Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 9.djvu/385

 us. ix. MAY 9, i9i4.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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fonts are assigned to the Saxon era. At Deer- hurst and Boarhunt they are assuredly coeval with the churches ; and at Little Billing and Potterne the inscriptions are in Anglo-Saxon characters."

To Waltham the Ramblers were conducted by Mr. T. Barnett. Another excursion was de- voted to Colchester, where Mr. Henry W. Bur- rows described the churches and other objects of interest in the town. A visit to Carshalton and Bedding-ton was conducted by Mr. W. E. Davis, who referred to Ruskin's love of the Wandle, and his denunciation of the inhabitants of Carshalton in ' The Crown of Wild Olives.' Mr. Frederick Higgs, who has been a member since 1897, brought the summer meetings to a close by a visit to Sutton Place.

It is pleasant again to acknowledge the ready help rendered by the rectors of the churches visited, and the valuable information they afforded.

There are forty-seven illustrations, including a portrait of Charles Wheeler, who had been a member since 1887, and views of St. Dunstan's, Stepney, lent by the Rev. G. C. Wilton. This thirty-seventh volume shows Mr. Theophilus Pitt's usual careful editing, and he gratefully acknowledges the assistance he has had from Mr. W. F. Harradence and Mr. Alfred Burch.

Capitals of the Northlands. By Ian C. Hannah.

(Heath, Granton & Ouseley, 6s. net.) THESE " tales of ten cities " are charmingly told, and should fulfil the author's wish that they may lead his readers to " study larger works on the Northlands, and particularly the matchless Sagas, many of them so skilfully Englished by the joint labour of an Englishman and an Ice- lander, William Morris and Eirfkr Magmisson. In them we may read of all these ten towns, save that Copenhagen and St. Petersburg have risen in Saga Lands after the Sagas were penned.'' The book is full of Scandinavian folk-lore, but this does not preclude information useful for pre- sent-day visitors ; and while under St. Petersburg we have a good description of the city and its buildings, we are also informed that a cold bath at an hotel costs two shillings.

Mr. Hannah describes scenery and archi- tecture well, but beyond this he seeks to know the characteristics of the inhabitants of the places he visits ; these he traces from early traditions to the present day. He was specially interested in the Icelanders, whom he founc " surprisingly well informed, both concerning theii own history and the affairs of foreign lands.' Though no elementary schools exist, almos 1 every one can read and write, the result of excel lent teaching in their homes. In the towns are very good secondary schools, and there is a college at Reykjavik itself.

Mr Hannah writes with enthusiasm, but at the same time with truth. Especially is this the case with Visby, where " one meets the influ- ences of many lands, one beholds an epitome of half the history of the North, one gets a hint of the architectural features of remote places of Christendom."

The book is dedicated by the author to the loved memory of his mother, with whom he once made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Olaf. The many beautiful illustrations by Edith Brand Hannah give an additional charm to the volume.

The Antiquary. Vol. XLIX. (Elliot Stock,

7s. 6d.)

THIS volume for the past year, in half roxburghe,. nakes a handsome quarto. The contents have seen duly noticed at intervals in our columns, 50 all we have to do is to commend the volume
 * o those who have not already purchased it in

nonthly parts.

WE have received from Mr. T. Fisher Unwin- another of his delightful books of " Chats," eacb of them published at the low price of 5s. net- They are all by experts, and, like the work on- Coins we noticed on the 28th of February, full of illustrations ; both paper and print are excellent.- We are sure that only a large sale can ensure a profit.

The present volume, Chats on Old Brass, is by the same writer, Mr. Fred. W T. Burgess, who introduces us to the hunting-ground for pre- historic bronzes, and tells us that the " forger is still at work," or, as Mr. Burgess humorously puts it, " he would prefer to be called the maker of replicas." A chapter is devoted to Greek and 1 Roman curios, and here there is a word as to- arrangement, so as to make the collection at- tractive. As a fine example of this, the reader is- referred to the collection in one of the rooms at Stafford House (recently renamed Lancaster- House), the new home of the London Museum. The entire collection, representative of various- periods of the Roman occupation of Britain, is so- carefully mounted that it is worthy of close inspection. " It includes many rare pieces, one being an early Roman lamp, which was found in Greenwich, and is said to be unique among London- curios." The illustrations include a reproduction* of this.

Under Church brasswork it is pointed out that the tombs of bishops show the changes which took place very gradually in the vestments worn, and indicate the alterations in ecclesiastical" ritual at the time of the Reformation.

The 91 illustrations (many of which, it is; pleasant to record, are by the author's daughter, Miss Ethel Burgess) include the copper-gilt cross on St. Paul's.

THE April Quarterly Review is one of the best of recent issues. Mr. Henry James's ' George Sand ' is, no doubt, the literary paper which will attract first attention. It is, we think, as good a piece of work of its kind as even the writer's keenest admirers can have expected ; and though, by Mr. James's method of depicting things without an outline in diffused light, the shadows of his picture- hardly fall as black as they do- in real life, yet in these days, when ability is more often strong and concentrated than wide, there is some use in depicting a genius of the quality of George Sand. Mr. James Carlill's study of the Carnot family straightforward, if not specially distinguished goes well with Mr. James's article, so far as subject- matter is concerned, illustrating the value in education as well as in personality of general ability. 'The Letters of Thomas Gray,' by the President of Magdalen, contains some good para- graphs on the puzzling, yet singularly undoubted claim of Gray to admiration. Miss Guiney's article on ' Milton and Vaughan ' elucidates some pas- sages in the latter's work which have not hitherto been taken as definitely referring to Milton. We