NOTES AND NEWS.
Among the papers in the next number of Folk-Lore will be one by Mr. G. L. Gomme, on a Tale of Campbell; another by Mr. Frazer on Some Popular Superstitions of the Ancients; one by Mr. S. Schechter on an unpublished Jewish Legend of Solomon; one by Mr. Joseph Jacobs on Types and Incidents in European Folk-tales, and Mr. Alfred Nutt’s Report on Recent Celtic Research; besides the papers read at the last meeting of the Folk-Lore Society.
A series of papers on mediæval notions of Hell will
probably be begun in the next issue, and will include papers
on the Celtic, mediæval Jewish and Christian, and the
Arabic phases of the subject.
The Islay Association have determined to issue, through
Mr. Alexander Gardiner, the first two volumes of the late
J. F. Campbell’s Popular Tales of the West Highlands,
which have been long out of print. It would be well if
they could see their way to adding a translation of Dr. R.
Köhler’s valuable annotations on the stories which appeared
in the second volume of Orient und Occident.
Mr. Gomme has written a volume on the Village Com-
munity for the Contemporary Science Series now being
published by Mr. Walter Scott, under the editorship of Mr.
Havelock Ellis. Mr. Gomme’s volume will be of interest
to fork-lorists, because he uses some of the results of folk-
lore to prove that the English village community is not
simply an economical institution, but one which contained
much of the old tribal religion.
Mr. Gomme is engaged upon a re-classification of English Custom and Superstition, and hopes to be able to publish the results of his work at the end of the year. His object is to bring together the evidence for the Archaic in Folk-lore, under which title his work will probably be published.
Mr. E. Sidney Hartland has in hand, for the Contemporary Scientific Series, a volume on the Science of Folk-tales, and for the Camelot Series a book of English Folk-tales.
Mr. Joseph Jacobs is collecting English fairy tales. A popular selection of these, with illustrations, will probably be issued during the Christmas season of this year, to be followed later on by a more scientific treatment of the subject, which may run to two volumes.
Readers of Professor Haddon’s Torres Straits legends in this number will also be interested in his very thorough and complete account of the manners and customs of the inhabitants of New Guinea in the February number of the Journal of the Anthropological Institute.
Benfey’s scattered papers on the Migration of Fables will be included, in a collected form, in the complete edition of his minor writings now being edited by Professor Bezzenberger.
The December and January numbers of Le Moyen Age contain admirable summaries of Folk-lore literature in periodicals (chiefly of 1888 and early part of 1889), including those written in Slavonic dialects.
The Council and Officers of the Society supped together after the meeting on February 25th. Much talk has been made about a Folk-lore dinner, and this pleasant little experiment should be the forerunner of the more general plan, such as they accomplish so well in France.
M. L. Brueyre, in the last number of the Revue des Traditions Populaires, in discussing the question of Tabulation, advocates strongly the adoption of the system of the Folk-Lore Society in its entirety. While not faultless, he says, it cannot now be altered without spoiling a large amount of valuable work, and for the sake of uniformity, other Societies on the Continent should adopt it and cooperate with the Folk-Lore Society.
Mr. MacInnes’s “Gaelic Tales”, with Mr. Alfred Nutt’s annotations, forming the volume for 1889, will be in the hands of members of the Folk-Lore Society, who have paid their 1889 subscription, by the middle of March.
Papers and communications for the June number of Folk-Lore should be in the Editor’s hands (address, 270, Strand) by May 1st.