Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 9.djvu/225

 us. ix. MAR. 14, 1914.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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In regard to the war of 1870 M. Gue'rard says : " We do not believe in the fatalistic delusion of c inevitable wars,' but we must confess that no conflict was ever more difficult to avert than that between France and Prussia .... From the day of Sadowa the two nations were like two locomotives rushing towards each other on a single track." The belief was cherished that France would some day tear up the hateful treaties of Vienna, and reconquer her " natural frontiers." Ger- many had, after a long eclipse, grown to the full consciousness of her national unity. Thus the ambitions of the two countries were in direct con- flict. M. Gue'rard denies that Napoleon was alone responsible for the war. The assertion that he was thus responsible, he says, " is absolutely contrary to facts. The Empire in 1870 was a constitutional monarchy, not essentially different from that of England. A Liberal Ministry led by a former Republican, a Chamber of Deputies elected by universal suffrage, and comprising a numerous opposition, were swept off their feet by the wave of popular chauvinism. . . .The fact remains that the responsibility for the whole piece of criminal folly on the French side rests with the Government, Parliament, the journalists, the populace all the official or self-appointed spokesmen of national opinion."

We regret we have not space to devote to the chapters on the Third Republic, which deal with the Social Question, Education, and the Religious Question.

M. Gue'rard closes with eloquent words denying that France is " decadent," and we are sure he says truly that : " The one great asset of the French people is their indomitable vitality. The mighty heart of France is throbbing with unconquerable life."

A Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Terms, being a History and Explanation of Certain Terms used in Architecture, Ecclesiology, Liturgiology, Music, Ritual, Cathedral Constitution, &c. By John S. Bumpus. New Edition. (Werner Laurie, 6s. net.)

WE regret that we are not able to say much in praise of this compilation. To begin with, its title is a misnomer. True, it contains a number of articles on ecclesiastical subjects alphabetically arranged ; but, on the one hand, the subjects dealt with have been capriciously selected, and, on the other, the information supplied under a given heading is not seldom of a miscellaneous nature. A work calling itself ' A Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Terms ' should surely^ contain articles on such words as " order," " bishop,'' "priest," "deacon," "monk," "Eucharist, " liturgy," " chapel," " cross," " baptism " to mention but a few of those conspicuous by their absence. Some but by no means all of the information which might be sought xmder the headings ' Eucharist ' and ' Cross ' will be found under ' Housel ' and ' Altar Cross,' and so on ; but there are no cross-references to indicate what is the word chosen as the heading for a particular set of statements. And many important topics are entirely omitted.

Nor, apart from this, are the articles always satisfactory. In dealing with vestments no allusion is made to their secular origin. The account of the " Angelus," to take an easy example, is confused and not exactly correct. The relation

to one another, historically speaking, of the keeping of the feast of the Nativity and that of the Epiphany appears as if inverted, though this may be partly due to infelicitous statement. " Ite Missa est " is translated "Go, the Mass is over," with no further explanation of the original use of the phrase, or allusion to its history. The definition of "Cardinal," in its Roman use,i& " (1) A dignitary of the Roman Church next in rank to the Pope." These are but examples chosen, more or less at random, because they can be cited briefly.

Much in a study of terms depends on the derivation of these : derivations are here given or omitted in the most haphazard way. Thus to " Breviary " said to be in Latin breviarum, and in French breviare there is added no expla- nation of the origin of the word ; nor, as we again turn over the pages and take words at random ,. do we find any proper account given of the ety- mology and history in their ecclesiastical con- nexion of " font," " chalice," " basilica," " bedes- man," " canon," or " diocese."

The most careful part of the work is that devoted, to music, and there are some good notes on survivals of customs and on stray items of antiquarian interest. The writer would have done much better if he had published so much of his material as is worth publishing in the form of a collection of essays on various ecclesiastical matters. Set out in the guise of a work of refer- ence, which is expected to be methodical, inclu- sive of everything important, clear, and accurate, it is sadly unsatisfactory by reason of its jumbled arrangement, its misprints and mistakes, and its astonishing incompleteness. This i^ the more to be regretted because the writing has pleasant qualities, and the author plainly possesses both considerable information and a cheerful zeal which in some respects is according to knowledge.

MR. CECIL CLARKE writes : " The Royal Exchange. (See 11 S. ii. 508 ; iii. 385 ; iv. 138, 176, 499.) It is gratifying to be able to record that the long-promised guide to the Royal Exchange with its mural paintings has now been issued at the price of sixpence. Mr. Charles Welch, F.S.A., late [librarian of the Corporation of London, calls his booklet ' Illustrated Account of the Royal Exchange and the Pictures therein,' giving us, it will no doubt be generally agreed, a notable, exhaustive history of the present edifice and of the former ones. Upon the final page is a list of the airs played by the chimes of that once eccentric and erratic timepiece, the Royal Ex- change clock.

" Those who have had experience in the produc- tion of works of this class can testify to the amount of care and patient research involved. The public will thus be grateful to Mr. Welch for his labours, and to the Gresham Committee for providing this useful guide for the benefit of visitors. Some may regret, with myself, that the author has not included a key to the chief per- sonages in the pictures, as to whose identity many are often at fault. A stouter cover to the booklet would also, in my humble opinion, be an ad- vantage. And might not, in future editions, the well-known grasshopper of Sir Thomas Gresham form an appropriate adornment to its title- page ? "