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 9* s. iii. MAR. 11,

NOTES AND QUERIES.

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iow translated the second edition of the smaller listory of Switzerland which Dr. Dandliker com- >iled from his larger work. The result he now jives in the handsome volume before us, a work Adequate to the requirements of all students who ore content with a perspicuous summary of events Lnd a philosophical estimate of causes. The growth if the Swiss Confederacy is a stirring record of, leroism and endurance, individual and national, i mrred by constant want of unity and not seldom 1 )y internecine broils. So long as the foes were all external and the enemy was Austria or Burgundy, ihe inhabitants of the allied cantons displayed Spartan virtues. Then even the forest cantons were jealous of the great cities. When the strife begotten of the Reformation arrived to complicate matters, the love of freedom ingrained in the Switzer could not prevail against religious ani- mosities, and the history of the strife between Protestantism and Catholicism in Switzerland is not much more pleasing and edifying to contemplate than it is in adjacent countries. For the student interest in the history of Switzerland only becomes active when, A.D. 1218, he begins to contemplate the rise and development of the Confederation. The account of the lacustrine dwellers and their habita- tions may be read in works specially devoted to the subject, though in fact nothing is practically known concerning them, and our information as to the Celtic tribes of Switzerland is not more extensive. The influence of Roman occupation, the immigration and settlement of the Teutonic tribes, and similar matters are dismissed in a few pages. A short but interesting section deals with the development of the village, the town, and the commune. With the year 1218 the struggle for liberty is held to have commenced, the forest states beginning the attack. From this time forward the history is one continuous record of effort, persistent and heroic, to maintain the freedom it had been so hard to wrest.

The rich cycle of tradition concerning the libera- tion of the forest states is first found in the ' Chronicle of the White Book,' now in the archives of Sarnen. The date of this is given as 1470. The information it supplies was, however, derived, in all probability, from some earlier chronicle and in part from tradition. Until the beginning of the seventeenth century the traditions concerning Gessler and Tell passed unchallenged, and it was not until well into the nineteenth century that destructive criticism banished these legends into the land of myth. In dealing with the Reformation, Dr. Dandliker, who is presumably a Zuricher his 'Geschichte der Schweiz,' 3 vols., 1884-88, was published at Zurich and undoubtedly a Protestant, gives an animated and a fairly impartial picture of its influence in Eastern and Western Switzerland, and of the counter -reformation and its effects. Other subjects with which he deals satisfactorily are the intellectual regeneration of Switzerland, the Helvetic Republic, and the establishment of the modern federal state. A chronological table and an ample index add to the comfort of the reader. The book will be specially welcome in our public schools, and may also be commended to general study.

THE most interesting paper in the February number of the Antiquary is 'A Pair of Wafer Irons,' by Mr. H. P. Feasey. We are glad to find that Mr. Feasey makes quite clear, even to the most

unantiquarian of readers, the vast difference there was, and is, between "holy bread" and the wafers used in the celebration of the Mass. Many people believe them to be one and the same, and much confusion has resulted in consequence of the mis- understanding. ' Notes of the Month ' are varied and excellent, as usual.

THE February number of the Genealogical Maga- zine contains a paper by Miss Ethel Stokes of great interest, namely, 'A Calendar of the Duchy of Lan- caster Inquisitions Post Mortem.' Every one caring for this side of historical research should read the article ; the notes given are of exceptional value.

THE West-End, a new illustrated weekly, has been issued. As regards its illustrations it is entitled to high praise.

IN an eminently interesting number of the Fort- nightly the most readable article is that on ' General Wood at Santiago,' showing the manner in which an energetic American commander cleared out the Augean stable which he found at Santiago after the surrender. Four months of the General's rule served to convert the city from one of the foulest to one of the cleanest upon earth, and to reduce the daily death rate from two hundred to ten. Mrs. Birch-

delightful refrain,

A sweeter woman ne'er drew breath

Than my sonnes wife Elizabeth. Two articles kindred to some extent in subject are those on 'Pessimism and Tragedy,' by Mr. William Archer,' and on ' Wagner and Schopenhauer,' by Mr. William Ashton Ellis. In the former Mr. Archer deals, among other subjects, with ' A Tale of Two Temperaments,' by Miss Elizabeth Robins. He also maintains the very defensible theory that to Shakspeare, as an artist, "gaiety and gloom, op- timism and pessimism, were simply qualities of the material he worked in." The second deals with the influence of Schopenhauer upon the music of Wagner. Ouida has a further lament over Italy. But few of the words are her own, however, the utterances generally being those of Vilfredo Pareto. ' Old- Age Pensions made ^Easy ' is a rather sanguine paper by the author of ' Life in our Villages.' Other articles, on which we may not touch, also merit careful perusal. The first two papers in the Nine- teenth Century deal with matters of ecclesiastical discipline or controversy, the subject of all others we must most carefully eschew. ' The French Judicial System ' is described we had almost said arraigned by the Comte de Calonne. It is obvious that we have little to learn from French judicial proceedings, which are, indeed, at this moment on their trial. Mr. James Arthur Gibson supports the view that the Nordrach cure for consumption is practicable in this country. Writing on ' Recent Science,' Prince Kropotkin expresses sanguine views as to the future of long -period forecasts of the weather. As contributory to these, he believes in the advantage of high-level investigations, such as are now being carried out. ' The Great Tractarian ' is the rather fantastic name bestowed by Mr. Her- bert Paul upon an essay on the Marquis of Halifax, the trimmer. His is a thoughtful as well as a readable paper. A curious and terrible record of ' The Sack of Yangchow in 1644,' written by a Chinese sufferer, has been translated by Prof. Douglas. We know