458
NOTES AND QUERIES. tw s. u. DEC. a. im.
found in any authentic record. They merely
had existence in the lively imagination oi
Stow. It may be added that Mr. F. H
Habben's book on 'London Street Names
is not a work of any authority, although
in the instance quoted by MR. HALES he
happens to be right. W. F. PRIDEAUX.
NOTES ON BOOKS, &c.
Life and Letters at Bath in the Eighteenth Century.
By A. Barbeau. (Heinemann.) AMONG the books upon English subjects which result from the keen and intelligent study of our language by the younger school of French thinkers and writers the account of life and letters in Bath which is due to M. Barbeau occupies a conspicuous it might almost be said a foremost place. That honour may not, however, be taken from M. Jus- serand, whose knowledge of our life and literature puts to shame the best graced of our English scholars, while, as Mr. Austin Dobson points out in the admirable preface he supplies to the present volume, M r e owe, in the one department of poetry, admirable studies of Shelley to M. Felix Rabbe, of Burns to M. Auguste Angellier, and of Wordsworth and Coleridge to M. Emile Legouis. What specially strikes one in the present work is the thoroughness of the knowledge and the exhaustiveness of the treatment, the book in this respect furnishing a pleasant parallel to the 'Etienne Dolet' of "Chan- cellor" Christie, a work we persist in regarding as the most important contribution to French literature that has been made by an Englishman.
It is, of course, edifying to contrast with the state of affairs in the eighteenth century, when the French public was misrepresented and misinformed by Voltaire, that now to be seen. Materials for an account of life and letters in Bath are super- abundant, and it is curious that no work covering exactly the same ground as does M. Barbeau has been supplied by an Englishman. Such a work should naturally have been accomplished by Mr. Austin Dobson, who has written much concerning the period without undertaking its history. So well has the task been executed by the present writer that we are reconciled to leaving matters as they are. In read- ing, as we have done, M. Barbeau's work from cover to cover, we soon abandoned the task of hunting for errors. That the discovery of mistakes would not reward diligent research we will not say. Much pleasanter is it, however, to confide in our author, and accept his guidance. That we shall not in so doing be led into much error is patent. It is clear that M. Barbeau is very far from the usual and casual writer of local history. A biblio- graphy of the works quoted in the text occupies some fifteen pages in double columns, and comprises two hundred items. The works mentioned have, moreover, been closely studied. The result is an account of eighteenth -century life in England as ample in detail as it is picturesque and interesting. Among matters treated at length are the life of Beau Nash, the ruler and king of Bath, a man the secret of whose influence is not easily understood ; the romantic marriage of Sheridan to the beautiful Miss Linley ; and the influence of Lady Huntingdon
and the Methodists. Special pains have been taken
with the theatrical history of Bath, itself a matter
of much interest, and with the literary associations,
which are, of course, of highest value. A well-
selected show of plates adds greatly to the attrac-
tions of the work. These include a series of draw-
ings of Bath by John Claude Nattes, caricature
designs by Rowlandson and Bunbury, and portraits
of Beau Nash, Lord Chesterfield, and Ralph Allen,,
by Hoare ; of Mrs. Siddons, Richard Brinsley
Sheridan, and the Misses Linley, by Gainsborough ;
of^ Goldsmith, by Sir Joshua ; Quin and Marshal
Wade, by Hogarth ; the Countess of Huntingdon,,
by J. Russell ; Henderson, by Gilbert Stuart ; and
many others. The work is an acquisition to any
library, and can be read with the certainty o'fr
enjoyment.
The. Plays of Shakespeare. King John ; Kiny Henry IV.. Parts I. and II. ; King Henri/ VI. , Parts /., II. . and III. ; King Richard II. ; Merry Wives of Windsor; Timon of Athens; The Winter's Tale ; Much Ado about Nothing ; Antony and Cleopatra. (Heinemann.)
TWELVE plays have been added since our last notice to the cheapest of editions of thetsingle plays,, published in the "Favourite Classics" by Mr. Heinemann. All have, like their predecessors, the Cambridge text and prefaces by that soundest of Shakespearian scholars Dr. George Brandes. Much ingenuity continues to be shown in the selection of the illustrations, one of which accompanies each volume. 'King John' has a plate of the striking, and kingly presence of Mr. Tree, with crown and sceptre. The First Part of * King Henry IV.' has- Macready as the King ; and the Second, Elliston as- Falstaff. Macready assumed the King at Covent harden on 25 June, 1820, the Second Part of Henry IV.' being then played with the Corona- ion. Fawcett was then Falstaff, which Elliston assumed at Drury Lane in the First Part, 11 May, ^826, when Macready was Hotspur. ' Richard IL* ihows Miss Farren as the Queen, a pretty picture.
- hough the part was scarcely characteristic of
.vhat was best in the actress. In the First Part of 'King Henry VI.' Mrs. Baddeley is a monstrous Joan of Arc. The Second Part repro^- duces. from the National Gallery, a portrait of ,he King in propria persona. Part III. shows }. F. Cooke as Gloster. In 'The Merry Wives' Mrs. Woffington looks charming as Mrs. Ford, a haracter she played at Drury Lane 29 November, 743. ' Timon of Athens ' presents Wallack as Alcibiades, The Winter's Tale ' Munden as Autp- ycus. There were several Wallacks. That in [uestion was James William, who played Alcibiades o Kean's Timon at Drury Lane 28 October, 1816. Munden played Autolycus for the first time at Drury Lane 3 November, 1823. ' Much Ado ' repro- luces Mr. Forbes Robertson's painting of the amous Lyceum revival of 11 October, 1882, with sir Henry Irving, Miss Terry, Mr. Forbes Robert- on, and Mr. Terriss. ' Antony and Cleopatra ' has i^ pretty fancy picture (so we assume) of Kittyv "ischer as a most European Cleopatra.
Duelling Stories. From the French of Braiitome.
By George H. Powell. (Bullen.)
UBLISHED many years later than the *Vies des
)ames Illustres,' the ' Vies des Dames Galantes,'
he ' Hommes Illustres et Grands Capitaines Fran-
<^ois cle son Temps,' and other works, the * Memoires
