Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 11.djvu/48

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. XL JAN. 10, 1903.

as we know, had never been out of England, nor have we any reason to think he had travelled much within it ; and that Dante's wanderings were confined " to his native Italy," we cannot meet her with an absolute contradiction. There are those, however, who believe that Shakespeare travelled in Germany, and even in Denmark, while Gio- vanni Serravalle declares, at the beginning of the fifteenth contury, that Dante studied both in Paris and London. ' The Search Light : a Play in One Act,' by Mrs. W. K. Clifford, is, like much modern dramatic work, hopelessly gloomy. Lady Guendolen Ramsden decides that society is worse than it was. It is the upper classes who are most severely condemned for rudeness. " It is sur- prisingly rare," we are told, " to meet with common civility in a first-class [railway] carriage." We are, it must be borne in mind, compared with our ancestors of a century ago, and not with those of Stuart times. Mr. C. B. Wheeler has a thoughtful article on ' Labels.' Under the title ' The Genesis of a Great Career' the Pall Mall opens with an account of the early life of Napoleon. The article is by Viscount Wolseley, and is the first of a series of four. The biographer holds the scales evenly, since, though he regards Napoleon as " the greatest human being God ever sent to this earth of ours" an estimate we entirely and sum- marily reject that hero is credited, or discredited, with possessing everything which the Bible de- scribes as unholy, and which Englishmen regard as mean and despicable. Very numerous portraits illustrate the early section. E. Nesbit has a clever and satirical article on slang, the first^appa- rently, of a series called ' The Literary Sense.' Judge O'Connor Morris sends a brilliant, but sad- 'dening paper on 'Social Life in Ireland.' From this we cannot quote. It deserves, however, to be studied closely. Mr. Vizetelly has further recol- lections of Zola. Mr. Mallock brings new finds relating to the Bacon-Shakespeare question, and leaves us in doubt who is the maddest, Bacon, Mr. Mallock, or ourselves. Sir F. C. Burnand writes on ' Mr. Punch, some Predecessors and Com- petitors.' In the Cornhill the best article in all respects is ' Germs of the Waverley Novels,' by Mr. Alexander Innes Shand. In this it is shown how far Scott was indebted, in his poems and romances, to his recollections of the Border ballads. Mr. Shand has, indeed, hit upon the secret spring of Scott's marvellous fertility. Madame Bernhardt's ' Moral Influence of the Theatre' is likely to be far more discussed, but is, in fact, of quite secondary importance. That Madame Bernhardt should exalt her own calling is conceivable enough. She has nothing very special to say, however, except that Madame Bernhardt holds that nothing is more untrue than that the theatre is immoral. A more definite pronouncement is wanted. Is the theatre never immoral in the plays of Wycherley ; or is it only not immoral in those Madame Bernhardt herself produces ? The views she holds on such a sub- ject have only adventitious importance. That Pas- sion plays should be performed Madame Bernhardt holds. That is her opinion ; but we see not in what way it is more important than would be that of the late Hugh Price Hughes, if it could be obtained. ' Lhasa Revealed ' has much interest. ' Receiving Moderators' is excellent, and the whole number is remarkable. In Longman's Mr. Lang, 'At the Sign of the Ship,' deals with ' The Phantom Millions,' the story of which has progressed since he wrote.

He is eloquent and ironical in commenting on German censure of English doings. A very readable paper is that of Mr. Heneage Legge on 'The Hedge,' a thing rapidly passing out of the ken of Londoners and utterly distasteful to the parochial and vestry mind. Mr. Bryden defends ' Hare Hunting,' which, in truth, stands in need of defence. ' Eighty Years Ago,' by Mr. George Rooper, is a capital account, by a self-styled nonagenarian, of life as it appeared in the early part of the last century. Mr. Watkius, in the Gentleman's, de- scribes ' Our Native Serpents,' the subject of much irrational persecution. 'Ships' Figure-Heads' is an interesting paper by one bearing the once familiar name of William Allingham. 'Abducted by Albatrosses' is a grim fantasy. ' How to Test Drinking Water' affords useful information. In the hands of Messrs. Chatto & Windus, and edited by Mr. Robert Barr, the Idler holds its place, especially as regards fiction. ' The Greatest Swindle of the Century' is finished. Another no less remarkable subject is treated in ' Sherlock Holmes Outdone,' which deals with the anthropo- metric service in Paris. ' The Coming Electric Express' is well worthy of study. To the English Illustrated, the appearance of which is later than usual. Mr. S. L. Bensusan sends ' More Pictures from the Prado.' Among the illustrations to this are 'The Holy Family 'and the ' Last Supper 'of Juan des Juanes, better known as Vincente Macip. A second Last Supper, by the same artist, is in Valencia. There are also a 'St. Bartholomew' and a strangely modern-looking 'Jacob's Dream' from Jusepe de Ribera (Lo Spagnoletto), and other works from the Madrid Museum. A very interesting description of Japanese life is furnished by Mrs. Campbell Praed, and is illustrated by capital photographs of Nikko, &c. ' Cardigan and the Valley of the Teifi' depicts by pen and camera many spots of beauty and interest.

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