Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 4.djvu/430

 470 NOTES AND QUERIES. to* s. iv. Deo. 2, m humour. Useful as it is, the book Would be the better for an index. Spain: the Story of ^Journey. By Jozef Israels. Translated by Alexander feixefrft de Mattos. valuable as a record. softness and delicacy. The figure subjects are of varying merit, but many of them are excellenti A collection of the volumes, which illustrate the art and productions of many countries, will be (Nimmo.), .. In this handsome and attractive volume Mr. Israels, the celebrated Dutch painter, an exhibitor at our own Royal Academy, presents himself in a. new light. He gives an account of a journey through Spain from Irun to Tangier*, and Wk by way-of Barcelona, undertaken in the spring of 1898 in his seventy-fifth year, in company with his son, also a painter, and with a friend, a man of letters. Though attended with discomfort, for which, even on the beaten track, the traveller in Spain must prepare himself, the journey was, as was to be expected, uneventful, and the record is principally made up of observations on pictures, edifices, and scenery, and of experiences, mostly unpleasant, of Spanish hotels. A sunny optimist, Mr. Israels was deter- mined to be pleased with everything he saw, and his work cannot be otherwise than gratifying to those of his hosts who come across it. Ut the crowning Spanish iniquity, the bullfight, he speaks cheerily and without a word of denunciation, leaving us, however, to gather his opinion and that of his friends from the fact that, having witnessed one combat, he refused to be tempted to another, saying that " to visit these performances repeatedly you have to be a Spaniard." What wilt chiefly interest the general reader will be found in the remarks on the picture galleries, the raptures concerning Velazquez in Madrid, the comments on Murillo in Seville. A man of his day, Mr Israe s has no liking for Murillo, whom indirectly he calls " the painter of pious insipidity," lacking alike the "roval style of Velazquez" and the "rugged style of Ribera." A fine portrait of the writer serves as frontispiece to the volume, in which appear also thirty - nine reproductions of drawings executed during his journey. Ihese naturally assign the work signal value They preserve few of the conventional aspects of Spanish life as we are accustomed to see them pictorially displayed. The atmosphere is best preserved in the interiors, which are, of course, admirable. Some of the por- traits are very striking; see particularly that ot the Spanish matrons at the head of the chapter on Cordova, or that, again, of Velazquez in the chapter on Madrid. Some spirited pictures of animals are also given. The book will delight the artist, and will recall to the traveller memories, pleasant or otherwise, of Spain. It is certainly a book to own. Mr. Teixeira de Mattos seems to have executed well his duties of translator, though as to the fidelity of his rendering we cannot speak. It is at least terse, readable, and vigorous. Photograms of the Year 1899. (Dawbarn & Ward.) The fifth annual volume of Photograms, exhibiting a pictorial and literary record of the best photo- graphic art of the year, is an interesting work, showing, like its predecessors, a steady advance in photographic work. The share in the production of the volumes previously taken by the late Cdecson White is now assigned Mr. A. C. R. Carter. Photo- urams opens with a capital picture, entitled Uld Dapple/ by Mr. H. P. Robinson, who has not pre- viously contributed. With some of the following designs we are familiar, though most of them are new? Many of the landscapes are of marvellous The Standard Intermediate-School Dictionary of the English Language. By James C. Fernald. (Funk & Wagnalls Co.) This useful work is compiled for the use of teachers and pupils from the celebrated Funk k Wagnalls dictionary, It is well illustrated, concise, intel- ligible, and accurate, and is admirably adapted for intermediary school use. The Rev. A. L. Mayhew writes:—" In your friendly mention of the ' English Dialect Dic- tionary ' in your' Notes on Books,' p. 450, you say that ' Part VIII. carries on Dr. Wright's " Dic- tionary " to p. 432.' May I be allowed to remind your readers that the first volume of this work (A—C), consisting of 864 pages, is already pub- lished, so that Part VIII. will carry it on to vol. ii. p. 432? I will take this opportunity of thanking you for the valuable help given to the dictionary by'N. &Q.'" The Class in Palaeography of the London School of Economics are issuing by subscription, in a limited edition, under the supervision of Mr. Hubert Hall, F.S.A., ' The Receipts Roll of the Exchequer for Michaelmas Term, 1185' (31 Henry II.). This is to be the first of a series of paiaeographic pub- lications which the class will undertake. gtortim txr ffirrraapoB&jrala. 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 rule. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of i>aper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. Correspond- ents who repeat queries are requested to head the second communication " Duplicate." A. R. Wood (" Elementary Books on Heraldry "J. —Such are so numerous that the only difficulty is choice. Look at Elvin's ' Dictionary of Heraldry ' (Kent &. Co.), Boutell's 'Heraldry' (Reeves & Turner), or Clark's ' Introduction to Heraldry' (Bell & Sons). NOTICE. Editorial Communications should be addressed to " The Editor of ' Notes and Queries'"—Advertise- ments and Business Letters to "The Publisher"— at the Office, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E.C. 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. Terms of Subscription by Post. For Twelve Months For Six Monthi ... £ t. 1 0 0 10