Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 9.djvu/507

. IX. JUNE 21, 1902.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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which, in his deeply interesting paper, Mr. Dicey longest dwells is the manner in which a policy of annexation on the part of all the powerful nations in the world has connected itself with or followed the possession of increased armaments. England and Germany, the two countries with the densest and most rapidly increasing population, take, neces- sarily, the lead in obeying an instinct due to what is called the contraction of the earth and the dread of being crowded out. The dislike to England felt by foreign countries is shown to be connected with English expansion, and the growth of Imperialism is stated to be due in part to the feeling that the nations of the world are, as a rule, against us, and that there is the more need we should to ourselves be true. Not only England and her colonies, but the nations generally of the world, are dealt with in an essay equally wide in observation and mode- rate in statement. One of the subjects in the know- ledge of which conspicuous advance has recently been made is Babylonia and Assyria, which are dealt with by Prof. Sayce. Recent explorations have greatly extended the range of our knowledge. In this extension the most important and systematic work that has been done in Babylonia is that of the expedition of the University of Pennsylvania, which has been scientifically investigating the temple of El- lil, otherwise Bel, at Niffer, the ancient Nippur, one of the centres from which radiated early Babylonian culture, the other centre being Eridu, now repre- sented by Abu-Shahrein. Ea of Eridu was a god of light, while El-lil of Nippur was that of the ghostland. Progress has been made of late in Baby- lonian chronology, a subject in regard to which we were until recently in almost total darkness. A list of Babylonian dynasties and kings, so far as they are at present known, is given at pp. 45, 46. A high degree of civilization appears to have been attained. There was little polygamy; torture as a means of extorting confession was unknown ; education was widespread, women as well as men being able to read and write, and extinct as well as living languages were studied. Bacchylides, the Greek lyric poet, is the subject of an admirable essay by Sir Richard Jebb. Very great progress has been made during the last few years in our knowledge of bacteria, and the illustrated con- tributions of Profs. Marshall Ward and Robert Muir are of extreme importance. One of the points of most interest is the effect of rays of light upon these organisms. Spores of B. anthracis which with- stand high temperatures can be killed by exposure to rays of reflected light at temperatures far below anything injurious to growth. ' Balloons, Military,' by Major Baden-Powell, late President of the Aero- nautical Society, is disappointingly short. An account of Baluchistan, by Sir T. H. Holdich, is accompanied by a map. The whole of Baluchistan has now been surveyed Passing over ' Banking ' and 'Bankruptcy,' we come to 'Bantu Languages,' a term used to designate the most remarkable group of African languages. This is by Sir Harry John- ston, and is accompanied by a map of South Africa from Senegal and Abyssinia to the Cape, showing the countries in which the tongue is spoken. Accom- panying the life of Antoine Louis Barye is a repro- duction of his 'Lion and Snake," and with that of Marie Bashkirtseff to use the name by which she is generally known is given one of her ' The Meeting.' Bayreuth is principally noticeable for the Wagner Theatre, fully described by Mr. J. A. Fuller Mait- land. A portrait accompanies the life of Lord

Beaconsfield by Mr. Frederick Greenwood. In this contribution an account of the Beaconsfield family and its separation from Judaism is included. The view concerning Lord Beaconstield is sympa- thetic. He is, however, declared to have been thoroughly and unchangeably a Jew, and an Englishman in nothing but his devotion to England and his solicitude for her honour and prosperity. 1 Bechuanaland ' is another of those South African articles which occupy a considerable space in the volume. The modern literature of Belgium is dis- cussed by Mr. Arthur Symons. Among the writers treated is naturally M. Maeterlinck, wlio is said to have invented a whole theatre of marionettes, "more mysteriously simple than human beings. ' Belgrade ' is by the late Servian Minister at the Court of St. James's ; ' Bengal ' by Mr. J. S. Cotton ; and * Benin ' by Col. Gallwey and Sir George S. Clarke, Governor of Victoria. The information supplied in the last article is naturally new, com- prising as it does the British punitive expedition of 1897. Berlin and its environs are the subjects of plans which would be more useful if clearer in design, at any rate, so far as old eyes are concerned. Mr. Alfred Watson writes on ' Betting ' and the anomalies in the law thereon. Major Broadfoot writes on ' Billiards,' and Dr. Hans Gadpw on ' Birds.' Mr. J. W. Headlam contributes lives of Beust and Bismarck, the latter biography being enriched with an admirable portrait. With Marie Rosalie Bonheur are given reproductions of two famous pictures. ' Bookbinding/ by Mr. Davenport, ' Book-plates,' by Mr. Egerton Castle, and ' Book Printing,' by Mr. Charles Ricketts, are all freely illustrated. A reduced facsimile of a page of the Kelmscott ' Chaucer ' accompanies the last. Much new information is furnished concerning Borneo, which also is supplied with a map. A portrait of George Borrow is furnished with Mr. Watts-Dunton's biography of that writer. A good reproduction of the ' Return of the Gleaners ' appears with the life of Jules le Breton. Long articles on ' Brazil,' ' Brew- ing,' &c, are of little literary interest. * Bridge,' the game, is treated, presumably for the first time m an encyclopedia. With Prof. Unwin's 'Bridges' are given designs of the Tower Bridge, the Washington and New East River Bridges, New York, and a bridge over the North Sea and Baltic Canal. Achievements more remarkable than some of these are to be found. 'The British Empire' is by Miss Flora Shaw. Madox Brown's famous * Work,' which we were once in the habit of seeing daily, illustrates Mr. W. M. Rossetti's acc9unt of the painter. A not very striking portrait is given with Mr. Leslie Stephen's ' Browning.' ' Buddhism ' is by Prof. Rhys Davids. ' Bulgaria ' is treated at some length by Mr. Bourchier. ' Bull-fighting ' is in the hands of Mr. Alfred Watson. ' Burma,' by Sir J. G. Scott, has two maps. The life of Burne- Jones is illus- trated by a portrait and two designs. Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole, in what is, perhaps, the most judicious biography in the volume, gives a capital account of Sir Richard Francis Burton. 'Canada,' which is dealt with by three different authorities, is the most important article encountered during ^the short incursion into the letter C. 'Canals, 'Cari- cature,' 'Ceylon,' ' Chemistry.' and 'Chess 'are all of interest, as is a biography of Carlyle by Mr. Leslie Stephen, who is not quite accurately described as editor of the ' Dictionary of National Biography, a post from which he has long retired. In interest and importance the volume claims high rank.