Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 4.djvu/454

 490 NOTES AND QUERIES. p- s. iv. DEC. 9, tinues his account of ' The Ainerican Stage,'supply- ing much valuable information. This also is fully illustrated, though the accompanying designs have not always much to do with the letterpress, since they depict at times artists—such as Miss Julia Marlowe—in parts in which Mr. Archer has not seen them. Mr. Holt Schooling, in a paper on ' Lotteries, Luck, Chance, and Gambling Systems,' shows what are the chances of winning which the speculative gambler accepts. Contributions by Mr. Henley and Mr. Street are also to be commended. The illustrations throughput arc of the highest order.— Sir John Robinson, in the Cornhill, continues his ' South African Reminiscences,' which are both interesting and valuable, though they close before the period when our attention has become absorbed in South African affairs. In ' Eagles and their Prey' M r. C. J. Cornish deals, among other matters, with the cases in which eagles attack human beings. Jn the ' Pastels from Spain' of Mrs. Margaret L. Woods, El Pardo, the old hunting-lodge of Spanish kings, is described. ' Love-making in the Cevennes' is picturesquely and pleasingly described by Mile. 2elie de Ladevcze. There is also an interesting account of 'The Leading Article.' The principal contents consist of fiction, all of it of a very high order.—Among the more serious contents of Temple liar a prominent place may be assigned to Mr. Mac Donagh's account of ' The Great Seal of Eng- land,' which constitutes amusing and stimulating reading. Mr. Le Grys Norgate has a very attractive and gossiping paper on 'Humours of Eighteenth- Century Opera.' He credits, no doubt rightly, Sophie Arnould with the authorship of the charm- ing mot, "Ah,c'etait le beau temps; j'etais si mal- heureux!" 'The Idea of Evolution in Browning's Poetry' repays study. The number contains also an account of ' Frances Bnrney,' the author of ' Evelina.' In a pleasant Irish story Miss A. B. Roniney introduces a venerable "chestnut" con- cerning a "poetical horse." In another bright story Mr. Kgerton Castle, generally a good writer, has the phrase " Let you and I go." If he omit the "you," would he say, "Let I go"; or otherwise, "Let we go"?—Mr. VV. J. Lawrence sends to the Genlle.man's an article, both learned and readable, on ' Old-Time Pantomime Music and Songs.' Some good specimens of songs are quoted. Mr. Lawrence is rather severe upon some of the harmless patter songs of Edwin, written generally, we believe, for him by O' Keefe. In regard of one of them he says,'' W here does the laugh come in?'' Well, we think it both funny and rhythmically happy, as are many of 'Edwin's Eccentricities.' A Poet - Princess' is concerned with Margaret, daughter of James I. of Scotland, Dauphincss of France, the heroine of the kiss bestowed on Alain Chartier—a princess whose dying words fitted so well her own sad life: "Fi de la vie. qu'on ne m'en parle plus." ' Fragments of Two Persecutions' deals with the burning of Walter Lollard and that of poor blind Joan Warle. —'The Evolution of a Reputation,' by Mr. 1. A. Taylor, which appears in Lonyman'i, is one more attempt to whitewash Danton. The Rev. John Vaughan has an excellent paper on ' Wild Fruits.' Mr. Lang is at his best in ' At the Sign of the Ship.' He pays a handsome and touching tribute to Grant Allen.—The Christmas number of ticribiur1* once more overflows with excellent illustrations, those in colour to a poetical rendering of ' The Three Kings [of Cologne]' being specially good. The cover is also very effective. From the designs to ' The Seven Ages of American Woman ' it seems as if to that charming specimen of her sex Fate had been specially beneficent, giving her five decades in ages of youth and mature life to one each of childhood and " eld." The contents, principally fiction, include the 'Author's Story' (which sounds like Chaucer) of Mr. Maarten Maartcns. Mr. Ernest C. Peixotto has given a description of the bright Touranian town of Chinon, which brings back many pleasant remembrances of a trip to the same spot in the track of Rabelais. Dr. Cook has a, cajlital paper, with illustrations, on ' The Possi- bilities of Antarctic Exploration,' in which the writer is a believer. Writing on John Wesley, Mr. Augustine Birrell recommends to those who seek to understand the eighteenth century a study of Wesley, even at the cost of the abandonment of that of Horace Walpole, Nichols, Boswell, and Sterne! AN executive committee, of which Mr. A. T. Pollard, of the City of London School, is chairman, Mr. F. Storr, of Merchant Taylors' School, lion, treasurer, and Mr. L Gollancz, of 54, Sid- ney Street, Cambridge, hou. secretary, has been formed in order to commemorate Prof. Skeat's Presidentship of the College of Preceptors bv having painted a portrait of him to be placed probably in Christ s College, Cambridge, the Pro- fessor's college. A movement to honour the dis- tinguished Professor commands naturally our adhesion, and will probably appeal to many of our readers, who should apply to Mr. Gollancz. to €ams$iml3tnts. We. must call special (Mention 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 paper, 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." J. BLYTH("! shall pass through the world but once").—The authorship of this has given rise to much speculation, but remains unknown. We can only refer you to 7th S. ix. 429; 8th S. ix. 169, 239; xi. 118. C. A. Br,KCKi,Y.—Yes; by Afridis in the Khyber Pass in 1897. 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. Wo 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 BT POST. For Twelve Months For Six Moutlu ... „. i o a o 10 i