Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 4.djvu/80

 60 NOTES AND QUERIES. [9*s.iv. July 15, • an English stem of the same family. The distanc- tion which compels Renaissance Italy to yield to Renaissance England in respect of these entertain- ments is the "lofty invention" of England s poets. Bacon treated Masques and Triumphs as toys hut the pains he took in their production shows he thought them worth being made beautiful. Mr. U. K. Fearon, U.B., writes on ' Dante s Ghosts. It is impossible to compress into a few sentences the views that occupy several pages. It is maintained that a ghost with Dante is a really existing human being, and not a mere spectral illusion, inis, ol courfe, will be readily accepted. Ihe metempsy- chosis takes place only at the moment of! death, except in the case of those who betray friends. 'The Native Australian Family,' by Miss Edith Simcox, is inspired in part by the recently published work of Messrs. Spencer and Gillen, to which we have more than once drawn attention. We cannot sav that the perplexing nature of Australian re- lationships is made quite clear, but those who seek to disentangle threads will do well to study the article. What is said about the separation of the sexes is especially worthy of attention. Miss Octayia Hill puts forward a plea for the further preservation of open spaces. Sir Algernon West, in a clever gossiping article, entitled 'While Waiting in a Friend's Room,' twice misspells the name Charles Mathews—A bright number of the PaJl Mall has ail article on ' Modern Architecture in Chicago, with illustrations depicting the huge edifices of that Brobdingnagian city, "the most contradictory of all the municipalities on earth," with a little ol the best and worst of every human characteristic. We own to being not too favourably impressed by edifices such as Marquette Building and lisher Building. Mr. Burnand's ' Punch Notes remain profoundly interesting. They supply many delight- ful designs by John Leech, Charles Keene, and George Du Maurier, and a picture by Mr. Linley Samboume of the Punch staff in 1891 at a highly representative social gathering. A warm testimonial to Mark Lemon is furnished by Mr. Burnand. An article on the history of ' Wireless Telegraphy is good enough so far as it goes, but is perhaps, as the Americans say, " a little previous. Mr. Henley is amusing, and not unwise, in his 'The Hundred Best Novels'-Bret Hartes 'Rise of the "Short Story "' in the Cornhill is, of course, excellent, but is disappointingly impersonal. Lady Broome continues her 'Colonial Memories, and gives a marvellous story—true, we assume-ot bushranging. Writing on the ' Decay of Sensibility, Mr. Stephen Gwynn makes game of the heroines of Miss Austen and other female novelists of the early part of the century, with their tendency to swoon on every possible occasion. Sudan Recol- lections,' by Lieut. Hopkinson, are bright and vivacious. ' Conferences on Books and Men deals principally with Cowley, who is rather overpraised. What is said about the edition in which the poet is to be read is right. ' The Hotel Mudie is a rather ponderous skit on some popular novelists. — in Temple Bar ' A Successor of Samuel Popys gives an amusing account of John Wilson Croker, the object of the special hostility of two men so wide apart as Macaulay and Disraeli. Croker s nature had, indeed, a large amount of perversity, and he had, as Harriet Martineau says, a malignant ulcer " in his mind. He was not without estimable qualities, however, and the opinions of both Mac- aulay and Disraeli are prejudiced. The article upon him is, at any rate, delightful reading. An excellent account is also given of ' Sigismondn Castromediano,' an eminent patriot. Slight and unpretentious, but readable, are ' A Whirl through Batavia' and 'The Story of St. Helena.'—Mr. John R. Fryar gives in the Qentle?nan's an account of ' Epitaphs: their History and Humour.' The introductory portion of this has some value, but the illustrations are not the best that could have been found. Our own columns are a mine of quaint epita,phs. It will show how indifferently the task of selection has been carried out when we say that he gives nothing by Ben Jonson. Mr. Nelson writes on ' Dunbar/ the Scottish poet, and Geraldine Leslie on a ' Century of English China.' ' Insect Augury' is an interesting subject well treated.—In the English Illustrated Capt. R. S. Burton describes 'A Re- markable Tiger Hunt.' Photographs are given of the dead beast, and of the natives and the plucky little dog it had mauled. Under the title of ' The World's Sport' polo is depicted by pen and pencil. ' The Story of the Volunteers' is timely in its appearance. ' Rose and Chrysanthemum' gives, no doubt, a faithful picture of what happens when Orientals and Europeans meet, but is needlessly distressing. ' The Growth of Cities' supplies much matter for thought, not wholly consolatory.—Mr. Rider Haggard's contribution to Longman's, under the title ' A Farmer's Year,' is this month of ex- ceptional interest. Much of its matter has anti- quarian value. Mr. Frank Ritchie debates the question how far the musician is justified in altering the words of the song he sets to music. In ' At the Sign of the Ship' Mr. Lang writes much about cats. It is a pity that he had not at the time of writing seen the story of a cat saving a man from being burnt to death. Ijtotas to CorrapoMittBls. 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 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." R. P. T. ("Life's work well done," Sic.).—The authorship was asked 6,h S. xi. »49 and 7th S. v. 220. It remains unanswered. NOTWE. 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 Subscriptioh by Post. For Twelve Months For Six Months ... 1 0 0 10