140
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io s. xn. AUG. w, im
and wordy, though generally sound. ' An Hour
with the Pope' gives a pleasant picture of the
simple Pontiff, who felt so sure that he would
not be wanted for long at Rome that he took a
return ticket when he attended the conclave.
This return ticket has been much sought after
fay wealthy collectors, and was given last year to
the King of Greece. A leading position this
month is taken by the very interesting revelations
of Mr. B. W. Matz concerning ' George Meredith
.as a Publisher's Header ' for Messrs. Chapman
.& Hall. Meredith refused ' Erewhon ' and ' East
Lynne,' but he encouraged many writers. Some
of the verdicts published seem to us hardly fair
to living writers, though Mr. Matz does preserve
.anonymity in many cases. A sentence beginning
'" Some of his comments," which goes on " were
disposed of with such comments," is an instance
of clumsy writing, and the confusion which
comes from long sentences. Prof. Rhys Roberts has a capital article on ' Porson and Jebb,' which
s should interest both scholars and the ordinary jpublic. The former class may, perhaps, think Person's achievements understated. He left his mark on Sophocles, for instance, as well as Euripides, as any one may see who investigates Jebb's text of the earlier dramatist. Mrs. Arthur Harter has a pleasant paper on ' The Influence of Italy on the Poetry of the Brownings.' In ' The Madness of Launcelot ' Mr. Kaufmann 'Spiers succeeds in writing a Tennysonian addition "to the Arthurian idylls. We should prefer to see rsome new vein cultivated. Mr. Hewlett's ' Letters to Sanchia ' gives an attractive picture of the ^unconventional young man whose career started iin the preceding number.
IN The Nineteenth Century Mr. J. A. R. Marriott adds to the enormous mass of writing on ' The House of Lords and the Budget.' Dr. E. J. Dillon is vigorous concerning ' Great Britain and Russia : an Alliance or an Illusion ? ' Mr. Frederic Harrison will command attention with his views on the various poets he discusses in ' The Tennyson Centenary,' but we should be sorry to endorse some of his conclusions. He devotes a lot of space to Byron, patronizes " dear old Wordsworth," and does not put Coleridge in the first rank as a poet. The twen- tieth century is, in his judgment, to give first-class honours to Byron, Shelley, Wordsworth, and Keats, and Tennyson as their peer. Tenny- .-son is, perhaps, superior to Keats on the ground that the latter's " work is fragmentary and iimmature." This last comment surprises us. If Mr. Harrison does not see in Keats 's finest Odes the perfection of English, we refuse to regard him as a competent judge of style. ' Francis Bacon as Poet,' by Sir Edward Sullivan, and ' A Last Word to Mr. George Greenwood,' by Canon Beeching, both touch on Shakespeare and the defence of the orthodox position. Both papers deserve careful perusal, for they contain real argument on the question. Mr. Pett Ridge has an ingenious and, so far as we can judge, fairly just paper on ' Faults of the Londoner.'
- Roddam Spencer - Stanhope, Pre - Raphaelite, '
gives an engaging insight into the life and work
-of a painter who shared the enthusiasms of the greatest artists' of the last century, and was regarded by good judges as a supreme colourist. In ' The Slump in Modern Art ' the Hon. John
-Collier tells artists to paint pictures, *which the
public want to buy, and appears to regard art-
critics as too jaded by many shows to have a
valuable opinion. It is likely that some pen
more able than ours will point out to Mr. Collier
the weakness of his position. Mr. Edward
Dicey in ' Hindu Students in England ' refers
merely to such students at Gray's Inn. What he
says, however, is well reasoned and moderate
in tone. Some of the difficulties he mentions
are also felt strongly at Cambridge.
The Burlington Magazine has, as usual, some important and well-written editorial matter. It is suggested that the owners of historic monu- ments should have the land on which they stand exempt from taxation. The example chosen, Holland House, seems to us unfortunate, for we have yet to learn that the average Londoner, or even the person of artistic taste, has a chance to see the historic house and grounds in ordinary circumstances. Dr. F. R. Martin finds ' The True Origin of so-called Damascus Ware ' to be Isnik, and puts forward a strong case for his view. The frontispiece is a brilliant work by Rembrandt, somewhat doubtfully entitled ' A Nymph of Diana Reposing,' which belongs to that fortunate gatherer of masterpieces, Mr. Salting. Other illustrations show beautiful decorative work by Philippe de Bourgogne in the cathedrals of Burgos and Toledo, and wonderful examples done from memory by pupils of a famous teacher of art, Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran. The bona fide character of this work Is established. One of this master's famous pupils, Prof. Legros, won his special favour by a reproduction from memory of Holbein's * Erasmus.' An historic monument which has long shown signs of wear, Can Grande's statue at Verona, is now so much injured that it has been found necessary to take it down from the place where it has been for nearly six hundred years, and remove it to the studio of a Veronese sculptor to be copied exactly. This copy will be placed on the old site, and what is left of the famous horse and rider will be preserved in the Museo Civico. No one can object to such treatment, which is far better than leaving a monument to crumble to dust.
to (0msp0ntonis.
We must call special attention to the following
notices :
WE cannot undertake to answer queries privately, nor can we advise correspondents as to the value of old books and other objects or as to the means of disposing of them.
Editorial communications should be addressed to "The Editor of 'Notes and Queries '"Adver- tisements and Business Letters to "The Pub- lishers " at the Office, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E.G.
M. L. B. BRESLAR ("Horse-marine"). Used by Scott in 'St. Ronan's Well,' chap, xxi., Oliver Wendell Holmes, and others. Discussed at great length at 9 S. ii. 26, 112, 355, 456 ; iii. 215.
A. W. (" Sowgelder'sLane "). See 8 S. ix. 29, 138.
CORRIGENDA. P. 116, col. 1, 1. 22 from foot, for "its famous" read the famous. P. 118, col. 2, 1. 20 from foot, for 1898 read 1798.
