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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. vn. MARCH 2, 1901.

tion ; and ' The Courtin',' a plain, sweet idyl of man and maid which is racy of the soil, free from the elaboration which suggests a lesser Tennyson, a Wordsworth manque. The ' Fable for Critics Mr. Wendell does well to quote in estimating certain ot the bigger men ; it is rank and wild at times, but too good to be neglected, for instance, on Bryant and Cooper. Whitman's oddity is much dwelt on, but it is pleasant to find a recognition of his great work in regarding nothing as common or unclean. His rhythm instead of rime and his strange thoughts have had distinguished followers, not here noted, and it is an easy thing to make fun of him in taking phrases. That his eccen- tricity is "decadent" we are not at all sure. The historians and the philosophers are more satis- factorily treated than the men of letters. Park- man, though he did not satisfy specialists on Acadia, was a thorough and scientific worker, deserving high praise. Such notice as he gets here is judicious ; but why the writer suddenly turns oft to discuss Gibbon, and say things that have been better said many times, we do not know. These comparisons are 'overdone, and a little more space devoted to the subject proper would have by no means been wasted. On one point Prof. Wendell is certainly right his refusal to deal with living writers, though it is pleasing to find incidentally high praise of Mark Twain's wonderful ' Huckle- berry Finn.'

One achievement of our cousins deserves^ pro- minent notice, without a doubt. The United States has produced, and is producing, fine oratory ; ela- borate, perhaps, but still worthy of envy over here. Mr. Wendell thinks that America has more artistic conscience than we have, and writes better short stories too. In these and in newspapers (which he considers with admirable spirit and judgment) the literary output of the future over there is to find its most effective form. We only hope that art will not lead to a loss of naturalness. These pages have some persistent affectations of language, which tend to make them tedious. Mere cleverness, too, has led the writer to exaggerate some of his points. This is a venial fault ; but preciosity of language is so pestilent and so prevalent that it needs to be checked. We should add that there is a biblio- graphy of authorities at the end of the volume, which is not very complete so far as England goes. The late Prof. Tyler's work on the literature of America gets, as it deserves, high commendation.

The Language of Handwriting. By Richard Dims

dale Stocker. (Sonnenschein & Co.) THAT handwriting is to some extent an index o: character is easy of acceptance. Whether a scienc< of graphology has been mastered is another matter We do not, at least, believe that any opportunity o forming an opinion on the subject is furnished when the handwriting of people already distinguished is alone taken. Given autographs such as William Shakespeare, Victoria R., Pietro Paolo Rubens Charles Dickens, J. Ruskin, A. Dumas, and Eller Terry, it is not difficult to tell their characters Mr. Stocker has supplied the characters of variou people who have consulted him, and in every cast his pronouncements seem to have been productive o gratification. This brings to our mind Goldsmith' line,

Who peppered the highest was surest to please. Miss Evelyn Millard declares herself delighted Miss Alma Murray thinks that most of what is sal

s true, and Miss Olga Nethersole declares his stimate comforting. A fairer test would be to give he handwriting with no signature. If then the eading corresponded with what is known concern- ng the individual, we should be in a better position "o make such an experiment valuable there should >e no chance of identification. We are not posing s sceptics, and are denying nothing, but we should ike to have evidence other and better than we Dossess. Vhitaker's Peerage for the Year 1901. (Whitaker
 * o judge of the worth 9f our author's conclusions,

& Sons.)

.HE fifth issue of this peerage and directory of the itled classes is so thoroughly up to date as to hronicle the death of her late gracious Majesty ..nd to supply a full list of New Year's honours. ?he illness of the editor has not interfered with he value or dimensions of the work, which con- ains many new features and thirty pages more han the previous volume. The changes to be noted ,re, of course, the same as those in similar works vith which we have already dealt.

MR. FRYAR, of Bath, offers gratis to purchasers if his k Isiac Tablet ' a reproduction of the complete _et of Tarot keys illustrating the Sanctum Regnum. ?he plates are before us, but to pronounce an opinion upon them requires a species of knowledge we do not claim to possess. To the initiated these hings may overflow with light, but our darkness is mpenetrable.

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PERCY EMERY ("Life of Spartacus"). You will find all you want to know in Smith's ' Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology,' a book to be found in all libraries of reference. You will there see what classical authorities can be consulted.

C. CLARKE. A good deal is "added to the Editor's work by not giving references, as the rules request.

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