Nationale). Among New Editions we have The Scriptural Doctrine of Sacrifice and Atonement, by A. Cave, D.D. (Edinburgh, T. & T. Clark),—A Directory of Writers for the Literary Press, particularly in the United States, by W. M. Griswold (Bangor, Maine, Griswold), — Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents, and Strange Events, by S. Baring-Gould (Methuen), —Maemillan’s Progressive French Course, by G. Eugétne-Fasnacht: Second Year (Macmillan),— New Spanish Reader, with Notes, edited by C. M. Sauer and W. A. Roehrich (Nutt),—Ele- mentary Algebra, by C. Smith (Macmillan),— Behind the Kafes, by M. Albert (Simpkin),— Facts about Champagne, by H. Vizetelly (Vize- telly & Co.),—Songs without Music, by H. Aidé: (Bell), —and Fremdes wnd LHigenes, aus dem geistigen Leben der Gegenwart, by Prof. Dr. L. Biichner (Leipzig, Spohr). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology. Bourazan’s (F.) A Sacred Dictionary, an Explanation of Scripture Names, &c., 8vo. 17/6 cl. Buxton’s (H. J. W.) God’s Heroes, a Series of Plain Sermons,. cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Crake’s (Late Rev. A. D.) Stories of the Old Saints and the Anglo-Saxon Church, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. Dale’s (R. W.) Living Christ and the Four Gospels, 6/ cl. Hali’s (M. H.) Builders of the Church in Northumbria, 2/ cl. Hofmeyr’s (N. J.) The Blessed Life, How to Find and Live It, 12mo., 2/6 cl. MacMillan’s (Rev. H.) Harvest and Thanksgiving Services, er. 8vo. 5/ cl. Morrison’s (Rev. D.) The Great Hymns of the Church, their Origin and Authorship, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. My Counsellor: Holy Scripture, arranged as Morning and Evening Meditations, 32mo. 3/6 cl. i) ‘ iy —_ — SE eS Ss _s SS SPS, OE eS Se Sa - SSS —— - SS
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The Family Coach, cr. 8vo. 3/ cl. FOREIGN, Theology. Didon (le Pére): Jésus Christ, 2 vols. 16fr. Poetry. Curto (H.): Die Figur d. Mephisto im Goethe’schen Faust, 2m, Science. Elbs (K.): Die Synthetischen Darstellungsmethoden der Kohlenstoff-Verbindungen, Vol. 2, 9m. 50. A NEW MANUSCRIPT OF THE CONQUEST OF THE CANARIES. On the Ist of May, 1402, a body of adven- turers sailed from La Rochelle under the com- mand of a Norman knight, Jean de Bethencourt. The voyage on which they had embarked was, as we are told by Mr. Major, “the earliest authenticated distant voyage made by French- men to the south,” and it resulted in the con- quest of the Canary Isles, and the establishment there of a short-lived monarchy, with Bethen- court for sovereign. For the history of the expedition we are indebted to Pierre Bontier (or Boutier) and Jean Le Verrier, who served in it as chaplains, and whose joint narrative is well known under the title ‘Le Canarien.’ This highly curious work was first edited by P. Bergeron, Paris, 1630, and most recently by Mr. R. H. Major for the Hakluyt Society, Lon- don, 1872, and by M. Gabriel Gravier for the Société de lHistoire de Normandie, Rouen, 1874, the text of all the editions being derived from a single MS., written in or about 1482 for Jean de Bethencourt, nephew of the voyager, and still in the possession of one of his descen- dants. But although the Bethencourt MS. has always been spoken of as unique, such is now proved not to be the case, for there is at least one other in existence, which was acquired within the last two years by the British Museum, and is now numbered Egerton MS. 2709. It is to this newly discovered MS. that I wish here to call attention, not only as being considerably the earlier of the two, but because its text differs so remarkably from the current version as to lead to the conclusion that we have in it the original form of the work as it came from the authors, before it was recast and expanded to flatter the family pride of the Bethencourts. The general character of the differences will be expressed if I call the one MS. B, after Bethencourt, and the other L, after Gadifer de La Salle, who was his chief associate. In B this La Salle is not mentioned at all in the preface; he is enlisted by Bethencourt, like any other member of the company, at La Rochelle, and he occupies throughout the position of a some- what querulous and refractory lieutenant. In L, on the contrary, the two start on equal terms, or if anything La Salle has the precedence. The preface introduces them in the terms: “ Gadifer de la sale et iehan de bethencourt, cheualiers, nez du royaume de france, ont entrepris ce voyage.” The authors, moreover, speak of themselves as ‘‘chappellains et seruiteurs” to both, and not to Bethencourt alone; and under guise of a compliment they make a covert re- flection on the latter as no longer capable of feats of arms from having lost ‘‘la force et la ; vertu daucuns de ses membrez.” | In the open- ing chapter L again couples the two together as co-partners and in the same order, adding the information that La Salle was a Poitevin of the Touarsois ; while, more curiously still, in the body of the work it constantly attributes to him actions and speeches which in the later text are credited to the other. Thus, if we are to believe the Museum MS., when the voyagers touched at Cadiz and were accused of piracy, it was La Salle, and not Bethencourt, who con- fronted the tribunal at Seville and repelled the charge ; and similarly, when they reached the Canaries, it was La Salle, and not Bethencourt, who landed on the isle of Lancerote and brought the natives to terms. The latter passage is a typical one, and I give an extract from it as it appears in the two MSS. :— L. Et entra Gadifer par le pays, et mist grant deligence pour trouuer des Canares, mes il ne peust, car il ne sauoit mie encores le pays; si retourna au port sans autre chose faire. Et eurent leur conseil quil prendroit des compaignons et se remettrozt ou pays et nen_ partiroit iusques atant quil en eust trouve. Et ainsi fut fait; et trouua des gens qui descen- dirent des montaignes, et vindrent parler a /uz, et ap- pointerent que le Roy uen- droit en certain lieu. Et ainsi fu il; car Gadifer ne vouloit mie faire nul accord a euls sans Bettencourt son compaignon, qui estoit de- moure au port, Et vindrent a ja iournee dune part et dautre, et se misterent en la mistance des cheualiers dessus dis, comme amis, non mie comme subgiez ; qui les prin- drent (?) a garder de tous ceuls qui leur voudroient mal faire a leur pouoir. Mais Bettencourt en a depuis mal Sait son deuoir, ainsi que vous verrez vn pou cy apres. Et demourerent eu/s et ceuls de lisle Lancelot en bon accord. Apres commencerent vn chas- tel, &c. B. Etentra Monsieur de Bethen- court par le pays, et mit grande diligence de prendre des gens de Canare, mais il ne pefit, car il ne sgauoit mie encore le pays; si retourna au port de Ioyeuse sansautre chose faire. Et lors M. de Bethencourt demanda & messire Gadifer de la Sale et aux autres gentil- hommes, qu'il leur estoit aduis de faire; fut aduisé qu’ils prindroient des com- pagnons et se remettroient au pays, et n’en partiroient iusques & tant qu’ils eussent trouué des gens; et tantost en fut trouué, qui descen- dirent des montagnes, et vindrent par deuer euz, et appointerent que le Roy du pays viendroit parler 4 M. de Bethencourt, en la presence de Gadifer et plusieurs autres gentilhommes. Et se vint le dit Roy en Plobeissanee dudit Bethencovrt et de la compagnie, comme amis, non mie comme subiets; et leur promit-on qu’on les garderoit & l’encontre de tous ceux qui leur voudroient mal faire. Mais on ne leur a mie bien tenu conuenant, ainsi comme vous orrez plus & plain cy apres de- claré. Et demourerent Ze dit Roy Sarrasin et M, de Bethen- court d’accord, et fit faire le dit Sieur de Bethencourt vn chastel, &c. Soon after this, leaving La Salle to continue the conquest, Bethencourt returned to Spain, and from this point the two became seriously estranged, their relations in fact anticipating, on a smaller theatre and with less disastrous con- sequences, those which in the next century obtained between Pizarro and Almagro in the conquest of Peru. And no wonder ; for, while Bethencourt’s ostensible object in returning was to fetch reinforcements and supplies, his sole anxiety seems to have been to secure for himself, by persistent suit at the Court of Castile, the title of King of the Canaries. In this design he at length succeeded, all the while, as L has it, ‘‘ sans faire mencion de son compaignon Gadifer ”; and the breach of faith was all the more galling to the latter as, what with the hostility of the- natives, mutiny among his men, and failure of provisions, he had in the interval been reduced to the direst extremity. As the two authors had been left behind with him, they naturally shared in his chagrin and disgust at Bethen- court’s neglect ; but it is only in L that these feelings find unrestricted expression. They had given up, they say, all hope of aid from Bethen- court, who cared nothing for their sufferings and diverted to his own uses money bestowed for their relief ; even the vessel which at length partially relieved them was freighted, not by him (a3 in B), but by others; and when he himself returned, ‘‘environ deux ans apres quil nous deuoit secouru de gens et de vitaillez,” it was to assert his sovereign rights in La Salle’s despite. All this has a different complexion in the B text. La Salle’s complaints are there, indeed, but they are represented as undeserved and unintelligible; there is no recognition of the fact that he had worked and suffered while the other had intrigued ; and the text generally
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450 THE ATHENZAUM N° 3284, Ocr. 4,790 is expanded, condensed, and otherwise mani- pulated in Bethencourt’s interest. For the divergences to be properly appreciated the two texts would have to be printed side by side, and it is to be hoped this will be done. Meanwhile, enough has been said to indicate the character and value of the new text so happily recovered, and I will now give a few reasons for the belief in its priority to the other. As regards the relative dates of the two MSS. there is no room for doubt. B was admittedly written as late as 1482, and both the handwriting and ornamentation of L point unmistakably to a date some fifty years before. And on a comparison of style and matter it seems equally clear that L is not only the older MS., but contains the older, if not quite the original, text. It is written mostly in the first person, and not, like B, in the third; it is simpler in language and looser in structure ; and altogether it reads like a rough draft rather than a finished work. Moreover, while B is carried down to Bethencourt’s death in 1422, L ends, with the description of the several islands, soon after his return from Spain on the 19th of April, 1404 ; and this, be it noted, is quite in accord with what the authors say as to the limit of their work in the preface, although in B, to the puzzlement of editors, the date 1404 has been changed to 1406. Among incidental evidence we have also the fact that a passage in L, “ Nous auons deux papez, dont nous tenons a lun et les Romains a lautre,” &c., is omitted in B, suggesting that the latter text took its shape after the termination of the fifty years’ schism in 1429. The probability therefore is that, when La Salle left the islands in disgust shortly after Bethencourt came back, he took with him a copy of the work in its then state, and that L represents it. Whether the text has been at all modified it is impossible to say; but, if so, it may be safely assumed that it was not in a sense favourable to Bethencourt. If there were any doubt that La Salle is meant to be the hero, it would be dispelled by the miniature at the beginning. This depicts a vessel crowded with armed men, and on flags at the prow and stern and at the masthead, as well as on the shield borne by the most prominent figure, are the arms of La Salle, agreeing exactly with those on an engraving of his seal with which I have been favoured by M. Margry. As for the arms of Bethencourt, they nowhere appear, not even among the row of shields which decorate the bulwarks. Gro. F. Warner. GERMAN TRANSLATIONS. Pray permit me to point out a growing evil. That the ordinary cheap translation from English into German should, as a rule, be faulty, is not surprising. The work being but too frequently confided to persons little instructed and less paid, the result is what may be ex- pected. After all, novel-readers do not mind it much. But the practice of presenting the German public with inferior versions has recently ex- tended to books of higher pretensions. A notable specimen of the kind, I regret to say, is the German edition of Mr. Stanley’s ‘ Darkest Africa.’ Though the book is both important and expensive, the translator, wherever the idioms differ, is pretty safe to give a literal rendering of the English, thereby disfiguring his German and committing any number of slips, from sema- siological solecism to absolute error. Instances of the most ordinary kind of mis- take committed may be gathered freely. Just a few cases :— I. 386. ‘* Dass die Verbindung mit verniinf- tigen Kosten offen gehalten werden kénne.” “* Verniinftige Kosten,” evidently meant to render ‘‘ reasonable cost,” is about as correct in German as “intellectual cost” would be in English. L. 390. “ Drei Mann sind nicht zuriickgekom- men. Hoffentlich werden wir nicht wieder demoralisirt.”” “Demoralisirt,” apparently in- tended to represent “ demoralized,” in German refers to immorality, not to want of discipline. I. 290. “ Unsere erste Erfahrung mit Masam- boni’s Volk.” Germans unacquainted with the use of the English term ‘‘experience” will interpret this as referring to some experience gained in common by Mr. Stanley and Masam- boni’s people. It should be ‘‘ Bekanntschaft.” I. 172. ‘Ich trieb einen Holzpfeil aus der Entfernung von 2 m. durch beide Seiten einer leeren Zinndose.’’ No German unacquainted with English will in this passage discover the meaning of ‘‘I drove” in its literal rendering “Tch trieb.” It should be “schoss ” or “ durch- schoss ” or ‘‘ durchbohrte,” or, possibly, “stiess” or “ warf.” I. 394, £°15,000 Stiick Vich erobert,” and I. 405, ‘Keine Rinder oder Ziegen erobert.” Germans may ‘‘erobern” towns, but can only ‘* erbeuten” cattle. And so forth. The list would become too long were it to extend to style and diction. English authors had better look after the translations of their books, if German publishers do not. C. ABEL. THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON. Messrs. Kecan Pav, Trenci, TRUBNER & Co.’s announcements include, among religious and philosophical works, ‘The Historical Origin and Religious Ideas of the Psalter (the Bampton Lecture, 1889),’ by Canon Cheyne,—‘ Lectures and Papers on the History of the Reformation in England and on the Continent,’ by the late Rev. Aubrey Moore, and a volume of ‘ Essays, Scientific and Philosophical,’ by the same writer, —‘The Formation of the Gospels,’ by F. P. Badham, — three new volumes (‘ Romans,’ ‘Proverbs,’ and ‘ Ezekiel’) of the “ Pulpit Com- mentary,”—‘ The Rise of Christendom,’ by E. Johnson, — ‘Things Present and Things to Come,’ by the Rev. J. B. Johnson,—‘ The True Grounds of Religious Faith,’ an essay on Dr. Martineau’s recent book ‘The Seat of Authority in Religion, —‘ The Hour of Prayer,’ by H. N. Grimley,—‘ Puritanism in Power,’ by C. Wise,—‘ The Jewish Religion’ and ‘ A Text- Book of the Jewish Religion,’ by Dr. Fried- lander,—‘ The Idea of Rebirth,’ by Francesca Arundale, with a preface by Mr. Sinnett,—a translation of Prof. Diodato Lioy’s ‘ Philosophy of Right’ by Mr. W. Hastie,—and ‘Black is White ; or, Continuity Continued,’ by ‘‘ The Prig.” Among biographies : ‘The Life and Doc- trines of Joseph Boehme,’ by F. Hartmann,— ‘ Confucius the Great Teacher,’ by Major-General G. G. Alexander,—‘ Bishop Rawle,’ amemoir, by G. Mather and C. J. Blagg,—‘ The Life of Philip Henry Gosse,’ by Edmund Gosse,—‘ Memoirs of my Mayoralty,’ by Sir H. Isaacs, — two new volumes of the “Eminent Actors Series,” viz., ‘Thomas Betterton,’ by R. W. Lowe, and ‘Charles Macklin,” by E. A. Parry, — ‘ Disraeli and his Day,’ by Sir William Fraser, —‘Stafford House Letters,’ edited by Lord Ronald Gower,—and ‘ Journal of Emily Shore,’ edited by her sister. Among social and scien- tific works: ‘Turanian Stock,’ being a new division of ‘ Social History of the Races of Man- kind, by A. Featherman,—‘ Free Exchange,’ papers on _ political and economical sub- jects, by the late Sir Louis Mallet, — ‘Socialism, New and Old,’ by Prof. William Graham,—‘ On the Modification of Organisms,’ by David Syme,—‘ General Physiology’ and ‘Theory of Physics,’ by C. Calleja, M.D., —and ‘Air Analysis,” by J. A. Wanklyn and W. J. Cooper. Among novels they announce ‘There and Back,’ by George Mac Donald, 3 vols., —‘My Friends at Sant’ Ampelio, by J. A. Goodchild,—‘ A Sensitive Plant,’ by E. and D. Gerard, 3 vols.,—and ‘Scot Free,’ by C. G. Compton. Among poems they promise ‘A Vision of Saints,’ by Lewis Morris, —‘ Aschylus,’ he seven plays in English verse, by Prof. Lewis Campbell,—‘ Lyrics, and other Poems,’ by Lady Lindsay,—‘ Tintinnabula,’ new poems by C. N. Robinson,—‘ Cosmo Venucci, Singer, and other Poems,’ by May Earle, —‘ The Golden Quest, and other Poems,’ by Mrs. Moss Cockle,— ‘Idylls, Legends, and Lyrics,’ by A. G. Mears, —‘ Laurence : Scenes in a Life,’ a new poem, by Croasdaile Harris,—‘ Man and the Deity, an Essay in Verse, and other Poems,’ by Lieut. -Col. Fife Cookson,—a new and cheaper edition of ‘ My Lyrical Life,’ by Gerald Massey, 2 vols.,— ‘Raymond, a Story in Verse of London and Monte Carlo,” by A. L. Stevenson,—and in the ‘* Parchment Library ” ‘ Burns’ Poems,’ selected and edited by Andrew Lang. Their Oriental works include ‘ Khassi Gram- mar,’ by the Rev. H. Roberts,‘ Arabic Chres- tomathy in Hebrew Characters,’ by Hartwig Hirschfeld, Ph.D.,—‘ Bihar Proverbs,’ by J. Christian,—‘ Hindu Grammar,’ by the Rev. 8. H. Kellogg, D.D.,—‘ Telegu Grammar,’ by Henry Morris,—and ‘Afghan Poetry of the Seventeenth Century,’ selections from the poems of Khush Hal Khan Khatak, with translations and intro- duction by ©. E. Biddulph. They also an- nounce facsimile reprints of ‘The Kalendar of Shepherdes’ and ‘The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia,’ with introductions by Dr. Oskar Sommer,—‘ Forty Days in the Holy Land, by E. H. Mitchell,—‘ Travel Sketch,” by T. Sin- clair, — ‘ Wells Wills,’ arranged in parishes and annotated by F. W. Weaver,—‘ A Practical French Grammar,’ by Prof. Mortimer de Lar- moyer,—‘ Soups and Stews and Choice Ragouts,’ practical cookery recipes, prepared by Miss T. Cameron,—‘ Practical Mercantile Correspond- ence, by W. Anderson,—and ‘ From Lyre to Muse: a History of the Aboriginal Union of Music and Poetry,’ by J. Donovan. In addition to the works we have already mentioned Messrs. Longman promise the com- pletion of Mr. Lecky’s ‘History of England,’ Vols. VII. and VIII.,—‘ The First Crossing of Greenland,’ by Dr. Nansen,—in the “ His- toric Towns” series, ‘York,’ by Canon Raine, D.C.L.,—‘A Treatise on the Diseases of the Sheep,’ by Prof. Steel, of Bombay,— new editions of Quain’s ‘ Anatomy’ and Gray’s ‘ Anatomy,’ — a translation of Prof. Mende- Iéeff’s ‘The Principles of Chemistry,’ by Mr. G. Kamensky, edited by Mr. A. J. Greenaway, F.I.C.,—‘ A System of the Stars,’ by Miss A. M. Clerke,—‘ The Retreat of the Ten Thousand : being the Story of Xenophon’s Anabasis,’ by Prof. Witt,—‘ Essays on Educational Reformers,’ by R. H. Quick,—‘ Poems,’ by V. (Mrs. Archer Clive),—‘ Pictures in Rhyme,’ by A. OClark- Kennedy,—‘ Introduction to the Study of the History of Language,’ by Prof. Strong, of Liver- pool, and Mr. W. S. Logeman,—‘ A Manual of the Science of Religion,’ by Prof. Chantepie de la Saussaye, translated by Mrs. Colyer Fergusson, — The Intermediate State between Death and Judgment,’ by Canon Luckock,—‘ The Christian Home,’ by Canon Knox Little, — ‘ Letters from Rome,’ by the Rev. Thomas Mozley,— ‘The World’s Desire, by H. Rider Haggard and Andrew Lang,—‘ Virginie: a Tale of One Hundred Years Ago,’ by Mr. Val Prinsep,— and ‘ Racing Reminiscences and Experiences of the Turf,’ by Sir George Chetwynd. Messrs. W. H. Allen & Co. propose to publish a series of volumes containing the history of various national churches. The series will con- sist of fourteen volumes. The following volumes have been arranged : ‘Germany,’ Mr. Baring- Gould ; ‘Spain,’ Canon Meyrick ; ‘ Ireland,’ the Rev. T. Olden; ‘ Russia,’ Canon Rawlinson ; ‘Scotland,’ Canon Luckock ; ‘ Scandinavia,’ Dr. Maclear ; ‘America,’ the Bishop of Delaware ; ‘Switzerland,’ the Rev. A. Carr ; ‘The Nether- lands,’ by the editor, Mr. P. H. Ditchfield. Their other announcements are: ‘The Culti- vated Mangoes of India,’ by Mr. C. Maries, F.L.S.,—‘ Three Persian Plays,’ with Persian text and literal English translation, and ‘The
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XUM Ne 3284, Ocr. 4, 90 THE ATHENAUM 451 Bustan of Sadi’ (Persian text), photo - litho- graphed from a MS., with notes in English, both edited by Mr. A. Rogers, B.C.S. retired,— ‘Rosalba, a Story of the Apennines, by Mr. F. G. Wallace-Goodbody,—‘ Memoirs of Alex- andre Dumas,’ translated from the French by Mr. A. F. Davidson,—‘ In Troubadour Land,’ by the Rev. S. Baring-Gould, with illustrations by Mr. J. E. Rogers,—‘ Fifty Years in Ceylon,’ by Major Skinner, C.M.G., edited by his daughter, —‘ By Track and Trail in Canada,’ by Mr. E. Roper,—‘ Some Aspects of the Hindoo Religion,’ by Mr. J. Kerr,—‘ Naval Warfare: its Prin- ciples and Practice Historically Treated,’ by Rear-Admiral Colomb,—‘ Great Commanders of Modern Times,’ by Mr. O’Connor Morris, — ‘The Life and Teachings of Mohammed, with a History of the Early Caliphate,’ by Syed Ameer Ali, C.I.E.,—‘ Epochs of the British Army,’ by Mr. R. Simkin, —‘ Old Records of the India Office,’ by Sir George Birdwood, K.C.I.E., with coloured illustrations by W. Griggs, —‘ Dramatic Sketches,’ by J. A. Wheatley,—‘ Japanese Plays Versified,’ by the late Thomas R. H. M‘Clatchie, edited by his brother, with illustrations by Japanese artists,—in ‘‘ The Statesman’s Series ”: ‘Grey,’ by Mr. Frank Hil], and ‘ Gortschakoff,’ by Mr. G. Dobson,—‘ A Chinese Delectus,’ by Prof. Douglas and Fung Yee, late Secretary Chinese Legation,—‘ The India Sailing Directory,’ Vol. IL, by Capt. A. D. Taylor,—‘ Theory of Chess Openings,’ by Mr. G. H. D. Gossip,— ‘The Dairy Annual,’ by Mr. J. Long,—‘ The Poultry Annual,’ by Mr. J. Long,—a popular edition of the Rev. Harry Jones's ‘ Holiday Papers,’—and new editions of ‘Modern Tactics,’ by Capt. H. R. Gall; the Rev. Anton Tien’s ‘Manual of Colloquial Arabic’; and ‘ The First Five Chapters of the Taubatu-N-Nasth’ (of M. Nazir Ahmed), edited by Mr. M. Kempson, M.A. The Society for Promoting Christian Know- ledge promise a new volume of ‘‘ The Fathers for English Readers,” ‘St. Patrick : his Life and Teaching,’ by E. J. Newell,—‘ The Historical Character of the Old Testament,’ by the Rev. J. Eckersley,—‘ Mass’ George,’ by Mr. Manville Fenn,—‘ Coral and Cocoanut,’ by F. F. Moore, —‘ Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep,’ by Dr. Gordon Stables,—‘ A Pearl in the Shell,’ by Austin Clare,—and ‘Family Troubles,’ by Mrs. Molesworth. Mr. William Heinemann’s announcements in- clude ‘Memorials of the De Quincey Family,’ with letters and other records here first pub- lished, edited by Dr. A. H. Japp, — ‘My Social Life,’ by Marie Bashkirtseff, — ‘The Genesis of the United States,’ by Alex- ander Brown,—a translation of the ‘Life of Henrik Ibsen,’ by M. Jeeger,—‘ Denmark,’ its history, topography, literature, finance, &c., edited by H. Weitemeyer,—‘ Posthumous Works of Thomas de Quincey,’ Vol. I., containing ‘ Additional Suspiria’ and other essays, edited by Dr. Japp,—‘ The Complete Works of Hein- rich Heine,’ translated by Charles G. Leland, with a life by Dr. R. Garnett,—‘The Coming Terror, by Robert Buchanan,—a new play by Henrik Ibsen,—new novels by Mr. Hall Caine, Ouida, Florence Warden, and Hannah Lynch,— a romance of the future of electricity, by Mr. T, A. Edison and Mr. Parsons Lathrop,—‘ In the Valley,’ by Mr. H. Frederic,—and the fol- lowing new volumes of ‘‘ Heinemann’s Interna- tional Library”: ‘The Chief Justice,’ by Emil Franzos ; ‘Work while ye have the Light,’ a tale of the early Christians, by Count Tolstoi ; ‘Fantasy,’ by Matilda Serao; a volume of tales by Vladimir Korolenko ; and ‘Under the Half- Moon,’ by Jokai. Messrs. J. S. Virtue & Co. have the following in preparation ;: ‘The Life and Work of Birket Foster,’ by Mr. Marcus B. Huish, being the Christmas number of the Art Journal, containing an original etching by Mr. Foster and other illustrations, — ‘Sketches of England,’ by a foreign author (P. Villars) and a foreign artist (F. Myrbach), with over fifty illustrations,— ' ‘Richmondshire,’ a series of twenty line en- gravings after J. M. W. Turner, R.A., printed from the original plates, —‘ Adeline’s Dictionary of Terms in Art, Architecture, Heraldry, Archzo- logy,’ with nearly 2,000 illustrations,—‘ French Cookery for Ladies,’ by Madame Lebour-Faws- sett,—‘ Pictures by Sir Edwin Landseer, R.A.,’ a collection of steel engravings,—new editions of ‘ The Stately Homes of England,’ by Llewel- lynn Jewitt, F.S.A., and 8S. C. Hall; and ‘Castles and Abbeys of England,’ by W. Beattie,—‘ The Year’s Art, 1891, by M. Huish,—‘ Showell’s Housekeeper’s Account Book for the Year 1891,’ —and new editions of several books for children. Messrs. Wells Gardner, Darton & Co. an- nounce the following new books: ‘Richard de Lacy, a Tale of the Later Lollards,’ by Mr. C. E. Maurice,—‘ Children’s Literature in England : some Account of its History and Progress,’ by Mrs. E. M. Field,—‘ Cameo Cutting, by J. B. Marsh,—‘ Etching,’ by G. W. Rhead, with an etched frontispiece and engravings,—‘ Under the Shadow of Etna,’ by E. A. Richings,—‘ Re- citations for Recreations,’ edited by Mrs. Tre- beck,—‘ Beyond the Veil,’ by the author of ‘Earth’s Many Voices,’ &c.,—‘ Letters to my Girl Friends,’ by Lady Baker,—‘ Sidelights in Revelation,’ by the Rev. J. C. Blissard,—‘ Ad- dresses on Prayer for Children,’ by the Rev. C. J. Ridgeway,—‘In Covenant with God,’ by the Hon. and Rev. A. Legge,—the following books for children: ‘The White Kangaroo, a Story of Colonial Life, founded on Fact,’ by Davenport Cleland; ‘Christiana,’ by H. L. Taylor ; and‘ The Story of a Mountain’ and ‘In Search of a Son,’ by Uncle Lawrence,—seven books by the author of ‘ Honor Bright,’ &c.: ‘Five, Ten, and Fifteen,’ ‘The Two Black- birds, ‘ Halt!’ ‘ All’s Well!’ ‘Tom’s Opinion,’ ‘Larry’s Luck,’ ‘ Hardy and Foolhardy,’—six volumes edited by Canon J. Erskine Clarke : ‘ Abbot’s Cleeve,’ ‘A Night in the Marshes,’ ‘Going for a Soldier,’ ‘ Bickley Wood,’ ‘ Annie Bourne,’ ‘Gregory of the Foretop,’—new edi- tions of ‘Church or Chapel?’ by the Rev. J. Hammond ; ‘ The World and the Kingdom,’ by the Bishop of Mississippi ; ‘Mopsa the Fairy,’ by Jean Ingelow ; and ‘ Better Never than Late,’ by the Lady Grey,—and the annual volumes of Church Work, Chatterbox, Sunday, and other magazines. Messrs. Bemrose & Sons have in preparation ‘ The Official Report of the Church Congress of 1890,’—‘ County Records; or, Three Centuries of Derbyshire Annals,’ by the Rev. Dr. Cox, —‘The Corporation Plate and Insignia of Office, &c., of the Cities and Corporate Towns of England and Wales,’ by Mr. W. H. St. John Hope, M.A.,—‘ Devonshire Wills,’ arranged and annotated by Mr. C. Worthy,—‘ Scenes in the Life of a Nurse,’ by Sister Eva,—‘ Brave Men of Old: Plain Readings on the Minor Prophets,’ by R. Fisher, M.A.,—and fourth editions of ‘The Electric Light Popularly Explained,’ by T. Bromley Holmes, and ‘ The Scientific Angler,’ by the late David Foster. Messrs. Houlston & Sons will publish ‘ Socio- logy Diagrammatically Systematized,’ by Arthur Young,—‘ The Homilist and Preacher’s Analyst,’ Vol. V., popular series,—‘In the Days of our Childhood’ and ‘Toby and Tot,’ by A. F. Jackson,—‘ The Loves of Tibullus: his Rustic Elegies, &c.,’?a volume of poems, by the Rev. J. Cowden-Cole, M.A.,—‘My Soul and her Saviour,’ a poem, by T. G. Jack, and ‘To the Friends of Long Ago,’ a poem, by the same author,—and ‘Mormon Saints!’ by W. Her- bert Thomas. The National Society has in the press several new story-books for the young: ‘ The Slaves of Sabinus,’ by Miss C. M. Yonge; ‘The Locked Desk,’ by Frances M. Peard; ‘The Vicar’s Trio,” by Esmé Stuart, &e. Messrs. Bickers & Son announce ‘True Catholicity or Cramped Conformity?’ by Canon George Venables, of Norwich,—‘ A Play and Fifteen Sonnets, by G. H. Kersley,— | the Greek Gymnasium. | dorus. [ | tury, containing the ‘Hecuba’ (from line 104 6), and ‘Sacred and Shakespearian Affinities,’ by C. A. Swinburne. Messrs. H. Grevel & Co. announce a transla- tion, by Mr. Shedlock, of ‘ Richard Wagner's Letters to his Dresden Friends,’/—‘ The Student’s Atlas of Artistic Anatomy,’ by Prof. C. Roth, of Munich, with 34 plates,—‘A Manual of Archeology (Egyptian and Oriental, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art),’ by Mr. Talfourd Ely, with 114 illustrations,—‘ A Manual of Bib- liography,’ by Mr. W. T. Rogers, Inner Temple Library,—the annual volume of ‘ The Classical Picture Gallery,—and a new volume of the “ Meggendorfer Series of Movable Toy- Books,” styled ‘ Comic Actors.’ THE GREEK MSS. AT SALONICA. OnE of the buildings reduced to ashes in the deplorable fire that devastated Salonica on the night of the 3rd to the 4th of September was Some hundreds of Greek MSS. were preserved in it, but in the most surprising way they escaped destruction. It may, therefore, be a suitable occasion for saying something about them. These manuscripts are unfortunately not pro- perly known. No catalogue of them has been published. They consist of two classes. Part of them are well arranged in glass cases beside the printed books in the library ; and so far as they are concerned the lack of a catalogue is not a great inconvenience. They are modern MSS., mostly the result of the scholastic activity of recent centuries. Every one who has visited Greek libraries in the East is familiar with the treatises on logic and metaphysic, the school copies, provided with notes between the lines, of discourses of the Fathers or of fragments of classical literature, that form such a large portion of the monastic libraries. The part I have mentioned of the Salonica collection is of this description. The other portion of the collection contains some old and interesting MSS. Yet they have not been nearly so well treated. When I visited the library in 1880 they were lying in a heap in a dark, cellar-like corner op the ground floor of the Gymnasium. They had been brought there in 1875 from the church of St. Demetrius by order of the then Metropolitan of Salonica, afterwards the Patriarch of Con- stantinople, Joachim IIf. They were in bad con- dition when they arrived, and five years of con- tinued neglect had done them still further harm. As they were not placed in a cupboard, but lay on the damp floor and had neither light nor air, I found most of them gnawed by mice and worms and seriously injured by damp. When I had them brought out into the adjoining room I was often stopped in my work by fits of coughing caused by the dust and dirt. However, in the few hours that I had at my disposal I was able at least to glance through the majority of them. I worked rapidly and diligently, under the idea that perhaps among these remains of the old library of the Cathedral of Salonica I might dis- inter some of the books of Eustathius, the learned bishop of the city in the twelfth century. I con- sidered itnot quite impossible that Ishould at least discover among them the commentary of Eusta- thius on the odes of Pindar, of which we possess only the introduction. What I found before me were the usual writings of the Fathers that are to be met with in monastic libraries. To be sure there were several volumes on parchment of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Their contents, however, so far as I examined them, were por- tions of Holy Scripture, lives of the saints, volumes of church music, works of the Fathers, especially St. Chrysostom, St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Johannes Climacus,and Nomocanones. Ancient literature was represented by MSS. of late date, among them being the romance of Achilles Tatius and the ‘ Authiopica’ of Helio- There was a MS. of the sixteenth cen- the ‘ Orestes,’ and the ‘ Phcenissz’ (to line 1693).
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452 THE ATHENZUM N° 3284, Ocr. 4, 790 I was not the first to examine this library. As long ago as 1837-38 Zacharié von Lingenthal had examined it, and he gives an account of it in his ‘ Reise in den Orient’ (Heidelberg, 1840). He found the manuscripts in the church of St. Gregory, by which he means the metropolitan ehurch, as the bones of the saint are preserved there. He says that he saw there about a hundred dusty MSS. in a pitiable condition, while some fifty, which had belonged to the library, lay in the washhouse of an adjacent house. He was especially struck by an Evan- geliarium of the seventh or eighth century. Another manuscript on carta bombycina, a quarto of the fourteenth century, was enriched with illuminations, and contained, according to Zacharii, a history of Alexander the Great, which was written in popular Greek metre, and a poem on the Trojan war, which reminded the German scholar of the writings of Dictys and Dares. Unfortunately I could not in 1880 lay my hands on the costly Evangeliarium, or the codex containing the history of Alexander, or the one relating to the Trojan war; so I am not able tosay whether the history of Alexander is related to the modern Greek versions of the pseudo-Callisthenes with which weareacquainted, and whether the poem on the Trojan war is that of Constantine Harmoniacus, which I once studied in the Leyden Library, fragments of which Maurophrydis published several years ago, and which M. Legrand has printed entire in the fourth volume of his ‘ Bibliotheque Grecque Vulgaire.’ I can only add that the MSS. that have been removed from the church to the Gymnasium seemed to me to be more numerous than Zachariié represented. Instead of one hundred and fifty I should say there were ever two hundred. On leaving Salonica I begged the managers of the Gymnasium to have the manuscripts sorted and catalogued, a request I repeated in the * Mélanges Graux,’ in which I gave an account of my visit. Soon after I had been there Dr. Petros Papageorgiu visited the library and ex- amined the MS. of Euripides thoroughly. He gave an account of his collation in the Greek Atheneum in 1881, and promised in the course of his article to edit a detailed list of the MSS., which, however, has not yet seen the light. Meanwhile I had not relaxed my efforts to save the MSS. from decay. In 1883, being head of a department at the Ministry of Public Instruction, I had an opportunity of suggest- ing that the Greek community at Salonica should present the MSS. in the Gymnasium and that of the Thaouchmonastir, upon which also I had written in the ‘Mélanges Graux,’ to the national library at Athens. The efforts of the minister proved fruitless. I then urged the head of the Gymnasium that, as foreign scholars frequently inquired about the MSS., they should at least be putin some sort of order. I was assured that this had been done. Now that the Gymnasium has been burnt down it is to be hoped that when a new building is erected effectual measures will be taken for the preservation and arrangement of a collection which possibly still contains the last relics of the library of the learned Eustathius. Spyr. P. Lamsros. M. KARR. Dears has deprived France of another of her literary veterans, one of the last left of those who witnessed the great battle between the Classicists and the Romantic school. M. Karr’s first novel appeared in 1832, two years after the battle raged over the first representation of ‘Hernani.’ M. Karr became mixed up in literary warfare at a date a little later, when he founded Les Guépes, and was wounded for his pains. To English readers he is best known as the author of the delightful ‘ Voyage autour de mon Jardin’ and by his saying, “ Que messieurs les assassins commencent.” Since 1870 M. Karr had prac- | tically withdrawn from journalism and dramatic writing. ‘Les Roses Jaunes’ in 1866 was the last piece of his produced on the Parisian stage, and his publications after that date were mainly reprints. Literary Gossip. WE regret to hear that Mr. Rudyard Kipling has broken down from overwork. He has been ordered to take a sea voyage, and sailed on board the P. and O. steamer Shannon for Naples on Thursday. His ill- ness will probably delay the publication of ‘The Book of the Forty-five Mornings.’ Lorp Acron will print in the forthcom- ing number of the English Historical Review an article on ‘ Déllinger’s Historical Work,’ in which he traces from personal know- ledge, and with the help of many private materials, the steps in Dollinger’s life of study and authorship, and his relations with friends in the contemporary Catholic world. The paper ought to be a contribu- tion of documentary importance to the re- ligious history of the last sixty years. Mr. Gomme has made considerable pro- gress with his ‘ Dictionary of English Folk- lore,’ upon which he has been engaged for the last five years or so. The chief feature of the plan adopted is an analysis of each custom, superstition, or legend which forms the subject of an entry, according to its geo- graphical distribution and the date of its first being put on record. This is followed by a summary of the evidence afforded by the analysis. Messrs. BentLEy & Son will issue shortly two volumes of ‘ Last Records’ by Fanny Kemble. Messrs. Groomsrince & Sons are turning their firm into a limited company, with a capital of 50,0007. Juvenile literature is a feature in the business. The house was founded about sixty years ago by the late Mr. Richard Groombridge. In the course of next week Mr. David Stott will publish, in two volumes, a new edition of Carlyle’s translation of ‘ Wilhelm Meister’ in his ‘‘ Masterpieces of Foreign Authors.” In addition to an introduction by Prof. Dowden the book will contain a number of notes, and a not too well-known portrait of Goethe and a view of his house at Weimar. The value of the edition will be still further enhanced by the inclusion of two selections from Mr. Edward Bell’s trans- lation of Goethe’s revised edition of the ‘ Wanderjahre ’—the conclusion of the ‘ Man of Fifty’ and ‘ Odoard’s Address.’ Tue London Society for the Extension of University Teaching commences its winter session with sixty-four courses of lectures, against fifty-two last year. A yEaR or so ago Mr. Rudyard Kipling, when passing through New York, called on Messrs. Harper and offered them for reprinting ‘Soldiers Three’ and other pieces of his, nowfamous. He was speedily shown the door, and told that a firm devoted to the publication of literature of a high class could not trouble itself about such writings as his. This autumn Messrs. Harper have picked out of the magazines some six stories volume. They have sent Mr. Kipling a letter containing a bald announcement of the fact and the sum of 10/., which has been promptly returned. The only side of literature that Messrs. Harper appear to understand at all is the commercial. When an author is unknown to fame, they, it would seem, content themselves with insult- ing him; when he i3 celebrated, they insult and rob him. WE are in a position to state that the projected Colonial Quarterly Review, to which references have been made in the London and provincial press during the week, was not intended in any sense to oppose Lord Rosebery and the Imperial Federation League. The main object, as stated in the prospectus, was to provide a literary organ in London for distinguished colonists. The difficulties in the way, however, of an under- taking of this sort are great, and, despite the interest taken in the proposed scheme by such men as Lord Derby, Sir Mountstuart Grant-Duff, Sir John Lubbock, and Mr. Froude, the review is not likely to make its appearance unless its promoters receive more direct support from Canada and the Cape as well as from Australasia. THERE is a strong wish felt that Prof. Huxley would write his autobiography, and that it should include a statement of his own philosophical standpoint. It has been pointed out that though he has at various times told us a good deal of what he does not believe, yet he has been extremely chary of declaring himself in an opposite direction. In his works it is difficult to discover his position, though it is possible he would say that the word agnostic, which he himself invented, defines it. Perhaps there is more of himself in the little history of Hume, published in 1878, than in any other of his works ; but even there it is difficult to tell how closely sympathy and agreement are yoked. In any case, whether it for ever took the argument out of the mouth of the controversialist or not, a biography of Prof. Huxley written by himself could not be other than a valuable contribution alike to literature and science. ‘Eicur Days’ in the Cornhill is by Mr. Robert Forrest, who is alternately with Sir Alfred Lyall accused of being the author of ‘The Rajah’s Heir,’ the novel of Indian life recently published. UnveErR the auspices of the Cambridge University Syndicate for the Training of Teachers a course of twelve lectures on the ‘Theory of Education’ will be delivered by Mr. H. Courthope Bowen, M.A., in the Literary Schools on Wednesdays and Satur- days, at 2.15 p.m., beginning Wednesday, October 29th. The lectures will in the main consist of brief descriptions of the modes andinter-relations of mental activities, together with a more detailed application of psychological principles to the art of teaching. CarpinaL Newman’s‘ Arians of the Fourth Century’ has been recently translated into modern Greek by Dr. J. D. Phoropoulis, and has been published at Constantinople. Pror. TosiEr’s election as Rector of the of Mr. Kipling’s, without asking his permis- | University of Berlin has been officially sion or giving him an opportunity of revis- announced, from which circumstance the ing them, and have printed them as a German papers draw the welcome conclusion Sees
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XUM N° 3284, Ocr. 4, 90 THE ATHEN#ZUM 453 that the distinguished Romance scholar, who, as we stated last week, had declined the academical dignity on account of his feeble health, has finally consented to accept it. A sHILLING edition of Dr. Smiles’s ‘ Life of George Moore, Merchant and Philan- thropist,’ is to be published by Messrs. George Routledge & Sons. Messrs. SonnEenscHEIN & Co. will shortly publish an ‘ Introduction to English, French, and German Phonetics,’ by Laura Soames, assisted in the French part by M. Paul Passy, of Paris, editor of Le Maitre Phoné- tigue, and in the German part by Prof. W. Vietor, of Marburg, editor of Phonetische Studien. The book is intended to furnish an easy introduction to the elements of phonetics, and includes a list of English loan-words from French and other lan- guages, and hints to teachers. An English phonetic reading - book, with exercises for use in class teaching, is added. Mr. Fyrre’s ‘History of Modern Europe,’ which was recently completed in library form, is about to be issued in monthly parts. For this serial issue original illustrations are being prepared by Mr. Blair Leighton, Mr. H. G. Glindoni, and other artists. SrmvLTANEOUSLY with the publication of the French edition of the Talleyrand memoirs, the work will be issued, volume by volume, in English by Messrs. Griffith & Tarran, who have secured the co-operation of M. Raphaél Ledos de Beaufort and Mr. Whitelaw Reid for the translation. Mr. J. G. Lzrcu has become editor of the Nottingham Daily Express. Tue chief Parliamentary Papers of the week are Joint-Stock Companies, Return for 1889 (1s. 9d.) ; Metropolitan Hospitals, Report of Committee and Evidence (5s.) ; and Ecclesiastical Dilapidations Act, Bene- fices surveyed 1885-89, Return (1d.). SCIENCE wma ORNITHOLOGICAL BOOKS. Authenticated List of the Birds of Herefordshire. Compiled by George Horne. (Birmingham, The Naturalists’ Publishing Company. )—Aided by Mr. W. C. Blake, of Ross, and Mr. J. B. Pilley, of Hereford, Mr. Horne has produced a modest, but exceedingly compact and useful county-list—one which is really of far more service than a pretentious work with a similar title, which we noticed a year or two ago. The copy before us has been improved by some printed slips of corrections, but several errors still remain, which, though obviously due to the printer, should not have escaped the author’s revision. Amongst these our old enemy turns up, this time in the shape of ‘‘ Podicopide,” which is even worse than ‘‘ Podicipidee,” for Podicipedidw. The arrangement is stated to be that of the fourth edition of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ wherein, if reference be made, the author will find the above word, which seems to be such a terrible stumbling-block to many ornithologists, correctly rendered ; and those who have ‘‘little Latin and less Greek” will do well to copy exactly. ‘anary Birds: how to breed for Profit and Pleasure: an Exhaustive Treatise on all the Dif- ferent Breeds. By Dr. Karl Russ. (Dean & Son.)—The matter of this small illustrated work is excellent, as might be expected from the author, who is an authority upon all kinds of cage-birds ; and the details respecting the production of the different races of canaries cannot fail to interest the student of variation of species under domestication. Darwin would have been as much pleased with many of the facts here set forth as he was with his own experiments and those of others on pigeons. It is well known that a large business is done in breeding canaries for exportation, but few persons are aware that in Germany alone from 450,000 to 600,000 birds are annually produced (St. Andreasberg, in Hanover, exporting from 40,000 to 50,000 males), while Belgium and Switzerland rank more or less high; special arrangements for the transport of canaries by post being made by the German authorities. The ‘‘ authorized translation” appears to have been made by a German with the help of a dic- tionary, and at times the ordinary rules of syntax are defied, but nevertheless the meaning is seldom obscured, and to any one interested in the subject this work will be almost as amusing as it is nstructive. The Birds of Essex: a Contribution to the Natural History of the County. By Miller Christy. (Chelmsford, Durrant & Co. ; London, Simpkin, Marshall & Co.)—This work, which is vol. ii. of the special memoirs produced under the auspices of the Essex Field Club, does equal credit to the enterprise of that society and to the care of the author. With the assistance of many fellow workers, both in and without the county, Mr. Christy has striven to improve upon the plans of the local lists which have hitherto appeared; and not only has he been fairly successful in this respect, but he has undoubtedly introduced some new and useful features. Such are, for instance, the biographical notices of the principal Essex ornithologists (though some of these are too long), the remarks on the chief collections of birds, and the chapter on decoys. Besides a frontispiece and two plans, the work contains 162 illustrations of all sorts and sizes, though in favour of many of these it can only be said that in the eyes of a portion of the public any picture is better than none at all. Especially bad are the tree-pipit, rock-pipit, and house- sparrow, while little or no proportion in scale is preserved, even in the case of birds of the same family. On the other hand, some of the cuts are very good, particularly those by Mr. G. E. Lodge. The letterpress is, as a rule, written with considerable discrimination, though with a tendency to diffuseness, and we cannot always agree with the author as regards the species which he includes and those which he rejects; but these are minor points, and few blemishes are to be noted. We would, how- ever, remind Mr. Christy that the bird commonly known as the ‘‘ bearded tit” is a member of the family Panuride, and cannot be classed among the true tits (Paridee); that the grebes belong to the family Podicipedidw, and not ‘‘Podicipidee” as he has it ; that the name Limosa cegocephala has for some time been known to be inapplicable to the black-tailed godwit ; and that he has omitted to give the distinguishing features of the little ringed plover, which are just what the field naturalist wants to know. However, as we have already intimated, the work is thoroughly well done, and is a valuable addition to our local lists. THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON. THE announcements of Messrs. Crosby Lock- wood & Sons include ‘The Mechanical En- gineer’s Office-Book for Machine and Boiler Construction,’ compiled by Mr. Nelson Foley, and illustrated by 50 plates in large folio, —‘ The Colliery Manager's Handbook,’ by Mr. Caleb Pamely, M.E., of Pontypridd, to be illustrated with about 400 engravings,—‘ The Analysis and Valuation of Fuel, Solid, Liquid, and Gaseous,’ a manual for chemists and engineers, by Mr. H. J. Phillips, F.C.S.,—‘ Asbestos : its Pro- perties, Occurrence, and Uses,’ by Mr. R. H. Jones, illustrated with collotype plates, &c.,-— ‘Ventilation : a Practical Handbook,’ by Mr. W. P. Buchan, illustrated,—and ‘Country and Suburban Cottages and Villas: how to Plan and Build Them,’ 33 quarto plates, with intro- duction, general explanations, and description of each plate by Mr. J. W. Bogue, architect. ‘The Cabinet Worker's Handybook,’ by Mr. Paul N. Hasluck, with upwards of 100 illustrations, is a new volux.e of Lock- wood’s ‘* Handybooks for Handicrafts.” They also promise new editions of Youatt’s ‘Complete Grazier,’ rewritten by Prof. Fream. of the Downton College of Agriculture, and illustrated with a large number of engravings of stock, showing the latest examples of new and im- proved breeds,—Mr. R. Squibbs’s ‘ Auctioneers: their Duties and Liabilities, —‘ The Number, Weight, and Fractional Calculator,’ being the third edition of ‘The New Calculator,’ by Mr. W. Chadwick,—‘ Electric Light: its Pro- duction and Use,’ by Mr. John W. Urquhart,— ‘A Handbook for Young Brewers,’ by Mr. H. E. Wright, of the Dorchester Brewery,—also the following new editions in ‘‘ Weale’s Rudi- mentary Scientific Series”: ‘ Portland Cement for Users,’ by Henry Faija, M.Inst.C.E., third edition, corrected and enlarged ; and ‘ Circular Work in Carpentry and Joinery,’ by George Collings, second edition. The Society for Promoting Christian Know- ledge will shortly publish the following among numerous other works: ‘ The Birth and Growth of Worlds,’ by Prof. A. H. Green; ‘Soap Bubbles and the Forces which Mould Them,’ by Prof. C. V. Boys ; ‘Spinning Tops,’ by Prof. J. Perry ; and ‘Colour,’ by Capt. Abney. These volumes are to form part of the ‘‘ Romance of Science Series,” the first volumes of which were put forth last autumn. ‘A Natural History of the Animal Kingdom,’ for the use of young people, translated from the German of Prof. von Schubert by Mr. W. F. Kirby, will be published in three parts—(1) ‘Mammalia,’ (2) ‘ Birds,’ and (8) ‘ Reptiles, Fishes, &c.’ Mr. Heinemann promises the following scientific handbooks: ‘A Manual of assaying Gold, Silver, Copper, and Lead Ores,’ by W. L. Brown, revised, &c., by Dr. A. B Griffiths,— ‘Heat as a Form of Energy,’ by Prof. R. H. Thurston,—and ‘The Physical Properties of Gases,’ by A. Kimball. Mr. Thomas Southwell, F.Z.8., has com- pleted and edited the third volume of Steven- son’s ‘Birds of Norfolk,’ which was left un- finished at the author’s death. Messrs. Gurney & Jackson will be the publishers. MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WERK. Mon, Royal Academy, 4.—‘ Auatomy,’ Mr. J. Marshall. Engineers, 74. Fri. Royal Academy, 4.—‘ Anatomy,’ Mr. J. Marshall. FINE ARTS is THE ARCHAOLOGICAL SOCIETIES. The Archeological Journal, No. 185 (Oxford Mansion, Oxford Street), the first portion of the forty-seventh volume, is by no means the most interesting of the series. Nevertheless it contains some papers of value. Mr. A. Hartshorne contributes an intelligent sketch of the history of Castle Acre. Little is known about this once important place, nor can much be gathered from its relics that are still above ground; excavation might add to our know- ledge. The Rev. G. Miller has furnished some curious matter about ‘Church Plate in the County of Warwick,’ but much cannot be said for Mrs. H. A. Tirard’s compilation on the ‘Ideas of the Sphinx in the Ancient World. Mr. G. E. Fox’s ‘ Notes on Painted Screens and Roofs in Norfolk’ embody useful memoranda on existing remains of both kinds, but they are rather descriptive than historical or critical. A novelty is the Rev. W. Hudson’s additions to Mr L’KEstrange’s list of Norwich painters, stainers, and glaziers, extracted from the Court
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454 THE ATHENZUM N° 3284, Ocr. 4, 90 Rolls of the city. These authorities do not convince us that the decorations of the East Anglian roofs and screens are due to these craftsmen, who need not have been more skilful than the house-painters of our own day. Of course ‘‘peyntour” in the archives does not certainly mean ‘‘artist.” There is something amusing in Mr. Fox’s enthusiasm. He not only assumes that the ‘*peyntours” named in the archives enriched the church screens of East Anglia, but that they formed the beginning of a “school of painting”! We must know much more than the bare names of the crafts- men before it is possible to estimate their skill as better than mechanical. On the other hand, it is likely that Robert Okyll, of Norwich, who for 34s. 4d. painted a history of St. Catherine on a panel, was something better than a mechanic. The same may be thought of one Thomas of Yarmouth, who had higher wages than a workman’s. Sussex Archeological Collections, Vol. XXXVIT. (Lewes, South Counties Press), contains a long calendar of deeds belonging to the Sussex Archzeological Society, which must have cost Mr. E. H. W. Dunkin much time and labour. It embraces documents dating from 1444 to 1826, and of varied and unequal interest. Very curious and dear to Dryasdusts are the extracts from a note-book of one William Ridge (1715- 1785). Valuable, but less useful than such documents often are, is the inventory of the wardrobe, or rather of the garments which were given out of it to various persons, of Queen Katherine de Valois (1401-1437). There is a note on p. 198 of the Collections which illustrates the well-known fact that the ancient free libraries generous donors founded in churches and elsewhere soon fell out of use. In St. Ann’s, Lewes, the catalogue only exists, but the books were sold to buy a tire-engine ; at Steyning the master of the Grammar School sold the books for his own benefit. In addition to the above we have papers on heraldry and Sussex monuments by Mr. J. L. André; ‘Notes on the Grover Family,’ by Mr. W. S. Ellis; a few minor papers, and a useful body of Sussex notes and queries. Transactions of the Essex Archeological Society. New Series. Vol. IV. Part I. (Colchester, Wiles & Son.)—Mr. G. E. Pritchett has fur- nished a good paper on English ecclesiastical seals of the ofticial class. The art of seal engraving decayed at the same time that Gothic art was superseded by Italian. The Italians continued for many years to pro- duce beautiful seals of what, for want of a better term, we may call the classic type ; but in England there were very few which are interest- ing for their beauty. When all ecclesiastical jurisdiction was exercised in the name of the Crown, it was necessary that ofticial persons should be furnished with seals that should bear witness of this. Nearly all the matrices have perished, and the impressions, many of which must still exist, have not attracted the attention which is their due. We trust that Mr. Pritchett’s paper may draw attention to a neglected branch of study. Mr. Sparvel-Bayly and Mr. Cecil Deedes have each contributed a paper on the church bells of Essex. The bell inscriptions they record do not furnish any new varieties. The latter gentleman has contributed an excel- lent article on the duty of preserving our paro- chial records. Things are better now than they were a few years ago, but even now much wanton destruction is going on. We wish Mr. Deedes would enlarge his paper and issue it as a pamphlet for distribution. Transactions of the Cumberland and West- morland A ntiquarian and Archeological Society. Vol. XI. Part I. (Kendal, Wilson.)—The Cum- berland and Westmorland Archzeological Society | has long taken a high rank among provincial bodies devoted to the study of the past. The present number of the Transactions does nothing to lower its position, though we cannot say that it contains so much of general interest as some of its predecessors have done. The most im- portant article is on a very simple matter, on which we should have thought that long ago there would have been perfect agreement. Kes- wick, like most other places of any local im- portance in the North, has a town hall. It was built some seventy-seven years ago on the site of an older fabric. It is ugly and uninteresting, as such buildings often are. But for one reason we should imagine that no one outside the parish boundaries would remember its ex- istence. The guide-books, however, have for many years persistently told the public that it contains a bell dating from before the Norman Conquest. Sir Walter Scott is said to have made this remarkable discovery, which has been repeated over and over again by per- sons who had no doubts on the matter. Some years ago we personally examined the bell. It is small, and in form of the kind commonly made in the sixteenthand seventeenthcenturies. Upon it we read in Roman capitals H.D. 1001. RO. The Rey. H. Whitehead has been at no little pains to investigate the history of this bell. It appears that there was formerly a building on Lord’s Island, in Derwentwater, a house which is said to have been a summer residence of the Earls of Derwentwater, and that when this structure was demolished its bell was brought to Keswick. When we call to mind the history of the introduction of Arabic figures into England, it seems well- nigh impossible that figures of this kind should be found on any object coming down to us from the eleventh century. All persons who have made a study of our old bells know that their legends are full of blunders. Sometimes the letters are inverted, at others wrong letters take the place of right ones. A highly curious example of blundering occurs on the second bell at St. Peter’s Church, Bedford, where we Yead, ‘*God save the King, 1650.” If the date were correct, we should have a prayer for the king but one year after the execution of Charles I. In this case it is, moreover, noteworthy that the letters are inverted. What the true reading may be it is hard to guess. Weare inclined to believe that 1605 is the true date. Mr. Whitehead suggests various solutions of the Keswick mystery, none of them particularly improbable. We have no doubt that the first 0 has taken the place which should be occupied by a 6. Mr. Bulkeley gives an account of the supposed burial of a horse by the side of a human body. The discovery has re- cently been made at Lanercost. Owing to the want of interest in the matter displayed by the person whose duty it was to superintend the ex- cavations, our information on the matter is not so full as we could wish it. That man and horse were buried at the same period seems certain ; but whether the interment be Christian or heathen we have no means of knowing. Though contrary to the feeling of the Church, the burial of horses with their masters seems to have been by no means uncommon in the North after the old religious cults had made way for Christianity. Prof. Tylor, in his ‘ Primitive Culture,’ says that churchyards in Denmark were ‘‘hanselled” by burying a live horse therein. The Archwologia and other antiquarian journals, English and foreign, make mention of many instances of the bodies of men and horses being found together in positions which leave little doubt that the two were buried at the same time. As late as 1781 it is stated on good authority that on the burial of a cavalry officer at Treves his horse was led in the procession, and after the body had been lowered into the grave the animal was killed and thrown in upon the coftin. The Rev. Thomas Lees has communicated a paper on St. Catherine’s Chapel at Eskdale. The ship called the Blanche-Nef, in which perished Wil- liam, son of Henry I., and many of the nobles of England, was lost on the feast of St. Cathe- rine. Eskdale Chapel was probably built by one who had been enriched by the death of rela- tives who had gone down in the White Ship. Mr. Lees thinks that the cultus of St. Catherine in this country was stimulated by the cata- strophe. Devotion to the virgin martyr of Alexandria does not seem to have been popular here before the days of the Crusades. Though none of the oldest churches are dedicated to her, Mr. Lees says that there are some fifty churches in England that bear her name. This we think is an exaggerated estimate. In the great county of York there seem to have been but four. There is not a single one in Cumberland, Durham, Lincolnshire, or North- umberland. Though church dedications to St. Catherine were uncommon, it seems that in the later Middle Ages there was hardly a church that had not an altar in her honour. Mr. Fer- guson contributes an article, showing great re- search, on the siege of Carlisle in 1644-5, and Mr. Barnes one of equal value on the visitations of the Plague as they affected Cumberland and Westmoreland. Mrs. Ware furnishes some in- teresting facts on the custom of infant marriage, or rather marriage contracts, an evil custom which in this country survived the Reformation. This is a subject which cannot be dealt with effectively except by one learned in the canon law. LAST NOTES FROM ASIA MINOR. Constantinople, Sept. 10, 1890, Pror. Ramsay’s last letter (which we have not yet seen) will have informed you of our fortunes in the Anti-Taurus, and it only remains to give some account of our return journey from the Cilician Gates to the railway. Of the latter part of this there is little or nothing to say ; we merely traversed well-trodden ground very fast in order to bring horses and men back to Dinair ; but in the earlier part of the journey there was more to do. We parted from Mr. Ramsay not far south of Kaisariyeh, in order to travel by the direct horse-road to the Gates, a road which has been in all ages one of the greatest highways of Asia Minor, and on which accordingly we expected to find ancient remains. The result, however, did not justify such expectations, for nothing early is to be found between Devolii Kara Hissar and the Gates. A late site and tombs near Kerdeley, some remains of Roman period at Eneghil, and a Byzantine fort at one of the silver mines (Boghay Maden) are all the anti- quities of the road. At the better-known mines of Bereketli Maden there is nothing at all. We missed Mr. Ramsay at the Gates by a few hours, but found letters from him _ re- porting another important stone at Bor, possibly bilingual; and this decided us to go home by that place. It was necessary, however, to make a_ slight detour to the west to find the Hittite stone seen by Mr. Davis near the silver mines of the Bulgar Dagh. We were not long in hearing of it, and were guided by a villager to two stones, one on either side of the deep gorge which runs down from Bulgar Maden to Ali Hodja. Of the first it is impossible to speak with certainty ; the native guide pointed to a scarp high up on the face of an inaccessible cliff, and said that it was ‘‘written’’; but no sign of lettering could we see from the nearest accessible point. Our own belief is that the ‘‘writing” is a delusion, but verification is impossible without Alpine appli- ances. On the left bank of the stream we found the stone of which we were in search. The in- scription is carved on the face of a rock, almost at the summit of the ridge, and nearly 1,000 feet above the water. As in the case of most Hittite texts, an overhanging face was chosen, the better to guard the lettering from the weather. The characters are incised in the rock—the only known instance of this form of an? rw
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XUM N° 3284, Ocr. 4, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 455 cutting in a Hittite rock-inscription—and _re- semble generally the two incised texts of Bor and Andaval, described by us in a former letter. The Bulgar Maden text is in five panels, the first two shorter than the rest, and the whole divided and enclosed by lines. The characters are generally of small size, rather unevenly cut, and occupy a space altogether of about five feet by four feet. The average number of characters in a panel is between seventy and eighty. Except for a water-worn band which runs down the middle, this text is well preserved, and not difficult to copy. But the overhang of the rock makes it extremely difficult to “*squeeze” satisfactorily ; however, of all but the first line we brought away a very fair im- pression. Bulgar Maden is one of the few active mining centres in Turkey. The metal sought is silver, and we were told on all hands that the yield would be very large if the methods employed were a little less primitive. As it is at present it is a place to avoid, with its fume-laden air, its filthy Trapezuntian miners, and its hardly more pleasant Christian merchants ; and on the second night we fled from it to Gyumush (‘‘ silver”), a village south of the ridge enclosing the Maden valley. Written stones were re- ported there and at Tarbas, hard by, but proved on inspection to be of no interest. So we turned northwards out of the moun- tains, and struck the high road from the Gates to Eregli and Nigdeh, at a point about four miles east of Oolu Kischlar. graveyard we found two inscribed milliaria, the one giving the distance from Tyana, the other apparently from some other place, perhaps Heracleia Kybistra (Eregli). The next day we passed through Tyana itself to Bor, spending a short time on the large hillocky mound which covers the ancient city—a site to be recom- mended to the excavator of the future. On our arrival at Bor we immediately set to | work to find the stone which had been vaguely described to Mr. Ramsay, and were soon in- volved in a great deal of very futile negotiation. An exaggerated idea of the value of the stone prevailed, and for a long time we doubted whether we should be able tosee it. Eventually, however, it was agreed that we were to see the stone, but at night, while, in order to avoid ob- servation, we were taken to its place of conceal- ment by a long roundabout way and with a great air of mystery. A single glance was sufficient both to show us that it was not bilingual and to explain why it had been described as such. It was, in fact, the lower half of the stone we had already purchased, and contained a continuation | of the Hittite inscription ; the legs of the royal | figure were covered almost as far as the feet with a long robe, the embroidery on which was extremely elaborate and very carefully carved. This it was which had been mistaken by our informants for letters of another kind. We were unable to buy the stone after our former ex- perience, and found it quite impossible to obtain leave to copy it on any other terms. It remains for the Turkish authorities to possess themselves of it, and by fitting it to the upper portion, which we have already presented to them, en- rich the Imperial Museum with one of the most remarkable monuments in the world. A very interesting Hittite seal was sold to us in Bor. It was said by its owner to have been found near the silver mines of the Kara Dagh, north of Karaman. The head is rather larger than a shilling, and rests on three lion’s paws, terminating ina ring. On the face of the seal is a draped figure in the act of walking to the left with extended arms; the head has a close- fitting cap; the hands are empty. Round the figure is a legend of nine Hittite characters. The material of which the seal is made seems to be an alloy of silver. Our journey after this for some time offered little to describe. From Bor we went to Nig- deh, thence to Akserai, and from there across In a roadside | the great central plain to Kadyn Khan, where we joined the great road from Konia. We found nowhere anything of much archeological interest ; there were few sites, and these very late, and marked only by late and uninteresting epitaphs. What struck us most were the corn- growing capacities of the district we were riding through. Everywhere the threshing floors were | well filled, while much land, equally capable of bearing wheat with that which is cultivated, remained unoccupied. The great plain (the Axylon of the ancients), often incorrectly called a desert, which is blank in the map, is in reality covered with villages, generally about an hour or two apart. With means of communication with the outer world it might be converted into one large cornfield. Between Kadyn Khan and Igiin we visited, an impression of, the Hittite inscription which Mr. Ramsay had discovered on a former journey. It is situated about half a mile to the east of the main road between Kadyn Khan and Ilgiin, and about an hour north of the K6litélu Taila. The inscription is in three lines, well carved in bold relief ona large block of stone, but in some parts is a good deal worn by the weather. The last object of the expedition was to inquire into the truth of rumours stating that a second ‘ Niobe’ existed in the Murad Dagh above Ushak. We went rapidly along the valley of Phrygia Paroreus, only stopping for a few hours at the village of Fellelii in order to re-examine the Neo-Phrygian inscriptions there. From Karahissar we went to Chiflik Keni, where we parted from almost all our baggage, and obtained a guide who knew something of the road (a quality not always possessed by guides in this country) to take us over the mountains to Belova, near which place the object of our search was stated to be. Belova we found to be a very rough Vaila, about four thousand feet above the sea, and it was only after considerable inquiries that we could obtain any information about a “carved stone.” At length some one who knew about it was discovered, and the next morn- ing we were conducted in about half-an-hour’s ride to the cause of the rumour. We found a small block of marble about two and a half feet high, forming the lower portion of the statue of a female goddess. The hands lay on the breast in an impossible attitude, not crossed, but both pointing in the same direction; below was a wreath ; the lower part of the statue was an uncarved trunk ; everything else was lost. The workmanship was late. The statue had just enough character to show that it was not ordinary Roman work, but we found that we had been compelled to perform one of the less pleasing duties of a travelling archzeologist, to wit, dis- sipate delusions. D. G. Hocarta—A. C, HEapLaM. Sine-Art Gossip. Mr. F. Mapox Brown has nearly finished a picture begun as long ago as 1848 or there- about, that technically embodies some of the earlier principles of Pre-Raphaelitism, then a heresy with the development of which this painter, as one of Rossetti’s teachers, had much to do. Its title is ‘A Stage of Cruelty.’ The scene is the garden of a suburban house. A young lady is seated on a low wall dividing the garden from an adjoining one. She wears a bodice of brilliant white and a skirt of deep green shot with blue, the sheen of which, when this portion is more highly finished than at present, will harmonize charmingly with the lichens and mosses of the weather-stained wall of ruddy and purplish bricks, and the masses of deep green foliage behind her. A flight of steps is close by. She has been embroidering a slipper in coloured wools, and, at the urgent request of a young man, who stands in the ad- joining garden, has abandoned one of her hands | to him, while he, grasping it passionately, pleads for her love. It would seem that she is trifling with him, and, although not displeased by his ardour, cares little for him. In front of this group a little girl is playfully whipping a grim blood- hound couched at her feet, with a bunch of the flowers called ‘‘love lies bleeding.” At present the charm of this work is to be found in its exquisite coloration, its vivid, powerful, and local colours, the wonderful finish, fidelity, and breadth of the massed foliage, and the Van Eyck -like painting of the stone steps, some flowers, and the brick wall. The last and the | foliage are worthy to be compared with the | | famous wall and leafage in Sir John Millais’s ‘A Huguenot,’ which have long been considered unapproachable. Mr. F. M. Brown has finished a new and fine smaller version of his waterglass picture of the Romans building a fort at what made fresh copies of, photographed, and took | is now Manchester. The earlier version is known | to our readers as one of the more important decorations of the Town Hall of that city. Mr. Hook has been painting in Holland on Dutch water- ways, and, besides Cornish subjects, will probably contribute to the next Academy a Low Country picture or two. In the library of the Slade School, University College, London, Mr. H. Stannus will deliver two courses of lectures : (1) ‘ On Foliage used in Architectural Carving,’ and (2) ‘On Handicraft in Process and Design.’ The former series will occupy Monday afternoons, from five till six o’clock, from the 18th inst. till the 16th of De- cember next, both inclusive ; the latter series similar periods from the 12th of January next till the 16th of March following, both inclusive. Mute. R. Bonnevr has finished a fine and important picture of a Scottish shepherd taking shelter under a tree, which has been engraved by Mr. B. Pratt, and will be published imme- diately by Mr. Lefevre. WE have to record the death at Aberystwith, on the 20th ult., of Mr. Andrew George Kurtz, a wealthy and generous collector of works of art, which he freely opened to the public at Grove House, Wavertree, Liverpool. We de- scribed the most important pictures in this gallery among ‘‘ The Private Collections of Eng- land,” No. LXXX. (Athen., No. 3020, Sep- tember 12th, 1885). It includes specimens of the genius of Mlle. R. Bonheur and Madame H. Browne, as well as Sir F. Leighton’s ‘ Wind- ing the Skein,’ ‘Nausicaa,’ and ‘The Dead Ariadne’ ; Mr. Alma Tadema’s ‘ The Sculptor’s Studio’ ; Sir J. Millais’s ‘ Rosalind and Celia’; Mr. G. D. Leslie’s ‘Summer’; Mr. T. Faed’s ‘From Dawn to Sunset’; and John Linnell’s noble ‘ View in Surrey,’ 1865. Tue Fine-Art Society has appointed to-day (Saturday) for the private view of a collection of drawings of flowers by Mlle. M. Roosenboom. Messrs. Brappury, AGNEW & Co. are going to publish, in shilling monthly numbers, ‘ George du Maurier’s Society Pictures,’ being a selec- tion from the drawings he has contributed to Punch, depicting the social features of English society during the last quarter of a century. The issue will be uniform in size, &c., with that of ‘ John Leech’s Pictures.’ Tue late Mr. J. Anderson Rose was the elder brother of Sir William Rose, not, as stated last week, his junior. M. ArtTHUR STEVENS, an expert of repute, keeper of the pictures of the King of the Belgians, brother of the painters Alfred and Joseph Stevens, and, over the name of ‘‘Gra- ham,” a frequent contributor to Le Figaro, is dead. Tue forthcoming number of the Archeological Journal will contain the following papers : ‘Roman Antiquities of the Middle Rhine,’ by Prof. Bunnell Lewis; ‘On a Hittite Seal pur- chased at Smyrna by the Rev. Greville I. Chester,’ by Prof. Sayce; ‘Bosses of the Wooden Vaulting of the Eastern Walk of the Cloisters of Lincoln Minster,’ by Precentor
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THE ATHENAUM N° 3284, Ocr. 4, 90 456 Venables ; ‘Roman Inscriptions in Britain, 1888-1890,’ by F. Haverfield ; ‘Opening Ad- dress of the Antiquarian Section at the Meeting of the Institute at Gloucester,’ by E. Fresh- field; ‘Tewkesbury Abbey Church,’ by A. Hartshorne ; ‘Opening Address of the His- torical Section at Gloucester,’ by the Dean of Gloucester ; and ‘ Notes on the Encaustic Tiles in Gloucester Cathedral,’ by the Rev. A. S. Porter. THE most important series of tapestries in the Cathedral of Rheims, the gift of the Car- dinal de Lorraine, dating from late in the six- teenth century, and representing incidents in the life of the Virgin, are now being repaired and cleaned. It is not too soon these tasks are undertaken. The noble work on these and other tapestries in the same church, which we reviewed a few years ago, gives a complete account of them. In the Attic deme of Rhamnous, between Marathon and Oropos, the Greek Archzeological Society, engaged in clearing away the purlieus of the temples of Nemesis and Themis, have found several alto-relievos of the base of the statue of Nemesis described by Pausanias, two female heads (probably Helen and Leda), one of a man, the head of a horse, and three torsi (male and female), all of small size, but of excellent workmanship. THE series of catalogues of the Boulaq Museum issued by Mariette is well known to Egyptologists, and although many of the conclusions therein are hastily formed, and difficulties are often solved by the aid of the imagination rather than by the fruits of research, still the description of the objects contained in the collection supplies a mass of valuable infor- mation, useful to students and interesting to the general public. During his .directorship M. Maspero also compiled a catalogue, which, like all the productions of his brilliant and ver- satile pen, invested the science of Egyptian antiquities with the charm of romance. Since M. Maspero’s departure, and notwithstanding that the museum has been rearranged at Ghizeh, no catalogue has been forthcoming, and we hear on good authority that no preparations have been made to publish one for the ensuing tourist season. Apart from the interests of Egyptology, this continued absence of what is a necessity for visitors has long been a cause of complaint ; and considering the large sum of money the tourists spend in Egypt, it would be desirable for the authorities to send for an English Egyptologist to undertake the work at once. We suggest an Englishman because, the large majority of the visitors being English and Americans, it would be convenient for them to have a catalogue written in their own language, and not a translation into ‘‘ English as she is spoke.” MUSIC ic CONCERTED INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC. THE decline in general cultivation of the glee and the madrigal, which cannot be denied, however much it may be regretted, is, fortu- nately, conterminous with a marked increase of interest in concerted instrumental music, especi- ally for the violin and its stringed’ companions. We have before us five albums of music for violin and piano (Novello, Ewer & Co.), consisting of two sets of six sonatas by Corelli; a series of national melodies, arranged in the form of easy pieces by Siegfried Jacoby ; a book of tran- scriptions from ‘The Redemption,’ arranged by Berthold Tours; and a series of twelve ‘Characteristic Pieces’ by J. Jaques Haakman, Op. 10. The accompaniments to the Corelli sonatas, as well as the marks of expression, fingering, &c., are by Arnold Dolmetsch, who has done his work very satisfactorily. The | neglect of Corelli’s twelve violin sonatas by public performers is unaccountable, only one of them, that in p, No. 1, being ever heard even at the Popular Concerts. There is no reason for this exceptional favour, for some of the others are superior in melodic beauty and interest, and a careful study of these charming works will prove to the amateur how greatly Handel was indebted to his Italian predecessor. The pieces by Haakman are pleasing, tuneful sketches for elementary players. The same publishers send a folio edition of the accompaniments to Mr. Ebenezer Prout’s cantata ‘The Red Cross Knight,’ arranged for pianoforte and harmonium by the composer. Suite in v, for Full Orchestra. By G. Saint- George. Op. 20. (Charles Woolhouse.)—This is a work in six movements, namely, Preludio, Allemande, Aria, Bourrée, Passepied, and Giga. The imitation of the old form of suite is further shown by the maintenance of the same tonality throughout, and also to a large extent in the general character of the music as well as in the employment of the old binary form. The com- poser writes fluently, and his suite, if neither very original nor very elaborate, is on the whole a pleasing and effective work. The usual orchestra is employed without trombones. The following pieces for piano and violin are by the same composer : Romanesca, Op. 24, Medi- tation, Op. 25, and Sérénade Napolitaine, Op. 26. It cannot be said that the first and second are very interesting, but the third is brightly written and rather more difficult than the others. The same publisher sends Three Pieces for Vio- loncello, by W. Noel Johnson, very brief, but pleasing and easy; and a Fantasia on Scotch Airs, for violin and piano, by J. J. Haakman, a lengthy and elaborate piece, brilliantly written for both instruments.—Messrs. Augener & Co. send Lieder an den Mond, for piano, violin, and violoncello, by Swan Hennessy, three fanci- ful and pleasing little sketches, slightly sugges- tive of Schumann; Arioso e Canzonetta, for violoncello, with piano accompaniment, by E. Delvalle de Paz, well-written and expressive pieces, the second being the more effective of the two; and a book of twenty Scottish songs, arranged for the same instruments by F. Lau- bach. Sonata in ¥, for Piano and Violin. By Er- skine Allon, Op. 19. (London Music Publish- ing Company.)—We are inclined to regard this as one of Mr. Allon’s most successful efforts, showing as it does not only high-class musi- cianship, but more spontaneity than we have noted in most of his previous compositions. The themes of the three movements, if not remark- ably fresh, are bright and engaging, and the treatment is not so involved or restless as to be difficult and fatiguing to follow. The composer, however, still clings to the idea that continuity in a movement is eminently desirable. To a certain extent he is right, but a full close is not absolutely destructive of symmetry and consis- tency ; and the best works of Brahms, of whom Mr. Allon would seem to be an ardent disciple, are not those in which the composer never pauses to takebreath. The present sonatashould be brought to a hearing during the forthcoming season. Messrs. Weekes & Co. send Six Album Leaves, for violin and pianoforte, by C. Egerton Lowe ; trifles of the simplest character, and by no means remarkable either for musicianship or generally attractive qualities. A work of far greater value in every respect is Duo Concer- tante in D, for pianoforte and violoncello, by Harvey Lohr, Op. 13. This consists of a slow introduction and an Allegro in the sonata form, more noteworthy for flowing melody than con- structive elaboration, though perfectly satis- factory in a musicianly sense. A weak point is the want of contrast between the first subject and the second, which is given in the relative minor of the dominant. Nos. 32 and 33 of Favourite Melodies, for violin and piano, arranged | by Frederic Weekes, contain respectively tran- scriptions of Handel’s ‘‘ Lascia ch’io pianga ” and Meyerbeer’s ‘* Robert, toi que j’aime,” simply transcribed, but carelessly printed, typo- graphical errors being very numerous. A good word may be said for Canzoina, a melodious and expressive piece for either violin or viola, by Arthur E. Dyson (Keith, Prowse & Co.), and Romance, a solo for oboe, by George Marsden (Forsyth Brothers).—We have also received some numbers of the Clarionet Players’ Journal, containing original pieces and arrange- ments for clarinet and piano (Rudall, Carte & Co.). Mention may likewise be made in this place of Das Meer, Symphonie-Ode fiir Méinnerchor, Solo, Grosses Orchester, und Orgel, by Jean Louis Nicodé (Leipzig, Breitkopf & Hartel), the full score of which lies before us. Nicodé is a Polish musician, but he has now settled in Dresden, where his works are highly esteemed. The present would seem to be one of his latest as it is one of the most important of his com- positions. It is a setting of a poem by Karl Woermann, and is divided into seven move- ments, of which the first and fourth are purely orchestral. A very large orchestra is required, and the writing is extremely elaborate, picturesque, and perhaps, at times, rather ex- travagant. The composer, however, handles his materials with the skill of a first-class musician, and from merely reading the score we should think much of the music would prove highly effective. It should be added that an English version of the text is given, from the pen of Mrs. John P. Morgan. Rusical Gossip, THE first officialannouncementsconcerning the coming season of the Popular Concerts may be regarded as in every respect satisfactory. It is not advisable that the arrangement by which Madame Néruda leads the quartet in the first half of the season and Herr Joachim in the second should be disturbed, for a more frequent change could not fail to prove injurious to the ensemble. But the same objection does not apply with regard to pianists, and Mr. Arthur Chappell has already engaged Sir Charles Halle, Miss Fanny Davies, M Paderewski, M. Sapell- nikoff, Herr Stavenhagen, Mr. Leonard Bor- wick, and Mlle. Eibenschiitz. The programme of the first concert on the 20th inst. contains Beethoven’s Quartet in F, Op. 59, No. 1; the sonata ‘Les Adieux,’ &c., to be played by Sir Charles Halle ; and Brahms’s Trio in ¢ minor, Op. 101. It is now settled that the evening concerts shall in future commence at eight o'clock. Tue Highbury Philharmonic Society has issued an excellent scheme for the coming season, English music, it will be seen, having obtained full recognition. The performances will be as follows: November 17th, ‘Elijah’; January 19th, J. F. Barnett’s ‘ Ancient Mari- ner,’ Goring Thomas’s ‘Sun Worshippers,’ Hum- mel’s Pianoforte Concerto in E, &c.; March 2nd, Cowen’s ‘St. John’s Eve,’ Mendelssohn’s ‘Hear my Prayer,’ and the ‘ Reformation ’ Sym- phony ; and April 27th, a ‘“‘Te Deum” by W. J. Reynolds, and a concert-room arrangement of Weber’s ‘Euryanthe.’ Mr. G. H. Betjemann remains the conductor of the society. Tue Brixton Choral Society promises on December 15th Cowen’s ‘St. John’s Eve,’ Mackenzie’s ‘Pibroch,’ and Mendelssohn’s ‘ Walpurgis Night’; and on April 23rd, Gounod’s ‘Gallia’ and Macfarren’s ‘Lady of the Lake.’ A performance of Graun’s ‘Der Tod Jesu’ with orchestra will also be given in Brixton Church. Mr. Douglas Redman is the conductor of this society. Tue Promenade Concerts at Covent Garden Theatre conclude this (Saturday) evening. They have been singularly unfruitful as regards serious
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5, “SS om SS SS SS a ~ores N° 3284, Ocr. 4, ’90 THE ATHENZXUM 457 musical work, and those who remember not only the special, but the ordinary prograrames offered in the time of Alfred Mellon, and even of Jullien, cannot fail to wonder at the lament- able decline in the artistic merit of these enter- tainments, taking into consideration the general faith in the progress of musical culture. THE dates for the Handel Festival at the Crystal Palace next year have been fixed as follows: June 19th, public rehearsal; 22nd, “The Messiah’ ; 24th, selection ; 26th, ‘ Israel in Egypt.’ Mr. DanieL Mayer is booking engagements for the well known Hungarian violinist Edward Remenyi, both in London and the provinces, previous to a six months’ tour in America. Ir is stated that the Vienna Mannergesang- verein have actually decided to visit this coun- try next summer. They will give two concerts in London and others in the provinces. THE statue of Berlioz erected at his birthplace La Cote Saint-André was unveiled last Sunday in the presence of a large number of eminent French musicians. Twenty-eight societies took part in the musical proceedings. Signor ViANEsI having definitely resigned his position as conductor of the Paris Opéra, M. Joseph Dupont is spoken of as his probable suc- cessor. It will be remembered that M. Dupont conducted at Covent Garden during the last years of the Gye administration. A company has been formed at Berlin for the erection of an Eden theatre in the avenue Unter den Linden, at a cost of 100,000/. Herr Ronacher, of Vienna, has been chosen as the director. Frau BerraqvE, who, it will be remembered, gained much admiration at Bayreuth in 1888, accomplished a feat worthy of record at a recent performance of ‘Tannhauser’ in Bremen. The artist who was to have played the part of Venus being unable to appear, Frau Bettaque undertook the rvéle as well as that of Elizabeth in the same opera. CotxectTors of musical autographs may be glad to know that an important sale will take place by the firm of Liepmannssohn in Berlin on the 13th inst. It will include interesting manu- scripts of nearly all the great composers of the present century, from Beethoven to Wagner. Tue Rossinian revivals mentioned some time ago as likely to take place in Rome have com- menced with ‘Cenerentola’ and ‘L’Italiana in Algeri,’ and both operas have met with decided success. WE regret to learn that all hope of the recovery of the gifted Milanese conductor Franco Faccio has been abandoned, and that he is to be consigned to a lunatic asylum. Wuite London is sadly in want of a central concert hall where oratorio performances can be given at a profit, New York is preparing a suit- able building for this and other purposes. It will contain three rooms, to hold respectively 3,000, 1,200, and 500 persons, and will be opened on January Ist next year. DRAMA —_—o— William Charles Macready. By William Archer. (Kegan Paul & Oo.) Tue life of Macready, with which Mr. Archer leads off what is to be known as ‘‘ The Actor Series,” is in its way a model of a condensed and adequate biography. The ‘ Reminis- cences’ in which the late Sir Frederick Pollock enshrined Macready’s ‘ Diaries’ are trustworthy and valuable, but full as they are of curious and often unconscious revelations of character, the ‘ Diaries’ themselves have but moderate interest for the general public. Through their parade of frankness, self- glorification and self-mystification are pain- fully obvious. The two thick volumes con- vey an idea of Macready’s importance which the present generation is scarcely prepared to accept, although close students of the stage will be glad to possess the work not only for the information it conveys concern- ing an actor who contested supremacy with Kean, but for the light it throws upon the patent houses and on acting generally during the first half of the present century —a period richer, perhaps, in diversified talent than any in our stage history, except the period of Garrick. For the general public the life Mr. Archer supplies is adequate, and the bio- graphy now issued is that with which the coming generation is likely to be satis- fied. Very far from a mere compilation from known works is Mr. Archer’s work. Fresh information has been obtained from sources hitherto untried, Macready’s own information has been supplemented, the wheat has been winnowed from the chaff of contemporary comment, and the story of the actor’s career is given for the first time in full and trustworthy guise. Every accessible playbill has been studied with a view to supplying a full record of his per- formances, and an account of the represen- tations at Covent Garden and Drury Lane under his management forms a valuable supplement to Genest. As a crowning grace to his volume, Mr. Archer has obtained a portrait of Macready from Browning which for accuracy and condensation cannot be surpassed. Browning’s intimacy with Macready led, as is known, to the production of ‘Strafford’ and‘A Blot in the ’Scut- cheon.’ Browning’s estimate of Macready, with whom he can scarcely have been always satisfied, conveyed directly to Mr. Archer, is as follows :— ‘*T found Macready as I left him—and happily, after a long interval, resumed him, so to speak —one of the most admirable and, indeed, fasci- nating characters I have ever known ; somewhat too sensitive for his own happiness, and much too impulsive for invariable consistency with his nobler moods.” To his company, as Mr. Archer shows, Macready had at times a different aspect. An admirable picture is, indeed, presented of the peppery, morbid, well-meaning, con- scientious gentleman, who in a profession other than that he adopted, with its irre- sistible stimulus to egoism and vanity, would have left a name entitled to un- grudging respect, and who as it was com- manded the friendship and esteem of the best men of the day. Of the more stirring episodes in Mac- ready’s career, of his ignominious assault upon Bunn, and of the quarrel with Forest, with its fatal results, as regards which Macready appears to have been blameless, Mr. Archer gives an animated account. He points out quite justly that, with the excep- tion of Garrick, few actors had better oppor- tunities, and declares that ‘‘had he been capable of happiness, he might have been the happiest of men.” His strained relations with his father are clearly shown, and the source is rendered intelligible. Macready’s occasional arrogance is leniently dealt with, and a single sentence dismisses ‘‘ the morbid anxiety to secure a provision for his family, which tortured him in after years.” Upon the pieces in which the actor appeared Mr. Archer passes some just verdicts, and he collects some interesting criticisms upon his mannerisms. Some ofthese, however, seem to be characteristic of most tragedians. Pro- nunciation after this fashion— Be innocentta of [the] knowledge, dearestta chuck, Till thou applaudda the deed— could scarcely be held to be monopolized by Macready. Macready, Mr. Archer states, was not popular in Edinburgh. It is with some diffidence that we hint that whatever might have been the qualities of his Romont or his Richard, in characters such as Othello he was bad. He appears, indeed, like more than one prominent artist of subsequent times, to have been what is known as a “character actor” rather than a tragedian, such as we are compelled to reckon Kean. THE WEEK. Avenue.—‘ The Struggle for Life,’ a Drama in Four Acts, from ‘ La Lutte pour la Vie.’ By Robert Buchanan and Fred, Horner. Tue salt in M. Daudet’s ‘La Lutte pour la Vie’ is its uncompromising and brutal cynicism. With the treatment of the scien- tific theories on which its story is supposedly based the playgoer needs not concern him- self. Paul Astier is a Don Juan fin de siécle, minus the recklessness and bravery of his Spanish prototype and plus a bourgeois ambition. He has not wholly divested him- self of the prejudices of education, and, un- like his associate and foil Lortigue, has some faint indications of a conscience. He is, however, a vulgar, unscrupulous, and plau- sible man, who as an excuse for his vices advances a scientific or quasi - scientific theory. In the original play the interrup- tion of his career by an accident ware: 3 his calculations, and, indeed, beyond the possibility of his prevision, comes as a moral, and the story of his life proves stirring. This isa character to reproduce in its integrity or to leave alone. The same holds true of the play. There are doubtless difficulties in the way of showing on an English stage the heartless sensuality of a man only a shade or two less atrocious than Scarpia in ‘La Tosca.’ These furnish a good reason for leaving the play untouched, but none for spoiling both play and character. Ifthe former is to be received, the latter is to be exhibited as he is. A version less hopeful, less excusable even, than that of Messrs. Buchanan and Horner cannot easily be con- ceived. The action of the original opens with a striking revelation of character. Lydie Vaillant comes in most compromising négligé from the chamber of Paul Astier; a few moments later, and with characteristic nonchalance he receives her father and her betrothed, and refuses them the renewal of the lease to which his wife is pledged. In the crudeness of this is the raison d’étre of the play. The adapters weld into one the two opening acts, sentimentalize the cha- racter of Lydie, and almost humanize the hero. From so inept a beginning failure alone is to be anticipated. Something like per- versity seems to have possessed the adapters. In place of the powerful and _ thrillin termination they give a conclusion whi is without either reason or significance. That Vaillant, more of a soldier than pro- fessed soldiers, worshipping his daughter
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458 THE ATHENZUM N° 8284, Ocr. 4,90 and believing firmly in her purity, should, when he perceives she is outraged and dead of despair and that his own name is tarnished, slay her seducer is conceiv- able. Very dramatic, if a little fantastic, are the circumstances under which Paul Astier, at the moment of his crowning triumph, is shot by one of the beings on whose resentment he might reasonably have counted. When, however, for the father is substituted a commonplace and an un- interesting lover, something akin to pity is felt for the man who perishes by so un- expected and contemptible a foe. All that can be said for Messrs. Buchanan and Horner is that they have left one or two scenes, and that in these the actors score. As Paul Astier, Mr. Alexander plays with much nervous force. So handsome does he look and so lightly does he bear himself, that the character almost becomes sym- pathetic. Miss Genevieve Ward is an ideal Duchesse Padovani, and plays with admir- able delicacy and tact in a difficult réle. The remainder of the interpretation is colourless where it is not objectionable. Not a single character is there that in- spires any interest. More than one of the actors, moreover, seems to think that the relief not to be found in the play may perhaps be supplied by comic costume. Some articles of attire in which fashionable Frenchmen of to-day are equipped might have been taken from the illustrations to ‘David Copperfield’ or ‘ Nicholas Nickleby.’ Dramatic Gossip, Wir Mr. Hare’s return to the Garrick ‘A Pair of Spectacles’ obtains a fresh lease of life. His impersonation of Benjamin Goldfinch has all its old delicacy and finish, and the entire performance is exhilarating. WE regret to hear that Mr. Gilbert Far- quhar is in a condition that causes much un- easiness, being prostrate with a severe attack of typhoid fever. Mr. Irvine no longer in ‘ Ravenswovd’ shoots from a window the bull by which Lucy Ashton is endangered, but rushes to her rescue. The noise of the shot by which she is delivered is then heard from without. This is a wise concession to public feeling, the incident as it was originally arranged having jarred on the audience. Upon its revival at Terry’s Theatre, with a cast all but entirely changed from that with which it was first given at the same house, ‘Sweet Lavender,’ by Mr. Pinero, seems more sentimental and less comic that it at first ap- peared. For this change the interpretation may be responsible. With the exception of Mr. Terry, who remains very droll as Dick Phenyl, and Mr. Vernon, who gives a powerful repre- sentation of the sufferings of Geoffrey Wedder- burn, the cast is weaker than before. Mr. Reeves Smith as Clement Hale and Mrs. Macklin as Ruth Rolt are, however, seen to advantage. In ‘The People’s Idol,’ with which, or with ‘Hamlet,’ he opens the Olympic, Mr. Wilson Barrett playsa young aristocrat whose sympathy with the masses leads him to start business as an ironmaster. To CoRRESPONDENTS,—D. J. E.—F. 8. W. G.—V. G.— G. M. D.—C. H.—received. No notice will be taken of anonymous communications. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY Post. ak: For Twelve Months we be mn ove 15 3 For Six Months... ove ove sm oe 7 8 SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & CO.’S NEW BOOKS. —_—_—_.——_ THIRD EDITION, AT ALL BOOKSELLERS’ AND LIBRARIES. IN DARKEST AFRICA. Being the Official Publication recording the QUEST, RESCUE, and RETREAT of EMIN GOVERNOR of EQUATORIA. By HENRY M. 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XUM N° 3285, Ocr. 11,90 THE ATHENAUM 473 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 1890. CONTENTS. A New Lire or 81R CHARLES NAPIER ... ooo «. 473 HARE’s GUIDE TO FRANCE ... dus ooo one ses WriGHT’s LECTURES ON THE SEMITIC LANGUAGES ... 475 HENLEY’s VIEWS AND REVIEWS ... eee eee ooo NovELs oF THE WEEK ws os pas oes oo Books FOR BoyS—ANTIQUARIAN LITERATURE ... we GE RussIAN GRAMMARS ... ooo ee ose ooo woo 497 SHILLING TALES—LECTURES AND ADDRESSES ... «. 479 479—481 Our LipraRy TABLE—Lisr or NEW Books A ProposeED MONUMENT TO SHELLEY; THE NEXT ORIENTAL CONGRESS; HIGHER EDUCATION IN AMERICA; THE ‘ DICTIONARY OF NATIONAL BIo- GRAPHY’; NEw M8. OF THE CONQUEST OF THE CANARIES; THE ScorrisH SeRVIcCE Book; THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON; HOWELL’s ‘ FAMI- LIAR LETTERS’ oP is ove 481—484 LITERARY GossIP Ee ate pon wae a we 484 ScIENCE—WATERWAYS AND WATER TRANSPORT; THE WRONGS OF MEDICAL AUTHORS; ASTRONOMICAL Nores; SOCIETIES; MEETINGS; GossIP 486—488 Fine ART8S—THE CHURCHES OF GOTTLAND; LIBRARY TABLE; GossIP ... uae ons eon «. 488—490 Mvusic—New Vocat Part Music; NorTtH STAFFORD- SHIRE MusIcAL FxstTivaL; Gossip ; CONCERTS, &c., NExT WEEK ... eee eee vee. 490—492 DxuaMa—THE WEEK ; GOSSIP coe 492 LITERATURE —~— English Men of Action.—Sir Charles Napier. By Col. Sir William Butler. (Macmillan & Co.) TueE British public unanimously recognizes that Sir Charles Napier was a great com- mander and a most gallant soldier. The few who have studied his career are aware that he also displayed remarkable talent and originality as conqueror and ruler of Scinde. Equally, however, it is known to them that he was a man of most impracticable temper, that he was perpetu- ally at war with his superiors, and some of his subordinates also, for that matter ; in short, that he would have made an excellent Czar or German emperor ; but he could not brook a controlling power above him. A sketch of the military and administrative achieve- ments of a man who with scanty means con- trived first of all to conquer a province, and then to rule it so that he made of the vast majority of the population contented sub- jects, could not, if well done, fail to be alike highly attractive and eminently instructive. Unfortunately Sir William Butler, though an experienced writer and well informed on all that concerns his subject, has not per- formed his task judiciously. It is indis- creet to be perpetually harping on the military merits of the Irish, as if full justice had not been done to them by every soldier and historian. It shows, too, lack of judgment to dwell upon Sir Charles Napier’s ancestry: “Like his great an- cestor, Henry of Navarre, he laughed at pomp and parade.”’ Considering that his connexion with the Bourbons was stained by the bar sinister, the allusion had better not have been made. Nor is this a solitary instance. On the second page we read :— “On one side the pedigree went back to the best of the old Scottish cavaliers—to Montrose, and the Napiers of Merchiston, and the Scotts of Thirlestane; and on the other it touched Bourbon, Stuart, and Medici, and half a dozen other famous sources.” But apart from the question of good taste, the author has, by the introduc- tion of political topics and his views upon them, left himself little room for illustrating Sir Charles Napier’s character and capacity by giving ample details of his career as a soldier and administrator. A more serious mistake still is that Sir William Butler has written neither a bio- graphy nor a critical essay, but a eulogy. Like Sir Charles Napier, he is apt to treat every one as a dullard or an envious person who did not worship the Napier family. And he does not always consider whether his praise is well bestowed ; for instance, he remarks :—“‘ Like another greatsoldier[ Lord Wolseley | who in this year 1851 was about to begin that military career which was to render his name so famous, Charles Napier had acontempt for the capital of his country.” It may be doubted whether Lord Wolseley will particularly care to be praised for this alleged contempt for the centre of the intel- lectual life of the United Kingdom, and whether such contempt was a singular merit in Sir Charles Napier. If, instead of indulging in these eccen- tricities, the author had entered into de- tails of Sir Charles Napier’s military career and military opinions, he might have pro- duced a good book; for when Sir William Butler describes Meeanee and Dubba he writes in a clear and accurate and sym- pathetic fashion, although occasionally guilty of strange metaphors. Meeanee, indeed, was an exploit of which the greatest commander might have been proud. Napier’s little army numbered, including all ranks, but 2,200 men, and of these only one weak battalion was British, while the foe was 30,000 strong, occupied a formidable posi- tion which could not be turned, and were all splendid warriors :— ** For upwards of three hours this red line is fighting that mass of warriors at less than a dozen yards’ distance, and often during the long conflict the interval between the combatants is not half as many feet.” Yet, notwithstanding the enormous disparity of numbers, and the fact that the British troops were armed with the old flint-lock brown Bess, Napier won the day, with a loss of only 270 of all ranks, while “it is estimated that not less than six or seven thousand Beloochees perished in the battle.” Napier’s own conduct was heroic. The chances were desperately against him, and his presence was indispensable to en- courage his troops and watch the varying fortunes of the fight. ‘* Once or twice the old General is himself in the press of the fight. He is practically unarmed, because his right hand had been disabled a few days earlier by a blow which he had dealt a camel-driver who was maltreating his camel, and the Scindian’s head being about fifty times harder than the General’s hand, a dislocated wrist was the result. So intent is he on the larger battle, that the men around him are scarcely noticed, and more than once his life is saved by a soldier or an officer interposing between him and an enemy intent on slaying the old chief, who seems to him exactly what he is—the guiding spirit of this storm of war. Thus Lieutenant Marston saves his General’s life in front of the 25th Sepoys by springing between a Beloochee soldier and Napier’s charger at the moment the enemy is about to strike. The blow cuts deep into the brass scales on Marston's shoulder, and the Beloochee goes down between the sword of the officer and the bayonet of a private who has run into the médlée. Again, he gets entangled in the press in front, and is in close peril when a sergeant of the 22nd saves him; and as the old man emerges unscathed from the surf of shield and sword, the whole 22nd line shouts his name and greets him with a wild Irish cheer of rapture rising high above the clash of battle.” Never was a battle more creditable, alike to the victorious commander, the troops he led, and the enemy he defeated. Yet for this fierce fight, followed by the brilliant, though less fiercely disputed battle of Dubba, with, as a result, the conquest of Scinde, Napier only received the Grand Cross of the Bath. For the capture of Ghuznee Sir John Keane had been raised to the peerage a year or two previously, although, by whatever standard the two exploits may be judged, there can be no question that the cam- paign of Napier was infinitely more deserv- ing of reward. Here, beyond all contradic- tion, Sir Charles Napier was treated with injustice, yet to our thinking it was the only occasion on which he had serious cause of complaint, although Sir William Butler is of opinion that he was beset by envy, malignity, and political prejudice all through his career. In his younger days Napier cer- tainly was not unlucky. At twenty-six he was the senior major of his regiment, and commanded it in a general action. When twenty-eight he was a _lieutenant-colonel commanding a regiment. He complained bitterly that he was the only officer who commanded a battalion at Corunna to whom promotion was refused. It must, however, be borne in mind that at Corunna we did not so much gain a victory as prevent the French from winning one ; that Napier was taken prisoner, and for some time he was supposed to be dead; and that when at length he returned to England other feats of arms had caused Corunna to be almost forgotten. After the peace he was left long on half-pay; but again it should be remem- bered that he had been present neither at the concluding battles in the Peninsula nor at Waterloo, and that there were scores of colonels who had, and yet were equally left without employment, for the excellent reason that there were more men than appointments. Nevertheless in 1819 he was made Inspect- ing Field Officer of the Ionian Islands, a position by no means bad. Three years later he was appointed Military President of Cephalonia. In 1830, having proved him- self throughout a most unpleasant subor- dinate, he was recalled. Of course those who did not like him, and whom he took no pains to conciliate, but, on the contrary, sneered at whenever he had an oppor- tunity, were, in Sir W. Butler’s eyes and his own, malignant mediocrities jealous of genius. Till 1839 he was without employ- ment, but was offered a high appointment in Australia, and was created a Knight of the Bath. There were many distin- guished and able major-generals besides himself, and it was not to be expected that he who took an open part at a critical period in protesting against all that Government did should be specially picked out from his equals in rank for an appoint- ment. At length in 1839 he was given the command of the Northern district, and he acquitted himself of the task assigned to him in a most able manner under difficult cir- cumstances. Again, however, he persisted in obtruding his political views, but, fortunately for him, he bad to do with an amiable Com- mander-in-Chief—Lord Hill—who contented himself with advising him in courteous language to confine himself to his military duties. His great grievance was his treat- ment by Lord Dalhousie. Yet even the Duke of Wellington condemned Sir Charles’s
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474 THE ATHENZUM: N° 3285, Ocr. 11,’90 conduct, and no one can doubt that he un- necessarily arrogated to himself authority which belonged only to the Governor- General. In short, he used in conversation and in writing to attack his superiors, and professed to be extremely indignant that they resented his proceedings. As a commander, however, his place is a high one—we should rauk him with Bugeaud—and as an ad- ministrator he displayed remarkable energy and extraordinary capacity, while in private life he was as chivalrous, high-minded, and anxious to do his duty and to be just as he was wrong-headed, arrogant, and unjust in his dealings with and estimates of those who were his superiors or happened to differ from him as to the propriety of his views and actions. The lack of an index is a draw- back the publishers should have remedied. North-Eastern France.— South-Eastern France. —South-Western France. By Augustus J.C. Hare. (George Allen.) Ture making of a perfect guide-book is a work beyond the scope of human accomplish- ment. A guide-book to be perfect should be at once infallible and exhaustive, port- able, easy of reference, and not dull. The ‘Guides Joanne” are exhaustive and suffi- ciently interesting, and, if not infallibly accurate, they furnish a bibliography of each region described whence exact and minute information regarding it may be obtained ; but collectively they are not portable, and a traveller bent on studying with their aid the eighty-six departments of France and the territory of Belfort has to burden himself with seventeen volumes of that excellent series. There are other itineraries deal- ing with the same country which are portable and easy of reference; but terse- ness in this class of literature is incom- patible with exhaustiveness, and the accuracy of these books is often not irre- proachable, while their style is usually not only dull, but repellent. In reading the description of some historic or picturesque city in such a volume one is reminded of the famous account by an American humourist of a British possession, wherein he observes that in the Bermudas there are only three sights for tourists, all of which may be easily avoided. Mr. Hare’s method is not unattrac- tive. On the contrary, his readers may be inclined to reproach him sometimes on his way through France with invest- ing certain places with glowing attributes because he has perhaps visited them on a sunny day or because a local legend or a fragment of architecture has appealed to his imagination or to his artistic sense. His system is well known: his descriptions of places consist largely of citations from writers of this and of previous generations who have visited the scenes before him. The first volume of the present series con- tains a much smaller number of quoted passages than the author usually provides for his readers, probably owing to the fact that half of the matter contained in ‘ North- Eastern France’ is a compressed edition of his ‘ Paris’ and ‘Days near Paris.’ The routes followed in the second and third parts are illustrated with copious and, for the most part, well-chosen passages from French and English writers, and perhaps it would be hypercritical to suggest that in the choice of some of them Mr. Hare has fallen short of his own fastidious standard. There are, for example, not a few quotations from magazine articles of no great authority which might well have given place to the author’s own impressions and descriptions. We do not suggest that, in a manual in- tended for popular use, only writings which have become classical should have been laid under contribution ; but it seems a pity, for instance, that in the description of Taras- con there is no illustrative passage from Daudet’s immortal ‘Tartarin,’ while in the account of neighbouring Uzés an historical incident is quoted from Paul Vasili’s ‘Société de Paris.’ Mr. Hare’s books form entertaining repertories of quotations, some acknowledged, and some worked into his own text with little attempt at digestion. When he gives us information from his own jottings as a connecting link he is apt to be a little weak in the accuracy of his references. Considered as gleanings in polite litera- ture about France, to be read without an effort on wet days in hotels, these volumes are abovehis average. His sketches, especially of architectural detail, are well finished, and they are an agreeable relief after the lifeless photographs with which books of travel are nowadays illustrated. The preface and the introduction placed at the beginning of ‘ North-Eastern France’ (which perhaps would have been more con- veniently arranged if thrown together as one introductory chapter) contain much excellent advice to British tourists, which, it is to be hoped, will have its due effect when, under the guidance of this work, they take to frequenting French provincial towns off the beaten track. Mr. Hare says :— ‘‘The excellence of the food and the discom- fort in another respect are equally due to the fact that the only frequenters of the inns are commercial travellers. Indeed, an English tourist will always do well to remember that his approval or his custom is of no consequence whatever to an hotel-keeper in a quiet French town. Any attention he receives is due to the natural kindness and courtesy of his host and hostess: the only travellers of importance to them are ‘les Messieurs de Commerce,’ upon whose patronage their house entirely depends. Therefore, however much they smoke horrible tobacco, spit like fountains, shout whenever they speak, and give themselves the airs of princes, it is necessary to recollect that French commercial travellers are of considerable local consequence, whereas a foreigner, however distinguished at home, is of none whatever.” This advice is as admirable as it is valuable, but we think that Mr. Hare is perhaps a little hard on the French commis-voyageurs, whose virtues he has not the same reasons for appreciating as had M. Gambetta. Their manners are certainly wanting in repose, but they are no worse than those of British and American tourists, and it is better to endure French bad manners which are accompanied by good cooking and moderate charges than to be the witness of English and Transatlantic ill-breeding, which is generally met with at hotels where bad food is combined with rapacious extor- tion. If Mr. Hare uses the expression ‘horrible tobacco’’ relatively, meaning that the commercial travellers smoke worse cigars than other people in France, he is mistaken, as usually all the frequenters of a country inn, from the officers of the garrison to the ambassadors of commerce, consume the tobacco of the régie; but we suspect from another passage, in which he complains that smoking is permissible in all French railway carriages subject to the consent of the pas- sengers, that the author is not a smoker, and that he uses the words “ horrible tobacco ”’ in the sense that a temperance advocate might speak of ‘‘ poisonous alcohol.” As to the second evil habit attributed to the chief clients of the country inns in France, we can assure Mr. Hare that their practice is mild compared with the usage of many other countries. Attractive as are Mr. Hare’s descriptions and drawings of unfrequented places—some of them hidden away in the heart of France, while others as little known lie almost in sight of the crowded main lines of railway—it is not likely that these solitudes will be spoilt by an overwhelming invasion of tourists. The average English-speaking holiday-maker is a gregarious animal, which likes to take its pleasure in crowds, and the little-known departments of the Deux Scvres and of the Creuse, the woodlands of the Morvan and the mountains of Le Forez, will probably re- main justas Mr. Hare found them. He says: ‘*During the last three years the writer has annually spent ten weeks in wandering through the length and breadth of the country: for the first two years even in a train or in a railway station he never saw an English traveller after leaving Paris; during the last year he met a boy on a bicycle, and found two old ladies economizing at a little inn on the Cher.” Mr. Hare has not, however, visited the whole of the districts which he describes, or, if he has, he fails in using to advantage his local gleanings. For example, in his brief account of one of the strangest and most beautiful parts of Provence, the Mountains of the Moors, he tells us that St. Tropez is likely in time to become a winter resort. Now St. Tropez is a bathing-place with a summer season, and, facing as it does due north, can never become a winter resort, while opposite to it on “the gulf” lies St. Maxime, which has such a future, and south-west of it, on the Mediterranean, is a coast which undoubtedly must provide the winter cities of the next century. The introductory chapter contains an in- teresting sketch of French social life, which, on the whole, presents a true picture of existence in France, but certain proposi- tions require expansion or qualification: for example, the statement that in France “‘a professing Protestant has small chance of any official appointment”’ is difficult to under- stand at a moment when a Protestant Prime Minister, M. de Freycinet, is enjoying his fourth premiership in Paris, and the Republic is represented at the Court of St. James’s by a Protestant ambassador. The following sentences also require a great deal of modifi- cation before they can be accepted as repre- senting what really exists: ‘‘No French gentleman can ever hope to make a fortune in business, it would cut him off too entirely from his class. No aristocrat in France recognizes or would sit down to dinner with a radical.” Errors such as these in the preliminary chapter are in no way repeated in the main part of the work, which, as compared with
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N° 3285, Oct. 11,90 THE ATHENAUM 475 Mr. Hare’s last two books, is remarkably free from inaccuracies, considering the amount of ground covered by it and the multitude of details minutely described. Indeed, some of Mr. Hare’s descriptions which we have been able to test on the spot are models of correct and attractive conciseness. Such, for instance, is his account of the church of Brou at Bourg-en-Bresse, which contains the most magnificent sculptured tombs in France. The chief criticism which we have to pass on the volumes as a whole is directed to a fault in- evitable in the first edition of a work of this magnitude. The fault in question is a lack of proper proportion in the space devoted to the different places described. A mechanical maker of guide-books would avoid all diffi- culty in this respect by apportioning his pages according to the population of the cities and villages, or according to the number of historical monuments contained in each of them ; but an author whose heart is in his work must in constructing such a manual necessarily have amassed an amount of material ten times too great to be included within reasonable limits. In making the needful reductions he will naturally sacrifice his accounts of places which have pleased him least, and spare the descriptions of scenes which have evoked his sympathy or his fancy. As an example of this undue proportion- ing, Mr. Hare devotes no fewer than nine pages of small type to the bio- graphy of the curé of Ars. That re- markable person undoubtedly deserved more than a passing mention, and as the village in which he accomplished his mar- vellous mission has become a place of pil- grimage it is right that it should be described as Lourdes is in another volume; but Lourdes is dealt with adequately in less than a quarter of the letterpress given to the curé of Ars. The number of English people visiting the scene of his labours is not very great, and as every one of them is provided with the English edition of the good man’s biography we consider that it is a needless prodigality of space to give to this village more pages than are devoted to the cities of Nimes and Nancy put together, with their wealth of monuments and historic associations. Again, in the first volume six and a half pages are filled with accounts of the battles of Crecy and Agincourt, and less than one page is given to the battle of Sedan. The most serious flaw in the work is the ignoring of the great drama which was played in France and on her borderland twenty years ago. The accomplished author of ‘ Memorials of a Quiet Life’ is not a man of war, but he has produced this itinerary with the laud- able object of making his fellow countrymen better acquainted with France and the French, and no one.can understand the pre- sent position and aims of the people without some consideration of the effects of the “année terrible’? on the genius of the nation. Mr. Hare has not produced a mere handbook for antiquaries or for amateurs of architecture. The excessive length of his narration of the life and works of the village priest who died in the middle of the Second Empire shows that he takes | into account certain modern phenomena, but — unfortunately for France the religious de- votion of one of her sons is a matter of small moment side by side with the martial spirit which pervades every class of society, pea- sants and dourgeois, men, women, and chil- dren alike. The battle of Sedan is an event in European history of the importance of the Oath of the Jeu de Paume or of the battle of Waterloo, and when Mr. Hare says that the town of Sedan is ‘‘utterly with- out interest except from its famous battle,” it is as though he told his readers that Amiens except for its cathedral, or the valleys of Touraine except for their chateaux, were utterly without interest. Travellers in the Ardennes will take little heed of the fact that at Donchery “ the XVI. c. church has a quadrangular apse of the XIII. c.” Their thoughts in visiting that hamlet will rather be turned to the weaver’s cottage, which has no architectural tradition, where Louis Napoleon was received by Count Bismarck at daybreak on the morning after the victory and disaster of the 1st of Sep- tember. At Belfort again, after three lines of curt description, Mr. Hare says, ‘‘ The town is otherwise without interest,” although the gallant resistance of Col. Denfert and his garrison for two and a half months is one of the most heroic episodes of the war ; and if it be true that the iconoclastic authorities are about to destroy Vauban’s Porte de France, through which the brave French troops marched with all the honours of war after the capitulation, it is a pity that Mr. Hare has not with his skilful pencil pre- served a memorial of the picturesque old gate—that is to say, provided he could have obtained permission to sketch the walls of a fortified town. Throughout a great tract of France, from the Moselle to the Loire, there remain traces of the invasion of 1870, and no guide-book is complete without some mention of the progress of the victorious armies and of the resistance of the desperate inhabitants. The account of the chateau of Azay le Rideau, for example, would not lose in interest by the addition of two or three lines describing the occupation of it by the Red Prince and his requisitions upon the cellar of the Marquis de Biencourt. In thus criticizing Mr. Hare’s latest work we do not wish to give the impression that its shortcomings counterbalance its ad- mirable qualities. On the contrary, it is perhaps the best guide-book to France which has been published in the English tongue. Lectures on the Comparative Grammar of the Semitic Languages. From the Papers of the late William Wright, LL.D., Pro- fessor of Arabic in the University of Cambridge. (Cambridge, University Press.) In the preface to the third edition (1868) of the first volume of his ‘Histoire Générale et Systéme Comparé des Langues Séwmitiques,’ M. Renan wrote as follows: ‘Le second volume du présent ouvrage, qui contiendra ' , , *,° le systéme comparé des langues sémitiques, serait maintenant achevé sans la mission scientifique que j’airemplie dans les années 1860 et 1861.” More than twenty years have elapsed since then, and there is no sign yet of M. Renan’s second volume. Dr. Wright was, therefore, justified in say- ing to his pupils before 1887 (this must be the latest date of the definite revision of his papers) ‘that there exists as yet no work which I can recommend to you as a complete text-book of comparative Semitic gram- mar.” His lectures which lie before us, edited from his papers by Prof. Robertson Smith, his successor in the Chair of Arabic, and by one of the ablest pupils of the deceased professor, Mr. A. Ashley Bevan, of Trinity College, are intended to supply the want. Let us add that the proof-sheets were read by Prof. Noldeke, of Strasbourg, who has appended several excellent remarks of his own as well as some corrections in the bibliography. Hence, what with the pro- found and accurate knowledge of the late professor and the revision of the editors, it need hardly be said that Dr. Wright’s posthumous book may be taken to re- present the state of our knowledge in 1889. The discoveries published towards the end of last year and at the begin- ning of this may, however, necessitate some changes in a second edition of the present work. The tablets found at Tell- el-Amarna, and first explained by Prof. Sayce, and then by Mr. Budge, Dr. Winckler, and M. Halévy, prove to be of high import- ance for Canaanitic history. The Minean inscriptions, on the other hand, discovered by Prof. Euting, of Strasbourg, and more espe- cially by the well-known traveller Dr. Glaser, though probably not so old as the latter would make them, from 1500 to 2000 8.c¢., are at all events earlier than the Sabzean monuments, and will modify our conception of the early history of South Arabia, and perhaps also the current opinion that the Phoenician alpha- bet is the basis of all subsequent alphabetic writing. There is also the short inscription on aweight found in Samaria, lately men- tioned in the Atheneum, which may be older than the Siloam inscription, not to speak of the yet unknown part that the Hittites played in the history of Canaan; their progress towards that country is men- tioned in the Tell-el-Amarna tablets about 1500 B.c. But in spite of all modifications which discoveries may produce in the volumes of M. Renan and Dr. Wright, they will remain the foundation of what others may choose to write about the history and the com- parative grammar of the Semitic languages. We are glad to find that whilst M. Renan takes no notice whatever of Assyrian and Babylonian, Dr. Wright introduces freely these important dialects for comparative purposes. He attributes the origin of the cuneiform characters to a non-Semitic popu- lation, which the Semitic tribes found in Babylonia previous to their immigration from Arabia; for this country is, according to Dr. Wright, who on this point agrees with Profs. Schrader and Sayce, the early home of the Semites. The Semitic alphabet is derived, according to Dr. Wright, from the forms of the Hieratic characters found in papyri anterior to the eighteenth dynasty, and belonging, roughly speaking, to the period between 2100 and 1500 B.c. He rightly rejects the idea of a con- nexion between the Semitic and the Indo- European languages. ‘‘An ultimate re- lationship,” he says, “if one exists at all, will only be discovered when we have
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476 THE ATHENZUM N° 3285, Ocr. 11, 90 selved the great mystery of the Semitic languages, the triliterality of the roots.” He questions the hypothesis of the descent of Egyptian from the same stock as the Semitic family of speech, although an ex- amination of Coptic readily suggests several considerations in support of that theory. Having fully discussed in the first three chapters of his book (the division into chap- ters is due to the editors) the term Semitic and the diffusion and original home of the Semites, and having given a general survey of the Semitic languages and of Semitic modes of writing, the author pro- ceeds to discuss comparative grammar, beginning with the changes the letters un- dergo, continuing with the vowels and their permutation, the pronouns, the noun, and the verb. The grammatical part of Dr. Wright’s book is very complete as far as Semitic dialects are known at present. We had already a foretaste of his excellent method in the comparison of the Semitic languages in his Arabic grammar, which has reached a second edition. We know from his cata- logues of the Syriac and Ethiopic MSS. in the British Museum his masterly acquaint- ance with these languages, to which we have to add his profound knowledge of Hebrew, of the Aramaic dialects which are connected with Syriac, and even of Rabbinic. For modern Syriac, the Mandaitic dialect, the Tigre and Amharic, and the Himyaritic he used the best authorities, which he always quotes. In some points the editors ought to have made reservations, which the deceased author would no doubt have taken eare to introduce if he had carried his lectures through the press. For instance, on p. 129, where it is mentioned that 0°25, “face,” is in Hebrew the most usual word for a reflexive, ¢.g., Exodus xxxiii. 14, the question whether it is not a mythological term (compare Exodus xxxiii. 23) might have been mentioned in a note. On p. 150, where it is rightly re- marked that D0, “heaven,” and 0, ‘‘ water,”’ are not duals, the names aden, “ Jerusalem,’”’ and OSD, “ Egypt,” ought to have been added. It is to be regretted that the editors have not supplied a chapter on the syntax, and a still more deplorable defect is the absence of a full index, which we are sorry to say is also missing in M. Renan’s volume. Views and Reviews: Essays in Appreciation. By W. E. Henley. (Nutt.) Mr. Hentey is a man of singular courage. Other writers reprint essays they have con- tributed to magazines, and generally prefix some words of apology for so doing. Mr. Henley reproduces selected passages from the reviews he has written in the weekly papers, and has carefully arranged these extracts under headings; so that when the book is first taken up it seems to beara resemblance to the ‘Pensées’ of Joubert, or those volumes of ‘ Beauties,’ ‘ Selections from the Wit and Wisdom,’ &c., that are culled from the writings of an author whom death has made a classic, or whom the fer- vour of his admirers has already elevated to Olympus. And yet Mr. Henley has in reality acted with wisdom as well as courage. Few articles are printed in the newspapers that would bear reproduction in their original shape when some time has elapsed since their first appearance, for even the ablest of them, from the conditions of their being, need alteration in the way of addition and subtraction before they can hope to take an abiding place as litera- ture. Mr. Henley was, therefore, well advised when he reprinted the best passages only of his articles; and he is besides one of those writers who appear to advantage in short extracts. The exceeding liveliness of his style, his fondness for epigram and antithesis, his love of paradox and general- ization, his faculty of adapting old phrases to new uses, and other characteristics of his, which in the long run may become a little fatiguing, attract and delight the reader when they give brilliance and life to a paragraph of criticism only filling a short page or two. It would, however, be a mistake to con- sider the editor of the Scots Observer as only a framer of smart sentences. He is a critic of very genuine gifts. He possesses a wide range of reading, real insight, a hearty appreciation of good literature, and a genuine faculty of making just comparisons—not that irritating habit of comparing writers who have little or nothing in common, which is the curse of much of the criticism of the day, but the power of discerning real like- nesses. For instance, in the following lines he institutes a comparison that is perfectly true, and not merely intended to display the author’s acquaintance with a literature un- familiar to English readers :— “In his ‘Noble Numbers’ Herrick shows himself to be a near kinsman of such men as Valdivielso, Ocaiia, Lope de Ubeda; and there are versicles of his that in their homely mixture of the sacred and the profane, in their reverent familiarity with things divine, their pious and simple gallantry, may well be likened to the graceful and charming romances and villancicos of these strangers. Their spirit is less Protestant than Catholic, and is hardly English at all, so that is is scarce to be wondered at if they have remained unpopular.” As the majority of the passages he has selected originally appeared in thesecolumns, it is hardly possible for us to criticize them. Suffice it to say that we are in harmony with most of Mr. Henley’s views, even with those which run counter to general opinion, such as his remarks on Thackeray and his estimate of the genius of Richard Jefferies. Once or twice we find ourselves at variance with Mr. Henley. It is difficult to accept his eulogy of Longfellow as a poet of the sea—a eulogy which was written a long time ago, and is more marked by Mr. Henley’s faults of manner than his later writings: a straining after striking modes of expression and an insistence on the truth of his view which tempts the reader to doubt its correctness. It is not well for a critic to insist over much, to be too eager to convert everybody to his own way of thinking, yet this is what Mr. Henley is a little inclined to do. He is not content with stating his own opinions; he will not leave his readers alone until they have con- fessed that his view is the true one, and in this way he is apt to irritate not a few. But, all deductions made, this is a collection of brilliant yet thoughtful observations on authors and books in which there is nota dull line, and which contains much that is at once original and true. NOVELS OF THE WEEK. The House of Halliwell. By Mrs. Henry Wood. 3 vols. (Bentley & Son.) Margaret Byng. By F.C. Philips and Percy Fendall. 2 vols. (White & Co.) Aunt Abigail Dykes. By Lieut.-Col. George Randolph, U.S.A. (Chatto & Windus.) A Son of Issachar. By Elbridge S. Brooks. (Putnam’s Sons.) Tue pious zeal of surviving relations too often outruns their discretion. The pub- lication of a very early and crude effort of an author so well known as the late Mrs. Henry Wood cannot improve her well-defined position as a novelist, though it may be hoped that it will not do much to impair it. But it would be extremely unfair to gauge her merits by a work which represents her so unfavourably. Prolific in domestic in- cidents, voluble in speech, “running on” like Arthur Sketchley’s Mrs. Brown, the author fairly overpowers us with the number of her personages and the dimensions of her plot, till a pedigree and an index are felt to be necessary. Full of kindly feeling, not seldom pathetic, rarely humorous, she is emphatically the spokeswoman of the middle class. ‘‘Those pieces of lace-work struck upon Hester’s heart as being essentially wrong.” ‘Alfred Halliwell was a superior reader.” ‘ ‘The Lord be merciful to us all in this world!’ I muttered, ‘and his wife but a bare twelvemorth cold in her grave !’”’ Who does not recognize the utterances of Hester and Aunt Copp? But these blunt creatures are essentially womanly and well principled, and Mrs. Wood deserved an audience to whom in later years she often spoke more wisely and in more intelligible form than in this early effort. ‘Margaret Byng’ is a story of people who live, or fail to live, by their wits. It has little to do with principle, high motive, or character —except the self-helpful quality which en- ables a man or a woman to secure comforts and luxury without deserving or working for them. The book is full of such people, and Margaret Byng herself is the cleverest and most callous of them all. There is a certain measure of love-making, and a ghastly blue- fire ending, not unusual in recent narra- tives of the lives of scheming and worthless women. It is doubtful whether any useful end is served by weaving an elaborate story out of such feeble threads as those which Messrs. Philips and Fendall have selected. Col. Randolph’s book is bard reading, both on account of its excessive length and because the thread of adventures, not strengthened by much analysis of character or logical development, leaves one a little bewildered by the constant introduction of new characters and the transfer of interest. But the colonel has some of the best gifts of a story-teller; he draws from the records of an active and adventurous life, and man- ages, when he is quite within his depth, to be very engrossing. It would be useless to attempt even a brief indication of the plot of ‘Aunt Abigail Dykes.’ There is no aunt in the story, or at all events no Aunt Abigail. That is a touch of American humour. The name was given to a wild creature who had spent her youth in snake-
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"woes XUM Ne 3285, Ocr. 11, 90 THE ATHENAUM 477 hunting, who had ‘“‘an episode” with the hero, and who in later life became asso- ciated with a gang of coiners and general malefactors, occupying a haunt not far from the military outpost where the hero and his friends kept watch over the Indians of the North-West. Many a romance of love and daring is enacted here, and Col. Randolph rarely allows his story to flag. Yet another Transatlantic reading of the Gospels! The present revised version of the Bible story is less fin de siécle than the last we had to deal with, the style less forced, the love-making hardly so realistic. The rehabilitation of Judas Iscariot and the discovery of the attachment between the widow’s son of Nain and Jairus’s daughter are its modestaims. Of him of Kerioth we learn that he has been a good deal mis- understood. He was merely an advanced Nationalist—one of the Gaulonites, sicarit, or Fenians of the day—and the transaction by which he earned notoriety, though not com- mendable in a moral point of view, admits of the palliation that it was the result of political motives. It was really to force the hand of the Master, and bring about the visible triumph of the Jewish nationality, that the zealot incurred the discredit of what seemed a mercenary crime. The “ resur- rected one,’’ Bar-asha as his name is dis- covered to have been, is a typical trimmer, with alternations of zeal and disenchant- ment, and according to his various moods, or influenced by what seems to be his self- interest for the time, appears fighting in the ranks of the Arabians, murdering the kindly centurion Vettius, enrolling himself in the band of the robber Barabbas, and smiting the servant of the High Priest, until, finally con- vinced of the divinity of Messias, he atones for his vacillations by his martyrdom in the character of St. Stephen. It is needless to follow the details of the story; it is told with some literary power; and no doubt a wide, and to some extent an easy field for historical romance is open to those who have no deli- cacy in the matter of jerry-building on foundations hitherto held sacred. The lan- guage is American, but not vulgar, and a certain amount of reading has been ex- pended in the accumulation of Hebrew words. BOOKS FOR BOYS. Goop books for boys are by no means plentiful just now, hence there is the more reason for con- gratulating Mr. Phillipps Wolley on the produc- tion of such a capital story as Snap (Longmans & Co.). It is just exactly such a book as ought to interest any boy who has got good stuff in him : full of exciting adventures, and with suffi- cient fun of that rough and practical kind that appeals to a boy’s sense of humour. The author begins with a very fair description of school life and an excellent account of a cricket match. Then carrying off his three schoolboys to the wilds of the Far West, he leads them through all the hardships of ranche life—which, by the way, is truthfully described—into the still more thrilling surroundings of grizzlies and Red Indians. As a rule boys do not concern themselves greatly with the probability of the stories that they read, and that is a question with which Mr. Phillipps Wolley has not con- cerned himself at all. “Snap” Hales is a first- rate boy, and quite deserves to have as many lives as the proverbial cat, but even that much- enduring animal would have failed to survive balloon into the middle of some bloodthirsty Indians and survived to tell the tale. But then he happened to alight on the chief's wigwam, which broke his fall and scared the tribe into flight. Some of the descriptions of winter in the Rockies are well done, and when the author writes of sport he is evidently writing of what he knows and understands. But the chief charm of the book is its fresh, healthy tone. Its modest moral is the simplest and best of all for boys—to go straight and be brave, never ‘‘ funk,” and never tell lies. A LITTLE truth and a good deal of fiction are brought together in The Lost Explorer, by Mr. Hogan (author of ‘The Irish in Australia’), published by Messrs. Ward & Downey. The amalgam is one which will exercise a pernicious effect on the natural history of the school- boys who may read it. There is no reason why startling stories of adventure should not be concocted without the use of obvioug invention, and Mr. Hogan is a sufficiently able writer to make up such tales without recourse to ille- gitimate arts. ANTIQUARIAN LITERATURE. Annals of the Parish of Swainswick (near Bath). By R. E. M. Peach. (Sampson Low & Co.)—The annals of Swainswick are not of striking interest, except to the local compiler. They resolve for the most part into church- wardens’ accounts, and consist in their more tragical form of the slaughter of ‘‘ greys” (ferrets) and foxes, who were natural outlaws with prices set upon their heads. So far as can be ascertained from the present volume, no- thing particular has happened there since the beginning of things, except that many unin- teresting people, whose names are in the church register, here industriously extracted from, with annotations, were born, baptized, and buried. We must except from this remark the name of William Prynne, whose family occupied the manor house, where the after- wards much ill-treated antiquary began his career in 1600. His name does not appear in the baptismal entries supplied by Mr. Peach, there being an hiatus in the MS. from November 23rd, 1593, to December 18th, 1603, which fact shows the need of the perpetuation of registers in print. Prynne’s fretful history, found in all biographical dictionaries, is repeated by Mr. Peach with a few additions of no great interest. We single out from the register what we believe is the earliest discovered reference to Chatterton’s family, for so Mr. Peach identifies it, and we have no doubt he is right, as the poet’s ances- tors resided near Bath: ‘‘ap. 1618, Thomas Chaterton, the sonne of Thomas Chaterton and Alice, his wyffe, was baptized 7th daie of June.” The church accounts begin in 1631, in the in- ventory of furniture being ‘‘ one surplice,” the washing and mending of which in long subse- quent years shows that Geneva had not stretched out her hands over Swainswick. ‘‘ Six foxes’ heads and three ravens” are in this year valued at 6s. 3d. Such items annually recur. In 1706 eleven foxes cost the parish 10s.; and in 1664 “ye sparrow catcher” received 3s.6d. In 1668 ‘ye hire of a hoss 2 days” cost 2s. Mr. Peach deserves credit for a most painstaking addition We may add that to parish antiquarianism. some Norman Swainswick Church retains features. Genealogia Bedfordiensis: being a Collection of Evidences relating chiefly to the Landed Gentry of Bedfordshire, ap. 1538-1700. By F. A. Blaydes. (Privately printed.)—Mr. Blaydes has achieved for Bedfordshire genealogists in this noblevolume what Mr. Walter Rye has done so assiduously for Norfolk ; he has printed and placed at their disposal the collections he has laboriously formed, and in so doing has put them under a very great obligation. Originally intending to employ these collections for annotating his edition of the ‘ Bed- one of Snap’s misadventures, when he fell from a | fordshire Visitations ’—as Col. Vivian has done in his ‘ Visitations of Devonshire’—Mr. Blaydes has preferred to publish them separately ; wisely, perhaps, considering the fate of at least one ela- borately annotated, but unfinished visitation that we remember. The background of the work consists of extracts from the parish registers of Bedfordshire, supplemented by the ‘“ Bishops’ Transcripts,” monumental inscriptions, and ab- stracts of wills. There is probably no other county that can boast of a compilation so valu- able for genealogical purposes. Like Mr. Foster's ‘Alumni Oxonienses’ and kindred works, it supplies the genealogist with a vast mass of raw material bearing specially on the pedigrees of “ visitation” families, and affording the means of extending them indefinitely. Some forty- seven registers in all have been examined by the author, and it is interesting to learn that in one case—St. Mary’s, Bedford—he found the ori- ginal paper book preserved together with the parchment transcript of 1597. Twenty-one registers—a fifth of the whole number in the county—commence between 1538 and 1558. The ‘‘ curiosities” of these records are not in- cluded in Mr. Blaydes’s scheme, but it may be noted that at Campton a case of excom- munication occurs so late as 1729. The most striking feature of the book is its revelation of the importance of ‘‘ Bishops’ Transcripts” and the need for a systematic exploration and ar- rangement of these records. The neglect of the admirable provision in the seventieth canon for the annual transmission to the bishop of a transcript of the parish register, and the de- plorable condition of such transcripts as survive, have long, indeed, been known to specialists, but the extreme importance of their evidence as supplementing and also checking the original register is certainly not generally realized. Bed- fordshire is singularly fortunate in the number of its surviving transcripts, and the untiring in- dustry of Mr. Blaydes has enabled him to “ dig out” from these precious bundles invaluable additions to the parish registers. It was but the other day that Mr. Cowper, in his edition of a Canterbury register, detected that the record had been tampered with; and now Mr. Blaydes is enabled, by the transcript, to prove that ‘‘in three cases, at least,” the registers he is dealing with have been similarly treated. It was also by the evidence of ‘‘ Bishops’ Transcripts” that in the Angell case and the Leigh peerage case the registers were proved to have been falsified. The abstracts of wills, some 800 in number, which are here given, are of the greatest assistance in illustrating and connecting the re- gister extracts, while the admirable index and the system of printing the surnames in a special type render the work of reference quite luxu- rious to the student. If there are persons who still believe—and such beliefs die hard—that Puritans bestowed upon their children gro- tesquely religious names, this book should un- deceive them. The only point on which we have a doubt is the occurrence of a ‘‘ George Robart Beaumont” (p. 9). We observe that he is indexed simply as ‘‘ Beaumont, George,” and we cannot but think it strange, if true, that a boy should have been christened ‘‘ George Robert” in 1624. RUSSIAN GRAMMARS. A Grammar of the Russian Language. By W. R. Morfill, M.A. (Oxford,Clarendon Press.) —The grammar of the Russian language re- sembles in one particular the continent of America in the sixteenth century—it has only been partially discovered. In this respect it is not unlike the grammars of a great many other modern languages. We should not, therefore, call Russians barbarous ; rather let us hope that a time may arrive when Russian philologists and grammarians will have succeeded in discovering and clearly defining the laws that govern one of the richest and most idiomatic forms of speech that Europe possesses. At present, however,
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478 THE ATHENAUM Ne 3285, Ocr. 11, 90 all attempts at codification must remain unsatis- factory. It is not the syntax which is the diffi- culty. Possibly no modern language, not even the German, has so interesting and truly scien- tific a syntax as that of the Russian. It is the etymology that remains‘a puzzle to the unsophis- ticated mind. To Lomonosoff (whose name literally translated means ‘‘son of the nose- breaker”) is due the credit of first attempting to confine the luxuriant flowers of Russian speech within the narrow boundaries of grammarian rule. The task had been set him by the Em- press Catherine II., and, as Lomonosoff was a poet and a Latin and German scholar, his rules fitted ill the Slavonic waywardness of his lan- guage, for, like all grammarians of the eighteenth century, he took the Latin grammar as the model for all others and the bed of Procrustes into which all modern languages had to be fitted. It occasionally happens that languages are subject to freaks to which their more decorous cousin Latin was a stranger, and these absolutely refuse to be regulated by time-honoured grammatical methods. Since Lomonosoff’s time Russian grammar has come to adapt itself more to the habits of the language, but some of the freaks of the latter the former is still unable to explain, and these are those unfortunate parts of a verb known as its vidi or ‘‘ aspects.” It is certainly very unreasonable of a verb to have “ aspects,” but it is still more unreasonable to be supposed to understand them. To a Russian know- ing his language they present no difficulty, and seem to come by nature like ‘‘reading and writing,” for all Russians, down to the lowest peasant, speak correctly ; but the foreigner who sets to work to learn the grammar before he has a colloquial acquaintance with the language must often be tempted to anathematize these extraordinary things, which seem to have neither rule nor sense. Mr. Morfill has brought his great learning to bear on the refractory “ aspects,” and he has certainly helped to make them appear a little more logical to the dismayed student, and if he had done no more than that he would have rendered Russian a signal service. But he has done very much more than this. He has made idiomatic forms of speech, which the beginner would be frightened at, appear easy and even comprehensible. He illustrates every rule of grammar by phrases taken from colloquial Russian, and he has thus succeeded in making his grammar much more thoroughly Russian than the Russian grammars used in Russian schools—those of Kirpitchnikoff and Govoroff, for instance. To the Englishman this grammar will, therefore, be invaluable, but we fancy that it will also be of some utility to Russians them- selves. Russian Conversation Grammar. With Exer- cises, Colloquial Phrases, and Extensive English- Russian Vocabulary. By Alexander Kinloch. (Thacker & Co.)—The number of Russian grammars is multiplying among us, and as a rule they seem to aim at teaching the language for conversational purposes only. Mr. Kinloch’s grammar is ostensibly written with such an ob- ject, and, combining as it does lists of idioms, a collection of dialogues, and a fairly copious vocabulary, it may justly be pronounced a useful book. A traveller visiting Russia and desiring to learn the language only so far as would enable him to make his way would find it a great help. It forms a compact volume and goes well into the pocket. All this we can cheerfully vouch for, although we cannot agree with some of the explanations of the grammatical forms which Mr. Kinloch gives. Thus the accent of a language is hardly the ‘‘consequence of an undefined feeling and tact” (p. 15); and the confusion on p. 17 of some of the preposi- tions and conjunctions with the article is very whimsical. Our author is not successful with his definitions, as in the case of the impera- tive and subjunctive mood. He uses strange terms, such as ‘‘interfix” and ‘‘ common verbs”; and his definitions of root and suffix will hardly pass muster (p. 56). Again, what need | is there of talking about “reciprocal ” verbs in Russian? The terrible ‘‘ aspects” of the verbs are passed over in rather a perfunctory manner ; the verbal prefixes are done much better. Many of Mr. Kinloch’s odd derivations of words pro- ceed from his curious theories on the subject of roots and stems: thus, why derive siedok, a pas- senger, from siedlo, a saddle? Why not give sied as the stem of each, -ok being a common mascu- line termination, e. g., igrok, a gambler, and -lo acommon neuter one? Why tel! us that the present gerund in -ya is derived from the first person singular present by changing theinflections -wand -ywinto -ya’ In fact, our author’s gram- matical explanations are all on old-fashioned lines. The lists of idioms will be found very useful; they show great familiarity with the Rus- sian spoken language, but sometimes Mr. Kinloch has included expressions which seem to us just simple straightforward Russian and to involve no peculiarity. Thus it is difficult to say what recondite idiom lies concealed in such an ex- pression as krasnaya dievitsa, a comely young girl (p. 163) ; or negramotnii, an illiterate man ; or upotrebliat chto libo na zo, to abuse any- thing. All this seems to us very plain sailing, but in reality the author does not profess to give a scientific analysis of the language. He is obviously bent upon being useful to military men, and all his phraseology breathes a martial spirit, ¢. g., Will there be war? How many soldiers were killed? Having beaten the enemy, we advanced, &c. Considered from this point of view he has attained his object. The speci- mens of handwriting at the end will be found very useful, for must not the military officer read the despatches which are discovered on the person of a slain enemy or have been intercepted in transitu? We wish Mr. Kinloch’s book all success, but we hope it may be found in the travelling bag of the peaceful tourist who is asking his way to the Kremlin or the church of St. Basil rather than in the knapsack of the soldier eager to cross swords with his Muscovite adversary on the Afghan frontier. Perhaps, after all, those who study Mr. Kinloch’s book may find the temple of Janus shut, and just as men of the old time turned their swords into reaping- hooks, su they may acquire their Russian to be used only for reading some of the delight- ful works of Pushkin, Gogol, or Tourguénief. Russian Conversation Grammar for General Use.—Key. By Pietro Motti. (Nutt.)—Ele- mentary Russian Grammar.—Key. (Same author and publisher.)—In the Conversation and Ele- mentary Grammars of Signor Motti nothing scientific is aimed at; they are wholly of a practical character, and the student is trained by a series of exercises from Russian and into Russian, with dialogues interspersed. We cannot altogether agree with the way in which some of the parts of speech are treated, but we must not be too exacting in the case of works which affect to deal with the language on merely popular lines. Thus we find the old impossible division of the nouns into three declensions, where the subject is apparently simplified, but at the expense of all accuracy. On p. 36 of his larger grammar the professor informs us that ‘‘ the use of the genitive case after a negation and an adverb of quantity is by no means a peculiar feature of the Slavonic languages, as some gram- marians have styled it ”; but surely if such gram- marians are to be found, their opinions need not occupy our attention. It is startling to find that “all Russian regular verbs are divided into two conjugations.” On p. 53 we are told that the instrumental case is frequently placed after the verb bit, to denote a transitory or exterior quality. This is rather a clumsy way of express- ing what has been aptly styled the predicative use of the instrumental, which is by no means only employed with the verb bit, tobe, as the sen- tence would seem to imply, but is used with many other verbs ; thus we can say stchitaem nelishnim zamietit, we think it not superfluous to remark. The account of the so-called possessive pronouns of the third person is clumsy. We are told in the text that “they remain always un- changed, whatever may be the gender, number, and case in which the possessed object is em- ployed”; and then we are informed in a foot- note that, properly speaking, they are the geni- tives of personal pronouns. Of course, this is the correct view, and when we once learn it, the other account is superfluous. It should not have found a place in the book. On p. 89 the old inaccuracy, too frequently to be met with in Russian grammars, is repeated, that after the cardinal numbers dva, tri, chetire, the noun is put in the genitive case singular, whereas we really get the remains of an old dual form. The account of the aspects of the verbs is very confused ; the student will not gain much infor- mation by being told that the infinitive termina- tion in -t may be preceded by any vowel. He will then naturally ask how he is to distinguish the perfective from the imperfective aspect. Let us quote Prof. Motti: ‘‘The termination of this (perfective) aspect is likewise -t, preceded by one of the vowels, but it is easily recognized either by a prepositional prefix or a quite different [irregular] form: postuchat, to knock; on postuchal, he knocked (Fr. il frappa, Lat. per- cussit) ; on postuchit, he will have knocked.” On this passage we must make the following remarks. Our author seems to imply that we can always identify the perfective aspect by a prefixed preposition. This, however, is far from being the case in reality, Many verbs are per- fective which have no prefix, and vice versd ; and we cannot acquiesce in the professor’s translation of on postuchit. Miklosich says with truth that the Russian language knows no futurum exactum. The explanation of an anomaly to be found in the past tense of some of the irregular verbs, as the professor calls them, is not clear. The fact that 1, the characteristic letter of that tense, is in some of these verbs lost in the masculine is not properly explained: it has in reality dropped off from lax articulation, but reappears in the feminine ; thus wmer, he died ; umerla, she died. On p. 132 no explanation is given of the form dam, with its future significa- tion, I shall give. The exercises do not seem in all cases to be properly graduated. Some hard extracts are given from Tourguénief’s ‘Memoirs of a Sportsman’ (‘Zapiski Okhotnika’), which we imagine the student who has gone no further than Prof. Motti’s grammar will find difficult to translate, and the same may be said of the extracts from the work of Sir Mackenzie Wallace which are required to be rendered into Russian. These selections should have been furnished with notes. We have here and there remarked an accent misplaced, and the English in many places is peculiar. Thus some of the expressions in the account of Russian literature are curious, e.g., “Constantine Batyushkoff (1787-1855), whose elegies contain the ‘ Dying Tasso’ and ‘On the Ruins of a Castle in Sweeden’ [sic], are remarkable for candid grace and tender simplicity.” Many similar passages could be cited. The dialogues at the end are useful, but the various allusions to war, procuring pilots for secret expeditions, shooting spies, &c., leave an unpleasant im- pression and show for what class of students the book is intended. The forms for commercial correspondence will also be found serviceable to some students, and there is a fairly copious vocabulary of the most useful words. As a mere practical and conversational guide to the language the book is not without considerable merits. —The abridged grammar published simultaneously by the same author contains, as it were, the skeleton of the language, without the elaborate reading lessons. As a first book of the language, or for those who wish to take a look at Russian merely for the purpose of com- parative philology, it may have some use.
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XUM N° 3285, Ocr. 11,90 THE ATHENZUM 479 SHILLING TALES. A Poppy's Tears. By Mannington Caffyn. (Chap- man & Hall.) Notches on the Rough Edge of Life. Cyril D'Oyle. (Same publishers. ) Dr. Rollison’s Dilemma. By L. E. Tiddeman. (Simpkin, Marshall & Co.) The Hand of Vengeance, By G. F. Underhill. (Trischler & Co.) The Witness Box. By Veva Karsland and Collis Karsland. (Same publishers.) Hypnotized; or, the Doctor's Confession. By Margaret Brandon. (Hutchinson & Co.) A Profitless Quest, and other Tales. (Stevens.) Out of seven small volumes of fiction, all more or less sensational, none of them specially objec- tionable in form or substance, it would go hard if a reader with an hour of leisure on his hands could not find entertainment. The first three volumes on our list may lay claim to artistic and even to literary merit, being fairly well con- structed, interesting as to their plots, and pleasantly written. ‘A Poppy’s Tears’—illus- trated, by the way, with a red poppy, though the plot turns on opium-eating, and the motto on the title-page talks accurately of the ‘‘ white innocent flower ” and ‘‘its black potent tears ”— is somewhat high-flown and turgid in style ; but its conception is vigorous enough. The gradual sapping and warping of a refined and blameless character by indulgence in the use of morphia, the struggle kept up for years with growing weak- ness and vacillation, are on the whole power- fully recorded, though there is more than a sus- picion of De Quincey in sundry passages of the story, and Mr. Caffyn has not been so careful as he might have been in revising his book for the press. ‘Notches on the Rough Edge of Life’ is a collection of American stories, telling of wild, rude, and pathetic adventures, most of them, if we mistake not, quite new to English readers. Perhaps the most deftly told of the eight tales which make up the volume is that of the per- secuted Indian girl Kepaha-Winona. Two others have already appeared in a magazine on this side of the Atlantic, ‘The First and Last Preacher of Urora’ and ‘ White City,’ the latter being a particularly racy picture of life in a new settlement. “Dr. Rollison’s dilemma” is, in plain terms, a struggle between his ideas of professional duty and his love for a beautiful woman who tumbles into his house one night bleeding from the stab of a dagger in her side. He heals her wound, but cannot heal his own, and a good part of the book is taken up by his efforts to unravel the mystery attaching to her. There is a gambler in the story, a lure, and a pigeon that is caught by the lure. This is not new by any means, but as told again by L. E. Tiddeman it will interest the reader in spite of himself. The plot has even more of bloodshedding about it than is indicated above, and the tale is aliogether of a thrilling and mysterious type. In ‘The Hand of Vengeance’ Mr. Underhill deals with a woman who “suffers a great wrong ”’ and “attempts to revenge herself.” This is, in fact, a story of revenge, and in a short preface, dated from the Temple, Mr. Underhill disclaims any responsibility for its morality. ‘‘ That,” he says, “‘is for the moralist, not the novelist, to decide.” The moralist has never had much difficulty in forming and expressing his decision, and the author of this somewhat callous story is scarcely entitled to treat the matter as an open question. ‘The Witness Box’ is a story of a murder and of the tracking of the guilty man. It is not so gloomy as might be expected from such a theme. The authors have introduced sundry novel incidents, and a vein of humour runs through it which serves to lighten it not a little. Without being a work of art, or even of excep- tional cleverness, it is better worth reading than many detective stories on the same lines. By Lynn ‘Hypnotized’ is apparently the work of a young hand, showing more of promise than of performance. There is nothing new in the plot or its management, and a good story is not to be woven from such slender threads as Margaret Brandon has made use of. ‘A Profitless Quest’ is one of four novelettes contained in the last volume of ‘The Magazine of Fiction.’ All four are well spun out, trivial, and harmless—except for a few false notions which they may convey of the manners and customs of very polite society. There is as much in these two hundred and fifty closely printed pages as in an ordinary three-volume novel, and the authors need not fear comparison with three-fourths of those whose stories appeal to the public at ithe time-honoured price of a guinea and a half. : LECTURES AND ADDRESSES. Mr. J. M. Witson, late head master of Clifton, has given a great deal of good advice to girls and their friends and instructors in Three Addresses to Girls at School (Percival & Co.). He speaks highly of a notable feature in the Clifton High School for Girls—the absence of prizes and individual competitions in the school itself. “ Intelligent industry without the induce- ment of prizes is a far more precious and far more durable habit than industry stimulated by incessant competition.” The students of the Clifton school have obtained signal success in the Higher Certificate examinations, probably from the absence of the habit of pulling up the flowers to see how they grow. Mr. Wilson rightly urges that the more “ girls of your class approach the tyne of the milkmaid or the milliner, so far they are sure to be eventually mere gossips and bores to friends, family, and acquaintance, in spite of amiabilities of all sorts.” So girls should learn to be interested and interesting, while as a counterpoise to mere book education they should learn to educate their sympathies. “Go to pleasure to give pleasure, not to get it, and that converts any- thing into a pleasure.” We are glad to see Mr. Wilson, while contrasting modern schools of the best class with the defective seminaries of twenty years ago, does not fall into the vulgar error of vilipending our grandmothers. ‘‘ Do not imagine that any school education...... is really as effec- tive in the formation of strong intellectual tastes and clear judgment and ability as the self- education which was won by the mothers of some of you, by the women of my generation and those before...... The advantage of our day is that education is offered to a much larger number.” Another sound piece of advice is: Do not despise bodily exercise. Nausicaa may be the model of our girls, as well as Pallas Athene. In his last lecture given at St. Andrews our teacher says: ‘‘Go outside your- self in love to all that is divine and ideal in thought and duty ; go outside yourself in love to your neighbour, and your neighbour is every one with whom you have any relation; and then, and then alone, does your own nature grow to its highest and best. This is the open secret of true religion.” Such teaching is trite enough, but it is well put, and in harmony with the best educational spirit. Two popular addresses by Prof. Nettleship, on The Moral Influence of Literature and Classical Education in the Past and at Present (Percival & Co.), are worth reading. In the first he analyzes to a certain extent the moral force discernible in literature, and soundly says this lies rather in the personality of the writer, as evidenced in his books, than in the books themselves; and incidentally he makes certain critical estimates. He reminds his hearers that the pursuit of know- ledge, the endeavour to harmonize human life with fact, is especially needful in our times, and is sometimes a service of danger :-- “Indeed, in a democratic society, with its tendency towards equality of condition and a uniform level of comfort, with its encouragement of sympathy and sentiment, I sometimes think that the virtue of intellectual honesty runs more danger of being sapped than in a ruder state of civilization. Itisa good thing to love one’s neighbour, but a bad thing to fear him; and we are constantly running the risk of regarding the truth of what we are saying less than the effect which we think it will produce. It is well for the philosopher...... to remember that he owes more, perhaps, to posterity than to his contemporaries. He emphasizes two facts—that we owe to the Greek philosophical schools much of our ordi- nary ethics, and yet that ‘‘ there is wanting in Greek literature as a whole the element of sweetness and wholeness which meets us in that of the Jews.” He rates highly the moral im- portance of the novel, and would have such writers a3 Hood and Dickens read aloud in ele- mentary schools. It is a pious imagination. To our mind the lessons carried away by really elementary scholars might not be quite the best to be drawn from those authors. In his second lecture Mr. Nettleship makes a powerful apology for the retention of the classics, and while look- ing forward to the time when the classical and modern types of school shall be so separated as to ensure thorough training in each, and to confine the study of Greek and Latin classics to those who are likely to profit by it, he has no fear the masterpieces of literature and philo- sophy will die. ‘Even,’ says he, ‘in the pale reflection of Greek philosophy which is pre- sented in Latin philosophical writing, even in Cicero, you will find more of a temperate and manly love of truth than in the invectives of a Tertullian.” Temperance, manhood, love of truth—the literature which can inculcate these things is indeed a precious inheritance. OUR LIBRARY TABLE. To a countrybred Londoner few things are more suggestive of home recollections, or arouse keener longings for the active life of old, than the broad autumn moon of early October. Every phese of country life has charm in turn, but to the true sportsman the month when shooting is at its best and hunting is in the near future has a peculiar attraction. And now is the season of the unlicensed sportsman too, if the culmination of his year-long pastime may be so called. A marauder like the one whose confessions Mr. Watson has edited in The Con- fessions of a Poacher (Leadenhall Press), who can fall back upon trout and salmon in the summer months, has a constant interest in outdoor life, but we fancy he would give the preference to a shiny, or rather a cloudy, night in the season of the year. For “old Phil” isa man of taste. A North-country dalesman, whose sporting “‘atavism” is drawn from days when wild creatures were really “fers nature,” and game preserving in the modern sense unknown, he has nothing in common with the midnight felon of the South—with the grimy ruffians who emerge in large gangs from city slums, and rely on numbers, not on woodcraft, to overcome the defenders of the manor. He is a courteous sort of outlaw, and ‘‘poaches on the square.” He is sly and humorous, not gloomy and revengeful ; his fights are not murderous ; he has his feel- ings of sporting honour, though they do not extend to giving any law to his prey ; though he will slay his hundreds by stratagem, he will not killa hare in what nature has pointed out to be close time ; he will not steal a hand-raised pheasant; and in spite of the temptations offered by keepers and dealers, he will not take an egg. He belongs to a race which, we fear, will soon be as scarce as the dodo, or the ideal peasant who is sent to gaol for taking a hare to feed his starving family. But that his confessions are genuine it is difficult to doubt. There is a ring of truth in them, even to several needless repeti- tions and occasional lapses from grammar. It were superfluous to say there is much good writing in the book. The description of a June day in
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480 THE ATHENZUM N° 3285, Ocr. 11, 90 the fields, where the “erstwhile” (?) poacher , learns the alphabet of his craft ; the reference to | the animation of a country night—‘‘there are always calls and cries that bespeak life...... attributable to various animals and birds, to beetles, even to fish” (the plunging, we presume, of the last); and generally the minute truthful- ness of detail, are very praiseworthy. Some pieces of information were hardly neceseary. | Few people need to be told that partridges feed in the morning, that the pheasant crows before roosting, or that running down hill is incon- venient to the hare. It was not necessary to tell us twice over the best colour for lurchers, or that for grouse and partridges the net should have a border of glazed material covering the lowest part of it. As to the sagacity of lurchers old Phil speaks no more than the truth. It is in accordance with our ‘‘information and belief” that lurchers are sometimes trained to hunt and bring back game entirely by them- selves. But our poacher tells us much that will be new to most people. The notions of killing pheasants with a game-cock, dotterel-hunting with a dog, fattening ruffs and reeves, and even wild geese, for the table, are curious, and the hundred and one ‘‘ wrinkles” that may be learnt from this book will be found fascinating. There is too much wholesale massacre in it, and most of the methods are unsportsmanlike enough; but the skill and patience of the ‘‘moucher” are beyond praise. We may also remark a commendable absence of cant, even in relating so sad an incident as the death of ‘The Otter” in the limekiln. The Lives of the Norths, edited by Dr. Jessopp, 3 vols. (Bell & Sons), are welcome additions to ‘*‘ Bohn’s Standard Library.” Roger North’s biographies of his brothers, the Lord Keeper Guilford, Sir Dudley North, and Dr. John North, have long been recognized as invaluable to the student of the political and social history of the seventeenth century, and the scarcity of the old editions is all the greater reason for a republica- tion in a popular form. It is true that Roger's warmest admirers can hardly call him an ideal biographer. He is garrulous, discursive, inaccu- rate, and too much inclined to dwell with tedious minuteness upon the legal aspects of things. But he had a remarkably shrewd iasight into cha- racter, and was not a bit more of a partisan than Macaulay, though his interest in the affairs of the Restoration period was that of an actual participator and sufferer. Indeed, in common fairness, Macaulay ought to have acknowledged how great were his obligations to the man whom he dismisses with two casual notices as ‘‘ an observant Tory” and “an amusing writer” and an occasional reference in a fvot-note. For instance, his description of Jeffreys is, to a great extent, a mere paraphrase of North’s in- cisive sketch of the Chief Justice, with charac- teristic additions. As thus :— Macaulay. North. His countenaice and his And that visage he put on voice must always have been when he animadverted on unamiable. But these natural such as he took offence at, advantages — for such he which made hima terror to seems to have thought them, real offenders; whom also he —he had improved tosucha terrified, with his face and degree that there were few voice, as if the thunder of who, in his paroxysms of the day of judgment broke rage, could see or hear him over their heads: and nothing without emotion, The glare ever made men tremble like of his eyes had a fascination his vocal inflictions, for the unhappy victim on whom they were fixed. Yet his brow and eye were less terrible than the savage lines of his mouth. His yell of fury, as was said by one who often heard it, sounded like the thunder of the judgment day. North adds that Jeffreys, “when he was in temper and matters indifferent came before him, became his seat of justice better than any other I ever saw in his place. He took a plea- sure in mortifying fraudulent attorneys, and would deal forth his severities with a sort of majesty.” This redeeming touch is, however, omitted by Macaulay, who liked his villains to | be thorough-paced. Dr. Jessopp has added to the ‘ Lives’ the autobiography of Roger North, the extreme interest of which was pointed out in the Atheneum when it was first published (October 29th, 1887). He might possibly have made his third volume more attractive if he had welded into a connected form Roger North’s autobiography and letters,and the supplementary chapter containing an account of the North family in general and of Roger’s last years in particular. There might also, we think, have been some attempt to give a brief estimate of North’s ‘Examen,’ of which the full title is ‘*Examen; or, the Enquiry into the Credit and Veracity of a Pretended Complete History [Kennet’s], showing the perverse and wicked design of it and the many falsities and abuses of truth contained in it: together with some memoirs occasionally inserted. All tending to vindicate the honour of the late King Charles II. and his happy reign, from the intended asper- sions of that foul pen.” However, these are mere matters of opinion, and on the whole Dr. Jessopp may be cordially congratulated upon his edition of a minor classic, the value of which he has considerably increased by the addition of an admirably planned and exhaustive index. Much care has evidently been bestowed on the text ; but there is some obscurity in the follow- ing passage, descriptive of the tire which raged through the Temple on the 26th of January, 1678: ‘‘The danger was great to Fleet Street, for upwards the fire ran with irresistible force by a sort of paper buildings against the lane” (vol. iii. p. 40). A note is wanted here, more especially as there are Paper Buildings, so called, in the Temple. THE handsome edition of The Essays, or Counsels, Civil and Moral, of Francis Bacon (Ox- ford, Clarendon Press), which Mr. Thursfield projected and the Rev. S. H. Reynolds has com- pleted, is one more proof of the permanent attraction of these essays for men of scholarly tastes. Whately in his edition aimed rather at expounding his own theories of morals than at editing in the strict sense of the word, but the excellent edition Mr. Aldis Wright contributed to the ‘‘Golden Treasury Series” of Messrs. Macmillan — an edition the sole defect of which is the painfully small type used in the notes—seemed to do about as much for the elucidation of the text as readers could desire. Mr. Thurafield, however, thought that something more might be gained for the interpretation of Bacon’s meaning from the various versions, especially the Latin, and Mr. Reynolds has put this idea in practice with good results. His notes, too, are more diffuse than Mr. Wright’s, and he allows himself to indulge in a greater wealth of quota- tions. The commentator on an English classic is beset by an uncertainty which the editor of Thu- cydides or Tacitus escapes. The latter either addresses himself to professed scholars or he writes such notes as he thinks will be useful to undergraduates and schoolboys in the sixth form ; but he who annotates such a book as Bacon’s essays has to cater for a public possessing very varying degrees of education and attain- ment. Mr. Reynolds has adhered with con- sistency to the idea of writing for the use of scholars and advanced students, and few of his notes appear to be superfluous, although some are. ‘ Adust,” for instance, is hardly a word that needs a note. The introduction is a sen- sible piece of work, full of information, and several of Mr. Reynolds's ‘‘ illustrations,” as he styles his longer notes, are decidedly interesting. Occasionally we think he might have enlarged them with advantage. The brief note on drink- ing healths might have been improved by a quotation from Brantéme regarding Charles V.’s disapproval of the practice, or by citing the well-known passage in Howell’s letters. A note should have been devoted to “ the first sugarman in the Canaries” (Essay xxxiv.), an expression also neglected by Mr. Wright. The printing is extremely correct. “Barrus” for Burrus is perhaps a misprint, and on p. 33 “fictitia”” seems to be a misprint for jfictilia, while the reference to St. Cyprian seems incorrect. These are all the errors we have detected in a large volume full of references and quotations. The index might be enlarged with advantage. Blackie’s Modern Cyclopedia has nearly reached its conclusion, and promises to meet the wants of the class of readers for whom it is in- tended. At the same time it is not free from inaccuracies. For instance, in the volume now before us—the seventh—Savoy is said to be “separated from Switzerland by the Lake of Geneva,” a curious piece of geography. The account of the Palace of the Savoy is misleading, that of Compostella is inadequate. Santerre did not rise to be a field-marshal. He was made a maréchal de camp—quite a different thing. Soult did not hold possession of Seville from 1810 till 1813. WE have received catalogues from the follow- ing second-hand booksellers: Mr. Baker (theo- logy), Mr. Collins (botanical works), Messrs. Garratt & Co. (two catalogues), Mr. Glaisher (remainders), Mr. Irvine (botany, &c.), Messrs. Jarvis & Son (rather interesting), Messrs. Sotheran (good), Mr. Spencer (rather interesting), and Mr. Wesley (botany, conchology, &c.) ; also those of Messrs. Meehan & Son of Bath (rather good), Mr. Downing, Mr. Lowe (both fairly good), and Mr. Wilson of Birmingham, Messrs. Fawn & Son of Bristol, Messrs. Lupton Brothers of Burnley (two catalogues), Mr. Cameron of Edinburgh, Mr. Commin of Exeter, Mr. Teal of Halifax, Mr. Howell (two catalogues), Messrs. Young & Sons (fairly good), and Mr. Potter of Liverpool, Messrs. Taylor & Son of Northamp- ton (Cuthbert Bede’s works), Messrs. Jarrold & Sons of Norwich (fairly good), Mr. Blackwell of Oxford (classical literature), Mr. Thorp of Reading, Mr. Nichols of Sheffield, and M. Lippert of Halle (the late Prof. Elze’s library). Miss Kate Greenaway’s Almanack for 1894 (Routledge & Sons) does not seem to be quite equal to its predecessors. WE have on our table Sayings of Cardina, Newman (Burns & Oates),—Political Economyl by F. W. Newman, Vol. IV. (Kegan Paul),— The Natural Food of Man, by E. Densmore (Pewtress & Co.),—A Treatise on the Diseases of the Sheep, by J. H. Steel, F.Z.S. (Longmans), —The Nurse’s Guide to Massage, by S. Hyde (J. Heywood),—Bay of Bengal Cyclone, 1888, Part II., by A. Pedler (Calcutta, Government Printing Office), — Independence, by G. T. Mejdell (Christiania, Cammermeyer),—An Odd Man’s Story, by I. G. Ascher (Stock), — The ‘* Missing Captain,” by J. L. Hornibrook (Dean), — Stories from Scotland Yard, by Inspector Moser and C. F. Rideal (Routledge),— Betrayed by a Shadow, by R. Dean (Griffith & Farran),— Edelweiss, by Rita (Spencer Blackett), — In- terpretations and Musings, by R. Caldwell, M.P. (Adelaide, Burden & Bonython),—Shakespeare’s King John, edited by T. Page (Moffatt & Paige), —Modern Criticism and the Fourth Gospel, by H. W. Watkins, D.D. (Murray), — Principia, by the Rev. A. Kennion (Stock),—Occasional Papers, by Cardinal Moran (Dublin, Browne & Nolan),—and Faisons la Chaine: Contes, Nouvelles, et Récits, by J. Simon and others (Paris, Lévy). Among New Editions we have Summary of the Constitution and Procedure of Foreign Parlia- ments, compiled by R. Dickinson (Vacher & Sons), — Adams’s The Elements of the English Language, revised by J. F. Davis (Bell),— How to learn Character from Handwriting, by Mrs. J. White (Simpkin),—Dynamics and Hydro- statics, by R. H. Pinkerton (Blackie),—The Protoplast, by E. C. C. Baillie (Nisbet),—Devo- tional Services for Public Worship, prepared by the Rev. J. Hunter (Glasgow, MacLehose),— The Great Sacrifice of the New Law, by J. Dymock (Burns & Oates),—James Vraille, by J.C. Jeffery (Allen & Co.),—Peter the Whaler, by pte
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N° 3285, Ocr. 11, °90 THE ATHENAUM 481 W.H. G. Kingston (Griffith & Farran),—and Don Juan, by H.de Balzac (Scott). Also the following Pamphlets : Elocution for the Masses, edited by B. Barnsdale (Simpkin),—Cattle Ships, by S. Plimsoll (Kegan Paul), — Working-Class In- surance, by T. Mackay (Stanford),—The Atomic Weights and their Variation, by E. Vogel, M.D. (San Francisco, the Bancroft Co.),— Acoustics in relution to Wind Instruments, by D. J. Blaikley (Boosey),—The Paddy Tax in Ceylon, by J. H. Starey (Cassell), — Maimonides, by Rabbi L. Gossmann, M.D. (Putnam),—and Johns Hopkins University Studies, edited by H. B. Adams: Spanish Colonization in the South-West, by F. W. Blackmar (Baltimore, Murphy & Co.). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology. Exell’s (Rev. J. A.) Philippians and Colossiang, 8vo. 7/6 cl. (Biblical Illustrator.) Hardman’s (Dr. J. W.) Our Prayer Book in History, Litera- ture, and Church Lore, cr. 8vo, 3/6 cl. Herring’s (R. T.) Tne Two Mysteries, Life or Death, a Series of Eight Addresses, 12mo., 2/ cl. Johnson’s (E.) The Rise of Christendom, 8vo, 14/ cl. Lightfoot’s (The late J. B.) Leaders in the Northern Church, Sermons, cr, 8vo. 6/ cl. MacKay (A. M.), Pioneer Missionary of Church Missionary Society to Uganda, by his Sister, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Morison’s (J.) Sheaves of Ministry, Sermons and Exposi- tions, 8vo. 10/6 cl. Parker's (J.) The People’s Bible: Vol. 13, Proverbs, 8/ cl. Plumptre’s (E. H.) Life of Thos. Ken, D.D., Bishop of Bath and Wells, Popular Edition, 2 vols. 8vo, 12/ cl. Ross’s (Rev. C. B.) Our Father’s Kingdom, Lectures on the Lord’s Prayer, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Wace’s (H.) Some Central Points of our Lord’s Ministry, 6/ Watts’s (Prof. R.) New Apologetic, or the Down Grade in Criticism, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Wright’s (E. J. D.) Sunbeams on my Path. or Remi- niscences of Christian Work in Various Lands, 12mo. 2/6 Law. Bowers’s (G. 8.) The Directors’ Liability Act, 1890, and other Statutory Provisions, &c., cr. 8vo. 9/ cl. Poetry and the Drama, Acting Charades and Proverbs, arranged by A. Bowman and others, cr. 8vo. 2/6 swd. Afghan Poetry of Seventeenth Century, edited and com- piled by C. E. Biddulph, 4to. 10/6 cl. Fifty Poems of Meleager, with a Translation by W. Head- lam, sm. 4to. 7/6 cl. Milman’s(C.) The Doll’s Drama, and other Plays, cr. 8vo. 2/6 Rogers’s (A.) Persian Plays, Three Persian Plays with Literal English Translation, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Stedman’s (J. C.) Romance and Reality, a Poem, cr. 8vo. 10/ Stevenson’s (A. L.) Raymond, a Story in Verse of London and Monte Carlo, 12mo. 3/6 cl. Music. Morris’s (L. T.) Famous Musical Composers, being Bio- graphies of Eminent Musicians, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Philosophy. Btirling’s (J. H.) Philosophy and Theology, 8vo. 9/ cl. History and Biography. Abdy’s (J. T.) Feudalism, its Rise, Progress, and Conse- quences, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Graphic History of British Empire from Celtic Times to the Present Day, cr. 8vo. 6/6 cl. Lecky’s (W. E. H,) A History of England in the Eighteenth Century, Vols. 7 and 8, 8vo. 36/ cl. Mathew (Father), Life of, by F. G. Mathew, cr. 8vo. 2/6 Geography and Travel, Baker’s (Sir 8. W.) Wild Beasts and their Ways, Reminis- cences of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, 2 vols. 32/ Bradshaw's Bathing-Places, 12mo. 2/6 cl. ard’s (H.) Five Years with the Congo Cannibals, illus. 14/ Philology. Stedman’s (A. M. M.) Easy French Exercises in Elementary Syntax, with Vocabulary, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Scrence. Barton’s (E. A.) Medical Handbook for Colonists, 2/6 cl. Gordon’s (W. J.) Foundry, Forge, and Factory, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. Hall (H. 8.) and Stevens’s (F. H.) Text-Book of Euclid’s Ele- ments, Books 5, 6, and 9, 12mo, 2/6 cl. Jamieson’s (A.) Elementary Manual of Magnetism and Elec- tricity, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. McMillan’s (W. G.) A Treatise on Electro-Metallurgy, 10/6 Munro’s (J.) Pioneers of Electricity, or Short Lives of the Great Electricians, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Practical Blacksmithing, compiled and edited by M. T. Richardson, Vol. 3, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Belenka’s (Dr. E.) Zoological Pocket-Book, translated by Jd. R. A. Davis, 12mo. 4/ cl. . Shufeldt’s (R. W.) Myology of the Raven, a Guide to the Btudy of the Muscular System in Birds, 8vo. 13/ cl. Whitaker’s (F. R.) Notes on Pathology: Vol. 1, General, 4/6 General Literature. Adopted, or an Old Soldier’s Embarrassments, by E. A. B. A., cr. 8vo. 2/6 el. — (A) The Twin Houses, and other Tales of Real Life, el. Besant’s (W.) Revolt of Man, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Brown’s (Mrs. J. L.) Otho, or Clasped by a Pearl and a Topaz, a Novel, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Carrington’s (E.) Stories for Somebody, illustrated by Mrs, Btanley, 6/ cl. gilt. Cook’s (E. T.) Studies in Ruskin, some Aspects of the Works and Teaching of John Ruskin, cr, 8vo. 6/ cl. Cresswell's (B. F.) Alexis and his Flowers, and Flower-Lore for Boys and Girls, 12mo. 3/6 cl. 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Manual of Bibliography, being an Introduc- tion to Knowledge of Books, &c , 8vo. 5/ cl. Russell's (W. C.) My Shipmate Louise, 3 vols. cr. 8vo. 31/6 cl. Sargent’s (G. E.) Sunday Evenings at Northcourt, 2/6 cl. Shipton’s (H.) The Last of the Fenwickes, 3vols cr. 8vo. 31/6 Smith’s (M.) The Kisses of an Enemy, a Novel, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Soul Shapes, with Four Coloured Plates of Souls, cr. 4to. 3/6 Stables’s (G.) For England, Home, and Beauty, a Story of Battle and the Breeze, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Sutter’s (J.) Luther and the Cardinal, given in English, 2/6 Wallace-Goodbody’s (I. G.) Rosalba, a Story of the Apen- nines, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Worboise’s (Minnie) A Man’s Mistake, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Zeno, by a Lady, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. FOREIGN, Theology. Acta et Decreta Conciliorum Recentiorum, Collectio Lacensis, Vol. 7, 26m. Bloch (M.): Das Mosaisch-Talmudische Erbrecht, 2m. Friedrich (J.): Das Lukasevangelium u. die Apostelge- schichte, 2m, 40. w. Traité des Eaux, Droit et Administration, Vol. 2, 12fr. Fine Art and Archeology. Baumeister (A.): Bilderhefte aus dem Griechischen u. Rémischen Altertum, Parts 7 and 8, 2m. 50. Gutscher (H.) : Die Attischen Grabschriften, 2m Miintz (E.): Tapisseries, Broderies et Dentelles, 20fr. History and Bugraphy. Gréard (O.): Edmond Schérer, 3fr. 50. Hérisson (Comte da’): Le Prince Impérial, 3fr. 50. Marin (P.): Jeanne Dare Tacticien et Stratégiste, 4 vols. l4fr. Philology. Brugmann (K.): Grandriss der Vergleichenden Grammatik der Indogermanischen Sprachen, Part 2, 10m. General Literature, Boisgobey (F. du): Le Chéne-Capitaine, 3fr. 50. Claretie (J.): Puyjoli, 3fr. 50. Karr (A.): Héléne, 3fr. 50. Malon (B.): Le Socialisme Intégral, 6fr. Maizeroy (R.): Pourquoi Aimer.., 3fr. 50. Thoumas : Causeries Militaires, Part 2, 3fr. 50. A PROPOSED MONUMENT TO SHELLEY. Palazzo Alberti, Rovereto, South Tyrol, Sept. 30, 1890. Many readers of the Atheneum will have felt greatly interested by the report contained in the issue of the 20th of September, to the effect that a memorial is to be erected to Shelley near the place where his body was burnt on the shore of the Mediterranean in 1822. This meagre announcement will scarcely be enough for the poet’s admirers, who will wish to know, further, what steps have been taken, and by whom, to make the monument a fitting and worthy memorial of one of the most moving scenes in the personal history of English poets. There can be little doubt but that the idea of com- memorating this scene in some such way will have often been privately entertained during the sixty-eight years that have passed since Shelley’s death, and it may even be that the idea has been more than once mooted and then abandoned. At any rate, it occurred to me ten years ago, during a vacation tour in the north of Italy. Let me apologize for a personal reference. Fresh from Shelley’s own college in Oxford, and with the enthusiasm of nineteen, I was visiting, as so many Englishmen have done before and since, Shelley’s house at Lerici. I stayed a day at Viareggio and walked along the sandy shore, both north towards Spezia and south towards Leghorn. It was somewhere there, on the skirts of that dreary forest of pines, that the strange scene was enacted. On my return to Oxford I mentioned the project to several friends, and finally decided to let it stand or fall by what Trelawny, who was then happily still alive, would think of it. I wrote to him, and he was pleased to send me the following letter :— Sompting Worthing Dect 16h [1880]. DEAR S1r,—Shelley’s body was found and burnt by me, on the shore of a lonely bay about two miles from Via Reggio. There was nothing in sight buta long line of pines & a ruined tower, there was no high road or by-road or village near, I never saw anyone there but peasants gathering pine cones. An Obelisk placed on that spot appears to me use- less. Shelley said “That it would require four generations to decide on the merit of an Author.” Two generations have passed since his death. He had only four friends who sympathized with his writings during his life. Now he may have a thousand admirers, but the millions are still adverse from his Atheism. After six or seven years begging, 3,500/. was collected for a memorial to Byron & two or three ignorant Lords who had subscribed their ten pounds, conspired to choose a young Sculptor who had done nothing of any merit, the result is that which is to be seen in Hyde Park The Byron Memorial—as they are pleased to term it—I have only to add that it does not in the re- motest degree resemble Byron in face or figure. Thorwaldsen’s statue is the best resemblance that exists of the “Pilgrim of Eternity” as Shelley designated him & it is at Cambridge, so that they need not have had any difficulty. Of Shelley there is neither portrait nor bust & what artist could imagine him ? I remain Sir Yours very truly E. J. TRELAWNY. Shelley & I were born the same year, there was only three or four months difference in our ages. (for) E. J. T. This is copied verbatim Its odd punctuation and curious use of capitals may perhaps be accounted for by the fact that the signature alone is in Trelawny’s hand—he was then eighty-eight years of age—and that the body of the letter and the postscript appear to have been dictated. Itis to be hoped that if the proposed memorial is really to be erected, nothing will be done rashly or in a hurry ; and that the Shelley monu- ment may escape the ill-treatment given to the Byron monument at Missolonghi, which for some time at least was used as a shooting-butt by the peasants. Batzey SAUNDERS. THE NEXT ORIENTAL CONGRESS. €3, Elm Park Gardens, 8.W., Oct. 5, 1890. Durine the discussions with regard to the place and date of the next International Orien- tal Congress I have refrained from interfering, although I took a part in seven out of the eight previous Congresses. I remarked with pleasure that the Secretary to the eighth Congress was checkmated in his attempt to contract the free action of all future Congresses. I welcomed the prospect of a Congress at Oxford in 1892; however, that scheme fell through. I welcomed the proposal to hold a Congress at London under the presidency of Sir H. Rawlinson and the genial control of Sir M. Grant-Duff; I understand that both have re- signed. I have received letters from distinguished scholars at Berlin and Leyden, begging me at this moment to intervene, and I do so un- willingly, and without any personal object, as my advanced age and want of leisure preclude my taking any part in the arrangements. Certain considerations should be borne in mind :— A. The President, the Committee, and the secretaries must be British-born subjects of
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482 THE ATHENAUM Ne 3285, Ocr. 11, 90 Her Majesty; it would be a scandal to the British name to allow German, French, or Hun- garian scholars to represent Great Britain on a great international platform. B. No person, male or female, should be admitted to the Congress as members but bond Jide scholars, scholarly persons, or students ; all tourists and flineurs should be excluded. The Congress at Stockholm was a great mistake. C. The Organizing Committee should be com- posed of representatives of Oxford, Cambridge, London, Dublin, and Edinburgh Universities, and of the British Museum, the India Office, and the Royal Asiatic Society ; they should appoint their own secretary, and not be ap- pointed by him ; no orders should be issued by the secretary without their authority. D. The next Congress should be held in 1892, and a guarantee fund of 1,000/. raised to cover expenses. Those who recollect the London Con- gress in 1874 can testify to the miserable absence of all suitable arrangements from the want of funds. E. The Committee should have nothing to do with junketing, excursions, or banquets, but should confine their attention to the serious business which has brought the scholars of Europe together. Private hospitality will no doubt be forthcoming. F. No distinction should be made between the delegates of Governments in the department of Public Instruction and the delegates of other public bodies. Asa fact the Governments on the Continent send delegates, and the Govern- ments of Great Britain and the United States send none; the scholars of these last countries were consequently always placed in an inferior position in the general meetings. It must be understood that the first series of eight Congresses ended in the Stockholm Con- gress. No steps were taken there to fix the place and date of the next Congress ; the legality of the ad interim Committee appointed at that Con- gress is questioned, and the Committee, consist- ing of the delegates of only three countries, took no steps to co-opt representatives of the remain- ing five ; its powers must be considered to have lapsed. France had unquestionably the right to lead in the second series of Congresses, as the idea of these meetings originated in 1863 at Paris; but it is understood that the French scholars have waived their right in favour of the scholars of Great Britain, who thus have a free hand to make their own arrangements. Rozert Cust. HIGHER EDUCATION IN AMERICA. WE have before us two of those instructive re- ports called “Circulars of Information,” issued by the Bureau of Education in Washington, and numbered 1889, 2, and 1890, 1. The former comprises the Proceedings of the National Educational Association for that year; the second is a monograph upon the history of Federal and State aid to higher education by Prof. Blackmar, of Kansas. From a perusal of these two volumes it is possible for foreigners to form some judgment on the progress and prospects of higher education in the New World. Let us begin with the following facts. ‘‘ Ac- cording to the report,” says Prof. Blackmar . 25), “of the Commissioners of Education for e year 1885-6, the total amount of productive funds of 345 colleges and universities situated in the 43 states was [roughly] 49} millions of dollars. The total valueof unproductive property (grounds, buildings, &c.) was 43} millions, and the grants from the several legislatures 863,000 dollars.” Were the whole of these funds free from taxes, which the writer earnestly pleads they should be, the total would be increased by about three millions of dollars. We hear every year of so many munificent bequests, of the founding of new universities, that we may confidently set down the present educational endowments of the sixty millions of people who inhabit the United States at one hundred millions of dollars, or 20,000,000. It is equally certain that this gigantic sum will increase rapidly every year. Philanthropists in the States have got into the fashion of endowing education, though often in some inexpedient way. Yet we hear (p. 39) that “all the schools, both public and private, of the South and West are crowded beyond their capacity, that is, beyond their capacity to furnish a liberal education, or even to give students what they demand. With all their endowments and support but few institutions are able, for want of resources, to come up to the full measure of education as laid down in their catalogues and registers.” There are also in other parts of these reports admissions or complaints that the present condition of things leaves much to be desired. And perhaps the first lesson to be derived from these quota- tions is one which the Americans are slow to learn. Though endowments are highly advan- tageous, perhaps even necessary, for efticient higher education, mere wealth will not procure it. Setting up new institutions at random and enriching them with millions of dollars may turn out not only useless, but worse than useless. Here is a department of life where the dollar is not almighty, and is sometimes impotent. The very first point that strikes a European reader is the enormous number of colleges and universities—perhaps by this time 350! Con- sidering the subdivision of teaching power which this number of scattered institutions implies, it is evident (1) that the standard must vary from what we know to be high down to what we apprehend to be very low indeed ; (2) that consequently a low idea of the nature of college education and of its conductors must be produced in the minds of the American public. Mr. Bryce, in his monumental work, has already noted this evil of multiplied universities with their variations of standard, but no one seems as yet to have condescended to the thankless task of proving it in detail. Nay, even the proper tests of such a standard are not under- stood. When an institution such as the new Royal University in Ireland is criticized, the usual reply of its advocates is to appeal to the examination lists, and show what percentage of candidates is rejected at each competition. Such an argument is perfectly futile. The whole body of candidates may be (and often is) so badly trained that while the rejections are quite proper, many of the passes are granted upon wretched answering. Take up the records of the University of Athens—perhaps a closer analogy to American foundations—and you will see its prosperity and efficiency proved by the number of those who graduate in the various faculties, and graduate with honours. But what does all this mean? What if the standard is disgracefully low ? What if the examinations are not conducted with strictness and justice? What if the candidates are allowed to confer together, or to obtain hints beforehand of the questions? There have been some strange experiences in America on this matter. Thus the state of California desired to establish some uniformity of standard by having the same papers set in all its colleges. “ That was the custom followed in California before the adoption of the new constitution. For some time preceding that adoption it was supposed that the passage of the questions through the mails would be risky. Finally, it was suspected that by some means some of the questions occasionally got out; and the culmination came when one day in San Francisco, the evening before the examination, the San Francisco Bulletin published all the ques- tions in full, and the examinations throughout the state had to be suspended.”— Proceedings, p. 222. Ever since the establishment of Intermediate school examinations in Ireland similar rumours and suspicions have been rife. How, then, are we to test the standard and efficiency of universities? In ancient seats of learning the efforts of generations have been em- ployed. The long roll of distinguished men pro- duced by Oxford, Géttingen, Dublin, Harvard, Yale, speaks for itself. But in the case of new colleges we must devise some system by which (without notice) the examination papers and answers of the candidates shall be produced after the result. When we have the questions, and the answers of the worst candidate who passed, before us, we shall begin to know some- thing of the real efficiency of the place. The general standard can never be really high. Yet still there ought to be a standard, both of ques- tions and of answers, and till some approximate uniformity is attained, the term “ college-bred student,” the D.D.s and A.M.s which are sown broadcast over America, mean nothing, or worse than nothing. The first conclusion, then, forced upon us is that the States have too many universities, and that the right of founding them owned by each state, and the fashion of founding them sug- gested by the wealth, ambition, and philanthropy of individuals, should be restrained, if not by Federal law, at least by the common sense and the public opinion of the nation. This obvious dictate of prudence, which is, indeed, absolutely necessary if we are to have any high average in the teaching of American universities, seems to have struck no legislators except those of the state of California, who, after founding and largely endowing their state university at Berkeley, have so far discouraged rivals set up by individuals or sects that they tax all the property of such private foundations. Prof. Blackmar notices this singular exception in his ‘History,’ and adds (p. 324): ‘California is either in advance of her sister states in the wisdom of legislation, or else has rendered a great injustice to private benevolence, which should always be encouraged.” It is plain from other allusions in this work that the latter is his own view, as it is that of almost all Americans. European critics will adopt the former alter- native, and praise the wisdom of the Californian legislators, who evidently wish to concentrate benefactions upon their one central university ; nor will they subscribe to the doctrine that all private benevolence, however foolishly and even mischievously applied, should be encouraged because it is in itself, and in the author of it, an amiable and generous instinct. If these large gifts, which are announced every year, be really intended by the donors to advance learn- ing, and not to glorify themselves, surely they ought to be content to add a department, a college, or a decently endowed chair or chairs to one of the acknowledged universities ; they ought also to do it not at random, upon some amateur theory of education, but upon the advice, and in accordance with the suggestions, of pro- fessional educators. If American philanthropists wish to have an instance in which these precautions were carried out, they have a very signal one in the bequest of James Smithson to their own country. This English gentleman, after a very foolish preamble to his will, bequeathed his fortune (1) ‘to the whole American nation (2) to found at Washing- ton an establishment for the increase and diffu- sion of knowledge among men.” He thus secured a thorough discussion by competent men as to the best way of applying his wealth, and, moreover, he left them under no absurd or vexatious restrictions in the broad generality of the terms he used. What is the result? Throughout the whole catalogue the reader will not find a single foundation doing such great and excellent work, though many are richer and more pretentious. So much for general endowments. In the way of gifts for special educational purposes there is also a suggestion to be made which will seem quite novel to American philanthropists. In no country so rich is the professorial or teaching pro- fession paid so badly ; there seem to be no prizes in the way of income or position, so that we may assume that first-rate men too rarely enter it.
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aoa io a Pe N° 3285, Ocr. 11, 790 THE ATHENZUM 483 The foundation of important chairs with an ample salary will some day produce a very dif- | ferent state of things, but till this reform is made we may expect the national progress to be of a somewhat humdrum description as regards the higher paths in letters and in science. For though money will not buy science or culture, it will set the brightest minds in pursuit of them, and so the teaching profession will recruit itself not from mediocrity, but from the best material. The experience of the ancient seats of learn- ing in our own empire might serve as an en- couragement and a warning to our younger and more generous cousins. Let me cite the case I know best, that of the University of Dublin. The Provost of Trinity College has attained and holds a great place in Irish society, and even in England, not merely because he is the head of a great college, but because an ancient benefactor left an estate of 1,600/. a year for his use. This, in addition to his academic emoluments, makes him a splendidly paid official, who can live with some state, and thus represent the dignity of his profession. Contrariwise, the bequests left to the same college during the last decade amount to more than 1,000/. per annum on the average, yet are saddled with so many foolish restrictions that they have produced no appreciable effect on the well-being of its members. Scholarships confined to natives of a county, prizes for essays on effete subjects, foundations of new chairs beside those already subsisting, without adequate salaries for either—such and suchlike are the amateur attempts to benefit learning. If the Americans will not disdain to learn from the successes and the failures of endowments in Europe, these criticisms may perhaps some day profit them, Some other points of great interest as regards the theory of teaching must be post- poned, owing to the length of this review. J. P. Manarry. THE ‘DICTIONARY OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY.’ THE following is the first part of a list of the names which it is intended to insert under the letter L (Section II.) in the ‘ Dictionary of National Biography.’ When one date is given, it is the date of death, unless otherwise stated. An asterisk is affixed to a date when it is only approximate. The editors of the ‘Dictionary’ will be obliged by any notice of omissions ad- dressed to them at Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co.’s, 15, Waterloo Place, S.W. They particularly request that when new names are suggested, an indication may be given of the source from which they are derived. Lea, Cromwell, ‘Italian Dictionary,’ 1601 Leach, Humphrey, Jesuit, 1573-1629 Leach, James, musical composer, 1762-97 Leach, Sir John, Master of the Rolls, 1760-1834 Leach, Thomas, legal writer, 1746-1818 Leach, William Elford, M.D., naturalist, 1790-1836 Lead, Jane, mystic, 1704 Leadbeater, Mrs. Mary, ‘ Annals of Ballitore,’ 1758-1826 Leadbetter, Charles, astronomer, fl. 1756 Leahy, Edward Daniel, painter, 1798-1875 Leahy, Patrick, D.D., Catholic Archbishop of Cashel, 1807*-75 Leake, Sir Andrew, captain R.N., 1704 Leake, Sir John, admiral, 1656-1720 Leake, John, M.D., physician, 1730*-92 Leake, Richard, naval officer, 1629-86 Leake, Stephen Martin, F.S.A., Garter King-of-Arms, 1702-73 — Martin, F.R.S., ‘ Topography of Athens,’ Leakey, James, painter, 1775-1865 Leander 4 Sancto Martino. See Jones, John, 1636, Leanerd, John, dramatist, fl. 1679 Leapor, Mary, poet, 1722-46 Lear, Edward, ‘ Book of Nonsense,’ 1888 Leared, Arthur, M.D., traveller, 1879 Leask, William, D.D., Biblical scholar, 1812-84 Leate, Alderman of London, fl. 1606 Le Bas, Rev. Charles Webb, Principal of Haileybury College, 1780-1861 Le Blanc, Sir Simon, judge, 1749-1816 Le Blond, Christopher James, engraver, 1670-1740 Le Breton, Mrs. Anna Letitia, biographer, 1808-85 Lebwin or Lieswin, St., 8th century Le Capelain, John, water-colour painter, 1814*-48 Le Cane, Charles, French Protestant divine, 164-1703 Lechmere, Edmund, ‘ Peems and Translations,’ 1798 Lechmere, Sir Nicholas, judge, 1613-1701 Lechmere, Nicholas, Lord Lechmere, 1727 Le Conteur, John, general, 1761-1835 Le Davis, Edward, painter and engraver, 1640*-84* Leddra, William, Quaker, ex. 1661 Lediard, Thomas, ‘ Naval History of England,’ 1743 Lediard, Thomas, theatrical manager and dramatist, 1759 | Ledred, Richard, Bishop of Ossory, 1360 Ledwich, Edward, LL.D., Irish antiquary, 1740-1823 Ledwich, Thomas Hawkesworth, surgeon of Dublin, 1823-58 | Ledyard, John, traveller, companion of Cook, 1751-88 Lee, Alexander, musical composer, 1802-51 Lee, Rev. Alfred Theophilus, LL.D., topographer and mis- cellaneous writer, 1829-83 Lee, Anna, botanical painter, 1790* Lee, Charles, general, 1731-82 Lee, Edward, D.D., Archbishop of York, 1544 Lee, Edwin, M.D., medical writer, 1870 Lee, Francis, M.D., miscellaneous writer, 1660-1719 Lee, Frederick Richard, R.A., landscape painter, 1798-1879 Lee, Sir George, LL.D., Dean of the Arches, 1758 Lee, Harriet, ‘ Canterbury Tales,’ 1757-1851 Lee, Sir Henry, K.G., Master of the Ordnance, 1531-1610 Lee, Henry, ‘ Caleb Quotem,’ 1765-1836 Lee, Henry, naturalist, 1827-88 Lee, Henry Fitzroy, admiral, 1751 Lee, James, botanist, 1795 Lee, James, wood engraver, 1804 Lee, Sir James Lockhart, Lord, 1600*-74, See Lockhart. Lee, James Prince, Bishop of Manchester, 1804-69 Lee, John, actor and dramatist, 1781 Lee, John, lawyer, 1793 Lee, John, D.D., LL.D., M.D., Principal of Edinburgh University, 1780-1859 Lee, John, actor and dramatist, 1881 Lee, Joseph, enamel painter, 1780-1859 Lee, Matthew, M.D., benefactor to Christ Church, 1695-1755 Lee, Nathaniei, dramatic poet, 1692 Lee, Nelson, actor, 1872 Lee, Mrs. Rachel Fanny Antonina, soi-disant Baroness le Despenser, 1774*-1829 Lee, Robert, D.D., professor at Edinburgh, 1804-68 Lee, Robert, M.D., physician, 1793-1877 Lee, Rowland, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, 1543 Lee, Samuel, M.A., Puritan divine, 1625-91 Lee, Samuel, D.D., Hebrew Professor at Cambridge, 1783-1852 Lee, Mrs. Sarah, formerly Mrs. Bowdich, naturalist, 1791-1856 Lee, Miss Sophia, novelist, 1750-1824 Lee, or Leigh, Sir Thomas, Lord Mayor, 1498-1571 Lee, Capt. Thomas, supporter of the Earl of Essex, ex. 1600 Lee, Rev. William, M.A., inventor, 1610 Lee, Sir William, judge, 1688-1754 Lee, William, water-colour painter, 1810-65 Lee, William, D.D., Archdeacon of Dublin, 1815-83 Leech, David, poet, fl. 1657 Leech, John, epigrammatist, fl. 1623 Leech, John, caricaturist, 1817-64 Leechman, William, D.D., Principal of Glasgow University, 1706-85 Leedes, Edward, Jesuit, 1599*-1677. See Courtney, Edward. Leedes, Edward, schoolmaster at Bury St. Edmunds, 1627- ‘ Leeds, Dukes of. See Osborne. Leeds, Edward, LL.D., civilian, 1590 Leeds, Edward, King’s Sergeant, 1758 Leeke, Sir Henry John, K.C.B., admiral, 1795-1870 Leeke, Leonard, monk of Norwich, 1357 Lees, Charles, R.S.A., painter, 1800-80 Lees, Rev. Sir Harcourt, Bart., political writer, 1776-1852 Lees, Rev. John, M.A., Gaelic poet, 1846 Lees, Major-General William Nassau, LL.D., Orientalist, 1825-89 Leeves, Rev. William. musical composer, 1749-1828 Le Fanu, Mrs. Alicia, née Sheridan, miscellaneous writer, fl. 1812 Lefanu, Mrs. Anne Elizabeth, née Sheridan, miscellaneous writer, 1757-1837 Le Fanu, Joseph Sheridan, novelist, 1814-73 Le Fanu, Philip, D.D., Irish divine, fl. 1790 Lefebvre, Claude, painter, 1633-75 Lefevre, Charles Shaw, Viscount Eversley, 1794-1888, See Shaw-Lefevre. Lefevre, Sir George William, physician, 1797-1846 Lefevre, Sir John George Shaw, K.C.B., clerk of the Parlia- ments, 1797-1879. See Shaw-Lefevre. Lefévre, Roland, painter, 1608-77 Leffler, Adam, operatic singer, 1808-57 Lefroy, Sir John Henry, K.C.M.G., general, 1817-90 Lefroy, Thomas Langlois, LL.D., Irish judge, 1776-1869 Legat, Francis, engraver, 1755-1809 Legat, Hugh, Benedictine, fl. 1400 Legate, Bartholomew, Unitarian, ex. 1612 Legate, John, printer, fl. 1589 Le Geyt, Philip, writer on the laws of Jersey, 1630-1716 Legge, Edward, Vice-President of Munster, 1544-1616 Legge, Hon. Edward, commodore, 1710-47 Legge, George, Lord Dartmouth, 1648-91 Legge, George, Earl of Dartmouth, 1755-1810 Legge, Sir Heneage, Baron of the Exchequer, 1704-59 Legge, Right Hon, Henry Bilson, Chancellor of the Exche- quer, 1708-54 Legge, Thomas, LL.D., civilian, 1536*-1607 Legge, Col. William, ‘‘ Honest Will Legge,” 1612-72 Legge, William, 1st Earl of Dartmouth, 1672-1750 Legh, Alexander, LL.D., diplomatist and divine, 1501 Legh, Gerard, writer on heraldry, 1563 Legh, Sir Thomas, LL.D., Master of Sherburn Hospital, 1545 Legleus, Gilbertus. See Gilbert the Englishman, fl. 1250 Le Grand, Antoine, Franciscan, 1699 Legrew, James, sculptor, 1803-57 Le Grice, Rev. Charles Valentine, M.A., humourist, 1773-1858 Le Grys, Sir Robert, dramatist and translator, fl. 1660 Leicester, Earls of. See Dudley. Leicester of Holkham, Earl of. See Coke. Leicester, John Fleming, Ist Lord De Tabley, 1762-1827 Leicester, Robert de Beaumont, Earl of, 1104-68. See Beaumont. Leicester, Robert Sydney, Earl of, K.G., 1626. See Sydney. Leicester, Simon de Montfort, Earl of, 1218. See Montfort. Leicester, Simon de Montfort, Earl of, 1265. See Montfort. Leicester, William de, or William de Monte, Chancellor of Lincoln, 1213. See William. Leichhardt, Ludwig, Australian explorer, 1814-48 Leicht, Thomas, Scotch Carmelite, 1231* Leifehild, Henry Stormont, sculptor, 1884 Leifchild, John, D.D., Independent minister, 1780-1862 Leigh, Anthony, actor, 1692 Leigh, Hon. Augusta Mary, Lord Byron’s 1783-1851 half-sister, Leigh, Chandos, Lord Leigh, 1791-1850 Leigh, Charles, voyager to Guiana, 1605 Leigh, Charles, M.D., F.R.S., naturalist, 1662-1717* —_ — M.A., ‘ Treatise of Religion and Learning,” 603-7 Leigh, Sir Ferdinand, Governor of the Isle of Man, 1585*-1654 Leigh, Francis, Earl of Chichester, 1653 Leigh, Henry Sambrook, ‘ Carols of Cockayne,’ 1836-83 Leigh, Sir James. See Ley. Leigh, James Matthews, painter, 1808-60 Leigh, John, actor and dramatist, 1690-1726 Leigh, Nicholas, translator, 1581 Leigh, Sir Olyff, encourager of maritime enterprise, 1560-1612 Leigh, Percival, comic writer, 1812-89 Leigh, Richard, Catholic divine, ex. 1588 Leigh, Richard, poet, fl. 1675 Leigh, Samuel, metrical version of the Psalms, fl. 1686 Leigh, Thomas Pemberton, Lord Kingsdown, 1867. See Pemberton-Leigh. Leigh, Valentine, miscellaneous writer, fl. 1562 Leigh, Rev. William, B.D., Rector of Standish, 1550-1639 Leighton, Alexander, D.D., divine and physician, 1568-1644 Leighton, Alexander, ‘ Tales of the Borders,’ 1800-74 Leighton, C. Blair, lithographer and painter, 1823-55 Leighton, Rev. Francis, Shropshire antiquary, 1747-1813 Leighton, Henry, French scholar, 1668 Leighton, Robert, D.D., Archbishop of Glasgow, 1613-84 Leighton, Robert, Scotch poet, 1822-69 Leighton, Sir William, musical composer and poet, fl. 1614 Leighton, William, Scotch poet, 1841-69 Leinster, James Fitzgerald, 1st Duke of, 1722-73. See Fitzgerald. Leintwarden, Thomas, D.D., Chancellor of St. Paul’s, fl. 1420 Leitch, William Leighton, landscape painter, 1804-83 Leith, Edward Tyrrell, Professor of Law at Bombay, 1888 Leith, Sir James, G.C.B., general, 1763-1816 Le Keux, Henry, engraver, 1787-1868_ Le Keux, John, architectural engraver, 1783-1846 Lekprewik, Robert, Scotch typographer, fl. 1573 Leland, John, grammarian, 1428 Leland, John, antiquary, 1506-52 Leland, John, D.D., ‘ View of Deistical Writers,’ 1691-1766 Leland, Thomas, D.D., miscellaneous writer, 1722-85 Lely, Sir Peter, portrait painter, 1617-80 Leman, Rev. Thomas, M.A., F.R.S., antiquary, 1750-1826 Le Marchant, Sir Denis, Bart., clerk to the House of Com- mons, 1795-1874 Le Marchant, John Gaspard, general, 1812 Lemens, Balthasar Van, painter, 1637-1704 Le Mesurier, Havilland, colonel, 1813 Le Mesurier, John, general, 1781-1843 Lemmens, Nicolas Jaques, musical composer, 1823-81 Lemoine, Abraham, French Protestant divine, 1760 Le Moine, Rev. Abraham, miscellaneous writer, 1724-69 Lemoine, Henry, bookseller and compiler, 1756-1812 Lemon, Rev. George William, Master of Norwich School, 1726-97 Lemon, Sir John, Lord Mayor, 1544 Lemon, Mark, dramatist, actor, and author, 1809-70 Lemon, Robert, F.S.A., archivist, 1779-1835 Lemon, Robert, F.S.A., archivist, 1867 Lemon, Rev. Thomas, antiquary, 1826 Lempriere, John, D.D., ‘ Classical Dictionary,’ 1765-1824 Lempriere, Michael, judge of Jersey, fl. 1734 Lempriere, William, M.D., traveller and medical writer, . 1812 (To be continued.) NEW MS. OF THE CONQUEST OF THE CANARIES, Rochdale, Oct. 4, 1890. Mr. WaRnNeER’s interesting note may be sup- plemented by reference to the ‘ Annales Ricardi Secundi et Henrici Quarti,’ p. 389, where the results of the voyage to the Canaries are given under the year 1404 without any mention of Bethencourt. The chronicle ends abruptly in 1406, and it would be curious to know how Gadifer’s account was communicated so early, and on the whole so accurately, to the English chronicler writing at St. Albans. J. Hamitton WYLIE. THE SCOTTISH SERVICE BOOK. Dorchester, Sept. 25, 1890. THE remarks of your correspondent Col. Fergusson convey the impression that it was the desire of Charles I. to impose upon the un- willing Scots a Liturgy of a less Protestant type than that which was at the time in use in Eng- land ; and further, that such a desire was actu- ally carried out in despite of the advice of persons best acquainted with the state of religious feeling north of the Tweed, with results that are well known. I would, however, venture to point out that so early as in 1629 Charles I. had re- minded the Scottish bishops that the question of a Liturgy for Scotland was still undecided, and that on their behalf a certain Edinburgh minister, by name Maxwell, interviewed Laud, explained the reason why no further steps in the matter had been taken in Scotland, and on learning that the king would hear nothing of the Scottish book approved by his father, but desired the acceptance of the English Liturgy as it stood, pleaded in vain that such a course
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484 THE ATHENZUM N° 3285, Ocr. 11, ’90 would be wounding to the national jealousy of , his fellow countrymen. Thus, then, it is clear that the king’s original intention was to force upon the Scots the English book as it stood, and the fact of Maxwell’s visit to Laud as well as subsequent events connected with the com- pilation go far to show that the book associated with the unfortunate canons of 1635 was a con- cession to national feeling, its calendar, which commemorated certain Scottish saints unnoticed in the English Prayer Book, being some testi- mony to this effect. And, indeed, it is impos- sible to suppose that to Jenny Geddes and her friends there was anything to choose between the book actually in the hands of the Dean of Edinburgh and the English book ; it is equally impossible to think of any form of prayers, least of all of a form providing for the consecrating of bishops, as acceptable to Mr. Henderson and the party of the “ Tables.” Watkin Wynn WILLIAMS, Vice-Principal of Dorchester Missionary College, Wallingford. THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON. Messrs. Hopper & StroucuTon’s announce- ments include the following : ‘ Sir George Burns, Bart.: his Times and Friends,’ by E. Hodder,— ‘MacKay of Uganda: the Pioneer Missionary of the Church Missionary Society,’ by his Sister, —Some Central Points of our Lord’s Ministry,’ by Principal Wace,—‘ The Living Christ and the Four Gospels, by Dr. R. W. Dale,—two volumes of ‘The Prophecies of Isaiah,’ by Mr. G. A. Smith,—‘ Life in Christ and for Christ,’ by Principal H. Moule, of Ridley Hall,— ‘Prof. Christlieb: Memoir and Sermons,’ edited by Canon Kingsbury,—six new voluntes of “The Expositor’s Bible,” viz., ‘ Ecclesiastes,’ by Dr. S. Cox; ‘The Epistles of St. James and St. Jude,’ by Dr. A. Plummer ; ‘The Book of Proverbs,’ by the Rev. R. F. Horton; ‘ The Book of Leviticus, by Dr. S. H. Kellogg ; ‘The Gospel of St. John,’ by Prof. M. Dods ; and ‘ The Psalms,’ Vol. I., by Dr. A. Maclaren, — ‘The Miracles of our Lord,’ by Dr. W. M. Taylor, — Prof. Beet’s ‘Commentary on St. Paul's Epistles to Ephesians, Colossians, Philip- pians, and to Philemon,’ —‘ Sheaves of Ministry : Sermons and Expositions,’ by Dr. J. Morison, —‘Jacob Herbert : a Study in Theology,’ by the Rev. J. Evans,—the first volume of a trans- lation of Prof. Delitzsch’s ‘Commentary on the Book of Isaiah,’—two new volumes of ‘‘ The Theological Educator”: ‘An Introduction to the Old Testament, by Dr. C. H. H. Wright, and ‘The Writers of the New Testament : their Style and Characteristics,’ by the Rev. W. H. Simcox,—‘ A Good Start: a Book for Young Men,’ by Dr. Thain Davidson,—‘ Natural Theology and Modern Science’ (Donnellan Lectures), by the Rev. J. H. Kennedy,— ‘Leah of Jerusalem: a Story of the Time of St. Paul,’ by E. P. Berry,—‘The Visible God and our Relation to Him in Creation and Re- demption,’—‘ Famous Men of Science,’ by Sarah K. Bolton,—‘ Esther Lovell,’ by the author of ‘The White Cross and Dove of Pearls,—‘ The Farm on the Down and Old Gwen,’ by A. Beale,—‘ Israel and Judah, and Studies in the Gospel of St. John: the International Lessons for 1891,’ by the Rev. Dr. Pentecost,—‘ Forty Days with the Master,’ by Bishop Huntingdon, —and ‘ Sharpened Arrows and Polished Stones : Scripture Texts and Illustrations,’ by C. W. Bibb. The forthcoming publications of Measrs. T. & T. Clark include ‘Philosophy and Theology,’ being the first Edinburgh University Gifford Lecture, by Dr. Hutchison Stirling,—a transla- tion of Delitzsch’s ‘Messianic Prophecies in their Historical Succession,’ by Prof. Curtiss, of Chicago,—‘ The New Apologetic ; or, the Down Grade in Criticism, Theology, and Science,’ by Prof. Robert Watts, of Belfast,—‘ Gethsemane,’ by the Rev. Newman Hall,—‘The Six Inter- mediate Minor Prophets,’ by Principal Douglas, of Glasgow (new volume of the ‘‘ Bible-Class Handbook Series”),— ‘Franz Delitzsch: a Biography,’ by Prof. Curtiss,—and ‘Our Father’s Kingdom : Lectures on the Lord’s Prayer,’ by the Rev. Charles Ross. The autumn issue of the ‘*Foreign Theologica! Library ” will consist of Delitzsch’s ‘Commentary on Isaiah,’ new edition, second volume (completion); and Schiirer’s ‘History of the Jewish People in the Time of our Lord,’ Division I., Vol. I1., completion. The same publishers promise an ‘‘ International Theo- logical Library,” of which the first volume will be ‘The Literature of the Old Testament,’ by Canon Driver. Mr. Edward Arnold's list of announcements includes ‘Animal Life and Intelligence,’ by Prof. Lloyd Morgan, of University College, Bristol, with forty illustrations, —‘ Epochs of Industry, by Mr. M. E. Sadler, of Christ Church,—three volumes of Arnold’s ‘‘ English Literature Series of Famous Books,” edited for young readers: ‘ David Copperfield,’ ‘Dombey and Son,’ and ‘The Old Curiosity Shop,’ each volume being illustrated from the original plates, —Sidney’s ‘Defence of Poesy’ and Shelley’s ‘ Defence of Poetry,’ edited by Prof. A. S. Cook, of Yale,—‘ A Handbook of Historic Schools of Painting,’ by Miss D. L. Hoyt, — ‘ Political Science and Comparative Constitutional Law,’ by Prof. Burgess, of Columbia College, N. Y.,— ‘ Sunday Lectures,’ a series of short biographies of great characters illustrating Christian virtues, | by A. C. Benson and M. T. Tatham, assistant masters at Eton,—‘ The Battles of Frederick the | Great,’ extracted from Carlyle, edited by Prof. Ransome, of the Yorkshire College, Leeds,— ‘Revolution Readings,’ containing extracts from the chief French writers upon the revolutionary epoch, historical, dramatic, and literary, edited by A. Jamson Smith, Head Master of King Edward’s School, Camp Hill, Birmingham,— Victor Hugo’s ‘ Quatre-Vingt-Treize,’ edited for schools by M. James Boielle,—‘ The Stan- dard Course in Chemistry for Elementary Schools,’ edited by E. J. Cox,—‘A Text-Book of Logic and Ethics in relation to Teaching,’ by Rev. G. W. Gent, of St. Mark’s Training College, —‘A History of the United States of America under the Constitution,’ by James Schouler, in 4 vols.,—second editions of Mr. Jeremiah Lynch’s ‘ Egyptian Sketches’; of ‘Williams and Lascelles’ Introduction to Chemical Science,’ edited by B. P. Lascelles ; and of ‘ Modern French Read- ings,’ edited by Mr. A. Jamson Smith,—and new volumes of the Forum and the West- minster Review. Messrs. Masters & Co. will publish ‘The Mis- sionary’s Foundation of Doctrine,’ by the Bishop of Nassau, — ‘Felix Dupanloup, Bishop of Orleans,’ by the author of ‘Charles Lowder,’— ‘The Builders of the Church in Northumbria,’ being a history of the twelve saints to whom the stalls in Wakefield Cathedral are dedicated, by M. H. Hall,—‘ Mother’s Evening Talks,’ by Frances Maclean, edited, with preface, by Arch- deacon Scott, of Dublin,—‘ The Quiet Life,’ by M. T.,—‘ Memento: a Perpetual Calendar, or Hints to awaken Memory,’ suggested by A. L. J. G.,—and a ‘ Memoir of the late Rev. Thomas Helmore,’ by Frederick Helmore. Messrs. Brentano are to issue ‘ Life with the Trotters,’ by J. Splan,—‘ Training the Trotting Horse,’ by C. Marvin,—‘ Views of American Cities,’ by E. A. Samuels,—‘ Four Years in Rebel Capitals,’ by T. C. De Leon,—‘ Gems and Precious Stones of North America,’ by G. F. Kunz,—andja new edition of Col. Hay’s poems, including ‘ Pike County Ballads.’ HOWELL’S ‘FAMILIAR LETTERS.’ In the introduction to the first book of Howell’s ‘ Familiar Letters,’ issued this week by Mr. D. Stott in two pretty volumes, there is one omission which I should like to be allowed to supply in your columns. It is an acknow- ledgment that the additional information about Howell beyond that contained in the ordinary sources, e.g., ‘ Biographia Literaria,’ is derived from the supplement of inedited or previously uncollected letters and documents contained in my complete edition of ‘ Howell’s Letters.’ This was issued last March by Mr. Nutt to sub- scribers, among whom, it seems, I had the plea- sure to reckon a rival editor, who makes use of my work even to the extent of reprinting hitherto inedited letters in full without the slightest acknowledgment. My edition would have been published ere this but that it was thought desirable to wait till the somewhat elaborate biography, bibliography, notes, and index could be issued with the text; we hope to do this before the end of the year. Advan- tage has been taken by Mr. Stott’s editor of this publication by subscription to make use of my materials without mentioning my name or even referring to my edition in the bibliography at the end. It is on a par with this shabby conduct to- wards myself that there is no indication given to the public in those volumes that they contain only the first book, or in other words only about half, of Howell's letters. JOSEPH JACOBS. Literary Grossip. Princess Beatrice has translated from the German of Dr. E. Kraus the ‘ Adventures in the Life of Count George Albert of Erbach,’ who lived in the seventeenth century. The adventures include the count’s sojourn with the Knights of Malta, his capture by the Barbary Corsairs, and his imprisonment at Algiers. The present Count of Erbach married the only sister of Prince Henry of Battenberg, and from him the papers are derived. The book, which will be adorned with portraits and woodcuts, will be pub lished by Mr. Murray. A teapine feature of the Cornhill Maga- zine during 1891 will be a serial story, entitled ‘The White Company,’ by Mr. Conan Doyle, author of ‘ Micah Clarke,’ &c. The opening chapters of the story will appear in the January number of the magazine. Mr. Tuomas Mackay, author of ‘The English Poor,’ is going to edit a volume of essays by various writers, under the title of ‘A Plea for Liberty: a Protest against the Socialistic Tendency of Modern Legisla- tion.’ It will deal with the leading indus- trial questions of the day, in form similar to ‘Lux Mundi.’ Among the contributors are Mr. Herbert Spencer, Mr. George Howell, M.P., the Hon. Auberon Herbert, Mr. W. C. Crofts, Mr. W. Donisthorpe, the Rev. B. H. Alford, Mr. J. E. Vincent, Mr. A. Raffalovich, Mr. T. Mackay, and Mr. E. 8. Robertson. Mr. Murray is the pub- lisher. Messrs. Macmirtan & Oo. will issue immediately the first of a series of volumes of sermons by the late Bishop Lightfoot. This consists of a series of discourses on ‘Leaders in the Northern Church.’ Three other volumes— ‘Ordination Addresses,’ ‘Cambridge Sermons,’ and ‘Sermons preached at St. Paul’s’—will follow at intervals of a month. A story by Mr. Rudyard Kipling will shortly appear in Lippincott, called ‘The Light that Failed.’ The scene is laid partly in the Soudan and partly in London. This will be of the Jength of a one-volume novel, and the longest story that Mr. Kipling has yet published.
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eS XUM Ne 3285, Ocr. 11, 90 THE ATHENAUM 485 Pror. Forrest, who hasjust left London for Bombay, spent the last six weeks before his departure, by order of the Secretary of State, in visiting the different Record Offices and libraries in England and Scotland, in order to gather hints for the organization of the central Record Office which the Govern- ment of India proposes to establish at Cal- cutta. During the past six years Prof. Forrest has founded and organized a large Record Office at Bombay. At Calcutta he will also continue the work of research among the ancient documents. The papers regard- ing Warren Hastings which he lately pub- lished (see Athen., No. 3275) have proved the value of the work. The volumes could never have been compiled had not Lord Duf- ferin taken a strong personal interest in the matter, and it will no doubt be continued by his successor till all the documents which bear on the history of our great empire have been safely housed and catalogued. Tue long-expected new edition of Dr. Smith’s ‘ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities’ is promised by Mr. Murray. The work of revision has been mainly per- formed by Messrs. Wayte and Marindin. The book will now occupy two volumes instead of one. Mr. Murray also promises ‘Miss Blake of Monkshalton,’ by Miss I. Ford, a tale that, if we mistake not, appeared in Murray's Magazine. A new story by Mr. Bret Harte, entitled ‘A Client of Col. Starbottle’s,’ will be pub- lished serially by Messrs. Tillotson & Son, of Bolton. Tue next volume of ‘‘ Heinemann’s Inter- national Library,” edited by Mr. Gosse, will be a new novel by Count Tolstci, which has not been published elsewhere in any form, even in Russia. Mr. Davin Srorr will shortly publish a volume of ‘Odes from the Greek Dra- matists,’ edited, with an introduction and bibliography, by Mr. A. Pollard. The selec- tion comprises the Greek text of about forty of the best-known choral odes, with transla- tions into English lyrics by Mr. and Mrs. Browning, Mr. Swinburne, Mr. E. D. A. Morshead, Mr. Verrall, Mr. E. Myers, and other poets and scholars. Dr. Horrnine, of the Department of Oriental Manuscripts in the British Museum, has resigned his post. Miss Lywncu, author of the Irish novel ‘ In Troubled Waters,’ is shortly going over to Paris to give a lecture on Mr. George Mere- dith’s works. Messrs. Buackwoop & Sons will publish in time for Christmas a volume by the author of ‘ Woodland, Moor, and Stream,’ who writes under the pseudonym of “A Son of the Marshes.” In this volume the author, who is a self-taught naturalist, gives an account of life in a little-known fishing village in North Kent, and sketches the employments of the inhabitants—fishing, smuggling, and wild-fowl shooting. He has many stories to tell of life in past days in the North Kent marshes. The book will be illustrated from designs by the author. Mr. Fisuer Unwin is projecting a new series of novels, to be called “ The Pseu- donym Library,” from the fact that the author will in every book be hidden behind a nom de guerre. The stories are intended to be bright, and specially suitable for holiday and railway-carriage reading, and to that end will be of a handy size for the pocket, and issued at a low price. The first three stories are already announced. They are: (1) ‘Mlle. Ixe,’ by Lanoe Falconer; (2) ‘Eleanor Lambert,’ by Magdalen Brook ; and (3) ‘A Mystery of the Campagna’ and ‘A Shadow of a Wave,’ by Von Degen. TuE Scottish History Society will issue to its members in the course of next week the following volumes: (1) Thesecond partof ‘St. Andrews Kirk Session Register, 1583-1600’; (2) ‘The Glamis Book, or Diary written by the first Earl of Strathmore, 1684-9,’ edited by A. H. Millar; and (3) the ‘ List of Per- sons concerned in the Rebellion of 1745-6,’ with evidences to prove the same, trans- mitted to the Commiss‘oners of Excise in Scotland. This last volume, printed from a manuscript at Barnbougle, is a gift to the society from the president, Lord Rosebery, who prefaces his book with a spirited and realistic sketch of the political and military situation at the moment of the rising. Mr. Benttey’s trade dinner will take place on Tuesday, the 21st inst., at Stationers’ Hall. Mr. Quaritch’s trade sale is fixed for the 17th, and will be held at the Free- masons’ Tavern. Tue newly-formed London Booksellers’ Society held its inaugural dinner on the 2nd of this month at the Holborn Restaurant, about eighty members of the trade being present. The chair was occupied by Mr. David Stctt, who in the course of his speech said that the society comprised 143 members, who had fixed one uniform scale of prices at which they would supply books, and to which they resolved to adhere. Upon the whole he seemed to take a hopeful view of the future; but the publishers appear to be hold- ing aloof, and are not generally becoming members. Pror. D. Kaurmann, of Buda - Pesth, thinks he has discovered evidences of the existence of a special synagogue ritual in use by the Jews of England previous to the expulsion in 1290. Ir seems that ‘The Rajah’s Heir,’ the authorship of which, as we stated last week, has been alternately imputed to Sir A. Lyall and Mr. Robert Forrest, is after all claimed by a lady. Mr. J. P. Earwaker, F.S.A., has written, to be published by subscription, a history of Sandbach, including the chapelriesof Holmes Chapel and Goostrey. It will contain illus- trations, and the impression will consist of 250 copies, 150 only of which will be offered for general sale. Tue first number of the Critical Review of theological and philosophical literature, edited by Prof. Salmond, D.D., will con- tain contributions by Canon Driver ; Prin- cipal Rainy; Profs. A. B. Bruce, Candlish, A. B. Davidson, Marcus Dods, Macalister, Plummer, and Reynolds; Dr. Hutchison Stirling, Dr. Walter Smith, and others. Mr. Rosert Dennis, the author of ‘ Indus- trial Ireland,’ has just completed a work entitled ‘ The Baronetage: a History, a Criti- cism, and a Vindication,’ which will shortly be published by Mr. Murray. The book will detail all the facts which can be ascer- tained as to the foundation of the order of baronets, and is said to give many curious and startling particulars as to the varied fortunes of certain titles and their holders. Messrs. Green & Sons, of Edinburgh, promise a volume of ‘ Studies, National and International,’ by the late Prof. Lorimer, illustrated by an engraving of Mr. J. H. Lorimer’s portrait of his father. Mr. Fraser Rar has nearly finished a new novel in the style of ‘Miss Bayle’s Romance,’ and to serve as a pendant to it. We understand his health has been impaired of late, owing chiefly to overwork, and that he has had to undergo a painful surgical operation. However, we are glad to hear that he will soon be convalescent. Mr. Watter Lear, the well-known Homeric scholar, is going to give a course of lectures in connexion with the Chelsea centre of the London University Extension Society. His subject is ‘Homeric Greece.’ The first lecture will be delivered at the Chelsea Town Hall next Wednesday afternoon. He will deal with the following topics: the historic basis of the Homeric poems, the origin of the Iliad and the Odyssey, the political state and religion of heroic Greece, heroic fortresses and archi- tecture, Homeric dress, armour, and art. Mr. Loaf’s lectures will be followed imme- diately by a course of lectures on ‘ The Myths of the Homeric Cycle,’ by Miss Jane Harrison. Tue death is announced of Cardinal Hergenrither, the only scholar with a reputation to lose who in 1870 ventured to defend the decree of Papal infallibility on historical grounds. We have also to record the death of the Rev. W. G. Thomas, Vicar of St. Asaph, highly popular as a Welsh poet. In Mr. T. G. Law’s article on Arch- bishop Hamilton of St. Andrews in the new volume of the ‘ Dictionary of National Bio- graphy’ it is stated, by an inadvertence for which Mr. Law is not responsible, that the facsimile reprint of Hamilton’s ‘ Catechism’ and ‘Twapenny Fayth,’ issued by Mr. Paterson, of Edinburgh, in 1882, was pub- lished ‘‘ by authority of the Church of Scot- land.” The reprint, we are asked to say, was a private venture without any ecclesias- tical sanction. A sertzs of reprints of important works written in Latin during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries is to be issued at Berlin, provided with critical and biographical in- troductions and bibliographical appendices. The collection, which will be published in parts under the title of ‘ Lateinische Litera- turdenkmialer des 15 und 16 Jahrhunderts,’ will be edited by Drs. M. Herrmann and S. Szamatiélski, with the co-operation of a number of other scholars. The first instal- ment, edited by Dr. J. Bolte, will consist of the ‘ Acolastus’ of Guil. Gnapheeus, first published in 1534 at Bale. M. JoserH Hativy is preparing an edition of the text of the Tell-el-Amarna tablets in roman characters, transliterated from the original reproduced by Drs. Winckler and Abel, and will add a French translation and notes. This important mono- graph will appear in the Journal Asiatique. Tux Académie des Inscriptions et Belles- Lettres, Paris, will publish the late M.
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Huber’s diary in Arabia, together with the inscriptions collected by him and Prof. Euting. Just before his death Mr. Behramji Jijibhai, C.S.I., gave a donation of 3} lakhs of rupees for the purpose of establishing an Anglo-vernacular school for poor Parsees, after the manner of the Sir Jamsetji Jijibhoy Parsee Benevolent Institution. The want has been severely felt in Bombay of an educational institution for the poorer classes of the Parsee community. Another Parsee, Mr. Pestanji Hormasji Cama, the founder of the Cama Hospital, has offered to the Bombay University a donation of 25,000 rupees in furtherance of the cause of female education. Messrs. Bickers & Son will shortly pub- lish a more complete biography of the late Miss Naden than that by Mrs. Daniell attached to her essays lately published. The chief contributors are Mr. Hughes, treasurer of the Corporation of Birmingham; Profs. Lapworth and Tilden, of the Mason Science College; and Dr. Lewins, editor of her essays. Tue most interesting Parliamentary Papers of the week are the Postmaster- General’s Report for 1889-90 (5d.); Sav- ings Bank Return for 1889 (ls. 1d.); Colonization, Report of Select Committee and Evidence (4s. 1d.) ; and Reports on the Blue-Books for 1889 respecting Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Western Aus- tralia.
SCIENCE —<———— Waterways and Water Transport in Different Countries. By J. Stephen Jeans. (Spon.) Rartways have for so long secured the main inland carrying trade of the United King- dom that the inland waterways, their pre- decessors in this traffic, have, except in a few notable instances, been suffered to fall into decay without any attempt being made to render them suitable for present require- ments. The congestion of traffic, however, on some of the railways, the high rates charged, the growing keenness of foreign competition, and the success of a few of the waterways which have kept pace with the times, have aroused attention again to inland navigation, as a means of relieving the rail- ways, reducing the rates of transit, and con- necting inland manufacturing towns with the sea. The continued development of inland navigation on the Continent, under the fostering care of the several govern- ments, has stimulated interest in the subject ; whilst the International Inland Navigation Congresses at Brussels in 1885, Vienna in 1886, Frankfort in 1888, and Manchester this summer, have extended the knowledge and amplified the statistics relating to water- ways. Moreover, the financial success of the Suez Canal, the critical condition of the Panama Canal works, the progress of the Manchester Ship Canal, and the numerous canal projects brought forward, have estab- lished such a general public interest in waterways that the time is favourable for the appearance of a book affording a com- prehensive view of the subject. The mate- rial, however, at the disposal of a compiler varies greatly in amount for different coun- tries; so that in the book before us the
chapters on waterways over such vast areas as Austria and Hungary, South and Central America, China, and India are very brief and inadequate, and the apparent additional comprehensiveness thereby given is really illusory. The author divides his subject into three sections, namely, ‘‘The Waterways of Dif- ferent Countries,’ ‘Ship Canals,” and ‘‘ Transport and Working.” The first sec- tion commences with a chapter on “The Transportation Problem,” and follows up with sketches of some of the waterways of England, Scotland, and Ireland, both in existence and projected, and then of those of France, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Italy, Sweden, Russia, the United States, and Canada, as well as of those countries already alluded to. Under ‘‘ Ship Canals ”’ descriptions are given of the Suez Canal, the partially constructed Panama, Man. chester, and Corinth canals, the projected Nicaragua Canal, and a visionary ship canal to connect London with the sea, in place of the river Thames. The Amster- dam Ship Canal, and the North Sea and Baltic Ship Canal in course of construction, are described amongst the waterways of Holland and Germany, though not inferior in importance to the Manchester Ship Canal. The third section deals with the competition between railways and canals, the compara- tive cost of water and land transport, the systems and speed of water transport, and the traffic on waterways, intermingled with three chapters on the engineering works involved in the construction of waterways ; and it concludes with a meagre chapter on “The State Acquisition and Control of Waterways,’ mainly composed of quota- tions from papers read at the Conference on Canals held in London in 1888. An ap- pendix closes the volume, containing tabular information on canals and rivers, mainly copied from tables in the appendices to the Report of the Select Committee on Canals of 1883, from which report, as well as from the Report of the Conference on Canals, the author has largely drawn. The references to original authorities are somewhat scanty ; and two important publications have been issued since the appearance of Mr. Jeans’s book, namely, ‘Returns to the Board of Trade of Canals and Navigations in the United Kingdom for 1888,’ and ‘Les Voies de Navigation des Pays-bas,’ published by the Dutch Government for the Manchester Congress. The book altogether embraces a very wide field, and contains a varied amount of information on the principal waterways of the world; and probably those chapters will be read with most interest and advantage which relate to important ship canals and the commercial aspects of inland navigation. It was with considerable surprise that we observed the river Thames included with ship canals, and our surprise was not diminished by a perusal of the chapter with this heading. The river Thames has been regarded generally as in a satisfactory con- dition from London Bridge to the Nore, being free from a bar, and no improve- ment works have been carried out upon it, beyond the removal of old obstructive bridges and the dredging of gravel for build- ing purposes; whilst it serves as a high- way for the vessels of the largest port in the
world. Mr. Jeans, however, though not an engineer, is not satisfied with its condition, and considers that “if a canal were carried alongside the Thames, into the heart of the city, the west end, and the southern suburbs, a great deal of outlay might be avoided ” ; and, judging by the Suez Canal, he considers that such a canal might be constructed, ‘at tide-level,”’ for 3,000,0007. Acknowledging, however, that the cost of land in the City would be higher than that of land in the Egyptian desert given by the Khedive, he adopts the Amsterdam Canal as a parallel in- stance, and obtains an estimate of 5,000,000/. He apparently forgets that the Amsterdam Canal was constructed, like the Suez Canal, through lakes, and is unaware that the remaining portions of the lakes were reclaimed at a considerable profit, and that the canal does not pase through the heart of Amsterdam. Moreover, the proposed canal could hardly pass right through London with only the three bridges over it which suffice for the Amsterdam Canal. He does not inform us where the outlet is to be, and how its depth is to be maintained. Mr. Jeans, however, is not content with im- proving the navigation below London Bridge. He aims at improving the naviga- tion up beyond Oxford by shortening the course of the river by important diver- sions, described on p. 363, which would remove the main river channel from Ox- ford, Henley, Windsor, Maidenhead, Eton, Kingston, Richmond, and many other minor places. He considers that such facilities would develope trade and industry in the counties traversed; and doubtless he is of opinion that the improvements proposed could be cheaply effected, and with slight chance of opposition, whilst acknowledging that the upper reaches of the river ‘‘ would be threatened.” He proposes also to get “rid of the weirs, which at the present time are a great hindrance to navigation ” ; though they are usually considered indis- pensable for the canalization of rivers. Mr. Jeans does not always exhibit ac- curacy in details, nor bring his information down to the latest date. Thus he quotes the evidence of Sir John Hawkshaw before the Committee on Canals, though this engineer did not appear as a witness; he treats sluice and Jock as synonymous words ; he translates ‘‘ Klévation de la porte et du pont,” in one of the headings of the draw- ings of the Panama Canal locks, copied from Le Génie Civil, as ‘‘ Elevation of the sluice of the bridge’; he speaks of the area of rivers instead of the area of their basins, and gives a most incomplete table on p. 382. He is unaware that the training works on the Ribble have been extended some miles beyond the Naze (which he calls ‘the Wage”); he apparently has not heard of the new cut at the outlet of the Witham; and he only brings down the history of the drainage of Lake Fucino to the time of Nero, omitting to state that the drainage works were successfully completed nearly twenty years ago. In his description of the Panama Canal he suggests that, in a dry climate, firm clay might have stood at the steep inclination of 1 in 10; but the French engineers only designed this slope for rock- cutting, and a much flatter slope for the superincumbent clay, which, however, proved
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N° 3285, Ocr. 11, 90 THE ATHENAUM 487 of so treacherous a nature, like London clay, under a tropical rainfall, that it would hardly stand at the very flattest slope, and thus greatly augmented the excavation. This circumstance, together with the insalubrity of the climate, insufficient estimates, and unsatisfactory financial arrangements, has led to the present collapse of the undertak- ing. The Corinth Canal, though a much smaller work through a rock cutting, has suffered from pecuniary embarrassments; but there is a prospect of its being completed in about four years, over four-fifths of the excavation having been carried out, and a fresh contractor having been entrusted with the work. The Manchester Ship Canal experienced all its difficulties before the works were started ; and since their com- mencement the progress has been most satis- factory and rapid. Mr. Jeans’s book contains several explana- tory illustrations; and the information about waterways, which must have involved much labour to collect, will be valuable to the | general public, as a subject of present in- terest which has not previously been treated in a comprehensive and non-technical form. THE WRONGS OF MEDICAL AUTHORS. Weymouth Street, Portland Place, Sept. 29, 1890. May I ask for your assistance in exposing a | glaring example of publishers’ piracy, of which I have the misfortune to be one of the victims ? | In the early part of this year I published a book on the treatment of bronchitis, the result of ten years’ pretty hard work at the Westminster Hospital. I printed it at my own cost, and went to some considerable expense in the matter of illustrations. I made a satisfactory arrange- ment with my publishers, Messrs. P. Blakiston, Son & Co., of Philadelphia, for the production of the American edition, and was looking for- | ward with feelings of lively satisfaction to the receipt of their cheque for the six months’ sale, when I was suddenly informed that my work | had been ‘‘ pirated ’’-—I believe that is the polite term—by Messrs. Wm. Wood & Co., of New York, who had reprinted it not only without | my consent, but without communicating with either my English or American publishers. It seems that there are firms in New York who annex the property of their trade colleagues with as little compunction as that of English authors. On looking down Messrs. Wm. Wood & Co.’s list of publications I came across the names of | several of our best-known English medical authors, and I was curious to know how they | had fared. I accordingly wrote to about a dozen of them, and the result has been a string of indignant letters from which it appears that in not one single instance has permission been obtained. Mr. Jonathan Hutchinson, Dr. George Harley, Dr. Dickinson, Mr. Bryant, Mr. Keetley, Dr. Lloyd Tuckey, Dr. Whittle, of Brighton, and Dr. Thin are amongst the victims. Dr. Richardson says : ‘‘ They not only pirated my essay entire, but did so in the face of | protest.” I believe there is a popular impression in America that Messrs. Wm. Wood & Co. pay the authors whose works they appropriate, but I cannot find that there is any foundation for the belief. I have talked the matter over with a good many of my American friends, and they are naturally indignant at the treatment we have received. There is no International Copyright Convention, and we have no legal redress, but perhaps a little wholesome exposure may serve to bring Messrs. Wm. Wood & Co. to their senses, and make them understand that even in business there is such a thing as honesty and commercial integrity. WittramM Murrett, M.D. ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. Mr. E. E. Barnarp, of the Lick Observatory, | discovered a new comet (d, 1890) on the evening of the 6th inst. It is described as ‘‘ faint,” and is now situated in the constellation Capricornus. In No. 225 of the Astronomical Journal Mr. Stockwell reverts to the subject of historical eclipses, and comments on some objections to his views made by Mr. Lynn in the August number of the Observatory. authority of his calculations, to alter by one year the date of the expedition of Xerxes against Greece and the battle of Salamis, by assuming that the darkness which is stated to have occurred when Xerxes had just set out from Sardis was caused by a solar eclipse which is known to have taken place on April 19th, B.c. 481. Yet the account given of this by Herodotus (who speaks of day being turned into night whilst the sky was clear) could only apply to an eclipse if that eclipse were total ; whilst, according to Mr. Stockwell’s | own calculations, the eclipse in question was so small and partial at Sardis that less than a tenth part of the sun’s diameter was obscured by the moon’s shadow, which would cause no appreciable alteration in the amount of light, and is not at all likely to have been noticed in those times. Moreover, in discussing the | question Mr. Stockwell omits all reference to an eclipse which occurred later in the year of the Persian invasion, and was in all probability | that of October 2nd, B.c. 480, the now gener- ally accepted, and there is every reason to believe the correct, date of the battle of Salamis. Mr. Stockwell alludes, again, to an eclipse | which (as we mentioned in our ‘‘ Notes” on | July 26th) he finds was total in Asia Minor on August 28th, B.c. 1185, and which he thinks will account for the darkness described by Homer intheseventeenth book of the Iliadas surrounding the combatants over the dead body of Patroclus, and thus fix the true epoch of the siege of Troy. In the uncertainty by several centuries of that memorable, though mythical contest, many | eclipses could be found to have been total in that part of the country which would suit a possible date for it. But with regard to the passage in the Iliad, the imagery is so truly | poetical that identification with an astronomical phenomenon is difficult indeed. The darkness at one time, at any rate, only overspread a small portion of the battle-field ; moreover, it obscured both sun and moon, so that, if due to an eclipse, those bodies must both have been eclipsed at | the same time; in other words, the moon was both new and full at once. There are many instances in history in which an occurrence of darkness has been supposed to be due to a solar eclipse, though it must really have been caused by some meteorological phenomenon. Probably the so-called ‘‘ eclipse of Xerxes’? was one of these. Homer, as is well known, throws in a sudden darkness when- ever it suits his purpose, and although that in the seventeenth book is, from the famous prayer of Ajax for light, more familiar to most readers than others, there is no reason to suppose that it is anything but a poetic invention. Prof. Tacchini contributes to the number of the Comptes Rendus for the 15th ult. an interest- ing note on the solar phenomena observed at Rome during the first half of the present year. An increase is manifested in the activity on the sun’s surface, and the number of spots seen in the second quarter exceeded that in the first. Towards the end of August a splendid group (visible to the naked eye) of three spots, the diameters of which were 17”, 45”, and 53” respec- tively, was observed in the northern hemisphere of the sun, the group being nearly parallel to | the solar equator, and distant about 20° froin it. A remarkable circumstance is shown by these observations (details will shortly appear in the Memorie della Societa degli Spettroscopisti | Italiani, the August number of which has been He claims, on the | | received) with regard to the distribution of the solar phenomena, viz., that whereas the pro- tuberances have continued to predominate in the southern hemisphere, the spots and faculie have been most frequent in the northern. SOCIETIES. ENTOMOLOGICAL.— Oct. 1.—Lord Walsingham, President, in the chair.—The Rev. Dr. Walker exhibited, and read notes on, a varied series of forms of Crymodes exulis, collected in June and July last in Iceland.—In reply to a question by Lord Walsingham as to whether all the forms | referred by Dr. Walker to Crymodes exulis had been identified as belonging to that species, Mr. | Kirby said the species was a very variable one, and that several forms had been described from Labrador and Greenland.—Mr. South stated that he believed that most of the forms exhibited had been de- scribed by Dr. Staudinger.— Dr. Sharp exhi- bited a specimen of Ornithomyia avicularia, 4, taken near Dartford, to which there were firmly adhering—apparently by their mandibles— several specimens of a mallophagous insect. He also exhibited some specimens of fragile Diptera, Neu- roptera, and Lepidoptera, to show that the terminal segments in both sexes might be dissected off and mounted separately without the structures suffering from shrivelling or distortion —Mr. G. F. Hampson exhibited a series of “rebia melas, taken in July last in the Austrian Alps (Dolomites) by Mrs. Nicholls.—Capt. Elwes observed that this species was abundant in the Pyrenees, but that he had never been able to obtain specimens from any other part of Europe, and it had been left to an English lady to first take a species of Erebia new to these Alps. He added that the species only frequented very steep and stony slopes on the mountains, so that its capture was attended with difficulty.—Mr. M‘Lachlan exhibited specimens of an extraordinary neuropterous larva found by Mr. B. G. Nevinson in tombs at Cairo, He said that this larva had been assigned to the genus Nemoptera by Schaum, and Roux had previously described and figured it as an abnormal apterous hexapod under the name of Necrophilus arenarius. — Mr. Nevinson supple- mented these remarks with an account of his cap- ture of the specimens in the Egyptian tombs.—Mr. G. T. Baker exhibited a series of forms of the genus Boarmia from Madeira ; and also melanic varieties of Gracilaria syringella from the neighbourhood of Birmingham.—Mr. W. F. H. Blandford exhibited and remarked on specimens of Dermestes vulpinus, a wood-boring beetle, which had been doing much damage tothe roofs of certain soap-works in London. —Mr. R. W. Lloyd exhibited a specimen of Carabus catenulatus, in which the femur of the right foreleg was curiously dilated and toothed.—The Rev. C. F. Thornewill exhibited a black variety of the male of Argynnis aglaia, taken by himself in July last on Cannock Chase ; also a number of living larve of a species of Eupithecia feeding on the flower- heads of Zanacetum vulgare.—Mr. H. Goss exhi- bited, for Mr. G. Bryant, a variety of the larva of Trichiura crategi.—Mr. C. G. Barrett exhibited a ; Specimen of Plusia moneta, Fabr., a species new to Britain, taken at Readivg in July last.—Mr. Goss stated that the first specimen of this species had been taken at Dover last June.—Mr, Kirby said that Myuheer Snellen had reported this species as being unusually common in Holland a few years ago.—Mr. W. Dannatt exhibited a variety ofa species of Papilio from Paraguay, which Mr. Salvin said he believed to be P. hectorides—Mr. C. J. Gahan exhibited a curious little larva-like creature, found in a rapid mountain stream in Ceylon, and observed that there was some doubt as to its true position in the animal kingdom. It was made up of six distinct segments, each of which bore a single pair of laterally directed processes or unjointed appendages.—Mr. Hampson remarked that the appendages were very suggestive of the parapodia of certain chetopod worms.— Lord Walsingham and Mr. M‘Lachlan expressed an opinion that the animal was of myriopodous affini- ties, and was not the larva of an insect.—Mr. Baker read a paper entitled ‘ Notes on the Genitalia of a Gynandromorphous Lronia hippia.’ SocrETy OF ENGINEERS.— Oct. 6.—Mr. H. Adams, President, in the chair,.—A paper was read by Mr. W. S. Crimp ‘ On Sewer Ventilation.’ MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Mon. Royal Academy, 4.—‘ Anatomy,’ Mr. J. Marshall. Tues. Horticultural, 1; Lecture. 3. Wep. Microscopical, 8 —‘Note on a New Type of Foraminifer,’ Mr. H. B Brady; ‘New Method of de i I 1 Protoplasmic Continuity,’ Mr. P. C Waite; ‘Simple Form of Warm Stage for the Microscope,’ Mr G F. Dowdeswell. Far Royal Academy, 4.—' Anatomy,’ Mr. J. Marshall.
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Science Gossip, Messrs. Puitip & Son have in the press and will shortly publish ‘Applied Geography: a Preliminary Sketch,’ by Mr. J. Scott Keltie, an enlarged reprint of a series of lectures delivered at the Bankers’ Institute and else- where during the year. The aim is to show how geographical knowledge may be applied in various directions. One section deals specially with Africa, the value of which for commercial and colonizing purposes Mr. Keltie endeavours to estimate. The volume will be accompanied by a series of maps specially constructed by Mr. Ravenstein to illustrate the subjects dealt with. Mr. Muvrray promises ‘Electricity, the Science of the Nineteenth Century,’ a volume written for general readers by E. M. Caillard. THE first meeting of the Organization Com- mittee of the Geographical ‘‘ Welt-Kongress ” has been held at Berne. It was resolved that the congress should meet as soon as possible after the celebration of the centenary of the Swiss League in 1891. A preliminary sketch of the programme was drawn up. The definitive election of members of the committee, Swiss and foreign, was postponed till the next meet- ing, which will be held in Neuchatel.
FINE ARTS —~>— The Churches of Gottland (other than those of Wisby). By Major A. Heales. LIllus- trated. (Roworth & Co.) WHETHER on account of their resemblances, which are close, to the churches of our own island, or their differences from them, which are peculiar and curious, the churches of Gottland deserve the attention of English antiquaries, few of whom know much about them even now. The Hon. G. R. Gordon in 1848 wrote about them in the Zcclesio- logist and Mr. J. W. Clark in 1856. In 1877 Sir H. Dryden called attention to the island and measured its chief build- ings. Of these St. Katherine’s Church, 199 ft. by 56 ft., is the largest, and St. Nicholas’s the next in size. St. Mary’s, 171 ft. by 99 ft., still serves as the cathedral. Mr. Axel H. Haig, the admirable etcher, supplied Sir Henry with valuable notes on the churches in Wisby town as well as on some of those in the island, to which latter class Major Heales confines his attention. In passing it may be mentioned that the numerous churches in Wisby itself do not fairly represent the indigenous architec- ture of Gottland. They were erected by foreigners, who in building them followed the fashions of their own coun- tries; just as in modern Paris the Russians have attempted a Russian archi- tecture, and in Rome, Street adopted the later Early English style, with which the English and Americans who employed him were familiar. Nowhere, however, was this peculiar conservatism exhibited more tho- roughly than at Wisby during its prosperous days; and well might Mr. W. White, in the bright and comprehensive sketch of the churches at Wisby which he published in the Zransactions of the Institute of Archi- tects, 1886, describe the place with an enthu- | siasm rare among British architects, and | deplore that of its ten ancient churches, the remnant of a more numerous company, nine are inruins. St. Mary’s was originally built | by the Lubeckers in the twelfth century | in a strong and dignified Romanesque |
style, with an infusion of French spirit which is curious. The church of the Holy Ghost—which is, broadly speaking, octagonal in plan, as there is a large square chancel with a semicircular apse, and the nave is supported on four detached octagonal columns—has an upper church above the nave, which, according to Mr. Herbert Car- penter (who refers to the Byzantine practice), was probably reserved for women only. Mr. Haig is opposed to this view. The chancel opens, through a lofty arch, into both parts of this two-storied edifice. With Byzantium Wisby folks had, at any rate, much communication. The church of St. Lars (Lawrence) in the town was built for the Greeks. It must be remembered that all church building, both in Wisby and the island, seems to have taken place in the interval between the beginning of the eleventh century and the year 1361, when Waldemar II. of Denmark plundered the capital and slew the inhabitants. Since then the country has been living on its memories. The materials of many of the old structures have been burnt for lime, which was ex- ported to Sweden, first for the building of Karlscrona, and afterwards of the royal palace at Stockholm. The local authorities paid no attention to their ancient buildings, but aided in their destruction, till of late years, when the Government stepped in and, so far as regards Wisby itself, checked the devastation. Outside the town time and the weather work their will. The architecture of the country churches is obviously neither Swedish, as from the geographical position of Gottland one miglit expect, nor German, which the associations of the Hanseatic League would seem to promise. The styles observe a regular sequence of changes, and correspond fairly well with our own English, resembling the Norman in its earlier phase, passing through an Early English or Pointed style, and proceeding to the richest Deco- rated. Such being the case, we may use in this review the English names of the styles. The churches are always surrounded by a strong wall, enclosing a thick belt of trees; the churchyard—in which, as used to be the practice in England, no one is buried on the north side—is entered by two and sometimes three lychgates. A short nave and a relatively large chancel indicate that an elaborate ritual was in use. There is never a chantry chapel nor a porch. The towers are usually fine, square, and large (the lofty octagonal spires, rising from gables formed on each side of the towers, that are frequent in North Germany are often conspicuous elements in the landscape of Gottland). The spires are never of stone, but of timber shingled ; the walls, which are never of brick, are usually lofty in proportion to their length, and, being without buttresses, are extremely thick (4 to 5 feet) in order to carry the massive stone vaulting, which is covered by an extremely high and steep roof of tarred planks. The doorwaysarelargeand splendid ; the windows are few, set high, small, and narrow, and they never occur on the north side, which is, therefore, simply a bare wall. Internally, the naves are wide, and divided longitudinally into two equal portions by | one or two pillars in the middle of the | ‘and enriched with good Norman or Early long axis, and the vaulting thus sup-
ported forms either four or six equai compart- ments. Mr. Carpenter pointed out that there were similar naves divided by two columns at Hannington, Northamptonshire, and at Gaythorpe, in Lincolnshire. Major Heales adds Crayford, Kent, but in these there is no vaulting. <A sort of double-aisled church is thus constructed, but there is no external indication of this peculiarity at Wisby, while in England, where there are plenty of doubled-aisled churches, each aisle almost always has a separate roof, and one of them is generally an addition to the other. Although Major Heales found nothing resembling what we call Saxon work — unless it be long and short work, of which there seems to be plenty in Gott- land—he is compelled to recognize ‘early Norman” examples, which, to judge from his accounts and the drawings of others, it would be difficult to distinguish from that variety of the Romanesque the rude simplicity of which induces many to say it is Saxon, although they are not guilty of the absurdity which assumes the Conquest as the event dividing Saxon from Norman art. The architecture of the early Nor- man period (there appear to be few ex- amples of what we should call late Nor- man, a fact which seems to indicate a temporary arrest of the generally regular sequence of development in the island) is identical with that of England. Looking at the doorway in Eskelem Church we might fancy ourselves at home. At the Transition divergence is marked. Some of the plain Norman doorways are what Major Heales calls bifoiled—that is, their semi- circular heads are divided by a single cusplike point in the middle. Trefoil heads also occur. There seem to be rich examples at Nir, accompanied by pointed openings of Decorated types, extremely plain mouldings, and square caps of rudimentary forms. The semicircular apse is generally the chief decorative feature, and the plain square ribs running into an arcaded corbel table form a good portion of it. Imposts instead of capitals, formed of flat stones projecting with only their lower ends chamfered, are, as might be expected, common features of arched openings. Our author noticed that the sides of many walls, doors, windows, and towers converged towards the top, and thus formed an architectural peculiarity. This is seen in some of his plates taken from photographs; but we suspect that the smallness of his photographer’s lenses (re- ferred to on p. 7) had something more to do with this matter than he fancies. We do not remark it in the drawings of Mr. White and Mr. Haig. See, however, pp. 11, 13, and 20 before us. A gradual progress is observable un‘il the architecture of Gottland became very rich indeed, and handsome doorways and finely coloured and polished marbles, which must have been imported from abroad, were intro- duced. As with us, so in the Baltic there came a time when chancels were developed out of proportion tothe old naves. The characteristic towers and their graceful spires, of which that at Oja is a fine example of choice Decorated character, grew in dignity and merit, and they gained effect from the manner in which they were built in stages (each of which was vaulted internally with solid stone),
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Se wae ae we] |] F eae —- = US a ee a Sl XUM Ne 3285, Ocr. 11,’90 THE ATHENAUM 489 English windows, which are divided by a single by no means inelegant shaft. Each face of the wall runs up toa high pitched gable, from which rose the octagonal spire. The strongly marked battering of the walls of the towers adds to their expressiveness, and compensates structurally for that totai absence of buttresses which is a remark- able feature of the architecture of the island. The massiveness and strength of these towers and their dignity are enhanced by well-marked base mouldings. There are now no peals of bells in Gottland church towers. Single bells occur, and of a fair size. Probably the oldest is at Barlingbo, and it bears the legend, in fine Lombardic letters, ‘‘Christ, hear us,” &c., without a date. At Niir is a bell dated 1432. One of the most noteworthy characteristics of the Early English doorways in Gottland is the frequency of cuspidation in the heads and down the sides of those openings. At Wiskinde this is repeated on two planes, one in front of and above the other at the head of the doorway. At Stinga, where, set in the external wall, are some curious sculptures, evidently older than the Deco- rated church, the cusps extend down one jamb only, rather an ugly plan. Often the actual door is set within a sort of frame, as though the space between the jambs had been filled in with a flat slab, in which the opening had been cut. This feature, modified by mouldings, is found in England—for instance, at Middleton Stoney, Warmington, Kidlington, and Irchester; and, in a markedly elegant manner, at Heytesbury. The pediments of the doorways are generally effective and lofty, reaching, as is the case in much French Flamboyant, to the eaves of the roofs. Upon the doors themselves may be seen remarkable iron- work, growing gradually more elaborate. Notwithstanding the excellence of the hard limestone employed, the tracery in Gottland windows seldom seems to be good; but the forms and proportions of the openings, especially of the lancet windows, are to be admired. The central pillars dividing the naves often impart a picturesqueness to the interiors of Gottland churches which is acceptable to English eyes, but constructionally the arrangement is bad, even when the equal pressure of the vaults comes to aid. These pillars may be seen in the view of the interior of the church at Nir, a beautiful Decorated example of fine and graceful pro- portions. There are four pillars in the nave at Grottlingbro, a good vaulted building later than that at Nir. At Genthem there is but one central pillar. Some of the later central pillars are built in courses of cream- white stone alternating with polished red or green marbles, a slender cylinder with a pretty Transition cap. In one case a beautiful Early English pier consists of a substantial square central pillar, with a detached cir- cular shaft on each face. This seems good ; but we are not told how the cap and the ribs of the vault above are managed. Clear- stories and rood screens do not occur in Gottland. There is not much stone carving, nor is it particularly excellent, but, as might be expected, there is a good deal of wood carving. There are more remains of wall painting than we should have anticipated. At Miasterby the semi-dome of the Roman- esque apse is covered with a Majesty and prophets which looks as if it would do credit to a mossaicist of the seventh or eighth century. The Norman nave of Wam- bingbo has paintings on either side. Part of it, at least, is of the fifteenth century. There are several “reredoses, dating from early in the fourteenth to early in the six- teenth century, and all of wood. Major Heales thinks the oldest of them were im- ported from Germany, England, or France. That at Fide, a triptych of great beauty and spirit, looks, in plate 8, like English work of the fifteenth century, but earlier than 1460, to which time it is ascribed here. Of aum- bries there are many; of holy-water stoups very few; stalls, there being no collegiate bodies in Gottland, are rare; church plate, which must have once been common, is scarce. There was a great destruction of monu- ments in the beginning of this century ; no altar tomb, with or without a statue, exists now. There are a few effigies in low relief ; at Oja is a figure of a woman standing between two men, doubtless her husbands, dated 1591. There is but one brass, an inscription, in Gottlend, and it is dated 138-. On the other hand, despite the ignorance and neglect of the clergy, who care even less for these things than the Anglican clergy, there are a number of incised slabs, mostly of the fourteenth century ; some bear floriated crosses, others life-size effigies (generally very badly drawn) of the dead. Among these no knights and few ladies are now to be found; but a number of drawings made ce. 1800, and preserved in the Riks Bibliotek at Stockholm, show that a good many formerly existed. Outside Wisby mer- chants’ marks, which are common in the town, do not occur. Of course this points to the existence of a territorial class, dis- tinct from the merchants of the capital, who, be it observed, built the foreign- looking churches we have mentioned. No heraldic bearings were noticed by Major Heales, nor, except on some very early Runic monuments, any of the well-known knot-work which is associated with Anglo- Saxon tombs. The Runic language and characters continued in use on monuments long after the introduction of Lombardic characters and the Latin language. At Lye there is said to be a Runic inscription dated so late as 1449. The earliest inscription in the vernacular is dated 1483. We have said enough to show how much students have to thank Major Heales on account of the intelligent and careful labour he has de- voted to his book. The Chemistry of Paints and Painting. By A. H. Church, F.R.S. (Seeley & Co.)—Artists have long felt the want of a trustworthy work from which information could be obtained as to the chief chemical and physical characters of the materials with which they deal and the operations they practise. This want is most admirably met in the work before us. Prof. Church’s experience as Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Academy pointed him out as the person before all others to undertake the work, and the book in every way justifies the anti- cipations raised when its approaching publica- tion was first announced. The range of the book is considerable. The first part deals with painting-grounds, successive chapters being devoted to paper, vellum, and ivory, to fresco- grounds, slate and stone, to wooden. panels, and to canvas, the nature and preparation of each being discussed. The second part treats of vehicles and varnishes; it comprises eight chapters, dealing with oils, gums, waxes, size, solvents and diluents (turpentine, &c.), sicca- tives and dryers, varnishes, &c., and gives a thoroughly good account of the sources, pre- paration, and properties of these substances, and (an especially useful feature) various simple tests by which the artist can himself ascertain the suitability of a sample. Part iii. is de- voted to pigments, each pigment being first separately treated, a list of its synonyms given, its preparation shortly described, its stability and the admissibility of its admixture with other pigments discussed, the nature of its sophistications dwelt on, and directions given by which, in the majority of cases, the genuine- ness and purity of the sample can be ascer- tained. A chapter then follows on the classi- fication of pigments according to their chemical nature. The two concluding chapters of this section are of especial interest, one being de- voted to tables of permanent, fugitive, and alterable pigments, the other to selected and restricted palettes, in which selections are given of restricted palettes known to have been used by distinguished artists within recent times (it is noticeable that in several of these very fugitive colours have been included), and the author’s experience is embodied in selected. palettes for oil and water colours respectively. With regard to the latter, it may be noted that the author urges the exclusion of some pigments in common use, namely gamboge, rose madder, brown madder, Vandyke brown, and indigo, on account of the overwhelming evidence now avail- able as to their want of permanence. Part iv. deals with methods and results. A short sum- mary of the chemistry of the various painting methods is first given ; then follows a most in- teresting chapter on the study of old pictures, with the view of discovering the causes of the physical and chemical changes that have taken place in them, the remarks being enforced by reference to selected individual pictures in the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery, and South Kensington Museum. The next chapter deals with the conservation of pictures and drawings and the restoration and cleaning of pictures ; and the book is brought to a con- clusion with what to many will be the most interesting chapter in it, one on trials of pigments, in which a most admirable summary is given of the more trustworthy investiga- tions that have been made on the permanence of pigments, from the rough experiments of Sir Joshua Reynolds to the elaborate investiga- tions of Dr. Russell and Capt. Abney still in progress. On this subject, as on so many others dealt with in the book, we are struck with the number and value of Prof. Church’s own experimental researches in connexion with paints and painting. It is impossible to speak too highly of the successful way in which Prof. Church has treated the subject, the book being in all respects a model of what such a work should be, and we would especially congratulate him on the skill with which he has surmounted the difficult task of writing a book on chemistry for non-chemical readers. As regards the re- lations of chemistry to painting we venture to quote Prof. Church :— “¢ Titian managed pretty well without chemistry, did he not?’ A distinguished artist asked me this question the other day. But not only were the conditions under which the painters of Titian’s time worked simpler than those of the nineteenth century, but grounds, paints, oils, and varnishes were generally prepared in the studios of the artists, and under their own superintendence, so that the chances of going wrong were comparatively limited. And it is not to be denied that a better acquaintance with the nature of the materials which many of the old masters employed would have caused their works to be handed down in sounder preservation to future generations.”
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Fine-Art Gossip. Mr. Watts has completed two portraits of the Laureate. Both are busts, bare-headed, life size, nearly in full face; the eyes are looking slightly downwards, and some of the upper part of the head is seen. These are among the best likenesses for which we are indebted to Mr. Watts, rich in all the resources of his palette, his sympathy and skill. One of them represents Lord Tennyson in his ermine mantle as a peer, the whiteness of which tells charmingly in harmony with the dark and strong - toned complexion, the broad and massive light and shade. In the other portrait the poet wears a Doctor’s gown of two reds, one of them inclining to crimson while the other approaches a dark orange scarlet, and the whole is almost as fortunate in its colour, tonality, and coloration as its companion. That their chiar- oscuro is admirable goes without saying. Mr. Murray, of the British Museum, is going to bring out a manual of Greek archzo- logy. In it he will treat of sculpture, vases, bronzes, gems, terra-cottas, and mural paintings. Art the Fine-Art Society’s rooms may be seen a collection of drawings of flowers on an un- usually large scale by Mlle. M. Roosenboom, who, asmight beexpected from her name, devotes much attention to roses. Her remaining sub- jects are chiefly hollyhocks, water lilies, azaleas, peonies, camellias, and convolvuli. She paints in a broad, dashing, and somewhat slovenly, but decidedly effective manner ; outlines she does not affect ; forthe brilliancy, and even purity, of local colours she seems to care little, while her tones, and even her tints, cannot be described as clean. Her indifference to colour for its own sake and to the splendours and depths of nature’s tints compels the lady chiefly to rely for the chiaroscuro of her pictures upon the massing of their lights and shadows. In not a few of Mlle. Roosenboom’s productions this massing and these lights and shadows seem to be as pure conventions as the local colours, which are brownish, of her shadows. Tue Fine-Art Society has appointed the 18th inst. for the private view of the new exhibition of bird pictures by Mr. H. S. Marks of which we have already spoken. These works com- prise life-size eagles and smaller birds such as the R.A. has often painted, and they are as varied in their characters as in their subjects. The catalogue will contain an intro- ductory note by the painter, who, with cha- racteristic energy and love for his subjects, pleads the cause of the birds against man, their too often ruthless foe. In about a month from now the same firm will put before the public a long series of the valuable drawings of Hokusai, the illustrious Japanese artist (1760- 1849) who delineated Fusi-yama from a hundred points of view. He is fairly well represented in the British Museum, but the coming exhi- bition promises to surprise Londoners. On the 24th ult. Mr. Henry Courtney Selous passed away in his eighty-eighth year at Beaworthy, North Devon, an artist who had long survived the considerable reputation which more than forty years ago a rare facility in de- signing and extreme dexterity in draughtsman- ship won for him. He was of Huguenot descent, son of Mr. George Slous, of Deptford, a painter of no great mark; and having in childhood mani- fested uncommon aptitude for art, he was, we believe, admitted as a student of the Royal Academy about 1817. In 1818 he exhibited, for the first time, at Somerset House the ‘ Portrait of a Favourite Cat.’ He soon attained some distinction as an animal painter, and rapidly developed his powers in portraiture, geiu'e, and historical subjects of the less ambitious kind. In 1836 he published ‘ Outlines to Shakespeare’s “‘Tempest.”’ In 1843 Mr. Selous contributed to the Exhibition at Westminster Hall of Car- toons for the decoration of the Houses of Parlia-
ment a drawing (15 ft. by 10 ft.) of ‘ Boadicea haranguing the [ceni,’ which some judges thought to be one of the most effective and skilful ex- amples that epoch-making exhibition brought into notice. To the exhibition of pictures held in the following year at the same place he sent a fresco which showcd the readiness with which the clever artist had ma., ,.d the very difficult process employed for it. It was called ‘ Alfred submitting his Code of Laws to the Witten-na- | gemot,’ and measured 8 ft. 6 in. by 9ft. Zin. In 1844 he produced for the Art Union of London a series of illustrations in outline (after the manner whicli the success of Retsch had made | popular) of Bunyan’s ‘ Pilgrim’s Progress.’ In 1850 his designs, engraved by Mr. C. Rolls, of ‘Scenes in the Life of Moses’ were published | in folio. The Scottish Society of Arts gave him a prize for designs illustrating the life of | Bruce. His large pictures of the Crucifixion and of the opening of the Exhibition of 1851 at- tracted greatattention ; the latter is now at South | Kensington. In 1869 the Art Union of London employed hin to illustrate, in outline as before, C. Kingsley’s ‘Hereward the Wake.’ He did this in twenty plates. It was his latest exten- sive work. To the Academy, British Institution, and Suffolk Street galleries he was a frequent | contributor until 1874, when he sent to the Academy a painting of ‘Cassio Wounded’ from ‘Othello,’ Act II., scene iii. Since then Mr. Selous had lived in retirement, but did not cease to paint. A SERIES of antiquarian and historical works is announced to be commenced during the com- ing season under the title of ‘‘The Camden Library.” Among the subjects of the earlier volumes will be ‘The Antiquities of the Ex- chequer,’ ‘ History of the Old London Theatres,’ and ‘English Domestic Architecture.’ A reprint of Camden's ‘ Britannia’ in a handy form will | also be included in the series, which will be under the general editorship of Mr. T. F. Ordish, F.S. A. Mr. J. A. Gorcu and Mr. Talbot Brown are preparing a monograph on the ‘ Architecture of the Renaissance in England.’ It will be illus- trated by a series of views and details from buildings erected between the years 1560 and 1630. It will be issued in six folio parts, each containing twenty-one plates, by Mr. Batsford. WE have to record the death, on the 2nd inst., of Mr. Hopkins Horsley Hobday Horsley, lately of Rugeley, a well-known painter. He had attained his eighty-fourth year, and was a frequent exhibitor in London and the provinces. He was not related to the 2 = =
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eS Ne 3285, Ocr. 11,90 THE ATHENZUM 491 and will suit elementary classes, but the former contains some excellent musicianship, especially in the accompaniments, the choruses in both cantatas being in two parts only. It is impos- sible to say anything in favour of the versi- fication.—School Songs for equal voices, in unison, and in two or three parts, edited by F. N. Lohr, are by various composers, and therefore vary in merit ; but for the most part they are not only tuneful, but musicianly. May Margaret, Choral Ballad. By Erskine Allon. Op. 17. (London Music Publishing Com- pany.)—This is a work of considerable merit, in so far as regards freshness of idea and general musicianship. The composer shows himself fully able to deal with such a theme as Mr. John Payne’s fanciful and semi-tragic poem, and the faults of the work are mainly those which result from inexperience. The harsh transitions of key are sometimes distress- ing to the ear, and would prove very difficult for the vocalists. Such a phrase, for example, as that for vvices unaccompanied on p. 23 is eminently calculated to provoke false intonation. From Messrs. Novello, Ewer & Co. we have received a setting of the 137th Psalm, by Oliver King, Op. 50, first performed at the Chester Musical Festival in 1888, and well worthy of notice by choral societies ; a simple and hymn- like Harvest Cantata, for chorus and organ, by Dr. George Garrett ; Part II. of :Part-Songs for Treble Voices,’ specially adapted for high schools; a new edition of Handel’s music to Smollett’s play ‘ Alceste,’ performed last year for the first time for many years by the Handel Society; and a large quantity of lesser part music, sacred and secular. NORTH STAFFORDSHIRE MUSICAL FESTIVAL. THE second festival with this title took place at Hanley on Wednesday and Thursday, October 1st and 2nd. The initial celebration occurred two years ago, when the Victoria Hall, Hanley, built in commemoration of Her Majesty sJubilee, was inaugurated. It is intended to make the festival triennial ; but the second was antedated by a year to avoid clashing with the Birmingham meeting. The district of the Potteries is famous for the excellence of its choral societies, and the festival chorus, numbering over two hundred and fifty, was drawn exclusively from these home resources. The band of seventy per- formers was made up of equal proportions of players from Birmingham and Sir Charles Halle’s Manchester orchestra, the festival being under the conductorship of Dr. Swinnerton Heap, who had also been requested to compose a cantata expressly for the occasion. The festival of two years ago was limited to one day ; this time it was extended to two, with morning and evening performances each day. Further exten- sion is contemplated, but caution will be needed, and time must be allowed for the institution to take root and acquire strength. A varied and, on the whole, judicious selection of music was made, although no oratorio in its completeness was given, nor did the name of Handel appear at all in the programmes. This last feature I am not disposed to condemn, seeing that Handel’s music forms the staple of the concerts given in the interim in this district. On Wednesday morning, October 1st, Mozart’s ‘Requiem’ and Sullivan’s ‘Golden Legend’ formed the programme. The principals were Madame Nordica, Miss Damian, Mr. Edward Lloyd, and Mr. Watkin Mills. * To criticize their work would be superfluous, but of the ladies it may be said they were more successful in the cantata than in the mass. The great feature of the morning was the chorus singing, which was surprisingly good, the attack firm, the tone full and resonant—reminding one very much of the Yorkshire quality of voice—and the shading and expression quite artistic. Wednesday evening witnessed the production of the festival novelty, ‘Fair Rosamond,’ a dramatic cantata, composed by Dr. Heap to the libretto of the late Mr. Desmond L. Ryan. The book deals with many incidents of the reign of King Henry II. beside the love episode, and might with more propriety have taken that monarch’s name for its title. It abounds with effective situations, and by its varied versifica- tion affords the composer scope for musical treatment of almost every kind. It is divided into eight scenes, the first being the entry into London of Henry after his coronation, the others alternating from Rosamond’s Bower to Canter- bury Cathedral and the French Court in Aqui- taine. The order of historic events is inverted to suit dramatic ends, but the book is a good one for musical purposes. Dr. Heap, while showing considerable aptitude for dramatic writing, is more at home in the older classical forms. He rarely attempts continuity of treat- ment, rather preferring the division into numbers, each rounded off by concluding sym- phonies. He is exhibited at his best, perhaps, in the stately choruses with which the work is studded ; but his solo melodies are of the purest lyrical type, and the love scenes are sustained with power as well as beauty. The tragic death of Becket is a task for the greatest composer to depict, and if Dr. Heap has not fully grasped so difficult a subject, he has at all events pre- sented an artistic picture. The interview, with its fatal sequel, between the angry Queen Eleanor and the fair Rosamond is also a scene requiring high dramatic power on the part of the com- poser. The writing here may be fairly termed graphic, and capable of great effect in the per- formance. Decidedly successful is Dr. Heap in scene 5, at the French Court, with its rapid succession of incidents—the betrothal of Henry and Eleanor ; the entry of successive messengers and knights with news of Becket’s aggressive designs ; and the king’s petulant outbreak, end- ing in the slaughter of the primate. This scene suggests the stage, to which it might easily be transferred. The orchestration shows the hand of an accomplished and experienced musician, although more relief and contrast might be desired at times, and throughout the cantata the workmanship is of conspicuous excellence. The performance, with the principals already named, was an unequivocal success, Madame Nordica in the titular part singing with a grace and expression exactly suited to the character, and displaying power and pathos in the scene where Rosamond falls a victim to Eleanor’s jealous rage. Mr. Lloyd added yet another to his artistic triumphs, his rendering of the dirge-like song, ‘‘ Lowly thou liest in trance that knows no waking,” being one of the most thrilling as well as artistic achievements of this gifted singer. Miss Damian as the Queen was dramatic, and sang with conscientious care ; but the part demands greater powers than this young artist has at command. Mr. Mills as Thomas a Becket was dignified, and the music allotted to him suited his voice. The prayer just before the knights break into the cathedral was delivered with fervour and fine taste. A local bass, Mr. Cranmer, did good service ina small part in this work, and also as the Forester in ‘The Golden Legend.’ The chorus is well cared for in the cantata, and well, too, was the work done. The massive choruses, with sufli- cient contrapuntal design to vindicate the author’s scholarship, were given with grand effect ; and the orchestral accompaniments were admirably played. Two dance movements—a morris dance and gavotte—brightly scored, were highly pleasing. The performance altogether was almost without a flaw, and the composer was enthusiastically greeted and recalled at the close. Thursday morning’s programme was such a one as might be looked for at a concert of the Philharmonic Society, and might be regarded as a curious experiment at a provincial festival. It was understood, however, that the choir would not be available that morning, so there was little choice in the matter. The principal works given were Beethoven’s Symphony, No. 7, in a, a perfect novelty in the district; and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto, the solo part finely played by Mr. Willy Hess, the leader of the orchestra. Miss Macintyre gave a beautiful rendering of Elsa’s dream (‘Lohengrin’), and Mr. Lloyd once more gave his fine presentment of Walter’s Preislied. A large section of the choir managed to be present, and under the direction of Mr. F. Mountford, the chorus- master, gave a good performance of Mendels- sohn’s ‘‘ Judge me, O God,” and Dr. Hiles’s ‘* Hushed in death.” The festival closed on Thursday evening with a programme made up of Sullivan’s ‘In Memo- riam’ Overture, Stanford’s ‘ Revenge,’ the first and second parts of ‘The Creation,’ with Madame Nordica, Mr. Iver McKay, and Signor Foli as soloists, and Dr. Hubert Parry’s ‘‘ Blest pair of sirens.”” The most noticeable point of the whole was the choral singing, which at this festival has been of a character to place the Hanley chorus among the best in the country. The one thing to be regretted has been the comparatively poor support accorded the undertaking. Every mem- ber of the committee (especially Dr. West, the energetic chairman, and Mr. G. W. Bradford, the honorary secretary) has worked well in the cause, and while congratulating that body on the great artistic success of the meeting, I may cordially wish it better fortune three years hence, for the festival must now be considered. an established fact. A welcome innovation may be remarked upon—the setting aside a properly fitted apartment for the use of representatives of the press. Other festival centres may well copy this gratifying departure. 8. 8. 8. Musical Gossip. Sicnor Laco’s announcements concerning his autumn season of Italian opera at Covent Garden show that he now possesses far more knowledge of the requirements of amateurs than he evinced when he directed the theatre in 1886 and 1887. Reliance will be placed principally on modern works, those named in the prospectus including Meyerbeer’s ‘ Hugue- nots,’ ‘L’Etoile du Nord,’ and ‘Robert le Diable,’ Verdi’s ‘Un Ballo in Maschera,’ ‘ Tro- vatore,’ ‘Rigoletto,’ and ‘ Aida,’ Gounod’s ‘Faust,’ Boito’s ‘ Mefistofele,’ Ponchielli’s ‘ Gio- conda,’ Auber’s ‘Masaniello,’ and Wagner’s ‘Lohengrin’ and ‘ Tannhauser.’ We are, how- ever, promised revivals of Gluck’s ‘ Orfeo,’ Cimarosa’s ‘Il Matrimonio Segreto,’ and Bel- lini’s ‘Norma.’ Curiously enough, the names of Mozart and Rossini do not appear. Verdi's ‘Otello’ will be performed if an arrangement can be effected with the present holder of the English copyright. The company engaged is remarkably strong, including many artists of recognized ability and others of high continental reputation. Among the former are Mesdames Albani, Macintyre, Fanny Moody, Ella Russell, and Damian; and MM. Giannini, Padilla, Galassi, Maurel, Novara, Charles Manners, and Ciampi. Among the latter are the sisters Ravogli, who have won great success in ‘ Orfeo’ at Milan and elsewhere; Mlle. Maria Peri, a dramatic soprano highly spoken of; Mlle Strom- feld, a Polish soprano leqgiero; Signor Perotti, who is said to have greatly improved since he sang in London a few years ago; and Signor Meroles, a basso profundo who has won much favour in Spain and Portugal. The duties of conductor will be divided between Signor Bevig- nani and Signor Arditi, and though the propor- tions and personnel of the orchestra and chorus are not named, it is promised that both shall be equal to the high standard now required. Tue fifty-sixth performance of new works by members of the Musical Artists’ Society took place in the Princes Hall last Saturday evening. The principal instrumental items in the pro-
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492 THE ATHENAUM N° 3285, Ocr. 11, 790 gramme were a Pianoforte Trio inc minor by Mr. Charles Lawrence ; a Sonata in G for piano- forte and violoncello by Mr. Algernon Ashton ; a Sonata in B flat for pianoforte and violin, by Mr. Walter Wesché ; and four canons for piano, violin, and clarinet, by Mr. C. F. Abdy Williams. The whole of these deserve commen- dation for their musicianly qualities, though it is impossible to give them higher praise. Similar remarks will apply to the songs composed by Miss Gladys Evans, Mr. J. J. Haakman, and Mr. C. Stewart Macpherson. Mr. F. Corper has been appointed con- ductor of the Borough of Hackney Choral Asso- ciation in place of Mr. E. Prout. A better choice could not have been made. Pror. BrivcGe’s first series of Gresham Lec- tures is arranged as follows: November 18th, inaugural ; 19th, Mozart and his teaching ; 20th, musical technics; and 21st, development of early English instrumental music from Gresham to Purcell. Messrs. Hann announce their annual series of chamber concerts at the Brixton Hall on Tuesdays, October 28th, November 18th, and December 9th. NOTWITHSTANDING the absence of novelties, or possibly in consequence thereof, the financial prospects of the Bristol Festival are brighter than usual. The excellent Monday Popular Concerts in that city commenced last Monday. In the course of the season specially written works by Dr. F. Bridge, Mr. E. Prout, and others will be performed under their respective composers. THE People’s Concert Society, which has rendered so much service in popularizing high- class music among the poorer classes, has com- menced operations for the season. Concerts will be given on Friday evenings at the Ber- mondsey Town Hall, on Saturdays at the Poplar Town Hall, and on Sundays at the Westminster Town Hall. Tue dates of the performances at Bayreuth next year are now fixed. ‘Parsifal’ will be given ten times, namely, on July 19th, 23rd, 26th, and 29th, and August 2nd, 6th, 9th, 12th, 16th, and 19th; and ‘Tannhiuser ’ seventimes, on July 22nd, 27th, and 30th, and August 3rd, 10th, 13th, and 18th. By general request there will also be three performances of ‘Tristan und Isolde,’ namely, on July 20th, and August 5th and 15th. The conductors will be Herr Levi from Munich and Herr Mottl from Carlsruhe, and the stage arrangements will be in the hands of Herr Fuchs from Munich, except as to the Venusberg scene in ‘Tannhiuser,’ which will be arranged hy Mile. Virginia Zucchi from Milan. CONCERTS, &c., NEXT WEEK. Wep. Master Isidore Pavia's Pianoforte Recital, 3. St. James's Hall Tuvrs. Miss Annie Matthews’s Aunual Concert, 8, Brixton Ha). Sar. Crystal Palace Concert, 3. ~ Royal Italian Opera, 8. DRAMA —— THE WEEK. SHAFTESBURY.—‘ The Sixth Commandment,’ a Drama in Five Acts. By Robert Buchanan. In an author’s note Mr. Buchanan acknowledges having read Dostoievsky’s ‘Crime and Punishment,’ a novel already adapted for the Parisian stage, and pro- duced atthe Odéon. With the modest view of ‘‘deprecating all comparisons” between his “‘ play and a literary masterpiece,” he has chosen, while utilizing ‘‘ certain sug- gestions of the story, to diverge as widely as possible from the plot, its character, and its situations.” It would, perhaps, have been better for the piece had Mr. Buchanan been less modest or less conscientious. There is matter in ‘The Sixth Command- ment’ out of which Mr. Buchanan might have made a good play. Neither in con- struction nor in dialogue, however, does it compare with his best achievements; its situa- tions are missed, and its dialogue is dull and redundant. The impression of hasty work- manship is everywhere conveyed. Add to this that the gloom is funereal and all but unrelieved, and it will be seen that the author or adapter has come far short of his previous accomplishment in the same direc- tion. Not one moment is there in the course of a very long action in which the moisture rises to the eye or the pulse quakes with apprehension. If there is any local colour it is of no practical utility, and the characters are one and all outside our ken. The villain, indeed, a sybarite and a volup- tuary, might be taken for a hero of pre- Revolutionary French fiction, were it not that in one case, at least, his intentions are wholly honourable ; and it is an insane de- sire to espouse a young woman his inferior in all respects that subjects him to a good deal of invective from the heroine, and in the end involves him in inexplicable, if condign punishment. Opposed to him isa hero who, with one exception, is a model of virtue. The exception is, however, somewhat for- midable. While poor and revolutionary in sentiment, a disciple of Schopenhauer and who knows what other new teacher, he murders a money-lender. His motives to this crime are dual, consisting partly of a desire to finger the money-bags of his victim, and next to show abhorrence of his cha- racter. The deed accomplished in the first act, this ‘‘ best o’ the murderers ”’ indulges in discussions on ethics with police officials, which, while showing his own peculiar moral warp, establish his criminality beyond question in the minds of all except the dunderheads who hear him. The villain, at least, grasps the situation, and uses his knowledge to compel the heroine, who is the sister of the murderer, to accept his advances. In the long fight which follows, our sym- pathies, in our own despite, go with the sup- posed villain; and the pardon which in the last act arrives for the murderer leaves us only perplexed as to the form of crime that his ethical views will lead him next to com- mit. A fairly strong interpretation was afforded a piece which can never fascinate the public. Mr. Herbert Waring gave an ad- mirable picture of quiet, undemonstrative villainy, that shunned observation and sought only the gratification of its own caprices, which, as those of its class, had in its own estimation nothing un- natural. Mr. Lewis Waller was de- cidedly earnest as the hero, a being whose individuality might have furnished some hints to De Quincey. Miss Wallis and Miss Marion Lea, who were in the cast, were not too well suited; and the humour of M. Marius was buried in the part of an excep- tionally obtuse and good-hearted police official. Mr. Buchanan can do better work than this. It is to be hoped he may give himself time and do it. Aramatic Gossip. THe Haymarket reopened on Monday with ‘A Village Priest,’ in which Mr. Beerbohm ; Tree reappeared as the Abbé Dubois. This im- | personation grows upon the playgoer, and con- stitutes a fine piece of nervous acting. Miss Julia Neilson now plays Marguerite ; Mr. Fer- nandez is Jean Torquenie; Miss Rose Leclercq, the Comtesse de Trémeillan ; Miss Norreys, Jeanne ; and Mr. Fred Terry, Armand d’Arcay. The play still stands high in public favour. Its performance is accompanied by that of Mr. Gilbert’s ‘Comedy and Tragedy,’ in which Miss Julia Neilson plays Clarice somewhat more pro- nouncedly than before. Mrs. BernarpD BEERE made on Monday her first appearance since her late serious illness, playing at Manchester Mrs. Sternhold in ‘Still Waters Run Deep’ to the John Mildmay of Mr. Charles Wyndham. The experiment was to have been made on the same day in London, but a week’s rehearsals in Manchester have prefaced Mrs. Beere’s reappearance in London. It is pleasant to hear that few signs of exhaus- tion or illness were traceable. Upon reopening the Royalty on Monday with ‘Sweet Nancy,’ Mr. Buchanan’s adaptation of Miss Rhoda Broughton’s delightful story of ‘ Nancy,’ Miss Harriett Jay has been fortunate enough to secure most of the cast with whom a few months ago the piece was played at the Lyric. Mr. Neville is now in America, and his part of Sir Roger Tempest is assigned Mr. Yorke Stephens, who makes the character more youth- ful than before, without rendering it more sym- pathetic. Miss Jennie McNulty is now for the first time Mrs. Huntley, and Mr. C. W. Gar- thorne makes his first appearance as Frank Musgrave. The family of the Greys finds, how- ever, its old exponents ; Miss Annie Hughes, as the heroine, being still principally responsible for the success of the piece; Miss Jay is still Barbara, and Miss B. Farrar, Teresa. The whole is brightly played, and proves stimulating. A change in the last act is to some extent an improvement. ‘Peprer’s Diary,’ by Mr. Arthur Morris, given for the first time on the reopening of the Royalty, is an adaptation of a familiar French farce. Miss McNulty, Mr. Hendrie, and other actors are seen in it to slight advantage. A version of ‘Lionnes et Renards’ of M. Augier is half promised by Miss Jay for an afternoon performance at the Royalty. Mr. CLEMENT Scort’s lecture on ‘The London Stage of the Past Thirty Years,’ given last week at the Birkbeck Institution, is to be repeated at the Garrick Theatre for the benefit of the Actors’ Benevolent Fund. A lecture similar in purport was given by Mr. W. Davenport Adams on Tuesday before the Playgoers’ Club. ‘CarMEN tp To Data,’ the burlesque of Messrs. George R. Sims and Henry Pettitt, produced at the Gaiety on Saturday last, is a favourable specimen of a class of piece with which criticism is not called upon to concern itself. The music by Mr. Meyer Lutz is also above the average, and the interpretation has most elements of popularity. Jutes Dumont, otherwise known as Brasseur, who died on the 7th inst. at St. Germain en Laye, was an excellent low comedian. During ascore years he was a mainstay of the Palais Royal, playing in hundreds of well-known farces, ‘Tricoche et Cacolet,’ ‘La Cagnotte,’ and the like. During recent years he was the lessee of the Théatre des Nouveautés. Brasseur made more than one visit to London. His death is attributed to drinking a glass of iced water when over-heated. To Corresponnents.—P. M. T.—A. H. 8.—8. L. T.— N. E—P. L. G.—received. No notice will be taken of anonymous communications, TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY POST. ame wwe For Twelve Months ooo vee o ooo For Six Months ove ooo on ove _ XUM
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“Aan N° 3286, Ocr. 18, 90 THE ATHENZUM 505 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1890. CONTENTS. iil MODEBN PROVENGAL POETRY ose ase saa oe 505 THE PARISH OF RIBCHESTER coo cee wees B06 A BIOGRAPHY OF CARDINAL NEWMAN ... ooo ee 507 PERSIAN M8S. IN THE BODLEIAN ... oon ove «. 508 NoveLs OF THE WEEK ove ove eee ove oo. 509 Books oF TRAVEL ae see eee obo aes ww. 509 RECENT VERSE ... eee oes one ove ooo os Oe Ovug LisraRy TABLE—LisT oF NEW Books ... . Sil Howe's ‘FAmMiItiaR LETTERS’; PROF. THOROLD ROGERS; THACKERAY’S MARRIAGE; THE ‘ DIc- TIONARY OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY’; THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON; Mr, A. J. DUFFIELD 512—514 LITERABY GossIP = on pre ooo ove ee 514 ScCIENCE—THE ABORIGINES OF TASMANIA; SACRED Stoves; TH—E WRoNGS OF MEDICAL AUTHORS; ASTRONOMICAL NOTES; MEETINGS; GossIP 515-517 Fine ARTS—ILLUSTRATED LITERATURE; NOTES FROM CAPPADOCIA; GOSSIP ous ioe 517—519 Music—THE WEEK ; GossIP ase ove eee ee 520 DRaMA—FURNESS’S VARIORUM SHAKSPEARE; Gossip 521 LITERATURE —o— Cameo Series—Miréio: a Provencal Poem. By Frédéric Mistral. Translated by Harriet Waters Preston. (Fisher Unwin.) TuosE who are in the habit of reading La Revue Félhibréenne will agree with us that it is not only charming as literature, but (as suggesting how languages share the vicissitudes of those who speak them) extremely pathetic. The Langue d’Uc, in which the verses of the magazine are written—that soft tongue whose name calls up delightful visions of Dance and Provengal song and sunburnt mirth— has to be translated before it can be under- stood by ordinary French readers—trans- lated into the common language which we associate with the cooks, the restaurant keepers, and the diplomatists of Europe. More than forty years have now passed away since Joseph Roumanille, a poetically- minded schoolmaster of Saint Rémy, near Tarascon, found on reading aloud to his mother certain French verses he had been writing that the good old provincial lady could scarcely follow a word. This led him to translating some of his verses into modern Provencal. With deep joy he found that she now was able to follow his verses easily; with deeper joy still did he remember that he himself had been all his life talking the tongue in which the troubadours sang — remember that this very provincial tongue, in which as a child he had lisped, was the language of a past generation of singers, around whose name a halo of romance has always shone. In a word, he felt that on Parnassus a path new at once and old might be opened up. He it was who might become the troubadour of modern times. And, indeed, what poet has such a claim to represent the old singers of Provence as he whose mother can only read his verses when translated into the Langue d’Oc? Roumanille knew that, although for six hundred years (as even Saint René Tallandier confessed) the idiom of Provencal song had “vanished from the battle-field of ideas” —though the division of Provence into departments in 1790 had wiped away all traces of the ancient Pro- vengal constitution—still the provincials of whom his mother was the type preserved in the sweet music of the Langue d’Oc an un- dying memory of what they once were. He knew this, and set himself energetically to write in latter-day Provencal. Followers presently clustered around him — Frédéric Mistral, Théodore Aubanel, Eugéne Garcin, and others. These, forming themselves into a little band called Félibre, started at Avignon a periodical in the modern Langue d’Oc and a dictionary, and completed a grammar. Their enthusiasm grew by what it fed on; their words were strong—very strong. At the fétes of Forcalquier in 1875 Théodore Aubanel thus addressed the world in general, and the Parisian magnates in particular :— ‘* Sachez que nous sommes un grand peuple, et qu'il n’est plus temps de nous mépriser. Trente départements parlent notre langue, d’une mer 2 l’autre mer, des Pyrénées jusqu’aux Alpes, de la Crau au Limousin ; le méme amour fait battre notre poitrine, l'amour de la terre natale et de la langue maternelle...... Sachez que vous serez tombés longtemps alors que le Pro- vencal, toujours jeune, parlera encore de vous avec pitié.” Yes, the words of the Félibre were strong. But was the brotherhood’s poetry also strong? That is the question before us here. Strong words and strong poetry do not always go together. Indeed, it is a fact—a fact for which reviewers can vouch—that the thinner and feebler the poet’s pipe, the louder and stronger does it sound in the piper’s own ears. So the question has to be answered, Was the poetry of the new troubadours as strong as those very strong words used by M. Aubanel when extolling them? Let us confess at once that, charming as are some of the verses of the latter-day Provengals, they are nothing as regards mere strength in comparison with the prose words quoted above. Mistral’s ‘ Mircio,’ however, is a lovely poem, and a real acquisition to literature ; but, lacking the concentrated intensity with- out which no poetry lasts beyond a gene- ration or two, it is not so strong as M. Aubanel’s strong words. Still so sweet and bright and new is the local colour that its infirmities, deep rooted as they may be, are not heeded by the reader. Something in style between Wordsworth on the one hand and William Barnes on the other, the poem sheds an aroma that is entirely its own. The portrait of the Provengal maid Miréio gathering the mulberry leaves for her silk- worms, the picture of the footrace at Nismes, the mowers, the female haymakers, the hay- making, the waggonera, the treading out of the corn, the lovers climbing the trees, the nest of the titmice, the collector of snails, the girls carrying the orange baskets poised on head or hip and laughing as they go, the mirage, Miréio’s crossing of the Rhone in Adrelon’s skiff, the girl’s sunstroke and swoon on the banks of the pool, her recall to life by the mosquitoes—every incident is delightful, because it is so fresh and so new. It might be supposed that a poem so simple, so objective, and so full of picture might be easily translated. This is not so, however, for while the subject-matter of the poem is simple and unpretentious, the metre is (according to our English notions of a narrative poem) just the contrary. Here, indeed, is the special feature of ‘ Miréio,’ the sharp and perpetual contrast it exhibits between matter and form. Thus considered, the poem is unique in literature. An ela- borate and interesting treatise might be written upon it, though within the space at our command it cannot even be touched upon. Art is, of course, the splendid result of the struggle between matter and form, and it is a canon of criticism that in perfect art this struggle should become quite un- apparent. We have ourselves, however, always been somewhat sceptical as to the soundness of this canon. Should not the highest art give the spectator or the reader a delightful sense of the wrestle between form and matter, and a delightful sense of the triumph of form? If not, what did Goethe mean when he said that art is art because it is not nature? Yet it is a law of art—an eternal and primal law from which all other laws spring as departmental radiations—that between matter and form there shall, after the struggle, be peace and harmony. A simple subject seems to demand a simple metre. How finely lyrical, there- fore, must be a language in which a long narrative poem dealing with the simplest phases of life can be written in a stanza like this !— Cante uno chato Prouvéngo Dins lis amour de sa jouvéngo A través de la Crau, vers la mar, dins li bla, Umble escolan déu grand Ouméro Ién vole segui. Coume éro Rén qu’uno chato de la terro, En foro de la Crau se n’es gaire parla. But what about the English translator of a narrative poem in such a metre and the work before him? In a monosyllabic language like the English to tell a story in a metre running largely upon double rhymes is next to impossible, and yet not to do so in a translation of ‘Mircio’ is to miss the very peculiar action and reaction of matter upon form which is the special feature of the poem. Miss Preston adopts one of the simplest of all our English rhyme-measures, ten-syllable couplets, but liberally varied by feminine rhymes. She divides the lines into sequences of six, and not to the advantage of the poem. The one advantage of using the heroic couplet is that it gives the trans- lator a freedom from stanzaic shackles; there is no need in translating to consider the question of the space required. Miss Preston by running her couplets into a stanzaic mould does not produce a stanza, while she loses the freedom that belongs to an unbroken sequence of couplets. Still, she has done the work well—so well that it isa pity she did not use the ottava rima, or else the ‘ Venus and Adonis’ stanza. Mr. Crichton’s translation of ‘ Miréio,’ though it makes no attempt whatever to catch the music of the original by imitating the feminine rhymes, is legitimately stanzaic. It is, indeed, the ‘ Venus and Adonis ’stanza— an excellent metre, and one capable, as ‘ Lao- damia’ clearly shows, of carrying poetry of a very high kind, being free alike from the jaunty air inseparable from the ottava rima and from the lumbering movement of the ‘rhythm royal ” of nine lines, which neither Chaucer nor Mr. William Morris succeeded in lightening. Miss Preston’s introductory remarks are full of knowledge and good sense. The following words will show that, although a warm admirer of ‘Miréio,’ she runs into no excess of laudation :— ‘¢T may be mistaken, but I take the truth to be that modern Provencal is, after all, a dialect only, and not, as was so long and passionately
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506 THE ATHENZXUM N° 3286, Ocr. 18, 90 claimed by the confederate poets, a language. As a matter of fact, it resembles the plastic idiom of the ancient Troubadours very little more than it resembles modern French, and certainly no more than it resembles Gascon, Catalan, or the Italian of the Western Riviera. All the Romance dialects, however fallen from literary honour, or untamed by literary law, are closely akin, and bear marks, even in their utmost degradation, of the same illustrious pedigree. They are like certain wild flowers, the pimpernel, the anemone, whose species can never be mis- taken, but whose colours present, and that spontaneously, an almost infinite variety.” To suppose that the Provencal language has anywhere a distinct location would, of course, be a mistake; the phrase Provencal (as has been truly remarked) is nothing but a geographical expression. It cannot be said to designate a linguistic unity. French and Provencal meet and mingle within each other as fluently and as imperceptibly as, in the Debatable Land, meet and mingle Scotch and Northumbrian. What was the ‘“‘ trobar ”’ idiom of Spain but a form of Pro- vencal? and as regards Italy, is it not a matter of familiar knowledge that Provencal poems were written by many Italian poets— Sordello of Mantua, for instance, Torzi of Venice, Maestro Ferrari of Ferrara? But never can the Provencal poetry, as modern scholars understand it, be revived. The inherent beauty of any language has but little to do with its chance of survival in the great linguistic struggle for life. Here, indeed, as in every other part of Nature’s great scheme of evolution, no heed is given to beauty. What functions are useful? what functions are useless? These only are the questions answered by the history of nations as by the history of Nature. Who would have supposed that human speech, starting from the gorilla roar (which M. Du Chaillu alone among human beings can dare to render), and reaching at length that divine tongue in which Sappho sang, should get no higher? Those who have listened to the nightingales at Fiesole must have often asked themselves whether the birds alone are to monopolize the perfec- tion of speech, which is, of course, to talk in music—whether in this regard man is to stay where he is, half-way between the birds and the beasts. If ‘‘evolution” and “‘ progress” were syno- nymous terms, would not human speech have gone on from Greek, softening, and in some degree eliminating, those sibilants which vexed the poetic ear of Pindar and the critical soul of Diony- sius of Halicarnassus, until it became as soft and full of liquids as Italian, but without losing any of the strength and grandeur and pathos of the tongue of Sophocles ? Would it not have gone on until the perfect human tongue was evolved—a tongue so musical that the moment the speaker passed into passionate utterance he would be obliged to sing instead of say his emotions? Who would have thought that the lingua franca of the world was to be this home-spun English of ours, which the Latin races were wont to despise? The truth is that Nature (notwithstanding all Darwin’s fancies about the estheticism of the lower animals) is utilitarian, and nothing more. Her one question is, and always has been, ‘*Is the function useful?” Never has she been known to ask, “Is it lovely ?’’ Love- liness does often break out in blossoms upon her utilitarian breast, but if found to be useless, no ruth has she in cutting down the flowersasmanure forthe useful weeds. Hence, to give dominance to any tongue, the race speaking it must either be environed by peculiar circumstances from the utilitarian point of view, or else it must hold within itself those qualities of a material kind which in the great racial struggle give it some material advantage over other strugglers. Compared with the language in which Ibsen writes his plays, that in which Racine wrote his seems a little jejune, and even Mr. William Morris will not deny that the language of the Icelandic sagas is good enough for the greatest people that ever trod the earth. But the day will come when the paltriest sensa- tion novels will take up so much of the time of the hundred millions of the Anglo- Saxon Philistines patronizing the railway bookstalls in the great cities of Europe, Asia, America, Africa, and Australia that not a moment’s space will be found for reading the ‘Volsunga Saga’ and ‘Kaiser og Galileer.’ And as to those old singers of the Langue d’Oc with whom the Félibre would fain be associated, how many people can read them even now? For let the poets who despise the Philistine bear well in mind that it is not Shakspeare, but he, the poor Anglo-Saxon Philistine, who carries the English language over the globe. It is not Shelley, but this same Philistine, who causes English to be the lingua franca of the sea. No matter how fine, how full of beauty and of power, a language may be, the time in the movement of the races has now come when, if it is to live, it must spread, and in order to spread it there is but one power necessary—that of the bustling Philistine—‘“‘a poor thing” in the shape of pioneers, but England’s own. That energy of his which is so intense that it makes even London itself seem too small for him drives him over the sea —drives him from colony to colony in quest of commerce or of nuggets, where he settles down somewhere — anywhere, and plants the roots of an English-speaking nation. If Nature were half so sesthetically- minded as Darwin supposes, she would cer- tainly attend to this matter before it is too late, and at once imbue the ‘‘soft speech ” races with more energy, or the Anglo-Saxon with less. The History of the Parish of Ribchester. By T. C. Smith and the Rev. J. Shortt. (Bemrose & Sons.) Tue origin of this work is to be traced, we learn, to a passage in the Atheneum, in which surprise was expressed that no monograph should ever have appeared on a place so interesting and so rich in anti- quities. The want has now been supplied in a scholarly and satisfactory manner by the authors of this volume. Mr. Shortt contributes the first part, which deals with Roman Ribchester; and Mr. Smith, we understand, is responsible for the rest of the book. To others than local antiquaries the chief interest of Ribchester is to be found, of course, in the relics of its existence as a Roman station. Mr. Shortt lays stress on its position as a link in the chain of castra connecting Chester with the line of the Roman wall, and dwells upon the busy life it must have witnessed as a halting-place for troops. We are loth to criticize the work of one so well acquainted, we believe, with Roman remains in Lancashire, or to approach such thorny subjects as Roman roads and stations; but we venture to think that the position of Ribchester—Bremetona- cum as it doubtless was—relatively to the Roman lines of communication required clearer explanation. All that we are told is that, ‘‘as a station on a great north and south road, the main street would take that direction, and the principal issues would be to the north and south.” But, as against this hypothesis, the only gates that have been found, and that are shown on Mr. Shortt’s plan, are to the north and east. There is no trace of a gate to the south, nor is any Roman road shown in that direction, nor are we told what traces, if any, of Roman roads have been found within the castrum. The solution suggested by the plan and the accompanying map is certainly very simple, namely, that Rib- chester was a téte-de-pont protecting the passage of the Ribble; that it was entered by two Roman roads, one at its northern and one at its eastern angle; and that these, uniting within its ramparts, crossed the Ribble together from its south-western side. In the absence of any information from Mr. Shortt as to where the Romans crossed the Ribble we are left to adopt this con- clusion. Bremetonacum, we learn, was the largest castrum in Lancashire—“ an approximate square of more than two hundred yards, containing a little above eight acres and a half.” The chief peculiarities of the castrum are that its angles, not its sides, faced the cardinal points; that the gateways accord- ingly were placed in the northern and eastern angles; that it was surrounded by an earthen vallum, not by a wall of masonry ; and that inside, and parallel to, this vallum there ran a curious pavement of oak shingles, which was also carried out through the gateways, and in places elaborately laid on foundations of imported clay. As is not unusual in similar works, one side-—the south-western — lay open to the river. The wealth of Ribchester in Roman in- scriptions is duly set forth by Mr. Shortt, whose own excavations have added greatly to our knowledge of the castrum. One of the most important of these records relates to an extensive temple within the enclosure. Mr. Shortt asserts the existence of one or two other temples, to one of which be- longed the four pillars now actually forming the entranceto a local inn. But Mr. Smith, we see (p. 264), speaks of them cautiously as ‘‘ said to be of Roman date.” Mr. Smith’s portion of the book is the fruit of great labour. We observe that he repeats Mr. Fishwick’s statement, which we lately quoted with approval, that he has not ‘‘much faith”’ in the statements of Baines or Whitaker, and he tells us that in his opinion it is “‘ quite within the mark.” Be- longing himself to the critical school, he has set himself to copy the best models, and has done his work with a thoroughness deserving of high praise.
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N° 3288, Ocr. 18, °90 THE ATHENAUM 507
The history of Ribchester is uneventful on the whole, its most striking episode, perhaps, being the share it took in the 1715 rising, owing to the numerous recusants and Jacobites in the parish. The punishment inflicted on that occasion kept the district quiet in 1745. The local government, as was common in Lancashire, was in the hands of twenty-four sworn men, locally known as the “‘ Gentlemen and four-and-twenty,”’ who at Ribchester, as at Goosnargh, have pre- served their powers without interruption. Mr. Smith gives copious extracts from their well-kept books, but we must express our surprise to find him writing that for the record to term 1677 ‘*<the thirtieth year of the reign of Charles II.’ is quite absurd, as the merry monarch only ruled twenty-five years; apparently the loyal ‘gentlemen and xxiv.’ quietly ignored the seven years of Cromwell’s protectorate, and assumed that the reign of Charles II. commenced in 1647, the year of his father’s execution.” For, firstly, Charles I. was executed not in 1647, but in 1649; secondly, the regnal years of Charles II. were, of course, always reckoned from the date of his father’s exe- cution ; thirdly, Cromwell was Protector for less than five years ; fourthly, the “‘ thirtieth year”? of Charles II. was 1678-9, which throws doubt on Mr. Smith’s “1677.” We cannot, however, part harshly with so de- serving an antiquary. His chapters on the church, the incumbents, the registers, the monuments, and the parish library repre- sent much labour, while his accounts of the local ‘‘ old families’’ will be welcome to the genealogical student, who will trace in them the decline and fall of many a gentle house.
English Leaders of Religion. Cardinal New- man. By R. H. Hutton. (Methuen & Co.) Mr. Hurron opens yet another new series by a biographical essay on Cardinal New- man, which seems likely to be the first of many biographies of the late cardinal. It is but fair to Mr. Hutton to add at once that it was prepared during Newman’s life- time, and has not been hurriedly written to supply a demand caused by the cardinal’s death. It is far from a biography in the ordinary sense of the word; of the man apart from the theologian we hear but little. Mr. Hutton has essayed to give a short his- tory of Newman’s religious opinions while he was in the Anglican Church, derived in the main from the ‘ Apologia,’ but told from a = of view necessarily less personal, and therefore more impartial. In many ways the essay is successful in giving the reader the main critical points in that remarkable transition from the extreme left to the extreme right of Christianthought. Mr. Hutton’s abstracts are clear, and his criticisms judicious, if not profound. Yet somehow the total impression left is not a very decided one, owing, perhaps, to the absence of any summary of the main lines of development which led from Newman the Evangelical to Newman the Cardinal. The stages are clear, and have been discriminated once for all by Newman himself in the ‘Apologia.’ It was difficult, if not impos- sible, for any one coming after Newman to improve on that statement, or amend it
in any way. The chief merit Mr. Hutton’s treatment can claim is that of conciseness. The main lines of that development are familiar enough by this time to all who have read Newman’s masterpiece. How the in- tense Evangelicalism of his boyish years was gradually dissolved and replaced by an equally intense conception of the authority of the Church, and how this led logically on to the momentous question, ‘‘ Which is the true Church?” how this was an- swered at first with the old high and dry Churchmen, and then, as the Erastianism of the Anglican Church as then consti- tuted became clear, how the need of Church reform or reformation became apparent, and so the via media was devised as the ideal towards which the new reformation should travel—all this is something we have all known since 1864, if, indeed, it was not known earlier. Mr. Hutton has now and again a comment on the facts or the views, or he contests the contentions of the Trac- tarians on various points, but as a rule he tells again the twice-told tale, with clearness, indeed, but without much force. It is only when he comes to the culmin- ating episode—the composition of the ‘ Essay on Development ’—that Mr. Hutton offers much that is fresh or throws light on the matter in hand. The chapter devoted to this remarkable book is a closely written piece of analysis interwoven with comment that does credit to Mr. Hutton. He makes too much, perhaps, of the anticipation of Dar- winism involved in such a treatment of doctrine. The idea was in the air at the time. Chambers’s ‘Vestiges of Creation,’ which appeared just then, was only the popularization of much evolutionary specu- lation that was going on around Newman as he was writing his essay on the relation of doctrinal evolution and truth, for that is his main subject. What are the signs that show which doctrinal changes are develop- ment and which degeneration? That is the problem which Newman set himself to solve in the last year of his life as an Angli- can. We all know the answer that he practically gave to the question, but it is of interest to have presented to us so clear a summary of the main points which led New- man to seek the true Church in Rome alone, and not, as heretofore, in the ideal Middle Way which he and his school were to make dominant in the Anglican Church. The seven marks of true development were to be found in the Roman Church, and in the Roman Church alone, and therefore New- man joined that communion. The remark- able thing about all this is the intensely theo- logical tone of the whole procedure—theo- logical as opposed to religious. Mr. Hutton has a whole chapter devoted to a defence of Newman from the charge of being secretly infidel or sceptical. But to any one who reads a page of his writings it is abundantly clear that Newman never came within the region where doubt or infidelity exists. His whole attitude towards faith is a proof of this. He never needed a foundation for his faith, for the faith itself was a presumption in favour of the facts or feelings that were to prove the faith. This is perhaps not altogether a fair way of stating the case; but Newman is consistent throughout in declaring that faith itself is the most effectual way of re- moving the difficulties that attend faith,
nowadays most of all, but that have attended it at all tim:s in the world’s history. Indeed, this utter absence of any scep- ticism as to the fundamental principles of re- vealed religion is implied in such a treatment of theology as was adopted in Newman’s writ- ings both while he was within and after he had left the Anglican Church. It is to him the scientia scientiarum, a kind of deductive science analogous to geometry, starting, like it, with definitions, and assuming, like it, a number of axioms. This conception at once leads on to sacerdotalism, as it is obvious that the knowledge of such a technical science and its application to practice can only be safely entrusted to experts. Hence the opposition of the Tractarians to Protes- tantism, which from this point of view re- presents the claim of the common man to understand and apply a highly technical science. When we combine with this confidence in the capacity of a dogmatic theology to solve the difficulties of life an intense feeling of the historic continuity of the race we have the idées méres of Newman’s position throughout his career. The conception of the unity of history is implied in all New- man’s work, and is the foundation of his conception of religious development that led him ultimately to Rome. Simultaneously almost with Hegel’s philosophy of history Newman applied the conception of evolu- tion to man’s spiritual nature, before Spencer, Darwin, and Wallace had applied the same ruling idea to organic nature. That this should have led him and his school to Rome is easily comprehensible now, but Newman’s history in the Anglican Church was a bold attempt to claim for her the same privileges as the Church of Rome in this respect. Mr. Hutton rests his claim for Newman’s greatness on the persistency with which he applied himself to the working out in full detail of his main conceptions in theology, and on the greatness of the powers which, as Mr. Hutton intimates, he sacrificed to those objects. He might have been, it is argued, a great poet or a great literary artist in prose, and he gave this up in order to save the Church of England and to devote his whole energies to theology. It is very doubtful, we think, whether Newman would have become a great poet in any other way than he did, as a hymn-writer and as the author of ‘ The Dream of Gerontius.’ It is, again, some- what difficult to guess in what direction but the theological Newman’s exquisite prose, which at times became over-florid in his Romish works, could have been effective. He had few of the qualities that make the great historian, his literary essays are not even readable nowadays, and his so-called novels are only of interest in their theo- logical bearing. Newman’s whole mind and spiritual feeling were against the whole position of modern research—he could not bear not to know. Mr. Hutton is basing his hero’s claim on a false issue. Newman’s claim to greatness does not lie in any deliberate sacrifice of pro- blematic powers for the sake of theological science. He deserves the name of great because in an age of materialism and super- ficial intellectualism he held aloft the banner of spiritualism, because amidst all obloquy and insult he held to what he considered the truth, because he yielded up the proud
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508 THE ATHENAUM N° 3286, Ocr. 18, 90 position of a great spiritual leader to follow the inward summons. He has been one of the operative forces that have aided to transform England. It is for this reason he has been honoured and mourned by Englishmen of all creeds, quite apart from the merits and demerits of the theology to which he devoted his saintly life. Catalogue of the Persian, Turkish, Hindustani, and Pushtu Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library. Begun by Prof. Ed. Sachau, Ph.D. Continued, completed, and edited by Hermann Ethé, Ph.D.—Part I. The Persian Manuscripts. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.) Ir is now seven years since Dr. Rieu com- pleted his ‘ Catalogue of the Persian Manu- scripts in the British Museum,’ a work which in the extensive and profound learn- ing, accuracy and fulness of detail, and patient and untiring industry it displayed, marks an epoch in this branch of literature, and must claim the gratitude of all those who succeed Dr. Rieu in the same field. Dr. Ethé is to be congratulated upon having had so excellent a model before him. That he has availed himself of it to a con- siderable extent is evident from the general form of his work, which differs but slightly from that of his predecessor. The mere fact, however, of the pre-existence of the Museum Catalogue would necessarily result in some material differences which it is interesting to note. Each catalogue describes nearly an equal number of MSS.—about two thousand—and here it is worthy of remark that the Bodleian Library, out of a collection of only 400,000 printed books and 30,000 MSS., should possess the same number of Persian MSS. as the British Museum, which boasts of a collection of more than a million and a half of printed books and 50,000 MSS. Whilst fully recognizing the vast importance of the Bod- leian collection, we should scarcely venture to endorse the statement of the ‘ Encyclo- pedia Britannica’ that the library, in the department of Oriental manuscripts, is perhaps superior to any other in Europe, though we might go so far as to assert that it has no European rival out of England. As regards beauty of art workmanship, it is certainly excelled by the British Museum collection, but to decide which collection is the more valuable in other respects would require many years of close comparison. Of the three great collections of Persian MSS., those, namely, of the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, and the India Office, we have now, thanks to Dr. Rieu and Dr. Ethé, complete analytical and descriptive catalogues of the first two; whilst a similar catalogue of the third is being prepared by Dr. Ethé, and advancing, we believe, rapidly towards completion. Dr. Ethé’s contributions to Oriental learning have long been favourably known, and the Trustees of the Bodleian may be felicitated on having secured his services for this work, which is by far the most important he has undertaken, and which has occupied him for many years. But whilst cordially approving of the general quality of Dr. Ethé’s work, we should have welcomed a greater simi- larity to that of Dr. Rieu in point of quantity. Of course, in the case of works identical with those already analyzed and described in the Museum Catalogue a shorter analysis would be sufficient, refer- ence to such previous analysis being made, and a description given of the merits of the particular copy possessed by the Bodleian. Of other MSS., however, we sometimes fail to find so ample an analysis as could be wished, whilst the descriptions, though accurate, as far as we can judge, in most particulars, are occasionally defective in some. For example, the words “No date” occur with rather distressing frequency when we should have expected that Dr. Ethé’s ex- perience would have enabled him to supply, at least approximately, the omission of the copyist. The date being no small factor in the estimation of the intrinsic value of a manuscript, especially if historical, we feel impelled to lay some stress upon this matter. On the other hand, we would highly com- mend Dr. Ethé’s acumen and industry in investigating the dates of the birth and death of the authors themselves, and of the composition of their works. His research into the writings which bear upon the manuscripts he is describing is also worthy of all praise: ‘‘A painfull work it is, I’ll assure you, and more than difficult, wherein what toyle hath been taken, as no man thinketh, so no man believeth, but he that hath made the triall.” The learned author will, we trust, forgive us if we express some surprise that he speaks so seldom of the general accuracy or inaccuracy of the MSS., especially as he could scarcely have failed to form a judg- ment in this matter from the close examina- tion and study of each necessitated by his task. If we were to judge of the value of a manuscript from the opening lines quoted by Dr. Ethé, we should often be at fault, since, owing in great part to the imperfec- tions of the Arabic alphabet, mistakes fre- quently occur in manuscripts which on the whole are really good. In illustration of the frequency with which errors occur, we repeat a few lines taken fairly near together in the catalogue. No. 508, p. 454 :— Chu shah-é furiizandagan-é sipihr Zi piriizah giio bakht binmid chihr. In the second line ‘‘ bakht ’’ should obviously be takht. No. 510, p. 456 :— Chunan daram ai Davar-é Kareaz Kazin ba niyaz in shavam bi niyaz. In the second line dn should be joined to niyaz, being the sign of the plural, and not the demonstrative as would here appear. In the first line ddram, of course, is an im- perative with pronoun of the first person. No. 542, p. 471:— ‘Ashiki shud rasm u £4n ii sirat dyin mara Har ki binad binad inra ba man wi ba in mara. In the first line a is required after strat. Many inaccuracies in metre may also be noticed, whilst such errors as the insertion of the yd of unity where it is not required occasionally occur. Dr. Ethé arranges the manuscripts as far as possible in chronological order, thus affording every facility for comparing the styles and language of different periods, and opening the way for a systematic study of the language and literature. After the completion of the India Office Catalogue we hope at no distant date to see this sub- ject treated. It should surely be possible with such materials at hand and so helpful an exposition and arrangement of them. Another most admirable feature of Dr. Ethé’s catalogue is the enumeration of all the names of authors contained in each Tazkirah ; and here we may remark upon the exceptional richness of the Bodleian collection in memoirs of the poets. The ‘Makhzanu’!-Ghariib,’a work not possessed by the British Museum, includes 3,148 names, representing, indeed, a large pro- portion of the Persian poets, though not all, since works of others not in it occur in the Bodleian collection itself. The Bodleian is also extremely rich in works on Sufism—+.e., theoretical expositions of the doctrines—in prose and verse. The earliest in date is the ‘Kashfu ’1-Mahjib’ of Al-Jullabi Al-Hujviri, who died in 1064 or 1072 a.p. A separate and independent classification, however, of such works presents some difficulty, since both Persian poetry and prose have been largely influenced by Sufi principles, even from the time of Firdausi, and many of the most classical works, though not in- cluded in this division, are little other than treatises on the subject. Geographyand history, generalandspecial, are abundantly represented. Three copies, more or less complete, of the singularly rare ‘Jimi‘-i Tavarikh’ of Rashidu ’d-Din and two of Al-Juvaini’s valuable ‘ Tarikh-i Jahin-kushai’ occur. In connexion with the former we would suggest that when a general history contains accounts of special dynasties or periods possessing exceptional value, reference to these should be made in the division assigned to special histories. The maininterest, for example, of the ‘Jami‘-i Tavirikh’ lies in the excellent account it gives of the Mongols, including a life of Chinghiz Khan which is by far the most valuable and trustworthy extant. One copy of the famous ‘Tarikh-i Vassaf,’ a history of the Mongol dynasty from Hulagi to Abia Sa‘id, occurs. Dr. Ethé speaks of this work as “‘a specimen of the highest point of ex- cellence of which the Persian language is capable.” Dr. Rieu says: ‘Its undoubted value is in some degree diminished by the want of method in its arrangement, and still more by the highly artificial character and tedious redundance of its style. It was unfortunately set up as a model, and has exercised a baneful influence on later his- torical compositions in Persia.” We fail to understand the general division of the sciences (Section C) into mental, moral, and physical. The subdivisionsarealsorather puzzling. Is themagic art a branch of mathe- matics? Mathematics may be usedinit, butso they may be, and are, in chemistry. Logic, metaphysics, ethics, and politics (we should also include psychology) are well classed together, since something of each and all of these sciences is generally found in one and the same work. Many valuable works on music occur—no fewer than sixteen, including Jimi’s scarce treatise on the art. There are also some interesting works on physiognomy—Firasat and Kiyafat. The student of folk-lore will be gratified by the extensive collec- tion of tales contained in Nos. 430-491 of the MSS., and even though he
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Ne 3286, Ocr. 18, 90 THE ATHENZUM 509 be ignorant of Persian will be able to avail himself of many through the author’s guidance to such translations of them as exist. The number of poets is legion. The author judiciously selects a small number of the greater lights, and classifies them in his ‘“‘Contents’’ as special subdivisions of the main heading, poetry. A few more names might, we think, have been added, notably that of ‘Urfi, whose claims to special recognition are considerable. Sani‘, ‘‘who died probably in 1150 4.pD.”; Attar, who died 1230 a.p.; and Rimi, born 1207, died 1273 a.p., that most illustrious triad of Sufi writers, are well re- presented. No. 646, the great ‘ Masnavi,’ dates as far back as 1402-3 a.v. It is strange that whilst extensive commentaries are found on Sania‘i and Rimi, Attar should have been little illustrated. His lan- guage, it is true, is simple, but his subject is not so. It is further a curious fact, con- sidering the simplicity of his language, that the manuscripts of Attar should be often so corrupt. The absence of commentary on thesecond part of Nizimi’s ‘Sikandar Namah,’ by far more difficult and interesting in our opinion than the first part, is also notice- able. Whilst speaking of commentaries we would suggest that a separate heading should have been assigned to them, as is done in the MS. catalogue of the India Office collection. An equivalent for this might be devised in the promised index. Jami, the most learned and exquisitely melodious of the Persian poets, is richly represented in Nos. 894-976. Section D, Zoroastrian literature in old Bactrian (otherwise styled Zand), Pahlavi, Parsi or Pazand, and Persian, is, we are — almost exclusively Prof. Sachau’s work. Part II. of Dr. Ethé’s catalogue will con- tain the description of the Turkish, Hin- dustani, and Pushtu MSS., and also a com- plete index of the whole work. NOVELS OF THE WEEK. Kirsteen. By Mrs. Oliphant. 3vols. (Mac- millan & Co.) A Modern Milkmaid. By the Author of ‘Commonplace Sinners.’ 3 vols. (Digby & Long.) In Low Relief. By Morley Roberts. 2 vols. (Chapman & Hall.) Zeno. ByalLady. (Parker & Co.) The Chief Justice. By Emil Franzos. Trans- lated from the German by Miles Corbet. (Heinemann.) TuE merit of Mrs. Oliphant’s latest story Ties not in any strange path of incident or ehange of groove. To many people there will be almost a sameness in the accessories. An old Scotch country house, the inevitable old servant, the maiden aunt, ‘“‘ Marg’ret ”’ and ‘“ Miss Eelen,” the ponderous minister, the ailing wife, the ‘“long-leggit ” laddies, the buxom girls—we have seen them or their like before. But the true human nature, in its infinite variety, which custom cannot stale, has seldom been more freshly treated by the veteran author. The fierce, wild figure of the laird, Drumcarro, the “auld slave-driver,” who has earned enough in dark regions of the West Indies to buy back a corner of the ‘hereditary estate, is enough to give the book | an air of originality. But it is in the con- trasted characters of the three unmarried sisters and the simple tragedy of Kirsteen’s noble love that the central interest will be found. There is little incident in the story. Kirsteen’s flight; the romantic, not altogether successful, energy with which she drags her married sister Ann (a limp, motherly body who has not in middle life outgrown the dread of the consequences of her “ mis-alliance” with her doctor) to her dying mother’s bed ; that mother’s death-bed, in which her gentle soul asserts itself over her husband’s tyranny ; the solemn function of Robbie’s farewell supper; and the wild moment when Drum- carro pitches the intending seducer down the linn and “ hurts his hand,’’ are passages which dwell in the recollection. Poor Mrs. Douglas’s ‘‘ yammering ” is lifelike enough. ‘Can I assist ye to adrop, mem?” says the minister. ‘‘ Nothing will do me good,” said Mrs. Douglas; ‘‘I’m far past that: but I’ll take a little for civility..... whether it’s toddy or whether it’s wine, it’s all sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal for me.” By the way, why a Douglas in Argyll’s country? A Lamont, or Mac- naghten, or Maclachlan would have been more accurate, as Scott knew accuracy. Theentireabsenceof reality whichthrough- out characterizes ‘A Modern Milkmaid’ renders it a work of supererogation to call attention to the particular eccentricities of any of the characters. They have so little resemblance to flesh and blood that their performances are comparatively unobjection- able from being completely unreal. Bad taste and grossness of perception do not constitute realism ; artificiality of atmosphere is by no means synonymous with romance or poetry. The writer is probably young, and may improve. If determined to write again, he would do well to lay these and a few other truisms to heart. He should cultivate a wholesome distrustof his exuberant powers of description, and pause long indeed before again perpetrating such a sentence as ‘‘Her scantily made frock, innocent of uff or furbelow, kissed her limbs with gluey ips.” "te a novel like ‘In Low Relief’ it would be easy to pick out absurdities of expression and exaggerated utterances, especially in the speech and manner of John Torrington (journalist), the hero of the story—an eccentric, bumptious being, to say no worse. Even in him there is a certain suspicion of human nature, however, some evidence of observation and experience having gone to the making of him, though the process has somewhat run riot. The rest of the story, which is all about art life of a low grade, socially speaking, is clearly true to nature, and gives one, if not an altogether pleasant impression, at least an impression of reality. It is well focussed throughout and well sustained; no other phases are dragged in, and there is no padding what- ever. The realm of studios of a certain sort and the types to be met in them are all the theme, and are sketched with a light hand, sometimes with a touch of humour. In spite of the hero’s affectations and really preposterous language, there is some energy in the story of his ordeal by love. As for Mary Morris (artists’ model), known as St. Priscilla, she is natural rather than overstrained, and she has certainly a good deal of charm about her. With plenty of faults the story possesses some merits—the principal one is that it is not like a hundred other stories ; the author has a way of his own, and a different outlook on life from the “‘ first comer.” It would scarcely be fair to speak of ‘Zeno’ as merely an academic essay, or a string of philosophic pearls on a weak thread of personal romance. The author has imbued her mind with the mental philo- sophy of the Greece of four-and-twenty cen- turies ago, and in taking Zeno for her hero, and Elea and Athens for her scenic back- ground, she has devoted scrupulous care to her reproduction of the past. But she has not attempted or been satisfied with a scholastic diorama of pictures, like the Roman scenes in Becker’s ‘ Gallus,’ devised to stamp a few phrases and facts upon the learner’s memory. ‘Zeno’ is a genuine romance, more careful and historical than Kingsley’s ‘ Hypatia,’ but still with a keen appreciation of what is due to the reader of fiction. Judged by her manifest aim and effort, the author, for whom the Bishop of Oxford to some extent stands sponsor by accepting the dedication of the story, has achieved an unequivocal success. At any rate, the book is altogether delightful for a reader who is imbued with a certain sympathy for Greek dialectic, who can follow out a logical train of thought, and on whom a refined and poetic style is not thrown away. It will not satisfy the average per- son’s idea of a novel; but as a pleasant story, appealing at once to the scholar and to the man or woman of literary culture, it could not easily be overpraised. For the third volume of the “International Library of Fiction’? Mr. Gosse has selected Franzos’s ‘Der Prisident,’ and certainly he might have done much worse than draw on the Galician novelist, whom some prefer to his better-known countryman Sacher Masoch. ‘ Der Priisident’ is a book both powerful and painful, as it is rather the wont of its author and his school to be. Both school and author, by the way, might have received a fuller critical notice than Mr. Gosse’s unusually brief introduction of two pages allows. The Galician schoo? is extremely distinct, and quite free from that imitation of French or English models which infects most con- tinental fiction. Of Mr. Corbet’s translation we cannot speak in high terms. It is most painstaking, but the translator has not achieved the very first task of a renderer from German—the smoothing away of such phrases (constant in the original, but very awkward in English) as ‘‘the embittered man,” “the lucky man,” and so forth. As he capitulates to such a merely initial attack as this, it is needless to say that subtler and stubborner Germanisms have an easy victory over him. BOOKS OF TRAVEL. Tue conventionally pious title of Light in Africa, by the Rev. James Macdonald (Hodder & Stoughton), does scanty justice to one of the brightest and most readable books of its class produced during recent years. Mr. Macdonald belongs to the Free Church of Scotland, and his work as an evangelist lay chiefly among certain Fingoes of the Transkei, who, having become convinced that a mission station in their midst was something to be desired, voluntarily taxed
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510 THE ATHENZUM N° 3286, Ocr. 18, 90 themselves until they had raised the substantial sum of 4,000!. towards the original cost of the institution called Blythswood, built under Mr. Macdonald’s supervision, and of which he was the first principal. His account of the early days of this enterprise is full of human interest, and given with a praiseworthy avoidance of needless detail, after the manner of one who values action more than words. Mr. Macdonald’s volume, indeed, has very little in common with those numerous narratives of missionary effort abroad which read like May Meeting speeches long drawn out. The religious phases of his labours are rather taken for granted than described. He possesses an ample share of shrewd North- Country humour, and his personal anecdotes are, with one notably pathetic exception, more calculated to relax the lips of his readers than to moisten their eyes. To use his own words, his desire has been rather ‘‘to deepen public interest in African peoples,” and to explain the ‘‘ nature of the influence exerted by missions on the com- munity, than to deal with the work of preaching and individual conversions from heathenism.” Considerable space is devoted to native customs and superstitions, and this chapter, enlivened as it is by illustrative incidents derived from the author’s own experience, is to the general reader perhaps the most attractive portion of a book that has not a single dull or superfluous page. There are, however, one or two solecisms which should not appear in so vigorous a piece of work as this is in the main. ‘‘ Effeté” (sic) is a vile substitute for effete, and ‘‘succeeded to arouse” surely savours of affectation. Greek Pictures. Drawn with Pen and Pencil. By J. P. Mahaffy, M.A., D.D. (Religious Tract Society.)—Greece has been chosen as a subject for one of the “ Pen and Pencil Series,” and Prof. Mahaffy has been chosen as its author. The text is exceedingly pleasant light reading, for no one knows better than the author how to handle attractively a subject which nine-tenths of the readers would place under the category of dry. He delicately dips into historic lore, he throws a little art and architecture into his de- scriptions, and, furthermore, there are many remarks interspersed through the book that the most erudite may read with profit. Prof. Mahaffy’s verdict on the canal through the Isthmus of Corinth is as follows :— “Amid the promotion of many useful schemes of traffic, this undertaking seems to me to stand out by its want of common sense. Indeed, had it been really important at any date, we may be sure that the Hellenistic Sovrans or Roman capitalists would have carried it out.” On the subject of costume he writes :— “ One of the curious features of this century is the admiration for national costume among all the people who have lost it, and the low esteem for it among all those who still possess it.” This is very true and applicable to Greece, where day by day the genuine Greek costumes are disappearing, and can only now be found in remote islands or mountain villages. As for the ‘‘ fustanella,” which figures largely in these illustrations, and, indeed, in all fancy pictures of Greek life, it is no more a Greek costume than the Highland kilt is a London one; it is Albanian pure and simple, an importation, like the greater part of the inhabitants of the modern Greek mainland, from the Balkan mountains. It is a pity that a book which purports to instruct should reproduce so many pictures which only please the imagination and give an erroneous impression of things as they really exist. One picture in particular has been thought so good that it not only covers a whole page in the text, but also is reproduced in gold on the cover : it represents a harvest scene near the Acropolis, a spot where harvest operations are of the most meagre description ; a woman in it wears a cos- tume unknown in modern Greece, and a man is in a garb only worn by the Thessalian regiment of ‘‘ Euzonoi” or some pedantic old hero in the streets of Athens. The elegant females in the dance in the frontispiece can only provoke a smile from those who have been present at the Easter dance at Megara and witnessed the stiff costumes and formal steps of the women in the circular “syrtos.” Also it is a pity to reproduce a picture of the Acropolis with the old Venetian tower still standing, when so many excellent photographs of its present aspect are procurable. Certainly a book on Greece with barely an allu- sion to its many and lovely islands is rather like ‘Hamlet’ without the ghost. Corfu with its charm- ing satellites, Delos with its encircling Cyclades, Santorin with its awe-inspiring volcano, gina with its splendid temple ruin, are such integral parts of both ancient and modern Greece that ‘Greek Pictures,’ which ignores them, cannot be considered to give more than the cursory glance of a passing traveller at the beauties of that classic land. Mrs. Maraaret Detanv’s Florida Days(Long- mans & Co.) can be praised, but to characterize it is no easy task. It is beautifully illustrated. American paper-makers and printers are justified in pointing to it as a fine specimen of their skill, It contains impressions rather than in- formation. Those who know Florida will read it with interest ; those who do not will gather little from it. A few more facts would have proved a good seasoning to Mrs. Deland’s plea- sant fancies. In her native country there is not much more general knowledge of Florida than in ours. It is more difficult to set forth and co-ordinate facts than to depict impressions, and some of Mrs. Deland’s suppositions are as curious as they are extravagant. She devotes several sentences to Sir Francis Drake, whom she re- gards with mingled feelings, and she does not hesitate to put on record what he may have felt when he entered the sunless land : ‘‘ Surely he must have found it a weary thing to wake and find himself a naked soul in the gray silence of eternity.” A more minute account than she gives of the Crackers, the native whites of Florida, would have been useful. They are a shiftless, degenerate race. The negroes may not be any better, but they are more picturesque. Mrs. Deland’s conversation with an old negro is interesting, and it is the best thing in her work, with the exception of her account of a negro revival. The illiterate old negro’s philosophy of life was as good as that of many who are highly cultured :— “Dere’s a pow’ful lot o’ trouble in life for its size. Dere was a time when I wasn’t right sho’ in my mind whedder it was all wuf while,—all de trouble, just for de sake of eatin’ and drinkin’. An’ I’ve had my share o’ trouble, so 1 tell you. I loss my fust wife, and I loss my second wife (cos’, dey bof died happy) ; den I loss my modder, she died shoutin’! Buta modder’s not de same as a wife,— you can’t gitanodder. Well, an’ money come hard, an’ it seem like as if you were always wantin’ just a leetle more o’ suthin’, Always wantin’ ;—dat’s my sper’ence. De only peace o’ my mind, when I come to think it over, was when I was asleep, or settin’ in de sun, wif my eyes shut. Well, I thought it all over, and den I ‘flected. I ‘flected dat ef you had de Lawd, it was wuf while; and ef you didn’t have de Lawd, den it wasn’t wuf while.” Cruisings in the Cascades, by G. O. Shields (Sampson Low & Co.), is not one of those books on hunting which are easy writing and hard reading. Mr. Shields begins well, his earlier chapters having that element of human interest in them which is supplied by a narrative of daily experience, while the later chapters read like essays on sport. The reason seems to be that the chapters which give the least pleasure are reprinted from magazines, while the others are full of new material as well as containing much interesting experience. The many illustrations, which are taken from photographs, give an air of reality to the pages without having any artistic merits. Mr. Shields writes clearly and easily, his phraseology being singularly free from Ameri- can slang. This alone gives him a title to a reading. He sought for sport in British Columbia as well as in his own country. Victoria, the capital of the province, impressed him greatly ; he styles it a “ quaint, old, aristo- cratic, ultra-English town,” adding, ‘* We were surprised to see so substantial and well-built a town as this, and one possessing so much of the age of independence, so far north and west. One might readily imagine, from the exterior appear- ance of the city and its surroundings, that he was in the province of Quebec and not that of British Columbia.” Mr. Shields gives a melan- choly account of the approaching extermination of the buffalo, saying that scarcely a hundred survive in their wild state. The few remaining buffaloes are under the protection of United States soldiers in the National Park. An elk will soon be as rare as a buffalo. There are ex- cellent game laws in the states and territories of America, but they are seldom enforced. It seems easy to pass a law, yet to restore the wild animals and the primeval forest of America wilh baffle all the wisdom of the wise. RECENT VERSE, Far South Fancies. By Alexander Bathgate. (Griffith, Farran & Co.) Sonnets and other Poems, chiefly Religious. By Joseph John Murphy. (Keyan Paul & Co.) Songs of Siluria, to which is added Fluvius Lacrymarum. By M.E. and I. 8. (Stock.) Flower and Bird Posies. By A. H. Church and R. H. Soden-Smith. (Published by the Authors. ) Ivy and Passion-Flower. By Gerard Bendall. (Heinemann. ) TuE collection of verse to which Mr. Alexander Bathgate has given the name of ‘Far South Fancies’ has for speciality that its scenery is in New Zealand, and that it contains so many Maori names of persons, places, trees, flowers, beasts, and birds, as to require several pages of glossic notes. Also, two or three of the pieces relate to Maori legends, and in other pieces incidents take place in New Zealand, or are connected with somebody who has emigrated thither. But all this too painstaking effort to be New-Zea- landish only forces the reader to a constant perception of Mr. Bathgate’s mistake in think- ing that tourist-like information scattered al) through a book is the same thing as characteristic nationality. In the case of ‘Far South Fancies’ the appearance of local colour is but a super- ficial varnish which cannot conceal how essen- tially commonplace and well-worn are both thought and treatment. Mr. Joseph John Murphy’s ‘Sonnets and other Poems, chiefly Religious,’ are written with scholarly dignity and self-restraint, and with scholarly correctness; and the earnestness of his religious feeling ought to command respect. What is wanting is poetic inspiration. Yet Mr. Murphy has one line whose beauty strikes with the sudden influence of a true poet’s utterance :— And sunrise waits below the morning star. But he has not known how to uge what might have meant so much, and it serves only as a comparison for the latent faculties of infants— as to whom he goes on to make the remarkably optimist statement that All wisdom in an infant mind lies deep. The sonnets, nineteen in number, are disagree- ably broken in rhythm; and their form, dis- torted with intermingled couplets, is in itself not only alien but antagonistic to the balanced development of cadence and of idea essentially characteristic of the sonnet. Mr. Murphy is at his best in four-line lyrics. It is to be regretted that ‘ Marguerite,’ an unintelligent attack upon Matthew Arnold, was not omitted from the col- lection. M. E. and I. S. send forth a little volume of neat and often not inexpressive verse, ‘ Songs of Siluria,’ which owes its name, and a long pre- fatory essay, to their affection for South Wales. Its contents are chiefly descriptive of local scenery. ‘Fluvius Lacrymarum,’ a piece of which special mention is made in the title-page, is a high-pitched allegory of the coming of
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‘ i p & N° 3286, Ocr. 18, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 511 Christ to ameliorate the life of humanity. In this the writer has been unwisely ambitious in theme and treatment, and she is not capable of managing the paces of the Spenserian stanza. ‘Flower and Bird Posies, published by the authors, Prof. Church and the late Mr. Soden- Smith, and on sale for the benefit of a training home for servants, is an unassuming little book —no more than a pamphlet. The ‘ posies” were written as mottoes to be painted on small trenchers known as ‘“‘roundels,” the use of which, though no one knows what their use was —except that they had something to do with dessert (like doyleys, thinks Prof. Church ; fruit trenchers Mr. Soden-Smith called them), and could serve in games of forfeits—it is a pleasant fad to reintroduce. Verses written for such a purpose would be most unpoetically out of keeping if they were impassioned or profound, and we must not examine them as if they ought to be more than their authors profess. The * Flower Posies’ (Prof. Church’s) in particular, firmly held to the simplicity of one clear thought in a concise quatrain, maintain unflinchingly the quiet tone and almost trite plainness character- istic of the motto, the proverb, and the epigram, as distinguished from other short verse. He has thus completely achieved the great merit of fitness; and to this he has been able to add a poetic prettiness of thought made all the more noticeable by the vigorous utterance due to compression. The following ‘‘ posy,” with its happy moral, will be everybody’s favourite :— THE WILD ROSE. If by each rose we see A thorn there grows, Strive that no thorn shall be Without its rose. Another of the best is GORSE AND HEATHER, He who would know the fell, The gorse, the heather, Must love the storm as well As sunny weather. We have a fault to find with the ‘Flower Posies.’ Considered conjointly, they are to be estimated as a set meant to be used together, and as a set they should not some of them ad- dress the reader and some the flower, some of them speak in the person of the flower and some in that of the author. If two neighbours at table find that the wild strawberry platter, when its posy ends “TI still am true,” means the ‘‘ I” for the maker of the posy, they might easily, on turning to the bindweed platter, with its posy beginning “ Beneath the sand I creep,” suppose at first that that “I” also referred to him ; and, the personal pronouns of the wild rose being for the reader, why should he not also take to him- self those of In seasons gay or sad Thy growth is made: Thy face is always glad In sun or shade, which will greet him if the ivy platter is served to him? The ‘Bird Posies’ (Mr. Soden- Smith’s) are more elaborate than the ‘Flower Posies.’ They are all six-line stanzas, but vary in metre. All are faithful in natural history, all have considerable poetic feeling. We like best—perhaps because it is the simplest— THE LINNET. The scented gorse is rich in bluom, A golden glory of the waste, Sudden the twittering linnets come Where late their nest secure was placed ; One moment on the bending spray Alight, then down the breeze away ! But for a sample of the set a better choice is THE CURLEW. Where the grey moor spreads wild and wide Afar the curlew’s wind-borne whistle floats ; Or where on level shore an ebbing tide Leaves rippled sand-flats, soft the plaintive notes Surprise the ear, while high on curving wing Speed the shy birds to some secluded spring. “Ivy and Passion-Flower’ is the name Mr. Gerard Bendall gives to a volume of enjoy- able little poems, very pleasantly rhythmical. Although these poems have not at all the fault of being repetitions of each other, almost any one of them is so far a specimen of all the rest that it gives a complete idea of Mr. Gerard Bendall’s light thought and easy treatment, so instead of setting forth his qualities we will let one of the poems do it, and will give THE WEIR. The willows sway and quiver, But never a sound [ hear, Save the laugh of the rushing river, The roar of the boiling weir. The meadows are silently sleeping In sunlight calm and clear— O the joy of the water leaping, O the song of the tumbling weir! I forget my rod and my casting, I forget the far, the near, And I dream of peace everlasting By the side of the brawling weir. One poem, ‘The Gambler,’ has a theme—a suicide’s corpse—little suitable for Mr. Bendall’s airy style, and bears witness that his is not the tragic muse; and his narrative ballads ‘The Sancgreal’ and ‘Saint Edward’ suggest, though in a less degree than ‘The Gambler,’ that he sets aside his real gift when he departs from his wont of setting one simple thought, neither subtle nor complex nor particularly earnest, in that slight songbird-like verse which seems so easy that it might make any dunce sure he could do the like, till he tried. Setting apart these three poems, we may say that all in the book are good in this kind. OUR LIBRARY TABLE. Miss Witson has prefixed to her handsome volume of Selected Sermons of Schleiermacher (Hodder & Stoughton) a biography of the preacher, written with excellent intentions, but showing an imperfect understanding of his posi- tion in the history of German speculation. She greatly overrates his orthodoxy. Miss Wilson, curiously enough, speaks of Schleiermacher’s sermons as filling only four volumes. Ap- parently she has not looked at the later ones. She does not give any references, but we recog- nize most of the sermons she has selected as to be found in the first three volumes. The trans- lation, so far as we have examined it, is de- cidedly creditable to Miss Wilson. Mr. Frowps has followed up his ‘ Finger Prayer Book’ with another triumph of printing and binding, the Finger New Testament, which weighs less than three-quarters of an ounce, and is only an inch wide and three and a half inches long. The type is clear and legible. The paper used is the India paper for which the Clarendon Press is famous. Tue chief of the new editions on our table is the handsome reprint of Mr. Masson’s library edition of Milton (Macmillan & Co.), which appears with such improvements as a careful editor like Prof. Masson seldom fails to make when he has the opportunity. The volumes are now placed in chronological order, a memoir of Milton has been introduced, and an appendix added to it on Milton’s signature. The intro- ductions have been enlarged, and the whole edition is a credit to the editor and publishers. The type is particularly good. We have also before us new editions of Derrick Vaughan, by Edna Lyall; Disenchant- ment, by Miss Robinson ; and Arminell, by the author of ‘ Mehalah,’ all issued by Messrs. Methuen in their three-and-sixpenny novel series. —A nice little Pocket Volume of Selections from the Poetical Works of Robert Browning has reached us from Messrs. Smith & Elder.—Messrs. Putnam’s Sons have pub- lished, as one of their pretty ‘‘ Knickerbocker Nuggets,” A Selection from Poor Richard's Almanacs, with a pleasant preface by Mr. P. L. Ford.—Messrs. Macmillan have reprinted in a tasteful volume Kingsley’s excellent sermons Good News of God.—The Handbook of Games, an old and steady favourite, has been reissued by Messrs. Bell in a greatly improved shape, and should take a new lease of life.—Mr. Unwin sends us a cheap and tasteful reprint of Mr. Keary’s clever Mariage de Convenance. WE have on our table Illustrated Europe, Nos. 124-28, by J. Hardmeyer and others (Zurich, Orel], Fiissli & Co.),—Swanage: its History, edited by J. Braye (Everett & Son),— The Story of Denmark, by C. S. Sidgwick (Riving- tons),—Tourist Map of the Environs of Whitby (Whitby, Horne& Son), —Trebelli: a Biographical Sketch, by Marie de Mensiaux (Potter & Co.),— Memoirs of Mighty Men, Nos. I.-VI. (Holness),— French Passages for Unseen Translation, Higher Course, selected by C. H. Parry (Rivingtons),— Photogravure, by W. T. Wilkinson (Iliffe & Son), —The Musical Year-Book of the United States, 1889-90, by G. H. Wilson (Boston, U.S., Mudge), —Health at Home Tracts, by A. Schofield, M.D. (R.T.S.),—Palaver, by B. (Field & Tuer),— Peter’s Paradise, a Child’s Dream of the Crystal Palace, by G. H. Robinson (Simpkin),—Grim Truth, by A. A. Vial (Montreal, Lovell & Son), —City and Suburban, by F. Warden (White & Co.),—Between the Ferries, by M. M. Black (Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier),—Between the Whiffs, by H. Herman (Bristol, Arrowsmith),— A Bad Name, by J. J. Ellis (Authors’ Co- operative Publishing Co.),—The Rajah and the Rosebud, by W. Sime (Simpkin),—Sé. Maur of the —th, by Q. Murray (J. Heywood),—Criticat Notes on Shakspere’s Comedies, by J. G. Orger (Harrison & Sons),— Poems, with Two Additions, and Rosalie, a Tale of the Wye, by J. Sibree (Kegan Paul),—May Blossoms, by Lilian (Put- nam),—Cassiope, and other Poems, by B. Reeves (Kegan Paul),—Jesus, the Prophet of God, by C. J. Street (Croydon, Pelling & Co.),— Le Régime des Passeports en Alsace-Lorraine, by J. Heimweh (Paris, Lahure),—Etude sur Francois Bacon, by J. Barthélemy - St. Hilaire (Paris, Alcan), — Ueber Byron’s Historische Dramen, by Dr. F. von Westenholz (Stutt- gart, Frommann), — Die Attischen Trieren, by J. Kopecky (Siegle),— Mémoires Secrets de Fournier VAméricain, by F. A. Aulard (Paris, Société de VHistoire de la Révolu- tion Francaise),—and L’Arc de Titus et les Dépouilles du Temple de Jérusalem, by S. Reinach (Paris, Durlacher), Among New Editions we have The Official Guide to the Great Western Railway (Cassell),—The District Railway Map of London (Adams & Sons),—IJn Crime’s Disguise, by F. C. Milford (Trischler & Co.),—The Silver Question and the Gold Question, by R. Barclay (Simpkin),—Londra Sconosciuta, by P. Valera (Milan, Aliprandi),— and Le Roman d'un Jeune Homme Pauvre, by O. Feuillet, edited, with Grammatical and Explana- tory Notes, by H. Bué (Hachette). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology. Baird’s (Rev. J.) Studies in the Spiritual Life, cr. 8vo. 4/ cl. Evans’s (Rev. J.) Jacob Herbert, a Study in Theology, 7/6 cl. Gasquet (F. A.) and Bishop’s (E.) Edward VL. and Book of Common Prayer, 8vo. 12/ hf.-mor. Jacob's (E.) 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General Literature, Bourget (P.): Physiologie de l’Amour Moderne, 3fr. 50. Breton (A. le): Le Roman au XVIL Biécle, 3fr. 50. France (A.): Thais, 3fr. 50. Schack (A. F. Graf v.): Orient u. Occident, 3 vols. 9m. Wickersheimer (E.): L’Europe en 1890, 3fr. 50. HOWELL'S ‘ FAMILIAR LETTERS.’ 370, Oxford Street, W., Oct. 13, 1890. I rEGRET to find that Mr. Joseph Jacobs has cause for complaint. I provided my editor with my own copy of the ninth edition, which he read and compared with the fourth and sixth editions, and I have only just ascertained from him that he did use one or two additional letters which he found in Mr. Jacobs’s collection, and which were not included in the above editions. I was not informed of this while the sheets were passing through the press, or I should most certainly have acknowledged my indebtedness to Mr. Jacobs. I will remedy this in the next edition. Davip Storr. PROF. THOROLD ROGERS. THE death of Prof. Thorold Rogers has robbed Oxford of a well-known figure, and deprived the world of a student who had done excellent service to economic science, especially to its history, although his beginnings lay in quite a different direction. Educated at King’s College, London, and at Oxford—where he took his First, but failed to obtain a Fellowship—Rogers began life as an ardent High Churchman, or Puseyite as he and his like were then called, took orders, and threw himself into parochial work with the zeal and energy which all his life long he gave to the immediate object before him. But time cooled his ardour and his faith in the Tractarian theology. He married and returned to uni- versity life to become a highly successful ‘‘coach,” and write a handbook to the studies of the place, ‘Education at Oxford,’ which came out much about the same time as the ‘Pass and Class’ of Prof. Burrows, then a rival “coach.” These were the happy days when the specialist was not, and it was still supposed that any clever man would make a good professor, so that although only known as a student of political science by a little pamphlet on the ‘Law of Settlement,’ Rogers was elected Pro- fessor of Political Economy at Oxford in 1862. Henceforth he devoted himself mainly to economical subjects. Two volumes of his magnum opus, the ‘ History of Agriculture and Prices in England,’ appeared in 1866, and his ‘ Political Economy for Colleges and Schools’ in 1868. In that year Rogers, who had made him- self a good many enemies by his outspoken comments on men and things in the University, and was, as an advanced Liberal, obnoxious to the Conservative party, failed of re-election to his chair, and this defeat made him more of a frondeur than ever, and he gave more of his attention than before toparty politics. In1869-70 he published two volumesof‘ Historical Sketches.’ These were followed in 1873 by a volume of political essays, ‘Cobden and Modern Political Opinion.’ Two years later he did a service to political history by collecting and editing the ‘ Protests of the Lords,’ and he also edited Mr. Bright’s speeches. In 1880 he entered Parlia- ment as one of the members for Southwark. The second and third volumes of his most im- portant work, ‘ Agriculture and Prices in Eng- land,’ were issued in 1882. In 1884 he produced ‘Six Centuries of Work and Labour,’ and, having lost his seat inthe House of Commons in 1886, he returned with renewed vigour to his literary labours, vols. v. and vi., completing his ‘ Agriculture and Prices in England, appear- ing in the beginning of 1888, while in the same year he also brought out a volume of lectures on ‘ The Economical Interpretation of History,’ finding time, too, to write a little volume on Holland for the ‘‘ Story of the Nations” series. On the death of Mr. Bonamy Price he was re- elected Professor of Political Economy, a com- pliment his labours and researches had amply merited. It will be seen from the above that Rogers got through an immense quantity of work in the last five-and-twenty years of his life. We have mentioned only a portion of it, and we have said nothing of his large contributions to magazines and newspapers, or of hia political activity. It is on his ‘ History of Agriculture and Prices ” and ‘Six Centuries of Work and Labour’ that his fame will ultimately rest. The compilation of these books cost him an immense amount of toil and research, and though occasionally marred by his habit of dragging the politics of his own day into the annals of the past, they form a great and valuable contribution to our knowledge of the social history of England. As a university reformer he was too wayward and too much swayed by personal likes and dislikes to effect anything. As he showed in his ‘ Epistles, Satires, and Epigrams,’ which he published in 1876, he was apt to indulge in sweeping charges, and in giving vent to his strong feelings he too often lost: sight of prudence, and sometimes even of fair- ness. In private life he was a warm-hearted man, ever ready to do a kind act to a friend, and en- tertaining no real bitterness against any one unconnected with the Clarendon Press. He possessed an immense stock of stories, many of them rather more racy than decorous, and his conversation was famous for profusion of anecdote and vigour ofepithet. His intellectual energy, his width of knowledge, and_ his extraordinary powers of work combined to render him a man of mark, and had he pos- sessed a little more tact and self-control his career would have been really brilliant. THACKERAY’S MARRIAGE. Some little doubt appears to have existed hitherto as to the precise date of Thackeray’s marriage. Trollope, in his short biography, assigns the event to 1837. The anonymous author of ‘Thackerayana’ says it took place “shortly after the failure of the Constitutional,” which would still be in 1837, as the last number of that ill-fated paper appeared on the Ist of July in that year. The writer of the able critical: article on Thackeray in the ‘Encyclopedia Britannica,’ on the other hand, would seem to- suggest a still later date, for he says the mar-. riage took place in the same year in which. the ‘Great Hoggarty Diamond’ appeared ; and the ‘Great Hoggarty Diamond’ was published in Fraser's Magazine from September to Decem- ber, 1841. The real date, however, was the 20th of. August, 1836. On that day “ William Make- peace Thackeray, of the Parish of St. John, Paddington,” was married, “in the House of his. Excellency the British Ambassador at the Court of France,” to “Isabella Getkin Eneagh Shawe,, of the Parish of Donerail, in the County of Cork, spinster and a minor,” the officiating clergy- man being “‘ M. H. Luscombe, Bishop and Chap- lain of the British Embassy in Paris,” and the witnesses, ‘‘ V. Spencer, EL UG. Shawe, senior, and J. W. Lemaire.” All this is duly set forth in a certified extract: from the registers of the embassy now before me. Frank T, Marziat1s, THE ‘ DICTIONARY OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY.’ Tue following is the second part of a list of the names which it is intended to insert under the letter L (Section II.) in the ‘ Dictionary of National Biography.” When one date is given,, it is the date of death, unless otherwise stated..
Page 353
Ne 3286, Ocr. 18, ’90 THE ATHENZXUM An asterisk is affixed to a date when it is only approximate. The editors of the ‘ Dictionary’ will be obliged by any notice of omissions ad- dressed to them at Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co.’s, 15, Waterloo Place, S.W. They particularly request that when new names are suggested, an indication may be given of the source from which they are derived. Le Neve, Rev. John, antiquary, 1679-1741 Le Neve, Peter, F.R.S., F.S.A., Norroy King-of-Arms, 1662- ‘ Le Neve, Sir William, LL.D., Clarenceux King-of-Arms, 1661 Leney, William S., engraver, fl. 1808 Leng, John, Bishop of Norwich, 1665-1727 Lennard, Francis, 14th Lord Dacre, 1662 Lennard, Sampson, Bluemantle Pursuivant, 1633 Lennie, William, grammarian, 1779-1852 Lennox, Earls of. See Stewart. Lennox, Charles, Duke of Richmond, K.G., 1672-1723 Lennox, _Charles, Duke of Richmond and Lennox, K.G., 701-50 Lennox, Charles, 8rd Duke of Richmond and Lennox, K.G., 1734-1806 Lennox, Charles, Duke of Richmond, K.G., 1764-1819 Lennox, Charles Gordon, 5th Duke of Richmond, 1791-1860 Lennox, Mrs. Charlotte, ‘The Female Quixote,’ 1720-1804 Lennox, Ludovick Stewart, Duke of, 1623. See Stewart. Lennox, Malcolm, 5th Earl of Lennox, 1255*-1333 Lennox, Margaret Stewart, Countess of, 1515-77. See Stewart. Lennox, Matthew Stewart, Earl of, 1571. See Stewart. Lennox, Lord William Pitt, miscellaneous writer, 1799-1881 Lennox and Richmond, James Stewart, Duke of, K.G., 1655. See Stewart. a Eliza Anne, poetess and miscellaneous writer, Lens, Andrew Benjamin, miniaturist, 1777* Lens, Bernard, enamel painter, 1631-1708 Lens, Bernard, engraver, 1659-1725 Lens, Bernard, painter and engraver, 1682-1740 Lens, John, King’s Serjeant, 1756-1825 Lentaigne, Joseph, Jesuit, 1805-84 — William, Speaker of the Long Parliament, 1591- 662 Lenton, Francis, poet, fl. 1638 Lenton, John, musical composer, fl, 1711 Leofric, Earl of Mercia, 1057 Leofric, Bishop of Exeter, 1072 Leofric of Bourne, Anglo-Saxon writer, fl. 1100 Leofwine, son of Earl Godwin, 1066 Leominster, William Fermor, Lord, 1711. See Fermor. Leonard, Peter, M.D., physician and traveller, 1801-88 Leoni, Giacomo, architect, 1686-1746 Se Dunean Albert, Duke of Albany, K.G., 1853-84 Le Piper, Francis, painter, 1698*-1740 Lermont, Thomas, ‘‘Thomas the Rhymer,” 1219*-99. Thomas of Ercildoune. Lerpiniere, Daniel, engraver, 1745-85 Le Sieur, Sir Stephen, diplomatist, 11. 1618 Lesley, Alexander, Scotch Jesuit, 1693-1760* Lesley or Leslie, Henry, D.D., Bishop of Meath, 1661 Lesley, John, Bishop of Ross, 1526-96 Lesley, William Aloysius, D.D., Jesuit, 1641-1704 Leslie, Alexander, Ist Earl of Leven, 1590-1661 Leslie, Alexander, author and translator, 1829-82 Leslie, Rev. Charles, Jacobite, 1650-1722 Leslie, Charles Robert, R.A., painter, 1794-1859 Leslie, David, 1st Lord Newark, 1610*-82 Leslie, George, 3rd Earl of Rothes, 1558 Leslie, George, Scotch Capuchin Friar, 1648 Leslie, Rev. George, dramatist, fi. 1679 Leslie, John, 5th Earl of Rothes, 1600-41 Leslie, John, D.D., Bishop of Clogher, 1571-1671 Leslie, John, Duke of Rothes, 1630-81 Leslie, John, 8th Earl of Rothes, 1680*-1722 Leslie, John, 9th Earl of Rothes, K.T., 1710*-67 Leslie, John, Greek Professor at Aberdeen, 1721-90 Leslie, Sir John, natural philosopher, 1766-1832 Leslie, Norman, Master of Rothes, 1554 Leslie, — Edward Cliffe, LL.D., political economist, 1827-8: Leslie, Count Walter, Counsellor of State to the Emperor, 1668 See Leslie, William, Catholic divine, 1647-1708 Le Seeur, Hubert, statuary, 1652* Lesse, Nicholas, London merchant, fl, 1550 Lestock, Richard, admiral, 1746 L’Estrange, Hamon, ‘ Alliance of Divine Offices,’ 1660 L’Estrange, Hamon, miscellaneous writer, 1674-1767* L’Estrange, Henry L’Estrange Styleman, artist, 1815-62 Lestrange, Sir Nicholas, Bart., collector of jests, 1603-55 L’Estrange, Sir Roger, political writer, 1616-1704 Letchworth, Thomas, Quaker, 1739-84 Lethbridge, Joseph Watts, Dissenting minister, 1817-85 Lethbridge, W. S.. miniaturist, fl. 1829 Letheby, Henry, M.B., Ph.D., chemical analyst, 1816-76 Letherland, Joseph, M.D., physician, 1699-1764 Lethieullier, Smart, F.S.A., antiquary and virtuoso, 1701-60 Lethington, Lord. See Maitland, Sir Richard. Lettice, John, D.D., miscellaneous writer, 1737-1832 Lettsom, John Coakley, M D., physician, 1744-1815 Lettsom, William Nanson, Shakspearean critic, 1796-1865 Leven, Earls of. See Leslie. 5 Leven, David Melville, 5th Earl of, and 2nd Earl of Melville, 1660-1718. See Melville. Levens, Dr., Royalist, ex. 1650 Levens, Peter, ‘ Pathway to Health,’ fl. 1587 Lever, Sir Ashton, virtuoso, 1729-88 Lever, Charles James, novelist, 1809-72 Lever, Christopher, Protestant writer and poet, 1627 Lever, D'Arcy, writer on seamanship, 1837 Lever, Ralph, D.D., Master of Sherburn Hospital, 1585 Lever, Thomas, B.D., Puritan divine, 1577 Leveridge, Richard, actor and vocalist, 1670-1758 Leverton, Thomas, architect, fl. 1803 Leveson, Sir Richard, admiral, temp. Jac. I. ae Elizabeth, Duchess-Countess of Sutherland, Leveson-Gower, George Granville, lst Duke of Sutherland, G., 1758-1833 Leveson-Gower, Granville, lst Marquis of Stafford, 1721-1803 Leveson-Gower, Granville, 1st Earl Granville, 1773-1846 Leveson-Gower, John, Lord Gower, 1675-1709 Leveson-Gower, John, Ist Earl Gower, 1754 Leveson-Gower, Jobn, rear-admiral, 1748-92 Levett, Robert, friend of Dr. Johnson, 1782 Levi, David, Hebraist, 1740-99 Levi, Leone, LL.D., writer on commerce, 1821-88 Levinge, Sir Richard, Bart., lawyer, 1724 Levinz, Baptist, Bishop of Sodor and Man, 1644-93 Levinz, Sir Creswell, judge, 1627*-1701 Levinz, Robert, D.C.L., Royalist, 1615, ex. 1650 Levizac, Jean Pons Victor Lecoutz de, French grammarian, 1813 Levy, Miss Amy, miscellaneous writer, 1862-89. Levy, Joseph Moses, proprietor of the Daily Telegraph, 1812-88 Levy, Judith, philanthropist, 1706-1803 Lewes, Charles Lee, comedian, 1740-1803 Lewes, George Henry, essayist, historian, and philosopher, 1817-78 Lewgar, John, B.D., Catholic writer, 1602-65 Lewicke, Edward, poet, fl. 1562 Lewin, Thomas, M.A., F.S.A., miscellaneous writer, 1805-77 Lewin, William, LL.D., civilian, 1598 Lewin, William, naturalist and artist, fl. 1822 Lewina, St., virgin and martyr, 680* Lewis, Andrew, colonel, 1730*-80 Lewis, Charles, painter, 1753-95 Lewis, Charles, bookbinder, 1786-1836 Lewis, Rev. Charles Bennett, Orientalist, 1821-1890 Lewis, Charles George, engraver, 1808-80 Lewis, Charles Lee. See Lewes. Lewis, David, D.C.L., civilian, 1584 Lewis, David, Jesuit, 1617-79. See Baker, Charles. Lewis, David, dramatist, fl. 1747 Lewis, Erasmus, friend of Swift and Pope, fl. 1745 Lewis, Rev. Evan, B.A , F.R.S., scientific writer, 1825-69 Lewis, Frederick C., painter, 1313-75 Lewis, Frederick Christian, engraver and draughtsman, 1779- 1856 Lewis, George, D.D., Dissenting minister, 1763-1822 Lewis, Sir George Cornewall, Bart., statesman, 1806-65 Lewis, George Robert, painter, 1782-1871 Lewis, Glyn Cothi, Welsh poet, fl. 1486 Lewis, James Henry, stenographer, 1786-1853 Lewis, Rev. John, M A., Vicar of Minster, 1675-1746 Lewis, John Frederick, R.A., painter, 1805-76 Lewis, Mrs. Joyce or Jocasta, Protestant martyr, 1557 Lewis, Maria Theresa, Lady, biographer, 1804-65 Lewis, Matthew, D.D., financial and miscellaneous writer, fl. 1678 Lewis, Matthew Gregory, ‘ The Monk,’ 1775-1818 Lewis, Owen, D.D., LL.D., Bishop of Cassano, 1533-94 Lewis, Stuart, Scottish poet, 1756-1818 Lewis, Thomas, ‘ Origines Hebrez,’ fl. 1728 Lewis, Sir Thomas Frankland, Bart., M.P., chairman of the Poor Law Commission, 1780-1855 Lewis, Rev. Thomas Taylor, geologist, 1800-58 Lewis, Rev. Titus, Welsh writer, 1773-1811 Lewis, William, D.D., Master of the Hospital of St. Cross, 1667 Lewis, William, M.D., writer on chemistry and medicine, 1781 Lewis, Rev. William Garrett, Baptist minister, 1885 Lewis, William Lillington, translator of Statius, fl. 1773 Lewis, William Thomas, comedian, 1748*-1811 Lewkenor, John, ‘ Metallus’s Dialogues,’ fl. 1694 Lewknor, Sir Edward, M.P. for Malden, 1543*-1605 Lexington, Stephen de, Abbot of Clairvaux, fl. 1253 Lexinton, Robert de, judge and warrior, 1250 Lexinton, Robert Sutton, lst Lord, 1668. See Sutton. Lexinton, Robert Sutton, 2nd Lord, 1723. See Sutton. Ley or Leigh, James, Earl of Marlborough, 1552*-1628 Ley, John, M.A., Puritan divine, 1583-1662 Leybourn, Thomas, mathematician, 1769-1840 Leybourn, William, mathematician, 1700* Leyburn, George, D.D., Catholic divine, 1593-1677 Leyburn, John, Catholic prelate, 1620-1702 Leycester, John, miscellaneous writer, fl. 1639 Leycester, Sir Peter, Bart., Cheshire antiquary, 1613-78 Leyden, John, M.D., physician and poet, 1775-1811 Leyland, Joseph Bentley, sculptor, 1811-51 Leyson, Thomas, M.B., physician and poet, 1607* Lhuyd, Edward, Celtic scholar, 1670*-1709 Lhuyd or Lhwyd, Humphrey, Welsh antiquary, 1570* Liardet, Francis, captain R.N., 1798-1863 Liart, Matthew, engraver, 1736-82 Libbertoun, Lord. See Winram, George, 1650, Lichfield, Earl of. See Stuart, Bernard, 1645, Lichfield, Leonard, printer and author, 1686 Lichtield, William, D.D., divine and poet, 1447 Liddel, Duncan, M.D., mathematician and physician, 1561- 1613 Liddell, Henry Thomas, 2nd Lord Ravensworth, 1797-1878 Liddell, Sir Thomas, Bart., military commander, 1650 Liddiard, Rev. William, M.A., miscellaneous writer, 1841 Liddon, Henry Parry, D.D., canon of St. Paul’s, 1829-1890 Lifard, Gilbert of St., Bishop of Chichester, 1305. See Gilbert. Lifford, James Hewitt, lst Viscount, 1709-82. See Hewitt. Light, Col. William, Surveyor-General of South Australia, 1784-1838 Lightfoot, Hannah, the beautiful Quakeress, fl. 1768 Lightfoot, John, D.D., Master of Catherine Hall, 1602-75 Lightfoot, Rev. John, F.R.S., botanist, 1725-88 Lightfoot, Joseph Barber, D.D., Bishop of Durham, 1828-89 Ligonier, John, Earl Ligonier, 1680*-1770 Lilburne, Col. John, republican and sectary, 1618-57 Lilburne, Col. Robert, regicide, 1613-65 Lillo, George, dramatist, 1693-1739 Lilly, Henry, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant, 1638 Lilly, John, ‘ Euphues,’ 1553*-1606 Lilly, William, M.D., astrologer, 1602-81 Lillywhite, James, cricketer, 1854 Lily, George, Catholic divine, 1559 Lily or Lilye, William, grammarian, 1468-1523 Lilye, Peter, D.D., Archdeacon of Taunton, 1614 Limerick, Edmond Henry Pery, Earl of, 1758-1845. See Pery. Limpus, Richard, founder of the College of Organists, 1824-75 Linacre, Thomas, M.D., physician, 1460*-1524 ; Linche, Richard, poet, fl. 1596 Lincoln, Earl of. See Fiennes. Lincoln, John de Lacy, Earl of, 1240.3 Lincoln, John de la Pole, Earl of, 14¢ Lind, James, M.D., medical writer, 4 Lind, James, M.D., F.R.S., of Winds Lind, Jenny, afterwards Goldschmidt Lind, John, politician, 1781 Lindewood, William, Bishop of St. Davi Lindley, John, Ph.D., F.R.S., botanist, 179 Lindley, Robert, violoncellist, 1776-1855 Lindo, Elias Haim, Jewish historian, 1783-1865 Lindo, Dr. Mark Prager, Dutch writer, 1819-77 Lindsay, Earl of. See Bertie. Lindsay, Alexander, Ist Lord Spynie, 1550*-1607 Lindsay, Alexander, 2nd Lord Spynie, 1590*-1646 Lindsay, Alexander, 3rd Lord Spynie, 1671 Lindsay, Sir Alexander, general, 1785-1872 Lindsay, Alexander William Crawford, Earl of Crawford an@ Balearres, 1812-80 Lindsay, Colin, 3rd Earl of Balcarres, 1650-1722 Lindsay, Sir David, 1st Earl of Crawford, 1366-1407 Lindsay, David, 5th Earl of Crawford, 1440-95 Lindsay or Lyndsay, Sir David, Lord Lyon King-of-Arms, 1490-1567 Lindsay, David, ‘ History of Scotland,’ 1527-93 Lindsay, David, Bishop of Ross, 1531*-1613 Lindsay, David, Scotch divine, 1627 Lindsay, David, D.D., Bishop of Edinburgh, 1641 Lindsay, David, 12th Earl of Crawford, 1681 Lindsay, James, 7th Lord Lindsay, 1601 Lin , John, Bishop of Glasgow, 1337 Lindsay, John, 15th Earl of Crawford, 1596-1678 Lindsay, John, 18th Earl of Crawford, 1702-49 Lindsay, John, Nonjuring divine, 1686-1768 Lindsay, Sir John, admiral, 1737-88 Lindsay, Ludovic, 14th Earl of Crawford, 1600*-52 Lindsay, Patrick, 6th Lord Lindsay, 1510*-89 Lindsay, Patrick, Bishop of Glasgow, 1641* Lindsay, Robert, of Pitscottie, ‘Chronicles of Scotland, b. 1500* Lindsay, Thomas, D.D., Archbishop of Armagh, 1724 Lindsay, William, 16th Earl of Crawford, 1698 Lindsay, William, D.D., U.P. clergyman, 1802-66 Lindsay, William Schaw, M.P., ‘History of Merchant Shipping,’ 1816-77 Lindsell, Augustin, Bishop of Hereford, 1634 Lindsey, Rev. Theophilus, M.A., Unitarian, 1723-1808 Line, Anne, Catholic lady, ex. 1601 Line, or Hall, Francis, Jesuit, 1595-1675 Lines, Samuel, landscape painter and designer, 1778-1863 Lines, Samuel Restell, landscape painter, 1804-33 Lingard, Frederick, musical composer, 1811-47 Lingard, John, D.D., LL.D., ‘ History of England,’ 1771-1851 Lingard, Richard, Dean of Lismore, 1670 Lingen, Sir Henry, governor of Chepstow, 1663* Linley, Eliza Ann, afterwards Mrs. Sheridan, 1754-92, Sheridan. Linley, Francis, musical composer, 1774-1800 Linley, George, poet and musical composer, 1798-1865 Linley, Mary, afterwards Mrs. Tickell, vocalist, 1787 Linley, Thomas, musical composer, 1725*-95 Linley, Thomas, jun., musical composer, 1756-78 Linley, William, musical composer, 1767*-1835 Linlithgow, Earls of. See Livingstone. Linnecar, Richard, dramatist, 1800 Linnell, John, painter, 1792-1882 Linton, William, painter, 1812-76 : Linton, Sir William, K.C.B., physician, 1801-80 Lintot, Bernard, publisher, 1675-1736 Linwood, Miss Mary, ornamentist in needlework, 1756-1845 Linwood, Rev. William, Greek scholar, 1817-78 Lionel, Duke of Clarence, son of Edward ITITI., 1368 Lipscomb, George, M.D., ‘ History of Buckinghamshire,’ 1773- 1846 Lipscomb, Rev. William, M.A., miscellaneous writer, 1755- 1842 See Lisgar, John Young, Lord, 1807-76. See Young. Lisle, Mrs. or Lady Alice, victim of Judge Jeffreys, ex. 1685 Lisle, Sir George, Royalist commander, 1648 L’'Isle, John, regicide, 1606*-64 Lisle, Philip Sydney, Lord, 1698. See Sydney. Lisle, Samuel, Bishop of Norwich, 1749 L’'Isle, Thomas, Bishop of Ely, 1361 Lisle, William, Saxonist, 1637 Lister, Joseph, Puritan, fl. 1642 Lister, Martin, M.D., F.R.S., naturalist, 1638*-1712 Lister, Sir Matthew, M.D., physician, 1565*-1656 Lister, Thomas, Jesuit, 1559-1625* Lister, Col. Thomas, regicide, fl. 1657 Lister, Thomas, of Barnsley, 1810-88 Lister, Thomas Henry, Registrar-General, 1801-42 Liston, Mrs., actress, 1780*-1854 Liston, Rev. Henry, writer on music, 1771-1856 Liston, John, comedian, 1776-1846 Liston, Sir Robert, G.C.B., diplomatist, 1743-1836 Liston, Robert, F.R.S., ‘Elements of Surgery,’ 1794-1847 Litchfteld, Mrs., actress, b. 1777 iu Lithgow, William, pedestrian traveller, 1580-1645 Litster, John, ‘‘ King of the Commons,” ex. 1381 Littleda'e, Sir Joseph, judge, 1767-1842 Littledale, Rev. Bichard Frederick, LL.D., controversialist, 1833-90 Littler, Sir John Hunter, G.C.B., general, 1783-1856 Littleton, Adam, D.D., Latin Dictionary, 1627-94 Littleton, Edward, Lord Littleton of Mounslow, 1589-1645 Littleton, Edward, M.A., agent for the island of Barbadoes, fl. 1694 Littleton, Rev. Edward, LL.D., divine and poet, 1734 Littleton, Edward John, Lord Hatherton, 1791-1863 Littleton, John, legal writer, fl. 1533 2 ’ Littleton or Lyttleton, Sir Thomas, K.B., ‘Treatise on Tenures,’ 1481 Littleton, Sir Thomas, Bart., M.P., Treasurer of the Navy, 710 Littlewood, Rev. William Edensor, M.A., miscellaneous writer, 1886 Litton, Marie (Mrs. Wybrow Robertson), actress, 1884 Liulph, Saxon nobleman, 1080 ; Lively, Rev. Edward, M.A., Hebrew Professor at Cambridge 1545-1605 Liverpool, Earl of. See Jenkinson. Liverseege, Henry, painter, 1803-32
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THE ATHENAUM N° 3286, Ocr. 18, ’90 iter and engraver, 1823* prance advocate, 1794-1884 art., regicide, fl. 1657 bishop of Canterbury, 1000 of Calendar, 1672 Lch Presbyterian divine, 1603-72 er, Ist Earl of Linlithgow, 1622 Lte Maria, Countess of Newburgh, 1755 D., African traveller and 813-73 Rreorge, 3rd Earl of Linlithgow, 1616-90 e, George, 4th Earl of Linlithgow, 1695 mpsvone, James, lst Viscount Kilsyth, 1616-61 vingstone, James, Ist Earl of Newburgh, 1670 Livingstone, John, Scotch divine, 1603-72 Livingstone, Mary, wife of Dr. Livingstone, 1862 Livingstone, Sir Thomas, military commander, fl. 1690 Livingus, Bishop of Worcester, 1046 Livinus, St., the Apostle of Brabant, 656 Livius, Titus, historian, fi. 1437 Lizars, John, ‘ Anatomical Plates,’ 1860 Lizars, William Home, painter, 1788-1859 Llanover, Benjamin Hall, Lord, 1803-67. Liawdden, Ienan, Welsh poet, fl. 1480 Llewellyn, Martin, M.D., physician and poet, 1616-81 Llewelyn, Thomas, M.A., LL.D., Welsh Baptist minister, See Hall. 1783 Lleyn, Rev. William, Welsh poet, 1540*-87 Lloyd, Bartholomew, D.D., Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, 1772-1837 Lloyd or Floyd, Sir Charles, military engineer, 1661 Lloyd, Charles, secretary to George Grenville, 1773 Lloyd, Charles, translator of Horace, 1749-1828 Lloyd, Charles, D.D., Bishop of Oxford, 1784-1829 Lloyd, Charles, poet, 1775-1839 ae Rev. David, D.C.L., ‘ Legend of Captain Jones,’ 1598- 663 Lloyd, David, M.A., ‘ Memoirs of Statesmen,’ 1625-91 Lloyd, David, captain R.N., 1714* Lloyd, David, Vicar of Llanbister, 1752-1838 Lloyd, Capt. Edward, of the Gambia river, 1847 Lloyd, Edward, proprietor of the Daily Chronicle, 1815-90 Lloyd, Rev. Evan, M.A., poet, 1734-76 Lloyd, George (Jesus), Bishop of Chester, 1615 Lloyd or Floyd, Sir Godfrey, military engineer, fl. 1667 Lloyd, Hannibal Evans, philologist and translator, 1771-1847 Lloyd, Henry, writer on military tactics, 1729-83 Lloyd, Hugh, D.C.L., divine and classical scholar, 1601 Lloyd, Hugh, D.D., Bishop of Llandaff, 1589-1667 Lloyd, Humphrey, D.D., Bishop of Bangor, 1611-89 Lloyd, Humphrey, D.D., F.R.S., Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, 1800-81 Lloyd, Jacob William, Welsh antiquary, 1817-87 Lloyd, John, D.D., classical scholar, 1603 Lloyd, John, D.D., Bishop of St. David's, 1638-87 Lloyd, Rev. John, M.A., poet, fl. 1695 Lloyd, Lewis, miscellaneous writer, fl. 1607 Lloyd, Sir Nathaniel, D.C.L., Master of Trinity Hall, 1669- 1741 Lloyd, Rev. Nicholas, M.A., ‘ Historical Dictionary,’ 1634-80 Lloyd, Richard, B.D., wn mg divine, 1574-1659 Lloyd, Sir Richard, Royalist, 1606-76 Lloyd, Richard, Vicar of St. Dunstan’s-in-the-West, 1834 Lloyd, Robert, poet, 1733-64 Lloyd, Simon, B.A., Welsh divine, 1756-1836 Lloyd, Rev. Thomas, Evangelical divine, 1828 Lloyd, William, Bishop of Norwich, 1710 Lioyd, William, D.D., Bishop of Worcester, 1627-1717 oe Rev. William Forster, M.A., F.R.S., mathematician, 2 Llwyd, Sir Gruffydd, Welsh warrior, fl. 1322 Llwyd, Gruffydd, Welsh poet, fl. 1420 Llwyd, Huw, Welsh poet, 1540*-1620 Llwyd, Morgan, Puritan divine, 1660* Llwyd, Richard, the Bard of Snowdon, 1752-1835 Llywarch ab Llywelyn, Welsh bard, fl. 1220 Llywarch, Hen, Welsh poet, fi. 630 Llywelyn ab Grufydd, last sovereign of Wales, 1282 Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, Prince of North Wales, 1240 Llywelyn ab Sitsyllt, Welsh prince, 1021 Llywelyn o Langewydd or Llewelyn Sion, poet of Glamorgan, 1616 61 Llywelyn, Thomas, Welsh divine and critic, 1796 (To be continued.) THE AUTUMN PUBLISHING SEASON. Messrs. Warp & Downey's announcements include ‘A Colonial Tramp: Travels and Ad- ventures in Australia and New Guinea,’ by Hume Nisbet, illustrated by the author, 2 volr., —‘ Picturesque London,’ by Percy Fitzgerald, with illustrations,—‘A Short Life of Cardinal Newman,’ by J. S. Fletcher,—‘ Thirty Years of my Life on Three Continents,’ by E. de Leon, —‘ England and the English in the Eighteenth Century,’ by W. C. Sydney,—‘ Roundabout Recollections,’ by J. A. O’Shea,—‘ Men, Women, and Books,’ by Lady Wilde,—‘ Mummer-Wor- ship; or, the New Idolatry,’ by E. St. John Brenon,—‘ Queen Guillotine and her Successors,’ by G. Everitt,—‘ Popular Anthropology,’ by Miss Buckland,—‘ A Life Journey,’ by G. B. de Fonblanque,—‘ Music-Hall Land: an Account of the Natives, &c., of that Strange Country,’ by Percy Fitzgerald, illustrated by Alfred Bryan,—‘ More People We Meet,’ by C. F. Rideal, illustrated,—‘ An Octave of Friends,’ by Mrs. Lynn Linton, — ‘Country House Sketches,’ by C. OC. Rhys,—‘A Bunch of Wild Flowers: Poems,’ by D. Christie Murray,— * Poems,’ by the late J. F. O’Donnell, with an introductory sketch by R. Dowling,—and ‘A Fluttered Dovecote: a Humorous Story,’ by G. Manville Fenn, with sixty illustrations by Gordon Browne. Among the new novels are ‘Miss Wentworth’s Idea,’ by W. E. Norris,— *Grayspoint,’ by Mrs. Riddell,—‘ A Just Im- pediment,’ by R. Pryce,—‘ John Squire’s Secret,’ by Dr. C. J. Wills,—‘ Love’s Legacy,’ by R. A. King,—‘ Beta,’ by the author of ‘Two Lives in One Life,—‘ A Baffling Quest,’ by R. Dowling, —‘ Miss Merewether’s Money,’ by T. Cobb,— ‘A Strange Wooing,’ by the late Charles Gibbon, —‘At an Old Chateau,’ by Mrs. Macquoid,— ‘Locusta,’ by W. O. Tristram,—‘ The Crimson Chair,’ by R. Dowling,—‘ Fickle Phyllis,’ by A. Larder,—‘ Orlando Figgins,’ by M. A. Hoppus (Mrs. Marks),—‘ Sisters of Phaeton,’ by F. Arm- strong,—a new volume of stories by Korolenko, translated from the Russian by “ Stepniak ” and W. Westall,—and a new story by the author of § Molly Bawn.’ MR. A. J. DUFFIELD. WE regret greatly to announce that Mr. A. J. Duffield, well known as a Spanish scholar, ex- pired last week after undergoing a severe opera- tion. Mr. Duffield was originally intended for the clerical profession, and studied at Trinity College, Dublin; but he was of too roving a dis- position to find acongenial career in Orders, and in course of time he abandoned the idea, and shortly after his marriage he went to Bolivia and Peru, where he acquired a knowledge of Spanish and engaged in various enterprises. One of these was an attempt to introduce alpacas into Australia. He received the necessary permission from the Bolivian Government, but most of the animals died on the voyage, and the project proved a failure. Subsequently he travelled in Spain, and conceived the idea of a new translation of ‘Don Quixote.’ It was begun in conjunction with Mr. H. Watts, but after a time differences arose, and the result was two separate transla- tions, of which Mr. Duffield’s appeared in three volumes in 1881. A valuable portion of this work was Mr. Gibson’s rendering of the passages in verse that occur from time to time in the romance. Mr. Duffield followed this up with a monograph on ‘Don Quixote, his Critics and his Commentators,’ a work showing an abundant enthusiasm for Cervantes, which sometimes overpowered the writer’s critical judgment. Mr. Duffield had in 1877 written in conjunction with Mr. W. H. Pollock a clever novel, ‘Masston,’ and four years ago he produced a romance called ‘The Beauty of the World.’ He also wrote a couple of monographs on Peru; and a volume of travels from his pen appeared last spring. But Mr. Duffield was really more distinguished as a talker than as a writer. He had caught a touch of the sententiousness of his favourite Don Quixote, and he had also something of his wayward imagination, and the combination produced a conversationalist who exercised a remarkable fascination over the listener. Literary Grossip. WE are glad to hear that the reports that have been flying about regarding the health of Mr. Louis Stevenson are quite erroneous. In fact, he has had only one attack of hemorrhage since he left England. He has found the climate of Sydney rather cold; that is all the foundation for the rumours of ill health. THE new number of the Quarterly contains an article on ‘Sir Walter Scott’s Journal,’ in advance of the publication of the book. Among many interesting passages in the diary, the last words penned by Sir Walter have the first place. Lockhart did not print them, merely saying that ‘the last specimen of his handwriting records his starting from Naples on the 16th of April.” This is incorrect, as the words were written in Rome the day after Sir Walter’s arrival there, and they are :— ‘* We entered Rome by a gate surmounted by one of the old Pontiffs, but which I forgot, and so paraded the streets by moonlight to discover if possible some appearance of the learned Sir William Gell and the pretty Mistress Astly. At length we found an old servant who guided us to the lodgings taken by Sir William Gell, where all was comfortable, a good fire included, which our fatigue and the chilliness of the night required. We dispersed as soon as we had taken some food and wine and water. We slept rea- sonably, but on the next morning...... - Atmost the last work of Mr. Thorold Rogers was to revise the proof of his lec- ture on ‘Holland’ for a volume entitled ‘National Life and Thought,’ which will be published shortly by Mr. Fisher Unwin. In the sixth volume of ‘Chambers’s Ency- clopeedia,’ which will be ready in a few weeks, Mr. Groome writes on Leigh Hunt; M. Pasteur and Mr. J. A. Thomson on Hydro- phobia; the Rev. John Julian on Hymn; Prof. James Geikie on Igneous Rocks and Mineralogy ; Mr. H. B. Wheatley on Illu- mination of Books and Indexing; Mr. Arnold White on Immigration ; Sir Richard Temple on India; Dr. John Murray on the Indian Ocean; Dr. Clouston on Insanity ; Canon Isaac Taylor on Inscriptions; the Duke of Argyll on Iona; Mr. Justin M‘Carthy, Prof. Mackinnon, and Prof. G. T. Stokes on Ireland. Mr. Child, Chief Justice of St. Lucia, is responsible for the article on Jamaica; Prof. Dixon, of Tokyo, for that on Japan. Dr. E. Metzger contributes the article about Java ; the Rev. J. Sutherland Black those on Jeremiah and John’s Gospel. Mr. Walter Jerrold writes of Douglas Jerrold; Mr. Walter Besant on Jerusalem ; Archdeacon Farrar on Jesus Christ. Prof. A. B. David- son takes for his subject Job; Prof. Hales, Samuel Johnson; Mr. W. Fraser Rae, Junius ; Dr. J. H. Stirling, Kant; Mr. R. W. Lowe, the Keans and Kembles; and Mr. F. T. Palgrave, Keats. Prof. Arminius Vambéry has furnished the articles on Khiva and Kandahar; Mr. 8. Lane-Poole that on KuficCoins. Canon Ainger deals with Charles Lamb; Mr. J. Boyd Kinnear with Land Laws; Prof. Legge with Lao-Tsze ; Mr. Findlay Muirhead, Leipzig; Mr. Dib- din, Lifeboat; Sir OC. W. Dilke, Liquor Laws; the Marquis of Bute, Liturgy and Litany; Prof. W. G. Blaikie, Livingstone ; Col. Hozier, Lloyds; Prof. Campbell Fraser, Locke ; the Rev. W. J. Loftie, London ; Mr. Bullen, John Lyly; the Rev. J. Sibree, Madagascar; and Prof. Keane, Malays. Herr Froebel has helped to revise the article on Kindergarten ; Cardinal Manning those on the Immaculate Conception and In- fallibility; Mrs. Oliphant that on Edward Irving; the General of the Jesuits that on his Society; Signor Bodio, the Director- General of Italian Statistics, that on Italy ; and Prof. Huxley the article on himself. Messrs. W. H. Aten & Oo., tho well- known publishers of Waterloo Place, have turned their business into a limited com- pany. The shares are not offered to the general public, but will be allotted to their own immediate connexions.
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N° 3286, Ocr. 18, ’90 THE ATHENZUM Juuiet, Lavy Poxttock, and her son Mr. W. H. Pollock have written a modern romance in one volume, entitled ‘The Seal of Fate.’ It will be published shortly by Messrs. Longman. Messrs. Harper have prefixed to their pirated edition of Mr. Rudyard Kipling’s stories a biographical introduction by Mr. Andrew Lang (contributed to one of their weekly publications) and a portrait. What does Mr. Lang say to being made an un- conscious accomplice in this last illustration of the need of a copyright law? Mr. Fisner Unwin has given up all idea of publishing the Foreign Review, and Mr. Greenhough Smith has decided not to start it in the form originally intended. It will take the shape of an ordinary review or magazine, but include many of the features already mentioned as those of the Foreign Review, with others in addition. It will probably be published by Mr. Newnes, M.P., proprietor of Zit-Bits, and the first number will be issued in November. Mr. GtiapstonE will contribute to the next number of the Nineteenth Century, and so will Prof. Huxley and the Duke of Argyll. In the United Service Magazine Sir Charles Dilke will write on ‘Gerrymandering in Africa’; Capt. Fitzgerald, R.N., will reply to Sir Geoffrey Hornby about ‘The War Training of the Navy’; and ‘Notes and Queries on Naval Warfare’ will be con- tributed by Admiral Sir G. Elliott. The Christmas number of Tinsley (illustrated) will contain contributions from Mr. Austin Dobson, Miss M. C. Rowsell, and others. Mr. EsswortH has in type 416 pages of the final volume, the seventh, of his ‘Roxburghe Ballads.’ The ‘‘ William and Mary” and the ‘‘ Religious Ballads” groups are ready in MS. ~ Tue first number of the International Journal of Ethics will be published presently by Mr. Fisher Unwin. Prof. H. Sidgwick contributes an article on ‘The Morality of Strife’; Prof. Hoffding, of Copenhagen, on ‘The Law of Relativity in Ethics.’ Dr. 8. Coit, Mr. J. H. Muirhead, Prof. Royce, of Harvard, and four other gentlemen form the “editorial committee ” of the new periodical. THE death is announced of an old and almost forgotten member of the publishing and bookselling trades, viz., Mr. John Snow, who died recently at the age of eighty-three. His business, which was in Paternoster Row, was connected mainly with Congregation- alism. OnE of the objects contemplated by the recently formed London Booksellers’ Society is the affiliation of it with some respectable insurance company, and Mr. Stott, the chairman, is engaged in trying to devise a scheme by which the object in view may be accomplished, so that the’ members of the society may be able to effect insurances on their lives on easy terms. Mr. WELLsMaNn, the veteran editor of the ‘Newspaper Press Directory,’ delivered a lecture the other day on ‘Journalism in Fleet Street from 1846 to 1890.’ He men- tioned that while in 1846 there were only thirty-five newspapers and periodicals pub- lished in Fleet Street, in 1890 there are more than three hundred. In 1846 there was not a single provincial newspaper directly represented in Fleet Street, but now there are more than a hundred. Miss JenNETT Humrureys writes :— ‘‘A fact (or presumable fact) concerning Jane Austen’s title ‘Pride and Prejudice’ has just been lighted upon by me in reading vol. v. of Fanny Burney’s ‘Cecilia,’ fifth edition, 1786. On p. 303 there the weary moralist and medical man, Lyster, in a wordy harangue to his patient, the poor sick heroine, and her devoted Delvile, tells them their woes are caused by PRIDE and PREJUDICE, the words occurring three times on the page, and each time in the great capitals throughout. Here then was what Jane Austen wanted, writing her work in 1796-7; and her original title, ‘First Impressions,’ was abandoned (see, for the abandonment, Austen-Leigh’s ‘Memoir,’ p. 63). Ido not know whether this small piece of circumstantial evidence has been noted before. It is certainly worth noting, being of Jane Austen.” Tue National Library of Paris has re- cently acquired an Arabic MS. containing the greater part of a translation of Diosco- rides. The MS. seems to be written about the twelfth century. In the November number of Lippincott’s the complete novel will be by Mrs. Gwynne Bettany, author of ‘ The House of Rimmon.’ It is entitled ‘A Laggard in Love,’ and the scene is principally in a rural part of the Staffordshire Black Country. Miss Beruam-Epwarps writes :— ‘*May I call attention to the fact that the story so pleasantly noticed as a new novel in your issue of September 20th is a new, cheaper, and revised edition? ‘Love and Mirage’ in two-volume library form first appeared six or seven years ago, and at the time also received a cordial word from the Atheneum. In correct- ing the sheets I took especial care to notify the fact of reissue on the title-page. Why pub- lishers so often erase these notices, and also omit dates of publication, I do not know.” Tue second meeting of the North Midland Library Association was held at Newark- upon-Trent on Thursday in last week. The chair was occupied by the president, Mr. Briscoe, of Nottingham. Mr. Midworth (Newark Stock Library) read a paper on ‘A Librarian’s Duty towards his Readers ’; Mr. Briscoe contributed ‘ Notes on Early Newark Printing and Booksellers’; and Mr. Radford gave a résumé of the meeting of the parent association at Reading. The next meeting of this society will be held in December at Leicester. The eleventh branch free public reading-room at Nottingham was opened on Monday. Tue sale of the late Mr. F. W. Cosens’s library will commence on Tuesday, Novem- ber 11th. Of course, it is full of Spanish books, but the chief rarities are English, notably Shakspeare quartos and folios and the early editions of Shelley. There are, too, a number of fine drawings of old masters and modern. Mr. Cosens’s transcripts of Gondomar’s correspondence have been pur- chased by the Record Office. Tue death is announced, after a fort- night’s illness, of Mr. Sellar, the accom- plished Professor of Latin at the University of Edinburgh. Originally he made his mark in literature by an essay on Lucretius in ‘ Oxford Essays.’ His ‘Roman Poets of the Republic’ secured his reputation. Sub- sequently he issued the first volume of a companion work on the ‘Roman Poets of the Augustan Age.’ He wy second volume till within a decease, and it is hoped thé it is in a state that will wa THE most interesting Parliam of the week are the Twelfth Repo Historical Manuscripts Commission, / dix, Part VII., Manuscripts of 8. H.C. Flem ing, Esq. (1s.); Copyright in the Colonies, Moneys received, &c., 1879-1886, Return (2d.); Local Government Board Report, 1889-90 (3s. 11d.) ; and Trade and Naviga- tion Accounts for September (6d.). SCIENCE The Aborigines of Tasmania. By H. Ling Roth, assisted by Marion E. Butler; with a Chapter on the Osteology by J. G. Garson, M.D., and a Preface by E. B. Tylor, F.R.S. With Autotype Plates from Original Drawings made by Edith May Roth. (Kegan Paul & Oo.) Tue opening words of Dr. Tylor’s preface to this book state its objects and claims with his characteristic moderation of language: ‘‘In the present work, the recorded know- ledge as to the extinct native race of Tas- mania has been brought together with, I think, an approach to absolute completeness.’” Mr. Roth can fairly claim the gratitude due to those who take up a closed chapter in any science and gather together all the materials for its history, so that the future inquirer may have one book to refer to instead of three score. It is not likely that any mate- rial addition will hereafter be made to our sources of information about the Tasmanian people, and the time has come, therefore, for Mr. Roth’s work to be acceptable and use- ful. That it is trustworthy and thorough may be assumed from the circumstance that he has secured the assistance and the ap- proval of judges so competent as Dr. Tylor and Dr. Garson. There is still a Mrs. Fanny Cochrane Smith, aged fifty-seven, who claims to be the last survivor of the Tasmanian race, and whose claims to pure aboriginal blood have been recognized in official documents, and in 1882 and 1884 by parliamentary grants. Mr. Roth is not satisfied with them, and believes her to be a half-caste. The last undoubted Tasmanian was Truganina, who died in June, 1876, having survived William Lanney, the last male, more than seven years. A drawing of her bust, in the pos- session of the Anthropological Institute, is one of the illustrationsin this volume. The extinction of the race was due largely to direct conflict with the whites, but to some extent also to intertribal wars, to a compara- tively low fecundity, and to disease. It is probable that at no time since the first white settlement in 1803 did their number much exceed 2,000. The number removed to Flinders Island in 1835 was about 250. The race thus destroyed was one of peculiar interest, for it remained at a degree of culture hardly equal to that of the flint workers of the palzolithic period in Europe. The stone implement figured in this work from the Somersetshire Museum isof the rudestand simplest type, and the making of baskets was almost the only other art they possessed. They raised fire by means of a stick and a wooden drill; their ornaments were strings
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ee ¢ THE ATHENZUM weapons of the rudest de- had neither throwing sticks ‘, and were thus limited to foe waddy. Their huts were Pomporary dwellings, and they mently content with a mere break- pin lieu of any covered structure. They d no knowledge of agriculture, and their clothing was of the slightest. Dr. Tylor sums up their record in the words that “ the life of the Tasmanians may give some idea of the conditions of the earliest prehistoric tribes of the old world, allowing for a milder climate on the one hand, but a want of the great animals on the other, and remembering that the modern savage was in some arts below the ancient, for there is no record of the Tasmanian having made a needle for sewing his skin garments with his sinew thread, nor did he in drawing or carving show anything of the artistic skill of the cave men of Central France.” While we regret that so interesting a race should have wholly disappeared before the present era of pre- cise anthropological observations of phy- sical and mental phenomena, we cannot but appreciate the energy and skill with which Mr. Roth has set himself to collect and to systematize all the information that has been gathered about these people, and we congratulate him upon his success in showing that the bulk of information is much greater, and the value of the residue when all has been subjected to critical examina- tion much higher, than might have been oe. he principal contradictions between the records of explorers arise in their state- ments as to the mental and moral condition of the aborigines. One series of observers says that courage was lacking in them, and that they were extremely timid; another that they were not deficient in courage and magnanimity. One authority affirms, another as confidently denies, the existence of witchcraft among them. One historian thinks, with strong probability, that the deadly feuds between the whites and the natives were largely occasioned by the whites’ ill-usage of the native women; another flatters himself that the blacks were incapable of jealousy ; and so all through. Even as to physical facts unscientific observers contradict each other, and we miss the precision of modern methods of observation. The chapter contributed by Dr. Garson on the osteology of the Tasmanians pro- ceeds on much surer ground. Six complete skeletons and about seventy skulls exist in various museums. Dr. Garson computes from these the average height of the males at five feet five inches, and the height of the female whose skeleton is in the Royal College of Surgeons’ museum at four feet nine inches. He observes in the facial portion of the skulls a wild and sinister appearance, a heaping-up of the bones in the medial line as if the facial skeleton had been forced outwards by pressure directed - from below, and proportionately the largest teeth of any race known. In his measure- ments of the pelvis of the four male skeletons he obtains a remarkable uni- formity, and a close general coincidence with skeletons of New Caledonians. The illustrations to the work do great credit to Miss Roth’s artistic skill. Three of the four copies of the water-colour draw- ings by Bock, in the possession of the Anthropological Institute, have been hither- to unpublished. The index is all that can be desired, and the only thing to be re- gretted seems to be that the edition has been limited to 200 copies. The subscribers, if not the public, may find some satisfaction in the reflection that the value of their copies will increase as the book is more and more sought for. SACRED STONES. 1, Marloes Road, Oct. 3, 1890. Mr. R. L. Stevenson writes to me from Sydney that he has been interested in a discus- sion about sacred stones and the origin of their holiness. Mr. Grant Allen had maintained, in the Fortnightly Review, that the sacredness of stones arose from the gravestone, which came to be regarded as the home of the ghost or god. In the Contemporary Revier, in an article headed ‘Was Jehovah a Fetish Stone?’ I tried to show that Mr. Allen’s theory was inadequate, pointing out that some races worship standing stones, but do not set them up over graves, while others set them up over graves, but do not worship them. I enclose Mr. Stevenson’s letter. It will be seen that, as far as his know- ledge goes, he is on my side. The photograph which he sends, however, has a very sepulchral look about it ; one has seen such stones erected over places in the Highlands where men had fallen in old clan battles. ANDREW Lane. MY DEAR LANG,—I observed with a great deal of surprise and interest that a controversy in which you have been taking sides at home, in yellow Lon- don, hinges in part at least on the Gilbert Islanders and their customs in burial. Nearly six months of my life has been passed in the group; I have re- visited it but the other day ; and I make haste to tell you what I know. The uprightstones—I enclose you a photograph of one on Apemana—are certainly connected with religion; I do not think they are adored. They stand usually on the windward shore of the islands, that is to say, apart from habitation. (On inclosed islands, where the people live on the sea side, I do not know how it is, never having lived on one.) I gathered from Temlinoka, Rex Apemanae, that these pillars were supposed to fortify the island from invasion: spiritual martello’s. I think he indicated they were connected with the cult of Tenti— pronounce almost as “ chintz” in English, the T being explosive ; but you must take this with a grain of salt, for I know no word of Gilbert Island, and the king's English, although creditable, is rather vigorous than exact. Now here follows the point of interest to you: such pillars, or standing stones, have no connection with graves. The most elaborate grave that I have ever seen in the group—to be certain—is in the form of a raised border of gravel, usually strewn with broken glass. One, of which I cannot be sure that it was a grave, for I was told by one that it was and by another that it was not, consisted of a mound about breast high in an excavated taro swamp, on the top of which was a child’s house, or rather moniapa—that is to say, shed, or open house, such as is used in the group for social or political gatherings—so small that only a child could creep under its eaves. I have heard of another great tomb on Apemana, which I did not see ; but here again, by all accounts, no sign of a standing stone. My report would be: no connection between standing stones and sepul- ture. I shali, however, send on the terms of the problem to a highly intelligent resident trader, who knows more than perhaps any one living, white or native, of the Gilbert group, and you shall have the result. In Samoa, whither I return for good, I shall myself make inquiries ; up to now I have neither seen nor heard of any standing stones in that group. Yours, R, L, STEVENSON. THE WRONGS OF MEDICAL AUTHORS. Green Street, W., Oct. 13, 1890. Dr. MurRE Lt calls attention in your columns to the wrongs of medical authors, and refers to me as a fellow sufferer at the hands of Messrs. Wood & Co., of New York. That firm pirated a small book I wrote on | hypnotism at the beginning of last year, and neither asked my consent nor paid me anything for it. I intended this brochure merely as a preparation for the larger and more complete second edition which followed it in a few months, and I was exceedingly anxious to place this fairly before the American public. When l asked a respectable firm of Philadelphia pub- lishers to take the book, they told me that they did not dare to, as it was held in the trade that the appropriator of the first edition was entitled to the subsequent issues of a book. A New York firm to which I subsequently applied told me the same thing, with the addition that Messrs. Wood had so flooded the market that there would probably be little demand for another work on the same subject. Remembering the saying that honour is found in unexpected places, I approached Messrs. Wood through an influential New York friend, and offered to make considerable additions to the book if they would bring it out in proper form and pay me a small commission on sales. This, however, was evidently not the way they cared to do business, for they declined my offer, and I therefore find myself completely cut off from the American book-market. An American publisher tells me that his countrymen suffer equally at our hands, and mentioned one London firm which systematic- ally pirates American medical books. Works of this class have necessarily only a limited market, and when half of that is appropriated their authors’ chance of profit is small indeed. Is it not time that the public conscience was aroused on both sides of the Atlantic, and that persons abstained from buying books from notoriously dishonest firms ? Cuar.es Lioyp Tuckey, M.D. ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. THE comet (d, 1890) which, as announced last week, was detected by Mr. Barnard at the Lick Observatory, California, on the 6th inst , appears to be the returned periodical comet of D Arrest, which, as mentioned in our ‘‘ Notes” on the 27th ult., was searched for without suc- cess in the summer with the large telescope at Vienna, but has been since sighted at Mount Hamilton some weeks after the perihelion pas- sage. It is not likely to be followed long even with the gigantic glass at the Lick Observatory, as its feeble brightness is diminishing, and at the end of the present month will not exceed the half of what it was at the beginning of August. A very remarkable appearance of the first satellite of Jupiter was noticed (Ast. Nachr., No. 2995) with the 12-inch telescope at Mount Hamilton, first by Mr. Barnard, and afterwards also by Mr. Burnham, on the night of the 8th of September. The satellite appearing to be cross- ing the bright equatorial region of the planet’s disc with the unusual aspect of a pale grey spot, high powers were turned upon it, and (the de- finition being exceedingly good) it presented the appearance of being double, the two com- ponents in a line nearly vertical to the belts of Jupiter. A line of light was occasionally dis- tinctly seen separating the satellite into two nearly equal parts. Unfortunately the observa- tions were interrupted by a party of visitors, and as the great telescope had its photographic lens on, it could not be turned upon the planet ; but both the observers had no doubt about the fact of the phenomenon, of which there are only two possible explanations. A white belt on the satellite parallel to the belts of Jupiter would, perhaps, satisfactorily explain it. Otherwise ‘there is no alternative but to consider the satellite actually double.” Another small planet, No. 299, was dis- covered by Dr. J. Palisa at Vienna on the night of the 6th inst. It was stated to be of the fourteenth magnitude. MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Mens Rapa Academy 4 Anon? 2 J Mea PRI. va emy, 4.—‘ Anatomy,’ Mr. J. Ma — New Shakspere, 8.—'A Lover's Complaint,’ Dr. F. J. Farnivall. N° 3286, Ocr. 18, 90
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N° 3286, Ocr. 18, ’90 THE ATHENZUM Science Gossip, THE next ordinary general meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers will be held on the evenings of Wednesday and Thurs- day the 29th and 30th inst. The following papers will be read and discussed, as far as time permits: ‘On Tube-Frame Goods Waggons of Light Weight and Large Capacity, and their Effect upon the Working Expenses of Railways,’ by Mr. M. R. Jefferds, of London, communi- cated through Mr. Henry J. Marten; ‘On Milling Cutters,’ by Mr. George Addy, of Sheffield ; and ‘On the Mechanical Treatment of Moulding Sand,’ by Mr. Walter Bagshaw, of Batley. THE death is announced of Mr. John Han- cock, a gentleman well known in scientitic circles in the north of England. Mr. Hancock was especially distinguished in ornithology. He was upwards of eighty years of age, and died at his residence at Newcastle-on-Tyne on Saturday last. FINE ARTS eatin ILLUSTRATED LITERATURE. Original Drawings by Rembrandt Harmensz van Khyn. Reproduced in Phototype. Part II. Nos. 51-100. (Deprez & Gutekunst.) — The number of Rembrandt’s drawings to be found in various collections is very great ; the number of those which pretend to be his is greater still. Of the fifty which went to make up the first instalment of this publication, we ventured to doubt the genuineness of one only; of the second fifty not a single one is open to sus- picion. On the other hand, of the compara- tively minor drawings that seem to be hardly worth reproducing when there are so many to choose from, the number in the present case is, we think, rather greater than before, and the enterprise would have suffered little or nothing if, say, twenty-five drawings out of the hundred already issued had been omitted. Of course every genuine Rembrandt possesses points of interest more or fewer, and we should like to have facsimiles as good as these of every touch of his pen, pencil, and brush; but when it comes to selecting it is well to select the best. To come to details. We could spare such instances as No. 72, ‘An Ancient Gateway of a Town’ ; No. 73, ‘A Canal near a Road’; No. 74, ‘A Sheet of Water, with Windmills’ ; and one or two more bald outlines uncombined with each other. On the other hand, No. 52 before us, re- presenting ‘Jesuscrowned with Thorns, ’is an out- line in squared masses of unusual expressivezess. The composition is of the simplest, and somewhat conventional, and we are rather tired of the Dutchman who, with his back towards us, and wearing a wonderful gabardine, turban, and plume, is employed to show the return of. the serpentine line on which the whole design has been based ; but as a rudimentary lesson, to show what a great master could do when inspira- tion failed him, it is valuable. Far better is No. 53, like No. 52 from Chatsworth, a ‘ Land- scape, with two Men riding along the Shore of a Lake’; nothing could be better. Cuyp himself might have learnt something from the mere outline of a landscape called ‘A Sheet of Water,’ in which on the horizon masts, church towers, and clumps of trees are placed as by art-magic to delight our eyes in relation to the long horizontal lines of the river and the timber in the foreground. A lesson of another kind is enforced by No. 58, ‘ A Flat Landscape,’ with a house in the distance, in which harmonies of masses and lines prevail. Cotman would have delighted in the Duke of Devonshire’s ‘ View of a Lake’ (60), with a tall-masted barge drifting slowly towards us inthe placid, tide-urged stream ; and a clump of osiers tells a tale every artist must take pleasure in studying. We have a gem of tree-drawing in No. 61, ‘A Group of Trees.’ The touch which delineated the conical roof of the corn-rick in front, resting on four poles, and the gabled cottage in the middle distance, had , achieved the shorthand of consummate draughts- manship. A hundred details of form and line are indicated by a few strokes of the pen. No. 67, ‘The Banks of a River,’ is designed on well-known principles, such as Rembrandt seems to have avoided because of their obviousness. Yet it illustrates what, to borrowa metaphorfrom music, may be called ‘‘variations ” of harmonious lines admirably balanced. The grave pathos and naive conception of the subject shown in ‘ Isaac blessing Jacob’ (76), which is the foundation of a famous picture, we should be sorry to lose. ‘Leah introduced to Jacob by Laban’ (77), and evidently feeling the awkwardness of her posi- tion, while conscious of pleasure and happiness, is as fortunate as the figure is pretty and natural. The deprecatory wave of Laban’s hand makes us long to see the face of Jacob, which has been lost. The draughtsmanship of ‘The Monte-Albaens-Tooren’ (84) is of the master masterful. Next comes a group of men’s heads (85) such as only Rembrandt could draw or study with insight into character. A whole-length nudity of a woman (86) is sitting ; another (87) is lying on her side; a third, a most clumsy, big-footed, and ugly wench, sitting, shows with what wonderful skill the master could at the swiftest rate reproduce the qualities and cha- racteristics, the morbidezza of her ungainly torso and limbs; even the very tones of her flesh are manifest. The originals of these tran- scripts are at Chatsworth, London, Dresden, and Berlin, in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire, Prince George of Saxony, and Mr. J. P. Heseltine. Embroidery and Lace. By E. Lefébure. Translated and enlarged by A. 8. Cole. TIllus- trated. (Grevel & Co.)— Whoever wants a compact history of needlecraft, its applications, processes, wonders, and varieties, of which em- broidery and lace-making are the chief, cannot do better than possess himself of this bright little volume, the only important defect of which is the badness of the index. The excel- lent text of M. Lefébure is technical and exact, especially as regards embroidery, and within the limits prescribed a reader could scarcely be better helped along a path not much fre- quented of late. To gather more knowledge than this book supplies the inquirer must ransack all sorts of books, from Homer, the Exodus, and Pliny downwards, where embroidery and lace- making appear but incidentally, or study the treatises of Schwartzenberger (1534), Vinciolo (1587), Siebmacher, and a few others, which even in large libraries are hard to get, and in many quite unknown. To the employment by Government of Mr. Allan Cole as a lecturer on lace-making to the Irish we owe the publication of the translation before us. Mr. Cole, whose work on ‘ Ancient Needlepoint and Pillow Lace’ we reviewed in 1875, modestly abstains from mentioning the circumstances, ascribing to the Department of Science and Art the credit of efforts which, for the time at least, have proved more or less fortunate. At present, however, the so-called pointe d’Ivlande, ‘‘ Jesuit lace,” and other varieties of Hibernian stitchery, are somewhat inferior, and sadly wanting in originality of craftsmanship. Such is com- monly the case where nursing takes the place of spontaneity, or a technical inherit- ance of any sort. On the other hand, it is beyond question that—as M. Séguin, whose ‘La Dentelle’ we noticed in 1875, has de- monstrated—to transplant a delicate craft like lace-making of either kind is quite easy when the new practitioners are industrious as well as intelligent. M. Séguin has ingeniously shown that no Flemish portrait older than the end of the sixteenth century exhibits pillow lace. Within a very short time after that the people of Mechlin, Bruges, and other cities supplied all Europe with lace reputation has not perisl kinds came from Venic had long before been natur? and self-reliant race. Mr. from the ‘ New Model Book which was printed at Zurich German craftsmen and craftsw ment that some time previous to it —i.e., 1536—lace-making was introd Germany by merchants from Italy and Old portraits—among them that of Eliz of Austria, wife of Charles IX., by Clouet (1510-1574), which is in the Louvre—prove the use of very narrow ‘‘edgings” to the garments of men as well as of women. M. Séguin’s frontispiece, a copy from this picture, illustrates this custom at an early period. We may add that Clouet II.’s drawing in crayons (Bib. Nationale, Estampes), a portrait of the Demoiselle de Chateauneuf, is a much better instance, because it shows, in combination with a very rich ‘‘ edging,” 7.e., the primitive type of point lace (or lace proper), the use of cut- work embroidery, of which all kinds of lace are but developments. Another portrait by the same artist, in the same collection, representing the Comtesse de Montrevel, a widow attending Catherine de Médicis, shows a collerette with an edging so elaborate and wide that it is difficult to say it is not point lace proper, rather than an embroidery. It is probably one of those transitional examples about which M. Séguin and our author have much to say. Very soon these collerettes expanded themselves into the mon- strous fraises of point lace which astonish us in portraits of Marie de Médicis, and in those of Queen Elizabeth in her later days. The old technical French name for the edging was bisette, from the name of the place where the material was made. Its use represents the earliest application of lace on costume. Among those who made bobbin or pillow lace were —— the free maids, that weave their thread with bones, who, as Shakspeare’s Duke in ‘Twelfth Night’ told Cesario, were accustomed to sing the song he called ‘‘old and plain.” As the play was written not later than .1601, and the Duke also describes the song as ‘fold and antique,” the facts are curious as illustrating the rapid spread in England of pillow lace-making, while in Flanders the lace- makers’ pattern-books of Vostermans and De Glen, which were published quite late in the sixteenth century (De Glen died in 1597), con- tain no designs for bobbin or pillow laces, and are confined to embroideries, a much more ancient thing than even point lace. Indeed, the latter is supposed not to have existed, even in Italy, before 1523, while there is no definite evidence in its favour till the curious book called ‘Le Pompe’ was issued in 1558. The evidence in support of the earlier of those dates as regards point lace is a portrait by Carpaccio, who was living in 1522, where a narrow edging isto be seen. We confess to some doubt whether, after all, such edgings ought strictly to be called laces. With only a little more indulgence we might call by that title the mere fringes of the antique world, and, still more easily, dignify by this name the ‘‘cut work” and ‘‘ button-hole ” devices, and the baser darning of every period. Nay, even crochet might demand to be called lace—which may Art forbid! Thatsuch edgings should becalled laces is a notion not strengthened by the fact which, in another connexion, Mr. Cole quotes from the ‘ Vénise’ of M. C. Yriarte, that the sumptuary officers of the republic (always officious and meddlesome) attempted to limit the use of ‘‘ laces ” and embroideries gener- ally, and thus distinguished between the two fabrics. This was in 1514. What these petty tyrants meant by “laces” is the real question ; and that the term did not apply to cut work and similar productions we wait for better evidence than Carpaccio’s portrait in the Academy at Venice to show.
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THE ATHENAUM N° 3286, Ocr. 18, £0 CAPPADOCIA. ere most kindly received honaries, and Mr. Headlam, severely from an_ illness Bvellers in Asia Minor, was r hospitable charge and the xysician. In the eastern country struck by the apparent increase t converts since my previous visit 2. irom Kaisariyeh we crossed the Anti-Taurus mountains, and on the fifth day reached Gurun, a quaint town in a narrow glen through which flows a tributary of the Euphrates, now called the Tokhma Su. The ancient name of the river is unknown, though modern geographers insist on applying to it the name Karmalas ; the Kar- malas, however, flowed not into the Euphrates, but into the Mediterranean Sea. We rode straight for four miles through Gurun without coming to the other end; how much further it extends we know not. The majority of the population is Armenian; but almost all the religions of the East, from devil-worshippers to Protestant converts, are said to be found there. At the upper end of the town the river forces its way, by a fissure a few feet wide, through a mass of rocks, which must originally have closed in the glen. On these rocks Sir C. Wil- son about 1879 observed two inscriptions in ‘* Hittite” hieroglyphics ; and the object of our visit was to obtain copies of them. It took a day and a half of work to copy and make squeezes, for the surface of the rock has scaled off to such a degree that at first we despaired of doing anything beyond making out a few stray symbols. One of the inscriptions consists of six lines of great length; we deciphered about two-thirds of it. The other is much smaller, but still it contains four lines, each about three feet long; about half of it is de- cipherable ; but the rest of the surface has entirely scaled off, and the symbols have dis- appeared beyond recovery. We had written from Nigde, near Tyana, to Hamdi Bey and to Sir William White, asking authorization to bring to Constantinople the inscribed sculpture whose purchase was de- scribed in our last letter, and requesting that a telegram should reach Tyana on August 12th, giving the required permission. It was, there- fore, impossible for us to go further east than Gurun ; and a complication of accidents detained us for two whole days at a small village on the road back towards the west. The loss of these two days disturbed our plans very much. We then began to think of dividing our work: Mr. Hogarth proposed to remain for a few days longer in the eastern district, while I returned alone to Tyana, and thence went to Tarsus and Mersina to catch the French steamer to Salonica. Mr. Hogarth’s intention was to look for the monument reported by Prof. Sterrett as existing at the village of Izgin, and we talked of sepa- rating at Komana. But the day before reaching Komana we found in conversation with a native of the district that he had some years ago pur- chased a sculptured stone at a town near Izgin, and sold it to an Armenian ; and his description of the stone suggested that it was the one alluded to by Prof. Sterrett. Although reports in Komana did not confirm the story, still it seemed hardly worth while for Mr. Hogarth to go to Izgin on such a slender chance ; and we left the search for the reported monument to some traveller with more time to spare. In Komana and the neighbourhood we copied a small number of inscriptions and milestones. We crossed Anti-Taurus again by a more southerly pass than before, in search of a monu- ment alluded to more than once by Prof. Sayce. About forty years ago Mr. E. Calvert was told by a Cappadocian Greek that he had seen a strange relief on the rocks near a village called Fraktin. The problem was to find Fraktin. Major Bennet had mentioned to me a village Ferak- ed-din ; and we went in the direction which he indicated for it. After a time we began to find that Fraktin (the local pronunciation of Ferak- ed-din) was known to some of the natives ; but no one had any clear idea of its situation. We | wandered far from it under the guidance of a | man who professed to know, and finally brought Fbers and influence of the Armenian | us to a village which he assured us was one hour south of Fraktin, but which we found (after paying him) to be many hours to the north. At length we got a guide who had really seen Frak- tin, and who was a native of a village on the road leading to it. He assured us that there were rock sculptures at his own village also, and guided us to a place where a few marks, devoid of character or interest, had been scratched on a hillside. An entire day was wasted in this useless wandering; but at last we reached Fraktin. Here we found that one or two of the older natives professed to know of two different written stones ; and while we were talking about them one of our servants, eager for the promised reward, went to examine the reported writing. He came back looking puzzled; there were marks on the stones, and something that looked like a small man. So we went ourselves, and about a mile from the village found a relief of singular interest. Had we been trying to imagine a monument which should disprove in the most convincing manner some of Prof. Hirschfeld’s views on the interpretation of the sculptures of Boghaz Keui (see Berlin Abhand- lungen, 1887), we could not have constructed one better suited for the purpose. A zone of sculpture about three feet high runs horizontally along the face of the rock, and at the right- hand side is a set of symbols of the usual hiero- glyphic kind, beginning with a human hand with the index finger pointing towards the rest. No one could doubt that these symbols are an inscription, expressing a meaning, and intended to be read by spectators ; but Prof. Hirschfeld has denied this. The sculptures represent two pairs of deities, the right pair male, the left pair female. In each case the two deities stand facing each other, separated by a curious object that seems a sort of compromise between an altar and a scarecrow. A bird sits on the object that stands between the two female deities. Between each pair is a set of symbols, beginning with the symbol that Prof. Sayce has explained as the ‘‘ determinative of divinity.” This inter- pretation would, I think, occur independently to any person who looked at the divinities sculp- tured on the rocks of Ferak-ed-din ; the names of the figures are inscribed beside them, as is so often the case on Greek vases. The same is the case at Boghaz Keui; but Prof. Hirschfeld maintains that the groups of symbols in a similar position in front of the figures sculptured there are really objects supported on the hands of the figures. I convinced myself that there is no connexion between the symbols and the hands ; but the sculptures are so much worn that it is quite possible for others, even for such a com- petent observer as Prof. Hirschfeld, to maintain the opposite view. But the sculptures of Ferak- ed-din resolve the doubt: a connexion between hand and symbols never existed, and even the squeeze is, I believe, sufficient to prove this to every observer. The monument at Ferak-ed-din is in excellent preservation, and we can thus detect one inter- esting fact: the sculpture was never completed. The figures on the left side are finished in every detail ; but the goddesses on the right are only shown in outline. The line showing their form was drawn, and the rock around was cut away, leaving a flat surface in relief of the proper shape ; but the necessary details were never indicated on this surface, as they were on the figures in the left group. Similarly the left- hand part of the inscription at the side of the sculpture was complete, but the three or four symbols on the right were merely blocked out in their general shape. August 10th was spent over these sculptures. On August 11th we went to Develi Kara Hissar, a distance of twelve hours, where we expected to meet Mr. Headlam. Our intention was to separate for a few days there, Mr. Hogarth taking the direct hill-road towards the Cilician Gates, while I went round by Nigde to get money and see the result of our letters to Hamdi Bey and Sir W. White. We were to meet again on August 14th at Bozanti Khan, five hours north of the Gates, where our routes joined. On August 12th I went on to Nigde, a thirteen hours’ distance ; Mr. Headlam had not arrived when I started, and Mr. Hogarth, who had a shorter distance to travel, waited for him. At Nigde I went direct to the post to ask for tele- grams ; nothing had arrived. A Greek clerk at the Government Office then came up to me and said that the remainder of the stone which we had purchased had been found and was now in a house at Bor (where we had bought our part of it) ; the house belonged to a Turk named Ettima. It was now late in the evening, and I had been drenched to the skin by a thunder- storm so heavy that my waterproof cloak was no protection. Bor was not far off, but a visit to it had to be postponed till the morrow. Meanwhile I sent a message to the Protestant pastor, to ask him to call on me at the khan ; I hoped to hear from him in case Mr. Headlam had already arrived from Kaisariyeh by a different route. A message came back that he was not in his house at the moment, but would shortly return; he never came to the khan, however, and I learned some days later that a telegram from Mr. Headlam to me was waiting in his charge. Next morning Mr. Demosthenes Petrides, a young Greek of Nigde, a graduate of Robert College, Constanti- nople, who had on our previous visit guided me to the church at Andaval and procured me freedom to make a copy and impression of the hieroglyphic inscription there, called in response to a message I had sent informing him of my arrival. He told me that a telegram had arrived from Hamdi Bey to the governor on August 12th, ordering that the stone should be handed over to me for conveyance to Mersina. As soon as the governor came to the Konak, which was not until 11 o’clock, I called on him. He acknowledged that the telegram had been re- ceived, but said that it ordered that the stone should be given me on condition that I took it to Mersina, and the Medjliss, i.e., County Council, had refused to sanction its deliverance to me. I pointed out to him that the orders of Hamdi Bey were definite, that they might send two zaptiehs with me to see that the stone was duly shipped at Mersina to the Imperial Museum, that I would complain to the Im- perial Government if they detained the stone, that I must start by 2 o’clock, and that I hoped he could give a more favourable reply before that hour. He then engaged to hold another meeting of the Medjliss, to represent to them what I had said, and to give me an answer in time. During their debate I gradually learned in the town the real facts of the case. The value of the stone and the extraordinary con- duct of two Englishmen, who had actually paid 201. for it and then given it to the Government, had been the chief topic of conversation in Nigde since our departure. No Oriental ever believes that any act can proceed from any other motive than a desire to get money; and our conduct was believed to be dictated by a crafty scheme to carry away to Europe a stone worth 30,000/., which sum had been fixed by general consent as the true value of the stone. Greek influence was strong in Nigde, as in all Turkish towns where there is a Greek mercantile popu- lation; and while all educated Greeks (of whom there was only one in Nigde, Mr. Petrides) consider that all antiquities are their rightful property, all uneducated Greeks have at any rate the keenest eye to their commercial value. There was a universal resolve that the
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N° 3286, Ocr. 18,90 THE ATHENZUM 519 profits of this great enterprise should not be allowed to pass into the hands of two strangers, who would bribe the zaptiehs with a pound or two and ship the stone to Liverpool. The governor had promised to send me a message, but he was evidently ashamed to do so; and about 2 o’clock I heard from Mr. Petrides that it had been resolved not to give up the stone. I then went and asked the governor to give me a zaptieh to accompany me to the coast, as our two men had gone with Mr. Hogarth, and I had only an unarmed boy to act as attendant over the route of traftic to Mersina, which had been the scene of several robberies during the last month. As no telegram arrived from Mr. Headlam, I waited on till the last possible moment, and sacrificed the chance of visiting Bor. On the evening of August 13th I left Nigde, and hurried down to Tyana, where I spent the night. By an odd coincidence I went straight to the very house which stood on the spot where the stone, the subject of so much con- tention, had been found thirty-five years before. The owner, a rich Turk—a large landed pro- prietor and a manufacturer of gunpowder for the Government—was at home, and his house was by far the finest I have ever seen in the possession ofa Turk. He was an active, energetic man of most prepossessing appearance and manners, and very soon, as the conversation turned on antiquities, he told me that Ettima was his brother ; that the stone had been found in two fragments when his father was building the house ; that the smaller piece had been given, under the impression that it was of no value, to a Greek who asked for it; and that he had ima- gined that the larger half had disappeared until our action had turned the thoughts of every one upon old stones, and the missing piece was found to be lying in the house of his brother at Bor. In many points I could test his statements by facts known to me from my first visit to Bor in 1882, when I had found the stone in the possession of the Greek ; and I have no doubt that his entire account was true. Moreover, his manner, without any confirmatory evidence, left no doubt in my mind that he was at the moment so struck with the strange series of chances that he was telling them straight and simply. His description of the stone I need not repeat, as it has since been seen by Mr. Hogarth, except that he said the relief represented a man striding forward with the right leg advanced (not the left leg, as is the case so commonly in Egyptian and archaic Greek monuments), with hiero- glyphic symbols all round, and a raised border surrounding the stone; on the border there were marks, which from his description might be either cuneiform characters or a mere orna- mental pattern. Finally he offered to take me to Bor and show me the stone; and I think I fully persuaded him that the value of the monu- ment consisted in its being made known in Europe. He quite appreciated my argument that the smaller part had lain valueless and un- known till I had copied it and made it known to the English ; and had [ been able to go to Bor, I have little doubt he would have per- mitted a copy to be taken. But I was due at Bozanti Khan on the 14th ; it was now late in the evening of the 13th, and my destination was fifteen hours distant. The engagement with Mr. Hogarth was, of course, understood by us both to be subject to all the accidents of travel and of discovery ; but besides that, I was under the impression that I must catch the train at Tarsus on the morning of thé 16th, and Tarsus was said to be twenty hours beyond Bozanti. Subsequently I found that I might safely have taken the train of the 17th ; but even this delay would not have sufticed to make a decent copy of the monument. In the circumstances, the most profitable plan seemed to be to hurry on to Bozarti, discuss the situation with Mr. Hogarth, and put him in possession of the knowledge which alone gave any hope of permission to copy the stone. Unless one could go to the Tyana | 22, Albemarle Street on brother and hit his peculiar humour, I knew that one would hardly be allowed to see the stone, much less copy it. On August 14th I went through to Bozanti with only one halt of fifteen minutes, and, arriving long after dark, found only a messenger with a note from Mr. Hogarth to the effect that, owing to the time needed to examine two ancient sites, and to other detentions, it was physically impossible to arrive till the forenoon of August 15th. With the journey to Tarsus before me, I could not wait, and could only leave a letter, with money, baggage, &c., under the charge of the messenger who had brought the note. Ina letter it was impossible to explain the situation properly. The other circumstances of the journey, though sufticiently exciting to the sufferer, have no archeological value. We had arranged that I should describe this part of our expedi- tion, and that Mr. Hogarth should write an account of the concluding weeks, during which he and Mr. Headlam went back to Smyrna by land; but I may say that Mr. Hogarth ulti- mately visited the garden of Ettima and saw the stone, which is not a bilingual. W. M. Ramsay. *,* This letter, which is referred to by Mr. Hogarth and Mr. Headlam in the Athenewm of October 4th, did not reach us till after the pub- lication of their letter. Sine-Art Gossip, Mr. Hook has nearly finished the likeness of himself which he was requested to contribute | to the gallery of portraits of painters by them- selves at the Uffizi, Florence. Such an invita- tion is one of the greatest distinctions known to artists. His portrait is a life-size, half- length, standing figure in three-quarters view to our left, and in the act of sketching in a book held in one hand while the other holds a pencil. The artist has turned his face to- wards us and the light, while the eyes look a little downwards with an intent expression. The light falls full on the face, and thus reveals the clear and brilliant complexion. hair and beard go well with the greyish-olive background, an orange neck-scarf, and a dark- green velvet coat. It is an excellent likeness, and finished with great care. Mr. Atma Tapema, who has quite finished the brilliant picture called ‘In the Frigidarium ’ (which we described at length on the 15th of February last, p. 216), and made some improve- ments in it, intends to send to the Glasgow Exhibition his large and important painting of life-size figures called ‘Hadrian in England: Visiting a Romano-British Pottery,’ which was at the Academy in 1884. It looks more vigorous and is broader in tone and richer in colour now than it was six years ago, and is sure to make a great impression in Scotland. Tue Rabelais Exhibition has been opened at No. 2, Cockspur Street (late Waterloo House). It is a collection of 160 paintings by the late M. Jules Garnier, illustrating the careers of Gargantua and Pantagruel. SarurDAY next has been appointed for the private view of the autumn exhibition of the 19th Century Art Society, and the exhibition will open to the public on the following Monday. Messrs. DowpDEsWELL will open on Novem- ber Ist an exhibition of pictures of Scottish Highland cattle by Mr. J. D. Adam. Messrs. Sampson Low & Co. announce a work called ‘ Wild Life on a Tidal Water,’ by Dr. P. H. Emerson, with thirty photo-etchings by The grey | . 8reY | monument to E. Delacroix, executed by M. Dr. Emerson and Mr. T. F. Goodall. This work | is the record of life in a house-boat on Breydon Water. Tue first general meeting of the Hellenic Society for the current session will be held at Monday next, at 5 p.M. Prof. Jebb, the President of the Society, will take the chair, and Mr. A. H. Smith will read a paper ‘On a Drum of a Column from Ephesus,’ and Mr. Theodore Bent will give an account of his recent researches in Cilicia. Miss M. SeEnovs writes :— “Would you allow me to correct a slight error in your kindly notice of my late father in your last week’s issue? His father’s Christian name was Gideon, not George, nor am I aware he ever lived at Deptford.” The Academy Catalogue for 1791, when ‘‘Mr. G. Slous” first exhibited, gives his address at ‘*Church Street, Deptford”; and his first name, | which Mr. A. Graves writes in full ‘‘ George,” is in successive catalogues Till 1831 ” not represented by ‘‘G.” till 1839, when he ceased to exhibit. the name of his son was spelt ‘‘Slous,’ ** Selous.” Tue death of Mr. Wallis, the well-known pic- ture dealer in Pall Mall, is announced. In the present October term the Professor of Archeology at University College, Mr. Stuart Poole, will have the aid of Mr. Arthur S. Evans, Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum. Mr. Poole takes as his subject the ‘Principles of Egyptian Archeology and of Phoenician Archeology,’ Mr. Evans the ‘Principles of Prehistoric Archeeology.’ Tue Council of the Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts (see Athen., No. 3283) has resolved to admit other than gilt frames, but they must be in outward shape square or oblong. The Council reserves the right to reject a picture of which the frame is objectionable. The receiv- ing days will be:—London (at Mr. Bourlet’s), November 18th; Edinburgh (at Messrs. Doig & M‘Kechnie’s), November 19th ; Glasgow (at the Galleries), November 25th. TuHE plafond of the Salle de Beauvais in the Louvre, which has been decorated by M. Carolus Duran with a picture representing the ‘Triomphe de Marie de Médicis,’ has been dis- encumbered of its scaffolding, so that the new work is revealed to view. Until the mouldings and other decorations of the ceiling are finished the salle will not be open to the public. The Dalou in his characteristically florid manner, designed with much energy, and, as he called it, ‘*surtout décoratif,” has been, with appro- priate ceremonies, unveiled in the garden of the Luxembourg. A PLAN for uniting the two Paris Salons of this year, and for holding a joint exhibition next | year in the building on the Champ de Mars, has been much discussed in French artistic circles. Nothing could be more desirable than that the squabbles — we cannot call them quarrels — between the two societies, of which the public has heard more than enough, should determine in a fusion of the best artists, to the exclu- sion of those hosts of bad painters whose con- tributions to both the galleries exhaust the patience of the world, and in establishing a true Société des Artistes Frangais independent of governmental support and meddling. The position of our Royal Academy, which takes nothing from the nation, and, without public aid of any kind, maintains an art university of some hundreds of students, is far worthier and safer than that of the French body, which, by granting a free day, pays a heavy rent for the use of the Palais de ]’Industrie in which its exhibition is held. The pecuniary success of a joint exhibition in a free society’s own building cannot be doubted for a moment. It is reported that the chief opponents of the fusion are the authorities of the old Salon. THE workmen engaged upon the sewerage at Vevey have unearthed near the church of St. Clara a bronze statue of Neptune in excellent preservation. The Fewille d Avis de Vevey observes that this spot was the centre of the ancient Vibiscum. In 1777, when the church
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J THE ATHENAUM N° 3286, Ocr. 18, ’90 #f St. Clara was being ‘‘ restored,” the workmen excayated a Roman altar of white marble with the inscription ‘‘ Deo Silvano.” THE excavations of the Greek Archeological Society on the Acropolis at Mycenze have been rewarded by the discovery of some sixty dif- ferent objects of antiquity, amongst which are some bronze swords and knives, several hatchets, a razor, a round mirror, and some gold ornaments. At Rhamnus (see Athen., No. 3284) fresh statues and inscriptions have been discovered, and after the temples have been cleared the workmen will dig along the road leading to the sea. M. Lambros has sent us a long account of the discoveries, of which we are reluctantly forced to defer publication. At the Athenian Ceramicus the excavations have brought to light new tombs, inscribed stele, vases, lamps, and terra-cotta figurini. MUSIC —¥o— THE WEEK. CrysTAL PaLace.—Saturday Concerts. Tue NORWICH FESTIVAL, Wir the recommencement of the Crystal Palace Saturday Concerts the musical vaca- tion may be said to have come to an end so far as London is concerned. The large attendance at the opening concert was gratifying, and gave promise of a successful season, as there was no special attraction in the programme. It was also satisfactory to note that the orchestra has undergone no deterioration, and that Mr. Manns is still in the plenitude of his powers as a conductor. Finer performances of Mozart’s ‘ Zauber- fiste’ Overture, Beethoven’s ‘Leonora’ No.2, the Introduction to the Third Act of ‘ Tann- hiuser,’ and Mendelssohn’s ‘ Italian’ Sym- phony no one could wish to hear. At the Gloucester Festival last year a violin con- certo by Herr Hans Sitt was performed by Mr. Bernard Carrodus, but the work made comparatively little impression, and has not been heard again. ‘The Violoncello Con- certo in A minor, however, performed last Saturday by Herr Julius Klengel, possesses far greater merit, and excites a desire to make further acquaintance with the com- poser’s music. Herr Sitt was born in Prague in 1850, and is now settled in Leipzig, where he enjoys a distinguished reputa- tion as a conductor as well as a composer. It is a curious fact that the great masters, almost without exception, shunned the task of writing a concerto for the violoncello, and not one of the examples we do possess can be regarded as a work of very high calibre. As the concerto form is so seldom adhered to by modern composers, the comparatively trifling deviations in Herr Sitt’s work should not subject him to blame. In the first movement, in place of a working out, there is a striking transition passage leading to an andante in ¥, which is the best portion of the work. The finale is in the style of a tarantella, and is noteworthy for the use, in a metamorphosed form, of themes from the first movement, after the manner, if not invented, at any rate first freely adopted by Liszt. The solo part is most brilliant, and the accompaniments, if not particularly elaborate, are effectively scored. Herr Klengel is an extremely fine executant, and he rendered full justice to the work. The composer, who had come expressly from Leipzig to conduct. his concerto, was warmly recalled. Madame Valleria con- | to press to speak fully concerning the tributed Lieder by Schubert, Schumann, and Lassen, which she sang in her best manner, being in excellent voice. We have already furnished full particulars concerning the Norwich Festival, and our | remarks this week must be brief, as it is | impossible at the hour at which we go most important features of the celebration. On Monday morning the combined forces | met for rehearsal, which continued at in- | tervals in St. Andrew’s Hall until Tuesday afternoon; but the work was much lighter than usual, and it could not be pleaded by the executants that their powers were ex- | hausted previous to the festival itself. Sinister reports had been circulated of the inefficiency of the chorus, and in order to disprove these damaging statements extra local rehearsals were held. The work selected for the opening performance on Tuesday evening was ‘ Judas Maccabeeus,’ an oratorio which, of course, is still highly esteemed, though it appears to be waning in general popularity. At any rate, the audience on this | occasion was not so large as could have been desired, but the apparent coldness of the assemblage was, of course, due to the rule forbidding applause. The performance was not altogether of a nature to satisfy musicians, though it had its good points. Of the principals, Miss Liza Lehmann de- serves the highest praise for her general adherence to Handel’s text, as well as for her artistic singing. Madame Nordica, Miss McKenzie, and Mr. Lloyd sang extremely well, though the first and last took the liberties with the music which have become almost time-honoured. Mr. Alec Marsh was ill placed as the exponent of the bass music. He has had very little experience as an oratorio singer, and his indulgence in the vidrato as well as his inability to render justice to the florid passages be- came most distressing. Had he under- gone the requisite amount of study, Mr. Marsh had a high position within his grasp; but the opéra bouffe stage is not a stepping - stone to success in better class work. The choruses were sung with much spirit and good attack; and if it cannot be said that the quality of tone was perfect, the sopranos and tenors being somewhat shrill and hard, yet there is every reason to hope that the Norwich choir will do something this week to atone for its shortcomings in the past. A word of protest must be uttered against the abominable additional accom- paniments, which, apart from their vul- garity, frequently destroyed the meaning of the composer. It was not so stated in the programme, but we believe they were from the pen of the late Sir Michael Costa. On Wednesday morning the principal novelty, Dr. Hubert Parry’s setting of Mil- ton’s ‘L’Allegro ed il Pensieroso,’ was brought to a hearing under the direction of the composer. The work, of course, differs widely from that of Handel, and it need hardly be said that Dr. Parry has not em- ployed a Jennens to alter and disfigure the poet’s lines or to make unwarrantable addi- tions. Deferring until next week a full description of the setting, it may be said that it is built on similar lines to the com- poser’s ‘St. Cecilia’s Day,’ and that in | merit it is not unworthy to compare with | that work. It was fairly well performed | jinale to the second act. and very warmly received. In the same programme were Rossini’s ‘Stabat Mater’ and Schiitz’s ‘ Lamentatio Davidi,’ for bass solo with accompaniment for four trombones and organ, performed at Mr. Manns’s con- cert last season. The programme of Wed- nesday evening consisted of Dr. Mackenzie’s incidental music to ‘Ravenswood’ and his ‘Dream of Jubal.’ The latter, consisting of a prelude and three entr’actes, is in the composer’s best style, and will not only maintain, but even strengthen his reputa- tion. We shall return to both these per- formances next week. Susical Gossip, ‘La Cicate,’ produced at the Lyric Theatre on Thursday last week, is in some respects superior to the ordinary class of light comic opera. The original, entitled ‘La Cigale et la Fourmi,’ was produced at the Paris Gaité about four years ago, the authors being MM. Chivot and Duru, and the composer M. Audran. In order to suit the tastes of the English public it has been considered advisable to make ex- tensive changes, Mr. Burnand’s. book being an adaptation rather than a translation, while a portion of the original score has been sacrificed in order to make way for new music by Mr. Ivan Caryll. In what respect these alterations are justifiable, and to what extent they are im- provements, we are not in a position to state. Enough that as it stands ‘La Cigale’ is a magnificent spectacle, and as a drama suggested by Lafontaine’s fable, by no means without interest. M. Audran’s music is characterized by perfect refinement, coupled with a measure of daintiness and piquancy which makes it most enjoyable even to cultured listeners. The best portion of Mr. Caryll’s music is the well-written Of the performers Miss Geraldine Ulmar is entitled to unqualified praise, and commendation to a less extent is due to Mr. Scovel, Mr. Eric Lewis, Miss Eftie Clements, and one or two others. The chorus is large and efticient, but badly balanced, the male voices being too weak. AN operetta entitled ‘The Crusader and the Craven’ was produced at the Globe last week as a lever de videau. The book, by Mr. W. Allin- son, sets forth an amusing little story, or rather incident, and the music, by Mr. Percy Reeve, is | conventionally pretty. The trifle is well played by Mr. W. Hogarth, Mr. John Le Hay, and Miss Effie Chapuy. Or the new juvenile pianist Master Isidore Pavia, who gave his first recital on Wednesday afternoon at St. James’s Hall, we must speak on a subsequent occasion. THE production of Wagner’s ‘Siegfried’ in French at Brussels is retarded owing to the objection of M. Servais to conduct the work without the full orchestra indicated by the composer. It is possible that if he will not give way the performance will be directed by M. Barwolf or M. Léon Dubois. THE last prize competition undertaken by Signor Songogno having resulted so favourably in the production of ‘ Cavalleria Rusticana,’ he proposes to hold another, in which the trial works will not be limited to one-act operettas. In order to encourage beginners, no composers will be eligible who have already produced any works on the stage. AccorDING to the New York World, Rubin- stein told an interviewer recently at Baden- weiler that he intended to resign his position as Principal of the St. Petersburg Conservatoire next year, as he found the constant examina- tions insupportable.
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Ne 3286, Ocr. 18, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 521 DRAMA a eee A New Variorum Edition of Shakespeare. Edited by Horace Howard Furness.— Vol. VIII. As You Like It. (Philadelphia, Lippincott & Co.) In the eighth volume of his task Mr. Furness adheres to the plan adopted in one or two pre- vious volumes, and shown by experience to be the best. His text is the first folio, followed with literal accuracy, even to the inclusion of obvious errors and misprints. Different readings of the various critical editions from the second folio to the second edition (1883) of Mr. Grant White accompany the text, and a running comment, drawn from various sources, is given in the shape of foot-notes. The editor’s opinion, when expressed, is signed or enclosed in brackets, and comes ordinarily as a verdict upon a more or less hotly conducted argument. Indulgence in Shakspearean comment, which in many minds works like ‘‘the insane root that takes the reason prisoner,” in the case of Mr. Furness exercises a sobering influence. Not only does he grow more conservative in each succeeding volume, more inclined to dispute the advantage of change and to deride the futility of conjecture ; he finds it necessary to reassure himself as to the value of the task he has undertaken. He, like others, finds hours wherein he wants no breath of comment to break in upon the flow of Shakspeare’s own words :— “If there be obscurity we rather like it; if the meaning be veiled we prefer it veiled...... When the voice of Amiens ‘sings of the winter wind that its tooth is not so keen because it is not seen,’ who of us ever dreams, until weari- some commentators gather mumbling round, that there is in the line the faintest flaw in * logical sequence’ ?” A mood such as this, idle and receptive, does not, he holds, last for ever, and there is an ultimate struggle to catch “ every ray of light.” This is well pleaded. No one will deny, moreover, the importance of being able to study at leisure the opinions of thinkers such as Dr. Johnson, Coleridge, Hazlitt, Christopher North, Mrs. Jameson, Charles Lamb, and, for this latest generation, Mr. Furness. It is none the less doubtful whether, when all has been said, the labours of the reader are much lightened or his comprehension much facili- tated. A few inspired conjectures of the earliest commentators, extracted not seldom from a mountain of folly, have won prac- tical acceptance. These dismissed, the chief service is rendered by antiquaries such as Douce and his successors; by philologists, those especially who study closely local dialects, by aid of which many a difficult phrase becomes clear ; and by the explorers of our early literature, who find the source and significance of obscure allusions. When we come to literary conjecture, how little now finds acceptance! To take, for instance, the line which Mr. Furness quotes as an instance of difficulty, ‘Thy tooth is not so keene, because thou art not seene.” Is any soul comforted, or is a higher pleasure derived, when any of the suggested readings is taken? Here are some, with their authors: ‘ Because thou art not sheen ”’=shining, smiling (Warburton) ; ‘Thou causest not that teen’? (Hanmer) ; ‘* Because the heart ’s not seen’’ (Farmer) ; ** Because thou art foreseen” (Staunton). Who, reading by the light of such illumina- tion, doesnot say with Harness, “‘I never per- ceived any difficulty till it was pointed out by the commentators ” ?—words which one is thankful to find echoed by Mr. Furness. In the long discussion of the phrase one useful thing is said when Steevens points out the analogy between the phrase and the lines in ‘ Love’s Labour’s Lost’ :— Through the velvet leaves the wind, All unseen, ’gan passage find. Altogether exemplary is the care Mr. Furness has bestowed upon the text and upon the subsequent readings. In one case, where the line ‘‘ Come sweete Audrey,” &c. (Act IIT. sc. iii. 1. 89), and the whole of the accompanying speech are in the folio as- signed to Ol., that is Sir Oliver, it is expe- dient to say that they are in subsequent editions assigned to the Clown, to whom, obviously, they belong. The resemblance between the contractions Clo. and Ol. is quite enough to account for the misprint. Inthe passage Act I. sc. iii. 1. 20, when, counselled by Celia to hem away the burs in her heart, Rosalind says, ‘“‘I would try if I could cry hem, and haue him,” Mr. Furness gives the right explanation, Warburton and Walker find a proverbial expression, and Moberly, generally sensible, indulges a wild surmise that there is a reference to a game like ‘‘ Hunt the Slipper.’’ Here Mr. Furness judiciously asks, ‘Is it, however, necessary, after all, to find any deeper meaning than the merest play on worde in ‘hem’ and ‘him’?” So careful to avoid any extrava- gant surmise is Mr. Furness that the utmost indiscretion he is betrayed into, when judged by the standard of closest conservatism, takes only the shape of a hesitancy. Dealing with a comedy of which the heroine is the principal character, the editor quotes freely the opinions of Mrs. Jameson and Lady Martin. The rhapsodies of the former, like those of Cowden Clarke, are more pleasant than serviceable. On those who saw it at its best the Rosalind of Lady Martin created a most powerful im- pression. It had real delicacy and poetry, and was often contrasted with that of Mrs. Charles Kean, which was a less ethereal with- out being a less convincing performance. In these latest days a Rosalind differing from either has come forward in Miss Ada Rehan. So few, however, are those who have seen the three impersonations, a comparison be- tween them is scarcely to be hoped. Lady Martin’s theories are useful to any actress willing to accept her reading, and no better has been seen by the present or the previous generation. Her comments, however, when they wander away from practical points are not particularly significant. When Rosalind hears that Orlando is in the forest, Lady Martin says :— ‘Oh, happiness beyond belief, oh, rapture inexpressible! The tears at this point always welled up to my eyesand my whole body trembled. If hitherto Rosalind had any doubt as to the state of her own heart, from this moment she can have none.” From the first moment, however, Rosa- lind can have had none. She is in the ecstasy of love from the outset, and the ; - : : | f entire play is one illustration of the dead | ‘Sunlight and Shadow.’ shepherd’s —— saw of might, Who ever loved that loved not at first sight? It is useful, of course, and indispensable even, to have in a variorum edition this and other comments. The selection, more- over, has been made with Mr. Furness’s customary judgment and tact. In the appendix the most important item is the reprint of Lodge’s ‘ Rosalynde’ from the edition issued by the Hunterian Club. This is condensed in form, but not in sub- stance, and occupies seventy closely printed pages. Chaucer’s ‘Tale of Gamelyn’ is also given from Prof. Skeat’s edition. The customary essays on the text, the date of composition, the source of the plot, and the duration of the action are supplied, and are followed by a selection of criticisms, English and foreign. A feature of some interest is the analysis furnished of the ‘Comme il vous plaira’ of George Sand. It is obviously only as a labour of love that volumes such as the present are issued. Regarding the amount of labour and erudi- tion involved, we feel a sense of grudging that so few workers may hope to benefit by the completed work, or, indeed, to profit by many succeeding volumes. We can only wish Mr. Furness strength to continue one of the most arduous tasks ever attempted by an individual. His dedication shows how abiding is his sense of a loss the full im- port of which he alone can fathom. Dramatic Gossip. Mr. Wynpuam has at length returned to the Criterion, which of late has suffered by his absence. He elected to reappear as John Mild- may in ‘Still Waters Run Deep,’ a piece which, however, is revived for a few weeks only. The more serious aspects of Mr. Wyndham’s acting are shown to advantage in the part of the North-Country hero, and the mingled tender- ness and resoluteness of his performance prove effective. Mrs. Bernard Beere, seen for the first time in London since her illness, looks still a little languid, but acts with a full measure of that nervous force which is the most remarkable of her many gifts. Miss Mary Moore is a winning Mrs. Mildmay. In the general cast Mr. Blakeley as Mr. Potter, Mr. Elwood as Hawksley, and Mr. Atherley in the small part of Langford, are pleasantly conspicuous. PRAcTICALLY latest among the old-established London theatres in reopening its doors was the Court, at which, on Saturday last, Mrs. John Wood and Mr. Arthur Cecil reappeared in ‘The Cabinet Minister.’ Not wholly cordial was the reception awarded Mr. Pinero’s clever piece at its first production six months ago. Since then, however, it has advanced in critical estimation as well as in popular favour, until its merits are now no longer contested. It is, in fact, a clever and whimsical piece, with much humorous dia- logue and mirthful characterization. Mr. Cecil’s performance of the much tried Minister and Mrs. John Wood’s inimitable presentation of his wife are irresistible. Mr. Weedon Grossmith as the smug, dapper, self-conceited little vulgarian, Joseph Lebanon, remains thoroughly comic. Mr. Brandon Thomas, Miss Rosina Filippi, and Mrs. Edmund Phelps retain their original cha- racters. Miss Carlotta Leclercq is now Lady Drumdurris, and Mr. Rodney succeeds Mr. Herbert Waring as Valentine White. THE verdict of press and public upon ‘The Struggle for Life’ is accepted by the manage- ment of the Avenue, and the piece will, after the coming week, be withdrawn to make way or a comedy by Mr. R. C. Carton, entitled In the cast of this Mr. Alexander, Miss Marion Terry, Miss Maud
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THE ATHENZUM N° 3286, Ocr. 18, 90 522 and Mr. Millett, Mr. B. Webster, Stephens will be included. Unpber the admirably competent supervision of Mr. A. H. Bullen one after another of the more obscure Elizabethan dramatists is rescued from the chances of loss that always exist when no collection has been made and the separate plays exist in a few scattered copies, at the mercy of proceedings such as those of the famous cook of Warburton. Robert Daven- port’s three plays are now included in Mr. Bullen’s appetizing ‘‘ New Series of Old English Plays.” Rowley, and perhaps Day, still survive for Mr. Bullen to tackle. Mr. Watrer Hamirron has issued in a privately printed form, as a contribution to the society known as the ‘‘ Sette of Odd Volumes,’ ‘The Drama in England during the Last Three Centuries.’ It is a mere summary, but presents in a convenient shape documents and_ illus- trations not easy of access. 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XUM Ne 3287, Ocr. 25, 90 THE ATHENZAUM 539 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 235, 1890, CONTENTS. PAGE NOVELS OF THE WEEK eco 00 ooo ove ee 539 81R SAMUEL BAKER ON WILD BEASTS ... ioe we 540 THE ADVENTURES OF JOHN SHIPP... ous om «. 540 CHARLES OF ORLEANS ... ose ove ove eee we O41 JUNKER’S TRAVELS IN AFRICA . oe ons we 543 CLASSICAL SCHOOL-BoOKS ... a ove ian gee re 4 RECENT VERSE ... an sto me HE tee Our LrpRaARY TaBLE—LisT oF NEw Booxs THE GREAT HIGHWAY; ‘ PRIDE AND PREJUDICE’; SIR RicHaRpD Francis BurRToN; HARPERS; THE PETRIE PApykI; THE BOMBAY BRANCH OF THE AsiaTIC SocreTy; HOwWeELL’s ‘LETTERS’; TRAN- SCRIPTS IN THE PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE; THACKE- RAY’S MARRIAGE; THE NEXT ORIENTAL CoN- GRESS; THE LONDON BOOKSELLERS’ Society 546—549 LITERARY GossIP a sa ooo coe ose coo & SCIENCE—ELEMENTARY TREATISES ON Puysics; As- TRONOMICAL NOTES; GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES; SOCIETIES; MEETINGS; GOSSIP w. 551-552 Fink ARTS—ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH, MAIDSTONE; MR. Marks’s DRAWINGS OF BiRDS; EXHIBITION OF BRITISH PASTELLISTS; NOTES FROM ATHENS; Gossip ons ne an ans sis w. 552—555 Music—THE WEEK; Gossip; CONCERTS, &C., NEXT WEEK... ooo ee ae ove ooo we 555 —557 DRAMA—GOSSIP ... 557 LITERATURE ——- NOVELS OF THE WEEK, My Shipmate Louise: the Romance of a Wreck. By W. Clark Russell. 3 vols. (Chatto & Windus.) Blind Fate. By Mrs. Alexander. (White & Co.) A Cigarette-Maker’s Romance. By F. Marion 3 vols. Crawford. 2 vols. (Macmillan & Co.) Ruffino, &e. (sic). By Ouida. (Chatto & Windus. ) Lady Maude’s Mania: a Tragedy in High Life. By George Manville Fenn. (Warne & Co. Nutehetb Novels. By J. Ashby-Sterry. (Hut- chinson & Co.) Wedding: Stories of the Long Lane that has no Turning. By Robert Overton and other Writers. (Same publishers.) Hallaii! Par Henry Rabusson. (Paris, Calmann Lévy.) Héléne. Par Alphonse Karr. (Same pub- lisher.) Mr. Crank Russert almost tells his story in his title. He likes to combine the romance of the sea—the full romance of storm and wreck, fire and mutiny—with the sort of romance that depends upon having a plucky woman on a ship, capable of acting smartly under the orders of the hero. Shipmate Louise is such a woman—young, lovely, and wealthy to boot. The author comes perilously near to letting a set of mutinous rascals discover a treasure, of the regula- tion Spanish origin, on a coral reef in the Southern Pacific. He resists the temptation, or at any rate reserves the treasure for the oom young hero. The latter part of ‘My hipmate Louise’ is excellently told. The escape from the coral reef, in particular, will make the reader catch his breath with excite- ment. Mrs. Alexander has not been at much trouble to devise a plot for her last story. Her materials are old, and she has been content to work up certain painfully familiar incidents into a newer and thinner texture of romance, very much as the paper-maker will convert old books and letters into a pulp, and turn out a web of inferior con- sistency. Thus we have a weak and pretty little woman married to an older and terribly jealous husband, a mischief-making mother-in-law, a mysterious mesmerizer, a sudden brutal murder, a good deal ofthe usual detective business, and a suicide to finish up with. On the whole, Mrs. Alexander tells her story with cleverness and spirit, fairly working out her intentions, though driven here and there to weak impro- babilities. But ‘Blind Fate,’ like the vast majority of the fiction of the day, is a novel devoid of novelty. In ‘A Cigarette-Maker’s Romance’ Mr. Marion Crawford atones to his readers for more than one painful tragedy in the past by a story of exquisitely pathetic interest, which might very naturally have ended in gloom and disaster, but which comes to the happiest possible conclusion. Indeed, it is fairly open to question whether the picture would not have been more thoroughly artistic if the sombre colouring had been maintained to the last, ungrateful as the author may consider this expression of scepticism after he had clearly made up his mind to indulge a mood of optimism. A young Russian count, who earns a poor living in Munich by filling two thousand cigarettes every day, is subject for one day in each week to the delusion that he is about to be rich again. A girl who works for the same employer has fallen in love with him, first charmed by his gentle superiority, and then pitying his misfortune and mental aberration. The whole action of the story occupies about forty hours, and it is enough to say that Mr. Crawford has never written anything more freshly and simply affecting than the chapters which record the count’s delusions and Vjera’s unselfish love. It may be diffi- cult even for the experienced novel-reader to conceive how such a story, if true to art and life, could end without a calamity. There is plenty of room for argument on this point, if any reader of ‘A Cigarette- Maker’s Romance’ cares to argue it after reaching the end of the second volume. The unravelling of the threads is scarcely effected without one or two improbabilities and arbi- trary explanations; but in truth the story is, and was apparently intended to be, a lesson for inveterate pessimists. Ouida appears to be more and more culti- vating what may be called her later manner. No more roses dipped in Burgundy; no more allusions to the less reputable per- sonages of classical mythology; no more superfluity of naughtiness in men, women, and children. ‘‘ Decens quo vultus? quid habes illius, illius que spirabat amores? ” the reader of the old Ouida will say. The ‘“‘amores’’ of her characters are few, and so decorous as hardly to deserve the name ; while of her “decens vultus,” or “tidy cheek,’”’ barely a trace remains. She has become a melancholy improving story-teller, a kind of Miss Edgeworth dashed with Schopenhauer. Except a certain number of peasants and an occasional duke, everybody is mean, rapacious, and stupid. Intelligence and the virtues are to be sought only among the so-called lower animals—dogs, singing birds, and so forth. The story which names the book is itself named from a dog, who cannot be said to play a prominent part, for really he is not of much use in the course of events, but is talked about a great deal. We hear all about Ruffino’s tastes, his dis- like for cats, doctors, and priests, his white furry coat ; but how his presence helps the story along one can hardly say. He cer- tainly does once find the young woman with whom his master is in love (intentions strictly honourable). But then she has put herself in a most unlikely spot, obviously in order to be found by him. The master’s style and title, by the way, seem a little odd. We had thought that in Italy a prince was usually the son of a duke, not vice versa; and surely Montefeltro and Castiglione are names to which the novelist hardly has a right. We shall expect to find in Ouida’s next story a Duke of Spenser son to an Earl of Warwick. But Ouida lives in a world of her own, social as well as moral ; we forgive her greater solecisms than this, or the line she ‘‘ quotes’ from Baudelaire with thirteen syllables in it, or the peasant’s spade, “« shaped like an ace of clubs ”—an awkward instrument to work with, one would think, and Ouida of all people to call a spade a club! What we find it a little difficult to forgive is her persistent depreciation of the people among whom she chooses to live. From the ‘“‘ Government,’’ which for its own sinister ends sends poor country lads to die in Africa, to the lads themselves, who behave like poltroons when ordered to go there; from the landlord who is persuaded by a knavish agent to interfere with his tenants’ right to keep their fruit-trees when they are too old to bear, down to the pedlar who by his evil wiles persuades a girl to sell her piping bullfinch in order to buy herself a decent wedding dress (a crime which she only survives a year or so), there would seem not to be an estimable person in Italy. It would be absurd to treat Ouida as a serious student of politics, history, or society, but she must know that Italy was not any more of a peasants’ paradise before 1859 (or 1866) than since, and that in all lands there are some knaves, some fools, some who are neither. Could not she give us a study, for a change, of one belonging to the last group? There is not much to be said for the high life of Mr. Manville Fenn’s “tragedy.” The word ‘‘ tragedy,” indeed, is to be taken in a@ non-natural sense, for ‘Lady Maude’s Mania’ is sheer comedy throughout, and in clever hands might be shaped into a passable farce for the stage. If the “high life” be interpreted in the same non-natural sense, then it may be admitted that the author fulfils the implied promises of his title-page. Lady Maude’s “mania” is a devotion to organ-grinders, and as one of them turns out to be a love’s messenger, the sensible reader will not expect her to end her days in a lunatic asylum. There is a great deal that is really comic, and even sympathetic, in the gouty Lord Barmouth, with his weak physical and moral backbone; in his nin- compoop son, who can rise to the occasion when there is need for energy; and in the formidable ‘‘ Mrs. General’? of a countess, who rules her family with a rod of iron. Pleasantly comical and yet cynical are Mr. Ashby-Sterry’s ‘ Nutshell Novels.’ Light as froth, effective as a feather where nothing more violent is in question than to tickle an idle fancy, they are just the kind of stories for a reader who is tired of following ela- borate plots, who resents the slightest de- mand on his reasoning faculties, and who asks no more than to be diverted. Mr. Ashby-Sterry would probably decline to attempt a novel in three volumes, or even in ' one, a8 a thankless task. Here he gives us
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540 THE ATHENAUM N° 8287, Ocr. 25,90 twenty-five between a single pair of covers. Only, to tell the truth, they are not novels in any sense; and as playful sketches they are lightest of the light. One-and-twenty stories, more or less asso- ciated with the troubles and triumphs of married life, are collected together under the somewhat vague title of ‘ Wedding.’ American writers seem to have contributed the majority of these, wittingly or unwit- tingly. One is attributed to Theodore Hook ; and Mr. G. Manville Fenn’s is the only name likely to be familiar to English readers as that of a living author. The merits of the stories are very unequal. M. Rabusson’s book more than retains for him that place in the front rank of living French novelists of society which has been won for him by his recent novels. In the finish of his style and in the readableness of his stories he is now equal to M. Octave Feuillet at his best, and is his worthy suc- cessor in the pages of the Revue. M. Rabus- son in ‘ Hallali!’ has got four people into such a position that he is only able to bring his book to an end by killing his heroine; the death of one of the four was absolutely essential for the conclusion of the story. Sudden deaths of young people are, how- ever, @ little unworthy of an author of M. Rabusson’s standing. We have sometimes noticed about M. Obnet’s books that the reflection arises in the mind that in real life the persons drawn for us would not have acted as they do act in the novel; and so in M. Rabusson’s present story. His hero, being such a man as he makes him, would have started for French Canada with the heroine, and begun life under a different name; but in that case it would have been difficult to write their story. The other French work which we notice at the same time was written by M. Karr five or six years ago, but has only been pub- lished since his death. It has some of the merit of all his works in being occasionally witty, and, as usual, M. Karr has made excellent use of his love for gardening and knowledge of natural history. On the other hand, it is very difficult to follow his in- volved plot, and the novel is wholly wanting in artistic construction. It is here and there gross, and will offend English readers not only in this way, but also by a pretence of knowledge of English, the hollowness of which is exposed by the yachting terms and hrases: ‘‘scutter’’ and “honaris cutter.’ one place there is a mistake for which we think the printers are responsible, but which is an extremely amusing one. M. Alphonse Karr no doubt had written ‘chez les Anglais, patrie du cant’”’—a common French phrase, to be found in many books; but this has been altered into “chez les Anglais, patrie de Kant”’! Wild Beasts and their Ways. By Sir Samuel W. Baker. 2 vols. (Macmillan & Co.) Sir Samvet Baker has put so large a number of interesting stories about his adventures with animals into these two handsome and well-illustrated volumes that were his English only better the public vould not be chary in their acknowledg- ents. Without _~ obnoxious to the fastidio . reader may well wed to regret such sentences as— ‘‘An enemy might assassinate you at the feet of your favourite elephant, but he would never attempt to interfere in your defence ”; where ‘‘ he,” we must explain, is meant to apply to the elephant. Sometimes, how- ever, the author improves considerably :— ‘The crash through the yielding mass was overpowering ; the dark plumes of the tamarisk bowed down before the irresistible phalanx of elephants ; the crackling of the broken stems was like the sound of fire rushing through a cane-brake, and this was enlivened by sudden nervous squeals, loud trumpets, sharp blows of kettle-drums, deep roars, and all the numerous sounds which elephants produce when in a state of high nervous excitement.” And occasionally he is quite epigram- matic :— ‘They most sensibly refrained altogether from conversation in a lady’s presence, to avoid the possibility of a ‘slip of the tongue.’ If they could have left their perfume behind, together with the profanity, our table would have been sweeter; but the flannel shirts were seldom washed, to prevent shrinking, just as their owners seldom spoke, to avoid swearing.” Of one of the many dangers to which he was exposed when tiger shooting he gives an excellent account :— “The tiger (a fine male) suddenly stopped, and turned three-parts round, apparently amazed at the gesticulations of the elephant ; and there the beast stood, exposing the shoulder to a most certain shot if the elephant would have kept decently quiet for only two seconds. The fact of the tiger having halted, and remain- ing in view within 20 yards, only aggravated the terror of Sutchnimia, and she commenced shaking her colossal body like a dog that has just emerged from water. It was as much as we could do to hold on with both hands to the howdah rails; my watch was smashed, the car- tridges in my belt were bent and doubled up against the pressure of the front rail and ren- dered useless, while the mahout was punching the head of his refractory animal with the iron spike, and the tiger was staring with astonish- ment at the display upon our side.” The sight described in the following paragraph inclines the reader to say, ‘‘ Had I been there to see!” — ‘¢ They had not marched more than 50 or 60 yards before a tremendous succession of roars scattered them for a few moments, as a large tiger charged along the line, making splendid bounds, and showing his entire length, as he made demonstrations of attack upon several elephants in quick rotation. It was a mag- nificent sight to see this grand animal, in the fullest strength and vigour, defy the line of advancing monsters, every one of which quailed before the energy of his attack and the threaten- ing power of his awe-inspiring roars. The sharp cracks of two shots from Sanderson, whose elephant was thus challenged by the tiger, hardly interrupted the stirring scene ; but, as the enemy rushed down the line, re- ceiving the fire from Sanderson’s howdah, he did not appear to acknowledge the affront, and having effected his purpose of paralyzing the advance, he suddenly disappeared from view.” The account, of which we extract a portion, of a fight between a leopard, a long-horned cow with a calf, and a blacksmith, is really amusing :— ‘* The noise of a tremendous struggle aroused the blacksmith, who, with a lantern in his hand, opened the cattle-shed door and dis- covered the cow in a frantic state of rage, butting and tossing some large object to and fro, which evidently had lost all power of resistance. This was the leopard in the last gasp, having been run through the body by the ready horns of the courageous mother, whose little calf was nestled in a corner, unmindful of the maternal struggle. No sooner had the blacksmith appeared upon the scene, than the character of the conflict changed, and the cow, regarding him in the light of a fresh enemy, left the crumpled body of her antagonist and charged straight at her proprietor, who dropped his lantern and flew to the arms of his wife, whom he had left in bed. After some delay, during which the courage of all parties was restored, excepting that of the crippled leopard, the cow was appeased, and a shot from a pistol through the head of the enemy closed the episode.” Sir Samuel Baker, like most humane men, disapproves of the wholesale slaughter of the American buffalo :— ‘*T trust that I may not be considered hard- hearted in recounting such shots in detail, and their results ; I do so in the scientific interests of rifle practice, to produce examples of the actual practical effects of certain weapons, used against particular animals. Had I been as I was in my younger days, without a life’s experi- ence, I could have shot thirty or forty of these splendid animals with ease; but from the moment of this first example I determined to kill no more, but only to admire. In accord- ance with this determination, I took great pains upon many occasions to obtain a shot, and after long stalks, having obtained a magnificent position, I raised my rifle, took a most deadly aim, and touched the trigger, having carefully kept the rifle upon half-cock. Away went the buffalo, to live for another day, instead of being slaughtered uselessly, to rot upon the plains, or to be devoured by wolves, or buried in the soil by bears. This sort of stalking afforded me much pleasure, but it did not suit my American attendant. ‘ Well, if you came all the way from the Old Country to shoot, and you won’t shoot when you’ve got the chance, you’d have done better to stop at home.’ This was the consolation I received for my self-denial when sparing buffaloes.” Sir Samuel Baker has long been known to his fellow countrymen as an intrepid traveller and sportsman. In the foggy nights and dark days that are coming on us there are many who will be very grateful to him for a book which contains a great number of interesting stories. Memoirs of the Extraordinary Military Career of John Shipp. Written by Himself. A New Illustrated Edition, with an Intro- duction by H.MannersChichester. (Fisher Unwin.) Tuts new volume of the ‘“‘ Adventure Series ” should find favour not only with the young and sanguine, but with all who care for a seemingly truthful and certainly stirring narrative of soldiering adventures in the latter decades of King George III. Itis a careful reprint from Tegg’s edition of 1843 of the ‘Memoirs’ first published in 1829. A few pages of introduction and some useful foot-notes, together with nine appropriate illustrations, further attest the care with which the editor has completed his task. The author himself is, in fact, his own bio- grapher, and the story he tells in his own characteristic fashion is full of varied in- terest lightened by anatmosphereof sprightly and luxuriant humour. His style, no doubt, is sometimes execrable, judged by any high literary standard. But defects of style count for nothing against a writer who, a century ago at the age of ten, exchanged farm drudgery for life in barracks, and who owed what little schooling he got to the parish XUM
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Ne 3287, Oct. 25, 790 THE ATHENZUM 541 authorities and the kindness of his command- ing officer. His account of the great explo- sion at Hatras—when “the smoke which arose from the ruins seemed to be a solid and substantial structure, gradually and majestically ascending to the skies,” from which were “ever and anon vomited forth sheets of fire, and glittering sand fell in showers around the spot,”’ while the setting sun could be seen “ spreading his luminous beamsthroughthe gigantic phenomenon”—is a piece of word-painting which the most vivid imagination could hardly have equalled for impressive truthfulness and clearness of effect. There is plenty of life and movement, and character also, in the pages which describe Lord Lake’s four unsuccessful assaults on Bhurtpore in 1805. On three of these occasions John Shipp, then a young sergeant in the 22nd Foot, led the forlorn hope. As the stormers neared the breach in the fortress, under a tremendous can- nonade mingled with peals of musketry and flights of rockets, the ramparts ‘“‘seemed like some great volcano vomiting tre- mendous volumes of fiery matter; the roar- ing of the great guns shook the earth beneath our feet; then small arms seemed like the rolling of ten thousand drums ; and their war-trumpets rent the air asunder.”’ The slaughter of our men in their vain efforts to achieve the impossible was pitiful to witness, and of hairbreadth escapes there was noend. From the three assaults which he led, Shipp bore off some bad wounds, but his fruitless gallantry was straightway rewarded by a commission, and a few weeks later he was made lieutenant in the 76th Foot. Lord Lake asked him to dinner, neg him at table by his own side, made im ‘fight his forlorn hopes over again,” and helped to equip him for his new career out of his own purse. This was a great rise in life for a youth of twenty who had passed in his early childhood from a parish poor-house into the care of a neighbouring farmer, whose whip was always ready for the poor child’s back. At the age of ten, however, he found a way of escape from his master’s cruelty and a means of gratifying his childish tastes by enlisting in the 22nd Foot. His early experiences in barracks are frankly and humorously told. The horrors of a voyage to the Cape in a cranky, overcrowded, pestilential ship are described with striking simplicity. At the Cape the young recruit, who had been caught running away with a Dutch girl, was tried as a deserter and sentenced to 999 lashes. Nothing but his colonel’s humane intervention saved him from a doom which meant death to a mere boy. Long after- wards Shipp wrote a pamphlet against flogging in the army, proposing for it the very substitutes which have at last been adopted. Landing in India before he was eighteen, Shipp soon rose from a drum-boy to the rank of corporal in the Light Company. Marching up country in hot haste, he and his company shared in all the hardships and honours of Lake’s dashing campaigns against Holkar. Two years after the failures at Bhurtpore, Lieutenant Shipp returned with his regiment to England. With nothing but his pay to live upon, he soon fell into debt, and was fain to sell out of the army in 1808. After paying off his debts and using up the balance, he enlisted as a private in the 24th Dragoons, then serving in India. Before the end of 1809 he was again a sergeant, and four years later he filled the post of sergeant-major to the regiment. In 1815 he obtained an en- signcy in the 87th Fusiliers, having thus risen twice from the ranks when he was barely thirty years old. In this respect his career might well be called ‘‘ extraordinary.” With his new regiment he went through the second campaign of the Gurkha War, in the course of which he fought and slew a Gurkha officer of high rank, whose body was protected by two shields. Anon we see him leading his brave Irishmen into the strong fort of Hatras, not far from Aligarh. In the same year, 1817, Shipp held the important post of baggage-master in one division of the Grand Army which Lord Hastings launched against the Pindaris and their Maratha allies. In 1821 he became a lieutenant. An unfortunate quarrel with his colonel ended in a court-martial, which cut short his regimental career. On the strength of his past services he was allowed to sell out in 1825, while the East India Company granted him a pension of 50/. a year. Four years later he publisif€d his ‘Memoirs,’ which soon made their way into public favour. From a police inspector at Stepney he rose in 1833 to the mastership of the Liverpool workhouse, from which death removed him in the following year. A final chapter by a friendly hand com- pletes the story of his eventful life. The book is one which no reader, however critical, who has once entered into its spirit and purport, would willingly lay down un- finished. The last pages of Shipp’s own narrative, which tell how he “ bowed most humbly to his fate,” and how he sorrowed over the premature death of his young wife, are full of that quiet pathos which no art can heighten, and which lends new point to the Horatian maxim, “Si vis me flere, dolendum est.’ Histoire de Lows XII, Par M. de Maulde la Claviére. Tomes I. et II. (Paris, Leroux.) France has marvellously changed her atti- tude to history since she has undergone her fifty years’ apprenticeship to the Ecole des Chartes. The French of to-day have attained to such a proficiency of detail, such a minute acquaintance with microscopic and unpublished fact, as probably no country in Europe can equal — as none certainly can surpass. The young men turned out by MM. Paul Meyer and Siméon Luce, the young men whose ideal is M. Léopold Delisle, are the best dis- ciplined paleographers in Europe. Year after year brings us their harvest: the accounts of this long-dead mediseval per- son; the forest laws of that long-vanished forest ; the details of the minutest treaties and the memoirs of the smallest diplomatic messengers. These erudite and well-in- formed productions have, as a rule, but one defect: ‘‘ elles ne se laissent pas lire.” They are useful and depressing even as a series of anatomical plates. Yet every now and then it chances that among the well - drilled archivists who represent history in modern France there arises some one with the old French gifts of synthesis, of general ideas, of life, philosophy, and imagination, yet having profited by the new French acquisi- tions of exact truth, minutest study, patient analysis, and unwearied criticism. When this rare conjunction takes place the result is an historian. M. de Maulde at his best (and he is often at his best) is such an historian, delightful and accurate, alive and exact. The figures on his canvas appear to live and think for themselves. The details are carefully verified, and yet do not interfere with the effect of the ensemble. True, the canvas is too big and bare in places; some of it appears half finished. But the central personage and a few attendant figures are so real, so picturesque, so human, that, taking the good with the bad, we must call it a truly fine picture after all. In these first two volumes of the history of Louis XITI.—they leave him barely one-and- twenty and Duke of Orleans still—the most interesting figure is that of the hero’s father, the poet Charles of Orleans. The story opens with the tragic murder of Louis d’Orléans, and the despair of his widow, Valentine Visconti. Charles, their eldest son, was at this moment a boy of thirteen. He was none the less the head of a house, and with stringent anxieties and preoccupa- tions. The name of Orleans had hitherto been synonymous with luxury, art, dis- play. But Louis’s murder left the trea- sury empty, many debts to pay, and a crime to be avenged. The first act of the widow was to sell the furniture of her hotel in Paris; and one of the few things which M. de Maulde might have done, but has left undone, is to quote the touching docu- ment in the Archives Nationales which enumerates the possessions of Valentine, and shows, marked with a cross, the few objects she saved from the general wreck. The young lad who had to put order in these perplexed affairs was a dreamy, passive youth enough, of little account between his Italian mother and his ambitious bride, wounded to the quick by her marriage with a child. Charles, who had lost his father in 1407, lost his mother in 1408, and his young wife in 1409. These reiterated blows struck a spark of energy and indignation even from his dreamy and unreal temperament. In 1410 he married the daughter of the soldier Count of Armagnac, and threw him- self heart and soul into the violent faction which sought to avenge his father’s murder on the Burgundians, but only brought un- speakable disasters on his country, and attracted the English into France. The sight of the foreigner brought, for the moment, some reason into civil hatreds; and the English had scarcely disembarked when the party of Orleans and the party of Burgundy made truce. It was, in fact, impossible for Charles to maintain his standard; he knew not where to turn for a crown piece. We find him borrowing a few pounds of his doctor and selling the family dinner-napkins, while his little daughter Jeanne and his sister Marguerite dressed like peasant-girls in common russet. The duke was, however, generous to his young com- panions in arms; his last act on the eve of Agincourt was to sign away 500 livres to Jean
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542 THE ATHENAUM N° 3287, Ocr. 25, 90 de Bar, who was killed on the battle-field. Late on the same day, when the conquerors were turning over the heaps of the dead, one of the prostrate knights was seen to move —to wake. It was Charles of Orleans, who in that moment began his five-and-twenty years of English captivity. It would be interesting to collect and study the many documents which exist in Paris and in London relative to the captivity of the French princes in England. M. de Maulde, has not ventured upon this pleasant and profitable excursion. He affords us, none the less, some interesting details on the young duke’s management of his distant duchy, where his little sister, his baby daughter, and ‘‘Monseigneur le Bastard” (the great Dunois) were his lieutenants. His second brother (a hero) was almost continually absent, fighting and negotiating; the youngest, John (a saint), was with him in England. The two young ladies of Orleans appear to have depended upon their absent guardian for every detail of their comfort. M. de Maulde may find, if he cares, some quaint details in the Archives Nationales; the family boot-bill, for instance, for the year following Agincourt, is carefully preserved. The young aunt and her niece must have run and danced abundantly, for each of them wore out sixteen pairs of shoes in the twelve months. Meanwhile Charles was arranging his distant library, settling the wages of his servants at Orleans, vainly trying to keep his mother’s inheritance of Asti. Truly, never a poet was so encumbered with business cares and money matters. It is impossible to know at what precise moment Charles of Orleans began his poeti- cal career ; but all goes to prove that the muse first visited him in his English prison. Up till that time this young man of one- and-twenty had never hadamoment’s breath- ing-space, nor was a poetical vocation con- sidered so important a gift that one should setother matters asideto follow it. The father of Charles had been no inconsiderable lyrist, and every gentleman of breeding in those days made ballads more easily than he speaks French in this. M. de Maulde sup- plies some charming proofs of this assertion (which the ‘ Livre des Cent Ballades’ alone would justify) in a later chapter of his history. Meanwhile the years went on, the ballads increased in number, and Charles, for the second time a widower, found himself at five-and-forty still a captive. We have no space here to dwell on the touching friend- ship that united the good and gentle son of the murdered Duke of Orleans to the good and gentle son of his father’s assassin. Suffice it to say that, but for the efforts of Philip the Good, Charles the Well-beloved might have gone grey in prison. The ran- som demanded was so high that no effort of the duchy could defray it. The Duke of Burgundy proposed to marry his captive friend to a rich young niece of his, whose dowry would go to pay her husband’s ran- som. Charles accepted the proposal with alacrity. Mon ccur dormant en non chaloir, Reveillez-vous joyeusement ! * * * Une dame trés honorée Désire de vous acheter, cried he, with that singular and unique confusion of poetry and money matters so peculiar to his career. The matter was arranged ; in 1440 the duke was released ; he married Mary of Cleves, and the most charming chapter of M. de Maulde’s first volume relates their wedded life at Blois. Charles of Orleans returned from exile still poor and no longer young; he was con- strained to pursue those habits of economy and simplicity (less irksome in the decline of life) with which he had long ago be- come familiar, and the most frequent occu- pation of his tailor was to alter two old suits to make a new one. He spent little on his stables, and next to nothing on those pleasures of hunting which formed so large an item in the princely life of his century. In truth, the good duke had little temptation to active pastimes. His portrait shows a stout, unwieldy figure, a good fat face, with massive jowls and strong Italian nose and chin. Comme ung chat suis vieil et chesnu sang the sturdy duke; and he resigned him- self easily to the economic pleasures of chess- playing and ballad-writing. He collected books, binding them moderately for seven- teen sous apiece; he dabbled in amateur medicine, and one of the chief uses that he made of his pretension to the duchy of Milan was to get his drugs at a reasonable price from Lombardy; in company with his three old house physicians he aban- doned himself to thrilling experiments in theriac; he took a certain interest in astronomy; he played the harp o’ nights; and his one extravagance, his sole personal luxury, was the maintenance of a chapel choir, with fourteen choristers, a harper, and an organist. Of all these mild and elderly pleasures, the chief was the making of verses. Every one in the ducal palace sacrificed to the ducal hobby. The duchess, the doctor, the gentleman in waiting, the secretary, the silversmith, all strung their ballads, and rhymed their valentines (in honour of love and Valentine Visconti) on the 14th of February. Even the visitors to the castle caught the general contagion. No doubt at home the Duke of Lorraine, the Duke of Bourbon, and the Count of Alencon thought little enough of sextet or refrain. At Blois they wrote their verses in the master’s album; there were rhymes in the air. As for the good duke, he had in his own heart an inexhaustible spring of the simplest old- fashioned subjects—spring, love, and fair ladies—which he amplified in the received style, without any searchings of his spiritual nature, any personal thrill, but merely to amuse himself, much in the same spirit as he played his game at chess. We moderns shall never really understand how com- pletely the good poet of those days sang as the linnets sing—to pass the time of day and express his satisfaction with things in general. Probably no detail in the life of Charles of Orleans appeared to him so un- important as his lyric gift; his secretary, Nicholas of Asti, chosen by the duke in Lombardy, records that he had no idea of his master’s talent until they settled down to the regular routine of Blois ; in the com- plimentary strophes which his guests ad- dressed to Charles we shall not find a word concerning his genius ; nor is he mentioned as a poet in the epitaphs dedicated to his memory. The good duke himself, who copied Petrarch for his friends, never dreamed of sending them the songs he made himself; his wife chose to keep a copy, much as in many modern country houses the hostess has an album, a visitors’ book, in which it is polite for guests and residents to pen some insignificant effusion. Nay, even when, at the close of the century, the poet’s son ascended the throne of France as Louis XII., and all the scribblers of the kingdom sought to do him honour, not one of them imagined the compliment of ex- huming his father’s lyrics. Indeed, it is doubtful if the duchess herself, gentle and submissive as she was, fully realized her privileges as the com- panion of an illustrious personage. Mary of Cleves had been brought up at the magnificent court of Burgundy, and must. have found that. the Duchess of Orleans, with her old husband and her strict accounts, had scant joy of her exalted—her little less than royal—station. For sixteen years after their marriage the ducal couple had no children, and the palace would have been dull indeed but for the lively voice and ringing foot- steps of a young cousin adopted by the duke, Pierre de Bourbon. This young man, the life of the house, had just turned his one- and -twentieth year when, in 1457, their first child, a daughter, was born to the ducal couple; to this child he was almost imme- diately betrothed. But the duchy of Orleans could not descend to a daughter. Louis XI, who had already begun his campaign against. the great feudal houses, counted openly on the return of Orleans to the Crown after the death of Charles. The duke was growing old, and his gout made him older than his years. He had given up writing and harp- playing on account of his infirmities, he was eight-and-sixty years of age, when, to the amazement, the joy, or the derision of his contemporaries, a son was born at last to the house of Orleans. On an event so important, so unexpected, and so contrary to the royal interests, there were not wanting malicious commentators. M. de Maulde himself dwells more impres- sively, we think, than charity permits on the familiarity of the young duchess (thirty- two years younger than her husband) with the adolescent cousin who was betrothed to her baby daughter. The old duke himself murmured under his breath :— Dieu vous gard’ d’injurieux soupgons. His contemporaries were divided as to the paternity of his child; some spoke of a certain Burgundian squire, Jacques de la Lain, others ofasquire at Blois. But whether these rumours were justifiable or no, since the aged duke accepted his heir, the world was obliged to accept him also. An orphan at two years old, the babe inherited the duchy of Orleans, and became in due course of time the King of France. And now at last, after many divagations, delightful and profitable, but delaying, M- de Maulde has arrived at the birth of Louis XII. Save Tristram Shandy we know no other hero who dares to keep his audience so long a-waiting. The historian has, how- ever, a good excuse for his dilatoriness. His long preamble has made us realize the singular conditions into which the second Louis d’Orléans, the Child of. Miracle, was
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N° 3287, Ocr. 25,90 THE ATHENZUM 543 born. Hated by the king, who saw in him the illegitimate triumph of a woman’s cun- ning and wantonness, he was from his infancy the object of all the tyranny of that sly monarch. Louis XI. held that Louis of Orleans ought never to have been born; he did not dare to kill him, but by enforcing his marriage with a deformed princess, incapable of offspring, he hoped to end with him the dangerous line of Orleans. M. de Maulde’s second volume tells of the desperate revolt of the young duke against this ill-assorted union, which he was none the less compelled to accept ; the illness and death of Louis XI.; the revolt of the young Duke of Orleans against the Regency, and his final reconciliation with the court; leav- ing us upon the threshold of that invasion of Italy in which the future Louis XII. was to realize his claim to the magni- ficent inheritance of Milan. We have no doubt that M. de Maulde’s third volume will be as interesting as the first two. The chronicles of Commines and De la Vigne supply an unparalleled survey of all that is picturesque, characteristic, and romantic in that marvellous campaign ; while M. de Maulde, in his chapter on the ‘ Relations of Charles of Orleans with Milan and Asti,” has already shown an extensive acquaintance with the intricate complica- tions of Franco-Italian politics. Travels in Africa during the Years 1875-8. By Dr. William Junker. Translated from the German by A. H. Keane. Map and Illustrations. (Chapman & Hall.) TueErE are few parts of Equatorial Africa which are better worth exploring thoroughly and scientifically than the region which extends westward from the Upper Nile into the basin of the Congo. It is true that ever since Mehemet Ali’s memorable Nile expe- ditions, some fifty years since, this region has been more or less accessible to European explorers, but the number of scientific tra- vellers who have availed themselves of the opportunities afforded has been by no means large. Schweinfurth was the first to reach the northern tributaries of the Congo, Emin Pasha explored much of its eastern section, but the foremost rank must be accorded to Dr. Junker, not only because of the ground he covered, but also because of the time which he devoted to his explora- tions and the opportunities he thus enjoyed of becoming familiarized with the nature of po country and the characters of its inhabit- ants. The scientific results of Dr. Junker’s ex- plorations have been published elsewhere. The volume now before us is the first instal- ment of what may fairly be described as a popular account of his travels. The general reader will find in it a vast amount of trust- worthy information presented in an attrac- tive form; the man of science — whether naturalist, anthropologist; or geographer— will turn to it to supplement and to illustrate the more strictly technica] treatises of its author. Additional interest is imparted to this work because of the account which it furnishes of the whole of the region which lies between Cairo and the Upper Nile. The book may fitly rank with Schweinfurth’s ‘Heart of Africa.’ Higher praise it is difficult to bestow on a record of travel. Dr. Junker first landed upon African soil at Alexandria in October, 1875, and at once resolved to settle the disputed question of the existence of a ‘‘ Bahr-bila-mi,” which some looked upon as a dead arm of the Nile, whilst others asserted it to be an ancient gulf depressed below the level of the sea. Dr. Junker examined the “ Natron Valley” with its ancient castellated monas- teries, and then crossed the desert to the Fayim. He was able to assert after this that no such depression existed except in | the brains of theorists. In proceeding to Khartum he selected the little-known route through the Khor- el-Baraka, or ‘dispenser of blessings,”’ thus named because of the fertilizing pro- perties of its floods, which enable its in- habitants to grow dukhn, sorgo, and cotton, and create an oasis in the midst of sterile, albeit picturesque mountains. Kassala, at the time of Dr. Junker’s visit, was a flourishing centre of commerce con- nected by telegraph with Sawakin and Massawa. ‘* But its prosperity is now departed, the tele- graph poles lie rotting on the ground, the wires have been broken or stolen. How much lavish work, how many sacrifices of lives and money, how many centuries of military and civilizing efforts have been wasted with the loss of the Sudan.” Kassala, we may mention incidentally, stands in the territory of an Abyssinian tribe, the Halenga, who have, however, for the most part, adopted the language of their neighbours the Beja. At Khartum Dr. Junker was able to take part in the festivities arranged in honour of Ismail Pasha Eyub, the “ con- queror” of Dar Fur, and he met there several Europeans whose names are house- hold words with readers of African litera- ture. Among them were Consul Hansal, Gessi, Giegler, Mr. Lucas, and General Gordon, the last of whom appears to have formed a high opinion of Dr. Junker’s judgment, and facilitated in every way the explorations in which he was about to engage. On November 7th, 1876, Dr. Junker arrived at Lado, and there first met with Emin Pasha. The period between that date and the end of March, 1878, was spent by him in an exploration of the Makraka country, and of the districts to the north- west of it, as faras Rumbek. An account of these explorations forms the bulk of the present volume. Dr. Junker’s subsequent travels are to be dealt with in a separate work. It has frequently been asserted that the extension of Egyptian rule to the tribes of the Sudan has not contributed to any extent to improve their material or moral condi- tion. It is true that the Egyptian authorities made well-meant efforts to suppress the reign of terror and spoliation inaugurated and carried on for many years by the slave and ivory traders of Khartum. But the means employed were altogether dispropor- tionate to the results it was desired to achieve. The European officials, however promoters of the slave trade which they were paid to suppress. Bahit, a Nuba, whom General Gordon had appointed Mudir of Wandi, “sold for his own. profit dozens of male and female carriers employed to transport ivory to Lado,” the seat of the central government; and cases of negroes being beaten to death were by no means infrequent. It appeared to Dr. Junker that it was the set policy of these officials to reduce the country to poverty and impotence, aad then to take possession of it and of its inhabitants. Many districts which up to the advent of the Egyptians were comparatively wealthy, and supported a dense populationin moderate comfort, were laid waste. The raids into these districts were carried on quite sys- tematically. The cattle and ivory became the property of the Government, full-grown men were set apart as recruits, and all the rest of the plunder—including, of course, all the women—became the property of those who took part in the “‘ ghazweh.” One of theseraids Dr. Junkeraccompanied. It was directed against the Kalika, who live on the Upper Welle :— ‘¢ The Kalikas are energetic agriculturists and raisers of cattle. In the course of the journey one frequently crosses durra fields, too wide to see across, and the cattle tracks gave evidence of riches in stock such as I had seen in no other negro land. In some places these well-trodden tracks were like our broad high-roads, so that the men could march abreast in broad ranks instead of in single file as in other places. The whole scene was one of peaceful African pro- sperity in which our predatory expedition was entirely out of place. Broad cornfields, their stalks growing above a man’s height, smaller patches sown with lupins, various kinds of beans, gourds, sweet potatoes, &c., pasture meadows on the gentle slopes traversed by small streams, brooks, and deep water channels, the luxuriant belts of trees growing along their edge showing like dark green ribbons against the landscape, little copses rising here and there out of the fields with but a few dozen trees, and shrubs and creepers growing in between, small hamlets clustering round single giant trees which take the place of our village limes and afford a welcome shadow by day, the lofty beautiful deleb, a magnificent fan palm, and the bananas standing out alone, all this gave the Kalika Land the aspect of a cultivated region in Europe.” It was into scenes like these that the Egyptian raiders carried havoc and desola- tion. “Our inroad made a terrible contrast to the peace-breathing influence of nature. Wherever the news of our approach spread the people took flight, and I did not get sight of a single native. Empty huts and deserted cornfields bore witness to the terror which preceded our expedition...... The constantly recurring scenes of savage brutality, the floggings liberally dispensed every day to the slaves and servants, the sick and wounded, the dread of fire, for hardly a day passed without one or two huts being burnt; my indignation at the robbers, pity for the poor plundered negroes—all this......made it impos- sible to feel peace, or comfort, or satisfaction.” Emin Pasha did much, no doubt, to miti- gate some of these horrors, and to stop the slave trade; but his power for good was, | after all, much circumscribed. His province great their zeal, were too few in number, | was large, the hold which he had over his whilst the native officials, ‘‘ whatever their | worthless officials was but feeble, his re- origin, whether Nubian, Nuba, negro, or | sources were of the slenderest. There are sprung from the Egyptian peasant class,” were themselves amongst the most active | many, no doubt, who will agree with Dr. Junker when he says that “it need not
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544 THE ATHENAUM N° 8287, Ocr. 25, ‘90 be too deeply deplored that the arbitrary sway of the Egyptian satraps has been brought to a close by the oppressed peoples themselves.’ As to the future, Dr. Junker maintains that it would be an easy matter to make these children of nature serviceable in open- ing up the interior of Africa and develop- ing its resources, if they were treated with kindness and justice. His own successes as an explorer justify this opinion. Almost single-handed, or accompanied only by a couple of youthful attendants, he made his way among tribes who had never before seen a European, and who would certainly have resisted all forcible attempts to break down the barriers of seclusion within which they had entrenched themselves. ‘‘ Time and patience,” he says, “were the chief means to which I owed my success.” Numerous illustrations, many of them from photographs or spirited designs by Mr. R. Buchta, add considerably to the attractiveness and value of this volume. The map, however, is not on a sufficiently large scale to enable the reader to follow the narrative. CLASSICAL SCHOOL-BOOKS, Pitt Press Series:—The Odyssey of Homer, Book X. With Introduction, Notes, and Appen- dices by G. M. Edwards, M.A. (Cambridge, University Press.)—Mr. Edwards supplies more help in his carefully compiled commentary than Dr. Merry, whose interpretations are corrected in two or three places, and praiseworthy pains have been taken to provide adequately for those who want an edition of a single book of the Odyssey ; but our editor cannot be said to have done much towards advancing Homeric studies. He prints a carefully revised version of the intro- duction on Homeric forms ; yet it is a pity to cite Messrs. King and Cookson as if they were satisfactory authorities on etymological points, and it is unfortunate that Mr. H. D. Darbishire’s monograph on the Greek aspirate was not pub- lished in time to affect Mr. Edwards’s section on the digamma (Appendix H). The ingenious con- jecture that ‘Qxeavds may be for o (cf. Skt. d)-xet-avos, “lying around,” should not be accepted as certain (v. 508). New Latin Primer Series.—The First Latin Primer. Being an Adaptation of the ‘ New Latin Primer’ for the Use of Beginners. By J. P. Postgate, M.A., Litt.D. (Cassell & Co.)—Our appreciation of Prof. Postgate’s ‘New Latin Primer’ was so strongly expressed that we need say little as to this adaptation of that admirable work for the use of beginners, which is judiciously devised and skilfully executed. We observe that § 22, which illustrates the principal ways of forming the genitive singular of the third declension, has been somewhat expanded and modified in the interests of juniors, whose attention is drawn to comparatively important points by a free use of heavy type. Of the syntax we need only say that it is marvellously clear and concise, all necessary treatment being got into thirty-seven pages, while the “ Oratio Obliqua” is disposed of in a page and a half. Perhaps one or two examples of short detached sentences of indirect discourse should be added in future editions. The classification of depen- dent clauses leaves nothing to be desired either as to simplicity or completeness. The book is strongly to be recommended for general use in junior classes. New Latin Primer Series.—Latin Prose for Lower Forms. Being a Series of Exercises adapted to the ‘ New’ and ‘First’ Latin Primers. By M. A. Bayfield, M.A. (Cassell & Co.)— Mr. Bayfield’s carefully compiled exercise- book forms a most useful companion to Prof. | satisfactory. Postgate’s ‘ New’ and ‘First’ Latin Primers. The exercises are so arranged as to impress the syntax point by point on the mind of the learner, who at the same time acquires a judiciously selected vocabulary. It is to be hoped that Prof. Postgate’s series will soon be increased by a more advanced manual of Latin prose com- position as excellent as the elementary work | before us. Literature Primers.—Roman Literature. By A. S. Wilkins, Litt.D. (Macmillan & Co.)— Prof. Wilkins has discharged with as fair a | measure of success as ought to be expected the difficult and uncongenial task of cramming a | sketch of Roman literature down to Gellius into a space quite inadequate to the subject. strange that Prof. Wilkins should ignore our demonstration, followed up by the arguments of Mr. Robinson Ellis, that Ovid was not the author of the ‘Ibis.’ The work is not always dry enough, space being sacrificed to morsels of literary essay. A brief account of the conditions under which Augustan poetry was published and criticized would have been more useful than several passages of the section on “ Vergil,” such, for instance, as a speculation on the character of pre-Homeric hexameters. Macmillan’s Latin Course. Second Part. By A. M. Cook, M.A. (Macmillan & Co.)—We cannot regard this publication as altogether If exercises are to be set on verbs of the second conjugation which are unlike monev, verbs of the type of fleo, deleo, ought to be included. It is a mistake to place before young students such items of vocabulary as nugamentum, which even in the plural is post- classical. Surely it is waste of time to turn the story of Joseph into Latin which has not the true classical ring for boys to render into Eng- lish. Why render ‘‘ butler” by pincerna ? Surely servus a poculis would be more correct and instructive. Selection from the Greek Tragedians. By E. D. Stone, M.A. (Rivingtons.)—Mr. Stone has collected about 120 pages of extracts from the three great tragic poets. The passages selected are attractive in themselves apart from their dramatic context, which, however, is suffi- ciently indicated in the introductions to the notes on each piece. Euripides claims two- thirds of the space. The presence of thirty- nine Euripidean fragments is worthy of mention. The book is a reader, not a collection of “ tips.” Selections from Valerius Maximus. With Notes by W.R. Inge, M.A. (Rivingtons. )—lItis strange that no one has before this thought of extracting a school reader from the miscellany of Valerius Maximus, who certainly ought to be known if only as to a small extent lessening the gap in our acquaintance with Roman prose between Livy and Tacitus. task with care and ability, and as the volume is well got up it ought to take its place as part of | the regular school course of Latin reading. The | text is mainly that of Kempf (1888), with occa- | sional variations, mostly due to Halm. Perhaps | it is as well that the introduction of this would-be historian into modern English schools has been deferred until the text has profited by the discovery ard use of Lord Ashburnham’s valuable manuscript. A First Latin Verse Book. By W. E. P. Pantin, M.A. (Macmillan & Co.)—Mr. Pantin offers a delicate tribute to the incapacity or lazi- ness of the teachers of junior forms. There is little to be said against the exercises, but there | are traces of carelessness in the compilation of the instructions and rules. It is misleading to talk of the first and second part of a hexameter, especially when each figures as the longer and the shorter half. Asan example of length due to contraction audissem is unfortunate. Amongst the exceptions to the short quantity of final e the monosyllables, mz, dé, &c., ought to have been given. On p. 61 we are told that the vowel before final c is long ; on p. 2 that néc is It is | Mr. Inge has performed his | | short by nature. Part ii. consists of passages | for translation into Latin elegiacs drawn from Latin poets, with some necessary additions and alterations ; but it does not seem likely that | boys will be able to detect the originals. Bilder-Atlas zwm Homer. Von R. Engelmann. | (Nutt.)—The idea of publishing a collection of cuts to serve as illustrations to the text of the | Iliad and Odyssey is not a bad one. The ground is only very partially occupied by the illustrated | Homeric Dictionary’ of Autenrieth ; but the success of this work is clear evidence of the | need of something of the sort to help in teach- ing schoolboys. Dr. Engelmann has collected the very liberal number of 112 cuts to illustrate the Iliad and 99 for the Odyssey, arranged in thirty-six plates, and bound up with a short explanatory text. The present volume is to be the first of a series, which will include the principal classical authors read in school. The atlas to Ovid is promised shortly. With Homer the compiler necessarily has special difficulties ; the date of the poems is so remote from that of the monuments most available for illustration as inevitably to give a wrong historical impres- sion to the learner. We are not at all sure that Dr. Engelmann is right in entirely excluding from his plan all the Assyrian and Egyptian monuments, which really come nearer to the Homeric text than the sixth and fifth century bronzes and vases which form the most archaic part of the material which is collected in the Atlas. The “grotesqueness” which has caused them to be excluded by the editor is certainly not absent from some which he has not hesitated to give—as, for instance, the warriors from the Mycenz vase on plate 1 of the Iliad, or the sea-fight in the Dipylon style on plate 3 of the Odyssey. We should certainly have liked to see something in the style of Mr. Murray’s restoration of the shield of Achilles. Of course such things require the explanations of a careful teacher before they can produce the right effect upon the scholar ; but this is at least as true of the very late vase and wall pictures, which are likely to mislead the unwary in a more insidious way. The pictures are not generally elaborately reproduced, though they are quite adequate ; and the accompanying text, with reference in | each case to an original source, gives sufficient guide for a teacher. We should think that the example is one which it would be worth while to imitate in English. The publication, with our modern means of reproduction, might be issued, like the German, at a very moderate | price. RECENT VERSE. | Alypius, and other Poems. By the Rev. H. J. Bulkeley. (Kegan Paul & Co.) Verses and Thoughts. By Florence Severne. | (Spottiswoode & Co.) The Religion of Humanity, and other Poems. By Annie Matheson. (Percival & Co.) Song-Strays. (Fisher Unwin.) ‘ Atypius’ is the Rev. H. J. Bulkeley’s blank- verse expansion of St. Augustine’s story of his friend and pupil whom, when a new-comer to Rome, some comrades, in uaruly gaiety, con- voyed by main force to a gladiatorial show, who, having protested against the ghastly amuse- ment for a long while by keeping his eyes shut, when some incident of the combat caused a tremendous shouting, gave way to curiosity and | looked, and was then and there seized by the horrible fascination, gazed, was frenzied with excitement, and took away with him, says St. | Augustine, an infatuation which compelled him | henceforth to resort to the gladiatorial shows | not merely with those who had dragged him _ there, but with others and enticing others with | him. Alypius, whom St. Augustine had earlier | cured of an engrossing passion for the races and lighter games of the circus—a gambler’s passion probably —came back, doubtless under the | game strong influence, to his previous aversion ~
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a XUM Ne 3287, Ocr. 25,90 THE ATHENZAUM 545 to the inhumanity of gladiatorial spectacles much before the two were baptized together at Milan, but his frequentation of them had continued long, St. Augustine tells us. Mr. Bulkeley, however, makes his aberration only that of the frenzied excitement during the one compulsory visit to the Circus Maximus, and, with an exaggeration which we think a mistake psychologically and artistically, makes his frenzy a tigerish cruelty and thirst for blood under the influence of which he excites the populace to raise their thumbs for the death of a defeated combatant—a blue-eyed Goth—they were about to spare. From that moment he feels the remorse of a murderer, he is haunted in dreams by his victim’s gaze—far from frequenting the gladiatorial shows, he endures agonies of horror in the imaginary ever- present scene of bloodshed which he would for- get but cannot, till at last a voice from heaven gives him Christian hope and repentance, and there is moreover revealed to him the coming of one (of course this must mean the monk Telemachus in the reign of Honorius) who Down, down to where the arena swims with blood, Rushes, and lifting high the Cross of Christ, On which He died to save these wretched men Who slay themselves and slay His brothers, shouts Loudest anathemas, and dares their rage, And daring dies, but conquers, Nevermore, Christ having once more died in him, shall hate And murder triumph there, there nevermore Sball that cursed ‘*‘ habet ” from the peopled walis Re-echo, nevermore shall soul crush soul. And then I think that I shall rest with God, Those blue eyes o’er me, and one hand in thine, Augustine, thus. All this he relates in a monologue to St. Augus- tine, his saintly mother Monica, his young son, and their friend Nebridius, as they sit in sight of the Colosseum the day before their set- ting out on the journey home which death was to end for Monica at their first stage, Ostia. The poem is unsatisfactory in its dramatic arrange- ment. The improbability of the speaker’s having been able to keep his fault and his remorse, the misery of years, from the close companion who is to him what St. Augustine is shown to be, and the other improbability of his suddenly relating it all in minute and expatiating narrative to several persons at once, are each and both too obtrusive throughout the monologue to allow any illusion of reality. Mr. Bulkeley’s alteration of the story gives him the means of making a stronger sketch than the fact would have done ; but it is cruder and means less. The pheno- menon of blood-mania (as to which there are several instances on record of far madder irre- sponsible devilry than that Mr. Bulkeley ascribes to Alypius) is a fearful miracle of human infirmity, but it is a deeper problem of the human mind that a man full of loathing for the cruelty of gladiatorial exhibitions should find himself, when compelled to witness one, so attracted by its life-for-life struggles and horror as, against his conscience, to make such scenes thenceforth his chief delight. Mr. Bulkeley has shown in his attempt to strengthen his theme that he has not sufficient introspective faculty for such psychological themes. There are several other poems in this volume, some written with scholarly refinement, and some in the variegated diction by which many present writers of verse are fond of representing the unsophisticated utterances of Cockaigne and the rural districts. In all of them there are good expression and good metre. Miss Florence Severne’s‘ Versesand Thoughts’ have merit. She writes with taste and feeling, in good English and in good metre. What she seems to need is something more to think about : the thoughts are neither deep nor striking. And yet she has pretty poetic ideas which are genuinely her own—this of ‘ The Hidden Snow,’ for instance :— Fair on the green hill’s summer slopes Buds bloom and birds are flying ; But there, coricealed from earth’s glad hopes, A winter’s drift is lying, In some recess where careless tread Is rarely wont to go; Yet near the blossoms’ lovely bed Is hid the wreath of snow. The blesséd sun, which pours its rays In one untroubled tide, Nor for a single instant strays Where the cold white flakes hide, Unseen, unheeded, and apart, Midst all the glorious glow, Still chill upon the mountain's heart Lies the unmelted snow. Is there no likeness to be shown Upon this summer day, As the steep path I tread alone, And feel the breezes play ? Oh, life of mine, which is so fair, With so much bliss possessed, Surrounded by such tender care, Lulled to so soft a rest, There runs a secret thro’ thy days, Which none may ever know, And in thy deepest core there stays The everlasting snow. This simple piece gives a higher impression of Miss Severne’s poetic capabilities than do her more ambitious efforts, such as ‘The Earthly Bride of the Heathen God’ and ‘The Twin Sister’: in them she seems like a person straining to stand taller than she is—with the inevitable stiffness in consequence: in ‘The Hidden Snow’ she is like one at ease in a grace- ful natural pose. Miss Annie Matheson tells us in a preface that her ‘Religion of Humanity’ “ will seem to many a declamatory tract.” And she thinks also that there are those who will mislike it because it is didactic poetry—those, she says, “whose judgment I value, who will say that didactic poetry, theological poetry, is not poetry at all.” We should not have thought it would occur to any one to class this piece of verse as a tract, but we must needs state that it is quite possible to pronounce it not to be poetry without any promptings from the prejudice she supposes —an odd one, for it implies forgetting that among the most magnificent poetry the world possesses much is didactic and theological. ‘ The Religion of Humanity ’—which, after all, turns out, when we get to it far on in the volume of verse to which it gives the title, to be not didac- tic and not theological—is, in ode form, an out- pouring, partly hortative, of ardent belief in God and Christ and ardent love and hope, some- what too rhapsodical, somewhat too elaborate, and somewhat too stiffly and harshly versified, to have any impressive force or any of the in- fluence derived from poetic qualities. Some of the less aspiring poems have much more merit —especially a tender little poem called‘ Memory’s Song,’ expressing a bereaved mourner’s sadness in the presence of spring beauty in which the dead one has no longer part :— I would not wish him back again, she said, But Spring is hard to bear now he is dead, The line we have italicized, concluding, as it does, a poem conveying the fondest sense of the joyousness of spring, has genuine poetic pathos. We wish Miss Matheson’s book contained more than it does of such simple and touching verse as ‘ Memory’s Song,’ ‘Song-Strays’ is a closely printed volume of very short pieces of verse which have clever, though not very deep nor very genuine, thought in them, but are so repellently affected and stiff both in manner and matter,and so jarring in metre, that to read them is a painful effort. OUR LIBRARY TABLE. Mr. Epwin Hopper’s memoir of Sir George Burns (Hodder & Stoughton) should be interest- ing to the many friends of the Glasgow philan- thropist whodid so much topromote the success of the Cunard Company, but it has fewer attractions for general readers than the same author’s books about the late Lord Shaftesbury and Mr. Samuel Morley. Mr. Hodder is not Dr. Smiles’s equal as a picturesque chronicler of the difficulties overcome and the triumphs secured by enter- prising men of business, and, although he gives some account of the origin and progress of the Cunard line, there is nothing romantic in his narrative. Nor is there much that is stirring in the fuller details that he supplies about his hero’s career. Sir George Burns appears to have been | too steadygoing through the whole of his long life for it to be marked by any of the exciting in- cidents that make the charm of biography. He was born in 1795, and when he was seventeen was sent by his father, the respected minister of the Barony Church in Glasgow, to be trained in business ways under David Dale in the New Lanark Mills. In due course he became a merchant on his own account, in partnership with his brother, and from that time he enjoyed an even course of constantly increasing prosperity, until he was able, in 1855, to shake off his com- mercial cares, and after that to pass more than thirty years in princely comfort at Wemyss Bay. He only died last June, at the age of ninety-five. A year before he had been made a baronet. ‘“ What followed,” says Mr. Hodder, ‘‘is almost too sacred to tell.” But what Mr. Hodder tells may be repeated. On receiving Lord Salisbury’s letter, ‘‘ the old man bowed his snowy head in his hands, and thankec the King of kings and the Lord of lords, blessing Him for putting it into the hearts of others to give him this honour.” All through life Mr. Burns was distinguished for his piety, and Mr. Hodder’s volume contains ample in- formation as to his intercourse with eminent divines, and the frequent visits paid to Wemyss Castle, or to humbler residences in earlier days, by Lord Shaftesbury and others. The record takes us back to Dr. Chalmers and Edward Irving. Much is told about the Rev. Robert Montgomery, Bishop Gobat, Dean Close, and many more; and there are briefer references to Sir Robert Peel, Lord Palmerston, and other politicians with whom Mr. Burns was brought into contact by his commercial as well as his religious interests. But the gossip throws little light on public events. Some of the anecdotes are amusing. We fancy we have read elsewhere the comments of two old women at the close of one of Dr. Chalmers’s astronomical discourses. ‘* Hey,” said one, ‘‘but he was bonnie on the staurs (stars) the day.” ‘‘I daur say,” re- marked the other, ‘‘ and it was a braw sermon, but I didna understand what he meant, but I’se warrant he kent a’ aboot it himsel.” There is more originality in the story of another eloquent preacher, who on quitting the pulpit was thus congratulated by an elder: ‘‘ Hech, sir, ye must be mightily relieved by get- ting such a quantity of flummery off your stomach!” Another anecdote—one of the few that do not relate to Church affairs—illustrates a mode of electioneering now, it is to be hoped, out of vogue. Before the days of the Reform Act, when the members for Glasgow were prac- tically elected by the town councillors, the seat was once won, we are told, by a zealous can- vasser for Mr. Kirkman Finlay, who “applied all his persuasive powers to the wives of the town councillors, giving each a benevolent kiss, at the same time slipping a guinea from his own lips into theirs.” It will be seen that Mr. Hodder has done something to enliven his pages ; but a smaller volume would have suf- ficed to record all that was instructive to the world in the career of a successful merchant concerning whom Mr. Hodder assures us that he never knew any one “who more completely embodied the ideal of Christian living.” Mr. Fisher Unwin publishes Life in an Indian Village, by Mr. T. Ramakrishna, with an introduction by Sir M. E. Grant Duff. There is little to say about Sir M. E. Grant Duff's introduction, which is very slight, but the book itself is excellent, and gives a sketch of Indian village society from inside. It is possible, how- ever, that the ordinary English reader will prefer to take his view of “the black men” from Mr. Kipling rather than from a representative of the natives themselves. If he wishes to have a native view of native life he will find it in this work, Canon Browniow has written, and Messrs. Burns & Oates have issued, a Memoir of Sir James Marshall, formerly — Justice of the
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516 THE ATHENAUM N° 3287, Ocr. 25, 90 Gold Coast. Sir James Marshall was a most amiable and excellent man, but it cannot be said that his biographer has shown much skill; he has conterted himself with stringing together a number of extracts. One point in Sir James’s early life may be mentioned. When he became a Roman Catholic he intended to take Roman Orders, and the fact that the loss of his right arm was a bar to this was concealed from him till after his conversion. We believe this to be true, although Canon Brownlow’s language seems to imply the contrary. Messrs. ApaM & CHares Biack have given the public a great bargain in their new edition of Waverley at sixpence. The tyne is clear and the paper good. The author’s notes and pre- faces are given, and also additional annotations, while the text has been carefully attended to. Mr. Squire Spricce, the secretary to the Incorporated Society of Authors, has written an excellent pamphlet on The Methods of Publish- ing (Henry Glaisher). No author who purposes entering into an agreement with a publisher will regret reading this pamphlet and following the advice given in it before signing. The various forms of agreement are clearly described. That which used to be the most common, ac- cording to which the profits, if any, are divided between author and publisher, has never been characterized more happily than in the words of Douglas Jerrold which Mr. Sprigge quotes. Jerrold liked the plan, ‘‘ because it never led to any division between author and publisher.” The conclusion Mr. Sprigge reaches is that an author unacquainted with business details would do well to employ the society of which he is secretary rather than trust to the light of nature, or even act unaided after hav- ing read this pamphlet. An even better state of things than any foreshadowed by Mr. Sprigge would follow if the majority of authors, especially those of the fairer sex, were to keep their manuscripts in their desks, or put them in the fire. Literature would not suffer in that event, though some publishers might complain of business being dull. Igdrasil, the journal of the Ruskin Reading Guild, has entered upon a wider sphere with the adoption of this symbolic title. It contains much that is interesting, especially the sections devoted to Ruskiniana, and a series of striking articles on ‘Social Problems,’ by Mr. Henry Rose. The poetry does not, for the most part, reach a high standard, and the criticism of art and literature is often extravagant in tone and incoherent in style; but the personality of the seer of Brantwood gives a certain unity and distinction to the enterprise, and it will, doubt- less, be warmly welcomed by his many admirers. WE have received the Report of the Free Library at Birkenhead, which appears to be prosperous, and also catalogues of the books in the free libraries at Brentford and Stalybridge, and of the engravings and etchings in the Art Gallery at Oldham. THE approach of Christmas is shown by the arrival of a parcel of Letts’s excellent Rough Diaries and Scribbling Diaries from Messrs. Cassell, and some calendars from Messrs. Bem- rose of a useful character. We have on our table Correspondence and Speeches of Mr. Peter Rylands, M.P., by L. G. Rylands, 2 vols. (Manchester, A. Heywood & Son),—The High-Caste Hindu Woman, by P. R. Sarasvati (Bell),—Bibliography of the Iroquoian Languages, by J. C. Pilling( Washington, Govern- ment Printing Office),—A Guide to the Literature of Zisthetics, by C. M. Gayley and F. N. Scott (University of California),—Examination Papers in Trigonometry, by G. H. Ward (Bell),—The Naturalists’ Calendar and Weather Guide (Bir- mingham, the Naturalists’ Publishing Com- pany),—Lessons on Health, by A. Newsholme, M.D. (Allen & Co.),—Ida, by Mabel Collins (Ward & Downey),—Reaund bi th’ Derby, by Th’ Owd Weighver (J. Heywood),— Adolphus Etherton, by P. A. Blyth (Cauldwell),—Anec- dotes of Every-Day Life, by L. J. Phillips (Hughes),—Sand Key: the Key to All, after Epicharmus (Simpkin),—The Dream of Pilate’s Wife, by the Rev. J. Hudson (Kegan Paul),—Christ and Krishna, by J. M. Robert- son (Freethought Publishing Company), — Felicitas, by F. Dahn, edited with Notes by Rev. G. A. Bienemann (Longmans),—Die Re- ligion der Alten Aegypter, by Dr. A. Wiedemann (Miinster, Aschendorff),—Die Beziehungen der Hanse zu England im Letzten Drittel des Vier- zehnten Jahrhunderts, by F. Kentgen (Giessen, Ricker),—Die Braune Erica, by W. Jensen, with English Notes by E. S. Joynes (Boston, US., Heath)—Haben die Theatermasken der Alten die Stimme Verstirkt? by O. Dingeldein (Williams & Norgate),—Ftude sur le Subjonctif Frangais, by J. Schreiber (Louvain, Istas),— and De la Langue et del’Ecriture Indigtnes au Yéin-Ndn, by M. Paul Vial (Paris, Leroux). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology, Harris’s (J. R.) The Diatessaron of Tatian, a Preliminary Study, roy. 8vo. 5/ cl. Lightfoot’s (Late J. B.) 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Williams’s (Prof. J. H.) 'Twixt Kiss and Lip, or Under th Sword, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. FOREIGN, Theology, Achelis (E. C.): Christusreden, 4m. Kattenbusch (F.): Lehrbuch der Vergleichenden Confes- sionskunde, Part 1, 3m. 60. Krenkel (M.): Beitrige zur Aufhellung der Geschichte d. Apostels Paulus, 9m. Chambrun (A. de): Droits et Libertés aux Etats-Unis, 12fr. Fine Art and Archeoloay. Kraus (F. X.): Die Christlichen Inschriften der Rheinlande, Part 1, 30m. Léher (F. v.): Archivlehre, 10m. Renan (A.): Le Costume en France, 3fr. 50. Poetry and the Drama, Banville (T. de) : Sonnailles et Clochettes, 3fr. 50. Mahrenholtz (R.): Franz Grillparzer, 4m. 50. Vitu (A.) : Les Mille et une Nuits du Théatre, 8th Series, 3fr. 50, History and Biography. Foucart (P.): Campagne de Prusse, 1806: Vol. 4, Prenzlow- Lubeck, 12fr. a (G.): Le Ministére de Talleyrand sous le Directoire, x Storck (W.): Luis’ di Camoens Leben, 8m. —— (Marquise de): A laCour de Napoléon III., 3fr. 50. Bibliography. Bouchot (H.) : Les Ex-Libris, 6fr. Rossing (A.) : Einfiihrung in das Studium der Theoretischen Chemie, 6m. 50. General Literature, Gréville (H.): Le Passé, 3fr. 50. Gyp: C’est nous qui sont I'Histoire! 3fr. 50. L'Esprit d’Alphonse Karr, 3fr. 50. Pontsevrez(M.): Criminelle, 3fr. 50. Sybil: Croquis Parlementaires, 3fr. 50. Tcheng-ki-Tong (Général): Le Roman de l’Homme Jaune, 3fr. 50. THE GREAT HIGHWAY. I, THERE side by side they sit for evermore, Each in his mantle wrapt from head to feet, Like giant-guards that line a Sacred Street, Or watch from age to age a Temple-door. And o’er their heads the crackling thunders roar, And round their brows the crooked lightnings meet, And on their knees the furious tempests beat, And past their frozen heels the torrents pour. Winter and summer come, with frost and fire, With rending rocks, and glaciers grinding slow, And, far beneath, the strong-winged lammergeyer Cries to the desolations of the snow; : And still they watch beside the Great Highway, That leads to Italy and the rising day. I sss te sa
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a N° 3287, Ocr. 25, 790 THE ATHENZUM 547 It. The long-delaying Alpine after-glow Lingers rose-red above them, till they seem The jasper-walls of New Jerusalem, Which that dread Angel unto John did show. Along their mantles’ folds of glimmering snow The misty summer-moonlight’s opal beam Lies warm, and thro’ the purple depths supreme The host of heaven above them marches slow. So keep they watch and ward ; while Time fulfils His course, and with the legions of his years Makes and unmakes the everlasting hills, And slow the North-star thro’ his circle veers : Their awful sovereign shapes among the stars Greet the dim dawn upon the eastern bars. Mary A, M. MARKS. ‘PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.’ 50, Albemarle Street, W. Some years ago I discovered the remarkable collocation of the two words ‘‘ pride” and “‘ pre- judice” in Jeremy Taylor’s ‘Holy Living and Dying.’ I made a note of it at the time, but unluckily have lost the reference. JoHN Murray. SIR RICHARD FRANCIS BURTON. In Richard Francis Burton England has lost one of her most successful travellers and ex- plorers, an esteemed Oriental scholar, and a literary man of considerable gifts. Born on March 19th, 1821, at Barham House, in Hert- fordshire, the son of Col. Burton of the 36th Regiment, Richard received but a desultory education. Most of his youth was spent at Tours and in other parts of the Continent. It was intended to give him a university training, but Oxford ways were little to his taste, and ulti- mately, in 1842, a commission in the East India Company’s Service was procured for him. Dur- ing his residence in India he was enabled to in- dulge in his love of travel, yet it was in 1852 that his ‘ Pilgrimage to Medinah and Mecca’ at once sealed his reputation as one of the most daring and successful explorers of the time. His next feat, in 1855, was a visit to Harar, a city already known to the early Portuguese, but never before visited by a European. If he failed on that occasion in penetrating through Somal Land into Equatorial Africa, he was all the more successful in his next venture, when, accom- panied by Speke, he discovered Lake Tanganyika (February, 1858). The success of this expedi- tion was undoubtedly due to Burton, whose extraordinary linguistic faculty and knowledge of Oriental character enabled him to command success where others might have failed, and to collect a mass of information from the far- travelled Arabs whom he met with during his journeys. If Burton’s theories as to the Nile sources have not been verified by subsequent explorations, this is due not so much to any lack of acumen on his part as to the paucity of facts from which his conclusions had to be drawn. From that time forward, and even after his appointment to the consulship at Trieste in 1872, Burton was a wanderer over the face of the globe, being accompanied on most occa- sions by the gifted lady whom he took to wife in 1861. In 1860 he paid a visit to the ‘‘ City of the Saints”; the years 1861-4 he spent in Western Africa ; in 1865-70 he explored the Brazilian Highlands and Paraguay. When he resided at Damascus, in 1869-70, he spent his vacations in “unexplored Syria.” During a holi- day in 1872 he visited Iceland: In 1876 and again in 1879-88 he carried on an explorer’s work in ‘* the Land of Midian,” and in 1882 he accom- panied Cameron “ to the Gold Coast for gold.” During bis later years Burton translated the works of Camoens into English, and supplied the Western world for the first time with a literal version of the ‘ Arabian Nights,’ of which Lady Burton prepared an edition for “‘ household reading.” Burton was a voluminous writer—too volumin- aus in fact—and a mere enumeration of the books written and published by him would fill a column of one of our pages. There are close upon eighty volumes, of which thirty-nine are accounts of. travel and exploration. Among these ‘ The Lake Regions of Equatorial Africa’ must ever rank as a standard work on Africa and a pattern of what such a work should be. Besides these narratives Burton published grammars of three Oriental languages, five volumes of folk-lore, three books on fencing, and transletions of Camoens and of the ‘Arabian Nights’—tasks heavy enough to oc- cupy the life of a man who never left his library. All these works bear the impress of Burton’s personality, whilst his remarkable attainments as a linguist, his breadth of scholarly research, his broad views and high literary ability are ever prominent. In his official career Burton did not achieve the success to which his high attainments and wide knowledge, especially of the East, entitled him. In recognition of his great achievements as an explorer he received in 1861 the appointment of Consul at Fernando Po. After three years’ service in Western Africa, in the course of which he explored the whole coast from the Congo to Cape Coast Castle, ascended the Camarons Peak, and conducted a mission to the King of Dahome, he was transferred to Santos in Brazil. At length, in 1869, a more suitable sphere of activity was allotted to him at Damascus, where his special qualifications ought to have opened out to him a career of great usefulness. But this was not to be. Already, in 1872, he was transferred to Trieste, and in that uncongenial, unattractive town he was doomed to work out his regulation term of service, and there he died on October 20th, at the age of sixty-nine. England must be indeed rich in talent when she can afford to waste in the routine of consular duties a man of the courage, the capacities, and the vast acquirements of Burton. It is true he was ill fitted to run in official harness, and he had a Byronic love of shocking people, of telling tales against himself that had no foundation in fact, but he might have rendered greater service to his country had a sphere of activity been found for him adapted to his special qualifications. The knighthood bestowed upon him in 1886 was but an empty honour. HARPER'S “pmaZovrec, Your paragraph properly chastising Harpers of New York for their treatment of Mr. Kip- ling revives in my mind a project which recently occurred to me when consulted by a well-known author who had experienced similar rapacity at their hands. Is it not time that English men of letters and their publishers should unite to “ boycott” any American firm who publish English copyright work without previous arrangement with the author or his publisher ? Let us agree together to have no dealings with such firms until the offence be fully purged. Let us, in particular, decline to write for their maga- zines, to advertise in them, to notice them in our review columns, to accept their advertisements, or to allow them in our houses. I believe that such a combination would teach them, though somewhat late, the force of that eighth com- mandment which is trodden under foot by the American law of copyright. OXONIAN, THE PETRIE PAPYRI. THE ACTS OF A GREEK PROBATE COURT IN THE FAYOUM. Mr. Frryvers Perrit, in the course of his researches in Egypt, found a small necropolis at a village called Kurob, about six hours’ ride from the ancient capital of the Fayoum, the Greek Crocodilopolis, now Medinet-el-Fayoum. The mummies which he there examined were all of the Ptolemaic period, and he assures me that the very manufacture of the mummy-cases has characteristics which distinguish that period not only from the Pharaonic or older days, but from the Roman period, which has furnished us so many documents in recent years. He observed that these cases were made up of layers of papyrus, glued together so as to make the thick carton, which was then glazed and polished. When this gluing has been carefully done, it is impossible to separate the layers, and, indeed, the cases were riddled by insects which live on the glue or gum. But in some instances the process has been carelessly carried out; the layers of papyrus were merely laid together, and so he was able to recover a large number of pieces of papyrus covered with Greek and demotic writing, which had been obtained and used as waste paper by the artisans who made the cases. The Greek papyri Mr. Petrie sub- mitted to Mr. Sayce and to me for examination last August. We found them to consist of three classes of documents. First, there were three pieces, fragments of the classics which the Greek settlers in the Fayoum had brought with them or copied out for literary reasons. They comprise small portions of the ‘ Pheedo’ of Plato, in a very beautiful and careful hand ; the con- cluding scene of the lost ‘ Antiope’ of Euripides —some eighty lines in a very careless and much effaced MS.; and a paragraph or two on the duties of a ‘‘ companion” by some rhetori- cian whom we have as yet failed to determine. These classical texts we shall publish in the next number of Hermathena (the journal of the University of Dublin). Secondly, there are a large number of short letters, memoranda, and accounts relating to land questions, royal decrees, and other internal affairs of the Fayoum under the first three Ptolemies, which Mr. Sayce has undertaken to decipher and to de- scribe. They are far more difficult to read and explain than the third division, which I found to consist of wills, and of which I now proceed to give an account. These documents are evidently not the actual testaments of the Greek citizens of Kurob, which may have been the Arsinoitic Bubastos to which they constantly allude, but an official list or register, like that of our Probate Court, enumerating them according to date in regular order, several being usually entered on the same page of papyrus, which held at least two columns. Unfortunately not a single one of these documents is complete, though in several cases large portions of two wills are remaining upon the same page. The papyri were either broken intentionally, or have gone to pieces in the difficult process of severing them from one another. In one case only have I succeeded in fitting together stray fragments, and re- producing a text complete except in the heading. But though fragmentary, the strict formule, which recur in them ali, enable us to supply from one what is missing in another, and s0 we can put before the modern reader the exact form of a Greeco-Egyptian will of the third century B.C. There is only one feature recurring almost uni- formly in these documents, which may be due to the testators being a colony of soldiers, still standing in more direct relation to the Crown than the ordinary civilians. But of this anon. Here, then, is the form of these testaments :— “Tn the reign of Ptolemy, son of Ptolemy and Arsinoe, &c., the tenth year, M being priest of Alex- ander and the Ptolemies, N being Canephoros of Arsinoe Philadelphos, in the month X, the tenth day of the month, in the city of the Crocodiles, of the Arsinoitic nome (district)—M, the son of N, a land- holder,being of sound mind and good understanding, made the following bequests, being about seventy- five years old, tall in stature, fair in complexion, bald, with a scar across his nose, and a mole on his left ear,” &c. “May it be my lot to keepin good health and manage my own affairs, but should I suffer any- thing human, 1 bequeath to [the details follow], and nothing to nobody else. And I name as exe- cutors the reigning king and the queen, his sister and wife, and theirchildren. The witnesses are A, a
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548 THE ATHENZUM N° 3287, Ocr. 25, 90 Carian about seventy years old, landholder, from X’s division (of troops), short, stout, with a scar on his forehead under the hair, &c.; B, a Thessalian of the second settlement, tall, sallow, with a scar on his left ear,” &c. The number of witnesses varies from three to seven, and with this list each document abruptly concludes. Turning first to the external form and the language of these texts, we find in them what I suppose is perfectly new to us, a large assort- ment of the handwritings of the Egyptian Greeks of the third century B.c. They vary from large, clear, splendid writing to the most fugitive and illegible cursive. But (except in the signs for year, drachma, and a very few others) there are no contractions. Without re- producing the writing in facsimile, which I hope to do elsewhere, palographical details could hardly be instructive. The vocabulary and grammar are by no means careless or faulty. There are some words not known to us save in the LXX., a composition of the same date, or in Hesychius, but they are words which may always have been in colloquial use. Of these I may specify dvaddAavtos, bald on the top of the head ; trooxvimrns, short-sighted ; rvp- pdxys, ruddy or red-haired, all used in descrip- tions of persons. The use of édév with the indica- tive is perhaps the only peculiarity of idiom. When we approach the substance of these documents the first point of importance is the date ; and fortunately this is determined in the most express manner. We know from the Canopus inscription the complete formula for dating an act in the reign of the third Ptolemy (Euergetes I.). In some of the wills before us this formula is repeated word for word, even to the names of the priest of Alex- ander and the Canephoros of Arsinoe, except that it is their second priesthood which is given, and the year of the reign is not the ninth (as in the Canopus inscription), but the fifteenth. There is, therefore, no doubt whatever about the dates. The actual years occurring and recurring in this official record are the twelfth, fifteenth, and twenty-second years of the third Ptolemy (235-25 3.c.). In the memoranda we have found older dates, e. g., the thirty-sixth year of the second Ptolemy, but none of a later reign. What was the condition of these testators ? In the first place, there is not a single Egyptian name among the many which occur, except perhaps the mongrel Philammon. They are all Macedonians or Greeks, or people who came into Egypt with Alexander’s army, but of many various nations, from Alexandrians and Eleu- sinians (the Egyptian Eleusis) to the distant Thracians, Carians, Illyrians, and even Cam- panians. Many old Greek towns are represented, but not (perhaps accidentaily) Sparta and Athens. The facts that most of these people are called cleruchs; that they bequeath houses in Alexandria, though they live far away in the Fayoum; that they allude to their old regiments, to their many scars by way of identification ; and that they stand in direct relation to the king as their executor, seem to prove that we have before us a military colony or settlement, to which the lands of the Egyptians were granted, and which, therefore, formed the aris- tocracy of the country. It is remarkable that, with one doubtful exception, they do not be- queath their holdings of land ; they only dis- pose of their personal property, and this in ordinary cases either to a wife or to a son or a daughter. Where the details are lengthy, they are generally broken or worm-eaten, so that we can hardly follow them. There are two classes distinguished—the original grantees, who are often called hundred- acre men (€xatovTdépovpor), and a new genera- tion (rs éxcyov7s). When or how these various settlements were made we may probably learn when Mr. Sayce has deciphered the memoranda, which refer frequently to disputes about the grants of land. The ages specified of the wit- nesses belonging to these respective classes differ usually by about thirty years. Most of the older cleruchs are cited as about sixty-five to seventy-five years old ; the epigoni as thirty-five to forty-five. They seem, therefore, both to have been settled in the reign of Philadelphus. But these and other details are more suited to a commentary on the texts. I will only here add that if we compare the Petrie papyri which I have seen—some of them are still to arrive in England—with what has been published in the special journal of Karabacgek from the Rainer papyri, while the variety in the latter is far greater, in length and in good preservation the texts in the former are far more satisfactory. We shall use all possible despatch in laying them before the eyes of the critical world in careful copies, and also, we hope, in facsimile. J. P. Manwarry. THE BOMBAY BRANCH OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY. Tue Hon. Jeverilal Umiashankar Yajnik, who has had the public spirit to undertake the office of honorary secretary to the Bombay branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, writing to a corre- spondent in this country by the last mail, observes :— ‘“‘T am making a determined effort to revive the old influence aud reputation of the Society, and am inducing members engaged in archeological and scientific pursuits to write more frequently, for our journal. Already a good beginning has heen made, and the first paper read this session wa} by the Hon. Mr. Justice Telang, on ‘Gleanings from the Sarirak-Bhashya of Sankar-acharya.’ It wasa highly Jearned paper, the purpose of which was to deduce, if possible, historical facts from the pkilo- sophical writings of this eminent Hindu sseniner and religious reformer. I followed Mr. Justice Telang with a paper on ‘Mount Abu and the Jaina Temples at Delwada.’ Prof, R. G. Bhandarkar has promised us the next paper; and Mr. J. H. Steel, principal of the Veterinary College here, is to follow him. Iam also making efforts to supplement the collection of MSs. illustrative of the history of Gujarat, purchased by the late Alexander Kinloch Forbes while preparing his ‘Rasa Mala’; and I have already been able to secure some from the Jaina Bhandars [‘ Muniments’]. The Jaina writers have done much to preserve the history of Gujarat for the Hindu period, for which we have no other sources of information.” With reference to the MS. copy of Dante belonging to the Bombay Society, to which attention was drawn in the Jowrnal of Indian Art for July last, Mr. Jeverilal Umiashankar writes :— “You will be glad to know that the MS. copy of Dante’s poem presented to the Society by the late Mountstuart Elphinstone is in excellent condition. On receipt of the July numberof Mr. Griggs’s Journal of Indian Art I had it taken out and shown to the Honourable Mr. Justice Candy, and Mr. Macdonell, of Messrs. Wallace & Co. They immensely admired its perfect calligraphy, and still more its exquisite illuminations, and the profoundly interesting portrait of the immortal poet. What most surprised them was the beautiful condition of the MS., which looks as fresh, for the most part, as if just out of the calligrapher’s hands; and also the good order in which the book is still preserved. Camphor powder has been constantly put into the body of the MS. to prevent the attacks of the white ants; and hence- forward it will be kept in the iron safe for surer custody. Both Mr. Justice Candy and Mr. Macdonell remarked that another MS. of the great Italian poet such as this is not to be found in any of the libraries of Europe, and they do not wonder that it is appraised at 10,000/.; but you know well that the Society would never part with it for any price. It is the greatest literary treasure in our possession.” This last observation is of importance with reference to the proposal that has been made by some of the members of the Bombay Society to sell the MS. for the pecuniary benetit of that institution. HOWELL'S ‘ LETTERS. Mr. Srorr cannot expect me to be satisfied with his very problematic reparation for his editor’s shabby conduct towards me. To offer to make some mention of my edition from which his editor has ‘“‘conveyed” matter in a future issue, which may or may not come, is but to add insult to injury. If Mr. Stott is sincere in his contrition he will add a slip to all the copies not sold pointing out that for information or documents quoted or used on pp. xxi, xxv, xxviii, xxx, xxxii, xxxix, xli, xlii, xliii, xliv of the introduction he is indebted to the sup- plement of my edition. In the interests of straightforward publishing it would be as well that Mr. Stott should add that his edition contains only the first out of the four books of Howell’s ‘ Letters.’ That, how- ever, is @ matter between Mr. Stott and the public rather than between his editor and myself. JOSEPH JACOBS, TRANSORIPTS IN THE PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE. Rochdale, Oct. 18, 1890. By the courtesy of the Deputy- Keeper I have recently been able to glance through some of the volumes of transcripts from foreign records which were collected at great expense some sixty years ago as materials for a new edition of the ‘Foedera.’ The new Rymer stopped dead in 1830, and, with the exception of an incomplete instalment published in 1869, nothing has been heard of it since. Mean time, the materials are lying in bound volumes in the Public Record Office, practically inaccessible to all except those who can find the time to be in Fetter Lane between the hours of ten and four. Any one who would get a taste of their quality may see it in the abstracts published in the Reports on ‘Foedera’ (A—E), and an idea of their number and variety may be had by consulting vol. iii. of Hardy’s ‘Syllabus,’ pp. xxxiv-liii. They represent gleanings from the archives and libraries of France, Germany, Flanders, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy — everywhere, in fact, in any part of Europe where documents could be found bearing upon the history of England. In many cases there are detailed reports appended by those who were en- trusted with the search, all of which were intended for publication. As an instance of the importance of the collection let me cite the fol- lowing. It is known that Owen Glendower, in his negotiations with the King of France, was induced to transfer the Welsh obedience from the Roman to the Avignon Pope, but no exact proofs. have been yet forthcoming, so far as I know. I have been able to find in vol. cxxxv. a copy of a despatch sent by Owen to Charles VI. in which the details of the plan are fully set out. St. David’s is to be the metropolitan cathedral for Wales, no one is to hold a Welsh living unless he can speak Welsh, all appropriations of Welsh churches for the support of colleges and monasteries in England are to be annulled, and Wales is to have two universities of its own, one in the north and the other in the south, though they cannot agree as to where to place them. Here are the very questions that are agitated amongst Welshmen to-day, and the existence of the despatch would never be guessed by the printed reference to the volume as con- taining “‘ treaties and other documents.” In any other country these transcripts would have been printed long ago, either by the Government or by an Ecole des Chartes or other agency, and it is to be hoped that an effort will be made to get them printed and circulated for the benefit of outsiders for whom frequent visits to London are out of the question. By the way, now that the Public Record Office is supplied with the electric light, why should not the hours of search be extended beyond four o’clock in the after- noon ? J. Hamittron WYLIE. THACKERAY’S MARRIAGE. Temple, Oct. 20, 1890. In the interesting letter of last week on this subject (p. 512) there are, I am satisfied, two errors of some moment. There is no such name in Ireland as ‘‘ Getkin,” but Gethin is common. Again, there is no such name as “ Eneagh,” bv‘
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XUM Ne 3287, Ocr. 25, 790 THE ATHENZUM 049 there is Creagh. The entries in the marriage | register were doubtless in an indistinct hand- writing. These amendments are more than conjectural, as a long official employment in Ireland made me well acquainted with all the Trish family names. By the way, Thackeray himself had an uncle resident at or near Dundalk, in the north of Ireland, whom he visited some time before the ‘Trish Sketch-Book’ appeared. Perhaps both the novelist and his wife were Anglo-Hibernians. R. Denny URN. THE NEXT ORIENTAL CONGRESS. Woking, Oct. 11, 1890. Dr. Cust’s remarks on the above subject in your issue of this morning are scarcely correct. In replying to them I will follow the order of his paragraphs. 1. Dr. Cust took a very prominent part in alike opposing and advocating the Christiania Committee in connexion with a meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society. 2. Whilst I acknowledge his appreciation of mainly my efforts to frustrate the intention of the Secretary of the eighth Congress ‘‘ to contract the free action of all future Congresses,” I can- not help regretting his own vacillation during the struggle. 3 and 4. This vacillation is obvious from his welcoming the spurious invitation to Count Landberg to hold a Congress at Oxford in 1892 under the presidency of his German friend, and his equally cordial acceptance of a Congress to = held in London in 1891 on exactly opposite ines. 5. The letters which Dr. Cust has “ received from distinguished scholars at Berlin and Leyden, begging him at this moment to inter- vene,” will be most gratefully received by me for submission to the Organizing Committee and to the body of signatories. In the meanwhile it would be well if he, too, were to bear ‘‘certain considerations in mind.” A. The chauvinism which induces Dr. Cust to exclude from the Committee all British sub- jects of foreign birth is simply ridiculous, and would be a far greater scandal in an “ interna- tional” body than the presence of non-British- born scholarship could possibly be. This very movement, so creditable to Englishmen, for the independence of our republic of Oriental letters is due to the initiative of a British sub- ject of foreign descent. The election, however, of Prof. Max Miiller as President—which was attempted the day before yesterday in a secret manner, by ten out of fifty-three members of the London Organizing Committee, without reference to the 350 signa- tories in twenty-five couxtries whom we repre- sent, and who protest against the encroach- ments, with which the professor’s name is identified, on our republic of Oriental letters —is obviously impossible, as it would still further accentuate the German chauvinism in science of last year’s Congress, which did such injury to true German influence, which was so resented by French, English, Russian, and other scholars and which is one of the raisons d’étre of the movement to hold a statutory and truly inter- national Congress of Orientalists in London in September, 1891. B. I agree to the exclusion of mere tourists and obvious fldneurs, who ruined the late Scan- dinavian Congress, but I object to the exclusion of amateurs, of either sex, who take an interest in the promotion of Oriental studies, and with- out whom, indeed, no Oriental Congress could hope to have any effect on public education or even be always able to count on an audience or to pay its expenses. With the suppression of banquets and other similar attractions, there is not much prospect of any but desirable members joining an Oriental Congress. C. When the Congress assembles in Septem- ber, 1891, it will choose its own office-holders ; inthe meanwhile, representatives from theinstitu- tions to which Dr. Cust refers are already, or will soon be, on the Organizing Committee. At the same time, so far as the British Museum and the India Office are concerned, their officials are not able to take an active part on the Organizing Committee for the next Oriental Congress in con- sequence of the following Order in Council, dated the 15th of August last, and applicable to all civil servants, in which Her Majesty directs that ‘‘no officer shall be allowed to accept any part in the management of any society of what- ever description which would require the attend- ance of such officer at any time between the hours of 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.” The members of the Committee should be, as has been our invariable practice, duly proposed and seconded by a signa- tory-member pledged to promote the objects of the movement, and should be voted on by every signatory out of the 350 in the twenty-five countries in which we have signatory-members; and, further, every proposal to be brought be- fore the General International Quarterly Meet- ings in France, England, and elsewhere, should be communicated for opinion to every member ; and should not, as has been attempted by a few seceders, be dealt with in a literal hole-and- corner at the British Museum or in the top floor of the India Office. D. Considering that we have already been work- ing for the Congress of 1891, and have already so many adhesions and so many “ papers,” as also a conditional guarantee of more than the 1,000/. desired by Dr. Cust, there is no reason why we should break faith with those who have joined us for 1891. ‘‘ The miserable absence of all suitable arrangements” in connexion with the first London Congress of 1874, so forcibly and correctly mentioned by Dr. Cust, is, there- fore, not likely to be repeated. E. We have arranged for only two banquets, one at the beginning and the other at the end of the Congress, and for only one excursion, to either Oxford or Cambridge, after the conclusion of our labours. F. All distinctions have to be abolished, ac- cording to one of our very first resolutions. I see no use in delegates who do not tell us what the governments or the learned societies which they represent are doing for the advancement of Oriental studies and research, or who do not acquire a knowledge of what other countries are doing in those specialities. The impropriety that has hitherto prevailed of making a differ- ence between delegates of either description, or between them and ordinary members, must cease. All are equal in the republic of letters. Dele- gacies will be, in future, designations of work, not excuses for precedence or decorations. I agree in some of the final remarks of Dr. Cust as regards the breach of the statute which required the place and date of the next Con- gress to be fixed at Christiania, the illegality of the Committee there appointed of three members residing in three different countries, and the lapse of any powers that may ever have been, however improperly, vested in them. At the same time I utterly deny—except in one sense, which I will explain further on—that “the French scholars have waived their right in favour of those of Great Britain, who thus have a free hand to make their own arrangements.” I was sent over to Paris by the English representatives of the International Assembly of Orientalists held on the 15th of January last in order to bring about an entente cordiale between our French and English supporters. I there first discussed the matter with Baron Textor de Ravisy, the president of the Comité de Permanence established in 1873 and liable to be revived if the continuation of the Con- gress on its own lines requires it, according to a final resolution adopted by an International Assembly of that year of the foundation of our Congresses, The Baron summoned a meeting of the founders, the twelve survivors of the Comité in question, and the signatories gener- ally ; and as the result a ‘‘ transfer of powers” was made by them to our London Committee, on condition of our maintaining the original principles of the Congress of 1873, and of our holding the next, or ninth, International Con- gress of Orientalists, on the basis of the existing statutes, in London in September, 1891. I was invested with full powers, and a strict responsi- bility to all the signatories, as Organizing Secre- tary and Delegate General to the non-French, especially the English, committees, in order to see these conditions faithfully carried out. In all matters of organization on the above lines the London Organizing Committee is master of the situation, but in the event of any departure therefrom the trust again reverts to the French founders and the Comité de Permanence. G. W. LErrner. THE LONDON BOOKSELLERS’ SOCIETY. 370, Oxford Street, Oct. 18, 1890. You are good enough in your “ Literary Gossip”’ of to-day to notice my scheme of insurance in connexion with the above society ; but I beg that you will permit me to say that it is not so much a scheme of life insurance as an annuity scheme. The main idea of my plan is that every member of the society shall receive a pension at the age of sixty, whether he require it or not, and I find that if the members come forward in large numbers we can effect this on very moderate terms. By payment of an annual sum I ascertain that I am able to secure an annuity at a very little extra cost on an ordinary life insurance premium, and at the same time find it also possible to hand over a large sum to the widow, in the event of death occurring before that age. Better still, an amount can also be secured on the death of a member while a recipient of the annuity. We are now discussing the whole plan, and I hope shortly to make an announcement to the trade. In the mean time I should like to add that we purpose enlarging the scope of our society, so that the large body of publishers’ clerks and booksellers’ assistants will also be enabled to enjoy the benefits of this insurance scheme, Davin Srort, Chairman of the London Booksellers’ Society. Literary Grossip. M. Tare has finished correcting the proofs of the first volume of his work on ‘Le Régime Moderne,’ dealing with the Napoleonic epoch, and forming part of his ‘ Origines de la France Contemporaine.’ Tus authorship of the article on M. Renan in the current number of the Quarterly is attributed to Mr. W.S. Lilly, who is, by the way, bringing out a new edition of his work ‘On Right and Wrong.’ The article on Scott’s ‘Diary’ is said to be by Mr. Fraser Rae. WE are glad to hear that Mr. Lowell’s health has greatly improved of late, and that he hopes to be able to visit his many friends in England next year. Tue revised edition of Bishop Lightfoot’s commentary on the Epistles of St. Clement of Rome, which Messrs. Macmillan are going to issue, was substantially completed before the editor’sdeath. In it the previous edition of 1869 and the appendix published m 1877 are worked together into a corporate whole. The book, according to the ori- ginal plan, forms part i. of the work on the Apostolic Fathers, of which the monu- mental commentary on the Ignatian Epistles formed part ii. The abridged edition of the
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550 THE ATHENAUM N° 8287, Ocr. 25, 90 Apostolic Fathers in one volume, which was lanned and partly executed before the Lichey'e death, and is now nearly ready for “pape covers the whole field of the arger commentaries. The new edition of St. Clement, to which the present Bishop of Durham has written a prefatory note, is in two volumes, and contains, besides the revised text and commentary, new essays on ‘Clement the Doctor,’ on ‘Early Roman Succession,’ and on ‘ Hippolytus,’ together with an autotype facsimile of the Constan- tinople MS. Mr. Manarry’s new book on ‘The Greek World under Roman Sway,’ which is to be published immediately by Messrs. Macmillan & Co., completes another stage in his account of the social life and civiliza- tion of the Greeks, and pursues the subject from the subjugation of Hellenic lands by Rome down to the accession of Hadrian, when Greece may be said to have recovered her supremacy. Mr. Guapstone before starting for the North completed the revision and enlarge- ment of his articles on ‘The Impregnable Rock of Holy Scripture.’ The book is now passing through the press, and will be pub- lished next month by Messrs. Isbister. Ir is gratifying to hear that the unfinished works of Oliver Madox Brown (the death of whose mother was announced last week) are not to be wholly forgotten. ‘The Dwale Bluth’ and ‘Hebditch’s Legacy’ will shortly be published in the “ Camelot Series,” with a preface by Mr. Arthur Symons. Tue advance in ritual and liturgies which the Church in Scotland has made of late years has been marked by successive edi- tions of ‘ Euchologion,’ a book of common prayer issued by the Church Service Society. ‘Euchologion’ has now gone through five editions, and an account of its formulas and history and a defence of its order will be contributed to Blackwood for November by the Moderator of the General Assembly, who this year is the well-known essayist A. K. H. B. Mr. J. M. Barrie has completed ‘The Little Minister,’ his first three-volume novel, which will run through Good Words, be- ginning in January. The scene is laid in Thrums at the time of the Chartist riots. Mrs. Oliphant will also contribute a novel to next year’s Good Words, and the new Bishop of Winchester will write every month short papers on ‘ Questions of the Christian Life.’ For Messrs. Putnam’s ‘‘ Heroes of the Nations ” series Mr. H. R. Fox Bourne has written a volume on ‘Sir Philip Sidney, Type of English Chivalry in the Eliza- bethan Age.’ It will bring together many interesting and important facts which have been discovered by the writer and others since his ‘Memoir of Sir Philip Sidney’ was published in 1862. Mr. Gomme is just finishing his eleventh volume of the ‘“Gentleman’s Magazine Library.”” It forms the second part of architectural antiquities, and finishes the more important of John Carter’s papers, together with some additional notes. Room must be made, it is found, for a volume on ecclesiology, but this will not be taken in hand until after the issue of the topography volumes. The first of these will, it is hoped, be ready early in the new year. TuE Council of the Folk-lore Society will now shortly issue to their members the long- delayed ‘Handbook of Folk-lore,’ which has been prepared for the use of collectors, and Prof. Crane’s ‘Exempla’ of Jacques de Vitry. Prof. Crane has included in his edition of this important collection of stories a lengthy introduction and some valuable notes. Fo.k-LorE books are increasing on our shelves. Mr. E. Sidney Hartland is just era! through the press his ‘Science of olk-tales,’ which Mr. Scott will issue in his ‘‘ Contemporary Science Series.” It will discuss some important problems in folk-lore. Mr. Basix is going to start a sixpenny magazine on the lines of the Social Pioneer, which met with much favour during its too brief career. The scheme of the new period- ical, the Ladder, is highly promising. A ‘Critical Summary of the Magazines’ will be furnished by Prof. Kirkpatrick, of Edin- burgh, Mr. M. E. Sadler, of Oxford, the Rey. W. Hastie, and others; and an article on ‘The Best Books’ by Prof. Marcus Dods, Dr. Hutchison-Stirling, and others. Mr. Thomas Raleigh, Fellow of All Souls’, will write on ‘ Leaders of the People.’ Mr. Hume Brown, author of ‘George Buchanan, Humanist and Reformer ’; Mr. John Burnet, Fellow of Merton College; and many others, will contribute to the early numbers. The type and paper will be good. Mr. Bunce, of the British Museum, has left for the East in order to begin some excavations in the Assyrian regions. A FouRTH edition of the collected poems of Mr. Coventry Patmore will appear at the end of this month. A vo.vumeE of fairy tales, called ‘ The Air Child, and other Stories,’ by G. Frances H. Low (the well-known journalist), will be published by Messrs. Griffith & Farran at the end of this month. Tue death is announced of a well-known North - Country journalist, Mr. William Brockie, successively editor of the Border Watch, the Shields Gazette, and the Sunder- land Times, and a voluminous writer of books upon folk-lore, gipsy life, local legends, &c. Dr. Mixxs’s commentary on the Githas, constituting the second part of the work, which has been assisted by the India Office, is now in type, and will soon be issued. The full publication of the first volume, which contains the Zend, Pahlavi, Sanskrit, and Persian texts, and which has been so long in the hands of continental specialists in an unfinished condition, will be delayed for some months, owing to the reprinting of portions antiquated by the acquisition of additional MSS. Work upon this first part was interrupted by the author’s engagement with the thirty-first volume of the “Sacred Books of the East.” A NEw popular handbook to the history and antiquities of London and the suburbs is announced by Mr. Elliot Stock, under _ title ‘London of the Past; or, the Olden ity. Mr. Guy writes from The Wern, Pollok- shaws :— ‘‘ Having in preparation a bibliography of the works and literary and artistic productions and reproductions of the late Sir William Stirling- Maxwell, Bart., to be included in the sixth volume of the new edition of his works being published by Mr. John C. Nimmo, I should be obliged to any of your readers who would kindly communicate to me direct the particulars of any items within their knowledge. My list is already considerable and, I think, pretty complete, but as many of his productions were printed privately and in very limited editions, some may have escaped my notice. I should especially be glad to hear of any of his reviews or contributions to magazines as well as of reviews of his works,” A siocrapny of Sir William McArthur, K.C.M.G., is to be published about Christ- mas by Messrs. Hodder & Stoughton. Tue November number of the English Illustrated Magazine will contain an illus- trated article on Winchester College by Lord Selborne and Mr. Frederick Gale. Sir Theodore Martin will have a sonnet on ‘Dante and Beatrice’ in the November number of Blackwood. Pror. J. E. Hotzanp, of Oxford, has just been elected one of the twelve honorary members of the Berlin ‘‘ Juristische Gesell- schaft,” in the place of the late Prof. Muir- head, of Edinburgh. Some ‘Memorials of Father Anderdon, 8.J.,’ by his uncle Cardinal Manning, by Father Ignatius Grant, 8.J., and other friends, will appear, with a portrait, in the November number of Merry England. Father Anderdon was formerly Scholar of Univer- sity College, Oxford, and Vicar of St. Margaret’s, Leicester. Sones, the notorious forger of Greek manuscripts, has died in tg J in Albania. It ismany years since he has been heard of. He was a native of the island of Syme, and probably born about 1824. His skill in imitating ancient writing was great, but his scholarship was fortunately unequal to his manual dexterity. He made a considerable stir at the Cambridge meeting of the British Association in 1862, when he produced the Mayer papyri and declared he had written the Codex Sinaiticus, and Wordsworth’s lines were cleverly applied to him :— Oh, ye who patiently explore The wreck of Herculanean lore, What rapture ! could you seize Some Theban fragment, or unroll One precious, tender-hearted scroll Of pure Simonides : That were, indeed, a genuine birth ! Tux Senate of the old Academy of Lau- sanne, which was originally founded as a Gymnasium in 1536, met for the last time on October 11th to elect the officers of the new University. Prof. Maurer was chosen as the first Rector of the University. He is to hold office for two years. Prof. H. Dufour was chosen Oo-rector, and the deans of the faculties were next appointed. Frav Cxaritorre Emspen, Heine’s younger sister, to whom he addressed the lines beginning Mein Kind, wir waren Kinder, Zwei Kinder, klein und froh, celebrated on the 18th inst. her ninetieth birthday. She was a great favourite of the poet’s, who mentioned her frequently in his writings. Frau Embden is said to be still hale and hearty, and receives quite a host
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N° 3287, Ocr. 25, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 551 of visitors, enthusiastic admirers of her brother. Among the latter was, not long ago, as we reported at the time, the Empress of Austria. ANoTHER ninetieth birthday —that of Count Moltke—will be celebrated in Ger- many to-morrow with great military display and civic demonstrations, mingled with literary ovations. Among the latter will be, according to a Berlin paper, a congratu- latory address composed in the name of the Berlin Academy of Sciences by Prof. Mommeen. Masor-Generat G. F. F. Damuers, who was the last ‘‘ General-Adjutant ”’ of the last King of Hanover, will shortly publish his ‘Erinnerungen und Erlebnisse,’ which are expected to contain some interesting revela- tions. In connexion with the féfes now in pro- gress at Macon to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Lamartine, M. C. Pellorce, the President of the Academy of Micon and a former mayor of that town, makes an appeal to the English admirers of the poet to con- tribute towards the memorials being raised in his honour. It will be remembered that Madame Lamartine was of English origin. Tue Anglo-Jewish Association has estab- lished another school in the East for teach- ing English. This is at Busreh, on the Persian Gulf, and the school is attended not only by Jews, but by Mussulmans and Chris- tians. The Association has done much to promote the use of the English language. Tue Parliamentary Papers of the most eneral interest this week are Friendly Societies, Quinquennial Returns, 1882-86, Part IT. D. (1s. 3d.); and Elementary Educa- tion, Deductions from Grants, &c., Return (6d.). SCIENCE — ELEMENTARY TREATISES ON PHYSICS. The Theory of Light. By Thomas Preston, M.A. (Macmillan & Co.)—There has been a want for many years past of a good English text-book of physical optics. It has been necessary for every one who wants to go beyond the merest rudiments to have recourse to French works, such as those of Jamin and Verdet, or the more recent treatise by Mascart. This want is in a large measure supplied by the work before us, which is an octavo volume of some 450 pages, well printed and illustrated by very clear diagrams. The style is lucid, and numerous historical references and quotations are introduced which give additional interest to the subject. Mathematical calculation is freely employed, but is never allowed to run to very great length. Recent topics, such as concave gratings, are fully and ably treated, and the last chapter in the book is devoted to the eminently modern subject of electro-magnetic radiation as investigated by the method of Hertz. The only topic which we miss is the influence of diffraction upon the images formed by telescopes and microscopes. This omission ought to be supplied in future: editions. There is an excellent index, and the work is well arranged for reference. The author, who is a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, must be congratulated on the judgment he has shown in the selection of material and on his skill as an expositor. Practical Photometry: a Guide to the Study of the Measurement of Light. By William Joseph Dibdin. (King.)}—This is a very handsomely printed volume of 220 large pages, written from the point of view of practical men who have to do with the testing of gas. It gives a full enumeration of methods and appliances, and exhibits a fair knowledge of the theoretical aspects of the subject. An immense number of facts are quoted respecting measurements of the brightness of stars, comparisons of light of different colours, and various other applica- tions of photometry ; but we feel some doubt as to the thoroughness of the author’s literary investigations when we find that in his account of the experiments which have been made on the mixture of colours there is no mention of Maxwell’s colour-box. He contradicts himself in his statements as to the facts of colour- mixture, telling us at p. 147 that blue and yellow make white, and at p. 149 that they make green. Very little information is given as to the photometry of electric lights, and no men- tion is made of Perry’s dispersion photometer or any similar instrument in which, by means of a lens, a strong light is weakened in a known ratio, to make it more easily comparable with an ordinary light. The book contains very little scientific criticism, but a great mass of empirical facts. As the author is superintend- ing gas examiner to the London County Council, it will possess an interest for practical gas testers. Elementary Text-Book of Light, Heat, and Sound. By Chas. H. Draper, D.Sc. (Blackie & Son.)—Magnetism and Electricity. By W. Jerome Harrison, F.G.S., and Charles A. White. (Same publishers.)—Elementary Mechanics: a Specific Subject of Instruction in Public Elemen- tary Schools. (Same publishers. )—The first two of these books are mainly intended to meet the wants of candidates for the elementary stage of the Science and Art Department. The type and illustrations are clear, many of the latter being old friends. They appear to be judiciously written, and, upon the whole, fairly correct. In article 14 of Dr. Draper’s book we notice the usual confusion as to the numerical measure of elasticity, and the argument there used to prove that ‘‘the elasticity of a gas is measured by its pressure” would equally prove that the elas- ticity of a liquid is measured by its pressure, which is very far from the truth.—Messrs. Harrison and White are decidedly weak in the subject of terrestrial magnetism, or they would not identify magnetic meridians with lines of equal declination.—The third book is anony- mous. It contains a large amount of information conveyed in a style well suited for elementary schools. Light : an Introduction to the Science of Optics. Designed for the Use of Students of Architec- ture and other Applied Sciences. By E. Wynd- ham Tarn, M.A. (Crosby Lockwood & Son.) —We have here an excellent réswmé of the information to be found in ordinary treatises on geometrical optics, and of a few leading facts in physical optics. We find, however, the state- ment—long since shown to be erroneous—that diffraction by a narrow slit is due to rays being ‘*deflected by its edges.” The last chapter dis- cusses the amount of light received from different parts of the sky, and gives formule which are true on the assumption (not mentioned in the book) that the surface to be illuminated is horizontal. One way of stating the result is to say that if different portions of the sky, regarded as a hemisphere, be projected on the base, por- tions which have equal projections have equal illuminating powers. ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. D’ARREST’s periodical comet, which was de- tected (as we mentioned last week) by Mr. Barnard at the Lick Observatory on the 6th inst., was afterwards seen and observed at Strasbourg on the Sth, the motion in the mean time confirming the identity of the comet with that of D’Arrest, first discovered in 1851. It was also observed at Rome on the 10th, and at Vienna and Munich on the 11th. Prof. Kriiger remarks (Astronomische Nachrichten, No. 2998) that the reason the comet was not detected earlier than it was probably arose from the cir- cumstance that the perihelion passage did not take place until September 16th. In our ‘‘ Notes” for July 26th and October 1lth we referred to two papers contributed by Mr. Stockwell to the Astronomical Journal on ancient eclipses. The conclusions drawn by him depended upon certain calculations of the amount of the secular variation of the motion of the moon’s perigee. His results differ con- siderably from those of his predecessors, but he omits to state the cause of the difference. Mr. G. W. Hill has a paper in No. 226 of the Journal, in which he points out that this is due to the fact that Mr. Stockwell treats certain quantities as though they suffered no periodic perturbations. His calculations do not give the correct values of the errors of the lunar tables as derived from recent observations. The volume of Observations made at the United States Naval Observatory at Washington, for the year 1884, has recently been published under the superintendence of Commodore S. R. Franklin. The appendix, which had appeared earlier, contains the third edition of Yarnall’s ‘Star Catalogue,’ on which we offered a few remarks in our ‘‘ Notes” for the 12th of July. An appendix to the volume of ‘Observations’ for 1885 has also been recently published in advance, containing a record of the proceedings. of the International Astrophotographic Con- gress held at Paris in 1887, as reported to Capt. Phythian by Lieut. Winterhalter, delegate of the United States Naval Observatory, together with a very interesting account of the informa- tion gathered by him during a series of visits he had been commissioned in that year to make to a large number of the principal European ob- servatories. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. Unnber the title of ‘The Partition of Africa,’ Mr. Stanford will shortly publish a small volume by Mr. J. Scott Keltie, dealing mainly with the events of the past fourteen years and their results. In an introductory chapter or two Mr. Keltie will seek to show what has been the footing of Europe in Africa from the earliest times, and will endeavour to estimate the value of the shares of the various European powers in the scramble, from the point of view of com- merce and colonization. Dr. Carl Peters will contribute to the next number of the Contemporary Review a short article on the relations of Stanley and Emin Pasha, in which he gives Emin’s own account of the matter as told to him at Mpwapwa, ‘‘ with the understanding that” he ‘‘should be per- mitted to publish it.” The recent report on British New Guinea (C—5897, 33) contains some useful notes on anthropology, geology, petrology, plants, and insects of the district. In the mountains the inspection expedition met some natives who spoke a language that has strong affinities with that of the Koiari people on the one hand and with that of the people between them and Doura on the other—that is, a Papuan dialect. They are physically stronger than the coast men, perhaps a little shorter, having long and strong bodies, but generally shorter and more muscular legs. They do not tattoo nor wear nose or ear orna- ments. The older men wear caps made of the best of the cuscus fur, with a frontal ornament made of white shells ground down to thin plates and then sewn together, and with cheek pieces of black cassowary feathers. Others wear caps which are more elaborate, but less picturesque, trimmed with boars’ tusks and the teeth of dogs. Youths generally wear on their heads ‘a piece of native-made cloth, apparently manufactured from the paper-mulberry, into which they gather their copious mops of hair. On the breast they wear a piece of network with a small mesh about
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552 THE ATHENZUM N° 3287, Ocr. 25, ’90 eight or ten inches deep, and long enough to extend rather more than half-way round the ribs. It is fastened behind by strings from its four corners. On the neck, legs, and arms they wear rings of cane, sometimes plain, sometimes plaited or twisted. Their features are decidedly good, their faces indicating more character and strength than those of the average coast men. The cheekbones are sometimes rather broad and prominent. The nose is generally of the Semitic type. They use both the bow and the spear. Mr. MacGregor obtained a short list of words of their dialect, which, however, is not printed. The report contains valuable appendices on ‘Geological Specimens,’ by R. L. Jack and others; on ‘Birds’ and ‘Reptiles,’ by C. W. De Vis; and on the ‘Highland Plants,’ by Baron Ferd. von Mueller. SOCIETIES. NUMISMATIC.— Oct. 16.—Dr. J. Evans, President, in the chair.—Mr. L. A. Lawrence exhibited three coins of Stephen, the first of which presented on both sides the ordinary bust of the king. The second was of the type of Henry II.’s first issue, the interest lying in the letters on the obverse FNREX.A. On the reverse was ON LIN, proving the coin to have been struck at Lincoln. The third coin presented anew reverse type, a double cross confined within an inner circle, and in each angle a pyramid sur- mounted by an annulet. The obverse type was the same as Hawkins, pl. xxi. 276.—Mr. A. J. Evans read a paper ‘On some New Artists’ Signatures on Sicilian Greek Coins.’ Upon a tetradrachm of Himera he had detected the signature of an earlier Kimén, in all probability the grandfather of the well-known Syracusan engraver. This piece was struck c. 460 B.c., and therefore represents by far the earliest signature hitherto discovered on a Greek coin. On a tablet held by Niké on one of the latest tetradrachms of the same city Mr. Evans had further succeeded in deciphering on a specimen in the Paris Cabinet the inscription MAI, which must also be referred to a Himerean engraver. New evidence was brought forward establishing the activity of the later Kim6n at Messana, and atten- tion was called to a remarkable coin by this artist on which the head of the nymph Peldérias appears in the field coupled with her name in microscopic letters. Reference was further made to the artist Evarchidas, recently added to the roll of Syracusan engravers by Prof. Salinas, of Palermo, from a type supplied by a hoard of coins discovered in Western Sicily. This artist appears in association with Phry- gillos, and Mr. Evans was now able to contribute not only some fresh specimens of tetradrachms in which these engravers had collaborated, but a hemi- drachm apparently from the same hands. The tetradrachm reverses by Evarchidas are of great interest from the fact that upon them Niké holds aloft an akrostolion as well as a wreath above the victorious gore em and this naval trophy has been with great probability connected by Salinas with the annihilation of the Athenian fleet in the great harbour of Syracuse in 413 B.c. In conclusion Mr. Evans was able to describe a new signature of Parme... at Syracuse, and a tetradrachm of Kama- rina, recently procured by him in Sicily, present- ing a new signature of the engraver Exakestidas. In this latter case the first letters of the name were inscribed on an open diptych in front of a very beautiful head of the youthful Héraklés. In the course of the paper the author brought forward a variety of evidence to show that the received chronology of the Sicilian coin-types of the last quarter of the fifth century B.c. needed considerable revision, and that the guadrige in particular had reached a highly advanced and even sensational stage of development as early as 415 B.c.—A discus- sion followed, in which Dr. H. Weber and Dr. B. V. Head took a leading part. HELLENIC.— Oct. 20,—Prof. Jebb, President, in the chair.—Mr. A. H. Smith read a paper on the sculptured drum from Ephesus which is now in the British Museum, and which is commonly interpreted as relating to the story of Alcestis. He tried to show that the subject of the relief is the making and send- ing forth of Pandora as told by Hesiod. According to this theory Pandora stands, ready to depart, between Eros and Hermes (who is seen conferring on her the gift of speech). Hephzstus stands on the left of the scene. On the right a goddess, perhaps Peitho, holds out a necklace,and beyond her is a seated figure of Zeus. The writer adduced an un- published vase in the British Museum to support his argument.—Miss Harrison said the suggested inter- pretation was interesting. but doubted if it could be accepted as final.—Mr. Watkiss Lloyd and Mr. Cecil Smith also took part in the discussion.—Mr. Theo- dore Bent gave an account of his recent researches in Cilicia, and regretted that, owing to the bulk of epigraphical material, the paper on the district of Olba would not be ready for the next issue of the Hellenic Journal. He described first of all the coast towns of the district, Augusta Sebaste, Corycos, and a third town Korasios, which he has identified as the pseudo-Coracesium of Stephanus Byzantius. He then proceeded to describe his identification of the Corycian cave by means of inscriptions and the long list of Cilician names, 160 in all, which he found on the outer wall of the temple of Zeus over the cave. He then spoke of the adjoining cave, only alluded to by Pomponius Mela as Typhonia, and a third cave, on the lip of which was a fortress with an inscription on it stating that it was built under the priest-king Teucer, in honour of the Olbian Jove, under the superintendence of one Pleistarchos of Olba. Mr. Bent gave an account of several cave-temples of Hermes which he found in this district, and associated them with the worship of the deity of the Cilician pirates, and Corycos. which Oppian calls the city of Hermes. Mr. Bent then described his exploration of the gorge of the Lamas river, with its numerous rock fortresses, each with its own particular symbol, and evidently the eyries of the Cilician pirates. ‘I'hen an account was given of the discovery of the capital of Olba itself, at a spot called Oura, up in the mountains, and its identification from an inscription on the aqueduct. Mr. Bent described the great temple of the Olbian Jove, where the priest-kings mentioned by Strabo held their court, and other ruins still standing in this city in the Taurus. In conclusion, Mr. Bent described his identification of the ruins of Bou- droum on the Cilician plain with Hieropolis Casta- bala, the last place where Alexander the Great halted before the battle of Issos. — Mr. Hogarth, who had recently been partly over the same ground with Prof. Ramsay, bore testimony to the thorough- ness of Mr. Bent’s researches, though differing from some of his conclusions. The whole district, and especially the city of Olba, were, in his opinion, of unique interest.—Sir Charles Newton also com- mented on the paper. MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Mon. Royal Academy, 4.—‘ Anatomy,’ Mr. J. Marshall. Tves. Photographic, 7. — Horticultural, 11; Lecture, 3. Fri. Royal Academy, 4.—‘ Anatomy,’ Mr. J. Marshall. Science Gossip. THE death is announced of Dr. Galbraith, of Trinity College, Dublin, whose name is familiar to studious youth as joint author of ‘* Galbraith and Haughton’s Manuals.” At the annual meeting of the London Mathe- matical Society, which will be held on Novem- ber 13th next, the following changes in the Council will be proposed: Prof. Greenhill to be President ; Dr. Larmor, Major Macmahon, R.A., and Mr. J. J. Walker, to be Vice-Pre- sidents; Dr. Hirst and Messrs. Lachlan and Love to be new members in succession to Profs. Burnside and Cayley and Sir James Cockle, who retire. The subject of the address, by the retiring President, Mr. J. J. Walker, is ‘The Influence of Applied on the Progress of Pure Mathematics.” Mr. Walker will also present the De Morgan Medal (which was awarded by the Council in June last) to Lord Rayleigh for his writings on mathematical physics. An English translation, by Mr. J. B. Endean, of Dr. Billroth’s book on ‘The Care of the Sick at Home and in the Hospital’ will be issued early in November by Messrs. Sampson Low & Co. FINE ARTS —~-— The History of the Parish Church of All Saints, Maidstone. By J. Cave-Browne, M.A. (Maidstone, Bunyard & Brown.) Tue church of All Saints, Maidstone, is a large and fine one, and in spite of severe “restoration,” by which it was attacked very early, it has not lost all its interest. For some reason not easy to explain, it has drawn to itself a greater share of attention than has been bestowed on many which surpass it in architectural and historical importance, and about few English churches have so many books been published. There is, therefore, the less reason for a new one unless the writer have new facts to bring forward, or be able to throw new light upon old ones. Judging by these tests, we do not find much justification for the appearance of Mr. Cave-Browne’s book. It does, indeed, bear evidence of his having spent time and labour upon it, but he has neglected the preliminary studies which might have enabled him to make a right use of them. The received architec- tural history of the church is imperfect, and a careful examination of the fabric by a good architectural antiquary would pro- bably add a good deal to it. Mr. Browne would upset it altogether. He unconsciously supplies the measure of his studies by stating that windows ‘are the best and safest guides as to the date” of a building, and fairly puts himself out of court by say- ing that the arcades of the nave—fully developed Perpendicular work — are of the thirteenth century. After this we are not surprised to find haziness as to chan- tries and side altars, and such notes as this one (p. 228), which is intended to throw light on the language of the Domesday Book :— ‘‘ The expression se defendit may be rendered ‘in self-defence.’ It represents the sum at which each landowner was assessed to the king under the head of Danegelde, either as a pay- ment of tribute to the invading Danes, or to defend himself and his country against their invasions.” There is a delightful freshness here that recalls the memory of the late Mr. Mackenzie Walcott, the prince of humorous annotators. Mr. Browne contends strongly, and on the whole well, for the burial of Archbishop Courtney, the founder of the college, at Maidstone, as against the cathedral church of Canterbury, where also is shown what professes to be his tomb. But in this he has spoilt his best argument by careless- ness and want of understanding of the language of the records he has used. He urges that there was not time for the pass- ing to and fro of the various messengers necessary for the setting aside of the arch- bishop’s will, according to the account upon which the Canterbury claim rests, and for the conveyance of the body from Maidstone to Canterbury, in the six days between the death on the 30th of July and the burial on the 5th of August. But the account says that the archbishop died ‘‘ ultimo die Mensis Julii,”’ which is the 31st; and ‘fer’ v* sequent’”’ does not mean the 5th of the following month, as Mr. Browne seems to think, but the Thursday following, which was the 8rd of the month, so that really there were only three days between the death and the burial. The gravestone of the founder has not been ‘“‘ restored ” away, and, though it has lost its brass, the casement shows plainly that the figure has been that of an arch- bishop, and the design shows that if not of Courtney’s time it must be earlier, so that it is really impossible to assign it to any other than him. Mr. Browne has done well to give a figure of the stone. It is the best illustration in the book, though the suggested filling up of the figure is XUM
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N° 3287, Ocr. 25,90 THE ATHENZAUM 553 wrong as to the position of the left hand, which should be grasping the staff of the cross. Mr. Browne gives a fair description of the building in its present state, with some notice of the changes made during various ‘‘re- storations.” At the latest of them the floor was trenched for hot-water pipes—a hideous method of warming, which should never be permitted in old churches, which are gener- ally full of graves—and in the trenching some interesting remains of the earlier states of the church were discovered, of which perhaps Mr. Browne’s account may be the only permanent record. Some notes on what was found were communicated by him at the time to the Society of Antiquaries and printed in their Proceedings, where sundry curious early tiles are figured. These figures are borrowed for the book, which contains further notes of things now out of sight, which future students may find useful. Except a poor attempt to represent the pictures on the tomb in the south aisle, the other illustrations are views of the building by the ink-photo process. They are good of their kind, and although not so pleasant to the eye as those that might be obtained by other methods, they have the advantage of permanence, and can be trusted for accuracy so far as they go. MR. MARKS’S DRAWINGS OF BIRDS. AutHoveH Mr. Marks’s second exhibition is not so attractive as the first, not so varied nor so funny, the 130 pictures and sketches of which it consists form a collection of good and beautiful things such as no one ought to omit seeing, although there are many of so small importance that they might as well have been left in the portfolio as studies for contributions to future Academies. Such minor productions dis- tract attention from those on which the artist ought to rely, and about which we have some- thing to say. Of the whole series it may be said that they are marked by the clear, crisp, and firm touch characteristic of Mr. Marks, yet there is more softness, breadth, and wealth of colour than before. It is the fate of wits to be expected to be funny, and Mr. Marks must take the consequences when he depicts beauty of form and colour without an afterthought, and is content to rely on art alone. The following are the most attractive. Mili- tary Macaw (No. 16), an aggressive-looking, dictatorial bird, has dilated pupils like those most painters give to Mr. Gladstone, as well as a rapacious beak, and it is gor- geously clad in enamel-like and varied greens, the colours of which are most intense and brilliant. The solemnity and ferocious air of the creature attest the draughtsman’s sense of humour, and do not quite mask the real cowardice of the bird. Mr. Marks loves storks more than any other feathered thing ; witness the serene and sedate pair of those birds who in No. 20 stand side by side and are attired in fine harmonies of black and white. There is a biography in each eye and a memoir in each lifted or unlifted leg. Like an elderly dowager in black, intensely suggestive of Miss Pinkerton, is the Banksian Cockatvo (29), a capital study of character and colour. The splendid green and velvety lustre shown in A Rare Edition on Ornithology (32) could not be better. Compare it with the superb russets and reds of the cock in No. 43. The Demoi- selle Cranes (44) must needs please everybody with the quaint gracefulness of the attitudes of the two ‘‘old-fashioned” birds. Solitary by a lonely pool is the gaunt grey and brown wader : who looks across the waters with ravin in his eye, and supplied a good subject to the Tapestry Panel (61), which is painted in distemper on canvas. The Vulturine Eagle (89) is a noble study in black. The Peacemaker (85) comprises a group of quaint penguins in their natural half- mourning perched on a sandy bank and close to the sea. In The New Neighbour (96), a Cape sea-lion and an adjutant, who, in adjoining cages, meet for the first time at the Zoological Gardens, there is much fun, not without signs of those objections to knowing ‘‘the people next door” which every true Londoner enter- tains. THE GROSVENOR GALLERY. EXHIBITION OF THE SOCIETY OF BRITISH PASTELLISTS. Ir this is indeed the last exhibition at the Grosvenor Gallery it is only right to express our sincere regret and to acknowledge gratefully the debt the art-loving world owes to Sir Coutts Lindsay and his coadjutors for the instruction and pleasure it has derived from the exhibi- tions of Reynoldses, Gainsboroughs, and Van Dycks, as well as those of modern masters like Sir John Millais and Mr. Alma Tadema, that have filled the rooms in recent winters. More- over, it would be hard to overrate the charms the summer exhibitions at the Grosvenor ori- ginally possessed, when Mr. Burne Jones and other artists sent their best productions. As to the current exhibition, it is, although the first formed by the youngest of London’s art societies, at least the third of its kind. It is, therefore, gratifying to see that, whatever may be the advantages or disadvantages of pastel painting, the artists whose works are before us show considerable improvement in dealing with their materials, while some of them seem to have so far mastered the technique as to leave little more to be hoped for than they have already achieved. Until now it was plain that the majority of the pastellists were, so to say, oil painters or water-colour draughtsmen in disguise ; at best they were attempting a method they did not quite understand. As to the value of paint- ing in this fashion, we are not convinced that it is worth the attention given to it, the other processes in common use being far more power- ful and applicable to many more artistic pur- poses. Asa means of sketching in colour in a forthright manner, and apart from several serious mechanical difficulties attending its employment and the preservation of its products, pastel painting will soon, we think, return to that position it has always occupied (for it has never really gone out of use and been redis- covered), and continue to be occasionally used by every artist who can paint and draw with other materials. Meanwhile the ‘‘ British Pastellists” have taken many a valuable lesson from those artists of Paris whose beautiful works it has been our privilege to praise while review- ing the Salons of successive years. The fruits of these lessons are manifest in the following examples, taken in the order of the Catalogue. Before speaking of them we are bound to pro- test against the exhibition of certain astounding vagaries of draughtsmanship, colouring, and design, which are too dreadful to be laughed at and passed over. Among these curiosities of badness few are so conspicuous as Heer J. Toorop’s Transporting a Fishing-Smack (No. 30), where proportion, harmony of every kind, and even the laws of gravitation governing floating bodies are most quaintly and outrageously ignored. The same gentleman’s Heaving the Anchor (47), men working a windlass in a boat, is quite as strange as his No. 30.—The eccen- tricities of Mr. W. Stott are not more surpris- ing, and they are less offensive, in pastel, than in his larger pictures in oil. On the other hand, they are not so amusing nor so original.—The ambitious mannerisms of Mr. 8. J. Solomon are less obvious than usual in his Study (148), and a poetical piece which is numbered 161. To call the former a ‘‘ study ” is, in an artistic sense, a mistake.—Mr. Peppercorn’s Landscape (64) is regrettable as coming from the handsof an accom- plished draughtsman.—Heer F. Khnopff’s group of half-length, life-size figures in Lawn Tennis (89) look as if they had lost their way in a fog. It is strange that an artist capable of drawing single figures as well as of designing their attitudes should fail in combining them. The lighting of this picture is most dismal, and thus proves how completely a painter of ability has forfeited one of the peculiar advantages of art in pastels. It is pleasant to turn from these failures to the capital work of M. J. E. Blanche, the ac- complished Frenchman, whose contributions to previous gatherings here deserved praise. His Madame A. H. (2) is a true example of the art, and one remarkable for its clearness and firm draughtsmanship, its just and broad tonality, and the clever management of that crux, a dress of deep blue. We do not recognize the qualities of glass-painting in this artist’s other- wise good Head for Stained Glass (18), of which the colouring is rich. Three other works of M. Blanche are to be admired.—A coarse beauty, coarsely drawn, but modelled with rare solidity, vigour, and energy, and strikingly like an old master’s fresco or distemper piece, is Mr. E. J. Gregory’s Study for a Portrait (9), the head of a woman; it would do for one of the Laureate’s ‘‘daughters of the plough.” — The commonplace effect and dirty colour of Mr. J. Macbeth’s view of a pond in turmoil, which he calls A Black Squall (10), are crude and careless. It is perilous to a painter’s reputation to work thus.—Very different is Mr. J. Aumonier’s On a Common (15), a Constable-like picture of sun- light and shadows following each other over a wide and scrubby waste, distinguished by its atmosphere and broad, soft illumination. A Wheat-Field (69) and Evening Sketch (169) are almost as noteworthy.—The Shell-Fish (19) of Mr. J. F. Swingter shows how to treat unpro- mising subjects with breadth and silveriness. The true qualities of pastel painting are hap- pily displayed in Mr. E. Tofano’s Mrs. T. a Holdsworth (25), a lady in red seated before a red blind, which screens her from the sun. A very difficult technical theme has been treated with just feeling for tone and brilliant light. The face is first rate-—Heer H. Vos is one of the prophets of pastel painting in this country, but his success would be greater if his work were softer and less obtrusive. The complexion of his Margaretha (34) is somewhat opaque in the light, while in the shadow of the girl's broad hat her flesh is clear. The expression is charm- ingly natural and vivacious. Mrs. Lebéque (112), seated in broad, bright light and dressed in white, is admirably suited to the materials em- ployed, and but for the extravagant obtrusive- ness of the ugly hat she wears would deserve unreserved praise. His Bretonne Girl (120), in a white cap, shows fine draughtsmanship in the features and true character, but it is liable to the same objections as No. 112.—No. 40, a group of children at play, with the motto, Open the gates as high as the sky, To let the King and Queen pass by, is by Mrs. E. Stanhope Forbes. It lacks the clearness and purity of pastel painting, is spotty in effect and dull in colour; the design is de- ficient in energy, and the figures hardly move as they should, yet there is expression and character in some of the faces. Mrs. Forbes fails in courage to compose and to practise draughtsmanship, but she will do better by- and-by.—Mr. Albert Moore sets her a capital example in the fine draughtsmanship and spirited design of the whole-length figure of a naked girl in A Bathing Place (68). The legs are a little clumsy, but the grace and spon- taneity of this capital study are worthy of its accomplished modelling and choice carnations. Artistically speaking it is the best work here.
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554 THE ATHENZUM N° 3287, Ocr. 25, 90 A Girl’s Head (72), life size and laughing, is most spirited and sound.—Except that it is not quite so animated, A Portrait (87) of Mr. J. J. Shannon may be matched with the last. A similar work, A Portrait (92), by the same painter, though vigorous, is rather heavy. Mr. P. Knight’s Old Mill, Bettws-y-Coed (81), is full of tenderness, especially its atmosphere and greys.—In A Sheepfold, Evening (88), Mr. G. Clausen evinces technical knowledge and fine feeling for nature in glowing light. Other specimens of this artist’s ability and accom- plishments are to be found in this gallery.— A Grey Morning (116) attests Mr. H. Goodall’s sense of light and tone, and his apprecia- tion of atmospheric gradations.—The Leander (132) of Mr. H. S. Tuke is a sound and careful, but somewhat ugly study of a common model, which would be more acceptable under a better title.—Mrs. Albert Gray (142) is one of the noblest pieces of pastel painting we have seen. A life-size, whole-length figure standing in a simple and graceful attitude, which in its solidity and sense of style reminds us of a capital Romney, it excels in the treatment of the flesh and white dress as well as in the ladylike air of the portrait throughout. It is by Mr. E. Roberts, a capital draughtsman and a good painter. We commend to the reader’s atten- tion Mis. R. Holford (122) and Gwendoline (194), by the same artist, whose masterpiece here is Lady A. S. Stewart (221), a beautiful head, beautifully drawn, and painted with rare feeling for the morbidezza of the forms, the colouring of the flesh, and aptitude of light.— By Mr. St. G. Hare is No. 227, called Captive, and a capital study of a nude negro girl bound to a wall, in which frank draughtmanship has added a charm to the true carnations and just handling of the surface.—One of the most re- markable works here is the almost Diirer-like half-length Portrait of G. Monkman (235), by Mr. F. W. Elwell, a life-size, solid, some- what hard picture of an old man bearing a civic mace.—Mr. F. Khnopff succeeds better with large single figures than with groups of small ones such as we mentioned above ; for instance, his Le Silence (180), the poetic suggestiveness of which goes far to redeem its lack of searching art and care in certain parts.—Miss F. Levien’s Study (306), an old woman, is vigorous and good.—Mrs. Jopling’s dashing and spirited Portrait of the Artist (250) ought not to be overlooked amid a host of mediocrities, We must not omit to call attention to two or three beautiful statuettes whose names are not in the first edition of the Catalogue. Perhaps the best of these is Mr. O. Ford’s Fragment, a torso in bronze, an example of fine style, and with choice modelling distinct in every contour. The late Signor Amendola’s erect damsel paus- ing in the dance, which is ineptly named A Moment’s Rest, is graceful and fine. NOTES FROM ATHENS. September 27, 1890. THE ruins of the ancient Rhamnus lie at a distance of about nine miles to the north-east of Marathon. Since the Middle Ages it has been known under the name of Ovrio Kastro, and on the spot stands an ancient fort overlooking the sea. The site of the Deme of the same name, to which the orator Antiphon belonged, appears to be somewhat further off. Near the castle, on a low projecting hill, lie the ruins of two temples, which form a complicated group. This was especially the case with the larger, of which eight columns are still standing. Of late the opinion has prevailed that the two temples were dedicated to one and the same deity, Nemesis. The older and smaller (10°70 métres long by 6°40 métres wide) was burnt by the Persians during the invasion of Xerxes, and it was re- placed by a larger building (22°90 métres long by 11°30 métres wide), and in it was erected a statue of the goddess by Phidias or his pupil ‘not at an end when the temple is cleared. Agoracritus. -According to Pausanias’s account the statue was hewn out of a block of marble that the Persians brought with them from Paros to Marathon in order to erect a trophy of the victory they made sure of earning. But the later temple, as the absence of fluting on the columns seems to indicate, was never completed. Leake says in his work on the Attic Demes that in the ruins of the smaller temple was found a fragment of a headless and armless statue of life size, the close-fitting drapery of which was in the style of the Aiginetan school. He con- sidered it be a portion of a statue of Themis, to whom the temple was at that time supposed to be dedicated: a statue now, he says, in the British Museum. Besides, Col. Leake men- tions as existing in the larger temple fragments of a colossal statue, which, according to Hesy- chius and Zenobius, was a statue of Nemesis. He remarks that they are not of Parian marble as Pausanias reported. He also mentions various fragments and figures in high relief, which he supposes belonged to the base of the colossal image. The Athenian Society of Archeology has been making excavations at Rhamnus under the superintendence of the Inspector of Antiquities, M. Valerius Stais. The main object has been to clear the precincts of the temples, especially of the later one. In doing so a number of in- teresting fragments of sculpture have been found, among them a horse of stone, three female heads, and one male head. Two statues in the form of Herme, and of a later period, have come tolight, and the pedestal of one bears an inscription. All of these objects have been transported to the Central Museum at Athens. As yet, to judge by the brief list published, no part of the statue of Nemesis has been found. How are the fragments that have come to light to be explained ? Pausanias describes the figures of the bathron of the statue of Nemesis. Ac- cording to one myth Helen was the daughter of Nemesis, but Leda suckled her, and Phidias represented Leda taking Helen to Nemesis. Tyndareus was depicted standing by with his sons, and a horseman named Hippeus was pre- sent with his steed. These figures Pausanias says were émt t@ BdOpw Tod ayddparos cipyacpeva, but whether in relief he does not say. Were the figures by some exceptionin the round ? Is the stone horse possibly the horse of Hippeus ; and do the heads belong to the personages mentioned by Pausanias? If they were, we have recovered portions of the work of the great master or his school. The labours of the Archeological Society are It is intended to excavate the sacred way leading from the temple to the sea, which was adorned on either side with bas-reliefs and statues, of which many remains are still in situ, so that the work of excavation promises to be of high in- terest. The chief hindrance to the work is not so much the lateness of the season as the cost, which will be altogether something like 2,600/. It is not clear how this is to be obtained. October 9. For the moment the excavations are stopped, and next year operations will begin with the excavation of the via sacra. I have myself ex- amined the sculptures deposited in the Central Museum, and can supply some details regarding them. A few inaccuracies crept into the first part of my letter sent off when the news of the discovery first came to hand, and some of the problems it gave rise to have been solved. We must give up talking of two temples of Nemesis, an old and a newone. That is the main result of the excavations. Since my pre- vious letter was dispatched the discovery of the statue of Themis in the smaller temple appears to have settled the point. In spite of the inscrip- tions on a marble seat that have long been known, ‘‘ Sostratus dedicated to Nemesis,” and “‘Sostratus dedicated to Themis,” theold opinion, adopted by Leake, that the smaller temple was dedicated to Themis, had been abandoned, and the theory I have mentioned above adopted, but the discovery of the statue of Themis proves that she was worshipped in the smaller temple. Only one point of importance remains to be decided, whether Themis was the sole divinity of the temple, or whether she and Nemesis were worshipped together, and she was a goddess ctvvaos. This has been settled, at any rate for later times, by the inscriptions to be mentioned below. . The statue of Themis is in itself, apart from other considerations, most interesting. It is one of the loveliest in the Central Museum. It is 2°30 métres high. The inspiration of true Attic art characterizes the beautifully draped limbs of the figure. The hands, which pro- bably bore the attributes of the goddess, are wanting, but otherwise the work is in a fine state of preservation. The most interesting point is that the pedestal on which it stood names the artist, a hitherto unknown Cheere- stratus, the son of Charidemus of Rhamnus. From the same inscription we learn that the statue was dedicated by a citizen of Rhamnus, Megacles the son of Megacles, in celebration of a victory he had won asa gymnasiarch of con- tests of men and boys and as Choragus in the theatre. In the original the inscription runs :— (First line) MeyaxAns Meyaxdéovs ‘Papvor- aos aveOnke guide otepavwlels id taHv Snpo- tov Sika (Second line) oovvys évexa émt iepetas KaAXlorov viknoas radi kal avdpdor yupva- c.apxwv kat (Third line on the plinth of the pedestal) kwpmdots yopyyov (In the middle of the plinth) Xaupéotpatos Xapedjpov ‘Papvor- owos éxonoe. It is to be remarked that on the plinth, beneath the word ‘epeias of the second line, the words kai Pedoorpatyns Neuéoews iepetas have been added subsequently. This addition throws light on the relations of the two goddesses to one another in the smaller temple. A thing of such importance as the men- tion of the priestess of Nemesis was forgotten by the stone-cutter or the author of the inscription, and was added afterwards. This seems to have been no accident, and was rather due to the un- certainty felt in the fourth or third century, to which period the statue of Themis and the in- scription both belong, regarding the joint worship of the goddesses. This vagueness disappeared at a later date, but the cult of Themis was always preponderant ; her name is put first, for instance, in the inscription on the plinth of the second of the statues found, that of the priestess Aristonoe, the style and workmanship of which, as well as the lettering of the pedestal, belong to the epoch of Alexander. The inscrip- tion is as follows :— Oépids kat Nepéeoes ‘lepoxAns ‘leporotod ‘Pap- vovawos dveOnke THY pntépa’Apiotovénv Niko- Kpatov ‘Papvovoiov tépecav Neuévews. It is not quite clear whether there was one priestess of Nemesis in the smaller temple and another in the larger, or whether the same priestess superintended the worship of the god- dess in both. Nor is it clear which of the god- desses was worshipped in the smaller temple before the statue of Themis was placed there. Besides the two statues mentioned above, a third has been found belonging to the smaller temple. The lettering of the inscription and the artistic character of the statue indicate the fifth century. It is dedicated to ‘the goddess,” but it is not stated which. The statue represents a young man with his breast bare. It is a portrait of ordinary and yet beautiful workmanship. It is about one métre high. That of Aristonoe is much larger, but not particularly beautiful. In the right hand, which was found broken off, is a patera. It is to be remarked that the pedestals of all three statues were discovered in situ in the south-west corner of the smaller temple. That the temple existed down to Roman times is proved by the discovery of thirteen imperial
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— oe — — a a ae ee Ne 3287, Ocr. 25, 90 THE ATHENAUM 555 coins. Besides in the same grave before the pedestals were discovered thirty clay lamps. Not less interesting are the fragments found in the ruins of the larger temple of the image of Nemesis, which was of Parian marble. Of the image itself only the shoulder remains. The figures belong to the pedestal. They are now on view at the Central Museum, which is not the case with the large statues—an opportunity of seeing which I owe to the kindness of M. Kay- vadias, the General Inspector of Antiquities. The figures exhibited at the Museum are in high relief, so that there can be no doubt that they belong to the bathron. They are small and of very short stature ; they remind one of beauti- ful terra-cotta figurines. The most important are the two female heads, the male head, a male torso and two female torsi, and the horse’s head. Sp. Lamsros. Fine-Art Gossip. THE private view of the exhibition of the Institute of Painters in Oil Colours is appointed for Friday next, the 31st inst. Messrs. A. Toot & Sons have appointed to-day (Saturday) for the private view of their winter exhibition of pictures, including Mr. Alma Tadema’s ‘ Promise of Spring,’ a recently finished example which we have already de- scribed. Mr. M‘Lean’s private view is tixed for the same date. Iris with regret we learn that, according to the following notice, a useful association, which has existed many years with considerable advantage to art and artists, is likely soon to come to an end: ‘‘ A special general meeting of the Graphic Society is to be held here [University College, London] on the 29th of October, at 8 o’clock in the evening. To consider the present position of the Society, and (if the meeting shall so deter- mine) to pass a resolution that the Graphic Society be dissolved and its affairs wound up.” The causes of the proposed dissolution, which was informally discussed in July last, are the number of vacancies in the list of members, aris- ing from deaths, and from artists finding it impos- sible to work in the prevailing foul and lightless atmosphere, so that they cease to live in London; and the growth of societies which restrict themselves neither to professional artists nor to art alone at their meetings. IN the first week of November will be opened at the Art Gallery, Birmingham, an exhibition of the works of David Cox, which, thanks to the liberality of the owners and the intelligent zeal of Mr. W. Wallis, the director, promises to be of unusual merit, and in its nearly five hundred examples to surpass the gathering which in 1859 was formed by Mr. Gambart at the French Gallery. The great Birmingham master will be thoroughly seen in all the phases of his art ; many of the examples are still un- known to the world. Among those who have lent specimens are Mr. Holbrook Gaskell, the representatives of the late Mr. E. Harvey, the Betts family of Birmingham, Lord Willoughby de Eresby, Lord Armstrong, Sir W. H. Houlds- worth, Mr. J. Orrock, Mr. J. Houldsworth of Coltness, Mr. C. Quilter, Mr. J. Chamberlain, Dr. Jex-Blake, Mr. W. Agnew, Mr. L Huth, Mr. A. T. Hollingsworth, and Mr. J. B. Dug- dale. Ir is proposed to publish by subscription a limited number of copies of a catalogue of the named, dated, and inscribed pieces of early English pottery which exist in public museums and the cabinets of private collectors. The book will be fully illustrated, and will describe about six hundred examples. The editors are Mr. J. Eliot Hodgkin and Miss Edith Hodgkin, of Childwall, Richmond-on-Thames. THE Rey. Charles Kerry is about to publish in the columns of the Antiquary an account of the recent discovery by him of the Register and Chartulary of the Mercers’ Company, York. ! An article on the ‘‘ Peterborough Gentleman’s Society,” which was founded in 1730 for archzeo- logical purposes, is to appear in the November number of that journal. THE death, on the 18th inst., is announced of M. Auguste Toulmouche, a French genre painter of much renown, and not inaptly named ‘‘ the modern Metsu.” On M. Toulmouche’s interiors of boudoirs and drawing-rooms, on their fair and fashionably attired inmates, on the crisply touched and exquisitely elaborated faces, hair, hands, robes, ornaments, and furniture, which distinguished them with a certain charm the severest critics found it hard to resist, we have frequently commented while reviewing the Salons, in which his very distinct and original personality will be missed. He was born at Nantes in 1829, and became a pupil of Gleyre, whose influence is manifest in all his works. He began to exhibit when very young, and was comparatively unsuccessful in ambitiously dealing with historical subjects ; but when, a few years later, he turned to genre of the kind we have mentioned, his fortune was soon, and for a long time, assured, so that his dainty dames and damsels obtained large prices and found places in many good collections. His ladies lived and moved in a paradise of millinery and modern bric-d-biac ; they had not a thought in their heads, but Fashion claimed them for her own. Few could draw or model a corsage or the skirt of a dress better or more dexterously than M. Toulmouche, while it would be very difficult indeed to beat his touch when dealing with ormolu and polished wood. His surfaces are metallic, his carnations are wooden, and his colouring is hard and crude ; but in copying the light and shade of an interior not many, despite the characteristic blackness of his shadows, did better. In their way his designs were admirable, and his expressions are, as concerned with Parisian life of the hot- pressed sort, as true as they could be. He obtained a Third-Class Medal in 1852, a rappel in 1859, a Second-Class Medal in 1861, another Third-Class Medal in 1878, a bronze medal in 1889, and the Cross of the Legion of Honour in 1870. WHILE repairing the roof of the cupola in the cathedral of Cahors, a series of frescoes repre- senting eight prophets, and having in the centre the lapidation of St. Stephen, to whom the church is dedicated, has been discovered. These works are in good preservation. Mr. StittMaN writes from Rome :— “Tt may not be out of place to warn the archxo- logical public that a well-known Greek dealer in antiquities is now buying vases of Nolaor any other fabrique of Magna Grecia, of which there are great quantities now in the market here, coming from the excavations at Fallerii, Capua, &c., and shipping them off to Athens, where they will be sold as Attic. Considering that the mere fact of Attic pro- venance increases to double or threefold the value of an antique vase, and that our market is flooded with Nola ware, the delusion of purchasers at Athens is likely to be extensive, the more as very few vases in good condition are found in Greece, and those mostly rigidly watched by the Greek archeological police. A good judge would hardly mistake a Nola vase for one of Attic execution, but the majority of buyers would easily be deceived, finding the former in Athens.” Dr. SCHLIEMANN’S brother-in-law, P. Kas- tromenos, has discovered on the Isthmus of Corinth two prehistoric tunidli, which he be- lieves to be identical with the tombs of Sisyphus and of Neleus, father of Nestor, of which Pausanias speaks in his description of the terri- tory of Corinth. WHATEVER may be the faults of the new United States tariff, it has some merits in the eyes of artists, who know that the duty of 30 per cent. formerly levied on works of art imported to that country has been reduced one half. It came into operation on the 6th inst. Picture dealers on this side of the Atlantic regard the reduction with equanimity, and say that it will favour art in the States by checking the importation of examples which are not good enough to pay the duty on. They say that by paying the tax the dealers prove their convictions of the value of their goods. MUSIC —o— THE WEEK. THe NoRWICH FESTIVAL. Roya IraLiAN OPERA, — ‘ Aida,’ ‘Les Huguenots,’ * Faust.” CrystaL PaLace.—Saturday Concerts. Sr. JaMgEs’s HALL.—Monday Popular Concerts. A cAREFUL examination of Dr. Hubert Parry’s setting of ‘L’Allegro ed il Pen- sieroso’ tends to confirm the impression that it is in every respect equal, if not superior, to his ‘St. Cecilia’s Day.’ In a purely sesthetic sense it is just as effective, while it shows evidence of deeper reflection and contains subtler details in the way of tone-painting. A comparison of the work with that of Handel affords striking evi- dence of the progress of musical thought and the growth of true artistic feeling, especially of recent years. Charles Jennens had no sort of respect for Milton’s verse, merely perceiving in it the possible basis of a libretto, which he proceeded to con- struct by alternating sections of ‘L’Allegro’ with others from ‘Il Pensieroso’ in the form of a duologue, and concluding with some additions of his own, which he en- titled ‘Il Moderato.’ Even the purity of Milton’s text was not preserved, words and sentences being altered in the most arbitrary manner, greatly to the weakening of their poetic force. Dr. Parry, of course, perceived that some lines of the twin poems were more suitable for musical purposes than others, and his selection is for the most part ex- tremely judicious. The structure of his work is in some respects unique. Only two solo voices are required, a soprano and a baritone, the former being employed solely in ‘ L’Allegro’ and the latter solely in ‘Il Pensieroso.’ The artistic appropriateness of this arrangement is obvious, though it added to the difficulty of the task he had before him, that of making the necessarily sombre music of the second half of his work as pleasing to the ear as the earlier portion. The complete success with which he has accomplished this is one of the greatest merits of the work. A minute analysis of the music would be incomprehensible with- out the aid of illustrations, but a brief de- scription may be given of its most salient features. A somewhat lengthy introduction, founded mainly on themes subsequently employed in ‘Il Pensieroso,’ leads without break to the opening soprano recitative, ‘‘ Hence, loathed Melancholy!” and solo, ‘“ Haste thee, nymph.” The latter has nothing in common with Handel, but it is very bright and joyous, with florid and sparkling figures of accompaniment. The chorus takes up the theme and greatly extends it, with much writing in imitation. This lengthy section of the work ends with the lines commencing “ Oft list’ning how the hounds and horn,” the peroration being well worked up. To this succeeds a quiet solo, ‘‘ Sometimes walking not unseen,” the accompaniment of which, chiefly for wood wind alone, is more effective than the voice part. The chorus then resumes until the line ‘‘And ever, against eating cares,”
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556 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3287, Ocr. 25, 90 when we have a delightfully suave and melodious solo in six-eight and nine-eight measures with running accompaniment. The chorus continues this, but at the words “With wanton heed and giddy cunning” @ more vigorous style commences, and the music becomes more and more ani- mated, giving the idea of unseemly mirth. After a cadence the orchestra continues in the same strain until rudely interrupted by the baritone soloist, “‘ Hence, vain deluding joys.” This recitative leads to a placid but beautiful movement in three-two time, ‘‘ But hail, thou goddess sage and holy.” The next section demanding mention is ‘‘ Oft on a plat of rising ground,” one of the most beautiful in the work. This may possibly remind the listener of the second movement of Berlioz’s ‘Harold’ Symphony, but the resemblance goes no further than a faint suggestiveness. The succeeding chorus in six parts contains a lovely phrase in the accom- paniment, and the interest is well sustained until we arrive at the final section, ‘‘ But let my due feet never fail.’”’ This is deeply imbued with the requisite religious spirit, and works upto a remarkably solemnand im- pressive close, the voices, piano, being divided into eight parts. Thus ends a work which cannot fail to take its place among the best achievements of our living native composers. It is music which cannot be fully grasped at once, for though Dr. Parry’s thematic materials are mostly noticeable for breadth and straightforward English character, yet in all its details his writing is strictly modern, and demands careful study before its under- lying beauties can be fully perceived. This, of course, may militate against its immediate popularity, but a work that contains such strength and virility is much more likely to endure than one of a more flimsy texture. The performance of ‘L’Allegro’ on Wednesday morning last week was exceed- ingly creditable to all concerned. Miss Mac- intyre invested the soprano solos with much charm, and Mr. Alec Marsh was heard to far greater advantage in those for baritone than he was in ‘Judes Maccabzeus’ on the preceding evening. Too much praise could not be given to the choir for their vigorous, animated delivery of the choral portions, which are far from easy. The chief cha- racteristic of the Norwich chorus at this festival was the heartiness with-which they attacked their work. Their voices were, of course, not those of Yorkshire singers, but they seemed determined to make the most of their resources, and a large measure of success crowned their efforts. The new work was enthusiastically received, the com- poser, who conducted, being applauded with more than usual fervour at the conclusion of the performance. The programme of this concert included Rossini’s ‘Stabat Mater,’ of which an excellent rendering was given. The programme of Wednesday evening was devoted to Dr. A.C. Mackenzie, consist- ing of a portion of his ‘Ravenswood’ music and ‘The Dream of Jubal.’ The composer who undertakes to write incidental music to a play has in one respect a thankless task before him. However meritorious and effective his prelude and entr’actes may be, they will obtain scant attention from theatrical audiences, and his sole consolation must be that his work may survive in the concert-room after the piece has been with- drawn from public notice. This is not at all unlikely to be the case with Dr. Mac- kenzie’s ‘Ravenswood’ music. The pre- lude and three entr’actes performed at Norwich make up an extremely effective suite —a form of orchestral composition that has lately come into vogue, at the expense of the regularly constructed symphony. The prelude, in D minor ard major, is a sym- metrical overture, graphic and picturesque, with just the requisite infusion of tragic flavour. The first entr’acte, allegro agitato in B flat, is brightly written and has a charming close, but it is inferior to the second, a sweet Schubertian theme in B minor, delicately orchestrated. The third is an example of the courante in three-four time—a very dif- ferent species of cowrante from that in three- two measure, found inthe older suites. Dr. Mackenzie’s piece is strongly rhythmical, and is founded on two very winning themes. In the coda he introduces the first eight bars of a very old dance known as ‘The Trum- peter’s Currand.’ The ‘ Ravenswood ’ music is in every respect worthy of its distinguished composer, and it was well played and warmly received. An admirable perform- ance of ‘The Dream of Jubal’ followed, Miss Macintyre and Mr. Lloyd in the principal parts, and Miss Julia Neilson in the recitation, repeating familiar and de- served triumphs, while the choruses were rendered with much effect. It will not be necessary to linger over the rest of the festival. On Thursday morning Sir Arthur Sullivan conducted an excellent performance of his ‘Martyr of Antioch,’ a portion of which already sounds strangely old-fashioned, owing to the rapid growth of the dramatic at the expense of the lyrical cantata during the last decade. Miss Mac- intyre further increased the good opinion already formed of her by her powerful, yet sympathetic rendering of the principal part. Mendelssohn’s ‘Scotch’ Symphony and his ‘‘Hear my prayer,” the solo part in which was sung with chaste expression by Miss Liza Lehmann, completed the pro- gramme. In the evening a miscellaneous concert was given, containing several items, such as songs from comic operas, &c., utterly unworthy of a place in a festival scheme. Mr. Hamish MacOunn’s ‘Ship o’ the Fiend’ and Mr. Edward German’s Overture to ‘Richard III.,’ both conducted by their respective composers, were the principal orchestral items ; but the perform- ance of the former was spoilt by Mr. MacCunn’s curious, not to say grotesque, method of beating time. On Friday morning ‘Elijah’ was given with much effect, Mr. Alec Marsh infusing so much intelligence into his rendering of the titular part that if he can conquer his unfortunate vibrato he may yet attain the high position to which his natural gifts entitle him. The final programme in the evening was again miscellaneous, redeemed, however, by four movements from Bach’s Suite in p, and the entire second act of Wagner’s ‘ Der Fliegende Hollinder.’ The latter appeared to be much appreciated, and the principal parts were excellently sung by Madame Nordica, Miss Mackenzie, Mr. Ben Davies, Mr. Novara, and Mr. Henschel. On the whole, a favourable impression has been left by thethirty-third Norwich Festival. The local public has not yet conquered its indifference towards new works, nor its fondness for inartistic miscellaneous pro- grammes, but some progress may be noted in both respects. The marked improvement in the chorus affords room for general con- gratulation, and praise for this is due to their trainer, Dr. Horace Hill, as well as to Mr. Randegger, who showed himself an able conductor throughout the week. There was a slight falling off in the attendance, but this was accounted for by the fact that most of the principal vocalists were unknown in Norwich. The festival has, at any rate, proved its right to exist, and with care even better results may be obtained on the next occasion. During the best years of Mr. Mapleson’s management at Her Majesty’s Theatre an autumn season of Italian opera at popular prices was looked for as a matter of course, and many fine performances were witnessed at this period of the year. It would be absurd to suppose that in these days of increasing musical enlightenment perform- ances of high-class operas would no longer attract remunerative audiences, the main questions for the consideration of the im- presario being the expense of the under- taking and the necessity of providing a good ensemble. The second of these condi- tions did not receive sufficient attention during Signor Lago’s management at Covent Garden Theatre during the summer seasons of 1886 and 1887; but experience teaches, and evidence has already been afforded that he is now more familiar with the require- ments of the public. The merits of the opening performance of ‘ Aida’ last Satur- day outweighed the defects. Some curiosity was felt respecting the sisters Ravogli, who have gained much applause in Gluck’s ‘Orpheus’ on the Continent. Concerning the soprano, Mlle. Sofia Ravogli, opinions must be reserved as she was almost paralyzed by nervousness; but so far as could be judged her voice is light and of fairly pleasant quality. Her sister, Mlle. Giulia Ravogli, possesses an excellent mezzo-soprano voice, and is an accomplished actress. Signor Giannini has improved in voice, though not in appearance, since he was last here in 1885, and he is happily free from the detestable vibrato. The other new-comers made no great impression ; but the chorus and stage arrangements were adequate, and the accompaniments were delightfully played under Signor Bevignani’s direction. ‘Les Huguenots’ on Monday brought forward three more débutants, Mile. Strom- feld, Mlle. Maria Peri, and Signor Perotti. The first named in the part of Marguerite was moderately successful, and as she has the advantage of youth she may be expected to improve. Mlle. Peri is nice looking, and she has a powerful voice, marred, however, to a painful extent by tremolo, from which Signor Perotti is free. He sang here twenty years ago, and he is, therefore, no longer young; but he is a capable artist, and both vocally and dra- matically his Raoul was acceptable. Mlle. Giulia Ravogli as Urbano confirmed the good opinion previously formed of her, and the Saint Bris of Signor Galassi and the Marcel of Signor Meroles were fairly com- mendable. The general performance, how- ever, under Signor Arditi was very slovenly.
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SS SO CU _ N° 3287, Ocr. 25,90 THE ATHENZUM 557 ‘Faust’ on Tuesday was chiefly remark- able for the complete failure of Signor Suane in the titular part, and the striking success of Madame Fanny Moody as Mar- guerite. The young English artist’s assump- tion was in sweetness and vocal skill, if not in dramatic strength, the best we have had since the early days of Christine Nilsson. Mr. Novara has toned down his melodra- matic impersonation of Mephistopheles, greatly to its advantage, and a favourable impression was created by Mlle. Costanzi, a new-comer, in the part of Siebel. Signor Padilla is, unfortunately, but the shadow of his former self, and his Valentine was only good in intention. Once more Signor Be- vignani deserves the utmost credit for the careful observance of all the nuances in the orchestration. The favourable impression created by the orchestral serenade of Miss E. M. Smyth, performed at Mr. Manns’s benefit concert last season, was more than confirmed by her Overture to ‘Antony and Cleopatra,’ intro- duced at the Crystal Palace concert last Saturday. The writer of the analysis is as careful as Herr Wolzogen himself to stamp every phrase in the work with some mean- ing; but this is unnecessary as well as embarrassing. The statement that the pre- vailing idea ‘is the conflict, and eventual merging in Death, of two master passions, Love and War,” is sufficient, and the intelligent hearer should be able to grasp the significance of the various themes and their treatment without further aid. There is no difficulty in the present instance, as Miss Smyth’s subjects are well defined, and their treatment shows the hand of an excellent musician. Mr. Leonard Borwick was scarcely well advised to select Saint- Saéns’s Concerto in c minor, No. 2, for his first appearance at the Crystal Palace. The work demands brilliant execution, but it does not call for the higher artistic qualities which he undoubtedly possesses, and he did not seem to be quite in sympathy with his subject. Madame Tavary, who also made her début at Sydenham, was likewise un- happy in her second song, Donizetti’s trivial “© Luce di quest’ anima”’; but she gave a dramatic, if somewhat hard, rendering of Weber’s ‘‘Ocean, thou mighty monster.” Beethoven’s Symphony in c, No. 1, and Goldmark’s “‘ Geisterreigen,”’ from his new opera ‘Merlin,’ were included in the pro- gramme. A most satisfactory commencement was made with the Popular Concerts on Monday evening, the programme and its interpre- tation being alike excellent, and the attend- ance large. Beethoven’s Quartet in rf, Op. 59, No. 1, has been so often rendered by Madame Néruda and Messrs. Ries, Straus, and Piatti, that it will be sufficient to record a performance of full average merit. Sir Charles Halle played Beethoven’s Sonata in £ flat, Op. 81, ‘Les Adieux, Absence, et le Retour,’ in his best manner, showing that time has not yet dimmed his faculties. The stereotyped demand for an encore met on this occasion with a refusal, for which the veteran pianist may be thanked. Brahms’s Pianoforte Trio in c minor, Op. 101, noteworthy for clearness and brevity as well as for general effectiveness, was well rendered ; and the instrumental part of the Programme was completed by Nos. 1 and 4 of Hellerand Ernst’s ‘ Pensées Fugitives’ for , piano and violin. Mr. Ben Davies, the vocalist of the evening, sang Signor Piatti’s serenade with violoncello obbligato, ‘‘ Awake, awake,” which might be allowed a rest, and a new song in the old English style, ‘“ All are deceivers,”’ by Mr. Alfred Cellier. Rusical Gossip, THE Bristol Festival which has taken place from Wednesday to Saturday this week will not leave any enduring mark, as the scheme, with which we have already dealt, contains neither novelties nor interesting revivals. Such record as it may require shall be given next week. THE programme of Sefior Sarasate’s first autumn concert at St. James’s Hall last Satur- day afternoon was wholly composed of familiar works. The gifted violinist played Bernard’s Concerto in G minor, Max Bruch’s in the same key, and Ernst’s Fantasia on Rossini’s ‘ Otello’ in his best manner. Mr. Cusins’s orchestra was heard in Liszt’s symphonic poem ‘Les Préludes,’ Glinka’s ‘ Komarinskaja,’ and Bee- thoven’s overture ‘ King Stephen.’ THE seventh series of the Hampstead Popular Concerts of Chamber Music will be held at the Vestry Hall, Haverstock Hill, on Fridays, November 14th and 28th, December 12th, January 23rd, and February 6th and 20th. The programmes are very attractive, and a large number of eminent artists have been engaged, including Herr Joachim, Mr. Gompertz, Herr Ludwig, Madame Mehlig, Madame Haas, Miss Fanny Davies, and Mr. and Mrs. Henschel. THE committee of the Wednesday Popular Concerts at Cambridge announces eight orches- tral and chamber performances on October 29th, November 5th, 12th, and 19th, January 28th, and February 4th, 18th, and 25th. At the chamber concert of February 18th a new Piano- forte Quartet in E flat, by Dvorak, Op. 87, will be performed. This will be an occasion of special interest, unless the work is previously performed in London. We are pleased to note that there was no necessity to call upon the guarantee fund of last season, the receipts having covered the expenditure. Ava rehearsal of the Bristol Festival Choir last week Sir Charles Halle spoke in the highest terms of the choral singing at Melbourne and Sydney, stating that for fulness and power, as well as scrupulous observance of every shade of expression, their efforts were beyond all praise. THE death of M. Prosper Sainton at the ripe age of seventy-seven removes a figure at one time one of the most familiar in the musical world. Born at Toulouse in 1813, M. Sainton quickly developed musical ability, and after successful tours as a violinist he settled in this country in 1846. From this year until 1882 he was the trusted leader of Sir Michael Costa’s orchestra, that is to say until 1882, when the Sacred Harmonic Society was dissolved, and the celebrated Costa orchestra ceased to exist. Sainton was also an excel- lent quartet leader, and appeared frequently in that capacity during the early years of the Musical Union and the Monday Popular Con- certs. As a soloist he was a brilliant per- former, and possessed the merits without the defects of the French school of violin playing. In 1883 he formally retired from the platform, but to the last he continued to labour as a teacher, and was remarkably successful in that branch of his profession. In 1860 Sainton married Miss Dolby, the celebrated contralto, who died in 1885. Mr. Sepiey Taytor has nearly ready for publication ‘A System of Sight-Singing from the Established Musical Notation,’ based on the principle of tonic relation, and illustrated | by extracts from works by the great masters. The book, which is addressed directly to stu- dents of music, will be issued by Messrs. Mac- millan & Co. As the outcome of the valuable Loan Collec- tion of Military Musical Instruments at the Chelsea Exhibition, there will be a lecture, delivered on the evening of Tuesday next at the Chelsea Town Hall, by Mr. J. A. Kappey, the bandmaster of the Chatham Division of the Royal Marines. The lecture will be historical, illustrating, by performances of the Royal Military School of Music, Kneller Hall, the development of military music from a.p. 1500 to the present day. CONCERTS, &c., NEXT WEEK. Moy. Brahm Van den Berg's Pianoforte Recital, 3, Princes’ Hall. = Royal Italian Opera, 7.30 ‘ Faust.’ _ Popular Concert, 8, St. James's Hall. Tres Royal Italian Opera, 8, - La Gioconda.’ = — Association, Annual Meeting, 8, Royal Academy of usic. Messrs. Hann’s Chamber Concert. 8, Brixton Hall. Royal Italian Opera, 7.30, ‘ Les Huguenots.’ Madame Essipoff s Concert, 3, Steinway Hall, Tuvrs. Royal Italian Opera, 8, ‘ Mefistofele.’ = Shinner Quartet Concert, 8, Princes’ Hall. Fri. Royal Italian Opera. 7 30 * Roberto.’ Sar, Popular Concert, 3, St. James's Hail. — Crystal Palace Concert, 3. — Royal Italian Opera, 8, Gluck’s ‘Orpheus.’ We. DRAMA — Dramatic Gossip. Count Totstor has just completed a play, an English version of which Mr. Heinemann hopes to publish early in the new year. As the Russian authorities are unlikely to permit any- thing from the pen of Count Tolstoi to be pub- lished in Russia, Mr. Heinemann may possibly bring out also an edition of the Russian original. SomeE interest attended the recent perform- ance at the Crystal Palace by the Haymarket company of ‘The School for Scandal.’ Mr. Tree’s reading of Sir Peter Teazle showed the character senile and querulous, with few traces of the impetuosity to which we are accustomed. It abounded, however, with effective touches, and was a quaint and defensible conception. Mrs. Tree showed to advantage the lighter moods of Lady Teazle. Mr. F. Terry was a good Charles Surface, and Mr. Lewis Waller was Joseph. In a competent cast Mr. Kemble, Sir Oliver; Mr. Brookfield, Trip; and Mr. Righton, Moses, were conspicuous. ‘Mapcap,’ by Mr. Alec Nelson, has been added to the bill at the Comedy. It is a one- act piece with some fairly brisk dialogue and an unpretentious plot, in which Miss Rhoda Larkin presents a very vivacious young lady who furnishes with courage a somewhat ti- morous lover, one of two with whom she is afflicted. Tuat theatrical criticism is stingless is a com- plaint now generally heard. One has, indeed, only to compare the utterances of men of judg- ment such as Leigh Hunt and Hazlitt, to say nothing of prejudiced and vituperative writers such as Theodore Hook, with those of the modern press to see how far we have gone in the direction of ‘‘respective lenity.” The idea that failure in ambitious effort is offence seems to have been dismissed. Most so-called criticism is mere reporting, and is as devoid of offence as of animus. The change of tone fails, however, to satisfy either the author or the manager. No long time ago one of the most lauded of actor-managers, Mr. Wyndham, made a half-hearted effort to dispense with criticism. Miss Wallis has now sought to induce a later public to reverse the verdict of the first night. To this there, of course, is no objection be- yond its inconclusiveness and consequent silliness. That would indeed be unskilful management when the indifferent public of a haphazard night declined to give a favourable answer to a question put to it by a fair artist. Chivalry alone would exact a courteous reply, and if such were not forthcoming the underlings
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558 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3287, Oct. 25, 90 of the theatre, with a very little support from a friendly and unhired claque sure to be present on such occasions, would give all the effect of enthusiasm. If these things amuse a manage- ment that they cannot benefit, let them be done. Mr. Buchanan meanwhile has in characteristic fashion vindicated his own piece in the daily press. He belongs, of course, to the irritabile genus, and is welcome to his say. Unlike actors, however, our modern bards are more astute than their predecessors, and less angry. They have learnt the lesson that to quarrel with their critics is an inexpensive form of advertisement, and that printed indignation is a readable and may possibly be a profitable reclame. ‘BEAUTY AND THE Beast,’ the Drury Lane pantomime, will be written by Mr. William Yardley. A TRAVEstTY of ‘Ravenswood,’ with the title of ‘The Masher of Ravenswood,’ wzs said to be in preparation by Mr. Burnand. The idea, we are now told, is abandoned. FRENCH plays begin again on Monday at their old home at the St. James’s, possibly the best site for them. They are once more under the management of M. Mayer. Madame Chaumont, who will appear in ‘Divorgons,’ is the first attraction ; M. Noblet is also engaged. ‘A Srtent Battie,’ a play by an American author, will, it is said, be Mr. Tree’s second venture at the Haymarket Mondays. WHEN last heard of, Mr. Toole was playing in Adelaide with no less success than had attended his previous performances in Australia. To OOBRESPONDENTS.—W. C. R.—A. G. M.—T. B. T.— . H. N.—M.—C. E. L.—received. No notice will be taken of anonymous communications. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY Post. 8. d. For Twelve Months eos ove se wo 15 3 For Six Months... ove oe ooo wo VF 8 H. GREVEL & 00.’S PUBLICATIONS. JUST PUBLISHED, —_———— 1 vol. crown 8vo. cloth, price 6s. MANUAL of ARCHASOLOGY: con- taining an Introduction to Egyptian and Oriental Art, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Art. With 114 I'lustrations. 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XUM N° 3288, Nov. 1, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 577
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1890.
CONTENTS. PAGE $18 STAFFORD NoRTHCOTE’S BIOGRAPHY one ooo 577 THE PROJECTS OF THE SALVATION ARMY eco ww. 578 HOUSEKEEPING IN MEXICO ... ns oe Be on. SE ENGLISH Farry TALES ooo oe eco man we 580 THE ANCIENT LAWS OF WALES... ine ovo eo 581 NOVELS OF THE WEEK oon oo ooo ove we 582 PHILOLOGICAL LITERATURE .., ice ove Sos we 583 Mitiraky LITERATURE ose 584 Ove LisraRy TaBLE—List or New Books * PRIDE AND PREJUDICE’; A REPLY; ADDISON’S ‘ SPEC- TATOR’ MSS.; Howett’s ‘ FAMILIAR LETTERS’; THE PREDECESSORS OF THE SERVICE Book; THE ‘DICTIONARY OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY’; THE NEXT ORIENTAL CONGRESS; Mg. MUDIE ... 585—588 LITERARY GossIP one ane a Pe eee eo. 588 SCIENCE—THE LITERATURE OF ELECTRICITY; MR. NICHOLSON; ASTRONOMICAL NOTES; ANTHRO- POLOGICAL NOTES; GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES; MEET- INGS ; GOSSIP a pee too sai «. 589—591 Fine ARTS—THE SpPiITzER COLLECTION; NEW PRINTS; THE DESTRUCTION OF MONUMENTS IN EGYPT; GossIP ies — ooo ae — Life, Letters, and Diaries of Sir Stafford Northcote, First Earl of Iddesleigh. By Andrew Lang. 2 vols. (Blackwood & Sons.) Tne family of Lord Iddesleigh have at- tempted a task impossible of satisfactory performance in publishing very shortly after his death, and during the lifetime of all the leading persons with whom and against whom he acted, a full biography. We say a full biography because the present two volumes do not seem to leave room for a thoroughly satisfactory treatment of Sir Stafford Northcote’s life at a later period. His letters and his diaries have been utilized, and it will be difficult for a future biographer, when the time for a true bio- graphy has arrived, not to feel that his work has been robbed of interest by the premature publication of garbled portions of the political diaries of the Conservative leader. We do not use the word “ garbled’’ with any feeling of harshness or severity. The omissions which have been made in the most important parts of the later diaries were necessary omissions, given the time of publication. It is not to be expected that those belonging to the same party as Lord Salisbury, for example, should publish at the present moment criticisms by Sir Stafford Northcote upon Lord Salisbury’s conduct towards himself, which possibly are not even just criticisms. The world does not know, cannot know, whether they are just or unjust; but what is certain is that an imperfect view is here presented to us of the feelings of Sir Stafford Northcote, during the last months of his life, with regard to his treatment by his party. Let us not be mistaken. Sir Stafford Northcote was more than a man professing the Christian sentiments of an English gentleman. He was eminently a man of an unselfish and 2 forgiving disposition, and it is certain that he bore no personal resentment; but he was a high-minded man of great dignity of life, and when, rightly or wrongly, he thought that he was roughly treated and “‘ hustled,” he showed that kind of feeling, with regard to the treatment accorded to him for his upright services, which was in keeping with both sides of his character. There was no course fairly open to the literary executors of such a man except to
wait. The schools and the political clubs | might have been supplied with some slight biography giving the merely well-known facts of the life; and in twenty or thirty years from now the true life could have been written. It would best, then, have been written by the man himself. A full publication of his diaries and letters, with the suppression only of that which was too intimately personal, would have been the best ultimate biography of Sir Stafford Northcote. As it is, we have neither the one thing nor the other ; neither a complete revelation of the man as he felt and as he was, nor a reservation of this inter- esting revelation of personality for the future. There was another course pos- sible besides that which we have recom- mended, namely, to have published a full biography up to 1881, and to have promised the publication of a second part in years to come. Naturally enough, under the circum- stances which we have described, the ‘ Life and Letters’ contain in the later parts a great deal which is from the hand and brain of the biographer, and which is not bio- graphy, or at least not good biography. We do not thoroughly understand Mr. Lang’s statement in his introduction as to the principles which should guide those who are placed in the position in which he has found himself. Writing of Carlyle, he says: ‘*He did not observe that, while the story remains for its date, with its own rendering of events, surviving contemporaries have no such comparatively permanent opportunity of telling their own tale, which may differ considerably, in colouring especially, from that which is told about them.” The sentence is not clear, but we suppose it means that if Mr. Lang had published the diaries as they stand—while Lord Salisbury on the one hand and Lord Randolph Churchill on the other would have written letters to the Zimes—the book would have gone about without their letters being attached to it, and have remained on shelves where the letters would not have been found. At the same time it is a little doubtful whether the family, in asking Mr. Lang to write, have found a biographer in full sympathy with his subject. Where Sir Stafford Northcote says in one of his letters, ‘‘T feel a sort of envy of the boys, and a pleasant remembrance of old times. How I should like to begin my life over again, and go over exactly the same course, if one could be allowed to amend a few steps here and there,” the biographer goes on, without a break, in his own words, ‘‘ What a con- fession of a happy life, and how much more inviting Nirvana would be to most people !” This reads dangerously like a sneer. From the whole work—and this fact is a de- fence of the family and of the biographer— Sir Stafford Northcote comes out, if possible, better and higher than he appeared to us before we read it. It was hardly possible, however, that such a man should not gain by a quiet perusal of portions even of his charming letters and of his truthful diary. The tragedy of his reading in the newspaper the paragraph announcing that his services at the Foreign Office were dispensed with, before he had heard the news from his colleagues, was known to the world already; but there is something perfectly in keeping with his character in that which is now
revealed of the manner in which he received the next day the tardy offer of another, though merely titular office. He was reading ‘Pick- wick’ to some children when the telegram was put into his hands by a member of his family. He looked up and said softly, “I think not,” and went on reading. That which is most new in the book is the revela- tion of the completeness of the influence over Sir Stafford Northcote of Mr. Disraeli, and Northcote’s evident real liking for his ‘‘chief””—a fact which, considering North- cote’s country-gentleman, Church, and Eng- lish racial prejudices, is remarkable, and, considering Northcote’s character, is im- mensely to the credit of the Conservative Prime Minister. On the other hand, it be- comes clear from the present volumes that, if Sir Stafford Northcote’s relations towards Mr. Disraeli were of a more affectionate kind than was suspected by the public, his relations with Lord Salisbury were never of the same description. The natural hostility of Northcote to Lord Randolph Churchill, which was produced by Lord Randolph’s determination not to submit to a rule which he thought weak, is kept out of the work. But there evidently was a moment in which Lord Salisbury and Sir Stafford Northcote, as joint leaders of the party, were equally hostile to Lord Randolph Churchill, and this common hostility does not seem to have drawn the two men together ; or, if it did, there is no trace of it in this work. Here are some of the dangers of such a biography at such a moment! The years from 1881 are not passed over. There is a pretence of relating their history so far as it concerned Northcote’s life, but no one can for a moment suppose (in fact, the biographer does not attempt to suggest) that we have, or can have at present, an adequate statement of the forces that were at work. The revelations in the book of Sir Stafford Northcote’s opinions are interesting, but have, of course, already been partly extracted in the form of quotations in the daily news- papers. No one seems to havenoticed the con- trast between Sir Stafford Northcote’s early liking for Disraeli, which only strengthened as days went by, and his strong, clear appreciation of the dislike in which the Disraeli connexion was at that time held by the ordinary Conservative. To Lady Northcote he writes in 1859, ‘‘ What do you say to the idea of asking them [ the Disraelis ] to Pynes? It would complete the astonish- ment of our neighbours.” The statement with regard to Mr. Gladstone that “in Church matters he thought he would ‘ give up everything but dogma’” is put into the mouth of ‘‘ X.”; but Sir Stafford Northcote would probably have been not unwilling to be privately congratulated upon it as his own. We find—what was not previously known to those outside the Cabinet—that Northcote was opposed to the purchase of the Suez Canal shares, and that he was opposed to the abstention of the Govern- ment of which he was a member from taking part in the joint action of the powers at the time of the Berlin Memorandum. Alluding to the blame showered upon the Government for rejecting the Berlin Note without pro- posing an alternative course of action, he writes, ‘‘I remember feeling at the time that we ought to make some alternative pro- posal.” In the Bradlaugh business he was
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578 THE ATHENZUM N° 3288, Nov. 1,790 also half-hearted, and writes on the day of the opening of Parliament in 1880, when the Committee was moved for by the Liberal Government, ‘“‘ Would it not be better to do away with the members’ oath altogether, and make the affirmation general?”’ and he also censures the con- duct of the Conservative party in ‘ ham- mering at the Bradlaugh Committee, con- tending that no such business as the ap- pointment of a committee ought to be done till after the Queen’s Speech. They are wrong.” On the 28th of July Sir Stafford Northcote writes in his diary :— **On going down to the House to-day I re- ceived a letter from Bradlaugh, complaining of the scurrilous language used about him at several contested elections, and especially of Sir John Hay’s speech at Wigton, and of a card circulated at Scarborough. I replied that I could not undertake any responsibility for the proceedings of candidates, and still Jess for those of their supporters, as by doing so I should seem to approve everything which I did not distinctly repudiate, however much I might disapprove it. He made a very temperate reply, thanking me for my letter, and saying he did not wish me to undertake any responsibility ; but that he wished to point out to me that, if the Conserva- tives did not repudiate such Janguage as was used about him, they must be taken to approve it. I must say I think he has ground for his complaint. Our friends want a lesson from ‘Hamlet,’ how to use aman according to their own nobleness.” The opinion which Sir Stafford Northcote had formed of Lord Salisbury’s caution in foreign affairs was unflattering, as in 1885 he writes :— ‘The more I think of the heads of Salisbury’s scheme, the less I like it. The point on which it will be necessary for me to insist is, that I should see all the Foreign Office despatches as if I were Prime Minister, otherwise we may be exposed to serious trouble.” Of other points of interest in the book, the daily newspapers have already quoted the passages relating to the literary opinions of Mr. Disraeli, who thought Browning beneath notice, and evidently considered Dickens vulgar ; Northcote making no fight for Browning, but standing up for Dickens like a man. It is rather difficult to say whether in the conversation with Mr. Disraeli recorded at p. 251 of vol. i. the opinions given are those of Mr. Disraeli or of Sir Stafford Northcote—that Mr. Glad- stone ‘‘is a man of transcendent ability,” but that he cannot ‘“‘deal with men,” and ‘is too impatient and wanting in judgment to succeed as a leader.” This represented the general view taken by most members of the House of Commons in 1866, even by those who belonged to Mr. Gladstone’s party; and it is difficult now for men to look back without allowing their minds to be affected by Mr. Gladstone’s later career as leader of his party (with a brief interval) from that time to the present, as twice Prime Minister for long periods covering the whole of two full Parliaments, and to realize how the mass of Liberals agreed with the mass of Conservatives in 1866 that Mr. Gladstone would be unable to lead his party even for a single year. We have suggested in our opening re- marks that there is rather too little North- cote and rather too much biographer to be found in the present volumes. We cannot think that it was wise in writing of events which passed in 1855 to spend half a page in comparing Mr. Gladstone’s attitude about the Crimean War with his attitude a great many years later about the Transvaal, and to quote Mark Twain and a burlesque account of a duel with axes upon the ques- tion, the whole of the language employed and of the similes used being such as to seem singularly out of place when mixed up with the mild and statesmanlike language of Sir Stafford Northcote. Then, again, in writing about the Canada of 1869, Mr. Lang goes out of his way to say :— ‘* England had lost a chance by dallying over the trouble, it was said; energy would have been a great encouragement to loyal Canadians. They fancied that England would gladly be rid of them; and what with fishery quarrels and their own divisions, they are certainly rather a luxurious ornament of the empire ”— a remark which, with others of its kind, strikes us as being scarcely called for. Mr. Lang drags into the book a good deal about the ‘‘blood of Hicks” and the “blood of Gordon,” which may be very true, but is not exactly the subject of his book, and relates to topics on which the reader would have preferred to have had an ungarbled publication of Sir Stafford’s diaries. Then, in reference to Northcote’s remark that he himself knew little of the state of our foreign relations, Mr. Lang writes: ‘‘Who did know about it? Lord Derby was at the Foreign Office,” a remark which strikes us, to use Oxford slang, as being a little “cheap.” Of small flaws or errors in the book, we have to note among others the statement that the volunteer movement began in 1852, which cannot be said to have been the case in the usual sense of the words. It really began less in 1852 than in 1859. The point is important because Mr. Lang bases his statement on the distrust which was entertained of France, and this distrust, which was very strong in 1859, and which was the cause of the volunteer movement, was, though it existed, less strong in 1852. The accuracy of our two statements may be tested by a refer- ence to the caricatures of Punch or to any other source of popular information. At p- 360 of the first volume there is a mistake in the French—unfortunate, for the error is put into Sir Stafford Northcote’s mouth, although it is far from probable that it is his—the second vous in the sentence being omitted. The index is bad. Indexes generally are bad, except when authors themselves make or largely help to make them. In Darkest England, and the Way Out. By General Booth. (International Head- quarters of the Salvation Army.) Tue first part of the work by the General of the Salvation Army on the condition of the poor of England and its remedy consists in his statement of the disease. This exposi- tion is not specially new or striking. There is nothing in it that is not familiar to all those who have occupied themselves with the state of the unemployed and of the distressed. Every district visitor in the poorest parts of our great towns, every city missionary, every schoolboard visitor, every active Poor Law guardian, knows as much, and, while there is something touching in the Christian cer- tainty with which the General of the Sal- \ | vationists regards the possibility of raising the miserable to self-respect, most people will prefer the language of Christ upon the subject, as given in the Gospels, to the lan- guage of His followers in the present day. It is when we come to the second part of the present work that we find that which needs our careful attention, and which should receive the criticism that it deserves. The volume attempts to place before us a com- plete scheme, and it has these things to recommend it to the public and to force them to attend: that its author has met with re- markable and unexpected success in the evangelization of the masses, and that his disciples have succeeded in organizing tem- poral shelter for the suffering to the satis- faction of the democratic peoples of Victoria and of New Zealand. The fact that some of the best of our colonial governments have begun virtually to place such matters in the hands of the Salvation Army is little known; but the history of the “ prison-gate brigades”’ in several of the colonies, and of the relations to them of the State, is im- portant, and we recommend it to all who are interested in the relief of the deepest forms of human misery. There is something refreshing in these democratic days in the manner in which the General of the Salvation Army demands the same unquestioning obedience as a General of Jesuits in romance. Poor Law reformers are often tempted to complain of workhouse discipline, ak of the autocratic manners of workhouse masters who have been non- commissioned officers in the army (not of Salvation), and who are said in conse- quence to be too much given to the exer- cise of military authority. The orders of the Local Government Board, the rules of workhouses, are, however, mild by the side of those which are laid down by the General of the Salvation Army. He tells us that one of his chief credentials is that his organization alone of our religious bodies ‘‘is founded upon the principle of implicit obedience... It is the only religious body founded in our time that is based upon the principle of voluntary subjection to an absolute authority...The first condition ...is implicit, unquestioning obedience.” The General goes on to ridicule those of his early critics who declared that the people would not endure the establishment of “a spiritual despotism.” He glories in his despotism, and speaks throughout his book in such sweeping terms upon this point that we begin to ask whether, like Queen Elizabeth, he may not in his de- clining years resent any attempt on the part of those about him to cause him ‘‘to pro- vide a successor to the throne.” The Pope has a College of Cardinals, and an occa- sional Council of the Church ; the General of the Salvation Army possesses an infallibility more personal and less collective. Still, those who were of opinion that the poor and miserable of the British race would resent the establishment of a spiritual despotism must have forgotten the extraordinary success of Mormonism among the Welsh and English poor. Under Brigham Young Mormonism was a spiritual despotism, if ever despotism there was, and the success of the Mormon agents was at one time amazing, and a success almost entirely won among the poorest and most miserable in the
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XUM N° 3288, Nov. 1, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 579 jand. So much stir has been raised about the polygamy of the Mormon chiefs that the Mormons have been written about as though they were a people of polygamists, the fact being that the great masses of their converts lived in celibacy throughout their lives, and were certainly not attracted towards Mor- monism by ‘‘the peculiar tenet” of the Mormon doctrine having to do with ‘‘ family life.” Besides, the Salvation Army started with no book except the Bible. Mormonism was hampered by the invention of a sham Bible in the ‘ Book of Mormon,’ and (although the Bible was the first book of Mormonism, superior even to the ‘ Book of Mormon’) the element of modern miracles, of new revela- tions, and of sensational imposture has caused Mormonism completely to lose its influence with the masses in those districts where at one time it had got hold, as in part of Warwickshire, for example. The Salva- tion Army competes, then, not with the false prophets, but with the Methodists and others who in modern times have tried to act as Christ would have acted, in their opinion, had He been born among us at the present time ; and the book before us is an attempt to produce a Christian system for the treat- ment of the evils which modern Christianity finds that it is called upon to cope with. The early Christians governed their Church with a certain resort to the elective principle, although the two main forms of society mingled in their midst. The Salvation Army will have none of the elective prin- ciple, and rests wholly upon the principle otf selection by a self-elected chief. When one finds a despot the first thing one asks is—‘‘Can he select men? Has he the failing of Napoleon? Does he desire to dwarf those around him? Is it possible that he can build up permanent institu- tions?” We have no doubt from our in- quiries that the Salvation Army possesses many capable men among its leaders. Com- missioner Smith—who is virtually ignored in the book before us (though his name is given), as all individuals are ignored—is, we believe, a man of thought, a student, a worker, a man given to devising with capa- city practical schemes for the relief of misery, a man whose character makes one regret that the peculiar views of the Salva- tion Army with regard to public demonstra- tions should bring him into conflict with the Metropolitan police. But it must remain doubtful until the death of the present Salva- tionist General, who after all is mortal like the rest of us, whether hissystem is onecalcu- lated to train up those who can succeed him. The main portion of the scheme pro- posed is the creation of city colonies or voluntary workhouses, connected with farm colonies and with colonies across the seas. The difficulties about the city colonies are considerable. Discipline is to be preserved by expulsion—in gross cases for the first, but in ordinary cases for a third offence. How those expelled are to be kept outside the system, if they like it, we are not told. To all who know the working of the Casual system it is obvious that the rough tramp who is turned out at one city colony for refusing to do his spell of work will imme- diately arrive at another under a new name, and will certainly go the round of the Sal- vation colonies as at the present moment he goes the round of all the workhouses of the kingdom. If, on the other hand, the Sal- vation Army receives large funds for the erection or purchase of such shelter places as are contemplated, undoubtedly the pressure upon the workhouses will diminish; the rates will fall, and a grateful public of ratepayers will be inclined to subscribe as freely in pro- portion here as they subscribe in the New Zealand towns. The country-farm colony which is also pro- posed is a well-known scheme, very similar to that which has been advocated in all parts of England by the Rev. Herbert Mills, who, however, has never received from the public a sufficient gift of money to allow of the trial of his experiment on a large scale. In Germany, in Holland, and in Belgium such farm colonies exist, and there can be no doubt that with careful management their success in this country can be secured. A weak point, or at all events a point for question, is the effect upon the marriage rate and birth rate—the doubt whether the bringing into such a system of great numbers of young men and young women, taken from the very poor of our great towns, will not produce an enormous increase in the number of undersized people, not physically strong, not very capable as a class of holding their own in the rough world. The book itself that is before us anticipates this difficulty : “There would probably be a considerable amount of iuter-marriage among the colo- nists.’? Of course there would be; and we have a plan placed before us for the organi- zation of this branch of the business in the form of ‘‘a matrimonial bureau.”’ The Sal- vationist General, like the Roman Catholic Church, desires to encourage marriage among the young in our cities, and no doubt there is a great deal to be said in favour of his view. Nothing can be better, if the condition only of the particular young man and the particular young woman is con- sidered. It is an excellent thing that when raised out of their low form of life, and taught the dignity of work, they should be brought together into family existence. But there is the other side; and we repeat that it is not possible to consider the prospect of an enormous increase in the marriage rate and birth rate among the very poor without seeing at the same time that in the course of years this may leave us with the one million of unemployed of whom we here are told increased many fold, and with the three millions of hopeless poor also infinitely multiplied. We have expressed our doubts. We may admit to the Salvationist General that Chris- tianity forces us to make the attempt to deal with that which is the reproach of modern civilization. We admit freely to him also the enormous waste of money at the present time caused by imperfect, but competing charities. We will also go further, and make to him the very large admission that the despotic character of his army system is the best for the particular work in question ; and finally we will concede that the plan which he proposes will be a good one for the individuals helped under it; although, on the other hand, we have the fear, which we have stated, that as regards the com- munity at large it may ultimately be found only to have conduced to an increase in the numbers of those who have to be wards in some form of the State. There are many trifling points in the book which we might notice. The Salvationist General underrates the extent to which the poor take advantage of the hospitals. The prejudice which clings round the Poor Law system, and which makes some starve rather than accept out-relief, and many starve rather than go into ‘‘the house,’ does not apply, in the metropolis at all events, to the Poor Law Infirmary, and there is little reluctance now among the poor to avail themselves either of the Infirmaries of the unions or of the hospitals of the Asylums Board; and the passage which tells us, in answer to the question, ‘‘ Why don’t the people when they are ill go to the hospital?” “that they won’t,” is far too sweeping. Again, the General of the Salvation Army is not oppressed by doubts as to the wisdom of sending across the seas girls from rescue homes, and he thinks that if they have twelve months’ character they will be welcome, and that no harm is to be apprehended. This is again a statement which our expe- rience of what is thought in Canadian cities of girls from rescue homes would have led us to doubt. At the same time, upon this point, we may admit that if the girls are sent to a place where they are not friendless, but are constantly visited by officers of their Army, the case may be different from that which exists as regards those who are allowed to shift for themselves. On the whole, the present volume, in spite of its sensational title, and although it is marred by a foolish picture, will do good. It will be largely read, freely criticized, and will bring sufficient money | the Salvationist coffers to enable the Her- bert Mills scheme of home colonization to! be fairly tried. If this proves a success, as we think probable, it will suggest to boards of guardians the possibility of taking the city workhouses into the country, and of setting the paupers to work upon the land— of all the plans for dealing with helpless misery the best, if conducted under intelli- gent management and adequate supervision. Face to Face with the Mexicans. By Fanny Chambers Gooch. With 200 Illustrations. (Sampson Low & Co.) Many books have been written about Mexico, and in none are there more interest- ing details to be found about the people and their ways than in this one, yet although Mrs. Gooch has had excellent opportunities, she has not made full use of them. Itisa pity that the material which she has collected has not been more skilfully used. Mrs. Gooch, in fact, is more at home in her house- hold duties than at her writing-desk, and her experiences as a housekeeper are more instructive than her political views. She wisely set herself from the outset to acquire the language of the people among whom her lot was cast, and as soon as she could converse with them fluently she essayed to win their confidence, and she appears to have succeeded. Mrs. Gooch, her husband, and two friends took a house in the city of Saltillo, which she might have said is also known as Leone Vicario. We infer from certain passages that Texas is her native State, and the change from it to Mexico resembled that to another world. The house which she occupied in Saltillo was full of surprises :—
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580 THE ATHENZUM N° 3288, Nov. 1,790 ‘* We were astonished at the size and length of the keys and the number of them ; they were about ten inches long, and a blow from one would have sufficed to fell a man. As there were, perhaps, thirty of them, my key-basket, so far from being the dainty trifle an American woman dangles from one finger in her daily rounds, would have been a load for a burro, as they call their little donkeys. The enormous double doors connecting the rooms were as massive as if each room were intended for a separate fortification...... Our venerable mansion was constructed of adobe, the sun-dried bricks peculiar tothe country, and of which almost the entire city is built. The walls were from two to four feet in thickness, and the ceilings thirty feet in height. Surrounding the beautiful court- yard were many large and handsome rooms, frescoed in brilliant style, each different from the other...... The drawing-room was the first thing to attract my attention, as it was about a hundred feet long and fifty wide. Its dado was highly embellished by a skilful blending of roses and buds in delicate shades, while the frieze was the chaste production of a native artist.” The house was magnificent ; indeed, Mrs. Gooch had never lived in one like it. After describing its many striking points, she adds :— “Tmagine the dismay and apprehension of several American women at thus finding them- selves surrounded by so many evidences of ancient refinement and culture, and yet by none of the modern necessaries of house-keeping. In this old city of twenty thousand inhabitants there was not a store where such indispensables as bedsteads or furniture of any kind, pillows or mattresses, could be purchased ; while coffee or spice mills, cook-stoves or wash-tubs, were abso- lutely out of the question.” On the morning of the first Sunday after taking possession of this house, Mrs. Gooch heard a knock at the door; she opened it, then “‘T found myself confronted by a tall youth of perhaps sixteen, fair, rosy cheeked, black haired, dark eyed, and beautiful. He lifted his hat politely and said in good English, ‘Good morning, Madam!’ The sound of my dear native tongue in a land of strangers and from the lips of one of them brought my heart into my mouth with delight and surprise. My visitor introduced himself as Jesus, taking care to spell his name plainly for me, and I fear my face betrayed my horror at the sight of an ordinary mortal endowed with that holy name. He informed me with considerable hesitation that he was a student in the college, and wished to call frequently to have an opportunity of conversing in English.” The desired permission was granted ; this student brought others along with him, the result being that the advantage was mutual, as Mrs. Gooch ‘‘learned the Spanish while they conquered the English.” It was some time, however, before Mrs. Gooch’s conquest of Spanish was complete. She is very candid in confessing her mistakes, and it is when she writes of personal matters that she gives far greater pleasure to the reader than when she deals with history and politics. One day, after using a flat- iron, she told Pancho, her servant, to put it in the cocinera, meaning the kitchen. After he had gone on his errand, she says, “T heard a low chattering and smothered laughter between him and the cook. Pancho then returned to my room, and half quizzically, half serio-comically said, ‘Please come to the kitchen.’ I went, when he placed himself in front of the cook, with his left hand on her shoulder, waved his right hand around the room and said, ‘Sejiora, look; this is the cocinera—(cook)—and this,’ again waving his right hand around the room, ‘is the cocina ! Do you want me to put the plancha caliente (hot iron) on the cook, or in the kitchen?’ Then with the forefinger of his right hand moving hastily before his nose, and a waggish smile on his face, the pantomime closed with, ‘ No usamos asi’ (We don’t use them this way). Another ridiculous mistake I made when I wanted Pancho to buy me some cake, and told him to get four gdteaux, forgetting that bizcocho and not gdteau was the Spanish for cake [Mrs. Gooch confounds the word for biscuit with that for cake]. Fold- ing his arms he quietly answered without a smile, if he might presume to ask the Sejiora what she wanted with cuatro gatos—(four cats!) As the house was overrun with these animals that had flocked in from all quarters, Pancho naturally wondered why I wanted to add to my feline tenants...... Soon after the episode of the flat- iron, I heard the long drawn intonation of a vendor and paid little heed to him, supposing he was running off a list of his stock in trade, such as pins, needles, tape, thread and other things too numerous to mention. Wanting none of these I replied: ‘ Tenemos bastante adentro.’ (We have plenty in the house.) A roar of laughter near by, and a familiar voice interpreted the man’s question humorously enough: he was only asking if I wanted a chichi (wet nurse).” Mrs. Gooch ought to have added that the word which caused the laughter is a contraction of the Mexican chichigua. Her adventures with her servants were many. She found it impossible to make them fall into her ways. The phrase met her at every turn “No es costumbre” (It is not customary), and when this was once uttered nothing that was said could move them. Yet though her trials were severe and some- times comical, they served to give her an insight into the way in which the people think and act, and thus she has been able to communicate particulars about them which have never been set forth in equal detail. It is a variety of little things which differ- entiate one people from another, and these things, though trivial in themselves, are yet pregnant with meaning. The hasty traveller through a country who puts up at hotels never learns what these are nor what they imply. The Mexicans appear to be as great formalists as the Spaniards to whom they owe their language and the basis of their civilization. The amount of bowing and embracing between men is exceedingly great. The absence of such politeness on the part of the Americans who visit Mexico intent on business is the explanation given by Mrs. Gooch of the frequent disappoint- ments experienced by her countrymen. The ladies are as demonstrative to each other as the gentlemen. If one admires anything which the other has, her baby included, the reply will be, “It is entirely at your dis- posal.” When two ladies meet this is how they conduct themselves :— ‘Among women the salutation assumes a more confidential form; the stranger receives a gentle tap of the right hand upon the left shoulder, and then a generous shake of the hand ; while more intimate friends not only tap each other, but also kiss, not on the lips, how- ever, merely laying the cheeks softly together. The Mexican mode is to be commended.” The extracts which we have given are from the lighter side of the book. There is much solid and useful information in it, and the author appears to be honestly anxious to make Mexico and the Mexicans better known to her countrymen, and fully appre- ciated by them. Both Mexican men and women appear to great advantage in her pages. The illustrations, which are many, render the letterpress more intelligible. If the spelling were less American the book would please English readers better. It has not been prepared for them with any care. A reference is made in the preface to a list of ‘patrons and endorsers” of the book which is not to be found at the end. We do not wish to see the list; but then it was unnecessary to refer to it. A volume of a handy size could be compiled out of this unwieldy one which would satisfy the legitimate curiosity of English readers about Mexico and the Mexicans. English Fairy Tales. By Joseph Jacobs. Illustrated by J. D. Batten. (Nutt.) Tue fly-leaf of this book tells us how to get into it; the difficulty, however, will not be how to get into it, but how to get out of it, for from first to last, almost with- out an exception, these stories are de- lightful. There are old friends among them which never can appear too often, there are others with which we have hitherto only had a bowing acquaintance, and there are one or two which are entirely new. We are not quite sure about the whole party being English—one or two seem to have strayed out of Grimm’s ‘ Kinder- und Haus- mirchen,’ and to have been a little weakened on the way. Some of them, judging from the point of view of folk-lore, might cer- tainly have been more appropriately included in a Scotch collection. Mr. Jacobs explains their appearance thus :— ‘*T have also included some stories that have only been found in Lowland Scotch. I have felt justified in doing this, as of the twenty-one folk-tales contained in Chambers’s ‘ Popular Rhymes of Scotland,’ no less than sixteen are also to be found in an English form.” The reasoning here is not strong, but the stories are good. We can imagine Mr. Jacobs feeling the same pious joy that thrilled the old North - Country steward who, recounting to his absent lord the de- predations caused by a foray made by the Scots, when ‘the false-hearted thieving loons” drove away flocks and herds over the Border, wound up by saying, ‘“ But thankit be the Lord, we have outstolen them.” The more stories of this kind that are ‘‘ lifted” into books that the public are likely to read the better ; and as Mr. Jacobs informs his readers that some day he is going “to treat the subject of the English folk- tale on a larger scale, with all the necessary paraphernalia of prolegomenaand excursus,”” his readers may, for the present, wink at an English fairy tale called ‘The Laidly Worm,” which is avowedly patched up out of a ballad by Mr. Lamb, of Norham, “ with touches from the more ancient version ‘ Kempion.’” Mr. Jacobs has performed the service of compiling an excellent version of ‘ Jack the Giant-Killer’ from two old chap-books in the British Museum. It is in all substantial points the same as that of which Grimm gives a summary in the notes on English folk-tales at the end of the ‘ Hausmirchen.” A satisfactory version has long been needed, for the chap-books which told the story well seem to have been altogether superseded by those which told it badly. We wonder no
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N° 3288, Nov. 1, ’90 THE ATHENZXUM 581 one took the trouble to go to the British Museum with this object before. All the illustrations to this book are good, but that which shows Jack entering the giant’s castle, wearing the cap which makes him in- visible, is very good indeed, and decidedly original. In the preface to the ‘Cauld Lad of Hilton’ Mr. Jacobs speaks of him as the ‘‘contrariest Brownie” ever known, but he was not more contrary than Brownies always are, or were; they always behaved just as the ‘‘Cauld Lad” did. If they found things orderly and clean, they at once proceeded to break furniture and crockery, to turn everything topsy-turvy, and play uncom- fortable tricks of all kinds; if, however, the servants were dirty and disorderly, and went to bed leaving their work undone, the Brownie immediately began to put all in good order. A Brownie’s mission was, therefore, to demoralize servants by showing them that it was wise policy to leave their work undone. The servants who had to do with the Cauld Lad of Hilton Castle—not Hall, by the way, as Mr. Jacobs has it— must have been good ones, or they would have suffered no inconvenience from the nightly visitant. The Brownie of Hilton was, however, supposed to be the ghost of a poor lad working about the place who had been murdered there, which may account for the servants’ anxiety to get rid of him. Another part of a Brownie’s mission seems to have been to teach ingratitude, for any present of clothes, or of anything more sub- stantial than a little milk or food, always resulted in depriving the household of his services. If a fault can be found with this book, it is that we do not always quite like the way in which the stories are told. Mr. Jacobs says in his preface: ‘ Generally speaking, it has been my ambition to write as a good old nurse will speak when she tells fairy tales.” This being the case the critic can but ask himself two questions, Has Mr. Jacobs done this satisfactorily ? and Is it a thing that it is well to do? He has done it very well if he wishes his nurse to be a rather vulgar one of the present day. It is not prudent, however, to adopt this form of narration unless the imaginary nurse be made to use a simple and rather anti- quated phraseology, as a nurse of a hun- dred years ago whose style was formed on the Bible might have done. All the events recorded in fairy tales are supposed to have taken place long ago, and seem to demand a somewhat archaic, or, to say the least, old-fashioned form of speech. The critic’s sense of fitness was always a little ruffled by Mr. Dasent’s method of telling a tale, and the same irritation is felt upon perusing such sentences as these :— ‘+ ¢ Darter,’ says she, ‘ put you them there pies on the shelf, and leave ’em a little,’ ”— or : ‘*Go you, and get one o’ them there pies,”— or ‘She sat down on a stool in the kitchen, and law how she did cry !”»— or “ He was disappointed in not seeing his young and beautiful wife to come and meet him, through being hindered by her parents. that did not stop long,” — or this in ‘ Childe Rowland’:— But ‘* And the thing to do is this: after you have entered the land of Fairy, whoever speaks to you till you meet the Burd Ellen, you must out with your father’s brand and off with their head,” — or this from ‘ Jack and the Beanstalk’: — ‘¢¢ Right you are,’ said the man, ‘and here they are, the very beans themselves,’ he went on, pulling out of his pocket a number of strange- looking beans. ‘As you are so sharp,’ said he, ‘I don’t mind doing a swop with you—your cow for these beans.’ ‘ Walker!’ says Jack ; ‘wouldn’t you like it ?’” It is to be hoped that when Mr. Jacobs republishes these stories with the “ neces- sary paraphernalia’’ referred to already, he will carefully do away with the only thing that damps the reader’s pleasure in them by carefully revising the nurse’s lan- guage. The Ancient Laws of Wales. By the late Mr. Hubert Lewis. Edited by Prof. J. E. Lloyi. (Stock.) Wuart has been regarded as the orthodox view of early British history with reference to the Saxon invasion has, until lately, been the theory of extermination, originally founded on Gildas and Bede. But recent research, particularly in the departments of anthropology, folk-lore, and archeology, renders it doubtful whether historians are warranted in still retaining that view in its entirety. The question involves two perfectly distinct issues—that of institutional as apart from racial assimilation. The present author, taking the latter for granted, has set him- self the other more difficult task of proving that the Saxon invaders largely adopted the legal and social institutions of the conquered Britons. Many years’ laborious research did Mr. Lewis devote to this subject, and, be his conclusions right or wrong, a lifetime’s work, such as his may be called, commands respect and consideration, the more so as the author did not live to give it the final touch of revision before publication. The book is divided into two parts, the first half consisting of an examination of those portions of the Welsh laws which treat of personal status and land tenure, while the remainder is taken up with a like inquiry into the nature of old Eng- lish institutions; and it is upon the simi- larity which the author sees between the ancient Welsh and English systems that he has based his main thesis — namely, that both are developments of early British law. The source of almost everything that is known of the Welsh legal system is ‘ The Ancient Laws and Institutes of Wales,’ edited by Mr. Aneurin Owen, and published by the Record Commissioners in 1841. This corpus juris contains the laws of Howel Dda, in three provincial variants, together with a great mass of later legal dicta, triads, and Latin versions of the laws; but Mr. Gwenog- vryn Evans is of opinion that the oldest MS. of Howel’s codes cannot be referred back further than 1200. There is one other important collection of documents, chiefly of the fourteenth and fifteenth cen- turies, known as ‘The Record of Carnar- von,’ being a survey of the counties of Anglesey, Carnarvon, and Merioneth. This, too, was published by the Record Commis- sioners as far back as 1838. No competent paleographist has ever yet ascertained the age, or even established the authenticity, of the greater portion of the MSS. form- ing the first of these two collections, and Mr. Lewis unluckily did not recognize the necessity of such an inquiry prior toa truly scientific study of the laws. The result is that he treats as of equal authority with the Howelian laws the triads ascribed to Dyfnwal Moelmud, the mythical founder of all British law, who flourished in the seventh century before our era! In another instance he regards a triad containing a reference to earthquakes as ‘carrying us back to the time when in their migrations the Cymry dwelt in some volcanic region of the Continent.’’ Mr. Lewis would no doubt be much exercised over Prof. Rhys’s auda- city in representing Dyfnwal as ‘‘one of the numerous chthonian or dark gods of Celtic mythology.” However, it is a note- worthy fact that British, like Roman law, was theoretically descended from, and prac- tically ended with, a code. Dyfnwal’s traditional legislation had its counterpart in the XII. Tables, while Howel Dda, for more reasons than one, deserves comparison with Justinian. In endeavouring to reconstruct the Welsh social system, Mr. Lewis places at the base of the free community the freeholding heads of households ; but every man belonged to a joint family or ¢rev as well as to a family, and the existence of the joint family is appropriately emphasized as being the practical unit of all organization. The ¢rev consisted of the descendants of a common ancestor to the fourth generation. The free lands belonged, not to any one man as an absolute owner, but to the ¢rev, and no one could alienate his land without the consent of his kindred to the degree of second cousin. The relationship was not strictly agnatic, as kinship through the mother was recognized in several cases, which are regarded by the author as ex- ceptions, but are quite as likely to be sur- vivals from an early polyandrous system. We are not without traces of such a society in the existence of a kind of marriage called Jdlathrut, or clandestine, in which the woman was not given away by her kindred, but they had the right of reclaim- ing her and breaking the connexion. It is difficult to avoid coming to the conclusion that this is a modified and legalized form of marriage by capture, a survival of which remains to our own day in the marriage racings of Wales. Kinship did not, however, break off entirely at the fourth generation, though within that limit the tie was for some pur- poses stronger, but it kept together an expanded joint family known as the cenedl, its members having rights of succession among themselves ‘‘into the ninth kin or stock ”’ (nawfed ach), which the author, with- out warrant we think, takes to mean the seventh generation. The group of home- steads occupied by this enlarged kindred formed the territorial division known as the cantrev, the numerous subdivisions of which are described with great mathematical exactness in one of the codes. Mr. Seebohm has made an ingenious attempt to har- monize these arrangements with the rules of inheritance, and he finds the raison d’étre of the system in the semi-nomadic condition ofthe people. But Mr. Lewis on that the
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582 THE ATHENAUM N° 3288, Nov. 1, 90 scheme of the codes is so elaborate as to bear the impress of unreality: “It is a merely theoretical division of the cantrev, made in later times professedly for the pur- pose of convenient assessment; it did not correspond to any natural or actual arrange- ments of territory and occupancy.” It isa matter for regret that Mr. Lewis makes such an indiscriminate use of very questionable etymological evidence to support his soundest conclusions. In the present in- stance, the Welsh cantrev, he says, does not mean a century of trevs, neither has its equivalent, the English hundred or the Swiss canton, any connexion with the number 100. Then, after identifying the second syllables of cantrev and hundred, he speaks of the probability that the British cantrev and its organization were not much disturbed by the English Conquest, but that the hundred was borrowed both in name and substance from the Britons. To further prove that hundreds were the successors of cantrevs, he seeks to find the Welsh ¢rev under various disguises in English place-names, while the forms Dod, Eccles, Hampton, Cot, Glas, Ney, Dene (e¢.g., the Denes of Kent), and many others are somewhat fancifully derived from British words. All the English terri- torial organization—the manor and its courts, the ridings of Yorkshire, and the lathes of Kent—the jury system, the rules as to feudal succession as well as gavelkind and borough English, are in a large degree derived from British sources. The author does more than rehabilitate the stock arguments of previous writers ; fresh facts are marshalled in great abundance, and the Welsh laws are through- out laid under heavy contribution for the supply of illustrations. n treating of the manor Mr. Lewis derives it from the Welsh maenor, which he takes to have originally meant the “ royal castle of stone” (maen) situated in each cantrev. Then, to explain its derivative meaning of lands attached to the residence, he quotes from ‘The Record of Carnarvon’ numerous instances of maenors of a trinary nature, comprising the demesne, the hamlet of the labour tenants, and the bond vills of rent-paying villeins, which shows that the basis of the organization was jurisdic- tion over villenage. From this would be developed the pure copyhold manor of Eng- land, while the Welsh regulations as to the settlement and emancipation of strangers show how a manor might in time include freeholders, through the lord’s usurpation of the jurisdiction of the cantrev. Mr. Lewis’s treatment of the manorial system generally constitutes a valuable contri- bution to the history of English institu- tions, while least satisfactory of all seem to be his inquiries as to the origin of juries, and his attempt to identify the jurors with the select freeholders who gave the verdict of the country in the cantrev court. One serious fault of the author is that when he detects any parallelism between English and Welsh institutions he is too prone to argue that the former are borrowed from British sources. He knows nothing of the methods of the comparative historian, who recognizes that kindred races, when in similar circumstances and in the same stage of civilization, evolve similar institu- tions out of their common stock of original principles. The same may be said with still greater force of his wild etymological theories, for there is scarcely a term in the nomenclature of old English institutions for which he does not claim a British parentage. Still, in other hands, the author’s re- searches may be of use in doing for the early law of Wales what Sir H. Maine did for that of Ireland, by showing that it is descended from the common Aryan family, and that racial isolation has not obliterated the evidences of its near relationship to the legal systems of the Romans, the Hindoos, and the Teutons. But the present volume can never attain to general popularity owing to its forbiddingly ponderous style, which is never enlivened with a single graphic picture of recon- structed primitive life, such as abound in the pages of Sir H. Maine and other his- torians of early societies. Prof. Lloyd has also placed somewhat narrow limits on his functions as editor, perhaps with the pur- om of avoiding any share of responsi- ility for the author’s views; but his notes, which are far too few, are always valuable, either to correct the writer’s philological vagaries, or to point out the result of re- searches that have been published since the author’s death. NOVELS OF THE WEEK, Alas! By Rhoda Broughton. (Bentley & Son.) Our Pleasant Vices. By Milner Macmaster. 3 vols. (Sampson Low & Co.) A Lost Illusion. By Leslie Keith. (Methuen & Co.) A Bride from the Bush. By Ernest William Hornung. (Smith, Elder & Co.) The Greatest of These: an Irish Story. By Evan May. (Simpkin, Marshall & Co.) Thais. Par Anatole France. (Paris, Cal- mann Lévy.) In ‘Alas!’ Miss Broughton shows all, or nearly all, her usual facility and her easy command of the sort of material and motive which she has always chosen as her par- ticular ground. The young people of this story are, perhaps, a shade less passionate and impulsive than were those of old, and a thought more reticent and staid of mien than their predecessors. Their speech has less pertness, flippancy, and slanginess than marked the dialogue and repartee of others with whom Miss Broughton has made us acquainted. Still, youth and love, with their quick alternations of delight and despair and swift midsummer madnesses, are the Leitmotif of ‘Alas!’ which, as its name indicates, has something of a minor strain running through it. The youth who figures in it is not unworthy his setting. He, when crossed in a rash love affair, suddenly developes into a sort of human cyclone full of sound and fury, shedding torrents of tears and breathing forth volumes of sighs and yards of poetical quotation as he lies ‘‘prone’’ on the floor by the side of the unresponsive work- basket of the vanished fair. It is true that Miss Broughton rather appears to deprecate and ridicule all this, yet we venture to think she more than half likes the picture all the time. Nor do we accuse the stricken youth—is he not in keeping with his surroundings and with all the traditions of his creator? The parts of the 8 vols. 3 vols. usual brace of sisters are this time taken by a mother and daughter—in itself an innovation; besides which they differ a good deal from Miss Broughton’s customary type of womanhood, for they are as polite and tractable and amenable as heart could wish. The daughter, the unfortunate course of whose early love affairs gives the story its ejaculatory title, is a somewhat inexplicable, but not uninteresting little person. The stolid Amelia is also drawn with feeling and tenderness. If the story be somewhat wanting in the old piquancy, it is also well-nigh free from ill nature. The clergy, whom Miss Broughton has so often satirized, are not much in evidence, and on the whole come off better than might be expected. It is true that one “is the cause of this anguish,” so to speak, and that another fails to redeem his matrimonial promises, but they are merely passing figures. The scene flits from place to place ; Oxford, Florence, Algiers, are all put in requisition, and are described with a pic- turesque and Broughtonesque touch, and Henry James and other moderns are from time to time quoted in quite an effective manner. Up to nearly the end of the last volume the reader is kept in pleasing, or it may be unpleasing, suspense as to the error or crime which has blighted the career of the fair Elizabeth, and compelled her to the ungrateful task of warding off suitors and suitoring generally. What it is, and how it is worked, fond students of Miss Broughton may easily discover for them- selves. There is a good deal too much of ‘ Our Pleasant Vices.’ It is an Australian story, slight and sketchy, and as the author seems to have no conscious difficulty in expressing himself, or in making his characters gossip indefatigably by the hour, a vast deal is written about a very little. Mr. Macmaster gets small result out of his materials except the long-winded conversations of his various personages. Nevertheless, the story has its compensations, and such as read their fiction easily and lightly may get satisfaction out of the three bulky volumes. It can hardly be said that Leslie Keith’s new story places her any higher in the scale of contemporary novel-writers than did ‘The Chilcotes’ and ‘ A Hurricane in Petti- coats,’ and this is mainly due to the fact that her characters are of a more hackneyed sort, or her exposition of them is less distin- guished. The ‘lost illusion’ is that of Elizabeth Vyner, who begins her woman’s career by running away from her Quaker kinsfolk to marry a rich young millowner, Richard Dale, clever and handsome, who carefully conceals from her the secrets of his past life. A fresh and pleasant story bya new writer, which has been running its course in a monthly magazine, is ‘A Bride from the Bush.’ The incidents, if not specially re- markable, are sufficiently out of the common. A young man of good family brings home a beautiful girl, the daughter of an Australian settler, as his wife, not having fairly counted the cost, either for himself orfor her. Then follow some fine contrasts and very enter- taining scenes. The Bligh family behave pretty well, but are finally tried by too severe a test when the wild antipodean utters a sonorous cooee in Rotten Row, and
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XUM N° 3288, Nov. 1, °90 THE ATHENZUM 583 this in the vicinity of royalty itself. The question with Mr. Hornung, it will be per- ceived, is one of diversion rather than of probability ; but his story is brightly told. ‘‘ Evan May’s” guileless tale of the re- sults of the legacy of an Irish estate upon a very “high-toned’”’ English family proves the writer to be a true literary descendant of the author of ‘The Fairchild Family.’ The theology is more enlightened, but the methods are much thesame. The Thornton family are paragons of unbridled philan- thropy. They are wealthy as well as highly educated. Even the voice of Miss Evelyn Thornton is “rich and cultivated.” The dramatis persone include a large assortment of merry Kerry peasants, who indulge in such expletives as ‘‘ Hech” and ‘ Indade,” and generally comport themselves in the most decorous transpontine manner. ‘ The Greatest of These’ is a gentle, amiable, edifying romance, but its placid optimism palls after the first few chapters. ‘Thais’ is an attempt to make live the world of the great city of Alexandria in the days of the local triumph of the Arian heresy, and to present to us a picture of the conversion of a Greek courtesan by an orthodox monk, and of the temptations of the latter in the desert. It constitutes a considerable literary effort, and will find admirers; but the pagans and the Greek Christians of both classes described in it are all sadly modern and very French. PHILOLOGICAL LITERATURE, Tue fifth volume of Mr. Henry Morley’s English Writers (Cassell & Co.) is wholly occu- pied with Wyclif and Chaucer. The chapters treating of Wyclif are fairly good ; but those devoted to Chaucer must be regarded as un- satisfactory by all who assent to the conclusions of the critical school represented by the late Mr. Bradshaw, Dr. Furnivall, and Prof. Skeat. In the first edition of ‘English Writers,’ published twenty-six years ago, the account given of the development of Chaucer’s art was very largely based on supposed facts which modern criticism declares to be no facts. If Mr. Morley had fully accepted the new views, he would have had not merely to revise, but absolutely to rewrite, the Chaucer section of his work, except, perhaps, the chapter dealing with the ‘Canterbury Tales.’ He has, however, found it possible to reproduce in this new edition not only the general struc- ture, but much of the wording, of the section as it appeared in the original book. There are, indeed, many important corrections, some of which fit rather awkwardly into the context. The ‘Testament of Love,’ the ‘ Romaunt of the Rose,’ and the ‘Remedy of Love’ are frankly admitted not to be Chaucer’s work. But Mr. Morley persists in maintaining the genuineness of the ‘Court of Love,’ and makes that poem the text for a great deal of disquisition on Chaucer’s intellectual and poetic character. He acknowledges that ‘‘Chaucer, of course, could not have written verse that would scan without sounding in due place the finale ”; but he thinks it would have been quite easy for a transcriber in the latter half of the fifteenth century so to alter Chaucerian verse as to make it metrical according to the contemporary pronunciation of English. In order to support this contention, he attempts to show what such a scribe might have made of the first eighteen lines of the ‘Canterbury Tales.’ As Mr. Morley’s version is decidedly not written in the English of the ‘Court of Love,’ and as it altogether lacks the ease and smoothness of versification character- istic of that poem, his experiment tells rather on the wrong side. The hypothetical scribe who managed to translate a long work of Chaucer's into such capital fifteenth century verse must, one would think, have been quite capable of writing good poetry on his own account. It may perhaps be asked why we may not sup- pose that the ‘Court of Love’ bears the same relation to a lost work of Chaucer’s that Pope’s ‘January and May’ bears to the ‘ Merchant’s Tale.’ We cannot absolutely prove that it does not. But there is not a particle of evidence that a poem by Chaucer en this subject ever existed ; and in this case the absence of positive evidence is a powerful negative argument, be- cause (with very trivial exceptions) all the com- positions which on grounds of language and metre may be confidently assigned to Chaucer are attested by adequate external proofs. If Chaucer wrote the original of the ‘Court of Love,’ it would be strange (considering what has hap- pened in other cases) that so important and so skilful a work should never have been mentioned either by himself, by Lydgate, or by Shirley, and that not a single MS. of it should have been preserved. The occurrence of the existing form of the poem in the Trinity MS. is, of course, no evidence whatever ; the MS. does not assign the work to Chaucer, and many of the accom- panying pieces are avowedly by other hands. A somewhat noteworthy point is that the genuine Chaucer poems in the same MS. have not been subjected to any such wholesale refashioning as is assumed in the case of the ‘ Court of Love.’ These considerations are surely sufficient, unless either obviated or overborne by counter evidence, to create a strong pre- sumption against the hypothesis of Chaucer's authorship of the work. Mr. Morley, however, simply ignores them, and the only arguments which he adduces are the following: first, that the ‘courts of love” were so far fallen into oblivion in the latter half of the fifteenth cen- tury that a poem which contains so many allu- sions to their laws and practice must be of much earlier date ; secondly, that a poet of that period would not have been likely to introduce into his work elaborate imitations of Boccaccio ; and, thirdly, that the poem is in the spirit of Chaucer, and displays his characteristic excellences in con- ception and execution. The first two arguments are based on mistaken assumptions. As to the third point, Mr. Morley is quite right in praising the poem, which, since the stigma of ‘‘ pseudo- Chaucerian ” has been fixed upon it, has seldom received due appreciation. But when he talks about the somenbatie freedom and spirit of the versification and the spontaneity of the rhymes, he is really refuting himself. No doubt these qualities are characteristic both of the ‘ Court of Love’ and of Chaucer’s genuine poetry, but a late adaptation of Chaucer would not have pos- sessed them. It would have been full of chevilles and awkwardnesses. In point of fact, this poem, which according to Mr. Morley is a work of Chaucer’s youth, is in mere technical finish some- what better than the best and ripest of his pro- ductions. The author of the ‘Court of Love’ had no doubt studied Chaucer with keen enjoy- ment, and he has imitated him not without a touch of kindred genius. Of Mr. Morley’s opinions on other questions of Chaucer criticism it will be enough to say that he treats the genuineness of the ‘Flower and the Leaf’ and of ‘Chaucer’s Dream’ as an open question, but evidently inclines to the aftirmative conclusion. With regard to chronological matters, he now admits that the documentary evidence renders it impossible to fix the date of the poet’s birth so early as 1328, but he tries to show that it was not later than 1332, a conclusion not likely to gain general assent. The argument that Chaucer called himself ‘‘ old” in the ‘ House of Fame’ is valueless ; the context shows that the sense is merely that he was too old to put himself to school. Mr. Morley’s comparison of ‘Troilus’ with the Italian original is useful, and the remarks on the relation between conventional decorum and morality are sensible and well ex- pressed. What else there is good in the Chaucer portion of the volume is so inextricably mixed up with the unsound theories that its value is wholly destroyed. A Manual of the Oregon Trade Language, or “ Chinook Jargon.” By Horatio Hale. (Whit- taker & Co.)—The “Chinook Jargon,” of which Mr. Hale gives an account in this volume, ‘has a peculiar interest as affurding the only known example of the evolution of a new language in quite recent times. Little more than a hundred years ago the language was still unborn ; at the present moment there are many persons who speak it as their native tongue. The original nucleus of its vocabulary was formed in the latter part of the last century by the English- speaking traders and the Indians of Nuotka Sound, who mutually learned a few words of each other’s languages. Subsequent!7 these words came to be employed by the traders in communication with the Chinooks in the neigh- bourhood of the Columbia River, who readily learned to understand them, and who contri- buted to the ‘‘jargon” more than a hundred words of their own tongue, which is radically different from that spoken by the Nootkas. In- tercourse with the Canadian voyageurs led to the introduction of a number of French words, dis- figured almost beyond recognition by the phonetic changes necessary to render them pronounceable by Indian lips ; and the vocabulary was further augmented by adoptions from the language of the Flathead Indians, and by onomatopoetic formations such as liplip, to boil, tumtum, heart. The * Chinook Jargon” differs from the better- known examples of mixed dialects in retaining no distinct vestiges of the grammatical systems of any of the languages out of which it has been formed. The ‘‘ root-stage,” postulated theoreti- cally for the prehistoric periods of inflectional languages, is here an actual reality, though the ‘* roots” are mostly polysyllabic. As in Chinese, almost any word may serve indifferently as noun, verb, adjective, or adverb, The number of independent words is about five hundred; but to these must be added the compounds, which may be formed without restriction, the attributive word being placed first. From the English ship, stick, skin, for instance, are formed the combinations shipstick, a mast, stickskin, bark of a tree. The origin of many of the words is rather amusing. Pelton, “a fool, foolish, crazy,” is from the name of Archibald Pelton, a lunatic whom the Indians saw at Astoria. Kint- shautsh, English, is the Indian pronunciation of ‘*King George.” Boston stands for ‘‘ Ameri- can.” As might be expected, the words adopted from English or French have often developed new meanings. Cole means not only “ cold,” but also ‘* winter,” and hence “ year”; stick means “tree,” “wood,” and ‘‘yard measure.” The French puis, disguised as pe, is not only used for ‘*then,” but serves as a conjunction, “and, or, but.” The language is, of course, wanting in precision of expression, and its defects have to be largely supplied by gesture and intonation. It is somewhat interesting to note that Mr. Hale, who in 1846 expressed the opinion that the ‘‘jargon” was doomed to speedy extinction, is now convinced that it is destined to continue long in use as the medium of intercourse between the different races of the North-West. If this anticipation should be fulfilled, it is quite con- ceivable that it may ultimately develope a gram- matical system out of its own resources. The question is naturally suggested whether some of the existing types of languages—Aryan or Semitic, for instance—may not possibly have originated in a similar mixture of heterogeneous tongues. In addition to the vocabulary and the historical sketch of the dialect, Mr. Hale gives some longer specimens—a missionary sermon, and one or two songs of native composition which are really not without a certain simple beauty. Some years ago a masterly Hebrew transla- tion of Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’ appeared at
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584 THE ATHENAUM N° 8288, Nov. 1,790 _ mere REET EEC Vienna. If we are not mistaken, the translator was the Jate Mr. Salkinson, who also supplied the greater part of the translation of the New Testa- ment edited by Dr. Ginsburg. Mr. J. Massel, of Manchester, jealous of Salkinson’s laurels, has now tried his hand on a Hebrew translation of Milton’s Samson Agonistes (Manchester, pri- vately printed), with the object of showing “ that the sacred tongue will fairly compete with modern languages in beauty of expression and flexibility.” This is what the Hebrew translators of Racine and Goethe’s ‘Faust’ have already essayed to prove. Mr. Massel has, however, shown the contrary of what he wished by the harsh- ness of his Hebrew expressions, which are sometimes even against the genius of the lan- guage. Space will not allow us to give many instances, but the following may justify our assertion. Strophe 4, “ when any chance relieves me,” is rendered by Y39 ‘N33 AION bab ON, a sentence entirely unidiomatic; in str. 18, 13> mDIND Sp», ‘‘ease to the body some,” is irregular. It is true that 7!)N is corrected into DYD5 in the table of errata, but 125 stands for ‘‘ body,” whereas it means rather ‘‘ back.” na135 py would be more correct without in- juring the rhythm. Besides, since Mr. Massel employs Hebrew words in the Rabbinical sense —for instance, in str. 175 ‘‘their sense” is translated DIINY, and str. 289, NOI IND is the rendering of ‘‘of well pronouncing ”—why should he not take 9))3 for “body”? The fact is that the poor vocabulary of classical Hebrew as we possess it in the Bible cannot compete with a rich stock of words such as English, French, and German possess. Much of the original must be sacrificed when translated into classical Hebrew, which is evident even in Salkinson’s beautiful translation of the New Testament. Mr. Massel may be right in saying that his labour will benefit Jews who can read only Hebrew and who would wish to become ac- quainted with Milton, but he is wrong when he pretends ‘‘that there are some passages in his translation which somewhat excel the original.” Why does he not point them out to us? MILITARY LITERATURE. Messrs. Dean & Son send us Scenes through the Battle Smoke, by the Rev. Arthur Male, army chaplain at Lucknow and in the Afghan and Eyyptian campaigns, illustrated by Sidney Paget. The Afghan war and the first Egyptian campaign are rather threadbare topics ; but Mr. Male has managed to relate his experiences in a style at once fresh and unaffected. He has much sympathy with svldiers, and his descriptions of fighting are excellent. The part of the book which deals with the Egyptian campaign of 1882 affords evidence of the author's powers of obser- vation and his skill in eliminating matters of little interest. This chaplain is clearly a brave, manly fellow, for though devoted to his special duty, he was ever ready to undertake any other duty which was assigned him or fell in his way. Evidently Mr. Male would have been a capital soldier had he embraced the profession of arms. The Civil War on the Border. By Wiley Britton, War Department, 1861-62. (Putnam’s Sons.)—Mr. Britton had the advantage of being an eye-witness of many of the operations which he describes, and he appears to have had free access to allofficial documeuts. He is, therefore, in a position to be accurate; but it may be doubted whether the subject was worth writing about, for the events described were dwarfed by more important operations, and the campaigns of 1861-62 on the border, i.¢., in Missouri and Arkansas, exercised comparatively little influence on the issue of the struygle, while the so-called campaigns were little more than a series of bush- | whacking expeditions, in which there was a good | deal of firing with comparatively little result. The author, indeed, after dwelling upon death- dealing volleys, heavy losses, withering fire going on for hours, &c., is obliged to confess that the casualties did not exceed a few score on each side. But Mr. Britton has no sense of propor- tion. Almost every engagement he mentions is termed a battle, without reference either to the number of men engaged or the results obtained. One feature of the operations cannot but strike the professional soldier with astonishment, and that is the number of surprises and the rapidity with which the picquets were driven in. Mr. Britton’s language is not always precise, and the word ‘‘ picquet”’ is apparently as often as not employed to signify a single vedette or sentry, and “‘scout”’ is used indifferently to signify a single scout or the operation of scouting, Still, through all this verbal mist we can discover that sentries were frequently killed or captured before they could give the alarm, and that the small advanced posts, being with- out supports, were generally driven in so rapidly that their arrival and that of the enemy at the main body were usually almost simultaneous. There was a great show of scouting, but the duty was performed without system, and very inefficiently. Another notable fact is that prisoners never hesitated to give full informa- tion. Indeed the spirit of the troops on both sides was somewhat extraordinary. They, to all appearances, regarded war as a game of chess, and officers accepted a surrender as calmly as they would have viewed the capture of a bishop or knight. The method of fighting was likewise peculiar. We find bodies of infantry firing into each other for some time at a distance of as little as forty or fifty yards, and it never en- tered the head of either to decide the matter with a bayonet charge. Nor was their marks- manship good, though it might have been ima- gined that frontier men would have been skilful with the rifle. The number of casualties after hours of firing at ranges varying between 100 and 300 yards was small, and the shooting must have been bad, or artillery would not have been able to remain in action, as it often did, within from 400 to 200 yards of theinfantry. The cavalry were not cavalry at all, but mounted infantry. The artillery was the best arm, and generally decided the actions, from which it may be de- duced that the worse the troops the greater the necessity for a large number of well-served guns. The Federals, to judge by the book before us, seem to have shown far more dash as well as tenacity than their opponents; but then it must be remembered that the Federals had a strong nucleus of troops belonging to the American standing army. Also it should be borne in mind that the author was an ardent Unionist, and fought on the Federal side. The style is cumbrous and often obscure, while the terms employed, as well as the construction of the sentences,are sometimes barbarous. For instance, he employs without scruple such words as “ trans- portation” for transport; but the worst offence is one frequently repeated, of which the following is a sample: “ He was obliged to order the retreat sounded.” To conclude, the book is badly arranged, and without maps the movements of the troops cannot be followed. OUR LIBRARY TABLE. Tue fifth volume of Mr. Stevens’s valuable Facsimiles of Manuscripts relating to America includes the petition from Congress to the king which was called ‘‘the Olive Branch,” and to which no answer was returned. The document itself is extremely well written, and the auto- graph signatures correspond closely to those subsequently appended to the Declaration of Independence. Even more instructive is the correspondence between Mr. Eden and his friends in England regarding Lord Carlisle’s Commission, of which he was amember. The documents now published by Mr. Stevens prove that, owing to blundering or folly, that Com- mission was foredoomed to failure. THE handsome reprint Mr. Unwin has sent us of Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Women—a book worth reading, although nearly a hundred years have passed since its publication—is made more valuable by Mrs. Faweett’s introduction, written with much lucidity and spirit.—Mr. Scott has added to the ‘Camelot Series” a selection from the ‘Annals’ of Tacitus, the Germania and Agricola, in Gordon’s version. Mussrs, Macmitian have published new editions of Sir H. Cunningham’s excellent novel The Heriots, and of the Aspern Papers of Mr. Henry James. To the series of Mrs. Craik’s novels, of which they are issuing a tasteful reprint, they have added King Arthur. The same firm have brought out a third edition of the second volume of Prof. Mahaffy’s readable History of Classical Greek Literature, that deal- ing with the prose writers. THE first number of the International Journal of Ethics (Unwin) begins well with a lucid article by Prof. Sidgwick on ‘The Morality of Strife.’ ‘The Law of Relativity in Ethics’ is an excel- lent article by Prof. Héffding, of Copenhagen. Prof. Royce is severe, but not without reason, in his remarks on Dr. Abbot’s ‘Way out of Agnosticism.’ The whole number is promising, but we are surprised to see no French names in the list of contributors. Educated people gener- ally are much more influenced by clear and persuasive writers than by all the learning of Gottingen and Berlin. Tue catalogues of second-hand booksellers that are now upon our table are those of Mr. Hartley, Mr. Higham, Mr. Jackson, Mr. May, Messrs. Myers & Co., Mr. Nutt (folk-lore), Messrs. Sotheran (good), and Mr. W. T. Spencer (two catalogues); also those of Mr. Brown (some good books) and Mr. John- ston of Edinburgh, Mr. Commin of Exeter (fairly good), Mr. Miles of Leeds, and Messrs. Young & Sons of Liverpool (interesting), M. Lessa of Berlin has sent us rather an interesting catalogue. WE have on our table The Labour Movement in America, by R. T. Ely (Heinemann),—Johns Hopkins University Studies: Notes on the Pro- gress of the Coloured People of Maryland since the War, by J. R. Brackett (Baltimore, Murphy & Co.),—The St. Andrews University Calendar, 1890-91 (Blackwood),—Proceedings and Trans- actions of the Royal Society of Canada, Vol. VII. (Montreal, Dawson Brothers), — Railway and Canal Traffic Act, 1888: Board of Trade In- quiry, 1889-90, with an Appendix containing Tables, Diagrams, &c, by T. Waghorn and M. Stevens (Manchester, Nodal & Co.),—The Non- Commissioned Officer’s Guide to Promotion, by W. Gordon (Chatham, Gale & Polden),—The Verdict: the Parnell Commission, by A. V. Dicey, Q C. (Cassell),—Psychology, by M. Maher, S.J. (Longmans), — Pasteur and Rabies, by T. M. Dolan, M.D. (Bell), — Sickness or Health? by a Family Doctor (Jarrold & Sons), —Cycling and Health, by O. Jennings, M_D., translated by J. C. Johnston (Iliffe & Son),— The Handsome Examiner, by R. St. John Corbet (Field & Tuer),—F.R.S, and other Stories, by W. H. Stacpoole (Dean & Son),—Life in Utopia, by J. Petzler (Authors’ Co-operative Publishing Co.),—Young England, Vol. XI. (‘Young Eng- land’ Office), — Through Sorrow’s Fire, by M. Marsh (Digby & Long),—Nadeschda, a Poem in Nine Cantos, by J. L. Runeberg, translated by Mrs. J. B. Shipley (Kegan Paul & Co.), — Poems, by M. G. Budden (Digby & Long),— Lyra Consolationis, collected by C. F. Herna- man (Longmans),—Narratio de Miraculo a Michaele Archangelo Chonis Patrato, edited by Max Bonnet (Hachette),—Die Sprachschipfung, by T. Curti (Wiirzburg, Stuber),— Nochmals Principienfragen der Christlichen Archdologie, by J. Wilpert (Freiburg, Herder),—and Ge- schichtsbetrachtungen, by J. von Pflugk-Harttung a _™= XUM
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XUM N° 3288, Nov. 1, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 585 (Gotha, Perthes). Among New Editions we have The Paradise of Birds, by W. J. Courthope (Hatchards),—The Denominational Reason Why (Houlston & Sons),—Manual of Ancient Scuip- ture, by P. Paris, edited by J. E. Harrison (Grevel & Co),—Brigade Drill made Easy, by W. Gordon (Chatham, Gale & Polden),—Mrs. Reynolds and Hamilton, by G. A. Townsend (New York, Bonaventure),—AHeart Wins, by Mrs. Alexander (Trischler & Co.), — Father Mathew, by J. F. Maguire, M.P., abridged by Miss Rosa Mulholland (Bagster),—Songs of the Governing Classes, and other Lyrics, by R. B. Brough (Vizetelly),—The Conflicts of Capital and Labour, by G. Howell, M.P. (Macmillan), —Poems of the Plains and Songs of Solitudes, by T. B. Peacock (Putnam),—and Dante, Six Ser- mons, by P. H. Wicksteed, M.A. (E. Mathews). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology, Glazebrook’s (Rev. M. G.) Lessons from the Old Testament, Senior Course, Vol. 2, 12mo, 2/6 cl. Pentecost’s (G. F.) Bible Studies, cr. 8vo. 4/ cl. Richards’s (T. H.) England’s Light Bringer, or the Story of our English Bible, cr. 8vo. 3/ cl. Spurgeon’s (C. H.) Sermons in Candles, 12mo, 2/ cl. Fine Art and Archeology, Bradley's (J. W.) The Life, Times, and Works of Giulio Clovio, 8vo. 21/ cl. Ely’s (T.) Manual of Archzology, 8vo. 6/ cl, Foster's (Vere) Water-Colour Series: Animal Painting for Begiuners, 4/ cl. Life and Work ot Birket Foster, Rosa Bonheur, and J. C. Hook, 4to. 10/6 el. Life and Work of Leighton, Millais, Alma Tadema, Meis- sonier, Hook, R. Bonheur, and B. Foster, 21/ cl. Royal Portrait Gallery, 3/6 cl. Poetry and the Drama, Gilbert’s (W. S.) Songs of a Savovard, 8vo. 10/6 cl. Kendall’s (H. C.) Poems, edited by A, Sutherland, 7/6 cl. Kersley’s (G. H.) A Play and Fifteen Sonnets, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Lecky’s (E.) Here, There, and Everywhere, Rhymes, 2/ bds, Morris's (W.) The Saga Library, Vol. 1, cr. 8vo. 5/ rox. Shakespeare’s Songs of Spring and Winter, 2/ swd. Swinburne’s (C, A.) Sacred and Shakespearian Affinities, 10/6 Music. Beale’s (W.) The Light of Other Days, 2 vols. 8vo. 28/ el. Taylor's (S.) A System of Sight Singing from Established Musical Notation, &c., 8vo. 5/ cl. History and Bugraphy. Barttelot (E. R.), Commander of Rear Column of Emin Pasha Relief Expedition, Life of, by W. G. Barttelot, 16/ Beaconsfield (Lord), by J A. Froude, cr. 8vo, 3/6 cl. Bolton’s (8. K.) Famous Men of Science, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Cooper’s (T. 8.) My Life, 2 vols, 8vo, 20/ cl. Curtis’s (H. H.) Class-Book of English History, 1485-1890, complete, cr. 8vo. 3/ cl. Gross’s (C.) The Gild Merchant, a Contribution to British Municipal History, 2 vols. 8vo. 24/ half bound. Mazzini’s (J.) Life and Writings: Vol. 1, Autobiographical and Political, cheap edition, cr. 8vo. 4/6 cl. Moore’s (Late A. L.) Lectures and Papers on the History of the Reformation, 8vo. 16/ cl. Pellow (T.), The Adventures of, written by Himself, 8vo, 5/ cl. (Adventure Series.) ° Swan’s (A. 8.) Maitland of Laurieston, a Family History, 6 Geography and Travei, Gill’s (G.) Student’s Geography, cr. 8vo. 4/6 cl, Mitchell’s (E. H.) Forty Days in the Holy Land, Before and After, cr, 8vo. 6/ cl. Nelly Bly’s Book, Around the World in Seventy-two Days, cr. 8vo, 2/6 swd. Warrender’s (M.) Walks near Edinburgh, illustrated by Author, 12mo. 3/6 cl. Philology. Aristotelis Ethica Nicomachea, Xc., instruxit I, Bywater, 6/ Gwatkin (T.) and Shuckburgh’s (E. 8.) Aischines in Ctesi- phonta, 12mo. 5/ cl. Hossfeld’s Advanced French Grammar, by H. Lallemand and A. Antoine, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Science. Ballow’s (W. R.) A Compendium of Equine Anatomy and Physics, er. 8vo. 4/6 cl. Clerke’s (A. M.) System of the Stars, 8vo. 21/ cl. Hamilton’s (E.) Riverside Naturalist, demy 8vo. 14/ cl. Jones’s (R. H.) Asbestos, its Properties, Occurrence, and Uses, er. 8vo. 12/6 cl. Matthews’s (G. F.) Manual of Logarithms, 8vo. 5/ cl. Rentoul’s (R. R.) The Dignity of Woman’s Health, and the Nemesis of its Neglect, cr, &8vo. 3/6 limp. Stevenson’s (H.) The Birds of Norfolk, Vol. 3, 8vo. 10/6 cl. Warren's (G. W.) A Compendium of Dental Pathology and Dental Medicine, cr. 8vo. 4/6 cl, Wright's (C. R. A.) The Threshold of Science, cr. 8vo. 6, cl. General Literature. Ballantyne’s (R. M ) The Garret and the Garden, cr. 8vo, 3/6 Bevan’s (F ) Sketches of the Quiet in the Land, 5/ cl. Buisgobey’s (F, du) An Ocean Knight, tr. from French, 7/6 Book-Owner’s Register ot Loans, 2/6 cl. Chappell’s (J.) Without a Thought, or Dora’s Discipline, 2/ Chettle’s (E. M.) None but the Brave Deserves, ob. 4to. 3/6 Church’s (Rev. A. J.) A Young Macedonian in the Army of Alexander the Great, cr. Svo. 5/ cl. Colmore’s (G.) A Living Epitaph, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Cook’s (E.) The Old Farm Gate, 4to. 2/5 Cookson’s (Lieut.-Col. F.) Man and the Deity, 12mo. 2/ cl. Corbett’s (E.) An Old Coachman’s Chatter, 8vo. 15/ cl. Decline and Fall of the British Empire, or the Witch’s Cavern, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Dickens’s (C.) Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities, Crown Edition, 8vo. 5/ cl. Donovan’s (D.) Who Poisoned Hetty Duncan? and other Detective Stories, 12mo. 2/ bds. Falconer’s (L.) Mademoiselle Ixe, 24mo, 2/ cl. Goddard’s (J _) The Golden Weathercock, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Grey's (J. W.) The Mistletoe Bough and Bunch of Primroses, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Grey’s (R.) Her One Ambition, small 4to. 2/4 bds. Guernsey’s (L, E.) The Hidden Treasure, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Haggard (H. R.) and Lang's (A.) The World’s Desire, 6/ cl. Henty’s (G. A.) By Right of Conquest, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Henty’s(G. A.) Curse of Carne’s Hold, er. 8vo. 3/6 c!. Home Trade of Manchester, with Personal Reminiscences, &c., by Home Trader, er. 8vo,. 2/6 cl. Janvier’s (T. A.) Aztec Treasure House, a Romance of Con- temporaneous Antiquity, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Johnson's (J. B.) Things Present and Things to Come, 4/6 cl. Jones's (Rev. H.) Courtship and Marriage, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Kirton’s (J. W.) A Bunch of Cherries, er. 8vo, 2/ cl. Lee’s (E.) Maria and I, cr. 8vo. 2/ swd. Leslie’s (Mrs. M.) The Household Angel, er. 8vo. 2/ cl. Mac Donald’s (G.) Tne Light Princess, and other Fairy Tales, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. McWilliam’s (R.) Handbook of English Literature, 4/6 cl. Martin’s (Mrs. H.) Little Great-Grandmother, 2 vols. cr. 8vv. 2/6 each, cl. Meade’s (L. T ) Heart of Gold, er. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Montalba’s (A. R.) The Doyle Fairy Book, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Newman’s (Cardinal) Sayings, 8vo. 2/ cl. New Tariff of the United States of America, 8vo. 2/ swd. Pearce’s (J. H.) Esther Pentreath, the Miller's Daughter, 6/ Peard’s (F. M.) Mademoiselle, er. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Philosopher Dick, Adventures and Contemplations of a New Zealand Shepherd, 2 vols. cr, 8vo. 21/ cl. Pritchett’s (R. T.) Smokiana, 8vo. 7/6 rox. Rand’s (Rev. E. A.) Too Late for the Tide Mill, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. Reaney’s (G. S.) Her Two, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. - Shaw’s (C.) The Strange House, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Sims's (G. R.) Nellie’s Prayer, 3/ bds. Song (The) of Lewes, edited with Iutroduction and Notes by E. L. Kingsford, l12mo. 5/ cl. Spender’s (J. K.) Lady Hazleton’s Confession, 3 vols. 31/6 cl. Stables’s (G.) ’Twixt School and College, cr. 8vo. 5; cl. Stockton’s (F. R.) Ardis Claverden, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Stockton’s (F. R.) The Schooner Merry Chanter, cr. 8vo. 2/6 Stuart’s (E )In the Days of Luther, or the Fate of Castle Lowengard, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Tales from Blackwood, Third Series, in 6 vols. 12mo. 15/ cl. Thoughts (The) of Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, 6/ Tolstoi’s (Count L.) Work while Ye have Light, cr. 8vo. 2/6 Tucker's (T. G.) Things Worth Thinking About, cr, 8vo. 5/ Verne’s (J.) Tne Flight to France, cheap edition, 3/6 cl. Wells’s (P.) City Boys in the Woods, or a Trapping Venture in Maine, demy 8vo. 9/ cl. FOREIGN, Theology. Albers (E.): Die Quellenberichte in Josua i.-xii., 3m. Budde (K.): Die Biicher Richter u. Samuel, ihre Quellen u. ihr Aufbau, 7m. 50. Clair (C.): La Vie de Saint Ignace de Loyola, 20fr, Lipp (A.): Die Hymnen d. Cistercienser-Breviers, 5m. Renan (E.): Histuire du Peuple d’Israél, Vol. 3, 7fr. 59. Zabn (T.): Geschichte d. Neutestamentlichen Kanons, Vol, 2, 10m, 80, Law, Duverger (J.) et Goujon (E.): Table Générale des Lois depuis 1831 jusques 1889, 4 vols. 50fr. Fine Art and Archaoloay. Aus der Anomia, Archéologische Beitrage, Carl Robert zur Erinuerg. dargebracht, 7m. Ris-Paquot: L’Art de Batir, 6fr. Philosophy. Chaignet (A.): Histoire de la Psychologie des Grecs, Vol. 3, Ttr. 50, Political Economy. Conditions (Les) du Travail en Autriche-Hongrie, Rapport fficiel, 2fr. 50. Conditions (Les) du Travail en Suisse, Rapport Officiel, 2fr. History and Bwgraphy. Litzmann (C. C, T.): Friedrich Hélderiins Leben, 10m, Minor (J.): Schiller, sein Leben u. Werke, Vol. 2, 10m. Morel Fatio (A.): Grands d’Espagne et Petits Princes Allemands au XVIII, Siécle, 5tr. Oncken (W.): Das Zeitalter d. Kaisers Wilhelm, Part 1, 2m. Geography and Travei, Usséle (L.): A travers le Japon, 20fr. Bibliograpny. Griisel (A.): Grundziige der Bibliothekslehre, 4m. 50. Philology. Laune (H.): Notions Pratiques de Langue Annamite, 10fr. Libri Juris Antejustiniani, edd. P. Krueger, T. Mommsen, G. Studemund, 3 vols, 10m. Science, Agenda Oppermann pour 1891, 5fr. Direr (E.): Edison, Elektrische Skizzen, lm, 59. General Literature, Allais (H.): Tantine, 3fr. 50. Carol (J.): L’Honneur est Sauf, 3fr. 50. Chélard (R.): La Hongrie Contemporaine, 5fr. Daudet (A.): Port Tarascon, 10fr. Fusillot : Une Ouverture de Chasse en Normandie, 12fr. Montégut (M.): L’Envie, 3fr. 50. ‘PRIDE AND PREJUDICE.’ Carlisle, Oct. 26, 1890. Mr. Murray will find the above expression in Taylor’s ‘ Holy Living,’ chap. iv. section 8, ‘* Remedies against Anger, by way of Considera- tion”:—‘*‘ It [anger] is a confluence of all the irregular passions; there is in it envy and sor- row, fear and scorn, pride and prejudice,” &c. Wituiam Dowlz. Trinity College, Dublin. Tue letters that have lately appeared in the Atheneum about ‘ Pride and Prejudice’ suggest to me that you may be willing to make room for a remark on the title of another of Jane Austen’s novels, ‘ Persuasion.’ Her latest biographer, Mr. Goldwin Smith, has given expression to what she is very commonly supposed to have meant by this title. He says: ‘‘The title denotes the gentle influences which persuade an injured and resentful lover, after the lapse of years, to return to his early love.” But the sense in which Jane Austen more than once uses the word ‘‘ per- suasion” is to denote influence used by friends to induce a lady to order her love affairs in a manner different from her own judgment and inclination. Thus in the novel in question Anne Elliott is induced by persuasion of friends to reject Capt. Wentworth’s proposal, though she herself wished to accept it, and afterwards regretted she had not done so. In the winding up of the story it comes out very clearly what was intended by the title. Capt. Wentworth speaks of ‘‘ the indelible, immovable impression of what persuasion had once done,” and Anne Elliott defends herself: “If I yielded to per- suasion once, it was to persuasion exerted on the side of safety, not of risk.” GEORGE SALMON. A REPLY. 331, Pearl Street, New York, Oct. 14, 1890. THE paragraph in your issue of the 4th inst. indicates that you have been misinformed re- specting the relations between Mr. Rudyard Kipling and ourselves. The statements therein made are so at variance with the facts that we feel justified in assuming that they could not have been derived from Mr. Kipling himself. The facts are these :— Ia September, 1889, Mr. Kipling called upon us in person with a letter of introduction from Mr. E. A. Abbey, and was, of course, courteously received. Hesubmitted for examination several Indian stories, and they were at once shown to our readers, whose opinions were unfavourable. In December of the same year the volume entitled ‘Piain Tales from the Hills’ was for- warded to us by our London agent. This having been one of the books originally submitted by Mr. Kipling, it was again declined. The stories included in the only volume which we have issued of Mr. Kipling’s works, and which forms the subject of your comment, have been put forth siuce our declination of Mr. Kipling’s earlier volume, and have been recently published by us in our ‘‘ Franklin Square Library.” Allof them save one,’ The Incarnation of Krishna Mulvaney,’ had been previously published in Harper's Weekly. They were offered to us by Mr. Kip- ling or his business agent, and we paid for them in each case the price asked—the total amount- ing to some 78!. The additional payment of 10/. was tendered in acknowledgment for the story ‘The Incarnation of Krishna Mulvaney,’ and in pursuance of our rule of making pecu- niary recognition of the issue by us of any non- copyright work which we had not before pub- lished or paid for. We might here say that the story ‘The Incarnation of Krishna Mulvaney,’ which was included in the volume to make it of suitable length, had already appeared in several American newspapers, Harper & BRorHeERs. *,* Our information was derived from Mr. Kipling, who told us that the volume was pub- lished without his knowledge and much against his wishes.
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586 THE ATHENAUM N° 3288, Nov. 1, 90 ADDISON’S ‘SPECTATOR’ MSS. In the summer of 1864 I printed, mainly for private circulation, a few copies of a laboriously edited transcript* of the contents of an old note- book, consisting of early drafts, much revised and added to, of Addison’s Spectator essays ‘ Of Imagination,’ ‘ Of Jealousie,’ and ‘Of Fame.’ I was young in 1864, and in the introduction to the tract I assumed too confidently that my own firm belief in the genuineness of the MS. would be accepted by the critics as evidence enough. The Atheneum, in a long article (August 27th, 1864), very soon and very properly undeceived me by calling for the history of the MS., and the controversy was taken up somewhat warmly by several London and provincial papers. The history of the MS. I was quite unable to give, beyond the fact that I had purchased it in 1858 from Mr. C. J. Skeet, then a well-known second- hand bookseller in King William Street, Strand. Mr. Simpson (who in 1858 had been his manager and in 1864 was his successor) recollected the sale to me, but not the source from which the MS. had come into his hands, and neither Messrs. Puttick nor Messrs. Sotheby found any trace of it in their books. No one recollected that Addison’s library had been removed from Bilton Hall, near Rugby, and sold at Sotheby’s in May, 1799—at least, no one, either friend or foe, suggested a search in the auction catalogue. External evidence having thus failed, I was thrown back on, what was much more important, after all, the internal evidence of handwriting. Here my fate was happier. I submitted the MS. to Sir Frederic Madden, to the Rev. H. O. Coxe, of the Bodleian, and to the Rev. Whitwell Elwin, the editor of Pope, with the result that all three unhesitatingly pronounced for its genuineness (see Atheneum for September 3rd and November 5th, 1864), As there was no higher court, the sceptics were silenced, and after some distinguished critics had acknow- ledged amply the great interest of a MS. which revealed the secrets of the workshop of so great a master of style, the subject dropped and was forgotten with the customary suddenness and completeness. My little pamphlet, too, would have passed utterly into oblivion had it not been quoted in recent years by Mr. Leslie Stephen in his life of Addison in the ‘ Dictionary of National Biography’ and by Mr. Courthope in his ‘ Addi- son’ in the *‘ English Men of Letters ” series. Nothing respecting the history of the MS. ever came to my knowledge until May, 1887, when I noticed in the current number of Wal- ford’s Antiquarian a condensed report of a paper on ‘ Bilton Hall and Joseph Addison,’ read before the Warwickshire Naturalists’ and Archeologists’ Field Club by its president, Mr. M. H. Bloxam, who has since passed away at an advanced age. In this paper it was stated by Mr. Bloxam that he had been told by the Rev. J. H. C. Moor, for many years an assistant master of Rugby School, that he (Mr. Moor) had once had the overlooking of certain papers at Bilton Hall (the property and once the residence of Addison), and that amongst these he had ‘*found the original drafts of two of Addison’s papers in the Spectator, the one on ‘ Fame’ and the other on ‘ Ambition.’” As my MS. contained (inter alia) drafts of the essays on Fame (Spec- tator, Nos. 255-7), and as they naturally dealt a good deal-with ambition, I felt pretty certain that it must have been the same which Mr. Moor had examined. I did not attach much importance to the discrepancy of the titles—for though my MS. had one, none was prefixed in the Spectator—nor to the omission of any mention of the papers on ‘Imagination’ and ‘ Jealousy ’"—for Mr. Bloxam was recalling, by an effort of memory alone, a conversation which must have taken place more than thirty-four years before, Mr. Moor having died in 1853. I “‘ Some Portions of Essays contributed to the ‘ Spectator ’ by Mr. Joseph Addison. Now first printed from his MS. note-book. Glasgow, MDCCCLXIY.,” 4to, pp. [i-viii] 1-48. With three facsimile plates, at once put myself in communication with Mr. Bloxam, through the medium of a common friend, but elicited no further information—only a surmise that Mr. Moor’s examination of the papers must have taken place in 1798, seeing that the Bilton Hall library had been sold in 1799. On reference to the record of Mr. Moor’s career I found this surmise to be an extremely imaprobable one. He had been at Rugby School, but matriculated at Magdalen College, Oxford, July 26th, 1796, when sixteen years of age, re- turning to Rugby as assistant master only in 1800, the year after the sale. Mr. Moor remained in this position until 1831, and even then did not Jeave the neighbourhood, but held the living of Clifton-upon-Dunsmoor, near Rugby, until his death in 1853. He had thus a lengthened opportunity of visiting Bilton Hall, and it is vastly more probable that he examined the MSS. after 1799, at which time he was only a nineteen- year-old undergraduate. This view is streng- thened by an examination of the Bilton Hall sale catalogue, preserved in the British Museum. The lots appear to have been very carefully catalogued, but the only MS. mentioned is the following :— “800. A Manuscript, supposed to be written either by Mr. Addison or Mr. Tickell, declaring the Authors of the greatest part of the Numbers in the Eighth Volume of the Spectator which have never nn to the Public.—A single [8vo.] half sheet. If so comparatively trifling an item as this was catalogued at such length, it is hardly likely that the MS. Mr. Moor had examined and iden- tified as Addison’s would have escaped attention. I trust, therefore, that I am not rash in believing that the MS. I printed came from the most likely place in the world for it to come from, Bil- ton Hall, and that it left that asylum later than 1799. Perhaps this notice may chance to meet the eye of some one who is acquainted with its subsequent history up to 1858. J. Dykes CAMPBELL. P.S.—The examination of the Bilton Hall sale catalogue enables me to correct a mistake as to the amount of the proceeds which has crept into the biographies of Addison. The following are the correct details : the first, second, third, and fourth days (May 27th-30th, 1799) were oc- cupied with the books, lots 1-856, which fetched 3171. 16s. 6d. ; on the fifth day (May 31st) lots 857-914, consisting of coins, medals, and trinkets, together with two portraits, were sold, fetching altogether 235]. 8s. 2d.; total, 553/. 4s. 8d.—not 4561. 2s. 6d., as usually given. Everything would seem to have fetched a reasonable price, except the two portraits. They were thus described (or misdescribed) :— “880. The Countess of Warwick, daughter of the Ear] of Manchester, and her son—A half length,” and,— “881. The Earl of Warwick, first husband to Mrs. Addison—whole length by Sir Godfrey Koeller”; and the two were sold together for fifteen shil- lings! Among the books I note lots 216 and 217 (folios), ‘‘ Blackmore’s King Arthur, 1697,” and ‘*Shakespeare’s Plays, wants title,” sold together for 3/. 4s. Ten copies of Salvini'’s Italian translation of Addison’s ‘Cato’ fetched from 2s. to 3s. each. HOWELL’S ‘ FAMILIAR LETTERS.’ 370, Oxford Street, W., Oct. 27, 1890. I wap hoped that my explanation was suffi- ciently straightforward to satisfy Mr. Jacobs. I cannot comply with his request that I should print a slip, for the very good reason that I have only a very few copies left of the first edition of one thousand copies. Iam now arranging for the second edition, and when it is issued Mr. Jacobs will see that I have fulfilled the promise made in your columns, and I will then do myself the pleasure of sending him a presentation copy. Mr. Jacobs taunts me with misleading the public in only issuing the first book. In acting as I have done, I haye only followed my method when I issued Montaigne’s ‘ Essays’ in the same “library.” I published vols, i. and ii. in February, 1889, and as they met with so much success I issued vols. iii. and iv. in June, 1890. Now, as a prudent publisher, I should never have thought of issuing vols. iii. and iv. if vols. i. and ii. had proved a failure, and I determined to apply the same rule to Howell. The remaining portion will follow in due course, and I am sure Mr. Jacobs will rejoice with me at the renewed popularity of ‘‘ the priggish little clerk.” Davip Srort. THE PREDECESSORS OF THE SERVICE BOOK. Iy, as stated by your correspondent (Athen., October 4th), the impression conveyed by my remarks is that a Liturgy of a less Protestant character than that of the Church of England was sought to be imposed on Scotland, this is precisely the opinion that prevailed in Scotland at the period in question (according to Lord Macaulay), and is still held by many in Scotland and elsewhere. Also, it was by order of the king that a new Liturgy was imposed. But that Charles desired to impose a Liturgy of a non-Protestant type on his Northern subjects is quite another matter. The probability is that he did not know, and possibly did not care, about differences which still, after two hundred years of discussion, are vexing the Church at this day. The apology for the Service Book, when things had gone wrong, was made by Dr. Balcanquhal, Dean of Durham, the confidant of Charles in Scots matters, as shown in the excel- lent work of Dr. Dowden, Bishop of Edinburgh (‘Scottish and American Communion Offices,’ p. 41, Edin., 1884). I would commend to your correspondent the perusal of the letters of Archbishop Laud to Maxwell, Bishop of Ross, of whom Mr. Wil- liams seems to have heard. (See Lord Hailes’s ‘ Memorials and Letters,’ Glasgow, 1766.) Such contemporary letters are better than books of history. It was Laud’s idea that a new Prayer Book for Scotland should be composed. He thought it would ‘‘relish better.” The result showed that scarcely anything could have relished worse. Would not the English Prayer Book have had a better fate? I think it would. This is the substance of Lord Clarendon’s contention. Yes, ‘‘it is quite impossible to suppose Jenny Geddes and her friends,” as Mr. Williams says, “knew anything of such differences between the books.” Your correspondent should read what Prof. Grub in his singularly impartial account has to say of the outbreak at St. Giles’. It is very probable that the whole affair was prearranged. It is quite as ‘‘impossible” to believe that these unruly “ kail-wives’” opinion dictated the action of Scotland. The theory that it did is very quaint. If Mr. Williams will consult the ‘ History of Scotland,’ by Dr. John Hill Burton, Historiographer, he will find, chiefly in foot-notes, a goodly display of titles of contemporary works dealing with the ob- jections raised to Laud’s book. The one point now wanting for the completion of this subject of the Prayer Books is a systematic examination of the charges advanced against the Service Book. Happily, within the diocese of Edinburgh there is a distinguished scholar who has made the study of the Liturgies his own ; an interest- ing volume would be the result if he would undertake the task. Perhaps the chief fault of the Service Book was that it was too yood—too close a copy of primitive and Eastern models, and so inappro- priate to the times. Again, your correspondent mentions as an “impossibility” the supposition of such a case as that of “Mr. Henderson” finding any form (the italics are his) of prayer acceptable. Perhaps Mr. Williams is not aware that for | years after the Reformation the second Prayer
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N° 3288, Nov. 1,90 THE ATHENAUM Book of King Edward was in common use in Scotland—some regretted that it was not re- verted to propter sacramentarios (see Hailes’s ‘ Memorials,’ vol. ii. p. 38); and that at the period under discussion there was in use in the Presbyterian Church a volume which is thus described by the Historiographer : ‘‘ This book might be called a Prayer Book less ritualistic in character than the English Common Prayer” (‘ Hist.,’ vol. iv. p. 332), an excellent and godly volume sometimes made use of by Episcopalians in Scotland; for there came a time when the Scots Presbyterians had a Liturgy, and the Episcopalians (through circumstances) had none (see ‘ Scottish Liturgies’ by Dr. G. W. Sprott). I have left myself scant space to notice the interesting letter of Mr. Edward Quaile (Athen., September 27th). It bears out my theory that excessive rarity cannot be claimed for the two books of 1633 and 1634, but that there are more copies in existence than is generally supposed. Mr. Fry’s numerous and well-worn fragments help to support this idea. I have been led by your correspondents into these details. After all, what is wanted is some scheme to account for these little Edinburgh- printed books that shall supersede that suggested in my paper. This, if backed up by facts, would be of value. Avex. Fereusson, Lieut.-Col. *,* The publication of this letter has been unavoidably delayed. THE ‘ DICTIONARY OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY.’ TuE following is the third part of a list of the names which it is intended to insert under the letter L (Section II.) in the ‘ Dictionary of National Biography.’ When one date is given, it is the date of death, unless otherwise stated. An asterisk is affixed to a date when it is only approximate. The editors of the ‘ Dictionary’ will be obliged by any notice of omissions ad- dressed to them at Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co.’s, 15, Waterloo Place, S.W. They particularly request that when new names are suggested, an indication may be given of the source from which they are derived. Lobb, Emmanuel, alias Simeon, Joseph, Jesuit, 1596-1671. See Simeon. Lobb, Rev. Stephen, Nonconformist divine, 1699 Lobb, Theophilus, physician, 1678-1763 Loch, David, writer on trade, 1780 Loch, Grandville Gower, captain R.N., 1852* Loch, James, M.P., ‘County of Sutherland,’ 1780-1855 Lochore, Robert, Scotch poet, 1762-1852 Lock, Matthew, musical composer, 1677 Locke, John, ‘On the Human Understanding,’ 1632-1704 Locke, John, Q.C., M.P., legal writer, 1805-80 Locke, Joseph, F.R.S., civil engineer, 1805-60 Locker, Edward Hawke, F.R.S., F.S.A., Commissioner of Greenwich Hospital, 1777-1849 Locker, John, F.S.A., biegrapher, 1693-1760 Locker, William, captain R.N., 1730-1800 Lockesley. Ralph, Franciscan, fi. 1310 Lockey, Thomas, D.D., Canon of Christ Church, 1601-79 Lockhart, George, naturalist, fl. 1600 Lockhart, Sir George, Lord President, 1630*-89 Lockhart, George, ‘ Memoirs of Scotland,’ 1673-1732 Lockhart, Sir James, Lord Lee, Lord Justice Clerk, 1600-74 Lockhart, James, poet, 1885 Lockhart, John Gibson, LL.D., critic, novelist, and bio- grapher, 1793-1854 Lockhart, Laurence William Maxwell, novelist, 1832-82 Lockhart, Philip, Jacobite, 1715 Lockhart, Sir Simon, Crusader, 1310*-80* Lockhart, Sir William, soldier and diplomatist, 1621-75 Lockhart-Ross, Sir John, Bart., admiral, 1721-90 Lockier, Francis, D.D., Dean of Peterborough, 1740 Lockman, John, miscellaneous writer, 1698-1771 Lockwood, John, Catholic divine, 1555, ex. 1642 Lockyer, Nicholas, M.A., Puritan divine, 1612-85 Locock, Sir Charles, Bart., M.D., F.R.S., physician, 1799-1875 Loder, Edward James, musical composer, 1813-65 Loder, George, composer and vocalist, 1816-68 Loder, John David, violinist, 1788-1846 Loder, John Faweett, violinist and composer, 1812-53 Lodge, Edmund K. H , F.S.A., biographer, 175-1839 Lodge, John, antiquary and genealogist, 1774 Lodge, Thomas, M.D., dramatic poet, 1556*-1625 Lodge, William, engraver, 1649-89 Loe, William, D.D., divine, fl, 1645 Loewe, Dr. Louis, Orientalist, 1809-88 Lofft, Capel, miscellaneous writer, 1751-1824 Lofthouse, Mrs. Mary, nee Forster, water-colour painter, 1853-85 Lofting, John, inventor, temp. Geo. I. Loftus, Adam, D.D., Archbishop of Armagh and Dublin, 1533-1605 Loftus, Adam, Ist Viscount Loftus, fl, 1641 Loftus, Dudley, Orientalist, 1618-95 Loftus, W. Kennett, archzologist, 1858 Logan, Rev. George, controversialist, 1698-1755 Logan, J. R., of Penang, journalist, 1869 Logan, James, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, 1674-1751 Logan, James, ‘ The Scottish Gael,’ 1794*-1872 Logan, John, divine and poet, 1748-88 Logan, Robert, of Restalrig, 1606 Logan, Sir William Edmond, F.R.S., geologist, 1798-1875 Loggan, David, engraver, 1655*-93* Logier, John Bernard, musician, 1780-1846 Lok, Henry, poet, fl. 1608 Lok, Michael, voyager, 1532-81* Lola Montez, Countess von Landsfeld, 1861. Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna. Lombard, Daniel, D.D., ‘ History of Persecution,’ 1746 Lombard, Peter, D.D., Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, 1625* Lombart, Peter, engraver, 1661* Lombe, Thomas, Carmelite, fi. 1390 Londesborough, Baron. See Denison, Albert, 1805-60. London, Henry of, Archbishop of Dublin, 1228. See Loundres. London, John, D.C.L., Warden of New College, Oxford, 1543 London, Richard of, chronicler, fl. 1192. See Richard. Londonderry, Charles Vane, Marquis of, 1854. See Vane. Londonderry, Charles William Stewart-Vane, 3rd Marquis of, 1778-1854. See Stewart-Vane. Londonderry, Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquis of, 1769-1522. See Stewart. Long, Amelia, Lady Farnborough, 1772-1837 Long, Charles, Lord Farnborough, 1751-1838 Long, Charles Edward, M.A., genealogist and antiquary, 1796-1861 Long, Dudley, afterwards North, politician and wit, 1529. See North. Long, Edward, ‘ History of Jamaica,’ 1734-1813 Long, George, police magistrate, 1868 Long, George, M.A., classical scholar and miscellaneous writer, 1800-79 Long. Rev. James, missionary, 1814-87 Long, John, Archbishop of Armagh, 1548-89 Long, John St. John, empiric, 1798-1834 Long, Sir Richard, military commander, 1546 Long, Richard Ballard, general, 1771-1825 Long, Sir Robert, Bart., Auditor of the Exchequer, 1673 Long, Roger, D.D., divine and astronomer, 1680*-1770 Long, — Speaker of House of Assembly, Jamaica, 638-85 See Gilbert, Long, Thomas, B.D., Nonjuring divine, 1621-95* Long, William, M.A., F.S.A., antiquary, 1818-86 Longbeard, William, priest and popular champion, ex. 1296 Longchamp, William, Bishop of ty, Lord Chancellor, 1196 Longden, Sir Henry Errington, K.C.B., general, 1827-90 Longespée, William de, Earl of Salisbury, 1196-1226 Longfield, Right Hon. Mountifort, Irish judge, 1802-54 Longford, William, D.D., Nonconformist divine, 1704-75 Longland, John, Bishop of Lincoln, 1473-1547 er or Langland, Robert, ‘ Visions of Piers Plowman,’ . 1369 Longley, Charles Thomas, D.D., Archbishop of Canterbury, 1794-1868 Longman, Thomas, publisher, 1805-79 Longman, Thomas Norton, publisher, 1770*-1842 Longman, William, publisher and author, 1812-77 Longmate, Barak, genealogist and heraldic engraver, 1738-93 Longmuir, John, LL.D., Scotch antiquary, 1883 Longueville, Sir John de, legal writer, fl. 1323 Longueville, William, patron of ‘ Hudibras’ Butler, 1721 Longworth, Miss Theresa, ‘‘ Hon. Mrs. Yelverton,” 1881 Lonsdale, Henry, M.D., biographer, 1816-76 Lonsdale, James, painter, 1777-1839 Lonsdale, James Lowther. Ear! of, 1802. See Lowther. Lonsdale, John, Bishop of Lichfield, 1788-1867 Lonsdale, John Lowther, Ist Viscount, 1656-1700, See Lowther. Lonsdale, William Lowther, Earl of, K.G., 1757-1844. See Lowther. Lonsdale, William Lowther, Earl of, 1787-1872. See Lowther. Loosemore, Henry, Mus.Bac., composer, 1667 Loosemore, John, Mus.Bac., organ builder, 1686 Lopes, Sir Manasseh Massey, Bart., M.P., politician, 1755- 3 Lopez, Rodrigo, physician, ex. 1594* Lord, John Keast, naturalist, 1872 Lord, Percival Barton, M.B., physician, 1840 Lorimer, James, Professor of Law at Edinburgh, 1818-40 Lorimer, Peter, D.D., ‘ Life of Knox,’ 1812-79 Lorimer, William, Dissenting minister, 1724 Loring, Sir John Wentworth, K.C.B., naval commander, 1775-1850* Lorking, Thomas, M.D., physician, 1528-91 Lorraine, Paul, ordinary of Newgate, fl. 1812 Lort, Michael, D.D., divine, 1725-90 Lorte, Sir Roger, Bart., poet, 1608-66* Losing, Robert, Bishop of Hereford, 1095 Losinga, Herbert, Bishop of Thetford and Norwich, 1119 Loten, John, landscape painter, 1681 Lothian, Lord. See Kerr. Lothian, Maurice, seal engraver, 1880 Lothian, William, D.D., ‘History of the Netherlands,’ 1740-83 Loudon, Charles, M D., medical writer, 1844 Loudon, Mrs. Jane, botanist, 1858 Loudon, John Claudius, writer on horticulture, 1783-1843 Loudoun, Earls of. See Campbell. Lough, John Graham, sculptor, 1806-76 Loughborough, Lord. See Wedderburn, Alexander, Earl of Rosslyn, 1733-1805 Lougher, Robert, D.C.L., civilian, 1583 Louis, Sir Thomas, Bart., admiral, 1760-1808 Lound, Thomas, landscape painter, 1803-61 Loundres, Henry de, Archbishop of Dublin, 1228 Louther, John, Puritan divine, 1686 Loutherbourgh, Philip James, R.A., painter, 1740-1812 Lovat, Simon Fraser, Lord, 1667-1747. See Fraser. Love, Christopher, Presbyterian divine, 1618, ex, 1651 Love, James, actor and dramatist, 1774 Love, Sir James Frederick, K.C.B., 1789*-1866 Love, John, politician, fl. 1687 Love, John, grammarian and controversialist, 1695-1750 Love, John, D.D., of Anderston, Glasgow, 1756-1825 Love, Nicholas, regicide, fl. 1659 Love, Richard, D.D., Dean of Ely, 1596-1660 Love, William Edward, ventriloquist, 1805-67 Loveday, John, philologist and antiquary, 1789 Loveday, Robert, ‘ Letters,’ fl. 1659 Loveday, Samuel, Baptist minister, 1675* Lovegrove, William, actor, 1778-1816 Lovel, Francis, Viscount Lovel, K.G., 1487 Lovel, Robert, botanist, 1690 Lovelace, Augusta Ada King, Countess of, 1815-52. King. Lovelace, John, Lord Lovelace, 1709 Lovelace, Col. Richard, ‘ Lucasta,’ 1618*-58 Lovell, Daniel, journalist, 1818 Lovell, George William, dramatist, 1804-78 Lovell, Sir Salathiel, judge, 1619*-1713 Lovell, Sir Thomas, K.G., President of the Council, 1524 Lover, Samuel, novelist and poet, 1797-1868 Lovett, Richard, ‘ Philosophical Essays,’ 1692-1780 Lovett, William, Chartist leader, 1800-87 Lovibond, Edward, poet, 1775 Low, David, D.D., Bishop of Ross, Moray, and Argyle, 1768- 1855 Low, David, Professor of Agriculture at Edinburgh, 1786-1859 Low, Edward, musician, 1682 Low, Rev. George, naturalist, 1746-95 ; Low, General Sir John, K.C.B., member of Council of India, 1788-1880 Low, Sampson, jun., publisher and author, 1823-71 Low, Sampson, publisher, 1795-1886 Low, William, civil engineer, 1814-56 Lowder, Rev. Charles Fuge, M.A., Vicar of St. Peter's, London Docks, 1820-80 Lowe, General Hudson, K.C.B., custodian of Napoleon I., 1769-1844 Lowe, James, editor of the Critic, 1865 Lowe, James, inventor of the screw propeller, 1863 Lowe, John, Bishop of Rochester, 1467 Lowe, John, Scotch poet, 1750-98 Lowe, Mauritius, history painter, 1793* Lowe, Peter, surgeon, 1550*-1612 Lowe, Solomon, schoolmaster, fl, 1755 Lowe, Thomas, vocalist and actor, 1783 (To be continued.) See THE NEXT ORIENTAL CONGRESS. 63, Elm Park Gardens, 8.W., Oct. 26, 1890. Dr. Lerrner in his letter published in your issue of October 25th charges both Prof. Max Miiller and myself with ‘‘ chauvinism,” what- ever that word may mean ; but our cases are quite different. The professor was hand and glove with Count Landberg, lived at the Grand Hotel at Stockholm at the charges of the King of Sweden, and was decorated with the Order of the Star of the North. I hadi none of these advantages, and yet I and the professor are placed in the same category as chauvinists. I wish that in dealing with English subjects Dr. Leitner would use ordinary expressions, and call a spade a spade, and differentiate betwixt different kinds of spades. I amata loss to know whether it is creditable to be a chauvinist, or the contrary. If I am indeed open to the charge of vacil- lation, my motive last year was (1) to get rid of the schemes of Count Landberg to decoy the Con- gress to Cairo or Constantinople, and (2) to keep the peace among British scholars, Dr, Leitner agreed with the former object, but cared nothing for the latter. Hence the lamentable result of a Congress in 1891 promoted, without the con- currence of the majority of British scholars, by a Hungarian scholar under the protection, and even orders, of Prof. Oppert of Paris, M. Textor de Ravisi, and a French syndicate of a mysterious and totally unrecognized character. In his last paragraph Dr, Leitner tells us that they appointed him Organizing Secretary of a Congress to be held at London under penalties to be enforced, in case of disobedience, at Paris. Standing aside from all possible connexion with future Congresses, and not intending even to be present, I carefully avoided in my previous letter all personal allusions ; the name of no scholar is mentioned. De. Leitner’s letter is exceedingly personal; I must meet him with the weapons which he has selected. Let me not be mis- understood. I have had the honour of Dr. Leitner’s acquaintance for many years, and I have openly expressed my admiration for his linguistic gifts and scholarship, and he knows that I have done so; yet none the less it is my deliberate opinion that he is not qualified by his antecedents, or social position, to represent British scholarship in the forum of a European Congress, either as Organizing Secretary appointed at Paris, or as President appointed by himself. He invites me to forward to him letters re- ceived by me from scholars of the first distinction on the Continent, whom I have repeatedly met at past Congresses. I cannot do so, as the scholars alluded to would not consider it agree-
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588 THE ATHENZUM N° 3288, Nov. 1,799 able to be placed in communication with Dr. Leitner, and the perusal of some of those letters would not be agreeable to him. In my former letter I remarked that the President and the Organizing Committee should select the Secre- tary to be their mouthpiece. According to Dr. Leitner he is the Organizing Secretary appointed by a caucus at Paris, and he protests loudly against the election of a President during his absence and without his concurrence. This shows the radically wrong basis on which Dr. Leitner’s London Organizing Committee is con- structed. Dr. Leitner justly complains that they do not even follow their leader, and that some individuals from the British Museum and India Office have had the impertinence to secede. If any Congress in London or Great Britain is to succeed, it must be promoted by a British- born Organizing Committee bearing British names, and presided over by a British scholar of European reputation, such as Sir Henry Rawlinson. Such men are forthcoming from the Universities, the India Office, and the British Museum. Dr. Leitner, as a Hungarian by birth, and a cosmopolite by habit, does not appreciate the sensitiveness of the British people. They seek to be the first, or among the first, in every branch of human work, and do not employ foreign soldiers to fight their battles, foreign engineers to construct their railroads, or foreign scholars to write their books and represent them on international platforms. If a Turk or a Russian were ‘invested with full powers” (I quote Dr. Leitner’s words) by a French caucus to get up an international Congress of any kind in Pesth, the place of Dr. Leitner’s birth, the proud Magyar nation would justly protest, and cry out: ‘* Are there no native-born representa- tives of our country available?” Such is the feeling of many British scholars now, who are surprised at Dr. Leitner’s intrusion, however well intended, and this feeling will lead to ab- stention from the Congress. He will make a solitude and call it a Congress. Roserr Cust. MR. MUDIE. WE regret to hear of the death, after a pro- tracted illness, of Mr. Charles Edward Mudie, the creator of the modern system of Jending libraries—a system peculiarly British, which has taken no real hold on the Continent or in the United States. Mr. Mudie was born in 1818 in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, where his father, a stationer and newsvendor, then kept a little shop, and was in the habit of lending out a small stock of books at a penny a volume. At the age of twenty-two young Mudie commenced business for himself in Upper King Street, Bloomsbury— now Southampton Row—and for a little time he carried it on much in the fashion that his father managed his trade; but he soon formed the idea of starting a subscription library, and as he was careful to procure early copies of all new works, he rapidly attracted subscribers. In these days he also ventured on publishing. He became acquainted with Emerson, and he issued the first English edition of Mr. Lowell’s poems ; but his library became so important that he was soon forced to give it his entire attention. In 1852 Mr. Mudie’s business had outgrown his premises in Upper King Street, and he removed to New Oxford Street. It was about this time that he commenced to advertise exten- sively, and to order large quantities of the most popular of new books. He took, for instance, over 2,000 copies of vols. iii. and iv. of Macaulay’s ‘History of England,’ and 2,000 copies of Livingstone’s ‘Travels,’ numbers till that time never ventured on by any lending library. His business rapidly grew, and he acquired other houses in New Oxford Street and Museum Street, until in 1860 he opened the large hall which forms a conspicuous part of the present premises, He also established branches in the City and in Birmingham and Manchester. All this showed Mr. Mudie’s power of organization, His success, of course, provoked opposition; the old-fashioned libraries in the West End were stirred into activity when they found their business deserting them, and some of them were formed into a company under the title of “The English and Foreign Library,” but without affecting their rival’s success, The large expansion of his undertaking was, however, more than his capital sufficed to meet, and in 1864 he turned over his library to a company, in which he held half the shares and retained the management. Since then it has enjoyed a career of unbroken prosperity. Mr. Mudie was not merely a good organizer and a man of business, but he was a man of con- siderable refinement, taste, and poetic feeling, as his charming volume of ‘Stray Leaves,’ issued in 1873, proved—a volume which hardly ceived the welcome it deserved. He was also an eminently charitable and pious man, labouring in the slums of Westminster, and preaching on Sundays at a small chapel. His generosity and kindliness were not confined to any sect or party. He was poor in his early days, but when he attained wealth he was a liberal giver, a warm friend, and a hospitable host. The death, in 1879, of his elder son, a young man of singular promise, of whom a memoir (by one of his sisters) was privately printed, was a great blow to Mr. Mudie, who never quite re- covered his loss. He gradually withdrew from business, and the management of the library has been for some years entirely in the hands of his younger son, Mr. Arthur Mudie. Mr. Mudie is to be buried this (Saturday) afternoon. Literary Gossip. A NEw novel, entitled ‘Esther Vanhom- righ,’ by Mrs. Margaret L. Woods, the author of that remarkable tale ‘A Village Tragedy,’ will commence in the New Year’s number of Murray’s Magazine. The basis of it is historical, and the characters of Swift, Lord Peterborough, and the circle in which they moved, form the main features of the story. Mr. Lewis Morris’s new poem, ‘ A Vision of Saints,’ which will be published in ten days’ time, contains some twenty poems on saints ancient and modern, commencing with Antoninus Pius, and ending with Father Damien. It is probably the writer’s most ambitious work. The metre is blank verse. TuE Queen of Roumania is writing a story for a syndicate of newspapers. Mr. Val Prinsep, the artist, has lately had one running through Longman’s Magazine, and Mr. Bram Stoker, the manager of the Lyceum, has had one appearing weekly in the People. Mr. Charles Brookfield, the actor, is correcting the proofs of one. What do the professional novelists say to this ? Mr. Grorce Moore is collecting the critical articles which he has contributed from time to time to the magazines. The book will be in three sections—essays on litera- ture, on painting, and on the drama. The most important will be an elaborate study of Balzac. Almost all the articles will be considerably revised, and some entirely re- written. The book will be published in February by Mr. Nutt, and will be called ‘Impressions and Opinions.’ A crrcuLaR has been issued to leading persons interested inviting them to attend a conference for discussing the foundation of an Economic Society or Association, for the advancement of economic science or political economy. The project has been long under discussion, and the members of leading societies and bodies have been in- vited. A main feature of the scheme is an economic journal, the want of which has long been felt in England. This, it is sug- gested, should be conducted by a salaried editor, in whom the chief control would be vested. It is left to be determined what shall be the qualification of members, and whether meetings for discussion shall be held rarely, say once a year, or at frequent intervals, say once a month. Mr. Sma.uey’s ‘ London Letters and some Others,’ which Messrs. Macmillan & Co. are going to publish, are selected from his cor- respondence for the New York Tribune. The first volume contains ‘ Personalities’ and ‘Two Midlothian Campaigns’ ; the second, ‘Notes on Social Life,’ ‘ Notes on Parlia- ment and on Pageants,’ and ‘ Miscellanies.’ Sir Witx1am Fraser, Deputy Keeper of the Records of Scotland, has completed a report upon the Earl of Home’s family papers, which will be issued by the His- torical MSS. Commissioners in a volume with the report on the Duke of Athole’s collection, to which we have previously called attention. These records of an old and famous Border clan, connected as it was with the still more distinguished Douglas family, should yield much that is interesting and new to the student of Scottish history. Ir is rumoured that the article on Pro- vincial France in the current number of the Quarterly Review is from the pen of Mr. J. E. C. Bodley, who is engaged in France on the considerable work on that country which, as we announced last spring, is to be published next year by Messrs. Mac- millan. The article on Lord Chesterfield is attributed to Mr. Churton Collins. Mrs. Atrrep Marks has in the press a volume of short tales, ‘Orlando Figgins, and other Stories,’ to be published shortly by Messrs. Ward & Downey. A story by André Hope, the author of that remarkable narrative ‘A Terrible Night,’ wil] appear shortly in Murray’s Magazine. As in its predecessor, the scene is laid in Russia, a country the writer knows well, and the title is ‘Scenes in Russia.’ A tale by the same writer, ‘The Secret of Wardale Court,’ is to appear in Temple Bar, and another in the World. Dr. Nevpaver has, it is reported, been elected an Honorary Fellow of Exeter College in recognition of his distinction as an Orientalist. Tue death is announced of Mr. J. P. Evans, surviving brother of George Eliot. He died on Sunday last at the age of seventy- four. Tue library and collections of the late Mr. T. ©. Noble, Past Warden of the Ironmongers’ Company, were sold by auction by Messrs. Puttick & Simpson this week. Mr. Noble was an indefatigable collector and transcriber of everything relating to the City guilds, and is tolerably well known as the writer of monographs on Temple Bar, the Spanish Armada, and his own livery company. His collections, gathered together during a period of thirty years,
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XUM Ne 3288, Nov. 1,’90 THE ATHENZUM 589 were of considerable bulk and of great interest. Unfortunately, he did not live long enough to enable him to arrange his materials, but if he had, he would have been in a better position than most people to compile a history of the livery companies. His books and collections (of no great value apart from their connexion with the City guilds) produced over 600/. Don Pascua DE Gayancos has nearly ready for publication the first part of the sixth volume of his Calendar of letters and State Papers relating to the negotia- tions between England and Spain, pre- served in the Simancas archives and else- where. The period covered is between 1589 and 1542, when the ambassador Chapuys was still resident in England ; his letters to Charles V. will form the chief attraction of this volume. Tue next volume of the ‘Minerva Library of Famous Books” will be a new edition of Lockhart’s ‘ Life of Robert Burns,’ brought up to date by Mr. John H. Ingram, who has added numerous notes and appen- dices on matters of importance in Burns’s life. A chapter on Burns’s biographers and a reprint of Carlyle’s and Wilson’s critical essays on Burns will make the volume a com- plete repertory of Burns lore. Another welcome addition to the ‘‘ Minerva Library ” will be a new and enlarged edition of Mr. Locker-Lampson’s delightfui ‘ Lyra Elegan- tiarum,’ which has long been out of print. The book, which already included much of the best social and society verse in the English language, will contain many poems by authors deceased since the issue of the early editions, special permission having been obtained from the holders of copyrights. Tue fourth annual general meeting of the Scottish History Society was held in Edinburgh on October 28th, Prof. Masson in the chair. Notwithstanding many vacancies by death in the roll of 400 members, there are still about twenty appli- cants waiting for admission into the Society. Mr. Archibald Constable’s translation of Major’s ‘ De Gestis Scotorum’ (1521) is to appear in the course of next year, together with the first volume of the ‘ Minutes of the Commission of the General Assembly, 1646- 1662,’ and the ‘Journal of Sir John Clerk of Penicuik (1702-1754),’ edited by Mr. J.M. Gray. Sheriff Thoms, moved appa- rently by the example of Lord Rosebery, offers to present as a gift to the Society a volume which he has in preparation on the history of the Scottish Admiralty, including a complete list (with biographical notices) of the Lord High Admirals, &c., with original documents illustrating the jurisdiction of the court. A new edition of Mr. Morris’s ‘ Earthly Paradise,’ complete in one volume and bound in a choice binding from a design by the author, will shortly be published by Messrs. Reeves & Turner. A new edition of Miss Rossetti’s poems, also in one volume, will be issued by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. Messrs. SonnenscHEIn & Oo. will publish next January a translation, by Mr. Keatley Moore and Madame Michaelis, of Froebel’s ‘Letters,’ forming an appendix to their edition of his ‘Autobiography.’ The letters are of some interest as showing the Kinder- garten system in its actual course of forma- tion and development. Tue Rey. E. Goodman is compiling—at the suggestion of Bishop Perry, whose chaplain he was—a history of the diocese of Melbourne. A monument to Friedrich Riickert has been unveiled in Schweinfurt. A yew ‘ History of Kidderminster’ is in the press, by Mr. J. R. Bunton, and will be issued very shortly by Mr. Elliot Stock. Mr. Tom Smith, whose history of Ribchester, written in conjunction with Mr. Shortt, we noticed the other day, is going to issue a monograph on the parish church of Preston. The parish registers from 1611-12 to 1636-7 will be given verbatim, and copious extracts from those of later date. Tue third part of the ‘ Records of the Past,’ edited by Prof. Sayce, is ready for publication. It will contain translations of Egyptian texts by M. Maspero, and of Assyrian ones (amongst them of several tablets found at Tell el-Amarna) by the editor. The fourth part is in preparation. It is hoped that Prof. Sachau may contri- bute to it the long-expected translation of the Punnamun inscription. In the volume of ‘Lectures on the Growth of Criminal Law in Ancient Com- munities,’ by Prof. R. R. Cherry, of Trinity College, Dublin, which Messrs. Macmillan announce, the author’s aim has been to compare the early ideas of several nations as to crimes and their punishment. He has selected legal systems as far apart from and as much independent of each other as pos- sible, with a view to showing that identity of usage did not arise from the adoption by one nation of the laws and institutions of another, but rather from the inherent prin- ciples of human nature. After an intro- ductory lecture on primitive custom, Prof. Cherry deals successively with ancient Irish law, the law of Semitic races, Roman penal law, early English penal law, and early English criminal law. Messrs. Eyre & Sporriswoove are bring- ing out in conjunction with the Pitt Press a facsimile reproduction of the MS. Book of Common Prayer which was annexed to the Act of Uniformity, and is preserved in the House of Lords. ‘‘ The Convocation Book,” or “ Black-letter Book,” was photo-zinco- graphed by Government at the time of the Ritual Commission, but the annexed book has not been reproduced until now. The facsimile will be ready early next year. WE are sorry to hear of the death of Dr. Armitage, brother of the Academician, and known by his efforts to improve the educa- tion of the blind. Canon Browntow writes regarding his ‘Memoir of Sir James Marshall’ :— ‘* Your reviewer states, p. 546, but does not give his authority, that ‘when he [Sir J. M.] became a Roman Catholic he intended to take Roman Orders, and the fact that the loss of his right arm was a bar to this was concealed from him till after his conversion.” Now I know this statement to be untrue, because he wrote to me at least three weeks before he was received into the Church, and said: ‘It is like death to me, for I must give up all hope of the priesthood for ever.’ Some time afterwards he told me in conversation that Fathers Vaughan and Coffin, the only priests that he saw before his reception, had never given him the slightest hope that a dispensation could be granted in his case, I believe there was some effort made after his con- version to obtain such a dispensation, but he never expected it to be successful.” We hold to our statement, which the letter Canon Brownlow quotes does not invalidate. GERMAN papers announce that a facsimile reproduction of the “ grosse Heidelberger Liederhandschrift,” containing upwards of 7,000 stanzas, and dating from the four- teenth century, will shortly be published. This is the same collection of Minnelieder which passed so long wrongly under the name of ‘‘ Manesse-Codex,”’ and which was subsequently called by philologists, from the place where it was kept, the ‘‘ Pariser Hand- schrift,”’ until it was acquired two years ago, as we reported at the time, by a clever exchange and barter for Germany, and transferred to Heidelberg. The text alone was reproduced before, but this time it will be accompanied by a coloured facsimile of the numerous illustrations. Pror. Gustav Bicxett, of Innsbruck, is going to publish an amended text of the Book of Proverbs according to the Syriac metre of seven syllables for each strophe. Tue chief Parliamentary Papers of the week are Historical MSS. Commission, Twelfth Report, Appendix, Part III., MSS. of Earl Cowper, Vol. III. (1s. 4d.); and Pauperism, England and Wales, Return for August (2d.). SCIENCE THE LITERATURE OF ELECTRICITY. Electrical Influence Machines. By John Gray, B.Sc. (Whittaker & Co.) Electric Transmission of Energy. Kapp, C.E. Second Edition. lishers. ) Absolute Measwrements in Electricity and Mag- netism. By Andrew Gray, M.A. Second Edition. (Macmillan & Co.) The Theory and Practice of Absolute Measure- ments in Flectricity and Magnetism. By Andrew Gray, M.A. Vol. I. (Same pub- lishers. ) The Electrical Engineer's Pocket-Book. By H. R. Kempe. (Crosby Lockwood & Son.) Potential, and its Application to the Explana- tion of Electrical Phenomena, Pomdarly Treated. By Dr. Tumlirz. Translated by D. Robertson, M.A.,.B.Sc. (Rivingtons.) ELecTRICAL influence machines have almost entirely superseded the old friction machines, to which the name of ‘‘ electrical machine ” was not long since exclusively appropriated ; and Mr. John Gray gives a clear and excellent account in historical order of the principal forms they have assumed, from the electrophorus to the newest pattern of Wimshurst’s machine. He also gives useful practical directions for the construction of these machines in their modern shape. His book begins with a general sketch of the lead- ing principles of electr« statics, including an attempt to render the modern theory of the nature of an electric field to some extent intelli- gible. Mr. Kapp is an acknowledged authority on the subject of which he treats, which includes the principal forms of dynamos, and the trans- formation, subdivision, and distribution of energy in the shape of electric currents. His book has been largely rewritten for the present edition. Of Mr. Andrew Gray’s two books, one is a new and improved edition of a useful little work on practical measurements published a few years since ; the other is the first half of a more By Gisbert (Same pub-
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590 THE ATHENZUM N° 3288, Nov. 1, ’90 elaborate work on the same subject, including more advanced applications of mathematics, such as Green’s Theorem. Chapter i. deals with electrostatics, including attraction, potential, energy of a system of charged conductors, capa- city and condensers, electric images and inver- sion, the analogy between conduction of heat and electrostatics, and Maxwell's theory of stress in a dielectric. Chapter ii. treats of currents of electricity, first when steady and then when variable, including signalling through long sub- marine cables. Chapter iii. is on units and dimensions ; chapter iv. on the measurement first of angular deflection, then of oscillations, then of couples and torsional rigidity ; chapter v. onelectromotors ; chapter vi. on the comparison of resistances ; chapter vii. on the comparison of capacities; and then follows an appendix containing tables. Mr. Gray is one of those men who perfurm the useful work of expounding Sir William Thomson’s methods to the un- initiated, and the present volume contains valu- able theoretical and practical information of recent date. Mr. Kempe’s pocket-book is rather smaller in size and better printed than other works of its kind, and the selection of matter appears to be good. Dr. Tumlirz’s treatise is intended to give to readers who are not familiar with the higher parts of mathematics full and clear ideas of *‘potential” and its principal properties. Gravitational potential is treated first, then electrical potential, which occupies the bulk of the book, and lastly magnetic potential. The explanations and proofs exhibit no attempt at compression; everything is given with the utmost fulness—sometimes, indeed, with such elaborateness of amplification as to tax the reader’s patience ; but this is a fault on the right side considering the purpose for which the book is written. There is very little algebra —the reasoning is for the most part conducted in words, not in symbols. A very neat proof, which we have not seen elsewhere, is given of the proposition that a spherical shell attracts external bodies with the same force as if its mass were collected at its centre—a proof based on the previously established principle that the attraction of the shell does no work on a particle which moves in its interior. A graphical method is given for drawing, without the aid of calculation, the equipotential curves due to two centres of force ; and the curves themselves are exhibited in two figures which are fairly accu- rate. In a few places there seem to be mis- translations. We can attach no meaning to the words at p. 44, ‘‘that force which tends to attract the masses lying on the separate portions of the surface in the space bounded by the surface.” Apparently, ‘‘in the space” ought to be ‘‘ into the space.” At the top of p. 45, **The tangent planes contain the lines of force of the conical surface,” should obviously be, “The tangent planes of the conical sur- face contain the lines of force.” At p. 46 the surface of a cone is called ‘‘the surface forming the envelope of the cone.” The trans- lator ought to have called attention to the fact that Dr. Tumlirz’s definition of electrical potential is opposite as regards sign to that universally adopted in English books. He re- gards the potential at a point as opposite in sign to the electricity to which it is due, and lays down the rule that positive electricity tends to pass from lower to higher potential, which is opposite to the rule required by the ordinary definition. That important element in discus- sions on attraction called by some writers the “* surface-integral of normal attraction” over a closed surface, and by others the ‘‘flux of force” across the surface, is called by Dr. Tumlirz ‘‘the tension under which the space bounded by the surface stands,” a designation which appears to us not only cumbrous, but inappropriate. The C.G.S. units are used and clearly explained, as well as the ‘“‘ practical units ” derived from them ; and good illustra- tions are employed to give the reader a notion of the actual magnitudes of the latter. In the introductory chapter, however, there is some looseness in dealing with units, the acceleration of a falling body being stated in ‘‘ metres” ; and there is a serious error at p. 3 in deducing the expression for the velocity from the expression for the space described. The final velocity is, in fact, confounded with the average velocity. We can recommend the book as likely to be useful to a large class of readers. It is an accurate scientific treatise, and its easy conver- sational tone is in pleasing contrast to the ter- ribly terse statements which usually confront the reader in accurate electrical works. MR. NICHOLSON, Mr. E. Cuampers NicHotson, whose death occurred somewhat suddenly on October 23rd, was well known in chemical circles as having been in early life a brilliant scientificinvestigator, and afterwards a manufacturing chemist of great originality. Working as a young man at the Royal College of Chemistry under Dr. Hof- mann—now Prof. von Hofmann, of Berlin—he threw himself with ardour into organic research, and contributed to the Chemical Society papers describing his investigations on certain com- pounds of aniline, on caffeine and cumidine ; while jointly with Sir F. Abel he under- took some researches on strychnine. The analysis of iron was another subject to which he gave much attention, and upon which he wrote in association with the late Dr. David Price; but it was the production of aniline dyes, of great purity and on a manu- facturing scale, that led to his commercial suc- cess. Von Hofmann, in his report on the chemical industries represented in the Inter- national Exhibition of 1862, referring to ma- genta, or aniline red, assigned to Nicholson his proper position with regard to the preparation of this important product. ‘‘ England may,” said he, ‘‘thanks to the activity, science, and untiring efforts of Mr. Nicholson, claim the honour of having brought this manufacture to its present high degree of perfection.” As a member of the firm of Simpson, Maule & Nicholson, Mr. Nicholson realized an ample fortune, and spent his later years in dignified retirement at his beautiful residence at Herne Hill, where he died at the age of sixty-three. ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. Tue British Astronomical Association held its first meeting at the rooms of the Society of Arts on Friday, the 24th ult. We mentioned the prospective formation and objects of this new body—now fairly launched for the encourage- ment and co-operation of amateur observers—in our ‘‘ Notes” on August 16th. M. Bigourdan, observing D’Arrest’s comet at the Paris Observatory on the 10th ult., de- scribes it as ‘‘une vague lueur excessivement faible, ronde, qui parait avoir de 1’ a 1'5 de diamétre sans aucune condensation. On soup- gonne dans son étendue de petits points stel- laires excessivement faibles.” It is not likely that much more will be seen of it until its next return in the spring of 1897. During the present month the planets Mars and Jupiter will both be visible, at no great dis- tance from each other, in the early part of the night. On the 13th inst. they will be in con- junction in the constellation Capricornus, Mars being at the time only one degree to the south of Jupiter. No other planet will be visible in the evening. Venus is approaching inferior conjunction with the sun, which she will reach on December 4th ; and Saturn, which is in the constellation Leo, does not rise until about 2 o’clock in the morning. The Leonid meteors will be looked for on the 14th inst.; but it is not likely that a display of any abundance will be seen. ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES. TuHE part of Archwologia which has just been issued to the Fellows of the Society of Anti- quaries contains two important papers on re- searches in barrows. In the first, the Rev. Dr. Greenwell gives the details of his explorations of sixty-one sepulchral mounds and a cairn since the publication of ‘ British Barrows’ in 1877. The majority of these are in Yorkshire, but eighteen are in the counties of Berks and Wilts. Numbering consecutively with the 234 in his previous work, barrow 235, at Willerby in the East Riding, revealed four bronze axes, described as ‘‘ very infrequent accompaniments of an interment”; 236, at Folkton, a food vessel, ornamented apparently by the application of a piece of leather thong, with smaller thong wrapped round it; 242, a drinking cup with hexagonal ornaments. No. 245 was remarkable for containing, near the body of a child about five years old, a number of solid chalk objects, in form like a round box with a curved cover, having at the centre of the top a circular part raised a little above the level and suggesting a lid. The patterns of the ornamentation are elaborate, partly consisting of concentric circles and partly formed by raised bands and incised lines. In a cairn which had previously been disturbed was a drinking cup ornamented with vandykes. No. 252 is the large mound at Wold Newton, 120ft. in diameter and 25 ft. high, called ‘‘ Willie Howe,” explored by Lord Londesborough in 1857, when no interment was discovered in it. Dr. Greenwell was equally unsuccessful, and was thus led to reconsider his previous disbelief as to the erection of barrows as cenotaphs, to commemorate some great per- sonage, and not to contain his body. The Wilt- shire {barrows were at Aldbourne and Hinton. No. 280 yielded an ‘‘ incense cup ” and cover of curious shape, another in which the pattern formed by a picking tool had been filled in with white matter in a manner hitherto unobserved in British barrows, a lignite ring, and a lignite pendant. Objects of gold, amber, and glass were frequently met with, indicating the com- parative wealth of the people of the district. Of the Berkshire barrows, No. 289 was curious as containing in association hammers of two different materials, one made of stone and the other of deer’s horn. Dr. Greenwell adds a description of a cairn at Warkworth, in Northumberland, found in 1883, and a barrow at Snowshill, in Gloucestershire, opened in 1881, containing some fine weapons of stone and bronze now in his possession. From the former a great part of the remains had been removed before he was made acquainted with the dis- covery. The second paper is an account by Dr. John Evans, president of the Society, of his explora- tion of a barrow at Youngsbury, near Ware, in Hertfordshire, on the property of Mr. C. Giles- Puller. It is about 60 ft. in diameter and 12 ft. high. It yielded the iron clamps or hinges of a wooden cist; a large sepulchral urn, 1 ft. 54 in. high ; a globular bottle of light-coloured ware, 63 in. high ; and a large square glass bottle, all but perfect, 15 in. high, full of burnt bones. The urn contained, besides burnt bones, a large number of pieces of charcoal and of iron nails. The bones were identified by Dr. Garson as apparently belonging to one individual, and portions of incense were discovered among the remains. Some bones of a roe-deer were also found. Dr. Evans assigns as the date of the interment the latter half of the second century A.D., and has little doubt that the ashes are those of an occupant of the Roman villa which existed in the neighbourhood. The Ethnographical Gallery at the British Museum has just received an accession of considerable importance in the Polynesian sec- tion. The directors of the London Missionary Society have long possessed a number of idels and other rare objects, collected by the pioneers Bai
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XUM N° 3288, Nov. 1,’90 THE ATHENAUM 591 of the society in the islands of the South- Eastern Pacific. These were shown at the small museum of the society at their house in Blomfield Street until recently, when the direc- tors decided that these unique objects would be of more value to the public if shown in the British Museum, where they have now been deposited. The missionary series is displayed in a case by itself, and forms a conspicuous feature in the gallery. A somewhat original publication on the Pacific islands is in the press and will shortly appear. Mr. James Edge Partington and Mr. Charles Heape, of Rochdale, have together pro- duced an ‘Album of the Dress, Weapons, &c., of the Natives of the Pacific Islands,’ consist- ing of about four hundred plates of typical - objects in the various public and private collec- tions in England, reproduced in facsimile from Mr. Partington’s drawings. The work is in- tended to serve as a book of reference for col- lectors. It is privately printed, and the issue is limited to 150 copies. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES, THE decease is announced, at an advanced age, of Mr. McCormick, who served with the Ant- arctic Expedition of 1839, under Sir J. Ross, as geologist and zoologist, as well as chief medical officer, and also made a voyage in an open boat up Wellington Channel. As we said in reviewing his ‘ Voyages of Discovery in Arctic and Antarctic Seas’ (1884), his services never received adequate recognition. Messrs. Macmillan & Co. have almost ready a new physical and political school atlas, spe- cially prepared for them by Mr. J. G. Bar- tholomew. The volume contains eighty coloured maps with a general index. Petermann’s Mitteilungen publishes an inter- esting account of Dr. Zoeller’s expedition into the Finisterre Mountains of German New Guinea. He attained an altitude of 8,730 feet, at a point situated about six miles to the west of Mount Gladstone. At this altitude the vegetation con- sisted of stunted trees. The rocks were volcanic. Far to the south-west, in the Bismarck Moun- tains, Dr. Zoeller believes that he saw snow. We are glad to find that Dr. Hassenstein, in the map which accompanies this paper, has re- stored the names of ‘‘Gladstone” and ‘‘ Dis- raeli,” which later German explorers, perhaps humorously, had rechristened ‘‘ Kant” and ‘* Schopenhauer.” The Scottish Geographical Magazine publishes several papers read at the recent meeting of the British Association, including one on the ‘Physical Features of Brazil in their Relation to the Commercial and Industrial Development of the Country,’ by Mr. James W. Wells, and Mr. H. T. Crook’s somewhat too severe stric- tures on the character and the progress of our Ordnance Survey. Lieut. L. von Héhnel has prepared a most valuable collection of mountain profiles from designs made during Count Teleki’s expedition in 1887-9. These profiles, which are printed only for private circulation, afford a capital idea of the scenery of the Masai country and of the surrounding regions, and should prove more especially interesting to geologists and carto- graphers. MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEBK. Mon, Royal Academy, 4.—‘ Anatomy,’ Mr. J. Marshall. — Royal Institution. 5.—General Monthly. — Engineers, 7}.—‘ Treatment and Utilization of Exhaust Steam,’ Mr. P. Griffith. _- Aristotelian, 8.—‘ The Laws of Association,’ Dr. S. H. Hodgson. _ British Architects, 8—Opening Address by the President Tvs. Biblical Archeology, 8.—‘Nile Legends,’ Mr. P. le P. Renouf; ‘Inscriptions relating to Sorcery in Cyprus,’ Miss L. Mac- donald ; ‘ The Naya Serpent,’ Dr. W. Pleyte. — Shorthand, 8 —‘ Survival of the Fittest,’ Mr. H. Richter. — Zoological, 8}.—‘ Indian Gaur and its Allies,’ Mr. W. T. - ford ; ‘New Squirrel from the Philippine Islands,’ Dr. A. B. Meyer; ‘ Cervine Jaw from Algeria,’ Mr. Lydekker ; ‘ Note on the Skull of the East African Reed-buck (Cervicapra bohor),’ r. unther. Wep. Entomological, 7.—‘ African Micro-Lepidoptera,’ Lord Walsing- ham ; ‘ Monograph of British Braconidz,’ Part IV., Rey. T. A. mt ‘ New Species of Moths from Southern India,’ Col. n C. Swinhoe. Tuurs. Royal Academy, 4.—‘ Chemistry,’ Mr. A. H. Church. — Linnean. 8.—‘ Contribution to the Study of the Relative Eff cts of Different Parts of the Solar trum on the Assimilation of Piants,’ Rev. Prof. Henslo Tuvrs. Chemical. 8.—‘ Magnetic Rotation of Saline Solutions,’ Dr. W. H. Perkin ; ‘ Note on Normal and Isopropy!lparatoluidine,’ Mesers. E. Horiand H F. Mosley; ‘ Action of Ammonia and Methylamine on the Oxy ’ Drs. F. Kili and W. F. Layeock ; ‘Condensation of Acetone Phenanthraqui- none,’ Mr. G. H Wadsworth. Fri. Geologists’ A i 8 —Con Science Gossip, Tue late Dr. Muirhead, of Bushy Hill, Lanarkshire, has bequeathed his estate for the foundation and maintenance of a ‘‘ Muirhead College,” ‘‘ for the instruction and education of women in medical and biological sciences, to fit them to become medical practitioners, dentists, electricians, chemists, &c.” It is hoped that at least 30,0001. will be available for the college. THE death is announced, at Florence on the 13th ult., of Mr. P. de Chihacheff or Tchihatcheff (sometimes called Prince Chihacheff). He was a Russian, said to be of Turkish descent. He was one of those Russians who devote them- selves quietly to political work. His chief labour was a geographical and geological ex- ploration of Asia Minor. He was well known by his books and papers in the scientific world of the Continent, and was a frequent visitor and contributor to the meetings of the British Association. For many years he had made Florence his headquarters. FINE ARTS el La Collection Spitzer: Antiquité, Moyen Age, Renaissance. Tome Premier. (Paris, Quantin ; London, Davis.) One of the ablest students of our time said seriously, ‘‘If you are seeking renown on account of extreme exactness in literary work and in doing homage to what has been fantastically called ‘the rod of accuracy,’ try a little cataloguing. If that does not check your vanity, make you charitable to- wards the blunders of others, and convince you that it is human to err, never trust my word again.”” The extent of the Collection Spitzer is prodigious, and it is of high rank as to quality. To catalogue it as the volume before us tries to catalogue it is to challenge the censures of the art critic, the antiquary, and the collector. It may be that the famous collector whose museum in the Rue de Villejust, at the corner of the Avenue @'Eylan, was a paradise of cognoscenti, was well aware of this, and therefore entrusted each section of the work to a man spe- cially skilled in its subject. At any rate, the volume before us is one of the most magnificent of those publications designed to illustrate great collections that have, especially of late years, added glory to the old name of catalogue. It describes M. Spitzer’s antiques: his ivories, ecclesi- astical plate, and tapestries, which formed a considerable and exceptionally valuable portion of a museum containing nearly four thousand objects. M. Spitzer spent, it is said, nearly a million sterling on pur- chases, and was in his seventy-fourth year when he set about the preparation of this catalogue. Ifthe collection remains intact the Collection Spitzer may take a place be- side the Soane Museum. It covers, however, much more ground than the English archi- tect occupied, and, although no paintings are to be found in it, its departments are more numerous, and each of them is more representative of that branch of studies which it illustrates, while the whole cost a great deal more money than the Englishman had to spend. M. Spitzer died in April last (see Athen., No. 3262). Originally poor, possessing not the least knowledge of art or antiquity, and only a slender education, he started his collection by buying a veritable Albert Diirer. Spitzer’s means were small, and the acquisition cost little, but it decided his vocation ; he became a dealer possessing the intelligent zeal of an accomplished collector. Buying to sell again in every country in Europe, he yet contrived to retain nearly everything he wanted to keep, and throve upon what he let go. For a single ivory he gave 150,000 francs; of ecclesiastical antiquities he formed a veritable treasury. The catalogue of what he gathered dur- ing a long life is in part before us, and rendered more valuable because ex- perts of renown, such as MM. Froehner, Darcel, Palustre, and Miintz, are among its contributors. The Maison Quantin, famous for the beauty of its typography as well as for the liberality with which its books are illustrated, has never done better work than in producing this volume. It is worthy of the collection. The antiques are mostly terra-cottas and bronzes. Nearly the whole of the formercame from Tanagra, and form beyond question the most valuable collection of them not in a national museum. The city built upon a small hill in the valley of the Asopos, and of little importance in the ancient world, except that its territory was the scene of more than one famous battle, has enjoyed a second life since the spade of a field labourer chanced to uncover a tomb con- taining statuettes and vases, the beauty and spirit of which were a _ revelation to antiquaries, who have had to rewrite everything they had said about the cha- racter, aims, and technical merit of what we should now style popular art. The ‘‘find” was made in 1873, and so far as relates to the period of Alexander the Great and the kings who succeeded him, it has turned out to be the most important discovery yet made. Further excavations have yielded great results, and it is said that no fewer than ten thousand examples, mostly statu- ettes, have been added to modern museums. Myrina and other places have since then furnished numbers of charming figurines, and it is believed that modern Athens, Florence, and Rome, even Naples and Paris, have con- tributed to the supply, to the confusion of adventurous dilettanti. Of this the Bur- lington Club had amusing experience some little time ago. So far as their designs and beautiful compositions go it is beyond challenge that such exquisite groups as ‘Amour et Jeune Fille,’ on plate i. before us, are, as M. Froehner says, of the first rank in antique art. This group and its neighbour ‘ Pan et Siléne,’ plate ii.— which retains much of its original colour —remind us of the Bacchic processions and dances of beautiful damsels and youths in Mr. Alma Tadema’s pictures. The ‘ Ephébe devant une Jeune Fille,’ plate iv., a most charming instance, retains more than the usual amount of colour, while, in spite of its outrageous disproportions, the ‘Cen- taure et Jeune Fille,’ plate iii., is striking both in design and execution. The type of female beauty generally observable in figu- rines from Tanagra, and not always present in similar works from other sites (indeed,
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592 THE ATHENZUM N° 3288, Nov. 1,90 the differences are often great enough to show the source whence statuettes have been derived), obtains in the best of the works before us. Despite its voluptuousness it is a very noble type indeed, and curious from its preserving traces of an earlier period than that to which these terra-cottas are ascribable. The ‘Femme en Deuil,’ plate i., with her hand upon a Greek cinerary urn, though not without those disproportions which mark the Tana- gra figurines, is most lovely. Among the terra-cottas is a choice ‘ Naissance de Vénus’ —the goddess kneeling upon a symbolized sea, having what M. Froehner calls an ‘‘amulette ’’ between her breasts, and with ‘“‘coquilles de St. Jacques” open behind her—of which the antique modellers were manifestly fond. It is doubtless a copy of a larger original, dating from circa 300 B.c. Among the bronzes is a Venus of the type of the Venus de Medici, due, doubtless, to a common original. Another bronze, ‘Vénus déliant sa Sandale,’ is identical in design with a statuette of the same material in the Bronze Room at the British Museum, not noticed by M. Froehner; they may have come from the same mould, but, apart from the charm and peculiarity of the design, we think neither of the figures deserves the high praise of the French critic. The famous ‘ Ciste de Palestrine,’ a bronze of the fifth century, is well represented in plate vi. It has been described by Gar- rucci, and in the Annali dell’ Instituto, 1864, and came from the Castellani Col- lection. It retains the chains by which it was carried when used. The Etruscan mirror which Helbig described in the Bol- lettino, 1873, is No. 23 before us. Passing to other groups of relics, we may suggest that the coffer engraved on p. 60 as ‘Travail Oriental (XIV¢® Siécle)’ is Persian, and pro- bably of the fifteenth or sixteenth century ; but we endorse the observation that the ivory diptych, No. 110, is of the fifteenth century, and not, as Mr. Westwood thought, of the thirteenth century. Undoubtedly it is Eng- lish. We wonder how the English anti- quary could have overlooked the figures whose disproportions betray, as such defects invariably betray, a declining school, while the architecture of the frame indicates the jateness of the sculpture it encloses. We have given most attention to the antiques of the Collection Spitzer, but the ecclesiastical goldsmithery and “ orfévrerie religieuse”’ described in this volume are even more important and varied in their character and interesting in their uses. M. L. Palustre is happy in having so many fine instances to describe. The collection of chdsses alone is enough to distinguish the Spitzer Collection. We think the pix of champlevé enamel, No. 60, is older than the thirteenth century by at least fifty years; its semi-classic characteristics are most in- teresting, and deserve the attention of stu- dents. The collection of ivories is superb, and its illustrations could not be truer or better. It comprises Byzantine, Roman- esque, Transitional, and Gothic works of great choiceness and beauty. Its Virgins of the fourteenth century are conspicuous for every fine and characteristic quality. Those who have studied that phase of art know that in beauty of execution and grace of style such statuettes approach very nearly to the antique itself. NEW PRINTS. From Mr. Lefevre we have received an artist’s proof with the remarque (a portrait of Mr. Alma Tadema standing at his easel) of a new plate etched by Mr. Lowenstam after the painter’s lately exhibited picture ‘In the Rose Garden.’ The engraver has worked with extreme care, delicacy, and taste ; no artist of his time and grade has improved so much in draughts- manship as well as in the energy with which he renders his originals. Accordingly we have nothing but commendation for efforts so honourable and so _ successful. The faces, arms, and hands are capitally delineated and charmingly finished. The spirit of the attitudes and the graceful design need no praise of ours; and although we think the whole needs somewhat more force and strength, espe- cially in regard to the chiaroscuro of the picture, which owes much to its brilliant illumination and strong hues, it would be hard to overpraise this, which is one of the choicest of Mr. Le- févre’s recent publications. Mr. H. C. Dickins has sent us a remarque proof on vellum of Heer C. Dake’s etching after the picture, now in the National Gallery at Amsterdam, called ‘Enfants de la Mer,’ by Heer J. Israéls. Heer Dake has been quite successful in rendering the better qualities of a very acceptable picture, in drawing freely, firmly, and crisply, and in translating the actions with grace, the faces with appropriate spirit. The remarque is a boat sailing. From the same publisher we have received a similar impression in the same mode by the same etcher, after the late M. Mauve’s ‘ Aprés l’Averse,’ a powerful and expressive design in a mood not frequent with M. Mauve, but quite worthy of his reputation and suited to the skill of the etcher, who, without excess of blackness, has given the dense gloom of the foliage, the differ- ing darkness of the sky, the glare of the sunset contrasting with these features and the effective massing of the whole. The remarque is a tuft of grass. THE DESTRUCTION OF MONUMENTS IN EGYPT. Minia, Upper Egypt. Mucu has been written about the mutilations of last year, but if you have space I should be glad to go over the details of one district. I have just returned from a seven-day inspection of the tombs from Beni Hassan as far as Hadj Kandeel. Prof. Sayce has already mentioned Beni Hassan ; there are thirty-two tombs, only seven of which have paintings or traces of paint. The Khumhtp and Ameni tombs suffered worst, especially Khumhtp’s ; the other tombs were too faint to attract the spoilers much. The next important object, the Speos Arti- medos, seems to have fared better, and I think has not been lately mutilated. Dayr el Nakl brings us to the Colossus tomb. Here there are five pieces either cut out or half cut out on the outside, while inside eleven pieces are either gone or half gone. The inside mutilations include the head of the Colossus, and a large piece, about 2 feet square, behind the latter, &c. In the tomb of the same age to the south-east two pieces, forming a superficial area of about 4 square feet, have been taken. Sheik Said: here we have the Isbayda tombs, numbering about thirty-five, of which six are inscribed. Every one of these has suffered—not only pieces being cut out, but the portions left being, with particular malice, defaced. In | No. 12 the whole cornice of the false door has been cut bodily away, about 2} square feet. Tell el Amarna is the next important site. Here I noted twenty-one tombs, of which five can still be entered, the rest being sand-blocked ; of the five, three are inscribed and include the Hunatn tomb. All three have suffered, the king’s tomb and the small northernmost half- finished tomb worst of all. This latter once had a well-cut scene and painted ; it is now merely one succession of white holes and scratches. Further than this I was unable to go, but this may give an idea of what has occurred. Beni Hassan has now been protected by four iron gates and two gaflirs (watchmen). At Dayr el Nakl there are two gaftirs, and one at Sheik Said. Hunatn’s tomb has now an iron gate and two gaflirs. I asked the people about the mutilations at each place, and the answers all pointed to some one in Achmeem who employed agents to do the work ; one of these latter, at any rate, came from Achmeem himself. Names were mentioned, but without absolute proof it is useless to repeat them. Finally, [have unluckily not seen Mr. Mirch’s letter, and so may have reiterated what he has already said. But if my notes are new and you can spare space, I should be glad if you would insert them. GEORGE FRASER. SFine-Art Gossip, TuHE gallery of the Society of British Artists will be opened to the public on Monday next. In forming an exhibition of one hundred and twenty examples of art, including a capital proof of M. Jacquet’s print of M. Meissonier’s masterly cartoon ‘1807,’ which was lately in their gallery, Messrs. Tooth & Son have col- lected works of unequal merit. Some of the best of them are not new ; for instance, Sir J. Millais’s ‘Pomona,’ which is not his master- piece; Mr. W. H. B. Davis's ‘Loch Maree,’ R.A. 1889, and his ‘Lowing Herd’; Mr. B. Riviere’s ‘Of a Fool and his Folly’; John Linnell’s ‘ Approaching Storm,’ a late instance, and not in the first rank of his productions, yet evincing the force and peculiarities of his genius even in his old age ; Mr. J. C. Hook’s ‘ Valley on the Moor,’ which was painted in 1860, and has been since retouched ; and Mr. M. Stone’s ‘Rest by the Wayside.’ The commendable pictures which are new or which we do not remember to have seen before are numerous enough to deserve a visit. Mr. J. B. Burgess justifies his recent election as an Academician by a spirited group of a damsel and her lovers, ‘Maidens like Moths are ever caught with Glare’ (No. 2), a crisp and firmly touched picture, reminding us in some respects of M. de Blaas at his best. Mrs. E. Gardner’s ‘Brother and Sister’ (3) has some pretty motives and sound touches, and resembles French work. M. Munkacsy’s ‘Tender Chord’ (8) is mannered in design and execution, yet the lady with a mandolin is a happy figure. Mr. N. Hemy’s ‘Bass Fishing’(10), a picture of a rocky cove and figures in boats, owes its best features to the spirited design of the figures ; but, asa whole, it is spotty and painty. There is rich colour and light in M. Chaigneau’s ‘ End of the Day’ (16), a shepherd with sheep in a glowing twilight of good colour. ‘His Pleasant Time of Quiet’ (43), by M. C. Seiler, reminds us of a Meissonier-like example. One of Mr. Alma Tadema’s minor pictures, ‘The Promise of Spring’ (55), is highly acceptable because the design is full of spirit. A Roman damsel is depicted seated on a marble bench, and her lover stands at her side while he clasps the hand she has yielded to him. The tree that bends above the pair is loaded with white blossoms, and the bright daylight glows in this fine and delicately finished cabinet example. ‘La Pécheuse’ (75) is by M. Bouguereau, and a capital specimen of his style. A dark-haired comely girl stands on the sea- shore, holding a basket filled with mussels and sea-weeds. The sentiment of her expression is first-rate. One of the most spirited examples of its kind is F, Flameng’s ‘La Cour de la
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N° 3288, Nov. 1, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 593 Reine Jeanne 4 l’Alhambra de Grenade,’ a scene in the palace. It is painted with bril- liancy and a clear crisp touch, and the colouring reminds us strongly of the manner of Fortuny. At a meeting of the members, held on Wed- nesday evening last, it was decided to wind up the affairs of the Graphic Society. It will, therefore, soon cease to be. Next week we shall give a few notes of its history. Messrs. DowpEsWELL will from to-day (Satur- day) exhibit pictures of Scottish Highland cattle, by Mr. J. D. Adam, and pastel drawings illus- trative of Hampstead Heath, by Mr. H. Muhr- man. Tue French Gallery, the opening of which was postponed on account of the death of the late proprietor, Mr. H. Wallis, will this season contain a collection of the works of Mr B. W. Leader. The private view is appointed for Saturday, the 15th inst. The public will be admitted on the following Monday. From to-day (Saturday) some pastel drawings, ‘‘ done from the life,” by Mr. J. T. Nettleship, will be on view at Mr. Dunthorne’s gallery, Vigo Street. Mr. Greorce CiincH has for some time past been busy upon an historical account of Mary- lebone and St. Pancras, in the treatment of which he has followed much the same lines as in his recently published ‘Bloomsbury and St. Giles’s.’ Mrs. Leaner Scorrt has in the press a book descriptive of the castle of Vincigliata and the archzeological and artistic objects collected in it. In the competition held this month the Society of Medallists has awarded its first prize of 201. to Mr. F. Bowcher for a medal with the portrait of Antonio Redaelli, sculptor and musi- cian; and its second prize of 5/1. to Mr. D. McGill for an allegorical medal of the ‘ Nine- teenth Century.’ Lorp ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL writes :— “Tt may interest many of your art-loving readers to hear that an account has been opened at Messrs. Coutts’s, 59, Strand, for the purpose of receiving sub- scriptions in aid of the Fairford Church restoration and completion fund. Eight hundred pounds is needed to complete the whole—to place wire guards on the windows, so justly celebrated, and to repair the finely carved screens, and for general repairs. No such complete series of glass of the fifteenth century is to be found. In other churches there are isolated and fine windows of the same period as elsewhere, but nowhere in Europe is there a more complete set. These are surely worth allthe money asked. Much has been done, and the sum named will complete the work.” We hope the operations will be strictly con- fined to repairs. A CorRESPONDENT writes :— “The Bewick Club at Newcastle-on-Tyne appear to be in a healthy and flourishing condition. Their seventh annual exhibition of pictures, held last spring, has left them with a substantial balance in hand, and they have now opened a supplementary exhibition, which is limited to the productions of members of the Club. The chief picture in the col- lection is an unfinished study by Mr. H. H. Emmer- son, the President, of the late John Hancock, naturalist, preparing one of the bird groups with which he enriched the Natural History Museum in Newcastle.” THE famous building of the Gros Horloge at Rouen is shortly to be restored, according to the plan of M. Sauvageot and at the cost of 58,000 fr., of which the State contributes one half, the city the other half. M. Cuar.es VERLAT, the animal painter and Director of the Academy at Antwerp, is dead. He was born at Antwerp in 1824, and became a pupil of the Academy there and of M. N. de Keyser. One of his most ambitious pictures, ‘The Storming of Jerusalem,’ is in the Museum at Brussels. He distinguished himself as a painter of portraits, of pathetic, genre, and heroic subjects, and occasionally of humorous He frequently contributed to the His best-known works include ‘ Might themes. Salon. is Right,’ ‘A Dog at Bay’ (1868), ‘A Holy Family,’ ‘A Day of Mourning,’ ‘A Rabbit Hunt,’ ‘A Wolf Hunt,’ ‘Madonna, Christ, and St. John, ‘Dogs waiting for the Start,’ ‘The First Snow,’ ‘ Reynard in Hope,’ and ‘ Reynard Deceived.” He was the abler rival of the even more popular Verboeckhoven, who died some years ago and left Verlat master of the field of Belgian cattle and sheep painting. He was one of the best etchers of the Continent, and when etching cattle he was the worthy successor of Karel du Jardin. He obtained a French Medal of the Third Class in 1853, another (of the Second Class) in 1855, a rappel in 1861, the Legion of Honour in 1868, and a First-Class Medal in 1878. Like the majority of good foreign painters of our time, he was introduced to the English public by Mr. Gambart at the French Gallery, in 1855; his ‘Au Loup!’ the property of the then King of the Belgians, was at the International Exhibi- tion, 1862, with his ‘Quarrelling about the Booty’ and ‘The Bad Neighbours.’ M. Lampros writes :— “ At Athens an interesting epigraphical discovery was made on October 6th at the Dipylon—that of an inscription of forty-two lines, belonging to the middle of the second century before the Christian era. Itisan honorary psephisma of the community of the Sotereastai in a of one Diodorus, the son of Socrates, of the Attic Aphidnaz. The point in question is the holy precinct of Artemis Soteira, the position of whichis unknown. It was situated probably not far from the spot where the inscription was found. But it is to be noted that it was not discovered in situ. M. Mylonas, the superintendent of the excavations at the Dipylon, promises to print this inscription in the next part of the Athens Arche@ological Journal. These excavations are pretty nigh their termination. The question of the church of the Holy Trinity is not yet settled. A sum of 5,000 drachma has been offered by the Archeological Society to pay the cost of replacing the church which is to be pulled down by another on a new site. The Consistory, however, insists that the new church shall be built before the old one is destroyed. To this the Council of the Archeological Society is not disposed to agree. Since the workmen have arrived from Venice the Minister of Public Worship has formed a com- mittee to decide on the method of repairing the mosaics at the convent of Daphni. It is decided to take the mosaic figure of Christ in the cupola to pieces. The new Director of the National Col- lection of Coins has, in rearranging them, dis- covered many that were supposed to have been stolen. It seems likely that the loss entailed by the theft will turn out to be inconsiderable.” THE excavations in Palestine so successfully begun at Tell Hessy by Mr. Flinders Petrie will be continued next spring. MUSIC ——>— THE WEEK. Roya ITaLrAn OpeRA.—‘ II Trovatore,’ ‘ Lucia,’ ‘ Rubert le Diable,’ * Faust,’ ‘ La Gioconda.’ CrysTaL PALACE.—Saturday Concerts. 8t. James’s HALL.—The Popular Concerts. Tue performances at Covent Garden con- tinue to be satisfactory in most, though not in all respects. ‘Il Trovatore’ was put up in haste on Thursday last week, with the sisters Ravogli as Leonora and Azucena. Both improved their position, Mlle. Giulia especially, her rich sympathetic voice and dramatic intensity rendering her assumption of the gipsy extremely effective. These clever artists, however, should not play to the audience; their self-consciousness is sometimes painful and sometimes almost ludicrous. Signor Giannini wascommendable as Manrico, and Signor Galassi repeated his familiar impersonation of the Count. On Friday Mile. Stromfeld created a favour- able impression in ‘ Lucia di Lammermoor,’ singing Donizetti’s florid music with almost irreproachable neatness. Her voice is thin, but it has been well trained. Signor Suane’s vibrato rendered his Edgardo a very un- pleasant performance. The revival of ‘Robert le Diable’ on Saturday has so far been the most interest- ing event of the season. The first of Meyer- beer’s French operas had not been heard in London for several years, though it has been performed in the provinces by the Carl Rosa Company with success. Scribe’s fantastic and almost unintel- ligible libretto is, of course, against the continued popularity of the work, now that more lofty ideas are beginning to take root with respect to the poetic foundation and general structure of serious opera. But the teaching of Wagner will never prevail to such an extent as to banish all works in which the literary and dramatic basis is un- worthy of musical illustration. If ‘ Robert le Diable’ is to be placed on the shelf because of the nonsensical incongruities with which it abounds, the operas of Mozart and Weber must share the same fate. Much of the music in ‘ Robert’ is not surpassed by that of any of Meyerbeer’s later works, and on this account it deserves to be heard from time to time. Saturday’s performance was noteworthy for some excellent individual assumptions. Signor Perotti’s voice is slightly metallic, but he produces it well, and he sings with ease as high as c. His Robert was vocally and dramatically an admirable performance. Madame Fanny Moody possesses all the natural qualifica- tions for the part of Alice. Youth, personal attractiveness, a perfectly trained and sym- pathetic voice, and marked intelligence enable her to invest the ré/e with much charm. Mr. Charles Manners has a fine bass voice, and his Bertram is, therefore, vocally effective, but he has yet to learn how to act the part. As Isabella, Mlle. Stromfeld was entirely successful, and Signor Guetary made a favourable impres- sion as Rambaldo. The weakness of the performance was in the ensemble. The opera had evidently been insufficiently rehearsed, and mistakes in the orchestra were frequent and disastrous. Little pains had been taken with the mounting, and the once famous scene of the resuscitation of the nuas was very shabbily treated as regards the stage arrangements. As to the extensive exci- sions by which much of the best music in the opera is sacrificed, we suppose they are inevitable, so there is no more to be said. ‘Faust’ was repeated on Monday, Miss Macintyre making her rentrée as Marguerite. This young artist continues to improve in vocal capacity, and also in dramatic intelli- gence, but she should be warned against affectations similar to those which have of late marred the singing of Madame Albani. To possess the power of prolonging a note is most desirable, but the use of the sos- tenuto easily degenerates into abuse. It was scarcely worth while to revive Ponchielli’s ‘La Gioconda,’ as the opera, however effective it may be in a conven- tional way, is not formed of the material which endures. When it was first produced at Covent Garden in 1883 we drew attention (Athen., No. 2902) to the poverty of the dramatic writing, while admitting the pleasing quality of the melodies. As the tendency is now strongly in favour of dramatic as distinct from purely lyric opera, ‘La Gioconda’ has less chance of winning
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594 THE ATHEN#ZUM - N° 3288, Nov. 1, ’90 popularity than it had seven years ago. The performance of Wednesday was ex- tremely unequal. Mlle. Peri in the titular part and Signor Suane as Enzo were un- leasant, vocally speaking; but Mlle. Giulia Ravogli as Laura again showed herself a fine artist, and Miss Damian, who made her first appearance on the stage, sang the part of La Cieca with much effect. The orchestra and chorus were alike admirable, the ensemble presenting a welcome contrast to that of the previous Saturday. For this we have to thank Signor Bevignani. Raff’s Violin Concerto in a minor, Op. 206, which was brought forward by M. Emile Sauret at the Crystal Palace last Saturday, was in danger of being overlooked, as it was not marked “ first time” in the previous announcements. It is, of course, one of the composer’s latest efforts, and, like nearly all his instrumental works, it has a programme, the basis in this instance being three stanzas by Arnold Borner, from which we gather that the first movement pictures “the stormy sea of life,” the second ‘‘ the comfort of hope,”’ and the third a sense of ‘joy and pleasure, forgetful of past sorrows.” In other words the three sections of the work have precisely the character that one expects in a concerto, and all explanation of their meaning was superfluous. The music, speak- ing generally, is superficial and showy rather than intellectual, but the solo part is exceed- ingly brilliantand the accompaniments areas full of clever devices as one expects ina work of Raff, whose fatal facility in composition caused him to fritter away his undoubted gifts. The concerto was very finely played by M. Sauret, who has been a rare visitor to London of late years. A Romance in a flat from an Orchestral Suite in c minor, by Mr. Claudius H.Couldery, was well received. It is an elegantly written piece and pic- turesquely scored, arousing a desire for acquaintance with the rest of the suite. Schumann’s Symphony in E flat received a magnificent interpretation, and the pro- gramme likewise included Mendelssohn’s ‘Melusine’ Overture, and Wagner’s to ‘Der Fliegende Hollinder.’ Miss Thudi- chum deserves commendation for her artistic rendering of airs by Meyerbeer, Rubinstein, and Lassen. The first of the Saturday Popular Con- certs was chiefly noteworthy for the first appearance of the Polish pianist M. Pade- rewski at these entertainments. This gifted though unequal and eccentric young execu- tant had already proved himself a thought- ful interpreter of Beethoven, and his rendering of the Sonata in F minor, Op. 57 (‘Appassionata’), on this occasion was, on the whole, exceedingly fine, though objec- tion might be taken to matters of detail. The principal shortcoming, however, was the hardness of touch in forte passages. M. Paderewski does not seem to possess the power of obtaining fulness of tone without reminding his hearers in the most disagree- able manner that the pianoforte is an instru- ment of percussion. Unless he can overcome this technical defect he will never be able to claim equality with Rubinstein, with whom he has been compared. Mendels- sohn’s Quartet in a minor, Op. 13, which had not been heard for more than seven years, and Brahms’s Pianoforte Quartet in A, Op. 26, were the concerted works in this programme; and Miss Liza Lehmann, whose selections call for no remark, was the vocalist. On Monday M. Paderewski was again the pianist, but on this occasion he merely played as his solos Haydn’s Theme with Variations in F minor and Chopin’s Scherzo in c sharp minor, in both of which he was entirely successful. The audiences at the Monday Popular Con- certs, however, look for performances of the larger works left by the great masters for pianoforte solo, and the Polish artist should bear this in mind. The brief programme included Beethoven’s Quartet in c, Op. 59, No. 3, and Schubert’s Trio in B flat, Op. 99. Mr. Norman Salmond contributed songs by — and Miss Mary Carmicheel with effect. Musical Gossip. THE Bristol Festival appears to have been a great artistic success, the chorus being generally characterized as the finest ever heard in the west of England. For this result much credit is due to their trainer, Mr. D. W. Root- ham, who thoroughly understands his duties. Praise must, of course, be also given to Sir Charles Halle for the general excellence of the performances. It is characteristic of the tastes of Bristol amateurs that Dr. Hubert Parry’s ‘Judith,’ the only unfamiliar work in the scheme, attracted the smallest audience of the week. Nevertheless, we would urge the com- mittee to consider the possibility of inviting one of our leading composers to furnish a new work for the next festival, even at the risk of some loss. Such a course would, at any rate, serve to draw more attention tothe celebration, and make it, instead of being a merely localaffair, an event of national musical importance. The attendance last week was 9,207 against 7,973 in 1888, a gratifying increase, especially as there were only six instead of seven performances. Mr. WatpeMar Meyer, the violinist, whose long illness has kept him from England since last year, will make his reappearance next May, when he will give two orchestral concerts and a violin recital, all at St. James’s Hall. The concerts will be under the management of Mr. Daniel Mayer. MapameE BertHe Marx, who has played at Sefior Sarasate’s concerts during the last two or three seasons, gave a pianoforte recital at St. James’s Hall on Thursday last week. Her refined but unimpassioned style of playing is more suited to trifling pieces of the French school, including the minor efforts of Chopin, than to masterpieces by German composers, and she was not particularly successful either in Schubert’s Fantasia in c, Op. 15, or in some of Schumann’s ‘ Fantasiestiicke,’ Op. 12. Three of Chopin's ‘Etudes’ were rendered with charming finish. On the same evening Madame Essipoff gave the first of four concerts at the Steinway Hall. The Russian pianist was least successful in Beethoven’s Sonata in a flat, Op. 26, her ren- dering of which was somewhat coarse. Brahms’s remarkably clever, if slightly laboured Variations on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24, were effectively played, and Madame Essipoff was also heard to advantage in some trifles by Leschetizky. Mr. Franklin Clive rendered in rather tame fashion a characteristic setting of ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’ by Prof. Villiers Stanford. ANOTHER juvenile pianist, Master Van den Berg, gave a recital on Monday afternoon at the Princes’ Hall. As his name indicates, he is Belgian by birth, and he has been extremely well taught. There was nothing to which objection could be taken in his rendering of Bach’s Chro- matic Fantasia and Beethoven’s Sonata in E flat, Op. 27, No. 2, save, that the fugue subject in the former work was sometimes indistinct. But at the same time there was no evidence of natural inspiration, as in the case of Hofmann and Hegner. The playing was merely that of a clever young student who has mastered the technicalities of his art, and the lad cannot be regarded as a prodigy, though he promises to become a competent executant. Tue Messrs. Hann gave the first of their fifth series of chamber concerts at the Brixton Hall on Tuesday evening. Schubert’s Quartet in A minor, Op. 29; Beethoven’s Trio in B flat, Op. 97; Mendelssohn’s Variations Concertante in p, for piano and violoncello, Op. 17, and some violin solos were admirably rendered by Messrs. Lewis, E. H., W. H., William, Clement, and Sidney Hann, and Miss Agnes Janson con- tributed some songs. MapamMeE Essrrorr gave her second concert at the Steinway Hall on Wednesday evening, her most important piano solo being Schumann’s Sonata in G minor, Op. 22, of which she gave a remarkably vigorous interpretation. A mode- rately favourable impression was made by Mlle. Otta Brouy, a young Parisian soprano, who, however, seems to need further study. Miss Rosatinp ELLicortT is writing a piano- forte trio in D minor, three movements of which are already completed. THE Borough of Hackney Choral Association announces three concerts under its new con- ductor, Mr. F. Corder, as follows: December Ist, ‘The Golden Legend’; February 16th, ‘ Athalie’ and a miscellaneous selection ; April 20th, ‘Judith.’ Mr. J. A. Kappey’s lecture on the develop- ment of modern military music, at the Chelsea Town Hall on Tuesday evening, proved very interesting and instructive, and we would sug- gest its publication. The illustrations, includ- ing some quaint hunting calls, fanfares, &c., of the sixteenth century, might also be reproduced, thus forming a useful treatise on a branch of music of which no complete history has yet been written. Str Herpert Oake ey has definitely resigned his professorship at the Edinburgh University. Mr. Henry Gadsby has issued his address as a candidate for the chair, which is richly endowed. Its holder should be able to do much service for music in Edinburgh. Mr. F. Niecxks has completed the German edition of his life of Chopin. It containsa con- siderable quantity of additional matter, which we hope will eventually be incorporated in a second English edition of this valuable work. Miss Dora Bricut is having an extremely successful tour in Germany. The German papers speak in high terms respecting her executive ability, and in still higher concerning her ability as a composer. Next spring the fiftieth anniversary of the foundation of the celebrated Weimar Theatre will be observed by the performance of several operas of Gluck and Wagner, and the production of the posthumous work entitled ‘ Gunléd,’ by Peter Cornelius, at which the composer was at work when he died in 1874. Méuvt’s ‘ Joseph’ has been revived at Dres- den, with, it is said, great success. Herr VocL, whose completion of his twenty- fifth year of service at the Munich Opera was recently mentioned as approaching, has declined the offer of a gala representation in his honour on that occasion. CONCERTS, &c., NEXT WEEK. x. Sefior Sarasate’s Concert, 3,St. James's Hall. — Popular Concert, 8, St. James’s Hall. — Patti Concert, 8, Albert Hall. — Royal Italian Opera 8, ‘ Lucia.’ , . Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Hasluck’s Recital, 8, Steinway Hall. — Royal Italian Opera, 8, Gluck’s ‘ Orpheus.’ . Master Isidore Pavia’s Pianoforte Recital, 3, St. James’s Hal. — Royal Italian Opera, 7 30, ‘ Faust.’ — Miss Fiorence Smart’s Concert, 8. Steinway Hall. Yuurs. Madame Essipoff's Concert, 3, Steinway Hall. — Royal College Concert, 8, Alexanara House. = Royal Italian Opera, 8, ‘ La Gioconda.’
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N° 3288, Nov. 1,90 THE ATHENZUM 595 Fri. Sefior Albeniz’s Orchestral Concert. 8, St. James’s Hall. — Royal Italian , 8, * oletto.’ Sar, Popular Concert, 3, St. James's Hall. — Crystal Palace Concert, 3. — Royal Italian Opera, 7.30, ‘ Lohengrin.’ — M. Auguste Wiegand’s 500th Organ Recital, 8, Albert Hall. (The opera arrangements are, of course, subject to alteration. ] DRAMA —>— The Henry Irving Shakespeare. Vols. VII. and VIII. Edited by Henry Irving, Frank A. Marshall, and other Shake- spearean Scholars. (Blackie & Son.) In the Atheneum of the 28th of September, 1889, we noticed the first six volumes of this edition; the seventh volume reached us in the following December, and before that month was out the projector of the work and its editor-in-chief lay dead. Frank Marshall expired on the 28th of December, 1889, in his forty-ninth year, bearing with him the regrets of a host of friends. Almost the last words he could have written were contained in the brief prefatory note to vol. vii., regretting the little part his illness had permitted him to take in the work of that volume, and thanking the colleagues who had supplied his place. This and the eighth volume, completing the work, now lie before us. The plays included in the two volumes are ‘Timon,’ ‘Cymbeline,’ ‘Tempest,’ ‘Titus Andronicus,’ ‘ Winter’s Tale,’ ‘Hamlet,’ ‘Henry VIII.,’ and ‘Pericles.’ The poems, ‘ Venus and Adonis,’ ‘ Lucrece,’ ‘Sonnets,’ &c., follow at the end of vol. viii. The introduction to ‘Hamlet’ and a few notes comprise Mr. Marshall’s share in the work; all the rest is contributed by his colleagues, who, working on the lines laid down by him, have enabled the publishers to bring to a successful issue their im- portant undertaking. Mr. H. A. Evans edits ‘Timon’ and ‘ Cymbeline’; Mr. A. W. Verity, ‘Titus Andronicus’ and the poems; Mr. P. Z. Round, ‘ Pericles.’ ‘The Tempest,’ ‘Winter’s Tale,’ ‘Hamlet,’ and ‘ Henry VIII.’ come under Mr. Arthur Symons’s care, Dr. Richard Garnet, however, con- tributing to ‘The Tempest’ the literary and critical portions of its introduction; while to this play and to all the rest with the exception of ‘Hamlet’ Mr. Joseph Knight has added their stage history; his name is a sufficient guarantee that this part of the work is thorough. For the life of the dramatist and the general introduction to his work the pub- lishers have been fortunate enough to secure the services of Dr. Dowden; it would have been difficult for them to have placed this important portion of the work in more competent hands. In a prefatory note to the last volume Mr. Irving, who, quoting Dr. Dowden, modestly avers that “an actor’s commentary is his acting,” confines himself to commending the work of his colleagues to the public, and in a few graceful sentences in memory of his late friend Marshall offers a well-deserved tribute of praise to his enthusiasm and fitness for the work he had undertaken. A copious index to the notes ends vol. viii. We have already, in the article re- ferred to at the commencement of this notice, expressed our opinion of the scholarly treatment of this edition of Shak- speare’s works; these last two volumes do not in any way lead us to modify tha opinion. There is here no sign of hack work. Each editor has given of his best, in full, and indeed occasionally overflowing measure. Here and there we could well have spared something of this overflow in favour of a completer and more methodical statement of the readings of the several quarto and folio editions, and the very fact that as a rule this is supplied makes its occasional absence the more to be regretted, as it becomes a snare to the unwary reader. It would be easy to pick out and comment at length on occasional slips; such are to be found in all editions, and will be to the end of time. To do this, however, would be to give a false impression of a generally excellent work, and we have neither space nor inclination for such criticism. We prefer to renew our congratulations to all concerned in the production of the edition ; and to the great variety of readers we would repeat the advice of Messrs. Heminge and Condell, in their preface to the first folio, to buy it; for ‘‘that doth best commend a Book, the Stationer saies.”’ By the way, the absence of this address to the reader, and of all the rest of the prefatory matter to the folio editions, must surely be the result of an unfortunate over- sight. The dedication tothe noble brothers Pembroke and Montgomery, and the com- mendatory verses of Ben Jonson and others, are such interesting documents in relation to the life of the poet, that it is hard to believe that they can have been inten- tionally omitted in an otherwise complete edition of his works such as these volumes present. The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi. Trans- lated into English by John A. Symonds. 2 vols. (Nimmo. )—These two handsome volumes reflect great credit on Mr. Nimmo. They are prepared with the good taste and care that distinguish his publications. The type is clear, and the margins, the portrait, and the etchings are excellent ; and still more delightful are the coloured illustrations of the ‘‘Commedia dell’ Arte” by Maurice Sand. By themselves they make these volumes covetable, and it is almost ungracious to say that we wish Mr. Nimmo had given us the whole of them. To Mr. Symonds this translation has evidently been a labour of love, and he has provided it with prolegomena, notes, and excursuses, as if he had been editing Athenzeus. Whether, after all, Mr. Symonds would not have done better to carry out instead his first idea of writing a monograph on Gozzi and his times may well be questioned. With his ample knowledge of Venetian history in the last century and his great acquaintance with Italian literature, he could have produced such a work on the subject as few could write. The ‘Memoirs’ themselves are, as Mr. Symonds says, not a classic. One of Gozzi’s great defects was his lack of style, and as he wrote his auto- biography in a hurry, it is, excepting certain passages, distinctly ill-written, and Mr. Symonds has been forced to abridge and omit in order to make it palatable. Nor can it be said that Gozzi is a particularly attractive cha- racter. He was bitter, selfish, conceited, and we are not so sure of his truthfulness as Mr. Symonds. Accepting, however, the plan of this book, we have only praise for Mr. Symonds’s execution of his task. His account of the ‘*Commedia dell’ Arte” and his criticism of Gozzi’s ‘Fiabe’ are excellent fragments of lite- rary history. Gozzi’s ‘Fiabe’ form, indeed, a most curious chapter in the history of the drama, and are deserving of the attention of all students of dramatic literature. The singular success they enjoyed at the time of their ap- pearance and the oblivion that has since over- taken them are alike remarkable. Stanley: a Drama. By James L. Thornely. (Kegan Paul & Co.)—Mr. James L. Thornely’s drama, ‘Stanley,’ is a blank-verse historical tragedy in five acts, relating in manly and vigorous language the fortunes of its hero, the well-known Royalist, James, seventh Earl of Derby, and of his daughter and her lover, Gabriel Edge, a Commonwealth man, during the Civil War. There are, as seems inevitable with present-day dramas about the Civil War, a trusted hypocritical villain, who, equally false to both sides, employs himself in selfish and spiteful treachery (Sir Richard Caryl), and a devoted soul-of-honour young Bayard, of reso- lute fidelity but irresolute convictions, who, while fighting his conscientious best for one cause, rather thinks that the other is the right one (Gabriel Edge). The great countess, Char- lotte de la Tremouille, plays a part in the drama, but it is a minor one, without the least influence on the events or development of the piece, and she appears merely as a tender sooth- ing sort of domestic character, as sweetly un- presumptuous as Milton’s Eve. ‘Stanley’ has been inspired by admiration for a noble and chivalrous personage in history, but it shows no introspective conception of his character, and very little dramatic assimilation. And the other dramatis persone, and the scenes between them, and the plot, are conventional copies of conventional copies long since too familiar for criticism. There is a perplexing haziness about time in the drama—we do not mean as to the treatment of historic dates which makes it doubtful whether or not Edgehill was fought in the reign of Charles II. and Worcester in the last struggle of Charles I., for artistically a play is unaffected by such questions of outside accu- racy ; but within itself ‘Stanley’ is confused in its chronology, and wants clearing up. Trachtenbilder fiir die Biihne. Gezeichnet und beschrieben von Bruno Kohler. (Berlin, Max Pasch. )—We have here from Herr Kohler, who is ‘* Kostiimmaler des ‘ Deutschen Theaters’ in Berlin,” a series of coloured designs of cos- tumes for six dramas belonging to the repertory of the Berlin Theatre. The pieces in question are ‘KingLear’; ‘Gotz von Berlichingen’; ‘The Robbers’; ‘Prince Friedrich von Homburg,’ by Kleist ; ‘ Der Generalfeldoberst’ of Von Wilden- bruch; and ‘Die Jiidin von Toledo’ of Grill- parzer. In his aim the designer has been wholly practical. In place of poetical con- ceptions of costume such as abound, he has sought to give dresses that can be worn by the actor without impeding his play. The idea is happy, the designs are spirited and well exe- cuted, the colouring being very bold, and the book is likely to be of distinct utility. Designs for weapons and other stage accessories are also supplied. In the case of the female costumes, which are likely to be specially serviceable, change of colour is permissible. Sensible intro- ductions to the various plays are given. The work should, indeed, form a portion of the library of every first-class theatre. Dramatic Gossip, ‘MonsteuR Mouton; oR, THE SHADOW OF Deatu,’ by Mr. Charles Hannan, given at the Shaftesbury on Tuesday afternoon, under the direction of a body announcing itself as the Dramatic Production Syndicate, is a crude work, containing some strong but conventional and ineffective situations and curiously common- place dialogue. Miss Alma Murray showed in the heroine her command of pathos, but could make nothing of the part, and the efforts of other artists elicited much undesired hilarity. It is not likely that more will be heard of what seems to be juvenile work.
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596 THE ATHENAUM N° 8288, Nov. 1,'90 Upon her reappearance at the St. James’s Theatre, Madame Chaumont retains all her old mannerisms and all her old power to amuse. As Cyprienne in ‘ Divorcons’ she elicited screams of laughter. Only by a euphemism can such words as ‘‘suggestion” or ‘‘intention” be applied to her style. She rams, so to speak, her innuendoes down your throat, her equivokes leave no room for dubiety, and ‘her double en- tente is farcically misnamed. All is wonder- fully clever, and the public is delighted. We sigh, however, for the past, when behind all this stage raddle there was a suggestion of beauty, and when from her ineffective little throat there came what, without being a song, drew tears from the eyes and stirred the pulses. Fair support is afforded Madame Chaumont by a company which is forced to overact in order to keep in the frame with the leading lady. For the benefit of the Actors’ Benevolent Fund a representation of ‘Moths,’ Mr. Hamil- ton’s adaptation from Ouida, was given on Wed- nesday afternoon at the Lyric Theatre. Miss Carlotta Addison repeated her fine impersona- tion of Lady Dolly, Miss Fanny Brough was an admirable Fuchsia Leach, and Miss Beatrice Lamb gave a touching and powerful representa- tion of Vera. The Corréze of Mr. Lewis Waller, Mr. Sydney Brough’s Duke of Mull, Mr. Boleyn’s Zouroff, and Mr. Macklin’s Lord Jura were good interpretations. Unpleasant as it is, the piece is capable of revival. A MISCELLANEOUS entertainment, in which Mr. Charles Warner, Mr. E. Terry, Mr. Terriss, Miss Millward, Miss Florence St. John, Mrs. Billington, and other artists took part, was given on Monday at the Empire Theatre. Miss Fortescue appeared on Monday week at the Grand Theatre in Juliet. Under existing conditions the Grand is practically a country theatre, and the performance could scarcely be regarded as a challenge to criticism. It was pleasant, however, to “note a considerable im- provement in an actress who has obviously brought thought to bear upon her impersonation, and whose method is now partially formed and not ineffective. Mr. Arthur Bourchier was a commendable Mercutio, and Mr. Vanderfelt a forcible Romeo. Mr. Gilbert Trent was Peter, and Mr. George Warde, Friar Laurence. Tue Avenue has been closed for the week for the rehearsals of ‘Sunlight and Shadow,’ the new play of Mr. Carton, given this evening. Tue Haymarket will be closed during the latter half of next week for the rehearsal of ‘Called Back,’ which is to be revived on the 10th inst. Mr. Witson Barrett has been playing with much success as Hamlet in various Midland towns. It is just possible that a revival of ‘Hamlet’ may serve instead of a dramatic novelty for the opening of the new Olympic. THE performances of the ‘ Ion’ at Cambridge will take place on the evening of Tuesday, the 25th inst., and the three following evenings, and also on the afternoon of Saturday, the 29th. An acting edition of ‘The Adelphi’ of Terence, as performed at Westminster, has been printed at the school. On the opposite page to the Latin text is printed the elder Colman’s trans- lation in verse. ‘Ma CovusIng,’ a new comedy of M. Meilhac, produced at the Variétés on Monday, owed its success principally to its dialogue, the story being neither very original nor very well con- ceived. Mlle. Réjane" scored a success in the part of la cousine. To CorresponpENts.—A. T.—J. H. G.—J. K.—F. H.— A. M.—J. B. 8.—reeeived. No notice will be taken of anonymous communications. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY Post. 8. d. For Twelve Months eco one o oo 15 3 For Six Months ... 0: «we oo 7 8 NOW READY AT ALL BOOKSELLERS’. THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD, K.G. By JAMES ANTHONY FROUDE, D.C.L. Being the First Volume of the “QUEEN’S PRIME MINISTERS” SERIES, Edited by STUART J. REID. With Portrait, crown 8vo. cloth, 3s. 6d. ‘No more interesting figure has appeared on the political stage in our days than Lord Beaconsfield, and there is no more eminent master of English style among us than Mr. Froude. The memoir of Lord Beaconsfield by Mr. Froude is assured, therefore, of favourable consideration from the public. With Benjamin Disraeli as a man Mr. Froude, it is evident, feels the keenest sympathy, and all the early struggle s of his hero up to the time when he succeeded to the leadership of the anti-Peelite Tories, after the sudden and premature death of Lord George Bentinck, furnish matter for a picturesque and striking story. There is some- thing in Mr. Froude’s account even of these years which will be new to Lord Beaconsfield’s admirers as well as to his critics, and will contribute to the final estimate of his place in the annals of our generation.” — Times (leader), October 27 “ This life of Lord Beaconsfield by Mr. Froude, written for the new series entitled ‘ Prime Ministers of Queen Victoria,’ is interesting and valuable for two reasons. It is probably the measure of all that is likely to be known of Lord Beacons- field's private life, of his hitherto unpublished sayings, and of the anecdotes relating to him still preserved among his friends. It is also valuable as being the deliberate judgment of a leading English historian on the character and career of a leading English statesman...... We believe that Mr. Froude’s estimate of Lord Beaconsfield, on the whole, will be the one accepted by posterity...... It is the man’s character which interests us; and this, we think, Mr. Froude has ex- hibited in its true light, and in colours that will not fade.” Standard, October 28. “‘Mr. Froude’s ‘brief biography’ of Lord Beaconsfield is published to-day...... It is something more than a brief bio- graphy, for Mr. Froude analyzes his works, tries to show what was their teaching, and makes a critical estimate of their author...... With his general estimate of Lord Beacons- field we are in full agreement.” Daily News (leader), October 28. ‘‘A biography of Lord Beaconsfield by Mr. Froude pro- mises at once a double pleasure. Whatever else one may think of Disraeli as a politician, he was, at any rate, interest- ing. Whatever else one may think of Mr. Froude as a bio- grapher, he also is, at any rate, interesting. Itis, therefore. needless to say that this is a very interesting book.” Pall Mall Gazette, October 27. “Mr. Froude has many and great qualifications for the task of a political biographer. He has made the motivesand actions of English statesmen during one of the most event- ful centuries in our history his special study. In literary ability, since the death of Mr. Matthew Arnold, he has few equals; in historical narration he has had none since Carlyle left us...... On the ‘ Oriental temperament’ of Lord Beacons- field Mr. Froude lays great stress throughout, and thinks that it was, perhaps, this alone which prevented him from attaining to a still higher level of greatness than he actually reached. Of his religious views, as coloured by his Hebrew origin and as illustrated by his works of fiction, Mr. Froude has a great deal to say; and his digressions on this subject may by some people be thought, perhaps, the most interest- ing portion of the whole boo But, indeed, there is a good deal that is very interesting to read.’ St. James’s Gazette, October 27. “Full justice is done by Mr. Froude to the remarkable sympathy which Mr. Disraeli manifested for the people, to his defence of the Chartists, and his fancifully expressed, but genuine, convictions as to the necessity of reconciling the aristocracy with the lower classes.”—Darly Telegraph. “The short study of Lord Beaconsfield's career which is published to-day, from the pen of Mr. J. A. Froude, has been awaited with considerable interest as containing the judgment of one of the leading historians of the time con- cerning one who was beyond all question one of its leading politicians. Nor will those who turn to the book in anticipa- tion of a careful sketch of a strong character and an attractive personality be disappointed...... The courage and perseverance with which Lord Beaconsfield strove for what he believed to be the best interests of the country, the fortitude with which he bore defeat, and the foresight which he showed in regard to the inevitable results of the Irish policy of the Liberal party—these are exemplified with striking force in Mr. Froude’s vivid pages.”—Morning Post, October 27. “The eagerly expected monograph by Mr. Froude on Lord Beaconsfield is published to-day. The book—a hand- some volume of 260 pages, with an excellent portrait by way of frontispiece—forms the first volume of Mr. Stuart Reid’s projected series the ‘Queen’s Prime Ministers.’ The book throws considerable light on the early life and sur- roundings of Disraeli, and gives, as might be expected, a vivid and even brilliant description of his youthful struggles in literature and politics. Though opinions may differ, and differ widely, as to the merit and fidelity of the picture drawn in these pages, the interest of the book is undeniable, and is maintained from the first page to the last. Mr. Froude has, in fact, written a fascinating volume, and has given the new series to which it belongs a good start.” Manchester Guardian, October 27. Sampson Low, Marston, SEARLE & RIVINGTON (LIMITED), St. Dunstan's House, Fetter-lane, Fleet-street, E.C. SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & CO.’S NEW BOOKS. READY NOVEMBER 1, AT ALL THE LIBRARIES. SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME TO MR. STANLEY’S ‘IN DARKEST AFRICA.’ EMIN PASHA AND THE REBELLION AT THE EQUATOR. A STORY OF NINE MONTHS’ EXPERIENCES IN. THE LAST OF THE SOUDAN PROVINCES. By A. J. MOUNTENEY JEPHSON, One of Stanley's Officers. Written with the Revision and Co-operation of HENRY M. STANLEY, D.C.L., &c. A Preface also by Mr. Stanley. With Map and numerous Illustrations, two of which are specially drawn by Mrs. H. M. Stanley. Demy 8vo. cloth extra, ONE GUINEA. NEW WORK BY W. CLARK RUSSELL. ’ NELSON’S WORDS and DEEDS: a Selection from his Despatches and Correspondence. Edited by W. CLARK RUSSELL, Author of ‘The Wreck of the Grosvenor,’ and numerous other Sea Stories. Crown 8vo. cloth, 3s The RIVERSIDE NATURALIST: Notes on the various Forms of Life met with either in, on, or by the ond *) in_its immediate vicinity. By EDWARD HAMIL M.D. F.L.S., &¢e., Author of ‘Recollections of Biya Fishing for Salmon, Trout, and Grayling,’ &c. With numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo. cloth, 14s. ASOUTHERN CROSS FAIRYTALE. By KATE McCOSH CLARK. With numerous IIlus- trations by R. Atkinson and the Author. Demy 4to. cloth extra, 5s. STORIES of STRANGE ADVEN- TURES. By Capt. MAYNE REID, and others. Illus- trated. Crown 8vo. cloth, 5s SIDELIGHTS on the STUARTS. By F. A. INDERWICK, Q.C. New and Cheaper Edition. With numerous Illustrations. Demy 8vo. cloth, 7s. 6d. “This well-conceived, well-filled, well-written, and alto- gether admirable volume.”—Scotsman, NEW NOVELS AND STORIES. The AZTEC TREASURE HOUSE: a Romance of Contemporaneous Antiquity. By THOMAS A. JANVIER. With numerous Illustrations. Crown 8vo. cloth, 7s. 6d. OUR PLEASANT VICES. By Milner MACMASTER. 3 vols. crown 8vo. cloth, 31s. éd. “A supremely interesting and well-told tale of Australian life...... A well-conceived story and an intricate plot skilfully constructed and developed.” —Scotsman, KILGROOM: a Story of Ireland. By J. A. STEUART, Author of ‘ Letters to Living Authors,’ &e. 1 vol. crown 8vo. cloth, 6s. KIT and KITTY: a Story of West Middlesex. By R. D. BLACKMORE, Author of ‘ Lorna Doone.’ New Edition. Crown 8vo. cloth, 6s. «Kit and Kitty’ is a manly book, with a sort of fine, open delicacy of sentiment, thoroughly wholesome and pleasing...... Few recent novels have maintained so higha standard of excellence throughout.”—Atheneum. TWO NEW STORIES BY FRANK R. STOCKTON, Author of ‘The Hundredth Man,’ &c. ARDIS CLAVERDEN. 1 vol. crown 8vo. cloth, 6s. The MERRY CHANTER. With numerous Illustrations. Crown 8vo. boards, 2s. 6d. Now ready, price 1s. HARPER’S MAGAZINE. NOVEMBER NUMBER. Contents. OUR ITALY. Charles Dudley Warner. 12 Illustrations. TOO LATE! A Poem. Julian Hawthorne. A HALLOWEEN WRAITH. A Story. By William Black. With 5 Illustrations. Drawn by W. Small. URBAN and COMMERCIAL CHILI. Theodore Child. 13 Illustrations. Drawn by T. de Thulstrup and H. D. Nichols. SWITZERLAND and the SWISS. S. H. M. Byers. PORT TARASCON : the Last Adventures of the Illustrious Tartarin. VI. Alphonse Daudet. 20 Illustrations. Drawn by Luigi Rossi, Louis Montégut, and F. de Myrbach. &e. &e. Nearly 80 I justrations in all. London : Sampson Low, MARSTON, SEARLE & RIVINGTON (LIMITED), St, Dunstan’s House, Fetter-lane, Fleet-street, E,0,
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XUM N° 3289, Nov. 8, 790 THE ATHEN#ZUM 617
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1890.
CONTENTS. PAGER Scort’s DIARY ... ae Ge am. Sie wa GIT Mr. Lecky’s New VoLuMES soe ove “ae «oe 619 TALLEYRAND’S DESPATCHES ... ove eco 621 NovELs oF THE WEEK Pe ar ove coe 622 A Loca History ove eco ee ove aoe eco 623 CuiassicaL SCHOOL-BooKs .., oes sie <a eos 623 CHRISTMAS Books eve ovo 624 Ovek LipRaARyY TABLE—LIsT OF NEw Books 625—626 4 CounTEeR Repry; Dr. A. J. Evvis; THe NExtT ORIENTAL CoNGRESS; THE ‘DICTIONARY OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY’; THACKERAY’S MARRIAGE 627 —628 LITERARY Gossip ooo so eos ooo site ee 629 ScIENCE—GEOGRAPHICAL NoTES; SOCIETIES; MEET- Ines ; GossIP Ses oe sae 630—631 Five AkgTs—THE INSTITUTE OF PAINTERS IN OIL
CoLouRs; GOSSIP ... . ooo és 631—632 Music—Gossip; Concerts, &C., NEXT WEEK ... wee 633 DeamMa—THE WEEK; M. Sappou’s NEw P.Layr; Gossip ° . ene ee 633—634 LITERATURE —_o—- The Journal of Sir Walter Scott from the Original Manuscript at Abbotsford. 2 vols. (Douglas. ) Locknart’s life of Sir Walter Scott is one of the best biographies in our language, and it has been regarded as a complete and final work. Nothing was kept back from him, and his judgment in suppressing details which he considered unimportant was as unimpeachable as his skill in treating the vast mass of information which he had at his disposal. Sir Walter had no secrets with which his son-in-law was unfamiliar, while no father-in-law could have had a more devoted or appreciative biographer. In the exercise of a discretion which was undoubtedly wise, Lockhart did not publish the whole of a most important work in Sir Walter’s handwriting which passed into his possession. This was the ‘Journal’ which Sir Walter began to keep in November, 1825, and in which he made entries, with few intermissions, till five months before his death in 1832. This ‘ Journal’ is now pub- lished under the editorship of Mr. David Douglas, and by its publication the whole story of Sir Walter’s life is made clear to the world. When Lockhart came to that stage in Sir Walter’s career when it was appropriate to make extracts from his ‘ Journal,’ he stated his inability to give them in full owing tothere being many references to living persons who might be pained or inconvenienced if these appeared in print. In order to avoid caus- ing offence or annoyance, Lockhart abridged and sometimes altered the passages which he quoted. The opinion used to prevail that he printed all that was worth giving, and that the passages he thought fit to omit had no interest for any intelligent reader. As nearly half of the ‘Journal’ was left in manuscript, it is clear that the actual quan- tity suppressed was large; and now that the whole is in print, the new matter seems to be nearly as valuable as that which appears in the ‘ Life.’ Moreover, Lockhart was not chary in exercising editorial supervision. He transposed sentences and paragraphs ; he substituted words of his own for those of Sir Walter ; and not unfrequently he altered Sir Walter’s sentences with a view to im- Brove them. No doubt he acted in perfect
good faith and with almost filial piety; yet he was often hypercritical. A man’s private journal or diary need not necessarily be a work of art, or rather it should not. The writer of the diary which is best worth reading never thinks of the impression which its perusal will make upon any one else. He may not always be in the humour to write, or he may be incapable of doing anything better in a moment of leisure and weariness than note down some- thing. Sir Walter Scott was fully conscious of this, as is shown by a passage written on the 31st of January, 1829, after he had set forth how his day had passed in varied labours at different places: ‘‘Then here at four, but fit for nothing but to bring up this silly Diary.” Lockhart did not always make sufficient allowance for the moods in which Sir Walter wrote, and he treated the ‘Journal’ much as he would have treated an article which was to appear in the Quarterly, and for which he would have been responsible to hisreaders. Many examples could be given of this, but the following will suffice, and we dwell upon the point chiefly with a view to induce those who have read the extracts given in the ‘ Life’ to re-read them now in their original form in the ‘ Journal.’ Few of the extracts printed in the ‘ Life’ have been oftener quoted than the one describing the ‘little Princess Victoria,” to whom Sir Walter was pre- sented by the Duchess of Kent when dining with her on the 19th of May, 1828. The words which Lockhart omitted we print in italics, one of the words which differ in the two versions being due to misreading of the original, where ‘“‘head”’ appears, and for this Lockhart printed ‘‘ heart.” After men- tioning the dinner and the little Princess, and remarking that there were few descend- ants alive of George III., he continues :— ‘* Prince George of Cumberland is, they say, a fine boy about nine years old—a bit of a pickle, swears and romps like a brat that has been bred in a barrack-yard. This little lady is educated with much care, and watched so closely by the Duchess and the principal governess, that no busy maid has a moment to whisper, ‘ You are heir of England.’ I suspect if we could dissect the little head, we should find that some pigeon or other bird of the air had carried the matter. She is fair like the Royal Family, but does not look as if she would be pretty.” On the 10th of December, 1825, he wrote five paragraphs on various topics, which make about three pages of print, and the fourth begins as follows :— ‘‘There is no theme more awful than to attempt to cast a glance among the clouds and mists which hide the broken extremity of the celebrated bridge of Mirza. Yet, when every day brings us nearer that termination, one would almost think that our views should be- come clearer as the regions we are approaching are brought nigher....... The expressions used in Scripture are doubtless metaphorical, for penal fires and heavenly melody are only applicable to bodies endowed with senses ; and, at least till the period of the resurrection of the body, the spirits of men, whether entering the perfection of the just, or committed to the regions of punish- ment, are incorporeal.” In the ‘ Life’ the passage runs as follows: — ‘There is nothing more awful than to attempt to cast a glance among the clouds and mists which hide the broken extremity of the cele- brated bridge of Mirza. Yet, when every day brings us nigher that termination, one would
almost think our views should become clearer. wkews The expressions used in Scripture are doubt- less metaphorical—for penal fires and heavenly melody are only applicable to beings endowed with corporeal senses; and, at least, till the period of the resurrection, the spirits of men, whether entering into the perfection of the just, or committed to the regions of punishment, are not connected with bodies.” Of these two versions we prefer the original, simply because it is Sir Walter’s own, and if Lockhart had printed the pas- sage as he found it, no one would have complained. Sir Walter was a fluent and effective, but not a correct writer. He re- cords in his ‘ Journal’ that Lockhart took exception to his style, and, after noting the good advice, he adds: *‘ Well! I will try to remember all this, but after all I write grammar as I speak, to make my meaning known, and a solecism in point of composi- tion, like a Scotch word in speaking, is indifferent to me.” On another occasion he writes that he had corrected three proof- sheets, adding: ‘‘I wish it may not prove fool’s haste, yet I take as much pains too as is in my nature.” By polishing the sentences in Sir Walter’s ‘ Journal’ Lock- hart did not render his father-in-law a service. The account given of Lockhart’s appoint- ment to edit the Quarterly is one of the passages which he could not publish, yet it is an interesting piece of contemporary literary history. After Gifford’s resignation the post of editor was filled by Mr. J. T. Coleridge, afterwards Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench and father of the present Lord Cole- ridge. The necessity for a change becoming apparent, the late Mr. Murray engaged Lockhart to edit the Review. When in- formed of the appointment, Sir Walter writes that John Murray ‘‘ could certainly scarcely find a fitter person, both from talents and character,” and then goes on to say :— “Tt seems that Barrow ee John Barrow, Secretary to the Admiralty] and one or two stagers have taken alarm at Lockhart’s cha- racter as a satirist, and his supposed acces- sion to some of tho freaks in Blackwood’s Magazine, and down comes young D'Israeli to Scotland imploring Lockhart to make interest with my friends in London to remove objections, and so forth. I have no idea of telling all and sundry that my son-in-law is not a slanderer, or a ailly thoughtless lad, although he was six or seven years ago engaged in some light satires. I only wrote to Heber and to Southey — the first upon the subject of the reports which had startled Murray (the most timorous, as Byron called him, of all God's booksellers), and such a letter as he may show Barrow if he judges proper. To Southey I wrote more generally, acquainting him of my son’s appointment to the Editorship and men- tioning his qualifications, touching, at the same time, on his very slight connection with Black- wood’s Magazine, and his innocence as to those gambades which may have given offence, and which, I fear, they may ascribe too truly to an eccentric neighbour of their own...... It is odd enough that many years since I had the principal share in erecting this Review which has since been so prosperous, and now it is placed under the management of my son-in-law upon the most honourable principle of detur digniori. Yet there are sad drawbacks as far as family comfort is concerned.” The most curious thing in the foregoing passage is the statement that “young
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618 THE ATHENZUM N° 3289, Nov. 8, 90 D’Israeli’’ (he was then twenty) visited Scotland on such a mission as that entrusted to him. On the 11th of June, 1827, Sir Walter writes that after attending a committee and a meeting of the Oil Gas Company in the morning, **the rest dribbled away in correcting proofs and trifling ; reading, among the rest, an odd volume of ‘ Vivian Grey’; clever, but not so much so as to make me, in this sultry weather, go up stairs to the drawing-room to seek the other volumes.” Sir Walter was right in supposing that Southey would object to Lockhart’s appoint- ment without consultation with himself. He knew Southey well and admired him ; but he had a keen eye for his failings. Writing to Ellis in 1810, he says :— Tt is infinite pity of Southey, with genius almost to exuberance, so much learning and really good feeling of poetry, that, with the true feeling of a foolish papa, he will be most attached to the defects of his poetical offspring.” When in London on the 26th of May, 1828, he makes this just entry in his ‘ Journal ’:— ‘*One is always tempted to compare Words- worth and Southey. The latter is unquestion- ably the greater scholar—I mean possesses the most extensive stock of information, but there is a freshness, vivacity, and spring about Words- worth’s mind, which, if we may compare two men of uncommon powers, shows more origin- ality.” On the present occasion, when comment- ing on Southey’s letter to him, Sir Walter writes that he treated lightly **his old woman’s apprehensions and cautions, and all that gossip about friends and enemies, to which a splendid number or two will be a sufficient answer, and I accepted with due acknowledgment his proposal of continued sup- port. I cannot say I am afraid of his with- Grawing. Lockhart will have hard words with him, for great as Southey’s powers are, he has not the art to make them work popularly ; he is often diffuse, and frequently sets much value on minute and unimportant facts, and useless pieces of abstruse knowledge. Living too ex- clusively in a circle where he is idolized both for his genius and the excellence of his dis- position, he has acquired strong prejudices, though all of an upright and honourable cast. He rides his High Church hobby too hard, and it will not do to run a tilt upon it against all the world. Gifford used to crop his articles considerably, and they bear mark of it, being somewhat décousues. Southey said that Gifford cut out his middle joints. When John comes to use the carving-knife I fear Dr. Southey will not be so tractable. Nous verrons. I will not show Southey’s letter to Lockhart, for there is to him personally no friendly tone, and it would startle the Hidalgo’s pride. It is to be wished they may draw kindly together.” Mr. Douglas gives an extract of a letter from Lockhart in which he expresses to Prof. Wilson his anxiety about the first number of the Quarterly under his editor- ship :— **Mr. Coleridge has yesterday transferred to me the treasures of the Quarterly Review ; and I must say, my dear Wilson, that his whole stock is not worth five shillings. Thank God, other and better hands are at work for my first Number, or I should be in a pretty hobble. My belief is that he is living on the stock bequeathed by Gifford, and the contributions of a set of H—es and other d—d idiots of Oriel. But mind now, Wilson, I am sure to have a most hard struggle to get up a very good firat Number, and if I do not, it will be the Devil.” The Quarterly is associated so closely with the house of Murray that it may surprise some persons to be told that the late Mr. Murray was the London publisher of the Edinburgh for three years. The present Mr. Murray, who, we are glad to say, is still hale and hearty, is perhaps the only living man who was per- sonally acquainted with Sir Walter Scott and a partaker of his hospitality. Sir Walter writes in his ‘Journal’ on the 31st of January, 1827 :— “Young Murray, gon of Mr. M. in Albemarle Street, breakfasted with me. English boys have this advantage, that they are well-bred, and can converse when ours are regular-built cubs.” Sir Walter was then lodging in Shand- wick Place, Edinburgh, his daughter Anne being with him. The conversation related to topics of the day, and did not make a lasting impression on Mr. Murray, but he clearly recalls, as he has kindly informed us, that ‘Sir Walter was working like a horse at that time, and when I entered his room was writing at a desk, which he carefully locked before rising to speak to me.” The latter circumstance, though trifling in itself, appears to have been characteristic of Sir Walter, and was probably due to his desire that the mystery about the Waverley novels should not be ascertained from papers left lying about. That it was his habit to lock his desk at Abbotsford as well as in Edinburgh lodgings is shown by this entry made there in April, 1829: ‘‘ There will befine howling among the dogs, for I am about to shut my desk.”’ Mr. Murray was present at the dinner where Sir Walter avowed himself to be the author of the Waverley novels, and a most exciting scene it was, those who were present and who were in the secret feeling relief that their tongues were untied, and those who only surmised the authorship being glad that the truth had been disclosed. Sir Walter’s family and intimate friends displayed great deli- cacy in the matter. His daughter Sophia told Mr. Edward Everett, when, in American fashion, he was questioning her rather too closely, that ‘‘ we all believe our father is the author, but we do not know it”’; and she and others respected his evident desire that the authorship of the novels should remain concealed. In his ‘Journal’ there is no further reference to his declaration of author- ship at the dinner than the words quoted by Lockhart, that ‘‘ Meadowbank taxed me with the novels, and to end that farce I at once pleaded guilty, so that splore is ended.” On the following day he writes: ‘‘ Very bad reports in the papers.” Sir Walter not only was a frequent con- tributor to the Quarterly, but he carefully watched its progress, and was not backward in giving advice to Lockhart when it seemed to be needful. Though proud of his Toryism, he was too shrewd a man to carry it to an extreme, and he clearly discerned and rightly condemned the failing of the great Reviews of his day, which was allowing political pre- dilections to influence literary criticism. A passage written on the 9th of April, 1826, is significant as well as interesting :— ‘Don’t like Lockhart’s article on Sheridan’s life. There is no breadth in it, no general views, the whole flung away in smart but party criticism. Now, no man can take more general and liberal views of literature than J. G. L. But he lets himself too easily into that ad- vocatism of style, which is that of a pleader, not a judge or a critic, and is particularly unsatis- factory to the reader.” It was seldom, however, that Sir Walter wrote in other words than those of the highest praise concerning his son-in-law. The following entry in his ‘ Journal,’ made on the 29th of May, 1828, is a pleasing illustration of the pleasure he felt in Lock- hart’s literary successes, while it also gives expression to some just views of Burns :— ‘‘T have amused myself to-day with reading Lockhart’s ‘ Life of Burns,’ which is very well written—in fact, an admirable thing. He has judiciously slurred over his vices and follies ; for although Currie, I myself, and others, have not said a word more on that subject than is true, yet as the dead corpse is straightened, swathed, and made decent, so ought the character of such an inimitable genius as Burns to be tenderly handled after death. The knowledge of his vicious weaknesses or vices is only a subject of sorrow to the well-disposed, and of triumph to the profligate.” A letter from Sir Walter to Lockhart, which is both judicious and considerate, is printed by Mr. Douglas for the first time, and it shows that the editor of the Quarterly was ambitious of a seat in Parliament :— ‘* Your letter, this day received, namely Wed- nesday, gave me the greatest pleasure on account of the prosperous intelligence which it gives me of your own advancing prospects...... I take it for granted that you have looked to the income of future years before thinking of disposing of the profits of a successful one in a manner which cannot be supposed to produce positive or direct advantage, but may rather argue some additional degree of expense. But this being premeesed, E cannot help highly approving of your going into Parliament, especially as a member entirely un- fettered and left to act according to the weal of the public, or what you conceive such. It is the broad turnpike to importance and consequence which you, as a man of talents, in the full vigour of your youth, ought naturally to be ambitious of. The present times threaten to bring in many occasions when there will and must be oppor- tunities of a man distinguishing himself and serving his country. To go into the House without speaking would be useless. I will frankly tell you that when I heard you speak you seemed always sufficiently up to the occasion both in words and matter, but too indifferent. in the manner in which you pressed your argu- ment, and therefore far less likely to attract attention than if you had seemed more earnestly persuaded of the truth and importance of what you have been saying. I think you may gain advantage from taking this hint. No one is disposed to weigh any man’s arguments more favourably than he himself does, and if you are not considered as gravely interested in what you say, and conscious of its importance, your audience will not be so.” The extracts from reminiscences by Skene and James Ballantyne, and letters from Sir Walter and others, which Mr. Douglas has printed to explain or illustrate the text, are additional attractions to the ‘Journal,’ as well as helps in elucidating references in it. The most remarkable of ail these letters is one from Carlyle, which was addressed in Edinburgh to Sir Walter when on a visit to London. Before quoting it we may state that a supposition has long been current to the effect that Carlyle had been offended by Sir Walter, and it may be that, as no reply was returned to his letter, this was the griev- ance and was also a reason why the article
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XUM N° 3289, Nov. 8, 90 THE ATHENZUM 619 which he wrote upon Scott after his death was depreciatory throughout, and very un- complimentary except in the closing sen- tences. In that article, which appeared in the Westminster Review, and is reprinted in Carlyle’s works, he characterizes Sir Walter’s love for nature as ‘“‘not more genuine than has dwelt in hundreds of men named minor oets’’; he affirms that this love ‘‘is the ighest quality to be discerned in him”; that ‘‘the great mystery of existence was not great for him”; and that “‘he made himself at home in a world of conventiona- lities.” Carlyle wrote harsh and disparag- ing things about other men than Sir Walter Scott whom the world regards as being ori- ginaland great. What Thackeray said of him to Motley appears to have been true as well as pointed: ‘‘Carlyle hates everybody that has arrived; if they are on the road, he may, perhaps, treat them civilly.” Carlyle’s letter is given in full in the appendix to the second volume, and we reproduce it with the exception of the extracts of one from Goethe therein referred to, the date being April 13th, 1828 :— “Srr,—In February last I had the honour to receive a letter from von Goethe, announcing the speedy departure from Weimar, of a Packet for me, in which, among other valuables, should be found ‘two medals,’ to be de- livered ‘mit verbindlichsten Griissen’ to Sir Walter Scott. By a slow enough conveyance this Kdstchen, with its medals in perfect safety, has at length yesterday come to hand, and now lays on me the enviable duty of addressing you. Among its multifarious contents, the Weimar Box failed not to include a long letter—con- siderable portion of which, as it virtually belongs to yourself, you will now allow me to transcribe. Perhaps it were thriftier in me to reserve this for another occasion; but considering how seldom such a Writer obtains such a Critic, I cannot but reckon it pity that this friendly intercourse between them should be anywise delayed......With regard to the medals, which are, as I expected, the two well-known likenesses of Goethe himself, it could be no hard matter to dispose of them safely here, or transmit them to you, if you required it, without delay: but being in this curious fashion appointed as it were Ambassador between two Kings of Poetry, I would willingly discharge my mission with the solemnity that beseems such a business, and naturally it must flatter my vanity and love of the marvellous, to think that, by means of a Foreigner whom I have never seen, I might now have access to my native Sovereign, whom I have so often seen in public and so often wished that I had claim to see and to know in private and near at hand.—Till Whitsunday I continue to reside here; and shall hope that some time before that period I may have oppor- tunity to wait on you, and, as my commission bore, to hand you these memorials in person. Meanwhile I abide your further orders in this matter; and so, with all the regard which belongs to one to whom Iin common with other millions owe so much,—I have the honour to be, Sir, most respectfully your servant, **THomAs CARLYLE.” Mr. Douglas remarks that this letter reached Sir Walter when he was much occupied, when there was sickness in the house where he stayed, and that Carlyle’s letter may have been put aside and for- gotten. It is certain that Sir Walter and Carlyle never met, and that Lockhart re- gretted this. The evidence of Sir Walter’s courtesy in replying to correspondents is overwhelming. On the 6th of January, 1828, he writes: ‘‘I am annoyed beyond measure with the idle intrusion of voluntary correspondents; each man who has a pen, ink, and sheet of foolscap to spare, flies a letter at me. I believe the postage costs me 1007. [a year], besides innumerable franks.”” Six weeks before receiving Car- lyle’s letter he wrote: ‘‘I set about clearing my desk of unanswered letters, which I have suffered to accumulate to an Augean heap.” We cannot doubt, then, that Carlyle’s letter was not intentionally neglected. Whether the neglect affected Carlyle is a matter for speculation. Itis quite clear, however, that when Carlyle addressed Sir Walter during his lifetime, he styled him ‘‘a King of Poetry,” and that, writing about him after his death, he classed him among minor poets. The farewell words of praise were addressed to the man; the depreciatory re- marks in the body of the article related to Scott as a writer of verse and prose. The last letter we shall quote—our dif- ficulty being not to find matter suitable for quotation, but to resist the temptation of quoting more—is one from Wilkie which was written in January, 1829, in answer to a request to join in supplying illustra- tions to a new edition of the ‘ Waverley Novels ”:— ** Dear Srr Watter,—I pass over all those disastrous events that have arrived to both of us since our last, as you justly call it, melan- choly parting, to assure you how delighted I shall be if I can in the most inconsiderable de- gree assist in the illustrations of the great work, which we all hope may lighten or remove that load of troubles by which your noble spirit is at this time beset ; considering it as only repay- ing a debt of obligation which you yourself have laid upon me when, with an unseen hand in the ‘ Antiquary,’ you took me up and claimed me, the humble painter of domestic sorrow, as your countryman.” The story of the ‘load of troubles” re- ferred to by Wilkie is told in minute detail in the two volumes of Sir Walter’s ‘Journal,’ which is as fascinating as it is painful read- ing. Sir Walter keeps nothing back, and his admirers have no reason to be ashamed of his frankness. Those who read what he calls his ‘‘ confessions ’’ will feel grateful to him for having made them. They are the out- pourings of a noble spirit, bearing up against crushing misfortune and battling to leave behind an unsullied name. The pen fell from his nerveless fingers five months be- fore his death, but not before he had dis- charged a large part of the obligations to his creditors, amounting to 130,000/., and provided for the discharge of the remainder. The story of his hopes and fears, of his struggles to execute his self-imposed task despite physical hindrances and failing mental power, cannot be abridged, and should be read in these two volumes. No one who begins to read the first chapter will cease till he arrives at the unfinished sentence written at Rome, and the last words which Sir Walter put on paper: ‘We slept reasonably, but on the next morning—”’ Facsimiles of his handwriting in the preface and beneath the two portraits in this work enable the reader to understand how diffi- cult the task of deciphering the ‘Journal’ must have been. The manner in which the ‘Journal’ has been prepared for publication deserves hearty praise. Mr. Douglas is a conscientious and competent editor, and he has supplied all the notes which are required for elucidat- ing the text without making a parade of superfluous learning. The thanks. of the reading public are due to the Hon. Mrs. Maxwell-Scott for consenting to the ‘ Journal’ being published. This final work by Sir Walter Scott is as instructive and welcome as any which he penned. A History of England in the Eighteenth Cen- tury. By William Edward Hartpole Lecky. Vols. VII. and VIII. (Long- mans & Oo.) To acertain extent Mr. Lecky’s title is a misnomer, for England is mentioned in these volumes only in her relation to Ireland, yet, as the name ‘ History of England’ had been bestowed on a book which from its commencement would have been more fitly entitled ‘A History of England and Ireland,’ no other heading would so well have indicated the relation of these two volumes to their forerunners. In a brief preface, which is to some extent an apology, or at least an explanation, Mr. Lecky has forestalled the objection that these two long volumes, treating exclusively of Ireland and of a period of only eight years, have completely destroyed the pro- portions of his work ; but the history of this period has been so frequently the battle- ground of violent partisans that it is well that it should be fully dealt with by an his- torian of Mr. Lecky’s position and authority. It is true that Mr. Lecky has little that is new to tell either in fact or by suggestion; yet he has expended a stupendous amount of labour and research over these volumes, collecting manuscript materials from a variety of sources with a patience that all will admire and few be tempted to imitate. The London Record Office, the French Foreign Office, the MSS. in the British Museum, and various private collections have all been laid under contribution; but the happiest hunting- ground of the historian has been the collection of papers in Dublin Castle, which remained under the Govern- ment seal until 1867, but which “is now excellently arranged in no less than sixty- eight boxes.” The mastery of this vast amount of material places Mr. Lecky in a different position from those writers who content themselves with recooking the printed materials accessible to every one; but seldom has the conscientious historian imposed upon himself a more thankless task, for the errors rectified through his labours are few and trivial, the information acquired is extremely scanty, and the impression left on the mind by Mr. Lecky’s volumes is pre- cisely that produced by reading any two or three of the partisan histories written by actors in the events, and some of the printed correspondence and diaries of the various English statesmen and Irish rebels. The barrenness of the ground must have made the task of wading through the mass of manuscript unspeakably wearisome, and the comparative fruitlessness of the investi- gation is satisfactory to every one but the historian, as establishing the authority of earlier works. For his reward Mr. Lecky has a mastery of his subject that enables him to treat it with extreme lucidity and rare impartiality, and to discern the thread
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620. THE ATHENZUM N° 3269, Nov. 8,90 of leading events through a perplexing tissue of conflicting details. It was his original intention to deal with the subject of the last years of the Irish Parliament, the Rebellion, and the Union in a single volume, and as a large pro- portion of the authorities he quotes are quite accessible, it is possible that his work would have gained more than it would have lost by the compression; but further research led him to a different conclusion, and he became convinced that, ‘in order to do justice to this eventful period of Irish History, it is necessary to treat it on a larger scale [than the compass of a single volume]. It is a period which has been very imperfectly written, and usually under the influence of the most furious partisanship. There is hardly a page of it which is not darkened by the most violently contradictory statements. It is marked by obscure agrarian and social changes, by sudden, and sometimes very perplexing, altera- tions in the popular sentiment, which can only be elucidated and proved by copious illustration. It is also a period of great crimes and of great horrors, and the task of tracing their true causes, and measuring with accuracy and impartiality the different degrees of provocation, aggravation, palliation, and comparative guilt, is an extremely difficult one...... There is a method of dealing with historical facts which has been happily compared to that of a child with his box of letters, who picks out and arranges those letters, and those only, which will spell the words on which he has previously determined...... I have endeavoured to write this History in a different spirit. Perhaps another generation may be more capable than the present one, of judging how far I have succeeded.” It is, perhaps, not very gracious of Mr. Lecky thus todiscount contemporary opinion, nor very wise to appeal from the favourable verdict of the present to the doubtful ver- dict of the future. It is conceivable that posterity may trouble itself less with our problems and our achievements than we are willing to imagine, and each generation has its own method of writing history, and its own point of view. Facts of which we know nothing may throw a new light on the much-vexed Irish question, or other problems may extinguish its importance; but it is unlikely that any writer of our own times will have the hardihood to dispute with Mr. Lecky his well-earned laurels, or that a more interesting or more exhaustive history of the Rebellion and the Union will be compiled from the materials now avail- able. That he himself will some day compile a short history from these volumes is to be hoped, for the various passages epitomizing the events of the final eight years of the century, and the motives and causes of those events, are so admirable, that they alone would place a person utterly ignorant of the subject in possession of the main facts and influences that built up the history of the time, and would be read by many who are unable to interest themselves in its dreary and miserable details. Such passages are too numerous for quo- tation ; they are to be found in every chapter, and are hailed by the reader with the relief that the masterly elucidation of a bewilder- ing maze of facts brings with it, and Mr. Lecky’s judgment is so calm, so fair and moderate, that though, by his lengthened inquiry and liberal quotations, he ‘ brings the reader in contact with the original materials of Irish history, and [thus] enables him to draw his own conclusions ” very independently of the historian,’ we are rarely tempted to place our judgment in opposition to his. Taking up the thread of history in 1793, when the United Irish Society was still a lawful and open association, formed to pro- mote the union of Catholics and Protestants ‘in pursuit of the same object—a repeal of the penal laws—and a (parliamentary) reform including in itself an extension of the right of suffrage,” these volumes lead us through the blood-stained history of the ‘‘Defender” and ‘‘ Orange” societies, and relate the Fitzwilliam episode, the dark and terrible story of ’98, and the sordid state- craft that passed the Union. It is a history of bloodshed and cupidity, of horrors so ghastly that the mind shrinks from the contemplation of them even across the pacifying distance of a century ; it isa history of blundering and error, of lost opportunities and mistaken policies, of heartache and disillusion on all sides, of fierce passions and cruel wrongs, of sus- picion, treachery, hatred, revenge, and the ferocity that springs from terror. Indeed, the first half of Mr. Lecky’s concluding volume reads like the story of an Eastern mutiny, yet we doubt if it records even one outrage that has not been mentioned by previous historians. The remainder of this book is devoted to the Union—that measure whose preservation Mr. Lecky supports so ardently, and whose origin he criticizes so mercilessly — as, indeed, is inevitable if policy is to stand on a higher ground than expediency. ‘‘ Neither corrupt motives nor sincere and strenuous convictions were exclusively on one side,”’ writes Mr. Lecky, but “it is not, I think, very difficult to de- termine on which side there was the balance of each.” But though Mr. Lecky concedes that there were convinced Unionists in the past, he does not extend his charity to the Nationalists of the present, and wherever an opportunity occurs the historian loses himself in the politician, in a manner that benefits neither the Unionist cause nor the history of the eighteenth century, and it is to be regretted that he could not deny him- self the relief of expressing his opinion upon the new land laws, the ballot, the franchise, the Gladstonian party, andthe Land Leaguers. Mr. Lecky is an historic patriot ; his modera- tion and love of justice make him fair to all parties; but it is evident that his sym- pathies in the past go with pretty much that class of person he denounces in the present. Whether his indictment be or be not well founded, it is misplaced in a history of the eighteenth century, and is a curious corollary to the story of outrage, ‘‘ boycotting,” con- spiracy, intimidation, and rebellion that is the subject of these volumes. Right is probably no more the monopoly of one party now than it was ninety years ago, even supposing that the balance of corrupt motive and sincere and strenuous conviction has shifted sides; and in any case Mr. Lecky has, to our thinking, disfigured a really admirable history by his constant allusions to current events, and denunciations of living men. This, however, is a matter of opinion, but every one who has taken the trouble to study the land laws of Ireland will be amazed to read such passages as the following, insti- tuting a comparison between the Irish tenant farmers of the last century and the urban lodgers of our day :— ‘Tt is not necessary to look to remote or barbarous countries for a parallel. In the last few years parliamentary inquiries have disclosed exactly the same evils, springing from the same cause, in great districts of London and of our provincial towns. We find there, all the lead- ing features of the Irish agrarian system at the close of the eighteenth century : landlords who have let their land for a long period, and have thus lost all power of management and control ; leaseholders who, as the pressure of population becomes more intense, find it their interest to subdivide their holdings into minute fractions ; a whole race of speculators in poor men’s dwellings ; rents forced by the competition of the very poor to an enormous height; an excessive congestion of population; an utter neglect of the conditions of comfort and health. In Paris, under land laws very different from those of England, precisely similar signs have appeared. An excellent observer, who has lately described the condition of the over- crowded workmen’s quarters there, writes :...... It is not less curious, I think, or less instructive, to trace the analogy of these things with the excessive subdivision of land.” Unquestionably the hardships that Mr. Lecky enumerates do exist ; unquestionably, too, they existed in Ireland a hundred years ago; but to trace any parallel between town lodgers in England and the farmers of Ireland a hundred years ago it is necessary to ignore great and fundamental differ- ences, and to write history precisely in the method that Mr. Lecky deprecates. The London lodger pays dearly for his dwelling, and, of course, the price of lodg- ment helps to regulate the cost of every- thing he buys; but wages are to some extent. fixed by the cost of living, and if he pays a higher rent than the countryman he also receives a higher wage. He neither builds nor repairs the house he lives in, so in case of individual extortion he can move with no great loss or inconvenience; neither is he compelled to give a tithe of his earnings to a minister of religion whom he believes to be a heretic, and who is very commonly an absentee. The tithe, as Mr. Lecky points out most lucidly, called forth more bitter resentment than any other agrarian abuse, but he omits all mention of it from his ‘* parallel.” The Irish tenants, broadly speaking, were not wage earners: the poorest of them raised potatoes and oats on their holdings, sold nothing, bought little, and earned their rent in the English harvest fields; the better class were food producers, but they sold their goods in a distant market whose prices were regulated by foreign wars, foreign produce, and other considerations quite apart from the monetary needs of the Irish tenantry. But the fundamental differ- ence was far deeper. The land system of Ireland was in fact, though not in law, a system of dual ownership: the landlord provided nothing but the bare land; and the cultivation, the drainage, the fences, the house, and the farm buildings were provided by the tenant. Mr. Lecky narrates several pathetic instances of farmers who reclaimed waste lands, and whose rents were raised, and raised again, on the strength of their own improvements. Until our own times these improvements were, In
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N° 3289, Nov. 8, ’90 THE ATHEN ZUM 621 ’ law, the property of the landlord, who at the termination of the tenancy confiscated the house, buildings, and other improvements without compensation. Of course no just- minded landlord pressed for his dues, but here and there cone was rapacious, and too often the agents of absentees and the middlemen were extortionate. Moreover, laws are made to protect the weak, not against the just, but against the unjust, and it is surprising to find a man of Mr. Lecky’s knowledge de- nouncing the legal recognition of a dual ownership of the existence of which he gives various illustrations. Whether the entire system of land tenure in Ireland was too rotten to be tinkered into healthiness by remedial legislation is another question, and one which Mr. Lecky does not raise. Here and there we differ from Mr. Lecky on minor matters which are quite debatable ; for instance, his work is enlivened by cha- racter sketches of some of the principal and many of the minor actors in his history, and these sketches, always entertaining and often brilliant, though superficial, are in some in- stances characterized by ingenuity amounting to paradox. For example, it is hard to believe in the ‘‘indomitable courage” of the Rev. William Hamilton, an unpopular magistrate, who hid in a cellar while his hostess was shot and the ‘‘ Defenders” were threatening to burn down the house, and murder all who were init, unless he would give himself up. “A man and two women servants dragged him from his place of concealment. He clung desperately to the staple of the hall door lock, but the application of fire forced him to loose his hold.” The unhappy victim was then flung out and murdered, but sympathy with his cruel fate and re- probation of his dastardly murderers do not elevate his terror into an exhibition of indomitable courage. Again, there is a plausible defence of Thomas Reynolds (the rebel ‘‘ colonel” who ‘* prevented the effusion of torrents of blood ”’ by betraying his associates with the stipu- lation that he should not share the punish- ment to which they were liable, and which was death), and of Armstrong, an English officer, whose colleagues ‘‘ expressed their full approbation of his conduct” in dining at the table of the brothers Sheares in order to engage them in a conversation that should lead to their arrest, and that brought them to the gallows. The unhappy man acted on the advice of Castlereagh, who thought the time ‘‘ was not one for indulging in delicate scruples,” so his comrades were bound to support him formally; but we imagine that many of them must have shared the often quoted sentiment of Cornwallis, ‘‘ How I long to kick those whom my public duty obliges me to support!” In the case of Leonard M‘Nally, Mr. Lecky almost con- verts us; we are inclined to believe in the ‘ genuine humanity of disposition and generosity of impulse”: of the traitor who was paid by the United Irishmen to defend them, and by the Government to betray them. Allowances must be made for men who live in a reign of terror, when fear goads the timid into treachery, and the passionate into fiendish cruelty. Certainly it is hard to guess at the “estimable and even noble qualities” of a man who could command and witness floggings so violent that the bowels of his victims gushed through the lacerated flesh; but if historic truth demands that these shocking outrages must be remembered, it is well that they should be told by an historian who, while his chival- rous impulse gives his sympathies to the weaker side, can measure out full justice to the stronger. The chapters on the Union are over long, and the extracts from the parliamentary debates needlessly copious; the arguments on both sides are so widely known, and the tale of corruption has been told so often, that, unlike the obscure and compli- cated situations of the preceding time, they did not demand such detailed considera- tion. Nevertheless, Mr. Lecky’s readers will be glad that he has passed the limit of the century, feeling that he has thus intro- duced a new incompleteness to his work, and that, though they have reluctantly to close the last volume of his history of the eighteenth century, the guide whom they have followed with so much benefit and pleasure for a hundred years will not aban- don them at a period so full of interest, and so far from the end of their journey. TALLEYRAND. Le Ministére de Talleyrand sous le Directoire. Par G. Pallain. (Paris, Plon, Nourrit & Co.) M. GeorcEs Patiain continues his edition of the despatches of Talleyrand, which began ten years ago with the volume on Talley- rand’s correspondence with Louis XVIII. during the Congress of Vienna (which we pronounced at the time most interesting), and was continued recently by the publica- tion of a second volume containing the des- patches of Talleyrand written from London in 1792. The present volume is, except for the few passages which we shall quote, somewhat less interesting to English people than the last, and less interesting generally than the first of the series; but it is valuable, as will be the three more which are promised to complete the diplomatic life. The two next to appear after the present volume are to contain the account of Talleyrand’s tenure of the Foreign Office under the Con- sulate and under the Empire respectively, and the sixth volume will contain the account of his London embassy between 1830 and 1834. The present volume gives us the diplo- matic life of Talleyrand from the moment when he was a fugitive in America, suc- ceeding with difficulty in obtaining the with- drawal of the proscription which had been directed against him, and returning to France to become suddenly Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Directorate. In his introduction M. Pallain tries to discount the value of the memoirs which are shortly to appear, by pointing out the pro- bability that exists that in them Talleyrand has not told the truth; and he very rightly says that Talleyrand’s real opinions and intellectual power can be better judged from the perusal of his despatches of the time than from the memoirs composed late in life by himself, but revealing only that which he wished to have told when his contemporaries were dead. The first portion of the despatches now before us that will be found interesting by English readers concerns the peace negotia- tions with England carried on with Lord Malmesbury at Lille in September, 1797. The Directorate were under the impression that they would be able to extort large con- cessions from the English at this time, and Talleyrand had to explain to them that they were hardly likely to obtain Gibraltar and the Pacific coast of what is now Canada for Spain. Neither was he sanguine about obtaining for France the cession of the Channel Islands, which was hoped for, nor the delivery of the Channel Islands and Gibraltar as gages of peace on the day of the signature of the treaty. The renuncia- tion by George III. of the titles of King of France and King of Corsica, the admission of the French conquest of Belgium, are demands which were more possible of acceptance, and no doubt something could be done by the French on the plan proposed by Talleyrand of playing the pawn of Hanover with its English kings. The French asked at Lille not only for the restitution of the Dutch colonies to Holland, and the restitution of Gibraltar and Nootka Sound to Spain, and for the cession of the Channel Islands, but also for the north of Newfoundland—the fishing rights granted by the Treaty of Utrecht, which are still the subject of con- tention between France and the United Kingdom, having already been found in- sufficient by the French. The next portion of M. Pallain’s book deals with the Treaty of Campo Formio, which is very dead. But after this there comes a long memoir on the state of Europe which is extremely interesting. In it Talley- rand declares that Napoleon in sailing for Egypt runs great risk of destruction by the English fleet; but if he lands in Egypt, on that day destroys the British power in India. Talleyrand counts upon the success of the Irish insurrection, which he cheerfully says has been ‘cemented by the blood of cele- brated victims.” He considers that it is in Ireland and in Egypt that the United Kingdom is to be crushed. Arms and men are to be poured into Ireland, and an Irish republic set up by the side of Great Britain ‘‘ for her instruction or for her chastisement.” Talleyrand assures the Directorate that more than a third of the sailors of the British fleet are Irish, and that the ‘love of their country will teach them to see in the English their oppressors and enemies.— Note. Admiral Nelson’s fleet, for instance, is manned almost exclusively by Irishmen. So I am informed by the Spanish minister.” But, Spanish minister notwithstanding, the fleet which had carried Napoleon to Egypt was about to be destroyed at the battle of the Nile. Talleyrand goes on to point out that the Irish landed proprietors ‘* who live in London are in a miserable condi- tion, owing to the deplorable situation of Ireland under military and despotic rule, and, being nearly all enemies of Pitt (both those who, like Lord Lansdowne and Lord Moira, belong to the Opposition and those who have not yet joined that party), must ardently desire a change of government in Ireland, for they get no income from their Irish estates.” ‘*Tt is essential for us to knowif the numerous and wealthy class of Irish landlords living in London would add to our means of delivering Ireland from the tyranny under which it groans.” Coming to the constitution of the Opposition in England, Talleyrand says :—
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622 THE ATHENZUM N? 3289, Nov. 8, '90 ‘There is very little help for us to be drawn from its known chiefs. Fox is a fool. Sheridan is, perhaps, dangerous; but if we leave the Par- liament men we shall always find help and activity in Horne Tooke, and also in Percy [sic]. one of the proprietors of the Morning Chronicle. It is not probable that his having been locked up has changed his feelings.” Later on in his despatches Talleyrand, writing to the French representative at Constantinople, engages in the difficult task vf trying to make the invasion of Egypt pass muster with the Turks. He explains to his envoy that Egypt is a country which has always been desired by France, and is necessary to her; but the agent is to ex- plain to the Turks that the French are only going there ‘*to chastise some brigands......Our enterprise has, in appearance, only the end in view of causing reparation for our injured rights and honour......You will tell them that our landing in Egypt has for its real object the striking in India of a mortal blow to England, our im- placable enemy.” After having told his envoy to make the Turks believe that the French occupation will not be permanent, he goes on :— ‘*T must not, however, conceal from yourself that the intention of the Directory is not to evasuate Egypt. The Directory is determined to maintain itself in Egypt by every possible means. We count on the effect of time and habit to consolidate our establishment there.” He goes on to explain that Egypt is only ‘‘a country which the Porte calls a province, although it has no longer the slightest authority there.” We think our readers will find these extracts deeply interesting; but honesty compels us to add that there is nothing else in the bulky volume of much interest to ordi- nary English readers. To general students of the state of Europe in the early days of Bonaparte, M. Pullain’s work is, however, of course invaluable. NOVELS OF THE WEEK. Between Life and Death. By Frank Barrett. 3 vols. (Chatto & Windus.) The Last of the Fenwickes. By Helen Ship- ton. 38 vols. (Hurst & Blackett.) Sundorne. By Bertha Thomas. 2 (Chapman & Hall.) Mademoiselle Ize. By Lanoe Falconer. (Fisher Unwin.) Esther Lovell. By 8S. C. J. Ingham. (Hodder & Stoughton.) C'est Nous qui sont l’ Histoire!!! Par Gyp. (Paris, Calmann Lévy.) Mr. Frank Barrett has thrown away the chance of producing a thoroughly interest- ing romance. The first volume of ‘ Between Life and Death’ is engrossing, though melodramatic to a degree. The situation in which the author places his attractive young heroine is something more than ex- citing, and the reader makes up his mind for a tale of intense, if rather extravagant sensation. Thenceforward Mr. Barrett seems to lose all his power of construction ; the heroine ceases to be brave, resourceful, or refined, and the whole story degenerates in an inexplicable manner. In ‘ Fettered vols. for Life’ there was abundant evidence of vigour, and even of construction. ‘ Between Life and Death’ shows little of either. ‘The Last of the Fenwickes’ possesses some of the elements that make for a good story ; it is not without interest and skill, but the material is rather too spun out and attenuated to be equally good throughout. Why it should be called ‘The Last of the Fenwickes’ we do not know, as there are sturdy scions belonging tothe old house and its fallen fortunes. The Fenwickes are, however—as they should be—the strongest part of the story; but though it is their name that is given as a title, the author has somehow managed to crowd them out. Perhaps she felt unequal to the task of elaborating without weakening the picture. It is certain that they and their surroundings are the sort of thing that requires more than the ordinary strength and vigour of the novelist, and to present them aright more is wanted than a rather striking and impressive background. ‘Wuthering Heights,’ of course, occurs to one, but the comparison is deprecated by Miss Shipton herself. As the hero, a great deal of attention has been given to Alwyn Craufurd, and, though he has good points, we cannot say we feel him to be parti- cularly interesting or particularly lifelike. In the story, however, everyone, young and old, male and female, goes down before him. He is the sort of person who has ‘‘an undefinable charm,” and people adore him, to the detri- ment, in some instances, of their own kith and kin. He is also the sort of being who says smart and witty things, of which sayings the reader does not get the benefit. There is nothing ridiculous or distinctly exaggerated about him; but his character has evidently been a more careful and in- teresting study to his author than it will be to every one else. Arthur Moultrie’s seven years’ bondage in the house of Fenwicke is somewhat striking, but here, as elsewhere, there is, or so it seems to us, lack of con- centrated purpose and decision. Sundorne, let it be understood at once, is neither a place nor a misprint for Sun- down or dawn, but a man, and the re- former of the drama in 187-. Personally he is passionate and egotistical, a treacheous friend, and sadly wanting in morality, except, of course, where the elevation of the drama is concerned. But he has a magnificent, if shaggy head, and his face can ‘‘change as rapidly as the sea in rough weather.” In a word, he is an uncomfortable hero—a Mr. Rochester and Thomas Carlyle in their worst moods rolled into one. All the principal characters are celebrities proncne tl with the drama, of which they had constituted themselves the saviours, and those who do not go to the bad have come thence. But the secondary personages in Miss Thomas’s story are per- fectly respectable, spending all the second volume in unsuccessful attempts to head off the hero from his evil courses, and getting no thanks for their pains. Miss Thomas seems to find nothing very repre- hensible in a man’s running away with the wife of the friend who has more than any one else contributed to lift him from poverty and oblivion to fortune and fame. These are the words in which he declares his passion : “‘T said I needed my friends~I meant you, your hand, your head, your heart to wait on mine.” What a thing it is to be a first- class genius! When they fly together from her husband’s house the heroine hesitates for one moment only before abandoning name and fame. ‘Her relenting had been the work of a force already irrevocably overcome. A half-slain thing, buried, had burst the coffin-lid and startled her, to torment her by showing a remnant of life, then fell back spent and powerless.” The construction and grammar are not unim- peachable, but the meaning is clear enough. After this momentary weakness the heroine goes on her way rejoicing, and lives re- spected and beloved for many years, as the companion at first, and subsequently wife, of her genius. The story is as sombre as Miss Shipton’s, and it is not relieved by a solitary gleam of the humour Miss Thomas has often shown; but there is here and there a powerful passage to reward a reader patient enough to wade through a great deal of faulty English. ‘Mademoiselle Ixe’ is the title of a pleasant little sketch in novelette form by “ Lanoe Falconer,” which figures as No. 1 of “The Pseudonym Library.” Its dimensions are about 7 in. by 4in.; it is about half an inch thick, and the margins take up nearly an inch and a half of each page—there are only 185 in all. So much having been said, no one can fail to perceive in it an eminently readable production—temptingly so in fact ; and if the text were far less interesting than it is, one could always derive a certain comfort and pleasure from the handling of so dainty a little volume. The plot is of the slightest, and the characters are not particu- larly like flesh and blood ; but the situations are quite dramatic enough for drawing-room stage representation, and there are one or two clever and graphic descriptions of rural English scenery. That a Nihilist escaping from justice on a dark night should leave her room by the window, without extin- guishing the light within, is hardly a pro- bable incident; but one is not disposed to quarrel with anything in a work of such moderate proportions, written throughout in straightforward English—except when the author permits his fashionable beauty to talk about being “ very mashed indeed,” an ex- pression surely inexcusable even from the lips of fashionable beauties. If patience, like virtue, is its own reward, readers who toil through ‘Esther Lovell’ may expect a rich harvest. To read it is probably a work of supererogation as well as patience, but, since it is done, we may as well have something to show for it in the way of quotation. Lord Lisle is a ‘‘satin-plumaged young aristocrat,” aged eighteen, an endless bore as well as a blameless prig. It is difficult to decide whether he is a greater nuisance in his high-flown utterances or when he lapses into ‘‘ whatevers’’ and kindred expressions. He owns a sister ‘‘as conventionally English, stately, and intelligently affable in domestic and social life as need be,” and a “lady mother” who, for some un- known reason, is hopelessly astray as to the usages of her world—‘“ the purple” as her son expresses it. Lord Lisle, otherwise Alfred, has also a humble favourite whom he is sometimes inclined to honour with his hand, in spite of the restraining influences of his mother and ‘‘the purple.” In allu- sion to this young person’s father it is said, ‘‘A fallen spirit may figure before the mind’s eye as grandly as a play of lurid
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N° 3289, Nov. 8, ’90 THE ATHENAUM #23 lightning, but a fallen gentleman,” &c. Alfred, with his usual self-sufficiency, ‘‘made himself master of these reveal- ings of her heart and brain, determined that he would test their quality as he had done her scholastic progress and the advance in her modes of think- ing.’ The criticism of his ‘censor pencil’? on her poems we refrain from giving, and proceed to tell how, ‘‘sub- limely superior ’’ to ordinary considerations, these two, master and pupil, ‘ communed together as nobly as high-born students of a sex.” Notwithstanding, ‘strange whispers circulated,” and Esther, con- vinced by family pressure and occasional ‘‘hauteur”’ in Alfred himself, removed her- self from what the author has been fortunate enough to find the “cold, reserved, -but purely lighted walks of English aristocratic ife.” Strange experiences await her; she meets a being ‘‘ in a spotted dress and long Paisley shawl,” “ neither to be classed with La Pucelle of Domrémy, nor with the beautiful soft-skinned tigress whose lair was so near to the throne when the day of St. Bartholomew dawned.’ One of the children of this remarkable, but negative person ‘“‘had not her mother’s volcanic explosiveness, but she had an insatiable thirst for admiration, an abnormal self- esteem, and, combined with a subtle gift for tantalization, an obstinacy which would have put a mule to the blush.” This family, including the father (designated as ‘‘ Dada” by his wife and others), proves too much for the gifted Esther, who departs clasping her ‘large, live, throbbing brow with her fingers.” In the Reading Room of the British Museum she is struck by the “thoughtful intellectuality” and ‘stern purpose,” also the “bien étre,” of those attending it. ‘It was killing work to be always producing out of herself,” and “ the silent community of tastes impregnating the very atmosphere” causes her to feel ‘‘ such a throb of pride at the identification with its raison d’étre that this day was to inaugurate, as made her heart leap.” Yet ‘“‘it could not but strike an observant mind that there were many there who looked as if their intellects resembled a reservoir rather than a fountain.” She at one time lodged in the same house with a distin- guished man with a face “ brain-moulded, battle-scarred, dogmatic, kindly eosnee the chin buried in the breast as if to throw forward the broad reflective organs of the head as prominent as the utmost development of Comparison and Causality could make them.” This autocratic gentleman bids her go on writing poetry in these words, ‘‘O’est toi a chanter,”—which is not the only example that proves the French to be as remark- able as the English. Esther is after- wards conveyed to Italy by an amiable family who discover ‘a poetic air about her too which will harmonize with that lovely land of Italy.” The head of the family also notes in her a ‘‘transparent Venetian-glass look you see in a certain hectic class of minds, allied to consumptive lungs.” Here, or soon after, Esther blushes, “partly from pleasure, forthe suspicion of her métier seemed to authorize it.” A child, ‘beautiful as an animated statue,” whom Lord Lisle saw at a glance ‘“‘to be a high-born English child, and her beauty made him glad,” is the means of reuniting Alfred and Esther, who at length share the ‘castellated home” and the “ ancestral threshold’? we have heard so much about. Gyp’s new book (with the exception of the last chapter, which is upon a different sub- ject, in verse and bad) is a series of ex- tremely bright sketches of real persons in the Opportunist world of Paris—a little cruel, and doubtless far from truthful, but recognizable by the friends of the persons satirized, and laughable to all. We cannot, however, but repeat the wish which we have expressed on previous occasions that Gyp would abandon the political field. The most amusing of the personages in her pre- sent book is the only one among them who is an old friend, and who himself is strictly non-political. The History of Longridge and District. By Tom ©. Smith. (Preston, Whitehead.) Ir Mr. Smith had called his book ‘Collec- tions for a History of Longridge’ he would have expressed pretty clearly what his volume is. It contains much useful matter, but no one subject is worked out in the manner that an antiquary would have done it. The ecclesiastical annals of our old towns and villages are generally quite as important as the civil, but of pre-Reforma- tion days very little is said. We are sure that if Mr. Smith had made the neces- sary researches he would have come upon things which would have added greatly to the interest of his book. On the authority of Walker’s ‘Sufferings of the Clergy,’ he tells a story of the expulsion of Christopher Hindle during the Parliamen- tarian time from the pastorate of Long- ridge, and of the cruel ill-usage he suffered. It is also added that the intruded minister who succeeded him was so ignorant as to be scarcely able to write his name, and yet as his predecessor was dead he conformed, and was permitted to hold the living. But Walker was a violent partisan, and much of the material he used for his book cannot be called contemporary. It was pub- lished in 1714, and in great measure com- iled from memoranda written after the estoration, when facts had had time to grow. So it can hardly be accepted as a safe authority. The social and political history Mr. Smith only begins in the last century. If the in- habitants of Longridge did nothing worth recording before the reign of George III., they must have been wonderfully different from Lancashire folk in general. It is but fair, however, to add that this chapter, im- perfect as it is, contains some very good short notices of persons of local eminence. Local historians are commonly extremely remiss in giving facts of this sort, and we are glad that here Mr. Smith has set a good example. It appears that as late as 1848 fires were lighted on high places on the Ist of May and the 1st of November. The explanation given of the old custom was that the Roman Catholics were “leetin’ th’ souls o’ their relations out o’ Purgatory.” It appears that it was formerly the custom of the housewives of the district to tie a piece of red worsted round their cows’ tails before they went out to grass. It was believed to secure the cattle from being elf-shot by fairies and from the evil eye. Mr. Smith says it is some time since these tales were credited. What mount of superstition yet lingers at Longridge we have no means of ascertaining ; but we have been told that up to the present time cattle are wont to appear at Wakefield and Doncaster markets with their tails thus ornamented. Mr. Smith prints a certificate dated 1690, signed by the woman who had laid out a dead body, that the corpse was buried in woollen only. It isa curious relic of bar- barism. We have seen several of these documents in manuscript, but de not re- member meeting with one in print before. The Act for burying in woollen was passed in the reign of Charles II., and remained the law of the land for somewhere about one hundred and forty years. An engraving, though but a poor one, of the font at Chipping is given. It seems to be of late fifteenth century date, and to have been executed by some local mason who had little power as an artist. Some of the shields thereon seem to repre- sent the instruments of the Passion; of others we can make nothing. On the base of the font there are, it seems, the letters A. M.G.P. D.T., which evidently stand for the angelic salutation ‘‘Ave Maria gracia plena Dominus tecum.” Mr. Smith prints ‘¢Petena” for Plena, and adds that the interpretation of these letters is due to the late Mr. John Gough Nichols. We cannot bring ourselves to believe that so learned an antiquary would make a blunder so gross, if, indeed, it be not a misprint. The chapter on the geology and botany of the district is rather too short, but is excellent as far as it goes. Though the book, taken as a whole, has many short- comings, it will be found useful to the in- habitants of the neighbourhood for the infor- mation it gives as to modern times. The author is a keen politician. For this he deserves praise rather than blame, but it would have been better if in a work of this sort he had not allowed his party feelings to show themselves. It is surely unwise to speak of a clergyman still alive as being in personal appearance like the great Napoleon, and to add that, judging from the way in which he “has tried to govern the parish, his mind is, apparently, moulded in a some- what similar fashion to that of the great dictator — with, however, this important difference—Buonaparte was above all things a master in the science of tactics, while the reverend gentleman is not.” There is much more of the same sort, which might amuse in a country paper on the eve of a contested election, but is quite out of place in a local history. There are a few pedigrees in the volume which may prove useful. Does Mr. Smith feel assured that there is any contemporary evidence for the Cave pedigree, which begins with a man who died but three years after the Conquest? The volume possesses an index which seems to be a remarkably good one. CLASSICAL SCHOOL-BOOKS, Maemillan’s Greek Course.—First Greek Syn- tax. By W. Gunion Rutherford. (Macmillan & Oo.)—A ‘Greek Syntax’ by Dr. Ruther- ford is certain to be of sterling value, and
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624 THE ATHENZAUM N° 3289, Nov. 8, '90 neem to achieve the popularity which it deserves. We are particularly struck by the treatment of the genitive case, which, though not substantially differing from that of Mr. Thompson, still has a marked individuality, and is thoroughly clear and comprehensive. The sections on the con- struction of participles, again, are fresh and appreciative. A notable feature of the work is the conspicuousness given to poetic idioms which differ from normal usage. Our editor has certainly realized his purpose “ of driving great main lines through Greek Syntax” as far as the Attic dialect is concerned. Obligations with respect to plan and arrangement are hand- somely acknowledged to Riemann and Cucuel’s ‘ Régles Fondamentales de Ja Syntaxe Grecque.’ Classical Series.— Plutarch’s Lives of Galba and Otho. With Introduction and Explanatory Notes by E. G. Hardy, M.A. (Macmillan & Co.)—The contents of this ,plump little volume are as follows :—84 pages of text, gross, which means about 60 small pages of Greek; 112 pages of introductory matter; about 190 pages of notes; and 92 pages of adver- tisements. These statistics at once condemn the edition as a school class-book. The book comprises a series of treatises on Roman history and antiquities over and above ordinary annotation. We observe that the person who is called Lycophron on p. 1 is Polyphron on p. 89. Very little attention is paid to points of grammar or style, and altogether the edition is unsatisfactory, though it may be welcome to specialists in Roman history. Pitt Press Series.—T. Lwucreti Cari De Rerum Natura. Liber Quintus. Edited, with Introduc- tion and Notes, by J. D. Duff, M.A. (Cambridge, University Press.)—Beginners who wish to be- come acquainted with Lucretius cannot do better than attack the fifth book first, so that Mr. Duff's selection of this portion of the ‘De Rerum Natura’ for a school edition is eminently judi- cious. His commentary is thoroughly business- like and helpful, while the astronomical section of the introduction, with its neat diagram of the celestial sphere, reduces to a minimum the diffi- culties attending the discussion of the motions of the heavenly bodies. The list of passages from this fifth book which illustrate the influence of Lucretius’s verse on the ‘ Eclogues’ and ‘ Buco- lics’ of Virgil (p. xvii) deserves special mention, Pitt Press Series. — Herodotos: V., Terpsi- chore; VI., Erato. With Introduction, Notes, and Maps by E S. Shuckburgh. M.A. (Cam- bridge, University Press.)— These volumes possess their due share of the conspicuous cha- racteristics of Mr. Shuckburgh’s school-books. The commentaries are most serviceable, and offer abundant proof of the industry and care expended upon them. Perhaps they might have been shorter with advantage, while the historical and geographical indexes are decidedly too voluminous. The general value of the work is not seriously impaired by the occasional indi- cations that Mr. Shuckburgh’s scholarship is not beyond reproach. For instance. the extra- ordinary annotation on 70 yap émt deévd. adroior roiot Ilépoyot troxeipia nv yeyovora Kar’ yreipov (VI. xxxiii.) is not typical. It runs: “av yeyovora, ‘had been subdued and still remained subject.’” Comment is unnecessary. Pitt Press Series. —The Hippolytus of Euripides. With Introduction and Notes by W. S. Hadley, M.A. (Cambridge, University Press.)—The temptations to “ surgery” which the text of the ‘ Hippolytus’ offers to the critic have been manfully withstood by Mr. Hadley, who holds the judicious view that the ‘‘authority of the MSS. is surely of some weight; of more, it may be thought, than the conflicting theories of rival emenders.”” Noteworthy is the retention of dcois in place of Porson’s doris (adopted by most of the succeeding editors), v. 79, which is ably defended by making 7d cwdpovetv (per- sonified) the subject of «/Anyev; but Paley should be made an exception to ‘‘all editors.” The commentary is careful and scholarly, giving plenty of help and instruction. The phrase mpos akpov pveddv Yvyx7s, Vv. 255, ought to be commented upon, as Liddell and Scott's “ in- most marrow” is unsatisfactory. The nurse says that the mixture ¢vAéa should not fill the predov Yryijs, “the inmost soul,” up to the top. The construction of eAvra, v. 256, with ano 7 doarGat kai Evvreivat is not sufficiently explained by the rendering ‘‘easy.” In the text Znvos, v. 69, is apparently a misprint for Zavos, which occurs v. 62. There are not many observations on the metres, and no analysis of the drama is supplied—an omission hardly com- pensated for by the neat essay on “ Euripides in Relation to his Times.” The appendix on the difficulties presented by the passage vv. 477- 524 is a praiseworthy defence of the recorded text, at once sensible and ingenious. Elementary Classics. — P. Vergili Maronis Aeneidos, Lib. III. Edited for the Use of Schools by T. E. Page. With Notes and Vocabulary. (Macmillan & Co.)—Teachers will welcome another book of Virgil from an editor 80 well tried and highly approved as Mr. Page. His work is so careful and thorough that we congratulate ourselves on having found a mis- print in the lemma of the note on v. 443. The vocabulary is conscientiously compiled. Elementary Classics,—The Alcestis of Euripides. With Introduction, Notes, Appendices, and a Complete Vocabulary by M. A. Bayfield. (Macmillan & Co.)—It need only be said that Mr. Bayfield has displayed in this little work care and scholarship amply sufficient for an edition of less modest pretensions, His notes bewray the experienced teacher. The rendering of érvyavéw in the vocabulary is inconsistent with that in the note on v. 103; but on the whole there is very little fault to be found with this satisfactory addition to the series of ‘* Elementary Classics.” Ovidii Metamorphoseon, Liber Primus. Edited, with Notes, by Rev. Edgar Sanderson. (Parker & Co.)—Mr. Sanderson’s reading is to be preferred in most cases where it differs from that of Merkel (1886), and altogether the text is satisfactory. Merkel’s ‘‘hamatum” for auratum, v. 470, is scarcely worth recording. In the commentary the elegant chiasmus which distinguishes this passage should be pointed out, and we should be told what is meant by the lead sub arundine, at the bottom of the shaft, as the most obvious interpretation would be that the lead was not at the head of the arrow, but at the notch. With this exception the notes seem to be laudably free from oversights and errors. Sportella; or, Unseen Passages for Higher Forms. Edited by J. H. Fowler. (Rivingtons.)—This little book contains sixty Latin and sixty Greek passages for practice in translation at sight. They have been selected with a fair amount of taste and judgment, and many of them are unlikely to have been read by schoolboys. Pitt Press Series. — Livy. Book IV. By H. M. Stephenson. (Cambridge, University Press.) — The struggle between the patri- cians and plebeians of ancient Rome in the latter part of the fifth century B.c. ought to be firmly impressed on the memory of students, so the fourth book of Livy is one which it is well for boys to read, although they may not find it particularly interesting. Mr. Stephenson gives us Luterbacher’s text with a few improvements of his own, and a serviceable commentary, which seems to be an advance upon his previous annotation of Livy (Books I. and IT). Clarendon Press Series.—Ovid: Tristia. Book IIL With an Introduction and Notes by 8S. G. Owen. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.) — The text of this unpretending edition is sub- stantially reprinted from Mr. G. Owen’s admirable critical edition of the ‘ Tristia,’ while the full commentary possesses the rare qualifica- tion of being at once useful to schoolboys and profitable to more mature students. It would have been waste of power for Mr. Owen to bind himself down to merely giving needful help to beginners. Classical Series. —Pliny’s Letters. Books I. and II. With Introductions, Notes, and Plan. Edited by James Cowan. (Macmillan & Co.) —Thanks to the labours of Cortius and Lon- golius, of Gierig. and of Keil, it is difficult to help producing a good edition of Pliny’s letters, but it is rather alarming to find that Mr: Cowan appears to attach equal importance to the untrustworthy edition of Déring, and that he does not mention in his preface Lager- gren’s treatise on Pliny. The chief fault to be found with Mr. Cowan’s commentary is that it is too long, some of the notes being super- fluous and others occupying an unnecessary amount of space. For instance, the note on in presentia (chap. vii. sect. 3, p. 91) can nearly all be found in the dictionary, while the student who trusted to the said note might almost be excused for thinking presentia was the ablative singular. Still, we are bound to acknowledge that the compiler has taken great pains to give help and supply information. An edition of Pliny’s letters for the use of English students has been undoubtedly wanted, so that Mr. Cowan’s work may be found useful. CHRISTMAS BOOKS, Arrowsmith’s Christmas Annual. (Bristol, Arrow- smith.) By Right of Conquest. By G. A. Henty. (Blackie & Son.) *Twiat School and College. By Gordon Stables, M.D.,R.N. (Same publishers. ) Lennard’s Leader, By the Rev. E. N. Hoare. (S P.C.K.) Wanted a Spheree By M. Bramston. (Same publishers.) Charlie to the Rescue: a Tale of the Sea and the Rockies. By R. M. Ballantyne. (Nisbet & Co.) ‘ ARROWSMITH’s CHRISTMAS ANNUAL’ consists this year of ‘The Demoniac,’ an ‘‘ ower true” tale by Mr. Walter Besant. One hopes against hope that the victim of an insane craving for drink may in the end break his chains, but the author is more logical than merciful, and the simple-minded girl he has married in obscurity has to lament the suicide of the strong, clever, rich, well-natured George Atheling, who but for one hereditary taint had the world and its success before him. In ‘ By Right of Conquest’ Mr. G. A. Henty has utilized the oft-repeated story of the con- quest of Mexico by Oortes. The adventures of the young English sailor who, after being wrecked, spends so longa time among Tabascans, Tezcucans, and Aztecs, and after sharing the adventures of the Spaniards returns to England with an Indian bride, will be found interesting by the young, but their elders will observe a little cynically the deft use (duly acknowledged, we admit) of materials pretty widely known. ‘’Twixt School and College’ is one of the best of a prolific writer’s books for boys, being full of practical instructions as to keeping pets, from white mice upwards, and inculcates, in a way which a little recalls Miss Edgeworth’s ‘ Frank,’ the virtue of self-reliance, though the local colouring of the home of the Aberdeenshire boy is a good deal more picturesque. ‘Lennard’s Leader,’ like Mr. Henty’s book, is a triumph of scissors and paste. As in the other instance, the supplementary story is well told, and boys will not be concerned to sepa- rate what is original from the borrowed ground- work of the fabric. Mr. Stanley’s expedition will, at any rate, resemble that of Cortes in form- ing an invaluable mine for literary book-makers. ‘Wanted a Sphere’ is not a bad book for girls. It shows how one may be a Girton girl and yet not vaunt oneself over the ordinary male, and that old-fashioned domestic virtue: XUM
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XUM THE ATHENZUM 625 N°3289, Nov. 8, ’90 ought not to be inconsistent with the highest mathematics. The group of ladies is varied, and suggests much power of observation. Mr. Ballantyne distinguishes himself from himself in ‘Charlie to the Rescue’ by the laconism of his preface, which resembles the portrait of the author in an edition we have seen of Southey’s ‘Doctor,’ and by the expedient of mingling the emotions of two elements—in other words, of combining the nautical with the cowboy type of hero. Charlie is as successful by land as by sea, and a very sufficient number of stirring deeds of adventure are recorded before the final settlement of rescuers and rescued, male and female, in a teetotal paradise somewhere at the back of beyond. Or the annual volumes of periodicals for boys and girls which the approach of Christmas brings on our table, the best seem to be those designed for the very young: Little Wide Awake (Routledge), Sunday (Wells Gardner & Co.), and Little Folks (Cassell & Co.); they all de- eerve praise. The World of Adventure (Cassell & Co.) is too sensational. The constant relation of hairbreadth escapes becomes monotonous at time. — Harper’s Young People (Sampson Low & Co,), like most American magazines, aims at variety. It is excellent, all but the coloured plates. OUR LIBRARY TABLE, THERE is room for An Old Coachman’s Chatter (Bentley & Son), Col, Corbett’s reminiscences of professional driving; and in spite of the exhaustive work recently issued in the “ Bad- minton Library,” we are inclined to think a good many excellent lessons may here be picked up by the aspirant, as well as many glimpses of a time when life was more pic- turesque than it is now if not so luxurious. Certainly the palmy period of ‘the mails,” some forty or fifty years ago, and of the accelerated stage coaches like the Shrewsbury ‘* Wonder,” must have been prolific of good drivers. The colonel, without disparaging the excellence of modern amateurs, reminds us that “as driving was then the real business of life to thousands,” the presumption is generally in favour of the methods of that age. ‘There were artists in those days—men who could drive any brute that could be harnessed, and could get any load through the country at almost any pace and in all weathers, by night or day.” These conditions are very unlike the surroundings of the summer coaches of to-day, where the pick of the horse-market alone is to be found; and as, except in rare emergencies, the whip is of little use, its manipulation is hardly practised asin days of yore. The author disclaims any acquaintance with the Duke of Beaufort’s com- pilation, the reading of which he has postponed till the publication of his notes of a long career on the road, and we doubt not he will be gratified to find how often he “travels in good company.” Among divergences of opinion we note that he is strongly averse from the bear- ing-rein, which in connexion with a racing coach must have been especially out of place ; and that he prefers a straight arm, ‘‘ with the hand lightly resting against the outside of the left thigh,” to the bent arm now considered ‘* regulation.” Not every one will agree with him as to the unpinning of the reins, though he certainly brings furward good instances of the ractice having prevented’ accidents. But to feaes such details, every unprejudiced reader will follow with pleasure the author’s personal experiences at home and abroad, and to most, at any rate of those who do not possess the Badminton book, his accounts of the famous roads and coachmen will be new and interesting. He should induce the least imaginative to recall the cheerful journey which led Dickens to the Bald-faced Stag ; to share De Quincey’s emotion when the mail coaches carried the news of the victory of Salamanca into a hundred country towns; and, with the assistance of the excellent illustrations, to realize how fair the scenes of rural England which could only be really travelled at speed in the picturesque method of our fathers. His book will find numerous readers who have pleasant personal recollections of the writer. WE have received from Messrs. Routledge & Sons Picturesque India, by Mr. W. S. Caine, a profusely illustrated volume intended for winter travellers. The body of the work is excellent, and, at every point where we have tested it, it bears examination well. The volume seems to be really useful for the purpose for which it is meant, although the illustrations are not par- ticularly important to travellers in India, who are in the habit of calling at Bombay or Cal- cutta on the leading photographers and turning over their large classified and named albums, and seeing for themselves those wonderful collections of Indian photographs which are an immense assistance to the traveller in forming his im- pressions of the country. Mr. Caine has two maps, one of northern and one of southern India, and these are perhaps less useful than the book. They are overcrowded with names of places to which no traveller would ever go, and Mr. Caine would have done better to have made his own map by giving his map-maker a list of names and telling him to put in those and no others.. In this way, by giving all the railways and chief stations, and all the places where there are sights to be seen, a useful travellers’ map would have been constructed. The present volume is too heavy to bear fixed maps well. They will tear out, and they are not such as to be of service to the traveller. Moreover, we have a quarrel with the map-maker. The maps are said to have been brought up to date; but, while terribly overcrowded as regards vast dis- tricts which no traveller will ever enter, they are imperfect as regards some districts which he will either visit or look for with interest in the map. Mr. Curzon has contributed the last chapter in this volume, that on the North-West Frontier, and the reader will, as a matter of course, turn to the map to look for the places which are named. He will not find them. Loralai, where there has been a large garrison for the last three years. is not marked upon the map. A district 200 miles long by 100 miles wide, which is the scene of the great additions being made to our Indian empire at the present moment, is left without a single name ; and not only is the considerable cantonment of Loralai omitted, but so also is the new cantonment of Apozai, where there is also a large garrison, and which is, very properly, mentioned by Mr. Curzon as the seat of power of the civil officer who is for the future to rule the Zhob, and keep open the Gomul Pass while the new railway is being made. We cannot understand on what principle some map-makers continue, as in the map prefixed to Mr. Caine’s book, to follow the practice of colouring Gilgit as though it were in ‘‘ India,’ and excluding from India everything which lies across the Sulaiman range. The whole of Baluchistan is in far closer connexion with India now than are the outlying districts north of Kashmir, nominally ruled by the Kashmir durbar, which in this map are coloured as forming part of our Indian system ; and so many travellers to India have relations and friends who are stationed in the British garrisons which lie beyond the Sulaiman, and, indeed, in country marked in Mr. Caine’s map as ‘‘ Afghanistan,” which it is not, that they will be disappointed when they turn to the map and find all this country, upon which half the talk of Indiaturns, a blank, A district through which we now have a first-class military road, patrolled by police and used by hundreds of thousands of persons bringing goods to India and taking goods back again in the course of every year, is marked on the present map as ‘* Sahara plateau,” whatever that may mean. Another small point is the spelling of the names, Mr. Caine tells us that he has taken great trouble over it, and explains the system which he has adopted to secure uniformity in his book ; but unfortunately he has not given his instructions to Mr. Curzon, who, to the con- fusion doubtless of the unfortunate index- maker, has adopted quite a different system as regards some well-known names. Mr. Caine mentions in his preface that he does not discuss political or religious problems in his pages, which contain no controversial matter. This is per- fectly true, and the care with which Mr. Caine has avoided expressing opinions which might be offensive to any readers of his volume is com- plete. He has worked into a consecutive narra- tive the cream of the knowledge accumulated by careful perusal of the books of Mr. Fergusson on Indian architecture, and Sir George Bird- wood on Indian art. His directions to the traveller as to kit and habits are very good, and we can find no fault. with them except in the matter of what he says of food and drink. To tell the traveller in India that he is not to eat twice-cooked food is to condemn him in the greater portion of the country to live only upon bazaar chickens killed at the last moment before they are wanted for the pot ; and persons with weak teeth will find that they must either eat twice-cooked food (in the form of curries) or starve, as far as the travellers’ rest-houses are concerned. Then the advice to drink soda- water is far from wise, for in a great number of places the water which is used for making soda- water is contaminated, and it is far safer to drink tea made after the water has been boiled. These are small points, and as a whole Mr. Caine’s book may be safely recommended. He humorously tells his readers at the end of his introduction that all guide-books are unwieldy, and should be cut up into a number of thin volumes and rebound for use, and that he hopes every reader will treat his own work in this way, ordering a fresh copy to place upon the shelves at home. THE volume on Gymnastics in the “ All-Eng- land Series” by Mr. A. F. Jenkin, which comes to us from Messrs. Bell & Sons, seems well done. ANOTHER work on Buddhism has appeared under the auspices of a Scottish institution. One has scarcely finished the perusal of Sir M. Williams’s popular discourses on that religion before the ‘‘ Croall Lecture” Trust, apparently an Edinburgh institution, issues the Rev. A. Scott’s Buddhism and Christianity (Edinburgh, Douglas). We say “institution” because there is nothing in the book to guide us as to whether the ‘* Croall Lecture ” means a course of sermons or a series of scientific discourses. If merely the former, we may safely say they are much above the average ; if the latter, they are some- what difficult to criticize, for they often take up ground that can hardly satisfy philosophic in- quirers, still less controversial champions of Bud- dhism—a class by no means extinct in the present day, and represented in many other channels than the valiant little Engiish journal ap- pearing in Japan, noticed by Dr. Scott. The earlier and preliminary lectures are written in a spirit which is on the whole fair and judicial, and they show wide reading, especially of Christian literature. The third lecture, on the contrast between the personalities of the founders of the two religions, is hardly so happy. The antitheses are at times decidedly forced. It seems, for instance, hardly right tosay: “There is a vast difference between the quality of this authority [for superseding older teachers and the like] in the two cases. The authority of Buddha sprang from his acknowledged intel- lectual superiority ; but the authority of Jesus sprang from spiritual insight.” This is strangely infelicitous. The remark about ‘‘ intellectual superiority ” seems to have arisen from a mis- understanding of a translation of some Pali word like panid. As for “ spiritual insight,”
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626 THE ATHENZXUM N° 3289. Nov. 8, ’90 no equivalent in New Testament Greek rises readily to the mind, whereas a study of the usage of terms like vipassand or niruttipati- sambhidé might show that such ‘‘insight” is precisely one of the distinguishing marks of the Buddha, In comparing the two religions and their rise Dr. Scott will seem to many readers of the present day a somewhat ungrateful critic of Buddhism. Instead of being thankful that its teaching has no series of elaborate previous authorities to be twisted into coincidence with it, he actually seems to complain of want of pro- phetic preparation. It must be a terrible thought to him that if his great countryman Dr. Cum- ming or the leaders of ‘‘Anglo-Israel” had lived in Buddhist lands their talents might have lacked employment ! On the subject of miracles he is also somewhat unsympathetic. Surprised at not finding more of the supernatural in the most ancient Buddhist productions, ‘‘ where,” he adds, Scotice, ‘we would [sic] naturally have expected to find it,” he gives not a word of praise to these early authors for their originality and spiritual self-restraint amongst a people that have always been “seeking after a sign.” In the next lecture, on the Dharma and the Gospel, which opens rather well, Dr. Scott strays sadly into pulpit rhetoric, for surely it is the emptiest rhetoric to make capital against the “ standard of Buddhism ” as being human and not divine. How could it be otherwise in a non-theistic system? So too, further on (p. 246), it would seem to Buddhist opponents very unconvincing, if not positively impudent, to hear their master’s theory of life denounced as a “wild attempt ” because no ‘‘ divine control” entered into it. Buddhism, too, is charged with failing, because ignoring a god, to ‘‘make its adherents moral,” and this leads on to a repetition of the old calumnies on Buddhist monks, noticed not long ago in these pages (Athen., No. 3231, p. 417) ; but the “‘seamy side” of Christianity is left to another chapter, while even there one of the contrasts most damaging to Western religion— that suggested by the Inquisition, absolutely without the faintest parallel in the Buddhistic East-—is relegated to a foot-note, The remarks on the status of woman with no reference to St. Paul’s views seem hardly happier. Dr. Scott is clearly no Oriental scholar. Yet one would have thought that if he has picked up enough Pali to use Childers’s ‘ Dictionary,’ which he praises in his preface, he might have put his transcription of Pali and Sanskrit words on some uniform plan. We should then have been saved inconsistencies like Dhammakakka beside Cakka- vatti, Pragdpati, and Mandjus-ri (so divided). There are blunders, too, often repeated, such as Bikkhu, parinibbana, and the truly marvellous form Teviggi. There is much in the book that is well put, and the author has advanced con- siderably beyond most non-Orientalist writers on Buddhism in his judicious distinction between the early and the later records of the religion. Yet the expectations of judicial argumentative treatment with which one is led to commence the perusal are often sadly dispelled, not only by the mistaken declamation noted above, but also by the equally false rhetoric of many ill- framed antitheses. Some papers which appeared lately in Punch under the heading of Voces Populi attracted a good deal of notice. They have now been pub- lished in book form by Messrs. Longman & Co. as the work of the author of ‘Vice Versi’ With the help of Mr. Bernard Partridge’s illustrations the papers make up into a nice- looking little volume, and such of them as one happens to have missed or forgotten may be read pleasantly enough. It is a pity Mr. Anstey’s humour cannot be lighter and less serious. In ‘ Vice Versi’ the absurdity of the groundwork of the story made its most harrowing incidents thoroughly laughable ; the dash of the supernatural in ‘ The Tinted Venus’ had the same effect. In ‘Voces Populi’ (which for the most part consists of stories in miniature) there is an absence of merriment, and at times the humour is too cruel. Possibly, however, the author did not always mean to be amusing, or perhaps here and there the fun of the thing is supposed to lie in its not being comic. Some such theory would help to explain a good deal of what one sees in comic papers. Ir Mr. G. R. Sims could tell a story as cleverly as he can invent one, he would be a first-rate story-teller, but as it is he appears to waste his talent. His most recent volume—Dramas of Life (Chatto & Windus)—contains sixteen stories, hardly one of which is not ingenious. The style has a certain briskness, and the author’s genuine sympathy with wretched humanity will often touch the reader’s heart, but on the whole the stories can please only a very indulgent or a very uncultivated taste. Some really pretty new editions are on our table, among them an “ Aldine” edition of the Rejected Addresses (Pickering & Chatto), with an introduction by Mr. Percy Fitzgerald,—and a new issue of Our Old Home, by Hawthorne (Chatto & Windus), illustrated with well-chosen photo- gravures.—Many people will be glad to have the tasteful reprint Messrs. Bell & Sons have issued of Mr. Long’s excellent translation of The Thoughts of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, although they may not discern the likeness of the emperor to Sir Stafford North- cote which Mr. Andrew Lang has detected. The same firm have sent us an extremely cheap reprint of the late Mr. Ashe’s edition of The Poetical Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.— Messrs. Macmillan have brought out a delight- ful edition of Miss Rossetti’s Poems in one volume, a treat to all lovers of poetry. Another welcome publication is a new edition of the Poetical Works of Matthew Arnold, This volume, in beautifully clear type, is indeed a boon to the general public, and has already, we under- stand, met with a surprisingly large sale. We only regret that the famous prefaces are not included in the reprint, We have on our table Father Mathev:: his Life and Times, by F. J. Mathew (Cassell),— Count Kinigsmark and ‘‘ Tom of Ten Thousand,” by H. Vizetelly (Vizetelly & Co.),—Valentine Riant, by W. J. Amherst (Burns & Oates), — Dove Cottage, Wordsworth’s Home from 1800-1808, by S. A. Brooke (Macmillan), — Illustrated Europe: To and through Hun- gary, Part 1X., by Dr. A. Sternberg and others (Zurich, O. Fiissli),—Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France, edited, with In- troduction and Notes, by F. G. Selby (Mac- millan),—A Handbook for Shorthand Teachers (Pitman),—Pitt Press Series: Livy, Book V., edited by L. Whibley (Cambridge, University Press), — Memorabilia Latina, by F. W. Levander (H. K. Lewis),—Second Greek Exer- cise Book, by the Rev. W. A. Heard (Macmillan), —The Child's Primer of the Theory of Music, by C. A. Webster (Simpkin),— The Great Artists: Corot, Daubigny, Dupré, by J. W. Mollett (Low), —Untrodden Ground in Astronomy and Geology, by Major-General A. W. Drayson (Kegan Paul), —The Ethical Problem, by Dr. P. Carus(Chicago, U.S., the Open Court Publishing Co.), — Blessed be Drudgery, by W. C. Gannett (Glas- gow, Bryce),—The Newspaper World, by A. Baker (Pitman), —‘‘ The Trotter,” by B. Fforde (Low),—Problems of Life, by A. Winter (Hodges), —Viera, by R. I. Zubof (New York, the Ame- rican News Company),—The Gentleman who Vanished, by Fergus Hume (White & Co.),— The Garden of Psyche, by B. G. Ambler (Stock), —Prometheus, a Drama, by J. Allan (Stott), —Creation’s Hope, by M. S. C. Rickards (Clifton, Baker),—The Builders of the Church in Northum- bria, by M. H. Hall (Masters & Co.),—Leaders in the Northern Church, Sermons, by the late Joseph B. Lightfoot, D.D. (Macmillan),—The Expository Times, edited by the Rev. J. Hast- ings, Vol. I, (Edinburgh, T. & T, Clark),—Pawl Rochebert, by OC, Edmond (Paris, Lévy),—and Zur Geschichte der Hieroglyphenschrift, trans- lated from the Dutch of Dr. W. Pleyte by Carl Abel (Leipzig, Friedrich). Among New Editions we have Harriet Monsell, by the Rev. T. T. Carter (Masters),—Fort Ancient, Ohio, by W. K. Moorehead (Cincinnati, Clark & Co.),—Madeira and the Canary Islands, by A. S. Brown (Low), —Pericles and Aspasia, by W. S. Landor (Scott), —Massotherapeutics, or Massage as a Mode of Treatment, by W. Murrell, M.D. (H. K. Lewis), —A Text-Book of Physiology, by M. Foster, M.D., Part III. (Macmillan),—The Art of Book- binding, by J. W. Zaehnsdorf (Bell),—Elemen- tary Text-Book of Trigonometry, by R. H. Pinkerton (Blackie & Son),—and Paul and Virginia, by Bernardin de St. Pierre (Routledge). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology. Alexander’s (Major G. G.) Confucius, the Great Teacher, 6, Barry’s (Rt. Rev. A.) Lectures on Christianity and Socialism, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl, Bikelas’s (D.) Seven Essays on Christian Greece, 8vo. 7/6 ol. Hatch’s (The late E._) Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages upon the Christian Church, 8vo. 10/6 cl. Pulpit Commentary: Romans, by Rev. J. Barmby, Rev. Prof. J. R. Thomson, and others, roy. 8vo. 15/ ol. Bteere’s (Late Rt. Rev. E.) Notes of Sermons on the Psalms, edited by Rev. R. M. Heanley, Vol. 3, 7/6 cl. Law. Pocock’s (W. A.) Outlines of the Compensation Law, 3/ cl. Fine Art. Beaumont’s (R.) Colour in Woven Design, cr. 8vo. 21/ cl. Wood's (Late J. T.) Modern Discoveries of the Site of Ancient Ephesus, cr. 8vo, 2/6 cl. Poetry and the Drama. Drysdale’s (A, H.) Early Bible Songs, cr. 8vo, 2/6 cl. Earle’s (M.) Cosmo Venucci, Singer, and other Poems, 3/4 Euripides’s Ion, with a Translation into English Verse by A. W. Verrall, 8vo. 7/6 cl. Leather’s (R. K.) Verses, 12mo. 3/6 cl. Wheatley’s (J. A.) Dramatic Sketches, Six Plays, cr, 8vo. 6/ History and Biography, Dobson’s (A.) Four Frenchwomen, 12mo. 2/6 cl, Dumas’s (A.) Memoirs, selected and translated by H. F. Davidson, 2 vols. cr. 8vo, 12/ cl. Hamley’s (Gen. Sir E.) War in Crimea, or. 8vo. 5/ cl. Hazlitt’s (W.) Life of Napoleon Buonaparte, 3 vols. 15/ cl. Karr’s (W. 8. 8.) Marquess Cornwallis, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. (Rulers of India.) Mahaffy’s (J. P.) Greek World under Roman Sway, 10/6 cl. Nelson’s Words and Deeds, a Selection from Dispatches and Correspondence of Horatio Nelson, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Political and Social Letters of a Lady of Eighteenth Cen- tury, 1791-1771, edited by E. F. D. Osborn, 8vo. 21/ bds. Taylor’s (L,) Fritz of Prussia, Germany’s Second Emperor, cr. &vo, 4/ cl. Geography and Travel. Messiter’s (C. A.) Sport and Adventures among the North American Indians, 8vo. 12/6 cl, Skinner's (The late Major T.) Fifty Years in Ceylon, 15/ cl. Troup’s (J. R.) With Stanley’s Rear Column, 8vo, 16/ cl. Philology. Blass’s (Dr.) Pronunciation of Ancient Greek, translated by W. J. Purton, 8vo. 6/ cl. Scotti’s (Dr. C.) Italian Prose Reader, 32mo. 2/ cl. Sophocles’s Plays and Fragments, with Critical Notes by R. C. Jebb, Part 4, 8vo. 12/6 cl, Science. Calleja’s (C.) General Physiology, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Clarke’s (Major G. 8.) Fortification, 8vo. 21/ cl. Complete Answers to the Hull Arithmetic, 12mo. 2/ cl. Field’s (H. C.) Ferns of New Zealand and its Immediate De- penoencies, 4to. 21/ cl. Lewes’s (V. B.) Inorganic Chemistry, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Miall’s (L. C.) Object Lessons from Nature, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Stewart's (R. W.) Text-Books of Heat and Light, 3/6 each, cl, Generai Literature. Armstrong’s (F. C.) Sisters of Phaeton, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Aunt Hannah and Martha and John, by Pansy and Mrs, C. M. Livingstone, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Barker’s (Lady) Letters to my Girl Friends, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Bennett’s (F.) Many Stories of Jack and Jill, feap. 4to. 2/6 Besant’s (W.) Armorel of Lyonesse, 3 vols. cr. 8vo. 31/6 cl. Blackmore’s (R. D.) Kit and Kitty, a Story of West Middle- sex, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Cauvain’s (H.) Original Story of a Village Priest, cr. 8vo. 2/ Chambers’s Encyclopedia, Vol. 6, roy. 8vo. 10/ cl. Clarke’s (8. M. 8.) The Duke’s Page, or in the Days of Luther, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Clegg’s (C. E.) Elements of Elocution, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Corbett’s (Mrs. G.) Secrets of a Private Enquiry Office, 2/ Cox’s(P.) Another Brownie Book, 4to. 6/cl. Cross (A.) and Atkiuson’s (B.) Rosalinda, and other Fairy Tales, 8vo. 3/ bds. Curtois’s (M. A.) Jenny, a Village Idyl, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. De Quincey’s (T.) Writings, Vol, 13, 12mo. 3/6 cl. Doudney’s (S.) The Love Dream of Gatty Fenning, 2/6 cl. Eaton’s (Surgeon-Major R, C.) A Guide to Health for Use of Soldiers, cr 8vo. 2/ cl. limp. Fenn’s (G. M.) A Double Knot, 3 vols. cr. 8vo, 31/6 cl. Fenn’s (G. M.) Mass’ George, or a Boy’s Adveutures in Old Savannah, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Fenn’s (G. M.) Nolens Volens, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Freeman’s (R. M.) Heir of Langridge Towers, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl, Gerard’s (E.) Bis, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Gibbon’s (E.) A Strange Wooing, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Goodchild’s (J. A.) My Friends at Sant’ Ampelio, 7/6 Gordon’s (J.) A Diplomat’s Diary, or. 8vo, 3) b bds,
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N° 3289, Nov. 8, 90 THE ATHENEZUM 627 Guers’s (Canon F.) How the French Soldiers fared in Ger- man Prisons, 8vo, 7/6 cl. Hazlitt’s (W.) Works, 6 vols. cr. 8vo. 30/ cl. Hoffman’s (Prof.) Magic at Home, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Jefferies’s (R.) Bevis, the Story of a Boy, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Jefferies’s (R.) Gamekeeper at Home, illustrated, cheap edition, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Jefferies’s (R.) Hodge and his Masters, cheap edition, 7/6 cl. Johnson's (H.) Ness and Jamie, cr. 8vo. 2/ cl. Kroeker's (K. F.) Gottfried Keller, a Selection of his Tales, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Macaulay’s (Lord) Reviews, Essays, and Poems, 8vo. 3/6 cl. Martin’s (A.) Home Life on an Ostrich Farm, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Meade’s (L. T.) Just a Love Story, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Meade’s(L T.) The Honourable Miss, 2 vols. cr. 8vo. 21/ cl. Miss Dee Dunmore Bryant, by Pansy, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Nisbet’s (H.) Bail Up, a Romance of Bushrangers and Blacks, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Norris’s (W. E.) Miss Shafto, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Rand’s (Rev. E. A.) Too Late for the Tide-Mill, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Reid ye Pe and others’ Stories of Strange Adventures, er. 8vo. 5/ cl. Russell’s (W. C,) Master Rockafellar’s Voyage, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Smalley’s Nag London Letters and Some Others, 2 vols. vo. 32/ cl. Stables’s 1G.) By Sea and Land, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Stuart’s (J. M.) How No. 1 became *' 13” in Norway, 5/ cl. Ward’s (E.) Fresh from the Fens, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Webb's (Mrs.) Pomponia, or the Gospel in Czsar’s House- hold, cr. 8vo, 2/6 cl. gilt edges, Whitney’s (Mrs, A. D. J.) Ascutney Street, a Neighbourhood Story, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Winder’s (F. H.) Fair Castaway, a Romance of War and Storm, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Young’s (A.) Sociology Diagrammatically Systematized, 7/6 FOREIGN, Theology, Langen (J.): Die Klemensromane, 3m. 60. Noeldechen (E ): Tertullian, 9m, Trede (T.): Das Heidenthum in der Rémischen Kirche, 6m. Fine Art and Archeology. Schumacher (K.): Beschreibung der Grossherzog]. Samm- lung Antiker Bronzen in Karlsruhe, 8m. History and Btography, Bertrand (J.): Blaise Pascal, 7fr. 50. Camp (M. du): Théophile Gautier, 2fr. Denis (E.): Fin de l'Indépendance de la Bohéme, 2 vols. 15fr. Taine (H.): Les Origines de la France Contemporaine: Le Régime Moderne, Vol. 1, 7fr. 50. Weiss (J. J.): Essai sur l’Histoire de la Littérature Fran- gaise, 3fr. 50. Bibliography. Gottlieb (T.): Mittelalterliche Bibliotheken, 14m, Philology. —— (K. E.): Lexikon der Lateinischen Wortformen, art 5, 3m. Thucydidis Historiarum Libri 6-8, rec. C. Hude, 5m. Science. Cate (H.): Monographie der Baltischen Bernsteinbiume, m Crermak (P.): Reductionstabellen zur Gauss-Poggendorff’- schen Spiegelablesung, 12m, Meyer (L.): Grundziige der Theoretischen Chemie, 4m. Meyer (P. J.): Lehrbuch der Organischen Chemie, Vol. 1, Part 1, 7m. 50. General Literature, Alexis (P.): Madame Meuriot, 3fr. 50. Bourget (P.): Physiologie de l’Amour Moderne, 2fr. 50. Dahn (F.): Kleine Romane aus der Vélkerwanderung, Vol. 7, 9m. Richepin (J.): Truandailles, 3fr. 50. Wiele (M. Van de): Insurgée, 3fr. 50. A COUNTER REPLY. I MAINTAIN that the paragraph which appeared in your issue of the 4th of October was abso- lutely true when it stated that Messrs. Harpers picked out of the magazines some six of my stories and produced them in book form without asking my permission, and without giving me a chance of revising them, and that they then tried to give me a ten-pound note as compensa- tion for their action. In their letter to the Atheneum of the 1st of November Messrs. Harper & Brothers write of my stories that “all of them save one, ‘The In- carnation of Krishna Mulvaney,’ had been pre- viously published in Harper’s Weekly. They were offered to us by Mr. Kipling or his business agent, and we paid for them in each case the price asked.” This would lead any one not acquainted with the customs of the craft to suppose that Messrs. Harper & Brothers had purchased the book as well as the serial rights of the stories. This they did not do. On the 11th of January last my agent, Mr. A. P. Watt, offered them through their London agent by word of mouth one tale entitled ‘ The Courting of Dinah Shadd,’ distinctly stating that he was only selling them the serial rights. In due course Messrs. Harper & Brothers for- warded a cheque for the price asked. If the firm refer to Mr. Watt’s letter to them, under date May 12th, they will there find that he thanked them for such and such a sum, “ being the amount due for the American -serial use of ‘The Courting of Dinah Shadd.’” On the 14th of March last another tale, called ‘The Man who Was,’ was offered in the same way under the same restrictions. Messrs. Harper & Brothers’ cheque followed as before, and in Mr. Watt's letter of May 5th they will again find that he thanked them for such and such a sum as payment ‘for the serial use of Mr. Rudyard Kipling’s ‘The Man who Was’ in America.” The other three stories were offered by Mr. Watt by letter, and in each letter it is distinctly stated by him that he is only offering the serial use in America. The receipts recapitulate this restriction. Should Messrs. Harper & Brothers care to reread their ‘Reply’ in the light of these letters and receipts, I would inform them that the dates of the letters offering the stories are April 25th, May 17th, and August Ist. The dates of tne receipts are June 10th, June 20th, and September 23rd. Refer- ence to that file alone would amply prove that Messrs. Harper & Brothers bought, and knew that they were buying, nothing more than serial rights in five of my stories. I hold, however, further proof. In a letter addressed to me under date August 27th they advise me of the production in book form of my stories—all carefully enumerated. They do not think it necessary to let me know what title they have given to the thing, but of five of the dragged -together stories they admit that they ‘‘were published in Harper’s Weekly from advance sheets furnished by Mr. A. P. Watt, to whom we made payment for such use, as agreed.” To return to Messrs. Harper & Brothers’ ‘ Reply ’ in last week’s Atheneum. They inform you that ‘‘the additional payment of 10/. was tendered in acknowledgment for the story ‘ The Incarnation of Krishna Mulvaney.’” In their letter to me of August 27th Messrs. Harper & Brothers write as follows : ‘‘ We have instructed our London agent, Mr. James R. Osgood, to pay you 101. in acknowledgment of our reprinting the stories in the § Franklin Square Library.’” There was only one ten-pound note mixed up with this sordid little farce, and that was the ten-pound note that it was not in my power to accept from Mr. James R. Osgood, London agent of Harper & Brothers. Am I or am I not right in reaffirming that Messrs. Harper & Brothers appropriated my tales without asking my permission, had not the courtesy to allow me to revise proofs before jam- ming those tales into a job-work volume, and sent me a ten-pound note asa notification of out- rage perpetrated ? Since Messrs. Harper & Brothers are so anxious to make clear to the English public that they possess a canon of commercial morality, it is hardly necessary to make clear both to public and pirate that the purchase of advance sheets of five stories does not confer the right of hastily hawking those five stories (and one other thrown in to make bulk) up and down the States in the shape of an unedited, unrevised, unfinished, disorderly abortion of botch-work. The real trouble, of course, is not with this or that particular picaroon across the water. The high seas of literature are unprotected, and those who traffic on them must run their chance of being plundered. If Messrs. Harper & Brothers had not taken my stories, some other long or short firm would have done so. Only, a pretentiously moral pirate is rather more irri- tating than the genuine Paul Jones. The latter, at least, does not waste your time and ink. Rupyarp Kip1ina. DR. A. J. ELLIS. Tue death of Dr. Ellis will be greatly deplored by all who knew him, A student of singular industry and fidelity, a man of genuine sim- plicity of character, whom to know was to like, e toiled not for fortune or for fame, but from unselfish devotion to knowledge. To the small band who in this country cultivate the study of phonetics his loss will be a subject of deep regret, but his example will ever remain as a stimulus to fresh endeavour. There are not many men in this country who after a distinguished university career would de- liberately quit all the roads that lead to worldly success and give their lives to subjects so little regarded by the majority even of educated people as the mathematics of music and the investigation of phonetics. Phonetics to most persons in this country have no meaning outside of shorthand, and to the average English mind there is something ludicrous in investigating pro- nunciation. But these matters appeared to Mr Ellis adequate employment for an intellect of un- usual power and subtlety. Of the range of his acquirements it would be difficult to speak in terms of exaggeration. No German of our time could at all rival him in this respect. Indeed, few men here or abroad have possessed his width of knowledge or his powers of application. A list of his various writings and papers in the trans- actions of the learned societies would fill a column of this journal. One great cause of congratulation is that he lived to complete his epoch-making work on the ‘ History of Early English Pronunciation,’ and it is pleasant to remember that his university at last awoke to a sense of his singular merits, and conferred on him an honorary degree last summer. Dr. Ellis had long been in declining health, so that his demise can excite no surprise. He has left two sons (one of them the well-known etcher _ Tristram Ellis) and a daughter to mourn his O88. THE NEXT ORIENTAL CONGRESS. Woking, Nov. 2, 1890. Dr. Cust, in his letter dated last Sunday, which purports to be a reply to my letter dated 11th ult., omits to answer the following points : 1. That he alike opposed and advocated the Christiania Committee in connexion with a meet- ing of the Royal Asiatic Society. 2. That he welcomed alike the Oxford invita- tion to Count Landberg by his friend Prof. M. Miiller and the London movement directed against their scheme of an Institute to control all future Congresses. 3. That the letters which he alleges to have received from Berlin and Leyden, begging him to intervene, be submitted to the London Organiz- ing Committee, and to the body of the signa- tories of the protest against the Christiania Com- mittee, the above Institute scheme, and other encroachments on the constitution of the Inter- national Congresses of Orientalists as founded in Paris in September, 1873. In addition to the above omissions, Dr. Cust makes inter alia the following misstatements :— (a) That I want to be the Organizing Secretary or President of the Congress, whereas I had dis- tinctly stated in my letter that ‘‘ when the Con- gress assembles in September, 1891, it will choose its own office-holders,” and whereas, as regards the preliminary Organizing Committee in London, I had succeeded in obtaining the ser- vices of two British Presidents, Sir Henry Raw- linson and Sir M. E. Grant-Duff, and on their resignation, caused by the action of the seceders whom Dr. Cust befriends, had the honour of proposing to the Committee and to the signa- tories the names of the present British President and of five British Vice-Presidents who have accepted office. (6) Whilst I object to Prof. Max Miiller, because he is identified with the above-mentioned Institute scheme, I am charged with foreign preferences, whereas it is the party favoured by Dr. Custthathas elected Prof. Miiller, a foreigner in Dr. Cust’s estimation. (c) That I am acting under the “orders of Prof. Oppert of Paris, M. Textor de Ravisi, and a French syndicate of a mysterious and totally
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628 THE ATHENZAUM N° 3289, Nov. 8, 90 unrecognized character.” This is not the case. When the Congress at Christiania failed to fix the place and date of the next Congress, the right to do so, as Dr. Cust admitted in his first letter, reverted to the French founders, whom in his second letter he calls a mysterious syndicate and ‘fa caucus at Paris,” The French, acting upon that right, then appointed an Organizing Committee in London and a National Committee for France, both being alike responsible to the founders for the maintenance of the statutes laid down in 1873, and to the signatories of the pro- test against the Christiania encroachments for the due fulfilment of the conditions and pledges on which their signatures were obtained. (d) Dr. Cust considers that the London Organizing Committee has been ‘‘ constructed on a radically wrong basis” because I protest against the election of a President of the Con- gress by some of the seceders from that Com- mittee ! The fact is that the London Organizing Committee, much less seceders from it, have no right to elect the President of the Congress, and when they were obliged to propose a Pre- sident of their own Committee they referred his election to the founders and to the signatories generally, and merely ratified their choice at the international meeting of signatories of the 6th ult., which was largely attended by British members, as also by Prof. Oppert and other distinguished foreign representatives. As regards my qualifications to act in the reluctantly accepted office of Organizing Secre- tary to prepare for the Congress, they are denied by Dr. Cust, but have been recognized by the founders who appointed me and by 350 signa- tories in twenty-five countries, among whom are over 90 Englishmen, including the seceders. As for my “‘antecedents” and ‘social posi- tion,” I entered the British service thirty-five years ago as First-Class Interpreter with the rank of a full colonel in the British army; was Professor of Arabic with Muhammadan Law at King’s College, London, of which I am a Fellow, and where I founded the Oriental Section. I then became Principal of the Government Col- lege and of the Oriental College at Lahore, and officiated as Director of Public Instruction of the Panjab for a short time. I have founded numerous educational and other institutions, including the Panjab University, and was sent on a Government mission, when I discovered the languages and races of Dardistan, a country which I was instrumental in opening to British influence. I originated and carried into popular acceptance Her Majest;'s title of ‘‘ Kaisar-i- Hind,” and was, ‘‘ by reason of eminent position and attainments,” created the first Doctor of Oriental Learning by the Panjab University, an honour only shared with Lord Dufferin and one or two others. I am a barrister-at-law, and I hold the, probably, highest degree in law obtainable in Europe, that of Heidelberg, honoris causa, in “international and Oriental laws.” I have been president of several learned societies, and last year was a Vice-President of the International Congress of the Ethnographical Sciences held at Paris. I officially represented India at the Florence Oriental Congress; and I have been on special duty with the Education Commission and the Foreign Department of the Government of India, for which I have just finished the first part of an important work, &c. There is no need to extend this list. Even as it stands it will suffice to teach Dr. Oust the meaning of the term “‘chauvinist,” of which Dr. Cust declares himself to be ignorant. A * chauvinist ”’ is he who, in a man of my ante- cedents, looks to his foreign birth in prefer- ence to his British life and services. An Englishman by choice, not chance, I have to remember that the forthcoming Congress of Orientalists is one of an international series, the founders of which I respect as founders, and not merely as members of any particular nationality. G. LEITNER. THE ‘ DICTIONARY OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY.’ TuHE following is the fourth part of a list of the names which it is intended to insert under the letter L (Section IL.) in the ‘ Dictionary of National Biography.’ When one date is given it is the date of death, unless otherwise stated. An asterisk is affixed to a.date when it is only approximate. The editors of the ‘ Dictionary’ will be obliged by any notice of omissions ad- dressed to them at Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co.’s, 15, Waterloo Place, S.W. They particularly request that when new names are suggested, an indication may be given of the source from which they are derived. Léwenthal, John Jacob, chess-player, 1810-76 — Anthony, M.A., FSA, ‘English Surnames,’ 76 Lower, Richard, M.D., physician, 1631*-91 Lower, Richard, Sussex poet, 1782-1865 Lower, Thomas, M.D., Quaker, 1633-1720 Lower, Sir William, dramatist, 1662 Lowick, Major Robert, conspirator, ex. 1696 Lowin, John, actor, 1576-1659 Lowman, Moses, Dissenting minister, 1680-1752 a Thomas, founder of professorship at Cambridge, ‘ Lowndes, William, M.P., Secretary to the Treasury, 1724 Lowndes, William Thomas, ‘ Bibliographer’s Manual,’ 1843 Lowrie, alias Weir, of Blackwood, ex. 1683 Lowry, John, mathematician, 1769-1850 Lowry, Joseph Wilson, engraver and geologist, 1803-79 Lowry, Wilson, F.R.S., engraver and inventor, 1761-1824 Lowth, Robert, D.D., Bishop of London, 1710-87 Lowth, Simon, D.D., Nonjuring divine, 1640*-1720 Lowth, William, B.D., divine, 1661-1732 Lowther, James, Earl of Lonsdale, 1802 Lowther, Juhn, 1st Viscount Lonsdale, 1656-1700 Lowther, Sir John, Bart., M.P., Commissioner of the ewan O 1706 Lowther, Sir Richard, Sheriff of Cumberland, 1607 Lowther, William, Earl of Lonsdale, K.G., 1757-1844 Lowther, William, Earl of Lonsdale, 1787-1872 Loyd, Samuel Jones, Lord Overstone, 1796-1883 Luard, Jobn Dalbiac, painter, 1830-60 Lubbenham, William, Carmelite, 1361 Lubbock, Sir John William, Bart., F.R.S., astronomer and physicist, 1803-65 Se ae, D.D., mathematician and astronomer, 1798- 70 Lucan, Margaret Bingham, Countess of, 1748-1814, See Bingham. Lucan, Patrick Sarsfield, Earl of, 1693. See Sarsfield. Lucas, ——, African explorer, author, b. 1750* Lucas, Anthony, Jesuit, 1633-93 Lucas, Sir Charles, Governor of Colchester, ex. 1648 Lucas, Charles, M.D., Irish patriot, 1713-71 Lucas, Charles, musical composer, 1808-69 Lucas, ace M.P., Catholic politician and journalist, 1812-55 Lucas, Henry, M.P., founder of the Lucasian Professorship, 1663 Lucas, Henry, M.A., poet and dramatist, fl. 1795 Lucas, Horatio Joseph, artist, 1839-73 Lucas, James, surgeon of Leeds, 1742-1814 Lucas, John, portrait painter, 1807-74 Lucas, John Templeton, artist, 1836-80 Lucas, Louis A., African explorer, 1851-76 Lucas, Mrs. Margaret, sister of John Bright, 1890 Lucas, Richard, D.D., divine, 1648-96* Lucas, Richard, D.D., Prebendary of Westminster, 1648-1715 Lucas, Richard Cockle, sculptor, 1883 Lucas, Robert, D.D., divine and poet, 1747-1812 Lucas, Samuel, M.A., journalist and author, 1818-68 Lucius, St., king of the Britons, 161 or 179 Lucy, C., portrait painter, b. 1692 Lucy, Charles, history painter, 1814-73 Lucy, Godfrey de, Bishop of Winchester, 1204 Lucy or Lucie, Richard de, Justice of England, 1179 Lucy, Sir Thomas, M.P., of Charlecote, Warwickshire, 1600 Lucy, William, D.D., Bishop of St. David’s, 1595-1677 Luders, Alexander, legal writer, fl. 1813 Ludford, John Newdegate, D.C.L., antiquary, 1822 Ludham, John, divine, 1612 Ludlam, Henry, mineralogist, 1880 Ludlam, Isaac, Luddite, ex. 1817 Ludlam, Thomas, essayist, 1811 Ludlam, Rev. William, mathematician, 1717-88 Ludlow, Edmund, republican general, 1620*-93 Ludlow, George James, 3rd Earl Ludlow, 1759-1842 Lugid, St., Abbot of Clonfert, 599 Luke, Rev. wee Sercombe, miscellaneous writer, 1785-1835 Luke, Sir Samuel, Parliamentary commander, 1670 Lukin, Henry, Nonconformist divine, 1627-1719 Lukin, Lionel, inventor of the lifeboat, 1834 Lumisden, Andrew, F.R.S., Jacobite, 1720-1801 Lumley, Benjamin, director of Her Majesty's Theatre, 1811-75 Lumley, George de, Lord Lumley, 1508 Lumley, Henry, Governor of Jersey, 1660-1722 Lumley, Joanna. Lady Lumley, 1620* Lumley, John de, Lord Lumley, 1544 Lumley, John, Lord Lumley, 1534-1609 Lumley, Marmaduke, Bishop of Lincoln, 1450 Lumley, Richard, lst Viscount Lumley of Waterford, fl. 1660 Lumley, Richard, 1st Viscount Lumley and Earl of Scar- borough, 1721 lane, Se William, K.C.B., military commander, 1769, ‘ 4 Lumsden, Matthew, LL.D., Orientalist, 1778-1835 Lundgren, Egron, the artist of the Indian Mutiny, 1816-75 Lundie, John, poet, 1657* Lundin, Sir Alan, Earl of Athol, Justiciar of Scotland, 1275 Lundy, Lieut.-Col. Robert, Governor of Derry, fi, 1689 Lunn, Joseph, dramatist, 1784-1863 Lunsford, Sir Thomas, Bart., Royalist, 1691 Luny, Thomas, marine painter, 1756-1837 Lupo, Thomas, violinist and composer, fi, 1641 Lupset, Thomas, M.A., Prebendary of Salisbury, 1498*-1532 Lupton, Donald, miscellaneous writer, 1676 Lupton, Thomas, ‘ Notable Things,’ fi. 1600 Lupton, Thomas Goff, engraver, 1791-1873 Lupton, William, D.D., divine, 1726 Lupus, yo Earl of Chester, 1101. See Hugh of Avranches. Luscombe, Michael Henry Thornhill, LL.D., bishop, 1846 Lush, Right Hon. Sir Robert, Lord Justice of Appeal, 1807-81 Lushington, Stephen, D.C.L., civilian, 1782-1873 Lushington, Sir Stephen, admiral, 1803-77 ee Stephen Rumbold, D.C.L., ‘ Life of Lord Harris,’ 774-1868 Lushington, Thomas, divine, 1590-1661 Lutterel, Henry, engraver and painter, 1650*-1710* Lutterell, John, D.D., philosopher and divine, fl, 1322 _ Lutton, Edward, Catholic divine, 1713 Luttrell, Henry, colonel, 1655*-1717 Luttrell, Henry, ‘ Memoirs of T. Moore,’ 1765-1851 Luttrell, Henry Lawes, politician, fl. 1790 Luttrell, James, captain R.N., 1789 Luttrell, Narcissus, M.A., ‘ Relation of State Affairs,’ 1657- 1740 Luttrell, Simon, colonel, 1654*-98 Lutwyche, Sir Edward, judge, 1709 Lutwyche, Thomas, M.P., lawyer, 1735 Luxborough, Henrietta Knight, Lady, 1756. See Knight. Luxmore, John, Bishop of St. Asaph, 1758-1830 Lyall, Rev. Alfred, traveller and es 1795-1865 Lyall, George, M.P., merchant and shipowner, 1853 Lyall, Dr. Robert, ‘ Character of the Russians,’ 1831 Lyall, William Rowe, D.D., Dean of Canterbury, 1788-1857 re alias Joyner, William, Catholic writer, 1622-1706. See oyner. Lydgate, John, poet, 1375*-1461* Lydiat, Thomas, Royalist divine, 1572-1646 Lydiatt, Edward, author and inventor, 1814 Lye, Edward, M.A., F.S.A., philologist, 1704-67 Lye, Thomas, Puritan divine, 1621-84 Lyell, Charles, botanist, 1767-1849 Lyell, Sir Charles, geologist, 1797-1875 Lyford, William, B.D., Presbyterian divine, 1598-1653 Lyle, David, —- her, fl, 1762 Lyle, Robert, 2nd Lyle, 1430°-1500 , Lynam, Rev. Robert, editor of ‘ British Essayists,’ fl. 1827 Lynch, Dominic, D.D., Irish Catholic divine, 1697 Lynch, John, Catholic Bishop of Killala, 1. 1667 Lynch, John, poet, 1777-1810 Lynch, Richard, D.D., Irish Jesuit, 1676* : Lynch, Mrs. Theodora Elizabeth, poetical and prose writer, $5 DS] Lynch, Sir Thomas, Governor of Jamaica, temp. Car. II. Lynch, Rev. Thomas Toke, hymn-writer, 1871 Lynde, Sir Humphrey, M.P., Puritan, 1580*-1636 Lyndewode. See Lindewood. Lyndhurst, Lord. See Copley. Lynedoch, Lord. See Graham. Lynford, Thomas, D.D., controversialist, 1724 Lynn, George, astronomer, fl. 1736 Lynn, Samuel Ferrers, Irish sculptor, 1836-76 Lynn, Walter, printer and translator, fl. 1549 Lyon, Emma, 1788-1870. See Henry, Emma. Lyon, Col. Francis, scientific officer, 1834-85 Lyon, Capt. George Francis, R.N., traveller, 1795-1832 Lyon, Hart, Chief Rabbi, 1721-1800 Lyon, Janet, Lady Glamis, ex. 1537. See Douglas, Janet. Lyon, Jobn, 6th Glamis, 1510*-37 Lyon, John, fourder of Harrow School, fl. 1571 Lyon, John, 8th Lord Glamis, 1520*-78 Lyon, John, 7th Earl of Strathmore, 1737-76 Lyon, Rev. John, F.S.A., of Dover, fl. 1814 Lyon, Sir Patrick, of Carse, Lord of Session, fl. 1688 Lyon, Patrick, 1st Earl of Strathmore and 3rd Earl of King- horn, 1620*-90 Lyon, Thomas, Master of Glamis, 1600 Lyon, Thomas Eaton, actor, 1812-69 Lyon, William, Bishop of Cork, Cloyne, and Ross, 1617 Lyons, Edmund, Lord Lyons, 1790-1858 Lyons, Israel, Hebraist, 1770 Lyons, Israel, jun., mathematician, 1739-75 Lyons, Richard Bickerton Pemell, Viscount Lyons, 1817+87 Lyons, Robert Dyer, M.D., M.P., physician, 1826-86 Lyoun, John, Scottish poet, fl. 1622 Lysaght, Edward, M.A., Irish song-writer, 1763-1811* Lysarde, Nicholas, history painter, 1570 Lysons, Daniel, D.C.L., physician, 1800 Lysons, Daniel, F.S.A., ee mgs ort 1760-1834 Lysons, Samuel, topographer, 1763-1819 Lyte, Henry, botanist, 1529-1607 Lyte, Rev. Henry Francis, ‘ Spirit of the Psalms,’ 1793-1847 Lyte, Thomas, genealogist, 1638 Lyttelton. See Littleton. Lyttelton, Sir Charles, Bart., M.P., Governor of Jamaica, 1 29-1716 Lyttelton, Charles, D.C.L., Bishop of Carlisle, 1714-68 Lyttelton, Edward, Lord Lyttelton of Mounslow, 1589-1645. See Littleton. Lyttelton, George, 1st Lord Lyttelton, 1709-73 Lyttelton, George William, Lord Lyttelton, 1817-76 Lyttelton, John, M.P., conspirator, 1601 Lyttelton, Sir Thomas, Bart., M.P., Royalist, 1650 Lyttelton, Thomas, 2nd Lord Lyttelton, 1779 Lyttelton, William Henry, Lord Lyttelton, and 1st Lord Westcote, 1808 Lyttelton. William Henry, 5th Lord Lyttelton, 1782-1837 Lytton-Bulwer, Edward —— Earle, Lord Lytton, 1806-73 Lytton, Rosina Bulwer, Lady Lytton, novelist, 1794-1882 Lyveden, Robert Vernon Smith, Lord, 1800-73. See Smith. THACKERAY’S MARRIAGE. Kingstown, co. Dublin, Oct, 28, 1890, I am able to confirm Mr. Denny Urlin’s sur- mise as to the correct reading of Mrs. Thackeray’s maiden name. Her Christian names are Isabella Gethin Creagh, and she is a daughter of the late Col. Shawe, who was military secretary to the Marquis of Wellesley in India. Mrs. Thackeray is the sole survivor of a family of
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four—three sons, all of whom served in India, and one daughter. The Creaghs, from whom Mrs. Thackeray’s mother came, are 2 large and well-known family in Ireland, and there is still a large settlement of members of the family in Doneraile, co, Cork. Thackeray had no uncle in Ireland, but he had a cousin who was a rector in Dundalk, and whom he visited occasionally. L. E. Sreeze.
Literary Gossip. Tue poems of Dante G. Rossetti will shortly be published in a cheaper form than they have ever yet assumed. The volume, which may be on sale at or soon after Christ- mas, will contain the whole of the original poems, such as they appear in the ‘Col- lected Works,’ issued at the end of 1886, but not any of the translations, nor yet of the prose. As in the previous instance, Mr. W.-M. Rossetti will supervise the edition, and Messrs. Ellis & Elvey will be the pub- lishers. <A portrait of the author (not sup- plied in any existing form of his works) will be given. Mr. Maxwett Lyre has just returned from a visit to the Vatican archives, where he has been making arrangements for the preparation of a calendar of the entries in the medieval Papal Regesta relating to the affairs of Great Britain and Ireland, which will be edited by Mr. W. H. Bliss. Tue ‘Dictionary of Political Economy,’ which Mr. R. H. Inglis Palgrave, F.R.S., is editing, is now assuming a definite shape, and the first part is to be out in January. Among the contributors are Prof. Ashley, of Toronto; Mr. Allum, of the Mint; Prof. Bastable, of Dublin ; Dr. Bauer, of Vienna; Mr. Bateman, of the Board of Trade; Mr. Sydney Buxton, M.P.; the Rev. A. Calde- cott; Mr. A. K. Connell; Mr. Crump, of the Record Office ; M. A. Courtois fils ; the Rev. Dr. W. Cunningham; Major Craigie, of the Board of Agriculture; Judge Chalmers, of Birmingham; Dr. A. Daniell, Advo- cate; Prof. Dunbar, of Harvard; Prof. Dewey, of Boston, U.S.; Prof. F. Y. Edge- worth ; Mr. Elliott, of the Inland Revenue ; M. A. de Foville; Prof. Foxwell; Dr. Robert Giffen; Mr. Wynnard Hooper ; Mr. Higgs, of the Post Office; Mr. C. A. Harris, of the Colonial Office; Dr. J. K. Ingram; Mr. J. N. Keynes; the Rev. T. J. Lawrence; Prof. E. de Laveleye; Mr. R. Lodge ; Prof. F. W. Maitland ; Prof. J. E. C. Munro; Mr. F. C. Montague; Prof. J. 8. Nicholson; Mr. L. L. Price; Mr. R. E. Prothero; the Rev. L. R. Phelps; Signor Pantaleoni; Mr. D.G. Ritchie; Prof. Roberts- Austen, F.R.S.; Prof. H. Sidgwick; Prof. Smith, of Columbia University, New York ; Prof. Taussig, of Harvard; Mr. Tedder; Mr. Sidney Webb, of the Colonial Office ; and the Rev. P. H. Wicksteed. Tue object of the ‘ Dictionary’ is to give a statement of the position of political eco- nomy at the present time, together with such references to history, law, and commerce as may be of use. Articles on the main sub- jects usually dealt with in the works of economic writers will be found in it. Short notices of deceased economists, and of their chief contributions to economic literature, are also included. A list of works of lead- ing living writers will be given at the end
of the work. Bibliographical notes will likewise be added to the more important articles, with the titles and dates of publica- tion of the principal books referred to. Mrs. Macavorp is now correcting the proofs of a novel called ‘ At an Old Chateau.’ The scene of the story is laid in Brittany. It will shortly be published by Messrs. Ward & Downey. Mr. Horatio F. Browy, author of ‘The Venetian Printing Press,’ is making good progress with the first part of his Calendar of State Papers relating to Eng- lish affairs preserved in the Venetian archives, entrusted to him by the Publie Record Office on the termination of Mr. Cavendish Ben- tinck’s labour of love in completing the work in the same archives left unfinished by his friend Mr. Rawdon Brown. Amonest the literary treasures destroyed by the fire at Sir George Dasent’s ill-fated house at Tower Hill was an extensive col- lection of Berkshire topographical literature, formed principally by Mr. Arthur Dasent, embracing local works of extreme rarity, heraldic and _ genealogical manuscripts, maps, and prints, many of them unique, illustrating the history of the entire county, and the Windsor Forest district (including Winktield and Ascot) in particular. The greater portion of Mr. Dasent’s notes on the ancient ecclesiastical plate of the county, an exhaustive inventory of which he has lately been engaged in compiling for the Berks Archeological Society, were also lost, many beautiful drawings of the older sacramental vessels, contributed by fellow workers in this field of antiquarian research, perishing in the flames. Mr. Joun R. Dasenr has completed at press the second volume of his edition of the ‘Acts of the Privy Council of England,’ which will illustrate in a novel manner some of the most important events in the reign of Edward VI., such as the proceedings against Bishops Bonner, Gardiner, and Heath ; the destruction of monastic buildings; the dis- tribution of church plate and lands; and the attainder and execution of Lord Seymour of Sudeley. Mr. Dasenthas prefaced his volume with a summary of the chief matters, his- torical, biographical, and topographical, elucidated by the entries in the Privy Council Register which form the text of the work. Mr. A. H. Butten is bringing to an end his notable series of lyrical anthologies with an edition of Davison’s ‘ Poetical Rhapsody.’ It will be issued in two volumes, uniform with Mr. Bullen’s well-known ‘ Lyrics from Elizabethan Song-Books’ and ‘ England’s Helicon.’ Dr. Burter has been too busily engaged to complete his part of the Harrow article which was announced to appear in the English Illustrated Magazine of this year. The article is now fixed to come out in the February number of 1891. The article on yachting by the Earl of Dunraven and others will also appear in the new volume. Tue first volume of the Talleyrand memoirs is printed, but, it having been decided to publish the first and second volumes together, the 1st of January is now named as the probable date of publication. We shall see whether this determination is adhered to.
Dr. EpersHem’s posthumous volume en- titled ‘Tohu-va-Vohu,’ which was to have been brought out during the course of last month, has been delayed by an accident. It is to appear about the middle of this month. In the course of a few days another com- petitor for public favour, in the form of a shilling reference annual, is to be published by Messrs. F. Warne & Co. under the title of ‘Barker’s Facts and Figures.’ It will contain statistics and information on almost every subject which an ordinary man is likely to wish to consider, arranged in alpha- betical order in such a way that any item may be at once consulted. Mr. E. Stpney Harrtianp writes :— ‘*In his review of Mr. Jacobs’s charming book your reviewer says: ‘ Mr. Jacobs has performed the service of compiling an excellent version of ‘Jack the Giant-Killer’ from two old chap- books in the British Museum...... A satisfactory version has long been needed...... We wonder no one took the trouble to go to the British Museum with this object before.’ Permit me to point out that this is exactly what Mr. Ernest Rhys was good enough to do for the version of ‘ Jack the Giant Killer’ given in my ‘ English Fairy and other Folk Tales,’ published in the ‘Came- lot Series’ last April. He collated it with more than two chap-books of various dates from 1711 to 1835; and it is in substance not very different from Mr. Jacobs’s version. I may, perhaps, be excused for preferring it, especially as no liberties are taken with the text, such as the removal of the incident of the giant’s drag- ging the lady along by her hair, which Mr. Jacobs confesses to, without, however, telling us why he did it. It is earnestly to be hoped that when Mr. Jacobs fulfils his promise ‘to treat the subject of the English folk-tale on a larger scale, and with all the necessary paraphernalia of prolegomena and excursus,’ he will restore this and other stories to their pristine form. Having regard to the object of the present book, some of his alterations are, no doubt, necessary now ; but in a scientific work the case will be different,” Mr. Jacost, of the Chiswick Press, is going to bring out before long the tract he is preparing for the benefit of the race of authors. It is to be entitled ‘On the Mak- ing and Issuing of Books. Mr. Elkin Mathews is the publisher. Mr. G. Tuorn Drury, of Lamb Building, Temple, who is engaged upon a new edition of the works of Edmund Waller, desires to ask any one who may have any letters or other MSS. by or relating to Waller to be good enough to allow him to see them. M. Prerre DE Notnac has just discovered in the National Library at Paris a new MS. version of Petrarch’s ‘ De Viris Ilustribus,’ different from all copies hitherto known. It contains thirteen biographies, and has a preface in which Petrarch sets forth the object he has in view and the ancient sources of his information. Anoruer plan for an Economic Society or Institute, besides the one already announced by us, has been for some time in organi- zation. Like the other it proposes to recog- nize all schools of economic opinion, and to provide security for the admission and re- presentation of members of such schools, and for free discussion. Messrs. W. & A. K. Jonnston, of Edin- burgh, are going to publish Lord Archibald Campbell’s work ‘The Children of the Mist.’ It will contain a number of his-
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630 THE ATHENAUM N° 3289, Nov. 8, °90 torical notes on the clans and the Highland dress. Tue printing of the Clarendon Press edition of Shelley’s ‘ Adonais,’ edited and largely annotated by Mr. W. M. Rossetti, is now practically completed. Oxford Uni- versity, from which Shelley was expelled in 1811, sees fit, about eighty years later, to publish one of his books. A comMiITTEE, of which Lord Melville is the chairman, Prof. Masson the vice-chair- man, and Mr. A. P. Purves, of Esk Tower, Lasswade, the honorary secretary and treasurer, has been formed, not too soon, to erect in the churchyard of Lasswade a suitable memorial over the grave of Drum- mond of Hawthornden, ‘the sweetest and purest of Scottish poets” of the age of Shakspeare and Ben Jonson. Drummond died in the troublous days of 1649. It is hard that there should still be nothing to mark the resting-place of the poet who had so earnestly and tenderly conjured his friend and brother poet the Earl of Stirling ‘to grave this short remembrance on my grave” :— Here Damon lies, whose Songs did sometime grace The murmuring Esk. May roses shade the place! Tue vitality of an untruth is matter of continual observation, but has seldom been more forcibly illustrated than by the state- ment which has been going the round of the papers d propos of the death of the celebrated forger Simonides, that the wily Greek im- posed upon the British Museum with an alleged letter from ‘General’ Belisarius to Justinian. We do not believe that any English scholar was victimized by Simonides —though some German scholars certainly were; but the notion that any scholar, English or German, could be deceived by so preposterous a fabrication says little for the acumen of those who could entertain it. Onty a very few of the ‘Lyrics, and other Poems,’ which Lady Lindsay, of Bal- carres, is going to publish, are known beyond her immediate circle. The mass of them appear for the first time. Tue death is announced of Mr. Charles Pebody, of Leeds, who occupied a prominent position in provincial journalism. He be- came eight years ago editor of the Yorkshire Post, prior to which he was chief reporter on the Ereter Flying Post, of which he even- tually became the editor; and on relinquish- ing this position he assumed the editorship of the Bristol Times and Mirror. He was the author of ‘English Journalism and the Men who have Made It,’ and other works. Pror. K. Favtmann, of Vienna, the author of a ‘ History of Printing’ and some kindred publications, will shortly issue a work entitled ‘Die Erfindung der Buch- druckerkunst nach den Neusten For- schungen.’ The book will contain a number of illustrations and a genealogical table of the Gensfleisch-Gutenberg family. THE copyright of Schopenhauer’s works in Germany will expire with the beginning of next year, and various reprints may be expected. Unfortunately a Leipzig firm, the publications of which are so badly printed that they have been forbidden in the German schools of Austria, announces already a ‘‘ cheap edition” of Schopenhauer’s works, which is sure to increase shortsighted- ness among philosophical readers. They are many of them shortsighted enough already. GENERAL GALLIFFET is going to write in the United Service Magazine on cavalry tactics. Tue story of New York life of to-day, entitled ‘The Anglomaniacs,’ which has made a stir in the United States, will be shortly published by Messrs. Cassell. The author is said to be one of ‘the four hun- dred” of New York. In a recent visit to Vienna Mr. E. N. Adler has acquired a beautiful little MS. on vellum of the Pentateuch, Haftaroth, and five ‘‘ Megilloth.” The MS. is punctuated and accentuated, and the initial letters are illuminated. It was written at Ferrara in 1496 by the famous Abraham Farisol, of Avignon. Farisol was a friend of Lorenzo di Medici, and renowned as a Bible com- mentator and combative theologian ; but his chief distinction lies in the fact that as a geographer he is the first to describe the African and Asiatic discoveries of his con- temporaries Vasco de Gama and Columbus. His ‘Orchot Olam’ (‘Itinera Mundi’) was published in Hebrew and Latin at Oxford in 1691 by Dr. Thomas Hyde, and is one of the earliest works of a medizeval Jewish scholar printed in England. Mr. Adler’s MS. was for generations an heirloom in the Chigri family, who some time back migrated from Northern Italy to Brody, in Galicia. Messrs. Hovcuron, Mirrir & Co. write to us complaining of our saying that Winsor’s ‘Narrative and Critical History of America’ has no general index. They say a general index is appended to the eighth volume. Unluckily it is general in name only. Ina few words given by way of heading to it, it is said: ‘For a large number of minor entries the separate indexes must also be used.” Instead of saying that there was no general index, we should have written that the general index supplied is practically useless. Messrs. Houghton & Co. also complain of our say- ing that vol. i. of the work appeared after vol. viii; it appeared, they tell us, after vol. vii. THe most interesting Parliamentary Papers this week are Town Holdings Com- mittee, Index to Report (6d.); Judicial Statistics, England and Wales, for 1889 (2s.); Intoxicating Liquors, Licences re- fused 1887-89, Return (6d.); and Mines, Inspectors’ Reports for 1889, Appendix, &c. (1s.). SCIENCE oo GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. In a short time Mr. T. Fisher Unwin will publish ‘With the Beduins: a Narrative of Journeys in Unfrequented Parts of Syria,’ with illustrations and a map. It is the work of Mr. Gray Hill, of Liverpool, a considerable traveller in that country, who describes what befell him and Mrs. Gray Hill during their repeated captures by Arabs while travelling towards Petra. Another monarch has been discrowned. Mount Elias, on the Alaska coast, which until recently was believed to rise to a height of 19,500 feet— which would have made it the loftiest mountain in North America—has been ascertained by the recent American expedition to be no higher than 13,500 feet. The French expedition under Lieut. Mizon, which was recently dispatched to the Niger with a view to its operating in the ‘‘ Hinter- land ” of the English and German protectorates, has come to grief at its very outset. Lieut. Mizon has been wounded in an encounter with the natives in the delta of the Niger, and the much abused Royal Niger Company is absurdly threatened with an action for damages. Maps and Map Drawing, by William A. Elderton (Macmillan & Co.), contains a few useful hints, but is hardly a book to be re- commended. It is quite evident that the author has no grasp of his subject. He tells us, for instance, that Behaim’s famous globe ‘‘shows the world according to Ptolemy’s calculations,” whatever that may mean. In dealing with pro- jections he is very superficial. The ‘‘ globular” projection, first popularized by Arrowsmith, is described by him as ‘‘true” and equidistant, which is not at all the case. The only other projections referred to by him are the ortho- graphic, the gnomonic, the stenographic, the conical, the cylindrical, and Mercator’s. Dr. R. Kiepert’s new map of the German and British protectorates and spheres of interest in Equatorial East Africa, published by Reimer of Berlin, is compiled with the care and discrimi- nation to which we are accustomed at the hands of this cartographer. Special care has been devoted to the spelling of the proper names. The map extends from the East Coast far into the Congo basin. Its scale is 1 : 3,000,000. SOCIETIES. MICROSCOPICAL. — Oct. 15.— Dr. C. T. Hudson, President, in the chair.—Mr. G. F. Dowdeswell’s note ‘On a Simple Form of Warm Stage’ was read and the apparatus exhibited.—The President sai he had with great regret to record the deaths of two Honorary Fellows of the Society: Prof. x. Parker and Mr. J. Ralfs. In place of these two gentlemen Dr. H. B. Brady and Prof. W. C. William- son were nominated.—Mr. Mayall said he must ask the indulgence of the meeting to enable him to clear himself from possible ambiguity. In notify- ing the fact that at the first photographic trials of the new objective of 1°6 N.A. the visual and actinic foci had been found by Mr. Nelson and himself to be not coincident, and that when the objective was returned to Jena immediately after Dr. Czapski found the foci were coincident, he had hazarded what he had imagined would appear a mere playful admission of the state of general puzzlement of both sides by suggesting that “the transit of the objec- tive from London to Jena had somehow got rid of the ‘chemical’ focus,” That sentence had unhap- pily been construed both in England and abroad into a reflection upon the good faith of Dr. Czapski, or Dr. Abbe, or the firm of Zeiss. Whatever blame was due to himself for the ambiguity of the expres- sion he must, of course, accept. At the same time he thought the Society would be interested to learn that upon his conveying his explanation to Dr. Czapski and Dr. Abbe, those gentlemen had ex- pressed their complete satisfaction with it. He believed that the existence of a “ chemical” focus was probably due to a slight difference in the ad- — of the front lens, especially as Dr. Abbe nad pointed out in view of the fact that with an objective of such large aperture the colour correc- tion was, as it were, “ balanced on a needle point” in the matter of an alteration in the distance of the front lens from the posterior combinations, and that a very minute alteration in that distance, though producing no perceptible difference in the visual image, was quite competent to lengthen or shorten the focus of the violet rays to such an extent as to exhibit a “ chemical ” focus non-coinci- dent with the visual focus when tested photo- graphically. — Mr. G. C. Karop exhibited and de- scribed an improved students’ microscope, made by Swift & Son. The new instrument embodied Mr. Nelson’s “horse-shoe” stage for convenience of readily seeing the condenser, and for estimating by the touch the approximation of the focus on the slide, on which the Mayall mechanical stage was easily applied, together with a centring sub-stage focussed by sliding on the tailpiece, the whole of superior workmanship and design, and supplied at a moderate outlay.—Prof. J. W. Groves communi- cated a note, by Mr. P. C. Waite, ‘Ona New Method of demonstrating Intercellular Protoplasmic Con- tinuity.’ A specimen in illustration was exhibited. —Mr. J. D. Aldous exhibited some early forms of microscopic slides made of boxwood, similar to XUM
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N° 3289, Nov. 8, ’90 THE ATHENZAUM 631 those formerly made of ivory, with the objects between pieces of talc.—The President called atten- tion to some original drawings of a new rotifer by Mr. W. B. Poole, of South Australia; also to a speci- men of Ceistes mucicola, exhibited by Mr. Western.—Mr. E. M. Nelson exhibited upon the screen a series of thirty-one photo-micrographs, which he described.—Dr. H. B. Brady’s paper ‘On a New Type of Foraminifera’ was taken as read.— Dr. Maddox’s paper ‘On the Structure of Sperma- tozea’ was ap ayo until the next meeting in consequence of the lateness of the hour. ROYAL INSTITUTION.— Nov. 3.—Sir James C. Browne, Treas. and V.P., in the chair.—The Hon. Sir James Stirling, Messrs. V. Jones, C. N. Nichol- son, and J. H. Perks were elected Members.—The managers reported that they had elected Mr. V. Horsley Fullerian Professor of Physiology for three ssi (the appointment dating from January 12th, 1891). SocIETY OF ENGINEERS.—WVov. 3.—Mr. H. Adams, President, in the chair.—A paper was read by Mr. P. Griffith ‘On the Treatment and Utilization of Exhaust Steam.’ SoclETY OF BIBLICAL ARCH ZOLOGY.—WVov. 4.— Mr. P. le Page Renouf, President, in the chair.— The following papers were read: ‘ Nile Legends,’ by Mr. P. le P. Renouf,—‘ Inscriptions relating to Sorcery in Cyprus,’ by Miss L. Macdonald,—and ‘On the Naya Serpent,’ by Dr. W. Pleyte. ARISTOTELIAN.—Nov. 3.—Mr. S. H. Hodgson President, in the chair.—The President delivered the annual address on the subject ‘The Laws of Association.’ The functions of the subject or peyche, considered simply as a conscious agent, may e exhaustively divided into (1) sense-presenta- tion ; (2) spontaneous redintegration with its two branches, representation of sense-presentations, and presentation and representation of emotional feelings; and (3) volitionally reactive redintegration with its two stages, immanent and transeunt action. The laws of association belong solely to the second of these divisions, spontaneous redintegration. Now redintegration, like presentation, depends upon neuro-cerebral processes, and it is impossible to give any intelligible account of its phenomena, much more to ascertain its laws, without referring them to the brain processes upon which they de- pend. A mere analysis and classification of these phenomena, as states and processes of consciousness alone, give no account of the how or why of the phenomena, and, indeed, without that reference the phenomena are not reducible to any intelligible order at all. The speaker then selected a hypo- thetical instance of association for examination, and showed from its analysis that the commonly re- ceived laws of similarity and contiguity entire] failed to account for the association. Not simi- larity and contiguity in the ideas, but similarity and continuity in the brain processes supporting them, were shown to be the true explanation of the phenomena. From the same analysis it was also shown that there isa third law of association, which is usually left unnoticed, namely, that which is evidenced by the emotional interest in objects and events once experienced. Emotional interest is an apparent determinant of associations quite as much as similarity and contiguity of ideas. But all alike are apparent only, the real determinants in every case being the brain processes underlying them. But these three laws carry us but a very little way in explaining the course actually followed in any particular instance of spontaneous redintegration, or in enabling us to predict it. They say nothing whatever as to which of the three will be the law which rules at any particular juncture. They are simply laws under one or more of which all associa- tions take place, whatever may be the course which they follow. To know the course likely to be taken by any train of association, we must know the particular character and history of the person who is the subject of it. The known laws of asso- ciation are, therefore, of a highly general character, expressing only the most general conditions to which spontaneous redintegrations are found to conform. MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Royal Academy, 4.—‘Chemistry,’ Mr. A. H. Church. Surveyors’ Institution, 8.—President’s Opening Address. — Library Association, 8—‘On some Misleading Titles of Modern Books,’ Mr. J. Gilburt. Horticultural, 11.—Lecture, 3. Architects, 7}.—President’s Opening Address. Civil Engineers, 8.—‘ Steam on Common Roads,’ Mr. J. McLaren ; and Presentation of Medals, &c. Photographic, &. Colonial Institute, 8.—‘ British East Africa,’ Mr. G.S. Mackenzie. Geographical, 8}. pee 8.—'Porphyritic Rocks of the Island of Jersey,’ Prof. A. de Lapparent; ‘New Species of Trionyx from the Mon. = 11g o a gil Miocene of Malta, and a Chelonian Scapula from the London Clay,’ Mr. R. Lydekker ; ‘ Notes on Specimens collected by W. Gowland, Esq., in the Korea,’ Mr. T. H. Holland ; ‘Further Notes on the Stratigraphy of the Bagshot Beds of the London Basin (North Side),’ Rev. A. Irving. Wep. Si 8.—‘The Siege of Ostend, 1601-1604,’ Mr. E. Belle- roche. Tuvrs. Royal Academy, 4.—‘ Chemistry,’ Mr. A. H. Church. — Archeological Institute, 4—‘Stone and Bronze Implements, and Paints and Colours found by Mr. F. Petrie in Egypt,’ Mr. F. C. J. Spurrell; ‘The Eastern Character of Ornament in Churches built by Richard I1., Duke of Normandy,’ Mr. J Park Harrison. — Electrical Engineers, 8.—‘Chemistry of Secondary Cells,’ Prof. WV. E. Ayrton, Messrs. C. G. Lamb and E. W. Smith. — Mathematical, 8.—‘ The Influence of Applied on the Progress of Pure Mathematics,’ the President ; ‘Spherical Harmonics of Fractional Order,’ Mr. R. A. Sampson; ‘ Proofs of Steiner's Theorem relating to Circumscribed and Inscribed Conics,’ Prof. G. B. Mathews; ‘On an Algebraic Integral of Two Differential Equations,’ Mr. R. A. Roberts; ‘Geometrical Constructions,’ Mr. Osher Ber. Physical, 5.—‘On Certain Relations existing among the Refractive Indices of some of the Chemical Elements,’ Rev. T. P. Dale; ‘Tables of Spherical Harmonics, with Examples of their Practical Use.’ Prof. Perry. - Astronomical, 8. - Ruskin Society, 8—‘The First Two Volumes of ‘“ Modern Painters,” ’ Mr. S. Robjohns. Fri. Science Gossip, THE following is the list of namesrecommended by the President and Council of the Royal Society for election into the Council for the year 1891, at the forthcoming anniversary meeting on December Ist: President, Sir William Thomson ; Treasurer, Dr. J. Evans ; Secretaries, Prof. Foster and Lord Rayleigh ; Foreign Secretary, Dr. Geikie ; other members of the Council, Prof. Ayrton, Mr. W. H. M. Christie, Prof. Boyd Dawkins, Dr. Glaisher, Dr. Miiller, Prof. Alfred Newton, Sir W. Roberts, Mr. Roberts-Austen, Prof. E. Schifer, Sir George Stokes, Lieut.-General Strachey, Prof. Joseph Thomson, Prof. Thorpe, Sir William Turner, Prof. Vines, and General Walker. Ir being felt that a memorial to the late Father Perry, F.R.S., of Stonyhurst, would be certain to command general approbation and support, an influential committee, which in- cludes the names of several distinguished astronomers, has been formed for the purpose of carrying it out. As the most suitable object to which this could be applied, it has been decided to provide a more efticient astronomical instrument for use in the observatory where Father Perry laboured so long and so well, either by erecting, should the funds obtained be sufficient, a new telescope with a 15-inch object glass, or else by furnishing the present equatorial stand with a 15-inch objective. The estimated expense of the complete telescope and house is 2,700/., whilst that for the objective alone is 700/. Whichever plan be adopted, the telescope and the house in which it stands will bear the name of the ‘‘ Father Perry Memorial ”; and the work done with it will be published under this name. Subscriptions may be sent either to the ‘‘ Father Perry Memorial ” account at the London Joint-Stock Bank, Limited, Pall Mall branch, London, S.W.; or to Arthur Chilton Thomas, Esq., hon. secretary and treasurer pro tem., Marldon Chambers, 30, North John Street, Liverpool. FINE ARTS ——— THE INSTITUTE OF PAINTERS IN OIL COLOURS, Tue eighth exhibition of this society was opened to the public on Monday last. It is no improvement on its forerunners, and, although the Institute professes to provide a sort of supple- ment to the exhibitions of the Royal Academy, in the higher walks of design it is scarcely superior to the gathering of the Society of British Artists which is now on view in Suffolk Street. That fatal facility which we have so often lamented while examining galleries like this still obtains; among the contributors serious studies are scarcer than ever, there are more pot-boilers, and good pot-boilers are fewer. Several of the ablest painters who gave distinction to previous exhibitions are conspicuous by their absence, and two or three, such as Mr. John Fulleylove, Mr. Adrian Stokes, and Mr. David Murray, whose capital works are always welcome, are very far indeed from being at their best. Doubtless they and their like are reserving ,; themselves for the Academy in the spring. The absentee members of note are Messrs. A. Burr, T. Collier, F. Dadd, J. Dollman, T. Green, H. Hardy, H. Hine, T. Lloyd, R. Macbeth, H. Moore, W. D. Sadler, C. Staniland, A. C. Tayler, J. W. Waterhouse, and R. C. Wood- ville. So many defections are almost enough to account for the comparative inferiority of most. of the pictures before us. If we regard artistic qualities alone, we ought to select before almost anything else in this collection the harmonious and beauti- fully wrought flower-pieces of M. Fantin- Latour. It may be objected that his sub- jects are lacking in interest, but what is called the subject is only one of the elements. with which true design occupies itself, and it is valuable in proportion to the success with which it is treated, and not otherwise. This. truth is even now little understood in this country, where the incident represented in a picture is very often confounded with its real subject. M. Fantin’s Poppies and Roses (No. 68) are grouped with admirable art in a basket and glass vase. Their tenderness, breadth, bright- ness, homogeneity, and firm draughtsmanship, united with wealth of exquisite colour, pro- duce a whole worthy an old master, and illustrate the noblest canons of art. The later Dutch and Flemish flower painters, Van Os and Van Huysum, did not rank nearly so high in the artistic scale as does the Frenchman who applies to their subjects the principles which guided the Venetians and Velazquez. To Cluster Roses (300), white and red blooms in a globe of pale-green glass, similar praise is due. With these may be studied—there is very little worth studying in these galleries—with abundant. profit and pleasure the less ambitious Raimm- culus (307) by the same painter. A quaint, hard, brilliant, and purely painted head of a blue-eyed girl in a blue bonnet is called Dolly (555) by the artist, Mr. H. W. Fry, whose name is new to us. The drawing and modelling are sound and solid, the carnations are choice, and the expression is gladsome and fresh.—Also quaint, and in its obvious devo- tion to the charms of tone and realistic colour (to say nothing of its manifest indifference to the beauty of drawing and surface) very interesting, is Mr. F. C. Robinson’s Ferry- man’s Daughter (338), a true ‘impression ” of the choicer and more artistic sort. An unlovely wench is in a boat floating between several dark and lofty piles ona slightly rippling sea. A white calm pervades the scene, and the sunlight, blanched by the mist, glitters on the water in a dazzling way. Undoubtedly the ‘‘im- pression” is successfully rendered ; but why should beauty of form, choice textures, and the graces of line and composition be omitted where so much has been so finely done ?—Close to and above the last is Mr. P. Burne-Jones’s Hind Head, Sunset (339). Those who ‘‘hung” this room should not have placed a work so poetical and in most respects beautiful as this where it is obscured by a glaring reflection in the glass which covers the picture. While scores of paintings of no merit have conspicuous places, although their authors have never achieved distinction of any sort, it is strange to find this good thing above the line, hidden ignominiously in a corner where, to say nothing of the reflection, it would be hard to see the deep and rich tones and sombre jewellery of colour which distinguish the impressive landscape, which seems to us the painter’s best production. So far as it goes, Mr. W. Osborne’s Across the Downs (178) is successful: it is broad, rich, bright, and vigorous ; but it should have been finished. — No landscape here excels Mr. W. L. Wyllie’s 4 Sow?-wester (209). It is a picture distinguished by its local tints, beautiful draughtsmanship, general effect, and homogeneity of light and tone. As true to nature as it is strong and bright, it gains much from the black boats toss- ing at their anchors, and the numerous deftly drawn figures in the foreground.— Mr, C.
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632 THE ATHENZUM N° 3289, Nov. 8, ’90 Wyllie’s Upiwr Castle (270) is a panorama re- markable for its fine atmosphere and the aérial foreshortening of a view which would offer no opportunity to an inferior artist. —The Comnemara Sands (224) of Mr. E. A. Waterlow renders a broad and brilliant effect with force and delicacy of colour, but there is more dexterity than research in the handling of & piece which, unless we are to regard it asa study for a larger picture, ought to have been carried further. The silvery reflections of light upon the pale yellow sands are in the best vein of Mr. McWhirter’s best studies from nature. —Mr. R. W. Allan’s Haymakiig (2) is strong and bright, but surely the sky, so overcharged with paint, was done at home.—It is to be regretted that Mr. D. Murray showed such a crude contri- bution, badly drawn and out of keeping with itself, as the Hallowed Ground (87), an old church, red cottages, and the vista of a road between, backed by one of the roughest and coarsest of skies. ‘‘Ower the Muir amang the Heather” (188), by the same artist, has a poetical motive equal to, though very different from, that which we recognize in No. 188, and it is more complete, homogeneous, and harmo- nious. It is, nevertheless, much below the standard of the painter, whose Sultry Weather (251) is nearer his mark, but does not reach it.— Looking down ow Loch Tay (136) is a panoramic study of considerable merit, but needing to be finished with a light hand and refined colour- ing. It is by Mr. A. East, whose A Night March (846) deserves more attention for its accomplishments than it is likely to secure. —Although its tones are rather weak and its execution lacks solidity, there is veracity, breadth, and simplicity in Mr. H. C. Drane’s Stackyard at Brockham (4). Sunlight upon heaped straw and the atmosphere generally are good points in a meritorious little picture.— Contrariwise, Mr. J. Orrock’s Ferry in Leicester- shire (33) bears few signs of his well-practised hand. It is luminous and rich, but ‘‘ blotty,” and very heavily touched. Of course its ele- ments, although commonplace, are cleverly put together in a Constable-like way. We like Mr. H. H. Stanton’s Peep of the Arun (43), although the artist seems, while treating nature, to have taken a darkened Constable for his model. Apart from this error the whole is picturesque and vigorous, and shows the painter to possess consider- able powers.—Mr. T. H. McLachlan has sent a good but gloomy landscape, conceived in the mood of Jules Dupré, and called it Gene- vieve (44), a girl watching sheep while the moon is rising over a dark, vast plain. It is full of poetical suggestions.—Miss H. D. Smith has done very well indeed in A Sussex Mill Pond (51), a calm effect in grey weather. It is in keeping with itself. —With it may be ranked another picture of a mill, the Ufford Mill (155) of Mr. W. B. Morris. Although it is a little thin, very dry, and somewhat flat, the drawing is excellent, and the illumina- tion is pure.—Mr. Fulleylove’s Ely Cathedral from the Market-Place (189) betrays a hand in haste to be rich and overtaxed ; yet it is far from devoid of good art. The same may be said of his Ely Cathedral from the River (181), although it is on the whole inferior to No. 189. We like, too, West Tower, Ely Cathedral (488), by Mr. Fulleylove, but we cannot warmly praise it.—Mr. A. Parsons’s The Red Caiwe (895) is a good and firmly drawn, rather flat, but very tender picture of calm sunlight on a blue stream. In the middle distance is a rustic bridge of striking design.—Very modest and true, soundly drawn, and painted with a good sense of colour in the delineation of a group of eld white houses, is Mr. E. Bancroft’s Street Scene (422).—Good, with some true romance in its expression and effect, is Mr. W. L. Jay’s Silent Pool (631) amid a thick group of trees in autumnal weather, when the ground is strewn with ruddy beech leaves. ‘ demonstrative. — It would be hard to artists, who ought to do better work than the best of these landscapes, for there is either nothing new about them or they are in no way superior to the former works of the painters : —Mr. C. Earle’s In the Borth Marshes (9) ; The Horse Pond (37), by Mr. C. E. Johnson; Mr. F. Dillon’s East Cliff, Hastings (55), which is rather woolly ; Mr. W. A. Ingrain’s Dawn (63); Mr. J. Aumonier’s On a Sussex Farm (75); Mr. C. N. Hemy’s The Mill Head (96); Mr. E. Parton’s Summer Days at Wargrave (162) ; Mr. T. Rowe’s A Cottage Garden (179); Mr. R. W. Allan’s Harbour Lights (295); Mr. A. Stokes’s On the Links, West Cornwall (318) ; Michaelmas Daisies (319), by Mr. F. D. Millet ; A Sussex Barn (890). by Mr. A. Evershed ; Mrs. E. Gosse’s Wilderness of Poppies (425); and Mr. W. F. Stocks’s Down in the Valley (663). In addition to the figure pictures mentioned above the following are worth looking at, but on the whole the figure pictures in this exhibi- tion are poorer than usual. Mr. F. Topham’s neatly but heavily painted and thoroughly arti- ficial figure of a girl at a stile, called ‘‘ He loves me, he loves me not!” (6) is redolent of the lamp. The subject is hackneyed, and the treat- ment tame.—Better far than this is A Primrose Dame (46), by Mr. J. Clark ; asa better kind of sketch it is good.—The Girlhood (71) of Mr. J. H. Williams is a cleverly painted head of a bright-faced English damsel. Its carnations are a little heavy and hard. The buxom young lady and the young man in the high-collared coat of the Regency in Sweet Silence (257) are of the types the painter has often and deftly depicted, and both figures are cleverly designed. Technically it differs little, if at all, from former contributions of the painter.—The Siesta (190) of pigs lying in golden straw in a barn is by Mr. N. A. Loraine. Their pink flesh is first rate, and the clear shadows and bright light of the interior are welcome. —The Kivals (192) of Mr. G. G. Kil- burne containsneatly and firmly drawn, but rather stiff and unanimated figures gossiping before a deftly painted fireplace in a Georgian house. The furniture and details are nicely handled, but the subject was worth better treatment if it need be dealt with at all.—The Market Moriing (215) of Mr. T. Graham is an extremely clever, but some- what flimsy sketch of a girl in a blue kirtle trip- ping along with her baskets. The head is much too small.—There is true pathos, although much hackneyed, in Mr. A. Hacker’s group of a grand- father and a child, called His Daughter's Bairn (237). Approaching an Israéls in its motives, it has Faed-like breadth and wealth of colour, but is inferior in quality, and the sense of style is less masculine than Mr. Faed’s.—Mr. J. H. Bacon paints well, but less solidly than his recent performances led us to hope, and he has selected a hackneyed subject for A Song of Long Ago (111). Mr. Bacon knows how to put a picture together, combining harmoniously its colours, lights, shadows, masses, and lines, but he has pleased himself on somewhat easy terms.— The Alabaster Box of Precious Ointment (114) of Mr. W. Gale is fortunately characteristic of his art.— Waiting (146), a young lady at a pool side, by Mr. L. Davis, is pretty. —His Last ‘* Goud-Bye !” (185) is not so good as previous melodramas by Mr. E. B. Leighton.—There is a great deal of spirit and cleverness in the design and expressions of Mr. E. Bundy’s Alice Lee and Charles IT. (591), but this is not Alice Lee of Woodstock.—We have seen much better pictures by Sir J. Linton, but few less hard and mannered, than The Empty Nest (400).—Miss Ethel Wright, who has resuscitated the verb ‘‘ to laze ” (be lazy), is, judging from No. 269, senti- mental as well as archaic in her taste, and she has a good deal of painting yet to learn.—Mr. J. R. Reid is addicted to slapdash, and appears un- able to refine his notions of colour and form. Sunny Days of Childhvod (292) is gaudy and sym- The under- mentioned are by noteworthy | pathize with Mr. H. J. Stock’s conception of a soul leaving a corpse, which he calls The Release (496). It does not seem to be a happy release, and one does not see why the spirit is draped.—Mr. Shannon's greatest mis- take is the big, ill-composed, almost inexplicable portrait of a little boy, Hugh Christopher Tower (642).—Wetrust that distinguished Shakspearean scholar Mr. P. A. Daniel may never see Mr. J. H. Smith’s Student of Shakspeare’s Plays (296). —Mr. J. Scott is below his mark in Idleness (342) and A Cottage in Bedfordshire (467).—T wo capital, solidly painted, and faithful pieces of still life are Studio Properties (195), by Mr. A. B. Bamford, and Precious Stones (870), by Miss C. M. Wood. Fine-Art Gossip. THE collection of Chinese and Japanese Kaké- monos, which has been on view since 1888 in the exhibition room of the Department of Prints and Drawings at the Museum, has this week been withdrawn, and will be replaced by a selection of drawings of various European schools from the fourteenth century down to our own time. The selection will be made chiefly from among the more recent acquisitions of the department. Among its specially interest- ing features will be specimens from the unique book of Florentine fifteenth century drawings purchased by the Trustees two years ago from Mr. Ruskin ; the important pen-and-ink studies by Michael Angelo presented by Mr. Vaughan ; the specimens of tifteenth century Flemish, French, and German work purchased at the Fountain, Baillie-Hamilton, and Mitchell sales respectively ; and some of the great series of French architectural drawings on vellum by Du Cerceau, which long lay unknown in the King’s Library, and were recently transferred thence to the Print Department. Among the examples of the modern, or comparatively modern, schools, those by Englishmen or foreigners resident in England will be most prominent, and will in- clude some by Hogarth and Gravelot ; the fine examples of Fuseli presented by Miss Moore ; a selection from the drawings and studies of James Ward, R.A, purchased from his daughter ; Miss Constable’s gift of water-colour and pencil studies by John Constable, R.A.; a series of the romantic and pastoral sketches by the little known and rarely gifted artist Edward Calvert, some acquired by purchase and some by gift from his family; and lastly, characteristic examples of popular artists lately deceased, as R. Doyle, R. Caldecott, and Warwick Brooks. The gallery will be closed during the next month for the arrangement of the exhibition. To-pay (Saturday) Messrs. Christie, Manson & Woods open the picture-selling season by disposing of the works belonging to the late Mrs. Oliphant, of Brunswick Place, Brighton, and other owners, comprising examples attri- buted to Denner, P. Brill, Elzheimer, G. Dou, Weenix, Ostade, Reynolds (portrait of Arch- bishop Secker), Gainsborough, and others. Last week the death was announced of the Rev. John Edmund Cox, late Vicar of St. Helen’s, Bishopsgate, whose ‘Annals of St. Helen’s,’ a model work of its kind, we re- viewed in 1876. Cox was born at Norwich in 1812, and educated in the grammar school there, and was afterwards a Bible-clerk at All Souls’ College, Oxford. In 1849 he was admitted to St. Helen’s, which living he held till 1887. He wrote a life of Cranmer, a life of Luther, and ‘Principles of the Reformation’; he edited for the Parker Society James’s ‘ Bellum Papale’ and the works of Cranmer. His love of music and his knowledge of it were well known. A xarGE folio volume, containing twenty views in Richmondshire from drawings by J. M. W. Turner, R.A., will be published at the end of this month by Mr. J. Dodgson, of Leeds, the impression being limited to five hundred copies. la an 7 50 fF D> eH OO oo oF & Re we. 2 Th (=) SCOOP Ag OC OWS Se
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N° 3289, Nov. 8, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 633 The descriptive letterpress will be contributed by Mrs. Alfred Hunt, the Rev. R. V. Taylor, and Mr. Huish. The plates will be printed from the original metals, which were engraved at a great cost many years ago for Whitaker’s ‘ History of Richmondshire,’ which is now very scarce. Hampi Bey is said to have at length made good progress with the elaborate illustrated work in which it is his intention to make known the much-talked-of and _little-scen treasures of Hellenic art discovered a few years ago at Sidon. The remarkable sarcophagus reliefs in question will not be exhibited in the museum for some time yet; but the jealous secrecy with which they have hitherto been guarded has been so far relaxed as to allow of their inspection by a few professed archzeo- logists, and still fewer privileged travellers from the West. Among the latest of these last have been Mr. Frederic Harrison and Mr. Shaw Lefevre, M.P. Pkre pe Latrre, of the French mission at Carthage, has discovered at Byrsa a Punic necropolis, consisting of small vaulted tombs, in which he has found many precious objects of ancient Carthaginian art, viz., painted vases, small bronze statuettes, silver utensils, glass ornaments for women, and some crowns of gold leaf. MUSIC —@~—— Rusical Gossip, A Great deal of uncertainty has prevailed at the Opera, and the arrangements for the present week were not finally settled until Monday evening. There is very little to record concern- ing the performances. On Thursday last week Madame Albani made her rentrée in ‘La Traviata,’ ‘ Mefistofele ’’ not being ready, and has seldom, if ever, presented a more effective realization of the part, either vocally or dramatically. Ir would be charitable to draw a veil over the disastrous revival of ‘Norma’ on Wednes- day last. The complete failure of Mlle. Peri and Mlle. Costanzi to render anything like justice to Bellini’s music afforded further proof of the lamentable decadence of vocal art in Italy. Not only did the Norma and the Adalgisa sing persistently out of tune, but they showed themselves utterly incapable of executing the scales and ornaments with which both parts abound. Signor Giannini was efti- cient, as he always is, in the thankless part of Pollio, but Signor Meroles was poor as Oroveso; and, on the whole, the evening was one of the most painful ever experienced by the admirers of the lyric drama. Of the revival of Gluck’s ‘Orpheus,’ announced for Thursday, we must speak next week. THe legal proceedings threatened against Signor Lago and others for the performances of ‘Faust’ have been abandoned. THE programme of last Saturday’s Crystal Palace concert was devoid of novelty, the most interesting item being the performance of Schu- mann’s Pianoforte Concerto by M. Paderewski. This was the first occasion on which the Polish executant had interpreted a classical work with orchestra, and his treatment of Schumann’s work was peculiar and characteristic. It was a feminine rather than a masculine performance, all the more delicate passages being lingered over as if the entire interest of the work was concentrated in them. We could not agree with the affected reading of some phrases ;_ but at the same time there was a welcome absence of that storm and stress in which M. Paderewski sometimes indulges, and, on the whole, the performance was interesting in its unconven- tionality. The rendering of Brahms’s Sym- phony in F, No. 3, was a triumph for the orchestra, and other items in the programme were Cherubini’s ‘Anacreon’ Overture, Dr. Mackenzie’s ‘ Benedictus,’ and Berlioz’s arrange- ments of Weber’s ‘Invitation a la Valse.’ Mr. Ben Davies was the vocalist. At last Saturday’s Popular Concert the prin- cipal items were Schumann’s Quartet in A minor, Op. 41, No. 1; Dvorak’s Quintet in a, Op. 81 ; Beethoven’s Sonata in E minor, Op. 90; and | Handel’s Violin Sonata in p. Sir Charles Halle was the pianist and Mr. Norman Salmond the | vocalist. A FAMILIAR programme was also presented on Monday, the concerted works being Beethoven’s Quartet in a, Op. 18, No. 5, and Schumann’s Trio in D minor. Signor Piatti played his favourite ‘Kol Nidrei’ melody as arranged by Max Bruch, and Mr. Leonard Borwick selected for his first appearance Beethoven’s Variations in © minor, a work that calls for little more than correct and vigorous execution. Mr. Ffrangcon Davies made a favourable impression in songs by Prof. Villiers Stanford. Tue Shinner Quartet—consisting of Miss Emily Shinner (Mrs. F. Liddell), Miss Lucy Stone, Miss Cecilia Gates, and Miss Florence Hemmings— gave an excellent concert at the Princes’ Hall on Thursday last week. Very spirited and generally good performances were given of Mozart’s Quartet in c, No. 6; Dvorak’s Quintet in a, Op. 81; and Brahms’s Sonata in p minor, for piano and violin, Op. 108, Miss Fanny Davies being the pianist. Friiulein Fillunger was equally successful in her songs. At SejiorSarasate’s second concert, on Monday afternoon, the concertos for violin were Mendels- sohn’s and Saint-Saéns’s in B minor, No. 3. Like most of the French composer’s efforts, the last- named work is very unequal, the first move- ment being uninteresting and the finale rather trivial ; but the second, a barcarolle, is charm- ing, and near the close there is a passage in harmonics which affords the Spanish violinist an opportunity for the display of his marvellous command over his instrument. He still takes the last movement of Mendelssohn’s work pres- tissimo, to a certain extent caricaturing the music. Mr. Cusins’s orchestra played the ‘Tann- hiuser’ Overture and the ‘Peer Gynt’ Suite with moderate effect. THE programmes of the Patti concerts are rapidly becoming ridiculous. The vocalist’s pre- sent repertory consists of about half a dozen hackneyed operatic airs, and the same number of worthless ballads which she gives as encores. The farce was repeated on Monday at the Albert Hallto the gratification, it would seem, of several thousands of people. There was nothing in the programme calling for serious criticism. Master Istpore Pavia gave his second piano recital on Wednesday afternoon, playing Bach’s ‘Chromatic’ Fantasia; Beethoven’s Sonata in E flat, Op. 31, No. 3; various pieces by Chopin, &c., in more or less schoolboy fashion. The lad has talent, but it is not yet sutticiently developed to justify his appearance in the concert-room. Srr Cuartes Hatte’s Manchester concerts commenced on Thursday last week, the principal features of the programme being Beethoven’s Symphony in F, No. 8; Weber’s ‘Der Frei- schiitz’ and Grieg’s ‘Im Herbst’ overtures ; and Viotti Collins’s Violin Concerto in A minor, No. 22, played by Madame Néruda. This week a performance of ‘Judas Maccabzeus’ was an- nounced. A VERY interesting programme of English music was performed at last Monday’s Popular Concert at Bristol. It included Dr. Bridge's overture ‘Morte d’Arthur’; Mr. E. Prout’s Organ Concerto in E minor, played by Mr. Riseley ; Dr. Mackenzie’s First Scotch Rhap- sody; Mr. Walter Macfarren’s Concertstiick, played by Mr. J. H. Fulford; and various smaller items. Most of the works were con- ducted by their respective composers. We are glad to learn that these excellent concerts are now meeting with a largely increased measure of support. THE series of concerts given at Cheltenham last week, which were dignified with the title of a ‘*musical festival,” seem to have been artis- tically, as well as financially, successful. The undertaking was mainly due to the energy and skill of Mr. J. A. Matthews, a talented local musician. Report speaks highly of the chorus and orchestra, both drawn mainly from the neighbourhood, in such works as Dvordk’s ‘Stabat Mater,’ the first and second parts of the ‘Creation,’ Prof. Bridge’s ‘The Repentance of Nineveh,’ &c. There were no novelties, at any rate of importance, and we may repeat the words of exhortation we gave to Bristol last week, that, if possible, something should be done on the next occasion to call more general attention to the excellent musical work carried on in Cheltenham. Wer have already given the dates of Sir Charles Halle’s orchestral concerts at St. James's Hall, which commence on Friday next. The pro- grammes are of a popular character, including some of the best-known symphonies, overtures, concertos, &c., of Beethoven, Schubert, Men- delssohn, Weber, Spohr, Schumann, and Berlioz. The principal feature of the first concert is Schu- bert’s great Symphony in c, No. 9. At the meeting of the Musical Association on Tuesday evening next Mr. T. L. Southgate will exhibit some ancient Egyptian flutes, about three thousand years old, brought to this country by Mr. Flinders Petrie. It is said that they solve the question of the Egyptian scale. THe Musical Guild commences another series of its excellent chamber concerts at the Town Hall, Kensington, on Tuesday next, the other dates being November 25th and December 9th and 16th. The Guild now numbers twenty- seven former pupils of the Royal College of Music. Tue Royal Library at Munich has just been enriched by a large collection of letters of Orlando di Lasso, the last great composer of the Flemish school. Tue Paris Eden Theatre, which has just been converted into an opera-house, was opened last Sunday under the direction of M. Verdhurt, with M. Saint-Saéns’s ‘Samson et Delila.’ The next work, on Tuesday, was Bizet’s ‘La Jolie Fille de Perth.’ CONCERTS, &e., NEX'T WEEK. Royal Academy Students’ Concert, 3, St. James's Hall. Royal Italian Opera, 8, ‘ Rigoletto * — Popular Concert, 8, St. James’s Hall. Tues. Royal Italian Opera. — Messrs. Lindo’s Recital, 3, Steinway Hall. _ Musical Association Meeting, 8, Royal Academy of Music. -- The Musical Guild Concert, 3.30, Kensington ‘Town Hall. Wep. Royal Italian Opera. - M. Paderewski's Pianoforte Recital, 3, St. James’s Hall. _ Royal Choral Society, ‘Elijah,’ 8, Albert Hall -— Mr. Sidney Vantyn’s Pianoforte Recital, 8, Steinway Hall. Tucrs. Royal Italian Opera. Fri. Royal Italian Opera. — Mdille. Jeanne Douste’s Pianoforte Recital, 3, Princes’ Hall. _ oe Po,ular Concert, 8.30, The Vestry Hall, Haverstock Hil Moy. -- Sir Charles Halle’s Orchestral Concert, 8.50, St. James’s Hall. —_- Wind Instrument Musical Society's Concert, 8.30, Royal Academy of Music. Sar. Royal Italian Opera. - Popular Concert, 3, St. James’s Hall _ Crystal Palace Concert, 3. DRAMA ——_ THE WEEK. AVENUE.— Sunlight and Shadow,’ a Comedy in Three Acts. By R. C. Carton. HayMARKeE?T.— Beau Austin,’in Four Acts. By Robert Louis Stevenson and W. E. Henley. Tur two new pieces which constitute the week’s dramatic product are both, in a sense, hostile to existing conditions. In one we are solicited to return to ancient and purer faiths; in a second we are asked to stride further in advance, and put on one side as
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634 THE ATHENZUM N° 3289, Nov. 8, 90 superfluous all that has been considered in- dispensable to dramatic success. When the condition of an army is precarious retreat will naturally recommend itself to the more timid spirits, advance to the bolder and more sanguine. Granting the position of the stage to be untenable, it is difficult to say whether the tactics of Mr. Carton or those of Messrs. Stevenson and Henley are the more to be commended. ‘Sunlight and Shadow’ is a return to a class of piece the attractions of which, at one time apparently inexhaustible, have of late seemed to be out of date. It dallies with the innocence of love Like the old age. Mr. Carton’s experiment is, it is pleasant to think, not more bold than successful. He interests us once more in ‘‘ transient sorrows, simple wiles,” and leaves us at the close of his familiar and touching story reconciled with nature and humanity. To have accom- plished this is no small triumph. Confining us to the home of a village doctor, his daughters and their suitors, he succeeds in weaving a genuine and pleasing romance. Evil, it is true, crawls into this paradise, but only to fulfil its true mission in the world by proving a foil to good and a spur to nobility, and is then Gathered like scum and settled to itself. There is little in either motive or treatment that is new, and the whole is neither ambi- tious nor strong. Mr. Carton may, how- ever, content himself with praise for inge- nuity and constructive ability, for much brightness and effectiveness of style, and for a vein of genuine and healthy sym- pathy. His piece is suited to its ex- ponents, and is well acted throughout. Mr. Alexander plays convincingly a crippled choirmaster, the sight of whose shadow on the wall cows his aspiration, and who at the supreme moment of his life, when his heart’s desire is within his reach and he has only to be silent to be happy, speaks, and in speaking sacrifices his own future to that of the woman he loves. His performance could not easily be surpassed. Miss Marion Terry is once more womanly and natural as an elder sister whose life is sorely tried, and who is all gentleness, tenderness, and sin- cerity; and Miss Maude Millett presents again a bright English girl. Miss Rose Leclercq, Mr. B. Webster, Mr. Yorke Stephens, and Mr. Nutcombe Gould are all seen to advantage. In ‘Beau Austin’ Messrs. Stevenson and Henley have produced what modern nomenclature might call a “study” or a “symphony” rather than a play. It isa piece to be given at a thédtre libre in pre- ference to a regular house, and Mr. Beer- bohm Tree has accordingly introduced it as the first of a series of Monday perform- ances which are to constitute a new depar- ture in management. Both experiment and play extort admiration, though both are bold rather than safe. By facing the super- stition that a successful run is inviolable, and by giving us the novelties which the possession of a fine house and company places within his reach, Mr. Tree renders a service to the public we gladly recognize, and for supplying us with a picture of life seventy years ago both authors and manage- ment deserve gratitude. ‘Beau Austin’ isa play to be seen, however, rather than analyzed or even defended. It is delightful, natural, and sympathetic, yet impossible. The characters are as unreal in essentials as they are natural in accidents, the moral is strained almost beyond conception, and the whole must be treated as fantasy. A man such as the hero is not converted by methods such as are employed, nor will the tardy squeamishness of the heroine bear investiga- tion. We have a whiff of delightful per- fume, but we perceive at once that it is opoponax, and not the blown scent of the beanfield or the subtle emanation of the meadowsweet. In much of the plot there is genuine weak- ness. A man such as Beau Austin, accus- tomed to conquest, would resent the counsels of Fenwick. To be converted by them he must be a being far other than he is shown. Dorothy meanwhile should not give herself such airs. She has been seduced, it is true, and was assumably innocent at the time when she yielded to her elderly suitor, pos- sibly under a promise of marriage. There is no suggestion, however, that either vio- lence or strategy was used, and a young lady who is so complaisant before marriage does not quite carry the audience with her in her subsequent exactions. She is bound to hold herself a partner in the crime. These things being conceded, it is easy to say a great deal in praise of the play. Aslight amount of over- accentuation in the picture of a period when Byron was to be seen, when Kean, Kemble, Campbell, and Moore were to the fore, and when Talfourd was writing theatrical criti- cisms, is apparent and is pardoned, and the whole then, perhaps by its very unworldli- ness, stimulates and delights. Admirable mounting and a delightful interpretation give the whole every chance. Once more going, as it appears, quite out of himself, Mr. Tree gave a brilliant creation of Beau Austin; Mr. Brookfield’s military valet was a masterly picture; and Mr. Terry was excellent as Fenwick. Mrs. Tree, Miss Rose Leclereq, Miss Aylward, and Mr. Maurice were included in a capital per- formance. A more amusing, if somewhat exaggerated, reproduction of past life has seldom been seen on the stage. M. SARDOU’S NEW PLAY. ‘CLKOPATRE,’ by MM. Victorien Sardou and mile Moreau, attracts overflowing audiences to the Porte Saint Martin. It provokes, however, little enthusiasm, and the perfunctory applause of the claque finds faint response from the general public. The unfavourable verdict. passed upon it by criticism is accepted by the public, and curiosity to see Madame Sarah Bernhardt in a new part proves the only attraction. What has previously been said of it in England is exactly true. Where it most nearly approaches Shakspeare it goes nearest to success, and the scenes in which M. Sardou trusts to his own gifts are unworthy of the author of ‘ Patrie,’ *Théodora,’ and ‘La Tosca.’ Not more than twice is the actress able thoroughly to arouse the public, the strongest scene being that in which, upon hearing from the slave of the mar- riage of Mark Antony, she tramples upon him in a fashion strongly recalling the treatment of Iago by Signor Salvini as Othello. The long scene in which Cleopatra, smuggled into the residence of her lover, listens to his counsellors, enables Madame Bernhardt to show by facial play and gesture, with no aid of speech, how admirably diversified is her method, but can scarcely be regarded as effective. The love- making meanwhile, after the scene of Mark Antony’s rapid subjugation, is vulgar and dis- pleasing. M. Philippe Garnier is as unlike a Roman triumvir as he can well be, and his treat- ment of his august mistress is as easy and un- concerned as that of a qrisette by a commis voyageur. An absolute shock is experienced at his al fresco embraces of Cleopatra, and the im- pression conveyed is that the same processes of wooing may be witnessed on a fine Sunday on the seats in the Bois de Boulogne, or indeed, without going to Paris, at ‘’Appy "Ampstead.” Madame Bernhardt has fine moments, and in her robes looks surpris- ingly handsome and queenly. Her arms and feet are stained a shade of red, but her com- plexion seems fair beside that of her swarthy attendants. As a spectacle the whole is credit- able to the Porte Saint Martin, but there will be cause for regret if the forthcoming revival at the Princess’s does not eclipse the production as much in imaginative grace of scenery as it must in that of language. So transcendent are Madame Bernhardt’s merits that each assumption chal- lenges and will receive attention. There is no new revelation of genius, however, and little except disappointment awaits those whom the magic of her name attracts to Paris to see her latest achievement. Dramatic Gossip. Durine the past week Madame Chaumont has appeared at the St. James’s in three short pieces, ‘Les Revoltées,’ ‘L’Autographe,’ and ‘ Lolotte,’ in the last of which she is well re- membered. She has also been heard in her song ‘La Premiére Feuille.’ Mrs. Lanetry’s revival of ‘Antony and Cleopatra’ at the Princess’s Theatre is fixed for the 18th inst. ‘Tue SrxtH ComMMANDMENT’ has_ been abridged, and is now received with favour at the Shaftesbury. In the authorship of the novelty by which it is to be succeeded, announced hitherto as by Mr. Malcolm Watson, Mrs. Lancaster-Wallis claims a share. ‘A Parr or Spectactes,’ by Mr. Grundy, has been produced at Madison Square Theatre, New York. Mr. Horner has secured the English rights of ‘Ma Cousine,’ by M. Henri Meilhac, the latest success at the Variétés. There is a possibility that the piece will be adapted for Mr. Wynd- ham. ‘My Frienp Jaret’ is the title of a one-act drama of Messrs. Arnold Golsworthy and E, B. Norman, produced on Wednesday evening at Terry’s Theatre. Its scene is laid in a French town in the time of the German occupation, and the story is that of expiation on the part of a somewhat disreputable Frenchman, who in the girl whose future he strives to blight discovers his deserted daughter, and lays down his life for her lover in a manner more chivalric than con- ceivable. Mr. Dana, Mr. Julian Cross, and Miss Elinore Leyshon were the exponents. ‘Sweet Lavender’ will be withdrawn from the bill of this house at the close of next week. Next Monday being the 131st anniversary of Schiller’s birthday, one or the other of his plays will be performed at a number of theatres in Germany. The Leipziger Schiller-Verein will celebrate on the same day the fiftieth anni- versary of its foundation, on which occasion a new play, entitled ‘Schiller und Lotte,’ by a prolific dramatist, Wilhelm Henzen, will be performed at the Carola Theater. To CorRESPONDENTS.—F. A.—A.—J. H. G.—H. V. W.— J. E. E.—P. 8. J. R.—received. No notice will be taken of anonymous communications. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY Post. 8. d For Twelve Months ran sae ss ow BS For Six Months ... 0 = oneness TS
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XUM N° 3290, Nov. 15, 90 THE ATHENAUM 655 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1890. CONTENTS. PAGE Mr. F. Tennyson’s PoEMs ... ies eee we 655 Mr. Froupr’s MEMOIR OF DISRAELI.... ove ee 697 Lonpon LETTERS TO THE NEW YORK ‘TRIBUNE’ ... €59 THE WILL or ERASMUS ose Pee oa ove +. 660 NovELs OF THE WEEK ooo ove ooo oe jes oe CHRISTMAS Books ove ov on ea 662 Ovrk LIBRARY TABLE—LisT oF New Books .. 662—664 THE ENGLISH ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION; LORD CHESTER- FIELD’s LETTERS .., ove eee son eee oe 664 LITERARY GOSSIP evo ooo eco ooo ooo oo. 664 ScIENCE—ZOOLOGICAL LITERATURE ; ANTHROPOLO- GICAL NoTEs; SOCIETIES; MEETINGS; GossIP 666—668 Fink ARTS— ANNUALS; CHRISTMAS BookS; THE DaAvip Coxes aT BIRMINGHAM ; GOSSIP 668—669 Music—THE WEEK; Gossip; CoNceRTS, &C., NEXT WEEK ... ose ose 670—671 DramMa—THE WEEK ; GOSSIP 671—672 LITERATURE —o— The Isles of Greece: Sappho and Alceus. By Frederick Tennyson. (Macmillan & Co.) No poet and no lover of poetry, on being asked to indicate the most sacred portion of the map of the world, would hesitate in putting his finger upon that archipelago in the Augean which seems to have received its beauty and its name from the muses themselves. Nor, upon being asked to indicate the most sacred “‘island-jewel” of that sacred cluster, would any poet or any lover of poetry hesitate to name a certain little world of not much more than fifty miles in length, in breadth not much more than half that number, in the Gulf of Adramyti. The glories of Chios may be uncertain and mythical as the glories of Avilion or Lyonesse, but not so the glories of Mitylene, which are as tangible, as real and indisputable, as those of Florence and Stratford-on-Avon. The criticism of sceptical Germany cannot rob us of everything; it cannot deny that here were born Sappho and Alczeus, that here in this island two poets sang songs such as have never been, andnevercan be, sung again. And what poet or lover of poetry, on being asked to name the one poetical figure of the whole world in whom, after Shakspeare, he felt the deepest personal interest, would fail to choose the name of her whose poetry reveals, even in the fragments that have come down to us, a genius which among lyrists is as peerless as Shakspeare’s among dramatists ? Mr. Tennyson is, therefore, to be con- gratulated, firstly, on having chosen for his volume a name whose music is perennial and whose magic of association is irresistible, and secondly, for his courage in having chosen it. Often in these columns has it been our duty and our delight to extol the courage of the British poet as com- pared with that of the mere hero of the sword. Only once in our naval history is there any record of a captain attacking single-handed an entire squadron of the foe. But the daring of Sir Richard Grenville =~ before that of many an ambitious ard whom we should be proud to name if he would not take it amiss. We have only to tell the reader of this review that the heroine of the poem to be discussed is none other than Sappho herself—that the scenery it depicts is that of the paradise amid which she lived, loved, and sang—in order to justify a laudation of British courage which at first sight may seem insular and exces- sive. The literature of all countries teems with what, for lack of a more precise word, we all agree to call poetry—though for the most part it is the nebulous material from which poetry can be made rather than poetry pro- perly so called. But in art, as in nature, though a universe of fire-mist may be squeezed into a living universe of stars, the hand that squeezes must be strong. It would take a universe of such twinklings of poetic fire as lit the languid heavens of the modern world till Dante rose to make one such burning star of song as that ode of Sappho’s preserved by Lon- ginus and supposed to be addressed to Anactoria. Never before that song was sung and never since has the human soul in the grip of passion uttered a cry like that. And as we have before said, when speaking of it from the executive point of view, in directness, in lucidity—in that high, imperious verbal economy which only Nature herself can teach the artist— it has no equal, and none worthy to take the place of second, not even in the utterances of Dante, of Heine, or of Burns. This being so, on coming some little time since upon certain restorations of Sappho’s lost verses by a poet who writes under the name of Michael Field, we thought that nothing more daring would be attempted. The volume before us proves, however, that we were wrong, quite wrong. The courage of Michael Field was grand, but compared with that of him who gives us in some thousands of verses not only the scenery of the islesof Greece, but also Sappho’s portrait, painted by herself—Sappho surrounded by her friends, including certain Lesbian ladies whose genius and whose charms have never been doubted, but whose moral characters have, it seems, for thousands of years been grievously maligned by history and tradi- tion—compared with such courage as this what is the courage of even a Michael Field ? Sappho’s portrait as she understood it her- self, and the portrait of that hitherto mysterious female friend of hers to whom is supposed to be addressed the most perfect lyric in the world, here they are, rendered in Sappho’s own words as taken down by Mr. Tennyson :— Ofttimes the blissful Anaktoria came, From fair Ionia where she was born, Across the seas, attended by her sire, To taste the Autumn in their island home, A palace amid pleasant paradises. Between the loftier mountains and the town Princely it stood, upon a seaward slope Of terraces, and spacious lawns, between Emboss’d with bowers, sustaining from their arms The linked vines, downdrooping to the sward Their gold and purple clusters ; and at noon Made emerald twilights, while the breeze upbore The city murmurs, and the silver sighs Of the smooth waters dozing in the sun, Ofttimes we trod together the turfwalks, While the swart countryfolk, with naked feet And sunbrown arms, were kindling the hillside With shout and song, and spoiling the fair land, And swinging the piled panniers to each other, Bleeding the red wine thro’ their amber ribs. And sire, and son, and dark-eyed daughters ran Along the smooth green, up and down ; and stain’d The naked feet with blood of Evan slain ; And sang together, shaking the still air With jubilee, and mocked at one another. With blessing they received her, old and young, A Goddess stepping from a winged car. And blest was she with beauty, power, and gold. And o’er the curl’d heads of their little ones She bended ; and stretcht out her boonful hand. The aged poor pray'd for her as she pass’d ; And hoary grandsires bow’d upon their staves. Oh! blest was she! as her delighted eyes, From some high balcon diving far below, Follow’d their nimble motions; as the sun, Slanting atween the broad leaves blown apart, Lit up some merry girl's upturned face ; Or gilded, as she fled, her flowing skirts, And long dark hair: and, “‘O my friend,” she said, “ Methinks Id liefer be a village maid, Free to unbind my tresses to the wind, Sing as the lark, and like the rivulet dance, Mine ever busy, yet delightful day Rolling on swiftest wheels ; my sleep at night One dark unconscious moment; than be Queen Of all this world; oh! Iam sick of pomp, And gilded lamps, and swelling songs, and breath Of praise, like sickly odours, flattery The incense that doth veil the world from us, And from the glass of conscience hides ourselves Leaving their spirits unapproachable, Making their faces indistinguishable.” Charles Lamb once indulged in some appalling speculations as to whether in the spiritual world the reading of books was possible. Not being a reviewer of poetry, a@ man may, it seems, dare to confront so ghastly a dream. But if, indeed, so terrible a doom is before the human race, if the shades do really read books, how astonished must be some of the more illus- trious readers! When the heroes of certain historical poems, novels, and plays come upon the words put into their mouths by the novelists and the poets who have fastened upon them, what must be their criticism upon the value of imaginative literature ? On reading Scott’s ‘Kenilworth,’ for in- stance, what were Shakspeare’s remarks at finding himself talking as a full-grown man at the time of those famous Kenilworth festivals whose splendours he had heard of as a wondering boy? What have been the remarks of the Maid of Orleans during all the years that she has been reading the words put into her mouth by poets, drama- tists, and actresses from the writer of ‘ King Henry VI.’ down to Schiller, from Schiller down to Sarah Bernhardt? What were the remarks of England’s second Edward when he read those pathetic words put into his mouth by Marlowe? And the heroine of the poem before us, if she did really take that leap from the Leuca- dian Rock, what does she think of all those thoughts and emotions that, according to the imaginings of a hundred subsequent poets and novelists, came to her as she leapt? On the other hand, if she never did take the leap, what, then, does she think of all those same imaginings? And now this entirely new set of emotions given to her by Mr. Tennyson, who makes the leap to be a mere hallucination, the result of brain fever, —what has she to say tothem? No doubt this, the latest, change in the tradition has this justification, that it may be said to har- monizo with those ideas of the dream-figure, the vrap, and the wraith which—seeing that in the ‘ Helena’ of. Euripides it is the wraith of the true Helen that makes the drama pos- sible—are as much Greek as Scottish. But what does Sappho think of all the things she here says about that imaginary leap? And as regards ofher and even more irre- gular passages of her life, when she com- pares the words she addressed to Anactoria, as reported by Mr. Swinburne, with her ’
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656 THE ATHENAUM N° 3290, Nov. 15,90 words to the same lady as reported here by her latest biographer, what does she say about each? And what does Anactoria say? Mr. Swinburne’s portrait of her struggling in the arms of a poetess fiery and loving, but, according to tradition, plain, and Mr. Tennyson’s portrait of her as a millionaire Florence Nightingale, doing the good work of a benevolent Madame Midas in the isles of Greece—which of these two somewhat conflicting pictures makes her smile the more ? And then Phaon. What must that un- willing lover think as he reads the modern homily about the moulding effect of spirit upon matter which he affiliates upon Aphro- dite—yes, upon the ethically-minded Aphro- dite herself ? Love is the best gift that thy world can yield. Beauty should be its garment ; and when Time Hath reap’d the harvest of the evil earth, The thoughts of men shall mould their outward form ; And, love being in the heart as in the eye, And interchanged by twain who love each other, Not given in vain to unrequiting souls, All loves shall be concordant, as the sweet Concert of bass and treble instruments. And infants shall inherit in their souls Ancestral harmonies ; and the pure thought, And the kind heart be pictured in the face, Material symbol of the soul itself ; Like and unlike, yet answering to each other, As Nature to the Supernatural, O mortal, but the days are not yet come For such a change ; but I can make thee such. Be thou, as thou wouldst be, if that great day Had dawn’d upon the world ; be thou, O boy, The visible semblance of thine inmost soul. No one will deny that these words are as full of truth as of beauty. But when Phaon tells us that they fell from the lips of the queen of beauty and of love we feel sorry for him; we feel that not even Bottom him- self suffered from a more marvellous trans- lation than did the unwilling boatman. The lines we have quoted are quite sufficient to show that Mr. Tennyson is a poet—though a somewhat diffuse one— and they are quite sufficient to show that in printing on his title-page the same sur- name as that borne by the most illustrious writer now living he has not been over- bold. It was well to let it be fully seen that upom the Tennysons poetic genius has fallen as a family inheritance. To read his descriptions of Mediterranean scenery is to feel upon our temples the sunny wind of the sea the poets love. And if, instead of the quintessential poetry of his brother, the writer gives us poetry in solution, it is a living fluid nevertheless ; it is a fluid alive with the golden light of the Aigean; it is a fluid rich with the breath of olive and orange, and perfumed with the wild honey of the Cyclades. It is only when the reader thinks of his verses as the utterances of Sappho, Alczeus, Anactoria, and the rest that he begins to smile. Is it surprising, however, that this poem, exhibiting as little conception of the methods of Greek art as the poem that Keats wrote before those methods were in a sudden flash revealed to him, should be written by a stu- dent of Greek poetry—a student so thorough, so full of scholarly allusions, that the reader of the poem in order fully to enjoy the riches must be a scholar too? Is this sur- prising? No, not in the least. Courageous as is the British artist, there is not, from the Greek point of view, so marvellous a creature in the wide world as he. Whether his medium | be marble, or pigments, or words, there is no eccentricity he will not at times pursue. But it is the artist in words who alone con- cerns us here. Vast, indeed, are the differ- ences between the Greek language and the English ; yet there is between them a kin- ship too—a kinship mysterious and inexplic- able. Poetry rather than prose seems to be the natural, the spontaneous voice of both. Genius can in both languages express itself in verse without much of that mechanical word-kneading which in other tongues seems to be essential; and in both lan- guages first-class prose is, if not impossible, the result of a manipulation that robs it of idiomatic ‘‘spring’’ and elasticity. Does not such a kinship seem to be fundamental almost? Yet between the two poetic litera- tures how immense the difference! Richer in poetic ore than any other, why is not English literature at the head of the litera- ture of the world? Because literature, like the other arts, is an expression of artistic method. But what is artistic method? The question is not so hard to answer as it seems to be. We may be sure that if Goethe and Schelling, Hegel and Coleridge, had been privileged like us to confront this question of method in the day- light of a new theory of Nature’s method, they would never have been contented with such examinations as theirs of the method of art. When, for instance, Goethe declared that ‘‘ art is art because it is not Nature,” he would have gone on to explain that, although Nature’s art is, like the art of man, the splendid result of the struggle between matter and form, the shaping power in the case of the one exercises itself by means of a vast waste of material, while in the case of the other, waste of material is often nothing but material in the wrong place, and is, therefore, apt to choke up the very organism itself and destroy it. The smaller the waste of material in the exercise of man’s art—the smaller the amount of material in the wrong place—the higher the method of the artist. No doubt, how- ever, there is in this respect a great difference between the various human arts. In sculpture material wasted may be material lost, and nothing more. But in some other arts—perhaps in all others—material wasted is not simply material lost, for it can smother up and destroy the artistic product. In painting this is so, and in architecture. But it is in music and in literature that is most clearly seen the mischief of material in the wrong place. In most of the Italian operas, and, indeed, in much of the musical writing that preceded the romantic move- ment in music, the destructive power of material in the wrong place is painfully apparent. But it is literary art that suffers most cruelly from material in the wrong place; it is in literature that the enor- mous power of artistic method is most clearly seen. Of this waste of material— this material set in the wrong place—there is —notwithstanding the case of Pindar’s odes, whose diffuseness, apparent rather than real, has been fully discussed in these columns — immeasurably less in Greek poetry than in any other, though, of course, all other Greek poets fall far behind Sappho. In a general way so perfect is the adap- tation of artistic means to artistic ends, that even in the most impassioned lyric the poet is never dowdds merely; he is ovis there as much as in the most artfully builded tragedy. And as to drama, even when, as in Adschylus, the shaping hand seems to tremble under the load of poetic wealth, it is not really so, nor is the dramatic movement really retarded; for so supreme is the dramatist’s art that the poetry is itself the dramatic action, as is seen in the speeches of Cassandra in the ‘Agamemnon,’ and in every chorus and kommos where, by means of subtle allusions, the movement is carried on as thoroughly and firmly as Shakspeare would have carried it on by means of mechanical action. We need only turn to the Elizabethan dramatists to see that in this respect English poetry is the opposite of the Greek. To writers like Dekker, Cyril Tourneur, and Kyd it never for one moment occurred that waste of material—material in the wrong place—is fatal to the vitality of art. And narrative poetry was equally unconscious of Greek methods. The greatest dramatist the modern world has seen was the author of ‘Venus and Adonis,’ which consists of material in the wrong place, and nothing else. Scholarship, it may perhaps be said, should save the poet from this ruinous waste of material. But will itdoso? We think not. And when English literature gets the ode on a Grecian urn or the ‘Empedocles on Etna,’ it is indebted to Arnold’s scholarship as little for the one as it is indebted for tho other to Keats’s ignorance of Greek. Nothing but an exceptional and very rare temperament will endow an English poet with the capacity of being moulded by Greek methods. But what about the cause of the state of things we are glancing at? It is now some years since we touched upon this subject when discussing the question whether Hellenism can ever now be grafted on Anglo-Saxonism and live. We then pointed out that long before the Hampton Court Conference, long before the Bishops’ Bible or Coverdale’s Bible, long before even Aldhelm’s time, Hebraism had been mould- ing the Anglo-Saxon mind. From the time when the Saxon cowherd Coedmon was bidden in his dreams to sing the Biblical story, Anglo-Saxon literature had through the whole of its plastic period been growing more and more Hebraic. It was not till quite late—it was not till the plastic period of our literature had long passed—that the study of Greek poetry had any place at all in England. And then such slow progress did the study of it make, after the first enthusiasm for it had passed away, that (as Mr. Pollard has recently re- marked) in the catalogue of the books published in England before 1640 of which copies exist in the British Museum there is not a single entry under the head- ing Jischylus. Sophocles is only repre- sented by Watson’s translation in 1581 of the ‘Antigone’ into Latin verse; Euripides by three editions of the ‘ Phoonisse,’ as ‘translated and digested into Acte,” under the name of ‘Jocasta,’ by Gascoigne and Kinwelmershe; Aristophanes only by a Greek text of the ‘ Knights,’ published at Oxford in 1598. But supposing that it had been otherwise —supposing that in the plastic period of our literature our poets had been as familiar
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N° 3290, Nov. 15, 90 THE ATHENZUM 657 with the masterpieces of Greek art as they are now—what would have been the effect of this as regards artistic methods? Would it then have been possible for drama- tists to write as Dekker and Cyril Tour- neur and Kyd wrote? And coming to our own time, would it have been possible for a writer like Charlotte Bronté to put into the mouth of the schoolgirl Shirley rhetorical perorations more artificial than those of De Quincey or Mr. Ruskin? Would it have been possible for Emily Bronté to put into the mouth of an otherwise commonplace housekeeper a dramatic narrative as intel- lectually searching and as intensely pas- sionate as anything in prose literature ? No amount of scholarly study of foreign models can, it would seem, have much effect upon the method of a poet whose mind has been fed from childhood upon a mother literature to which those models were foreign during the whole of its child- hood, youth, and early manhood. And when we remember this, and remember that in art the method of expression is more than the thing expressed, we shall not find it difficult, perhaps, to understand the question we have been glancing at; we shall not find it difficult to under- stand why an English poet may know by heart the ‘(Edipus Rex’ of Sophocles, and yet write plays where the dramatic movement is carried on by means, not of expectation unadulterated by surprise, but of curiosity—a curiosity as pure as that which moves a story by Wilkie Collins; we shall not find it difficult to understand why an English poet may be steeped in Pindar, and yet write ‘irregular odes’’ in the full belief that they are ‘‘ Pindaric ’—why an English poet may adore the work of Sappho, and yet put into her mouth thou- sands of lines of diffuse modern description. Nothing would give us so much pain as to find that there is in the above remarks one word that could be construed into dis- respect to the venerable writer who is at once a poet himself and the brother of the greatest poet of his age. But art is a sacred thing, and above all personal considerations. Assuredly, it is not because we are unim- pressed by the sweetness of this poem that we expressthe wish that itmay be thelast attempt to dramatize the story of Sappho. It is its very sweetness, indeed, that calls up with a painful irony that bitter enigma of Sappho’s life and character which, as it can never be usefully solved, should be left to sleep. If her crowning lyric were addressed to some lover, such as Phaon, for instance, or Alczeus, the Sappho of Mr. Tennyson might be a possible conception; but from internal evidence we know that it was not. Nor can the hypothesis be for one moment sustained that this ode is a dramatic lyric after the fashion of modern poets, for Greek lyric is personal always.. And although friendship, no doubt, can and does in certain rare natures pass into a positive passion, as is seen by Shakspeare’s sonnets and in Lord Tennyson’s ‘In Memoriam,’ it is a passion of a fundamentally different kind from that expressed in this ode, of which the ode to Aphrodite is but the further efflorescence. All external evidence may be, and, indeed, should be, dismissed where it consists of tradition merely, but Sappho’s written word remains, laughing to scorn the special pleadings of the Welckers and the Miillers. Why, then, vex the lover of poetry with all kinds of fancies about Sappho— fancies which are as idle as they are false? Not- withstanding all our study of Greek litera- ture, between us of this day and the people for whom were sung the songs of Sappho and of Anacreon—the people to whom the inconceivable moralizings of certain of Plato’s dialogues appealed—there is a great gulf fixed. Harm has been done by trying to bridge it. A state of society in which Nature’s most fundamental and sacred laws were, through some inconceivable and acci- dental aberration of primal instinct, dis- turbed seems to be removed from the modern world not by a few thousands of years but by millions. There are moments when in reading some of the Greek poets paleeolithicman seems notsofarremoved from us as the polished poetic artist of Greece ; and at the head of the poets thus removed from us stands she who in virtue of this ode shines at the head of the poets of the world. That modern poets will in future let Sappho alone is what the lovers of Sappho’s art most deeply desire. One remarkable feature of the poem is that Mr. Tennyson’s blank verse seems to have been influenced only in the very smallest degree by his brother’s cadences. Occasionally no doubt a sentence will have the Tennysonian ring, but only occasion- ally ; and while conciseness is one of the Laureate’s finest characteristics, diffuseness is a feature of Mr. Tennyson’s style. Yet in spite of some few verses that are quite unscannable the blank verse has a music of its own. This music would often have been more apparent had not the sentences been dislocated by a system of punctuation such as, we will venture to say, has never before been seen in the work of a scholar. It is not merely that Mr. Tennyson has no idea of the disjunctive power of his favourite point the semicolon, but by sprinkling his commas over the page he will turn a long sentence into a string of parentheses. For striking examples of the mischievous effect of a bad system of punctuation we will refer the reader to a few pages only: 26, 58, 59, 61, 67, 97, 104 (line 116), 120 (line 136). Also there are many such mistakes as rhymed couplets accidentally making their appearance in the body of the blank verse, which in another edition should be rectified. The Queen’s Prime Ministers.—Lord Beacons- field. By J. A. Froude. (Sampson Low & Co.) Art the periodical sessions of the Académie Francaise itis an agreeable diversion of that august body to abstain for a day from the solemn task of compiling its sempiternal dictionary while one or other of its more illustrious members reads to his fellow immortals chapters or passages from an unfinished work not yet given to the world. The Duc d’Aumale has thus during the present year recited to his colleagues in the Palais Mazarin an interesting excerpt from his ‘ History of the House of Condé,’ and the Duc de Broglie has in like manner rehearsed some portions of his long antici- pated ‘Memoirs of Talleyrand.’ In reading Mr. Froude’s biography of Lord Beacons- field we have experienced a sensation such as would be felt by the privileged audience if there were an English Academy wherein the rehabilitator of Henry VIII., one of the most distinguished of the forty, had been reading desultory extracts from a projected history of the ‘ Life and Times of Benjamin Disraeli.’ A fortnight ago, in reviewing the biography of Sir Stafford Northcote, we felt bound to say that the family of that lamented statesman had made a mistake in committing his letters and diaries to a biographer, when, for reasons which we fully set forth, an adequate biography was impossible. The literary executors of Lord Beaconsfield have not followed a course of similar preci- pitancy, and they do not appear to have entrusted to Mr. Froude any portion of the enormous mass of papers which the late Conservative chief left behind him at his death in 1881, as it was probably not through them that the author of the mono- graph obtained the interesting set of letters addressed to Mrs. Brydges Willyams which constitute the only part of the work novel to the public. Saving this, Mr. Froude has had access only to material which is open to all the world, and with it he has con- structed a volume most attractive as an example of English style, and highly interesting as a criticism of the work of one great writer by another. Yet although the literary style of the book is admirable, exception must be taken to its form from the point of view of a political monograph. The volume is the first of a series designed to record the career and works of the Prime Ministers of England since the accession of the Queen. Three- fifths of it are occupied with the early his- tory and struggles of Mr. Disraeli down to the fall of Sir Robert Peel, including in its survey about twenty-five years of his early manhood. The romantic interest attaching to the beginning of his marvellous career is so great that we should not be disposed to blame his biographer for devoting only the lesser of the two portions of the book to the succeeding thirty-five years had that remainder been entirely given to the life and actions of the leader and recon- structor of the Tory party; but of these last hundred pages of the little volume fewer than fifty deal directly with the public or private existence of Disraeli, and con- siderable space is occupied with disserta- tions on historical questions which have only a somewhat remote connexion with the subject of the biography. It was for this reason that we suggested at the outset that the perusal of Mr. Froude’s volume left an impression that it consisted of a series of sketches destined to take their place eventually in a monumental work. In justification of this impression we may point out that whereas in the chapter relating to the disestablishment of the Irish Church eleven pages are filled with a dis- quisition on the history of Ireland, which sets forth with forcible expression Mr. Froude’s well-known views on that country, less than that amount of space is made to suffice for the first twenty years of Disraeli’s leadership of the Conservative party in the House of Commons. Mr. Froude, having traced his career in detail down to the over- throw of Peel, says :— ‘‘ Henceforward it is neither necessary nor possible to follow his actions with the sare
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658 THE ATHENAUM N° 3290, Nov. 15, 90 minuteness. The outer side of them is within the memory of mostof us. The inner side can only be known when his private papers are given to the world.” The last words quoted justify, of course, the omission of much which some persons unreasonably hoped Mr. Froude would be able to elucidate. For example, later in the book he hints that until Disraeli became Prime Minister in 1867 ‘‘he was not even a grata persona to the highest person in the realm,” and it would have satisfied much curiosity had Mr. Froude been enabled authentically to reveal the opinions held by the Prince Consort on the character of the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the last two Conservative administrations before the death of his Royal Highness. It is evi- dent that there are most grave and potent reasons why matters such as these should be withheld from the present generation; but when Mr. Froude says that the outer side of Mr. Disraeli’s actions throughout this period is within the memory of most of us, he is oblivious of the swift passage of time. Of the thousands of readers who in the long evenings of this winter will be fascinated by his volume, the vast majority were not born in the year of the scene described in ‘ Endymion,’ when so depleted of its leaders was the Tory party that on the formation of Lord Derby’s Government a dozen novices all in a row knelt to take the Privy Coun- cillor’s oath; and the most precocious striplings who criticized or applauded Dizzy’s first budget are now on the verge of their sixtieth year. Time flies fleetly, and it will soon be a quarter of a century since Mr. Disraeli became Chancellor of the Ex- chequer for the third and last time. The youngest politicians who remember the Ten Minutes Bill are now promising young men of fifty, and for the benefit of their juniors Mr. Froude—who, during all this period which he passes by almost in silence, was intimately allied with many of the con- spicuous men of the day—would have done well to describe some of the incidents in the management of the shattered and re- consolidated Tory party. The reviler of Peel was a mere gladiator of debate com- pared to the astute leader who sat night after night and session after session watch- ing for his opportunity. The patience of Disraeli during these long years of waiting was one of his most admirable qualities as a great Parliament man, and it is a pity that this powerful side of his character is not more effectively displayed in the volume before us. We do not wish to give the impression that Mr. Froude ought to have produced an ordinary biography on conventional lines ; we merely put on record our regret that this master of the English language, who, though young, was already taking an active part in life in the middle of the century, has not with his facile pen traced the incidents of Disraeli’s early official experiences, or de- scribed his relations with his first colleagues, or discoursed in his pleasant way about the days spent amid the groves of Deepdene or of the domestic and social life at Grosvenor Gate. It would, moreover, have been of considerable value to know the opinion of an accomplished literary man on the various explanations which have been given of the audacious plagiarism committed by Mr. Disraeli in the funereal panegyric he pro- nounced in the House of Commons on the Duke of Wellington. The passages relating to the past history of England in both the earlier and the later portions of the volume are in reality ‘‘ short studies on great sub- jects,” which are as interesting as anything Mr. Froude has written under that title, and we conceive them to be out of place in a work of necessarily limited proportions only because they occupy space which might have been filled with matter more appro- priate here. Had Mr. Froude been relating the life of Sir Robert Peel, of Mr. Cobden, or of Lord George Bentinck, whose names recur in his pages, there would have been more fitness in lengthy dissertations on the earlier history of the nation which produced those eminent individuals ; but throughout the volume he repeats with reiterated emphasis that Disraeli was not a son of the land which he eventually governed, and that from be- ginning to end he was as little an English- man as Bernadotte wasa Swede or Pozzo di Borgo a Muscovite. We do not go so far as Mr. Froude in this estimate of Disraeli, but the fact that he holds this opinion strengthens our criticism of the plan of his monograph. The true-born Englishman of tradition is the Philistine of to-day. The young Disraeli in the days of bitter racial and religious prejudice was looked upon with suspicion because he came into the world neither hunting nor shooting, but despising the accomplishments of the country gentlemen whom he led. In the present era there are Hebrew denizens in our country of continental origin, intrepid masters of hounds and skilful drivers of coaches, who, according to this standard, are more worthy of the name of Englishmen than many of our most eminent countrymen. Lord Salisbury is, and the late Mr. Matthew Arnold was, almost destitute of what are popularly called English tastes, though both of them public-school and university men ; yet by large sections of their contemporaries, in some respects widely differing, they are looked upon as the best that England can produce among her sons. Five-and- twenty years ago Sir Stafford Northcote genially jeered at the idea of Dizzy being able to judge between a Cotswold and a Southdown; in the present day the Con- servative Minister of Agriculture declares that not one of his colleagues on the Treasury Bench in the House of Commons knows the difference between a horse and a cow, though all but two of those right honourable gentlemen are of English origin. Mr. Froude belongs by birth and by sym- pathy to a generation which produced a race of English statesmen who were all of a type that is now well-nigh extinct in public life. We do not think that the example of Disraeli’s habits has had anything to do with their disappearance, though undoubt- edly his democratizing of the Tory party has had much to do with it. We thoroughly appreciate Mr. Froude’s point of view, though we cannot quite regard the character of Disraeli from it; yet his estimate of the inventor of the new Conservatism is most interesting, whether we regard it as the judgment of an accomplished man of letters or as the lament of one of the best examples of the intellectual Toryism of the past. The book opens with an account of one of Car- lyle’s scathing denunciations of ‘‘ the Hebrew conjuror,”’ the effect of which is rather spoilt by the ending, where we are told that after Disraeli’s offer of a ribbon and a pen- sion to the philosopher ‘‘he did perceive that there might be qualities in the man to which he had not done perfect justice.’ Carlyle’s fierce criticism is not precisely the key-note of the volume, as Mr. Froude at times bestows sincere, though never en- thusiastic praise on his subject; but from beginning to end there runs the prevailing idea that Disraeli was, during the whole of his career, an alien alike in religion and in race ; that politics was his profession ; and that he had taken service in England just as soldiers of fortune in past days used to enter and command the armies of nations to which they were strangers. Speaking of his attitude previous to ‘the Leap in the Dark ” of 1867, Mr. Froude says :— ‘Though born an Englishman and proud of the position he had won, he had not an English temperament and he was unembarrassed by Eng- lish prejudices. He surveyed the situation with the coolness of a general and the impartiality of a friend who has no personal interests at stake.” And again, in 1874 :— ‘* He had committed himself to few definite opinions...... He was sincerely and loyally anxious to serve the interests of the British Empire...... but in deciding what was to be done it was natural that he would continue to be guided by an ambition to make his Ministry memorable, and by the cosmopolitan and Oriental tempera- ment of his own mind.” Most interesting are Mr. Froude’s appre- ciations of Disraeli’s religious beliefs, inas- much as it is the author’s opinion, to use his own words, that ‘‘the most important fact to every man is his religion.”” Of Disraeli he says: ‘‘Though calling himself a Chris- tian, he was a Jew at heart. He regarded Christianity as only Judaism developed.” And again, in a very characteristic passage : ‘* He seemed to think that if Newman had paid more attention to ‘Coningsby’ the course of things might have been different...... Yet the juxtaposition of Newman and Disraeli cannot be thought of without an involuntary smile. It would be wrong to say that Disraeli had no religious convictions. He was a Hebrew to the heart of him...... He was nominally a member of the Church of England, but......his creed, as sketched in the ‘ Life of Lord George Bentinck,’ would scarcely find acceptance in any Christian community.” And again, with much sagacity, Mr. Froude observes :— “He speaks of the mysteries of Christianity in a tone which, if not sincere, is detestable...... But it is to be remembered that in his real nature he remained a Jew, and his thoughts on these great subjects ran on Asiatic rather than on European lines. We imagine that the Scrip- tures must be read everywhere into the same meaning; we forget how much European thought has passed into them through the various translations. In the English version St. Paul reasons like an Englishman. A Jew reads in St. Paul’s language allusions to Oriental customs and beliefs of which Europeans know nothing.” Lord Beaconsfield summed up his creed in an epigram in ‘ Endymion,’ but whatever the mystery of his religious belief he was undoubtedly devoted to his Jewish race, and proud of its destiny. Of his family he
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XUM Ne 3290, Nov. 15, 790 THE ATHENAZUM 659 himself said that they called themselves Disraeli, or Sons of Israel, a name never borne before or since by any other family, in order that their race might be for ever recognized. Mr. Froude says Disraeli was “‘ affected,” and though he is supported in his proposi- tion not only by general opinion, but by the assurance of Disraeli himself, we venture to doubt it. There were indubitably moments when he affected some character which did not fit him, as, for example, on the occasion when Leech caricatured him in the ple- thoric habiliments of a British agriculturist and farmers’ friend; but what are usually termed his affectations were the natural workings of the real man. Perhaps this is what Mr. Froude means when he says that “even when most in earnest he was inveterately affected.” His delightful letters to his family and intimate friends on his first journey to the Mediterranean might have been characterized as affected if they had come from the pen of a British undergraduate with wit enough to have py og them, but can any one doubt that in them was displayed the real Disraeli? The sentiments expressed in the well-known epistle to Edward Bulwer, wherein he dis- courses of the ideal life, ‘‘to repose on voluptuous divans and smoke superb pipes, to court the air in a carved caique by shores which are a perpetual scene,” were no more artificial than the love of Heine for the boulevards. The same may be said of Disraeli’s costumes. In the early thirties the influence of the romantic movement had spread over England, and Disraeli’s dress only differed from that of Count d’Orsay and of other members of the Gore House set in that he displayed an Oriental want of refinement, or rather exuberance. The memoirs quoted by Mr. Froude de- scribing his garments disingenuously give the impression that he arrayed himself like a Jack-in-the-Green or a Guy Faux to be present at entertainments where all other male attire was the waiters’ livery of to-day. Mr. Froude’s criticisms of Disraeli’s literary works are of the highest value, and though we consider, for reasons already set forth, that the analyses and quotations occupy too much space, they are extremely interesting. He places ‘ Lothair,’ as we suspected he would, as the first of all Disraeli’s romances; and though we are inclined to agree with Mr. Froude in his estimate of the position of this novel in English fiction, we are likewise inclined to believe that his dispositions in favour of that masterpiece are encouraged by the ‘‘ revelations ” it contains of the toils which Rome deploys to ensnare unwary Protestants. Next to ‘ Lothair,’ and above the trilogy of ‘Coningsby,’ ‘Sybil,’ and ‘Tancred,’ Mr. Froude puts three light satires which the young Dizzy composed before he was twenty- five— ‘Ixion in Heaven,’ ‘The Infernal Marriage,’ and ‘ Popanilla.’ The portion of the work which will possibly attract most popular interest is the chapter containing the letters written to Mrs. Brydges Willyams, an elderly lady of Jewish birth who conceived a romantic attachment for Disraeli, and who finally was buried in his family grave at Hughen- den, after leaving to him a fortune. The passage which has been most quoted from these letters is the one which declares that in 1862 the Greeks wished to make the present Lord Derby their king; but there are others not without interest, as when in the following year, with the careless jaunti- ness of a leader of Opposition who did not apprehend that for many a day he would be the guardian of Foreign Office secrets, he confides to the sympathetic widow Louis Napoleon’s plan for the rearrangement of the map of Europe, whereby “‘ he may cure the partition of Poland by a partition of Prussia: Austria in that case to regain Silesia; France to have the Rhine; and Galicia and Posen to be restored to Poland. The Queen is much alarmed for the future throne of her daughter.’”’ He adds, somewhat naively, as it seems now, “Tf this happens it will give altogether a new form and colour to European politics.” We have already spoken of the admirable style in which the monograph is written. Scattered up and down the volume there are short sentences so well turned as to de- serve to be classed as epigrams. We do not, however, like the description of the Liberal reaction after the Jingo fever of 1878: ‘‘Like drunkards recovering from a debauch and revolting at their own orgies, the constituencies recalled the Radicals to power.” This seems to be borrowed from the happier sentence which said that John Bull had been to Cremorne, and with the morrow’s headache was grumbling at the bill—an epigram attributed, in error we believe, to an under-secretary in the Glad- stone governments of 1868 and 1880. Mr. Froude makes his readers fastidious, and a piece of English which would read well enough in ordinary prose jars on the ear if it falls short of his high standard. For example, he says of the medieval baron: ‘“‘He lived as frugally as his tenants, sleeping on a hard bed, eating hard, plain food, with luxury unheard of and undreamt of.” The signification of the sentence is clear enough, but the arrangement of the last seven words causes some obscurity. Again, it is not pleasant to find Mr. Froude using the word “royalties” when the expression ‘‘royal personages” is meant. The inaccuracies in the book are few. Lord Salisbury ought to be called Lord Cranborne at the time of his secession from the Conservative Government before ‘‘ the Leap in the Dark,” as it is important to remember that he was then a member of the House of Commons. Mr. Froude ventures on two statements in different parts of the book—the one being that Mr. Disraeli steered clear of all ‘‘ entanglements ”’ with women inthe period before his marriage, and the other being that Lord Beaconsfield spoke ‘‘tolerable’’ French at the time of the Berlin Congress — about which we need only say that their accuracy depends on the meaning attached to the words “entanglements” and “ tolerable.” The book, though printed in good type, has a somewhat mean appearance, and con- tains some bad misprints. The name of Monckton Milnes’s seat in Yorkshire is misspelt, and in the famous Oxford speech in which Disraeli declared himself to be ‘‘ on the side of the angels” the substitution of ‘‘our”’ for one makes nonsense of a sentence. The series of which this is the first number is said to be put forth under the supervision of an editor, but it is difficult to conceive wherein the editing of the monograph con- sists ; for it is evident that a writer of Mr. Froude’s standing would permit no liberties with the text, and equally evident that the “editor” has not taken the pains to read the proof-sheets. Mr. Froude’s well-known pessimism per- vades the whole volume from the first pages where he tells that Carlyle wished him to enter Parliament as a quasi-follower of Disraeli, whose only recommendation was that he was preferable to a worse alternative. Whether we entirely sympathize with it or not, we can at all events cordially con- gratulate him on its unimpaired robustness, as pessimism in these days of elderly en- thusiasm is a sure sign of youth. His sum- ming up of Lord Beaconsfield’s latest achievements is pitched in the same key :— ‘Disraeli failed as he deserved to fail. He thought that he was reviving patriotic enthu- siasm, and all that he did was to create jingoism. seca No public man in England ever rose so high and acquired power so great, so little of whose work has survived him...... Possibly if among his other gifts he had inherited an English character he might have devoted himself more completely to great national questions; he might even have inscribed his name in the great roll of English worthies. But he was English only by adoption, and he never completely identified himself with the country which he ruled. At heart he was a Hebrew to the end.” Mr. Froude balances these appreciations with a few concluding sentences of faint praise, testifying that Disraeli was guiltless of avarice, and incapable of financial dis- honour. We are not called upon to pass judgment upon the judgment of Mr. Froude. His position in English literature, and his strongly biassed, but honest convictions, give a peculiar interest to his opinions; and when we contemplate the possibility that in the future the history of the great educator of the Tory party may be written by a Con- servative Democrat of that new type which he created, but which, like most created things, has no conception of its creator, and that the wondrous figure of Disraeli may be fashioned like that image of Lord Beacons- field in Palace Yard bedecked with tributary garlands, we regretfully wish that the powerful hand which has produced this sketch of a biography may retain its strength long enough to complete the work. London Letters. By George W. Smalley. 2 vols. (Macmillan & Co.) As Louis Blane used from time to time to publish two volumes of London letters, so in turn another well-known London corre- spondent enters on a similar enterprise by reprinting a good selection from his able letters to the New York Zribune ; for we can- not doubt that if the present venture should prove successful, Mr. Smalley will provide other volumes for the English-reading public of both continents. Of the letters here reprinted the first five are the best: those on Prince Bismarck, Count H. Bismarck, the dismissal of Prince Bismarck, the German Emperor, and Gam- betta; the next best being those on Lord Iddesleigh, and on Mr. E. W. Hamilton, under the title of ‘‘The Private Secretary.” M. Louis Blane used to publish his letters in chronological order, which is the best
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660 THE ATHENZUM N° 3290, Nov. 15, 90 order possible. classification with singular want of success, and the reader is disturbed by finding him- self going now back, now forward in years, and passing from 1884 to 1879, and from 1879 to 1884. The letters in which Mr. Smalley has used language which would be resented on this side of the Atlantic are rigidly excluded from the present series, and the contribu- tions which appear in the two volumes are those in which Mr. Smalley is able to agree with the usual English view, or not depart from it more widely than English opinion thinks allowable. So far are they from being unfair that Mr. Smalley’s judgments of Englishmen, as here permitted to appear, fall sometimes short of the necessities of the case. For example, he says of Mr. Abraham Hayward, ‘‘ His conduct to Mill will not admit of a complete defence,” the fact being that Mr. Hayward chose the weeks following Mill’s death to print for private circulation an attack on him so gross that those of Hayward’s own friends who disliked Mill were unable to find words strong enough to express their sense of the offence against decency which had been committed by him. Of the minor errors which we have found in reading Mr. Smalley’s volumes we note that he makes Mr. Balfour a member of the Fourth Party. Now Mr. Balfour was not, strictly speaking, at any moment a member of “the Fourth Party,” and always denied that he was a member of it, while during the greater part of its existence he was in open political hostility towards it, though on terms of private intimacy with its leading members. Mr. Smalley was misinformed when led to believe that at Dublin Lord Spencer was not allowed to go for walks except in ‘the Pound,” the fact being that the Viceroy always, even at the height of his unpopularity, when he was oftener called ‘‘the murderer” than “the Red Earl,’”? walked to and from church on Sundays, and occasionally took long country walks. It is odd that one who had met Mill should, with all allowance for Mill’s stoop, describe him as “ close on six feet in height.” A republican American would not, of course, wish to be an authority on ceremonial costume, and cannot be blamed for taking the uniform of the Royal Scottish Archers or Queen’s Bodyguard in Scotland for that of a Lord Lieutenant ; but he might have avoided the common error of calling the ordinary civil uniform ‘“ Windsor uni- form.” Windsor uniform was never in Mr. Smalley’s time worn except at Windsor and by the household, just as the uniform even- ing dress of a viceregal staff, which Mr. Smalley must have seen, is only worn by the viceregal household and at a viceregal residence. Another trivial point is hardly worth the naming, but, as the book contains a monograph on Mr. Chamberlain (one of several in rather various tones which, if we mistake not, Mr. Smalley at different times has penned), we add that Highbury is not ‘‘in Warwickshire.” Mr. Smalley has attempted | ERASMUS. Das Testament des Erasmus vom 22 Januar, 1527. Nach Amerbachs Copie in der Universitats-Bibliothek zu Basel heraus- gegeben von Ludwig Sieber. (Basle, Schweighauser. ) Inventarium iber die Hinterlassenschaft des Erasmus vom 22 Juli, 1536. (Same author and printer.) Dr. Srezer is perhaps best known to biblio- graphers by his discovery of Fichet’s letter concerning Guttenberg in the Basle copy of the ‘Gasparini Orthographia.’ But by those who have ever visited the Basle Library he will be remembered as one of the most thorough and scholarly, the most kindly and courteous librarians whom it has been their good fortune to come across. He isa scholar whose character and system remind one only too sadly of the loss Cambridge sustained a few years back, and whose topographical arrangement of the incunabula in his charge throws into strong relief the state of affairs in several more pretentious German libraries. Hence, however slender may be a publica- tion of his, we are certain to find it accurate in text and gloss, and fitting in all circum- stances of type, border, and cut. The two little pamphlets, the titles of which are given above, are excellent examples of care- ful editing and good printing. Published to commemorate the three hundredth anni- versary of the opening of the Basle Gym- nasium, they will be welcomed by every lover of Erasmus, and that means to-day a wider and wider circle, for the spirit of Erasmus is abroad; men recognize more and more that this spirit of cautious and scholarly inquiry is the basis of all per- manent progress, and that it finds its appro- priate saint in the humanist of Basle. Sancte Erasme, ora pro nobis! not you of Antioch, but you of Rotterdam. Among the papers of Boniface Amerbach now in the Basle Library are three different testaments of Erasmus. The latest, dated only five months before Erasmus’s death, is an autograph duly attested, and, in fact, the will which was ultimately executed. The first two, dated respectively January, 1527, and June, 1535, are only copies in Amerbach’s handwriting ; but whereas the latter agrees verbally in parts with the third, the former is a totally different docu- ment, and is now published for the first time by Dr. Sieber. He has added two documents of 1525, one from the civil authorities of Basle and the other from the Pope granting Erasmus power of disposing by will of his worldly goods and chattels. The pamphlet concludes with an all too brief explanatory Schlusswort. The will and the two appendices would be historically of considerable interest, as exemplifying the medizeval mode of testamentary deposition, quite apart from their relation to Erasmus. In the civil document we note the more human and personal side, and its quaint sixteenth century German contrasts strangely with the stilted Latin of the ecclesiastical privilege. In the former Erasmus—owing to illness, through his attorney Hepdenring— publicly announces Basil Amerbach, Jerome Froben, and Beatus Rhennanus as his executors, and receives power (“‘dwyl der vylgemeldt her Desiderius Erasmus weder vatter, miitter, noch eeliche kinder, noch kindskhinder nit hat’’) to direct the bearers of these well-known names to dispose as he pleases of his property. In the ecclesiastical document we read much of Church offices and privileges, but nothing of persons ; the like freedom of testamentary disposition is, however, ultimately granted—probably, con- sidering Erasmus’s clerical position and re- lation to the Augustinian Order, as a special favour—‘“ ob excellentem et precclaram tuam, preesertim in sacris litteris, doctrinam.” Of this will itself the most remarkable part is that which is omitted from the third and last will, namely, Erasmus’s directions that his executors should provide for a complete edition of his works to be published by Froben. The death of Froben, the progress of the Reformation, and the flight to Frei- burg probably account sufficiently clearly for its omission in the later document. The details of the edition, even the proof- readers and editors, are all minutely given. Nor are Erasmus’s writings to be tampered with :— ‘*Castigatoribus nolo permitti, ut suas addi- tiones assuant meis operibus, tantum emendent errores typographorum incuria commissos, aut etiam mea, modo sit dilucidum, idque faciant paucissimis verbis, post habitam inter ipsos collationem. Advigiletur etiam diligenter in excudendis citationibus autorum, librorum et capitum.” The edition was to consist of 1,500 copies, of which twenty were to be “ author’s copies,’” and sent to, among others, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Tonstall of London, the Bishops of Lincoln and Rochester, the library of Queens’ College, Cambridge, and Sir Thomas More. As interesting as the will is the inventory of Erasmus’s personalty formed by the notary Salzmann ten days after his death. Erasmus had parted with some of his house- hold goods on leaving Freiburg to return to Basle; but enough is left to give a fair insight into a bachelor scholar’s house- hold, wardrobe, and trinkets in the first half of the sixteenth century. Of rings and goblets and medals Erasmus, of course, possessed, as the outcome of presents from. many princely donors, an extensive collec- tion. Among the rings is the one presented to Erasmus by Stuart of St. Andrews, with a figure of the ‘‘ bearded Dionysos” (Dr. Sieber gives a reproduction of it on p. 22 of the ‘ Testament’), which was somehow interpreted by Erasmus and his friends as Terminus, and was chosen by the scholar as his symbol and seal. From the money items we see that Erasmus had deposited with various friends considerable sums, and died a comparatively wealthy man. Of the house-linen and wardrobe (Jun Husrat and Cleyder) there was, perhaps, not an over- supply, although many of the coats and mantles must have been truly gorgeous specimens of the medieval tailor. Two beds and one table seem rather a meagre quantity of furniture, but eleven nightcaps and twelve napkins are more reasonable, while twenty-one cushions suggest that the aged scholar loved to be easy. Only four pair of hose appear out of proportion, while. stockings and boots are nowhere in the list. Perhaps the executors did not consider them of sufficient importance to be included. To the inventory Dr. Sieber attaches a few notes describing the donors of Erasmus’s
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XUM N° 3290, Nov. 15, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 661 goblets, &c., and pointing out to whom they were left by the last testament or presented by the generosity of Amerbach, Erasmus’s heir. We have said enough to indicate the interest of Dr. Sieber’s pamphlets, and we look forward with interest to the further Erasmiana which he more than half pro- mises. NOVELS OF THE WEEK. Basil and Annette. By B. L. Farjeon. 3 vols. (White & Co.) Wormwood: a Drama of Paris. By Marie Corelli. 3 vols. (Bentley & Son.) The Honourable Miss: a Story of an Old- Jashioned Town. By L.T. Meade. 2 vols. (Methuen & Co.) Fickle Phyllis. Edited by Gwen D’Esterre. (Ward & Downey.) Scot Free. By O. G. Compton. (Kegan Paul & Co.) Leal Souvenir. By Alice Weber. (Smith & Innes.) Rosalba: a Story of the Apennines. By F.G. Wallace-Goodbody. (Allen & Co.) A Ward of the Golden Gate. By Bret Harte. (Chatto & Windus.) Port-Tarascon. ParAlphonseDaudet. (Paris, Dentu.) Mr. Farsxon is scarcely entitled, with his long experience of the art of story-telling, to take such a plot as he has chosen for his Jast novel. It is not easy to under- stand how a practised writer could sit down and elaborate three volumes out of materials of this kind :—Two men in Australia; “‘ re- semblance remarkable. Height, figure, complexion—even the colour of the eyes— all tallied”; one of them heir to forty thousand pounds; the other, being aware of the fact, leaves his companion at the bottom of a shaft, and comes home to per- sonate him ; partial success of personator ; unexpected return of the genuine heir. All this argues an utter lack of originality, and there is not enough in the detail of the story to compensate the reader for such wearisome iteration. ‘Wormwood’ is a story of absinthe and the absintheurs—a grim, realistic drama. Marie Oorelli has chosen her theme accord- ing to her knowledge and convictions—the scene Paris, the poison wormwood. Another might have taken London for a background and alcohol for the curse, and might have drawn an equally lurid and ghastly picture. And whatever the picture and its sur- roundings may be, neither absinthe nor alcohol would be the real possessing spirit of the human soul which falls a victim to it, but the abandonment, the despair, the loss of control and respect, which engulf a weak and self-indulgent nature. There is no degree of baseness and fury to which a nature abandoned to the slavery of drink is not capable of sinking. To overdraw the picture is impossible ; the only question that need be asked is whether the painter has drawn it out of proportion, or in colours that distort the truth. What Marie Corelli has done — and it was necessary for the coherence and interest of her story—is to bring together into the life of one mana sequence of events such as are constantly happening to different people. The effects of love, lawless passion, jealousy, hatred, insanity—all are grouped together round | the lost absintheur whom the author has depicted. The author of ‘The Honourable Miss’ tells us in a cautious little preface that her old-fashioned town ‘‘reminds her” of one where she spent a very happy portion of her life. She has ‘partly described the old town,” in fact, whilst ‘“ giving it on purpose no location,’’ but ‘‘the friends who lived there do not appear. All the characters in the story are fictitious.” With due respect for L. T. Meade’s evidently kindly intention, it may be questioned whether her characters are any more fictitious than her old town. ‘The Honourable Miss’ is a pretty story. Beatrice Meadowsweet, of Northbury, is a girl all sweetness and light, with a bit of money stowed away for her, and the fates and fairy godmothers all on her side. Down to Northbury come Mrs. Bertram and her two daughters—proud ladies with very high connexions, who have found it necessary to retrench. And Mrs. Bertram has a son, with a not uncommon capacity for getting himself and others into trouble. But he is not of a bad sort, after all, and the reader will close the volumes without a pang. Before all things ‘ Fickle Phyllis’ strikes us as the work of one well acquainted with the novels of Mr. F. C. Philips. There is a spurious something that recalls his tone and touch, especially in the earlier chapters. The unabashed cynicism and hard materialism are not in the original exactly pleasing qualities, and in ‘ Fickle Phyllis’ they are still less attractive. But though it has not sufficient cleverness to gloss over disagreeables, it is not exactly stupid as books go. It is concerned—to put the thing nicely—with the love affairs of the daughter of a country clergyman. She turns her back on her family with all the gaieté de ceur to be expected of this type of heroine, and enters on a life not unlike that of an adventuress pure and simple. Her candid career of champagne drinking, and all the rest, is continued pretty logically and fearlessly till it lands her, and the reader, in somewhat slippery places. A want of moral consciousness seems to be this young lady’s chief charm— it is in the family—and it carries her along. She and her so-called editor are really not without a certain amount of temperament of their own, but their English is dubious, to say nothing of their French. It is not possible to say that the book is either pleasing or profitable. We wonder what the ‘‘editor” may chance to think of it herself, and whether she believes she has written a racy, but not un- wholesome story. It is just possible. ‘‘ Killed by a pipe-cleaner” is virtually the verdict returned by a coroner’s jury on the body of Robert Dixon, who was found dead in his room, poisoned by nicotine. Robert Dixon used to clean his pipes with ‘“‘a sword,” which was discovered ‘‘in his wrist’? when they came upon his corpse. And Agnes Baxter, who had been engaged to him, married the other man. Naturally there was another man ready to marry her, or Robert Dixon need not have died. Agnes finds out in a most remarkable manner how Robert Dixon came to die, but she never tells anybody—not even her husband. And thus the guilty man is happy ever after- wards ; and it is all in vain for Mr. Comp- ton to tell us that Agnes “‘ has joined hands with sorrow in lifelong companionship.” She is the sort of woman who would get. over it. ‘Leal Souvenir’ is a sketch from the surface of life which indicates rather than expresses the strong and deep currents beneath. It is a tender and well-written romance, beginning with the lives of a group of happy children, tracing their growth to manhood and womanhood, and ending with a sharp contrast between calm satisfaction with the good things of this life and an equally calm devotion of the individual to the mass of humanity. There may be some who will think that the story might have had a more practical and whole- some ending; but on the whole it happily combines the refinements of an ideal exist- ence with the realism of renunciation. The name of Rosalba is associated in the minds of most readers with ‘The Rose and the Ring,’ but there is no affinity between a tedious, rambling, and impro- bable ‘‘ story of the Apennines” and Thac- keray’s immortal burlesque. The plot is complicated, and the tone of the whole morbid and depressing. Finally, the style is bald and clumsy to the verge of illiteracy ; witness such sentences as ‘‘ You will now have but little leisure to think of we poor Tuscans,” &c. ‘Rosalba’ is presumably a first attempt, but it would be difficult to dis- cover any single quality in its pages that would warrant our encouraging the author to persevere. It is to be hoped that the picture of Anglo- Florentine life which it gives is a libel. Among the mass of weak and poorly written fiction, English and American, that. continues to flow from the press, Mr. Bret Harte’s vigorous and careful work always. makes an agreeable contrast. ‘A Ward of the Golden Gate,’ though it is not one of his best stories, has the merits of a fairly inter- esting plot, a good deal of real humour, and some dashes of strong pathos. The scene is partly in San Francisco and partly in Germany. Mr. Bret Harte’s readers like him best when he keeps to the furthest out- skirts of civilization. Mr. Stanley Wood’s illustrations are generally well drawn, but they are not very well reproduced. We had understood that the last adven- tures of Tartarin of Tarascon were to appear in an English translation before they ap- peared in French; but this plan does not seem to have been carried out, and we are called on to notice the French text before the English has come to hand. M. Daudet in his new book shows himself at about the same level as in the preceding volume of the Tartarin series. The illustrations are extremely pretty; unfortunately they are by several hands, and the Tartarin of one illustrator is very different from the Tartarin of another. Some of the illustrations, more- over, are in direct defiance of the text. A Provengal sermon which is given at length will shock the English public, and the trans- lators will also have trouble over M. Daudet’s English phrases, such as ‘‘midships” for midshipmen, and the inevitable ‘‘sherry- gobbler.” Tartarin fires by mistake upon the Tarasque, the totem of the Tarascon people, and never gets over so horrible a parricide—a touch of genius. The contrast between the lying of the Tarascon wit- 9
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662 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3290, Nov. 15,90 nesses in the great trial and the lying of Northern liars is very droll; but, on the whole, the work will not increase M. Daudet’s popularity in Provence, and it is lucky for him that he puts into the mouths of his English the hard saying that the character and ways of the people of Provence are only the quintessence of the character and ways of the people of all France. CHRISTMAS BOOKS, A Rough Shaking. By George Mac Donald. (Blackie & Son.) A Rash Promise. By Cecilia Selby Lowndes. (Same publishers. ) Unlucky. By Caroline Austin. lishers. ) The Secret of the Old House. By Evelyn Everett- Green. (Same publishers. ) By England’s Aid. By G. A. Henty. (Same publishers.) Tom’s Opinion. By the Author of ‘ Honor Bright.’ (Wells Gardner, Darton & Co.) Halt ! (Same author and publishers. ) “* All’s Well !”” (Same author and publishers.) Two Blackbirds. (Same author and publishers. ) Five, Ten, and Fifteen. (Same author and pub- lishers.) Abbot's Cleeve, and other Tales. Selected and edited by J. Erskine Clarke, M.A. (Same publishers. ) The Beresford Prize. By L. T. Meade. (Long- mans & Co.) A Girl of the People. By L. T. Meade. (Methuen & Co.) Hurstleigh Dene. By Mrs. O'Reilly. (Long- mans & Co.) Little Sir Nicholas, By C. A. Jones. (Warne (Same pub- & Co.) Noah’s Ark. By Darley Dale. (Same pub- lishers. ) The Stronger Will. By Evelyn Everett-Green. (Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier.) Norman Reid, M.A. By Jessie Findlay. (Same publishers.) An Old Chronicle of Leighton. By Sarah Selina Hamer. (Same publishers.) The Folks of Fernleigh. By Emily Foster. (Man- chester, Brook & Chrystal. ) The Locked Desk. By Frances Mary Peard. (National Society.) ‘A RovcH SxHakine,’ which has appeared as a serial in Atalanta, is one of Mr. George Mac Donald’s wonderful and charming stories. Clare, the child hero, is a weird and unworldly little being. We have seen his like before in Mr. Mac Donald’s novels, but we are very far from being tired of the strange adventures and stranger imaginings of Mr. MacDonald’s dream children. It is not possible to say much for ‘A Rash Promise’ and ‘ Unlucky,’ the former by Cecilia Selby Lowndes, the latter by Caroline Austin. ‘A Rash Promise’ is by far the more harm- less; it is only the tale of the dear little girl who conceals her companion’s misdemea- nours from a false sense of honour. The occasion is trifling and the whole story is of the slightest, but it is quite harmless, while ‘ Un- lucky’ is full of false and morbid sentiment. Poor little Helen, the “unlucky” heroine, is cursed with the cruel stepmother so dear to fiction. Misunderstanding follows misunder- standing ; even the father is estranged from his child; nothing Helen can do is right, and she sinks into an early grave. It is to be hoped the book will not fall into the hands of sensitive and self-conscious children. ‘The Secret of the Old House,’ though some- what fanciful in plot, is a pretty story. It would not be fair to disclose the secret. Suffice it to say that the children who unravel the twisted thread are a charming little pair. Tim, with his quaint ways and marvellous imaginings, is the funniest of little fellows, and he will be a favourite with the young folk. Boys know and love Mr. Henty’s books of adventure, and will welcome his tale of the free- ing of the Netherlands, entitled ‘ By England’s Aid.’—The author of ‘Honor Bright’ gives in ‘Tom’s Opinion,’ ‘ Halt!’ and “All’s Well !”— three quite distinct volumes—the adventures at home, at school, and at sea of two jolly little lads, Tom and Bertie Carter, old friends and old favourites in many a household. ‘Two Blackbirds,’ from the same pen, is a much longer, but decidedly charming story; there is much pathos in the picture ofthe wise and gentle mother trying to shield her own children from the harm that is in the “ blackbirds,” and trying just as hard, and not in vain, to reclaim the poor black- birds themselves. We have yet another tale of this popular writer—‘ Five, Ten, and Fifteen,’ or scenes in the life of Pete, that most honest of gipsy lads.—‘ Abbot’s Cleeve’ is the opening tale of a volume of stories selected and edited by the Rev. Erskine Clarke, and not otherwise remarkable. L. T. Meade is a justly popular writer. Both ‘The Beresford Prize’ and ‘A Girl of the People’ deal with girls, but the heroine of the former book and her companions are well-to-do lassies, comfortably housed and gently nurtured, while Bet Granger, the “girl of the people,” lives and moves in the Liverpool slums, and has a hard fight for life and happiness. Bet is a noble creature, more human and much more interesting than the winner of the Beresford prize, and yet Alison Hilton and her school- fellows, worthy and tricksy, will give many a pleasant hour to many a young reader. Mrs. O'Reilly draws in ‘Hurstleigh Dene’ a delightful picture of children and child life. A mystery mars, indeed, for a time the childish fun, but it is happily solved. The charm of the book lies in the sympathetic delineation of the little ones and of their daily doings.—Little Sir Nicholas and his cousin and rival little Sir Gerald are a pair of charming rogues; their pranks and their vicissitudes are capital reading for children and lovers of children.—‘ Noah’s Ark’ is a curious medley. Mr. Darley Dale has produced a new version of the good old mystery of the babes changed at nurse. The babes are born and bred in the flat paradise of the Norfolk Broads, and the book is full of the quaint charm of that fascinating region. Father Noah, the patriarchal hero, is a little too fond of improving the occasion. —‘ The Stronger Will,’ which has already appeared as a serial story in one of Cassell’s magazines, is one of Miss Evelyn Everett-Green’s delightful tales of family life. Florence Tenant, whose ‘‘ stronger will” rights all the wrongs of the distracted family of Cad- wallader, is a noble and attractive character, and quite worthy of the distinguished post of heroine. There is nothing to attract youthful readers in‘ Norman Reid, M.A.’—a somewhat dreary story of a long-drawn battle between the leading elder and the young minister, who turn out, much to the astonishment of everybody, themselves included, to be father and son. The mystery is not well managed, and the vacillations of the heroine, who finally weds the Rev. Norman, are not at all amusing. Again, there is not much that is distinctive about ‘An Old Chronicle of Leighton,’ which takes the reader to an English rural district at the beginning of the century, and tells of the loves and hates and busy doings of a multitude of not over-interesting folks. Yet the ‘Old Chro- nicle’ must rank several places higher than Miss Foster's ‘‘country chronicle” entitled ‘The Folks of Fernleigh,’ where the reader hears of the dull doings of duller people, only enlivened with wild and improbable mysteries. The masquerading of the earl, which ends the book, is the silliest bit of fooling. Miss Peard has written manyattractive stories, but ‘The Locked Desk’ is not up to the level of her former work. The main motive of the book seems poor. We w immensely weary of the locked desk and its worthless con- tents, and it is a positive relief when the villain of the piece rifles the little wooden mystery and lets out his own disgraceful secret, after which all goes well. OUR LIBRARY TABLE, THE second series of Mr. Baring - Gould’s Historic Oddities and Strange Events (Methuen & Co.) is a somewhat gruesome collection of papers. ‘‘ At a time like the present, when there is a wave of warm mystic fever sweeping over the country, and carrying away with it thousands of ignorant and impetuous souls,” Mr. Baring-Gould thinks it desirable to ad- minister a corrective in the shape of ‘A Swiss Passion Play,’ the hideous tale of a girl who, under the influence of religious frenzy, caused her sister to be done to death, and herself to be crucified. Then follows ‘A Modern Raphael,’ under which title are described some murders, including that of an artist of repute, committed by a soldier, possibly with an accomplice, in the neighbourhood of Dresden. “The murder of Father Thomas of Damascus” in the year 1840—for which a number of Jews, who were certainly innocent, were horribly tortured by tne Turkish authorities at the instigation of the French Consul—suggests to Mr. Baring-Gould an interesting article on ‘Some Accusations against Jews’ in the Middle Ages. He divides their supposed crimes into three categories—poisoning the wells, stealing and stabbing the Host, and committing murders in order to obtain Christian blood. His list of villainies might have been supplemented by that put into the mouth of Barabas by Marlowe in ‘The Jew of Malta.’ The story of ‘Jean Aymon,’ religious impostor and stealer of MSS., is highly amusing; and the extravagances of ‘The Anabaptists of Miinster,’ Knipperdolling, Rottmann, John of Leyden, and company, are described with spirit, though at inordinate length. Less satisfactory is the account of ‘The Patarines of Milan,’ in which the leading actors, despite the careful study of contemporary historians, remain for the most part mere names devoid of personality. Mr. Baring-Gould may possibly be correct in tracing the sect of the Patarines to Manicheism, but we do not think he is right in ascribing the same origin to the Taborites of Bohemia, who were a direct offshoot of the Hussites. Ir is rather a relief to turn from Mr. Baring- Gould’s gloomy pages to Mr. Austin Dobson's Four Frenchwomen (Chatto & Windus). The first of these papers, reprinted as we gather from the periodicals, deals with Charlotte Corday, and the only fault to be found with it is that Mr. Dobson has indulged in some rather exuberant phraseology in his description of Marat. He was “slowly floating France in blood,” and his lips, it appears, “‘ bulged like an adder’s poison-bag.” As a prosaic matter of fact the poison of the asp is contained in a small gland beneath the eye, and the expression is a false ornament, especially when we have it from the pen of a writer who is so exact in his de- monstration of the fatal blow : ‘‘ It went under the clavicle, sheer through the lung, cutting the carotid.”” However, Marat is no doubt a provo- cation to wild and whirling words, and nothing can be more admirable than the restraint with which Mr. Dobson writes of his heroine’s last hours. He condemns, too, as every one must, the deed for which she suffered: ‘The sin of Marie de Corday was twofold : sin, as the shed- ding of blood is sin ; sin, as a usurpation of the Right Divine to punish. Nor did the result justify the means, The Hydra of the Terror had other heads than Marat’s.” From a fanatic we pass to quite another sort of heroine, the wife of the Roland the just, with ribbons in his shoes, of the Anti-Jacobin. Mr. Dobson treats with just the right touch the story of that passion for
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XUM N° 8290, Nov. 15,90 THE ATHENZUM 663 Buzot which was the redeeming frailty of a cha- racter otherwise virtuous to the vergeof pedantry. A far more lovable person than Madame Roland was the Princess de Lamballe, the friend who, as Madame de la Rochejaquelein said, “made a sacrifice of her life” for Marie Antoinette, and of whom the Prince de Ligne wrote that she was “aussi bonne que jolie,” to which Carlyle adds, “and had known no happiness.” One would fain hope that the last statement is incorrect; indeed, she seems to have enjoyed life well during her young widowhood at Ram- bouillet, the seat of her philanthropic old father- in-law the Duc de Penthiévre. “ Marie la folle,” he used to whisper to her, ‘how mamy quad- rilles have you danced to-day?” Nor is there any reason to suppose that during the days of the Little Trianon she was otherwise than con- tent with her destiny. ‘‘ Her character,” in the words of the Baronne d’Oberkirch, ‘is gay and naive ; she is not perhaps very witty. She avoids argument, and yields immediately rather than dispute. She is a sweet, good, amiable woman, incapable of an evil thought, benevolence and virtue personified, and calumny has never made the slightest attempt to attack her.” After these three victims of the Revolution comes a study of one who survived it, Madame de Genlis. This is Mr. Dobson’s most elaborate performance, and it is his best. Never before has the cha- racter of that blue-stockinged Becky Sharp been hit off so happily, or with such a just mix- ture of humorous exposure and urbane con- sideration. Fanny Burney left her severely alone, but most people at this distance of time will agree with Mr. Dobson in remembering her “‘ indefatigable industry and untiring energy, her kindness to her relations and admirers, her courage and patience in exile and poverty.” It is many months since we came across a book that gave us so much pleasure as Mr. Dobson’s dainty little volume ; every one should read it. But he should not lend it to his friends, for of a certainty he will not get it back again. Tue third volume of Mr. F. C. Burnand’s col- lected works bears the title Quite at Home (Bradbury, Agnew & Co.). It contains ‘In a Country House,’ ‘Friends at a Distance,’ and “Round about my Garden.’ These are all in the style of ‘ Happy Thoughts,’ and, indeed, a reader who is not thoroughly acquainted with everything Mr. Burnand has written may be excused if he is wrong in thinking that some part, at least, of the present volume originally ‘appeared under a different heading. It is again to be regretted that Mr. Burnand will not add a few introductory words of explanation with dates. Messrs. Dean & Son publish How French Soldiers fared in German Prisons, by Canon Guers, a French Roman Catholic ecclesiastic, who acted as an army chaplain during the Franco-German War. The volume is “ edited,” which probably means “translated,” by Mr. H. Hayward. It is interesting and was worth translating, although the Canon has no literary skill, except so much as enables him to pick his best things from other people’s works. The ‘book is ill arranged, many historical facts being misrepresented as well as misplaced, but is readable. The Canon is under the impression that he had read before July, 1870, Col. Stoffel’s reports on the Prussian army, which seems un- likely. He forgets Bazaine’s captivity, and writes of him as having been exiled to Spain from the moment of his sentence. He is not well read in the history of the Bonaparte family, ‘for he tells a story which is probably untrue, inasmuch as it ignores the existence of Louis Napoleon’s brother who was poisoned in Italy .at the time of the earlier Republican movement -against the Holy See. The story of the Alsatian boy who, when asked by the Prussian school inspector to name great powers, began with “* France,” and, when told in sneering reply that he probably did not know where France lay, unbuttoned his little coat and shirt and tapped his little breast, is probably not new and pro- bably not true, but is prettily told. Among the many trifling blemishes in the book is the repeated misspelling of the name of the famous admiral Dupetit-Thouars, who is also called “captain of a vessel,” a translator’s error for “ post - captain” (literal) or ‘‘captain in the French navy ” (free). The translator also makes blond, i.e., ‘‘fair,” French soldiers into the feminine “ blondes,” writes “would” for should and “ will” for shall, gives us a doubtful render- ing from the German in the last line of the four quoted at p. 233, and leaves ‘“complot” when he should have put conspiracy, and ‘‘ evasion” when he should have put escape. Mr. Moss, Clerk of the Sheffield School Board, has issued his Handbook of the New Code, 1890 (Cassell & Co.). The code now in force differs so widely both in scope and details from those of previous years that an edition with explanatory notes is almost a necessity for school managers and others who are interested in school work, but cannot devote unlimited time and study to it. The Clerk to the Sheffield School Board has produced a useful and carefully compiled handbook of the new regulations, which contains not only an annotated code, but also interesting introductory matter, as well as a good deal of information about the constitution of the Edu- cation Department, together with the Revised Instruction to H.M. Inspectors, and a collec- tion of the latest official circulars. Fault may justly be found with the way in which the publishers advertise their own publications in foot - notes. Messrs. Cassell & Co. have so arranged certain notes, e.g., that to Art. 98 (b.), that unwary readers may consider that the use of the works, &c., named is enjoined by the Education Department, whereas it is only re- commended by the publishers. Gleanings for the Curious, by OC. C. Bombaugh (Griffith & Farran), is a collection of odds and ends containing some amusing things, but is put to- gether in a careless fashion, and is sadly lacking in accuracy. For instance, Alison’s mistake of calling the Grand Duke Constantine the son of Paul I. and the Empress Catherine is put under ‘ Misquotations.’ ‘‘ His [Psalmanazar’s] island of Formosa was an illusion” is an absurd state- ment, for the island is a fact. The notice of Psalmanazar appears under ‘ Ballad Literature.’ Who told Dr. Bombaugh that Wicliffe’s trans- lation of the Bible was “never printed”? The book is, in fact, quite unscholarly. Indeed, a harsher term might fairly be applied to it. Tue reprint of Dickens’s Christmas Carol, in ‘facsimile,’ which Mr. Stock has issued, is intended to appeal only to the collector, as dis- tinguished from the reader, and there is little doubt that in this it will be successful. But the shiny surface of the paper on which the facsimile is produced is not agreeable, and it increases the difficulty of deciphering Dickens’s numerous alterations and erasures. If the issue of this facsimile has the effect of sending its purchasers to look at the Forster Collection of Books and MSS. at the South Kensington Museum, it will have done good work. Two new editions of novels are on our table, viz., The Bondman, Mr. Hall Caine’s interesting romance (Heinemann), and Abel Drake’s Wife, Mr. John Saunders’s striking story (Allen & Co.).—Messrs. Smith & Elder have sent us new editions of two of Richard Jefferies’s popular books, The Gamekeeper at Home and Hodge and his Masters, Two diaries have already reached us, both of them handsome volumes and both published at the Estates Gazette office—one of them, intended for land agents and auctioneers, a well-esta- blished annual, and the other a new venture, A Handbook with Diary, for landowners, solicitors, &c. Both contain much useful information. Messrs. Ciark, of Edinburgh, have sent us the first number of the Critical Review of Theological and Philosophical Literature, which is intended to fill somewhat the same functions in England as the Theologische Literaturzeitung and other periodicals do in Germany. The articles are short and numerous. They are laudably free from the odiwm theologicum, and they are popular, rather than technical ; to speak frankly, they are slightly superficial. One would have expected in a quarterly for specialists a little more learning and more thoroughness. WE have received from the Ottoman Public Debt Department the annual Report, with an excellent introduction by Mr. Vincent Caillard, the British representative, who as usual gives a detailed picture of every branch of Turkish administration. THE catalogues on our table are those of Mr. Daniell (autographs), Mr. Edwards (topographical and antiquarian, and also a catalogue of theo- logical books), Messrs. Ellis & Elvey (valuable), Mr. Galwey (good), Messrs. Garrett & Co. (two catalogues), Mr. Glaisher (books for the young), Messrs. Jarvis & Son (MSS.), Mr. Menken, Mr. Nutt (classics), Messrs. Rimell & Son (etchings and illustrated books), and Messrs. Suckling & Galloway (fair). Mr. Ball of Barton-on- Humber, Mr. Downing (who has changed his address), Mr. Hitchman, and Mr. Thistlewood of Birmingham, and the Midland Education Company, Messrs. George’s Sons (modern books and one of Oriental books) and Mr. Nield of Bristol, Mr. Murray of Derby, Mr. Baxendine (education), Mr. Clay, and Messrs. Douglas & Foulis of Edinburgh, Mr. Commin of Exeter, Mr. Milligan and Mr. Symington of Leeds, Mr. Thorne of Newcastle, and Mr. Thorp of Reading have also forwarded their catalogues. We have on our table Analysis of English History, by C. W. A. Tait (Macmillan),—Jn the Western Highlands of Scotland, by P. T. Cowley (E. W. Allen),—Jn the Verdant West, by C. A. M. Press (Simpkin),—Illustrated Guide to the Rhine (Ward & Lock),—Longman’s French Course, by T. H. Bertenshaw, Part I. (Longmans),—A His- tory of the Reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, by A. H. Allcroft and J. H. Haydon (Clive & Co.), —Sandhurst Mathematical Papers, 1881-89, edited by E. J. Brooksmith (Macmillan),—A School Algebra, by G. A. Wentworth (Boston, U.S., Ginn),—The Triumph of Philosophy, by J. Gillespie (Dumfries, Gillespie), —Anglo- Burmese Handbook, compiled by D. A. Chase (Kegan Paul),—Literature and Poetry, by P. Schaff, D. D. (Mathews),—A Protest against Agnosticism, by P. F. Fitzgerald (Kegan Paul),—Cricket, by the Hon. E. Lyttelton (Bell),—New Life, by H. C. O’Neill and Edith A. Barnett (Sonnenschein),— Character as seen in Body and Parentage, by F. Jordan (Kegan Paul),—Faithfulness, and other Papers, by J. L. Jones (Glasgow, Bryce),— Southern War-Songs, collected by W. L. Fagan (New York, Richardson),—The Decline and Fall of the British Empire (Trischler), — The Subaltern, by B. Fforde (Low).—Gatherings, by C. E. W. (Field & Tuer),—Hidden in the Light, by E. Stracey (Digby & Long),—The Doubts of Dives, by W. Besant (Bristol, Arrowsmith), —Forreston, by N. Tempest (Digby & Long),—London, and other Poems, by L. Slack-Davis (Pittsburg, U.S., Weldin),— Poems, by Alice E. Argent (Chelms- ford, Durrant),— Ondar the Just, by S. S. Woodall (Nisbet),—Learn of Jesus Christ te Die, by the Rev. A. G. Mortimer, D. D. (Masters),—The New Apologetic, by Prof. R. Watts (Edinburgh, T. &T. Clark),—Un Naif Ruman Contemporain, by Le Comte A. de Sainte-Aulaire (Paris, Lévy),— Annuaire de la Noblesse de Russie, by Dr. R. I. Ermerin, Vol. I. (St. Petersburg, Schmitz- dorff),—Q. Horatius Flaccus, recensuit L Gaspar Orellius, Vol. IL Part IL curavit W. Mewes (Williams & Norgate), — Hine Altlombardische Margarethen-Legende, by B. Wiese (Nutt), — Traducciones Péeticas, by D. M. A. Caro (Bogota, Libreria Americana), — Bildnisse des Kénigs Mathias Corvinus und der Kénigin Beatrix in den Corvin-Codexen, by J. Csontosi (Buda-Pesth, Kilian),—and Sonnenaufgang ! by A. Lauenstein
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664 THE ATHENZUM N° 3290, Nov. 15,90 amecaneemmeeli and K. Grottewitz (Leipzig, Reissner). Among New Editions we have Land Tenure by Registra- tion, by W. Pilling (Chapman & Hall),—The Great Pyramid, by H. F. Gordon (Banks), — The True History of Joshua Davidson, by E. Lynn Linton (Methuen),—The Civil Service His- tory of England, by F. A. White, revised by H. A. Dobson (Lockwood),—Bench Book for Test Tube Work in Chemistry, by H. T. Lilley (Simpkin),—An Unlucky Lie, by A. A. John- stone (Haddon),—The Piccadilly Peep Show, by W. Mackay (Trischler),—Lancashire Songs, by E. Waugh (J. Heywood),—Shakspeare’s Mer- chant of Venice, edited by H. C. Beeching (Rivington), — Obiter Dicta, by A. Birrell, Second Series (Stock),—Forza JIrresistibile, by Cordelia (Milan, Treves),—and Pocket Meteoro- logical Tables, by G. J. Symons (Stanford). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH, Theology. Beet’s (J. A ) St. Paul’s Epistles to the Ephesians, Xc., 7/6 cl. Behrends’s (A. J. F.) The Philosophy of Preaching, 12mo. 3/6 Cameron’s (Rev. 8.) Freedom through Truth, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Harries’s (Rev. J.) Does God Break His Pledge? cr. 8vo. 2/6 Keymer’s (N.) Instructions on Confirmation, er. 8vo. 2/ cl. Lightfoot’s (the late J. B.) Apostolic Fathers, Part 1, 2 vols. 8vo. 32/ cl. Luckock’s (H. M.) Intermediate State between Death and Judgment, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Matheson’s (Rev. G.) Spiritual Development of St. Paul, 5/ Meyer’s (F. B.) Joseph, Beloved, Hated, Exalted, 2/6 cl. Our Dead, where are They ? cr. 8vo. 3/6 el. Pankhurst’s (C. H.) The Blind Man’s Creed, and other Sermons, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Pankhurst’s (C. H.) The Pattern in the Mount, and other Sermons, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Preacher’s Homiletic Commentary on the Book of Ezekiel, by Rev. D. G. Watt, &c., Svo. 7/6 cl. Roberts’s (Rev. D.) A Letter from Heaven, 5/ el. Badler’s (Rev M. F.) Epistles of St. Paul to Titus, Philemon, and the Hebrews, 12mo. 6/ cl. S8imcox’s (late W. H.) Writers of the New Testament, 2/6 cl. Smith’s (Rev. G. A.) Book of Isaiah, Vol. 2, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Swift’s, Sen. (E.) Spiritual Law in the Natural World, 5/ cl. Fine Art. Fullerton’s (W.) Architectural Examples in Brick, Stone, Wood, and Iron, 4to. 15/cl. Poetry. Allingham’s (E.) New Original Poems, 12mo, 4/ cl. Miserrima, a Narrative Poem of the Present Day, 12mo. 2/ Score’s (H. B.) Young Folks’ Song Book, 8vo., 2/ cl. Music. Crowest’s (FP. J.) Cherubini, 3/cl. (Great Musician Series.) History and Biography. Bullock’s (C.) The Sisters, Reminiscences of F. R. Havergal and M. V. G. Havergal, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Once Hindu, Now Christian, Early Life of Baba Padmanji, 2/ Reed's (T. A.) Biography of J. Pitman (Inventor of Short- hand), cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Worsley’s (H.) Dawn of the English Reformation, 8vo. 7/6 cl. Geography and Travel, James’s (F. L.) Unknown Horn of Africa, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Lloyd’s (W. W.) Sketches of Indian Life, folio, 6/ bds. Philology. Bywater’s (I.) Aristotelis Ethica Nicomachea, 4to. 10/6 cl. Eliot’s (C. N. E.) Finnish Grammar, cr. 8vo. 10/6 paste grain. Science. Ball’s (W. W. R.) Elementary Algebra, 12mo. 4/6 cl. Briggs (W.) and Stewart’s (R. W.) Analysis of a Simple Salt, 12mo. 2/ cl. Dearlove's (A.) Tables to Find the Working Speed of Cables, 32mo. 2/ cl. Gunn’s (R.) Arithmetic of Magnetism and Electricity, 2/6 cl. Pinkerton’s (R. H.) Theoretical Mechanics, 12mo. 2/ cl. Prudden’s (T. M.) Dust and its Dangers, 12mo. 2/6 el. Salwey’s (E. R.) Light Railways as a Praetical Means of Exploration, 8vo. 5/ cl. General Literature. Allen’s (G.) The Great Taboo, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Anglomaniacs (The), 12mo. 4/ cl. Austin’s (8.) Little Princess Angel, er. 8vo. 5/ cl. Balch’s (E.) Glimpses of Old English Homes, imp. 8vo. 14/ cl. Buckley’s (A. B.) Through Magic Glasses and other Lectures, cr. 8vo, 6/ cl. Carey’s (R. N.) Heriot’s Choice, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Earle’s (J.) English Prose, its Elements, History, and Usages, 8vo. 16/ cl. Fenn’s (G. M.) 8yd Belton, the Boy who would not go to Sea, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Ford’s (Mrs. G.) Pixie and Hillhouse Farm, cr. 8vo. 5/cl. Garnett’s (Mrs. C.) Mad John Burleigh, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship, Introduction by E. Dowden, edited by C. R. Shorter, 2 vols. 2/6 cl. Gerrare’s (W.) Rufin’s Legacy, a Theosophical Romance, 6/ Gronlund’s (L.) Our Destiny, Influence of Socialism on Morals and Religion, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Hardy’s (T.) A Pair of Blue Eyes, cr. 8vo. 2/ bds. Jerome’s (J. K.) Told after Supper, 3/6 cl. Kennedy’s (E. B.) Blacks and Bushrangers, cr. 8vo. 5/ el. Laurie’s (A.) From New York to Brest in Seven Hours. 6/ cl. Le Gallienne’s (R.) George Meredith, some Characteristics, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Liddell’s (Mrs. E.) The Golden Censer, 12mo. 3/6 cl. Peddie’s (J.) Racing for Gold, or Incidents in the Life of a Turf Commissioner, cr. 8vo. 2/6 bds. Pictures and Stories from English History, illustrated, 2/3 Prinsep’s (Val.) Virginie, a Tale of One Hundred Years Ago, 3 vols. cr. 8vo. 25/6 cl. Romance of Real Life, True Incidents in the Lives of the Great and the Good, 4to. 3/6 cl. Stuart’s (E.) Kestell of Greystone, 3 vols. cr. 8vo. 31/6 cl. Weber’s (A.) Leal Souvenir, cr. 8vo. 15/ cl. FOREIGN, Theology. Alte Testament (Der), iib. u. hrsg. v. E. Kautzsch, Part 2, 9 9m. Buhl (F.): Kanon u. Text d. Alten Testamentes, 6m. Clemen (C.): D. Stoisch-Christliche Eudimonismus in Justins Apologie, 2m. 50. Goldziher (1.): Muhammedanische Studien, Part 2, 12m. Nésgen (C. F_): Geschichte der Neutestamentlichen Offen- barung, Vol. 1, 6m. Schmidt (H.): Handbuch der Symbolik, 9m. Schubert (H. v.): Die Evangelische Trauung, 3m, 60. Wendt (H. H.): Die Lehre Jesu, Part 2, 12m. Poetry and the Drama, Késter (A.): Schiller als Dramaturg, 6m. Tille (A.): Die Deutschen Volkslieder vom Doktor Faust, 5m. Philosophy. Hamerling (R.): Die Atomistik d. Willens, 2 vols. 12m. Schmid (A.): Erkenntnisslehre, 2 vols. 9m. Political Economy. ee eae : Les Finances de la France, 1870 a 1891, r. 50. History and Bugraphy. ip Battenberg (F. J. Prinz zu): Die Entwicklung Bulgariens, 6 m. Saegmiiller (J. B.): Die Papstwahlen u. die Staaten von 1447-1555, 4m. 80. Geography and Travel, Mataigne (H.): Nouvelle Géographie de la France, 15fr. Trivier (E.): Mon Voyage au Continent Noir, 3fr. 50. Phrlolcgy. Fiirst (J.): Glossarium Grzeco-Hebrzeum, Part 1, 1m. 50. Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek, hrsg. v. E. Schrader, Vol. 3, Part 2, 6m. Lagarde (P. de): Mittheilungen, Vol. 3, 10m. Mittheilungen aus den Orientalischen Sammlungen der Museen zu Berlin, Part 3, 26m. Science. Leplay (H.) : Chimie des Industries du Sucre, Vol. 2, 8fr. General Literature, Belot (A.): Les Boutons de Rose, 3fr. 50. Brandes (G.): Die Literatur d. 19 Jahrh., Vol. 6, 8m. 60. Case (J.): Jeune Ménage, 3fr. 50. Impériali (E.): Guide pour la Centralisation des Corps, 6fr. 50. Lasson (A.): Zeitliches u. Zeitloses, 3m. THE ENGLISH ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION. THE announcement in the Athenewm of No- vember Ist of a meeting next week to found an Economic Association not only refers to a matter of importance, but suggests that immediate atten- tion should be paid to the subject. The proposi- tion, emanating apparently from the Committee of Section F of the British Association, though not officially from the Association or the Section, is in an unsettled state. This is explained by the fact that the original plan of the projectors was not to found a scientific society, but to publish a journal as a private concern and to collect a guarantee fund. Their views have since been modified, and in calling a meeting together they leave such meeting to deal with what are the real bases of the undertaking—in fact, how far it shall exercise the functions of a scientific society, have meetings, and hold discussions. Their chief object remains to have a journal, which should be, as stated by you, conducted by a salaried editor (not a usual arrangement), who shall have full power as to matters of detail, and shall from time to time confer with what would be a publication committee. Thus it is quite possible that all contact or participation of the fellows or members would be eliminated, and they would be handed over to an autocratic director. This point is the more needful to be considered as it is in contra- vention of the position put forward that ‘‘ the journal should always represent all shades of economic opinion, and be the organ not of one ! school of English economists, but of all schools.” Indeed, in the present state of affairs this is the end to be aimed at, and unless this be attained a serious failure will be the consequence. One feeling which influences the proposal is that English economists, ‘‘and especially the younger men among them, are placed at a great disadvantage through the want of any easy means of communication with each other.” The infer- ence to be gathered is that the object is not to comply with the requirements of those who are but with the wishes of younger students. When we consider what economic science is, all must acknowledge, as do its opponents in the Council of the British Association, that it is an applied and practical pursuit, and therefore they deny that it is science at all, and are desirous to exclude it from the Association. At this time, undoubtedly, the various topics occupying the public mind are the McKinley tariff, and free trade and protection in our colonies. These and kindred matters occupy the attention of merchants, bankers, and manufacturers through- out the country, and it may be that the real professors of economic science are Bank of England directors, presidents of Chambers of Commerce, and those who are publicly and privately engaged in discussing these matters. Certainly the lads at college or in the classes of economy in the board schools, where exami- nations are held and prizes are given, are not the persons chiefly to be consulted. The issues, as said, are momentous, and the need is urgent for the long-delayed foundation of an Economic Society, where they can be publicly discussed by those who are vitally in- terested in their solution. A journal directed by an editor will certainly not subserve these purposes, nor will it secure the expression of the views and the conflict of the representatives of various opinions, so needful in this country for the determination of social and legislative action. To propose under such circumstances to allow a meeting of the Fellows, “say, once a year,” will meet no useful object, nor satisfy the publicdemands. Why the Economic Society should be constituted an exception to the well-known practice of scientific societies in England it is not easy to see, nor the ground of the doubt ‘“‘whether or not the association should be open to all those who are sufficiently interested in economics to subscribe to its funds.” There is further to be taken into account another exceptional proposition. In the usual course at a public meeting for constituting a society, a committee is formed to draw up a plan and rules to be laid before another meeting, so that they can be fully discussed. In this new departure, at one meeting convened by private circular, chiefly from one section of opinion and to the exclusion of others, a committee is. to be appointed with power to act without further reference or consideration. F.S.S. LORD CHESTERFIELD’S LETTERS. Mr, Lytre.ron GELL writes :— “Some months ago there was a complaint in your columns that the octavo edition of ‘Lord Chester- field’s Letters to his Godson’ contained materials which had not been included in the original quarto, and purchasers of the latter, which had been com- manding twice its published price, begged for the issue to them of a supplement containing the addi- tional correspondence included by the late Lord Carnarvon in the second edition. This supplement (printed on Oxford india paper, so as to add nothing appreciable to the bulk of the quarto volume) is now ready, and as our efforts to trace the sale of many numbered copies of the original work are un- successful, may I inform the public through your columns that the appendix will be forwarded gratis by Mr. Henry Frowde to-any owner of the quarto volume, if he will kindly send his address, the name: of the bookseller who supplied him, and the number of his copy?” Literary Gossip. CarpinaL Nerwman’s literary legatee, Father Neville, is still engaged in collecting the Cardinal’s letters, towards which so much remains to be done that it would be premature to attempt to decide in what form his correspondence will ultimately be pub- lished. Father Neville is in frequent corre- spondence on the subject with Lord Emly, Mr. Wilfrid Ward, and Mr. Edward Bel- lasis, who were specially named to him by really and practically the body of economists, ; the late Cardinal for consultation.
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XUM N° 3290, Nov. 15, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 665 WE are glad to hear that Dr. Martineau is going to reprint his miscellaneous essays under the title of ‘Studies, Reviews, and Addresses.’ Most of them have long been inaccessible to the English public, and are only to be found in American editions. The essays will fill four volumes, uniform with the second edition of the author’s ‘Types of Ethical Theory,’ and contain matter suffi- ciently varied and copious to admit of classi- fication, giving a distinct character to each volume, and rendering it separately sale- able. The first volume will probably be published ebout Christmas by Messrs. Long- man, and the others will follow at intervals of three months. Some of the friends of the late Mr. Henry Bradshaw proposed not long ago that by way of memorial to him there should be formed a society for the printing of old service books and other matters illustrating the history of the Book of Common Prayer, a work which when living he had wished to see begun. The suggestion has been quickly taken up, and the list of 250 members, to which it is proposed to limit the society, is likely soon to be full. The Bishop of Salis- bury has accepted the office of president, and will take the chair at the first meeting of the Henry Bradshaw Society, which is to be held, by permission of the Dean, in the Jerusalem Chamber, Westminster Abbey, on Tuesday next, at 3 in the afternoon. The provisional committee will lay before the meeting a programme of work suf- ficient for several years, which has already been offered by competent editors. Mr. Swrxsurne has been writing for the next number of the North American Review an elaborate critique of V. Hugo’s posthu- mous volume ‘En Voyage,’ in which the English poet’s own impressions of the Alps and the Pyrenees form an interesting feature. Mr. Henry Norman, the well-known journalist, has returned from the far East with two books—a volume of Japanese essays, and a volume on his travels in the Pacific. Mr. Morray is going to issue a new book by Mr. H. C. Barkley, whose previous books, ‘Between the Danube and the Black Sea’ and ‘Bulgaria before the War,’ met with considerable success a few years ago. The title of the new volume is ‘ A Ride through the Disturbed Districts of Armenia,’ and in it the author describes his experiences during a visit to those districts of Asia Minor which are just now in a perilous state of disaffection. WE hear that the Bishop of Manchester has in the press a book to be entitled ‘Dangers of the Apostolic Age,’ which is to be ready at an early date. Tue Scotsman mentions the death, after a long period of ill health, of a popular Presbyterian divine, Dr. James Brown, of Paisley, the author of ‘The Life of a Scottish Probationer’ (an: interesting book published by Messrs. MacLehose, of Glas- gow), ‘The Life of Dr. Eadie,’ and other works. The decease is also announced of Mr. Ogle Moore, “ cricket editor” of the Fred ; and that of Mr. F. C. Oliphant, elder son of the well-known novelist. Mr. Oliphant published the other day a volume on Musset in the series ‘‘ Foreign Classics for English Readers,” under Mrs. Oliphant’s editorship. Tue contents of the volume ‘A Plea for Liberty: an Argument against Socialism and Socialistic Legislation,’ which we an- nounced last month, and which will be edited by Mr. Thomas Mackay, author of ‘The English Poor,’ are as follows. Mr. Herbert Spencer supplies an introduction styled ‘From Freedom to Bondage’; Mr. E. 8. Robertson writes on the ‘ Imprac- ticability of Socialism’; Mr. W. Donisthorpe on ‘Limits of Liberty’; the Hon. Auberon Herbert on ‘The Better Way’; Mr. G. Howell, M.P., on ‘Liberty for Labour’; Mr. C. Fairfield on ‘Socialism at the Anti- podes’; Mr. Edmund Vincent on ‘ Working Class Discontent’; Mr. T. Mackay on ‘In- vestment’; the Rev. B. H. Alford on ‘ Free Education’; M. A. Raffalovich on ‘The Housing of the Poor’; Mr. W. C. Crofts on ‘ State Failures’; Mr. B. Gordon on ‘Electric Lighting’; Mr. F. Millar on ‘The Post Office’; and Mr. M. D. O’Brien on ‘Free Libraries.’ Mr. Murray is to be the pub- lisher. Tue Christmas double number of the English Illustrated Magazine will contain an illustrated paper on ‘ Nooks and Corners in Westminster Abbey,’ by Archdeacon Farrar; an illustrated article on ‘The Ancestral Home of the Washingtons,’ with an engraving of the picture of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, now in the possession of Lord Rose- bery ; and an article on ‘Inns and Taverns of Old London,’ written and illustrated by Mr. Philip Norman. Dr. Kynaston contri- butes a translation in verse of ‘The Battle of the Frogs and Mice,’ to which Mr. Louis Wain has supplied illustrations. In the way of fiction the number will contain, besides an instalment of Mr. Marion Craw- ford’s ‘Witch of Prague,’ short stories by Messrs. Christie Murray and Herman, by Mrs. W. K. Clifford, and by Mr. Charles Dumaresque. Mr. W. J. Harvey writes to us regarding his recent discovery of the long-lost diary of Samuel Teedon, the schoolmaster-bookbinder of Olney, who exercised a baneful influence over Cowper during his residence at Weston :— ‘‘This precious volume (demy 18mo.), which is in Teedon’s neat and somewhat minute auto- graph, and closely written, dates from October 17th, 1791, to February 2nd, 1794, and, although known to the daughter of the Rev. H. Gaunt- lett when she edited his ‘Sermons’ in 1835, does not appear to have been since heard of ; nor have its contents, with the exception of one brief quotation, ever been made public. They are, however, of extreme interest and import- ance, not only as elucidating the poet’s thirty- eight letters to Teedon as contained in the appendix to ‘Gauntlett,’ but also as throwing a flood of light on the character and movements of this conceited busybody, and on the nature of his relations with Cowper and Mrs. Unwin, to whom there are innumerable references as ‘the Esq” and ‘Madam.’ The diary also mentions no less than 260 letters between the parties, 179 of which were from Teedon, and being an average of one from him every five days. We learn also therefrom (inter milta alia) that the pension which Teedon received at the hands of his said worthy patrons from December Ist, 1791, was 71. 10s. (subsequently reduced to 61. 10s.) per quarter ; that the number of pupils in his day and night schools, and from each of whom he received 6s. 6d. or 7s. per quarter, was small, and his income therefrom consequently very limited ; and that he was assisted in the teach- ing by the other members of his household, viz., his cousins ‘Mammy’ and her daughter ‘ Polly,’ and his kinsman ‘ Worthy,’ the familiar name of Eusebius Killingworth, amateur bookbinder, musician, &c.” Mr. Harvey proposes to annotate and print the diary. Oxrorp Untvenstry has, it seems, decided to fill up the deputy professorship of Philo- logy, vacant by the resignation of Mr. Sayce, who intends henceforth to reside mainly in Egypt. Will it be possible to tempt him back with a professorship of Assyrian ? THE annual service in commemoration of founders and benefactors of Westminster School will again be held in the Abbey on Monday evening, as last year. The service will be in Latin, with the special Psalms and the Te Deum set to Gregorian music. The sermon will be preached by the Dean of Lincoln, an old Westminster. THE second edition of Mr. Wallace Bruce’s volume of poems, entitled ‘In Clover and Heather,’ which Messrs. Blackwood are going to issue, will be considerably enlarged, and contain, among other additions, ‘ Life’s Pauses,’ which appeared in the October number of Blackwood’s Magazine. Tne tenth annual meeting of the Lanca- shire and Cheshire Record Society was held last week at Manchester, under the presi- dentship of Chancellor Christie, who ex- pressed gratification at the progress of the society, which has issued much of late, and has a number of volumes in hand of an interesting character. The financial position is satisfactory, there being a balance of 5497. in hand. Tue American Oriental Society held its annual meeting at Princeton on the 22nd and 23rd of October. Prof. Martin read an essay on ‘Chinese Ideas of Inspiration’; Prof. Jastrow one on the ‘Founding of Carthage’; and various other papers were read. In January will be published the first part of the Oriental Index, compiled by Mr. J. T. Carletti. It will contain a full list of all the articles that have appeared in the monthlies and quarterlies, English and Indian, French and German, on the above - mentioned literature during the quarter ending December, 1890. Tur Rev. Beaver H. Blacker, who died at Clifton on Tuesday last, aged sixty-nine, was a zealous antiquary. He was the originator and editor of the Gloucestershire Notes and Queries, 1879-90; and when in charge of Donnybrook, 1845-56, wrote the history of that parish and its famous fair. He was also a contributor to the ‘ Dictionary of National Biography.’ Mr. Georce J. HotyoaKe has, we are sorry to say, met with an accident at Charing Cross; he has, however, recovered in a great measure from his injuries. Tue first evening meeting of the Old Students’ Association of University College will be held on the 26th inst. in Gower Street. There will be music and an exhibition of pictures, and Prof. Henry Morley will deliver an inaugural address. Tue Rev. J. K. Hewison, who has edited the second volume of Ninian Winzet’s ‘Tractates’ for the Scottish Text Society,
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666 THE ATHENAUM N° 3290, Nov. 15, 90 has found in the Vatican Library and at Ratisbon sundry documents throwing light on the career of Winzet, Queen Mary’s con- fessor. These will be printed in an appendix. Tue German novelist Frau Helene von Hiilsen will shortly publish a diary of an ancestor of hers who served under Frederick the Great. It will be entitled ‘ Unter Fried- rich dem Grossen: Aus den Memoiren des Aeltervaters, 1752-1773.’ In Bombay in 1889, 1,440 books and 560 periodicals were registered, compared with 1,398 books and 526 periodicals in the pre- vious year. Of the books, 583 were original works and 203 translations, the remaining 654 being new editions or republications ; 93 of the total number were English, 365 Marathi, and 445 Gujarati. It is stated in the official report that the tone of the vernacular literature appears to be, on the whole, improving year by year. Tue concluding part of the publication of the Tell Amarna tablets in the Berlin Museum is ready for issue. When will the British Museum make accessible its share of these tablets ? Tue Duke of Cumberland has displayed great munificence in the production at Vienna of a splendid work illustrative of the ancestral treasures of the house of Guelph. The learned and laborious text by Prof. W. A. Neumann fills a handsome folio volume, and is accompanied by 144 illustra- tions of singular beauty. Copies have been freely presented to distinguished persons and institutions, including the British Museum. Tue chief Parliamentary Papers of the week are Elementary Education (Schools Examined), 1888-9 (2s. 1ld.); and Trade and Navigation Accounts for October (7d.). SCIENCE —~— ZOOLOGICAL LITERATURE. Natural History of the Animal Kingdom for the Use of Young People. Adapted from the German of Prof. von Schubert by W. F. Kirby. 3 parts. (Society for Promoting Christian Know- ledge.)—Several years ago Prof. von Schubert (there were, we think, two Schuberts engaged on the work) wrote a popular history of animals which attained a considerable degree of vogue in his nativeland. Somebody, apparently blind to colour, seems to have recommended the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge to acquire the hideous illustrations to that work ; and Mr. Kirby was selected to adapt the letterpress. Prof. von Schubert is, we believe, dead; we do not know whether he lived to be sorry for this work, but we will hope it. How much zoology ‘‘the Committee of General Literature and Education ” have among them we know not; at any rate, the horse in this book has a tail a rire; the walrus’s head is a fancy picture of Prince Bismarck with two pipes ; the hippopotamus has the expression of a sick monkey ; the tapir has three toes on both fore and hind feet ; and the Polar bear looks as if he found the ice too cold for his feet. The colouring of the plates is so coarse and crude that no child should be allowed to spoil what sense of beauty it may have by looking at the book. The text is, in a most inconvenient manner, put together in each part, and away from the plates which it should explain. Its value for children may be guessed at when we say that we are told that the trunk of the elephant ‘‘serves as an organ of prehension,” that the ‘‘strong beak” of game-birds is ‘‘ hard to the root,” or that ‘‘the protoplasmic body ” of the Infusoria ‘‘is enclosed in a thin integu- ment of determinate form.” At times, how- ever, the text is quite childish: ‘‘ The peacock has his drawbacks, however. He is fond of perching on trees and roofs, and uttering his shrill unmusical cry. He is a savage bird, and at times dangerous,”—at others it is almost too careful of the young for whom it is written, as when we are told of the hippopotamus: ‘‘It is a very dangerous animal to attack,” —at times it rises to the grandiose, suitably enough in con- nexion with the king of beasts: ‘‘The lion reigns supreme throughout the continent of Africa, where his imposing presence and terrible roar strike terror into all animals.” Sometimes there is a tinge of what looks like satire : ‘‘ The common mole is an extremely quarrelsome and voracious creature...... is common in most parts of Europe, but it is somewhat strange that it should be absent from Ireland.” We have not space for quotation of the many obscure pas- sages, and can only refer toa few of the more egregious scientific blunders. It is implied that the neck bones of whales and porpoises are mobile ; the tail fin of the manatee and dugong is said to be formed by the hind fins and tail ; both the duck-bill and the echidna are said to incubate their eggs in their pouch; the shrikes are said to have a tooth in the upper mandible ; the nauplius larva is said to have an eye on its ** forehead’; the ascidians are credited with a ‘*spinal cord”; the embryos of the tapeworm are said to ‘‘ fix themselves everywhere ”; in the Ophiuride the ‘‘ internal organs” are said “‘to be limited to the body,” and not to pass into the arms. Of the systematic classification it is needless to speak ; there is too much of it, and much is too bad to be published at this time of day. We are not sure that some of the forms are correctly named, but the details of the figures are not sufticient to allow of de- finite judgment ; too many are misprinted, as *‘ Areocladia” for Acrocladia, ‘‘arboraceus ” for arborescens, ‘‘ Umbrellula” for Umbellida, ** Colossendus ” for Colossendeis. None of those who have had a share in the production of this work can be congratulated on the undertak- ing; for the text is carelessly prepared and inaccurate, while the plates are badly drawn and most villainously coloured. We cannot even offer our thanks to the designer of the gaudy cover, or the bookbinder who inscribed ** Amphibias ” on part iii. But we are justified in asking the subscribers to a great society if they mean their money to be thus wasted. Fauna of British India.—Reptilia and Batra- chia. By George A. Boulenger. (Taylor & Francis. )—Since the time when Mr. Blanford, the editor of the ‘Fauna of British India,’ himself no mean herpetologist, busied himself with the reptiles of the country in which he spent so many fruitful years, the systematic study of reptiles has passed into a new and higher stage. The catalogues of Batrachia and reptiles which Mr. Boulenger has prepared for the Trustees of the British Museum have con- solidated what was sound in, and expunged what was incorrect from, the various contributions made to this branch of zoology during the last quarter of a century ; for it is now twenty-six years since Dr. Giinther’s ‘ Reptiles of British India’ was published by the Ray Society. Mr. Boulenger has, as compared with the other contributors to this series, the disadvantage of not having been in India, but he has, in addi- tion to his wide and deep herpetological know- ledge, a sympathy with living reptiles which almost atones for this solitary defect. A book of this kind, from the hand of a master on a sub- ject which he has made his own, is out of the range of ordinary criticism. It is, however, as carefully prepared as his Museum catalogues, and all systematic zoologists know how highly they are regarded. Dr. Giinther enumerated 310 reptiles and 39 batrachians ; Mr. Boulenger has 536 of the former, and 130 of the latter group ; but as he has united numerous species thought to be distinct, the real increase in the number of known Indian forms is much greater than these figures indicate. We hope and believe that the publication of this volume may give an impetus to a study which in India has somewhat languished in recent years. The student will find that the fact of Mr. Boulen- ger not being an Englishman does not prevent him from writing accurate English. ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES, In the Journal of the Anthropological Insti- tute for November several papers of interest are to be noted. Mr. Henry Balfour traces the old British “‘pibcorn,” or hornpipe, the favourite instrument of the islanders of Anglesey, known also in Wales, Cornwall, Lancashire, South Scotland, Ireland, and Brittany—a development from the oaten reed of the early shepherd made by adding to it a horn mouthpiece at one end and a bell mouth of horn at the other—through the Grecian Archipelago to India. Mr. S. J. Skertchley describes the traps used to catch birds, deer, pigs, and other animals in North Borneo. One of these, the peti, a spring armed by a fixed spear, is described as a fearful machine, which has cost many human lives, and has been effectively used to kill rhinoceros. Dr. Leitner and Mr. Hyde Clarke discuss the ethno- graphical basis of language, with special refer- ence to the customs and language of the Hunza, one of the races of Dardistan ; and Mr. Hector MacLean considers the ancient people of Ire- land and Scotland. The Rev. James Macdonald contributes further original observations on the manners, customs, superstitions, and religions of the Zulu tribes of South Africa. In the department of anthropometry Dr. Mouat de- scribes the Bertillon method of identification of criminals, and Mr. F. Galton his new instru- ment for measuring the rate of movement of the various limbs. Prof. Flower records the measurements of two skulls from Pedro Bluff Cave, Jamaica—one of an African negro, the other probably of a member of the race which inhabited the island before its European con- quest and has long since vanished, leaving few traces behind. Part IV. of the third volume of the Inter- nationales Archiv fiir Ethnographie contains two papers, both in German. Dr. E. Seler, of Steglitz, describes the ancient Mexican instruments called atlatl, having a grooved surface from which darts were projected. Three elaborately carved objects of the kind, respec- tively from the Dorenberg and Lenck collec- tions and from that in the Berlin Museum, are figured, with a number of drawings from Mexi- can manuscripts illustrating the manner of their use. Prof. M. T. Houtsma, of Utrecht, describes the pictures in a Persian fal book, specimens of which are reproduced in facsimile. One repre- sents the Muhammadan holy family in Paradise, with houris in attendance ; the othera traveller on horseback assailed by demons. The MS. is in the Ethnographical Museum of the Zoolo- gical Society at Amsterdam. The information given in the departments of news, bibliography, reviews, and reports of additions to collections, is, as usual, ample and valuable. Ethnographic Notes on Flores and Celebes, by Dr. Max Weber, Professor of Zoology in Amster- dam, has been issued (also in German) as a supplement to vol. iii. of the Archiv, embody- ing the results of observations made in those islands in 1888-9, and illustrated by six fine coloured plates of ethnological specimens col- lected in Flores and two in Celebes. Wood- cuts in the text exhibit a series of tattooing designs, a raised dwelling, the ornamentation of aring, and other objects. From South Celebes may be noted some very artistic floral orna- ments and an ear pendant. Musical instru- ments are represented by a violin and bow from
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XUM N° 8290, Nov. 15,790 THE ATHENAUM 667 Luwu, in Celebes, and a semi-cylindrical stringed instrument of bamboo and a drum from Sikka, in Flores. Gold and silver ear pendants and rings of elegant design are much used in Flores ; one lady’s ear appears to be pierced in six or seven places to receive a number of rings and spiral ornaments. The manner of fashioning rings is illustrated by an engraving where a workman holds the vessel containing the metal by a bamboo pincette over the mould. The work has an excellent index. SOCIETIES. GEOGRAPHICAL.—Nov. 11.—Right Hon. Sir M. E. Grant Duff, President, in the chair.—The follow- ing gentlemen were elected Fellows: Commander T. Alderton, Messrs. C. P. Mac Carthy, F. von der Pfordter, J. B. Snell, and W. H. Wainwright.—The paper read was‘ British Central Africa,’ by Mr. H, H. Johnston. ARCHZOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.—WVov. 6.—Mr. T. H. Baylis, Q.C., in the chair.—Mr. F. C. J. Spurrell ex- hibited some stone and flint implements and other objects lately obtained by Mr. Flinders Petrie in Egypt. He also described specimens of Frit colours in various stages of manufacture and application.— Dr. W. J. Russell exhibited a collection of colours prepared in imitation of the Egyptian ones, and de- scribed the method of their preparation.—Mr. J. P. Harrison communicated a note on churches built by Richard II., Duke of Normandy, and also exhibited photographs of capitals in the south aisle of the choir of Bernay Abbey, founded circa 1017. Mr. Harrison considered that the ornamentation of the capitals was of a decidedly Eastern type, and exhi- bited features derived from the foliage of the palm tree. As the chronicles of Verdun Abbey record a visit to Richard by Simon, Abbot of Mount Sinai, with some of his monks, about the time that the work at Bernay was in progress, the sculpture of the capitals may perhaps be attributed to their skill, It appears also that Simon and one of the monks named Stephen remained at Rouen for two years, and whilst there Simon suggested the foundation of a monastery in the suburbs, and deposited in it relics of St. Catherine which he had brought with him from the East. The church is no longer in existence, but a capital belonging to it, Oriental in character, is preserved in the Rouen Museum. Work similar to that at Bernay exists at Evreux. Fecamp Abbey contains little more than a single bay of Duke Richard’s work. Here the ornament is alto- gether different from that at Bernay, and resembles some in the choir of Oxford Cathedral and the illuminated MSS. of the period, LINNEAN.—Wov. 6.—Prof,. Stewart, President, in the chair.—Mr. A. Taylor was elected a Fellow.— Mr. E. M. Holmes exhibited and made remarks on some little-known seaweeds, including Monostroma blyttii and Capsosiphon aureolus, collected at Tay- mouth, Oscillaria coralline from Weymouth, and Schizothrix lardacea from Paignton. Mr. Holmes pointed out that Spermothamnion intricatum gathered near Swanage showed gradual transi- tion to S. turneri, of which it must be con- sidered only a vegetative form.— Mr. G. Murray exhibited and described the peculiarities of some galls of Rhodymenia produced by a crustacean. —Prof. B. Howes exhibited a specimen of Lima hians with a byssus “nest” which it had spun in twenty-one — in a vessel of sea water in which it had been placed. Although constantly watched by day and night, the act of spin- ning had not been observed.—On behalf of Mr. J. W. Willis Bund, Mr. Harting exhibited and made some remarks upon a South Pacific petrel, stre- lata torquata, Macg., which had been shot in Car- digan Bay in December last.—On behalf of Prof. M. Duncan, who was unable to be present, Mr. P. W. Sladen exhibited two microscopic prepara- tions of the ambulacral ampullz of Echini, showing that each ampulla is supplied by one offshoot from the main ambulacral water-vessel.—Mr. Harting exhibited a specimen of the Baltimore oriole, Icterus baltimore, which had been lately obtained at Balta Sound, Shetland.—A paper was read by the Rev. Prof. Henslow entitled ‘A Contribution to the Study of the Relative Effects of Different Parts of the Solar Spectrum on the Assimilation of Plants.’ The paper was illustrated by diagrams, and a dis- cussion followed, in which the President, Prof. H. Marshall Ward, Dr. D, H. Scott, and others took part. _ ZOOLOGICAL.—Nov. 4.—Prof. W. H, Flower, Pre- sident, in the chair.—The Secretary read a report on the additions to the menagerie during the five months preceding, and called special attention toa young male example of the wild cattle of Chartley Park, Staffurdshire ; a water-buck antelope (Cobus ellipsiprymnus) from the Somali coast ; a horned screamer (Palamedea cornuta) ; and a young female of Speke’s antelope (Zragclaphus spekii). He exhi- bited a coloured photograph of a variety of the rose-coloured pastor (Pastor roseus) with a red head, obtained near Sophia; and read a note from Dr. A. B. Meyer on this subject.—Mr. J. J. Lister ex- hibited specimens of the birds and eggs obtained during his recent visit to the Phenix Islands, Central Pacific.—Mr. S. Woodward exhibited and made re- marks upon the calvarium of an adult male Saiga tatarica from the pleistocene deposits of the Thames Valley.—Papers and communications were read : by Mr. W. T. Blanford, on the gaur (Bos gaurus) and its allies,—from Dr. A. B. Meyer, on anew species of squirrel from the Philippine Islands, which he proposed to call Sciurus cagsi,—by Mr. R. Lydekker, on a cervine jaw from pleistocene deposits in Algeria, which appeared to indicate the former existence in that country of a large deer allied to Cervus cashmirianus ; for this form Mr. Lydekker proposed the name Cervus algericus,—from Dr. A. Giinther, on the skull of the East African reed- buck, in which he pointed out the differences from the skull of the South African species, for which the name Cervicapra redunca (Pallas) is generally employed,—by Mr. P. C. Mitchell, on a graphic for- mula designed for the purpose of representing geographical distribution,—and by Mr. W. L. Sclater, on a jerboa from Central Asia, which he proposed to refer to a new genus and species of Dipodinz under the name Hucoreutes naso. ENTOMOLOGICAL.—NVov. 5.— Lord Walsingham, President, in the chair.—Mr. F. H. Barclay, Miss M. Kimber, and Mr. J. E. Robson were elected Fellows; and Major-General Carden, Mr. J. E. Eastwood, and Mr. A. E. Hall were admitted into the Society.— Lord Walsingham announced the death of Mr, Atkinson, of the Indian Museum, Calcutta. — Mr. A. H. Jones exhibited a number of Lepidoptera collected in June last near Digne, Basses Alpes, including Papilio alexanor; Parnassius apollo, larger and paler than the Swiss form; Anthocharis tagis, var. bellezina; Leucophasia duponcheli ; Thecla spini; Thecla tlicis, var. cerri; Lycena argiades, var. corretas; L. bellargus, var. ceronus ; Melitea deione; and Argynnis euphrosyne.— Mr. W. E. Nicholson also exhibited a collection of Lepi- doptera, formed near Digne last June, which in- cluded Papilio machaon; P. podalirius ; Thais rumina, var. medesicaste, larger and redder than the Mediterranean specimens; Apatura ilia, var. clytie; Argynnis adippe, var. cleodowa; A, daphne; Melan- argia galatea, var. leucomelas; Vanessa egea, and many others.—Mr. C. O. Waterhouse exhibited the wings of a large species of Attacus split in halves longitudinally so as to show the upper and lower membranes.—Dr. D. Sharp exhibited a photograph he had received from Prof, Exner, of Vienna, show- ing the picture obtained at the back of the eye of Lampyris splendidula. He stated that this picture is continuous and not reversed, and shows the out- lines of lights and shades of objects at a distance as well as of those closer to the eye.—Mr. H. Goss exhibited a specimen of Zygena filipendule, var. chrysanthemi, taken in the New Forest on the 15th of i uly last.—Dr. P. B. Mason said this variety was known on the continent of Europe, and was figured by Hiibner in his ‘ Sammlung,’ a copy of which work he exhibited. He possessed a specimen taken in Wyre Forest, Worcestershire.—Col, Swinhoe stated that he possessed a similar variety of a species of Syntomis.—The Rev. Dr. Walker exhibited drawings illustrating the various forms of Crymodes exulis occurring in Iceland which he had shown at the October meeting ; he also exhibited seven varieties of Melanippe thulcana, nine of Coremia munitata, and a few of Noctua conflua, illustrating the varied forms of these species occurring in Iceland.— Dr. Mason said that the only British specimens of J. conflua which he had seen resembling the Iceland form of the species were taken at Wolsingham, Durham.—M. A. Wailly exhibited and remarked on a number of Lepidoptera from Japan. The collec- tion comprised about thirty species, eleven of which, it was stated, were not represented in the British Museum.—Mr. A. C. Horner exhibited a number of rare species of Coleoptera, including Homalota crassicornis, Gyll., H. humeralis, Kr.,and Luryporus picipes, Pk., collected at Church Stretton, Shrop- shire ; and Amara nitida, Sturm., Oxypoda amena, Fair., Homalota testaceipes, Heer, Lithocharis api- calis, Kr., and Epurea neglecta, Heer, from the neighbourhood of Tonbridge.—Herr Meyer-Darcis exhibited a specimen of Yermitobia physogastra, Gangelb., a new genus and species of Brachelytra, obtained in a white ants’ nest from the Congo.—Dr, Sharp commented on the interesting exhibition. —Col, Swinhoe exhibited a collection of moths from Southern India, comprising about forty species. He also read a paper describing these species, entitled ‘New Species of Moths from Southern India.’—The Rev. T. A. Marshall commu- nicated a paper entitled ‘A Monograph of British Braconide,’ Part [V.—Lord Walsingham reada paper entitled ‘African Micro-Lepidoptera.’ This paper contained descriptions of seventy-one new species and of nine new genera. Several European genera were recorded as new to the African fauna; and several American genera, one Australian, and one — genus, were also recorded as represented in rica, PHILOLOGICAL.— Nov. 7.—Mr. H. Bradley, Presi- dent, in the chair.—After sympathetic speeches by Mr. Bradley, Dr, Furnivall, Prof. Skeat, and Mr. Martineau on the late Dr. A. J. Ellis and the great value of his work, a resolution was passed deploring his loss and expressing sympathy with his family. —The paper read was by Mr. M. Rouse, who gave a fresh analysis of speech sounds, and con- tended that our every-day language was inherently musical in a threefold sense. The simple vowel sounds heard respectively in boom, mote, dawn, path, burn, age, su, keen, bush, morass, don, patte(F.), bun, age, sut (F.), and kin, made two musical octaves, which, if the reading was aloud, were chromatic ; if it was whispered, had a peculiar, but quite sym- metrical form. A simple and natural classification of consonants, again, agreed pretty closely with the readiest grouping of instruments. And, lastly, alk the accented syllables that occur between any two breathing-pauses are uttered at even spaces of time apart, however many or few be the plain syllables that follow any accented one. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.—Wov. 11.— The President, Sir J. Coode, distributed the medals, premiums, and prizes for papers dealt with last session.—The paper read was ‘Steam on Common Roads,’ by Mr. J. McLaren. SHORTHAND.—Wor. 4.—Mr. H. Richter, President, in the chair.—The following new members were elected : Honorary Associate, Dr. C, Lempriere ; Fellows, Messrs. T. G. Cross, F. Spies, K. Kretzsch- man, W. F. Dodge, J. Rafter, J. Schwab, W. Kyle, and Dr. R. Tombo; Associates, Messrs. E. Smith and J. T. Cook ; Foreign Associates, Messrs. W. W. Osgoodby (New York), K. Takahashi (Japan), S. Hayashi (Japan), J. J. Rausser (Basle), Dr. K. Albrecht (Baden), Dr. F. Ruess (Munich), Dr. Lautenhammer (Munich), Dr. R. Raetzsch (Dres- den), C. Weizmann (Vienna), and F. M. Rittinger (Munich).—The President delivered an inaugural address, ‘The Survival of the Fittest.’ He pointed out that a claim had been made for a popular system that it was an example of the “ survival of the fittest.” He then drew a parallel between shorthand and the doctrine of Darwin in regard to the survival of the fittest amongst plants and animals. He argued that the survival of the fittest did not necessarily imply the survival of the best, and showed that a survival even of the worst system might be brought about by means similar to those recorded by Darwin as employed for the survival of the fittest. It was the duty of the Society to take care that the best, and not the fittest only, should survive.— The Society passed a resolution expressing entire satisfaction at the recognition by the Education Department of various systems of shorthand for teaching in ele- mentary schools, and a hope that the reports of the inspectors would be so made as to enable the com- parative merits of systems taught to be judged by the percentages of passes in each system. MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Mow. Royal Academy, 4.—‘Chemistry,’ Mr. A. H. Church. London Institution, 5.—‘ An Astronomer’s Thoughts about Kra- katoa,’ Sir R. 8. Ball. — British Architects, 8—Ballot for New Members. Aristotelian, 8.—‘ The Categories of Scientific Method,’ Mr. R. B. Haldane. ss Tvs, Statistical, 7?.—Inaugural Address by the President. Civil Engineers, 8.—Resumed discussion on ‘Steam on Common Roads,’ Mr. J. McLaren. — Zoological, cb Caen ee ue of the Reptiles and Batrachians of Barbary (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia), based chiefly upon the Notes and Collections made in 1880-84 by M. Fernand Lataste,” and ‘ Remarks on the Chinese Alligator,’ Mr. G. A. Boule er ; “Some New Species and Two New Genera of Araneidea, v. 0. P. Cambridge; ‘Upper Cretaceous Fishes of the Family Aspidorhynchide,’ Mr. A. 8. Woodward. Wep. Meteorological, 7—The President’s Opening Address ‘On the Relation of Ground Water to Disease.’ Folk-lore, 8.—Opening Address by Mr. G. L. Gomme. . Society of Arts, 8.—Opening Address by the Chairman of Council. Microscopical, 8.—‘The Tube - Building Habits of Terebella littoralis,’ Mr. A. T. Watson ; ‘ Note oe hoe Marine Annelid, Surgeon V. G. Thorpe ; Alteration of By-laws. British Archeological Association, 8.—‘ Ancient Coped Stones in Cornwall,’ Mr. A. G. Langdon. Tuvrs. Royal Academy, 4.—‘Chemistry,’ Mr. A.H.Church. _ London Institution, 7.—‘Carols, English and Foreign,’ Sir J. Stainer. _ Linnean, 8—‘A Brown Seaweed, Punctaria, Grev.,’ Prof. T. Johnson ; ‘A Variety of Alectona millari, Carter,’ Mr. A. V. Jen- Chemical, 8 _- emical, 8. A — Historical, 8}—‘Aryan Relations to Egyptians and Chaldeans, Mr. J. 8. Stuart Glennie.
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668 THE ATHENAUM N° 3290, Nov. 15, 790 Science Gossip. Mr. Wiii1am HEINEMANN has arranged to issue immediately Prof. Koch’s work on the cure for consumption. THE session of the Royal Society opens next Thursday (20th). The Council and committees have, however, been active for some weeks, and the medals which will be distributed at the approaching anniversary have been adjudicated. America takes the Copley Medal, in the person ef Prof. Simon Newcomb, for his contributions to gravitational astronomy. Germany carries off both the Rumford and Davy Medals ; the former being awarded to Prof. Heinrich Hertz, for his work in electro-magnetic radiation, and the latter to Prof. Emil Fischer, for his dis- coveries in organic chemistry. The recipients of the Royal Medals are to be Prof. David Ferrier and Dr. John Hopkinson; and the newly founded Darwin Medal, which is to be given this year for the first time, has been appropriately awarded to Mr. Alfred Russel Wallace, for his independent origination of the theory of the origin of species by natural selection. St. Andrew’s Day falling upon a Sunday, the anniversary meeting will this year be held on Monday, December Ist. Pror. Réuricut, of Berlin, is going to bring out very shortly a ‘Bibliotheca Geographica Palestine,’ which contains a bibliography and cartography of Palestine from 300 to 1890. FINE ARTS = ANNUALS. THe Magazine of Art (Cassell & Co.) com- pleted its annual volume with October, and fulfils its purpose of supplying the general reader with popular illustrations and expositions of matters artistic in an attractive and readable form. None of the articles is very profound, but nearly all of them are brightly written, while some of the cuts are charming specimens of modern craft. Among the best of these are ‘Féte Champétre,’ after Watteau, and ‘ Lady Castlehaven,’ after Jonson, both by M. Jonnard, and ‘ Aux Héros sans Gloire,’ after Hebert, by Mr. C. Carter, who is, however, by no means invariably successful. The worst cuts are those which were, we presume, borrowed. Most of the process prints are capital. The best etch- ing is Rajon’s ‘Lord Heathfield,’ one of the finest etchings of a Reynolds ever made, if not the very finest. It was originally etched for the Gazette des Beaux-Arts. There is more than one error in Mr. F. Wedmore’s account of this work. To turn to the letter- press, Mr. Conway explains the difference between art professors who are qualified by technical knowledge and those who have only read about art or looked at pictures. Among the papers of permanent value are Mr. W. M. Rossetti’s notices, enriched with good cuts, of ‘Portraits of Robert Browning,’ and Mr. J. E. Hodgson’s on ‘The Nativity as treated in the National Gallery.’ Some of the papers are amusing. For instance, Mr. William Black, in writing on ‘ The Illustrating of Books from the Author’s Point of View,’ a capital subject which he treats with characteristic spirit, says : ‘‘ Some little while ago three students in a Government school of art had a passage from Scott read out te them ; they were asked to put down on paper [draw] the landscape that had just been de- scribed ; and the result was that the three drawings were all different, and all wrong, whereupon a writer in one of the daily journals observed that here was a proof that descriptions in books, of either persons or places, were use- less. It is hardly worth while answering a fool according to his folly ; but it may briefly be said that the incident in question proved nothing of the kind; it only proved that these three students were of deficient and inaccurate ima- gination.” It is quite as likely that they were ignorant of nature and could not draw. The Art Annual: Birket Foster, by M. B. Huish (Virtue & Co.), contains a succinct and readable biography of the artist, and extremely intelligent notices of his art and chief works, accompanied by some good woodcuts, and con- cludes with a list of books he has enriched with designs. Mr. Huish was misinformed about the Athenewm's notice of the death of the artist’s father. Hesays: ‘‘The Atheneum (the names of the father and son being similar) mistook the former for the latter [when his death was an- nounced], and, in its next number, published an obituary notice of a most eulogistic nature, testifying to the loss art had sustained through the early death of this most promising artist. This was given wide publicity through being copied into other papers, and the family was inundated with letters of condolence and re- quests for biographical details.” What the Atheneum did write was: ‘‘ We are pleased to hear that Mr. Birket Foster, who died in St. John’s Wood last week, was not the artist, but his father. The identity of name and place of residence doubtless led to the confusion between father and son” (Athen, February 9th, 1861, p- 197). This followed p. 159, with a line on the supposed death of the artist. There was no biography, eulogistic or otherwise. CHRISTMAS BOOKS. Romeo and Juliet, by W. Shakespeare (R. Tuck & Sons), is an ambitious volume. The designs, printed in colours and black, are by Signors L. Marchetti, L. Rossi, and O. Corrtazzo. The Juliet of the last would cause Shakspeare many a pang, especially in the guise of that exuberant and finely dressed wench who figures on p. 29. Signor Marchetti’s version of the duel lacks neither energy nor spirit, and is the best illustration in the book. As a work for some drawing-room tables it may be welcome. EMINENT amongst the ‘‘ books of the season” is River Dart: a New Series of Etchings, by W. Brown and E. W. Charlton (Virtue & Co.). The twelve etchings are accompanied by an introduction, which is at once sympathetic, historical, and gossipy, and a terse, if somewhat bald note to each plate. The plates are, as etchings, not of much account. With a few exceptions their interest is rather topo- graphical than artistic, and this must be regretted as few districts in England lend themselves so happily to the etching needle in artistic hands. The best of them is ‘ Staverton Bridge,’ the next is ‘ Higher Street, Dartmouth.’ The book is got up in a neat and simple way.— The Cabinet Portrait Gallery (Cassell & Co.) com- prises likenesses reproduced from photographs by the Messrs. Downey. The first series is before us, and contains a mixed company of somebodies and a few nobodies. The Arch- bishop of Canterbury and Mlle. S. Bernhardt, a group of actresses and Miss Anna Williams, Sir James Linton and the much-photographed Sir F. Leighton, the Duchess of Leinster and Mrs. Lynn Linton, are oddly grouped in one collection. The portraits would be better if they had not been touched up; as it is they are sometimes acceptable in spite of their hard- ness and polish. The typography of the book and its getting up are mechanical in taste and character. These characteristics make it seem duller than it really is.—The Railway Book, Little Wide-a-Wake’s Primer, and Archie come to us from Messrs. G. Routledge & Sons, and are alike enclosed in gaudy, not to say vulgar, covers. The texts are suitable for children whose hearts and minds need a little elevating. The cuts are of unequal quality, some being decidedly good and spirited, others poor, tame, and useless.—A Southern Cross Fairy Tale, by K. McC. Clark(Low & Co.), containsa readable, but rather goody legend, and some clever cuts of ! birds, flowers, and landscapes.—The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge has sent us the Child’s Pictorial, 1890, containing good stories, such as Mrs. Molesworth’s ‘ Family Troubles’ and ‘ Lucky Ducks,’ with some most clever coloured and uncoloured cuts suitable for intelligent little ones; Twelve Tiny Tales, by Mrs. Molesworth, tales which are good, but not her best, and bright illustrations by Mr. W. J. Morgan; The Nursery Coach, by F. Epps and others, a collection of brief tales with tolerable cuts ; Godfrey of the Cradle, and other Stories, in which the cuts are better, but in the letterpress there is not much difference ; Real Artists, and other Tales, which is not so good in any respect; while Family Troubles is a readable story, with a neatly concealed and wholesome set of ‘‘ morals,” by Mrs. Moles- worth, and nice cuts, as before, by Mr. Morgan. THE DAVID COXES AT BIRMINGHAM. Never before has there been formed so fine or so numerous a collection of Coxes as that which fills the handsome Long Gallery and its adjoining room in the Art Museum at Bir- mingham. Yet, although numbering over four hundred and sixty examples in oil and water colours, it does not, of course, comprise more than a third of the productions of Cox’s long and industrious life. Many efforts to procure a representative collection such as this have been made. At Manchester, in 1857, there were about twenty fine Coxes; soon after his death, in 1859, nearly two hundred were brought together by Mr. Gambart at the French Gallery. In 1875 the Liverpool Arts Club formed a still finer collection ; and there have been smaller exhibitions at Hampstead, in 1858 ; at Leeds, in 1868; at Manchester, in 1870, and again in 1875. Although in the col- lection before us several fine oil pictures, such as the larger ‘ Rhyl Sands,’ are missing, the Art Museum fortunately possesses more than thirty oil pictures bequeathed to it by Mr. J. H. Nettlefold, which are an exhibition in them- selves, and represent fairly well the oil work of Cox. Taking to oil when past the middle of life, it could not be expected that Cox would succeed with it as he had done in water colours. Many of his warmest admirers regret that he ever practised oil painting at all. It is a pity that Mr. W. Wallis, to whom and his coadjutors we are indebted for this collection, did not find it practicable to arrange it in chronological order. As it is, their dates accompany the titles of the works in the catalogue; but this is small help to the critic, and not of much avail to the visitor, who finds drawings in juxtaposition which were produced with intervals of twenty or thirty years, and, instead of illustrating the artist’s development, serve by contrasts to show how much he changed with time. Thus Haddon in the Olden Time (No. 111), a beautiful instance, dated 1835, of the pure and pearly works be- longing to the middle of Cox’s career, adjoins Warwick Castle (116) of 1853, which is one of the more popular ‘‘ blots ”—although very far from being the most blotty of them—-and is much admired by those who delight in towrs de force. No. 113, Staircase to Terrace at Haddon Hall, is an exquisite silvery romance in the purest manner of Bonington, to whom Cox’s devotion is manifest in all the works of his best time. It closely resembles a Bonington, and is thus reminiscent of the Venetians, that master’s masters. This is obviously seen in its fine grey tones, and the flush of the rose in the lady’s dress. In No. 322, Major Molyneux’s beautiful Calais Pier, we have distinct indi- cations of the influence of Bonington at his best, and while he was at home. It would be quite easy to mistake No. 123, Coast near Boulogne, for a Bonington, especially as Boning- ton affected these level, glowing, and golden- rosy sands, these shadowy cliffs, and the soft
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Ne 3290, Nov. 15,790 THE ATHENZUM 669 sunlight of the scene. Pont Pwl Gwyn (114) belongs to an earlier and firmer period, and charms the visitor with a beautiful glimpse of a stream running smoothly between walls of dark foliage just tinged with russet. The effect is shadowless. No. 115, Dryslwyn Castle, on the contrary, depicts rich sunlight. In The Gathering of the Flocks (119), 1850, a later work, we see Cox changing from Bonington’s style to that of Salvator Rosa. Here he has treated in a broad and massive mode of colour and tone a range of mighty inland cliffs, rising into sun- light from a shadowy vale. This picture is a conspicuous proof of the painter’s power to deal with objects on the grandest scale. There are only five years (1850-1845) between the dates of No. 119 and No. 120, View iear Kenilworth, a famous and beautiful drawing. The red-brick bridge (a great favourite with Cox at the time) crosses a shallow stream rippling in sunlight, and leads to a road over the flat and past those elms whose massive foliage always delighted him. The sky, as in several of the drawings before us, seems to have faded a little, but the rest is in perfect keeping. While some of these drawings remind us of Bonington, another group recall De Wint. It is impossible to look at Mr. G. Graham’s Kenilworth Castle (139) and not remember that De Wint saw trees in similar masses, with similar local colours, although he did not achieve such fine pearly hues or so rich a coloration. The foreground of Lord Armstrong’s Lancaster Castle, Morning (144), a work of 1835, has, like that of other drawings of the same period, faded a little, we presume through being too much exposed to light. His Ulverston Sands (155), 1846, is more fortunate, and remains unchanged. The painting of air is wonderful, the breadth of the colour and light is majestic, and the cumuli slowly drifting across the view are tremendously grand. Hampton Court (164), 1840, belongs to a period of firmer touches, brighter tints, and sharper definition ; it has more colour than the contemporaneous ‘ Kenil- worth Castle,’ but it is hardly less broad. A truly Dutch formality pervades it, but its stiffness is redeemed by its simple dignity, glowing and brilliant light, and wealth of colour. As a painter of Dutch landscape Cox would have surpassed Hobbema. In No. 294, Winder- mere, we fancy Cox is measuring himself against Turner, and getting the worst of it. The pseudo- classic motive and artificial materials of the landscape are what Turner employed when very far from being at his best. ‘ Winder- mere’ is a Turnerian romance of highly-dressed ladies and cavaliers walking on an Italian terrace overlooking the lake, and, despite the refined and searching draughtsmanship, the rare tact and taste with which the figures are designed (a point in which Cox leaves Turner far behind), and the solidity, grace, and finish of each individual element, Cox does not appear to advantage. In fact, he does not seem to be sincere, and very plainly threw himself away. He was more of a match for Turner when they both worked that vein of noble realism which the greater master wrought between 1800 and 1815. In the drawings we have mentioned Cox appears to have adopted the moods of his fore- runners. In the well-known drawing of The Gorge (293), painted in 1848, he seems to be following lines of art and thought which unmis- takably belong to W. J. Miiller, of Bristol (1812-48), who taught Cox oil painting in 1839, and whose success in 1845 made a great sensa- tion. Cox was much impressed by the glow and strength of his friend’s tones and tints, and this striking picture of a deep romantic chasm, a vigorous and brilliant conception, is executed with the somewhat conventional and drawing -masterlike mannerisms of Miiller. It is not improbable that it is one of the numerous class of examples made by Cox for the benefit of his pupils when, much against the grain, he drudged in London and elsewhere (like Varley, Linnell, Palmer, Turner, and other artists of renown) as a teacher of drawing. It looks like an exercise in composition and in the expression of sentiment in romantic landscape. Mr. Holbrook Gaskell’s Water Mill, Stafford- shire (296), yet another phase of Cox’s art, represents that in which he most resembles Con- stable—a painter of a high grade, but not fit to vie with Cox, whose feeling for colour was much greater, while his zest for a peculiar and ‘‘dewy ” effect of the atmosphere was, as in the case before us, at least as true. Twenty-six years before the last Cox, in 1824, painted Mr. Dugdale’s beautiful and pathetic Kymmer Abbey (299), where the masses are a little spotty and the tints scattered, while the foreground is hard without breadth ; but the charm of the distant peaks of Cader Idris, towering in the pure air and clad in what Shelley called ‘‘a mantle of pearl,” is marvellously tine and pure, as well as grand in feeling, and the dignity of its lines surpasses anything Wilson ever made of the same materials, which he painted so often. Indlow Castle (301) is another masterpiece of composition. There is something Claude-like in the scene, but the brownness and artificial tones of the picture mark decay and the failure of Cox’s hand to do his bidding. A work dated 1850, but, we think, really later, it is—despite its noble gravity—not merely redolent of the lamp, but, so to say, due to the lamp itself. The Porch of St. Philip’s Church (308) is a first-rate specimen of Cox asa draughtsman of architecture pure and simple, as brilliant and crisp as a Prout, and far firmer and broader in touch than the best of Prout’s sketches of the kind. In its way it is a rare triumph of brush power, and to be enjoyed for its glowing and simple, yet powerful colouring. It belongs to 1838. Crowhurst (307) is four years older, and resembles a De Wint; but it has choicer pearliness and more vivid light than a De Wint. A noble drawing, it seems to have suffered from time, if not from intrusive touches. In No. 317, Welsh Landscape with Figures, the splendid pearl and purple of the distant hills, modelled with the deftest touches, due to learn- ing and skill attained by the studies of forty years, is lovely. The foreground is loose and rather weak, and the tree to our right is me- chanical, not to say woolly. Several of these drawings are liable to the suspicion that they are not quite free from touches of hands less accomplished than Cox's. A Salmon Trap (324), painted in 1850, is one of the best of the “*blotty”’ class. We have barely room for men- tioning the following leading specimens novisitor should overlook : Mr. Chance’s Fort Rouge (326), 1835 ; Mr. H. Gaskell’s fine Lancaster Sands (341), 1845; Mr. C. Wallis’s West Front of Amiens Cathedral (358), 1832, where evening twilight gives peculiar grandeur to the fagade and its cavernous portals ; Mr. Hollingsworth’s Windmill on the Moor (384), 1830, a beautiful and clear gem; Mr. Graham’s Shrimpers (383), 1850, where Cox is at his best as a sea painter ; Mr. H. Gaskell’s Gardens of the Twileries (390), 1832 ; the same owner’s brilliant, pure, solid, and famous Bridge in Warwickshire (404), 1838, which reminds us of the above-named No. 120 ; Mr. Kenrick’s Calais Pier (399), 1830; Mr. G. Graham’s broad and richly coloured, frank, impressive, and almost old-masterlike Gravel Pit (413), 1845; Miss Crabb’s On the Thames (417), 1825; and Mr. Orrock’s renowned Corn- field and Kenilworth Castle (433). Of the oil pictures there is less to say. The collection, although a very fine one, is less com- plete and truly representative. Allowing for the nature of each material, the technical qualities, and even the subjects, inspiration, and motives, of the water colours are much the same; generally speaking, they are identical. Little would be gained by discuss- ing at length the oil paintings. Among the best of them are Ethyl Sands (218); Changing Pasture (209); Crossing the Sands (204); the superb study of ‘‘blue air and white” known as In the Hayfield (199) ; the powerful Driving Sheep (192), with its lovely sky; The Cross Roads (218), which is very like a fine Linnell ; the well-known Collecting the Flocks (221); Changing Pastwre (225); Mr. H. Gaskell’s never-to-be-forgotten Welsh Funeral (226); and Mr. J. Betts’s fine picture with the same title, No. 233. Sine-Art Gossip, In Room VII. of the National Gallery, and numbered 1313, is now hanging Tintoretto’s ‘Origin of the Milky Way,’ from Lord Darnley’s collection at Cobham Hall, which we recently described. In the same room, numbered 1318, is P. Veronese’s ‘Unfaithfulness’ (so Sir F. Burton styles it) from the same collection, of which we gave an account when it was acquired. The former is a most welcome addition to the gallery, showing as it does, better than examples previously so placed, the noble powers of the greatest of decorative painters. It hangs over Titian’s ‘Venus and Adonis’; the Veronese over Titian’s ‘Bacchus and Ariadne,’ and both are placed too high to be fairly seen, while the newly gilt frames are too bright. These misfor- tunes will, no doubt, be remedied by-and-by. In Room III. has been placed a small panel, con- taining a bust in profile to our left of Savonarola, attributed to the Florentine School, and num- bered 1301. On the back of the panel is a representation of the burning of the friar and two companions in the public square of Florence. It is the gift of Dr. W. Radford, and one of a numerous class of popular relics. Tue remarks Mr. John Brett made at Bir- mingham the other day have been incorrectly reported, as well as unfairly commented on. We have consequently been requested to pub- lish what he really did say. He stated that “it might be rather offensive to the trade of Bir- mingham, but he had to say that there was, so far as he could see, no prospect of any improvement in jewellery as long as it was treated as a manufac- ture. If they could not get one workman to pro- duce one jewel, they would have no chance of getting anything artistic—at least anything ori- ginal. But this could not possibly be made to pay. Manufacturers had educated the people of England into the taste for cheap things, and, until that taste could be got over, they could not expect any workman to provide them with original designs.” Further, Mr. Brett moved a resolution :— “That this Congress deplores the present dis- orderly and reckless method of advertising, and, in the way of the universal disfigurement of our towns occasioned thereby, considers that the whole sub- ject needs the serious attention of the public.” Assuredly it can hardly be worth while to spend more than .a million a year on what is called the art education of the people—which is mostly nothing better than a perfunctory and mechanical system of teaching artisans to draw —and at the same time tolerate the outrages on taste in the shape of posters that are to be seen in every town. Tue French journals record the death, at Aix-les-Bains, aged fifty, of M. Gaston Mé- lingue, painter, one of the sons of the famous actor and able sculptor. He became a pupil of Cogniet and Yvon, and has frequently exhibited genre pictures at the Salons since 1861. His more noteworthy works are ‘ Les Galants Trom- pettes,’ ‘L’Huitre et les Plaideurs,’ ‘ Rabelais 3 Chinon,’ ‘Un Diner chez Moliére,’ ‘Mlle. de Montpensier,’ ‘Edward Jenne,’ and ‘Moliére et sa Troupe.’ Tuer Louvre has received, as bequests of the late M. P. Burty, a picture by Delacroix, en- titled ‘La Montée au Calvaire,’ and an album of notes, drawings, and sketches made in Morocco by the same artist, and formerly the property of his intimate friend Dr. Charcot. To the collection of portraits in the same museum has been added the likeness of Gustave
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670 THE ATHENZUM N° 8290, Nov. 15, '90 Ricard, by F. Heilbuth, who bequeathed it together with his own picture called ‘ Réverie,’ and has left a quarter of a million francs to the Société des Artistes Frangais, being the value of an estate in the Rue Ampére, Paris. THE death is announced of M. A. Artz, one of the chief ornaments of the contemporary Dutch School. He was a frequent contributor to the Salons, and President of the Dutch Fine- Art Section at the Paris Exhibition of last year. Tue French journals say that it is M. Chau- chard, a rich collector, who has bought for his own gallery the ‘Angelus’ of Millet, and that for this picture, the sale of which to the Ame- rican Art Association stirred half Europe with its sensational details, he has given 750,000 fr. The sellers reserve, it is said, to themselves the right of exhibiting the picture in the United States until January next, when it will be re- turned to France. THE first exhibition of black and white in Russia is now being organized at St. Petersburg by a group of artists in water colour of that country. It will be opened next month. THE correspondence, till now inedited, of Michael Angelo with Sebastiano del Piombo (thirty-six letters) has been published by the Librairie de ‘ L’Art,’ Paris. Dr. Orst has now returned to Locri, and has already brought to light a well-preserved fort, which formed a key of defence to this ancient city of Magna Grecia. Two other forts still remain to be explored. The archeological plan of the whole district will be completed by the end of the month, and will be forthwith published by the Italian Government, under whose auspices it is being made. At Gortyna, in Crete, peasants have acci- dentally turned up fresh fragments of archaic inscriptions, similar to those found when ex- cavations were conducted by the agent of the Italian Government. It is evident that this site, where a temple of Apollo was found and the famous legal inscription, is not yet ex- hausted, and it were much to be desired in the interests of science that either Italy or the Greek Syllogus of Candia would resume researches on the spot. Tue Rev. J. Shortt writes :— “Tn the courteous notice of my contribution to the ‘History of Kibchester, reviewed in the Atheneum on the 18th ult., it is stated that the only gates found in the Roman castrum at that place were to the north and east. The latter word must be a misprint for west. The plan of the camp given in the work shows distinctly a gate in this direction, none on the east. The issue on the west was but a postern, only half the width of that to the north, which was fourteen feet. Virtually the latter was the only gate. It would, I acknowledge, have been well, as the reviewer says, to have given more details of the neighbouring Roman roads, especially those to the south. One of these led direct from Manchester, Close to this way was an outpost, still or lately traceable, upon a hill named Mellor, com- manding a view of Ribchester, at a distance of about four miles, The road led direct to the river, which was not spanned by a bridge. That there wasa ferry is rendered probable by the discovery of boat- tackle (‘Roman anchors and moorings’) as well as by the name of a slight elevation at the river-side on the north, styled Anchor Hill. Hence has arisen a tradition that the tide flowed in ancient times—much higher than at present—as far as Ribchester, and that the Ribble was navigable up to that point. This notion was, I conceive, due to the important ferry there long established. We have no proof of any elevation of the river bed within historical times. The most recent alteration of level upon the Lan- cashire coasts seems to have been—judging from remains of a ‘submarine forest,’ visible not far from Liverpool—one of subsidence. Hence it is unlikely that even light Roman galleys ever anchored off Ribchester. The troops crossed by a ferry. My theory I venture to think a plausible one. The huge fortress called Hadrian’s Wall drew its garri- son of 12,000 men from two depdts: York on the east, Chester on the west. On the line of communi- cation with the latter, as can be proved, lay Breme- tonacum. The loss of life from war and disease in so large a garrison must have been great, and neces- sitated the passage of frequent drafts of troops. To this was due its great local celebrity. May I ven- ture to ask you to be so good as to furnish an ex- planation of the following? Within the rampart, perpendicular to it, 3 ft. below the surface, were found at several points, during recent excava- tions, a layer of oak shingles. These were laid at intervals of about 6 in. upon ‘imported’ clay 1 ft. thick. Above them were 3 ft. of similar stuff—stiff clay. The lowest substratum of all was gravel. At one point were three successive rows of shingles, all lying in the same direction—at right angles to the vallum, which is touched by one row. This row is composed of pieces, each about 4 ft. 6 in. long and 3in. thick. At an interval of a few inches is another row of about the same length, and beyond this, in continuation, is a third row of much longer shingles, some 9, others 14 ft. in length, pointed at their outer ends. These splittings of oak ex- tended without the northern gate, and were found at the western. What can have been their purpose, laid as they were under 3 ft. of stiff clay ? ” MUSIC ——e THE WEEK. Roya IraLtan OperRA.—Revival of Gluck’s ‘Orpheus,’ ‘ Lohengrin,’ ‘ Rigoletto,’ ‘ Les Huguenots.’ Sr. JAMEs’s HaLL.—Senor Albeniz’s Concert. Nor fora considerable period has there been an event of so much interest on the operatic stage in London as the revival of Gluck’s ‘Orpheus’ at Covent Garden on Thursday last week. The claims of the great eigh- teenth century reformer of the lyric drama have been consistently urged in the Atheneum for many years. As recently as May last we drew attention at some length to the beauties of ‘Orpheus’ on the occasion of a tasteful performance at Cambridge. But circumstances have not been favourable re- cently for the presentation of this or its com- panion masterpieces on the regular boards, though, fortunately, no harm has been done by delay, for those who now make the ac- quaintance of the ‘Orpheus’ for the first time do so under happy conditions, and cannot fail to be impressed to the fullest extent with the beauties of the score. Ac- counts had reached this country of the sur- prising success which had attended the revival of the work in Italy, with two sisters, Miles. Sofia and Giulia Ravogli, in the leading parts. Signor Lago, to his credit be it said, resolved to signalize his season by engaging these artists, and amateurs have now the opportunity of witnessing a performance which in one respect is unsur- passed and unsurpassable. When ‘Orpheus’ was revived in Paris in 1859 with Madame Viardot in the titular part, Berlioz wrote enthusiastically concerning the assumption, and his words may be applied without any modification to Mlle. Giulia Ravogli. Indeed, Viardot did not possess that which consti- tutes one of the greatest charms of the younger artist, namely, a voice of sym- pathetic quality. A representation without flaw of any kind is, of course, rare in opera, but we do not know how to speak of the present embodiment except in terms of un- qualified approbation. Admirable through- out, Mlle. Ravogli in three distinct episodes displays artistic powers of the most extra- ordinary character. The first opportunity occurs at the end of the first act, where she restores Bertoni’s florid air. The thing is an excrescence, but its interpolation may be pardoned, because it enables the singer to display her wonderfully finished vocalization. Here, at any rate, we have one artist capable of preserving the traditions of the pure Italian school of singing. Mlle. Ravogli’s | next triumph is in the scene in the Elysian fields where Orpheus searches among the shades for Eurydice. At this point she exhibits a command of facial expression which is far more eloquent than words, and, thus rendered, the episode is inexpressibly beautiful and touching. No amount of eulogy would do justice to the singing of ‘Che faro.” This noble air is just as great a favourite with contraltos as it ever was, but we have never heard it sung with such passionate expression mingled with classic dignity of style as on this occasion. In short, Mlle. Giulia Ravogli’s impersonation of Orpheus is one of those rare achievements which come under notice not more than two or three times in the course of a generation. By its side the Eurydice of Mlle. Sofia Ravogli sinks into insignificance, though it is a careful and artistic performance. In the great duet in the third act the ensemble is excellent, owing to the familiarity of the performers with the requirements of the music. Mlle. Otta Brouy was fairly acceptable in the small part of Eros. The version of the work now performed is that of Dorffel—that is to say, the same as was used at Cambridge in May—and the cha- conne Which Gluck supplied at the request, or rather command, of Gaetano Vestris, is played as an entracte. Signor Bevignani had the orchestra well in hand, but the male voices of the chorus should be more subdued. Strident singing, such as would pass muster in the Soldiers’ Chorus in ‘ Faust,’ spoils the pure harmonies of Gluck. The costumes, more particularly in the second act, are ludicrous, and should be at once changed. Want of artistic care in matters of this kind is far more reprehensible in the eyes of the public than it was a few years ago. The subsequent performances at the Opera must be passed over briefly. On Saturday what might have been a remarkably fine performance of ‘Lohengrin’ was marred by insufficient rehearsal. Madame Albani dropped the staginess she has acquired of late, and played the part of Elsa with much of her former sweetness and charm. Our admiration of Mlle. Giulia Ravogli is in- creased by her strikingly intelligent imper- sonation of Ortrud, more especially as she was taking the part for the first time. Signor Perotti was acceptable as Lohengrin, and the other parts were adequately filled. More than once it needed all Signor Arditi’s skill to avoid disaster, owing to misunder- standings with reference to the excisions. Commencing at the early hour of half-past seven, it would be possible to give Wagner’s opera in its entirety if his directions were closely followed. M. Maurel was to have appeared in ‘Rigoletto’ for the first time in England on Monday, but he was unable to sing, and Signor Galassi took his place. Mr. Dimi- tresco, a Roumanian tenor, displayed a pleasing voice and style as the Duke, and Mlle. Stromfeld was tolerable as Gilda. We believe Madame Albani had been an- nounced to take the part of Valentine in ‘Les Huguenots’ on more than one occasion, but her first actual appearance in Meyer- beer’s opera was that of Wednesday last. The music evidently tried her voice severely, but dramatically her conception was marked by great intelligence, and in this respect, at any rate, the experiment was a success. Sefior Albeniz deserves the thanks of XUM
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90 he he on d, ly of of at is, ch sic In on its vO n. ia In ile — oe Ww 2 ct — N° 3290, Nov. 15, 790 THE ATHENZUM 671 musicians for the series of orchestral and chamber concerts begun on Friday even- ing last week at St. James’s Hall. The principal aim of the undertaking would appear to be the introduction of composi- tions by contemporary Spanish musicians to the notice of the English public. The dance rhythms of Spain are familiar enough, but we have yet to learn whether the time is ripe for this, or rather whether native composers have yet appeared capable of engrafting the characteristics of Spanish music on to the higher forms of composi- tion—a process the equivalent of which has been accomplished successfully by musi- cians of genius in Poland, Hungary, and Bohemia. The concert of Friday last week left this question unanswered, for the works by composers of the Iberian peninsula were least characteristic where they were most entitled to consideration as abstract music. The most important item was a Symphony in £ flat by Sefior Breton, who perhaps oceupies the highest position in Spain as a composer and conductor. We fancy the pre- sent symphony was written as an academic exercise, and therefore can scarcely be ac- cepted as indicating its composer’s genuine style. It is extremely Beethovenish through- out, and appears to have been inspired directly by the ‘Eroica’ Symphony. There is some Spanish colouring in Seiior Breton’s serenade ‘En la Alhambra’ and the pre- lude to his opera ‘Guzman el Bueno.’ Sefior Chapi’s Moorish fantasia ‘La Corte de Granada’ is scarcely worthy of serious criticism. It consists of four brief move- ments, of which the third, a piquant little serenade, is the most original. The rest are mainly built on tonic and dominant harmonies, with bright little melodic figures, but noisy and vulgar scoring. Seior Albe- niz was at his best as a pianist in Mozart’s Concerto in p, No. 26, composed in 1788, the year in which his last three great sym- phonies were penned. It is a charming work, and is exactly suited to the Spanish artist with his light, delicate touch and perhaps over-refined style. His conception of Schu- mann’s concerto is far from satisfactory, which is not surprising considering his nationality. Rusical Gossip, Tue remarkable inequalities of M. Paderewski as an executant were exemplified in an irri- tating manner at last Saturday’s Popular Con- cert. The rendering of Chopin’s Ballade in F minor, No. 4, and the Berceuse, Op. 57, was delicious ; but in the Scherzo in B minor the Polish performer appeared to lose control of him- self, and played wrong notes with, apparently, a light heart. Schubert’s Quartet in p minor and Schumann’s in E flat, Op. 47, were the con- certed works in this programme ; and Miss Girtin Barnard, who with further study may develope into a serviceable mezzo-soprano vocalist, was favourably received in songs by Sullivan and Schubert. : On Monday the concerted items were Dvorak’s spirited Quartet in E flat, Op. 51, and Rubin- stein’s Trio in B flat, Op. 52. M. Paderewski was again the pianist, his solo being Schumann’s ‘Carnaval,’ of which he gave the same peculiar reading on which we have already commented. He seems to regard Schumann through Chopin, and several of the numbers which demand breadth and virility were rendered with almost effeminate delicacy. On the other hand, where excellence of technique was required, it was forthcoming, so that the performance cannot be unreservedly praised or condemned. Mr. Oswald, the vocalist of the evening, introduced a musicianly song entitled ‘ A Silent Voice,’ by Mr. F. Cliffe, with expressive words by Mr. Joseph Bennett. MENDELSSoHN’s ‘Hymn of Praise’ was per- formed at last Saturday’s Crystal Palace con- cert, and the programme likewise included Grieg’s overture ‘In Autumn,’ and Mr. Cliffe’s tone picture for orchestra, ‘Cloud and Sunshine.’ Mr. Lloyd introduced a very pleas- ing serenade by Mr. Manns, entitled ‘ Minnie.’ The other vocalists were Madame Schmidt- Koehne and Miss Amy Sargent. THE Musical Guild commenced the fourth series of chamber concerts on Tuesday at the Kensington Town Hall. Messrs. Jasper Sut- cliffe, Wallace Sutcliffe, Alfred Hobday, and W. H. Squire form a well-balanced quartet. The programme contained Beethoven’s work in F, Op. 59, No. 1, and Mendelssohn’s un- finished Quartet in A minor. A very praise- worthy performance was also given of Brahms’s Sonata for Piano and Violin in «, Op. 78, by Miss Annie Grimson and Miss Winifred Hobday. M. PaprREWSKI is more acceptable as an interpreter of Beethoven than of Schumann. At his recital in St. James’s Hall on Wednes- day afternoon he gave a remarkably fine per- formance of the Sonata in ¢ minor, Op. 111, particularly of the second movement, which forms a crucial test of a pianist’s intellectual powers. The tendency to exaggeration, re- sulting in noise rather than music, which mars some of M. Paderewski’s efforts, was perceptible in the first and second move- ments of Chopin’s Sonata in B flat minor, and we did not care for his somewhat affected read- ing of the ‘Marche Funébre’; but the strange and dreamlike finale was rendered with the air of mystery the music demands. The rest of the programme may pass without remark. Tue Royal Choral Society commenced its Albert Hall season on Wednesday with a per- formance of ‘Elijah.’ Why the principal soprano and contralto music should have been entrusted to foreign artists does not appear, as there are many English vocalists more suited to Mendelssohn’s oratorio than either Madame Schmidt - Koehne or Madame Sviatlovsky. They have both fine voices, but their style is too theatrical for a sacred concert-room work. Mr. Watkin Mills sang well, as usual, in the leading part, and efficient service was rendered by Miss Sarah Berry and Mr. Ben Davies. Mr. Barnby’s choir retains its excellence, and it is impossible to imagine a finer interpretation of the choruses. An extremely successful orchestral concert was given at the Royal College of Music on Thursday last week, the programme containing Brahms’s ‘ Tragic’ Overture; Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, played with much breadth of style by Miss Isabella Donkersley|; and Schumann’s Symphony in c, of which a surprisingly good performance was given under the direction of Mr. Henry Holmes. SeNor SARASATE was announced to play Dr. Mackenzie’s ‘Pibroch’ at Sir Charles Halle’s Manchester concert on Thursday. The rest of the programme was almost identical with that of his concert at St. James’s Hall on the fol- lowing evening. Tue Wind Instrument Chamber Music Society gave its first concert for the season on Friday evening, too late for notice this week. The remaining concerts are fixed for December 12th, January 23rd, February 20th, March 20th, and April 17th. ‘THe EprpHany,’ a cantata by Dr. King, of Brighton, was performed as an exercise for the degree of Mus.Doc. at Oxford on Wednesday last week. The work is said to possess con- siderable intrinsic merit, and to be worth the attention of choral societies. WE are informed that special committees have been appointed by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge to deal with the question of the Toronto degrees. It is probable, however, that the claim of Toronto to possess the right of granting musical degrees in absentia will be abandoned. THE celebrated Paris orchestra of M. Lamou- reux has recently been touring in Holland and Belgium with striking success. According to a despatch from the Hague, the manager, M. Schurmann, has arranged for fifty concerts in England. Should this be true it is to be hoped that the public will be less indifferent than on the last occasion when M. Lamoureux gave con- certs in London, in 1881. THE death is announced of M. César Franck, since 1860 organist of St. Clotilde, Paris. Franck was born at Liége in 1822, but became a naturalized Frenchman in 1870. He was an extremely prolific composer, his works including operas, oratorios, a mass, motets, chamber works, and, in fact, examples in almost every form of composition, though it cannot be said that his music became generally popular, even in his own country, owing to the fact that it is more remarkable for musical knowledge than inspiration. His most pleasing effort is an oratorio entitled ‘Ruth,’ composed in 1845. Franck was much esteemed as a teacher, both at the Conservatoire and in private life. Reports continue to reach us concerning the disastrous condition of the Imperial Opera at Berlin. The intendant, Herr Hochberg, has recently suspended the free admissions granted to artists, and the Allgemeine Musikzeitung con- gratulates him on his determination to preserve young vocalists from influences which would without doubt prove the reverse of beneficial. Taking into consideration the low state of the opera in Paris and throughout Italy, the argu- ments in favour of subsidized theatres are scarcely convincing, at any rate at present. Amone the novelties promised at the Munich Opera during the season are Franchetti’s ‘ Asrael,’ ‘Le Cid’ by Cornelius, Kretschmer’s ‘Die Folkunger,’ Mozart’s ‘Idomeneo,’ and Liszt’s ‘St. Elizabeth.’ The last-named work appears to be so successful on the stage in Ger- many that one is compelled to believe that it is more effective as an opera than it is as an oratorio. A SCHEME is in contemplation for holding a sort of minor Wagner festival at Carlsruhe, at which the master’s early works, unsuitable for Bayreuth, would be performed. CONCERTS, &c., NEXT WEEK. Mon. Royal Italian Opera, 8, ‘Orpheus.’ _ Popular Concert, 8, St. James’s Hall. _ Highbury Philharmonic Society, ‘ Elijah,’8, HighburyAtheneum. _ Hasspaeae Conservatoire Concert, ‘‘The Dream of J ubal,’ &c., 8. Tvrs. Miss Rosa Kenney’s Recital, 2.30, Steinway Hall. _ Royal Italian Opera, 7.30, ‘ Tannhiiuser.’ J Messrs. Hann’s Chamber Concert, 8, Brixton Hall. — Kensington Orchestral and Choral Society, Musical Evening, 126, Cromwell Road. Wepv. Royal Italian Opera. _ Patti Concert, 8, Albert Hall. — London Ballad Concert, 8, St. James’s Hall. — Mr. Sidney Vantyn’s Pianoforte Recital, 8, Steinway Hall. Tuvrs. Royal Italian Opera. _ London Symphony Concert, 8, St. James‘s Hall. - Royal College of Music Concert, 8, Alexandra House. Far. Royal Artillery Band Concert, 3, St. James’s Hall. aaa Royal Italian Opera. 5 - Senor Albeniz’s Orchestral Concert, 8, St. James’s Hall. Sar. Royal Italian Opera. a Popular Concert, 3, St. James’s Hall. -- Crystal Palace Concert, 3. os Royal Amateur Orchestral Society’s Concert, 8, St. James’s Hall. DRAMA — THE WEEK. Toorr’s.—‘ Two Recruits,’ in Three Acts. By Frank by cae ET.—Revival of ‘ Called Back,’ a Drama in Four Acts. By Hugh Conway and J. Comyns Carr. Nor very easily definable are the limits of farce. It may be urged that they should not overpass those of burlesque. These somewhat elastic confines are, however, too
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672 THE ATHENAUM N° 3290, Nov. 15, 790 narrow for Mr. Wyatt, who in his ‘Two Recruits’ leaps over all bounds. To accept his story it is necessary to treat it as having, like that of ‘ Vice Versa,’ to which it has some resemblance, an underlying ele- ment of diablerie. No such condition is imposed by the author, who expects his audience to accept in good faith the idea of a young lad turning the tables upon a middle-aged guardian and tormentor by marrying his (the guardian’s) mother, so becoming his father, setting him to write out impositions, forbidding him to appear at meals, and sending him to bed at nine o’clock. This preposterous absurdity not only escapes censure, but provokes genu- ine, if not very easily explicable hilarity ; and the reception awarded ‘Two Recruits’ could scarcely have been more _ enthu- siastic had the novelty been some new ‘Chapeau de Paille d’Italie,’ or even a new ‘School for Scandal.’ The characters are newly assorted, but it cannot be said that they are original. For some, at least, a search through Dickens would supply proto- types. Mr. Albert Chevalier gave a repre- sentation of a character made up in even measure of Pecksniff and Uriah Heep, and Miss Delia Carlyle was artistically un- comely and shrewish as his daughter. Mrs. H. Leigh, Mr. H. Eversfield, Mr. F. Kaye, and other actors took part in the repre- sentation, Mr. Kaye’s comic physiognomy once more causing much laughter. Instead of the comedy of manners, Mr. Beerbohm Tree devotes the Haymarket, temporarily at least, to melodrama of the gloomiest type. Of recent studies in crime, ‘Called Back’ (originally produced May 20th, 1884, at the Prince’s Theatre, since rechris- tened the Prince of Wales’s) is the grimmest. It is a workmanlike version of the once popular story, and it has the advantage of offering several strongly-marked characters. It is a piece, however, to be expected at the Adelphi or the Princess’s rather than at its present home. The power of the prologue is undeniable, and the scene in which the blind hero, in the midst of a gang of assassins, bends mute and scared over the corpse of his dead mistress, haunts the memory, but from first to last the play is too ghastly. Such alterations, moreover, as have been made in it add to its horrors. Instead of meeting his death from a pistol shot, Macari has a duel with knives with his executioner, in which, but for the preliminary wound he receives, he would probably be the victor; and in the end, catching hold of a tree which gives way beneath his weight, he is plunged into a ravine of a description that can scarcely be common on the banks of the Lake of Geneva, where the incident occurs. This alteration is in keeping with the change Mr. Tree has made in his impersonation of Macari, of which he was the original ex- ponent. To the sliminess and fatefulness of the man he has added an unquenchable blood - thirst. A coward in his calmer moments, as is evidenced in the scene in which, while listening to the punishment decreed to a traitor, he shakes with appre- hension, Macari in his moments of passion forgets everything but his purpose. Ferocity formsa substitute forcourage. Thischaracter is finely indicated by Mr. Tree. As Dr. Ceneri, the benevolent head of the society, of the dagger—a part which he svon in- herited from Mr. Anson—Mr. Fernandez exhibited melodramatic gifts of a high order. He should, however, alter his get-up in the scene in Siberia, and show more signs of illness and exhaustion and fewer signs of age. As Pauline Miss Julia Neilson almost for the first time displayed the extent of her gifts. She has successfully com- bated the defects of inexperience and stagi- ness, and her performance was instinct with genuine passion. Mr. Frederick Terry played the hero with the earnestness and power he has of late developed; and Mr. F. Kerr, Miss Blanche Horlock, and other members of the company assisted in a competent interpretation. Dramatic Gossip. ‘L’Amt pes Femmes’ of M. Alexandre Dumas fils, first seen at the Gymnase Drama- tique the 4th of March, 1864, has been given at the St. James’s for the début of M. Valbel. Since its first production roused the Parisian press and public to an unfamiliar ecstasy of condemnation it has undergone some alteration. By the side of more recent dramatic experi- ments, moreover, it seems cleanly and moral. Its satire is not unworthy of Juvenal, but is open to the charge that it deals only with a narrow circle to which is assigned a representa- tive character it cannot claim. For the rest, the play is dull at the outset and depressing throughout. As M. de Ryons, a part first taken by M. P. Deshayes, M. Valbel showed himself a genuine comedian. Mlle. Stuart created a moderately favourable impression as Jane de Simerose, and Mlle. Cheller was acceptable as Mlle. Hackendorf. The general cast is good, though few performances called for comment. ‘SMOKE,’ a serio-comic drama in one act, by Benjamin Webster, jun., first produced at the Adelphi on Boxing Day, 1870, as a preface to the burlesque of ‘The Mistletoe Bough,’ has been added to the bills at the Opéra Comique. It is a fairly touching piece, evidently from the French, disputing the truth of the proverb, ‘‘Where there’s smoke there’s fire,” and showing two lives all but ruined through cause- less jealousy. Miss Grahame and Mr. R. 8. Boleyn played the principal parts. Dvurine the past week Mr. Thorne and the Vaudeville company have been playing at the Grand Theatre in ‘Joseph’s Sweetheart’ and ‘Miss Tomboy.’ MANAGERS are hurrying on novelties or re- vivals in order to take advantage of the dark nights between now and Christmas. A revised version of Mr. Grundy’s ‘May and December’ is given at the Comedy to-night ; ‘The Pharisee’ of Mr. Malcolm Watson and Mrs. Lancaster, of which we have previously spoken, is fixed for Monday at the Shaftesbury ; ‘ Antony and Cleo- patra ’ follows on Tuesday at the Princess’s ; and ‘In Chancery’ at Terry’s the following Satur- day. This in the height of the season would be a respectable amount of change. In November it is remarkable. A mistrust of the early days of December as occasions for the production of novelties seems, however, to prevail in the managerial mind. In a Manchester Sunday newspaper Mr. Wilson Barrett has expressed some views as to the madness of Hamlet, which, though open to criticism, constitute a not unimportant con- tribution to the literature of the subject. To CoRRESPONDENTS.—A. W.—A. G. M.—A. M.—H.— received. No notice will be taken of anonymous communications, TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY PosT. For Twelve Months oss For Six Months... oe ove SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & CO0.’S NEW BOOKS. THIRD EDITION NOW READY, THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD, K.G. By JAMES ANTHONY FROUDE, D.C.L. Being the First Volume of the ‘‘ Queen’s Prime Ministers ” Series, Edited by STUART J. REID. With Portrait. Crown 8vo. cloth, 3s. 6d. “There is something in Mr. Froude’s account even of these years which will be new to Lord Beaconsfield’s admirers as well as to his critics, and will contribute to the final estimate of his place in the annals of our generation.” imes. ‘We believe that Mr. Froude’s estimate of Lord Beacons- field, on the whole, will be the one accepted by posterity...... It is the man’s character which interests us; and this, we think, Mr. Froude has exhibited in its true light, and in colours that will not fade.”—Standard, SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME TO MR. STANLEY’S ‘IN DARKEST AFRICA.’ EMIN PASHA and the REBELLION at the EQUATOR. A Story of Nine Months’ Expe- rience in the Last of the Soudan Provinces. By A. J. MOUNTENEY JEPHSON, one of Stanley’s Officers. Written with the Revision and Co-operation of HENRY M. STANLEY, D.C.L., &c. A Preface also by Mr. Stanley. With Map and numerous Illustrations, two of which are specially drawn by Mrs. H. Stanley. SECOND EDITION. 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Ne 3291, Nov. 22, 90 THE ATHENAUM 6391 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1890, CONTENTS. PAGE . 691 eve 692 eee 692 ee 693 . 694 . 695 SuUVOROFF ... ooo ove ove ove ove Winpsork Forest BR oe OXFORD BIBLICAL CRITICISM CovENTRY PATMORE’S POETRY ae ian Tue LITERATURE OF THE STANLEY EXPEDITION NoveELs oF THE WEEK eco oe eee ove CHRISTMAS Books eee one ove ae pe. «- 697 Our LIBRARY TABLE—LisT OF NEW Books 697—699 THE ‘LYRICAL BALLADS’ OF 1800; A SOURCE OF THE Book oF Topir; SALE; Sik JoHN Francis Davis, K.C.B.; Messrs. HaRPER & BROTHERS 699—701 LITERARY GossIP eos one ‘ide ° . 701 ScIENCE—BOTANICAL LITERATURE ; MISCELLANEOUS Pusiications; Mr. SHIRLEY HIBBERD; ASTEO- NOMICAL NOTES; Gossip 702—704 NEw SoOcIETIES; MEETINGS; Fine ArTs—Direr’s LITERARY REMAINS; Prints; THE FRENCH GALLERY; THE GRAPHIC SociETy; GossIP ... re men 7 704—706 Music—THE WEEK; Gossip; CoNceRTS, &C., NEXT WEEK ... oom ies ooo ae oe « 705—707 DgaMa—THE WEEK ; GossIP 707—708 LITERATURE ecm Suvorof. By Lieut.-Col. Spalding. (Chap- man & Hall.) Cox. Spatpinc has rendered a service to the military literature of this country by rescuing from comparative oblivion the career of a most remarkable man. Suvd- roff occupied a conspicuous position in the great struggles which filled the period between the downfall of the ancien régime and the battle of Waterloo; yet he made but a vague impression on his English con- temporaries, and that impression has passed away. On the Continent, too, although the famous Russian’s military career is well known to historians, the man himself has become somewhat of a myth, and he is recollected only as a strange combination of hero, barbarian, buffoon, and lunatic. This conception is, as Col. Spalding conclusively shows, altogether erroneous, except as to the buffoonery. There is no denying the latter, but there was a reason for it—a reason which, looking at the state of Russia in those days, can be well understood. Suvoroff, as a man of action, could not spend his time at court, seeking to counteract the intrigues which envy set in motion. To disarm, therefore, the fears of his foes, and to convince them that he did not attempt to rival them, he simulated eccentricities which no doubt in time became natural to him. Some of his habits and utterances were also with him symbolical of meanings to which he, an independent and thoroughly honest man, could not under Russian despot- ism give plain utterance. His ways and sayings were indeed most peculiar. Rising from a bed of hay or straw at 2 a.m., he caused himself to be sluiced with several buckets of ice-cold water. A cup of tea, prayers, and a short lesson in Turkish as an exercise for his memory followed; then signing of documents; at 6 a.m. guard- mounting or parade; at 9 a.m. dinner of a simple nature, all but national dishes being excluded, and those of his staff who failed to say “‘amen”’ being deprived of the preliminary glass of spirits. ‘* His servant had instructions to nudge him and mildly expostulate if he perceived that his master was exceeding the limits of moderation in meat, drink, or even conversation. When thus exhorted to abstinence he would demand, ‘By whose orders?’ and on the set reply, ‘ Suvoroff’s,’ would ejaculate with a sigh, ‘ Well, he must be obeyed.’” After dinner Suvéroff would converse freely, and indulge in such buffoonery as leaping over chairs, hopping about on one leg, crowing like a cock, &c. Some of his eccen- tricities were due, no doubt, to a desire on his part to apply a powerful stimulus to his troops, but in several cases he practised them, as has been said, in order to disarm envy :— ‘*An Englishman once asked Suvoroff, ‘ If you deceive your contemporaries thus, are you not afraid of deceiving posterity also? You may remain an enigmafor ever!’ Herejoined, ‘ Do not puzzle your brains over it. I will explain myself. Monarchs praised me; soldiers loved me ; friends admired and foes slandered me. It was natural then for courtiers to mock me. For my country’s good I spoke the truth and crowed like a cock to awaken the drowsy.’” As a specimen of his eccentric way of addressing strangers we give the following anecdote. At a court ball at Kieff just before the Revolution ‘“he met Count Alexander Lameth, then on a visit to the Russian Court. Stopping short in front of the stranger, he cried, ‘ What are you ? your rank, and name.’ Lameth replied, ‘ French- man, Colonel, Alexander Lameth.’ ‘Good,’ returned Suvoroff. But the French Count, nettled at this abrupt address, demanded in turn: ‘What are you? your rank, and name,’ ‘ Russian, General, Suvoroff,” was the prompt rejoinder. ‘Good.’” His costume was as unconventional as his conduct. Col. Spalding thus describes his appearance during the famous campaign in Switzerland :— ‘*During these marches the Russian chief rode, as usual, on a Cossack horse; but the temperature being less genial than in the plains just quitted, he had drawn the cloth uniform coat of a private over the more flimsy garments which he usually wore. A shabby threadbare cloak, nicknamed by the soldiers ‘ the ancestral,’ was thrown over all, but gloves he never con- descended to wear.” Col. Spalding declares, on the authority of Milliutin, that the anecdote told by Alison in connexion with this campaign is un- founded. According to Alison, on the occasion of the failure of the Russian troops to carry the heights above Airolo, ‘‘irritated at the unexpected obstacles, the old marshal advanced to the front, laid down in a ditch, and declared his resolution to be buried there, where his children had retreated for the first time.” Suvoroff’s remarks to his troops would fill a volume, and some curious samples are given by Col. Spalding. He was a great advocate for hand-to-hand fighting, and when in the campaign in Italy of 1799 “‘the Austrian Marquis Chasteler, who had been assigned to him as chief of the staff...... endeavoured to elicit information from him touching future operations...... Suvoroff kept his own counsel, muttering ‘ Bayonets, bayonets,’ in reply to all inquiries and representations...... A levee of officers was at once held [on arriving at Verona], at the conclusion of which he began to pace the floor absently, muttering with closed eyes his favourite military catchwords, as, for instance, ‘Flop, like snow on the head,’ ‘The head waits not for the.tail,’ ‘ The bullet is a hag, the bayonet a hero,’ &c.” There never was a commander who moved his troops more rapidly; even Bliicher was inferior to him in this respect. As long asa single soldier could keep his place in | the column Suvoroff continued the march. | On the 17th of June, 1799, when hastening | up to succour Ott, who was being hard pressed, Suvoroff spurred on his troops to marvellous exertions :— ‘* The pace increased by degrees ; Suvoroff, in his bare shirt down to the waist and followed by a single Cossack orderly, continually galloped from front to rear, while he encouraged his men with jests, ejaculations, and proverbs. ‘ For- ward ! forward !’ he kept hallooing. ‘The head doesn’t stop for the tail !’......At times outriding the foremost troops, Suvdroff would conceal himself; then suddenly darting forward he would ride at full speed towards them. Enthu- siastic shouts greeted him, and the worn-out soldiers redoubled their exertions...... At 4 P.M. the heads of the foremost Russian infantry columns were seen pushing forward to support the cavalry ; yet so great was the fatigue of the men and so thinned weretheir ranks by straggling that even the impetuous Bagration counselled delay, aflirming that there were not forty men in each company. ‘ Forward, forward !’ yelled Suvoroff in reply ; ‘ attack in God’s name. Mac- donald has not twenty.’” Yet though Suvoroff exacted so much from his men, they entertained the greatest affec- tion for him, for he was one of themselves. He was essentially a Russian and a soldier. He knew how to appeal to the motives and feelings which were most powerful with them; he lived their life, and spared himself no more than he did them. Above all, he never fatigued them without good reason; he loved them and placed confidence in them, and enjoyed the prestige of almost invariable success. Byron is chiefly responsible for a wide- spread belief that Suvoroff was cruel. In ‘ Don Juan’ the poet, either misinformed or from the exigencies of rhyme, described him in the two following lines :— By Souvaroff, or Anglice Suwarrow, Who loved blood as an alderman does marrow. Col. Spalding exposes the misrepresentation. There was, it is true, great slaughter at the capture of Ismail, ‘‘ because Orientals, when defending their cities, neither ask nor give quarter, but fight from house to house, resist- ing to the bitterend.”’ Itmust beremembered also that much of the fighting took place in the dark, that women and children were active participators in the struggle, and that the soldiers were maddened by their losses. Suvoroff is also accused of having behaved with extreme brutality at the capture of Praga, a suburb of Warsaw. His written instructions previous to the assault ran as follows: ‘The troops will devote their attention to the armed Poles; those without arms and those who ask quarter will be spared.” Col. Spalding points out that, ‘‘ though naturally kind and docile, the Russian soldier maddens at the sight of blood and often turns a deaf ear to the voice of his officers. In spite of Suvodroff’s injunctions, quarter was re- fused...... To rescue Warsaw from pillage, Suvd- roff directed the fire of his guns against the bridge...... though a hot fire from beyond the Vistula proved more fatal to the Russians than had been the artillery of the entrenched camp. During the bombardment which followed, a shell, descending into the council-chamber of the revolutionary committee, killed the secretary as he sat at work. Suvdroff, on approaching the spot, stopped the bombardment of the city, and endeavoured to assuage the fury of his troops. Nevertheless, the losses of the Poles on this fatal day amounted to no less than 13,000 killed in action, 2,000 drowned, and 14,860 prisoners. Among the former were 4,000 citizens of Warsaw who had taken arms in its defence,
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692 THE ATHENAUM N° 3291, Nov. 22, 90 a fact which doubtless gave rise to the malicious statement that the defenceless townsfolk were massacred in cold blood.” In private life Suvoroff gave many proofs of tenderness of heart and humanity, and to an artist who painted his portrait he thus spoke :— **T must tell you that I have shed rivers of blood. I tremble, but I love my neighbour. In my whole life I have made no one unhappy ; not an insect hath perished by my hand.” As to Suvorofi’s ability as a tactician and a strategist, his campaigns speak in great measure forthemselves. His coup d’eil was remarkable, and his rapidity of movement and promptitude in action were not less so. His campaign in Switzerland was un- doubtedly rash, but generally the manner in which he combined dash and prudence was admirable. He was the first to break through the traditions of the cordon system, and he anticipated Napoleon in massing superior forces on weak points of the hos- tile front, and in turning a flank and sever- ing the enemy’s communications while pro- tecting his own. “In the department of tactics, again, it seems probable that he was the first to employ columns of attack covered by skirmishers and supported by a reserve; to wit, at the second attack on Turtukai. The formations he employed were always modified according to the enemy with whom he was engaged. Turks, Poles, and the French were each encountered in a different way : the Osmanli by heavy columns or squares, since nothing was dreaded but the furious onslaughts of their cavalry; while his campaigns against the French were never signalized by those head- long charges of horse to which most of his suc- cesses in Poland were due. On the contrary, the action of the three arms was duly combined and calculated for mutual support.” Taking his career as a commander as a whole, we may fairly place him in the first class of generals, though perhaps low down in that class. The military public of this country are much indebted to Col. Spalding for having put together a clear, well-written sketch of one of the most remarkable men of the last century. A History of Windsor Forest, Sunninghill, and the Great Park. By G. M. Hughes. (Ballantyne, Hanson & Co.) Winpsor and Windsor Castle have had many historians, but Mr. Hughes is in many respects working virgin soil in these pages, which tell the history of the Forest and the Great Park as well as the parochial story of Sunninghill. The comparatively few statements with regard to the Forest and Sunninghill that have hitherto attained to the honour of print have, for the most part, been but imaginary traditions; and one of the duties which have devolved upon the author has been to uproot a whole crop of assertions which are proved to be fictions. These are some of the state- ments that must never again be credited— that the church bells of Sunninghill were given by Queen Elizabeth; that the yew tree of the churchyard was a Domesday landmark; that Ascot races were founded in 1752 by the Duke of Cumberland; that the Forest itself was planted by Henry VIIL.; that the manor house was the home of the author of ‘Sandford and Merton’; that King Charles’s spaniels repose under the Stone Vase of the Lime Avenue of King’s Wick; and that Charters was the site of a Carthusian monastery. But though Mr. Hughes has thus been compelled to sweep away various curiosities of parochial gossip, it need not be assumed that he has therefore put together a dull, dry book. This would be doing these pages a decided injustice, for they mostly possess the rare merit of combining accurate archeology and correct history with well-sustained interest and an attractive style. There is not a dull line in the chapter which tells of ‘‘the People” of the Forest from the times of Edward II. to the present day. A forest was usually the home of the lawless, and Windsor has been no exception to the rule. The antiquary can find proof of its harbouring robbers and their accom- plices, who were bold enough in the four- teenth century to attack the officers of justice and rescue prisoners; and in Eliza- bethan days special legislation was necessary to relieve the inhabitants of Sunninghill and others of the hundred of Benhurst from bearing the whole burden of the compen- sation made to travellers robbed within the precincts of the Forest. At the latter period the woods and thickets harboured ‘a great stoare of stout vagabonds and mayster- less men which do great hurt in the county by their idle and naughtie life.” In the next century the district became the haunt of the heroes of the annals of highwaymen. It was the favourite ground of that polished robber who broke the sixth and eighth commandments with a grace that is said to have charmed the victims—Claude Duval. In the reign of George I. a gang of ruffians as bad as Duval, but lacking all his graces, traversed the country, robbing parks and fishponds, and demanding money of all they visited. They were known as the “ Walt- ham Blacks,’ and were under the leader- ship of a small farmer, William Shorter, whom they dubbed “King John.” At last the Government determined to suppress the band; but it required a special Act of Par- liament, a regiment of Grenadiers, and much stratagem to effect their arrest. Over forty were ultimately secured, and as the result of a special assize at Reading four of the worst were executed and hung in chains in different parts of Windsor Forest, the re- mainder being transported. In connexion with this incident, Mr. Hughes explains the astounding blunder of which he convicts Mr. Lecky (‘History of England in the Eighteenth Century,’ vol. ii. p. 236) in be- lieving that the Government procured the ordination and institution of a ‘‘ Waltham Black,” who had informed against his fel- lows, to an Irish benefice as a reward for his treachery ! Three other chapters, brimful of interest, tell of the Forest, its laws and traditions, and of the historical incidents and hunting that were enacted within its limits. A more matter-of-fact section describes the Windsor Forest Enclosure Act of 1818. Mr. Hughes warns his readers of the unromantic nature of the facts he has to deal with under this head; but his facile pen makes even this most pleasant reading, as he tells of the causes of the transformation and the way in which it was brought about :— ‘‘In a moment the ancient forest ceased to exist; the woods were there, the waste, the great ‘frithe’ remained, butas ‘forest’ no more. All its dreaded laws were repealed, its rights and privileges were swept away for ever; the vast unenclosed area, which had been hedged in only by legal fictions, antiquated customs, and black- letter laws, was in reality ‘no man’s land’; for although many, from the king down to the pea- sant, had rights over it, the absolute right was not, except theoretically, in any one. Stripped of all its poetry and romance, and of half its beauty, it was changed in a moment, as it were, by parliamentary magic into a multitude of sepa- rate commonplace freehold allotments. A few years of agitation, two or three of routine work, transformed it into private ownership, bounded and defined by straight lines of ditches and turf banks.” The conclusions as to the results of the en- closure are well and carefully worked out ; they are summed up as ‘‘a benefit to the rich, but a very qualified boon to the poor.” Of the retired parish of Sunninghill, buried in the south-eastern corner of the Forest, ‘‘hersed about’? for so many cen- turies by dark woods and wild heathlands, ani lying wide of any chief thoroughfare since the early days when the wonderful Roman road was abandoned, much is said in the present volume. Many a parochial history has passed through our hands, and we have no hesitation in saying that no parish has been more conscientiously and ably treated than Sunninghill. The material, carefully gleaned from all the best sources, has been well arranged in chapters that tell of the parish and village in Norman and Plantagenet days, in Stuart times, under the Commonwealth, and in the eighteenth century. The value of lands, the population and mortality, the roads, the church of Norman foundation with its unique inscription, and the vicars and their vicarage, are all brought clearly before the reader. Other chapters tell of Sun- ninghill Park, Silwood Park, King’s Wick, the Cedars, Beech Grove, the wells, the camps, the Great Park and Virginia Water, Cranbourn Tower, Ascot, Bagshot and Windlesham, the nunnery of Broom- hall, the Roman road, Ockwells, Ascot races, and the geology, fauna, and flora of the district. An appendix suppiies an account of charities and endowments, and transcripts of the tombstone inscriptions. A good map of the Forest country, showing the Roman road, and a too brief index bring the volume to a close. To turn over and read these four hundred and fifty handsome quarto pages, disclosing in the process several beautifully executed full-page engravings as well as many wood- cuts inthe text, has proved an unexpected pleasure to a critic somewhat jaded with the commonplace labours or tiresome blunders of not a few of the rapidly increasing race of local and parochial historians. Mr. Hughes has beyond doubt produced a good book, and one worthy to take the highest rank among the topographical publications of the day. Studia Biblica et Ecclesiastica. Essays chiefly in Biblical and Patristic Criticism. By Members of the University of Oxford. Vol. II. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.) In noticing the first volume of these ‘Studia’ we expressed our strong approval of the idea which led to their publication. It is of great importance that English scholars should investigate, but it is not likely that HH XUM
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*—_—____ N° 3291, Nov. 22, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 693 = they will continue long to pursue scholarly inquiries if there is no opportunity of pub- lishing them. We welcome, therefore, the existence of any veh:cle by which researches can be made known, and we regret only that the projectors of these ‘ Studia’ should contemplate closing the series with the third volume. There ought to be an un- interrupted prosecution of inquiries and @ regular means of giving them to the public. Most of the essays in this volume deserve great praise, and will be valuable to the student of Biblical and patristic criticism. ‘The plan of such inquiries should be that ‘each inquirer should choose a limited subject, and should bring it as near as possible to a ‘definite conclusion. Most of the essays follow this plan. The first, by Dr. Ad. Neubauer, supplies a clear and interesting statement of the opinions of early Jewish authorities on the authorship and titles of the Psalms, and embodies the results of great research. In the second essay Mr. ‘Woods investigates ‘The Origin and Mutual Relation of the Synoptic Gospels.’ He has gone most carefully into the question, and his essay will repay careful study, but his conclusion is not satisfactory. ‘‘ We con- clude,” he says, ‘‘that the common tradi- tion upon which all the three Synoptists ‘were based is substantially our St. Mark as far as matter, general form, and order are concerned.” But he does not venture to affirm that it is our St. Mark, and he does not explain what he means by the “ common tradition.” The third essay is by Mr. C. H. Turner, and discusses the day and year of St. Polycarp’s martyrdom. He endeavours to show that the date indicated in the account of the martyrdom is not February 28rd, 155 a.p., as Lightfoot gave it, but Feb- cuary 22nd, 1564.p. The essay is highly ingenious and plausible, but the writer himself does not regard his conclusion as clearly proven; and, indeed, some of the arguments which he employs suggest that the passage which he tries to expound is a late addition to the martyrdom, unknown to Eusebius. The fourth essay, by Dr. Bigg, is on the ‘Clementine Homilies,’ and is the most unsatisfactory in the collection. There is abundance of learning in it, but there is a want of method, and problems are started which the writer does not attempt to solve. Thus he begins with an exposi- tion of the theology of the Homilies which shows considerable bias, but before he reaches the end of his paper he propounds the theory that ‘‘ the book is a recast of an orthodox work by a highly unorthodox editor.” He does not grapple with this question of the authorship, but supposing that his theory were correct, how could there be an exposition of the theology until the two parts had been separated? So again he proposes in his introductory remarks to deal with the relation of the Homilies to Gnosticism. But when he comes to the section in which he promised to take this question up, he passes it by as not being necessary for his present purpose, and at a later stage says: ‘‘But after all what is most important in this singular book is neither its authorship, its exact date, nor its birthplace, but the light that it throws on the origin ef Gnosticism (an interesting point which space has compeiled us to omit),” &c. The same looseness that characterizes the texture of the essay cha- racterizes the individual statements. We do not see sure signs that the author has studied the numerous treatises which have been written on the subject, nor given sufficient attention to the text of the Homilies. One instance must suffice. He quotes a passage from ‘ Hom.’ xx. 7 thus:—‘ dpnootciov =) tapoton = TpoT7 mpoBdrrea, icodtivapov dé ov. Read rH meo periculo for py, and the passage becomes at once intelligible.” If he had looked carefully at Dressel, he would have seen that that editor omits the » in his transla- tion; and if he had consulted Wieseler, as he ought to have done, he would have noticed that he proposed pév instead of pj—an emendation much neater than his own ; and he might have known that Wieseler’s emen- dation had been adopted by both German and English writers. Dr. Bigg also bases an argument for the date of part of the Homilies on the spoovcros of this passage, but he need only have turned to any Greek dictionary to learn that the word was anterior to any Arian controversy. The other three papers in the book are, one by Mr. Bebb on ‘ The Evidence of the Early Versions and Patristic Quotations on the Text of the Books of the New Testa- ment’; another by Mr. Gwilliam on ‘The Ammonian Sections, Eusebian Canons, and Harmonizing Tables in the Syriac Tetra- evangelium’; and another by Mr. White on ‘The Codex Amiatinus and its Birthplace.’ They all deserve high praise for the spirit of inquiry, the scholarship, and the care which they exhibit. Prof. Sanday has added as an appendix to Mr. White’s article a paper on the ‘Italian Origin of the Codex Amiatinus and the Localizing of Italian MSS.’ We think the insertion of this paper a mistake. Prof. Sanday acknowledges that he has not mastered the materials necessary for a ripe judg- ment, and that these materials are accumu- lating daily. Why should he be in such a hurry to rush into print? All will agree with him in his own estimate of his work when he says, “The results of this inquiry must be confessed to be disappointing.” The volume ought to receive a hearty welcome from all Biblical and patristic scholars. The Unknown Eros. By Coventry Patmore. (Bell & Sons.) Earty in 1877 there was in the columns of the Atheneum a review of ‘The Unknown Eros and other Odes,’ a work published anonymously, but of which it would have been easy to name the author, some of the poems having appeared in the Pall Mall Gazette with his initials attached to them. Mr. Coventry Patmore has this year offered the public as ‘The Unknown Eros’ a third edition, in a cheap form; but the third edi- tion is no mere reproduction of the first, for it contains over thirty additional poems of a collective length which might almost have made another such volume as that one. Two lighter pieces, not odes and not in any way of the type of ‘The Unknown Eros,’ which originally made a somewhat incon- gruous appendix, have been eliminated, as has also the political tirade entitled ‘1877.’ In the reprints from the first edition we do not discover any emendations be- yond the change of the titles of two short odes. The new poems are in struc- ture and expression and mode of thought so thoroughly of the type of their pre- cursors as to offer no internal evidence whatever of their difference in date. Mr. Coventry Patmore, having advisedly adopted that ode rhythm which he prefers to call ‘‘catalectic verse,’’ has in its use adhered consistently to his first manner. We so far regret this that we think he might well have glided into a second manner in which he would have no less continued to carry out his metrical principles in the ode and would, without losing the dignity of his versification, have given it ease and the charm of melody. It would be absurd to suppose that one whose writings were once so specially cha- racterized by fluency and ready, prattling tune, could not deal as suggested with his severer verse, if he sought to do so; and that he retains a certain constraint, even amounting at times to stiffness, which he assumed with the ‘Unknown Eros’ poems of a dozen years ago, shows that in his judgment this constraint is required by the nature of the verse, and that his ear desires no other cadence. But as to this there is likely to be a difference of opinion. That peculiarly pliant form of verse which, as Mr. Patmore notices in his preface, is by some even accused of lawlessness, should be above all things flowing and musical, but by introducing constraint and severe abruptness Mr. Patmore makes his ‘‘ cata- lectic’”? verse, law-abiding though it be, create a sensation of irregularity and jerkiness which would not be produced by catalectic verse more euphoniously modu- lated, even if it were far less correctly measured. The abruptness is mainly caused by the use of the pause as a sudden dead stop in the rhythm instead of as a rhythm punctuation, but sometimes is due to short lines which really are not lines, but only portions of the preceding or the following line—short pausing lines which do not by their meaning or their sound allow of the natural stress of the pause, and which are thus made breaks in the pace rather than true pauses. Mr. Patmore’s object in this method of versification is, of course, to avoid the triviality which is the peril of the ode; and, although we think he might have attained that object with less sacrifice of charm, we cannot but admit that he has fully attained it. His utterance has always a marked dignity and self-possession ; if it never becomes impassioned it never becomes phrenetic, and never inept, and its import- ance, if sometimes a little beyond the need, gives appropriate emphasis to the quiet fervour of sentiment and intentness of thought which distinguish most of this volume. If a critic had to make a selection of half a dozen or so of the best poems in this edition of ‘The Unknown Eros’ he would most likely take them nearly, if not quite, all from among those published in the first edition. There are no lines to quote from the later odes so beautiful as those quoted in 1877 from what was then and still is the ‘Proem’ :—
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694 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3291, Nov. 22, 90 Therefore no ’plaint be mine Of listeners none, No hope of render’d use or proud reward, In hasty times and hard ; But chants as of a lonely thrush’s throat At latest eve, That does in each calm note Both joy and grieve ; Notes few and strong and fine, Gilt with sweet day’s decline, And sad with promise of a different sun. And yet not very inferior to those lines are the following, from a new-comer, ‘ St. Valen- tine’s Day,’ speaking of springtime thus :— Whence is the peaceful poignancy, The joy contrite, Sadder than sorrow, sweeter than delight, That burthens now the breath of everything, Though each one sighs as if to each alone The cherish’d pang were known? At dusk of dawn, on his dark spray apart, With it the Blackbird breaks the young Day’s heart ; In evening’s hush About it talks the heavenly-minded Thrush ; The hill with like remorse Smiles to the Sun’s smile in his westering course ; The fisher’s drooping skiff In yonder sheltering bay ; The choughs that call about the shining cliff ; The children, noisy in the setting ray ; Own the sweet season, each thing as it may ; Thoughts of strange kindness and forgotten peace In me increase ; And tears arise Within my happy, happy Mistress’ eyes, And, lo, her lips, averted from my kiss, Ask from Love’s bounty, ah, much more than bliss ! The passage has flaws—‘ peaceful poig- nancy,”’ ‘‘ joy contrite,” are distressing ; so is the misuse (for the sake of a rhyme which is in itself also a misuse) of the word re- morse—but in spite of these defects it is, as a whole, of undeniable beauty, and it con- tains individual lines of the kind that cling to the memory. It possesses alsc that charm of melody which is too rare in Mr. Pat- more’s odes. ‘Eros and Psyche,’ ‘ Psyche’s Discontent,’ ‘De Natura Deorum’ are each and all a corollary to the original title-poem, ‘To the Unknown Eros,’ and thus strengthen its claim, previously very doubtful, to be name-father tothe book. They attempt a mingled mystic and sensuous explanation of the conjugal union, the ‘ bond I know not of nor dimly can divine” foreshadowed in the mind of the speaker in the ‘ Unknown Eros’ ode; but, while that ode is ‘‘so thinks the boy,” these examine the revela- tion as if from the woman’s side, in the personage of Psyche. They are of too dis- tinct an importance among the contents of the volume to pass unnoticed, but they are of less value than their less psychological- eninge companions. This is not ecause of the nature of their theme, for Mr. Coventry Patmore is able to treat it with reverence ; but because it is impossible to accept his Psyche. Considered as repre- senting a human being, she is dramatically false ; considered as a substitute for a trea- tise on marriage, she is misleading. Could a creature possessed soul and body by love as this Psyche is intended to be investigate and criticize her feelings and sensations, discuss them with the lover, with herself, with an old Juliet’s-nurse of a Pythoness? In the confidences between the girl and the crone, the ‘De Natura Deorum,’ a tone of jocularity enhances the incongruity. And, be it said, this jocularity has other faults: it is artistically unbefitting the generally exalted style and diction, and it defiles the nuptial love of Psyche, which should be a sacred thing. In ‘Sponsa Dei’ and ‘To the Body’ we have the conjugal theme of the Eros poems with a deeper mysticism —a mysticism Christian, devotional, and even, in spite of its erotic presentment, ascetic. These two new odes seem to have a direct and inten- tional connexion of doctrine with the re- printed ‘ Delicize Sapientize de Amore.’ We take it that they, and passages similar to them in some of the other odes, are to be regarded as a development of the Eros poems, completing them as the New Testa- ment completes the theology of the Old. There are several—‘‘a good several ’— of the poems which cannot by any interpre- tation be traced to Eros at all. Some of these are too much the scolding rhetoric of the platform, the mad gallop to nowhere of political or polemical passion. Such windy violence is no more poetry than it is argument ; and as to these diatribes of Mr. Patmore’s there is moreover the drawback that the reader cannot always find out from their context what they are about, and may have forgotten, or not have known, the immediate circumstances which provoked them. ‘The Standards,’ that singular Jeremiad and Ecstasy about a storm of persecution which Mr. Patmore somehow persuaded himself in 1874 that he saw breaking over his co-religionists, has at this distance of time become almost unin- telligible and quite without any appear- ance of common sense it may have once possessed. Even in 1877 it was strange that its author should have chosen to let it figure in the volume, an evidence of how polemic fever can daze a sane man; it is stranger still that he should wish it remem- bered now. We are helped to some com- prehension of ‘The Standards’ by a foot- note stating that it was written ‘soon after the publication of an incendiary pam- phlet by Mr. Gladstone against the English Catholics, occasioned by the Vatican Council”; another reprint, ‘1867,’ is explained by a foot-note setting forth that ‘‘in this year the middle and upper classes were dis- franchised by Mr. Disraeli’s Government, and the final destruction of the liberties of England by the Act of 1884 rendered in- evitable.” Surely Mr. Coventry Patmore ought to be able to see that the need of notes to express the purport of his contro- versial odes shows that they are not of last- ing stuff, that they cannot survive their occasions, and, being dead, should be decently buried. All living verse says for itself what it is about. We rejoice that, though Mr. Patmore has retained those and other irascible disputations, he has added to them but one. That one, which he entitles ‘1880-85,’ has its tale told in the foot-note to ‘1867.’ In the haste of his vehement execrations, he has even less than usual set forth the cause of them; he relies on his readers’ recollections of an epoch so recent as that of the last extension of the fran- chise. But, whether as a poem or as a con- tribution to political history, the piece is faulty in not conveying in itself any sug- gestion of what was the deed he rails at. Nor are redeeming beauties to be found in the ode to set against this primary defect : it is very angry, that is all. Poetry, satire, vigour, point, what has any of them to do with such talk as— Lo, how the dross and draff Jeer up at us, and shout, ‘* The Day is ours, the Night is theirs ! ” And urge their rout Where the wild dawn of rising Tartarus flares, Yon strives their Leader, lusting to be seen, His leprosy ’s so perfect that men call him clean ! Listen the long, sincere, and liberal bray Of the earnest Puller at another’s hay ‘Gainst aught that dares to tug the other way, Quite void of fears,— or But, once let traitor coward meet, Not Heaven itself can keep its feet. Come knave who said to dastard, ‘‘ Lo, The Deluge ! ” which but needed ‘‘ No!” For all the Atlantic’s threatening roar, If men would bravely understand, Js softly check’d for evermore By a firm bar of sand. But, dastard listening knave, who said, ‘¢ *Twere juster were the Giant dead, That so yon bawlers may not miss To vote their own pot-belly’d bliss,” All that is past ! We saw the slaying, and were not aghast, Will there not come a day when Mr. Coventry Patmore scores to the evil account of his evil epoch, 1880-85, the added crime that it made him write that ode ? THE LITERATURE OF THE STANLEY EXPEDITION. Emin Pasha and the Rebellion at the Equator. By A. J. Mounteney-Jephson. Map and Illustrations. (Sampson Low & Co.) The Life of Edmund Musgrave Barttelot, from his Letters and Diary. By Walter George Barttelot. Portrait and Maps. (Bentley & Son.) Five Years with the Congo Cannibals. By Herbert Ward. (Chatto & Windus.) With Stanley’s Rear Column. By J. Rose Troup. (Chapman & Hall.) Or the books on this list Mr. Jephson’s. is the most valuable and interesting. It forms, in fact, a supplement to Mr. Stanley’s own narrative, for, as is welk known, its author was left behind with Emin Pasha when the leader of the expedi- tion retraced his steps in order to bring up the rear column. With Emin he spent nine months. He witnessed the rebellion of the troops, shared Emin’s imprisonment at Dufile, and enjoyed his confidence and affection to the last. When the two parted at Bagamoyo, after Emin’s recovery, Emin held Jephson’s hand in both of his, and told him how deeply grateful he was for what had been done for him. ‘* He said, ‘You I shall never forget, for you have been my companion and friend through those months of our imprisonment together, those months which were the worst months of my life.’ It seemed as if he was taking 2 long good-bye, and profoundly touched by the inexpressible sadness of his tone, I once more urged him to come with us. Again he shook his head and said it was impossible, so I sadly bade him good-bye and returned to Zanzibar.” If Mr. Jephson went into Central Africa with the idea that Emin still exercised real authority, this was his own fault. Indeed, considering the worthlessness of Emin’s officers and the fickle character of his men, all of which was perfectly well known, as also the isolation in which he was left by the government which failed to support him, it is surprising that he maintained even the ‘‘show of authority” of which he speaks
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N° 3291, Nov. 22, 90 THE ATHENZUM 695 in one of his letters. As long ago as March, 1883, Emin complained of his men doing their duty ‘‘reluctantly,”’ an1 hinted that in a couple of years people might quietly ‘‘ draw a line through the name of his province”? unless something was done to relieve and support him. That the ‘‘show”’ was kept up, even to the firing of salutes from cannon when it was reported that Emin was short of ammunition, is amply borne out by Mr. Jephson. It is also admitted by the author that the Khe- dive’s letter was injudiciously worded, and calculated to raise doubts of its authen- ticity. Had a young and energetic governor been sent out to relieve Emin, who sadly needed a change after a residence of eighteen years in tropical Africa, the province might, perhaps, have been held. The few men whom Stanley succeeded in mustering on the shore of the Albert Nyanza were clearly insufficient for such a purpose. Mr. Jephson is a warm admirer of Mr. Stanley’s methods and energy, but it is evident that he takes pains to do full justice to the late governor of the Equatorial Pro- vince :— ‘* A brave man who bore up against trials, and unhesitatingly gave up the best years of his life for the good of his people, beset with troubles from within and without—he must always be, to any one who had seen him in his country and known him, an object of admiration and sym- pathy, whilst his kindness of heart, unselfish- ness, and generosity, ought to make those who knew him intimately, sincerely attached to him.” ‘*T shall never forget that night, when we sat together till morning broke, talking of many things, and of the turn affairs in his province were, I felt, too surely taking. He told me of his life, of his hopes and fears, his struggles and disappointments, and all with a simple earnest- mess which touched me with remorse when I thought how often I had allowed myself to be irritated by his want of energy and decision.” This, however, is the bright side of Emin’s character. After reading Mr. Jephson’s book even Emin’s best friends are bound to admit that on many occasions he failed in energy, and that his irritability, unreason- ableness, and resentment of imaginary in- juries must have been painfully provoking to men who had done their best to relieve his wants. If Emin occupies the most prominent place in his handsomely illustrated volume, it must not be supposed that Mr. Jephson altogether neglects more general subjects. Like many others, he believes that trade will prove to be one of the best and strongest of civilizing influences in Africa, and tacitly admits that missionaries have failed :— *‘T do not think the negroes would ever be- come a great nation capable of governing them- selves, as Europeans understand government. But I do not see why people should expect or even want to Europeanize negroes. That they could, by education, become immensely higher and better than they are, is a fact which must be patent to any one who knows anything about Africa and the negroes. The negro has traits in his character quite apart, and often finer in their way than those of Europeans ; it is better to educate and foster these traits, and leave him a negro still with all his own peculiar in- dividuality, but educated and enlightened. Improve and train him, but never try to Europeanize him—the trial has always been a failure. Most of the mission boys I have seen are a servile, worthless lot, talking a good deal about Jesus Christ, but not liking work.” This civilizing work cannot be carried out by Turks, Arabs, or Egyptians. It will have to be undertaken by Europeans, and, in the present instance, through the agency of the British East Africa Com- pany. Mr. Jephson knows, of course, nothing personally of the causes which led to the failure of the rear column, but it may be presumed that the following paragraph expresses the views of the members of the expedition :— ‘*That Barttelot had done his duty bravely and honestly I never for a moment doubted. He may have been injudicious, he may have been hasty. The story of that terrible time will never, I fear, be correctly known ; but whatever may have happened, any one who really knew him must intuitively recognize that he was honourable and upright and brave, and that, like Lawrence, he tried to do his duty.” Major W. George Barttelot’s book is a vindication of his brother’s conduct, and ‘‘ not a line of it,” so he tells his readers, “would have been written, if justice, even partially, had been done, or any kindness shown by the leader of the expedition for the relief of Emin Pasha to the officers left at Yambuya with his impediments, his stores, and his sick.” The volume consists of a short life of Major E. M. Barttelot—relating his military ser- vices during the Afghan war, in Egypt and the Sudan—and of his diary, kept whilst he was a member of Mr. Stanley’s expe- dition. This diary carries the reader to July 5th, 1888, and is accompanied by a running commentary. The account of the murder is in accordance with statements made by Mr. Bonny. It is to be regretted that the unfortunate major’s brother deemed it incumbent upon him to publish the volume. Mr. Ward, the author of the third book on our list, although one of the five officers left in charge of the rear column, happened to be at Bangala at the time Major Barttelot was murdered. But if he fails to throw any light upon the tragedy enacted on the banks of the Aruwimi, he has, on the other hand, written a spirited account of the Congo tribes, beautifully illustrated by numerous pictures from photographs taken by himself. Mr. Ward is a specimen of a type common enough among English adventurers. Of a good family, he had the chance of receiving a decent education. But the only prize he ever got at school was one for @ performance on the horizontal bar, and he preferred to begin life as a ‘‘ friendless boy, cast off as a ne’er-do-well by his family.” In New Zealand and Australia, where he spent four years, he was by turns a stock- rider, a circus performer, and a miner, and then returned home on board a sailing vessel as an A.B. After a brief stay he took service with the British North Borneo Company, and ultimately accepted an ap- pointment in the Congo State which Mr. Stanley offered him. So anxious was he to commence his new career that he willingly submitted to the ‘‘ humiliating restrictions ”’ which the authorities of that State impose upon their officials. As a member of Stanley’s expedition he performed that remarkable journey down the Congo to the coast in thirty-two days, which justified his native nickname of ‘‘ Mayala Mbemba,” that is ‘‘Eagle’s Wings.’ Mr. Ward’s book pos- sesses no pretensions to scientific methods, but will repay perusal, as it furnishes ample information on native customs, and affords a fair notion of what an official’s life is in the ‘‘ Independent Congo State.” Mr. Troup’s volume, very unlike Mr. Ward’s book, deals almost exclusively with the doings of Stanley’s officers left in charge of the rear column. The author was “‘ much pained by reading most inaccurate accounts of what had taken place at Yambuya,” and considered that his honour and that of his comrades was concerned in refuting the charges brought against them by Mr. Stanley. He writes temperately and evi- dently truthfully, but such entries as that under April 23rd, ‘‘John Henry received three hundred lashes,” tell their own story. Had it not been for the astounding and painful charges brought forward against the two leaders of the rear column, we should have been inclined to accept Mr. Jephson’s estimate of the character of the efforts which these officers made to perform the task which was set them. As it is, we must reserve our judgment until the whole of this matter has been sifted; and as every one of the officers is undoubtedly iiable to English law for every flogging and shooting that took place in the course of the expedi- tion, the probability is that the whole of the story of the rear guard will be investi- gated in a court of justice. NOVELS OF THE WEEK, Armorel of Lyonesse: a Romance of To-day. By Walter Besant. 3 vols. (Chatto & Windus. ) A Double Knot. By George Manville Fenn. 3 vols. (Methuen & Co.) Kestell of Greystone. By Esmé Stuart. 3 vols. (Hurst & Blackett.) In the Valley. By Harold Frederic. 3 vols. (Heinemann.) The Secret of the River. By Dora Rassell. 2 vols. (Hurst & Blackett.) Miss Blake of Monkshalton. By Isabella O. Ford. (Murray.) Mademoiselle. By ¥.M. Peard. (Smith & Innes.) Idolaters. By Robert Haigh. (Chapman & Hail.) A Strange Wooing. (Ward & Downey.) Locusta. By Outram Tristram. publishers.) Mr. Besant has done much better work than ‘Armorel of Lyonesse,’ which is just sufficiently amusing and substantial to be disposed of in an idle hour. It is a novel without a purpose, and the two best-drawn characters are a couple of mean scamps, a husband and wife who live luxuriously on other people’s labour and skill. The strong- est scene in the book is one in which the wife has to confess to her husband that she has stolen for his sake a case of rubies which he thinks have been secured by him- self in a different fashion, and sold them for a tenth of their value. Armorel is a benevolent and beneficent young woman, more pleasant to read about, but not more artistically drawn, than Alec Feilding and his wife. The rest of the characters are wishy-washy, the construction of the story is not specially ingenious, and the conversa- tion is all made up of the same stiff and By Charles Gibbon. (Same
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THE ATHENAUM N° 3291, Nov. 22, ’90 696 snippety sentences which Mr. Besant ap- | parently believes to be natural to all ranks and conditions. But even when he writes in haste, as he seems to have done in this instance, Mr. Besant can always be enter- taining. Mr. Manville Fenn’s stories follow close on each other, but there is no reason to suppose that they do not fully serve their purpose by distracting and entertaining successive relays of readers. It is especially required of the average novelist of the day, who wants to be read by the many rather than by the few, and who is not very anxious for his fiction to survive him, that he should invent a catching plot and au- dacious situations, at all events in the first few chapters. The prologue of ‘A Double Knot’ is audacious enough for any one, but it cannot honestly be said that the author is indifferent as to the interest of the re- mainder of his story. If sensation has been his chief aim, there can be no doubt that his three volumes are thoroughly exciting. Kestell and his two daughters, with the brother and sister whom he supports after robbing them of their inheritance, are de- scribed by Esmé Stuart with sufficient care and art to impress them on the reader’s mind. Elva Kestell has written a book, with which a young critic has dealt some- what severely; and she rewards him by giving him her love. Her sister Amice is gifted with second sight—of which the natural physical accompaniment seems to be perpetual shivers—and she reads her father’s guilty secret. She reads many other things, too, and is tolerably miserable over it. The description of her moods is fantastic, and it may or may not be accu- rate ; but the novel-reader is not supposed to trouble himself about the correctness of psychological details. The exposure of Kestell is cleverly worked out, and the story proceeds with great vigour and greater pathos. Mr. Frederic sets a romantic story in the historic framework of New England dis- affection and revolution, which he has had the art to connect by a slender thread with the revolution of 1745 in the old country. The sidelights of fact and tradition are numerous enough throughout, but the chief concern of the author has been with his romance, in which he has dealt suc- cessfully with old and familiar materials. The chapters describing the revenge taken by the hero on his lifelong enemy are both graphic and exciting, not merely in the central picture itself, but also in its weird surroundings of Indian braves and English soldiers, of trappers and scalp-hunters and negroes. This is a novel deserving to be read. ‘The Secret of the River’ is a story of uneven quality, and at its best scarcely reaches Miss Russell’s highest level. The whole episode of Mrs. Lee and Capt. Dundas with its tragic end strikes the reader who keeps abreast of modern fiction as not only well-worn, but also as somewhat old- fashioned—that is, in fiction of course. The fascinating military trifler, with capri- cious affections, a ‘‘ genius’’ for painting in oils, and the requisite absence of scruples, would probably prove less dangerous to the modern heroine than a gentleman of few personal attractions, but with an inordinate array of scruples and a consuming appetite for theology mildly tempered with romance. Miss Russell has no lack of this last ingre- dient, at any rate. Kathleen Wynford’s other suitors are much better drawn than the audacious captain; Ralph Temple is very nice as well as lifelike. The heroine’s conversations with him and with other people also are much more sprightly and to the point than the vague imbecilities which she habitually exchanges with Capt. Dundas. The story developes fresh inci- dents of one kind or another to the last chapter, and has the indisputable recom- mendation of a cheerful ending. Miss Blake of Monkshalton was a stern, yet estimable spinster. She managed to warp and overshadow the lives of no fewer than three persons, including her own. In fact, and not to put too fine a point upon it, her oppressive personality drove her weaker sister Emma into the tomb, and a younger and more high-spirited niece from the house. Jane was certainly “ trying,” yet it may be hoped that, even so, a triple tragedy of the sort is not so common in the daily round of existence as Miss Ford’s quiet, matter-of- fact sort of way of developing her little story might suggest. Many sisters do live together, from necessity or choice, one of whom is usually the stronger element; and it is to be hoped that too lurid a light may not seem, to the impres- sionable, to be cast on such establish- ments. With the niece and her sufferings it is not easy to sympathize, but we confess to a liking for the tyrannical Miss Blake as well as for the gentler Miss Emma, who also loved herJane, yet suffered many things, not at her hands, but from the close proximity of Jane’s soul :— ‘*Tt was as if she felt the constant pressure of Jane’s soul near her day by day, gazing even into her inmost depths, and this intangible con- tact, with which no words or looks were mingled, so powerfully gnawed into her [Emma's] being that she sometimes felt as if life itself were grow- ing weaker and fainter...... Sometimes for days Jane seemed to be ever there, everywhere—in the street, at her elbow, all around her.” With so dreadful a domestic visitation before them, it surely behoves those who may take this clever little story seriously (and we hope we have shown how serious a story it is) to examine their souls, and, whether their names be Emma, Jane, or anything else, to gauge the degree of spiritual pressure they may be exerting on their house companions and, if possible, draw the line. Of course, there is something in it all, but it is a some- thing that is strained as far as possible, with the result that the story of Jane and Emma and Anne is nothing if not disagree- able and even uncanny. One can fancy the author doing good work, for she has at times a powerful as well as a quiet touch, and a certain understanding of the aspect and details of common life and ordinary people, just as she has the knack of presenting them in few words. The substitution of “like ” for as is a stumbling-block to her as well as to many another writer from whom better things might be expected. ‘Mademoiselle’ is a pretty little story telling of the days of the Franco-Prussian war, the siege of Paris, and the Commune. It is put into the mouth of a young country girl, who goes to Paris to visit a sister, and finds herself landed, well-nigh unprotected, in all the horrors of the time. There is nothing original or remarkable about it; but it is simply aud nicely told, and the personality of the narrator is well sustained. It is, in short, a story well suited for young people. Mademoiselle herself is a heroic figure, not exceedingly real or moving, perhaps, but a fine conception of womanhood, and, as such, worthy of admiration. We confess to more than a slight sense of mystification as to the intention and general treatment of such a book as ‘Idolaters.’ There seems a something more in it than meets the eye; but what this is it is hard to. discover. We are not so much daunted by the turgidity of style, the classical allusions, and a certain unintelligible air of significance which seems to haunt it, as by the difficulty of understanding the story itself and the motives of the people who figure in it. If it is not really obscure and confused the fault is with us, to whom it appears a curiously incomprehensible tangle. Not that there are too many characters—there are but a few — not that there is overmuch plotting and counter-plotting, but simply that the whole thing seems to want an illuminating and defining touch that never comes. There are isolated bits that strike one as well conceived and cleverly expressed; but they cannot make up for the impenetrability which marks the whole. The production of posthumous works seems increasing, but it is questionable whether it is worth while in most cases. In the present instance the late Mr. Gibbon’s. book is not likely to add to the considerable reputation which he won by his earlier works. The whole turns on incident, and incident of a not very complicated nature. A wicked colonel returns from Africa to marry the wealthy widow of his friend, whom he has trepanned and left for dead in the wilderness. But one feels sure, from a certain lameness and embarrassment in his explanations at the outset, that not only is he guilty, but that his guilt will fail of its purpose. The appearance of the white- haired imbecile at once reassures us as to Sir Hubert’s safety, and we feel that the medical skill of the novelist will restore his reason. Aunt Jane, the devoted sister-in- law of Lady Bevan, who has had in old times a slight tenderness for the colonel, now in antagonism with a growing sus- picion of him, is the best character por- trayed. To a certain extent ‘Locusta’ tells its own story. It is concerned with poison and giving of poison generally, and is bound in an appropriate garb of dull red and black. It is an historical romance. of the time when James I., the Scotch pedant, ‘“ reeled nightly on his throne.” In this tale of court life the author may cer- tainly be said to have claimed ‘‘the same freedom the dramatic author has long re- garded as his indisputable privilege when dealing with historical material.” The result is a romance of a good deal of strength, a great deal of unpleasantness, and some unexpeetedness. Much is brought forward, and certain things are taken for granted that may perhaps surprise the reader of ordinary histories. Looked at from an artistic point of view the book has many merits as well as demerits. There
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N° 3291, Nov. 22, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 697 are scenes of some force and ability and passages of quite lurid intensity, but there is something so deliberate, unsparing, and even monotonous in the tone, and so com- plete an absence of all light and shade in the picture, that sundry effects fail of their aim which might have been most successful. More would have been attained had the author commanded a lighter or, at least, a more delicately imaginative touch. Of imagina- tion there is, in all conscience, plenty, but it is not of the highest or the most gratifying quality. Too much of the bludgeon is em- ployed to stir up the reader, and not enough of suggestion and reticence. The poisoning note even seems almost brutally forced, though it is, of course, the motive of the whole. There are plenty of horrors for the reader to sup and dine on too. But surely the ‘‘ dreadful smile” of the poisoner is too much in evidence, and there is one scene in which the preparation of poisonous pies goes forward that is really not impressive. Too little mystery, too little of the effect of distance, seem to us defects in such a con- nexion. Yet there is sufficient vigour and dramatic feeling to make ‘Locusta’ pass for a good novel of a kind. CHRISTMAS BOOKS. A Young Macedonian in the Army of Alexander the Great. By the Rev. A. J.Church. Lllus- trated. (Seeley & Co) The Slaves of Sabinus. By Charlotte M. Yonge. Illustrated. (National Society.) Rosalinda, and other Fairy Tales. By Anna Cross and Blanche Atkinson. With Lllustra tions by Alfred Lys Baldry. (George Allen.) A Little Candle. By May H. Debenham. (National Society.) Nobody's Girls. By Sarah Tytler. (Cauldwell.) Besom Yard. By Thomas Peet, M.A. (Same publisher.) Santa Claus ona Lark. By Washington Gladden. (Fisher Unwin.) Small Boysin Big Boots. By Archibald Claver- ing Gunter. (Koutledge & Sons.) Recollections of my Childhood’s Days. By Louisa M. Alcott. (Sampson Low & Co.) In the Days of our Childhood. By Alice F. Jackson. (Houlston & Sons.) Shreds and Patches. By E. N. Leigh Fry. (Smith & Innes.) Dreams by a French Fireside. By Richard Leander. (Black.) Wanted a King. By Maggie Browne. With Original Designs by Harry Furniss. (Cassell & Co.) A Story of Stops. (Field & Tuer.) Mr. Cuurcu has chosen this Christmas to go back to the Greeks for his historical tale. He relates the adventures of one Charidemus, a youth of mixed Argive and Macedonian descent, who joins the Macedonian army about B.c. 336, and takes part in the expedition of Alexander, at least as far as Babylon. His bosom friend, Charondas, a Theban, goes on to India, and de- scribes in a letter the campaign against Porus, The main events of the story are, of course, strictly historical, but a good deal of variety is lent to the narrative by ingenious inventions. Charidemus is taken prisoner by Memnon at Halicarnassus, and sees the battle of Issus from the Persian side. Charondas is captured at Tyre, and is very near being sacrificed to Mel- karth. Charidemus fal's in love with Memnon’s niece Clearista, and Charondas with Miriam, a Jewess of Babylon. Both the friends ultimately marry the ladies of their choice and settle down toa peaceable old age as “ proselytes of the gate” in Galilee. The reader will see that such events as these, on the top of Alexander’s battles By Mrs. Davidson of Tulloch. furnish forth a feast of marvels. Mr. Church’s style is as readable as ever and the history pretty accurate, though one or two dates are not easy to determine. ‘The Slaves of Sabinus’ is a story of the times of Vespasian, founded mainly on Plutarch. Most young readers will regard it as quite a “ Sunday book.” The adventures of Sabinus, his wife and two young sons, are told in Miss Yonge’s usual attractive manner. Esdras, the Jewish slave, regards with abhorrence both the idolatry of the Romans and the Christian per- versions of the Mosaic law; while the Romans look upon Jews and Christians as “birds of a feather” and alike contemptible. The pre- judices, however, of both Jew and Roman are ultimately overcome, andalmost all the prominent personages of the story embrace Christianity. The awkwardness of connecting Julius Sabinus, the Lingon, with Flavius Clemens, the son of Flavius Sabinus, the Roman, is cleverly con- cealed, and, on the whole, the tale does credit to Miss Yonge’s power of historical imagination. Of the four pretty little stories which go to make up Miss Cross and Miss Atkinson’s volume the prettiest are ‘ Worth her Weight in Gold’ and ‘The Princess with the Beautiful Hands.’ They are sure to be well liked in the nursery, and the moral (for in modern fairy tales there is a moral) is delicately put forward and not too much insisted on. There are some good touches, too, in the first story when Rosa- linda is taken as a prisoner to the King of the Vultures, who declines for the moment to eat her because goats “ taste better than little girls.” He has, he says, only eaten three little girls in his life, and did not care much for them. He tries to think if there is any way in which she can be made useful :— “*What could you do?’ said the king, not un- kindly. ‘Oh, I could wash, and iron the clothes, and cook the food.’ You see, she was in such fear, she did not think what she was saying until she saw that all the vultures smiled scornfully. ‘We don’t want our beautiful feathers washed and ironed by little girls, and we don’t spoil our food by eook- jing it,’ said the king, crossly. ‘Can’t you do any- thing else?’ ‘Yes—I could look after the baby vultures,’ she said.” So it was settled that this was to be her occupa- tion, and the meal that was to be made on her was deferred :— “*You’ll have to sleepin an old nest,’ said the king ; and when darkness set in a vulture picked her up and dropped her into one; and there she lay all night in the midst of the down and moss, watch- ing the moon sailing in and out of the clouds.” The illustrations are not good. We suppose that a book with the outward appearance of ‘A Little Candle ’ does not aim at being an historical novel, but would humbly call itself ‘‘a book for girls.” It is, at any rate, a charming tale of the olden time, and takes us to the Scotland of two hundred years ago, then across to France with the exiled Jacobites. Real and dream personages mix together, and the recital of their deeds is excellent reading. We catch a glimpse of a gallant-looking and sad-faced officer, who is ‘‘ Ciavers himself and no other.” Miss Tytler’s volumes are usually welcome, and ‘ Nobody’s Girls’ is really one of the best of her later works. Bab and Nancy, the friendless heroines, are indeed in bad case when first we make their acquaintance ; all their worldly wealth is buried in a night by a remorseless sandstorm, and the buried luck does not return to them till the end of the book, by which time they and their laughing, brainless cousin Dolly have gone through countless adventures, Miss Tytler’s charming manner, her delicate appreciation of character, and her fine sense of humour make the book most attractive. ‘ Besom Yard,’ which calls itself ‘a story of trial, temptation, and deliverance,” is really not a story at all; it is a collection of moral lessons strung together by a slender thread of narrative, Three American books, very different in cha- racter and merit, come next. ‘Santa Claus’ is a good rollicking group of Christmas stories, full of snow and kindly thoughts and Christmas presents. ‘Small Boys in Big Boots,’ by the author of ‘Mr. Barnes of New York,’ is really quite objectionable. Small boys and girls, ab- sorbed in novels, plays, love affairs, and detec- tive business, are the heroes and heroines of the book, the whole tone of which is most unhealthy. Myra Bushnell, aged thirteen, quite the nicest child in the story, thus addresses her mother : ‘“** Ma, doesn’t Captain Heaton ever take you to the theatre, in New York?’ At this sudden mention of Captain Heaton’s name Mrs. Bush- nell reddens with blushes, but does not answer. So Myra goes on, recklessly and sarcastically : ‘Well, I wouldn’t give a cent for a fellah who didn’t take his best girl to theatres and ice- cream restaurants. I’d give him the grand bounce. I’da— Oh! ma !—what’s the—mat— mat—ter? I—don’t look atmeso! Oh! what have I done? Oh, ma! Don’t, please !’” After this quotation further comment is un- necessary. The third book from over the sea is the late Miss Alcott’s ‘ Recollections of my Childhood’s Days,’ a charming little collection of sketches just such as we should expect from the writer.—Another book of a like character is Miss Alice Jackson’s ‘In the Days of our Childhood,’ but this latter is a story of Anglo- Indian children, first in their far-away birth- place, then in old England—a lively enough tale. The author of ‘ Shreds and Patches’ apolo- getically tells his readers that ‘‘ these passages were written for a manuscript magazine, issued at irregular intervals for home amusement” ; but there is no need for apoiogy. The tales are bright and sparkling and altogether readable. The sharp little children and their grown-up friends and relatives must surely be cousins, at least, to the child creations of John Strange Winter. A new and illustrated edition of Richard Leander’s ‘ Dreams by a French Fireside,’ that fascinating collection of fairy tales, will be most welcome to caterers for Christmas gifts ; while ‘Wanted a King’ and ‘ A Story of Stops’ are capital stories of the ‘ Wonderland’ type, both enriched with quaint and amusing illustrations, the former from original designs by Harry Furniss. OUR LIBRARY TABLE, Sir Freperick Pottock’s Introduction to the History of the Science of Politics (Mac- millan & Co.) supplies a short historical sketch of the development of certain political ideas, notably the theories of sovereignty and of the origin of civil society, and the distinction of legality from morality on the one hand and policy on the other. It is made up of four lec- tures delivered as far back as 1882, and subse- quently priated in the Fortnightly Review. The first of these lectures deals with Greek political speculation—that is practically with Aristotle, for Plato, who did not formulate, appears to the author never to have had a theory of the state at all. Then, after a notice of medizeval writers and of Machiavelli, we come to the theory of political sovereignty, which is traced from Jean Bodin and Sir Thomas Smith to Hobbes. It is followed, together with the fiction of the original covenant by which Hobbes attempted to support it, through the subtleties of Locke to the ill-omened speculations of Rousseau, and the clear-headed and common-sense statement of Blackstone, who, by the way, while retaining many of Hobbes’s terms, and never arriving at Aristotle’s conception of the state as a natural growth, is yet in some ways nearer to the Aris- totelian position than any of his immediate pre- decessors. Leaving the social contract, we pass back to the beginnings of the historical method in Montesquieu, and then on to Burke, for whom as a political thinker the highest respect is shown—a respect commanded rather by his brilliancy than his consistency. The _—
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698 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3291, Nov. 22,90 lecture treats of the modern theory of sove- reignty as developed by Bentham, Austin, and subsequent writers; of the real and ima- ginary differences between the English and continental schools; and, finally, of different theories of the limits of State interference. Such a programme clearly does not admit of minute treatment within the limits of a small book. It is, in fact, a mere outline, and its excellence lies in the broad way in which the subject is handled, with no more particular presentation of details than is necessary to enable the reader to grasp the salient features fairly. The appreciative account of Aristotle, and the description of Locke’s Whiggish adaptation of Hobbes, are perhaps the most interesting parts of the essay. There is one fault to be found with it, namely, that instead of dealing (as, indeed, the title might lead us to expect that it would) with political speculation as a whole, it is written almost entirely on English lines and from an English point of view—a partiality doubtless unavoidable, but none the less to be regretted. It need hardly be said that Sir Frederick Pollock’s touch is light, and his style lucid and agreeable, and that he frequently expresses him- self with a happiness which always adds to the pleasure and often assists the comprehension of the reader. Perhaps no better instance of this can be found than the remark that Lord Sherbrooke’s ‘‘ bad words for classical studies are after all only amantium ire”; or the antithesis (which is the kernel extracted from a very considerable husk) that ‘‘it was Locke’s way to swallow up legality in policy almost as much as Hobbes had swallowed up policy in legality.” Iv the volume of ‘‘ Rulers of India” allotted to Warren Hastings, Capt. Trotter returns to a chapter of modern Indian history, his former treatment of which was noticed in the Atheneum so far back as the 220d of January, 1879. He shows cause for revival of his theme apart from any question of adaptation to the requirements of the Clarendon Press publications. Three volumes of selected letters from State Papers preserved in the Foreign Department of the Government of India, and recently issued from the Government Printing Office in Calcutta {vide Atheneum, 2nd of August last), have supplied him with fresh and valuable material for a period covering the entire rule of Hastings ; and by the light thus obtained he endeavours to ‘‘ exhibit for the first time the actual work of that great Governor-General, as reviewed from the firm standpoint of the original records,” now made available to students. There is no doubt that Capt. Trotter has again succeeded in pro- ducing an interesting and instructive volume— one, too, which will take a worthy place in the new and popular series for which it is designed. Whether his views and opinions will be accepted without reserve or not is a question on which there is no occasion for us to enter. He has possibly laid too much stress on the permanent effect of what he calls the “ glamour of rhetoric.” However great may have been its original in- ffuence on men’s minds, public opinion has certainly, in later years, become more impatient of sophistry and independent than heretofore. Not all of those who have studied the subject in its several bearings, and formed their own con- clusions on its merits, have been led away by the arguments of Mill and Macaulay. Some have relied more on a knowledge of native character and consideration of the Anglo- Indian morality of the times than on the pleadings of friendly or hostile critics. In any case, few can fail to sympathize with “ Hastings Agonistes,” as represented in the chapter bearing that titlkh—a chapter from which the interest of the story is well kept up to the conclusion. How Capt. Trotter's hero managed to conduct his weighty work in the teeth of the determined opposition of his colleagues is a real marvel; and although the situation is unlikely of recurrence in these days under so aggravated a form, the narrative of the struggle is not without use and encouragement for even the younger men of the present genera- tion. Folk-lore and Legends: English (Gibbings), is another of the little volumes of folk-lore of various nations which are from time to time issued by this publisher. Three or four of them have already been reviewed in our pages. The new one, though containing one or two good stories, is not so well filled as some of the others. We are pleased to see ‘Thomas Hicka- thrift’ again, though only because it seemed to be dropping out of collections of English folk- lore stories, for from Grimm’s ‘ Young Giant’ downwards, these stories of brute strength are not particularly pleasant reading. We miss several old friends which have a claim to appear in such a collection, and would have graced it. The ‘Lambton Worm’ is given, but where are the ‘Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh,’ the ‘ Cauld Lad of Hilton,’ the ‘Myth of Midridge,’ ‘ Mr. Fox,’ ‘Whittington and his Cat,’ ‘Tom Thumb,’ and many others? We have the Arthurian legend of Sewing Shields Castle, but where is the variant told of Potter Thompson, who made his way under the “roots” of the great tower of Richmond, and found King Arthur and his knights spellbound in sleep? In a book bearing the title of ‘ Folk-lore and Legends’ such ver- sions of stories as are given should be strictly traditional. That of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ in this instance is, as Mr. Jacobs tells us in his notes to ‘ English Fairy Tales,’ a corrupted form of the story, intended to conciliate morality. It was probably invented at a period when it was necessary for every story set before youth to be heavily equipped with a moral. In the genuine story Jack simply stole from the giant or ogre, whose castle he reached by climbing the beanstalk, as much gold as he could carry, because he wanted to have it, and for the same reason possessed himself of the magic hen and harp, regarding the giant as fair game. This was afterwards considered a dangerous example to set before children, and a series of incidents were invented to justify Jack’s conduct. These should, of course, be omitted in a folk-tale. Part of the legend of Meg of Meldon seems to have found its way into ‘Silky’ as told in this book. Silkies abound in the north of England, and the chief of them is to be heard of at Denton Hall, once the home of Mrs. Montagu. We hope that in future volumes the editor will make up his mind which pronouns he wishes to use. It seems a pity to leave such signs of conflict as these —there are many others: “ ‘ Ay,’ said the giant, ‘thow shalt have them, and be sure you keep them for my sake.” “ Thow savage and barbarous wretch, I am come to execute upon you the just reward of your villainy.” Messrs. Bett & Sons publish Broadsword and Singlestick of “The All-England Series,” an excellent little volume which contains chapters on singlestick by Mr. Phillipps-Wolley, and by Mr. Allanson-Winn on quarter-staff, broad- sword, the bayonet, the cudgel, the walking- stick, and even the umbrella, treated not as a defence against sun or rain, but as a protection against footpads. We may suggest to Mr. Phillipps-Wolley that a short leather beard sewn on to the mask with bootmakers’ thread is a good cover for the gap between the helmet and the collar, of which he speaks. Mr. Allan- son-Winn’s attention may be called to the perfect arm of defence against a single assailant afforded by a walking-stick of steel made to look like ebony by being covered with vulcanized indiarubber. It should have a cork or india- rubber ferule to prevent loud noise on striking stone. It is carried in the middle, and makes good practice for marching with a rifle at the “trail.” Against attack it is used to lunge at ‘‘the mark.” The weight should be in- creased by a pound or so each year or two as the stick begins to feel very light. Wilkinsons make them well. THE first two volumes have reached us of Mr. Stott’s pretty little reprint of the Epistole Ho-eliane, which has been a cause of corre- spondence in our columns. The same publisher has issued a charming edition of Carlyle’s Trans- lation of Wilhelm Meister, in two volumes, A brief and sensible introduction by Prof. Dowden is prefixed. Mr. C. K. Shorter has supplied some notes, WE have received a copy of the appendix to Lord Chesterfield’s Letters to his Godson, con- taining his letters to A. C. Stanhope, which, greatly to its credit, the Clarendon Press has issued for the benefit of the subscribers to the first edition of the late Lord Carnarvon’s hand- some quarto. The additional matter is printed on Indian paper in a style worthy of the Uni- versity Press. WE have to thank the Religious Tract Society for two pocket-books of convenient size, The R.T.S. Pocket-Book and The Young People's Pocket-Book. The latter contains an article on — discoveries in Egypt by Mrs. Holman unt. We have received the catalogues of Mr. E. T. Cox, Mr. Grose (dramatic, &.), Messrs. Rimell (sport, &c.),and Mr. Stibbs; also those of Messrs. Meehan of Bath (rather interesting), Messrs. Gilbert & Fowler of Bournemouth, Messrs. George’s Sons (Dr. Lewis’s library) and Mr. Nield of Bristol, Mr. Howell and Mr. Potter of Liver- pool, and Mr. Nichols of Sheffield (a catalogue, in French, of French and Italian books). M. Neubner of Cologne has sent us a catalogue of historical works and one of archzeological litera- ture, and M. Twietmeyer of Leipzig one of books connected with fine arts, We have before us the reports of the Free Libraries at Cardiff, Manchester, Plymouth, and Swansea. At Cardiff complaints are made of lack of accommodation. At Manchester the number of readers has declined. The report from Plymouth is cheerful, and speaks of con- tinued prosperity. At Swansea the library is suffering from lack of funds, and the number of borrowers from the lending library has diminished. Mr. Deffett Francis has published an ‘‘inventory ” of the works of fine art which Swansea owes to him. We have received a Catalogue of Books in the Reference Department of the Rochdale Free Library (Rochdale, Glegg), compiled by Mr. Hanson—a collection creditable to the town. WE have received the first number of The Australian Critic, a monthly journal issued at Melbourne, and professedly devoted to much the same objects as the Atheneum, although the opening article is somewhat political in tone. The pages devoted to science strike us as superior to those given to literature. We wish the new journal a prosperous career. WE have on our table Seaton, Beer, and Neigh- bourhood, by G. F. Munford (Yeovil, ‘The Western Gazette’),—Feudalism: its Rise, Pro- gress, and Consequences, by J. T. Abdy (Bell),— Beyer’s Norse and English Words and Phrases (Philip & Son),—The Nine Worlds: Stories from Norse Mythology, by M. E. Litchfield (Boston, U.S., Ginn),—Xenophon's Hellenica, Book L., with Analysis and Notes by the Rev. L. D. Dow- dall (Bell),— Astronomy : Sun, Moon, Stars, dc., by W. Durham (Edinburgh, Black),—Manual of Mythology, by M. Collignon, translated by Jane E. Harrison (Grevel),—A Manual of Public Health, by A. W. Blyth (Macmillan), — The Dawn of Day, volume for 1890 (S.P.C.K.),—Soul Shapes (Fisher Unwin),—The Nobility of Man, by T. S. Henrey (‘Church of England Pulpit Office),—Ephemera, by E. H. L. Watson (Field & Tuer),—The Trade of Authorship, by W. Dixey (Brooklyn, N.Y., 89, Hicks Street),— English Fairy and other Folk Tales, edited by E. S. Hartland (W. Scott),—The Dominant XUM
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a] N° 3291, Nov. 22, 90 THE ATHENZUM 699 Seventh, by Kate E. Clark (Heinemann),— “ Never Hit a Man named Sullivan!” by A. D. Willock (Field & Tuer),—A Dangerous Friend, by E. Leslie (Cauldwell),—The Weapons of Mystery, by J. Hocking (Routledge),—Thoughts of a Queen, by Carmen Sylva (Eden, Remington & Co.),—My Curates, by a Rector (Skeffington), Annie's ‘* Yes,” by F. E. Burch (Cauldwell),— Don Juan’s Grandson in Japan, edited by A. Miall (Tokio, Hakubunsha Ginza),—Frays and Forays, by Capt. G. J. Younghusband (Percival), —The King’s Diadem, by A. Gray (Cauldwell), —Spenser’s Fairy Queen, with an Introduction by T. E. Jacob (Reeve & Co.),—Hverybody’s Book of Short Poems, by Don Lemon (Saxon & ‘Co.),—Raymond, by A. L. Stevenson (Kegan Paul),—A Life’s Requiem, and other Poems, by K. Bishop (Marlborough),—The Painter-Poets, edited by K. Parkes (W. Scott),— Where is Christ? by the Rev. H. B. Chapman (Sonnen- schein),—An Epitome of the Holy Bible, by H. Grey (Eden, Remington & Co.),—Boston Uni- tarianism, 1820-50, a Study of the Life and Work of Nathaniel L. Frothingham (Putnam),— The Faiths, Facts, and Frauds of Religious His- tory, by E. H. Britten (J. Heywood), — Die Agada der Tannaiten, by Dr. W. Bacher, Vol. If. (Strasburg, Triibner),—Zouba Volanof, by E. Valentin (Paris, Lévy),—Encyklopaedie der Naturwissenschaften, by Prof. Dr. W. Forster and others, Parts 54, 55, 58, 59, and 62 {Williams & Norgate),—Le Mari de Madame de Solange, by E. Souvestre, edited, with English notes, by O. B. Suber (Boston, U S., Heath),— Tantine, by H. Allais (Paris, Lévy) —Der Feuer- stoff, by L. Mann (Berlin, Steinitz),—and Biblio- theca Normannica, edited by H. Suchier: Part V. La Clef d’Amors, by A. Doutrepont (Nutt). Among New Editions we have The Story of the Heavens, by Sir Robert S. Ball, LL.D. (Cassell), —Civil and Mechanical Engineering, by J. W. C. Haldane (Spon),—and Our Fancy Pigeons, by ‘G, Ure (Stock). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. 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Pressensé (E. de): Alexandre Vivet, 3fr. 50. Geography and Travel, : Rougé (J. de): Géographie Ancienne de la Basse Egypte, 20fr. Bibliography. Monselet (C.): Curiosités Littéraires et Bibliographiques, 6fr. Philoicgy. Peiser (F. E.): Babylonische Vertrige d. Berliner Museums, 28m. Scholia in Pindari Epinicia, ed. E. Abel, Part 3, Vol. 1, 15m. Science, — (G. T.) u. Preyer (W.): Wissenschaftliche Briefe, m. Kotelmann (L ): Gesundheitspflege im Mittelalter, 6m. Wiedemann (£.) u. Ebert (H.): Physikalisches Praktikum, 9m. — +. Handbuch der Paliontologie, Div. 2, Part $, m, . General Literature, Bogey (G.): Coins de Paris, 20fr. Reinach (J.): La Politique Opportuniste, 3fr. 50. Verne (J.): César Cascabel, 9fr. THE ‘LYRICAL BALLADS’ OF 1800. WHEN Wordsworth “on Nature’s invitation” became her guest at Dove Cottage—happily still unspoiled, and about to be formally dedicated as his shrine —he was further from a printer than was the incumbent of Foston-le-Clay from a lemon. The nearest press was at Penrith, and Penrith lay on the other side of Kirkstone Pass. There was no cross post, and London or Bristol was more practicable—a fact of which Coleridge became painfully aware ten years later when producing the Friend. But ninety years ago communication even with these centres was slow, and, for a poet to whom plain living was as much a necessity as high thinking, it was very expensive. His MSS. were, therefore, sent to a distant printer and permitted to grow into books by the aid only of a good-natured friend, who sometimes corrected ‘‘the more obvious errors” of the press. Wordsworth suffered much from the good-natured friend. In the case of the ‘Convention of Cintra’ pamphlet the tormentor was De Quincey, who held principles of punctuation too pure and good for pam- phleteering purposes. He disputed with the printer, who stopped the press, and when, after two months’ parley, some compromise, fatal to the rapid apprehension of the poet’s splendid periods, was arranged, the subject had staled, and the pamphlet, which Canning compared to Burke and Lamb to Milton, fell dead. This was in 1809. In 1800 the second edition of the ‘Lyrical Ballads,’ with an additional volume, and the first draught of the famous “ Preface,” was printed for Longmans by Biggs & Cottle at Bristol. Words- worth’s old friend Joseph Cottle, a member of the latter firm, and himself a persistent bleater on the lower slopes of Parnassus, no doubt undertook to see to the proofs. Such was the care he bestowed on them that he confounded Lucretius with Lucretia, and left out fifteen precious lines from the middle of ‘ Michael,’ the poem Wordsworth looked upon as the gem of the new collection. The value of the fifteen lines was considerable, if only because they sum- marized the annals of the Dalesman’s family for nearly as many years, and their omission was calculated to confuse the inattentive reader into believing that the devoted parents had been cruel enough to dispatch their only child, at the tender age of five, alone and afoot, to seek his fortune in London. Luke has just been described as carrying on his cheeks Two sturdy roses that were five years old, when the shadow of “‘distressful tidings ” falls across the household, and “in three weeks” he is sent away. In 1802 the missing lines were included, and the reader learned that Luke was eighteen years old, and not five, when he left the dales for London. But in the mean time the blunder was a sore vexation to Wordsworth. A copy of the book had been sent by his instruc- tions to Thomas Poole, and when Wordsworth had received his own and observed the blunder, he wrote to his Stowey friend :— “The second volume is throughout miserably printed, and after the line, p. 210— Receiving from his father hire of praise, by a shameful negligence of the printer there is an omission of fifteen lines absolutely necessary to the connection of the poem. If in the copy sent to you this omission has not been supplied, you may be furnished with half a sheet which has been re- printed, if you have any acquaintance who will call at Longman’s for it and send it down to you. In the meanwhile my sister will transcribe for you the omitted passage.’
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700 THE ATHENZUM N° 3291, Nov. 22, 90 Has any one seen a specimen of this half- sheet, or a copy of the book into which it has been bound? I have examined many copies of the ‘ Lyrical Ballads’ of 1800, and all have that awkward blank on p. 210 of vol. ii., which must have puzzled many a reader between 1800 and. 1802, and perplexed many a collector of first editions ever since that species of bibliomaniac was developed. Until a year or two ago, when portions of the letter Ihave quoted were printed by Mrs. Sandford in ‘Thomas Poole and his Friends,’ and by Prof. Knight in his ‘ Life of Wordsworth,’ the obvious omission and the mysterious blank were unexplained, for it would seem as if very few of the corrected half-sheets provided by the publisher had got into the hands of the buyers of the defective volume. And not only did Miss Wordsworth copy out the fifteen missing lines for Poole, but also another passage which she said her brother had written for insertion in ‘ Michael,’ at p. 206, after the line, Murmurous with the sound of summer flies, and of which Wordsworth asks to be told whether Poole thinks its insertion would be an improve- ment. Presumably it was not approved by Poole, or, finally, by the poet himself, for it remained unprinted until the other day. Prof. Knight found the passage, along with some others intended for ‘ Michael,’ in Dorothy Wordsworth’s Grasmere journals, and printed them in the first volume of his ‘ Life.’ This particular passage will be found at p. 385 ; but the text differs materially from that submitted to Poole, which was no doubt a revised version, and as some of the changes made are interesting it is here given for comparison :— Though in these occupations they would pass Whole hours with but small interchange of speech, Yet were there times in which they did not want Discourse both wise and prudent, shrewd remarks Of daily providence, clothed in images Lively and beautiful, in rural forms That made their conversation fresh and fair As is a landscape :—And the shepherd oft Would draw out of his heart the obscurities And admirations, that were there, of God Ard of his works, or, yielding to the bent Of his peculiar humour, would let loose The tongue, and give it the wind’s freedom—then, Discoursing on remote imaginations, strong Conceits, devices, day-dreams, thoughts and schemes, The fancies of a solitary man ! And thereupon follows what has been printed in a slightly different form in the early editions, but not at all in the later :— Not with a waste of words, but for the sake Of pleasure which I know that I shall give To many living now, have I described Old Michael’s manners and discourse, and thus Minutely spoken of that aged Lamp. Round which the Shepherd and his family sate. [The light was famous in the neighbourhood And was a public symbol, &c.] But the lines recovered by Prof. Knight from the journals, the omission of which from ‘Michael’ is most to be regretted, are the follow- ing, belonging evidently to the introductory passage. They present with vivid imaginative pencil the impression made on the poet’s mind by the vanishing remains of Michael’s unfinished sheepfold :— There is a shapeless crowd of unhewn stones That lie together, some in heaps, and some In lines that seem to keep themselves alive In the last dotage ot a dying form. Although long ago banished from the standard text of the ‘ Gipsies,’ few readers of Wordsworth, perhaps, are unacquainted with the fine and peculiarly characteristic lines which closed the poem on its first appearance in 1807 :— Oh better wrong and strife, Better vain deeds or evil than such life ! The silent Heavens have goings-on ; The stars have tasks—but these have none. Hardly had Wordsworth reprinted this in 1815, when Coleridge’s ‘ Biographia Literaria’ appeared, in which the diction and imagery of the poem were objected to as incongruously magnificent, and an apology offered for the gipsies, that, being tramps, they were probably as much in need of a whole day's rest as the poet was of a whole day’s walk. Wordsworth accepted the rebuke, but in the most unsatisfactory way. He did not give up his indignation, but only the high dignity of its expression, by mingling with it a contemptuous apology ; and in the process sacrificed one of his finest lines— The silent Heavens have goings-on.’ In 1828 Barron Field remonstrated, and re- ceived a distinct promise that the apology should be cancelled ; but Wordsworth declined to restore the line, on the ground that, “although ‘goings-on’ is precisely the word wanted, it makes a weak and apparently prosaic line so near the end of the poem”! (Knight's ‘ Life,’ iii. 154.) Field states in a marginal note that Wordsworth made the alteration in con- sequence of Coleridge’s strictures, which is very probable, although he had previously stated, generally, that the changes made in 1827 were due to Jeffrey’s review. It will be observed that to Field the poet promised to cancel the apology, but refused to restore the original lines. To Sara Coleridge, who likewise remon- strated, Wordsworth promised (in 1847) to restore the original, explaining that the change had been made “in deference to an objection of Charles Lamb’s” (?) (North British Review, January, 1864, article ‘ Bibliomania’). But the poet proved faithless to Field, to Sara Cole- ridge, and to himself, for he neither cancelled the apology nor restored the lines whose place it had usurped, and ‘‘ the Heavens’ goings-on ”’ is but a memory and a foot-note. This, I fear, will be considered by all but the most perfectly trained Wordsworthians to be an intolerably long preamble to a very small point. The point, however, such as it is, is this. In one of the suppressed ‘ Michael’ pas- sages found in Dorothy’s Grasmere journals (vide Knight’s ‘ Life,’ i. 388) occur the following lines, which show that ‘‘the Heavens’ goings-on ” was not an inspiration of 1807 and the ‘ Gipsies,’ but dated back to 1799 and ‘ Michael,’ ‘‘ one of a multitude of little rocky hills that do like islands rise from the flat meadow ” of the poet’s commonplace book :— No doubt if you in terms direct had asked Whether he loved the mountains, true it is That with blunt repetition of your words He might have stared at you, and said that they Were trighttul to behold, but had you then Discoursed with him.... Ot his own business, and the goings-on Of earth and sky, then truly had you seen That in his thought there were obscurities, Wonder, and admiration, things that wrought Not less than a religion in his heart. J. D. C. A SOURCE OF THE BOOK OF TOBIT. Innsbruck University. In all the three Greek recensions of the book of Tobit, as well as in the versions dependent upon them, there is made repeated mention of Achiacharos, a high functionary at the Assyrian court. See i. 21-2, ii. 10, xi. 18, where his e€adeAgos is mentioned—a term hitherto unanimously translated by ‘‘ son of his brother,” but which henceforward will have to be explained as ‘‘son of his sister.” The most remarkable mention, however, is that in xiv. 10-1, compris- ing a short history of the fate of Achiacharos and this son of his sister. The Chaldean and Hebrew text of Tobit omits the last of these allusions, the Latin Vulgate all but the third one, evidently only because they were puzzled by their obscurity and seeming meaningless- ness. Now arather lengthy history of Achiacharos, or Achigar, has been found in the British Museum, to this purport. Achigar, Prime Minister of Sennacherib, having no son, adopts Nadan, the son of his sister, with a view of making him his successor, and gives him many wise instructions, but, on discovering Nadan’s bad qualities, substitutes for him Nabuzardan, another son of his sister. Nadan, incensed by that proceeding, brings his adoptive father, by forged letters, under suspicion of high treason, so that his execution is ordered by the king. But Nabusamak Meskinkenat, the hangman, secretly spares his life. Then the king of Egypt | asks for a wise man who should solve some difficult questions and build for him a tower reaching unto the sky; for this he offers the Egyptian revenues of the last three years, while in the case of non-compliance with his re- quest Assyria should be under a corresponding obligation. Now Sennacherib is only too glad to learn that the wise Achigar is still alive; he is sent to Egypt, and manages, by various skilful tricks, rather in the manner of Till Eulenspiegel or Baron Miinchhausen, to completely satisfy Pharaoh. After his return he incarcerates Nadan, giving him a sound whipping and a long sermon of reproach, but leaving further punishment to divine judgment, which interferes by a sudden death of the ungrateful youth. The British Museum possesses this story in three complete Arabic MSS., representing two recensions, a shorter and a longer one. There is also part of a Syriac text, which must have been the original of the Arabic ones, since they not only sometimes miss the point still dis- cernible in the Syriac text, but even retain the Syriac name Meskinkenat (the poor is my fellow or brother). This same name seems to exclude the possibility of a Greek original for the Syriac text, because its formation is so essentially Semitic. The history of Achiqar must have been known to the author of Tobit. For the hypothesis that an idle hand had manufactured it out of the four allusions to Achiacharos in Tobit could not be entertained for a moment, as not the least mention of Tobit, who according to the Biblical book was an uncle of Achiacharos, occurs: in the whole book of Achigar. Nay, Achigar is there described as a heathen, who afterwards. gained a somewhat uncertain knowledge of the: true God. The religious tone of the book is rather low, and perhaps only worked into it at a later time. After all, the original provenance of the book remains a puzzle. Should some scholar know another copy of it or find out anything akin to it in Semitic or perhaps Indian literature, he would oblige me very much by communicating his observations to me, as I am about to publish the history of Achigar. Your periodical having been the first to men- tion in a friendly sense my theory on the form of Hebrew poetry, I would make use of this occasion to give a short preliminary notice of: my having found out the strophical structure of Proverbs, which will prove of the highest im- portance for their explanation. There are hexastichic strophes throughout Prov. xxx. (interpolated by an opponent), and tetrastichic ones in i, 7—ix. 18, xxii. 22—xxiv. 34 (inter- polated by the redactor), and xxxi. G. BicKELL. SALE. Messrs. SorHeBy have been selling during the last fortnight the extensive library of the late Mr. F. W. Cosens. As a rule, the Spanish books have brought low prices, the Spanish translation of 1515 of Dante’s Inferno, for instance, fetching only 7/. 10s.; but the Eng- lish books and Cruikshank’s drawings realized good sums. The following are among the prices recorded last week: the Rivadeneyra edition of Spanish Classics, 26/.; fourteen volumes of Comedias escogidas de las Mejores de Espaiia, . 261.; a collection of 598 Spanish Comedies, 241. 10s.; Shelton’s translation of Don Quixote (1612-20), 231/.; first edition of the Chimes, . presentation copy to Lady Blessington, with Dickens’s autograph, 25l.; illustrations of Bar- naby Rudge, in water colours, by H. K. Browne, with autograph receipt for the draw- ings, 681.; of Bleak House, 54l.; of the Old Curiosity Shop, with pen-and-ink sketch, signed H. K. Browne, certifying that they were made expressly for Mr. Cosens, 66l.; of David Coppertield, with autograph receipt, 76l.; of Dombey and Son, with receipt, 74/.; Little Dorrit, illustrations, tinted drawings, with re- ceipt, 48/.; illustrations to Martin Chuzzlewit,
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N° 3291, Nov. 22, 90 THE ATHENZUM 701 in water colours, and receipt, 92/.; illustrations to Nicholas Nickleby, coloured drawings, 881. ; illustrations to Pickwick, and certificate, 1051.; Cattermole’s pencil illustrations to Barnaby Rudge, and nineteen copies of the same in water colours by G. Merry, 52/.; eight original illustration sketches in water colours by Cruik- shank, 51/.; and Cruikshank’s illustrations to Oliver Twist, 1100. SIR JOHN FRANCIS DAVIS, BART., K.C B. WE regret to announce the death of Sir John Davis, who died on the 13th inst. at the patriarchal age of ninety-six, at his house near Clifton. Sir John Davis was the eldest son of Mr. Davis, a judge and magistrate of the dis- trict and city court of Benares. Two memor- able incidents attach to the memory of this official. He was a member of the well-known mission which was sent to Tibet by Warren Hastings ; and single-handed he conducted a most determined defence of his house at Benares against the attack of Vizier Ali. Through his influence his son, the subject of this notice, was appointed a writer to the Canton Factory in the year 1813. Three years later he accompanied Lord Amherst’s mission to Peking, and has preserved in his ‘Sketches of China’ admir- able accounts of the towns and places of interest which he then visited. In 1832 he was promoted to be president of the East India Company’s factory at Canton, which post he held until the with- drawal of the Company’s charter in 1834. On the death of Lord Napier, who had been sent out from England as Superintendent of Trade, Mr. Davis was appointed head of the commis- sion entrusted with the duties of that post. Soon afterwards he went to England on leave, and returned to China in 1843, shortly after which date he succeeded Sir Henry Pottinger as Superintendent of Trade and Governor of Hongkong. In these offices he upheld the honour of the British flag in circumstances of great difficulty and danger. In 1845 he was made a baronet, and three years later he resigned his offices in China and returned to England, where he spent the rest of his life. Sir John Davis was a voluminous writer on Chinese affairs. His best-known works are his admirable account of ‘The Chinese’ (2 vols.), his ‘Sketches of China’ (2 vols.), and ‘ China during the War and since the Peace’ (2 vols ). He also translated several Chinese plays and novels, the most notable of which are the ‘ Laou seng urh’ and ‘ The Fortunate Union.’ MESSRS. HARPER & BROTHERS. November 17, 1890. Our attention has been called—somewhat late, perhaps—to a passage in the ‘‘ Literary Gossip” of the Atheneum of October 4th, in which the case of a certain author against Messrs. Harper & Brothers is first mentioned. It is no part of our purpose to express an opinion upon this case. But it seems a clear duty to us, who have experienced honourable treatment from this firm, to enter a protest against the sweeping condemnation passed upon them in the para- graph in question. This paragraph does not take the form of a communication by a contri- butor singly responsible for his own opinion, but it carries the whole weight and authority of the greatest literary journal in the country. ‘* When,” says this editorial note, ‘‘ an author is unknown to fame, they, it would seem, content themselves with insulting him; when he is celebrated, they insult and rob him.” We wish to record the fact that in the course of many years’ friendly business relations with Messrs. Harper & Brothers such has not been our experience. Whenever it is a question of acquiring for any of their periodicals the foreign author’s rights, they are as just and liberal in their dealings as any English house. In the matter of book-publication we have always found them willing and desirous to do what is possible for the foreign author, whose interests tne American law not only fails to protect, but entirely ignores. Watter Besant. WitiiamM Brack. Tuomas Harpy. Literary Gossip. Tue ‘Tower of Babel,’ being the first volume of the new collected edition of Mr. Alfred Austin’s poetical works, will be pub- lished by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. on De- cember 2nd. The other volumes will appear at monthly intervals. Tue forthcoming number of the Vineteenth Century will contain articles by Cardinal Manning and the Rev. Dr. Adler dealing with the suggestions set forth in Mr. Glad- stone’s review of Mr. Carnegie’s ‘ Gospel of Wealth,’ which appears in the current number. ArcHDEACON Farrar is going to publish through Messrs. Longman ‘ Darkness and Dawn: a Story of the Early Christians.’ Ar the annual meeting of the Scottish Text Society it appeared from the report of the Council that it has arranged for an edition, superintended by Mr. Hume Brown, of the Scottish writings of George Buchanan. Mr. Ogilvie-Forbes, having discovered a MS. of Bellenden’s translation of the first five books of Livy in the library of Boyndie House, Aberdeenshire, has offered to edit the work, comparing the new MS. with that in the Advocates’ Library. Mr. Tough, of the High School, Edinburgh, is going to edit the writings of Mure of Rowallan; Mr. Gregory Smith the minor poets of the time of James IV.; Mr. Moore Smith, of Cambridge, ‘The Trojan War Fragments’ —a work once attributed to Barbour; and Prof. Mitchell, of St. Andrews, ‘The Gude and Godlie Ballatis’; while Prof. Minto has made some progress with the ‘Poems of Robert Henryson.’ Lord Talbot de Mala- hide having placed the Asloan MS. in the British Museum for the use of the Society, Mr. Hughes-Hughes has transcribed from it a version of ‘The Seven Sages’ hitherto unpublished, and it will be edited by Dr. Varnhagen, of Erfurt. Mr. Amours has almost ready for the press the ‘ Alliterative Poems of Scotland’; and Father Cody hopes to have ready by Christmas the second division of the second volume of ‘ Lesley’s History of Scotland,’ which completes the work. The second part of ‘Satirical Poems of the Time of the Reformation,’ by Dr. Cranstoun, and the second and last part of the ‘ Notes on Dunbar’ (with an appendix by Sheriff Mackay on the intercourse between Scotland and Denmark in the reign of James IV.) are in the printer’s hands. As we mentioned last week, the second volume of the ‘Works of Ninian Winzet’ is almost ready, as well as part iii. of ‘Legends of the Saints,’ by the Rev. W. M. Metcalfe. Cot. Frerevsson, who occupied the chair at the meeting, threw out the suggestion that they might at some future time take up the work of compiling a glossary of old French words in use in Scotland in past years and at present, based on the glossaries issued by the Society and on the great work of Littré. Pror. Drummonp, the author of ‘The Greatest Thing in the World,’ is going to issue through Messrs. Hodder & Stoughton next month a new booklet entitled ‘Pax Vobiscum.’ A new novel by Mr. Rolf Boldrewood, entitled ‘ A Colonial Reformer,’ will shortly be published by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. Mr. A. BEAVER is going to bring out a new volume on Chelsea, entitled ‘ Memorials of Old Chelsea.’ The work will be prefaced by a long historical introduction, intended to give a general idea of the subject. The various places of interest are then treated in detail, more especially those that have not been satisfactorily handled by preced- ing writers. The book is to be fully illus- trated. Tne ‘ Letters of ‘8S. G. O.” to the Times,’ | which will be subscribed to the trade next week, fill two large octavo volumes and | will contain a portrait of the writer. The | printing of the work has been carried on | under difficulties, as the only complete set | of the letters belonged to Lord Sidney Osborne, and were pasted by him in a book | which had to be preserved intact. | Messrs. Macuirran & Co. have just | ready for publication a new volume by Mr. John Fiske on ‘Civil Government in the United States considered with some Refer- ence to its Origins.’ The subject is dealt with under the following heads: Taxation and Government, the Township, the County, Township and County, the City, the State, Written Constitutions, and the Federal Union. An appendix gives the text of the Articles of Confederation, of the Constitu- tion of the United States, and of Magna Charta. A NEW sixpenny magazine, to be called Groombridge’s Magazine, edited by Mr. E. 8. Yates, is to appear next month. Messrs. Macuittan & Co. will publish immediately an edition of the Greek text of St. Luke’s Gospel as revised by Drs. West- cott and Hort, with introduction and notes by the Rev. John Bond. The book is uni- form with Mr. Page’s edition of the Acts of the Apostles and Mr. Sloman’s of St. Mat- thew’s Gospel. Tue late Mr. O’ Hagan deserves notice in these columns as the successful translator of the ‘Chanson de Roland.’ By an unfortunate error we last week spoke of the meeting of the Henry Bradshaw Society in the Jerusalem Chamber as to take place on the 18th of November, instead of next Tuesday, the 25th, at three o’clock. Messrs. Swan Sonnenscuern & Co. are about to issue a translation of the ‘ Lehrbuch der Kirchengeschichte,’ recently published by Prof. Moller, of Kiel, in the ‘ Samm- lung Theologischer Lehrbiicher,” issued by Mohr of Freiburg. Mr. Arruur Hatt, of Paternoster Row, is preparing an elaborate work for publi- cation in illustration of his view that all primary Hebrew roots are identical with Sanskrit ; that a good fourth of the Hebrew vocabulary consists of forms interchange- able with Greek, while a still larger pro- portion favour the Latin phonesis ; all being co-derivatives from the same Indo-European roots. He fancies that considerable light is thus thrown on the. formation of the Celtic and Teutonic branches.
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702 THE ATHENZUM N° 3291, Nov. 22, ’90 Messrs. Grirrirn & Farran are going to publish two birthday books, one of which has been compiled by Miss E. M. Welsh, the daughter of one of the partners, himself known to literature as the biographer of Newbery. Messrs. Gitpert & RiviInGTON are pre- paring for immediate publication a trans- lation of Aug. Mariette’s ‘ Outlines of Ancient Egyptian History.’ Scuo.ars are well aware of the admirable services rendered by the Société de I His- toire de France. Since 1834 it has issued some two hundred volumes, most of them excellently edited. The sphere of its activity is, however, limited by the year 1789, and under the auspices of the Société Biblio- graphique, which lately published in its Bulletin a bibliography of the Revolution, it is proposed to start a Société d’ Histoire Contemporaine. It will publish partly in- edited works, partly those that have grown scarce and relate to the history of France since 1789. Its aims will be scientific, and not political. The president is M. de la Sicotiére, and an annual subscription of twenty francs will entitle members to the volumes published by the society. The address of the treasurer, M. Lecestre, is 5, Rue Saint-Simon, Paris. Tue chief Parliamentary Papers of the week are Agricultural Statistics, Ireland, Special Reports on Insects, Fungi, &c., injurious to Farm Crops, with Plates (10d.); Weights and Measures, Report for 1889-90 (3d.); Pilotage Returns for 1889 (1s. 3d.) ; Pauperism, England and Wales, Compara- tive Statement, September, 1890 (2d.); and Labour Statistics, Report on the Strikes and Lock-outs for 1889 (1s. 3d.). SCIENCE —~—— BOTANICAL LITERATURE. Elements of Structural and Systematic Botany. By Douglas Houghton Campbell. (Boston, U.S., Ginn & Co.)— Another text-book, pro- duced for the old, old reason that the author *‘in his own experience as a teacher felt the need of a book different from any now in use”! Where the difference comes in—at least as to essentials—it is not easy to say. Dr. Camp- bell begins with the cell, and then passes in review the several orders of cellular plants. In due course he comes to the Pteridophytes, when a single page is deemed sufficient to initiate the student into the numerous and diverse modifications which the cell and its aggregates undergo in the building up of the stem of these plants, a similar page or two being devoted to the construction of the leaf and root. The treatment of the anatomical structure is thus, as it appears to us, not only inadequate but puzzling, from the abrupt, dis- jointed, and inconsequential way in which it is treated. From the ferns the author passes to the seed-bearing plants, whose peculiarities are treated in a similar manner. The author’s notions of classification and of the subordination of groups seem, to say the least, to be peculiar, as we find him making a ‘“‘class” of the gymnosperms, and similar ‘‘classes” of cycads, conifers, and gnetads, while angiosperms are divided into two ‘‘sub-classes,” thus placing the monocots and dicots on a lower level than the cycads, &c. But this want of appreciation of scientific method is characteristic of modern German teaching, and our present author, who is imbued with Teutonic lore, speaks of classes and sub-classes, orders, families, and divisions, | not only in a different sense from that in which they were employed by his great countryman Asa Gray and other masters, but with a want of consistency. In spite of these defects, which will doubtless be corrected as the author gains experience, the book is to be recommended as conveying to the student a better and more thorough notion of the peculiarities and re- lationships of plants than is obtained from the modern plan of selecting, by way of illustra- tion, certain plants as ‘‘types.” The student ‘gets up” the types, but fails entirely to grasp what they are intended to illustrate or typify ; indeed, does not trouble himself about the matter. The Art and Practice of Landscape Gardening. By Henry Ernest Milner. (Simpkin, Marshall & Co.)—In a handsome quarto volume Mr. Milner discusses the practice of the art to which he, like his father before him, has devoted his life. Inthe introduction he discusses general principles, and in succeeding chapters he shows how these principles may be applied in practice. In these columns we can only deal with the first portion of the subject. Itis the business of the landscape gardener to construct a picture which shall be pleasing to the eye, and so to arrange | the components of his picture as to satisfy the requirements of the case, whatever they may be. So considered landscape gardening is one of the | fine arts, and, as such, it deals with beauty in the | abstract ; but it is also a mechanical art, or one in which utilitarian objects imperatively demand consideration. Even nature’s landscape garden- ing, if we may so express ourselves, partakes of this composite character. The rock-gardens of Zermatt, for instance, present in varied com- binations sublimity, harmony, contrast, grada- tions of colour, and all the varied attributes which go to make what the spectator feels rather than sees to bea perfect picture. But when the details of the scene come to be analyzed it will be perceived that all this grandeur of outline, all this varied surface, all these lovely colour harmonies and contrasts, depend upon surround- ing circumstances, or are the results of adapta- tion to outward conditions, pastas well as present. The more fully the landscape gardener realizes the perfection of this adaptation in nature, and the more fully he carries out this prin- ciple, the more successful he is likely to be in the works he undertakes. Congruity and a sense of fitness are as essential to him as a knowledge of abstract principles. What is beautiful and appropriate in one place and under one set of conditions may be ludicrous elsewhere and under other circumstances. To plant a flat terrace garden, in immediate prox- imity to the mansion, in the so-called pic- turesque style, is as absurd as to construct geo- metrical flower-beds on the side of a mountain or in the depths of a forest. Art consists in concealing art is a proposition not always and under all circumstances to be commended. In her gentler moods nature conceals her art, but in her sterner phases the art, the method, is apparent. And so, in its degree, should it be in landscape gardening. ‘‘It is,” says Mr. Milner, ‘‘ the province of the landscape gardener to appreciate the multitudinous means whereby nature expresses her beauty, and so to use those means artistically as to arrange their force for producing the delightful result he desires to achieve. To servilely copy nature’s forms is to incur the pettiness of mere reproduction in little with the penalty of a falsification. To utilize her means and let the spirit of her works in- fluence our art in every practicable way is the true practice of the art of landscape gardening.” Acting on these principles, Mr. Milner shows how a sense of space and distance, of repose or action, of contrast or harmony, may be pro- duced artificially. To the technical details which constitute the greater portion of the volume we need not allude further than to say that they relate to the site and approaches to the residence, to the arrangement and planting of the grounds, the construction of lakes, foun- tains, hothouses, and the like, and to the modi- fications necessitated by special requirements, such as the formation of public recreation grounds and cemeteries. Mr. Milner through- out his book gives evidence of good taste and of freedom from the exaggerations and eccen- tricities of extremists, while his ample experience engenders confidence in his ability to put into practice the precepts he lays down with clearness. MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATIONS. The Evolution of Photography. By John Werge. (Piper & Carter.) — We fail to see what class of readers this volume will satisfy. While not full and scientific enough for the genuine photographer, it is not sufticiently popular to be interesting to the mere amateur. At the same time the veteran photographer gives a fair, if superficial history of his subject. The illustrations, though numerous, are not creditable either to the past or present of the ‘* art-science.” We have received the tenth and eleventh volumes of the Proceedings of the United States National Museum, mainly composed of de- scriptions of new species of birds, fishes, and insects ; and four numbers of the Bulletin of the same body, both issued by the Smithsonian Institution. Of the latter, No. 33 is a simple synonymic catalogue of minerals; No. 34 a detailed systematic treatise on the Batrachia of North America, by Prof. E. D. Cope. No. 36 consists of a revision of the Delphinide by F. W. True, for the purposes of which the author appears to have personally visited every important collection. A catalogue of the marine conchiferous molluscs of the south-east coast of the United States, showing their vertical and horizontal distribution, by W. H. Dall, consti- tutes No. 37. As is usual with these publi- cations, the plates are often unworthy of the solid value of the text. WE have received the third part of the first volume of the Jowrnal of the Marine Biological Association, containing reports on the work completed at the Plymouth Laboratory during the third half-year of its effective existence. The contents correspond to the twofold aim of the Association, the furtherance of pure and of economic science. Under the economic heading falls a paper by Mr. Bateson on the organs and methods by which fish hunt their food, a pre- liminary attempt to solve some of the difficulties in the way of finding an artificial or preserved bait, containing a number of interesting experi- ments and conclusions. There is also a good deal of information about the oyster, the method of its cultivation in Holland, recent legislation for its protection in England, the physiology of its reproduction (translated from a paper by Dr. Hoek), as well as a short letter on his ex- periences by a practical oyster-culturist, Lord Montagu. A paper on the occurrence of the anchovy in the English Channel, and on the possibility of establishing a regular anchovy fishery in England, by Mr. Cunningham, the naturalist of the Association, completes the tale of economic work. Besides these, there is an important paper on the marine alge of the Plymouth district, and reports on the zoological collection made by Mr. G. C. Bourne during a surveying cruise in H.M.S. Research over the entrance to the English Channel. On the whole, the Association appears to be displaying a considerable amount of activity, in spite of its rather limited income. As was reported at the time in these columns, a deputation recently waited upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer to request an increase of the present grant of 500/., and it is much to be desired that the Association should be enabled to undertake more elaborate investigations and to cover a larger coast-line than is at present in its power.
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N° 3291, Nov. 22, 90 THE ATHENZUM 703 WE have on our table two works excellent in themselves, but too technical for notice in these columns: A Guwide to the Literature of Sugar, by Mr. H. Ling Roth (Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co.), and a Geschichte des Zuckers, by Dr. E. O. von Lippmann (Leipzig, Max Hesse). The former would have been more valuable in the form of a classified catalogue. The latter is a really interesting work. MR. SHIRLEY HIBBERD. Mr. SHirLEY Hisserp, who died at Kew on the 16th inst., in his sixty-sixth year, was a well-known personage in the horticultural world, and did much by his writings to popularize the art of gardening and explain its methods. He began life either as a book- binder or a_ bookseller, we are not sure which, but soon developed into a book-maker. Gifted with fluency of speech, he was at one time in request as a popular lecturer, and ofti- ciated in that capacity at ‘‘ Wyld’s Globe,” a geographical exhibition which will not have entirely faded from the memory of our middle- aged readers. As a writer he possessed an easy style into which he could infuse much pathos and no little humour. He was fond of in- dulging in antithesis and paradox, and this quality served to obscure the underlying prac- tical sense which characterized him. Want of early training led him into extrava- gances when he had to deal with purely scien- tific matters, but he had an innate sympathy with nature, and much of his literary work par- takes of the nature of a poem in prose. Hibberd was the author of ‘ Brambles and Bay Leaves,’ of a popular monograph on the ivy and of one on the culture of watercress, in which, espe- cially the last, the characteristics we have mentioned are very conspicuous. Of more technical treatises Hibberd wrote several, chiefly intended for amateurs, and for many years was, as he continued to be till his death, editor of the Gardeners’ Magazine. ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. A COMPARATIVELY bright comet was discovered by Prof. Zona at Palermo on the evening of the 15th inst.; and another, which was much fainter, was detected by Dr. R. Spitaler at Vienna on the following evening, the 16th inst. The two comets are situated very near each other in the constellation Auriga; and both are moving towards the north-west. Circular No. 27 of the Wolsingham Obser- vatory (Rev. T. E. Espin) announces that the star reckoned +33°, No. 470 in the ‘ Durch- musterung,’ R.A. (for 1855) 2" 28™ 16%, N.P.D. 56° 22’, the magnitude of which was registered as 9°2, was observed on the 7th inst. as of magnitude 7°5, so that it is probably variable. It was found to be OR and of the third type. By the courtesy of M. Bouquet de la Grye, the well-known director of the hydrographic depot of the Ministére de la Marine, Capt. Pasfield Oliver has been enabled to obtain an exact transcript of the original manuscript journal of the astronomer Pingré during his expedition to Rodriguez for the purpose of ob- serving the transit of Venus in 1761. The astro- nomical observations have been made known both in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society and in the Mémoires of the Aca- demy; but the personal narrative and details of the topographical and natural history obser- vations made by this very careful scientist have never hitherto been made available to the public. Pingré’s observations and faithful notes will be especially interesting to the naturalists who accompanied the expedition to Rodriguez a cen- tury afterwards, in 1874, as they afford trust- worthy and conclusive data for the history of the extinction of various species of animals which have inhabited that small island within a comparatively recent period. Pingré’s journal | and romantic adventures of the voyager Francis Leguat, who spent five years of not unhappy | exile on the smallest of the Mascarene group of islands, in the Indian Ocean (1691-96). A trans- lation of Pingré’s notes in pamphlet form will be very shortly published. Herr Oscar Stumpe, of Bonn, has published in Ast. Nach., Nos. 2999 and 3000, a new deter- mination of the direction of the solar motion from the proper motions of 1,054 stars, which he divides into four groups according to the magnitudes of their proper motions in a great circle. He thus obtains four different values of the apex of the sun’s way, and it is satisfac- tory to find that they all agree to the extent of locating that point either in the constellation Lyra or in the adjacent part of Cygnus. The number of known small planets has now reached three hundred, thirteen of which have been discovered during the present year. It will be remembered that M. Charlois at Nice discovered No. 298 on September 9th. After he had obtained a few observations cloudy and moonlight nights intervened, and he was not able to look for it again until October 3rd, when he obtained another observation which he sup- posed to be of the same planet. Herr A. Ber- berich had undertaken to calculate the orbit, and as M. Charlois was obliged about that time to leave the observatory for a while, he requested Dr. J. Palisa, of Vienna, to obtain if possible a few more observations of it, which he did, as he supposed, the first being on October 11th. It appeared to himself, however, that the observed motion scarcely agreed with that of the planet discovered by M. Charlois on September 9th, and Herr Berberich’s calculations soon showed that it was in fact another new one. But as meanwhile Dr. Palisa had discovered No. 299 on October 6th (as announced in our ‘‘ Notes” on the 18th of that month), the one which was first seen by M. Charlois on October 3rd, but recognized and observed by Dr. Palisa on October 11th, will be reckoned as No. 300. Looking back over the long list, we find that No. 100 was discovered by the late Prof. Watson at Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S., on July 11th, 1868, and No. 200 by the late Prof. C. H. F. Peters at the Litchfield Observatory of Hamilton College, at Clinton, N.Y., on July 27th, 1879. SOCIETIES. ASTRONOMICAL.—Nov. 14.—General Tennant in the chair.—Messrs. R. I, Finnemore, W. F. Greene, G. Higgs, N. Holden, and H. Jacoby were elected Fellows.—Mr. Maunder read a paper, by Father Cortie, entitled ‘Spectroscopic Notes and Queries, and Observations of Spectra of Sun Spots from 1882 to 1889.’ Father Cortie discusses the question whether the chromosphere bright line known as D, has any Frauvhofer dark line in the solar spectrum which really corresponds to Ds, in the solar atmo- sphere, and he comes to the conclusion that the dark line which appears to correspond in place with D, is really an absorption line produced in the earth’s atmosphere, and that it varies in blackness accord- ing as the sun is high above the horizon or near to it. Mr, Higgs, of Liverpool, has also photographed the solar spectrum derived from opposite limbs of the sun near to the solar equator, and he finds that while the other solar lines shift in passing from the spectrum of the east to that of the west limb, owing to the motion in the line of sight, the dark Dy, line maintains its position, proving it tohave a terrestrial and not a solar origin, Father Cortie also comes to the conclusion that other dark lines which have been believed to vary in density in the solar spectrum from ear to year are really constant in their intensity.— Mr. Maunder also read a paper of his own on the sun spots of 1888 to 1890. He was of opinion that the sun-spot minimum was reached about the middle of 1889, and that all through 1889 there were clearly traceable two classes of spots of somewhat different character, the one class within 10° of the solar equator, which corresponded to the last spots of the previous sun-spot period, and other spots with heliographic latitudes of 20° and more, which he believed to be connected with the coming period of sun-spot development.—Mr. McClean read a paper illustrated by photographs of the spectrum of a high and low sun, and he gave an interesting description of the photographic methods he had forms, in fact, a valuable sequel to the quaint ' employed for photographing the spectrum at the red and violet ends, The photographs passed round to the meeting showed the A and B groups remark- ably clearly, the head of the A group being broken up into a bundle of lines similar to the head of the B group, and the rest of the groups break- ing up into similar series of double lines. — Mr. Knobel read a paper on a proposed alteration of the Mohammedan calendar, which will give an even more exact approximation for the solar year than the system of leap years at present used in Western countries.—Mr. Fowler announced that he had dis- covered the star Vega to be a spectroscopic double, the components of which revolve about one another in a period of a little over twenty-four hours, ata distance from one another of rather more than five millions of miles. He makes the total mass of the two components about twenty-two and a half times the mass of the sun. The following papers were taken as read: ‘ Real and Apparent Variations of the Latitude of Greenwich,’ by Prof. F. Folie, ‘Electrical Control for driving Clocks,’ by Mr. H. C. Russell,—‘ Correction of Micrometric Measures for Refraction, by Mr. H. Jacoby,—‘The Red Spot on Jupiter, by Mr. J. E. Keeler,—‘ Orbit of 99 Herculis,’ by Mr. J. E. Gore, —‘ Celestial Photo- graphs taken at Sydney Observatory,’ by Mr. H. C. Russell,—‘ Observations of R Carine, 1886-90,’ by Mr. J. Tebbutt,—‘ Observations of Comets at Orwell Park Observatory,’ by Mr. J. I. Plummer,—‘ On the Spectra of R Coron, R Scuti, R Aurige, and R Andromede,’ by the Rev, T. E. Espin,—and ‘On a Mechanical Method of describing a Parabolic Curve,’ by Mr. R. Inwards. GEOLOGICAL.—NVor, 12.—Dr. A. Geikie, President, in the chair.—Messrs. 8. H. Farrar, J. H. Powell, and H. Weldon were elected Fellows.—The follow- ing communications were read : ‘ On the Porphyritic Rocks of the Island of Jersey,’ by Prof. A. de Lapparent, Foreign Correspondent of the Society, communicated by the President, —' On a New Species of Trionyx from the Miocene of Malta, and a Chelonian Scapula from the London por by Mr. R. Lydekker,—‘ Notes on Specimens collected by W. Gowland, Esq., F.C.S., in the Korea,’ by Mr. T. H. Holland, communicated by Prof. J. W. Judd, —and ‘Further Notes on the Stratigraphy of the Bagshot Beds of the London Basin (North Side),’ by the Rey. A. Irving. STATISTICAL,—Vov. 18.—The President, Dr, F, J. Mouat, delivered an inaugural address, MATHEMATICAL. — Nov. 13.— Mr. J. J. Walker, President, in the chair.—Mr, E. J. Brooksmith was admitted into the Society.—The President informed the members of the recent loss to the Society by the death of Dr. A. J. Ellis, who was elected a member June 19tb, 1865, and had served on the Council during the sessions 1866-7, 1867-8. He gave a short account of Dr. Ellis’s mathematical and other writings. He then dwelt in some detail on some of the memoirs which had led the Council, as announced at the June meeting, to award its De Morgan Memorial Medal to Lord Rayleigh. He then presented the medal, and Lord Rayleigh thanked the Society for their gift—The election of the new Council then took place.—The new Presi- dent, Prof. Greenhill, called upon Mr, Walker to read his address ‘On the Influence of Applied upon the Progress of Pure Mathematics.’ — Upon the motion of the Treasurer, seconded by Lord Rayleigh, the author was requested to print the address in the Society’s Proceedings.—The follow- ing further communications were made : ‘Spherical Harmonics of Fractional Order,’ by Mr. R. A. Samp- son ; ‘Proofs of Steiner’s Theorem relating to Cir- cumscribed and Inscribed Conics,’ by Prof. Mathews; ‘On an Algebraic Integral of Two Differential Equations,’ by Mr. R. A. Roberts; ‘Some Geo- metrical Constructions, by Mr, O. Ber, communi- cated by Prof. Hili ; and ‘On the Analytical Repre- sentation of Heptagrams,’ by Prof. L. J. Rogers. PuysicaAL.—Vov. 14.—Prof. W. E. Ayrton, Pre- sident, in the chair.—The following communications were made : ‘On certain Relations existing amongst the Refractive Indices of the Chemical Elements,’ by the Rev. T. P. Dale,—and ‘Tables of Spherical Hrmovion with Examples of their Practical Use,’ by Prof, J. Perry. ARISTOTELIAN.—Vov, 17.— Mr. 8. H. Hodgson, President, in the chair—Mr. G. D. Hicks and Mrs. Dowson were elected Members.—Mr. R. B. Haldane read a paper ‘On the Categories of Scientific Method.’ It was pointed out that by many physiologists, for example, a metaphysical assumption was habitually made that the ideas applicable in describing mechanical processes were applicable in observing and experimenting on organisms. The process of observation and experiment implied more than a merely receptive attitude. It consisted largely in the verifications of hypotheses, as Whewell and
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THE ATHENAUM N° 3291, Nov. 22, ’90 704 Jevons had pointed out, and it was consequently most important that a start should be made with the right and not the wrong kind of hypotheses. What was true of the physiologists was true in other depart- ments. Much, for example, of the controversy about necessity and free will was due toan uncritical assump- tion that the category of cause and effect was properly — in describing the relation of motive to volition. The reason of the general refusal to ascribe reality to such conceptions as that of a whole which determined its parts, an end which controlled the life of an organism, or that of beauty in a landscape, was partly the idea that to allow objective validity to such categories would be to question the universal truth of such laws as that of the conservation of energy, and partly the cir- cumstance that Kant had wees: to these categories only subjective validity. But Kant was better than the men of science in that he had accepted as a fact, —— or objective, these phases of nature, and had not tried to explain them away. The time had come for a careful critical examination of the eategories used in the various departments of know- ledge.—The paper was followed by a discussion. HvuGuEnoT.—WNov. 12.—Sir H. W. Peek. Bart., V.P., in the chair.—The following new Fellows were elected: Sir R. B. D. Morier, Rev. Viscount Molesworth, Canon Ainger, Rev. F. 8. Boissier, Rev. J. L. Le Pelley, Col. Garnier, Capt. Hinde, Messrs. T. J. Barnard, J. R. Bramble, R. Day, W. del Court tot Krimpen, L. E. de Ridder. C. M. Du Puy, J. Labouchere, P. Landon, J. T. Lefeaux, A. Merghe- lynck, J. Platel, Lady De Gex, Mrs. Blackwell, Mrs. awkshaw, Mrs. Lewin, Miss May Crommelin, and Miss C. Crommelin.—Mr. E. Belleroche read the first part of a paper on the siege of Ostend. 1601- 1604, derived from inedited MSS. in the Record Office and British Museum, the archives of Brussels, the Hague, and other places in Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1601 Ostend was the only seaport between Calais and the Scheldt not in the hands of Spain. Elizabeth allowed Sir Francis Vere to levy 3,000 English for its defence, and he remained at Ostend from July, 1601, to March, 1602. Henry IV. of France was not so open in his support, but did not prevent his subjects from enlisting in the army of the States. Several eminent Huguenots lost their lives at Ostend, such as Henri de Chastillon, grand- son of Admiral de Coligny (he was only eighteen), Montesquieu de Rocques, and others. Mr. Belle- roche confined himself more particularly to the religious, sanitary, and other aspects of the pro- jonged siege, which made Ostend known as “the new Troy.” In illutration of his paper he exhibited a collection of contemporary prints, books, medals, &e. MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Royal Academy, 4.—‘ Chemistry,’ Mr. A. H. Church. = London Institution, 5.—‘ Prosper Mérimée, Mr. W. Pater. — Surveyors’ Institution, 8—‘The Labour Question as regards Agriculture,’ Mr. T. A. Dickson. — Society of Arts, 8—‘Gaseous Illuminants,’ Lecture I., Prof. V. B. Lewes (Cantor Lecture). — ae 8}.—‘ Matabele and Mashona Lands,’ Mr. E. A. Maun furs. Society of Architects, 7}. — Civil Engineers, 8.—‘ The Vibratory Movements of Locomotives,’ Prof. J. Milne and Mr. J, Macdonald. _ a 8. — Anthropo — Institute, 8}.—‘The Yourouks of Asia Minor,’ Mr. J. T. Bent; ‘Stone Circles in Wiltshire,’ Mr. A. L. Lewis. Wep. Geological.—7}, Special General Meetin, , ‘Experimental 3; & Investigation of the Law that limits the Action of Flowing ae: Mr. R. D. Oldham; ‘ Rocks of North Devon,’ Dr. H. icks. — Society of Arts, 8.—‘ Physical Tests in Competitive Examina- tions,’ Mr. F. Galton. — Literature, 8.—‘ Gray as a Writer of English,’ Mr. G. Candy. Tuvrs. London Institution, 7.—‘ Pictures of the Year,’ Mr. H. Blackburn. Electrical Engineers, 8.—Adjourned discussion on ‘The Efti- Tt of Secondary Cells’ and ‘The Chemistry of Secondary ‘ells’ a Antiquaries, 8}.—‘ A St. John’s Head of Alabaster from Stony- hurst College,’ Mr. W. H St. John Hope ; ‘ Ancient Theatre Ticket of Ivory,’ Dr. A. S. Murray; ‘ Draft of a Letter from King Charles I. to his Queen, and on a Vow made by the King on April 13th, 1646,’ Rey. W. Sparrow Simpson; ‘Filtering Cistern of the Fourteenth Century at Westminster Abbey,’ Mr. J. 'T. Micklethwaite. é Physical, 5.—‘ Notes on Secondary Batteries,’ Dr. Gladstone and Mr. W. Hibbert; ‘An Illustration of Ewing's Theory of Induced Magnetism,’ Prof. 8. P. Thompson. Science Gossip, History, with its usual monotony, has again repeated itself. The Marine Biological Asso- ciation, at a loss for a suitable director, has had to cross the Tweed and select Mr. W. L. Calder- wood, who was for four years connected with the Scotch Fishery Board. The Act of Union will not, we believe, prove disadvantageous to the Marine Biological Association. As a contribution to the University for London discussion it may be pointed out that both the Royal Medalists of this year are pro- fessors at King’s College. Dr. G. A. Heron, physician to the City of London Hospital for Diseases of the Chest, is going to issue through Messrs. Longman a work on the ‘ Evidences of the Communicability of Consumption.’ He was formerly a pupil of Dr. Koch. Messrs. Cassett & Co. have published a set of ten technical scales, of which one shows métres. These scales are clearly drawn, and the propor- tional divisions are very distinct. The tenth number of the series, which shows French mea- sures, will be useful not only as a technical scale, but also as a means of familiarizing Englishmen with French measurements. M. TuremeE, of Leipzig, the publisher of the Deutsche Medicinische Wochenschrift, writes :— “Mr. Heinemann informs me that a London medical journal has published a translation of Dr. Koch’s report on his discovery of the cure of con- sumption, and it seems that this has also been copied by some of the daily journals, At his request I send you this note, which I hope you will publish, to say that he will issue the only authorized version of Dr. Koch’s report, for which he some time past made arrangements with me.” FINE ARTS ssieitiens Literary Remains of A. Diirer. Conway. Illustrated. versity Press.) (First Notice.) By W. M. (Cambridge, Uni- Tue literary remains Mr. Conway has pub- lished consist of Diirer’s ‘Theory of Human Proportion,’ the most elaborate and complex attempt yet made by man to establish the canon of form; his ‘ Doctrine of Measure- ments,’ a sort of supplement to the pre- ceding; and a notice of his ‘Essay on the Fortification of Towns,’ &c., which, doubtless because it is now only a curiosity of military engineering of no solid value to any mortal, and besides has nothing to do with art, Mr. Conway judiciously treats in a brief, but far from uninteresting fashion. Albert Diirer’s German admirers do not flinch from de- claring that to him, and not to Vauban, is due the original conception of some of the most valuable modern principles of fortifi- cation. Several years before 1527, when Diirer’s book was published, Da Vinci had been busy with the subject, and his influence had been felt in great engineer- ing works. Whether Diirer knew any- thing about Leonardo’s labours there is no evidence toshow; but no reasonable critic will doubt that one so earnest and thorough- going in all he did would not fail to read what the greatest artist of his time had written on the subject. In Diirer’s own estimation the ‘ Theory of Human Proportion’ was beyond all com- parison the most valuable of his literary efforts. More than this, we are sure that he ranked it far above any one of those pictures or series of designs which were his real life’s work. He was immensely mistaken; but so great were the pains he bestowed upon this ‘‘ theory,” and the fact that he did so is so important a factor in all attempts to estimate the true character of the artist, that any one anxious to study Diirer will be grateful to Mr. Conway for this digest of the work, which had never before been, even incompletely, put into an English dress, although it had been translated into Latin, Italian, Spanish, Por- tuguese, French, and Dutch, and continued to appear in various languages and editions from 1532 (the original came out in 1523) until 1662. It is one of the most remark- able illustrations of the empirical element in the great master’s character that although he devoted himself for several years to this wonderful puzzle, and never seemed to tire of it, he can scarcely be said to have studied anatomy at all. His sketches hardly exhibit elementary, and certainly no scientific knowledge of that great study. Mr. Con- way is at one with those who long ago re- marked that in Diirer’s figure drawings there is—here he differed in toto from Da Vinci— no suggestion of the outlines and attachments of the bones and muscles of humanity. He seems to have recognized nothing but the silhouette of mankind, and never studied the structure within. How a sound and practicable theory of proportion could be discovered, much less enunciated, by a per- son not versed in the mechanics of the skeleton it is hard to say. He laboured at modelling the surface of the human form with amazing acuteness, patience, and tenacity, but never attained scientific acquaintance with the structure. The oddity of the matter is that after all he had done in searching for and demonstrating the canon, as he understood it, Diirer was fain to write as follows in respect to his own labours. The veracity of this passage, not less than the total absence of self-consciousness, will charm the reader of so much candid condemna- tion of the writer’s self :— ‘*Farther, it must be noted that though a common man knows the better from the worse, yet no man can perfectly judge a picture (in point of execution) except an understanding artist who hath often accomplished the like in his work. Nowa man might say: Who will devote continual labour and trouble, with con- suming of much time, thus in tedious wise to measure out a single figure, seeing moreover that it often happeneth that he must make, it may be, twenty or thirty figures in a short time ? In answer to which, I do not mean that a man should at all times construct everything by mea- surements; but if thou hast well learnt the theory of measurements, and attained under- standing and skill in it, so that thou canst make a thing with free certainty of hand, and knowest how to do each thing aright, then it is not always needful always to measure everything, for the art which thou hast acquired giveth thee a good eye-measure, and the practised hand is obedient. And thus the power of art driveth away error from thy work and restraineth thee from making falsehood ; for her thou knowest, and by thy knowledge thou art preserved from despair and becomest skilful in thy work, so that thou makest no false touch or stroke. And this skill bringeth it to pass that thou hast no need long to think, if thy head is full stored with Art. And thus thy work appeareth artistic, charming, powerful, free and good, and will receive manifold praise because rightness is infused into it.” All this says is only that the laborious student of the ‘Theory’ must, after all, rely on his technical skill. As our readers know, the ‘Theory’ made a great impression on Diirer’s contemporaries, chiefly, no doubt, on those who had no practical acquaintance with art, yet not on them only. Nor was the impression short lived. The number of editions and translations, and the length of the time during which they continued to appear, are proofs of the attention it excited in many countries. It held its place for more than a century after the death of its author, and we find curious evidence of that in Vander Doort’s catalogue of the works of art in his charge as Keeper of the Pictures to Charles I. of England. Among the fifty- four books in the king’s cabinet at White-
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——_—— AMER e N° 3291, Nov. 22,90 THE ATHENZUM 705 hall, including splendid volumes given by Anne of Denmark to her son, and forty-nine pictures ‘“‘done in dry colours [crayons | of the chiefest nobility at that time in France” —probably portraits by Clouet, drawings by M. Angelo, &c.—was ‘*No. 46. Item. A book in folio of wooden prints by Alberdure, being a description, in High Dutch, of the proportions of men. Given to the King when he was Prince by his servant Vanderdoort, Keeper of the King’s Cabinet, Pictures, Jewels, and Rarities.” The ‘‘ wooden prints” were the cuts of the original German edition, a copy of which was thought a fit gift to the most art-loving prince of his time. Diirer took his art very seriously, and was constantly asserting its dignity and his own devotion to it. ‘A man may,” he says, ** choose to learn to labour with art, wherein is the truth, or without art in a freedom by which everything he does is corrupted. For work well done is honouring to God, useful, good and pleasing unto men.” Mr. Conway truly remarks that in all his doings Diirer felt himself to be under the directing power of the Almighty. Great artists he held to be inspired. ‘‘ God only knoweth what is the perfect figure of a man, and he knoweth it likewise to whom He revealeth it.” ‘‘God granteth great power to artistic men.” ‘‘ Painting is a useful art when it is of a godly sort and employed for holy edification.” ‘A fine work of art is well pleasing to God, and He is angry with such as destroy the works of great-mas- tership, for that is bestowed by God alone.” With convictions such as these well might the painter devote himself and all his energies to the elucidation of a canon which, for artistic purposes, should establish ‘the right figure of a man,” which only God knew and those to whom it was revealed. What put the canon into Diirer’s mind appears from his own words, recorded in the holograph preserved among the Addi- tional Manuscripts at the British Museum, and thus translated by Mr. Conway :— ‘*Perhaps many will blame me for writing, unlearned as I am ; in my opinion they are not wrong ; they speak truly. For I myself had rather hear and read a learned man and one famous in his art than write of it myself, being unlearned. Howbeit I can find none such who hath written aught about how to form a canon of human proportions, save one man, Jacopo [Dei Barbarj] by name, born at Venice and a charming painter. He showed me the figures of a man and a woman, which he had drawn according to a canon of proportions ; and now I would rather be shown what he meant than behold a new kingdom. If I had it [the canon] I would put it into print in his honour, for the use of all men. Then, however, I was still young and had not heard of such things before. Howbeit I was very fond of art, so I set myself to discover how such a canon might be wrought out. For this aforesaid Jacopo, as I clearly saw, would not explain to me the principles upon which he went. Accordingly I set to work and read Vitruvius, who writes somewhat about the human figure. Thus it was from, or out of, those two men aforesaid that I took my start, and thence from day to day have I fol- lowed up my search according to my own notions.” It is evident that Dei Barbarj thought not a little of his version of the canon,—a sort of craft secret he was not going to im- part to a tyro; it is likewise evident that Direr thought still more of the operose, complex, and clumsy canon he devised than of any of his own pictures or prints. Although he heedfully noted down the ex- penditure of stuivers while he was in the Low Countries, and was by no means for- getful of his own achievements, he never thought of telling us the history of ‘The Feast of the Rose Garlands’ or that of ‘The Adoration of the Trinity,’ masterpieces on each of which he spent enormous pains and time. It was in harmony with Diirer’s cha- racter to take his canon very seriously. ‘‘ The Creator,” said he, ‘‘ fashioned men once for all as they must be, and I hold that the perfection of form and beauty is contained in the sum of all men.” Four years and more he worked at the subject, his object being to find in the bodies of his contem- poraries such traces of the perfect forms of Adam and Eve before the Fall as would enable him to recover so much of that once perfectly beautiful and pure structure as would justify the thought that God had revealed it to him. NEW PRINTS. WE cannot say that in the splendid new plate Herr J. Kohlschein, of Diisseldorf, has engraved we recognize all the characteristic expression of the Virgin in Murillo’s picture of the ‘ Immacu- late Conception,’ now No. 539 in the Salon Carré. Still, there can be no doubt that the face of the Queen of Heaven in the print is very fine, touching in its Murillo-like naturalness, and choicely engraved. Mr. Obach has sent us a proof of this large engraving on copper, and in all important respects it is our duty to praise it warmly. The chief figure is a masterpiece of good line-work, animated and true ; the angels hovering near her could hardly be better reproduced. Technically speaking, the coloration and tonality of the whole, which are its highest qualities and very precious, have never been more finely reproduced, and therein the print is an admirable specimen of the art of the accomplished hand which has engraved Raphael’s ‘St. Cecilia.’ It is intended as a pendant to Herr Keller’s ‘Madonna di San Sisto,’ which it excels in every respect. The Soult Murillo is the most popular of Murillos. New Yorkers have been known to come to Europe on purpose to see it, and the sale of prints of it has, we have no doubt, exceeded that of all other reproductions of pictures, except Leonardo’s ‘Last Supper,’ which has been copied in every process, including modelling in low relief. The ‘Immaculate Conception’ was engraved by Lefevre, L. Massard, Cousin, and W. French severally, and all in line, besides in mezzotint by LEichens, Cornillet (four times), and Cottin; it has been litho- graphed at least fifteen times, to say nothing of woodcuts. It is not to be confounded with the other ‘ Immaculate Conception’ by Murillo, likewise in the Louvre, No. 538, and compris- ing two angels holding a scroll inscribed ‘‘In principio dilexit eam,” which belonged to the collection of Louis X VIII. Messrs. P. & D. Colnaghi have just published a new mezzotint engraving by M. Cormack after Romney’s portrait of Lady A. Cumberland, and named it ‘ Albinia.’” Of this we have re- ceived an artist’s proof, one of two hundred. It is the half-length portrait of a young and beautiful English lady dressed in a white fichu having two broad goffered borders, tied at the bust with a narrow black ribbon ; her dark hair in a large cap is without powder. Her face is in three-quarters view to our right, the ani- mated eyes being directed to the same quarter. It is a charming work, one of Romney’s elegant and sincere portraits, conceived in the best taste, and engraved so as to be worthy of its intended companionship with therecently published ‘ Mrs. Scott Moncrieff,’ ‘ Marcia,’ and the ‘ Countess of Mexborough.’ It is better than the Countess, and equal to either of the others, and is notable for luminousness and softness as well as plenty of good and delicate modelling. The lady, who was born in 1759, was the eldest child of George, third Earl of Buckinghamshire, by Albinia, born Vere Bertie, and she married Richard, eldest son of Richard Cumberland, the dramatist. She became Lady of the Bedchamber to the Princess Amelia, daughter of George III., and had several children. Fanny Burney as Madame D’Arblay met her at Worthing, De- cember Ist, 1798, and ‘‘found her a peculiarly pleasing woman, in voice, manner, look, and behaviour.” THE FRENCH GALLERY. THERE are exactly a hundred ‘‘ pictures, the contributions of British and foreign artists,” in the thirty-fifth annual winter exhibition at Pall Mall. Forty-two of them are by Mr. Leader, the ablest and most accomplished member of what used to be called the School of Barnes. Apart from their merit, which, so far as it goes, is undeniable, there is close like- ness between the best productions of the school (which wereaptly described as ‘‘machine-made’”’) and those of Mr. Leader. Most of these we have seen before. The most conspicuous are The Sandy Margin of the Sea (No. 35), a note- worthy example of the extreme cleverness and half-sincerity of the painter, who is content with appealing to the popular taste by studies of nature dexterous rather than sound, and quasi- poetic effects the sentiment of which even the dullest observer cannot miss ; ** At Evening Time it shall be Light ” (40), a well- known instance, with fresher motives ; A Flood on the Llugwy (30), A Marl Bank (36), and A Sandy Shore (46), all notable specimens of the good and bad qualities of Mr. Leader's art. M. Jimenez, one of the best of Fortuny’s followers, is seen to advantage in Musical Critics (4), the interior of a sumptuous saloon, filled with deftly painted and _ brilliantly coloured figures in costumes of the Regency in France. The figures individually are full of movement and character, but the design as a whole is scattered, and the effect rather spotty. —Spring Time (6) and other landscapes by Prof. K. Heffner call for no further remark than that they are a little less flat and thin than usual, and that the colour is better. The professor is an even greater mannerist than Mr. Leader, and he has no sentiment.—M. F. Heilbuth’s Ferry near Bougival (22) we have seen before in Paris, and are not sorry to see again. As a piece of outspoken and brilliant chic it is very acceptable, being thoroughly in keeping with itself.—The Lesbia (13) of M. James Bertrand, although the complexion is rather dark and livid, is a good instance of a well-trained artist at his best time. If the modelling of the flesh is flat and the flesh a little dull, there is a charm in the design and expression, and artistic faculty everywhere.—In Le Seigneur du Village (58) M. Klecynski, a capital artist, is working in the mood of M. Chelmonski. The whole is touched with a firm hand, and crisp. Besides these selected instances the visitor will find specimens of M. Otto Wolf, Prof. Kiesel, M. de Haas, M. J. Israéls, M. Blommer, M. Gudin, Mr. A. Water- house, Prof. Miiller, and Mr. A. Wahlberg. On the whole, the exhibition is not equal to those of the last two years. THE GRAPHIC SOCIETY. Tue Graphic Society, whose demise we have already deplored, was formed March 20th, 1833, by gentlemen practising the graphic arts. At that time no similar body existed in London. The chief founder was Brockedon, of ‘The Passes of the Alps’ and other well-known works. In 1845 the members presented him
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706 THE ATHENAUM N° 3291, Nov. 22, 90 with a folio of their sketches as a testimony of their appreciation of his services in their behalf. Among the earliest members were twenty - five Academicians and Associates, in- cluding Callcott, Collins, 8. Cousins, T. Doo, Eastlake, Etty, Hilton, Boxall, E. Landseer, Mulready, Shee, Maclise, Uwins, C. Barry, P. Hardwick, Stanfield, and Hart, besides Copley Fielding, 8S. Prout, D. Cox, Cattermole, and John Martin. The number was limited to one hundred members, all artists except the trea- surer. The first honorary secretary was J. Britton. At a later period 8. Cooper, Cope, Creswick, G. Lance, J. F. Lewis, D. Roberts, and J. Constable joined the body. The second hon. sec. was Mr. Atkinson, in whose time, it appears, the members included Dyce, Elmore, Webster, Ross, F. Stone, F. Tayler, R. Thorburn, G. G. Scott, Mr. J. C Horsley, Mr. Frith, Mr. F. Goodall, Mr. W. C. Marshall, and Sir John Gilbert. After meet- ing at the Adelaide Gallery and in the rooms of the Dilettanti Society, the Graphic Society was, in 1850, granted the use of the Library of Uni- versity College, London, where the conversa- zioni have till now been held. In 1868 Mr. H. Murray became hon. sec. In 1872 Mr. W. Gaile, who has since then zealously and ably ofticiated in this capacity, was elected to the same post. He attended the obsequies of the society. The first president was J. Foley, who was succeeded by Sir M. D. Wyatt, who, retiring in 1874, gave place to Sir Frederic Leighton, the last President. Sine-Art Gossiy, Messrs. Loneman have in the press Mr. Roget’s long-expected ‘History of the Old Water-Colour Society.’ It will not be con- fined to a record of the proceedings of the society or the contents of its exhibitions. It will deal largely with the biography of the artists who have been members or associates, and with the scope, character, and technique of their works, and it also aims at sup- plying a history of the practice of water- colour painting in this country. It there- fore embraces a brief account of the earlier development of the school, more especially of | Milanesi, of Florence. Girtin’s career, and the events which led to the founding of the society in 1804. The society’s chronicle is carried down to the present year, and the biographies include those of all the deceased members and associates, together with such of the living members as exhibited in the gallery before the death of the president, Copley Fielding, in 1855. Information is also given respecting sales, prices, and special gather- ings of the artists’ works. The compiler has had access to the notes and materials, many of them unpublished, collected by the late Mr. Jen- kins, F.8.A., for a history of the society, of which for many years he was secretary. THE sumptuous volume on ‘Relics of the Royal House of Stuart,’ which was announced in these columns more than a year ago, is now nearly ready for publication by Messrs. Mac- millan & Co. It consists of forty coloured plates drawn direct from the objects by Mr. William Gibb, and reproduced in lithography by Messrs. Maclagan & Cumming. Mr. John Skelton has written an interesting chapter on ‘* The Royal House of Stuart and its Adherents,”’ and Mr. W. St. John Hope has supplied de- scriptions of the plates. Another long-promised work shortly to be issued by the same firm is Mrs. Oliphant’s volume on ‘ Royal Edinburgh : her Saints, Kings, Prophets, and Poets,’ with numerous and beautiful illustrations by Mr. George Reid, R.S.A. The book is uniform with ‘The Makers of Florence’ and ‘ The Makers of Venice.’ THE illustrated edition of ‘The Vicar of Wakefield,’ upon which Mr. Hugh Thomson has been engaged for several years, will be pub- | lished by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. early in December. It is uniform with the well-known illustrated editions of Washington Irving’s ‘ Old Christmas’ and ‘Bracebridge Hall,’ in which the late Mr. Randolph Caldecott first made his mark. Mr. Austin Dobson has contributed an account of previous illustrated editions of Gold- smith’s masterpiece. Mr. Briton Riviere’s picture ‘ Daniel’s Answer to the King,’ which we described at length in March last as one of that artist’s most excellent and characteristic pieces, is on view at Messrs. Agnew’s Gallery in Old Bond Street, and will remain, we believe, till about the end of next month. It has lately been in Man- chester. Mr. E. Burne Jones’s series of paint- ings illustrating ‘The Legend of the Briar Rose’ will not be shown again in Old Bond Street, as was expected. The owner has claimed them. THE Fine-Art Society has appointed to-day (Saturday) for the private view of the collection of drawings by the Japanese painter Hokusai, to which we have already referred. The public will be admitted on Monday next. Tue Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland is making an effort to preserve what remains of the buildings of St. Mary’s Abbey, Dublin, a Cistercian house suppressed in 1537. It recently held a meeting in the Chapter House, the only perfect part. This is used as a store- room, and is in good preservation. It is said to date from 1180 to 1200 or thereabouts. Ex- cavations have been made of late at private expense, and some beautiful tiles discovered. THE sales of pictures sent out by the Anglo- Australian Society of Artists for exhibition have reached 5,000/. THE death of M. John Lewis Brown, the French painter of battles and sporting subjects, is announced. He was born at Bordeaux in 1829, and made his début in the Salon of 1848 ; he obtained several medals ; there is a picture of his in the Luxembourg. He was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1870. In the place of the late Sir Richard Wallace, elected in 1878, the Académie des Beaux-Arts has elected, by twenty-six votes, the Prince Czartoriski of Cracow. The prince’s competitors were Sir P. Cunliffe Owen and Signor Gaétano Lord Savile has been appointed a trustee of the National Gallery instead of Sir R. Wallace. Art Straubing, in Bavaria, some Celtic tombs have been opened, and found to contain most interesting bronze ornaments and iron weapons belonging to the people of Rheetia before the Roma conquest. The long-sought-for Roman cemetery has also been discovered—through the unearthing of a Roman tomb containing cine- rary urns—flanking the old military road from Serviodurum (Straubing) to Abusina, both situ- ated on the Danube. Dr. Lotte has published in the new Greek periodical Athena numerous fragments of a most important pre-Periclean Attic inscription on the ancient measure hekatompedon, found in one of the lowest strata of the Athenian Acropolis. Dr. Max FrAnxKEt has published at Berlin the first part of the inscriptions discovered in the excavations of the German Archeological Institute at Pergamus. MUSIC sciiggo THE WEEK. Royal ITaLian OpERA.—‘ Rigoletto,’ ‘ Lohengrin,’ ‘ Tann- hauser.” Sr. James's Hati.—Sir Charles Halle’s Concerts ; Popular Concerts. CrysTAL PaLace.—Saturday Concerts. Tue hearty encouragement now bestowed almost nightly at the Italian Opera affords ample confirmation of the views of those who maintained that amateurs were ready to the welcome performances of lyric drama at any season of the year. Signor Lago has made some serious mistakes, but he is displaying wisdom in his choice of works, and his com- pany includes some of the finest living artists. M. Maurel’s impersonation of the titular part in ‘ Rigoletto,’ given for the first time in London on Thursday last week, is a striking performance, though open to the charge of exaggeration. According to the French baritone Victor Hugo’s creation is misshapen in mind as well as in body, and is not only overwhelmed by the father’s curse, but is compelled to accompany every expression of his tortured spirit by distor- tions of face and limbs. The embodiment is melodramatically powerful, and as it has gained the approbation both of Victor Hugo and Verdi, it would be presumptuous to term it eccentric and unnatural. Miss Ella Russell, whose impersonation of Elsa in ‘Lohengrin’ during the summer season escaped notice, repeated it on Friday with satisfactory results. Her command of the sostenuto enables her to render full justice to the dreamy music, and her acting was marked by much intelligence and not a little force. The general performance, although far from satisfactory, was a trifle better than on the previous occasion. The performance of ‘Tannhiiuser’ on Tuesday evening was not calculated to satisfy admirers of Wagner, excellent as were the principal artists individually. It would, of course, be unreasonable to expect Signor Lago at the end of his brief season to remount an opera that has never received justice at Covent Garden. The incongruities and absurdities of the scenic arrangements must be pardoned; and perhaps it would be also too much to expect the tired chorus to maintain the pitch in the unaccompanied pilgrims’ choruses without the too audible aid of a reed organ. But there is no excuse for thé arbitrary excisions in the score, made, if we remember rightly, by Signor Vianesi. All told they do not shorten the performance by more than a few minutes, and they frequently injure the effect, as, for example, at the end of the first act, where the removal of the horn fanfares de- stroys the poetical idea. Attention should have been given to this matter by Signor Bevignani, who, it is only fair to say, con- ducted on the whole extremely well. For the leading performers we have scarcely anything but praise. Madame Albani, who is more artistic in all her efforts this season than she has ever been before, has become an ideal Elizabeth; a more delightful embodiment of Wagner’s beautiful creation could not be desired, save in some imper- fections of detailfor which the stage manager is responsible. Signor Perotti is earnest and successful as Tannhiiuser, particularly in the third act; and M. Maurel’s Wolfram remains a highly effective performance, marred, however, by the French baritone’s tendency to overact. There was no actual novelty in the ef gramme of the first of Sir Charles Halle’s orchestral concerts at St. James’s Hall on Friday last week, but Viotti’s Violin Con- certo in A minor, No. 22, which was revived by Lady Halle, had not been heard for some years. It is hopeless to expect a renewal of interest in music so faded as this. In the course of his chequered career Viotti, who
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10 ny de m- ne he rst ,a he he is od rs ry r= nt as 20 to er ay ad er er id e, He on. to aS It ct om. XUM N° 3291, Nov. 22, ’90 THE ATHENXUM 707 is generally regarded as the last of the classical Italian violinists, produced no fewer than twenty-nine concertos, of which the present work alone survived for any length of time. It is written with brilliancy and refinement for the solo instrument, but except as to the andante in £, which has always been a favourite movement, it is destitute of genuine musical interest. The purely orchestral items were Beethoven’s ‘Leonora’ Overture, No. 3; Dvorak’s ‘ Légendes,’ Nos. 9 and 10; and Schubert’s Symphony inc, No. 9. The playing of Sir Charles Halle’s Manchester orchestra was remarkable for precision and verve, but at times the strings were slightly coarse, at any rate in the first and last movements of the symphony. The performance, however, was worthy of far more patronage than it received, and it will not redound to the credit of London amateurs if the subsequent concerts are not better attended. Mr. Leonard Borwick was the pianist at the Popular Concerts both on Saturday and Monday. On the former occasion he played Nos. 2, 5, and 6 of Brahms’s ‘Clavierstiicke,’ Op. 76, and the Rhapsody in G@ minor, Op. 79, No. 2. The last named, although an unpretentious piece, is one of Brahms’s most original and impressive compositions for piano solo. The concerted works were Schubert’s Quartet in a minor, Op. 29—which displays Madame Néruda at her best as a leader—and Schumann’s Trio in p minor, Op. 63. Mr. Hirwen Jones rendered songs by Purcell and Schubert in a pleasant and refined manner. On Monday Mr. Borwick selected as his solo Beethoven’s Sonata in £ flat, Op. 27, No. 1. His pure, unaffected reading of this, espe- cially in the manner of phrasing, clearly displayed the influence of Madame Schu- mann’s teaching. A more artistic interpre- tation of a somewhat rhapsodical work could not be desired. Mr. Borwick was recalled three times, but he had sufficient sense to decline an encore. Of the concerted works, Mendelssohn’s Quintet in B flat, Op. 87, and Beethoven’s Trio in p, Op. 79, No. 1, nothing need be said. Mr. Ben Davies was the vocalist. By a curious coincidence two new violon- cello concertos have already been heard at the Crystal Palace concerts this season. The work in A minor by M. J. Hollman, per- formed by the composer last Saturday, will not, however, bear comparison with that of Herr Sitt, introduced a few weeks pre- viously. It is a brilliant composition, in three movements, or rather sections, the laws of concerto form being honoured rather in the breach than in the observance. More- over, M. Hollman is not by any means orthodox in his harmonic progressions, though it is only fair to say that he has managed for the most part to avoid crude- ness and vulgarity. Except for the some- what nasal tone, his playing: was admirable, and the novelty secured a favourable recep- tion. As regards the remaining instrumental items—namely, the overtures to ‘Masaniello’ and ‘Oberon’ and Spohr’s symphony ‘ Die Weihe der Tone’—nothing need be said, save to record a good performance and to ask when a revival of any of Spohr’s neglected symphonies may at the Crystal Palace. bright and intelligent in Elsa’s Dream from be expected | Miss Macintyre was | ‘Lohengrin,’ and in Dessauer’s song ‘ Le Retour des Promis,’ though it is difficult to understand why she sang the former in Italian. Musical Gossip, As several misstatements have been made respecting the arrangements of the Carl Rosa Company, it may be as well to state that no agreement has been made binding the ‘‘ grand” opera company not toappear in London. On the contrary, a series of performances will be given next spring at Drury Lane Theatre, commencing March 28th (Easter Eve). Mr. Joun Boosey gave the first of the London Ballad Concerts for the present season on Wed- nesday evening in St. James’s Hall. Three new songs were introduced—‘ The Cry of the Little Ones’ and ‘The Heart of a Sailor,’ by Stephen Adams, and ‘The Flight of Ages,’ by F. Bevan. The part-singing of Mr. Eaton Faning’s Select Choir was one of the best features of the entertainment. On the same evening Madame Patti appeared for the last time this season at the Albert Hall. The programme of the concert was of precisely the usual character, and needs no comment. THE programme of the second chamber con- cert given by Messrs. Hann on Tuesday even- ing, at the Brixton Hall, included Haydn’s Quartet in G, Op. 77; Schumann’s in E flat, Op. 47; Mendelssohn’s fragments, Op. 81 ; and Chopin's Scherzo in B flat minor. Miss Clara Samuell was the vocalist. Mite. JEANNE DovusTE gave a _ pianoforte recital at the Princes’ Hall on Friday afternoon last week. Her programme was, at any rate, unconventional, Bach's ‘Chromatic’ Fantasia and Fugue being the only important standard composition. A piano and violin sonata by Emmanuel Moor, in which the clever young pianist was assisted by M. René Ortmans, proved to be a somewhat dry and uninspired work. Tue first of the Hampstead Popular Concerts of Chamber Music took place at the Vestry Hall on Friday last week, the programme in- cluding Schubert’s Octet, and Beethoven's Trio in @, Op. 9, No. 1. The instrumental executants were Messrs. Gompertz, Betjemann, Kreuz, Howell, Reynolds, Egerton, Busby, and Wotton. Miss Alice Gomez was announced as the vocalist. Tue north of London is well provided with choral societies, one of the best being that con- ducted by Mr. Geaussent at the Hampstead Conservatoire. The first subscription concert for the present season took place last Monday, when Dr. Mackenzie’s ‘Dream of Jubal’ and Mr. F. H. Cowen’s ‘Scandinavian ’’ Symphony were performed under the direction of their respective composers. The solos in the former work were taken by Miss Anna Williams and Mr. Iver McKay, and the recitation was de- livered with much intelligence and expression by Mr. Charles Fry. THE programme of Sir Charles Halle’s Man- chester Concert on Thursday evening included Beethoven’s Symphony in a, No. 7, Goldmark’s ‘Spring’ Overture, and Dvorak’s Pianoforte Concerto in G minor. Dr. J. F. Brivce has printed his inaugural lecture as Professor of Gresham College, de- livered on Tuesday last. Its title is ‘The Past and the Future,’ and the successor to Dr. Wylde states clearly that he intends to make his lec- tures educational rather than popular in the vulgar sense of the term, thus making the in- stitution more serviceable to the interests of music than it has been hitherto. The titles of the remaining lectures of Dr. Bridge’s first series, which we have already announced, con- firm this, and he will have the best wishes of musicians ‘in his work. A SCHEME is under consideration for a musical festival on a large scale at Cardiff. It appears that the art has made great strides in the district of late, and several excellent choral and or- chestral societies have been formed. A guarantee fund has been started, and the response so far has been very favourable. At the Paris Odéon an adaptation of the ‘ Alcestis ’ of Euripides is being prepared by M. Alfred Gassier. Portions of Gluck’s ‘ Alceste’ will be introduced with M. Lamoureux’s orchestra. Tue production of Berlioz’s ‘Les Troyens’ at Carlsruhe, which has been frequently postponed, is now definitely fixed. ‘La Prise de Troie’ will be performed on December 2nd, and ‘ Les Troyens a Carthage’ on the following evening. The work will be given in its entirety, the lead- ing parts being sustained by Frau Reuss, Frau Meilhac, and Herr Oberlander. BreETHOVEN’S ‘Choral’ Symphony is to be per- formed for the first time in Lisbon in the course of the present season. CONCERTS, &e., NEXT WEEK. Mr. and Mrs. Henschel’s Vocal Recital, 3, Princes’ Hall. Popular Concert, 8, St. James’s Hall. Mr. Victor Abecasi's Concert, 8, Princes’ Hall. Royal Italian Opera. . Mr. R. C, Willis’s Shakspearean Dramatic and Vocal Recital, 8, Steinway Hall. Mr. A. C. Fowler's Concert, 8, Princes’ Hall. The Musical Guild Concert, 8.30, Kensington Town Hall. Royal Italian Opera. London Ballad Concert, 3, St. James’s Hall. Royal Choral Society, Berlioz’s ‘ Faust,’ 8, Albert Hall. Royal Italian Opera. . M. Paderewski’s Pianoforte Recital, 3, St. James’s Hall. Mr. Charles sed cece Vocal Recital, 8, Steinway Hall. Private Banks Dramatic and Musical Society’s Orchestral Con- cert, 8, Princes’ Hall. Royal College of Music Concert, 8, Alexandra House. Royal Italian Opera. Hampstead Popular Concert, 8, the Vestry Hall, Haverstock Mon. FI git = I) Tetigitl g 7) £ ill. Sir Charles Halle’s Orchestral Concert, 8, St. James’s Hall. Royal Italian Opera. Popular Concert, 3, St. James’s Hall. Crystal Palace Concert, 3. Mr. Austin’s Scotch Concert, 8, St. James’s Hall. London Academy Students’ Concert, 8, St. George's Hall. Royal Italian Opera. DR | DRAMA oo THE WEEK. PrincEss’s.—‘ Antony and Cleopatra.’ SHAFTESBURY.— The Pharisee,’ a Play in Three Acts Malcolm Watson and Mrs. Lancaster-Wallis. Once more Shakspeare is treated as a vehicle for stage spectacle. Every class of theatrical entertainment being now accorded the largest possible amount of scenic adorn- ment, it is useless to expect that he can escape. Yet in the rage for archeological accuracy by which managements are pos- sessed they should not forget that the period in which his characters speak is more often the Tudor than any other, and that scenery which necessitates the excision of dialogue is a dubious advantage. Mr. Wingfield’s task of mounting and producing the play has been executed in admirable style. It is difficult to imagine pictures brighter or more stirring of Rome and Egypt when Cleopatra’s wide purple flaunted in the sun, And the white smoke of her fine perfumes spread From Cidnus to the unknown waste, and when for her sake Antony yielded ‘the greater cantle of the world.” From the mounting of ‘ Cléopatre’ at the Porte Saint Martin the production at the Princess’s differs in the greater variety of striking costumes employed by the English artist and the more constant use by the French artist of the Pyramids as a background to exterior views. It may, indeed, be urged that the stage of the Princess’s is over- crowded in the more elaborate pageants. As a whole, the spectacle is gorgeous, and many of the costumes are unsurpassably rich and picturesque. From any stand- point other than that of spectacle, mean- while, the entertainment is wearisome. For By
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7u8 THE ATHENAUM N° 3291, Nov. 22, 90 this feeling the fact of its extending over more than four hours is principally respon- sible. The dramatic passages moreover are few. When Cleopatra, receiving from the slave the news of Antony’s marriage with | Octavia, strikes him in the face with the jewels unclasped for the purpose of reward- ing his expected intelligence, the pulse is stirred. Under any conditions, and with | any surroundings, the death of Eros and the | self-inflicted wound of Antony must prove | touching. The death of Cleopatra is a most | effective result of stage management; the | aspect of the queen, motionless and erect in | her robes, with her handmaidens prostrate and dying before her, is superb. It comes none the less too late in the play to produce its full effect. The Cleopatra of Mrs. Langtry is pic- turesque, handsome, and womanly, and the Antony of Mr. Coghlan is not wanting in spirit. Mr. Arthur Stirling as Enobarbus and Mr. Cooper as Octavius are noticeable | in a cast that under the conditions may be pronounced effective. The question, how- ever, arises, when it is seen how dispropor- tionate is the amount of Shakspearean bread | to the “ prodigious ”’ quantity of scenic sack, whether it would not be better to announce a play as adapted from Shakspeare. A very dubious honour is done the dramatist in these revivals. Some interest might, indeed, attend a revival of ‘ Love for Love; or, the World Well Lost,’ which is im- measurably the best of Dryden’s plays, and has been seen by every generation of play- goers except the latest. actor-managers who claim a share in dra- matic authorship. In some cases the aid of the actor-manager is beneficial, and per- haps even serious. An actor naturally knows something about stage possibilities. In dealing with another man’s work, more- over, he allows no delicacy of feeling to interfere with trenchant processes of ex- cision. What a play gains in this respect is not seldom lost by the manner in which, to the destruction of balance, the plums are assigned to one character, which is naturally that of the actor-manager. When by pro- cesses of this kind one who has killed a play of promise claims a share in the author- ship and in the profits—a share speedily dropped when, as in the Arabian story, the payment shows signs of being in stripes rather than sequins—a customary experi- ence of the budding dramatist is realized. What is Mrs. Wallis’s share in ‘The Pharisee’ we know not. are, accordingly, in no sense personal to her. Unless in every case the share is large, however, the power to waive its asser- tion is a privilege the use of which is to be commended. ‘The Pharisee’ is a strong play, and contains some situations which, though difficult of acceptance, are powerful, and might be also rendered touching. By a pharisee the authors imply a man who holds that unchastity on the part of a woman is unpardonable. If Geoffrey is a pharisee, the same may be said of the hero of ‘A Doll’s House,’ to which piece the new play bears a strong resemblance. His wife has married him under the impression that an early indiscretion on her part has been revealed to him by her father, whom she These remarks | acquaintance. knows to be a swindler. After ten years of marriage, when accident is on the point of revealing her past history, she finds that her husband’s faith in her is unswerving. The threatened catastrophe is averted; , but the painful duty of confession is im- posed upon her by her conscience. Not a few of the interviews between husband and wife are ingenious and powerful. Mrs. Wallis acts in them with earnestness, but she is deficient in pathos, and though interest and attention are excited, her act- ing leaves us in a sense unmoved. Mr. Herbert Waring is more fortunate as the hero, and tears come at his bidding. Mr. Lewis Waller, M. Marius, and Miss Marion Lea take part in a performance that is creditable. Dramatic Gossip. Tue performances of French plays at the St. James’s Theatre, which from the first have been slackly attended, came at the close of last week to an abrupt termination. Mr. Mayer pleads that his ‘‘dignity as manager of the French plays for so many years’ * compels him to *‘spare artists of distinction playing to empty houses.”” The excuse is valid. French plays stand on a footing altogether different from that they formerly occupied. Paris is now so near that it is no uncommon thing for Londoners to go over to Paris specially to see a novelty. The price charged, perhaps necessarily, for admission is prohibitive to a large portion of the French residents in London and discouraging to the English playgoer. Meanwhile English acting has. during recent years improved so much that the educational aspects of French acting are lost. One more has been added to the list of | If some special attraction can be provided in the height of the season there is a chance of success. Under other conditions the experiment will always be risky. New theatres are, as we hear, to be erected in Cranbourne Street and in St. Martin’s Lane. The latter building is intended for Miss Melnotte, at present the occupant of Toole’s Theatre. ‘May anp December,’ Mr. Grundy’s adap- tation of ‘La Petite Marquise,’ produced at the Comedy on Saturday last, has, in a slightly different form, been more than once seen in London. It is not wanting in comic touches, and is sprightly in scenes. “The subject, how- ever, is intractable, and the excellent acting of Misses No orreys, Venne, and Cowell and Messrs. Brooktield, Hawtrey, and Graham is not likely to commend it to lasting favour. Mr. Unwin will publish in one-volume form early next week ‘The Autobiography of Joseph Jefferson,’ better known as “‘ Rip van Winkle.’ The book will touch on many well-known names, such as Macready, Edwin Forrest, Artemus Ward, Tom Robertson, and numerous others with whom the writer had personal The illustrations — numbering | over sixty—present character ‘portraits of nearly all the celebrities mentioned in the book. ‘THe Penatty’ is the title of a new play in which several well-known actors will appear at Terry’s Theatre on the 2nd of December. On Monday, the fiftieth night of ‘Ravens- wood,’ a souvenir of the play, published by Messrs. Cassell & Co. , and illustrated by Messrs. Bernard Partridge, Joseph Harker, and Hawes Craven, was offered for sale in the theatre. To CoRRESPONDENTS,—H. M. 8.—B. W. H.—J. H. 8.— A. L.—received. H. J. P.—Too late. No notice will be taken of anonymous communications. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY Post. a, &£. For Twelve Months _ as. me we 15 3 ee ee ee SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & C0.’S NEW BOOKS. FOURTH EDITION NOW READY. IN DARKEST AFRICA. By Henry M. STANLEY, D.C.L. LL.D., &c. Being the Official Publication recording the Quest, Rescue, and the Retreat of Emin, Governor of Equatoria. 2 vols. demy 8vo. with 150 Illustrations and 3 Maps, in handsome cloth binding, Two Guineas. “‘Mr. Stanley’s narrative of his adventures, privations, sufferings, trials, dangers, and discoveries during his heroic quest and rescue of Emin Pasha i is as moving and enthralling a tale as ever was told by man.”— Times, "SUPPLEMENTARY VOLUME TO MR. STANLEY’S ‘IN DARKEST AFRICA.’ EMIN PASHA and the REBELLION at the EQUATOR. A Story of Nine Months’ Expe- riences in the Last of the Soudan Provinces. By A. J. MOUNTENEY JEPHSON, one of Stanley’s Officers. Written with the Revision and Co-operation of HENRY M. STANLEY, D.C.L., &. A Preface also by Mr. Stanley. With Map’ and numerous _ Illustrations. SECO D EDITION. Demy 8vo. cloth extra, One Guinea. ‘‘Mr. Jephson’s story is told with excellent temper and taste, with a self-forgetfulness and genuine modesty which do infinite credit to the narrator; and it is full of the most vivid interest from first to last.”—Zimes. GREAT MUSICIANS SERIES. CHERUBINI. “By Fredk, J. Crowest. Crown 8vo. cloth, 3s. THIRD EDITION NOW READY, THE EARL OF BEACONSFIELD, K.G. By JAMES ANTHONY FROUDE, D.C.L. Being the First Volume of the ‘‘ Queen’s Prime Ministers Series, Edited by STUART J. REID. With Portrait. Crown 8vo. cloth, 3s. 6d. ‘‘We believe that Mr. Froude’s estimate of Lord Beacons- field, on the whole, will be the one accepted by posterity...... It is the man’s character which interests us; and this, we think, Mr. Froude has exhibited in its true’ light, and in colours that will not fade.”—Standard. NEW STORIES AT ALL THE LIBRARIES, ’ THE SNAKE'S PASS. By BRAM STOKER, 1 vol. crown 8vo., cloth, 6s. BY ALPHONSE DAUDET AND HENRY JAMES. 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XUM N° 3292, Nov. 29, 90 THE ATHENZUM 729 SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1890. CONTENTS. Mr. Guiapstonx’s HOMERIC THEORIES ... THE CRIMEAN WAR ... os one abe FREYTAG’s REMINISCENCES ... ie RounD THE CALENDAR IN PORTUGAL A Srupent’s History oF ENGLAND ARSENE DARMESTETER’S WORKS ... NOVELs OF THE WEEK aes ans ScHOooL-Booxs ... eas CHRISTMAS Books ae eu os ou Our LrBraky TABLE—LIstT OF NEw Books .... ve THE SUNBURNT PoET; THOMAS Muw; A SOURCE OF THE Book or ToBIT; THE BIOGRAPHY OF SCHO- PENHAUER; SALE; NoTES FROM OXFORD... 738—739 LITERARY Gossip ae va ant ban oes occ, VOW ScrENcCE—SEWAGE DisposaL WorKS; ASTRONOMICAL NoTss; GEOGRAPHICAE NorTEs; SOCIETIES ; MEET- Ina@s; Gossip a Re abe ons we — T41—743 Fine ArtTs—DURER’s LITERARY REMAINS; THE DRAWINGS AND Woopcuts oF Hokusai; Mr. WItiiaM BELL Scott; Gossip 743—T45 Musio—Tae WEEK; Gossip; CoNcERTS, &C., NEXT 746—T747 747—748 PAGE Inge ESS ~~ tw IIIs S8RES EEE ... ee oe ass on a nis DeaMs—THE ‘Ion’ At CAMBRIDGE; GoOsSIP ... LITERATURE —~— Landmarks of Homeric Study. By the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone. (Macmillan & Co.) Mr. GuapsroneE has done some good work in the past to promote our knowledge of Homer. His earlier essays, ‘ Homer and the Homeric Age,’ published in 1858, brought together a large material in a light which illustrated and expanded the field of inquiry into Homeric polity, religion, and manners. But even there were to be found several fanciful and unsound conclusions, which have never gained acceptance among those whom Mr. Gladstone calls Homerologists. And the younger offspring of his studies, ‘Juventus Mundi,’ ‘Homeric Synchronism,’ and now these ‘ Landmarks,’ are all devoted to the promulgation of the most fantastic and most unsound of these heresies ; hardly here and there can one find a stray suggestion to com- pensate for the pages of baseless argument which are expected to support conclusions such as only respect for their distinguished holder allows a critic to designate by so mild an epithet as fallacious. It is hard to know whether to be more amused or disheartened at the way in which Mr. Gladstone deals with evidence. He is 28 convinced as he was when he wrote ‘Juventus Mundi’ that “the one thing wanted in order to a full solution of what is called the Homeric question is knowledge of the text.” Hedoes not think it necessary to make any inquiry into other ancient Greek legends and their relation to poetry, nor to consult recent discoveries in the ar- cheeology of prehistoric Greece, unless he can pick up here or there a stray confirma- tion of some view already predetermined ; and he explicitly leaves aside any con- clusions that may be drawn from philological study. In short, he rejects the evidence of history as to an historical question. Even in handling such evidence as he does make use of he has not the least idea of sifting what is important, or even what is to the point, from what is no more than the merest casual resemblance, without weight and significance. Anything is good enough so long as it has a superficial ap- pearance of supporting a foregone con- clusion. As a matter of course one of these foregone conclusions is the identity of author of the Iliad and Odyssey. Those who deny this ‘only dismiss minor or imaginary difficulties in order to bring | into the field others of a more formidable kind.” Mr. Gladstone gives us a few speci- mens of these ; let us see what they come to. ‘1. The Homeric style of each severs | them from all other works.” This is a matter of opinion; close students of style say the exact opposite. ‘2. The mythological variations fit in with true ethnical conceptions as to the two geographical zones respectively, and are therefore such as we should have reason to expect from the author of the Iliad.” That is, when a poet is describing a different portion of his own country, we expect him to change his views as to the supreme government of the universe. “3. That two such master poets should spring from a race insignificant in numbers at the same or nearly the same time, each of them isolated and each consummate, is of the very highest improbability.” Improbable or not, it is what constantly happens. Or are we to consider /Mschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides as the same person? What ‘isolated’? means we cannot guess. ‘4, The supreme, and except by Shake- speare unapproached, faculty of drawing character, is common in the fullest sense to the two poems.”’ Again a matter of opinion, denied by good judges. Principal Geddes, for instance, has argued the dual author- ship of the Iliad from the notable inconsist- encies in the drawing of Hector’s character; and most people see in the leader who takes his protesting followers on that foolhardy excursion into the Cyclops’ cave a different Odysseus from the crafty and cautious hero of the rest of the Odyssey. “5. The particular characters, as they appear in each, are in the finest correspond- ence with one another.” This is the last argument over again. “6. The characters of particular gods, hardly less remarkable as portraits than those of the men, present in the two poems the same radical harmony as the human characters.” As for ‘‘radical” harmony, by which Mr. Gladstone probably means harmony in the broader outlines, the current theology no doubt gave that; and there is no reason why one poet should not imitate another. In the finer characteristics, where, if anywhere, individual work is to be found, it is admitted that the gods of the Odyssey are different from those of the Iliad by Mr. Gladstone himself, who has endeavoured to explain the fact away in argument 2, already given. ‘¢7, The coincidences of the class which we term undesigned will be found almost countless, and their collective strength might appear irresistible.’ Mr. Gladstone pro- ceeds to give nineteen of them, and a strange list they make. As the question is whether the two poems are the work of the same man or only of the same age, we might reasonably hope that coincidences simply showing a similar state of manners would not be taken into account. Here are a few. “4, The later mythology gives horses to thesun ; but they are alike withheld in both the poems.” “6, Compare the appeal of Thetis to Zeus (Il. i. 503-516), and her plea of personal disparagement in the event of refusal, with that of Poseidon (Od. xiii. 128-138).” Could | it occur to one poet only to make a petitioner regard the rejection of a request as a per- sonal affront ? “10. In I. ix. 70 it is signified that a ruler ought to entertain his friends hospit- ably ; and also in Od. xi. 184-186.” “14, A good repute in public opinion is highly valued, and the want of it keenly felt. See Il. ix. 460 (Phoinix) and Od. vi. 29, 273 (Nausicaa).” Truly a_ startling concidence. ‘19. The character of Aphrodite is dis- paraged by Homer in a manner quite peculiar to himself; and this is common to both the poems. In the case of the daughters of Pandarus [ Mr. Gladstone of course means Pandareus] she is not even goddess of beauty.” As she is certainly goddess of beauty in the Iliad, this “coincidence” seems particularly ‘ undesigned.” How Mr. Gladstone has acquired such a know- ledge of Homer’s contemporaries as to know that his disparagement of Aphrodite was not shared by them it is hard to say. “1, The strong family affections of Odysseus are a leading feature of the Odyssey. In the Iliad he is the only chief- tain who mentions his absent son, and he does it with tenderness and exultation.” Mr. Gladstone’s facts are wrong. In Iliad, xix. 826-33, Achilles mentions his absent son at greater length and more tenderly than Odysseus. And does Mr. Gladstone mean that Odysseus is the only chieftain who shows family affection in the Iliad? If so, how about Hector and Andromache, Priam and Hector, Agamemnon and Mene- laus? If not, where is the coincidence ? ‘3. In the two spondaic lines of the Odyssey there is the same evident relation of sound to sense as in the three of the Tliad.”’ Unfortunately, philologists have shown that there are no purely spondaic lines in the Iliad, the apparent cases having been produced by the contraction of syllables which in early Greek were open. There is one in the Odyssey (xxi. 15); but why has the simple statement ‘“‘ They met one another in Messene” an evident relation to spondaic expression ? These cases will be enough to show how foreign to Mr. Gladstone’s mind is anything like even a shrewd, much more a scientific, idea of the meaning of evidence. We pass on to a more cursory examination of the rest of the book. The text of ‘‘ SectionII. Homer as Nation- maker” is stated at the outset :— ‘* All through the poems of Homer, but especially in the Iliad, we trace an aim which was before all things national. Everywhere he forms and fosters the national idea, and equips it at all points...... It is part of his design to isolate his race, and this isolation in the his- toric times was conspicuous through the familiar distinction between Greeks and barbarians.” How, then, are we to account for the fact that he makes his Trojans practically iden- tical in manners and beliefs, as in language, with his Greeks ? The inhabitants of Troy were not so in fact; that at least the dis- coveries on the hill of Hissarlik prove to demonstration. If it was of set purpose, it is a curious method of “isolating” his own people. Mr. Gladstone, it is true, tries to make out certain differences between them, | but these are either mere special pleading | or based on completely wrong statements of fact ; for his knowledge of the text, though
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730 THE ATHENAUM N° 3292, Nov. 29, 90 considerable, is by no means exhaustive. Take his contrast of the Trojans and Achaians in their political relations :— ‘*Lastly, and perhaps most important of all, there is no Tis, no organ of a spontaneous, equitable, and pervading sentiment, of what we term a public opinion.” Really? We fancy we remember some- thing like ds dpa tis eimeoxev "Axarov te Tpodwv Te three or four times in the Iliad; to say nothing of (iv. 176) Kai ké Tis OO’ Epéet Tpbwv drepyvopedvTwv. And if this does not satisfy Mr. Gladstone, we will give him another (xvii. 420) :— wd¢ S€ tis Tpdwv peyabipov abdjoacke. Mr: Gladstone’s intuition may tell him that the Achaian Zis deserves all the epithets which he denies to the Trojan; but Homer at all events speaks of them both in precisely the same phrases. ‘‘There is nowhere an indication of dif- ferences in popular sentiment, and the supremacy of Hector seems to be unques- tioned.” This is really too much. How has Mr. Gladstone come to forget xxii. 105-6 ? aidéonat Tpaas kai Tpwddas EAxeourérdovs, PH TWOTE Tis iNT KAKwTEPOS GAXos epelo, K.7.A. “‘The religion of Troy, as exhibited in the Tliad, differs materially from that of the Achaians, in that it is largely based on the worship of the Nature- Powers. This is conclusively shown from I]. iii. 103, 104, where it is arranged that the Trojans are to offer lambs to Earth and the Sun, while the Achaians are to offer a lainb to Zeus.” —P. 63. Would it not have been a little fairer if Mr. Gladstone had gone on to refer to the sequel, lines 276-9, 298, 308, where it is the Achaian Agamemnon who prays alike to Father Zeus and to the ‘‘ Nature-Powers,” Sun, Rivers, and Earth, while Priam and the Trojan as well as the Achaian 77s appeal to Zeus alone ? We do not propose to go in detail into this part of Mr. Gladstone’s exposition. Suffice it to say that the most considerable portion of what is peculiar in it deals with the leading part which he attributes to the Pheenicians in the formation of Greek nationality. In the absence of any direct confirmation of this thesis in Homer—rather, in our opinion, in the face of consistently adverse evidence—he has recourse to the most far-fetched and fallacious combinations. He still regards Poseidon as a Phoenician god; the only trace of external evidence which he has brought in favour of this hypothesis—he does not give it here, but it will be found in ‘Juventus Mundi’—is that later Greek historians speak of Phoeni- cians and Carthaginians as worshipping Poseidon. It seems superfluous to say that this only means that they had a sea-god whom the Greeks, in accordance with their universal custom, chose to identify with their own. Mr. Gladstone can hardly be blamed for calling Aphrodite a Phoenician goddess, but itmay be worth while mentioning that this time-honoured belief has of late been rudely shaken, and that many now regard her as an old Greek goddess, identified with Astarte only after the Greeks had themselves carried her with them to Cyprus. The appendix “ On the Points of Contact between the Assyrian Tablets and the Homeric Text ” is one which must be left to experts in matters Assyrian to deal with. We will only say that, even if all Mr. Glad- stone’s contentions prove to be true, they form a flimsy base for the conclusions he builds on them; and that we should be sur- | prised to hear that the interpretations of | the passages which he quotes are accepted | as unassailable by Assyriologists. We have devoted some space to this little book because the author’s name may give it | repute beyond what it deserves. We will | conclude by saying that those who are able | thoroughly to control the assertions as well as the arguments contained in it will find a few useful suggestions, mostly repeated from earlier works. As a popular hand- book it is worse than useless. The War in the Crimea. By General Sir Edward Hamley, K.C.B. With Portraits and Plans. (Seeley & Co.) Tuirty-FouR years have elapsed since Eng- land waged war with a European power, and almost all the chief actors in the contest are now dead. The time has, therefore, arrived when, the excitement of recent struggle having disappeared and the danger of wounding personal susceptibilities being past, it is possible to write calmly, yet fearlessly, on the numerous facts disclosed in the vast literature published on the subject. Sir Edward Hamley, who pos- sesses the advantage of having served as a staff officer throughout the campaign, and of knowing the theatre of war perfectly, has brought to bear not only his recognized mastery of the art of war, but a very judicial frame of mind. The result is a book of moderate dimensions in which all the essen- tial points are dealt with, while the minute details supplied by Mr. Kinglake are ex- cluded. It is, nevertheless, to be regretted that in a few matters—certainly of no vital im- portance—Sir Edward’s statements are in- correct. For instance, at p. 29 occurs the following passage: ‘It was in the Bay of Baltchik, about fifteen miles north of Varna, that the huge multitudinous business of em- barkation went on.” The troops actually embarked at Varna, and merely rendez- voused at Baltchik. Again, at p. 60 he says: ‘‘The two battalions of the Guards, with some men rallied from the Scots battalion, went up the hill.” This passage refers to the Alma. Now the truth is that the Scots Fusilier Guards, who were in advance of the rest of the brigade, pushed back by some of the Light Divi- sion in their retreat, and hearing the words ‘‘ Fusiliers, retire,’ which were meant for the 7th or 23rd, believed that the order referred to themselves—for they were always at drill called for shortness ‘ Fusiliers.” The combined pressure and mistake caused them to fall back a short distance, but then, being rallied under a hot fire, they advanced so rapidly as almost to catch up the other battalions of the brigade. Finally, at p. 185 Sir Edward Hamley speaks of the men engaged at the Alma as ‘young troops,” certainly not a eorrect description of them. These errors are, however, as we have said, of no great importance, and Sir Edward | Hamley’s criticisms are acute and instruc- | tive. With reference to the withdrawal of the great heavy Russian battery at the Alma when Codrington’s brigade drew near, Sir Edward remarks :— ‘* Tt was a disgrace to such a powerful battery, | so important to the battle, so surrounded with supporting battalions, to save itself just when, by continuing in action, it might cause heavy and perhaps decisive loss to the enemy.” An attempt to capture the north side of Sebastopol by a coup de main, which it has. often been said should have been made, Sir Edward condemns as manifestly not only a quite desperate, but a fruitless enterprise.. Yet it is difficult to avoid thinking it might have been successful had the army fol- lowed up the defeated Russians closely on the 20th, and made the assault on the 21st or 22nd, the allied fleet co-operating, for it was not till the night of the 22nd that the: Russians sank ships across the mouth of the harbour. Sir Edward Hamley also justi- fies the omission to try to carry Sebastopol as soon as the allies arrived at the south side. On the 26th Balaclava was captured, and the assault might have been delivered on the next day; but Sir Edward Hamley says. that on the 26th the defences of the town had made some progress, and that on them were mounted 172 pieces of artillery, many of them of very heavy calibre. The defences. were, however, extremely imperfect, the organization of the heterogeneous garrison was far from complete, and its morale der pressed. The best argument in favour of the: immediate attack, either of the north side or the south side, is that the Russians them- selves dreaded it, and experienced a feeling: of relief when they saw the allies beginning” to break ground. The fact is that the invasion of the Crimea at so late a period of the year was an act of madness, unless. the leaders designed a coup de main. If it were intended to carry out the enterprise in the style of Peterborough, then the victory on the Alma should. have been followed up promptly, and either the north or the south side carried with a rush. The- allies began the invasion in a daring fashion, but when half through. the task suddenly adopted a systematic procedure, The first and last parts of the undertaking: were therefore inconsistent with each other. It is only fair to say that for the want of energy displayed after the Alma, Marshal St. Arnaud, and not Lord Raglan, was re- sponsible. On the subject of the battle of Balaclava, Sir Edward Hamley correctly remarks :— ‘Tt is easier to point to the faults of the allies than to say how they should have been remedied. To post men and guns.in weak works commanded by neighbouring heights, and having no ready supports in presence of an enemy’s army, was to offer them up as a sacri- fice. But where were the supports to come from?” Speaking after the event, and with a full knowledge of the circumstances, it. seems to us that the post road guarded by the Turkish redoubts ought to have been abandoned before instead of after the battle of Balaclava, and a chain of redoubts have | been constructed nearer the end of the harbour. If it was deemed essential to retain possession of the post road, then the redoubts should have been strengthened, and either connected with Balaclava by a, chain of field-works, or closely supported
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XUM ‘by a French division. N° 3292, Nov. 29, 90 THE ATHENZUM 731 Sir Edward conveys a wrong impression of the first collision between Scarlett’s brigade and the Russian cavalry, sacrificing accuracy to rhetorical effect. He thus describes the scene :— ‘‘The dark grey Russian columns sweeping down in multitudinous superiority of number on the red-clad squadrons that, hindered by the obstacles: of the ground in which they were moving, advanced slowly to meet them. There was a clash and fusion, as of wave meeting wave, when the head of the column encountered the leading squadrons of our brigade.” Tf there is one fact more clearly estab- lished than another, it is that the Russian cavalry received our charge at the halt, and that being the case what becomes of the metaphor of wave meeting wave ? The sufferings of the troops during the winter of 1854-5 are dealt with in an able and judicial manner. The conclusion at which Sir Edward Hamley arriyes is that they were partly due to the undue share in the work of the siege borne by our men, but mainly to the want of forage :— ‘*The Commissary General stated that ‘the reason for not increasing the amount of transport was not that a greater number of animals was unnecessary, but that a greater number could not be fed in the Crimea.’ Here, then, the primary cause of the sufferings of the army is arrived at—the want of forage. Hay and corn would have enabled us to maintain a land transport sufficient to feed the troops and the horses, to shelter them with huts, to supply ammunition for the siege, and to form a depét against. contingencies.” Who was to blame for the insufficiency of forage ? ‘““The Commissary General showed that he had made ample provision for forage had the army remained in Turkey. When it was ordered to the Crimea, he made contracts at Constan- tinople for having it pressed (very necessary for ae by sea), and despatched to him. Find- ing that the contractors were likely to fail in their agreement, he wrote to England for 2,000 tons. Of this he only received one tenth in six months......This demand he made before the armies landed in the Crimea ; he frequently reiterated it, and it was many times enforced by Lord Raglan, but without effect till near the close of the winter. Finally, a committee of pe ted appointed later declared that the in- sufficiency was owing to the omission of the pmeuty to send a proper supply from Eng- and.” Thus it was the culpable remissness and want of energy of the department which is always posing as the censor of other de- partments that virtually slew thousands of valuable lives, caused untold misery, and brought the enterprise to the verge of ruin. Reminiscences of my Life. By Gustav Frey- tag. Translated from the German by Katharine Chetwynd. 2 vols. (White & Co.) Dvurine the last forty years Freytag has ranked among the foremost of contemporary German writers. It was not unnatural, therefore, that in old age he should think of putting together some reminiscences of his career. The book is certainly not “‘epoch- making,” for he has no par- ticularly stirring personal incidents to record; and if, mentally, he has passed through periods of storm and stress, it has seemed to him best to say nothing about them. The story he tells is bright and pleasant, and will be welcomed by readers who may wish to know something not only about Freytag himself, but about the German men of letters whom he has known. The English’ translator has done her work well, having avoided the temp- tation to render the original either too literally or too freely. ; Freytag was born in 1816 at Kreuzburg, a small Silesian town, where his father was burgomaster. One of’ the most interesting parts of his narrative is''that in which he recalls the life of his native town seventy years ago. The people went about their daily occupations quietly, but the War of Liberation had aroused among them a strongly patriotic sentiment, the memory of which he evidently cherishes with pleasure. In this peaceful little community he passed a happy childhood, which was, perhaps, the best sort of preparation for his future work. Occasionally he had the delight of hearing a company of strolling-players, and he still remembers the impression produced: upon him by various melodramas, “ in: which a villain pursues a helpless girl from the be- ginning nearly to the end.” He conceived a horror of ‘the persecution of innocent people in a representation of any sort,” and his detestation of ‘merely fear-inspiring plots” hardened him “against all the poetry of the French Romantic school” ! In his thirteenth year Freytag was sent to the Gymnasium at Oels, where he lived with an uncle, a man of somé mark, who, although he had been afflicted from child- hood with a trouble’ in the spine, had become a prosperous lawyer. This uncle was a bachelor, and spent his hours of leisure in the study of literature’; but he does not seem to have exerted much in- fluence on his nephew, as he was a re- served man, and Freytag never found the secret of winning his confidence. In due time Freytag attended the universities of Breslau and Berlin, devoting himself chiefly to the study of Teutonic philology ; and in 1838 he took the degree of Doctor of Philo- sophy, choosing as the subject for his dis- sertation the origin of German, dramatic poetry. Soon afterwards he became a ‘*Privatdocent”’ at the University of Breslau, where he lectured for some years on the German language and literature. He soon discovered, however, that the work of a | university lecturer was not his true voca- tion. In 1842 a comedy he had written in the previous year secured for him one of four prizes offered by the Royal Theatre of Berlin. This play had not much success on | the stage; but ‘Die Valentine’ and ‘Graf | Waldemar,’ produced somewhat later, | established his reputation as one of the | best dramatic writers of the day. The | first of these brought him into contact | with Gutzkow, at that time director of | the Court Theatre at» Dresden. Gutzkow | received the author “ with his right hand under his coat-tails, just as on the stage a | Secretary of State receives a very humble | petitioner.” Then came the following dia- | logue :— | ‘** Your play is not fit for our stage as you | sent it. I am, however, willing myself to make | the necessary alterations. Are you willing to | hand it over to me?’ -I could only answer, ‘No.’ ‘I then added, ‘I have made a slight alteration in the second act, which I intend sending to the theatres, but. otherwise my. ex- perience of the play at Leipzig proves that it is quite fit for the stage.’ On that he said more severely, ‘ Leipzig is no criterion. 'If you wish your play to be acted here, you must allow any alterations to be made that I consider necessary.’ I answered, ‘ After that explanation I must tell you that you must either produce the play as I sent it to you or I will, as its author, forbid your producing it, at all, and claim my manu- script back. Good day.’” It is pleasant -to learn that Gutzkow after- wards apologized for his rudeness, and that at a later time the two writers met on friendly terms. In 1847 Freytag transferred his residence to Dresden, where he married; but in the following year he settled at Leipzig. The air of the latter town did not always. suit his health, so by-and-by he passed only, the winter months there, spending the summer at his house near Gotha. Among his friends at Dresden were Frébel and Arnold Ruge. They had opened a bookseller’s business together, but their real interests lay in a wholly different direction. Freytag says :— ‘*Ruge used to linger on with us a good deal, and when he and Frébel sat and built castles in the air about: reforming the world, I could not help being amused, knowing as I did that they managed all their business transactions with an awkwardness which was absolutely childish.” At Leipzig, in association with our old contributor Julian Schmidt, Freytag bought the Grenzboten, a journal with which he maintained his connexion -for many years. Schmidt and he contrived to work together admirably as co-editors. If any English readers have derived their ideas regarding Schmidt from Lassalle’s bitter attack on him, it will be worth their while to consider Freytag’s estimate of the famous critic, for whose learning and in- sight he expresses the highest admiration. While’ working as a journalist, Freytag found time for important literary under- takings. In the summor of’ 1852 he wrote ‘Die Journalisten,’ the most effective of his dramatic works. Of this play he says :— ‘*In the quiet of the village, under the leafy screen of the old lime-trees, came afresh, in 1852, the pleasure of original creation. As a journalist, I had come upon many foolish rogues, and I had studied them, and I remem- bered them well. It happened, therefore, quite naturally, that I should make use of these for my handiwork...... When I took the piece to Leipzig in the autumn complete, I meant my companion Schmidt—next to my wife—to be my first critic. I carried it to him. He was very much astonished, but I had the satisfac- tion of knowing that he was also much pleased with it.” In 1855 Freytag began his career as a | novelist with the publication of ‘Soll und Haben,’ which has passed through an enor- mous number of editions in Germany, and has been translated into many languages. This is the work by which he is most widely | known, and it is probably the one on which his fame hereafter will chiefly depend. Whatever posterity may think of it, his contemporaries—at least, in his own country —have been almost unanimous in their appreciation of the vividness with which its characters are conceived, and of the fresh- ness and lucidity of its style. His later novels, if none of them is quite equal to ‘Soll und Haben,’ have not been unworthy of it; and with regard to each of them he
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732 THE ATHENAUM N° 3292, Nov. 29, ’90 has something to say that the admirers of his genius will find it interesting to read. As an enthusiastic patriot, Freytag is proud of the events which led to the unity of Germany ; and the highest of all his pri- vileges he finds in the fact that he has lived in the same periodas the Emperor William I., Prince Bismarck, and Count Moltke. For a time he sat in the Reichstag as a member of the National Liberal party, but he soon convinced himself that he was not suited for practical politics. One of the lessons he learned from his experience as a deputy is that, ‘‘of all vanity upon earth, parliamentary vanity isthe most hateful and the most fatal.” He is also of opinion that the real secret of the bitterness of many Democrats is their jealousy of the aristocracy; and this leads him to suggest that ‘‘ the wish of burghers to have nobility bestowed upon them de- serves serious consideration ”’—which does not seem a very fruitful contribution to political thought. Writing of a visit made by Queen Victoria to the Duke of Coburg, Freytag records an observation which has at least the merit of being curious. A numerous company awaited the Queen in the hall of the palace. The Duke held her hand as she entered, but let it go after the threshold was passed. Then she ‘‘ glided forward with a singular march- like step to the further end of the hall, where she bowed in a manner which any actress might envy.” Freytag continues :— ‘““The action of the Queen caused me to think ; for exactly the same step had been used, only in a less polished manner, by the English actresses, Phelps and Ira Aldridge, when they visited Germany — whenever on the Shake- spearian stage they had to advance or retreat. What was interesting to us was the fact that the step, dating perhaps from the days of Queen Elizabeth, had been preserved at Court as on the stage—a form obviously of the old gait of State-ceremony.” Round the Calendar in Portugal. By Oswald Crawfurd. [Ilustrated. (Chapman & Hall.) Mr. CrawrurD is a pleasant writer, but more especially pleasant when he writes about Portugal. He knows the country probably better than any other Englishman ; he has fished in its streams, shot through its coverts, ridden among its forests, grown vines on its hillsides; and above all he likes it and sympathizes with its inhabitants. He indulges a little in digression, but this fault, if fault it be, is less conspicuous in the present volume than in its predecessors, and his digressions are usually agreeable, for he has a wide range of knowledge, both of nature and of books, so that he is little likely to be tiresome. Mr. Crawfurd is never weary of ex- tolling the prosperity of the yeoman farmers of Northern Portugal, a subject on which he has dwelt before. He declares that the whole district reminds him of the Arcadia of the poets :— ‘*T have heard them [the nightingales] singing in literal ‘quires’ on the banks of the Kaima and Pindello streams, and in broad daylight as well as through the night. They strain their throats in a confusion of sweetness, and their song mingles with the rippling of the waters and the breathing of the west wind, the same divine wood-song that Hesiod and Homer heard...... The very aspects of nature, the genial air, the vines and olive trees, the rocks, valleys, running streams, the song of birdsand murmur- ing of bees on thymy hills, are all such as the sweetest of all pastoral poets used as accom- paniments to his idyllic song of a happy rural life. From just such craggy mountain sides overlooking the sea as Theocritus sang of, and beneath just such a tall stone pine as he de- scribes, does the Portuguese shepherd lad of to-day rest to take his mid-day meal of bread and olives, and look down upon the creeping waves of the blue ocean far below his feet.” The pagan customs of the feast of Fon- tanalia survive notwithstanding the censures of the Church :— ‘‘The old pagan rite has been observed, how- ever, unchanged at a well called Fonte do Leite, Milk Spring, at Ponte da Barca, a score of miles to the north of Oporto, where the women yearly lay by its side offerings of bread and wine and flax and oil. Other fountains are crowned with flowers year after year. Offerings too are made to trees almost exactly as the old pagan cult re- quired.” Mr. Crawfurd has much to say about the folk-lore of the Portuguese. The three most salient bits of popular superstition which he mentions are the belief in the Bruxas (whom Mr. Crawfurd calls witches, but who approach more nearly to our fairies), the grim idea of the were-wolf, and the prettier fancy of the Mouras encantadas. It is mainly the wells that are inhabited by the enchanted Moorish maiden: a curious testimony to that love of water which was characteristic of the Moor, and has by no means been retained by the races that have driven him forth. Yet it is obvious that the belief dates back to a far earlier time than the coming of the Moors :— ‘‘Near Regoa, on the Douro, is a Fonte da Moura, of which it is related that a peasant woman, coming early on St. John’s Day to fill her pitcher, was besought by the inhabitant of the well, who appeared before her in likeness of aslim and most beautiful girl, to bake her a little cake in the likeness of a horse, whereby the spell lying upon her would be removed. The woman consented ; but in the baking, one leg of the image was broken, and through this accident the power of the enchantment was doubled. At other wells the village girls have been asked, always on St. John’s Day, by the enchanted Moorish girl for a drink of water from their pitchers, sweeter no doubt to these disconsolate immortals for having been drawn and given to them by their mortal sisters, and the girls have set their pitchers by the fountain’s brim and retired a little ; and though they could perceive no human shape, they have watched awe-struck while the water in the vessels has sunk as the spirit maiden has invisibly drunk from one after another of their pitchers.” The enchanted Moorish maiden is found elsewhere than in wells. A farmer “‘was in the habit of weighting his harrow with a heavy square stone, little guessing that this stone was nothing less than a Moorish woman compelled by magic to assume the shape of a stone. One day, working in his field with his harrow, he heard a voice in the air bidding him break off a corner of the stone and carry the fragment to his house. He was then to return and cast the stone into a deep pool of the river Sabor...... He obeyed, and as the water splashed up from the plunge, there arose from the river beieee the sound of unearthly laughter. The farmer easily guessed that he had ended some enchantment, and going home was made sure of it, for the fragment of stone had turned into a lump of pure gold.” Mr. Crawfurd, although he to some degree recognizes that the superstitions he relates are not peculiar to the Portuguese, is yet rather inclined to think they have more of a mythology of their own than they really possess. The belief in Mouras encan- tadas, for instance, prevails in Spanish Estremadura, and also in Southern Spain ; and the same applies to other cases. For example, that our Lady cursed the mule for eating the straw in the manger of Bethlehem is a piece of Andalusian folk-lore; and, according to Andalusian belief, the ox was blessed for standing by it and keeping off the cold, a legend that shows the ox is held in regard by the Spanish peasant as well as the Portuguese. It may, too, be worth noting that while Mr. Craw- furd supplies an excellent version of the famous ballad of ‘Donna Guimar’—a better one, to our thinking, than any of those printed by Senhor Braga in his valuable ‘Cancioneiro’—he has omitted to notice that the tale is widely spread. There are several French ballads on the theme, and there are said to be Servian and Greek ones; while the Chevalier Nigra discovered a variant in Piedmont, and there is also a Venetian version. It is interesting to learn from Mr. Crawfurd that the ballad is still sung—even if in fragmentary form — in out-of-the-way villages. Of one very out-of-the-way village, Castro de Laboreiro, on the highest moun- tain in Portugal, the Outeiro Maior, Mr. Crawfurd gives a curious account that must be our last quotation :— ‘“‘In spite of the cold the little alpine valleys are well watered and fertile, and the villagers live in rude plenty, cut off from all intercourse with the people of the plain below. They dress in the skins of their goats...... Their shoes are such as I believe can be found no- where else, clogs with wooden soles three inches thick, studded with knobs of iron ; it is a com- bination of patten and buskin, and is bound securely to the ankle with thongs of raw hide. Such villagers as these hold their land and their cattle by a kind of communal tenure; it may probably be a tenure the lineal and unchanged tradition of some ancient tribal partition of property...... The most wonderful and primitive thing about this remnant of a forgotten race is their lodging. In many parts of Western Europe the autochthonous races, or at all events some very early races of inhabitants, have left traces of their dwelling-places in low, ruined walls, ring-shaped, constructed of stones roughly put together. From their size and form, and from the fallen stones within the circle of broken wall, the antiquary reconstructs in ima- gination the primitive beehive-shaped habita- tions of an aboriginal race of men...... It is precisely in such primitive houses that the very primitive people of Castro de Laboreiro live to this day.” Mr. Crawfurd has interspersed through his volume several observations on the birds of Portugal which add appreciably to the interest and value of his book. A Student's History of England, from the Earliest Times to 1885. By 8. R. Gar- diner. Vol. I. (Longmans & Co.) Or the making of short histories there seems to be no end; but when Prof. Gardiner adds one to the list nobody is likely to complain of the addition. To say that he is the author | of this, the latest school history of England,
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THE ATHENEZUM 733 Ne 3292, Nov. 29, 90 is equivalent to saying that the book is dis- tinguished by accuracy and clearness of state- ment, sobriety of judgment, and a due sense of historical proportion. We shall not ex- pect much that is new, or much that is pic- turesque or striking; the love of truth will be more apparent than the love of colour, and good sense than a strong imagination. These characteristics are evident in the book before us. But let it not be supposed that the book is dull; far from it. The story is told in a bright and pleasing manner; the style is easy and simple; and the illustrations with which the book is abundantly supplied agreeably diversify the student’s path. We are inclined to suspect illustrated his- tories as a rule, for illustrations are only too often futile in themselves, while they are obviously intended, however mistaken the intention may be, to cover the poverty of the text. Here, however, not only is the text quite capable of standing alone, had this been necessary, but the illustrations are excellently chosen and executed, and throw much light on the history of the times to which they belong. Here are no imaginary portraits of kings and queens and nobles, but their contemporary likenesses as they appear upon their tombs. Architecture, armour, costumes, and articles of daily use are the chief subjects of illustration. The architectural series is especially worthy of praise, and gives a complete chronological view of the development of the art, at all events on its ecclesiastical side, during the Middle Ages. The illustrations of armour are also admirable. In the choice and pre- aration of these illustrations Prof. Gardiner as had the invaluable aid of Mr. St. John Hope. One or two of the pictures seem to have got out of place; for instance, a most imaginative drawing of the death of St. Edmund appears on p. 82, though the event is related on p. 58. It was, perhaps, hardly worth while to engrave the effigy of good Queen Maud (p. 123), which has some time or other suffered decapitation. There is also a reference on p. 207 to an illustration from Lincoln Cathedral which does not appear. But these are slight matters. Here and there occur remarks and state- ments to which some exception may be taken. After what Sir H. Maine has written in his book on ‘ Early Institutions,’ it is probably unjustifiable to say (p. 10) that ‘‘in Ireland, and perhaps in Great Britain, the Druids were mere conjurers and wizards.” The Brehons, who in Ireland were the counter- part of the Gallic Druids, were much more than that. The Gesiths, we are told (p. 30), abandoned that title for that of Thegns. Recent investigation has made it at all events probable that they were distinct classes. To speak of the name Bretwalda (p. 44) as meaning ‘“‘ruler of the Britons” has surely become antiquated since the days of Kemble. Some words on p. 162 seem to imply that it was Richard I. who re- vived Danegeld under the name of caru- eage. It would be more correct to say that the old Danegeld, which was revived by Henry II. under the name of gifts or aids, was first called carucage under Richard I. Simon, Earl of Leicester, is said (p. 201) to have called a Parliament in 1265 to keep his Council in order, to which he summoned four knights for each shire and two representatives of certain towns. The earl actually called two Par- liaments, at one of which (that of 1264) four knights from the shires appeared, but no burgesses ; while two knights and two bur- gesses were summoned to the other, which met in 1265. The word Lollard is said (p. 269) to be derived from “lullen,” to lull or sing. It might be worth while to add that it is more probably derived from the English word to ‘loll” or lounge, and that its modern equivalent is ‘loafers.’ These small points are not mentioned out of any spirit of trivial criticism, but merely in order that they may, if the author thinks it worth while, receive attention in a later edition. Prof. Gardiner shows his good sense in refusing to adopt the theory of a wholesale extermination of the Britons by their Eng- lish conquerors. ‘‘It is difficult,” he says (p. 29), ‘‘to decide to what extent the men were spared, but it is impossible to doubt that a considerable number of women were preserved from slaughter.” Further on he hints at the probability that a large number of the serfs in early England were of British origin. Much too great stress has been laid, in defending Edward I.’s claims to the Scotch throne, on the vague and semi- mythical submission of the Scots to Edgar. Prof. Gardiner rightly says that ‘‘Kenneth in accepting the gift [of Lothian] no doubt engaged to be faithful to Hadgar, though it is impossible to say what was the exact nature of his obligation. It is of more importance that a Celtic king ruled thenceforward over an Eng- lish people as well as over his own Celtic Scots, and that ultimately his descendants became more English than Celtic in character.” This, again, is well said of St. Thomas of Canterbury, whom, by the way, Prof. Gar- diner points out, it is absurd to call Thomas Becket, after his father’s name, since here- ditary surnames were then unknown :— ‘* Archbishop Thomas did not die as a martyr for any high or sacred cause. He was not a martyr for the faith, like those who had been thrown to the lions by the Roman emperors. He was not a martyr for righteousness, like Archbishop Ailfheah. He was a martyr for the privileges of his order and of his see. Yet if he sank below the level of the great martyrs, he did not sink to that lowest stage at which men cry out for the preservation of their own privi- leges, after those privileges have ceased to benefit any but themselves.” And, again, of Edward I.:— ‘*It was Edward’s peculiar merit that he stood forward not only as a ruler but as a legis- lator. He succeeded in passing one law after another, because he thoroughly understood that useful legislation is only possible when the legis- lator on the one hand has an intelligent per- ception of the remedies needed to meet existing evils, and on the other hand is willing to content himself with such remedies as those who are to be benefited by them are ready to accept. The first condition was fulfilled by Edward’s own skill as a lawyer, and by the skill of the great lawyers whom he employed. The second con- dition was fulfilled by his determination to authorize no new legislation without the counsel a consent of those who were most affected y it.’ . Two pages later the author explains with admirable clearness the causes which en- abled England, with profit to herself, to lay a heavy export tax on her own wool, con- trary to the principles of modern political economy. In this way, and many others, Prof. Gardiner will lead his students to think—a thing most necessary for students, especially, perhaps, students of history, Arstne Darmesteter: Reliques Scientifiques Recuellies par son Frére. 2 vols. (Paris, Cerf.) Dictionnaire Général de la Langue Frangatse du Commencement du XVII, Siecle jusqu nos Jours. Par A. Hatzfeld et A. Darme steter, avec le Concours de A. Thomas Livraison I. (Paris, Delagrave.) Unver the touching title of ‘Reliques Scientifiques’’ Prof. James Darmesteter has collected the opera minora of his elder brother, and presented them to the public with an admirable introductory biogra- phical essay, which no one who knew Arséne Darmesteter will be able to read without emotion. Arséne Darmesteter, whose death (November 16th, 1888) was a loss such as French learning had not sustained for many years—Arstne Darmesteter had de- voted his life to two branches of study widely different, and yet closely connected ina mind that was quick at detecting the relationship of things—the literature of the Jews during the Middle Ages and the his tory of the French language. The con- necting link was this. Towards the end of the eleventh century a Jewish pundit, a native of Troyes in Champagne, Rabbi Schelomo I¢gaki (still better known under the name of Raschi), compiled long com. mentaries on the Bible and on the greater part of the Talmud, into which, for the sake of elucidation, he thought fit to intro- duce numerous glosses in the popular lan guage of his time, #.¢., in French as spoken in Champagne at the close of the eleventh century. These glosses— or /aasim, as they are called in Hebrew — furnish a large number of French words at a time when French texts are extremely rare, and, when found, hardly ever occur in such conditions as to make it possible to ascertain to what country or epoch they belong. Moreover, these /aasim are written not in Latin, but in Hebrew characters, phonetically, therefore, and without the emailed attention to etymo- logy—a fact which renders them doubly precious. Hebrew scholars had long been acquainted with these glosses, but they did not possess the special knowledge required to turn them to profitable account. Again, the importance of these documents was to all appearance considerably diminished by the fact that the editions of Raschi’s com- mentaries are extremely incorrect, parti- cularly as regards the French glosses. The only hope of reconstructing their primitive form lay in a comparative study and inspec- tion of a large number of manuscripts. Arséne Darmesteter, who early in life had made a special study of the Talmud, quickly recognized the philological value of the laazim, and, in order to fit himself for making use of them, he took up the study of Old French under the guidance of M. Gaston Paris, making rapid progress in this new pursuit. Before long his large and open mind had discovered numerous interesting points of view and matter for endless scien- tific investigation in this new field ; so that, although he never abandoned his Hebrew studies, the ancient French tongue became more and more the cherished object . his
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734 THE ATHENAUM Ne 3292, Nov. 29, 90 researches. The first of the two volumes of the ‘ Reliques’ contains his essays on Hebrew literature, dating for the most part from his youthful days. To his Romance studies belong his reports of the missions with which he was entrusted by the Ministry of Public Instruction for the inspection of Raschi’s manuscripts in the libraries of England (the Bodleian notably) and Italy. The essay bearing the title of ‘Glosses et Glossaires Hébreux-Frangais du Moyen Age,’ originally published in the first volume of the Romania (1872), proved a perfect revelation to Romance scholars. This memoir was a sort of rough sketch of an edition of Raschi’s French glosses which Darmesteter contem- plated, but which he never found leisure to complete. An unexpected circumstance exercised a decisive influence on the direction of his studies, and turned him away for ever (although as he then supposed for a few years only) from his researches on Jewish history and literature. He was about twenty-five years old when one of the most eminent pro- fessors of the University of France, M. Hatz- feld, proposed to him that they should work together at a dictionary of the French language, which, like Littré’s dictionary, was conceived on a scientific plan, while differing from it in some important features. For instance, although shorter than Littré, it was to contain certain information that is wanting in the former, or, at least, is not systematically given in it. Darmesteter accepted the proposal most readily. He was young; he possessed a remarkable capacity for work and a methodical mind; he was, in fact, in the requisite condition for under- taking the absorbing and laborious task of compiling a dictionary. Besides, he did not expect to devote more than a few years of his life to it. So far his calculations were at fault. When, seventeen years later, he was overtaken by a premature death, the first instalment, which has recently ap- eared, was only then about to be printed. armesteter’s share in the dictionary consisted in fixing the etymology and the history of each vocable. Consequently his studies, his meditations, and his teaching at the Faculté des Lettres of Paris (where he became a professor of ancient French in 1877) all turned on the history of the French language. From that time the chief and constant aim of his researches was to elucidate the problems presented by the formation of the language, to show through what phases the transition between old and modern French had been effected, and to measure the creative force of the language in its successive stages. Others have perhaps been better acquainted with the details of the philo- logy of the Middle Ages, or have possessed a more extensive knowledge of old French literature, but none has ever displayed a truer insight into the historical development of the French language, or attained to a more complete view of the subject. There is ample proof of this in the monographs— alas! too few—which he brought out at dif- ferent epochs in various shapes: sometimes in separate volumes, like his two books on the formation of French words (1874 and 1877) or his book on the ‘Life of Words’ (pub- lished both in French and English), and sometimes in the shape of notices or reviews published in the Romania, in the Revue Critique, and elsewhere. These various articles, or at least a great number of them, are printed together in the second volume of the ‘Reliques.’ They are for the most part critical reviews of grammatical or lexicographical works relating to the French language, and are full of original views. Other writings of a later date, concerning the reform of spelling, have been added to these. Here, as everywhere else, Darme- steter shows himself both judicious and moderate. The dictionary to which Darmesteter de- voted so many years of his life is destined, so far as one can judge from the first part, to occupy a very high place in French lexicography, even by the side of Littré’s monumental compilation. The value of Littré’s dictionary lies in the enormous mass of materials accumulated and in the intelligence with which these materials were sifted and combined. At an epoch when Romance studies were by no means far advanced Littré understood that in many cases it was not possible to discover the etymology of French words, and to ascertain the filiation of their meanings, except by tracing them to their oldest forms and uses in medieval French. This was, indeed, no small merit. But, not to speak of certain mistakes, which, thanks to the recent progress in French philology, may easily be detected, it must be owned that Littré did not always remain strictly faithful to his precepts. In his introduction he affirms that the meanings of words are to be classed according to the chronological order of their production, but as a matter of fact, when the meaning of a word is no longer in use, he either overlooks it altogether, or is satisfied with mentioning it at the end of his article, Take the word chétif, for instance: the first signification recorded is de peu @Vimportance, and it is necessary to look to the etymological paragraph at the end of the article to discover that its primi- tive sense is that of the Latin word captivus. In their preface MM. Hatzfeld and Darme- steter have rendered a deserved tribute to the labours of Littré, to whom they are certainly much indebted. But it is only fair to acknowledge that their work is on the whole founded on a surer method, and that, as regards the history of words and the classification of their meanings, they have achieved immense progress. Littré quotes an enormous mass of examples, concerning both ancient and modern usage, in his his- tory of each word; but all these examples are not of equal utility; in many cases they are mere repetitions, and might without loss undergo much pruning. As a rule, Littré supplies all the necessary materials for constructing the history of ancient words— of those at least which date at latest from the sixteenth century. For words that have been formed since that epoch he fur- nishes no dates, and very often no examples taken from authors. Take the words abdica- tion, abdominal, aberration, abjection, ablégat, and Littré will supply no information respecting the date of their first appearance. The reader is simply left to conclude, from the absence of historical data, that they are posterior to the sixteenth century. But in the new dic- tionary he will find the precise indication, for all these words, of the first occurrence known; in the case of abjection, notably, it is shown that the word was already in use at the end of the fourteenth century. In many cases the dates that are supplied are only a provisional indication, which further researches may modify; but a terminus a quo, however un- certain, is always preferable to the absence of all indication. In furtherance of this special end MM. Hatzfeld and Darmesteter consulted, and with profit, the dictionaries published since the sixteenth century, which strangely enough had been neglected by Littré. There will, too, be occasion to con- sult the Oxford ‘New English Dictionary,’ which contains a good many words that are evidently borrowed from French and yet appear in England earlier than in France— a further proof that ancient authors, and especially ancient French dictionaries, have not been sifted with sufficient care. Darmesteter’s largest share in the labours of the dictionary was to have been a treatise on the formation of words in French, in- tended to serve as an introduction to the dictionary. He saw clearly that the only way to avoid constant repetition in the dictionary itself was to prefix to it a metho- dical treatise, divided into numbered para- graphs for the sake of reference. This treatise remained unfinished, but its entire plan was traced with unwavering surety of hand. M. Antoine Thomas, now associated with M. Hatzfeld, will continue the work of Darmesteter, and those who have followed this young and yet experienced scholar from his earliest essays, some twelve years ago, know that a more worthy successor could not be desired. Let us add in conclusion that the typo- graphical arrangement of the dictionary is excellent. The type is rather too small, perhaps, and the lines have been made, for the sake of economy, to stand too close together, a defect which also exists in the ‘New English Dictionary.’ But the differ- ence of type in the examples and in the ex- planations is a successful device. The whole work is highly creditable to French learning, and it cannot fail to bring the scholars to whom we are indebted for it a just renown, extending far beyond the restricted circle of professional philologists, NOVELS OF THE WEEK. A Daughter of the Pyramids. By Leith Der- went. 38 vols. (Bentley & Son.) Jack's Secret. By Mrs. Lovett Cameron. 3 vols. (White & Co.) Caste and Creed. By Mrs. F. Penny. 2 vols. (Same publishers. ) Wife or Slave? By Mrs, A. 8. Bradshaw. (Henry & Co.) The Great Taboo. By Grant Allen. (Chatto & Windus.) Sisters of Phaeton. By Florence C. Arm- strong. (Ward & Downey.) Who Poisoned Hetty Duncan? and other Detective Stories. By Dick Donovan. (Chatto & Windus.) The Schooner Merry Chanter. By Frank R. Stockton. (Sampson Low & Co.) Un Réve d Deux, Par O. Trouessart. (Paris, Calmann Lévy.) Letra Derwent concentrates in ‘A Daughter of the Pyramids’ the essence of a large number of stories, new and old, based on mystery and magic. Raymond Guest is a
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XUM Ne 3292, Nov. 29,90 THE ATHENAUM 735 thaumaturgist or a Cagliostro (the reader must take his choice) who can kill any one he likes with a stroke of lightning, and extract the virtue of living things into the hollow of his hand. He surpasses the magicians that appeared before Pharaoh, and Aaron too. There is considerable ingenuity in the tale, and, at any rate, abundance of mystery. If one had not been well-nigh surfeited with a dozen dif- ferent forms of the marvellous, with more or less of the illusion of realism, one’s pulses might be more deeply stirred. But Leith Derwent is one of the best of this kind of novel-writers; and there is also plenty of human interest in ‘A Daughter of the Pyramids’ to relieve the oppressive super- naturalism. ‘ Jack’s Secret,’ which the publishers pro- perly introduce as having appeared in a magazine under a different title, is a fairly ingenious variant by Mrs. Lovett Cameron on the eternal theme of love and its vicissi- tudes. If Mrs, Penny had commanded a dis- tinction of style equal to her sympathy and perception in dealing with one of the most delicate phases of Anglo - Indian life, she would have produced a remarkable instead of a highly meritorious novel. The conflict- ing influences to which the child of an English father and a native mother is exposed are depicted in vivid colours, and yet without any exaggeration. The reader is kept in suspense, as he ought to be, about Zelma’s fate, and the dénotiment is at once natural and dramatic. Where the novel fails is in the conventionality of the dialogue and of the style generally. In conception and spirit it reflects great credit on the head and the heart of the writer. There is a certain amount of inventiveness in Mrs. Bradshaw’s story; the old modeller in wax, with his crazy infatuation for the image of his child, is a clever character, and if spelling had been better attended to by the printer the book would have been more readable. But the author labours under several disadvantages for producing a suc- cessful picture of English or Scotch life. She has little gift of tongues. A Scotch butler is made to say, ‘‘Cook’s cut you a prime piece of beef, missis, and here ’s some- thing that ’Il warm ye and mak’ the blood dance in ye [sic] veins—a glass o’ real homebrewed. Now if ye want anything else just ye tinkle and I’m your man.” This retainer is as bewildering in his way as Hardress Carew, who somehow becomes Sir Hardress St. Kestor, and occasionally Lord St. Kestor, and whose wife, whom he brutally misuses and endeavours to shut up in an asylum, is Lady Laura, though the daughter of an untitled clergyman. The miserable aristocratic wife-beater, among other loathsome traits, ‘‘runs his fingers through the luxuriant mass of dark curls which cover his head.” ‘Another blot upon the book, which is a novel with a purpose, is that ‘‘the engine of tyranny” on the part of such evil husbands as Sir Hardress and Robert Cameron, namely, the control of their children, has been ‘“ shattered ”’ by the powers bestowed by the Act of 1886. So that much of the indignant spirit so eloquently expressed is a little out of date. There is some pleasant enough fooling in Mr. Grant Allen’s last story, ‘The Great Taboo.’ It is based in part, as he admits, on Mr. J. G. Frazer’s ‘‘admirable and epoch-making work, ‘The Golden Bough,’ ” and on hints from two or three other books which he mentions. In mid-Pacific a girl falls overboard from an English ship, and a young man goes after her. The ship is carried away, and they float towards an island on which are many superstitious natives, and many extraordinary customs and mysteries, including the ‘‘secret of korong”’ and the “great taboo.” There is also a parrot, centuries old, who had been taught a long yarn by a Sunderland sailor in the reign of Charles II., and who recites it for the benefit of Felix and Muriel, the castaways aforesaid. This yarn lets them into the secrets of the island, and they con- trive to get the better of their enemies. It is all extravagant (and very easy) fooling; but it serves its purpose, like many another imaginative book of its class, by filling up a vacant hour. Miss Armstrong has certainly hit upon a novelty when she causes her two young and lovely heroines to meet reverses of fortune by starting a me of high-class omnibuses, driven by themselves, ‘‘ through Clubland ” for threepenny fares. The fiery horses, it is true, are a legacy, together with the faithful retainer and his unfailing Irish dialectall complete; but since Louisa Swift and Con- stantia Ferris find themselves with little besides these to face the world with, they are to be congratulated indeed on earning a living by methods so expensive and unusual. These attractive young creatures had cer- tainly been prepared for unconventional experiences by the manner in which their eccentric guardian had brought them up, and which fitted them, when age compelled him to give up the harriers, to take up his post, ‘‘and manage the hunt as it had never been managed before.” Their stable know- ledge, however, was not incompatible with “lovely gowns from Paris” and perfectly innocent minds. The fair charioteers natur- ally meet with some disagreeable experiences on their journeys through Clubland, but chivalrous youth does not fail to come to the rescue; and though Constantia and her omnibus part company with some violence, broken bones, fortunes, and hearts aremended all round with complete success in the end. Miss Armstrong’s story is obviously as impossible as it js unliterary, but it is healthy, bright, and fresh, and will no doubt be appreciated by many readers for whom these qualifications are sufficient recommendation. Mr. Donovan has chosen the weakest of his detective stories to give the title to his collection. Portions of ‘Who Poisoned Hetty Duncan?’ are fairly interesting, but, as in the case of all the stories, the cha- racters are not merely vicious, but squalid and vulgar into the bargain. It is Mr. Donovan’s practice to give his readers a great deal of detail up to a certain point and then to hurry on the dénodiment. In the story already alluded to there is no mystery or suspense. The narrator stands self-con- victed of great want of penetration, and a detective has no business to stultify himself. However, although the four suspected per- sons escape the clutches of the law, the author is determined that they shall not escape altogether, and accordingly hustles three of them into their coffins by a variety of distressing deaths in one paragraph. In some of the stories the narrative is fairly well written, though Mr. Donovan’s style is by no means inmaculate. Taken all round, the book is below rather than above the average of such productions. Mr. Stockton’s versatility as an inventor of absurd situations is delightful, but he remains the author of ‘Rudder Grange.’ In his story of ‘The Schooner Merry Chanter’ he starts well, and amuses one with a capital bit of original nonsense ; the characters are happily sketched in, and the dialogue is en- livened by a fair number of merry turns. So much can be said, but not much more. The incidents soon run into extravagance, the interest flags, and the reader who perseveres is sadly disappointed. The book is, how- ever, short, it is well illustrated, and Mr. Stockton’s style is always cheerful, so that if one happens to take the book up in the right humour it will do very well to pass an hour or so. It would have done better if the paper had not been so uncomfortably thick. ‘Un Réve a Deux’ is a pretty story, not so offensive to English taste as are most French novels of which the scene is laid in Parisian political and literary society. The book is remarkable in having no bad cha- racters, all the persons of the romance being up to average or above average in manners and morals. SCHOOL-BOOKS, Pitt Press Series.—Platonis Euthyphro. With Introduction and Notes by J, Adam, B.A. (Cambridge, University Press.)—We are glad to see a third specimen of Plato’s minor dia- logues brought out by so competent an editor as Mr. Adam. The value of the ‘Euthyphro’ may be inferred from the editor’s excellent summary of its scope :— “The main purpose of the ‘ Euthyphro’ is to lead the way toa hi her conception of piety than was possible under the most orthodox belief in the old Greek religion. As secondary motives, there is first and foremosta desire to defend Socrates by shewing that orthodoxy if active and not quiescent was more dangerous to the family and state than the heterodoxy of Socrates: there are also indications of a wish to improve the occasion by imparting some lessons in logic.” Perhaps one of the best points in Mr. Adam’s admirable commentary is his defence of the text of ix. 8 A, od yap TovTd ye npwTwy, 6 [Schanz @] tvyxdver tadrov dv dotov Te Kat dvoctov, which is explained ‘‘ what I asked was not a thing which, while one and the same (without undergoing any change), happens to be both holy and unholy”; the emphasis given to ravrov being defended by ‘ Rep.’ iv. 435 A. In the introduction, which, like the commentary, displays a valuable amount of original work and thought, a good case is made out for the genuine- ness of the dialogue, and for placing it chrono- logically among the earlier dialogues, shortly before the ‘ Laches’ and the ‘ Charmides.’ Pitt Press Series.—The Iphigeneia at Aulis of Euripides. With Introduction and Notes by Clinton E. 8. Headlam, B.A. (Cambridge, University Press.)—Mr. Headlam has produced a thoroughly serviceable edition of one of the finest tragedies of Euripides, the excellences of which are carefully and appreciatively indicated in the introduction and the commentary. It is a pity that in many places the recorded text is unsatisfactory, but our editor has shown con- siderable skill and judgment in minimizing this disadvantage on strictly conservative lines. His reading of vv. 21-23, totro dé y’ éoriv ro Kaddv opadrepor, | kai [MSS. 7d] piAdripoy, |,
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736 THE ATHENZUM Ne 3292, Nov. 29, ’90 Avkd pév, Avy [MSS. Avmei] 8 rpociwra- an # the Nosous is perilous in its eee for glory ; sweet indeed, but nigh unto sorrow everywhere”—is ingenious. But we prefer to read GiAoripetv for 7d PerAdtipov, and to render, ‘‘and longing for glory 1s sweet indeed, but grievously cloying,” which makes a much better joke of Machon’s parody, in which the butcher is told that his miserable joint is quite too awfully delicious. Here and there the editor has omitted to call attention to the force of prepositions, as in the case of ém}xnoe, v. 1584. However, speaking generally, there is plenty of help given, not merely to- wards the interpretation of the play, but towards the attainment of sound scholarship. The First Book of Virgil’s Zineid. Edited by Charles Henry Poole, LL.D. (Relfe Brothers.) —Dr. Poole says: ‘‘My excuse for this little volume will be found in its utility, cheapness, and completeness.” We do not dispute the cheapness, but we do not see the utility of saying that superum is for ‘‘ swperorwm by syn- cope,” or that Latio, in inferretque deos Latio = ‘in Latium,” though perhaps there is a certain completeness about the latter annotation. We do not see why Dr. Poole writes in the voca- bulary ‘‘impilsiim,” but ‘‘intrdgréssus,” while he does not usually make the ‘‘-um” of the supine a long syllable. The pronunciation proposed for Latin consonants (pp. 13, 14) is peculiar. For instance, ¢ is to be pronounced ‘*like the ts in rats.” Nuttall’s Standard Dictionary of the English Language. New Edition (250th Thousand). Revised, extended, and improved throughout by the Rev. James Wood. (Warne & Co.)— The new edition of this popular dictionary is exactly the same in size and appearance as the edition of 1886. The editor announces that it has been thoroughly revised. There are still some unaccountable omissions ; for instance, of me, though him is given; of met and kept, though slept is given; of mice, though geese is given. The language of belles-lettres is not specified, though that of bel esprit is. The language of bangue, bhang, is not specified. The various pronunciations of ‘‘day” at the end of compounds are perplexing. The word ‘*day” has the indicated pronunciation day, and so has the -day of ‘‘ Saturday,” while that of ‘‘Christmas day” is da, and so is the -day of ‘‘ Thursday,” that of ‘‘ Tuesday,” however, being de. It is misleading to merely put ‘‘A.S. balk, a beam,” as the etymology of balcony ; and wrong to say that deck is from German decken, which we suppose is what is intended, though what is printed is that decken is Greek, the e of ‘‘ Ger.” being omitted. The following entry puzzles us: ‘‘ Intro, a Latin prefix signi- fying to within.” Under the unnecessary refer- ence Sangha we are told to see Triratna, which, as is possibly to be expected from the Buddhist Trinity, is invisible, but appears under the avater of Tritratna, of which the second ¢ is inaudible according to the pronunciation given. In the illustration to Atlantes there is only one figure. In the article ‘‘ Endeixis ” a super- fluous consonant still appears in ‘‘ Endeicktic.” On the other hand, we have noted several corrections ; and considering the clearness of the type, the number of words treated, and the general excellence of the work, we are perhaps making an unfair inspection of a gift-horse’s mouth. CHRISTMAS BOOKS. The Children of the Castle. By Mrs. Moles- worth. (Macmillan & Co.) The Red Fairy Book, Edited by Andrew Lang. (Longmans & Co.) The Light Princess. By George Mac Donald. (Blackie & Son.) The Adventures of Prince Almevo. By A. M. D. Wilhelmina Pickering. (John Heywood.) _aastaraeanataemaanesesamemenpeesnnememmennemnmmimmeeiemaian Maggie in Mythica. By F. B. Doveton. (Son- nenschein & Co.) Dorothy the Dictator. By Annette Lyster. (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.) A Pearl in the Shell. By Austin Clare. (Same publishers. ) Hope. By Mabel E. Fowler. (Same pub- lishers. ) Seven Idols. By F. E. Reade. (Same pub- lishers. ) The Heart of Sheba. By Ethel May Hewitt. (Fisher Unwin.) Little Great-Grandmother. By Mrs. Herbert Martin. (Routledge & Sons.) Songs of a Savoyard. By W. 8. Gilbert. (Same publishers. ) Ascutney Street. By Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney. Edited (Ward, Lock & Co.) Over the Sea: Stories of Two Worlds. by A. Patchett Martin. Illustrated in Colours. (Griffith, Farran & Co.) THE tale of Christmas books would be incom- lete without a story from Mrs. Molesworth, who as delighted so many children for so many years. ‘The Children of the Castle,’ with familiar red cover and charming illustrations by Mr. Walter Crane, begins with great promise. The very vision of the grand old castle by the sea enchants us; Ruby and Mavis are sweet little people, their ways are full of charm, and we prepare ourselves fora treat. But we must regretfully say that the book does not improve as it goes on—nay, quite the reverse. Stories of home life are attractive, and fairy tales have a special charm of their own ; but that fairies should intrude on the ordinary life of to-day, appear upstairs and downstairs, in and out, and take upon themselves the task of ordering the daily doings of the children, does not commend itself to us. There is something which jars in this mingling of the real and the unreal, and we cannot but feel that many chil- dren will agree with us. Mr. Lang leads us in quite another way. Lovers of ‘The Blue Fairy Book’ of last year and of all good fairy tales will welcome with delight ‘The Red Fairy Book,’ Mr. Lang’s latest gift to children. ‘‘In a second gleaning of the fields of Fairy Land,” says the accom- plished editor, ‘‘we cannot expect to find a second Perrault. But there are good stories enough left”; and straightway he finds and collects enough stories to make a most inviting volume. Mr. Lang has had many able assistants in his pleasant task, and has himself condensed the story of ‘ Sigurd ’ from Mr. William Morris's prose version of the ‘ Volsunga Saga,’ a sad story indeed, but full of strange charm. Not many new fairy tales are equal to the old, but Mr. George Mac Donald’s ‘ Light Princess,’ which, with its companion stories, is now re- printed, isa very pretty fancy ; and ‘The Adven- tures of Prince Almero’ of Miss Wilhelmina Pickering is an original and charming tale of the fairies of the sea, told with much grace, and riveting our interest throughout. The author in her preface makes modest apologies for ap- pearing in print, but no apology, indeed, is needed, and we shall hope to see more of her work. Another apology comes from another writer. The author of ‘Maggie in Mythica’ solicits indulgence for this her first fairy tale, but, with every wish to be lenient, we cannot truthfully say more of ‘Maggie’ than that it is a rather poor tale of the Wonderland type, and not over well told. The Society for Promoting Christian Know- ledge is, as usual, busily engaged in producing more or less successful Christmas books. ‘Dorothy the Dictator’ is a rather tiresome chronicle of a large and selfish family, who go through endless trials and troubles because they insist on living a luxurious life in a large coun- try house on insufficient means. This plan is naturally a failure. One after another the sisters attempt the impossible task; even Dorothy’s stern reign comes to an untimely end, for the self-absorbed crew rise up and rebel against their ‘‘ dictator.” In the end the family scatters, each one to look after himself. Itis a poor tale. ‘A Pearl in the Shell,’ by Austin Clare, is of a different character. The author describes it as ‘*a tale of life and love in the north-countrie,” and we will add that it is well and simply told, with force and . and that it brings vividly before the reader the life of the northern up- lands and the ways of the north-country folk. —Miss Mabel Fowler’s ‘‘tale of a Somerset- shire village,” entitled ‘ Hope,’ is not so interest- ing ; and ‘Seven Idols,’ by F. E. Reade, is one of those books which we neither like nor approve of, being the tale of a pack of girls always and eagerly employed in introspection.—We have had enough, and more than enough, in the last few years of the history of old times retold from parchments and the like. It is most difficult to make such books interesting, and Miss Hewitt in ‘The Heart of Sheba’ has certainly not been successful. It is the story of the Queen of Sheba *‘as told in the parchment of Arnath, the Queen’s brother,” and it is dull—deadly dull. Mrs. Herbert Martin has written in ‘ Little Great-Grandmother ’ a pretty story of a fasci- nating little heroine, Lady Betty Harlington, who lived and died a century ago. One of the most amusing and attractive Christmas books is Mr. W. 8. Gilbert’s ‘Songs of a Savoyard ’—songs collected from the many comic operas which have delighted us for so many years, from ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ to ‘The Gondoliers.’ Mr. Gilbert adorns the book with many delightfully absurd illustrations, and grace- fully dedicates it to Sir Arthur Sullivan, ‘in just acknowledgment of the distinction his genius has conferred upon these songs during the fourteen years that we have worked to- ether.” ¥ Mrs. Whitney has had a great deal of practice since she wrote ‘ Faith Gartney’s Girlhood,’ but her readers will probably agree for the most part in placing that meritorious little American story above all its successors. ‘Ascutney Street’ is no rivalto it. Traces of morbidity and senti- mentality, affectations of style and moral tall talk were observable in the former work; they arecom- mon in the new one. . And yet when the author allows herself to tell her quite simple and pretty story straightforwardly, forgetting self-conscious- ness and mannerism, there is again the genuine ring with which her readers are acquainted. Un- fortunately this is too seldom the case, and in trying to be pithy or profound she is oftener than not tiresome and incomprehensible. Such efforts are quite out of place, and only spoil her whole achievement. Sad liberties are taken with our much-enduring language. ‘‘It was a bit of a happening,” and ‘‘ Alice has taken such a—loving—to you,” are dangerous examples to set before young girls, American or English. The moral talk is apt to become so extremely tall as to be quite incomprehensible to an ordinary understanding ; witness the heroine’s concluding remarks: ‘‘ Everything is as good as everything. The day isn’t over till it has all got lighted up ; the world is round, and life is as round as the world, John!” Let John unravel this if he can ! The Australasian writers come out very strongly in the pretty volume ‘Over the Sea.’ Mrs. Campbell Praed and Mrs. Patchett Martin have unfortunately chosen almost the same theme, and told the story of children lost in Queensland dying in each other’s arms ; though, as a fact, one child out of their two pair is saved. These two stories are as prettily told as pos- sible. A Victorian tale by Tasma is also excellent, and far less sad; and Mr. F. E. Weatherly and Mr. Marriott Watson contribute stories (these two of English life) that are above the average of such work, although the pathetic note is marked in Mr. Weatherly’s ‘Nan.’ Lady Delawarr and two other writers have written tales for ‘Over the Sea’ which are either distinctly bad or far less good than
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XUM N° 3292, Nov. 29, 90 THE ATHENAUM 137 those which we have named. The illustra- tions in colour are such as children will ap- prove, but the cuts in black and white do not correspond with them, and are in the way. OUR LIBRARY TABLE. Mr. W. Crark RusseEtt believes that in Nelson’s Words and Deeds: a Selection from the Dispatches and Correspondence of Horatio Nelson (Sampson Low & Co.), ‘‘most of the best of the plums which enrich” the Nelson litera- ture will be found; and, like the late Master John Horner, he is inclined to plume himself on his performance. Unluckily, a mass of plums picked out of a pudding is apt to be nauseous ; and a collection of aphorisms and elegant extracts is of little use, except, with a due admixture of dates, as a birthday book. Printed as this is, with a heading in small capitals to each paragraph, it has more the appearance of a halfpenny evening newspaper. But indepen- dently of this, it was not as a writer of aphorisms that Nelson made his fame, and it is not by a few sentences picked out of his letters or con- versations, real or imaginary, irrespective of context, that his memory is to be honoured. Mr. T. FisHer Unwin sends us Gottfried Keller: a Selection of his Tales, translated by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker. Keller’s writings have not hitherto attracted much attention in England, but they well deserve to be more widely known. If we except Jeremias Gotthelf, whose works belong to a wholly different class, he is the most eminent modern writer of the German cantons of Switzerland. The earliest and most elaborate of his prose works, ‘ Der Griine Heinrich,’ published in 1854, has qualities which secured for it the cordial admiration of Auerbach and other competent critics ; but it is too loosely constructed to take a great place in literature. Like Paul Heyse, Keller is seen at his best in short tales. Of these he wrote a considerable number, and all of them give evidence of a fine artistic faculty. He combined with humour and fancy a remarkably delicate power of observation ; and by assiduous cultiva- tion he became master of so good a style that he was able to express vividly the lightest play of thought and feeling. It is from his famous collection, the ‘Leute von Seldwyla,’ that the three tales translated in the present volume have been chosen. A better selection could not have been made, and the translator reproduces not only the author’s meaning, but much of his characteristic vigour and grace. She also gives a short and well-written memoir of Keller, with critical observations on his method both as a poet and as a prose writer. As he died several months ago, this sketch of his career is doubly welcome. Messrs. ALLEN & Co. publish Fifty Years in Ceylon, the autobiography of the road-maker of Ceylon—the late Major Skinner. This gentleman was a good specimen of the energetic British officer, sprung from a race of soldiers, and full of heart and sense. The remarks of the author on mess extravagance and the duty of the Horse Guards towards young officers, and his severe criticism of the Ceylon policy with regard to the sale of spirits, are still valuable, though penned many years ago. There are a good many slips in the printing or editing of the volume, such as ‘‘ Harvey” for Hervey, and ‘‘Bintenzorg” repeatedly for Buwitenzorg, the Versailles of the Dutch Indies, to which Major Skinner was sent on a mission. Hand-Craft. By John D. Sutcliffe. With an In- troduction by T.C. Horsfall,J P. (Griffith, Farran & Co.)—Probably no better system of manual instruction for scholars in our public and other elementary schools can at present be found than the Swedish system of Slojd, and Mr. Sutcliffe has done well to introduce it to English school- teachers and their pupils in the twenty-five exercises described in this text-book. These exercises are not to be attempted without the guidance and co-operation of a skilled teacher ; but with this aid they constitute a school course of hand-craft sufficient for elementary scholars and of great educational value to them. A priced list of two sets of necessary tools—one Swedish, one English—is given, and it is curious to observe that, ‘‘although the prices of the Eng- lish tools are so much higher than the Swedish (with few exceptions), they are cheaper in the end. They are more carefully made ; the wood is drier and better selected ; and Swedish steel is not to be compared with English”; so that something may evidently be said in favour of the English artisan. We will, however, con- tinue to hope that he may be improved. Barker’s Facts and Figures for 1891, pub- lished by Messrs. Warne & Co., is the first issue of a new year-book intended to bea kind of pocket encyclopedia of trade, government, education, religion, and so forth. It is most ably edited by Mr. Thomas Whittaker, and we have failed as yet to find in it any error, although we are inclined to doubt if the general book of reference can ever compete on fair terms with the special. AN interesting volume of Seven Essays on Christian Greece, written by M. Bikelas and translated by the Marquis of Bute, consists of reprints from the Scottish Review, and is pub- lished by Mr. Gardner, the active publisher of that excellent periodical. THe British Almanac and Companion and Gilbert’s Clergyman’s Almanac and Whitaker's Clergyman’s Diary, sent us by the Stationers’ Company, are excellent in their different ways. Mr. Lynn contributes to the Companion some interesting notes on observatories. Mr. Monk- house writes well on the art of the year ; but the article on the architecture of 1889 is not satisfactory. THe Christmas cards sent us by Messrs. Hildesheimer & Faulkner this year show a decided improvement. The printing in colours is comparatively free from the coarseness and crudeness which are usually conspicuous in German work, and thedesigns, which are English, show good taste and a certain degree of variety of design. These are among the best cards we have seen.—We can also praise those of Messrs. Raphael Tuck & Son, although ‘‘the art works in Saxony” are still guilty of a good deal of garish colour. The designs are many of them spirited. To Messrs. De La Rue we are indebted for some of their delightful calendars and pocket- books and diaries, which are models of elegant design and sound workmanship.—Messrs. J. Walker & Co. have sent us samples of their ‘*Back-Loop Pocket Diaries,” which are most tasteful and useful. WE have on our table French Phrase Book, by A. I. Calais (Nutt),—Manual Training in Edu- cation, by C. M. Woodward (Scott),—EHlemei- tary Geology, by C. Bird (Longmans),—Life’s Phases, by J. Stark (Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier),—Home Rule for Scotland, by J. M. Davidson (W. Reeves),—A Bachelor’s Wife, by Ursa Major (Edinburgh, W. Bryce),— An Actor’s Daughter, by J. Shaw (Griftith & Farran),—The Child’s Own Magazine, Vol. LVII. (S8.S.U.),— Maria and I, by E. Lee (Simpkin),—Marion’s Repentance, by Mrs. J. Ferry (Cauldwell),— The Autocrat in the Green Room, by W. Spink (Bickers),—The Othello of Tommaso Salvini, described by E. T. Mason (Putnam), — The Merry Muse, by W. Parke (Ward & Downey), —Lyrics and Epigrams after Goethe and other German Authors, by M. Gray (Edinburgh, Douglas),—Some Central Points of our Lord’s Ministry, by H. Wace, D.D. (Hodder & Stoughton),—A Handbook of Scientific and Literary Bible Difficulties, edited by R. Tuck (Stock),—Le Diamant Noir, by P. Sales (Paris, Lévy),—Freiland, by T. Hertzka (Dresden, Pierson),—Das Kiéthchen von Heilbronn, oder die Feuerprobe, by H. von Kleist (Leipzig, Beyer),—and L’ Exposition Universelle, by Henri de Parville (Paris, Rothschild). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH. Theology. Aitchison’s (J.) Signa Christi, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Arundale’s (F.) The Idea of Re-Birth, cr. 8vo. 4/6 cl. Blissard’s (Rev. J. C.) Sidelights in Revelation, cr. 8vo. 2,6 Blore’s (Rev. G. J.) The Weighty Charge, and other Ordina- tion Addresses, 12mo. 3 6 cl. Bond's (Rev. J.) Gospel according to St. Luke, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Bright’s (W.) Lessons from the Lives of Three Great Fathers, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Horder’s (W. G.) The Silent Voice, and other Discourses, 3/6 Ormiston’s (J.) Wine and Oil from Immanuel’s Land, In- troduction by the Bishop of Liverpool, 3/6 cl. Plain and Simple Lessons from the Minor Prophets, by F. B., er. 8vo. 2/ swd. Taylor's (Rev. W. M.) Moses the Law-Giver, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Fine Art. Oliphant’s (Mrs.) Royal Edinburgh, royal 8vo. 21/ cl. Picturesque England. compiled and edited by L. Valentine, royal 8vo. 6/ cl. Sketches of England by a Foreign Artis; (M. > iia and a Foreign Author (M. P. Villars), folio, 21/ cl. Poetry and the Drama, Cockle’s (Mrs. M.) Golden Quest, and other Poems, 2/6 cl. Donovan’s (J.) From Lyre to Muse, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Jefferson’s (J.) Autobiography, with Portrait and Illustra- tions, royal 8vo. 16/ cl. Layard’s (N. F.) Poems, 12mo. 6/ cl. Lyrics, selected from the Works of A. M. F. Robinson, 3/6 orison (J.), Selections from the Poems of, cr. 8vo. 4/6 cl. Rawnsley’s (H. D.) Poems, Ballads, and Bucolics, 12mo. 5/ Philosophy. Schopenhauer’s (A.) Studies in Pessimism, a Series of Essays, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. History and Biography. Ascanius, or the Young Adventurer, containing Impartial History of Rebellion in Scotland, 1745-1746, &c., 2/6 cl. Brewster's (F. C.) Disraeli in Outline, Svo. 7/6 cl. Gosse (P. H.), Life of, by E. Gosse, 8vo. 15/ cl. Keary’s (C. F.) Vikings in Western Christendom, a.pD. 789 to A.D. 888, 8vo. 16/ cl. Sanders’s (L.) Life of Sheridan, Library Ed. 8vo. 2/6cl. (Great Writers.) Geography and Travel, Price’s (W. S.) My Third Campaign in East Africa, 6/ cl. St. Maur’s (Mrs, A.) Impressions of a Tenderfoot, cr. 8vo. 12/ Thomas's (J. L.) Oxford to Palestine, cr. 8vo. 2.6 cl. Week in a Wherry on the Norfolk Broads, by ‘‘ Blue Peter,” 5/ cl. Philology. Cxsaris Commentariorum de Bello Civili Liber Primus, In- troduction by A. G. Peskett, 12mo. 3/ cl. Century Dictionary, Part 14, folio, 10/6 cl. Sctence, Allan's (F. J.) Aids to Sanitary Science, 12mo. 4/6 cl. Billrothb’s (Dr. T.) 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Tales and Sketches, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Fawssett’s (Madame E. L.) French Cookery for Ladies, 5/ cl. Fenn’s (G. M.) A Fluttered Dovecote, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Fifty-two more Stories for Girls, by R. Mulholland and others, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Gilpin’s (W. B.) Ranch Land, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Green’s (E. E.) Birdie’s Resolve and How it was Accom- plished, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. ; Dulcie’s Love Story, er. 8vo. 2/6 Hooper’s (A. E.) Up the Moonstairs, cr. 8vo. 3 6 cl. Jerrold’s (D.) Tales, now first collected by J. L. Robertson, er. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Keary’s (A.) Janet’s Home, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Little One’s (The) Own Paradise, edited by Mrs. E. Day, 3/6 Owen's (J. A.) Annals of a Fishing Village, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Philosopher (The) in Slippers, by the Author of ‘ Three- Cornered Essays, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Steele’s (F. E. M.) Encore Reciter, 3/6 cl. Steuart’s (A.) Letters to Living Authors, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Thompson’s (D. G.) Philosophy of Fiction in Literature, 6/ West's (C.) Demas, or the Windings of a Pastor's Life, 3/6 Wilson's (E. C.) La Rochelle, or the Refugees, a Story of the Huguenots, cr. 8vo. 4/ cl. Wood's (Mrs. H.) Johnny Ludlow, Fifth Series, er. 8vo. 3/6 FOREIGN, Theology. Bellesheim (A.): Geschichte der Katholischen Kirche in Irland, Vol. 2, 16m. 60. Drochon (J. E.): Histoire des Pélerinages Frangais de la Trés Sainte Vierge, 20fr. Hand-Commentar zum Neuen Testament, bearb. v. H. J. Holtzmann, &c., Vol. 2, Div. 1, Part 1, 1m. 80. Kellner (C. A. H.): Chronologie Tertullianee Supplementa, 1m. 20.
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738 THE ATHENZUM N° 3292, Nov. 29, ’90 re (L. A.): Der Zusammenhang der Mischna, 2m. 50. Schwarzlose (K.): Der Bilderstreit, 5m. Strabonis (Walafridi) Liber de Exordiis, rec. A. Knoepfier, 2m, 40. Fine Art and Archeology. Roscher (W. H.): Studien zur Griechischen Mythologie u. Kulturgeschichte, Part 4, 6m. Sittl (C.): Die Gebirden der Griechen u. Rémer, 10m. Swoboda (H.): Die Griechischen Volk hliisse, 8m. Geography and Travel. D’Aurignac (R.): Trois Ans chez les Argentins, 20fr. Kleist (H.): Bilder aus Japan, 6m. Philology. Georgii Cyprii Descriptio Orbis Romani, 3m. Josephi Opera, rec. B. Niese, Vol. 4, 4m. Rzach (A.): Kritische Studien zu den Sibyllinischen Ora- keln, 6m. 80. Schmidt (B.): Korkyraeische Studien, 2m. 40. Science. a. (F.): Die Theorie der Elliptischen Modulfunctionen, 24m. General Literature. Chambrun (Comte de): Alia, une Etude d’Esthétique, 5fr. THE SUNBURNT POET. R. F. B. (Trieste, Oct. 20, 1890.) To win the Theban prize each brought his ode, When, lo! a stranger stood, wind- flusht and brown, Who sang the wondrous world and claimed the crown ; But high gods sing in a forgotten mode. Then cried he, soaring high—his bright feet shod With Day that quenched the day and hid the town— ‘*Ye spurn Apollo as a sunburnt clown, Ye pallid priestlings of a sunburnt god !” Twas Pheebus’ self. And now he welcomes thee, England's brave Burton, dowered of sun and wind, Whose songs were born in deserts fierce and free, *Mid dusky Bedouins, Mongols yellow-skinned, In Amazonian woods, in wilds of Ind, And on the breast of Camoens’ mother-sea, THEODORE WATTS. THOMAS MUN. Amoné the founders of the English school of economic science stands out conspicuously the name of Thomas Mun. Mr. Jones Loyd (Lord Overstone) caused to be published the works of the earliest English writers on economic subjects under the title of ‘Early English Tracts on Commerce,’ and cer- tainly this was a most valuable service to the history of the science—one which was enhanced by his obtaining the services as editor of J. R. McCulloch. When Lord Overstone took this undertaking in hand there were many to whom the English school was not unknown, and I was acquainted with some who adhered to the Eng- lish school as a continuous school, and did not consider or class themselves as disciples of Adam Smith in a new departure. By the general public, however, notwithstanding the efforts of Lord Overstone, Adam Smith is looked upon as the inventor of economic science, which is re- garded as having no existence before his birth, though his most valuable work records the labour of his English, French, and Dutch pre- dlecessors. The real relations of the English school, re- garded as a continuous school, remain to be written, and the chapter may not be unprofit- able, but it is not so easy to find persons to do it now as it was years ago. McCulloch, at p. v of his introduction (1856), says that of Mr. Thomas Mun “we know nothing, except that he was an eminent merchant of London and a director of the East India Com- pany.” It struck me, on going over Mun’s works again, that there was something more to be said, for there were sufficient indications to encourage a little search. However, I have been more fortunate than I expected, for the autho- rities of the Guildhall Library referred me to a a pedigree by Mr. Alfred L. Hardy. Mr. ardy, being desirous of ascertaining the re- lations of another Mun, fortunately investigated those of Thomas Mun. He has bestowed upon them a degree of labour and research which leaves little wanting in this department. I was not able to find Mr. Hardy, but it is to be hoped that he or some one else will write a memoir of Mun. Mr. Hardy finds his first Mun in William Mun of Mounthall, Essex. It may be worth noting that Mun is a name widely distributed, and is to be found in the ‘ Post Office Direc- tory’ and on the other side of the Atlantic, where there was lately a shipowner on the St. Lawrence, after whom a vessel was named the John Munn. In the dictionaries of arms the same arms are given for Munds, Mouns, or Muns, but whether with good reason does not appear. . William Mun, of Margaretting, in Essex, was son of the first William ; and a third Wil- liam Mun was of Finchley, in Middlesex. John Mun, of Hackney and London, was the father of our Mun; but the figures of Mr. Hardy do not exactly fit. Mr. Hardy says that John Mun was admitted a member of the Mercers in 1560 (7). Mr. Edward Howley Palmer has had the records of the Mercers searched for me, and the statement is that the John Mun, the father of Thomas, took up his freedom in 1632. This is equally irreconcilable. John Mun must have been in a good position, for he obtained a grant of arms in 1562. He must have died in 1573. He had married Margaret, the daughter of Mr. Barwick, and she made in 1574 a second marriage with Thomas Cordell, of London, mercer. The family must have been brought up by the stepfather, and well brought up, and their property well cared for. The eldest son, John, died unmarried. One son, the Rev. Edward Mun, M.A., was vicar of Stepney. Thomas Mun, the second son, was baptized at St. Andrew Hubbard, June 17th, 1571. He was married on the 29th of December, 1612, to Ursula, daughter of John Malcott, of Bidden- ham in Bedfordshire. At the Visitation of London in 1633-4, published by the Harleian Society, Thomas Mun was registered. It is worthy of note that in this record, signed by himself, he is described as Thomas Mun, his eldest son and heir as John Munne, and his daughter as Anne Munns. He died in 1641, being seventy years old, and was buried in the ancient church of St. Helen’s, Bishopsgate, in which parish his resi- dence was situated. He had purchased an estate at Otteridge, at Bearsted, in Kent, to which the son, who was J.P. for the county, succeeded. Hasted in his ‘ History of Kent,’ vol. ii. p. 488, gives a very lame account of the possession. It was sold by a granddaughter of Thomas Mun. Thomas Mun was not only a merchant of London, but a director of the East India Com- pany. His biographer will find many facts as to this latter connexion, for Mr. Fred. Danvers tells me Mun was for many years a director of the Company, and Mr. Danvers is of opinion he was a member of Parliament. On the court minutes are many entries relating to Mr. Mun. It was in reference to the Company that Mr. Mun took up the pen. He is reputed to be the chief author of the memorial in defence of the Company. He published a ‘ Discourse of Trade from England into the East Indies,’ by T. M. Of this only ‘‘the second impression,” 1621, exists. When the first impression appeared is not known. In 1621 he was fifty. His more famous piece is ‘ England’s Treasure by Forraign Trade, or the Ballance of our Forraign Trade is the Rule of our Treasure,’ 1664. This was published after Mun’s death by the care of his son. It is impossible for any one acquainted with the countries of the Mediterranean not to recog- nize the extensive knowledge Mun possessed of them as a merchant. His chief object was to defend the Company from the charge of injuring the country by the export of coin, of which many were very jealous. He therefore put forward this doctrine of the balance of trade, which is not yet extinct. He was regarded as one of the chief authorities in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and it will be seen that Adam Smith dealt with his writings and doctrines. It has appeared to me useful to recover from oblivion one engaged in a series of studies in which this country has been not undistinguished, with the hope, too, that he may ultimately obtain a memorial in the church of St. Helen’s. Since writing the above I have received a further communication from Mr. Danvers, who has been making additional researches in the records of the East India Company. Mr. Danvers says that Thomas Mun, Munne, or Munnes was first elected a member of the committee of the East India Company in July, 1615, and again in 1617, 1619, and thence- forward until 1651. Ata court of March 23rd, 1624, he was elected Deputy Governor, but declined to serve, and was thereupon excused, and re-elected one of the committee. Mr. Danvers finds also that Thomas Mun or Munn, in his opinion presumably the same man, although then rather old, was returned as member for Hastings at the elections in March, 1680/1, and January, 1688/9. To my mind this must be another man, a nephew or relative, for Mr. Alfred Hardy has traced the baptism of Thomas Mun on June 17th, 1571, and that he died in 1641 may be taken for certain, as he was buried July 21st, 1641, and his will was proved July 24th, 1641. It is the namesake Thomas Mun who must have been elected to succeed on the court of the Company in 1641 until 1651. Mr. Danvers further states that reference is made to Thomas Mun in Grant’s ‘Sketch of the History of the East India Company,’ p. 46, and in Macpherson’s ‘ Annals of Commerce,’ vol. ii. p. 297 et seq. Hype CLarKE. A SOURCE OF THE BOOK OF TOBIT. Chiswick, Nov. 24, 1890. AttHoucH I do not remember that any con- nexion between the story of Achiqar (or, as he is more usually called, Haykar) and that of Tobit has been suggested before, yet the history of Haykar cannot be called a new discovery. The first European version which I have seen was published in Cazotte’s work, ‘ Les Veillées du Sultan Schahriar avec la Sultane Schehera- zade,’ also called ‘La Suite des Mille et Une Nuits,’ which formed vols. xxxviii. to xli. of the ‘‘ Cabinet des Fées” (Geneva, 1793). This work was published in English under the title of ‘Arabian Tales’; and again, under that of ‘The New Arabian Nights,’ in Weber’s ‘ Tales of the East.’ It was also published in German, in the ‘‘Blaue Bibliothek,” as well as in a Russian translation, a portion of which is in the British Museum. In these works the story of Haykar bears the title of ‘Sinkarib and his Two Viziers.’ A short abstract of the story from the same French source is included in Sylvanus Hanley’s ‘ Caliphs and Sultans.’ Besides these, versions of the story of Haykar have appeared in the rare French editions of the ‘ Mille et Une Nuits’ by Caussin de Perceval and Gauttier ; the latter of which forms the basis of Habicht’s well-known German edition of the ‘Tausend und Eine Nacht.’ Gauttier’s version of Haykar was contributed by M. Agoub, who afterwards republished the story separately, under the title of ‘Le Sage Heycar, Conte Arabe ’ (Paris, 1824). Finally, a version of ‘The Say of Haykar the Sage ’ is the first story in vol. vi. of my lamented friend Sir Richard F. Burton’s ‘Supple- mentary Nights.’ He translated it from the Paris MS. used by Chavis and Cazotte, and remarks (Foreword, p. viii): ‘‘The Sage Haykaér...is famous in folk-lore throughout; ae East.” In my own appendix to vol. vi. (p. 551)
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N° 3292, Nov. 29, '90 THE ATHENAUM 739 IT have called attention to the curious similarity in tone between some of the precepts attributed to Haykar, and those ascribed to Odin in the * Havamal.’ No doubt others among your readers can supply further information. W. F. Krrsy. THE BIOGRAPHY OF SCHOPENHAUER. Dr. Davin ASHER writes :— “Having just perused Prof. Wallace’s ‘Life of Schopenhauer,’ I would beg you to permit me, as the only survivor of Schopenhauer’s ‘disciples of the first order,’ as Prof. Wallace designates us (p. 198), to rectify one or two slight errors into which he has fallen with regard to me. Had he read my last pub- lication, ‘ Das Endergebniss der Schopenhauer’schen Philosophie,’ &c., he would have been guarded from such a mistake as to say I had (first, I suppose he means) been ‘attracted by Schopenhauer’s theory of music,’ for it would have shown him that it was his theory of the will which drew me to him and made me his adherent. My essay on his ‘Theory of Music,’ as the professor might have gathered, too, from Schopenhauer’s letters to me, of which he has made good use, though without stating to whom the passages he quotes from them were addressed, or mentioning in his preface | publication contain- ing those letters as the third source of the philo- sopher’s biography, was not published until 1856, while my acquaintance with Schopenhauer dates from 1854—not 1855, as Prof. Wallace hasit, I may as well observe, too, that since 1860 I have ceased to be a ‘teacher’ in the Public Commercial School (not ‘a commercial academy,’ which savours of an English boarding-school in the country) at Leipzig. In making these few observations, however, I hope they will not be misconstrued as intended in the slightest degree to disparage the professor's valu- able, scholarly, and_ on the whole excellent per- formance, although I might take exception to some of his opinions and judgments, more especially as regards Schopenhauer’s (by Germans universally acknowledged classical) style, and certainly find that he has drawn a too unfavourable portrait of the philosopher whom he himself has thought worthy of being placed among the ‘ Great Writers.’ Finally, I cannot forbear expressing my regret that Mr. Anderson’s generally so exhaustive ‘ Bibliography ’ at the end of the volumes of this series should, in this instance, fall short of that usual completeness, especially under the heading ‘Magazine Articles, &e.,’ where not even my English articles in the Journal of Anthropology, the Parthenon, and the Literary Gazette are enumerated, This is the more surprising as his task has been facilitated for him by Laban’s exhaustive reagey on the Schopen- hauer literature, of which, by the way, the sup- plementary little volume is also missing in the Appendix,” SALE. On Monday Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge completed at their rooms the sale of the late Mr. Cosens’s library. The important lots sold during the last six days were: Goya y Lucientes (F.), Caprichos, with etchings and two original drawings, 191. Herrick’s Hesperides, first edition, 24/. 10s. Vita e Pistole de Sancto Hieronymo Volgare, folio, 1497, 471. 5s. Ma- hony’s original pen-and-ink sketches illustrative of Oliver Twist, 22/. Notes and Queries from commencement, 251. Ruskin’s Modern Painters, 201. 10s. The Second Folio Shakespeare, 1632, 621.; the Third Folio Shakespeare, 27/.; the Fourth Folio, 141. Of the quartos, Sir John Old-Castle the Good Lord Cobham, 1600, fetched 251. 10s.; first edition of the Merchant of Venice, 2701.; Midsummer Night’s Dreame, 83/.; Chro- nicle History of Henry V., with his Battel at Agin Court and Ancient Pistoll, 41/.; King Lear, the second edition, 401.; Whole Contention be- tweene the Two Famous Houses Lancaster and Yorke, two parts in one, 211. Shakespeare’s Poems, 1640, brought 61l.; the Shakespeare facsimiles of the early quarto editions, 21I. Waldron’s Shakespearean Miscellany Portraits, additionally illustrated, 65/. Shelley’s works, all first. editions except Queen Mab, in 5 vols., 461. Acollection of Spanish and Italian draw- ings, mounted, 130/. Sir W. Stirling-Maxwell’s Don John of Austria, 1883, 211. Marcus Stone’s illustrations to Our Mutual Friend, 66/.; Marcus Stone’s illustrations of Cosas de Espaiia, 601. 284 water-colour drawings, &¢., of the architec. tural antiquities of Sussex, 42). T. M. Wright’s water colours illustrative of Shakespeare’s plays, 281. Phiz illustrations to The Daltons, nearly complete series of the origina] drawings, 211. 10s. The whole library realized 5,5001, NOTES FROM OXFORD. November, 1890. Ir would be difficult to attribute to the recent elections to the Hebdomadal Council any precise significance. With the ordinary political lines of division between Conservatives and Liberals they had little or no connexion, and none of the purely academical issues before the Univer- sity at present is such as clearly and sharply to divide parties. Nor, though the new members now added to Council may temporarily arrest the progress of this or that reform, is it likely that they will have either the will or the power to alter the general direction of University policy. For it would be a mistake to assume that the rejection by Congregation a few days ago of the proposal to open the medical exa- minations of the University to women is any real indication of a reaction. It is, on the con- trary, both surprising and satisfactory that a measure which aroused so many nervous fears, and reawakened so many old and respectable prejudices, should on its first introduction have received so large an amount of support as to render its ultimate success almost a matter of certainty. Of the more important University examinations, all but those in the Honour School of Theology and for degrees in medicine have during the last six years been opened to women. The same period has witnessed a con- tinuous increase in the numbers of women students. At the present moment there are over a hundred in residence, and Somerville Hall, which has twice already enlarged its buildings, is now contemplating further additions to meet the growing demand for accommodation. We may confidently expect that the test of ex- perience, which has already proved fatal to many of the objections raised at the outset against the opening of the University examinations to women, willas effectually dispose of those which yet retain some degree of vitality. Even the examinations themselves do not seem likely to be left for long undisturbed. The Head Masters’ Conference holds its meeting this year in Oxford, and among the questions set down for discussion is that of the desirability of continuing to require some knowledge of Greek from all candidates at Responsions. It would be rash to predict what answers the Conference will give, but it is no secret that in the Univer- sity itself grave doubts exist as to the educational value of a miserable modicum of Greek hastily learned, quickly forgotten, and leaving behind it in the mind of the student anything but an in- telligent interest in Greek literature and civiliza- tion. From within our own ranks—from a head of a college, and from one, too, who owes his seat on Council largely to Conservative support— comes another and a scarcely less revolutionary proposal. In a letter addressed to the Oxford Magazine the President of Corpus boldly attacks the course of study at present marked out for those who aim at classical honours. The four years over which the course usually extends he holds to be too long a period for the majority of men. The examination in Honour Moderations, ordinarily taken in the second year, he considers unsatisfactory, as representing too slight an advance on the best schoolboy standard of scholarship ; while in the Final Examination for classical honours, overweighted though it is with matter, little or no encouragement is given to a more advanced study of the Greek and Latin languages. To remedy these de- fects he suggests an arrangement which, unless we-are mistaken, would somewhat resemble that now in force at Cambridge. The present Honour Moderations would ce ‘ at the end of histhird year the student wou. take an Honour Examination, of which the subjects would be (1) Latin and Greek languages and literature ; (2) ancient history ; (3) philosophy. Honours in this examination would qualify for the B.A. degree, and at this point no doubt the majority of students would stop. For the minority would be provided, at the end of their fourth year, an examination of a more advanced and special kind, probably in one only of the three subjects mentioned above. Itis too early yet to pass judgment on a plan which its author only propounds for discussion, and the value of which must largely depend on the nature of the General Examination at the end of the third year. To many of us it appears to have the merit of at least attempting to secure a most desirable object, the introduction of greater freedom and elasticity into the final stages of our curriculum. P. Literary Ghossip. A BALLAD by Mr. Rudyard Kipling, called ‘The Rhyme of the Three Captains,’ will appear in the Atheneum of next week. Tue venerable Bishop of St. Andrews is writing his autobiography. Messrs. Long- man expect to issue in the spring ‘ Annals of my Early Life, 1806-1846,’ closing with Dr. Wordsworth’s resignation of the head- mastership of Winchester College. This volume will be followed in due course by ‘Annals of my Later Life,’ treating of the events of more recent years. A votumE of ‘Studies in Literature,’ by Mr. John Morley, will be published by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. within the next few weeks. It will be uniform with the collected edition of his writings, and will contain, among other papers, the address on the study of literature delivered at the Man- sion House, and the address on aphorisms delivered at Edinburgh. Dr. Martineau has slightly altered the title of his new volumes; they will be entitled ‘ Essays, Reviews, and Addresses,’ not ‘Studies,’ as we announced a fortnight ago. The volumes will be issued uniform with the second edition of the author’s ‘Types of Ethical Theory.’ The essays are to be classed as (1) Personal and Political, (2) Ecclesiastical and Historical, (3) Theo- logical and Philosophical, (4) Academical and Religious. Mr. Wiiu1am Brack’s new novel ‘Stand Fast, Craig - Royston!’ will be published by Messrs. Sampson Low & Co. on the 10th of December. The author of ‘The Danvers Jewels’ has a new novel nearly ready for the press. It will be published by Messrs. Bentley. Tu ‘Correspondence of William Augustus Miles on the French Revolution, 1789- 1817,’ is to be edited by the venerable Canon Miles, of Durham, who is now eighty years of age. The letters that passed be- tween Mr. Miles and his friends on the Continent (except Lafayette, who wrote to him in English) are written in French; the Canon has, we believe, translated them. Mr. Miles corresponded with David Garrick, among others, so far back as the year 1778. Messrs. Longman are the publishers. Tux Council of the Maria Grey Training College have got together about 6,500/. of the 10,000/. they need for building suitable premises for the college. The annual general meeting will be held on next Friday
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740 THE ATHENAUM N° 3292, Nov. 29, 90 te 2 evening, at the rooms of the Society of Arts, at eight o'clock. Sir Thomas Farrer will take the chair on that occasion, and Mr. Arthur Acland, M.P., Mr. Garrett Anderson, Dr. Fitch, and Dr. Percival of Rugby are expected to be among the speakers. THERE is some idea of Mr. Henley’s able journal the Scots Observer, which last Satur- day entered on the third year of its existence and changed its title to the National Observer, leaving Edinburgh and settling in London. Two of De Quincey’s recently discovered papers, of which we made mention some months ago, appear in the New Review for December. The first of them is ‘The Dark Interpreter,’ the missing ‘Suspiria de Profundis.’ The second is ‘ The Loveliest Sight for Woman’s Eyes.’ A further selection from these MSS. will appear in the New Review in January. Tue Scottish History Society is going to edit without delay the Alberoni papers referring to the Jacobite rising in the High- lands, which have just been acquired by the British Museum. WE are to have ‘An Automatic Railway Library,” which means a case of books fitted into railway carriages. The books will consist of short novels and stories by good writers, and any books likely to tempt the weary traveller into putting the all- important coin “into the slot.’ The idea belongs to Messrs. Eden, Remington & Co. A ONE-VOLUME edition of Shelley’s ‘ Poeti- cal Works,’ edited with a preface by Prof. Dowden, will be published immediately by Messrs. Macmillan & Co. It will range with their one-volume editions of Tennyson and Wordsworth, and the recently issued collected edition of Matthew Arnold’s poems. The same publishers announce a miniature edition, on thin paper, of Lord Tennyson’s poems (without the dramas) bound in morocco. Messrs. Buackwoop will publish in a few days the fourth and last volume of Father Hunter-Blair’s translation of the ‘ History of the Catholic Church of Scotland,’ by Dr. Bellesheim. The appendix contains a series of reports sent to the Propaganda by the Scot- tish vicars apostolic, translated into English from the Latin and Italian originals, and throwing much light on the religious history of Scotland during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Mr. Moncure D. Conway is preparing for an early number of Harper’ s Magazine an illustrated article on the English ancestry of the Virginia Washingtons. Mr. Conway has discovered a number of new facts and documents corroboratory of the general theory advanced by Mr. Henry F. Waters. Ar the meeting of the Cambridge Anti- quarian Society on the 19th inst. Mr. E. G. Duff exhibited a fragment, recently dis- eovered at Corpus Christi College, of an un- known book printed by John Lettou. Lettou commenced to print in London in 1480, and began his career with three editions of John Kendale’s indulgence pro- mising spiritual reward to such as would fight at the siege of Rhodes. Caxton had issued this indulgence in a large ragged type, but Lettou used a small compact type, and probably his competition caused Caxton to cast his smaller type. Apart from these indulgences Lettou only printed two books: Antonius Andrew’s commentary on part of Aristotle, printed in 1480, and Thomas Wallensis upon the Psalms, in 1481; but the two leaves found at Corpus prove that a third book issued from his press, probably in 1481. Lettou’s type is a close copy of that used by Moravus at Naples and by Christopher Arnoldus at Venice. Lettou was also a bookbinder, as most printers then were, but only two speci- mens of his work are known. After 1482 Lettou went into partnership with W. de Machlinia, and issued six books. About 1484 Lettou disappeared, and W. de Mach- linia printed alone. Mr. Wixu1am Morris in his lecture at the “Arts and Crafts’? on Monday next will show thirty-eight illustrations of books printed in type before 1500. The series will be introduced by two subjects taken from block-books. The great schools of France and Italy, Flanders and Germany, will be illustrated, and the last most copiously with special reference to the towns of Ulm and Augsburg. Mr. R. SEweE t is about to publish in the new series of the Asiatic Quarterly Review a sketch of the life of the late Sir Walter Elliot of Wolfelee, followed by a number of hitherto unpublished notes and extracts from note-books found after his death. These will probably be interesting for various reasons. They deal with a variety of sub- jects, mostly relating to India, and many of them were penned as long ago as the third decade of this century. Messrs. Percrvat & Co. have ready for immediate publication a volume of ‘ Essays in English Literature, 1780 to 1860,’ by Mr. George Saintsbury. The contents of the volume are: Introductory Essay, ‘The Kinds of Criticism’ ; (i.) Crabbe, (ii.) Hogg, (iii.) Sydney Smith, (iv.) Jeffrey, (v.) Haz- litt, (vi.) Moore, (vii.) Leigh Hunt, (viii.) Peacock, (ix.) Wilson, (x.) De Quincey, (xi.) Lockhart, (xii.) Praed, (xiii.) Borrow. Cot. Kyottys, R.A., who drew attention in Blackwood about a year ago to the dis- tressing condition of the lepers at Cape Town, will contribute another article to the December number of the same magazine, giving an account of the state of the leper hospital at Robben Island when on a recent occasion he visited the patients to distribute presents which the Princess of Wales had thoughtfully sent to the sufferers. It is gratifying to be assured by Col. Knollys that a great change for the better has been effected. Pror. Granam’s ‘ Socialism New and Old,’ which is to appear immediately in the ‘“‘ International Scientific Series,” is said to be an attempt to distinguish, by the aid of both historical and economic criticism, between those parts of the Socialistic scheme known as Collectivism which are practicable and likely to be beneficial, and those parts which are impracticable and of chaotic tendencies. Prof. Gra- ham supplies an historical account of the chief manifestations of the Socialistic spirit from the time of Rousseau to the present day. One of his chapters deals critically with ‘An Eight Hours’ Working Day,’ and another with ‘Some Proposed Remedies for Low Wages and Unemployed Labour.’ His own position is fully explained in the chapters on ‘ Practicable State Socialism— Legislative and Administrative,’ and on ‘The Supposed Spontaneous Tendencies to Socialism,’ the final chapter in the book. Pror. Cuvurcu’s volume of ‘Bible Stories,’ retold in much the same style as his well- known ‘Stories from Homer,’ is now nearly ready for publication. The illustrations have been reproduced from the Bible pictures of Julius Schnorr, which have long been familiar in this country. Messrs. Macmillan & Co. are the publishers. Ir is the intention of the committee of the ‘George Bullen Testimonial Fund,” of which the Earl Spencer, K.G., is the chairman, to close the subscription list on Monday, December 15th. Messrs. Macmititan & Co. are going to bring out a treatise on the ‘Principles of Psychology,’ by Prof. William James, of Harvard University, brother of Mr. Henry James, the novelist. This work, which is in two volumes, is the result of long ex- perience in teaching the subject. The author, assuming that thoughts and feelings exist and are vehicles of knowledge, there- upon contends that psychology, when she has ascertained the empirical correlation of the various sorts of thought or feeling with definite conditions of the brain, can go no further as a natural science, without be- coming metaphysical. The book conse- quently rejects both the associationist and spiritualist theories, and in this strictly positivist point of view lies, in its author's opinion, its chief claim to originality. To the Newbery House Magazine Prof. Sayce will contribute during the ensuing year articles on Melchizedek, on Babylonian life in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, and on the question ‘Could Moses Write?’ The Bishop of Derry will write on the Irish Church, Canon Benham on the Wesley Cen- tenary, and Mr. W. J. Hardy on a foreigner’s view of the Reformation in England. Mr. Welsh will conclude his papers on ‘The History of Books for Children.’ Mr. Fenn, Mr. Henty, and others will supply the fic- tion. Mr. H. W. Brewer, Mr. Baring-Gould, the author of ‘Charles Lowder,’ and others will contribute. Ir has often been suggested that an edi- tion of Mr, Palgrave’s ‘Golden Treasury of English Songs and Lyrics’ should be issued in a larger form and larger type. Such an edition is to be ready before Christmas. Two hundred copies will be printed on hand-made paper. Each of these will be numbered, and will contain the editor’s signature. Mr. James Tarr is going to follow up his ‘Two Centuries of Border Church Life’ with a new volume treating of Liddes- dale and other districts. The work will be issued by Messrs. J. & J. H. Rutherfurd, of Kelso. Tue Rev. Dr. Merk, of Leipzig Univer- sity, is, we believe, to be the new professor of German at Queen’s College. Dr. Merk is well known by his reviews of German theological literature, and as a contributor to the Classical Review among other learned periodicals. He began his career in India as an inspector of schools in connexion with the Church Missionary Society. Mr. Minasse XUM
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Ne 3292, Nov. 29, 90 THE ATHENAZUM 741 Tchéraz, editor of Arménic—Armenia, has been appointed teacher of Armenian at the Oriental School of the Imperial Institute. Mr. Tchéraz was formerly head of the Armenian College at Constantinople. Sir Ricnarp Burron’s body has been embalmed by Mr. Grenfell Baker, his medical attendant and steady friend, and will be brought to thiscountry for burialin January. Lady Burton and Mr. Baker will return to England at the same time. A cast was taken of Sir Richard’s face shortly after his de- cease by Mr. A. Letchford, who is going to reproduce it in bronze. Mr. Baker, we may add, has finished the history of the Swiss upon which he was engaged when travelling in Switzerland with Sir R. Burton. M. JussERAND has written a new preface for the second edition of his ‘English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare,’ which is to be issued by Mr. Fisher Unwin. A portrait of Green has been added to the new edition. Tue death is announced of the distin- guished philologist M. J. A. Scheler, known by his dictionary of French etymology and his ‘ Lexicographie Latine du XII° et du XIII*® Siécle. He also edited various medieval texts. He was a native of St. Gall, educated in Germany, and became librarian to the King of the Belgians—an appointment which led to his compiling a history of the house of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Mr. Rosert Fiemine, now of Liverpool, is compiling his ‘Forty Years’ Reminiscences of Egypt,’ describing events and incidents from the time of Mehemet Ali in 1842. Tue Parliamentary Papers of the most general interest this week are National Education, Ireland, Report and Appendix for 1889 (2s. 6d.); East India Civil Servants, Index to Report of Committee (3d.); and Import Duties, Foreign Countries, Return (1s. 6d.). SCIENCE _—o— Sewage Disposal Works. By W. Santo Crimp, A.M. Inst.C.E. (Griffin & Co.) Ir is unnecessary at the present day to insist upon the importance of efficient drainage for the improvement of the sanitary con- dition of crowded centres of population. It is sufficient to note that in the final decade of the last century the death rate in London actually exceeded the birth rate by a yearly average of 1,600; whilst in the decade ending with 1880 the birth rate exceeded the death rate by a yearly average of about 45,000, showing the great influence exer- cised on the mortality of the metropolis by its drainage, combined with an improved water supply and the progress of medical science. Any book, therefore, which diffuses or increases the knowledge of the best avail- able means for the disposal of sewage tends to promote the well-being of mankind. Many books have been written on this im- portant subject; but the book under con- sideration, whilst necessarily referring to general sanitary principles, is intended mainly to serve as an illustrated guide to the construction of works for the prevention of the pollution by sewage of rivers and estuaries. The author separates his subject-matter into two parts, explaining in the first part the different systems which have been adopted for the disposal of sewage, and giving descriptions in the second part of various sewage disposal works in actual operation, with the results of their working. Every urban sanitary authority has to con- sider two problems: namely, how to dispose of the sewage and other refuse of the dis- trict in an efficient manner, without causing nuisance or endangering health; and, secondly, the most economical method of effecting the work. Information as to the processes available will be found in the first part of the book; whilst, as experience is the surest guide in matters of cost, the results obtained at various places, under different conditions and with different methods, may be advantageously consulted with reference to the economical aspect of the question. The selection of the process to be adopted must depend on the general character of the district to be served, the nature of the site, the geological conditions, and the general surroundings. The old system of discharging all refuse and sewage into the nearest watercourse, and thus using rivers as open drains, from which riparian populations lower down have to draw their water supplies, has been long | ago condemned. The plan also of using tidal | rivers for the disposal of sewage, as still | practised by London, Glasgow, and other | large towns, though less open to objection, and both convenient and economical, is be- | ginning to be regarded with disfavour, espe- | cially as the amount of pollution is constantly © increasing with the rapid growth of popula- , tion. When we find, as stated in the Report | of the Commissioners on Metropolitan Sew- | age Discharge of 1884, that the sewage | from the main outfalls may be traced in dry , seasons almost as high as Teddington, and | that between Greenwich and Greenhithe the | Thames is seriously polluted ; and when we consider that the sewage of Glasgow settles in the Clyde, and, being removed by the dredging operations for maintaining the depth of the river, imposes a heavy outlay on the harbour authorities, and also is said to be causing pollution in Loch Long, where the dredgings from the Clyde are discharged, it is evident that this simple method of sewage disposal cannot be tolerated much longer. Moreover, this system is only avail- able for towns situated on tidal rivers. The cesspool system is acknowledged to be most unsanitary in towns, especially where the water supply is partially derived from wells; but it is still largely in use in Paris and else- where, owing to the difficulty and expense of adopting other methods. A portion of the Paris sewage has been used for irrigat- ing a considerable tract of land at Genne- villiers, with satisfactory results, especially when applied to market-garden produce ; and it is proposed to acquire additional land for extending this system. The irigation system is decidedly good, for it disposes of the sewage in a beneficial manner, where it is of value, instead of discharging it where it may be injurious. There is, however, diffi- culty in obtaining suitable sites for sewage farms, and also, up to the present time, in | working them profitably; and the neigh- bourhood of such a farm would not be con- sidered eligible for residences, in spite of the opinion of Dr. Carpenter, quoted by Mr. Crimp, that sewage farming is not at all prejudicial to health. Mr. Cnmp has rightly devoted a chapter to the consideration of the question of the separation of rain-water from sewage ; for it would be most advantageous for the various processes of sewage utiliza- tion, or for intermittent filtration on re- stricted areas of land, to have a smaller volume of greater manurial value to deal with. The separate system undoubtedly involves some difficulties; and the water from the land drains is not pure where some of it flows off roads on which there is a large traffic; nevertheless the system has been adopted with advantage in some places, and only the cost of two separate systems of cul- verts seems to hinder its more general adop- tion. For intermittent filtration, where the land has to be profusely irrigated in wet and dry seasons alike, a light soil is preferable. For separating the solids from the liquid, settling tanks are sometimes employed, which facilitate the collection of the solids, but do not affect the liquid portion. Various chemical processes have been devised for precipitating and purifying sewage, so that the solids may be separated and utilized for manure, and the fluid portion rendered suffi- ciently innocuous to be discharged into the nearest watercourse. For a brief descrip- tion of these processes we must refer the reader to the two chapters on ‘‘ Chemical Processes” and ‘‘ The Disposal of Sewage- sludge”; whilst from the description of | twenty-one sewage disposal works further information and particulars of cost may be ' obtained. The value of the sludge as manure is unfortunately low; and, consequently, the cost of production cannot be recouped by its sale. The application of electricity to the puri- _ fication of sewage by Mr. Webster, of which we heard for the first time this year, forms the subject of the concluding chapter. Mr. Crimp gives the account of this process in Mr. Webster’s own words; and it appears that, so far as the experiments have been hitherto carried, the precipitating and oxi- dizing action of the electrical current has been highly satisfactory, and the resulting effluent innocuous; and a favourable report has been given on the process by Sir Henry Roscoe. The book is well illustrated by thirty- three plates interspersed amongst the text ; the writing is clear and concise; the print is excellent; and the book will doubtless prove of great assistance to the sanitary authorities and students for whose guidance it has been prepared. ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. Tue comet which was discovered by Prof. Zona at Palermo on the 15th inst. has since been seen at several observatories, and _ its orbit has been computed by Dr. F. Bidschof, of Vienna, who finds that it passed its perihelion so long ago as about the end of July, at the dis- tance 1:90 in terms of the earth’s mean distance, and that it is now receding from the earth also and becoming fainter, its distance from us now being 1°48 on the above scale. It has passed from Auriga into Perseus, and on the 3rd prox. will be very near the fifth magnitude star € in | the latter constellation. Prof. Riccd has been appointed director of the new observatory at Catania, the energies of which are to be devoted especially to astrono- mica] physics, meteorology, and seismology.
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742 THE ATHENAUM ‘N® 3292, Nov.<29, ’90
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The planet Mercury will be at greatest elonga- tion from the sun on. the 28th of next month, and visible about that time after sunset, but only for a brief interval, by reason of his great southern declination. Venus, which will be in inférior conjunction with the sun on the 4th of December, will before the end of that month have become conspicuous as a morning star, rising earlier each day until her greatest elon- gation in February. Mars and Jupiter will continue visible in the evening until the end of the year, but Jupiter will be very low in the south-western part, of the sky, and the brilliancy ‘of Mars has become enfeebled by his increasing distance from us. Saturn is in quadrature with the sun on the 8th of December, risixig shortly before midnight in the constellation Leo; he will be in conjunction with the moon on the last day. of the year, rising then. soon after 10 o'clock in the evening. A total eclipse of the sun will take place on the 12th prox., but the central line will be con- fined .to the Southern Ocean to the south of Australia, in portions of which, as well as in the whole of Tasmania; New Zealand, and some other islands, -a partial eclipse will be visible. Circular No. 28 of the Wolsingham Observa- tory announces that the star numbered 710a in the ‘Espin-Birmingham Catalogue,’ and +-53°, No. 2684, in the ‘‘Durchmusterung,’ R.A, (for 1890) 21" 37™ 6°, N.P.D. 36° 11’, was noted on the 15th inst. of the ninth magnitude, whilst in the spring it was observed as 7°5-8°0, so that it is probably variable. ‘The staris very red, with 4 magnificent III-typé spectrum. The Connaissarice des Temps for 1892 (‘‘le 213° d’une éphéméride qui n’a jamais souffert d’interruption depuis la publication du premier volume, en 1679, par Picard ’’) has recently been ublished under the superintendence of M. wy ;. but no changes of importance appear on this occasion to have been made. A:French translation (under the changed title of ‘ Astronomie des Ecoles’) of Mr. Lynn's ‘ Celestial Motions’ has recently been published in Paris by M. Joseph Vinot, editor of the Journal du Ciel. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. Dr, H..Kiergrr publishes in the Zeitschrift of the Berlin Geographical Society an article on the extent to which Greek is spoken in the Pontine coast range. Elsewhere in Asia Minor the Greek language only survives in a few towns, and although there are many Greek Christians in.the interior, they have accepted the Turkish language, using it.even in the churches and in the family. In the country lying to the south of Trebizond, Tripolis, and Kerason, however, Greek remains to this day the language of the bulk of the population, although most of these *‘Greeks.” have émbraced Islam to escape per- secution. Dr. Kiepert points out that much work remains to be done in this region by the archeologist, and shows that the people to the south of Kerason are the representatives of Xenophon’s Mosyneeci, and still live in lofty wooden towers as in the days of the Greek his- torian. We know nothing of their language, and have only vague reports of the pagan rites still practised by them. An accompanying map distinguishes all villages in which Greek is spoken. f Der Afrikaforscher is the title of a new periodical which is to be the organ of the re- cently founded German African Society. Dr. Hans Meyer, of whose African travels we gave a brief summary some time ago, has in the press a work entitled ‘ Ostafrikanische Gletscherfahrten.’ The Scottish Geographical Magazine publishes a paper by Mr. A. Silva White on the well- worn subject of the partition of Africa, accom- panied by a map exhibiting the results of recent international agreements and conventions. In the same periodical will be found a list of African maps, by Mr. J G. Bartholomew,
-which, although far from complete, is likely to prove of some use. We are glad to find that the Council of the Scottish Geographical Society has addressed a memorial to the commissioners appointed in the Universities (Scotland) Act, advocating the ap- pointment of a Professor of Geography in each Scottish university, and the acceptance of geography as one of. the optional pass subjects qualifying for a degree in arts and in: science. Blackwood for- December contains an account by Mr. Coutts Trotter of the recent revolution that has been effected in Tonga by the deposition and exile of Mr. Shirley Baker, the Wesleyan minister who has been posing as Premier, and the consequent restoration of King George’s authority. Tonga has now got a church of its own, and is freed: from: the heavy financial burdens which its connexion with the Wesleyan body had imposed. upon its already overtaxed natives. a The geographical results of Count Teleki’s expedition to Eastern Africa have now been published by Lieut. L. von Héhnel as a supple- ment to Petermani’s Mitteilungen. It is not often that an African expedition furnishes such satisfactory results. Not only have extensive territories been discovered, including the region to the north of the Baringo Lake, but numerous astronomical observations and route-surveys now enable us to lay down with much confidence the routes of older travellers. The letterpress which accompanies Lieut. von Hohnel’s excellent maps deals with the geographical features, the climate, and the inhabitants of the countries explored. Comparing the preliminary map of Dr. Peters’s expedition with the authentic map now placed before us, it is clear that, whatever qualifications the ‘‘ German Stanley ” may be able to boast of, that of plotting a route is not among them. The two maps are absolutely irreconcilable. The Germans are still actively engaged in the exploration of the ‘‘ Hinterlands” of their African protectorate. The latest number of Danckelman’s official Mittheilungen contains, among other contributions, a report on recent journeys to the north-west of Bismarckburg, as far as Salaga, together with a map based upon astronomical observations ; a paper on the ornithology of the Camarons region, by Dr. Reichenow ; and a German version of the Eng- lish official map of the ‘‘ Stevenson - road country,” which seems to be identical with the map used in illustration of Mr. H. H. Johnston’s paper, recently read before’ the Royal Geo- graphical Society. The Mittheilungen of the Vienna. Geogra- phical Society publishes an interesting paper on the plateau of Ulnia or Zeitun, by Father Dashian. Ulnia is a small mountain district in Armenian Cilicia, the inhabitants of which maintained their independence up to 1864, and fought the Turks as recently as 1873. Father Dashian is indebted for much of his curious information to works written in Armenian, and more especially to Dr. M. Alishan’s ‘Sissuan : a Description of Armenian Cilicia,’ which was published at Venice in 1885. -This interesting mountain district appears never to have been explored by European scientific travellers. The Geographische Blaetter of the Bremen Geo- graphical Society publishes an exhaustive essay, by Dr. W. J. Wallraff, which deals with the geographical distribution, history, and com- mercial importance of Halfa or Esparto grass. Prof. J. Partsch, of Breslau, in a monograph published as a supplement to Petermann’s Mitteilungen, presents us with a fairly complete geographical, statistical, and topographical de- scription of the islands of Ithaca and Cepha- lonia, having previously dealt in a similar manner with Leucas and Corfu. -The maps are in a large measure based upon the professor's own surveys and observations, and include among others a general map of the two islands on a scale of 1 : 100,000, and plans of the ancient cities of Same and Crane.
A curious map engraved on an old powder horn is the text of a forthcoming book entitled ‘Appendicule Historic ; or, Shreds of History hung on a Horn,’ by Mr. Fred. W. Lucas, to be published next month by Messrs. H. Stevens & Sons. It contains a sketch of the rivalry of France and England in America, and a succinct account of the last. struggle for the possession of Canada. It is illustrated by several fac: similes of D’Anville’s and other maps of the last century and other plates. _The notes con- tain the Treaty of Paris, 1763, and the clause in the Treaty of Utrecht, 1713, relating to the Newfoundland fisheries, referred to in the later treaty. . Mr. Haskett Smith, who has for some years been in intimate contact with Druse tribes, and has been ‘seeking for Masonic analogies among them, has convinced: himself that :the origin of Freemasonry is to.be found among the Druses ! He also argues that the Druses of the Lebanon are identical with the Phoenicians, who’ were settled there‘in'the time of Solomon, and were the foresters who cut the wood employed in the Temple of ‘Jerusalem !:. Mr. Haskett Smith publishes his ideas on these points in Black- wood for December... _ .
SOCIETIES. RoyAL.—Nov. 20.~The President in the chair.— Notice was givenof the ensuing anniversary meeting (December Ist), and auditors of the treasurer's ac- counts wereelected.—The following papers were read: ‘On the Determination of the Specific Resistance of Mercury in Absolute Measure,’ by Prof. J. V: Jones, —‘The Spectroscopic Properties of Dust,’ by Prof. Liveing and Prof. Dewar,—“On the Specific Heats of Gases at Constant: Volume: Part L, Air, Carbon Dioxide, and Hydrogen,’ by Mr. J. Joly,—and ‘ Mag- netism and Recalescence,’ by Dr. Hopkinson: 4
GHOGRAPHICAL.—e. 24.—Right Hon. Sir M. K. Grant Duff, President, in the chair.—The followin, gentlemen were elected Fellows :—Sultan Sayyi Saadat Hosain, Hon,“W. J. M. Larnach, j R. W. E. Kenrick, Capt. C: Slack, Capt. A. C. Yate, Lieut. H-,J.: Coningham,. Rev. C. Caine, Rev. W. Hughes, Rev. C. R. Perry; Dr. D. K. Cross ;. Mesars. C. A. Baker, E. A. R,. Ball. W. C, T. Beasley, W. Hi Briggs, T. Brooks, A. W. W. Brown, W. Carmichael, T. B. Cartwright. C. Carus-Wilson. J. W. Carrington, R. Cresswell, B. V. Darbishire, J. F. W. Deacon, JJ. Foster, R. C. Foster, L. Grahame, T. W. B. Green- field, H. Holloway, F. G. Hughes, J. W. Hughes, F.G. Jackson, W. E. Jackson,G. C. Kelly, R. T. Kennedy, G. M. Le Touzel, J. 8. Masterman, J. Milroy, J. K. Moore, C. Morgan, F. T. Mott, H. Patterson, P. G. Poole, G. H. Portal, H. Prince, C. H. Pryor, G. Ricketts, W. H. Rinder, G. P. Simpson, G..F. Smith, D. C. Stevens, H. Swift, G. P. Tate, A. Taylor, KE, C. Taylor, G. E. Tolhurst, M. Tom- kinson, R..M, Turner, 8. K. Vickery, W. Weatherly, E. R. Wethey, A. Williams, J. E. Wood, and J. W. Woodall.—The paper read was ‘ Matabele and Mashona Lands,’ by Mr. E. A. Maund,
BRITISH ARCHAOLOGIGAL ASSOCIATION.—JNov. 19.—Mr, G@. W. Grover in the chair.—The Rev. C. V. Collier announced the discovery of a vase of glazed ware filled-with Roman ‘opins, at Shipley, during the construction of the railway there, and. he exhibited some of the best preserved examples. These are of Gallienus, Tetricus, &c. The hoard was taken possession of by the workmen, and but few of the coins have been recovered.—Mr. C. Brown, Mayor of Chester, sent for exhibition some photographs of the remarkable Roman column which was found in situ, during some recent building works, on his property in Westgate Street. The column has now been preserved on the spot where found, by the construction of an arch over it to carry the new building.—The Rev. C. G. R. Birch reported the. discovery of a beautifal brass during the restoration of Gedney Church, Lincolnshire, where it was found beneath the floor. It represents a female figure in the costume of the fourteenth century. A repro- duction of a rubbing made by Mr. Beloe was exhibited.—The first paper was ‘On the Coped Stones of Cornwall,’ by Mr. A. C. Langdon, After remarking that ancient sepulchral monuments of the form of an inverted boat had not previously been observed in Cornwall, although other examples are known in the north of England, and one or two in Wales, the lecturer proceeded to point out, by the. aid of some beautiful drawings and by full-sized rubbings, the peculiarities of the examples ‘cited, which are three in number, respectively at St. Tudy,
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XUM Ne 3292, Nov. 29, 90 THE ATHENAUM 743 Lanivit, and St. Buryan, the last being a fragment only. They are worked in granite, and are covered with interlaced and key patterns of pre-Norman date, agreeing in style with other examples of in- terlaced work on the Cornish crosses.—The second paper was by Dr. R. Forbes, of Rome, read in the author’s absence by Mr. de Gray Birch. It was a charm against the evil eye which is depicted on a tessellated pavement of great beauty recently found at Rome. An owl, representing the evil eye, is surrounded by other animals representative of pro- tecting deities, NUMISMATIC.— Nov. 20.—Dr. J. Evans, President, in the chair.—Col. M. G. Clerk and Mr, C. D. Fur- doonjee were elected Members.—The President ex- hibited a bronze medal bearing a portrait of Darwin, executed by Mr. Alan Wyon for the Royal Society, and another with a portrait of the late Mr. C. Roach Smith, executed by Mr. J. Pinches for the “ Roach Smith Fund.”—Mr. H. Montagu exhibited a proof in copper of Blondeau’s half-crown of the Common- wealth, dated 1651, with plain edge.—The Rev. G. F. Crowther read a paper on the coins of William I. and II, in which he suggested a rearrangement and redistribution of the pennies struck by them. Ac- cording to the writer all the types on which the king is represented carrying the sword should be assigned to William I., while the “Pax” pennies should be placed later in the series and attributed to William II. Mr. Crowther accounted for the number of these pieces by supposing them to have been coined from the large amount of silver left in the — Treasury on the death of William I.—Mr. A. E. Packe read a paper on the coinages of Henry VIL, in which he argued that the so-called “ mint- marks” were in reality engravers’ marks. The writer also contended that the change to the second type on the gold and on the silver was not simul- taneous, the latter taking place in 1489, the former in 1492 ; and that the escallop mark was introduced in 1492, possibly as the emblem of St. Jago, the patron saint of Granada, in reference to the con- quest of that province by Spain, an event which ‘was solemnly commemorated in London. Next considering the four types of the sovereign as festival coins or medals, Mr. Packe endeavoured to connect their issue respectively with the knighting of Prince Arthur and his creation as Prince of Wales, the peace of Ktaples, the marriage of Prince Arthur, and the creation after his death of his brother Henry as Prince of Wales. LINNEAN.—Wov. 20.—Prof. Stewart, President, in the chair.—Mr. J. F, Braga and the Rev. E. McClure were elected Fellows.—Mr, G. Murray exhibited specimens of a freshwater Delesseria hae unknown,—Mr. B. D. Jackson some follicles and seeds of ‘a somewhat rare asclepiad, Dregia Slori- bunda, and some ripened seeds of Ailanthus glan- dulosa from a tree at Reigate said to be a hundred years old.—Prof. Bower exhibited several drawings from microscopic sections of .carboniferous nodules belonging to Prof. Williamson, and pointed out the peculiarities of structure. A comparison of the slides showed a peculiar uniformity of type. For comparison with these sporangia from the coal he exhibited sections of the sporangia of Todea barbara, and while not going so far as to refer these. carboniferous sporangia (which are not at- tached to the plants which bore them) to any distinct genus, he thought the osmundaceous affinity was unmistakable.—Mr. J. E. Harting ex- hibited some original water-colour sketches of birds, fishes, and plants found in Sussex, with MS. notes, by William Markwick, the correspondent of White of Selborne, which had been presented by him to the Society in his lifetime, and bad been lost sight of for many years.—A paper was read by Prof. T. Johnson on Punctaria,a genus of brown seaweeds (Phceophycezx). He described in detail the formation of the plantlets by trichothallic gem- mation from the tufts of primary hairs and from the secondary hairs formed on epicortical filaments on the old thallus of P. plantaginea and P. latifolia. He pointed out that neither the nature of the dots nor the position of the sporangia is of specific value, and that sporangiferous and plant-forming hairs are to be found on the filamentous root-disc of P. tenuissima, Grev., which, he maintained, is the young state of one species of which plantaginea and latifolia are the more mature growths. The paper was illustrated by explanatory diagrams, and a discussion followed, in which Messrs. D. H. Scott, E. M. Holmes, and G. Murray took part.—Mr. V. Jennings gave an abstract of a paper on a variety of sponge, Alectona millari, Carter, boring in the shell of Lima excavata, from the Norwegian coast. The gpange had endeavoured to grow inwards, dissolving the-nacreous layer and encroaching on the mollusc instead of restricting its wanderings to the thick- es8_of the shell. The mollusc: had retaliated by depos iting fresh layers on the intruder, and the struggle ‘had gone on until the chambers were several times the normal thickness of the shell, and were roofed over by a thin curved layer of secondary shell substance, while the points at which branches had been pushed further in were represented by thick conical papille, ZOOLOGICAL. — Nov. 18.— Dr. Mivart in the chair.— Mr. M. Ogilvie exhibited a specimen of the red-headed flycatcher, obtained in Nor- folk, — Prof. Jeffrey Bell an example of the cotton-spinner (Holothuria nigra), taken off the west coast of Ireland,—and Mr. G. A. Boulenger a series of skulls belonging to Distira cyanocincta and Chelone midas.—Papers and communications were read: by Mr. G. A. Boulenger, upon the reptiles and batrachians of Barbary, based chiefly upon the notes and collections made in 1880-84 by M. F. Lataste, and on the Chinese alligator,—from the Rev. O. P. Cambridge, on some new species and two new genera of Araneidea, mostly collected in South Africa,—by Mr. 8. Woodward, on some upper creta- ceous fishes of the family Aspidorhynchide ; he offered a detailed description of Belonestomus comptoni, from Brazil, and defined a new genus (Apateopholis) from Syria, the latter remarkable as being the only physostomous fish hitherto described exhibiting a spinous armature of the preoperculum, —and by Mr. G. C, Champion, on the heteromerous Coleoptera collected by Mr. Bonny at the Yambuya camp, Aruwimi Valley. METEOROLOGICAL. — Nov. 19.— Mr. B. Latham, President, delivered an address ‘ On the Relation of Ground Water to Disease.’ INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS,—Nov. 25.— Sir J. Coode, President, in the chair.—The paper read was‘On the Vibratory Movements of Loco- motives, and on timing Trains and testing Railway Tracks,’ by Messrs. J. Milne and J. McDonald. SocrIETY OF ARTS. — Nov. 19.—The Attorney- General, as Chairman of the Council, delivered the opening address of the 137th Session of the Society, and subsequently presented the silver and other medals awarded during the past session, Nov. 24.—Mr. B. F. Cobb in the chair.—The first of a course of Cantor Lectures ‘ On Gaseous I]lumi- nants’ was delivered by Prof. V. Lewes, and was fully illustrated by experiments. Nov. 26.—Sir W. Savory in the chair.—A paper ‘On Physical Tests for Competitive Examinations’ was read by Mr. F. Galton, describing the system of anthropological measurements recommended by him as a test for the physical powers of candidates in competitive examinations, in place of the ruder —_— tests by means of athletic exercises which ave at various times been proposed, NEw SHAKSPERE.—Nov. 14.—Dr. F. J. Furnivall in the chair—Mr, P. Z. Round read a paper on ‘King John,’ pointing out the difficulty in recon- ciling the various parts of the play owing to the uncertainty with which incidents and characters are treated. Thus, Elinor’s powerful influence over her son is peed hinted at;. John’s hatred cf the clergy, like his doubts of the legality of his position, is brought before us only to be dropped again; though he has disputed the French king’s authority, he unaccountably gives up all the disputed terri- tories in France ;‘ Hubert is told to kill Arthur, but presently has but to put out his eyes; the purpose of the second coronation is unexplained. Salisbury’s mission to fetch Constance is stultified by the arrival of the very persons who sent him. uch of the vart of the Bastard Faulconbridge is useless to the lot ; for half the play he is by turns jester, bom- astic braggart, or bully, with a hatred for Lymoges which is hardly accounted for. His high-sounding language was perhaps meant as a burlesque of other writers. Until he rescues. the queen there is no indication of his actual bravery, though afterwards it is recognized by groans 3 and others. The cause of the discrepancies was to be found in the fact that Shakspeare had not fixed what the plot of his play was to be, but worked up his scenes singly in adapt- ing the old plays. _ By their help many uncertainties are cleared up, and the by-play of the actors would make plain to the audience much that at first per- plexes the reader.—In the discussion which followed, the Chairman defended the play, as written on atriotic and popular lines, and the character of Fanloonbridge, who was evidently intended to be both the hero of the piece and a typical young Englishman of the day.—Mr. W. Poel pointed out that the Bastard’s sudden development into a hero was not led up to in any way and took us by surprise. He contrasted this with the young Henry V. HISTORICAL.— ov. 20.— Prof. Rhys Davids in the chair.—Mr. J. S. Stuart Glennie read a paper ‘On the Aryan Relations of the Egyptians and Chal- deans.’—A di ion followed, in which the Rev. G. ..W. Keesey, Messrs. G. Hurst, R.. Lloyd,: T. Pagliardini, J. F. Robertson, and others took part. MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Mon. London Institution, 5.—‘The House we Live In,’ Prof. W. H. rtield, _ Royal Institution, 5.—General Monthly. — Engineers, 7}.—‘ Ship Caissons for Dock Basins and Dry Docks,’ Mr. J. J. F. Andrews. _ Institute of British Architects, 8. — Aristotelian, 8.—‘The Main Outlines of Hellenie Theory con- cerning the Beautiful,’ Mr. B. Bosanquet. _— Society of Arts, 8.—‘Gaseous Illuminants,’ Lecture II., Prof. V. B. Lewes (Cantor Lecture). -- Victoria Institute, 8.—‘'The Geological History of Egypt and the Nile Valley,’ Prof. Hull. — Microscopical, 8.—Conversazione. Tres. Civil Engineers, 8.—Ballot for Members; Further discussion ‘On the Vibratory Movements of Locomotives.’ — Shorthand, 8.—‘Eyes v. Ears; or, the Advantages of Ortho- phic Shorthand,’ Mr. G. C. Miires. — Biblical Archeology, 8.—‘Accadian and Chinese Characters, Rey. C. J. Ball; ‘Prayers of the Falasha Jews in Abyssinia,” Rey. A. Lowy. — Zoological, 8; —‘ Antelopes of Nyassa-Land,’ Mr. R. Crawshay ; ‘Suspension of the Viscera in the Batoid Hypnos subnigrum,” and ‘ Notes on the Pectoral Fin-skeleton of the Batoidea and of the Extinct Genus Chlamydoselache,’ Prof. G. B. Howes ; ‘ Presence of Pterygoid Teeth in a Tailless Batrachian (Pelo- bates cultripes), with Remarks on the Localization of Teeth on the Palate in Batrachians and Reptiles,’ Mr. G. A. Boulenger. Wev. Entomological, 7.—‘Notes on the Lepidoptera coll in Madeira by the late T. Vernon-Wollaston,’ Mr. G. T, Baker; ‘Conspicuous Changes in the Markings and Colouring. of Lepidoptera, caused by subjecting the Pupe to different ‘Temperature Conditions,’ Mr. F. Merrifield; ‘Monograph of the Lycenoid Genus Hypockrysepe, with Descriptions of New Species,’ Mr. H. H. Druce; ‘The Life History of the Hess’ Fly,’ Mr. F. Enock. = ——- of Arts, 8—‘The Chicago Exhibition, 1893,’ Mr. J. » e. oe British Archwological Association, 8—‘The Epinal Glossary,” Mr. W. de Gray Birch ; ‘ Notice of a Brass recently discovered. at Gloucester,’ Mr. C. Davis. ‘ Tuvrs, Archxological Institute, 4.—‘ Parochial Accounts of St. Neot’s, Cornwall, Seventeenth Century,’ General Sir J. H’ Lefroy; ‘Ancient Chair in Lincoln Minster,’ and ‘St. Catherine’s, Lincoln,’ Rev. Precentor Venables. . - London Institution, 7.—' Hector Berlioz,’ Mr. C. Armbruster. _.. — Linnean, 8.—‘The Genus of Orchid Brownheadia,’ Mr. H. N. Ridley ; ‘Botany of Kandahar,’ Mr. J. H. Lace; ‘Botanical Visit to Auckland Isles,’ Mr. T. Kirk. — Chemical, 8—Ballot; ‘Volumetric Estimation of Tellurium, Dr. Branner 7 _ Antiquaries, 8} —‘An Anciént Theatre Ticket of ae Dr. A. 8. Murray; ‘Recent Discoveries in Bokerly and Wans- dyke, and their Bearing on the Roman Occupation of Britain,’ eut.-General Pitt-Rivers. 2 Fri. Geologists’ Association, 8.—‘ Report on the Microscopical Ex- amination of some Samples of London Clay from the Ex-~ cavations for the Widening of Cannon Street Railway Bridge, 1887,’ Messrs. C. D. S m and H. W. Burrows; ‘Short Visit to Ingleton and to Filey Brigg (showing how a dan- gerous Reef was converted into a perfect water by an Ancient Race),’ Mr. E. Litchfield. Philological, 8 —‘The ion of Heroic Verse,” Mr. G. L. - > Larkins. ‘ Hrience Gossiy. s biew Lapy Wetsy (who is known in the literary world as the author of ‘ Links and Clues’) has written a paper on ‘An Apparent Paradox in Mental Evolution,’ which will be read at the Anthropological Institute on the 9th of Decem- ber. The paper is founded on one Lady Welby wrote called ‘Is there a Break in Mental Evo- lution?’ which was read before the’ British Association at Leeds last September. —_ i FINE ARTS —-— 2g e® Literary Remains of A. Direr. By W.M. Conway. Illustrated. (Cambridge, Uni- versity Press.) 2G (Second Notice.) leant Or Diirer’s methods of research and‘ the result of his studies Mr. Conway gives’ a very sufficient account, but in a somewhat stiff and German manner, and there is & slight lack of clearness in the arrangement of the details. No doubt much ‘of this is due to the habit of reading Diirer, who being, as he himself said, ‘‘an unlearned man,” was less terse and perspicuous than one could wish. Mr. Conway’s translations, too, might have been made more easy read- ing without the least sacrifice of fidelity or spirit. For instance, if we compare the translation before us of Diirer’s diary of his journey to the Netherlands, performed between July 12th, 1520, and July 15th, 1521, with Mrs. Heaton’s version, it is ob, vious that it is more complete and exact, but it is less easy and spirited. There are curious discrepancies between the two versions, especially in regard to the spelling of names of places and the expenditure of small sums of money by Diirer, who con- scientiously records the outlay of pence and halfpence. Occasionally the discrepancies are considerable. For instaride, Mr. Con-
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744 THE ATHENAUM N° 3292, Nov. 29, ’90 way writes: ‘And we stopped the night there with Johannes, who showed us the town, and was very friendly towards us. I spent there 16 pfenning.”” Mrs. Heaton rendered the same passage thus: ‘ And we slept that night at Johansen, and all the townsfolk came out wide-mouthed to stare at us, and they were very friendly to us; and I spent there 16 pfenning.” It would seem that different copies of the original must have been employed in each case. The narrative gives a curious picture of travelling in those times, and tells us of the number of tolls the artist had to pay, the fees he was mulcted of, the prices he paid for his meals, for porterage, and what not; to say nothing of the frequent hospitality he received, and the treatment he experienced at the hands of custom-house officers, most of whom allowed him to go free when he showed the Bishop of Bam- berg’s passport, which Diirer found avail- able as far down the Rhine as Cologne. Other collectors took his written bond to pay if he could not produce an available pass within two months. At Treves he made a declaration that his baggage contained no merchandise, and was let pass free. This was a fib, seeing that he carried numerous engravings and cuts for sale, to say nothing of pictures, some of which he sold, although he gave Madonnas away in a manner calcu- lated to make modern collectors sigh. He sold small Madonnas for two florins each! At Lahnstein the toll-keeper not only let Diirer go untaxed, gave him a can of wine, and complimented his wife, but ‘‘ asked me to speak for him to my gracious lord of Mentz.” Diirer offered as a gift to the Regent of the Netherlands his portrait of her father, the emperor, now one of the greatest treasures of the Belvedere; but she would not have it, because she thought little of it. It certainly is hard and un- beautiful, and not likely to please a daughter’s eyes. Later he exchanged it for a “‘white English cloth.” He met Gerhard Horebout and his delicate-handed daughter Susanna, both famous miniaturists, who entered the service of Henry VIII., and produced many fine portraits in small which have been confused with Holbein’s. At Antwerp Diirer was in clover. Bern- hard Stecher, the factor of the Fuggers, “invited me and gave me a costly meal. My wife, however, dined at the inn.” Shortly after his host took him to see the fine house then lately erected by the Burgo- master, Arnold van Lierre, ‘‘the like of which I have nowhere seen in all Germany.’ “On Sunday [August 5th], it was St. Oswald’s Day, the painters invited me to the hall of their guild, with my wife and maid. All their service was of silver, and they had other splendid ornaments and very costly meats. All their wives also were there. And as I was being led to the table the company stood on both sides as if they were leading some great lord. And there were amongst them men of very high position, who all behaved most respectfully towards me with deep courtesy and promised to do everything in their power agreeable to me that they knew of. And as [ was sitting there in such honour the Syndic [Adrien Horebout] of Antwerp came, with two servants, and presented me with four cans of wine in the name of the ‘Town Councillors of Antwerp, and they had bidden him say they wished thereby to show their respect for me and to assure me of their good will. Where- fore I returned them my humble thanks, and offered my humble service. After that came Master Peiter the town carpenter [usher %], and presented me with two cans [tankards ?] of wine, with the offer of his willing services. So when we had spent a long and merry time together till late in the night, they accom- panied me home in great honour. And they begged me to be ever assured and confident of their good will, and promised that in whatever I did they would be all helpful to me. Sol thanked them and laid me down to sleep.”’ In the course of this journey Diirer en- countered Quentin Matsys, then very old, at hiss house in the Tanners’ Street, and he was taken to see the decorations painted in a series of arches four hun- dred in number, and two stories high, intended as a sort of mask on both sides of the street. This work was then preparing for the streets of Antwerp, to be used for the famous Joyous Entry of Charles V. to that city on September 23rd. It was to cost the Painters’ and Joiners’ Guilds 4,000 florins, an enormous sum in those days. He met that “jolly good fellow” the Portuguese Consul, and dined with him gaily on sumptuous viands; likewise the one-eyed Felix Hungersberg, the famous lutist, and took portraits of him, two of which are still re- cognizable in the Belvedere. At Mechlin he was the guest of Henri de Blés. To Joachim Patinir Diirer gave a florin’s worth of prints “for lending me his apprentice and his colours, and I gave his apprentice three pounds’ [Mrs. Heaton correctly says: ‘3 pfennings’ worth of art,’ ¢.¢., prints] worth of prints.” He met Lucas Van Leyden, “a little man” ‘““who engraves on copper,’ and took his likeness in silver-point. Erasmus, who was then at Antwerp, gave Diirer a small Spanish mantilla and three men’s portraits. Diirer painted the ‘Herr Erasmus” when they met at a later time in Brussels, as well as the portrait of Nicholas Kratzer, afterwards Henry VIII.’s astrologer, of whom Holbein likewise painted the portrait now in the Louvre. Kratzer made a note on the back of a print from another portrait of Erasmus by Diirer that he was present at the taking of this likeness. Albert made no end of sketches and studies of likenesses of the persons he met, some in charcoal, some in chalk, some in ‘‘half-colours,” 7.¢., washed in water colours, some in oil, and some in silver - point. Here and there we have interesting glimpses of the prices given for works of art by masters such as Diirer. Thus :— ‘*T gave the Factor of Portugal a small carved child [an Infant Christ ?], also [his own im- mortal etchings] an Adam and Eve, the Jerome in the Cell, the Hercwles, the Eustace, the Melancholy, the Nemesis; then of the half- sheets, three new Marys, the Veronica, the Anthony, the Nativity, and the Cross; also the best of the quarter-sheets [the ‘ Little Passion’ in wood], eight in number; then the three books, Our Lady’s Life, the Apocalypse, and the Great, and lastly the Little Passion, and the Passion engraved on copper—altogether that is 5 fl. worth” ! The ‘Melancholy’ is, of course, that immortal ‘Melencolia I.,’? so numbered because Diirer intended it for the first of a series of designs to illustrate the four tempera- ments, as it was then customary to call them. Dr. Thausing and others have not quite safely assumed that the above- named ‘St. Jerome’ was intended for a member of the same series. ‘The Knight and Death’ has been supposed to be the third of the series. But what a gift is this to be valued at five florins, even if they were florins of gold! In the Town Hall at Brussels Diirer saw Roger van der Weyden’s four famous pictures. At Brussels he again met Erasmus, ‘the little man who wrote out my supplica- tion at Herr Jacob de Bannisis’ house.” It is interesting to find Erasmus occupied in drawing up a memorial to Charles V. on behalf of Albert Diirer. It seems to have been intended to procure the fulfilment of the object of Diirer’s journey into the Low Countries, 7.¢., the emperor’s confirma- tion of the grant of a pension awarded to the painter. In this he succeeded. To the Lady Margaret, Regent of the Nether- lands, Diirer gave presents of ‘my en- graved ‘Passion,’”’ and other things; but when he begged her to give him the sketch- book of Jacopo dei Barbarj, which was in her possession, she told him it was promised to Bernard van Orley, her Highness’s painter. He went to see the Arch- duchess at Mechlin, where she showed him her collection of pictures, including, probably, the fine Van Eyck now in the National Gallery as ‘Jean Arnoul- phin and his Wife.’ Incidentally an entry occurs, on the 3rd of September, which throws a sort of light on the long-debated question whether or not Diirer cut the blocks from which his own designs were printed, was his own Formschnetder or not. ‘The two Lords of Regensdorf invited me. I dined once with them, and drew their arms large on a wood block for cutting.” There is an impression of this block at Nurem- berg. ‘Six people whose portraits I drew in Brussels have given me nothing,” rue- fully remarks the great Albert. Mr. Conway has given us a fairly good version of this the most important docu- ment of Diirer. With it he has included all the scraps and notes diligence could collect concerning Diirer and by him. The book is useful and interesting as a sort of supplement to Dr. Thausing’s more im- portant work which we reviewed in 1882; but it owes more to the intrinsic interest of the subject than to Mr. Conway. THE DRAWINGS AND WOODCUTS OF HOKUSAI. Tue Fine-Art Society has been ———— fortunate in collecting specimens of the skill of the renowned Japanese draughtsman. We have seen several instances finer than the best of these, but in this country never before were so many of fine quality gathered in one place. Katsu-shika Hokusai was the greatest expo- nent of the naturalistic type of Japanese art— the head of that school of Ukyio-yé Riu which arose near the end of the seventeenth century, and rejected the then effete conventions of earlier days. He was born at Yedo in 1760, and died in 1849. He drew everything, always, as a friend said of him, with the fury of a tiger, and when advanced in years he called himself ‘‘ the old fellow mad on drawing.” He illustrated books as copiously as Gustave Doré or Sir John Gilbert ; his satirical designs have the verve and point, and a little of the extrava-
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XUM N° 3292, Nov. 29, ’90 THE ATHENAZUM 745 _— gance, of Oberlinder; he worked with what cannot be better described than as Japanese freedom, force, and frankness of touch. Unfor- tunately by far the greater number of his draw- ings were cut away with the blocks. The majority of the instances before us are impressions from blocks on which the cutters, deft and sympa- thetic as they were, acted as translators rather than as artists. If photography could have been applied to xylography in Hokusai days, a treasure still finer than these works would remain, and not have shared the fate of scores of the designs of Sir John Millais and other living men, which, being drawn on the blocks themselves, were unavoidably sacrificed in reproduction. The following drawings may be selected as characteristic of the skill, wit, and resources of the artist. A sketch of a Scavenger and a Tor- toise (No.5) represents a grotesque personage, clad in rags, holding on to the tail of a tortoise, who, spreading his limbs with futile rage, drags his tormentor along the road. The sketch of A Cock and Hen (13) couched together is true to the life in its ruddy hues, the crisp drawing of the rigid feathers, the intense veracity of the eyes, and the textures. Another sketch, A Group of Fish and Crabs (68), including a pipe fish, the colour of steel and shaped like a dagger, and his antithesis, a ruddy and silvery turbot, is a prime instance of the extreme felicity of Hokusai’s touch and the brush power which is at once the delight and despair of artists. Of these elements the sketch (108) of Fish, Bean-pods, and Pomegranates is also a masterly example where every touch is formative, exhaustively expressive, and exquisitely crisp. The red mullet, as we take it to be, is a perfect example of technique of the kind. In the drawings grouped in No. 92 are two laughable toads. With these freely and boldly drawn sketches may be classed No. 36, A Cray-fish and a Shell; No. 37, Two Rats wrestling before a Judge; No. 56, A Rice Field in Winter ; Study of Musical Instruments (64); and No. 72, Flight of Birds before the New Moon. They are specimens of the freest draughtsmanship. The exquisitely delicate and subtly executed drawings, of which a few instances occur here, being to their neighbours what works in silver- point are to ‘‘ blots” and free sketches in water colour or distemper, are best represented by one of the rarest and best of Hokusai’s studies in this way, A Serpent watching a Small Bird (141), in which a lithe snake, creeping along the ground in curves drawn with the subtlest feel- ing for their beauty and manifold involutions, raises the forepart of his body against a bamboo ‘placed slantwise, and—sliding along the stick in gradual curves, every one of which is moving so slowly that it seems still—approaches with deadly intent a gay songster who has perched there. The weight of the reptile, the wonderful fore- shortening of its scales and spots of darker colour, the infinity of exquisitely gradual lines and curves on curves of which its body is formed, are marvels of draughtsmanship. MR. WILLIAM BELL SCOTT. Eary on the morning of Saturday last Mr. W. B. Scott—well known as a painter and writer on art, the author of many poems, and for years one of the ablest masters associated with the School of Design, the original of the present Department of Art—died at the seat of Miss Boyd, Penkill, Castle Girvan. He was the younger brother and biographer of David Scott, R.S.A., the fine romantic painter, or rather painter of romances. They were the sons of Robert Scott, a good engraver of Edin- burgh, where William was born September 12th, 1811, and was educated at the High School there. There likewise he was trained in art, primarily by his father and his brother, and afterwards in the Trustees’ Academy. About 1831 he came to London, and for some time he drew zealously at the British Museum from the antique, and thus gained that know- ledge of, and interse feeling for, style which, despite not a few shortcomings in draughtsman- ship in the high sense of the term, distinguishes his pictures. His first contribution toa London gallery was ‘The Jester,’ with the motto Let’s have some talk with this Philosopher, which was at Suffolk Street in 1840. ‘The Wild Huntsman,’ ‘ Alfred disguised as a Harper,’ and other examples followed in the same place. His first contribution to the Academy was in 1842, ‘Chaucer, John of Gaunt, and their Wives.’ ‘ King Arthur carried to the Land of Enchantment,’ which on the whole we are disposed to consider his best work, was at the Academy in 1847; ‘The Border Widow,’ a capital dramatization of a touching romance, appeared in the same place in 1851, and was succeeded by six more pictures. In 1869 Scott ceased to exhibit in London. He sent various works to the British Institution, be- ginning with ‘ Bell-ringers and Cavaliers cele- brating the Entrance of Charles II. to London,’ which was shown in 1841. This was followed by ‘The Old English Ballad Singer,’ 1842 ; ‘Comfort the Afflicted,’ 1845; ‘The School, Newcastle-upon-Tyne,’ 1846, and five later pro- ductions. Scott’s most ambitious effort was due to that impulse which, in 1842 and 1843, stirred the artistic world to its depths, and resulted in the Cartoon competition in Westminster Hall. To this he sent a drawing of life-size figures, measuring 11 ft. by 9 ft., and representing, in a vigorous and dramatic, if somewhat un- compromising and crude fashion, ‘The Northern Britons surprising the Roman Wall.’ It ob- tained no premium, but brought its young author under the notice of some of the more intelligent and influential leaders of opinion. The journalists of that day were, naturally enough, troubled by it. Scott did not tempt fortune again at Westminster, but, profiting by the feeling excited in his favour among artists, accepted the offer of a considerable appointment in the School of Design, which was then being developed with Government aid. Soon after this (that is in 1843) we find him in charge of the most important Government school of art in the north of England, that of Newcastle- upon-Tyne—a post which he occupied until about 1858, wheu changes in what had become the Art Department caused him to abandon his appoint- ment and remove to London, without ceasing to be connected with South Kensington. While residing in Northumberland Scott was a leader in all the artistic and decorative movements in that part of the country, and in 1857 and 1858 he painted for Sir Walter C. Trevelyan at Wallington Hall an important series of eight pictures, illustrating, with dramatic force and plenty of invention and design, the history of Northumberland in numerous life-size figures. The accessories were carefully studied, including landscapes, buildings, and costumes, all emi- ninently picturesque in character and original in their quality. Later he produced on the walls of a newel staircase at Penkill a similar series illustrating ‘The King’s Quhair,’ a poem in which he took especial delight, and proposed to republish. His literary efforts, comprising ‘The Year of the World,’ a didactic and philosophic poem pub- | lished in 1846, with the author’s etched illustra- tions, were varied and numerous. Becoming, about 1849, one of the most intimate friends of Rossetti, it is well known that the strong per- sonality of each artist and poet reacted with manifest and deep effect upon that of the other. He was a man of considerable attain- ments in many ways: able, energetic, and acute; sincere and earnest in all he attempted, and, although serious in his purposes, possessed of so much keen Scottish wit as gave a sharp edge to many-of his sayings. He had a fine sense of the picturesque in art and poetry. Ac- cordingly, being foreign to his nature, ‘The Year of the World’ was his greatest mistake Scott was one of the few contributors to the Germ, 1850, and, likewise anonymously, to several of the more important reviews and magazines. Numerous important essays bear his name. Some time before the Germ ap- peared Scott published ‘Ornamental Designs for Gold and Silver Work’; ‘Ornamental De- signs for Brass, Iron,’ &c.; ‘The Orna- mentist,’ 1845 ; and, later, ‘Memoir of David Scott,’ 1850; ‘ Antiquarian Gleanings in the North of England,’ 1851; ‘ Chorea Sancti Viti,’ with designs, 1851; ‘ Half-Hour Lectures on Art,’ 1861; ‘ Albert Diirer, his Life and Works,’ 1869 ; ‘Gems of French Art,’ 1871; ‘The British School of Sculpture,’ 1871; ‘Gems of Modern German Art,’ 1872; and ‘ Murillo and the Spanish School,’ 1873. About three years ago Scott was elected an Honorary Scottish Royal Academician. fine-Art Gossiy. Mr. Austin Dosson is at present engaged in revising and largel;; expanding the short memoir of Hogarth which he wrote in 1879 for the ‘*Great Artists” series. The new volume is to contain a lengthy bibliographie raisonnée of works relating to Hogarth, and a full catalogue of the principal paintings and prints, with, in the case of the latter, indications of the dis- tinctive variations. The book will be sufficiently illustrated, and will be published next year by Messrs. Sampson Low & Co. as a library volume of about 450 pages. THE Hanover Exhibition, which is to be opened on January Ist at the New Gallery and closed in the following April, will contain the under-mentioned portraits of members of the royal house : Gainsborough’s ‘ Henry Frede- rick, Duke of Cumberland, and his. Wife’ (born Horton), ‘The Princesses, daughters of George IL.,’ and ‘ Edward Augustus, Duke of York,’— among statesmen, Reynolds’s ‘Third Earl of Bute’ and ‘First Marquis of Bute,’ as well as portraits by other hands of E. Burke, Pitt, Lords Cornwallis, Camden, Eldon, Godolphin, Hardwicke, Holland, Orford, Oxford, Pem- broke, Stanhope, and Sandwich,—among sailors and soldiers, Lords Anson, Torrington, Keith, Nelson, Rodney, Amherst, Keppel, Ligonier, and Clive, the generals Wolfe and John Moore, and Capt. Cook, —among poets, Byron, Con- greve, Keats (Sir C. Dilke’s miniature), Pope, Scott, and Shelley,—among men of the pen, Addison, Gibbon, Goldsmith, Lamb, Sterne, and Walpole,—among artists, Flaxman, Gains- borough, Hogarth, Lawrence, and Northcote,— among players, Foote, Garrick, Kean, Kemble, and Mrs. Siddons,—-and a goodly number of men of science, musicians, and ‘* women of the period.” More than two hundred and fifty pic- tures are already promised by H.M. the Queen, Lady Burdett-Coutts, Earl Bathurst, the Mar- quis of Bristol, the Lords Bagot, Carlisle, Chi- chester, Crawford, and Carnarvon, the Marquis of Clanricarde, Sir C. W. Dilke, Duke of Devonshire, Lords Derby, Denbigh, and De L’'Isle, Mr. John Evans, the Earl of Eldon, the Duke of Fife, Mr. Fortnum, the Dukes of Grafton and Hamilton, the Marquis of Hart- ington, Earl Howe, the Duke of Leeds, the Marquis of Lansdowne, Earl of Mayo, Earl of Malmesbury, Duke of Marlborough, Mr. A. Morrison, Viscount Midleton, Earl Nelson, the University of Oxford, Mr. J. L. Propert, the Duke of Richmond, the Royal Academy, the Royal Society, Earl Stanhope, Duchess of St. Albans, Lord Scarsdale, Lord St. Germains, Duke of Sutherland, Earl of Yarborough, Duke of Wellington, and the Earl of Wharncliffe. There will be a great collection of plate, Bat- tersea enamels, Wedgwood portraits, china, watches, autographs, and manuscript poetry. Amonea the relics recently acquired by the Department of Greek and Roman Antiquities, | British Museum, none excels a small archaic
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746 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3292, Nov. 29, 790 vase of the Mycene type, of dark creamy-brown slip. It is oblate in form, and has three handles for cords to suspend it. It is painted in black with three figures of the nautilus, each as if float- ing below water, while his tentacles and their suckers are curved above the shell. Between the animals are groups of seaweed. Above, so that the whole suggests a portion of the sea into which we look, is a line of smaller weed drifting on the surface. It is noteworthy that a similar suggestion occasionally appears in the decora- tions of Chinese and Japanese porcelain. The vase is most interesting from an art point of view, on account of the strikingly naturalistic motive of the execution of the animals and vegetation ; for instance, the beautiful contours of the shells, the subtle curves of the snake-like tentacles wavering, so to say, in the water, and the truthful way in which the weeds seem to share their motion. The draughtsmanship is, therefore, of a spirited, free and frank, and yet firm and crisp kind. Artists will recog- nize in these technical elements much which differs radically from the highly conventionalized silhouettes on Greek pottery, of whatever age and origin. A vase which is similar in all re- spects but its shape to the above is now, Mr. Murray has observed, in the Metropolitan Museum of New York, and belongs to the Historical Society of that city, a member of the Abbot Collection. The latter was found in Lower Egypt, and in it a scarabeus. The former is to be seen in the case containing terra- cottas of the Mycenz period, and placed against a wall in the First Vase Room. Near it, in a table case, are some small vases, recently ob- tained, of deep red terra-cotta. They were found by Mr. Dennis at Bin-Tepé, near Sardis, and are painted in chevrons of lighter red in imitation of the patterns which are common in Pheenician glass—a curious illustration of the antique practice of repeating the forms and decorations which are proper to one material in another. Tue Carlisle gems, of which we gave a general account in June last when they were acquired by the British Museum, are now exhibited in the Gem Room. They have been arranged in a case by themselves, and are mounted on cream- white velvet—a colour which not only lends itself to displaying the gems themselves, but, by harmonizing with the whiteness of the plaster, assorts with the whole in a fortunate manner. Tue Society of Painters in Water Colours has appointed to-day (Saturday) forthe private view of its Winter Exhibition, to which the public will be admitted on Monday next. Messrs. Buck & Rep are exhibiting at 179, New Bond Street, water-colour drawings of summer scenes on the coast of Norway by Mr. W. W. May; and Mr. Dunthorne has on view at 5, Vigo Street, thirty-five paintings in oil by Mr. A. Hartley of ‘‘ Constable’s Country.” At the Dudley Gallery, Egyptian Hall, Mr. F. E. James shows his water-colour drawings. At the Continental Gallery will be, next week, pictures from Paris and Munich, including two by M. J. V. Chelminski. Mr. G. F. Warts, R.A., has recently painted a portrait of Lady Kate Thynne, daughter of Lord Bath. At last there is a chance of Hogarth’s ‘country box” at Chiswick—where he spent many happy days and which he left shortly before his death—being rescued from neglect and duly cared for. The little estate has been bought by Mr. Alfred Dawson, of the Typo- graphic Etching Company, whose family has long owned the adjoining house and grounds, called The Cedars, and he intends to put a careful tenant into it, preserve all the old mementoes it still retains (much reduced in number though they be), and place them in good order. The house will be repaired, and as far as possible its old character will be preserved. ‘The roof will be repaired ; the kitchen will be reinstated, blocked windows will be opened, and the garden put and kept in order. Mr. Daw- son’s success in buying the place is to be envied where we and others failed to secure it, owing rather to the difficulty of finding a seller than lack of buyers. But it ought not to have been so much abused and allowed to decay. In it lived and died Mrs, Hogarth, Mrs. Lewis (Hogarth’s sister), Cary, the translator of Dante, and that once-renowned comedian Mr. ‘‘ Bravo ” Hicks. Eicut stained-glass windows, designed by Mr. P. H. Newman and executed by Messrs. Heaton, Butler & Bayne, have recently been placed in the new Law Courts, Birmingham. They comprise panels set in grisaille, with whole- length figures of worthies overhead, being in the east window William de Bermingham, Shakspeare, Edward IV., Bolton, David Cox, and Priestley. The other windows contain sub- jects representing the crafts pursued at Birming- ham, and certain typical figures of Health, Labour, Recreation, Law, Justice, Mercy, and the like. Tue Disney Professor of Archzeology proposes to deliver six lectures in the Lent Term, 1891, on the ‘Sculptured Stones of Cornwall, Wales, and Mann,’ at the Archzeological Museum at Cambridge. Dr. ScHLIEMANN will resume, together with Dr. Déorpfeld, his excavations at Troy next spring, and will begin by exploring a part of the lower city and the most ancient of the burial- places. Dr. Dérpfeld is unable as yet to deter- mine whether the large building, consisting of a square room with an open vestibule, discovered this year in the sixth city, is a megaron or a temple. The same stratum contained many fragments of vases of the style of Mycene. MUSIC ———— THE WEEK. Sr. JaMEs’s HaLit.—London Symphony Concerts. Albeniz’s Concerts. f Roya ITattan OPERA. — ‘L’Etoile du Nord.’ Lago’s Season. Ir may well be that the number of orchestral concerts in. London this season is in excess of the requirements of the musical public, though there are not want- ing signs that the taste for this form of entertainment is spreading, and that the standard of criticism has risen rapidly. Unhappily it is also noticeable that the music of only two or three composers can be depended upon to draw a large audience. While this exclusiveness prevails the state of things cannot be regarded as satisfactory. To Mr. Henschel’s credit be it said, he shows little disposition to pander to the tastes of the majority, and frames the pro- grammes of his Symphony Concerts with the idea of gratifying musicians. That of the first of his new series, on Thursday last week, was a model of its kind. It com- menced with Emmanuel Bach’s Symphony in F, composed in 1776, with the clavier part played on the harpsichord by Dr. Hubert Parry. The effect of this against a power- ful orchestra was ludicrous, and conveyed about as correct an idea of a performance in the time of the composer as would be gained were a conductor to give a render- ing of a Handel oratorio with simply the original accompaniments, but with fifty strings matched against four oboes and bas- soons. Another quasi-novelty consisted of the last entr’acte and the larghetto accompanying the death of Clirchen, from Beethoven’s ‘Egmont’ music. A performance of this splendid music in its entirety would be an Sefior Signor interesting feature in a concert programme. Fine performances were secured of Mozart’s ‘Prague’ Symphony in p; Brahms’s Sym- phony, No. 2, in the same key; and Wagner’s Overture to ‘The Flying Dutch- man.’ Indeed, Mr. Henschel has never appeared to greater advantage as a con- ductor than on this occasion. On the following evening Seiior Albeniz gave the second of his orchestral concerts, compositions by the Spanish pianist occupy- ing a large proportion of the programme. The most important item was a ‘ Concerto Fantastique’ in A minor, so called, we presume, because in its structural details it differs considerably from classical con- certo form. But it is written with clear- ness, and is entirely free alike from eccen- tricity and vulgarity. The opening move- ment, with its second subject in the style of modern French music, is not particu- larly interesting; but the scherzo, which follows without break upon a brief slow movement, is charming, and the finale, with its bright dance rhythm, may be regarded as a genuine and attractive piece of national Spanish music. Three orchestral movements (an “Tdyll” and a “Serenade” from ‘Scénes Symphoniques Catalanes,’ and a ‘‘ Rhapsodie Cubaine” from a ‘Suite Caractéristique’) were also performed. They are genial and picturesquely scored little pieces, but there is not much to distinguish them from French ballet music. Three of Sefor Albeniz’s dairity little piano pieces, played with ex- quisite delicacy of touch, completed his share as a composer in the programme. The conductor, Seiior Breton, was represented by the prelude to his opera ‘The Lovers of Ternel’ and a Scherzo with Trio, both of which made a favourable impression and incline critics to regard him as a composer of decided talent. We have yet to speak of a Dramatic Overture, by Mr. Arthur Hervey, conducted by the composer, who is known by his musicianly and pleasing songs. Ac- cording to the programme, “the idea the author had in his mind when composing this work was the struggle between love and adverse fate, culminating in the triumph of the latter.” This is a tragic theme, and it is worked out with considerable ingenuity and knowledge of effect. The overture may fairly be described as clever, but in dealing with the love motive the influence of Wagner is plainly discernible. In his future efforts the composer should aim more at independence of thought and treatment. The performance of ‘ L’ Etoile du Nord’ at Covent Garden on Tuesday was not one of the best of Signor Lago’s season. We do not complain because the camp scene was shorn of the greater part of its spectacular brilliancy ; but the evidence of insufficient rehearsal was frequently apparent, and there was one painful disaster. M. Maurel’s im- personation of Peter is a fine effort, ranking among the best which the French baritone has given us, though time is making inroads on the quality of his voice. Mlle. Strom- feld was but moderately successful as Catherine, the florid music which Meyerbeer has written for the part demanding a vocalist of the highest class in order to make the effect wholly agreeable. Mlle. Norini, who essayed the part of Prascovia, is evidently a novice on the stage, but she has a light, pleasant ‘soprano voice, and
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S Pu — . to N° 3292, Nov. 29, 90 ————E=_— THE ATHENAEUM 747 TT some natural intelligence. The well-trained, if somewhat thin tenor voice of Signor Guetary was of service in the part of Danilowitz. The season which ends to-day must be re- garded with mingled feelings, It will chiefly be remembered for the appearance of Mlle. Giulia Ravogli, one of the most gifted artists the generation has produced, and the amazing popular success of Gluck’s ‘Orpheus.’ This, together with the interest taken in Wagner’s operas and the utter indifference displayed towards works of the faded Italian school, affords testimony of the growth of higher tastes in the public mind, and indicates the direction in which those responsible for opera should move. While, however, thanking Signor Lago for services rendered, we must blame him for the cheeseparing policy which resulted in slovenly performances and mingled shabbi- ness and incongruity in the stage arrange- ments. Amateurs have supported him loyally, the season having been, we under- stand, satisfactory in a financial sense, and they have a right to expect in return that the works should be presented to them with a reasonable amount of artistic care. Musical Gossiy, Last Saturday’s Crystal Palace concert may be dismissed with few remarks. M. Paderewski made his second appearance and played his own Concerto in a minor, Op. 17, which was noticed on the occasion of its performance at St. James’s Hall on June 10th last. A further hearing does not tend to modify the initial impression made by the work. ' The orchestral works were Beethoven’s ‘ Eroica’ Symphony, Mendelssohn’s ‘ Hebrides’ Overture, and the ballet music from M. Saint-Saéns’s ‘ Ascanio,’ the last named for the first time. It created little effect, however, and it cannot be numbered among its coimposer’s happiest efforts. Mr. Plunket Greene sang Hans Sachs’s first. monologue from ‘ Die Meis- — * and Dr. Hubert Parry’s ‘ Anacreontic de.’ THE beautiful performance of Schumann’s Fantasia in c, Op. 17, by Miss Fanny Davies at last Saturday’s Popular Concert was a welcome relief after the sensational pianoforte playing we have had of late. Except for some trifling inaccuracies in the almost impossible coda of the second movement, the rendering of. the work was comparable with that of Madame Schumann herself, and higher praise could not be given. Mozart’s Quartet in p, No. 7, and Brahms’s Pianoforte Quartet in @ minor, Op. 25, were the concerted works in this programme ; and Madame Swiatlowsky was the vocalist. The Russian artist should not at present attempt music in the English language, her pronunciation being pain- fully imperfect. On Monday M. Paderewski repeated his somewhat unequal, though on the whole very fine performance of Beethoven’s Sonata in c minor, Op. 111, and the concerted works were the same composer’s Trio in B flat, Op. 97, and Mendelssohn’s Quartet in a minor, Op. 13. Mr. Norman Salmond was the vocalist in place of Miss Liza Lehmann, who, through illness, was unable to sing. 5 THE vocal recitals given by Mr. and Mrs. Henschel are always instructive as well as pleasing, and both terms may be applied with emphasis to the performance of Monday after- noon at the Princes’ Hall. Commencing with items by Marco da Gagliano, Grétry, Handel, and Cimarosa, the admirable artists passed on to three of Beethoven’s Scotch songs, in which the string accompaniments were rendered by Miss Emily Shinner and Miss Florence Hem- mings, and then to. Schumann’s noble song ‘Die Loéwenbraut,’ of which Mr. Henschel gave an extremely fine rendering. Mrs. Hen- schel was heard to equal advantage in Schu- bert’s ‘Suleika,’ ‘Geheimes,’ and ‘Im Frih- ling,’ and the same may be said of Mr. Henschel in some of Brahms’s Lieder. As a composer Mr. Henschel was represented by some duets, and also by three new songs, ‘Romanze,’ ‘Morgen als Lerche,’ and ‘Der Bote,’ the second and third of which are most charming. THE performance of Berlioz’s ‘Faust’ by the Royal Choral Society at the Albert. Hall. on Wednesday evening was of full average merit ; that is to say, the choir sang to perfection, while the orchestra, as usual, was somewhat feeble. Full justice was rendered to the solo-parts by Madame Albani, Mr. Ben Davies, .Mr.. Ben Grove, and Mr. Henschel. ; TuHE first series of lectures by, Pref. Bridge at Gresham College proved remarkably successful, the attendance being unprecedentedly large. It seems probable that the. institution will at length prove of some value as regards the in- terests of music. : Ir is proposed to found a: violin and other orchestral scholarships at: the Royal College of Music in memory of the late, M.,Sainton... A meeting in furtherance of the scheme will ,be held at the Academy on Wednesday next. ScHUMANN’s Quartet in A minor, Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet, and Beethoven’s Sonata in a for piano and violoncello, Op. 69,. were the principal items in the second .concert of the Musical Guild at the Kensington Town. Hall on Tuesday evening. ; Govunop’s charming comic opera ‘The Mock Doctor’ was revived by Mr. Richard Temple’s company at the Grand Theatre on Monday. The work, however, is given too much in the style of an opéra bouffe, and the performance will scarcely bear serious criticism, though it may suit provincial audiences. MeENDELSSOHN’s ‘Elijah’ was performed at Sir Charles Halle’s Manchester concerts on Thursday, with Miss Anna Williams, Madame Hope Glenn, Mr. Iver McKay, and Mr. Andrew Black as the principal vocalists. Braums has completed a new string quintet, which will be first performed. in. Vienna. | It will doubtless be heard in London during the season. CONCERTS, &c., NEXT WEEK. - Mon. Royal College of Music Concert, 3.30, Alexandra House. — ° Mr. Carter's Scotch Concert, 7.45, Albert Hall. . — Popular Concert, 8, St. James's Hall. — Hackney Choral Association, ‘The Golden Legend;' 8, Shore- ditch Town Hall. Tvrs. Mr. Isidor de Lara’s Concert, 8, St. James's Hall... Wep. Master Isidore Pavia’s Piano Recital, 3, St. James’s Hall. — Messrs, Lindo’s Musical and Dramatic Recital, 3, Steinway Royal Osthege of Music Vocal Recital, 8, Alexandra House. London Kallad Concert, 8, St. James's Hall... . Westminster Orchestral Society's Concert, 8, Westminster Town Hall. — Miss Helen Townshend's Concert, 8, Steinway Hall. — Strolling Players’ Concert, 9, Princes’ 1. Tuurs. Master Jean Gerardy’s Violoncello Recital, 3, St. James's Hall. — London Symphony Concert, 8, St. James’s Hall. — Mr. Norris Croker’s Vocal Recital, 8, Steinway Hall. Far Royal Artillery Band Concert, 3, St. James's 1. — Madame Essipoff's Chamber Concert, 3, Steinway Hall. - Miss Emlie Hawkins's Concert, 8, Steinway Hall. — Seiior Sarasate’s Concert, 8, St. James’s Hall. Crystal Palace Concert, 3. — Post Office Orphan Home Concert, 8, St. James's Hall. DRAMA ee THE ‘ION.’ AT CAMBRIDGE. AFTER a rather longér interval than usual, another Greek play has been produced upon the Cambridge stage. The elder tragedians and Aristophanes have had their turn, and after con- siderable discussion it was agreed that Euripides should no longer be left unrepresented. Asa play it could hardly be expected that the ‘Ion’ would compete on equal terms with the master- pieces already produced, with the ‘ Ajax,’ or the ‘ Edipus,’ or the ‘ Eumenides’; while the spec- tacular effects for which it affords an oppor- tunity, fine as they are, do not rival those offered by the ‘Birds.’ The motives of the poem, sarcastic and sceptical in feeling, melo- dramatic in aetion, cannot make so deep an im: pression on the mind of the spectator as the grave and majestic tragedies of the older writers. The tone of Euripides is too near the tone of the present day ; his attitude towards the gods of Olympus.and the superstitions of Delphi seems familiar ; we almost feel as if we were listening to a ** Tendenz-drama.” of our own times. The gods are there, it is true, but they are in the likeness. of men, -and of -men,- too, by -no means a credit to.their kind. .The morality displayed on all hands is of, the lowest type, and when the curtain. falls on. the outraged mother, the credulous husband, and the bastard son, an unpleasant sensation is left ef violence and fraud. in high places, lies pol- luting the fountain of truth, and wrongdoing unpunished .because it is the wrongdoing -of immortals, , a Nevertheless, it need hardly be said, the play is by no means devoid of interest, and contains passages of great beauty. . Creusa, Ion, Xuthus, the curious maidens who. enjoy the sights of Delphi, the slave: who pours his vengeful counsel into his: mistress’s ear, are all intensely human. The opening scene, where Ion in the sunny morning hour sets about his simple tasks in front of the temple, and chants his salutation to the god; .is one: of the most picturesque in the whole range of Greek poetry. The second ‘act, in which Creusa, maddened by ancient wrong and new. deceit; throws off all shame and shrieks her defiance in the face of Apollo, is very powerful; while’ the sudden dénotment in which the. would-be murderess; herself within an inch of death, recognizes’ as her son the youth at whose hands she was about to suffer, is dramatic in the extreme. After all, however, neither these passages nor the choric odes, beautiful as théy are, make up for the intrinsic faults. of the play, the meanness of the motives, the absence-of any nobility of character among gods or men. *° 0 72's) 0 How far the play is to be considered as an attack on the credit of the Delphic oracle as well as on the character of Apollo would: bean interesting question to discuss at length did space allow. Dr. Verrall, in his clever though almost super-subtle preface to the edition which -he has lately published of the play, puts forward an original view, to the effect that, after all, the oracle did not lie in declaring Ion to be the som of Xuthus, that Ion was therefore not the son of Creusa, and that the whole of the recognition scene is, therefore, an ingenious fraud, designed on the spur of the moment: to save ‘the life of Creusa, to rescue Ion from .the guilt of murder, and to avoid -the: pollution of the temple. : The ground of this somewhat surprising hypothesis seems to be the notion that to make thie oracle of Delphi tell a lie would have:been too great an outrage on the popular faith for even Euri- pides to dare or for his audiencé to tolerate. It is suggested, therefore, that the child of Apollo and Creusa is really dead, and that Ion is the son of Xuthus and the Pythian priestess. This accounts (in a rationalistic way) for the appearance of the cradle in which Ion had: been found within the sacred.enclosure, and for its preservation in the temple. The identification of the child by means of the. articles in the cradle, which under this hypothesis seems little short of miraculous, is explained’ by saying that the articles are only such as any mother would have put into the cradle in similar circumstances, or that they were put in immediately before by some one who was in the plot. This, at least, appears to be what Dr. Verrall intends to con- vey, though it must be confessed that the dramatic form into which he has thrown this part of the preface makes it a little difficult to. discover his exact intention. It is impossible to discuss this theory, though it seems worth while ‘to call attention to it, in this place. It must suffice to say that it bristles, at first sight, with improbabilities. If Ion was
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748 THE ATHENAUM Ne 3292, Nov. 29, 90 seieeinieen not the son of Apollo why should the god have troubled himself in the matter at all? Why should Hermes at the outset of the play, and Athene at the end, speaking as the mouthpiece of Apollo, declare him to be Apollo’s son? The Athenians might have been willing to accept a son of Creusa, a direct descendant of Erich- thonius, as the founder of the Ionian race, but how would they have welcomed a son of Xuthus, who was nothing to them at all? The chorus declare, in forcible language, their readiness to hunt such a one out of the country. Again, supposing Ion to be Xuthus’s son, what would have been Creusa’s feelings, not to mention those of Ion, when they found—as they must eventually have found—that they had been deceived ? and what would have been Ion’s fate at his stepmcther’s hands? Lastly, how could an Athenian audience have borne to see Athene, their own Athene, a partner in Apollo’s lie ?—a futile lie to boot, which ex hypothesi the audience were expected to see through, as an Athenian dicast saw through false statements in the courts. And all this is to rescue the oracle from the charge of mendacity. But, in the first place, it is not clear that the oracle is more than what it always was, ambiguous, in ‘‘giving” to Xuthus this son ; and, in the second, even if we have to grant that the oracle lied, which would have been more distasteful to Athenians, —that the oracle of Delphi, the ally of Sparta, should lie, or that their own Athene should play them false and try to foist upon them a bastard of unknown race ? This question, however, can hardly have affected very deeply the minds of the actors, still less those of the audience. The play was acted and listened to in its simplicity, as the story of an injured mother and a long-lost son, and as such it was interesting enough. The part of Creusa, which affords more scope for acting than any other in the piece, was, on the whole, well played by Mr. Newton, who is gifted with dignity of manner, a pleasing and sympathetic voice, and some power of express- ing emotion, though it must be allowed that in the recognition scene his action was somewhat wooden and his attitudes ungraceful. The old slave (Mr. Palk) was adequately persuasive and venomous. The part of Xuthus (Mr. Jacques) does not afford many opportunities. That of Ion is difficult, but Mr. Powys acquitted himself creditably. It cannot be said that any great histrionic talent was displayed, but, on the other hand, the average was high, and there were no failures. Much credit is due to the trainers, especially to Dr. Waldstein, for this good result. Longer preparation would no doubt have enabled them to pay more attention to the supers, whose byplay was decidedly deficient. The chorus, under the efficient direction of Dr. Stanford, was perfect in its singing and its evolutions. The music, which has always been a notable feature of the Cambridge plays, was on this occasion the work of Mr. Charles Wood. Though not equal to the music to which Dr. Parry set the ‘ Birds,’ it was an excellent piece of work, vivacious, expressive, andin parts very melodious. Tt need hardly be said that the stage arrange- ments, being under the charge of Mr. J. W. Clark, were thoroughly satisfactory. Bramatic Gossip, Henry JEFFRIES ASHLEY, who died last week at St. Thomas’s Hospital of typhoid fever, was the nephew of Dr. Doran, was born in London, and passed some years in the study of civil engineering. From Glasgow, where he first appeared as an actor, he came to the St. James’s Theatre, London, and made his début, October 29th, 1860, as Lieut. Greenway in Tom Taylor’s ‘Up at the Hills.’ As a young actor he made little mark. A vein of eccentric comedy, how- ever, developed itself, and he became perhaps the best representative of foolish and wicked old men in adaptations from the Palais Royal and the Variétés. His greatest success was obtained in the ‘ Pink Dominoes.’ ‘In CHANCERY,’ a three-act comedy of Mr. A. W. Pinero, has been revived at Terry’s Theatre, where it seems likely to enjoy a run, First produced at the Lyceum Theatre, Edin- burgh, September 19th, 1884, it was transferred on December 24th of the same year to the Gaiety. Three years later it was given for a few days at the Olympic. Not until Saturday last, however, has it ever been played under conditions that fairly test its merits. Its subject, total loss of memory through an accident and consequent inability to establish an individuality, is a trifle grim for a three-act jest. Mr. Pinero has treated it with commendable lightness, and his idea is well carried out by Mr. Terry, whose expression of mental perplexity is thoroughly comic. The whole, accordingly, though it has nothing approaching to a sentimental interest, amuses and stimulates the public. Mr. Julian Cross, Mr. Irish, Miss Mills, and Miss Arm- bruster take part in the interpretation. ‘My Lapy HeEtp,’ a one-act comedietta by Mr. Arthur Macklin, produced at the Shaftes- bury Theatre, deals with a theme almost as old as the beginnings of farce, viz., the way in which a runaway heroine disarms the wrath of a guardian on whom the couple depend for bare existence. The daughter of an earl, she assumes the duties of cook and housemaid, looks so becoming in her apron, and displays such resources in housekeeping, that the old man, who is a strong Radical, is subjugated. Miss Florence West, Mr. Henry V. Esmond (who was not too articulate), and Mr. John Beau- champ were the interpreters of a decidedly con- ventional piece. Or Mr. Willard—whose first appearance in America took place at Palmer’s Theatre, New York, as Cyrus Blenkarn in ‘The Middleman ’— the New York Tribune speaks in terns of much enthusiasm, declaring practically that no English actor has displayed more striking merit or won a more decisive triumph. Ipsen’s ‘Rosmersholm’ is shortly to be pro- duced, for the first time in England, at a West- End theatre. The cast, which will include several well-known names, is now being arranged, and a young actress whose performance in a poetic play last spring attracted much attention will appear as the heroine. ‘THe Capitat OFFENCE,’ and not ‘ Murder,’ as has been announced, will be the title of Mr. J. W. Pigott’s new piece, with which Mr. Norman Forbes will open the Globe Theatre. THE Volkstheater-Commission of Vienna is said to have offered a prize for the best piece written in glorification of the momentous events of March, 1848, and another prize for a suitable overture, which is to be an apotheosis of freedom. The piece and the music are to be performed in the month of March of each year. THE number of ‘‘memorial tablets” at Berlin will shortly be increased by one to be affixed to the house in the Mauerstrasse where the unfortunate dramatist Heinrich von Kleist resided last, and where he wrote ‘ Der Prinz von Homburg.’ A MEETING of the delegates of the ‘‘ Genos- senschaft Deutscher Biihnenangehorigen ” will take place at Berlin from the 10th to the 12th of December. The pitiable state of numerous members of German theatres not subsidized by the Government will form part of the discus- sion. To CoORRESPONDENTS.—H. V.—F. B.—J. O.—S. L. L.— F. M.—received. A. W.—It came too late. L.— Forwarded. No notice will be taken of anonymous communications. 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The praises deservedly given to Miss Lawless for her ‘ Hurrish’ are due to you, but in a higher degree for a fuller and better adjusted picture.” KIT and KITTY: a Story of West Middlesex. By R. D. BLACKMORE, Author of ‘ Lorna Doone,’ &c. New and Cheaper Edition. Crown 8vo. cloth, 6s. “*Kit and Kitty’ is a manly book, with a sort of fine, open delicacy of ‘sentiment, thoroughly wholesome and pleasing...... ‘ew recent novels have maintained so high a standard of excellence throughout.”—Atheneum, FOURTH EDITION NOW READY AT ALL LIBRARIES. IN DARKEST AFRICA. By Henry M. STANLEY, D.C.L. LL.D., &c. Being the Official Publication recording the Quest, Rescue, and the Retreat of Emin, Governor of Equatoria. 2 vols. demy 8vo. with 150 Illustrations and 3 Maps, in handsome cloth binding, Two Guineas. ‘Mr. Stanley's narrative of his adventures, privations, sufferings, trials, dangers, and discoveries during his heroic quest and rescue of Emin Pasha is as moving and enthralling a tale as ever was told by man.”— Times. London: SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE & RIVINGTON (LIMITED), St. Dunstan’s House, Fetter-lane, Fleet-street, E.C,
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N° 3293, Dec. 6, 90 THE ATHENEZUM 769 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1890. CONTENTS. PAGE Lorp HovGuron’s LIFE AND LETTERS ... 769 PICTURESQUE LONDON... ees ose a ae 770 PrRoF. Max MULLER ON NATURAL RELIGION ... 770 THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA one 772 NovELs oF THE WEEK 773 CHRISTMAS Books 774 RECENT VERSE ... ave see pie oe oes so |= Our Liprary TaBLE—List oF NEw Books 775—776 THE RHYME OF THE THREE CapTAIns; THE PETRIE PapyrRiI; Mr. GEORGE BELL ... or 776—778 LITERARY GossIP . 178 SclENCE—NrEw Maps AnD ATLASES; ANTHROPO- LogicaL Notes; SocreTIEs; MEETINGS; GossIP 779—780 FINE ARTS—CHRISTMAS Books; THE SOCIETY OF PAINTERS IN WATER Colours; THE REV. JOSEPH MASKELL; NoTES FROM ATHENS; GossIP... 781—783 Music—THE WEEK; Gossip; ConceRTS, &¢C., NEXT WEEE ... ve ove ase a0 see 784—785 DRaAMA—THE WEEK; LIBRARY TABLE; GossIP . 785 MISCELLANEA ‘ . 786 LITERATURE —e— The Life, Letters, and Friendships of Richard Monckton Milnes, First Lord Houghton. By T. Wemyss Reid. 2 vols. (Cassell & Co.) Mr. Wemyss Rerp has produced an excel- lent and most entertaining book about one of the kindest of men, and most really estimable in spite of faults which lay upon the surface. Lord Houghton is allowed by his biographer to tell his own tales, and right well he tells them ; and the volumes, which would seem to need no lightening, are further brightened by some amusing letters from other persons. In Lord Houghton’s own contributions by way of letter, commonplace book notes, and autobiographical sketch, it is sometimes a little difficult to find the real meaning which underlies the superficial paradox or the assumed violence of language. It was not for nothing that Lord Houghton was styled by some of his friends “‘ the bird of paradox”; and,as Mr. Wemyss Reid him- self says, the younger men who met Lord Houghton for the first time used to offend him by taking seriously many things meant by him for chaff, but uttered with such solemnity and such force that they seemed serious statements of profound belief. We ourselves suffer under Lord Houghton’s amusing banter. He writes of the Atheneum in a letter to a friend, as he often wrote of it to ourselves in his last years, as a journal which it was impossible for him with self- respect to see except when it was given to him, as he felt that he ought not to spend his money upon purchasing copies of a paper which he declared had compared his poetry to that of Eliza Cook. It must not, however, be supposed that there is nothing but gossip, anecdote, and wit in Lord Houghton’s remains, and it would be difficult to produce a better statement of his Whig point of view of the Irish question than the following :— ‘* The whole truth of the matter [he wrote] is in this distinction, that this and similar questions must be regarded from an Irish, not an English point of view, just as we make concessions and regulations in our colonies which we would not do at home. Ireland is there, and we can- not get rid of her without ruining the Empire. She is governed by Roman Catholic priests, whom we cannot convert and must not persecute. She compels us to keep up an immense army in time of peace, and prevents us from going safely priests as good an education as I can get them to take, and, unless you can tell me some better, wiser, and cheaper way of improving Ireland and its government, I believe I have done right.” On the other hand, as a specimen of Lord Houghton’s paradox, we have his positive assertion, a little later in the same volume, that the second Duke of Wellington ‘‘ would have been one of the greatest men in Eng- land” if he had not been overshadowed by the reputation of his father. That the second Duke of Wellington was a man who could say good things is true; but that he could under any circumstances have been one of the greatest men in the country is not true, and no one knew that better than Lord Houghton. A little later, again, we come to a note-book extract which no one would ascribe to Lord Houghton from internal evidence, and which, perhaps for that reason, is curious and worth quotation: ‘It is since I have seen the governors of mankind, and what they are in comparison with the governed, that I have become Republican.” More in Lord Houghton’s well-known manner are his remarks upon Macaulay :—‘‘ Macaulay’s success has been enormous; indeed, such as to convince one his book cannot be worth much......A young officer said to me, ‘ That is what I call a his- tory. We took five copies at our depot.’ ” Or his note a little further on in the same letter: ‘‘ Brougham said the other day, ‘The Apostles would have had no chance against the Zimes.’”? There is a pathetic note in a letter from France about the birth of the Prince Imperial: ‘(Instead of this poor child being a harbinger of peace, who knows that he will not be an euthor of confusion and discord, a Pretender the more?” As regards India, Lord Houghton took an independent line, as he did with regard to Ireland; and in 1857, when the destruction of the East India Company was in view, he declared emphatically that he hoped that any alteration of system “ will be in the direction of making India more, and not less, independent of English inter- ference, and that we shall have no more ‘rising statesmen’ for Governor-Generals.” In this Lord Houghton agreed with so great an authority as John Stuart Mill; but Mill may be said in a sense to have been liable to prejudice from the connexion of himself and his father with the East India Company, whereas Lord Houghton is entirely free from the shadow of a suspicion affecting the in- dependence of his judgment in this matter. Time has, perhaps, confirmed the wisdom of his view. In a very different tone is the amusing note a little later: ‘‘It is an advantage of entertaining Royalty that you need not care for anybody else.” The following is also, if a little cynical, an entertaining passage : ‘‘The Italians are showing that unenthu- siastic, ungrateful, practical sense which renders them so capable of politics and fit for freedom.” There is not much light thrown upon any mysterious or hitherto unknown point of politics or literature in this ‘ Life,’ and one of the few exceptions (if it be one, for Persigny talked pretty freely) is in a letter from Lord Houghton to Mr. refusal of the Empress to sign preliminaries of peace when Regnier brought over General Bourbaki from Bazaine at Metz. Persigny told Lord Houghton that it was intended, by those who were privy to the scheme, that after signing a peace the Empress Regent should abdicate, the Emperor abdicating at the same time, and that the Prince Imperial, with a Council of Regency, should be recognized by the army. Persigny thought that even the Republicans would fall in with this arrangement, preferring that an irre- sponsible child should ascend the throne after a disgraceful peace rather than that they should sign such a peace; and Lord Hough- ton very properly expressed his dissent from Persigny’s view. It is clear from the letter that Persigny was in negotiation with Bazaine, and was attempting to negotiate with the Prussians; and so much as this can hardly be said to have come out upon this point in the Bazaine court-martial, where Regnier’s agency was never fully proved. The letter from which we have just now quoted was addressed to Mr. Gladstone when Prime Minister in 1870. Another interesting letter is one about him when he was Prime Minister for the second time in 1883: ‘ He......is always glad to shake hands with Liverpool, though that city has never embraced him. Nevertheless, Mrs. G. will die Viscountess Liverpool.” Lord Houghton’s letters to his son in the last years of his life are extremely pleasant, and give an excellent idea of the best side of the man. Here and there they contain a good deal of wisdom and much anecdote, as, for example :— ‘‘TLord Melbourne once said to me, ‘We Whigs have made two great mistakes : we have always underrated two powers—the Church of England, and the Pope.’ As to our relations with the latter, Lord Lyons, who has had the experience, is fond of saying, ‘It is so difficult to deal diplomatically with the Holy Spirit.’” The author of ‘Bishop Blougram’s Apology’ seems, however, to have had no dread of diplomatic dealings of the kind. When there was a talk of an English mission to Pio Nono in 1847, Browning wrote to Monckton Milnes, asking him ‘to mention in the proper quarter, should you see occasion, that I would be glad and proud to be the secretary to such an embassy, and to work like a horse in my vocation. You know I have studied Italian literature sedulously. Governments nowadays give poets pensions: I believe one may dun them into it. Now, I and my wife ‘keep our pen out of lenders’ books, and defy the foul fiend.’ We are quite inde- pendent, through God’s goodness, and trust to continue so; but, as I say, I should like to re- member at a future day that I proposed (and through the intervention of such a person as yourself, if you will lend it to me) to deserve well of my generation by doing in this matter what many circumstances embolden me to think few others could do so well.” No mission was sent, and Prior remains the last English poet of note who was a secre- tary of embassy. Mr. Wemyss Reid is not a timid biographer. He has left in a good many things (and very properly left them in) which some men would have left out; and the result is that there are those who may be displeased at what they read about themselves in Lord Gladstone, in which Lord Houghton states to war. I have voted money to give those that Persigny was most indignant at the Houghton’s letters, as, for example, the Duke of Cambridge :—
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‘*T remember once saying to him that I was sure he would not dine with me for fear of meeting Garibaldi or the King of Prussia, and he said, ‘It might be so, and he did not know which of the two he hated most.’ ” Among the matters which do not con- cern Lord Houghton, but which are of interest in themselves, and find a place in Mr. Wemyss Reid’s volumes because of some accidental discovery of them among Lord Houghton’s papers, are many sayings of Carlyle, and one most characteristic letter of the Duke of Wellington, almost as good in its way as the famous ones about the Field Marshal’s braces or about “the ashes of Napoleon Buonaparte” :— “London, July 3rd, 1847. (At Night.) ““F. M. (the Duke of Wellington) presents his compliments to Mr. Edkins. It is certainly true that anybody is at liberty to inquire the opinion of the Duke of Wellington on any sub- ject, but he hopes that the Duke of Wellington has the liberty, which all other individuals have, to decline to give an opinion. When certain respected individuals about two years ago ex- pressed their desire that the Duke should give sittings to an artist to enable him to construct an equestrian statue of himself which they were desirous of erecting, and which he was informed that his Gracious Sovereign had desired might be placed on the land adjoining the entrance into the Green Park from Hyde Park Corner, in com- memoration of bygone events and transactions in which he had acted a part, he consented, on condition that, excepting to sit to the artist, he should from that time forward have nothing to do with the work, or, to use his own words, should be considered as dead. He has accord- ingly, from that time forward, had no relation with the work in question. He has seen it as others have—nay, more frequently than others, as it is placed opposite the windows of his house ; but, as was becoming, he has uniformly avoided to give any opinion on the work or on the position in which it is placed. He desires to persevere in this course, which is the most becoming for an individual in a discussion on a statue of himself, intended to commemorate to posterity transactions in which he has acted a part.” Carlyle appears in all parts of the present work, and there is a whole appendix of his sayings, as there is another appendix of those of Sydney Smith. The following is Carlyle’s account of his last sight of Thackeray :— ‘*Poor Thackeray! Isaw him not ten days ago. I was riding in the dusk, heavy of heart, along by the Serpentine and Hyde Park, when some human brother from a chariot, with a young lady in it, threw me a shower of saluta- tions. I looked up—it was Thackeray with his daughter : the last time I was to see him in this world. He had many fine qualities, no guile or malice against any mortal ; a big mass of a soul, but not strong in proportion; a beautiful vein of genius lay struggling about in him. Nobody in our day wrote, I should say, with such perfection of style.” It is high praise, but deserved, to say that Houghton’s old friends will be satisfied with this book, and that those who did not know him, or had but a mere acquaintance with him, will read it feeling it to be fair and truthful, and by reading it will have their opinion of the man, if they have formed one, raised.
Picturesque London. By Percy Fitzgerald F.S.A. iano (Ward & Downey.) In the preface to this handsome volume Mr. Percy Fitzgerald modestly declares that he
only pretends to give select specimens of the beauties of London, and that he wishes to register impressions, not to impart the historical and antiquarian information of the official guide-book. That being the case, there is little to blame in his letterpress, though its virtues are chiefly negative. Mr. Fitzgerald has evidently explored his Lon- don; he writes of architecture in appre- ciative, if rather dogmatic style, and has a genuine hatred of so-called restorations. He is, however, far too much inclined to dwell upon particular defects in Wren’s churches rather than upon their general merits, upon which besides he is opinionative rather than learned. Again, his disquisitions on the pictures of the National Gallery will hardly command universal assent, though he has a fine feeling for Constable. It is unnecessary to say that an abundant crop of characteristic blunders can be gathered from his pages. The portico, or rather the doorway, of the Grosvenor Gallery was not originally that of “‘ some palace in Italy,” but of the church of St. Lucia at Venice, and is the work of Palladio; the atrocious front is by Sams. The Burlington Arcade was built not ‘ some forty or fifty years ago,” but in 1815. Similarly, “‘some fifty years ago” George IV. had long been in his grave, and therefore his minister could not have sug- gested to him the pulling down of St. James’s Palace. York Street, Covent Garden, by an equally glaring inaccuracy, is said to have been named after the brother instead of the son of CharlesI. Mr. Fitz- gerald is unable to discover the subject of the grotesque statue formerly in Leicester Square. From a very obvious source of in- formation, however, he might have learnt that itrepresented GeorgeI., and was brought from Canons in 1747. Still most people can discover these mistakes for themselves, and if Mr. Fitzgerald inspires his readers with a desire to know London better than they do at present, his unambitious object will after all have been gained. His best chapters are those on the architecture of the brothers Adam, to whom we owethe Adelphi Terrace, and on the old taverns. There is a melan- choly little foot-note to the description of the White Hart in the Borough, where Mr. Pickwick was introduced to Sam Weller : ‘“‘Since the above was written the White Hart has been demolished.” Mr. Fitzgerald speaks, of course, with authority on the town of Dickens, though Golden Square is traversed, rather unaccountably, without a mention of Ralph Nickleby and Newman Noggs. However, amends is made by the capital conversation between Dickens and the old toll-keeper of Waterloo Bridge, which Mr. Fitzgerald repeats with great gusto. From a Dickens anecdote on p. 86 we infer that Sam Rogers dropped his /’s. This is, indeed, a revelation. By the way, the illustration of Doughty Street, where, in No. 48, the last part of the ‘ Pickwick Papers’ was written, is somewhat ineffec- tive, and gives a poor idea of that grimly respectable thoroughfare. The chapter on old doorways is sugges- tive, though ill arranged; and much is to be learnt from that on old town mansions, inadequate though it is. But Mr. Fitz- gerald should not have reproduced, pre- sumably from J. T. Smith’s ‘Topography of London,’ an engraving of the curious
chimney-piece formerly in Sir Paul Pindar’s house without an intimation that it was demolished so long ago as 1811. His account of the objects of interest in the suburbs is animated, but superficial. For instance, as Mr. Fitzgerald is a great ad- mirer of Grinling Gibbons, it is strange that the fine specimens of that master’s handiwork to be seen in the chapel of Morden College, Blackheath, should have escaped his notice. The college, too, is incorrectly called a retreat for “ genteel persons.’ It is a retreat for decayed mer- chants, and its date is not 1675, but twenty years later. Again, Mr. Perceval — not ‘“‘ Percival” —is oddly described as one of the ‘‘Opposition ministers’””—fearful wild- fowl—who visited Caroline, Princess of Wales, at the neighbouring Ranger’s House. The worst feature in this book is its total lack of method. Mr. Fitzgerald frequently repeats himself, e.g., there are two descrip- tions of Willis’s Rooms; and though it is true enough that Fitzroy Square bears a strong resemblance to Bath, it was unneces- sary to mention the fact some three or four times. Similarly, itis distracting to be whisked off from Soho to the Bayswater burial-ground where Sterne is, or is not, interred ; and after an exploration of the Strand the reader is disconcerted on finding himself dragged back to the Garrick Club from Blackfriars Bridge, and thence to the Law Courts. Mr. Fitzgerald’s pace is seldom under four miles an hour; sometimes he positively runs, and as he barely indicates his way, even the experienced Londoner will have some difficulty in following him. The manner in which he hops in and out of the Temple and Gray’s Inn is peculiarly irritating. His artists seem to have been thrown off the scent more than once, for there are several illustrations to which no reference is to be found in the text. Again, we cannot help feeling that Mr. Fitzgerald has treated the Abbey in a somewhat trivial spirit, and though the works of Roubiliac are, perhaps, calculated to suggest incongruous associa- tions, the Abbey is the last place in the world in which vent should be given to Mark Twain and water. Even more will- ingly would we have been spared the in- formation that Mr. Irving’s rooms are ‘‘rich and luxurious, as becomes so con- spicuous a person,” and the extract from Mrs. Haweis with its perplexing statement that a hall in Sir Frederic Leighton’s house “ strikes a full deep chord of colour.” This is mere society journalism of the smaller sort. Mr. Fitzgerald ought also to have furnished a less meagre index to his book, from which it would be unjust to part without a word of praise to the illus- trations—particularly Mr. Hume Nisbet’s admirable frontispiece of ‘The Houses of Parliament,’ and Mr. George Seymour’s sympathetic sketch of ‘Cheyne Walk.’
Natural Religion. ‘‘ Gifford Lectures.” By F. Max Miiller. (Longmans & Co.) TueEseE lectures have a claim on our interest beyond what they would possess merely asthe work of a learned and accomplished writer ; they are the first published fruits of thefamous bequest of Lord Gifford for promoting the study of natural theology. Mr. Max Miiller in his own person neither opposes nor defends
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XUM N° 3293, Dec. 6, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 771 the dogma that the pious founder—the well- worn phrase is with unusual truth applicable to the deceased judge—had set his heart on defending. The theme of his lectures is not the invulnerability of natural religion, but the comparative study of all religions generally, that either exist now or have existed in the past. That in so doing he follows with sufficient exactitude certain indications in Lord Gifford’s will we have no intention of disputing. But this amount of conformity seems not to have been close enough to have satisfied the professor’s conscience. He therefore sets himself to demonstrate, with amusing and apparently unconscious sophistry, the entire identity between the objects of his own interest and of Lord Gifford’s. Both desire, it appears, a science of religion, and Lord Gifford proves his close observation of the current of European thought by his zeal to further the newest, the last to be endowed, of all the sciences. That Lord Gifford earnestly desired scientific and demonstra- tive knowledge is plain—a demonstrative knowledge, namely, of God’s existence and attributes. Is the comparative science of religions identical with this? is not the end of such a science rather to demonstrate a certain temper, tendency, and development in the human mind? (Cf. ‘ Coincidences...... at all times,” pp. 99-100.) Mr. Max Miiller prefers to say that his science is *‘an attempt to discover the true nature and purpose of all religion” or ‘the essential elements of true religion” (p. 53). (Here “religion”? is qualified as “true,” not ‘“nature.”) Be it so; can this design be identified with the attempt to exhibit an objective foundation for any or all religions, a correspondence of any of them with the real facts of the universe? On the whole, perhaps, it will be best not to probe our author’s mind too deeply on these matters. His most disputable pages show him to be a master of literary tact, a most adroit prac- titioner in the art of conciliating an au- dience. Whether, while glibly talking of “science,” he quite realized what ‘‘science”’ is—what he can have intended by his dis- tinction between ‘natural’ and “his- torical” sciences—these are not problems that any hearer under the present spell of these well-rounded periods would be likely to put. To come from criticism to statement, we find this exposition of natural religion sub- divided into three parts—definition of the subject, discussion of the right treatment of it, description of the materials for its study. The current definitions, Mr. Max Miiller urges, whether they view religion as knowledge, practice, or temper of mind, whether they define it as knowledge of God, service of Him, or absorption in the Divine will, err equally because they leave the object in their definitions—God, that is, or the Divine will—undefined, or, as Mr. Max Miiller loosely puts it, ‘take this object for granted.” Two servants of God, as he happily points out by reference to Fichte, may be at utter variance with one | another, may denounce each other as the very type of irreligion, if the gods they worship are different. The remark is no doubt perfectly true; but what does it sug- gest? To Mr. Max Miiller it suggests that | all the definitions of religion have, as ex- plained above, been fatally lacking by leaving hopelessly ambiguous the cardinal term in them, the object of that service or knowledge in which they describe religion to consist; we have, therefore, to come to an agreement as to that object, and the religions of all men will be seen to be in unity. To a more practically-minded per- son it might possibly occur that, since the religions of the world have notoriously not been at unity, but have by their difference provoked more strife than they have quenched, such an aim as to prove the objects of all religions identical is chimerical. If in one civilized society, that of Germany of the nineteenth century, there can exist such a radical difference between Fichte and the opponents of Fichte, is it not rather hopeless to seek to prove a common basis— nay more, a common object—upon which all religious sentiment or belief everywhere is directed? Mr. Max Miiller, however, proceeds on his way disturbed by no such considerations, and ultimately, with un- doubted ingenuity, learning, and candour, convinces himself, as he has done before, that the final object that has everywhere inspired the religious sentiment is the in- finite, which may be either the infinite in nature, or in man, or in the self, and thus gives rise to three types of natural religion —the physical, the anthropological, and the psychological. Incidentally some remarks are made (to our thinking, harsh and un- justifiable) on the looseness with which recent writers on the history of religion are supposed to have conceived the meaning of animism, fetishism, and totemism. Not to insist further on this protest, we have to explain that what Mr. Max Miiller oddly calls anthropological religion is that form of religion based on ancestor-worship, while psychological religion is the worship of goodness, or of the separate tendencies, col- lectively forming goodness, which we re- cognize in ourselves, and then practically, or even—as in Roman religion—absolutely, personify. It must be added that the doc- trine that ‘‘ religion consists in the percep- tion of the infinite” comes to be qualified by the addition ‘‘ under such manifestations as are able to influence the moral character of men.” To many, however, it will seem that this addition only adds fresh elements of doubt to the already disputable definition to which it is appended. Roskoff, it appears, in a work on ‘the religion of the rudest races,” has effectually disproved all theories which oppose his own, namely, that the religion of such peoples is ‘‘ what lifts them above the real world”; we should have been more grateful to Mr. Max Miiller if he had given us some of the arguments of this doughty controversialist. He might have made room for them by dropping any reference to the wilder theories of his friend and enemy Gruppe. But Gruppe has touched Mr. Max Miiller’s own shield, and has thus demanded peculiar attention. It is, no doubt, human of Mr. Max Miller to care specially for his own reputation, but he has not enhanced the value of his lec- tures by so doing. The pages on the contrast of historical and theoretic schools supply matter for re- flection. The former is content to trace existing customs, whether of thought, speech, or action, back through their earlier forms; the latter comes crudely forward with explanations. This statement certainly tends to make the ‘‘ theorist” appear hope- lessly wrong-headed and opinionated. But when we look to the source from which he draws his ‘‘explanations”—when we find him appealing to common and universal tendencies of human nature, the universality of which he does not merely assume, but infers from a wide comparison of different ages of the world and periods of human life—we shall perhaps think the ‘‘theorist’s” work not merely fascinating, but even simple and natural as well. And sometimes the theorist gets his revenge on this typical historical student, who first ridicules and then misrepresents him. The theorist studies savages, which seems to prove he can at least do something besides theorize ; but this something else, according to Mr. Max Miiller, is not better but worse than his usual and characteristic occupation. Savages, we all know of old, Mr. Max Miiller will not tolerate as witnesses; nothing may be appealed to except Vedic hymns, the true meaning of which, Mr. Max Miller himself allows in one place, will not be divined in this century, and to the decipher- ing of which his own published work, after fifty years of thought, has certainly given surprisingly little help. But still the Vedas, whatever they mean, are evidence; the savage is not. “‘ A savage is a most obliging creature, for he does everything that any anthropologist wishes him to do.” © In fact it is, we suppose, one of the crooked theories of the theorist that something can be learnt from the interrogation of the savage. And now we desire to call attention to a curious passage. Mr. Max Miiller will assume for a moment that what is related of the savage is true, but, he complains, ‘‘ the question of all questions, why he does what he is sup- posed to do, is never asked.” The question is a very proper one to ask, and we fancy anthropologists do their best to answer it. But what a sad relapse into theory for Mr. Max Miller! Here is a statement of fact, and he straightway repudiates it as worth- less if unaccompanied by its reason; and yet we had thought, from a careful study of his views, that continued pursuit of “‘ his- torical science”? must have finally relieved him of the human infirmity of asking reasons for everything. What are we to suppose? that his statement of his own position is imperfect, or that the reform of his intellect is still incomplete ? We must not pause over the somewhat discursive defence of the historical method as the only, or at least the best, one for the examination of natural religion. But it may be remarked that Mr. Max Miiller uses his watchword in a somewhat loose way. Thus to appraise correctly the value of the defences of the various proofs of God’s existence or of the attacks on them he bids his readers observe that in ancient India similar proofs were offered, and similar objections taken to them. The observation is worth being made; but it is no application of the his- torical method unless it can also be shown that the modern theories are genealogically developed from the older ones, and exhibit a characteristic complexity, which it requires the exhibition of that genealogy to dis- entangle. It is, however, needless to say that no such connexion is shown between
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772 THE ATHENAUM N° 3293, Dec. 6,’90 mediseval or modern philosophy and ,the philosophy of the Indian sages. We pass to Mr. Max Miiller’s next and last topic, the materials for a study of natural religion—a subject which occupies one-half of the present series of lectures. Here the reader will find cause to complain of huge interpolations from earlier and not unknown works of the author on the various languages of the earth, their genealogical relationships and structural similarities ; we require, it seems, even to be told that ‘‘ Low German” is not vulgar German! This medley of, seemingly, not very relevant information is next followed by matter that we have met with in ‘The Science of Thought,’ such as the connexion of language and thought—a point which, after a famous illustration of Sir W. Hamilton’s, certainly did not need diffuse elucidation. Once more Noiré is declared to be the first who showed a philosophic insight into the problem of the origin of language, and a new word is invented, ‘‘synergastic,” by which to describe his theory; Mr. Max Miiller no doubt, in conformity with his views, feels that, having a new word, he has also a new concept. He proceeds to unfold with no little persuasive power the doctrine with which his name is now identified—that as progress in thought is not really separable or distinguishable from progress in lan- guage, so the laws which philology has shown to govern the development of lan- guage must be taken to be also laws governing the development of thought. If the original linguistic roots are, whether for Noiré’s reasons or others less fathom- able, the names of acts, then every object of thought must first be spoken of as an agent, and this means, must be conceived as an agent. There is thus no need, Mr. Max Miiller contends, to invent a theory of animism pretending to state as an original principle in the human mind a tendency to view all things as vitalized—an imagined tendency which, he contends, merely repeats what it professes to explain. There is something fascinating, something even philosophical, in a broad theory lke this. And yet it is possibly very flimsy. For granting that all the primitive roots express actions, yet we may build names of things out of these actions by regarding the things named as objects quite as much as by con- sidering them to be subjects or agents. Does not Mr. Max Miiller himself tell his hearers that trees got their primitive name from the root meaning to ‘“‘tear,”’ but because they were torn, not because they tore? So after the fatal thrust Hamlet could say Polonius was at a feast; he misled his hearers for a moment, but they could soon see the dread ambiguity of his phrase. On Mr. Max Miiller it would seemingly be thrown away. To him banqueter and dish are the same. As this review is not written from a philo- logical standpoint it is impossible to follow Mr. Max Miiller through the tangle of etymologies and linguistic ‘‘ equations” that ensue. We would advise him and his be- lievers to glance at the summary criticism of them given by a more impartial and com- prehensive critic, Dr. O. Schrader, in the excellent ‘ Urgeschichte,’ lately so admirably translated by Mr. Jevons. We must own to being but feebly interested in highly doubt- ful proofs that the same word came to mean both “dawn” and “‘laurel.’? True, Mr. Max Miller replies that he is but feebly interested in statements that there are people who believe in the transmigration of women into trees. Most people, however, will continue to think that a widespread mental tendency, such as this latter phenomenon illustrates, better deserves to be signalized than such an isolated linguistic accident as that which he seeks to prove with much labour. But it is only fair to admit that after all, before concluding the present course of lectures, Mr. Max Miiller does to some extent apologize for the long war he has waged against the inquirers who have made a comparative study of religious customs, laws, and ideas throughout the world. Perhaps in future works he may pay a more generous tribute to them, and not leave unrecognized and unmentioned so keen, devoted, and laborious an investigator as the lamented Mann- hardt. We wish he had given us some- thing newer than this popular and loosely arranged set of lectures; but we shall not deny that it contains much to interest and instruct, and that, whatever else may be refused to it, it gives admirable lessons how to manage the English tongue and how to approach a Scotch audience. The Development of Africa. White. (Philip & Son.) Mr. A. Strva Wurire has written a most useful book in his volume ‘The Develop- ment of Africa,’ in which the secretary of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society gives a general view of the geography, climate, geology, populations, and religions of Africa, illustrated by an admirable series of maps by Mr. Ravenstein, and then passes on to discuss the slave trade, exploration, the future of commerce, and the recent partition of Africa. Like most geographers Mr. White dis- likes exploration by large armed forces. He thinks that the ideal African traveller is one who ventures forth alone or with a small personal escort only, for those who follow in his footsteps will meet with a friendly reception by the natives; and such men have brought from Africa the most valuable and permanent geographical re- sults :— ‘‘The larger the expedition the greater the difficulty of obtaining—at least, by honest and pacific means—the necessary supplies, and the greater the danger of arousing the hostile pas- sions of the natives...... In the past, independent travellers have been able to accomplish what big fighting expeditions could never have achieved.” The most valuable, perhaps, of all the chapters in the book of Mr. White is that upon political partition, because there existed previously no English work which contained the facts here stated. A Belgian writer had published a small book in 1888, in which he gave the texts of the treaties that had been published before that time ; but the work in question is far from accurate, contains many mistakes in names, and does not, of course, give the latest in- formation. There are, indeed, a few slight errors in Mr. White’s excellent chapter. He confuses Consul Hewett with Vice- Admiral Hewett—a very natural mistake as Admiral Hewett has twice served in Africa, and as the connexion in which the Consul By Arthur Silva is named is naval. Mr. White makes a trifling slip in writing of a British protec- torate as having been instituted over the country up to the Zambesi, when as a matter of fact it is with the ‘British Sphere of Influence” that he is dealing, the Bechuanaland protectorate lying further to the south, and at the time of which he writes being, indeed, less developed in its northern frontiers than it is in the present day. Where Mr. White names the obtain- ing of treaty rights by an English company over the coast between Cape Bojador and Morocco, referring to the Cape Juby Com- pany, he ought, perhaps, to have added that there has been a difficulty about the recognition of the company as being in rightful occupation of this coast, which we believe is claimed by the Sultan of Morocco,, and which, if it were not Moorish, would. probably be claimed by Spain. There is no doubt, however, that there has long been an establishment at Cape Juby in the hands of Manchester merchants ; but it is open to question whether Mr. Ravenstein is justi- fied in placing two patches of pink colour, each of them as large as the whole colony of the Gambia, upon this coast. Even Mr. Ravenstein’s map does not exactly agree with the text in this respect, for he inserts a strip of Spain between two British patches on the coast which the text seems to imply is. British ; and Mr. Ravenstein also carries Spanish territory so far into the interior as to create in the Sahara a new Spain, which has, we imagine, no very real existence. Mr. Silva White mentions the French treaty with Madagascar as having “ prac- tically secured the sovereign rights of France’? —a phrase which seems to con- tain an exaggeration. The treaty itself says nothing about sovereign rights, and would not have been signed by the Hova Government had it done so. Even the small strip at British Sound, in the north of Madagascar, which was to be occupied, under the treaty, by the French, was not ceded; and still less was any sovereignty given over the island as a whole. The Hova Government signed this treaty with some alacrity, although they considered that they had been victorious in the war, because the treaty recognized that which in former times the French had expressly refused to concede, namely, Hova sovereignty over the wholeisland. Thetwelfth article wasspecially valuable to the Government of Madagascar, as distinctly stating that the Queen of Madagascar was to continue to govern the whole island. The sixth article, giving French citizens the right of residence and trade throughout the dominions of the Hova Queen, itself negatives the idea of French sovereignty, and all that was given to France in the direction of Protectorate (even that word being carefully excluded from the treaty) was that France should represent Madagascar in her foreign rela- tions. This it is which we now have recog- nized ; but it is inaccurate, and most unfair to the Hova Government, to let it be sup- posed that any French claim to sovereignty is supported by our Government. Such as the treaty was, it was explained away in a letter by Admiral Miot and Consul Patri- monio, without which the Malagasies re- fused to sign. But this letter was after- wards repudiated by the French Govern-
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XUM Ne 3293, Dec. 6,90 THE ATHENAUM 773 ment on the ground that their plenipoten- tiaries had exceeded their powers. There is no real agreement, in spite of the treaty, between the Malagasies and the French; and if the French desire to exercise over the island that ‘‘ sovereignty ’’ which Mr. White yields to them, they will have to win it at the point of the bayonet in a new and bloody war. NOVELS OF THE WEEK. Mareia. By W.E. Norris. 3 vols. (Murray.) Virginie: a Tale of One Hundred Years Ago. By Val Prinsep, A.R.A. 3 vols. (Long- mans & Co.) The World’s Desire. By H. Rider Haggard and Andrew Lang. (Same publishers.) The Sign of Four. By A. Conan Doyle. (Spencer Blackett.) Otho; or, Clasped by a Pearl and a Topas. By Mrs. Janatta Letitia Brown. (Digby & Long.) Lady Brough. By Bernard Berris. (Eden, Remington & Co.) Sidney. By Margaret Deland. (Longmans & Co.) The Winding Way. (Kegan Paul & Co.) A Man’s Mistake. By Minnie Worboise. (Clarke & Co.) Gilbert Elgar’s Son. By Harriet Riddle Davis. (Putnam’s Sons.) Port Tarascon. By Alphonse Daudet. Trans- lated by Henry James. (Sampson Low & Co.) En Esclavage. Par Madame de Nanteuil. (Paris, Hachette & Co.) ‘Marcra’ is a character- study, and, so far as the titular heroine of the story is con- cerned, Mr. Norris has been successful in describing a most natural and a most un- pleasant woman. She is a personification of selfishness, who virtually kills off a good husband, and then fleeces her son in order to provide money for the good-for-nothing whom she subsequently marries. The son, Willie Brett, is Mr. Norris’s hero, and is the pink of simplicity and quixotic unselfish- ness. He suffers much through his mother, but finds his reward in other ways—as all such good young men ought to do in well- conditioned stories by optimistic writers. Truth to tell, the unpleasant Marcia is more attractive to any one who cares for artistic fiction than the flawless Willie and his appreciative Lady Evelyn. These two share the fate of most good young people when their virtues are set down in black and white—they are namby-pamby. Mr. Prinsep has gracefully reconstructed, or at any rate imagined, a series of pictures from the closing days of the aneten régime in France, and from the earlier years of the Republic. Virginie is the daughter of a man of the people, but she loves and is wedded to a count, who has his share of perils in the great Revolution, though his character stands him in good stead, and brings him safely through. There is not much more plot in the story than that. Its chief merit consists in the daintiness of the pictures aforesaid, which fairly stand such tests of accuracy and verisimilitude as can be applied to them. The author’s experiment may or may not have been worth making, but the result is not unpleasing. ‘The World’s Desire’ is at least more By J. 8. Fletcher. readable in its present form than when it was hidden away in the smallest of type at the very end of the New Review; but that perhaps is not saying much. Alsoa book by Mr. Rider Haggard plus Mr. Andrew Lang must rank above Mr. Rider Haggard’s unassisted efforts when that bold and mis- taken writer quits the fields of wild adven- ture, where he is master, and tries the grand heroic vein. But why should Mr. Lang lend himself and his genius to such unreal stuff as ‘ The World’s Desire’ is made of ? Come read the things whereof ye know They were not, and could not be so ! says the better of the two, and we would gladly follow him to the realm of myth and fancy when he walks alone, but not when he keeps company with one whose touch seems to us to take away much of the charm which might linger round this dream of old Egypt and of the Golden Helen and the wise Odysseus. A detective story is usually lively read- ing, but we cannot pretend to think that ‘The Sign of Four’ is up to the level of the writer’s best work. It is a curious medley, and full of horrors; and surely those who play at hide and seek with the fatal treasure are a strange company. The wooden-legged convict and his fiendish misshapen little mate, the ghastly twins, the genial prizefighters, the detectives wise and foolish, and the gentle girl whose lover tells the tale, twist in and out together in a mazy dance, culminating in that mad and terrible rush down the river which ends the mystery and the treasure. Dr. Doyle’s ad- mirers will read the little volume through eagerly enough, but they will hardly care to take it up again. Not much credit, and perhaps less of satis- faction, can be derived from Mrs. Brown’s ‘Otho,’ unless it can be made serviceable as a warning for the future. This is not an unfair sample of the author’s style when she is strung to the highest pitch :— ‘*Tn an hour’s time the bells had been sud- denly rung. Elizabeth Gwendolyne, Countess of Mount Otho, has crossed the river of death in her boat of pearl to that shore of perfect love, where for ever she will play on the golden harp. waaees And all hearts did pray, ‘God love her !’” Pathos is strangled at its birth by such serpentine coils of glittering verbiage—espe- cially when it is followed, as on the next page to this quotation, by one Lord St. John asking the widowed earl if he did not meet lovely girls in America—“ real yum yums’”’! There is considerable ingenuity, more industry, and here and there signs of clever- ness in ‘Lady Brough.’ The writer is pro- bably young, and evidently inexperienced both in the art of novel-writing and in the lesser matters of the law of social manners and small talk. In novels of this order the hero is seldom the best drawn of the cha- racters, but John Derring certainly forms an exception to the rule. In spite of being ‘considered the handsomest beau about Handon,” he is a perfectly natural, manly, honourable, and rather common young Englishman. He certainly would have ‘‘ asked for,” not ‘‘ solicited,” a little music ; and it is to be hoped—but this is more doubtful — that he would not have been guilty -of remarks in such shockingly bad taste as those which he addressed to Sir Charles Brough on the strange coincidence of this elderly gentleman having married ‘an old flame” of his own. Helen Maynard is a really promising study of a common- place coquette until heroics and despera- tion overtake her, when she starts on a new and, if permanent, unnatural career of saintly self-renunciation and dowdiness.. The plot is not very skilfully manipulated, but the book shows evidences of a certain amount of ability. ‘Sidney’ is one of that undoubtedly popular class of semi-religious novels which pleasantly worry irresolute people about their souls, and give half-educated readers. an agreeable impression that they are deal- ing with profound philosophy. Sidney Lee’s religion as ultimately decided upon appears to be a sort of Christian pantheism. After dabbling for some time in the Un- knowable and a number of other things spelt with capitals, she goes through an experience at the death-bed of her aunt which results in a conviction expressed thus : ‘There is no death. Life and death are one; the Eternal Purpose holds us all, always. Father—I have found God.” Her views are explained by the author: ‘“ Sidney had chosen to name ‘ God,’ that tireless, eternal activity which constitutes the uni- verse; that energy which is in all and through all, pulsing in every atom, re- cognizing itself in the conscious instant of a man’s life,” and so on. Further, it is stated that Sidney became ‘strangely con- tent; entering deeper into that Refuge which had revealed itself to her, and losing her life daily in the lives of others ; yet never limiting her peace by defining it, nor daring to imprison it within a creed.” The author seems to be quite unconscious that all this is sadly commonplace. Of the value of such views her readers may be left to judge; but a protest must be entered to show that matter such as this cannot pass for know- ledge or wisdom. As for art, it is an established practice for novels to be made the dreary vehicle for the conveyance of any kind of didactic lumber, and a constant reader of novels is forced to put out of his mind the idea that novel-writing is an art. The story in ‘ Sidney’ exhibits most of the faults that are possible to a writer of any experience, the overloading of the pages with irrelevant details being perhaps the most tiresome. ‘The Winding Way’ is actually another new story, also by a writer of some practice, whose plot turns upon a phenomenal re- semblance between two young men, the one possessing a fortune and the other not, the one taken and the other left, with the in- evitable subsequent complications, fraudu- lent and romantic. The public may well have entertained the hope that this thread- bare motif had at last received honourable burial. It is, to say the least of it, trying to find it breaking out again in two quarters simultaneously, freshly arrayed by Mr. Far- jeon (Athen. No. 3290) and the author of ‘An- drewlina,’ and anticipating the demoraliza- tion of the Christmas season. The reader who meets with both books will sympathize over the coincidence, but will find it hard to forgive either writer for having fallen back upon this situation. In the present instance the tiresome way in which the greater part of the story is related by various of the dramatis persona, after the manner (a long
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774 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3293, Dec. 6, 90 way after) of the late Mr. Wilkie Collins, is an additional blemish, as are also the con- stant colloquialisms which give an effect of vulgarity to the whole style. There is little chance of surprise for the reader from beginning to end except in the smaller de- tails of the working out of the story. Those of the characters, however, who have no humorous intention are often pleasant com- pany, and we part with them after the proper rewards have been meted out in abundant measure to the virtuous and to the evildoers. Miss Worboise has written a readable tale, andis lively enough within thelines she allows herself, though these are limited ; for she is rather polemical—“ riding on the riggin’” of High Church, though she certainly does no more than justice to such characters as the Rev. Paul Drury. And she is a little girlish; her Silas, who transfers his affections so calmly, and her Clifford, the heroic gen- tleman of middle age who drives his true love from him on such superficial grounds, are a schoolgirl’s ideals. The women are much more lifelike. Mrs. Pope and Heph- zibah are an excellent couple, and Hyacinth is as nice a young heroine as one may meet. On the whole, the book is promising, and has more literary merit than nine-tenths of the novels which show more knowledge of the world. ‘Gilbert Elgar’s Son’ is a natural and lifelike story of Quaker life in Maryland. Robin Elgar is a well set-up young woman, who is able to say to herself, in the words of the poet, “I am all the daughters of my father’s house, and all the brothers too.’ When the father takes to tippling and lets his little estate fall gra- dually out of cultivation, eventually dying in grievous difficulties, then Robin gives up her hunting and her Greek, turns farmer, and saves the situation. If she has no brothers there is a manly young cousin, with sundry other men in the background. The story is very good of its simple kind. We need only barely notice the appear- ance of Mr. Henry James’s excellent trans- lation of M. Daudet’s ‘Port Tarascon,’ which we have recently reviewed. The illustrations are the same, and the book is worthily presented to its English readers in a translation which is more free than would have been the work of an inferior translator, and therefore more possessed of the spirit of the original. We have found some difficulty in deciding whether to class Madame de Nanteuil’s ‘ En Esclavage’ among children’s books or among novels. She writes, for all people who like simple stories, books of which we have pre- viously praised at least one, and of which M. Octave Feuillet has said, in reporting on their merits to the French Academy, that they are well written in a fine French style, truthful, moral, and as interesting for children as for grown people whose taste has not been spoilt by the reading of bad novels. English people who want French novels for their children cannot do better than buy the works of Madame de Nanteuil, of which two have already been crowned by the Academy. We do not like the present volume so much as we liked the last, ‘L’Epave Mystérieux.’ There is an ccount of the “‘ noyades de Nantes” dragged into it which has little to do with the story, belongs to a different epoch, and revives differences which patriotic French people ought, as far as possible, to forget. M. Octave Feuillet says that Madame de Nanteuil is truthful, and that is so—as truthfulness goes in these days of Jules Verne. But when she makes four pistol shots in a rush kill four mounted Arabs she is only truthful in a Jules Verne degree, and her sea-fight is also such a one as fighting men will be unable to digest. Madame de Nanteuil says that the tempera- ture of Laghouat varies between 40° C. and 50° C., which means 104° Fahr. to 122° Fahr. Now perhapsshe means “ in the summer,” or ‘in the sun,” but she does not say so. The temperature has probably not declined since the French occupation, and when the writer of this notice was there once at Christmas it was freezing in the shade. The admirable illustrations faithfully reproduce France and Algeria of the early part of the reign of Louis Philippe, and almost deserve a place in the history of costume. CHRISTMAS BOOKS. The White Kangaroo. By Davenport Cleland. (Wells Gardner, Darton & Co.) Hamilton of King’s. By Alice Price. ridge & Co.) Gregory of the Foretop, and other Tales. Selected and edited by J. Erskine Clarke. (Wells Gardner, Darton & Co.) Nut-Brown Roger and I. By J. H. Yoxall. (Blackie & Son.) Hussein the Hostage. publishers. ) Hal Hungerford. By J. R. Hutchinson. publishers. ) Chivalry. By Léon Gautier. Translated by Henry Frith. (Routledge & Sons.) Rosebud. By Mrs. Adams Acton. (Same pub- lishers. ) My Prague Pig. fington & Son.) Please Tell Me another Tale. (Same publishers. ) The Spoilt Twins. By Emily Dibdin. (Nisbet & Co.) Rex Raynor, Artist. (Warne & Co.) Heart of Gold. By L. T. Meade. lishers. ) How London Lives. By W. J. Gordon. ligious Tract Society.) In the Days of Inther. By Esmé Stuart. (Son- nenschein & Co.) The Little Princess Angel. (Smith & Innes.) Claude and Claudia. By Mrs. Herbert Martin. (Griffith, Farran & Co.) The Queen of the Ranche. By Emma E. and J. L. (Part- By G. Norway. (Same (Same By 8S. Baring-Gould. (Skef- By Silas K. Hocking. (Same pub- (Re- By Stella Austin. Hornibrook. (Same publishers.) Rollica Reed. By Eliza Kerr. (Same pub- lishers. ) True of Heart. By Kay Spen. (Same pub- lishers. ) Poor and Plain. By the Author of ‘ Dethroned.’ (Same publishers. ) Mr. Davenport CLELAND tells his readers that his tale is founded on fact. At all events, it is well told, the style and language are good, and the interest considerable. The spirit of manly self-reliance and love of sport, coupled with a practical piety, ought to be ‘‘improving” to young readers.—‘ A Comedy of Errors’ would have been a better title for Miss Price’s book, of which the plot is most complicated. It is cleverly worked out, yet fully to appreciate the book the young reader will have to go through the volume twice. Mr. Erskine Clarke does not say from whence his tales are selected or in what the editing consists. ‘Gregory of the Foretop’ is by far the best. The events are striking and the moral perfect, but we think that few boys would be led by them to seek their fortune in the merchant service. ‘Greys Farm’ isa less attractive story, but possibly it may have a more direct effect in inducing youths to try their luck on a gold-field. Since the days of Jack Sheppard highwaymen have furnished materials for tales for boys. Many have objected to them, as being of a per- nicious tendency ; but Mr. Yoxall’s story, in which a disguised earl robs the mails, not for the sake of gain, but in order to ransack the letters and thus to discover where his lady-love is secreted, is scarcely open to this censure. It is an amusing, impossible story. Mr. Norway, we imagine, must have been in Persia, from the very minute details he gives of places, scenery, and manners. They are so minute that the narrative, at least in the earlier part of it, is tedious. It is too long in coming to the point. The writer’s forte is in description rather than in construction. The later pages, in which Hussein escapes from captivity and heads the remnants of his father’s tribe, are spirited.— ‘Hal Hungerford’ is a good story for boys, well told, lively, full of humour, of thrilling interest, and full of sensational scenes. For all this it is not too incredible. Mr. Henry Frith’s translation of M. Léon Gautier’s ‘ Chivalry’ fills a mighty volume, and well it may, for the author’s mighty aim is nothing less than to give a complete picture of chivalry and its ways ; to follow the knight from the cradle to the grave; to show his costume, armour, habitation, furniture, private life and manners ; to bear him company at every great crisis of his life; and to bring out the glories of old France so as to enlighten and enlarge the degenerate modern mind. Copious illus- trations adorn the book, and the translator has done his work well. Mrs. Adams Acton (Jeanie Hering), who knows the ways of little folks and has often written for them and about them, has written in ‘Rosebud ’ a pleasant little story of a charming baby and her grown-up belongings. The trials and troubles of the elders are not well managed, and are decidedly not such good reading as the nursery history. In ‘ My Prague Pig’ we have a collection of short stories for children by that brilliant and versatile writer Mr. Baring-Gould. The stories are not new; they have appeared in magazines, but they are quite worthy of a recall. ‘Please Tell Me another Tale’ is also a col- lection of short stories for children by various writers. It is a pretty little volume, and the stories are attractive. Mrs. Molesworth, Mr. Henty, Miss Agnes Giberne are well known, and we must specially note Miss Fanny Barry’s delightful tales of beasts and their ways.—Miss Emily Dibdin’s story of ‘The Spoilt Twins’ does not invite a second perusal ; it is a trivial tale of childish whims. Mr. Silas Hocking’s annals of the poor are wonderfully touching, but we cannot think that he has much of a success when his heroes and heroines mount in the social scale. There isa good deal that is absurd in ‘ Rex Raynor, Artist,’ a tale founded on the well-known device of the children changed at nurse, and there is not much that is attractive; it is, however, altogether harmless.—‘ Heart of Gold,’ which has already appeared in serial form under another name, is one of L. T. Meade’s charming studies of life and character. The two sisters, Hope and Jocelyn, form a curious contrast. Jocelyn, to our mind, is an ordinary scheming girl; Hope, a noble and spirited creature, is altogether out of the common, and attracts us again and again to the modest little volume. ‘How London Lives’ is an exceedingly interesting collection of papers reprinted from the Leisure Hour, in which the writer, Mr. W. J. Gordon, ‘‘attempts to show how five millions of people are supplied with food ; how
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XUM N° 3293, Dec. 6,90 THE ATHENAUM 775 the streets in which they live are cleansed, lighted, and protected ; how their hospitals are managed ; how their means of communication are kept up ; and how the money that pays for it all is coined.” Mr. Gordon may be congratu- lated on his industry in collecting statistics, and his clearness in setting them forth. ‘In the Days of Luther,’ by Esmé Stuart, is a fine story of noble beings in a heroic time. The writer pictures in vivid colours the terrible case of the downtrodden peasantry, and the bitter spiritual war which divided the folk. Her canvas is large, there are private loves and hates besides the great public story, but all clusters around the figure of the Elector Frederic and the stern person of him who is called ‘‘ the little monk of Wittenberg.” Miss Stella Austin’s Princess Angel is a wonderful and fascinating little person, and the story of her reign is sure to be read again and again by children, young and old. It is a sub- ject for regret that her highness should be stolen by circus folk, a device too common, alas ! in Christmas books ; but there is nothing new under the sun. If the plot is partly old, the treatment is wholly new, and cruel sorrow only brings out the more the princely virtues and heavenly charm of our princess. Mrs. Herbert Martin’s ‘Claude and Claudia’ is a sad story of a wasted life, scarcely relieved by a ray of sunshine. The recital of Clem’s follies and sins may, of course, act as a warning, otherwise we cannot quite see why the book was written. Claude, by the way, is not a person, but a picture.—In ‘The Queen of the Ranche’ the authors give a spirited picture of life in the far West. The plot, indeed, is not much to boast of, but the book is quite worth reading as a lively, rattling tale of adventure. Next follow three chronicles of three ‘‘lone lorn” orphans. There is little to be said for ‘Rollica Reed,’ a sentimental tale some- what vulgar in tone. ‘True of Heart’ is not vulgar, but it is an autobiography, also senti- mental, of a self-glorifying heroine ; while the ‘*poor and plain” Lucy Everard, whose ad- ventures are supposed to be specially suitable for the perusal of ‘‘elder girls,” is the most tiresome of all the three. RECENT VERSE. A Heretic, and other Poems. By Walter C. Smith. (Glasgow, MacLehose & Sons.) Selections from the Poems of Jeanie Morison. (Blackwood & Sons.) -Of Palomide, famous Knight of King Arthw’s Rownd Table. By AXlian Prince. (E. W. Allen.) Helena, and Occasional Poems. More. (Putnam’s Sons.) As might be expected from the reputation of its author, ‘A Heretic, and other Poems,’ has more merits than go to the making of many .a volume of minor verse which gets good words from critics. There is reflection, incisive- ness, quickwitted argument, pugnacity touched with humour ; there is excellent use of meta- phor and illustration ; and the versification of all this is both accurate and easy: but there is nothing in the subject-matter that seems to call for versification, nothing of which the natural utterance is verse. And, apart from his metrical ability, Mr. Walter C. Smith’s chief literary qualities, as shown in these pieces, are _just what would find their best development in -clear energetic prose. ; On reading here and there a lyric in ‘Selec- tions from the Poems of Jeanie Morison ’— notably such a one as ‘Love Murdered ’—a -eritic is naturally set pondering how it has come about that, after publishing several volumes of verse beginning, as the contents table of this volume of selections shows, not Jater than 1873, this author should still continue to be so little sought by the general lovers of verse. But begin the perusal of the more exalted By Paul Elmer specimens and the explanation is all too ready. The author mistook. She had a gift of soft singing, some imagination — not far-reaching, but clear and real as far as it went—some sym- pathetic perception, and a quiet emotional pathos of the especially womanly kind. And, having so much to help her to write desirable verse often and sometimes perhaps true poetry, if she remained herself, she set to work to be a Milton modified by a desire for the dramaticism fre- quent among Nineteenth Century writers of blank verse. And this she did although even the metre her aspirations required is, her use of it shows, like a foreign tongue to her, insomuch that such lines as these—we turn to a page by chance, for any page would supply the kind— such lines as these are her blank verse :— Coldly, the haughty Sanhedrists turn from The stricken wretch, with brief cruel answer,—‘‘ What Is that to us, see thou to that !”—And shrill A cry, made sharp by agony, rings through The Temple courts,—as on the marble floor The ‘‘ thirty pieces ” dashed by desperate hand Roll towards the veiléd Sanctuary,—and through The astonied worshippers the white, drawn face, And wild despairing eyes a moment flash And vanish !— ‘The Purpose of the Ages,’ from which many portentous ‘‘ Selections” are taken, must be an impossible book to read: but ‘ Will there be Whips in Heaven?’ is a very pretty little bit of verse. The author of ‘The Gates Ajar’ might perhaps have alien on the idea of it ; but the little boy’s naive question and the mother’s musings upon it are given with a simplicity and a bright thoughtfulness which are pleasantly acceptable. Mr. #lian Prince in his ‘‘ Proem” informs those whom it may concern that he is ‘‘ of the lineage he sings.” It is a pity, if this be the case, that he has not taken a little more trouble to disentangle the doings of his ancestors (pre- sumably the entire Round Table), and present the expectant reader with an intelligible chro- nicle of their lovesand wars. Like many another dabbler in the Arthurian legends, he goes to Malory for his facts and to Lord Tennyson for his phrases. The former are so ill selected and so awkwardly combined that after applying our- selves to the perusal of his precious poem with the best possible intentions, we are fain to con- fess that we have only the dimmest notion of what it is all about ; while the latter smack so strongly of the ‘Idylls of the King,’ and are at the same time so inferior to the language of their great original, that they produce a feeling of helpless irritation in the mind of the critic. Tristram, Isonde, Launcelot, Guinevere, King Mark and King Arthur, Vivien, Merlin, and Palomide (the ostensible hero of the poem) are the well-worn puppets displayed to the public gaze, but their showman completely fails to make them dance to his laboured and unmelodious music. Mr. Paul Elmer More essays to be an Ameri- can Catullus, and sings of an American Lesbia (as faithless, alas ! as her Roman prototype) in ponderous hendecasyllables. The result is not exhilarating, though the little volume is given to the world in all the glory of dainty print and unexceptionable paper. The latter commodity is cheap enough, no doubt; but it is really criminal to waste forty-eight square inches of it upon the three trashy lines which form the entire contents of one page :— Tears are dropping from all the trees and housetops ; Through the branches the wind goes sighing, sighing. Heu, heu, Helena !—People say ’tis raining. Classical interjections, it may be remarked, are common with Mr. More. ‘‘Eheu the pity!” ““O you simple!” are other examples of this archaic mannerism. And what can be more tasteless and inept than the following descrip- tion of the charms of his loved one ?— Low on Helena’s neck towards the shoulder Lurks the daintiest mole among the lilies ; Feeding there on the sweetest roots, no wonder Softer, sleeker he is than other creatures. OUR LIBRARY TABLE. Mr. FisHeR Unwin publishes With the Bedwins, a narrative of adventure in out-of-the- way parts of Syria and the Lebanon, by Mr. Gray Hill, who was accompanied in all his journeys by his wife, who has admirably illus- trated the work with her sketches and photo- graphs. Mr. Hill is modest, and his volume gives the public as much as he promises in the preface, and something more. There is little to say about such a book, which records nothing that is new, but enables the reader to form a good idea of what the Bedouin Arabs are like. It is pleasant and readable. Mr. Ewap’s Paper and Parehment: His- torical Sketches (Ward & Downey) are of un- equal merit. The volume will not be of much service to the historical student, but those who read for mere amusement will find parts of it entertaining. The first article relates to Domesday. That an exhaustive commen- tary on that priceless record is required no one will deny, but the short paper before us cannot be said to add to our knowledge of the volume. The paper on Machyn’s ‘ Diary’ will do good if it induces any one to read the original, which was printed long ago by the Camden Society, but the tone of partisanship which here and there peeps out is not of a character to commend it to the thoughtful reader. The best paper in the volume is that entitled ‘Our Archives.’ Very few persons, except students, know the history of our national records, or where they are now to be found. Anything does good which helps ever so little to dispel dense ignorance such as this. The tone of the paper on Sir Fowell Buxton is most excellent. In these days, when it is not uncommon to meet with people who tell you that there was a great deal to be said in favour of slavery, it is pleasant to read a thoroughly appreciative notice of one who devoted much of his life to waging war on that great wrong. It appears that on one occasion, when the returns of the Crown colonies in the West Indies were examined, it was found that the number of lashes that had been inflicted on slaves in two years amounted to 1,350,000, half a million of these having been inflicted on women. The concluding paper in the volume treats of Nihilism. Itis worth reading, but does not explain with sufficient fulness how it is that the opinions denoted by this word have come to be almost articles of faith among certain classes. Mr. LE GALLIENNE is an enthusiastic disciple, and in electing Mr. Meredith for his idol he has made a choice with which we should be the last to quarrel. Nor is he by any means so devoid of critical faculty as his ungainly style and his affectation of knowledge may lead the reader to suppose, and a few extravagances that might be quoted against him he will, no doubt, be ashamed of ten years hence. Admiration, too, is the proper habit of mind for youth, and Mr. Le Gallienne is full of admiration. A word of praise is due to Mr. Lane’s excellent biblio- graphy. Mr. Lane, by the way, will be glad of corrections for a second edition, addressed to him at the publisher’s, Mr. Elkin Mathews’s. Mr. Quicx’s bright, clever Essays on Educa- tional Reformers (Longmans & Co.) were first issued in 1868, and now appear in an enlarged form and considerably revised. Such a vivacious series of sketches it is a treat to read, especially when they bear on a subject which it is usual to look on in as dismal a fashion as possible. No pleasanter book than Mr. Quick’s has been issued of late, and it is, too, a mine of infor- mation, which no doubt will be largely pillaged. Messrs. REEves & TuRNER have issued a new edition of The Earthly Paradise in one handy volume. The columns are double, it is true; still those are to be envied who have yet to make acquaintance with Mr. Morris’s poem even if the type be close.—Messrs. Black have
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776 THE ATHENAUM N° 3293, Dzc. 6, ’90 ceenmeeiianadnenan followed up their sixpenny ‘ Waverley’ with a Guy Mannering equally notable for cheapness. From M. Calmann Lévy there reaches us A l’Aventure, by M. René Bazin, a reprint of some excellent letters on Italy which mostly appeared in the Journal des Debats. A bit of a speech of an Italian gentleman to the author, which is new, is worth quotation :— “C’est toujours la méme préoccupation de la littérature chez vous et de la pratique chez nous. Voyez Talleyrand, dans sa correspondance avec Louis XVIII. Comme il est soigneux de l’anecdote, désireux de plaire 4 Sa Majesté, de la faire rire, 4 l’oceasion, d’un mot habilement enchiissé! Soyez stir qu’il dépensait une bonne partie de l’effort de son esprit, si agile, 4 noter, 4 classer, 4 fixer dans sa mémoire la comédie, méme la comédie sans valeur diplomatique, qui se jouait autour du Congrés de Vienne. Nos marchands, nos financiers, nos doges, en fait de diplomatie, ne cherchaient pas tant a paraitre. et ne réussissaient cependant pas trop mal, vous le savez. Hommes d'affaires avant tout, voildce que nous sommes. C’est une qualité qui ne suppose méme pas nécessairement un esprit orné. Les Romains de la Rome antique, ces Anglais du vieux monde, n’en savaient pas bien long. Et cepen- dant, quels sages, les sénateurs de la république.” WE have on our table the catalogues of Mr. Baker (theology chiefly), Messrs. Dulau (botany), Mr. Glaisher (remainders), Mr. W. Hutt (rather interesting), Mr. Irvine(several botanical works), Messrs. Luzac (three catalogues in German), Mr. Nutt (Gustave Masson’s library), and Mr. Ward (engravings, etchings, &c.). Mr. Ball of Barton-on-Humber (astrology, &c.), Messrs. G. & F. Pickering of Bath, Mr. Hitchman and Mr. Thistlewood of Birmingham, Messrs. Matthews & Brooke of Bradford, Messrs. Fawn & Son of Bristol (library of Canon Millar), Mr. Wallis of Cambridge, Mr. Baxen- dine and Mr. Bryce of Edinburgh, Mr. Commin of Exeter, Mr. Underwood of Leicester, Messrs. Young & Son of Liverpool (some interesting books), Mr. Nichols of Sheftield (some good books), and Messrs. Scribner & Welford of New York have also sent their catalogues. Two valuable catalogues of autographs have reached us from M. Charavay. A TASTEFUL little series of Literary Gems has been sent tous by Messrs. Putnam, consisting of ‘ The Gold Bug,’ ‘ Rab and his Friends,’ ‘ The Good-Natured Man,’ and three others. They are excellently suited for Christmas presents. Of American Christmas cards we have a supply from Mr. Prang, through the medium of Mr. Ackermann. Some of them are booklets of very varying merit. The cards are often excellent, but others of them are inferior to their London rivals. LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH. Theology. Braithwaite’s (R.) True Grounds of Religious Faith, an Essay, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Cox’s (S.) The Book of Ecclesiastes, 7/6 (Expositor’s Bible.) Delitzsch’s (F.) Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah, trans. by Prof. Driver, Vol. 2, 8vo. 10/6 cl. Kingsley’s (C.) Discipline, and other Sermons, cheap ed., 3/6 Schurer’s (E.) History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, Division 1, Vol. 2, 8vo. 10/6 cl. Sermon Bible, Vol. 6, 8vo. 7/6 half buekram. Fine Art. Church's (A. J.) The Laureate’s Country, folio, 21/ el. London Pictorially Described, 2/ cl. McCarthy’s (J.) Charing Cross to St. Paul’s, imp. 4to. 21/ cl. Wilson’s (Sir D.) Memorials of Edinburgh in Olden Times, Vol. 1, Part 1, 4to. 2/ swd. Poetry and the Drama, Arnold’s (Sir E.) Light of Asia, Elzevir Edition, 18mo. 6/ cl. Austin’s (A.) Tower of Babel, a Celestial Love Drama, 5/ cl. Hinshellwood’s (A. E.) Wedded in Death, and other Poems, er. 8vo. 5/ cl. McCann’s (J. E.) Songs from an Attic, er. 8vo. 7/6hlf.-parch. Mackay’s (C.) Gossamer and Snowdrift, Posthumous Poems, cr. 8vo. 5/ el. Smith's (W. C.) A Heretie, and other Poems, 12mo. 7/6 el. Tennyson’s (Lord) Poetical Works, 18mo. 7/6 nett. Todhunter’s (J.) A Sicilian Idyll, a Pastoral Play, 5/ nett. Music. Gounod (Chas.), his Life and his Works, by M. A. de Bovet, 8vo. 10,6 cl. Philosophy. James's (W.) Principles of Psyehology, 2 vols. 8vo. 25/ nett. History and Biography. ory Albert of Erbach (Count George), Adventures of, translated from German of E. Kraus by H.R.H. Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg, cr. 8vo. 10/6 cl. Brown's (A.) Genesis of the United States, 2 vols. 8vo. 73/6 Buccaneers and Marooners of America, edited by H. Pyle, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. (Adventure Series.) ee I (F. von) The Armies of Europe, illustrated, trans- ated and revised by Count Gleichen, sm. 4to. 12/ cl. Malleson’s (Col. G. B.) Indian Mutiny of 1857, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Mason's (S.) Found Ready, Memorials of the Rev. G. Poole, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Melbourne (Lord), by H. Dunckley, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. (Queen’s Prime Ministers.) Miles (W. A.), Correspondence of, on the French Revolution, edited by Rev. C. P. Miles, 2 vols. 8vo. 32/ cl. Reid's (T. W.) Life, Letters, and Friendships of Richard Monckton Milnes, 2 vols. 8vo. 32/ cl. Rogerson’s (Col. W.) Historical Records of the 53rd Shrop- shire Regiment, 8vo. 25/ cl. Geography and Travel, Gould’s (S. Baring) In Troubadour Land, a Ramble in Pro- vence and Languedoc, 8vo. 12/6 cl. Keltie’s (J. S.) Applied Geography, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Knight's (E. F.) The Cruise of the Alerte, cr. 8vo. 10/6 cl. Roper'’s (E.) By Track and Rail, a Journey through Canada, 8vo. 18/ cl. Philology. Bousfield’s (Rev. C. H.) Latin Verse, English Poetry trans- lated into Latin Verse, imp. 16mo. 5/6 cl. Newman’s (F. W.) Comments on Text of Aschylus and Euripides, 8vo. 6/ cl. Science. Burnet’s (R. W.) Foods and Dietaries, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Calverwell’s (E. P.) Elementary Mechanics, 8vo. 3/6 cl. Evans’s Examination Arithmetic for Schools and Colleges, cr. 8vo. 3/ cl. Griffiths’s (A. B.) Researches in Micro-Organisms, 6/ cl. Hare’s (H. A.) Text-Book of Therapeutics, 8vo. 16/ cl. Heron’s (G. A.) Evidences of the Communicability of Con- sumption, 8vo. 7/6 cl. Hewitt (G.) On Severe Vomiting during Pregnancy, 6/ cl. Hutchinson’s (Rev. H. N.) The Autobiography of the Earth, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Kimball’s (A. L.) Physical Properties of Gases, 12mo. 5/ cl. Langstroth on the Hive and Honey Bee, revised and en- arged by C. Dadant and Son, 8vo. 9/ cl. Macdonald's (W. J.) Higher Geometry, 12mo. 3/6 cl. Morgan’s (C. L.) Animal Life and Intelligence, 8vo. 16/ cl. Pascoe’s (T. P.) The Darwinian Theory of the Origin of Species, 12mo. 5/ cl. Shaw’s (J.) Antiseptics in Obstetric Nursing, 8vo. 3/6 cl. General Literature. Banks's (Mrs. G. L.) Miss Pringle’s Pearls, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Blacksmith (The) of Boniface Lane, by A. L. O. E., 2/6 cl. Boldrewood's (R.) A Colonial Reformer, 3 vols. er. 8vo. 31/6 Brine’s (M. D.) Bonnie Little Bonibel and her ‘‘ Day Off,” a Story, 8vo. 2/ bds. Burne’s (J. B.) Parson and Peasant, some Chapters in their Natural History, er. 8vo. 5/ cl. Butler's (W. C.) Modern Practical Confectioner, 2/ cl. Church's (Rey. A. J.) Bible Stories, er. 8vo. 5/ cl. Curate of Rigg (The), by W. H. H., er. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Dickens's (C.) Bleak House, Crown Edition, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Downing’s (R. F. & Co.) New Tariff of the United States Customs Duties, 18mo. 5/ cl. Ebers’s (G.) The Elixir, and other Tales, translated by Mrs. E. H. Bell, 12mo. 2/6 swd. Everitt’s (C.) Guillotine the Great and her Successors, some Past Memorials of the French Republic, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Fiske’s (J.) Civil Government in the United States, 6/6 cl. Folk-lore and Legends, 2nd Series, Scandinavian, 12mo. 2/ Graham's (W.) Socialism, New and Old, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Harford’s (Rev. F. K.) Epigrammatica, Serious, Semi- Serious, and Divertive, royal 8vo. 10/6 half-parchment. Hoffmann’s (Prof.) Cyclopedia of Card and Table Games, cr. 8vo. 10/6 cl. Howells’s (W. D.) The Shadow of a Dream, 18mo. 2/ cl. Hyne’s (C. J.) Four Red Nightcaps, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. motu (J.) Very Young and Quite Another Story, 6/ cl. Johnson’s (V. E.) Our Debt to the Past, er. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Kingsley’s (H.) Tales of Old Travel, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Marshall’s (E.) Winchester Meads in the Time of Thomas Ken, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Moore’s (A. L.) Essays Scientific and Philosophical, 6/ cl. Nye & Riley’s Railway Guide, cr. 8vo. 2/ swd. Pollock’s (Sir F.) Oxford Lectures, and other Discourses, 9/ Pollock's (W. H.) Old and New, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Poteen Punch, being a Succession of After-Dinner Stories, 12mo. 2/ cl. Sergeant's (A.) A Life Sentence, 3 vols. cr. 8vo. 31/6 cl. Streddar’s (E.) Archie’s Find, a Story of Australian Life, 1/6 Swinton’s (R. B.) Chess for Beginners, and the Beginnings of Chess, er. 8vo. 4/6 cl. Townsend's (M.) U.S., an Index to the United States of America, 8vo. 7/6 cl. FOREIGN, Theology. Texte u. Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der Altchrist- lichen Literatur, v. O. v. Gebhardt u. A. Harnack, Vol. 6, Part 4, 9m. 50. Fine Art and Archeology. Altertiimer v. Pergamon, Vol. 8, Part 1, 50m. Hostmann (C.): Studien zur Vorgeschichtlichen Archiio- logie, 7m. Riegl (A.): Altorientalische Teppiche, 6m. Philosophy. # Kerry (B.): System der Grenzgebiete, ein Beitrag zur Erkenntnisstheorie, Part 1, 5m. Philology. Meusel (H.): Lexicon Cesarianum, Part 16, 2m. 40. Nordstrém (V.): Institutorum Romanorum Voeabula apud Dionysium Halicarnassensem, 1m. 60. Ribbeck (W.): Griechische Schulgrammatik, 2m. 40, Science, Migula (W.): Wandtafeln f. Bakterienkunde, 30m. Petersen (J.): Hauptmomente in der Geschichte der Medi- cinischen Klinik, 7m. Scheiner (J.): Die Spectralanalyse der Gestirne, 16m. Schnopfhagen (F.): Die Entstehung der Windungen d. Grosshirns, 5m. General Literature. Musen-Almanach f. 1891, 6m. THE RHYME OF THE THREE CAPTAINS. --++At the close of a winter day, Their anchors down, by London town, the Three Great Captains lay. And one was Admiral of the North from Solway Firth to Skye, And one was Lord of the Wessex coast and all the lands thereby, And one was Master of the Thames from Lime- house to Blackwall, And he was Chaplain of the Fleet—the stoutest of them all. Their good guns guarded the great grey sides that were thirty foot in the sheer, When there came acertain trading-brig with news of a privateer, Her rigging was rough with the crusted drift that drives in a Northern breeze, Her sides were clogged with the lazy weed that spawns in the Eastern seas. Light she rode in the rude tide-rip, to left and right she rolled, And the Skipper sat on the scuttle-butt and stared at an empty hold. “ T ha’ paid Port dues for your Law,” quoth he, “ and where is the Law ye boast If I sail unscathed from a heathen port to be robbed on a Christian coast ? Ye have smoked the hives of the Laccadives as we burn the lice in a bunk, We tack not now to a Gallang prow or a plunging Pei-ho junk ; Ihad no fear but the seas were clear as far as a. sail might fare Till I met with a lime-washed Yankee brig that. rode off Finisterre. There were canvas blinds to his bow-gun ports to screen the weight he bore, And the signals ran for a merchantman from Sandy Hook to the Nore. He would not fly the Rovers’ flag—the bloody or- the black, But now he floated the Gridiron and now he flaunted the Jack, He spoke of the Law as he crimped my crew—he- swore it was only a loan; But when I would ask for my own again, he- swore it was none of my own. He has taken my little parrakeets that nest beneath. the Line, He has stripped my rails of the shaddock-frails and the green unripened pine; He has taken my bale of dammer and spice I won beyond the seas, He has taken my grinning heathen gods—and what. should he want o’ these ? My foremast would not mend his boom, my mizzen patch his fore ; He has borrowed them both in the name of trade- and sold them on the shore. I could not fight for the failing light and a rough beam-sea beside, But I hulled him once for a clumsy crimp and twice- because he lied. If I had guns as I had goods to work my Christian harm I had run him up from his quarter-deck to trade with his own yard-arm ; I had nailed his ears to my capstan-head, and ripped them off with a saw, And soused them in the bilgewater, and served them to him raw ; I had flung him blind in a rudderless boat to rot in the rocking dark ; I had towed him aft of his own craft, a bait for his. brother shark ; I had lapped him round with cocoa-husk, and drenched him with the oil, And lashed him fast to his own mast to blaze above my spoil ; I had laid his hide in my hammock side, and tasselled his beard i’ the mesh, And spitted his crew on the live bamboo that grows through the gangrened flesh ; I had hove him down by the mangroves brown, where the mud-reef sucks and draws, Moored by the heel to his own keel to wait for the land-crabs’ claws ! He is lazar within and lime without, ye can nose him far enow, For he carries the taint of a musky sbip—the reek. of the slaver’s dhow !”
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XUM _ Ne 3293, Dec. 6, °90 THE ATHENZUM 777 The Skipper looked at the tiering guns and the bulwarks tall and cold, And the Captains Three most courteously peered down at the gutted hold, And the Captains Three called courteously from deck to scuttle-butt :— “Good sir, we ha’ dealt with that merchantman or ever your teeth were cut. Your words be words of a lawless race, and the Law it standeth thus : He comes of a race that have never a Law, and he never has boarded us, We ha’ sold him canvas and rope and spar—we know that his price is fair, And we know that he weeps for the lack of a Law as he rides off Finisterre. And since he is damned for a gallows-thief by you and better than you, We hold it meet that the English Fleet should know that we hold him true.” The Skipper called to the tall taffrail: “And what is that to me? Did ever you hear of a Yankee brig that rifled a Seventy-three ? Do I loom so large from your quarter-deck that I lift like a ship o’ the Line ? He has learned to run from a shotted gun ard harry such craft as mine. There is never a Law on the Cocos Keys to hold a white man in, But we do not steal the niggers’ meal, for that is a nigger’s sin, Must he have his Law as a quid to chaw, or laid in brass on his wheel ? Does he steal with tears when he buccaneers? ’Fore Gad, then, why does he steal ?” The Skipper bit on a little word, and the word it was not sweet, For he could see the Captains Three had signalled to the Fleet, By three and two, in white and blue, the whimper- ing flags began : ‘*We have heard a tale of a—foreign sail, but he is a merchantman.” The Skipper peered beneath his palm and swore by the Great Horn Spoon, ‘“’Fore Gad the Chaplain of the Fleet would bless my picaroon !” By two and three the flags blew free to lash the laughing air, “We have sold our spars to the merchantman—we know that his price is fair.” The Skipper winked his western eye, and swore by a China storm, “They ha’ rigged him a Joseph’s jury-coat to keep his honour warm.” The halliards twanged against the tops, the bunting bellied broad, The Skipper spat in the empty hold and mourned for a wasted cord, Masthead—masthead, the signal sped by the line o’ the British craft ; The Skipper called to his Lascar crew, and put her about and laughed :— “It’s mainsail haul, my bully boys all—we’ll out to the seas again ; They may set us to paint their patron saint, or scrub at his grapnel-chain ! It’s fore-sheet free, with her head to the sea, and the swing of the unbought brine— We'll make no sport in an English court till we come as a ship o’ the Line, Till we come as a ship o’ the Line, my boys, with thirty foot in the sheer, Lifting again from the outer main with news of a privateer ; Flying his pluck at our mizzen-truck for weft of Admiralty, Heaving his head for our dipsy-lead in sign that we sail the sea, Then fore-sheet home as she lifts to the foam—we stand on the outward tack ; Weare paid in the coin of the white man’s trade— the bezant is hard, ay and black. The frigate-bird shall carry my word to the Kling and the Orang-Laut How aman may sail from a heathen coast to be robbed in a Christian port ; How a man may be robbed in Christian port while Three Great Captains there Shall dip their flag to a pirate’s rag—to show that his trade is fair!” RupDyARD KIPLING, THE PETRIE PAPYRI. Il, THE CLASSICAL FRAGMENTS. I am now able to give some further informa- tion concerning the remarkable documents placed by the kindness of Mr. Petrie in my hands, since he and Mr. Sayce have returned to Egypt. And first as regards the dates of the papyri. Neither Mr. Sayce, who has examined the letters and accounts, nor I, who have been reading the other documents, canfind among the papyri of Kurob any date later than the last year of the third Ptolemy (about 222 B.c.). There are many from the later years of the second. I think I can account for this sudden termination of the dates, and the turning of so many documents of more or less importance into waste paper. The third Ptolemy (Euergetes I.), after a brilliant youth, passed into an inglorious age, and though his kingdom remained undisturbed till his death (222 B.c.) the accession of his son Philopator was marked by great dangers from without and from within. The attack of Antiochus the Great of Syria compelled the advisers of the young king to have resort to the native population for troops, a measure so obsolete that Polybius notices it as a novelty. For the Ptolemies, and even their predecessors, had long abandoned the military class in Egypt, and employed nothing but foreign mercenaries. The native troops in their phalanx won the great battle of Raphia, and in consequence, says Polybius, having got training in arms, and seeing that the government was weak, they made insurrections against the king, whose whole reign was occu- pied with these internal troubles. If this be so, it is obvious enough that the foreign Greek mer- cenaries planted as landlords in outlying parts of Egypt, like the Fayoum, would be the first to suffer. They were probably dispossessed, per- haps murdered, certainly driven away into strong and garrisoned cities, and their papers and furniture would fall a prey to the Egyptians, who used them for such purposes as the manu- facture of mummy cases. Thisseems to me the reasonable way of accounting for the curious fact I have mentioned. I now approach the classical papyri, of which we have found numerous fragments among the every-day documents which are dated. There is no antecedent probability that the former should be younger than the latter—nay, rather, valuable books would take longer to go to pieces and be used as waste paper if there were no sudden and violent destruction concerned. And the aspect of the classical MSS. confirms this probability amply. These MSS. are written in far more careful, finished, and explicit hand- writing than the every-day work. They are almost as different as our print is from ordinary writing, and can be recognized at a glance. The neat small capitals remind one of inscriptions upon stone, and the early form of particular letters, especially the z, will convince any paleographer that we have really before us manuscripts on papyrus of the third century before Christ at latest ; some of them may pos- sibly have been brought from Greece by the mercenaries who settled in the Fayoum, and may reach back to the fourth century B.c. Such astounding and unprecedented antiquity in a Greek MS. takes one’s breath away, and it is only after the most mature and deliberate con- sultation and study that I now state it, with the proofs before my eyes. We have, then, among these fragments— 1. Portions of the ‘ Pheedo’ of Plato, reaching through pp. 67-9 and 79-86 of the marginal paging, and amounting to about two pages of print in the Teubner edition. This text is beautifully written on the finest papyrus, and was evidently a book of the most expensive quality in its production. It varies from our textus receptus in many small details, chiefly in the order of the words, for reasons which I shall explain when I publish it in our journal Hermathena. 2. The concluding scenes of the ‘ Antiope’ of Euripides, containing portions of the play not hitherto known, except one fragment of two lines quoted by Stobzeus, which Mr. Sayce iden- tified. We have the speech of Hermes, the deus ex machind, almost complete, though here and there an effaced line has puzzled us, and the sense is not yet clear. But with the help of my colleagues, Messrs. Bury and Starkie, we have advanced a good way, and the two leaves, broken as they are, will form far the most important relic of this famous play in all future editions of the fragments. They will appear for the first time in the forthcoming number of Hermathena. About forty lines will be complete ; seventy more being partially lost will afford our writers of iambics ample opportunity for brilliant restora- tions of the text. 3. Of lesser fragments, only four or five lines in length, or so mutilated as to be of little lite- rary importance, I have found, since the depar- ture of my colleagues to Egypt, (a) a scrap of Epicharmus not hitherto known ; (6) a scrap of Menander, with Demeas as a character; (c) a scrap of a tragedy about Agamemnon and Aulis; (d) fragments of an epic poem on the Trojan war mentioning Hector and the Trojans, which I cannot find in the Iliad ; (e) two prose fragments — the one a hortatory discourse on the duties of comrades, illustrated by the case of Achilles and Patroclus, the other a description of the funeral customs of various nations. I am by no means sure that this is all. There may yet be among the hundreds of scraps, covered with white lime, clinging to lists of prices and rough accounts and letters, a few more literary remains. But I expect little more in this direction from the present find. Yet surely is it not a wonderful list, and one sufficient to make scholars keen with the ex- pectation of what is yet to be unearthed in Egypt? I shall return presently to the private docu- ments, of which Mr. Sayce has only seen a part, but upon which he has made many curious observations. I can only promise the text of the poetical fragments in the forthcoming Hermathena, but it is very probable that, by an arrangement which I cannot yet announce as: completed, facsimiles of each fragment, produced by the best modern processes, will before long be laid before the public. By this means English and foreign scholars will be able to verify what we have accomplished in restoring the text, and no doubt hit upon the solution of some of the enigmas which still baffle us. But it must be remembered that in many places these texts are so faint that mere traces of letters can be made out in the strongest light. Moreover, the accident that the Plato fragments. were in the first instance pasted down at random, and when identified had to be transferred to their proper places, has caused the loss of letters here and there, and made the text appear fainter than when we first saw it. Itis, indeed, to. be feared that the action of air and light upon the papyri, which have been covered with some white substance for gluing purposes, may cause. all the ink to fade in various degrees. It is. therefore the more necessary that trustworthy copies should be made as quickly as possible. Quite apart from the substance of these docu- ments, their value as lessons in paleography can hardly be over-estimated. We have not only specimens of Greek writing on papyrus older than anything hitherto discovered; we have also examples of the great variety of hand- writing possible at the same date—a variety apparently as complex as that of manuscripts in our own day. The ordering and classification of such documents will naturally require a long, time and careful study, but I will answer for it that there will be no unnecessary delay. J. P. Mawarry.
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778 THE ATHENAUM N° 3293, Dec. 6, ’90 MR. GEORGE BELL. OnE of the most successful publishers of the latter half of this century has passed away in Mr. George Bell, who died on Thursday, the 27th ult. He was the son of a bookseller at Richmond in Yorkshire, and was born there on Oct. 12th, 1814. He was educated at the grammar school of his native town, then at the height of its reputation under Tate, and the celebrated Head Master thought so highly of him that he wished him to go to one of the universities ; but his father was not well enough off to entertain the idea, and the boy became his assistant at the age of sixteen. Subsequently he was in the em- ployment of Messrs. Whittaker, whose business he was eventually to acquire. About 1838 he began business for himself as a bookseller in Bouverie Street, but his ambition was to become a publisher. He commenced with religious works, to which he speedily added school-books. Subsequently he removed to Fleet Street, took Mr. Daldy into partnership, and issued several works for Dr. Hook, who edited for him a ‘* Devotional Library.” Meanwhile he had been steadily pushing his educational books. He brought out Prof. Key’s ‘Shorter Latin Grammar’ in 1852, and through the Rev. A. J. Macleane, for whom he had pub- lished a couple of volumes of sermons, he became acquainted with George Long, and projected the ‘‘ Bibliotheca Classica” and the ‘‘ Grammar School Classics,” to which he afterwards added a series of ‘Foreign School Classics.” The two series first named were edited by Long and Macleane, and Messrs. Whittaker joined with Mr. Bell in the risk of publishing them. Paley’s edition of A¢schylus and Conington’s Virgil were the most popular volumes in the ‘‘ Biblio- theca,” which was not carried out on quite the scale projected. In 1856 Mr. Bell, who had been for some years agent for the Pitt Press, purchased the old-established business of Deighton at Cam- bridge, and issued a number of school-books and books for undergraduate use, both classical and mathematical, under the imprint of Deigh- ton, Bell & Co. The two businesses in London and Cambridge made him at the time one of the largest publishers of educational works in the kingdom. On Pickering’s decease he bought the ** Aldine” edition of the poets and superin- tended a reissue of them. This gave him an opening as a publisher of poetry, and he had the honour to be the publisher of Mr. William Morris’s first volume, ‘ The Defence of Guene- vere,’ and of Miss Procter’s ‘Legends and Lyrics.’ In addition to the ‘‘ Aldines” he started a ‘‘ Library of British Worthies,” hand- some octavo volumes, of which Dr. Pauli’s edi- tion of Gower’s ‘ Confessio Amantis’ and Payne Collier’s Spenser were the most important. The enterprise, however, did not prove remune- rative, and was eventually abandoned. Another branch of the trade that he sedu- lously cultivated was archeological and archi- tectural publications, of which he issued a considerable number, some of them connected with his native Yorkshire. Petit’s ‘ Architec- tural Sketches in France,’ Sharpe’s ‘Seven Periods,’ and Boutell’s ‘Monumental Brasses’ were among the books he issued. He was also the first publisher of Notes and Queries. Besides catering for antiquaries, Mr. Bell was active as a publisher of books for children. He was Mrs. Gatty’s publisher, and subsequently Mrs. Ewing’s, and he also issued Aunt Judy’s Maga- zine. In 1864 Messrs. Bell & Daldy purchased the plates and stocks of Bohn’s libraries, and migrated to their predecessor’s shop in York Street, Covent Garden. This marked an era in the business, as additions to these libraries became a main object of Mr. Bell’s attention. Another notable event was the dissolution of his partnership with Mr. Daldy in 1872, and the assumption of two of his sons (to whom he gave the university training denied to himself), and a consequent change of title to G. Bell & Sons. Some five years ago, on the retirement of Mr. William Hood, he acquired the publishing portion of the business of Messrs. Whittaker, in whose house he had learnt his trade. He finally retired from business in 1888, though he continued to take an interest in it, and visited the office within a few weeks of his death. The business is now in the hands of his eldest and youngest sons, Mr. Edward Bell and Mr. Ernest Bell. The third is known as a painter in oil and water colours. Seldom has a man been more uniformly suc- cessful than George Bell. He built up a large business from small beginnings, and that not by any strokes of good luck, but by dint of shrewd- ness, diligence, and prudence. Hardly one of his publications achieved an extraordinary success, but, on the other hand, he sustained few serious losses. If Mr. Besant were to try to prove his paradox that publishing involves no risk, the best instance he could find to his hand would be the career of George Bell. He showed wonderful sagacity in detecting the wants of the public, and he understood the humours of the trade; he was cautious and economical, and he followed the ad- vice of Bailie Nicol Jarvie’s father, the Deacon: ‘*Never putout your arm farther than ye candraw it easily back again.” His strict integrity, his fairness and courtesy, were also main elements in his success, and he made himself liked and respected by those who came in contact with him. He was a great authority on all matters of trade, and his advice was often sought and freely given. He was in private life a quiet, religious man, who took an active interest in many charities, such as the Boys’ Home in Regent’s Park, and was a sincere and zealous Churchman. Literary Ghossip. Mrs. SurHertanp Orr’s memoir of Mr. Browning is nearly finished. It is longer than was at first anticipated, and the idea of publishing it along with ‘ Asolando’ as a seventeenth volume of the collection of the poet’s works has been abandoned. Mr. Merepiru’s novel, now appearing in an abridged form in the Fortnightly Review, will, it is hoped, be published in its integrity next spring. A crroutaR has been issued, signed by Earl Percy, Mr. C. J. Bates, High Sheriff of the county, Dr. John Evans, President of the Society of Antiquaries, Dr. J. C. Bruce, Canon Greenwell, Prof. Mandell Creighton, Dr. Hodgkin, and others, inviting co-opera- tion and support in the preparation of a new county history of Northumberland. If sufficient support is forthcoming it is pro- posed to issue the work in six volumes quarto, at two guineas each. Materials collected by the Rev. John Hodgson for his unfinished history of the county will be placed at the disposal of the promoters by his grandson, Mr. John George Hodgson, of Newcastle. Ir is pleasant to know that a good pro- portion of the school sketches and manu- scripts by Thackeray sold by Messrs. Sotheby last week have found their way back to Charterhouse. There are already some in- teresting relics of Thackeray to keep them company at his old school. Besides a few of his sketches, Mrs. Thackeray Ritchie many years ago gave to Charterhouse the original manuscript of ‘The Newcomes,’ and there is also preserved at Charterhouse the bedstead on which Thackeray slept during the last years of his life. The school illustrated journal, the Greyfriar, will before long issue reproductions of these sketches and manuscripts. THe news that the Copyright Bill has passed the House of Representatives at Washington by a considerable majority is a pleasurable surprise for the British author. It is well, however, not to be too sanguine. It has yet to be approved by the Senate and sanctioned by the President. Two years ago a committee was formed to raise a fund for celebrating the tercentenary of the translation of the Bible into Welsh by Bishop William Morgan, of St. Asaph. A premium of 100/. was offered for the best essay on ‘The Life and Times of Bishop Morgan.’ The adjudicators—Prof. Rhys, Canon Silvan Evans, and Dr. Charles Edwards, of Aberystwyth—have awarded the prize to Mr. T, Evan Jacob, whose essay will shortly be published by Rushwin Brothers, of Shepherd’s Bush. Two other essays are mentioned as “ worthy of special praise”’: one from the pen of the Rev. W. Hughes, of Llanuwchllyn, which will be published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge; the other, written in Welsh, by Mr. Charles Ashton, who pro- poses to publish his work by private sub- scription. The committee further intends to erect a monument to Bishop Morgan at St. Asaph; and the fund, of which Dr. Dickens Lewis, of Shrewsbury, is one of the secretaries, will be closed on the 31st inst. Wirn regard to the statements made in certain journals, by a gentleman resident in Vienna, to the effect that the translation of the ‘Life of Henrik Ibsen’ recently pub- lished in this country by Mr. W. Heine- mann was unauthorized, and that the English public should wait for a version of the gentleman’s own, the eminent Norwegian poet writes as follows to a friend in this country :— ‘‘T am for several reasons delighted at the appearance of this handsome and_ tasteful volume from the firm of W. Heinemann, for I hope it may prevent the publication of another contemplated translation, in which I have no confidence, that of a certain Dr. ——in Vienna. ceaeee You can easily understand that I am in no anxiety to see this gentleman’s translation pub- lished.” This should close a controversy which has been carried on with an absolute ignorance of what copyright and literary property are. Tue arrangements for the Folk-lore Con- gress of next year are engaging the constant attention of the Organizing Committee. The required guarantee fund is being raised, and there is promise of a good attendance of members. The Literary Sub-Committee has drawn up a scheme of subjects on which papers are to be invited to be read. There will be three sections, namely, Folk-tales, Mythology, and Customs and Institutions. Mr. Edward Clodd will preside over the first named, and Mr. J. G. Frazer over the second. Tue National Eisteddfod Association, which has recently issued ‘A Biographical and Critical History of Welsh Musicians,’ by Mr. M. O. Jones, has now in the press a volume entitled ‘The Folk-lore of Denbigh- shire,’ by the Rev. Elias Owen, M.A., author of ‘Stone Crosses in the Vale of Clwyd.’
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XUM N° 3293, Dec. 6,90 THE ATHENZUM 779 Fottow1ne the example of the authorities of the South Wales University College, who lately purchased the well-known Salesbury Library, the Council of the University Col- lege of North Wales has just secured for that institution the library of Mr. E. Watkin, of Manchester. The collection consists of upwards of 10,000 volumes, a large number of which are Welsh books and books relat- ing to Wales. TxE winter lecture session of the Honour- able Society of Cymmrodorion will com- mence on the 17th inst., when Mr. Willis Bund will deliver an inaugural address ‘ On the True Objects of Welsh Archeology.’ This will be followed by papers on ‘ Ar- thurian Literature,’ by Mr. Alfred Nutt; “Celtic Ornament,’ by Mr. T. H. Thomas, R.C.A., of Cardiff; ‘A Welsh University,’ by Prof. T. F. Roberts; ‘ Pennillion,’ by Mr. Edward Anwyl; and ‘ Wat’s and Offa’s Dykes’ and ‘The Relation of Wales to the Western Islands of Scotland,’ by Mr. A. N. Palmer. Prof. Palgrave has promised to deliver the last lecture of the session, ‘On Henry Vaughan, the Silurist.’ Messrs. Funk & WaGnatis, of New York, having withdrawn from circulation their ‘Encyclopedia Britannica,’ have proposed that the International Copyright League shall invite the signatures of American houses to the following :—‘‘ We, the under- signed publishers and booksellers of Ame- rica, pledge that we will not publish or handle any copies of an unauthorized reprint of a foreign book made after the date of this agreement.” To this the Publishers’ Weekly replies: ‘‘ What would bind those who are honestly not in favour of such an agree- ment?’ To this Messrs. Funk & Wagnalls answer that they do not propose it as a sub- stitute for an international copyright law, but ‘“‘as a sure way to convince the public that the.publishing trade in America really desired copyright.” As yet the proposal does not appear to have secured any re- sponse. The Publishers’ Weekly says: ‘No, gentlemen, there is but one way—human nature being still in an unregenerate state— and that is, as the Epoch tersely puts it, ‘to have a law by which everybody shall be compelled to respect literary property with- out regard to its origin.’”” We do not ob- serve, however, that either of these journals proposes that foreign literary property which has not secured simultaneous publication in America shall be respected. Pror. VAmBiry will contribute a paper to the January number of the Asiatic Quarterly Review on ‘Russia and the North of Asia.’ Another eminent Orientalist and traveller, Dr. W. H. Bellew, C.8.1., who it will be remembered was Chief Political Officer in Kabul, will supply to the same number an account of ‘ Afghanistan: Past and Present.’ THE volume of the ‘‘ Great Writers” series to be published in January is a biography of Thackeray, commenced by Mr. Herman Merivale and completed by Mr. Frank T. Marzials. The writers of this biography have had access to certain memorials of Thackeray’s earlier life not hitherto pub- lished. Messrs. Burns & Oates have in the press a collection of documents on the English Catholics who suffered death under Elizabeth and James. The papers are drawn from various sources —the Public Record Office, the Westminster and Stony- hurst archives, and elsewhere. The book is edited by Father Pollen, and Father John Morris contributes a preface. Dr. R. A. Brock, Secretary of the Virginia Historical Society, has in the press an anno- tated edition of the ‘ History of St. George’s Parish, Fredericksburg’ (long out of print), by the late Dr. Philip Slaughter, with a memoir of the author, for many years “ his- toriographer of the Diocese of Virginia.” The volume contains many interesting facts relating to the Washingtons, Maryes, and other historic families. Tue Christmas number of the Fishing Gazette, which will be published on De- cember 13th, will contain an original story by Mr. Rudyard Kipling, entitled ‘Dry Cow Fishing,’ with illustrations, and a piscatorial poem entitled ‘Salmo Irritans,’ by Mr. Andrew Lang. Child Life is to be issued on the Ist of January, a monthly magazine intended to deal with all matters connected with kinder- garten teaching. The first number will contain ‘The Reminiscences of Frau Freebel,’ translated by Miss Lyschinska ; ‘A Simple Method of teaching Staff Notation Sight- Singing to Young Children,’ by Mr. Taylor, organist at Kensington Palace; ‘Search Questions in Natural Science,’ by Mrs. Fisher (Miss A. Buckley); ‘ Why Black- board Drawing is essential for Teachers,’ by Mrs. Rowland Hill; and other articles. Prof. Henslow, Mr. Quick, and others have promised to contribute. Earty in the new year will be issued, in pamphlet form, a descriptive catalogue of the Library and Print Room at the Ruskin Museum, Sheffield. It will be compiled by Mr. William White, the curator, and will embody extracts from some of Mr. Ruskin’s works. Tue publication of ‘ The Letters of 8. G. O. to the Zimes’ will, we learn, be postponed until about the middle of January. Tue death is announced from the United States of Dr. Dexter, a busy writer on the ecclesiastical history of his country in colonial days. Mr. Hetnemann is to bring out an Eng- lish edition of Mr. A. Brown’s book, ‘The Genesis of the United States.’ Lapy Viorer GrevittE and Mr. W. Davenport Adams have been appointed acting editors of Life. Mr. W. Davenport Adams will, in addition, be responsible for the management of the paper. Tue Parliamentary Papers of the week include Friendly Societies, Industrial and Provident Societies, &c., Reports for 1889, Part A (1s. 1d.), Part B (8d.); Re- ports on Swaziland, with Appendices, &c. (1s. 3d.); Further Correspondence respect- ing Swaziland and Tongaland (3s. 3d.) ; Local Taxation Returns, Municipal Borough Accounts, &c. (3s. 3d.); and a large number of the Annual Series of Trade Reports, among which we may name China, Trade of Canton (1d.); Siam, Trade of Bangkok (3d.); Russia, Trade of St. Petersburgh (3d.) ; Trade of Tunis (4d.); Morocco, Trade of Tangier (2d.); Trade and Agriculture of Switzerland (2d.); Brazil, Trade of Bahia, &e. (8d.); Uruguay, Trade, &c. (2d.); Foreign Trade of Japan (1d.); Agriculture of Belgium (1d.); and Spain, Trade and Agriculture of Malaga (3d.). - SCIENCE wesitiinis NEW MAPS AND ATLASES. Mr. Stanrorp has sent us two maps of parts of Southern Africa which should prove interest- ing just now, when the boundary questions between the English and Portuguese Govern- ments are to be reconsidered, and when the British South Africa Company has firmly established itself in the Mashona country. They are both on the same scale (sixteen miles to the inch, or 1:1,000,000), and can, therefore, be joined. The first embraces ‘‘ Northern Zam- besia,” the second includes ‘‘ Nyassaland,” and jointly these two maps, which have been com- piled for Mr. Geo. Cawston, embrace the whole of the territory extending from the ‘‘ Zambezi” to the southern extremity of Tanganyika. No other maps of the whole of this region of Africa, on a similarly large scale, are in existence. Tue Biblical Atlas and Scripture Gazetteer, just published by the Religious Tract Society, is virtually a new work, although much of the introductory matter and the greater portion of the ‘Gazetteer’ have been taken over from the ‘Biblical Atlas’ published by the same society in 1877. The whole of the maps have been redrawn by Mr. H. Courtier, whilst the letter- press has undergone a careful revision. Major Conder’s views as to the identitication of ancient sites have been generally accepted. A COMPLETE copy of the Atlas de Géographie Moderne, prepared by Messrs. F. Schrader, F. Prudent, and E. Anthoine, and published by Messrs. Hachette & Co., now lies before us. It is a work equally remarkable for its intrinsic value and low price. The maps, sixty-four in number, cannot compare in beauty of engraving with those in Stieler’s atlas or in some of our English atlases, but they are clear, tastefully printed, and upon the whole remarkably correct. The letterpress, printed on the back of each map, is full of instruction, and is illustrated by a large number of diagrams. Altogether this atlas reflects credit upon all who have been engaged in its production. Routledge’s Atlas of the World, in sixteen small maps, is certainly no better than similar works of this type, and hardly calls for notice. ANTHROPOLOGICAL NOTES. Recent numbers of L’Anthropologie, the new journal edited by Messrs. Cartailhac, Hamy, and Topinard, contain some noteworthy original memoirs. Messrs. Deniker and Laloy contri- bute their observations on exotic races in the Universal Exhibition of 1889, when they had the opportunity of measuring and examining 145 individuals of diverse races. These included 48 West African negroes, 56 Annamites and Tonkinese, 13 Japanese, 8 Tahitians, 1 New Caledonian, and 19 redskins of Buffalo Bill’s troupe. They were photographed by Prince Roland Bonaparte upon the excellent plan— which the Anthropometric Committee of the British Association long ago recommended —of a full-face and profile for each individual. A con- siderable number of these photographs are reproduced as illustrations to the memoir. Of the West Africans, the authors conclude that they are formed of the mixture of three races— one very tall, dolichocephalous, large - nosed, predominating in the north ; another tall, still more dolichocephalous and large-nosed, but not quite so dark, in the south; and this mingled with a third, brachycephalous and very small. As to the small, sub-brachycephalic Annamite race, they are of opinion that it remains pure in Cochin China. The observations on other races are not sufficient for generalization, but in detail are valuable and interesting. Dr. Bazin contri-
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780 THE ATHENAUM N° 3293, Dec. 6,90 butes a study of the art of tattooing as practised in the regency of Tunis, with examples of adorn- ment of the arms, legs, and breasts with sym- metrical and characteristic patterns, not merely for the sake of ornament, but with a therapeutic object. The communication of most interest to anthro- pologists in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries is that of General Pitt-Rivers on the development of the Celtic cross, which ac- companied his exhibition of models of crosses, made to a uniform scale. His arguments against the removal of ancient monuments in bulk to a central museum are conclusive, and his sugges- tion that models made to scale would meet all the requirements of study is a good one. The scale he adopts is two inches to a foot, sufficient to give the details of ornamentation of the sculp- tured stones in all but the very finest work. His observations of ancient monuments in Scot- land led him to the conclusion that the sacred monogram chi-rho, and not the cross, was the emblem used in Britain. It is borne by the pillar-stones at Kirkmadrine, reputed to be the oldest Christian monuments in Scotland, and by the Peter’s Stone near Whithorn. All the Christian emblems at Whithorn are chis, not crosses. General Pitt-Rivers traces the develop- ment of the British cross, and compares it with Irish forms, with his characteristic acuteness of observation. Mr. H. M. Stanley, in his article on the Pigmies in the January Scribner’s, says :— “ We have seen some—a few—who might be said to be well formed. The little plump beauty we saw with Ugarrowwa—an ivory raider—was a bewitch- ‘ing little creature thirty-three inches high. It is possible that this beauty was due to perfect health and the good food with which she was fed by the Arab. She was certainly a gem worth seeing, and as calm and self-possessed as a well-bred lady.” SOCIETIES. RoYAL.—Nov. 27.—The Treasurer, Dr. J. Evans, in the chair.—The list of officers and Council nominated for election on December Ist was read.—The fol- dowing papers were read : ‘On the Homology be- tween Genital Ducts and Nephridia in the Oligo- cheta,’ by Mr. F. E. Beddard,—‘ The Patterns in Thumb and Finger Marks: on their Arrangement into Naturally Distinct Classes, the Permanence of the Papillary Ridges that make them, and the Re- semblance of their Classes to Ordinary Genera,’ by Mr. F. Galton, Preliminary Note on the Trans- plantation and Growth of Mammalian Ova within a Uterine Foster-mother,’ by Mr. W. Heape,— The Conditions of Chemical Change between Nitric Acid and Certain Metals,’ by Mr. V. H. Veley,—and ‘ The Variations of Electromotive Force of Cells consist- ing of Certain Metals, Platinum, and Nitric Acid,’ by Messrs. G. J. Burch and V. H. Veley. Dec. 1.—Anniversary Meeting—Sir G. Stokes, President, in the chair.— The auditors of the Treasurer's accounts presented their report.—The ‘Secretary read the list of Fellows deceased and Fellows elected since the last anniversary.—The anniversary address was delivered by the President, and the same was ordered to be printed.—The medals were presented as follows; The Copley Medal to Prof. 8. Newcomb; the Rumford Medal to Prof. H. Hertz; Royal Medals to Prof. Ferrier and Dr. J. Hopkinson; the Davy Medal to Prof. E, Fischer; and the first Darwin Medal to Mr. A. R. Wallace.—The officers and Council for the ensuing session were elected as follows: President, Sir W. Thomson ; 7reasurer, Dr. J. Evans; Secre- taries, Prof. M. Foster and Lord Rayleigh ; Furcign Secretary, Dr. A. Geikie; Other Members of the Council, Prof. W. E. Ayrton, W. H. M. Christie, Prof. W. Boyd Dawkins, J. W. L. Glaisher, Dr. H. Miller, Prof. A. Newton, Dr. Sir W. Roberts, W. C, Roberts-Austen, Prof. E. A. Schiifer, Sir G. G. Stokes, Bart., Lieut.-General R. Strachey, Prof. J. J. Thom- son, Prof. T. E. Thorpe, Sir W. Turner, Prof, S. H. Vines, and General J. T. Walker. GEOLOGICAL.— Vor. 26.—Dr. A. Geikie, President, in the chair.—Messrs. F. W. Boam and G. H. C. Wright were elected Fellows.—The appointment of Mr. L. Belinfante as Assistant Secretary was con- firmed.—The following communications were read : “Account of an Experimental Investigation of the Law that limits the Action of Flowing Streams,’ dy Mr. R. D. Oldham,—and ‘On the Rocks of North Devon,’ by Dr. H. Hicks. SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES.— Nov. 27.—Dr. J. Evans, President, in the chair—Mr. Fortnum ex- hibited a gold ring enclosing a portion of the sup- posed hair of Edward IV., removed when the king’s tomb at Windsor was opened. A comparison of the hair with a lock removed from the coffin and pre- sented to the Society of Antiquaries at the time by the Bishop of Carlisle, then also Dean of Windsor, showed very great similarity between the two, and Mr. Fortnum expressed his opinion that the ring was most likely made at the time on purpose to hold the portion of King Edward’s hair.—Mr. W. H. St. John Hope, by leave of the Rector of Stonyhurst College, exhibited an unusually small example of the curious painted alabaster tablets called ‘St. John’s Heads,”—Dr. Sparrow Simpson exhibited an original draft of a letter from Charles I. to his queen Henrietta Maria, dated December 3rd, 1644, and an original vow, signed by the king at Oxford on April 13th, 1646, that in case he recovered his rights he would restore to the Church whatsoever property had been stolen or alienated from it by his prede- cessors.—Mr. Micklethwaite communicated a paper descriptive of a mural recess and staircase in the south wall of the monks’ parlour at Westminster Abbey, and of certain singular arrangements therein, which he suggested belonged to a filtering cistern of the fourteenth century. Mr. Micklethwaite’s theory seemed to commend itself strongly to those present. INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.—Dec. 2.— Sir J. Coode, President, in the chair.—It was an- nounced that fourteen Associate Members had been transferred to the class of Members, and that fifty- five candidates had been admitted as Students.—The first ballot of the session resulted in the election of ten Members, of eighty-eight Associate Members, and of two Associates. RoyAL INSTITUTION. — Dec. 1.—Sir J.C. Browne, Treas. and V.P., in the chair.—Messrs. C. A. Aikin, L. Brennan, A. M. Dunlop, H. Gourlay, J. R. Innes, M. Marcus, and C, G. Millar, and Dr. Thomas were elected Members. SocIETY OF ENGINEERS.—Dec.1.—Mr. H. Adams, President. in the chair.—A paper was read by Mr. J.J. KF. Andrews ‘On Ship Caissons for Dock Basins and Dry Docks,’ SocIETY OF BIBLICAL ARCHZOLOGY.—Dec. 2,— Mr. P. Le Page Renouf, President, in the chair.— The following papers were read: ‘ The Accadian and Chinese Characters,’ by the Rev. C. J. Ball,—and ‘The Prayers and Liturgies of the Falashas,’ by the Rev. A. Lowy. FOLK- LORE.— Nov. 19.— Mr. G. L. Gomme. Director, in the chair.—The Director gave the open- ing address of the session in consequence of the unavoidable absence of Mr. A. Lang, President. Classifying the papers read before the Society last session, Mr. Gomme drew attention to the two schools of folk-lorists which were indicated, the anthropological and the literary, and he claimed for the former that its work had only just begun, while the latter, from the time of John Aubrey down to the formation of the Society, had always been at work, though the results did not seem to be advancing beyond the dictum that what was recorded chronologically earlier must be the parent of that which is recorded later, the record being the central point of importance, not the thing recorded. The anthrepological school of folk-lorists went on different lines, and their results, so far as they have gone, show great and continuing advance. Mr. Gomme proceeded to point out the great im- portance of analysis in folk-lore. By analyzing folk-tales it became clear that in the majority of stories the central part of the plot was some savage or rudely barbarous idea or custom. By analyzing custom and belief, and tracing out their geographical distribution in each country, much would be gained towards placing folk-lore as one of the factors for elucidating the prehistoric life of man. As ex- amples of such analysis, baptism beliefs, witch- craft customs, the burning of the clavie, and some sacrificial rites in Devonshire were given, and the evidence pointed out which suggested that they contained some untouched details of the practices of the stone age. Finally Mr. Gomme strongly urged the importance of always studying folk-lore by exact methods, and made some suggestions for the Society’s immediate attention.—Mr. Clodd, Dr. Gaster, Mr. Nutt, Mr. Hartland, Mr. Jacobs, and Dr. Loéwe took part in the discussion. ARISTOTELIAN.—Dec. 1.—Mr. 8. H. Hodgson, President, in the chair.—Mr. J. 8S. Hugill and Mr. G. E. Underhill were elected Members.—Mr. B. Bosanquet read a paper ‘On the Fundamental Out- lines of Greek Theory concerning the Beautiful.’ Having explained that the title of the paper alluded to the fact that of Greek views concerning the a wD. 2. beautiful a large part could not be called esthetic theories, the writer proceeded to distinguish three main principles, dominant in all Greek speculation about the beautiful before Plotinus, and having a common root in the metaphysical assumption that representation or “imitation” is an imperfect kind of commonplace reality (commonplace reality—= reality as ———- by average feeling and perception). These three principles were stated as: 1, Moralistic, viz., the notion that the content of art, being simply a repetition of the facts of life, was moral or immoral according to the same stan- dard as those facts; 2, Metaphysical, viz., that an artistic representation is merely a common reality reproduced in a mode which deprives it of all prac- tical value ; 3, Aisthetic, viz., that beauty can only consist in conformity to abstract conditions derived from the conception of unity in variety. Omitting the further treatment of the first two principles, the writer proceeded to illustrate the application by ancient writers of the formal or abstract esthetic principle of unity in variety from general defini- tions of beauty in which it is the main factor, and also from special cases in which it guided their analysis, such as purity of colour and tone, ele- mentary geometrical form, very simple music, the lesser arts and formative art,and the drama, noting that in the three latter cases the principle, though treated as substantive, is really no more than a limiting condition. The relation of such a limiting condition to individual expressiveness was eluci- dated by the relation between the shape of a pic- ture and its subject or content, on the provisional assumption that the golden-section rectangle is in itself the most beautiful form of rectangle.—The paper was followed by a discussion. MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. — Institution, 5.—‘ Heat of the Moon and Stars,’ Prof. C.V. 3 — Surveyors’ Institution, 8—Adjourned Discussion on Mr. T. A. Dickson's Paper ‘The Labour Question as regards Agricul- ture. — Society of Arts, 8—‘Gaseous Illuminants,’ Lecture III., Prof. V. B. Lewes (Cantor Lecture). — Library Association, 8. — ‘Battersea Pnblic Libraries,’ Mr. Inkster. — Ge phical, 8}.—‘Explorations in Alaska and N.W. British Columbia,’ Mr. H. W. Seton-Karr. Horticultural, 1. Society of Architects, 7}. yi a ceca 8.—‘The Aborigines of Australia,’ Mr. E. Greville. — Civil Engineers, 8.—: The New Chittravati Bridge, Madras Rail- way,’ Mr. E. W. Stoney. _ Petcare 8. — Anthropological Institute, 8}.—‘Apparent Paradox in Mental Evolution,’ Hon. Lady Welby; ‘Exhibition of Patterns of Finger-Marks,’ Mr. F. Galton. Wen. —— of Arts, 8.—‘ Electric Lighting Progress in London,’ Mr. *, Bailey. — Geological, 8. —‘Water-worn and Pebble-worn Stones taken from the Apron of the Severn Commissioners’ Weir erected across the River at Holt Fleet, about Eight Miles above Worcester,’ Mr. H. J. Marten; ‘Physical Geology of Ten- nessee and adjoining Districts in the United States of Ame- rica,’ Prof. E. Hull; ‘Certain Ornithosaurian and Dinosaw Remains,’ Mr. R. Lydekker. Royal, 4}. London Institution, 6.—‘Our Commercial Relations with China, Prof. R. K. Douglas. — Electrical Engineers, 8.—Annual General Meeting ; Discussion on ‘The Efticiency of Secondary Cells’ and ‘The Chemistry of Secondary Cells. — Mathematical, 8.—‘On the Extension to Matrices of any Order of the Quaternion Symbols 8 and V,’ Dr. Taber; ‘On the Reversion of Partial Differential Expressions with Two Inde- pendent and Two Dependent Variables,’ Mr. E. B. Elliott; ‘On the Flexion of a Thin Elastic Shell under Pressure,’ Mr. A. B. Basset; ‘Newton’s Classification of Cubic Curves,’ Mr. W. W. R. Ball; ‘Steiner’s Poristic Systems of Spheres,’ Prof. G. B. Mathews. =— Antiquaries, 8}.—‘ Recent cavati at Silch ’ Part L., Messrs. G. E. Fox and W. H. St. John Hope. Frit. Physical, 5.—‘Some Experi Cells,’ Mr. S. wit! ‘ Bidwell; ‘Note on Electrolysis’ and ‘Alternating Current Condensers,’ Mr. J. Swinburne. — Astronomical, 8. _ New Shakspere, 8.—‘On the History in “Henry VIII.,”’ Mr. W. G. Boswell-Stone. — Ruskin, 8.—‘ On Ruskin’s Teaching and Present-Day Movements and Tendencies,’ Mr. Phythian. Srience Gossip, TuHeE death of Dr. Berghaus, the well-known geographer, is announced. ANOTHER small planet—the fourteenth of the present year, and reckoning as No. 301 in a general list—was discovered by Dr. J. Palisa at Vienna on the 16th ult. Tue first number of the Journal of the British Astronomical Association has been published, and besides other matter (notes, reviews, &c.) has some interesting papers, particularly one by the editor, Mr. E. W. Maunder, F.R.A.S., on ‘The Chief Nebular Line,’ and its bearing on Prof. Lockyer’s meteoritic theory. After point- ing out the causes of the difference of results obtained by observers of the position of this line (of whom the most recent is Mr. Keeler, of the Lick Observatory, on Mount Hamilton), Mr. Maunder concludes that we do not yet know ‘*the position of the nebular line with sufficient accuracy to say positively that it does or does not accord with the magnesium fluting.”
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a a ee N° 3293, Dec. 6,90 THE ATHENAUM 781
XUM
FINE ARTS —~e ROYAL SOCIETY of PAINTERS in WATER COLOURS. — The WINTER EXHIBITION is NOW OPEN, 5, Pall-mall East, from 10 till 5. —Admittance, ls. ; Catalogue, 6d. ALFRED D. FRIPP, R.W.S., Secretary. CONSTABLE’S COUNTRY. — PAINTINGS in OIL by ALFRED HARTLEY.—EXHIBITION NOW OPEN at ROBERT DUNTHOR NE'S, Rembrandt Gallery, Vigo-street, London, W.
CHRISTMAS BOOKS. London Street Arabs. By Mrs. H. M. Stan- ley. (Cassell & Co.)—Mrs. Stanley’s sketches evince spirit, sympathy, and good taste. She set herself to delineate not the miserable, ** whining children with sunken eyes, holding up bunches of violets to heedless passers-by,” but the ‘‘merry, reckless, happy-go-lucky urchin ” and the ‘‘ tomboy girl,” who reminded her of Murillo’s ‘‘ Beggar Boys,” and of the lads Hogarth delighted in. Does she know that the first record of Hogarth on the human stage shows him in the act of walking round Leicester Fields with the baby of Mr. Gamble, his master the silversmith, in his arms, and looking over his shoulder withits tongueout? Well might Hogarth know about the London boys he drew so truly. Mrs. Stanley had kindly ways of treating the happy-go-lucky young folks; she took them home, and, with manifold bribes and coaxings, employed them as models and studied their ways. Thus she gathered some funny notes of character, such as, ‘‘I asked Harry Sullivan to define a gentleman. He replied, not with- out some fervour, ‘Oh! a fellow who has a watch and chain.’ I suppose he read disappro- bation in my face, for he hastily added, ‘and loves Jesus.’...... This same boy had very hazy ideas of Old Testament history. He had heard of Adam and Eve—‘ They stole apples and were turned out of the gardin, and then they had to work for their living till the sweat poured down.’” The letterpress is more original than the lady’s pictures at the Grosvenor and New Galleries have been. Picturesque Life in Shetland. From Draw- ings by F. Barnard, with Descriptive Notes. (Waterston & Sons. )—According to Mr. Barnard Shetland is a paradise of bareheaded and bare- legged girls, who are to be seen jumping grace- fully from stepping-stone to stepping-stone in roaring burns, rowing in boats, or elegantly carrying creels or ‘‘keyshies.” We hope it is so in Ultima Thule, and that the strapping wenches who do these things are, if not fairer, at least more distinctly Shetlandish than he has represented them. His sketches remind us of Frederick Tayler’s in their delicate unreality and the absence of uncouth, coarse, and dis- agreeable elements from their portraits. The figures of the males, boyish or bearded, are much truer, but, apart from a sort of drawing- master’s tact, the designs at large and their execution, as well as that of the landscapes in which they occur, are rather commonplace, not to say tame. The ‘‘descriptive notes” are livelier than the sketches ; they abound in those local colours which give a charm to whatever is written about nature. The Thames from Oxford to the Tower, by W. Senior (‘‘Red Spinner”) (Nimmo), is hand- somely printed in good and clear type. The margins are ample and the cover is inoffensive. Unluckily there is no index. ‘‘ Red Spinner ” justifies his reputation by the sympathetic, tasteful turn of his writing. He has a liking for picturesque archzeology, and rejoices in country sights and sounds. Here and there, however, he is a little dull. The leading, if not the sole novelty of the book is thirty original etchings by Mr. F. 8. Walker, who rather fancifully calls them ‘‘ painter’s etchings,” a whim that may be tolerated, for, although they are mostly too black, they do justice to the poetry and pathos of many beautiful places, such as ‘ Richmond Hill’ and ‘Kew,’ where the hideous refreshment houses and taverns which of late have marred
the loveliness of the spot have been omitted, or rather evaded. The best thing in the book is ‘Windsor,’a very expressive etching, full of colour, broad and rich in tone, and delicately graded. ‘Sonning’ is spotty; and the drawing proper, in which art Mr. Walker is hardly an adept, is, whenever anything definite appears in his work, at once weak and bad.
THE SOCIETY OF PAINTERS IN WATER COLOURS. WINTER EXHIBITION. Despite the abstention of some of its ablest members, the ‘‘Old Society” has got together an exhibition decidedly superior to that of last winter. There are not only a larger number of works of a high class, but fewer that are much below the mark. Exhibitors who appear to most advantage this season are Messrs. Andrews, G. A. Fripp, A. Goodwin, C. N. Hemy, A. W. Hunt, H. Moore, D. Murray, and F. Powell. It is a pity Mr. A. Moore, a new-comer, has sent nothing. We are disappointed at not finding anything from Mr. Burne Jones, and fine as Mr. Wallis’s single work is, we looked for something more ambitious than a picture of still life. Mr. Alma Tadema, Mr. Boyce, Mr. A. D. Fripp, Mr. Heywood Hardy, and Mr. Poynter are also unrepresented. One of the most artistic things here is Mr. G. A. Fripp’s View from the Bridge at Llanyltyd (No. 2), a noble and famous prospect that Wilson delighted in. Mr. Fripp likes these views of flat valleys between grand hillsides, with a silvery river flowing past, and his drawing owes much to the charm of its atmosphere, pure colouring, and tender greys. Asa harmony of colour and tone in low keys it is exemplary. The fresco-like manner and silvery tones, as wellas the airy distance, of No. 27, Near Horsham, illustrate the painter’s technical principles. Still, it is rather flat. On the Thames (334) is a similar work.—A contrast to these drawings is furnished by the brilliant, pure tints and glittering illumination of Mr. F. Powell’s sea-pieces, such as Shore Waves (5), where the foaming breakers, decked in purple reflections from the sky, are not only well drawn and modelled, but coloured after nature, of which the picture shows deep know- ledge. Its spottiness is truthful. The whole reminds us of Mr. H. Moore’s pictures of waves. As a piece of soft and nacreous colour nothing here is better or more delicately handled than Sculling (37), a man rowing himself over a wave- less ocean towards a ketch which is anchored motionless in the deep calm. Very good, too, is Bull Rocks (272), by the same artist. — Mr. Birket Foster never charmed us so much before as by the studies he lately made at Arisaig. The artist has, wisely we think, avoided that blackness in the shadows which injured many former pictures of his; his general tones are warmer, and the whole of his work from Arisaig (if not his other contributions) seems warmer than before. On the Rocks (6) is a bright and crisply touched sketch of a rocky foreground richly coloured. In the distance rises a noble mountain. Waiting for the Fishing Boat (95) is even prettier ; the technical qualities are similar. —First Breath of Autumn (13)is Mr. T. Lloyd’s masterpiece, a large and brilliant landscape, drawn with uncommon force and_ skill in light and delicate tones, and tints purer than ordinary. <A well - designed group of figures, contemplating from an old garden wall the change the season is producing in the land- scape, supplies an incident and adds to the senti- ment of the view. No one maintains his position in this gallery more successfully than Mr. A. W. Hunt in his Reefs at Low Tide (70), a rocky bay, athwart which the many-folded cliffs and rosy sands are seen through one of those almost invisible veils of mist which it is the artist’s pleasure to paint. The breadth and delicate handling, the fineness of the pearly shadows, !
and the air are lovely elements exquisitely delineated. With this may be _ bracketed Warkworth: Sunlit Shower (161), a broad, harmonious, and subtle study of nature. It is pervaded by a noble sense of style. Robin Hood’s Bay (164) is one of the tenderest of the artist’s views of his favourite field of study, and its colour and effect are un- usually good, even for him. Windsor (346) is a beautiful variation on several former exer- cises with similar motives, and representing the same place.—A contrast to these examples of tender hues and tones is afforded by the stronger and much more heavily handled, yet rich and original, Garden by the River (71) of Mr.C.N. Hemy, a new member: it is his best drawing in water colours that we know. With, at least for water-colour painting, a somewhat coarse and heavy touch, the artist has given the natural, enamel-like colour of the stream, and the sombre greyness of autumnal tones. The Mill in the Waste(10) has poetic suggestions not often ob- servable in Mr. Hemy’s pictures, which usually are moredistinguished for energy than sentiment. His sombre Fox Mill, Romsey (93), old buildings and a still pool, is distinctly pathetic, but with a somewhat hackneyed pathos. Though a little dirty in colour it is a decidedly artistic drawing and highly picturesque, and therefore all the more welcome where the picturesque aspect of picture making—that desirable element of pictorial art—is by no meanstoo common. No. 123, Romsey Abbey, and The Ferry Landing at Gosport (207), are good, but less so than the above.—Mr. R. Thorne Waite’s Danbury Com- mon (94) is also a picturesque drawing, and in good keeping throughout. An accidental misunderstanding has delayed the exhibition of one of Mr. H. Wallis’s richest and _ strongest Oriental pictures, a Cairene scene, for which a, distinguished place was reserved in this gallery. We have some compensation in the wealth of colours, masculine draughtsmanship, and extra- ordinary fidelity to nature displayed in_his A Thirteenth Century Spanish Moorish Vase (105), one of the drawings prepared for his sumptuous book on ancient lustre ware. It fails only to give the large size (four feet high) of the famous original. Few painters of our time could reproduce so finely the glow of the colours in the shadows as well as in the lights of the magnificent vase ; it would be difficult for most of us to retain the splendour and the depth of the tints and tones of this noble piece. —Mr. 8S. J. Hodson’s Corso, Verona (128), is a capital drawing, slightly deficient in force of colour and depth of tone, but render- ing truly the stateliness of the architecture. His St. Peter’s Mancroft, Norwich (15), is inferior to the Italian piece; it is warm and good, but somewhat conventional. His Ponte di Pietra, Verona (139), is brilliant and solid. As an able and sympathetic draughtsman of picturesque architecture, Mr. Hodson will take the place of the late Mr. Glennie, of whose works, according to a graceful custom of the Society, a special collection is exhibited. They may all be profitably studied. Mr. H. Moore is not a conspicuous exhibitor, but his vigorous and expressive study in short- hand of nature called Thunderstorm Passing Off (174) is notable for splendid colour and the ful- ness of light. Vivid light and true colour also distinguish his Prawners, Jersey (142); the effect is rather flat, but so it is in nature. In the Marshes, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight (181), is the first version of a fine picture lately at the Aca- demy.—The Spring (234), Summer (235), Autumn (247), and Winter (248) of Mr. W. Crane are fine studies of symbolic female figures, graceful and finely draped. They evince sense of style, their motives and methods of design are large, and they are most artistically drawn in white on brown paper. Wonderful is the contrast between them and the dramatic and passionate design of the Wreck of the Halswell, East Indiaman (241).
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782 THE ATHENAUM N° 3293, Dec. 6, 90
She is fixed on therocks; enormous breakerssweep across her hull, and carry away men, women, and children, together with débris of her rigging. The raging sea, the fury of the wind driving the clouds athwart, the confusion of the scene, the helplessness of the crowd that is massed amid- ships, and the horror of the moment when the strong mainmast has been snapped off short in the violent rolling of the hull, are elements of a very powerful and original design. As a piece of artistic work this masterpiece of Mr. G. H. Andrews evinces the feelings of a poet and the knowledge of the sea that a veteran possesses. The broken mast seems too small. Northcote painted this subject with surprising vigour considering that he never saw a wreck and was not too familiar with ships and the sea. His picture, a valuable record of the ideas of design that obtained in 1786, is still reckoned among the masterpieces of the academical school of seascape art, and an engraving of it spread his reputation enormously. Verses were written about it, and it had, of course, the benefit of appearing within a short time of the catastrophe itself, which thrilled the nation, making as deep an impression as the loss of the Captain. Mr. Andrews’s design is most successful in re- producing the old impressions. It is all the more effective in so doing because its motives are distinctly not modern. The artist con- tributes a number of drawings, including some which, contrariwise to the staple of this collec- tion, are really ‘‘sketches and studies,” and thus maintain the original character of the Winter Exhibitions of the Society. Too many of the works we have mentioned, and a con- siderable proportion of the following, are fitter for the summer show, and the collection of next summer will be the poorer because its charms are so far discounted. This ought not to be, and the original intention of the Winter Exhibition should be reverted to. Mr. Andrews’s minor drawings, however, do not approach No. 241 in artistic merit. They include Three Sketches, Porchester Castle (106), which are sparkling and very rich in colour; and The Temple of Concord, Gergenti (150), as seen in an intense glow of sunlight. The touch through- out is rather loose. In many respects Mr. A. Goodwin’s Ponte Vecchio, Florence (243), a moonlight scene, belongs to the same class of studies from nature as Mr. Andrews’s ‘Gergenti.’ It is pervaded by sentiment, and as crisp and clear in touch as it is broad in effect. The sky is not less true than the architecture. One of the most powerful drawings here, as well as one of the few that are distinctly original, ‘ Ponte Vecchio’ deserves a better place. Maidstone (20), which is nearly as good, shows the effect of soft daylight upon the old town and its pic- turesque bridge. It is beautifully drawn, and its breadth and rich yet tender colour are thoroughly studied. Afterglow in the Mediter- ranean (185), by the same artist, is a fine study of a splendid, yet sullen atmospheric effect, artistically and scientifically rendered. We care less for Altdorf, Lake Lucerne (192), although it has a beautiful subject and renders a charmingly lovely aérial effect.—Very remote from these technical exercises and exquisite pictures of nature is Mr. Holman Hunt’s learned and exhaustive piece of draughtsmanship (303) in monochrome, bearing a motto from an ‘** Karly English Poem,” which, except in the vaguest way, does not aid us to understand its subject. A fully draped damsel in an oratorical attitude stands in the foreground of a land- scape. spake” is illustrated truly enough ; but what she was going to say, and therefore to what we are to look for the meaning of the design, neither the motto, the attitude, nor the expression of the face indicates. The figure, its dress, contours, and gracious lines, are, indeed, beautifully wrought ; as with the back-
So far the verse ‘‘ And gently thus she | ground, so with the modelling throughout, the entire piece was produced with the delicate research of a gem engraver ; but, although the ‘“‘early English poem” lets us infer that the lady was fair, and in deep sorrow, and, after long sufferings, a ‘‘ Pearl” of humanity, the face, on which all the passionate pathos of the design’s suggestions should have been concen- trated, is neither fair nor even, in any respect, fine. It is, indeed, and technically speaking, the sole failure in point of sentiment and execution in a very ambitious and highly accomplished drawing—one of the most thoughtful pieces of work in the exhibition.—Such art as that of Mr. Holman Hunt, artistic, sincere, and studious as it is, is antithetical in technique and spirit to the mannerisms of Miss C. Mont- alba, who contributes not fewer than eight drawings, which are neither ‘‘sketches” nor “studies,” and deserve no further mention than suffices to express wonder how a society calling itself scholarly, and having dignified traditions, condescends to admit such flimsy work. Among the minor landscapes Mr. P. Naftel’s bright and pure exercises deserve honourable mention. The best of them is Langdale Pikes (3). The vapours hovering above the shining water and about the peaks are deftly painted. Very pretty indeed, it is not innocent of the lamp. Mid-day Rest (65) is also graceful and neat in all respects. More powerful, solid, and richer in tone and colour is the large Stones of the Lynn (108), a capital piece of rock-drawing, but, like No. 65, it owes as much to the studio as the sketching stool. On the Shore, Studland (180), is exceedingly pretty and charmingly drawn.—Mr. S. P. Jackson has departed a little’ from his customary motives and technique, but in most instances he does not go far afield. Of his usual mood Borth, Port Madoc (8),-is a capital instance, and, despite its somewhat mannered and monotonous half-tints and shadows, dignified and pathetic. His <After- noon on the Seashore (39) is good, but less so than No. 8, yet its poetry is natural and sincere. Bodruthan Steps (64) reproduces much of the sombre impressiveness of a grand and romantic scene on the wildest part of the Cornish coast. In Sandhills on the Coast, near Port Madoc (118), the artist has displayed a crisper touch, and his ‘shadows are clearer than ordinary. No doubt so good and original a sub- ject put him at his ease. Although the keys of colour are higher than he commonly affects, the whole is not less broad than usual. We notice with pleasure his Mewslade Bay (277). Mrs. Allingham sends four charming drawings embodying all those graces of taste and art with which she has long familiarized her public. Spring Copse (14) is fresh and natural. The time of the year is delightfully represented in the trees, their bright brown and slender branches, and the paleness of the tender green of the incipient foliage. In this fine picture the lady has met F. Walker and his followers on their own chosen ground. Nothing here is prettier than The Stray Kitten (61), the motive, taste, technique, and spirit of which may be recommended to the notice of Mr. Birket Foster, who has long delighted in subjects of the kind. Farringford Dairy, Isle of Wight (168), is a bright instance of Mrs. Alling- ham’s draughtsmanship, but for her it is a little hard, and the coloursare isolated. Cottages near Freshwater (171) is the best example here of her accustomed manner. It is warm, finished, and homogeneous.—Except its breadth, good style, and simplicity, there is not much to dis- tinguish Mr. E. A. Goodall’s Gate of Justice, Alhambra (26), from many excellent studies of the same placein thesame technical style. Itis a little mannered, but the manner is, per se, a good one. There is capital colour in the red bricks of the ancient walls, and the clearness and greyness of the huge shadow on the noble porch are choice qualities in art. Trajan’s Aqueducts,
Segovia (133), has elements of a sort of romantic grandeur which are not only unusual in Mr. Goodall’s always excellent work, but most welcome now. He is less happy in the Venetian subjects, Nos. 308 and 363.—Mr. Beaver’s Returning from the Cork Forest (85), is powerful in its way, though rather scenic and artificial. The dark-brown shadows indicate the lamp, and so does the lack of reflections of silvery daylight and golden lustre of the sun.— Mr. B. Bradley’s Wanderers (88) is rather man- nered. It is very good in colour, and remark- ably successful in rendering the brightness of open daylight on a landscape covered with snow. —Mr. E. Walker’s Old Farmstead (109), a beautiful drawing in low keys of colour and tone, will be praised by all who see it. It seems to us his best.—Mr. D. Murray’s At Pul- borough (147) is very fine, true, and broad. So conclude our notes on an exhibition which, not- withstanding the merit of many of the draw- ings, does not improve on acquaintance.
THE REV. JOSEPH MASKELL. Reavers of Notes and Queries will miss the Rev. Joseph Maskell, who passed away on Sunday afternoon from the effects of an attack of bron- chitisfollowing on rheumatic fever. Mr. Maskell, who was in his sixty-second year, held for a long period the charge of Allhallows Barking, Great Tower Street, and was appointed in 1869 Master and Chaplain of Emanuel Hospital, and Head Master of Emanuel School. This latter office he resigned in 1882, when, by the Westminster Endowed Schools Act of 1873, the school was removed to Wandsworth. Mr. Maskell was energetic, both in his parochial work and as a writer principally on subjects connected with education and archeology. He was fond, while his health lasted, of holiday rambles, especially into Ger- many and the Low Countries with a view to the archeological remains, numerous articles on which will be found in back numbers of the antiquarian journals. ‘Berkynge Chyrche Juxta Turrim’ is, of course, the standard work of reference on the history of the Tower Ward, and ‘The Wedding Ring’ as well as ‘ West- minster in Relation to Literature’ have attained a considerable circulation. At the commence- ment of the present year Mr. Maskell suc- ceeded Mr. John P. Seddon as editor of the Building World.
NOTES FROM ATHENS. Mr. GARDNER writes from Athens :— The excavations of the British School at Athens at Megalopolis, which led last spring to the dis- covery of the very important remains of the stage buildings referred to inthe Atheneum of August 2nd, have now been resumed. Some delay was caused at first by negotiations with the Greek Government. It is fully aware of the extreme importance of this, the largest theatre in Greece, now that our excava- tions have proved that its essential parts are in such excellent preservation, and is resolved that the whole theatre shall be cleared and kept, like that of Epidaurus, as an attraction to the student and the tourist. It is true that the upper rows of seats are probably entirely destroyed, and that this theatre cannot, even when perfect, have shown that wonder- ful symmetry and beauty o: proportion which dis- tinguish the design of Polyclitus at Epidaurus. But this will in a great degree be compensated for by the unique interest of the stage at Megalopolis, with its broad flight of steps down to the orchestra along the whole front. The conditions of the excavation have now been satisfactorily arranged, and the com- pletion of the work it has begun has been definitely undertaken by the British School. Pending this decision, we had resolved to con- tinue during the autumn season our exploratory excavation of the Agora, upon the opposite bank of the river. Accordingly Mr. Loring, Mr. Richards, and myself went to Megalopolis about a fortnight ago, and I was able to see about a week’s work before my return to Athens. Our excavations in this region had been cut short last spring, after only two and a half days’ work, by difficulties as to compensation for the crops then covering the land ; but at the present season no such impediment pre- vented our progress. We were able to follow out
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90 tic Ar. ost ian r’s is nd ate in- rk- Ww. nd ms ul- So ot- he ay m- ll, at er ice er as is r- Ne 3293, Dec. 6, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 783 the plan of a large stoa which seems to bound the Agora on the north—the position, according to Pau- sanias, of the Stoa Philippeios—for a distance of about 500 ft.; and another building to the south-east seems also to be a stoa, If we can only identify these with the buildings mentioned by Pausanias, we shall soon have no difficulty in tracing the whole plan of the Agora as he describes it. A visit to the temple of Despoena at Lycosura, where the fragments of the great group by Dano- phon of Messene were found last year, enabled us to see those heavy portions of the statues which are still obliged to wait in the slopes of Mount Lycaon till a road can be made to bring them down. The heads are now temporarily mounted in the National Museum at Athens, and it is thus possible to form a juster estimate of them than when they were lying on the ground, and both the vigour and freshness of the work and its monumental dignity are much enhanced now that . ¥ be viewed at a proper height and distance, But the effect will be much more improved when the bust of Despoena and other large portions of the statues can be arranged and fitted into their places. A complete restoration of the group will hardly, I fear, be possible, even when all the fragments are together in Athens ; but much will be gained by such joins as can be safely effected. The temple itself has now been completely cleared. The two female statues from Rhamnus have now been mounted upon their bases and exhibited in the vestibule of the National Museum at Athens. The fourth century statue is a typical specimen of the inferior and more mechanical style of its period. The modelling is hard, and the forms of the body especially are lacking in grace and delicacy ; but at the same time it possesses a certain simplicity and pee eed style which one could not assign to a later period, even if the inscription did not place its age beyond a doubt. The other statue is an ordinary ter of Hellenistic work ; but there is a grace about the proportions and the draping of the hima- tion, which envelopes the whole body, that may to many be more attractive than the severer character of its companion, Gine-Grt Gossiy. THE report of the Executive Committee of the Silchester Excavation Fund has been issued. The excavations began on Monday, June 23rd, on a small portion of the inswa north of the forum. The exact boundaries of the insula were ascertained by trenching, and considerable sec- tions of what seemed boundary walls were laid bare, as well as traces of buildings to the north- east; but further operations were suspended till after the harvest. Next the west gate, which had previously been unexplored, was laid bare, and the north and south gates, already partially excavated in 1872, were laid open, and also a portion of the inner face of the city wall. After harvest the examination of the inswa was re- commenced, and a large house, which had been ornamented with mosaic floors, its walls de- corated with colour, and its rooms heated with hypocausts, was laid bare. Being near the surface it had suffered from repeated ploughing. That part of the inswla lying south of the highway was outlined, and the street bounding it on that side discovered. North of the highway a series of refuse pits were come upon. In one a perfect bronze scale-beam and a number of iron tools— chisels, axes, hammers, files, anvils, &c.—were found. A well was also discovered lined with oak boarding. The basilica has been re-examined. The remains of what appear to be two temples were found near the parish church, which stands close to the site of the east gate. A DETAILED account of the discoveries will be laid before the Society of Antiquaries on Thurs- day next and the following Thursday, and an exhibition of the objects found will be held at Burlington House during the first fortnight of _January. Mr. W. K. Foster has undertaken the examination of another insula, and Dr. Freshfield has presented a donation of 3007. It is probable one of the cemeteries outside the city will be examined under the supervision of Mr. Arthur Evans. An important discovery of fourteen stones, more or less inscribed, as well as of architectural fragments of Roman buildings, has been made at Chester. We shall publish an account of them by Mr. Earwaker next week, having no room in our present number. In accordance with Her Majesty’s suggestion the forthcoming gathering at the New Gallery will be called, not the Hanover, but the Guelph Exhibition. In addition to the names of lenders of works of art and relics to the Guelph Exhibition which we gave last week, we may mention that Lady Charlotte Schreiber shows her collection of fans. Mr. Baker, of Bayfordbury, lends eleven pictures, including most of the original portraits of the Kit Cat Club. The Duke of Cam- bridge, the Duke of Northumberland, the Mar- quis of Lothian, the Bodleian Library, the Earl of Coventry, Mr. John Evans, the Earl of Ilchester, Sir Herbert Maxwell, Mr. C. Quilter, the Earl of Ranfurly, Lord Sackville, the Earl of Strafford, the Corporation of Southampton, the Stationers’ Company, the Earl of Sandwich, the Earl of Suffolk, Mr. H. Willett, the Cor- poration of London, and the Merchant Taylors’ Company are also going to lend. THE death on the 2nd inst., and in his seventy -fourth year, of Sir William Richard Drake, of Oatlands Lodge, Weybridge, and Prince’s Gardens, Kensington, removes from amongst us one of the most accomplished and liberal amateurs and collectors of a gene- ration which is fast vanishing. Sir William, Mr. William Smith of Lisle Street, Mr. John Henderson, Dr. Percy, of metallur- gical renown, Mr. Edward Cheney, and Mr. Sackville Bale were all of them real lovers of art, who resembled the wealthy and energetic cognoscenti of the last century. They were among the most accomplished supporters of the Burlington Fine-Arts Club, and generous lenders of drawings, prints, pictures, and bric-a-brac to the exhibitions of that society. Besides briefer essays, Sir William wrote and published ‘ Notes on Venetian Ceramics,’ 1868. We are sorry to hear that another eminent collector, Mr. Richard Fisher, of Hill Top, Midhurst, is seriously ill. On Wednesday next, the 10th inst., the medals and other rewards of the Royal Academy will be distributed to the students. Tue Arts and Crafts Exhibition, New Gallery, closes to-day (Saturday). Holders of tickets from the Sunday Society will be admitted during to-morrow afternoon. Mr. T. Farrman OrpisuH, F.S.A., whose ‘ Old London Theatres’ will shortly be published in the new ‘‘ Camden Library” series, is engaged upon a new edition of Stow’s ‘Survey of London,’ which will be illustrated by contemporary views, plans, and maps, and also by representations of those vestiges of Stow’s London which, having survived the Great Fire, have been recorded in authentic drawings or exist at the present time. THE restoration of the Nereid Monument in the British Museum, to which we not long since referred as consisting of placing its fragments in their original order, is nearly complete. The friezes are in their true positions one above another on the lofty podium of the structure ; the columns now appear in their proper places upon the podium, and with the statues between them. The whole gives striking ideas of the design and scale of the monument. The portion in question, which gives one of the ends of the building, is on the spectator’s left as he enters the Nereid Room, formerly the Phigalian Room. On the opposite side one of the pediments of the monument has been reconstructed from frag- ments of mouldings and other parts. What remains of the sculptures of the tympan is seen as it was designed to be. Parts of the groups from the acroteria are now in situ. Tue British Museum has recently acquired a most interesting gem, a greyish-blue chalce- dony depicting Hercules with one foot on the Nemean lion, which he has just conquered, and stretching out his hands to take a draught from a vase which the nymph Nemea has brought to him, and holds in both her hands. Above the group hovers a small Victory. The composition is, as Mr. Murray has remarked, that of a metope, and thus the gem may be of use in restoring the metope of this subject which came to the Louvre from Olympia, while some frag- ments since found are at Berlin, still, how- ever, leaving the design imperfect. Messrs. Boussop, Vatapon & Co. have ap- pointed to-day (Saturday) for a private view of works by Mr. G. Hitchcock and M. Boutet de Monvel ; the public will be admitted on Monday next. At Messrs. Dowdeswell’s may be seen pastels by Mr. J. Guthrie, and pictures by artists residing in West Cornwall of the so-called Newlyn School. The Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts opens its thirtieth annual exhibition on the 15th inst., and closes it in the middle of March. A collection of drawings by Mr. A. Goodwin will be opened to the public on Mon- day next by the Fine-Art Society. The private view is held to-day (Saturday). THE death of the distinguished French painter M. Théophile Gide is announced. He was horn in Paris, and obtained a Third-Class Medal in 1861, medals in 1865 and 1866, and the Legion of Honour in the latter year. WE are glad to hear that, notwithstanding fears to the contrary (see p. 706, ante), Messrs. T. Agnew & Sons will re-exhibit in Old Bond Street, for a short time only, however, Mr. E. Burne Jones’s pictures illustrating the Legend of the Briar Rose, which during the summer were visited by more than fifty thousand persons. Messrs. Agnew hope to open their gallery for this purpose on Monday next, the 8th inst. THE second and concluding volume of the new edition of ‘ Boyne’s Trade Tokens,’ edited by Mr. G. C. Williamson, will be issued immediately. There are no fewer than eleven indices, compris- ing surnames, Christian names, localities, trades, shapes, values, issuers, devices, and pecu- liarities. THE new gallery in the Musée du Trocadéro, which has been for some time in course of ar- rangement, is open to the public. The casts from the antique lately in this museum are to be placed in one of the galleries of the Louvre, which was till now occupied by the Préfecture de la Seine. THE coalition of the two Paris Salons is not, it seems, to occur next year. The Société des Artistes Frangais will open its annual exhibition in the Champs Elysées on May Ist, as usual ; on the same day the Société Nationale intends to open its gallery on the Champ de Mars. THE French journals say that it is proposed to demolish the Hétel d’Estouteville, better known as the Hétel des Prévots de Paris, which dates from the reign of Louis XII. THINGS artistic are very often well done in Berlin. Thus in the National Gallery there have been formed—according to a plan which gives much pleasure to art-lovers in Paris, and has long been in vogue in the Ecole des Beaux- Arts—collections of the works of artists dead within the past year, being E. Bendemann, C. Steffeck, and W. Gentz—all types of the school of Diisseldorf. Dr. Orst has closed his campaign at Locri by excavating the whole front of the ancient walls facing the sea, the line of which was hitherto unknown. He has discovered four towers on the heights overlooking the city. If the Italian Government would return to the work, he thinks it might be rewarded by discovering remains of legal inscriptions of the time of Zaleucus, who is said to be the first to have given written laws to the Greeks, viz., at Locri in the seventh century B.c.!_ Greek inscriptions in Southern Italy are still very rare.
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784 THE ATHENAUM N° 3293, Dec. 6,90 MUSIC ———_ THE WEEK. St, Jamrs’s HaLtt.—M. Paderewski's Recital. Halle’s Concerts. The Popular Concerts. Ir is but natural that a musical performer possessing more than an average share of the sensitiveness inseparable from the artistic nature should feel inspired by the conscious- ness that his efforts are appreciated, and we imagine that the large audience attending M. Paderewski’s recital on Thursday last week impelled the Polish pianist to play more finely than on any previous occasion. His rendering of Beethoven’s early Sonata in ©, Op. 2, No. 3, amounted almost to a revelation. Without a trace of exaggera- tion, he invested the music, especially the slow movement, with fresh significance, and elevated the work almost to the level of the riper sonatas. Some of the pieces selected from Chopin were also interpreted with marvellous eloquence and beauty, notably the Fantasia in F minor and the rarely played Ballade in F major. The famous octave passage in the Polonaise in a flat showed the extraordinary suppleness of his wrist ; and the rapidity with which the varia- tions in Handel’s ‘ Harmonious Blacksmith’ were taken displayed equally remarkable manipulative powers of another kind, though anything more un-Handelian could not be imagined. In brief, M. Paderewski pos- sesses, like Seiior Sarasate, the qualities alike of the artist and the virtuoso, and we suppose it is necessary to accept the latter for the sake of the former. The attendance at the second of Sir Charles Halle’s concerts was, no doubt, adversely affected by the weather, and we will not yet believe that the public will definitely refuse to support these performances. The chief item of interest in the programme was Dvorak’s Pianoforte Concerto in G minor, Op. 33, which, so far as we are aware, had only been played once before, namely, by Mr. Oscar Beringer at the Crystal Palace on October 13th, 1883. To the remarks then made (Athen. No. 2921) there is little to add. The work cannot be numbered among the composer’s most inspired efforts, owing to a certain want of consistency which pervades it, not as to form, but in respect of style. Occasionally the nationality of Dvordk betrays itself, particularly in the last move- ment, while the andante might almost have proceeded from the pen of a French composer. It is needless to say that the difficult solo part received full justice at the hands of Sir Charles Halle. The orchestra was heard to the greatest advantage in the beautiful larghetto in ¥ from Spohr’s Symphony in c minor, No. 3, the grateful passages for strings being rendered with much effect. Like its companions, ‘ Die Weihe der Téne’ excepted, the entire work has not been heard, in London at any rate, for many years. Beethoven’s Symphony in a, No. 7, and Weber’s ‘Oberon’ Overture, both of which were played with much spirit, completed a very concise programme. M. Paderewski made his last appearance at the Popular Concerts on Saturday after- noon, the occasion being signalized by the performance of a Piano and Violin Sonata in A minor from his pen. The work is tire- Sir Charles some in its inequalities, the impression being that the composer could have done better had he taken more pains. So far as regards form it is satisfactory enough, and the sub- jects are, for the most part, interesting; but the details of the first movement, and still more of the last, are more remarkable for what is termed “padding” than skilful development. Still, every composer does not possess the power of constructing an effective movement out of commonplace material, a power which Brahms frequently displays in large measure, and the middle section of M. Paderewski’s sonata, intermezzo andantino in c, has considerable charm. For his solos the pianist repeated his remarkable performance of Schubert’s Polonaise in a flat, and gave a strikingly original reading of Schubert’s Impromptu in B flat, Op. 142, No. 3. The rest of the programme does not call for any remark. The other concerted works were Haydn’s Quartet in p, Op. 64, No. 1, and Rubinstein’s Sonata in p, Op. 18, for piano and violoncello; and Mr. Plunket Greene was the vocalist. The subscribers to these concerts cannot complain this season of any lack of variety in the selection of pianists. On Monday Seiior Albeniz appeared, and rendered four of Scarlatti’s ‘‘ sonatas,’ music of this class suiting him extremely well. It is customary with many players to modernize harpsichord music, but it must be said to the credit of the Spanish artist that he fairly adhered to the text. The other items in the programme were Haydn’s Quartet in F, Op. 77, No. 2; Beethoven’s Trio in c minor, Op. 1, No. 3 ; and Spohr’s hackneyed Barcarolle and Scherzo from Op. 135. Miss Liza Lehmann introduced another of James Hook’s quaint songs, ‘‘When first the east begins to dawn.” Rusical Gossiy, Pror. Bripce’s Worcester oratorio, ‘The Repentance of Nineveh,’ was performed for the first time in London by the Finsbury Choral Association, on Thursday last week, under the direction of the composer. Mr. C. J. Dale’s fine choir rendered full justice to the choruses, which form the best portion of the work, and the solos were interpreted in a commendable manner by Madame Annie Marriott, Miss Hilda Wilson, Mr. Philip Newbury, and Mr. Daniel Price. Mendelssohn’s ‘Lauda Sion’ was also performed. A FAMILIAR programme was presented at the Crystal Palace last Saturday. The Symphony was Schubert’s in c, No. 9, of which, as usual, Mr. Manns’s orchestra gave a magnificent inter- pretation. Mr. Leonard Borwick once more gave an admirable rendering of Brahms’s Piano Concerto in D minor, special praise being de- served by him as the only pianist who has fully brought out the good points in the work and rendered it interesting. Miss Liza Lehmann contributed songs by Thomé, Brahms, and Meyer Helmund. Mr. Istpor pE Lara obtained the assistance of several excellent artists at his concert at St. James’s Hall on Tuesday evening. M. Maurel sang the ‘‘Credo” from Verdi's ‘ Otello’ in his best manner, and this fine declamatory piece created a strong impression, in spite of a very feeble piano accompaniment. Madame Zoe de Nory, a dramatic soprano, proved unacceptable owing to a pronounced vibrato, but good service was rendered by Madame Nordica, M. Nachéz, Mr. Leo Stern, and Mr. W. Ganz. Of Mr. de Lara’s songs nothing need be said. Mr. T. L. SourueatE gave an interesting lecture on the Egyptian flutes in the Royal Academy Concert-room on Tuesday afternoon. From the illustrations performed by Mr. J. Finn on the ancient instruments and exact replicas, it was proved to demonstration that the Egyptians possessed a chromatic scale, closely analogous to our own, many centuries before Pythagoras; and from the fact of the flutes being of various sizes, it also seems pro- bable that they practised some kind of harmony. The most remarkable instrument was one with eleven holes, dating about 15758.c. The sub- ject is one of great importance for those in- terested in the music of the ancients, and the recent discoveries tend to nullify some generally received ideas as to the origin of our modern scale. Concerts on Wednesday were very numerous, but the performances were not of great import- ance. The Westminster Orchestral Society gave its first concert for the present season, the programme including a Dramatic Overture in p minor by Mr. W. Shakespeare, conducted by the composer. Except for the expressive second subject and the pathetic close, the work is not very interesting, and it might pass as the effort of a clever student. Miss Emily Shinner was heard to advantage in Max Bruch’s Violin Con- certo in G minor; and Mr. C. 8. Macpherson’s orchestra acquitted itself, on the whole, ex- tremely well. ANOTHER amateur orchestral concert on the same evening was that of the Strolling Players at the Princes’ Hall. Remarkably good per- formances were given of Mendelssohn’s ‘ Ruy Blas’ Overture, the Prelude to Max Bruch’s ‘ Loreley,’ and Grieg’s ‘ Peer Gynt ’ Suite, under Mr. Norfolk Megone. Tue third piano recital of Master Isidore Pavia at St. James’s Hall in the afternoon, and Miss Helen Townshend’s concert in the even- ing at the Steinway Hall, must pass without criticism. THE programme of Sir Charles Halle’s Man- chester concert on Thursday included Ber- lioz’s symphony ‘ Harold in Italy,’ Cherubini’s ‘Medea’ and Gade’s ‘Ossian’ overtures, and, for the first time, an orchestral sketch, ‘In the Steppes of Central Asia,’ by Borsdin. Tue performances of Shakspeare’s ‘Tempest’ by the Irving Dramatic Club at St. George’s Hall, on Tuesday and Thursday next, will derive interest from the fact that Sir Arthur Sullivan’s incidental music will be given for the first time, at any rate in London, in connexion with the play. This beautiful music first drew prominent attention to the young composer when it was performed at the Crystal Palace in 1862. The band and chorus, under the direction of Mr. Battison Haynes, will be chiefly formed of students from the Royal Academy of Music. The part of Ariel will be sustained by Miss Kate Johnstone, a pupil of the Academy, and the stage management will be under the direc- tion of Mr. Charles Fry. TuHE South London Choral Association, under the direction of Mr. L. C. Venables, will give a performance of ‘The Messiah’ at St. James’s Hall on the 18th inst. The principal vocalists will be Miss Fusselle, Miss Eleanor Rees, Mr. Henry Piercy, and Mr. Franklin Clive. Mr. Visetti, who for the last few years has done much for music as conductor of the Bath Philharmonic Society, has been compelled to resign his post, which has been accepted by Mr. New, organist of the Abbey. Tue Lawof Musicaland Dramatic Copyright, by Messrs. Edward Cutler, Thomas Eustace Smith, and Frederick E. Weatherly (Cassell & Co.), is a handy little volume, calculated to be useful to managers and performers at the present time, owing to the disputes constantly arising with respect to the laws of copyright as revised in 1886. The authors write lucidly on the vexed questions which will eventually have to be decided in the law courts, and a perusal of their
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XUM N° 3293, Dzc. 6,790 THE ATHENAUM 785 book may save musicians from unintentional infringements of the Act. THE new opera on the subject of Benvenuto Cellini, by M. Eugéne Diaz, was produced with apparently great success at the Paris Opéra Comique on Wednesday. It is called simply ‘Benvenuto,’ in order to distinguish it from Berlioz’s work. The libretto, by M. Gaston Hirsch, seems to be melodramatic rather than dignified, but the music is described as remark- ably melodious, and at the same time consistent with its subject. Madame Deschamps - Jehin and M. Renaud made a great effect in the principal characters. It has been decided to revive Beethoven’s ‘Fidelio’ at the Paris Opéra, with Madame Rose Caron as Leonora. M. Gevaert has written recitatives for the work, and will direct the pre- liminary rehearsals. The production will take place during the month of January. Tue Bayreuth choral society, under the direc- tion of Herr Kniese, formed with the view of training singers to take part in the festival plays, has just given a performance of Liszt’s ‘St. Eliza- beth,’ with, it is said, excellent results. Bach’s ‘St. John’ Passion Music will be performed in Holy Week next year. Braums’s new String Quintet in G, of which we have already spoken, has been performed by the Rosé Quartet Society in Vienna, and is very highly praised, as showing the same clearness and concentration of thought which has cha- racterized all his recent contributions to the repertory of chamber music. Herr Hans von Bitow’s health will not permit him to appear in public as a pianist during the present season, and he will confine himself to the direction of the subscription con- certs at Hamburg and the Philharmonic Concerts in Berlin. Mr. TuEoporEe Tuomas has accepted a lucra- tive offer from the Philharmonic Society of Chicago, where he will reside after his present engagements in New York and Brooklyn have come to an end. TURKEY is going to have a musical paper, the Sultan having given a permit to a member of the Imperial Band, Hakki Bey. It is to be called the Shishtar. THE revival is announced at Darmstadt of an opera entitled ‘Tannhiuser,’ by L. A. Mangold. It was produced in that place in 1846, the year after Wagner's ‘Tannhiuser’ saw the light at Dresden. Tue twenty-fifthanniversary of Tschaikowski’s career as a composer is to be celebrated at St. Petersburg by a grand concert composed entirely of his works, and conducted by Rubinstein. THE revival of some of Rossini’s semi-for- gotten operas at Rome is to be followed by a similar series of Donizetti’s works, those selected being ‘L’Elisir d’Amore,’ ‘La Regina di Golconda,’ and ‘La Figlia del Reggimento.’ The first-named opera has already been per- formed and is highly praised, but the rendering is spoken of as extremely bad. THE report in the Italian papers that the once eminent violinist Sivori is about to undertake an artistic tour will surely ke con- tradicted. Sivori was born in 1815, and is consequently seventy-five years of age. CONCERTS, &¢., NEXT Mules Moxy. Mr. ard Mrs. Henschel’s Vocal Recital, ?, Frine2s’ Hall. 7 Herr Julius Klengel's Violoncello Recital, 3, Steinway Hall. — Popular Concert, 8, St. James's Hall. — Hampstead ea atoire Concert, ‘The Repentance of Nineveh,’ &c., 8. - Prof. Julius Saiverta Concert, 8, Steinway Hall. Tvrs. Messrs. Hann’s Chamber Concert, 8, Brixton Hall. — Stock Exchange Orchestral Concert, 8, St. James's Hall. — Trinity College Students’ Concert, 8, Princes’ Hall. — Miss Agnes Kartlett’s Concert, 8, Steinway Hall. — The Musical Guild Concert, 8.30, ae Town Hall. Wep. London ballad Concert, 3, St. James's Hal Misses Bateman and Fi inney 's Concert, 3, Steinway Hall. Royal Choral Society, ‘ ‘The Rose of Sharon,’ 8, Albert Hall. Royal College of Music Orchestral Concert, 8, St. James’s Hall. Messrs. Ellis and Cammeycr’'s Concert, 8.30, Princes’ Hall. ‘Tuvrs, Mr. Isidor de Lara’s Concert, 3.30, Steinway Hall. — Mr. Richard Gompertz’s Chamber Concert, 8, Princes’ Hall. — Mr. T. Rider Glanyille’s Concert, 8, Steinway Hall. Tuvrs, gre Warren Trevor's Concert, 8, New Concert Hall, Clapham ction. Fri. Royal. ‘Academy Students’ Concert, 3, St. James’s Hall. — Mr J Beccowits’s Harpsichord Lecture and Concert, 3, Steinway Hampstead Popular Concert, 8, the Vestry Hall, Haverstock Hill. Concert in Aid of Christ Church Mission, 8, Steinway Hall. Mr. Odell’s Bohemian Concert, 8, Princes’ Wind Instrument Musical Society's Concert, "8.90, Royal Aca- demy of Music. Sir Charles Halle’s Orchestral Concert, 8.30, St. James’s Hall. Popular Concert, 3, St. James’s Hall. Crystal Palace Concert, 3. Private Banks Dramatic and Musical Society’s Orchestral Con- cert, 8, St. Andrew’s Hall. Concert in Aid of the North Staffordshire Home for Nurses, 8, Stafford House. D2 - i] DRAMA —— THE WEEK. CrITERION.—‘ London Assurance,’ a Comedy in Five Acts. By Dion Boucicault. In his revival of ‘ London Assurance’ Mr. Wyndham throws down his gauntlet to those of his critics who complained of the previous revival of ‘She Stoops to Conquer.’ Bouci- cault, however, is not Goldsmith, nor is ‘London Assurance’ a classic. In assign- ing it the costume of the period, 1841, in which it was first produced, Mr. Wyndham is placing it in a position higher than has hitherto been conceded it. Few will grudge it such honours, but few also will take up the cudgels on its behalf whatever the treatment awarded it. No one can say that Mr. Wyndham is wrong in his views. The desire to make a piece go, to keep up the bustle, to force the action, and in fact not to let the audience go to sleep, is cha- racteristic of the actor-managers of most experience. These alone seem able to gauge. the ignorance of average English audiences, and dare to trade upon the stupidity of their clients. ‘ London Assurance,’ then, is played upon the same lines as was ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ at the Criterion, and proves no less successful. Watching the performance, the audience is delighted and amused, and the spirit of the play does not languish until near the end Sir Harcourt Courtly executes his volte-face. We then see a baronet who has shown himself vain and fatuous—fool enough when sixty-three to dream of espousing a girl of eighteen, and libertine enough on the eve of his wedding to contemplate an elopement with a married woman—converted into a sensible, moderate, pious, and somewhat prosy gentleman, who inflicts upon the company a rodomontade concerning virtue, every line of which is a condemnation of his own past life, and the comedy, which displays a large amount of cleverness and ingenuity, at this point becomes dull. For Sir Harcourt Courtly Mr. Wynd- ham has secured Mr. William Farren, in whom alone seemingly survive the traditions of high-class comedy. Mrs. Bernard Beere brings her great histrionic gifts to Lady Gay Spanker, and Mr. Wyndham himself plays Dazzle. In these three parts it is difficult to think of an improvement. Each actor is in his line unequalled, and each reconciles his method to the part. In two other cases at least a triumph is obtained. Miss Mary Moore has never been seen to more ad- vantage than as Grace Harkaway, a réle the girlish coquetries of which are suited to her pretty, ingenuous style. Mr. Cyril Maude, again, as Cool exhibits both in make up and acting a piece of genuine comedy, the secret of which seems to be nearly lost. Everything this young actor does has a note of individuality, and much is to be hoped from his future. Mr. Giddens should be Dolly Spanker, but is not; and Mr. William Blakeley by his method in Mark Meddle—a method very comic in itself— converts the whole into broad farce. Most disappointing, too, is the love-making of Mr. A. Bourchier as Charles Courtly. His wooing is so faint-hearted and extrava- gant that it lowers the performance to farce. Mr. Vincent is an acceptable Max Harkaway. The costumes are effective. The Dramatic Peerage, by Erskine Reid and Herbert Compton, gives particulars concerning our leading actors, and challenges comparison with the ‘Dramatic List’ of Mr. Pascoe. Opinions of the writers, or writer—for we sus- pect there is one head under two hoods—upon the various actors are, however, substituted for extracts from press notices. Apart from the mere temporary interest they possess, works of this class have enduring value in facilitating the task of the biographers of the future. As cor- rect dates are with difficulty obtained, the writers are to be congratulated on the frequent absence of figures. Against the fanciful title adopted it is only to be urged that the peerage is rather overcrowded when regard is had to the numbers of the general theatrical community. Acting Charades and Proverbs, by Anne Bow- man and other writers (Routledge & Sons), and The Dolls’ Drama, and other Plays, by Constance Milman (Smith & Innes), are fairly successful contributions to the domestic theatrical enter- tainments in vogue at Christmas. Dramatic Gossip, A PERFORMANCE of ‘ Othello’ by members of the Lyceum company, under the direction of Mr. Irving, promised for some proximate date, is interesting as an attempt to meet the difficulty, under the system of long runs, of giving oppor- tunities for theatrical training and experience to our younger actors. Sienor Satvint, in the Century Magazine, contributes his views on the discussion whether the actor should feel his part raised by Diderot, and discussed from opposite points by Mr. Irving and M. Coquelin. Like all interpreters of heroic characters, the Italian tragedian is against Diderot. We will not stir afresh a matter now happily in abeyance, but will record with interest that Signor Salvini believes that scenery and dresses, beneath which the actor is buried, will be swept away, and that we shall return to something like the ‘‘archaic sim- plicity of the days of Shakspeare, Moliére, and Alfieri.” AFTER a short and unprosperous career ‘Two Recruits,’ by Mr. Frank Wyatt, has been with- drawn from Toole’s Theatre, at which house ‘The Solicitor’ was reproduced on Saturday last. Some not very important changes have been made in the cast. Mr. Mervin replaces Mr. Tresahar as Gilbert Brandon, and Miss Leslie Bell and Miss Violet Thornycroft are seen for the first time. THE new Olympic Theatre was opened on Thursday by Mr. Wilson Barrett with ‘The People’s Idol.’ At the representation of ‘Beau Austin’ on Monday at the Haymarket Mr. Kemble took the part of the valet in place of Mr. Brookfield. ‘The Ballad Monger’ was also given. ‘The Red Lamp’ will be revived on Monday, and ‘Captain Swift’ on the following Monday. Drury Lane will shortly close for the re- hearsals of the pantomime. ‘A Million of Money’ will then be transferred to Covent Garden, so that its run will be practically un- interrupted. ‘Penatty,’ a three-act drama by Mr. Julian Cross, produced at Terry’s Theatre on Tuesday
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786 THE ATHENZXUM N° 3293, Dec. 6, ’90 afternoon, is a gloomy and not very skilfully constructed story of poisoning. Mr. Cross, Mr. Soutar, and Miss Marie Linden took part in the representation without endowing the piece with much vitality. ‘Tue Inter,’ by Mr. Haddon Chambers, pro- duced at the Lyceum Theatre, New York, is likely, we are told, before long to find its way to London. Mr. Wm. HEINEMANN will issue shortly Mr. Hall Caine’s ‘ Mahomet.’ MISCELLANEA ——— Chinese Currency.—Dr. Edkins, of Shanghai, has been writing a monograph on Chinese currency, in which he tries to show that paper currency began in China rather before than after the printing of books. The use of seals entered China 2,100 years ago. Commercial paper in the form of bills of exchange, naming sums pay- able on demand, came next. Book-printing fol- lowed in the tenth century. Copper coins and paper currency ruled in the commercial world till the Ming dynasty, when silver arrived from America. 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N° 3294, Dec. 13,90 THE ATHENAUM 807
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1890.
CONTENTS. PAGE RENAN ON JEWISH HISTORY _ ons ose +. 807 WAYFARING IN FRANCE ees a ae on «. 808 THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND ... pea rs one «. 808 CoRNWALLIS’s RULE IN INDIA ae is see «. 810 THE BaRBARY CORSAIRS sa oe nee aoe wo SS ALEXANDER THE GREAT ans ites ore as sae. OR NovELs OF THE WEEK aa jas ra one <i ANTIQUARIAN BOOKs ..,. one ave ons ae +. 812 CHRISTMAS Books ‘ice ere ooo eee ww. 813 Our Liprarky TaBLE—LisT oF NEw Books ... 814—815 THRENODY; COPYRIGHT AND CoPpYWRONG; SHELLEY av Syon Hovsr AcaDEMY; THE DEAN OF ST. Pavt's see ont sen 816—817 LITERARY GossIP = ‘te eae ote a Pee | ScrENCE—ZOOLOGICAL LITERATURE; SOCIETIES ; MEET- INGs ; GossIP 818—819 Firing ARTS—NEwW PRINTS; RoMAN INSCRIPTIONS AT CHESTER; NoTES FROM EGypT; GossIP ... 819—821 Music—THE WEEK; Gossip; CoNcERTS, &C., NEXT
WE erent we 821—823 DRaMAa—THE WEEK; GossIP a TT LITERATURE —_—~. Histoire du Peuple d’Israél. Par Ernest Renan. Tome Troisiéme. (Paris, Cal- mann Lévy.) In this the third volume of his history of the Jews M. Renan embraces the critical period between the downfall of the northern king- dom and the return of the exiles—or rather the choice part of them—from captivity. The familiar historical outline can be retraced in afew words. In M. Renan’s view the destruction of Samaria was an unexpected piece of good fortune for the prophets of the southern kingdom. Nothing could have more strikingly confirmed their theo- logical interpretation of politics. The down- fall of Israel was the clear consequence of her infidelity, while Judah had been spared because of her attachment to Jahveh. In this state of things the religious party found their opportunity, and Hezekiah, king of Judah, was disposed in their favour both by nature and by conviction. The illusion which flattered the hopes of the national party after the death of Shalmanezer was an alliance with Egypt against Assyria; but Isaiah and the prophets, having come to recognize in Assyria an instrument in the hand of Jahveh, and guided pro- bably at the same time by a shrewd esti- mate of the situation, opposed themselves to this policy with all their might. Pro- minent in the ranks of the national party was a certain Shebna, who—though, as it seems, of humble origin—had raised him- self to the position of confidential adviser to the king. Shebna became the object of vehement attacks on the part of Isaiah, and the influence of the prophetic group is strikingly shown by the fact that their agi- tation resulted in the removal from office of Shebna, who was replaced by Eliakim, a persona grata to the prophets. But towards the close of the troubled reign of Sargon patriotic counsels again prevailed. Hezekiah ceased to pay tribute to Assyria, and, deaf for the moment to the perfervid rhetorie of Isaiah, opened negotiations with Egypt and Ethiopia. Then came the invasion of Judea by Sennacherib, and the hasty retreat of the latter when Jerusalem seemed at his mercy: ‘Quel triomphe pour Iahvé! Les prophéties d’Isaie s’étaient accomplies de — en point.” No wonder that in this eld the pious fancy of the chronicler de-
lights to stray. During the remaining years of the reign of Hezekiah the puritans were all-powerful, and exalted by the divine approval of their policy, of which there could no longer be any doubt, they used their power in such a way as to provoke the violent reaction of the following reign, that of Manasseh. But the eclipse of puritanism was only temporary. In Jeremiah a cham- pion of colossal mould came to the front to carry on the struggle until, with the destruc- tion of Jerusalem and the transportation of its inhabitants, the hopes and ideals of the national party vanished for ever. During the captivity it was a religious rather than a political enthusiasm that was kept alive by the efforts of Ezekiel and the great anony- mous prophet whose fame has been absorbed into that of Isaiah ; and the final scene shows us the return of the small band of enthusiasts —a sect rather than a nation—carrying with them the religion of humanity. It is in the reign of Hezekiah that M. Renan places by conjecture a literary under- taking of the first importance, namely, the fusion into one whole of the northern (Jehovistic) and southern (Elohistic) tradi- tions of sacred history. But it would be an error to suppose that there existed at that time any idea of a “sacred text” or ‘inspired book” in the modern sense :— ‘¢Tt would be a most serious error in criticism to suppose that there was then any idea of a sacred text. It was believed that there had been revelations from Jahveh, the chief of which had been made to Moses on Mount Sinai ; but no book had pretended to consist exclusively of these revelations. There was no one volume uniquely and especially the ‘Torah Jahveh.’ The divine word was derived from all quarters, and it is probable that oral tradition was con- sidered a source greatly preferable to written texts.” Moreover, it occasionally happens that apologists are reduced to great straits by starting from the too facile assumption that the legal provisions must have been carried into practical effect as soon as the documents containing them had begun to be circulated: ‘“‘It might be supposed, for example, that Hezekiah, adopting Jahvism in its full extent must have put in practice the articles contain in the little code which is a réswmé of it. That it was not so there can be no doubt. Several of the articles probably formed part of the cus- tomary law, and as such were observed; but before the reign of Josiah, or perhaps even before the captivity, the Jewish State was never ruled by an absolutely theocratic law of divine revelation. The codes constitute models of perfection to which it was hoped that the State would one day approach, but the most ardent believers in Utopia, those who composed them, knew well that their work was not going to be accepted all at once by the judges or to determine sentences.” It must not be supposed, however, that the task of the redactor consisted simply in fusing together two isolated and—in themselves—homogeneous records. On the contrary, it seems clear that in the case, for example, of the northern tradition, he must have had access to certain of the sources from which the Jehovist compiled his account. And M. Renan gives an instance where, in his judgment, the original patriarchal legend has been worked up into the narrative side by side with the two versions already spun out of it by the Jehovist :—
‘* The northern legends, for instance, presented a tale dear to the reciter of patriarchal stories. ! Abraham, when he visited Abimelech, king of Gerar, was induced to make his wife pass for‘ his sister. This subject had furnished the Jehovist with two distinct stories, one told of. Abraham in Egypt, the other of Isaac in Gerar.: The redactor borrowed the two narratives from’ the Jehovist, but this was not enough. At chapter xx. of Genesis he has preserved the: primitive text of the northern legends.” Finally, with regard to the belief, which still exists in some quarters, that the minuteness of the modern division and sub- division of the documents argues the un-. soundness of the critical principles involved, M. Renan remarks :— ** Modern hypotheses on the composition of the Hexateuch are often said to be too com- plicated. .The probability is that they are not sufficiently so, and that in reality a number of individual circumstances escape our notice. Simple hypotheses are almost always false, and if we saw the facts as they occurred, we should recognize that on a number of points we have conceived things as more regular than they actually were.” But the reign of Hezekiah was a period of literary activity in other forms than that of compilation. The psalm, properly so called, now first began, by its contemplative cast and its accent of inward piety, to dis- tinguish itself from the primitive s#—the objective expression of a cruder religious: emotion; while the proverbs collected by “the men of Hezekiah” betray a secular— almost.a rationalistic—tendency. Lastly, if, . with M. Renan, we assign the book of Job. to this epoch, we shall feel that we haye reached ‘“‘ce moment unique ou, malgré le fardeau de sa vocation religieuse, Israé]. leva vers le ciel un regard hardi.” , The Jew starting with a passionate belief. in a moral government of the world, which of necessity includes an equitable distribu- tion of rewards and punishments, could not | fail to be troubled by the appalling dis- crepancy between his theory on the one; hand and the facts of his daily observation. on the other. The ungodly was too often seen» to prosper, and the righteous, if not exactly: forsaken, was still not always adequately’ rewarded. And what made the case of the’ Jewish thinker more pathetic was that he had no such way of escape from the logic of fact as lay open to the Aryan races through the conception of a future life, in which, somehow, wrong things would be set right. The book of Job is an attempt on a grand scale to solve the problem thus presented, and, if the author has failed, it might be difficult to say who, of all those who since his day have agitated the same question, has succeeded. ‘‘Tt was the problem of morality, of virtue, of duty, which was stated in the eighth century before the Christian era with a marvellous clearness...... Kant solves it by suppressing it. The Categorical Imperative which is his Jahveh plays false to man in a most unworthy manner. The Jew, zealous for the honour of his God, ' could not conceive Him capable of such a betrayal.” One of the most remarkable features of the present volume is the character of Jere- miah, sketched in colossal outline by M. Renan with all his old vigour and realism, but we have not space to give moré than a few extracts :—
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808 ATHENAUM THE N° 3294, Dec. 13, 90 ‘* Jeremiah may be classed among the most important men in history. If he was not the founder of Judaism, he was its chief martyr. Without this extraordinary man the religious history of humanity would have followed another course: Christianity would never have been. ......-He was, above all, pious and of a severe | morality—fanatical, it must be confessed, hating his adversaries, treating as reprobates all who did not accept without hesitation his prophetic mission, wishing their death and announcing it to them. This is not at all in accord with our supreme virtue, politeness. But the seventh century before the Christian era was very remote from ours. Morality then needed to be affirmed and founded, and the Jew had not at his command the terrors of a chimerical hell,” The age of Josiah was, like that of Hezekiah, an age of reform, and in the direction of the movement the prophetic group reasserts itself with more than its old vigour and influence. But the measures of Josiah were much more thorough and far- reaching than the attempts made under similar influence by Hezekiah, so the need was felt of a new, or rather an extended, code, which, by appearing to enjoin the accomplished fact, should in reality sanction and establish it. The demands of the situa- tion were met by a pious fraud, of which Jeremiah was, M. Renan thinks, not im- probably the leading spirit. A document of the required character was prepared or com- piled, and then suddenly discovered in the Temple as “the book of the Law” by the high priest Hilkiah. In the opinion of the majority of critics this book has been preserved to us in the text which now forms the bulk of Deuteronomy. But as in the case of the older legislation, so here must it be borne in mind that many of the enact- ments were framed in view rather of a possible future, foreshadowed in pious dreams, than of the circumstances of a present reality :— ‘Tt is always to be borne in mind that these laws represent a state of things which the man of God would have wished to see established rather than an actual state of things which en- dured for a definite period. It is, besides, to be remembered that Josiah died in 609, that his death was followed by a reaction against the pietists that ended only with the kingdom of Judah, so that the fair ideal imagined by the author of Deuteronomy lasted barely thirteen years, and certainly more than thirteen years would have been required to prepare a régime so extraordinary and get it into working order.” Before taking leave of the book we must cast just one glance at the momentous period of the exile and the return. The influence of the law discloses itself in the fact that the Jerusalem exiles, unlike their brethren previously transported from the northern kingdom, opposed a success- ful resistance to all the forces of disintegra- tion and absorption which they must have encountered while in captivity; and a similar reason explains why they never ceased to dwell upon the necessity of re- building Jerusalem. For through the cen- tralization effected by the law Jerusalem had become the unique seat of that worship which held them together in a bond stronger than the tie of blood. To rebuild it, there- fore, was the chief necessity. With Samaria the case was different. At the time of its destruction the worship of Jahveh was still unrestricted in point of place, so that no But just exclusive sanctity attached to it. as the new Jerusalem dreamt of by prophet and patriot was to be grander and purer than the old, so the law which should form and regulate its life must complete and expand all anterior legislation. This work of compiling and elaborating an ideal code filled the years of captivity, and the creative spirit was Ezekiel. We have now reached the last of the three stages which can be distinguished in the heterogeneous growth of ‘‘ the Mosaic law.” They are thus recapitulated by M. Renan: ‘“‘The three stages of religious legislation | among the Jews may be thus clearly distin- guished: a primary age, characterized by a grandiose genius expressing itself in simple formule which the whole world has been able to adopt—this is the age of the ancient prophets, the Book of the Covenant, the Decalogue ; a second age, marked by a severe and touching morality, marred by an intense and fanatical pietism (this is the age of Deuteronomy and Jeremiah) ; a third age, sacerdotal, narrow, utopian, full of chimeras and impossibilities—the age of Ezekiel and Leviticus. Like all great things the Jewish Torah is anonymous; still not so entirely so that behind the text, which has become in the highest degree sacred, it is not possible to discern three or four grand figures —EHlijah (altogether legendary), Isaiah, Jere- miah, and Ezekiel.” In conclusion, we have purposely dwelt more upon the broad features of the period discussed than upon nice points of detail, the examination of which would have carried us beyond the narrow limits of a review. The strength of the illustrious author lies in recalling to life a history not only dead, but, for the majority of us, buried beneath traditional misinterpretation. In his pages the dry bones of the vanished actors live. They also, as the reader will discover, speak, and with a message wholesome for these times. Wayfaring in France. By Edward Harrison Barker. (Bentley & Son.) Tue republication of Arthur Young’s diaries seems to have pointed the pens of the small number of English people who possess an acquaintance with the French departments. Of the half-dozen works treat- ing of provincial France which have appeared during the last twelve months, Mr. Edward Harrison Barker’s ‘ Wayfaring in France’ is undoubtedly the most interesting. Mr. Barker’s name is new to us, but his pleasant, unpretentious style is evidently that of a practised writer. He tells us incidentally that he has lived in France for ten years, and the book furnishes internal evidence that he has some acquaintance with the language of the country, as from beginning to end it does not contain three needless French sentences or expressions which could be equally well rendered by their English equivalents. The volume describes pedestrian tours, made for the most part remote from beaten tracks, in five scattered regions of France, namely, the Landes, Dauphiné, Lower Languedoc, Western Brittany, and Alsace. The sections devoted to Dauphiné and to Alsace are of much less interest than the other three, but the chapters which describe the author’s tramps over the Landes and through the little - known tract which lies between Avignon and the Mediterranean afford extremely pleasant reading. The great charm of these pages is that, | though their starting-points are places com- paratively well known to tourists, they take the reader over absolutely untrodden paths, through districts not only unfamiliar to English travellers, but unknown to the great majority of the French nation. Strangers who are fond of rambling in the byways of France are usually under considerable obligation to the commer- cial travellers, for whose sole benefit the chief inns in out-of-the-way country towns are established, with their excellent cooking which compensates for shortcomings. in other respects; but Mr. Barker usually bent his steps so far from the highways of commerce, that when he lighted upon an humble hostelry sometimes resorted to by a rare bagman, it was an unwonted experience of luxurious comfort. On a pedestrian tour through the pine forests of the Landes, after three days’ tramp fronr Arcachon, he reached a hamlet called Es- cource. The appearance of the wooden auberge was not inviting, but night was falling, so he was compelled to demand a night’s lodging. ‘* Prepared as I always am to make the best of things when on the tramp, I did not like the bedroom. The dirty appearance of the bed- linen disheartened me. I perceived at a glance that the previous occupiers had been travelling. labourers or tramps from necessity. Having, resolved to lie in my clothes, I returned to the kitchen, and invited the landlord in the cheeriest. voice I could muster to drink a glass of his best cognac with me. Under its warming influence Pére Angelos became quite genial. He then remembered he had a better bedroom, and, calling his daughter, told her to lead the way to. it. This room pleased me. It was evidently the best in the house, and intended for distin- guished visitors, such as commercial travellers.” It is obvious that a pedestrian who trudges over the country cannot array himself in the imposing habiliments of the dashing bagmen who career through rural France in their phaetons, but the author has a strong sense of humour and no inordinate pride, revealing with the utmost candour the reflections made on his appearance by the - natives of the regions he passed through. A farmer in Languedoc, who once gave him. a “lift” in his trap, asked him if he were a traveller for the Salvation Army, whose fame in France is evidently not confined to the Boulevard des Capucines ; and in acompara- tively populous place like Avignon his grati- fication at being served with an inordinately sumptuous meal for a trifling price was damped by the hope expressed by the land- lord that he would commend the house to his comrades, with the explanation that he was presumed to be a clown in an English circus. Just as from Arcachon, a fashionable place of resort for foreigners, the author takes. his readers though a region of primitive wild- ness, Soin Lower Languedoc he describes a walkthroughan unexplored country between the two well-known cities of Avignon and Nimes, and thence through the Rhone delta, known as the Camargue—that cheer- less land of lagoons and marshes, where the rapid river which races from Lyon to Arles becomes a sullen, stagnant stream as it loses itself in the Mediterranean sands beneath solitary ramparts of the Middle Ages. The writer is evidently not a politi- cian, and he cares not for the French ad-
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THE ATHENAUM 809° —titeiiainiaiets Ne 3294, Dzc. 13,90 ministrative system; throughout the book we hear nothing of MRepublicans and Royalists, or of préfets and sous-préfets ; and though the author has evidently consider- able acquaintance with ecclesiastical archi- tecture, he says never a word of the conflicts between Church and State in France. Nevertheless, as he is a keen observer, his volume is a valuable contribution to know- ledge of the inhabitants of the country “for example of life and instruction of manners.” It is interesting to read of the inhabitants of a remote village in the Landes—“ Taller, a pretty village where the people seemed to spend their lives basking like lizards” — who not only repeat the tradition that the little place is named after an Englishman, but believe that they are descended from the British occupiers of Gascony. In the chapters on Lower Languedoc there are some vivid descriptions of existence in rural France in a district which has ‘“ been re- duced from prosperity to a state bordering on penury by the utter destruction of the vines from phylloxera.” At Domazan, a poor village in this region, not far from the Pont du Gard, the author, while looking at the Romanesque church, encountered ‘*a white-haired priest, who, seeing that I was an inquisitive stranger, came up to me with the courteous intention of answering any questions I might put to him......He asked me if I would like to see his books, and led me to his house in a little dark street near thechurch He ushered me into a room in the centre of which was a small deal table strewn with papers and books. On the top of all were some dry crusts of bread, two or three oranges, and a great deal of orange peel. Bread and oranges evidently entered largely into the dietary routine of the poet-priest. Here the Abbé Blanc wrote while the muse dic- tated. The good priest’s riches were his books. These covered the four walls of the room from floor to ceiling, and were ranged on white deal shelves obviously set up by a village carpenter. They were in Latin, Hebrew, French, English, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. In this ob- scure and poverty-stricken village the cwré was more familiar with English literature than many Englishmen who are supposed to be educated. He took peculiar pride in his Milton, which he kept in a velvet wrapper, and he also pointed out with beaming satisfaction his Shakespeare and his Byron. He would not let me go until I had seen the museum of his friend the Abbé Priad—an invalid priest who for many years had been killing his days as an antiquary and naturalist. I found him surrounded by stuffed birds, pinned butterflies and beetles, pottery and coins. He was a dark, pale man with a very sad but kindly face. His modesty was charming. He said: ‘I am only a collector: I gather material for savans[sic].’ His window looked out upon a sunny garden where oranges were ripen- ing. This garden had been entirely covered with wire and turned into an aviary. The trees were full of singing birds. It was easy to see that each of these priests had become necessary to the life of the other. The Abbé Blanc had been half a century curd of Domazan, and the Abbé Priad was his pupil.’ We regret that we cannot follow Mr. Barker into Basse-Bretagne, where he is evi- dently very familiar with the wild district which lies south of Brest. It is to be feared that the march of civilization is fated to destroy the picturesqueness of these western recesses of France, where hitherto little French has been spoken. There is a town of 3,500 inhabitants in Finistére, called Chiteaulin, so old- fashioned in its ways that it refused to adopt the modern system of gas-lighting, until all of a sudden it has woke out of its torpor, and “not having to reckon with the vested interests of a gas company, Chateaulin the tortoise has been able to take the lead of such hares as Paris and London in the matter of artificial lighting,” and now blazes forth with electricity. No wonder a philosophic and cynical Breton pedlar woman looked upon the author, and ‘fall people who came to study primitive manners and customs and antiquities, as harmless lunatics. ‘If I could take a long journey,’ said she, ‘I would go to Paris or London to see the works of superior minds, but you tourists travel hundreds of leagues just to run after ruins, dirt, and imbeciles.’” We hope Mr. Barker will give us some further records of his wayfaring in France before the entire nation has been infected ie the modern practical spirit of this good ady, The Church of Scotland from its Foundation to the Reign of Malcolm Canmore. By the Rev. James Campbell, D.D.—¥From the Reign of Malcolm Canmore to the Revolu- tion of 1688. By the Rev. James Rankin, D.D. (Mackenzie.) TuEsE two volumes are the first of a series edited by Dr. Story, and intended to give a complete exposition of the Scottish Kirk under a variety of aspects. Mr. Macgeorge is to treat of the Church in its relation to the law of the State; Dr. Milroy will expound the doctrine, and Dr. Leisham the ritual. Other writers will explain the Church’s dis- cipline, and the law of teinds or tithes in respect to Church property. The plan will embrace eight volumes, each by a different author. There can be no question that such a work will supply information which is much needed, and if written in a lucid and popular style will be especially welcome to those outside the fold or south of the Tweed, where, unfortunately, there is pre- valent concerning the constitution of the established Church of Scotland an ignorance surprisingly great. The editor takes pains to assure us that, though the questions to be discussed have given rise to the liveliest controversy, and threaten to come to the front once more in a not far distant political agitation, the books are not written in a controversial spirit. No one contributor has written as a partisan, but it is the aim of all to delineate the his- tory ‘‘from the standpoint of a constitu- tional Churchman and patriot, and to do so with a single eye to the truth of the story.” It is not quite clear why it should be necessary, for the purpose of justifying the existence of the present Church, to assume its historic continuity with a very different Church which preceded it, and to give ac- cordingly a minute account of the Celtic and medieval periods. The assumption, how- ever, has been productive of this much good, that the writers regard the past with in- telligent sympathy, and endeavour to find what good they can in the old Church, instead of ignoring it altogether or being content, as their forefathers were, to expose its scandals. The early history is treated in a fair spirit, and good use is made of recent research. Some sections on the ethnology of the Picts and Scots and on pre-Christian mythology might, perhaps, have been dispensed with. A large portion of the second volume is occupied with a useful statistical account of the organization of the medieval Church. Dr. Rankin, how- ever, seems to think he can atone for the Protestant bias of former writers by yield- ing to an equal bias in an opposite direction. He, moreover, takes his information too easily at second hand, and his familiar style is at times hardly equal to the dignity of his subject. De Bernham’s zeal, he should have observed, was not for the “ restora- tion,” but for the “consecration,” of churches. Why, by the way, was that excellent bishop refused a place in the ‘Dictionary of National Biography ’ ? It is characteristic of Dr. Rankin to describe the Earl of Arran as “a good, easy, fickle soul with no backbone in his policy,” and James VI. as “a royal oddity” in whom ‘“‘ there was an undoubted element of crack- brainedness, joined with a certain dash of cleverness.” The question of the heredity of acquired habits he settles offhand by the bold assertion that we cannot blame the same James for his physical fear of a drawn sword ‘because that defect was inborn, coming from his mother’s alarm when Rizzio was stabbed clinging to her dress.” ‘It is not easy”? for Dr. Rankin “to regard John Knox with honest, Christian sympathy” for casting in his lot “‘ with desperadoes and blackguards.” The Reformer’s treatment of the queen, too, ‘is utterly indefensible in its rudeness, being based on an assump- tion of a divine mission on his part and a daringly presumptuous misrepresentation of the mass as idolatry.” Again, ‘It is clearly shown from the history of the Scottish peerage and baronage that sacrilege was punished in the present life, and chiefly by the failure of male issue.” Some of these statements are at least sur- prising, seeing the quarter from which they - come; but for the following we naturally ask, if not for proof, at least for a reference to the passage quoted as its authority. Dr. Rankin cites with approval a paragraph from Mr. Forbes-Leith’s ‘Narrative of Scottish Catholics,’ in which, speaking of the ‘‘inferior clergy” of the Roman Church ‘‘on the eve of the Reforma- tion,” the learned Jesuit writes: ‘“‘McCrie says, ‘They were to be found in all the [foreign] universities and colleges. In several of them they held the honourable situation of principal, and in others they amounted to a third of the professors.’ ”’ Canon Bellesheim quotes the same sentence, attributes it to McCrie, and likewise gives no reference. It would be exceedingly interesting to know what were these foreign universities and what the names of their professors, whereof a third part were Scot- tish Catholics ‘‘ on the eve of the Reforma- tion.” If Dr. Rankin finds that McCrie, in the passage referred to, is speaking of Protestant universities, and of Protestant young men mostly ‘“‘educated under Mel- ville at St. Andrews,” he may learn caution in adopting the statements of either Mr, Forbes-Leith or Canon Bellesheim without verification.
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810 THE ATHENAUM Ne 3294, Dac, 13, ’90 Rulers of India.—The Marquess Cornwallis. By W. 5S. Seton-Karr. (Oxford, Claren- don Press.) Tuts new volume of the ‘‘ Rulers of India” series keeps up to the high standard set by the author of ‘The Marquess of Dalhousie.’ For dealing with the salient passages in Lord Cornwallis’s Indian career no one could have been better qualified than the whilom foreign secretary to Lord Lawrence. The seven years of Cornwallis’s rule in India —from 1786 to 1793—are chiefly memorable for the series of cardinal reforms which the virtual successor to Warren Hastings was enabled by favouring circumstances to carry out. Armed from the first with full power to override at need the votes of his Council— the very power for which Hastings had so often pleaded in vain—and strong in the twofold support of the India House and the Board of Control, Cornwallis found him- self free to take his own line upon all the vexed questions of public policy in Bengal. He issued the famous Regulation of 1793, which gave the zemindars, or revenue- farmers of Bengal, a sure proprietary title to their lands, in return for the regular payment to the State of a land-tax fixed for ever. He achieved some wide-reaching reforms in the Company’s Civil Service, re- modelled the police, and brought every department of state under the control of British officers. He waged relentless war against all kinds of jobbery and corruption, annexed a province in the teeth of Parlia- ment, and, in spite of more than one costly campaign, left British India financially prosperous and politically secure. If Mr. Seton-Karr’s volume lacks the charm of Kaye’s more popular essay on the same theme, it will afford, at any rate, much pleasantly instructive reading to all who take interest in the growth, organic and structural, of our Indian empire. The author’s clear, severe, yet buoyant style helps the reader pleasantly over the dry places of a memoir in which Rayats, Zamindars, Amils, Patnidars, figure pro- minently among a legion of Indian terms, and of which several chapters are taken up with the Permanent Settlement and other matters of administrative moment. Mr. Seton-Karr draws a just distinction, too often ignored, between the proprietary rights conferred by Lord Cornwallis and those enjoyed by English landowners. Ab- solute ownership of land was a thing un- known in India; and Cornwallis never intended to make absolute landowners out of the Bengal zemindars. Their rights under the new law were formally limited by those of the ryot, or husbandman, whose rent could not be raised at his landlord’s pleasure, and whose holding could not, as a rule, be taken from him so long as he paid his rent. In practice, however, the Per- petual Settlement of 1793 favoured the zemindar at the cost alike of the ryot and the State. It debarred the State for ever from any share of the unearned incre- ment, while it left the ryots no adequate means of defence against the encroach- ments of the zemindars. If the Settlement was good in principle, the question whether it was right to make it permanent rather than periodical remains an open one even to this day. Going impartially through the pros and cons of the case, Mr. Seton-Karr allows that ‘‘ the judgment of posterity has endorsed the wiser opinion of John Shore,” who pleaded with all the strength of tried experience in favour of a fixed assessment for a term of years. It is a thorny question, handle it how you will; and for most of us in these days it possesses only or mainly an historical interest. Cornwallis left India so soon after the pro- clamation of the new settlement that he cannot be held answerable for what his suc- cessors did or left undone. As Mr. Seton- Karr truly remarks, ‘‘many of the sub- sidiary measures, executive and legislative, necessary for the complete success of the measure, were not immediately carried out. Some, indeed, were unaccountably and un- warrantably delayed.” Many years had to pass, for instance, before the question of resuming rent-free tenures was taken in hand, or any earnest attempt was made to protect the rights of tenant-proprietors in accordance with the pledges of 1793. The Rent Act of 1859, followed and clinched by the Tenancy Act of 1884, was only the necessary consummation of Lord Corn- wallis’s preparatory scheme. In the generally peaceful attitude of Bengal during the Mutiny, as compared with the disorders in the Upper Provinces, the author sees clear evidence of ‘the advantage of a wealthy and privileged class, who have everything to lose and nothing to gain by revolution.” To a certain extent this may be true, but to our thinking it is not the whole truth. Had Bengal been more remote from Calcutta and the main lines of traffic, had it possessed more large military stations or been peopled by a hardier race, would it not have shared the fate of those provinces in which other systems of land-settlement prevailed? It may, however, be granted that in times of famine the zemindars of Bengal have done important service for the relief and preven- tion of distress. With all his success in purifying and strengthening the Company’s Civil Service, Cornwallis fell into what Marshman calls the “ great and radical error” of excluding natives from all offices save the lowest. His avowed distrust of native agency may best account for a policy which Kaye ascribed to his mistrust rather of European than of native functionaries. Whatever were his motives for the wrong thus done to native ambition, Mr. Seton-Karr’s admirable chapter on “Reform of the Civil Service” contains no passing reference to a point that called for some elucidation. We had hoped also that a little more room would have been reserved for the foreign policy of a ruler who opportunely crippled the power of Tippoo, and who warned Sindhia against the consequences of any insult or injury done to the Wazir of Oudh or his subjects. On the other hand, the chapter which discourses of “Private Life and Social Customs” gives the reader some suggestive glimpses into the personal character of a soldier-states- man who cared little for display, who would not swerve from the line of duty even at the bidding of the Prince of Wales, and whose stainless integrity was mated with a sound judgment, a clear, cool head, a fine temper, and a resolute will, The Adventures of Count George Albert of Erbach. Translated from the German of Emil Kraus by H.R.H. Beatrice, Princess Henry of Battenberg. (Murray.) The Adventures of Thomas Pellow, of Penryn, Mariner. Written by Himself, and edited, with an Introduction and Notes, by Dr. Robert Brown. (Fisher Unwin.) Tue Barbary corsairs who were once the scourge of the Mediterranean figure pro- minently in both these volumes, but there is almost exactly a century of time between them. Count George set out from the Oden- wald in 1614 on what was then considered the grand tour, and after spending a good deal of time in France and Italy, he was tempted by curiosity to visit the island of Malta in company with some other German gentle- men. He was handsomely entertained by the knights, but along with his friends he was betrayed on his return voyage by the captain of his vessel—after a fashion then common enough—to a Tunisian rover, and with those of his friends who survived the fight he was carried to Tunis. He was not very long a captive, for, mainly through the good offices of the Grand Master of the Hospitallers, he was ransomed ; but while he was a prisoner he had a bad time of it, for he refused to tell his name, and the Bey, suspecting he was of high rank, bas- tinadoed him and his companions, and otherwise ill-treated them to extort a con- fession. The only unusual part of the story is that the Bey made use of his daughter to try to worm out his prisoner’s secret, and as she fell in love with him, if Count George had had a little more spirit about him he might have tried to emulate the captive in ‘ Don Quixote,’ and eloped with the fair Selima. But the count was a sentimental Teuton, and preferred to negotiate about ransoming himself and his friends, and to dwell on the thought that his captivity was a punish- ment inflicted by God for disobeying his mother’s request that he should not visit Malta. The narrative is said to be founded on documents, but no clue is given to what is fact and what fiction of Dr. Kraus’s con- coction. The story has much of the wooden- ness characteristic of German historical novels, but this is in some degree dimi- nished by the skill of the translator. The Princess’s rendering is evidently faithful and exact, and such slight oversights as occur can be corrected in a second edition. Thomas Pellow belongs to a later date, when the power of the corsairs had waned. He was captured in 1715, when a boy of eleven, by a Sallee rover, and did not make his escape till 1738. Dr. Brown in his interesting introduction to Mr. Unwin’s re- print accepts the narrative as genuine, and the opinion of one whose knowledge of Morocco is great is entitled to respect. Thomas Pellow was no doubt an actual personage, but his narrative was evidently freely edited in Grub Street. It gives a frightful picture of the state of Morocco : the insane cruelty of her rulers and the furious civil wars. Dr. Brown’s introduc- tion and notes add much to the value of the volume. We cannot, however, agree with his opinion that the piracy of the Barbary states had its origin with the renegades. Rather the renegades were attracted to North Africa by the success of the corsairs. XUM
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Ne 8294, Dec. 13, 90 THE ATHENAUM 811 In spite of Dr. Brown’s dissent it is difficult toavoid thinking that everything points to the fact that the Moors who were expelled from Granada gave a fresh impulse to piracy in the Mediterranean. One more point on which we differ from Dr. Brown is with regard to the story of the Algerine pirate’s visit to Edinburgh. The story sadly lacks evidence, but there seems no absolute impossibility in corsairs reaching the Forth. They visited Iceland and the coast of Denmark. Alexander the Great. By Theodore A. Dodge, Lieut.- Col. U.S. Army. (Cambridge, U.8.A., Houghton, Mifflin & Co.) Tuts is on the whole a good piece of work ; but it would have been better if Col. Dodge had omitted all his illustrations, most of his introductory chapters, and some of his maps. The book forms part of an ambitious scheme for a general history of the art of war, to be illustrated by the campaigns of the best generals of each epoch. The author intends to dispose of the whole subject in six volumes, headed ‘ Alexander,’ ‘ Hannibal,’ ‘ Cesar,’ ‘ Gustavus Adolphus,’ ‘Frederic the Great,’ ‘Napoleon.’ Each volume, therefore, has to contain a rapid sketch of military history for some hundreds of years, besides the life of the commander whose name it bears. We must confess that we look forward with some alarm, when we think how the whole of the wars between B.c. 44 and a.p. 1620 must be crammed into the single volume on Gustavus. But that problem is not at present before us. This book, then, contains not only an account of Alexander, but a number of introductory chapters on the art of war before 3.c. 330. On the whole, the two parts may be discriminated by saying that the life of the Macedonian is clearly and competently told, while the sketch of ancient war in general is unsatisfactory. It is not merely that the narrative contains those irritating errors which are, perhaps, inevitable in those who read ancient history in translations, but that grave misstatements abound. We are told, for example, that the Persians never laid regular siege to a city— of which the long leaguer of Miletus in the Ionic revolt is sufficient refutation; that Thucydides is our authority for the inci- dents of the battle of Marathon ; that Solon divided the Athenians into four phyla, called the pentecosiomedimni, &c,; that Darius, the son of Hystaspes, invaded Greece ; that a daric is the same as a ducat; that Sesostris (for Nitocris) fortified Babylon. It is even more reprehensible to take the legends of the first Messenian war as sober history, and give an account of the “ battle of Ampheea, B.c. 730,” with large cavalry forces engaged on each side ; or to take Xenophon’s battle of Thymbra from the ‘Cyropedia’ as a genuine and typical Oriental engagement. But in spite of all this, we find to our surprise that when the actual life of Alex- ander is reached, Col. Dodge becomes decidedly interesting and suggestive. He has worked carefully with his authorities, using—as in duty bound—Arrian as his chief source. The result is a series of chapters full of instruction, especially to English readers, for the campaigns of Alexander are most invaluable commentaries onthe campaigns of the EnglishinIndia. The problems placed before a general isolated in the midst of vast Asiatic plains, with a small but solid army at his back, and innumerable hordes of undisciplined Orientals besetting his way, were the same in the fourth century before and in the eighteenth cen- tury after the Christian era. If they had been bookish men, Clive, Cornwallis, and Wellesley might have derived the most valuable instruction from the tactics of the Macedonian. As it was they came, as they learned their trade, to use exactly the same methods as their great forerunner, the first European general who trod the soil of Hindostan. That an Oriental army is nervously anxious about its flank, and far too unmanageable to wheel back to cover it, was the lesson alike of the Granicus and of Assaye. In each case the victor threw himself, with what appeared absolute reck- lessness, at the stream which covered his enemy's position, crossed the dangerous watercourse, and fell on the extreme right wing of the Oriental host; in each case, after some wild cavalry charges, the bulk of the Asiatics fled without striking a blow. Issus in the same way compares very well with Plassey; both demonstrate that a desperate push, even with very inferior forces, at the central point of the hostile line, where the Eastern prince is himself present, may scare him to flight, and so break up the cohesion of his entire host. The large majority of the army of Suraj-ud- daulah, like that of the army of Darius Codomannus, was composed of disaffected subjects who did not want to fight, and dis- persed on the first excuse afforded them. Equally instructive is it to note that the French auxiliaries of the Bengalee Nawab, like the Greek mercenaries of the Persian king, stood their ground to the last, and suffered more heavily than any other portion of the host. The lavish array of maps with which Col. Dodge illustrates Alexander’s marches is useful. Many of their details must, as the author confesses, be entirely conjectural, but they serve to make the text plain, and we have not found any instance in which we should seriously quarrel with them. Till Afghanistan and Turkestan have been regularly surveyed accuracy in the latter half of Alexander’s campaigns will remain impossible. Col. Dodge has some highly sug- gestive remarks on the proportion in which losses have stood to numbers in ancient and modern fights. The small sacrifice of life with which Alexander gained his successes would be quite incredible, if we had not to compare with it the losses of the English in Indian battles of the first rank. Alexander conquered at Granicus with a loss of 150 men; at Arbela with a loss of 500. Wellesley at Argaum beat 30,000 enemies with a loss of sixty-six killed; Adams at Undwa Nullah routed 40,000, of whom 15,000 were slain, at a cost of less than a hundred lives ; after this any figures seem possible. By the way, the loss in killed (excluding wounded) of the Light Brigade at Balaclava is cited by Col. Dodge as the highest known among British troops during the present century. But, heavy as it was, it could not compare with that of the Scots Greys at Waterloo. The Light Brigade lost 113 out of 673, or 168 per cent.; the Greys 102 out of 391, or the frightful proportion of 25°8 per cent. When Col. Dodge publishes another volume of his series we sincerely hope that he will leave out all his illustrations. Those in the book before us are as badly engrayed as they are badly chosen. Some are drawn purely from the imagination, as_ the ‘‘ Hebrew Pikeman” and “ Hebrew Heavy Footman” on p. 18. Others are mere travesties of the original, as the “coin in the British Museum” on p. 498—a bad copy of the tetradrachm of the Roman Pro- Queestor Aisillas. Others are wrongly described: the so-called head of Philip of Macedon on p. 170 is merely that of Apollo, as is sufficiently shown by the fact that it wears a laurel wreath, and no dia- dem; three or four of the so-called ‘statues of Alexander” are statues indeed, but not Alexanders. The book would gain im- measurably if every woodcut save the maps and plans were omitted. NOVELS OF THE WEEK, A Colonial Reformer. By Rolf Boldrewood. 3 vols. (Macmillan & Co.) A Line of her Own. By Mrs. Conney. 3 vols. (Hurst & Blackett.) A Homburg Beauty. By Mrs. Edward Ken- nard. 8 vols. (White & Co.) Love's Legacy. By Richard Ashe King (Basil). 3 vols. (Ward & Downey.) A Born Coquette. By Mrs. Hungerford. 3 vols. (Spencer Blackett.) Kilgroom: a Story of Ireland. By J. A. Steuart. (Sampson Low & Co.) Bis. By E. Gerard. (Blackwood & Sons.) Romance by Proxy. By Evans Comyn. (Eden, Remington & Co.) Rufin’s Legacy : a Theosophical Romance. By W. Gerrare. (Hutchinson & Co.) A Living Epitaph. By G. Colmore. (Long: mans & Co.) A Weird Gift. lated by Albert D. Vandam. Windus.) Ernest Nevenamp goes to Australia with some money in his pocket, and a general idea in his mind that he will meet with rude and uncultivated men, whom it will be his duty and privilege to level up, both morally and intellectually. Are Englishmen usually so priggish when they go to make their for- tunes in distant lands? Mr. Boldrewood tells us how Neuchamp was brought to his senses, and he does it in a series of natural and entertaining pictures of Australian life, which are above all things readable, though not invariably exciting, or even spirited. The hero does reform one derelict of society who was about to turn bushranger, and he has no cause to regret doing it. Moreover, he is himself reformed in some respects by a fair Australian maiden, so that his mission is not without results. ‘A Line of her Own’ is a small-beer chronicle which ought to please the very large number of novel-readers who like their fiction small and non-intoxicant. Soldiering and fox-hunting play a considerable part in Mrs. Conney’s story; a lance and a brush are amongst the adopted emblems by which each volume is adorned. There is a young woman by the name of Kate, a hand- some heiress, who has many virtues, with all the defects of her good qualities. Of By Georges Ohnet. Trans- (Chatto &
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812 THE ATHENAXUM Ne 3294, Dzc. 13, 90 course she has lovers, good and bad; in addition to which she has a good-for-nothing brother, who is officer’s servant to the more favoured of her admirers. The complica- tions are many and lively. Kate has a “chaperone” who is delightfully worldly and sensible, and plays the part of mentor to perfection. Mrs. Edward Kennard’s ‘‘ Homburg beauty” is ‘a remarkably pretty girl,” who, on or about her eighteenth birthday, realizes that life with her father and mother is boring her to death. She is sarcastic at their expense, insults them, grasps at every pleasure which they devise for her, and then thanks them for nothing. Possibly there is some cause for this; the reader must judge whether there is enough. The family goes to Homburg, and there Miss Hetty Davidson picks up a German officer, who brutally leaves her to shift for herself on the day of their secret marriage, because she had quarrelled with her parents for his sake—and that in spite of the fact, which he knew well enough, that ‘*she loved him for himself—for his strong, straight limbs, flat back, broad chest and blue eyes, and not for what he had got.” Karl had “got” nothing, even with her, and she was terribly punished for her mutiny against the boredom of eighteen. ‘A Homburg Beauty’ deals exclusively with people of pinched and meagre natures, and is devoid of gracious or romantic illu- sion. ‘Love’s Legacy’ is a story of some in- genuity. A critical part of the action passes in a hospital, where a young man is slowly dying of a tumour on the brain. He has disposed of his money beforehand, at any rate in intention, under certain conditions which give several people an interest in the precise moment of his death; and on a day when sundry of these people have visited his bedside he is found dead of an overdose of laudanum. Who killed him? And what became of the legacy? These are the ques- tions which Mr. King sets himself to answer. He does it cleverly enough, and with a dash of welcome humour. The indefatigable author of ‘Molly Bawn’ has never done anything better than ‘A Born Coquette.’ By this it is not our intention to imply that her latest production is free from the faults usually associated with her work. It is in parts as effu- sive, as unrefined and ridiculous, as any- thing she has ever written, but it has at least the advantage of possessing one really lifelike and humorous personage in the old butler Murphy, who is not unworthy of comparison with the immortal Micky Free himself. For the rest there are the same endless flirtations and lovers’ quarrels, lead- ing eventually to the same ecstatic condition of happiness all round. ‘A Born Coquette’ is calculated to prove a source of genuine consolation to all young ladies inclined to attach undue weight to imperfection of fea- ture as a handicap in the great race for matrimony. The heroine had a wide mouth, but she was none the less irresistible. Mr. Steuart’s story of Ireland is nothing more than a gloomy catalogue of persecution, crime, and outrage from beginning to end. It unquestionably paints an unnecessarily black picture of the dark side of Irish life, and the agent, whose sole delight consists in grinding the faces of his fellow creatures, with no apparent object beyond the enjoy- ment which he derives from the spectacle of their misery, is, it is to be hoped, a very rare personage, if not an anachronism. It is not easy to discover to what class most ‘of the characters in the book belong. All, with the exception of the landlord, his agent, and his Scotch gardener, begin by speaking with a strong brogue, which they gradually discard, and finally make use of the most cultivated English, with an occasional ‘“‘sorra” or “ plaise” by way of a reminder of their nationality. To any one who is even superficially conversant with the nature, manners, and customs of the Irish peasant the book must seem unnatural, though doubtless the author’s purpose is laudable in the extreme. There is a good deal of humour in the collection of short stories by Miss Gerard, republished from Blackwood and Longman’s Magazine. ‘ Elias of Blotatyn’ and ‘ Magda’s Cow’ have their locality in Poland. The old Jew who is bustled off to end his days at Jerusalem by his anxious wife, and returns, to her chagrin, to outwit and outlive her (the immediate gains of a trade to the holy city in salt butter outweighing the prospec- tive advantages of a pilgrim’s death), is well imagined. Poor Magda does not cling so firmly to her Polish Robin Gray as Jeanie in the song, but her sad story has a merciful ending, one not unnatural withal. Filip Buska, case-hardened as he is, is a good man, and takes back his erring wife for reasons which he does not acknowledge, but which lie deeper than the inconveniences caused by his helpmates Kuba and Kasza. There are some interesting marriage customs noted in this story, especially the rustic epithalamium ofthe peasants. ‘Two Robbers’ has a Germanic flavour, and deals with the period known as “once upon a time.” A modern German romance, ‘ Grey Fur,’ is very idyllic, while ‘His Uncle and her Grand- mother,’ in which the accidental transposi- tion after death of a devout and nervous old lady and a furious military despot leads to consequences neither could have foreseen, concludes the volume with a strong flavour of farce. The style is so generally good that we can but suppose ‘and which” for which, and “in he” for tx him, to be printer’s errors. “Romance by proxy,” Egyptology by proxy, studies in comparative religion by proxy, and a good deal of ordinary, not to say common, flirtation—these are the in- gredients of a long and dreary volume, which the author is pleased to call ‘‘a story of the Soudan War.” Those who are in- terested in the archeology and religion of ancient Egypt will, no doubt, prefer more trustworthy and less profoundly dreary sources of information. Seekers after romance may be better satisfied if they laboriously sift all the love-making episodes from the intervening guide-book disserta- tions. It is to be hoped they will then be able to interest themselves in the unprin- cipled conduct of Alice Knox, with her “‘queenly figure and large grey eyes,” which “her gown and hat matched in colouring.” If not, they will have little to fall back upon except the even more melancholy flirtations of the married and single ladies and gentlemen who are quar- tered by their author upon a Highland regiment at Cairo. If any one wishes to know what theo- sophy without philosophy is like, and how much it is possible to write upon a given subject without comprehension or compre- hensibility, he should read ‘ Rufin’s Legacy.’ Far be it from the reviewer to say that Mr. Gerrare does not possess a clear idea of what he means by theosophy, but at any rate it would be impossible to derive a consistent account of it from his confused and rambling story, which might be better described as ‘The Exploits of a Vampire in London and Elsewhere.’ In ‘A Living Epitaph’ we have one more volume added to the ever-increasing library of gloomy fiction. Marriages with happiness to follow ‘‘ever after” are now so rare as to be looked on as incidents of refreshing originality by the depressed novel-reader whenever they do occur. In ‘A Living Epitaph’ almost every one is richly and lavishly endowed with misery, the few exceptions being either insignificant or glaringly wicked. But the story is really well written, and the plot would possess considerable interest if it were less impro- bable. Is it likely that the hero should be ignorant of the name and place of residence of the devoted half-sister of the woman with whom he eloped, more especially as she was a neighbour of his own in a quiet country district? or that the sub-hero’s family name—an honourable one—which he changed on inheriting a fortune, should remain for years a profound secret for the close and confidential friend of the young man’s aunt? Such abnormal ignorance or absence of permissible curiosity becomes irritating to the reader, who is incapable of sympathizing in it. These slight blemishes do not, however, prevent the book from rising considerably above the average. The heroine is an attractively uncanny young person before she is tamed. Whether M. Ohnet’s novels should be translated into English at all is a question on which critics and publishers apparently differ. There cannot, we should imagine, be much difficulty in determining whether or not they should be translated in such a style as this: “But she drew herself up to her full height, and ‘ paralysing’ Jacques’ movements by pressing heavily against his chest, she wheeled round amidst the soft rustling of her silken skirts, and got to safe distance.” That, whatever may be the faults of M. Ohnet’s original (which we have not at the moment before us), is nonsense ; and though M. Ohnet frequently writes galimatias, and more frequently still in bad taste, he does not often write non- sense. The rest of the translation is very fairly on a par with the specimen quoted. ANTIQUARIAN LITERATURE. Original Documents relating to the Hostages of John, King of France, and the Treaty of Bretigny in 1360, Edited by Sir G. F. Duckett. (Privately printed.)}—The documents printed in this brochure are of two classes. The first three are taken from the Chartrier de Thouars, de- posited in the Bibliothéque Nationale by its owner, the Duc de la Trémoille, and contain a brief correspondence between Charles V. and the Sire d’Amboise. This seignew was called upon by his sovereign to replace Guy de Blois as a hostage in England, a duty against which
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Ne 3294, Dec. 13, ’90 THE ATHENEZUM 813 he protested with much vehemence. The second series is composed of four documents relating to the measures taken, in 1360, for raising King John’s ransom in the diocese of Lyons, and to the allowances made to the two burgesses from Lyons who were among the hostages for its pay- ment. These documents have led Sir George Duckett to give some account of the battle of Poitiers, the captivity of King John, and the peace of Brétigny, and also to touch upon the personal and family history of the eminent Frenchmen who were sent to England, accord- ing to the practice of that time, as hostages, and who appear in some cases to have left our shores on the plea of urgent private affairs—and to have forgotten to return. The Corporation Records of St. Albans. By A. E. Gibbs. (St. Albans, Gibbs & Bamforth. ) —This little volume contains a series of extracts from the records of St. Albans, originally edited, in a popular form, for a local newspaper. The ‘* Constitutions,” or by-laws of the town, though no older than 1634 and 1677 in their respective existing forms, are of some interest. All crafts within the borough were classed under four companies, each with a warden—the mercers, the innholders, the victuallers, and the shoe- makers. But of these the last two disappeared in time, with the result that the ‘‘ mercers ” included inter alios vintners, apothecaries, coopers, glaziers, &c., while among the ‘‘inn- holders” were tanners, musicians, ropers, and smiths. The Corporation minutes are extant for a little over three hundred years, and among their notable contents is the list of men and arms provided by the borough in the year of the Armada. In this same year the Corporation raised money by selling lead off the abbey church, and hired a ‘* Dutchman” to teach the people spinning and worsted-making, the materials being provided at the public expense. The jealousy of strangers was extreme, and every precaution was adopted for keeping them at a distance. In addition to the Corporation minutes, Mr. Gibbs has explored the mayors’ accounts, several of which—mostly relating to the seventeenth century—are fortunately pre- served ; and he has also given extracts from various miscellaneous papers, and compiled lists of the borough officers. The book is evidently the fruit of much conscientious labour. Stafford in Olden Times. By J. L. Cherry. (Stafford, Mort.)—This volume is a reprint of sundry notes, of more or less value, on Stafford and its history that haveappeared in the Stafford- shire Advertiser. The most interesting of these to the student will be the extracts from local records, such as the finding by ‘‘a jury of the Court Baron of Stafford,” in 1560, relative to local nuisances, the regulations of the grammar school, and the seventeenth century accounts of the bailiffs, mayor, and churchwardens. Several extracts are given from these last relating to the war and preparations for war in 1642-3. The account of the ancient ‘‘Court Leet,” although too brief, is of interest. We learn that its exist- ence has been prolonged to our own day, and that ‘‘ halswains ” were duly elected for 1889 and 1890. These mysterious persons were the ofticers of the court, and possessed meadow allotments in right of their office. Another relict of the ‘‘ village community ” is found in Coton Field, formerly cultivated on the three-shift system, the burgesses enjoying rights ef common. The after history of these rights, and the litigation, here as elsewhere, arising from them, are deserv- ing of study. In the local custom of the ‘‘ Hobby Horse” for raising funds for St. Mary’s Church we have, doubtless, a survival of the medisval ‘*church-ale”; but the mention of St. Mary’s reminds us that Richard Cromwell can scarcely have received a petition on the subject of that church as Protector in 1655 ! Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica, Vol. III, Second Series, (Mitchell & Hughes.)—This excellent and attractive periodical is certainly the handsomest publication devoted to genea- logy and heraldry. The ancient grants of arms reproduced in facsimile are its most distinctive feature, and though we could spare its record of some uninteresting modern grants and certain latter-day pedigrees, all classes of readers will find something in its pages to their taste. The publication of the parish register of Bramfield, co. Suffolk, is begun in this volume, and, as its entries commence in 1539, it well deserves to be printed. It is, however, to be regretted, we think, that it should see the light in this disjointed form, instead of being published en bloc. It is right that a word of praise should be awarded to the index of this volume (which includes, we are glad to see, Christian names) as well as to the classified table of contents. Vestiges of Old Newcastle and Gateshead. By W. H. Knowles and J. R. Boyle. (Stock.)— This handsome volume is the outcome of a happy co-operation between Mr. Knowles, a local archi- tect, who contributes the delightful illustrations, and Mr. Boyle, a local antiquary, who supplies the accompanying text. Exception might, per- haps, be taken to the plan of each collaborator writing a preface, Mr. Boyle being thus enabled to praise ‘‘the taste and skill displayed by Mr. Knowles,” while Mr. Knowles compliments Mr. Boyle on his ‘‘ excellent and accurate observa- tions.” It would, however, be ungenerous to deny that both expressions are fully justified, and that between them the authors have pro- duced a work of which they may well be proud. It will come, we should imagine, to most people as a surprise that the grimy town which the traveller scans from the windows of the ‘‘ Flying Scotsman” contains architectural relics so charm- ing and full of interest. But it must not be supposed that this attractive volume is a mere picture-book. Mr. Boyle’s account of the Castle itself, the most familiar feature of the town, is a masterpiece of careful research. He proves from the indisputable evidence of the Pipe Rolls that the famous keep was constructed during the six years 1172-7, when nearly 1,000/. was spent upon its fabric. This, we think, explains why Fantéme makes no mention of the ‘‘ tur” when describing the part played by ‘‘ Le Noef Chastel sur Tine” in the events of 1173-4. Our reason for calling attention to this point is that we remember Mr. G. T. Clark—‘‘ the greatest living authority on English military architecture,” as Mr. Boyle terms him—asserting this important keep to have been erected ‘‘ by Robert Curthose in 1080” (‘ Medieval Military Architecture,’ i. 49, 95), which proves how cautiously his conclu- sions should be accepted, and how difficult it is to date these early keeps correctly. Of the other public buildings may be mentioned the church of St. Nicholas, now the ‘‘ Cathedral.” Rebuilt in the latter half of the fourteenth century, this fine building has one or two fragments of earlier date, a noble spire, and a singularly beautiful cover to the font of medizeval design. St. Mary’s, Gateshead, though confused by successive changes, retains some twelfth century work, and what appears to be called an ‘‘ Anchorage,” which seems a peculiar name for the dwelling of an anchorite to be known by. More interest- ing than either of these is St. John’s, which, though probably of later origin, retains consider- able portions of its early Norman chancel and aisleless nave. St. Andrew’s also has still some twelfth century work, including a noble chancel arch. St. Mary’s Chapel, Jesmond, is a pic- turesque ruin ; but the early English chapel of St. Edmund, King and Martyr, has unfortunately been demolished. The quaint old Trinity House, with its interesting seventeenth century chapel, receives due attention, and it would probably be difticult to find a nook or corner of old-world Newcastle, public or private, that Mr. Knowles has not sketched and Mr. Boyle lovingly de- scribed. Their work will certainly be valued more and more as these ‘‘ vestiges” become fewer year by year. CHRISTMAS BOOKS. By E. C. Wilson. (Nelson & Lu Rochelle. Sons. ) Loyal Hearts. By Evelyn Everett-Green. (Same publishers. ) Dulecie’s Love Story. lishers. ) Birdie’s Resolve. Archie’s Find. publishers. ) Eastward Ho! By Emma Marshall. & Co. Least Said Soonest Mended. By Agnes Giberne. (Same publishers. ) The Purchase of the North Pole. By Jules Verne. (Sampson Low & Co.) A Family without « Name. (Same author and publishers. ) A Week in a Wherry on the Norfolk Broads. By ‘‘ Blue Peter.” (Leadenhall Press.) (Same author and pub- (Same author and publishers.) By Eleanor Stredder. (Same (Nisbet Maori and Settler. By G.A. Henty. (Blackie & Son.) Master Rockafellay’s Voyage. By W. Clark Russell. (Methuen & Co.) Steady and Strong. By R. M. Freeman. (Grif- fith, Farran & Co.) Cutlass and Cudgel. (Same publishers. ) The Log of the Bombastes. (Same publishers.) By Theo. Gift. The Little Colonists. publishers.) Ardis Claverden. By Frank R. Stockton. (Sampson Low & Co.) Little Venice, and other Stories. By Grace Denio Litchfield. (G. P. Putnam’s Sons.) ‘La RocHELLE’ gives a vivid picture of the brave Huguenots and their distress in the terrible times of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Children, wise beyond their years, play a great part in this sad drama ; one of the brightest touches in the book is the episode of the bold and scofting dragoon turned aside from his evil ways by baby Nannette.—‘ Loyal Hearts’ is also a chronicle of troubled times, but the scene changes from France to England, and the loyal hearts are devoted to good Queen Bess, whose portrait in ruff and crown forms the frontispiece of the book. The Lord Beauchamp, nephew of the ill-fated Lady Jane Grey, is one of the many heroes of Miss Everett-Green’s fasci- nating romance.—In ‘ Dulcie’s Love Story’ the author of ‘Loyal Hearts’ returns to our own times and to the affairs of every day. Dulcie is an attractive little person, engaged to a worthy young naval officer, whom in time she marries ; but the romance of the book comes from the fact that she has inspired with a hopeless and utterly unselfish passion one Capt. Bayard Randall, a Bayard indeed, who is the real hero of the tale. There is no end to books by Miss Evelyn Everett-Green, and we really do not want an end, for they are remarkably good. ‘ Birdie’s Resolve : a Story for the Young’ is a delightful tale of wrong righted by a bright, determined damsel. Birdie is a charming little child, the grandparents are all that they should be, and the prodigal uncle is altogether worthy of the fatted calf prepared by his little niece.— ‘ Archie’s Find’ is a story of Australian life, a little confused, perhaps, and not a little rambling, but not without a certain attractive- ness. The ‘‘find” is gold, which, as always, stirs up envy and strife.—‘ Eastward Ho !’ does not call us over seas, but only to the dreary wilds of the East-End of London. Mrs. Marshall is sparing in her description of the slums. She really writes the story of an unmanageable minx reformed by her cousin, an earnest worker amongst the poor. Hence, we suppose, the title of the book, which contains a great deal of good reading. ‘ Least Said Soonest Mended_’ is not the most attractive of Miss Giberne’s numerous works. The proverb which forms the title appears to By G. Manville Fenn. By Henry Frith. (Same
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814 THE ATHENEUM Ne 3294, Dec. 13, 90 have been the favourite remark of the heroine’s mother, otherwise it is not particularly appro- priate to the book. Kitty Phrynne is a pretty and not overwise little person, who gets into endless trouble through a worthless lover, whom, of course, she throws over in the end for a faithful Dobbin. —It is difficult now to wax very enthusiastic over Jules Verne. Of ‘The Purchase of the North Pole’ and ‘A Family without a Name’ it suffices to say that they are in his latest and least attractive style. ‘A Family without a Name’ deals with Canadian insurrection, the horrors of which are relieved by a very funny story of a worthy lawyer who is compelled to become chief of the Hurons.— ‘A Week in a Wherry on the Norfolk Broads’ ought to be an attractive book, but somehow it is not. It proceeds from the Leadenhall Press, and therefore is pretty to look at; paper and type are excellent, and as for the OF ay it is full of interest. But the worthy Northumbrians who sail the Broads fail both by word and pic- ture to show us the charm of those still waters, and their attempt at fun is simply tiresome. The first half of Mr. Henty’s volume is occu- pied with the voyage out. This usually dull subject he makes interesting by introducing adventures with cannibals in Magellan Straits and in the Austral group of islands in the Pacific. These are the best scenes in the book. Some of the oft-told events of the native war and of Te Kooti’s exploits in the vicinity of Hawke’s Bay, together with several murders of settlers and the gallant defence of others, are graphically delineated. It is a book which all young people, but especially boys, will read with avidity. ‘Master Rockafellar’s Voyage’ is worth read- ing by children of the larger growth, for it describes most vividly the life of an apprentice isea and the hardships endured in an emigrant uip. It is unnecessary to detail the incidents of Mr. Clark Russell’s masterly book (that of the man abandoned in the boat, baling out fresh water by mistake, is a graphic touch), but we may say they are ona par with the style, and that both are first-rate pabulum for boys of sense. —Mr. Freeman writes of school life. The pecu- liarities of Chudleigh are principally a habit on the part of masters and boys of sitting in their shirt-sleeves in school, the existence of a golf- links (the club-maker speaks execrable Scotch), and a number of regulations for open-air exer- cise which would, one would think, destroy all the spontaneity and heartiness of the games. However, there is much that is good in the book, and it contains some valuable warnings for young readers.—Mr. Fenn has produced a tale of the sort that schoolboys love, although he has written a little in a hurry, else he would hardly make the ‘‘Dutchman” and Prince Charlie contemporary rivals. The adventures of the middy among the smugglers will not, however, be the less eagerly devoured. ‘The Log of the Bombastes’ contains highly exciting adventures of the sea, and carries the reader away to the Southern Ocean. There is an excellent storm, some terrible encounters with men and fishes (the illustration of the combat with the cuttlefish will be delightful to boys), and as much miscellaneous incident as heart can wish.—The Falkland Islands have not become hackneyed so far as we know, and ‘The Little Colonists’ may be popular with children. The illustrations are good, but the binding is badly sewn, a common fault this year in children’s books. ‘Ardis Claverden’ is written in Mr. Stock- ton’s lively style, and is not at all a bad story. Characteristically enough the heroine is a girl of much pluck and energy, and is always the leading spirit, and she is a nice girl too. The four young Englishmen who do a good deal to make the book amusing are typical speci- mens of the Englishman of American litera- ture. Mr. Stockton makes some mistakes by not being quite at home in the nice differences between conversational English and conversa- tional American. Miss Litchfield has collected several of her short stories from the Century and other maga- zines in which they appeared, and has repub- lished them in asmall volume. The tales them- selves are as smal] in quality as they are in quan- tity. They recall the thin voice of that gnat who was always suggesting to Alice through the Looking-glass, ‘‘ You might make a joke out of that.” The writer seems to be continually on the point of making, not a joke certainly, but a story, and then stopping short. ‘Little Venice’ itself contains somewhat more generous material and also good descriptions of the beau- tiful St. Clair Flats in the neighbourhood of the city of Detroit. ‘The Price I paid for a Set of Ruskin,’ though excessively slight, is a good idea. ‘Myrtle’ and ‘ Hilary’s Husband’ deserve only one epithet—mawkish. In fact, Miss Litch- field cannot be too much on her guard against the sentimentality and want of literary reserve which are conspicuous in her tales, and would spoil any good work she might otherwise do. OUR LIBRARY TABLE. A Journalist’s Jottings, by Mr. Beatty -King- ston (Chapman & Hall), is more ambitious than the majority of books made up of newspaper and magazine articles. It may be assumed that all who issue such books think their contents worth saving from the oblivion that would other- wise be their lot; but all do not, like Mr. Kingston, suggest that their ‘ brain-children,” of which they have ‘‘delivered themselves” in periodicals, ‘‘teem with learning, fancy, and humour,” and contain ‘‘ the gist of many years’ study, the fruits of curious experience, and the inspirations of original thought.” Average samples of Mr. Kingston’s originality of thought and other gifts and graces appear in his state- ments that ‘‘it has been said with great truth that one half of mankind has not the faintest notion how the other half lives,” and that ‘* sometimes for three days and nights London lies ‘ under a cloud,’” when ‘‘ many street acci- dents, of greater or less gravity, occur, and ‘enterprises of great pith and moment,’ sicklied o’er by the brown cast of fog, lose the name of action.” In his five and a half dozen collected papers he deals with all sorts of subjects, from woman suffrage and Sunday observance to sweetmeats and beads, ‘‘the shirt-collar cult,” and ‘‘beauty-shows and wrinkles.” The most readable are those in which he gossips about the foreign places and people he is acquainted with, and in a chapter on ‘‘Our Own Correspondents ” he: recounts some of his own trials and achieve- ments in the service of the Daily Telegraph. The Children of the Mist, by Lord Archibald Campbell (Edinburgh, W. & A. K. Johnston), is a pamphlet dealing with the ‘‘garb of old Gaul,” Ossianic poetry, and kindred subjects. It con- tains much of interest, but much, too, that is open to question. That Gaelic and Basque have any affinity, that Gaelic ceased to be spoken at the Court of Scotland six hundred years before the reign of Elizabeth, that ‘‘ Columban” is synonymous with ‘‘ Culdee ”—these are elemen- tary blunders which the most superficial ac- quaintance with Rhys and Skene might have rectified. But there are other misstatements that take us further afield. To prove that ‘‘nothing could exceed the gentleness and moderation shown by Argyll in pursuing and dispersing the rebels after Sheriffmuir” it were necessary to disprove William Forbes’s contemporary narrative. ‘*The most,” he says, ‘‘of the Duke of Argyll’s men stood their ground, and took a great many prisoners, where I had the misfortune to be one. And that evening they carried us to Dunblane, where we had almost perished for cold, it being a most severe and bitter frost, had not General Wade had some compassion, and gave us fire in the open field when he heard that some of us had expired already for cold, being stripped of the most of our clothes. And the next morning they had us to Stirling Castle, where we was most barbarously used, both in the Gatehouse and the Castle. But in particular those who were put in the Gatehouse, who had not friends to speak for them to get them put in the citadel itself, and I had the bad fortune to be one of the number who was put in the Gatehouse, where we remained till the Sentries could not stand their tour without doors for the stink of the wounded and dead people” (James Ferguson’s ‘Two Scottish Soldiers,’ 1888, p. 139). On the other hand, Lord Archibald need not have gone out of his way to show that in 1627 ‘‘the bow was still a weapon of war in the Highlands” ; for twelve years after that date, in the Coven- anters’ camp on Duns Law, Aston saw a thousand Argyll Highlanders ‘‘apparelled in blue woollen waistcoats and blue bonnets, a pair of bases of plaid,...... and carrying, the greater part, bow and arrow, with a quiver to hold six shafts ” (Gar- diner’s ‘History of England,’ edition 1884, vol. ix. p. 27, foot-note). The coloured frontispiece, after Morier’s ‘ Incident in the ’45,’ is curious ; so also is the note in the errata that ‘* Mac Callum More” is henceforth to be spelt, not ‘*M‘Calien Mhor,” as on p. 4, but ‘Mac Chailein Mhdir.” One wonders if this spelling will be adopted in the forthcoming edition of Scott, where everything, even the Gaelic, is to be set torights. ‘Huge Beinn-Mheadhonaich ” —one scarce will recognize ‘‘ huge Benvenue.” Messrs. MACMILLAN publishin London, though it is printed in America, Civil Government inthe United States considered with some Reference to its Origins, by Mr. John Fiske. The omission of the word some from the title would suffice to give an accurate view of the nature of the work. The volume contains masses of questions to fit it for use as a text-book for examinations, and some of them are oddly put, as, for example, ‘* What is the difference between taxation and robbery ?” The author thinks that James’s Act has put an end to bribery at parliamentary elections in England! It is worth noting that the ‘‘ Australian ballot” lately adopted by some states, in imitation of the United Kingdom, has been followed with a difference. The party of the candidates is indicated—a proposal once made here, but rejected by an overwhelming majority. WE have received from Messrs. Fergusson & Mitchell, of Melbourne, ‘‘The Austral Edition ” of selected works of the late Marcus Clarke, author of the famous novel ‘His Natural Life.’ The volume contains a biography, and is com- piled and edited by Mr. Hamilton Mackinnon. We fancy that the very handsome book is a subscription volume, probably published by friends in connexion with some attempt to aid the widow ; but it is none the less interest- ing for this. That Marcus Clarke was a writer of extraordinary power some of his stories are enough to testify, especially one known as ‘Pretty Dick,’ which is famous throughout Australia, and ought to be famous in this country. There are a great number of such stories in the present volume (some of them new to us), and many sketches and humorous essays from newspapers, which were well worthy of being recorded in the present more permanent form. Marcus Clarke’s account of those whom he calls ‘‘the Scotch martyr convicts,” and especially of Muir of Glasgow, is of singular interest, the adventures of Muir, as stated by Marcus Clarke, being of the most romantic pos- sible description ; indeed, they read as though untrue. Marcus Clarke’s life of him whom he calls ‘‘ Barrington, Prince of Pickpockets,” the author of the phrase, We left our country for our country’s good, is also a gem. Marcus Clarke was a prose writer, not a poet, but among the few verses in the present volume is a most successful imita tion of the style of the American Col. John
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Ne 3294, Dec. 13, 90 scieeeteieieeaiaieienedineiaiataieddieientienstieiniennteueenieaeabeeteciinesamesiens a THE ATHENAUM acacia 815 Hay’s ‘ Bludso.’ The following four lines from another poem are perhaps worth quotation, as an expression of a very popular antipodean sentiment :— But never let our sons forget, Till mem’ry’s self be dead, If Britain gave us birth, my lads, Australia gave us bread! Messrs. Bett & Sons have issued Gvethe’s Reineke Fox, West-Eastern Divan, and Achilleid, translated by Mr. Alexander Rogers. Only a translator of the highest ability could hope to do justice to the ‘ West-Oestlicher Divan.’ Mr. Rogers is conscious of the difficulties connected with the task, and has done his best to overcome them ; but he fails to convey any conception of the power and charm of the original, and in some cases his renderings are almost grotesquely inadequate. Every student of Goethe is familiar with the first of the series of lyrics addressed to Frau von Willemer as Suleika. This is how Mr. Rogers renders the opening lines :— Not opportunity will make a thief, Thief it ’s the greatest of the whole. In translating Suleika’s fine response he makes her say :— But ever gladly would I think : ‘He that has stole thee, I am he.” This makes nonsense of the passage, for what Suleika would like to think is that she has stolen her lover, not that he has stolen her. Mr. Rogers is more successful in his translation of ‘Reineke Fuchs’ and ‘ Achilleis,’ though some of his hexameters have a perilous resemblance to prose. Each of the three poems is preceded by an introduction, and he gives a number of useful notes. Mr. Davin Nutt sends us Incwrable, by Paul Heyse, translated by Mrs. H. W. Eve. The heroine is a high-spirited girl, who has been sent to Meran, in Tyrol, for her health, and believes herself to be dying. At the same place there is an equally high-spirited young man, who is also supposed to be on the verge of the grave. How they meet one another, and what comes of their discussions about life and death, the heroine records in her diary, through which alone the tale is told. The materials are rather slight, but the author displays his usual mastery of the principles of construction, and his striking power of revealing the essence of character with- out direct description. Although less interesting than some of Heyse’s more famous writings, the story gives a good idea of his method, and it is admirably translated. MM. Pion, Nourrit & Co. are so serious a firm that when they published L’ Europe en 1890, by M. Wickersheimer, we were prepared to find in this work a weighty view of the rela- tions of the great powers. We find no fault with the author, as a Frenchman, for advocating the Russian alliance ; but when he gravely tells us that we English are pushing our Newfoundland colonists to assert a claim inconsistent with French treaty rights; that Lord Salisbury has concealed from Parliament a series of secret articles in his recent convention with Germany ; and that the English occupation of Egypt has fined French trade over two millions sterling a year, he proclaims his unfitness for the task he has undertaken. There is one pretty phrase in the volume—that in which we are reminded that ‘‘ Chauvinism,” or we might say ‘* Jingoism,” ‘‘is the only form of patriotism that the masses can understand.” Messrs. BiackIE may fairly be congratulated on the completion of their Modern Cyclopedia. It will meet the wants of a large class of people who cannot afford more expensive works. Dr. Annandale has done his work well on the whole ; the scientific articles are decidedly good. The great fault is excessive brevity. Had Dr. Annandale allowed himself another volume, and omitted the merely ornamental cuts, his book would have been a still greater success ‘*translation of Schleiermacher’s Gospel of St. Luke.” Old Thoughts for Young Brains (Simpkin & Co.) is a book of excellent advice to boys by Mr. Athol Maudslay. It is most of it irreproachable and will benetit young boys, but it may seem to grown-up people a little trite. Occasionally Mr. Maudslay gets out of his depth, as when he says, ‘‘ Bacon, by his inductive logic, had long since exploded the dialectics and meta- physical arrangements of Aristotle.” Tue Rey. T. E. Bridgett has just published a second edition of his Life of Blessed John Fisher, reviewed by us two years ago (No. 3161, pp. 657-8). It contains two good engravings not in the first edition, and an appendix giving a more full account of the life of Fisher attri- buted to Dr. Richard Hall. The original MS. of this life is a volume in the Arundel collection in the British Museum (No. 152), now much burnt, but it was fortunately copied when entire—indeed, there are several copies extant, and a curious error as to Fisher’s age is traced by Father Bridgett to the earliest transcriber, who missed a line of the original. The Arundel volume is also important as containing com- munications from various correspondents from whom Hall derived his information. The book is published by Messrs. Burns & Oates. Mr. Moncure Conway has _ republished George Washington’s Rules of Civility, accom- panied by an interesting little essay on their sources. The subject, it may be remembered, has already been touched on in this journal. Messrs. Chatto & Windus deserve praise for the pretty appearance of this volume. Many people will welcome the cheap, yet tasteful reprint of Mr. Skeat’s valuable edition of The Poetical Works of Thomas Chatterton (Bell & Sons), which contains, over and above Mr Skeat’s excellent essay, a good memoir of Chatterton by Mr. E. Bell. Hazell’s Annual for 1891 (Hazell, Watson & Viney) appears for the sixth time. This popular encyclopedia deserves much praise for the variety of information it contains and its general accuracy ; and the best service a critic can do it is to point out the mistakes he has observed. A few may be specified. The notice of the Emperor of Brazil should be rewritten. The ac- count of his deposition has been clumsily patched on to the pre-existing notice. Under ‘‘ Peel” the mistaken notion that the mace removed by Cromwell’s orders from the House of Commons isat Kingston, Jamaica, is repeated without con- tradiction. Under ‘‘ Tunis ” no notice has been taken of the important measure of tariff reform lately carried out by M. Rouvier. The date of the Council of Trent is wrongly given. The mis- takes which we noticed last year in the bio- graphy of Sir G. Trevelyan have not been cor- rected. There are two misprints in the article ‘Spain ”: ‘‘ Mantinez” and ‘‘ Castilo.” ‘‘ Man- argall” for Margall occurs in the article on ‘¢ Spanish Political Parties.” The disfigurement of the cloth binding with an advertisement is continued, and is a flagrant example of a growing nuisance. Fulcher’s Ladies’ Memorandum Book has been sent to us by Mr. Pratt, of Sudbury. It adheres to the old lines on which it won its reputation. — Messrs. Cassell send us a number of diaries and pocket-books, which they issue for Letts’s Diaries Company. They are all first-rate spe- cimens of their class, especially the Monthly Diary and the Ladies Diary. The quarto Office Diary also deserves high praise.—Messrs. Grif- fith & Farran publish Blackwood’s Diaries, and Pettitt’s Almanacs and Diaries. Pettitt’s Library Almanac is most useful and convenient. Mr. Newnsgs has published the first number of the Strand Magazine, which is a wonderful sixpennyworth. The portraits of distinguished than it is. A specimen of the confusion produced | people at various periods of life are interesting. by excessive curtailment is the statement in this last volume that Bishop Thirlwall published a The sitters seem to set time at defiance.—The Christmas number of the Publishers’ Cirewar (Sampson Low) appears in quarto shape, thus giving more prominence to the cuts; that of Literary Opinion (Killby) shows an improve- ment on former numbers of that periodical. THE first publication of the Académie des Beaux Livres has been issued in the shape of Annales Littéraires. In all typographical re- - ele the work cannot easily be surpassed. he illustrations include a finely coloured por- trait of the Queen of Roumania, the honorary president, and a very graceful design with medallion portraits of M. Uzanne, the president, and the two vice-presidents. Other portraits, head and tail pieces, and the like, are supplied. A presidential address by M. Octave Uzanne opens out the text. M. Jules Claretie follows with a ‘Causerie sur ma Bibliothéque,’ M. Jean Richepin sends ‘ Sonnets Hermétiques,’ and M. Henri Houssaye, ‘Le Capitaine Renaud.’ From England Mr. Julian Marshall sends an unedited letter of Mirabeau, Mr. Chancellor Christie an account of an unknown translator of Horace, and Mr. Ashbee, ‘Marat en Angle- terre.’ WE have on our table The Leading Facts of American History, by D. H. Montgomery (Arnold),—Forty Days in the Holy Land, by E. H. Mitchell (Kegan Paul), — The Great Artists: Millet, Rousseau, Diaz, by J. W. Mollett (Low),—A Plain Guide to Greek Accen- tuation, by F. D. Smith (Simpkin),—A First Latin Reader, by A. M. M. Stedman (Methuen), —A Synopsis of English and American Litera- ture, by G. J. Smith (Arnold),—Practical In- organic Chemistry, Analysis, and Sketches, by E. J. Cox (Percival & Co.),—The Calendar of the University College of North Wales, Aberyst- wyth, 1890-91 (Manchester, Cornish),—Elemen- tary Chemistry for Science Schools and Classes, by R. A. Ward (Cassell),—Theory of Physics, by C. Calleja, M.D. (Kegan Paul), —Magnetism and Electricity, by J. Spencer (Percival & Co.), —The Lesson of the Revolution, by D. Balsillie (Edinburgh, Black),—The Essays of Elia, by C. Lamb, with Introduction by E. Rhys (Scott), —Lettice, by P. Biddulph (Simpkin), — The Princesses of Penruth, by M. H. Deben- ham (Nisbet),—Going for a Soldier, and other Tales, selected by J. E. Clarke (Wells Gardner & Co.),—Self-Sacrifice and its Reward, by Mrs. J. Ferry (Cauldwell),—John Bull and his other Island, by A. Bennett, Part IIT. (Simpkin),— Annie of Tharau, translated from the German of F. Hirsch by C. A. Rehder (Siegle),—On Viol and Flute, by E. Gosse (Kegan Paul), —The Rise and Reign of Chaos, by W. J. Spratly (Digby & Long),—A Play and Fifteen Sonnets, by G. H. Kersley (Bickers & Son),—Lyrics, and other Poems, by Lady Lindsay (Kegan Paul),— and The Old Gospel Ever New, by C. Bullock, B.D. (‘ Home Words’ Office). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH. Theology. Bellesheim’s (A.) History of the Catholic Church of Scot- land, trans. by D. O. H. Blair, Vol. 4, 8vo. 126 cl. Bettany’s (G. T.) The World’s Religions, royal 8vo. 7/6 cl. Carlyle’s (Rev. G.) Moses and the Prophets, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Dimock’s (Rev. N.) The Doctrine of the Death of Christ in Relation to the Sin of Man, 8vo. 7/6 cl. Girdleston’s (R. B.) Foundations of the Bible, Studies in Old Testament Criticism, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Owen’s (J. W.) The Letter of the Larger Hope, 8vo. 2/6 cl. Rites (The) and Worship of the Jews, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. St. Patrick, his Life and Teaching, by E. J. Newell, 2/6 cl. Staley’s oe te Plain Words on the Holy Catholic Church, 12mo. 2/ cl. Year (A) of Eucharists, by Members of St. Margaret’s, East Grinstead, 8vo. 2/ cl. Fine Art. Adeline’s Art Dictionary, translated from French, 7/6 cl. Bowes’s Japanese Pottery, Edition de Luxe, 126/ nett. Goldsmith’s Vicar of Wakefield, with Preface by A. Dobson, illustrated by H. Thomson, royal 8vo, 30/ buckram. Poetry and the Drama, Blaikie’s (J. A.) Love’s Victory, Lyrica! Poems, cr. 8vo. 5/cl. Brown’s (J.) Vulgar Verses, - 16mo, 3/6 swd. Burnand (F. C.) and others’ Short Plays for Drawing-room Performance, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. O’Donnell's (J. F.) Poems, with Introduction by R. Dow- ling, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Whitby’s (J.) The Love Song of Barbara, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Wordsworth’s (E.) St. Christopher, and other Poems, 6/ cl.
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816 THE ATHENAUM __N° 3294, Dec. 13,90 OS LESEAT ES Music. Lathom’s (M.) The Renaissancejof Music, 8vo. 6/ cl. Rubinstein (Anton), Autobiography of, translated from Russian by A. Delano, 12mo. 5/ cl. History and Biography. Amphblett’s (J.) A Short History of Clent, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Boehme (Jacob), Life and Doctrine of, by F. Hartmann, 10/6 Freytag’s (G.) Reminiscences of my Life, 2 vols. cr. 8vo. 18/ Gibbon’s (E.) Memoirs, edited by H. Morley, 8vo. 26 cl. (Carisbrooke Library.) Hale's (S.) Story of Mexico, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. (Story of the Nations.) : Hughes's (G. M.) History of Windsor Forest, Sunninghill, and the Great Park, 4to. 42/ cl. Jackson's (L.) Ten Centuries of European Progress, 12.6 cl. Maugny’s (Comte de) Souvenirs of the Second Empire, 6/ cl. Stowe (H. B.), Life of, told for Boys and Girls, by Mrs. S. A. Tooley, er. 8vo. 5/ cl. vs Thornton's (P. M.) The Stuart Dynasty, Popular Edition, 3/ Geography and Travel. Barth’s (H.) Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa, er. 8vo. 2/ cl. (Minerva Library.) ' Gregory's (R. A.) Elementary, Physical, and Astronomical Geography, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. aT Kelly’s Directory of Sheffield and Rotherham and Neigh- bourhood, roy. 8vo. 12/ cl.; Kent, Surrey, and Sussex, 34, Life Journey from Mannheim to Inkerman, from Reminis- cences of an Army on ed. by Fonblanque, 6/ cl. Sinclair's (T.) Travel Sketch, er. 8vo. 5/ cl. Philology. Scheffel’s (J. V. von) Ekkehard, Selections from, edited, with Notes, by H. Hager, cr. 8vo. 3/ cl. ~ Wyatt (A. J.) and Johnson's (H. H.) Glossary to #lfric’s Homilies, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Science, Boys’s (C. V.) Soap Bubbles and the Forces which Mould Them, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Brackett’s 'C. F.) Electricity in Daily Life, 8vo. 9/ Brannt’s (W. F.) The Metal Worker’s Handy-Book of Receipts and Processes, cr. 8vo. 12/6 cl. Burton's (C. V.) Introduction to Dynamics, cr. 8vo. 4 Cossham’s (J. H.) Fractions at a Glance, 2/6 on roller. Gore's (J. E,) Astronomical Lessons, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. McRae’s (C.) Fathers of Biology, er. 8vo. 3/ cl. Perry's (Prof. J.) Spinning Tops, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Renan’s (E.) The Future of Science, translated from the French, 8vo. 18/ cl. Ripper’s (W.) Course of Instruction in Machine Drawing, 25, Roberts’s (R. L.) Illustrated Lectures on Nursing and Hygiene, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Whitelegge’s (B. A.) Hygiene and Public Health, 12mo, 7/6 General Literature. Batty’s (J.) The Spirit and Influence of Chivalry, 36 cl. Being and Doing, a Selection of Helpful Thoughts from Various Authors, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Boyessen’s (H. H.) Against Heavy Odds, a Tale of Norse Heroism, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Burnand’s (F. C.) Happy Thoughts and more Happy Thoughts, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Collins’s (E. L.) Hadasseh, or From Captivity to the Persian hrone, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Dowling’s (R.) The Crimson Chair, and other Stories, 6/ cl. Drummond's (Prof.) Pax Vobiscum, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Edwards's (Mrs. S.) The Secret of the Princess, 2 vols. 21/cl. Gerard’s (EK. and D.) A Sensitive Plant, 3 vols. cr. 8vo. 31 6 Guicciardini’s (F.) C 1s and Reflections, translated from the Italian by N. H. Thomson, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Holmes’s Over the Teacups, er. 8vo. 6/ cl. Hutcheson’s (M.) Taia: a Shadow of the Nile, er. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Kelman’s (J. A.) Seven Sights of Society, cr. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Lamb's (R.) Arthur Glyn’s Christmas Box, and other Stories, er, 8vo. 2/6 cl. Lindsay's (H.) Letters to Workmen, cr. 8vo. 2/6 swd. Marshall's (C. H.) Horse Laughs, Twenty Illustrated Horsey Jokes, 3/6 cl. Martineau’s (J.) Essays, Reviews, and Addresses, Vol. 1, 7/6 Murray (D. C.) and Herman's (H.) The Bishops’ Bible, 3/6 Payne-Gallwey’s (Sir R.) Letters to Young Shooters, First Series, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Perry’s (N.) Another Flock of Girls, imp. 16mo 7/6 cl. Reade’s (Mrs. R. H.) The Goldsmith’s Ward, a Tale of Lon- don City in Fifteenth Century, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Saintsbury’s (G.) Essays in English Literature, cr. 8vo. 7/6 Seriviner’s (S. C.) Our Fields and Cities, or Misdirected In- dustry, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Seaside Sketches by Crow, Verses by K. Thompson, 3/6 bds. Smith’s (L. P.) Doctor Cameron, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Spence’s (Very Rev. H. D. M.) Dreamland in History, 21/ cl. Thoroddsen’s Lad and Lass, a Story of Life in Iceland, trans- lated by A. M. Reeves, 12mo. 5/ cl. FOREIGN, Theology. Acta Apostolorum A ypha, ed. R. A. Lipsius et M. Bonnet, Part 1, 12m. ae eel Med. Zvi, ed. G. M. Dreves, Vol. 9, 8m. 50. Bod (P.) de Felsé-Csernéton : Historia Hungarorum Eccle- siastica, Vol. 2, Part 3, 10m. Fine Art and Archeology. Ancien Armorial Equestre de la Toison d’Or, 200fr. History and Biography. Bernays (J.): Petrus Martyr Anglerius, 6m. Dahn (F.): Erinnerungen, Vol. 1, 5m. Griechische Geschichte, v. A. Holm, Vol. 3, 10m, Geography and Travel, Atlas Vidal-Lablache, Part 1, lfr. 25. Michel (E.): A travers l’Hémisphére Sud, Vol. 2, 6fr. Philology. Aristophanis Comeediz, ed. F, H. M. Blaydes, Part 9, 10m. Beitriige zur Assyriologie, hrsg. v. F. Delitzsch u. P. Haupt, Vol. 1, Part 2, 17m. Blaydes (F. H. M.): Adversaria in Comicorum Grecorum Fragmenta, Part 1, 5m. Bloch (A.) : Phoenicisches Glossar, 2m, 50, Luchs (A.): De Sigismundi Gelenii Codice Liviano Spirensi Commentatio, 0m. 80, Paulson (J,) : Index Hesiodeus, 3m. 50. Wiedemann (0.): Das Litauische Priiteritum, 6m. Science. Desbeaux (E.): Physique Populaire, 10fr. General Literature. Beitriige zur Aesthetik, hrsg. v. Thdr. Lipps u. R. M. Werner, Vol. 1, 12m. Blondel (S.): Le Livre des Fumeurs, 20fr. Boisgobey (F. du) : Un Cadet de Normandie, 10fr. Lewal (Général) : Etudes de Guerre, Vol. 2, 6fr. Vignon (L.): L’Expansion de la France, 3fr. 50. — = THRENODY. WATCHING here alone by the fire whereat last year Sat with me the friend that a week since yet was near, That a week has borne so far and hid so deep, Woe am I that I may not weep, May not yearn to behold him here, Shame were mine, and little the love I bore him were, Now to mourn that better he fares than love may fare Which desires and would not have indeed its will Would not love him so worse than ill, Would not clothe him again with care. Yet can love not choose but remember, hearts but ache, Eyes but darken, only for one vain thought’s poor sake, For the thought that by this hearth’s now lonely side ‘Two fast friends, on the day he died, Looked once more for his hand to take, Let thy soul forgive them, and pardon heal the sin, Though their hearts be heavy to think what then d been, The delight that never while they live may be— Love’s communion of speech with thee, Soul and speech with the soul therein. O my friend, O brother, a glory veiled and marred ! Never love made moan for a life more evil-starred. Was it envy, chance, or chance - compelling fate, Whence thy spirit was bruised so late, Bowed so heavily, bound so hard ? Now released, it may be, —if only love might know — Filled and fired with sight, it beholds us blind and low With a pity keener yet, if that may be, Even than ever was this that we Felt, when love of thee wrought us woe. None may tell the depths and the heights of life and death, What we may we give thee: a word that sorrow saith, And that none will heed save sorrow : scarce a song. All we may, who have loved thee long, ‘Take ; the best we can give is breath. A. C. SWINBURNE. Feb. 20, 1887. COPYRIGHT AND COPYWRONG. Franklin Square, New York, Nov. 25, 1890. In accordance with Mr. Kipling’s suggestion in your issue of the 8th inst. we have examined the letters and receipts of his agent, Mr. Watt, together with our own letters and those of our London agent, Mr. Osgood, and we have no hesitation in conceding that Mr. Kipling’s irri- tation is not unnatural from his standpoint. It is a standpoint, however, which seems to us not only to involve obliquity of mental vision in regard to the particular transaction which has irritated him, but to be wholly impossible for any fair observation of the relations of foreign authors with American publishers. Mr. Kipling claims that we have exceeded the limits imposed by his agent, Mr. Watt, for the American reproduction of some of his stories. The question is wholly one of interpretation of agreement. His charge of piracy is irrelevant, and does not particularly disturb us, in view of our long-continued, unbroken, and unbreak- able relations with the best foreign authors, and of the fact that the reprinting in the United States of foreign works without acknowledg- ment to their authors has been chiefly done by persons of alien birth, in contempt of the arrangements existing between such authors and American publishers. Our ‘ Franklin Square Library” was undertaken without hope of profit, in the interest of foreign authors and American publishers, and solely to antagonize a business which violated the established ‘courtesy of the trade,” and threatened to terminate international literary relations which had become so firmly established that the securing of ‘‘advance sheets” was regarded as almost equivalent to copyright. That the transaction was in perfect good faith on our part is apparent from our letter to Mr. Kipling of August 27th, advising him of our having collected in the cheap serial issue of the ‘*Franklin Square Library” the five stories which had been already run from advance sheets through another periodical published by us, to which collection we had added a sixth, which had appeared elsewhere in unauthorized form. For this added story, and for the extended seria] use of the other stories (not originally contemplated, we admit), we offered an acknow- ledgment, which the author declined. We have omitted from the collection in our ‘‘ Franklin Square” series this story, ‘The Incarnation of Krishna Mulvaney,’ and have substituted there- for ‘The Record of Badalia Herodsfoot,’ which appeared in Harper’s Weekly for November 15th and 22nd, These six stories, which we now issue in the cheap serial form of the ‘‘ Franklin Square Library,” it will be admitted by Mr. Kipling, have all been bought by us at his own price, aggregating 1231. Mr. Kipling’s contention is that our subse- quent issue of the stories in any other serial publication of ours than the one in which they originally appeared is unauthorized by the terms of Mr. Watt's offers and receipts, and he would thus impose upon us a restraint in favour of publishers who pay him een 4 Revision or editing, other than that presuma ly careful cor- rection which was given to the advance sheets sent us, was in the nature of the case impossible, inasmuch as uncopyrighted matter is often re- printed upon us the next morning before break- fast. Mr. Kipling may deem the acknowledg- ment inadequate; but it is as much as the existing absence of international copyright admits of. Should we find it desirable to re- produce, with his permission, these stories in a less ephemeral form, we would pay him, as is our custom in such cases, the usual author’s royalty, and allow him all the time he may require for editing and revision. In the interest of the English author it is greatly to be regretted that Mr. Kipling should have assumed such an ungracious attitude ; for it must be obvious that the number of American publishers ready to pay a substantial price for a nominal priority of publication of stories not protected by copyright is very small indeed, and if even they are to be discouraged in their endeavours to meet the English author half way, the loss would be chiefly his. Harper & BROTHERS. SHELLEY AT SYON HOUSE ACADEMY. Free Public Library, Brentford, December, 1890. Ir may interest many of the readers of your journal to know that the house wherein Percy ysshe Shelley received his early education is still in existence. It is situated a few hundred yards from the Great Western Railway station at Brentford, is now called Syon Park House, and is occupied by Mrs. Brodie Clark. The schoolroom, which extended from the high road to the house, has disappeared ; but there is still a portion of the famous bell tree remaining. From the high road the building answers exactly to Prof. Dowden’s description, ‘‘a gloomy brick building”; but this to a great extent is caused by the very gloomy wall which encloses the house. Once get within the enclo- XUM
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XUM Ne 3294, Dec. 13, 90 THE ATHENAUM 817 —$$— sure and much of the gloominess disappears from view. Since the period when Dr. Greenlaw gave instruction to his pupils, Syon House Academy has been in the possession of the family of the present occupiers ; and Mrs. Brodie Clark in- forms me that her immediate predecessor fre- quently spoke of Dr. Greenlaw and his connexion with the house. A short time ago I saw with very great pleasure that efforts were being made by the Society of Arts to mark for posterity the homes and haunts of our great writers. If this letter should catch the eye of those who are in authority, I trust that some effort will be made to mark the spot on which one of England’s greatest poets spent a portion of his boyhood. FrepD TURNER. THE DEAN OF ST. PAUL'S. Deep regret has been awakened by the death of the Dean of St. Paul’s. Few of the clergy in our day have ranked higher as men of letters, or have shown.a deeper appreciation of litera- ture as literature. Fortunately for himself he was not trained at a public school, and he possessed a wider range of interest and broader outlook than was at all common among the High Church- men who followed Newman. He had a keen appreciation of much that did not appeal to them in any way, and all through his life the humanist was powerful in him rather than the theologian, strong as his sympathies were with the Anglo- Catholic theology. The theological side of his nature found its fullest and best expression in his monograph on St. Anselm ; the literary ele- ment was more fully seen in his famous essay on Dante (which, although written forty years ago, has not been superseded), his delightful study of Spenser, and his pleasant volume on Bacon. His shorter essays were admirable pieces of writing. They have none of the glitter of Macaulay’s, but they are the utterances of a man who tried to see things as they are, to sympathize with what was best morally and spiritually in every age, and who was as little tempted to indulge in paradox as to make a show of erudition. The fine character of the man, his quiet force, his noble moral nature, are plainly traceable in his writings. The Dean’s weak health had long led his friends to look upon his tenure of life as pre- carious, and the loss of his son a few years ago told heavily on a singularly tender and affec- tionate nature. Yet the end came suddenly, and will not be the less regretted because it was hardly a surprise. Literary Grossip. Te desk in which the manuscript of ‘Waverley’ lay neglected and almost for- gotten, till Scott came upon it in looking for some tackle, has lately come into the pos- session of Mr. John Murray, jun. It was given by Scott to Daniel Terry, and its his- tory since that time is quite clear. ‘Tue first number of the new illustrated paper, Black and White, will be published some time in January. It will be a little smaller than the Graphic. It will have no serial story, but one of its special features will be short stories by good writers. Among the contributors to this department will be Mr. W. Besant, Mr. Bret Harte, Miss Broughton, Mr. James Payn, Mrs. Lynn Linton, Mrs. W. K. Clifford, Mr. W. H. Pollock, Mr. Rudyard Kipling, Mr. W. E. Norris, Mr. Frank R. Stockton, Mr. William Black, and Mr. Henry James. Prof. Her- komer, R.A., has been busy designing a large poster for it. Mr. Louis Stevenson will contribute to the new journal a series of ‘ Letters from the South Seas.’ They will appear weekly till finished, one letter being completed each week. Tue first number will contain drawings by Sir F. Leighton, Mr. Watts, Sir J. Linton, Mr. Waterlow, Mr. Sambourne, and Mr. Furniss. The artistic staff is large. Besides those named above the following painters are included :—Mr. Waterhouse, Mr. Alma Tadema, Mr. Gregory, and Mr. Seymour Lucas represent the Academy ; Messrs. 8. J. Solomon, A. East, C. W. Wyllie, Stanhope Forbes, E. Blair Leighton, E. F. Brewtnall, Jacomb Hood, Yeend King, and others represent the younger schools; and among the black-and-white illustrators and pen draughtsmen are (besides Mr. Furniss and Mr. Sambourne) Messrs. Du Maurier, F. Barnard, Raven Hill, Pennell, Gordon Browne, Sullivan, Bernard Partridge, F. H. Townsend, Hugh Thomson, and Hatherell. Mr. Fred Villiers has been retained as ‘‘ war special,” and two other Graphic specials, J. R. Brown and F. G. Kitton, are also engaged. Foreign art will be represented by Van Beers and Prof. Joseph Koppay ; while in a still further list of pictorial con- tributors appear, among others, the names of Messrs. Bernard Hall, Everard Hopkins, C. Cattermole, H. Glindoni, W. B. Wollen, and John Fulleylove. The methods of repro- duction include a variety of processes, some of which are new, but great attention will be given to wood engraving. Tue forthcoming volume of the ‘ Diction- ary of National Biography’ extends from Harris to Henry I. Mr. H. Manners Chi- chester writes on the first Lord Harris ; Mr. Lloyd C. Sanders on James Howard Harris, third Lord Malmesbury; Canon Fremantle on Archdeacon Harrison of Canterbury; Mr. ©. H. Firth on Harrison the regicide; Dr. F. J. Furnivall on William Harrison, the Elizabethan topographer; Mr. Leslie Stephen on David Hartley, the philosopher, and William Hazlitt; Mr. H. R. Tedder on John Harvard, the founder of Harvard Col- lege, and Abraham Hayward, Q.C.; Mr. J. Bass Mullinger on Gabriel Harvey; Dr. Norman Moore on Dr. William Harvey, discoverer of the circulation of the blood; Mr. Russell Barker on Francis Rawden Hastings, first Marquis of Hastings ; Canon Overton on Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, and Bishop Heber; Mr. H. G. Keene on Warren Hastings; Prof. Sanday on Edwin Hatch; Mr. J. M. Rigg on Sir Christopher Hatton and SirJohn Hawkwood ; Mr. Fuller Maitland on Hatton the song- writer; Col. Vetch, R.E., on Sir Henry Havelock; Prof. Laughton on Admiral Hawke and Sir John Hawkins; Mr. W. P. Courtney on R. 8. Hawker, of Morwenstow ; the Rev. F. St. John Thackeray on Hawtrey, of Eton; Mr. 8. R. Gardiner on James Hay, Earl of Carlisle, and Queen Henrietta Maria ; Mr. Cosmo Monkhouse on Haydon the painter; Mr. Sidney Lee on Mrs. Haywood, the novelist, and Richard Head, author of the ‘ English Rogue’; Dr. Luard on Hearne, the Oxford antiquary; Dr. J. F. Payne on William WHeberden, the physician; Mr. G. C. Boase on Sir Arthur Helps; Mr. Robert Dunlop on the Hely-Hutchinsons ; Mr. C. W. Sutton on Mrs. Hemans; the Rey. Alexander Gordon on Alexander Hen- derson, the author of the Solemn League and Covenant ; Mr. Joseph Knight on John Henderson, the actor; Mr. T. F. Henderson on “‘ Orator’’ Henley ; and the Rev. William Hunt on Henry I. Dr. Cox intends to issue ‘Three Cen- turies, from Elizabeth to Victoria, of Derby- shire Annals: as illustrated by the Records of the Quarter Sessions of the County of Derby.’ Dr. Cox thinks that the Derby- shire collection of records and documents, imperfect and fragmentary as it is in some particulars, is the oldest as well as the most varied collection possessed by any Eng- lish county. It has been the author’s object to try to make his volumes in- teresting to the ordinary reader, by the in- troduction of that amount of- brief history and explanation of Acts of Parliament which will render the diverse documents intelligible. There will be an introduction, and then will follow several chapters; one, for instance, dealing with the administration, the Custos Rotulorum, Lord Lieutenant, Clerk of the Peace, Justice of the Peace, Sheriff, Coroner, &c.; another on the County Forces, the trained bands, militia, volunteers of 1745 and of 1800, &c.; a third Eccle- siastical, treating of the Recusants under Elizabeth and the Stuarts, Recusants after the Restoration, Nonconformists before the Commonwealth, the Quakers, Conventicle Acts, sacramental certificates, and so on. Tue trustees of Dr. Williams’s Library have recently purchased University Hall, Gordon Square, which had become vacant owing to the removal of Manchester New College to Oxford. The library, which was originally established in 1729 in Red Cross Street, but of late years has been located in Grafton Street, has been removed to Gordon Square, and has just been reopened for readers. A portion of the building has been set apart as a residence for the librarian. CarpinaL Manninc has written an article on ‘In Darkest England’ for the next number of the Paternoster Review. Ir has been decided by the Oxford City Council to form a collection of books, pamphlets, &c., illustrating both the Uni- versity and city, in the Free Public Library. Although Oxford was one of the first places to adopt the Acts, the library has, up to now, not made much progress. The new Council is, however, endeavouring to make good the many deficiencies on the shelves, and to obtain more suitable premises. The chairman of the Library Committee (the Rev. C. H. 0. Daniel, of Worcester College) is making an appeal for books or scraps useful for the Oxford Collection. Tue January number of the Asiatic Quarterly Review will contain an historical sketch of French enterprise in the Kast in 1626, by M. J. Girard de Rialle, who is now in charge of the archives of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This sketch is chiefly based on the instructions issued by Louis XIII. to a political, commercial, and. religious mission sent to Shah Abbas by Cardinal Richelieu, and now about to be published for the first time. Tue new edition of the ‘ General Guide to the British Museum (Bloomsbury),’ which has been for some time in preparation, is now far advanced through the press, and
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may be expected to appear before Christ- mas. It will constitute a new departure, due to the initiative of the present Principal Librarian. The publication hitherto—in some departments, at least—has been too much of a mere synopsis. The new guide will aim at a more expansive and literary treatment, and will have more of the cha- racter of an introduction to the branches of knowledge illustrated by the objects dis- played, minute particulars being reserved for the departmental guides. A wew series of the Monthly Packet will commence in January, Miss Yonge having taken Miss C. R. Coleridge into partnership. The scope of the magazine is to be enlarged. Among those who have promised to contribute during the year are Mrs. Oliphant, Mr. Andrew Lang, the author of ‘The Atelier du Lys,’ Dr. Garnett, Mrs. Macquoid, Miss Peard, Prof. F. T. Palgrave, Mr. W. W. Fowler, and others. Some unpublished marginalia of S. T. Cole- ridge and some letters by Mrs. Barbauld are to appear. An honourable career in journalism has closed with the retirement of Mr. J. Lash Latey from the editorship of the J/lustrated London News at the ripe age of eighty-two. Mr. Latey has been connected with the paper from its foundation in 1842, and was appointed editor in 1858. A native of Tiverton, he was destined by his uncle, Canon John Latey, of Bristol, for orders, but he preferred a literary career. Mr. Latey for many years contributed the Christmas poems which have formed a feature of the Christmas numbers of the Illustrated London News. Mr. Latey’s por- trait appeared in yesterday’s Daily Graphic. Mr. Latey’s successor is Mr. Clement King Shorter, who has been for some time a member of his staff. Arter the first week in January the Publishers’ Circular will appear weekly instead of fortnightly, having been pub- lished twice a month for fifty-three years. ‘A Return To Parapise, and other Fly- leaf Essays in Town and Country,’ by Mr. J.J. Piatt, author of ‘The Book of Gold,’ is announced for publication by Mr. Elliot Stock. Mvcu interest is felt in America in the approaching publication of Mrs. Henry ard Beecher’s reminiscences of her hus- band. The work will be published as a serial in the Ladies’ Home Journal, Phila- delphia, under the title ‘Mr. Beecher as I knew Him.’ Messrs. Graves, of Pall Mall, are about to publish a mezzotint engraving, by Mr. C. J. Tomkins, of the late Canon Liddon, from the portrait in Mr. Whitfield’s ‘Men of Mark.’ WE regret to hear of the death of Dr. David Asher, one of the best known of Schopenhauer’s disciples, and an active writer and journalist. Dr. Asher was many years ago an occasional correspondent of the Atheneum. We published a short letter from him only a fortnight ago, provoked by Prof. Wallace’s recent monograph on Schopenhauer. THE initial volume of the new series of monthly volumes which Messrs. Henry & Co., under the general title of “The White- friars Library of Wit and Humour,” begin
early in the new year, will be ‘Essays in Little,’ by Mr. Andrew Lang. Succeeding contributors include Mr. Justin McCarthy, M.P., Mr. Sala, Mr. Manville Fenn, Mr. Henty, the author of ‘Molly Bawn,’ Mr. Francillon, and Mr. Percy Fitzgerald. Unver the hammer ‘last week a copy of Milton’s ‘ Poems,’ dated 1645, containing a searce portrait of him, realized 65/. 10s. Mr. Henry Gray, of Leicester Square, will publish during the present month ‘Records of Walmer, together with the Three Castles that keep the Downs,’ the editor being the Rev. C. R. S. Elvin, assis- tant curate of Walmer. Mr. Sypney Buxton is bringing out a fresh edition of his ‘ Political Manual.’ The new subjects will be ‘The Eight Hours Question,’ ‘ Free Schools,’ ‘Shorter Parlia- ments,’ and ‘Compensation.’ Tue death is announced of the well-known bibliographer M. Charles Ruelens, Keeper of the Manuscripts at Brussels. M. Ruelens edited a number of reprints—several of them for the Société des Bibliophiles Belges. He edited the ‘ Annales Plantiniennes,’ and he also published a collection of the letters of Rubens. At the time of his decease he had nearly finished a large work on Rubens. Besides his bibliographical labours M. Ruelens was known as a dramatic writer. Tue chief Parliamentary Papers of the week are Friendly Societies, &c., Return showing Orders whose Members profess Temperance (9d.); Public Libraries Acts, Return (3d.); Return showing the Immigra- tion Expenditure, Revenue raised by Taxa- tion, Land alienated, &c., for each Austra- lasian Colony (2d.); Oxford University, Statutes made by the Governing Bodies of Trinity, University, Jesus, and Queen’s Colleges (1d. each); Statistical Abstract for the Colonies, 1875 to 1889 (9d.); Local Taxation Returns, England, Part IV. (8d.) and Part V. (5d.); Reports as to the Taxa- tion of Land and Buildings in European Countries and in the United States (8¢.) ; and a Report on the Trade of Amsterdam.
SCIENCE —_o— ZOOLOGICAL LITERATURE. A Zoological Pocket-Book; or, Synopsis of Animal Classification. By Dr. Emil Selenka. Translated by J. R. Ainsworth Davis. (Griffin & Co.)—There are so many blank pages in this ‘* pocket-book ” that. it would clearly be wrong to condemn it unreservedly, but it is difficult to know how much we may praise it. As we have before pointed out, manuals of zoology should be written for a certain class—for beginners, for students of the second or third year, or for those who are qualifying themselves to become teachers and investigators. Prof. Selenka says the book is intended for his own pupils, but Mr. Davis believes it will be found generally useful to students of zoology. As a memorandum book of a somewhat old- fashioned class of lectures the book may be of some use, but a student who would get any good from an epitome like this would probably prepare what is best in it from the notes of his teacher’s lectures. There areso many unsettled questions in zoological classification just now that it would be useless to indicate various points of agreement or disagreement with the author. But some recent discoveries should certainly have had notice taken of them. For example, the arguments against placing Hat-
teria among the lizards appear to be complete ; there is much to be said for sinking the Ptero- poda among the Gastropoda ; and the Asteroidea and Ophiuroidea should be regarded as distinct classes : these are important points. As smaller matters, it may be noted that pedicellariz are said to be present in the Stellerida, and no reserva- tion is made as to their absence; the placenta of the dugong is zonary, and not deciduate, as is stated ; the teeth of toothed whales are by no means alwaysnumerous. It is, however, to the lan of the book much more than to the contents which, on the whole, are exactly stated and are fairly well up to date) that we object ; to put it in a concrete form, we do not know of any class of zoological student in this country who will find the book of any serious use to him, except- ing always those who cram for competitive examinations. If they will define elephants as ‘*pentadactyle hoofed mammalia with pre- hensile proboscis, two tusk-like continuously growing upper incisors, no canines, and compo- site grinding -teeth,” we hope. their examiners will give them as many marks as the elephant has canines. Journal of the Marine Biological Association. Vol. I. No. 4. (Plymouth, the Association.) —With this number the first volume is com- plete. Experiments appear to have been lately made on the breeding of soles and plaice, and on the rearing of larval lobsters and flat-tish ; and there are some most interesting notes on the herring fishery. Of purely zoological interest are descriptions of a new copepod and of anew hydroid, and an extensive report on the opis- thobranchiate mollusca of the district. From one of the official reports we learn that, in the two years during which the institute has been open, ‘‘thirty naturalists have occupied tables in the laboratory for longer or shorter periods, several of them on more occasions than one”; and there is an urgent appeal for funds to provide and maintain a sea-going steamboat. The Association is doing good work, and it is to be hoped that due response‘may be made to the appeal.
SOCIETIES. GEOGRAPHICAL.— Dec. 8.—Right Hon. Sir M. E. Grant Duff, President, in the chair.—The following gentlemen were elected Fellows: Capt. W. C. C. Forsyth, Rev. W. E. Taylor, Messrs. F. Green, C, B. Gutteridge, H. F. B. Lynch, F. W. Rawlinson, E. Reiss, and R. Roy.—The paper read -was ‘ Explora- tions in Alaska and North-West British Columbia,’ by Mr. H. W. Seton-Karr. BRITISH ARCHHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION.—Dec. 3. —Mr. J. W. Grover in the chair.—Mr, Sheraton ex- hibited a mass of lead which had been found in the thickness of part of the walling of the Roman camp at Carnarvon, where it had apparently been de- posited in the molten state from some conflagration. —Mr. Bodger described some Roman coins found at Woodstone Hill, near Peterborough.—Mr. Loftus Brock announced the discovery of a huge “ sarsen ”’ stone beneath 71, Moscow Road, Bayswater, to all appearance worked to a fairly smooth surface. ' It is supposed to weigh nearly twenty tons, and when erect it must have been a conspicuous object from the Roman road from London to Silchester, the site of which is the present Bayswater Road.— Miss Stod- dart having recently presented a fine collection of rubbings of brasses, about a hundred in number, a few of them were exhibited tothe meeting. They are of additional interest from the fact that they were taken about fifty years ago, and several changes and losses are recorded.—Mr. Oliver described a curious inscribed slab in Ashridge Chapel, representing ‘a riest, John Stone, 0d, 1395, which appears to haye Osea previously used for some other person.—A paper was read by Mr. Davis on a brass to the msg td of John Semis, Mayor of Gloucester temp. Henry VIII and Agnes his wife, which had previously existed in the church of St. John, Gloucester. It is describe in Rudder’s history, but had long since disappeared. During some recent restorations, portions of a brass were discovered among some rubbish ina vault, and these have now been identified -as having belonged to the lost brass in question.—The second paper was descriptive of the celebrated Epinal glossary, and was by Mr. W. de Gray Birch. It was compared with the Corpus Christi and Erfurth glossaries, and specimens of the early Saxon words were laid before the meeting.
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LINNEAN.— Dec. 4.—Prof. Stewart, President, in the chair—Mr. J. Watson was admitted a Fellow, and the following were elected : Messrs. A. Barclay, W. Brown, W. A. Clarke, W. Gill, C. M‘Rae, W. H. Miskin, R. Bentley, H. Williams, H. G. Plummer, and J. Streatfeild.—The President exhibited some eggs of the shell slug, Zestacella haliotidea, and briefly described the habits and mode of feeding of this mollusc. He also delineated and described the feeding tract of the snail.—Mr. F. J. George ex- hibited an autumnal flowering form of Mercurialis perennis with stems four feet in length, which he had found at Preston, Lancashire.—Mr. R. A. Rolfe ex- hibited and made some remarks on a coloured drawing of Cycnoches rossianum, showing both male and female inflorescences on the same pseudo- bulb.—Mr. J. E. Harting exhibited an immature example of Bonaparte’s gull, Larus philadelphia, Ord, of North America, which had been shot on the Cornish coast at Newlyn on the 24th of October last.—Mr. T. Christy exhibited and made remarks on some coca-leaves which had been forwarded from an East Indian plantation, and which were found to be superior to any received from South America.—On behalf of Mr. H. N. Ridley, of the Botanic Gardens at Singapore, Mr. B. D. Jackson read a paper on orchids, genus Bromheadia, on which some critical remarks were offered by Mr. R. A. Rolfe.—The next paper was one by Mr. J. H. Lace and Mr. W. B. Hemsley, on the vegetation of British Beluchistan, illustrated by a route-map showing the district in which Mr. Lace had been collecting. Seven hundred species were catalogued, amongst which were eleven new to science.—The aper was ably criticized by Mr. C. B. Clarke ; and Mr. J. G. Baker made some interesting observations on the peculiar prickly character of the vegetation which predominates in the hot and dry district explored. ENTOMOLOGICAL. — Dec. 3.— Lord Walsingham, President, in the chair.—Mr. J. Gardner and Mr. S. J. Capper were elected Fellows.—Dr. D, Sharp exhi- bited specimens of Papilio polites, P. erithonius, and Huplea asela, caught on board ship near Colombo in November, 1888. From the ship hun- dreds of these butterflies were seen flying out to sea against a slight breeze. Many of them, apparently exhausted by a long flight, alighted on the deck of the ship, and large numbers perished in the sea.— Lord Walsingham exhibited a coloured drawing of a variety of Acherontia atropos, sent to him by M. H. de la Cuisine, of Dijon. He also exhibited specimens of an entomogenous fungus, apparently belonging to the genus Torrubia, growing on pupz collected in Mexico.—Mr. M‘Lachlan expressed an opinion, in which Mr. C. O. Waterhouse and Mr, G. C. Cham- pion concurred, that the pupe were those of a — of Cicada.—Mr. F. D. Godman said that at the meeting of the Society on the 3rd of October, 1888, he had exhibited a larva of a Cicada with a similar fungoid growth.—Mr. R. Adkin exhibited nearly white male specimens of Spilosoma mendica, Clk., bred from ova obtained from a female of the Irish form impregnated by a male of the English form.—Mr. R. W. Lloyd exhibited specimens of Anisotoma triepkei, Schmidt, and Megacronus in- clinans, Er., collected last August at Loch Alvie. —Mr. F. Merrifield read a paper entitled ‘On the Conspicuous Changesin the Markings and Colouring of Lepidoptera caused by subjecting the Pupz to different Temperature Conditions,’ in which it was stated that the results of many experiments made on Selenia illustraria and Ennomos autumnaria tended to prove that both the markings and colour- ing of the moth were materially affected by the temperature to which the pupa was exposed—the markings by long continued exposure before the last active changes; the colouring chiefly by ex- posure during these last changes, but before the colouring of the perfect insect began to be visible, a moderately low temperature during this period causing darkness, a high one producing the opposite effect, and two or three days at the right time appearing in some cases sufficient. Dryness or moisture applied during the whole pupal period had little or no effect on either markings or colour- ing.—Mr. C. Fenn, who said he did not agree with Mr. Merrifield’s conclusions, exhibited a long and varied series of specimens of Ennomos autumnaria, all of which, he stated, had been bred at the same temperature. He expressed an opinion that the presence or absence of moisture, rather than differ- ences of temperature, was one of the principal causes of variation.—The discussion was continued by Lord Walsingham, Col. Swinhoe, Mr. Water- house, Mr. Jenner Weir, Capt. Elwes, Mr. M‘Lach- lan, Mr. Porritt, Dr. Mason, Mr, Goss, and Mr. Barrett—Mr. G. T. Baker read a paper entitled ‘Notes on the Lepidoptera collected in Madeira by the late T. Vernon-Wollaston.’ The paper was illustrated by a number of figures drawn and coloured some years ago by Prof. Westwood.—Mr, H.H. Druce exhibited several very beautiful species
of butterflies, belonging to the genus Hypochrysops, from the Solomon Islands and Australia, and read a paper on them, entitled ‘A Monograph of the Lyce- noid Genus Hypochrysops, with Descriptions of New Species.’--Mr. C. J. Gahan read ‘ Notes on some Species of Diabrotica.’ PHILOLOGICAL.—Dec. 5.—Mr. H. Bradley, Presi- dent, in the chair.—Messrs. A. E. de Charmendy and G. L. Larkins were elected members.—The paper read was ‘ On the Scansion of Heroic Verse,’ by Mr. G. L. Larkins, arguing that Chaucer, the first English user of this form of verse, did not borrow it from the French, but from the Italian endecasillabo, whose leading accent and cesura the English heroic verse adopted, while it did not follow those of the French decasillabe.—In the discussion the Presi- dent and Dr. von Fleischhacker urged that Old French poetry had far more stress than modern French.—Dr. Furnivall thought that even if Chaucer knew the French ten-syllable line first, it was the Italian that made him take to his heroic metre.— Mr. Dawson justified the continued use of the old terms “ iambus,” “ trochee,” &c.
INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS.—Dec, 2.— Sir J. Coode, President, in the chair.—The paper read was ‘On the Lansdowne Bridge over the Indus at Sukkur,’ by Mr, F, E. Robertson. Dec. 9.—The account of ‘The New Chittravati — Madras Railway,’ by Mr. E. W. Stoney, was read, SocIETY OF ARTS.— Dec. 8.—Prof. V. Lewes de- livered the third lecture of his course of Cantor Lectures ‘On Gaseous Illuminants,’ the special sub- ject of the lecture being the various processes adopted for the carburetting of coal gas and in- creasing its illuminating power. Dee. 10.—Sir F. Bramwell in the chair.—A paper on ‘ Electric Lighting Progress in London’ was read by Mr. F. Bailey. SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS. — Dec. 3.— Annual General Meeting.—Mr. H. Adams, President, in the chair.—The following gentlemen were elected as the Council and officers for 1891, viz.: President, Mr. W. N. Colam; Vice-Presidents, Messrs. J. W. Wilson, jun., W. A. Valon, and G. A. Goodwin ; Other Members of Council, Messrs. C. Anderson, R. W. P. Birch, C. C. Carpenter, H. Faija, C. N. Lailey, T. B. Lightfoot, W. G. Peirce, and A. Rigg; Hon. Secretary and Treasurer, Mr, A. Williams ; Hon, Auditor, Mr. A. Lass.
PHYSICAL.—Vov. 28.—Prof. W. E. Ayrton, Presi- dent, in the chair.—The following communications were made: ‘Additional Notes on Secondary Batteries,’ by Dr. J. H. Gladstone and Mr. W. Hibbert,—‘ An Illustration of Ewing’s Theory of Magnetism,’ by Prof. S. P. Thompson,—and ‘ The Solution of a Geometrical Problem in Magnetism,’ by Mr. T. H. Blakesley. SHORTHAND.—Dec. 2.—Mr. H. Richter, President, in the chair.—New members elected: Associate, H. W. Nunn; Foreign Associate, E. Majetti, Naples. —An acknowledgment of the Society’s resolution in regard to shorthand in elementary schools, sent to the Education Department, was read, stating that the matter should have the attention of the de- partment.—Signor Oscar Greco (of the Marine Department, Naples), a Foreign Associate, was ap- pointed Hon. See. for eng, Sai consideration of a correspondence between Prof. Everett and officials of the London School Board resulted in the appoint- ment of a committee.—Mr. W. Heather was elected as Assistant Honorary Secretary.—Mr. G. C, Mires read a paper entitled ‘Eyes v. Kars ; or, the Advan- tages of an Orthographic Shorthand.’ In shorthand circles the terms “orthographic” and “ phono- graphic” are loosely used to signify the difference between inexact and exact Lote Fg methods, It is conceded by those best informed that all systems are necessarily phonographic, inasmuch as all alphabetic writing, whether in longhand or short- hand, is a representation of sound more or less imperfect. The systems thus termed “ phono- graphic” contain a full complement of vowel signs ; those termed “orthographic ” have the five simple vowels only. Mr. Mires’s paper was devoted to pointing out the simplicity of the orthographic method, as opposed to the complexity of the full- vowel systems ; and he illustrated his contention by exhibiting his own method, recently published under the title of ‘ National Shorthand.’ He con- tended that time was saved in learning such a system ; and that the “ phonographic” systems were compelled to become “ orthographic,” and nothing more, in the development of their briefest styles for rapid writing, so that the time spent in mastering all the variations of vowel sounds was wasted, because they could not be fully utilized in writing at speed.
MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Moy. Asiatic, 4.—‘ The Akkadian Version of the Story of the Creation,” Mr. T. G. Pinches; ‘Three Inscriptions of Sennacherib,’ Mr. S. A. Strong — London Institution, 5—‘English Architecture of the Middle Ages,’ Mr. A. Mitchell. — Institute of British Architects, 8.—‘ Decorative Plaster Work,’ Messrs. E. 8S Prior, G. 'T. Robinson, H. Sumner, and 8. Webb. — Aristotelian, 8.—Symposium, ‘Does our Knowledge or Percep- tion of the Ego admit of being Analyzed?’ Messrs. H. W. Blunt, A. Hontwood, andG. F. Stout. — Society of Arts, 8.—‘Gaseous Llluminants,’ Lecture IV., Prof. V.B. Lewes (Cantor Lecture). Turs, Statistical, 77.—‘ Statistics of the Defence Expenditure of the Chief Military and Naval Powers,’ Right Hon. Sir C. W. Dilke, fart. — Civil Engineers, 8.—Renewed discussion on the Lansdowne Bridge at Sukkur and on the Chittravati Bridge. Meteorological, 7.—‘ Note on a Lightning Stroke presenting some Features of interest,’ Mr. R. H. Scott; ‘Note on the Effect of EY on a Dwelling-house,’ Mr. A. Brewin; ‘ Wind Systems and Trade Routes between the Cape of Good Hope and Australia,’ Capt. M. W. C. Hepworth; ‘Report om Wen.
the Phenological Observations for 1890,’ Mr. E. Mawley; ‘The Climate of Hong Kong,’ Dr. W. Doberck. — Geological, 8. — Society of Arts, 8.—‘Impr in Photography,’ Mr. G. Davison — Microscopical, 8. — Folk -lore, 8.—‘ Hungarian Folk-lore,’ Mr. L. H. Kropf, ané other Papers. Tuvrs. Royal, 4}. — Joendon Institution, 6.—‘Alexander and his Successors,’ Prof. R. 8. Poole. — Linnean, 8.—‘ Structure and Development of the Cystocarps in Catenella opuntia,’ Mr. R. J. H. Gibson; ‘ Effect of Exposure a Relative Length and Breadth of Leaves,’ Mr. G. F. &. Elliot. — Antiquaries, 8}. — Historical, 8}.—‘ Republican Government,’ Mr. O. Browning. — Chemical, 8.—‘ Constitution of Denydracetic Acid,’ Dr. N. Collie, ‘Theory of Dissociation into Ions and its Consequences,’ Mr- S. U. Pickering ; ‘ Phennoic Acid,’ Dr. A. Colefax.
Science Gossip. Ir has been decided by the Manchester Geo- graphical Society to offer next year prizes to local scholastic institutions for essays on the geography of Cheshire and Lancashire; and a 5l. prize will be awarded to the best paper, contributed by a member of the society, on the commercial products of Central Africa. THE volume of the ‘ Results of Astronomical and Meteorological Observations made at the Radcliffe Observatory, Oxford, in the Year 1886’ has recently been published. The sub- jects of meridional observation were the sun, the moon, and a list of stars to the seventh magnitude between the equator and 115° N.P.D. In the latter, special attention has been paid to the estimation of the magnitudes of the stars on Argelander’s scale. The moon was observed continuously during each lunation, and the places compared with those derived from Hansen’s Tables, with the view of keeping before astronomers the change which occurred between the results from observation and from theory about the year 1864, which it is known that Mr. Stone attributes to the change in the unit of mean time. <a RTE
FINE ARTS ae ROYAL SOCIETY of PAINTERS in WATER COLOURS. — The WINTER EXHIBITION is NOW OPEN, 5, Pall-mall East, from 10 till & — , 1.5 Catalogue, (RED D. FRIPP, R.WS,, Secretary. CONSTABLE’S COUNTRY. — PAINTINGS in OIL by ALFRED HARTLEY.—EXHIBITION NOW OPEN at ROBERT DUNTHORNE'S, Rembrandt Gallery, Vigo-street, London, W.
NEW PRINTS. Mr. J. B. Prart, who has been already suc- cessful with a fine Landseer, has been unusually fortunate in reproducing in a large and im- portant plate, engraved in the mixed manner, Mlle. R. Bonheur’s picture ‘Scotch Cattle at Rest, Glencoe.’ Mr. Lefévre sends us an artist’s proof. The masculine art and knowledge of the painter are manifest throughout this capital work, and Mr. Pratt, although his plate is in some parts a little grey and although the cattle are hardly deep enough in tone, has otherwise fully deserved the high compliments Mlle. Bonheur paid to his work as an adequate translation of her own. We are indebted to Mr. A. Lucas for an artist’s proof, engraved in pure mezzotint for him by Mr. R. S. Clouston, after Gainsborough’s. famous portrait of Mrs. Graham, now in the ScottishNational Gallery. We could not have expected so successful a print in mezzotint from the exceptionally brilliant original. It is extremely good, soft, spirited, bright, yet broad
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and nicely finished. The colour of the original is preserved. Messrs. Frost & Reed, of Bristol, have issued two large mezzotints by Mr. John Finnie, whose previous works we have more than once praised. The first is ‘Capel Curig, North Wales,’ with the lake in front and ponderous clouds drifting close to the mountain tops—an effective and impressive instance, broad and massive in treatment, deep in tone, and good in keeping. The second, called ‘The Windmill,’ is the better mezzotint of the two. It represents a windmill on a high bank above would ere this have been resumed, with no | doubt most important results. a pool, where the light of the moon struggling to | penetrate the clouds is reflected with images of the gloomy banks and trees. It is a fine and vigorous mezzotint, resembling in its technique the view of Capel Curig, but clearer and, on the whole, better in tone. thoroughly understands his art, is content to repeat his motives. Accordingly it is impossible to say he is not a mannerist, not only as regards his ideas, but the mode in which he gives effect to those ideas. We are assured that the above- named plates have been destroyed after yielding 125 impressions.
ROMAN INSCRIPTIONS AT CHESTER. Pensarn, Abergele, North Wales, Dec. 3, 1890. Ir will be in the recollection of your readers that in the year 1887, in carrying out some necessary repairs in the upper part of the north wall of the city of Chester, an examination was made of the lower part of the wall, when it was found to be full of Roman remains. No fewer than thirteen monumental and other inscribed stones were taken out of the small portion then examined, together with a number of other
stones, which had formerly belonged to large and | important Roman buildings. The interest ex- cited by this ‘‘find” was very great, and asa result a sub-committee of the Chester Archseo- logical and Historical Society collected nearly 100/., and further excavations in the wall were | carried out. These resulted in the finding of fourteen more inscribed and sculptured stones, together with many architectural fragments, &c., belonging to Roman buildings. In 1888 I was authorized by the Council of the Chester Archeological Society, as their editorial secretary, to issue an illustrated account of these discoveries under the title of ‘The Recent Dis- coveries of Roman Remains found in repairing the North Wall of the City of Chester’ (Man- chester, Ireland & Co.), in which the official report of the City Surveyor (Mr. I. Matthews Jones), and various papers by the late Mr. Thompson Watkin, Mr. W. de Gray Birch, F.S.A., and Mr. G. W. Shrubsole, were printed in full, together with the discussion on the age of the north wall, in which the late Sir James A. Picton, Prof. McKenny Hughes, Mr. T. Hodg- kin, and others took part. All the more important of the inscribed and_ sculptured stones were carefully and accurately drawn, and were illustrated in some thirteen full - page plates. In ‘the introduction to this volume I ventured to urge upon the Chester authorities the importance of making further excavations in the north wall, as time and opportunity permitted, but the expense being necessarily great, the question of funds was somewhat of a stumbling-block. In the early part of this year Mr. F. Haver- field, M.A., of Lancing College, Shoreham, Sussex, issued an appeal, in connexion with Prof. Pelham, of Oxford, Prof. Middleton, of Cambridge, Dr. John Evans, and other authorities on Roman remains, in order to raise funds for further excavations in the north wall. The consent of the Chester Town Council was willingly granted under certain conditions, and had it not been for unexpected difficulties of a special kind, the examination of the remainder of the north wall, to the east of the Northgate, | pieces of sculpture. It is a pity Mr. | Finnie, who has real sympathy with poetry and |
During the last month, however, the City Surveyor, finding that a portion of the north wall, to the west of the Northgate, wanted repair, obtained the consent of the Town Council to do the work. It was soon apparent that, just as was the case on the other side of the Northgate, the wall was full of Roman remains, consisting of inscribed and sculptured monuments, portions of Roman buildings, &c. On being informed of this Mr. Haverfield at once forwarded a sum of money to enable the excavations to be carried down into the lower portion of the wall, with the result that no fewer than seven inscribed stones (either whole or fragmentary) have already been unearthed, together with four Of these two are particu- larly noteworthy, and it is strange that they should have been found so close together. It has hitherto been considered somewhat remark- able that only one epulchral monument of any equites, or Roman horse soldiers, belonging to the twentieth legion, stationed at Deva (Chester), should have been found; but heretwomonuments to soldiers of this class have been discovered, in one of which the soldier is shown on horse- back: one of these has the inscription still perfect, whilst in the other it is at present missing. Mr. Haverfield has sent the following account of them, which I have now much pleasure, with the sanction of the Mayor and Corporation of Chester, in sending to you for publication. The excavations will be continued if sufticient funds can be raised, and I venture to appeal to the generosity of those of your readers who are interested in the past history of Roman Eng- land, to enable them to be properly carried on. Any sums sent to Mr. Haverfield, to the City Surveyor, or to myself will be gratefully received and duly acknowledged. The excavations are under the personal superintendence of the City Surveyor, who is most careful and painstaking in every way; and his foreman and the men under him are most keenly alert for the traces of any fragment of Roman work, however small. J. P. EarwakeEr. Provisional Account of Roman Inscriptions found at Chester (North Wail). Lancing College, Nov. 30, 1890. 1. Tombstone 20in. wide with two-inch letters, surmounted by fragment of a relief representing a horseman. Lines 3, 4, 5 are fractured, but fairly certain. D-M C-IVL-SEVERVS EQrlEG-xKVV VIAIT-AN KCK D(is) M(anibus) C. IUL(ivs) SEVERUS EQ(ues) LEG- (ionis) XX V(aleriae) V(ictricis) VIXIT AN(nos) BOS 4 To C. Julius Severus, horseman of the 20th Legion, who died at the age of forty. As the stone is broken off in line 5 it is impossible to say if the inscription was originally any longer. Each legion (about 5,000 men) had 120 riders attached to it under the Empire. 2. Relief of a horseman riding over a fallen enemy, well preserved ; underneath an inscription, of which only the first line D. mM. (Dis Manibus) is left. 3. Tombstone 30in. wide, two-inch letters, sur- mounted by fragments of two figures, one certainly, —— probably, female. The whole is much roken. VOCONK CAVA VIETOR NIGRINA VOCONIAE C. VA[/(erius ?)] VICTOR NIGRINA Possibly C. Va[1]. Victor was husband of Voconia, but the inscription appears never to have been com- pleted. Certainly no more is visible,
4, Tombstone 32 in. high, 26 in. wide, letters 13 in., surmounted by the lower part of a “Funeral Ban- quet”’ relief. Line 4 is much broken; of line 5 only the top of an 8 at the end survives. DM . RESTITAE <V AN ILET. M ARAT NEVA C D(is) M(anibus) RESTITAE V(ixit) AN(nos) VII, ET MAR...(?) V(ivit) AN(nos) III... The name MAR... is not quite certain : possibly it is Martie. y 5. Fragment of tombstone, with fine letters 3§ in. long. Part only of the M is preserved. leg. xx. v. viaitan... ...MILES [legionis xx. v.] V [vixit annos...] 6. Fragment 27 in. by 20in. with four-inch letters.
[dis manibus...] L[i]US [......] GAL(eria tribu) eee ] NITUS 7. Fragment 3in. by 8 in., with the letters NI. ES apparently, Besides these inscribed relics, some pieces of sculpture (all seemingly sepulchral) have been found, and some coping stones and other hewn work. All but two or three pieces are of red sand- stone; the exceptions are of a whiter stone, re- sembling that used for the monument of M. Aurelius Nepos and his wife, now in the Grosvenor Museum. It appears, therefore, that the part of the north wall from which these stones come has contents very similar to the part examined some three —_ ago, The lettering of Nos. 1 and 4 seems to be later than that of the majority of the previous finds, but argu- ments based on lettering are at all times to be used with caution. ; I have myself seen all the inscriptions given above, and have also the advantage of excellent squeezes of 1, 3,and 4 sent me by the City Surveyor, Mr, I. Matthews Jones, who has charge of the work. F, HAVERFIELD,
NOTES FROM EGYPT. A LARGE number of rolls of papyri have been discovered in the ruins of Mendes in Lower Egypt. They were found in four rooms belong- ing to a house which seems to have been that of the Roman governor. The rolls are of con- siderable size, and are inscribed with cursive Greek of the third century 4.p. Unfortunately the rolls have all been burnt, and, though the writing upon them is still legible, the task of un- rolling them will be one of great delicacy. One of the rolls has been sent to the museum of Naples in order to undergo the same process of opening as the burnt papyri of Herculaneum. It seems that, after all, the writer in the Times was correct in stating that a concession had been granted by the Egyptian Government for removing stone for building purposes from the base of the Pyramids of Ghizeh. Fortu- nately the Director of the Cairo Museum inter- vened before any mischief was done, and suc- ceeded in getting the terms of the concession so far modified as to allow the work to be carried on under the supervision of the museum autho- rities. Consequently only the rubbish - heaps at the foot of the Pyramids are being carried away, and the antiquities found in them are deposited in a place of safety. But it is scan- dalous that such a concession as that originally made should still be possible in Egypt.
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2 in., Ban- ine 5 rs. —— oe a XUM N° 3294, Dec. 13, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 821 The cartouche of Chephren, the builder of the second pyramid, has been discovered in the course of the excavations. It is written in red paint, like the cartouches of Cheops found on the stones of the great pyramid. A large stone sarcophagus of the Roman age has just been found close to the railway station of Hadra, in the suburbs of Alexandria. It is richly ornamented with sculpture, but is not yet sufficiently disinterred to be opened. It is reported that a great find of hieroglyphic papyri has been made in certain newly dis- covered tombs near Heliopolis. Mr. Flinders Petrie has obtained permission to excavate this winter at Medum and Lisht. He intends to begin operations in the Third Dynasty cemetery at Medum. Mr. Budge has paid a hasty visit to Upper Egypt on behalf of the British Museum, and is now on his way to Damascus, from whence he will strike across the desert to Mossul and Bagdad. Messrs. Fraser and Newbery have begun their winter’s work in Upper Egypt for the Egypt Exploration Fund. They are already settled at Beni Hassan, where they are copying the inscriptions in the famous tombs. Mr. Naville is expected to arrive in Cairo before long, and to commence excavations for the Fund on the site of Heracleopolis. The indignation aroused in England by the mutilation of the monuments of ancient Egypt last winter is likely to bear fruit. A proposal has been made to separate the administration of the Ghizeh Museum from the care of the ancient monuments, the latter being placed under the supervision of the Board of Public Works. Col. Ross is spoken of as the probable inspector. fine-Art Gossiy, Sir F. Leicuton has made great progress with a full-size reproduction in marble of his famous bronze ‘ Python Slayer.’ He has devoted a great deal of time and skill to the execution of the marble, carrying it further than the bronze was carried, and finishing the surface with the most elaborate and delicate art. It is a com- mission from M. Carl Jacobsen, of Copenhagen, who is collecting modern representative sculp- ture from all Europe, which, we understand, he intends to bestow on the Danish nation. Sir Frederic has received a commission from Sir J. Kitson to paint a large picture, destined as a gift to Leeds, and representing the return of Proserpine to earth in charge of Mercury, and her welcome by Ceres. Ceres hastens with outstretched arms to the entrance of the cavern where, dazed by the unaccustomed light and overcome with joy, the bride of Pluto is ascending through the air. It is an upright picture, and the figures are rather less than life. Another upright canvas of simi- lar dimensions represents the ‘ Rescue of An- dromeda’ in a most original and expressive design of that often-painted subject. The virgin is bound to a rock rising in the middle of a sea- cove, and, unaware of the deliverer, is struggling to get free, horrified by the nearness of the dragon, who has alighted on the summit of the rock, and, expanding his wings over her head, looks up and threatens the champion. Per- seus is soaring high in the air, mounted upon Pegasus, and is in the act of launching a second arrow at the monster already wounded by the first. He is radiant as the sun, and his action, as well as that of the ‘‘ Muses’ horse,” is wonderfully energetic and masculine. Sir Frederic has made impressive use of the shadow of the dragon’s wing, within which nearly all the figure of Andromeda is distin- guishable, so that the horror of the shadow’s gloom and her sumptuous beauty contrast most effectively. One of the most energetic of the artist’s works, as poetic in colour as it is dramatic in design, ‘The Rescue of Andro- meda’ is likely to be a leading element of next | summer’s art. Last week we mentioned the serious illness of Mr. Richard Fisher, of Midhurst. It is now our duty to record his death on the 3rd inst., in his eighty-first year. Mr. Fisher belonged to a good Sussex family. He devoted all his leisure and considerable means to the acquisi- tion of works of art, pictures, and fine engrav- ings of all sorts, especially woodcuts and etchings by the best Italian and German masters of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Of these he possessed one of the richest and most choice gatherings in Europe, particularly of Mare Antonios and Albert Diirers. Of his collection he compiled and printed for private circulation a catalogue which is much prized. One of the most accomplished authorities concerning early Italian prints, Mr. Fisher was in 1881 engaged by the Trustees of the British Museum to com- pile a catalogue of the national collection of those examples. In five years he proceeded so far with this task as to print the first portion of it, so that two years later the rough proofs were brought into use in the Print Room, and still continue to be used there. Even as unrevised by the author this is, as may be guessed, an extremely useful compilation, for which the official thanks of the Trustees were liberally bestowed. In 1886 the Trustees ordered Mr. Fisher’s magnum opus, the interesting and ori- ginal Introduction to this catalogue, to be printed. It is the outcome of long research, experience, and peculiar knowledge. We reviewed it when it came to our hands in the yearabove named. Mr. Fisher possessed a valuable collection of Japanese netsukés, and he prepared, but did not print, an elaborate catalogue of them, with an historical essay, which may yet see the light. He also left unprinted a special descriptive catalogue of the works of Mare Antonio and his school. He was one of the trustees of the will of the late Mr. Slade. A leading, and, we believe, a founder member of the Burlington Fine-Arts Club, he was active in its interests, and a most generous lender of examples from his portfolios when required for the annual gatherings in Savile Row. A serious and accomplished student, an enthusiast in art, a very liberal and kindly gentleman, his loss is deeply felt by all who knew him. In connexion with the visit to Edinburgh in the summer of 1891 of the Royal Archeological Institute, it is proposed to hold an exhibition of heraldry in its various aspects. A very fine exhibition of this kind was held at Berlin in 1882, but it is believed that this is the first which will be held in Great Britain. It will, it is hoped, be housed in the recently opened buildings of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, the munificent gift to the nation of Mr. J. R. Findlay. Mr. Balfour Paul, Lyon King of Arms, acts as chairman of the committee which is in course of being formed ; Mr. Ross, Marchmont Herald, undertakes the secretary- ship of the historical section of the exhibi- tion; while Dr. R. Anderson, architect, and Mr. J. M. Gray, Curator of the National Por- trait Gallery, are at the head of the decorative section, a part of the collection which will appeal with effect to artists. A series of drawings and reproductions of painted and other heraldic decorations of old Scottish castles and mansions is to be prepared under the direction of Mr. Thomas Ross, architect, the joint author of ‘The Castellated and Domestic Architecture of Scotland’; while Mr. Stewart Smith super- intends the production of a set of photographs illustrating examples of exterior heraldic sculp- ture throughout Scotland. Mr. A. W. Inglis is honorary treasurer to the exhibition, and it is hoped that sufficient subscriptions may be forthcoming to enable the committee to organize a thoroughly representative exhibition. Tue Guild and School of Handicraft is on the eve of publishing the first volume of its Trans- actions. Opening with a preface by Mr. G. F. Watts, it is to contain different addresses de- livered to the workmen and pupils or in con- nexion with the Guild and School. Among the contributors to the first volume are Mr. Holman Hunt, Mr. Alma Tadema (on sculpture), Mr. W. B. Richmond (on gesso), and Mr. Henry Holiday. Mr. Walter Crane and others con- tribute recipes for gesso, stucco, &c. The editor, Mr. C. R. Ashbee, contributes a short history of the Guild. THe Religuary for January will contain articles on ‘The Mace of the House of Commons,’ by Mr. St. John Hope; ‘The Pele Towers of Northumberland,’ by Mr. Clement Hodges ; ‘Encaustic Tiles, Dale Abbey and Morley,’ by Mr. John Ward; and ‘Glaston Parochial Papers,’ by Canon Wordsworth. Dr. ScHLIEMANN’S latest discoveries at His- sarlik are shortly to be fully described by Dr. Dorpfeld, in addition to the preliminary notice of them given by him in the Athenische Mit- theilungen. He thinks he will be able to establish that the Pergamon, at the time of the second settlement, had already been enlarged twice on the southern side. Above the second city the existence of seven different strata, from the earliest mud walls to the opus reticulatum of Roman times, is abundantly confirmed. Outside the walls fresh tombs have been dis- covered, making the series complete from pre- historic down to Byzantine times. THE new volume of the Corpus Inscriptionum Grecarwm, which is now ready for distribution at Berlin, contains 2,581 articles, and 150 more recent addenda. It comprises all the Greek inscriptions of Italy, Gaul, Spain, Britain, and Germany (inclusive of the Christian ones down to the sixth century), brick-stamps, marks on amphoras, leaden seals, tesserze, and such like varia suppellex. Only the Christian inscriptions of the city of Rome are excluded, because these are to be published in the collection of Commen- datore J. B. de Rossi. Britain is represented by twelve short inscriptions, of which two or three do not belong properly to the island, but are evi- dently imported from Greece and Asia Minor. The rest come from London, Chester, York, Ald- borough, Brough-under-Stainmore (Westmore- land), Ellenborough, Lanchester, Corbridge, and Ribchester. One inscription found at Tun- bridge Wells is judged by Mr. Haverfield to have come from Asia Minor, and another on a plate of bronze found at Anglesey is undoubt- edly of Attic origin. The collection, which consists of one hundred pages in folio, has taken seventeen years to make, and is the work of Prof. G. Kaibel, with the exception of the portion referring to Gaul, which was compiled by Prof. A. Lebégue, of Toulouse. MUSIC oe THE WEEK. Sr. JamEs’s HaLtt.—London Symphony Concerts. Master Jean Gerardy’s Violoncello Recital. The Popular Concerts. Royal College of Music. CrysTaL PaLacre.—Saturday Concerts. Miss E. M. Suyru’s Suite in £ for strings, which was accorded a place in the pro- gramme of Mr. Henschel’s Symphony Con- cert on Thursday last week, is not an advance on the compositions from her pen introduced at the Crystal Palace. We believe, however, that it is an early work, and it was performed some years ago as a quintet at one of the Gewandhaus chamber concerts at Leipzig. As a scholarly exercise it is well enough, but we fail to trace any inspiration in the music, and the reasons for its performance in its new form are not obvious. The rendering of Schubert’s un- finished Symphony in B minor was on the whole highly meritorious. The Pastoral
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822 THE ATHENAUM N° 3294, Dec. 13, 90 Symphony from Bach’s ‘Christmas’ Ora- torio—performed with clarinets and corno inglesi instead of oboi d’amore and oboi da caccia—a selection from ‘Die Meistersinger,’ and Liszt’s Rhapsody in p, No. 2, completed the programme. A remarkable manifesto was issued at this concert, the gist of which is that Mr. Henschel is not satisfied with his subscription this season, and that if more stalls are not subscribed for by Satur- day next the concerts will be at once aban- doned. Itis easy to understand and sym- pathize with his chagrin at the slender support he receives, except when the pro- grammes are of a special character, and we regret the exclusiveness of public taste with respect to orchestral music; but there is something to be said on the other side. Alone among musical enterprises, the Symphony Concerts are commenced without any information as to the scheme of the season. So far as we are aware no prospectus was issued of the present series, nor does Mr. Henschel supply any indication of the works to be performed if the new appeal meets with a satisfactory response. This is surely asking too much; it is wilfully barring the way to success. It is understood that Master Jean Gerardy, who gave a violoncello recital on Thursday afternoon last week, wishes to be regarded as an artist, and not as a ‘ pro- digy.” In this he is justified, for although the public will flock to hear him because he is a child of twelve, his playing may be a from the highest critical standpoint. e is a native of Li¢ge, where his father is a professor at the local conservatoire. At what age he commenced to study an instru- ment extremely awkward, on account of its size, for a child we do not know, but the proficiency he has already attained in its mere manipulation is really marvellous. In such show pieces as Goltermann’s Concerto in A minor and Servais’s ‘Le Désir,’. the execution of the most difficult passages would have done the utmost credit to an experienced adult player. Still more strik- ing, however, was the amount of expres- sion he infused into his rendering of Max Bruch’s ‘Kol Nidrei.’ The lad is a born artist, and in his case it cannot be said that he has been forced upon the public platform too soon, provided, of course, that he is not overworked, and is given time for the deve- velopment of his general mental and physical powers. Miss Carlotta Elliot contributed some songs by Schubert, Grieg, and other composers with fair effect. The programme of both the Saturday and Monday Popular Concerts contained some features of interest. On the former occa- sion Brahms’s Sonata in F for piano and violoncello, Op. 90, was performed for the first time at these concerts, though it was introduced in London so far back as April, 1887, at a recital given by Herr Hausmann (Athen., No. 3102). We have only to add to the remarks then made on the work that the beauties of the dreamy adagio become obvious only with familiar acquaintance. The programme annotator thoughtlessly says that the sequence of keys in the first two movements, F and F sharp, is a pre- cedent which should not be extensively followed. It is not a precedent at all; several instances might be quoted of a imilar sequence, one of the most familiar being Schubert’s ‘Wanderer’ Fantasia. The sonata was superbly played by Mr. Leonard Borwick and Signor Piatti, the young English pianist being apparently as much at home in the music of Brahms as he is in that of Schumann. He gave a beautifully finished and intelligent render- ing of Schumann’s Sonata in F sharp minor, Op. 11, obviously founded on that of Madame Schumann. Beethoven’s Quartetin p, Op. 18, No. 8, and Haydn’s Trio in & completed the instrumental programme. Mr. Henry Piercy may be commended for his artistic rendering of songs by Maude White and Mendelssohn. Monday’s programme commenced with Spohr’s Quartet in B flat, Op. 74, No. 2, for the first time at these concerts. This makes the tenth of the thirty-four quartets left by Spohr which have been heard at St. James’s Hall. It is less remarkable for the cloying sweetness of melody and harmony which cha- racterizes much of the Cassel composer’s music than for contrapuntal ingenuity, which displays itself more or less in every movement. It is also noteworthy for the substitution of an air with six clever varia- tions for the usual minuet or scherzo. The pianist on this occasion was Herr Schén- berger, who deserves great praise for his remarkably delicate and refined reading of Chopin’s Sonata in B minor, Op. 58. It was a polished, highly expressive, and unexaggerated piece of Chopin playing, and merited all the applause it received. In Schubert’s glorious Trio in £ flat, Op. 100, which had not been heard for nearly four years, Herr Schénberger ap- parently did not realize that he was playing upon a very powerful instrument, the piano- forte part being made far too prominent. Mr. Ffrangeon Davies may be commended for his choice of songs, Schumann’s ‘ Bel- shazzar’ being especially worthy of a hear- ing, though it requires more declamatory force than he infused into it. A remarkably favourable impression of the value of the work carried on at the Royal College of Music was created by the orches- tral concert at St. James’s Hall on Wednes- day evening. It was difficult to believe, in the performance of Berlioz’s symphony ‘Harold in Italy,’ that by far the larger proportion of the orchestra of eighty-three executants were students of the institution, and great credit is due to Prof. Villiers Stanford, who conducted the work. A set- ting of Shelley’s ‘Ode to the West Wind,’ by Mr. Charles Wood, written for tenor solo, chorus, and orchestra, if a little crude, evinces promise of no ordinary kind. We understand the young composer is a pupil of Prof. Stanford, and the music certainly reflects his style. It may be as well not to particularize concerning the vocal and instrumental soloists who took part in the programme, but it may be said that every performer gave evidence of natural ability and careful training. Two choral works by British composers were performed for the first time at the Crystal Palace last Saturday. Concerning Dr. Hubert Parry’s cantata ‘L’Allegro ed il Pensieroso’ criticism is not required, as the merits of the work were fully recognized on the occasion of its performance at the recent Norwich Festival. We can only repeat that for consummate musicianship, poetic feeling, and abstract beauty the cantata is worthy of a place among the best achievements of the present generation of English composers. The performance was not in all respects satisfactory. A tolerable amount of justice was rendered to the choruses, and Mr. Henschel was unexceptionable in the baritone part ; but Madame Amy Sherwin, pos- sibly from indisposition, was extremely in- effective in the soprano music. Mr. Hamish MacCunn’s ballad ‘The Cameronian’s Dream,’ for baritone solo, chorus, and orchestra, was first produced at Messrs. Paterson’s concert in Edinburgh on the 27th of January last. This musical illus- tration of James Hyslop’s poem, describing the battle of Airds Moss in July, 1680, displays no new phase of the Scottish com- poser’s genius, but it is written in his most picturesque manner. The battle music, in which a phrase from Wagner’s ‘ Walkiiren- ritt’ is strongly suggested, is dramatic and even powerful, and effective use is made of the old Scottish tune ‘Coleshill.’ Before the conflict it is announced simply, and afterwards it is worked into the finale, depicting how the slaughtered religious zealots ‘‘mounted the chariots and steeds of salvation.” Both works were conducted b their composers and were warmly mace | especially that of Dr. Hubert Parry. The concert opened with Berlioz’s early and not very interesting Overture to ‘ Waverley.’ Musical Gossiy, THE anniversary of the production of ‘The Gondoliers ’ was celebrated at the Savoy Theatre on Tuesday evening. Save that Miss Esther Palliser has replaced Miss Geraldine Ulmar, the cast remains the same as it wasayear ago. The new-comer has a good soprano voice and a singu- larly pure method, enabling her to take p in alt with apparent ease. The ensemble is as near erfection as possible, and Messrs. Gilbert and Sullivan's delightful comic opera remains one of the most artistic, as it is one of the most agreeable entertainments in London. CoNCERTS are now so numerous that it is im- possible to notice them all. Ata less busy time some measure of attention would have been drawn to Mr. Norris Croker’s interesting Eng- lish song recital at the Steinway Hall on Thurs- day last week. The concert-giver, with the assistance of Miss Ada Loaring, introduced a number of examples by Dr. Thomas Campion, Lawes, Robert Johnson, Purcell, Arnold, Sto- race, and T. Cooke, besides several high-class songs by living composers, including some from his own pen. SeNor SarasatTE’s last concert at St. James’s Hall on Friday last week requires scant notice. Assisted by Madame Berthe Marx, he gave his exquisitely refined, but too feminine rendering of Beethoven’s ‘ Kreutzer’ Sonata. Other items in the programme were Schubert’s Rondeau Brillant in B minor, Op. 70, Raff's ‘La Fée d’Amour,’ and piano solos by Chopin and Saint- Saéns. The co-operation of these artists results in some beautifully finished performances, but they would do well to avoid works requiring masculine breadth of style. An agreeable concert was given by Miss Emlie Hawkins at the Steinway Hall on Friday evening last week. As a pianist and a composer Miss Hawkins displayed talent worthy of recog- nition. One of the most successful pieces from her pen was a Phantasiestiick in the Spanish style for violin, which was played with much effect by Mr. Val Marriott. Among those who took part in the concert were Miss Sara Bern- stein, Miss Minnie Kirton, Mr. Richard Hope Mr. T. E. Mann, and Mlle. Ida Audain
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Ne 3294, Dec. 13,790 THE ATHENZUM 823 Herr Jvurivs Kience, gave a_ successful violoncello recital at the Steinway Hall on Mon- day afternoon. His tone is a little hard in a small room, but he displayed very fine execu- tion in two interesting movements from a con- certo and some ‘ Variations Capricieuses’ from his own pen, as well asin pieces by Bach, Schu- mann, Piatti, Sitt, &c. iss Louise Bourne, a mezzo-soprano, has a remarkably good voice, which will well repay further cultivation. On the same afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Henschel gave the second of their vocal recitals at the Princes’ Hall before a crowded audience. Their programme contained five songs from Schubert’s ‘Winterreise,’ three by Loewe, and other in- teresting items by Handel, Schumann, Brahms, Bizet, &c. THE Royal Choral Society’s performance of ‘The Rose:of Sharon ’ on Wednesday was marred by the fog in the Albert Hall, which exercised a depressing influence on performers and audi- ence alike. Still Dr. Mackenzie’s masterpiece received far more justice than on the former occasion, and the choruses had evidently been carefully prepared. Madame Albani, Miss Hilda Wilson, Mr. Lloyd, and Mr. Watkin Mills were the principal vocalists. Tue Messrs. Hann gave the third and last of their chamber concerts at the Brixton Hall on Tuesday evening, their programme containing Mozart’s Quartet in p, No. 7, Dvorak’s Quintet in a, Op. 81, and Grieg’s Sonata in F for piano and violin, Op. 8. Mr. Lloyd was the vocalist. A FINE performance of Dr. Bridge’s oratorio ‘The Repentance of Nineveh’ and Mendels- sohn’s ‘ Walpurgis Nacht,’ the former under the direction of the composer, was given at the Hampstead Conservatoire on Monday evening. The principal vocalists were Miss Annie Mar- riott, Miss Hilda Wilson, Mr. Lloyd, and Mr. Brereton. Tue news that Mr. Augustus Harris has en- gaged Mlle. Giulia Ravogli for three years is, of course, welcome. It is at present intended to mount Gluck’s ‘Orpheus’ on a sumptuous scale, and to revive ‘Fidelio,’ which has not been heard in London since 1885. The gifted Italian artist should make an ideal Leonora. Tue production of Berlioz’s ‘Faust’ by the Berlin Wagner Society under Herr Klindworth’s direction has proved a striking success, and a repetition has been urgently demanded. The work will also be performed for the first time during the winter at Darmstadt, Diisseldorf, Louvain, and Zurich. A CoRRESPONDENT writes :— “Berlioz’s great work ‘Les Troyens’ was pro- duced at Carlsruhe on December 6th and 7th with signal success. The composer intended the whole to be given in one evening, and for that purpose marked certain cuts. Capellmeister Mottl, wishing to play all the music, was fully justified in separating ‘La Prise de Troie’ (first part) from ‘ Les Troyens & Carthage.’ The composer himself allowed the second part to be given independently at the Théatre Lyrique at Paris in 1863. The instrumental introduction specially written for that occasion was = at Carlsruhe. ‘La Prise de Troie’ has, believe, been given at a Paris concert, but until now never performed on any stage. For grandeur and dramatic interest it certainly represents the French composer at his highest. In the réle of Cassandra Frau Reuss was very grand both as singer and actress. ‘Les Troyens 4 Carthage,’ with the exception of the last act (Dido's death), in which Berlioz returns to the level of the first part of the work, is more or less in the usual operatic style ; the most famous numbers are the quintet, the septet, and the ‘Chasse Royale’ intermezzo. Fraulein Mailhac gave a fine rendering of the part of Dido. The whole work was carefully put on the stage, the chorus good, and the orchestral playing, under the direction of Capellmeister Mottl, was wonderfully fine. The German translation of O. Neitzel was used. The audience on both evenings was large and enthusiastic.” M. Govnop has been seriously ill with bron- chitis, but is now out of danger. He has, how- ever, been ordered to abandon. work for the present. THE refusal of Rubinstein to undertake another piano recital tour in this country has been quickly followed by his actual retirement from the Principalship of the St. Petersburg Conservatoire, an event we foreshadowed some time since. WE have referred with more or less incre- dulity to the rumours circulated from time to time concerning Verdi’s labours in respect of new operas, but the report that the maestro is really at work on a Shakspearean comic opera on the subject of Falstaff, with libretto by Boito, has every evidence of authenticity. The work, however, is not yet complete, and it would be altogether premature to speculate as to when and where it will see the light. CONCERTS, &c., NEXT WEEK. Mon. Popular Concert, 8, St. James's Hall. — Brixton Choral Society, ‘St. John’s Eve,’ &c., 8, Brixton Hall. Tvrs. Bach Choir, Brahms’s ‘Requiem’ and Parry’s ‘St. Cecilia's Day, , St. James’s . — The Musical Guild Concert, 8.30, Kensington Town Hall. Mr. Edward Solomon’s Soirée, 10, Princes’ Hall. . London Ballad Concert, 8, St. James's Hall. Miss Mary Cardew’s Concert, 8, No. 24, Park Lane. — Production of Mr. 8. R. Philpot’s Opera ‘Zelica,’8, Gresham Hall, Brixton. — Royal Amateur Orchestral Society’s Concert, 9, Princes’ Hall. Tuvrs. Mr. Richard Gompertz’s Chamber Concert, 8, Princes’ Hall. — South London ral A igtion’s Perf of ‘The Messiah,’ 8, St. James’s Hall, Fat. Kensington Orchestral and; Choral. Society, Mendelssohn's 95th Psalm, &c., 8, Kensington Town Hall. Sar. Popular Concert, 3, St. James’s Hall. a Strolling Players Orchestral Concert, 8.30, St. James’s Hall. DRAMA See THE WEEK. O.ympic.— The People’s Idol,’ ‘Drama in Four Acts. By Wilson Barrett and Victor Widnell. ‘THE Proptz’s Inot,’ as the melodrama with which Mr. Wilson Barrett begins his management of the new Olympic Theatre is misnamed, is a not very successful effort to vamp the motive of ‘The Silver King.’ Not only is there no people’s idol; there is no such thing as idolatry. Yet the fact that a title is a misnomer will scarcely militate against the fortunes of a piece. Of much more serious account is it that the sympathies of the public refuse to go out in the direction required. By a not unnatural mistake, Jim Stevens assumes that Lawrence St. Aubrey, an ironmaster and a modern Bayard, is the seducer of his sweetheart. He attacks accordingly in most cowardly fashion an unarmed man, and, after his pistol is wrenched from his hand, is thrown in good Cumberland fashion in a wrestling bout. Thereafter he dies, under what conditions needs not to be told. Arriving at the con- clusion that he has killed his assailant, St. Aubrey, instead of going home and sending assistance with the explanation, ‘‘ An armed ruffian attacked me without provocation, and I fancy I have hurt him,” goes home under the curse of Cain. He frightens the girl to whom he has just been betrothed, and writhes under a burden of torture more than he can bear. Like Eugene Aram he is dragged back to the scene of his crime, and shrinks from the staring eyes of his victim. All this is patently insincere, and Mr. Wilson Barrett cannot be surprised that it is ineffective. The story is not wanting in ingenuity nor in situation. It appeals to us, however, under false pretences. It is easily conceived that circumstances should force upon St. Aubrey suspicions of guilt so grave that sympathy could not be denied him. His self-torture under existing con- ditions is wholly superfluous and unavail- ing. Mr. Barrett acts in his best style. His love-making is impassioned, his general bearing is manly and effective, and in the earlier scenes he carries us with him. From the moment that Jim Stevens dies of heart disease aggravated by drink artificiality takes the place of sincerity, and the dramatic value of the play is lost. Without the in- trusion of the mistaken sentiment ‘The People’s Idol’ would be a powerful, if con- ventional melodrama. Some changes are requisite in the cast. Myra Keith, a very difficult and by no means consistent character, calls for an exponent far stronger than is assigned it ; the maundering sorrows of Gabriel Stevens furnish no opportunity for Mr. George Belmore; and Mr. Austin Melford assigns no recognizable physio- gnomy to the would-be murderer. Miss Winifred Emery is pleasingly natural as the heroine; and Mr. W. A. Elliott and Mr. Stafford Smith give clever sketches of working men. Some rearrangement of the story and some redistribution of the interest are requisite. Dramatic Gossip, THE new Olympic is a lofty and capacious theatre, nearly double the size of any pre- vious building upon the same site. Like the Princess’s, it is rather well-like. The seats are comfortable, however, and the decorations bright ; and the whole, the pit especially, was much to the taste of the first-night denizens. -’. Tue revival at the Lyceum of ‘Much Ado about Nothing’ is fixed for Monday, January 5th. Misses Ellen Terry and Annie Irish, Messrs. Irving, Terriss, Mackintosh, Macklin, Howe, Wenman, Alfred Bishop, Tyars, Hav1, land, and Gordon Craig will be included in the cast. Fridays will be reserved for ‘ Ravens- wood,’ the new revival occupying the other days of the week. Mr. A. W. ALEXANDER will, it is stated, produce at the St. James’s Theatre, whither he migrates with his company, ‘The Idler,’ the drama of Mr. Haddon Chambers, the production of which in New York was last week chronicled in the Athenewm. He is also credited with an intention to revise the prices of admission to the more popular portions of the house. A new farce by Messrs. H. Nicholls and Lestocq will, it is understood, be the next novelty at the Comedy Theatre. TuE task of giving two performances in one day proves too exhausting for any except the most indefatigable of actors. After a fashion once established on Saturdays at the Lyceum, accordingly, Mr. Hare, on giving on Wednes- day an afternoon representation of ‘A Pair of Spectacles,’ closed the house in the evening. This plan will also be followed on Saturday next at the Court. Mvcn curiosity prevails concerning the new drama of ‘Diamond Deane,’ by an untried dramatist, which will be the next novelty at Mr. Tree’s Mondays. Henrik Ispsen’s new drama, about which there has been so much anticipation, is in the printer’s hands at last, and will probably be issued in Copenhagen about New Year’s Day. Mr. Gosse is engaged upon an English version of it, which will be published, as nearly simul- taneously as possible with the .original,. in London by Mr. Heinemann and in. New York by Mr. Lovell. Ar the revival of ‘The Red Lamp’ on Mon- day at the Haymarket, Mr. Tree resumed his old character of Demetrius, to which he assigned a somewhat altered physiognomy, making the chief of the secret’ police more resolute and somewhat less plausible than before. Mrs. Tree is again the Princess Claudia, Mr. Kemble appears as General Morakoff, and Mr. Fernandez,
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824 THE ATHENAUM N° 3294, Dec. 13, °90
Mr. Fred Terry, Mr. F. Kerr, and Miss Rosina Filippi are seen in the play for the first time. No less a sum than 402/.—practically the largest amount the Lyceum will hold—was con- tributed to the Actors’ Benevolent Fund as the result of the afternoon performance of ‘ Ravens- wood’ on Saturday last. ‘Beau Austin’ was repeated at the Hay- market on Wednesday afternoon, and on the same afternoon a representation of ‘ London Assurance’ was given at the Criterion. A sUCCESSFUL dramatic performance by the students took place last week at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. The play, in verse, was written by Miss Wordsworth (the Prin- cipal), her theme being ‘The Sleeping Beauty,’ and many bits cf humour lighted it up, notably where the ill-natured fairy tried to dissuade the princess from handling the spinning-wheel, on the ground that she had enough to do in learn- ing Latin and Greek and striving to become Senior Wrangler. Only ladies formed the audi- ence. ScHILLeR, Goethe, and Lessing are about to be introduced into Constantinople. The Crown Prince of Meiningen, who has already earned some repute by his translations of German classics into modern Greek, will shortly under- take the temporary management of the Greek Theatre in the Turkish capital for the perform- ance of Schiller’s ‘Robbers,’ Lessing’s ‘ Emilia Galotti,’ and other German dramas in modern Greek. If the experiment prove successful, he hopes afterwards to introduce modern Greek translations of the English and French drama.
To CoRRESPONDENTS.—S. J. K.—W. A.—T. H. A.— Dr. B.—received. No notice will be taken of anonymous communications.
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XUM Ne 3295, Dre. 20, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 845 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1890, CONTENTS. PAGE THE CROSSING OF GREENLAND... es oe se THE HospiTat oF ST. WULSTAN ... na aan wo. 846 NELsSON’s CAREER ase see oe one oe wa Sn THE BopLEIAN LIBRARY ... so eee ne «. 848 THE ART OF WRITING SONGS eve are a «. 849 NovELS OF THE WEEK fee iat ove . 850 THE ARCHZOLOGICAL SOCIETIES ... one de «. 851 CHRISTMAS Books aa ae oid sea “ik «. 851 Our Liprary TaBLE—LIsT oF NEw Books 852—853 THoMas Mun; PorEMS IN GEORGE WASHINGTON’S Copy-BookK; A HEBREW POEM ON THE GuUN- POWDER PLoT; SALE; THE NEW CoPyRIGHT BILL 853—855 LITERARY GossIP se bee de wed pre w. 856 ScilENCE—GEOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE; ASTRONOMICAL Nores; JAMES CROLL, LL.D.; SocreETIES; MEET- INGs ; Gossip eae eke on 857—859 Fine Arts—Evans’s Coins oF THE ANCIENT BRITONS ; CHRISTMAS Books; SiR JosEPH EpGarR BoEHM, Barr., R.A.; SALES; Gossip ... pen 860—862 Musico—THE MusicaL NoratTionN OF THE MIDDLE AGEs; THE WEEK; GossIP ese . 862—863 DrRaMa—GossiP ... one antl on one ose we 864 LITERATURE —— Ga Zhe First Crossing of Greenland. By Fridtjof Nansen. Translated from the Norwegian by H.M.Gepp. 2 vols. (Longmans & Co.) RaTuHER late in the day, it must be admitted —for the six weeks’ journey which it de- scribes was completed more than two years ago, and ‘ Paa Ski over Grénland’ has been appearing in a serial form for some months past—Dr. Nansen’s narrative of his trip across the inland ice of Greenland is before us in an English dress. Still, if a trifle tardy, it has lost little by keeping, since nearly every fact of any importance has already been fully described in the frequent Jectures and papers with which the young author has favoured the world since his return from the ‘Land of Desolation.” Indeed, so far as any scientific novelty is concerned, Dr. Nansen’s two large volumes will prove somewhat disappointing. They are well written and well translated, lively beyond the wont of Northern travel lite- rature, excellently provided with maps, and full of illustrations, all of them well chosen, and most of them as well re- produced as the processes employed per- mitted. But though much in them will be fresh to the general reader, the expert in the history of Greenland research, and espe- cially in what has been accomplished within the last twenty or twenty-five years, will fail to discover many facts regarding the physical geography of that huge triangle of ice and snow crossed by Dr. Nansen, with which he is not already familiar. And the book is large out of all pro- portion to the value of its contents. It consists of a thousand pages. But of these only a few are devoted to the journey itself, the rest being consecrated to matters of secondary importance. The first volume is entirely occupied with per- sonal details regarding the author, his equipment, Norwegian “ski” or snow- shoes—the foot-gear on which he and his five companions tramped ; an excursion in Zceland, at which they touched; bladder- nose seal hunting, which has nothing to do with the 1888 expedition; and an interesting account of the difficulties the party had in reaching the East Greenland coast through the Spitzbergen ice stream. Finally, a great many pages are filled with a com- piled history of the previous attempts to reach the interior, which, we regret to add, is not always correct, nor written in the best of taste. Little over one hundred pages of the second volume suffice to de- scribe the walk across the inland ice from Umivik, in about lat. 64° 22’, to Ameralik Fjord, in lat. 64° 12’ N., where they arrived on the 26th of September, too late, however, to catch the last ship for Europe. To this circumstance we are indebted for the chapters on the Eskimo of the Danish settlement of Godthaab, where the winter was passed, which with some account of life in that quarter—already well known to every reader of Dr. Rink’s and Mr. Carstensen’s works —occupy, with a summary of the scientific results of the trip, the remainder of the book. The expedition was made on foot, the members of the party dragging light sledges laden with their stores and other impedimenta. This was a dreadfully mono- tonous part of the trip, one mile of the ‘inland ice” being scarcely different from the one which preceded it and the others which followed. Their most difficult and by far most exciting experience was in trying to effect a landing. After drifting so far south that they had at one time doubts whether their plan could be carried out, they had finally to set out so late in the season that instead of making for Christianshaab, three hundred miles further north, they were compelled to change their course, so that the whole of their journey was made far outside the Arctic circle, and over a part of the country much narrower than that which had been the scene of previous inland ventures. Once on the great glacial sheet which, there is every reason for believing, covers Greenland (with the exception of a comparatively narrow border along the coast) from north to south and east to west, their progress was comparatively easy. Crevasses, lakelets, and streams were numerous, though not impassable; and the ice, which gradually sloped towards the interior, covered with snow, was not difficult to ‘‘skilébningers” so expert as the four Norwegians and two Lapps who constituted Dr. Nansen’s party. At a height of 8,922 feet they reached a sort of plateau or ice shed, across which they tramped for more than a fortnight, when the ice again descended gradually towards the west coast. Snowstorms were not infrequent, and the cold was often so severe that on two occasions they experienced a temperature of 49° below the zero of Fahrenheit. But this record is so ex- traordinary for September in so low a latitude and at so moderate a_height that its accuracy is open to question. Dr. Nansen, it is true, remarks that their ther- mometers were not always equal to emer- gencies, and it is well known to Arctic explorers that spirit thermometers are often untrustworthy in inexperienced hands from part of the fluid evaporating and condensing in the upper part of the tube. Still the height given is likely enough to be approximately correct, as it agrees with former estimates, Peary and Maigaard having in 1886 reached from the west coast, five degrees further north, 7,525 feet, though Dr. Nansen questions—with a captious cri- ticism which is the least agreeable feature of his narrative—the accuracy of the figures owing to the explorers not possessing “a boiling-point barometer” (sie) to check the vagaries of the aneroid. The absolute flat- ness of the so-called ‘‘ plateau” may also be doubted. It looked, Dr. Nansen tells us, like a frozen ocean, a simile equally applicable to any portion of the inland ice. If, however, this central region is quite flat there could scarcely be any shedding of ice east and west, while the interior would be a lake when the sun was sufficiently powerful. Prof. Mohn’s trans- verse section according to scale does not in reality bear out Dr. Nansen’s descrip- tion, for in this diagram the ice is quite shield-shaped. But it is almost unneces- sary to inform those who are acquainted with the careful studies to which Greenland has been subjected, that the Norwegian explorers saw no land in the interior after they left behind the “nunataks” which are found here and there a little way from both coasts, though more in the southern than in the northern part of the country. These ‘“ nunataks ” are, as this Eskimo word signifies, islets bare of ice, peaks still uncovered projecting above the otherwise universal ice-sheet. But there are none in the interior, and Dr. Nansen, quoting (vol. i. p. 478) from a German translation of his paper, is, of course, utterly wrong in making one of the two English explorers of the inland ice declare that he sighted one in that quarter. What this writer said is that from the elevated position which he attained on the ice he saw behind him, close to the coast, a ‘‘ nunatak ” or ‘‘ house-place,” which the Eskimo in his company affirmed had been inhabited, in common with various other spots in the vicinity of Jakobshayn Fjord, within the memory of living men. The Norwegians did not even notice after leaving the coast much of the tiny mineral deposit in holes in the ice which Nordenskjild described as ‘‘ eryoconite,” though it is now determined to be simply terrestrial dust blown inland ; and we do not find any mention of those minute alge of the red-snow type observed by the Swedes. All this was only what might have been expected; for it must be remembered that, although Greenland had never been crossed prior to Dr. Nansen’s journey, several highly accomplished men of science have penetrated long distances from the west coast, and could easily, had they been so inclined, have reached the opposite shore. On these journeys they reached far enough to enable them to formulate theories regard- ing the structure of Greenland and the nature of the inland ice so sound that the main scientific merit of Dr. Nansen is that he has confirmed the deductions thus arrived at from less perfect premises. Hence from the days of Fabricius it has been held that Greenland is covered (the “outskirts” or bare fringe along the coast excluded) by a huge shield-shaped mass of glacier ice thou- sands of feet thick, which has overwhelmed, perhaps since the glacial period, the entire country, hill and dale alike. This ice, it was clearly proved, is slowly pouring east- ward and westward from the highest eleva- tion it attains in the interior, breaking off into icebergs when its defluents reach the sea in the fjords which intersect Greenland, these fjords, like those on the coast of Norway, British Columbia, and elsewhere,
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846 THE ATHENAUM N° 3295, Dec. 20,90 having in all probability been ground out by the ice which occupied them in former days and still fills their upper ends, if, indeed, the whole country is not merely an archipelago of islands soldered together by this gigantic ice-sheet. Except close to the coast, where the ice, moving seaward, im- pinges against the land, no moraine has ever been seen on this inland ice, proving to demonstration that it could not possibly have touched any exposed land in the interior—a conclusion so obvious that it is impossible to imagine how Nordenskjéld, the only person of much account who at any time held that opinion, could have conceived that an ice-bare region existed in the middle of this glacial shroud. For, setting on one side the difficulty presented by the climate and the absence of moraine, such a region, unless it was very elevated, must, by receiving theinfra- and supra-glacial streams, have long ago become a lake. No one now clings to this untenable notion. But it would appear from what Dr. Nansen writes (vol. . p. 479) that, though he has long abandoned, if he ever cherished, such a fallacy, he studied the Greenland ice to very little purpose if he considers it “nothing less than absurd” to believe that ice carries ‘‘ boulders and grit” upon its back. This, it is scarcely requisite to remind any Alpine tourist, it does to a very notable extent, and any one who has ever seen an iceberg laden with blocks of rock and other débris must be well aware that this burden fell on the surface of the glacier before it broke off on reaching the sea in the shape of these floating ice-mountains. In Greenland there is little moraine: first, because none can come across the interior, and, secondly, because the fjords or valleys, through which the defluents of the in- land ice find their way to the sea, are short. But in the Arctic regions, as in the Alps, wherever the ice grinds against the sides of a valley or against a ‘‘ nunatak,” it must necessarily undermine some overhanging cliff, and run the risk of carrying a moraine to the sea, distributed over the icebergs into which it divides, though as the latter gener- ally capsize before going far on their voyage, débris borne by them is comparatively rare. But moraine there is— generally lateral, seldom median, as the valleys are short and rarely branching, and ‘“ profonde” invari- ably —this latter form of ice-borne stuff being composed of the boulders carried or pushed along by the under surface of the advancing ice-sheet. It is rare to see this lying athwart the Arctic valleys, as in the Alps, for the easily understood reason that the glaciers generally terminate in the sea, and in modern times at least have never retreated. But Nordenskjiéld, among other hasty conclusions from very imperfect, because very local, observations, is wide of the truth when he concludes that old moraines do not exist in Greenland. In that country, as in every other which nourishes glaciers, the sub- glacial stream is seen. This may possibly be due to the heat generated by the pressure of the superincumbent masses of ice, or more likely is nothing more than the drain- age of the country. As is soon evident to every one who has ever sailed up a Green- land fjord at low water, the mud brought down by these sub-glacial streams is fast filling up the inlets in a manner exactly analogous to the way in which the old glaciers of Scotland deposited the laminated brick clays full of Arctic shells. But it requires a greater share of faith than most geologists are endowed with to accept Dr. Nansen’s suggestion that these rivers carry along the boulders, the passage of which | has hitherto been credited to the ice itself. Altogether, picturesque, spirited, and in many respects valuable, though Dr. Nan- sen’s volumes are—and they will live as the record of a notable adventure—they are padded out to an undue extent by material which might very well have been omitted or abridged ; and of this the least satisfactory is the scientific appendix. Some of it, like the account of the old vegetation of Green- land, is excellently done. But this portion is simply a compilation from Heers’s ‘ Flora Fossilis Arctica,’ the Danish ‘Meddelelser om Gronland,’ and other writings, and as Dr. Nansen was not within three hundred miles of the fossil plant deposits, and in no way assisted in their exploration, the chapter is quite superfluous. On the other hand his discussion of geological questions connected with ice and ice action is crude, ill informed, and bears the appearance of having been hastily ‘‘got up” after his return home from an idea that something of the kind would be expected of him. The book contains little zoology and less botany; but what there is bears the stamp of the trained naturalist standing with confidence on his own ground, and the descriptions of ‘ ski” and ‘“‘skilébning”’ are manifestly the work of an accomplished athlete perfectly at home in the subject. His account of the South Greenlanders is also interesting and thoughtful, if rather stale to those who have read some of the thousands of papers and books enumerated in the ‘ Bibliographia Groenlandica’ recently issued. But his re- marks on the origin of the Eskimo are of no more value than those of any other intelli- gent person, since, with the exception of a few families on the east coast, Dr. Nansen never saw a pure-blooded native, the people about Godthaab being all of a hybrid type. He is, moreover, doing civilization a slender service in advocating the policy of leaving inexperienced traveller. But the padding is out of all proportion to the really novel matter, which, if restudied and rewritten— enlarged in some directions and abridged in others—will be long cherished as the first fruits of an epoch-making journey. Annals of the Hospital of St. Wulstan. Rey. F. T. Marsh, B.A. (Stock.) Ar the south-east side of the city of Wor- cester, on the high road to London, just. outside Sidbury Gate, was situated the Hospital of St. Wulstan. It was founded by the good bishop of that name a few years before his death at the end of the eleventhcentury, apparently with the primary object of supplying food and shelter to the stranger and wayfarer who might chance to reach the city at nightfall when the gates. were closed. The hospital was controlled by a master, the appointment being vested. in the Bishop of Worcester, and there were two resident chaplains. A certain number of poor brethren (and at one time sisters) obtained permanent lodgment here, and it was also a hospital after the usual modern significance of the term, for the earliest. documentary evidence pertaining to the house speaks of it as a hospital for the in- firm or sick. In 1294 the infirm occupied no fewer than twenty-two beds. In the doubts. on this point that Mr. Marsh raises it is rather singular that he gives no reference to the important Taxation Roll of Pope Nicholas. (1291), so well known to ecclesiologists, which has four separate entries relative to the Hospital of St. Wulstan. It is. in this Valor that the master is first. spoken of as preceptor, the master of a hospital of a like foundation on the opposite side of the city (St. Oswald’s) being still termed magister. From this date preceptor: By | was the usual title, and the house was: the Greenlanders to themselves; for were , the paternal care of the Danes withdrawn there would not be a Greenlander alive after a century of vice, disease, and corn brandy. Nor is his advocacy of the theory that the Greenland Eskimo came from Smith’s Sound down the west coast, and then crept up the east coast round Cape Farewell, quite sup- ported by facts. In all likelihood they followed the musk ox, the ermine, and the lemming round the still unknown northern end of Greenland, and thence down the east coast. For did not Thorgils Orrabeins- fostre, the Saga man, fallin with them on the east coast, and state that this was the Ice- landers’ first meeting with them? And do not the east-coasters possess sledges, which the south-west Greenlanders do not use ? As has been remarked, Dr. Nansen’s two bulky volumes would be nothing the worse for much compression and some revision. His style is excellent, though disfigured by a ‘‘cocksureness”” about everything, and a proneness to sneer at his predecessors, which, even were his strictures better founded, are not becoming in a young and termed preceptory or commandery, by which latter title its remains are still known. But it does not appear to have ever had any connexion with either of the military orders.. Nash’s explanation of the cognomen of the head of this hospital is a shrewd guess, and. will serve until a better is found. It is his: opinion that the master who in Edward I.’s time was the first complimented with this: title had served in the Holy Wars under the banner of the Templars or Hospitallers ;, the style of commander might not be un- suitable to a retired veteran, and his suc- cessors seem to have been unwilling to drop: so honourable a distinction. The history of the house is told in rather a scrappy fashion, and not without some blunders. Mr. Marsh apparently does not know that: Richard Morrison, the last of the preceptors,, is the same person as Sir Richard Mauresine,,. to whom the hospital lands were first granted. at the Dissolution. The description of the interesting group- of buildings which still remains is very well done, and is made clear by a diversity of plans and plates. The large quarto size of the volume lends itself to illustration. There are two really beautiful etchings: one- of the entrance to Worcester by the Sidbury Gate, showing part of the old half-timbered_ buildings of the commandery, the other: giving a view of the courtyard of St. Wul- stan’s as it now appears. The careful scale- engravings of the beautiful roof of the
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N° 3295, Dec. 20, 90 THE ATHENZUM 847 refectory and of the details of the screen | and other old parts of the hall will be much valued by architects. The large oriel window of the old hall, though disfigured of late years by a doorway being driven through the lower part, is a charming and striking feature; much of the old glass remains, and on the old quarries is a scroll with the word ‘‘ Emmanuel”’ alter- nating with some quaint bird or animal, all in yellow stain. The carved and panelled wood in some of the rooms is worthy of close study. After passing through various vicissitudes, and being much mutilated of recent years, the remains of the old buildings are now in the hands of an appreciative and courteous tenant, who uses most of them as a store for stationery. In the garden at the back we noticed during a recent visit the bases and part of the shafts of two Early English pillars. These once formed part of the arcade that divided the nave of the chapel from its side aisle; but the visitor must not be deceived by their position. A former tenant removed these pillars from their original site to add to the picturesque- ness of his lawn! In addition to a complete account of every detail of the building, these pages include a brief life of St. Wulstan, and a transcript of 108 charters per- taining to the old property of the com- mandery, the originals of which, some much damaged, are at the Bodleian Library. The most valuable part of the book, how- ever, to the antiquary and ecclesiologist, is ‘the two account rolls (or balance sheets as we should now term them) of the hospital for the respective years 1483-4 and 1486-7, ‘They are printed verbatim at the end of the ‘volume, but without any translation or word of comment; nor is it even mentioned whence they were obtained. It is not a little curious to find that Mr. Marsh has over- looked in the text of his book that which is proved by the documents in the ap- pendix. He is, for instance, uncertain of the original number of poor brethren main- tained by the hospital, but adds that subse- ‘quently they were limited to five. The account rolls, however, show that there were seven brethren, and that they were each paid 7d. every week. The church cus- ‘toms that incidentally come out in these accounts are full of interest, as throwing a side-light upon the conditions and habits of .a medizeval cathedral city of England. Masses for the soul of Thomas Carter, a benefactor -of St. Wulstan’s, were said yearly at specified dates, at the charge of the hospital, at the ‘churches of St. Helen and St. Swithun, and the town crier was sent round the city on ‘these occasions with his bell, at a fee of 4d., ‘to call upon the faithful to pray for the soul. Bread and cheese was yearly provided, at a ‘customary charge of 8d., for the bearers of the banners in the Rogation-tide procession. A special indulgence was granted to those visiting the chapel of St. Lawrence, within the church of the hospital, on St. Lawrence’s Day ; 2d. was paid for a thorough cleansing of the chapel before the day, and 2d. more as a gratuity to a man who, throughout the vigil and the feast day, guarded the oblations made by the indulgence - seeking visitors. Another 2d. secured the city bellman to pro- claim to the citizens this St. Lawrence in- dulgence. Apparently the poor brethren, though they had two chaplains to celebrate for them daily, at a stipend of 5/. 6s. 8d. each, only listened to one sermon a year in their chapel, for in each of these annual accounts is an entry of 3s. 4d. to Doctor Peter Webbe for preaching a sermon in Easter week. An interesting parochial custom was the supply- ing by the hospital, which held the appro- priated rectory of the neighbouring church of Claines, of a luncheon (jantaculum) to all the parishioners of Claines at the feast of Holy Trinity. This luncheon was of a sub- stantial character, for an item in the bill of one year was 2s. 2d. for half a calf. The clerk who engrossed all the details of the rents and other receipts, the expenditure on farms, houses, church, and poor, received 21d. for his trouble, and the parchment on which it was written cost 4d. The clerk gave good value for his money ; he was determined not to be misunderstood, so when he entered a payment for fagot- making, he wrote: “Pro factura focalium vocatorum Kyddes sive ffagettes.” When ‘Low Latin” failed him, his ingenuity was quite equal to coining or Latinizing words that could not be mistaken. Thus, under repairs, we read: ‘ Pro plicatura et dauba- tura murorum unius tenementi,” and ‘ pro postes et Rayles pro reparacione unius Pale in Cornemarkett”; whilst bellropes are belleropis, and bellman appears as belleman. It certainly is passing strange that the author should let these remarkable accounts go altogether unnoticed. The transcriber has evidently blundered occasionally in the copying. Each paragraph, for instance, begins ‘‘ Et,’ when there can be no doubt that in the original “It” is the correct reading, standing for ‘‘ Item.” Though Mr. Marsh’s volume is rather patchy and crude, the student of history will be disposed to thank him for his pains, for hitherto ecclesiologists have paid far too little attention to the growth and work of these minor religious houses. Many a visitor to Worcester knows nothing of the charms and interest of this quiet little evi- dence of old-world kindliness. These pages should incite the modern pilgrim to extend his wanderings in the loyal city beyond the cathedral and the china works. Nelson: the Public and Private Infe of Horatio, Viscount Nelson, as told by Himself, his Comrades, and his Friends. By G. Lathom Browne. (Fisher Unwin.) Mr. Browne has all our sympathies. We entirely agree with him on the national value of Hoste’s celebrated signal, ‘ Re- member Nelson,” and on the desirability of teaching all comers what manner of man it is that they are called on to remember. We must, however, confess to some doubt as to the suitability of Mr. Browne’s book for attaining this desired end. The repe- tition of doubtful or unimportant anecdotes seems to point it out as intended primarily for the young; but this is precluded by its size, its weight, its cost, its fragmentary nature, and its allusive style. The last alone must prevent its becoming popular with the ignorant. Nothing is told out- right; the grandest incidents in Nelson’s career are referred to rather than described ; it is assumed that the reader is already familiar with the history, even in its details. The book must, therefore, be intended for serious students, and claims to be examined from that point of view. But so far as Nelson’s public life is concerned—and it is that alone which we are called on to “re- member ”’—there is little indeed that can be added to the monumental work of Sir Harris Nicolas. It is true that the great battles, which have rendered him illustrious above all other commanders by sea, can now be examined by the light of French authorities, and especially by the revelations of Capt. Chevalier. These have been published since Nicolas’s day, and, indeed, within the last six years; but Mr. Browne evinces no more knowledge of them than #%s possessed by the editor of the ‘Dispatches and Letters.’ Of course, Capt. Chevalier and the French officials of the war time, on whose reports he bases his narrative, are not to be called Nelson’s ‘“‘comrades and friends”’; but for the matter of that, no more is the Edinburgh reviewer of 1886, from whom Mr. Browne quotes largely; no more is Southey; no more is Mr. Paget; no more, above all, is Admiral (no longer Captain) Jurien de la Graviére, to whom Mr. Browne repeatedly refers as ‘‘our French authority,” ‘our noble French- man.” Admiral Jurien de la Graviére is a charming writer as well as an able and experienced officer, and his criticisms or opinions are at all times entitled to re- spectful consideration ; but Mr. Browne has not observed that his ‘Guerres Maritimes’ is not a French authority for the facts, which— in the utter dearth of French authorities at the time he wrote—M. de la Graviére took avowedly from English sources — from James’s ‘Naval History,’ from Tucker’s ‘Life of Lord St. Vincent,’ and from the ‘Dispatches and Letters.’ To quote the ‘Guerres Maritimes’ as illustrating or con- firming any of these is, indeed, wandering in a circle; and in any case we might wonder why a book of no pretence, pub- lished more than forty years ago, should be thus singled out as the French authority, did not the suggestion force itself upon us that of the various French works bearing on the subject this is the only one which has been translated into English. That Mr. Browne’s knowledge of French is extremely limited must be presumed from the astound- ing travesty of La Touche Tréville’s letter which he has given, with thirty appalling blunders in seventeen lines of text; and perhaps also from his curious version of Capt. Lejoille’s answer to the remonstrance of Capt. Thompson against the conduct of the captors of the Leander. According to the one extant contemporary version, Le- joille said: “J’en suis faché, mais le fait est que les Frangais s. bons au pillage”; but according to Mr. srowne, “his only reply was, ‘the French sailors are all thieves.’ ” In matters purely English, however, Mr. Browne is almost as much at sea as in those which relate to the French. Of Nelson’s public acts, none has been more canvassed than his direct disobedience of Lord Keith’s orders in July, 1799, his annulling the capi- tulation of the rebels which had been signed by Cardinal Ruffo and Capt. Foote, and the execution of Caracciolo. But of these, the first, as an act of disobedience, is not men- tioned by Mr. Browne; the second is de- scribed in a long quotation from the well- known popular essay by Mr. Paget, whose
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848 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3295, Dec. 20,90 defence of Nelson’s conduct is abstracted from the appendix to Nicolas’s third volume, curtly referred to; and the story of the death of ‘‘Carraciolo,” with its references to ‘ Allison” and other promulgators of falsehood, is vague and inaccurate. And it is not only with respect to these that Mr. Browne is at fault; in no one instance where question is possible has he attempted to give a satisfactory answer. He has endea- voured, by a crude and miscellaneous com- pilation of paragraphs from other writers, to patch together something that may pass for a life of the hero; but the statement that this life is ‘“‘told by himself, his com- rades, and his friends” is as inaccurate as the general effect of the whole. Annals of the Bodleian Library, Oxford, with a Notice of the Earlier Library of the Uni- versity. By the Rev. William Dunn Macray. Second Edition, enlarged, and continued from 1868 to 1880. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.) Mr. Macray has worthily celebrated the completion of his fiftieth year of service in the Bodleian Library by the issue of a new edition of his ‘Annals’ of the institution in which he has laboured long and with much advantage to its frequenters. As this journal recorded last July, the occasion was not allowed to pass unnoticed by the officers, past and present, of the library, but it has a more enduring memorial in the work before us, in the production of which neither the author nor the Oxford press has spared pains to make it at once a valuable and a beautiful book. It is no mere new edition of the ‘Annals’ published in 1868 ; every page bears evidence of revision and en- largement, and the volume has been in- creased by nearly one-half, so that it may be treated to all intents and purposes as a new work. After a sketch of the history of the ancient library of the University of Oxford, founded in Edward II.’s time by Bishop Cobham in a room above the old Convocation House on the north side of St. Mary’s Church, and of the precious collection of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, both utterly dispersed by Edward V1.’s commissioners, Mr. Macray passes to the plans set on foot by Sir Thomas Bodley for the re-establishment of the library on a larger and more magnificent scale. With the opening of the seventeenth century the scheme was actually carried out; and from 1601 to 1881 Mr. Macray sets down year by year all that, from his unmatched knowledge of the library, he is able to tell his readers of its internal history — how the library grew and was added to, what | books, printed and manuscript, were given to it, who were its officers and how they conducted themselves, what visitors came to the library and what they did there. But such a summary gives little notion of the abundance of interest which the contents of Mr. Macray’s ‘ Annals’ present. The book is an indispensable contribution to the his- tory of learning in modern times, in Eng- land of course principally, but in no small degree also—thanks to the liberality with which the library was thrown open to students—in Europe at large. to realize that in the time of James I. there were, if Mr. Macray’s statement be correct, It is hard | | “ only two public libraries on the continent of Europe, both later in date than the Bodleian, viz., that of Angelo Rocca at Rome, opened in 1604, and the Ambrosian at Milan, opened in 1609. The next public library was that of Cardinal Mazarin at Taris, opened in 1643.” Hence, in the first two years for which the admissions to the Bodleian have been collected by Mr. Andrew Clark (February, 1602/3-1604/5), as many as twenty-five foreigners were enjoying the privilege of the library; and they came not only from neighbouring countries, France and the Netherlands, but also from Saxony, Silesia, Prussia, and Denmark. The whole list down to 1622, which is printed by Mr. Clark (‘Register of the University of Ox- ford,’ vol. ii. part i. 263-82), contains the names of 182 foreigners described as such, besides a number of others not so described who appear manifestly to be of foreign origin. A curious testimony to the position which the Bodleian occupied among libraries is afforded by the fact, noticed in Mr. Macray’s new edition, that Hyde’s catalogue of printed books contained in it, which was published in 1674, was kept, interleaved for additions, in the Mazarine Library at Paris, and was the only one in use there until 1760. The names of foreigners who were ad- mitted to the library during the seven- teenth century have not been printed in a regular list after 1622, but their number seems to have been maintained. Towards the end of the century there was a consider- able influx of Danes. ‘‘ An evidence,” says Mr. Macray, ‘‘of the increased intercourse which sprang up between Denmark and England, in consequence of the marriage of Queen Anne, is probably to be found in the number of Danish readers who frequented the library in the interval between her marriage and her death. Between the years 1683 and 1714, forty-nine Danes are entered in the ‘Liber Admissorum,’ besides many from Sweden, Norway, and the North of Germany. The total number of foreigners admitted within the same period was no less than 244,” After this, in the general decline of learn- ing which accompanied the accession of the house of Hanover, there is a lamentable falling off in the attendance at the Bodleian, and its ‘Annals’ become more and more meagre. In the following three-quarters of a century as many as thirty-one years were without record in Mr. Macray’s first edition, and all his pains and industry have only been able to reduce the number of blank years by ten. Even in 1713 Uffen- bach had stated that he had never in three months seen as many students in the library ‘‘as the Muses or even the Liberal Arts” ; students, he says, ‘‘nam puerorum, mulier- cularum, rusticorum, hic inde cursitantium, voluminumque multitudinem per transennam spectantium mirantiumque, coetum excipio,”’ so that the complaints of the interruptions of boys and lady visitors heard nowadays are of old standing. Under the year 1729 we read :— ‘*At this time the Library appears to have been almost entirely forsaken. Between 1730- 1740 it rarely happens that above one or two books are registered to readers in a day, while often for whole days together not a single entry occurs ; and since in the register for this period the books are noted down by three hands, it can hardly be possible that the blanks are due to the negligence of a librarian (as might have been supposed were the same handwriting found throughout) rather than to the lack of students.” Perhaps, however, this statement gives @ somewhat exaggerated impression, since, as. Mr. Macray elsewhere notices, ‘‘ no account used to be kept of the folios and other books on the ground floor of the great room, which are accessible to readers themselves.” Towards the middle of the century the. Bodleian passed into the hands of a Welsh dynasty. In 1747 Humphrey Owen, Fellow and afterwards Principal of Jesus College, was elected librarian. Eleven years later his assistants were Adam Thomas and John. Price; when Thomas left, the junior place was occupied by John Jones. In 1768 Price became librarian, and held office for forty- five years. From 1758 to 1788 all the sub- librarians in succession were members of Jesus College, and nearly all the persons who are found otherwise employed in the- library—no full or official list exists—bear Welsh names. It cannot be said that Welsh. rule marked a period of prosperity. In Price’s time ‘‘ the utmost laxity appears...... to have prevailed with regard to attend- ance, and to the hours of opening the Library.” Very little, too, was done in the way of cataloguing accessions ; but, indeed, the incomes of the staff were ‘miserably insufficient,” and ‘*such work was so clearly understood to form no part of the Librarians’ regular duties, that Rawlinson says in a letter to Owen, April 15th, 1751 (MS. C. 989), ‘I think large benefactors: should pay the expenses of entries into the Bodleian, as their books are useless till so. entéred.’” It is a curious commentary on Rawlinson’s: words that his own great collections, pre- sented to the library in 1755, remained un- touched until the beginning of this century, and that the first volume of the catalogue of his manuscripts, which is even now not completed, did not appear until 1862. Indeed, according to a recent estimate, out of 18,000 Western manuscripts in the library (excluding State papers, charters, &c.), more than 4,000 are still totally uncata- logued, and 2,500 are only entered in the altogether inadequate catalogue of 1697. It is satisfactory to know that the authorities have lately taken steps to overcome this astonishing mass of arrears. The revival of the Bodleian began several years before Price’s death in 1813; but this was more owing to the increased interest in learning shown by the University than to any increased vigour in the administration of the library. The accession of Bandinel to the librarianship led to an immediate change. The catalogue of purchases in his first year “‘ grows at once from the two folio pages of the preceding year to seventeen, while the sum expended becomes 7257 in the place of 261.” In 1889 the amount was 1,5087. With Coxe’s death in 1881 Mr. Macray ends his chronicle, its continua- tion being provided for by official, and now annual, reports. During the latter part the writer relates that of which he has personal knowledge, and he has allowed himself more freedom than in his first edition in friendly reminiscences of the persons with whom he has been brought: in contact during his long service in the i iii i ii ee eS So OOS OCU
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N° 3295, Dec. 20, 90 THE ATHENAUM 849 library, the four centuries’ history of which he records; ‘‘when I myself,” to quote the stately words with which he closes his book, ‘‘ have in this year, 1889, lived and laboured with a glad labour therein for one-eighth of that period, in which time I have seen the Library more than doubled.” It is impossible here to enumerate the additions which distinguish this book from the first edition. They are woven, as we have said, into every page, and the notes in particular have been largely increased. However, a few points may be mentioned, On pp. 69-71 Mr. Macray prints Laud’s letter —in many ways of great interest—accom- panying the gift by Lord Pembroke of the famous Barocci collection to the University. In a note to p. 110 he prints a remarkable account of Selden’s last hours; and in the notes to pp. 113 and 118 he has added a number of curious examples of thefts from libraries, as a warning against the practice (now happily abandoned) of lending books from the Bodleian. There are also a good many new extracts from manuscript letters, &c., of Wanley, Charlett, Hearne, Rawlinson, and others. Students of book- prices will note with interest the numerous additions which Mr. Macray has made under this head. In 1750 (this was also in the first edition) an imperfect copy of the first volume of Fust and Schoeffer’s 1462 Vulgate on vellum was bought for 2/. 10s. In 17938 an immaculate copy of the so-called Maza- rine Bible was bought for 100/.; and in 1819 ‘‘the second edition of the Mentz folio Psalter, printed by Rust and Scheeffer in 1459 (finished August 29th), on vellum,” was bought for 70/.! It is perhaps a pity that Mr. Macray should have adhered to the plan of specifying in his list of books ex- hibited the place they occupy in the library, since a work like this should not include matter which only holds good for a limited time; and we noticed in a recent visit to the Bodleian that some of the information here given is already obsolete, thanks to the rapid changes which the library is under- going. The appendix (vi.) containing a list of MSS. formerly in the possession of cathedrals, monasteries, colleges, and churches,” has been greatly enlarged, and is of the highest value. The index is full, and wherever we have tested it most accurate. We end, as we began, by saying that the book does the greatest honour to its author and the greatest credit to the Clarendon Press. Old and New. By Walter Herries Pollock. (Eden, Remington & Co.) In speaking of the songs of Heine, of Béranger, and of Burns, we have remarked that the motif—sentimental, patriotic, or passionate—which started any song should run simply down to the last line. Otherwise, indeed, the composition almost ceases to be a song in the modern sense of the ‘word, and becomes an ode—an ode not only as the word was understood by the Greeks, but as it was understood by Horace, and in still later times by Coleridge, Shelley, and Keats. This oneness of motif, which is the fundamental characteristic of the song, goes far, perhaps, to explain the fact that in most songs the really vital por- tion consists of but one stanza—often the first— from which the remainder of the lyric hangs as a mere fringe. Among the exquisite song-writers of the seventeenth century Shakspeare was one of those who knew when to stop after the motif had been fully expressed; for it must be remembered that the stanza which mars the divine song in ‘Measure for Measure,’ ‘‘ Take, oh, take those lips away,” is not Shakspeare’s at all, but Fletcher’s, After Shakspeare’s time, however, some of the best English songs written until Tennyson rose have been the work of those who are called ‘‘minor poets””—that is to say, poets who have made no attempt to “build the lofty rhyme,” while often those who have in- dulged in that risky kind of architecture have only partially succeeded in the humbler efforts of the song-writer. When a large body of the poetic stream is at the command of the writer, the very magnitude of the forces at work perhaps makes it difficult for him to restrain them for the single expression of a single motif. But even unity of motive is not enough to lend full vitality to a song. Extreme brevity of structure is a primary requisite even where the motif has not been departed from. To all forms of literary art Voltaire’s maxim applies, that the most effective way to weary the listener is to say all that can be said upon a subject ; but this volubility is destructive of the very existence of the song. In a word, it is here that is seen more clearly than in any other department of poetic art the imperious truth of Hesiod’s saying that the half is better than the whole ; it is here that literary self-indulgence— always more or less injurious to literary art—is seen to be fatal. This could easily be made manifest, if it were worth while to instance any one of those fine, but half- forgotten lyrics of our time, which nothing would have prevented from passing into universal acceptance had not the poet's embarrassment of wealth tempted him into saying “‘ everything that could be said upon the subject in hand.” If the writer of the little book before us has succeeded—and we think he has—in writing lyrics that are satisfactory as songs, it is because such ambitious “‘temerity of the poet” as he possesses he exercises and exhausts, not in original work, but in certain translations from the French, of which we shall speak presently. Of course, the phrase “minor poet” has an entirely relative and exoteric value. ‘From the subjective point of view the ‘‘minor poet,” if he exists at all, is so rare as to be a curiosity of literature. And if Mr. Pollock is a minor poet from his own as well as from the world’s point of view, this may account for the fact that in writing songs he has met with some considerable measure of suc- cess. Of ambitious literary self-indulgence there is nothing here. Either unconscious instinct or conscious culture has taught him the lesson that ‘‘ brevity is the soul” of song-writing as of wit. Some of these songs, though not quite so concise as those ‘‘short odes” of the Japanese poets for a knowledge of which English readers are indebted to Mr. Chamberlain, have a brevity that is ‘twice blessed,” blessing him that gives and him that takes. To turn to the subject-matter of his songs, Love as a sentiment rather than Love as a passion inspires Mr. Pollock’s muse. And sometimes there is a playful humour under- lying the sentiment which recalls Musset, though the professedly humorous poem in the volume, ‘ Father Francis,’ is entirely individual. It is not always, however, that Mr. Pollock is either in the sentimental or the playful mood. Here is a little poem in which is embodied a question that is none the less searching because it is couched here in the simplest language :— sut is it there the Heaven you sing ? Shall God make whole the rents of life ? And shall our ears no longer ring With the old clang of toil and strife ? Shall things be fair, but never fleet ? Shall laughter be the voice of mirth? Shall Nature’s face be soft, and sweet With tender memories of earth? Or, while our friends and lovers weep That we have passed Death’s iron gate, Shall we be lost in endless sleep, Nor dream of those who mourn our fate? The following portrait of Heine, where is seen the same brevity of treatment that we have been discussing, strikes us as being very happy :— HEINRICH HEINE, This was a singer, a poet bold, Compact of Fire and Rainbow Gold : Compact of Rainbow Gold and of Fire, Of sorrow and sin and of heart’s desire— Of good and of evil and things unknown, A merciless poet who cut to the bone. He sounded the depths of our grief and our glad- ness, He laughed at our mirth and he wept at our madness ; He knew all the joy of the world, all the strife, He knew, and he knew not, the meaning of life, Indeed, the influence of Heine is very often seen in these poems, especially in the follow- ing :— The sun shone warm; the morning breeze Came laughing through the spreading trees There fell a sudden joyous gleam On two who kissed beside a stream. ‘The day’s decline was fierce and hot ; At sunset on the self-same spot There waited one whose eyes shone bright And vengeful in the angry light. Last came the moonlight cold and pale, And, circled with a cloudy veil, Showed through the trellis of the wood A white face floating down the flood. Here, however, if there is not a reminis- cence of Rossetti’s ‘Down Stream,’ the coincidence is striking. Of course it has not the music of Rossetti’s superb lyric, but it is even more concise, and shows that Mr. Pollock could give something strong in the way of swift suggested passion. A considerable portion of the volume is devoted to translations of three of the famous ‘Nights’ of Musset, and it is here, as we have hinted, that the diffidence displayed in his original poems leaves him, and Mr. Pollock shows himself to be not deficient in that courage of the poet which has so often elicited the admiration of the Atheneum. Always untranslatable, Musset is espe- cially so, we think, in ‘ Les Nuits,’ which on the whole is his masterpiece, although more than one highly competent French critic is inclined to place it below certain other poems of his. No doubt in this lovely group of poems there are signs here and there of Lamartine’s influence upon Musset’s style, yet these poems—so de- lightfully free from that Gallic ee and
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850 THE ATHENZXUM Ne 3295, Dec. 20,90 that Gallic commonplace which often han- dicap the French muse, owing to poverty of the medium in which the muse works — are far beyond anything that Lamartine ever achieved or could have achieved. That paltriness of texture which is often perceptible in the style of most French poets—owing to a severe conflict between matter and form such as the more fortunate workers in the truly poetic languages of Europe know nothing of—is scarcely per- ceptible in ‘Les Nuits.’ The indescribable lyric aroma shed by Musset’s best work—an aroma such as we sometimes miss even in ‘Hugo himself —is_ especially _ per- ceptible in this exquisite sequence which Mr. Pollock has been bold enough to translate into English blank verse. In any transfusion of poetry into a foreign lan- guage an aroma such as this must of neces- sity evaporate, but, among all forms, English blank verse is surely the least able to catch the fugitive essence. Clever and excellent, as far as it reaches, Mr. Pollock’s rendering undoubtedly is; but whatever may be said of the rhymeless verse of Greece and of Rome, the rhymed verse of modern Europe can never be translated into English metres. This is a hard saying for the translators, but it is only too true. If a translation is attempted in rhymed measures, the suggestive richness of the English vocabulary is so great, while the number of English rhymes, especially of feminine rhymes, is so small, that the matter must be sacrificed to the form; and on the other hand, if the rhymed poem is rendered into English blank verse, as here, it passes into a movement so. radically different from that in which the original poem moved that the intellectual substance of the poem is alone recognizable. And then comes the question, Spirit being gone, and form being gone, why translate a poem in metre at all ? Mr. Pollock has been tempted into trans- lating these masterpieces into blank verse by the idea, as he says in his prefatory note, that ‘more of the spirit of the original could be caught by blank verse than by attempting to suggest the essentially French metres which Musset handled at will.” It is evident that Mr. Pollock here falls into the mistake of confounding the spirit of a poem with its intellectual substance—a mistake upon which we had occasion lately to comment when passing some strictures upon certain renderings of Provencal verse in English metres. In every really living poem the metrical form is the natural und inevitable expression of the spirit as distinguished from the intellectual sub- stance. Metrical form, indeed, has no other right of existence than this, that it shall be the expression, the natural embodiment, of the spirit of the poem, apart from its mere intellectual substance, which prose can render. Hence no poem has ever survived the generation that produced it if the metrical movement was in any way at war with the spirit. And on the other hand, when between the spirit and the metrical form entire harmony does manifest itself, it is astonishing how little else is re- quired to secure immortality for a poem. The prodigious success of Gray’s ‘ Elegy’ as compared with Parnell’s ‘Night Piece’ which suggested it—the prodigious success the | each case be explained by the poem’s mani- of the ‘Burial of Sir John Moore,’ ‘The Raven,’ ‘The Song of the Shirt,’ &e.—can in festation of an entire harmony between spirit and metrical form. This being so, how can there be a_ successful metrical translation of a poem into English—a lan- guage whose genius, like the genius of the people speaking it, must “ walk the earth alone” ? NOVELS OF THE WEEK, Beta. By Mrs. Bourne. 3 vols. Downey.) The Snakes Pass. By Bram Stoker, M.A. (Sampson Low & Co.) L Diplomat’s Diary. By Julien Gordon. (Routledge & Sons.) Fra Lippo Lippi: a Romance. By Margaret Vere Farrington. (Putnam’s Sons.) “ Work while Ye have the Light.” By Lyof Tolstoi. Translated from the tussian by E. J. Dillon. (Heinemann.) Ix ‘Beta’ Mrs. Bourne introduces her readers to variations of human crime, weak- ness, and cunning sufficient to supply the material for several less complicated works of fiction. There is much that is painful and unpleasing in the story; but though it lacks any remarkable power or attraction, the interest increases in the second and third volumes, where the plot is worked out with considerable ingenuity. Mrs. Harley’s white cottages (the similarity of her retreats is noticeable), with their forlorn surround- ings, are well described; but as a whole the style of the book is on a level with the inci- dents of which it treats, and while both will satisfy the needs of many novel-readers, neither are of a very exalted order. The heroine would be more interesting if she had inherited less of her mother’s vulgarity, and, her graver faults apart, it is a matter of some surprise that a man like Karl Grenfell should originally have sacrificed so much to win and save her. He is the best and strongest character in the book, where it is a relief also to encounter the wholesome goodness of Mary Capern and the sweetness of Lady Adela and her ward among so many who are either mad or bad. The author concludes by dealing out justice with an un- sparing hand to all except Sir Geoffrey, whose youthful folly, amounting to crime in its consequences to others, is punished by nothing worse than a few years’ uneasi- ness and a temporary fright. The reader of ‘The Snake’s Pass’ is tempted to exclaim with Madame de Longue- ville, after a literary performance at the Hotel Rambouillet, ‘‘ Que cela est beau! et, mon Dieu, que cela est ennuyeux!”’ so long, so good, and so dull is Mr. Bram Stoker’s new novel. The scene of action is laid in the west of Ireland, whose beautiful coast is as well described as the strange pheno- menon of the shifting bog which plays so large a part in the story. The two heroes are almost equally high - minded, scrupulous, and self-sacrificing; in fact, they carry these virtues to a pitch which amounts to absurdity in their dealings with the vil- lainous Murtagh Murdock. Andy, the car- driver, is quite the most amusing character in the book, and very good company as a rule. His dialect is occasionally oppressive, but possibly accurate. The writer shows (Ward & himself so thoroughly capable of entering into the delightful humour and light-hearted- ness which constitute the charm of the Irish character to the benighted Saxon, that it is an additional pity he should have altogether denied Norah Joyce her birthright in this respect. The two young men also are quite overweighted by the burden of their solid virtues, without one redeeming weakness or the smallest sense of humour. A remarkably clever and well-written specimen of the modern cosmopolitan novel is to be found in ‘A Diplomat’s Diary,’ by Julien Gordon, an author whose name is not known to the novel-reading public, and who yet writes with the readiness and confidence of a practised hand. The story—an episode in the life of a man of the world—is slight ; but, to borrow a stage metaphor, it is re- markably well mounted. The dialogue is pointed and alert, the characters are clear cut and distinct, and the descriptions picturesque. The story is cast in the form of extracts from a diary, and the authov’s art is fully equal to the demand upon it which the adoption of this device entails. A diary is generally a record of instantaneous impressions, often contradictory and kaleidoscopic, and this is the character of Mr. Gordon’s sketch. An- other merit about the book is the self- effacement of the author. One can hardly tell with which of the two he sides in this duel of sex, in which the apparently invin- cible hero is so completely worsted by the apparently pliable heroine. The morals of the dramatis persone are not exalted, but, none the less, the moral of the story is excellent. Mr. Julien Gordon, if a new- comer, deserves a welcome for his brilliant novelette, in which the elemental passions are set off against a background of the most artificial society imaginable. To meet Fra Lippo Lippi as the hero of a mild and ladylike romance is very much like coming across a certain old acquaintance in sheep’s clothing. Miss Farrington has, however, taken him in hand, and presented him to the world under a somewhat new aspect. The period is interesting and pic- turesque, the idea original. The author evidently possesses much artistic taste, and has studied the surroundings and history of Florence with affectionate care. The de- scriptions are pretty, the illustrations charm- ing, and the book is very nicely got up. Unfortunately the romance falls flat; the difficulty of the subject and the remoteness of the conditions require something more than cultivated enthusiasm to inspire them with any life for the novel-reader. Even ‘Romola’ was scarcely a success; though we certainly do not suspect Miss Farrington of comparing her powers to those of George Eliot. The visit of the Abbess of Santa Margharita to the runaway novice after her irregular union with the Carmelite is a great strain upon probabilities. It is, however, a question of detail, and all the details form part of the hopelessly difficult conditions with which the writer has fettered herself when attempting to write a romance at once interesting and correct with “poor Brother Lippo” for its hero. In one respect the little volume edited by Mr. Gosse and published by Mr. Heine- mann is distinctly valuable. It has been translated into English by a gentleman whose perfect mastery of Russian has not
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ataae Ne 3295, Dec. 20, 90 THE ATHENAUM 851 led him to forget his mother tongue, and hence Tolstoi is for once made intelligible to English readers. Apart from this great advantage, the work does not seem to present features of literary interest. It has, indeed, proceeded from the pen of Tolstoi, but from Tolstoi the preacher, not Tolstoi the literary artist. The story is one of early Christian virtue and Roman profligacy ; it is simply and of necessity, seeing from whom it emanates, charmingly written. But the English public will scarcely under- stand its deep and hidden meaning. For this reason we cannot help regretting that Mr. Dillon did not append a note or prefix a preface in which he could have explained ‘der langen Rede kurzer Sinn.” Although Tolstoi’s tract—for such it is—is addressed to all mankind, the Russian reader, accus- tomed to look beneath the surface, because the latter is always smoothly polished for the censor to glide over, can easily detect that its prime object is to convert the Nihilists, and to teach them that the true Communism is that of Christianity. There is nothing else of much interest in the book. Tolstoi has lost his literary cunning. That marvellous wealth of colour and material which awakens the admiration of all readers of his earlier works is absolutely wanting. The story is bald, the characters are shadows, there is no dramatic interest; the book is a religious tract and nothing more. Mr. Gosse has prefaced it with an interesting and remarkably correct review of Russian novel literature, in which, how- ever, he makes the mistake of claiming for Gogol the honour of being the first Russian novelist. But Lermontoff is surely entitled to some notice, if not Pushkin. THE ARCHEOLOGICAL SOCIETIES. The Journal of the Derbyshire Archeological and Natural History Society. Vol. XII. (Bem- rose & Sons.)—It is only in quite recent times that the issues of our local printing presses have been thought worthy of note. Printing was long in finding its way into remote towns and our larger villages, and the books that have been issued in most of these places are, from the literary point of view, well-nigh worthless. So our fathers seem to have thought; for until some five-and-twenty years ago hardly any of these forgotten books and pamphlets were to be found in our great libraries. Things are better now ; but still many local tracts of the eighteenth century and the early part of the nineteenth are not to be found in the British Museum. So worthless have they been considered that we have reason for believing that of some the whole edition has perished, This is to be lamented, for though commonly valueless as literature, they have in many cases much local interest. If for no other reason, they are worth preserving as showing how very limited were the literary desires of our grandfathers. Mr. T. R. Derry is evidently an enthusiast in hunting after locally printed books. In his ‘Notes on Old Belper and Old Belper Books’ we have an account of the early printers of that town and the books they turned out, some of which must be highly curious. Mr. George Bailey has given an ex- haustive account of a well, or rather conduit, at Derby, called Becket’s Well. It is almost cer- tainly called after the martyr of Canterbury, though this obvious derivation has been called in question. Mr. Bailey makes a suggestion, in which we fully agree with him, that the local archeological societies should catalogue the named wells in their respective districts. Many wells all over the island are named after saints ; but there are other very strange names, of some of which we can make nothing, whose existence should not be forgotten. In many places the old wells which have been in use from time immemorial are being filled up or covered over. This may be necessary in some cases for the sake of the public health, but that is no reason why the memory of them should be permitted to perish. Our Derbyshire friends interpret archeeology in a somewhat loose sense. We do not blame them for it; but it is strange in a volume of this kind to come upon a long and carefully compiled account of the Belper regi- ment of Grenadiers, which was raised at a time when a French invasion was anticipated. The regiment has long ceased to exist, but Mr. Cox has recovered a list of the ofticers and much other useful information concerning this patriotic force. A Cursory Relation of all the Antiquities & Familyes in Cumberland. By Edmund Sand- ford, circa 1675. Edited by Chancellor Fer- guson. (Kendal, Wilson.)—This is one of the antiquarian tracts which are being issued by the Westmorland and Cumberland Antiquarian and Archeological Society. It is not a little strange that this curious manuscript should have remained unprinted for upwards of two centuries. The editor, not without point, com- pares Edmund Sandford to Will Wimble of the Spectator. We can picture him as a man who had a great admiration for the old families of the North, and especially for those at whose houses he was a welcome guest. These must have been many, for the days were long and dull in the Border country. Men could not hunt, shoot, and fish for ever, and books were scarce. Sandford could evidently tell a good story. We wish he had interspersed his genealogical notes with more facts relating to the events and the men of his time. His knowledge of pedigree lore was of the kind which is easily acquired by a man of retentive memory. He seems not to have taken much trouble in hunting after record evidence, and as a consequence his statements must be received cautiously when not supported by other testimony. Sandford’s ‘Relation’ is valuable as a picture of the mind of a man of the latter part of the seventeenth century who associated with the upper classes. His know- ledge and his ignorance are no doubt each repre- sentative of the people among whom he moved. The Proceedings, Vol. III. Nos. 1 and 2, and Publications, Vol. IL, of the Huguenot Society. (Spottiswoode & Co.)—The Hugue- not Society, viewed as a literary association alone, is certainly in a flourishing state, and may claim, in this respect at least, a place in the very first rank amongst societies of to-day. Several of the papers printed here will be viewed with envy by antiquarian editors. There is no work so complete and satisfactory as the labour of love, and the society that numbers such skilled workers amongst its members or guests must be regarded as exceptionally fortunate. There is in the first part of vol. ili. of these Proceedings an interesting account of the Domus Dei at Southampton. It would be interesting to learn if the lady whose funeral expenses are quoted, Juliana de Insula, was a member of the noble family of that name, or what her social rank may have been. The last paragraph of the concluding note would have been far better omitted. If there was any consistent spelling of the town during the Middle Ages it was probably Sudhan- tona or Hantona. The forms which are given here are by no means the most consistent ones. Besides the several short papers printed in this volume, there is a bulky appendix, devoted to the two remarkable papers on ‘Strangers at Dover’ and ‘Cardinal Chatillon in England.’ It would be difficult to overrate the importance of these contributions to the study of Huguenot history, since they are not only precious in them- selves, but useful as models of learned research and copious elucidation. The second volume of the Publications of the Society purports to con- tain the ‘ Colloquies and Synods of the Ministers and Elders of the French Church in England between 1581 and 1654.’ We are warned, how- ever, by the editor that the MS. from which these are printed is itself but a copy of the actual minute book, apparently made during the latter half of the seventeenth century. Indeed, we should have judged them to be at least half a century later. At the same time, there need not be any difficulty in supposing that this MS. is an authentic reproduction of the lost original, while, in spite of the apparent dryness of the subject, many of these discussions are curious and interesting. The following rendering of an early case will serve as a specimen :—‘‘ On an application for advice in the case of one who was ordained a monk, and who, having married, after abandoning his wife, returns to the con- vent, the decision was to advise the wife to wait patiently, doing her utmost to induce her husband to leave his idolatry and to return to her, and in case of his proving obstinate that she should have recourse to a magistrate to take further measures if it seem good to her.” CHRISTMAS BOOKS, Up the Moonstair. By Albert E. Hooper. (Leadenhall Press.) The Air Child, and other New Fairy Tales. By Frances H. Low. (Griftith, Farran & Co.) The Golden Weather-Cock. By Julia Goddard. (Blackie & Son.) Fresh from the Fens. By E. Ward. (Seeley & Co.) Dumps and I. By Mrs. Parr. (Methuen & Co.) Wild Kathleen. By Grace Stebbing. (Jarrold & Sons.) Fifty-two more Stories Alfred H. Miles. (Hutchinson & Co.) A Silver Teapot. By C. E. M. (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.) Stella’s Cup. By May Elsdale. (Warne & Co.) Lost on Brown Willy. By the Rev. A. N. Malan. (Same publishers.) Berge’s Complete Natural History of the Aivimal, Mineral, and Vegetable Kingdoms. Edited by R. F. Crawford. (Dean & Son.) The Girl’s Own Poetry Book. Edited by E. Davenport. (Griffith, Farran & Co.) ‘Up THE Moonstair’ is a charming story for children of the ‘ Wonderland’ type. Karl and Bertha are most attractive little people. We are only sorry for the sharp and painful adventures which befall them ; but they come well through it all, and lo! it is only a dream.—We regret that we cannot award quite so much praise to Miss Low’s book; there is somehow no true ring about ‘The Air Child, and other New Fairy Tales.’ The political satire seems to be rather out of place. But perhaps some children may like it. ‘The Golden Weather-Cock’ is a medley of fanciful stories, not over attractive, but again we say some children may like them.—‘ Fresh from the Fens’ is a very different and more serious sort of book. It is the story of ‘‘three Lincolnshire lasses,” good and excellent little people, children of a noble and devoted clergy- man, who, almost unconsciously, doa great work and bring good luck to many. ‘Dumps and I’ has appeared in Atalanta as a serial story, and is capital reading, as are all Mrs. Parr’s books, despite a too persistent use of the present tense. Dumps is a pathetic and heroic little figure, a cripple who steps away from his rightful place of honour, and is content to rejoice in the happiness of others.—Miss Stebbing’s ‘‘ Wild Kathleen” is not a heroine much to our taste. She plays mad pranks through three-fourths of the little volume, and then, for no very obvious reason, dies. We have a little too much of her brogue.—‘ Fifty-two more Stories for Girls’ is a stout and by no means interesting volume. The tales, which are strictly sorted out according to subjects, have or Girls, ‘Edited by
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852 THE ATHENAUM Ne 3295, Dec. 20, 90 apparently been manufactured to suit the head- ings, and we cannot admire the result. In ‘A Silver Teapot’ we have a chronicle of small beer in a country village, altogether moral in tone and deadly dull.—‘Stella’s Cup’ is a pretty little story of a silver cup and its owners, who, one after another, were influenced by the motto traced around the cup, ‘‘Fais ce que dois, advienne que pourra.”—The Rev. A. N. Malan gives us in ‘Lost on Brown Willy’ a rattling good tale of adventure, sure to be popular among boys. We have from time to time had to warn our readers against various popular works on natural history, but Mr. Crawford’s is quite the worst we have ever seen. The hog, which ‘is proud,” is placed among the ‘‘ Ruminants,” the pig among the ‘* Ungulata”; the ostrich (Struthio) is put with the ‘‘Cursores,” but the wading birds are called the ‘‘Struthiones”’; the flies are said to have their mouths furnished with a sucker ; Trichina is called the Trichinosis ; and we hear of the coral-insect ! The intention of the compiler of ‘The Girl’s Own Poetry Book’ is excellent, and it contains some really fine poetry ; but the great majority of the pieces that go to fill the five hundred and odd pages of this volume are, through no fault of the editor, third rate. Now nothing can be more destructive of all power of distinguishing good from bad than the reading of mediocre verse. So we should not put the volume into the hands of any girl whom we wished to acquire & discriminating taste in literature. OUR LIBRARY TABLE, We fear that the second volume of the ** Queen’s Prime Ministers ” series, Dr. Dunck- ley’s Lord Melbourne (Sampson Low & Co.), will scarcely gain the popularity of its predecessor, Mr. Froude’s ‘ Earl of Beaconsfield.’ The in- terest of the two subjects, perhaps, will hardly bear comparison ; still Lord Melbourne was decidedly a remarkable man, and Dr. Dunckley has written rather a dull book about him. When you are confined to 240 small pages, it is a mis- take to devote some ten to the ancestors of your hero’s grandmother, more especially as Mr. Torrens’s identification of one of them, the Coke of Queen Anne’s time, with the Sir Plume of ‘The Rape of the Lock’ is a mistake, as Dr. Dunckley appears to be aware. Sir George Brown, not the Vice-Chamberlain Coke, was Sir Plume. ‘‘ Nobody,” said Pope, ‘‘but Sir George Brown was angry, and he was a good deal so, and for a long time. He could not bear that Sir Plume should talk nothing but nonsense” (Pope in Spence). Again, in the accounts of William Lamb’s career in the House of Commons it was quite unnecessary to go into the rights and wrongs of Queen Caroline, or the scandal about the Duke of York and Mrs. Clarke. And whatis Dr. Dunckley’s authority for saying that William Lamb ‘‘did not take kindly to the stubble”? In the ‘Melbourne Papers’ it is stated that he was accounted an excellent shot, and some of his bags are given. The chapter on Lord Melbourne at the Home Office is one of the best in the book, and those on his Premierships are written with knowledge, the only slip that we have been able to detect being that the abandonment of the Appropriation Clause by the Whigs is assigned to 1837 instead of 1838. But more stress should have been laid upon the wisdom or unwisdom of making the appropriation of the Irish Church money the cardinal principle of the ministry of 1835. Dr. Dunckley snigha also have enlivened his book by introducing some of the pungent phrases with which Lord Melbourne was accus- tomed to sum up a political situation. Of one that he does give— Melbourne’s saying about the effects of Catholic Emancipation—we prefer ‘* The worst of it is the fools were in the right” to Dr. Dunckley’s rather diffuse, ‘* What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.” But Dr. Dunckley will answer us that the expletive proves that the latter version is the more authentic. Certainly no Melbourne anecdote is complete without the monosyllable. Dr. Dunckley has fallen into the mistake, which we pointed out when noticing Messrs. Blackie’s ‘Cyclopedia’ last week, of talking of Thirlwall’s ‘‘ Translation of Schleier- macher’s Gospel of St. Luke.” Whoever wrote the third Gospel, certainly Schleiermacher did not. The account of Thirlwall, by the way, is marred by small inaccuracies. Messrs. Clowgs & Sons publish The Armies of Europe, an excellent work from the German of Fedor von K6éppen, with coloured plates by Richard Knotel, the book being translated by Count Gleichen. On the whole this is an admir- ably constructed volume, giving an accurate view of the armies of Europe, but so intensely Ger- man in tone as not to be quite fair to the French. We have no fault to find with the account of the German and Austrian armies, and little quarrel with the account of the Italian and Russian, except that the Italians are de- scribed in terms that are too favourable. The table of the British forces given at p. 1 is mis- leading. A comparison is drawn between its totals and the German tctals ; but the German proportion of troops to population quoted is the proportion of peace footing to population, whereas the British table is not a peace footing, but a war footing. Count Gleichen (for this first chapter has been rewritten by the trans- lator) counts in his British forces not only the regular peace forces, but also the first and second class reserves, the militia, the yeomanry, the volunteers, and the colonial volunteers. Now these men are not more drilled—on the contrary, most of them are less drilled—than the German first reserves. So that no comparison is pos- sible, except between the British forces here given and a German force, not of half a million, but of between two and three millions of men. The proofs have not been very carefully revised, and there is some peculiar English in the volume. The French black-sheep troops are called **Zeéephyr’s Light African Infantry,” as though Zéphyr were their general. We are told in the same paragraph that they, ‘‘though formerly never employed in Europe, will now be allowed to do so [sic] in future wars.” There is at the end of the book a wholly inadequate account of the navies of Europe. The writer of it seems to think that a total number of ships is of some value, which it certainly is not. The result of this mode of treatment is that the innocent reader might assume that the Italian navy is but weak, and, indeed, inferior to that of Russia, whereas it is, of course, the third navy in the world. An elaborate account is given of the German navy, which is as yet wholly inferior to those (not described at length) belonging to the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. Unpber the title Socialism, New and Old, Mr. William Graham, Professor of Political Economy at Queen’s College, Belfast, publishes, through Messrs. Kegan Paul & Co., an excellent volume, partly historical and partly descriptive, on the Socialism of our time. The book is most fair ; indeed, fairness is its leading characteristic. The writer byno meansdiscourses moreably upon his topic than have many who have gone before him, but he holds the balance even among the schools ; and while he speaks somewhat posi- tively, he does this after so earnest an attempt to judge well that it is not easy to differ from him, and impossible to differ from him sharply—a valuable book, in short, much wanted in this country, where we have had to rely of late upon foreign publications upon the subject, or upon those coming from hands distinctly Socialist ! Mr. Graham can be described neither as Socialist nor anti-Socialist. From the same publishers we have received Black is White, an anonymous volume of ‘*chaff” of the Church of England, the Non- conformist, and all other religious bodies, except the Roman Catholics—an exception which suggests that possibly the book comes from a Roman Catholic source, although we are hy no means sure that this is the case. Mr. Gladstone ‘‘re-establishes” the Church by creating a Church to include many bodies and sects not contained within it at this time—to be governed by a committee. Such is the action of the committee with regard to the sacraments, vestments, and other matters (in the course of which they reduce vestments to a white neck- tie), that they drive out the Anglicans, who form a separate Church, setting up for itself some of the claims which are asserted by the Roman Catholic Church in our day. On the other hand, the new Church has its troubles. Some of the clergy expand the white neck-tie until it sweeps the ground, and wear it over very long black ulsters which reach to their feet, so pro- ducing a very decent imitation of the ordinary vestments worn during service in the present Church. The following extracts will give a fair impression of the author’s style :— “The Rector of one of the hitherto emptiest of the London churches hit upon the happy expedient of limiting its congregation to members elected by a committee of noblemen, and there was at once a keen competition for the privilege of worshipping in this shrine. A new form of worship was drawn up for use on the Feast of the Publication of ‘ Robert Elsmere.’ ” “It had become the custom to give smoking- services in the cathedrals on Sunday —— These consisted chiefly of hymns set to popular music-hall tunes, with heaty marches played on the organ between them. These smoking-services ‘got at the people’ most successfully, and attracted over- flowing congregations.” An obvious fault in Mrs, William Sharp's pleasant little volume Women Poets of the Vic- torian Era, which forms one of the ‘‘ Canter- bury Poets,” Mr. W. Scott’s well-known series, is that the extracts are too short to give an adequate idea of the gifts of the best writers among those selected for quotation. Mrs. Sharp has overcrowded her pages in trying to find room for too many women who have little claim to be called poets. For instance, Miss Martineau, with whom the volume opens, pos- sessed, it is needless to say, great abilities, but she had not a grain of poetry in her composition. To criticize those recently dead, or now living, might be ungracious, but we do not think there is much to be said for the verses of several of Mrs. Sharp’s contributors. It is a pity that Miss Procter’s name is misspelt more than once. A NUMBER of new editions are on our table, among them a pretty reprint, in the ‘‘ Elzevir Series,” of the ever-popular Light of Asia of Sir Edwin Arnold (Kegan Paul & Co.),—and several volumes of Messrs. Macmillan’s excellent series of reissues of popular novels, among them Sant’ Ilario and Greifenstein, by Mr. Marion Craw- ford ; Janet’s Home, by Miss Keary; and A Reputed Changeling and More Bywords, by Miss Yonge. Of the new edition of Charles Kings- ley’s works—the recrudescence of his popu- larity is a marked symptom of the taste of the day—Messrs. Macmillan send us The Gospel of the Pentatewch (five sermons) and David (five sermons), printed together in one volume, and also Discipline, and other Sermons. The same firm send us reprints of Tales of Old Travel, by Henry Kingsley, and the first part of Sir John Lubbock’s highly popular work The Pleasures of Life.—Two of Mrs. Beeton’s popular volumes on cookery (Ward, Lock & Co.), All about Cookery and Mrs. Beeton’s Cookery Book, the latter a wonderfully cheap volume at a shilling, have reached us in new and much-enlarged editions. —The second volume of the Handbook of Athletic Sports, of Mr. Bell’s editing, has been issued by Messrs. Bell & Sons. We have already noticed its component parts. THE Post Office London Directory reaches us from Messrs. Kelly & Co., slightly increased in
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Ne 3295, Dzc. 20,90 THE ATHENEUM 853 size and largely reduced in price. No more accu- rate work of reference is published. A great im- provement is the substitution of a new map for the old one, which was getting somewhat worn. The new map is also of large dimensions ; so in every way it is better fitted for reference than its predecessor. Lodge’s Peerage always arrives early, but this year it is, we think, even in advance of its usual day of publication. Perhaps the competition of Mr. Walford has stimulated Messrs. Hurst & Blackett to be even more active than before. It is difficult to find new words of welcome for an old friend, and we may content ourselves by saying that the section devoted to the spiritual peerage has been enlarged in this —the sixtieth issue. THE Almanach de Gotha (Gotha, Perthes) is again on our table, full of facts and figures care- fully arranged as usual. Among the portraits are those of the King and Queen of Portugal and General Caprivi. We notice that in the list of French towns Boulogne occurs twice, Boulogne-sur-Mer not being distinguished from its namesake.—The Service Almanack (Harrison & Sons) remains a cheap and useful publication ; but we must still object to the ‘‘ Dictionary of Battles” as a perversion of history. One would think from it that the Duke of York was a commander eminently victorious. THE Salnameh of the Sublime Ottoman Govern- ment for 1308 has just appeared at Constanti- nople. This official almanac includes the usual matter, among which are the topographical details for which it is most consulted here. It contains 891 pages. Mr. WeEtisMAN has issued for private circula- tion in a neat form the interesting lecture on Fleet Street, 1846-1890, which we mentioned some weeks ago.—We have received the first number of the Religious Review of Reviews, a periodical called into being by the success of Mr. Stead’s venture, and of which the title explains the meaning. Foreign reviews are most imperfectly treated.— We have also on our table the first number of Elsevier’s Geillustreerd Maandschrift, a Dutch magazine, the illustrations in which resemble those in Harper and the Century. The cover is an un- fortunate specimen of Batavian taste ; otherwise the new-comer promises well. WE have on our table the catalogues of Mr. Blackledge, Mr. Daniell (good), Mr. Galwey (good), Messrs. Garratt & Co., Mr. Hartley, Mr. Jackson (some grangerized books), Messrs. Jarvis & Son (topography and genealogy), Mr. Lauser (engravings), Mr. Mathews, Messrs. Myers & Co., Messrs. Sotheran (good), Mr. E. Spencer, Mr. W. Spencer (two rather interest- ing catalogues), Messrs. Suckling & Galloway (fair), and Messrs. Wesley & Son (conchology). We have also received the catalogues of Mr. Downing, Mr. Lowe (rather good), the Midland Educational Company, and Mr. Wilson of Bir- mingham, Messrs. George’s Sons of Bristol, Messrs. Lupton Bros. of Burnley, Mr. Cameron (some good books), Mr. Clay (fair), Mr. Hunter, and Mr. Johnston (excellent) of Edinburgh, Mr. Commin of Exeter, Mr. Simmons of Leam- ington (who has changed his address), Mr. Jack- son of Leeds, Messrs. Parry & Co. of Liverpool, Mr. Cornish (good), Mr. Maddocks, and Mr. Sutton of Manchester, Messrs. Jarrold & Sons of Norwich, Messrs. Hargreaves & Inger of Scarborough, and Mr. Gilbert of Southampton. M. Stargardt of Berlin has sent us a handsome catalogue of autographs. From Messrs. Marcus Ward & Co. we have received quite a quantity of Christmas Cards and Booklets, designed, most of them, with taste and printed with care. No assortment that we have seen this year has been so rich and various. WE have on our table Our Prayer Book in History, Literature, and Church Lore, by J. W. Hardman, LL.D. (Skeftington & Son),—The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, edited by J. J. 8. Perowne, D.D.: The Revelation of St. John the Divine, with Notes and Introduc- tion by the late Rev. W. H. Simcox (Cam- bridge, University Press), —Ordination Addresses and Cownsels to Clergy, by the late J. B. Light- foot, D.D. (Macmillan),—My Counsellor (Oxford, University Press),—Daily Strength for Daily Needs, by M. W. Tileston (Low),—Things Present and Things to Come, by J. B. Johnson (Kegan Paul),—Pour Suzanne, by J. Barancy (Paris, Lévy),—Patriotti Italiani, by E. Martinengo (Milan, Treves),— Shakespeare’sche Probleme: Plan und Einheit im Hamlet, by A. Gelber (Vienna, Konegen), — Violette, by C. Joliet (Paris, Lévy), —Les Habitations Ouwvriéres en Belgique, by the Baron Hippolyte de Roger de Dour (Société Belge de Librairie),—and Les Jacques dW Arvergne, by L. Létang (Paris, Lévy). Among New Editions we have A Concise Treatise on Private International Jurisprudence, by J. A. Foote (Stevens & Haynes),—The Steam Engine, by J. H. Cot- terill (Spon), — Japanese Plays, by the late T. R. H. McClatchie (Allen & Co.),—The Essays of Elia, by C. Lamb, edited by A. Birrell (Dent & Co.),—Holland and its People, by E. de Amicis (Putnam),—The Curse of Carne’s Hold, by G. A. Henty (Spencer Blackett), — Tirve Tales for my Grandsons, by Sir Samuel W. Baker (Macmillan),—and The Hymnal Com- panion to the Book of Common Prayer (Low). LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH. Theology. —_* (W. M.) Anglo-Roman Papers, sm. 4to. 7/6 cl. Exell’s (Rev. J. 8.) The Biblical Illustrator: Genesis, Vol. 1, 8vo. 7/6 cl. Leckie’s (J.) Life and Religion, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Studiesin Holy Scripture, by G. M. and S. J. M., er. 8vo. 3/6 Thompson’s (Rt. Rev. H. M.) The World and the Man, 3/6 Vincent’s (M. R.) Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. 3, 8vo. 16/ cl. Fine Art and Archeology. Spiers’s (R. P.) The Orders of Architecture, Greek, Roman, and Italian, imp. 4to. 10/6 cl. Philosophy. Ladd's (C. T.) Introduction to Philosophy, 8vo. 12/ cl. History and Biography. Dictionary of National Biography, edited by L. Stephen and S. Lee, Vol. 25, roy. 8vo. 15/ cl. Mazzini's (J.) Life and Writings, Vol. 3, cr. 8vo. 4/6 cl. Rogers’s (W. H. H.) Strife of the Roses and Days of the Tudors in the West, 8vo. 12/6 cl. Thrale (Mrs.),a Sketch of her Life, &c., edited by L. B. Seeley, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Geography and Travel. Meyer's (Dr. H.) Across East African Glaciers, translated from German by E. H. S. Calder, roy. 8vo. 32/cl. Philology. Herodotus, Book 3, edited, with Introduction, &c., by G. C. Macaulay, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Records of the Past, New Series, edited by A. H. Sayce, Vol. 3, er. 8vo. 4/6 cl. Science, Marcon’s (Rev. C. A.) Oxford Questions in Arithmetic and Algebra, Papers with Answers, 18mo. 3/6 cl. Peck’s (W.) Popular Handbook and Atlas of Astronomy, 31/ General Literature. Bohn’s Library of Sports and Games : Handbook of Athletic Sports, edited by E. Bell, Vol. 3, 12mo. 3/6 cl. Clegg’s Ready Reckoner for the Cotton Trades, 8vo. 15/ cl. Crawford's (F, M.) Sant’ Ilario, cheap edition, cr. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Dickens's (C.) Little Dorrit, Crown Edition, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Dixie’s (Lady F.) Aniwee, or the Warrior Queen, cr. 8vo. 5/ Faith, Fact, and Fancy, Vol. 1, by Catholicus Anglicanus and his Wife, 12mo. 2/6 cl. Gannett’s (W. C.) Blessed be Drudgery, and other Papers, Large-Type Edition, er. 8vo. 2/ cl. Hartland’s (K. S.) The Science of Fairy Tales, er. 8vo. 3/6 cl. Macduff’s (J. R.) ~— of the Pilgrim, 12mo. 2/6 cl. National Life and Thought of Nations throughout the World, 10/6 cl. Schreiner’s (O.) Dreams, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Smith’s (R. M.) Emigration anc Immigration, a Study in Social Science, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. Ver-Planck’s (Mrs. J. C.) The..Wonder-Light, and other Tales, roy. 16mo., 3/ cl. Warner's (A, B.) Oak Bend, or Patience and her Schooling, cr. 8vo. 3.6 cl. Wright's (H. C.) Stories in English Literature, cr. 8vo. 2/6 Yonge’s (C. M.) A Reputed Changeling, cheap edition, 3/6 FOREIGN, Theology. Bauerfeind (G. F. C.): Das Altkirchliche Perikopensystem der Abendlindischen Kirche, 5m. Bousset (W.): Die Evangeliencitate Justins d. Miirtyrers, 2m. 80. Delitzsch (F.) u. v. Hofmann : Theologische Briefe, 5m. 60. Dérholt (B.): Die Lehre v. der Genugthuung Christi, 6m. Paret (F.): Priscillianus, e. Reformator d. 4 Jahrh., 6m. Cugq (H.): Les Institutions Juridiques des Romains, 10fr. Fine Art. Mémoires de Madame de Staal-De Launay, eaux-fortes de Lalauze, 250fr. Philosophy. Appel (H.): Die Lehre der Scholastiker v. der Synteresis, 2m, History and Biography. Gallieni (Lieut.-Col.): Deux Campagnes au Soudan Fran- gais, 15fr. Gutschmid (A. v.): Kleine Schriften, hrsg. v. F. Riihl Vol. 2, 24m. Matthis (C, E.): L’Alsace a travers les Siécles, 50fr. Geography and Travel, Barron (L.): La Garonne, 10fr. Hongrie (La) Illustrée, 10fr. Philology. Geyer (P.): Kritische Bemerkungen zu S. Silviae Aquitanae Peregrinatio ad Loca Sancta, 1m. 20. Science. Bayer (J.): Die Augen unserer Hausthiere, Part 1, 1210 Diophantus v. Alexandria: Arithmetik u. die Schrift iib. Polygonalzahlen, iibers. v. G. Wertheim, 8m. Doelter (C.): Allgemeine Chemische Mineralogie, 7m. Drude (O.): Handbuch der Pflanzengeographie, 14m. = (J.): Klinischer Atlas der Laryngologie, Part 1, Schumann (K.): Neue Untersuchungen iib. den Bliithen- anschluss, 20m. Steinheil (A.) u. Voit (E.): Handbuch der Angewandten Optik, Vol. 1, 12m. General Literature. Daryl (P.): Le Yacht, 25fr. Delatour (A.): L’Impét, 2fr. Fontane (T.): Quitt, Roman, 5m. Franzos (K. E.): Judith Trachtenberg, 5m. Millot (M.): La Comédie Boulangiste, 3fr. 50. Vallet (L.): Le Chic 4 Cheval, 22fr. = = THOMAS MUN. 40, Tyrwhitt Road, St. John’s, S.E., December, 1890. StupENnts of political economy, and of the history of the development of the commerce of this country, must have read with interest the article by Mr. Hyde Clarke in the Atheneum of the 29th ult., p. 738, in which he made the praiseworthy attempt to rescue from oblivion the memory of Thomas Mun, a publicist whose very name appears to be now almost unknown, although Adam Smith himself wrote of him that ‘*the title of Mr. Mun’s book became a funda- mental maxim in political economy in England and all other commercial countries,” and Hallam described Mun as ‘‘the founder of the mer- cantile system.” It may not be out of place, in connexion with Mun’s personal history, for me to add, to the items of information which Mr. Hyde Clarke has quoted from the pedigree drawn up by me of which he speaks, as well as obtained by him- self from other quarters, some details on the subject which I have with much difficulty suc- ceeded in collecting from isolated sources. In the few biographical works of reference, includ- ing Larousse’s well-known dictionary, no date or other indication of the exact period during which Mun’s life extended is anywhere to be found, beyond the bare record of his having lived in the seventeenth century; and it was not until I had laboriously ransacked every available repository of genealogical particulars that I at last discovered records of his parentage and subsequent history, which enabled me to establish with certainty the dates of his birth, marriage, and decease, and other particulars of the history of himself and his family. Although the genealogy of a man of letters is a matter of but secondary concern to those who are inter- ested in the work which he did, and which made him famous, such antiquarian research has its use in tracing out clues to the otherwise lost incidents of his career and of his social sur- roundings, and in thus enabling us to throw side-lights on the events of the contemporary history of his era. The pedigree alluded to by Mr. Hyde Clarke, copies of which are catalogued in the British Museum and the Guildhall Library, was com- piled by me, from wills and parish registers, in extension of the very brief genealogical par- ticulars of the Mun family given in the records of Heralds’ Visitations which are to be found in the Harleian MSS. As Mr. Hyde Clarke acknowledges, he has found in my pedigree most of the details which he has set forth in his article ; but I would refer any readers who may
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854 THE ATHENEZUM Ne 3295, Dec. 20, ’90 desire further similar information to a somewhat fuller and corrected pedigree contributed by me, with an account of several branches of the family of Mun, to the Rev. F. Haslewood’s work on Benenden, Kent, in which parish the name existed during the last three centuries (Ipswich, 1889, pp. 205-7 and 209). Some points raised by Mr. Hyde Clarke require to be noticed here. As regards the dates of admission to the Mercers’ Company, search was made for me in their records in 1886, with the result that the entries of two persons named John Mun, in 1560 and 1632 respectively, were both then found by the Mercers’ secretary. The earlier date must refer (if either does) to the political economist’s father, John Mun, of Hackney, and of St. Andrew Hubbard’s, East- cheap, to whom arms were granted by Claren- ceux in 1562, and whose will was proved April 14th, 1573. The John Mun of 1632 was, of course, a different person, but whether related I cannot discover. The eldest son of John Mun who died in 1573 is mentioned in Stow’s ‘Survey’ as having a monument in Allhallows Staining Church. The second son, the Rev. Edward Mun, M.4A., was sub-almoner to Queen Elizabeth, as well as Vicar of Stepney and Rector of East Barnet (see ‘Memorials of Stepney Parish,’ edited by Mr. G. W. Hill and the Rev. W. H. Frere, now being published, part i. p. 33, note). Our author, Thomas Mun, was the third son—not the second, as stated by Mr. Hyde Clarke. It isa pity that it has, though unavoidably, happened that that gentleman has been at the trouble, as I perceive, of going to a certain extent over the same ground already explored by me; for in 1888 I corresponded with Mr. Noel Sainsbury, who has edited several volumes of the Calendars of State Papers (which contain numerous re- ferences to Thomas Mun), and also with Mr. Danvers, and I made personal search in the Court Minute Books of the East India Company, and ascertained therefrom that Mun was a member of the committee from 1615, as shown in my pedigree, until July, 1641, shortly before his decease. Mr. Hyde Clarke speaks of the election of another Thomas Mun to succeed on the Court of the Company from 1641 onwards until 1651. Iwas not aware that this was so ; but if it is correctly stated that the entries of this name so recur in the Court minutes after 1641, they can hardly refer even to the member of Parliament named Thomas Mun, whom Mr. Danvers supposed to be identical with the economist, but whom Mr. Hyde Clarke correctly surmises to be a different person. I have been able to glean but little as to this parliamentary namesake, but I have reasons for thinking that he was not born till about 1635 or 1640, and that he was a grandson of the economist’s brother, the Rey. Edward Mun, and therefore grand- nephew of our author. I found in the parish registers of St. Clement’s, Hastings, the entries of baptism of the children of this Thomas Mun and his wife Frances. He represented Hastings, as stated, in 1681, and again in the ‘‘ Convention Parliament” of 1689; and he died in 1691 or 1692, as his will, in which he is described as of St. Margaret’s, Westminster, was proved February 24th, 1692. He appears to have been a personal friend of Sir Vere Fane (after- wards Earl of Westmorland) of Mereworth, where the Muns of Hackney and London held landed property ; and one of his sons, the Rev. Vere Munn (sic), was from 1713 to 1736 Vicar of Bodiam, Sussex, where there isa monumental inscription to his memory, with armorial bear- ings identical with those granted in 1562. Beyond the children of John Mun of Bearsted, Kent (0b. November 30th, 1670), who published his father’s ‘England’s Treasure by Forraign Trade’ in 1664, I have not succeeded in tracing any direct descendants of the author. But the family of his (presumed) grand-nephew, the M.P. for Hastings, appear to have remained there, as several of the name are traceable there in the eighteenth century, bearing the same arms. The economist Mun, of whom his son speaks as ‘Sin his time famous among merchants,” has some interesting passages in his above-named work with regard to the Customs Revenue in its relation to English trade with India and other countries ; and it may be observed that his grandson, Sir John Austen, Bart., was a Commissioner of Customs in 1697-99, and was contemporary with Sir Walter Yonge, another and prominent commissioner of thesamerevenue, whose signature appears in a copy of the first edition of Mun’s book, which I have in my possession. I have confined my preceding remarks to the personal and family history of Thomas Mun, more especially because my researches into this branch of his biography have elicited much information as to the various personages of local, if not of wider importance, with whom he or his relatives were connected by marriage or otherwise associated, as, for instance, the Fludds of Bearsted and Otham, in Kent, whose ancestor Sir Thomas Fludd (ob. 1607), Trea- surer of Queen Elizabeth’s forces in the Low Countries, was father of Dr. Robert Fludd (1574-1637), acelebrated Rosicrucian philosopher and author of voluminous works on alchemy ; not to mention such eminent citizen families, whose names have been handed down to us by Stow, as the Cordells, Bowyers, or Barnehams, famous in the annals of old London in the days when its municipality was a reality, and not, as now, an anachronism. I should be glad if any further materials for a biographical memoir of Thomas Mun could be brought to light in the Athenwwm by some of its readers, or if they would communicate such information to me direct. I note with interest Mr. Hyde Clarke’s sug- gestion for the ultimate erection of a memorial to Mun. In 18881 made a thorough examina- tion of the monuments and gravestones in St. Helen’s Church, Bishopsgate, but could find no trace of his tomb,—a result which was rather surprising, considering that, apart from his work as an economist, he was a parishioner and a merchant of great wealth and influence, and was, moreover, entitled to bear arms, which would appear on his monument, if any ; and I discovered that he was buried within the church, from a hurried search in the parish registers, access to which I, with much difficulty, obtained from the incumbent. While St. Helen’s abounds with well-preserved monuments of City mag- nates having no title to literary fame, the very name of such a great English economist as Mun was entirely unknown there, although, on the other hand, the edifice contains a handsome monument, erected under the auspices of the late Duke of Albany, to the distinguished Italian jurist Alberigo Gentili, who, after making Eng- land his home, was Professor of International Law at Oxford till his death in 1608. I ob- served, however, that even Gentili’s name was ignored by being omitted from the official list, which was displayed in the church, of its chief monuments. I trust, therefore, that Mr. Hyde Clarke’s hope for a memorial to Thomas Mun will not be lost sight of by those who may be interested in the work done by him as a founder of the English school of economic science. Atrrep L, Harpy. Has Dr. Hyde Clarke examined ‘A Treatise of Transportable Commodities’ (British Museum, Royal 18, A 74), p. 276? It is in the form of a manuscript addressed to King James I. soon after his accession, a beautiful specimen of calligraphy, apparently by a __ professional scrivener, signed in two places by Arthur Hall, M.P. for Grantham in three Parliaments, temp. Elizabeth. It was written in direct opposition to the pecuniary interests of Thomas Mun as a merchant adventurer. I do not set up my un- fortunate namesake as a good economist, but the work is notable as an objection to the form of monopoly granted to the East India Company, and others trading to Muscovy, Turkey, &c. We now know that such privileges die out, either by non-renewal or forfeiture of the charters, and this fact substantiates the form of argument adopted in the work above cited, which is not known in print. A. Hatt. POEMS IN GEORGE WASHINGTON’S COPY-BOOK. 230, West 59 Street, New York. On my recent return from Europe I examined very carefully the early manuscripts of George Washington in the State Archives at Washing- ton City, to see if I could gather any additional light on the sources of the ‘ Rules of Civility,’ so far as their appearance in Virginia is con- cerned. I have found nothing more than what appears in my monograph on that subject just published. But from an earlier part of the curious folio therein described I have copied two poetical effusions which I have never seen in print, and which may interest your readers. The volume is dated in various places 1745— Washington having been born February 11th, 1731 (O.S.). Both pieces are written in Wash- ington’s handwriting, which reveals an early ambition to excel in penmanship. ON CHRISTMASS DAY. Assist me Muse divine! to Sing the Morn, On which the Saviour of Mankind was born ; But oh! what Numbers to the Theme can rise ? Unless kind Angels aid me from the Skies ! Methinks I see the tunefull Host descend, And with officious Joy the Scene attend! Hark, by their Hymns directed on the Road, The Gladsome Shepherds find the nascent God! And view the Infant conscious of his Birth, Smiling bespeak Salvation to the Earth ! For when th’ important ira first: drew near In which the great Messiah should appear ; And to accomplish his redeeming Love ; Beneath our Form should every Woe sustain, And by triumphant Suffering fix his Reign, Should for lost Man in Tortures yield his Breath Dying to save us from eternal Death ! Oh mystick union !—salutary Grace ! Incarnate God our Nature should embrace ! That Deity should stoop to our Disguise ! That man recover'd should regain the Skies! Dejected adam! from thy grave ascend, And view the Serpent’s Deadly Malice end, Adorning [sic] bless th’ Almighty’s boundless Grace That gave his son a Ransome for thy Race! Ob never let my Soul th:s Day forget, But pay in gratefull praise the annual Debt To him, whom ’tis my Trust I shall...... When Time and Sin and Death...... TRUE HAPPINESS. These are the things which once possessed Will make a life that’s truly bless’d A Good Estate on healthy Soil, Not got by Vice, nor yet by toil : Round a warm Fire a Pleasant Joke, With chimney ever free from smoke : A Strength entire, a Sparkling Bowl, A quiet Wife a quiet Soul, A Mind as well as body whole Prudent simplicity, constant Friends, A Diet which no art Commends ; A Merry Night without much Drinking A Happy Thought without much Thinking, Each Night by quiet sleep made short A Will to be but what thou art : Possessed of these, all else defy And neither wish nor fear to Die These are things which once Possess‘d Will make a life that’s truly bless’d. The correct spelling in these poems, apart from other characteristics, proves that they are selections. In all the early manuscripts of Washington I have never found any sign that he ever had what could be called boyhood. The above poem ‘On Christmas Day’ is the only existing thing in his handwriting, so far as I can discover, relating to Christ or any Christian doctrine. Moncure D. Conway. A HEBREW POEM ON THE GUNPOWDER PLOT. Ar the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth century there was a habit of, or craze for, writing verses on special occasions not only in Latin and Greek, but also in Oriental languages, and more especially in Hebrew. I do not pretend to give a bibliography of these poems, but I shall mention a few instances. A Hebrew poem, by an anonymous author, upon the death of Sir Philip Sidney, is printed in the ‘ Academie Cantabrigiensis Lacryine,’ p. 67,
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XUM Ne 3295, Dec. 20, 790 THE ATHENAUM 855 London, 1587. Another poem, written by the Regius Professor of Theology, Thomas Holland, upon the death of Sir Henry Unton, is to be found in the ‘Funebria,’ Oxford, 1596. In memory of Queen Elizabeth Prof. John Perin wrote a Greek and a Hebrew elegy, printed in the ‘ Oxo- niensis Academize Funebre Officium,’ &c., p. 5, Oxford, 1603. Prof. W. Thorne composed a Hebrew poem upon the accession of James I., printed in the same year in the ‘ Academie Oxoniensis Pietas,’ p. 17. There are only six words, given with the following remark : ‘‘ He- braicé pluribus explicata. Sed enim typographo deerant characteres.” Perin’s poem is com- posed of thirteen lines ; was, then, this not yet broken up when required for Thorne’s poem ? Most likely not. Certain it is that the Oxford Press was then not well provided with Hebrew type. The MS. of the Bodleian Library Seld. 84 is described in the catalogue of 1697 as follows : ‘*No. 3472. R. B. De Proditione sulphurea illustrata poési, viz., Lat. Greece. Hebr. Chald. Syr. et Arab.” From the similarity of the writing in a MS. of Richard Brett, in possession of the Rev. W. Dunn Macray, to that in the Bodleian MS., it has been recognized that R. B. is none else but R. Brett. Mr. Macray’s MS. contains a Latin translation of the Jewish rites for fast days, and of the first chapter of David Qamhi’s (Kimhi's) commentary on the Psalms, and was presented to Arabella Stuart. The Hebrew MS. No. 2482 of the new catalogue contains grammatical notes in Latin by R. Brett. The following dedication is inscribed on the first page of his poems on the Gunpowder Plot :— ** @piapBos trod Baciréws EEdywooos. ‘**Triumphus Regius ob nuperam liberationé a diro incendio et furore Catholicorum sex lin- guarum Poesi illustratus Lat. [&c.] Quem R. B. propter defectum characterum subitaneéd manu scriptum illustriss, Heroi. comiti Sarisburiensi Cons D.Dque.” The following is the Hebrew text, which is in hendecasyllabic verses :— {TINA WIS DIA I §nD3 130 nn "5 Dor wowA yop nnn) :D°22D DN Oya Ww md> avon Syn op sean pina io owen by oyna wm y7as ndwy yaN TaN YMBI D3 ya Ni9Nd ondy Spy app rypa nya nes vax mda Naya DN IN 93 wD yoy omdy dy O5ay pyrsa 1290 avy doy DTN NTN HSwa Yawn’ The Hebrew hobby continued for some time. In 1606 we find a Hebrew poem of twelve lines by I. C., of Trinity College, Cambridge, upon the death of the Right Worshipful Sir Edward Lewkenor, Knt., and Madame Susan his lady, in the ‘ Threnodia,’ printed at London. In 1613 a ‘Carmen Seculare ’ was printed in London in memory of the enthronization of James I., in which we find a poem of four lines in Rabbinic and four in Talmudic dialect; the latter are printed with Latin characters. In the same year appeared a Hebrew elegy of seven lines, by the Regius Professor Rich. Kilbie, upon the death of Sir Thomas Bodley. I,shall only men- tion one more—that upon the death of John Petre, Baron Petre of Writtle, composed by Nath. Norrington, printed in the ‘ Threni Exo- niensium,’ Oxford, 1613. And as late as 1640 Ia. Hammilton, A.B., Brasenose College, con- tributes a Hebrew poem in honour of Charles I., printed in the ‘Horti Carolini Rosa Altera,’ compiled by members of the University of Oxford. A. NEUBAUER. SALE. Messrs. SotHEBY, W1ILKINSON & HopcE have recently sold the following books: Aberdeen Horn Book, 1625, 261. 10s. Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy, first edition, 1621, 22/. 10s. S. Daniel, Poeticall Essayes, 1599, 23/. J. Milton, Poems, 1645, 65/1. 10s. Moliére, L’Avare, 1669, 231. ; L’Escole des Femmes, 1663, 301. ; L’Estourdy, 1663, 26/.; Le Mariage Forcé, 1668, 351.; Le Misantrope, 1667, 50/.; Les Femmes Scavantes, 1673, 42l.; Les Fourberies de Scapin, 32/. Montesquieu, Le Temple de Gnide, on large paper, 1772, 291. Rossetti, Sir Hugh the Heron, 1843, 16/. Lamb, Tales from Shake- speare, 2 vols., 1807, 18/. 15s. Shirley, Poems, 1646, 191. 10s, Whitney, A Choice of Emblems, 1586, 261. Horz B. Marie Virginis, illuminated manuscript on vellum, containing an autograph signature of the mother of Elizabeth Woodville, 261. The Pennsylvania Gazette for 1740, bound in one volume, 24/. Archzeologia of the Society of Antiquaries, complete set, 24/. Biblia Sacra Latina, illuminated manuscript on vellum, four- teenth century, 461. Horz B. Marie Virginis, English manuscript on vellum, with miniatures, fifteenth century, 21/1. A series of engraved portraits of the monarchs of England, 25l. 10s. A collection of autograph letters in a volume, 211. A Goodly Prymer in Englyshe, 1535, The New Testament yet once agayne corrected by William Tyndale, the two bound together in one volume, but both imperfect, wanting some leaves, 731. A collection of prints, drawings, and printed matter on balloons, collected by Mr. Green, in 3 vols., 441. Catlin, North American Indians, 2 vols., 1852, 181. Punch, 1841 to 1888, 261. Dugdale, Antiquities of Warwick- shire, 1730, 201. Surtees and Raine, History of Durham, 5 vols., 1816-52, 251. THE NEW COPYRIGHT BILL. THERE has been more talk of late years about international copyright with the United States than about copyright at home. Yet no part of our law stands in greater need of reform than that relating to copyright. There are eighteen Acts on the subject, some of which are so obscure as to be incomprehensible, while others are so defective as to be useless. One of the most obvious defects is the absence of uniformity. The copyright which is considered good enough for an author is not thought suitable for a musical composer, a painter of pictures, or a playwright. The law is in a state of confusion and uncertainty which might be appropriate in Wonderland, but which is a disgrace in a well- ordered community. The grievances of authors, artists, composers, and dramatists with regard to copyright are of old standing, and their reality is unquestion- able. In order that a method for redressing them might be ascertained, a Royal Commission was appointed fifteen years ago. That Commis- sion examined those who were interested or aggrieved, and presented an elaborate Report in 1878. In 1879 a Bill was introduced into the House of Commons by the Government of the day, and the provisions of that Bill embodied the recommendations of the Royal Commission. Lord John Manners, who introduced the Bill, has done nothing in the matter since 1879. The grievances of authors, artists, composers, and playwrights are as many in number and as acute as they were before the appointment of the Royal Commission. The still-born Bill of Lord John Manners, now Duke of Rutland, has not afforded them any consolation. A new Bill has been read a first time in the House of Lords at the instance of Lord Monks- well. A more carefully prepared measure has seldom been submitted to Parliament. Some time ago it was announced in these columns that a sub-committee of the Society of Authors, under the presidency of Sir Frederick Pol- lock, was engaged in preparing a measure on copyright,“and the result is the Bill which the House of Lords will be asked to read a second time after Parliament reassembles. The distinguishing characteristics of the new Copyright Bill are simplicity and comprehensive- ness. In a single measure of ninety-four clauses the provisions of the existing eighteen Acts are digested and consolidated, while each part of the Bill deals separately and completely with the various subjects of copyright, such as (1) Literature, (2) Music and Dramatic Works, and (3) Works of Art. Nearly all that was contained in the Bill of Lord John Manners is repeated in this one, while the provisions in the Bill of Mr. Hastings relating to works of fine art, introduced into the House of Commons in 1886, are also reproduced. The principal recom- mendations of the Royal Commissioners have been accepted by the framers of this measure ; in short, the Bill as a whole is thoroughly practical, and, we should think, will prove acceptable to all concerned. The principal points in the measure may be summarized, chief among them being the dura- tion of copyright, which is to run during the lifetime of the author, artist, composer, or dramatist, and for thirty years after his death. At present an author’s term of copyright is his lifetime and seven years, or B93 forty-two years from the date of publication, whichever term is the longer. In printed and published lectures the term is understood to be the writer’s lifetime or twenty-eight years ; in en- gravings the term is twenty-eight years; in pieces of sculpture it is fourteen years, with a possible extension for a like period ; while the state of the law is unsettled as to the duration of copyright in musical works and lectures which have been publicly performed or delivered, but not printed. At present the writer of an article or essay in a collective work, other than an encyclopedia, cannot reprint it, without per- mission, till twenty-eight years have elapsed ; in the new Bill the term is reduced to three years. At present an author may see his labour lost by some one abridging his work, while in the new Bill abridgment is rendered a part of the copyright. A novelist may now see his work dramatized, and is as impotent to forbid the operation as he is to profit by the result ; whereas should the new Bill become law the right of the novelist to dramatize his work, and of the playwright to convert his into a novel, is expressly reserved. The exhibition of photo- graphs taken on commision is rendered illegal in the new Bill without the consent of the person for whom they have been taken. In all cases except paintings and sculptures, re- gistration is to be compulsory should the new Bill become an Act. Those who seek for novelties in the new Bill may complain of their absence, the design of the framers having evidently been to insert nothing in it about which there is a marked, if not irreconcilable difference of opinion. The only new thing is that the deliverer of sermons is to retain copyright in them, and to have the right of prohibiting a report, should he think fit. The Royal Commissioners recommended the withdrawal of the existing privilege under which certain universities and libraries receive copies of all new books, and that the privilege should be confined to the British Museum. The new Bill maintains the existing law in this matter. As regards international copyright, the clauses are reproduced from the Act of 1886 giving effect to the terms of the Convention of Berne, while provision is made by order in Council for extending copyright to aliens who are subjects or citizens of the countries which have not joined that convention. Whether registration should become compul- sory or remain optional is the only point on which opinions are likely to be divided. As regards the other provisions of the new Bill, the wisdom of Parliament will be clearly shown by sanctioning them as they stand. The Congress of the United States may possibly pass into law
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856 THE ATHENAUM N° 3295, Dec. 20, 90 the Bill for International Copyright at present before it. It is to be hoped that the Parlia- ment of the United Kingdom will be quite as ready to legislate and pass into Jaw such a just and comprehensive measure for home copy- right as that of which Lord Monkswell has taken charge, Literary Grossip. Tue accounts of Mr. R. L. Stevenson re- ceived since he returned from Sydney to Samoa represent him as in excellent health and full of literary activity. Besides making much progress with his book of travels, ‘The South Seas,’ which is to be published by Messrs. Cassell after having first run with illustrations (as we mentioned last week) in the new periodical Black and White, Mr. Stevenson has written a short story called ‘The Bottle Imp,’ which is also first to appear in Black and White ; another and somewhat longer Polynesian story called ‘The Highwoods of Ulufanua’ ; and a con- siderable quantity of verse. In the mean time the volume of ‘ Ballads’ by the same author, announced by Messrs. Chatto & Windus, will appear very shortly, As has been announced, the Century has secured the right of translating and pub- lishing in advance selected portions of the ‘Talleyrand Memoirs.’ We are now able to state that the first instalment of M. L. de Beaufort’s translation, coupled with Mr. Whitelaw Reid’s introduction, will appear in the January number. Points of interest will be the diplomatist’s account of his childhood and family, following which is his sketch of Parisian society at the time of his début. Talleyrand’s remarks touching the French Revolution and his share in it, and the Duc d’ Orléans, will also appear. With his visit to, and expulsion from, England in 1793- 1794, and his journey to America, this first glimpse of the ‘ Memoirs’ will conclude. Mr. Moytacu Wittams has another work in the press recording experiences at the bar. It will be entitled ‘ Later Leaves,’ and will be published early in the new year. It will, amongst other matters, specially deal with vice and misery at the East-End of London. THERE is to be an exhibition of bindings at the Burlington Fine-Arts Club early in next year. Tue Rev. J. E. Sheppard, Sub-dean of the Chapels Royal, is engaged upon a his- tory of St. James’s Palace, for which he has obtained the Queen’s sanction. He has accumulated a good deal of information from the various sources of information laid open to him, and no doubt will be glad of further help. Ar a preliminary meeting of members of the National Liberal Club held on Decem- ber 10th, Prof. T. W. Rhys Davids in the chair, it was decided to form within the club a “Philosophical Circle” for the dis- cussion of philosophical questions. The provisional committee are issuing invitations to an inaugural dinner, which will be held on January 14th at 7 p.m., when they will submit proposals as to the organization of the Circle, a committee will be elected, and an inaugural address will be delivered by Prof. T. W. Rhys Davids on ‘The Evolution of Indian Philosophy as compared with Western Thought.’ In addition to the “‘ Minerva Library” edition of Mr. Locker-Lampson’s revised and enlarged ‘ Lyra Elegantiarum,’ Messrs. Ward, Lock & Co. will issue a limited édition de luxe, in small quarto, on special hand- made paper. This will be ready some time in January. Among forthcoming volumes of the ‘“‘Minerva Library ”’ will be Dr. C. J. Wills’s entertaining ‘Land of the Lion and the Sun,’ describing life in modern Persia. A number of fresh illustrations will be given. Tue Bill for International Copyright will, we are assured by American correspondents, pass the United States Senate. The pro- vision requiring simultaneous publication seems to be objected to by American authors; but they will not oppose it, lest they should endanger the passing of the measure. Mean- while there is considerable alarm at the prospect among a certain number of British printers and publishers, and they talk of urging Parliament to refuse copyright to any nation that does not adhere to the Berne Convention, The clauses requiring Ame- rican manufacture are not in any case likely greatly to affect the London printing trade, as the amount of books printed in London is, after all, small to that printed outside, and therefore printers have no need to join in the outcry unless they have works in the country. Mr. G. F, Warner has completed at press his edition of the treatise ‘De Principum Instructione’ of Giraldus.Cambrensis, and it will shortly be issued in the Rolls Series accompanied by an index to the four volumes of Giraldus’s works which were edited by the late Prof. Brewer for the same series of ‘Chronicles and Memorials.” Ture Public Record Office will be open to searchers after Christmas on Monday, the 29th inst., instead of being closed, as in previous years, until January 2nd. The authorities have made the arrangement for this year as an experiment, in the expec- tation that many persons interested in his- torical and antiquarian matters will be able to make use of the records at that time who are otherwise engaged during the busier period of the year. ‘Our In THE ’Forty-Five’ is the title of a series of papers consisting of original correspondence on the subject of the last Stuart rising, which was sent to Mr. Gar- forth, a leading merchant of York. These letters throw much light on this armed entry into England and the panic it caused. The first section appears in the January Anti- quary. Tue Corporation of Manchester having finished the printing of their Court Leet Records, contained in twelve octavo volumes, are now about to print the earliest volumes of the Constables’ Accounts relating to the manor of Manchester. The first volume, which begins in 1613 and ends in 1647, has quite recently been presented to the Cor- poration, and is full of matter of much local and general interest, the portion re- lating to the Civil War period, 1642 to 1647, being perfect. The next volume begins in 1743 and ends in 1776. The accounts will be edited by Mr. J. P. Earwaker, the editor of the Court Leet Records. Mr. C. W. Axcock, Secretary of the Foot- ball Association, has written for the January ‘number of the English Illustrated Magazine a review of the game, past and present, as played under the Association rules. The article is illustrated with engravings of the more prominent players, and forms a com- panion paper to the article on Rugby Union football contributed to the same magazine last year by Mr, Vassall. A new poem by Mr. Alfred Austin will appear in the January number of the English Illustrated Magazine. In it will also be found a description of La Grande Chartreuse written by the Dean of Glou- cester. Australians will recognize in Miss Mary Gaunt, the author of the short story in the same number, the writer of last year’s Christmas story in the Austra- lasian, Mr. W. A. Crovsron contributes a paper on ‘An Asiatic Source of a Passage in the “‘ Dictes” printed by Caxton’ to the January issue of the Bookworm. Messrs. Apam & Cuartes Brack have decided on opening their London branch house, Nos. 4, 5, and 6, Soho Square, on the Ist of January. It is rumoured that Mr. Francis Black is likely to be Lord Provost of Edinburgh at no distant date. Tne Blackburn Free Library has recently been enriched by the bequest of the valu- able library and the collection of pictures left by the late Mr. Thomas Ainsworth, of that town. Mr. Mason Jackson writes to us dis- puting the claims of the desk we mentioned last week. He says the real Waverley desk was given by Scott to William Laid- law :— ‘*Some years ago I saw the veritable Waverley desk in the possession of William Laidlaw’s family at Inverness. Miss Laidlaw told me that it was given to her father by Sir Walter Scott, and was the writing desk in which the forgotten manuscript of ‘ Waverley’ was found. When I saw it the desk still contained some of the quill pens and fragments of fishing tackle that were in it when the manuscript was discovered. Mr. Laidlaw’s family treasured it with reverent care as a most valued relic, and I believe it is still in their possession. In ‘ Chambers’s Cyclopeedia of English Literature’ the desk is described as being then (1844) ‘in the pos- session of Scott’s friend Mr. William Laidlaw, at Contin, in Ross-shire.’ A drawing of this desk was made for the Abbotsford edition of the Waverley Novels by no less a hand—if I re- member rightly—than that of David Roberts, R.A. This, I think, is conclusive evidence that it is the Waverley desk.” Tue edition of ‘The Collected Sermons of Thomas Fuller,’ which the late Mr. Eglington Bailey began, has been com- pleted by Mr. W. E. Axon. It will fill two volumes and will be published by subscrip- tion. The volumes comprise ‘ Prayer before Sermon,’ from the exceedingly rare edition of ‘Pulpit Sparks,’ 1659; thirty separate sermons; six larger treatises; some fragmentary passages from unpublished sermons; and a short tract on the history of the Jews, written as an appendix to Howel’s translation of Josephus ben Gorion. The sermons are arranged chronologically. Messrs. Unwin Brothers are the printers. Messrs. T. & T. Crarx have arranged with Prof. Hermann Schultz, of Darmstadt, for an English translation of the fourth (the latest) edition of his ‘Old Testament Theo- OO a a a MS Bom OF ble se ts om
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Ne 3295, Dec. 20, '90 THE ATHENZUM 857 ley.’ The translation will be by Prof. J A. Paterson, of Edinburgh. Mr. Tueat is continuing his large ‘ His- tory of South Africa’ very rapidly. The fiith volume, covering the period 1795-1834, is we understand, now in the printers’ hands, and is to be published by Messrs. Swan Sonnenschein & Co. early in the new year. Str Tomas Lonemore, Professor of Military Surgery at the Army Medical School, Netley, has in preparation a bio- graphical essay on Richard Wiseman, Ser- jeant Surgeon to King Charles IT. On New Year’s Day the first number of a new Swiss monthly ‘for literature, art, and public life,” under the title of Schweizerische Rundschau, will be published by Orell & Fiissli, of Zurich. It is to be edited by Prof. Ferdinand Better, of Berne. Mr. Arpert 8. Garscuet, linguist of the Bureau of Bthnology, Washington, D.C., will publish early next year a voluminous report on the Klamath Indian language of South-Western Oregon. It will consist of about 1,500 pages, in two parts, quarto, and contains dictionaries, Indian texts with interlinear translation, grammar, and ethno- logic sketch. The contents are the results of Mr. Gatschet’s own investigations. Tue seventh and concluding volume of Mr. John T. Gilbert’s ‘ History of the Irish Confederation and the War in Ireland, 1642-49,’ will, it is understood, be issued before the close of the present month. The documents aggregated from various manu- script sources in this work are the principal authentic original materials now extant for elucidating the position of the Irish and their relations with England and other countries in a period of high historical interest and importance. Tue Law Quarterly Review for January will contain a contribution by Judge Chalmers on ‘ Trial by Jury in Civil Cases’; and Mr. T. Barclay writes on ‘ Definition of General Average.’ ‘Statutes of Limita- tions,’ by Mr. Thomas Millidge (of New Brunswick) ; ‘Bankruptcy of Partners,’ by Mr. A. Turnour Murray; ‘A Conveyancer in the Thirteenth Century,’ by Prof. Mait- land; ‘The Decline of Roman Jurispru- dence,’ by Dr. E. Grueber; ‘ Bills of Sale,’ by Mr. J. B. Matthews (of Worcester); and ‘The Naturalization Act, 1870,’ by Mr. L. L. Shadwell, are the other articles in the number. The ‘ Notes’ will now be placed at the head of the number, and printed in larger type. Tne death is announced of Canon Lee, of St. Asaph’s, a well-known Welsh anti- quary. He published the diary and letters of his maternal ancestor Matthew Henry in 1882, Werner Hann, who has just died at Potsdam in his seventy-fifth year, earned a wide popularity in Germany in two very different branches of national literature. As a patriot of an extreme Prussian type, he wrote popular books on the heroes of Prussian history, which passed through many editions. To this class belong his ‘Friedrich I.,’ ‘Kurprinz Friedrich Wil- helm,’ ‘Friedrich Wilhelm III. und Kéni- gin Luise,’ and his memoirs of the child- hood of Prussian princes. He was also a master in his knowledge of the primitive German mythology, to which branch of literature belong his ‘Helgi und Sedrun,’ legends of German heroes, and his ‘ Edda, Lieder Germanischer Gittersage.’ He also wrote a ‘ History of the Poetical Literature of the Germans,’ which has passed through nine editions. Tue election to the Deputy-Professorship of Comparative Philology at Oxford, vacant by the resignation of Prof. Sayce, will take place shortly. Candidates are requested to send tothe Registrar of the University their applications, together with any such evi- dence as they may desire to submit to the electors, on or before January 14th. GERMAN papers report that a most artistically got-up ‘Book of Meditation,’ which once belonged to Martin Luther, will shortly be exhibited at Berlin. It was a present to Luther from Joachim of Bran- denburg, made presumably in 1525, which date has been inscribed by Luther himself, together with his own signature. The size is small octavo. It consists in all of twenty- seven leaves, fourteen of which are of silver and thirteen of parchment. The silver leaves in particular are magnificently ornamented, and contain, besides engraved prayers, meditations, and hymns, several very artistic representations from Christ’s Passion; whilst the parchment leaves are distinguished by most delicate pen-and-ink drawings. The covers are of ivory laid on silver plates. On the upper cover is the portrait of the Elector, and the back, which is of silver, bears an engraving of the figure of a saint, besides the words ‘ Leiden Christi.” ‘Aus MEINER Sruprenmarre,’ by F. Spielhagen, is the title of a collection of critical papers which will shortly be pub- lished in the series issued by the Allge- meine Verein fiir Deutsche Litteratur at Berlin. Messrs. Epren, Remineton & Co. will publish on January Ist a work entitled ‘Last Year,’ price 6d., which will contain, in addition to a chronological summary of the principal events of 1890, an obituary list of the year, together with biographical sketches. The book will be illustrated. Mr. Louis Srevenson has promised to contribute, in the whole, three short stories to Black and White, and besides the novelists we mentioned last week, the journal has secured the aid of Mr. Hamilton Aidé, Mrs. Alexander, Mr. Grant Allen, Mr. J. M. Barrie, Mr. Oswald Crawfurd, Mr. Anstey Guthrie, Mr. Hardy, Mrs. Oliphant, Mrs. Campbell Praed, Mr. F. W. Robinson, Mr. Clark Russell, Mrs. Walford ; but our list is already long enough, so we omit the rest. Amone those who contribute to the January number of the Asiatic Quarterly, besides those we have mentioned before, are the Persian Ambassador, Commendatore Bonghi, and Sir Patrick Colquhoun. Tue Parliamentary Papers of the most general interest this week are Translations of Protocols and General Act of the Slave Trade Conference held at Brussels, 1889-90 (1s. 7$d.); Papers relating to the Protected Malay Straits (1s.) ; and Returns of Railway Accidents during the Six Months ending June 30th, 1890 (6d.). SCIENCE = GEOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE. Messrs. Buackre & Son publish a second number of ‘‘ Blackie’s Geographical Manuals,” the present volume having for title Geography of the British Empire, and containing two parts. separately paged : Part I. the Home Countries, and Part II. the Colonies and Dependencies ; both by Mr. Baker, of the Training College at Cheltenham. Mr. Baker’s preface tells us that his books are intended to ensure the intelligent teaching of geography, and they constitute an improvement on the old style of geographical manual ; but the improvement is far from being as yet sufficient, and there is room fora great deal more. We can only notice a few of the errors which we have met with in turning over Mr. Baker’s pages. They are, though numerous, mostly not important ; and a more unfavourable. criticism would consist in the general state- ment that there is a certain want of proportion in the book, and that accounts of places given as mere specimens of many others read as though chosen on account of their greater import- ance. To recite some of Mr. Baker’s errors : he speaks of the Channel Islands as ‘‘ strongly fortitied and garrisoned,” whereas he will find from any authorized document that the fortifi- cations of the Channel Islands have been neg- lected for many years, and that the War Office has abandoned the idea of holding the islands in strength against a French attack. In his ac- count of the British forces Mr. Baker is also out of date, as the figures which he gives are old figures, overstating, for example, the numbers of the militia and yeomanry, and understating some other numbers as well as the annual cost of the army. When he comes to India he also greatly understates the number of British-born soldiers in that country. Our author has tried. to bring his book up to date, and names in one part of it the recent Anglo-German agreement with regard to Africa, and in another part the cession of Heligoland. But from the habit of quoting from other books he has fallen into the error of speaking of the past as though it were the present in many places. Mr. Baker’s statement as to the annual. cost of the navy does not take account of the recent large additional expenditure out of loans, a portion of which should have been included. In his summary of the state of things in the British Isles he names Manchester only, under ‘‘Textile Trades,” for ‘‘ cotton goods,” exclud- ing Oldham and the other towns mentioned under Lancashire. But when he comes to woollens he names five towns, of which three are of the rank of the Lancashire cotton towns which he excludes. He also twice mentions Walsall as a saddlery town. Now there is, no doubt, saddlery made at Walsall; but. Walsall is not primarily a saddlery town, and the summary, therefore, will cause students to form an inaccurate impression. So, too, of Warrington and cordage. In mentioning the population of Glasgow in the summary Mr. Baker gives it as ‘‘with suburbs” 755,000. This mode of computation, however, is not adopted for Liverpool, Manchester, Birming- ham, and Portsmouth ; and it should have been explained that Manchester and Salford, though under two corporations, virtually form one town, as do Liverpool and Birkenhead, and Portsmouth and Southsea, while Birmingham has urban districts not within the control of its. corporation which are indistinguishable from the streets within the borough. When, there- fore, the population of Liverpool and of Man- chester is given at ‘‘ over 500,000 each,” Bir- mingham at ‘‘ 400,000,” and Portsmouth at. ‘‘over 100,000,” it must be understood that these figures are not computed in the same manner as the 755,000 set down for Glasgow. As regards Mr. Baker’s second part, ‘‘ Colonies: and Dependencies,” his map surprises us by its
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858 THE ATHENAUM N° 3295, Dec. 20, ’60 moderation. The district about Aden on the Arabian side is shown too large, and Grant Land and a portion of Greenland which are coloured as British were not worth indicating on a map of British possessions ; but elsewhere the omissions are more remarkable than the inclusions. Jamaica is the only West India island marked with British colour; Walfisch Bay is not so marked ; neither is the sphere of the British South Africa Company in Bechuana- land, nor that of the Imperial British East Africa Company, nor the Somali Land _ protec- torate, nor Baluchistan proper. It is difficult to say upon what principle Kashmir is coloured as a British possession and Khelat excluded. We have also fault to find with the second map contained in this part—that of Africa, in which the German colour, rather than the British, appears to be shown on the island of Zanzibar ; but this is probably a mere imperfection of the printing. We may note that the colour chosen for the German possessions is at night so similar to that chosen for the English, although very different by daylight, that it is difticult by artificial light to distinguish the Cameroons from the British Guinea district, the German East African sphere from the British East African sphere, or Damaraland: from Bechuana- land. Mr. Baker’s map of Africa takes no account of the Anglo-German agreement so far as the district to the north-east of Damaraland is concerned, and colours as British the boundary which Lord Salisbury has given up. In the first explanation of the map of Africa there is an omission of the British East African Sphere of Influence, although this is mentioned a good deal later on, andthere is a curiousstatement that “*Cape Colony claims Swaziland.” Cape Colony cannot get at Swaziland, and as a matter of fact both the present and the late Government of the Cape have desired the cession of Swaziland to the Transvaal ; so that the statement is the very opposite of the truth. Mr. Baker’s maps, where not up to date, are only slightly in arrear, as will be seen. But some of the illustrations are very old, although, to judge by the preface, Mr. Baker understands his publishers to have pre- pared them specially for his text. There is one of St. George’s Gallery at Gibraltar, in which British soldiers are represented as wearing both a full dress and an undress uniform which have been unknown in any branch of the service since 1853, the year in which the high shakos, pipe- clayed cross belts, large epaulettes, and swallow- tailed coats finally disappeared, while the flat cap shown in this cut as undress uniform had gone out long before that date. In the account of India Vazeerabad is mentioned as a ‘‘ great city,” as contrasted with any of the towns upon the Indus. The population of India under British rule is stated in one place as 201,000,000 and in another place as 216,000,000. The Indian Mohammedans are stated to be ‘‘ of Arab, Per- sian, and Tartar descent”; the fact being that the vast majority of them are converts from among the Hindoos or other peoples whose ancestors were in India before the tirst Mohammedan in- vasion. The figures given for the exportation of tea from India and Ceylon are those for 1887, although later figures have long since been pub- lished and are very different, the export from Ceylon having vastly increased. The only French settlement in India named is that of Pondi- cherry, although the smaller Portuguese settle- ments are mentioned as well as the larger one of Goa. ‘‘Sind” is mentioned among the four largest native states, Sind being in fact a British province; and Sind is spelt in two different ways, as are also Jodpore and many other names in the Indian part. The spelling of Indian names in different ways in the same book is a very natural mistake, especially in a book which quotes from others ; but it should be avoided in a book intended for examination purposes, as it must undoubtedly confuse the learner, and the spelling of the maps and of the text should have been brought into accord. Peshawar is mentioned as a fortified town, although the scheme for its fortification has been upset and no fortification ever carried out. It has a so-called ‘‘fort,” but so has almost every old Indian city. Mysore is stated to be under British adininistration at the present moment on account of the minority of the prince, but this minority and administration came to an end many years ago. As regards the notice of other British possessions, the strength of the Canadian militia is stated at 750,000, without any explanation that this is a mere paper force, for which neither arms nor uniforms exist ; and the real Canadian militia force is only 36,000 strong. In the account of the Straits Settle- ments it is said that Singapore is noted for the ‘‘mangostine, which grows nowhere else, save in the Philippines,” and the quotation given goes on to say that the fruit is overpraised. This last point is a matter of taste, and most people who have eaten the mangosteen in per- fection think it the finest fruit in the world. But the omission of Java and Borneo from the countries in which it grows is the omission of its own home, and no one who has not eaten the mangosteen in Java knows what the fruit is. It grows in India, although less well. In the account of Australia there are few errors, but a double mention of ‘‘Remuark” is a bad mis- print. Carlisle to Hexham. (Philip & Son.)—This guide-book to Carlisle and district, including special descriptions of Naworth, Lanercost, Gilsland, and the Roman Wall, has a good map and a variety of illustrations. Doubtless it will be useful to tourists who buy it, and it is cheap at the price of eighteenpence; but there is nothing original about it, and apparently no par- ticular reason why it should have been compiled, as several guide-books to the same places of equal calibre already exist. It might easily be improved, and contains several archeological blunders. In the seven lines of preface it is stated that ‘‘ the editor of this guide has had the advantage of visiting nearly all the places of interest mentioned in it.” Who but the hack writer of the average guide (?) book would dream of describing a place that he had not seen ? Geography of Europe, by James Sime, M.A., one of Messrs. Macmillan’s ‘‘ Geographical Series,” is quite equal in point of execution to Prof. A. Geikie’s ‘Geography of the British Isles.’ Due prominence has been given to the physical features of each country, and the author has very wisely not eschewed historical refer- ences, so far as they are related to geography. India, Burma, and China, by H. F. Blanford, the most recent volume of ‘‘ Macmillan’s Geo- graphical Series,” is an excellent little text- book, which can be most warmly recommended to teachers. The name of its author is quite sufficient guarantee for the correctness of the multiplicity of facts presented and the scientific treatment of the whole subject. We commend more especially the chapter which deals with the ‘* Influence of India’s Geography on its People.” Mr. Arthur Mippiteton ReEEvEs is to be congratulated upon the conscientious care with which he has edited the most important Ice- landic sagas bearing upon the discovery of Wineland the Good. His sumptuously printed volume The Finding of Wineland the Good: the History of the Icelandic Discovery of America (Frowde), contains facsimile reproductions of the ‘Saga of Eric the Red,’ as related in ‘‘ Hauks Book” and in a vellum codex, No. 557, quarto, both in the Arna-Magniean collection, and of the ‘History of Wineland’ from the ‘‘ Flatey Book ” in the Royal Library of Copenhagen. Each text is accompanied by a careful transcription, a translation, and copious notes. The editor does not, however, attempt to identify the regions referred to in these and other sagas, but contents himself with accepting Prof. G. Storm’s theory that Wineland must have been some- where to the south of lat. 49° N. To students these reproductions of ancient texts must prove invaluable. A, M. Mackay, Pioneer Missionary of the Church Missionary Society in Uganda, by his sister (Hodder & Stoughton), is a book which should prove intensely interesting not only to the friends of missions, but to all those interested nn the moral progress of Africa. Mr. Mackay, the son of a Free Church minister, left a lucrative position in Germany in order to join the band of missionaries who went out in 1876 in the hope of converting the kingdom of Uganda to the Christian faith. In the extracts from his journals and letters, now first collected by the loving care of a sister, we obtain an insight into the young missionary’s hopes and aspirations, and the spirit in which he carried on his labours. Elsewhere in Africa the labours of men of equal earnestness may have proved barren, but Mackay’s work in Uganda must be pronounced a success. He had to struggle with difficulties, he had to place on record failures, but so strong was his own faith that it inspired faith in numerous disciples, who, in the hour of trial, proved true even untodeath. Now that Uganda (the fairest province of all Africa, as Mackay calls it) has become a portion of the Queen’s dominions, it is to be hoped that the seed sown by its first missionaries will not be allowed to perish. The Golden Gates of Trade with our Home Industries and Map-Studies of the Mercantile World (Philip & Son) have been compiled by Dr. John Yeats as manuals of commercial in- struction in secondary schools and _ technical colleges. The author knows his subject, and has already written much about it. But these volumes appear ill adapted to the purpose aimed at. The dry statements of facts with which they are crowded are likely to disgust boys upon whom they are forced, and the boys whose heads are stuffed with them will be in no way helped thereby to make way as clerks in banks and counting-houses. Dr. Yeats, who announces on each title-page that he has been ‘‘twelve years examiner in commercial geography and history,” and who appends to each chapter a specimen examination paper on its contents, is evidently more familiar with the art of cramming than with the science of education. We suspect that for any luckless youth who may be com- pelled to learn these books by heart there is much less chance of getting on in the world and rising to be a merchant on his own account than he would have if his teachers had attempted no more than to sharpen his wits and provide him with such general intelligence as would be of equal service to him in whatever special line of work he might have to follow. Surveying and Levelling Instrwments, by William Ford Stanley, the well-known _instru- ment maker of Great Turnstile, Holborn (Spon), is likely to be received with favour by engineers, explorers, and all others interested in surveying. It is probably the most complete book of the kind published in this or any other country. The illustrations are numerous, the technical and practical descriptions lucid and sufficiently ample for the purpose. Foreign no less than English instruments are dealt with, which is a distinct advantage, and although a ‘‘Price List” is appended to the volume, this useful and carefully prepared work must not be looked upon as an “illustrated tradesman’s catalogue.” Tue Physical and Political Atlas, by J. G. Bartholomew (Macmillan & Co.), consists of eighty maps engraved upon sixty-three plates, and is provided with a full index. Some of these maps are familiar to us, having been used before, but they all are tastefully printed, not overcrowded with names, and fairly well brought up to date. The work is, therefore, one likely to prove acceptable and useful. LEED ee ee ee Se ae a ae es BAO he om an RH BR SS = & he ~ —- — + 4 © “> 2 at et ae weit Ht OO oO z le RISB tet Mees
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Né 3295, Dec. 20, 90 THE ATHENAZUM 859 ASTRONOMICAL NOTES. WE mentioned in our ‘‘ Astronomical Notes” on November 22nd that Dr. R. Spitaler, of Vienna, had discovered a comet (f, 1890) even fainter than Zona’s, on the following evening, the 16th ult. In Ast. Nach., No. 3008, he gives an account of the discovery. Having received intelligence of that of Zona, he turned the 27-inch telescope towards the place which it would occupy, and immediately perceived a very faint comet ; but concluding from the descrip- tion given that Zona’s was brighter, he turned the telescope about a little, and soon found the latter. Physical connexion between the two was excluded by the slower motion of his own, so that he announced it as a new discovery, but was not able, on account of unfavourable weather, to obtain any further observation until December 4th. On the second night after- wards (the 6th inst.) it was also observed at the Copenhagen Observatory by C. F. Pechiile, who describes it as very small and faint. M. Charlois, of Nice, has given names to six of the small planets discovered by him in the last and present years. Nos. 283, 284, and 285, discovered on February 8th, May 29th, and August 3rd, 1889, have been named Emma, Amelia, and Regina respectively ; whilst Nos. 289, 293, and 294, found on March 10th, May 20th, and July 15th, 1890, have received respec- tively the names Nenetta, Brasilia, and Felicia. Dr. Hind and Dr. A. Berberich have each published a determination of the orbit of Zona’s comet (e, 1890), the former making the peri- helion passage to have taken place on the 8th, and the latter on the 7th of August, at the dis- tance from the sun of 2°05 in terms of the earth’s mean distance. The brightness is now only about half what it was at the time of discovery on November 15th, and the comet is not likely to be followed much longer, even with the most powerful telescopes. JAMES CROLL, LL.D., F.R.S. Dr. Croxu, of Perth, the well-known writer on physico-geological subjects, has passed away, after a painful illness, extending over a long course of years and borne with remarkable fortitude. Without any of the advantages of early scientific training, Mr. Croll raised him- self from a very humble social position to that of a recognized authority on a particular class of subjects, especially those connected with the relation of climate to geological phenomena. Many years ago, by the influence of Sir A. Ramsay, Mr. Croll, then resident in Glasgow, was appointed an oflicer of the Geological Sur- vey of Scotland. Although best known by his volume entitled ‘Climate and Time,’ he was the author of several other works, such as ‘ Climate and Cosmology,’ ‘Stellar Evolution,’ and the ‘Philosophy of Theism.’ Dr. Croll was also a copious contributor to the Philosophical Maqa- zine and other scientific journals of papers re- lating to glacial phenomena, oceanic currents, and geological time. The originality of his views frequently carried him into controversy with scientific men, who probably knew but little of his feeble state of health and the straitened circumstances of his life. Dr. Croll died on the 15th inst., at the age of sixty-nine ; and it is understood that up to the time of his death, though aware of his approaching end, he was busily engaged upon further literary work. SOCIETIES. RoyAL.— Dee. 11.—Sir W. Thomson, President, in the chair.—The President announced that he had appointed as Vice-Presidents the Treasurer (Dr. J. Evans), Mr. Christie, Prof. A. Newton, Sir G. G. Stokes, and General Strachey.— The following pew were read : ‘On Ellipsoidal Harmonics,’ by r. W. D. Niven,—‘ Photometric Observations of the Sun and Sky,’ by Mr. W. Brennand,— Deter- minations of the Heat Capacity and Heat of Fric- tion of some Substances to test the Validity of Person’s Absolute Zero,’ by Mr. 8S, U. Pickering,— ‘On Wolf and Rayet’s Bright-line Stars in Cygnus,’ by Dr. Huggins and Mrs. Huggins,—and ‘ Stokes’s Current Function,’ by Mr. R. A, Sampson. ASTRONOMICAL.— Dec. 12.—General Tennant in the chair.—The Rev. J. Mitchell was elected a Fellow, and Prof. L. Boss, M. Cornu, and M. Sauillart were elected Foreign Associates —Father Cortie read a paper entitled ‘Observations of Spectra of Sun Spots in the Region B to D made at Stonyhurst College Observatory from 1882 to 1889.’ He said that the period of observation embraced one of great solar activity as well as one of quies- cence. Some three hundred lines had been noted as widened, Amongst these the lines belonging to the spectrum of iron seemed to be less affected during the period of maximum disturbance than afterward, while the broadened lines in the titanium spectrum seemed to be equally affected in the disturbed and in the quiet period.—Mr. Isaac Roberts exhi- bited with the aid of a lantern some of his best photographs of nebule and clusters. A series of photographs of the Orion nebula, taken with dif- ferent exposures varying from a few seconds to over three hours, were thrown on the screen. The photographs with short exposures showed the struc- ture in the denser parts of the nebula very similar to that which has been drawn by Lord Rosse, while the longer exposures showed tree-like and branch- ing structures similar to those which have been found in some photographs of the corona. Photo- graphs of the Dumb-bell nebula, of the spiral nebula in Ursa Major, and of the great nebula in Andro- meda were also thrown on the screen. Mr. Roberts pointed out the number of stars which were in- volved in these nebule, many of them arranged in lines which seemed to be connected with the streams of nebulous matter. There were also denser aggre- gations of nebulous matter, which left a trace upon the photographic plate somewhat similar to that left by a star, but with softer edges—Mr. Ranyard pointed out some regions where the light of the nebule seemed to be cut out by dark masses situated between the observer and the nebule.—In one of the photographs. which had been exposed for three hours, Mr. Roberts pointed out a short line of light like a string of beads, which he said corresponded to the trace left upon the plate by the planet Vesta, which had moved during the expo- sure. He pointed to the inequalities in bright- ness, which gave the appearance of a string of beads, as affording evidence that the transparency of the air for actinic light varies from hour to hour, no clouds visible to the eye having been observed during the exposure.—The following papers were taken as read : ‘ Note on Celestial Photographs taken at the Sydney Observatory,’ by Mr. H. C. Russell, —‘New Nebula, by Mr. W. F. Denning,—‘ Note on Hind’s Variable Nebula in Taurus,’ by Mr. S. W. Burnham, —‘Ephemerides of the Satellites of Saturn, 1890-91,’ by Mr. A. Marth,—and ‘ Elements and Ephemerides of Comet Zona,’ by Mr. J. R. Hind.—At a special meeting of the Society held after the ordinary meeting it was proposed by Mr. Chambers that the meetings of the Society should in future be held in the afternoon, instead of at eight in the evening. After a prolonged discussion it was decided not to change the hour of meeting. GEOLOGICAL.—Dec, 10.—Dr. A. Geikie, President, in the chair.—Rev. C. F. B. Hawkins, Rev. E. Jones, Dr. T. Anderson, Dr. H. P. Blackmore, Messrs. W. Young Campbell, J. F. Crowder, W. T. Curry, P. L. Davies, G. F. Franks, N. Kitto, H. A. Mangles, E. P. Mathers, O. C. J. G. L. Overbeck, F. Owen, J. V. Parkes, P. J. Roberts, H. Sugg, and H. H. Sutherland were elected Fellows.—he following communications were read : ‘On some Water-worn and Pebble-worn Stones taken from the Apron of the Severn Commissioners’ Weir erected across the River at Holt Fleet, about Eight Miles above Wor- cester, by Mr. H. J. Marten,—‘ On the Physical Geology of Tennessee and Adjoining Districts in the United States of America,’ by Prof. E. Hull,—and ‘On certain Ornithosaurian and Dinosaurian Re- mains,’ by Mr. R. Lydekker. ASIATIC.—Dec. 15.—Sir F. Goldsmid, V.P., in the chair.— Mr. T. G. Pinches read a paper ‘ On the Akka- dian Version of the Story of the Creation.’ This was a translation of and commentary upon the tablet recently found by Mr. Pinches among the numerous tablets discovered by Mr. Hormuzd Rassam in 1882 at Kouyunjik. The obverse is devoted to the Creation, and the reverse is simply an incantation for the purification of the great temple -tower K-zida, now called the Birs Nimroud. The obverse is, therefore, the more importunt part, and it was to this part that Mr. Pinches paid the greater atten- tion. He pointed out that the text might be divided roughly into sections of about ten lines each. The first describes the time when nothing was, neither the “glorious house of the gods,” nor plants, nor trees, nor cities, nor houses; and not even the Abyss (Hades) nor Eridu (regarded by the author as a type of Paradise) existed. The second section de- scribes the making of this last-named Eridu, with its temple E-sagila, which had been founded within the Abyss. Then were made Babylon, the gods, the spirits, the land, the abode of the gods and mankind. The third section treats of the creation of animals, plants and trees, the Tigris and the Euphrates, &c.; and the fourth and last remaining section records the building of cities and houses. Merodach seems to be the principal creator and constructor of all these things. This inscription contains many interesting words and forms, and is of great value also on that account. Parallels be- tween this version and that first published by the late G. Smith are exceedingly few. This text formed one of a series on which the legend was probably continued.—Mr. Strong read a paper ona hitherto untranslated inscription of Sennacherib. He proposed various amendments of the text, and adduced reasons for regarding it as referring to Sennacherib’s campaign against the Kassi, He also communicated to the Society the text and trans- lation of a hitherto unnoticed altar-inscription of Assurnasirpal., STATISTICAL.— Dec. 16.—Dr. F. J. Mouat, Presi- dent, in the chair.—The Right Hon. Sir Charles W. Dilke, Bart., read a paper entitled ‘Statistics of the Defence Expenditure of the Chief Military and Naval Powers.’—In the discussion that ensued the following took part: Mr. S. Wilkinson, Col. Maurice, Capt. May, Right Hon. G. Shaw-Lefevre, Lieut.-Col. Goldsmid, and the President. MATHEMATICAL.—Dec. 11.—Prof. Greenhill, Pre- sident, in the chair. — Prof. F. 8. Carey, Messrs. M. W. J. Fry and H.S. Romer, and Hari Das Sastri, Director of Public Instruction, Jaypur State, were elected Members.—The following communications were made :‘ On the Reversion of Partial Differential Expressions with Two Independent and Two De- pendent Variables,’ by Mr. E. B. Elliott,—* New- ton’s Classification of Cubic Curves,’ by Mr, W. W. R. Ball,— On the Stability of a Plane Plate under Thrusts in its own Plane, with Applications to the “Buckling ” of the Sides of a Ship,’ —— G. H. Bryan, communicated by Mr. A. E. H. Love,—‘ On the Extension to Matrices of any Order of the Qua- ternion Symbols S and V,’ by Dr. Taber,—‘ Steiner’s Poristic Systems of Spheres,’ by Prof. G. B. Mathews, —and ‘On the qg-Series derived from the Elliptic and Zeta Functions of j% and 3%,’ by Dr. Glaisher, ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.—Dee. 9.—Mr. F. Galton, V.P., in the chair.—The election of the Hon. Lady Welby aud of Mr. R. W. Swinnerton was an- nounced.—A paper ‘On an Apparent Paradox in Mental Evolution,’ by the Hon. Lady Welby, was read.—Mr. F. Galton exhibited a large number of impressions of the bulbs of the thumb and fingers of human hands, showing the curves of the capil- lary ridges on the skin. These impressions are an unfailing mark of the identity of a person, since they do not vary from youth to age, and are different in different individuals. There is a statement that. the Chinese—who seem to be credited with every new discovery—had used thumb impressions as proofs of identity for a long time ; but Mr. Galton pronounced it to be an egregious error. Impres- sions of the thumb formed, indeed, a kind of oath or signature among the Chinese, but nothing more. Sir W. J. Herschell, however, when in the civil service of India, introduced the practice of imprint- ing finger marks as a check on personation. Mr. Galton’s impressions were taken from over 2,000 persons by spreading a thin film of printers’ ink on a plate of glass, then pressing the thumb or finger carefully on the plate to ink the capillary ridges, and afterwards printing the latter on a sheet of white paper. Typical forms can be discerned and traced, of which the individual forms are mere varieties. Wide departures from the typical form are very rare. ARISTOTELIAN.— Dec. 15.—Mr. S. H. Hodgson, President, in the chair.—Papers were read by Mr. A. Bontwood, Mr. H. W. Blunt, and Mr. G. F. Stout on the subject ‘Does our Knowledge or Perception of the Ego admit of being Analyzed ?’—A discussion followed. MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. Mow. Society of Arts, 8.—‘Gaseous Illuminants,’ Lecture V., Prof. V. B. Lewes (Cantor Lecture). Tvrs. Photographic, 8. Royal Institution, 3.—‘ Frost and Fire,’ Prof. Dewar (Juvenile Lecture). Sar. Science Gossip, Dr. Peters’s forthcoming book on the German Emin Pasha expedition will extend to over five hundred pages and be illustrated by about eighty
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860 THE ATHENAUM N° 3295, Dec. 20, 90 drawings by Berlin artists. The author will criticize Mr. Stanley and his expedition, and especially his references to Emin. The copy- right for England has been acquired by Messrs. Ward, Lock & Co., who will issue an English translation early in the spring in library form, with the original illustrations. M. CramPeEL is reported to have reached the furthest French post on the Mobangi on September 24th, and was then quite prepared to continue his journey in the direction of Lake Tsad. This expedition, if successful, jointly with that of M. Cholet, will cut off Ger- many from her ‘‘ Hinterland” at the back of the Cameroons, supposing, of course, that priority of exploration confers a claim to political pos- session. Mr. E. J. Lowe has written a volume on ferns for the ‘‘ Young Collector Series” (Sonnen- schein), which is to appear, together with others in the same series by Messrs. J. H. Slater, F. Tufnail, Latham, and Dr. Williams, in January. FINE ARTS ——~—— ROYAL SOCIETY of PAINTERS in WATER COLOURS. — The WINTER ase rpe teed is NOW OPEN, 5, Pall-mall East, from 10 till 5. = » 1s. 5 1 ~ ALFRED D. FRIPP, R.W:S., Secretary. The Coins of the Ancient Britons: Supple- ment. By John Evans, D.0.L. (Qua- ritch.) Dr. Joun Evans’s well-known work on the ancient British coinage was published in 1864, and since that time, through the discovery of hoards and of isolated coins, a good deal of new material has accumulated. The author is, however, quite justified in his statement that this material is not of such a nature as to necessitate the rewriting of the original work. Although it makes some interesting additions to our knowledge, it for the most part only confirms, or but slightly modifies, the views which he origin- ally put forward. Dr. Evans has, therefore, wisely adopted the plan of issuing a supple- ment, with the numbering of the chapters, ages, and plates continued from the former ook. The illustrations consist of ten en- graved plates and of some woodcuts inserted in the text. It is, as a rule, impossible to admit the artistic or the scientific legitimacy of reproducing coins by engraving, but one cannot help being captivated by the extreme meatness and care with which the present plates have been executed. In reproducing the British series, which consists so largely of barbarous coins struck on “‘ blanks’ too small to display the full impression of the die, a certain amount of interpretation in the plates is almost absolutely necessary, and the engravings can in this case be con- trolled by the descriptions in the text, which the author has made extremely minute. An excellent feature of the ‘Supplement’ is a map of Britain showing the localities where coins of the inscribed class have been dis- covered ; and general and topographical indexes are given. In the study of ancient British numis- matics two points present themselves as of especial importance—the find-spot and the type of the coins. On the former point Dr. Evans’s information is singularly full and accurate. As president of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Numismatic Society of London, and as the owner of a remark- able cabinet of coins, he has had almost unique opportunities, and there are pro- bably few extant British coins that have not at some time passed through his hands, or of which he has not been supplied with a description. The minute record of the find- spot and of the present whereabouts of the various specimens was a noteworthy feature of the ‘Coins of the Ancient Britons,’ and is not less so of the ‘ Supplement.’ The types also are as minutely described as in the former volume, and in tracing them to their prototypes—usually the Macedonian ‘* Philippus ””—some further interesting ex- amples are afforded of the author’s applica- tion to British numismatics of the principles of evolution and natural selection—prin- ciples that in other branches of coin-study have been fruitfully applied by Mr. Keary in his ‘ Morphology of Coins.’ The first chapter of this volume (num- bered chap. xviii.) deals with the date and origin of the British coinage, and we find that the date B.c. 150, originally suggested by Dr. Evans as an approximate one for the earliest issue of the coins, is still main- tained. The three following chapters de- scribe new varieties in the gold, silver, and bronze money of the uninscribed class. The silver coins belong, as Dr. Evans points out, to two categories differing in weight : (1) the distinct derivatives of the ‘‘Philippus”’; (2) the specimens bearing a rude, but not laureate head, and derived not from the ‘‘ Philippus,” but from another (and probably a Gaulish) source. Chap. xxiv. treats of the coins of the South-Eastern Dis- trict, especially those found on the Sussex shore between West Wittering and Selsea. Most of the specimens from these important finds were first published by Mr. E. H. Willett subsequent to the appearance of Dr. Evans’s original work. Among the coins of the Kentish district (chap. xxv.) may be noted a gold piece reading CALLEV, a legend which establishes the existence of a mint at Calleva—a place probably identical with Silchester. A new silver coin among those of the Central District (chap. xxvi.) is inter- esting from its bearing the letters cara, which may be fairly completed as caraTacvs. Dr. Evans doubts whether the Caractacus of the Roman historians was ever in a position to issue money, and suggests that the Caratacus (or Caractacus) who minted this coin was a son of Tasciovanus. Before the publication of this specimen, the con- nexion of a Caractacus with numismatics depended solely on the untrustworthy legend caratacvs given by Stukeley. To the interesting coinage of Cunobeline there are several additions. A gold coin (pl. xxii. 1) purchased by Dr. Evans at the Murchison sale bears the satisfactory legend camvit (Camulodunum) and cyno- BELIN, instead of the usual caMv and cyno. A new obverse type of Cunobeline consists of two leaves (of ivy ?) with berries, a de- vice recalling in general appearance the winged thunderbolt on a denarius of the Salvia family. In dealing (in chap. xxviii.) with the coinage of Addedomaros, Dr. Evans compares the name with the Gaulish Atepomaros. It would have been interest- ing to have had his opinion on the sugges- tion made in the Numismatic Chronicle for 1884 (p. 267), that the true reading of the coins is ‘‘ Athepomaros’” —a form still nearer to the Gaulish name. The same chapter contains an account of the gold coins, attributed to the Iceni, from the important find at Freckenham, Suffolk, first described by Mr. H. Montagu. In conclud- ing a review which necessarily omits the mention of many interesting novelties and varieties of type, we must congratulate Dr. Evans on having produced an admirable supplement to an invaluable work. CHRISTMAS BOOKS. Richmondshire, illustrated by Twenty Line Engravings after Drawings by J. M. W. Turner. (Virtue & Co.)—This most handsome volume contains engravings after Turner by W. R. Smith, J. Le Keux, J. Pye, W. Rad- clyffe, C. Heath, and others. They are as well known as the comparative rarity of the publi- cation in which they formerly appeared has permitted, and, although they are of very un- equal value, the least of them has always com- manded praise, while some of the finest—such as Pye’s ‘ Hardraw Fall,’ Radclyffe’s ‘ Hornby Castle,’ and Heath’s ‘ Ingleborough ’—have won the admiration of students of all degrees, and have, as Mrs. A. W. Hunt fails not to mention, been warmly praised by Mr. Ruskin. Although by the side of many modern prints the plates before us look a little hard and pale, that is only a question (and a very slight one) of degree, while of the intrinsic merit of each piece there cannot be two opinions ; so that we are able to join Mr. Huish, who has written an introduction to this book, in saying that, for ordinary purposes of course, ‘‘it is a distinct gain to art-literature that these plates should again come to light in so well preserved a con- dition.” This volume is a companion to ‘The Seine and Loire,’ issued under similar conditions by the same publishers, which we reviewed some time ago. The prints are quite as mas- culine, although they are not so delicate and rich in colour as those of the French series. Some of them have suffered much more than others. Mrs. Hunt has supplied an historical and de- scriptive note to each plate, and thus added a good deal to the chances of the work’s success. She generally agrees with Mr. Ruskin’s opinion about the beauty, character, and sentiment of each view, and, of course, she is at one with him in deploring the too frequent degradation which has befallen the sites. The Song of Hiawatha, by H. W. Longfellow (Sampson Low), comprises in a comely volume, besides a well-printed text, a number of designs by Mr. F. Remington, who has little of that sense of beauty which some think indispensable in art. Many of the cuts, though to some extent ugly, are poetical—see Hiawatha waiting in his canoe for the King of Fishes. Most of these illustra- tions strongly resemble those ‘‘sun-pictures ” in which photographers delight to see what they call ‘‘art.” We do not admire the marginal decorations of the pages, which consist of cuts of odds and ends of Indian implements, attire, weapons, and what not, besides extremely un- comely heads of Indian men and women. The Art Journal, New Series, 1890 (Virtue & Co.), although it contains fewer articles than hitherto by writers of reputation, suffers much less than might be expected from their absence, and on the whole is nearly, if not quite, up to its old standard. The best of the engravings and woodcuts are as good as any published in England, and they are so numerous that we need not particularize them ; on the other hand, a considerable number—for instance, those on pp. 146-60, illustrating pictures at the summer exhibitions—are unfortunate in most respects. We should like fewer indifferent process cuts and more choice engravings on wood. The papers are generally too short to be more than sketches, and not a few of the writers had better have been less ambitious and chosen subjects that admit of brief treatment rather than those which will not bear compressing. ' Among the essays of solid value are four on the ae a a ee ee ee ee oe ee ee ae ee ee | ae” oe. ae ~e SS Oe 3 ont os as wt ari Te oD ete 2 eee Om Cet eet oe mR hee he ee ee
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ine LS EE —— lc XUM N° 3295, Dec. 20, 90 THE ATHENZXZUM 861 ‘Royal Academicians of the Last Century,’ by Messrs. F. Eaton and J. E. Hodgson. Glimpses of Old English Homes, by E. Balch (Macmillan & Co.), seems to have been written for visitors from the United States, of which the late Miss Balch was a native. Some of the illustrations — for example, those of Hinchin- brook—are very pretty indeed, but they appear to be due to photographs. The cuts from pic- tures are extremely bad — for instance, those facing pp. 174 and 182. The lady to whom we owe the letterpress wrote with a light hand ; she put down her first impressions, which were always bright and appreciative, and did not venture far beyond what easy reading furnished in her historic notices of eight famous English mansions. On the whole, the book is not worth much. Calendar for 1891 (L. Barbe & Co.) contains an almanac with verses appropriate to each month, borrowed from well-known poets, and very pretty little landscapes printed in colours. This tract has been ‘‘ arranged and illustrated by S. de Niederhausern.”—An Ocean Knight ; or, the Corsairs and their Conquerors (Warne & Co.), has been translated from the French of F. du Boisgobey, and illustrated by ‘‘ Adrien Marie.” It is a spirited melodrama, with con- versations of the ejaculatory sort, and scrappy descriptions hardly more coherent. Big boys will read it with pleasure, but they had better read the original. Some of the smaller cuts are very spirited. The large ones are much inferior. —WSketches of Indian Life. By W. W. Lloyd. (Chapman & Hall.) There isa certain amount of fun (of the sort which since the English entered India has been delineated by countless ama- teurs, mostly military and generally unskilful) in these coloured cuts, the subjects of which are the adventures of soldiers and natives. The artist is, of course, not the distinguished classical scholar and critic Mr. W. Watkiss Lloyd. — Sketches of England, by a foreign artist and a foreign author (Art Journal Office), is reprinted from our contemporary, with the original cuts, most of which are very clever indeed. The ‘foreign author” has many good - humoured touches of satire on our looks, ways, and speech, and the ‘‘ foreign artist” is not behind him in making fun of us. Among the most amusing prints is that showing how painters throng the Fairy Glen, Bettws-y-Coed. Young England’s Nursery Tales. Tllustrated by C. Haslewood. (Warne & Co.)—The coloured cuts with which this little book cannot be said to be ‘‘adorned” are poor things ; the tales are old friends, such as ‘ Cinderella’ and ‘ Puss in Boots.’ Mr. W. Macratu has made a certain number of clever, deftly drawn, and sympathetic illus- trations to S. Lover’s pretty ballad The Low- backed Car, of which the toll-keeper scratching his poll, after the manner of his race (on the stage), is among the best, while ‘‘the blooming girl” herself is the least acceptable. These de- signs have been reproduced by a process, and the whole has been published in a neat volume by Messrs. Hutchinson & Co.—Messrs. Hildes- heimer & Faulkner’s publications of the season comprise (1) The Harvest Fields, selected poems accompanied by rather pretty, but somewhat hackneyed and mechanical illustrations by Mr. E. Wilson ; (2) Stories for Somebody, written by E. Carrington in a sentimental mogd, with rather ee but essentially trivial sketches by Mrs. . M. Stanley, who would do well to draw carefully ; (3) When We were Children, nice tales for little girls by E. M. Green, with illus- trations, of equal value to the last, by Mr. W. G. Burton ; (4) The Book of Old Ballads, a selection of good ballads, accompanied by designs of a pretty and sentimental kind by the late Miss Alice Havers; (5) Some Old Love Songs, which comprises gems of amorous verse, en- riched with elegant and spirited cuts by the same artist, and far superior to the last ; and (6) This Little Pig went to Market, a Tale in Five Curls, by F. E. Weatherly, and illustrated by W. Weekes, which compares unfavourably in taste, style, and humour with Mr. Walter Crane’s fine series of pictures on the same subject.—Messrs. Griffith & Farran have sent us (1) Young People and Old Pictures, by T. Child, readable notes on artists who have painted youths, and on the youths they have painted, with many bad and a few tolerable woodcuts of the paintings ; (2) The Little Ladies, by H. Milman, illustrated by E. F. Harding, which has an acceptable text, with a few suitable and pretty cuts ; (3) Told by the Fireside, which comprises capital tales—all of them having good ‘*morals,” except that in which a wicked country rector restores his church—and illus- trations of the brightest spirit and most pleasant art by Mrs. Seymour Lucas ; it is altogether a nice book ; (4) a group of trivial little books, some simple and some silly, being John China- man, Aladdin, Bluebeard, The Book of Birds, and Over the Seas. Of these the last is much the best, and deserves to be given to well- behaved children.—Messrs. Nisbet & Co. have published Pictures illustrative of the Lord’s Prayer, by E. Marshall, with designs in a con- ventional and ‘‘ German” manner by ‘‘ Dalziel.” The text is a well-intentioned, but didactic and artificial sermon wrapped in the sugar of a goody tale, the upshot of which seems to con- fuse the laws on forgiveness of wrongs with those anent forgetting them. SIR JOSEPH EDGAR BOEHM, BART., R.A. THE painfully sudden death, on the 12th inst., of this accomplished Court sculptor and Aca- demician removes one of the most able and fortunate of his class, and leaves to be completed by his brother artists a considerable body of com- missions in various stages. One of those large and important works of which an unusual share fell to the lot of Sir Edgar, the eftigy of the late German Emperor, was finished but a few days ago, and will, by Her Majesty’s desire, shortly be set up at Windsor. The deceased had, as it was remarked in ‘ Artists at Home,’ produced more public statues than any artist of this country, from Flaxman to Foley. This was true six years ago, when the statement was printed, and it is true to the present time. As the sculptor himself revised the memoir, we cannot do better than borrow its data. He was born at Vienna, July 6th, 1834, of Hun- garian parents, and was educated there. His father, Herr Daniel Boehm, the Director of the Imperial Mint, was a man of distinction in art, and formed a numerous collection of ex- amples of the finest kinds of sculpture, amid which the son had ample opportunities for studying the antique. His works, however, prove that he followed other and less severe models. With his father he travelled in Italy, and in the Renaissance statuary of that coun- try found those types of design which, in a by no means exacting form, he adopted, adding to them much telling picturesqueness, and avoid- ing certain difficulties over which it is the glory of men of higher ambition to triumph. From 1848 to 1851 the young Boehm studied in this country, largely in the Elgin Room and elsewhere at the British Museum. It was manifestly to his advantage that he did so, for it enabled him to impart style to his least serious designs. From 1851 he was in Italy ; later he was in Paris, where he worked with some éclat; and about this period we find him in Vienna again, where, in 1856, he won the First Imperial Prize, his earliest important distinction. In 1862 he settled in London, and in 1865 became naturalized. His first ap- pearance at the Academy was with a terra- cotta ‘Bust of a Gentleman,’ in 1862. Little had, at that time, been done in terra-cotta, a material which lends itself to work like Boehm’s, that is more spirited than scholarly. The novelty of the material, apart from the intrinsic merit of the portrait, attracted attention to it. In 1863 he sent to Trafalgar Square the very clever statuettes of ‘Mr. and Mrs. Millais.’ He soon became the fashion, and next year exhibited at the same place not fewer than six examples, including a capital statuette of Thackeray, a spirited small bronze equestrian ‘Miss Edwards,’ and ‘Johnny Armstrong,’ a racehorse. A marble bust of Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe and a group of Mr. W. Russell and his horse came forth in 1865. Then fol- lowed the ‘Duke of Beaufort’; ‘Countess of Cardigan’; ‘H.M. the Queen,’ a terra-cotta statuette ; the ‘Marquis of Lansdowne,’ for Westminster Abbey; a colossal equestrian group of the Prince of Wales, for Bombay ; another, of ‘Lord Napier of Magdala,’ for Cal- cutta ; ‘Thomas Carlyle,’ in bronze, for Chelsea, a capital instance of Boehm’s best work ; as well as portraits, of various materials and sizes, of the Queen, Lord Rosebery, Lord John Russell, Mr. Ruskin, Sir F. Burton, Mr. Gladstone, Prof. Huxley, and Sir J. E. Millais; Sir Francis Drake, for Tavistock; the late Archbishop of Canterbury, for his cathedral ; Lord Derby ; Lord Wolseley ; Lord Shaftesbury ; and a host of private commissions. Of public statues, of which the deceased seemed to have secured a monopoly, the list is too long for tran- scribing. The most ambitious of them, but not the best, are ‘The Duke of Kent,’ ‘The Queen,’ ‘The King of the Belgians,’ ‘ Princess Alice and her Daughters,’ ‘Prince Leopold,’ ‘Dean Wellesley,’ and ‘The Prince Imperial,’ all for Windsor or Frogmore. The last, a very poor specimen, was the subject of a hot debate, which ended in its not finding a place at West- minster, as proposed. Boehm executed ‘ Bun- yan,’ for Bedford ; ‘The Duchess of Bedford,’ for Woburn Abbey; a most unfortunate ‘Sir John Burgoyne,’ for Waterloo Place; ‘Lord Lawrence,’ for the same locality, which the sculptor, being dissatisfied with his first effort, very wisely replaced with a second and some- what better statue; ‘Sir W. Gregory,’ for Colombo; ‘W. Tyndale,’ for the Northern Embankment ; ‘ Darwin,’ for the Natural His- tory Museum ; ‘Sir Ashley Eden,’ for Calcutta ; and ‘Lord Beaconsfield,’ ‘ Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe,’ and ‘ Dean Stanley,’ all three for the Abbey. The last is one of Boehm’s most effective works. He was by no means fortunate in the group of the Duke of Wellington and his soldiers which now fronts Apsley House. Asa design it illustrates the author’s weaknesses. Boehm was elected an Associate of the Academy in January, 1878, an Academician two years later, a member of the Academy of Florence in 1875, and of that of Rome in 1880; in 1878 he received a Second Class Medal at Paris; at Vienna, in 1882, a gold medal. He was Sculptor in Ordinary to the Queen. He lectured on sculpture at the Royal Academy. It is understood that he was hampered in designing as well as in executing the dies for that new coinage which will not commend him to posterity, and it is said that the baronetcy which was bestowed upon him in 1889 did not console Boehm for this con- spicuous failure. The personal qualities of the artist made him a favourite in every circle, and justified the warm regard of many dis- tinguished patrons; combined with fashion- able indifference to the higher technique and the nobler elements of design, they fully ac- counted for Sir Edgar’s great professional success. The Queen desires he should be buried in St. Paul’s. SALES. Messrs. SorHesy, Witkinson & Hopes sold on Monday and Tuesday a collection of en- gravings, principally after masters of the English school. The prices realized were very high, the coloured prints especially selling well, e sale shows that the taste for prints of this class
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862 THE ATHENAUM Ne 3295, Dec. 20, 90 is even still increasing. Reynolds, The Affec- tionate Brothers, 37/. 16s.; Lady Compton, whole length, 691.; Lady Charlotte Talbot, 59/. J. R. Smith, Mrs. North sitting by a Tree, 311. 10s.; Miss Cumberland, 361. J. Walker, Mrs. Musters, 371. 16s. At the sale last week in Liverpool, by Messrs. Branch & Leete, of the engravings belonging to the late Mr. J. H. Robinson, of that city, the following prices were realized for artists’ proofs. After Sir Edwin Landseer, ‘ The Stag at Bay,’ by Thomas Landseer, 76 guineas; ‘ Bolton Abbey,’ by 8. Cousins, 52 guineas. ‘The Horse Fair,’ after Rosa Bonheur, by T. Landseer, 31 guineas. Fine-Art Gossip, Tue exhibition of the Royal Academy, which is to be opened on the Sth prox., will be arranged upon the lines previously followed ; that is, No. 1 Gallery will contain pictures by deceased British masters ; No. 2, Dutch works and French, if any; a wall of No. 3 will be devoted to Italian art, and probably such large Low Country paintings as No. 2 cannot accommo- date will be hung in it; and No. 4 will be ap- propriated to early Flemish and German works. In the Water-Colour Gallery and Black-and- White Room there is to be a highly interesting collection of drawings selected to illustrate pro- gress in the use of water colours from the beginning of their really artistic employment to our own day, that is from Paul Sandby to Fre- derick Walker. Of course limits of space forbid complete illustration of the development in question, but much is practicable which may be instructive as well as interesting. Among the principal contributors are the Queen, the Marquis of Bristol, Earl of Ashburnham, Lord Wantage, Sir C. Tennant, Sir E. Guinness, Sir E. Bunbury, Messrs. Robarts, Butler, Agnew, Colnaghi, Vaughan, Holland, Crews, Stephen- son Clarke, Joseph, Reeves, and Holmes. We understand the exhibition will be both varied and attractive. It seems that after twenty-one years’ experience, with scarcely any use of what may be called the da capo principle, that prin- ciple may, in the interest of the art-loving public, be used liberally, so far at least as the constantly changing ownership of fine examples allows it to be employed. Mr. Poynter will probably send to the Academy a charming picture of an incident fre- quent in antique sculpture, some girls occupied in a game with knuckle-bones, the astra- gali of immemorial use. Two pretty damsels, half kneeling, half sitting on the marble floor of a palace, are the players ; a third maiden looks lazily on, half reclining, half sitting on a bench behind them. Mr. Poynter has nearly finished a reduced and much improved version of his large ‘ Visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon,’ the first and larger version of which we noticed just before it was exhibited in the Haymarket. The new picture is at once broader and brighter, it sparkles more, and yet is in better keeping as a whole than its forerunner, while certain alterations in the composition, as well as in the chromatic design, add consider- ably to its charm. Probably some of these advantages tell more on a smaller canvas than could be expected of them on a larger one. In addition to the inscriptions and sculptures described in our last there has recently been found at Chester a fine figure of a Roman soldier on horseback, carrying the pole of a banner in his left hand, the streamer of the banner flying behind him. Three other inscrip- tions have also been found, and it is anticipated that more will be discovered as the excavations proceed. Mr. F. Haverrierp, of Lancing College, contributes to the January number of the Antiquary notes on discoveries of Roman re- mains made in Great Britain during the past quarter. Similar articles will three months during 1891. appear every By leave of the Lord Chamberlain, the mace of the House of Commons was, for the first time in its existence, photographed last November. From this photograph an engraving of the mace, with enlarged details, has been prepared for the January issue of the Antiquary. The descriptive letterpress will be from the pen of Mr. St. John Hope. Tue thirteenth Spring Exhibition of Pictures in Oil and Water Colours at the Atkinson Art Gallery at Southport will open on February 23rd and close on June 6th, 1891. The receiving days are from the 19th of January to the 24th. London artists may send their works to Mr. Jennings, 16, Duke Street, Manchester Square. THe January number of the Magazine of Art will contain an article on ‘The Portraits of John Ruskin,’ by the editor, which will be illustrated by two portraits of Ruskin as a child, by J. Northcote, R.A., and, amongst others, the portraits of 1842 and 1857 by Mr. G. Rich- mond, R.A. In the text ‘‘impressions” are contributed by Mr. Woolner, Mr. Holman Hunt, and also by Mr. Ruskin himself. Mr. Holman Hunt will write in the same number on ‘The Proper Mode and Study of Drawing,’ and Mr. Harry Furniss will contribute a paper on ‘The Illustrating of Books from the Humour- ist Artist’s Point of View.’ A Book which promises to be of considerable Lancashire and Cheshire interest is in prepara- tion. It is entitled ‘ Views of the Old Halls of Lancashire and Cheshire,’ engraved in 1822-24 from drawings by the late Mr. N. G. Philips. The volume will be published by Mr. Henry Gray, of Leicester Square, and is expected to be ready in February. It will contain twenty- eight illustrations, each of which will be accom- panied by letterpress descriptions. Tue sculptor M. Auguste Louis Marie Ottin died last week in a maison de retraite. He was born at Paris, November 11th, 1811 ; became a pupil of David d’Angers and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, obtained the Second Prix de Rome in 1833, the Grand Prix in 1836, at the same time as Bonassieux was similarly distinguished. At the Salon of 1842 his ‘Hercule offrant 4 Kurysthée les Pommes des Hespérides’ ob- tained for him a Second Class Medal ; in 1846 he had a First Class Medal for ‘Mater Ama- bilis.’. Later he won a Second Class Medal and the Legion of Honour. One of his best-known works is the charming group of ‘ Acis et Gala- thée surpris par Polyphéme,’ which decorates the Fontaine Médicis in the Luxembourg garden. He likewise produced ‘ Ecce Homo !’ ‘ Chasseur Indien,’ ‘L’Amour et Psyché,’ ‘ Leuchosis,’ ‘Napoléon III.,’ and ‘Jeune Fille portant un Vase,’ as well as many busts and decorative and monumental sculptures. Tue death is also recorded of the veteran painter of military subjects, M. Eugene Char- pentier, a pupil of Gérard and Léon Cogniet. He began to exhibit as long ago as 1831 with a ‘Bivouac de Cuirassiers,’ and visitors to Boulogne may remember his picture in the gallery there of the pupils of the Polytechnic defending Paris in 1814. He obtained a Third Class Medal in 1841 and a rappel in 1857. A SUBSCRIPTION is being raised for the widow and children of the late Mr. Maskell, whose decease we recorded lately. They are quite unprovided for. The treasurer of the fund is the Rev. G. Miller, Vicar of Holy Trinity, Westminster, and his address is 97, St. George’s Square, 8. W. A noTeD landscape painter, Carl Hilgers, of Diisseldorf, has just died at the age of seventy- three. His works chiefly consisted of winter landscapes in oil and water colours. MUSIC —~—. The Musical Notation of the Middle Ages. (Masters & Co.) Tuts handsome folio volume, prepared for the members of the Plain Song and Medi- zeval Music Society, cannot fail to prove acceptable to students of ancient musical history, since it presents in concise and graphic form a résumé of the progress of notation from the neumes of the eighth cen- tury to the perfected staff notation of the sixteenth; that is to say, from the dawn of modern music to the epoch of the motet and the madrigal. By modern music we, of course, designate that of the Christian era. Much mystery overhangs the nomenclature of musical sounds during the period traversed in the present volume, even the derivation . of the term ‘‘neumes” or ‘‘ pneumes” being matter for controversy, some writers deriving it from wvetpa, and others from vetpa. Most of the dogmatic assertions made as to the exact signification of these signs must, therefore, be accepted with reserve. Still the introduction of the staff was by no means an unmixed blessing, since, although it defined the pitch, it paid no heed to accent and ornament. As ‘‘H. B. B.,’” the writer of the introductory essay in the present volume, well says :— ‘‘For the neglect in marking the finer ac- centual distinctions of the note groups we may surmise that over contidence in the traditional rendering was accountable. The notators judged from their own experience that the chief diffi- culty was uncertainty as to the pitch of the notes ; the mode of accenting them was too well known to admit of mistakes on this score.” Taking this into consideration, together with the undoubted fact that, although the neume were, of course, exceedingly useful to a singer already acquainted with a psalm tune, as reminding him of the proper inflections, they did not enable him to read an un- familiar melody at sight, we perceive at once the extent to which conjecture must ever take the place of proof in the en- deavour to elucidate the mysteries of medi- zeval music. To many, however, this only adds interest to the subject, and by such the main contents of the present volume will be examined with avidity. They con- sist of a series of twenty facsimile plates of manuscripts at present either in the British Museum or the Bodleian Library, showing the almost infinite variety of device by which writers strove to express musical sounds in pen and ink previous to the establishment of the staff system. Every one of these plates possesses profound in- terest for the antiquary, but some of them are also valuable as bearing upon the his- tory of musical progress. Thus, plate xvii. is a page from Hucbald’s ‘ Enchiridion vel Musica Enchiriadis,’ containing one phrase in two and another in four parts, written in a method of alphabetic notation apparently only used by himself, and supposed to be the earliest method of writing in score. The next plate is taken from a manuscript pro- bably dating from Cornwall about the end of the tenth century, or, roughly speaking, a century later than Hucbald. In this we have a piece in two parts, the earliest known example of movement by contrary motion. On an extra plate it is given in modern
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XUM N° 3295, Dec. 20, 90 THE ATHENAUM 863 notation, though, of course, the time value of the notes is conjectural. If the intervals are correctly given, the example is curious as exhibiting a tendency towards modern ideas as regards harmonic progression, though the barbarous diaphony was still in use, as evinced by the consecutive fourths and fifths in similar motion. Plate xx. gives us an example in the five-line staff of a three-part piece, ‘‘Grene growith y° holy,” by Henry VIII., dating probably about 1510. There was no need to furnish more recent extracts, for although the musical notation of the sixteenth century and that of the nine- teenth donot correspond more closely than the literary language and spelling of the same epochs, yet all mystery is at an end, and the historic inquirer gives place to the practical musician. By way of supplement three plain- song masses from early manuscripts are given with English words. The “Credo” is not included, and in actual use it is suggested that Marbeck’s setting should be employed. A simple and judicious organ accompani- ment should have been added for practical purposes ; nothing is more distressing to the ear of the true musician than the incon- gruous harmonies and embroideries with which organists are wont to deck pre-Eliza- bethan church music. THE WEEK. Sr. JAMEs’s Haii.—Royal Academy of Music. Sir Charles Halle’s Concerts. The Bach Choir. CrysTaL PaLacre.—Saturday Concerts. THERE was no very remarkable display of dawning ability at the students’ concert of the Royal Academy of Music on Friday last week, but on the whole the efforts of those who took part in the programme were highly satisfactory. Mr. Granville Bantock, whose overture ‘The Fire Worshippers’ headed the scheme, has the making of a good com- poser. It is customary when speaking of a work in which modern methods are em- ployed to say that the composer has been influenced by Wagner, but there is nothing specially Wagnerian about Mr. Bantock’s overture, though the themes and the orches- tration show that he is familiar with the latest art developments. A good word should also be said for an entermezzo from a Symphony in e¢ by Mr. Reginald Steggall, who may possibly have had the ‘ Peer Gynt’ Suite in his mind. Miss Chéron and Miss Kate Cove displayed good voices ; Master S. Szczepanowski, a boy pianist, was successful ina movement from one of Mozart’s concertos; and Mr. Bertie P. Parker promises to become an excellent violoncellist. The concert was conducted by Dr. Mackenzie. A circular was printed to the effect that, in consequence of the poor support he was receiving, Sir Charles Halle had determined to abandon his three remaining concerts; but the attendance at the third performance, on Friday last week, showed such a con- siderable increase that the document was not circulated. That it is extremely difficult to induce amateurs to attend orchestral con- certs in paying numbers must be sadly admitted; but, at the same time, those who manage these undertakings do not always pay sufficient heed to the tastes of the public. Again, it must be borne in mind that a large number of amateurs now devote much time to the practice of orchestral music, and if this be an evil—which we do not allow—it is one which admits of no remedy whatever. Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, superbly ren- dered by Madame Néruda, and Berlioz’s ‘Symphonie Fantastique’ were the principal items in Friday’s programme. Except in the “Ball” movement, the Manchester orchestra was heard to very great advan- tage in the symphony. Indeed, we have never heard a finer rendering of the work. Cherubini’s grand Overture to ‘ Medea,’ which is too seldom heard, and the Romanza from Mozart’s serenade for strings, ‘ Kine Kleine Nachtmusik,’ which was warmly encored, completed the programme. Although the Bach Choir’s performance of Brahms’s ‘Requiem’ and Dr. Hubert Parry’s ‘St. Cecilia’s Day’ on Tuesday evening was not irreproachable, the singing on the whole warranted the assumption that the society is still in vigorous life. Good intonation was maintained in the difficult chromatic passages in the ‘Requiem,’ and the quality of tone was pure and refined, though the volume was not great. The efforts of the choir were throughout, and particularly in Brahms’s work, unfortunately also cha- racterized by a lack of vigour, and con- sequently the splendid fugal writing did not create its full effect. As Prof. Stanford has been blamed for taking some portions of the work too slowly, it is only fair to say that he adhered closely to the metronomic directions. At the same time it is wise to permit a cer- tain amount of latitude in this matter, and we think the first movement and the soprano solo would gain by being taken at a slightly quicker pace. It only remains to be added that due justice was rendered to the solos by Miss Liza Lehmann and Mr. Ffrangcon Davies, and that Dr. Parry’s cantata, which was warmly received, was conducted by the composer. Mr. Manns having commenced his annual duties in Glasgow and other Scottish centres, the bulk of last Saturday’s Crystal Palace concert was conducted by Mr. Carl Jung, the leader of the orchestra. His duties, however, were not particularly onerous, Beethoven’s Pianoforte Concerto in E flat, vigorously and intelligently played by Miss Fanny Davies, the same composer’s scena, ‘Ah, perfido,” finely rendered by Friiulein Fillunger, and the overtures to ‘ Rosa- munde’ and ‘ William Tell,’ constituting the programme, with the exception of some piano solos by Schumann and Rubinstein, and Mr. Edward German’s Symphony in E minor, which was directed by the com- poser in person. The new work, which was marked ‘first performance,” is, however, a revised version of a symphony brought forward at a Royal Academy concert in July, 1887, when Mr. German was a student in Tenterden Street. This accounts for the somewhat conventional character of most of the themes, the young composer having, of course, developed little freshness of style at the time. The first and second move- ments are only remarkable for excellence of workmanship, but the menuetto is at- tractive and the finale remarkably vigorous, the subjects from the opening allegro being utilized again, in a more or less metamor- phosed fashion, with much cleverness. That Mr. German has made himself an excellent musician, and has acquired the ! art of writing effectively for the orchestra, his symphony sufficiently proves, and the applause he received should encourage him to persevere. His © minor Symphony may not endure, but we shall be disappointed if the hand that penned it does not prove itself capable of producing stronger work. Musical Gossiy, Srnce writing the above remarks on Sir Charles Halle’s concert, the conductor has issued the notice referred to, and the re- maining subscription concerts will, therefore, not be given. We regret this decision, in- asmuch as, if the statement made to us con- cerning the amount of the loss be correct, the balance might easily have been turned the other way at the remaining three concerts, if due care were taken in the selection of the programmes. One performance will probably take place on February 20th. Mr. Ricnoarp Gompertz, who, it will be re- membered, is a resident professor of the violin at Cambridge, gave the first of two chamber concerts at the Princes’ Hall on Thursday even- ing last week. With the assistance of Messrs. Haydn Inwards, Emil Kreuz, and Charles Ould, who, with Mr. Gompertz, form the Cambridge University Musical Society’s quartet, highly satisfactory performances were given of Beethoven’s Quartet in E flat, Op. 127, Schubert’s Fragment in c minor, and Prof. Stanford’s Quintet in p minor, Op. 25, the composer of the last-named work, to which we have drawn favourable attention on more than one occasion, taking the pianoforte part. Mr. W. Shakespeare rendered songs by Mozart and Dvorak with much artistic effect. Mr. F. Boscow1tz’s lecture with illustrations, on the spinet, harpsichord, and pianoforte, at the Steinway Hall on Friday afternoon last week, would have received more attention at a less busy time. The pieces performed were by Eng- lish, French, Italian, and German composers, ranging from Byrd to Handel. The spinet (London, 1626) was lent by Mr. C. J. Vincent, and the harpsichord (Italy, 1660) by Mr. Hwfa Williams. On the evening of the same day the Wind Instrument Chamber Music Society gave its second concert in the Royal Academy Concert- room, the programme including Weber’s Duo Concertante for piano and clarinet; Brahms’s Trio in £ flat, for piano, violin, and horn, Op. 40; a Trio of Bach for flute, violin, and harpsichord ; and a Wind Quintet in F, Op. 9, by Sebeck. Atso on Friday evening highly creditable performances were given of Mr. C. H. Lloyd’s ‘Balder’ and Mr. G. R. Betjemann’s ‘Song of the Western Men,’ by the St. Mary’s Choral Society, at the Bishop Wilson Memorial Hall, Islington. The concert was under the direction of Mr. Sidney Hann. Braums’s ‘Deutsches Requiem’ was _ per- formed for the first time in Bristol last Satur- day evening by the recently established choral society, under the direction of Mr. Riseley. The rendering of this sublime work by 500 well-trained executants appears to have been very praiseworthy. Mrs. Hutchinson, Miss Florence Cromey, Mr. Lloyd, and Mr. Worlock were the principal vocalists. FAMILIAR programmes were furnished at the Popular Concerts on Saturday and Monday ; the principal item on the former occasion being the first set of Brahms’s ‘ Liebeslieder Walzer,’ Op. 52, and on the latter the same composer’s ‘Zigeuner Lieder,’ Op. 103, both with Mr. and Mrs. Henschel, Miss Lena Little, and Mr. Shakespeare as the vocalists. Saturday’s scheme was completed by Haydn’s Quartet in F, Op. 77, No. 2; Chopin’s Fantasia in F minor, Op. 49 ;
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864 THE ATHENAUM N° 3295, Dec. 20, ’90 and Mendelssohn’s Trio in c minor, Op. 66,— and Monday’s by Mozart’s Quartet in B flat, No. 3; Beethoven’s Variations in Fr, Op. 34; and Grieg’s Sonata in F for piano and violin, Op. 8. Madame Haas was the pianist on both occasions. THE last performance of the Musical Guild for the present took place at the Kensington Town Hall on Tuesday, the programme in- cluding Schubert’s Octet in its complete form, and Mozart’s Sonata in a for piano and violin. Miss Mary CarDEw, a young violinist of high attainments, gave a successful concert at 24, Park Lane, on Wednesday evening. In Brahms’s Sonata in a, Op. 100, and in various solos by Max Bruch, Tartini, &c., she displayed a broad, vigorous tone and style, and much intelligence. She received able assistance in an agreeable programme from Madame Haas, Madame Hope Glenn, and Mr. Macleod Ram- say. PERFORMANCES of ‘The Messiah’ were given under Sir Charles Halle’s direction at Man- chester on Thursday and Friday, with Miss Macintyre, Miss Hilda Wilson, Mr. Lloyd, and Mr. Watkin Mills as the principal vocalists. THE special performance of ‘Carmen’ given in Paris on Thursday last week in aid of the fund for erecting a monument to Bizet resulted in a profit of 1,950/. The principal parts were played by Mesdames Galli-Marié and Melba and MM. Jean de Reszké and Lassalle. WE gather from the ‘Statutes of the Inter- national Mozarteum Institution Association of Salzburg,’ bearing date October 30th, 1890, that the projected festival theatre at Salzburg is not likely to become an accomplished fact next year, as the document states that ‘‘the erection of a special theatre for periodical model repre- sentations of classical operas is kept in view.” DRAMA i Dramatic Gossip. Ir is now decided that the next Shakspearean production at the Lyceum, after the revival of ‘Much Ado about Nothing,’ will be ‘King Henry VIII.’ In this Miss Terry will play Queen Katherine, and Mr. Irving Cardinal Wolsey. THe new play by Mr. Henry A. Jones, which has been read at the Haymarket, is a study of modern social problems, and so is a companion work to ‘Judah.’ It contrasts with the life of the fashionable world Quaker earnestness and prejudice. Mr. Tree will, it is said, play a man of the world, Mr. Fernandez an elderly Quaker, and Miss Julia Neilson and Miss Blanche Hor- lock two Quaker sisters. Mr. F. Terry, Mr. F. Kerr, and Miss Norreys are included in the cast. Wir no change of cast and with no per- ceptible alteration of any kind, ‘A Million of Money’ was on Monday last transferred from Drury Lane to Covent Garden Theatre. Mr. Tooter will, it is expected, return to London in February. Tue Prince of Wales’s Theatre has been closed during the week for the rehearsals of the ‘Rose and the Ring ; or, the History of Prince Giglio and Prince Bulbo,’ Mr. Savile Clarke’s adaptation of Thackeray’s fireside pantomime. In the performance this afternoon Miss Violet Cameron and Mr. Monkhouse will take part, and be aided by a company of children. ‘Captain Swirt,’ by Mr. Haddon Chambers, was revived on Monday by Mr. Tree for one or two representations. In her original character of Mrs. Seabrook, Lady Monckton reappeared at the Haymarket. Mr. Tree resumed his réle of Wilding ; and Mrs. Tree, Miss Rose Leclercq, Mr. Fernandez, Mr. Kemble, and Mr. F. Terry took part in the performance. Mr. HerMANN Vezin’s Hamlet, a perform- ance with which the past generation was more familiar than is the present, was repeated during the week at the Grand Theatre. It retained its old merits of thoughtfulness, moderation, and truth to nature. Miss Laura Johnson, a juvenile actress, displayed emo- tional capacity as Ophelia. A SOMEWHAT surprising illustration of how not to do it was supplied at the Olympic on the revival on Wednesday afternoon of ‘ The Lady of Lyons.’ Claude Melnotte, in which Mr. Wilson Barrett has been seen to advantage, was rendered by that actor in a declamatory style and with a sort of self-approval that we do not previously recall in the part, and that is wholly unsuited to it. Miss Winifred Emery subdued to prettiness and delicacy the character of Pauline Deschappelles, a feature in which should be strength; and the actors, with one or two exceptions, played timidly and unsatisfac- torily. ‘The Lady of Lyons’ is a piece which inspires increased dislike the more it is seen. Its one good quality is that it offers acting opportunities, which, in this case at least, were neglected. Tue title of Ibsen’s forthcoming drama will be ‘Hedda Gabler,’ the maiden name of the heroine. In order to reserve all rights of trans- lation in this country, Mr. Heinemann, with the sanction of the poet’s publishers, has this week published in London a nominal edition of the Norwegian original, the date of issue of which in Copenhagen is still uncertain. ‘THE Preopie’s Ipou’ has been altered, the death of Jim Stevens being no longer due to heart disease, but the result of a blow dealt by Myra Keith. A gain to probability attends this change, and the audience at the new Olympic Theatre seems to be stirred by the play. Where the basis of a play is unsound, alteration is seldom of much avail. The structure may, how- ever, of course be modified. Some change in the cast is also contemplated. A NEw ballet, elaborate, brilliant, and artistic, as is now the fashion, has been devised by MM. Espinosa and Jacobi, and produced in anticipa- tion of Christmas at the Alhambra. Its title is ‘The Sleeping Beauty,’ and many competent dancers take part in the performance. Tue ‘Adelphi’ of Terence has been given with much success at Westminster School. The prologue was elegantly turned, and the epilogue amusing. The acting was above the average throughout the cast. M. Pavut Am CHAPELLE, news of whose death reaches us from Paris, appears to have been the doyen of French dramatists, having been born at Beaumont (Calvados), January 19th, 1806. Under the names of Laurencin, by which he was best known ; of Léonard, and of Lucy, he contributed to the stage, principally of the Gymnase Dramatique, a large number of vaudevilles. ‘Ma Femme et mon Parapluie’ dates back to 1835. An occasional melodrama, such as ‘ Paris qui pleure et Paris qui rit,’ occa- sionally came from his pen. Upwarps of 260 plays were sent in in com- petition for the prizes offered last May by the Deutsches Volkstheater at Vienna. The ‘‘ Prize Jury,” which met recently under the presidency of Hofrath Zimmermann, awarded the first prize to the play ‘Der Ring des Ofterdingen’ (not ‘* Offerdingen,” as some German papers state), the second to ‘Sie schiitzt sich selbst,’ and the third to the comedy ‘Das neue Geschlecht.’ The names of the authors will be made known after the first performance of the respective plays. To CoRRESPONDENTS.—J. H.—N. C.—M. F.—O. & Co.— Hf. C.—D. M. B.—received. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION BY PosT. _ EY ao For Twelve Months For Six Months ... eas SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & 00.’8 NEW BOOKS. Now ready, at all Libraries, STAND FAST, CRAIG ROYSTON! By WILLIAM BLACK, Author of ‘ In Far Lochaber,’ ‘ A Princess of Thule,’ &c. 3 vols. crown 8vo. 31s. 6d. TWO ART GIFT-BOOKS. FOOTSTEPS of DR. JOHNSON (SCOTLAND). By GEORGE BIRKBECK HILL, D.C.L., Pembroke College, Oxford. With about 150 Illustrations, including 18 Heliogravures, sketched on the spot by Lancelot Speed, and beautifully reproduced by Lemercier & Co., of Paris. EDITION DE LUXE. Limited strictly to 150 Copies— 100 for the United Kingdom and 50 for America. Bound in plain boards, uncut edges, £7 7s. net. ORDINARY EDITION. 1,000 Copies, bound in half- morocco, gilt tops, uncut edges, £3 3s, net. The SALON of 1890: One Hundred Plates in Photogravure and — by Goupil & Co. With Text in English by HENRY BACON. Folio, bound in red cloth, THREE GUINEAS net. TEN CENTURIES of EUROPEAN PROGRESS. By LOWIS JACKSON, Author of ‘Aid to Survey Practice,’ ‘ Aid to Engineering Solution,’ &c. Illustrated with 13 Maps. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 12s. 6d. VISCOUNT MELBOURNE. By HENRY DUNCKLEY, LL.D. (‘‘Verax”). Being the second volume of the ‘‘ Queen’s Prime Ministers ” Series. Edited by STUART J. REID. With Portrait. Crown 8vo. cloth, 3s. 6d. NEW WORK BY DR. OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES. OVER the TEA-CUPS: a Series of Papers of Reminiscences and Characteristic Reflections. By Dr. OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, Author of ‘The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table,’ ‘One Hundred Days in Europe,’ &c. 1 vol. crown 8vo. cloth, 6s. CHARLES GOUNOD: his Life and Works. By MARIE ANNE BOVET. With Portrait and Facsimiles. Demy 8vo. cloth, 10s. 6d. The LIFE of HARRIET BEECHER STOWE, told for BOYS and GIRLS. By Mrs. SARAH A. TOOLEY, Author of ‘Lives Great and Simple.’ 1 vol. crown 8vo. cloth, 5s, NEW GIFT-BOOKS FOR BOYS. BY HENRY M. STANLEY. MY KALULU: Prince, King, and Slave. By HENRY M. STANLEY, Author of ‘In Darkest Africa,’ &c. New Edition. Crown 8vo. cloth, 2s. 6d.; gilt edges, 3s. 6d. AGAINST HEAVY ODDS: a Tale of Norse Heroism. By H. H. BOYESEN, Author of ‘The Modern Vikings,’ &c. Fully illustrated. Crown 8vo. cloth, 5s. BEVIS: a Tale for Boys. By Richard JEFFERIES, Author of ‘Amaryllis at the Fair,’ &c. New Edition, Edited by G. A. HENTY. Illustrated. Crown 8vo. cloth, 5s. “The interest is maintained from end toend. The book teems with information upon almost every subject dear to boys.”—Standard, TWO NEW BOOKS BY JULES VERNE. The PURCHASE of the NORTH POLE: a Sequel to ‘From the Earth to the Moon.” Fully illustrated. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 6s. The FAMILY WITHOUT a NAME. Fully illustrated. Crown 8vo. cloth extra, 6s. Now ready, price One Shilling, HARPER'S MAGAZINE. JANUARY NUMBER. Contents. The OUTLOOK in CALIFORNIA. Charles Dudley Warner. 12 Illustrations. Drawn by H. Bolton Jones, W. Hamilton Gibson, J. D. Woodward, and W. C. Fitler. SCHOOL-BOYS: a Poem. Richard E. Burton. LONDON MUSIC HALLS. F. Anstey. 8 Illustrations. Drawn by Joseph Pennell. IN the ‘STRANGER PEOPLES” COUNTRY: a Story. Part I. Charles Egbert Craddock. 2 Illustrations (including Frontis- piece). The MARCH of WINTER: a Poem. Archibald Lampman. AT the CASA NAPOLEON: a Story. Thomas A. Janvier. 7 Illustrations. Drawn by W. T. Smedley. IMPRESSIONS of PERU. Theodore Child. 16 Illustrations. Drawn by T. de Thulstrup and H. D. Nichols. ANOTHER CHAPTER of MY MEMOIRS: How I Became a Journalist. Mr. De Blowitz. ATONEMENT: a Poem. Julian Hawthorne. SAINT ANTHONY: a Christmas-Eve Ballad. Mrs. E. W. Latimer. 3 Illustrations. &c. &c. 60 ILLUSTRATIONS IN ALL. London: Sampson Low, MARSTON, SEARLE & RIVINGTON (LIMITED), St. Dunstan’s House, Fetter-lane, Fleet-street, E.C, BOOQy RYH PH EH
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Ne 3296, Dzc. 27, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 879
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1890.
CONTENTS. PAGE THE PoETRY OF THOMAS BEDDOES ike one «a. oan Royat EDINBURGH ... eae one as eae a ee THe ORIGIN OF THE BooK oF COMMON PRAYER eo. 881 AN OLD-FASHIONED Farry BOok ... =e 7 oa THE RecorDs OF MARKET HARBOROUGH wie wo. §=©884 NOVELS OF THE WEEK jee oe oe bats «. 885 THE LETTERS OF A LADY OF THE EIGHTEENTH CEN- TURY ... ane she obi eee one pe «. 886 Mr. Krexine’s TALES... ~ <a <6 ae w. 886 CHRISTMAS Books one wee ave nes es «. 887 Our Liprary TABLE—LIST oF NEW BOOKs ... .. 888 DICKENS RETURNS ON CHRISTMAS Day; THE QUAR- RELS OF AUTHORS; SIR RICHARD STEELE; M. BELoT; TALLEYRAND a ies é 889—891 LITERARY GOSSIP ae nine as re _ ion ScIENCE—THORPE'’S DICTIONARY OF APPLIED CHE- MISTRY; LIBRARY TABLE; CHRISTMAS Books; EXPERIMENTAL PsYCHOLOGY; SOCIETIES; MEET- INGS ; GossIP aa tid eae esa +. 892—895 FinE Arts—CHRISTMAS Books ; NEW PRINTS; GossIP 896—S897 Music—NIeEts GADE; SALE; GossIP_... «. 897—898 DrRaAMA—THE GREEK DRAMATISTS IN ENGLISH VERSE ; THE WEEK; GossIP oss ste +. 898—899
LITERATURE —~-—— Temple Library. — The Poetical Works of Thomas Lovell Beddoes, Edited with a Memoir by Edmund Gosse. 2 vols. (Dent & Co.) Ir is not as a poet, but as a man, that Beddoes is really of interest. Work such as his—work which, though full of remark- able literary qualities, is never vitalized by a true imagination, and only draws a slender breath of life by virtue of a brilliant, but fantastic fancy—could never, at any, even at the most barren, period of the world’s history, have been of much account. It is not by the aid of work like this that the literature of power can hope to hold its own against the invasions of the literature of knowledge. The favourable criticism of the Brownings is, of course, important. Nor is the opinion of so culti- vated a critic as Mr. Gosse to be slighted. Nevertheless we affirm emphatically that in a time like this—a time when every day and every hour is opening up new vistas of hope and fear in the human story and new vistas of wonder in the story of the universe—a time, indeed, when, by the very embarrassment of its wealth, man’s life, that was always swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, can only be com- pared to a flash of lightning across a sky that is infinite—there is but a narrow margin of time for thoughtful people to give to lawless excursions in fancy-land, such as writers like Beddoes indulge in. The imagination informing any work of art must be as sure as logic; moreover, it must embody some truth with a thorough- ness and an amplitude such as no mass of mere facts, howsoever wisely marshalled by the scientific methodizer, can achieve, before it can satisfy even the average readers of our time—readers who are being taught to grudge every moment given to anything besides the literature of knowledge. No doubt imaginative work that is true—work that is really akin to that of the great classic masters—is as much appreciated now as ever. Never was there a time, we believe, when more serious and reverent attention would have been given than is now given to Lord Tennyson or Mr. William Morris or Mr. Swinburne. And why? Because their work is informed by no bastard imagination, but by the very
breath of imaginative life—because such work as theirs can be studied with profit even while our ears are occupied with the actual heart-beats of the ‘‘ great man, Man- kind,” and even while our eyes are being daily dazzled, not by some new planet, but by some new system that swims into our ken. For this very reason, however, the poeticule and the ignorant spinner of feeble novels is having a bad time of it with the properly equipped student of letters—the student who, while fully aware that matter of fact is not truth, would nevertheless exchange for the smallest matter of fact throwing light upon nature or upon man exploited in the paltriest newspaper a cart- load of those productions of an ill-furnished fancy which would fain usurp the name of imaginative literature. This is why, in the great struggle now going on between the literature of power and the literature of knowledge as providers of the pabulum for man’s mind and soul, clever writers like Beddoes, who make fancy do the work of imagination, will have to be set aside. When the world of imagination shows itself to be as true as the world of fact, then, and then only, has it any chance of acceptance save with those who have yet to learn what is the function and what is the purpose of imaginative art, literary or plastic. Take, for instance, the work into which was packed the concentrated force of Beddoes’s personality as completely as in ‘Faust’ is packed the concentrated essence of the personality of Goethe. Is it not in- cumbent on every drama, as on every other work of art, to justify its own existence ? Every work of art should either hold up to Nature a clear mirror, reflecting her as faith- fully asthe sea reflects the cloud-pageantry of heaven, or it should present a mirror whose reflex is coloured (and in so far distorted) by some subtle suggestion of hidden meaning. The work of the great family of artists towhom belong Homer and Sophocles, Shakspeare and Sir Walter Scott, is good—is beyond all praise, in short; but so is the work of that other family to whom belong not only the great parable poets and prose writers of the East, such as Buddhaghosha and the Sufi poets of Persia, but also Dante, Spenser, Shelley, Bunyan, and, to come lower down, Nathaniel Hawthorne. All we demand of the second of these two families is this: that the value of the lesson suggested by the distorted picture shall be in proportion to the extent and importance of the dis- tortion. But where is ‘ Death’s Jest-Book’ to find its place —that ‘empty, mouthing tragic mask,” as we described it years ago, ‘ with no man’s face or woman’s behind it ’—that silhouette series of shadow figures mopping and mowing like those which children, by twisting their fingers into fantastic shapes, throw on the wall at Christmastide? Shall we place among the works of pure and simple imagination such as the first-men- tioned group of poets gives us a play whose characters might all be addressed as the duke therein delineated addresses Wolfram, lately resuscitated from the dead :— Thou man-mocking air, Thou art not truer than a mirror’s image, Nor half so lasting. * *
* * * Darest thou stand there, Thou shameless vapour, and assert thyself?
And then, as a picture of the time in which the incidents of the play take place—a pic- ture in which thirteenth century demonology is mingled with the Rosicrucianism of some centuries later and the physical science of the nineteenth century, where speculations upon the time required for light to reach the earth from the stars are mingled with spiritualistic theories about the most effective kind of incantations to draw dead bodies from their graves—as an historical pic- ture can Beddoes’s chief work take a place in the first of the above categories? Neither Mr. Gosse nor the most courageous of Bed- does’s admirers would say ‘‘ Yes” to this. Therefore it is only as a picture of Nature, coloured and distorted with some subtle allegorical intent, that ‘Death’s Jest-Book’ claims from the critic any serious attention. But then comes the question, What is that allegorical intent? An embarrassing ques- tion which so well bred a man as Beddoes would never dream of putting to himself. In saying that the name ‘Death’s Jest- Book’ was a “striking name” he was right enough. But it is striking because it suggests some new and subtle reading of the mystery of death. What is Beddoes’s subtle reading ? Again Beddoes’s politeness to himself prevented his putting so puzzling aquery. We, however, are not so well bred, and for years have we been in the habit of asking this question of the admirers of Beddoes — some of them men of great talent, and one a man of genius. But in no case has an answer been made or even attempted. And if there be no allegorical intent in ‘Death’s Jest-Book,’ where is its value, and where is that profundity we hear of? To get credit for profundity is it only necessary for a writer to be grotesque and bizarre? So it seems. There is to be found in Flégel a remark- able story of a duke of Miinsterberg, in Silesia, who was stabbed to death by his own court fool. The story is, of course, extremely striking, and extremely rich in suggestion. Death using the fool’s bauble to beat out the brains of royalty would not be a more striking situation than this of the king falling before the fool’s knife. It would have delighted Webster, and even Shakspeare himself. Possibly Victor Hugo’s ‘Le Roi s’Amuse’ was in some half-conscious way suggested by a reminiscence of the story. That it struck the fancy of Beddoes very strongly is seen in a passage in one of his letters. And it is evident that when he adopted it as the subject of a tragedy he intended that the peripeteia should be the striking down of the duke by the fool By bringing out fully the fool’s eager- ness for revenge, the first act shows clearly enough that this was to be the part that Isbrand, the court fool, was to play. But no sooner does Beddoes find himself at work upon his play than every incident arising in the development of the story, instead of being rigidly used and then rigidly cast aside, is allowed to run away with the dramatist. The sdée mére that he started with becomes lost amid conflicting motives. Like an untrained terrier in a rat-hunt, the helpless dramatist allows his attention to be so divided between the members of the quarry swarming around him that he stands doing nothing. The agent .
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880 THE ATHENZUM N° 3296, Dec. 27,’90 upon whom the working out of the tragic mischief devolves is lost in the confusion; his function is shifted from one to another until at last it settles upon an entity that is neither man, woman, nor spirit, but a dead body conjured up from the tomb by a magician, who is at once a hired bravo, ad /a Monk Lewis, a Rosicrucian, and an Arabian dabbler in the “ Darb el Mandel.” Well may Mr. Gosse speak of Beddoes’s “want of sustained invention”—of his ‘* powerlessness in evolution.” Well may he say that such a dramatist ‘‘was poor just where two hundred years earlier almost every playwrightin the street had been strong, namely, in the ability to conduct an interest- ing story to a thrilling and appropriate close.” But when he goes on to compare ‘Death’s Jest-Book’ with ‘ Frankenstein’ he is surely a little severe upon Mrs. Shelley. Well would it have been for Beddoes if he could have developed a story from a distinct ¢dée mére as clearly and as firmly as Mrs. Shelley has done in that remarkable exercise of fancy, the conception of which—the conception of an ambitious student of nature who, aspiring to vivify a man that he had fashioned out of clay, succeeds in fashioning a monster from which he has to flee—is developed by every sentence in the book. And yet the chief desire of Beddoes’s life was to produce imaginative work on the lines of Shakspeare, Webster, and Marlowe. His failure was egregious, and this it is that makes him so interesting as aman. Knowing his failure to be egregious, he yet never lost his admira- tion of those who succeeded where he failed. As a rule, when a would-be poet fails in producing poetry he sets to work as Plato did to construct an imaginary republic, whence poets shall be ignominiously ex- pelled, or else he sets to work as Carlyle did to implore people to preserve on Parnassus that golden silence which he himself is constrained to keep, but if they cannot or will not do that, to refrain at least from the baneful habit of singing what ought to be only said. Beddoes tried manfully to write lyrics like Shelley, and succeeded in producing some of the most unmetrical verses in the language. He tried manfully to write tragedies in the style of Webster, and succeeded in produc- ing a play in the style of Monk Lewis’s ‘Castle Spectre,’ save that, while Lewis’s drama is one of the most ingenious construc- tions among English plays, Beddoes’s masterpiece is—‘ Death’s Jest-Book’! Yet for this kind of work he succeeded in eliciting the admiration of his too generous friends. But never for one moment was he deceived on the point, as his letters show. When he read Shelley’s ‘Cenci’ its effect upon him was, as he said, to find his own work so bad that he lamented that the play had been sent to him. In criticizing the works of others he always brought to bear upon them a good sense which would have been remarkable in itself, but which is simply wonderful when we consider certain mental peculiarities with which it was allied. The reader will readily understand our meaning. Isopel Berners in her famous valedic- tory letter to ‘‘Lavengro” declares her belief that the gipsy gentleman, though undoubtedly very learned and very clever, was “at the root mad.” The phrase, like many of Isopel’s, is full of sug- gestiveness. There are in the world a host of people who, though very learned and very clever, and in the ordinary relations of life sane—so far at least that the writ de Junatico inguirendo has no terrors for them — are nevertheless at the root mad. That the maddest of these sane madmen was Thomas Lovell Beddoes is what we have often thought, and now, thanks to the loving labours of Mr. Gosse, we know it. The eccentric author of ‘Death’s Jest-Book’ was, it need scarcely be said, well known to the late Mrs. Procter, who not only knew every- body worth knowing, but in her wonderful brain had a special corner for all her acquaintances, each one properly labelled and stowed away for future use. Dur- ing an interesting conversation with her upon the subject of Beddoes and _ his work, she was once asked by the pre- sent writer whether she could, as an honest woman, deny the claim of Beddoes to the kingship of the sane insane. She made no attempt to deny it. The nature of that special variety of madness which dis- tinguished Beddoes from all others is not far to seek by those who are familiar with his work. In the purely sane mind every thought as it presents itself has a free evo- lution of its own, untrammelled by the imperious magnetism of one dominant fixed idea. In the brain of every man who is ‘‘ at the root mad” there is, however, always one dominant thought, around which the other thoughts one and all revolve as planets round the sun. Attracting them to itself by a chain as masterful as that of gravitation in the physical world, this centre thought, like the dominant note of pain in ‘L’Afri- caine,’ gives its own tone to the entire com- position. To return to the previous com- parison: it isnot until the planetary thoughts, approaching nearer and nearer to the central fire, are at last drawn into it that the explo- sion comes, ending in the strait-waistcoat as surely as, according to the grim prophecy of the astronomers, the final explosion of the solar system will end in chaos. The dominant thought in the brain of Beddoes—an ever-present recognition of Death in Death’s modern réle of the King of Terrors, and of Death’s omnipotent malignity in the drama of the universe—is, of course, far from being peculiar to him. In the races of the Western world, and especially among the Gothic peoples, those individuals who are “at the root mad” are very often enslaved by the same mental tyrant. Of Northern literature, indeed, it might almost be said that since the passing away of the manly cosmogony upon which the Northern sagas are built this conception forms the ¢dée mére. And as to the plastic arts of the Northern world, they could not exist at all without it. Judaic, or, to be more accurate, rabbinical in its origin, this perverted and degraded con- ception of Death—Death not as the high minister of the Norns, but as a hideous skeleton playing at a sort of blind man’s buff with scared humanity — as we remarked when comparing the Vol- sunga Saga with the Niebelungenlied, sits like a graveyard nightmare on the imagination of that splendid race whose beliefs were once so heroic. Not that it is merely when brought into comparison with the temper of the old Northern peoples that the abject attitude of their descendants appears contemptible. Compared with the sublime bearing of the Buddhists before Death, and the almost equally sublime attitude of the Mohammedans before Azrael, the cringing of the Western world before the bogy of the rabbis is a spectacle no less melancholy. In the hierarchy of Islam neither Gabriel nor Michael nor Israfel is so grand a figure as the Angel of Death—who is, indeed, Fate, before whom the Mohamme- dan with a proud humility bows his head. Many a son of Islam becomes, no doubt, at the root mad, but not because he is haunted by a vision of Azrael, whose func- tion he admits to be that of heaven itself. And although Homer’s Greeks did not love Death, but hated him, it was with no rabbinical hatred born of a superstition of a King of Terrors. It was _ because, being, as the Egyptians said of them, always children, they loved the sunshine with a childish love, and hated with a childish hatred the hand always waiting to draw them away. To brood overmuch upon the King of Terrors and his mysterious ways is often the best way to become the victim of that most appalling mental disturbance, the fas- cination of repulsion: it often ends in the victims being drawn into Death’s arms by dread, as the fascinated bird is drawn flut- tering into the snake’s mouth. But even after this stage of dread has been long past, there is something in being surrounded by suggestions of death that will draw a man on to suicide. There comes a time when The stroke of death is as a lover's pinch, That hurts and is desired, This seems to have been the case with Beddoes. Those stories of the accidents that one after another befell Beddoes in Germany, and ended in his death, were, it seems, all apocryphal—inventions put forth in order to conceal the painful fact that he had made repeated attempts to commit suicide. Although the impulse to brood upon death was, like all such impulses, congenital and idiosyncratic, it was no doubt fostered considerably both by his line of life and his method of study. Such broodings form one of the most salient features of the Elizabethandrama. Neither the dramatists nor their audiences seem ever to have grown weary of moraliz- ing upon death and of contrasting death with life. How far these innumerable utter- ances upon the one subject express the actual temper of the time no one can say with anything like confidence. To meditate on death was as much the fashion of the day as to talk in euphuisms and Gongorisms. In judging of the temper of any time, as in judging of the true character of any indi- vidual, the force of fashion and of mere ephemeral whim must always be taken into account. The funereal moralizing of all the Elizabethan dramatists, from the writers of ‘ Hamlet’ and the ‘ Duchess of Malfi’ down- wards, might lead us to suppose that to the imagination of the old dramatists death was an ever-present dream, and that those writers were all “at the root mad.” But, of course, no student of their writing does for a moment suppose XUM
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XUM Ne 3296, Dre. 27,790 THE ATHENAZUM 881 anything of the kind. Beddoes, however, seems to have accepted it all as the genuine expression of the temper of that time. Nor was this all the mischief that Beddoes im- bibed from the study of the Elizabethan dramatists. Whatever may have been the congenital infirmity of his artistic instinct, there can be but little doubt that his concep- tion of dramatic art was very much influ- enced, and not for good, by their methods. There is no more delightful book in the English language than Lamb’s ‘Specimens.’ The veins of hidden wealth it opened up to his contemporaries, like the gold finds of Zambesia, though old, were so forgotten that they seemed fresher than the newest finds. Moreover, the delightful pioneer who rediscovered this wealth was sometimes more fervid than sure-eyed, and, like all important work, the indirect influence of his volumes upon the world was as great as their direct influence, or greater. Its effect can be traced in writers who never saw the book as clearly as in those who made a special study of it, and upon strong writers its effect is good. But just as there is a soul of good in things evil, so is there assuredly a soul of evil in things good. In literature, as in life, what is one man’s food may be another man’s poison. That peculiar variety of spasmodic literature which we once christened Bedlamite poetry is one of the results that flowed from Lamb’s ‘Specimens. Beginning with the tragedies of Beddoes, culminating in Todd Stodart’s famous ‘ Necromaunt,’ and declining in Mr. Stanyan Bigg’s ‘ Night and the Soul,’ Bedlamite poetry leaves the spasmodism of ‘ Balder’ so far below that it seems almost tameandeven. It was a quest of the uncanny in poetry—that quality in which the Elizabethan dramatists were so peculiarly rich. Because amid the almost infinite wealth of poetical beauties exhi- bited by the Elizabethan drama was exhi- bited also a mass of rant and gabble such as no other body of literature had ever exhibited before, it was assumed by certain young poets that the more rant and gabble a poet could produce the more he became like Marlowe, Dekker, and Cyril Tourneur. If Beddoes was misled into producing bad work, so was many another, but none was so far misled as he. Royal Edinburgh: her Saints, Kings, Pro- phets, and Poets. By Mrs. Oliphant. (Macmillan & Co.) Tus goodly volume makes an opportune appearance at a time when Edinburgh’s fairest scenes and most time-honoured build- ings are threatened with destruction. The Princes Street Gardens may be turned into a huger Clapham Junction, the Scott Monu- ment be utilized as a railway signal-box, John Knox’s house be assimilated to its hideous new neighbour, +: and Holyrood Chapel be ‘‘restored” by some Northern Pecksniff—at least we shall have this book for a memorial, its text to tell how Edin- burgh was made, its pictures to show what Edinburgh has been. The sixty pictures by Mr. George Reid, R.S.A., are all of them clever, and many of them admirable. The best, perhaps, are the views of St. Giles’s, St. Margaret’s Loch, the University, the Castle from the south- ' east, Lady Stair’s Close, and the Canongate | Tolbooth, which last, a most interesting building, is doomed by one scheme to de- struction. In several, however, of the draw- ings too much has been sacrificed to the pic- turesque ; there is too studied an avoidance of the hackneyed or too obvious a striving after novel treatment. Edinburgh is not wet and cold and dark above all cities; then why should nearly a third of the illustra- tions represent rain or snow or night scenes? In a few the likeness is almost obliterated by an obtrusive foreground, e.g., in St. Andrews and the Salisbury Crags; in fewer still there is scarce any likeness at all—for instance, in the drawing of St. Margaret’s Chapel. With all these reserva- tions, the illustrations alone put the book far ahead of any of its predecessors; un- luckily the letterpress is not quite equal to the illustrations. The thirteen chapters deal with St. Mar- garet, the first five Jameses, Mary of Guise and Queen Mary, John Knox and Buchanan, and the three poets Allan Ramsay, Burns, and Scott. Where the saints come in it were hard to say, for Queen Mary is not yet canonized ; or where the prophets, unless Knox counts as a host in himself. George Buchanan’s connexion with Edinburgh was very slight, and slighter still Robert Burns’s, whose memory has grown dim if one may credit a story told at the time of the late Tercentenary. There was present then in Edinburgh ‘an old German professor, a warm admirer of the Ayrshire bard, who wandered all over the Old Town inquiring for ‘“Clarinda’s house.” ‘An’ what d’ye want wi’ the lassie?” this was the counter- question that everywhere answered him. Surely Edwin of Northumbria, who gave the city its name; David I., the founder of the abbey of Holyrood; Walter Chepman, the first Scottish printer; James VI., the founder of the University ; George Heriot, the founder of a noble charity; the Jaco- bite Earl of Mar, to whose suggestion the New Town owes its being—all these and a dozen more had prior claims. Mrs. Oli- phant, moreover, has not always gone to the best authorities. For Buchanan she has confessedly not looked into the admirable biography by Mr. P. Hume Brown, published fully half a year since; for James IV. she has seemingly not had recourse to Mr. Gregory Smith ; and for the Stewart kings generally she relies enormously too much on “the ever delightful Pitscottie.’ Even had she more closely scrutinized, or some- times more closely followed, her authorities, she would have avoided a good many curious misstatements. The famous shrine of White- kirk is not at Brechin, but in Haddington- shire; Douglas Castle is in Lanarkshire, not Galloway; Johnnie Armstrong’s peel- tower was Gilnockie, not Kilnokie; and George Buchanan was certainly not born ‘‘on the banks of a little stream which runs by the beautiful ruins of Dunblane, and which watered his mother’s fields.” For Killearn’s streams all run to Loch Lomond ; Dunblane is on the banks of Allan Water. Malcolm Canmore, we are told, was still unmarried at the time of the coming of ‘Margaret Atheling”’ ; as a matter of fact, he had lost his first wife, Ingibiorg, Earl Thor- finn’s widow, the mother of his first-born and successor, Duncan. Jane Beaufort cannot ‘‘have thrown herself before her husband, and been wounded in the terrible struggle’; for James I. was murdered in the vault where he had hidden—Rossetti’s great ballad is perfectly true in this. Nor is James credited nowadays with the authorship of ‘Christ’s Kirk on the Green. The appa- rition that in Linlithgow Church warned James LY. against his Flodden expedition was not that of ‘‘an aged saint, venerable and stately,” but that of ‘‘a man of two- and-fifty years, with syde [long] red yellow hair.” James V., on landing at Dieppe in 1536, ‘would seem to have pushed across France to the Court of Vendéme, without pausing to pay his respects to the King at Paris.” He really rode straight to St. Quentin in Picardy, of which province the Due de Vendéme was then governor; and a glance at the map will show the absurdity of ‘‘ pushing across France, without pausing at Paris,” quite apart from the fact that Francis I. was away at the time in Provence. St. Giles’s was not a cathedral in 1560; and Queen Mary is no more likely to have ‘danced a stately pas seul in a minuet” than to have gone upon a switchback rail- way. But perhaps the most curious slip occurs in the chapter on Allan Ramsay : ‘*This no doubt was the sort of fame and wide-spread popular appreciation which made the statesman of that day—was it Fletcher of Saltoun or Duncan Forbes the great Lord Pre- sident !—bid who would make the laws so long as he might make the songs of the people. He had in all likelihood learnt Allan’s widely flying, largely read verses, which every gamin of the streets knew by heart, in his childhood.” The saying, of course, is Fletcher’s, or rather the “‘ very wise man’s’ he is quoting ; but it passes us to conceive how either Fletcher or Forbes could have known Ram- say’s verses in childhood. For the one was thirty-one years, the other one year, older than the poet. The fact is Mrs. Oliphant errs like her illustrator, only much more deeply, by carelessness as to fidelity in details, by an over-striving at the picturesque. ‘‘ Mated” is an exceedingly pretty word, but that ‘Knox mated with princes on more than equal terms” is hardly true; that John Major was ‘“‘a son of the Renaissance”? is absolutely false. It is a pity, for Mrs. Oli- phant has the rare gift of graceful writing, of investing an oft-told tale with novel charm. Her book will surely be popular, though its popularity may rest on a some- what unstable foundation. Edward VI. and the Book of Common Prayer: an Examination into its Origin and Early Tlistory. Py F. A. Gasquet and Edmund Bishop. (Hodges.) Epwarp VI. and the Prayer Book might have been thought a natural supplement to ‘Henry VIII. and the Monasteries,’ yet the two works have little in common beyond the fact that they treat of historical events which are separated by an interval of a very few years. In his former volumes Father Gasquet was animated by the natural desire of combating Mr. Froude’s assertions regarding the wickedness prevalent in IEing- lish monasteries and nunneries in the six- teenth century. As a Roman Catholic he would, of course, wish to make as favourable a case as possible for these much abused
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882 THE ATHENAUM Ne 3296, Dec. 27, 790 institutions, and undoubtedly he was to a certain extent successful in vindicating the monks from misrepresentations which have passed current as true. In the present volume it might have been expected that his object would be to disparage the changes introduced into the new service book. But no such purpose appears. Of course, the reader will see what he knows beforehand, that these alterations could not meet with the approval of a Romanist writer. Yet Father Gasquet has kept strictly within the lines of historical investigation, and, indeed, speaks with far morerespect of modern liturgies and compila- tions than might have been expected. In fact, strange as it may seem, the author himself says in his preface that the work originated in the desire to edit Cranmer’s hitherto unnoticed projects of liturgical reform. We suppose it was by some accident that he fell in with the MS. Reg. 7 B. IV. in the British Museum, which con- tains a scheme drawn up by Cranmer. How it has lain so long unnoticed and apparently unknown is unexplained. But Father Gas- quet, having found it, has printed a con- siderable portion of it in his appendix, and has given some account of the parts which he has not thought proper to reproduce at length. It seems almost certain, now that attention has been drawn to it, that the whole MS. will soon be printed. Before, however, giving an account of the contents of this valuable document it may be worth while to say a word about its history. Like Cranmer’s commonplace books, it does not contain his signature, but several leaves are in his handwriting, and so are various correc- tions made in other parts of the book, which bears at the bottom of folio 4a* the auto- graph of Lord Lumley, who married the elder daughter of Henry, Earl of Arundel, both of whom were large purchasers at the sale of Cranmer’s goods after his attainder. On the death of Lord Lumley in 1609, his library came into possession of Henry, Prince of Wales, and so passed from the Royal Library into the collection of royal manuscripts in the British Museum. The manuscript is a folio of 159 leaves, consisting of calendars and tables of lessons, a ‘Scheme for Morning and Evening Prayer,’ and the ‘Project for a Breviary.’ One calendar, called by the editor the first, is entirely in Cranmer’s hand, and consists of lessons from Scripture. Other parts are written by two or three different persons, and have notes and cor- rections in Cranmer’s hand. That which is wholly in his hand, and is called the first Calendar, together with the ‘ Project for a Breviary,’ Father Gasquet considers to be the earliest scheme, resembling the Breviary of Cardinal Quignon ; whilst ‘The Scheme for Morning and Evening Prayer,’ and the Calendar entitled the third, he thinks re- present a scheme more nearly approaching that of the First Prayer Book of the reign, which is dated 1549; the second Calendar and Table being supposed to represent an intermediate stage of the projected Calendar. Of these he has printed in full in Appendix II. the ‘ Project for a Breviary,’ occupying folios 133-47, together with an abbreviated description of the rest of the MS. as far as folio 156, consisting of the Collects from the first to the twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity, in which he has only noticed a few corrections of the scribe made by Cranmer, and the characteristic change in the Collect for the fourteenth Sunday of wt mereamur assequi into ut possimus assequa. After this Appendix III. contains some extracts from ‘The Scheme for Morning and Evening Prayer,’ the preface, together with Quignon’s preface and the preface to the Book of Common Prayer, being arranged in three parallel columns, occupying fifteen pages of the volume, the preface itself having been transcribed from folios 7-8 of the original. The resemblance between the MS. and Quignon’s preface is certainly close enough to show that his Breviary had been consulted, whereas the preface to the Prayer Book is frequently an exact transla- tion of the Latin in Cranmer’s manuscript. The resemblance to the Quignon Breviary as well as the difference—which, speaking generally, consists in Quignon speaking gently of faults he wished to correct, whilst Cranmer inveighs more bitterly against past errors—may be illustrated by the two follow- ing passages. Thus, where Quignon says :— ‘Sed factum est nescio quo pacto hominum negligentia ut paulatim a_ sanctissimis illis veterum patrum institutis discederetur,’”’— Cranmer has :— **Sed (proh dolor) illam majorum tam sanc- tam, tam pulcram, tam bene coherentem ordina- tionem superveniens zetas quam foede conspur- caverat convulseratque et tanquam membratim dilaceraverat.” In the scheme itself the resemblance to Quignon’s Breviary is most apparent, as, for instance, in the three lessons to be said at matins and in making the services of each day in the year the same, with the exception only of Holy Week and certain festivals. The scheme itself was certainly drawn up in the time of Henry VIIL., and as at this time there seemed to be some probability that Quignon’s new Breviary would become the recognized book of the Roman Church, the author’s opinion is that this office shows a disposition not to widen the breach caused in England by the separation from Rome, but to preserve points of contact with the Western Church as far as possible. And in doing this Father Gasquet infers that Cranmer was acting more or less under the influence of Tunstall, Bishop of Durham, for whom the archbishop enter- tained a special friendship. A curious feature in the earliest of the three calendars of lessons is that the five Sundays preceding Septuagesima are described respectively as ‘‘ Dominica prima,” “‘secunda,” &c., “‘vagan- tium.” Cranmer’s second project is more interest- ing as presenting more points of resemblance with the First Prayer Book of Edward’s reign. Inthis thedaily services are reduced to two, the arrangement for reading the Psalms being precisely the same as that of the book of 1549, those for the second day being read on the 1st of February, those for the thirtieth on the 1st of March, no provision apparently having been made for the 29th of February in leap year. The calendar of this scheme contains the festivals of about 130 different saints, including a large number of Old Testament worthies, such as Abel, Benjamin, Samuel, Josiah, Judith, Esther, Daniel, and some of the prophets, together with Phileas and Philoromus on the 4th of February, who singularly enough appear in the first Calendar, and must have been taken from Quignon’s Breviary. The heading of the columns containing the days of the week and the corresponding day for the Psalms is ** Psalmorum senarii.”’ It is noticeable also that the first of the three schemes of lessons adopts the arrange- ment of the ecclesiastical year in Quignon’s Breviary, whereas the second follows the course of the civil year, the reading of Genesis being transferred from Septua- gesima to January. The arrangement of the festivals in this scheme seems for the most part to accommodate itself to the chapters in the Bible which happen to be read on the particular day assigned to the festival. Thus the festival of Zacharias and Elizabeth is placed on the 15th day of February, on which day the first chapter of St. Luke is appointed, and that of Simeon on the 17th, when the second chapter is to be read; but there seems to be no adequate reason for placing Benjamin on the 21st of February, as he is not alluded to either in the three lessons of matins or in the two appointed for evensong; and yet the same name appears on the same day in the previous scheme. Thus, too, Jeremiah and Joshua are placed opposite where their respective books begin to be read, whereas Joseph appears on the 19th of March with- out any assignable reason, whilst the old festivals, such as those of the Apostles, appear in their proper places, without any reference to the lessons to be read on their respective days. At folio 22 of the MS. begin the histories of the saints, and these occupy more than one hundred leaves, some pages having been left blank, apparently to be filled in afterwards. And there seems to be a leaf missing between folios 68 and 69, which perhaps contained, or was intended to con- tain, the life of Helyas, between Barnabas and Basilius, in the month of June. Father Gasquet has failed to notice this. In his illustration of this remarkable manuscript Father Gasquet appears to have made use of nearly every available document that has occupied the attention of previous historians of the reign of Edward, and has further had the advantage of being able to refer to the valuable volume of Odet de Selve’s despatches published at Paris in 1888, as also to some MSS. at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, which ought before now to have found their way into print. With the help of these documents he has produced a more accurate history of the changes of religion and the motives of the statesmen of the reign of Edward VI. than has ever before appeared. He has scattered to the winds the theory that the First Prayer Book was ever meant to be final, or that things would have gone on comfortably enough if it had not been for the interfer- ence of the foreign Reformers, which led to the important alterations introduced into the Prayer Book of 1552. In this relation the correspondence of Odet de Selve, the French ambassador, has done great service. It runs over three years and a half, and contains 528 despatches full of the relations of this country both with France and with Scotland ; but though the allusions to re- ligious matters are but few, they are ex- tremely important, and we believe there is scarcely one which Father Gasquet has not made good use of. There can no longer be
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XUM Ne 3296, Dec. 27, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 883 any doubt that the proceedings of the whole reign, from the moment of the accession of the young king to his death, were as regards the changes of religion entirely tentative, the intention being to establish a form of worship even more entirely Zwinglian than that which appears in the Second Prayer Book. The French ambassador tells us how even before the publication of the first- issued alteration in the celebrated ‘ Order of the Communion,’ 7.e., as early as Decem- ber, 1547, Somerset and the other lords of the Council had discontinued the celebration of the sacrament of the altar in their own houses, and were as bad as, or perhaps worse than, the Sacramentaries of Germany. He mentions the arrival of Ochino and Peter Martyr in the same month, and says that the Parliament had only been deterred from abolishing the mass by fear of an insurrection of the people, and that the Council secretly approved of and en- couraged the destruction of images and altars, though professing to rebuke the rabble for having gone beyond their instructions in these matters. Here the French ambassador formed a fair estimate of the situation, for, of course, he was un- aware that the destruction of altars had been commenced by Ridley, the new Bishop of London, in anticipation of the order of the Council. He had already remarked as early as March 2nd, 1547, that the Lord Chancellor (notoriously a friend of Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester) had ceased to appear in the Council, a fact at which the ambas- sadors of the Protestants had expressed their joy. Four days afterwards the Chan- cellor was deprived of his office. He also notices Hugh Glasier’s sermon in April against fasting, adding what is noticed elsewhere, that the same man had preached just the contrary doctrine in Lent, inveigh- ing against those who did not fast. He entirely saw through the hollow pretext of the Protector for refusing a safe-conduct to a Papal envoy, on the ground that they were commissioned by the late king to leave all things in the state in which they were at his demise during the minority of the prince, and that the people were quite opposed to the recognition of the Papal supremacy. It surely was not unreasonable for him to suppose that the barefaced recan- tation of Dr. Richard Smith was instigated by the Protector, of whose religion he ven- tured to judge from his employing his work- men on Sundays and Ascension Day. Accordingly the proclamations of the Council prohibiting people from going too fast were quite understood by De Selve. But perhaps the most important allusion made by the French ambassador is in his des- patch of September 30th, 1548, where he relates the proclaiming through the streets of London that no more preaching was to be allowed till the bishops and doctors assembled at Chertsey shall have determined what is to be held and what not concerning the sacrament of the altar. And the account of this preparation for the Prayer Book of 1549 is, perhaps, the most interesting part of Father Gasquet’s volume. For he has discovered another manuscript jn the British Museum that gives the history of the debate in Parliament on the subject, which lasted from December 14th to the 18th, 1548. It is probably, as he says, the first systematic account of any debate of Parlia- ment, and shows how entirely Somerset and Warwick carried all things their own way against the bishops. In the course of the debate another layman appears in the person of Secretary Smith, who represents the extreme Zwinglian opinions. Here, too, the author refers to another MS. which we believe has never been noticed before. It is a treatise-of Peter Martyr’s, bearing date December Ist, entitled ‘Of the Sacrament of Thanksgiving,’ which —whether it belongs to the year 1547, or, as is more probable, to 1548—was meant to instruct the Protector as to the line he was to take, the chief point of which seems to be that extra usum the consecrated elements are nothing but bread and wine. We can only regret that the debate itself is so meagrely recorded, for the report, such as it is, is most interesting, and both falls in with and illustrates what is known of the opinions of those who took part in it. In the conclusions at which Father Gasquet arrives regarding the mode in which the First Prayer Book was compiled we entirely concur, viz., that no absolutely defined commission was appointed to draw up the new form of service; that very few persons were actually concerned in the attempt, but that its compilation had long been under consideration; that the matins and evensong in English as used at St. Paul’s, and the English mass at West- minster, in May, 1548, were substantially the same as those of the Prayer Book; that for the ‘‘certain bishops and notable learned men” assembled at Chertsey and Windsor by the king’s command nothing was left but the arrangement of the material already prepared; and that the book was submitted in October or November, 1548, to the bishops, and was passed in Parlia- ment without ever having been submitted to Convocation. As regards the antecedents and the com- pilation of the Prayer Book, we have no hesitation in saying that this volume is the most valuable contribution to its history that has appeared since the time, now more than half a century past, when the two Prayer Books were first reprinted in parallel columns by Dr. Cardwell, and separately in the Parker Society’s publications. We have been obliged to confine our attention to the newly discovered documents and the able analysis of them which Father Gasquet has supplied. But in noticing these we have by no means exhausted the subjects treated of in this volume. The comparison of the Prayer Book with ancient liturgies and the service books of the Lutheran and the Reformed Communions, the account of the reception of the new offices, and of the Second Prayer Book of 1552, are full of interesting matter which we must be content to leave without any further notice. The Doyle Fairy Book, consisting of Twenty- nine Fatry Tales. Translated by A. R. Montalba. With Illustrations by Richard Doyle, a Memoir of Doyle, and an In- troduction by a Member of the Folk-lore Society. (Dean & Son.) THERE is no hint in the title-page of ‘The Doyle Fairy Book’ that it is not new, yet it is really a third edition of one which first appeared in 1849, bearing the name ‘Fairy Tales from all Nations’ (Chapman & Hall), and containing twenty-eight tales. It was republished in 1872 by Messrs. Dean & Son as ‘The Famous Fairy Tales of all Nations,’ minus two of the number and the translator’s name. Now it is ‘The Doyle Fairy Book.’ Each time that it has been published there has been a shifting of frontispieces, and little changes of all kinds ; this time it contains twenty-eight tales— not twenty-nine, as the title-page declares. On referring to its table of contents, we find that Danish, Hebrew, German, French, Upper Lusatian, Russian, African, Swedish, Polish, Italian, Arabic, Hungarian, Bohe- mian, Franconian, Norwegian, Icelandic, Frieslandic, Wendian, Sanskrit, ‘ Bet- schuanian,’”? and Slavonic stories are all represented. The Danish story, however, turns out to be from Asbjérnsen; while an- other story of the Norwegian writer’s, ‘ Fugl Dam’ (‘The Bird Dam’), has been called ‘The Twelve Lost Princesses and the Wizard King,’ and declared to come from Africa. “Wizard” in the original is, of course, troll, a point which should not have been lost sight of in a book which ostentatiously an- nounces that its introduction is written by a member of the Folk-lore Society. The member of the Folk-lore Society—an ex- cellent society, not responsible for the errors of those who belong to it—repeats the asser- tion that the story of ‘The Twelve Lost Princesses,’ &c., is of African origin, and declares that the action is carried over @ longer period than that of most tales. The only difference, however, between this story and Asbjérnsen’s is that in the latter cer- tain events happen after an interval of seven years, and in the so-called African story after fourteen, so the peculiarity which strikes Mr. Green is due to the pen of the translator. Some slight verbal changes have been made, perhaps with an idea of giving the local colour of Africa. The Ridder Rid of the Norse tale has been turned into Commander Rod—possibly of the British navy and an early African ad- venturer. Jernklubbe is translated ‘“‘boat- hook,” and the word ‘‘ hammock ’”’ is intro- duced. The translator has, however, left in the story, untranslated, one tell-tale Nor- wegian word, stabbur, which, by the way, is printed “stabur.” Its meaning is ex- plained in a foot-note, and is also to be found in the dictionary. Are we intended to believe that a kind of storehouse ‘supported on short pillars, so as not to allow it to touch the ground,” is called “‘stabbur” in Africa as well as in Nor- way? The word is not in use even in Denmark. Another story taken from Asbjérnsen is in the ‘Norske Folke-Eventyr’ called ‘De toly Vildender’ (‘The Twelve Wild Ducks’). Why should the name given it by Asbjérnsen—a name by which it has, no doubt, been traditionally known by generation after generation—be changed ? and why should we be confused by another story bearing the much-worked name of ‘Snow White and Rosy Red’? We may correct an error which has crept not only into Mr. Montalba’s version, but in a slightly different form into Mr. Dasent’s. It is this. When the princess who went forth to rescue her twelve brothers undertook to
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884 THE ATHENAZUM N° 3296, Dec. 27, 90 make twelve shirts, caps, and neckerchiefs for them—‘‘cravats” is surely too modern— the material of which she was to make them was not thistledown, as Mr. Dasent has it— not the down of the dandelion flowers, as Mr. Montalba rendered it—but cotton-grass {myrdun). This mistake would have been evident if the context had been studied, for cotton-grass can with truth be said to nod in the breeze, and when seen growing in profusion, and at a distance, to look like snow. This makes the story much prettier and more natural. Mr. Green in his introduction says that this story has been rendered from the Danish of those industrious folk-lorists Asbjérnsen and Mée (sre). Is he not aware that Asbjérnsen and Moe wrote in Norwegian, and that they did not both take down the same story, but each supplied a certain number, of which a list is given in the ‘Norske Folke-Eventyr’? Mr. Green’s introduction is throughout weak and in- accurate. Scarcely a name is printed cor- rectly. We find ‘ Torgen Moe,” “ Giovanni Francessco Straparola,” ‘Count Maylath” for Majlath, ‘“‘ Lablanche,” ‘FE. M. Anndt” (Arndt), ‘“‘G. von Gall” (Gaal), ‘“ Woy- cicky,” and a monstrous creation, ‘‘ Montz Hausst,”’ which is perhaps intended for Moritz Haupt. Mr. Green’s style is jauntily ignorant and irritating. This is a specimen :— “The beautiful little story of ‘The Prince and the Glowworms,’ so pretty, and so poetic, is taken from the German of Friedrich von Sallet. Julius, like Mr. Thomas Jones, seems to have been a foundling, and was as plucky in spirit, as the lad who went forth to learn what fear was. The old woman, who treated the boy so eruely [sic], belongs to a very large family, and her numerous sisters are to be found scattered throughout the works of ancient and modern authors. The tale of ‘The Prince and the Glow- worms’ seems to illustrate the truism that ‘ different objects strike different people in very different ways.’ The yellow primrose, which to Peter Bell, the waggoner, was a yellow prim- rose, and nothing more, and which to others is a political emblem, was to the man of science who ‘loved peculiar plants and rare,’ only a dicotyledon, and to Prince Julius, a tree of vast bigness. He too, like Sir John Lubbock, at- tached great importance to an ant-heap [sic], but, unlike that gentleman, he mistook it for a hill, while he imagined a daisy to be the sun. This affords us an early example of the Solar Theory.” There is an assumption of familiar ac- quaintance with folk-lore in Mr. Green’s writing, but what is the meaning of such a sentence as this ? ‘A Hungarian tale by G. von Gall is one of the most interesting stories in the collection, and abounds in incidents which are of frequent occurrence in comparative folk-lore.”’ When Mr. Green attempts comparative folk-lore himself he should be careful to compare stories which are recognized as folk-lore. ‘The Yellow Dwart’ was _pro- nounced by the best of all authorities, Grimm, to be an entire invention. Myr. Green likewise contributes a memoir of Doyle. We began to read it, but finding that it sets out with the assertion that he was born in 1842 (just seven years before the first edition of this work with his illus- trations was published), we desisted, lest we should confuse and vitiate previous better- formed conceptions. As a book for children this will be liked, for the stories are pleasantly varied and in many cases not ill chosen. ‘Goldy’ is a decidedly pretty story. The translation not having been undertaken from a folk-lore point of view (it was early days for that in 1849), the original story is not always strictly adhered to, and interesting features are therefore sometimes omitted, but most of the stories read well and are interesting. We part company with them wondering what they will be called when next we see them. Perhaps “ alliteration’s artful aid” will be used. ‘Famous Fairy Tales from Foreign Lands’ would just give the touch of unlikeness that seems to be preferred. Mr. Doyle’s illustrations will, of course, be a great attraction tomany. Itis curious, how- ever, how fashion—for there is a fashion even in depicting fairies and fairy princesses —has changed. The beautiful princesses of the early Victorian period of art are arch- looking or simply plump and comely. Prin- cesses of the present day are handsome, not pretty, and they are nothing if not intense. Market Iarborough Parish Records, to Av. 1530. By J. i. Stocks and W. B. Bragg. (Stock.) Tuts careful compilation does great credit to the two gentlemen whose names appear on the title-page. Now that our record offices are, with but few exceptions, open to the public, it is becoming necessary to exclude in great part original documents from histories of towns. The more docu- ments of the Middle Ages that we have given to us the better; but there are obvious reasons why it is better that they should be presented apart from town chronicles. The documents printed in this volume are not all of them preserved in the Market Harborough town-chest. They have been gleaned from various repositories, but all have a distinct relation to the place. The earlier papers are of considerable interest, as showing the loose way in which eccle- siastical patronage was dealt with in the Middle Ages. It was bad enough in the reign of George III., but we imagine that in recent days the abuses were never so great as they were in the time of the Plan- tagenets. In the thirteenth century a certain Nicholas Luvetoft was presented to the rectory of Bowden when under the canonical age. We apprehend that he received the income of the benefice, though he was never instituted. When he became of canonical age he refused institution (though several times offered it by the bishop), on the ground that he had been presented to the living of Adlingfleet, a village on the Ouse in the archdiocese of York ; whereupon the bishop sequestrated the benefice of Bowden, but ‘up to a fortnight after the next Michael- mas” the bishop ‘of his special grace” permits him to receive the profits of the benefice of Bowden. We do not know all the circumstances, but the affair looks like a disgraceful job. Shortly after this a certain Robert of St. Albans was presented by Edward I. to the living of Essendon, in Hertfordshire, and held it for some years without presenting himself for priest’s orders. The king afterwards gave him the living of Great Bowden, and he continued to hold both pieces of preferment, and pocket the proceeds of the same, without a dispensation from the Pope. By acting thus, if we are not mistaken, he laid himself open to excommunication. Excommunication was a terrible thing in those days, and Robert of St. Albans seems to have become alarmed. He professed to be fired by holy zeal to assume the cross and to accompany the king, at his own personal charges, to the Holy Land. He therefore, on account of the meritorious act which he contemplated, petitioned to be freed from the consequences of his violation of the canon law by holding two benefices. The Pope, it appears, granted the necessary dispensation, and permitted him to retain the income of the two benefices so long as the proper rites of the Church and the cure of souls were not neglected. The authors have not been able to ascertain whether this worthy fulfilled his promise or not. There is strong reason to think that the Pope was imposed upon, and that this impudent pluralist had never any intention of visiting the East. Students of the court rolls of our larger manors are aware that it was no uncommon thing for clerics to be fined for assaulting each other. Sometimes violence of this sort led to punishments much more awful than a small fine. In 1294 we find that Master Roger, clerk, of Bowden, was absolved from the sentence of greater excommunication which he had incurred by having laid hands on another Bowden cleric named Richard. Neither of these ecclesiastics seems to have possessed a surname. Evidently they were not beneficed clergymen. We apprehend that they were chaplains retained to serve in the chantry chapels. In 1380 we find evidence of payments made tothe Knights of the Shire who served in Parliament. The manors of Bowden and Market Harborough were ancient demesne of the Crown; this being the case, the tenants claimed to be free from the above tax. They made good their claim, and, of course, dis- franchised themselves in consequence. The authors mention a certain hermit priest called William of Swinderby, who had, so it was affirmed, taught heresy. On conviction he recanted and was forgiven, his penance being to read his recantation in eight churches within the diocese of Lincoln on Sundays immediately after mass. It seems that among the bishops’ memoranda preserved at Lincoln the whole process is recorded. The case of William of Swin- derby is not unknown, but we believe this account of it has never been printed. We wish the compilers of this work could have made room for it. The latter pages of the volume contain several wills, all of which are interesting. There is one especially so. It is that of Geoffrey le Scrope, Rector of Bowden, who resigned the benefice in 1378. He was buried in Lincoln Minster, and the will is preserved among the chapter records. This Geoffrey le Scrope was a member of the great Northern house of that name, a branch of which still survives in Yorkshire. The testator was, we believe, a near relative of Richard Scrope, Archbishop of York, who was judicially murdered in 1405, and whose tomb, magnificent with gold, silver, and precious offerings, was a place of pilgrimage down to the Reformation. Although never canonized by Papal authority, he was re-
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N° 3296, Dec. 27, 90 THE ATHENAUM 885 garded as a saint by the men of the north of England. It is pleasant to find that the authors take interest in the names of fields and other local objects. A list of several of these names made in 1343 when compared with a catalogue compiled in 1655 proves that such names are far more permanent than those to whom the subject is new would be led to anticipate. They continued, we are told, much the same until 1776, when the enclosure took place and swept many of them out of memory. NOVELS OF THE WEEK. The Deliverance of Robert Carter. By Hugh Westbury. 2 vols. ‘(Bentley & Son.) The Secret of the Princess: a Tale of Country, Camp, Court, Convict, and Cloister Life in Russia. By Mrs. Sutherland Edwards. 2 vols. (Chapman & Hall.) Very Young, and Quite Another Story. By Jean Ingelow. (Longmans & Co.) Four Red Night Caps. By C. J. Hyne. (Eden, Remington & Co.) "T2 Olivia. By Amelia E. Barr. (Clarke & Co.) Doctor Cameron. By Lucy P. Smith. (Eden, Remington & Co.) Anglia Wezechmozna, Powiese Obyczajowa. Przez E. 8. Naganowskiego. (Adl- Powerful England, a Society Novel. By E. 8. Naga- nowski.) (Lemberg, Gubrynowicz & Schmidt. ) Mr. Westsury’s story is of the subjective and contemplative order, dealing with the character and religious phases of one Bob, and at the same time recording enough of his life’s romance to make the narrative attractive in itself. ‘‘ Every one liked Bob,” the author says; and Mr. Westbury likes Bob so much that he declines to call him Carter, or even Robert, in the most exalted or formal passages. Bob himself likes Bob, or reproves him in such a fashion that his relish for the work of self-commination is transparent. In early life Mr. Robert Carter is guilty of a breach of one of the later com- mandments, and if he does not repent of his sin sufficiently to make him resign its plea- sant fruit, it would be unfair to say that his repentance is not sincere. He makes various efforts to regain peace for his soul, and most or all of them are unsuccessful. Whatever may be the mode of his deliverance, as con- ceived by Mr. Westbury, the reader will shrewdly suspect from the first that this self-tormenting and inconclusive Bob will never be at rest until he has finally shuffled off his mortal coil. The wary novel-reader who glances at the lavish title of Mrs. Sutherland Edwards’s story will make up his mind to endure new thrills of mystery and horror. He will not be disappointed. Se- dition and Siberia play their conventional part in ‘The Secret of the Princess’; and, true to his rdle in Russia as_ elsewhere, Love rules the court, the camp, the grove, the innocent convicts, and the saints of the future in their cloister cells. The author tells her secret at the outset of the story. The Princess Volhonsky, with her family of three and a too attractive Polish tutor, is residing on her estate at Dubrovina, near Moscow. At midnight, as she is retiring to rest, she suddenly sees a man outside the window, clinging to the frame, and staring in at her. She points a pistol at him; it goes off; and so does the unwelcome visitor. There is the root- mystery of a very en- tertaining and well-imagined story. It is written with adequate knowledge of Russia and the Russian character, the incidents in- cluding one or two details of the Crimean War. ‘Very Young’ and ‘ Quite Another Story’ is one story in two parts with different names, though why so named and so divided we do not see. It is a nice enough little story for young people—and others—about some rather nice and rather natural folk. Why it is not better, being so good as it is, is another of the things we do not know. Perhaps it may be a lack of clearness and firmness of touch as much as anything else, and a suspicion that the author may not her- self have known what she wished to make the most conspicuous feature of her story. Miss Ingelow’s ways are not quite the ways of the common story-teller, however, and perhaps we are not meant to know every- thing. ‘Four Red Night Caps’ is the sort of reading that is much in the air just now— more, perhaps, than may be to everybody’s taste. But we are nothing if not tolerant, from the literary as well as other points of view. Still it is easy enough to weary of all this slipshod writing; and continual slang and perpetual chaff may in time prove as tiresome as the over-pedantic or priggish style. A humorous volume, or one that aims at so being all along, is a trying expe- riment, and generally falls short of the mark, all the more easily when the humour is a something second rate in tone, as it is in this case; for certainly ‘Four Red Night Caps’ strikes one as belonging to that lowest type of literature which is so much with us. Of course the four red caps which decorate the outside of the book belong to four young men who, in a borrowed ten-tonner, do some coasting in West Scotland. They are not a fascinating quartet, and we are not stirred to great interest by any of the little episodes that occur on board the Chibook, nor off it either. Yet it is a comfort to think that this sort of production represents so much health and happiness gained by sea air and change of employment, that cheap tripping and cheap joking go hand in hand and mean enjoyment to many, though the savour of it all may have evaporated in the recital, and left nothing very delectable to show for it—at least in print. Mrs. Barr’s “old-time” story, excellent in many ways as it is, is marred by an ex- cessive straining after archaic dialogue and by such flowers of speech as “a slim chance,” ‘ midway life,” a ‘ betterly sort of daughter.” Sometimes she lapses into downright bad grammar: ‘He hates not only the sin he commits, but also they by whom the offence come”; sometimes into bad spelling: ‘Kelderby upon its rocky eery.” Of innumerable pieces of fine writing it is hard to select specimens. ‘ Olivia’s soul....in a momentary calenture of faith and love refuged herself....in the care of the Omnipotent” sounds imposing ; ‘ Fillip the sparrow” seems a sarsenet kind of oath; ‘‘ Nathaniel could not say what he wished to,” a common vulgarism, Yet there are many good thoughts well expressed in this laboured volume: ‘So ready a creditor is the future to the dissatisfied.” ‘‘ Love must have the flavour of its circumstances, and these con- tinually change.” And to take a broader and, perhaps, a fairer view, we must admit that this attempt at depicting Quaker life in the early times of Cromwell is by no means unsuccessful. Olivia, the charming heroine; Roger Prideaux, her father, the pious enthusiast; ‘‘ Baron” Kelder (Lord Kelder, we suppose, but are not sure), a very noble type of the Cromwellian warrior ; and his spirited, though somewhat worldly wife, are all careful portraits. Nathaniel Kelder is also a stately figure, but, like most young gentlemen in love (at least in historical novels), has less that is dis- tinctive of his period, and less originality in himself, than saner mortals. Of the great Protector Mrs. Barr writes well, and his appearances in the story are not unworthy of him. But we must demur to the partisan spirit which makes every Royalist man or woman either wicked or a fool. Such monstrosities as John de Burg and his sister are rare in any age; and for the honour of the sex the writer should have remembered how nobly the Royalist ladies bore themselves in those stormy times. It is not made very clear to what form of faith the wicked par- son is attached who persecutes George Fox’s followers; but as he is called a priest, we are inclined to think our author supposes that the clergy of the Church of England would have ventured upon such a proceeding in the days of Cromwell’s Triers. The honour of being persecuted was by no means confined to Quakers and sectaries in those times. But though on this and other points the writer is one-sided enough, she has written an interesting volume on a period which is always attractive. The story of Dr. Cameron is not vitally interesting ; it is badly enough written, and there is no one to specially like or admire in it. It is evidently the work of a novice, who may do better or, it may be, worse things, and improve her grammar. In the mean time she possesses not a shadow of style, unless a bad American manner can be called a style. A Polish novel dealing with English life and manners is a rarity; and so few people among us are acquainted with that lan- guage, that Mr. Naganowski must look to his own countrymen rather than to English- men to read it. He has given them a some- what satirical picture of our institutions and habits ; the Salvation Army, prize-fighting, and other peculiar developments of the age are treated of in his pages. Naturally Eng- lish cookery does not escape our author’s censure. The hero of the tale, a certain Mr. Casimir Rogowski, experiences many alternations of fortune, coming as he does to this country from a home in which he has been brought up in luxury, as he informs the poor Irish tutor who is his fellow lodger. RRogowski falls into such a state of poverty that he is compelled to sweep a crossing for his livelihood; but he concludes by winning the affections of a charming young lady named Sylvia, the daughter of a baronet, and all goes merry as a marriage bell. The descriptions of English dinner parties, of country life, and the other social sketches are, on the whole, well done—perhaps a little caricatured; and
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886 THE ATHENAUM N° 3296, Dec. 27, ’90 there are occasional inaccuracies, which must be condoned in a foreigner, as when our aughor speaks of Mrs. Bishop Parker. Some of the names remind us of Victor Hugo’s attempts in that direction, ¢.g., Mountjoye-Snobbish, Mac-Brimstone, &c. The hero is amazed at the ignorance on Polish matters shown everywhere in Eng- | | Danvers joined the forces under the Duke | of Cumberland, and Mrs. Osborn’s letters land. He is, of course, taken for a Russian, and the second syllable of his name is pro- nounced like the English diphthong. All this, alas! is in the nature of things; but he finds consolation in the fact that the young ladies have read Miss Porter’s ‘ Thad- deus of Warsaw,’ a book which we are afraid has long become obsolete. The plot of the story is somewhat slender; the hero is rather too much of the conventional type ; the best-drawn character is the poor Irish tutor, with his love for the antiquated damsel of thirty-eight. Political and Social Letters of a Lady of the Enghteenth Century, 1721-1771. Edited by Emily F. D. Osborn. With 4 Illus- trations. (Griffith, Farran & Co.) Mrs. Osporn was an extremely pretty person, if we may judge from her portrait on the frontispiece, and she appears to have been a favourable example of an English lady of the last century. She was the sister of the unfortunate Admiral Byng, and was married in 1710, at the age of seventeen, to the eldest son of Sir John Osborn, a nephew of Dorothy Osborne, known to fame by her recently published love letters. Left a widow at the early age of twenty-four, Mrs. Osborn managed the family estate with great care and success during the minority of her son, and subsequently on his death performed the same services for her grandson. Her letters in this collec- tion extend over a space of half a century. In the earlier portion we come across many names which are familiar to the readers of the ‘Journal to Stella,’ of the gossiping pages of Lord Hervey and the ‘Suffolk Correspondence’ ; further on in the volume we have glimpses of the society which is known to us from the descriptions by Horace Walpole and his contemporaries. Mrs. Osborn’s letters are all addressed to her near relatives, and she writes a good deal re- garding the family affairs; but she keeps her correspondents fairly well informed about the passing rumours of the day, espe- cially those which refer to the matrimonial projects of her friends. Some of this in- formation is rather curious. It is not, we fancy, generally known that Stephen Fox, before his marriage with Lady Mary Fitz Patrick, had proposed to Miss Greville, afterwards Mrs. Crewe. It was, we here learn, by the advice of Stephen Fox, immediately after his own refusal by the lady, that Mr. Crewe proposed. Horace Walpole appears to have been un- aware of the circumstance. It is curious that a few years later Charles James Fox, the younger brother of the disappointed suitor, was a devoted friend of Mrs. Crewe, and received very substantial proofs of friendship from her husband. Mrs. Piozzi thought that Mrs. Crewe was the only lady for whom Charles Fox ever felt any sincere affection. At the commencement of 1744 the rumours of an invasion of England by the Young Pretender were beginning to excite serious alarm. ‘‘ For God sake,” writes Mrs. Osborn to her eldest son, Sir Danvers Osborn, ‘‘ come and see what is doing. The Town is in a turmoil, never was the like; whether truth or not in the reports that are given about, I know not.” In the following year Sir to her son show the state of panic that pre- vailed in London. Writing to her son in May, 1751, Mrs. Osborn describes a duel which caused great excitement at the time, and her account of the affair is so lively that it is worth quoting. We retain the original ortho- graphy and punctuation of the letters as they appear in this volume :— ‘*The duel which was in the papers last Saturday is a most malancholy affaire. Mr. Dalton was very soon to marry one of the Miss Greens, and a snuff box which he had given her was taken from her by Mr. Paul, who told her she took so much snuff that he would keep it. Dalton said he insisted he should not, but give it to him, so from Jest to Earnest wrested it out of his hand, and Miss Green had her box returnd. At night Paul went to Dalton’s house in Hill Street, not finding him at home, he sat down in his Parlour, wrote a letter in which he said he had used him ruffley, and that he ex- pected he should ask his pardon, or give him satisfaction like a gentleman, and sent his Servant with it where he suppd, and to say that he should wait there till he came home, which he immediately did. Both their chairs waited at the door, and they sent the Ser- vant to stay in the Kitchen till they calld, and not to let any one in that knockd. Dalton said, if they must fight, the present time was best, so drawd their swords. In the scufle the Candles and Tables were thrown down, and one of them said, ‘ Dont let us fight in the dark, peace till we fetch the Candle out of the Hall,’ but it was soon over, and Paul went out of the door, gave his chairmen two shillings to discharge them, and went for Hawkins the surgeon (the only circumstance in his favour) to go for Dalton, for he believd he had killd him, then run to Lord Ravens- worth to tell him his misfortune...... Upon the street door shutting, the Servant ran up, found his Master stone dead upon the flour...... They found the Challenge in Dalton’s pocket, and the appearance of a very unfair Wound, it being on the contrary side of his heart and lungs. The swords both lay by him. Dalton’s was much hackd, and all tallow. He knew nothing of a sword, and the other fenced well, nevertheless most people think he had the mortal wound after he was down, tho the Surgeons en- deavour to make it posible to be otherways. The Coroner’s Inquest was not finished till last night, and brought it in Wilfull Murder.” Although Mrs. Osborn appears to have been domestic in her tastes, she writes a good deal about the fashionable diversions of the town. We hear not only of con- certs, burlettas, and operas, but of Almack’s, Soho (Mrs. Cornelys’s entertainments at Car- lisle House, Soho Square), and Ranelagh. There is an amusing description, in the early part of the volume, of the society at Bath in August, 1721; but one item of news in this letter is not very easy to under- stand. ‘‘Gray y® poet,” we read, “lodges in our house so he has supt with us.” At that date the future author of the ‘ Elegy’ was four and a half years of age, and we are inclined to think that the name in the original is Gay. Mrs. Osborn’s letters show that she was not without literary tastes. She occasion- ally studied the St. James’s and the Gazetteer. She had read at least one of Moliére’s plays. She knew something of the works of Pope, and even quotes his definition of ‘ The Passions.” In one of the letters (1738) there is mention of a “severe criticism” on the ‘Essay on Man,’ referring doubtless to the ‘Examination of Pope’s Essay,’ by Crousaz. ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ supplies Mrs. Osborn with a forcible illustration of the weariness of old age, though her recollection of the names of the different nations described in Swift’s work is rather mixed. In another letter she mentions a poetical satire on Sir Robert Walpole, ‘Are these Things So?’ and considers it a ‘‘ very severe poem.” It was certainly intended to be so, but the lady was wrong in attributing the piece to Bubb Dodington. It was written by a dramatic author, the Rev. James Miller. In her later years Mrs. Osborn took con- siderable interest in politics, and she fre- quently refers to the party controversies of the day. In a letter written in January, 1766, a few days after the House of Com- mons had voted the address of thanks, she gives a spirited account of the debate, which reveals most clearly the extraordinary influ- ence which was then wielded by Pitt. One of her remarks on this occasion will perhaps be not very readily understood, and the editor should have explained it in the para- graph which she has prefixed to the letter. ‘The man so much adored and feared [ Pitt} was the Hero of the day,” she writes. ‘‘No one dare speak or reply except his brother, who he attackd severely.” Pitt’s only brother had been dead some years, and the person alluded to is Mr. Grenville, who had passed the Stamp Act assailed in Pitt’s speech. Pitt, Geo. Grenville, and Lord Temple were then often called ‘the three brothers.” Occasionally in these letters we gain some insight into the economic conditions of the time, and we think with envy of a time when the yearly wages of a butler were twenty-five pounds, when the house books of a lady with five servants amounted to thirty shillings a week, and a house in Lon- don could be furnished for seventy - five pounds. We gather from Mrs. Osborn’s letters that her rich contemporaries spent their money chiefly on elections, of which the cost appears to have been enormous. It would be easy to dwell longer on these interesting pages, but enough has been said, perhaps, to induce our readers who desire further information to search the volume for themselves. We cannot, however, conclude without expressing our thanks to Miss Emily Osborn, who has edited these entertaining letters; and, if it is allowable to offer a word of friendly advice, we should like to suggest that when a second edition is called for a few short biographical notes be inserted and the index somewhat en- larged. MR. KIPLING’S TALES. Wee Willie Winkie, and other Stories. By Rudyard Kipling. (Sampson Low & Co.) Under the Deodars. (Same author and pub- lishers. ) Mr. Rupyarp Kripuine’s stories succeed one another with great rapidity, and the bookstalls are blue with ever-diminishing piles of the paper- clad volumes that contain them. He is in short, SS a ae
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N° 3296, Dec. 27,90 THE ATHENAUM 887 for the time being, a fact to be reckoned with ; and conscious as we are of the difficulty of pen- ning any observations upon his work that have not been made a hundred times before, we have no desire to shirk the task his versatile activity imposes on his critics. In ‘Wee Willie Winkie, and other Stories,’ he is at his best, as a narrator pure and simple. The tales are four in number, and (with one exception) admirably natural and true to life. By far the most powerful of them is the last, called ‘The Drums of the Fore and Aft,’ in which Mr. Kipling lavishes all his resources upon the two profane little slum-heroes Jakin and Lew, without a single jarring note of false pathos. The adventures of the unlucky ‘‘ Fore and Aft” during their march to the front are depicted with rare humour, but nothing comes up to the vivid realism of the battle with the hill-men. We cannot refrain from quoting a few paragraphs full of dramatic force and blood- stirring incident. The two drummer-boys, de- serted by their regiment in its retreat before the on-rush of the Ghazis, have taken the desperate resolve of emerging from the friendly shelter of the rocks beneath which they had crept, and playing their comrades forward again to the charge :— “He slipped the drum-sling over his shoulder, thrust the fife into Lew’s hand, and the two boys marched out of the cover of the rock into the open, making a hideous hash of the first bars of the ‘British Grenadiers,’ As Lew had said, a few of the Fore and Aft were coming back sullenly and shamefacedly under the stimulus of blows and abuse ; their coats showed at the head of the valley, and behind them were waverivg bayonets. But between this shattered line and the enemy, who with Afghan suspicion feared that the hasty retreat meant an ambush, and had not moved there- fore, lay half a mile of level ground dotted only by the wounded. The tune settled into full swing, and the boys kept shoulder to shoulder, Jakin banging the drum as one possessed. The one fife made a thin and pitiful squeaking, but the tune carried far, even to the Gurkhas, ‘Come on, you dorgs!’ muttered Lew to himself. ‘Are we to play for hever?’ Lew was staring straight in front of him and marching more stiffly than ever he had done on parade. And in bitter mockery of the distant mob, the old tune of the Old Line shrilled and rattled. Some talk of Alexander, And some of Hercules; Of Hector and Lysander, And such great names as these ! There was a far-off clapping of hands from the Gurkhas, and a roar from the Highlanders in the distanc2, but never a shot was fired by British or Afghan. The two little red dots moved forward in the open parallel to the enemy’s front. But of all the world’s great: heroes There’s none that can compare, With a tow-row-row-row-row-row-row, To the British Grenadier ! The men of the Fore and Aft were gathering thick at the entrance into the plain. The Brigadier on the heights far above was speechless with rage. Still no movement from the enemy. The day stayed to watch the children. Jakin halted and beat the long roll of the Assembly, while the fife squealed despairingly. ‘Right about face! Hold up, Lew, you’re drunk,’ said Jakin. They wheeled and marched back :— Those heroes of antiquity Ne’er saw a cannon-ball, Nor knew the force 0’ powder. ‘Here they come!’ said Jakin. ‘Go on, Lew.’ To scare their foes withal! The Fore and Aft were pouring out of the valley. What officers had said to men in that time of shame and humiliation will never be known; for neither officers nor men speak of it now. ‘They are com- ing anew!’ shouted a priest among the Afghans. ‘Do not kill the boys! Take them aiive, and thev shall be of our faith.’ But the first volley had been fired, and Lew dropped on his face. Jakin stood for a minute, spun round and collapsed, as the Fore and Aft came forward, the maledictions of their officers in their ears, and in their hearts the shame of open shame.” A child’s unconscious courage is also the theme of the tale from which the book takes its name, and a capital picture of the ludicrous situation created by Wee Willie Winkie’s daring adorns the cover. Miss Allardyce, for whom, as the betrothed of his friend ‘‘Coppy,” he cherishes a chivalrous admiration, has gone out | for a ride beyond cantonments, and, owing to | an unfortunate tumble, is unable to return. The boy, who has galloped after her on his pony, arrives on the scene just as a band of hill- | men, harbouring evil intentions, make their appearance from the heights. The tableau is delicious. ‘‘ The child of the Dominant Race” arises in all the dignity of six and a quarter, and says to the biggest and ugliest scoundrel of them all, ‘‘ You black men are frightening the Miss Sahib...... Go away!” : ‘His Majesty the King’ is a touching story, showing a wonderful insight into the queer workings of the infant mind; and the way in which the strained relations of the Austells are relaxed by the intervention of the odd little mortal whom they both misunderstood and mis- managed is an exquisite piece of tragi-comedy. Of ‘Baa Baa Black Sheep’ we cannot say so much, though it has, like nearly all Mr. Kip- ling’s work, some felicitous bits of descrip- tion, and the dreariness of the seaside ‘villa residence ” where poor little ‘‘ Punch and Judy ” are quartered by their Anglo-Indian parents is cleverly suggested. Still one is bound to ob- serve that the cruel ‘‘ Antirosa” carries things with altogether too high a hand, and that the children must have been singularly destitute of friends and relations in England to have been delivered up so completely to her tender mercies. Surely papa and mamma—especially such a kindly couple as they are represented—might have sooner contrived to discover how their absent babes were faring and transferred them to more motherly keeping. When we turned to ‘ Under the Deodars’ we were a good deal disappointed. In spite of Mr. Kipling’s apologetic preface, he unquestionably succeeds, both here and elsewhere, in conveying the impression that ‘‘ India” (to use his own picturesque phrase) ‘‘is inhabited by men and women playing tennis with the seventh com- mandment.” We do not believe this to be the case any more than he himself does ; but his writings both in prose and verse, collectively taken, certainly form a grave indictment against our compatriots, and a flavour of the Divorce Court hangs about nearly all his pictures of Anglo-Indian society. One gets a trifle nauseated—to speak plainly—with the insinua- tions and innuendoes which pervade the atmo- sphere of married life, according to Mr. Kipling, at Simla and Naini Tal. And whether they be founded on fact or not, his Mrs. Hauksbees and Mrs. Mallowes are neither edifying nor— shall we venture to breathe the heresy ?—amus- ing companions. Their cynicism palls upon us, and their occasional lapses into womanliness fail to be convincing. ‘The Education of Otis Yeere’ and ‘A Second-rate Woman’ (in both of which these ladies play prominent parts) are clever and caustic enough, no doubt, but they leave a disagreeable taste in the mouth. We are sorry to have to confess it, but we prefer another pair of confidantes, whose toilettes were less elegant, and whose language was less subtle. Their vulgarity was at all events wholesome, and their names were—Sairey Gamp and Betsy Prig. ‘Under the Deodars’ has, however, one re- deeming feature—the excellent story called ‘Only a Subaltern,’ with which it concludes. We have read nothing of the kind so good since Mrs. Ewing’s ‘ Jackanapes.’ CHRISTMAS BOOKS. | Fifty-two more Stories for Boys. Nolens Volens; or, the Adventures of Don Lav- ington. By George Manville Fenn. (Part- ridge & Co.) Syd Belton; or, the Boy who would not goto Sea. Same author. (Methuen & Co.) The Adventures of Alfan. By John Holme Burrow. (Roper & Drowley.) A Fluttered Dovecote. By G. Manville Fenn. (Ward & Downey.) Miss Pringle’s Pearls. By Mrs. G. Linneus Banks. (Hutchinson & Co.) Edited by Alfred H. Miles. (Same publishers.) The Slave Prince. By the Ven. Archdeacon Chiswell. (Griffith, Farran & Co.) By Sea and Land. By Gordon Stables, R.N. (Warne & Co.) | Mr. Fenn has utilized effectively the earliest period of New Zealand settlement, and the hardships of the old press-gang system for recruiting the navy. He does full justice to the scenery of that favoured land, and to the rough experiences which the pressed men, Jem Wimble and his young master, undergo on its shores before they get back again to ‘‘ Bristol city.” Whether in the circumstances their desertion was a venial offence we are content to leave in doubt, like Lavington’s sagacious uncle.—‘‘ Nothing like a bit of rope’s-end neatly seized with a bit of twine” is the reflection of that excellent parent Barney Strake, boatswain. The object of his affectionate care turns out an excellent sailor, and, with young Belton, the captain’s son, performs great deeds against the French in the consulship of Plancus. This is another good story, which should tend to the manning of the Royal Navy.—There is an Oriental ring about the romance of Alfan, with its amulet and diablerie, the wonderful adven- tures of the Egyptian boy in Persia, and the rapid transitions from poverty to wealth, from greatness to obscurity. It is slight in texture, but there is a not unpleasant variety in its rather old-fashioned local colouring. Mr. Fenn has made a new departure in his amusing story of a girls’ school. Although his heroine’s language savours more of the servants’ hall than the parlour, with her ‘‘ but theres” and ‘‘ if she didn’ts,” she is a sufticiently naive and childish specimen of a rather precocious schoolgirl. The adventures of Achille and the Signor are most amusingly set forth in the excellent illustrations by Mr. Gordon Browne. ‘Miss Pringle’s Pearls,’ one of Mr. Miles’s series for girls, is a circumstantial and read- able treatise on the maxim that it is better to be good than pretty.—Mr. Miles’s second series of boys’ stories includes examples of the old masters, such as the late Mr. Kingston (who must have left an inexhaustible store of ‘copy ” behind him), and some highly promising ones by apparently ’prentice hands. Tales of travel and adventure, of home and school, of the soldier and sailor (and herein of Chillian- wallah and Trafalgar, both good accounts), of the hunter and settler, of foreign life, and of life (in general) and experience would seem to exhaust every field of boyish curiosity. The book is illustrated and rather better sewn than most Christmas books this year. Archdeacon Chiswell’s story of African slavery is a good deal marred by being localized in an imaginary region, which is hard to realize, especially as it is said to be to the west of the great Southern Ocean, and yet East Africans are spoken of as strangers. Certain eccentri- cities of spelling, as ‘‘alright ” and ‘‘6,” sug- gest that the author of this innocent little book has forgotten his native tongue, or not acquired a complete knowledge of English, if it is not the language of his birth. Dr. Gordon Stables is generally a sufficiently lively writer of boys’ stories, and his present story of sea life is no worse than his average. The young “ sailor-soldier” (as Lord Kildoon, the marine, is called with rather wearisome iteration) and his friend the doctor go through many adventures, those among the natives of the Caroline Islands being not the least remark- able ; while the British justice done between the American skipper and the natives he is en- deavouring to kidnap for the Kanaka coolie traftic will be satisfactory to every well-regu- lated British boy.
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888 THE ATHEN.EZXUM Ne 3296, Dec. 27,90 OUR LIBRARY TABLE. The Impreqnable Rock of Holy Scripture (Isbister) contains, in a revised and enlarged | shape, a series of essays contributed by Mr. | Gladstone to Good Words, and as such hardly | calls for detailed criticism. Mr. Gladstone’s | fondness for theological controversy is well known, and the influence of his great name has been sufficient to secure for his views upon the Creation the compliment of occasional refu- tation at the hands of a distinguished expert, whose footsteps we do not propose to follow. We may confine ourselves to a few observations upon Mr. Gladstone’s arguments in defence of certain other parts of the ‘‘impregnable rock.” It is a pity that he has not taken more pains to avoid an error which he imputes to Prof. Huxley. For instance, he points to an essay on Ecclesi- asticus lately published by the Laudian Pro- fessor at Oxford as a sign that the critical camp is divided against itself; but he ‘‘does not appear to have encumbered himself with the | labour of inquiring what anybody else had known or said about it.” Yet to discover this Mr. Gladstone need not have wandered very far. He might have learnt from Prof. Néldeke | in the Expositor how little criticism has to apprehend from the parade of an instrument which ‘‘ falls to pieces so soon as it is handled with any force, even before it is brought into use,” while in the Guardian he might have read a detailed notice to the same effect by a writer whose initials are no concealment. Again, Mr. Gladstone draws a parallel between Moses and Lycurgus, which is probably true, but in a sense and degree which he is far from intending, and he observes that ‘‘no one doubts the existence of the Spartan lawgiver,” and further that ‘‘ it would be irrational” to do so. Now Mr. Gladstone may well be excused if he shows only the partial and superficial acquaint- ance of an amateur with the scientific lite- rature dealing with the Old Testament ; but his readers have surely a right to expect him to be well read at least in English works on Greek history. However, as a matter of fact, Sir G. Cox, in his ‘ History of Greece,’ does in the plainest manner precisely what Mr. Glad- stone says no one does, and that it would be irrational to do. ‘*On the application,” says Sir George, * of historical tests the form of Lykourgos vanishes away......He is one of that band of ideal law- givers who are common to most of the Aryan nations, and whose names denote their origin or Chetr office cise Lykourgos is removed from the nuiue history by a gulf of centuries...... a lawgiver must be banished to the 2 e character as this blindness to what ull, within the range of the tyro is Mr. wusausuuuie § disposition to assign more weight to Wellhausen speaking behind the mask of another than when he utters his own conclusions in his own name. In short, the book as a series of essays must be pronounced a failure ; but it will be read with pleasure by suchas need only to be edified. A tone of deep and genuine religious conviction pervades the volume, and the style, which is always clear and direct, has a certain largeness and loftiness which may well be the outcome of the author’s long habit of contact with great affairs. Ir would be ridiculous to speak of the octo- genarian author of ‘The Autocrat of the Break- fast Table’ as venerable. He is too brisk, too vigorous, and too fond of fun to deserve an epithet of respect which has a dash of pity in ib. But his many admiring readers will feel” a still warmer regard for him as they read the charming pages of “his new volume, Over the Teacups (Sampson Low & Co.). It forms the fourth of the series begun with ‘The Autocrat,’ and takes its place very naturally, and has every right to associate with ‘The Autocrat,’ ‘The Professor,’ and ‘The Poet.’ Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes has from the first been a mature writer. ‘The Autocrat’ appeared in 1857, when the author yas forty-eight, and writing at the age of over eighty he shows that his term of maturity is not | his new book gives in one | yet past. Indeed, respect remarkable evidence of persistent juve- nility, for he dwells in it upon the topic usually avoided by those who feel old, and in some of the best passages discourses with excellent vivacity upon old age itself. As to the future, what he says is this :— “As Tam not in the habit of indulging in late suppers, the reader need not think that I shall spread another board and invite him to listen to the conversations which take place around it. If, from time to time, he finds a slight refection awaiting him on the sideboard, I hope he may welcome it as plea- santly as he has accepted what I have offered him from the board just now being cleared.” The author may be assured of the welcome. His readers will even look, in spite of his promise, for an invitation to that supper which | so genial an entertainer will, it is to be hoped, | be forced to give. Rich people find it hard to close their doors. WE are glad to welcome a new edition of the Handbook for Travellers in Durham and North- wmberland (Murray), which does credit to its editor, Chancellor Espin. The commercial in- | dustries of this thriving district are particularly well treated, and the legendary history, espe- cially of Northumberland, is pleasantly given, although some may think that the quotations from Northern ballads are a little too diffuse. Another edition might contain with advantage a somewhat longer account of the bishops of Durham, whose influence was so great in the two counties. Many would also like to have a little more said about Durham Cathedral and St. Cuthbert. There is no notice, for instance, of the relics taken out of his grave which are preserved in the Chapter Library; and the visit of the monk of Winchester to Durham in 1104 should have been alluded to. It is now pretty generally acknowledged by the Roman Catholics that the saint’s tomb was found and opened in 1827. Chancellor Espin gives a list of the bishops who were buried in the Chapter House, but says nothing of the discovery of some of their tombs not very long ago, of which there is an account in the Archeologia. John Carter’s drawings show the appearance of the Chapter House before it was mutilated by Wyatt, and the missing portion is to be rebuilt at the cost of 4,000/. as a memorial of Bishop Lightfoot. We are disposed to question the popular appropriation of the magnificent gravestone in the choir to Bishop Beaumont. The sculpture on it does not accord with Dug- dale’s drawing of that prelate’s tomb, and it is more than probable that the stone covered the remains of Bishop Skirlaw. Nos. 10 and 11 of the Third Series of Tales from Blackwood (Blackwood & Sons) keep up the prestige of Maga. In ‘Mr. Cox’s Protégé’ Mr. Shand has given a very lifelike picture of a thoroughly bad - blooded scoundrel, a lewd fellow of the baser sort, in ‘‘Lurcher.” ‘Dicky Dawkins’ is a ‘true story” of a betting transaction with a ‘‘ Book- maker of the Outer Ring.” ‘Airy Nothing’ isa romance of dreamland. an Unknown Life’ deals with a very stern reality, the self-denial of an honourable man in declining to trust the future for the happiness of another dearer to him than himself. This is about the best tale in these numbers, uwnloss we should prefer tho capital shooting story of the ‘Great Unloaded.’ Carter Fell, a summit of the Cheviots, and Carterhaugh, the scene of the fairy ballad of ‘Tamlane.’ Mr. Riper Hacearp has much to answer for, and one of his sins is that he has beguiled Mr. Leuty Collins into spoiling the Book of Esther. No doubt Hadasseh (Fisher Unwin) is put to- gether with the best of intentions ; but it isa terrible mistake on the writer's part. Mr. Collins has not even learnt to write gram- matically, and his grotesque endeavours to keep up the dignity of historical romance would be amusing were his book not so long. We have still many new editions on our table, among them one of The Rajah’s Heir (Smith & Elder), a story of which the authorship is still a mystery,—a wonderful sixpennyworth in the shape of The Antiquary from Messrs. Black,— | a new issue of M. Jusserand’s delightful book,. The English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare, a volume the handsome appearance of which re- flects great credit on the publisher, Mr. Fisher Unwin,—anda reprint, revised and enlarged, of one of Mrs. Beeton’s meritorious and popular handy books of cookery, Every-Day Cookery. Messrs. Dean & Son have sent us the most famous of peerages, Debrett’s, which grows more: portly every year. Indeed, during the last five years, instead of turning lean with old age, ‘Debrett’ has increased in size by a hundred pages. The accuracy of the vast amount of facts chronicled in these pages reflects credit on the editor, and renders the book peculiarly valuable for reference. It is in many ways the most useful of the peerages.—The Public Schools: Year-Book of Messrs. Sonnenschein has pretty well established its claim to patronage both of parents and boys. It seems to us the most satisfactory of its class.— The Year- Book of Commerce (Cassell & Co.), which Mr. Murray edits, appears for the second time, and_pro- mises to be a valuable addition to our library of reference. It supplies a large quantity of information in a clear and convenient manner. — A word of praise is due to an old friend, The Railway Diary of Messrs. McCorquodale, for its cheapness and utility. Two new sixpenny magazines are on our table. Groombridge’s Magazine, edited by Mr. E. 8. Yates, and published by Groombridge & ' Sons, contains the first instalment of a sensa-- tional tale by Miss Florence Warden, and also a short story by Mr. Manville Fenn, and read- able articles by Mrs. Lynn Linton, Mr. W.. Archer, and others. In short, it caters for that ' portion of the public that likes to be amused. The Ladder, on the other hand, published by Messrs. Marshall Brothers and edited by Mr. Balsillie, is intended for that smaller, but more ' virtuous section of the reading world that desires: ‘A Chapter from | A REPRINT (Glasgow, Morison) of Sir Thomas ! Dick Lauder’s delightful Scottish Rivers is wel- | come ; for Mr. Douglas’s edition, reviewed by | us in August, 1874, has grown excessively rare. This wants, of course, the memoir by Dr. John Brown ; but it need not have wanted an index. Without an index it takes long to light on Ancrum, or the ‘‘ Nameless Dean,” or that - most astonishing blunder, the confusion hb to be instructed. There is an appreciative esti- mate of Sir Walter Scott’s autobiography by the editor; and a series of articles on Rabelais opens promisingly. We do not much care for Mr. Raleigh’s essay on Bismarck. The accounts, of periodical literature are well done. Altogether the Ladder is likely to prove most useful to the readers for whom it is intended. Messrs. 8S. H1tpESHEIMER & Co. have sent us a selection of Christmas cards, some of them @ little crude in colour, as German cards are apt to be, but many of them graceful and elegant. LIST OF NEW BOOKS. ENGLISH. Theology. Dignitaries of the Church, Vol. 3, feap. 21/ cl. Dixon's (R. W.) History of Church of Englan ‘a, Vel. 4, 16/ cll Kennedy’s (J. H.) Natural Theology and Modern Thought, er. Svo. 5/ cl. Rankin’s ‘J.) The Creed in Scotland, er. 8vo. 7/6 el. Snow’s (H.) The Barbarity of Circumcision, 8vo. 3 6.cl.. Wright’s (Rev. C. H. H.) Introduction to the Old Testament, 12mo., 2/6 cl. Fine Art and Archeology. Mills’s (F. W.) Photography for Architects, So. 2/6 cl. “adford’s (G.) Yorkshire by the Sea, Notes, Historical, &c., with 12 Etchings, folio, 25/ cl. ; large paper, forio, 63/ ?
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Ne 3296, Dec. 27, ’90 THE ATHENAUM 839 Whitworth’s (W. A.) Quam Dilecta, a Description of All Saints’ Church, Margaret Street, cr. 8vo. 3.6 cl. Young's (W.) The Municipal Buildings, Glasgow, 20 Illustra- tions, folio, 25/ cl. ; Poetry. Palgrave’s (F. T.) Golden Treasury, cr. 8vo. 10/6 cl. ; large paper, 4to. 21/ nett. Petrarca (F.), Selections from the Canzoniere of, translated by Cyfaill, er. 8vo. 3 6 cl. Shelley’s (P. B.) Poetical Works, ed. by E. Dowden, 7/6 cl. Stevenson’s (R. L.) Ballads, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Music. Raikes’s (A. H.) Violin Chat for Beginners, 12mo. 3/6 pchmt, History and Biography. Jameson’s (J. S.) Story of Rear Column of Emin Pasha Relief Expedition, ed. by Mrs. Jameson, 8vo. 16/ el. McArthur (Sir W.), a Biography, by T. McCullagh, 7/6 cl. Wright's (H. C.) Stories in American History, cr. vo. 3/6 cl. Philology. Science of Breath and the Philosophy of the Satwas, trans. from Sanskrit by Rama Prasad, 8vo. 3/6 cl. Science, Cowan’s (T. W.) The Honey Bee, its Natural History, &c., 12mo. 2/6 cl. Grun (E. F.) and Severn’s (W. D.) Handbook to Dr. Koch’s Treatment, 8vo. 3/6 cl. Lovell’s (K. R.) Nature’s Wonder Workers, cr. 8vo. 5/ cl. Stanley’s (W. F.) Surveying and Levelling Instruments Described, cr. 8vo. 7/6 cl. General Literature. Andrews’s (W.) Old-Time Punishments, 8vo. 6/ cl. Carew’s (F. WW.) No. 747, being the Autobiography of a Gipsy, cr. 8vo. 7/6 el. Cobb’s (T.) On Trust, 3 vols. er. 8vo. 31/6 cl. Cremer’s (G. H.) A Vision of Empires, 12mo. 7/6 cl. Davies’s (R. D.) Talks with Men, Women, and Children, 2nd Series, er. 8vo. 6/6 cl. Dick Darley’s School Days, by the Author of ‘ Percy Pomo,’ er. 8vo. 5/ cl. Evelyn’s (J.) A Baffled Vengeance, a Tale, cr. 8vo. 3.6 cl. Heimburg’s (W.) Was She his Wife? from the German by H. Wolff, er. 8vo. 6/ el. Memento, a Perpetual Calendar, or Hints to awaken Memory, suggested by A. L. J. G., roy. lémo. 4/6 cl. Ranking’s ( B. M Thorkell, cr. 8vo. 6/ cl. Recipes for the Million, a Handy Book for the Household, er. 8vo. 2/6 cl. Scenes in the Life of a Nurse, by Sister Eva, er. 8vo. 2/ cl. Wentworth’s (W.) Kiboo Ganey, or the Lost Chief of the Copper Mountain, cr. 8vo. 2/6 el. FOREIGN, Theology. Thalhofer (V.): Handbuch der Katholischen Liturgik, Vol. 2, Part 1, 4m. Fine Art and Archeology. Brugsch (H.): Thesaurus Inscriptionum Agyptiacarum, Part 5, 100m. History and Biography. Debidour (A.) : Histoire Diplomatique de l'Europe, 18fr. Spuller (E.): Histoire Parlementaire de la Seconde Ré- publique, 3fr. 50. Philology. Briinnow (R. E.): A Classified List of Ideographs, Parts 2 and 3, 32m. Hench (G. A.) : The Monsee Fragments, 5m. Krumbacher (K.): Geschichte der Byzantinischen Lit- teratur, 8m. 50. Science. Ellenberger (W.): Handbuch der Vergleichenden His- tologie u. Physiologie der Haussiugethiere, Vol. 2, Pt. 1, 25m. Fraenkel (C.) u. Pfeiffer (R.): Mikrophotographischer Atlas der Bakterienkunde, Parts 7 and 8, 8m. General Literature. Heyse (P.): Weihnachtsgeschichten, 5m. DICKENS RETURNS ON CHRISTMAS DAY. (“A ragged girl in Drury Lane was heard to exclaim: ‘Dickens dead? Then will Father Christmas die too ?’” June 9th, 1870.) ‘* DICKENS is dead!” Beneath that grievous cry London seemed shivering in the summer heat ; Strangers took up the tale like friends that meet : “ Dickens is dead !” said they, and hurried by ; Street children stopped their games—they knew not why, But some new night seemed darkening down the street ; i A girl in rags, staying her way-worn feet, Cried, “Dickens dead? Will Father Christmas die?” City he loved, take courage on thy way ! He loves thee still in all thy joys and fears : Though he whose smiles made bright thine eyes of grey— Whose brave sweet voice, uttering thy tongue- less years, Made laughters bubble through thy sea of tears— Is gone, Dickens returns on Christmas Day ! THEODOBE WATTS. THE QUARRELS OF AUTHORS. Cambridge, Dec. 16, 1890. Tue Rev. T. W. Fowle, in the second edition of his little book on the ‘Poor Law,’ recently published in the ‘‘ English Citizen Series,” has thought fit to bring a sweeping and offensively worded charge of plagiarism against Dr. Aschrott, the author of an exhaustive treatise on ‘Das Englische Armenwesen,’ of which an English translation appeared in 1888, under the title of ‘ The English Poor Law System.’ As I took some share in introducing Dr. Aschrott’s book to English readers, I shall be glad if you will allow me to publish, in his name, a direct and unqualified denial of Mr. Fowle’s charge. Dr. Aschrott writes to me :— “Mr. Fowle’s charge of ‘unlicensed appropria- tion’ is the most absurd thing I ever heard of. certainly read Mr. Fowle’s little book before sitting down to write my own, as well as a great many other English books on the subject. In the preface of my book (German edition, p. xii) I expressly mention Fowle’s ‘ brief popular survey’ (‘kurzen populir gehaltenen Ueberblick’) ; but I could not make much use of his book, as it is very poor in original materials. On the other hand, it shows a good deal of common sense; and I therefore thought it right when I, asa foreigner, expressed an opinion on English institutions, sometimes to quote Mr. Fowle’s opinion also (see p. 8, note 1; p. 11, note 2; p. 32, note 2; p. 35, note 1; p. 83, note 1, of the English translation). But I do not believe that there will be found in my book one single instance of quotation from Mr. Fowle, not accom- panied by due acknowledgment of my source.” The only examples of the alleged plagiarism that Mr. Fowle has brought forward altogether fail to justify his charge. His first grievance apparently is that Dr. Aschrott, in telling an anecdote about an overseer who professed to be in bodily fear of a parish clerk, omits to mention that Mr. Fowle had told it before him. But since the story is taken by both writers from no more recondite source than the Quarterly Review (No. 106), Mr. Fowle’s implied claim to have established a right of property in it cannot be taken seriously. Secondly, Dr. Aschrott goes on to remark that the clerk at this period—before 1834— would doubtless often have an intel- lectual, not physical, superiority (‘‘geistige Ueberlegenheit’’) over the overseer. This state- ment Mr. Fowle quite unwarrantably assumes to be borrowed from a passage in his own book in which a clerk of the guardians is said to have, at the present time, a ‘supremacy much greater than is usually held by similar officers.” But there is no similarity between the two passages ; they refer to different periods, and therefore to different officials, and state different facts about them. A charge of plagiarism ought certainly not to be made with no_ better evidence than this to support it. Henry SIDGWICK. SIR RICHARD STEELE. In one of the volumes (Add. MSS. 32,685) of the Newcastle Papers, lately presented to the British Museum by the Earl of Chichester, there are a number of letters of Steele’s, some of which throw further light upon matters with which we were already acquainted, while others furnish us with facts entirely new. I propose in this paper to quote as fully as space will permit from the more important of these letters. The references are to my ‘ Life of Richard Steele,’ 1889. Steele was expelled by the Tory House of Com- mons in March, 1714, for publishing pamphlets hostile to the Government ; but in a few months’ time Queen Anne died, and the Whigs came into power. Among other honours Steele re- ceived a patent appointing him manager of Drury Lane Theatre, and on the 20th of January, 1715, he left London for Borough- bridge, a small Yorkshire town in the hands of Lord Clare, afterwards Duke of Newcastle. On the 2nd of February Steele and Mr. Thomas Wilkinson were duly elected, after a stirring fight, in which Mr. Jessop, member for Ald- borough, lent pecuniary and other aid. From the following note it appears that Lord Clare’s offer of the seat was made as early as the middle of December :— Decbr 14th, 1714. From Mr Jessop’s, Essex Street. My Lorp,—TI have received your Lordship’s generous offer. I am extremely at a losse how to expresse my self on such a surprise. The Offers, in this kind, which have been made to Me are very precarious, and uncertain. [am mightily perplexed to say something on this occasion which should be very well worth repeating, but indeed Iam too much moved at your Goodnesse to be able to say any more than that I shall endeavour to answer your inclina- tions on all incidents, and approve my self, My Lord, Yr Lordship’s Most Obliged Most Obedient Humble Servant RICHARD STEELE, December 18th, 1714, at James’s Street. My Lorp,—I have this evening visited Mr Jessop, who communicated to me Y* Lordship’s satisfaction in the Choice you had made of Me to be a Candidate at Burrough-Bridge. I write this post to Mt Bay- liffe to acquaint Him with my Ambition to Serve them, and intend to sett out for that place on Wed- nesday. I am told the present Parliament will be dissolved on the 34 of next month, and the Writs for a new one bear date of the 8" of the same. The Opportunity of acting with uprightnesse in the Legislature is the most desirable Station in Humane life, and I know I shall expresse my grati- tude to you in the best manner by behaving my self with strict integrity. I can promise You no other Qualities, but very glad I serve a Patron who thinks that the Greatest, tho’ He Himself is possessed of every other also. Iam, &e. December 21*t, 1714. Sat James’s Street. My HONOURED LorD,—A letter from Mt Wilkin- son says it would be necessary that something appeared under Y* Lordship’s hand expressing that You wish Me chosen at Burrough-Bridge. If your Lordship pleases to Write one that I might show addressed to Me, or to M* Wilkinson concerning me or to the Bayliffe and Corporation in guarded terms, please to enclose it to M* Jessop who will send it after me. Iam, Xe. On the 28th of January Steele wrote to Lord Clare, from Boroughbridge, that the election would be on Wednesday next. ‘‘ Whatever turn it takes (which everybody says will be favourable) I am equally obliged to you, and am. with all imaginable Gratitude and Duty,” &e. In March Steele visited his patron at Claremont, and in April, upon the presentation by the eark to the king of an address which Steele had drawn up, Steele and the other deputy-lieu- tenants of Middlesex were knighted. This was followed by the dedication to Lord Clare of a volume of Steele’s ‘ Political Writings,’ and by an entertainment given on the 28th of May, the king’s birthday, in the great room at York Buildings—the ‘‘ Censorium,” which was one of Steele’s plans for ensuring a fortune (‘ Life of Richard Steele,’ ii. 57, 58). But the Government. wanted other work done, and from the following interesting letter it will be seen that Steele was. not inclined to give his services again without an assurance of reasonable recompense :— May 25th, 1715. S2t James’s Street. My Lorp,—Since I saw you last I have waited on the noble Lord whome you commanded me to Attend. Iam very far from a mercenary man but I have devoted my time and Cares to the publick without regard to my Self and family almost to Old Age, so that I am necessitated to turn my thoughts home. I know I am reckoned, in Generall, an ill manager and know also that it is made a Bar against doing for me, but,I think very unjustly, supposing I — were such, for whatever I do with it as much as deserve should be done for Me. The Detail of Your Humble Servant’s Merits is as follows. I Quitted in the late Reign the Office of Gazetteer which was three hundred a year, and I was out of it four Years. The Stamp-office and a Pension of 1002, p’ Ann which makes four hundred a year, I was out of Three years, and my going into Parliament and being turned out cost Me six hundred pounds which in the whole amounts to three thousand pounds. Ido not insist upon what offers I have refused, nor the losse of an Acceptable Character by chusing a side, nor do account in my pretentions the distresses, reproaches, and the like which I have passed through in Generall. I lay this before Y* Lordship not as I expect to be paid the money F have mentioned, but as a reason why I will never hereafter do more than my part without knowing the terms | act upon, and I think what I have said deserves a good establishment for life. As for my Patent for the Playhouse I shall make it appear next Winter that it wasa great Service to the Crown
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890 THE ATHENAUM N° 3296, Dec. 27,90 that I accepted it. In one word, My Lord, the pur- pose of this letter is to lay my dissatisfactions before You, and to declare upon what foundations I will enter into the lists. I cannot turn so much time that Way and be supported by assistants equall to the Work for lesse than 1,000/. a year. And before I enter upon the Argument I hope to receive 500 or be excused from so painfull, so anxious, and so Unacceptable a Service. Iam, My Lord, With all Duty, Y* Lordship’s most Obliged Most Devoted Humble Servant RICHARD STEELE. What, then, was the unacceptable work which it was desired that Steele should undertake ? At first it might seem that we have here an allusion to a projected paper, called the Hanover Post, for which Steele drafted an opening number (‘ Life,’ ii. 71, 72). But that paper seems never to have been printed, whereas it appears from the next letter that Steele started the undertaking which he was considering in May. That undertaking must then, it would seem, have been the new series of the English- man. The first number of the second volume of that periodical appeared on July 11th, 1715, and the subject discussed was the report of the Committee of Secrecy appointed to inquire into the conduct of Oxford, Bolingbroke, and the other members of the late Government. The third number was published on July 18th, and at this point Steele said he would proceed no further, because his employers had broken faith with him. But as the paper was continued by Steele until November, it would seem that the money he demanded was found. July 19th, 1715, Sut. James’s Street. My Lorp,—It was upon Your Lordship’s intima- tion to Me that I should be supported ir it, that I have lately appeared in Publick as a Writer ; But I find that care of me is not to be taken, except I passe through sollicitations, which will take up more of my time, and quiet of mind than it is Worth. I have therefore desired my Lord Townsend to excuse my going on in the affair which I had undertaken, since the part of the ministry is not performed to Me. I hope you will be so generous as to excuse this Justice to my self and believe Me to be, with the utmost Gratitude, &c. In April, 1717, the Duke of Newcastle became Lord Chamberlain, and this led before long to friction between Steele and his noble friend, who wished the managers of the theatre to accept a licence in place of the patent. With this demand Steele refused to comply, and begged for the king’s protection in the royal grant. No further steps were taken for some months, and in September, 1718, there was at least no open breach. There was to be a per- formance before the king at Hampton Court on the 23rd, and on the 21st Steele wrote to the Duke of Newcastle about a prologue for the occasion. He had himself prepared one, not knowing that the duke had instructed Tickell to write the lines. My Lorp,—Before I knew that Mr Tickell had the honour of Your Grace’s Commands to write a Prologue, I thought it my Duty to prepare one for the Occasion. M*® Wilks was perfect in this, when that very agreable and Elegant peice of Tickell’s came to His hands. As this has something solemn and respectfull in it, I fancy it might bea Prologue, and His a very pleasing desert to finish the enter- tainment. But I assure Your Grace I do not say this out of any arrogance of an Elder Poet, but sub- mit this and ines of much greater moment to Me, unreservedly, to Your Grace. However I thought it concern’d me to show, in a Circumstance where- in I have the happinesse to be particularly under your command, that I would omit no oppor- tunity of appearing, My Lord, Y* Grace’s Most Obedient and Most Devoted Humble Ser* RICHARD STEELE. Next month there was again a conflict with the Lord Chamberlain, from whose authority the managers of Drury Lane Theatre claimed to be exempt (‘ Life,’ ii. 188, 189). It was perhaps about this time that the following letter was written :— My Lorp,—I understand, by M¥ Booth, that your Grace has demanded an Account of the Charge of the Play-House. He, accordingly, will lay before You the Grosse Sum’ of Our last year’s charge, and give y* Grace the reasons which I Humbly Offer to convince Your Grace how impracticable it is to lay open the Severall particulars of the Sallaries. If your Grace desires this only to know what might be an Equivalent to dispose of me out of the Way, and put the direction of the Theatre into more | acceptable hands I take this opportunity to acquaint Your Grace, that after the Actors, who are Partners with Me in the Income, are Satisfyed, You will have but very little trouble with Me, and find that I shall rejoice in an Opportunity of Showing with how dis- interested a zeal I am, My Lord, Y* Grace’s Most Obedient Most Devoted Humble Ser™* RICHARD STEELE. In 1719 Steele brought upon himself the anger of his party by his conscientious opposi- tion to the Peerage Bill. The Bill was rejected on the 8th of December ; and on the 19th the Lord Chamberlain forbade the managers of the theatre to allow Colley Cibber to act or be concerned in the management. The order was obeyed, but Steele sent a dignified protest to’ the duke, which I have already printed (‘ Life,’ ii. 222) from a copy among the Pengelly Papers. The duke, in reply, sent a message forbidding Steele to communicate with him. On January 23rd, 1720, the licence of 1714 was revoked, and on the 27th a licence, to be held during the royal pleasure, was granted to Wilks, Cibber, and Booth. On the following day Steele ad- dressed a document to his late fellow managers, in which, after reciting the powers given to him by the patent of January 19th, 1714/15, and reminding them of their agreement of the same date to act such parts in all playsas should be agreed on to be acted, he proceeded :— And whereas I am informed you intend to act this Night in the said Theater without having con- sulted me 1 do hereby order you to desist from acting yourself any part in any Play or Perform- ance whatsoever in the said Theatre or in causing any Play or Ferformance to be this Evening or any other Evening acted till you receive further order from, Gentlemen, y* Affectionate Governour, RICHARD STEELE. The order was, however, of no avail, and on March 4th the King’s Company of Comedians were sworn at the Lord Chamberlain’s office. Wilks’s answer to the command was as follows: May it please your Grace,—While I had it in my thoughts, in the Humblest, and most Gratefull manner, to thank your Grace for the notice and distinction w which you have frequently Honour’d me ; I rec’ an order to attend at your Grace’s office to take the Oaths, as His Majesty’s Servant : lam and always have been ready, upon all occa- sions, to expresse my Zeal, & Duty to his Majesty, and shall do it also in the Conjuncture you Com’and with great chearfullnesse: But, my Lord, I beg your Grace will not be offended if I presume to represent to your Grace that this is an Act that Subjects me to the Office, and those who shall occa- sionally execute it in your Grace’s absence, and not to your Grace only : I have, my Lord, no Apprehen- sion of any Com’ands from your Grace, but what are agreeable to reason, Justice and Generosity; but caunot be without some fears, of feeling again from some of your Grace’s inferior officers, what I have formerly suffer’d. In all this I wou’d only beg leave (with the greatest Submission) to intimate beforehand, that (upon any just cause of Uneasyness to me) your Grace wou’d be pleas’d to suffer me to resign my Interest and Property in the Playhouse, to any person your Grace shall approve of: But in what Condition of Life soever I may be, I shall be always ready to obey your Grace’s Com’ands, and to appear on the Stage whenever your Grace believes I may contribute anything to the publick Diversion. I humbly beg pardon if I am mistaken in the Literall Sense of this Oath, and Hope I shall have your Grace’s Leave to be set right in it, that I may takeit with ease, and Safety to my Conscience : lam, May it please your Grace, Your Grace’s most Dutifull & Devoted Humble Servant, Ros. WILKS. Feb, ye 29th, 1719/20. On May 27th and 28th Steele wrote to Mr. Pelham, the duke’s brother :— S1r,—As you deliver’d Me a Verball message to forbid Me writing to the Duke of Newcastle Him- self you will pardon Me that I give you this trouble, which is to desire you would Obtain for Me His Grace’s direct Answer whether He will recall the order of Silence which He sent to Drury-lane upon a pretence of the Kings revocation of all Authorities Granted by His Majestie for Acting Plays. I told You when Ton Brought the Message that I should be always ready, when the Duke should please to Aiter his mind to receive His Grace’s com- mands, but if my Lord insists to keep Me out of my right I must plainly tell You, that is, His Grace by You, that the right of Petitioning the King in Council, the Parliament sitting, or the judges in Westminster-Hall shall be Utterly taken from Me before I will Suffer my very Good Lord to send my children a Starving. Iam, &c. Mr Pellham, May 27th, 1720. Srr,—I writ to you Yesterday to desire you would procure Me the Duke of Newcastle’s positive answer whether He would revoke the silence He took upon Him to impose upon the Players acting under the Patent Granted by His Majesty to Me. If I do not hear from You before twelve of Clock on Monday I shall take it for granted that His Grace thinks fitt to persist in His Cruelty, and will call to my Aid against it the Justice of the nation. I have so great remaiving Kindnesse for Him, that I could meet his Freindship on my Knees, but if he has not magnanimity enough to retract his errour, I doubt not but to make Him feel some part of the Anguish He has given Me. Iam, &e. Mr Pellham, May 28'b, 1720. Steele petitioned the king that he might be heard before His Majesty in Council, but threats and appeals were alike unavailing. With the collapse, however, of the South Sea bubble in the autumn came disgrace to many public men, and power to Walpole, whom Steele had sup- ported. In April, 1721, Steele made another application to Mr. Pelham (‘ Life,’ ii. 261), and in May the managers of the theatre were ordered to account to Steele for his share of the profits, past and future. On September 21st we find Steele writing at length to the Lord Chamber- lain about Mr. Walker, who had engaged him- self to the other house, though he was a sworn servant to His Majesty in the King’s Theatre, was in debt to the company, and was under particular obligations. The duke would deter- mine what course should be taken; ‘‘ but indeed our affairs are in a doubtfull way, for want of your Influence and Protection.” Steele complained, too, that the other house, in their bills, presumed to write ‘‘ Theatre Royal.” It will be matter of Scandal to the Sober part of our Audience, who are most Zealous for His Majestie’s Service, if those who remarkably urge Particular Circumstances in Plays, to the disadvan- tage of the Government, should be Protected, or Shelter’d in that Practise by the Use of the Kings Own Name. Two days earlier Steele had signed articles quadrupartite with Wilks, Cibber, and Booth (‘ Life,’ ii. 266-8), in which it was agreed that Steele’s executors, &c., should, for three years after Steele’s death, receive one-fourth part of the profits, and should also have, at his death, 1,200. for his share in the patent, clothes, scenes, &c. In November, 1722, Steele pro- duced his most successful play, ‘ The Conscious Lovers’; but this was followed by further com- plications subsequent upon the mortgaging of his interest in the theatre. The story of the litigation, which lasted until 1728, need not be retold here ; but we learn for the first time from the following letter, which by the small and shaky characters shows the illness of the writer, that Steele endeavoured to obtain the grant of a patent to himself and his assigns for ever :— My Lorp,—I am under Great indisposition and therefore cannot write so much as I would to Apologise to y' Grace for many things that dwell upon my thoughts, but the businesse of this is only to acquaint Your Lordship that I am prefering the inclos’d petition by my Lord Townshend’s favour, and to let y' Grace know that there shall be what clauses You think fitt to subject the House to )° ffice, Iam, &e. March 34, 1723/4. His Grace The Duke of Newcastle. The following was the enclosure, written by another hand, but signed by Steele :— To The Kings most Excellent Majesty. The Humble Petition of Sir Richard Steele. Sheweth. ‘ That Your Majesty gave him a Patent for the
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N° 3296, Dec. 27, 90 THE ATHENAUM 891 Entertainment of a Company of cae for his own Life and Three Years after his Death. That he did not then desire it for a Longer Time, not knowing whether he could make a Disposition for y° Amendment of Theatrical Entertainments or not. That Your Petitioner by writing the Comedy of the Conscious Lovers, has found by Experience, that more Regular and Vertuous Entertainments would take place, if he had duration of time in which to Establish Rules and make Contracts ac- cordingly. Your Petitioner therefore most Humbly prays Your Majesty would be pleased to grant him Your Letters Patent for a Company to him, his Heirs, and Assigns for Ever. And yor Petr will ever pray, &c. GeEorRGE A. AITKEN. M. BELOT. THE death of M. Adolphe Belot, at the age of sixty-one, can hardly be said to make a gap in the foremost rank of French novelists from any point of view ; for his successes had been almost wholly of scandal, and after allowing for this no work of his could be called of the first class. At the same time he had more than the advan- tages of priority over most of his successors in the scandalous way; and in priority his advan- tage was considerable. It is now more than twenty years since ‘Mlle. Giraud ma Femme’ had difficulties with the law in its passage through a periodical; and during this long time some writers of talent positively superior to M. Belot’s, and a vast number of talent inferior to his, have been constantly endeavour- ing to trump and over-trump his card. This is something of a bad eminence, no doubt ; but it isan eminence. Nor is it his only claim to rank above the common herd. In at least four of his books—all shocking as they are to the proprieties, and widely as they miss the success of more sane and legitimate work—there is con- siderable power. The devoted perversity of the heroine in the most famous (not the first in order) has a touch of genius in the representation. ‘La Vénus de Gordes’ is vigorous enough ; in ‘La Femme de Feu’ there is not only an in- imitably paradoxical conceit (‘‘heureuse elle- méme, elle trouvait naturel de faire les autres heureux”’), but some very remarkable descriptive passages; and the graceless theme of ‘La Bouche de Mme. X.’ is illustrated by several touches of a good old esprit gawois, which is positively comforting after the joyless abomina- tions of Naturalism. The charge of deliberate pornography is a heavy one, and M. Belot, we fear, must undergo it ; but he was capable of better things, and did not always abuse his capacity. As a dramatist he achieved, more than thirty years ago, a great success with ‘ Le Testament de César Girodot,’ and, though he never equalled this, was sometimes fortunate afterwards. TALLEYRAND. THE Century Magazine for January (Fisher Unwin) will contain the first of a series of articles furnishing an outline of the contents of the ‘Memoirs’ of Prince Talleyrand. Mr. Whitelaw Reid’s introduction is short and able, and the notes which accompany the long and full extracts given from the earlier volumes (which have not yet appeared in Paris) are also excellent. From the introduction we discover that Talleyrand devotes a chapter to fixing the responsibility for the shooting of the Duc d@’Enghien mainly on Napoleon, and that he does not anywhere attempt to defend himself against charges of venality or of gambling on the Stock Exchange. The extracts from the ‘Memoirs’ show that, as we lately anticipated, the ‘Memoirs’ them- selves are not likely to reveal much that had been hidden from readers of M. Pallain’s books, while they also suffice to show that Talleyrand has not been more truthful in his account of his own life than was to be expected of him. They are, however, as it was inevitable they should be, highly interesting. Talleyrand re- lates, for example, the grant of the cardinal’s hat to himself by Pius VI. on the recommenda- tion of Gustavus ITI., and says that his nomina- tion to the Sacred College was stopped at the last moment by the French Court, with which he was at the moment in disfavour. He explains his posi- tion during the Revolutionas one of purely selfish ambition, entirely devoid of principle, and de- clares in so many words, ‘‘Provided I remained French I was ready for anything.” He defends his consecration of the elected bishops as the only course possible in order to save France from falling into a Presbyterian system which would have been incompatible with the existence of monarchy in the future—a defence which bears upon it marks of having been written under the Restoration. Mr. Whitelaw Reid in his notes describes Talleyrand’s attempt to induce Louis XVI. to fight, and his reply to the king’s refusal, that there was nothing left but to look after himself, as the king had deserted his own interests as well as the mon- archic principle. Talleyrand, however, apparently says nothing of the details of his interviews with the king’s brother—consultations which, to judge from the extracts and the notes given in the Century Magazine, he merely mentions. Talley- rand draws a frightful picture of the Duc d’Orléans (Egalité) ; but here eight pages are “missing,” we are told. This is the only refer- ence in the present number to partial destruc- tion of the ‘Memoirs’; but it seems clear that some one who has had charge of them, among the many through whose hands they at various times have passed, has mangled them, unless we are to suppose that when Talleyrand was serving an Orleanist king after the revolution of 1830 he himself tore out the pages which would have been the most disagreeable to the Orleans family. Still, what he has left in is as it stands sufficiently unpleasant ; but the eight pages missing may, of course, have referred less to Egalité than to the younger branch in general. The only extract which we shall permit ourselves to make—for as we are dealing with a translation we prefer to wait for extract until we have the advantage of Talleyrand’s own French style—is from his account of Lord Lansdowne, who wel- comed him in England in 1793: ‘‘Some people brought against him the commonplace accusa- tion of being too clever—an accusation by means of which, in England as well as in France, people keep at a distance all the men whose superiority gives them umbrage. That is the only reason why he never was in office again.” It appears that when Talleyrand was in Ame- rica in the following year, Washington refused to see him, and, while Washington is not for- given, Hamilton is belauded as on a par with ‘*Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox.” Mr. Whitelaw Reid has not made much use of the despatches recently published by M. Pallain; but our readers may remember that in our review of them we pointed out that, writing confidentially from London to the Directory, Talleyrand in- formed his masters that he thought Fox a fool. All through the ‘Memoirs,’ as in this case, we find that Talleyrand, with a blindness singular in such a man, seems to have either forgotten his own despatches or to have counted on their never seeing the light ; for the line he takes on | many matters is hopelessly at variance with that explained with evident frankness in his writings at the time. The present number stops long before the successes of Napoleon, and is therefore, though full of interest to the student, less deeply in- teresting to the general reader than will be the later parts, which will tell the story, or so much of it as Talleyrand wished told, of the foreign policy of France under the Consulate, Empire, Resto- ration, and Monarchy of July. We part for the moment with Talleyrand in virtual exile in the United States. Literary Chossip. Tue arrangements for Blackwood’s Maga- zine for 1891 include serial novels by the author of ‘Culmshire Folk,’ ‘John Orlebar,’ &c., and the author of ‘ Ideala’; a series of papers by a Girton girl, giving her impres- sions of a recent tour in the Holy Land and through the Syrian Desert; a number of other travel papers; with the usual selection of short fiction, literary articles, essays, and poems. Among contributors to early num- bers will be Mrs. Oliphant, Lord Brabourne, Sir Theodore Martin, K.C.B., Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bart., M.P., Mr. W. W. Story, E. and D. Gerard, the ex-Bishop of Jamaica, Miss E. Keary, Mr. Innes Shand, Miss C. F. Gordon-Cumming, Prof. R. K. Douglas, Mr. John Skelton, C.B., Prof. John Veitch, Mr. J. E. ©. Bodley, Mr. Theodore Bent, Mr. H. O. Forbes, Annie S. Swan, General Chenevix Trench, C.M.G., Mr. Coutts Trotter, Mr. Alexander Allardyce, Col. Pilkington White, R.E., “‘A Son of the Marshes,” Col. H. Knollys, R.A., Miss Annette Lyster, and Capt. Oliver, R.A. Lorp BrasournE will contribute an article on ‘The Parnell Imbroglio,’ and its influence upon the present political situation, to the January number of Blackwood. THe Contemporary Review for January will contain an obituary article on Dean Church, in which a long extract is given from a hitherto unpublished letter from Cardinal Newman on ‘Essays and Reviews.’ Mr. J. T. Grrsert has completed for pub- lication by the Historical Manuscripts Com- mission his selection from the memoirs and correspondence of James, first Earl of Charle- mont, between the years 1745 and 1783. Charlemont held a conspicuous position all this time, not only in the political, but also in the intellectual world; and among his correspondents were Lords Aldborough, Halifax, Mornington, and Rockingham ; Topham Beauclerk, Flood, Charles Fox, and Grattan; Baretti, Malone, Robert Jeph- son the dramatist, John Parker the painter, Sir W. Chambers, Cipriani, and the widow of Hogarth. THE correspondence of John Hely Hutchin- son, belonging to Lord Donoughmore, upon which the Historical Commissioners will shortly issue a report, covers about the same period as that of Lord Charlemont, but the interest of it is almost exclusively political. Some important letters of Burke are in this collection also, and others of Wedderburn ; but those from W. G. (‘Single Speech”) Hamilton, over thirty in all, describing the doings in the English Parliament, are the most entertaining. Wirsx the January number of the New Review Mr. Archibald Grove intends to in- troduce a novel feature. He has secured the services of Herr von Bunsen, M. Reinach, editor of the République Frangaise, and Commendatore Bonghi, to write a monthly summary of the chief events of importance in the political, artistic, and literary world in their respective countries. Continental opinion of English policy will also be ex- pressed—a thing that has not hitherto been obtainable in English journals. Messrs. Sweet & MaxweEtt are about to publish a series of ‘Revised Reports’ under the general editorship of Sir Frede- rick Pollock, They will republish the old
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892 THE ATHENZUM N° 3296, Dec. 27, ’90 reporters who are modern enough to be still useful, with the omission of what is obsolete. The series will comprise the common law and equity reports from 1785 (the commence- ment of the Term Reports) downwards. It is roughly estimated that, after a start is once made, four or five volumes of equiva- lent average bulk to the Queen’s Bench Division Reports may be produced in a year, and that between forty and fifty such volumes may account for the cases down to about 1850. Wuetuer the series shall be continued till it touches the ‘Law Reports’ is a question which will depend, among other conditions, on the support given to the scheme by the profession on both sides of the Atlantic. No commentary will be added, but the head- notes will be revised so far as needful, and the cases or parts of cases reprinted will be furnished with concise references to later decisions in point. It is proposed, as the publication makes way, to issue periodical digests, with complete tables of the omitted as well as the included cases. Criminal law will be separately dealt with on a similar plan. The ‘Revised Reports’ will, however, include decisions in criminal jurisdiction which affect the law of property and other matters of importance to practitioners in civil courts. The annual cost to subscribers will probably not much, if at all, exceed the present rate of subscription to the ‘ Law Re- ports,’ or the Law Journal. A PERMANENT photograph of the well- known statue of Blackstone in the library of All Souls’ College, Oxford, will be issued with the next number of the Law Quarterly. The Review will at the same time enter on its seventh year of pub- lication. Tue premises taken by Messrs. A. & C. Black, of Edinburgh, in Nos. 4, 5, and 6, Soho Square, were used as a commissary store during the Peninsular War, and at the subsequent peace they were turned into a bazaar, the first of its kind in London, where the widows and orphans of deceased officers were provided with the means of earning an independent livelihood. The block of buildings is extensive, and well suited to a large business. M. Davpver is very ill, and is writing a story of a sad type. A memorr of Mrs. Felicia Hemans has been written by Mr. Sutton, the librarian of the Manchester Free Library. The book will be published at an early date. Tue death is announced of Canon Moles- worth, which occurred at his residence at Rochdale on the 19th of this month. He was the author of a ‘ History of England,’ a ‘History of the Reform Bill,’ and a number of other works, and, apart from his literary abilities, was a very prominent man in his district. He was in the seventy- fourth year of his age. M. Dietz, a popular dialect-poet in Alsace, has died at Barr; and we also hear of the decease of M. Gustave Revilliod, the Genevese /ittérateur and biblio- phile. M. Revilliod has left his museum to his native city. A ure of the late Sir James Allanson Picton, of Liverpool, is being written by his son, Mr. James Allanson Picton, M.P. for Leicester. Mrs. Jerrerson Davis is residing in New It is on sale by Mr. Tookaram Tatya, York while her memoirs of her late hus- | 17, Tamarind Lane, Fort, Bombay. Only a band, the Confederate President, are passing limited number of copies has been printed. through the press. Tue chief Parliamentary publications of A sALE was to take place at Philadelphia | the week are papers relating to St. Andrew’s on the 10th inst. and two following days | University, to University College, Dundee, of effects from estates of descendants of , toAlleyne’s College, Dulwich, and to Bishops- Betty Lewis, General Washington’s sister. | gate Ward and other Schools (6d.); an Index | to the Report from the Select Committee on Metropolitan Hospitals (8d.); Further Cor- Among them were some interesting papers discovered a few weeks ago in an old trunk at Audley, a homestead of the Lewises in Virginia. There was a private memorandum September 29th, 1794, to September, 1797, of sixty closely - written pages, containing items chiefly of domestic, but occasionally of historical interest. It included a list of his 117 slaves. Under date of July 4th, 1797, he writes: ‘By expenses for the celebration of the anniversary of indepen- dence in Alexandria, $1.40.” A portrait of Washington’s sister, which by a blunder was engraved in Sparks’s ‘ Life of Wash- ington’ as that of the President’s wife, and a number of books from his library, were to be sold, the latter, however, being chiefly valuable on account of their autographs of various members of the Washington family. The most valuable autograph to be sold was Washington’s celebrated letter to Major Lee concerning Benedict Arnold (October 26th, 1780). There was also a facetious letter by Franklin. Tne January number of the Jewish Quar- terly Review will contain a full bibliography of ‘Jewish Literature in 1890,’ by Mr. 8. Schechter, the newly appointed lecturer in Rabbinic at Cambridge. Tue Smyrna papers record the death of Mrs. Helen Abbott at the age of eighty- three, the last survivor of the English colony there, who remembered the visit of Byron and Hobhouse and many historical events, as to which her memory was fresh and clear. Ay interesting contribution to the consti- tutional history of the United States has been made in the publication by the Vir- ginia Historical Society of Dr. Hugh Blair Grigsby’s ‘ History of the Virginia Federal Convention of 1788,’ which is introduced by a biographical sketch of the author by Dr. R. A. Brock, secretary of the Society. The book contains some new anecdotes, among them one of Patrick Henry, who, in the course of a thrilling portrayal of the dangers that might result from the large powers given by the new constitution, sud- denly exclaimed, ‘‘ Why, they ’ll free your niggers!” Laughter was excited by this droll prophecy of the thing that came to pass. A new edition of the ‘Rig-Veda,’ with the well-known ‘ Bhashya’ or commentary of Sayanacharya, has been prepared by Rajaram Shastri Bodas. The Samhita and Pada texts of the ‘Veda,’ as well as the text of the ‘ Bhashya,’ have been collated with MSS. obtained from the pandits of Benares, Poona, and Ratnagiri, and also from the libraries of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society and the Deccan College, Poona. The edition, which is copiously annotated, and contains variorum readings, is published in eight volumes at fifty rupees (3/. 15s.), or about a fourth of the price of Prof. Max Miiller’s edition. respondence respecting the Finances and | Condition of Egypt (1s. 5d.); a Report on book kept by President Washington from | the System of State Insurance of Denmark (2d.); and the First Report, with Evidence, &e., of the Westminster Abbey Commission (3s. 6d.). SCIENCE —_2— A Dictionary of Applied Chemistry. By T. E. Thorpe, F.R.S., assisted by Eminent Contributors. Vol.I. (Longmans & Co.) In reviewing the first volume of Watts’s ‘Dictionary of Chemistry,’ edition of 1889, a little over a year ago, we called atten- tion to the difficult task assigned to the editors of compressing the work into some three thousand pages, and the consequent announcement that all technological articles would be omitted, and treated in a separate work. We have now the first volume of the promised book before us, edited by Dr. Thorpe, and containing a number of special articles by thirty contributors, of whom many are men of repute in various manufactures, and the remainder well known as chemists, although not as technologists. The matters dealt with in this volume are those subjects which would be indexed under the letters A to Dy, and conse- quently include some of the most interest- ing subjects of technical chemistry, such as ‘ Alcohol,” ‘ Alloys,’ ‘ Aluminium,” ‘** Aniline,” ‘Benzene,’ ‘‘ Bleaching,” “Brewing,” ‘‘ Cements,” ‘‘Chlorine,” ‘‘ Dis- tillation,”’ ‘‘ Dyeing,” &e. The treatment of such subjects in a dictionary form is a matter of great diffi- culty from many points of view, and one of the greatest difficulties is to decide what to leave out; for leaving out is one of the most important points, as in many departments of technology the operative part extends over many branches, or even the whole domain of chemistry and physics. It is, no doubt, with this in his mind that the editor has determined to devote a special article to some of these operations, a speci- men of which is to be seen in the article on ‘‘ Distillation.” The general principles of that important process are there dealt with in a way that will, for instance, enable the reader to understand the ratson détre of the curiously complicated still of which a draw- ing is given in the article ‘‘ Benzene,” the writer of which is of course, by the neces- sary limitations mentioned above, obliged to deal with the substance as an article to be made, and not with the reasons for making it in a particular way, except in so far as the method flows of necessity from the physical and chemical character of the sub- stance. It is to be hoped that Dr. Thorpe may greatly extend this method of treat- ment, and give special articles to such im- portant general processes as sublimation, fusion, reduction both dry and wet, and
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N° 3296, Dec. 27,90 THE ATHENAUM 893 also other processes not, perhaps, at present of such general importance, though already in constant use on very large scales, such as bromination and chlorination, nitration, sul- phonation with its concomitant hydrolysis, and that process for which chemical lan- guage lacks a convenient term, but for which we suggest “ griessation,”’ namely, the process of producing compounds by the conjugation of a diazo salt with phenols and amines—a process which has already en- riched organic technological chemistry with an immense number of new and beautiful products, and seems, even twenty years after its discovery by the lamented Dr. Griess, to be as prolific as ever. Speaking of the diazo reaction above reminds us to call attention to the article on the azo dyes by Prof. Meldola. We have here described, by the highest authority in this country, an astonishing list of colouring matters produced by Griess’s reaction. Although this is brought down in date to the end of October, 1889, yet the last twelve months have seen the addition of a score of new dyes to the list, every one of them a distinct chemical individual. Dr. Thorpe is to be congratulated on what, perhaps, constitute the main bulk of the work, namely, the unsigned articles, for which he is himself responsible, as they have all been written either by himself or one or other of the staff of able assistants named in the preface. The clever articles on ‘ Acidimetry” and ‘ Alkalimetry” and on ‘ Analysis” are by Prof. Bothamley; the last is, how- ever, open to the criticism we expressed on Prof. Dittmar’s article under the same head in the companion work. Despite a space of 112 columns, the subject is of necessity inadequately treated, though the author has striven manfully with his vast subject. We must especially commend his numerous references to original memoirs, and we hope that such analytical chemists as come across this article will take the hint Prof. Bothamley has so delicately conveyed to them and go to headquarters more often than they now do. ‘“¢ Aluminium” is a model article, which is due to Dr. Thorpe himself. The story of the thirty years’ struggle with the vast difficulties that on every side surround the production of this metal reads almost like a romance, and loses none of its interest from the fact that, with all the new weapons of attack that regenerative furnaces, hydraulic machinery, and command of vast electrical force has placed at our command, the problem is still but partially solved. The articles on ‘‘ Aniline” and “‘ Benzene” are contributed by Mr. Friswell, and are, as was to be expected, most thorough accounts of the processes at present in use in the leading works. Mr. C. O’Sullivan contributes a series of articles on the sub- jects which he has made peculiarly his own, those included in the’ present volume being ‘‘Arabinose,” ‘‘ Carbohydrates,” ‘¢ Dextrin,”’ ‘ Dextrose,” ‘‘ Diastase,” and **Dulcitol” ; whilst Mr. Heron, besides assisting in some of the articles just men- tioned, draws on his experiences in some of the great English breweries for a strikingly able article on ‘‘Brewing.”’ In this he shows how great have been the labours which during the last thirty years have made brewing from one of the least into one of the most scientific of industries. Prof. J. J. ‘Hummel contributes a good article on *‘ Bleaching,” and Prof. G. Lunge one of nearly forty pages on ‘Chlorine’ —a subject of great interest to the technical chemist, though we scarcely think it should have been placed in the position of having the largest space in the volume given to it. Distillation is most ably treated by Prof. Sydney Young, who gives a thorough, though condensed account of the scientific side of this highly interesting operation, and points out that the arts were far in advance of science in carefully working out and using on a large scale improved methods of distillation. Coffey’s still dates back to 1832, dephlegmators probably far earlier, yet similar apparatus has only found its way into our laboratories within the last twenty years—a noteworthy fact in presence of the interested outcry for ‘‘ technical” education in colleges by college professors. In conclusion we can only congratulate the editor on carrying through, so far with success, a most difficult undertaking. The illustrations require a word, and here we regret to have to find one serious fault. Whilst some articles have illustrations drawn to scale or from photographs, which are of some use, others are illustrated by blocks remarkable more for their prettiness than utility, some few of which, we regret to note, appear to be old and worn blocks— old friends that have done duty any time these twenty years in various cyclopzedias, &e. It is a pleasure, however, to say that the various analytical and scientific appa- ratus described is uniformly well represented by good and new engravings. The type is good and clear, and the paper a hard rolled dry-print one, far better suited to a book that ought to find its way into the library of every chemical works than the old-fashioned softer papers of ten years back; and, finally, the book is issued not in the practically useless cloth boards in which Watts’s ‘ Dictionary’ originally appeared, only to fall to pieces after a year’s moderate use, but half-bound in morocco, a form in which it is capable of withstanding any reasonable amount of wear and tear. A Treatise on the Common Sole. Prepared for the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. By J. T. Cunningham, M.A., F.R.S.E. (Plymouth, the Association. )}—‘‘ The object of the present work,” Mr. Cunningham informs us in his preface, ‘‘is to place side by side the results of a scientific study of the common sole, and an account of the present condition of the sole fishery, and then to con- sider what are the possible practical applica- tions of the former to the purpose of maintain- ing or increasing the supply of soles available for the market.” As the first work of any length which has appeared under the auspices of the Marine Biological Association it has a special interest, and the general appearance of the book is most creditable ; the coloured plates which illustrate the anatomy of the sole and its marvellous power of colour-change could hardly be improved. Beginning with the Pleuronectide in general, and giving a useful synopsis of the British species, the author — to the genus Solea, and in discussing the ritish forms recognizes only five species as good, regarding awrantiaca (Giinth.) as identical with lascaris (Bonap.); the latter name has priority. The morphological part which follows is somewhat unequally treated ; for example, while the skull is fully described and figured, there is no drawing of the brain, and no men- tion (so far as we can find) of the spinal nerves ; the viscera are illustrated, but not the vascular system. The author has no doubt acted on the principle of treating fairly fully the main points in which the sole differs from other fish, and of only sketching slightly the more generalized features—a tenable point of view, and one justifiable if he proposes to appeal only to a scientific public. Our sole, the only one of commercial importance, extends vertically to twenty fathoms, and horizontally from Flam- borough Head or thereabouts to the Mediter- ranean ; it feeds, according to our author, by smell and touch, and not by sight. Many persons, the victims of periodic scares raised by letters to the papers, will be glad to learn that ‘‘the common sole is remarkably free from parasites, which in many fishes occur constantly in great number and variety.” We have already referred to the animal’s astonish- ing power of changing its colour into (more or less) agreement with the colour of its surround- ings. This depends not really so much on the direct action of the colour of the bottom as on the amount of light in which the animal lies ; as Mr. Cunningham shows, the popular view, that those animals which have the power of colour- change by means of chromatophores adapt them- selves to their environment in all cases as the result of the direct stimulus of its colour, is superficial and requires considerable modifica- tion. There are interesting observations on the breeding and development of the sole ; and pic- tures of the larval stage, spent at the surface of the sea, when the future flat fish is still a round fish, and has an eye on each side of its head instead of both on the same side. As it is, how- ever, the improvement of our sea fisheries that most people regard as the chief aim of the Marine Biological Association, the chapters on artificial propagation and on the practical mea- sures recommended for the increase of the supply of soles are those which will be of most general interest. Mr. Cunningham has succeeded (we believe we are right in saying that he is the only naturalist who has succeeded) in artificially fertilizing the sole’s egg, and in rearing the embryo till able to swim ; this being possible, he suggests, and we think wisely, that the skippers should fertilize the eggs on the trawlers and turn them adrift (their natural fate), re- serving the parents for market. The suggestion was originally made by Prof. Ewart for herring, and is applicable to many fish for which a close season is impracticable. ‘‘This would be a direct gain to the sole population of our seas, for every one of those eggs would, if not arti- ficially fertilized, be sent to market inside the female soles and cooked”; and the experiment should certainly be tried in one or two widely separate areas, the more so since, as Mr. Cun- ningham shows from the Board of Trade sta- tistics, soles are undoubtedly becoming both scarcer and dearer. CHRISTMAS BOOKS. Through Magic Glasses, and other Lectwres. By Arabella B. Buckley (Mrs. Fisher). (Stan- ford. The Threshold of Science. By C. R. Alder Wright, D.Sc., F.R.S. (Griffin & Co.) The Autobiography of the Earth. By Rev. H. N. Hutchinson, B.A., F.G.S. (Stanford.) The World of Science. By R. Elliot Steel, M.A., F.C.S. (Methuen & Co.) Popular Scientific Recreations. Translated and enlarged from ‘ Les Récréations Scientifiques ’ of Gaston Tissandier. New and Enlarged Edi- tion. (Ward, Lock & Co.) Tue ‘‘magic glasses” through which Mrs. Fisher invites her young readers to peer are the telescope, the microscope, and the spectroscope ;
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894 THE ATHENAUM N° 3296, Dec. 27, ’90 and the work is consequently made up of a series of chapters touching lightly on some of the marvels of the heavens and the earth. The writer introduces her readers to these subjects in a singularly winning way; but at the same time it must be admitted that there is a desul- . tory character about the work, which leaves a rather unsatisfactory impression on the reader. It is difficult, in fact, to trace any thread of con- tinuity running through the volume. First, we are introduced to the moon, and then to the construction and action of various optical instru- ments ; from these we pass to the study of fungi, lichens, and mosses, and afterwards jump to the subject of volcanoes ; then the sun and the stars successively engage our attention, and we next descend to the contemplation of marine life in a pool of sea-water—a subject which is followed by a chapter on Dartmoor ponies and another on prehistoric man. Most of these subjects are supposed to be brought before a class of Devon- shire lads by the lectures of a magician: ‘‘I have often told you, boys, have I not? that I am a Magician. In my chamber near the sky I work spells as did the magicians of old, and by the help of my magic glasses I peer into the secrets of nature.” Such a mode of introducing the subject may find excuse in the delight which young people usually take in the marvel- lous ; but it may be questioned, after all, whether the guise of a magician is a desirable form for a naturalist or scientific teacher to assume, even in addressing the young. It is pleasing, how- ever, to note that the essays in the present volume, like all Mrs. Fisher’s writings, display a practical acquaintance with the subjects which the writer handles, and a commendable regard for scientific accuracy. The little volume is neatly got up, and, with its excellent illustra- tions, forms an attractive gift-book, especially suitable for those who have read and enjoyed ‘The Fairyland of Science.’ A work entitled ‘The Magic of Science,’ by the late James Wylde—who may still be remem- bered by many as having been a popular lecturer at the old Polytechnic—forms the basis of Dr. Wright’s volume. The original work, now nearly thirty years old, needed, of course, to be entirely recast, in order that it might be brought into accord with the present position of chemical and physical science. Dr. Alder Wright, who undertook this task, has carried out the revision with such thoroughness that the present volume is practically a new work, of much higher type than its predecessor. It is no longer a mere play-book, full of experiments verging into legerdemain, but it is a work of real educational value. Most intelligent boys are born experi- mentalists, delighting in a little scientific mani- pulation, and they will find in Dr. Wright’s volume ample instructions for carrying out this hobby to their hearts’ content.. Here are full directions for performing upwards of four hun- dred experiments in various branches of che- mistry and physics; and here, too, are clear explanations of the meaning of the experiments and the reasons for attaining the results. It is a capital book for a boy, offering work for the fingers and food for the mind. It is curious to find Mr. Hutchinson refer- ring at the present time to ‘‘the scarcity of popular works on geology.” So far from there being any scarcity, we were rather inclined to believe that popular geology was decidedly overdone. However, our author thinks otherwise, and he has consequently pre- pared a little work which, from its general excellence, deserves to find a serviceable place in geological literature as an introductory sketch of what he properly describes asa ‘‘ delightful and thoroughly English science.” It is a pity that he has not preserved throughout anything like a uniform standard of style, for while some parts, like that in which Marsh’s classification of the dinosaurs is introduced, are rather technical, other parts are extremely simple, and disfigured by small jokes. Most of the book may be commended for accuracy o. statement, though here and there it is evident that the writer is hardly abreast of the present state of geological opinion, the lignites of Bovey Tracey, for instance, being still assigned by the writer to the miocene period. The work is well printed and neatly illustrated, many of the figures being evidently taken from Sir Andrew Ramsay’s well-known ‘Physical Geology of Great Britain,’ though we fail to find any acknowledgment of their source. The great fault of ‘The World of Science ’ is its attempt to beencyclopzedic. Almost every branch of science, natural and experimental, is touched upon, with the necessary result that each sec- tion is too sketchy to be of much educational value. Probably it is fair to assume, from its gilt edges and its attractive cover, that the volume is intended not so much as a text-book as a popular introduction for the use of the general reader; but if so it should have been written in a lighter style. On the whole, it seems to be trustworthy as far as it goes, and may no doubt be found useful as a reading-book in schools, where the text can be enlarged upon by the teacher and made the basis of a course of lessons in elementary science. When ‘ Popular Scientific Recreations’ origin- ally appeared it was favourably noticed in the Atheneum (No. 2880, Jan. 6, 1883) ; and it is, therefore, sufticient to confine ourattention to the enlargement of the present edition. The addition consists of a supplement of about one hundred pages, describing a large number of amusing experiments, many of them extremely ingenious, and most of them easily performed with the simplest of apparatus. We believe that these are mostly, but not exclusively, taken from La Nature. The work is profusely illustrated, the figures numbering considerably upwards of one thousand, though the title-page, curiously enough, gives a much smaller number. Many of the illustrations have much to recommend them, while others are coarse and badly printed. Though by no means free from faults, the volume is one with which a boy of scientific tastes would be delighted, and it has the recom- mendation of being decidedly a cheap book. EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY. A REMARKABLE series of researches by Dr. Miinsterberg, of Freiburg, is now in course of publication, which have the strongest claims upon the attention of all who are interested in the study of psychology. Three parts have now appeared, in addition to an earlier and highly important essay of the author upon the ‘ Act of Will’(‘Die Willenshandlung’). They are masterly pieces of work, not less remarkable for clear exposition than for the caution and simplicity of the experiments, and for the Baconian merit of fertility in inventing variations of the ex- periments. But their most striking feature is the skill with which the practical work is led up to by previous psychological analysis and the results interpreted again in their bearing upon general psychological principles. The combina- nation of experimental with analytical power gives these studies a character of extreme origin- ality and significance. Though they are not designed as a systematic treatise, there is no work from which more illuminating views can be obtained upon the nature of mental action. There is, however, a well-marked connexion between the separate researches. They develope the theory of two principal subjects—attention and the muscular sense, which are shown to be closely coherent. Psychologists are at present sharply divided according as they profess un- divided allegiance to the principle of association or allow for the operation of a different principle, called variously ‘‘ attention ” or ‘‘ apperception.” Great currency has been authority of Prof. Wundt for the notion of ‘*apperception,” according to which, in certain cases (e.g. in voluntary acts), the mind takes up secured by the | a distinctive and it would seem independent position towards its presentations, fixing certain of them, as the metaphor goes, in the mental field of view. With this notion Dr. Miinster- berg is at variance throughout, and he joins issue with it in the first part in a series of ex- periments upon ‘‘voluntary and involuntary combinations of ideas.” The investigations are devised with direct reference to Prof. Wundt’s special form of the theory, but they have another significance for English readers, since Mr. Ward’s article in the ‘Encyclopedia’ has attempted to establish attention as a mental act of a distinct kind, different altogether, it would appear, from such mental acts as we have in sensation and perception. Now, to speak roughly, Dr. Miinsterberg’s view is that atten- tion or apperception is not essentially different from sensation or perception, but simply depends on some change in the mental presentations themselves ; or, if we may use language some- what more technical, attention is not a change in the consciousness itself or in its attitude towards its presentations, but is a change in the actual contents, or let us say the materials of consciousness. Consciousness itself is not an activity at all, but when we describe a mental state as a state of consciousness we merely indicate the fact that it is mental. The experiments themselves, though extremely simple, are very numerous and various, and cannot be described here. (They were described at length in the April number of Mind by Prof. Croom Robertson.) But they consist in measuring the time taken in giving answers to all varieties of questions, when the conditions are varied. The results turn out to be incom- patible with the notion of apperception. Thus, for instance, if you ask a man whether he prefers apples or cherries, he takes longer to answer than if you first cite the names of a number of fruits—apples, pears, strawberries, cherries, &c. —and then put the same question. This result is unintelligible on the apperception theory, but is very simply explained on the principle of association, because the recital of the names prepares the mind to work along certain paths. Granting the force of the experiments, we shall have to hold that apperception and atten- tion differ from the ordinary processes of presentation only in greater complication. It must not, however, be supposed that Dr. Miinsterberg tries to deny the existence of that peculiar feeling of activity which accompanies attention in such cases. On the contrary, he traces it to associated muscular sensations, especially those which are involved in keeping the head fixed. In an introductory study the author states the general view of consciousness which he entertains and is endeavouring to test, and perhaps there is no statement of the de- pendence of mental upon physiological activity at once so clear, so suggestive, and so carefully qualified. However, it is the studies which bear directly upon the muscular sense which are likely to have greatest interest for English psychologists. Investigations into the origin of our ideas of space have, among other things, made us familiar with the intimate connexion of all sensory events with motor impressions, and quite lately M. Ribot has expounded this cardinal truth in its bearing upon the nature of attention. But it has never been so thoroughly investigated as by Dr. Miinsterberg, nor its importance so well appreciated. In an elaborate series of experiments upon measuring distances by the eye (Heft 2) he shows how the evalua- tion is affected by all manner of modifications in the movements of the eye. That atten- tion itself is nothing but a particular state of muscular tension is illustrated by a study of the oscillations of attention which occur when, for instance, we try to fix an object which is barely visible, like a star. The star goes out and then shines again. This is very simply traced to the fatigue and subsequent restoration of the
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N° 3296, Dec. 27, ’90 THE ATHENZUM 895 muscles concerned in fixing the object (in accommodating the eye). The experiments consist in varying the conditions of fixation and observing how the interval between one dis- appearance and another then varies. Thus, for instance, if the object looked at is covered up for a moment at intervals of, say, every two seconds, the same phenomenon of vanishing and returning is observed, but the time between one vanishing and the next is greatly reduced, the explanation being that the muscles during the short time that the object is covered up have had time to recover from their fatigue. Another investigation of great beauty deals with localization by the ear. Very interesting results are obtained as to the directions of best hearing in each of three planes: the median vertical plane, and the vertical and horizontal planes through the centres of both ears, They dispose altogether of the belief that the sense of direction depends on the difference between the effects produced by a sound on the two ears, for symmetrical positions do not yield the same results; but they bear out a theory which makes an important addition to the theory of space by putting the auditory mechanism on a level with the visual. According to this theory, the semicircular canals (already known to be concerned in the judgment of direction), being affected by the sound, cause the head to turn so as to bring the ear into the most favourable posi- tion for hearing, and the tension of the muscles concerned in this operation is the measure of the angle of direction. It will be remembered that, on the ordinary theory of space-vision, the muscular strains of those muscles of the eye which are used in order to bring the yellow spot opposite the object are the original measure of position, so far as it is estimated by the eye. Here, as elsewhere, the muscular movements (the sensa- tions of which the author, like Dr. Ferrier and many others, treats as peripheral, and not central) are held to be discharged by the sensations as simple reflexes, which have been selected by the usual process to the advantage of the organism, and transmitted by inheritance. Probably the most original of the researches in part 2 is the study of the time-sense, that is, of the measurement of time-intervals. It is an excellent example of the author’s method. After describing, according to his usual practice, previous work, he then leads up to his experi- ments by an analysis of his mental experience in thinking of a time-interval, which is marked off by two sensory impressions, e.g., of light. He finds that the first impression is attended by a muscular innervation in the eye, the head and neck, and even in the shoulders and arms and the heart ; this rises while the impression lasts, and then gradually relaxes ; then follows a rise of tension corresponding to the expecta- tion of the next impression, which occurs there- fore at a certain point in the upward rise. Anew interval is estimated equal to this when its con- cluding impression coincides with the same point in the rising tension. This simple ex- perience is modified by many circumstances ; for instance, by the state of attention, and especially by the breathing, for inspiration increases muscular action, expiration lowers it. All kinds of results are produced according as the limiting impressions do or do not concur with the beginning of one of the phases of respira- tion. For the details we must refer to the study itself. Experiments then show that when an interval is marked by two sounds, a new interval beginning with the end of the first interval is estimated with an error of 11 per cent. when no reference is had to the breathing, but when the sound which ends the first interval and begins the second occurs at the same phase of respiration as the first sound, the error sinks to 3 percent. The discrepancy is still greater (24 per cent. and 5 per cent.) when a space is left between the two time-intervals which are compared. The time-sense is thus a synthesis of the perception of the limiting impressions with the increasing or relaxing muscular strains connected with them. The third part contains the most surprising results of all, and is sure to give rise to much controversy. Here Dr. Miinsterberg grapples with the question of the intensity of sensation. Considered by itself, a more intense sensation is, he holds, simply a new sensation: a difference in intensity is a difference of quality. The intensity of sensations can be measured only in virtue of the accompanying muscular sensations, for it is only these which have that common element which is necessary to things which can be measured. The muscular sensation of a weak sound is, in fact, a part of the muscular sensation of a loud sound. Apparent excep- tions, such as the simple measurement of in- tervals of tone, he explains away: the musical judgment of distance he explains to depend on muscular tensions in the larynx, and he pro- mises a full study of this and of the judgment of intervals by unmusical persons. As _ this point has been much debated, the study will be very welcome. Many facts seem to corro- borate this theory, as, e.g., the uncertainty pro- duced by drawing off the attention to something else, so that the muscular strains are not per- ceived. But if the theory were true, one result should follow which is borne out by a series of astonishing experiments. We are accustomed to compare intervals of intensity between sensa- tions of the same kind, but no one yet has compared intervals between sensations of dif- ferent kinds, and yet, if an interval of intensity is only a degree of muscular change, this should be possible. Now this comparison Dr. Miinsterberg has effected. Given, for instance, an interval between two sounds, he has found what interval of weight or distance as measured by the eye feels the same, and the tables show that as the one set of intervals increases, the other increases regularly too. An important result follows from these tables. They enable us to discover what proportional increase of stimulus of sound, light, and weight respec- tively is needed in order to produce an equal increase of intensity in the impressions. The proportions found are 2, 1, 1°25, respectively, though the experiments are confessedly not accurate enough for reliance to be placed on the exact number. This result allows of an extension of Weber’s law over the whole field of sensation, and of a general statement of it in terms of muscular sensation. We have limited ourselves to the barest outline of these fruitful and original re- searches. No criticism is attempted here, but it is not likely that the many workers in the subject to whose ideas they run counter will sit down quietly under them. But of the in- fluence which they will exercise upon the future of the subject no doubt can be entertained. Those whom this notice may induce to make themselves acquainted with the original work will look forward with eagerness to the pub- lication of the other studies which Dr. Miinster- berg contemplates. SOCIETIES. RoyaL.— Dee. 18.—Sir G. G. Stokes, V.P., followed by General Strachey, V.P., in the chair.—The follow- ing papers were read : ‘ On the Determination of the Boiling Point of Sulphur, and on a Method of stan- dardizing Platinum Resistance Thermometers by Reference to It,’ by Messrs. H. L.Callendar and E. H. Griftiths,—‘ On the Generic Identity of Sceparnodon and Phascolonus,’ by Mr. R. Lydekker,—‘ Contribu- tion to the Study of the Vertebrate Liver,’ by Dr. S. Delépine, —and *On Certain Conditions that modify the Virulence of the Bacillus of Tubercle,’ by Dr. A. Ransome. NuMISMATIC.—Dec. 18.—Mr. H. Montagu, V.P., in the chair.—Messrs. W. B. Smith and C. J. Spence were elected Members.—Mr. Montagu exhibited six remarkably fine Greek coins, including a specimen of the extremely rare and beautiful silver stater of Pheneus in Arcadia, struck about B.C. 362, obverse, head of Demeter, reverse ®ENEQN, Hermes carry- ing in his arms the infant Arkas ; and tetradrachms of Anus in Thrace, Amphipolis in Macedon, and Rhodes, all of the finest style, dating from about B.c. 400, and with full-faced heads of Hermes and Apollo.—Mr. W. Wroth read an account of the principal Greek coins acquired by the British fuseum during the year 1889, and exhibited plaster casts and autotype facsimiles of a select number of the most important among them. Mr. Wroth stated that during the year the Department of Coins had acquired, chiefly by purchase, as many as 347 Greek coins in gold, silver, and bronze. He mentioned M. Waddington, Dr. H. Weber, and Mr. W. R. Paton as having benefited the national collection by donations of rare specimens. The two most valuable coins de- scribed by Mr. Wroth were: first, a silver stater of Sybritain Crete,of early fourth century work, bear- ing on the obverse a head of Dionysus wearing an ivy-wreath, and on the reverse SYBPITIQN anda head of Hermes wearing a petasus, the only other published specimen of this rare coin being in the Hunter Museum at Glasgow Mir ips d ; and, second, a unique electrum stater of Mytilene, be- longing to the class issued according to a monetary convention between Mytilene and Phocea (B. V. Head, ‘ Hist. Num.,’ p. 484), the present specimen being the first which has come to light of this city. It belongs to the fifth century B.c., and the head of Apollo onthe obverse is a most beautiful work of art, METEOROLOGICAL.—Dee. 17.—Mr. H. F. Blan- ford, V.P., in the ckair—Dr. T. Fowler, Mr. A. Greg, and Mr. H. Wooleock were elected Fellows.— The following papers were read : ‘ Note on a Light- ning Stroke presenting some Features of Interest,’ by Mr. R. H. Scott. A basket of eggs was lying on the floor of one of the rooms of a house in Ballyglass, Mayo, when it was struck on January 5th. The shells were shattered, so that they fell off when the eggs were put in boiling water, but the inner membrane was not broken. The eggs tasted quite sound. The owner’s account is that he boiled a few eggs from the top of the basket; the rest were “made into amummy,” “the lower ones all flattened, but not broken.”—‘ Note on the Effect of Light- ning on a Dwelling-House,’ by Mr. A. Brewin. This was an account of the damage done to the author’s house at Twickenham on September 23rd.—‘ Wind Systems and Trade Routes between the Cape of Good Hope and Australia,’ by Capt. M. W. C. Hep- worth.—‘ Report on the Phenological Observations for 1890,’ by Mr. E. Mawley.—‘ The Climate of Hong- kong,’ by Dr. W. Doberck, a discussion of the meteorological results at the Hongkong Observatory and at the Victoria Peak during the five years 1884-88. HISTORICAL.—Dee. 18.—Mr. C. A. Fyffe in the chair.—Mr. O. Browning read a paper ‘On Republi- can Government.’—A discussion followed, in which Col. Church, Rev. G. Edmundson, Messrs. J. 8. Stuart Glennie and J. 8S. Whatton took part. PHYSICAL.—Dee. 12.—Prof. W. E, Ayrton, Presi- dent, in the chair.—Mr. S. Bidwell showed some experiments with selenium cells.—Mr. J. Swinburne read a paper‘ On Alternate Current Condensers.’ MEETINGS FOR THE ENSUING WEEK. London Institution, 4.—‘Rain and Fog,’ Prof. V. Lewes Mon. (Juvenile Lecture). ir : Tvrs. Royal Institution, 3.—‘ Frost and Fire,’ Prof. Dewar (Juvenile Lecture). Wepv. London Institution, 4.—‘Rain and Fog,’ Prof. V. Lewes (Juvenile Lecture). : Tuvrs. Royal Institution, 3.—‘ Frost and Fire,’ Prof. Dewar (Juvenile vecture). London Institution, 4.— ‘Rain and Fog,’ Prof. V. Lewes (Juvenile Lecture). — Geologists’ Association, 8. : Sar. Royal Institution, 3.—‘ Frost and Fire,’ Prof. Dewar (Juvenile Lecture). Fri. Science Gossip. Gorriies Stuper, honorary president of the Swiss Alpenklub, and one of its founders, died at Berne on the 14th of December, in his eighty-seventh year. He was a zealous moun- taineer before any of the Alpine clubs existed. There were few men who had so exhaustive a topographical knowledge of Switzerland. He was as ready with his pencil as his pen. His ‘ Panorama von Bern’ has never been surpassed, and his four volumes ‘ Ueber Eis und Schnee’ are still consulted as a fund of detailed know- ledge about the Swiss mountains and the his- tory of their climbers. It was a great distress to this ardent lover of nature that during the last few years he had totally lost his sight. Tue volume of Greenwich Astronomical and Magnetical and Meteorological Observations for the year 1888 has recently been published. The
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896 THE ATHENAUM N° 3296, Dec. 27,90 steps of reduction and the collected results are printed as in preceding years; and no special work has on this occasion needed an appendix. The number of stars catalogued amounts to 1,793, and all other subjects of observation have been carried on with the accustomed regularity. FINE ARTS a ROYAL SOCIETY of PAINTERS in WATER COLOURS. — The WINTER EXHIBITION is NOW OPEN, 5, Pall-mall East, from 10 till 5. —Admittance, ls. ; Catalogue, 6d. ALFRED D. FRIPP, R.W-.S., Secretary. CHRISTMAS BOOKS. Dreamland in History: the Story of the Norman Dukes. By the Dean of Gloucester. (Isbister.)—This comely volume comprises a number of Prout-like bits of architecture, deftly touched rather than drawn by Mr. H. Railton, some of which, despite sundry indications of the influence of photography upon the sketches, are bright, crisp, firm, and correct. Dean Spence found a stirring theme when he set about writing a sketch, full of picturesque details and anecdotes, of those vigorous Normans of whom, as he truly says, almost the only remaining traces in England are a few stately minsters. The dean describes in picturesque language and in an animated way the conquest of England and the internal troubles of the House of Rollo become royal. The dean has added nothing but suitable reflections and adequate ‘‘ morals” to the well-known materials, but he has done this naturally, sympathetically, and in a scholar-like manner, with a true feeling for that colour which delights all but learned dunces. Footsteps of Dr. Johnson (Scotland). By G. B. Hill. With Illustrations by L. Speed. (Sampson Low.)—It was a good idea which led Dr. Birkbeck Hill to follow Johnson and Bos- well in that wonderful tour, to make which demanded an amount of boldness in a man like Johnson that is but half realized by most of us. He has carefully described the present state of much that Johnson saw; gathered what legends linger about the Sassenach mohr, or big Englishman—so strange a figure to the natives—who traversed those then out- landish regions ; and with an immense deal of research, which must have been delightful to so sympathetic a worker, he has illustrated the famous narrative with memoranda of things as they must have appeared toJohnson. He has, of course, drawn together all that the doctor’s com- mentators, from Boswell to the latest magazine writer, have supplied, and added much of his own. In this way Dr. Hill has merited for his book a place, the best he could desire, on the shelves immediately beside Boswell’s ‘John- son.’ It is against the book from the student’s point of view that it is a big and heavy quarto. On the other hand, its admirable typography, wealth of cuts and plates of famous sites and noble landscapes more than compensate us for its ponderousness. Studies in Ruskin By E. T. Cook. (G. Allen.) —This volume professes to give ‘‘some aspects of the work and teaching of John Ruskin” as they appear to Mr. Cook, who has enriched his book with cuts and process prints of various kinds, including, as the best, reduced copies of drawings by the ‘‘Oxford Graduate,” to which, by the way, they fail to do anything like justice. See, for example, ‘The Bridge at Lucerne.’ Mr. Cook’s letterpress is descriptive and biogra- phical, and, although it contains nothing pro- found or brilliant, has many points of interest, as it illustrates Mr. Ruskin’s attempts to pro- mote the study of art at Oxford and elsewhere. It is rather a compilation than an original work, but the compiling has been done with sympathy and care. A certain class of readers will be attracted as well as surprised, not to say startled, by the account, which is authoritative and detailed, of the publishing establishment at Orpington whence for many years have issued all, or nearly all; the works of Mr. Ruskin. We presume the profitableness of this establishment is commensurate to its unexpected magnitude. Indeed, to this conclusion the text leads us. The chapter on ‘‘Mr. Ruskin and the Book- sellers” is really amusing. Every Ruskinian ought dutifully to rejoice in the news that the money value of the new edition of ‘Modern Painters’ is, at retail price, nearly 20,000/. No doubt a due proportion of this sum will be realized by the author, whose nett profits therein are here set down at 6,000I. The Laureate’s Country: a Description of Places connected with the Life of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, by A. J. Church, illustrated by E. Hull (Seeley & Co.), traces the Laureate from Somersby to Blackdown, stopping to describe the halting-places of the poet’s life, from Cleve- don to Farringford, from Trinity College to Aldworth, and does so with tact, graceful skill, and apt sympathy for the places, their aspects and memories, and infusing a good deal-that is biographical. The author has written an enter- taining and trustworthy book, which is fit for the library or the drawing-room table, and is made more attractive by its neat and numerous illustrations. Charing Cross to St. Pau’s. By J. McCarthy. Illustrated by J. Pennell. (Seeley & Co.)—The motives and even the style of Mr. McCarthy’s letterpress are somewhat of an anachronism. They remind the reader of Laman Blanchard and James Hannay. If we met with thesenotes in an old magazine, we might read them with in- terest, dashed with sad memories of the departed disciples of Charles Lamb and Leigh Hunt, who found their joy in London streets and cockney ways. There is fun in what Mr. McCarthy writes ; for instance, when he was told that there is no longer a beadle in Burlington Arcade ; there is wit, too, in the way this dis- covery is made to illustrate the fact that Lon- doners do not know and do not care about London. But, apart from this, Mr. McCarthy has been long enough in London to know how stale are many of his observations, and how much in need of compression are the paragraphs in which antithesis too often is employed in place of wit. Of the etchingsand cuts of Mr. Pennell it is enough to say that the artist, in his haste, has done injustice to his own cleverness and damaged a capital subject by the scrambling fashion in which he has dealt with it. The loose way in which he has etched numerous figures, few of which move or stand on their feet, is deplorable. By far the best of his illustrations is a vista of Holywell Street, the merit of which shows how many opportunities Mr. Pennell has wasted. Messrs. Hacuette & Co. have republished, apparently in a cheaper form than that in which many years ago we were called on to review it, Histoire de VIntrépide Capitaine Castagnette, by Quatrelles, with Gustave Doré’s illustrations. The legend of this French military hero, who was a sort of double of Baron Munchausen, is not so well known on this side of the Channel as the heroism of the champion and his many contests with the English deserve. The same publishers have sent us the Marie Sans-Soin of Bertal, a very clever narrative of the career of that pickle, enriched with spirited cuts printed in colours. Mon Premier Alphabet (same pub- lishers) comprises more than three hundred cuts, many of which are very good. — Messrs. M. Ward & Co. send us Diggy Piggy’s Picture Book, illustrated by E. Caldwell, with tolerable cuts in colour ; Thistle-Down, by 8S. Doudney, with pretty little landscapes in colour, and dainty borders printed in gold; the Courtship and Marriage of Cock Robin and Jenny Wren, illustrated by J. Watkins, some of whose works are nice and attractive; and Monsieur Pouf, the versed biography of a dog, by E. L. Shute, which is bright, funny, and humane. The cuts are spirited, especially that of the children going to bed.— Another Brownie Book, by Palmer Cox, issued by Mr. Fisher Unwin, contains a good deal of laboured fun in verses which are not lively, describing the pranks of a company of elves. The little cuts are better than the letterpress, and they express well many whim- sical fancies. There is not fun enough in the book to inspire its 144 pages ; accordingly Mr. Palmer Cox bores us before we have got half way. NEW PRINTS. WE have to thank Messrs. H. Graves & Co. for an ‘‘artist’s proof” of a photogravure executed at Munich, and printed by Mr. Holdgate in London, the printing of which disproves the frequent remark that such things could not be properly done in Eng- land. It could hardly be better in its way— a way which, as we have often said, permits the exact reproduction of pictures for which more costly, if not more artistic methods are not likely to be employed. The subject is Mr. F. Dicksee’s larger contribution to the Academy in 1881, called ‘ The Symbol,’ having the motto from Lamentations i. 12, ‘‘ And is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by?” This verse gave the painter an opportunity for a religious or moral exercise such as he rarely attempts, and for introducing Italian elegance, movement, costume, physical character, architecture, and customs delightful to a pupil of Sir F. Leighton. As we have already criticized the design and painting of the picture, one of Mr. Dicksee’s ablest efforts, all we need add is that the print thoroughly represents the polished and scholarly, if somewhat artificial and super- ficial graces, the accomplishments, and the studied elegance of its original. The draperies, the drawing of the forms, the morbidezza of the faces, and the neat and finished workman- ship throughout lend themselves to photo- gravure, while that process in turn lends itself to them. Instigated by Mr. A. Marks, Messrs. Dixon & Son, 112, Albany Street, have most success- fully photographed that remarkably fine monu- ment of Dr. John Young, ob. 1516, which is attributed to Torrigiano, and remains the chief ornament of the Rolls Chapel, Chancery Lane. A masterpiece of sculpture of its kind, it is hardly ever visited, and, so far as we know, has never, except in a perfunctory manner, been engraved or otherwise copied. The tomb is in a niche with a semicircular head, and comprises a life-size portrait-statue of the Master of the Rolls in his robes and cap, with his hands crossed at his waist. He lies on a sarco- phagus of choice Italian design, raised on a very elegant base, and bearing an escutcheon in a panel on each side. In the middle is a tablet incised in the Roman manner with the name and titles of the deceased. Although we have received from the Auto- type Company a capital autogravure of it, we do not care for Mr. H. Schmalz’s sham senti- mentalities and pseudo-heroics in his picture of ‘ Zenobia’s Last Look on Palmyra,’ which, some- how, we failed to notice when it was at the New Gallery the year before last. The design is commonplace and pretentious, because there is no real passion nor earnest and natural emotion of any sort in the still figure (its mere stillness may mean nothing, while pretending to express the profoundest agitation and most bitter dis- tress), which stands erect on a lofty terrace, and, with set eyes and mouth undisturbed. is sup- posed to be taking a farewell look at the city. Mr. Schmalz and his admirers mistake the absence of passionate expression for the intensest energy ; the error is common even in the de- signs of Mr. Tenniel, not a few of whose con- ceptions (however remote from Mr. Schmalz’s) err in this respect; but in the specimen before us there is little besides the error to be found. The antipathetic figure mocks
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N° 3296, Dec. 27, 90 THE ATHENAUM 897 the observer’s sense of fitness and offends against the pathos of the subject, which is a noble one, demanding a sincere inspiration and _ real sympathy. e have received from the Arundel Society an unfortunate reproduction—it hardly de- serves to be called a copy—of Boccaccio Boccacino’s fresco of ‘Christ among the Doctors’ at Cremona. The crude chromo- lithograph, with its heavy touch and some- what garish colours, is opposed in nearly every technical quality to fresco of any kind, and especially to the gay tints and rich tones of the bright and crisply handled painting by the dex- terous and careful Cremonese. It is an interest- ing picture which deserved better treatment. Probably this is the worst chromo-lithograph the Arundel Society has issued. Fint-Art Gossip, WE are informed that the report now current to the effect that Sir John Millais’s sight has been seriously affected of late is without founda- tion. Likewise incorrect is the statement that the painter is, or has been, at Vienna this year. He is now, and has for some time been, in Scot- Jand. Tue daily darkness, and not our will, compels us to omit reference to those charms of brilliant, powerful, and faithful colour which, knowing his unvarying fidelity to nature, we expect to find in the drawings of Mr. A. Goodwin, now exhibit- ing in the rooms of the Fine-Art Society, more than three score and ten fine examples of digni- fied and romantic landscape. We can highly praise their beautiful draughtsmanship, choice and grave massing, true aérial effect, and varied expressions. The student will be delighted by ‘Windsor in Sunset Glow’ (No. 5), a broad and picturesque instance, most masculine, and in tone charming ; by the deep and intense blue- ness and grand mystery of effect of ‘ Hartland and Lundy Lights’ (7), in which the beacons answer each other across the indigo-coloured sea, while the latest gold of the sun lingers on the horizon ; by the silvery and delicate tones of the study of serene daylight called ‘Canterbury’ (10) ; by ‘Abbeville’ (15), one of Mr. Ruskin’s most beloved subjects, a beautiful vista with masses of building in contrasted, yet broad lights and shadows, the one being as clear as the other, and both harmonious ; by ‘ Home Again’ (18), a choice piece of rock-drawing, intense in tone and in every way acceptable except the questionable drawing of the hull ef the ship that is entering the harbour; by ‘Braunton Sands, Devon’ (20), with its grand expansiveness and excellent foreshortening of the land’s contours; by the powerful and loyal ‘ Abingdon’ (25); by the atmosphere, all glowing with gold, of ‘Fuel Gatherers, near Lucerne’ (33) ; by the rich tones and rosy red of ‘ Aylesford Priory’ (37), with its barges on the Medway, in growing twilight ; by the golden hues and good drawing of the gorges called ‘Cheddar Cliff’ (45); by the delicious cerulean twilight of ‘Salisbury Close’ (51); and by the magical foreshortening and aérial truth of *Woolacombe Sands’ (67). Mr. Goodwin proves his mastery of art and varied resources in vigorously as well as truly representing sub- jects, effects, and themes as various as these. This is one of the most charming of the eighty-one exhibitions the Fine-Art Society has formed. 2 Few visitors to the Academy exhibition of last summer failed to admire the ‘ Tulip-Cul- ture’ of Mr. G. Hitchcock, one of those choicer instances of ‘‘ Impressionism” where taste is master and, so far as it goes, the truth, if not the whole truth, of nature is regarded. It is a glowing, but slightly subdued, piece of sunlight on beds of red and white tulips, of diverse tones, and closed within rows of trees. This picture and three-and-twenty more by the same hands are now at Messrs. Goupil’s, New Bond Street. The collection includes ‘The Low Countries’ (No. 5), a picture which has a Corot-like effect and some of Corot’s colour, but less refinement of touch and draughtsmanship | far inferior to Corot’s ; a fine vista called ‘The Hayfield’ (6), a capital study of air; ‘The Willow Tree’ (10); ‘Maternité’ (13); and ‘Where Dunes and Meadows Meet’ (18). Whatever objections may be urged to the blurred forms of these pictures, to the artist’s indifference to the composition of his materials, to the occasional crudity of his ideas, to the roughness of his surfaces, and last, not least, to the almost total absence of feeling in his landscapes, there can be no denying the charms of his coloration and the veracity of his tones. We delight in what he does because it is faithful and, however limited, harmonious. Mr. SamMvueEt JEVoNs, an energetic and liberal promoter of art in Birmingham, has given to the Art Gallery of that place a collection of illu- minated manuscripts, printed books, and carved ivories, which fill two large cases in the Italian Gallery and Industrial Hall of the museum. The books range from the fourteenth to the eigh- teenth century, and illustrate the development of the typographic craft from that of calligraphy. The ivories include Japanese examples, Chris- tian diptychs and triptychs, and French, Rus- sian, German, and English instances of various kinds. Mr. HavERFIELD writes :— “The reviewer of Dr. Evans’s ‘Coins of the Ancient Britons’ alludes to the similarity of the Gaulish names Addedomarus, Atepomarus, Athepo- marus (Vum. Chron., 1884, p. 267). About the last of these three I know nothing, but it may be worth pointing out that there is good evidence for the form Atepomarus; facts may be found in Robert and Cagnat’s ‘Epigraphie de la Moselle.’ Addedo- marus seems also a certain form. Assedomarus is quoted by Dr. Evans, and the equivalence of the Gaulish barred DD with ss seems to be accepted by all competent authorities. Dr. Hettner showed me at Treves last summer an inscription in which a barred Ss seemed to be used to denote the barred DD.” Tue Liverpool Autumn Exhibition is closed, the receipts showing a result of about 3,000/., which slightly exceeds the receipts of the pre- vious year. One hundred and seventy pictures have been sold, valued at rather more than 6, 0001. Mr. E. Watrorp has lent to the managers of the Guelph Exhibition his portraits of Lord Clive by Dance, and of Dr. Johnson by Sir Joshua ; and also the last autograph letter of Lord Nelson to Lady Hamilton which he com- pleted, and on which is the admiral’s very last ** frank.” THE Society for the Preservation of the Monuments of Ancient Egypt has sent in to Lord Salisbury its memorials in favour of the appointment of an official inspector competent to protect the monuments. Yer another new gallery is to be shortly opened in the Louvre. It is appropriated to medieval and modern bronzes, and adjoins the Colonnade. On the 9th of December the Archiiologische Gesellschaft of Berlin celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, in connexion with the ‘‘ Winckel- mann festival,” under the presidency of the Prince of Saxe-Meiningen. Prof. Curtius, the only survivor of the original founders, delivered the ‘‘ Festrede,” taking as his subject the pro- gress of archeology from the Middle Ages to our time. Prof. Mommsen spoke upon the frontier lines between Germany and the Roman Empire, and warmly advocated his project for the erection of some central institute for the collec- tion and exhibition of the Roman antiquities discovered from time to time in Germany. He suggested that its seat should be either at Bonn or Heidelberg. M. Lamsros writes from Athens :— “The works at the monastery of Daphni are making progress since the arrival of Salviati’s workmen. The mosaics of the cupola have been removed with great care, after they had been pro- perly drawn and numbered. The cupola is now to be repaired, and thereafter the mosaics will be re- stored to their original position. All that is missing will be replaced by painting. The collection of MSS. in the National Library, over 1,800 in number, will soon be deposited in the Academy building, where the cabinet of coins is lodged.” MUSIC angie NIELS GADE. AccorpinG to a telegram received through Reuter’s agency, this eminent Danish composer died suddenly on Sunday last at Copenhagen. Gade was born on February 22nd, 1817, and had therefore nearly completed his seventy- fourth year. He was not fortunate in his early teachers, but his eventual engagement in the royal orchestra at Copenhagen gave him an opportunity of studying instrumentation, and in 1841 his ‘ Ossian’ overture gained a prize offered by the local musical union, and the work retains a place in the repertory of most orchestras to the present day. With monetary assistance from the Danish king he went to Leipzig, where he attracted the attention of Mendelssohn, who at once conceived a highly favourable opinion of him. From 1844 to 1848 he frequently con- ducted at the Gewandhaus concerts ; but in the last-named year he settled in Copenhagen, and the remainder of his life, save for.the production of his works, was singularly uneventful. He has left eight symphonies, five overtures, several cantatas (of which three, ‘Zion,’ ‘The Crusaders, and ‘Psyche,’ were produced at the Birmingham Festival), and a quantity of chamber and mis- cellaneous music. His last visit to England was in 1882, when he conducted his ‘ Psyche’ at Bir- mingham. Four of his symphonies and various other compositions have been heard at the Crystal Palace, and three of his chamber works at the Popular Concerts, but of late his name has only appeared at rare intervals in instru- mental programmes. This leads us to inquire whether Gade’s music possesses after all the qualities which endure. A great composer he could certainly not be called; but his work was always distinguished by the utmost elegance of manner and refinement in colouring, and the delicate touches of Northern phraseology in melody and rhythm lend the charm of freshness to his music which it might otherwise lack, owing to the unquestionable influence of Men- delssohn, which may be frequently traced. On the whole, it is probable that his choral works will survive longer than his instrumental, in this country at least. His cantatas ‘The Cru- saders’ and ‘Psyche’ contain much charming music of a kind just suited to societies of moderate dimensions. Gade was a man of most amiable disposition, and was remarkably genial alike in public and private life. SALE, WE append a few of the prices obtained at the sale of the music copyrights of Messrs. Brewer & Co., just concluded by Messrs. Puttick & Simpson. The auction attracted the attention of the musical profession and the trade, and the prices obtained throughout ruled high. Farmer’s Violin Tutor fetched 1,7521. ; Brewer’s Pianoforte Tutor, 420/.; Mahler’s Old London March, 588/., and his Old Westminster March, 2461.; Pridham’s Battle March, 1,0241. ; Abyssinian Expedition March, 612/.; Small- wood’s Fairy Barque, 1,008/.; Warner’s To the Woods, 680/.; Hatton’s To Anthea, 260/.; Prid- ham’s Yorkshire Bells, 9901., and his Sabbath Recreations, 633/.; Lee’s He Wipes the Tear, 2221.; and Hiles’s Catechism for the Pianoforte, 4201. The total sum realized was as much as 22,3001.
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898 THE ATHENAUM N° 3296, Dec. 27,90 Rlusical Gossip. THE autumn musical season finished on Satur- day last, and the performances of the three previous days do not need extended notice. Indeed, the less said the better concerning the rendering of ‘The Messiah’ by the South London Choral Association at St. James’s Hall on Thursday evening. A tolerable amount of justice was given to the solos by Miss Fuselle, Miss Eleanor Rees, Mr. Henry Piercy, and Mr. Franklin Clive, but the chorus and orchestra were almost beneath criticism. As the con- ductor of one of the leading Tonic Sol-fa societies, Mr. L. C. Venables owed it to him- self and the valued association to which he belongs to secure a better performance of such a familiar work. On the same evening Mr. Gompertz gave the second of his chamber concerts at the Princes’ Hall, the principal items in his pro- gramme being Schumann’s Quartet in A minor; Beethoven’s Sonata in G for piano and violin, Op. 30, No. 3; and Brahms’s Quartet in B flat, Op. 67; the last-named work being especially welcome on account of the rarity with which it is performed. Miss Lena Little sang two of the same composer’s songs with viola obbligato, and Mr. Leonard Borwick was announced to play some pianoforte solos. On Friday there were no concerts worthy of mention, but on Saturday the last Popular Concert for the present year took place in the afternoon, and the first performance of the Strolling Players’ Amateur Orchestral Society at St. James’s Hall in the evening. Mr. Chappell offered a Beethoven programme, the works being the Quintet in c, Op. 29; the Sonata in E flat, Op. 31, No. 3; and the ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata for piano and violin. Sir Charles Halle was the pianist, and Madame Schmidt-Kéhne the vocalist, the German soprano creating a favourable impression in Schubert’s ‘Die Junge Nonne’ and Lieder by Brahms and Grieg. THE Strolling Players were hampered by the weather, St. James's Hall being barely half full, and even the performers were fewer in number than usual. Sullivan’s ‘Di Ballo’ Overture, Czibulka’s trivial ‘ Réve aprés le Bal,’ Liugini’s ‘ Egyptien’ ballet, and Siegfried Ochs’s ‘Humorous Varia- tions,’ illustrating the styles of various coin- posers, were better rendered than Beethoven's Symphony in F, No. 8, a work certain to expose the weak points in an amateur orchestra. Mr. H. C. Enthoven displayed very fine tone in some violin solos, and Mlle. Antoinette Trebelli and Mr. Franklin Clive were fairly successful in their songs. TuE National Society of Professional Musicians will hold its sixth annual conference at Liver- pool during the week after next. The agenda contain many features of interest, and we are pleased to note that the society appears to be in a flourishing condition. Srr Cuartes Hate’s Manchester programme on Friday this week included, for the first time, ‘From the Cradle to the Grave,’ a set of sixteen orchestral pieces by Reinecke, with character- istic titles. Mr. Dawson was announced to make his first appearance as a pianist and Madame Albani was named as the vocalist. THE programme of the Stratford ‘ Musical Festival,” to take place in April next, has been issued. The undertaking partakes of the nature of an Eisteddfod, consisting mainly of competi- tions in various branches of theart. Its growth has been steady, the number of entries having increased from 142 in 1883 to 286 in the present year. Communications should be addressed to the secretary, Mr. John Graham, 70, Dacre Road, Upton Manor, E. Mr. F. Lamonp’s Trioin B minor, Op. 2, had a very favourable reception at the Rosé Quartet Concerts in Vienna recently. | M. Paprerewsk1 has been engaged by the | Philharmonic Society to play at their concerts on April 16th and May 28th next. M. Mierszwinski, the tenor vocalist, was heard by Mr. Daniel Mayer last week in Berlin, and so impressed him with the progress made in his phenomenal voice as well as artistic produc- tion that he immediately engaged him for Eng- land. We shall, therefore, have the opportunity of hearing this artist again in May and June next in London. IMMERMANN’S village tale, ‘Der Oberhof,’ has been turned into an opera. Herr K. F. Schwab, of the Stuttgart Hoftheater, has composed the music, and Messrs. Kiddisch and Karsten have written the libretto. The opera will consist of five acts. THE posthumous opera ‘Prince Igor,’ by Alexander Borodin, the well-known composer and late Professor of Chemistry at St. Peters- burg, is said to have met with great success on its first performance at St. Petersburg. The work, which was completed by M. Rimskij- Korssakow, is described as possessing all the characteristics of Russian music in a marked degree. DRAMA THE GREEK DRAMATISTS IN ENGLISH VERSE. LEschylus : the Seven Plays in English Verse. By Lewis Campbell, M.A., LL.D. (Kegan Paul & Co.) The Agamemnon, Choephore, and Eumenides of Aischylus, rendered into English Verse. By J. Dunning Cooper. (Simpkin, Mar- shall & Co.) Odes from the Greek Dramatists, translated into Lyrie Metres by English Poets and Scholars. Edited by Alfred W. Pollard. (Stott.) Ir is easy to understand the fascination which the Greek dramatists, and especially ZEschylus, have for translators. No one the feeling that he has for poetry aroused within him, and, if it be in a foreign tongue, without wishing to reproduce it or see it reproduced adequately in his native lan- guage. For the translator himself the inspiration of the original speaks to him through the words into which he has ren- dered it, and his version has a colour which it has not necessarily for others. This is the explanation of the large number of translations of the great poets which con- tinue to issue from the press, many of which utterly fail to satisfy those who read them with any knowledge of the originals. Every translation of a work of first-rate genius must be a failure, and the only point that has to be considered is how far and in what re- spects it is a failure. No one who is not a poet of something like the same calibre as the author whom he is translating can hope to produce a translation which will repre- sent the original adequately. If Aschylus is ever to be satisfactorily rendered into English verse, it must be by a poet who has something of the force and energy of his genius, and something of his command of powerful and striking language. One would have liked to see what Milton would have made of the great trilogy or the ‘ Prome- theus’; and of living poets one could wish that Mr. Swinburne would try his hand on the grand choruses of the ‘ Agamemnon.’ But a lesser degree of success than this is quite worthy of recognition, and may help ; those who are not capable of grappling with can read a great poem without having all | the originals to understand something of their character and greatness. Of the two versions of 7Eschylus before us, so much at least may be said for the work of Prof. Campbell. He is already well known as a translator (to say nothing of his reputation as an editor) of Sophocles, and one of the present versions (the ‘Agamemnon’) has already been produced on the stage. Prof. Campbell’s position as a scholar is sufficient to assure the reader of the trustworthiness of his version so far as scholarship is con- cerned, and though, of course, it is possible to dissent from his views on certain difficult passages, yet one may be satisfied that his explanation is a possible one, and for the purposes of a translation no more than this is to be required. We do not ask whether a translator is an authoritative guide on the minutiz of textual criticism or interpretation, but whether he has caught fairly the spirit of the author whom he is reproducing. Here, again, there is a double standard by which he may be judged. Com- paring him with the original, it is not pos- sible to say that Prof. Campbell has the force and inspiration to represent the great language of Aschylus, or that his version conveys at all continuously the majesty of the Greek. A reader’s attention may flag in following the English as it never can flag in the Greek. But as compared with other well-known translations, Prof. Camp- bell’s version holds its own. It does not show the command of poetic language and the gift of the happy use of phrases possess- ing literary associations which distinguish Mr. Morshead’s trilogy ; and the choruses do not recall the rhythm and diction of the original as do those in Robert Browning’s ‘Agamemnon,’ though they have the ad- vantage, which the latter sometimes have not, of being intelligible without reference to the Greek. But taken as a whole, with- out rising to any great heights of excellence, it is a more than respectable rendering of the great dramatist. A few examples will illustrate Prof. Campbell’s style. Take first the Messenger’s description of Salamis in the ‘ Persee’:— But when fair day with milk-white steeds appeared And covered all the land with gladdening rays, Then rose from that Greek armament a song Both loud and musica), and the island rocks Re-echoed, shouting battle. On our side Fell disappointment, wonder, and dismay, Shattering the general hope. Not as for flight Pealed forth the Hellenes that high Pean-hymn, But with good courage rallying to the fray. All yonder side blazed with the trumpet’s blare. Then with one impulse, at the pilot’s word, All oars were dipped and smote the seething brine, And swiftly their whole battle hove in view. Their right wing in good order led the way, Then all their navy followed : then one heard A cry that grew: ‘Sons of Hellenes, on! Save Hellas, save your children, save your wives, Your fathers’ graves, the temples of their gods, From slavery. Fight, to defend your all.” This is a spirited rendering of one of the ‘‘purpurei panni”’ of Aischylus ; and in the less exalted passages Prof. Campbell’s blank verse preserves a fair level, rarely falling into prose, though seldom, on the other hand, recalling the polysyllabic words and stately diction of the original. Much the same might be said of his renderings of the choruses. One of the best is the third chorus of the ‘Agamemnon’ (which is also given in Mr. Pollard’s volume) :—
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rf. 1e us f. = Ne 3296, Dec. 27,90 THE ATHENAUM 899 Who gave the ill-omened name, So fraught with terror for the time to be, So true to her career of blame ? War-won, war-wed, war-wakening Helené ? Was he some prophet-spirit unknown to fame, With sure presentiment Fore-speaking Time’s event ? The name of Helen tells of ships aflame, Of souls to Hades sent, Of countries ravaged, cities overthrown. From out the delicately curtained bower, Borne by the West-wind’s earthborn power, In Paris’ nimble galley forth she went, And when they touched on Simois’ shore, With cytisus and myrtle overgrown, A many-shielded pack, Following the viewless track Of their swift oar, Came bent on slaughterous feud and fierce arbitra- ment. If we wished to characterize Prof. Camp- bell’s volume shortly, we should describe it as the work of a cultured scholar, not of an original poet. To Mr. Dunning Cooper’s version we can hardly give the same praise. This is one of the translations which it is easy to see may have been a pleasure to write, but which fail to represent the ori- ginal at all adequately to the reader. The general sense is, indeed, fairly given, though there are cases in which Mr. Cooper’s scholarship is at fault. For instance, the point of Agamemnon’s reference to the length of Clytemnestra’s speech of welcome, as matching the length of his own absence (‘Ag.’ 888-9), is lost when the lines are rendered :— Full fairly hast thou spoken as concerns My absence, and thy greeting hast prolonged To an exceeding length. So, too, Clytemnestra’s bold confession of the wiles she has practised in order to com- pass her husband’s death, in the first words she speaks after the murder (‘ Ag.’ 1343-4), is quite mistranslated :— Doubtless full many plans ye have proposed, Bat I blush not to oppose them, one and all, Faults like these, though serious, might, however, be pardoned if the translator had generally caught the spirit of the original ; but here Mr. Cooper fails. He has not the force or originality necessary for so difficult a task, and though he rises in some degree to the marvellous episode of Cassandra’s frenzy, yet he often sinks to the baldest prose. Nor has he the command of metre necessary to deal with the great choruses of the ‘ Aga- memnon’ or the ‘Eumenides.” In many eases he frankly abandons the attempt. The parodos of the ‘Agamemnon,’ the ravings of Cassandra, the choric battle between Clytemnestra and the Chorus, the trochaics with which the same play ends, the lyric interchange between Orestes, Electra, and the Chorus in the ‘ Choephoree,’ and the con- troversy between Athena and the Eumenides in the final play of the trilogy, are all alike represented in simple blank verse ; and such lyric metres as Mr. Cooper does use are almost entirely confined to smooth octosylla- bic rhythms, which are fay indeed from suggesting the splendour of the /ischylean chorus. If Mr. Cooper tries again that labour of love, a translation of a classical poet, he may be recommended to aim at greater concentration and greater force and expressiveness of language. Mr. Pollard deserves the thanks of scholars and of lovers of literature for tho most attractive little volume which stands third on our list. If an adequate transla- tion of the great Greek dramatists is not to be looked for from any one less than a poet of the first rank, a selection of the happiest moments of many highly gifted writers may be expected to give us the most satisfactory representation of their genius. The selection is made from versions of the present century ; but in aninteresting introduction Mr. Pollard has sketched the fortunes of the Greek authors at the hands of earlier translators, and has given specimens of their work. From the translations themselves we miss the names, among others, of Dean Plumptre and Lord Carnarvon; but the list includes Shelley, Praed, both the Brownings, Mr. Swinburne, J. H. Frere, Joseph Anstice (whose spirited versions well deserve to be recalled to notice), Dean Milman, Mr. Mors- head, Sir G. Young, Prof. Campbell, Mr. Oscar Wilde, and several more. It is diffi- cult to pick and choose among the work of translators like these ; but among the pieces that attract one’s notice most may be men- tioned Mr. Morshead’s rendering of the second chorus of the ‘Agamemnon,’ An- stice’s of the Evirmov, Eéve, Sir G. Young’s of "Epws davixate pdxav, Shelley’s two delight- ful choruses from the ‘Cyclops,’ and Mr. Swinburne’s well - known parabasis of the ‘Birds.’ On the whole, Aristophanes strikes one as having been the most fortunate in his translators; and of thetragedians, the choruses of Euripides are perhaps the most satisfac- torily reproduced, which may be ascribed to their somewhat more commonplace character andthe more modern tone of their sentiments. It should be added that the Greek text is printed opposite to the English, so that the volume is one equally attractive to those who like their poetry in the original and to those who prefer it in a translation. Finally, type, paper, and binding are all worthy of the matter which they enshrine ; and that, when it is considered that the matter is nothing less than the best odes of the four great Attic dramatists, accompanied by their most effective renderings into English, is surely high praise. THE WEEK. ComeEpy. — ‘Jane,’ a Farce in Three Acts. By Harry Nicholls and W. Lestocq. Tue triumph of ‘Jane’ at the Comedy Theatre shows how keen is the appetite for reckless and unbridled farce. Not a spark of novelty, originality, or reasonableness is there in the piece, and in this is found its chief recommendation. Over situations as old as the hills, equivoke which has grown grey in service, and innuendo entitled to a full pension the audience went into roars of laughter, and the only interruption to hilarity was caused by those who feared that its prolongation might involve the loss of some further provocation. What, then, was the subject that so stirred the public? The most familiar of complications, the best- known instance of which is the vaudeville ‘Préte-moi ta Femme.’ Conforming in appearance to the conditions of a will, a confirmed celibate announces to his uncle and guardian a marriage that has never taken place, and communicates intelligence of the birth of successive children. The guardian in question proclaims his intention to visit town, and our hero is threatened with exposure and punishment. A repre- sentative of the wife he does not possess is found in a cheeky and prepossessing house- maid, and babies are borrowed from round the corner. Time has, however, not allowed of adequate rehearsals, and the participants in the fraud contradict each other, and a hopeless imbroglio, from which there is no exit but a meaningless and an idiotic for- giveness all round, is reached. Nothing could well be more conventional or familiar than this, and the complications that are begotten are no more novel than the first idea. The supposed wife has a real husband, who becomes jealous of the privileges of his representative ; the baby is attributed to ladies who resent the imputa- tion, and then is handed from one person to another in a general race to get rid of it. Who has not seen this a hundred times ? Not wholly unsatisfactory is the state of things that confers on such trivialities their power to amuse. Board schools have not yet destroyed the pantomime, and enjoyment of unsophisticated absurdity will last yet a little time. As regards portions of its treatment, moreover, ‘Jane’ is fresh. It has even been called fin de siécle. A cook’s skill is shown in the manner in which he can dress customary meats, and the dis- position of the story of ‘Jane’ is clever and effective. Its dialogue is bright and vivacious, if at times more than a little risky. A coarse interpretation would have rendered the whole unpleasing. At the Comedy, however, there is now the right style of acting for the brightest and most effervescent of farce. Miss Lottie Venne is far away the best feminine supporter of this class of work, which is wholly suited to her clever, if artificial style. Mr. Hawtrey’s comic gifts do not extend far beyond the happy expression of resigned and_half- unconscious perplexity which is all that is called for in the part he plays; Mr. H. Kemble is a good actor of an old-fashioned school ; and Mr. C. Brookfield is a genuine and an original comedian. Briskly and capably interpreted, ‘Jane’ pleased and satisfied, and it was not until later that one realized how unsubstantial and unfilling had been the meal. Dramatic Gossip, Ir is curious that at a time when theatrical representations enjoy almost unprecedented vogue no fewer than six theatres should, for various reasons, be closed upon Boxing Day. These are Her Majesty’s, the St. James’s, the Globe, the Vaudeville, the Royalty, and Toole’s. The houses at which performances have been suspended during the early portion of the week include Drury Lane, the Court, the Opéra Comique, and Terry’s, while the Haymarket, the Gaiety, the Garrick, the Criterion, the Olympic, the Shaftesbury, and the Avenue closed on Christmas Eve. ‘THe Betis’ was given at the Lyceum on Saturday last, with Mr. Irving as Mathias, and will be repeated this (Saturday) evening. These revivals are as much for the sake of giving Miss Terry a rest as of showing Mr. Irving in the first in order of precedence of his creations at the Lyceum. ‘Att THE Comrorts oF Home’ is the title of the piece, by Messrs. Gillette and Duckworth, with which Mr. Norman Forbes will reopen the Globe. Tue alterations in the Vaudeville did not permit of the theatre opening this week. ‘ Woodbarrow Farm’ will, however, be revived
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900 THE ATHENAUM N° 3296, Dec. 27, 90 shortly, and supported by Mr. Thorne’s com- pany, including Mr. Conway. The first perfor- mance will, it is expected, take place on the 8th of J ammney. ‘Mapcap,’ a comedietta by Alec Nelson, interpreted by Mr. Leonard Outram, Mr. P. 8. Champion, Miss Eleanor May, Miss Helen Lambert, and Miss Rhoda Larkin, constitutes the opening piece at the Comedy. Mr. Burnanp’s adaptation ‘Private Enquiry ’ will early in the new year succeed ‘Our Flat’ at the Strand. Mrs. Bernarp BEERE, whose health has more than once compelled her to abandon her réleof Lady Gay Spanker in ‘ London Assurance,’ has resumed her performances. ‘Our RecimMent’ will shortly be revived at Toole’s Theatre, and will, it is hoped, hold possession of the house until the reappearance of Mr. Toole at Easter. On the removal of Mr. Alexander’s company to the St. James’s on February 2nd, ‘ The Lady- Killer,’ a one-act comedy of life in the last century by Mr. A. C. Calmour, will be played by Miss Maude Millett, Miss Graves, Mr. Alex- ander, and Mr. Stockton. A NEw ballet, entitled ‘ Dolly,’ was produced at the Empire on Monday. ‘Beau Austin’ will on the 30th inst. be transferred, together with the ‘ Ballad Monger,’ to the regular bill at the Haymarket, and will give place on the 12th of January to ‘The Dancing Girl,’ as Mr. Jones’s piece is now definitely named. Lapy Martin has written a study of another of Shakspeare’s female characters. Her sub- ject is Hermione in the ‘ Winter’s Tale,’ and she treats it in a letter addressed to Lord Tennyson, which will be published in the January number of Blackwood. Those who remember Helen Faucit’s representation of Hermione to the Leontes of Macready will turn with interest to her conception of a part which called forth some of her most powerful qualities as an actress. Lady Martin in her letter recalls many recollections of Macready’s revival of the ‘ Winter’s Tale,’ and of her own feelings in the part of Hermione. In spite of inclement weather, crowded audiences assembled at Queen’s College, Harley Street, last week to witness performances of the ‘Antigone’ of Sophocles by past and pre- sent students. Mrs. C. Foss, as the heroine, acted with unusual ability, and was well sup- ported by Miss C. Hughes as Creon. The chorus, under the direction of Mr. Henry Gadsby, went through its evolutions creditably, and sang selections from Mendelssohn’s well- known music with good taste. In May, 1891, the Hoftheater in Weimar will celebrate its hundredth anniversary. On May 7th Iffland’s ‘Die Jiiger’ is to be played, the piece which was performed on the same day in 1791 with a prologue by Goethe. The festival is to last for some days, during which ‘ Faust’ and ‘Wallenstein ’ will be played. 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