Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 10.djvu/388

 380

NOTES AND QUERIES.

s. x. NOV., 1902.

Fame,' Miss H. C. Foxcroft on ' The Limitations o: Lord Macaulay,' and Prof. Leech on ' The Monroe Doctrine.' An article on ' Owls,' by Mr. R. Bos worth Smith, which appears in the Nineteenth Century, is all unlike the ordinary contents of the great reviews, but is not the less interesting or valuable on that account. It deals freely with the references in literature to the bird of wisdom, bul is chiefly noticeable for its rehabilitation of the character of one of the most maligned of bipeds At the close of an important contribution M*. Smith recommends the establishment of owi sanctuaries, and he would fain see the day when the owl shall be regarded and protected in England as the stork is in Holland and elsewhere. We, too, would fain see such a day, but almost despair. The notion seems ineradicable in England that animals are made for the sole purpose of being killed, and that he is most of a naturalist who destroys the largest number of beautiful and inter- esting objects. A good account is supplied by Mr. R. E. C. Long of ' People's Theatres in Russia.' Few lessons are to be learnt concerning these things in England, where we suffer in towns from the "monotony of incessant excitement and uninter- mitted work." It is only in villages that the " monotony of lack of thought holds sway." Mr. E. Kay Robinson treats of 'The Man of the Past' in a vein we had almost called "flippant "in the case of a scientific subject. 'Ways and Means,' by J. D. Rees, C I.E., supplies some startling contrasts between the conditions of life prevalent in India and at home. It seems almost inconceivable that an Indian ryot may be supported at the rate of a

8snny a day. Lord Denman's paper on ' The War ffice and Remounts ' is the most important in the number. We greatly regret that we are prohibited from dealing with it, as we are for another reason with Mr. G. R. S. Mead's ' Some Notes on the Gnostics. ' In the Pall Mall ' Some Points of Interest in the New Westminster Cathedral ' are dwelt upon by Mr. Hugh R. Philpott. Mr. Norman Shaw's utterance that it is " the finest church that has been built for centuries " is quoted with implied approval, and the reasons for following Byzantine instead of Gothic models are supplied. It is too long for us to enter personally into the matter. The question of the name has interest. That of the New West- minster Cathedral cannot be maintained, and that of the Westminster Cathedral seems appropriated by Westminster Abbey. Capt. Eardley Howard's ' On the Indian Frontier ' has remarkable interest and value. The views of Kafiristan, its inhabitants, male and female, and its monuments repay close study. A curious custom is mentioned. When the hour of childbirth is at hand the woman is placed in a rudely fashioned shelter in the fields, where the infant is born. An account of ' Boston, Ancient and Modern,' attracts both by its letter- press and its illustrations. 'A Rival of Niagara' describes the Falls of Iguazii, little known to ordinary travellers or explorers. These are singu- larly beautiful and magnificent, and will in time be a shrine of European travel. Part II. of ' Gesture and Facial Expression ' is given. ' The Problem of the Philippines,' 'A New Pacific Cable,' and 'The Footprints of Fashion' are also of interest. In the Cornhill the Rev. Dr. Fitchett gives the life of Sir Ed- ward Berry, one of the bravest of Nelson's captains, though, as events proved, a worse than indifferent commander. The study forms part of the author's forthcoming work, 'Nelson and his Captains.'

No. III. of ' Prospects in the Professions ' deals with the solicitor. The writer is in this case more didactic than has been his wont. Who shall say that his advice is unneeded ? ' The Woman Stealers,' a romance of primeval times, is occupied with the days when " a grey sea rolled through the Vale of Evesham," and shows the revenge taken by a chief- tain of the Bronze period upon the earthmen who had stolen his promised bride. Prof. Bonney's 'The Making of Modern Europe 'is an important contribution, dealing also to some extent with the problems of early ages. ' Nights at Play ' describes the proceedings at an East-End workmen's club. ' Provincial Letters ' depicts Oxford in the vaca- tion. In 'At the Sign of the Ship,' in Longman's, Mr. Lang deals with Zola, concerning whom he declares that "his whole method was a blunder in art, but behind it was the kind of genius which takes endless trouble." In ' Our Poisonous Plants ' the Rev. John Vaughan says that half a berry of the deadly nightshade has been known to cause death within a few hours. Apart from the fungi, the number of poisons to be found in English fields, hedges, and woods is remarkable. 'Napoleon's Weird ' is a quaint fancy by Mr. Walter Herries Pollock. Mrs. Clement Shorter is responsible for 'The Two Maidens.' In the Gentleman's 'The Pyrenean Playground : an Appreciation,' says much that is true, but does not tell the entire truth. There are drawbacks from a trip on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees. ' Phantom Puppets of the Stage of Shakespeare ' is by Mr. H. Schiitz Wilson. ' The Duchy of Naxos ' also deserves to be read.

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PERSPICAX. Such clever fooling as yours is taken so literally nowadays that we hesitate to insert it.

FER DE MOLINE ("Nonesopretties"). Already asked, ante, p. 87.

CORRIGENDUM. P. 306, col. 2, 1. 9, for "Zoveh" ead Zovch.

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