Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 4.djvu/648

 538 NOTES AND QUERIES. [io* s. iv. DK. ». Gustavus Guydickens. his son, was ap- pointed "Gentleman Usher of the Privy Chamber to H.M. the Queen, vice Edw. Francis Stanhope, Esq.," 13 Feb.. 1783 (Gent.'s May., 1783). H. ATHIUL-CRUTTWELL. CHARLES LAMB (10th S. iv. 445, 512).—In the last line but one on p. 512 his should be substituted for " Kenney's," and " Kenney " placed after " Sophy." S. BUTTERWORTH. NOTES ON BOOKS. &o. London Vanished and Vanishing. Painted and described by Philip Norman. (A. It, C. Black.) OF the handsome and eminently delightful series to which it belongs, we are disposed to regard this as the most attractive volume. Traces of the labours to which it is due have not been wanting in our columns, where the title of " vanishing London " has been of sadly frequent occurrence. Here, if anywhere, it is pardonable to regret the past, and to sigh for the London of yesterday in presence of that of to-day and in sight of that, of to-morrow. A sorrow such as we once more experience was felt long ago when, for the sake of establishing a pre- carious throne, picturesque old Paris developed into a city of boulevards down which the guns of authority might rattle. Many another glorious old city of Anjou, Poitou, Normandy, and other places now renamed, has undergone like desecration. We bow to the inevitable, but recall with a sigh how few years ago it seems since the Strand was in some respects the most happily accidented street in any European capital. Mr. Norman says of his own admirably artistic and finely coloured designs: " Of the seventy-five illustrations here given, about sixty represent buildings which have entirely disappeared, a notable number while this book was in progress, and only some half dozen of the subjects remain altogether unchanged." Of the designs included there is but one—that of the "Tabard" Inn in 1810—which we could not have seen ; and there are very few which we have not, in fact, contemplated. In many cases our own memories extend back more than half a century before the time at which the spots disappeared or when these views were taken. The interest of the designs is only surpassed by their beauty. Mr. Norman is, too, a trustworthy antiquary as well as a capable writer, and his state- ments are as accurate as his designs. How far the gaps we find in the work are covered by other volumes of the series we know not, but it appears to us as if there were room for half a dozen similar works from the same graceful brush and facile pen. To us the sight of many of the reproductions brings a sigh, but a sigh not unmixed with tenderness, as when we look upon souvenirs of those who have passed away. A more pleasing and beautiful gift- book is not easily to be conceived. To our readers generally we warmly and unhesitatingly commend it. A few—a very few—of them may feel towards it as we do ourselves. There are some who, amidst the widening spaces of Aldwych and Kingsway, will miss Drury Lane, and think of Portugal Street, or even of poor disreputable Clare Market. All who have a taste for beautiful books will rejoice in the possession of this, and some even of the loven of innovation will be glad to recall the London on which possibly their eyes first dawned. The book is a treasure and a joy. The Clyde Mystery: a Rlndy in forgerie* and Folt- lore. By Andrew Lang, M.A. (Glasgow, Mac- Lehose & Sons.) THIS volume shows Mr. Lang at his best. In folk- lore and anthropology he has long ranked arnooc the masters, and to mystery he has of late inclined his head. The subject with which he deals is more- over controversial, and in this Mr. Lang is keen of fence, and the play of his rapier speaks of hi« retention of a strong wrist and a cunning hand. His subject is crannog lore. In an old hill fort at Dunbuie, on the Clyde, and in the foundations of two mysterious structures excavated from tb* mod of that estuary, have been found many curioui objects, which are either relics of life many cen- turies ago or " fakes " as purposeless, apparently. as quaint. Much controversy has already been stirred. Against the views of Dr. Munro. the author of ' Archaeology and False Antiquities,' who is disposed to hold that the unfamiliar relics are "impostures of yesterday's manufacture," Mr. Lang—fortified with his knowledge of Australian designs, coinciding in important respects with thon now discussed, and reproduced in illustrations— advocates, after ten years, a game of further wait- ing. This cannot well be refused him. Upon the question opened out we have not evidence to justify us in forming an opinion, and we shall not ourselves embark upon the controversy. We may, however, recommend it to those of our readers entitled to form a judgment, and not to those alone, since all who delight in the noble art of self-defence may find subject of contentment and gratification. In a letter to I>r. Munro, about some person whose name is left blank, Mr. Charles Hercules Read says that Mr. is a " merely literary man, who cannot understand that to prac- tised people the antiquities are as readabfa as print and a good deal more accurate." We will not say that Mr. Lang puts on the cap. He, however, shows up the futility of such a statement in a way that might make his adversary sorry that he spoke, and recurs more than once to the subject. Mr. Lang narrates an experience of his own parallel to one sufficiently discomforting of Jonathan Oldbnek. Ordinarily he is reserved in utterance, and implies more than he states. But there is no uncertain sound when he gays: " The archaic patterns of countries now civilized and of savage countries are assuredly parallel. The use of charm stones in civilization and savagery is assuredly parallel. The application to these stones of the archaic pattern!, by a rude race in Clydesdale, familiar with the patterns on rocks in the district, has in it nothing a priori impossible." The Letters of Horace Walpole. fourth Ear! of Orford. Edited by Mrs. Paget Toynbee. - Veil. XVI. TaMes and Inilexe*. (Oxford. Claren- don Press.) WITH the appearance of this indispensable volume the important and admirably executed task of Mn. Paget Toynbee is brought to a conclusion, and the world is the richerfor an enlarged and authoritative edition of these admirable letters, from wbicfi. rather than from any other source, we judge l'.nz'"' (and French) life of the eighteenth century. IB