Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 3.djvu/385

 n s. m. MAY 13, i9ii.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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Park near the Marble Arch would be a suitabl site for the Memorial ; also that the Government might put " a tax on the sale of works of art especially those exported from the country whereby a Fine-Arts Contingencies Fund mighi be created at no cost to the ordinary taxpayer, by the help of which fund such emergencies as tha created by the sale of Rembrandt's ' Mill ' coulc be met with some hope of success."

' A Re-discovered School of Romanesqu Frescoes,' by Jose Pijoan, deals with Catalan work of somewhat uncertain date, which i illustrated in the frontispiece and in another coloured full-page plate. These paintings may be of interest archreologically, but we can see no beauty in the specimens put before us, the figures being stiff, and the colouring crude and violent There is, however, great beauty in the illustrations to ' Early Design in Lace,' by Mrs. J. Hungerford Pollen, who points out that the ruthless cutting n way of lace to a straight edge has spoilt the effecl and design of some pieces thought worthy of pre- servation. ' Did the Dossi Brothers sign their Pictures ? ' is an ingenious note translated from the German of Henriette Mendelsohn. Mr. A. M. Hind has a subject of weird attraction in ' Gio- vanni Battista and his Carceri,' inventions cele- brated by Do Quincey as a parallel to his own opium dreams. Mr. G. A. Simonson describes with illustration ' A Newly Discovered Guardi,' a picture of a gala ball which is evidently a tour de force. ' Art in France ' supplies an account of the Camondo Bequest, in which the Impressionists are remarkably well represented. M. de Camondo is described as "a sort of Sidonia in real life," a financier and musician as well as a collector of art ahead of his time, and a good friend to struggling artists.

Ix The Cornhill Mr. Gerald Cumberland has an account of ' Charlotte Bronte's Street in Brussels,' and Flora Masson another of the ' Scottish Homes and Haunts of R. L. Stevenson..' Both these articles are pleasant reading, but the latter strikes us as over-sentimental. Mr. Frederick Boyle is interesting on ' Taming Animals,' dealing in- cidentally with the question of the prevalence of the cat in ancient times. He quotes Prcf. Rolleston as authority for supposing that the gale of Aristophanes was not a cat, but a white- breasted marten, which is still a pet in the Levant. Cats do not figure in the Old Testament, or, the writer adds, in the Cuneiform records. There is no mention in the article of a famous correction in Juvenal, XV. 7, which is generally accepted, and presents us with "ffiluros" among the portents of Egyptian worship. The pig has, we believe, been credited with being one of the earliest pets of man. ' Old Irish Memories,' by J. M. Callwell, is excellent, just like a chapter of Lever in its reminiscences of Galway. The two short stories m the number, ' Brother Judas,' by Lucia M. Cooke, and ' My House shall be called the House of Prayer,' by Mr. W. H. Hodgson, are both striking views of different sorts of priests. Mr. Benson writes well on Bishop Lightfoot, but it is obvious that he has not in this case the personal intimacy which gave special force to his earlier views of people who have influenced him. No one, it appears, has answered all the questions set on Dickens ; and we feel fairly safe in prophesying that those on Walter Scott by Mr. Andrew Lang will not all be solved.

IN The Nineteenth Century there are several articles of interest outside politics. Mr. W. C. D. Whetham and his wife are too brief on ' Eminence and Heredity ' to be satisfactory, but their inquiry is one of deep interest and importance. Mr. Belloc has a criticism of ' Lord Acton on the French Revolution ' which is well worth reading. WMle mentioning some deficiencies in detail, he fully recognizes Acton's marvellous knowledge and judgment. The Duchess of Maryborough does valuable work in pointing out the need for ' Hostels for Women ' ; and Mrs. Alfred Lyttelton in a, poignant one-act play, ' The Thumbscrew.' emphasizes those horrors of sweated trades which are an ever-present disgrace to our boasted civili- zation. We applaud any attempt such as this to bring home to thinking men and women the conditions which the claims of commerce impose on unfortunate workers. Prof. Tyrrell continues his lively and interesting view of ' Our Debt to Latin Poetry,' dealing this month with the Silver .Age. Mr. D. C. Lathbury writes well on ' Canon Beeching and the Ornaments Rubric ' ; and Mr. Bram Stoker explains in ' Irving and Stage Lighting ' bow much the great actor did personally as a pioneer in stage illumination.

The National Review uses language in its com- ments on politics which seems to us beyond the amenities of public life. Lord Ebury replies to 'The Case for Woman's Suffrage,' "and Mr. Richard Bagot writes with the assured skill of the expert on ' The Triumph of Italy.' Mr. Austin Dobson has one of his pleasant articles on ' The Portraits of Carmontelle.' Lady Edward Cecil in ' Some English Homes ' speaks of the overcrowding of the poor in dirty rooms. There is a great deal of sense in ' Why I ceased to be a Dramatic Critic,' by X., who dwells on the money-making ideals of theatre managers to- day. ' An Ex-As3istant Master ' writes judiciously on ' Our Public Schools,' bringing forward facts not generally known.

IN The Fortnightly Mr. A. A. Baumann deals with ' Some Aspects of Lord Goschen,' and gives a good idea of the qualities of that statesman, an excellent, but not particularly brilliant type of administrator. Mr. Roger Fry reprints a lucid and persuasive summary of the merits of ' Post- Impressionism.' ' The Englishman in Eighteenth Century French Comedy,' by Prof. GerotlrwohF and Mr. J. W. Eaton, is an effective article. Vernon Lee puts forward some attractive psy- chology in ' The Religious and Moral Status of Wagner,' but we doubt the soundness of her conclusions. ' Thackeray as Historian ' displays

he knowledge* and accomplished style of Mr. Walter Sichel.

Mr. Maxim Gorky contributes a dithyrambic view of ' London,' in which we cannot see much, and Mr. G. H. Thring a careful examination of

The Copyright Bill, 1911.' Mrs. John Lane ms an amusing article, 'The Gutter Sphinx,' showing study of the sandwichman and his ways.

The State of the Game,' by Mr. E. H. D. Sewcll, is a searching analysis of recent football and cricket which should please lovers of sport. Walter Lennard concludes his ' In Search of Egeria ' with an episode concerning a great-aunt who nourished herself on mysticism after a disappoint- ment in love. Though not so brilliant as some of reading.
 * he earlier studies in this series, it is well worth