Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 3.djvu/25

 ii s. in. JAN. 7, ion.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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account of ' The Election Count ' in his own dis- trict, the hopes and fears and amenities of such occasions. Sir James Ypxall in ' A Great Game at Hide and Seek ' explains how Bruslart worried Napoleon. His fantastic style is full of affecta- tion. Mr. A. C. Benson's personal sketch this month is concerned with ' J. K. S.,' and gives a highly interesting view of that brilliant and eccen- tric figure. The first of a series of " Examina- tion Papers " on famous authors is begun this month by a number of questions on Lamb which are set by Mr. E. V. Lucas. For the best answers two guineas are offered.

The Fortnightly for the year is an exceptionally interesting number. Mr. J. L. Garvin's notes on the present political situation are not con- vincing, and are spoilt for us by idle repetition. Mr. Walter Sichel in ' Second Thoughts ' is also on the Conservative side, while Mr. Belloc in ' The Change in Politics ' abuses both sides, and has good reason, we think, for much that he con- demns. Mr. Granville Barker has an account of ' Two German Theatres ' which suggests abun- dant reflections concerning the mismanagement of our own stage and the recent failure of reper- tory. What Mr. Barker says should be carefully considered by all who care for the drama in this country. ' Post - Impressionists ' supply Mr. Walter Sickert with a subject for incisive criticism. A painter himself, Mr. Sickert writes with marked ability and verve on the artists who have come after the Impressionists of his earlier days. In ' Impressions of Congress ' Mr. Sydney Brooks brings out very well the free and easy manners of American politicians as compared with our own. Washington and Westminster are widely different in their observances. Any one can go past the doors of the national Capitol, smoke in corridors, and take any seat in the great public galleries which happens to be vacant. In the House of Representatives " each member has a revolving arm-chair and a spacious desk in front of it." ' A Candid Colloquy on Religion ' should attract attention, as it exhibits cleverly three typical points of view, the believer of the party being a Roman Catholic.' Mr. Sidney Low writes on ' The End of the Old Constitution ' with the experience of an old hand ; and Mr. W hitelaw Reid reprints an address on ' Byron ' delivered to inaugurate a proposed Byron Chair of English Literature. Mr. Francis Gribble has an article on ' Tolstoy ' which brings into relief some of the important points and inconsistencies in the career of that thinker and artist. ' Benlian,' a story by Mr. Oliver Onions, is a weird and effective study in morbid influences ; and Mr. Lennard's fourth section of his hero ' In Search of Egeria ' deals with a modern, neurotic type of woman.

Ix the two opening papers of The Nineteenth Century Lord Ribblesdale and Lord Dunraven discuss the results of the recent election. Mr. Harold Cox speaks of the Referendum as ' A Great Democratic Reform ' necessary to cope with

"misrepresentation by groups of log-rolling

politicians." He hopes it may come into force in a few years. Lady Paget's ' Recollections of Copenhagen in the 'Sixties ' are chiefly concerned with the difficulties in the choice of the Danish King of Greece, whose father Prince Christian was, at first, decidedly opposed to separation from his son. Sir Edward Clayton considers ' The

Home Secretary and Prison Reform,' providing, we think, some useful and shrewd criticism. Capt. G. S. C. Swinton is in favour of 'A " King Edward " Bridge ' as a memorial. Hungerford Bridge and Charing Cross Station are, it is argued, unworthy of their prominence. They are either to make way altogether, " the station moving bodily to a more convenient position elsewhere," or to be included in one great recon- struction scheme. This might be very fine, but the expense would be prohibitive. The second! part of ' The Married Working Woman : a Study,' is well worth reading. Of ' Carillon Music,' as Mr. E. B. Osborn says, little is known in England. He speaks of the triumphs achieved by various artists at the meeting of bell-masters in Mechlin. M. Denyn is the master of them all, and performs, we learn, on a set of thirty-five bells at Cattistock in Dorset every year on the last Thursday in July. This is the only keyboard carillon of any conse- quence in the country, but perhaps some of our latest towers will be provided with bell-music.. Mrs. Watherston gives a lively and interesting account of ' An Outpost of our Empire,' viz., Tamale in West Africa, which she was the first white woman to inhabit. Other articles are con- cerned with English sculpture, education, small holdings, and democracy, but we regret to firkl that no single paper deals with letters.

Ix The Burlington Magazine the ' Editorial ' deals with ' National Memorials and Selection Committees.' The competition for the statue of King Edward should, it is said, be thrown open to all artists of the British Empire, and the designs be on show in some large central building during the period of the Coronation this year, when Colonial and Indian officials may be able to select those of them suitable for local requirements. The jury of selection is then discussed. We agree that it should foe possible, and is desirable, to get eminent foreigners to help ; and we also applaud the idea of using the services of ' : a certain number of men of general critical knowledge and familiarity with the masterpieces of older sculpture." The statue, after all, is not to be viewed mainly by sculptors, who, like other artists, are apt to ignore the claims of general design in favour of some technical subtlety or merit. Mr. Roger Fry writes on ' A Portrait of Leonello D'Este ' by Roger Van der Weyden which is figured in colours in the frontispiece, the coat of arms on the reverse side being also reproduced on a plate. Mr. Lionel Cust continues in his ' Notes on Pic- tures in the Royal Collections ' discussion of Van Dyck's splendid equestrian portraits of Charles I. M. Paul Lafond has discovered an interesting subject for discussion in ' Ox- Yokes in the North of Portugal,' the designs on which approach a primitive character, though the actual specimens secured are, in fact, contemporary work. They are certainly beautiful, and offer a fascinating field for the tracing of design down the ages. A similar study is afforded by a plate in which Sir Martin Conway puts together pictures of two fourteenth-century chests.

Of the remaining articles and notes we mention specially a clever plea for the Post-Impressionists by Mr. A. Clutton- Brock, and information from a foreign correspondent concerning forthcoming letters of Van Gogh. It is noted that the ' St. Sebastian' of Mantegna has been moved from the village of Aigue-Perse to the Louvre.