n. OCT. 29,
NOTES AND QUERIES.
359
suriosi,' full information is supplied. The student
will naturally turn to ' Beatrice ' and ' Virgilio,' where
the utility of the volume is very plainly exhibited,
as well as to familiar names such as ' La Pia,'
'Francesca,' and 'Ugolino.' It is only by a close
investigation that the amount of painstaking
erudition in the book can be understood, and only
by constant employment that the full utility can be
gauged. We commend the work to our readers as
one of the most notable and praiseworthy con-
tributions to the literature of Dante that England
or, indeed, any country has supplied. We may
add that Mr. Toynbee hopes, " Se tanto lavaro in
bene assommi !" to issue a companion work dealing
with the vocabulary of the ' Divina Commedia,' the
' Canzoniere,' the ' Vita Nuova,' and the ' Convivio.'
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. By Thomas
Fowler, D.D. (Robinson.)
A FEW years ago (see 8 th S. iii. 339) we congratulated the President of Corpus Christi upon the com- pletion of a history of his college, which did some- thing to wipe off from Oxford the reproach of neglecting its own eminently interesting and im- portant history. This work, first issued by the Oxford University Press, has now been compressed into a volume (the fourth) of the popular histories of the colleges of Oxford and Cambridge. That the history in its present state is so useful to the anti- quary as in its more ambitious form is not claimed in its behalf. It serves, however, admirably the purpose for which it is intended, and conveys brightly and lucidly an account of the founder of the college, his associates and successors, of the tine library (which won the commendation of Erasmus), the portraits, and the superb plate still happily, though to the bewilderment of some, in the posses- sion of the college. Abundant interest will always attend Foxe's "beehive," as the founder affec- tionately calls it, a place Walton describes as "noted for an eminent library, strict students, and remarkable scholars." Not always so renowned was it, and there were times when the ill lives of some of those in authority brought it into not wholly undeserved condemnation. It has, how- ever, kept up its association with scholarship and intellect, from the days of Jewel, Reynolds, Hooker, and Jackson to those of Copleston and Arnold. Considering that it has always been one of the smallest of the colleges, its career is honourable in all respects, as any student of the ' Pelican Records,' now seven and a half years in existence, well knows. On the merits of Dr. Fowler's book we have not to dwell afresh. It is well worthy of the place it holds. A few illustrations by the Oxford Camera Club add greatly to its attraction.
The Reader's Handbook. By the Rev. E. Cobham
Brewer, LL.D. (Chatto & Windus.) DR. BREWER, as our readers are aware, did not live to see through the press the revised and enlarged edition of his ' Reader's Handbook.' He was, how- ever, ripe in years when he joined the majority, and he left his work in a state in which it could be completed by his daughter, whose labours have been further lightened by the assistance of Mr. Briscoe, of the Nottingham Library, and other experts, her friends. More than sixteen years have elapsed since the previous edition saw the light, and in that time the range of literature brought under view has been greatly enlarged. The present edition is, consequently, a great advance upon its
predecessor, and is one of the most useful and
trustworthy works the reader can have at his hand.
There is, necessarily, no finality in a work of this
class, which may well make periodical appear-
ances. The list of works given is very greatly
enlarged. It is as regards English literature in
general, and Scott in particular, that the chief
improvement is visible. In this respect the
volume is comprehensive. The time has, how-
ever, come when Ibsen and Maeterlinck should be
comprised, and we look in vain for 'P611e"as and
Melisande.' It is satisfactory, under ' Memnon,'
to find the name of Prince Memnon's sister, im-
mortalized by Milton, and also the " starred Ethiop
queen," or Cassiopea, who is miscalled " Ethiop*s
queen." For these we are thankful ; but we should
like to have had Camus also, which to some readers
is no less puzzling. " Camp-Basso" should be Campo~
Basso. A great many names of characters in old
plays are given. A consultation of ' The Reader's
Handbook' will save many references to our
columns, from which, however, very much of the
information supplied has been garnered.
The Cathedral Church of Southwell. By the Rev.
Arthur Dimock, M.A. (Bell & Sons.) To the excellent and popular " Cathedral Series" of Messrs. Bell has now been added a history of South- well Cathedral. In respect of this edifice we are in a position different from any we have held in deal- ing with the previous volumes, Southwell being the only English cathedral church we have not visited. That it will repay a journey we knew before read- ing Mr. Dimock's history or seeing the thirty-eight illustrations with which it is accompanied. Mr. Dimock has inherited his affection for Southwell, his father and other members, apparently, of his family having been concerned with its history. Full justice is done to the Norman work, of which the building supplies fine specimens, and the book seems worthy in all respects of its companionship.
A Book of Sundry Drauyhtes, principally serving for Olasiers and not Impertinent for Plasterers, &c. London, 1615. (Leadenhall Press.) THERE are times when the reviewer finds his affectation of omniscience at fault, and is obliged to confess himself a sharer in human ignorance and infirmities. Such a state of affairs is reached when we essay to do justice to the curious work a facsimile of which is issued from the Leadenhall Press. The author, Walter Gedde or Gidde he signs himself both ways is to be found in no biographical dictionary. His book is entered with- out his name in the Stationers' Register, under 6 November, 1615, to Master Dight, and is priced vj d (see Arber, vol. iii. p. 265). It appears in the 'Bibliographer's Manual' with the comment, "A curious work, containing numerous and various specimens of windows in the Gothic style," and in the printed ' Catalogue of Books in the Library of the British Museum,' p. 682, and was re-editea in 1848 by the distinguished antiquary Henry Shaw. These few_ scanty gleanings concerning it have not been obtained without a good deal of trouble and research. Concerning the author himself nothing whatever is to be ascertained. The copy from which the present reprint in facsimile was taken was No. 1714 in the sale of the second portion of the Ashburnham Library, and was sold at Messrs. Sotheby^s on 6 December, 1897, for 14Z., which means, as the note of the new publisher tells
