Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 12.djvu/408

 400

NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. XIL NOV. H, 1903.

ambition laudable, even if apparently superfluous. This he does by considering W alton in his various aspects of Royalist, religious man, angler, author, &c., and following up with biographical accounts of various of Walton's friends and associates, and a selection of verses from Walton, Cotton, and those of their associates who were poetically en- dowed. Value and interest are added to the work by numerous illustrations, which include portraits of Walton, Cotton, Donne, Wotton, George Herbert, Richard Hooker, and Robert Sanders, and pictures of spots associated with Walton's life. That the method adopted in writing the work is the best conceivable, or is even commendable, we are not prepared to assert, since a sense of want of sequence and continuity is felt, and the pen seems to trip too glibly from the events and illustrations of the seventeenth century to those of to-day. We feel a little shocked even when, after an apology for the slaughter of fish which induces Byron to call Walton, in 'Don Juan,' "the quaint old cruel cox- comb," and declare him elsewhere " a sentimental savage," our author falls foul of vivisection, which he declares "so absolutely hellish that it should cease to be tolerated, in this country at least." We are not defending or pronouncing any opinion upon vivisection ; we are only disputing the propriety of an attack upon it in such season and place. Mr. Martin writes as a rule in a spirit of fervent piety, and credits with profound sincerity and goodness the whole of the worthies with whom he deals. He refers freely to pur pages, in which he has pursued some of his preliminary inquiries, and he speaks so highly of the innocency of fishing as a pursuit that we cannot but recall the fact that Samuel Sebastian Wesley, the composer, after insisting to Behnes, the sculptor, upon the harmlessness of this occupation, roused his antagonist to jeers by coming back with a broken leg. When our author quotes Mr. Gosse as saying that in Walton's time "what we now call conscientious biography was unknown," we feel disposed to ask, How about Roper's ' Life of More ' ? A note at p. 223 on a poem of Cotton in abuse of "Poet E[dnmnd] W[aller] " is founded on a misconception. It is Waller's muse, and not Waller's self, that is called an

Adulterate Hag fit for a common Stews. Mr. Martin's book will be read with much pleasure by those to whom Walton is a cult. Books on fishing have a meditative charm wholly their own, and with this the latest volume may be credited.

The Wonderful Century. By Alfred Russel Wal- lace. (Sonnenschein & Co.)

THIS work claims to have been so far rewritten as to constitute virtually a new book. It is bril- liantly illustrated, and is eminently readable. Owing to the method adopted a sense of fragmen- tariness is conveyed. The opening chapters on 4 Modes of Travelling,' ' The Advance of Locomo- tion,' 'Labour-saving Machinery,' &c., throw light on the progress that has been made, not only in the last century, but, in some respects, since Planta- genet times. As it proceeds the work becomes more and more scientific, the portion devoted to astronomy being large, and occupied in part with matter open to dispute. In the close the book is controversial in a high degree, being occupied with the evils of militarism, the opposition to hypnotism and psychical research, and * The Remedy for Want

in the Midst of Wealth.' We are not disputing the importance of the subjects discussed. We do not, however, like the collocation, and should have greatly preferred a wholly different method of treatment.

THE frontispiece to the Burlington Magazine consists of Gainsborough's portrait of ' Mrs. John Taylor.' Following this come Hoppner's 'Mrs. Jordan as Hypolita ' and ' Elizabeth, Duchess of Rutland ' ; Raeburn's ' Mrs. Duff' and * James Har- rower, with his Wife and Son ' ; Gainsborough's ' Viscountess Folkestone ' ; Sir Joshua's ' Miss Ridge ' ; Romney's ' Miss .Lawrence ' ; and Hoppner's ' Warren Hastings.' The illustrations, the coloured especially, to Mr. Arthur Morrison's ' Kikuchi Yosai ' are very remarkable. An account, with a view, of threatened demolitions at Westminster, will interest our readers. ' Whistler as Etcher,' by Mr. Joseph Pennell, follows. Sporting designs from the MS. of Gaston Phoebus and elsewhere are of high value, both artistic and antiquarian. The attraction and importance are well maintained.

IN Scribner's, which reached us too late for inclusion in our customary note on periodicals, the articles of most interest are an appreciation of John S. Sargent, the illustrations to which include a fine portrait of Madame Gautreau,' serving as frontispiece, and ' Through Bret Harte's Country.' 'Camp Life in Arctic America ' is also to be commended.

We must call special attention to the following notices :

ON all communications must be written the name and address of the sender, not necessarily for pub- lication, but as a guarantee of good faith.

WE cannot undertake to answer queries privately.

To secure insertion of communications corre- spondents must observe the following rules. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. When answer- ing queries, or making notes with regard to previous entries in the paper, contributors are requested to put in parentheses, immediately after the exact heading, the series, volume, and page or pages to which they refer. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second com- munication " Duplicate."

JONATHAN BOUGHIER ("Proverbs in the Waver- ley Novels"). Will be inserted at an early oppor- tunity.

A. B. We cannot answer this question of pre- cedence.

ERRATUM. P. 368, ' Fall of Saguntum,' five lines from the end, for " J. L. C." read /. L. G.

NOTICE.

Editorial communications should be addressed p "The Editor of 'Notes and Queries '"Adver- tisements and Business Letters to "The Pub- isher "at the Office, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E.G.

We beg leave to state that we decline to return communications which, for any reason, we do not print ; and to this rule we can make no exception.