Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 2.djvu/364

 300

NOTES AND QUERIES. po s. n. OCT. s, im.

plishes a pious task in writing concerning William of Wykehara. Miss May Bateman virtually in troduces to the English public Grazia Deledda the Corsican novelist, and her work 'Cenere. A very erudite and suggestive paper is that of Mr. Andrew Lang ou 'The Origins of the Alphabet.' Mr. Lang is always most welcome when, as now, we meet him in the domain of primitive culture. Mr. A. Teixeira de Mattos introduces us to Stijn Streuyels, a Belgian writer with a message. Serial contributions by Mr. G. K. Chesterton and Mr. H. G. Wells begin in the October number. Mr. John Morley sends to the Nineteenth Century an appreciation of ' Mr. Har- rison's Historical Romance,' which first appeared in what was once Mr. Morley's own venture, the Fortnightly. In his review, with which we may not deal, Mr. Morley tells afresh the story of the three rings that form the basis of Lessing's ' Nathan the Wise.' We are glad to meet incidentally with the tribute paid to Walter Scott: "No novelist has ever had so much of the genius of history as Scott, that great writer and true-hearted man; and if it be unluckily true that Scott is no longer widely read, we may be quite sure that it is so much the worse for the common knowledge of history." Under her real name of Lady Currie Violet Fane has a brilliant fantasy entitled 'Are Remarkable People Remarkable - Looking ? ' in which she tells admirably some capital stories. 'The Land of Jargon' deals with the Yiddish dialect. Dr. Paul Chapman narrates some remi- niscences of Coventry Patmore which are decidedly characteristic. Lady Bloomfield's ' Recollections of an Octogenarian,' in the Pall Mall, are very interesting. They deal with statesmen such as Nesselrode and Metternich, mpnarchs such as Louis Philippe and Frederic William, and other celebrities, such as Lord John (afterwards Earl) Russell, Dean Stanley, Alexander von Humboldt, Chopin, and La Taglioni. Portraits of all these are supplied. A good deal of interest is natur- ally inspired by the inquiry ' Can Old Age be Cured?' The "sunny optimist" who says that old age is curable startles when he adds that " what we need is old men." What was once called a symposium is held concerning our fiction. Participants in this include John Oliver Hobbes, Mr. H. G. Wells, Mr. Andrew Lang, Mr. Edmund Gosse, and Mr. W. L. Courtney. ' An Old Herbal ' deals with our and everybody's old friend Gerard. An interesting number of the ' Household Bud- gets Abroad,' which constitute a pleasing feature in the Cornhill, is No. IV., which is concerned with Italy. It becomes increasingly apparent that the advantage of living abroad is principally derived from the opportunity foreign residence affords of dispensing with needless outlay. General Grant Wilson has much of interest to say concerning 'Washington, Lincoln, and Grant.' Miss Peard writes on 'Autumn on Dartmoor.' In 'Historical Mysteries ' Mr. Lang deals with ' The Case of Capt. Green.' With this, the particulars of which are taken from Howell's ' State Trials,' we were pre- viously unfamiliar. ' The American Chloe,' by Marion Bower, furnishes a curious insight into American womanhood. Baptista Mantuan is dealt with in the Gentleman's. Mantuanus has always maintained a hold upon scholars, and a new edition of him might be expedient. Our own edition is Paris, three volumes in one, folio, 1513, and though we are aware of one issued at Antwerp, 1576, we know

of no edition later, more useful, or more convenient Mr. Holden MacMichael has an interesting com- munication on the 'Sedan Chair.' Mr. H M banders discourses pleasantly of ' Drummond of Hawthornden.' Miss Barbara Clay Finch writes on Reptile Lore.'-In Longman's Maud E. Sargent writes on the ' Wren-bush ' familiar in our columns In At the Sign of the Ship ' Mr. Lang exposes some of the objections to the system followed in the Cambridge Modern History.' He also com- ments on incidents in Renaissance history which are so sensational that a modern writer of fiction would hesitate to use them.

M. PIERRE-PAUL PLAN is issuing in a handsome

Jc rm i- m - an edition Hmited to 350 copies, a

.Biblipgraphie Rabelaisienne,' consisting of a

catalogue raisonne" descriptif et figure" of the editions of the humourist and philosopher pub- lished between 1532 and 1711. It will contain 160 facsimiles of titles, portraits, &c., and will be an enviable possession to all true Pantagruelists. It is obtainable by subscription from M. Plan, 71 Rue Uaulaincourt, Paris.

MESSRS. JACK have in preparation a much en- larged edition of Fairbairn's ' Book of Crests.' The ever-increasing interest in heraldry, resulting in the issue of new grants of arms, has rendered expedient a complete revision. The number of illustrations will be very greatly increased, and the text, con- sisting of between 600 and 700 three-column quarto pages, has been thoroughly revised, brought down to date, and completely reset. The work will be issued in November.

to

We must call special attention to the following notices :

ON all communications must be written the name and address of the sender, not necessarily for pub- lication, but as a guarantee of good faith.

WE cannot undertake to answer queries privately.

To secure insertion of communications corre- spondents must observe the following rules. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. When answer- ing queries, or making notes with regard to previous entries in the paper, contributors are requested to put in parentheses, immediately after the exact beading, the series, volume, and page or pages to which they refer. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second com- munication "Duplicate."

CLEMENT ("Birth-date of Christ"). This has been discussed at great length in 'N. & Q ' see 8 th S. v. 291; viii. 465; ix. 135, 175, 256, 309, 356 ; xi. 335, 436 ; xii. 336, 393, 495 ; 9 th S. i. 5, 174 ; iv. 82^

.lot).

NOTICE.

Editorial communications should be addressed bo "The Editor of 'Notes and Queries ' "Adver- tisements and Business Letters to " The Pub- isher" at the Office, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, B.C.

We beg leave to state that we decline to return communications which, for any reason, we do not print ; and to this rule we can make no exception.