Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 1.djvu/47

 n s. i. JAN. s, 1910.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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many of the houses figured in the chapter on ~ Palladian style do not recall any features of hi work. Of course the truth is that no one couh live in England in a really Palladian house on< would have to follow Lord Chesterfield's advid and live in a house opposite to enjoy a view of it The reaction from the grand style to the " ugh but comfortable " is comprehensible, if deplorable No work will ever displace in our affection. Turner and Parker's ' Domestic Architecture in the Middle Ages,' but Mr. Gotch's little book will stand beside it on our shelves. It is jus! the sort of book to give to any one who is inclinec to be interested about old buildings withoul knowing much of them. Without any parade of teaching, it will direct attention to obvious features of style and set the student on the right track. One feature we are specially pleased with is the c Chronological List of Castles and Houses.' It does not pretend to include even all the more notable historic houses of England, but it is a beginning, and the buildings given here, being all dated, will serve to fix the dates of many others whose origin is unknown. A complete list of the historic houses of England is not an impossible undertaking, and we should fike to see it done. Tnfortunately, there are difficulties in the way. Travelling is often costly and uncomfortable in England. Here is a book describing 200 fine buildings, but one's heart sinks when one realizes that the attempt to see any of them out of the beaten tourist track means a day's labour, the discomfort of bad food, and, probably, overcharge for it. An association like the Touring Club de France is badly wanted in England for the educa- tion of English hotel -keepers. All the same we new objects of interest in rural England, and refreshed our memories of old friends.
 * uv grateful to Mr. Gotch for having mapped out

The Fortnightly opens with the first three chapters of Meredith's posthumous novel, ' Celt and Saxon.' So far the Celt only is exhibited in a young Irishman, who comes to Wales on a chivalrous quest concerning his brother. Mr. Garvin's review of ' Imperial and Foreign Affairs ' is almost entirely concerned with Germany and the question of the Navy, and is a good example of his vigorous writing. Mr. W. S. Lilly in ' Eyes and No Eyes ' considers the Irish question, and no more succeeds in giving an impartial view than most writers. Mr. Lilly's style is too heavy to be attractive. ' The Later Heroines of Maurice Maeterlinck ' are the subject of a pretty piece of prose by his wife. The version in English by Mr. A. T. de Mattos is excellent. Mr. Archi- bald Hurd considers ' The Naval Issue ' once more, and declares that our present fleet is " admittedly above a two-Power standard." He regards 41,000,000?. as necessary for the Navy Estimates of the coming year. Mr. E. H. Pickersgill writes on ' Imprisonment for Debt,' proposing changes in the law which seem to us by no means sure to do good. The Com- mittee on the subject of which he was chairman were divided in opinion, but he claims a majority for his views. .Mr. Alfred Stead dwells on the virtues of ' Prince Ito, Patriot and Statesman.' which are generally recognized by the thoughtful. Prof. H. H. Turner has an interesting article on ' .Mii;r;\tm Stars,' and belongs to the small body of scientific men who can both write and observe. Mr. F. G. Aflalo in ' The Mind of the

Sportsman' reviews several recent books on sport Fiction in The Fortnightly is generally worth reading and 'An Unofficial DivBrce,' by Mr. Stephen Reynolds, is an effective story of a fisherman and his brother who married the

IN The Nineteenth Century Sir Bampfvlde

aller writes, doubtless, good sense on 'The

Indian Responsibilities of Liberal Politicians/

? li? tyl ? ls to ful1 and wor dy to please the public of to-day. The title of ' A General,

lr I 6 1S T^ ai ? I 7 ^ ustlfi. ed b ^ Mr - B. C. Molloy's rticle. What he considers is a strike of coal- miners so general as to paralyze virtually all industry. Co-partnership is the panacea offered, which does not seem so easy as this interesting paper suggests. M. Andre" Beaunier writes delightful French in ' La Litt^rature .brancaise Contemporaine,' which is, like that of other countries, in a state of anarchy, and suffer- ing from too much writing by everybody. Former good readers are now bad writers. Symbolism is no longer a power in poetry. The theatre attracts literary talent, and the results are gene- rally deplorable, for writers seek to flatter the least respectable desires of the multitude. Novelists have not the public they had in the days of Zola and Daudet. It is suggested that Anatole France is not so original as he was thought to be. His many imitators do not count. M. Maurice Barres and M. Jules Lemaitre are selected as worthy of special notice, and brilliantly characterized. In ' The Making of a Poet ' Mr. Stephen Gwynn brings forward for praise the work of Mr. W. H. Davies and Mr. James Stephens, and his .summary is both fair and attractive. Incidentally, he makes some general statements which seem to us of doubtful validity. Some Reminiscences of Mr. Gladstone,' by Sir Algernon West, are pleasant, though, like other )apers on the subject, they remind us that Gladstone either had no Boswell, or did not Dften say notable things. * A Self -Supporting Penal Labour Colony,' by Edith Sellers, is an account of Witzwil in Switzerland. The Director, whose name is not given, must be a remarkable >rganizer, with a sympathetic Government at lis back. Nothing better than such a combina- ion can be wished for solution at home of tho )roblem of the unemployable. Miss Rose 3radley has an article which is both lively and nstructive on ' Boswell and a Corsican Patriot/ The title ' In the Shadow of the Tower ' gives 10 idea of the pathetic human interest of Mr. jrabriel Costa's account of a morning at the Condon Appeal Board under the Aliens' Act. n the little office in Great Tower Street many an lien, driven by persecution and want from his tative land, gains the chance of a fresh start in England, or learns, alas I that " the hoped-for ife of freedom in a free country is not destined o be found." Miss Viola Tree is new to us as a vriter. She succeeds in extracting matter of itfivst from the Blue-book on ' The Censorship of Stage Plays,' though it seems to us tolerably absurd to talk about "the high intellectual standard of both questions and answers." In ' The Ito Legend ' Mr. F. T. Piggott adds from personal recollections to the chorus of praise which surrounds the memory of the far-seeing patriot.