Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 11.djvu/147

 10 s. XL FEB. 6,

NOTES AND QUERIES.

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The discussion of Mr. Yeats's work would be more valuable if it had more criticism of his style, his sense of metre, and his occasional lack of humour. Still, it is a tribute well deserved to one of the best of our living poets. Curiously enough, " Mr. Yeats, it is said, is unable to dis- tinguish one tune from another." This is de- cidedly one of the most interesting numbers of The Fortnightly that we have seen of late.

The Nineteenth Century is strong in politics and sociology, but singularly weak in history, literature, and art. The only articles in this line are Mr. G. G. Coulton's ' Our Conscripts at Cre'cy,' a striking paper ; Mrs. Arthur Kennard's ' The Real Lafcadio Hearn,' a protest of obvious sincerity, but no great critical power, against Dr. Gould's book, with numerous interesting details of Hearn's career ; and a sketch of Men- delssohn by Miss A. E. Keeton, which is full of verbosity. The best article is probably Sir Oliver Lodge's effective ' Reply to Prof. New- comb,' entitled ' The Attitude of Science to the Unusual,' in which he vindicates the right of psychical research to a fair hearing. This article should not be missed. On the other hand, we cannot see what good is done by Mr. W. F. Lord's ' The Lost Empire of England (?),' a violent tirade against Radicals. It is in strange contrast to Mr. Harold Spender's moderate, sensible, and well-expressed answer to the question, ' What should the Government Do ? ' Mr. Basil Tozer's views on the law of divorce ventilate an un- pleasant subject on which the law to many people seems in urgent need of reform.

The National Review is as vigorous and incisive as ever in matters of politics. It has, however, only one literary article, a continuation by Mr. George Hookham of ' The Shakespearian Problem. ' We are no more impressed by his destructive criticism than we were in his first article. Chan- cellor Lias in ' A Plea for More Bishops ' has not our complete sympathy, for the reason that his Church is, as his closing words explain, " at present most certainly not the Church of the English nation." Miss Helen Zimmern has an entertaining article on ' Modern Antiques,' in which she shows that such frauds are not by any means an invention of yesterday. Sir William Ramsay (the man of science, not the scholar and archaeologist) has an article on ' Transmutation.'

IN The Burlington Magazine the editorial articles refer to the McCulloch Collection, which has been so sharply criticized in various quarters, and the anniversaries of the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, respectively the hundred and fiftieth and fiftieth. Mr. D. S. Mac-Coll has an admirable illustrated article on some portraits by Alfred Stevens, on whom Mr. E. F. Strange has also a Biographical Note. ' Ladik Rugs,' by Mrs. C. J. Herringham, with the frontispiece, will be sufficient to show the beauty of Oriental design in this way. Mr. Campbell Dodgson has a learned article on a woodcut by Beham of ' The Patron saints of Hungary.' An oil painting by J. R. Cozens is reproduced ; and there are also some beautiful illustrations of the work of the Limoges enameller known as " Kip." By a highly ingenious process of research and reasoning, this " Kip " is identified with Jean Poillev^. It is pleasing to hear that some important works have been saved from the Messina earthquake.

BOOKSELLERS' CATALOGUES. FEBRUARY.

MR. THOMAS BAKER'S Catalogue 536 contains works on theology. A strongly bound set of the ' Encyclopedic Th^ologique,' 52 vols., 4to, is 11. 15s. ; Bishop Wordsworth's Bible, 6 vols., 21. 2s. ; and a fine copy of Smith's ' Dictionary of the Bible,' 11. 10s. There are items under Dean Stanley, Westcott, Maurice, and Egypt ; and an appendix is devoted to Roman Catholic books.

MR. P. M. Barnard has in his Manchester Series No. 1 Allison's ' Voyage from Archangel ' in 1697, 11. lo.t. Alpine works include Conway's- ' Himalayas,' Edition de Luxe, 2 vols., 1894. 21. 12ft. 6d. A fine copy of ' Bibliographica,' 3 vols., half-morocco by Zaehnsdorf, uncut, is 47. 4s. ; and Brunet's ' Manuel du Libraire,' with Supplement, 8 vols., a perfectly clean copy,, half -morocco, 117. 11s. Under Bunsen is 'Egypt's Place in Universal History,' 5 vols., uncut, 51. ; and under Cervantes is the folio edition of ' Don Quixote,' 1652, 47. 4s. There is a special vellum copy of ' La Constitution Fra^aise, presentee- au Roi le 3 septembre, 1791,' red morocco, 107. 10s. Under Dickens is the first issue of the first edition of ' Grimaldi,' 67. It will be remem- bered that Grimaldi's grave is situated in the recreation ground adjoining the church of St. James, Pentonville, though the inscription has become illegible. At the recent meeting of the Finsbury Borough Council, Mr. Preston, the Town Clerk, promised that it should receive atten- tion. Mr. Barnard also includes in his Catalogue a large and clean copy of Koberger's 1477 edition of ' Reynerus de Pisis Pantheologia,' one of the finest books ever printed. The last leaf of the third volume of this copy has unfortunately been removed. The work is in oak boards covered with thick leather, and is priced 97. 9s.

Mr. Barnard, in addition to the Catalogue from his Manchester branch, sends us a choice- list, No. 27, from Tunbridge Wells. There are manuscripts and beautiful Horas, also Incunabula arranged in Proctor's order. Under Mainz occurs Tritheim's 'Cathalogus illustrium viror' germania," Peter of Friedberg, 1495, containing: lives of 303 famous men, a good many of whom were living at the tune the book was printed,. 27. 15s. Under Strassburg is Terence's 'Comce- dia?,' Johann Reinhard of Griiningen, Nov. 1, 1496, with 8 full-page and several hundred smaller woodcuts. An early eighteenth-century owner has rendered very freely Terence's epitaph into English verse : Carthage in Afric gave me birth and name,

Rome's equal for a time in pow'r and fame, Till Scipio, so decreed by envious Fates,

Raz'd our proud walls, our Stately tow'rs and. Gates ;

The task incumbent on me I discharg'd, The Follies of both Old and young disclos'd,

And of each rank and sex ye Wiles expos'd. Consider well my plays, and when you 've done,

You '11 know what Course to take, and what

to shun. J. G.

Mr. Barnard states : "In all there are fourteen lines ; the composition is evidently original, as there are several alterations in it. Can it be by John Gay ? I have been unable to find a repro-