Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 5.djvu/268

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [11 s. v. MAR. ie, 1912.


"be taken as trebly authoritative it is introduced "by a preface contributed by Mgr. Benson ; it "bears the Westminster "imprimatur" ; and it is itself composed, almost entirely, of translations -verbatim of extracts from the proceedings of the Council of Trent and the Vatican Council. An excellent idea, a really valuable little book yet, we think, one which would have proved more instructive to those of the " people " who do not -understand Roman Catholic ideas, if some further explanations had been added room for which -might have been made by omitting the statement of those matters which all Christians are agreed upon, or at least acquainted with. To take one instance, there are few Roman doctrines which have been more absurdly misrepresented than the doctrine of indulgences ; but the open-minded inquirer who reads the paragraph upon it here will find no enlightenment. Mrs. O'Neill's Life of Mary, Queen of Scots, struck us as well and un- pretentiously done. The brevity to which the writer was compelled has here and there resulted in an effect almost of confusion, and the many problems of Mary's life have perforce to be dis- missed with scant discussion ; but some idea of her personality emerges, nevertheless, which may well send the reader on to the fuller works mentioned in the bibliography. Mr. Wildon Carr tells us in his preface that the proofs of his book Henri Bergson : the Philosophy of Change have Taeen read by M. Bergson, and that the sub-title was suggested by him. The little work will, we think, prove something of a nut for an un- trained reader to crack ; but it is worth taking trouble to master especially, perhaps, the chapter on ' Intuition.' Occasionally the writer's pen seems to run away with him ; what, for instance, can this mean : " Creation is not a mystery, for we experience it in ourselves " ? It is that " for " we query. Heredity, by Mr. J. A. S. Watson, is a clear exposition of the results obtained along the lines of experiment which may be called, for short, Mendelian. We could have wished that in a popular- work like this he had refrained from touching on the extremely difficult and complicated question of eugenics. Mrs. Fawcett's account of Women's Suffrage could not well be anything but what it is very exact, able, comprehensive, and concise, fair towards opponents and towards those on her own side from whom she differs, and, as the story .advances, warmed with that glow which is apt to characterize the protagonists of a great public cause.

We hope to notice the remaining six books next week.

THIS month's Nineteenth Century and After opens with an article on the Coal Strike, by Mr. Harold Cox, who sees in the military protection of individual working-men, when these are willing to work against the decision of their Federation, the most hopeful remedy for the present evil. In ' The Future of the Oxford Movement ' Mr. E. G. Selwyn deals effectively with the statements made by the writer of ' The Passing of the Oxford Movement ' in the January .and February numbers of the review. Mr. D. S. MacColl's paper '"Ugliness," "Beauty," and Mr. Frederic Harrison ' defends the modern practice and theory of art against the aspersions upon them made by Mr. Harrison ; we found it not only sufficient for its purpose, but in itself


suggestive. The youth of the country is dealt with somewhat depressingly in ' Our Public Schools and .their Influences,' by Sir Godfrey Lagden, whose praise is oddly complacent and conventional, and by Mrs. Wilson in ' The Passing of the Chaperon,' where the unfortunate modern girl is sadly belittled.

Most people will turn with interest to Mr. W. S. Lilly's ' Cardinal Newman and the Catholic Laity,' nor will they be disappointed. A discus- sion of Mr. Ward's recent ' Life of Newman,' enlivened by the writer's immediate knowledge of his subject, it gives a comprehensive account of Newman's relations with Rome, and of the endurances, the occasional failures, and the achievements which made up the second part of his life. We must find space to mention Lady Paget's lively and attractive description of life at Rome in the seventies, and Sir Harry John- ston's paper on ' The Portuguese Colonies.'

The National Review of this month is devoted for the most part to topical interests. Dr. Hook- ham's defence of Darwin against what he con- ceives to be Prof. Bergson's misapprehensions or ignorances has all the weight, and also the charm if we may so phrase it of the expression of a conviction which has been a matter of life as well as of thought. Though his arguments hardly seem to us destructive of Prof. Bergson's position, they might well occasion a reconsidera- tion of details of exposition. Dr. Hookham promises a second article on certain of the more general aspects of Prof. Bergson's philosophy. Mr. Comyn Platt's paper on ' The Italians in Tripoli,' interesting merely to read, should also be of real service to justice. Mr. Eland's article on ' Young China ' may well tend to diminish those expectations of radical change in the charac- ter and ways of the Chinese people which have arisen in various quarters. A pleasing relief from the contemplation of the vicissitudes of human affairs is afforded by a short article, ' Sea-birds at Home,' in which Mr. Charles Howard depicts the hosts of birds on the Fame Islands.


LANE COOPER. Many thanks for reply ou ' Beaupuis,' anticipated p. 157.

ORIENTAL. "Champak"=an Indian tree, Michelia champaca. The wood is scented, and it bears yellow flowers which Hindu women wear in the hair.

E. R. Many thanks for reply to query on ' Cock Lorelle's Bote,' which reached us as the replies in our columns of 9 March were going to press.

A. TARDINEAU. " Uncle " used for a pawn- broker is a slang term merely. We do not believe it has any connexion with uncus, a book, a derivation which has been suggested. In all probability " uncle " stands humorously for a rich relation, some one who can be counted on to find money. Cf. " When my ship comes in."

CORRIGENDUM PROM MR. ROBERT PIERPOINT. Ante, p. 172, col. 2, 1. 21, after " suggestion," insert is sound.