100
NOTES AND QUERIES. [HP s. m. FEB. 4, iocs.
momentous truth which the work before us must
be held to have established." In its present shape
the history is likely to be productive of further
benefit, simply because its perusal is more of a
pleasure and less of a task. The chapters dealing
with the conduct of affairs in England are still the
most animated, but those dealing with American
discontent and outbreak have gained greatly in
vivacity. No attempt has been made to modify
the view expressed concerning George III., who
remains the most sinister character in the book,
and whose influence is shown as constantly malig-
nant. Some interesting matter is furnished in
appendixes. The new edition will do much to
popularize a useful, readable, and in many respects
brilliant history.
The Shade of the Balkans. (Nutt. ) .FOR this collection of Bulgarian folk-song and pro- verbs, for the first time rendered into English, and for the essays, the popular poetry, and the origin of the Bulgars with which it is associated, three writers are responsible. Pencho Slaveikoff who is spoken of as " the caged lion of Sofia " and as " the figure of revolt "is answerable for the poems in the original. Among other things noteworthy about him, he is the owner of remarkable eyes: "Eyes weary with the world's trouble, darkling eyes, eyes of the twilit woods, then of a woodland faun, eyes that lure you and dance away from you, eyes that laugh at you and their owner, unbearable eyes." "I.," otherwise "H. B.," otherwise Henry Bernard, lias executed the translation and the notes, and E. J. Dillon writes on ' The Origin and Language of the Primitive Bulgars.' The book thus constituted is a pleasant and valuable contribution to folk-lore. Many of the songs are of great merit, and all are full of character. Like most folk-lore poems, they have a vein of deep melancholy, and are generally in a minor key. Some of them recall Heine, notably the ' Pomak' song, No. 42. Familiarity with scenes of slaughter is continually manifested, and the blood in which since 1876 Southern Bulgaria has been steeped exercises a strong and easily per- ceptible influence. The growth of flowers out of the graves of unfortunate lovers, common in ballad literature, is an occasional feature. In ' The Legend of the Sweet Bash' it is thus said :
And from the grave of him a vine did grow, And from the grave of her a blushing rose, Because they loved each other all too well.
Other poems, such as ' The Samovila as Wife,' are linked to legends of swan-maidens. Very strange and quaint is 'The Last Journey of St. Peter's Mother,' who, in spite of her son's position as janitor of heaven, drops, for her miserliness and want of sympathy, into hell, whence she is unable to escape. Many of the proverbs are curious. Among such are "God is not sinless; He created the world," with its suggestion of Omar Khayyam ; " The man who has looked life in the face fears not to die " ; " The Heiduck's shadow is the scaffold." Profoundly interesting are the introduction and essays. We learn, however, with deep regret, that the songs of the Bard of the Dimbovitza our admiration for which is deep-seated are spurious, and are to be classed with Ossian and similar works. They are presumably "built by Mile. Helene Vacaresco, decorated by Carmen Sylva, and rendered into English most charmingly byMissAlmaStrettell." The Roumanian peasant, we are told, " has not the
remotest idea of these songs ; of their form, of their
context, or of their language." Thus to be told
diminishes greatly the gratification we have received
from a work which, in that and other respects, is a
delight. Some of the stories are excellent. One
of a Royal Highness selling to an evening paper the
documents concerning his projected assassination
is staggering. There is some banter of the " pran-
cing procession of adjectives " of Mr. Edmund Gosse
when, after patronizing Norway and Holland, he
"was good enough to consider Bulgaria."
The Anatomy of Melancholy. By Robert Burton.
3 vols. (Bell & Sons.)
OF the numerous works forming part of " The Standard Library," which is now issued in a new and superior shape as " The York Library," we are disposed to regard this with most favour. Reprints of Burton's classic work are many, some of them being very handsonie in shape. We know no edition, however, prettier, more legible, cheaper, and more convenient than this, which may, as we have tested, be perused with comfort and delight. It has a capital introduction and notes trustworthy in the main, if not always impeccable, reproduces in diminished size the quaint and signi- ficant title-page of the original edition, and has an excellent index. For the man who collects books for the purpose of study the edition is ideal.
t&oiitt* t
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