Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 6.djvu/624

 520 NOTES AND QUERIES. [9»s. vi. DEC. 29,1900. once again at one of the most beautiful and pic- turesque cities of Europe. Morte Arthure. From the Lincoln MS. written by Robert of Thornton. Edited by Mary Macleod Banks. (Longmans & Co.) Miss BANKS has printed in attractive form the alliterative poem of 'Morte Arthure' from the Thornton MS. of Lincoln Cathedral Library. The work, which has thrice previously been published, is one of the most interesting of its epoch, which is the fourteenth century. It is of unknown author- ship, though it has oeen frequently assigned to Huchown. Among many sources to which the author has been indebted for the story the prin- cipal is Geoffrey of Monmouth. As a contribution to the history of English literature, and for other reasons, the book is precious. Few, however, will read it for the sake of the spirit of romance, which, except in the Gawayne episode, is scarcely to be detected. As the latest editor says, "Arthur in Avalon has a surgeon from Salerno to dress his wounds, and is buried to the mourning of pontifical dirges amidst black and conventional trappings of woe. We hear no hint of his coming again, or of that barge which seems to float for ever along the horizon of romance. Launcelot is one of the 'lease men,' and, like his fellow lords, has thoughts only of war with Lucius." We may not give a specimen of the poem, which without the aid of the glossary would be unintelligible to the vast majority of our readers. As a work of the period of Chaucer it has. of course, great interest, though the reader will find it throughout suggestive of contrast rather than resemblance. So far as we can judge, for we have collated the text with no other copy, the editorial task has been carefully executed. The introduction and notes are at least interesting and helpful. Concerning the metre, Miss Banks maintains that "we hear its beat in the lines of Coleridge and Scott, and note its fine movement in Elizabethan verse as in the lyrics of Burns." This is eloquently and appreciatively said, and is at least satisfactory as snowing the effect of the poem upon a mind presumably saturated with it. Who's Who, 1901. (Black.) FOR the fifty-third year 'Who's Who' makes its appearance. It is nearly one hundred and fifty pages larger than the previous volume, but is not otherwise noticeably different. It is one of the works we find most frequently in request, and we see no desirable change to be made in contents or arrangement. With the present volume is incor- porated ' Men and Women of the Time,' and the now biographies include all Companions of Orders not previously inserted. Other improvements are in contemplation or in progress. The Letters of Thomas Gray. Edited by Duncan C. Tovey. Vol. I. (Bell 4 Sons.) An addition to "Bohn's Standard Library" more acceptable than 'The Letters of Thomas Gray' cannot readily be conceived. This latest edition, which is under the care of the author of 'Gray and his Friends,' will include the letters between Gray and Mason, and will be, it is not to be doubted, final and definite so far as the present generation is concerned. Gray's letters are among the best of the last century, when letter-writing was a favourite occupation of the best wits. Equally good are they as a contribution to literary history, and for the revelation they furnish of a shy, re- served, tender, and brilliant man. Those now reprinted cover the period from 1735 circa to 1757, and are mostly addressed to Gray's father, his mother, Richard West, Horace Walpole, Mason, Chute, Wharton, and Dodsley. Mr. Tovey's notes are numerous and well selected. One to letter 75 says, "I do not find recorded the maiden name of the lady who soon after was Mrs. Wharton." It was obviously Wilkinson, as is subsequently rather timidly conceded. A capital preface is given, the only defect in which is a trivial misquotation. We trust that the remaining letters will appear with little delay. Popular Studies in Mythology, Jtomance, and Folk- tore.—No. 8. Citchtuainn, the Irish Achilles. By Alfred Nutt.—No. 9. The Sigveda. By E. Vernon Arnold. (Nutt.) MR. NCTT is issuing a series of popular studies in romance and folk-lore which are of high value for those who seek instruction in those subjects. These are published at sixpence each, a price which brings them within reach of the humblest. The two numbers we have selected are typical of the value of the series. One is a popular account of the great Cuchulainn saga, dear to all Celtic students ; the second, an explanation of the Rigveda, a book the importance of which for the study of com- parative mythology can scarcely be over-estimated. A reader of these booklets with no previous know- ledge will find bis literary horizon indefinitely extended. It is impossible tor us to deal with the separate works, but there are thousands to whom they will open the portals into a world of knowledge and delight. We hope Mr. Nutt will see his way to collect them into bound volumes, that we may bold to them in less perishable shape. li'. 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." K. T.—The subject is unsuitable for our column-. 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.