Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 10.djvu/102

 80 NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s.x. JAN. 28,1922. in fact the only trustworthy, method is to go over the road yard by yard, with a camera if possible, and to spare no pains in eliciting in- formation from local inhabitants. It is a laborious task ; for in this case the road is near 60 miles in length, though a mile or two shorter than the road which has displaced it, and it has taken the author rather more than five years to accomplish. But the result is worth the pains spent in the achievement, and Mr. Fraser is able to place before the reader a wealth of interesting in- formation. Roads with their bearing on local trading and history have been sadly neglected by antiquaries. Local historians and readers in general are apt to look on a road as a fait accompli and tc inquire no further into its history. But diligent research would reveal many points of interest in development, and could not fail in many cases to throw a fresh light on problems of local industries. In a different way illustrated monographs on main roads would prove a boon to many who use them. What, in fact, would be more interesting than an illustrated and ex- panded Paterson ? Many of the early railway guides were designed to fill this want, but the idea was not developed. The book, which is one of the publications of the Aberdeen Natural History and Antiquarian Society, is a worthy product of the University Press. The photographs, all of which are well chosen and some beautiful, are a feature of the book. Altogether it is a satisfactory undertaking and reflects credit on author and publisher alike. Selected Polish Tales. Translated by Else C. M. Benecke and Marie Busch. (Clarendon Press.) THIS little volume, which belongs to that de- lightful series the World's Classics, should not be missed by those who are interested in the literature of Eastern Europe. It is true that some members of this selection demand a certain stretch of the word " classic " in order to be included. By the standard which admits ' P.P.C.,' nearly all the stories in, say, The Cornhill Magazine must be counted classics, and a good proportion of them even super-classics. The principal tale is ' The Outpost,' by Aleksander Glowacki, a writer whom his country deservedly admires. Like all in this collection it is a " realistic " study ; that is to say, it deals with people whose consciousness is entirely filled by the most elementary physical necessities ; whose relations with their fellows are thereby made almost unmitigatedly harsh, and who are nearly as defenceless as an animal against trouble or oppression of any kind. Pity, terror and disgust especially pity are evoked in all that poig- nancy which the Slavonic artist so well knows the secret of, and which more easily than any other effect wins for him the praise of power. The translation is of somewhat uneven merit. The Complete Works of Sir Philip Sidney. Vol. ii. Edited by Albert Feuillerat. (Cambridge University Press, 12s. 6d. net.) STUDENTS of Elizabethan literature will welcome this fresh instalment of the three-volume edition of the complete works of Sir Philip Sidney which Professor Albert Feuillerat is bringing out with the Cambridge University Press. It contains the last part of the ' Arcadia,' all the poems, and the masque of the ' Lady of May.' The text is that of the earliest edition with the exception only of the ' Two Pastorals ' and is given without any alterations whether of spelling or punctuation. Later editions alter words and in several poems insert new matter. Particulars of these will be found in the notes, as will be also the prefaces and other introductory matter to this part of the ' Arcadia ' and to ' Astrophel and Stella.' Sir Philip Sidney's verse (except for two or three familiar sonnets and a few fine phrases) can hardly be said to make any instant, straightforward appeal to a lover of poetry. The first impression it produces is one of mingled intricacy and flat- ness ; the second, upon perseverance in reading him, is somewhat happier. Anyone who, whether from predilection or from some external motive, intends to make a thorough study of him, will do well to possess himself of this delightful edition. The Elizabethans and the Empire. By A. F. Pollard. (Humphrey Milford, for the British Academy, Is. 6d. net.) THE debt of the British Empire to the Eliza- bethans is real and of the first importance, but its exact nature has been somewhat obscured by the failure, during the Queen's reign, to acquire terri- tory beyond the borders of England. Professor Pollard, in the Raleigh lecture, shows how the position and policy of the Queen, the temper of the nation, and the relations between England and the rest of Europe determined this apparent failure. The Elizabethan contribution to the Empire is to be seen in the kindling of the spirit of adventure, especially of a love of the sea ; in the discovery of the true significance of ships ; and again, in the growth of that sense of national independence, confronting the Papacy on the one hand and the Holy Roman Empire on the other, which consti- tuted the first " imperialism." The lecture, given to us here in the form of a brochure, ranks high among its author's minor works. CORRIGENDA. At ante, p. 1, col. 1, for "11 S. xi. 10," read 11 S. vii. 1; at p. 2 (in pedigree), for " Rebecca Shave" read Rebecca Shawe; and at p. 3, col. 1, 1. 11, for " Leeds " read Wakefield. to EDITORIAL communications should be addressed to " The Editor of ' Notes and Queries ' "Adver- tisements and Business Letters to " The Pub- lishers " at the Office, Printing House Square, London, E.C.4 ; corrected proofs to The Editor, ' N, & Q.,' Printing House Square, London, E.C.4. ALL communications intended for insertion in our columns should bear the name and address of the sender not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. WHEN answering a query, or referring to an article which has already appeared, correspondents are requested to give within parentheses im- mediately after the exact heading the numbers of the series, volume, and page at which the con- tribution in question is to be found.