173
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io* s. HI. MARCH 4, 1905.
is to some extent a companion. There are those,
indeed, who regard it as Ranke's greatest work.
Written from a Lutheran standpoint, it is saved
by its author's " aloofness " from the charge of
being partisan, and it is a book which the scholar
will be glad to have within reach. Two-thirds only
have been translated by Mrs. Austin. The editor,
who has rendered admirable services in many
respects, points out for the edification of the reader
the supplementary works which it is expedient to
consult, and supplies a short bibliography of books
bearing on the subject. First among these must
be placed the writings of Cretghton, though the
first two volumes of the "Cambridge Modern
History" and Mr. A. H. Johnson's 'Europe in the
Sixteenth Century ' are warmly to be commended.
Ranke himself is, however, one of the chief autho-
rities on fifteenth and sixteenth century literature.
One of the founders of the scientific school of
historical investigators, he numbers among his
pupils the chief English historians of yesterday and
to-day. A book such as that before us is an ines-
timable boon to the student of limited means, who
is not contented to read seriously and steadfastly
in works derived from libraries, but seeks to dwell
upon, annotate, and confer. We wish we could
hope for further contributions of the same class
under the same competent supervision.
Heralds' College and Coats of Arms regarded from a Legal Aspect. By W. P. W. Phillimore, M.A. (Phillimore Co.)
THE fact that Mr. Phillimore's scholarly and accu- rate pamphlet, first issued in 1903, has already appeared in a third and revised edition speaks loudly for the interest that is felt in the subject. From the unreasonable attacks to which the College of Arms is subject, Mr. Phillimore defends its iembers, and he exposes the delusions that prevail concerning it. His explanation of the legal aspects is lucid. He has an appended chapter upon the subject of prescription, and he supplies an appendix of 'Statutes and Cases.'
Remarkable Comets. By W. Thynne Lynn, B.A. Twelfth Edition, Revised. (Sampson Low& Co.) As the first edition'of Mr. Lynn's acknowledgedly valuable summary of the great comets appeared in 1893, reissues are practically annual. The twelfth edition, with its view of the great comet of 1882, has undergone special revision, and is well up to date.
FROM the Ue La More Press is issued an elegant little Brov;ning Calendar and Birthday Book. The selection has been made by M. E. Gibbings. With its ornamental title-page and its beautiful get-up, it is just the work for a small present.
THE opening article in The Quarterly Review for January relates to the works of Bishop Stubbs. We need not say that it is on the whole highly favourable, but it is written with discrimination, indicating that the great historian's works are not above criticism. It is pointed out that the service w_hich Stubbs rendered to history is not limited by his greater works. He was the first to give a clear and unprejudiced account of St. Dunstan, whose career had been a playground of incompetent fanatics and become so distorted by disputants of various sorts that it is not easy to say whether Protestants or Roman Catholics had produced fancy
pictures the more unlike the original. Until Stubbs
came to the rescue what we knew of Dunstan was
little more to be depended on than a fairy tale,
though, as in the case of folk-lore stories, there
were different versions, some gruesome, others
angelic. Now we have, if not a finished picture,
at least a olear outline which reveals to us a con-
scientious and strong man striving to do the best
he could in a disturbed time, when politics, secular
and religious, had become, as it seemed, hopelessly
entangled. The reviewer, we think, somewhat
exaggerates the Teutonic prejudices in which the
great historian undoubtedly indulged, and he cer-
tainly goes too far when he says that " the develop-
ment of republics and despotisms presented to
him no interesting problems in the morphology of
states." 'The Making of the United States' is
based on widely extended investigations. It must
be of service to many both in the old laud and the
new, because it brings into due prominence the
sufferings of the Tories, as they were called, that is
those who clung to union with the mother country.
That grave crimes were committed by the successful
party no properly instructed person will now be
found to deny, and it is foolish to endeavour to
extenuate them ; but there can be no doubt that
acts of this character find many parallels in quite
modern times. Many of the deeds done in Ireland
in 1798 were, as it seems to us, far less excusable.
Canon Ainger was an enthusiastic admirer of
Lamb and Hood. So stern was he in demanding
respect for his heroes that it gave him pain to hear
the latter spoken of as Tom. The canon was famed
for his sermons, though he never attained the
questionable notoriety of a popular preacher. He
also wrote poetry, some examples of which are
given here : they are correct and harmonious, but
cannot be regarded as the product of inspiration.
Mr. T. Herbert Warren's paper on 'Matthew
Arnold' strikes us as giving a true picture of one
who, in other circumstances, might have made a
far deeper impression on contemporary thought
than he was fated to do. "He married for love
and became a school-inspector " by no means sums
up his career ; but the inspectorship not marriage
limited his powers of action and probably of
thought also, for he was too conscientious not to
throw all his energy into whatever he undertook.
'The Tudors and the Navy,' and the paper in
which Cowper and Horace Walpole are contrasted,
both are sound work. We wish we had space t<>
treat of them at length.
THE last two numbers of The Englixh Historical; Review sustain the high character which it has borne from the beginning. The letters of Herrino-, Archbishop of York, to Lord Hardwicke, during the '45 are concluded. Herring was a devoted Whig, a fervent admirer of the House of Hanover and the reigning king, and with no little fear of the "Papists," whom he evidently regarded as a far stronger political body than they had ever been since the Revolution ; but he was a fair man who did not wish to make unjust reports to high quar- ters. He was acquainted with one or more people who had come in personal contact with Prince Charles Edward, and speaks of him far more favour- ably than was to have been expected. It is quite evident that at one time he considered the Jacobites had a very fair chance of success. On 28 October he was in very low spirits, for he says, "The mischief this ugly affair does is incredible. It has put an,
