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NOTES AND QUERIES. or* s. vn. JUNE s, iwi.

with which the number opens. Not at all the, sort of matter is it with which we are prepared or expected to deal, but in days in which pessimism is in the air it is pleasant to find so outspoken an utterance. Side by side with this it is edifying to peruse the ' Impressions of America ' formed by Mr. Frederic Harrison in the course of a visit he paid to Chicago in order to deliver the annual address in commemoration of George Washington. One of the points on which he dwells is the fact that he is older than the city in which he spoke ; that at the period of his own birth Chicago, as he learnt, was a village in a swamp with one hundred inhabitants. The point he seems to have noticed with most discontent was that from men of great cultivation and humanity he heard such sweeping condemnation of the negro race, and such cool indifference to the sensational reports of lynching which appear frequently iu the public prints. The Viceroy of India sends an interesting account of ' The Queen Victoria Memorial Hall in India.' Lord Cowper furnishes a vigorous translation of some of the more important scenes in ' L'Aiglon ' of M. Edmond Rostand, produced on Monday last by Madame Bernhardt and M. Coquelin at Her Majesty's. Mr. Vernon Harcourt writes on ' The Next Coronation,' Mr. Atherley - Jones on ' The House of Commons,' and Mr. Walter Frewen Lord on ' Our Offers to surrender Gibraltar.' The number indeed overflows with matter of interest and importance, though papers on literary sub- jects are not conspicuous among the contents. In the Pall Mall Mr. William Archer and Mr. Stephen Phillips, in a " real conversation," are in happy accord in their censure of critics. They are unfortunately discreet, or even enigmatical, in utterance, and fail to explain who or what are the objects of their severest censure. Mr. Archer replies, in answer to a complaint of his interlocutor, " When hostility to the higher drama is in ques- tion there can be no doubt what paper you have in mind." Personally we have not the slightest idea what paper is meant. So sad it is to be " not in the swim. We are bound to say that the complaining strikes us as a little unworthy. ' Feeding Time at the Zoo' has but one fault: it is much too short. Mr. Wedmore writes on Chardin, and recommends to the connoisseur the purchase of prints still to be obtained at moderate prices. The article has some excellent reproductions of Chardin's works. ' An Unpublished Chapter in the Life of Robert Louis Stevenson' is both interesting and sadden- ing. It depicts Stevenson in the period of hardest stress. ' How the Welsh Water comes to Birming- ham ' may be read with much interest, as may ' The Voyage of the Polar Star,' by H.R.H. the Duke of the Abruzzi. The whole constitutes an admirable number. No. V. of ' A Londoner's Log-Book,' in the Cornhill, is a clever and humorous piece of writing. The Rev. W. Hutton gives ' Some Memories of George Crabbe.' A very favourable estimate is formed of the poet. We scarcely understand the criticism that "Crabbe was generations more modern than Scott." Dr. Fitchett continues his spirited ' Tale of the Great Mutiny,' and writes of Lucknow and Sir Henry Lawrence. We are sorry to find in the Cornhill a paper on ' Rook Shooting!

worthy. In Longman's No. VII. (the last, so far as we can judge) of * The Women of the Salons ' depicts

the lovely Madame Re"camier. ' In the Woods at Sunrise' is a quite excellent sketch by Mr. Fred Whishaw. Mr. R. R. C. Gregory writes sensibly on ' The Mission of Mr. RiderHaggard, and Rural Education.' Among other subjects Mr. Lang, in 'At the Sign of the Ship,' deals with Mr. H. B. Irving's ' Studies of French Criminals.' In the Gentleman's the most interesting articles are on folk-lore. 'Some Further Folk-rhymes,' by Mr. Arthur L. Salmon, are acceptable. Mr. Salmon, how- ever, speaks too slightingly concerning the verses. Rimes such as those concerning Tweed and Till embody admirably rustic imaginings. ' Fish-lore,' by Miss Finch, is very readable. Mr. W. Andrews writes agreeably concerning Tutbury, one of the most picturesque and interesting of our smaller English towns. 'A Forgotten English Worthy,' by the Hon. George A. Sinclair, deals with Lord Cutts, characterized by Thackeray as " the bravest and most beloved officer in the British Army." Miss Georgian a Hill writes on ' Hugh Elliot : the Soldier Diplomatist.' The cover of the Idler gives a striking portrait of Dr. W. G. Grace, which is reproduced at the head of his article on 'Cricket Reform.' 'A Prisoner among Filipinos' is con- cluded.

As a Pall Mall Magazine Extra has been issued Pictures of 1901, a series of reproductions of the principal pictures on view at the Royal Academy and the New" Gallery. It is admirably executed, and constitutes a marvellous shillingsworth.

MESSRS. CHATTO & WINDUS have recently issued No. XXVII. of their Academy Notes for 1901. It is included in the " Henry Blackburn's Art Hand- books," and constitutes a pleasing and attractive souvenir of the exhibition.

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